Aerious
Manakete
The Foul Destroyer
It takes pressure and time to make diamonds.
Posts: 496
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Post by Aerious on Oct 24, 2012 18:06:16 GMT -6
Aerious had turned to watch the city, trying to sense or see some indication of Nayru. For the time being, she was keeping herself in check, it would seem, so he couldn't really tell. When Elly regained her senses, and asked him the ever important question, Aerious hesitated before he answered.
[red]"Yes, yes you did Elly. Like he killed the men, women and children of this town."[/red] He turned around, walking back to her and taking a knee. [red]"Life is not easy, I know. It hurts now, to take a life. But you know, there are still people alive in that city. If he had found them...what do you think would have happened. Nayru and others are in there right now, fighting for their lives and the lives of others."[/red]
He wrapped an arm around the small girl's shoulder. [red]"Don't be like me. Don't become so used to it that it stops meaning anything to you. It is never something we should do rashly, but sometimes, in this world, it is the action we must take."[/red]
And then his head jerked, and he stood up suddenly releasing her. [red]Nayru...[/red]. He'd felt that, like a slap right to his face. Nayru had just tapped into a lot of power. Was she...transforming?! Time seemed to stop for a moment, as the power waved slowly, being restrained before releasing totally. No, she had managed to control it in time, but still. She had released a large amount of her power, that could not be good.
[red]"One way or the other...the fight is over..."[/red] He said, so softly it might as well have been a whisper.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2012 19:07:09 GMT -6
Veigue was still paralyzed in thought over the events, to the point of clenching the hand-full of dirt tighter. So much destruction...and so much pointless conflict towards him. Why was there some coward who hides in the shadows that has the nerve to send mercenaries and cold-blooded killers like bandits after him instead of facing him like a man? If he could, he would find this “Jaquio” immediately and strangle him to death. But other than the anger clouding his mind, the mere thought of this man kept reminding him of the guilt he shared. For what he wanted to do towards his enemy, he could easily say he deserved the same treatment.
He tried closing his eyes, at least attempting to calm himself down, but to no avail. He just sat there, unable to fend off the anger eating away at who he really was. The real Veigue wouldn't get so caught up in anger that he'd want to murderer someone...but if he couldn't calm himself down, the same Sacaean who wanted to change these sort of situations around was going to perish within the flames of hatred, having that dream burn as well. It was all going to transform into heated vengeance. With his eyes still shut, there was nothing but darkness.
But he had a slight startled reaction when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Thank goodness it wasn't the arm with the arrow injury. Just thinking about it made it sting in pain. Though he could feel that the bleeding stopped.
He opened his eyes, seeing it was Nayru. However, he was beginning to loosen the dirt from his clench, listening and taking in her words. The strength and weakness of human beings...That's what it all boiled down to. He took a quite glimpse at the corpses of the bandits and the mercenary...their actions were all fueled by nothing but greed. That's it.
He wanted to see his actions as a strength, but how things turned out, he couldn't stop blaming himself on the inside. He wanted to protect...but failed. As he stared as the demolished town still in flames and still listening to Nayru, it was all a shame that nothing could be done. But after she was finished, he took one more moment to absorb it all in his mind by simply shutting his eyes again. He wasn't going to let hatred, nor guilt stop him from moving forward. While Jaquio needs to be punished, there is no point in chasing him down and tearing him to shreds. It would only spawn more hate, as he had no idea what this was all about in the first place. Hatred controlled him for that moment. While these people couldn't be saved, there was nothing he could do but keeping going. He just had to let go. His grip loosened completely, re-opening his sight. He looked back to Nayru, but his eyes eventually trailed off in another direction.
“...My actions indirectly caused this mess as well. No matter how upset I could get over this, nothing will change that. But...” Trying to face his guilt, he could look to her again without trailing. “...You're right. I'll never forget what happened here. What goes on after this...will be the toughest situations I'll have to face. This person...Jaquio will keep coming after me. It's an overwhelming thought, but I'll keep going, so the souls of those lost by this madness may rest in peace...Thank you, Nayru.” As hard as it was by the way he felt, he managed to crack a smile.
He shifted his gaze to his family's sword as he removed it from his side. While it was still enclosed in it's scabbard, he just had to look at it to give him additional comfort. This sword had been in the hands of both pure hearts and black hearts. Pure hearts like his sister...and black hearts like his father. Regardless of those who wielded it before, he wanted to make sure he remained pure when the day comes around when he could properly wield it himself. He remembered the promise he made to Lena before they departed from each other. He was going to get stronger...for both himself and to find his place in the world so he could find a way to make it a better place to live for everyone than it was now.
As such, he raised himself from the ground. He made it up halfway...but failed quite terribly as he landed back down on his bum. This was going to take a while.
“...Great. Come on, body. Don't give out yet.” he had to laugh at himself on the inside, though not really showing it openly. He just decided to sit there for a few more moments, knowing that given with time, he'll be able to muster enough energy to pounce back up. He did it before earlier.
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Elly
Pegasus Knight
Rookie Squirrel!
Posts: 101
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Post by Elly on Oct 24, 2012 22:07:16 GMT -6
Elly looked up as Aerious spoke; part of her wanted to run away, to deny it, deny his words, but her heart had known the truth far before she had even asked the question. She was...like the bandit. She had killed, like he had killed. And yet, the taller man's words continued, and she held on to them, a tiny ember to light her path in the midst of the darkness that seemed to cling to her from all sides. Aerious' arm lay around her shoulders gently, and she shivered, pulling in close, trying to draw in warmth from the gesture. People...might live because she had killed the man. She had done the right thing.
And yet, you never thought that, a slimy voice called out inside her mind. You were only thinking of saving yourself, you know. In that instant...did the thought of protecting others ever cross your mind? She could feel the mocking sneer as the voice faded away into nothingness, yet the words lingered. But, Aerious' words rang true as well. She could...change that, become stronger, and fight to protect others, as Nana and him did? She shook her head. It was all too confusing; she breathed in deeply, raggedly, tears filling her eyes once more. Aerious jerked away, standing up, and she looked up in surprise, before following his gaze. "A-Aery?" She hiccuped quietly. "Is something wrong?"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 25, 2012 0:43:53 GMT -6
Well, apparently she'd managed to say... something right. Nayru couldn't help but feel a bit warmer inside, the sensation of having been able to help, even a little, overriding the slight guilt over the fact that she had more or less just been saying whatever came to mind that sounded good. That was probably something Veigue didn't need to know in his current state, though. Or... ever. She snorted, which turned into a cough, then a chuckle, or maybe all three at once; it was surprisingly hard to act normally when her body had taken that much damage.
She replayed the thought in her head, then chuckled again, intercepting her own amusement to mumble an "Ow." Nayru was not entirely sure what had happened or how she had managed it, but she had managed to gate the flow, at least; her body was sore all over, internal damage not evident to the naked eye as a result of the wild, primal essence that had partially disintegrated her assumed form. A natural result of attempting to channel so much power through a human body, one that had never been meant to bear so much, but that didn't really make the situation any more palatable.
And the - arm. She stared at it with morbid fascination, slowly pulling her legs out from under her as some modicum of strength returned to her body; that had been an unpleasantly uncomfortable position, and she was glad to leave it. The stupid arm, though: Nayru had never once even attempted to partially transform since she had realized the true price of her habits, and while that thought shamed her, she could not help but feel an all too familiar curiosity overtake her as she regarded the gilded scales, the grasping talons, the altered limb a smaller and misshapen version of her true form. There had to be some way to reverse the transformation; she had never heard of a dragon having difficulty in transforming, in either direction, so clearly the trouble was on her end.
Groaning, ceding to her own weakness in allowing a trickle more of power flow through her to make the oversized limb's immense weight bearable, the battered dragoness forced herself to her feet, pushing away from the ground with her armored limb in an attempt to make some use of the awkward thing. She wondered if it was petty of her to take a certain reassurance in the fact that at least Veigue had not escaped unscathed either, though that traitorous thought was crushed under the stern rebuke of empathy - just because it made her feel slightly less of the fool for almost dying to some bandits didn't mean it was right to take pleasure in anyone else's suffering.
Slowly rising to her full height, her entire body feeling... loose, almost disconnected, Nayru let her head loll back, staring at the night sky through the smoke, the crackling of burning embers a grim reminder of the horrors they sat so serenely amidst. There was - little point in further rescue efforts now, she realized; the entire village had been set aflame, razed to the ground. At least an hour had passed since it began, and while not every building had been totally consumed, the asphyxiating smoke and heat of the flames ensured that anyone who had not fled the village entirely was dead now.
It was a sobering thought.
"...There is nothing more we can do here, Veigue. It would be wise to fall back, find Aerious, and discuss our next move." There. Calm. Collected. Her voice still held a slight quiver to it beneath the surface, a hint of weakness that she could feel aggravatingly out of reach, but it was a valiant effort at sounding like her usual self. Even if she looked more like a walking corpse than anything else. A glance downward revealed that her wound had closed, mostly, though she suspected that strenuous activity would reopen it quite quickly; dragons unfortunately did not possess instantaneous regenerative powers, as much as she had come to wish otherwise, but their assumed forms could at least... dampen the outward presence of damage, she supposed it could be described; the wound - and all of the other damage - would continue to plague her in full, but at least it wouldn't bleed forever.
Cautiously trying to equalize as little power as she could draw without weakening her grip on the source, the dragoness took an experimental step forwards, flexing both arms almost imperceptibly to make sure that neither was about to fall off, before slowly moving beside and a little to the front of Veigue, offering him an ethereal smile - and her still-human arm. "...Here. Once we get somewhere safer, I have some medical supplies for you, but we should meet up with Aerious first. Hopefully he managed to rescue more survivors."
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Aerious
Manakete
The Foul Destroyer
It takes pressure and time to make diamonds.
Posts: 496
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Post by Aerious on Oct 25, 2012 9:32:24 GMT -6
[red]"I hope not, little one."[/red] Aerious said, the nagging feeling still tugging in the back of his mind. [red]"Nayru and another friend were still in there. The smoke is getting thick and lifeless. I'd hoped that she would have left by now..."[/red]
Pah, what was he worried about? Nayru was a dragon, she wouldn't die to a little blaze. But still, something had happened down there to make her tap into a lot of power, just like he'd done. Maybe she'd felt him do it and decided it was what she should do? He wasn't blind, he knew that Nayru treated him as the elder and more experienced one of them, and it was not something Aerious was used to.
So how to signal her? How to tell her where they were without leaving Elly here alone? Aerious paused as he considered this, and then half smiled. He began to pace, walking back and forth out of Elly's line of sight as the latter watched the smoldering ruins.
On one such lap, he stayed out of Elly's view for a bit longer, pulling power from his dragon stone. His form shifted slightly, his skin fragmented and scaled, his eyes turning into gold slits, his hands deforming into odd claws, but he pulled the power back quickly before Elly could turn and see.
Humans could sense it too, just not as much as a dragon could. Especially two of the same element. Hopefully the brief spike of power would act as a beacon for Nayru, leading her and the human out of that hell.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2012 16:15:16 GMT -6
Nodding in agreement, Veigue had to pull himself together. He returned his family sword and his own to respective spots beneath the tight band around his waist. With the conflict over, there was no need to hold his main weapon in hand. He usually only did that to be battle-ready at all times while necessary. But either way, it really was time to get out of there. The longer they stayed, the faster the feelings would come rushing back in. He was going to reach out for Nayru's hand, but realized he was about to reach out with his left arm and caught himself before she could notice...
“...Nooooo! Wrong arm...!”
That arm just needed to stay down, given how it's the most injured out of everything. Getting it right this time, he accepted her generosity by returning a smile in kind. With Nayru offering her shoulder, it was tremendous help. He had doubts of even walking at a fast enough pace to keep up. If only he hadn't crashed into that house...too late to complain about that now. He thought that they could both help each other out there. She wasn't exactly in good health like he was either. He still had his wonders about her arm, but he had no reason to bring up the subject...nor did he even have the right to ask about it. No time for it anyway.
“Thanks a lot.” His other arm stinging in pain again, causing him to finally drop his finally-relaxed facial expression to a more slightly pained expression. Wound's probably about to re-open sound. That was a sign to hurry. “...Ready when you are.”
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 25, 2012 21:35:42 GMT -6
Her smile grew drawn as Veigue steadied himself against her, a sudden reminder that she had barely been keeping herself upright before volunteering to cart someone else around. Nayru was secretly thankful that her companion seemed determined to do his part as well, to not simply be a burden; she wasn't sure that she could have actually carried him out on her own by this point, or even made it out at all under her own power.
The warmth of his body was - calming, almost, a glow that suffused her with the reminder that she was fighting for more than herself. There was the bit about them both bleeding to death on each other which kinda kept it from being cute, exactly, but she resolved to focus on the good parts and not think too much about it.
Progress was agonizingly slow, as well as agonizingly... agonizing, but each step they took was proof that they could take another, that they were not quite defeated yet. Aerious's little display provided enough direction to guide them, and with a half hour they were at the edge of the burning buildings, leaving behind them the all-consuming holocaust that had claimed the entire town.
At least she could make out Aerious looking distracted by something. Without much better of an idea of what to do, she awkwardly waved at him, hoping to get his attention without having to use her ravaged lungs to make noise beyond the level of quiet conversation.
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Elly
Pegasus Knight
Rookie Squirrel!
Posts: 101
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Post by Elly on Oct 25, 2012 23:38:38 GMT -6
"...Nana?" She spoke hesitantly, her morose tone tinged with concern. "We...we've gotta go back for her, Aery!" She struggled to rise, wincing as pain flared up once more; the struggle with the bandit had left her entire body battered, and she wished for nothing more than to lie on the grass and go to sleep...and yet, she was terrified of closing her eyes, terrified of the darkness that lay inside her mind now. She whimpered softly as she tried to place her weight on her right leg; she wobbled in place for an instant before catching herself, her other leg somewhat more stable. A shudder ran through her, and she fought the urge to throw up as a wave of nausea washed over her.
A strange, unnatural chill washed down her back, and she shuddered, struggling to keep her fading consciousness from fleeing. She swallowed heavily, wincing as she did; her throat still hurt. She moved slowly, walking towards the burning blaze where the village had once been. The flames seemed like a living beast, as terrifying as the creatures in Salvation Point. Had they devoured the people inside already? Spots of darkness danced before her eyes, the world strangely muted, as if someone had wrapped a scarf around her ears the way her papa used to. She blinked, trying to clear her vision, and her eyes caught sight of a silver haired woman, waving at the two of them.
It was as though the tiredness had been washed away from her body; a surge of adrenaline ran through her, and she shot herself forwards as fast as she could, half-limping, half-dragging her hurt leg behind herself as warm tears streamed down her cheeks once more. Her eyes flickered to the tall woman's arm briefly, and focused again on her precious friend's face; whatever had happened to her, she was here, and safe. "Nana!" She cried out hoarsely, her throat protesting painfully, but the teenager was beyond the point of caring, launching herself with her arms spread wide at her midsection, crying openly, a small smile of contentment on her face. Everything was right again.
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Aerious
Manakete
The Foul Destroyer
It takes pressure and time to make diamonds.
Posts: 496
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Post by Aerious on Oct 26, 2012 9:50:29 GMT -6
Aerious had seen Nayru's wave, and had a much different reaction to Elly's. His eyes shot open with surprise, and a bit of annoyance too. What in the burning hells had she done in there? And now Elly was crashing about her, crying everywhere. It would be nearly impossible to separate those two so he could get a look at that arm of hers. Urgh. What, could she not change it back? That should have happened naturally.
As emotional as the reunion was, Veigue didn't look much better either. Elly was bruised, but for the most part all right. Ok, that was a plan. [red]"Elly!"[/red] Aerious called gruffly. [red]"There will be time for that later. They are both badly injured, we need to get them both stable. Nayru needs serious attention, I will help with that. Could you help out Veigue?"[/red] He said, gesturing to the swordsman that Nayru was half supporting, as Aerious went over to help Nayru. If the younger dragon caught his gaze, she might catch a hint of his disapproval in it. He kept his tone light.
[red]"These injuries could heal poorly if we don't act quickly. I'm going to need your help here Elly."[/red] Aerious said, a bit kinder. He had needed to get her attention, but he didn't dislike the girl. He just needed her to stop fretting and collapsing until the crisis was over. Right now they had an injured dragon with one transformed arm, a feat Aerious was very much confused about, a bruised and exhausted human girl, and a human boy who looked that he should be, by all measurements, dead on his feet.
[red]"The Pegasus Knights taught you basic healing, right? Please help our friend before he bleeds out."[/red]
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 26, 2012 20:33:10 GMT -6
Totally didn't make the connection until the fireflies line in the post, then was like OMG OMG OMG I KNOW WHAT WOULD BE THE PERFECT MUSIC HERE and gigglesqueed like an Asian schoolgirlElly. Welp, that complicated things. Hurricane Elly struck before the disoriented dragon really even connected the rapidly incoming lavender blob to the girl she had been missing for weeks, the realization sapping the will from her body. Not - now, not here. Impossible timing. But... Elly was back. Her body shook from the impact, but Nayru held fast as best she could, teetering for a moment as the pegasus rider impacted her, Veigue still at one shoulder and her transformed arm falling limply to her other side. She'd held on as long as she could, waiting for Elly's return, but it might already be too late. Still, at least Elly would see her like this. Better than nothing. They could say goodbye now. "...I'm back, Elly."That hadn't been what she meant to say at all. She felt her rebellious body refuse her, following suit with her mouth. The immense, gildeed arm slowly closed around Elly like a vice, but with gentleness she could not remember possessing, golden scales constricting as she carefully but firmly wrapped the girl in her firm embrace. She lowered her head silently, closer to Elly's, feeling her hair - downy and fluffy, still caught between hair and mane - fall haphazardly around her. Glimmers of light danced at the corners of her vision, at first mere illusions to her treacherous eyes, but after a moment she realized that it was not simply natural light reflecting off of whatever was in her eyes, but an actual source of light; the gilded limb was dissolving in effervescent golden hues, sparkling motes of light that disintegrated like brilliant aurous cinders in the dusk. ...Little fireflies came to mind, the glimmering specks vaguely reminding her of the times she'd spent chasing them so very long ago. Beneath the glow, she abrupt sensation returned to her, the familiar sight of her right arm gradually materializing in the wake of the dissolving draconic limb. Hesitantly, almost raptly, she reached for one of the glowing motes, feeling the warm glow dissipate between her grasping fingers. The jolt of feeling her arm suddenly lose its grip as the distended limb faded away entirely forced her back into the present, grasping Elly tighly with her newly-returned arm, followed a few moments later by the other. Nayru simply smiled, feeling something warm run down her face, as she held Elly against her again, wishing the moment would last forever. "I will not leave you again."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2012 22:44:48 GMT -6
When they came to a halt, Veigue felt his consciousness slipping. Obviously from the blood loss. Because of it, his eyes shut against his will and his head leaned away from Nayru. He was really going to lose it until he felt Nayru jerk a little. He quickly popped his eyes open to see what happened. Thank goodness it was only her young friend. He thought they were going to fall at first.
But it actually warmed his heart to see a reunion like this one. It even made him form a warm smile, as it instantly reminded him of a time of something happening out in the wilderness when he was just a kid with Lena at the time. They were split apart for a few days and Veigue remembered himself being frightened during the entire separation.
“She reminds me of my old self back then...” he said to himself. Though the Veigue then was different than the one now. The events of the past could do that to you.
Feeling that he could manage to hold his ground on his own at this point, as well as give Nayru and her friend their well-deserved space, Veigue eased himself off Nayru and carefully made a wide distance between all three of them. To make sure he didn't have to worry about falling, he placed his hand on the spot of the arm injury, then clenched it. If he wasn't worried about the arm, he could focus on his balance...even that was hard with all the aching.
After hearing what Aerious said, he simply just waited, looking off in a random direction. Normally, he would have refused the help out of not wanting to trouble them at all. But his stinging arm was basically telling him to stop being stubborn and accept whatever help he could get or he'll die. So he just waited patiently.
So while looking off in the random direction, he gathered his thoughts together and was planning on his next move after this. With Jaquio on his tail, traveling was going to be difficult. He'd have to keep his identity covered for a while and just stay out of trouble for a while until he gains a good lead on this guy's whereabouts. Though the hood on the back of the neck of his cloak could finally prove useful for a change, other than using it like an umbrella when rain falls. He had an idea though...maybe traveling with his new acquaintances wasn't such a bad idea. He actually felt something he hadn't ever since the death of his mother and father when he took a glimpse at them all and back to the random direction: Peace. Despite his father, his time with Lena and his mother were the happiest. But this was no time to get nostalgic. He was a wanted man now, so he didn't want to get them caught up in his own path that will most likely lead to a bloody and destructive one.
The thought of mercenaries, assassins, and doubtfully, but possibly Jaquio himself coming after him and wanting his blood spilled was frightening. But there were advantages to going with them too. If he took this path alone, death was certain. That mercenary in town said more skilled killers will be at his neck...and he got trashed by that guy alone and would have died if it wasn't for Nayru. But he'd rather die than get others involved in his affairs. But he was grateful to her for saving his life. He had to repay her somehow. Maybe that would be another one of the pros of tagging along.
Either way, his life from here on out will be a complete nightmare. He shifted his gaze at his family's sword, trying to seek some kind of strength from it's presence to boost his confidence. He had goals...if he wanted to meet them, he had to walk the path of pain first.
“...The fact remains that blood will be spilled either way. But...I'm not the same timid boy like I was before several years ago. I can't hesitate anymore...If I have to kill to survive, then so be it. I just hope I'm the same person I am now at the end...if the end isn't me in a grave.”
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Elly
Pegasus Knight
Rookie Squirrel!
Posts: 101
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Post by Elly on Oct 27, 2012 1:52:35 GMT -6
Laughter escaped the teenager as she felt Nayru return her hug, a feeling of euphoria washing through her as her perception of the world beyond the embrace melted away, a warm contentment spreading from her heart down to the very tips of her toes. Her friend's strange arm covered her back, but she couldn't care less about its appearance; it was heavy, but warm, and she strengthened her own hold on the older woman in return. An odd, squeaking sound escaped her as Nayru's head drew closer, a cross between a sob and a giggle. Her hair was incredibly soft, finer than anything she had ever felt, a downy curtain that reminded her of a warm bed in the harsh winters of Illia, cozy and safe. Her eyes widened in wonder as she saw golden motes floating in the air, and she sniffled, trying to blink away her tears as she felt Nayru's arm grow softer across her back, shrinking, yet as warm as it had ever been. Was this magic?
She pulled herself away from the embrace hesitantly at Aerious' words, a feeling of dejection spreading through her as reality came crashing down around her once more, the pain of her own bruised body returning with a vengeance. She looked over at the tall man Aerious had mentioned; she recoiled, shuddering, as her eyes trailed the spots of blood that seemed to cover his entire body. "I...I...I..." She stuttered, taking a step back, the crimson liquid bringing back images that were still far too raw, too fresh for her mind to assimilate. No! She'd promised herself she'd help people. She...if she didn't, she was nothing but a murderer, right? She swallowed, struggling to keep her revulsion at the sight of so much blood in check. "I know a bit, yeah, but..." She answered softly. She knew how to apply a vulnerary, but this was far out of her league.
Elly's eyes drifted over his body; his face seemed bruised, but her eyes were drawn to his arm. She stared at the deep arrow wound timidly, glancing at the gash in his forearm briefly, her hands shaking. For an instant, she panicked; she'd never been the brightest student, and hadn't paid particular attention to healing. Would it be her fault if he died, too? Just like the other death already burdening her shoulders? Her breathing grew faster, ragged, and she closed her eyes, trying to find a small measure of control. Nana. She had to be strong like Nana. She tugged on the pouch tied at her side, fumbling with the leather cord, pulling it loose after several tries. Carefully, she unwrapped the ointment, pausing before dipping her fingers into the herbal paste. She took the leather strap in her free hand, looking up at the man timidly, folding it over itself before offering it up to him.
"I...uh..." She spoke, her voice still hoarse and more akin to a croak than her normal tone. "It's...gonna hurt. Y-you might wanna sit down and...bite on that, y'know?" She turned away briefly, her face pale, a hint of green slowly tinging her features. "A-Aery, I don't, uh...know how ta bandage people?"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 27, 2012 14:46:45 GMT -6
As with everything that was right in the broken world they lived in, nothing good could last; their reunion only lasted a short time before Elly pushed herself away to attempt to help Veigue, leaving the silver dragoness to ruminate on her thoughts... and her returned arm. She still wasn't sure how it had returned to her, only certain that it had not been a conscious effort on her part. A subconscious reaction, then, but based on principles she did not yet fully grasp - her reunion with Elly had simply seemed so right, so natural, that the recovery of her human arm had seemed to be the same... and it did. The why and the how bothered her, but they were thoughts for another time, she decided, realizing that Elly was going to be entirely unhelpful in terms of magically healing Veigue.
The idea of Elly in a cleric's uniform, wielding a healing stave with the uncoordinated ferocity of her lance, left the suddenly perturbed overwhelmingly thankful that the universe had seen fit to propel Elly towards a less destructive occupation.
Waving off Aerious's judgmental gaze with her now-good arm, which was not at all actually good holy Elimine's rotting corpse it felt more raw than the blood-soaked arm, she shuffled over towards Veigue, slowly fishing her limited medical supplies from her side now that she had the requisite number of arms to actually make any use of them - she had considered trying earlier, but trying to engage in fine motor control with an arm as thick as her head had seemed unwise. "My body will heal. His plight is more important."
Which didn't mean that she was actually doing all that hot, but this wouldn't be the first time she had gone through some general unpleasantry. That little escapade in... Nayru frowned, trying to remember where it had been - possibly Sacae? Some godforsaken part of Lycia? - where she had been left lying in a pool of her own blood was proof that she could eventually recover from most injuries so long as they were not immediately fatal. "I have... some medical training, Elly. Let me help."
Her long, delicate fingers brushed gently against the edges of the wound, accompanied by a running explanation as she attempted to take control of the situation. "...You removed the arrow's head. Good. My expertise does not extend to field surgery without anesthetics... or amputation." A small smile the only hint of the hesitant joke she had attempted to make, Nayru continued her businesslike movements, thankful once more that her habit of learning what she could during her travels had at least given her a rudimentary understanding of wound dressing and simpler medicine - she was no doctor, but at least she knew how to dress a wound or diagnose and field-examine some of the more common combat injuries.
Pausing only to wipe the blood off her fingers on a throwaway bit of bandage, she continued, carefully emptying the contents of a small container of healing salve she had reserved for emergencies into the wound before beginning to wrap it with meticulous precision; it still hurt to move her right hand, but focusing on something else helped keep her mind in the present, on more important subjects than a useless, irrelevant sensation.
"I would strongly recommend against using that arm more than necessary in the near future in fear of reopening the wound - without an actual cleric to be found you will have to rely on accelerated natural healing processes rather than magical repair." Nayru smiled again, feeling for Veigue's plight and his valiant attempt to bear the pain. "It would be wise to keep an eye out for one if possible to accelerate the process, but you will regain functionality in time regardless."
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Aerious
Manakete
The Foul Destroyer
It takes pressure and time to make diamonds.
Posts: 496
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Post by Aerious on Oct 27, 2012 22:01:57 GMT -6
Aerious looked around the horizon as Nayru took control of the situation. Good, things were working out nicely. He figured they'd need to get moving soon, but they still had to find Elly's flying pain-in-the-ass. He didn't want to stay any closer to this former town then they had to, no doubt it would be swarming with people soon enough. The smoke plume would see to that.
[red]"I saw her heading east out of the town, and she likely didn't go too far. She must have gotten scared from all of the fighting, makes sense I suppose. I can go looking, if you'd like."[/red] He suggested to Elly. The sooner they got this group moving, the sooner they would get out of here.
He looked to the sky, which was would be the best direction to head? He had no preference, and this wasn't his quest anyway. [red]"Well, does anyone have a preferred direction?"[/red] He asked the question towards the humans. [red]"Elibe is a big place, but there will be history to write and stories to tell no matter where you go, so it matters not to me."[/red] He said, dusting his hands off, after noticing they were still covered with ash and soot.
It had not occurred to him that the others would be reeling after their struggles. To him, this was just another day in the world of humans.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 0:05:40 GMT -6
When Veigue sat down in the grass, he looked to the girl most of the time. It was obvious that she was nervous. But it had to be something else...judging from the fact that she was bruised too. It wasn't his place to pry, but the fighting down there must have left a scar. Yet another person that suffered because of his actions. But guilt wasn't something he was supposed to be worried about at the moment. He was going to say something that could possibly calm her nerves, but he didn't want to deal any more emotional pain. When she handed him the leather strap, he was going to take it until Nayru seemed to take over. As such, he allowed her to examine his arm. Once he really looked at the injury himself, it was worse than he imagined. All he thought about was how bad it hurt. He did yank the entire arrow out after all. All seemed to be going well at the moment, until his face tightened from him feeling the pain of the healing salve. “Gaaaah! Sweet, Mother Earth—Ahh! GOD DAMN IT!!!”...was what he would have screamed aloud, but he kept the shouts of pain within. He always tried to play the tough guy act. He simply smiled back after he was bandaged up, letting out a weak sigh and stating “...Thanks for all your help.” to both Elly and Nayru. “...The forearm and head injury, those don't bother me too much. They'll heal on their own.” The head injury was really just a big bruise that just happened to bleed, so he figured he'd be okay. He didn't feel like he was going to keel over anymore, so that's a good sign that he'll be fine. He was finally able to raise up on his own without too much difficulty. The aches weren't as bad, so he could actually walk now. Perhaps now it would be time to finally disappear out into the night and find some place safe to crash away from bandits. Hopefully not another cave, but it would have to do. Bandits never tend to look in caves for some stupid reason. Not that he was complaining. At least he'd be safe from any possible bad weather and people trying to kill him. Mood music.As he turned his back, he felt a chill down his spine and stopped himself from walking completely. Like he was leaving something behind. Then he shifted his head slightly and looking at them from the corner of his eyes as Aerious spoke. “History to write, huh...” the swordsman said silently to himself. As much as he was against the ideas that formed in his mind, something was stopping him from taking another step. His heart was telling him something he could not physically hear, but he got the gist of it from the feeling. He had to stick with them. If he wanted to get anywhere with his goals, maybe meeting these three was the initial first step. He did have debts to repay for them saving his butt down there and tending to his wounds. He wandered around aimlessly anyway, so it wouldn't matter anyway. “Ah, what the hell. Might as well get it over with...”He turned back around and walked back close to where he stood earlier, within range of all of them. “...If what you say is true, Aerious...then would you allow me to join you all on your journey? Call it strange, but my heart tells me that it was fate that lead me to you all...and my heart never steers me incorrectly. I have a goal...that I promised someone nine years ago that I'd fulfill. That goal...was to relinquish prejudice that plagued people who are judged solely by their birth, or at least make progress that no one else has had on making this world more peaceful...where true equality and peace reigns. I thought that goal was beginning die...until we met.” He spoke firmly. “...While I'm a wanted man, I won't sway from my goals. I need to survive to fulfill my promise...and walking the path of death isn't exactly the way to go. There's a man...named Jaquio. He's the one who wants me dead. He's the one responsible for everything that happened here. Of course, I share the blame too...So I may end up being randomly attacked more often like today. While I don't like to admit this...I'm forced to say that can't handle him or the skilled fighters that will be down my throat at every turn on my own. He blocks my path to fulfilling my promise...so that's where I stand. But it's ultimately up to you all. If you all allow me to journey with you...I'll follow and support you as your friend until the very end. I'm also indebted to you all for saving my life, giving me another opportunity to succeed in my goals. You have my deepest gratitude...”Veigue kind of surprised himself there once he finished. He never had to speak that much in his entire life, as he wasn't much of a talker at all. But all he was doing was following the instincts of his heart, letting his smile complete the rest of the talking. He looked up and gazed at the sky for a few moments while waiting for their response. “Lena...wherever you are, just know that my promise still stands.”
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