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Post by Mila on May 3, 2016 17:54:26 GMT -6
Kathaelet
Rumors. Rumors. And oh yes rumors. Mila had heard nothing but rumors about Kathaelet. Supposedly, the gargoyles of Bern crossed the mountain borders and have been wreaking havoc on Lycian territory. This made travel to Kathaelet difficult. Traders wouldn't go there! Not with those flying abominations running amok. Sure, there were a few brave traders who were willing to make the journey. But, those caravans were so over saturated with people that it made Mila very uncomfortable. So, the sage was forced to do something she wasn't fond of. Riding. Mila knew how to ride horses. Her family taught her how. But it was something she did not do often. She paid for a horse and rode to the territory on her own.
By the time the sage arrived in Kathaelet the gargoyles were gone. Apparently they were driven away by a group of wyvern riders and mercenaries. Mila, was late to the monster party. At least the survivors and witnesses of the attacks gave her some useful details. But, it really it was mostly information she already knew. The sage sighed softly and decided to drown some of her troubles at the local pub.
Mila took small comfort in knowing that this place was safe from monster attacks. At least presently. But, this information disturbed her to some extent. The monsters were moving. The movement itself wasn't an uncommon phenomenon. She knew that monsters roamed. Baels were notorious for this due to their need to find a mate. The living dead roamed aimlessly, unless controlled by higher undead. Doogs moved to find food. Goyles moved to find territory. Goyles were aggressive in their search for new territory. What disturbed her was the frequency of these movements. The frequency of these attacks. They were increasing. She shook her head and stared at her drink. She was drinking to forget about her monster work for a little while.
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Post by Samantha Khione on May 3, 2016 19:26:32 GMT -6
Khathelet. Samantha had never been here before, but she was never opposed to going someplace new. New places held knowledge that old places may not. That's what made traveling so exciting. You never know what knowledge you could find just a little ways away. She had already learned so much since she left her little Ilian town, the idea that it was only a fraction of what was out there were exhilarating. She wasn't sure yet what the future had to hold for her, but she hoped that it involved more knowledge.
But, that would have to wait for another day. Her legs were getting tired; it had been a long few days of walking. She had just stumbled upon a town and decided that it was probably best to stay here for the night. Making her way to the local Inn, Sam booked a room for the night. She dropped the majority of her possessions off in her room before taking a stroll around town. Her legs were tired, but she couldn't just sit in her room all night. Instead, she decided to check out this town and see if there were anything worth visiting.
Once again, Sam was disappointed to not find a shop that sold tomes. With the number of mages out in the world, you'd think there would be more tome shops. Disappointed and wanting to rest her feet a little, she made her way to the nearby pub. She made her way inside and quietly sat at a table in a corner.
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Post by Mila on May 6, 2016 13:21:17 GMT -6
And so, Mila sat there. She had her cloak and hood up so as not to be bothered by the people. She was struggling hard not to think about her work, but it seemed that the pub goers had other plans. Some were talking about the gargoyle encounter. Mila sighed softly and kept staring at her tiny shot glass of whisky. She had to both thank and curse Yorick for exposing her more to the drink. The pink haired brawler taught Mila much about whisky. How to tell the good from the bad, what colors mean what, and how to drink it. She wondered what her pink haired companion was doing now, probably out chasing a few random monsters of her own. Again, Mila shook her head. Stop thinking about monsters!
She sighed and looked around. She simply sat and observed all of the people that were moving around in the pub. Many folk seemed to be regulars of the place. A few waitresses, a few muscle headed fighters, some old men, and one blue haired woman. Mila tilted her head slightly. Mila knew she knew this person but she couldn't figure out who it was. She eyed this familiar figure up and down as she sat in her little corner of the pub. Her mind went through a internal sort of the various people she knew. Her mind separated people by gender, then by hair color, then by profession, slowly but surely the memory of this person flashed in her mind. She remembered her time in Sacae, how she met Drei, and shared a meal with Sam.SAM! Mila face palmed herself. How could she forget Samantha? Mila did have a bit of a fondness for Sam. Samantha was the first female mage she had met outside of Eturia. And.. she did like how she looked. Alright Mila time to un-forget! Mila grabbed her tiny shot glass of whiskey then chugged it down. Mila took a deep breath and exhaled out her nose. Ok. Ok. We can do this. She then pulled the hood down off of her head. She rubbed her face a bit to remove any crumbs or dirt she might have had. She got up from her seat and made her way over towards Sam's table.
"Uhm.. Hi Sam."
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Post by Samantha Khione on May 7, 2016 12:30:15 GMT -6
Samantha ordered a cup of tea when the waitress asked what she would like. She knew most people drank alcohol in pubs, but she was never really one of that. And besides, she was trying to relax and tea would certainly help her do that. Once her tea have been delivered, she took a small sip of it before diving into her bag. From it she pulled out a book that she had been meaning to read, but hadn't been able to start it. Since she finally seemed to have the time now, why not?
As she slowly flipped through the pages, Sam found herself droning out all the other noises in the pub. Some might question why try to focus on something like reading in a place that could get as loud as a pub. But for her, it was fine. If anything, it helped because it was much easier to just turn the background noise into a dull buzz and allow her to focus. Maybe that was a left over thing from her school days. Regardless, it had never been something that disturbed her.
Every once and a while, Samantha would stop reading briefly to take a sip of her tea. It was surprising, as she hadn't expected a pub to make good tea, but they had. It was a pleasant surprise. As she continued to read, Sam noticed someone approaching her out of the corner of her eye. At first, she had just assumed it was the waitress checking in on her. That was, until she heard a familiar voice speak her name. Without looking up from her book, Sam turned the page and responded simply with, "Mila."
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Post by Mila on May 11, 2016 19:22:40 GMT -6
Mila looked aside for a moment at the empty chair at Sam’s table. Samantha seemed to look good, healthy, comfortable, and very much engrossed in her book. So much so that the mage didn’t even bother to make eye contact as she spoke Mila’s name. Perhaps if she wasn’t a bit too distracted at the fact that she was seeing Sam again after so long, maybe, just maybe she would have picked up on the Illian’s cold demeanor. She returned her gaze back at Samantha. Part of her wanted to bombard the blue haired mage with a bunch of questions. She wanted to learn what the mage had been up too since their last encounter. Mila wanted to tell her everything that she had done since then. Mila wanted to talk magic with Samantha. She wanted to talk about girly things. Perhaps it was due to these sudden rush of questions that when it came time for Mila to speak, she couldn’t really say anything. The words to form the questions got lost in the space between her brain and her throat. She took a breath, exhaled slowly, and then spoke.
“It’s good to see you. Is.. This seat taken?” Mila asked. She wanted to be polite.
“I’d.. like to talk. But, if you're busy.. That’s fine.” She paused for a bit.
“H-How have you been?” The sage didn’t know why she suddenly kinda felt like a child talking to someone who was older than her. A child who might have done something wrong and now had to explain herself to the older person. Where did this awkwardness come from? Come on Mila. We know we are more confident this this. We study monsters. We fight bandits. We.. want.. To hear more of her voice.
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Post by Samantha Khione on May 11, 2016 23:43:24 GMT -6
Samantha kept her eyes focused down at her book, but her concentration was gone. The pride she had just moments ago in her ability to drown noise out had been shattered by the sudden appearance of the teal haired mage. Mila. She hadn't seen the girl since... She hadn't seen her in a while. Her nor Drei. At least not since... No. She wouldn't let that rear up again. There was no need to snap at her yet. Maybe she would just leave.
But of course not. Mila asked to sit down and Sam had no reason decline her request without her anger flaring up. So instead, she decided to try and play nice, shaking her head in response to the girl's question. She then said that she would like to talk. Sam wasn't so sure that was a good idea, but she still said nothing. Her eyes were still on her book, but they were unmoving. At this point, she was simply waiting to see what Mila would say.
When the girl opened her mouth again, she asked how Samantha had been. For some reason, that was what finally caused her to open her mouth. Trying to keep her hands from shaking and her voice level, she spoke. "You mean, besides Drei ignoring me when I tried to help rescue you when you were kidnapped, then the both of you leaving me behind when you were reunited? Then I've been fine. Been keeping to myself. Less of a chance of being hurt that way." Sam finally raised her eyes off the pages of her book to meet Mila's, revealing a mixture of hurt, anger, and tears barely being held back.
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Post by Mila on May 12, 2016 5:48:02 GMT -6
“Wait.. wait. Back up..” Mila spoke and sat down on the chair. She pulled herself closer so she could talk in a quieter voice and still be heard by Sam and Sam only.
“You… Were there when I was kidnapped?” The sage had no idea. Mila did her best to try and bury the kidnapping incident deep in her mind. She wished she could erase the whole thing from her memories.
“Sam.. listen I had no clue you were there. Drei wasn't the one who got me out of there either. Escape was mostly done on my own and through the help of an assassin. And I barely escaped that horrific ordeal. I.. haven't fully recovered from it either.” Mila was referring to her nightmares. While they have subsided in intensity over time, she still couldn't sleep properly. She'd keep waking up in the night to pace the floor, too get some tea, or cry until she managed to lull herself back to sleep. It was easier to sleep when she had a person next to her but acceptable people who “made her tired” or who kept watch were few and far between.
“I only reunited with Drei after I fled the territory. You.. kinda have to run for your life after escaping a large kidnapping organization. I.. didn't exactly have the right mindset at the time. I.. did find the assassin... he was.. he is a good personal friend of mine. He helped me escape. Being.. stuffed into a wagon.. underground tunnels… pain… fear.. guilt it.. does.. stuff up here.” The sage pointed to her head. Mila voice was oddly neutral as she spoke about the incident. She kept her gaze fixed to the table. This was a difficult matter for her to talk about. But Sam deserved to know the truth.
“I.. don't remember if Drei mentioned you were there.. and to be honest.. I do not want to remember that dark time. I'm sorry Sam. I honestly had no clue.”
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Post by Samantha Khione on May 12, 2016 12:33:41 GMT -6
The mixture of anger and hurt in Samantha's eyes slowly shifted into sadness and regret the more Mila talked. Internally, she was cursing herself. What was the number one rule of learning? Don't go off of the first thing you hear. You need to put in the time and effort into checking and double checking that your information was right. Most times that was no problem for her. But this case had been different. Mila and Drei had been Sam's first real friends. Sure, she had had friends during her time at school, but they were more friendly because they were in constant contact. These two were the first people that she had no real reason to stay with, and yet she had wanted to. And they weren't forced to put up with her, but they had.
It was the emotional forces behind that that caused her to view this situation with her heart more than her mind. Drei was clearly distracted trying to get to Mila. Mila had no idea she was even there, she might not have even been conscious. Sam wanted to kick herself. But she couldn't. Because Mila had had to explain what had happened, Samantha forced her to relive something that was clearly a horrible experience. She placed the piece of paper she was using to to make her place into her book and she softly closed it. She slid of of her seat and walked around the table. Sam gave Mila the first hug she had given out in while some time. She was able to talk, but could barely get her voice above a whisper. "I'm sorry, I was mistaken. I'm terribly sorry that happened to you and I forced you to relive it. I hope you can forgive me."
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Post by Mila on May 12, 2016 20:26:47 GMT -6
Mila was quiet for a bit. She wasn't really paying attention to Sam. She was a her gaze was more focused on her hands, the table, and thinking back on the whole kidnapping incident. How Oya was in on the whole thing and how very close she was to slavery. She remembered the baker’s daughter. She couldn't save her. She squinted lightly. Watery tears clouded her vision and inevitably trickled down her face. Mila made no effort to wipe them off her cheeks.
Sam closed her book and moved. Mila figured that Sam might have simply taken her story as a lie and was going to move to a different table. Samantha had no reason to believe her. The blue haired mage had every reason to be upset. Mila knew how much abandonment hurt. So, she was taken aback when Sam hugged her.
Mila wasn't expecting the apology either. She let Sam hug her for a bit before moving. She buried her head in the crook of Sam's neck. Silently sobbing for a moment before speaking.
“It's alright.. you.. didn't know.. I forgive you.” She returned the hug for a moment before slinking back into her chair. She returned her gaze back to te table. She shook her head. As if trying to shake the bad memories out.
“It's no use. Memories won't fall out.” She rubbed her face and eyes.
“I.. don't want to remember more of it. D..distract me will you.. tuh- tell me w-what have you been doing?”
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Post by Samantha Khione on May 12, 2016 22:32:18 GMT -6
As Samantha held Mila, she felt the girl bury her face into the crook of her neck. Between the gentle shaking of her body and the sudden feeling of wetness on her neck, Mila was crying. Sam wasn't very good when it came to comforting people. The best she could do was to gently rub her back and stroke her hair. Thankfully, Mila pulled herself away and saved her from having try to comfort her further. She did lightly wipe away several of the tears that were running down Mila's face before returning to her seat.
Sam watched as Mila wiped clean the rest of her face, before trying to shake out the bad memories. Logically, you couldn't just shake away memories like that, but she couldn't blame the teal haired mage for trying. When Mila asked her to distract her by telling her what she had been doing. She paused for a minute. Samantha felt that nothing that she had been doing was particularly noteworthy. However, she felt as though it was her duty to distract Mila, as she was the one who had brought these memories up.
She gave a little nod. "I've been traveling, mostly. Moving from place to place, trying to gain as much knowledge as I could." She gave Mila a small smile. "You know how much I enjoy learning. Besides that, I've been working on my magic. Besides my talents with fire, I've become fairly good with lightning and wind. I'd show you, but I don't want to startle anyone."
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Post by Mila on May 14, 2016 11:35:07 GMT -6
Mila did her best to try and recompose herself. While Sam’s life as a mage wasn't as exciting as Mila’s, she appreciated the effort. Taking about magic was a good effort. Mila loved magic. She could talk magic till the cows came home. It took a while but she slowly started to stop crying. She stopped shivering. She focused her mind on the magic. Her mind decided to focus on brighter elements of magic. Like healing and anima. Mila was a novice at best with a heal staff. So her thoughts focused on anima magic, like fire, and lightning. She focused heavily on fire as lightning magic tended to remind her of thunder. And thunder reminded her of the rumbling rolling rocks of the collapsed ruins. The feeling of being trapped underground was another one of her fears. The whisping and flickering shadows of the dead ruins brought on another fear. Perhaps, it was ironic in a cosmic sort of way, that she was studying magic of earth, stone, and one of her best friends is a shaman who controlled shadows.
She closed her eyes and laid her palms face up on the table. Remember the fire. Fire is warm.. it's bright.. it's orange.. As she focused ion thoughts of flame a small orb of fire formed at the palm of her hands. The flame was no bigger then that found on a lit candle. The gentle warmth of flame brought her back to reality. It brought her out of the dark and back into the tavern. Back to Sam. She dismissed the flame and again wiped her face clean. She tilted her head back and took a deep breath then let it out her nose. This was not the time to dwell on past hardships. This was the time to help build a relationship with Sam.
She sighed again.
“Sorry.. I'm usually a lot more composed than that. So, how's the studying? I didn't recall a shop or library around here..”
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Post by Samantha Khione on May 14, 2016 12:26:07 GMT -6
Samantha shook her head as Mila apologized. She lightly rested her hand on the other girl's open palm from while a small flame was just disappeared. Her hand was still warm, though from the flame or just her natural warmth, she couldn't be sure. "There's no need for you to apologize for anything. You've been through something terrible. You never need to apologize for dealing with it however you need. And anyone who says otherwise will have to answer to me." She gave the girl a small smile, as she understood she was about as physically intimidating as a butterfly.
Taking her hand back, Sam gave another nod. "You're correct, there don't seem to be any shops or libraries in this town. But I figured it was worth the look. It's at least giving me a place to rest for the night. As for the studying, it's been going well. I teach myself, mostly. Based on various tomes and books I can find along the way. I found one recently that's really been helping me master wind, which I had been struggling with." It had really been frustrating her, as lightning had come on somewhat easily once she understood what she needed to do for it. But wind was just so elusive. Thankfully, that was finally changing.
Sam knew that Mila loved magic, so she had an idea that might help cheer her up. "If you would like, we could head back to my room at the Inn. Then I could show you what I've learned."
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Post by Mila on May 16, 2016 12:45:46 GMT -6
Mila gave Sam a small smile. She wasn't expecting to be so easily forgiven, but she was relieved that she was. Now that the trauma tension was over, Mila could focus on other things. She squeezed Sam's hand and muttered a soft thank-you. Sam pulled her warm hand away and started to talk about magic. The blue haired beauty confirmed Mila’s suspicions. This was another town that lacked the proper magical shop and libary. The shops, like most shops, only carried general goods. Like basic tomes and salve. Nothing of any real magical interest.
“Perhaps I can help you with that.. I'm pretty good with wind but not so great with lightning. To be honest I'm a little afraid of it.” She spoke in a neutral tone. Samantha then mentioned something about a room. Mila mentally smacked herself. In all the commotion of getting here and then reuniting with Sam, she forgot to get a room of her own.
“Two questions Sam. One, can we share your room. Two, is it really wise to be practicing magic indoors? Last time I did that… uh.. there was a fire.” Lots of it. She kept her expression neutral. But, inside her head, there were flash backs to several incidents, of how fire and buildings do not mix. The first was when she learned she could do magic. She nearly set her father's study on fire. Next was a storage shed the academy. Third, was the prison compound where she met Vincent and Ryuzaki. She scratched her head.
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Post by Samantha Khione on May 16, 2016 23:44:03 GMT -6
Samantha returned Mila's small smile as she offered to help her with wind magic. That would certainly be nice. Wind magic just didn't seem to want to work for her. She had made strides towards controlling it, but she was still far away from where she would want to be. "That would be welcome. If you would like, I could help you with your lightning magic." She could understand that if Mila's fear kept her from learning lightning magic, she may not want to pursue it further.
Sam gave a nod at the first of Mila's questions. "That would be fine with me, as long as you don't mind sharing a bed. Thought I suppose I could always sleep on the floor if you'd be uncomfortable." Sharing a bed was never really something that bother Samantha, but she understood that is could make other people uncomfortable for one reason or another. And if Mila was one of them, then she could simply sleep on the floor with a blanket and bypass that problem all together.
As to Mila's second question, Sam gave a small pause. "I suppose you're right. I like to think I have a fair amount of control over my magic, but all it would take is one small mistake and suddenly something goes very wrong. Perhaps that's best saved for the morning." She grabbed her book and slid it back into her bag. Her feet disliked the idea of having to walk again, but they'd soon be resting for the night, so they could manage. "Would you like to head there now?"
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Post by Mila on May 18, 2016 8:17:18 GMT -6
“I don't mind bed sharing. The bed's warmer that way.” While Mila’s comment could imply certain implications, in this case, she meant it literally. Two people on one bed significantly raised the temperature of the bed. It helped to deter the cold, which also helped to ward off the illness of the same name. Last thing Mila wanted to deal with was a runny nose and unpleasant cough. Mila knew a good remedy to deal with colds. One that involved plenty of rest, tea, and soup. Unfortunately, due to her lifestyle, she couldn't do that. The life of a monster researcher involved constant movement, fighting, and travelling. If she were to get sick on the road it would be difficult for her to recover from.
“No one likes cold sheets. Plus, the floor is usually pretty nasty. Dust, dirt, mice pellets..” She shuddered lightly. Mila would only resort to sleeping on floors indoors after she had swept and cleaned the area best she could. Outdoors however the sage usually slept on a bed roll made of grass and animal furs. It was a large, thick, washable, portable, barrier that separated her from the bare ground. Mila got up from her seat. There was a slight crack from her back at the sudden movements but there was no pain.
“Morning magic practice sounds like the best course of action. I'd hate to see this place go up in smoke due to our semi-sleep deprived states.” Mila waited a bit for Sam to get up. She then pushed her chair back into its proper space, gathered her things, and stepped along side Sam.
“Lead the way milady.”
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