[Sanctuary] Stretching our legs

[Sorian]

Sorian, in the numbness of his heart and body, could barely figure out what was happening as he knelt there in the snowy ground. Everything seemed so surreal, yet even more strangely everything seemed so peaceful to him. Pain somewhat gave him some peace in the black blankness evaporating his mind's nerves. He could hear Kavala's voice ringing in his ears, her demeanor one of panic and apology. The big Akalak swallowed hard as the smaller Konti thrust his arms into the bucket, a momentary wince immediately disappearing once the watery sensation had settled down. Turning his head slowly to Kavala, he gave her a very weak smile as she tended to his burns, his eyes still lightless and uninspired. "Kavala... Why do you apologize?" he whispered, his usually great voice drastically reduced to a whimper-like quality. "Please... Don't apologize. I am the one who caused this trouble." As his senses started to return to him, it became all the more apparent to him that he was nothing but trouble for Kavala; he couldn't even perform such meager service with his powerful body, and he was decidedly not very smart as well. He wouldn't even be of any use to her for running errands, for he knows that she knows how dangerous it is for him to be up and about around civilization. Riverfall is a closed book to him, and everytime she had to go out to buy supplies he was always left alone in Sanctuary. It pained him to be so useless to her, and now it was clearer than ever that he would never be able to match her kindness with service. Looking sadly at his handiwork, he said nothing further as he bowed his head in submission to her medical ministrations, waiting for her to finish so that he could start cleaning up his mess.

[Kavala]

Kavala sighed and sat down beside Sorian for a moment. She felt bad because his burns were going to hurt like heck probably for days, but she needed to talk to him for sure. "Sorian, I ask too much of you. You've been living like a wild man for years now and I doubt you've been cooking during that time. I look at you and I forget, and thats why I'm apologizing. I'm apologizing because you get hurt when I forget. If you were a dog or a horse, I' d be very conscious of your strengths and weaknesses, but because your a man I forget. That's my fault. I'm really sorry you got hurt." She said softly, looking apologetic and slightly miserable.

Sometimes she felt like she was making more backwards progress with Sorian than she was making forward progress. She wanted to help him, but she wasn't sure exactly if that was possible, at least not for her. He might be better off helping himself in his own time - though she wasn't sure he was ready for that yet either.

Kavala patted his unburnt shoulder, and rose. "I'd better clean up this mess." She said, after he'd been tended too, and started picking up the pieces of the most recent disaster. "Why don't you relax?" She said, still concerned. It wasn't unusual, with Sorian around, for Sanctuary to be in a state of chaos or destruction. It wasn't something she was used too and indeed Kavala blamed the solid walls which if weren't present wouldn't allow for so much destruction. Kavala figured Sorian would like living in a tent.. perhaps even out on the grass. There wasn't much to destroy nor much to harm like there was in a solid stone structure. Her thoughts carried on as she cleaned, quickly setting everything right. And even though she was tired now, between worrying about the mare, and cleaning up Sorian's accident... she was hungry too. They'd all need to eat. Luckily the flank steak had survived.

There were also the steaks to start, so once the mess was cleaned up, Kavala placed the grill over the fire once more, and let the metal mesh heat up. She then took the flank steaks, salvaged from utter destruction, and lightly salted and peppered them. She wasn't sure what else to do with them so she cut up some carrots and celery raw, bought fresh from the market. She added the flank steaks to the grill and retrieved a round of bread and a wedge of cheese also bought in the city.

Then she carefully watched the meat cook. She dared not leave it, fussing over the grill and leaving Sorian to talk with Danica or show her to her room if the guest got too restless and wanted to retreat for some rest. Her plan was simple... slice bread and cheese, cook the flank steak, slice it up, and layer it between the bread with cheese and add the carrots and celery raw on the side.

She watched the meat, tongs in hand, and shivered slightly because the side of her facing the fire was overly warm while the side facing away was chilled. The sky darkened, and the storm she was worried about earlier slowly descended. Snow started falling, not softly and magically, but harshly. The wind picked up, partially burning the meat on the fire side before she could get it flipped. Kavala regretted all over again that her kitchen was in essence outside. It was about as inconvenient as possible in the winter... though they'd use it a lot in the summer.

But still... she was determined to offer food, even burnt food, and stood out in the cold fussing over it.

[Sorian]

The big Akalak merely lowered his head in pathetic concession. Kavala's definitely hit the point spot on; he is a wild man, unsuitable for a conservative and orderly environment. With a groan pulsating inside his throat in pain, he got up to his feet, keeping his scalding arms away from the rest of his body. The way they hung in the air made him look like a receptive martyr basking in sunlight, as if he was in a perpetual state of bliss. Of course, the rampant emotions inside his head didn't pan out the same way; he could feel his disaster invading both his and Kavala's confidence, aside from the physical scars which his newest ordeal has made him go through. He started trudging towards the stables, looking quite pitiful with those dark burns all over his body, letting Kavala clean up his mess with a rather heavy heart. Surprisingly, Danica did not budge from her position inside, so he went to take a peek at what she's doing. Apparently she has fallen asleep or something, for she was merely slumped across the hedge, her wispy arms supporting her face. A look of confusion came over him; what was he to do? She seemed so peaceful there, despite the awkward position. He tried to look back towards Kavala's direction, wanting to call her to ask for instructions. But to do so would make him look even more stupid, or worse, make Kavala feel even more distressed over his apparent lack of decision-making skills. Taking a deep breath, the Akalak took the Drykas into his arms, a wince overpowering his senses as her bare skin touched the fresh wounds on his arms and chest. Despite the pain, however, he walked slowly, as if he was carrying a tender baby rather than a six-foot tall woman. Snow started to pepper the air around, and as the flecks gently fell on his hair, he felt a sense of peace walk back into his mind. It is a huge relief to him that Navis hadn't acted up yet, especially when he was feeling the incredible pain wracking his body. He was far enough trouble already to Kavala, Navis would just compound the situation. Trying to push the thoughts aside for fear of the other side of him noticing, he made way for the living quarters. He could smell Kavala's cooking in the open kitchen; they are definitely going to have to fix the outdoor situation sometime, as it was sure to be extremely inconvenient for her especially during bad weather days. His heavy feet carried his body upstairs, where he laid the sleeping girl on the bed. The big blue man took a moment to pause and observe Danica before going back down; she has pretty features, and if not for the caramel yellow hair and sun-tanned skin, she would definitely pass for a Konti like Kavala. He nodded to himself after making sure she if comfortable, fluffing the pillows under her head slowly before returning to the Konti outside, looking quite perplexed in the snow. Sorian took a seat in the wooden balustrade beside Kavala, his searching eyes boring into her form. He didn't have the heart to talk to her after the mess he had caused, and could only hope that she wasn't feeling too cranky about it either. Another wince creased his face as the cold snow meshed with his wounds again.

[Kavala]

NoteI think its about time we wrap this up.

So it was that they ate in silence. Kavala fed Sorian burnt steak, but otherwise the meal was cozy and warm, eaten in the waiting room of the clinic. They left a plate upstairs for Danica when she awoke, and both retired early to bed after they made sure the facility was locked down tight for the storm.

Kavala got up twice to check on things, trudging through the snow to make sure there was no lasting damage and all the animals were tucked inside safe and sound. She even checked on Sorian, changing his bandages once when the blisters had started weeping, but otherwise let him and Navis sleep in peace. In the morning there would be more work, hay to unbury and animals to feed. But until then, she went to bed tired, if not a bit slightly disturbed as to how to help Sorian or even if she could.

[Charon]

Experience Points Awarded Danica XP: +2 in Animal Husbandry Lore: Rak'keli's Gnosis (Healing), Equine Birthing Sorian XP: +2 in Animal Husbandry, +1 in Wrestling, +1 in Cooking, +1 in Riding Lore: Rak'keli's Gnosis (Healing), Equine Birthing Kavala XP: +3 in Animal Husbandry, +1 in Medicine, +1 in Cooking Lore: Rak'keli's Gnosis (Healing), Equine Birthing Mod Notes: Great, fun read! Thanks guys!