A Change in Circumstances

by **Edreina** on August 13th, 2013, 6:55 am

OOCOh... Oh my... I can't believe you just... o.o How the heck is he supposed to escape now? Oh dear... What have I unleased...o.o

Sorry, Nalik. </3 At least you now have some... erm... character building?

When all was dead and done, Edreina found herself cushioned from a haphazard fall by the ghost-girl named Kouri. She was on the ground, safe - save for the fire burning once more in her injured shoulder - and normally she would have gotten off of the ghost as quickly as possible... But she could not move. In fact, the woman was hardly breathing. Red. That was all she saw. Red blood and puddles of death everywhere. The horse-

Without any sort of grace, the would-be abductee rolled over onto all fours and emptied her stomach on to the earth, body heaving even when there was naught left in her gut but sour bile, as if she could purge the sickening feelings that tormented her. Edreina had made the mistake of looking at what was left of the horse, laying in the mud created by its own blood, for an instant too long. What was once a proud creature was now naught but a mangled, lifeless corpse. Edreina feared horses, yes... But to see one killed in such a way... She attempted to stand, to move away from the scene though any clue to her location was lost in the chaos, but her limbs were shaking so badly that she felt the stony earth rise to meet her knees and palms more quickly than she had thought possible, black orbs hovering about in her vision as she swayed, threatening to consume it.

And all of this was because of her...

Because she had decided to go out and take a petching walk!

She had never really dealt with death. And certainly not in this fashion. Deep down, Edreina knew that none of this was her fault. She knew it. But in that moment, the shock of it all had her searching for some sort of rationale, some sense to put behind the bodies. The first source was, of course, herself. If she had not have been walking out here... if she were only stronger... if she could have defended herself... if she had only accepted her fate... Despite the ridiculousness of each excuse, they were all that she could fathom. And so the redhead began to internalize everything, attacking herself for an instant, tearing herself up and breaking herself down.

That was, until, Edreina finally began to emerge from her shock. Yes, she had been out walking, but she had not invited their attack. Slowly, logic began to return, but it did not soothe her aching soul. People were dead in a most gruesome manner, but this conflict could not have ended any other way.

"I'm sorry..." Edreina whispered brokenly, a tear sliding down the stalactite that was her nose to fall to the earth below. The whisper was directed at the horse, the horse's owner - despite what he had been trying do - and those that had died and whose death-masks she could not even gaze upon out of fear of retribution and a mild sense of regret. They had surely been driven by something she did not understand, the look in their eyes had not been that of someone who wished to take a woman for their own pleasure, their own profit. It was more the look of one who did something unsavory because there was no other alternative. That realization likely hurt the redhead the most, that she could not help someone who needed it, not without sacrificing her own way of life. But why had they done it? What had driven them to these lengths?

Bile rose up in her throat once more at the realization of what exactly she could have been used for, but she choked it down. She had already lost her composure once and she would not do it again. Steeling herself, Edreina stood - wobbling weakly despite her efforts - and made her way over to the horse's rider. "Leave now, or share your horse's fate... There is nothing here for you..." Her words were hard, but in truth she just wanted this man to live, for whatever reason. No one should have to meet their end as his companions had, as his horse had... All while she spoke, her blue eyes glittered remorsefully, a constant apology written as plainly as fine script in those bleary orbs.

With that done, Edreina turned, not wanting to see any of the hate or disgust that likely filled the stranger's gaze directed towards her, and strode over to Kouri. It was all because of her... All because she was too weak to defend herself... For a brief instant, Edreina paused, eyeing the ghost warily. What could she say to her? The Svefra's life had been saved and yet others had been lost to the waif's biting blades; she was grateful, but remorseful. "Thank you, Kouri..." Her voice was soft, and carefully restrained. She wanted to shout at the ghost, to chastise her for being so severe, and yet deep down the redhead figured that there had really been no other way. While she may not have approved of the ghost's methods, she was selfishly thankful of their results.

Once again her limbs were shaking, on the verge of collapsing from beneath her. She needed to move, to put this entire night behind her in the physical and metaphorical sense. Without speaking another word, Edreina turned from the scene and began a quick pace down the road, to where she had last seen Navis, praying that he was alright. It was only then that she noticed the other figure, standing beside his enormous ebony beast. For a fraction of an instant, her heart quickened with the fear that vengeance was about to be wrought upon her in the name of fallen comrades. For the rest of the instant, sweet relief poured through the Svefra's veins as she realized that the figure was Razkar.

With a strangled sort of cry, she ran at him and threw her arms about his waist, face disappearing against his dusky neck as she trembled. Now that the fiasco was over, Edreina was hit with the realization that she could have been parted from him, spirited away to parts unknown... and so soon after they had finally opened up about their feelings to one another. What would he have thought when she no longer returned? Would he have worried over her? Or blamed it on her flighty nature... How had he found her? Had his Gnosis alerted him somehow to the battle being waged by Fubuki, or had he simply been in the right place at the right time? With so many questions running through her head, Edreina abruptly lost control of her emotions as Remorse hopped upon the shoulders of Latent Fear, who then hefted Relief and others until they towered over her, overwhelming her. Salty tears formed silent tracks as they slid down her freckled cheeks, the only sign of what she felt.

"Gods..." The whisper was a prayer, a word of thanks and acknowledgement, but also a nearly silent exclamation as what had just happened and what could have come of it flashed through her mind once more, startling her. Could she truly feel bad about their deaths when they may have been planning on subjecting her to a fate worse than meeting Dira? The morality of it all began to weigh upon the Svefra, causing her to sag against the Myrian. But then again, it had been a long day... Perhaps she just needed to sleep.

by **Razkar** on August 14th, 2013, 1:36 am

"Praise be to Myri-"

The words came out as a breathless, fervent whisper as the galloping horseman saw the shining ball of red hair clear the corner. Long before Mrrko had begun to slow properly, Razkar had lifted one leg over his saddle, gelding almost squealing in shock as its master went over the side-

You're not meant to do that, stupid two-leg!

Razkar didn't care, his feet skidded onto the earth tilled and tilled by countless thousands of hooves and feet, already running, eyes fixed on her as she got closer, scanning for wounds, blood-

-then she crashed into him and both went to their knees.

"Edri..."

She pressed herself to him and she did not cry... but he could feel the stirrings of it within her. His eyes didn't rest on her now, chin pressed into her shoulder, wide and flickering at every branch and tree and shrub, seeing braided horse lords behind every one. He knew there was no-one; whatever raiding force the Drykas possessed had most likely bolted.

Eerie, childish laughter slithered on the breeze. Fubuki. That would explain their retreat.

His blood and his past roared at him to pursue. Direct her back towards the caravan and safety. Get back on the horse and ride, slay, revenge...

"I'm here... you are safe..."

... and on the Kabrin Road he sat, this scarred, marked and weapon-strewn creature from the deepest jungles on Mizahar... and he held his friend. He didn't let go and his hands felt glued to her, like he couldn't if he wanted to. So much horror she had witnessed, and Razkar was willing to bet the psychotic Fubuki didn't help in that regard.

"Edri... come... must get up..."

Noises behind them. Instantly the Myrian whirled, both weapons drawn in a twinkling, planting his body between her and-

-a group of horsemen from the caravan, sellswords all, finally finding their fucking stones and following him towards the sounds of screaming, shouting, dying horses and laughing children...

Razkar shuddered involuntarily. Petching Fubuki. She'd probably never stop having that effect on him... along with the other one, which was closer to his feelings for his more annoying siblings.

"Myrian?! Did you see-"

"Down road!" He shouted, gesturing towards the bend in the trees where he was sure Fubuki and her playthings were waiting. "Go quick! Ghost is there! Do not get in her way!"

They didn't speak, eager for some of the blood and glamour (yes, one actually thought that word) that the Myrian had garnered in his brief battle. Hooves thundered around the Myrian and Svefra, the latter seeming to tremble at the sound, fresh memories dragged back-

"Edri?!"

Strong hands grabbed her arms and forced her eyes open, filled them with a face so savage but aching with concern. Muscles were pulled back from his cheeks, jaw so tight he could have racked nuts with it... and Mrrko cantered to a halt behind him.

"We. Go. Now. Get on horse." He paused, looking into those deep blue eyes... and his weapons slid back to rest in their sheaths... and his thumbs gently swept across her moist eyes. "I not leave you."

OOCUp to you, Fubuki.

Nalik, I figured the best shot I could give you was NOT putting you within Razkar's line of sight, since he'd just kill you. Good luck, mate.

by **Akilah Windsong** on August 18th, 2013, 6:49 pm

Akilah did not stop the scream that erupted from her lips. She couldn't stop staring at the decapitated horse, the severed head that lay in a pool of blood. And she refused to turn her head a little and see what had happened to the other Drykas.

Adámas reared up, startled, and Akilah clung to her as she waited for her strider to calm down. "Please, please, don't do anything," she begged, her arms wrapped tight around her horse's neck. Her body felt like rubber, like water, but she couldn't let go. Like a burr, she stayed on her horse. "Semele, Zulrav, please let us survive this."

Please forgive what happened here.

Miraculously, her strider calmed down and they started to ride forward.

Oh Zulrav, what had happened here? A strider--she moved a hand to her mouth, to stop the bile that was threatening to emerge--a strider was killed. Decapitated. Destroyed.

The other Drykas too. And she could not stop to retrieve the bodies. They would never return to the web, never return home. Swallowing her grief, she apologized as she rode on.

The Fallingleaf was still alive, at least, and she trembled as she signaled Adámas to stop. Soon, soon she could run. But at least one person could return home with her.

Akilah quickly slipped off her strider, her fingers shaking as she hastily tried to grab Fallingleaf. The woman approached her, and Akilah stared at her in fear. The red of her hair, the silver colour of the ghost, these colours were etched in her memory forever now.

The woman left as quickly as she came and Akilah composed herself before offering her assistance to Fallingleaf, ready to help him get to her strider. He seemed injured, having landed on the dirt path instead of the soft grass. The shock of losing a strider was not something she wanted to understand and she shivered at the thought.

Adámas was shivering too next to her, and she quietened her mount with a few strokes on her head before getting her to kneel. It'd be easier for the injured Nalik to get on this way and Akilah wasn't sure she could mount properly herself either. Her legs felt like butter. Once Nalik was seated, she quickly got on and Adámas stood up once more.

"Quickly, let's leave this place," Akilah shouted, her heels digging in and her strider shot off like an arrow. Onward they rode, past the caravan and the shouting people, past the red hair and hard green eyes.

No, she couldn't think of anything like that. She needed to get back to the fields and open spaces of her home, the grasses she could hide in until she was ready to face the world again. She needed someone to comfort her, but there was no one and she couldn't stop crying as they headed home.

by **Perplexity** on October 7th, 2013, 10:19 pm

Riddled with Rewards!

Edreina

Animal Husbandry	+1 XP
Observation	+2 XP
Running	+1 XP
Tactics	+1 XP

Lores :

Fubuki Kouri

Lores :

Razkar

Persuasion	+1 XP
Land Navigation	+1 XP
Riding: Horse	+2 XP
Tactics	+1 XP
Weapon: Shortbow	+1 XP

Lores :

Akilah

Philosophy	+2 XP
Riding	+4 XP
Leadership	+1 XP
Hunting	+1 XP
Persuasion	+2 XP
Acting	+1 XP

Lores :

Notes :

Quest A Change in Circumstances