Closed Dead and Restless

[Tobias]

.

On the 12th of Fall, 513 Years After the Valterrian.

Tobias could feel the light bounce across his face, near blinding in the night. They stood there, a man and woman with hearts of flame, and their faces were seared across Tobias’s mind. Aquiras and Priskil, together to the last. And though they were only statue, Tobias thought he felt their eyes follow him.

Evenfall had cast long shadows across Lapis Park. The priest marked by light had come by half a bell before, a torch in hand to give Priskil’s gift to each of the torches placed about the park. Against the tableau of black that the night created, the torches created an astonishing contrast – exquisite, but a bit terrible too, as the flames licked weakly at the sky and darkness pushed in from all sides, ever threatening. From what he had seen of the world, Tobias thought this all too appropriate. For a second he wondered if darkness had overcome his own light, or if it still shone, however meager.

The paths were all but deserted at this hour. How Tobias himself had ended up there was a mystery in and of itself. Riverfall was not a new beast for Tobias, but it had been a while, and in the wake of time he found himself a stranger in a strange land. Restlessness provoked willing feet, and before long streets had led to alleyways that had led to gates, and the curiosity inside his soul drove Tobias to step through. When the greenery had begun to surround him, Tobias realized where he was.

When he had first visited the city, he had visited this place as well. Lapis Park was beautiful, but most everything in Riverfall was beautiful, carefully attended as they were. That was not what had drawn Tobias in the first place – no, it was the peace of the park that had been honey to the bard, and it was a place where one could escape not just other people but one’s own thoughts as well.

It was this pursuit that Tobias found himself engaged in. For bells now he had aimlessly walked the paths, alone with the torches and the stones. Those were beautiful as well - gemlike, intricately carved, and reflecting the firelight with a fierce vigor. From the very first, that monument to the goddess of light and her mate, the shared flame of the gems had bounced off his eyes as he passed. Emerald, sapphire, ruby – all the jewel tones found place in the light, but it was the near colorless light that he found at back of the park that caught his interest.

The source was a paler type of stone, perhaps diamond or quartz. It was as masterfully hewn as the others, and made to resemble a bird in flight.

The sight stirred something within him. It wasn’t sadness, no, not quite. But rather...longing? No. Nostalgia, maybe? He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but a song came to mind, and without preamble or accompaniment Tobias began to softly sing.

Little bird, little bird, teach me how to fly
Before it all ends I want to touch the sky.
Little bird, little bird, teach me how to soar,
The bell’s growing late and I don’t have many more...

[Dust]

Dust wasn't so often in Riverfall at night, if only because it was a bit of a walk to Sanctuary, and Van appreciated it when she was back before dark. She'd undoubtedly get a look from him tomorrow, the kind that they both knew pretty much just glanced off the raven Kelvic's feathers, but sometimes just had to be given anyway. But one thing had followed another, and practically before she knew it, the sun had been going down... so the Kelvic had decided to poke around some of her favorite places, and see if they were just as pretty in the moonlight. Which curiosity had brought her to Lapis Park. In the flickering, muted light of torches, the park was a different place indeed -- its shadows deeper, darker, more mysterious and even menacing. Sometimes, Dust half-thought she saw motion from the corners of her eyes, a shadow reaching out of the night; but whenever she turned towards it, the illusion was broken, banished by the force of her full attention. The stone sculptures were different too; the ones which resembled real things almost looked alive, while many of those which were more abstract... became downright creepy. In a fun way. The voice which rose out of the torchlit night wasn't creepy -- it was just surprising. Soft, muted, it was difficult for Dust to make out the words being sung; she could tell the person was male, and that it was song, by the cadence and tone. Apparently the Kelvic wasn't the only one wandering the park after dusk, which piqued her interest far more than the perceptual illusions inspired by firelight. She immediately detoured around a patch of shrubbery to investigate the sound, finding on the far side a pale bird-statue and a person... who looked... ...kinda familiar, actually. Dust's brows drew together in concentration, her lips pressed together, trying to place the stance and profile and hair... She padded nearer, and the song started resolving into words. It was his voice -- that bard's voice, the way it shaped words and intoned syllables -- which finally put associations into place. Zeltiva, back when however many seasons ago; the Kelvic couldn't be bothered with counting. All the music. And here he was again! "That's a very sad song," Dust commented, her own voice neither sad nor soft. "But it's pretty!" She glanced at the stone sculpture, in a moment where Tobias could imagine the Kelvic considering perching on it as a convenient seat. If that was what passed through her mind, she evidently decided not to do so, her attention snapping back to the bard instead. Dust clapped her hands together once and beamed at him. "I'm glad to see you here! What are you doing in Riverfall?"

[Tobias]

Little bird, little bird…

Tobias trailed off after that. He had forgotten how the rest of the song went. Luckily (though somewhat surprising), another patron of the park was there to inquire about the song and give him an excuse for leaving off.

“It is a beautiful song,” Tobias agreed before he even turned to look at who he was agreeing with. “And, yes, sad. A bit too sad for me, if truth be told. I usually prefer to sing lighter songs.” He laughed. “Though the night is no place for light songs, no…”

Tobias’s cloak snapped in the wind as he turned about face, and with a careless glance he caught sight of the woman standing behind. Suspicious diluted his eyes first, and then surprise. He knew her.

He knew her!

Tobias’s eyes narrowed as memories flashed by, but she didn’t belong to that dreadful period of life in the desert. No, she came from the years after, in a city by the sea…Zeltiva? Yes. Tobias’s eyes flew open, and suddenly, abruptly, he placed the Kelvic.

“Dust…?” he breathed. “Is that truly you?”

And when she clapped and beamed at him, Tobias to be true.

“I’m glad to see you as well,” Tobias gave a smile in return. “As for your question, well, I might be asking you the same thing, old friend! I’m here simply because fate willed to be here…which means the cheapest boat from Syliras was to here.” Tobias laughed again. “Strange how the slightest coincidence brought us back together, eh?”

“Now you tell me. Why are you here?”

[Dust]

She'd surprised him, Dust saw -- which was only to be expected, given how his presence surprised her! A manifestly pleasant surprise, from his smile. She grinned at his response, at his welcome laughter. "Oh, well..." Why was she here, in Riverfall? "I was in Ahnatep," she answered, "and there was a boat here, and I took it. And then I met Kavala, and Van, and everybody in Sanctuary, and... I've been here a long time," the Kelvic concluded, pursing her lips thoughtfully. Almost a full year now, and still no bondmate to her name. She'd said to Vanator before that it didn't seem like an Akalak was fated to be her other half... and that seemed all the more true now. Thinking about that made her feet itch, but right now, Dust wanted to talk to Tobias. So she shoved the issue aside, just for a little while. Rousing out of her introspection, she shook her head a bit, and smiled at her companion. She rested one hand on the head of the carven bird -- it wasn't a raven, or indeed any particular species she could recognize. "And then I heard you singing," she said, answering the other interpretation of his question. Dust grinned then, certain Tobias would remember her prior fascination with his music. "So, it's been a long time -- you've learned lots of new songs, right?"

[Tobias]

Tobias’s throat constricted when Dust spoke of Ahnatep, but she had moved on in a second and Tobias forced himself to relax. “A long time, you say?” Tobias remarked, tilting his head. “You’ll have to show me around sometime. There’s still much and more I don’t know of this city.”

Tobias rolled his eyes when she grinned at him. He knew what she was remembered, though he suspected the kelvic’s recollection differed from his own. He remembered the days in Zeltiva as ones of annoyance, as a large white raven had hounded him for days on end, squawking incessantly. He had nearly shot the bird, until it had revealed itself as half a human, and clever too. The mistrust had slowly morphed friendship.

That had been nearly four years ago. “Oh, I remember.” Tobias told Dust, a glint in his eye.

“And aye, I learned some new songs. Sad songs and love songs, folk songs and hymns, and a few madrigals as well.” Tobias allowed himself a smile. “It’s been a busy couple of years.”

When the nighttime wind howled along the path, driving shivers down his spine, Tobias looked up into the sky. The stars had finally come out. The sky was black and cloudless, and in its unbroken visage the stars almost seemed like a god’s painting, unknowable and infinite.

Tobias caught his breath. “What a beautiful night.” It reminded him of the night he had first met Dust, oh so many years ago. He remembered the friends he had made back then, not just Dust but the others as well. Whatever had happened to them?

He turned about face, looking down another path that stretched through the park. The darkness seemed softer there, inviting, and lined with memories. It was so dark he could almost pretend it was Zeltiva. And for a second, the sounds and smells of days gone by brushed his ear, shouting, screaming, calling...but then he blinked, and the reminiscence scattered like doves.

Tobias’s hand snapped up to gesture down the path as eyes stretched to find an old friend.

“Walk with me?” he asked, leaving the recollecting to be done unsaid.

[Dust]

That the mention of Ahnatep discomfited Tobias, Dust remained entirely oblivious to. She wasn't given to being nosy for the sake of nosiness besides -- just those things which interested her. And the possibility of hearing all the new songs the bard brought with him was vastly more interesting than events in the distant past in a place far from here. She clapped excitedly when he confirmed that yes, there were songs she didn't know tucked away inside his head. "Oh good! You should sing some!" Despite her phrasing, it was an expression of eager interest rather than a demand -- you should in truth, not a polite version of you must. Though the raven Kelvic would be disappointed if she didn't hear more from him at some point, whether soon or late. Her companion turned his gaze upwards to the stars, and Dust followed suit, gazing up towards those glittering pinpricks. "It is," she agreed amiably, though she didn't spare the dark heavens much thought, not here and now. As Tobias looked about, turning to regard the park, she peered at him curiously, head tilting to one side. Then he invited her on a walk, and his study of the surroundings made much more sense to her. Incorrectly so, but she didn't know that. "Of course!" Dust affirmed skipping forward and imperiously hooking an elbow around one of the man's arms with little regard for any definition of personal space. They were friends, after all! "You know, I can give you a much better tour during the day," Dust remarked, chattering in the amiable, happy way she was prone to as they started down the path. She didn't have anything against silence ... it just wasn't her usual mode of operation when there was someone, anyone, around to talk at. "Lots of stuff is closed and dark now. Plus it's hard to see things like the waterfall in the dark -- though you saw that already anyway, right? We had such a view of it from the ship! It's also fun to get on the bridge over the waterfall and just look out at the whole city. I can do that flying, too, but it's different when you're standing right over all that water."

[Tobias]

It wasn’t until then that Tobias realized how truly happy Dust was to see him, and the genuineness of her joy surprised him. In truth, it had been too long before the wanderer had someone be happy to just see him. Shopkeeps he knew would sometimes smile at him when they saw him enter their store, and bar crowds would sometimes give him standing ovations when he played, but it was the buyer and the musician apiece that they liked to see, not Tobias himself. This, however - this was a different beast altogether. And Tobias quite liked it.

The banter continued as Tobias took the kelvic’s elbow happily.

“I agree. We should meet again later, during the day. You could give me a proper tour then…right now, though, let’s talk about the past.” Tobias smiled. “The night is the best time for that sort of thing, after all. We can tell each other secrets with none other but Akajia to hear.”

Unless Dust protested, Tobias would then take off down the darkening trail on a pace slow enough to appreciate the famed gems of Lapis Park as they went by. “Unless I’m misremembering what happened – which could be more than likely – I left Zeltiva first.” Tobias began. “First off, did anything exciting happen after I left? And what became of our friends, Osbern and Violet and all the rest?” The two he had named were a sailor and a prostitute respectively, in truth, and ‘the rest’ were all similarly employed. Any sense of notoriety had faded fast, however, as those Zeltivans had proved themselves more than accommodating to a certain wayward bard, and Tobias quite liked to know what had happened to them.

“Also, perhaps get a few drinks in me and I’ll sing a song for you, old friend, but I won’t do it right now,” Tobias laughed. “Remember, sweetheart, this is my living we’re talking about – in fact, I should charge you for that little hymn you overheard!” A playfully raised eyebrow dared Dust to ask if he was kidding.

[Dust]

oocSorry for taking so long... Dust beamed as Tobias consented to a later, full-daylight tour of the city. She leaned against his shoulder, but was forestalled from continued burbling excitement as the bard continued speaking. Osbern, he asked for, and Violet -- tales from three years ago, practically an eternity in the Kelvic's view. "Hmm..." she mused, casting back for... when had Tobias left, really, anyway? They paced an unhurried route through the park, following from lantern to lantern, leaving the white stone bird in their wake and surveying the many other sculptures which adorned the park. Or rather, Tobias surveyed, if either did at all; Dust reflected. "Were you there for the kerfuffle at the theatre? Osbern left right after that -- I think he went straight from there to the docks and found a ship. Methlin said something about Lhavit, or Alvadas, or at least somewhere a long ways from Zeltiva. Nowhere I've ever been before! Violet was still in the same place when I left. She was doing pretty well, though. Making more mizas than any of the guys." Or rather, being much smarter about spending them, but to the Kelvic the difference was fairly immaterial. "Petris wound up hiring on to the same caravan I went with when I left Zeltiva. That was a fun trip!" From the corner of her vision, Dust glimpsed a red-stone sculpture, lit from behind in a way that gave it the illusion of being light made solid. "Oh, come look at this one," she declared, tugging Tobias to the side. "It always makes me think of what fire would be, if you could freeze it like ice." Tobias went on to mention songs and money and livelihood. Dust grinned, entirely unperturbed -- and at the suggestion of being charged, she just stuck her tongue out at him, confident that he wouldn't. Though even if he did -- "Doesn't matter! I have a job now. And lots of mizas. So I can pay you for all the songs I want to listen to." Though how much of that statement was enthusiastic hyperbole... "You should come to Sanctuary sometime and meet everyone!" the Kelvic concluded, with that same characteristic verve.

[Tobias]

OoCDon't worry about it!

Tobias bit his lip. “Maybe. The theater? What happened there? I-I don’t think I was present for that…” he responded slowly. The years in Zeltiva were murky, if truth be told. He had come on a fool’s errand and found himself frustrated around every corner. He was searching for something, he had told those who cared enough to ask, but at further inquiries he had fallen short. What was he looking for exactly? What do you mean, a woman? What’s her name? What does she look like?

I don’t know, he would eventually have to admit.

Somewhere in his search for a ghost he had chanced upon Dust and all the rest. That had been the only good thing to come out of his meaningless quest.

“Violet always was the smart one.” He chuckled when Dust mentioned how well off she was. He laughed again when he heard about Petris. “I can imagine. He was always a character, that man was.”

Dust directed them to a new statute, red as flame, and made a declaration about it that Tobias found rather poetic. “Why would you want to freeze fire?” he said dismissively. “The whole point o’ fire is that it’s hot. Freezing it would just be stupid. Might make it pretty, yah, but still stupid.” The dialect had softened somewhat, and tradespeak had begun to slip in. Tobias was a simple man with a simple tongue, but he had made sure to keep it proper among the Rivarians – but here, with Dust, evidently he felt comfortable enough to let loose his inhibitions.

He cocked his head to the side as the kelvic continued with a boast about a job. That in and of itself was enough to attract Tobias’s attention. When had Dust ever been interested in working?

“Sanctuary? What is that?” Tobias found the name rather vague. Who was it Sanctuary for, exactly? Nevertheless, there was something about the way Dust said it that caught his attention even more.