Closed Flowing Rivers (Alea Davenport)

[Venser Rush]

Venser was astounded as he watched the slave nearly fall onto him. She had grabbed onto his left arm, the last of the Flux subsiding as he held her upright, Venser performing what would appear to be a smooth roll of the torso so that he supported her weight with his shoulders instead. The whiplash, as he called it, unaware of the "dictionary term," coursed through his arm, rendering it a sore mass of flesh, hanging limp at his side as he bit onto his lip, silencing himself for the moment as a pained groan attempted to escape his lips. His right arm would not be unaffected, but having strained itself far less, Venser could only feel a tingling course through it, his fingers twitching as a result. Concern flashed upon his expression as he noted just how tightly the drenched clothing clung to the woman's body, her body showing what Venser knew to be signs of being malnourished, Venser having been subjected to the miseries of starvation once before. He had plans of doing so again in the future, the emptiness of starvation allowing him to read past the needs of the body in order to reach to a higher order of self-awareness. What brings you to this part of Ravok? The twin considered his answer for a moment, deciding whether or not he should impart the truth. Her interrogation while still in water was still ringing in his mind, the young man curious as to whether she could figure that he was a mage. It mattered little in retrospect, for Venser doubted that the woman would harm him. Not because she was a slave, but because she had his life in her hands regardless. If she was that sort of person, Venser would likely be dead. "I live in Ravok, of course. I come to the water at this time of day, just to think. Depending on my mood, of course, the thoughts change. But, today it was about how Ravok could be compared to a body. It was just a tad too distracting, and I failed to notice the rotting points of the support beam..." Stupid, stupid, stupid! You must be more careful in the future. Is that...? He watched the slave as she reached downwards to itch her ankle, Venser noticing the jagged points of what looked to be animal teeth upon her wrist as Venser's eyes widened, the young man wondering if she was possibly one similar to himself. Bones aren't commonly used as jewelry, even if just for the association with Malediction... It's possible... Ask subtly, Venser, so she doesn't get even more suspicious. The Maledicter's mouth opened to speak, still deciding on his bones before he commented, "That is a very... interesting bracelet. Did you make it?"

[Alea Davenport]

Alea almost grumbled about Venser having the leisure to do nothing but think all day, but memories of hiding in a secluded cove with nothing but her fishing pole and her thoughts, stilled her tongue. She missed that carefree time, but she did not know if she could recapture it even if she had a pole and a quiet spot on the lake. There were too many thoughts she did not want to remember, and as annoying as Valerius was, at least he kept her occupied.

Of course, Venser just had to ask a question that brought up just the sort of memories Alea was trying to ignore. After giving him a peeved frown, she finally gave up and sighed. It was no use pretending the things in the past didn't happen. "Let's sit down for this," she suggested, stumbling toward the neared building so she could lean against it as she sat on the ground.

She fiddled with the bracelet for a few ticks, trying to delay having to talk about it. She poked a fingernail under one of the teeth and lifted it slightly, but not enough to tear it from her skin. The teeth tended to get rather attached when she wore the bracelet, and she still couldn't decide quite how my that creeped her out. Finally, she could no longer put off answering Venser's question.

"No, I did not make this. I got it off a sailor who--died," she finished in a somewhat strangled tone, going for short and blunt, rather than trying to get into the whole story. It was a long story, and not one that made Alea feel particularly good about the world. She picked at the bracelet some more, wondering why she even kept it. Some sense of misplaced guilt perhaps? "I wouldn't be surprised if it was cursed. I tried to give it to the captain, but he told me to keep it. I should probably throw it into the ocean, return it to Laviku... I don't know."

Alea's stomach growled weakly, barely having the strength to beg for sustenance. Alea had been having trouble eating lately, ever since she'd been sold as a slave. She had been attributing her difficulty eating to her change in circumstances. So far, it hadn't occurred to her that she'd started wearing the bracelt at around the same time.

[Venser Rush]

The woman's discomfort regarding discussing the bracelet was all but ignored, not even picked up on as he noted the way that the teeth clung to her skin. She rambled on about some sort of story about... whatever it had been about. He didn't really care. But, watching as it clung to her skin like it did, despite the fact that she had raised it. He could see the how the flesh was being bit into, a thought crossing his mind. I can study it. I wonder how well made it is... It does look cursed. Maybe it was meant to be? Maybe the person didn't accurately know the animal, or despised it... The stories he wished that those teeth could tell with words. If he read the carvings, perhaps he'd learn the limited perspective that was used to create the item. He could, with time, even divine its purpose. He watched the woman, noting once again just how deeply her hunger ran. As Venser sat on the floor next to her, a plan began to unravel in his mind. He could befriend the woman, benefit from her company. The young man allowed a smile to grace his features, crystalline orbs lifting their gaze from the bracelet to meet hers, "Do you want some food?" He was unsure what was going on, why a slave would be deprived of food. Possibly as punishment? It wasn't relevant. He'd attempt to revive her, to gain her confidence. It was the only way he'd benefit from meeting her. The Maledicted item was of interest to him, but there was another reason he wished for them to become friends. She could teach him things. A slave with a skill set... The concept was almost laughable, yet she was. He would do his utmost to make her feel... free, in a sense. He needed her assistance. "I live just down the way, if you want to have something to eat and a place to dry off. In thanks for saving my life, you know." Venser was still dripping wet, the floor beneath both of them darker than their surroundings as water penetrated it. It was also nearing nightfall, the sun's journey completing its way across the celestial sphere in just a bell or two.

[Alea Davenport]

As if on cue, Alea shivered. The rapidly fading sunlight encouraged chill breezes to play across her slowly drying skin. She considered Venser's offer. She should probably get back to Valerius soon. He would be wondering where she was and what was taking her so long, though she wasn't stupid enough to imagine he'd be worried about her well-being. That thought is what convinced her to go with Venser. If Valerius would not show concern for her health, then she would have to take care of it herself. And besides, the sooner she went home, the sooner he would find new chores for her to do. And she was curious about her new friend.

"Yeak, okay," she said, and let Venser help her stand. After she was vertical, she managed to find her sense of balance, and though her limbs still felt weak and shaky, she was able to walk on her own. It was her pride that prevented her from leaning on Venser anymore, that and the fear that she'd offended him earlier by practically falling on him. She did not apologize for that, since she would have fallen down otherwise, but to continue hanging on him while she was perfectly capable of walking would be out of line.

She let him lead the way, grateful that the journey did not take long, and wondering, as she found herself doing more often lately, what sort of food she would be eating. She had never cared before, being willing to eat pretty much anything, even fish, which most would get tired of after eating it almost every day growing up. But lately, even though she still remembered the delicious taste of sea creatures, she could not seem to keep it down anymore. Being unable to swallow her favorite food had contributed significantly to Alea's currently malnourished state.

[Venser Rush]

Mild surprise materialized upon Venser's expression as she agreed to his proposal. He thought she would have to refuse, or at the least, go to her master to ask permission, but apparently this was not the way it worked. Or, she was openly defying her master. Perhaps that was the reason why she was lacking food in the first place. Lacking the ability to obey was a slave's downfall, and Venser had heard more than one tale of slaves being beaten or even killed by their Masters for their disobedience. It was tragic, but that was life for a non-citizen in the city of Ravok. Protection was only granted to those connected with the city. As the pair journeyed along the path to Venser's house, they passed the closed doors of the Malt House, where his best friend and brother, Verin, worked at. He considered going in, but decided against it, the duo turning another corner before walking down the way to where Venser's father's house was. Venser wondered at times if the place was haunted, and the two, while technically not able to live within the premises, at times considered it their home. Most particularly, it was Venser that dominated the place. Quite often, he sneaked in to practice his crafts, most recently the Flux was practiced within. There was plenty of space, and a mirror that was long discarded. Venser had decided to kill time there today as his brother worked, the young man himself not being required to do so today. "Home sweet home," he murmured. The lack of furniture was obvious, the shades pulled at the end of the house. Only a mirror, two discarded tables, and Venser's backpack, the contents of which were splayed about the nearest table. "At least... it used to be. I was told to move out after my father was killed." He kept information about himself vague, open to interpretation. The slave was likely a foreigner, or he'd have seen her around earlier in life, so he could assume that the validity of his statement would be left unquestioned. "I keep a few things here, though. Since it's... sentimental. Childhood home, and all."

[Alea Davenport]

Alea looked around the house skeptically. She had trouble believing there was any food here at all. More likely she had accidentally trusted a dangerous person who now intended to do unspeakable things to her. Well, if he tried anything, he would find out just what happened when you messed with a Denvali. But for now, she would trust him to keep his word and feed her. She was starting to look forward to the meal, to the point where she might have to be violently disappointed if that turned out to be a lie.

She had only been lending half an ear to his small talk, but when his mentioned his father, something about his choice of words jarred her into paying attention. "Who killed him?" she asked in her typical innocently curious voice, before she could remember to keep her mouth shut. It had been odd, she realized, that he said 'killed' instead of 'died'. Parents died all the time, but killing implied that someone intended for it to happen. And that Venser knew someone had meant to kill his father. Did Venser know who it was? Had he sought vengeance? Did he want to?

All kinds of possible scenarios flitted through Alea's brain, and she hoped Venser would satisfy her curiosity by elaborating. Otherwise she might have to get...creative.

[Venser Rush]

She was certainly the curious sort. Venser allowed a moment to consider the question, pulling up the painful emotions associated with the consequences of his father's death. Months upon months of nightmare riddled sleep, images of his father's corpse falling into the lake, the fear... the crippling fear that Venser would have joined him in that descent into the darkness of the lake... that his bones would litter the lake floor to be picked apart by whatever manner of creatures existed at the bottom. He turned away from the woman, a gasp escaping his lips as he closed his eyes again. He focused upon the pain in his arm, which had gradually grown worse as his resistance to physical agony had lessened. The pain seared through his arm as he made no effort to resist it, embracing it fully as his eyes began to well with tears. He would then quickly adopt an indignant attitude, his face loading with incredulity as he looked at the woman, "I... I don't want... to..." The young man clenched his fists fully, the fresh wounds in his palms becoming agitated. The fire forced its way through his nerves, his eyes welling up again as he turned away from the woman, his features quickly turning to a pained grimace as he moved to the other room to retrieve their food. A set of mixed vegetables were laid in front of him, as well as several edible berries, thin slivers of fish, cut from one of the lake's smaller fish, bought from a local merchant earlier in the day. "Please... please don't make me talk about it..." A single tear would spill onto the wooden surface of the table as he pleaded her. He would push the plate towards Alea, not quite willing to eat just yet as he murmured to her, keeping with the miserable tone he had adopted, "Anyway... I'm going to put my clothing up to dry... Enjoy." The young man would turn around to enter the other, empty room to remove his shirt and allow it to dry, his boots placed against the wall. He would look down at his palm, which was severely bleeding at this point, the boy using his now removed shirt in an attempt to quell the blood flow.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea was rather taken aback at the extreme reaction her question had provoked. Yes, death of a family member was always a painful subject, but she hadn't seen someone react this strongly since Banir, and really, it didn't take much to set him off. Still, it had taken her a long time to get Banir to open up even a little bit, not to mention a lot of effort. She'd learned from that experience that Venser was unlikely to respond well to prying. She decided to worry about it later, when she had more energy.

With that thought, she dug into the food Venser had brought, starting with the vegetables since they were closer. She could not remember every enjoying vegetables this much before. She must have been particularly hungry if the bizarre flavor of unfamiliar plants tasted appealing. After a brief chime of shoveling as much down her throat as she could, she almost began to feel full. Feeling fed and optimistic for the first time in days, she reached enthusiastically for a sliver of delicious fish.

The instant the sliver of meat slid down her throat, Alea knew something was wrong. Her stomach churned, her throat reversed direction, and she had about three ticks to race out the door and kneel beside the canal before her stomach violently emptied itself of its recently-acquired contents. She continued retching for several chimes, long after solid matter had stopped coming up. Her stomach hurt, her throat was sort, and tears and mucus were leaking from her face. She gasped for air, and wondered, not for the first time lately, if she were going to die. She just didn't understand what was wrong. Why couldn't she keep food down? Was she sick?

When she was fairly sure the spasms had passed, she washed her face with the miraculously clean lake water, and then collapsed onto the walkway, physically exhausted and emotionally despairing.

[Venser Rush]

Stomach void of food, Venser felt an odd sense of peace. The tears were dried and wiped away, the skin under his eyes swollen a tad, splotched red and stained with the dregs of salt from his tears. His torso was bare, and the young man made the split second decision to bandage his wrists, both to stem the bleeding even further, and also to hide the true extent of the injuries of his left hand. The musculature of his left arm was burning, fibers having torn apart from the force of strain. It would ache for days, likely, possibly even a week, but Venser was master of pain, not the reverse. Years of being beaten by his father had made him resistant to pain, though his body had not hardened to it as a result. Mind over matter, Venser, the Flux mage thought to himself as he looked down at his left arm. The skin at his forearm was stained with blue, the result of internal bleeding. Venser would likely have to consult a healer. He shrugged at the realization, knowing that with the pursuit of power came the sacrifice of accepting pain into one's existence. He would wince as his musculature throbbed beneath his skin, aching at him as he raised his arms to rend the bottom of his shirt apart. He would have to buy another as well. So many things to do tomorrow morning, Venser. Make it quick, too. You have plans for tomorrow. He would nod in acceptance of his own thought, noting that Alea was no longer present within the house. The door was still open, the young man noticing his new friend on her knees before the river, sputtering violently as the vomitus carried the remnants of his food for the day down the river, Venser shaking his head. There was something wrong with her. This much was obvious. He stared at the woman for several moments before reaching out to grab her hand, staring at the bracelet. He would have to examine the details of it later, but for the moment, he simply acknowledged the fact that she was indeed holding a Maledicted item. A cursed one, at that. It did not take kindly to leaving her body, the teeth seeming to have pierced her skin. He wondered if the curse merely affected her, for she had stolen it from its original source, or if it affected all. He wondered what the curse even was. It seemed to have something to do with food, at the least. The girl seemed as if she were on the verge of death. Venser shook his head, turning the woman's body as he cupped her face in his hands, concern momentarily present upon his body before he asked, assertiveness clear in his voice, "Alea, I know how you feel, but you have to listen to me. That bracelet of yours is Maledicted. Badly, it seems. You may call it a curse. He allowed her a moment to process the information before he continued to speak, "I'm going to ask you a number of questions to see if we can identify the targets of the Malediction, which seem to be focused on food. Firstly, what was the last thing you put in your mouth just now? Secondly, how long has it been going on? And third, does the amount of time correspond with how long you've been wearing the bracelet?" The young man's tone would be concerned, though a desire for information and knowledge was present, as well. Venser wanted a learning experience.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea was feeling weak enough that she did not resist Venser's arms, limply allowing herself to be examined and cradled. She was dimly aware that it felt nice to have someone caring for her like this, even if it was just temporary. But then he started talking quickly, and she couldn't quite follow it all. "Mal-uh...what? What does... I don't know what that means..."

His questions were rapid-fire, and some of them required a bit more thinking than she was capable of right at this moment. She did pick up on one thing though. "Do you know what's happening to me?" And another thing, he seemed to thing that the bracelet was directly responsible for her illness. That was ridiculous. Jewelry did not make people sick, unless... "Is it magic?" she whispered, her voice filled with horror.

Even the possibility was enough to make her want to get rid of the bracelet. She scratched at her wrist, tearing the teeth out from where they had embedded themselves in her skin, wincing as the tearing left tiny pinpricks behind. She pulled the bracelet off and bunched it up in her hand, about to throw it away, but something stopped her. She had held onto the bracelet all this time, the bracelet that had belonged to the first life Alea has failed to save... She was not prepared to discard it.

Only now did she try to think about Venser's questions. She still felt weak, but she was recovering from the vomiting episode, at least enough to sit up and think about his questions. "Um, I ate the vegetables first, but I didn't feel sick until I tried the fish." It would be just like a cursed magic item to swap around her food priorities like that. Be unable to eat fish, and force her to eat vegetables instead? It was unacceptable.

Venser's other questions made her think, but rather than answering, she decided to try confirming what he already suspected. If the bracelet was responsible for her dietary troubles, then maybe taking it off would fix it. She could only hope. Angry enough now to get up on her own, she clawed her way to a standing position, using the crouching Venser as a prop, before staggering back inside. Setting the bracelet deliberately on the table, she picked up another sliver of fish. She hesitated, her body still remembering what the last bite of fish had done, but Alea had to know. She took a deep breath, and ate the fish.

Nothing, no nausea, no vomiting, not even an uncomfortable feeling in her throat. Her stomach still felt a bit oogly, but that was only to be expected after emptying its entire contents. Actually, now that it had established food was not going to upset it, it remembered how hungry it was and demanded more. Eager to satisfy her hunger, she gobbled down the rest of the fish in short order.

Not quite full, but relieved that she was still able to eat, Alea collapsed into the chair. Then she realized something she should have been panicking about sooner. Snatching up the bracelet in case she had to make a run for it, she glared suspiciously at Venser. "You. You knew something about this bracelet. You said it was Mal-uh...Maluh-whatever. Which means you knew it was magic." She did not dare go further than that. The accusation was in her tone. If she went on to ask whether he was a crazy murderer, that might set off more than she was prepared to deal with. So far he hadn't shown any obvious signs of being unbalanced, but that didn't necessarily prove anything.