"I was not planning to 'excuse'... and now the wharf rat isn't bleeding all over the floor, I can finally talk..."
His dangerous tone was met with an icy glare that signaled a very strong desire in Edreina for him to stop stalling. As if to spite her, he suddenly found the process of fire-building to be ever so fascinating, leaving her to be reminded of how cold she was, especially with the now-damp ground. The chill of cold was quickly replaced by the stillness of anger as a single phrase caught her ear.
The rest of his little tirade was met with an unblinking glare as she attempted to rein in her frenzied thoughts. A thousand of them exploded in her head at once, all fighting and clawing for space on her sharpened tongue. The child's hand grasping hers broke the battle, bringing her back to the moment from her anger. "I'll take him to the fire. You've done enough," she growled in the Common tongue, pointedly ignoring Razkar's subtle hinting at her being an ignoramus; as if she did not feel his weak grip on her hand.
Without groaning, she looped both of her arms under his and pulled him gently to the side of the fire. The urge to groan was brought on by the exhaustion that plagued her every time she called forth Res. This time, it was thankfully less than before and she desperately hoped that was a sign of improvement. Once he was there, laying carefully on his back, she straightened up once again and turned on Razkar with the looming fury of an off-shore tempest.
"That wharf rat," she spat venomously, blue eyes caught between boiling and freezing solid, "is only bleeding because of what you did to him. He is a child, Razkar. From the look of it, he's never had parent to teach him right and wrong and, even if he did, they probably didn't teach him such in Sunberth. As you've so kindly pointed out, acting according to what's right will get you killed, here." In the dancing light of the fire, Razkar would see her hands were balled so tightly that they were a stark white. "Look at him, Razkar." Words would not come again until he had. "Does it look like he stole the food for fun?" He was tall, but his body was curved in a way she thought to be inherently painful by a lifetime's worth of hunger. "He could have cut your purse, but instead went for your food." That alone spoke volumes in her mind. Her lilting, accented voice was deadly quiet now, but utterly unwavering. "He was trying to survive in the only way he knew how and you've put him in danger. This place is rank with disease... A wound even as minor as that could grow infected and take away his arm or his life. Or both... A sickly cripple won't last long in Sunberth's Winter." Fire danced in her hair and her eyes as she shook her head. "Without thought of anything other than how things operate in Taloba, you acted. You maimed him, Razkar."
Finally, she sighed and it was apparent that she was spent. Beside the boy she sat, and sighed again. It was apparent in his every feature that he was still afraid, terrified, even, of Razkar. It was so wrong... His life was likely filled with a thousand different fears, why were they adding to that. Silently, she pulled Djed from her soul, straining faintly as she forced it into the gentle touch of her fingers upon his brow, brushing away his hair, and into her whispered words, "You're going to be ok... Please don't worry..." She wanted him to be at peace, for his heart to settle and for him to rest, now.
I can do more, for him... she thought blearily, reaching for her Djed once again. It was then that she was surprised by a sudden warmth rolling down her face. Was she crying? Why? Her fingertips left the boy's hair and moved to brush the tear away, only for her fingers to come back stained red.
Red, with blood. She blinked, and a pinkish haze covered her vision. The low, drawling voice of Ignotus Everto slid silkily through her head as she remembered his warnings. Overgiving, she thought and her lips formed around the word. As much as she craved to cast more Djed, helping the boy find peace, she knew that she could not. 'Do not be poisoned by your own venom,' he had told her before launching into a description of the symptoms of Overgiving. At the time, she had thought herself too wise and too responsible to fall to such folly.
It was so much easier than she had thought, forgetting that magic was not limitless and neither was she. Her legs trembled as she stood and made her way over to the dresser upon which rested a dingy mirror. Blue was so stark against bloodshot red, in her left eye. "Gods..." she whispered, sagging down to her elbows on the rough-hewn wood. A cynical laugh bubbled up from her chest.
As calmly as she could manage, she turned back to the man she had just been berating for a lack of forethought; Karma was not the bitch, apparently, but her sister Irony."Razkar, can you fetch me something to eat..." The words came even as she slid warily down to the floor, resting back against the drawers with her head tilted up. Magic really took it out of a person... Literally.
His dangerous tone was met with an icy glare that signaled a very strong desire in Edreina for him to stop stalling. As if to spite her, he suddenly found the process of fire-building to be ever so fascinating, leaving her to be reminded of how cold she was, especially with the now-damp ground. The chill of cold was quickly replaced by the stillness of anger as a single phrase caught her ear.
The rest of his little tirade was met with an unblinking glare as she attempted to rein in her frenzied thoughts. A thousand of them exploded in her head at once, all fighting and clawing for space on her sharpened tongue. The child's hand grasping hers broke the battle, bringing her back to the moment from her anger. "I'll take him to the fire. You've done enough," she growled in the Common tongue, pointedly ignoring Razkar's subtle hinting at her being an ignoramus; as if she did not feel his weak grip on her hand.
Without groaning, she looped both of her arms under his and pulled him gently to the side of the fire. The urge to groan was brought on by the exhaustion that plagued her every time she called forth Res. This time, it was thankfully less than before and she desperately hoped that was a sign of improvement. Once he was there, laying carefully on his back, she straightened up once again and turned on Razkar with the looming fury of an off-shore tempest.
"That wharf rat," she spat venomously, blue eyes caught between boiling and freezing solid, "is only bleeding because of what you did to him. He is a child, Razkar. From the look of it, he's never had parent to teach him right and wrong and, even if he did, they probably didn't teach him such in Sunberth. As you've so kindly pointed out, acting according to what's right will get you killed, here." In the dancing light of the fire, Razkar would see her hands were balled so tightly that they were a stark white. "Look at him, Razkar." Words would not come again until he had. "Does it look like he stole the food for fun?" He was tall, but his body was curved in a way she thought to be inherently painful by a lifetime's worth of hunger. "He could have cut your purse, but instead went for your food." That alone spoke volumes in her mind. Her lilting, accented voice was deadly quiet now, but utterly unwavering. "He was trying to survive in the only way he knew how and you've put him in danger. This place is rank with disease... A wound even as minor as that could grow infected and take away his arm or his life. Or both... A sickly cripple won't last long in Sunberth's Winter." Fire danced in her hair and her eyes as she shook her head. "Without thought of anything other than how things operate in Taloba, you acted. You maimed him, Razkar."
Finally, she sighed and it was apparent that she was spent. Beside the boy she sat, and sighed again. It was apparent in his every feature that he was still afraid, terrified, even, of Razkar. It was so wrong... His life was likely filled with a thousand different fears, why were they adding to that. Silently, she pulled Djed from her soul, straining faintly as she forced it into the gentle touch of her fingers upon his brow, brushing away his hair, and into her whispered words, "You're going to be ok... Please don't worry..." She wanted him to be at peace, for his heart to settle and for him to rest, now.
I can do more, for him... she thought blearily, reaching for her Djed once again. It was then that she was surprised by a sudden warmth rolling down her face. Was she crying? Why? Her fingertips left the boy's hair and moved to brush the tear away, only for her fingers to come back stained red.
Red, with blood. She blinked, and a pinkish haze covered her vision. The low, drawling voice of Ignotus Everto slid silkily through her head as she remembered his warnings. Overgiving, she thought and her lips formed around the word. As much as she craved to cast more Djed, helping the boy find peace, she knew that she could not. 'Do not be poisoned by your own venom,' he had told her before launching into a description of the symptoms of Overgiving. At the time, she had thought herself too wise and too responsible to fall to such folly.
It was so much easier than she had thought, forgetting that magic was not limitless and neither was she. Her legs trembled as she stood and made her way over to the dresser upon which rested a dingy mirror. Blue was so stark against bloodshot red, in her left eye. "Gods..." she whispered, sagging down to her elbows on the rough-hewn wood. A cynical laugh bubbled up from her chest.
As calmly as she could manage, she turned back to the man she had just been berating for a lack of forethought; Karma was not the bitch, apparently, but her sister Irony."Razkar, can you fetch me something to eat..." The words came even as she slid warily down to the floor, resting back against the drawers with her head tilted up. Magic really took it out of a person... Literally.
OOCHehe. Always wanted to Overgive.
NOW, it's your turn Raf.
(c) Wanda Endust
