Return of the Ginger

by **Ricky Maze** on May 2nd, 2014, 6:08 am

Return of the Ginger
Spring 70th 514 AV, 10th Bell
Location: Ricky’s Room, The Old Quarter

Sleep. It was something he’d found hard to come by until the later bells of the night, off and on Martin would wake up and find that he couldn’t sleep, along with the insurmountable guilt he felt for not being able to tell Telion what he’d learned last night. How precious were those moments where he held her so close? How priceless were the chimes and ticks he spent close to Telion as he wept away, unable to find the words to reveal the truth? Honestly he felt his head ache even now and he was only partially awake, face buried in his pillows as his arm reached over to embrace his love once more. Yet there was no presence nor form to fill the space next to him, thus his arm collapsed on the moved blankets and sheets as he groaned in his pillow. He wished she was still there, wished that yesterday was never real. But it was… there was nothing he could do about it now, nothing he could do to change it.

Tanroa please just turn back time, change history so Oi don’t ‘ave t’ go t’rough dis anymore… He pleaded in his mind as he groaned further, a sort of painful ringing developed in his head for a chime until finally it dulled down. That woke him up. Enough to where he opened his eyes to see the headboard of their bed, something warm and wet trickled down his nostrils afterwards. He knew it for what it was already, blood that came through his nose. Gods. How many of these was he going to get. Yesterday they seemed pretty serious, and today of course he woke up to already have his first one. These nosebleeds and headaches… they were never a good indication to what his condition was. Even if he didn’t know what this condition was, he knew that it was in turn killing him slowly from within. Somehow this illness existed inside him, right at the core of his mind like a poison. He turned over to avoid allowing any blood flow onto the sheets or pillows, and shut his eyes once more as he felt the warm wet trickle run over his lips. What good will it d’ t’ wipe it off, me nose is just gonna bleed more anyway. He admitted defeat rather quickly as he sighed out between his lips.

It was then he felt it. The brush and dabs of a cloth like a rag or something of a sort. It tickled his nose but nevertheless brought him to smile a little, as he figured Telion had done it as though she were watching him. He did hear her speaking as though another was in here, but he figured that she spoke to Martin while Ricky tried to sleep. A giggle came out nearby and more dabs followed, the blood soaked into the rag as a woman’s hand gently pat it down. It was Telion alright. He felt sure of it when the giggle happened once more, except another giggle seemed to come from the arm chair by the wall. That giggle… that one belonged to Telion. But the one near him? Who the PETCH was that?! He couldn’t help but jerk up as his eyes shot open, surprise filled them as he furrowed his brows to a leaping ginger as she dropped the rag onto his lap. That face… her smile. She looked familiar saved for the clothing she was wearing. It was her! Hannah! She was here in the room, right next to Ricky’s bed with a impish smile as both ladies laughed in glee.

"’annah?!" Ricky exclaimed with shock as he felt the blood start to rush out of his nose quicker, he quickly grabbed the rag and stuck it against the bottom of his nostrils as the women had to catch their breath.

"Heeeeey Rick!" She teased with a wink to him as she smiled towards Telion, Rick looked over to find that Tel sat in the chair with Martin in her lap. While she laughed Martin couldn’t help but smile and in turn laugh along with the crowd, entertained by the reaction he saw from his father. "Good to see you again! You look tasty as ever." She teased with a glance down to the sheets, more so towards the part of his drawers that weren’t covered by them. Telion laughed aloud further as Ricky covered up, face fully red from the modest blush he’d developed from her comment.

"Yea, uh…" They continued to laugh aloud further and he could only sit there, awkwardly no less since he was the only man in the room. Martin would’ve been too but he was a boy… so he wasn’t accountable yet.

"Hannah! Leave him be," Telion managed to squeak between laughs, "any more blood flow to his face then he’s likely to bleed it all out!" She joked unknowingly towards the truth. He let a soft chuckle and forced a faint smile on his face, and pretended that what she said wasn’t at all in fact a ironically ridiculous part in his condition.

by **Ricky Maze** on May 8th, 2014, 3:03 am

"So w-when exactly did ya get back?" He asked her in an effort to distract them, though it was rather difficult to both cover up his lower half of the body, while at the same time holding a rag under his nose as it bled. He had to admit for being gone for almost a season or two, Hannah looked really good right about now. Healthy and fit, refreshed as though the time away really helped clear her head. Her outfit consisted of a blank tunic that was cut at the neck and shoulders to allow her arms and chest to breath, while appropriately covering the majority of her cleavage to avoid over exposure. Her trousers were actually shorts that would've been knee high saved for the fact they were rolled up to her thighs, the colored thread a red velvet design with some fancy embroidery to decorate it. She'd also taken to wear black leather travelers boots almost knee high, and wore a few arm bands to decorate her forearms and biceps.

"Just a little while ago actually," She crossed her arms proudly as she paced back and forth next to the bed, "came straight here to see how my adorable Godson was doing. And to check up on his parents of course." She added with a wink to him, a giggle to follow as Ricky blushed again. Why was it so hard to try and look adequate before her? Sure he had a thing... maybe a few things with her... but that was all in the past now! So why?! Why did it seem awkward for him when he was about half naked, if not one step close to being fully, and see her again after so long? "So are you not going to get up and give me a proper hug? Telion and Martin both gave me a warm greeting as soon as I showed up, but you just sleep away the whole morning like the lazy Zeltivan you are." She teased impishly as she stood right in front of him, amused to see Ricky tried more to cover himself with the blanket.

"Oi would but Oi ain't really decent roi 'bout now, maybe if ye turn roun' an' give me a few chimes?" He requested rather sheepishly with eyes averted to the side, Telion of course continued to giggle as she watched Hannah tease him further.

"D'aww. What's the matter Rick? It's not like I haven't seen anything new before. Not from you anyway." She leaned in a little with a slight purse in her lips, the wry smile an obviously impish grin on her devious part. Yet she was only joking with him, and even if Ricky knew this he still couldn't help the fact he was bashful around her. At least when she teased him so.

"Okay!" Telion jumped in after laughing hard enough. "I think that's good enough Hannah, you've had your fun with him for the day." Hannah backed off with giggles of her own, a grin cast to Telion as she did so.

"See? Poor man cant help but lose his charm around me." she then turned around with arms crossed, as though she were going to give Ricky the small privacy he asked for. "Make it snappy Rick Maze, I can't stay in one spot for long you know."

That was all Ricky needed. Almost as if on que he jumped up to get out of bed and threw the blankets aside, quick to reach the pile of his clothes on the floor and attempt to slip on his trousers first. He had his back to Anna but all the same knew, she and Telion were both watching. Hannah more discreetly than Telion, but either way they were both watching him as he dressed, and he could only wonder just what the women talked about while he slept... and more importantly what they murmured to one another while he dressed.

by **Ricky Maze** on June 28th, 2014, 2:22 am

"So 'ow was yer trip t' Syliras? Catch de break yew needed Oi take it?" He finally asked as he slipped his shirt over his head and rolled it down his torso, when he turned to face Hannah he couldn't help but wonder why she had a curious look about her while she stared at him.

"More than enough thank you. Syliras definitely didn't feel like home without my family around after all, and besides the place smells bad as is no thanks to being so cramped." She added with a giggle, Ricky scoffed with an amused smirk. "My turn to ask a question."

"We're takin turns now Oi take it?" He mused.

"Not really, I just have a few questions that are more important. Like what happened to your hand?! Last I recall you had all ten fingers, but now you only have nine." She teased him with a grin, and then a wink to follow. "Telion told me a little about it but I want to hear your part."

"Bah! A stupid drunken night Oi'll never fergit again!" He spat with a tinge of regret, though he had to admit he'd adjusted to the idea of not having a pinky quite well. "It was interestin' nonet'eless, t'ough I wouldn't wanna ever face anot'er mage wit' leechin' an' voidin' abilities." This provided a good laugh out of the three for a chime, and led on to more conversations between the three of them.

It was mainly focused on the events that happened in Zeltiva this season, how the new year looked at first when it started and how events led to another crazy season in Zeltiva, when Hannah heard the story about the Asylum Breakout and the day Ricky had to take on the mages that attempted to take the galleon she definitely seemed to be quite amazed. "Zeltiva! The one only place where trouble seems to linger, and if you ask me you have a habit of getting caught in the middle." She pointed out.

"Its a gift." He shrugged his shoulders afterwards, for obvious reasons as to why it could be considered as such.

"In that case you should probably give it back to Lhex." Mirth filled the air once more as they continued to converse, now focused on Hannah's side as she told them about Syliras and how it was. Ricky hadn't visited the place in a while but by the sound of it, not a thing had changed about the place other than the fact probably grew some more. Last time he saw it was when he was heading home, right after the Djed storm happened no less. She met a few old friends that were there and in turn got to spend a little time to herself, time she needed after dealing with the stress that was put on her from last year. Ricky didn't blame her. She did blame herself for Burten's death after all and wouldn't stop for the longest while, and then when she was made Godmother she in turn felt she had to straighten up her act some. She wanted to, so she could become the kind of role model she wanted to be.

"So young Marty has grown a little huh? He looks a lot like his daddy already."

"He does! He's already turning out to be a daddy's boy too." Telion pointed out with a smile to Ricky.

"Aye, still got 'is Ma's eyes t'ough!" Ricky added as their attention centered around the boy, they all three shared ideas about what they were going to do for the childs first birthday, even if that was a couple seasons away. In turn they also discussed what they would teach Martin, what he would do eventually when he was old enough. It then dawned on Ricky that he wasn't going to actually live long enough to see all these things, as he suddenly recalled that he had a sickness. A deadly illness of some sort that was killing him slowly, and there was nothing he could do about it. But he didn't let it stop him, he didn't let it trouble him, even if it pained his heart to do it he held a smile and continued on. He still hadn't thought of how he was to break the news to Telion, and with the fact that Hannah was in town again... no. He had to hide it, for just one day, he had to pretend it wasn't an issue.

He would figure out what to say in due time, for now he would only play along and pretend that everything was finally normal... for once.