Completed The Courage to Forgive

[Gale Austin McCenry]

5th of Winter, 514 A.V.
The Quill's Rest
Evening

Curled up in one of the Rest's lounge chairs with his cloak laying on the back, Gale looked out the window at the at the frozen ocean and docks. His blue eyes watched the waves lazily roll up and down due to the cold, and they even observed the frost and fog that slowly crawled it's way up the window. Seeing the condensation on the glass made one feel content on being inside the warm hideaway.

With one put lazily in his lap and the other propped up on the arm of the chair, his hand rested gently on his upper lip, only his eyes skimming about, no longer seeing the plumes of air escaping his mouth like when he was outside. His cheeks moved about, making it visible and clear that he was biting them again, a habit he had developed as a small child while he was in thought. It was a terrible habit that often time left them raw, but it was apparent it was one he had a hard time breaking.

As he tasted the iron within his mouth that could be nothing else but trickles of blood from his excessive chewing, a man came over to his chair, glancing at the ghost across the small table in front of him. The employee didn't speak a word, simply handing Gale the small, delicate cup of the Rest's notorious Kelp Tea. The man had had it several times before and it seemed to only get better every time he tried.

Looking over at the standing figure, Gale blinked a few times, almost forgetting he had ordered the steaming cup. But when the image of him giving the man two silver mizas came to mind, he remembered. "Oh, yes, thank you." He stated, quickly pulling his hands around the cup of warmth and bringing it closer to him, careful not to spill. The gave a simple nod and went back to the counter, seeing as the few warm bodies within the building had already been tended to.

Gale's emaciated fingers wrapped around the small white mug, almost as if they were desperate for the warmth of the drink. The light streams of steam rose gently above it, but Gale simply looked back at the window for a chime or two more. But even that thoughtful silence was broken by the baritone voice of the widower.

"So how does it exactly work?" He questioned, looking at the ghostly figure. "Like, how did you come back?" He blinked curiously at her, head ever so slightly tilted.

[Kendhl Pilkvist]

Kendhl sat in the chair opposite Gale. Well, not exactly sitting. She hovered just above the cushion, in a sitting position. She watched his jaw move about. He was biting the inside of his cheek. It'd go raw if he wasn't careful.

One of the employees came over with Gale's Kelp Tea. Her bondmate looked a tad confused, as if he'd forgotten he'd ordered it. The corners of the ghost's mouth lifted ever so slightly.

Her grey eyes slid from the employee to Gale's hands, specifically the one missing fingers. It was somewhat difficult to not stare. He spoke, and it drew her gaze up to his face.

"What? Oh. I'm... I'm not exactly sure. I mean, I don't really remember how it happened. All I know is that it was all dark, and then it was light and I could see. I've heard that people come back 'cause they had unfinished business or something, but... I don't know." Kendhl looked at her hand and focused, solidifying it. She was getting the hang of materialization, although her form was extremely rough and her flickering was still a big problem. She set her hand down and dematerialized, sighing.

"You said Ricky's wife gave birth? And the name was what, Maureen?" It didn't sound like something Ricky would name his child. She was probably wrong. Kendhl ran her fingers through her hair, loosening tangles. He looked better, with a drink in hand. The steam curled away from the hot liquid, evaporating a few inches above. If only she were still alive, then she could share the same drink with him and they wouldn't be in this situation.

Common - Fratava

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Gale didn't really understand what she was starring at. As a matter of fact, he didn't really realize she was even starring in the first place. With so many stares that looked the exact same for so long, he hardly bothered himself to notice them anymore. After all, this was Zeltiva, people of all sorts. There were sailors and mages and students and undead with all sorts of injuries. Why would his any different?

Gale patiently waited for her reply, watching her look confused, surprised, and realize what he was saying almost all in one moment. But her answer wasn't exactly spectacular. But then again, his explanation about his encounter with Priskil wasn't any better. Because she had abandoned him, just like everyone else. His fingers started to turn white as he squeezed his glass cup that much hard, his eyebrows briefly twitching into a furrow before relaxing at the thought. Because now wasn't the time, he had questions that needed answering.

Once Kendhl finished, Gale looked away from her, his gaze turning down to his steaming up in his hands. He hesitantly lifted it to his lips, taking in a small portion of the drink as if to test the temperature. But once he was done, he lowered the cup again again and starred out the foggy window. His teeth started to clamp on his cheeks once again.

"So it wasn't necessarily a choice?" His head turned back to her, his eyes hardly leaving hers for a few ticks.

But he looked back down at his cup, chuckling at the utterly wrong pronunciation of Martin's name. If one could even call it that. It was the wrong name all together. "It's Martin." He assured, his isolated index finger tapping the cup a few times.

[Kendhl Pilkvist]

Kendhl's eyebrows raised. Was he accusing her of not wanting to come back? What did he want to hear? That she wanted to stay, or that she wanted to leave? She put her face in her hands.

"Of course it's Martin. But I don't know if it was a choice, Gale. I suppose it was, since I could've just let myself go to Lhex and reincarnate. But I don't know. I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but I can't figure it out. I'm sorry that I can't tell you. Why do you want to know?"

The girl raised her head and her fingers rubbed across her neck. She looked around the room, taking in the other patrons and the furnishings. Kendhl turned back to Gale, forcing herself to not stare at his hand. She instead focused on his face, on his sharp cheekbones and deep blue eyes, and the curls that framed them. She had an urge to touch the bit of scruff on his jawline.

Her attention was momentarily pulled away by the door of the Quill's Rest opening and someone heading out into the cold before returning to the man in front of her.

Common - Fratava

[Gale Austin McCenry]

The man perked an eyebrow up in speculation as Kendhl went on a brief rant about the confusion she was experiencing. It was almost as if she was mad at him for asking a question. Maybe she was still sensitive about her death and asking a question like that threw her off. Or maybe it was just a ghost thing. Or perhaps her memories of the event evade her because she's not suppose to know. That the gods have decided that it's best she don't know. They had a funny habit of choosing silly things like that, didn't they?

At first, Gale could have swore she was either going to explode with rage or sprawl out bawling for whatever reason made her agitated. She apologized and tried to explain herself. It wasn't exactly a friendly response, which made the man sigh softly and set his cup on the square arm on his chair. He folded his hands together and wrapped his arms around his legs.

"Why do you want to know?"

Why did he want to know? Why would he want to know someone's name or their birthday? Why would he want to know if he was related to anyone or if any of those people were still around? Why would he want to know if she was still alive or not? Why would he want to know if she cared for him? Why would anyone want to know anything?

Gale took a few chimes to think through his response."If you're going to be around again, I need to know about your- ... your-" He stammered in search for the right word. " -your situation." He looked at the coffee table, his face falling flat. "The more that we know about what exactly happened and what you can do the better the both of us are off?" He sounded sure of himself at first, but as he continued on, his confidence seemed to diminish until he himself wasn't even sure of his answer.

He looked back up at her,"Right?"

[Kendhl Pilkvist]

Kendhl was beginning to think he wasn't going to tell her why. It'd been a bit since she'd asked, and he looked rather contemplative. His reply confused her for a moment, then sent a rumbling belly laugh through the ghost.

"My situation? Dear gods, Gale! You make it sound like I'm pregnant or sick or wanted for a crime. Well, let me tell you that I'm none of those. Goodness. Well, as of right now all I know about my abilities are that I can move things and become kind of alive. Although I suppose it isn't actually alive, it's more... real. And all I remember is the accident as it happened, darkness, and then I'm back at the place where it happened." She paused, chewing her lip.

"Oh yeah! And I looked for you a couple of seasons ago. Did I say that already? I was in Zeltiva in, oh, spring? I think it was spring. Couldn't find you, though."

She stood and began to pace, tired of having to pretend to sit. It drew a few curious looks from some people, but they quickly returned to their own business. Kendhl was restless. She wanted to be able to do something other than just sit around. She wanted to be able to answer Gale's questions, make him feel more comfortable about her new state.

Common - Fratava

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Of course he used the wrong word. There wasn't anyway of getting out of it. He was sure now that no matter what word he used she would have responded just as dramatically. Gale rolled his eyes in a wide circle, interrupting her,"Well what did you want me to say? Condition? Predicament? Death?" He looked at her, his mouth slightly agape. He gave an irritated scoff,"This is exactly why I asked so I know how to refer to you now so you don't get offended!" His voice rose over the course of his response, causing even more people to glance their direction. He had glanced back at them, but then fixed his eyes on her. This time, lowering his voice, he finished,"I'm trying, okay?"

He let her finish, Kendhl finally explaining what she knew so far. That would explain how she was able to lift his hand and not seem see through while trying to touch his cheek. He nodded slowly, grabbing his cup again, which had some time to cool some more, and took a sip. "So moving things and become... real are two separate things." He repeated, almost as if to assure himself he heard her correctly."But you move things with that," His point pointed vaguely at the swirls of white circling around her,"instead of your hands?"

But of course, Kendhl wanted to change the subject. Again. "I was taking care of Martin while Ricky and Telion were away at that time so I was up and down all of Zeltiva constantly." In other words, he wasn't surprised she didn't find him. But the fact that she did look for him brought on a subconscious smirk onto his lips.

[Kendhl Pilkvist]

Kendhl stopped pacing and pointed. "Aha! You're grinning! I got you to smile again! But yeah, becoming 'real' and moving things are different. I don't know why, I figured they'd be the same, but I guess not. I don't think I can like, send out little tentacles of my... I'm not sure what to call it. But this," she gestured to her Soulmist, "And as far as I know I have to actually touch the thing to move it. But maybe, if I practice enough, I can move it when I'm a little ways away. See?"

She stretched her fingers out and focused on Gale's cup of tea, but it didn't move. Kendhl drew her arm back in, letting it hang at her side. She made her way around Gale's chair to stand behind him, leaning over his shoulder. Her face was close to the side of his head, hand sliding across the space between him and the cup he was holding.

"But," she said, putting a single fingertip of her ghostly form on the edge of the cup, "I can touch it from here." She hesitated, gathering her strength. Kendhl pushed down ever so slightly on the cup, just enough to shift it but not enough to spill the hot liquid. She straightened her spine and stepped back around the chair to 'sit' in her own again.

Common - Fratava

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Gale flinched slightly at her sudden outburst about his grinning, spilling a few drops of the tea onto his hand. He was quick to set it down and wipe hands on his cloak on the chair, looking at Kendhl with wide eyes full of shock. Her fascination with his grins would likely never be fully understood, but once he thought about it, it had been a while since he did smile. Or at least acknowledge he smiled. He might smile more often than he thought, but he wouldn't ever really know for sure now would he?

After drying his hands off, he held them out, even flipping them a few times to try and spot any obvious red spots or burns. But thankfully the tea wasn't pipping hot and it wasn't any vast amount of tea. He then picked the cup back up and continued to listen to her explanation.

It was a vague description, but he couldn't really ask for anything more, since she was still figuring it out herself. But she seemed to have a handle on how to demonstrate the abilities. Gale merely blinked, however, at her outstretched arm which apparently did absolutely nothing. His had followed the ghost as she then started to move around him, pulling her head from behind him t beside him.

The man leaned a bit away as to not hit his head against her, despite the fact he couldn't, as he turned his head to look at her. Despite being able to see the chairs and tables through her pale ghostly face, he somehow was still able to gawk at the preservation of her beauty that was all but destroyed by the band of mutts out in the forest. His nose felt a bit like frost as it had neared her ethereal presence, and as a matter of fact, his entire being was cold, but it didn't prevent another grin from peering on his face. He quickly looked down at the cup, however, as she tilted it with her clumped up mist. "Huh." He looked at the cup as if it moved itself as she returned to her sit.

"You're awfully cold." He stated, chuckling some. He didn't really notice it before because it was already cold outside. But now being indoor, he found himself still cold. And when she placed herself near him, he could almost feel her freezing the air around him. He wasn't sure if it was an all ghosts thing, or maybe it simply was the weather making her cold somehow, but nevertheless, she was freezing. And now he was freezing.

[Kendhl Pilkvist]

Kendhl rested her cheek on her knuckles. She smiled. If she was right, her antics were improving Gale's mood. "Oh, I'm cold? Is that it?"

She materialized and darted forwards, tapping Gale on the nose. "Boop."

Her form faded back into translucency as she sat back down. Of course she was cold. It was winter, after all. Though it probably had something to do with her being dead, too.

"So, are you cold, too? I mean, you kind of look it. Are you getting enough to eat and stuff? You look really skinny, more than normal anyways. I have mizas back at my cave, but I don't know if I'm able to get them. I'd give them to you, 'cause I don't really need them anymore, but I'd need someone to get them for me."

The ghost decided that he'd need a haircut and a shave, too. She pursed her lips, looking him up and down. A haircut and a shave, and some new clothes. Especially a coat, and a scarf, and boots. She didn't know how well the Loveless paid (she'd never visited, after all) and therefore didn't know how well he was getting along. So many things I don't know...

Common - Fratava