Closed The fool (Nephti)

[Arisia]

Arisia could feel her bondmates pain and exhaustion, and she tried to make herself think rationally. She needed to help Nephti, and she wouldn't be able to do that if she was panicking, though in the back of her head, she knew that some of the people who were chasing here could be down here too, whatever this place was.

Nephti spoke, mentioning that they needed bandages, and Arisia tried to think of where she could get such a thing right now. There was no way she would be able to get any conventional medical supplies, as they were currently being chased and needed to hurry.

Vyfox water and Krolar were what Nephti spoke of next, saying that they were good for healing cuts. The kelvic knew that she wouldn't be able to get either of these at the moment, and she didn't really know what they were.

The Eypharian stumbled, and rested on the ground, clutching her wound, and asked for water.

That gave Arisia an idea, the girl had mentioned a specific type of water before, but they didn't have any of that, so she would have to improvise.

"I'm going to use normal water to clean it, okay? And then I'll figure out what to do for bandages." Her tone was worried, but she attempted to make it gentle and soothing, hoping to calm the girl.

She quickly dug through her backpack, grabbing her waterskin from it, and turning back to Nephti, carefully taking the arm with the cut on. Using the water to wash out the wound wasn't something she knew how to do, but she had to try as best as she could.

Arisia carefully poured the water on, trying to wash away some of the blood that had spread onto her arm, and dabbed at it with her sleeve to dry it slightly. Looking at the wound now, it still looked bad, but it looked a little better than before.

She looked at Nephti, checking that the girl was still okay, well okay as she could be, before continuing, and trying to think of how to make a bandage.

Thinking about how she had used her sleeve to dry some of the water that she had cleaned the wound with, she had a small idea. It could be possible to used her sleeve as a bandage, though it wasn't the best solution, it was the quickest, and they needed to move soon, in case the people who had been chasing them found the bondmates.

Taking out her eating knife from her bag, she used it to cut off her own sleeve, turning it into a strip of fabric that would hopefully serve the purpose. She wrapped it around the cut, which looked a little better than before she had cleaned it, and tied it as tightly as she could, hopefully stopping the bleeding.

"Okay, I'm done, are you okay?" She asked, and handed the waterskin to Nephti, remembering she had wanted some.

It was a stupid question, and Arisia sighed as she said it, annoyed at herself for asking it, but more worried about the wellbeing of her bondmate.

[Nephti]

Arisia spoke calmly and peacefully, but she could still feel her. Her panic, her fear. Or was that her own? In her faint state, the girl wasn't certain, knowing she was terrified too. She had to be calm. She had to relax, or Arisia would feel everything , and she didn't need her bondmate panicking too. She couldn't.

The girl tensed as Arisia poured water over her wound, finding it sting as it washed the blood away. She closed her eyes and flinched as the Kelvic dabbed away at it, trying to be brave, be strong. Ignore the pain, ignore the stinging. Let Arisia help her, then move on.

She remained fairly still as her bondmate tore her sleeve, using it as a makeshift bandage. It was the best they could do, she reminded herself, letting her wrap it tighter and secure it. It gripped her arm tightly, but hopefully, in a way that would stop the bleeding.

It still took her a few moments to catch her breath and stop her head spinning. Slowly, she rose, clutching the arm, but not as tightly. "I'm okay," she lied, knowing that they both already knew the answer. She was actually in pain, terrified, and wishing for a way out of her. "Let's go."

Slowly, she inched forward, moving steadily. What was her plan now? As she took the waterskin and had a deep drink, she wondered, trying to come up with something. Why had she come here? Because it was a place to hide. So they needed to hide. "We need to find a place to stay. To hide. After bells, they will stop." She hoped.

[Arisia]

It was clearly a lie, as she could feel that her bondmate was still in pain, terrified, atleast Arisia thought she was terrified, but that could have just been her own emotions. She hated it down here already, she felt uneasy just being in this place, whatever it was.

However, they needed to be down here right now. It was much safer than above, and they needed to be safer than they were before right now.

Nephti moved forward slowly, and drank from the waterskin that had been handed to her. Arisia was still worried about the Eypharian, as she knew that what she had done to help her was lacking. They would have to get someone who knew what they were doing once they got out of here.

A place to hide. She thought to herself as they made their way though the streets below, the red moon glowing above them. Her footsteps clattered as she walked, against the oddly patterned stones below her feet. She looked up, slightly confused at the fact that their was no roof, but then deciding that it was just another illusion.

Arisia loved the night, she loved to be out in it, exploring the city and the illusions it held. Places looked different at night, the atmosphere was different, people acted differently. She didn't like the night that seemed to reside over this place though, it was disturbing and eery.

They turned down an alleyway, it looking different than the rest of the place, as while there was only few, there were people there. Houses lined the street, and the streets were covered in little and filth wherever anyone looked. It was even more unnerving than the streets they had been in before.

"Well, maybe we can find somewhere to stay for now here?" She turned to Nephti with a forced smile, one that was clearly fake, as the other could feel her emotions. Fear, terror, and a deep distrust for the place that they had found themselves in. She was tense, and her hand clutching onto her other arm, which felt odd without the sleeve that had been ripped off.

[Nephti]

The pair kept moving, Nephti concentrating hard on keeping her feet under her and her head straight, gripping her arm tightly still. Even tighter, she held her gnosis mark, clinging to the hope it gave her. It would all be alright. She had Arisia. She had Priskil. She had the whole city, which would decide to protect her because it was Alvadas and never did what you thought it would do. Right?

The streets only amplified their footsteps, the flagstones beneath their feet sending the noises of their movements through Alvadas. But they didn't hear other noises - and she clung to this rather than the thought that they would be easily tracked. They couldn't be found if there was no one looking - and there couldn't be people looking, because they would hear them.

They turned down a smaller street, something strange about it drawing Arisia then Nephti. People. Somehow, the sight of other human beings reassured them, or at least reassuring her. None would recognise them. None knew who they were. For now. Something about this place was unsettling.

Arisia's fake smile was met with another, a little less fake looking but forced all the same. "It will be good," she tried to reassure, "It will be safe. We will be safe. Trust me." Trust me. The words felt so bland on her tongue, after having already led them to this horrible place. But it had led them away too. And they couldn't forget about it.

She shifted over towards one side, wondering whether it would be a better idea to just pretend to be one of the weak and lost who lived in this place, slumped to the side and lost among the other junk, or to try get in more cover, enter one of the old buildings that surrounded them. Deciding to try the second, she moved towards an old door, scabbed and charred, and snatched at the door handle, pulling it off in the process. Maybe they could knock the door down. Or pry it open somehow. "Can you... Open the door?" she asked Arisia, wondering if she had a better idea.

Her eyes scanned around, searching for anything or anyone to help them. Even with her own fear, she saw that these people had it so much worse. She wished she had a moment to stop. To reach out. To help. But Arisia was too scared - she was too scared, and they needed to feel safe first.

[Arisia]

Nephti reassured her that it would be good, safe, or safer than it had been for them previously. The kelvic smiled at her, though it was again forced, she had to smile. If she stopped smiling she knew she would give up all together.

Giving up now would be going against how she had acted through the rest of her life, even though it hadn't been so hard on her how it had been to others, like her bondmate.

Arisia walked with her head down, worried slightly about the people who occupied this place. What if some of them are from before? Will they hurt us? She shook her head,No.., if she thought about that she would just get angry and reckless. It wouldn't help anyone if she lashed out.

Nephti went over to one of the buildings, the entrance being a worn door. The girl reached for the door handle, and then pulled it off by accident. It appeared that it would take a little more to get in.

Arisia considered how to get the door open, and only one way came to her mind. There were certainly more logical ways to do this, but the kelvic girl had never been logical or rational. So she did the reckless thing, and attempted to kick down the shabby door.

It does look old. She thought, as she looked over it, thinking of the way to kick it down. Perhaps because it wasn't in the best condition, it would fall down easily? It couldn't be much harder than fighting a person, as it was stationary and wouldn't fight back, it wasn't like it could hurt her.

So she walked a bit away from the door, and ran up to it with a quick spring. With a loud thud, she kicked the door, her foot colliding with the surface. It didn't fall. A slight frown came onto Arisia's face, and she walked back again, her thoughts beginning to fill with annoyance.

She took another run up to the door, and kicked it again, her aim shoddy and reckless through anger. The girl fell back slightly, wincing as her foot filled with pain. It wasn't broken, though her toe might have been. Now wasn't the time to consider whether it had broken or not though.

The door had a sizeable hole in the center of it now, though it wasn't down yet. She turned to Nephti with a sigh. "Guess that didn't work."

[Nephti]

Nephti watched Arisia with her failed attempt. The door made a splintering noise on her first attempt, and with the second, her attentions weren't on the door anymore. There was a sharp slice of pain - from Arisia - and she hurried over, helping the Kelvic stand if she needed it.

"It was the best you could do," she smiled, reassuring her as well as she could. With a flicker in the direction of the door, now sporting an ugly looking hole in the middle, she turned back to Arisia, "Don't worry about it." But Nephti was. She was still scared. Still out in the open. Still waiting for the people who had been chasing her to arrive.

"Are you okay?" she decided to ask, looking down towards her foot. "That looked like it hurt. Can you walk on it okay?" she questioned, knowing it was important. It meant the difference between having to fight or hide and being able to run. Hopefully, they still had all their options open to them, because she knew they would need them.

Running through her options again, she muttered them softly in Arumenic, thinking out loud to herself. "The door, the door. No... hiding? Maybe. Maybe. I don't know! Priskil help us!"

She threw her hands down in frustration, turning and turning on the spot in some mad and desperate attempt to do something. Why couldn't she protect herself and Arisia better? Why had she hoped she would help the Vantha if she couldn't even help herself?

A noise - someone shifted behind her. The girl, tensed up and on the edge, spun round, finding her scimitar in her hand and outstretched towards a young boy, filthy and dressed in rags. Her hand trembled as she saw him, dropping instantly with fear that she could have hurt him.

"Can you... can you help us?" she asked, knowing how he watched the weapon, how he searched her for other weapons, "We just want somewhere we can hide."

The poor boy - he was barely half her own age, and he was like this, so helpless. He was so much worse off than she was - and if he tried to get help he'd most likely be arrested for being a pickpocket or a thief, because how else would he have helped himself? She wished she didn't have to worry about herself. It took up too much time.

[Arisia]

Arisia nodded at Nephti, before speaking. "It might be broken, but I can walk even if it is. A little pain has never stopped me before." She smiled as she said this, hoping to reassure Nephti who still seemed scared. It was something they had both been trying to do, despite the fact that they knew what the other's emotions were anyway.

She had little knowledge of things like broken bones, but she was sure she'd broken a toe before, likely when she had done something as stupid as this. It wouldn't need immediate attention, at least she didn't think it would.

Thinking back on her actions from a few moments ago, she decided that it wasn't one of the greatest ideas she had ever had. She overestimated her strength and ability, as she had done many times before. She didn't have strength, so she relied on the knowledge of fighting she had, and used that to her advantage. Though, it was unlikely that would ever have applied to fighting a door.

Her bondmate was frustrated, very frustrated, and also desperate. It wasn't as if Arisia was any different though, if she hadn't had Nephti with her she probably would have done something reckless out of desperation and anger by now. When she was very young she had been prone to doing such, a temper which she had learnt to stop. Felines were known for their tendency to lash out sometimes, after all.

Arisia quickly turned upon feeling the Eypharian's emotions rapidly change. There was a boy, young and obviously poor. He probably lived here, and he seemed to fit in with this place.

"A child."

The kelvic muttered under her breath quietly, sounding perplexed and sad. A child didn't belong down here, children should be happy and playing. They shouldn't have to live in places like this.

Ignoring those thoughts for now, she stood next to Nephti and asked the boy a question similar to what she had. "Please help us, we just need somewhere to hide. Just for a while, bad people are chasing us."

[Nephti]

oocI'm useless. Sorry for taking so long!

Arisia claimed to be fine, but Nephti made a mental note to not make her do anything particularly taxing - unless that angry mob appeared again and they had to run for it, but then she couldn't control that. Broken toes were never good, right? Nephti had to admit she had no idea what it was like, how to treat it. It was never something that she had thought about, learned about. She had to ask Claudia more about healing, too. There was so much she didn't know.

Her bondmate's next two words echoed everything she was feeling. He was only a child - far too young to be mixed up in anything. She knew herself how hard it was to lose childhood and be forced into a hard, serious life from a young age. Then again, she never had had a real childhood to begin with. Back then, she had been a spoiled brat. Where had been the time for games and playing when she had slaves to boss about, gifts to demand?

At least she had her taste of riches. This boy looked like he had never had a full meal. Her eyes pleading, she looked at him, putting her scimitar away in an attempt to reassure him. He didn't need to be scared. She wasn't going to hurt him - nothing would ever make her. They just needed his help. Nodding along to Arisia's words, she reached out a hand - the marked hand, of course, and let it glow slightly to give him strength, and show him she would look after him.

He squirmed nervously, unsure whether to trust the pair, and whether to help them. He was terrified - why was he so scared? Because he had been met with two people bigger than him and at least one had a weapon. And there were bad men involved. She would have been too, in his place.

"Come on, please," she whispered softly, "We will help you, then. If you help us. Money, food - we can take you to a safe home?" It was unlike her to offer help only in exchange of help. Normally, she would have just helped him, but it wasn't the right situation. If they didn't get help now, they wouldn't be around to help him, ever. The desperation clear in her voice - and the prospect of food - the boy finally nodded, and began to scurry away.

Glancing at Arisia, Nephti began to follow him, a little cautiously. Not because she didn't trust him, but because she didn't trust the Underground in the slightest.

[Arisia]

The Kelvic listened as Nephti talked to the boy, who was clearly scared. She offered money, food, and safety, things that would be something a child needed, definitely a child who lived down here. It wasn't a place a child should be, and she struggled to imagine what it would be like to live down here.

Her own childhood had been fine, as short as it had been. For her first two seasons she had lived with her mother, who had taught her how to talk in both common and vani, and read a little as well. Though she still wasn't very good at it. After two seasons, she decided that it was time she moved out and began to search for her bondmate, and began to work as a fortune teller to raise money for travelling. It had been rough, as she had ended up living on the streets during that time, but she had raised enough money to move after some time, and ended up in Alvadas. Her childhood was definetly better than the child that they were talking with had.

The child eventually nodded and quickly began to move,
she followed him as he did, pain shot through her foot as she did so, and she winced, pausing for a second before walking through the pain. It wasn't as important as safety, she could go to get it treated later, she needed to think about Nephti's safety.

As she looked around the place, she decided that she didn't like it at all. On top of how Nephti felt about the place, cautious and untrusting, Arisia herself was feeling that way about it too. She wasn't sure even Alvadas itself was able to be trusted this season. She didn't even trust the boy who was leading the bondmates through the underground. Yet she had to, as it wasn't safe.

[Nephti]

She could feel the wince of pain that raced through Arisia, and stopped for a moment, copying her hesitation. Was this right, forcing her to go through the pain in her foot, in some desperate search for safety? "If you not well, we will not go," Nephti said cautiously, "We can wait. Or..."

Without saying anything else, she ducked down, stretching an arm of the kelvic across her shoulders and holding it there. If Arisia struggled, she could more than easily step away, but Nephti wanted to show her that she was there. Physically, too - she was willing to take some of the weight of her, if it helped her walk. Sure, Nephti was small, young, but Arisia wasn't particularly big either, and she could help her out even a little.

As they followed, the streets seemed to shift in their darkness. Not lighter, nor darker, particularly. It was just that the darkness seemed to become less oppressive, less stifling. The people who had been after them started to drop away, in her mind, and the girl slowed her breathing, feeling herself relax a little. It was all okay. It was going to be alright. Those that had gone after them would have given up by now. And they were going somewhere safe.

The boy led them to a small, dishevelled hut and nodded towards it. His eyes waited expectantly, and Nephti looked towards Arisia, unsure how to help him now. After all, she had very little with her, no food, barely a few coins, for him. She pulled them out, ready to offer them. But they felt so meaningless, far too little for what she wanted to give him.

Did Arisia have any better ideas?

oocridiculously overdue, i'm so sorry. shall we start finishing this off?