That Sinking Feeling (Blythe)

by **Serrif Von Chatlyn** on April 11th, 2011, 1:30 am

17th of Spring 511 AV Afternoon

Serrif exited the temple grounds. His days followed a pattern and well he had done what work was required of him as of now. He would come back later after finishing another one of Ildin’s training activities. Sometimes she would break up the routine with an actual archery lesson; but more times than not there was simply a weighted backpack waiting for him. And that meant an interesting run later that day. He would always pick up the backpack in the afternoon. Ildin seemed to finally make up her mind as to what she wanted to do with Serrif about that time. He would walk to the Pavilion and search, sometimes Ildin was waiting to give him a lesson; sometimes not and the backpack it was. But either way he had the afternoon off and such. His training at the temple consisted of him making simple mixtures and medicines. This was best done in the morning so any that came in could have fresh medicine throughout the day. He knew about how much of everything he needed to make. And well he had become quite good at it all. Then in the afternoons he would train, in one way or another. If he only had the pack to pickup he would simply carry it back to the Temple and continue his work there; maybe study some. Then later just as the sun settled he would make his beach run; sleep and then start the day over again bringing the bag back to the Pavilion early in the morning.

Now he found his bare feet walking across the baulk leading up to the pavilion. He had mixed feelings for the training center now. Ever since he and Blythe shared that very awkward moment that seemed to haunt him still. But he still had to do what he needed to. And that meant putting up with the possibility that he would see her. He crossed and entered the training room. As usual at this time the students were about to wrap up. He looked across; looking for Blythe and her partner. He made eye contact with her and then swiftly diverted her attention. Great SHE was here. He looked along the wall and saw the pack. Seemed another run was in order according to Ildin. He walked over and then shouldered the pack…

Immediately his mind screamed at him, ‘Great GOD’. The pack was definitely heavier today than he was used to. Seemed that Ildin had a misconception about just how much weight his body could handle. He strapped it down good and tight just as the class was dismissing. He HAD to get out of here; not wanting to make things even stranger between them. Or make Blythe thing he was here just to see her…or even worse that he was following her around. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He respected her decision and if she wanted to come looking for him she would. It was in her terms now and he was just waiting for her to do……..anything really. But he wouldn’t let his thoughts of her totally dominate him. No he had better things to tend to. He had the Temple now…but that didn’t seem to be enough. It had been seven days since they had that little mishap. And well since then he hadn’t even seen her….His mind wondered on all the while he exited the pavilion and started his walk out onto the baulk. It reacted a little different to him now being that he was exceedingly heavy. The pack was strapped on pretty good fixing itself to his body almost like it was indeed part of him. He had brought extra rope with him just in case he needed it to fix the backpack to his body any better. Right now it was curled up and simply attached to the backpack.

He had gotten a little start on the group that just got released. He didn’t look back but he could literally ‘feel’ that Blythe was pretty close to him. However he kept walking hoping that his pace was good enough to keep anyone from cutting around him…however he was walking a little slow. What happened next….well he should’ve seen coming. A rather busy Konti tried getting around him, she obviously had somewhere she was trying to get to in a hurry. But as she moved around him and as she did so Serrif moved to get out of her way and well lost his footing a little. He wasn’t used to the extra weight he carried and well that made balancing a little different than usual. So much so that he fell…Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t have been a problem. But here where on both sides of the baulk were flanked by the Silver Lake…it was a particularly interesting predicament. A rather loud splash was issued and Serrif disappeared.

Serrif hadn’t really ever learned to swim, he hadn’t seen a need until just recently to even begin the chore of learning. He had gotten down the basics of how not to drown in the waters but nothing really much past that. He hadn’t ventured out into deep waters or even really seen the need to. But learning and procrastination had funny ways of smacking you around when you took a break. So whatever gods there may or may not be seemed to intervene and show him that he should indeed learn how to swim very soon. A little shock was in order. Serrif quickly found himself in a very cold wet grasp. Air was nonexistent and he had a strange sinking feeling as he rushed toward the bottom of somewhere. He was falling while looking up at the surface of the lake. To him everything just looked distorted; yet clear all at the same time. Light seemed to form nice strange little concentrated beams that scattered all around. He felt an impact and for a moment could see clearly…until the silt engulfed him.

Serrif was honestly unsure what his next move should be…He was more or less stunned by the fact that he had just plunged into the water and sunk like a 300 pound stone to the bottom of it. He laid there on the bottom for a few seconds…Pondering what he should do…again his body still in shock. He unhooked and pulled his arms out of the pack. But for a moment due to the impact wasn’t exactly sure which way was up. The silt that had been kicked up from his impact was like a giant cloud all around him. And in the water…well it wasn’t his element to say the least. He had never been in water this deep before…Nor been knocked around in it either. Needless to say he was quite uncomfortable. And close to sheer panic as well.

by **Blythe** on April 11th, 2011, 5:21 pm

Blythe was standing barefoot on the bamboo matts of the suvai pavilion. It was the first time in a long time that she was sparring with Fleur again. Not that Blythe minded, after all, Fleur was rather skilled with the sword.

Each of the Konti's hair was left down, their hair ties, pale pink ribbons, having fallen out ages ago, at the beginning of their spar. Each of their faces, their palms, were coated in a thin sheet of sticky sweat. Their long blonde hair clung to the edges of their faces, to their lips. Blythe was staring at her opponent with her lavender-colored eyes. Each of them had assumed a starting stance known simply as prime. Their sweaty palms rested tightly around the hilt of their wooden practice swords, which were held up high, next to her heads. The portion that would have been the blade, was pointed up and towards the ceiling. The blade was arched; ready to strike out at anyone who stood in the Konti's way. Each woman's legs were bent, and their stance was rather low to the ground.

Fleur was swirling her sword slowly in the air. Only the end moved, the portion farthest away from her hands. It was swirling, humming through the air as it made the smallest of circles. Blythe was tempted to watch the blade, at how it moved, the subtle changes in its position strangely alluring to her, but the Konti forced herself not to get distracted. For as soon as she got distracted, she found herself losing just about every practice fight, if not every one of them.

Blythe's throat had grown dry. She stood silently, waiting. "Are you ready to start again?" Fleur asked. Blythe nodded. As soon as she had, Blythe stepped forward, and brought her sword around the side of her head. She sliced diagonally across, so that if her sword struck, it would cut downwards from Fleur's right shoulder to her left hipbone. As though she had anticipated the older Konti's attack, Fleur took a half step backwards, and lowered her blade. It was held out in front of her, the blade running up and down the length of her body. Her arm was dangling awkwardly over it, the elbow far out to the sky. The shape it made reminded Blythe of a chicken wing, even though it made a square, or a backwards seven, depending on how you looked at it. Click! The wooden blades met.

Fleur smiled devilishly, her eyes seemed to flash. "Try again Blythe," she called, a sort of playful taunt. "Will do," Blythe whispered as she pulled her blade back, and away from Fleur's. She passed her eyes over the girl's body for a fraction of a second, looking for a weak spot, the best place to strike. Of course, in that amount of time, Blythe found that she was unable to locate such an opening. Not wanting Fleur to go after her however, Blythe took two steps to the right, and then slashed downwards, towards Fleur's left leg. Fleur moved her sword to the side, and blocked Blythe's instantly. Click! Fleur brought stepped back, and returned to the prime position. Blythe backed up as well. Her heart was pounding, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she gasped for air.

Fleur, being the more fit of the two, didn't need as long to catch her breath. Instantly, she darted forward. Her blade twisted around her head, and came to an end in front of her, she then lifted it up again rapidly, only to bring it back down, in an attempt to slice through Blythe's head. Startled, Blythe took a half step back, she twisted her sword so that it would run diagonally across her head, and hover just above her forehead. Click! What an odd move, why attempt to strike the one place that was left heavily guarded? Blythe wondered as Fleur pulled her sword away.

Fleur's sword seemed to twirl in-between her fingers, and a second later, Blythe found that it was pressing into the center of her chest. Blythe's flesh curled inwards, making way for the sword. "You win," Blythe whispered as Fleur pulled the sword away. Blythe let out the breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding in, as a soft, subtle throbbing pain began to spread out around the impact mark. That may leave a bruise, Blythe thought, as she watched her opponent bow her head to her. Blythe mimicked the motion, before each of them walked over to a small stack of wooden practice swords and placed theirs on top. It seemed like the class had ended a few minutes before, and they hadn't even noticed.

"Well we best be going," Fleur said, as she gazed at the door. Several of the Konti women were already heading out. "Looks like," Blythe replied simply. Just before she reached the door that led out of the pavilion, she heard a loud splash. That's odd, she thought, as she shrugged it off and continued through the door, Fleur right behind her. But surely if one of the other girls went for a dip, they'll be alright. After all, we have scales and gills, we can't exactly drown.

"Hey did you see that!" a woman called from up ahead.

"See what?" another asked.

"He just fell into the water!" the first replied. He?

"Well can he swim?" the second asked.

"Maybe... but his things may be weighing him down," the first woman replied. "He was carrying a lot on his back."

Blythe's eyes grew wide, and her heart began to pound wildly in her tiny rib cage. Ser! Her breath caught in her throat, as she walked over to the edge of the balk, where she had assumed the man fell considering the ripples that still lingered on the top of the water. How long has he been down there? And can he swim? Blythe wondered, as she stared down at the lake, hoping that it was all a mistake, and that he hadn't fallen in. Even though she knew that was not the case.

OOCFleur, and Annabelle (another thread) are going to be the only two people I spar with. Um... Ser, not feeling so great, so my posting speed may decline dramatically. Just a heads up.

by **Serrif Von Chatlyn** on April 12th, 2011, 12:32 am

OOCYeah it's short...
The seriousness of his situation was just beginning to set in…He could die here. His vision was clouded in the silt cloud that surrounded him from his impact onto the floor of the Lake. He tried to orient himself and the only thing he had to do so was the ground. That was a start. He started quickly with what he knew. He knew the ground was directly under the surface of the water. Ok well swimming was relatively out of the question and he could feel himself floating in one direction… So he presumed that direction was up. He indeed knew he didn’t know how to swim. And honestly he didn’t want to look like a complete fool here. Although he likely already did. Why hadn’t he learned to swim before now? Maybe it was because deep water gave him the creeps. Yes it was nice to look at and that calmed him. But being in it was an entirely different thing. He almost half expected some giant sea lake creature to eat him. But well no such thing happened…..yet.

He did the only thing he knew to and gripped his backpack using it like an anchor. He brought his legs into a squatting position and then let go of his anchor. Summoning the strength he had along with his will to not drown here he thrust upward. He knew the trick was to hold his breath so that he had more upward force. He folded his arms at his sides and sailed upward. He cleared the could almost instantly and well the surface was a bit farther than he had originally thought…But he had sank rather fast with the added weight of the backpack. He was losing momentum now and well he didn’t have a clue how to swim…and the shimmering surface seemed so far away….Oh it was far…He reached upward as if to see that it was all an illusion… It wasn’t…a pitiful last ditch effort.

One last gripping effort to really see if this was actuality. If in all honesty he was indeed not anywhere near the surface…And alas he wasn’t near it at all. He was closer than before and he was drifting due to his natural buoyancy toward the surface but it just wasn’t fast enough. He held in his breath and hoped that maybe he would just float to the surface. He kicked his feet like he imagined he should and that helped…but still not fast enough. He closed his eyes and held on his hand extended he would know when it broke the surface…or maybe not at this rate…With help he would reach the surface faster, however without it he would simply black out just before the surface..

As luck had it either way he wouldn’t die that day. No seemed that the Gods still had plans for him, or just generally pitied him. Either way he was alive. If blacked out he would be floating on his back on the surface of the water. Just floating but his chest was still moving indicating he was indeed still breathing. His vision gone and he wasn’t here at all. He was gone floating on the Lake.

by **Blythe** on April 12th, 2011, 2:17 pm

Blythe watched the water, waiting for the man she was certain had fallen in to resurface. Surely he would if he had only pulled the back-pack off of him. For not even a Konti could swim with all of that weight on their back, although, they may have been able to walk around the bottom of the lake with it on for awhile. Blythe was biting her bottom lip nervously when Ser appeared on the top of the lake, several feet away from where she stood. He was closer to the other end of the balk.

Startled, Blythe's heart started to speed up as she pushed off the wooden fence that lined the wooden platform, with her hands, and then proceeded to run along the balk, pushing past confused and scared-looking Konti women. By the time Blythe had reached the middle portion of the balk, Ser had floated over, close enough for Blythe to reach if she just stuck her arm out through the wooden bars that kept her in place. Within seconds, Blythe found herself on her nose, poking her tiny arms between the space that existed between each of the balk's wooden posts. She was biting her bottom lip, quietly mouthing the words, "come on, come on," as she reached for him. Surely he couldn't stand to be on his stomach, face down in the water much longer. Especially when it appeared as though he had already passed out some time ago.

The Konti's fingers began to ache, as her shoulder met with the wood, trying to reach Serrif. "Just a little closer," she whispered, as her hand met his flesh. The Konti forced a small smile as she stuck her other hand through the bars. Slowly, the woman turned Serrif over so that he was floating on his back. Perhaps it will help him breath, Blythe thought, as she watched him float along the lake. Blythe pulled her hands back through the bars, and finally got to her feet. Her knees were sore, and her whole body ached. It felt as though she had pulled a few muscles, especially those in her neck.

"Hopefully he'll be ok," Blythe whispered, as she followed Serrif with her eyes. He was headed towards the other end of the balk, away from the suvai pavilion. Well, at least if he continues in that direction, he'll wind up on shore soon, Blythe thought, as she walked along the balk, and stepped down on the other side. Perhaps, if she only waited, Ser would come to her, and then she could help him. Unless, of course, one of the other women stepped forward and offered their assistance. That would probably have been a good thing too, considering what had happened the week before, and how little Blythe knew of medicine.

by **Serrif Von Chatlyn** on April 12th, 2011, 5:52 pm

Serrif continued to drift, and it seemed even in the worst of times he ended up somewhat lucky after all. When Blythe turned him over that did indeed keep him from inhaling water into his lungs. Unlike the Konti women who could do such things Serrif…well he could not. Inhaling water would drown him. SO it was very fortunate that Blythe exerted herself to turn Serrif over. After that Blythe would see that he was breathing somewhat normally. Although he hadn’t come to yet. No rather he kept floating his body really was rather limp at this time. The waves delivered him to the feet of Blythe. As if he was a gift of sorts. But he was really more of a burden at this point. His body limp but again he was breathing so that would allow her to make the conclusion that maybe time would heal him up.

After being rolled back over from his stomach his body had begun to come around. However that didn’t stop one of the women from rushing over to aide Blythe.

“Is he ok?” She pulled him from the water and set him on the ground. She then with her fingers checked his pulse…He had one; an audible sigh of relief was issued from the woman.

“Good he’ll come around. You should stay here. He’ll wake soon. It would be good to see a familiar face.” There was no denying her knowing Serrif, especially after the way she handled the incident. While others panicked she raced to his aid. It was obvious she knew this man; even if she didn’t want to right now.

The woman would smile and leave unless Blythe found another reason to have her stay. But in all honestly it wouldn’t be long now before he woke. And he did so rather gently. It was interesting to see someone come back from the brink like he was. It was almost as if the body really couldn’t believe it had almost died. That it half expected to be in another place entirely.

His hearing came back slowly, hazy and distant at first. He couldn’t really hear much, only the serenity around him. He stirred a little and he took in his body. He was still here…still alive. But how had he managed that? He was surely a dead man under the lakes surface. His eyelids were heavy. And well his body ached something fierce. Between the constant hard work he forced it through and the fact that he had nearly just drowned well his body had just about had it. He needed rest; but lately he didn’t care what his body told him it needed. He would do with it what he wanted. He forced it past his constant changing boundaries; finding new ever farther boundaries of his own physical possibilities. He sighed and coughed some really finally coming to as his body forced out some of the water that was in his lungs. He hadn’t drowned, thanks to….well he wasn’t sure. He knew he couldn’t end up on the shore like this on his own accord.

His emerald eyes opened slowly. First seeing only the blinding sun. He squinted that wasn’t a very pleasant wake up call from the void. His body ached and he was just really glad at first that he was alive. Much less what else could possibly be going on right now. His eyes adjusted. He would’ve brought up his hand to shade his eyes but his body ached so much that he just couldn’t. He rolled his head to the side and continued to look around. Who had helped him?

by **Blythe** on April 12th, 2011, 7:14 pm

"A familiar face," Blythe whispered as she stared down at Serrif's unconscious body for another moment. She was silent, as was the other Konti who had taken his pulse. A moment later, the woman stood up and continued on her way. So much for assistance, Blythe sighed, as she gave Serrif's right cheek a soft slap, hoping it would help him get up, just a little bit faster. But it did nothing. The man's face hung awkwardly at an angle, his neck twisted slightly to the side.

At least the other lady said he'd be alright. Not like we would know.

Blythe knelt beside Serrif for several moments, her eyes filled with fear. Now why would he have gone and jumped into the lake? Was he trying to get himself killed, or was it merely an accident? Did someone push him? Blythe shuddered, she couldn't so much as think of another Konti doing that to him. Well maybe not pushed, but accidently knocked him into the lake? Blythe made no move, it was possible. Surely he wasn't so miserable that he would throw himself in.

Blythe sighed, if only the man woke up, she could ask him. But when would that be? Gently, Blythe pressed her hands into the center of the man's chest. Perhaps he drank a little too much water to get up properly? she thought, before quickly removing her hands. It seemed that, if anything, only a trickle of saliva poured out of the corners of his mouth.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Serrif opened his eyes. "You're awake," Blythe said simply, with a slightly pained smile. "How are you feeling after your short bout in the lake?" There was a slight pause. "You didn't hit your head or anything did you? You feel ok, remember who and where you are?" Blythe inquired. There was a long pause. "You didn't jump into the lake on purpose, did you?" she asked, her head tilted slightly to the side, awaiting an answer. She didn't know what she'd do if he said, "yes."

by **Serrif Von Chatlyn** on April 13th, 2011, 2:36 am

Serrif didn’t manage to talk at first. He coughed up come more water clearing his lungs a little better. His vision…well it was foggy and unfocused. He saw a golden shimmering outline; well that’s what he saw when his eyes were playing jokes on him. He thought he heard a voice…He didn’t know what he was hearing. His ears were full of water and that made everything sound rather interesting to him. Did the voice sound familiar? He couldn’t be sure as he looked around he then saw Blythe…And that sinking feeling came back. He wasn’t sure but in a way he would rather have been left in the lake. Now he had to deal with his embarrassment earlier…He sighed as if to prepare himself. He had made out some of the words she had said. Especially when she asked him about jumping into the water on purpose. Honesty was the best way to approach this he believed; and she had proven herself to be more than aversive when emotions were involved. So he needed to keep this relatively free of emotion and keep what he ‘felt’ out of this. Unless he really wanted to distance her further from him. And he wanted anything but that.

“No.” Came his simple answer to her question. He breathed deep and ran a hand over his head through his short hair. “I’m…fine I think.” He tried to manage a smile but only managed to cough some more as he moaned a little. He didn’t like feeling this way. So near to death that it was literally amazing that he wasn’t dead; further fortifying the belief that he was meant for much more than he thought.

“I….” He sighed as he pushed away and censored what he wanted to say as he looked to her. Remembering that he didn’t want her to walk away again. “…thank you.” He said as he then sat up and looked out to where he had fallen in. Great Ildin would hear of this he was more than sure.

Immediately he began thinking about how he was to go about the rest of his day. The temple wanted his aid tonight and well he had duties to tend to.

“I…” again he paused crafting his words carefully as he fed his words through several filters before they reached his mouth. “...nevermind.” He said as he just overall dismissed what he was to say all together. If she wanted to be cold to him then so be it. ‘DAMNIT TELL HER’ ‘NO!! Don’t do that!’ His mind toiled over and over again as he sighed and stood. His body was a little unbalanced so he staggered a little as he stood.

But he gained his balance and then set to the next task at hand. He wouldn’t ask for help on any of it either. He just sighed again and spoke this time uninterrupted. “Well…” why couldn’t he form a sentence? Curse his mind and inabilities. He just was left standing there looking out to the lake like an idiot. He had thousands of things he wanted to say. But he wasn’t going to say ANY of them. Even if asked, even if tortured he wouldn’t say them. No, that is what had gotten him here in the first place.

“Thanks for the help.” He said, this time he was the one to walk away. This time over on the baulk. He looked over the side to where he had fallen in. He could see the pack laying on the bottom of the lake floor…or what he thought was the pack. He had fallen all that way? He sat over the side his feet in the water being that his fall had actually broken some of the railing off into the water. He sat there looking out over the lake. Damn feelings. He still felt them even though he had indeed tried to distance himself from them. Even though he had tried to remove himself from them completely; but he was still weak. Still feeling loss. That would change. He would burn the loss out of his body. Move it aside and bury it deep….like so many other things

by **Blythe** on April 13th, 2011, 2:20 pm

"You... you're welcome," Blythe stammered as she watched Serrif get up. He is acting rather strangely, isn't he? Perhaps he's embarrassed. There was a pause. Or perhaps he still doesn't want to talk to you after what happened last week. He was beginning to walk away from her, "hey Ser," Blythe called to him, as she slowly got to her feet. "Where are you going?" she asked. She took a few steps towards him, doing her best not to get too close, so that he wouldn't feel crowded. "Shouldn't you be headed in the opposite direction? Towards the Opal Temple?" Blythe inquired. "After all, you nearly drowned, and were knocked unconscious," there was a slight pause as the woman stopped to think of her words, to push the edge of fear and sorrow out of her voice. "Don't you think the healers should have a look at you? Just to make sure everything is okay?"

Blythe took a half step closer. "You know, you scared a lot of us, by falling into the Lake Ser." There was another little pause, "it's the least you could do for us, and for yourself." Deciding that now would be the time to close the small space that still lingered between them, Blythe took the last few steps forward. She extended her right hand, her fingers seemed paler than usual, they were trembling. She placed it on Serrif's right shoulder, wrapping her fingers around him lightly. She leaned in a little closer, "come on, we can walk together if you'd like, and talk..." her voice trailed off a bit. "Unless you're upset with me, about what happened last week." There was a slight pause, "it's ok if you are, you deserve to be angry and upset," Blythe whispered, as she cast her head down.

A part of Blythe wished she had never run from him, another portion knew that it was the only thing she could have done. That part of her knew that if she could have redone everything, she would have done the same thing; run. A part of her simply wanted to run away now, but her somewhat motherly nature was taking over, and she had to make sure that Serrif was ok. Even if he didn't want Blythe to stick around and make sure he was. "Sorry, for running away Ser," Blythe whispered. She hoped he could hear her, for she seemed hardly capable of hearing the words herself. Her bottom lip was trembling as she simply waited. "But for what it's worth, you seem to be the one running away now... funny how things change, isn't it?" her voice was soft, little more than a whisper. Her head was tilted slightly to the side, her hair was plastered to the sides of her face, stuck to her lips, concealing it in shadow.

There was a long pause, "the thing is Ser, that we can't run from each other forever," Blythe whispered. "Eventually, one of us will catch up." A small smile crossed her lips as she lifted her head back up, and let her hand trail down his body, before returning to her side.

by **Serrif Von Chatlyn** on April 13th, 2011, 6:03 pm

As he walked he pondered just why he was doing it. Why was he walking away from her? He still had feelings for her yet all he seemingly wanted to do was just push them aside and let her go. But his mind just wouldn’t let him. With every step it was like part of him just wanted to turn around and race back to her. But he didn’t, until she called out to him he was set on his path. He wanted to get the pack back. He didn’t want to disappoint Ildin. But he had nearly died just coming up from the depths. And now he was pushing himself to go back in and retrieve the pack? Surely that meant death. But that was what pushing yourself was really about. One really only found their true limits when they were dead. Only then did you really exceed your limits. He heard Blythe talk to him. Asking where he was going…wasn’t it obvious? Away from you Blythe…away from my feelings. He stopped and turned around looking to her. His sopping wet clothing clinging to his body still dripping from his near death experience.

But he said nothing she pressed on telling him he should go to the temple. That was where he was going to go right after he got his pack off the bottom of the lake. A problem that he really hadn’t though through very well or even voiced at all. He listened and was somewhat surprised. He had scared some of them by falling into the lake? Was she talking about herself there? Why was she masking her feelings? Was she hiding something? No, she WAS hiding something and he very well knew it. It was another one of those many skills he had acquired in the camp. You could always suppress what you were feeling but there were always signs. Usually in your eyes, or the way your body functioned. Usually trembling indicated suppressed feelings and stress. As she closed the gap between them he listened still not talking and letting her have her speech. He would listen attentively to how she worded everything she said. And more importantly how she said it. Paired with her actions he was getting a clearer picture of what she felt. Her body language was conflicted as he was sure she was as well. He watched and listened intently to her. Her fingers were pale, maybe from fright? But they were trembling as well. That was also confirmed when she touched his shoulder. He could still feel her tremble. She offered to go together; obviously wanting to put the entire incident from before behind them. He wasn’t upset at her as much as confused. And now even made it a little worse.

Her head cast down and she was actually a little ashamed of herself. For her actions she was showing remorse. That meant that she really did want to say something that day. But she didn’t allow herself to. She was indeed hiding something from him. But what exactly was another thing entirely. But he knew that it was deeper than simple feelings. He also felt the tension that she wanted to run again. She apologized for running last time; but he still knew she likely would’ve done it all over again. Just a truth of who she was and what she did. It couldn’t be helped a part of him had been damaged from her. But he wouldn’t show it…he wouldn’t let her know.

“I’m not upset with you Blythe.” He answered in a whisper as his hand gently lifted her head up. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

A part of him wanted to take back that statement entirely. But he didn’t and he wouldn’t. He couldn’t hold grudges forever; especially against her. He had felt so alone before he had met Blythe. Maybe that was why he thought he loved her. Because she understood who he was, where he had come from and he had never had to explain it. Truth be he was never good at explaining what had happened to him; he was almost grateful that she had ‘seen’ what he had gone through. Finally someone actually understood to a degree. She was the only one that really had this understanding. But he had to disconnect this from his ‘feelings’ for her. Sure she understood him; but did she love him? He pondered this and well the only one way he had of finding out worked out horribly. Then it hit him….

Sometimes people acted strange for reasons that weren’t logical. Most Konti women had children by now, if Blythe was as old as she alluded to. Blythe never spoke of her children, nor had he ever seen her with any of her own. He pondered this for a moment or two before suddenly it all came crashing down on him. This manifested itself by a sudden shiver down his spine. One that she could even feel. His skin suddenly washed cold and his pupils dilated for a second….Something horrible had befallen Blythe as well. Maybe he couldn’t feel her scars, but he knew. Something had happened that shook her to the core. Rocked her at the base. Maybe that was why she was afraid of commitment; or afraid of him…or his love. Someone had hurt her, or maybe…maybe it was far worse than that. But what to do now? His mind screamed but he didn’t again want to make this awkward. No; not again. But a part of him wanted to believe he could make this somewhat better. Maybe help her push it away. He spoke gently to her almost a whisper into her ear.

“You’re not alone Blythe…No matter what. I will be here for you.” The words were simple, but they held a heavy serious weight with them. Words that she knew had a heavy promise of devotion behind them. Serrif didn’t make promises he had no intention of keeping. He didn’t say things unless he meant them.

He let her ponder those words and he nodded. “You are never alone.” His hand found the side of her face gently touching her cheek. His fingers long enough to touch the back of her head and neck gently. She would feel his warm touch, just how callused his hands were…yet they were soft. Almost like he was afraid to touch her at all. But they didn’t tremble; like he was set on doing this. He meant it, the touch the words everything. Carefully crafted together like clay to a statue.

“Come let’s go. I would love the company.” He let his hand gently trail off her face as he would then walk beside her along the way to the Temple. Seemed he knew the way there now, for he was a little more sure in his steps and direction.

by **Blythe** on April 14th, 2011, 2:45 am

What a strange thing to remind someone of. Never being alone. There was a slight pause within Blythe's thought processes. He's probably right though, it's nearly impossible to get any time to yourself when you have nine nieces, three older sisters, a mom, a Kelvic, and your grandmother all under the same roof. Blythe sighed. "Well ok, you can lead if you like. It seems like you know where you are going nowadays," Blythe whispered, as his hand fell from her face.

Blythe was walking silently beside Ser, "so is she still pushing you Ser?" Blythe inquired. "Is that why you still come to the pavilion? To pick up those bags she leaves for you?" There was a slight pause. "Just like the last time we met here?" Blythe flashed a weak smile, as she turned to face Serrif. He seemed strained, his face contorted slightly as though he were in pain, or was lying about how he felt about her. No need to think so negatively, he could always have a headache or something after that fall.

"Are you feeling ok Ser?" Blythe asked. "You don't need to sit for a minute or anything, do you?" There was a pause. "After all, it is a bit of a walk, and it's a little warm out today." Blythe was running her fingers absently through her long blonde hair. Several lockes were curling into her flesh, tickling her, but not enough to make her laugh. Her hair was soft, and had a strange calming effect on her. Much like a teddy bear might in the hands of a small child. "We wouldn't want you to pass out again, so if you need a break, just ask ok? The Temple won't be going anywhere, so there is no need for us to rush."