[Flashback] Similarly Fated (Volinir)

[Renalee]

50th day of Spring, 512 AV Ren dejectedly dragged her bare feet through one of the smaller alleyways, staying as far away from the canals and the bigger streets as possible. She took another ten steps or so, pace slowing with each one, before she finally leaned her back on the nearest wall and sank to the ground with an audible thump and a sigh. Leaning her head on the stones she reached up to futilely tug at the iron collar clasped tightly around her neck. She could no longer tell if her bindings were truly as heavy as they seemed, or if it was her mind, resentful of their constriction, that was making them feel so. The girl was tired and there was nothing she wanted more than to sleep. She had been wondering the streets for three days now and had only managed to close her eyes and rest for a bell here and there, dagger always clasped tightly in her hand. That stolen time had provided little rest for her body and even less for her mind. The fear and hunger which the few stolen scraps from the garbage piles of a couple inns hadn’t managed to sate, were starting to take their toll on her and the exhaustion from the season spent traveling with the slavers caravan was unshakable. Three days since she had ripped the carotid of the slave trader left to guard her. Three days since she should have left this wretched city. She had wanted nothing more than to get out of Ravok and never look back. But fear of what could happen to her if she went out into the Wildlands in her much more fragile human form with no way of shifting into the puma that she was made her stay. She had to find a way of taking those petching bindings off! They were awful, ugly rings made out of iron, clipped to her wrists and neck with large padlocks that held them in place. There was a loop on each one which would allow for chains to be attached and act as leashes. Ren had tried everything she could think of to take them off, but to no avail. She had pulled them, scratched at them, bitten them, hit them with stones or against stones, but they wouldn’t budge. She had even tried inserting the tip of her dagger into the locks to try and open them like that, but it was too wide and wouldn’t fit. In the end the Kelvic had realized she either needed something smaller, thiner and sharper to possibly unlock them or the tools of a blacksmith to break the rings themselves. She was trapped by her own fear - unable to leave as she was, but too scared to approach anyone for help, the risk that they would return her to those who had caught her and tried to enslave her too great to take. Ren knew she couldn’t just continue wondering the streets. There were too many possible dangers - some made up, but some very real - both to her life and her freedom. She would have to gather her courage and make a choice. Soon. But not now. Not yet. For now the girl was content to lay her backpack next to her, unsheathe her small dagger and make another attempt to slide its blade inside the padlock on her left wrist and try to open it. It was alright to stay there for a bit. No one would notice her form, huddled in the corner between two houses as she was. No one was even around the narrow, dirty streets of this part of the city to do that.

[Volinir Orchid]

It wasn't often that Volinir took to the rooftops. He rarely had time to himself, and that time was usually spent in the nearest tavern. Tonight was a beautiful night though, and the Symenestra wanted to enjoy the cool air to its fullest. Leth was shining his brightest, and Volinir was happily ambling along, relishing the light wind tickling his skin, and the sweet scent of the lake. He'd grown used to the smell of grime, to the point of it not registering any more. Suddenly a faint thump caught his attention. Looking down, he saw the oddest thing; a girl with manacles around her neck and wrists sitting against the wall opposite him. Volinir's brow furrowed, and he absently rubbed the pink lines around his own wrists where there were once shackles all too similar to the ones on Renalee. His eyes watered slightly. There had been far too many for him to be able to escape, but this girl seemed to have been able to break free of the slavers after her, if nothing else. But bindings like that were even more blatant signs of an escaped slave than the tattoo adorning the back of his hand. Well, she wasn't going to suffer his fate. Not if he could help it. He descended down the sheer wooden wall with as much ease as crawling on a flat floor, dropping down on all fours once he was a few feet from the ground. Both of them were barefoot, funnily enough, though Volinir's lack of shoes had a purpose. Whether or not she noticed him, he'd rise up with a sympathetic expression. "Hey... You're an escapee, right?" Should she show fear or discomfort, he'd raise his hand and say, "Relax, I'm a friend."

[Renalee]

The very tip of her dagger had made it into the lock like it had all the other times she had tried it. Her left wrist was propped up on her knees and Ren was using her right hand to try and wiggle the blade around inside the tiny whole. Nothing was happening. She could feel no resistance from inside the lock - the blade simply couldn’t go far enough inside to even touch the locking mechanism. Sweat had broken on her forehead from the effort and concentration and a soft, irritated grow escaped her lips. She refused to give up however and would have continued her efforts if not for the slight shift in the air and the appearance of an unfamiliar scent. The Kelvic’s eyes shot up only to be met with the sight of a strange man. "Hey... You're an escapee, right?" The onslaught of fear was immediate as well as the realization that there was no escape route - Renalee had managed to drive herself into a corner on her very own. She jumped to her feet, immediately taking on a fighting stance - knees, waist and shoulders all slightly bended to pull her torso and abdominal area as far away from her attacker as possible. The dagger was lowered, pointing directly to the man’s chest as Ren hissed and showed him her teeth. They were nothing like the impressive set she had in her mouth as a puma, but her canines were still slightly sharper than those of any ordinary human. The problem was this man wasn’t human. He smelled of poison and pain, of something sweet and of melancholy, and about a dozen other things Ren couldn’t identify. He certainly wasn’t human. But what he was... she didn’t know. The man seemed slightly taken aback by her reaction. Ren silently congratulated herself on taking him by surprise and thought it was foolish of him to underestimate her - something he clearly must have done. But, instead of lunging at her like she would have done in his position, the stranger just raised a hand in what Ren could have sworn was a peaceful gesture. "Relax, I'm a friend." The blonde cocked her head slightly to the left, surprise colouring her features. She was studying the man’s face and posture, finding nothing false in the way he carried himself. He was tall and thin with silver hair reaching down to his shoulders and amethyst eyes looking at Ren with what she thought was kindness. However, it wasn’t that which cause her to lower her blade (lower it, but not yet put it away). It was the red, slightly faded marks on his wrists and neck. Marks which could have only been left by what plagued the Kelvic right now. Could this strange man have suffered the same fate as she had? But why would he stay in this city? Why hadn’t he ran as far away from here as he could the moment his own manacles had fallen? It was possible that he wasn’t free, but rather bought and trusted enough to roam the streets on his own at night. Perhaps he was even here to bring her to his master.There was no way to be sure and his smell would tell her nothing about his intentions. ”Who are you,” Ren enquired after a moment’s consideration, deciding the only way to get answers was to ask questions. ”What are you?” She lowered her blade a little bit more, but stood her ground. ”And why do you claim to be my friend when I am certain that in this city friendship can’t grow and doesn’t exist.”

[Volinir Orchid]

Volinir laughed at that, inadvertently flashing his own pair of canines. These were quite obviously abnormal though; inch long fangs capable of dispensing fatal toxin. More likely than not, what Renalee had smelled on him. The ebony claws on his extended hand glinted in the moonlight. He quickly regained control of himself, and his smile softened. "I am Volinir, a Symenestra of Kalinor, and you'd be right, Miss. The only people here who treat us like anything other than animals are foreigners and other in our position. That means me. Now, while I'd love to go on, we've got to get these shackles off of you, and find you some place to hide." If she stood down, Volinir would beckon her to follow him. He knew Ravok like the back of his hand at this point, and he knew exactly where to go to get what they needed to crack the iron encircling her wrists.

[Renalee]

A Symenestra. That’s what the man - Volinir - had claimed to be. Ren had heard of the spider race, but she had never seen one of them. She sniffed the air tentatively again, trying to memorize his scent, remembering the blood and heritage that went with it, but also the person. This strange man, this Symenetrsa, who knew nothing about her, other than the fact she had pulled a knife on him, had offered had offered to help her. She was sure of it - he had said the words and she had heard them, seen his lips move to form them. He could help her take the foul bindings off. He could help her find a safe place to hide. The arm holding the dagger fell limp to Ren’s side and her body straightened up, eyes downcast for a moment, before she looked up to meet Volinir’s gaze. ”I’m sorry.” Her wrist made a small movement to indicate she meant the threat she had directed at him a chime ago. “Do you think you can really take these off?” Hope warmed its way into the blonde’s voice and on her face as her eyes fell on the set of ebony claws that still caught Leth’s light. They looked almost elegant in their deadliness and a shiver climbed up the girl’s spine. Ren sheathed her dagger and picked her bag off the ground. At Volinir’s gesture she took a step closer to him, keeping her green eyes locked with his amethyst ones. In a part of her mind she rarely explored her father’s voice reminded her of the Symenestra’s nature and what they used Kelvics like her for in the depths of their caves in Kalinor. But this wasn’t Kalinor and Volinir wasn’t just a Symenestra. The red marks stood out in contrast to his pale skill. They were similarly fated. ”Where can we go?” Then as if on second thought she added: “I’ve been given the human name Renalee by the way. Ren.” She cleared her throat and continued in a much quieter, gentler voice. “Thank you, Volinir.” He would understand.

[Volinir Orchid]

Volinir shrugged dismissively at her apology. "I think I can manage it." There was something about this girl that he couldn't quite pin down. Perhaps it was the lack of hostility; being in Ravok meant contending with an entire city's prejudice. Perhaps it was the startling green eyes. Perhaps it was seeing someone as low as him who still clung to hope. Whatever it was, it roused something long dormant in him. On impulse, he took her hand when she introduced herself and planted a delicate kiss on it, "A pleasure to meet you, Renalee. Don't thank me yet, though. We're heading to the Docks." With that, he led her down the dirty alleyways and silent streets, charting a convoluted path towards their destination, both to avoid drawing attention to themselves, and to throw off anyone who might have deigned to follow Ren. Half a bell later, the quality of the buildings began to deteriorate sharply. Sickly green moss clung to moldering wood, and the occasional rat skittered across their path. This section of the city was far from lit, too. While Renalee might start having trouble seeing, the darkness posed no challenge to Volinir. "It shouldn't be far now..." Finally, they came across a small, two story forge. The doors were locked shut, but a window was ajar on the second floor. "Wait here, and try to stay out of sight." Volinir said before sidling up to the wall and laying his hands flat against it. Miniscule hooks extended out from his skin, and slowly, quietly, he crept up and into the building. A few chimes later, he returned with a small file held between his teeth. "This should do it..." He tapped her lightly on the arm and led her down a winding crisscross of streets, if they could be called that, to a decaying hut with a broken door. "It's not the prettiest place, but it'll do its job." The floorboards creaked softly as Volinir stepped in, sitting down three feet or so away from the door and gesturing for Renalee to do the same. Once that was done, he got to scraping. Small sparks flew from the shackle on her right wrist as the hard iron ground under the back and forth motion of the file. A bell later, a loud "chink!" sounded from the metal, and the manacle clattered to the floor. Volinir repeated the process twice more, and before long, broken iron littered the floor. "There. Good as new!"

[Renalee]

Renalee followed the Symenestra without hesitation, keeping close to his side as they crept through narrow pathways and between buildings where even Leth’s light seemed dim. Her shoulder would sometimes brush against the man’s as she trusted him to lead her through the darker places, his eyes seeing better through the shadows than even her feline ones. The pair moved quickly and soon enough the familiar stink of rotting wood, rats’ excrements and algae that was typical of docks was unpleasantly teasing the Kelvic’s sensitive sense of smell. Despite the repulsive tinge to the air the blonde inhaled deeply, letting the memories of another dock ease the remains of her fear. Ren stood quiet and still, her back pressed into the two-story building’s wall as she waited for Volinir to make it back. She was focused on his scent and the barely audible even to her ears sound of his movements somewhere above. When he returned with a file her joy lit up her face and she reached out to grip his hand in a gesture of immense appreciation. The shackles were still weighing her wrists down, but between the rings of two bells he had accomplished more than she had for almost 72 whole ones. Ren was confident that before the night was over he would have her walk as a free Kelvic again. She followed the man eagerly as he led the way to a hut that was very much past its good Seasons. They made it inside and before she knew it Volinir had started filing the binds away. Ren’s eyes never once left his form, alternating between looking at his determined face and his quickly moving hands. He worked tirelessly, without pause and without complaint and the Kelvic thought it was because he knew that with every slide of the small instrument over the iron her impatience grew and the constraints became harder to bare. When the last one of the shackles fell loudly to the ground Ren almost couldn’t believe it. Her whole body felt suddenly lighter, exhaustion and weariness dissipating at the face of her exaltation. Her fingers traced her wrists and then rose to touch her now bare neck before her eye turned to Volinir again, alight with gratitude and an affection deeper than could be understood. The blonde reached out, taking a hold of his left hand and pulling it closer until it was next to hers, wrist to wrist. The marks of their slavery stood next to each other, both clearly visible against pale skin; hers angry and new, his older, but never forgotten. How long had he suffered his nightmare? Her fingers gently traced his skin where it had been made to alter its complexion. Ren brought his hand to her forehead and nudged his knuckles and then his palm softly in a gesture that carried both submission and a gratitude that couldn’t be expressed through words. Then, because Symenestra weren’t Kelvic and perhaps he wouldn’t understand she voiced the meaning her actions had already conveyed tenfold. “Thank you. I owe you a debt far greater than I could ever repay you. If I can do something for you you need to only name it.” A child of the wild, being deprived of her freedom was a fate far worse than any death could be. Ren didn’t owe a life debt. It was much bigger than that. “I can’t free you as you seem to have already found your own way, but anything else I can do...” The girl didn’t know what she could give the Symenestra when in her eyes he already had the most important thing there was. She didn’t know what he would ask for, or if he would ask for anything at all. What she did know was that now that she had found a true friend in the most unlikely of places she wasn’t ready to let him go. He just had to stay with her for at least a while longer.

[Volinir Orchid]

The light sensation of Renalee's fingers on his skin were like the touch of Cheva to the love starved Symenestra. It had been a long time indeed since Volinir had felt anything close to this kind of affection. Five years, if he wanted to count. The hut was drafty, but he felt warm. He felt her nuzzling his hand, and as if by instinct, it drifted down to caress her dimpled cheek. For the most part, Volinir donned an abrasive armor around him, a subtle form of rebellion, and a not so subtle way of keeping people from sharing his shame. Somehow, this girl had slipped in through a gap and nestled herself near his heart. A warm smile crept onto his face. Then he heard her speak, and turned a light pink. “Thank you. I owe you a debt far greater than I could ever repay you. If I can do something for you you need to only name it. I can’t free you as you seem to have already found your own way, but anything else I can do...” Volinir opened his mouth to protest, to say he didn't deserve it, or that doing what she was suggesting meant staying in Ravok, even to explain why he was still in Ravok, to say something. Instead, he pulled Ren towards him and kissed her. Never mind that he'd just met her, never mind that he was putting her in mortal danger by giving her a reason to stay. That didn't run through his head. Little did. He wasn't sure what he wanted, or what he was trying to accomplish. At the moment, all that mattered was the soft texture of Renalee's skin, the supple curve of her waist, her apple sweet aroma. Time had frozen for him, and he was adoring it. Adoring her. His black claws turned on her tunic, obsidian shards raking down her back and tearing through fabric while white beams from the full moon streamed through holes in the roof.

[Renalee]

Ren hadn’t known the subtle meaning her words had carried as she had given them freely to the man. She was an innocent in many ways, her soul bright and new. A man had yet to look at her the way Volinir’s eyes were now, betraying both desire and some form of affection. A man had yet to touch her the way his strong arms were pulling her towards him. All of that faded as his lips connected with hers, leaving only instinct, a strange new emotion she couldn’t identify and a desire churning deep inside of her. The sound of tearing fabric ripped through the silence as the Symenestra’s claws cut through the material of her tunic, gently grazing the pale skin on her back. A sound akin to a cat’s purr tore from deep inside the girl’s throat and she leaned further into his arms. Her hands made it to Volinir’s neck, fingers tracing the soft skin there before tangling into the silky silver locks of his hair. Her lips were still on his, kissing him with a hunger very much like the puma’s the moment skin and flesh broke under her teeth and blood gushed to wet her tongue. She moved on instinct, without thought, the only certain thing in her mind that fact that she had been wrong. She hadn’t wanted him to stay. She had needed him to. Ren broke the kiss for a moment, letting air fill her lungs as emerald met amethyst once more. The fingers of her right hand trailed the side of his face, tracing his temple, the rise of his cheekbone, the corner of his mouth, the line of his jaw. “Volinir...” She whispered the name, letting it roll off her tongue, tasting it together with his intoxicating scent filling her chest and her whole being. That single word was enough. It carried all - her want, her need and that deep unknown emotion that was making he chest ache. A breath passed between them before Ren’s lips found Volinir’s again. She would let him take her. She would let him claim her. For there was nothing more she wanted in this moment than to be his.

[Volinir Orchid]

A gust of wind swung the broken door shut. Venom pumped into Volinir's fangs as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, a couple drops mixing in with his saliva. Renalee's taste was like ambrosia, and it left him wanting more. The Kelvic's feral energy surprised Volinir, and stirred him to even greater heights of passion. A storm of emotion raged in him, and their kiss was its center. Even so, a Symenestra had to remain elegant. He felt her pull away, his shoulders heaving as his hands trailed up to her shoulders and rubbed her arms, taking the tattered tunic with them and letting it drop to the floor. It might have been a trick of his eyes, but to Volinir her creamy white body seemed to gleam in the light as if her skin was made of pearl. She was otherworldly, entrancing, and he couldn't get enough of her. He wanted to ravage her, to make her scream. The lethality of his actions were taking shape in the back of his mind, but by the time they coalesced into a thought, their lips were locked again, and the future was a distant, fuzzy thing. Something that didn't exist in the ramshackle structure they had made magical. The mist made by their mingling breath, the pressure of her chest against his, and the closeness that came from it all were the only things that existed. Nimble fingers that wielded the file so deftly drifted down between Ren's legs, while the remains of the tunic were flung away.