[Flashback]Starting Fresh is Hard(Renalee)

[Volinir Orchid]

51st of Spring, 512AV Two bells before dawn There was a light drizzle that morning, and plump drops of water were trickling through holes in the roof of a well worn building onto a sleeping Symenestra's nose. Volinir awoke with a sneeze, his stomach growling. He hadn't had much to eat yesterday. He wasn't wearing anything other than his pants, the rest of his clothes forming a makeshift pillow. Perhaps with some more rags, a proper nest of sorts. The Symenestra stared up at the sky, smiling softly while fond memories of last night washed over him. Of love and passion, of vows and a brave new future. Of Renalee, the vivacious vixen who had so suddenly stolen his heart. Shortly following them, plans of action. He and Ren would need to make a proper life for themselves, and that meant getting supplies and either finding a less dilapidated house, or fixing up the current one. Lying there, he quietly assembled a list of what they would need: Food, preferably non-perishable. Fresh water was readily available. Wood, for fire and furniture. Bandages and medicine, for when they got sick or injured. Gloves, to cover his tattoo. Clothes, for self evident reasons. A way to disguise themselves. Motivated by his curdling innards, he elected to search for food first. With a quiet sigh, Volinir propped himself up with his elbows and cast his eyes over the hut to locate his newfound lover.

[Renalee]

Ren couldn’t remember when exactly they had fallen asleep. One chime they had been talking, making plans for the future, and the next the girl had woken up with her head on Volinir’s shoulder and arm wrapped tightly around his waist. The hut was still mostly dark with the exception of the few rays of moonlight, making it through the cracks in the ceiling. While she was more than certain that no nightmares had plagued her in the Symenestra’s arms - a welcome change after a season of restless nights - the tension from the past few days hadn’t left her completely. She was still tired, but, try as she might, Ren could sleep no more. Her eyes’s fell on Volinir’s peaceful face, smoothed out by sleep, and she smiled. She reached up very careful, trying not to wake him, and threaded a strand of silver hair between her fingers. This was her man. Her love. Hers. Not wanting to wake him, Ren slowly disentangled herself from his arms and stood up. The hut suddenly seemed much smaller than it had throughout the night with barely any space for the Kelvic to move around. She stepped lightly however, retrieving a green tunic from her backpack to replace the white one that had been ripped off from her by an eager Symenestra only a few bells ago. The satisfied smile wouldn’t leave her lips as she got dressed and secured her belt. She didn’t put any boots or pants on, preferring to wear the tunic rather as a very short dress. Her eyes fell on the pieces of the broken shackles her eyes filling with hatred immediately. She had to get rid of those things straight away! With obvious disgust she wrapped them in what was left of her old tunic, gathered them all up and hid them under her cloak. Checking that her dagger was secured on her belt the blonde quietly made it out of the hut. The night breeze which the small ramshackle building had been protecting them from, hit her bare skin, chilling her whole body almost immediately before she could pull the cloak around her better. It did provide protection from the light rain however, and with the hood up - hid her face from view. Following her nose, Ren quickly managed to get to one of the canals. The streets were deserted at this time so no one came to question the girl’s presence this close to the docks. Leaning over the dark water as much as she dared she let the iron bindings fall in with a loud splashing noise that carried through the quiet neighborhood. Ren startled, eyes darting to survey her surroundings. Not a soul. With a relieved sigh the blonde straightened up and headed back. She figured she hadn’t been gone for more than half a bell, but by the time she returned Volinir had awakened. Ren’s whole face lit up, a bright smile on her lips. “Good morning, my love. Even if it is not quite morning yet.” The girl pulled the door that barely hung on its hinges closed behind her and took the couple of steps that separated her from Volinir.

[Volinir Orchid]

A warm smile greeted Ren as she stepped inside. Volinir chuckled and bounced to his feet before planting a kiss on her cheek. "Good morning!" Despite the emptiness of his gut, the Symenestra was happier than he'd been in years at the sight of his companion. Her 'dress' made Volinir flush a little, and he wrapped his arms around Ren's waist. "I like your choice of outfit." he said playfully, nudging her nose with his own before an angry roar tore from his belly. The hungry Sym grinned sheepishly, pulling back a bit. "You wouldn't happen to have any food in that pack of yours, would you?" Of course, any rations Renalee had wouldn't last forever. They'd have to go out scavenging eventually. Still, it couldn't hurt to do so on a full stomach if it was possible. Volinir broke his embrace to fetch his shirt, momentarily exposing a checkerboard of grisly grey lines on his back before rough cotton covered them. He spun back happily to face Ren, beaming at her. "So, what do we have?"

[Renalee]

It took Volinir no more than the length of a breath to step up to Renalee and wrap her in his arm. The kiss on her cheek only served to widen her smile and she returned it eagerly. At the comment about her outfit a devilish glint lit in her eyes. “I like yours,” Ren teased, running her hands over the man’s bare chest. She was just about to lean in and demand (or rather claim) a real kiss from the Symenestra when his stomach gave a sound in protest. The girl blinked and then giggled, putting a hand up to her face to try and hide her mirth. There was nothing really all that amusing about the situation as the sign of Volinir’s hunger reminded the Kelvic of her own empty stomach. What she had managed to scavenge over the last three days had barely been enough to keep her going and it was only the euphoria of meeting the man that had gotten her to forget about it. Now however, she couldn’t ignore how much her body needed energy if she wanted to keep going. When Volinir pulled away the blonde made a small dissatisfied noise both because of the broken embrace and the fact that the man was reaching for his shirt. She would have made a comment, but she was stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of his back. Her face paled and the sound coming from her chest turned into a small hiss before she could stop it. Whip scars! Her horrified eyes couldn’t look away until the marks were covered by Volinir’s shirt and even then it took her a moment to regain her composure. She knew she shouldn’t mention anything, that he probably wouldn’t want to discuss it or even be reminded of it. So instead, Ren took a hold of her anger and contained it in a safe space inside of her mind where she could access it and act upon it at a later time. The silent promise to find the person who had done this to him and rip their heart out managed to somewhat appease her. Before Volinir could notice the change in her expression and question her about it she hurried to answer his previous query. “No, unfortunately I don’t have anything. I’ve been scavenging for the last couple of days, but that’s not nearly enough.” Ren walked over to her bag and started rummaging through it and listing things they did have at their disposal. “There are some other things that can be useful though. I still have some herbs and bandages. And some flint and steel to light a fire. Oh! I have a second knife.” The blonde pulled out the blade in its plain brown sheath and passed it to Volinir. “It’s nothing special, and you do have those dangerous claws of yours, but an ordinary blade is better than no blade at all. Take it? Just in case.” Renalee had been rather lucky to retrieve all of her belongings when she escaped the slavers. Most of the things in her backpack had been deemed useless or of too little worth to bother with by the men who had held her captive with. The exceptions were her dagger and her small purse full of coins. Those she had retrieved from the dead body of the smug vagik who thought that just because she was starved and beaten she wouldn’t be able to fight back if he tried forcing himself on her. Ren pulled out the purse now and showed it to Volinir with a small smile. “I also have some money. Although, I’m not sure how often we will be able to to go out and buy something, if at all.” With the fresh bruises on her wrists and neck and the man’s tattoo it would probably be safer to remain in the shadows and try and steal whatever they needed.

[Volinir Orchid]

The light friction of Ren's smooth hands on his chest sent ripples of warmth through Volinir's body. He nipped playfully at her neck before his stomach spoiled the mood. When she pouted at him for breaking the hug though, he paused mid-turn and pulled her close for a proper kiss. After a breath or so, he pulled away again. While she was still as sweet as honey, it was no substitute for food. He laid a slender finger on her lower lip, chirping mischievously, "I promise we'll have some alone time after we've something in our bellies, all right?" Hearing her reaction to his scars, Volinir's eyes turned downcast, and he hurried to cover them. "It's nothing," he insisted, "Just ancient history." It hurt to see her so worked up, especially about something Volinir didn't see as very important. So he got whipped a few times. What was so surprising about that? Apparently, Renalee agreed, since she started talking about supplies. No food to satisfy his whining belly, but... "I still have some herbs and bandages. And some flint and steel to light a fire. Oh! I have a second knife. It’s nothing special, and you do have those dangerous claws of yours, but an ordinary blade is better than no blade at all. Take it? Just in case.” Volinir nodded to Ren, smiling gratefully, and attached the knife to his belt. "Can't hurt. I'm more than capable of holding my own without one, though. See this?" he said, tapping a small nick just above his eyebrow with his thumb. "Got this in a bar brawl." He didn't mention that he also got a few of the marks on his back from it as well, after his master had found out what he had been up to. The coin purse elicited a smile from Volinir as well. "That'll be good for buying silence from some of our neighbors, and from a very special innkeeper..." The Symenestra stretched and tossed Renalee her pants. It was time to go hunting. "While very nice, I think it's best we keep your fashion between us, eh? I'm going to see if I can get us something edible, and maybe a mattress if we're lucky. I think it's best we stuck together for now..." Volinir didn't worry too much about Renalee's ability to conduct herself in a fight if she could turn into a mountain predator, and it would lower the chances of either one of them getting ambushed. If Ren got up, he'd give her a quick peck and step out the door into the dilapidated docks. Thanks to more than a few years of running errands, he knew them better than most. He cut through the narrow pathways, until they reached a canal separating the Docks from the more fashionable part of the city. Here, there were a few houses on their side that weren't quite as run down as the others. Quietly stalking the streets, Volinir finally found what he was looking for: A small bakery nestled between two simple wood houses. One of them appeared to be where the actual bakers lived. It would be difficult to enter from the ground floor, with the doors and windows bolted shut, but as per usual, there was a clothesline running between the bakers' house, and the one next to their shop. He smiled nostalgically, remembering both the last time he did something similar, and the years spent traveling the crimson strands of silk that made up Kalinor's streets. "Wait here, and whistle if you see anyone..." Volinir said before slowly climbing his way up the wall and shimmying along the line, his light skeleton allowing it to support his weight. A chime later, he was in the building. On the other side of the canal, the faint sound of approaching footfalls sounded. They were coming from a tall, heavy set man in his late twenties, with close cropped, jet black hair and matching beard. He wore simple studded leather armor, had a brass lantern in his left hand, and a long truncheon on his belt. Likely a simple city guard patrolling the streets that mattered. He was strolling down the edge of the canal, quickly approaching a bridge. A few ticks after passing it, a loud cry of "STOP, THIEF!" could be heard from the baker's home. Following that, the loud bang of a wide-eyed Volinir slamming the door of the bakery open with an armload of bread. A clay mug whistled behind him and shattered loudly on the wall, and a dim orange light was quickly becoming visible in the doorway. The Sym bolted out, followed by a fat man in his later years wielding a lantern and a bread knife, and a middle aged woman with muscled arms brandishing a rolling pin. The guard's head snapped to the bakery, and he ran back to the bridge with an angry shout. In a half chime, he'd be on the other side of the canal. "They heard me looking through the pantry. RUN!"

[Renalee]

Perhaps an onlooker would find the speed with which things between Volinir and Ren were developing strange. They might suspect their interactions of being false or forced.They might think them blind or foolish. From the inside however, there couldn’t have been anything else that felt this... right. Every word, every gesture came with an ease that even years spent together couldn’t bring to two people who were just wrong. He knew exactly what to say, she did just the right thing and they matched each other on every step and with every breath. It was the perfect balance, the perfect exchange. And it would have happened all the same at any other time or pace. A part of Ren just knew that it was alright to demand a kiss, to interrupt the man and draw him back into an embrace. It was alright to laugh when his stomach rumbled and to openly appreciate the fact he wasn’t wearing a shirt. It was alright if she pretended not to care that someone had abused and scared his back, if that was what he needed to feel at ease around her. And at the same time it was alright to make sure to take revenge. So the girl laughed when Volinir showed her his ‘battle scar‘ like she would have at any other time. She tried picturing him in a bar brawl, but couldn’t, so she laughed even more in the impossible images in her head. In a chime or so her anger was pushed well below the surface of her immediate emotions and she could focus on things other than the need to cause pain to those who had hurt her loved one. It turned out Symenestra were as particular about clothing as humans were, something which Ren found out when the silver-haired man tossed her her pants and playfully suggested she put them on before they left for the day. The girl obliged him, but not without shaking her head with amusement. Clothes were perhaps one of the most bizarre human concepts. Why wouldn’t it be ok to walk around just as you were? Why would people rather put on pieces of fabric that weighed them down and slowed their movements? It was just silly. Still, Ren put on her pants, even adding on her boots, just to show that she did in fact know the rules humans played by. Outside, the Kelvic left Volinir lead the way, certain that he knew the city much better than she did. Instead, she put her senses to good use and tried and look out for any possible threats. None were forthcoming and the two made their way quickly to a slightly better part of town. Ren caught the scent of bread a few streets before the actual bakery and suddenly felt the full weight of her hunger again. Her mouth watered as she imagine the crunchy crust and the melting softness hidden underneath. They would be eating very soon. "Wait here, and whistle if you see anyone..." Ren found herself with her back pressed against the wall of another building the Symenestra was breaking into and wondered for a brief moment if this would be a reoccurring thing in the future as well. Then she remembered she couldn’t actually whistle. It seemed to be too late to change the signal now so Ren focused instead on the little noises Volinir was making over in the baker’s house. Everything seemed to be going alright until... A loud crash could be heard as something inside the house broke violently. The distressed scream of ‘Thief!’ and the loud bang of the front door opening as Volinir flew through it must have woken the entire neighborhood. Ren’s hand had immediately flown towards the sheath of her dagger at the first sound of the commotion and she leaped to intercept her lover before he was even halfway out of the bakery. His order to run was rather unnecessary as the two of them threw themselves into the maze of paths and alleys. The narrow streets which were relatively easy to navigate whilst walking were a nightmare at their current pace. Ren cursed herself for putting on her shoes which slipped against the ground, still wet from the light rain from earlier, and made her feel like she could loose her balance at any moment. The member of the city guard had noticed the two thieves even before he had managed to cross the bridge. His running looked heavy and slightly uncoordinated, but he managed to keep up with them with ease, swerving into turns with a grace that would have seemed impossible for his body at a first glance. The light of the lantern bounced off the wooden walls of the buildings he passed, casting heavy shadows in front of him. Every time Volinir and Renalee passed through a longer straight pass its light would reach them and cause them to try and speed up. ”Stop right there!” The guard’s voice was deep and powerful and rang loud and clear in the early morning air. Ren’s breathing was starting to come out in short gasps, something which wouldn’t have happened at all if her body wasn’t dealing with exhaustion. The girl wasn’t used to such a level of disobedience from her own muscles and couldn’t adapt and move accordingly. She had also completely lost track of their location and wasn’t sure Volinir knew where they were or where they were heading either. To top it all off, Ren could swear that the footsteps behind them sounded closer than they had a moment ago. If they didn’t manage to loose the guard soon she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace. They turned around a corner again and this time the blonde really stumbled, barely managing to keep herself upright. In front of them was a long alley which, if they continued to follow, would lead them to one of the city’s smaller canals where the bridge was up for the night to allow passage for merchant boats, supplying various shops and inns in the neighborhood. The only other way was left between two houses standing very close to one another, over a path that finished into the wall of another building. Whichever way the pair chose to run they would soon realize they were trapped.

[Volinir Orchid]

Volinir blanched when he saw Ren stumble, a few loaves of bread tumbling onto the ground as he snatched at her to stop her from falling. A quick glance revealed the cold reality: He could try to swim or climb up the building, possibly stranding Renalee and losing their bread bounty. Even the first possibility was reason enough to stop him from considering continuing fleeing. Instead, he stopped just after rounding the corner, shifting into a wide stance. He wasn't sure if he could pull off what he was about to try to do: He'd only seen it done, and it wasn't exactly easy. Still, it was that or pray they were only slightly beaten half to death. As the orange glow of his lantern grew brighter, Volinir twisted on the ball of his foot, bringing his other one up and slamming his heel into the guard's jaw. The man whipped around, a spatter of blood staining the floor and walls, and a single yellowed tooth flying out of his mouth. Volinir stumbled and stuck his hands onto the wall to stop himself from falling. As the soldier started to recover, Volinir slashed at the side of his face with his nails, carving crimson canyons into his cheek and jaws. His ear hung loosely by a twitching strand of bloodied flesh, and he screamed in pain. The Sym drew his bloodied hand back for another swipe, but the furious guard rammed his shoulder into Volinir's gut, knocking them both to the ground and raining bread down on them. The soldier shoved himself to a kneeling position and brought his truncheon down on Volinir's head. Once. Twice. Three times. Volinir's vision flashed white with every impact, his nose bloodied, lip broken. He threw his arms up to defend himself, blindly clawing at the man in a desperate bid to get him off. Fire hardened oak pressed against Volinir's throat, setting his lungs and windpipe aflame. Black spots danced in front of his eyes, the gleaming yellow of the soldier's spiteful grin the only clear thing in his rapidly fogging vision. Bruised white hands pushed fruitlessly against gnarled olive ones with flagging strength. He didn't know if Renalee had ran, was too petrified to intervene, or if the bakers had caught up with them and gotten to her. All he could do as his consciousness began to fade was pray she had gotten to safety.

[Renalee]

Volinir turned the last corner in front of them and Ren managed to follow without too much trouble this time. When he came to a halt however, her face paled and she only managed to stop a couple of steps later. He didn’t really mean for them to fight this guy did he? But when the Symenestra landed a swift kick to the guard's jaw the moment the man came around the building Ren got her answer. For a few ticks she couldn’t help but watch in horror as the fight escalated in front of her eyes. At first it looked like Volinir was at a good advantage, managing to slash the other man’s face open and almost rip his ear off. Ren had pulled out her dagger, but didn’t know what she could do to intervene as it was. She’d get in the Symenestra’s way and the guard with his impressive size would only need to slam her in a wall once to make her lose consciousness. And what good would she be then? At least it looked like Volinir was handling it well and... That was only so until the guard lunged forward with a roar, knocking the slender Symenestra to the ground and falling on top of him. The girl was frozen in space as the first few hits landed. Terror gripped both her heart and her body and was making it impossible to think. It was the smell of the first drop of blood that the guard managed to draw from her lover that send her into motion again. The terror was immediately replaced by white hot rage and Ren tore at her cloak and her belt, managing to kick off her boots before shifting. The dagger clattered on the ground as the rest of her clothes ripped in the swirl of light and made space for the mountain lion’s larger body. The puma screamed - a terrible meowing growl - as her hind legs shot her forward and into the body of the large man. Her teeth sank into his shoulder and she dragged him the rest of the way off Volinir. Her victim howled in pain and horror at the sight of the big cat and the feel of its teeth tearing his flesh. Pinned under Ren he could only do so much to defend himself. His truncheon managed to land a few hits on her head and neck and on her side over her ribs before it was ripped from his hand. Renalee was seeing black, the only thing in her head the images of the damned weapon hitting Volinir and pressing into his throat playing on repeat. There was nothing she wanted but to rip this man to shreds. Her claws had dug into his chest and he was barely managing to fend off her fangs, but both him and the puma knew it was only a matter of time. His attempts to defend himself were getting weaker and weaker and at last there was the opening she had been waiting for. With a victorious growl Ren’s head shot forward, jaws closing over the exposed part of her victim’s neck. With a powerful shake and pull of her head the man’s throat tore open. Blood gushed from the severed carotid artery, covering the puma’s fur in bright red. The body under her twitched a few times before stilling forever. Ren staggered away from the corpse of the dead guard before shifting again. The blonde looked like a creature from nightmares as she rushed over to Volinir. Her face and neck, as well as her bare chest and arms were covered in the blood of her victim. Bruises were starting to appear over her ribs and the side of her shoulder and neck where the guard had managed to strike her. Ren fell to her knees next to the Symenestra, trembling fingers brushing away the strands of silver from his face. “Volinir!” Her voice was just a strangled whisper. “Can you hear me? Are you alright?” A cold droplet of water landed on Ren’s face. It was starting to rain again.

[Volinir Orchid]

Fresh air suddenly flooded Volinir's lungs, burning his raw throat. He raised his head languidly to see Renalee's true form tearing into the soldier. Volinir was loath to admit it, but as a puma, she was a little... frightening. He blinked dizzily a few times, and by the time he had come back to his senses, Ren was brushing his hair out of his face, leaving a red streak across his forehead. The injured Sym smiled weakly at his savior, squeezing her hand with his clean one before reaching up to caress her cheek. "Yes... Thanks to you." The droplets of rain picked up to a mild storm, and within a chime most of the blood was washed off of both of them. Volinir slowly got to his feet, reaching out to Ren for support. "I didn't expect him to tackle me." the Symenestra groaned bitterly as he stood and scooped up the now moist loaves of bread strewn across the ground. He knelt over the man, muttered a quick blessing, "Moz seh krevas dav'ene obris zhevat." then rose, turned, and didn't give him a second glance. Why would he bother with the meat, after all? More importantly, he'd nearly tried to kill him, and bruised his beloved. A bit of scouring netted them a few coppers, and some slightly damaged leather armor. It was nothing like the lightweight shell Volinir had when he set out from Kalinor, but it would do to protect his fragile bones. He tried kissing Ren on the cheek to take her mind off her injuries and his own, offering the armful of bread to her as they slowly meandered back to their little hut. They'd lost the bakers in the chase, fortunately. Volinir pulled his shirt off shortly before they started moving, holding it out to Ren. She might not think much of modesty, but he simply felt uncomfortable letting her display so much in public, even if it was to no one. Half a bell later, they were back home, if it could be called that, and the exhausted Symenestra collapsed onto their makeshift bed, too tired to even eat. The bread fell into a small pile next to the mound of clothes.

[Renalee]

Ren gently pulled Volinir’s head into her lap, hands carefully going over the bruises and scrapes on his face. He had said he was alright but a worry like nothing she had felt before was gnawing on her insides. The rain picked up, drenching both of them and sending small streams of diluted blood down the alley. Ren’s hair was sticking to her forehead and her back and droplets were falling in her eyes. She hated rain in the city. It made the whole world seem miserable She only let Volinir up when she was sure he was truly alright and helped him stand to his feet. When they had confirmed there was little of value on the body of the guard Ren managed to pull it a little bit further down the alley to hide it from the view of anyone who might have passed by the corner. The burden was heavy and she struggled for a while, but managed it in the end. The remains of the man looked terrible and with the blood washed away you could clearly see the jagged wounds caused by feline claws and teeth as well as the obsidian claws of the Symenestra. This was the second human Ren had killed in the span of three days. This was the second human she had killed - ever. Ravok was turning her into something she wasn’t sure she wanted to be. The girl’s ribs were starting to hurt with every breath she took, but she ignored it in favor of collecting her cloak, belt, dagger and boots. When she stood up her head spun unpleasantly. Ren ignored that too and stepped closer to Volinir, accepting both his kiss and his shirt. As soaked as the material of the garment was she wasn’t sure what good it would do to hide anything about her body, but she put it on anyways, the cloak draping over her shoulders next. She took the loaves of bread while the Symenestra carried the armor they had also looted and followed him back to their hut. Two things had happened by the time they reached their ‘home’. The rain had stopped, the sky finally clearing, and the first rays of sunshine had broken over the docks. Black spots had also started dancing in front of Ren’s eyes and her breathing had sped up again despite their rather slow pace. The girl stubbornly refused to acknowledge the signs of complete exhaustion her body was sending her and pushed through it with the determination of someone who wanted to take care of their loved one first. Ren paused to close the door behind them as Volinir let his body tumble on the floor where they had spent the night. The girl thought they should check out his head again just to make sure there wasn’t some serious damage done. They might need some of the herbs or bandages or... they would definitely need fire. Renalee was making a list in her head, wondering what she should do first. In the end she settled for approaching the man, forcing him to lift his head and turn his face towards her. Her fingers ran over his nose and then paused to rest on his lip as alert green eyes inspected the injuries. “I don’t think your nose is broken, which is a real miracle, but that cut on your lip looks rather nasty.” The girl said after a chime or so of just looking and touching gently. “And this side of your face is rather bruised.” Her hand lingered over his cheek for a moment. “I have something to help with the swelling.” Ren carefully let his head go and stood up. The small room immediately spun in front of her eyes. She gritted her teeth and continued talking as she reach for her backpack. “And it won’t hurt to wash everything out with an infusion. But we’ll need fire for that, and...” The girl didn’t get any further. The moment she crouched down to look for the appropriate herbs in one of the compartments of her bag an unpleasant sick feeling rose from her stomach. Her body suddenly felt impossibly heavy and the dark spots danced furiously in front of her eyes, causing her sight to blur. Ren only manage to stagger forward before the world turned black.