Flashback As Hope Lay Dying

[Tobias]

;)

On the 68th of Summer, 507 years After the Valterrian.

The night had been long and hard, but dawn had finally bled over the horizon.

The yolk of the summer storms that had come to pass the previous day had not entirely been thrown off, as evidenced in the angry rumbling of the sky and the choppiness of the waves beneath it. And in the southern Suvan, the Sealord’s wrath had been brought to bear against a ship, and now only a few scattered bits of wood and sail remained. But, all the same, it was finally quiet. Peaceful. And there was not a soul about those parts - save one.

The bard lazed on a bit of driftwood, his only companions ghosts and flies.

The latter did naught by buzz around his head, while the former held much greater torments. They were no true specters, not truly, brought to life only in the recesses of a delirious mind. But to the driftwood bard, they were real enough; they lingered at the corners of his eyes, laughing, crying, speaking. “You killed me, truly,” one woman cried out in anguish. Another specter loomed over her, and a grotesque smile was plastered to his face. “Your fault, your fault, your fault,” this one taunted the bard.

Their forms and faces were indistinct, but the bard knew who they were. But there was pain in simply remembering, so he tried his best to shut out the voices and the memories.

He didn’t remember how long he had been on this piece of wood. The ship had gone down in fire and wood, and a simple candle, downed by a storm, was to blame. While the crew, the bard included, had gone to fight the spreading blaze, the sea raged unchecked against the ship’s bow and pushed it into dangerous waters. The rocks, sharp and jutting, had been hiding there, in that patch of seawater, concealed by the frothing waves, and when they had hit, the bard had gone flying across the deck and then everything had gone black.

And when he had finally awaked, the whole world had gone mad.

For a time he sunk in and out of consciousness and before long it became unclear what was dream and what was reality. He didn’t know how he escaped the sinking ship. He didn’t remember how he found the piece of driftwood, or how he had found the pack that at present rested on his chest. He didn’t remember much of anything anymore. His memories seemed cluttered and confused, and what was real and false was unknown. Even his own name was lost to him.

No. He knew that one. He remembered that one. His name was Tobias.

Desperate brown eyes rose to the sky, and the specters of his past scattered. “Is this a dream?” Tobias asked the heavens, his voice but a croak. And only the flies were there to say no.

[Lacerta]

Lacerta was sailing through the Suvan, the sun beating down on her head. It was a warm and sunny day- her favorite of course. At the moment, she was simply drifting along the ocean waters at a particularly slow speed, for the wind. There had been a storm the day previously, causing her great trouble. She was still exhausted from the work it had required, and it had been a long night. Still, she'd gotten through it, though knew there was quite a possibility of a wreckage.

She moved over to a rope, pulling on it, attempting to tack into the wind, to move at a greater speed. Though the slowness was nice, she felt like moving a little faster, especially after the distance she'd lost in the storm. Not like she was exactly going anywhere though. The Eth returned to the wheel and held it steady, keeping them straight on their course. Her eyes gazed out to the horizon. This was where she was happy. With sun, water, her boat, and nothing to see but water in all directions. She glanced around, watching the reflections of Syna's light on the liquid, before she noticed a fault in it's smooth surface. A bump, barely out of sight.

Confused and a little annoyed that her view had been ruined, Lacerta spun the wheel, turning them sharply to the right. From there, she re-tacked, adjusting the angle of the sail so it picked up the wind as efficiently as possible. Luckily, the breeze was now at her back, making the job easier. She returned to the wheel and straightened their course, now heading slightly to the left of the odd bump. There was nothing to do after that but sit, and watch it grow larger and larger.

After a number of chimes, she drew nearly beside it and quickly dropped the anchor, letting the boat float forward before stopping, as the metal weight his the ocean floor. She then stared at the bump, amazed. It was a man, floating on a piece of driftwood. It looked like he'd been in a wreak. Why else would some one be floating in the middle of the Suvan without a boat? "Hey! Are you alright?" she called, before rushing to grab a rope. They were still several meters apart, and she didn't know if the man could swim. She couldn't. She grabbed the long thick stuff, taking a few loops and swinging them back and forth. Once she'd gathered enough momentum, the Ethaefal flung the rope towards her target. It sailed, going farther than planned, but still smacking him in the chest, right by his head. "Grab it" she called, and waited for the man to take her rope.

[Tobias]

“Don’t believe her, she ain’t real...” The irony of such a statement was lost upon the voice in Tobias’s head. Tobias himself was tempted to chuckle once he heard - if only such a thing didn’t hurt so much. Instead, he let his head lull around until one dusky eye caught hold of the boat and instigator of the voices’ return. He had heard the words himself, but their meanings were lost in his head as their mere presence was evaluated. Was someone caring…for him? Surely it couldn’t be. Perhaps the voices were correct.

Nevertheless, some vestige of hope awakened in his heart. Tobias tried to turn himself around to face the boat. He found this task harder than he thought, as for some queer reason his limbs refused to move. Finally, however, he managed to break through the lethargy and his arms swung through the water, pushing himself around, while a leg kicked ineffectually at the waves.

He had only gotten halfway around before the rope had landed on his chest. In his weakened state even that winded him. Despite this, however, he managed to catch, and more importantly, comprehend, the next words the woman said.

“Who…are you?” Tobias croaked, but it was so quiet he doubted the woman heard. Instinct caused him to tense as he considered all the options, but in the end he took the rope. It wasn’t like he really had a choice anyways.

If Lacerta attempted to pull Tobias up she would find it a hard task, as the man was more dead weight than anything. After days on the water, however, he was quite a bit lighter than he once was, and that would be to her benefit. She would manage to hoist him up if she truly tried.

And if such a thing did occur, Tobias would fall against the deck of the Starry Sea, legs aquiver. He would attempt, however, to roll over and prop himself up by the elbows so as to be face to face with Lacerta. Only then he would then say: “Thank you,” which would be quickly followed by, “…water?”

[Lacerta]

When the man grabbed her rope, it was obvious he was quite weak. The Eth heaved on the cord, pulling it with all her strength. Luckily, her extra height gave a decent advantage, letting her drag the floating weight up to her boat. There, she dropped the rope and grabbed his hands, pulling him up, before stopping. The way she going, it would pull his arms out of his sockets, something she didn't want to do. Instead, Lacerta quickly grabbed under his arms, instinctively placing her thumbs on top of his shoulder blades just in case. Finding a secure grip, she pulled him up several feet onto the deck. He was heavy, despite being quite lean. Her arms burned with the effort, and when majority of the man's weight was on the boat, she let go, collapsing unintentionally.

She quickly recovered though, and returned he attention to the man, face pulled into a concerned frown. She pulled him fully on the deck, his clothes making a slowly growing wet patch on the wood. She'd ignored the "Who are you" question, as well as the "Thank you", and instead focused on the shipwrecked's last statement: "Water". "Right" she muttered, dashing to grab a water skin and handing it to him. She slowly dripped the liquid into the man's throat, not wanting him to take too much at a time.

After having emptied the entire flask (it hadn't been full at the time), she leaned back on the balls of her feet, carefully balancing on them. She rocked back and forth, partially for something to do, partially to actually stay in that position, as it was an awkwardly treacherous one. After a few moments of watching a patient, the Ethaefal finally asked "How are you?" Other questions would come later, like his name, and what in the world had happened to the poor guy. She had an idea- but it was always good to check.

[Tobias]

Tobias watched the strange woman fly back and forth across the boat with an expression encroaching on wonder. He hadn’t realized it up until the moment, but Tobias was desperately thirsty. He almost cried when the woman poured water down his throat. Even Tobias knew not to drink seawater, but after the wreck he had thought that was what he would eventually have to do. He was suddenly glad he didn’t – otherwise, he wouldn’t have been here, to drink of water that wouldn’t poison his body.

His hand was quivering still but he managed to wipe the last of the droplets from his cracked lips. Now that his thirst was sated, an eye was turned towards his savior, catching her up in a gaze. The snow white horns that rested upon golden hair attracted his attention first. He had heard of such horned people, the children of a certain god, weren’t they?...but the name of such a race escaped him. All Tobias could think of was how incredibly beautiful she was, and how incredibly out of place.

“I’m…better.” Tobias managed, in response to her question. His head pounded and he could feel the skin peeling off his forehead, but he wasn’t dead, and he took that as a good thing.

“…Tobias.” He breathed, and the same hand that had brushed his lips reached out in greeting. “Nice…to meet you.”

The mongrel son of the desert pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Can we go…inside?” Tobias asked, voice coming back bit by bit. “…I’ve been out in the sun far too long already.” A ghost of a smile lit up his face.

[Lacerta]

Lacerta nodded at the name, lodging it in her memory. "I'm Lacerta" she stated, responded in kind. She smiled softly as the man had the grace to say 'nice to meet you', even in his current situation. He held out a hand and she shook it, internally chuckling at the actions.

When he asked to go inside, the Eth quickly sobered. She grabbed him by the armpits, and, depending if the man could walk or not, would either help or drag Tobias across the deck and down the steep stairs to the cabin. There, she helped him lye down on one of the beds, adjusting a few blankets around him before he looked comfortable. The job done, Lacerta sat down on the opposite bed, staring at her patient intently.

Only then did she reply to his previous comment, joking slightly. "There's no such thing as staying out in Syna's rays too long!" She trailed off, before adding as a side note "At least for her children. Your skin doesn't look too good..." she rested her hand on the man's peeling forehead and winced. It was hot- almost like a fever. Either he had one, or it was just a really, really bad burn. Her face contorted in concentration, before deciding it would probably be best to put some cooler water on it... it might help, anyways. After that... she'd use Tanroa's blessing on the spots to see if it did anything.

The Ethaefal grabbed a flask of water and dribbled it on her fingers, not caring that some dripped onto the floor. She wiped said fingers on Tobias' forehead, hoping it didn't sting. At least it wasn't salt water. She could feel an immediate temperature difference between the forehead and the water, and continued to wet and slightly cool down the burn. That done, she re-corked the flask and set it aside, commenting "Does that feel better?" Lacerta rested a pair of fingers on the man's forehead, and drew upon Tanroa's blessing, aging the burn a day. It seemed to recover slightly, the peeling skin coming off completely, and lightening from the previous bright red.

She was about to move onto the other bad burns, before hesitating. "Are you hungry?" she asked, useless at cooking, but the Eth still had various rations and stuff. She didn't eat as much as normal humans, only needing sustenance for half the day (and sleeping then), but still had some dried stuff.

[Tobias]

Tobias inclined his head in greeting, maintaining even that slight dignity as she half-carried him into the cabin. “Lacerta…it’s a pleasure.”

Lacerta’s comment about Syna did not go missed. “Are you one of Her’s?” Tobias questioned, as he voice finally came back full, “One of Syna’s chosen? My father’s people, they worship Syna too, and…” he trailed off then, but Tobias had already said too much.

The memories of scarce a day back came flooding back on in at that slightest word, father, and he remembered the death and the pain and the blood. Something dropped within his stomach. And suddenly the voices were back again, whispering “you didn’t deserve to be saved…”

But there was another voice, and this time it was no hallucination. No. Stop it, Tobias. You live for another now, remember?

He did. So Tobias swallowed down his regret and kept the smile on his face.

Hopefully Lacerta wouldn’t notice the turmoil, however brief. “That did feel better,” he said, partly to distract her and partly in truth. It had felt soothing on his burn, both the water and whatever she did afterwards. It almost felt like magic, but Tobias hadn’t been able to tell…and he didn’t particularly care, either. All he knew was that it had taken a bit of the ache away.

“Yes, indeed,” Tobias replied eagerly, when Lacerta asked if he wanted any food. In a second, however, courtesy came flooding back in: “I mean, only if you have enough…If not, I can manage.”

It was only around then that Tobias noticed something was amiss. And then it hit him.

“Do you know where my bag is?”

[Lacerta]

Lacerta nodded when Tobias asked her if she was one of Syna's chosen. That was a way to put it, yes, considering she was both and Ethaefal of the goddess, as well as a marked. She raised an eyebrow when he commented about his father's people, deciding to ask about it later.

When the answer to her food question was 'yes', she grabbed a few crackers and a bowl, before hesitating. The crackers were dry. Very dry. It made them last long. But she didn't know if Tobias would be able to handle that, with his probably parched throat. Even after the entire flask of water, she didn't know if he was entirely better. So, she plopped a few crackers into the bowl and added a generous amount of water, setting her creation on the counter. The Eth prodded it with a finger mindlessly, crushing the soggy cracker into a mush. She'd added a little too much water, making it more liquid than food, so added another square or two, repeating the squishing process with them as well. As she did so, her mind wandered on where his father's people could have come from. He looked pretty much human, so... Benshira? She'd spent some time in Yaheba herself, though couldn't remember it all too well. She didn't go that far south too often.

Her concoction done, she grabbed a spoon, and helped Tobias sit up straighter. It was awkward eating whilst lying down, anyways. Handing him the spoon and bowl of mush, she prepared herself to ask the question that had been floating on her mind. Except... the man asked one. He asked where his bag was. Lacerta frowned, not understanding. She'd seen no bag on the water... maybe he'd lost it while at sea? Anyways, unless there was something particularly buoyant in the bag, it had probably sunk.

"Nope..." she said, shaking her head. "Uhh... when did you last see it?" it was an awkward question, considering their situation, but the Eth asked it anyways. "Hey... anything in there float well? I might be able to find it..." She could check the nearest mile with Syna's gift, at least. But it wasn't very far, and really... the thing was probably lost. Still, she had an odd motherly feeling, and really just wanted to help the guy.

After a while, she asked, "So... how did you end up floating on the middle of the Suvan anyways? Shipwreck? There was a major storm last night..." once again she trailed off, and watched her patient with interest. He had basic brown hair and eyes, nothing compared to her odd coloring, but was still decently handsome. Other than that- he looked like a generally normal human.

[Tobias]

The soggy crackers were accepted with hearty thanks. As Lacerta had thought, Tobias’s throat was still as dry as the summer day, and without the water he would have never been able to keep the sustenance down. He was able to swallow the crackers, however, and for that he was content.

And then Lacerta replied to his question.

Tobias’s heart stopped for a moment when he heard her answer. His chest swam with emotions even as a thousand memories sprung to mind. Clutching the bag tight as the storm raged around. Feeling it slip from his grasp. And finally, finding it in the water, and using it as a pillow as he had drifted amongst the waves, lost and broken. He had carried it with him…hadn’t he? How could he have lost it?

But it was just a bag, nothing more. But then he remembered what was in the bag, and why it meant so much to him.

He couldn’t lose this bag. He couldn’t lose them.

Though unsteady, Tobias tried to rise. He steadied himself against the wall of the cabin and somehow managed to get to his feet. He was so consumed with his own thoughts that he nearly missed Lacerta’s next question.

“A storm, yes…” he said distractedly. “I…shipwreck…look, I’ll answer all your questions, if you can just help me find my bag.” There was a sense of urgency in his voice.

He remembered it clear as day, feeling the pack on his chest. Had it been the very same piece of driftwood Lacerta had hauled him from? Or was that a mirage, as well.

“Nothing floats, no…” Tobias continued at last. “…but it should be resting on a piece of driftwood. Maybe the one you got me from.”

“Please,” he said, and there was despair there. “Just help me find it.”

[Lacerta]

Lacerta glanced at Tobias with an odd expression on her face, not really understanding what the man was doing. Still, he seemed really, really concerned for his bag... When he tried to get up, however, she forced him back onto his bunk. "Stay there" she ordered sternly. "You need to rest. I'll find it..." She paused, then remembered her intention to use Syna's gift. "It might take a while. I recommend going to sleep..." Without another word, she climbed up the ladder and left the cabin.

She first found the original piece of driftwood, which had floated further away from the ship than before. It was a stubborn blemish on the clear surface of the sea- which, considering, was a rare occasion. Normally there were still waves on the Suvan, no matter the weather. Why hadn't she noticed this earlier? Still, it made looking for Tobias' bag much easier. She gazed around, leaning on the rail, looking for a similar feature in the water around them. It was water... water... water... wait?

She glanced down, now on the opposite side of the boat from where she'd found Tobias, and saw... a little flash of wood, that was neither the color of her hull, or seamless with it. The Eth leaned over the rail, as far as she could go without falling over. There is was... a large piece of driftwood- larger than the one her shipwrecked man had been on, and splat in the middle... a simple backpack. "Aha" she muttered under her breath, grinning. Here was her quarry.

She flattened herself on the deck, on hand holding on to the base of the rail, the other reaching down to the water. It was times like this that she loved her extra height. Gently, the sailor snatched a strap of the bag and starting bringing it up. However, the driftwood rocked violently at a sudden wave- it had gotten windy and slightly chillier than when she first cameo on deck- and caused her to loose her grip. "Petch!" she cursed loudly, knowing easily that no one could hear (except maybe Tobias), and scrambled to grab the strap again. After a few failed tries, and watching it slowly sink, she finally got a firm hold of the material, and lifted the wet thing out. Hopefully it was waterproof... or anything inside it was.

She carried it in one hand, letting it drip onto the outside deck for a few moments, before heading inside. As she clambered down the ladder, she called "I found it!" and placed it in front of the man. If he was asleep- she would wake him up, then sit down on a nearby bunk, to wait patiently. She could wait for questions later.