PM to join [Inclement Weather] When the Going Gets Tough (Kovac)

[Azira]

   

Azira was bewildered. She had no idea what was happening. Lavira was having some sort of breakdown, muttering something about a pit. Kovac seemed completely wrapped up in what was happening to the Endal and didn't seem aware of anything else going on. The woman who'd called him over seemed to be getting upset but nobody else seemed to notice and the huntress was in the middle of it all, unsure what her place in this situation was. 

Lavira's hand ended up grasping hers, the grip tight as if she was scared that the teen would try to pull away. Azira certainly felt like it but she didn't for fear of what would happen. She would not be surprised if the woman went crazy at her considering her emotional state. She didn't even know how to fix her, her fear brought on by an unknown cause but she had a feeling that it was the club itself. The woman seemed to be reminded of something, perhaps the pit she was muttering about, and the Inclement Weather had dredged up something it shouldn't have.

The other woman left abruptly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she escaped the club. Everyone around her seemed to be falling to pieces and she found herself watching Kovac to see if he'd be next. The hunter certainly wasn't happy that the other woman had left but the teen had no idea why.

When the man suggested that they needed to leave, the Avora huntress couldn't agree more. The club had caused nothing but sorrow for them so staying was probably not a good idea. She pulled at Lavira's fingers to make the woman release her, a surprisingly difficult task, before hurrying back to their table, shoving past people in her haste. Reaching her destination, she picked up the bottle and cradled it to her chest to protect it before making her way back across to the bar.

"I have it," she told Kovac a little breathlessly. She kept the bottle clasped tightly to her chest as if she was hugging it. "Can we go now? Lavira?" The woman's name was both a question about the woman's condition and an attempt to gain the Endal's attention, to snap her out of the state she was in.

x

[Lavira]

Vira wished she could have explained to her best friend, practically sister, why this bothered her so dramatically. But she had to break from the chains of her own fear (or escape from it) in order to do that. So when Alori left, leaving the only relatively calm one to care for the other two ailing women, there was nothing Vira could do.

She continued muttering and clutching at Azira's hand until she felt the breath tickle at her ear, the words slow to penetrate the fog of her misery. They echoed around in the cave that erected itself in her mind, bouncing and bouncing, ricocheting off the curves of her skull before finally settling in the pool of awareness in the recesses. Her left eye peeked open and rotated, searching for Kovac. At first, he did not appear in her line of sight, though she could feel her right hand being dug at by another.

Her head rotated in that direction next, seeing the red-headed huntress trying to loosen her grip to go get something that had been requested. Vira blinked slightly and relaxed her fingers enough that the woman could escape before swinging her head back towards the original voice, her bodies trembling resuming where it had begun to abate in the absence of visual cues.

The words Kovac had previously said were rising out of the pool of her consciousness and finally understood. The young Endal gave an adamant few nods to the Avora and placed her hands on the counter to help her to her feet. "Out. Yes. Yes, let's get out. I'm not ready for this. Where did Alori go?" The question was rhetorical as she stood off the barstool and wrapped her arms around herself, fingers clutching at her sides desperately. "Oh, right. Left."

Flinching away when a patron brushed against her, Vira moved from the barstool to Kovac, spotting Azira returning when she turned back around. The woman looked like she'd been crying; was she upset too? "Can we go now? Please? Please please pelase?"

[Alori Sai]

Alori had walked for a few chimes, going in no particular direction. She continued on until the dark cloud that hovered over the club could no longer reach her and torment her heart. But, even though she had pulled away from the madness, it didn't take the pain away. The teen finally stopped somewhere close to the courtyard and took a long breath. Tears continued to roll down her reddish cheeks and no matter how tightly she held her eyes shut, they wouldn't stop flowing.

Her worse fear in all of the world was that she would be left alone again. That she would spend the rest of her life by herself with no one around that even remembered that she existed. Alori hadn't felt that way before, but after the events of the summer of 512, everything changed. This fear was very real and was the reason that she tried so hard to be active, and apart of the lives of the people she cared about. She was hurting now, and nothing about the situation made her think that Lavira or Kovac wanted her around anymore.

The little Endal was likely thinking too much and far too upset to see things clearly, but that wouldn't stop her mind from wondering. Standing there now, she wished that she hadn't left the club the way she had. Alori wished that she hadn't run out without making them explain themselves, but now it was too late...and she was alone.

At least, she thought she was alone. A young man named Eache was standing near by. He had been heading across the courtyard, and about to make his way to a certain Endal's home to drop off a gift. He had just finished it a week ago, and had finally decided to just walk up and leave it by her door. In the end, he didn't have enough courage to say anything to her, and in the end it didn't matter to him if she knew that he painted it. It was meant to inspire her, and if it worked, there was no thanks needed.

Eache had planned the set up and the delivery, but what he hadn't expected was to find the teen standing alone in the courtyard at night..crying. The sight of it tore at his heart, and without another thought of himself, Eache marched right over. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he would do everything he could to dry her tears.

x

[Kovac]

With both Azira and Lavira more than ready to exit the club, Kovac took Lavira by the hand, holding her protectively close, then laid a hand gently on the other huntress' shoulder to guide them both out the door. Once in the corridor outside, the mongrel guided them up the corridor that lead to the higher warrens of Wind Reach. Kovac hoped to find Alori, knowing her feelings had been hurt. She was a good friend to Lavira, and himself, and they needed her as much as she would need them. Open space and fresh air was what Lavira needed, no hint of stony enclosures, so she could gather herself and calm her disrupted nerves. Azira too, could benefit from some peace and quiet, to work through the sorrow that the Dek's death had recalled from her past.

The Courtyard of the Sky was the easiest place to access, there the strange little group could find a corner and deal with issues at hand. Kovac and the two women wound their way through the halls, the half-breed whispering encouragement to the new Endal and casting inquiring glances at Azira. Kovac did not know what he would do once he got his friends to all sit down together. The Avora was not the best with comforting others, but Lavira had managed to find some compassion in him, and he would do what he could for his friends. But he hoped that feminine camaraderie would take over and they could help each other.

They reached the Gallery and strode through to the wide doors at the end. Kovac flung them open and they stepped out into the courtyard. Cool autumn air moved softly through the open area. Much to Kovac's relief, he saw Alori across the way, talking with a man. "Let sit over there..." The Avora guided Lavira and Azira to a set of steps to sit. He slipped his hand from Lavira's. "Vira, I am going to go get Alori. Azira is here with you." Kovac's gaze shifted to the Avora huntress, his eyes asking for her help. Then he turned to walk over to Alori.

[Azira]

Kovac didn't take the bottle, no instead he left Azira with it and guided Lavira from the club. The huntress followed the pair in silence, still clutching the bottle protectively to her chest. She had no idea where they were going as Kovac continued to walk without stopping after they left the confines of the club. The hunter kept glancing back at her but he never said one word to her, not even to say where they were going. Did he just expect her to follow them blindly? Apparently that was the case.

After a while she knew what direction they were heading in, towards the Courtyard of the Sky. She frowned. Why were they heading there? She followed Kovac through the Gallery and out through the doors into the Courtyard. The air was chilly but the girl couldn't hug herself properly to warm up because of the stupid bottle.

Glancing around she spotted the woman who had run from the club so suddenly earlier talking to some man. Kovac decided that was his cue to pass Lavira over to the Avora. His eyes were pleading her for help. He obviously really needed her to go along with this, to mind the Endal as if she was a child. The teen stared back at him in horror, trying to communicate that he shouldn't do this to her but it was too late now. All she could do was go along with it.

"Yeah Lavira. I'm here. Just let Kovac go wherever he's going," she said quickly, her voice higher than normal and tinged ever so slightly with panic. She gave the mongrel a meaningful look before leaving the wine bottle on the steps and lightly taking the other woman's arm, trying to guide her into a sitting position. The slight touch was enough to feel the tension in the young woman's body and the huntress wondered if she'd be able to get her to do anything at all. She was going to kill Kovac.

He'd better hurry, she thought anxiously, her eyes flitting between him and his friend, Alori.

x

[Lavira]

The darkness of the Inclement was left behind, the thundering drums and bumping bodies abandoned for the serpentine tunnels that they now hastened through to elsewhere. There was such an immense removal of weight from the womans shoulders the moment they left the revelry that she nearly sobbed in relief, following tensely beside the hunter and ahead of Azira.

Each step they took carried them further and further from that awful place until her trembling finally eased and she was able to shuffle less stiffly beside him, head down and hair hanging around her face. She was quiet for the moment, even when they came to the Courtyard, her cheeks still flushed, though her heart had slowed to a more normal pace, until Kovac tried to leave. "What? You're leaving?" Dismay filled her, her head at least clear enough to know that they WERE outside the Inclement and were no longer going to go back. But he was talking about going to get Alori who was on the other side of the courtyard, talking to another ginger.

That meant she was now alone with the one person she didn't actually want to be alone with. Vira wasn't angry at Azira anymore for what she'd mistaken her for, but she'd been avoiding the huntress since the incident in the Aeries. Vira would now be sitting on the bench with her hands between her thighs and her eyes closed, breathing slow and deep to help settle her nerves even more.

Then the huntresses voice intruded on her thoughts and Vira opened her left eye to look towards the woman. Was she actually trying to comfort her? The Avora looked about as comfortable as a rabbit in a bag of needles! There may as well be blood pouring from her orifices for the level of comfort she exuded just sitting here. Was it Vira? Or the Courtyard? She couldn't tell; the teen pursed her brow and cleared her throat to try and reply. "I know. Just...not a huge fan of places like that. Too crowded, too dark. Kinda get unnerved when I am." Which was an understatement. She had literally shut down inside the club, no matter what she'd tried to say otherwise.

The Endal cleared her throat and asked, "Ehrm. Er, thanks for not freaking out too. Your hand okay?" She had no reason to think it wouldn't be. Vira had a good grip, but it wasn't so strong as to actually hurt someone (though she'd heard tales of women breaking hands during child labor; that was scary business).

[Alori Sai]

Alori went over it inside her mind again and again. From the time she first had the idea, to getting dressed and leaving to go find Lavira, the walk back down and until they entered the weather. There was nothing there that could have warned her of whatever was troubling her friend so much. Once, the young Endal had mentioned not liking the place much, but even that wasn't enough to explain this. The teen had froze right in front of her and dropped into a spiral out of Hai. She disappeared inside herself, far beyond Alori's reach, and try as she did, she couldn't find her friend.

Sighing, she wiped the tears from her eyes and folded her arms under her chest. Alori shook her head again, mentally thinking what a dek her sister was acting like for shutting her out the way she had. The little Endal stood in the court yard for a few chimes more before she decided to leave. That's when he appeared, an average height young male with wavy red hair, who was carrying a mid sized, covered canvas. Eache stepped forward and the young man still didn't have a clue of what to say to her. He thought hard and fast, but nothing had gotten to him by the time he made it towards her.

Alori turned to look at the one approaching, and Eache was quickly caught in her hard gaze. The boy could feel his heart thumping inside his chest, and the air around him suddenly got really hot. He imagined that it was his nervousness, and didn't realize part of that heat was caused by the girl in front of him. Eache put on a brave face, took a breath and smiled.

"It's a beautiful night isn't it? The perfect time to go out for a walk." The moment that he said it he felt like a fool, and wished that he could go back and redo it. Alori stared at him for a tick, before looking away again. "Yea, whatever, I guess.." It was a cold reply, and the boy felt his blood ice. He worried now that it was a bad idea to come over, and if he should have just left her alone with her thoughts. But he couldn't, not with that look on her face.

So he tried again, sucking in a breath and pushing forth another smile. " Are you alright? I-I saw you crying. Is there anything I could do?" Again he felt stupid, what could he do to help her. She was an Endal, a huntress at the top of the chain, and he? He was just a nobody. Alori's features softened a bit, but her eyes still held plenty of emotions from the earlier event. "I'm alright, don't worry about it...it's no big deal." Eache sighed and looked away, it bothered him to see her so unhappy, but he didn't know what to do to help. Just then, he noticed three other people enter the courtyard.

It was hard to tell in the dark, but it looked like one guy, taking two girls home for the night. The boy shook his head, some guys had all the fun. "So...can I walk you home, are you going home yet?" Eache mentally smacked himself, what a good move, and oh so smooth.

x

[Kovac]

Kovac sighed as he turned away from Azira and Lavira. Vira seemed to be settling down now that they were out in the open, the crisp fall air seeming to blow the heavy cloak of the Inclement Weather from all of them. Azira was being a good sport as well, helping to comfort the rattled Endal, even if she was not quite comfortable doing so.

Kovac made his way towards Alori, who was still talking with a man across the courtyard. The scene had the quirkiness of an adolescent encounter, the boy obviously enamored with the Endal teenager, his demeanor betraying how nervous he was in approaching Alori. The huntress, for her part, appeared to be standoffish, still stinging from the perceived slight Kovac and Lavira had perpetrated against her.

The Avora slowed his pace, trying to discern whether Alori wanted to attention, or if an interruption by Kovac would be a welcomed escape. In the end, after watching more of the awkward encounter between the two them, the mongrel decided to do them all a favor and get Alori back to the group.

Walking up, Kovac gave the man a nod, almost feeling bad for the poor guy as his attempt to engage Alori was cut short. The Avora turned to the fiery Endal. "Alori, come back, please. We need you, we really do." Kovac tried to encourage her, suspecting the abrupt quips he and Vira had shot at her in the club had hurt her feelings. His hand reached out to rest on her shoulder.

[Azira]

Lavira seemed confused by something that she'd said, her forehead creasing as if she was in deep thought. It made Azira worry. Had she said something stupid without even realising it? That'd be just like her to say something potentially damaging in a social sense and not even notice. The girl bit her lip in worry as she listened to the other young woman answer her question. Her answer made her want to snort with laughter. It was a serious understatement to say that she had only been unnerved by the club, the woman must think her blind. From what the Avora had seen, she'd been just about ready to collapse to the floor as a quivering mess. Clearing her throat, the Endal tried to change the subject from herself and onto the huntress.

"My hand's fine, yeah," she replied, unconsciously touching the hand in question. She wanted to laugh at Lavira's assumption that she hadn't freaked out. She'd freaked out, just not for the same reasons as Lavira. The young woman probably didn't even know the state the huntress had been in just moments prior to meeting with her in the club. She didn't know why the other had come to the club, especially considering her reaction but she wondered if it was for similar reasons as herself. Had the eagle rider been as deeply affected by the death of that Dek? Of course she had, the drudge had been her friend so it made sense that she might be having similar feelings to Azira. It didn’t help matters though as she still felt terribly uneasy with the other. Maybe if she patched things up with Lavira she’d feel less ill at ease. She glanced over to Kovac and Alori who weren’t coming back quick enough for her liking.

”About what’s happened between us...” she began, choosing her words carefully though she still felt very uncertain and uncomfortable. ”I shouldn’t have offended you the way that I did and I’m... sorry for that, really.” Her cheeks had begun to warm and she hoped that the night would hide her embarrassment. She’d been the one to embarrass herself in the first place so it was probably fitting that such an emotion be obvious. Taking a deep breath, she continued in a rush, ”So I’m sorry about what happened the other day and afterwards and I’m sorry about your friend. I wish it hadn’t happened but I did so I guess we have something between us now, something we ought t fix, really.”

She regarded the other uncertainly for a moment before switching her gaze to the trio across the courtyard. Not taking her eyes off them, the teen waited for some sort of response.

x

[Alori Sai]

Luckily for Eache, Alori was far too upset to see the possible come on. Her mind was still on the incident from the club and she wasn't feeling better about it. After another moment she shook her head, but before she could give him an answer, Kovac appeared. His features, and his voice had returned to normal, the way she was used to him being. The teen turned to look at him and she didn't try to hide the hurt in her eyes, not this time. "You sure about that? Seems like I just make everything worse."

Eache felt like the odd man out, having nothing to really offer since he didn't know Alori. But, he felt like he did, felt like he should be able to say, do something for her. The other Avora had shown up and within a tick he already had his hands on her. Eache was not impressed. His next action came without thought and before his mind could scream for him to stop, he reached out, his hand gently brushing against hers.

For whatever reason, whether she didn't feel it, or simply wasn't paying attention, Alori didn't pull back. Eache's had brushed her's again and started to turn his palm into hers to clasp their fingers, when she suddenly pulled her hand away to comb through her hair. "So..what? Is she better now? And who's that other girl?" Her words came out in a snappy tone, but the teen was more frustrated now than angry with anyone. "I don't know Kovac, sometimes I just feel like so... nevermind. You guys could probably do better without me. Maybe I'll just go home."

Eache' was now rubbing the back of his neck, trying to look like he hadn't just tried to hold her hand, and also hoping that the male Avora hadn't saw him. He was also getting a bit frustrated, but it wasn't his place to speak for Alori. "You..you look very pretty Alori. I'm sorry that your night turned out so bad." he sputtered.

x