Fatima Mikhail, and Dareen
Dareen had shied away from the dome as Xandar committed his gruesome acts of violence. "Yeah, no, sure. No survivors. Interrogation is overrated anyway." She grumbled to herself, finding a particularly large rock to sit on. Holding her bloody sabre upright, she fetched a cloth from her satchel and began wiping it off, some of the stray liquid flicking to the ground. Apparently Dareen did this often, as her blade caught the light so often it became difficult to look at as it shimmered in the late morning sun. Her small round shield was placed resting up right, the metal disk also polished as to be practically a mirror. Her weaponry contrasted brilliantly with her overall brown, red, and rustic aesthetic.
Stuffing the pink-tinted cloth back into her satchel, she rose just as Xandar vanished over the side of the cliff, telling all of them to stay behind because they were all useless. Typical pointless posturing. She tried not to let it get to her, but she did. Entirely apathetic, she plopped herself back down on the sunlit bouler.
Mikhail had a frighteningly cold, predatory stare towards Xandar as he stared him down. There were no excuses for having left Faeril behind, knowing that there were people who could go after her and Gennar seemed to share Mikhail's urgency regarding that matter as he asked Xandar the same question Mikhail did, with an equally cold tone.
It was obvious that the small unit sent by the queen were a mere distraction. Sent just to be slaughtered while other men went after Faeril. The real question is how she knew so fast that Faeril had went out? It was almost as the exact moment Faeril left her house, the queen already had everything prepared, just waiting for an opportunity to put her plan into action.
When Xandar finally opened his mouth to speak, the words which came out were no surprise to Mikhail. Claiming he was under no order to 'babysit' the very person who healed him, even risking her own well being to do so. His arrogance truly knew no bounds. Despite Mikhail's silence, the tension on his stare was becoming more and more apparent and to most people watching, it was obvious he had to use every fiber of his being not to kill Xandar where he stood.
Dareen also remained silent, keeping her eyes on her sabre as the Eyrien men had their worthless, time wasting squabble. The most vital and at risk members of the group had left by themselves and surprise surprise, something terrible had happened. Whoever the bumbling mercenaries sent to kill everyone at the house were, they had remarkably fast deployment times as with a piercing shriek, Dareen realized Faeril was in trouble. She immediately perked up, looking concerned. For some reason, this did not spur the group to act, and instead Xandar and Gennar continued their argument, once again coming to blows. She scoffed underneath her breath. If her commander knew where she was, he would be greatly disappointed in her choice of allies. As if it was possible he could be even more disappointed...
Mikhail could understand very well Gennar's rage as he growled towards Xandar. Even more so than Mikhail himself, who wanted Faeril alive merely due to his own reasons, Gennar had a more personal connection to the Black Widow. When the argument started becoming more physical, with Xandar grabbing Gennar's shirt, Mikhail silently began conjuring his wires. Weightlessly floating in the wind, close to his hand, those who were paying attention to his face instead of Xandar and Gennar would immediately realize by the look on his face that something was very, very wrong. Cold and emotionless, there wasn't even a spec of anger on his expression, instead just a penetrating, predatory glare almost as if he was an animal staring at it's prey, waiting for the moment to strike.
The situation was escalating quickly as it became evident by the insults and the clear tension in the air, culminating with Xandar throwing a punch at Gennar. When things were about to become a bloodbath, not only due to Xandar and Gennar, but Mikhail himself, a scream echoed through the mountains, a scream they knew all too well. Immediately knowing that Faeril was indeed in danger, the Eyrien brothers left with haste, followed by Xandar, still blind in his own arrogance and refusing to realize that he was the one to blame by that.
Knowing very well that they would reach Faeril much faster than himself due to them having wings, Mikhail simply stood still, his wires disappearing as he continued in silence.
"He is a threat, a liability to everyone nearby him. He can't be trusted." Mikhail said in a somber tone. Dareen and Fatima would quickly realize what he meant by those words. Xandar was better off dead.
"There is no use for us to run to where they are. We would take too long to reach Faeril and we don't know exactly her position. Unfortunately, the only thing we can do is sit, wait and prepare..." Mikhail said, with a rather grim tone as he said the last word.
"You are in danger staying with him, Fatima." Mikhail said, with a serious voice. Despite his frightening expression, it was clear that, for reasons unknown even to himself, he was worried about Fatima's safety as long as she had Xandar by her side. He didn't know exactly why, but he had a feeling inside him that told him that somehow, that adorable, petite woman with a sweet smile was an important person, someone that needed to be protected.
Fatima’s smiles soon fell to the wayside as the arguments grew more and more heated. She would attempt every so often to interject, calm things down, but her inexperience showed. She was helpless to stop the punches that flew. And to stop the scream that echoed from the stairs below. Fatima turned quickly and attempted to run toward the sound, unfortunately the others were much faster. Xandar went so far as to wrap her in a little shield and tell her to stay put.
While she was absolutely loathe to do so, Fatima listened this time. She huffed and turned back toward the others as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. Mikhail’s comment fell upon her ears and she turned her pale gold eyes upon him. Something about him sang to her and she recognized the call she had been feeling so often of late. Her lips twisted into a wry smile and she shook her head. “Then we match,” she said quietly with a rare expression which showed the pains of her years. This soon faded and she smiled at the pair. “Maybe we could still help though. I mean to say - what if there are wounded?” If she could convince them to go then she would get leniency from Xandar. He didn’t want her to stay all by her lonesome did he?
Dareen spoke up, glancing over at the optimistic woman. She looked aristocratic. Rich. Inexperienced and naive. Fatima actually had several centuries of age over Dareen, but she didn’t look it.
"I’m sorry...who are you again?" Dareen asked derisively. Who was this prissy woman who had gotten dragged into all this?
"If you are looking for the wounded, I’m sure meat pie over there could use your help." She gestured crudely to the broken corpses of the men that had tried to break into the house.
“Fatima Damiana,” she responded in a chripy voice, ignoring the woman’s clipped and sarcastic intonations. She made an exaggerated bow before looking over to the bodies of the dead. “Unfortunately, these poor souls are a bit too far past where I could help,” she said quietly. She flipped a wayward arm with her foot. Dareen frowned at the morbid display.
Mikhail could only look confused to Fatima as he heard her words. For a second, her bright, sweet smile disappeared, giving place to a pained expression which seemed to have passed through many difficult moments.
"No matter how much one tries to hide their own nature, one's eyes, their voice... One cannot change their essence. I knew that Dareen was innocent just looking at her and hearing her, but Xandar... I don't like his eyes or his attitude..." Mikhail continued.
"Your eyes, though... I see no malice, only kindness... Unlike mine... Your place isn't with Xandar... or even me." Mikhail said, looking to Fatima.
As he looked at her eyes, it was almost as if he became lost on them for a second. The moment she smiled again, he couldn't help but think that he... had already seen a smile like that one...
The moment he thought that, the fragmented memories Faeril had started to treat lashed out on his mind again. Like daggers, feelings unknown to him cut his mind. Images from a woman, a smile, just as tender and kind as Fatima's. Forcing himself to break eye contact with faeril, he looked away, covering half of his face with his hand as he shook his head. Breathing heavily, he stood in complete silence until the painful, fragmented memories were gone again.
"I-... I'm sorry. It was nothing." Mikhail said after a moment. Fatima frowned, watching him with empathy. Her heart cried for him. Instinct made her want to wrap him up in her arms but she didn’t know him. He didn’t know her.
"It will be dangerous..." Mikhail started after Fatima suggested them to go after them too. While it was discreet and delicate, that phrase was obviously referring to Fatima herself.
"Me and Dareen certainly might be able to help, but there are two problems. Not only we will take a while to arrive and it might be too late, but we can't leave you alone. You might not be able to defend yourself if something happens." Mikhail completed, looking to both Fatima and Dareen, wanting to know what they thought of the situation.
Dareen returned the glance, raising an eyebrow at him. She wasn’t so sure about his whole eye-reading spiel, and she was even less sure about this next decision that was apparently being presented to them. There was no chain of command which was something the mercenary was used too, and relied upon. From the sound of it, this Fatima was a Healer. Casting a wayward glance to the dismembered arm the visitor had kicked, Dareen spoke up once again.
”Ever kill anyone before, Fatima? You good at it?” She asked callously, scanning Fatima up and down for weapons and finding none. The information was relevant. Probably more so than looking into her eyes and finding her soul, or whatever the elf was on about.
At this question Fatima’s gaze darkened. It was a mere flash, but the pain of it was evident. “Yes.” she responded finally. “I have.” The question of good at it though, she wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She shook her head. “Even if we are late, it would show we tried, no?” Her stance opened up as she gestured toward the path. “These are our people, people we care about. One of mine is down there and it would break my heart to not have done everything within my power to help him.”
The headache was already getting better, but Mikhail still was confused as in why they reappeared with such intensity. He knew very well that the treatment was far from complete, but still, it was strange. Something in Fatima's eyes made his mind unconsciously recall things that he didn't want to.
As Dareen asked if Fatima had already killed someone though, Mikhail raised his eyebrows, curious as he looked at the woman. Despite her saying that she had already killed people, Mikhail simply looked back at Dareen with his eyebrow raised. Despite him having said no words to Dareen, the message he wanted to sent her was clear, if they went there with Fatima, they would have to protect her and do their best to keep her out of danger.
"Still, it would be best if you didn't put yourself in any dangerous situation." Mikhail said, turning back to Fatima.
Although Mikhail could understand Fatima's words when she said they should still try to go even if they were late, when she mentioned that those were 'their' people, Mikhail's expression became visibly colder, especially when she so obviously mentioned Xandar.
"I wouldn't blindly trust Xandar if I were you. He will put you in danger without even realizing." Mikhail said, once more warning Fatima about Xandar.
"Dareen," Mikhail said, looking towards her.
"What do you think about all this? Should we go with the others or try to prepare for what might come later?" Mikhail asked.
She glanced towards Mikhail with an odd smirk on her face. Shrugging, Dareen slapped her knees, pushing herself to her feet. ”Fuck it! Let’s go. What’s the worst that could happen?” Dareen said, her tone some paradoxical place between sarcasm and sincerity. Fatima intrigued her, her persistence winning her over. No ordinary civilian would be so insistent on heading directly into possible danger. With that, she began walking down the stairs at a brisk pace, raising her eyebrows expectantly at Fatima as she went past. This place, Dareen thought, was going to start smelling terrible soon, anyway.
The trio began on their journey down the hill, away from the Eyrie and into town.
