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Lunara Agha

Ransom Demand: Finale.




Dory and Lunara stood on a small street just off of the Searoad, at loggerheads. The latter had ruined a plan of the former's with her intervention, and Dory silently resented her for it. Lunara, meanwhile, found herself suspicious of the apparent victims of a yasoi attack. They glanced at each other, the first only responding once his partner was healed.

If Dory had been a pleasant surprise, the way this one questioned him reeked of Ersand'Enise. "Just scaring some Resistance spook outta here." He shook his head. "Ever since the knife-ears started pouring in, they've brought their crime, addiction, and filth to our neighbourhoods," confirmed the second.

"Not even safe for my sister and her kids to go out without an escort anymore." The first man nodded. "We're keeping the place safe, and your friend helped us." He shot Dory a tight, appreciative smile. This, now, was where they stood.

"It's good to see you safe, Lunara. It seems my efforts were not in vain." Dorothea expressed, wearing a warm smile. "Those men were filth the Colas sent to go after us. I've been trying my best to keep them all away from everyone else. . . And these men helped me out with them." Her words were followed up with a rather saddened look on her face. "I do regret that they suffered so much. . . I did not expect the people of the Colas would attack innocent bystanders. . ."

Regret filled her expression as she held her arm. "I should study binding magic in cases like this, haha." She winked the woman's way. "Though I'm better at making the pain go away than to actually heal it, so seeing people who are good with binding is always such a blessing. Thank you for helping these poor people."

It was right around then that, in a final sweep of the area, Dorothea noted the distinctive presence of Johann's massive energy signature, a pair of timewalkers, and - most distinctly - a one-legged woman. They were at the very edge of her sensing range, in Miller's Hook, at the end of a block of row houses. That was her 'allies' and if there was a one-legged woman... perhaps that lead had been the truth!

The two men, meanwhile, understood their roles and corroborated her statements utterly. "Resistance or Cola," amended one. "Impossible to tell them apart unless you know them!"

"But we was just messin' around when we saw them roughing up a yasoi girl with white hair," said one.

"Tried to blame it on us!"

"Yeah, we're wary of all these recent immigrants, but we've got a heart," added the second. "Then, when she arrived, they attacked your friend here on sight."

Both shook their heads. "It's a dangerous world..."

Of course, while Lunara may have been hard-pressed to corroborate the truthfulness of their stories, there was nothing stopping her from sensing exactly what Dory had...

Lunara was relieved that her friend Dory was ok, she heard that she could take care of herself, it was clear those rumours were true. Lunara responded in kind with a smile of her own. Listening to what the two men were explaining to her.

"Indeed the world can be a dangerous place. You two should be ok now, i suggest that you head home now and rest..." Her voice trailed off once she noticed Miray look off into a direction, her little cat ears twitching.

"Miray?" she said, then immediately she felt the same thing that the cat was sensing. "Dory should we go investigate who those magics belong too, it could be some of the others." she asks.

Dory placed her hands on her hip and shook her head. "It is truly dangerous... And it seems like it's getting worse." Then the girl perked up when they *suddenly* sensed something. "I'll go investigate that, you help the others out." She smiled warmly. "They need you, Lunara. I can sense quite the presence.... I will try to see it that everyone else won't be attacked from their sides by these criminals."

her eyes went towards the two men. "But first I have to make sure they won't get back at these fine fellows..." She grimaced, most likely thinking about what these criminals could do against humans with no magic.

It was not so very long before they parted ways: Lunara rushing off towards her peers and Dory staying back to protect the yasoi hoodlums' potential targets. Of course, if the others had - indeed - found Jaxan as she suspected, other measures might be in order, lest some further nefarious group like the Tarlonese - or was it the Resistance who were worse - get their hands on him…

After saying goodbye and wishing Dory luck, Lunara looked at her cat. Miray was good at Tracking people with their magic energy. "Ok, Miray lead me to the others."

Miray tilted her head, her ears twitched as she sensed outward for the energy. Once she had locked in on Miray started running off, often stopping for her loving master to keep up.

The Goma Cat didn't have much trouble avoiding people with her kitty enhanced reflexes and speed. Lunara didn't have the same talents as her cat. But she had the use of magic often if crowds where in the way she'd gracefully jump over with the help of Kinetic magic.

There was plenty for Lunara to dodge and just as much if not more for her goma cat to sense. They were about halfway there and not so very far from one of the local bars - a place with a large cyan sign of a lamplighter crying comically - when the animal paused and arched her back slightly. A low, rumbling growl left her throat.

From a side entrance emerged five burly yasoi, led by an impressively tall older gentleman. They were not running - yet - but seemed definitively headed in a particular direction: the same one that she was going.

Lunara closely followed Miray, as her cat was able to sense the energy of one of Lunara's fellow students. She suddenly noticed Miray abruptly stop, Lunara while she slowed to a stop, glanced in the direction that Miray was quietly growling towards, she noticed that five burly Yasoi men who were being lead by a tall older man had appeared from a side entrance, at first she didn't think much about it, as they didn't pay her any attention.

However Lunara soon noticed that the group was heading the same direction she was. As a precaution Lunara decided that she would quietly follow the group, from a distance to see what there next action would be. On seeing the group move, Lunara began to follow them, however as she was solely focused on the group, she hadn't noticed that there was a small crate in her way, and because of this her foot collided with the crate, which caused her to fall to the ground with a loud clatter. "OUCH!"

A couple of them turned. They looked directly at Lunara and she was spotted. They stopped and, without a doubt, she was cooked. She'd either have to whip up an explanation on the spot, or it was fight or flight time.

Then, the strangest thing happened. After a few words exchanged in some yasoi tongue she didn't know, they simply began moving again, paying her no heed. Only, now, they weren't walking quickly, they were *running*.

Lunara didn't move at first, she was too busy cursing in her head at how disastrous this had come. So much for trying to be sneaky. She slowly rose to her feet dusting her knees off with her hands. She had a feeling that she was about to have her hands full, but, when she looked up to them. The yasoi were running in the opposite direction.

Maybe this was a strange blessing in disguise. Miray came to her feet, checking if Lunara was hurt. "I'm ok, the only thing that hurt was my pride." giving a little giggle. She refocused back to the task at hand. She knelt down to her goma cat "Let's get back to following that energy, but we'll keep an eye out for them." then began following her once more.

Before long, the six figures had stopped running, and they took a surprisingly meandering route. Lunara had just reached the Godsroad, tailing them only loosely and at a distance, and she estimated that they were no more than a hundred fifty yards from the source of the potential conflict.

That, however, was when she spotted it: Dory, along with Jaxan's parents and what appeared to be a security escort. They were heading... for exactly the same place, and the first six she'd followed didn't seem to have noticed them.

Lunara on noticing Dory was escorting Jaxan's parents, she gave a slight nod, and continued to follow the group of yasoi's she was already following. after the six yasoi men, from a distance she noticed the group stop and talk to another yasoi outside of the building where the energy is emanating from.

Lunara decided to use this distraction to slowly make her way towards them closely followed by Miray, she hoped to hear what they were saying but wasn't sure if she would understand it.

"My parents only care for their idea of me," Jaxan said, with a bitterness that, while bordering on the melodramatic, was also keenly felt, "not the real me - not what *I* want, not even what's best for the world." He set his jaw. "I'll play along, though."

Xiuyang moved on and Thantra nodded at her words. "Not gonna lie: that'd be nice. Tarlon doesn't exactly love me. Consoi want me dead." She shrugged. "I just wanna be a Tan-Zeno, you know?"

Ashon was offering her money, though, and making a plan that she had only *some* misgivings about, and time was not something they had. She regarded those around her. "I *do* want my name cleared," she declared, "And I want your word that, if they try to kill me, you'll step in."

Johann stepped forward. "I pledge the whole of my cash earnings and I will not let them harm you." He bowed chivalrously.

"Right, then." Thantra nodded. She glanced over at Jaxan. "Sorry if I was, uh... rough with you."

"Sorry if I thought you were evil."

The Tarlonese released a snort of mirth and waved him off, grasping her crutches tightly and stalking up to the door. "I'm kind of a tiims'archa here." She twisted about and twitched her stump for a moment, but then she set her jaw, took and deep breath, and focused. "I'll need about three seconds. Longer, and they go after me themselves. Shorter, and you'll catch me in no time."

Meanwhile, as a plan was hatched inside the row house, the two groups standing outside had noticed each other. "You!" shouted Emenii, Jaxan's mother, "Who are you and why are you here?"

The leader of the group of six ignored her and focused, instead, on her husband. "Doridax?" he asked tentatively. "Talthan'chal'doridax?"

"The same. Who's asking?"

"You've supported us in the past," the man answered nebulously, and husband and wife both shot each other looks. "Who's that with you?" His chin motioned at Dorothea, "and the other one who followed us." He jerked a thumb in Lunara's direction.

It was at about that very moment that the door burst open and a one-legged Tarlonese agent came barreling out, hurtling all four steps and landing in a crouch. She ran away with surprising speed - all that she could muster, shouting, "Nar spax, consoi!"

Inside the home, clustered about the door, waited the others. Johann held three fingers up and counted down.

Three.

Two.

One.

Seviin bolted through to sell the idea and Johann raised a hand once more.

Three.

Two.

One.

...

Lunara on seeing that she was pointed at just gave them a smile and waved until the one-legged yasoi came bursting out of the door, quickly followed by Seviin. She noticed that Seviin was going alone and shouted to her. "Seviin do you want some help? Are you sure it's ok for you to follow her alone?"
Elsewhere, Thantra raced through the narrow streets at a breakneck pace... at least by her standards. Seviin gained slowly on her and Lunara even more so. She blew past Niallus and, when he spotted the other two, it was clear that they were chasing a bad guy who was trying to make her escape through the Seagate. In the distance, he could sense at least three more yasoi starting to give chase, but they were well back.

The one-legged woman was almost within his reach at this very moment. She slowed momentarily at the foot of an apartment above a shop. A kinetically powered lunge would nab her! Otherwise, he'd fall behind as well.

Lunara, meanwhile, had gained ground with surprising ease. Seviin was surprisingly slow, hardly even gaining on a monoped! Then, the yasoi reached an arm out. "She's on our side. It's a trick," she panted, still running. Meanwhile, Thantra leapt onto a low-lying awning, clambered onto a windowsill, and took off across the roof of a house.

Seeing the Yasoi run slash hop past him, she was remarkably agile. But his attention shifted to the second person, It was Seviin, then Lunara and her Goma Cat. Something was off, if she wanted to catch the other Yasoi why didn't she shout Niallus to help, unless she doesn't, he'll have to ask as she comes past.

As Seviin started to get closer to him, he matched both hers and Lunaras pace. "Funny running into you two like this. Are we trying to catch this person?" He asked Seviin as he watched Thantra climb to the rooftops.

Seviin, breathless, turned to Niallus, slipping her arm under his, for they were the exact same height. "Niallus, moila." She reached for Lunara's arm as well. "Lunii suunei." She slowed them both down. "It's all a trick. She's good people, trying to do the right thing, and I think we have, today."

Thantra bounded from one rooftop to the next, but all of her pursuit seemed to have fallen off. She slowed. She slid down an eavestrough, and dropped to the ground. There, she dusted herself off, rose, and walked over to the Seagate, finally free.

Niallus raised a brow a bit confused by this, but then again, he has been gone for a while. "Ok, I trust you." going along with what his friend has mentioned to him. "You'll have to catch me up on whats happened." He asked her, as the group slowly came to a stop.

Upon hearing what Seviin was saying Lunara nodded with it, she placed a finger and her thumb to her mouth and whistled.

In the direction where Thantra ran off to, a small head bobbed itself up, hearing the whistle. It was Miray, it seemed that even though her master and company slow down, Miray did not. She climbed down from the roof that she got onto ready to chase Thantra, upon coming down she stopped in front of Lunara "That’s enough chasing." she said, giving Miray head scratches. Miray began to purr, after Lunara finished petting her cat, it seemed that Miray was in an affectionate mood, rubbing herself on Lunara, Seviin and Niallus' legs, purring.



Lunara Agha




Lunara on seeing the Yasoi's severed finger, started to feel quinsy. She instinctively put her left hand over her mouth and she also started to feel unsteady, as she had never seen a severed limb before. On noticing that Niallus was next to her she grabbed his are with her right hand to steady herself. "Sorry Niallus, I suddenly felt ill on seeing the finger, never seen that before." Lunara's Goma cat Miray on seeing that Lunara wasn't feeling well started to rub her face on her leg and stand on her hind legs to get her attention. Lunara on noticing this crouched down and petted her. "It's ok Miray, I'm fine."

Lunara, after pulling herself around, stood and attentively listened to the conversations. To make sure she heard every idea, and information. She wanted to make sure she knew exactly what had happened and what was going to happen.

Lunara picked up Miray so that she didn't get in the way of everyone. While holding and petting Miray, Lunara listened to all of the ideas and suggestions that everyone had intently. "I do agree, a well dressed Yasoi is odd, however I'm not judging. But I feel like the disguise idea is good as well, and could be very helpful."

She took a moment to think about what she wanted to do, she really wants to be useful. After thinking, Lunara turned and walked towards Ashon, she smiled and asked. "I like your disguise idea, would it be ok to join you."




Walking The streets, Miray close by her side. Lunara stood close by having Ashon and the others in her view. She took a deep breath, trying to not let her nerves get to her. Having butterflies in her stomach, thinking what if Ashon or Seviin get attacked by a mugger and she's too nervous to act. Before her nerves got the better of her she felt a tuft of soft fur brushing into her hand. It was Miray. Her purring, somehow was loud enough to be heard over the crowd and the small merchants "Thank you my friend." notice that the group moved on just out of sight, Lunara quickly followed.

Trying her best to pretend to browse and take in the sights, Lunara heard panic. Following where everyone else was looking, it seems that Ashon and Seviin were under attack. Dory who was working with Lunara was already getting into position to assist. What can I do? she thought, as she tried her best to stay hidden and not to make like she is part of the group. Then as if she understood her, Miray rushed off in front of the group.

Miray leapt towards one of the attacks close to Seviin hissing, biting the attacker in the leg digging her claws into the attackers leg, after some painful yanks, the attacker managed to pry Miray off of his leg. “Fucking mangy cat!” They yelled, wanting to kick Miray with full force. This was Lunara's time to step in, and she took it. Stepping out of the crowd, removing her chakrams from her waist, ready to fight and assist. She then looked at Miray, smiled and said "Good girl Miray, bite down harder, show this fool what you can do." Lunara then turned to the man with a wicked grin, and pointed one of her chakrams near the man's neck."So what were you trying to do and what did you say about my Goma cat?"
Lunara’s next Adventure


Location: Ersand'Enise
Characters: Lunara @BlackRoseSiren, Niallus @Echotech71, Abdel, Dayanara, Qadira, @YummyYummy Seviin, Penny, Johann @Force And Fury, Xiuyang @Emeth, Oksana, Ashon, @Ti, Dory @jasbraq.

Miray quickly made her way to Lunara’s side, where Lunara was sat playing and feeding Helios, Terra and Kamelya. Miray had a piece of parchment in her mouth that she found by the door, she nuzzled into Lunara’s hand. Lunara gave her a pet, then she noticed the parchment in Miray’s mouth. "What do you have there girl? Drop it please." Lunara held her hand out, and a second after being asked Miray gently placed the parchment in Lunara’s hand. "Good girl Miray, here have a treat."

Lunara then gives Miray a treat and a nice belly rub, she then begins to read the parchment. Lunara carefully read through the note, making sure she didn’t miss anything. She was extremely interested in this, as not long ago she had helped the Yasoi to protect the Evertree. But now she has a chance to help another Yasoi, she couldn’t refuse people in need. With a smile she quickly stood, and placed her pets in their homes, she then got herself cleaned up and made sure her Chakrams were still on her belt. She then walked out of the door saying "Come on Miray, Let’s get going." Miray quickly followed after her.
An Interview with Giancarlo Silvestri for Tan-Zeno


Place: Giancarlo’s Office
Time: One week after the rebellion

Esmii was wearing a nice long length dark green dress with white flower patterns, with a white knitted cardigan over the top. Her hair was plated with dark green and white ribbons, Sven and Roslyn had helped her choose what to wear and done her hair.

The office is large and cluttered with crates, artifacts, and stacks of books and notes, organised with a sort of idiosyncratic chaos that smacks of academia. The windows are large and dusty, arched at the top, and golden light streams in through them. At the far end of the room, silhouetted within the open balcony doors, behind a great mahogany desk, stands the head of the Archaeology department: Giancarlo Silvestri.

On the desk is laid out a luxuriant antipasto platter. Upon seeing a candidate enter, he turns and smiles, hands clasped behind his back. "Please, come in, seat yourself and help yourself." He gestures. "I do apologise in advance for just how tough I'm going to be on you, but let's do it on a full stomach, no?" He smiles and the laugh lines around his eyes crinkle warmly.

You could see that the little yasoi was nervous, she tried to take a deep breath, then she smiled and took some of the food that was offered. "Pleased to meet you, thank you for the lovely food." She then takes a seat.

"The pleasure is all mine," the High Zeno replied, plucking a slice of salami cacciatore from the tray with a tiny fork. "If we're to digest such matters of import, it might be best to have more than just those to think on." He chewed thoughtfully and knitted his fingers in front of himself.

"Now, onto matters of business, let's begin with something simple and straightforward: why do you want to be faculty at this school? What drives you, and please no bottled answers."

When the high Zeno spoke to her, straightened herself up in her seat. Placing a finger on her lips thinking about what to say for an answer. "Well, I want to benefit the school." she stopped for a second trying not to say anything negative about herself. "I want to help people. I want to help the school.
After the chaos that happened, I was able to help people's injuries and heal them with my magic."
she continued "I know how to treat people, with and without magic. I can make remedies. I want to teach what I know to future generations, so that they can survive and learn. " a little smile came across her face "Being here my teachers helped me gain more confidence in my abilities, I want to do the same for others." she stopped herself in case she rambled by taking a drink of water.

Giancarlo Silvestri, warm but cold, inviting but intimidating, drummed his fingers on the desk, leaning back to take a sip of his lemon water. "That sounds lovely," he allowed. "Now, I want you to tell me, honestly, why it might not be a good idea to make you a Tan-Zeno."

Esmii straightened herself once more trying to look professional at this interview. She took a moment to think about the answer, not wanting to rush it. "There are moments where at times where i become hyper focused on one specific task." she let out a little sigh, as she continued

"Unlike my other peers. I am not very good at offensive magic. I mean I have some, but not a lot. So if the school ever got attacked again I wouldn't be able to do much to in stopping the invaders" feeling her confidence waver for her admitting that "But I am working on it." she said to help boost her confidence.

Some of the twinkle went out of the High Zeno's eyes. "And you would say that your judgement is usually good? There aren't any lapses you regret?" He swirled his water before taking another sip.

Esmii sat in her chair trying her best not to fidget in it. "Well, there was one...incident where I didn't think about what my actions would cause." she frowned a little bit. "I... paid for that mistake and I have learnt from it, that I need to think everything through before I act. I know that I can't just act on impulse alone." she reached for her glass for a drink. Thinking about what her boyfriend had taught her on that very subject.

Giancarlo Silvestri nodded, scribbling something on a paper. "I see." He tapped his quill a couple of times and looked up. "So let me ask you a hypothetical question. There is a raging mother froabas, beyond reason, rampaging through the school. While there is a slight chance that you may be able to locate her nest and placate her, civilian casualties are quite likely. Instead, you can eliminate her and there is next to no risk of civilian deaths." He tilted his head to the side. "Which path do you take?"

Esmii listened intently, as she felt like he may ask her a question like this. She sat back in her chair and thought about what she would do if this ever did happen. "Even though I love animals, I will not risk the lives of civilians. I would do everything I could to stop the raging animal, and to keep civilian casualties to a minimum." She then looked at Giancarlo to see what he would say and do.

"And of the dragon's young?" he prodded, brow furrowed.

After he said his question, Esmii suddenly realised that she had forgotten about the young dragons. she thought for a few moments then stated. "Well with the mother being dead I would look for the nest with help from people who are good at tracking, but I would also ask for help from people who know more about dragon than I do and I want them to be in a safe place away from harm."

She took a moment as she had thought of something else. She then carried on. "However if the mother was incapacitated and still alive I would again ask people who know more about dragons for help and people who are good at tracking, to help locate the nest, then move both the mother and the babies out of and as far away from the city as possible."

He nodded slowly, considering. "Alright then. Thank you for that thoughtful answer. Now, let's switch our line of questioning, shall we? If you were given the opportunity to teach here, what would you be teaching and why would you be qualified?"

Esmii nodded "Yes," she have scribbled down some of the classes that she would be able to teach or at least assist in teaching. "Well, I could teach First Aid classes. When I helped at my families clinic where sometimes I would give first aid for some minor injuries that wouldn't require Binding. I can also teach people how to preform first aid on themselves, such as applying bandages and ointments."

She thought about what other classes that would be suitable for her to teach. "For magic classes I could provide assistance in Binding and Chemical classes, mostly just the healing and buffing side of those magics."

"For the other classes I could help with Gardening and Plants, I have some knowledge of plants mostly because I often make herbal remedies for various things, aches, itches, burns, nausea, even something to ease pregnancy symptoms. Which I learned from my time in the clinic and from reading books." she gave a little smile, hoping that she had provided enough detail.

With that, Giancarlo Silvestri nodded and rose. "Well, that's certainly something we can work with!" He held out his hand. "I will most certainly keep you under consideration.”

Esmii smiles happily, and shakes his hand. "Thank you Zeno for your time and for considering me for this opportunity. I will take my leave now, enjoy the rest of your day."

She then takes her leave. After she has closed the door she does a little happy dance, then stops and quickly makes her way to to Roslyn and Sven, to tell them what happened.
Aftermath of the City Burning and Meeting Lunara


Place: The Ever Tree
Time: Evening

When the groups of students finally got back and had helped to heal as many Zenos as they could, Esmii overheard a group of people mention that The Ever Tree where she lives had been one of the many places affected by the attacks. Her heart began to race as she feared the worst, even though her and Sven’s little animals were at Sven’s home, but she was still very worried.

She searched around and, on finding Sven, quickly ran over to him and tried to explain what she had heard. "Sven, I need to get to the Ever Tree. I heard it was one of the places that was hit by the attack. I’m going straight there to help heal people and see the damage. Do you want to accompany me or meet me there in a short while?" She said this while she frantically looked around.

”Whoa whoa whoa!” he replied, the words tumbling out of him just as they’d tumbled out of her. ”It’sh not too bad,” he assured her quickly. ”I think they managed to shave it, but there’sh damage.” He shook his head. ”I still have to help shtabilize the tower. That thing fallsh and it takes three blocksh of houshesh with it.” He bit his lip, peering about to see if there was anyone else he knew or trusted nearby. ”Shtick to the plan, okay? I’ll meet up with you ash shoon ash I can. I love you.” He paused, squeezing her extra tight before letting go. ”And don’t go alone.” He scowled. ”You never know, okay?”

Esmii smiled, and in his embrace she took a deep breath, to calm herself down. "I feel calmer now, thank you, my love, I will be careful and I promise, I won't go alone. Promise me that you will be careful as well." placing a hand on his cheek, looking into his eyes. She rose onto her tiptoes and gave him a kiss. ”I Love you too.” she said softly to him.

Lunara, on hearing their conversation, made her way to the cute couple. She cleared her throat and said. "Hello, My name is Lunara Agha, I am one of the people who helped to defend the Ever Tree. If you want I can accompany you, until your boyfriend is free to join you?."

Esmii on hearing Lunara’s voice, she looks in her direction, smiles and says. "Nice to meet you Lunara, I am Esmii and this is Sven. I believe I have seen you around, but never spoken to you. Thank you for helping to protect the Ever Tree, and Yes if it’s not too much trouble for you, I would appreciate it."

Lunara smiled at the little Yasoi girl. "It’s no trouble at all, as I also want to see how everything is there, as I had to leave before I was finished helping."

Esmii excitedly walked over to the girl and hugged her, when she realised what she did, she stopped and stepped back from the girl. "Lunara I am so sorry, being a Yasoi I tend to get too excited and hug people a lot, but I should have asked, since we have only now properly met."

Lunara started to laugh. "It’s ok Esmii, I don’t mind being hugged. Well should we set off. And don’t worry Sven, I will keep an eye on her, until you meet up with us." Lunara then turned back to Esmii and said. "Let's get going then, I will follow your lead as I can’t remember how to get there."

Esmii looked back at Sven, she then smiled and blew him a kiss."I will be careful, please be careful as well. See you soon." she then turned to Lunara. "Yes, let's head there now. We can go this way. I will try not to walk too fast."

The two of them set off for The Ever Tree. Being very careful, as they were worried that someone or something could attack at any moment. They had many conversations while they made their way to the Ever tree, about their pets, the courses they were taking part in, their hobbies, about their friends and families. They enjoyed each other's company. Maybe they both found a new friend amidst this chaos.

Esmii was able to lead the two of them to the Ever tree quite quickly, with a few small dentures as a few of the ways Esmii knew were blocked with debris, however they got there in the end. On arriving they both noticed a few groups, some were clearing the debris and others were trying to help the people who had been injured.

The first thing Esmii did was look at the Ever Tree, and she noticed that what Sven said was true, it had taken damage but not too bad. ”Ruii joi Damy (Bless you Dami)“ She mumbled with relief in her tone as she was worried about the area. She then began to help the people around, She knew she needed to be careful as she had healed and buffed her group, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

She then thought Suuluun (Sorry) Sven I know you will be mad at me for overusing my magic, but I need to heal these people. She made her way to the group of people where Lunara was already, She then grabbed a hair tie from her bag and put her hair into a ponytail, and began to heal people. She knelt down next to a small Yasoi girl and asked."Oira hyco yr, eloi ciin joi diidolrey? (Hello little one, where are you uncomfortable?)"

On arriving Lunara walked straight over to the injured people and began to heal as many as she could. She knew she couldn’t heal a lot of them as she was tired and her binding isn’t great. She looked at the group of people and said. "Ok who needs to be healed, Me and my friend Esmii can help you, but please be patient."

After healing a few people, Lunara decided to take a small break, however she noticed Esmii wasn’t taking any breaks. She saw that she was healing person after person, and she could tell that Esmii was tired. "Hey Esmii, are you sure you can heal all of these people? You look tired, you should take a rest, before you do more. I don’t think Sven will be happy that you are pushing yourself."

Esmii looked at her, acknowledging what she said. "I will take a break soon, but I need to help these people first. They got hurt because of the stupidity and anger of others. I can’t just sit back and rest, these people didn’t do anything, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She started to remember a memory from her past, but she shook her head and thought. Now is not the time for this. Focus on healing people. You can rest later, I wasn’t here to help these people before, but I am now. She then continued to help, heal and bandage the injured people that were around her.

Lunara frowned on hearing Esmii’s response, Lunara knew this was bad, and that she would not be able to carry on much longer. Lunara thought. I hope Sven arrives soon, I feel like you are the only person that she might listen to, or the only one who can stop her now.

Just as she was thinking, Lunara noticed Sven was slowly making his way over. Lunara decided to meet him, before he reached where they were as she wanted to tell him what's happening. "Hello again Sven. We managed to get here with no problems. But." She took a breath and looked in Esmii's direction, then continued. "Esmii has healed a lot of people, but she refuses to rest, and she looks like she will drop at any moment. I am worried about her. I feel like right now, you may be the only person that can get through to her."

Sven had a feeling that his beloved wouldn't just sit by. He kinda expected this. He scratched the back of his head. ”Thank you Lunara.” feeling fatigue starting to set in, letting out a small yawn.”I can take her back to mine. It's been a long night and both of us need to resht.” with that, he walked to his beloved.

Esmii was so focused on helping people, she didn’t realise Sven had arrived and that Lunara was telling him what she was doing. Suddenly Esmii began to feel lightheaded and started to have problems with her balance, and knew she wouldn’t be able to carry on much longer. So she sat on the ground and rested her back against a tree that was close to the lake, she then glanced up at the night sky and at the lake, and said to herself.

"Dii (No) not now. I need to keep going, I can’t stop now." She clenched her dress in her fists, and sighed out of frustration. She knew that she shouldn’t push herself but she wanted to carry on helping people as she couldn’t help them before. She was so lost in her thoughts and in the lovely sights of the lake and night sky, she didn’t notice footsteps from someone getting closer to her.

With her being distracted, it was easy for the giant Eskand to walk up to his girlfriend. And in one fluent motion he scooped her up in his arms. ”Shweetie, You've done enough you are exhaushted.” turning on his heels, walking off, bridal carrying Esmii. ”Letsh head back to mine. Sho we can get a good resht.” tightening his grip on Esmii's frame.

Esmii suddenly realising she was picked up, she looked and noticed it was Sven. "Sven you startled me." On hearing what he had to say to her, she rested her head on his chest, sighed and said. "Ok my love, you are right. Let's head back to yours. I have done all I can, Sorry for overdoing it again." While she was in Sven’s embrace, on feeling his warmth and the sound of his heart beat, the little Yasoi girl slowly fell asleep in his arms.

Upon realising that Esmii had fallen asleep, Sven smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead. ”Shleep well my love.”

Fin

For my People.


Esmii’nesta’tawaar & Johann Steinbauer


Event:Zazzy’s Party.






Present: Esmii @BlackRoseSiren, Johann @Force and Fury




Johann had installed himself where he could help the most people have a good time, and where he'd be seen doing so, for such was his impulse, his nature, and his secret insecurity. He had bigger aims tonight than just being a merry face at a party, however. While people screamed about flags and corruption behind the walls of Ersand'Enise, a crisis of refugees had built outside of the gates.

Anyone who observed him could plainly see that he was partial to the yasoi people. He'd stepped up to help them during the auctions, particularly a few weeks ago as more of those 'titles' and 'land deeds' had come up for sale. There had been a rare few who'd lived in his village growing up, and he'd found them an intriguing group. It was within this context that he approached Esmii as she was playing with her animals. He took a seat beside her, but not uncomfortably close. He knew that he often made women uncomfortable and did not want to do so this time. "Esmii, is it?" he asked, "And how about *these* little fellers?"

Esmii noticed a big man had sat down next to her and asked some questions, she greeted him with a smile and answered. "Yes I am Esmii, the dormouse is sage and the grape dragon is Newt. Your Johann aren't you?"

He chuckled nervously. "That *is* what my parents named me. Yes." He shook his head good-naturedly and reached out towards Newt. "Can I pet him?"

She giggled at what he said."Yes you can, you can also feed him some grapes, if you like." She pulls a small glass jar of halved grapes from her bag, for Johann to feed Newt and places on in the big mans hand. Newt bravely puffed himself up and walk over to his hand and slowly climbs up to reach the grape in Johann's hand.

"Oh! Hah! Hee hee!" Johann giggled. "He just comes right up there and takes it!" He let the small dragon climb all over him. "Oh you are lucky, lil' feller, that I didn't eat it for myself." Johann teased, licking up some of the juices.

He turned to Esmii, thinking best how to ask a simple question. "So, you've got a whole menagerie of these wonderful little things, as I understand. You and... what was his name? Sven?"

Esmii smiles. "Yes we really do, I think Sven has a lot more than me. We look after them together. I feed his Dragons and give them attention and He does the same. I got some more from the Trialscand at the Auction, hopefully I can find a good home for them."

She started to stroked Sage "Are you having fun at the party so far."

"Oh, I'm plenty jolly and drunk." Johann waved in good-natured dismissal. While Newt seemed to have taken to him, Sage remained quite shy, despite his attempts to offer his fingers for her to climb on. "But..." he paused and sighed. "In some ways, and I don't mean to be a downer, it can't help but feel a little wrong." He shook his head and glanced about. "All these nationalists shouting at each other and us having a party here." He swallowed. "Meanwhile, the invasion of your homeland. The Tarlonese send a few of their decent young people here for us to make friends with while the rest of the Grey Army murders and pillages its way across Constantian Yasoi lands." He paused for a moment, visibly affected. "Every day now, hundreds of refugees - I can only imagine what it's like for you to see your people like that - piling up outside the city gates, refused entry." He shook his head again. "I've money, but no way to get into yasoi lands. I wish there was more I could do..."

Esmii began to feel worried at the mention of the war. "I heard rumours of the war from, my aloi (mother), she sent me a letter, explaining about the situation back home." she frowns, as her body starts to relax.

"My parents and my little suunei (sister) are safe as they decided to flee early as a procuration." she tensed once more "However my little moila (brother) isn't with them, he is missing."

Johann shook his head. "It's only a matter of time before they sweep over all of yasoi lands," he mused, idly forming a simple berry in his hand and inviting her animals to nibble at it. "Unless they meet with organized resistance - a real army of the combined Constantian Yasoi in Oiyac or Hyparii." He pounded a fist into his palm, frustrated, squishing the berry just as Newt seemed to have plucked up the courage to go for it. Mortified, Johann spent the next half-minute trying to placate the little dragon. When he'd finally settled, the chubby boy furrowed his brow and started up again. "If only I held land and title there." He shook his head again. "I could use it as a staging point for the fight back, fill it with refugees who aren't ready to give up on their homelands. *Build* something! Alas, they'd never trust a yanii, much less grant me such."

Esmii took a second, listening to Johanns words. She wondered if this was fate. "I got some land and a title. Maybe they'll trust me." she wondered.

"I want to help my people, my family. I'd like to discuss more about it." she said with a smile.

Johann's face lit up at the words. "You..." he trailed off, confused for a moment. "You have land and title! Wow!" he exclaimed, startling poor Newt again as he straightened. "Why, this is *wunderbar* news!" He shook his head in happy disbelief. "Why, they'll actually *trust* you, unlike me..." He trailed off and seemed to slump a bit as he went quiet.

Esmii didn’t think that someone could be that excited about someone elses land. Truthfully when she got the letter about it, she was shocked. Still processing that she can go by 'Lady' Esmii. It felt a bit alien to her. She wanted to break the news to her beloved but sadly he wasn't here. She'll likely visit him after the party.

"I do have land yes, and a title. But having them trust me, a part Yanii, might be difficult." she looks down to the floor her brow furrowed. Then after a few seconds her head rose to face him.

Johann shrugged. "Better a half-yanii than a full one, trust me." Perhaps he could sense her uncertainties and insecurities, but he was not about to pry, lest she start poking around his. Those were wounds old and deep that he was not going to share freely about anytime soon. For now, he focused on her. To the best of his considerable knowledge on the subject, most Constantian yasoi didn't have a particular problem with half-breeds, though there were always a *few*, he supposed. "You grew up there. You speak their language. Fundamentally, you are one of them in ways that I could never be, and you know how stubborn your people are about being helped by outsiders..." He trailed off for a moment before continuing. "If, truly, you hold land and title there, then you hold power that remains unrealized: the power to make a difference and help people. Let me help you *use* it."

Esmii sat and listened intently to everything Johann said, she knew he was right as they would maybe trust her more than a yanii. When he finished the thought for a moment and answered. "What you said makes sense, they could listen and trust me more than a yanii, and I do want to help people who are in need, because of this war."

She then opens her bag and rummages through it as she remembered that she had brought the letter she received. "This is what I got, I brought it with me to show Sven, and I will later when I go check on him but would you like to see it."

Johann nodded and reached out to take it. His eyes flicked back and forth across the page as he read.

*Esteemed Lady Tawaar,* the letter began,

*It is my honour and privilege to offer you my sincere greetings from the Baronetcy of Desta'lovox here in beautiful Hyparii. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Salex'taol'tuuro, chamberlain of the grand estate that has now passed to you by the rules of Escambric Inheritance. I am writing this letter to extend an invitation to your ladyship to visit her domain at her earliest convenience. All must be prepared in advance of your arrival, of course, so please be so kind as to provide your humble servant with a date and time. A grand welcome awaits thee, my lady, and I look ardently forward to our first meeting. There is much work to be done and much opportunity.*

*Your Loyal Chamberlain,*

*Salex'taol'tuuro*

"Heh!" the Kerreman remarked. "Looks like that deed was worth something after all!" He shook his head. "I was hoping it would be, but they're often scams, things like this." He furrowed his brow. "This could be deliverance for all those people, and, I sense for your finances. You should certainly go investigate before you show Sven, though, to make sure it's on the level. If you received something like this, it's definitely a good sign." He considered for a moment, lowering his voice. "I, uh... for what it's worth, I can accompany you there, just in case." He shook his head. "I wouldn't trust *too* easily."

Esmii nods in agreement, as she takes the letter back and hides it in her bag once again. She knows she needs to be careful about who she trusts, with the information she has. She whispers "You are right, I do need to be carful about who I trust. Also I will hold off showing Sven if you think it's better to check everything first."

She thinks for a moment and thanks him. "Thank you for you help. I am wanting to investigate the land, but wasn't sure who I could ask to accompany me, but if you are sure I would be happy for you to accompany me. I feel like I need a few peoples help with that as it is new for me." She wonders if she has the confidence and ability to handle this.

Johann smiled reassuringly. "Don't you worry one bit. I'll be there, and..." He paused to think for a moment. "I think I know someone else I can talk to." With that, he heard his voice being called by Marci to help him with an obnoxiously drunk guest who had passed out. The big man rose and dusted himself off. "Well, with that, duty calls," he sighed. "It was nice talking to you Esmii. I think we can really help a lot of people with this idea." Then, he was hurrying off.

Esmii smiled at the big man as he stood. "Thank you for the chat. It was nice meeting you too, see you later Johann." She waved at him as he left.

Then she put one of her braids on the table for Newt to climb up, and looking at Sage in her hand, she said "Should we go see if we can find Jamboi then Sage, I know you like seeing him and Penny don't you." She gave her a little head rub and then placed her on her shoulder. Then Esmii rose from her seat and began to look for Jamboi.

While walking around Esmii finally saw Jamboi, however she noticed that he was busy having fun with Penny. She smiled and decided that she would not bother the two of them. She then looked at Sage. "We can see Penny and Jamboi another time."

Esmii then decided that she would leave a bit earlier, and go see how Sven was, as he said he was ill and she wanted to show him her dress and give him the gifts she had for him. "Well you too, Lets head to Sven's and see how he is feeling." After mentioning Sven both Sage and Newt got exited, Esmii giggled at the both of them. "Ok, calm down, we will see him soon." And off she went.
Meeting the Sun: Part 3


Place: Tavern near the Queen’s Gate, Ersand’Enise Academy of Thaumaturgy
Time: Velles 2nd, Orrendes (Afternoon going on Evening)
Thank you @Force and Fury for this collab

Esmii noticed that she and Sven were the only ones left in the room. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain from her wrist and remembered she had hurt it when she fell. She started to rummage through her bag, remembering that she had a bandage in there and, on finding that bandage, she began to wrap up her wrist, as fast as possible, to ease the pain, and so she can carry on with what she needed to do, because right now she can’t heal herself and no one else can help her at this point.

After her wrist was bandaged properly, she moved onto her knees and faced the bed. Then she slowly starts to stand using the bed to steady herself. She then climbs back onto the bed, and looking at Sven, she tries to shake him to see if he will awaken, she also talks to him, to see if he will wake to the sound of her voice. "Sven, please wake up for me, I’m sorry for the trouble I have caused you, I know it’s all my fault, but please open your eyes, I need you to be ok."

Sven had been drifting in and out of consciousness for at least a few minutes. Vaguely, he had felt the sensation of heat, and then one of shouting, alarm, and movement. He knew he had been attacked. He had the incomplete sense - almost as if he had viewed it from outside of himself - that he had killed. Roslyn was not well. This, he knew. Esmii was sitting there by his bedside, crying and blaming herself and, though he did not consciously register it, the sensory input was enough to finally pull him from the last bit of it. Feelings stirred inside of him at her words and his eyes flashed open.

Esmii didn’t notice that Sven was starting to wake up, as she was lost in her own thoughts, and you could see she wasn't in the moment as her eyes were glazed. She then turned herself around and slid off the side of the bed. Now she sat on the floor, resting her back on the bed, bringing her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her knees and tucked her head into her arms. She felt useless and helpless, and didn’t realise she was voicing what she was thinking.

"Maybe my moila (brother) is right, I am useless and stupid, and all I do is cause trouble and problems for others, like I did for my Aluu (father) and Aloi (mother). Why did I have to get closer to it, I knew I needed to stay away from the aberration as I am influenced more by it, and yet I still stupidly walked closer and was controlled by it. Look what I did, Rose and Sven are suffering so much because of me, and all I have is a headache." Tears started to stream down her face again, which made her head hurt more, but she felt like she deserved it. "What should I do?"

Sven slid off the far side of the bed, his head still fuzzy and pounding. He did not completely know what he was doing and what had happened, much less where he was. Everything was bad. He’d… it started to come back to him. He’d… he’d killed a girl: ripped her limb from limb. She’d tried to help them and she’d sacrificed herself and she was dead. He stumbled away. Faintly, through the thickening headache and tinnitus, he thought he could hear crying, but it might’ve been his own. He thought he could sense sadness, but… he’d killed someone. He’d viciously murdered a person in cold - or perhaps hot - blood. Some of her blood was still on him. Roslyn was missing. She was crazy and she was missing. Esmii was wallowing. He wanted to feel something, but all that he could feel was fuzzy and empty. He was… out of empathy. He half turned. ”You should get up instead of making him right. We have our friend to find.”

Esmii, still deep in her emotional thoughts, managed to hear a voice, she recognises the voice, however she cannot tell if it is real or just her imagination. Following what the voice says, her body quickly responds on its own, by standing up and moving in the direction of where the voice came from. Suddenly she comes to an abrupt stop, as her face makes contact with Sven’s back. She stumbles back, giving her head a little shake, snapping back to reality, her gaze slowly shifts to the figure's face. Her eyes widened with joy, on realising it was Sven and he was awake. "Sven, you're awake, Thank Reshta." She walks back over to him and gives him a hug. Then she stands on her tiptoes and kisses him on his cheek and asks him, "How are you feeling my love, I was worried."

She impacted his back and it forced him to twist about. Sven was not in the mood for hugs. He was not even thinking about much of anything except the look on that yasoi woman’s face when he’d ripped her arms off. That was burned into him. He shook his head, and started walking again. Esmii was safe, at least. Roslyn wasn’t. She’d gone aberration mad and she was missing and… it was nothing more than a distraction, but he needed one, and maybe he could do some good, at least.

Then, Esmii was there to intercept him, standing right in his way as he was about to exit. He tried to shake his head. He tried to shake her off. On some level, he didn’t want to be touched right now. He didn’t want to be held. He just needed to not think about what he’d done until he could take some time and unpack it. He needed to do something to make up for it. Esmii was safe. She was. Now, Roslyn needed help. “Bad,” he replied shortly, ”but we’ll deal with that later. For now, our friend needs help.” He made sure to keep moving.

Esmii noticed that Sven right now didn’t want to be touched, she knew something was different, she tried to hide the sadness on her face, as she didn’t want to make him feel worse. While she fiddled with her clothes she said. "I’m sorry, I should have asked you before I hugged you." Still fiddling with her clothes, she spoke again. "Right now Rose isn’t on her own, Sun King, the person who’s room this is, and who helped me to get you and Rose here, is following her. He said for me to stay here with you, as I am drained."

Esmii showed Sven her wrapped up wrist. "I overdid it with my magic again, and when I tried to stop Rose from jumping from the balcony I went dizzy and fell to the floor and hurt my wrist. I'm so useless. Sun King followed her right after she ran." She looked at the floor. Esmii took a deep breath, and she raised her voice, so he knew that she was trying to be serious, she knew she needed to talk to him and she knew with how she was feeling she couldn’t stop him but she at least had to try.

"We need to rest, we are both not right and you know it. Also I need to talk to you about things that happened to you in the last mission, as I think they are linked to what happened today. And why I have been acting strange lately, I need you to listen, it’s important. And after we have talked and rested, we can help look for Rose, because if you collapse again I can't carry you, like you can if I were to collapse." Then she slowly walked backwards till she was in front of the door. Her eyes looked onto his, as she was trying very hard to stand her ground and not budge, even though she knew he could just pick her up effortlessly.

She just wouldn’t let up. It all had to be dealt with right this moment, when Sven needed to just… not think about it for a bit longer. He knew it needed to be dealt with, but… For some reason he couldn’t explain, he was just… out of emotional energy. He needed to recharge, badly He heaved a long, vexed sigh. “Now ish not a good time for me,” he growled. “If I collapshe, leave me there.” He made to go around her. He just couldn’t. He just… hadn’t comprehended it all. The berserker rage was happening more and more often now, but it wouldn’t happen a mere hour or two after the previous incident. That much, he knew.

He needed to be outside, doing something, working through his feelings through action not sitting in someone’s guest room, having what was sure to be a long, emotionally wrought conversation with Esmii. Please, just understand me, Sven begged inwardly, but then it struck him: he was wrong. This wasn’t about him. This was about her and the damage she’d suffered and the further damage he could cause her. She needed him. Heart heavy, he rubbed at the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. He would have to summon the strength. “I’m… shorry,” he grated, “for my shellfishness.” He found a nearby sofa and let himself collapse onto it. “You’re right. Tell me what’sh wrong. I’ll try to lishten.”

Esmii sighed in relief, as Sven went to sit down, she thought to herself Is his Eskand stubbornness rubbing off on me? She slowly makes her way to the sofa he collapsed on, with no room for her to sit with him she moves a stool closer to the sofa and takes a seat. Thinking back on his facial expressions, tone of his voice and how he acted, she wondered if he remembers everything that happened this time. Then she holds one of his hands, and says, "Sven you aren’t being selfish, and you have nothing to be sorry about, I’m just worried about you." She took a second to think about what to say and continued.

"There are two things that I want to talk about, the main thing is about you, and the other is to do with me, but you are more important. This strange force that you have, I have noticed it’s showing itself more often. The first time I saw it was when we were in the monastery. Just before we escaped, you were angry but seemed to have some control." She takes a short pause again as the next bit she is going to talk about, hurts her and she begins to tightly grip her dress, the grip is tight enough for her hand to turn white. "The second time the strange force appeared… was when I thought you had died… but then you suddenly got back up and you defended us." When she had finished talking about that memory, her grip on her dress eased.

Then she thought about what had happened today, "You remember what happened at the gate don’t you?" She held his hand with both of hers, and continued, "She attacked you first, and you defended yourself, if you were hurt I would have done the same, as she was not of sound mind and her fate was sealed from the moment she started to draw from it." She thought again about what to say, then she simply said,

"If these moments of rage are starting to become more frequent, I want you to know that I am here for you, I will be at your side. I will do everything I can to help you figure out what is happening, and how to control or prevent it. Also do you know if you had anything like this happen, when you were younger or before you started school?" Her tone was determined, she just wanted him to know he isn’t alone and that she loved him.

Right now she was trying to stop herself from hugging him, as she knew he didn’t want to be hugged. She took a deep breath, as she was worried she would annoy him. She was also wondering how to tell him about what had actually happened to her in the last mission. Just thinking of Dmitry frightened her, and she unknowingly dug her nails into her arm out of fear. She tried to hide her fright from Sven like she had tried to in the past.

It was... a more thoughtful response than Sven had anticipated, but he*still* did not want to do this - not right now. He could *not* be in here dwelling on it. That violence wasn't him, but... it was. It had always been there: in the tapestries that hung on the walls in his family's ancient castle. They all depicted men who looked a lot like him, huge and towering, besting various foes, man and beast, in often brutal ways. It had always been there: in the way he had thought it might be so easy to just... break the kids who'd teased and annoyed him when he was young. How many times had he fantasized about hurting them in various ways? It had always been there: in the rage he'd felt when people hurt or abused small things, weak things, and animals who couldn't defend or speak up for themselves. How he'd hated their smugness, how he'd wanted to wipe it off of their faces with... well, he'd wanted to do it peacefully, stridently so. Hadn't he?

Yet, there'd been a little part of him - a savage little part he'd always denied - that had almost *hoped* that it would fail, because they wouldn't actually learn anything from his words. They all laughed at him when he spoke, or were laughing in their heads. He knew it. He could sense the way that their chemical signatures changed when he opened his mouth. He stood there, awkwardly for a second, not wanting to be corralled, trapped in here, even with Esmii. *But this is about her feelings, not **yours**,* he reminded himself. “I have alwaysh had violenshe in my shoul,” he admitted.

Sven thought of the colossal black set of armour that stood behind the Jarl's chair in the Great Hall, polished by old Ms. Ljundberg when he'd been small, before she'd retired. Mother, as Lady of the house after Father had died, could not be seen doing that sort of manual work herself, so it had fallen to Astrid instead. How it had stood there, terrifying and enchanting him in equal measure as a boy! It had remained in place for some eight hundred years since legend held it had been worn in battle by Kol of Sturmreef at the Second Battle of Relouse, where he near-singlehandedly carried the Eskandr effort before being slain by Hildr the Red, patron saint of Kerremand. Nobody had grown large enough to don the armour since and Sven couldn't help but see the metaphor in it.

Yet, those had been fleeting thoughts, *guilty* ones. Where most boys had learned swordplay, hunting, and strategy, in addition to their mathematics, Avincian, and rhetoric, his idle times had been spent reading by the great bay window in the sewing room, while his mother, sisters, and other ladies chatted and did crochet. His days had been otherwise filled with tutors in all of the modern sciences, philosophies, and skills that his mother had thought would turn him into a different sort of lord, one day. They were all soft, kind, thoughtful things, of beauty and creation, taught by one third daughter of some minor house or another. How greatly he had studied herbs and medicines, sewing, binding wounds, administering - not ruling - his lands with compassion and understanding. He'd had his history lessons but, he suspected, the heroes had been very different from those that most boys learned about. He had, as a child, soaked these lessons up like a sponge.

Yet, always, had Sven gravitated outside. The plants and animals of the region and how they all worked so well in a perfect, delicate balance, came to fascinate him. The formation of the ores in the ground and the mountains and those great eruptions of fire and ash from the distant volcanic peaks: how those had excited him!

Then, there had been dragons, and they were the one thing that was not kind and soft and thoughtful that he was allowed. How he had *loved* dragons!
More than once, when they could see how his eyes lit up at the fiery breath or at those tales of epic struggles between heroes and the great beasts, the adults around him had tried to steer Sven away, but this had been his bottom line. His violence had come out in kicking screaming, *raging* tantrums when they threatened to take his books away, and their kindness, softness, and thoughtfulness had caved to his violence. Before he had left for Ersand'Enise, Sven had stood before the armour of Kol with his mother and asked her why she had always had it shined so diligently if she hated what it represented. She had told him that it was a reminder of where they'd come from and a warning not to return for, rich as his legend had become, Kol had brought ruin upon his kingdom, in the end. *But do we not stand, ourselves, on the precipice of ruin, mother?* he had thought, though he had not dared to say it. That, then, he knew, was the root of his current problems. He saw, in Esmii, something a little bit like his mother. She was kind and soft and... delicate.

He sighed. “I’m… shorry, Esmii, but that violence hash been represshed for ash long ash I have lived.” He shook his head. “This... ish how it ish eshcaping.” His cheeks flushed with shame and his hands balled into fists. He breathed again, deeply: in and out. “I... need shome outlet.” He shook his head again, clenching his jaw so tightly that it hurt. “I need *shomething*."

Esmii sat and listened intently to what he had to say. She then thought for a while, she knew that what he was saying was the truth. She also knew that this is part of him. From her own experience she knows there are some things you can’t escape from. She wanted to help her beloved. Seeing his face, she could see the sadness in his eyes. She clearly knew that he was ashamed of himself, but this wasn’t his fault. "My love you have nothing to be sorry about. I want to help you, after the trials and school, maybe we can find a way to help you."

She then thought of her past. The time she spent in Mycromi with her family. The constant bullying and mockery from the other Yasoi, treating her like dirt because she looked more human, however her family were treated better as they were seen as full Yasoi. She wasn’t even safe from the Yasoi children her own age, as they pretended to be her friend and often beat her. Even her own moila (brother) who was sick of all the other Yasoi laughing at their family behind their backs, tried to take matters into his own hands. His attempt was luckily unsuccessful, however the scar on Esmii’s waist is proof that he tried.

She came back from her memories, she was determined to help Sven. " It might be hard and take us a while, but I will stay by your side. Hmm maybe something to do with dragons might help." Her tone was soft and comforting. Noticing that he doesn’t want to talk about what happened to him anymore, she decided to change the topic. She took a deep breath and said. " I have been keeping something from you that happened in the last mission, when we separated. I wanted to tell you as it has made me more worried and scared. But I didn't want to cause you more problems. I’m sorry if I have caused more problems for you lately. I always seem to cause the people I love problems, but I need to talk about this." She was scared of this topic and also scared in case she had caused problems for Sven, as her grip tightened around her arms, she didn’t notice her nails were digging into her skin.

He sat on a nearby sofa, all but throwing himself onto it. “You tell me and I'll lishten.” He tried to offer a supportive smile.

Esmii lifted her head up, and on seeing him smile, she tried to smile back, however her hands were still tightly grasped round her arms. And even though it terrified her, she thought about what happened and what she wanted to say, then began. "When we split up into teams, the team I was in with Marz, Rose, Khaliun and one of her mercenaries. We met a Sanguinaire called Dmitry, who we saw ripping the Volti members apart, then licking the blood from his hands after." Saying this made her remember him doing this, she felt nauseous, she could also remember the sight and smell.

She took a few minutes then continued. "After that his attention went to us and after the conversation we had where Khaliun didn’t side with him, he attacked us. He went for Marz first, as he could sense or smell mana types. He was able to bite Marz, and after this his attention went to me, as he landed close to me, and told me he knew my mana type is Moodcaster, and began to target me. He tried to bite me twice, however I was able to dodge him once, and the second time I didn't dodge in time but my wand helped me. However after that his anger got the best of him and he just wanted to kill me and get my blood that way." recalling this caused her to tremble in fear and tears ran down her face.

"Since then, I’m scared to go out at night alone. I can’t sleep, even when I'm with you. I keep having nightmares of everything Dmitry did but the worst part is I keep reliving the moment you dropped to the ground I couldn’t breathe, I was too weak to help you, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry." All of her fears took over, she could no longer talk, she was trembling and crying too much. She didn’t want him to see her in this state, after what he had just gone through. She stood from where they were sitting, and began to walk towards the balcony to get some fresh air and see if this would help her to calm down.

Sven walked up behind Esmii, quietly, and wrapped his arms around her. “You take ash long ash you need to become shtrong.” He gazed out across the cityscape as he held her. He was still afraid of what he'd done. It was coming back to him, now, and a growing feeling of guilt had taken root, but it was clear to him that it was not something he should burden Esmii with. “For now, I have strength enough for both of ush, and I intend to shtart ushing it.”

FIN

Spoonful of Lavender

Featuring: Esmii @BlackRoseSiren and Roslyn @Fallenreaper
Place: Ersand’Enise Academy of Thaumaturgy
Time: Lepdes (29th of Assani), After Classes


"Class dismissed!" The instructor's voice rang across the field.

Roslyn's form jumped, her head jerked to the direction. Several students had begun to drift back toward the stables signaling the end of class. With a deep breath, Roslyn clicked her tongue and tugged the reins around. As once told, she squeezed her legs into Bay's belly drawing an indignant snort from the mare. She slowed, her hooves dug into the dirt and kicked up clods behind her.

In a less than graceful execution, the pair made their way back toward the stables.

Once the clip clap of the hooves on the cobblestone caught her ears, Roslyn dismounted. Her boots hit the hard ground as she continued to walk around the building. Bay's breath misted heavy from the intense workout as Roslyn patted the mare's head gently. A snort of disapproval caused the girl to stop.

"Not today?" She asked, the horse side-eyeing her.

"Okay, I got the hint. Sorry, princess." Roslyn chuckled while she led the mare inside.

The horse’s skin flicked with a proud gesture, still following closely.

Hitching the reins to the stall door, Roslyn moved to the outdoor hand pump with a bucket in hand. She slid it underneath the spout and began to push the handle down. Once the water hit the rim, she hauled it back inside. Bay snorted again, letting Roslyn reach for the saddle's belt. It didn't take long to remove the worn tack and blanket underneath. Leaving it on the stall door, she grabbed the clean rag and washed off the sweat from the horse's form. She paid close attention to the areas around the pits and girth area. Next came the dry off.

Finished up with the wash down, she placed a blanket on the creature's flank. Bay exhaled and let Roslyn lead her into her assigned stall. The rest didn't take long to wrap up. Before leaving, the girl filled the feed trough and locked the door behind her.

Roslyn moved past her fellow classmates when her eyes caught the sundial nearby.

Esmii’s class had finished a bit early, so she quickly hurried to where Roslyn's class was to meet up with her and to be on time for once. Esmii was able to get there quicker than she thought she would, so she waited for Roslyn’s class to finish, she was petting Sage while she waited, then she noticed that her friend's class was starting to leave.

She quickly put Sage on her shoulder and walked towards the door to find Roslyn. As she noticed Roslyn she shouted to her. ”Hey Roslyn, over here. How was class, was it fun?”

When Esmii gets to Roslyn she goes to give her a hug, and just then Sage sniffed her and gave her a little nuzzle.

Roslyn went to respond, but Esmii's affectionate habits cut her short. Truth be told, it warmed the brunette's heart. A light tickle brushed her neck. As they separated, her hazel eyes spotted Sage. Instinctively Roslyn stretched out her finger. The dormouse brushed a plump cheek against her finger a few times before she retreated back.

"Class was… all right. But it’s always great to see you and your pets, Emsii. Well…almost all of them." Roslyn's thoughts went back to Reshta, Emsii's recent purchase. The Harlequin Kite Dragon didn't seem to like her at all no matter what she did.

Esmii smiled, and agreed ”Yeah, all of my pets are funny and different in ways. Newt and Sage are quite affectionate towards people, but Reshta only likes me and Sven at the minute, but Sven did say that she will get used to you slowly, so if you keep visiting she will get to know you better. I think some people may have done something to her, maybe that's how she lost her leg, poor girl.”

Esmii tries to hide the fact that she is upset, as she is thinking of possible situations that Reshta might have gone through. ”So where should we head off, do you want to have a look around town first or would you like to go back to The Evertree.”

Roslyn's lips pressed together, not fully believing it. However, it didn't stop her feeling a spark of pity for the creature.

"I wish people weren't so cruel sometimes. Thankfully, she's with someone that will care and treat her with respect. I'm a little surprised you don't get overwhelmed. A dragon is a lot to take care of." She couldn't see herself caring or affording one. Too expensive when she could barely care for herself.

Spotting the subtle discomfort, Roslyn reached out her hand. She hooked Esmii's finger with hers. A subtle gesture to get her friend out of her head.When Esmii gave her the choice, Roslyn’s lips pursed in thought.

"The Evertree this time, I'm a little sore from riding. Later I need to get more material for a dress, but I’m not too worried about it now. I don’t want to stay out too late."

Naturally Roslyn started toward the Yasoi’s dorms.

Esmii followed after Roslyn. She started to feel better when her friend held her hand. ”I think I don’t get overwhelmed because of Sven, he helps me so much, it really helps that he knows a lot about dragons, and how to care for them.”

"I wish I had his time management skills. How he does it is a mystery to me." Roslyn chuckled as the girls made their way across the field. Other students began to file out toward their dorms or into the city for last minute shopping, forcing them to drift to the side.

”Are you sure you are not in too much pain? If you need to rest we can and we don’t have to rush. Also I can’t wait to see the dress you are making, maybe you can teach me how to make dresses.”

"I've been in pain since I've started racing, but I need to get used to it. It’s nothing compared to the welts I got from the keelers. Those seemed to take forever to heal." Roslyn countered.

”Hmm, maybe I can look up a recipe and see if I can make you something for the pain.”

"Right now, my main issue is sleeping. As for teaching you about making dresses, I can try. They won’t be fancy. I thank Shune, I had learned something useful in my first year classes." A brief quiet passed over her thoughts, but Roslyn brushed it away. Her nightmares had started to ease up and she didn’t need to go backwards.

Esmii quietly listened to her friend, and her face dropped. She tried to hide that she was worried for her, but then decided not to as she has been finding it difficult to sleep after coming back from their last mission as well. And it might be better to talk about it than hide the truth. She sighed and said.

”I am also having trouble sleeping, but I have found a recipe for herbal tea that could help, and I have all of the ingredients at home, so we can practice making it. And I can give you a list of ingredients for you to buy. Would you like to make it with me? We can also talk about it, see if that helps too, if you want.”

Esmii then smiled at Roslyn, and tightened her grip on her hand.Esmii checked to see if Sage was warm enough on her shoulder, but she noticed that Sage had moved into the gap between the top of her dress and her chest, so she was fine.

At Esmii's kind offer, Roslyn smiled. She liked the fact that her Yasoi friend was attentive to her discomfort, rather than ignore or overlook it. It never felt good to simply melt into the background, but she had to admit she was rather talented at it.

"Have you considered..." Roslyn paused, trying to recall the right words.

"Jila'it hyco halan muuna?"

When the words slipped from her mouth, she cringed. She sounded horrible as she struggled with the verb's tense.

"I need to practice more…”

Esmii stopped and looked at her friend. ” Not bad and, Ta I juup jex a hyco halan muuna.” Esmii was happy that her friend was able to learn some of her language, as it’s quite difficult, even she sometimes has trouble.

Roslyn blinked at the rapid string of Yasoi uttered from Esmii's mouth. Her lips pressed together as her eyes squinted a bit, her mind trying to process everything said. The last bit was easy since she already said it. However... The first part was harder. Bit by bit, she tried to dig up each word from her memory.

"I understood Ta as yes, but ju-juup and jex completely escapes me. What do those mean?" She asked. It didn’t help that she had literally two languages, on top of her class over Xochi, she was learning.

”You are getting better. So let’s make our way to mine, and we can make the tea and have a talk about everything.” Esmii begins to walk in the direction of the Evertree, with her friend. ” I wonder if Jamboi will be there.” She giggled ” He might have some tea as well, he sometimes does if he likes the smell of the tea.”

Roslyn sighed, accepting the compliment. "Thanks, I really appreciate it. Also, if Ashon wants to join us, I don't mind. The more company, the better from my experience."

She paused with a thoughtful expression then added.

" I'm a little worried the other Yasoi might have issues with a... what's the term for what I'm called?" Roslyn bit her lip, uncertain if it was yaun or yanii or something else.

” The Yasoi word for human is huusoi or yanii.”

"I’ll try to remember that.”

Shortly, the large Evertree serving as the Yasoi dorms came into view. She stopped mid-step and glanced up, impressed by the tree's large size.

"Shune's library! How am I supposed to get up there?!?" She blurted out before thinking.

Esmii looked at Roslyn and laughed, ”Well I climb and jump up, but I am a Yasoi, but you could use your kinetic abilities to get up. Don’t worry Sven had the same worry. Also we can both use binding to make a rope or something.” Esmii then had a thought, that maybe they should build a ladder or stairs, to make it a bit easier for people to visit.

"Fair enough. Let's hope my practice pays off.”

Esmii then looked up and jumped to the closest branch above them and shouted, with a big grin on her face. ”Are you coming.” She then jumped to the next branch.

Roslyn sighed then began to slip off her shoes one by one. After stuffing them into her dress pockets, her knees bent and she drew in the heat. She kicked off the ground.

Air swirled about her before she landed onto the branch. It bounced slightly from the impact causing her balance to tilt. With a quick twist, she righted herself to the center. Roslyn flashed a grin at her friend.

"That was easier than I thought. Last time I tried, I slipped on the branch. Lets keep going, shall we?"

Esmii look and watched her friend on her first jump.”Yeah, keep going, you can do this.”

The pair leapt from one branch to another, scaling the giant tree until they reached the entrance.

Esmii kept a very close eye on her friend, giving her a hand whenever she needed help. Esmii was feeling worried, while they climbed, but she was trying really hard not to think of anything other than the climb. ”I can help you if you need me to. This next branch is tricky so I will hold my hand out for you.”

”I think I'm getting the hang of this. My father or grandfather didn’t have any magic, so it wasn’t used often at home. Grandfather especially liked the hands-on methods." Roslyn admitted. In fact, her father hadn't even registered on the RAS scale.

Esmii got herself ready and jumped to the next branch, then she started to climb up by using knots in the tree to reach the branch. She got herself steady on the branch, then shouted to Roslyn. ”Right, now copy what I did, and I'm ready whenever you are.” and she leaned over and lowered her hand ready for her friend to grab as she climbed to help her reach the branch.

"It looks simple enough..." She pulled back a small distance on the last branch. with a deep breath, Roslyn rushed forward. Her legs snapped up and her arms reached up for the knots. Toward the top, she bunched up her strength and pulled herself upward. Her outstretched hand caught Esmii as finished ascending.

Roslyn patted her dress clean of dirt, her bare feet still planted on the rough bark.

"Okay, all in one piece. A little dirty, but it could be worse."

Esmii smiled and pointed at a window. ”You see that window next to us, that’s open, It’s mine.” Then Esmii stood up, and said ”I will head in first, because I think Newt might rush over to whoever comes into the window.”.

She then grabbed another knot in the tree and climbed onto the window ledge. She then climbed into her bedroom. Suddenly Newt, noticing that she was back, he rushed over to her and nuzzled her face. ”Ok Roslyn I’m in and I have Newt, you can climb in.” She walked closer to the window just in case Roslyn needed a bit of help.

"Do you always climb in through the window?" Roslyn's eyes widened a touch as Esmii slipped inside.

”Sometimes I do, but not always.”

Putting her hesitation aside, Roslyn lifted up one leg and then joined her friend. As she lowered herself down the still, she caught sight of the bright, green dragon. The slender body twisted in Esmii’s hands before his head raised to Roslyn’s direction. Jaws opened to emit an excited chirp.

"Aww, I'll never get over how adorable Newt is." She commented, dropping to the floor.

”Yeah he really is cute.”

"So, how do we make this tea you’ve been going on about?”

Esmii placed Newt on the bed, and went to get the book that she found the herbal tea recipe in. She flicked through the pages, wishing she had used a bookmark, however like always she didn’t think that there was any point. ”Sorry I forgot to place a bookmark, I’m just looking for the page, yes found it here it is.” She walked back towards the table and placed the book down and showed Roslyn the recipe she had found.

Afterwards, Esmii went and grabbed all of the things they needed, and she checked to see if she had everything they needed, and likely she did, everything stored on a shelf in her room. ”Yes I have everything we need. Should we start making some now.” Esmii said while putting everything down on the table.

"It's fine, I know I often forget things." As Esmii looked into her book, Roslyn slid up beside her. It reminded her of a tincture recipe from class, but without the alcohol.

She took a step back to allow Esmii to look for the herbs, their heavy and dried scent hung in the air.

"Yes, it might calm my nerves. Can I get a dried mixture for a tincture? I'll put a little bit in a beer and drink it before I go to bed." Roslyn asked.

A slight shame stirred thinking of the growing collection of empty bottles in her room. She sent a small prayer to the gods that this concoction might help.

Esmii looked at Roslyn, she noticed that her friend seemed worried and decided to ask her. ”Are you ok ? I really hope this helps us sleep better. Are you worried as well?” Then she started to measure out all of the ingredients they needed and placed everything into a bowl. ”The ingredients are all measured and put in bowls. What’s next?” She handed the mixture to Roslyn.

”I’m just recalling the empty bottles collecting in my dorm room. It’s a bit crowded from the amount I drink lately.” Roslyn confessed, her arm lifted up and rested on her chest.

Esmii then looked back at the book, when she realized that the book stated it needed to be stored in a clay jar with a wax lid for a year and Esmii’s face dropped. ”Cud. Spax. We have a problem, the mixture I just prepared needs to be stored in the clay jar with the wax lid for a whole year. What should we do now?”

Roslyn frowned and moved closer. ”Is that the only one? May I take a look? I might be able to find something else.”

Her eyes glanced at Esmii for her reply.

”Yes there is another, it’s the next recipe in the book, it's similar to the one we did but I think there are a few different ingredients.” Esmii grabbed the book and turned two pages and found the second recipe, and placed the book back on the table between them.

”It looks like it's made from similar ingredients. The other mixture we made, I will put it in my potions cupboard for it to foment, for a year.” Esmii took the other mixture and placed it safely in her potion cupboard.

”That’s good. We’re making this one today then?” She wanted to be sure.

Esmii smiled and said ”Yes definitely, I will get the ingredients again, and the bowls etc.” Esmii quickly grabbed the ingredients, another bowl and another clay jar with a wax lid. As soon as she had everything she placed everything on the table and started to measure and place the ingredients in the bowl.

Roslyn watched idly, her arms leaned on the table's surface. She tilted her head while Esmii began to crush the herbs together. An invasive yawn edged into her lips. Her hand jerked up, suppressing the sound, as she blinked away the exhaustion. She had finally gotten to a point where she passed out after three days of poor sleep.

"So, how bad have the nightmares been for you?" Roslyn asked, sensing something off. Part of her hoped she had looked too deeply into things.

Esmii glanced back at her friend, when she heard her question she started to tremble, but she paused thought for a while, tried to calm herself down, but it didn’t work so she answered her friend truthly, while trying to hold back tiers and trying to stop herself from trembling.

”When the nightmare starts I see when Sven was held with Kinetic magic, and when he fell to the ground and how I felt, and the next thing I know I fall to the ground. But then suddenly everything goes dark, then when the darkness fades I suddenly see Dmitry and the horrible things he did, and suddenly he says what my mana type is and I have to go through the two times he tried to bite me to get my rare mana type, then I relive when he tried to kill me twice, when he couldn’t bite me.”

Saying this to Roslyn who was there with her, made her feel a bit better, but she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, and she fell to the floor. ”I’m too scared to fall asleep anymore, I'm also scared to tell Sven what’s wrong and what’s happened, in case he feels bad about what happened, I know it’s silly but I can’t help it. I'm also terrified to meet another Sanguinaire, I feel scared every time I’m out at night, evenmore when I'm on my own.”

Roslyn remained quiet. Her eyes watched the deterioration of Esmii's calm into irritation. It flared up her own issues before she forced it back down. This wasn’t the time for it.

When Esmii crumbled to the floor, Roslyn stepped forward. Her arms raised to soften the fall as they both sat down. Impulsively, the Hendlish girl hugged the Yasoi girl tightly. She realized how easily she shoved her own issues aside to care for others.

“Shh, first breathe. Focus on your inhales and exhales. More air might help steady your nerves."

From the corner of her vision, Roslyn noticed Newt and Sage stir at the shift of emotions. The grape dragon had started to wrap about the Yasoi girl's neck, pressing his body to comfort her. Meanwhile, Sage had popped up her little head with twitching whiskers.

Once Esmii showed signs of calming, Roslyn spoke again.

“I don't think you need to worry about Sanguinaires in the school." Her thoughts went to Vel, knowing he wouldn't attack her friend. At least, she hoped he wouldn't.

“Still, it's best if you don't go outside during the hours of Dami and Ipte. Especially alone. There's some questionable characters among the students." She squeezed Esmii a bit more, mindful of Newt's position.

“As for Sven, I think he already feels bad for leaving you alone. I doubt what happened before we left helped much. It’s better to talk with him rather than bottle these emotions up." Roslyn could tell that Sven and Esmii love each other. They were the most affectionate couple she had ever seen.

Esmii hugged her friend back, she slowly started to feel better and a little more calm now. ”I’m sorry for losing it there, but you are right?” Esmii sighed, then she dried her eyes and comforted Sage and Newt, making sure they know she is ok now.

“It’s okay to feel overwhelmed with emotions. Vorossiya was confusing and difficult, but we survived it. It will take time to feel okay again.” Roslyn spoke softly, ignoring the question.

Then with a look of determination she said. ”I am not going to waste any more time, I’m going to talk to Sven about everything that happened, and how I’m feeling, I know that he will be sad when he finds out I hid this from him, but it’s better to talk about this, than leave it bottled up, any longer.” Esmii then looked at her friend with a huge smile and hugged her again.

“I’m glad I could help.”

”I actually feel a bit better, like a bit of weight has been lifted a little.” Esmii then stood up with Roslyn and walked towards the small couch. They then both take a seat. ”Know that I have talked about how my nightmares have kept me up. Would you like to talk about your’s? And it’s fine if you don’t but don’t forget I’m always here if you need me.”

Roslyn paused for a moment. Her eyes shifted to the side, considering Esmii's question. She forced a small smile on her face as she spoke.

“I'm fine."

The hollow words escaped her lips before she could stop them. A guilt washed over her small lie. No, she knew differently. She was far from alright, but compassion made her a hypocrite.

Esmii looked at her friend, she knew that Roslyn wasn’t fine, however she’s not going to force her to tell her everything right this second.

Realizing how she sounded, Roslyn added.

“I mean, as fine as you can be. I found some ways to cope with things. Beer can numb things and helps with sleep... most of the time. That’s why I was hoping for something stronger."

Esmii after hearing what her friend said, stretched her arms out and hugged her. ”I know that something is bothering you, but I’m not going to force you to tell me. I just want you to know that I am here whenever you need me, so when you do want to talk I will listen.” Newt and Sage also nuzzled into Roslyn.

Roslyn accepted the touch.

“I think you have enough to deal with. You don't need my issues on top of yours." Roslyn mused lightly.

“Also, I'm sure it'll go away at some point. Just need to be patient." She was hopeful, but didn't believe her own words.

Esmii then said ”Should we finish brewing the tea, and we can make enough for two jars so we can each have some for the week, also the recipe says you can drink it warm or cold so that's helpful.” Esmii then stood up and slowly made her way back to the table, thinking about her friend, and hoping that she will talk to her when she is ready.

Roslyn stayed sitting for a bit long, watching friend rise to check on the herbal tea.

“I tend to drink my beer warm, so I think I prefer cold for a change.”

Esmii then continued working on the herbal tea again, making sure that they have everything needed for the tea. She measured out the last of the ingredients that were needed and added them to the bowl. ”This should be enough ingredients for two people.” She stated confidently.

“Thank you,” Roslyn took the offered drink and drew the heat from the liquid, its contents cooling to a manageable temperature.

She enjoyed the herbal brew. It wasn’t long before sleep had started to claim the young Hendlish girl, her eyelids heavy and drooping down. Roslyn decided it was best to leave before she fell asleep. Last thing she wanted was more rumors spreading. Especially for her friend.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Esmii. Stay safe and remember what we talked about.” The girl used the window as she slipped her legs over the still, exiting out.

Somehow, she managed to avoid falling on her face while she scaled back down the Evertree and moved back to her dorm.
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