Carantathraiel

Wanderers

Ysaryn grinned, satisfied, when Kire said she'd be back. With a nod, she cast another glance at Gavin before she grinned to Ruli, opening her mouth to speak when she did a double take back to Kire. Other world? She blinked, sure she'd misheard, but Ruli shook his head, and she shrugged. Drinking needed to come first. She needed to wrap her head around the other thing later. "Come to me, then." She declared, moving in through the kitchen.

After settling the fish down to offer to Sid, who 'oooh'ed over them, Ysaryn continued, strolling through the woods to the stream. With the cask tapped, and the wine bottle uncorked, they dove into their drink. Ysaryn sat beside Ruli, rambling in elvish at him about the drink offered and how if came no where close to the drink her people made. He said she needed to bring it with her next visit, and the smile she gave him had him wishing it would be soon.
She wandered toward Kire, kicking off her shoes and sitting on the edge of the stream, to break into conversation about this 'other world', her accent thicker, her words less fluent as the drink took her over.

Watching them in the stream, Ruli wondered if he should suggest the oasis, the warm waters would have invited the girls, and he would have delighted in seeing Rab's face is Ysaryn disrobed to her undergarments. The thought made him realize the half-elf was likely isolated with a lack of conversation, and he turned his attentions to the former-slave, teaching and conversing with him as best he could.

Stretched out on the ground, Ysaryn's eyes kept flicking to Gavin, who met her gaze only once or twice. She could see the guilt and shame on his face, but still felt wary around him. "What you are?" Ysaryn asked, frowning as she realized that had been incorrect. "Do? Now, not them, er... Rulitus." She broke into a face paced, drunk elvish, and Ruli smirked.
"She wants to know what you're going to do, now." Ruli translated as Ysaryn turned her illuminated eyes back on the Gemini. "And his name is Gavin." He added to Ysaryn.
"Gavin." She repeated, squinting a little. Certainly easier on her tongue than 'Gemini'. More slurred elvish, and Ruli took a moment to speak back to her, what was clearly a soft argument, before she leered at him and Ruli caved. "She demands to know if you remember her." He shrugged apologetically.

Wanderers

Ysaryn's smile shrank slightly when she settled her eyes on Gavin, the colours of her eyes shifting like the facets of the jewels they were. She regarded him for a long moment, then the others around him, seemingly at ease, before she raised her chin. "They are alive." She began. "They will recover in time. For now, they rest, eat, and are tended to."

Her piercing gaze moved to Kire, then, one of her eyebrows raising. "You are leaving? For good?" The elf asked, looking put out by the thought. "Then yes. It is my civic duty to drink with you. As a farewell, and to celebrate a friendship that will branch across our tribes." Ysaryn bent to set the heavy crate down, and, as if realizing he could do the same, Ruli bent to set his down as well. "I stay for a while. Few days. Is easy enough to check in on home." She straightened and put her hands on her hips, her left arm still bandaged, the cloth different; her own tribe using their own material. Her eyes moved between then, once more lingering on Gavin for longer than necesary, as if she was gauging the level of danger he created. "When do we drink?"

"We could go to the stream." Ruli offered. "Close enough to wander in and crash when we need to."

Wanderers

Battle scar. Ruli's eyes flit upwards again, then down once more, shoving the memory of it all away. He'd face it head on one night, but not over a meal, around people he didn't know. Who didn't know him.

Gavin's exclamation had Ruli inspecting him again, trying to gauge his age. He would have guessed younger than the age he declared, but his grasp of human, or Amrian, life spans was skewed. He shrugged, taking the coin and rising to his feet.
"Call her 'my women' again, Gemini, and I will give you a haircut to match hers." He threatened softly before he strolled toward the cave entrance.

He returned an hour later, not just with a heavy crate of bottled wine and a mini cask of honey mead, but a familiar elf wearing a wolfish grin over the box she held against her front.
"Hello." Ysaryn grinned warmly. While looking tired, she seemed back to her usual self.
Yes. Rab signed eagerly. Yes, yes,yes!
"He's happy to see you." Ruli translated when Ysaryn gave a questioning look.
She chuckled. "And I you, Rab." She twitched her arms. "Meat. Fish, mostly. From my tribe. As a thank you. Also supplies. Magic. Herb. More."

Wanderers

Ruli turned to Kire and frowned when she commented on his hair, his hand leaving his plate to pat down his hair. Or try, it still stuck up when he removed his hand. "Like yours is any better. It's a mess." He retorted. Just like you. But he smirked over his plate.

When she held up the pouch of coin, he glanced back her way, then cringed. "Do Amrian's drink vinegar?" He asked aloud. "No wonder you're lot is jumping over here." Ruli snorted into his dinner. Whatever tea Sid had given him had helped his queasiness. So long as he didn't think about what, or who he had in his mouth, he believed he would be fine.

"All of the above. With the exception of the vinegar." He answered.
Rab leaned forward. Yes. He signed, and Ruli narrowed his eyes.
"How old are you?"
Rab smiled, his teeth a soft blend between the Kartaian fangs and the human flat-edged.
Ruli frowned, but shrugged. "I suppose after all the shit you dealt with, I can't deny you a drink or two. Nor you." He added to Gavin. "Under supervision."

Wanderers

Envy grinned, satisfied. "Well, then, Gavin of the Gemini. For as long as it suites you, welcome home."

Ruli was roused, given more tea, and tented to Sid once more after lunch before he was released. He returned to the new site with Aeron, and both returned sweating and tired before dinner. He washed anew to rid his skin of sweat, using hot water as Sid ordered to ease his muscles, before he wandered into the caves to gather his meal. His hair was freshly cut, no longer them mess of uneven hair, but neatly trimmed under Sid's careful eye, short around his head, but longer on the top. Strands brushed over his forehead, and while his wash had weighed it down, rebellious strands still stuck out in random directions in blatant disobedience. He sat himself beside Kire, more or less because he had few others to sit beside who he didn't fear sudden rude remarks.
Until Rab came to sit beside him. And, later, Gavin.
Ruli smirked.

"Did you two have your talk, then?" He asked of Kire and Gavin. Rab nodded beside him, likewise offering that he'd spoken with someone. Envy, likely.
"I hope you both are settling." He offered, trying with minimal effort to be polite. "Are you staying?"
Rab raised his hand over his plate and signed. Yes.
Ruli's eyes shot up. "Did Envy teach you that?"
Yes.
Ruli grinned toothily, and raised one of his hands. How much do you know?
Rab's blank look answered him.
"We'll work on it. I can continue to teach you." Ruli offered. When Rab pointed to him, Ruli nodded. "Yes, I learned a long time ago. When I first came into Envy's care, I couldn't speak. That was the only way I could communicate for a while. Until one day I just started speaking."
Rab's eyebrows rose, hopeful, and he pointed to himself.
"Mmm, no. I don't think you'll begin speaking one day, mate. Sorry." Ruli offered.

Wanderers

Envy's lips pulled into a smile when Gavin admitted the humour he found in talking to elders, knowing full well the enjoyment it brought. How often had he watched the children under his care challenge him or any of the others that reared them, defending themselves and their opinions? He'd always encouraged that, and the accounts Ruli and Zeke often brought back to the tunnels, to inform him the tradition had not stopped just because one child or another outgrew their underground home.

"Well." Envy said, catching Gavin's sentance about how they had forced the magic out and forced his hand. He did not like that. "We have two camps here. The one here within the caves, and another a few minutes away, full of refugees from Ziad. No elves, they're a bit less tolerant, especially of someone of my stature." He grinned, despite the fact. "If you wouldn't mind working between the two, helping keep the peace, I would be most grateful. Zeke, currently, is our abmassador of sorts, and I know he wouldn't mind an assistant.
"And, for the time being, let us allow your magic a rest. And your mind. I have an idea that you've worked with Kartaians, and know the force of magic they carry. So I know that having your mind, body, and magic pulled and forced would not have been easy on you in any way. Enjoy your days, enjoy your freedom. When you feel you're ready, we'll speak once more. In the time between, I'll reach out and see what I can find in regards to materials and tutorship."

Envy's eyes shifted, trying to read the boy's expression or mood without really being able to do so. "I cannot pay you, unfortunately. I should have led with that. But you'll have a bed and meals. If you're able to hunt, cook, build, any help you're able to in the meantime would be appreciated beyond words. I do have only one condition if you're to remain and live here. No more of that dark magic." Envy's voice was firm, even while his face still alight with paternal kindness. "It is not a safe thing, I know you're aware. There are lives here, and I will risk none of them. Not even yours. Is that understood?"

Wanderers

Envy nodded along; whatever he knew of the lads magic skills, he made no show. He knew Ikegai and Akuma were both tightly enthralled in the dark side of the forbidden magics, and having dragged this young man into the center of it was a crime on its own. He was patient as Gavin stammered along, answering to the extent of his comfort.

"And did you enjoy it?" Envy asked when Gavin had finished. "Being an errand boy, I mean. I get the distinct feeling you did not enjoy the other portions of your tasks. We don't have merchant to schmooze or lords to represent here, unless you count the princess. But no neighbouring city with which to converse as of yet." Envy thought for a moment. "But in time, we could use someone unafraid of the ego of well-born men and women, and who would be up to the task of dealing with them."

"Or, did you enjoy your work in magic? Kire says you're a scion of a family well bathed in magic, so it is in your blood. If you'd like, I would not hide you from that, but rather introduce you to more of it. The other side of the coin you were force to participate it. For every dark magic, there is a light magic, you know. It is a world of balance. If you are curious, I could see about educating you in healing arts. Rulitus is brilliant with enchantments. Many options remain if you still feel that call in your heart."

Wanderers

Sid grinned. "Eat anywhere." She said, casting a single glance toward the little pathway that led outside, to where Ruli had gone. Her smile had vanished when she looked back. "You could both care for yourselves a little better." She pointed out, before she followed him outside, grabbing the kettle as she went.

Ruli was expecting her. She'd trained for years in Ziad to become a physician, and while her training had ended long before she had completed it and earned a title, she knew what she was doing, and could never resist anyone being in discomfort. He knew her hug in the kitchen had been both to feel him in her arms, and to listen to him breath.

The feeling in his stomach took a while to subside, and even when the painful twisting ceased, he had no appetite. But he forced the meal down as best he could, managing only half the plate before he gave up. He knew Sid was waiting for him, too, and when he turned, he found her holding a kettle of steaming water, clean clothes tucked under her arms. He knew saying no was futile, so he raised his arm in question and she led him into the woods.

Shirtless, he unwillingly swallowed more of his breakfast while she poured the hot water over a rag and washed the dried skin away. After the chill of the night and the cold of Cordon, he found the biting heat of the water pleasant. Soothing. He wound up closing his eyes as he leaned back against the stone, dozing as she looked over the sewn up gashes on his body, as well as the many bitemarks, muttering quietly to herself whatever her medical opinion might be.
When he'd eaten enough for her to be satisfied, she pointed to his trousers, which were stiff with the black blood from the caverns. As she rose and stood watch, he removed them and washed himself before donning the fresh linen. He promised her three times that he had no injuries beneath before she accepted it.

He rinsed his hair, rubbing in something Sid handed him that smelled pleasant and eased tension in his shoulders. He washed it away, and cleaned his face before he pulled on a clean shirt and she finally allowed him back into the caves. Whatever she'd learned about him while he'd dozed prompted her to halt him long enough to hand him a bit of tea that, by smell, he knew came from Ysaryn's stores. He glanced to her in question, and she reminded him that he had smelled worse minutes before, and he took it and drank.

"Sleep." Sid ordered, and after the hot water, the meal, and the tea, he offered no argument as he shuffled into the sleeping quarter to claim an empty mat and sleep.

---

Envy and Rab sat in the main chamber, positioning themselves where the air from outside was carried within on the breeze. Envy enjoyed the scent of the pine in the mountains, and he decided that the half-elf would enjoy the fresh air. Ruli's retelling of the events in Cordon, at least, made Envy realize Rab had few opportunities to enjoy daylight. For an hour, they were sitting together with their backs to the stone, working between them a way to communicate.
Envy had immediately offered his own idea, where he would use the Touch whenever able, to reach out and listen to Rab speak directly through the magic.
But Rab had declined the idea so decisively that Envy hadn't pressed. Whatever had happened in Cordon, no doubt with Ruli, had frightened the idea away.

So he moved on to his second idea.

Gavin loitered while Kire kept busy with her breakfast, watching as Envy would hold out his hands and position his fingers, speaking the letter, word, or phrase that belonged to each sign. To ensure that Rab was understanding, Envy settled his hand over the half-elf's, feeling the position of his fingers. Rab was a quick learner, Envy learned, but found it hard to focus. Everytime someone moved, spoke, coughed, Envy sould sense his attention snap away. paranoia, curisoity, Envy didn't know. But he waited patiently for Rab to look his way again.
When his attention suffered in quicker increments, Envy smiled, and told him to go explore some more, and Rab unfolded himself and moved away swiftly. Envy's eyes shifted silently toward Gavin. "So, tell me, Gavin." Envy said warmly. "A little about yourself, if you do not mind. So that I may be able to find a task that would feel not so much of a chore."

Wanderers

While Gavin had taken Envy's instructions on resting to heart, Rab had been restless. Being around people who didn't seem afraid or hostile toward him, just genuinely curious, sparked his own curiosity. He tried to wave, communicate, and observed as much as he could. He was offered food by a pretty woman with soft dirty blonde hair, and she watched him as he ate, looking pleased when he devoured the entire thing.
He explored. In the caves, finding Envy's little chamber, taking in the scent of the tobacco, the herbs, and the Kartaian himself. He found the sleeping quarters, but did not venture inside. No one wanted to wake to find him lurking in the shadows, Rab knew, so he continued on. To the outside.

Where he was promptly stopped by an intimidating man with black hair and cold grey eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?" He'd demanded, and Rab recoiled, opening his mouth, raising his hands as he lowered himself, surrendering. The eyes took him in, the lack of tongue, the discolouration, the size, and he sighed. "So they're back then." He grunted.
Assuming he meant Rulitus and Kire, Rab nodded.
"Stay to the caves. No further than here." The man pointed. "Beyond that ridge is a camp of refugees who won't be so tolerant of a person of your ... appearance."
Elf. Rab inhaled and nodded.
The man nodded back. "Good. And stay out of trouble."
He stalked by and into the caves, and Rab followed. Mostly. He turned toward the sound of water and found the stream, wandering the streams side until dusk fell and he looked for a place to sleep.

It was the woman who had offered him the meal that found him circling like a lost animal in search for a place to rest. She grinned and led him into the sleep chamber. A few eyes watched him, but not with fear, as the woman offered him two pallets tucked together. "Sleep here." She said. "No one will hurt you."

---

As soon as they returned to the caverns, Ruli let her go, walking into the mouth of the caves behind her. Gavin located them quickly, and Kire exchanged pleasantries with him. Ruli kept moving into the kitchen, where Sid pounced on him. He grunted in pain, but wrapped his arm around her in return.
When she pulled away, her eyes were watering. Ruli gestured. "Stop that."
"I can't. Its your stink!" She whined, wiping at her eyes. It at least made him grin. Sid turned and made him a plate, shoving it into his hands before she gently pushed him. "Eat outside, or all our food will smell like you. Shoo!"
When he shuffled out, Sid's eyes landed on Kire, and she waited. "You don't smell." She said informatively.

Wanderers

He almost smirked when she said what he had thought about her death being temporary, but a shadow of a smirk did make itself known when she accepted blame.
If vanished when she called him skinny. He was hardly so. Leaner than Zeke, yes, but he had plenty of muscle. She encouraged him to eat, but sat across from him, anyway. They leveled stares at one another, two stubborn wills refusing to bend.

Her thank you really caught him off guard. He wanted to know, to ask, exactly how she planned on paying him back. A thank you was a start.
However, her words about the past sent a shiver through him, and he wondered what she knew, and how, before he realized she meant the fall of Ziad.
Ruli exhaled. "You have family, too." He answered her thanks. "What would they have done if you never came back?"

He stood, arched the small of his back slightly in a stretch, then offered her his hand. "Let's go." He invited.