She stood, looking out over the crop fields, tall, nearly ready for harvesting, and glowing golden-edged in the setting sun. She felt like she was a ghost, peering back into time, and any second now, a past version of her would come storming out and up to one of the merchants' carts, demanding a good trade for their extra squash. She would see herself as that girl strong of spirit, sure of foot. That girl who knew her place in the world and was perfectly happy there.
The girl who was Accepted and not...
She still couldn't say the word. Not in her mind and not out loud, because that would make it too true. She used to be able to face painful realities, but that had all been when she'd been sure of herself. And now she was anything but.
Quanil had told her she was still herself. She was still Freina. The merchants would still quake when they saw her coming...
...but now for a whole new reason, she'd thought bitterly.
So now here she was. She'd already been to the farm, already explained to her parents and Kedran what had happened. She could still hear her mother sobbing as it became apparent how she'd been saved. Father had, somewhat haltingly, told her she was still their daughter. "But, you know how the neighbors will talk..."
Kedran, Vi bless him, had just been glad she was alive, but their parents had held him back from walking out any further with her than the front door. She didn't hug him, just bid him good-bye. And now she was looking back on her old life, waiting for... something. She wasn't sure what.
A sign of where to go from here? She'd been given some offers by the people with her sibling when they'd found her, but none appealed.
She'd been staying with Quanil at the VlamVloed, and apparently she wasn't welcome at home now. The home she'd always known, known would be hers one day, that she would raise a family in, that she would probably die in eventually.
Her life had made sense before all of this. She had a place and a purpose in the world, and it had ALL. MADE. SENSE.
She held her palm out and focused. No air puffed out. I wonder if it can tell I'm mad at it?
She sat down in the drying grass to stare. She was still kind of numb, still feeling cut off from the world she'd known.
Oh, you think things don't make sense?
Hah. Get ready, because you're about to be attacked by what amount to very angry jack-o-lanterns.
The vampire gourds come soundlessly somehow, rolling along through the fields. Like a group of predators, they've fanned out in a circle with Freina at their centre. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. It mattered absolutely not at all that this human hadn't been there when their mother had been killed. Blood demanded blood, and so they reduced the radius of their circle more and more and more, and then...
they rolled.
Despite how Freina might fight back, how she might scream and kick, whatever cleverness she might find inside of her soul, still they outnumber her far too completely.
Freina takes what amounts to roughly 30% overall damage. She'll have cuts on her legs and hands from their teeth and significant bludgeoning damage on her knees and shins. |
She wasn't aware of them at first... or second, even, and vaguely aware of them at third. By the time she noticed them, it was too late, and they were rolling and biting and knocking her about.
"OW! HEY!"
You couldn't help crying out in pain. Even in the Labyrinth, when she'd wanted to die, she'd done it. The difference was that, for some reason, she didn't want to die anymore.
In a sense, she had already died. The part of her she was used to had died, the part of her with an almost cocky sense of surety about her existence. Her whole problem now was that she felt like she was someone so new that even she didn't know herself, and how was she supposed to deal with that?!
But she was never going to get an answer if she didn't live.
And, gods dammit, she wanted an answer.
"STOP IT!" she yelled and flung her hand out at the nearest vampire gourd in front of her. The gods-cursed magic responded, as it had the last time her life was in danger, and shot out a blast of air as hard as she could manage... which... wasn't very hard, honestly, but maybe it'd buy her some time.
BasicAirManipulationSaysGetAwayFromHerYouBitch
It may not say it very effectively but it still says it.
The winds of Leafchange were very different from those of Flowerbirth, and wings of feathery scales navigated them very differently than raven's wings. Jigano soared above the Outskirts, letting his body adapt to the growing chill in the autumnal air, feeling the shifts in the lingering warm updrafts rising from the earth below and the skirling breezes that spoke of frosted nights to come, sooner than anyone was ready for them. One of those cold pockets caught him as he came through a cloud, driving him down towards the earth and he scrambled to catch himself, wings beating strongly--
A shout from below caught his attention and he twisted as he turned his fall to a dive and glided back to normal air. A small (from his perspective) human looked to be fighting off a herd of...
Angry produce?
The silver dragon folded his wings again and arrowed down with a joyful roar to fly low over the ghoulish gourds, talons raking just above the ground to catch any stragglers and send them flying before he curved around for a landing and lashed out with a sinuous tail to sweep the wave of cruel cucurbits away from the girl in their midst.
Wind and talons were enough to send the gourds on their murderous rampage, rolling towards Sanctuary.
(RE out) |
Well, she'd successfully knocked one gourd back a little. She'd barely had time to think, What do I do about the rest of them? when a roar shook her and drew her eyes away from the vampire gourds encircling her.
She actually scrambled to her feet - with some staggering and some more "Ow!"s of annoyance as the gourds crowded around behind her - as a silver dragon came to her rescue. She might've stared longer at the sight if she weren't still being accosted by vicious vegetables. "STOP IT!" She kicked at one and it rolled away...
...actually they were all rolling away, thank Sa-... goodness. "Thank you," she said to the dragon. "More thanks still if you don't eat me." She doubted dragons were vegetarians.
Then her brow furrowed as her eyes tracked the vampire gourds' path. "Oh no," she groaned. Because of course they were headed to Sanctuary. Of Course they were, and her instinct was to take off running after them, but the first couple of steps had her wincing and limping awkwardly. The nasty little gourds had done quite a number on her legs.
03-19-2020, 06:56 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-20-2020, 06:31 PM by Jigano.)
As the gourds rolled off Jigano turned his head to see who he had rescued. No stranger at all! Rather, Quanil's sister stood behind him, looking battered and bruised but otherwise alive and well. He snorted with amused indignation at the thought of eating such a sorry morsel, crouching to get a better look at her. Freina? he tried telepathically through the Attuned bond. It was unlikely, but stranger things had happened... such as with Oliver and Peter.
Her groan of frustration had his attention returning to the retreating rapscallions and he snorted an annoyed huff at seeing what Freina had already taken note of: their next destination. His first instinct was to fly after them, to engage in a carnival of carnage upon the fields - one he would apologize to Fangorn for later, of course. The town was in danger, and it was what heroes did! He tensed and quivered, ready to be off and after the little terrors.
...Except that Safrin had taken great pains to point out that he was no hero. There were others just as brave and strong, if not more so. Warriors, mages, stubborn townsfolk who would defend their homes. But who would help Freina, if he left to go chasing after the herd? He held still a moment longer, then the tension seemed to drain out of him as he snaked his head back to croon in concern at his erstwhile companion's limping.
03-19-2020, 07:47 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-20-2020, 09:53 PM by Freina.)
The dragon seemed... concerned for her? She peered at it closely. "Well, you haven't attacked yet, so... that's good."
She looked back to the retreating gourds and sighed. "I don't know what I can do and I don't even know that anyone there would want me trying to help, but... I guess I sort of live there now. Temporarily." She was sharing a room with her sibling, and it wasn't exactly what she'd call comfortable. Though having someone's shoulder to cry on was pretty nice.
She checked her legs. She was still wearing her spring skirt that came to just below her knees. She cursed at herself as she realized she forgot to pick up the rest of her clothes while she was home. She'd been so focused on the misery she was causing (and feeling)... At this rate, I'll turn into Quanil. They often got distracted from practicality.
Bruised, bloody, but they obviously were supporting her weight. They were just ache-y, that's all, so there was no reason she couldn't make it to Sanctuary. But first things first.
She smiled (without showing her teeth) at the dragon. "Thank you, Dragon. I appreciate your saving me." It wasn't effusive or enthusiastic. She barely sounded relieved, but she was grateful. "I need to go help Sanctuary now, but is there anything I can do for you? Um... thorn in your..." She eyed the clawed talons. "...paw?" she finished lamely.
That had been a story Quanil had read them: little mouse pulling a thorn out of a cat's paw, and the cat thanking them and not eating them because they'd done them a good turn. Their parents had hated it, of course, and had advocated that, as little mice themselves, they should do their damnedest to avoid all cats.
And whether other Acce-... And whether the Accepted thought of her as a cat now or not, she was definitely a mouse compared to the dragon. But so far, no eating had occurred. It also didn't seem to be in distress over anything except the state of her legs, and so she'd had to...
"I asked a dragon a question. I really am turning into my older sibling." She made herself take a calming breath. At this point, she'd love to be Quanil, just for the lack of magic, if nothing else. "But then you do seem intelligent and like you're understanding me. So... maybe I'm not quite so different as they are." Well, not in that way.
03-20-2020, 06:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-20-2020, 10:20 PM by Jigano.)
He couldn't arch a brow ridge, but he tilted his head to give her an amused look at hearing this his continued lack of culinary interest in her was 'good.' He continued to listen as she worked her way through her confusion over where she belonged and what she wanted to do, weighing the wishes of others against her own desires. It was much the same as he'd been hearing from others recently, those who had once thrown themselves selflessly - and thoughtlessly - into helping and protecting the world. Himself not least among them.
While she took stock of herself, he looked around to make sure there were no stragglers that might threaten them, considering ruefully how different the experience of smashing pumpkins was in a big, powerful body like this instead of in his smaller fox form. In another month or so it would be the second anniversary of the day he and Rory had met, fighting off gourds together in the Woodlands, and the thought warmed him. Freina's voice was a distraction that quickly drew him back to earth as he looked back at her gratitude, barely holding in the snort at her lack of enthusiasm. He couldn't help but let it out at her question, though, a whistling sort of laugh like a giant teakettle at the boil emerging from his pointed muzzle.
Two Quanils was a frankly terrifying thought, and he shook his head in fervent negation at the mention of her turning into her excitable sibling. Standing from his crouch and shaking his sinuous body to resettle his wings, he gestured towards Sanctuary with his head and waited to see what she would chose to do.
Was the dragon laughing at her? She supposed she'd earned it a bit. She was also starting to calm down. She knew that those favored by the Gods could turn into animals. "Are you Attuned?" she asked.
And after she had her answer, she looked back to Sanctuary when the dragon nodded towards it. "Yes, we need to go help," she agreed. "I just... is it rude to ask for a ride? It'd be so much quicker, is all. Although... can you land safely anywhere there? It's not as open as the Fields, is it?"
He hated shifting in front of people. He truly did. It was one of the hangups from his previous world that had remained with him the longest, even if he was learning to suck it up. It was one thing to shift in times of stress or danger, when seconds mattered and being coy could cost lives, but for daily interactions? It was uncomfortable and unsettling as hell for him.
He nodded affirmation that he was Attuned, glad the girl had finally caught on so he didn't need to explain it, but her next set of questions were those that couldn't be answered easily with a simple nod or head shake - not as swiftly as she asked them, at any rate. She was very clearly Quanil's sister in that regard, and she didn't seem to be giving him much option for remaining in his shifted shape while expecting answers from him, so he settled back on his haunches and allowed his mass to shrink and his human flesh to reemerge from scales and wings and talons.
"It is rude," he said neutrally, "and yes, there is plenty of open space in Sanctuary to land. The plaza where we usually build the Firebird perch is perfectly suited for it. Though ideally we'd catch up to the little monsters and stop them before they left the fields. It's going to be a close thing to run after them, but we can hopefully catch the stragglers on a good sprint. I can at least heal your bruises up, if you'll let me?" The longer they dithered, the farther away the gourds rolled.
She winced when she realized who it was - and heard what he was saying. "Sorry, sir. About the... Well." She cleared her throat. "It seems I'm always in need of healing lately, doesn't it? But if you don't mind, it would help me run faster. And I can't just let Sanctuary get overrun by those things. Vicious little brutes. Only good thing about Leafchange is Kedran's birthday." Which she'd miss now.
"And thank you, sir, for everything you've done for Quanil. I'm sure they're a handful, but they mean well."
He just nodded at her apology, accepting it and putting the gaffe out of his thoughts as something minor and in the past now. "I would say that you should take better care of yourself, but there's not much you can do about the roving gourd packs," he assured the young woman, not minding at all as he reached out strike a healing chord against the magic in his soul, drawing the energy up and out to share with Freina. A comfortably warm feeling would wrap around her bruises and sprains, easing the pain and smoothing away the visible contusions.
"I'd prefer to keep them out, myself," he agreed, turning to begin a brisk jog after the marauding squash. "They're a damn nuisance to have rolling around in the Atheneum." He glanced back at the mention of the brother Quanil had told him about, a faint smile on his lips. "Oh? I think it's my favorite season. Vicious vegetables notwithstanding."
He just shrugged at her gratitude as they followed her attackers, a wry smile on his lips. "I've never met anyone as constitutionally suited to be a Loreseeker as Quanil," he admitted. "But I know they have the best of intentions." The hero worship was a little overwhelming, but he knew they'd grow out of it sooner or later. Caido didn't tend to let such illusions survive for long. "How are you... adjusting?"
She thanked Jigano for healing her legs and then ran for Sanctuary. You got good at running when you lived your whole life here.
She snorted at his description of her older sibling. "They were a Loreseeker right out the womb, and Loreseekers as such didn't even exist yet then." And that he then asked after her ...adjustment wasn't really much of a surprise. He knew her through Quanil, after all.
"I'm sorry you were injured searching for me," she replied. It might seem a dodge, until she continued, "I reacted poorly at first, and it was foolish of me. I still think it a curse, but... it's a curse that saved my life, and instead of facing up to it, I had to act like some maudlin damsel in a stage play. But it's hard," she paused to breathe a bit more before continuing, "to be told you're one thing your whole life, to have a course planned out for yourself, and everything going well, and then WHACK! Your hoe hits a stone and the blade is chipped and now what are you going to do? I've wondered if it's at all like going through a portal and winding up here?" She gave Jigano a sidelong glance as they chased after the gourds.
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