(o) in praise of the sacred

The skies are black with lead-filled rain
a morbid painting on display

She stumbles back into the Grounds like a phantom, a mere shell of the woman who had left for Halo days before. The only thing that seems to display that there is any sort of consciousness or awareness behind her glazed eyes is the gentle hand threaded through the base of a young unicorn's mane at her side. Atlas - as she has named him - is no longer injured, but he sticks to her side in a display of nerves and uncertainty that she can empathize with. Their bond thrums with a newness that sends sparks of intermittent exhilaration, giving her a few moments to feel like she can actually breathe.

Atlas pauses, golden eyes flicking away from the snowy path, ears perked and a small snuffle of noise escaping his soft muzzle. Hotaru pauses beside him, listlessly lifting her own gaze to whatever has drawn his attention. A motion inspired only by the protectiveness she feels for Atlas, the oath she'd given as she'd driven her blade into the heart of her past self. No other emotions seem to break through the haze just yet, but she tightens her fingers in the dark mane beneath her palm and squints into the light snowfall, trying to determine if someone is around or perhaps a creature is passing through.

This is the night that young love died
Buried at each others sides

RANCE

Retreating to the skies was becoming even more a necessary method of taking a breath than it had been at home. Somehow, not having to hide his raven form, made it feel just that much harder to find escape in it. It wasn't his little secret, hidden from the humans. Not when he himself was human, now. Attuned. Whatever.

The snow that day fell light and steady, coating the ground below him in white and muffling every sound. Fewer people lived that far out and the wildness of it was almost comfortingly familiar. Most wild birds were safe in trees or nests, leaving the air above them free for the Outlander raven. He watched ground and sky out of habit, unconsciously watching for prey, even as his thoughts drifted. So, when he spotted the two forms below, he circled lower out of curiosity. Who would be traveling this far out in the snow?

Concern joined curiosity and, without further consideration to possible danger, he circled downward. A raucous croaking cry would be the traveler's only warning before he glided down, the raven becoming a black-cloaked man when he was nearly to the ground so that it was boots that crunched in the snow instead of talons.  "Oi, stranger! This is bad weather to be out for a stroll," he called, a hand raised in greeting. He hadn't wanted to land too close, several yards between them making details unclear. There was something... odd about the animal, and about the traveler. Something about the way she carried herself.... He frowned, trying to focus through the snow.

"Hey, do you need help?"

i dont want for much, only a book, some whiskey
and the kiss of your touch

The skies are black with lead-filled rain
a morbid painting on display

The man's avian cry is all that spares him from the lightning that builds in her veins, tickling harmlessly - for her, never for him - down her fingertips like running water. It tempers her just enough, assuming it to be merely an inquisitive corvidae, that the magic subsides right as his voice cuts through the storm. He is a mere ghost of a figure, dark and formless as he approaches. Atlas lowers his crown, mighty even in youth, and stamps a cloven hoof as a warning huff escapes his nostrils. Hotaru stays him with a gentle twist of her fingers. No matter how raw and exhausted she may feel, at least the man is kind. It makes her lip twist, wishing for once that people were not so fearless and cordial. That she would not feel guilty for letting her lightning strike down at his feet in warning. Instead she flexes her fingers and nudges the unicorn at her side, moving to put herself between the babe and the newcomer. Never can be too careful.

"Do you have healing salve or magic?" she calls sharply back at his faltering, the question that cuts through clearer the closer he moves. That, at least, is an answer unto itself. Both woman and unicorn are injured, and she has used her old and rusted knowledge to get the pair of them out of Halo lest the elements take them first. "We just arrived from Halo, the cold does not bother me but he is a babe." Each word seems wrung out from her, reluctant to give this stranger more information than necessitates, but aware that she has little other choice.

This is the night that young love died
Buried at each others sides

RANCE

Obvious to the danger he was near in and might still be in, Rance steps forward. He's cautious, though mostly because there's no determining danger with visibility so low. He reply to his query is obviously tired, though why isn't clear, even when she reveals her arrival via portal from a reputably harsh locale. "Afraid not, beyond my wings." And then he's close enough to see more detail and his eyes widen as he realizes that her beast isn't a horse or deer but a unicorn.

He halts his step, still more than an arm's length away, and swings his gaze back to the woman standing protectively between him and her... pet? Companion? She might be tired and possibly hurt, but he was familiar enough with a mother's fierce protectiveness. He brings both empty hands up, a move that pushes his cloak aside to show his bladeless belt. A small comfort in a place where magic was common, he knows, but he's no going to attack a tired stranger in the middle of no where. "Halo decided to drop you in a damned inconvenient place. We're still a ways on from Sanctuary or the Settlement."

i dont want for much, only a book, some whiskey
and the kiss of your touch

The skies are black with lead-filled rain
a morbid painting on display

As he steps closer she narrows her eyes, lightning returning to her masterful call as it dances up her fingers and coils around her wrist like a particularly venomous snake. Just enough for him to see in the snow, to hear it crackle in warning. If he has no magic, no first aid, then his approach is only a further weight on her mind. A danger to both herself and - more importantly - to Atlas, whose warm nose huffs at her hip with a labor that pulls at her heart. At least she can tell through their fledgling bond that the change in temperature and environment is having a positive effect on him. Perhaps the rest can be cured with a strong dose of sleep and some tender care.

This, combined with how the man bares his unarmed bodice, has the lightning crackling away into nothing. Leaving only their breathing and the nearly inaudible sound of falling snow. At least until the man spoke up once more. "My shop is in the Settlement, but I don't think he can walk that far. He needs sleep more than anything." And loathe as she is to ask for help, this part of the Grounds is unfamiliar to her, and maybe his wings will be of help. "Is there somewhere you know of near here to take shelter?" The cut of her voice is imperious, regal, every bit the queen she has been most of her life. Hoping it will reinforce that she is not to be messed with, that she will tear him to shreds if he leads them wrong.

This is the night that young love died
Buried at each others sides

RANCE

The lightning show has Rance would have stopped him in his tracks if he hadn't already been wary. As it is, he can practically feel his currently hidden feathers fluffing in alarm. He knows his skinny ass isn't exactly threatening, and revealing he has no weapons isn't exactly the smartest move when encountering a stranger on the road, but he's not willing to take the chance that her show of power isn't just a performance.

Seeing her relax is a relief and he lowers his hands as she replies. Hearing her goal has his mouth pulling in a wince. A quick mental calculation put them at least a few hours away on foot, and that was when you could see the oft-traveled paths. Things wouldn't be that easy in the snow. Her tone digs at him, as if she was demanding his help, despite the request being worded as a question. His jaw tenses and he looks around under the pretense of remembering the landscape, as opposed to stopping himself from snapping. He's the one offering her help, after all. Taking it back just because he doesn't like her tone is a little quick, even for him.

"There's a barn about half a mile north of here. Can he make it that far?" He doesn't ask if she can make it that far. It's obvious where her concern lies.

i dont want for much, only a book, some whiskey
and the kiss of your touch

The skies are black with lead-filled rain
a morbid painting on display

Tension bleeds away from both parties, given enough time. Both tentative, circling creatures, trying to determine the threat level of this new fellow they've encountered. Atlas snuffles from behind her, and breaks the silence with a mighty sneeze. Hotaru startles, and gives a helpless giggle before she can clamp down on it. Perhaps she has been too fierce, too intense. Though she refuses to apologize for it, for that dark nature that lurks beneath the guise of elegance and deference, at least she can try to steer things back to the right path.

At the suggestion, she tilts her head to regard Atlas, whose bright gold eyes blink blearily back at her. The bond may be new, but Hotaru has years of experience navigating one, and quickly discerns the unicorn's assertion. Turning back to Rance to communicate what the man cannot hear or feel. "He believes he can. Please, can you guide us?" The least she can do is try to be a tad more polite. Her pride means nothing in the face of keeping Atlas safe.

This is the night that young love died
Buried at each others sides

RANCE

Rance takes the pause in conversation as an opportunity to examine the woman and her young companion. Large enough to be an adult in his unlearned opinion, but his owner(?) said he was young. Whatever the age, he's almost as imposing as the woman he's with and Rance isn't dumb enough not to recognize the horn it a weapon.

Likewise, the tired looking woman is also a mix of lovely and scary. If they'd been in the forest of his birth, he would have thought her another fae, one of the Sidhe elves with age and power a simple raven wasn't meant to think too hard about. But, supposedly, Caido didn't have such people. So, no matter the magic at her hands, she was no more inhuman than Maea had been when she showed him her magic to a lost and confused man in the Wood.

When a verbal reply finally came, it had Rance arching a skeptical eyebrow at the apparently silent communication he'd missed. He almost said 'no', even if he had offered to help, he hadn't offered to walk. But a image flittered through his mind, someone he'd known who had been a true forest guide. A kind smile and a gentle breeze.... "Yeah, sure," he all but sighed, more exasperated with himself than actually put-upon. He reached up and raked a hand through his hair, tousling it further and dislodging the snowflakes that powdered it. "Rance, by the way. Not exactly the ideal fuckin' place to meet, but there you go."

i dont want for much, only a book, some whiskey
and the kiss of your touch

The skies are black with lead-filled rain
a morbid painting on display

The weight of his gaze is borne with nothing more than a weary narrowing of her eyes. Many have stared, murmured, questioned. For a variety of reasons over the course of her life, long as it has been when you've been deposited into many realms and forms and never quite the same age as the time before. She has nothing to hide, because he has nothing of worth to supply a woman of secrets and anarchy such as she. All she needs is a place to weather the storm away.

His put-upon exasperation is enough to grind her teeth, reduced to her own feral and frustrated state of being. She has challenged men to duels for less, in her ruling days. A damn shame those don't seem to exist here in Caido, they'd been quite effective in destroying any pretense of weakness they saw in her. For now she merely follows, Atlas plodding along with head dropping lower than any equine normally would, blatantly exhausted.

"There's little value or idealness to be found anywhere in this fucked up place, so I'm far from insulted." Truly it's far more peaceful than Helovia, and she won't (often) complain about that, but to say she's had a hard day today is a gross understatement. "I'm Hotaru. This is Atlas." Gesturing towards the colt, whose burnished gold skin is dark and wet with snow and rain. Waiting for the sanctuary Rance has mentioned to huddle away from the elements.

This is the night that young love died
Buried at each others sides

RANCE

And as if her swearing dispelled a little of the aura of mystery around her, Rance feels instantly a bit more at ease. Enough to kick up one corner of his mouth at least. He doesn't realize just how close he got to danger his careless attitude takes him, especially with how her entire demeanor radiates frustration and exhaustion. "Gods, you got that fuckin' right." He nods to both Hotaru and Atlas, then turns, scanning the area around them.

"This way. Should be an easy stroll." It's not hard to know the direction he's come from, but the snow is going to make finding their way by foot a little more difficult. Or, as he discovers a short while later, a lot more difficult. With no tracks to follow and how different everything looks from the ground level, Rance became quickly frustrated with his own inability to just fucking find anything.  

Finally, he calls back, "Goin' to look at things from above. Keep walkin' straight, I'll be right back." Then, because he knows he wouldn't trust someone he just met to return after that, he adds, expression turning serious, "If I can't find out again, my second name is Grenier and I'm workin' at the VlamVloed in Sanctuary. You'd be in your right to let me know just how much of a useless asshole I am." She probably wouldn't know just how must giving her his full name made him shiver, especially with how much she reminded him of the elves of his homeland. Even though he was almost positive there was no magic here that could turn his name against him, the danger was far to ingrained for him to ignore completely.

He'll give her a chance to respond before shifting into raven form and taking to the sky. Thankfully, the change in perspective helped as much as he'd hoped and he spotted several landmarks he remembered. It was only a few moments before he returned, announcing himself as he had when they'd met before landing and offering, "No more than half an hour out, depending on how fast we walk."

---

A nat 1 and a 16 for pathfinding. Whoo! XD trying to speed things along so they can get inside, if nothing else

i dont want for much, only a book, some whiskey
and the kiss of your touch

The skies are black with lead-filled rain
a morbid painting on display

Propriety has no place in this veritable shithole of a day, and if it earns her a brother in arms for the moment then she'll color his entire world with the array of swears in her vocabulary. Instead she merely gives a distinctly unladylike grunt of agreement, too tired for words even if they would garner her more respect or whatever it is that melts the prickles from the man's face. Deigning instead to follow where he leads, the shuffle of boots and hooves in snow the only sound to accompany their travels. For quite some way, it seems, as time stretches on in winding ribbons that she loses track of far too easily. "Your idea of a stroll seems to be pretty out there," she comments drily, more of a grouse about the weather and general awfulness of the day than his directions or the time it takes to find shelter. It's certainly not his fault.

The offer to scout ahead makes her subtly straighten, too well trained to tense visibly. She's aware of how easily he can abandon her here. She has survived worse, and is completely unbothered by the idea of harnessing her lightning to set fire to an entire collapsed house if it means keeping herself and Atlas warm for the night. So, worst comes to worst...

At least he offers his name and a way to track him down. Easily a lie, though he seems to easily irritated to be so sly. VlamVloed at least she knows. Because of course she does, it's Sunjata's bar. "Come back and I won't have to hunt you down to call you a 'useless asshole'" she bargains instead, but nods in acceptance all the same, watching him transform and fly off summarily. And then it's just her and Atlas. Their bond is still so new, and yet no weaker for it. Exchanging measures of comfort and assurances in the only wordless way they have as they await Rance's return.

Return he does, thank the Gods. Though the prospect of another half an hour is daunting - an understatement to say the least - there's simply no other choice. "Well I've got the shortest legs in the land, so I'm not hopeful about those odds." Giving a wry grin that's a mere shade of her normal charismatic, vipress smirk. It does take a little over the proposed time before they find the shelter, and she immediately sends Atlas in first before moving in behind him. The unicorn folds its spindly legs beneath itself, laying down on the dry earth devoid of snow and cold. She sets to work ripping up old, dry wood that has not leeched water from the snow above, and then with a strong strike of lightning sets it ablaze. The shrieking crackle of her magic makes it clear she's no commander of fire, but it gets the job done. Heat, for all of them. Only then does Hotaru lay up against Atlas, careless of the wet hair as she tries to share some warmth. Tired heterochromic eyes finding Rance in the half-dark. "Thank you. I am indebted to you." Perhaps they will be more fond of one another by morning's light, but if not well there's plenty of room on each side of the fire to stay out of each other's way.

This is the night that young love died
Buried at each others sides

RANCE

He can’t argue that the his concept of distance by land might be a bit skewed. Sure, he’s walked nearly as many roads as he’s flown over, but his mind has always measured things ‘as the raven flies’. He calls back, “It’s possible, I take a lot of ‘strolls’.” Down the road, across the skies, through a gods-damned fucking portal….

Rance doesn’t miss how stiff Hotaru goes at the announcement that he’d leaving and he doesn’t blame her at all. Even had this world as a whole been a kinder one — and so little about it seemed to fit that descriptor — trust was a more precious commodity than could be bought with the mere promise of a kind gesture. Rance would have to prove his worth through his actions and his words would mean little until then. He salutes her lazily before taking to the air, not realizing that she once commanded the right to much more respectful such gestures.

Her dry humor, worn thin with exhaustion though it is, still prompts a return smile and a laugh from Rance. “If it’s too much a hardship, I can offer Ms. Hotaru a ride on my back?” This time, Rance is fully aware that Hotaru would turn such an offer down, so he’s far from serious. If he’d known her better or longer, there would have been comments on just how terrifying and fast short people could be. But, this time at least, he’d keep his commentary to himself.

Soon enough they’re at the barn; just another abandoned building in the Grounds. When Rance sees what she’s about, he helps build the pile as well. Her method of lighting it has him stepping back, eyes a little wild, but he doesn’t run away from her display of power. Perhaps it was a good thing he hadn’t taunted her after all.

He crouches down by the fire as well once it’s going, more than happy to warm up a bit before he makes a decision as to whether or not he should just fly home. The word ‘indebted’ has him wincing a bit internally, but he manages to keep it off his face as he replies simply, “You’re welcome.” His tone is oddly serious after the sarcasm he’s been indulging in during their hike. He might not be fae anymore, but some things should always be taken seriously.

Rance would help keep the fire going throughout the snowfall while Hotaru and Atlas rested. Despite his internal debate, he stays while Hotaru rests, at least long enough to give the woman and her companion proper directions to civilization. The night is not yet dark and full of terrors, but Deepfrost has most certainly arrived.

~fin~

i dont want for much, only a book, some whiskey
and the kiss of your touch