Isn't it lovely, all alone?
Morgan
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#15
Don't put your happiness in other people's hands
He couldn't argue with that line of thought. Korbin sent a thought of sympathy to the soldiers who would, no doubt, be faced with some rigorous training sessions before Morgan had decided that they weren't incompetent after all.

Korbin nodded reassuringly, or so he hoped. "At the very least, I have no doubts that you will pull through when it matters," he said. Not to flatter - even if he privately thought it was rather endearing that she wasn't confident in all things - but because he genuinely thought so. The captain had always held his respect, and it only grew the more he got to know her.

Which was why he broached this subject at all. Slumping down deeper into his chair, Korbin nodded. "It's not. A while ago - around the middle of Leafchange - Loren and I came upon a group of cannibals on the Tundra. We ended up having to fight them... and I killed one of them." His gaze fell to the dregs of tea in the almost empty cup; it was plain that the subject pained him to speak of. "Immediately after, I was fine. Shocked, for sure, but still able to shrug it off. But lately... I keep reliving that battle. What I did. And it interferes with my life. I can't sleep, can't focus properly... I almost hurt my sister when we sparred last, because I forgot where I was and thought I was fighting that cannibal again.

"Is that.. normal? Do your soldiers have problems like that too?"
Or is there something wrong with me?

He didn't ask it, but the question hovered in the silence as he quieted, hardly daring to glance up at Morgan. Afraid of the scorn he half expected to see in her.
They'll drop it
KORBIN
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 6 - Strg: 23 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 22 - Luck: 14 - Int:
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#16
MORGAN
They won't stop our evolution.
Who do you think we are?
In all honestly, Morgan had been expecting Korbin to ask her something difficult about herself. How she dared to still 'follow' Neron, how she slept at night with some death or another on her hands: when he began to speak about himself she was surprised and it took her a moment to think the question over, a frown overtaking her face.

"...I think.." She sighed. Morgan had been raised from an early age by her father to know that sometimes one would have to kill in the pursuit of justice, that it was simply a fact of life for the protectors of people. Her first had been when she was 19, and she had struggled with it for a short time, but had soon gotten used to it: never revelled in it, but no longer feared the slow fade in the eyes or the flash of crimson on the snow.

"I think you will grow used to it in time. First blood can be shocking for those unused to it. But if you had not killed the cannibal, it would have hurt you or Loren, or killed you. It was something you had to do and so it was done. You may have to do it again." She had no idea if this was helping, never having been great at emotions or comfort. "In time your mind will let go of it."
Fight against your execution.
Who do you think we are?
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#17
Don't put your happiness in other people's hands
The reply sounded a good deal like what others had said before. It wasn't what Korbin had hoped to hear, though in all honesty, he wasn't sure what he had expected. He sighed, and rubbed a hand over the face, weariness after too little sleep over too many nights taking its toll, even if it didn't necessarily show.

"Here's to hoping I don't end up hurting anyone seriously before my mind lets it go, then," he replied grimly. Making a mock salute with his teacup, he swallowed the last mouthful, dregs and all, and shuddered at the bitterness of it.

"Do you think exposing myself to more of the same will help, or make things worse?" he asked. Gods knew he didn't love training or fighting, but if it kept him from repeating the awful scenario with Weaver, he would gladly mix himself in with the soldiers every day. So far, working helped a bit... Keeping his mind occupied, unable to stray...

Except it did anyway, which was the furstrating part.
They'll drop it
KORBIN
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 6 - Strg: 23 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 22 - Luck: 14 - Int:
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#18
MORGAN
They won't stop our evolution.
Who do you think we are?
"Hopefully not." Morgan agreed, well aware she was likely not saying what Korbin wanted but not about to lie to him either; the first blood could be something very difficult indeed. She'd seen it take some of her guards from her, the recruits deciding to peruse less violent ends, she'd felt the guilt herself on some long dark nights.

As for whether or not he should 'expose himself'...she sighed. "Honestly? I do not think you will have a choice. I feel like there is war on our horizons or at least more bloodshed; before your life is through you will see violence." Whether he was the attacker was up to him, but she was sure he would see the life bleed from many more eyes before Halo knew something like stability again.
Fight against your execution.
Who do you think we are?
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#19
Don't put your happiness in other people's hands
Staring gloomily into the bottom of his empty cup, Korbin hummed in reluctant agreement. No doubt she was right. Halo was not the kind of cozy place where he could expect to live without facing this kind of thing. He had been lucky to escape it for as long as he had; that would catch up with him, sooner or later.

Refilling his cup, Korbin sipped the tea and tried to pull himself up from the gloomy line of thinking. He wasn't sure he'd gotten any kind of real answer, or that he felt better, but at least he'd asked. If he went berserk, at least Morgan would be aware of why. It was small comfort, but better than nothing.

"Thank you, for the honesty," he replied, and ventured a faint smile at Morgan. "I really appreciate it." Both the answering, and for not wrapping it up in pretty words. He always did prefer candor.
They'll drop it
KORBIN
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 6 - Strg: 23 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 22 - Luck: 14 - Int:
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#20
MORGAN
They won't stop our evolution.
Who do you think we are?
Morgan could tell Korbin had not been uplifted by her words, but then again they had not been intended to be uplifting. She had honesty and she had a sensible demeanour, not nurturing loving tones.

"You are welcome. If you stay strong and make sure to center yourself...connect with the mountains..." Morgan did not usually share her more spiritual side and it was clear she was anxious to say this, her voice hesitant and slow. "...The best thing I ever did was my stay in the Tundra. There is nothing out there but yourself, the snow and the few lives you can find. You learn exactly who you are."
Fight against your execution.
Who do you think we are?
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#21
Don't put your happiness in other people's hands
The stillness, the cold, the wide expanse. Yes, that usually did help. Korbin had often sought it out for peace and clarity of mind. He nodded, and gave Morgan a smile.

"If I could, I would head for the Fangs and stay out there. Life as a bird is not easy, but it's free. But as long as Weaver is still here... I can't just leave." They were tied together by bonds that went deeper than blood. He was her only family, and she was his. There was no running away from that.

Still, he definitely missed flying. Staying cooped up was hard for everyone, himself included.

"What did you find, out there?" he asked her. Mildly curious about who she had been before that stay peeled the captain down to the bones and revealed only steel beneath.
They'll drop it
KORBIN
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 6 - Strg: 23 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 22 - Luck: 14 - Int:
EUNIKE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
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#22
MORGAN
They won't stop our evolution.
Who do you think we are?
"You are close to Weaver?" Morgan asked, tilting her head; perhaps it was a bad thing that she was not more aware of the social relationships between many of the people in the Citadel, but she had always been too busy doing other things to spend much time learning about them. "She is a hunter, isn't she? Couldn't she come to visit if you wanted her to, in the Tundra?"

As for what she'd found up in the mountains...it was nearly impossible to come up with a neat and refined answer. It had been three years of difficult, terrible, wonderful struggle. Morgan took a breath and let it out again, trying to think of a way to respond that could even come close to conveying that time. "...I found...spirits. I found the water and the way it can speak to me." It was there that she'd mastered her magic, bending the snow and ice to her will to give her the means to survive.

"More than that, though. I found what mattered to me most, and it was the land I lived on. In those three years, I grew to know the mountains well. You can have a relationship with them." Whenever she could she still visited and Morgan liked to think if she ever lived long enough to retire, she would head up there when she was old and grey, ready to give her life over to the wilderness once it was time.
Fight against your execution.
Who do you think we are?
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#23
Don't put your happiness in other people's hands
Korbin was taken aback by the question. He was so used to everyone in the Citadel knowing everything about his life that it came as a shock to realize not everyone paid attention to what his family did. It was honestly quite refreshing.

"Weaver is my sister," he replied, with a grin that turned suddenly warm, far softer than before. "More than sister, really... she practically raised me, after our parents died. And after Erebor... It's just us left now." Us against the world. One that did its utmost to take away everything that mattered. It forged strong bonds, between those who survived. "If I really decided to take up residence on the Tundra I'm sure she would let me. But... she's opened the Kraai now. Wants to hunt less, minimize the dangers. She wants me to be there." Korbin shrugged. He didn't want to add to that danger if it would make her breathe easier. It's why he was here too, in the infirmary, instead of out there.

Turning his eyes over to the captain, he listened quietly to her answer. It struck up that old longing in him, to fly off and not return. He could relate, very much. The bitter wind, the white expanse, the jagged mountains and the clear sky, so endlessly high. Looking down at his hands, Korbin found that they had tightened around the cup, an ache building in the fingers that had little to do with the pressure or the heat from the tea. To shift, to fly, to ride the wind and never have to look back... It wasn't even the far off regions that called, just the wide expanse. Halo. Everything beyond these walls.

He drew in a slow breath, and nodded. "I think I know what you mean," he said quietly.
They'll drop it
KORBIN
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 6 - Strg: 23 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 22 - Luck: 14 - Int:
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#24
MORGAN
They won't stop our evolution.
Who do you think we are?
"Oh." Morgan wondered if she should be embarrassed for not knowing that, but it was only recently she'd begun to get more familiar with the citizens she was protecting. The best thing to do was to learn from now on, so she tried to listen attentively to Korbin's description of his relationship with his sister. "I see. Are you going to take a job there, then? Do you want to work in a bar?" Not that it wasn't a fine profession, but it seemed a leap from what Korbin was doing now.

Finishing off her cup with one long drink and setting it aside, Morgan nodded and stood up, looked towards the door. "Well...I think I will take the bandages and head to the training grounds."
Fight against your execution.
Who do you think we are?
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,767
MP: 0
#25
Don't put your happiness in other people's hands
It was different, but still more familiar than his presence in the infirmary. Up until recently, Korbin had been the village's jack of all trades, ready to pitch in anywhere in return for anything he might need.

Now, everything was changed. With the bar, there was no game to be traded. He had to choose between working at a place he didn't like, or do something on his own. It was a situation frought with tension, but they had maybe found some middle ground to work from.

"I'll be there to help out when I can," he replied, with a lopsided smile. "But I think I'll be staying here, unless things change." And oh, how things would change.

As Morgan stood, Korbin set aside his cup and followed suit, walking the captain to the door. "Alright. Thanks for the chat... and good luck with the training." He smiled at her, offering a quick wink and a wave before he turned back inside, to get back to his own work.

-------
- Fin
They'll drop it
KORBIN


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