Turned Around
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
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#29
DELPHINE
Pull me from the dirt,
No, you don't want me in your garden.
Dandelion, dandelion.
Delphine shook her head, "It didn't, no. I was worried about Poe. He's been alone, by himself, all LongNight." She really felt awful, Poe had been with her through more than just Caido.

"He's... he was my baby before I had babies," she murmured, trying to explain. Not only was Poe her companion, but back in Northaven, for the longest time, Poe had been her only friend. She'd loved Poe before she'd loved anyone else, including herself.

She was just glad he'd not been left in the Grounds, she was pretty sure Torchline was relatively safe for a tropical bird, but... She'd not feel better about forgetting him until he was with her again.
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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#30
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
Korbin gave her a sidelong glance. "Did you at least tell Noah that you were leaving? Where you were going, and when you should be expected back?" Somehow Korbin doubted this too, but he needed to hear it. His efforts to keep the temper under lid were remarkably successful so far; there were so many things burning on his tongue but he did not let them slip. Not yet.

He needed to understand the sheer magnitude of her thoughtlessness first.

Perhaps the pain helped temper his humors. It remained a fine counterpoint to every movement he made, until it seemed to sing through every vein. From time to time, Korbin had to push down the impulse to just stop and scream straight out, in the hopes that someone might hear his protest and come save him.

But no. He would have to get himself home. Where the fuck was Loren when you needed him?
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
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Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#31
DELPHINE
Pull me from the dirt,
No, you don't want me in your garden.
Dandelion, dandelion.
Delphine furrowed her brow, eyeing the man. And then, slowly, almost shamefully: "I left a note. I was hoping to run into him, to be honest." But... that plan had not worked out.

She reached out a hand to find Korbin's shoulder, "Let me see if I can finish it--you've got to be in pain." It wouldn't look pretty if she finished it on the go, but at this point, it'd scar no matter what she did. There was once a time where she was able to piece together wounds without thinking about it...

Ugh, she'd need to practice. A lot, if she wanted to get back to the level she was used too.
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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#32
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
He stepped back, out of reach for her hands. "A note?" he repeated, in a dangerously quiet tone. "You leave the Citadel on your own, without telling anyone where you are going, with no idea how to navigate or survive on the Tundra... and all you offer to the one left behind is a note?" Lips thinning, Korbin obviously had to struggle to keep himself contained. "That is the most selfish bullshit I have ever heard."

Blue eyes flashed as scenery after scenery played out in his minds eye. If he had not showed up, would she have died in Whitebrim? If she hadn't found the settlement, how far would she have roamed, lost and oblivious, before succumbing to the elements? He knew Noah would go after her, turn the Citadel and the Tundra upside down to find her. All the people of Snowcloak would go out looking if someone went missing, delaying rebuilding efforts and taking precious time from hunting, from foraging, from their own businesses and lives to save a life.

He knew it. Intimately well, Korbin knew the horror of not knowing the fate of someone who left and did not return. He stared her down for a long while, then turned away in disgust and kept walking. Gods, Noah could do so much fucking better than this.
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
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Posts: 402 | Total: 840
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#33
DELPHINE
Pull me from the dirt,
No, you don't want me in your garden.
Dandelion, dandelion.
Delphine stared at him, furrowing her brow as he broke down what she had done. It was pretty stupid, yes. When he called her selfish, she averted her gaze from him and shoved her hands into her furs. She didn't like being selfish, and she didn't like not realizing how selfish she was until somebody else told her.

She didn't think she was always this selfish. Instead of trying to come up with some rationalization, because really, once she stopped and thought about it--after it was pointed out--she could see how selfish it was. Delphine realized Noah would've kept looking, if she got lost, and suffer through more grief if she died out here, in this wasteland.

Following after him in silence, for a long while, the only sound is the crunch of her footsteps through the snow. Then she spoke up, quiet, clearly hearing Korbin call her selfish when he has to be nearly as selfish, has hit home. "I don't mean to be, you know."
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#34
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
It was a bit rich, coming from him. Korbin knew this. He would like to think that his own selfish actions in the recent past were driven by need, however. Twisted, mad, grief-riddled need. He had knowingly and willingly put his own needs over others, and was willing to live with the repercussions of his choices.

But Delphine... this girl was just thoughtless. Impulsive, in a very dangerous way. Not only had she endangered herself and subjected Noah to worry and possile grief, but Korbin was injured because of her actions too. He did not say it, didn't think it had to be mentioned, but his blood was very much on her hands. And she 'didn't mean to?'

"Thoughtlessness is the most dangerous thing imaginable in a region where the smallest mistake claim lives," he said eventually, when he couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Know your weaknesses, girl. Fix them." The look he gave her was cold.

Korbin had warned her once that hurting his friend would cost her, and this was exactly the kind of thing he had been talking about. He cared nothing for lovers quarrels, but going off without telling anyone? It was arrogant, foolish, stupid beyond belief. Even he, with no immediate kin to worry if he wasn't home at the end of the day, had left a message with the guards at the gate before he left. It was a safety precaution, a lifeline, an insurance both for himself and others.

And all of this for a pet. Who was probably fine, who had been left alone for a whole season and wouldn't die from a few more days. Gods, it was infuriating.
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
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#35
DELPHINE
Pull me from the dirt,
No, you don't want me in your garden.
Dandelion, dandelion.
Delphine was being scolded, and she deserved it. She felt like her father or her brother was scolding her. How many times had they told her that same thing? "How can I fix them if I don't know them?" Trick question, Delphine knew her weaknesses... most of them.

She just refused to acknowledge that they existed. Denial had gotten her pretty far in life, well... sort of. She hadn't meant to sound snarky, she was really asking.

"I want to be more independent." Another reason for not doing more than leaving a note before she left. She wanted independence, she wanted to come and go as she pleased... She huffed softly to herself, and focused on the horizon, the mountain that he'd told her about.
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#36
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
With one raised brow, Korbin questioned that lack of self-knowledge. Most people were well aware of their faults and flaws, intimately conscious of them as they struggled through life. Korbin had his own; lack of identity outside the context of his family, excessive pride and stubbornness, a deep seated inability to trust along with a tendency towards emotional dependency. He was proud, and stiff necked, and frequently looked down on others with a 'better than thou' attitude that made him at times very arrogant.

He was working on it. Particularly the points of identity and pride were under harsh scrutiny at the moment, and while the process of changing ingrained habits was slow, at least he was aware of himself. "Then you figure out what they are, and stop fooling yourself into thinking that you don't have to change." He could be talking to himself. It certainly sounded like a lesson beaten into him by fists and firm embraces.

"Do you have the necessary skills for that? That independence you want is something one needs to earn in Halo. How many years do you think I had to wait before I was allowed out on the Tundra on my own? If this was Torchline or the Hollowed Ground then going off on your own might be fine, but it's not. You are in Halo, Delpine. The place where people freeze to death from stepping out the front door at night. You need to wake the fuck up from whatever dream you've been living in."

Was he being too harsh? Maybe. Yet he held back the desire to grab the girl and shake her, instead focusing his energy on walking. If his pace picked up gradually, it was merely in an effort to blow off steam. She better fix his shoulder once they were back, because Korbin could not remember ever craving a spar as much as he did right now. Fuck, Weaver, why wasn't she here when he needed her?
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
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#37
DELPHINE
Pull me from the dirt,
No, you don't want me in your garden.
Dandelion, dandelion.
Delphine snorted, murmuring, "So I'm... careless and impulsive." She hummed quietly, listing out loud what she thought her faults were like she might list the answer to a problem that the teacher's asked. "And selfish." She said that last one in a certain tone.

When he mentioned Torchline, she snorted quietly and mumbled, "Remi fussed at me for being alone with my kids in Torchline." He told her to wake up from whatever dream she was living, and she chewed her lip. He was right--she was still partially in denial; like maybe if she ignored Caido for long enough she'd wind up back home but...

How many people had she talked too? How many times had she been told?

There was no way back.

"Will you help me?" She inquired, serious. She craved independence, she craved being useful. Loren's words, still, were in her head. He'd called her useless, Neron had called her a nightmare.

Both phrases weren't things she wanted to be known as.
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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#38
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
He did not contradict the traits she listed. Could think of a few more to add as well, but there was no point if she didn't search for them herself. Her request was met with a very long silence, as Korbin turned it over in his mind. Preaching was one thing, stepping in to correct the faults he berated was another. Did he have the mindset to help anyone right now? Did he want to get further involved with this woman? She was Noah's partner, for better or worse (definitely for worse) so avoiding her entirely was not plausible if he planned to spend any time around his friend. But putting up with her and actively going out of his way to spend more time in her presence?

Ugh. No. He did not want that.

"I don't actually like you," he pointed out, with surpreme bluntness. "And I have enough problems with piecing my own life together. I can't help anyone. If you want to learn how to survive here, talk to Noah. He would be overjoyed at a chance to teach."

Did it make him a hypocrite? Korbin hoped not. Didn't think so. Truth was, the whole business of getting the Kraai back on its feet and dragging his ass out of bed in the morning was about as much as he could handle right now. Being responsible for helping someone else better themselves... was not something he could or should shoulder.

The potential damages he might do were far too great to risk it.
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
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Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#39
DELPHINE
Pull me from the dirt,
No, you don't want me in your garden.
Dandelion, dandelion.
Delphine's lips curled, and she chuckled. "I know that, silly." But Korbin was here, leading her home and away from whoever was in Whitebrim. So she had to like him a tiny bit. And he was Noah's friend... so she had to like him a bit more.

"A lot of people don't like me." She finally added, with a shrug. "I guess I'm annoying? Should I add that to my list?" When he brought up Noah, she huffed, and nodded.

"He would be really excited, I think." Well, she didn't have to guess, Noah had all but told her that he wanted to teach others to survive in the cold hellscape.

Delphine raised an arm, pointing, "Right up there should be the road, right?" She was trying to remember the map, though it certainly had not been to scale.
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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#40
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
"Annoying is circumstantial and a matter of perspective. Try 'intrusive'," he offered. Any other time and to any other person he might have said it with a smile, but Korbin was still angry at her and in no mood to joke.

Following the direction of her pointed arm, Korbin looked up at the sun and took in the surroundings. "Yes. About another mile or so to go," he grunted. The going would be easier once they reached the road, which would be a relief. No sudden dunes of whipped up snow to wade through, no patches of barren ground to slip across.

It was a fortunate thing, because Korbin was starting to feel the chill of blood freezing against his body. Frost radiated from his back to the rest of his body, and despite the walk he was losing bodyheat rapidly. Being cold was a constant, but freezing was a danger and the difference was hair thin and very important. But since there were no caves and he'd rather lose a few limbs than snuggle with Delphine for warmth, pressing on was the only option.

Repeat mantra.
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
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Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#41
DELPHINE
Pull me from the dirt,
No, you don't want me in your garden.
Dandelion, dandelion.
Delphine huffed, stamping her feet as she walked. "Just another mile to the road?" Why was walking back so much harder than walking out through the tundra? She couldn't help but think of Noah and his shifts; both suited for the cold weather around them. She'd really appreciate having a large cat to snuggle up next too while she walked.

She stayed quiet, not too keen on having him tell her more of her traits that needed to be fixed. She couldn't wait to get home, and curl up in front of the fire. She also couldn't wait to see Noah again, and demand snuggles before she asked him to teach her how to survive in Halo.

She was tired, and cold, and she wanted a bath and new clothes and to get this man's blood off her hands. Ugh, she'd have to do more than just snuggle in front of the fire when she got home; she'd have to heal him, and then bathe, and...

That was all a lot of work.
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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#42
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
Korbin nodded, but did not say anything else. Being angry was draining strength he did not actually have to spare, and there was still a good way to go once they reached the road.

Withdrawing into himself, his focus shrank into placing one foot before the other. Every jolt an agony, every stumble a fear of reopening the wound. At least the blood had stopped flowing; the sticky mess was itching and prickly, irritating the skin. His shirt would be ruined. He'd have to repair both the heavy overcoat and the lighter black undercoat he had salvaged from his brother's room. Korbin wanted to go home. Wanted his room, his bed, the smooth wood of his lute under the fingers...

He ached upon recalling that all of those things were gone.

The raven was pulled out of his reveries when he staggered down a snowdrift and felt the smooth path of the road beneath his feet. Turning, he made sure Delphine was still there, then set off down the road towards the Citadel.
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.


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