butterknife what a life anyway (o)
Aisha Khai
Swordmaster / Deepfrost Shield / Guildmaster

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 18 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 20 - Int:
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Posts: 879 | Total: 1,111
MP: 1615
#1
AISHA
war is raging in my head
The streets were so much emptier, so much sadder. She hadn't thought it possible for the grey place to be colder, greyer, but here she was walking through a lens of smog. It felt wrong, and bad, and it made her both regret leaving and grateful that she'd made the decision to. So many dead, despite their efforts, so much debris. She wouldn't abandon them again, not when they needed her.

She milled through the rubble in the ruins, just exploring after having checked in on the manor. Busted down doors and windows in shards on the ground, digging into the soles of her boots. She screwed up her nose with the anger, the frustration. That she hadn't done enough.
don't know which side wants me dead
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
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Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,762
MP: 0
#2
KORBIN
But what does it take to break you, to awake you?
To make you bow and spit it out?
Korbin probably hated the Hollowed Ground. No, correction; he probably hated any place that was not Halo. Not because there was anything inherently wrong with the places beyond the Fangs, but rather because he did not belong. It did not show in the way he walked. He wound his way along the paths of the ruined parts of the city like he had never been anywhere else, as if he knew exactly where he was going. Truth was, he had no actual goal. Could you be lost if you did not know where you were headed?

All he had was a place to return to, but he could not. Not yet.

Hands tucked deep into the pockets of the black leather coat, his gaze passed over the woman both once and twice as she appeared on the street ahead of him. Then recognition flared like a beacon, and the raven slowed his gait, came to a halt some distance away. Hesitated, not sure what he wanted.

To resume a friendship only barely begun? Or let it fade, let it go, pass her by like the stranger he was. She had prayed for him, once. He owed her a story.

But none really came to mind.
Doesn't matter if I hate you or embrace you
Nothing makes you turn around
Aisha Khai
Swordmaster / Deepfrost Shield / Guildmaster

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 18 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 20 - Int:
Played by: Chachy Offline
Change author:
Posts: 879 | Total: 1,111
MP: 1615
#3
AISHA
war is raging in my head
Aisha didn't really expect to meet anyone during her wandering, and even less to stop for them. She was so locked in on the anger, the bitterness, her eyes cast down at the rocks beneath her feet as if each and every one needed to be taken care of, scrutinized. She only looked up because she heard footsteps, and she didn't return to her patrolling only because she recognized the boy she saw.

He could so easily blend into a crowd, dark and sullen, shoulders forward and not seeking any spotlight. But she saw him now, and it was those pale hands stuffed into dark pockets that brought the tiniest glimpse of a smile to her lips. Only so small, for there wasn't much to be happy about. Korbin though, he was a warm and bright surprise, despite the coldness of his exterior.

Whether he wanted her to or not, Aisha began to walk in his direction, only to stop halfway to stare more. Her faint smile had dissipated, the closer she got the more she noticed. He seemed older somehow, perhaps more impassive than before. He recognized her, but he didn't respond, and maybe it was just who he was, but she felt as though something had changed. "Korbin," she said, a name on her lips and not much more. Once she'd prayed for him, and been excited to hear his story when they met again.

Was he excited now, was he capable? Or was she a stranger to him, just a girl.
don't know which side wants me dead
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: 5,762
MP: 0
#4
KORBIN
But what does it take to break you, to awake you?
To make you bow and spit it out?
Just a girl. Just a stranger. One who knew his name. And he knew hers.

"Aisha." His voice was deep, a little hoarse. Had he spoken to her aloud before? The way he said her name was thoughtful, like he had dragged it out from someplace far away. It was not a name he had said in a long time. Hers was not a face that had come to mind in a while.

She looked more serious than he remembered. Worn, like sleep had been fleeting and offered no reprieve. Had she stayed here over LongNight after all, or gone away? To Torchline, to the sunlit beaches... ah, but there would have been no sun there either. Maybe that was why she looked so pale.

"Are you alright?"

The question was passing over his lips before he'd even thought to ask. Part of him wondered why it mattered. Another part was concerned, about the way her smile had faded when she looked at him. The rest was numb.
Doesn't matter if I hate you or embrace you
Nothing makes you turn around
Aisha Khai
Swordmaster / Deepfrost Shield / Guildmaster

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 18 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 20 - Int:
Played by: Chachy Offline
Change author:
Posts: 879 | Total: 1,111
MP: 1615
#5
AISHA
war is raging in my head
She'd never heard him speak aloud before, their last meeting had consisted of pads of paper and telepathy. It was deeper than she'd expected, ragged as though the frigid had crept into his voice and not just his skin. He said her name, Aisha, and she was relieved that he remembered. She wasn't all too sure why, she didn't often drudge up the memories of that day either. But she certainly hadn't forgotten, and she certainly didn't regret.

His question brought her out of her analyzation, her examination of him, and her own thoughts. He was one of the first people she'd seen since returning from Torchline, and she wasn't really sure how to act. She didn't like the discomfort, the pain. She wanted to be playful and carefree but reality weighed down like pressure behind her eyes. Try to ignore it and it will pulse again, make you regret trying to forget. Her gaze refocused on his deep blue eyes.

"I'm not good, I'm not happy. But I'm here and I know I will be again," she said, chin tilted up and brows narrowed. "Are you ok?" she'd asked him this before, but the intent was fixed this time. She wanted him to be ok. She hoped that he was.
don't know which side wants me dead
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: 5,762
MP: 0
#6
KORBIN
But what does it take to break you, to awake you?
To make you bow and spit it out?
What had they even done, that day? Had it been sunshine or gray, what had they talked about? All Korbin could remember was a faint sense of warmth, a recollection of laughter. It had probably been a good day. One small sliver of sun in a scenery already turned gray. Or had it? Had he really been unhappy, back then when he still had so much?

Her reply echoed his own feelings so perfectly that it hurt. His brow furrowed, a ghost of remembered pain flitting across his features. "No," was all he could say.

There should be condolences, questions, reassurances that she really would pull through. That niggling part of him that cared wanted to somehow reassure, to help... But the words escaped him. All except that single wounded response, so simple and frank that it had to be the deepest, most brutal truth he could offer. No. No, he was not okay.

And unlike her, Korbin wasn't sure if he ever would be again. Could he, after all that had happened?
Doesn't matter if I hate you or embrace you
Nothing makes you turn around
Aisha Khai
Swordmaster / Deepfrost Shield / Guildmaster

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 18 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 20 - Int:
Played by: Chachy Offline
Change author:
Posts: 879 | Total: 1,111
MP: 1615
#7
AISHA
war is raging in my head
No, and that was enough. Aisha couldn't claim to know why he wasn't ok, and he didn't know her reasoning either. They were just two people, with an ache in their hearts. And that was enough.

Aisha pursed her lips and nodded, forgoing the reassurances and apologies for that simple aknowledgement. She wasn't one to try to force people from their sadness, from her own experience it took more than words to change one's state of mind. All she could do was be there, and hope something took hold. Feeling sad and hurt was the best remedy to being sad and hurt, there was no way around the emotion but through it.

"Do you want to walk with me?" she said, a simple question that held no weakness nor strength. Just a request, and a hand outstretched for him to take.
don't know which side wants me dead
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: 5,762
MP: 0
#8
KORBIN
But what does it take to break you, to awake you?
To make you bow and spit it out?
No questions. No attempts to make him open up, no weedling or pleading. Korbin could have kissed her for that alone. For not asking. For not requesting. At least... not for more than he could give. Walking... yes, he could do that. Quietly he fell in beside her, letting Aisha pick which way to go. Back where he had come from, or through some other route. It didn't matter; he was only killing time anyway.

For a while, there was only silence. Broody, glum, a 'not okay' quiet in odds with the warm spring winds and the melting water. It should have been a time to smile and breathe and unfurl after the long winter. But such a flowerbirth was rare. Who ever emerged from the longest of nights without something weighing on their mind? This year... there was just more than usual.

"Your letter," he said after a while. "It came through. I met Safrin... she removed the curse. Thank you." He glanced down at her, not smiling but with something a little warmer coming into his gaze. He had doubted her, yet she proved him wrong. It wasn't often he came across truly trustworthy people.
Doesn't matter if I hate you or embrace you
Nothing makes you turn around
Aisha Khai
Swordmaster / Deepfrost Shield / Guildmaster

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 18 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 20 - Int:
Played by: Chachy Offline
Change author:
Posts: 879 | Total: 1,111
MP: 1615
#9
AISHA
war is raging in my head
This meeting was far different from their last, where they'd put in so much effort to be heard. To speak, to weave words and conjure anecdotes to entertain, to enjoy. Now they were tired, two kids thrown more than they'd asked for. They didn't say anything for a long time, but Aisha didn't feel unheard. She felt understood in some way, and that was enough to spark some life into this bleak day.

Words broke their comfortable silence, but not in a bad way. What he said brought that faint smile back, the corners of her mouth tugging up against all the other worries and regrets. That was something she could be proud of, that her letter had meant something. Something she'd done had helped, and that was a step. "Anytime, bumpkin," the nickname came to her as she said it, a memory in itself of a time when they'd laughed.
don't know which side wants me dead
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: 5,762
MP: 0
#10
KORBIN
But what does it take to break you, to awake you?
To make you bow and spit it out?
There was a silent huff of breath issuing from him, not quite a smile but not not one either. Something fond, something bittersweet and melancholy. They had only laughed together for a moment, never said anything important. Why was it that such a simple reminder brought him closer to laughter than any joke he'd heard for weeks? Well, it did bring an ache like unshed tears to his chest too, so. Not all good.

The problem was, Korbin mused, that it would be so very easy to start talking. The silence invited words, offered a space to fill. All he had to do was start pouring, and then she'd know. Everything. All of him. Possibly he wouldn't be able to stop until there was nothing more to say. Too comfortable; he remained quiet. It was still a matter of trust. Of unfamiliarity. Even if he felt as though he had known this girl for a very long time, it was not actually true.

Was that something he wanted to change? Blue eyes stole glances at the girl every once in a while. Thoughtful, considering.

"A story for a story?" he said after the silence had grown long once more. It was an offer; tentative, wary, but indesputably there.
Doesn't matter if I hate you or embrace you
Nothing makes you turn around
Aisha Khai
Swordmaster / Deepfrost Shield / Guildmaster

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 18 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 20 - Int:
Played by: Chachy Offline
Change author:
Posts: 879 | Total: 1,111
MP: 1615
#11
AISHA
war is raging in my head
The huff from Korbin brought her gaze up to him, her own sort of smile dancing at her lips. She didn't know how often he smiled, how often he laughed, or how often he resigned to squandering in his grief alone. But she knew that she liked the way his face lit up, even just a bit.

Aisha and Korbin continued to walk in a sweet silence, the ruins seemed to unfold before them, their legs the conduit for some other force's desire. She had no destination in mind, her original plan had been to explore, assess the damage and mull over her decisions. Things had changed, and she no longer had any goal in mind. Just company, a road to walk. How was it that Korbin had done that, cleared her mind of warring thoughts to just let her feel?

It was once again the boy who broke the silence, a request of his own. A story for a story. Aisha had so many stories, a life full. "Ok," she agreed with a nod, pausing after to give it some thought. She could make it grand, create characters and names and myths from the memories she held. But she chose to lay it bare, "When I was little I was obssessed with flying."

"I had friends who were songbirds, eagles, spirits with wings. I love being a leopard, but I wanted to see the world from above. I wanted to fly," thinking about her childhood brought a bittersweet quirk to her lips, "I never would, but I still hoped. I was still jealous of my friends who could. I used to ask my mother every night what I could do to fly. At first she would tell me no, that I couldn't fly that's not how it worked. But I was persistent, and one night she said, 'just wait Aisha, someday you will.' For a ten year old who believed everything her mom said, that was the most exciting news. Then I grew up and didn't fly, and it was just another thing that happened when I was little."

She gave a light hum as she remembered those words, the irony of them. "I'll never get to show her my wings, but I like to think she knew." What a personal story to tell an acquaintence, but she had no awe-inspring legends to share this time. Just her feelings, just the things that mattered.
don't know which side wants me dead
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: 5,762
MP: 0
#12
KORBIN
But what does it take to break you, to awake you?
To make you bow and spit it out?
The raven listened quietly as her tale unfolded. A simple story of childhood dreams, of reality and bittersweet irony. She must have found her wings, to say such a thing. Korbin absently tried to guess what manner of creature she could shift into now. Something golden, no doubt. He tried to imagine a bird with sunfire wings, full of life and joy... It rhymed poorly with the melancholy mood though.

"My mother, sister and brother were all mages," he told her in return. "Only dad and I were different. I used to watch them make fire dance in the hearth, bring flowers to bloom in the snow, and it was all i wanted, to be like them. I was maybe... five, or six years old when I ran away from home at night. Don't quite remember why... but probably because of some story of magic and adventures. But I didn't get further than the shrine. I remember falling asleep there, surrounded by a thousand burning candles, and I remember a voice speaking to me. Asking if I would like to change."

Korbin rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully as he gazed ahead, eyes unfocused. "I flew home that time. And my family were quite surprised to find a raven in my bed in the morning. It was nice, finally I was special too... But I still wasn't really like them. Never was. And now... I never will be."

His hand dropped limply to the side. While his face looked passive for the most part, there was a muscle working in his jaw, a tension of barely shouldered pain growing about him. Deep breaths kept it from overflowing, but Korbin's gaze remained far away.
Doesn't matter if I hate you or embrace you
Nothing makes you turn around
Aisha Khai
Swordmaster / Deepfrost Shield / Guildmaster

Age: 28 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 18 - Endr: 17 - Luck: 20 - Int:
Played by: Chachy Offline
Change author:
Posts: 879 | Total: 1,111
MP: 1615
#13
AISHA
war is raging in my head
Golden yes, but she was no bird. A bat was far more her speed, a bat with molten fur and sharp teeth. She had found her wings in a creature of the night, she was more than a beam of sun. More than joy.

Once she'd finished Korbin set off into his own tale, sharing a memory as well. It was much more than she'd expected of him, perhaps even more personal than her own anecdote, but she listened attentively and with her heart. To be like them, a sentiment they'd both shared as children, though his ran deeper. She realized halfway through his story that this was the tale of how he'd become attuned, and by the end she'd painted herself a picture of his memory, of a raven in a bed, and it brought a light to her eyes.

The last thing he said, it changed things again, no longer reminiscent, but regretful. Sadness oozed from him, in the way he stared ahead and sunk into himself. He'd lost someone, she could tell that much. Her lip quivered, a flush of frustration towards who knows what. Fate maybe, whatever had brought him to such sadness, had brought her to such guilt.

"Will you fly with me?" she said, looking up and seeking his arctic blue eyes. Share the sky, what we have that is still good.


fin tacked on there :)
don't know which side wants me dead


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