{SE} when i run out of road
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#1
NATE
If it's all under control
Then what the hell am I doing
As much as he possibly can Nate wants to be at home. The delay in the Grounds had been productive, necessary, but having tasks there didn't mean everything at home stopped. Quite the opposite in fact. While he might not have the same kind of responsibilities Sunjata did as Governer, there were still things Nate needed to get in order, people he needed to talk to. That's actually half the reason he's in the kitchen, instead of hiding out from the midday sun anywhere else, to hopefully catch Mel on her way in or out of the house.

The other reason is a rather involved recipe that Nate honestly isn't sure is going to be worth it, but he's too deep to stop now. There's a pot simmering away on the stove, a sweet, spicy smell filling the air, not that Nate can really tell, save for the faintest wisp. It has hours left to go, so his focus has wandered instead to a small bundle of sticks in front of him, a ball of twine beside it. He trying (and failing, and getting more frustrated) to connect the twigs in a vague star shape, so he can wrap the twine around, but all he has at the moment are some sticks and some curses.

Pemota drifts around the room, her starlight dim compared to the light streaming in through the curtains. She is higher than she usually is, not that it deters the kittens following in her wake on the ground, as if they simply wait for the right moment they'll catch her.
Yelling for nothing at all
And wondering how this all happened
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#2
knew what she was doing when she invited the wild in
Melita arrived as she often did; on a whirlwind, a cacophony of sound and noise and fire, bombarding her way through the door. For once her hair was tied back, signifying she’d been training and couldn’t stand to have the locks and curls in her face while bombarding adversaries, staff in hand, Fangorn trailing in behind her. No sooner had the pumpkin bumbled in, did she shut the door – then lifted her nose, much like a dog, towards the scent drifting, wafting towards her. “What’s that?” Half to her companion, half to herself, she followed after the aroma, pleasant and spice and sweet and having no apt distinction to her (except memories, maybe, scattered like songs in her head – better, brighter times).

She flickered from the entryway to the kitchen, surprised by the scene before her – eyes widening, taking it all in. There’s Pemota, streamlining vague pieces of starlight over the ceiling, with…kittens on the floor (where had they come from?), which briefly distracted her from Nate with a bundle of sticks in his hands. The vampire gourd sidled up beside her ankles while she crouched, hand extending towards one of the balls of fur, pondering if they’d grant her attention or continue gazing up at the starwhale. Only thereafter did she truly announce her presence (though he would’ve heard her long, long before, given previous antics), voice lighter than it had been in days (weeks). “What’s all of this?”
Melita
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#3
NATE
If it's all under control
Then what the hell am I doing
Well, speak of the devil. Or, think in this case, whatever. Nate seems distracted right up until the moment he isn’t, when Melita sinks down and offers a hand out to a single kitten, only to be suddenly assaulted by all three of them, the little balls of untamed fluff climbing over each other to get her attention. ”Those are kittens.” He offers, as if she should just know, a cheeky grin splitting his face as he looks down at her, the tangle of sticks forgotten for the moment.

”I was waiting for you actually.” Thats the beginning, but he knows there’s more that she’s asking after, more that’s going on. ”You wanna try and make a decoration with me? Talk a little?” Nate’s voice is light, maybe too much so, though it’s difficult to tell if he’s masking frustration caused by his lack of success so far, or something else entirely. ”My uh, Nonna used to make stuff like this.”
Yelling for nothing at all
And wondering how this all happened
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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MP: 9824
#4
knew what she was doing when she invited the wild in
She knew perfectly well that they were kittens – lifting her head to indicate with a punctuated eyeroll, before her hands were full of fur and mewls. She obediently sat down, while Fangorn attempted to coax them along with vines, permitting the little cats to bat and play, while she strung together some semblance of a life, a moment, not piercing or devastating or so vastly unknown. Where she didn’t have to walk on eggshells; at least not with Nate.

The indication he’d been waiting for her surprised; gaze narrowing slightly in suspicion, spine growing rigid, wondering what on earth she’d done now. The following statement relieved it though, and then she felt stupid for being immediately on guard. An ease volleyed, and she felt like a mercurial little storm, back and forth, back and forth on the tides of emotions, rising off the tiles with one kitten in her arm, and the others entertained by the pumpkin. “Sure. Is it for the firling?” The sharing of familial experiences warmed her heart though, and she advanced, a glance taking in the formation of earlier attempts – she had no idea what it was. “It smells like things my mother would put together.” A warm smile flickered and bounded, allowing the kitten to crawl onto her shoulder. “Show me?”
Melita
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#5
NATE
If it's all under control
Then what the hell am I doing
The kittens, at least two of them, are throughly entranced by this latest distraction, creeping tendrils pounced upon and chased with all the clumsy enthusiasm of a baby. One stays close to Mel, the warmth of her hands, all white fluffy fur and uncontrolled claws and teeth. ”The white ones are Lizzy and Lynyrd. I can’t fucking tell them apart, but someone else can, so.” He shrugs, washing his hands of the situation with a grin. ”The orange one is Ramone.” With introductions done, and his niece rising again to join him, Nate picks up a stick and waves it.

”It is for the firling.” He rumbles, arranging the sticks in a vague star pattern, just to give an example of what he’s trying to do. ”My nonna made this look easier than it is though, I just... can’t get the sticks to keep a shape. It’s supposed to end up like a wrapped shape, and you can paint the twine.” Laughing, Nate shakes his head, then drops the craft again, gesturing to the stove. ”You want a drink?” He offers, before they sink into figuring this out, into conversations that he isn’t sure how to have.
Yelling for nothing at all
And wondering how this all happened
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#6
knew what she was doing when she invited the wild in
The kittens were a safer topic, additions to the menagerie of the household. They’d be excellent mousers, capable of keeping themselves entertained in between the large confines of the house. Melita wouldn’t know the significance of their names, but hummed and scratched under the chin of the one in her hands all the same, until other distractions sufficed, and it was permitted to join its brethren in the ‘grab the pumpkin vine’ game. “Where did you get them?”

Then there were other nuances and notions, things they tread around, circled, as if very wary to enter and broaden the deepening pool. Her head tilted towards the twine, the sticks, the threading of patterns, the arrangements she’d never quite seen before. On a curious whim, the youth grabbed for some sticks of her own, striving to align them carefully, pondering how best to counter the notions. “I can hold it straight for you?” Maybe it just required more hands.

A brief interval of her gaze swinging elsewhere again, pondering over the container upon the stove, the lilting aroma tickling her nose, taunting, enticing. “What is it?” Before she got too close – not presuming something dangerous by any means, but Melita had long since learned to be slightly wary and cautious. Slightly.
Melita
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#7
NATE
If it's all under control
Then what the hell am I doing
There’s a warm smile on Nate’s face as he watches Mel stroke the kitten, then release it, letting it scamper off with the others. ”We found them out behind the VlamVloed. Figured we might as well give them a home, huh?” A finger comes out to point at the kittens, rising quickly to poke at Melita’s nose at the last second. ”Thats your new cousin.” He

”Anythings worth a try.” Nate offers, in a tone that very much says he’s upset he didn’t think of that first. More hands is exactly what this job needed, though he pauses before they really get to work, strapping away from the counter to lift the lid off the pot and send a far more potent spicy smell wafting through the kitchen. ”Cider.” Comes the simple answer as Nate scoops out a portion for his favourite niece, setting the steaming mug before the honeybee girl as he sits again, giving her a chance to taste the spicy, sweet, surprisingly boozy drink before arranging the sticks in her hands and getting to work making a frame to work from.

Busy work like this is the perfect segue into what he wanted to talk about, Nate’s gaze locked on the project in their hands when his mouth opens again. ”Did I tell you I’m not going to be around for Longnight?”
Yelling for nothing at all
And wondering how this all happened
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#8
knew what she was doing when she invited the wild in
“Might as well,” echoed on a grin – why not add to the collection and assortment of souls rambling around this place? Melita made no mention of her bat acquisition – out within the confines of its house along the perimeter of theirs – though it was heavily implied in the mischief laden amidst her smile.

Thereafter though, she accepted the warm cider, taking a moment to breathe it in, to the steam and beatific aroma circling over her, to the memories of her mother’s herbs, her sister and her laughing, dancing, streamlining and careening around the little home. “Thank you,” and then she drank, appreciating the sweet, suddenly liquor-laden, coughing away in surprise, and then laughter in the quick, rapid expanse and burning in her throat. “Quite a rush.” Didn’t stop her from taking more though, sipping far more gingerly this time.

Before her head was consumed with the buzz, her hands went to his instrument, determined to hold it steady and move her fingers out of the way while he wrapped the twine around it again – a stabilizer (an odd thing to equate to her character; mercurial and tempestuous as she was). And while her grasp was occupied, distracted, she couldn’t pulse them away to grab hold of him.

Her nose wrinkled though, brows furrowing at the statement – she’d known, in some capacity. “I know.” The call to the monster hunting, to the fighting of demons. She didn’t drown in the murky nuances suddenly flooding over her, but gods it was tempting – not daring to lift her gaze off of the bauble. “Have you figured out what you're going to do?” Easier terms – plans, goals, aspirations, then the tell-tale sign of imminent death throngs.
Melita
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#9
NATE
If it's all under control
Then what the hell am I doing
Nate catches the echo, catches the mischief in Mel’s smile, and matches it, his brows lifting. ”Theres a dog too. Little guy, hanging around the clinic. I’ve been leaving food for him, and once he trusts me enough he’s coming here too.” Why not make it a menagerie, they have the room, the means, the drive. Why have an empty house?

”Of course, Mel.” The words are soft, at odds with the intensity of his gaze as he watches her take her sip. Uproarious laughter leaves him as she coughs, after he spares a glance to make sure she’s not choking, or anything like that. ”That’s exactly how it’s supposed to taste..” Nate doesn’t bother to elaborate how he’d known just by her expression, her reaction. ”I was worried. I can’t taste it, so it’s hard to tell if I got the taste right.”

Already this is working better, which means he can use it as the perfect shield for a more serious topic. ”We’ve got ideas. I’m bouncing back and forth right now to get things set up.” Nate does not lift his gaze from the craft taking shape between the pair of them, a single point defined, and another stick added. ”If anything goes wrong, I’m not sticking around.It’ll be fine.” Here, Nate pauses, takes a breath, and does look up at her, his gaze serious. But.
Yelling for nothing at all
And wondering how this all happened
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#10
knew what she was doing when she invited the wild in
That the house will somehow eventually become a zoo of collected animals was no bother to her at all – inclining another wide grin at the notion of a dog meant and soon to be tamed. “He can be a good guard then.”

As for the cider, after a few more moments of recovery, she could appreciate the effort put in. The taste. The booze. Her shoulders shrugged, but her expression was light, airy, content; something to fill in the hollow bits and pieces of her consternations. “It’s delicious.” To stave off his worries, his concerns, over the drink, she took a few more sturdy swallows, before placing it down, and continuing to hold his bauble formation.

Ideas were better than nothing, but she could remember the echoes and throngs of LongNight. The sharp claws. The blistering fire. The edges of disaster and demolition, right out there in the cloak of darkness, waiting to catch, to bite, to snatch, to obliterate simply because they could. She bit back something too, on the semblance of his words, on the way he wouldn’t stick around. How are you going to escape? was on her tongue. How are you going to be safe? was another. And Melita muffled them all, until her breath embodied a storm, and her eyes segmented into his. “But?”
Melita
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#11
NATE
If it's all under control
Then what the hell am I doing
It’s plain to see Nate is tickled and proud that his cider stands up to her opinion. ”Good.” He purrs, smug as can be. ”Maybe when we’re done I can’t teach you how to bottle it.” An offer, or an attempt to butter her up, but still. It’s an hour stretched into an afternoon instead, passing down a skill, making memories. He just hopes they’ll still have the chance for more after this.

Gods, he wants to be able to not have this conversation. Wishes he could promise his safety, guarantee his return, but he can’t. And the thought of not talking about it at all hurts him almost physically. Better to get everything he can put. ”But there’s still a chance I don’t come back.” He tries to let it drop from his lips simply, plainly, not more obtrusive than some musing about the weather, but it doesn’t land gracefully, helped not at all by the way his voice strains. Automatically, his hands start moving again, wrapping the twine without him looking.

”If that happens, I... I wanna ask a favour of you.”
Yelling for nothing at all
And wondering how this all happened
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#12
knew what she was doing when she invited the wild in
“Ooh, yes please.” A contented smile, haphazard and based solely on the moment, sparked and sizzled while they worked, before everything else went up in flames.

And that was just it – wasn’t it? All of these instances could be so easily shattered and rendered into nothing. It’d happened to her so many times before that it should’ve been mere happenstance – one loved, one lost – but it never made it any easier, any harder, and her jaw started to clench, the layers peeling away one by one.

I don’t want to be without you.

But she couldn’t voice it, couldn’t say it, because maybe some part of it was selfish and she was a tempestuous little demon, longing and searching for those aspects of family, and no matter what she did she simply couldn’t hold onto them. Melita doubted Sunjata would survive without Nate either – and she almost didn’t want to pierce through that void at all. To let the favor slide by. To not let it rest on her shoulders, that were already uncertain and unsure and unsteady with the way the earth tilted, with the way she was rebuffed time and time again for trying. For striving. For daring to be a flame, a cinder, in the wakes of ash and dust.

But her bottom lip trembled still, quaking, either threatening to be a volcano, a typhoon, a flood, or any decree, degree of the elements. The steadiness barely lingered, a breath inhaled on sharp angles and yearning for defiance. “I have to hear it first.” And pretend it wouldn’t ever happen.
Melita
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#13
NATE
If it's all under control
Then what the hell am I doing
How quickly things change from promises of lightness to shadows. To doom and gloom and death, a suicide mission looming over him like a timer ticking down, infecting every aspect of his here and now with sick worry, with pain. It’s not fair, not for any of them, but this is what has to happen.

As much as he’d hoped for something unquestioning, Nate knows it’s naive, and nods in response to her request, working his jaw as he tries to figure out the best way to word what he has to. ”I know if... if something happens, it’s going to be hard for you. And for Sunjata. I just... don’t want you to give up on him.” He has to pause, to set his jaw, to swallow the tremble in his voice. Somehow, his own mortality has never carried so much weight in his mind as it does right now. ”I know you don’t get along, and he can be a dick, but... I don’t want either of you to be alone.”

It will be hard. They don’t get along at the best of times, but with grief thrown into the mix, it will be volatile, ugly and vicious and painful. And he is being selfish, too afraid to leave either of them to not try and meddle, pre-emptively and posthumously.
Yelling for nothing at all
And wondering how this all happened
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#14
knew what she was doing when she invited the wild in
So there it was – out in the open. If Nate didn’t come back. If he fell apart in the midst of this grand scale operation. If something occurred, abysmal and bleak. If he couldn’t make it home. And she and Sunjata would be left with one another – and she doubted either one would survive the onslaught. The pain. The torment that came with loss. Melita couldn’t imagine what the Flood would concoct or do without the Ascended before her, and she didn’t want to slink into the motions of her own upheaval. She’d already lost scores of family before.

So the youth fought the shudder, the notion, the revolution spiraling in her blood, her eyes making their way down to the floor, where the kittens still played, innocent and unaware. The wave of emotions stirred and hurt and she nearly refused to fold into this game, this realm of stakes and possibilities no one wanted to face. “I’ve tried to talk to him so many times. He just shuts me out.” Too similar. Too stubborn. Too far forged into their own travesties and ruin. It hadn’t always been this way – and she was never quite sure where they’d stepped into oblivion so hastily, so rashly. Perhaps it’d been her. Perhaps it’d been him. Perhaps it’d just been the multitudes of terrors and torments, trials and tribulations, in the past, the present, the future – and she simply no longer mattered. “I don’t think he even wants me around.” And then, it'd only become so much worse.
Melita


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