seeking the totality of solace
korbin
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
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Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#1
NOAH
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
The raven eventually fell silent and still in his arms again, and Noah pressed on without pausing back towards Snowcloak. He had tucked Korbin within his jacket further as they entered through the gates, though Noah's hurried presence silenced the guard from any questioning. It was not unusual to see him move so quickly, with such purpose, and he was sure it would not give rise to any suspicion. There were very few things in Noah's life that anyone could call suspicious, and he was sure the people knew that anything that could fall into that category would be brought to the attention of the Warden with haste. And it would. But this was not one of those times.

Rather, Noah moved to his home without stopping. Any he knew gained a smile and a nod from him, but his stride remained purposeful until he closed his own door behind him, wrapped the pair in safety. Noah sighed and lifted Korbin some, skillfully locking the door with one free hand as he went to set the raven on the table. There were very few routes of escape -- they lived in a place where the windows did not open, and Noah did not expect anyone to try and walk through his front door anytime soon. Sighing, relief flooding him enough to bring tears back to his eyes, Noah set the scar-wrapped raven down finally. "Korbin." He said his name simply and gently, a tear sliding down his wind-burnt cheek.

Korbin

But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...
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: 5,767
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#2
KORBIN

The raven kept its eyes closed. Shut off from a world that had once been everything it knew. That was still everything. But even beneath the hunter's heavy coat, wrapped in darkness, it was impossible to shut out the sounds. Footfalls on snow. Voices echoing between walls of stone and precious wood. The cadence of a man's stride painted a vivid picture within its avian mind that clashed with what a bird should know. A turn there. Twenty paces, then down another path. Double that distance, and turn again. All the houses were familiar. All the roads were the same. And even when a door clicked shut and silence fell, there was still the familiar scent of woodsmoke, leather and thawing snow. Of food and man and everything that had once been warm and comfortable. Home.

Korbin. The raven stirred involuntarily. Opened its eyes and shuffled away from the towering man as it was set down. Dark wings shifted and ruffled, uncertainty etched in every line of the bird's form as it peered around. Gazing at the door. At windows. At the man, and then away.

It hated that word. That name. It sounded so much like a curse, or maybe a plea. Which would be worse..? It didn't know.

Testing its wing carefully, the bird stretched it out. Flapped tentatively, but stopped immediately when pain flashed through the limb. Turning its back on the man - the captor - the bird that had once been Korbin began to preen. Carefully dragging its large beak along the feathers of the injured wing. Tugging out damaged ones. Aligning the whole. In the warmer air of the house, blood once frozen began to thaw, and dripped sluggishly down onto the floor.
Young and alone on a long road,
Once I lost my way
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#3
NOAH
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
Noah's entry into the house stirred Eira. The griffon rose and stretched from her position on Noah's bed, where he had left her. Yawning, she strolled out into the main room of the house and trilled some, her tail waving high behind her. Noah turned to look at her, almost forgetting the griffon in finding Korbin. Noah leaned back from the table as the snow griffin leapt up, curiosity heightened at the sight of the raven. Bright, golden eyes looked to Noah before she turned back towards the raven. She cocked her head, gently clicking her beak and making soft, soothing noises.

Noah sat on a chair, watching Korbin. He hoped that the younger man wouldn't panic at the sight of the growing griffon, that her kindness and softness would be a comfort to him. "Eira." He gestured towards her. Panic lit across the bond with his companion, and Noah noticed immediately what she was panicking at. Blood. The hunter got up from his chair, moving slowly but deliberately towards the first aid kit he always kept well stocked. He pulled a roll of bandages from it and some cotton that would help absorb the blood. He turned back towards the raven, and opened his hands to show him what he was holding, eyes asking permission to patch up his wounded wing.

But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...
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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#4
KORBIN

The trilling call did make the raven start. Its dark head snapped up as beady blue eyes searched for the source, and when it sighted the griffon all the feathers seemed to double in volume. Swelling and making hissing noises, its display did absolutely nothing to ward off the creature. But it seemed disinclined to charge, which was... new.

Slowly, confused by the gentleness it was faced with - the man, the creature, the warmth of the room - the Korbin-raven deflated. When large hands came with cotton and bandages, it only shuffled away a few steps before becoming still once more. There was a pause, hesitation. Then the injured wing extended, inky feathers silken and soft as they settled on one of the hunter's hands.

It was amazing, what asking permission before doing something would get you.
Young and alone on a long road,
Once I lost my way
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#5
NOAH
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
Eira took a step back at Korbin's clear discomfort. The hiss reverberated around the room and the golden-eyed creature lowered her body. She was no threat to this raven, and she wanted to make that known. The tenderness that Noah displayed, the calm of his soul, made even her protective instinct stay at bay. She had no intentions of harming him.

Noah slowly took his seat back, unrolling part of the bandages. He just wanted to get the bleeding under control, and then later he could address the need for antiseptic to keep infection at bay. Noah made sure to keep his movements slow as he worked to cover the woun d on Korbin's wing. He had never treated an injury on an animal before. It would be so much easier if Korbin would return to his human skin...but Noah was not ready to ask that of him yet. It would take time for the Hale to return to himself, and to release the need for the protection of his raven form.

Thus, large hands tried to move as nimbly as they could and cover the wound. He kept his eyes on the raven, ready to pause at any sign of pain from him, and to pull his hands away should Korbin take the opportunity to strike him.

But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...
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: 5,767
MP: 0
#6
KORBIN

Strangely, the raven did no such thing. There was some hissing, yes, and at one point the heavy beak clapped in irritation when the wound stung particularly bad. But it remained still, merely observing with eyes that did not blink.

When the bloodflow had been quenched, the Korbin-bird cocked its head and eyed the makeshift bandage with faint interest. Testing to see if the wing could be folded back against its side, it did so with apparent relief, and sat pensive after that. Thinking. Nothing reflected through the bond, and a bird's eyes were difficult to read.

After some time, however, it stirred. Inched a step towards Noah. And another. Hesitated, suddenly on edge. Then the beak reached out. Slowly, cautiously, it made to seize hold of the hunter's finger. Not hard, or pinching, just... holding it. And through a minute crack in the bond came the faintest of emotions, drifting on a sigh.

Regret. And gratitude.
Young and alone on a long road,
Once I lost my way
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#7
NOAH
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
Eira curled on the table, golden eyes still watching the raven. She didn't quite understand what was happening here, but the images of the once-man were clear in Noah's mind, and his feelings towards the raven were clear.

After finishing bandaging the wing, without injury, Noah just sat and waited. His eyes were soft as he looked down at the blue eyed raven, though his thoughts ran around his head in storms and droves and knocked against each other, taking up too much space. He was so glad to have found the Hale, to have him here now, but he was not sure what was next. Would Korbin choose to stay a raven forever, or would he eventually return to society as a man? The thoughts crashed and tumbled until, finally, everything around him and inside his mind stilled.

The raven clasped his beak gently over the hunter's finger, and the floodwaters roared. Tears spilled passed his eyelids and eyelashes, running down his cheeks without reservation. "Korbin...I'm sorry."

But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...
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
#8
KORBIN

The bird was still, so still. Unnaturally so, had it been an actual bird. But it never was. Only a man - no, a boy - draped in feathers. Lost. Lost, but perhaps... perhaps not so lonely, after all. It watched the man as he shed tears, apologies spilling from a tongue that had never asked for anything the raven couldn't give. Releasing the hunter's calloused finger, the Korbin-bird blinked, and cocked its head.

"Why?"

The thought was crisp and clear, so sudden that even the raven was startled. Ruffling its feathers, it shifted in agitation, stepping from side to side as if debating whether to stay or flee. There was a war raging on the inside, man turning to beast turning back to man. Unsure which side to feed. Unsure which might win out.

Unsure, too, which side would lead to the greater sanity. Because the darkness called grief that had plaged a boy named Korbin was not gone. Only staved off, for now. Skin deep; it was a miracle the raven didn't bleed black.
Young and alone on a long road,
Once I lost my way
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#9
NOAH
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
Noah let his head fall into one hand, propped up on the table by his elbow. Sobs shook his shoulders as he, mostly subconsciously, reached out to touch Korbin with the fingers on his other hand. the emotions spilled over him like a breeched dam, starting as a spray before crashing against him with all the force of the once-barricaded river. The raven's question startled him, and Noah choked down another sob. Glacier eyes lifted to meet icy blue, the same eyes on the raven than on the man. "I'm sorry," He started, voice shaky, "for not coming sooner. I could have found you...helped...done something..." The guilt that the man had been feeling grabbed his heart, squeezing it in its fist like a snowball in the hand of a child. "I shouldn't have left you by yourself."

The memory of the Festival of Lights showed across the bond. "Ludo brought her to me, and she said you were still alive--" He choked again, the hand that had been holding his head running down his face to wipe his tears "--and I should have come sooner."

But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...
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
#10
KORBIN

Hands reached for the raven, and for the first time it did not shy away from the touch. It remained still and let the soft plumage be stroked, or held, as Noah pleased. Quietly it listened, with a patience that was new - it had never been Korbin's strongest point.

Until she was mentioned. The raven tensed then, and breathed fasted. Unprepared for the onslaught of its own emotions. Internal battles intensified, and when it all finally became too much to bear the ghost of Korbin reached out with its mind. Opened up the solid mental barrier, just a crack. An invitation, or a plea for understanding.

If Noah allowed it, images would start to pour through the bond. Of the Academy and the mess of a boy, lost to grief and alcohol. Of the Kraai, and the mountain of work piling up all around, work Korbin never wanted or cared for. Faces came and went, tasks and conversation passed by but it was all laced through with black despair. Hollow as a rotten tree, where only the bark kept the pulp together. Finally, there had come a morning where a breaking point was reached. At that moment, the boy had simply shifted and flown off. Brought on black wings into the white wastes, into an existence where thought was no longer necessary.

A shift came in the raven's mind then. As memories were pushed back, and the existence of the moment gradually took precedence, a fragile peace had come over it. Memories of endless vistas bled from the shapeshifter. Halo seen from above, stark and barren, clean and clear and beautiful. The solitude had not been a burden. It was a blessing.

For an instant, the encounter with Aisha flashed through. The woman's appearance had been like a knife to the barely scabbed over wound of his soul. A reminder of everything Korbin had left behind. And even now... much as the hunters tears woke sympathy and care - a step forward from the cold apathy once offered - it still hurt to be near him. It forced the raven to remember. To see changes, and realize the absence of one who had been more to him than his life. Who had been his whole life.

All of this was communicated in utter silence, in the space of a dizzying heartbeat.

The sharp beak was almost tender as it reached in to thread through messy blonde hair. Absent, a touch awkward - they had never been the touchy kind of friends. Yet it was necessary now. The hunter needed to understand; there was nothing to be sorry for. He had done nothing wrong in his absence.
Young and alone on a long road,
Once I lost my way
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#11
NOAH
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
If anyone had asked the hunter how he had felt about the last few years, and the losses that happened within that time, Noah might have expressed that he felt sad. That he wished he could have done more. Even he was not aware of his dam of emotions that had been built in his mind, holding back every deep and penetrating and overwhelming feeling he had truly had about it all. The tears, the sobs, they surprised him.

His fingers just brushed against the raven's jet black feathers. His fingertips feeling the Hale breathe and stay where he was was enough for the hunter. He took in a deep, shaky breath, eyes lifted towards the blue-eyed raven as his mind filled with images. The journey was treacherous among the memories. Weaver's smile, her absence, the blurry faces all coming in and too close, the wisp of intrusive blonde hair, the feeling of drowning, of suffocating, of intensity--and then solace. Quiet. Snow and ice and blue and white and freedom. Noah softened, and though tears still welled in his eyes, he had composed himself enough.

Korbin's message was clear, and Noah nodded. The guilt that had so tightly gripped his heart began to loosen, his senses alleviated from it for just a breath of a moment. What he thought a failure, in moral and duty and love, was not how the raven saw it. Korbin needed the time of the tundra to be able to breathe again. Noah didn't understand it in the way that someone else of similar heart than Korbin, but there was still enough understanding that made the hunter able to release all of what had bottled up inside of him. He wiped the tears again, eyes going back up to the raven and expressing all the things his words could not.

Thank you. I am happy to see you.

Please stay.

But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...
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
#12
KORBIN

Wordless conversations, a communion of souls, did more than words ever could. And while it was rough, inelegant much for the strange duality of man and raven within that black-feather guise, it did the job.

The raven saw the simple nod, and how the tears stilled their flow down his brother's cheeks. It felt the reply, the gratitude, and the quiet plea whisper against its mind. Blinking, it gazed off across the room. Absorbed in thought. Maybe observing the changes wrought by busy-body hands on the walls and furniture. There was a lack of evidence that anyone lived here now, save the hunter and his griffin. Conflicting feelings of relief and compassion tore through Korbin at this; he had never loved the blonde woman who tripped into the hunter's life. But Noah had. And if she was gone...

Shifting the wings, the bandage tugged on dark feathers. The raven tugged on the cloth with its beak, annoyed at the restriction; then it actually sighed. Such a human sound that there could no longer be any doubt that a Hale still existed beyond the corvid countenance.

"Okay," came the reply. A little unsteady, full of misgivings; yet still with an effort made to speak. To stay. To try this living thing, one more time. "Happy to see you too, Noah." Mixed though the quiet feeling was... one could not lie through the bond.
Young and alone on a long road,
Once I lost my way
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#13
NOAH
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
As the raven turned to look out at the rest of the house, Noah too let his eyes follow. The murals were still vibrant, their colors blending beautifully and marking the interior of his home to stand out among the rest of the Halovians. The touch of an outlander. "She's gone." Noah whispered, voice even and cold. He knew that Korbin did not appreciate Delphine, and it took him time to understand all of the reasons why he could have felt that way -- why anyone felt that way. Noah, now, stood on the same side of the line. He had been blinded by her mere presence, her soft hands that cupped his mourning face and held him while he cried. He knew better now, and the scar tissue around his heart was there to prove it.

Leaning back in his chair, the hunter scooted out from the table. He was skilled enough in the muscle memory of it that the action did not cause the chair to scream as it moved across the floor. "Are you hungry?" He asked, turning and walking towards the door that led to his processing room. "I've got plenty, even for you." The hunter joked, looking over his shoulder at the raven. He was not sure how much he could eat in that form, but he had seen him put away enough for a few men as a teenage boy.

But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...
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
#14
KORBIN

No, there was no love lost for the blonde woman who had tumbled into Noah's life, and thus spilled over into Korbin's by default. But that did not mean he didn't care about his friend, and the laconic whisper spoke of terrible wounds. Scars not healed well. A trickle of sympathy bled through the bond, and a soft croon broke the raven's silence for emphasis. It was unfortunate; it was too bad. A mute question soon followed; "Are you okay?"

It was the first time in a very long while that Korbin cared about anyone except himself. If the time in the tundra had done anything except postpone dealing with his grief, it seemed to be this. A piece of compassion returned, a bit of perspective restored. It still felt awkward though, and the bird puffed up, feather's ruffling against the unaccustomed feelings.

Food was an excellent distraction, an excuse to shift attentions elsewhere. Blinking with sudden enthusiasm, the birds caw was loud and raucous. A resounding YES. It was always hungry. Food was scarce on the Tundra. Enough to live on, but little else. Beneath the feathers, there was only muscle and bone and beating heart. Should the bird become man... the thought of what would emerge was not pretty.
Young and alone on a long road,
Once I lost my way


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