Aurelia
Aurelia doesn't know what to expect but, she's definitely taken by surprise when Ray's hands grasp her by the face. The motions that follow remind her of her mother, that same kind of concern, and for a moment Aurelia's heart pauses from a longing that almost winds her.
Reaching up, she gently grasps Ray's hands and pulls them down, just enough that she can hold them in her own hands for a moment. With a flustered half-sigh half-laugh, she says, "I'm okay, Ray."
She lets go of Ray as she goes to close the shop, and she opens her mouth to protest, to say that she needn't go to such lengths. Before she can, her friend is sweeping her up the stairs and stunning her by how much she'd cared. For a few moments, Aurelia is stunned into silence as she walks up the stairs. It's not easy because of her limp but she stuffs down the pain for now.
"I'm glad to be back," she assures Ray, turning to look at her with a soft-edged smile at the top of the staircase, "I missed you. I missed our talks..." Ray had always been a good friend to her, to anyone as far as she could see. Aurelia was always surprised at her kind heart, but it's also something she greatly admires. With a more somber expression, she begins to walk over to the couch within Ray's apartment to sit down and explain everything.
She explains from the point of getting separated from her companions on their quest in Hak Etme, to the spirits that haunted her in the Wilds, to the infection that spread from her leg to her blood. And then Mildew, who had found her struggling against her own insanity, hallucinations, spirits - whatever it had truly been, she still isn't sure. "I waited to leave the swamps until I was able to make the journey home on my own. I still have the stitches in, so I made most of the trip shifted," she finally says in conclusion, drawing in a breath and meeting the other woman's gaze. "I'm sorry I worried you. Have things been alright here? How have you been?"
Reaching up, she gently grasps Ray's hands and pulls them down, just enough that she can hold them in her own hands for a moment. With a flustered half-sigh half-laugh, she says, "I'm okay, Ray."
She lets go of Ray as she goes to close the shop, and she opens her mouth to protest, to say that she needn't go to such lengths. Before she can, her friend is sweeping her up the stairs and stunning her by how much she'd cared. For a few moments, Aurelia is stunned into silence as she walks up the stairs. It's not easy because of her limp but she stuffs down the pain for now.
"I'm glad to be back," she assures Ray, turning to look at her with a soft-edged smile at the top of the staircase, "I missed you. I missed our talks..." Ray had always been a good friend to her, to anyone as far as she could see. Aurelia was always surprised at her kind heart, but it's also something she greatly admires. With a more somber expression, she begins to walk over to the couch within Ray's apartment to sit down and explain everything.
She explains from the point of getting separated from her companions on their quest in Hak Etme, to the spirits that haunted her in the Wilds, to the infection that spread from her leg to her blood. And then Mildew, who had found her struggling against her own insanity, hallucinations, spirits - whatever it had truly been, she still isn't sure. "I waited to leave the swamps until I was able to make the journey home on my own. I still have the stitches in, so I made most of the trip shifted," she finally says in conclusion, drawing in a breath and meeting the other woman's gaze. "I'm sorry I worried you. Have things been alright here? How have you been?"
What is clear is what is gold
You're only human after all
You're only human after all
