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 Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:35 pm
”I see,” said Blaithe, her voice tapering off at the end. The thought of inviting them back to Anica with her and her small entourage passed, but it wasn’t even a beat later that she remembered what happened last time her Grimm extended such an offer… No, it was dangerous, no matter how kind these people seemed. ”If you enjoy being on your own… that is the way to live.”
She then attempted another smile, looking up when she felt Tiffan’s little fingers in her hair. At this point, now that she was under his cloak with nothing keeping their group together otherwise, she leaned back against the wheel of her cart, lifting her wooden peg to cross at her ankle. She wasn’t used to having another leg again and it sometimes resulted in her knee being sore.
”Where are the two of you headed, at least? I am making my way toward Anica.” she stated, watching the puff of white that escaped her lips.
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:06 pm
There was a tiny squeak from Tiffan as Blaithe moved, and she clung to her hair to keep from falling off. As her perch rested against the cart, she she transferred her grip from Blaithe's hair to the trim on the cart. It took her a moment or two to gain her balance, but once she found a few footholds she was off, quickly scaling her way up to the roof of the cart.
"It does have it's advantages," Terrowin admitted, slowly shifting his weight from foot to foot for a lack of something to lean against. "I'm headed east, to Freykeep at the moment. I uh, actually just passed by Anica not too long ago, actually." The mentioning of the mage's headquarters seemed to bring Tiffan's attention back to them, for her small head popped over the edge of the roof of the cart to look down at Blaithe.
"Anica? Why are you going to Anica?" Her voice, though it did hold her usual tone of curiosity, also sounded cautious, as if she was suddenly unsure about asking the question.
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:54 pm
The change in weight made Blaithe turn her head, but once she saw Tiffan was content with scaling the cart she turned back toward Terrowin as he spoke. ”Oh, you have not much farther, then,” she said, a small smile spreading on her lips as her expression softened. It wasn’t long ago that her own little group had passed that way, maybe a few hours’ worth, but then again they were drawn by horses while these two were on foot. If it weren’t for the fact that it would have been counterproductive she might have suggested they hop in and they’d help them get there. Once again, thoughts of her Grimm’s past mistakes flooding her mind.
One couldn’t be too careful in these days.
Tiffan’s concern was not unnoticed, causing Blaithe to turn her head once again. Her smile fell, brows knit, and she stared for just a moment before answering. ”My Grimm is…” she paused – it was too late to not finish the thought now, ”My Grimm is of the Fellowship… I have friends I long to see. I haven’t seen them in so long…”
The thought of asking why they traveled to Freykeep didn’t even pass her mind. She had shared too much, perhaps they wouldn’t have extended the same generosity. However...
"Does the idea of Anica scare you, Tiffan?" Blaithe said, once more returning her attention to the not-Grimm.
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:31 pm
"Oh," he said, with a relieved sigh. "Good. I had been hoping to be further south by this time of the year, but..." he trailed off, gesturing with one hand to the cart and the tiny figure on top of it. "I got a bit distracted." And he had actually been traveling in the opposite direction that he was now, but he figured, circumstances considered, that it would be best to go home and regroup a bit.
Tiffan's head disappeared after she had asked her question, but reappeared just moments later. A small frown could be seen on her face for a moment before she absently tugged the hood of her cloak forwards so it almost concealed her entire head. "I'm not afraid of Anica," There was a slight tremor in her words, though, that suggested that wasn't quite the case. Terrowin could only give Blaithe a helpless shrug as she looked back at him. He hadn't been able to get much more out of her than that, either.
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Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 8:10 am
”If it is snow you’re looking to remove yourself from, I’m afraid to admit that Fraykeep has also been buried in at least a few inches,” the brush admitted, offering a sympathetic smile toward Terrowin, returning her attention from Tiffan. Her quivering voice danced across Blaithe’s vision and she felt a ping of misplaced guilt at her apparent fear of Jin Ho’s alliance. She considered herself part by association, but without her Grimm’s companionship she admittedly felt a bit lost.
Blaithe’s smile then faltered, her own mind wandering why Tiffan could possibly fear the Fellowship. They had been nothing but kind to her and her kind, at least in Blaithe’s eye… sure, they were not as willing to accept Plagues as members of their community like the Council was, but they were home. They kept herself and her Grimm as safe as possible… Even she had to admit that Jin Ho’s incident was caused by his own foolish naivety, something he had long learned from.
That was all you could do with mistakes; learn from them and move on.
”I promise that whatever has befallen you, Tiffan… You are perfectly safe. I will not be of any harm,” she tried, lowering her voice and closing her eyes as she tilted her head back. It was a strange movement and the cold made it difficult to merely lift her chin, but she wanted the poor cloak to know that she was okay, that she was out of harm’s way in Blaithe’s company.
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Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:05 pm
There was a defeated sigh from Terrowin at that, and he slumped down a bit further. "Ah well, I would be more surprised if you had told me it wasn't snowing there yet, to be honest." It wasn't that he didn't like snow, quite the opposite. He did greatly enjoy overly wintery winters, but it wasn't until he had to travel around in them did he start to enjoy them more from the inside of a cozy room.
Silence greeted Blaithe's promise as Tiffan stared down at her, her eyes tiny pinpricks of red among the shadows that her hood cast. Her stillness was broken a moment later as she moved back from the edge of the cart, and she disappeared from view. The sound of tiny footsteps could be heard, though, and she reappeared moments later as she began to scale down the side of the cart the way she had climbed up.
When she had drawn even with Blaithe's face she paused, giving her a long and calculated look. Eventually, though, she had seemed to have made up her mind about her, for her smile returned and she reached out to pat the larger Plague's cheek.
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Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 1:00 pm
Blaithe opened her eyes once more when she heard the sounds of Tiffan’s clamoring, and she would have offered help had the small thing been keen on it. However, given the current circumstance in which she held her tongue Blaithe knew not to impede Tiffan’s movements. She turned, her back to Terrowin as she met face with the cloak, her expression soft and an attempt at a reassuring rested on her face.
”There…” she whispered, closing her eyes and allowed the cloak’s tiny digits to pat the side of her cheek. In response, Blaithe flared her stars ever so slightly, the glow just a tiny bit brighter.
From beneath the both of them, muffled by fabric, sounded Hero in aggravation. ”We should not keep our companions much longer,” he grumbled, sounding none too pleased about how long it was taking Blaithe to finish conversing with these strangers. Blaithe had confided in him Jin Ho’s mistakes and he had little tolerance for naivety when it came to the brush’s safety. While he couldn’t protect her like he had when they were both Excito, he did what he could to keep Blaithe on the right path.
”I am sorry, Hero. We will be fine.”
”The others are too polite to interrupt you.”
”We are fine, Hero,” Blaithe stated, not allowing herself to show any aggravation, expression or otherwise. Offering her hand to Tiffan, she waited for the girl to accept or deny before turning back toward Terrowin. ”If you are lucky, you may hit Fraykeep by morning, though I do hope that you can perhaps find shelter in the night – It is getting worse now that winter is crawling back from its slumber.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 2:06 pm
A tiny squeal of delight erupted from Tiffan as she watched the stars on Blaithe's face light up, her tiny hands pulling away from her face so she could clap them together. She patted her cheek again, hoping that it would produce the same effect.
Terrowin tilted his head to the side as he strained to catch the quiet words coming from the small figure in one of Blaithe's pockets, his expression turning rather embarrassed as he listened. "I'm sorry, are we keeping you? I - we didn't mean to keep you." He glanced back at the cart, as if expecting the mysterious passengers to emerge to see what was causing the delay, and then back to Blaithe in time to see Tiffan step into the offered hand. "Oh, uh, yes, that would be preferable, but I don't think there's much between here and there, honestly." he shrugged again, not seeming to be terribly worried about it.
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:59 pm
Tiffan’s excitement was met with relief, and once Hero was silenced Blaithe closed her eyes and scrunched her face, eyes closed tight as she gave another short flare just for the cloak as she was held close to her face. ”You are quite alright, do not worry.” she assured, opening her eyes for Terrowin. ”Hero does not like the cold. I believe it is a trait that all cats share.”
Her expression shifted into near neutrality, only distinguishable through her upturned brows. ”I do not believe I have seen anything between here and there… but then again, you are headed down a different path, I believe. You were over the hill prior to our meeting, right?”
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:25 pm
"Ah, well, apologize to your small friend for me, then, I do not mean to cause him any discomfort." His expression, which has been slowly growing more relaxed as the conversation continued, turned into a confused looking frown as he saw Tiffan patting at her own face.
She had been trying to see if the blush-like spots on her own cheeks would glow as prettily as Blaithe's, though she really had no way of knowing if they did. Hesitantly Terrowin turned around to see the direction he had just come from, idly noting the hill that he hadn't noticed walking down. "I suppose I did. Ah. Well, those are the risks of traveling on foot, I suppose," he said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
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Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:44 pm
Offering Terrowin another smile, she pulled the cloak closer to herself , effectively covering and protecting Hero from the cold. This was not the case entirely, at least with what was causing his discomfort, but he couldn’t deny that the cold was, indeed, an irritation. He hated that these two people – people she did not know and therefore could not trust – held her attention so actively. He was jealous, envious of Tiffan’s potentially Grimm’d state… Just about everything in this situation aggravated him to no end. He did, however, grumble in acceptance as the cloak shielded him from the cold.
”All is well,” Blaithe said, her scarred nose just the teensiest bit pink from the bite of the cold, more so from the wetness the snow added to her face. She couldn’t help but smile a bit more naturally when she noticed Tiffan’s eagerness to cause a glow within her own cheeks. ”Tiffan, is red your favorite color?” she asked, removing her other hand from beneath their human companion’s cloak. She then pulled out an extra, white ribbon from one of her pockets and held it out for her to see.
Blaithe then bundled it together into her palm using just her fingers, then clenched her fist tightly. ”Or do you hold preference for another color?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:57 pm
"My favorite?" She stared down at herself, smoothing out the red fabric of her clothes with her hands thoughtfully. "Not red." she said slowly after a moment, looking at the ribbon curiously. She seemed to have an inkling of what was going to happen next, for her face lit up and her voice was filled with excitement when she next spoke.
"Blue! Like the sky!" And with that she threw her hands up, taking in the expanse of nearly cloudless blue sky above them with the gesture. Terrowin took an involuntary step forward while trying to see what was going on, equally as curious as the Plague standing in her hand.
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Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 10:17 pm
Blaithe knit her brows in apology at the assumption, but for the moment she let her own bungles pass as she continued to squeeze the ribbon. Her glance turned toward their human companion, and without much attempt at making a show of it, she brought her palm up to her lips and she lightly bit down on one end of the fabric, pulling it from between her fingers and thumb. Instead of a white ribbon came out a blue one, perfectly mimicking the color of a clear sky.
Once she had pulled it all the way out, Blaithe let go with her teeth and held it out for Terrowin. ”A gift for when Tiffan becomes an Anhelo. Perhaps you will be able to wear it in your hair or wrist.”
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Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:19 pm
The amazed expression on Tiffan's face was mirrored on Terrowin's as they watched the small feat of magic, something neither of them saw much based off of their reactions. Tiffan clapped excitedly as she watched the ribbon change, bouncing on the balls of her feet, not taking her eyes off of it as it was handed to Terrowin.
His smile widened as he took the ribbon, giving Blaithe a rather ridiculous and over-the-top bow in return. "Many thanks, I will be sure to keep it safe until then." He looked down at the ribbon in his hand for a long moment, as if expecting it to still hold some residual magic in it that would turn him strange colors.
"How long does it take to grow bigger?" Tiffan asked in the silence that followed, looking up at Blaithe for an answer.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 6:23 pm
While she had given Terrowin another gentle smile, it faltered at the Servos’ question. ”Oh…” Blaithe hummed, her brows furrowed lightly. ”I am afraid I am not at liberty to say, Tiffan…” Sighing, once the ribbon was in their human companion’s hand she offered her hand to the Excito, softly rubbing her shoulder. ”I was in a form smaller than yours for… for a couple of years. You will grow in due time, I promise.”
In honesty, she hated thinking about her own time as an Excito; so small, useless… but then again, she was much smaller than any other Excito she had encountered. Tiffan was in far less danger of being missed, looked over – more likely to be trusted with small tasks. When she was small, Blaithe couldn’t even lift a berry. She was far too small, too weak, and couldn’t even walk. What use was she ever before? Blaithe’s expression had drifted into a near neutral mask, save for her knit brows and lightly bit lip.
”Just give it some time…” She said, bringing back an attempt at a smile – a feeling she was having a hard time getting used to.
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