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 Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:13 am
As if to answer Ethan's unspoken question, Liam sueednly burst through the trees, dragging the poor kid he'd chased by the arm.
"HEY! HEY, BJÖRN!"
Björn heaved a heavy sigh and turned to Liam.
"WHAT?!" he snapped, and immediately regretted it.
The Vavvian, as that's what he was, was short and thin no matter what other normal Vavvian you compared him to. His hair was light brown and messy, tipped with pale blue at the bangs, and his eyes were an utterly human ice blue. He had the usual gills and was covered in freckles from head to toe. He looked to be in his early twenties, but who knew how old that was Vavvian-time.
It was the boy from the picture Ethan had seen.
Björn and the kid simply stared at each other for a long time, both entirely unsure of what to do. And then, taking initiative, the boy ran forward and threw himself at Björn, face buried in his neck and legs around his waist, embracing the man as best he could. Both sobbed near hysterically, teeth gritted and eyes closed, clinging desperately to each other. They stayed this way for quite some time, and then kissed deeply.
It was a rather unusual display for the likes of Björn.
"...hmmmm?" the chief inquired wordlessly.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:16 am
Crow and Julian looked on in curiosity, exchanging looks.
"Hey, who's..." Crow began. Julian shrugged.
Ethan, who'd blinked, then blinked again harder in astonishment, seized Lenore's shoulder hard.
"That's! I! I know- Len, Len, look!"
"You're crushing my shoulder! Yes, yes, I see him, that's sweet'n all but who's - "
Ethan tried to remember the name but found he couldn't, but he very vividly remembered the face. He looked from Crow to Len to Julian, realizing they had no idea who the boy was.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:20 am
Once Björn was able to speak, he rested his head on the kid's shoulder and looked to the chief. He explained briefly what this was all about, and the chief replied in saying they'd found his corpse at the edge of the wood and brought him to the Elves to be resurrected.
Go figure.
The strange leader did, however, spout a very important lead-up to a response everyone wanted to hear.
"Djdain?"
"Hellis," Björn nodded and, overcome by another wave of emotion, kissed Hellis on the cheek and sobbed convulsively.
And then the chief said, in plain English:
"He knows where they live."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:25 am
"This has gotta be one of the sweetest things I've ever seen," Crow said in an undertone to Julian, who nodded.
"Yep."
His eyes brightened as the chief spoke - what the hell was with the sudden English - and grabbed hold of Crow's arm reflexively. She winced, but the wince turned quickly into a reassuring look as he glanced down at her.
Ethan and Lenore grinned at one another, then shifting their attention to Hellis.
"Hey," Len said, waving slightly, though she was pretty sure he was too busy to notice her. Reunions'd do that to a person.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:29 am
Hellis turned, sniffling hard, and smiled. He removed an arm from Björn for a moment to smile and wave slightly.
Björn thanked the chief and stood, refusing to let go of Hellis even then. He almost felt that if he let him down, he'd suddenly disappear.
"C'mon," he said, trying to regain his composure, "Get your girl, Julian?"
Liam, grinning from ear to ear, followed Björn happily. Jeez...Hellis was alive!
Hellis sniffled and pointed, guiding the group deeper into the woods without so much as a single noise.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:33 am
Eyes resting on the trunk, Julian nodded and stood.
"C'mon," he said, tugging Crow up. She removed her arm patiently from his grip, ignoring the flaky bloodstain his hand had left.
"He's so cute," Len whispered to Ethan, watching as Hellis bounded off.
Ethan grinned, looking oddly cheerful as if only on the principle that Björn was happy. Which, most likely, was the case.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:36 am
Hellis led the group on for nearly an hour, silent the entire way. When they reached the entrance to a rather lackluster stone cottage, he wriggled lightly.
Björn put Hellis down and heaved a sigh of relief when he did not, in fact, disappear.
The door suddenly swung open. Someone must have been watching them approach...someone very small. The woman at the door was by no means any taller than 4' 11", thin and fairly beautiful, and rather obviously Elven.
"Hello, I'm Mela. Can I help you?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:39 am
Fidgeting in growing restless anxiety, Julian looked from Mela to the trunk to Björn to Crow, willing them to hurry up and do something. Crow patted his shoulder patiently.
"Chill out before you have a ********' aneurysm," she said kindly. Julian sighed.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:41 am
"Ah..." Liam began, suddenly becoming the speaker of the group, "Well, we were told that there was a family here capable of...ah...well...resurrection, I guess. Are you--?"
"Ah, yes. Me and my siblings," Mela smiled innocently, "Please, come in."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:44 am
Julian looked so anxious that Crow took pity on him, slipping her hand into his. His gripped it, hard at first, but then loosening his hold when she gave a small sound of discomfort. She was still highly uncomfortable around him, but she had decided the...events...earlier were not entirely his fault. He'd snapped. No big deal.
She tried to keep that theory in mind as she followed him inside. Len trailed in after them, leaving Ethan to scramble in behind them.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:46 am
Hellis went in before the rest, turning in circles and investigating his surroundings. Yes, this was certainly the house he'd woken up in...but he didn't recognize this woman.
"Show me the corpse, please?" Mela asked politely.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:48 am
Crow winced again as Julian's hand tightened on hers. Corpse. She couldn't think of Rabid as dead. It just wouldn't fit. She looked at the trunk warily, wondering what state the body was in. Surely it wouldn't be rotting.
Ethan and Lenore stuck close together, looking around as though expecting the cottage's interior to be more like Frankenstein's laboratory.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:51 am
Björn mumbled something about Julian being useless and crouched, flipping the latches on the trunk and displaying Rabid's crumpled and still somehow preserved body.
"Ah, yes, no problem at all!" Mela said excitedly, clapping her hands together, "What are you prepared to trade?"
Hellis turned and tugged violently at Julian's sleeve. Pay?! They hadn't made the Ferals pay!
"Uh...we...we really don't have any money."
"Oh, how unfortunate..."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:55 am
Julian heard the mumblings and blushed slightly. The blush suddenly faded off his face as he listened to Mela, and indeed all the blood seemed to drain out of his face, leaving it gray. Trade? Pay?
"I have money," he said instantly, trying to get the note of desperation out of his voice. His old accounts in Rijan were untouched. Full. "As much as you want, I can pay."
Crow, removing her hand from Julian's crushing grip, wrung her hands until her claws ripped rows in her skin. This little pointy-eared b***h was going to resurrect Rabid, goddammit! She'd rip off that pretty face and force Mela to if she had to.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 am
"I'm sorry, but if you ask me to resurrect this woman, I will need to be paid up front," Mela shrugged, looking deeply concerned, "by the time you can get as much as I need...well..." She gave Rabid's body a sad glance.
"What else are you willing to trade? I mean, there's gotta be something."
"Weeeell..." Mela trailed off, seeming to think deeply for a moment, "There is something."
"Name it."
"Give me a night with Tall-Dark-and-Handsome," Mela laughed, taking a step or two closer to Julian.
"I have a feeling she isn't talking about me."
Hellis shook his head violently, clinging to Julian's arm and looking to him. It probably would have been a more compelling argument had his vocal cords been utilized.
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