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 Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 6:10 pm
  Consciousness slowly returned in a faint blur of voices, a hazy interlude to the visions that had been playing themselves out behind Asmyrra's eyelids. Repeating images of the village in flames about her, the familiar weight of her friends dangling from her wrists... the feeling of the Weave as she focused it, and shaped it into the rather exotic spell she was fashioning. The sudden break in concentration as Daedris flashed a desperate warning... and the sudden flare of agony that filled her chest. It was that part of the dream that she awoke to, her lithe form surging upwards from prone to sitting, a deep gasp surging into her lungs.
A gasp, unfortunately, that instantaneously escaped from her in the form of horrifically wracking coughs. Spasm after spasm her troubled lungs went through, the delicately healed tissue within finally succumbing to the torture, the hands clutched to her mouth to try and still the coughing a bit starting to become flecked with crimson. For several long eternities of seconds, the coughing had full control of Asmyrra, increasing in violence and pain... until self-preservation finally kicked in, the years of training she had in controlling most every aspect of her physical self being drawn upon to force her lungs to relax, her body to ignore the bubbling sensation that was now accompanying every breath in and out... her mind to ignore the slow, burning agony starting to spread outwards from the point of injury she'd received earlier...
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 6:27 pm
 Johannes had settled back into the chair at Asmyrra's bedside and even begun to doze lightly after Ky left. The agonizing sound of violent, hacking coughs snap him back into consciousness. In a heartbeat he is on his feet and at the commander's side. Firmly gripping her sides from behind, Johannes keeps her body from lurching any further as she attempts to get ahold of herself. The gurgling taint to her choking brings a silent curse to his lips. There was so much damage and internal bleeding from before that he had all but exhausted his healing capabilities to keep her alive. He still had not been able to rest from that excertion, and he knew that he did not have the energy to patch her up again.
Feeling her tremble and shudder beneath his hands, Johannes stays relatively quiet until she suceeds in getting her body under some semblance of control. "Shh.. You need to take it easy," he murmurs to her quietly as she stills.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 6:41 pm
Not in words, however. The fact that Johannes had not immediately healed what he could of the damage spoke in volumes to Asmyrra, as oxygen finally began consistently reaching her mind. If he was not healing her... he was probably the reason she was still alive in the first place. And Johannes, being the self-sacrificing idiot she knew and followed so devotedly, had probably depleted himself utterly in those efforts of keeping her alive. Which means that this time, it would have to be her energies that stopped the injury from killing her... and that careful concentration turned itself inwards, the energies of the spell she had attempted to complete before beginning to enfold itself around her... and within her.
Long minutes passed as Asmyrra carefully worked the spell, her body's dire condition taking every ounce of will she had to shape the Weave in spite of it's attempts at sabotage. But at last, a deep breath was drawn in, almost without too obvious a level of difficulty.. and several carefully controlled coughs were permitted to clear the remaining fluid from her lungs. Careful breaths were taken from that point for another period... before a soft, raspy version of her normal vibrant soprano emerged, faint wryness managing to reveal itself despite her exhaustion. "Take it easy... I'll follow orders when you can lead by example..."
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 6:52 pm
The sarcasm in her tone was encouraging for Johannes to hear. He knew that right now they were both depending upon her spirited determination to survive. A weary smile curves his lips, the steadying grip loosening faintly to gentle support. "We're not the best pair to be finding those kind of examples from," he replies with a soft chuckle. "But if you intend to be of any use to further missions, you'll need to rest for the night. Give us both a chance to replenish our energies."
Inwardly he was beginning to wonder if she would even be capable of joining the mission set to leave in the morning.
"Do you remember anything about what happened?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:01 pm
Johannes had heard these kinds of threats before, so he knew just how hollow they were. Asmyrra trusted him that implicitly, for he knew about as many secrets about her, as she knew about him. But the faint teasing gave her time try and sort through the jumble of images that marked those final moments before unconsciousness claimed her... and failed to conjure anything beyond the nightmares that had plagued her since she'd blacked out.
"Everything until whatever struck me... Daedris tried to warn me, but... working the Weave in that fashion isn't something you can just stop. Maybe you know what happened to me...?" Those accented words weren't accusing in any means or stretch... instead, genuine concern and confusion marked the flowing purr of her odd way of speaking.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:11 pm
The smile that had formed earlier lingers with her continued humour, and although it was not a sure sign of her imminent recovery, it did manage to lighten the atmosphere. However, her last question rekindled the dark throughts that had plagued him in the hours before she woke. He attempts to sidestep the question with a bit of unpleasant information that had a chance of distracting her. "Speaking of which.. your blades were lost when you fell," he informs her apologetically. He knew the news would be heartbreaking. "I was a little too involved in trying to keep you alive, I didn't notice their absence until it was too late. I'm sorry Asmyrra."
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:21 pm
But after a moment of quiet as she mourned the loss of her friends, Asmyrra inwardly shook her head, focusing on the moment at hand once more. Instead, her mind turned Johannes's words over again, listening... and noting what was not said. "...I will find them at some point soon... the sooner, the less likely others will get hurt by trying to touch them. But that doesn't tell me what happened to me, Johannes... and it doesn't tell me why it bothers you so..."
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:31 pm
Johannes sighs inwardly. He should have known that she would not give up that easily. How could she? It was her life that was almost taken. As much as he knew he could not keep the details hidden forever, he was not yet ready to share the full implications of the attempt on her life. "You were hit with an arrow. From what I could tell when I pulled it out, the arrowhead was enchanted.." he tells her quietly, "probably designed to pierce through the defenses you usually protect yourself with."
Grateful now that he was slightly behind her, although technically by her side, because he knew she could not see his face. "The shaft was adorned with red and white feathers.." his words trailing off towards the end. He knew she would understand what they meant.
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:41 pm
Despite those thoughts, however... it weighed upon her heart heavily to hear that orders had apparently gone out, demanding her death in particular. After all, were the archer after members of the Iron Fist in general, Johannes wouldn't be so slow to reveal the information. He would be seething and raving in as much fury as she might muster... they both concerned themselves a great deal with the lives of those following them... and such an attack against others would have been a brutal violation of the Order's usual attempts at being honourable.
Instead, Asmyrra offered a soft shake of her head, one hand gently finding one of Johannes's, and squeezing it softly. That thickly accented purr emerged once more, just as soft as the touch of her hand. "...we knew it would eventually come to this, Johannes. The Cathedral would never let the two of us go... me, because of where I come from. You, because of who you are... and what you are. Did anyone else from the Order make their presence known in the village?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:24 pm
"There was one. Another Angel.. Uriel," Johannes would never call him brother again.. "He appeared with me in the center of town and assisted me in banishing the creature. Although I believe his help was secondary. He was trying to convince me to return to the Cathedral. For all I know, he could have only been serving as a distraction while the attack on you commenced. Your spell failing was the only warning that something was wrong. If their timing would have been even slightly different, I might not have gotten to you in time."
There was no use avoiding it any further. Time to get down to business. "There was something off about this current attack. Each time we arrive soon enough to make physical contact with the Beast, I notice something new, something contradictory to our current understanding of these events. I think it is timewe contacted the elder races. I have asked Ky to form a small group to head for the elven lands. I want you to go with them."
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:53 pm
Johannes's next words brought those violet orbs snapping open, her thin form shifting out of his embrace to give him a very sharp look. Indeed, her surprise lent her strength, and that thick, purring soprano had something of it's normal strength as the incredulous tone was given voice. "The Elven lands? Are you crazy? The older races avoid the Humans quite specifically... the mountain dwellers have probably not even heard of the troubles with the Beast we're having. It would be nothing more than a waste of many weeks' worth of riding to get to the Elven forests, and then be turned back..."
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 12:06 pm
"Besides," he explains further, a hand coming up to smooth down blue fly-aways from Asmyrra's bed head, "Ky will be the only human accompanying you. Apparently a full blood elven woman has already come down of her own accord, seeking to assist us. Perhaps you could speak to her in the morning before you head out. We also have acquired another defect from the Order who also carries elven blood."
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:25 pm
Rikki Tikki Travi Ky maintains his smile and speaks confidently, "I would not worry too much about that. If you can offer any sort of diplomatic assistance that would be very helpful. If not, then your skill with the bow is more than enough to help us in our mission. It pleases me that you are both eager to help me on this mission. I feel we will make great strides in building bridges that connect our two cultures together. It is a glorious feeling to know that we may be remembered in the great history logs, as the people who started a grand union to rid our world of this monster. Perhaps when the Paladin's Rod has received word of this great accomplishment, then we will be able to band together once again and cast that blackened creature back to the depths of Hell from whence it came!" He exclaims as he raises his right fist into the sky. As he delivered his speech, his intensity and passion for justice increase his volume and vibrato. Once he is done he looks around, noticing that his men are staring at him. His face flushes, and he lowers his hand, clearing his throat.   A beautiful roaring scream, of joy and sorrow so extreme...An eyebrow raised, Talise watches as the young knight makes a grand fool of himself. She tries not to show the annoyance and sardonic amusement that rises, although she does share a discrete roll of the eyes with Eva as he finishes his glorious monologue. She steps forward to come up against his side, her tone slightly flat.
"Right.. well, now that you've gotten that out of your system... I think maybe you should walk me to my tent to my tent for the night. We can talk about some elven etiquette along the way.. Excuse us, would you Eva?" Sliding her hand into the crook of Ky's arm, she doesn't really give him a chance to answer before pulling him away from the murmuring soldiers. She takes a few steps before she believes they are out of earshot.
"There are really some things we need to educate you on before you meet up with the other elves." Her voice reflecting the faint offense that she took to his little spiel. " First off, Elves are not a single collective culture. Just like humans, we have many factions, each with their own unique language, customs, and ... erm ... priorities. The only thing all elves do have in common is that we hate being grouped together by younger races. I mean, you aren't going to like it if some snobby elf simply refers to you as 'the human' all the time, right?" She tells him empathetically. "So if you ever want an elf to look at you as anything more than just an ignorant toad, lay off the generalizations."
There is a love in me raging. A joyous, magical feeling...
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:57 pm
Rikki Tikki Travi Heron begins diligently storing the items that naelonni set out. After putting away a few things he says, "So, what do you think of the Kae'dryn? I don't know about you, but she kind of scares me a little. When we first saw her she made me feel like I was meeting some kind of fairy tale character. Someone we had heard a lot of different things about, but didn't know fact from fiction. Next thing I know, I feel all the blood rush away from my face because she can see everything we do and say."  A mental image flashes through her mind. Her brother as a chibi, pale and gawking at the Kae'dyrn with a sweatdrop forming near his ear as she holds up a crystal ball to reveal his naughtiness. With the mention of his attentions towards Aerith's bum, a chibi Aerith suddenly fumes into the picture, eyes wide and teeth blared, who starts beating her flailing chibi brother to a pulp while the Kae'dryn just sits there grinning.
The scene throws her into a small fit of giggles, interrupting the stream of items being passed over to Heron.
I am a leaf on the wind...
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:42 pm
 Ky is about to protest when he finds himself being yanked by the young elf. He was quite surprised by her strength. When she told him about proper etiquette, his face maintained its blush. He nods in understanding, "You are most correct. I feel absolutely foolish about carrying on the way I did just now. My men say I have a tendency to ramble when I become impassioned about something. I will take your advice to heart, and I apologize if I offended you."
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