Rivek cursed under his breath. The greater commons were far, and he had to get there on foot. Luckily, he knew enough about not being spotted in a city - just don't make eye contact. He trotted past a couple Peace guards. They give him a look, but he continued walking wanting to exude the confidence of a Planesborne when it came to walking the Greater Commons. They let him pass, but he realized he'd almost lost sight of the pair. Luckily, he saw them descend in the distance and quickened his step. If they were in the air, he could rely on his eyes, but once they were on the ground, there would be buildings in the way. Even Rivek can't see through buildings.
--
Devaena carried Lurp!Riv down into the back ways of the greater commons. She hadn't just been getting out of dodge when she left abruptly the night when the lurp-ball went missing. She'd known she would need somewhere secluded and to where she wouldn't risk the Peace knocking down her doors for this little 'chat'. The building she'd chosen had been abandoned for a time, but was still in decent enough shape and best of all had a basement. She mulled over his words as she glided down to the doors in the back leading down below and shifted her grip on him to where he wouldn't land on his head as she touched down. The door swung open and out easily and she pushed him inside as she spoke, falling in behind him to back him down the stairs. "I don't think they're quite as meaningless as you believe. You see, funny thing about essences. They have soo many uses."
Lurp!Riv looked around in the dim light of the basement. The only way out he could see was through the doors Devaena was currently blocking. This put a damper on the whole "turn into something small and get out of there" idea. Still the shadowy corners could be useful if things came to that. He turned to face her, arms crossed. "They aren't our essences, they were made from our essences. You don't get it, they can't give you whatever it is you want. This is all pointless."
Devaena closed the door behind her and settled the lock into place. "Oh, nothing is pointless. Do you honestly think I'd go through all this trouble on a whim? Well
calculated risks for worthy rewards, my dear." She loomed closer pausing only to pick up a semi-rusty, discarded knife that had been left on the table. It looked like it would still cut, but it wouldn't be a clean incision in the least. "I should have liked to pick up that butcher knife from our darts game, but I suppose this will have to do. Now," Dev says. "Shall we talk civilly? Or do I have to start cutting off fingers?"
"No need for that. I thought we already were," Lurp!Riv said unimpressed. After all, he isn't screaming, or calling names, or shouting expletives at her and damning her back to whatever hole of the abyss she crawled out of. "But I'm being honest when I say they're useless."
"And yet I don't believe you," Devaena replied closing in on him purposefully. "You don't hide something worthless. I might look like a brute, but don't think me that naive. You hide too much for it to all be so worthless. But please, keep talking yourself deeper into the pit." The smile which had once just been malicious was turning cold. Devaena was tiring of the game of words. "Now I will ask one more time. What are the talismans?"
"Worthless to you, I said. Not to me. They're how I fulfill my contract. Without them I can't get off this rock." For every step closer she comes, Lurp!Riv backs up towards the center of the room, arm's held at his side's in an 'easy there' gesture.
"Wrong answer," Devaena hissed as she lunged forward and grabbed his wrist. She yanked him towards the table hard enough to put him off his balance and slammed his hand flat against the surface. The knife in her other hand came down hard and fast, pinning the hand to the wood.
Lurp!Riv was quick to pull his pain receptors away as the knife flashed down. It didn't hurt, but Lurp!Riv screamed nonetheless, chicken blood oozing around the wound. Inside his head Lurp!Riv was beginning to get just a little bit worried.
Devaena smiled slightly to herself seeing the worry and pain on his face. She straightened and began to search the tables for a similar object, likely for the other hand. No more knives it seemed, but there was a screwdriver there, long and with the flat end. She examined the tool thoughtfully as she approached Lurp!Riv's other side asking nonchalantly, "Care to try again?"
It seemed talking time was over. Lurp!Riv may have had one hand pinned, but one hand is still free. He backed as far from Devaena as the knife allowed and, fast as a flash, drew the sword. "How about a different game?" he called, but Devaena simply looked amused by this sudden bravado. She kept the screwdriver in the one hand and rested her free hand over the hilt of her shortsword. "I'm glad you've still got a little fight in you. I was beginning to think this might be too easy," she taunted.
Lurp!Riv held the sword defensively as he gave a mighty yank upwards with his pinned hand. The knife popped from the table and he choked on his own screams, shivering with illusory pain. The hand fell useless to his side, knife still in it. Still, he had some range of motion now. He crouched slightly, eyes watching Devaena who seemed somewhat surprised by this. She'd seen that Rivek was fast, but she hadn't expected that scrawny little man to have that much strength behind him. She would have to remember that.
Carefully Devaena put the screwdriver on the table then quickly darted in towards him as if to attack. Lurp Riv didn't move like someone accustomed to using a sword slashing wildly in front of him. Seeing this Devaena ducked aside from one of the wild slashes and grabbed his sword arm. She wrenched his arm back at a painful angle. Lurp!Riv dropped the sword with an "AUUUUGH!," and nearly tripped as he screamed, "Noooo!" and lunged for it, but Devaena is quick to reverse the twist to where she has his arm behind his back and her knee positioned behind his leg to keep him off his balance bringing him up short. So, the sword was not a weapon he was familiar with. That was the final piece Devaena needed to be certain that is must be one of the talismans.
Devaena grinned cruelly. "And now we begin to come to the truth of things," she said, looking down at the sword. "I wonder what else might be one of these talismans. Perhaps...this," she called as her free hand reached towards where the mask was clipped. "It must be of some importance since you're never without it."
"No! Don't touch it! It's just an heirloom!" Lurp!Riv tried to plead, but Devaena was having none of it.
"If it's so valueless, then you won't mind me keeping it," she jeered as she grabbed the mask and tore it from where it was held. Devaena felt nothing from it; no electric surge, no magic, no essence. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Could this insufferable idiot really have been telling the truth? But no, perhaps she was missing a piece. A mask, a sword...and a third maybe? The rule of threes was very important in the planes, especially to creatures of belief like herself. It was a very common belief amongst such creatures, herself included, that things naturally occurred in threes. So what could the third be? She twisted his arm further, to just before the point of breaking. "The third, where is it?"
"Nnnnnng! It won't help." he whispered, the throbbing making him bow his head. Lurp already wanted this over with. That this could have been Rivek was beyond alarming. So far Devaena's intents have been clear enough that moving her pain receptors haven't been a problem, but Rivek wouldn't have had that advantage, and Lurp wasn't sure how much longer she would have it either. Maybe finding the talismans useless would make Devaena finish the job so Lurp!Riv could play dead and see the backside of the fiend for the last time.
--
Rivek passed through the Commons, listening for signs of possible screaming. The number pf people surrounding him was steadily decreasing - in one sense, good because that meant he was probably heading the right way. In another sense, bad because he was losing the protection of anonymity.
--
Devaena wasn't so one to easily give up. She smiled as she murmured lowly. "There's an old mortal adage that I've grown quite fond of in cases like this. You never can tell until you try." She grabbed the hilt of the knife, still in his now useless hand, and pressed it the edge against his breastbone just under his throat not quite hard enough to actually cut but dangerously close to piercing skin. "Maybe I should find a way to get those pretty little wings of yours out. I think it would be fun to see how many feathers I had to pluck before you'd tell me...don't you?"
Lurp!Riv tried to jerk away from the knife point, but Devaena's hold on his arm doesn't allow it. He looks like a pretzel at this point, tied up with his own limbs. "I...don't know what you are talking about," he said with wide eyes as she mentioned his wings.
"Oh, I think you do," Devaena practically cooed. "You know...I almost dropped you from above, just to see if you would unfurl them again to save yourself. Like you did when you stole my property..."
Lurp!Riv looked downright alarmed at that, sputtering his words. "I... you..." He shook his head, carefully because of the knife "I wasn't stealing, I was just setting it free."
Devaena pressed the knife in a little harder, to the point of piercing the skin just slightly. "And what business was it of yours? Was it your little shifting monster that came after me in the alley that night perhaps? Your little freak on a leash sent to do your dirty work? I wonder!"
"Aaaah! I'd never seen it before... I... I could just hear it... feel it crying!" Lurp!Riv yelled in alarm.
"Lies!" Devaena hissed, the point jabbing dangerously towards his throat now. "I don't believe in coincidence. Barely a night...barely a single night after we had our little game in your bar, where you clammed up at the mention of the talismans, and out of nowhere that...thing attacks me? And you expect me to believe that it's all just a coincidence, that the talismans mean nothing, that the creature I trapped has nothing to do with you? I am not a fool, and you of all people in this hell-forsaken place should know this. Now where is the third talisman?"
Lurp!Riv screamed as the knife pierced for real this time, chicken blood spilling down his chest. "The ring! In the purple pouch, the ring!"
--
Rivek heard an unmistakable scream - well, his. He quickened his pace again until he found an abandoned building where the sound seemed to be coming from. That was her all right - that unbridled, vile, rage. He had not expected her to be this angry. Hopefully, they hadn't bit off more than they could chew. He rubbed his shoulder blades, shuddering at the thought of his wings being plucked bare. That could very well have been him. As the scream began to sound more desperate he drew a knife into his hand, just in case.
--
Devaena let Lurp!Riv's hand drop and grabbed the pouch indicated shaking it open to make sure there was indeed a ring there. She pushed him back roughly into the tables behind them and kept her eye on him while she retrieved the sword. Even with all three she felt nothing, which irritated her, but she refused to believe there was nothing to this. She just had to figure out how to activate them. She carefully placed the talismans somewhere safe and out of reach where she could retrieve them later then turned back towards Lurp!Rivek. She picked up an old harness and a pair of tongs from pegs on the wall. "Now then...I think that concludes most of our business. There are just a few loose ends to tie up..." Where there had once been simple anger and malice in her eyes, now there was only gleeful hostility. Whatever she had planned, Lurp!Riv was not going to like it.
Both Lurp and Lurp!Riv, actor and role, found the harness and tongs alarming. He back pedaled quickly away from her. "You already have the talismans! What more could you want?"
"The better question," Devaena asked in perhaps the most chilling voice Lurp had heard save that of her true form itself, "is what I don't want. I don't want you running to the Peace or well...opening your mouth in general. And I don't want you getting in my way as you are oh so prone to doing. Well the solution to both of those seems easy enough, but...why waste this perfectly good opportunity to have a little fun first?"
Outside, despite hiding in a crack between buildings, Rivek could hear the words very clearly now. He resisted the urge to enter the fray, but it is still incredibly disturbing. He was positioned far enough away from the room that, if he ran at full speed - even without using his wings - she can't catch him before he reaches a populated area. Probably. He exhaled slowly in thought, but finally decided to wait. After all, if he stepped in now, it would ruin their hard work.
Inside, Lurp!Riv quickly ran around to the other side of the table, keeping it between the two of them. "The peace and I aren't exactly on speaking terms." He says, looking for a weapon. On the other wall is an axe. Lurp!Riv grabbed for it, but just as his fingers were about to close around the hilt, Devaena grabbed the table and slammed it into him from behind. Lurp!Riv might not have had wind to be knocked out of him, but the blow is still staggering and a loud breath of air escaped his lips. It was only being pinned there, face against the stone of the wall, that kept Lurp!Riv from doubling over in shock. Lurp panted. That table had come a little too close for comfort even for her. Had it hit at just a slightly different angle when it pinned her, it could have stunned her kir, leaving her momentarily helpless. Even so, Devaena gives him no time to recover. She left the table where it was - it was heavy enough that he wouldn't be able to move it easily. Then, with a renewed purpose, she removed the long length of the reins from the harness and set about the task of binding his hands together tightly above his head. She removed the knife from his hand - and heard him choke back a scream as she did so - then took the other end of the reins and tossed it over one of the rafters, hoisting him into the air. Dangling a foot above the floor, suspended by his hands, Lurp!Riv kicked futilely at the air. "Even dead, you won't be rid of me. People know who I am, they'll take notice if I go missing..." It was a desperate ploy from a desperate man, but it fell on deaf ears.
"I know people will miss you. I'm counting on it," Devaena replied, grinning deviously once again. "You see...what better way to stir up the Outsiders than for their beloved bartender to be found broken and lifeless, and at the hands of one of the hated factions. It's not like they haven't tried before."
Lurp didn't like to be restrained. She knew she could slip the ropes at any time, but it brought back bad memories. She didn't have to fake the shudder that went down Lurp!Riv's spine. This was not going to be the quick, single blow death she and Rivek had imagined it might be. She was going to have to sit through this, shifting her pain receptors desperately, hoping that things didn't cut too close. "Factions? What the hell are you trying to do? Why?"
"I'm a mercenary, my dear." the fiendish woman replied. "I'm doing what I do best. Creating profit," she said with her nefarious smile as she picked up the knife and went to work.
--
.
Devena worked over Lurp!Riv for what must have seemed like an agonizingly long time. The knife was a favorite carving jagged lines with its half-dull edge. She took careful time to carve a few of the symbols she'd seen on the armor of those celestials who'd attacked Worldspanners those weeks back. Worse than that, she duplicated the scar over his eye using the sharp claws on her gauntleted left hand to make a cleaner incision. The tongs were used to clamp and hold for other tools, or to twist and break those fragile mortal bones. Devaena made good use of her fists and physical strength as well leaving trails of bruises to tell where her fists had fallen. She kept hoping that if she pushed him far enough and hard enough that he would reveal his wings, but he was being infinitely stubborn about that.
--
The sound of his own screams was nauseating. He would have to end this soon enough. He quickly walked back to town, careful not to sweat the powder off his face. He was wearing Planesborne clothing. This would work to his advantage. "Excuse me," he asked one of the Peace guards he originally passed, presenting a stolen business license stolen from the wreckage that had been WorldSpanners. "I'm searching for an Outsider. It seems like she has broken the rules of our plane and thieved from my establishment. She has stolen from me a greatsword that I intended on auctioning. And without the sale of this piece, I will not be able to afford the rent for my shop this month!"
The Peace guard nods, calling his cohorts over. There aren't many of them, but he asks, "What do they look like?"
"A large woman with white hair and armor, wearing a green tunic."
For a moment the guards looked skeptical, but finally with a little persuasion - some of it financial - Rivek got the Peace guards to follow "Josiah" as they went towards the outcropping of abandoned buildings.
--
Lurp had long since moved beyond banter. The figure mostly dangled now with head bowed, silently waiting for the next blow. Inside her head, Lurp was calculating, How many changes had she made in the last few days? She couldn't revert to her true form, not here. Not now. She resisted showing the wings fearing what could happen and knowing with a chilling certainly that she can't keep this up forever.
Deveana had paused for a moment for what little reprieve it offered. He might be beyond banter, but it seemed she was not. "You can make this a lot easier you know. Just tell me what you are, show them to me and I'll end it quickly for you. Surely you know by now that you aren't leaving this room alive. Why prolong your suffering?"
Lurp was tired, so tired it was hard to think straight. So many changes in such little time. Changing her pain receptors AND her blood where they couldn't be hurt. She'd long ago stopped bantering, and settled for focusing on breathing as a human would. In such a state, it took her a moment to realize what Dev means. "Show you?" No, she couldn't. Wings equaled bad. Wings equaled not only more changes, but probably bits chopped off of herself to boot. Lurp!Riv shook his head almost in sync with Devaena as she shook her own. She drew back her hand and plunged the knife into his stomach in what would normally be a soft vital area. "Come now Rivek, I thought we were past the stage of playing games. Your wings."
Lurp choked, this time for real, as the knife came much closer to her kir than she was comfortable with. She needed to get Devaena's attention away from her torso if she was willing to puncture now. This must be winding down. At least she hoped that's what it meant. Deciding it might be safer in the long run, she gave into Devaena's wishes. From Lurp!Riv's back a pair of feather light wings unfurled, large and white with black bars at the tips. Lurp had only just managed to keep her blood from spilling with that last knife blow, so she left only the thinnest layer of gold inside the wings, just enough to keep them whole and vital. Any blood that escaped into the air would be small enough as to dissipate unnoticeably. With a triumphant smile, Devaena reached up and patted him on the cheek. "There now, was that so hard?"
She moved behind him to examine the wings. Up close they looked more like bird wings than the celestial wings she was used to. Perhaps he was some sort of were-animal. Perhaps she would find out soon enough. She grasped one of the longer, trailing feathers between her fingers and gave it harsh tug causing Lurp!Riv to grunt in pain. This would be the perfect trophy for her collection, even though the blood on her hands stained the large, white feather red. However within seconds of it leaving Lurp's body, it disintegrated into dust filtering through her fingers. Devaena's brow furrowed in anger. "What?" she hissed under her breath and grabbed another feather to pull free. It too disintegrated. A snarl curled her lips and she narrowed her eyes as she snapped, "Do I have to take the entire bloody wing?" Her irritation was getting to her. It seemed like every time she'd almost won, every time she started to come out ahead, this whelp or someone like him thwarted her. Her anger was bubbling up now from the void she always forced it down into. It was irrational, it was messy, but at the moment she didn't care as she grabbed for feather after feather, tugging them free only to watch them turn to dust in her hands. The individual grunts of pain from Lurp!Riv settled into a low, constant moaning from the weakened form; a keening which was getting more feeble and frail with each feather pulled.
Inside Lurp was becoming increasingly alarmed. She couldn't afford to keep losing parts of herself at this rate. In a panic Lurp!Riv flapped his wings, flailing with bruising force near Dev's face. Anything to get her to stop, but in her irritation the effect was the opposite. Devaena grabbed the flailing, feathered appendage and in a moment of sheer, sadistic rage and frustration heaved with all her strength to tear it from his back. The finesse with which she'd kept him alive this long is gone. The subtlety vanished. The only thing on her mind in this moment is that she wants him to suffer as much as inhumanely possible. The wing didn't come off cleanly, or willingly. The tearing sound that came with it was wet and ripe and dregs of the chicken blood spurted from the tear site. The scream that accompanied it was not faked as Lurp's kir sputtered inside her, and she briefly thought she might be dying for real. Desperate and afraid, Lurp!Riv went limp and stopped breathing, hoping beyond hope that Dev wouldn't decide to take the other one.
For a long moment Devaena stood there, the wing disintegrating in her hand as the rage ebbed as quickly as it came. She'd lost control. She was failing again. She took in a deep, useless breath, schooled her face, and dusted her hands off as she looked back up to the limp form above her. She saw no breathe, and the blood (which tasted strangely like chicken) was no longer pumping from the wounds like it had been. So that had been the final blow then. Fitting, she supposed, if too fast for her tastes. She almost felt cheated, but she had accomplished her goals. That was what she told herself to focus on as she drew out the short sword from its sheathe. "And now, my dear bartender, it's time for you to pay your final dues."
--
Rivek motioned silently to the guards, who had begun knocking successively on doors of the abandoned buildings. He didn't want the fiend to hear his voice and give the ruse away, but he knew if they didn't find Lurp soon...
No, he couldn't think about that right now. Adjusting the hood over his head he motioned for them to continue on down the street. She just had to hang on a little longer.
--
Shifting her optic receptors from her eyes, Lurp!Riv remained motionless as she kept an eye on that sword. If Devaena tried to sheer her in half, all bets were off, and Lurp was in the perfect position to attack if needed. Still she'd rather this work than fight the fiend again. She had to stop from giving a sigh of relief as instead of taking the sword to Lurp!Riv's corpse Devaena sliced neatly through the rein which had been holding him aloft, allowing the 'corpse' to fall to the ground. She watched the form for a moment looking for any sign that he might be alive, but Lurp made sure that as far as the fiend could tell, Rivek was indeed dead.
Devaena was about to haul Lurp!Riv over her shoulder and carry him outside to fly him towards the bar for the next part of her plan, but a knock at the door causes her to pause. Who in the world could it be? Could she even risk it? Her mind worked quickly. If the body was found here, it could still work to her goals, and even if it didn't she'd rid herself of a nuisance and a threat. If she was caught though all bets would be off. She couldn't risk that kind of exposure. She had to make sure that she wasn't associated with Rivek's death. Perhaps at some point, but now was too soon. She wasn't ready to lay her cards on the table yet. She let him drop back to the floor and quickly grabbed the three talismans from where she had stored them. She then unfurled her wings from their resting position as the cloak on her back and focused in her mind on where she wanted to be. Her blood magic was slightly unpredictable in this place, but it would take her far enough out of this room, so it would have to do. Without a second thought she was gone. Perhaps she would return for the body later if the opportunity presented itself.
--
The guard knocked again on the door of the building Rivek had pointed out. "Is someone in there?" he called, but not a sound came in answer to the knocks. Though Lurp was absolutely relieved to have Dev gone, she was worried at what these new people might do. Lurp!Riv remained dead, as he had to.
Rivek knocked again on the door he knew Devaena would be behind. This time with still no answer, the guard held out his sword, knocked opened the door, and strolled inside. It was dimmer than Rivek had expected, limiting the effect from his transformed eyes, but he followed, hood over his head - ostensibly to keep the dust out of his hair like all good merchants worried about their looks - right behind. "Do you have a torch?" the guard asked. Rivek shook his head and squinted into the dark. Devaena was gone.
"I'll get one" the other guard said. The minutes were long and silent before finally the flickering light announced the guard's return. He handed the torch off to one of the other guards, who swept the room with it. In the brighter light it didn't take long to pick out the broken and bloodied form, his hands still bound by the harness. "Holy hell!" the guard with the torch cursed under his breath. The image cannot be described by the word 'disturbing.' Rivek sees what very well could have been him. Admittedly - in terms of gore - he has seen worse. He has seen his own innards cast onto the ground. But to see someone else taking everything he would have was more gut wrenching. No, he couldn't throw up. He swallowed, sending the rot back down his esophagus. He kneels, as if to check the pulse of the victim, and shakes his head. With a little sleight of hand, he took out "his" wallet and handed his legitimate bar-tending license to the guard. "I found this on him. It's the bartender from that Inn - Dead Man's Meet - place full of ruffians and Outsiders. Wonder what he's doing up here."
The guard shrugged, but motioned for the other two to pick up the body. "Outsider," he muttered, businesslike. "Shouldn't be up here to begin with. Take down the information and then dig us a shallow grave. Looks like we have some Celestial business to attend to."
Rivek's face betrayed nothing, and Lurp, aching and weak, didn't understand how it couldn't. She understood that he was playing a role, but even the guard's faces betrayed more shock. Perhaps it is because he knew she couldn't be hurt. but she COULD be. She was hurting. Her kir in its distress had broadcast to her pain receptors, and despite all her careful work, Lurp felt like she'd been beaten with a two by four. She also felt faint from the loss of mass. It was going to take a long time to build it back up again. She couldn't say any of this though, and didn't even use the feather to communicate her state to him.
Somehow Lurp managed not to wince or twitch as she was first carried like a sack of potatoes, dumped unceremoniously on the ground, and then rolled into a shallow grave. Time passed... one hour, and then two and Lurp began to wonder if she should just claw her own way out. Was it safe yet for her to do so?
Finally Rivek returned. The guards had taken forever with him. He hated lying through his teeth, but at least now the Peace were aware to some extent that Devaena was ruining peoples' lives, if in a completely different manner than how he described. Still, he figured if the peace would disarm her, all the better. It might slow her down a bit, even if greatswords are cheap in Serendipity. He went back to the grave with a shovel. He'd helped dig it, and the tired guards hadn't put too much effort in, so the earth was still soft. Here he was, exhuming his own lifeless body. This was entirely surreal.
When he got the dirt free from Lurp's face he could see more clearly in the city's lights everything that she'd went through. The mirror of his scar in particular boiled his blood. That scar was his heritage, his birthright, and Devaena mocked it! He took a deep, shuddering breath as his hand brushed flesh and the rage shifted to guilt. "I'm sorry."
Free of the earth, the eyes of the corpse opened, and Lurp!Riv sat up slowly. She stayed there for a moment, just gathering herself and her thoughts together. Then finally after a few long moments she rose shakily, shifted back into Lily, and dusted herself off purging the remaining dirt from her hands and flicking it into the now empty grave. All silently, all without looking at Rivek."
"Thank you," he said after a moment to break the silence. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"Home." Lurp replied, hating that her voice shakes when she does. Lily was decidedly thinner now than her previously, a reflection of her loss of mass. "Wait...you can't go back," Lily realized as soon as the words left her mouth. "Nevermind," she muttered and dusted herself off once more to have something to do to pass the awkward moment. Carefully, one shaky step at a time, she set off towards the skyway, but in her state, it's unclear how far she'd even get in the greater commons.
Rivek got up and instinctively and put his arm around Lily's waist, whether she liked it or not. The fact that she was shorter and thinner didn't escape his notice, but what could he say? With his free hand, he dug into his pocket and presented her with his room key. "Take this. Everything I had is now yours, she says, but he's not done yet. Digging deeper he revealed a full collection of stolen identification. "And these. I think you'll do a better job of this than I will. They are mostly Planesborne."
Lily winces as he slides his arm around her for support. No, she didn't like it. It hurt to be touched. Every part of her felt raw now. Even so, she leaned into the embrace letting it steady her as they walk. Damnit she wanted to be so mad right now. She IS mad. She knew it wasn't Rivek's fault. Except that he asked her. Except that she couldn't say no. She wanted to be furious, to have someone or something to lash out at. She wished Will were here. Saints she wished Will were here. Her eyes sting with tears, and a few spilled down despite her attempts to fight them. "Thank you." she says hoarsely to Rivek. Why was she crying? She had just done a good thing. A very good thing. She had saved the life of a friend, done what they couldn't do. She should be happy. She IS happy. She told herself that at least. but it was hard to feel anything beyond tired right now. She just wanted to crawl into a dog shape and sleep and sleep and sleep. "Thank you." she repeats simply. These would no doubt come in handy. She would have refused Rivek's gift, but her altruism is altogether spent for the day. Or year really.
Rivek smiled in a somewhat pathetic attempt to reassure her. "I don't think she'll come back for a while. Let's just sit down. Maybe grab something to eat." Having no bandages, he wiped her tears again with the end of his sleeve. It left a little dirt from digging up her body. "But after that - I can't see you. If anyone asks - if Teagan asks - you don't know what happened. And if you see me... well, my name is Josiah." He flicked out an ID card of a greasy looking man. "If I grow my hair out and don't wash it, I think I can pull this off," he laughed. "I'm sure the news will hit the papers soon enough. For safety reasons - that's for both of ours, mind you - I'm not going to tell you where I'm going to go. But I will be going somewhere. And well, if you need me - just write."
Lurp's anger spiked for a moment. He was abandoning her! Her only friend in Serendipity! First she lost Will, and now she'll be all alone again. The anger quickly ebbed into sorrow, as she mourned her loss, but she nodded her understanding. This was how it had to be. Otherwise Rivek wasn't safe. Otherwise none of what she had just done mattered. And, she still had the feather. She clenched it tightly inside herself. "All right. Just... be safe." She turned with him to find a bench and something to eat before they have to say goodbye, and as she did he kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Your choice. But I'm paying," he smirked as he helped her along.
((
Original))
Reply
