Welcome to Gaia! ::

Following his bout of stunned and silent shock in the medical tent, Alek had taken his leave equally as quietly on the way to Neued, too ashamed to say his goodbyes to his sister and Biroki. He was hopeless. Completely hopeless.

He'd had plenty of time to go over exactly how hopeless he was as he made his slow way home, passing through places where he'd never linger out of fear of what might be done to him there. The world was so large. It was a little depressing to realize he would never see very much of it at all.

Alek was still quite a distance from home when he stopped at the tavern. He had just reached the foothills of the mountains and never had he been more grateful to have held onto his cloak in the warmer climates he'd traveled through. Even with it, he was freezing.

He'd heard plenty of stories regarding liquor's effectiveness at keeping people warm, but he wasn't here at the... One-Winged Sailscale... to see if they were true. He mostly wanted to be inside for a minute, so he just huddled near the door, hoping no one noticed he wasn't spending any money.

Alek noticed the other ice prentice right away, not because he was really any more observant than the average person, but because Myrsky was quite the intimidating young man. The only thing that kept Alek from bolting outright, in fact, was the fact that the other was ice tribe in the first place. If he was sure of one thing, it was that he hadn't been attacked by his own people.

He stood up as straight as he could and nodded, biting his lip as he looked Myrsky squarely in the... shoulder. A second later, his gaze flicked up to the prentice's face.

"Yes," he replied with a shaky smile. "Ask away."

"Oh. Um..." Well, that was not really a question with a short answer, was it? At least he could relay what he knew, which was not a lot, if he was being honest. "The war is with Oba, the nation to the south. There was a... um... call to arms, I suppose? Many people came to help, but... we lost this fight." Perhaps if this young man had been in the thick of things, they wouldn't have fallen so easily.

The fog in Alek's brain was thickest on this front, obscuring the injuries and destruction the fire tribe had caused. "I heard they had large beasts on their side that tipped the balance in the end, but whether they were tamed or coerced, I do not know."

At least when this other young man got to thinking, the intensity of his gaze lessened enough to allow the prentice to breathe. Alek got a few good lungfuls of air before the conversation started up again, and he felt a bit more confident because of them.

"I was there for a short time, yes, but I didn't see any of the fighting firsthand. I was..." He stopped and licked his lips to moisten them. "Do you mind if we sit? I'll tell you all I know, just... if we're going to continue this conversation, we probably shouldn't linger by the door." He tried to smile, but it looked more worried than reassuring.

Once they had reached an empty table, Alek quickly slipped into a seat, signalling to one of the servers and asking for some water when the girl approached.

"I am Alek," he replied belatedly. Normally, he might have added that it was a pleasure to meet the other youth, but he wasn't actually sure that it was in this case. He took a sip of water when it arrived, then said, "I was assisting in the recovery tent. That's why I didn't see any actual fighting, only its aftermath. And even that..." He trailed off, looking into his mug instead of in Myrsky's direction.

"Limbs were crushed," he replied hurriedly, as if getting the words out quickly would make the topic of conversation disappear entirely. "Among other things. That and the usual cuts and jabs, I would assume. So, yes. It's dangerous. People were taken prisoner... I think. The south is not safe." He took another sip of water and looked up at Myrsky.

"I would not go down there. But you are not me. Obviously." This one was brave and seemingly reckless, two traits Alek could no longer afford to display. "If you watch your back and know when to run, you'll probably be fine."

Alek nodded slowly. At the very least, this prentice thought he was careful. It was better than running in recklessly, he supposed.

"Well..." he began after a breath or two. "I don't mind admitting that I doubt I could catch an animal, even if it was already wounded, so I can't help you with hunting. But the plants..." When Alek had been much younger, a wandering merchant had allowed him to browse through a large tome detailing the flora of Jauhar. Like most of the information he came across, the boy had retained much of what he had read.

"There are a number of types of mushrooms that grow at the bases of trees and rocks. Sampling a couple of them should be all right even if they are poisonous. As long as your stomach doesn't start to sour, you can eat more." He set his mug down on the table and shrugged. "I ate what others did for the most part. Sorry I can't be of more help."

Not a lot of use. All of his life, those who had not taken the easier path and bullied him had tried to convince him that he had something to offer others, that he was useful. He had even tried going to war to prove them right. It was all the same in the end. Maybe he could start introducing himself that way from now on, so no one would get their hopes up. Alek: of no use to you.

He sighed, choosing not to comment at all on his worth or tendency toward groveling. Instead, he tried to recall the animals he'd seen as he took another sip. "I never actually came across anything wild that was larger than a roati myself, though I presume there are bigger animals in the trees. I stuck to the main paths. And the plants. I'm sure if you could manage to get picked up by a group of travelers or two, they would let you eat with them in exchange for any services you can provide."