My First Trip [Roseryn] | Page 1 | The Hunts ❄ Hunting Forum | Guild Forums

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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:44 am

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38, 19, 98, 35

6, 12, 52, 41

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Loss x 8:

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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:38 am

The silence dragged out around them, and with it, Quince dozed. The turmoil of the day ripped him down into a slumber full of anxious twitching and soft muttering. His fingers clenched in the fabric of Roseryn's coat, and the older boy struggled not to shake Quince awake every time he heard the grating sound of his sibling's teeth grinding together. It was all Rose could do to lay at his brother's back, chin rested on Quince's head, and rumble out quiet, hopefully-soothing sounds.

He probably should've tried a little harder to sleep, himself, but such a thing never came easily. Physically, his body was exhausted. And despite knowing that his mind should take a break, his eyes refuse to stay shut for more than a few seconds at a time. Any rustle that came from outside had him on alert. Which was plenty to deal with, without worrying about Quince constantly jostling him with his twitches and whimpers. It was pitiful, really. Pitiful of both of them, as much as Rose hated to admit it. And yet of all the ways he'd seen this excursion going, this hadn't been one of them. They were alone, depressed, worried, anxious, and there was so little to do about any of it. He felt confused, baffled, and slighted, like he was a pawn in some horrible joke.

He'd only wanted escape and adventure. Instead he got this.

Roseryn huffed softly, tickling the dark hairs along the back of Quince's neck as he tucked his face down to his brother's shoulder. He tried not to complain about the 'fairness' of the world, because as far as he could tell, the gods spat on all of them, but really, the situation just didn't seem right. Almost as if there was something that could be done to ease it, but Rose simply didn't know what. And that was what made it unfair.

When the cabin's door-handle clicked, Roseryn sat up sharply, extending his arm to settle on Cici's shoulder in some vain effort to keep him from whimpering at the intruding sound. Trapped as he was between the couch-back and his brother's frame, Rose's fingers fumbled blindly out toward the side-table, latching onto the hilt of his sheathed rapier as the door opened. The Dovaa's darkened narrowed eyes zeroed in on the figure that slipped inside, a cold command on his lips before he gave pause. "Aster!" Rose breathed, the sound coming out louder than he intended.

The Ysali boy stepped into the room with all the clamor one would expect of a ghost, turning his finger up to his lips to beckon for silence before closing the door quietly behind himself.

Rose shifted away from Quince, struggling to detach himself from the younger lad without waking him as he moved from the couch. "What are you doing here?" He demanded softly. "Or, more accurately, why did it take you so long to get here? Cici is worried to near-death. Just look at hi- Mmf!"

Soldaster dipped forward, pressing the palm of his hand to his younger brother's face to hush him. "Be. Quiet," Aster commanded, voice stiff and uncompromising as he took Roseryn by the arm and led him deeper into the cabin, away from the door, and away from Quince.

The older Ysali boy had always been... distant, somehow, like there was something unidentifiably wrong with him. Rose had always assumed it was because he was older and ill-favored. That anything wrong about Aster had likely stemmed from his father. But the younger boy tasted it in the back of his throat; this bitter and unexplainable off-ness as Aster tugged him along. "What are you doing? Where are we going? Aster, please, would you not be such a strange little-"

The Ysali dragged him down, tucking Rose beneath a window as Aster craned up to just barely peer out of it. "Have you seen the man?" He questioned, ducking down to settle in close at Roseryn's side.

"What man?" Rose demanded curtly, feeling a flare of annoyance at the ambiguity of his brother's question. "There hasn't been any-" But in the back of his mind, he saw the dark-skinned Dovaa from his father's office. He didn't know how, but he knew this was the man Aster spoke of. Knew it with some unshakable, unexplainable certainty. "I... saw him before we left," Roseryn admitted as an afterthought. "He was in Father's office."

"So he's here, then..." Aster muttered.

Roseryn felt compelled to argue that he hadn't even remotely said such a thing, but his elder brother was either completely mad or knew more about whatever was happening than Rose had originally given him credit for. The younger boy scrutinized his sibling through narrowed eyes. "You seem almost... concerned? Scared maybe?"

Aster sat back, pressing his spine to the wall as his gaze flicked briefly over his young twelve-year-old brother. For all Roseryn's haughty bravado, he still knew so little, particularly where matters of their family was concerned. "I am," Aster admitted on a whisper. "I am scared. I'm expendable, if that wasn't obvious enough. And I haven't done anything worth being kept around for."

"And Father disowned you for...?"

"That's what the letter said, but not what it meant. Daemo-" Roseryn was only very acutely aware of his brother forgoing the title of 'Father' in favor of his old man's actual name. "-is a drug lord. That Ysali man works for him creating and distributing narcotics in Taliuma and transporting them everywhere. The only problem is Voxen- the man. He's not 'in the family.' For whatever reason, Daemo expects some degree of loyalty from his own blood, and I-"

"-was supposed to take over his position," Roseryn finished. "That's nonsense. Father wouldn't want his older sun running some drug ring. We have appearances to keep up, and that would just wreck everything."

"He's told them I'm a failure and made a great show of his dislike for me. No one expects I'll become anything worthwhile at this point. That's what you and Quince are for."

"We have other siblings. It seems unfair that-"

"You and Quince," Aster iterated.

Fine, whatever. It was a point he could argue later, and one that didn't seem critical in this moment. "It still doesn't explain why he disowned you. Or what this letter allegedly actually meant." Distantly, he wondered who could all be in on this. Daemo, Aster, and Voxen, obviously. Embryl? He likely had some knowledge, though it seemed some things were kept even from him. He hadn't known of Aster being disowned. Mother? Anything she knew, she likely uncovered on her own. She made no great effort to shield her distaste for her husband. But she was frail, and her children needed her. She likely hadn't told anyone else. Did Voxen even know he was being replaced? He'd seemed positively chipper when leaving Father's office...

The older boy quieted, his head tipping down and his shoulders slumping. Rose's attention riveted back to him at the quiet sound of his voice, just barely over a whisper. "I can't- I can't be that person. It's not right." His fingers knotted together, twisting anxiously around themselves. "People die from this. For this. They go crazy and hateful and violent. I don't want to be someone who propagates such behavior... This magic, it makes me sick. And I hate it. Daemo wanted this clan for me, so I took it. At the very least, I thought maybe I could earn his respect, but I haven't. I've made it worse. I don't trust him, and I don't trust this magic, and I can't use it the way he wants, and... And now..."

Roseryn's eyes widened as he thought about the implications. Daemo was intense and unforgiving. His son had failed him and was expendable. If he really knew all this, Daemo wouldn't just send him out freely into the world. And Voxen could've easily been pleased by the new lack of competition...

"He's going to have you killed." Roseryn almost choked on the words. His brother, Aster, older than him by only three years, so wound up in this mess that his involvement warranted death. "No- I- I won't let them hurt you. I don't care what Father... What Daemo wants. You're my brother, my blood, and I will not allow anyone to take you away." The younger lad had never wanted Embryl's presence before, but he wanted it now. The Ayrala man would be on his side in this, surely.

"We can't stay here."

"Well, we can't leave," Rose retorted. "Where would we go? You said Voxen was here, so... he could very well be out there waiting now. It's easier to defend an enclosed location, especially one we know well enough-"

"But we'd potentially be defending it indefinitely. There's only three of us, and Voxen has those 'guards' outside as well. We're trapped right now, but if we manage to leave undetected, we could hide out in Ashen City and lay low until we get wind of anything about Embryl. I'm certain he'll be able to find us."

"You do still trust him?" Rose questioned. At his brother's nod, he glanced down thoughtfully. Ashen City was large, with heaping sums of people that would likely do well to hide them. The boys even knew a few of the noble families in the area, so, maybe... "It's... worth a shot, I guess."

"The only thing we have to lose is me," Aster joked somberly.

Roseryn spared only a moment to glower at him, before the pair was moving back toward the door. Quince still lay quietly on the couch, unmoving save for the faint rise-and-fall of his chest. "You should wake him," Rose hummed. "He'll be happy to see you after..." Was it really just a few hours ago that he'd been awake? Rose could've believed that he'd been speaking with Aster for a full week... "After last night," he finished on a sigh. "I'm going to look outside a little. No one should have any reason to attack me."

For now, it was all they could do. Aster crouched down at his younger brother's side, while Rose continued toward the door. The Ysali's fingertips brushed Cici's shoulder to shake him, and instantly, he knew.

Something was off. He could feel it on Quince's skin; a thin, almost indiscernible layer of dust. At his touch, the stuff scattered as if caught by a breeze. Though Cici didn't stir, Aster felt something else; a tug at the threads of his own magic. The spores were of Ysali origin, and as the oldest boy continued to dust them from his sibling's frame, it clicked that they weren't accidental. "Rose, Wait!" Aster shouted as the lad cracked the door open to peer out.

Roseryn became only distinctly aware of the hiss that answered his actions after it was too late. He'd hardly opened the door more than a few inches before the thin, sleek body of some sort of reptile lunged through the opening like lightning. Rose yipped, barely having the chance to stumble back before it struck again, leaving a second piercing bite along his thigh as the smaller boy staggered backward. "Aster!"

The Ysali grabbed Rose's rapier from the side-table, flicking it from his sheath and tossing it toward his brother. He caught it only a little unsteadily, swinging the blade down and around to slice into the middle of the creature. It hissed and writhed, coiling across the floor like demon spawn, tangling itself in the ooze seeping from its frame before giving a last shudder and stilling.

Rose swallowed as he stared at it, slowly trailing his fingers down to brush at the puncture he knew was on his leg, though that he hardly felt. He'd been hurt before, but never particularly deeply. As his fingers touched it, it seared, and he recoiled with a whimper, taking another few paces back toward his two siblings as he leaned against the back of the couch. "What was-?" His gaze found its way down to the gash, watching with a sudden spear of dread as red seeped through the fabric of his pants. He clenched his fingers to keep them from shaking.

Aster was at his side in an instant, crouching down and laying his palm across the wound. "It's alright," his words came out quick and harsh. And something about his tone didn't make Roseryn feel any better. "It's alright, it's alright," Aster repeated. "Just breathe and be calm. Don't move." His free hand grabbed the younger's slim arm, dragging at him until he was pulled to the floor. "I can feel your heart in your leg. Calm down!"

"You're yelling at me! What's wrong? What was that?" Rose demanded again, sharper this time. "It- Ow! Don't press, Aster! It hurts!" He squirmed, shoving his hands against his brother's chest in an effort to dislodge him. "Get off of me! You're just going to make it worse! Ach! Stop!"

"Weird you've never seen an arvathi before." The two boys stilled for a moment, going quiet as they both gazed off toward the now fully-open door, where a Dovaa male with lime green horns and deep-set eyes stood, idly watching one of the creatures as it slithered along the length of his arm before plopping to the ground in a coiled heap. "They are invaluable assets in my line of work. And fun, besides. I could just as easily do the work myself, of course, but there are days when it's nice to just...sit back and watch the fun they bring." He toed one of the creatures with his boot, and it spat, arcing across the ground and toward the younger Dovaa.

Aster shoved himself back against his brother, pressing the smaller male behind him and extending an arm in some effort to keep the serpentine creature away.

The thing almost seemed to swim, it wriggled so much in its advancements, each coil of its body practically bouncing nearer. Rose let out a pant of air as the arvathi contorted in a way that seemed wrong even for such a slinky creature. "Aster, I..." His fingers cinched in his brother's shirt. "Can you make it stop hurting? The creature seemed less important somehow, at this point. It burned. What was worse was that it spread, like tendrils of licking fire finding their ways into each and every one of his blood vessels. "Aster!" His breath came heavily, more fearful now because of the red-hot movement. He shoved himself away, imagining for a moment that he could detach himself from the pain if he just escaped from this spot.

Soldaster grabbed him, shoving him down to the floor and pinning him there, despite Roseryn's suddenly animalistic attempt to swat and claw and dislodge him. "Stoppit, Rose! Stop! You need to calm down!" The young Ysali made only a fleeting attempt to kick the arvathi in the face as most of his attention planted itself on his shrieking and writhing brother.

"Red's really starting to freak." Voxen hummed in amusement, tapping his chin. "He's pretty small, and at the rate his blood's going now, I doubt you'll be able to contain the arvathi toxin with your weak magical control in a timely manner." The serpentine specimens coiled around him, waiting for any cue to attack and end this pitiful display.

Aster reached out with his magic, struggling to grab onto the threads of venom leaking throughout his brother's system, despite how Rose adamantly fought him.

"He's going to totally lose it!" Voxen laughed, notching his arms behind his head and grinning. "Man, I'd have loved to watch you suffer like this, brat. Unfortunately, even your weakling body should be able to fend off the brunt of this poison's power. Just not in someone else, apparently."

The smaller Ysali raked his hands down Rose's arms, pinning the squirming child to the floor by his shoulders and holding him there. His efforts were failing, and while it would take a while yet for the venom to kill him, that certainly didn't mean he would get any better. "Daemo will not forgive you if Roseryn dies!" Aster spat, his emerald gaze spinning off to glare at Voxen behind him. "He was to be left alone!"

"Look, lad." Voxen crouched down, scooting within Aster's eye-level. "The only one supposed to die here is you. But I'm not gonna lie and say I don't like this better. Watching you struggle for someone else's life just adds a little more zest to the whole assignment. When he does die, it'll be all your fault. Are you going to return home with that on your shoulders? No. I imagine you'll want to beat it before anyone else returns so you don't have to explain away your failures to them. And when you think about it, getting rid of two of you just keeps me in the clear. One less of Daemo's kids to try and upstage me, y'know? So yeah, I like this, and I'm gonna let it play out. If you weren't a shitty Ysali, you could fix it yourself, but ya are. And ya can't. You kinda deserve it, really."

He stood and stepped back, clucking his tongue to call the remaining arvathi back to him. "I'm a good sport, though, so I can at least wish you luck. Doubt we'll meet again after this. Don't expect you'll be showing your face too much. So see ya 'round, kid. Might be kinder of you to end it quickly."

As Voxen departed, Aster's body shook. His fingers clenched around Rose's arm, willing pulses of his magic to do more than just hold the poison back, begging himself to keep the toxins from seeping and deeper into Roseryn's body, pleading with his god to give him some kind of strength this once; at least enough to keep his brother from dieing on his watch. That much was surely possible.

But by the time the sun peeked over the horizon, Rose had degenerated into a dazed, sweaty, limp pile of half-lucid Dovaa on the floor, and Aster knew he was losing the battle.

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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 11:27 am

((Four additional rolls))

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 12:35 pm

((Last four))

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