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 Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 8:08 pm
Honi lit a small fire in the dusty old fireplace. Something just enough to provide a little light and heat up water while she worked. The old hunting shack was falling apart at the seams, wood rotting and covered in moss and vines with the stone crumbling around the fireplace... but it would be enough for one night. Tucked into the thick forest, Honi had found it years ago on a hunt. As far as she knew, no one else knew about it.
They just needed one night.
She was still shaking a little from the events earlier that day. The sudden confrontation, the chase, the nerve-wracking stop for supplies. Her eyes were so dry that they ached, but no more tears would come. She couldn't deny that she was terrified. At the very least, that hunter's gaze would haunt her for nights to come. Would they bother her family though? What would her parents do after hearing about everything? They would be worried sick!
Then there was Eli. She had barely been able to keep him on the xaraan as their flight came to a close. His leg looked terrible.. and she just knew it was her fault that he'd been hit at all.
All she could do was try to help where she could. Hot water and antiseptic from the shop followed by a bandage. She'd had to tear his pants to get to the wound, but she promised herself that she would sew them back up once the chance came. Maybe she would just make him a new pair? That would be better. Too bad she didn't have any fabric there. It would have been nice to have something else to focus on.
Instead, she dug through their meager supplies. She had only grabbed the absolute minimum that her panicked mind would allow at the time... and it really wasn't much. Thankfully, she had quite a bit of money in her pocket still. They could get more later. For now.. she knelt by the fire and cut into the bread. It would be plain jelly sandwiches for tonight, but it was better than nothing. It did give her something to focus on though, and a thick layer of jelly dripped over the crusts of both sandwiches by the time she was done.
Now she was just being wasteful. Honi sighed to herself and peeked over at her companion. "Wake up soon," she requested softly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 5:08 pm
Eliazer fought consciousness with the pull of a man who knew what being awake would mean. As long as he was loose in the dreamworld then the harshness of reality couldn't touch him. However, he was the lull of sleep could only do so much for the pain in his leg and the worry that burned in his gut.
He hadn't meant to pass out when he did. The bounty hunter had stayed on high alert for the entirety of their ride, doing his best in his frazzled state to remain focus and clear minded. It was hard, harder now that he wasn't alone, but so far it didn't look as if they'd been followed. Little blessings. They might very well be tracked to this location but for the time being they had been able to gain their bearings. The haunted look in Honi's eyes, her very bearing...it hurt him more than any physical injury ever could. How terrified was she, really? She'd pushed past so many things today just to get them here, but really, did she even want to?
Was she scare of him now too?
The longer he'd been on the xaraan the more his adrenaline started to fade and his constitution along with it. Eli didn't remember the stop, barely remembered hanging on and he definitely didn't remember this shack. When his opened his eyes it was on a shaky breath, one that brought the the pull of his wound to the forefront of his mind. He cracked an eye open, looked down and rolled his head back with a measured breath. For a moment he simply laid there, trying to will himself awake with his eyes closed, before opening them and looking at Honi.
Eliazer raised his hands to dig for his journal and...couldn't find it. He gave his jacket a few pats, even raising up on an elbow to dig around more, but when he eventually did find it he couldn't find the charcoal to write in it with. So, instead, he motioned to his leg, made a scrubbing motion and pointed to her.
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:51 am
Honi had forced herself to take a bite of her sandwich when she noticed Eli stir. The food got thick in her mouth, and it was a long moment before she could chew it enough to swallow. By then, Eli was alert and searching for something.. Oh! He still had the notebook! ..Assuming he wasn't planning to burn it the first chance he got, it gave her a brief moment of delight.
She cocked her head a moment, but his motions were easy enough to decipher. Cheeks flushing lightly, she gave a demure nod and looked away again. "I got a couple things from one of the shops before we got out of town. It was the least I could do for you. If I hadn't hesitated.." She cut herself off and shook her head. Eli didn't need to listen to her moping. Instead, she pointed to the other sandwich that was sitting on one of the stones that she had wiped off and moved to the center of the room and gave him a small smile. "Here. You should eat."
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 12:29 pm
Eliazer used his elbows to push himself up into a seated position. No matter what way he shifted his hips he couldn't get comfortable, so he scooted around a bit until his back was against one grimey wall. The Geian tentatively lifted his knee in an attempt to flex his leg, but when a sharp pain sprang from his thigh he lowered it with a hiss.
Getting around was going to be hard, but not undoable.
When she started talking about hesitations, Eliazer looked over to Honi and shook his head. She'd done nothing wrong. Desperate now to find his charcoal, Eli riffled through his pockets until he found a spare.
"It's my fault you're here. You'll be in trouble if you go back, but if you go straight to the guard you might be able to get off lightly. Just tell them I coerced you."
In truth he didn't have much of an appetite, but Eli wasn't one to turn down food, especially when he wasn't sure when they'd see it next. He leaned over to grab the sandwich and took a halfhearted bite.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:44 am
Honi looked over when the notebook was opened, waiting with bated breath for Eli's words. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting.. but that wasn't it! She bristled slightly and shook her head. "No! They're being completely unfair. You're not the one they're looking for." Her brow knit sharply and her eyes darted away. "What if that woman finds me first? She looked ready to-" Her throat closed up to prevent her from voicing her fears. The last thing she wanted was to bump into any of those hunters alone. She wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat.
"There's no way they haven't alerted the guard about both of us anyway. They're not going to believe me over a bunch of people claiming I attacked them. Besides.. you're hurt. I won't leave you like this." Her gaze finally went back to Eli, but didn't go beyond his leg. "How's it feeling..?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2022 3:33 pm
"Doesn't matter. They're looking for quick coin."
Hunters like that were what gave his profession a sour reputation. Souls who went out for the first person that fit the description, grabbed their coin and fled before the real job was finished. A high profile case like this might give them more trouble, but Eliazer didn't doubt they wouldn't try. What was worse was if they actually believed he was the perpetrator then the real killer could add more deaths to his roster and Eli wouldn't be able to fight against it.
Doesn't even hurt.
Eliazer wasn't in the habit of having others worry for him, but it seemed to happen more than he liked. He held his arm out, then made a motion for her to come closer to his uninjured side against the wall. There wasn't much he could do right now to fight against her worries, but the least he could offer was comfort.
The Geian brought his journal onto his lap and wrote out, "Is there anything you want to send to your family before we leave? You can write in on one of these pages and we can find a way to send it. It's going to be a while before you see them again."
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:37 pm
Honi's brow knit, eyes shifting away again. To throw all morals out the window for the sake of money? How could someone do that? More importantly though, how would the two of them be able to combat such people? How would they get out in one piece?
She glanced at the note, gaze shifting back to Eli's leg. After a long moment, she managed a weak hint of a smile. "Liar. A magic burn like that is going to at least sting for a while." Her own magic related injuries had been minor.
The arm stretched out to her was met with hesitation. She didn't want to bother him... but the next moment found Honi scurrying over to huddle against Eli, one arm hugging firmly around his waist. He question made her tighten her arm and her eyes watered instantly. "A note.. a note would be good." She took a shaky breath in and shifted to burrow against Eli's chest. "They'd hide us if we asked," she murmured, a small snort slipping out. "I know we can't endanger them like that.. but know that they would."
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2022 10:31 am
She wasn't wrong. A blast from a blunderbuss, no matter the size, was guaranteed to burrow deep. It's lasting burn was unlike anything else, but he'd had enough experience with them to know how to cope. If he had access to a healer then Eliazer might have had an easy way out, but right now they couldn't risk it.
For a moment he was content just to hold her close. If she teared up he tried not to notice, but he did give her shoulders a squeeze. When she started to shift around he moved his other arm up to hold her as well, even if that meant he could no longer communicate with Honi as easily. Still, if he held the notebook just right he could lay it against her back and write little notes before wriggling them around to show her.
"I know they would. I met your mother." Thinking on it a bit more, he added, "Belrea? I need to get info from the source and my boss could help." It would mean leaving Tendaji exposed if there really was a murderer, though. Surely after all this they would try to lay low for a while though? Unless it were a true monster.
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2022 7:59 pm
Honi closed her eyes to savor the embrace and get as much comfort from it as she could. It wasn't much.. but it was enough to keep her from bursting into tears. They just rolled down silently, Honi doing her best to hide their presence.
She smiled weakly at the reminder. That was right... That was how she had gotten the clay to make her mug and the notebook decoration. "She liked you a lot." Not much made it past her mother. If Eli was really bad, Nin would have gotten some sort of inkling from their meeting, surely. ..Not that Honi could imagine Eli being the bad guy.
She peeked at the paper through blurry eyes. Belrea? She'd heard of it before... Wait! Eli was from there! That was-! She gasped softly and clenched her jaw. "That's across the ocean." She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed closer. After a long moment, she let out a long sigh. "It makes sense. I don't want to go.. but you're not leaving me here alone."
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2022 3:13 pm
Eli's smile dropped a little. He could only imagine how his own mother would handle the news of his 'murders' back home so now that he knew Nin he could guess as to how she would take it. She was a good woman; a kind soul with a backbone, just like her daughter. He didn't want to cause her more stress than he already had which is why he needed to make sure Honi was safe until she could go home.
"It is."
For a moment that's all he could think to write. Committing to a trip to Belrea would take them away for months at least, but Eliazer didn't know of any other way.
"You're too stubborn for your own good."
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:53 am
Hearing the scratch of the coal on paper, Honi cracked an eye open again to read. After a pause, she snorted and shook her head. "Maybe for your good," she huffed. "You think I'm going to just hide here by myself while you go off for gods know how long? You're stuck with me now." She attempted a laugh, but it turned into a sob and she clutched closer again.
There had been no warning. No options. One moment, life had been normal. Barely a blink later.. and life was upside down. Completely. "Let's just get this over with.." she said with a shaky voice, and turned her face back forward. "Tell me what we need to do." Getting a plan down might help her focus and calm down.. Maybe
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2022 6:29 am
Eliazer gave into an exhausted sigh and leaned his head against hers. This wasn't the way he wanted to get to know her better. He'd thought maybe they could spend a few nights on a beach somewhere, maybe he'd go back home for work and if he came back, if she was still single and willing to talk to him then maybe they could do it all again.
This was moving at a breakneck pace and even though she repeatedly told him not to feel guilty Eliazer couldn't shake it.
"Airship would be fastest, but they take off in Sauti. If they send word ahead of us then we might run into a trap." He tapped the charcoal against the paper as he thought. Tendajians had fast mounts, both flying and land based, that could cause problems for them. Still, they had a mount of their own and if they made a decent pace they could get there.
Problem was all of his supplies were back at the inn he'd been staying at. All he had was what he carried on him and his blunderbuss.
"We could also go by sea, but that's out of Matori." Which could possibly run them straight back through the very people they were trying to avoid.
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2022 6:16 pm
Honi's brow knit slightly, focusing as much as she could on the words forming on the paper. Sauti was a long trip away, even if there was some way to travel without stopping. The Matori shore was the closer option but also a more immediate risk. All she knew was that she wanted this mess cleared up as quickly as possible for both of their sakes... but she was in over her head. She knew nothing about how bounty hunters worked, and airships were frankly just as mysterious.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know," she admitted softly. "I mean, I might be able to find someone to help us reach the boats, but.. that would mean getting someone else involved. I don't know who we could trust enough." She was reluctant to involve anyone else. Besides, she was worried about anyone she might know outside of her family after her fellow merchant had so readily turned on her.
Feeling rather useless, she reached out one hand to grab her sandwich back up for another meek bite. "It's up to you.."
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 3:04 pm
"The only other person I know in the area enough to trust is your mother and I'm not getting her involved."
She would either deem him a threat and turn him in or it could get the family wrapped up in this mess while they were gone. The fact of the matter was he didn't have enough contacts in Matori that he trusted, but he did know a few names.
Assuming the others hadn't gotten to them first.
"Going by sea would be best. Air travel will be monitored; they check tickets and look for stowaways. With enough coin you can slip through on a boat." As if to emphasize his point, Eliazer tapped the satchel on his side. "It's enough to grease some palms, but that'll be it. Once we dock I'm tapped."
So they would need to find a ship going to Belrea that wouldn't ask too many questions. Shouldn't be hard enough; there was just as much corruption here as there was back home.
"If you can get us there, I'll make sure we have passage."
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 8:08 pm
The sandwich was thick in her mouth as she chewed. It tasted about as good as a piece of wood...
Part of Honi was relieved that Eli was deciding on going by sea. It had it's own risks, but at least they wouldn't be completely trapped up in the clouds if something happened on the way. She could swim well enough, but there was no chance of flying!
The mention of money made her cringe. Her own coins weighed down her pocket enticingly. "I sold a few things today," she added softly, hand drifting to the purse. "It won't last the entire trip, but it'll get us a fair time."
How to get to the dock without being caught though... This abandoned hut was a lucky find. Getting through the busy docks unnoticed was not part of her skillset. Still, she wasn't completely unfamiliar with the area they would be heading to. "We'll get there," she assured softly, trying to bolster her own spirits a little. As much as she wanted to just sit there and cry..
She reached out for the sandwich Eli had bitten into and held it up under his nose. "You need to eat and get your leg better. I'll give it fresh wrappings in the morning before we go."
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