RP:A Man and His Thoughts

The Slippery Eel

If you want to meet local people this is the place to be. Everyone from the lowest field hand to the e Tenebris themselves frequent the inn. Smoked eels hang from the ceiling, their preparation a closely guarded local secret, something to do with the dark, warm places they are cured. You are most likely to find friendly wenches serving drinks, keen to earn the extra gold. There's a jovial air to the inn apart from the darkest corner where a group of men, who look like smugglers, talk quietly, heads together. Two off-duty guardsmen occasionally glance at them from their seats at the bar. A door lies at the back of the inn. This leads to a large square with buildings running off it and a sandy track winding South. A battered board gives some messages posted about the local area.

Tyler sits with his legs crossed upon his bed and his mask clutched between his hands. The man is silent as his thumb runs across the blue lining, his mind alive with multiple thoughts. He is still processing the situation before him, Skylei is missing and dear god he misses her. He fights the urge to shout in frustration as he thinks of Josleen dragging him like a child through the streets of Chartsend earlier in the day and he questions why he feels the need to bring a fist into contact with Eliason's jaw. The day couldn't have possibly gone any worse. He sets the mask to the covers and places his head into his palms. He'd finally met Skylei's best friend and within the hour managed to make a clear enemy of her, the paladin simply frowned upon for being a figure of authority and to top it all off he seemed to be the most useless in the search for his beloved. Why didn't he just take off in search earlier? Why the hell did he stick around with the other two? A sigh is given a the man falls back and slams his head against the head board before rubbing his eyes fiercely. "Why am I here?" He mutters beneath his breath.

Skylei :: Tyler's eyes are closed, so however it is that she appears in the room will remain a mystery. Tyler has manifested her in the way that he sees her and so the half-elf appears flawlessly. She is dressed as she always is and her hair is tied in its untidy fashion, but there is something about her that makes her appear more beautiful than she is in reality. This is the rose-tinted-glasses effect in reality. The first sign of her presence in his room are her words. "You're here because I'm here. That's what ties you to this town.~" Her hand would gesture to the room that he had been living in since the incident with Celinia and his imagination "But now I'm gone, what is there to tie you to this place?~" Illusionary Sky then makes her way across the room; real sounds coming from the floorboards as illusionary feet hit the wooden flooring. She stands next to him, looking at him questioningly.

Tyler perks his ears at the sound of the voice, they burn from the soothing voice of his beloved and caramel hues are quick to find their mark causing a lump to build in his throat and his breath to be bated. But what is this? Skylei is here? No. There was no sound from the door opening to allow the roar of the tavern below to enter the room, and he question confirms such, this image, despite how badly he wants it to be real, is only Tyler's imagination. Despite his realization that this Skylei isn't real, he welcomes her company and a smile spreads as his heart races and his body shivers as if a chill had run through him. Though the smile is quickly replaced with a defeated look as he continues to entertain himself with his own insanity. He moves his legs over across the bed allowing Skylei to take a seat by his side. "I'm here, because this is where you will be. This is your home... our home." His nails begin to scratch at the wrappings around his legs nervously. His left eye offers a twitch and his lips quiver as he forces strong emotions. "I miss you, Sky... A lot."

Skylei :: The illusion doesn't take a seat by his side and instead turns away from him and walks to the other side of the room. Turning back, it leans against the wall of the room, just as her true form would, and her eyes begin to scan his figure. She takes her time looking over every inch of his body as though she is judging his physical appearance. As she finishes her inspection her grey eyes reach his caramels and she offers him a smile. It is a smile that is so genuine that even a man in his right mind might be convinced that she was real; and Tyler is not in his right mind. "But you don't know where I am. Where am I, Tyler? If this is our home then why would I disappear without you, without even a note?~" Eyes stay locked as best they can with his and the smile that does not befit her words stays on her face.

Tyler listens to her words intently and the human finds himself at a loss. His knees are pulled to his chest and two arms wrap tightly around them as he bring his chin to rest just below his knees for a moment. Eyelids fall shut and silently tears escape at a slow pace to fall down the man's cheeks. "I don't know... *sniff*... I don't know why. I don't know anything." His legs are moved to the side of the bed as he lets his elbows burrow into his legs as he leans forward and places the side of his palm to his forehead and stares to the floor. "I don't know anything..." he repeats and offers another sniffle. "I don't know why I'm here, I don't know why you left, I don't know where you are, I don't... I don't know *sniff* ... I don't know why I can't talk, I don't know why I *explicit* everything up *sniff* , I don't know how I managed to make your best friend hate my guts in less than an hour, I don't know, *sniff*, why I came to Hollow, Why I fell in love or why I'm sitting here talking to myself." He pauses to swallow and exhales through his mouth as a tear falls from his cheek to the floor board below. "But I do know that I *explicit* hate not knowing, and that I hate myself for screwing up even when trying and above all else I... I hate *sniff* ... I hate being alone." Despite his calmed voice and defeated stance, Tyler releases moves his hand from his forehead and quickly balls it into a fist and releases a heavy blow to the nightstand beside him causing the crude wood to splinter and collapse dropping the contents to the floor below with a thud. He takes a moment to examine his now bleeding hand before wiping it off on his legs and shaking his head. He tries to regain composure and regather his thoughts offering a look to the illusion through red eyes. "Why the hell are you here?"

Skylei doesn't even react as Tyler punches the nightstand. Her visage remains unchanged and she simply blinks in the direction of the destruction. Whilst she can damage him with her words, as a figment of his imagination she is immune to all of his reactions. She knows exactly what he is thinking and what is coming next. So she crosses the floor and takes a seat next to him. Her arms are wrapped around him and the illusion places a kiss on his cheek. The physical touch of the illusion would feel strange; Tyler knows it is not real but yet he cannot summon her away. "I'm here.~" Sky reaches up and taps her fingers against his head, "I'm always here. Even if you want me gone - even when I am gone and you're alone - I'll always be here. You'll never be rid of me.~" Sky moves away from him and a pout falls on her lips as though she is hurt by his reaction to her presence, "I thought you'd be happy to see me.~" Her legs are swung onto the bed and the illusion of the ranger looks to him with that same smile put on her face "You're wondering what I'm doing, aren't you? Where do you think I am?~"

Tyler would simply close his eyes and grit his teeth at the touch of his own illusion, the kiss driving the human mad as she takes a place on the bed with him. His gaze moving to lock with her own as the question arises and he simply shakes his head before moving back and peeling back the loose skin on his hand. "I'd be happy to see the real you. Not me." His own words cause confusion within his already damaged mind, the man sighing and chewing at his lip for a moment before pursuing her next question. "Yes, I am. And I haven't the faintest idea where you are, though I'm nearly positive that you're there by your own choice. You're too damn smart to get yourself stuck in a stupid situation against your will, 'less it's by force and even then you're a better fighter than I. If I've managed to survive this long, then I know damn well you will..." The thought of Skylei being unfaithful tries to press it's way into Tyler's mind and the human latches onto the ideal that the woman cares about him only a fraction of how he cares for her, which would be more than plenty to remain in faith to their love. He struggles to suppress the morbid images that began to plague him, of Skylei being with another man or woman. His stomach churns and the urge to vomit is present as he breathes in a deep stressful breath. "You're own choice..." he repeats as he swallows hard once more and continues picking at the flesh on his hand. Relyt's words echo of the man being at his strongest when he was alone and he notes the weakness he has gained by devoting himself to the wood elf, though the dark form of his own imagination would not sway him to believe Skylei was bad for him in any way, shape nor form. He scans over the illusion at his side once more, half expecting her to pull her own face off to reveal Relyt hidden away beneath, this seemed like one of his tricks after all... wait? 'his tricks', Tyler shakes his head as he finds himself separating himself from himself once more and his head falls back into his palms. "I will find you, and we will be together again." he says in a stern voice, in an attempt to convince himself more than the illusion.

Skylei stays silent until Tyler utters his last words. The illusion gets up from the bed and begins to pace the room again, "If you don't want me here, then you should just remove me. You know I'm not who you think I am.~" The half-elf would laugh. It is a pretty laugh that matches the beauty of her appearance. But as his thoughts darken, so too does she. There is a fierce vengefulness behind her visage that had not previously been there and the sweet image of the half-elf that had been taunting him is tainted by his own darkness, "I know what you're thinking. You're wondering which men I'm running around with.~" Another laugh and the wiggle of her finger as though the male is a naughty child who needs to be chided is all that the illusion offers in response to his worries, "But what of when we're here, in Chartsend? Who says that I need to disappear from your sight to find my fun? And what of all those nights in the apartment with Joss when I could have been in bed with you?~" Whilst the illusion says nothing specific the implication is clear. Tyler's own mind is befuddling his dislike for Josleen with his fears of Skylei playing away. And this is the mixture it has created. The half-elf doesn't stop here, "What if I'm already dead? What if you find me and I'm naught but a shell in a gutter on some street and you're too late? Which is worse, Tyler?~"

Tyler feels his body cringe at the words of Skylei, his head hangs low as he slouches over the edge of the bed with his hands locked together and he stares to the floor trying his best to ignore her. His jaw begins to quiver and the sound of his teeth chattering together becomes audible despite the growing crowd below. Tears fill his eyes once more as he imagines Skylei laying with another man, his will to resist the thoughts quickly deteriorating. His right foot taps frantically against the floorboard as he begins to panic and vivid images of adultery flood his mind and the thought of Josleen only strengthens the blow. Though it is at the thought of losing Skylei completely that the man loses it. He pictures his beloved wood elf, cold and stiff dead upon the ground, the illusionist helpless as he is frozen in time and the moment taunts him for the rest of his known life. He slides from the bed onto his arse and his back presses against the bed as once seldom tears now fall violently from his face and his chest races in a panic. The sound of his sobbing grows much louder as he continues to clinch and unclench his fist frantically which only allows more blood to spawn and fall about his clothes. If Skylei were out running around, despite his emotions, he would still have a chance to reconcile and be with her though if she is found dead Tyler would once again be alone. He revisits their meeting in the tavern, the fight, the night outside the temple, the scenic view, when she found him wounded in the sage, the xalious tree, the apple, everything. It all rushes over him at once and the human scolds himself for allowing him to torture himself so. He missed her, my god he missed her. He needed her. No matter how much Josleen claimed to love Skylei, Tyler -needed- her. She couldn't be dead. It's impossible. He reaches to his belt and grabs a kunai and squeezes it with all of his might. Through the sobbing comes a violent, wall-shaking scream as his head jerks to face the illusion before him and his eyes glow a bloodied red mana; "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD!" The kunai is tossed after being engulfed in flames, the target, the fake Skylei's throat. Whether the kunai made it's mark or not, the tavern below had suddenly gone quiet except for the muttering of worried patrons below and the barkeep assuring them everything was alright.

Skylei remains emotionless as Tyler falls apart before her eyes. The illusion simply looks upon him as he breaks down into tears and the sound of his sobs fills the room. She has however stopped pacing the room and simply looks to him with a look of utter disdain and disgust. Underneath his sobs she would mutter a couple of quiet words, just to add bite to the already charged blow, "No wonder I disappeared if this is how you react.~" Suddenly, Tyler's demeanour changes and he is filled with rage towards the taunting illusion. Flaming kunai hits her and is imbedded into her throat. Sky doesn't even flinch; she feels nothing. She doesn't exist outside of this imagination, after all. Either way, Tyler has hit his mark and blood begins to rise in throat of the illusionary figure until it reaches her mouth. The sanguine liquid flows forth from her throat, but the illusion only laughs and speaks as though she is unencumbered, "If that's the way you treat the woman you love then maybe you are better off alone.~" Sky would begin to laugh again and blood hits the floor, appearing to stain it red. Tyler's illusions are fighting back and he would have to want them gone much more than he did now.

Tyler can't handle the situation any longer, with one look to the bleeding Skylei he pulls himself to his feet, grabs his bag from the floor, snatches his mask from the bed, throws it on and charges to his door yanking it open with a heavy tug allowing it to slam against the wall and he sprints down the stairs tripping on the bottom one and falling onto his chest in front of the entire tavern knocking the wind from him. However, he offers no time to recover as he moves to his feet and pushes past people while knocking over chairs and drinks offering only obscenities to those who question him. The male would simply run full speed down the street into the night unsure of when he would stop and not once looking back.

Skylei :: With Tyler's retreat from the room in search of his sanity, illusionary Sky has done all she needs to. As he retreats into the night, she falls into nothingness but specks of mana that had burst forth from his being. For now, Tyler's illusions lie dormant and peaceful.