RP:An Emotional Unicorn Ride

Synopsis: Linn visits Lanara while she's hiding out in the woods of Sage Forest. The two have a bonding moment, until Linn falls asleep from Lana's empathic abilities. Finding it awkward to have Linn asleep on the forest floor, she ties him to a unicorn's back, and sends him away. The human wakes up and is semi-startled by the witch's little prank, though it lightens the mood.

Linn had walked all the way to Frostmaw and back over the night with his only stops taken to eat. Regardless of the physical exertion and lack of sleep he didn’t feel any real fatigue coming over him, the questions of what Lanara and the man she rode in with were dealing with still circling through his mind. A glance of acknowledgement was given to the assassin on his way in, the two having a truce at the very least right now. Making his way back to the bell he began to follow the path that he saw the witch disappear into, while the other man’s continued watch was reassuring he wanted to see her condition for himself now that the events of last night had settled. Against the soft ground his boots made little sound, his even walk arresting any jostling of the stones in his pack as well made him surprisingly stealthy for the armor he wore, at least sound-wise. He still looked conspicuous as hell, but that didn’t matter for those who didn’t have their gaze directed near him.

Lanara is seated on the forest floor, literally twiddling her thumbs from boredom. Krystan had kept patrol on the path the duration of the night, and the two haven’t spoken or even glanced at each other in the last twelve hours. Not that he could see her, as she was buried within the thick trees of Sage Forest, but she was still furious that he didn’t even rise to come and console her after last night’s events. What was going to become of them? Thankfully, Delilah had returned to her side, and cuddled up against her, at some point in the early morning hours. The winter wolf was a massive, majestic, beast that had traveled from Frostmaw, to bring the witch a large backpack attached to her form. In the backpack were a few daggers, some herbs, and various tools that Lana used for spell work. As Delilah’s ears twitch and her nose inhales the air, the witch swivels around and catches sight of Linn, who is awarded with a faint smile. Finally, someone to talk to, and the sole person from last night that she wasn’t upset with. “Hi, Linn.”

Linn’s head tilted upwards in recognition of Lanara, a small look of relief coming over his face as he got to know for sure that she was okay. “Hey” he returned softly as he made his way over to her, a glance given to the massive wolf as if to ask for approval to approach. If allowed forward he would sit down to face her, otherwise he would take to leaning or sitting against a nearby tree. He looked down at the ground in front of him with a sigh. “There are a –lot- of pieces to sort through now. As if things couldn’t get any crazier.” He ended with a huff and a half-smile. He had no choice to go along for the ride if he wanted to make sure all of this ended well.

Lanara ruffles the fur on the back of Delilah’s neck, and the two lock eyes for a long moment. Chocolate against cerulean, as the wolf and her mistress speak to each other in silence, their bond undeniable. Eventually, the bushy tail would give two submissive wags, and she would retreat back, sitting before a nearby tree, and continuing to keep guard. For the moment, though, Linn was allowed to approach the witch, as he wasn’t deemed a threat. Lana sighs heavily, and pats the grass before her, inviting the male to sit a spell and keep her company, as she was craving conversation. “Tell me about it! I don’t even understand what has happened, and I was there through all of it… I suppose I should fill you in… I met the assassin a few days ago, in the mines. We connected, but then he just vanished. Then I bumped into him, briefly, at the Kelay Tavern. And two evenings ago, I had injured my foot in Xalious, helping Hudson to plant a talking ficus tree. I stepped in black ooze, and it burned through my boot. I was flying back to Gualon, when my energy just depleted, as I was so weak and in so much pain. I decided to take a rest on the beach, and wrapped my foot in seaweed and took a nap. However… Three drunken thugs approached, filled with lust, and hate. I killed the one man, and the assassin showed up and killed the other. The last one was set free, so that it looked like –I- was the target, and not the trio of men. Even though they were his targets, he wasn’t supposed to kill them, until he know their secret location. So I botched up his job, inadvertently and therefore, there’s a sniper bead on his head, and possibly mine.” She left out the first kiss, Dagon’s pyromancy, and of most importantly, Krystan’s actual name. Though Linn knew the solid truth of everything he needed to know, at the moment.

Linn gave a nod of respect towards the wolf, knowing that it as well stood watch over her, cared for her. He moved over and sat down slowly, unshouldering his pack to allow it to rest beside him to listen to the story as she told it. His eyes grew wide the moment the black ooze was mentioned, mostly the fact that it had burned through a boot. He rubbed his brows as she finished the story, much of it he’s heard from the assassin now, and all things considered he believed it. The nightmare made it just strange enough for the complicated circumstances to seem true. His gaze wandered to the witch’s foot that had pained her with a nervous sigh. “I hate to break onto a different subject for now, but the black ooze. How many times had you touched it before? And it –burned through- your boot?” The last statement was made with incredulousness, a mark of fear tracing his voice at the implications of what she had said. Hopefully it wasn’t what it sounded like.

Lanara waves a dismissive hand, noting that the change in topic was not a problem, as she was growing weary with discussing the recent happenings of Cenril. Sitting campfire style, she rests her elbows on her knees, and her chin rests in her hands. “There was this talking tree… Hudson told me it was a result of the black ooze, and something about three mages? I’m a bit confused with it all, to be honest. Anyway… I stepped in the ooze, and then Hudson tried to wipe if off of my boot. I was wearing pretty thick boots, too. And everything was fine, until we moved Ralph, the tree, from the pot and replanted him. I pulled the pot, which was very heavy, and ended up on my butt in the ooze. I had to... Um… Take off my pants and boots, but apparently there was still some ooze on the bottom of my left boot, and it had eaten through my boot and severely burned the bottom of my foot. It hurt like hell. I was hopping and crying, and snapping at poor Huds. I think I tended to it in time, though it’s still a little sore. I used blood magic, and it did wonders.”

Linn listened curiously, this particular topic holding a special interest to the enchanter. His fingers subconsciously counted out the number of times she had touched it, ending only on two. “Burned only the second time it touched you, not the first right?” he asked with concern that the situation hadn’t evolved any more than it already has. As she spoke of the pain he mentally compared it to what Josleen and he had dealt with the second time they touched it as well. So far everything seemed to obey the rules that they had figured out. He released a pent up sigh. “There’s something bad going on in Xalious. Those mages are supposedly necromancers trying to summon something big. All that ooze is some kind of fallout from the process. The second time I touched it the stuff practically boiled. I don’t want to think of what’s going to happen the third time. If it is eating through stuff that isn’t living, then we’ve got a big problem.” If she decided to read his emotions the worry was clear in him, along with an angry determination to stamp out the source of those happenings.

Lanara had her empathic senses turned off right now, as the past two days had kept her on emotional overload. Years of intense training had taught her how to control her abilities, at her own will. Though, with the way Linn was talking, and the expression on his face, common sense had told her that this was a very deep issue, and a cause for concern. “Yes… It was the second time, I had touched it. Oddly, my butt didn’t burn, thankfully. But the first spot that came into contact was where the burn had occurred, but after the second time I came into contact with the substance. And necromancers?! Are you certain? Dark magic is not to be toyed with… Though I wouldn’t mind helping you look further into this, if I’m every allowed out of –his- sight.”

Linn looked somewhat relieved that the burn had only happened the second time. Nothing too new yet. “Well, as far as I can tell it actually has to touch your skin to start burning. That’s why I need to know if it can actually make its way through leather and such. It’s… unstable. I fear that if I touch it I’ll set off a chain reaction that can do a lot more damage on top of what’s already been happening.” He gave a huff at one of the few times the magic that he had been stuck with was possibly threatening his life. With a shrug and almost a dismissive wave he continued. “Necromancers or not, whatever they are doing it’s destructive and they don’t care for the results. It’s only going to keep escalating until they are stopped.” A glance backwards to where he had come from at the mention of the assassin. “Worse comes to worse we’ll just have to destroy whoever is after you now.” It sounded like an understatement, but to him it was just another problem to work through. If he could just keep thinking of it that way he can keep his head clear to do everything needed to solve it.

Lanara sighs, and shakes her head in confusion. Necromancers? Corrosive black ooze? What the hell was going on in the lands, lately? There was talk about murderous mermaids, and gangs, too. Sage Forest was recently under attack, and so much of the once beautiful landscape was either dead or dying. “We have to do something, and soon. I am going to sneak out of here, later. Or at least… Try. I am going stir crazy, and –he- isn’t even talking to me… I wish I could give you more answers about the black ooze, or whoever is after us, but I really don’t know much more.” Shrugging, she lowers her eyes and flicks a blade of grass, feeling helpless. “Linn… Have you ever been in love?”

Linn gives a pained nod at the chaos of the recent events, mostly being along for the ride himself. “We’ll just have to work through it.” Was all he got out before the next question came, leaving him a little stunned. He had never been –in- love, but there had been moments that definitely felt close to it. “I don’t know.” Came an even response with a short pause. “Whatever I would call love…” He swallowed, his memories flickering to his date with Artia, her own conflict with a previous lover, her care for his losses. The near-disaster at the tree. The two of them collapsed on the ground together, only hoping that the other was okay. It was the closest thing that he could call it. “To me, it’s when you forget about yourself for someone else.” He blinked, his expression attempting to harden at the memory of what it’s like to have that feeling betrayed, trying to move past it, but nonetheless a tear found its way out of his eye and down the side of his face, pain eating its way through the attempted discipline.

Lanara frowns deeply, for finding herself bold enough to ask such a question, and for causing Linn to shed a tear. Inching nearer to the male, she lifts her hand to gently wipe the tear from his cheek, and gives him the faintest of grins. “Look at the two of us… Neither of us knows anything that is going on in Hollow. And it seems we are both incredibly confused about the aspect of loving another, or receiving love, in general. We are some pair!” A soft laugh escapes her, as she sits back on her knees, and holds his grey gaze. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to ask you such a deep question. I just… I think I’ve fallen in love, and it’s making me miserable. Love isn’t supposed to hurt though, right? I never had it before… He gave me my first kiss. It was so… Wonderful! And I felt that he returned my attraction. And he gave me his undivided attention, the entire night. But… I fear that yesterday things somehow diminished for him, and I can’t say I blame him. It’s my fault that his career as an assassin has come to an end. And it deeply bothers me that he spent more time arguing with Tally, than with comforting me. I know he is noble, but I feel as though I’m a sudden burden to him, and that maybe he no longer returns my affection? Oh Linn, I don’t know what to do! I’m so torn; over so much…I never imagined finding love. No one ever found me lovely enough to ask on a date and with my past... I –never- let my guard down, those walls are always up. But here I am, pouring my heart out to you, and him, and everyone. I’m an emotional basket case…” Sighing, she runs her hands through her long locks, and shrugs, defeated in the department of love. “Why did you shed a tear? Who is she? Is it my sister? I would be alright with that, you know. You are kind to her and you are a good man. Also… I fear she’s not happy with Ayras, as of late. He never has time for her, and I know she is lonely. And…” Lana’s voice trails off; she wouldn’t say the thought that threatened her mind. Talyara would never go for Krystan, though her jealousy was growing, as her sister was stunning and she had a knack for taking most men’s hearts.

Linn’s expression relaxed just a little bit as the tear was wiped from his face. He gave a shrug and a slight smile at the idea of the confusion. “So it goes. We’ll make it through.” Was the optimistic response, a mentality that had served him through his whole life and gave him comfort even in the worst of situations. He held his gaze fixed on Lanara’s for her entire story and the back and forth that she had been going through. Truth be told none of it truly mattered to him, just events scattered that lead up to the crucial moment that had forced them to leave. He gave her a serious look, the one act that truly spoke to him becoming clear. “So long as you two are willing to work together through anything, no matter what happens, that’s love enough.” Questioned about his own pain he only shook his head at the speculation. “Old wounds. Wounds that still guide me today.” They had come from every direction that time, both physically and emotionally he was shattered what seemed beyond repair. Somehow he kept it all together and kept going. Somehow.

Lanara frowns at his answer, not knowing if Krystan and her were going to work together towards a future, or just enough to get by from getting killed. And the fact that she had shared her intimate thoughts and Linn wasn’t willing to open up, seemed unfair. The empath was fully capable of pressing her hand to his flesh and forcing a reading of his emotions, though she considered Linn a friend, and didn’t want to force anything. At least, not yet. He wasn’t suicidal, or overly angry, or anything like that. So she would hope he would confide in her when he was ready, and then the healing could begin. “If you ever want to open up, you know, you could talk to me. It would be kept confidential.” Unsure of what to say next, she continues to lightly finger the blades of grass and remains pouting.

Linn furrowed his brow at her expression; it wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to share his past, it just felt so complicated and difficult to explain, what had happened seemed so monstrous in comparison to any other betrayals he may have dealt with. He met her eyes with a look of pain, and determination. It was something he still looked to master and learn from today. “You want to know about it, my whole story?” If he was to explain this pain it was going to require –everything-.

Lanara nods her head, for she did want to get to know Linn, as he had been there for both sisters, at one time or another. The human was still an acquaintance, but she was willing to consider him a friend, and hoped he would start opening up. It would be good for him, they would share a bond, and it would help her to focus her attention on another, rather than focus on her own cumbersome thoughts. Knowing he was conflicted, she softens her voice, and peers up at him with a deep understanding in her eyes. “Linn. You can tell me anything, really… I will not judge you. How could I? I’m an empathic witch, my sister is a witch, and the man I’m seeing is an assassin! I have had a horrible past, too… But you can’t heal if you don’t let it out.”

Linn gave a single nod in return; it was by telling these stories that he had come to grips with them, learned from them. He gave a deep sigh, eyes closing to compose himself. “It started with where I lived. Far west. All things considered my life started out fairly normal. I had a family, friends, and a small town to live in. What started all the events in motion was some overpowering fear of the unknown in them, something completely lost on me.” A pause and a sideways look. “That fear made things stagnant, which was a situation that had caused great friction between me and just about everyone else. Even my family.” He lifted a hand to scratch the side of his brow with his thumb. “It might have all passed without as much issue if some stranger things hadn’t happened. One day there was a quake; some of the townsfolk had come running in as if the end times had come, something about the earth breaking apart. Of course, me and my curiosity I snuck out to go find out what it was. What had happened was indescribable.” He held up his hand, a ring of spiraled mithril wires around it began to untwist to release a series of diamonds from within to form a loop around his hand. Images and models drew themselves in the space above his hand in a whitish blue light. The first one to appear was what looked like plans for his armor and its enchantments before it dissolved with his manipulations of the diamonds around his hand. Soon another one formed, showing a rolling landscape that a jagged scar had torn downward into, faint wisps rippling and flowing out of it before vanishing. He lowered the image so that they could see down into the feature projected in front of them. Rivers of energy flowed from one wall of the tear to the other, crystals jutting from the same faces out into the chasm. “It was here that everything changed irreversibly.”

Lanara listens intently, transfixed on the tale was developing before her eyes. She was curious and confused, though she allowed Linn to carry on with his story. An earthquake? Why would a quake cause such irreparable differences with Linn and those he loved? Leaning in, she watches the ring twist and reveal that it was more than just a piece of jewelry. She admires the magical pictures that display before her very eyes, and peers into the energy river, before glancing back up to Linn. “I don’t understand… Go on.”

Linn looked back up to Lanara to explain what was so special about it. “It was something unnatural, unusual, and unknown. Something that they feared so much that everyone was forbidden to go in its direction. I was enthralled by it for the exact same reasons, wanting to know what had happened to cause such a thing, what it contained and did to the environment around it. It took me maybe a couple weeks before I decided to go down into it.” He breathed a slow sigh, peace flickering through his expression as he recalled what it was like to be in the presence of the energy seeping from the earth. “Everything just felt so… clear, down there. I would always find myself returning when I could slip out without anyone noticing just to see more of what it was.” The image vanished, replaced with a view that looked from the bottom of the chasm upwards, his hand lifting upwards so that they could mirror the point of view. “This went on for a year or two. How I kept it a secret so long was a miracle.” A sigh as the image vanished again, replaced with a similar one, except now there was a hole that looked to be maybe three, four feet across in the ground. The outline of a large crystal bridged it, allowing one to walk over it and look down inside. The point of view moved forward as he brought his hand low again for the two to look down into the shaft that went further into the earth, more outlines of crystalline material absolutely covering the walls, a faint glow indicating a draft of energy coming up out of it. “It wasn’t kept forever. It couldn’t be” he stated. “In an instant, there was no going back.” The image turned as if whoever was seeing what he was displaying looked upwards to get going again. Suddenly the walls were rushing upwards, a look up at where they were going revealing the crystalline bridge, jagged and broken at both ends. “I still feel myself falling every now and then, hearing the shattering and crunch of my own body.” At this he appeared fairly resolute, it was one part that he had told before, and ultimately it was physical, something that he could live with. He turned his head and tilted it forward to reveal a chaotic mess of scars covering the back of his neck that went under his armor and hair as if to speak of what had happened there. It was as if he had fallen on broken glass. A lot of it.

Lanara tilts her head to the side, as realization strikes, her intelligent brown hues, suddenly sparkling. “You became the energy… You didn’t die, and there are scars. So I’m guessing that somehow that flow of energy seeped into you. Am I correct?”

Linn looked back with a slow nod. “Didn’t quite become it, but yes. I would be dead if it wasn’t for the magic there. I don’t know how long it took, but I woke up eventually, feeling as if my back was burning alive, blood covering the bottom of the pit. More than I thought I could bleed. Somehow I climbed back out and got all the way to the outside of the town, regardless of who knows how many muscles being cut. Next thing I know I was waking up in my bed at home, but it wasn’t a nightmare. The pain was still there, I was being given water and food like a patient. I could barely move. It was my family…” he trailed off, the pain beginning to return. “It all changed when they saw my eyes for the first time. The look lasted for just a second that look of dread as if they had just seen their doom. They knew where I had been.” He swallowed, the muscles of his face tightening with the action. “They grew distant immediately after, refusing to talk or enter my room other than when giving me food and water.” His eyes began to gloss with the coming of tears again. “I suspected the worst, made sure I was ready. It only made that day worse when it was confirmed. They entered my room for the first time together as I slept, I woke up to open an eye just enough to see them without them knowing. Then I saw the knife hidden behind one of their backs.” His eyes shut, tears beginning to form a continuous trail down both sides of his face. “Never a warning. Never even told to leave. Just fear and death.” A fury began to well up inside of him, not necessarily directed at his family, but at the town as a whole. He blamed the rest of them for the attempted murder, and was only deeply pained that his family had betrayed him and went with it. “Everything else was a blur of shouting, grabbing, and running. I went the one place that I knew they would never chase me. Right back to where it all began.” He drew the violet crystal that she had seen him use when Talyara was hexed. It was different from last time, ever so slightly larger than it was, its interior now containing a sinister darkness that pressed against the confines of its walls; he stared at it in silent thought while recomposing himself.

Lanara fidgets with the hem of her black cloak, and continues to listen, though she still remains confused. What was so bad about magic? Why did his family turn on him? The town? Shaking her head, she pats the male on his knee, in an attempt to offer slight comfort. “I am sorry that you had to endure all of that pain, and that you had to go through that with your family… But I don’t understand! Maybe it’s because I was raised in an environment where magic was easily accepted. But you fell and were injured. You managed to survive and go back home and be cared for, and you were sort of the same person. Why were you cast from the community?” Perplexed, she quirks a brow and waits for a response.

Linn could only notice her confusion, and the questions that came after. Everything drew together so strangely. At the mention that he was sort of the same person he found his way into what was so off about it all. “Fear. That’s the only reason I have been able to find looking through the pieces. They feared what they didn’t know, what seemed unnatural so much that they shut it all out, they never gave me a chance to see if I was the same or any different. The moment they saw that my eyes had lost their color I became the doom in theirs.” He breathed another pained sigh, his anger subsiding. “There was nothing I could do about that.” A brief second before it flared back with a vengeance. “I would have been fine to simply leave once I could, but that my family tried to kill me for it without so much as a word?” He tried to continue, but everything in him just collapsed every bit of composure and emotion crumbling to nothing but overwhelming betrayal. He fell backwards as his eyes closed, the tears continuing to stream out of their sides and into the ground, shaking with silent sobs. How could a fear that powerful exist, to betray someone like that? To him it was utterly unthinkable.

Lanara hesitates, hoping that she could offer the male some sort of comfort. Racking her brain, and hoping that Krystan wouldn’t overhear and come see what was the matter, as this was personal, she shushes Linn. “Come here…” She commands, while moving to place his head upon her lap, as her fingers trail through his hair. “There, there… It’s going to be alright. You are just a little broken, nothing that can’t be fixed.” As soon as her hands lower to his tear-stained cheeks, she closes her eyes and imagines that she’s laying in a field of flowers, the sun shining brightly, and a gentle breeze caressing her cheek. Forcing the image from her mind, into the emotion of ‘calm’ she presses the calming sensation into Linn’s flesh. After a few moments, he would feel eerily calm, and a tad less depressed. The sensation would last for about fifteen minutes, once Lana removes her hands from his face. “Shh… It will all be alright. You are –here- Linn, they can’t hurt you anymore. They can only hurt you through your memories. I know it hurts, and you don’t know why the unthinkable happened. But it did. And you have to try and move on, the best that you can. Okay?” Hoping she reached him, she removes her hands from his face, and smiles faintly at him.

Linn’s shaking relaxed slowly as Lanara leaned over to him, though her words seemed lost on him. He had certainly acknowledged what she said; it was just everything that he knew already. Those events were displaced so far both by distance and by time that the possibility of them repeating themselves exactly was even more remote than them occurring in the first place. He may have even been irritated, but just wasn’t willing to fight back right now. As she pushed the calming sensation into him, a peaceful, almost questioning ‘mmhm’ came from him as the shaking rapidly ceased, every muscle finding itself relaxing under the spell. By the time she had spoken back up he had already fallen asleep. Evidently her magic worked much better than it should have.

Lanara blinks as Linn falls asleep, her mouth slightly agape in awe. The empath was very skilled, that she knew, though he wasn’t supposed to be calm enough to fall into a slumber! Ever so slowly, she removes his head from her lap and lowers it onto the soft grass. Reaching into her backpack, she removes a thin blanket and covers the male. “Rest well…” She whispers, knowing that it was likely that he could use a good night’s sleep. She would wait for the next horse or unicorn that crossed her path, and tie him to the back, so that he could be brought to the nearest tavern.

Linn might just wind up continuing his slumber considering that he hadn’t slept yet in a while, though he would wake up, albeit quite groggy from the calming influence, if any louder noises occurred or if someone attempted to move him. Whatever magical energy had infused him seemed to even and calm itself under the influence of the spell, flowing gently and carrying its influence much farther into his physical body than it should have. But for now he rested, the peace coming out in his expression with a faint smile and even, slow breaths.

Lanara drums her fingers lightly against a rock, relieved once a majestic unicorn nears. The beautiful white mane of the mare blows softly in the wind, as she bows her head and laps up some water from the nearby brook. Eventually, her head is raised and those silver-blue eyes would lock onto Lanara, as the two were friends. The empath rises to her feet and approaches Moonachie, gently burying her face against the mare’s side, and whispering. “I need you to give Linn a ride to the Kelay Tavern. Can you do that, my lovely?” The mare neighs in response and walks alongside the empath, and they both peer down at Linn. Knowing he was too heavy for the petite witch to lift, Lana calls the element of air to her, and forces it beneath Linn. After a brief second, the male would be gently lifted a few feet into the air and carried on the wind, until he’s placed directly above Moonachie’s silken back. Once there, Lanara lowers her hands, thanks the element, and then sends the energy from the woods. A chaste kiss was given to the unicorn’s muzzle, before she gently slapped the rear, and the horse runs off to the tavern, with Linn on her back.

Linn | The neigh was the first thing Linn heard, his eyes cracking open in a bit of a daze. His head rolled over to catch a blurry image of a unicorn and the witch heading over to him, though they would be hard pressed to see them open as little as they were. His energy, already subdued by the calming spell wouldn’t do anything strange as she lifted him with more magic. He tried to resist and wake up at their approach, but every muscle in his body just couldn’t be asked for the effort. Just as the horse began running his eyes snapped wide open in plain view of Lanara, the jolt giving him the impetus to force himself into action as her spell suddenly found itself nullified by the enchanter’s active will. His voice rose as he tried to get the horse to halt with a “Hey hey hey stop!” Finding the ropes that tied him to the horse he managed to get a hold of the knots and undo them, causing him to roll right off onto the ground with a thunk. As he got up it looks like the only thing that hurt right now was his ego due to the awkward situation. He walked right back to Lanara, his mouth half open at what had just happened, but the rest of his expression, if slightly peeved, was really amused. “Okay, don’t do that to me again. Please.

Lanara stands with her hands on her hips, a mischievous glint in her pretty eyes, as she stifles a giggle. Seeing Moonachie take off like that, with a semi-conscious Linn tied to her back, was quite possibly the most hilarious thing the witch had ever witnessed, since arriving in Hollow. Always the prankster, though she did have good intentions this time, she skips over to Linn, to make certain he was alright. “You okay?” She musters, before dissolving into a fit of contagious giggles, causing her to double over and slap her knee. “That was epic!” She exclaims, eyes wide as the unicorn trots back their way, searching for the passenger. Eventually, she arrives at the male’s side, and aims to bite him on the shoulder. She was following her orders, and if Lana told her to get him to the tavern, she would do just that.

Linn couldn’t help but join in on the laughter at his expense, the absurdity of the situation not lost on him at all. “Yeah, I’m…” Another giggle broke his speech. This was getting to him too much. “I’m fine.” Epic probably wasn’t the way he’d describe it, and he would have protested if the unicorn hadn’t come right back up behind him, a snort causing him to turn his head to find it trying to get him to come back, which only forced him to burst back out into laughter, doubling over from the effort. He breathed a sigh, in an attempt to compose himself before speaking up, speech still speedy from the lighthearted mood. “Okay, just what exactly did you do to me? I didn’t think being paralyzed could feel pleasant but it certainly seemed that way.” His head tilted towards Moonachie with a good natured grin “Right up until I found myself being carried off by a horse against my will.”

Lanara extends her hand for Moonachie to stop neighing and stomping her hoof on the ground. The unicorn was determined to carry on her mission, and at Linn’s laughter, she snorts loudly, her silver eyes narrowing on the male. “No, Moon! It’s alright, really. You did such a good job, my lovely!” Nearing the unicorn, Lana begins to braid her mane, between laughing at Linn’s expense and answering his inquiry. “I –am- sorry, though I did have honorable intentions. You fell asleep, and I couldn’t just leave you to sleep in the forest. Plus, I don’t think my assassin would approve of the two of us cohabitating.” At the mention of Krystan, she would glance briefly in his direction, pleased that the unicorn stampeding with Linn tied to her rear hadn’t alerted him, or he chose to ignore the behavior. Either way, she returns her attention to Linn, and cackles, unable to maintain a straight face. “It was so perfect! Your face when you fell from the unicorn! It was epic. I must prank you in the future! I do that… Quite often, you know?” As she finishes braiding the silky mane, she knots it at the end, and sends the mare back to the brook. “I am an empath. I am able to project whatever feeling I am currently feeling, into your body. I manipulate emotions, at will. And I also can feel your emotions, if I choose to, though I mostly choose not to invade the privacy of others.”

Linn scratched his head with a smile. Yeah, he certainly had fallen asleep, though he had no idea how long. Last time something like this happened it was till the day after that he woke up. “Well then. Whatever it was it hit fast. I don’t even remember being tired.” His glance followed hers towards wherever Krystan might have been, if just to be on the same page. The cackling and coming prank was met with a very mischievous look that could have been anything from peeved to amused. He gave a sigh and an even more mischievous smile “I’ll have to return the favor sometime.” Listening to her explanation of what she did he watched the unicorn go back off into the forest. He turned back with brows raised, suspecting that she had used some kind of magic to put him to sleep like that. “And just what kind of an emotion would knock me out –that- fast? Even straight up sleepiness doesn’t work that swiftly.” Well… it actually probably would if she tried and he wasn’t prepared for it.

Lanara sighs, all amusement gone from her face, as she now begins to braid her own long locks. “You don’t realize just how taxing it is on your body, when you vent, or unleash pent-up emotions. You were… Visibly and emotionally upset. I merely… Altered your emotion. No biggie. I didn’t feel your emotion; I only projected my own into you. That’s why I am so wonderful with all animals. They know my heart, and I can read theirs, as well. Raising you onto the unicorn, though? That was magic. Witchcraft. I called the element of wind to lift you.” Long locks were twisted and turned in a perfect pattern, until the pretty elf was satisfied, and knotted off the end. “I wouldn’t exactly call my empathic abilities a form of magic…. It’s just intuition. Or a blessing. Curse, maybe? I’m not so sure, anymore… But anyways, I’m glad that you are feeling better, Linn.”

Linn turns his head ever so slightly; to him it wasn’t very pent up or vented. He gave a weak smile that had a small mark of disapproval. “That wasn’t really necessary. I don’t mind going back into those stories and dragging back emotions like that.” A pause and a sideways look. “To me it’s a way to master what happened and learn from it. It keeps me grounded, helping me realize just what we hope and look for. It’s because of that pain…” he nodded over towards where Krystan was. “That I respect what he did. I’ve more than moved on from what has happened and I hold no grudges, but I’m not afraid to return to those memories and relive them. Every now and then those experiences yield something that has been quite useful to me.” He gave a nod in acceptance that he was feeling better, even if to him it was just a different state. “Blessing or curse, it doesn’t matter. They are just there and you have to live with them, like what I carry back with me from that scar in the land.”

Lanara nods in unusual understanding, and crosses her arms over her chest. “The feeling that I put into you? That was calm. Content. Blissfully at ease. I envisioned myself in a field of beautiful flowers. I smelled their sweet scent, I felt the sun on my face, and I felt the breeze caressing my face. No worries, no thoughts, and no distractions… That was what I forced into you. Though you wouldn’t have a ‘vision’ you literally just felt my resulting emotion.” Pausing, she kicks a twig out of her way, as she walks over to lean on a large oak tree. “Though I never put anyone to sleep before. You must be very sensitive to magic.”

Linn sighed and scratched his chin in thought. That calm was a positive bliss in the few seconds he lasted before losing consciousness. Thoughts flashed from his last interactions with anything magical. The tree’s soothing aura that had put him to sleep similarly, the shadow magic that had nearly consumed him in the span of seconds, the ooze, brought to an immediate boil. He walked over to retrieve whatever he had left on the ground as he thought. “Must be. My little union with magical forces wasn’t exactly pretty as you’ve found out. Probably had something to do with the nature of how I am because of it.” He breathed a sigh while staring forward in thought of the implications. “Well, I’ll have to be careful with it. Hopefully more good comes out of it than harm.”

Lanara nods her in agreement, tapping her foot on the ground, as though she were deep in though. “Linn… If you like, I can help you to harness your energy. It sounds to me as though you are receiving external energy, and you don’t know how to push it back out, and how to ground yourself… I don’t mind helping you. I have had countless years of training, myself. It’s bad if outside influence has that much of an effect on you. What if someone disarmed you in battle? You would perish. No, I insist, we will begin your training, as soon as all of whatever this is... Dies down. Okay?”

Linn stared at Lanara for a few seconds before responding with a nod and a determined look. “That would be good. I can use it to force other magic back out; it’s just what happens when I’m not actively controlling it. At the very least it would give me the chance to further my control over it. I would be happy to have your help in learning to deal with it.” He glanced out in the direction of Cenril. “Yeah, whatever it is. Hopefully the trouble doesn’t come chasing us all the way out here.” He moved over to pick up his pack to get ready to go again. “It was good to have that talk. The events surrounding my ‘family’ the word was tipped with a note of sarcasm; whatever bonds they had were broken that day. “Were something’s that I haven’t had the chance to talk about much. I at least know a little bit more about it now.”

Lanara smiles as he accepts her proposal, and awkwardly steps forward and gives Linn a quick hug. “It will all work out, and you will feel so much better, in the long run. I promise. And I’m really glad that we had a chance to talk more and bond. Thank you for coming to visit me, it was super sweet. I’m probably going to head to bed, myself. We will get together soon, okay?” That said, the woman doesn’t wait for a reply, as she lowers herself back to the spot where he first encountered her, and lies down. Delilah, who obediently watched them for the duration of their discussion, would near Lanara and curl up in a ball at the empath’s feet. “Goodnight, Linn.” Murmurs, the woman, already half asleep.

Linn returned the hug the best as he could, making sure the edges of his armor didn’t bump too hard against her. He may have responded if she wasn’t already going to go sleep. Instead he just smiled with a confirmatory nod before making his way out. “Night Lanara” he gave as a farewell. He headed east to Kelay to spend the night. It was time to go see what else might be going on in Cenril. That strange man he had seen a couple nights before didn’t look to be one interested in gang wars.