RP:Breaking Friendships

Skylei: But what name befits an RP of this beauty?
Josleen: The greatest emotional drama ever RPd?

Synopsis: Skylei receives visitors in the form of Ezekiel and Josleen as she recovers from injury in Aela's old room in Frostmaw Fort. Unfortunately, she has a third visitor on the way, Eliason, who just so happens to be Josleen's ex-boyfriend. In a series of misunderstandings, miscommunications, awkward silences, rejections, accusations, insults and tears, any friendships left between the foursome are successfully burnt to the ground.

Look, I can't do it justice okay? This RP is a horrific beast of hurt feelings and emotional drama. It's glorious and terrible.

  Josleen says: You call that a fitting synopsis?!?!?!?!?! SO. MUCH. GOES. DOWN.  
  Also this rp took place in like January of 2014. Amazing.

Frostmaw Fort

Skylei has spent the last few days near enough living in Aela's room. Every day starts the same, waking up freezing cold and desperately scrabbling for more clothes than she already had on without leaving the warmth of the bedclothes. Once she resembled a marshmallow, due to the sheer number of layers she was wearing Sky engaged in one of two pursuits; letter writing and pacing. Sky doesn't have many friends in the icebound city, and those she does have are too busy engaging in preparations for war, so her activities are somewhat… limited. Today she had chosen the latter of the two choices and was walking up and down the room, stomping her feet as she went in an effort to regain some feeling. She hadn't felt her toes in at least a week and she was starting to believe that they had actually fallen off. Five paces one way and five the other; wash, rinse, repeat. It's a boring life in Frostmaw.

Since the arrival of Skylei's distressing letter Josleen has impatiently kept her finger of the pulse of road conditions. Thanks to Anann, the prognosis is always terrible, do not pass, death imminent. However, the day finally did arrive where the risk of death by crazy went from 'very high' to 'caution.' And caution Josleen and Ezekiel did employ when climbing the mountain. Because merchant wagons are most heavily targeted, the couple was forced to ditch the trade routes and hitch shorter rides on farmer and mining roads, walk alongside the main road when possible. The precautions lengthened the duration of the trip which afforded Josleen plenty of time to breed nuance into her hatred of Anann. She shares with Ezekiel every new hateful gem and turn of phrase her bardic mind concocts. They reach Frostmaw with plenty of light left in the day. Josleen forgoes the wisdom of securing a room at the inn before the twilight rush of stranded travelers and makes a beeline for the fort. She too hates Frostmaw and her infrequent visits are always singular in purpose. The guards quickly update the visitors on Skylei's condition and direct them to Aela's room. Josleen can't help but frown sadly at the memory of that ill-tempered but well-meaning paladin. The memory of the deceased's brother also makes an untimely visit at the forefront of her mind. The bard can't help but wonder where he is now, then immediately regrets the curiosity. Her proximity to Ezekiel makes such thoughts feel like betrayal. She needs to keep moving. Her own hand's rapping on Skylei's door disrupts the troublesome chatter of her mind. "Skylei!" she calls in that familiar lilt reserved only for the other half-elf. It's one-part affection, two-parts Skylei-tailored obnoxiousness. "It's me. Ezekiel's here too. Are you decent?" Assuming yes for the purposes of speed, Josleen lets herself in when invited, appraises Skylei as fit enough to crush, and proceeds to crush only adjusting for Skylei's pain tolerance. This greeting is all affection and relief, no teasing. She sniffles happily in Skylei's ear, unrelenting in her embrace. "You look so much better than I expected. How do you feel?" Her gloved hands take hold of Skylei's as her torso pulls away just enough for the bard to play doctor.

Ezekiel does not want to be here, Frostmaw that is. This land had earned such a cold spot in his heart and it was not one that the city of ice and snow would have proud of, either. But here in the sanctity of the fort though, with both friend and lover, he can't help but dismiss the usual uncomfortable familiarities that usually haunted him when inside its walls. At least for a little bit. He walks down the halls of the fort with Josleen at his side- specifically his right and pauses only when outside the scholars' room. He waits till Josleen invites them in, slips inside and shuts the door behind them. It had been quite some time since he'd last ran into the woman and news of her attack left him feeling moderately upset; no where near as upset as Josleen. For now, he moves towards a desk within the room and helps himself to its only chair. "It's good to see you up and walking. Josleen said you were left in pretty bad shape."

Guard duty, the human's least favorite part of the day. Since coming to these lands and joining Hildegarde's personal squad, he had been denied any access to excursions out of the walls. Instead, each night is spent in silent pondering standing as a sentinel on one of the walls or one of the caves. At least it gives him time to think and not about the lack of feeling in his extremities, either. Finally, he is relieved of duty and follows the familiar path toward the fort, straying from that path only to stop and pick up a few things. A few bottles of warming ale, a pair of fur-lined boots, a warming pan to heat in the fire and slip under the covers. He knows how miserable this place is to Skylei, though her presence here has afforded him so much peace. He wants to repay that by getting her just a few things that will make life a bit easier. Once more upon the familiar path to her quarters, he shoulders the large sack of items and enters the fort. The guards do not stop him, do not give him any reports, don't warn him… Bastards! Instead, he comes to a halt outside of Skylei's door and knocks heavily on the wood.

Skylei had indeed responded with a 'yes' when Josleen had knocked on the door. Her pacing had halted and she had greeted the bard with an appropriately affectionate hug. It was almost akin to the kind of hug that someone who wasn't perpetually awkward around people would give, which for Sky is somewhat impressive. It's only credits the extent to which she is glad to see the bard; or the fact that she is so cold that she is willing to tolerate the closeness of another being if only to steal Josleen's warmth. There's no snuffling on her part, no outpouring of emotion, or joyous greeting; simply a hug. It is only when Jos moves away to examine her, in her pseudo-doctor fashion, that Skylei notices the mage has entered 'her' room too; Josleen is one of those people that demands that her presence be felt and leaves little room for any others. She mouths a polite 'hello at him, before turning her visible attention back to the bard. With Ezekiel in the chair, Skylei offers Jos a seat on the bed and, should she take it, would sit alongside her. To both Ezekiel and Josleen's concerns, Skylei would flick her hand dismissively, "Oh… it was nothing." It wasn't nothing. Arrows hurt. But Sky decides not to bore the couple with the details of her plight or her healing, "I was simply lucky that Hildegarde was in the right place at the right time. Had she not been…" Skylei actually grimaces at the thought. "Anyway, what happen-" Whatever it was that had happened would have to wait, for it is at that moment that Eliason knocks on her door. Sky stops dead for a few seconds as she realises exactly who it is that waits behind the wood. Her face falls; there's only one person who comes to call on the half-elf in Frostmaw. Still, she holds a diabolical hope that it might be someone else. Looking from Jos to Ezekiel, Sky waits to see whether they are happy for her to entertain company on their watch.

Ezekiel found enjoyment in Josleen's doctor-bard behavior, and even in Skylei's casual dismissal of an attack on her life; what a champ. In a way he could relate, too many times had he arrived on death's doorstep only to ding-dong ditch, enraging the foreboding figure like he were a grumpy old man shouting a troublesome kid. And almost always was his dismissal (mostly) casual. Still, he can't help but smile. Smiling in Frostmaw is about as rare as getting a Sailor to wash his mouth out, at least with anything else besides rum. But he doesn't interupt nor does he intrude. He saw her as a friend, but Josleen knew her as more. He'd let the two catch up before doing the same. Knock Knock. His eyes trace from scholar to bard, and from bard to door. 'I'll get it' he says without actually speaking and rises from the squeaky old chair. His smile never falters, but it does recede, he figured it were just another guard dictating the fort's strict visitor policy, or perhaps a shaman doing his round to administer a putrid tasting tonic that Skylei could do without. Nope. Both at the same time would have been better than who he came face to face with. He doesn't speak his name but it burns loudly against his mind. He holds the door in one hand, fully ajar staring. Now the smile diminishes and hard brows knit together. A stone cold look takes over his stare and he simply rests it on the paladin before him. "Eliason?" He had half ready to shut the door right now.

Josleen shakes her head at the 'if' scenario in which Hildegarde did not swoop in and save Skylei. "If Hildegarde had not shown up, you would have escaped by other means. The gods decreed it must be so." Josleen is not particularly religious, but religious language is always dramatic and therefore preferable to a bard. When someone knocks on the door, Josleen looks to Ezekiel, catches his stare, then waves her gaze from his to the door meekly. It's a silent request he see to the door, please. Assuming it must an unknown guard or servant or someone with some business-oriented purpose, Josleen doesn't pay the door much heed. Her attention quickly returns to her closest friend. "So when do you plan on leaving? You must be itching to leave. If you plan on leaving tomorrow or the day after, perhaps Ezekiel and I can wait for you and we can make the trip as far as Xalious together." It's just as she finishes this suggestion that Ezekiel speaks Eliason's name with all the horrored disbelief that sinks Josleen's stomach. She goes rigid. Her will tries its best to keep her from looking, from confirming, but self-discipline has never been one of Josleen's strengths. She looks far too quickly and far more keenly than Ezekiel would probably like. Hopefully he too is gaping in disbelief at Eliason and unaware of her reaction. Her stare seeks out sapphire, and when she finds it she looks away, looks back at him, looks away. She grimaces at the wall beyond Skylei before inevitably looking back. A variety of emotions compete to dominate her expression, but absent from that turmoil is anger or repulsion. It's difficult to say which emotion will win out until she can read Eliason's own scarred visage, but whatever she feels it will be without a doubt accompanied by a need to engage, and that companion is truly the worse evil.

Eliason takes a breath as the door cracks, a word of greeting… perhaps a hearty "Good Morning, Skylei, I come bearing gifts!" Or perhaps just a shy, "Hello…" Whatever was there fades away with his smile as he is greeted by a very unwelcome sight. His eyes begin with the man's waist and rise rapidly, taking in the lack of one arm and finally coming to rest on the sneering visage of the mage. Did Ezekiel punch him in the gut or is it just the sight of the man that has him reaching deep for the next breath. "Ezekiel…" There is loathing in that word that Eli has shown in a very long time. But the one-armed mage is not a single package, is he. Sapphire eyes move quickly from the man, sweeping through the room for the sight of other half of this unwelcome gift. Perfect timing as sapphire meets brown in one of her furtive glances. His eyes dance away as quick as hers, turning to the side and falling fully upon Skylei. It is upon the scholar that he chooses to fix his gaze, looking past the man before him and avoiding the bard whose presence beckons his sight. His jaw clenches and unclenches several times before he finds the words to speak. "I brought you some things, Skylei…"

Skylei doesn't have time to answer any of Josleen's questions before she hears the name that she knew was coming. Eliason. Of course it's him. In truth, Skylei had known that he was at the door from the second his hand had made contact with the wood, even before Ezekiel had confirmed her suspicions. She looks from a clearly unhappy Ezekiel to Josleen who is staring in Eliason's direction. It feels as though seconds have passed and yet she would attempt to greet him with enough enthusiasm for all three of them in response to his direct comment to her "Collin, it's… good to see you…?" Her attempts fall flat and he is forced to greet a cold room. Her brow is furrowed with panic and Sky even sneakily pinches herself with numb fingers. For the love of the gods, let this be a dream?! It's a nightmare alright, but unfortunately it's one that is playing out in her reality. Skylei is forced to attempt to negotiate this minefield that has sprung up in her room. Firstly, she would rest her hand on Josleen's back in an attempt to comfort(?) her, secondly she would move towards Ezekiel, Eliason and the door. If she could, if Ezekiel could be pushed back towards the chair she would position herself between the mage and the paladin so that she might murmur a few words to Eliason privately, or as privately as she could, "You've… uh… caught me at a bad time." She pulls a face at the paladin that screams 'get me the hell out of here, I want the ground to open up and swallow me whole and preferably never spit me out. This is the worst thing ever.' Eventually, she realises her manners, "Would you like to come in?" No, Skylei. Of course he wouldn't like to come in. But her manners force her to ask this anyway.

Ezekiel felt as if roots were springing from his feet and keeping him glued to the spot right in front of the door. This feeling was not out of fear or even insecurity, but in defense for his grounds. No, he couldn't be pushed away, and no he wouldn't take the seat she'd try and offer, but instead he'd relinquish his grip on the door's handle. Had this been his own home, he'd have shut the door in Eliason's face. Had this even been his town, he'd have asked the man his business and suggest he quick about his business. But fact of the matter was, this wasn't either of those, but Skylei's room instead. So yeah, he'd let go of the handle and leave Skylei to attend to her guest, but he'd be damned if he were going to take a seat on the other side of the room. He is polite about this though, and shakes his head with a 'no thank you' smile; forced, clearly, but full of good manner. Instead, he makes his way towards Josleen's side, deliberately putting himself in between any further possible eye contact between her and Eliason. He follows her brown eyes with a pair of his own, speaking to her a silent conversation before standing at her side. If she'd gotten to know his looks well, she'd read it as 'I am not ok with this'.

Josleen flinches away from Skylei's touch. The scholar is not spared from Josleen's supremely hurt and accusatory look. How could Skylei do this to her? Skylei's reaction makes it clear this is only a surprise for Josleen and Ezekiel. The fact Skylei did not warn her wounds Josleen as sharply as any betrayal. Skylei's familiar whisper to Collin cannot be heard over the blood pumping loudly in Josleen's ears, but the body language is enough to twist the knife in the profusely bleeding wound. Then Skylei invites him in. She's choking. Breath comes shallow, unable to support her voice. Her face twists in a wrenched frown, and she's glad for Ezekiel's intervention if only to hide her face from Collin and Skylei both. She finds the situation, particularly the development with Skylei, embarrassing. It's difficult to describe the visceral reaction, but easy to witness it strangling her. When Ezekiel tries to move to her side, she places a hand to his hip to keep him standing before her, shielding her from view. Moist eyes turn up towards him, and much like Skylei begged Eliason to rescue her from this situation, Josleen begs the same of Ezekiel.

Eliason would normally have declined Skylei's invitation based on not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable. The scholar's eyes and whispered words are met with a nod of understanding and he lets the pack fall from his shoulder, catching it in his hand and holding it out to her. As he does so, however, it tips a little too far to the side and a bottle clangs to the floor. Luckily it doesn't break, but rolls until it lying just next to Ezekiel's foot. This brings his eyes back to the mage, quickly rising to find not the normal fearful look, but actually what Eli takes as one of challenge. The man can hide Jos's face all he wants, he had seen her immediate accusatory look at Sky. He will not leave Sky to face any accusations alone. So the one backward step he had taken preparing to leave is quickly reversed and he steps over the threshold. His eyes move back to meet with Skylei's communicating with her silently.

The next words from Skylei's lips would have been to inform Josleen that Eliason was in Frostmaw, that she had been spending some time with him and that she hoped that the bard would understand! Honest to the gods, that had been her intention. Of course, Collin had ruined Sky's attempts to ease the blow and now Josleen is looking like a wounded puppy, or as though Sky has hit her, or worse. Skylei suspects this is worse than anything physical blow she could have dealt the bard and this only leads to the facial expressions she pulls at Eliason to grow more and more panicked and bizarre. Sweet and gentlemanly as his intentions not to leave Sky to face any accusations alone might be, his entrance into the room only makes things more awkward. She's taken the bag from his hand and moves to put it onto the bed without looking to see what is in there. She does catch sight of the label on the bottle that has decided to lie rest by Ezekiel's feet and looks to the paladin with a smile that does not befit the awkwardness of the situation, as though the two are sharing a private joke "You're bringing me ale? Really? After what happened last time?" She snorts derisively and, had the two been alone, she might have offered him some show of affection. As they're not she simply awkwardly pats his arm as her smile fades, and looks towards Jos and Ezekiel and attempts to offer both parties an explanation as to why the other is in her room without making things anything worse. To the bard and mage, "Collin was there when Hildegarde brought be here and healed my injuries. He's been checking in on me whilst I've been staying here… I haven't had much company, y'know?" And then to the paladin, "I wrote to Jos and Ezekiel to inform them what had happened with Anann and Jos informed me that they would be visiting. I hadn't known it was going to be today." Skylei goes bright red and takes a seat on the bed next to Collin's 'gifts'. If she wasn't so proud she would have buried her head in her hands and cried; those looks that Josleen had given her hurt nearly as much as Anann's arrows.

Ezekiel felt her reach out for his hip long before he saw it. He still had his eyes on the man in the door, holding that stone cold stare until he felt the plea her in subtle grasp. As upset and angry with the situation as he was, more so with Eliason- who unfortunately had not as much fault in this as some others could, can't help but soften his expression. It's the gloss in her eyes that stabs him in the chest, and it's with that pain he reaches out to comfort hers. He reaches out with his only hand and cups it gently against the slope of her neck, rubbing at the nape with the ball of his thumb. He aims to reassure, to console and comfort before trading his stare with her, to Eliason's instead. It's right about that time the bottle rolls from the bag and all attention is on the label, the one turned up and facing him. An eyebrow rises, eyes shift back. He leaves Josleen's side for but a moment if only to reach down and retrieve the bottle. He lays it on the bed for Sky to claim on her own. "Now doesn't seem like a good time. We can always come back; check on you later." He looks to Josleen again for answer.

The gifts, the playful smile, the unspoken but evident and private joke, the teasing snort, the pat - they sure do lay it on thick. Worse yet is the assumed secrecy, which takes each individual act, ties them together into a Frankenstein monster of emotional pain, and magnifies it. Josleen has never felt so small. Even Ezekiel's touch only makes her tenser. She doesn't reject him, but he doesn't soothe her the way he would have hoped. Her anguish is impenetrable. Skylei's seat on the bed sends Josleen bolting to her feet as if the women were playing on the same see-saw, only no one would confuse either their expressions for anything anywhere close to play. Her emotional defenses begin to crack. What lies underneath is far too anemic to survive the glare of current company. Without looking at Ezekiel or Skylei, or announcing her intentions, she sprints for the door. Each step away from this room brings her closer to the promise of solitude and its un-sneering solace. If anyone tries to grab her, be it Skylei, Eliason, or even Ezekiel, she'll try to wrench herself free and continue her swift exit. If Eliason doesn't move to give her space to exit, she'll weakly mouth 'Move' without meeting his gaze. The only evidence to her intention to have spoken that command with confidence is the unconfident crack in her voice. Hopefully he moves. And if he does, she'll flee and find a private bathroom or closet somewhere in the fort to lock herself in and hide. And if he doesn't, well isn't that just cruel?

Eliason can't help but soften his expression when Skylei speaks of the ale. His face reddens considerably at the memory, but he shakes his head in denial of her implication. It is a short-lived moment for the pair as the weight of the current situation reasserts itself. Eli's massive form bars the door as everyone's emotions run out of control, even his own. He watches Eze's attempt to comfort Jos and her immediate, but all-too-familiar rejection. He sees the twist of the mage's features in response. He then sees Skylei's face, the way she looks like she could cry… It all comes down to one thing, just as it always does. Josleen! Everyone has to be miserable because of Josleen's feelings. In a rare moment, he cracks and at her firm word telling him to move, his features darken. "No! I will not move." His voice rises an octave as he really begins to lose his cool. "Look around you! Look at Ezekiel, look at Skylei, look at me… Everyone that's ever given a crap about you and what are you going to do? Run away like you always do and leave everyone around feeling sorry for you…" Eli's face contorts in rage. "I'm tired of you making everyone else feel guilty because you're too damn sensitive. What is between Skylei and I is none of your damn business. You gave up the right to care about what I do and who I do it with. And I have to stand here and watch you treat another guy with disdain. Can't you see he's trying to comfort you and offer a way out of this? And his reward? You ignore him and rush out leaving him to chase after and comfort you. And comfort you over what? The fact that your friend and your ex have a friendship? I see that the past few months haven't softened your selfishness!"

Skylei stays sat with her head in her hands. The sound of Josleen's feet against the floorboards tells her that the other woman has decided that she cannot tolerate the situation that they have found themselves in and has decided to remove herself entirely. Each footstep feels as though Josleen is trampling on her feelings. It only takes a few moments for the first tear to roll down her cheek. She keeps her hands close to her face so that neither Ezekiel nor Eli might see the fact that she is soon to be properly sobbing into her numb hands. Naïve and thoughtless Skylei hasn't even realised what exactly it is that she has done wrong, or even if she has done anything wrong. Is it just Eliason's presence that has upset the bard? Somehow, Sky knows it is more than that and so her tears begin to fall thick and fast. Skylei, who had barely uttered a cry when Hildegarde had pulled two arrows clean from her flesh and doused her wounds in alcohol, is rendered useless by the rejection of her best friend. And then she hears Eli's words and her body physically shakes with every blow he throws at the bard. And in spite of it all, in spite of the fact that every word that Eliason speaks is probably true, and in spite of the fact that, by this point, Sky is already red-faced, tear-stained and choking down sobs, Sky would lift her head from the hand and look desperately at the paladin, somewhat pathetically attempting to fight Josleen's corner, "Collin! Don't. Please…"

Ezekiel wasted no time in chasing after Josleen, albeit it from three-to-four steps away, he is ready to follow and chase, and hopefully catch. "Jos.." he sighs when she pulls away, stabbed once more in the chest, only this time there is no twist. It's not hard to see just where her discomfort came from, as if both scholar and paladin couldn't telegraph it hard enough, it's the insult of being locked in this cage that adds insult to injury. Depending on where Josleen stood, he'd try to put himself in between the two, Jos and Eli, his own snap inevitable. "Don't raise your voice at her." He speaks with a fairly calm and mostly collected tone, although one with an edge so sharp, it might just inspire question as to the man's actual social inability. "And that is enough. I don't care how angry you are." It felt like a long shot to try and reach for her arm, with how she pulled away he expected her to decline his touch once more; it was there, regardless. "She isn't selfish, she's upset. I can't quite understand what it is you two have done, but I can only assume. What's more, is she doesn't want to be here, but once again Eliason, here you are forcing her into an uncomfortable confrontation." He shakes his head, forcing away flashbacks of their beach scene. "As I said before, now clearly isn't a good time. So if you could please move," and here is where that edge in his tone flashes in bright steel, "if not I'll move you myself." Make that two people.. that could rile Eze up beyond belief; pirate's and paladin's.

At Eliason's refusal and shouting, Josleen swiftly turns to face the bookshelf on her left, pulling her hair over each side of her face to obscure her weeping from both Eliason and Skylei. She crosses her arms protectively over her abdomen, one hand reaching up to grab at her mouth like mangled grating. It does nothing to stop the audible sobs. The harder she tries to still her body, the more forcefully it shudders like a tectonic plate that's accumulated too much energy which must be released. Skylei's plea for Collin to stop gives Josleen enough strength to open her eyes and notice that sitting on the bookshelf before her is the last romance novel she lent Skylei. It's difficult for Josleen to show it now, but Skylei's eleventh hour play to finally be in the bard's corner does help. When Ezekiel touches her elbow, she does not pull away or reciprocate it. She simply allows his touch. She frowns over her shoulder at Skylei's weeping, her own sobs shuddering as she tries to reign them in. Any stare returned in-kind is evaded. When Ezekiel issues his threat to Eliason, her arm extends behind her to take the mage's hand. Eliason's tirade remains unanswered by its intended recipient. All the bard can think to do is ride out the hellish scene until she is freed.

Eliason's tirade comes to an end as he looks upon the scene before him. Two women crying, one man staring him down defiantly and… casting threats? His hand ball into fists and his eyes bore into Ezekiel. His feet even move automatically into a fighting stance. Here is a target for his pent up rage and frustration. This is the man that selfishly sent letters to Josleen behind Eli's back assuring that there had never been a chance for happiness. His teeth clench as he his voice lowers growling, "You…" But he is cut off by Skylei's plea. It is like a switch is been flipped on an overly aggressive robot as the sound of her words cut straight through the haze of rage swirling around in his head. Sapphire eyes swivel about to look at her, at the tears flowing down her cheeks and the pleading look in her eyes. He visibly deflates with that look and he turns once more to look upon Jos and Eze. He lifts a finger to point back and forth between them. "You know what… You two deserve each other. Neither one of you thinks about anyone but themselves." His eyes meet Ezekiel's. "Neither one of you are worth my time." Unlike the last time they had met, the man's eyes do not tear up. There is nothing but pure, unfiltered anger.

It's a pitiful sight, with bard and scholar both attempting to quell their tears and paladin and mage squaring up to have -yet another- fight over Josleen. The whole thing is, quite frankly ridiculous and Skylei is grimacing yet again at the words that at being thrown between Eze and Eli. Whilst Eli had exploded into a bundle of rage, Ezekiel's calm fury with its undeniable edge worries her just as much. Somehow, though she doesn't know how, her desperate plea seems to have calmed the paladin's fury at least to the point where he doesn't seem likely to punch Ezekiel any time soon. Her tears begin to dry and Sky eventually gets up and attempts to catch Ezekiel's eye; it's a difficult feat given he's still squared up to Eliason. As the most rational person left in the room (she thinks), he is likely to be the person that she can reason with. And yet, she doesn't reason with him she simply tells the couple as calmly as she can, "It's probably best if you go..." Try though she might, she cannot help but let out a small squeaking sob as she falls on the last word. She doesn't want to tell them to leave but in this situation, she cannot see another way.

Ezekiel retains that icy cold stare while the paladin steps aside. The mage on some level, even if it's nothing more than a spec buried in the bottom of his mind, can respect that. Even if it wasn't his call, the will to step aside versus answering with his fist is duly noted. Violence was never the answer, but hell if it couldn't substitute on so rare an occasion. He feels Josleen's hand in his own and squeezes it tightly, hoping to pull her near while he leads the two out into the hallway. At least out here, he didn't feel trapped, he couldn't imagine how terrible she felt right now. "Thank you." Again, solid, hard, empty of any compassion. All he can give is a half shake of his head in glancing from Eli to Sky before turning away. He wanted to say something, anything, just a word, but nothing came to mind. He felt were probably best he just shut the door and left with Josleen. "I'm sorry, Josleen." He whispers to her.

Josleen takes note of the sway Skylei has over Eliason. That used to be Josleen. She was the one who could calm down the paladin; the one for whom the paladin would lay down his arms. That was back when he loved her, and now he gives that power to Skylei, insinuating the paladin's love for the scholar. It doesn't say much about Skylei's love for Eliason, but she provides her own evidence. The scholar may not see any other solution, but Josleen does. Skylei could ask Eliason to leave. But she doesn't. She weighs Collin versus Josleen and finds the latter to be lacking. The knot returns to her throat. The tears resume their sting. She can't bear the pain and embarrassment of looking at Skylei or Collin as she leaves. What more, however reluctant she may be to admit it, Collin's words cut her deep. They no longer pertain to each other, but all the same it hurts to know she is so reviled by him. The knot in her throat is too large to permit her to respond to Ezekiel's sympathy. She waits until they're outside the fort to finally address him, and she just barely squeaks out "I want to go home." before devolving into a sobbing, and very public, mess. It's a good thing Ezekiel and Josleen didn't book a room at the inn.