RP:Just Because I'm Losing, Doesn't Mean I'm Lost

From HollowWiki

Part of the And it Harm None Do What Ye Will Arc


Summary: Jilted by the death of her pet chicken by her own hand, Talyara attempts to stumble her way home after a brief assistance from Thronnel. Along the way, she encounters her friend Krice whom she hasn't seen in quite sometime. The warrior seems a bit...startled?...by Taly's deterioration and confusion, and insists on escorting her back to Xalious.

Town in the Trees

Talyara had assured Thronnel that she would be able to make it home to Xailous sans his assistance once they reached the Kelay Tavern. As it was she waited until she saw him travel down the road towards Larket before she traveled on foot once more. Thronnel had cleaned off her face mostly, but there were still some smears of blood there, which also coated her hands, blouse, and skirt. Taly appears most unlike herself, unkempt in an unhealthy sort of way. Also lithe, she appears to have lost some weight and her bones are more pronounced under her skin. Furthermore, heavy shadows hang under her eyes, a clear indication that she hasn’t been having restful sleep. She wanders along the road, muttering to herself in elvish under her breath, a look of confusion clouding her features.

Krice was exiting the restaurant as Talyara passed through Kelay, dressed in his usual garb, with his katana against his back, long silver hair flowing freely in the breeze, and body generally lacking any signs of external blood. As those gentle winds rustled through the trees and along the compacted earth of Kelay Way, the warrior caught a whiff of such blood and turned his head, gazing in its general direction. Within a moment, those crimson eyes fell upon the familiar - albeit altered - figure of Talyara and he slowed to a halt just shy of her path, calling quietly to get her attention. " Talyara," he began, his tone smooth and voice calm. " You alright?"

Talyara flinches when she hears her name despite the calm voice that issued it. She slowly inclines her head towards the figure who called out to her, dulled green eyes finding the familiar warrior before her. At first, that confused look remains on her face before it finally breaks away after a few quiet moments. “Krice,” she finally says, orienting herself. It had been some time since the two had crossed paths and they hadn't parted on the best of terms. “Alright?” A brief pause. “Yes I’m fine,” she finally answers not quite meeting his eye. “How are you?”

Krice studied Talyara quietly, patiently waiting for her to acknowledge him through her apparent confusion. When at last she spoke, his expression shifted to one of subtle concern, veiled beneath his stoicism, and he opted to keep the witch talking by enquiring after her well-being, " What happened to you? You're covered in blood." Not -saturated- in blood, but certainly enough for laymen to notice, let alone a super-human with overdeveloped senses.

Talyara tilts her head to the side curiously and furrows her brows. “I am?” And then, because she didn’t believe him she lifts her hands to her face, studying her now-crimson skin. She then drops her gaze lower, pulling her blouse and skirt respectively away from her body to get a better look. “I am,” she agrees before blinking slowly a few times. “A chicken,” she finally answers when the image comes to mind. “It’s chicken blood.”

Krice's head tilted at a slight angle, portraying the curiosity within him as a result of Talyara's behaviour. Her answer earned her a slow nod and a quiet, "Yeah, I know," before he opted to reiterate his earlier question, speaking a little more firmly but still gently enough so as not to jostle the woman; she was clearly in some sort of state. " What -happened-?"

Talyara wrinkles her nose when Krice bids her to explain further, to tell the tale of how it happened. All at once, the witch is overcome with emotion, tears shimmering in her eyes as she shakes her head. “I don’t know,” she eventually says, her hands balling into fists. “I woke up and found her dead.” A beat, “her head was ripped off.”

Krice assumed that 'her' must have referred to the chicken whose blood was on Talyara, which was a logical deduction. The witch's clear upset was sign for him to continue to be careful whilst talking to her at this moment, his answer a quiet, solemn, " Oh." The warrior's gaze drifted off Talyara's face and down to the short metres of space between them, contemplation silencing him.

Talyara pats the bag tied to her hip where the slaughtered chicken carcass, complete with her severed head, lay. She then takes up the corner of her soiled shirt and begins to twist it nervously in her hands, all the while her eyes darting in every direction, trying to orient herself as to her location. “Um...where are we?” She suddenly asks, eyes landing on the warrior once more.

Krice looked over Talyara's shoulder toward the stretch of road there just as she asked after her location. He arched a brow, his surprise masked shortly afterward by composed scrutiny of the woman. " Kelay. You've been here often." The warrior's left eye squinted slightly, portraying his internal contemplation over the woman's condition. Did her upset over the death of her chicken extend to memory loss about frequently visited towns and cities?

Talyara’s mouth opens in a small circle of understanding. “Oh. Right, I knew that, heh.” She lifts her head to look up and down the road again, her own eyes squinting slightly as she silently wonders which way Xalious is. “I haven’t been sleeping well,” she says, hoping that would placate the warrior to her strange the behavior. She hugs her arms around her body and squeezes. “How are you?” She asks, trying to shift conversation back to him and away from her.

Krice didn't answer Talyara's question about his well-being. He -looked- fine, -sounded- fine, so chances are, he -was- fine. The witch herself was in a far different state of mind. He took one step back to turn away from her just enough to indicate the ends of the road. " Where are you staying? I'll walk you back."

Talyara doesn’t really seem concerned that Krice completely ignored her question. In truth, she was trying too hard to remain calm and normal that the opposite was probably being achieved. “Where I’m staying?” She asks with a blank stare. Where -was- she staying? Suddenly the image of an enchanter comes into view. “Linn. We live in Xalious. But I don’t want to bother you, I’m sure you’re busy.” A pause as she looks up and down the street once more. “If you could just point me towards Xalious I should be good.”

Krice shook his head, dismissing Talyara's concern for his schedule, and turned to continue westward, slow enough to allow the witch to catch up. " Come on. I'll walk you to Xalious." He turned to glance at the woman past his left shoulder, the hilt of his back-mounted katana partially obscuring the left side of his face - but not obscuring his gilded gaze from finding the woman to make sure that she was following him.

Talyara breathes out a heavy sigh and considers arguing her point further but she just doesn’t have the energy. Making sure her pack was securely tied to her hip she stumbles after Krice, occasionally losing her footing. “Sorry, I haven’t been sleeping well,” she says once more. “Just tired,” she mumbles, hoping the warrior would believe her.

Krice appeared to believe Talyara, for he didn't delve any deeper into the problems that could have led to her condition - thinner and confused as she was. After the second time she stumbled, he extended his right elbow so that she could take hold of it for support, slowing his pace a little to accommodate her wavering steps. " Don't worry about it," he said, his tone relaxed as always. " Xalious isn't too far away.""

Talyara looks at the offered elbow and doesn’t move to take it due to the blood on her hands. It was dried though, and she was feeling awfully weak. After a while, she reluctantly she accepts his elbow, periodically using it to keep her upright when she trips. The walk is mostly silent, which suited Taly just fine. But a vague memory of their last encounter kept resurfacing in her mind, even if the details were fuzzy. “We were mad at each other the last time we were together?” She asks, a questioning tone to her voice.

Krice was patient and waited for Talyara to take his elbow, the bent joint outstretched until she did so. When at last her hand wrapped around his arm, he rested it against his side, her knuckles to his ribs, and walked at a relaxed pace. Gilded eyes searched the western horizon, looking past the looming mountains to the magical town beyond. Talyara's question earned her a thoughtful shake of the head. " It was a stupid argument." A beat. " It doesn't matter, now."

Talyara grants Krice a weak smile before her tongue darts out to wet her cracked lips. “Oh, that’s good,” she says in response to his assessment of their argument. Presently, she cannot remember the details of it, but she vaguely remembered both storming away from one another. The companionable silence falls upon them once more as the walk, Taly’s pace slowing the further they travel. Suddenly, and out of the blue, she pulls up short, her face paling and as fear crosses her eyes. Almost as quickly as it started, the witch is shaking her head. “No, no. He’s not here,” she mutters under her breath in elvish before continuing to walk towards her home.

Krice slowed with Talyara, though he was ever more watchful over her - without even looking at her directly - as they neared Xalious. When she stopped altogether, he did the same so as not to dislodge her hand from his elbow, and tilted his gaze across her features. He noted her expression, recognized it, and wore his own subtle concern as he turned for Xalious alongside her. After a time, the man murmured, " If you're being threatened, you need to tell someone."

Talyara lifts her face to look up at Krice, a confused expression on her face. “How did you---” Cue mental slap. “You understand elven, I forgot.” She chuckles dryly. “No, no. I’m not being threatened. You’re just being silly.” Taly tightened her grip on Krice’s arm a bit and wills herself to keep her pace up. “Linn will meet me at the tree. I always meet him at the tree.”

Xalious Village

Krice did not speak to his understanding of the Elven language, instead opting to glance southward into Xalious at Talyara's reassurance that Linn would meet her at 'the tree'. Undoubtedly, she meant the Xalious Tree at the centre of town. Slowing to a halt just as they reached the northern entrance to Xalious, the warrior opted to leave Talyara to walk the remaining distance on her own. Quietly, he said, " This is where we'll part ways, then." Turning his head, the man regarded his tenuous companion with a thoughtful sweep of his gaze.

Talyara nods her head and untangles her hand from Krice’s arm. She turns to face him and gives what she hopes is a bit of a reassuring smile. “Thank you for helping me this far. I’m glad our argument doesn’t matter now.” And then with a nod of her head she spins on her heel, nearly toppling over in the process, and begins to stumble her way towards the Xalious tree where, hopefully, Linn would eventually meet up with her.

Krice lowered his arm to his side when Talyara stepped away, acknowledging her gratitude with a nod of his head. As she stumbled away, he pressed his lips together in momentary hesitation, perhaps considering assisting her further -through- Xalious, but ultimately opted against it. A resident out for a late-night stroll neared the woman and offered his assistance, an elderly fellow but still able. Krice saw no issue with the older man and observed whatever exchange ensued between him and the witch before he turned away, moving eastward once more.