RP:When Anger Rises

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

Summary: Talyara finds herself scouring the lands, somewhere deep within Sage forest, after having unrelenting dreams of her hometown of Kelvar Finally, she stumbles upon a clearing that so resembles her home and the dreams that plague her mind. While searching for a connection, Linn stumbles upon her, a normally welcome distraction. However, his presence only seems to agitate and anger the witch further, much to the surprise of the confused enchanter. After some harsh words, Taly finally breaks and Linn is there to offer his comfort and positive outlook.

Sage Forest

Talyara hadn’t been feeling quite herself as of late. Strange dreams about her life back home in Kelvar occupying most of her sleeping mind. She credited it to the latest development with Lanara who had lost her memories, sending Taly into a bout of depression. She didn’t often leave her cavern home, sending out Bachias to play in the woods while she lay curled up in bed. The only time she ventured out was to collect firewood, food, or water. The only reason Taly found herself out of Xalious today was the same dream she kept having, of her time in the woods back home. She had be scouring Sage, the only forest she knew in the area, to see if perhaps there was some correlation. After several days of searching, she finally found a part of the forest that so resembled Kelvar. A scowl was tugging down on Taly’s full lips as she paced the area, wide, emerald eyes looking up and down as if waiting for some sign as to why she was being lead to this place.

Linn made his way through this section of Sage in his usual armor and backpack that he always wore. While it wasn’t necessarily pressing matters that took him through here, he often found the quiet of the forest to give him a bit of peace of mind before he made his way back to his home in the Xalious Mountains. He was just about to make his way back through this area to go home and meet back up with Talyara to help her with everything going on, having taken some notice to her late shift in mood. The meeting with Lanara was something he wished to be there for, if just to see her once again, but just like that, he missed it and… she’s gone again. It was something that irritated him as well. At the sight of the witch his steps stopped short before he reached up for a wide wave and a “Taly! Fancy finding you out here!” Continuing his approach he pursed his lips at the search she seemed to be on. “Did you lose something out here lately?” Knowing her she could have found her way anywhere. It wasn’t –completely- out of the question.

Talyara recognized the voice right away, but it didn’t quite register in her brain which was clearly preoccupied. “What do you want?” She sneered in a nasty tone before turning and catching Linn’s colorless eyes with her own. For the briefest of moments, confusion found itself on her face before she sighed. “Linn.” It was spoked as a statement, more than a question. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” she offers rather lamely as she hides her face in her hands for a moment. “No I didn’t lose anything,” she mumbles into her palms, not quite ready to face the enchanter completely.

Linn blinked once in surprise at the way he was addressed before dispelling it with a light shake of his head. Continuing his approach he pulled a few of the plates from his armor to set them aside before reaching around Talyara to pull her into a slight hug if allowed. “I get it. Things haven’t exactly been easy. Everything seems to just be… breaking apart again.” Taking in a deep breath he buried his face in his free hand. “Both with events that can affect us all and… much more personal things. I’m still sorry to hear about Lanara. I don’t know what we can do to remind her who she is but… it should pass. I hope.”

Talyara only lifts her gaze from her hands when she feels Linn wrap an arm around her, drawing her into a slight embrace. She allows him to do so, but finds her body is still tense instead of melting into the hug as usual. Instead of bringing comfort, Linn’s words ignite the fire that had been lingering within her the past few weeks. “It’s not always about everyone else, Linn,” she says coolly, pulling away from his arm and moving off to the side before plopping down in the grass. Her hands reach up to tangle in her hair, her body rocking slightly back and forth. Despite her own afflictions as of late, Linn was still out doing his business as usual. In the past, it never bothered her, but lately it did. In her mind she justified it as Linn putting others before her and she was growing to resent it.

Linn pursed his lips in concern for Taly before moving to sit in front of her. He remained silent for some time in deep thought, her words bringing neither hurt nor some defensive rejection. “I always wish I could be with you more through this… but I want to make sure there is always something to come back to…” Another sigh as he continued questioning himself in response. “Well, nothing’s happened today really. I wish I could find Lanara myself but… nothing.” He waved the topic away. “Enough of that. Would you mind telling me what brings you all the way out here today? If it was anything. I understand if you just want some fresh air.”

Talyara ceases her rocking and slowly lifts her gaze to look at Linn, her eyes slightly narrowed. “You must not have wished it so bad, otherwise you would have stayed with me. Have you not noticed that I barely leave bed?” She scoffs, “My bad, you wouldn’t. Since you spend more time away than at home.” As soon as the words leave her mouth, her features soften, as if she suddenly realized who she was talking to. “Linn…” she repeats again. “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean it,” she say pleadingly, tears brimming in her eyes. “I haven’t been sleeping well and now with everything with Lana, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Linn’s eye twitched once before his expression stoned itself at Talyara’s biting sarcasm. Her regret sent him back into thought on just –what- was bringing all this about. “You’re not the only one not sleeping well…” he muttered halfheartedly before looking up to meet her gaze again. “You didn’t –want- to mean it. But I understand. I haven’t been around as much as I should. All of my time out so far has been amounting to nothing. So much time searching for answers and… nothing. There’s a better way for me to handle this…” His head fell as he finished the statement, his propensity for harsh, thorough criticism beginning to fall on himself.

Talyara feels those brimming tears begin to fall down her cheeks, drawing a tented leg to her chest and hugging it closely. She leans her forehead against her kneecap and squeezes her eyes shut tightly. This was all wrong, why was she being so harsh? This was normal Linn behavior, and he did always come back in the evenings. She had been depressed lately, encompassed by this black raincloud ever since encountering Lanara and her lack of memory. She was the only link Taly had to her family and it seemed that with that link gone, something had broken within the witch. “I’m sorry…” she eventually whispers again, not daring to look into Linn’s face,

Linn shook himself from his own stupor to take a look at Talyara, his gaze remaining on her for what might be an uncomfortable amount of time. When he spoke his voice was as soft and comforting as he could make it. “Times are hard. Mistakes are being made, we’re all a little lost and under stress. It’s pretty normal for people to be a bit tense under these circumstances. I understand if you’re mad, and I’d prefer to hear why so I can do something about it.” He cracked a weak smile, “Just… so long as we remember we don’t want to be mad at each other right? Everything you’re going through… everything everyone’s going through… we’ll find our way through it.” His voice lightened up to a rather optimistic tone as he finished with a single nod. It was hard to snuff out his light of hope. And if it goes out… then he’s got a second one of desperation.

Talyara eventually lifts her head to look at Linn’s face, her cheeks damp with the tears. Dark circles were evident under her bright green eyes that in themselves seemed dimmer than normal. She was quiet as he spoke, offering a sad sort of smile when he mentioned not wanting to be mad at one another. “I don’t want to be angry with you, Linn,” she counters softly. The witch goes quiet as she considers the source of her anger and frustration, the cause of her dark cloud. “Lanara is my only connection to back home. And now with her not remembering me, saying hurtful things and calling me terrible names...that connection is gone.” She sighs heavily, “Bachias has reverted back to his rough ways since being with her so I’m forced to deal with it all day, everyday. And meanwhile, we still aren’t in an actual home. And I…” A sob breaks her little speech, “and I just don’t think I can be strong anymore.”

Linn nodded as Talyara explained, whatever hurt he may have felt strongly masked by a search for some kind of understanding. As she concluded he sighed. “I believe that we need to break apart every now and then to stay whole. We’ll take those pieces and make something of them, however long it takes. I… have a couple things I need to keep an eye out for, but I can find some ways to be with you more through all this. We’ll find Lana one of these days and figure out how to remind her who she is. Bachias… well, we’ll work on that together. Might have to keep an eye on how things go with him and other people still.” Solutions solutions… at least ones to try. It was a solace of hope to him, finding a way to try and solve something. “As far as a home goes… we know what happened in Frostmaw. We might as well make a new one at this point. It would give us something to do together, wouldn’t it?”

Talyara stays quiet as she listens to Linn, fresh tears beginning to fall as he speaks. He was always so positive, finding solution after solution of how they could fix everything that was going on in their lives. A fresh sob came when he mentioned their home in Frostmaw, all her possessions, the home she had built, all the memories gone. She couldn’t find the words to stay so she merely nodded, hiding her face in her hands once more. All she wanted was a break, not just for her but her family, for her and Linn, to simply enjoy their relationship without some war or negative beings getting in their way.

Linn swallowed as Talyara began to sob before letting the plates of his armor fall away, dropping his pack off next to them before crawling forward to reach around Taly again for another hug. It was a funny thing... just how much went on in this particular section of the world. It was a wonder it still had some relative appearance of intact-ness. It really was a crucible that will burn everyone it can in its own ways. And yet… he saw in those fires a hypnotic potential to build, create and improve. The witch survived her own trials that he knew of and he was sure she would survive whatever was coming over them again. “We’ll find a way through. Things are hard, and it’s bringing out some of what I’m doing wrong. Just remember, everything that happens? Every mistake we make? We can make things better from it all.”

Talyara loved Linn for many reasons, but one of his strongest characteristics was being able to make the witch feel like she wasn’t alone in this messed up world they were currently living in. She didn’t know how it did it; he had suffered his own tragedies in his past, had seen countess others recently. So this time when he pulled her against him, she didn’t pull away; instead, she wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him as if trying to absorb some of that strength for herself. “I’m sorry for speaking so harshly to you,” she mumbled against his chest, shifting to sit in the enchanter’s lap.

Linn weakly smiled and nodded at Talyara’s apologies. “I forgive you. But as long as you take those breaks and work to understand them, understand what brings them about, you don’t have to be. Making something better of it is worth more than any spoken apology. But that’s just me. Enough of my lectures.” He cracked a smile along with a slight giggling as he held the witch closer. “So, you mind telling me what brings you all the way out here?” he lightly inquired.

Talyara continues to lay against Linn, a small chuckle eventually finding its way at his continuing lecture. If she really thought about it, it was amusing for with her half-elf status, she had many years on Linn. She sighs at his question and squeezes her eyes shut once more. How does one explain it? “I’ve...been having strange dreams lately. About a wooded area back in Kelvar. It’s reoccurring and always in the same place. I’ve been trying to see if I could find somewhere in Sage that resembles it and this...this is it.” She sighs sadly, “I don’t know why I thought this would give me answers.”

Linn tilted his head slightly with a curious expression as Talyara tried to explain why she was here. “About an old home…” he wistfully trailed off in thought with another sigh. He shrugged, beginning to play with the idea. “Maybe it’s a way of holding on to it. Not exactly a bad thing; I let myself forget most of my old home. Not sure if I regret any of that.” A thoughtful ‘hmm’ as he lightly swayed. “Any other memories related to the place like this in particular? They might give you some kind of clue.”

Talyara relaxes as Linn begins to sway slightly, similar to an infant being rocked by a caring parent. Her stress and anxiety seemed to ebb away slightly with his movements and her crying slowly subsided. “Maybe,” she agrees with his assessment. It would make sense given that everything else from her past seemed to be slipping from her grasp. “Just that, that part of the woods was my escape when things were bad.”

Linn continued his light swaying as he held Talyara close. “Funny that they’d direct you here. Maybe it’s just that you need some fresh air with everything going back to hell?” He released a light, whimsical giggle. “I don’t blame you for needing some. I often go through this area on my way back home for the same reason. But yeah… I’ll have to handle my time better out here so we can work through what’s going on at home some more.” Another pause as he caught himself beginning to ramble again, “Well, do you feel like you’re finding any answers here?”

Talyara continues to lean into Linn, allowing the enchanter to sway them back and forth, the witch suddenly exhausted for no real reason. She smiles softly at the thought of Linn spending more time at home. She knew he would do his best, but that other factors would keep him away. She merely shrugs at his question of finding answers. “Nothing is jumping out at me, unfortunately. Seems like it was just some time wasted.”

Linn looked out at the forest as he sat there with Talyara, smiling himself as she thought the time wasted. “Maybe. It always seems wasted until we find the answers. Once we find them though… it’s all worth it. Just takes some time.” Time… something that one could seemingly never have enough of, and at other moments too much of it. He continued his swaying in silence for some time, just taking in the peace of the forest and hoping it could help the witch with her own frayed nerves. “I was on my way back home when I found you here, but I can wait a bit till you’re ready. I’d rather go back with you to keep you some company.” With a light giggle he gave Taly an affectionate squeeze, seemingly already forgetting the hurtful words said before.

Talyara closes her eyes once more and takes a deep, steadying breath. A cool, gentle breeze tickles her face and picks up a few loose strands of hair. The witch always loved the forest, the sounds and smells and sights that came with it. It was her place of relaxation. After several moments, she felt a little more at peace than she had been as of late. When Linn offers her more time she simply shakes her head. “No...no we should get back,” she finally answers.

Linn continued sitting with Talyara for a bit longer after she insisted they go back before finally taking a breath and nodding. “Well, whenever you’re ready. I should probably get all this stuff back in order” he finished with a giggle as his leg extended out to nudge one of the fallen armor plates lying around. Once she got up he’d do so himself to begin retrieving his gear so they could head back to their impromptu home together.