Completed A Girl and the Sea

[Nathaira]

So it had been new to Rumer as well. This was somewhat reassuring, to know that she hadn't been at risk during their first training sessions. Of course, it also meant that not even Rumer knew the full extent of her abilities, or what might unlock them. Fear and rage seemed to be the key, something that Norris was very, very good at capitalizing on.

And speak of the mustachioed devil himself, Nathaira answered Rumer's next question with a blank expression. "Yess, I will." she answered. She had to tell Norris everything, from her hesitance on the beach to her quick learning with swimming, to flaying a living being with just a glance. She knew why Rumer had asked her this, and sadly her fears were valid. Norris would make her do this again. He would make her do it until it was second nature. It was necessary for her... progression.

The snake woman raised an eyebrow at Rumer's disbelief that she was considering eating the creature. An expression that silently asked do you have a better idea? She did not need to speak again, though, for Rumer seemed to gather her courage and delivered an expertly cut piece of orcflesh.

It smelled horrible, but he fire helped some. Nathaira's own stomach did not relish what they needed to do, and she tried not to think about what it would taste like given the smell. "Better cook it well," she said, an attempt at levity.

She sat, watched the meat cook and turn a slightly more appetizing color. She looked at Rumer, a small, frail girl who had shown incredible power overnight. Who had survived, as they all had, against all odds.

"You are remarkable," she said, matter-of-factly.

 

[Rumer]

She simply nodded with a blank expression as she said she'd tell Norris. She'd known the answer to that question anyway, she wasn't sure why she'd asked. She tried to push the fear to the back of her mind along with everything else..that part of her mind was becoming rather busy. She'd deal with it when she got back, but for now, she was too exhausted to focus on anything but eating and resting.

Eating Orc....It's venison.

She did cook it well, she made sure the horrible juices ran clear before putting it onto a rock and slicing it through, and she lifted it to offer it to Nathaira with a grimace.

The woman's words caught the child off guard. She almost dropped the meat. Remarkable?... Rumer had never been called anything along those lines in her life, and truth be told she wasn't quite sure how to process it. Was it a lie? A tease or a trick perhaps?.. Her tone didn't suggest that she was joking, and Rumer's head tilted curiously. "I am?.." It was a question meant to ask why, she assumed it because of what she'd done but, didn't all forsaken do these sorts of things?

She pulled herself closer to the woman and lifted the meat to tear at a small chunk and chew. It was tough, and tasted off.

It's venison...really old, rotten venison...

 

[Nathaira]

The meat was tolerable, although this was likely because Nathaira's body was desperate for fuel of any sort. She hastened the process by swallowing her piece whole, reducing the amount of time it spent on her tongue.

She tilted her head back and forth and wiggled her jaw around to pop everything back into place before answering Rumer. "Of coursse you are," she turned back to the child, pleased that she had come closer. "How many girlss have done what you have done? How many would ssurvive the things you have survived?"

Pride was an odd feeling for a Forsaken. By their very nature they were shameful, and Nathaira knew full well that her existence was an affront.

Demon. Bastard. Blasphemer.

Yet at the same time she was acutely aware of her own achievements. She had survived tortures that killed nearly everyone she grew up with. She had avoided death more times that she could count and slain countless enemies with ease. Although they should not exist, they did all the same. Were they not worthy of that life? It was a battle she fought with herself daily, and some days were better than others.

"All who are Forssaken are remarkable." Because those who are not do not survive. She did not vocalize this second part.

She felt a twinge in her stomach, but the food stayed down.

 

[Rumer]

Her eyes closed as she tried to think of anything else but what she was currently eating. Or, more particularly who. She chewed quickly and swallowed, and winced in pain each time she did so.

How many girls had done what she had done?.. She doubted there would have been many, she hoped there weren't many. Her mind tried to dip into guilt gripped it and frowned as she thought better of it. She was being praised because she helped save them both from those who would have killed them. It was a good thing, and Nathaira was happy with her. She'd never felt pride before, but it was a feeling that she enjoyed.

She rubbed her greasy hands on her cloak and leaned in to the woman's side, flinching in pain as she wrapped an arm around her. She knew how Nathaira hated being cold, and she decided to show off just a little bit more. She closed her eyes and focused on the sound of the woman's heartbeat, the blood that coursed through her veins, and she warmed it, careful not to warm it too much, as she'd done to the first Orc she'd killed..

 

[Nathaira]

The meat had served two purposes. The first was that it filled her belly and gave her energy to work with. The second was that it had been vile enough to eliminate any appetite that may have remained. This was not the fault of Rumer, who had done quite well make the meat as edible as possible. Still, Nathaira flicked her tongue out deliberately into the wafting smoke of the fire to try and burn out the lingering flavor.

Her eyes felt heavy, and the dark sky beckoned her to sleep. Perhaps Rumer would be alright keeping watch for a bit.

These thoughts were interrupted by Rumer's arm around her waist. As it had been with Kasimir on the way back from their last mission, gentle touches were rare and alien things. The need for such physical affections was pushed far away, but it was brought roaring back by these small and tender moments. She gingerly placed her own long arm around the girl's shoulders.

Then she felt something. At first she thought the pleasant sensation was just her own overdue reaction to the gesture, but it quickly built into something more. She was... warm... but on the inside. The heat from the fire was no longer so jarring by comparison, and she could feel her body heating up as it would on a sweltering tropical day.

Something was definitely happening. She tensed, realizing that it was Rumer. A flash of fear shot through her mind. Was she going to boil her blood as she had the orc? Was she going to take revenge for forcing her to kill, for making her carve up their latest victim for food?

No... no Rumer would not do such a thing. Her golden eyes rested on the girl's face and saw no hatred there, no anger. The warming sensation remained a pleasant one, and she felt reinvigorated. Her fatigue from just seconds ago melted away as her body greedily accepted the heat, pushing it into overdrive as it desperately made the most of what it thought would be a limited resource.

"Oh... oh my," was all she could say as her breathing grew faster and her heartrate surged. Was this what the warmbloods felt all the time? A steady, internal heat? It was wonderful, and a smile broke across her face.

She could keep watch now, the need for sleep had vanished.

 

[Rumer]

Despite the agony she felt, she managed a small smile at Nathaira’s reaction and she looked up as the woman smiled. She yawned and blinked heavily at her, sleep slowly pulling at her consciousness and offering her some reprieve from her pain. She nuzzled in a little as the woman’s arms wrapped around her shoulders, and she felt safe enough to fall into a dreamless sleep.

The warming sensation would fade as she fell out of consciousnesses, but Rumer herself was warm enough, her temperature raised as her body fought to heal her.

Her sleep was too deep to be restless. And she slept soundly against Nathaira until the warm golden sunlight poured onto the forest floor and fell onto her face. She squinted against it in protest and grimaced as she moved, a sudden reminded of how brutish Orcs were.

 

[Nathaira]

Nathaira failed at her mission to keep watch all night. She managed to stay up for a few hours, thanks to Rumer's boost, but eventually she, too, fell into sleep, slumped upright.

She awoke to the dawn chorus, with hundreds upon hundreds of birds calling out to herald the rising sun. She felt heavy and stiff, but considerably better than she should have. Rumer's magic was indeed powerful, and Nathaira looked down at the girl as she woke in pain of her own. "Ah, good morning," she said softly.

They still had a few days ahead of them before they would be back in Vel Anir, likely more now that they were injured. Nathaira began to consider making use of a carriage, or at the very least some horses. It would be less subtle than walking, but adaptability was just as important as stealth, if not more. She knew Rumer would not like the idea of stealing, but it was something she would need to become familiar with. After the display with the elven man's family, Nathaira was confident that the girl would follow her instructions despite any personal misgivings.

After giving Rumer a moment to come around she gently moved the girl aside and tried to stand. Her injured leg protested, and the pain was still very much there. She looked around. If this were a hunting party they should have.... yes, there! "Child, pleasse fetch me the rope from that body over there, it's on his belt." She reached over and grabbed the longsword that Rumer had used to carve the orc last night and lined up up along the side of her leg and hip.

When Rumer came back with the rope she thanked the girl and then tied the hilt at her waist and the secured the flat edge of the blade along the outside of her leg, tying it tightly just above and below her knee. It was extremely crude, but it would be a passable splint.

With difficulty she was able to stand, and she hobbled to retrieve her daggers from where they lay, embedded in two separate orcs. They could do with a cleaning, but that would have to wait. She also managed to find herself a long walking stick that used as a sort of crutch.

"I hope you sslept well, we have far to go."

 

[Rumer]

Rumer watched as Nathaira tried to get up and frowned as she seemed to struggle. She couldn't heal pain, only flesh, but she'd thought she'd helped more than she had. "Did I do it wrong?.." she asked with concern and a touch of fear in her voice. She hated when she did it wrong, there were usually repercussions.

She used the tree to pull herself to her feet, her teeth gritting as her mind gave way to the pain in her ribs, but she did as Nathaira asked as quickly as she could. The orc smelled worse now that death and rotting flesh were mingled with it's natural putrid stench, and Ru had to hold her breath as she pulled the rope from the corpse's belt and took it to Nathaira.

The child watched as she splinted her leg and retrieved her daggers, and she nodded at her words.. "I'm rested enough.. But, your leg.." she chewed on her lip. Rumer's ribs were broken but her legs still worked, she'd be in pain but at least she could run if she had to. "We should find a town, you need an infirmary or we'll never make it back.". She looked worried. Norris wasn't going to be happy.

 

[Nathaira]

Nathaira moved as gracefully as she could with one rigid leg. It was slow going, for sure, but the pain was not significant so long as she did not put much weight on the leg. She looked down at Rumer's questioning. "No, all magic has limitss," she said, trying to be reassuring. "We are sstill learning what yourss are. But if you had not helped me, I would still have an arrow in me."

Rumer had in fact done much more than that. Aside from healing her muscle and skin and closing the wound off from infection, she had managed to reattach many of the bony fragments and reduce the catastrophic break to a relatively manageable fracture. The leg would heal on its own in time, and with help from the healers back home Nathaira would be good as new.

She would be punished, however. Sustaining a major injury like this had been foolish and now jeopardized their return journey. Rumer was right, they would not make it back in time on foot. Nathaira tried not to think about how she would be reprimanded, how many times they would heal and rebreak her leg until they thought she had learned her lesson.

"My leg is just an inconvenience," she lied, a bit too quickly. Her lips tightened again as they reached the road. "...but a town may have horsses for us."

 

[Rumer]

Rumer managed a small smile at Nathaira’s reassurances, and wrapped her arm gingerly around the woman’s waist, both to try and aid her and to stay close. Her confidence in the safety of their journey home had wavered. “I’ve never ridden on a horse. Least whilst I wasn’t tied up and blindfolded..” she lifted her brows, a hint of excitement in her tone.. it would be far better than walking that was certain.

She thought back on the scene as they walked, falling silent for a long moment as the images replayed in her mind. The good thing about it was they had replaced the horrible images of the elven man she’d murdered, at least for a time. The memories were equally, if not more brutal, but there was no guilt linked to it and it simply served to strengthen her stomach on the matter of killing, even if the way in which she did so frightened her deeply.

“Do you think I could use daggers like that some day?” she wondered aloud and looked up at the woman. If she was good enough, maybe she wouldn’t have to boil or flay and pass out. She realised how vulnerable it made her, she had been lucky that Nathaira had appeared when she did.

“Thank you for saving me.” she added, prompted by that realisation. “I’ll try not to pass out again.” she added quickly.

Up ahead, a few streams of chimney smoke could be seen rising above the trees, a small village perhaps. She looked up at Nathaira, and smiled.

 

[Nathaira]

"Today you will learn," Nathaira said definitively. It was another oversight, like the swimming. She had become so accustomed to working with fully fledge Forsaken that she had not considered that the girl could not ride. No matter, her leg was injured but she could likely make do. Stealing one horse was easier, anyway.

The smoke ahead of them was reassuring. Smoke meant people, and people would mean travelers. Her mind starting thinking of scenarios, how would they pull this off with one of them crippled and the other woefully inexperienced?

Rumer's next question was a pleasant surprise. "Ahh! Yess, I think you should." Rumer would likely be trained in a number of weapons, as were they all, before settling on a favorite. Nathaira had always liked daggers the best, though. They were quick and easy to hide, and if the goal was simply to deliver a cut then they were ideal. Perhaps Norris would permit her to learn with Kasimir, as she had requested. It would be kinder than learning from the handler alone... although she had heard rumors about Kasimir's teaching methods that gave even her chills. She wasn't sure if she believed them, though.

Her smile faded when Rumer thanked her and apologized. "Good," was all she could say to her. It was not said harshly, nor was it cold. Just "good." She couldn't tell Rumer it was alright. It wasn't alright. She should have been aware of the orcs. The Forsaken did not forgive mistakes. She also did not point out that Rumer had saved her as well. She appreciated the girl's help, of course, but too much praise would only hinder her growth. Best to let the girl focus on doing better in the future.

Rumer smiled, and Nathaira had to admit that she enjoyed it. She did care for the girl, after all. The caring just needed to be tempered, and it was a balance she was still figuring out.

As expected, after a long bend in the road, a scant few buildings stood. They were little more than thatched roofs over stone, but to Nathaira's relief there was what appeared to be an inn of sorts. It was likely that most of this place's support came from travelers who needed rest and a drink before moving on. Behind the inn, mercifully, stables.

"Quickly now," she beckoned, and immediately realized that she could not follow her own advice as she hobbled to enter the stables.

 

[Rumer]

She was excited about the prospect of travelling on horseback, and for a brief moment she forgot about the pain in her side and picked up her pace toward the little village before slowing again as a thought crossed her mind. "We don't have to hurt them, do we?" she looked up. She regretted asking. The question would make her seem afraid, or soft, and she frowned "I mean.. If we need to then.." she paused.. "I just don't think I'm strong enough and we can't run if we need to." she reasoned.

Rumer hurried along, arm clutched to her side to try and stop it moving so much, bent low as she glanced along the road before slipping into the stable. There were three horses, two brown and one white, and she went straight to the white mare and lifted her hand to the creature's nose. "Hello." she whispered and turned to Nathaira as she hobbled in behind her. "Can we have this one?" she smiled brightly, the horse nuzzling back at her hand.

 

[Nathaira]

As they passed through the village Nathaira tried to stay as quiet as possible. In the early morning hours it did not seem like many people were about, but they would do well not to be seen. Rumer asked if they would need to fight.

"Not if we do our jobss well," she answered. She, too, was in no mood for conflict.

The stables were, mercifully, unlocked. Crime was rare in small settlements such as this, but she suspected they would be improving security after today. She gave Rumer a sad smile as she pet the white horse.

"White iss too eassy to find, we will take thiss one," she indicated the mare to the white one's right, one of the plainer looking brown ones. The horses did not seem to like her speech, made nervous by the hissing.

She managed to tack the horse with help from Rumer, being as quiet as possible.

"You first," she said, deliberately clipping her s's as best she could. She could not lift Rumer with her leg like this, but she could help her climb atop. Once the girl was on, she would open the door to the stable, electing to mount behind Rumer indoors rather than once the horse was led out. If they were seen they would need to leave quickly, and it took great effort and pain for her to swing her injured leg.

 

[Rumer]

"Right.." she nodded lightly and gave the white horse a sad look and another pat on the nose before going to help Nathaira with one of the brown ones. It seemed more skittish, and Rumer chewed on her lip and tried to pet it the way she had with the white one. It calmed.

She struggled, but managed to pull herself up and settled herself. It was much higher than she expected, and she smiled as she stroked the mare's neck "Hello.."

She let Nathaira take the reins after she'd mounted, afraid she might upset the creature if she did it wrong, but she peaked around the stable onto the road and saw no-one.

"Alright. Go." she grinned, and found that stealing horses was quite fun.

 

[Nathaira]

Nathaira squeezed the horse with her legs, wincing a little as she did so, and it started forwards. It seemed a little hesitant about leaving the stable in this manner, but it went into the sunlight willingly. Once they were clear of the building she spoke to Rumer, just loud enough so that she could be heard.

"Hold tight to that mane. Don't worry, you won't hurt her." She kicked at the side of the horse with her good leg and it jolted into a gallop. Her hood flew back and freed her mane of twisting dreadlocks, and the small metal rings braided into them glinted against the morning sun. As they joined the main road Nathaira looked back. She allowed herself a breath of relief as no one was pursuing them.

Not yet.

It was only a matter of time until their theft was discovered, and their tracks would be easy to follow. They would need to get as much of a head start as possible to keep out of trouble.

They were flying. The mare was lithe and strong, and she bore the weight of the two women easily. The ground rushed beneath them like a great sandy river, and the only sound was the whipping of the wind past their ears and the thundering of hooves.

When she was satisfied they had gone far enough, Nathaira slowed their mount into a cantor. The saddle bags contained some feed, but it would do no good to exhaust the horse so soon. The bouncing was hurting her leg, but she did her best to ignore it as they slowed.

 

[Rumer]

Rumer did as Nathaira asked, and soon realised just how tightly she'd have to hold on. Every nerve in her body awoke to the pain, but it was overruled by sheer thrill as thunderous hooves broke the silence and propelled them forward at such speed she'd never imagined. She laughed and closed her eyes, letting the wind whip at her face. It was fun.

The aching became more obvious as the horse slowed, and she resisted the urge to wrap her arms around her ribs for fear of falling off. "Can we keep her, Nathaira?" Rumer asked with a lilt of hope in her voice. Forsaken seemed to walk everywhere, she doubted they were afforded such luxuries as horses to carry them, but her lips pursed thoughtfully .. "It would make missions much faster. No?.." as though that was the true reason for her question, to increase the efficiency of their murder rates.

"We'll be back in no time now.." she smiled, though her smile quickly faded as she realised exactly what she'd said, and remembered what home meant now. Dread washed over her like an icy chill and she sighed, subconsciously pulling back on the mare's mane a little.

 

[Nathaira]

Nathaira felt for the girl, she really did. It was a cruel life they lived, and even crueler that Rumer should have to enter already a young woman. She did not know what her life had been like before she had been taken, but it was surely kinder.

"The Forssaken do not own anything," she answered sadly. "We are property of Vel Anir, and all we take is as such." The horse would likely be confiscated and used for some menial task, or perhaps slaughtered for meat if they had enough at the time. She did not feel it necessary to tell Rumer this.

"It would make travel fasster, but louder." She wished that they would give them horses more often, it would indeed make travel faster easier. If an assignment was very far away then yes, they had occasionally been provided transportation. Otherwise it was up to them to figure out the best method of transport. Walking, more often than not, was the most subtle.

Worry edged at the back of Nathaira's mind. A murder followed by a horse theft just a few miles away would surely stir suspicions. Add to that the massacre of an orc hunting party and only the most foolish would see it as a coincidence. She hoped that no one had seen them, that no one could identify the two foreigners that were common to each situation. Vel Anir would protect them (to a point), but they would punish sloppy work most severely.

They would be back much more quickly at this rate, perhaps a day instead of three. As they rode Nathaira did her best to enjoy the wind in her hair, the sun on her face, the closeness of Rumer. The thought of returning home was made somewhat less dreadful by the prospect of teaching Rumer alongside Kasimir, for he seemed an interesting sort, but Vel Anir never came without at least some pain.

She looked down and noted Rumer's obvious discomfort. The orcs really had beaten her quite badly. Perhaps if they stopped to rest, she would be able to help. She carried a variety of poisons on her person, and a minuscule dose of one of those may help.

 

[Rumer]

Rumer frowned at the word 'property' and she felt like a shoe or.. something else that wasn't human. She didn't comment though, it'd been a silly question anyway, but it made her dive a little too deeply into her swirling thoughts and her eyes glazed with a distant look as she stared through the road ahead.

"Nathaira?.." she spoke after a long moment. "When did you get your rune? How long did it take you to complete your training?.." she asked, finding nothing wrong with the question after she'd thought about it for a long time before allowing it to leave her lips. What she was thinking however did make her nervous, and she kept those thoughts to herself and buried them away in fear someone somewhere might hear them.

 

[Nathaira]

It was a fair question, but one that carried a memory Nathaira did not like to think about. It had not been painful... not exactly... but it was a particular type of dreadful to feel something latch onto your mind and body and to know it would never, ever let you go.

"I wass..." she tried to remember. How old was she now? Time was relative amongst their ranks... most did not live long. "...fifteen, I believe. I never knew a time when I wass not Forsaken." She had been taken from infancy, just days after her birth. There was no line for her between training and life, work and pleasure.

"I think... it sshould be yearss before you are ready, but it iss not my decision." The truth was Nathaira had no idea what the masters' plans were for Rumer. She was old for a new student, and this would likely accelerate her training. They may even decide to brand her before her training had finished, to help tame her rebellious mind.

"It doessn't hurt," she added, referring to the branding itself.

The horse had slowed to a trot, its nostrils flaring with each powerful breath.

 

[Rumer]

Rumer frowned, she was only two years off of fifteen but she hadn't been there long, would she ever really make it through her training at all? She'd be...old, by the time she completed the amount of training that the others had. She had been about to start talking about her life before she'd been brought to them, but quickly held it back as Norris' voice crept into her mind and reminded her that she had no life before forsaken.

"Will Norris decide?" she asked, she hadn't really seen many of the other handlers yet, though she expected she would in time, she wasn't really sure who was in charge overall and had assumed it to have been Norris. He seemed like he was. She shuddered.

Her lips twisted.. "I'm not afraid of it hurting.." she admitted with a quiet sigh.. "I'm afraid of doing the things they want me to do." she admitted, and chewed on her lip after she did so.. "I'll..I'll do them, though." she assured her, absently stroking at the mare's mane.

 

[Nathaira]

Nathaira was limited in her response by their position on the horse. She could not look directly at Rumer, nor could she make much physical contact beyond her arms at the girl's sides as she held the reins. She liked that Rumer felt she could discuss these things with her, that she trusted her enough to do so... but that trust was dangerous. Should the wrong people hear the things she was admitting...

"Norris will have a say," she said in a somber tone. "But there are others." Not even she knew all of the faceless masters that governed the Forsaken. She suspected several of the ruling elite were involved, people who would never dirty their hands with direct involvement. Norris likely worked for such people. As far as they were concerned, though, he was law and order itself.

Her hands tightened on the reins as Rumer continued to speak. "It is eassier if you are willing. You musst only fear the masterss." They would not tolerate hesitance, nor second thoughts. Fear had no place for them if it was not to drive obedience. "You will learn thiss." She had meant this to be reassuring, but it could be equally interpreted as ominous. "The thingss we do, they are for Vel Anir. We are part of the good of our kingdom."

Even if we are treated like enemies, she thought to herself. No service they did would ever raise their standing or grant them respect. Their work was all in repayment of the debt they owed for being allowed to live.

She pondered her next question for a time before deciding that it needed to be asked. "Do you know why I told you to kill that elf?"

 

[Rumer]

Rumer nodded gently, trying to push the image of Norris out of her mind, whenever she spoke of the man she could almost smell the smoke and alcohol on his breath. Every muscle felt tense..

Willing..Could she ever be willing to kill a person? The orcs had been different, they'd been going to kill them both, she had reason and it was them or her, it'd been an easy decision to make. The elf was an entirely different situation, he had a wife and daughter who's faces would forever be burned into her mind along with his. Her eyes teared but she frowned and fought back against the emotion, glad that Nathaira couldn't see her face. "Yes Nathaira.." she answered quietly.

The woman's question caused her to start chewing on her lip again, searching for an answer, she didn't know that there was an actual reason.. "You.. you said he was a target.." she responded, she had assumed the woman had simply picked up a random victim to force the action upon her, to prove that she would do as she was told, but Nathaira wasn't one to lie to her and so perhaps there was more reason to it. "Why did you?.."

 

[Nathaira]

The horse continued its trot, the gentle bobbing and bouncing had been murderous on her leg, but it had numbed to the pain by now. The steady metronome of the hoofbeats gave a rhythm to their conversation, and a constant reminder of their progress back to Vel Anir. Back to the fortress. Back to the darkness.

"The firsst thing you musst know... the reason doess not matter." They would not be given reasons unless it was necessary for them to do their jobs. In reality, it rarely was. "You were told to kill, so you killed." She let this sink in for a time. More hoofbeats against the silence.

"But..." she continued, "...that man was chosen because he would sstir unrest. He wass a known sympathizer with rebelss." Rebels may have been an exaggeration, they could simply have been a group that protested the less-than-equal treatment of non-humans under Anirian rule, but that was the description that was given to her. "We take livess to save livess."

The trotting of the horse continued.

 

[Rumer]

Ru nodded at Nathaira's words, her head turned slightly to the side as she listened to her. She had to learn, and she made a mental not never to ask questions if she was told to kill anyone. It wouldn't make killing them any less difficult, but it wouldn't serve any purpose other than more punishment. "The reason doesn't matter." she repeated quietly and sighed.. "Yes Nathaira."

She killed. The woman's reminder made her frown and she turned her face to the path ahead to close her eyes tightly for a moment, but it only made the memory more vivid and she opened them again, a hint of panic and a quickening of breath. Push it back...

She was glad of the break in silence, particularly because there had indeed appeared to be a reason and Nathaira was essentially justifying her actions for her. He would have died whether she had killed him or not, if Vel Anir had wanted him dead, it had been inevitable.

"So.. really we help people?.." she frowned.. she hadn't helped that man's family. Their screams played on her mind.

 

[Nathaira]

The trot continued to punctuate the conversation. "We help Vel Anir."

It was as close to a rebellious statement as she could manage. The good of Vel Anir was often the detriment of others, especially non-humans like themselves. Still... she told herself that what they did was for the greater good... on the rare occasion that she actually thought about what she did. Nathaira preferred not to think too hard about it, choosing rather to distract herself.

She thought of the red serpent she had dreamed of on the beach. Was she real? Did she mean anything? Probably not... it did not do to dwell on dreams. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that the vision had heralded something more.

The rune at the back of her neck prickled. They had lost time. We are doing our best she wanted to say, to ease the nagging spell. She could not help but envy Rumer, for she did not yet bear the brand. She was, ignoring the strict security around her... free. If she should escape Nathaira's grasp she could run and they might never find her. Part of Nathaira wished she would do this... but the greater part of her ensured she would not. For better or worse the girl was one of them now.