Private Tales Have you heard there's a rumour in Alliria?

[Gawyn]

The Avariel General simply watched her as she tucked into her own meal. He supposed her consideration was as much as he could hope to have but there was a part of him that had the overwhelming urge to shake her until she outright agreed to come with him. It was because he felt responsible for her, he justified to himself. He had been the one who had whisked her out of the only home she knew even if it was a hellhole. It was therefore only right that he stayed with her until she was settled some place new. Aodhin would understand. He would also agree it had nothing to do with the fact she reminded him of a friend long gone and a debt that had gone unsettled because of it.

Her words broke him out of the traumatic memory.

"Easy?" Gawyn snorted but there was an easy grin on his face before he bit into the rabbit. "I nearly lost my eye - again - with you screaming and flailing around."

He raised both brows at her as he chewed as if daring her to say anything to the contrary.

 

[Althea]

She looked up at him through the flames, her smile all teeth as she laughed again and wiped at her tears, letting them soak into the ribbons that adorned her forearms. "I'm sorry! You.. surprised me.." she grinned at him, letting out the last few chuckles and catching her breath.

Her grin slowly melted away, but her curious smile remained as she watched him. She was reluctant to ask more questions of him, feeling like he'd expect some answers in return. She'd told herself she didn't want to know more, that she'd closed the door to the avariel and wanted nothing more to do with them. That much was true, but she couldn't help but be curious of him, and he had gotten her out of that place.

"How'd you almost lose your eye anyway?.." she asked, and casually chewed on her lip, hoping the question wasn't too personal..

 

[Gawyn]

Gawyn laughed right along with her at the memory of her surprise before shaking his own head and finishing off his half of the rabbit. He was picking the bones clean when she asked her next question and he looked up in surprise, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. Perhaps he should have expected the more personal questions after all the ones he had thrown at her in the last 24 hours. His laugh this time was a lot softer and twined with pride and love as he ran a finger over the ugly scar that ran from his forehead to his right jaw bone, slicing across his eye.

"My mother," he grinned and flicked a tiny bone into the fire. "Her name is Clarrisa," he watched her for any hint of recognition because, if his suspicions were correct, she should know the name. "One of the last rites as a Warrior is to fight one of the high commanding fighters and I was unlucky enough to face her on the field. I hesitated and she nearly took my eye for it. I kept the scar to remind me hesitation can get you killed," his fingers ran down the puckered skin thoughtfully then barked another laugh. "I guess that mentality leads to a lot of surprises for others though."

 

[Althea]

She had frowned slightly that it had been his mother who'd inflicted the wound, but her furrowed brows shot up as he told her the woman's name. It was a name that few in Thyasari wouldn't recognise, and she realised then without doubt that Gawyn had been one of her brother's friends and comrades.

Thea had to force a quiet laugh in effort to shake herself out of her distant stare. "I.. see." she cleared her throat.. "So you're, General, right? You must be quite skilled.." And if his mother was Clarissa, she could only imagine.

 

[Gawyn]

Gawyn's feathers fluffed up much like a peacocks might, though he kept his facial expression somewhat modest as he ran his hand through his hair and chuckled.

"I was given the rank of General about a day before they shut Thyasari. Before that I served under another. He taught me everything I knew," and had eyes just like yours... he thought quietly to himself as he stared across the fire at her. Could it be? He could remember the talk of younger siblings but his friend had been a private person even amongst those he had called brothers. Gawyn leant forward and his wings fanned out behind him like a feathered cloak. Casually he leant one elbow on his knee and poked the fire with a stick.

"He sent me to Oriasa whilst he dealt with the main forces in Thyasari, though I know he had meant to follow us as soon as he was finished. I wonder quite a bit what happened to him, after all these years."

 

[Althea]

Tobias.

Now she knew that he was talking about Tobias, and it'd been the first time she'd spoken to anyone else who'd known him in years. She hadn't spoken of him at all, and the guilt and pain swelled in her throat and swallowing it brought tears to her eyes, giving them the look of sparkling ice. She couldn't help it. She couldn't stop staring at him, couldn't force a smile or make some witty remark.

"I see." The words finally managed to free themselves from her throat, but her voice was strained with the effort. She cleared the grittiness from it and rolled to her feet, her fingers running into her moonlit hair.

"I have to uhm.." she murmured awkwardly and turned to wander away from the conversation before they delved any further into it.

 

[Gawyn]

Saints, why couldn't you have let me be wrong?

Gawyn rolled to his feet, the soft whispering of feathers dragging over dried grass and leaves the only sound that betrayed his movements. He would have preferred to have learnt the answers to his question in a different way. If she had just told him what she was, told him the truth, he wouldn't have had to aim an arrow in the dark with the potential of causing her harm. It wasn't hard for his long strides to catch him up to where she had wandered and tenderly he reached out a hand to stop and turn her by the shoulder towards him.

His thumb came up to catch her tear before it could roll down her cheek.

"How did you lose your wings, Thea?"

 

[Althea]

Althea's body seized as she felt his hand on her shoulder, but she turned without protest and looked up at him, her brow furrowing slightly at the gentle gesture. The question, though. The reminder, as though she needed one, of how her wings had been taken from her, and why. She swallowed an ache in her throat and dropped her gaze, unable to look him in the eye even in darkness. With her head bowed she let out a shaky breath and clenched her fists by her sides.

"They took them from me, and exiled me.. They watched me stagger and crawl all the way to the city gates like some animal." her voice cracked, and more tears fell freely.

 

[Gawyn]

It took all the control he possessed to keep a firm hold on his anger. Outside, his face remained smooth and his touch was gentle still as he wiped away every single tear and ran his fingers tenderly into her snowy hair. Losing your wings... as an Avariel it was worse than losing a limb. Wings were a piece of your soul. For the elders to have sentenced her to a half-life made his stomach churn. What made it worse was the thought her brother had not been there to help.

"Tobias would never had let that happen to his little sister," he was proud to find his voice was calm even though pain now laced through his anger. He must have been dead before they did this to her. He must have been... Gawyn almost prayed he was anyway. The friend he had known would have never supported such a thing.

"Is... is he why this happened? Did he get you involved in something?" His friends soul would not be at peace knowing any action he had done had caused her harm.

 

[Althea]

She knew that he understood, though she had entirely expected him to look at her with the same disgust she remembered the others wearing as she was stripped of her wings. It was not the sort of punishment that was taken lightly, and that was even more reason to have expected Gawyn to condemn her. He was a General, after all, and comfort was the last thing she’d thought she’d find.

Hearing her brother’s name said aloud sent a fresh wave of shame crashing over her so violently that the breath caught in her throat and her legs weakened. “N-no he..” she couldn’t say it.

Her hands braced against his chest, and unintentionally let her emotions spill onto him. He’d feel the guilt and shame, he’d feel the heartache and grief and the rage underneath it all. He’d know how hopeless she felt..

She recoiled the instant that she realised, her glassy eyes wide as she looked up at him apologetically, clutching her hands against her own chest.

“I’m sorry.”

 

[Gawyn]

Her emotions hit him like a charging mammoth. He staggered back a half step but he didn't think to break away from her when she needed the support. Even so it was hard to weather the storm. Her anguish and grief threatened to drive him to his knees and her pain made his wings quiver and fold. But the anger... It clouded his vision in red. It made him want to rip the trees around them out from their roots and set fire to cities until an ounce of his wrath felt sated. He wanted to--

Gawyn sucked in a breath when she let go. The emotions lingered like odd shadowy strangers, but the ferocity of them had gone. In a weird way he felt empty and cold without them and he found himself shivering.

"I-It's ok," he frowned at his chattering teeth and rubbed at his arms. "I'm... use to empaths." which was a complete lie. Aodhan was over a thousand years old and he was selective with his company because of his sensitivity to emotions. In the time Gawyn had known him the man had only ever touched him once and only when he had been bleeding out.

No, Thea was distinctly not what he was used to.

"We don't have to talk about it," he had felt how much it hurt.

 

[Althea]

His reaction distracted her mind, as though his discomfort had triggered some bone-deep need to make him feel better. She cleared her throat awkwardly, her cheeks a furious shade of pink at her momentary lack of self-control. She'd have had a clip around the ear had she done such a thing in Thyasari..

Hesitantly, she reached a hand forward to settle against his chest, and from her touch he'd feel warmth spreading back through him.

"Thank you.." she answered quietly, and her shoulders fell with a tension released. She didn't want to talk about it, she wanted to sleep. "I'm sorry, that I wasn't honest..." she frowned, keeping her shame to herself this time. It wasn't something she found easy to talk about, she was still angry and bitter and each day she'd seemed only to fall further from the life she'd lived in the skies. Perhaps she hadn't truly accepted it. She knew she hadn't truly accepted it. She'd done everything she could to try and forget it and she wasn't proud of any of those things either.

Her brow furrowed, and if he allowed her to have her hand on his chest and leave it there, he'd start feeling an overwhelming sleepiness, and she'd offer a guilty smile.

 

[Gawyn]

Gawyn stiffened when her hand reached out towards him but he made himself stay as still as a statue. He might not have liked the outburst she had unintentionally unleashed upon him but he could remember Aodhan's words about how much it took for an empath to offer contact in the first place. So he watched, he held still, and with a mix of trepidation and curiosity he waited to see what it was she chose to do - and could only pray that what she chose to do was not going to send him to his knees for real this time.

When warmth spread through his body he let out a sigh of both relief and bliss.

"I can... understand why you wouldn't want to speak about it," he chose his words carefully for he would be lying if he told her it was fine to lie. A part of him was annoyed still she had held it back. Not for her reasons but because her news had contained something important about a person he cared for. He would mourn for Tobias when he had time and after he had helped his sister. He sighed and stifled a yawn, then frowned with his hand half way to his mouth when he realised.

"That, is over stepping though," he frowned and gently took her hand from his chest. His thumb traced along the inside of her wrist for a brief moment and then he let go. "We should both sleep," and his tone brooked no argument.

 

[Althea]

She frowned briefly at his understanding. He didn't know the half of it, but she was glad he seemed willing to leave it alone for now. What she was trying to do was to make sure of that. If he was asleep, he couldn't ask her any more questions, he couldn't push her to talk, but Gawyn wasn't as stupid as the sort of people she was used to manipulating.

Thea flinched slightly despite his touch being gentle, her eyes fixed on his as she felt his thumb slide across her wrist. Her cheeks warmed, and as he let her go she brought her wrist against her chest and held it there.

"Right.. Sorry.." she chewed on her lip, and sheepishly returned to settle herself down by the fire, her rolled up jacket propping her head up as she curled up and closed her eyes with a deep sigh.

"Goodnight, Gawyn."

 

[Gawyn]

Gawyn watched her walk back to the fire and settle down with a frown. Sleep, despite what she had begun to stir in him, was not what he wanted to do though it tugged at him like the lulling sound of a sirens song. On silent feet he padded over to his side of the fire and settled down himself. The ground was hard from months of little rain but he had slept on worst and suspected Thea had too, though why he worried about how comfortable she was confused him to no end. Tobias would had offered her something but he had nothing, he told himself sternly and rolled onto his side in frustration.

"Goodnight Thea," he murmured and folded one large wing over himself to act as a barrier against the night sky.

Gawyn might not have wanted to sleep but it claimed him quickly as he stewed in his thoughts and the sleep he tumbled into was a deep thing that the sick craved. He wished he was tortured by the usual kind of sickness and not just his own thoughts for when he woke he felt no better.

 

[Althea]

Her eyes opened to watch him through the flickering flames as he rolled over, and she found herself debating on waiting until he was asleep and climbing underneath his wing. But she'd already crossed a boundary, and she wasn't about to cross another.

The fire kept her warm enough, at least until it died out some time in the night. Since she'd lost her wings, she'd grown a little too skinny and she felt the cold far easier than she once had. She hadn't slept outside in quiet some time, and she woke herself shivering at first light. Her dreams had been of flying, but she always woke from those dreams in a poor mood.

She let out a sleepy huff and curled up a little tighter, her eyes still closed as she blindly reached for a stick and started batting at the extinguished fire pit with it as though it might somehow spark back to life.

 

[Gawyn]

"It helps if you feed it more wood," Gawyn commented dryly as he dumped a pile of logs on top of the barely-warm embers. He poked a few bits of foliage through the gaps and then bent and blew with care upon the embers. It took a while but eventually he coaxed them into little tiny flames that began to ate up the bracken and towards the bigger logs. He sat back once it was done and loosely hugged his knees, his eyes up and on the sky. In the creamy tones of the mornings autumn sun he looked tired and rumpled yet strangely the look seemed to suit him.

"We should get moving before it grows too late in the day," he went on staring at the birds as they wheeled and called to one another. "There was a small pool amongst the grove if you want to wash before we get going," he wouldn't subject her to flight again but that meant a long walk to civilisation. Perhaps the next town over he could get them horses and a cart.

 

[Althea]

She opened an eye when he spoke, squinting up at him as he tended the fire. Her throat cleared, but otherwise she remained tight-lipped on account of his dry tone and she awkwardly pushed herself up to sit and rub the sleep from her face.

Thea watched him quietly until he spoke again, studying his face whilst he watched the birds. She'd long ago stopped admiring such things, but he seemed to remind her of better times. Still, she hadn't given him much reason to like her let alone tolerate her, and she supposed he felt some sort of duty to her brother and as a general to help her. Her jaw tightened at the thought, and how useless it made her feel.

"Right..Thanks." she answered tiredly and got to her feet, dusting off the dried leaves from her clothes and lifting her jacket before turning on her heels to go and find the pool. It wasn't too far away, but far enough that she could no longer see or hear him. She'd been about to start stripping out of her clothes when her eyes settled on the thick forest that started in the valley and seemed to stretch on for miles.

With a deep sigh she tugged on her jacket and after a glance over her shoulder, she made her way down into the valley in the hopes of reaching the tree line before he realised that she'd gone.

 

[Gawyn]

"You're an idiot."

It wasn't the first time he'd growled it at himself that morning. How long had he lazed by the fire waiting for her to come back? Women always liked to take their time washing and he hadn't wanted to be the impatient man storming in there to tell her off. So he'd cleaned his weapons, gathered what other supplies the little area offered them, and then had laid on his back against a comfortable rock and waited. It had to have been an hour, maybe even close to two, before worry had finally trumped gentleman manners. When he hadn't found a sign of her he'd nearly torn half the place apart in a rage. At himself and at her.

Wings were his fastest method of travel but with the need to be close to the ground in the hopes of spotting her he was forced to take up a mix of both. For the open stretches he flew then landed to check for her prints or traces, before continuing in the air.

 

[Althea]

Thea was surprised when she'd managed to reach the tree line without any sign of him. She'd been looking over her shoulder the entire way, her grey eyes scanning the land and skies, and she paused on the edge of the forest for a moment, considering her decision. She felt sorry. It was yet another thing to feel guilty about, but he was only going to press more, she was only going to anger him and she'd had enough of angry men no matter how beautiful they were to look at.

She sighed as she lifted her hood over her snowy hair and continued on through the trees. The pine needle carpet was spongy under her feet, the floor so woven with ancient tree roots and dappled by the light filtered by the bouquet of foliage above: softened, verdant and freshly aromatic. The pines were several houses tall, reaching toward the golden rays of fall. Birdsong came in lulls and bursts, the silence and the singing working together as well as any improvised melody.

She wasn't entirely sure how long she'd been weaving her way into the labyrinth. An hour? Four? What little light found its way through the canopy had changed its hue. She paused for the first time and looked around her in every direction. It all looked the same, and after she'd turned again she had no idea which direction she'd just come in. She couldn't see the sky to find her bearings and in the eerie silence that fell she could hear how her pulse had risen.

"You're an idiot.." she muttered to herself, just before a twig snapped.

 

[Gawyn]

Travellers were wise to travel in groups along these paths.

Since the revolution in Vel'Anir and the kingdoms sudden inward gaze, the roads along these parts had become less policed and far more sinister. Especially those so close to the Falwood. The Dreadlords might have thrown off their chains but it seemed most had not thrown off their inborn hatred of other species. When they had had to pull their strength closer they had abandoned those lands closest to the elves first: let them deal with their own messes. As such there had been a rise in mobs, thieves and other sordid groups always on the look out for an easy purse to pocket or a slender throat to slash.

"Well, well, well..." the voice croaked. It seemed to bounce around the forest before a creature stepped forward. With a bulging throat much like a toad and eyes to match, the sickly green-skinned goblin ran a slippery tongue along the lips of his too-wide mouth. He grinned and revealed rows of yellow sharpened teeth. "What do we have here?" more of the creatures begun to step from the trees. Some wore odd bits of clothing. Fancy things like hats or cravats that were still stained with the blood from the bodies they had stolen them from. A few held nasty looking swords or morningstars. All hungrily eyed Thea.

"The elves know better."

 

[Althea]

Thea flinched at the unexpected sound of a croaky voice so near, and she whipped around in search of its source. Her brow furrowed at the sight of the little creature and she took a few slow steps back from it when she heard more movement behind her. She turned again, and realised they surrounded her.

Fucking Goblins.

One dagger. She had one dagger against a dozen of these little bastards. Her mouth suddenly felt dry and she swallowed feigning a confident smirk.

"I'm not an elf. And if you think I'm stupid enough to travel on my own then you're sorely mistaken, and it's a mistake you'll regret. I suggest you back off." she growled, slowly turning to try and keep an eye on their movements.

 

[Gawyn]

"You has the point ears," one of the other goblins sneered and most of the group nodded in agreement.

"Cats have pointed ears too though," another goblin piped up and the group suddenly seemed unsure, their large heads swinging from the first goblin that had spoken to the second and back, bulging throats pulsing with each intake of breath.

"Don't be stupid, she ain't fluff like a cat!"

"Don't be callin' me stupid! I was--!"

"QUIET!" bellowed the goblin who appeared to be in command of the squabbling squadron. He wore a broad rimmed hat with a tattered feather in it and he brandished a sword menacingly towards Thea as he begun to advance. "It don't matter what she is. She's meat and meat all tastes goods to us..."

 

[Althea]

She'd been edging back as they squabbled amongst themselves, her hand slipping to her lower back, ready to grip the hilt of her dagger when she had to. The Goblin's yelling made her wince, and she let out a gasp as she backed into a tree, watching the creature approach her with his weapon pointed at her.

The others had quieted again, their serrated grins returning. Shit.

She tried to act swiftly, hoping to catch the goblin off guard by attacking first, one hand shot out to catch hold of his sword arm hoping to stall it whilst her blade went to his throat but did not slice. In touching him, she caused pain. Immense, torturous pain that sent the very blood aflame inside his veins. She hoped it'd immobilise him, she hoped even more that it'd frighten him and the others enough to leave her well alone.

 

[Gawyn]

An ear shattering scream filled the forest sending birds and animals that had been minding their own business, scampering from the source of the noise. The shrill noise of crows and starlings squawking their warnings to all nearby only made the goblin captains scream sound worse. For a moment, it had the desired effect on the group. The others looked at their leader with what could pass as a stunned expression on their faces and they glanced nervously at one another as his legs buckled and he went to his knees whimpering. Unfortunately, that was where the girls luck ran out.

Goblins were not sentimental creatures nor ones for being loyal. Their captain writhing in pain sparked nothing in those soulless frog-like eyes but wariness as they began to approach as a group: they would not make the same mistake as the Captain in taking her on alone. They rushed forward in a wave of shouting and yelling, weapons held high...

The sudden eruption of noise and the scores of birds flying into the blue sky caught Gawyn's eye from his higher vantage point. There were not many things that could cause animals in such masses to flee their homes.

"I'll eat my sword if it's not her," he muttered darkly to himself. The hours spent searching had riled him into a foul mood with little sympathy for her if she had got herself into trouble. But he had promised on his friends memory to get her to somewhere safe and until then he was bound. Sure enough he caught the glint of white hair as he passed over the small break in the canopy to get a better look at what was happening. He cursed to himself as he noticed the group rushing forward and, pinning his wings to his side, he dived down.

The speed with which he landed in front of Thea shook the forest floor and the gust of wind created by his wings snapping open sent several of the goblins stumbling back squawking and shrieking. Those had had continued on their path for blood met his steel in a piercing clang of metal.