Private Tales Scorched Earth

[Fife]

She was about halfway through moving things when he came back, having spent some time observing Jocelyn. Fife tipped her head back to grin up at him, thinking perhaps he had come to simply look. But she gasped and swatted at his hand as he moved the archly placed pebble. The fiend! Still, she was laughing as she pointedly put the pebble back in place.

It had been a long day, but she was feeling better. This was a good, quiet end to this day in particular. She didn't know why she had been so afraid of him knowing, thinking he might judge her for it the way she had judged herself. Of course he didn't. And of course he had come to the conclusion on his own. That it changed nothing was... a relief. It had driven so much of her life for so long, it was a weight shifted from her shoulders to have spent their evening in the same manner as every other before.

A soft smile remained idle on her features as she resumed her task. Though, she watched him more carefully now.

Don't you have a book to read? she asked, adding a flick of amusement at the end. Fife was trying to make as much of a rainbow as one could from the earth tones on the table, but would not admit that she liked it when he got playful back to her cattiness.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn laughed out loud. He had walked to the entrance to the tent and had to do a slightly awkward turn and step. He hadn't planned beyond nonchalantly walking past and moving the piece and it showed.

Following emotion in the flick of a hand was new. The signs that all Idemni used - not just the assassins - were merely accentuations to speach. It was very strange to have another visual aspect to reading emotion, something he had already mastered.

"Right we'll do another round then. Just you," he said. Raigryn walked around the table and took the chair opposite Fife. "Go on, close your eyes," he said. Having not re-tied his hair it fell forwards and swayed above the table.

If she decided to play he was going to slightly shuffle a few objects, pretend he had one in a closed fist and let her guess away.

 

[Fife]

Another game? Fife nodded eagerly and folded her arms to tuck her face into the crook of her elbow again until he was finished. Lifting her head, she was biting her lip in bright-eyed excitement as she scanned the mess he had made. She kept a running list of things in her head as her eyes touched each object.

But it all seemed to be there. A crease formed in her brow when she finished. Her idle smile fell slightly and she leaned forward to look through it all again. Yet again, however, it all seemed to be present.

Casting Raigryn, and uncertain glance, she gave it another look. Once more, she couldn't tell what was missing. Had she forgotten something? She had teased him, but here she was, just as stumped. Maybe it was one of the small colored rocks? The pebbles could have been easy to lose track of. Fife looked at his hand as if she might divine it from the curl of his fingers.

She was chewing at her lip as she wiped the chalk away from the slate and made a guess. PEBLE? She didn't look as confident in this answer as before.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

It occurred to Raigryn, as he watched her a little too closely as she scanned the table, that she wasn't going to find this as amusing as he was. He lips kept trying to betray his disciplined expression. He was in this now. There was no going back.

He slowly moved his closed fist to the middle of the table. Raigryn turned it over, but his fingers were still wrapped around the answer to her chagrin.

In one smooth motion he unfurled his fingers and revealed his empty palm.

 

[Fife]

The tension was almost killing her as he moved his hand between them. Her eyes were fixed, the slate and chalk slowly forgotten as she waited for him to open his hand so painfully slow. She was far too focused on his hand to have noticed any strain in his expression, feeling less and less certain about her answer by the moment. What if it had been one of the leaves? Or one of the small shells?

He finally opened his hand and it was empty. Fife blinked and sat back a moment, not quite understanding for several silent beats before she gasped. Color flashed across her cheeks and she looked up at him, agape with shock. The expression was quickly shifting to a chagrined laughter, however as she smacked his empty hand.

You... Fife was too surprised to think of the right damn signs. You did not do as you said! That was as close as she could come to "you deceived me" as she would get at this moment, half her signs forgotten. Even though he had just made an absolute fool of her, she was laughing. She had to stand to reach her short arm across the little table to push his (uninjured) shoulder before pointing to the cushions.

Go read your book, cruel man. She set her face in an aloof frown and sniffed indignantly, but her mind was eased open. Her amusement at his trick was apparent between them, a show of color only for him. Fife made a point of raking her treasures all to her corner of the table and beginning the process of arranging them all over again.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn flicked through his book slowly. Each page held a careful illustration. He stopped on on a particular page and held it up. With each passing second more detailed etched itself into the page.

Before it finished Raigryn snapped it shut and carefully placed it back on the library shelf. It sat with an entire collection of volumes with similarly shaded jade green spines. Some were small, some were large. Some almost new and others looked worn and frayed.

Raigryn stepped away, his boots loud on the mosaic tile floors. A stream of light came from the windows high overhead. The grand room had eight walls of books. Turning away he walked up to a heavy tome that had been chained down against a different wall. A good library always held danger. This one he was trying to keep under control himself. He was not doing well. He had hoped that by now he would have been able to take it down from its pedastal and file it high on the shelves with the older volumes. If he went to touch it those images bled into his mind.

Raigryn opened his eyes and sighed. Fife might have managed to achieve a series of columns, but the place he found balance had been shaped over many years. It resembled the grand old libraries he could no longer enter.

It had been two more weeks and that book front and center in the corner of desire refused to be filed into his past. He heard Fife yawn from her side of the tent and the book rattled against its chains. There were pages with illustrations based on reality in that book. The most dangerous ones drawn by his imagination.

"Good morning," he called out from the like of cushions.

 

[Fife]

Neither the dogged pursuit of nightmares nor the quiet slumber of a dreamless night could disturb the rhythm of her mind and body. Whether she had slept well or not, she roused at the same early hour every day. What she had been dreaming about, she didn't know, but her eyes opened to the feeling of restlessness and a racing heart.

Fife rolled onto her back and sighed, rubbing her eyes before staring up at the tent ceiling. The feeling always shook off shortly after waking; it was a familiar old friend by now. She waited, listening to the sound of birds to calm her, easing away the last of the tension from her figure. When it did, she yawned -- her body's request for a little more sleep on the chance it would be peaceful.

Raigryn's call of good morning startled her slightly. She was still as jumpy as the day they'd met, so there was nothing new to that, either. But familiarity meant her thumping pulse quieted quickly. Fife whistled back, a drowsy note of birdsong that wasn't nearly as spirited as other mornings.

Sitting up, she rubbed the heel of her palm into her eyes and dressed. In spite of being sleepy, she still came out of her half of their tent with a smile.Taking a seat at the table, she gave him a short wave.

You are awake early, she remarked. He wasn't usually awake before her, rising after her if he was up when she left at all. The sun was still just a suggestion of light on the horizon at this point of morning, unseen for the stone walls around the Indretar.

Fife untied her braid and began pulling her fingers through it. Her hair had grown quite a bit over the last few months. She'd stopped cutting it to her shoulders and it now laid well past her collarbones. In her opinion, the longer it got the more the reflection in the water looked like a girl. It dried in waves from the various braids the Idemni women had fun putting it into every morning. The early birds were far more creative with it, and listening to them chatter to one another as one of them braided her hair was relaxing in ways she hadn't expected.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

A fond smile quickly turned into a sharp glance towards the real book at his side. That one was a very boring tome and it didn't rattle any chains.

"I am going to head to Maellarn to see if a parcel has arrived. I wrote to one of my friends and it should have come today. I'm told it is quickest to check with her because she tends to check things coming in or out of Indretar." His tone suggested he was keeping something from Fife.

"I should be back before you're done...bathing." Raigryn flipped open the book, turning to a chapter on the historical disagreement between North and South Housley which had led to a change in workers laws. Perfectly tedious.

An Empath could feel, but balance required understanding and control. And not acting on sudden impulses to touch someone's hair. It was a difficult morning, but it would pass.

 

[Fife]

Fife listened, using both hands to pull the plaits loose. She narrowed her eyes at him, mildly suspicious because he hadn't said anything about expecting something before. That was precisely the sort of thing her gossiping and rambling teacher would mention frequently. But as with much of him, she left him to his mystery.

I can get breakfast when I come back. She flashed him a smile. Finishing the last of her hair, she went and put on her boots, donned her knife and sword, and fetched her soap and comb. With a final wave, she ducked out to head to the lake.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

When Fife returned he was sitting at the table hunched over a small fabric bag. It had been neatly tied with string. Raigryn cast one of his 'out of the side of the eye with mischief because I know something you don't' glances her way.

"This, is for you," he said, sliding it with deferential care across the table. "It is a loan from a friend so you must take good care of it. It is an old book for you to read. I asked for something with some adventure with language as plain as possible.

"This is the Sethan Monastery's rewriting of the tale of Elris. There aren't many copies because they made it at a time when the fashion for scholars was to learn elvish to read their stories directly. It's about the elven princess Elris who falls for a god. She takes up her sword and goes on a great question to prove herself worthy of his affections but another jealous God tries to trick her at every turn."

 

[Fife]

Fife came back smelling like roses with a series of braids she wore often, twin plaits twisting back from her temples into a single one that barely brushed the hollow between her shoulders. It was cool from the water and morning air, and it would feel nice against her neck at practice shortly.

She'd gotten their breakfast, backing through the flap with a chipper whistle hello that was much improved from the groggy morning answer. But that was before she saw his scheming look and the package on the table. Fife kicked off her boots and went to set the bowls down, unceremoniously tossing her soap and comb into her room.

All the while, her eyes didn't leave the package he guarded like a dragon over his hoard. Fife sat down and one brow rose in curiosity.

What did you receive? She couldn't pretend not to be curious. He could read her like one of his books; Fife hid little from him in terms of emotions. Whatever he was being sneaky about, she wanted to know what it was, and that was no secret.

But she wasn't expecting his answer. A book for her? Fife blinked. The playful smirk fell into utter surprise and she stared at the neatly wrapped parcel in disbelief. When she finally had control of her hands again, they moved as if to sign something (what, exactly, was unclear) but faltered.

Instead, Fife gently picked up the gift. Books always weighed more than she thought they would, but this one seemed to be more than most. Deft fingers could trace the shape of the cover and spine, but her mind was already imagining the tale he had described.

She glanced up at him, still looking uncertain -- as if she was confused about what to do next -- then smiled and she looked down at it again.

You got this for me? she asked. Like she needed clarifying again after he had just told her. Fife was more careful than necessary as she began to untie the string. It didn't matter that it was technically a romance. She would have read an encyclopedia front to back if he were waiting at the end of that final page.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"It is a loan we will have to give it back some time. My friend keeps lists about such things. Do not fold any pages or spill anything on it or my name will be scribbled into a different list," Raigryn said. He laughed, but the warning was quite real.

"Not many people read. It's said the dwarves once made a machine to make books quickly but this is very a labour of love," he said. "I read a different retelling long ago, but I think it's a good tale. I didn't specify which book so it was a surprise to me too."

Roll
What Raigryn wouldn't have expected was the detail with which the monks reproduced the raunchy third chapter where Elris encounter the god Herios whilst out on a hunt. He has thought they would have glossed over that.

"It will take you time but the good thing about ready a story is that you tend to figure out what the words mean as you go."

 

[Fife]

She nodded, smile only widening with each quick bob. I will show it respect, she assured him. the Idemni had a word for that, at least.

Now that she was overcoming the shock of receiving a gift, Fife was excited. She untied the string and carefully laid back the fabric. The book was just a book, and Fife didn't know if it was even a pretty or remarkable one. Still, she handled it like it was a baby bird. Opening its first few pages, her eyes eagerly scanned the text.

Fife finally looked back up from her inspection with as much happiness as could be put on her face. Thank you, she told him, hand flicking to happy even as she eased open her mind for the bubbly Joy to be easily perceived. I am eager to begin. Maybe there was more to this book reading business than she had given him credit for.

Now I have a reason to fight you for the comfortable location, she teased, pointing to the cushion heap. Laughing, she pushed the book to her treasure corner where she could admire it as she ate her breakfast without worrying about any remote potential of getting anything on it. Her whole body was taut with excitement, like she could spring up at any moment to run around.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn observed her with rapt attention as she freed the book from its packaging. There was little to tell it apart from the tedious tomes that he kept around the tent. His expression lit up with her own. He saw the world through her eyes so often. The new experiences which he had walked through without ever truly appreciating them came around again, such as the gates of Belgrath.

They said there were dragon riders again. That elven Eagle riders had been seen roaming more widely. Perhaps their adventure could be to find a way to the floating dwarven city. Something they could enjoy for the first time together.

"I'll ask for more cushions," he declared. "You're small and there is plenty of room."

 

[Fife]

She laughed, covering her smile with her hand as she finished her bite. I am very small. It was merely agreeing with an idea and echoing it with emphasis, but it meant so much. Idle conversation was something everyone else took for granted, but that a mute coveted.

Fife was smiling happily to herself, unable to wipe the expression away. But she glanced over at the pile of cushions and gave it a sudden, hard look. They already had so many -- asking for more, especially as guests here, felt rude to her somehow. The spot was plenty big enough for both of them; Fife had just always been so conscious of her proximity to others, enforcing a strict distance between herself and others.

That was changing, however. She let a gaggle of nude women who she hardly knew beyond names and their braiding skills stand beside her for half an hour to scrub and groom her. She could surely sit beside him for an hour or so at the end of the day. Couldn't she?

So why did the idea of that make her stomach flip and a hint of warmth touch her cheeks?

Don't ask for more, she added with a more serious expression. Feigning oblivion to the color in her face and thoroughly dismissing the odd feeling, Fife shrugged.

These are plenty. A bit more mischief tugged at the corner of her grin. You occupy most of the space, but I only need one. I am a mouse. We will both fit.

He was right. There was plenty of room. They wouldn't be much closer than when they sat at this table, except without the object between them. It was stupid to feel nervous about just sitting by him, she decided as she took up her spoon once more. Him being male should not have made any difference. It was Raigryn; if she should have learned to be comfortable around anyone, he had certainly earned her trust.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

If you are certain, he decided to sign back. Raigryn had stopped his morning lessons after catching up to Fife. Instead he would often now take Dusty out for some exercise or practise the sword.

On the first day he had used a simple wooden dummy with hay filled sacks to train. He had ended up with a crowd of fifteen gathered around. He could only imagine they had been bitterly disappointed by how ordinary he was when he didn't draw a mite from his aspects.

He was all too aware of her qualms about coming close to people, but they seemed to be easing. Whilst his own stomach might have done a little flip after her reply he knew deep down that he could never betray her trust. He would protect her from anything that would do her harm, even her own demons when he could, until the last.

"I'm going to take out Dusty this morning, unless you want to go for a ride together before lunch?" That depended to tend on Aretta's schedule. Recently Ylerial and Fife had trained with two more advanced students under Aretta's guide. There were less and less ruitines to memorise and more physical sparring. Fife might have been small but she was becoming stronger each week.

 

[Fife]

Fife was far too excited at the idea of a ride. She nodded, and her hands moved quickly in response. Can we, please? We haven't ridden recently. While she wasn't ready to leave the Idemni just yet, she missed being on Socks, missed the sights, missed the silence and missed him talking at her in whatever meandering trail of thoughts he had for the day.

Finishing her breakfast, she took the time to wrap her book up before she stood to put on her boots. Meet here or at the stable? she asked when she straightened. There wasn't a trace of the sorrow she had grappled with two weeks ago, and even less of the boyish girl who had walked into Indretar.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Raigryn was instead letting his mind settle in a hollow. One where Fife was curled up against his chest reading a book in silence. It made something wrap tight around his chest. Once settled there was inertia against dragging his thoughts away from it.

"I will meet you at the stables," Raigryn agreed with a nod. "In which case I will go for a little walk around the town unless you want me to come and watch your lesson?"

When walking around early in the morning he had to give the other end of the oasis a wide berth lest it seem he was trying to find an angle on the bathing area. It was difficult when he had to give the caves room or else suffer Maellarn spies watching him from the shadows.

 

[Fife]

Fife pursed her lips. You can come if you agree not to be a distraction, she finally signed with a return of her grin. I don't know if Aretta likes to reprimand you or if you like being in trouble.

It could be either. It could be both. She snickered, preparing to go, but paused. Fife looked at the book and her expression softened for a moment. The ability to communicate was still so new, that she had almost forgotten something.

Thank you. For the book. Her smile was warm, familiar. But the same strange feeling that had been plaguing her for several weeks flared up. It made her lungs feel light and her stomach tight, wanting something she was still unsure about. Pushing it down, Fife waved goodbye and hooked her thumbs in her sword belt as she left, effectively retreating before he could remark on the color in her cheeks.

She would be early to her lesson, as usual. Fife had taken Aretta's advice to start doing something to balance herself beforehand. For her, it meant building the room in her mind. It was small and poorly built, but it was a start. The more she studied Empathy, the more she found that she was much better at using and understanding the Aspects of others than her own. Building the room to find balance was much harder to do than to deftly draw from another.

She came early enough to sit outside the fortified tent, listening and thinking, trying to untangle a whole mess of things that were not cooperating.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"Any time," he said softly as she walked away. Probably quietly enough that she would barely hear it. On balance, he decided not to go. Raigryn stayed in the tent as it warmed up and would go for some air later.



Ylerial came and sat quietly beside Fife. Gerish was there too and he headed straight inside. He almost headed straight inside. He turned and offered a nod to Ylerial. A thin smile crossed her lips. A touch of colour rose on her angular cheeks. It was one of the only displays of affection Fife would have seen between the two.

Her mood today, good or bad? Signed Ylerial after a few moments of silence. They couldn't know yet but she apparently liked to speculate.

 

[Fife]

She opened her eyes when Ylerial came, but saved her smile for when Gerish went inside. The two of them seemed closer, and the flush of the elf's cheeks said more than most words could have. Even as she learned how to sign with Fife, she was a woman of few words.

Fife bit back a smirk. Their learned language had become a silent means to being mutually perplexed by the tension between their instructors.

Good. She liked to speculate just as much, but more often than not gave her the benefit of the doubt. Bad if Raigryn comes. No matter how well-intended his visits might have been, they inevitably sparked up Aretta's temper. More than usual, anyways.

Will Raigryn come today? she asked back. I say yes.

She had guessed wrong. It was just like him to do that to her, too. Any time she had thought she decided something about him or his behavior, he always had some surprise leaf. It was as fascinating as it was frustrating. Fife practiced hard nonetheless, focused enough not to let her attention slip to the door.

And it was a good practice. For once, she was genuinely sorry he had missed it. Aretta's harsh tutelage yielded results, and she was getting so much better than the last time he had come in to watch. She was learning that to get close to an opponent in order to facilitate her shorter reach often worked to her advantage. While she would always be better with her knifes and avoiding trouble in the first place, and though she would likely be eclipsed by driven individuals like Ylerial, Fife was rather proud of her progress.

She left practice much quicker than usual, hurrying to put away her practice sword and hustling out with only a quick wave to the others. Raigryn had promised more surprise in the rhythm if things, and today had already had one. She was doubly excited for a chance to take Socks and Dusty out -- give them a real reason to be brushed rather than a formality.

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Ylerial certainly wasn't able to communicate clearly enough to make a direct comment as to the chain of events and the tension between Raigryn and Aretta. The elf was happy to use expression and to circle around the matter. Her very careful statements hinted that she thought there was a tension between the two.

Raigryn was standing by Dusty and had saddled the horse. He remained close because his sword was strapped to dusty rather than himself. Raigryn didn't know if it would cause offence to be far from his sword. However going back and forth across the stables with it over his back had belcme tireesome.

His face lit up with a one-sided smile that was reserved for her. When they left Indretar she would find out that had little to do with hiding expression from the idemni.

How was your lesson? He signed. Seeing her again was as much a relief was a discomfort. At least he understood the symptoms, even if he was trying not to acknowledge them.

 

[Fife]

There was a cheery bounce in her step as she smiled and waved, going up to Dusty's nose to pet his face. He was simply a horse, almost entirely lacking in personality. But he went where he was told and only complained when separating from Socks, so Fife assumed that made him a good horse.

Socks, however, was cranky and verbal. Pressing to the edge of his stall to reach his nose over as much as his short body allowed and whicker softly.

Lesson was good. I am faster now. My arms are stronger. Her arms weren't the only thing. Her back and shoulders, legs and middle -- all of her had fleshed out to more than a half-starved bundle of sticks.

Stepping away from Dusty, she got her tack and carried it to Socks. That she could carry it at all suggested she had done it often (even if she still struggled somewhat with it). He butted his head against Fife impatiently the moment she came in, and she whistled his name low and sharp in warning, pushing his muzzle away from her. The little beggar! He was fat enough on the treats she snuck him already. For a moment she silently considered cutting off any further treats... but knew she wouldn't.

Getting him saddled, she attached her little sword to it. They were a much smaller, darker, and sassier version of Raigryn and Dusty. Fife smirked and whistled his name as she led Socks out.

How was your walk?

// Raigryn Vayd //​

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

"I stayed at the tent a little too long so I did not go far," Raigryn admitted. His hands were on the reigns. Balancing himself didn't make him immune to feelings. If anything it made him more aware of them. It was hard to describe it to Fife, who had to learn herself.

Understanding the nature of your own feelings helped to keep them distinct from what you drew. It helped to shield them from being overwhelmed by the power of empathy. The power of other's Desire could be used to make others as light as air or drawn to the ground. His own feelings for Fife had made him feel a little lighter this morning and then pinned down. It wasn't a little flutter that would pass quickly.

He led Dusty out of the stables. There were a few other animals here. Slender horses of a very different breed that they used to reach the nearest town for trade. A few donkeys more suited to the dry conditions.

Raigryn used the stirrup to throw himself up onto his horse and waited for Fife.

"Where to then?" he asked.

 

[Fife]

She followed him out of the stables, Socks eager on Dusty's heels. The moment they were clear of the door, Fife had simply hopped up and swung her leg over. The pony was not nearly as lazy as before, already trotting around the other two.

Is there anywhere here you have not been? she asked, having to turn and sign over her shoulder as Socks apparently decides he was ready to go. She whistled his name in the same scolding tone and picked up the reins to turn him back toward Raigryn. A year ago she would have been terrified, but now she only seemed annoyed.

I haven't gone far alone. Understandably. Fife didn't think someone would have brought her back, but she hadn't been brave enough to test that theory.

Surprise me, she added with a smile.

// Raigryn Vayd //​