Aaerynn stirred a bit when she heard Vordan grunt and begin to rise. She looked over once, watching him stretch and yawn. Noticing that he seemed to be alright she returned to her thoughts. At some point in the night she had realized that her dagger was gone. The elvish dagger that had been given to her by her mother, was gone. She couldn't decipher when those men had taken it or why she hadn't felt it. It had to be the moment of the blow to her head, he had probably slipped it out in one motion before she hit the floor. Either way it didn't matter how they got it, what matters is that it's gone. At first she had reeled through the devastating emotions that one of the few things that was important to her in this world, was taken by the man that had wanted to rape her. The rot had blown through her innards with it. But eventually she had resolved herself to one single decision. She wasn't going to leave Cromerth without it. The wood elf hadn't even noticed that Vordan had left until he came back, handing out a plate of food. She took it, looking slightly surprised, and then just looked at the food arranged on it. She picked at it, not really sure if she wanted to eat or not. Her eyes lifted to take in Vordan, and a new set of emotions stirred in her. [b]"That was one long, painful but amazing night.”[/b] Aaerynn blinked, and suddenly wondered if he remembered what he had said to her before falling asleep. A part of her desperately wanted to ask, but she remained silent. What was the point? Even if he remembered, even if he meant the words he said, how could he help her? She was a lost cause. Aaerynn picked up a piece of bread and began breaking it apart into bite size pieces. "If you say so." She finally said quietly. She was antsy to get back to the inn. She wanted to get out of these clothes. She wanted her bow and her medicines. She wanted to forget this night entirely...well except for one detail. Aaerynn looked back up at Vordan watching him eat. "Are you alright? I mean...from everything." --Vordan had set himself back to the wall, sitting onto the bed. Now fully awake, he was starting to piece together the full events of the other night. The insults, the Syndarean’s, the elvish rot… He was partially gone in his own thoughts as she almost whispered some words he didn’t hear. It did catch his attention and he lifted his head away from the plate… Her mood was depressing and joyless. There was something else, but he couldn’t figure it out. She then asked if he was alright. Vordan laughed lightly as he went back to eating his food. [b]“Of course I am fine. We had a little brawl with some bastards who wanted your body, we made a lot of money, we had an intimate discussion and…”[/b] Fortunately, he had recovered most if not all of the events of last night. He remembered even his last words. With that in mind, he got up and went to where the only window of the room was. [b]“… I get to see the sun rise another morning. I would say it isn’t anything I haven’t lived before. Not only that, but we are rich.”[/b] Aaerynn watched him, a large array of emotions crossing her face as she realized that he indeed remembered what they had discussed. Even the rather cheesy part. But she looked down at her food, picking at it again and playing with it before finally eating any of it. Eventually she set the plate down on the little stand next to her chair as she stood. Her stomach was twisting so harshly, she didn't have the motivation to keep eating. Instead she went over to her satchel, fishing through it until she collected what was left of the paper notes. She set them down beside Vordan, and looked through the bag once more just in case. She didn't want any of that filthy money even near her. She finally spoke up again, as she continued to rummage through it. "Well, I'm going to head back to the Bronze Lantern. Someone should tell the twins about what happened, and I have a burn to take care of." Aaerynn held up her hand, still wrapped up in the ripped off sleeve of her dress. She paused though, as she looked at the taller man before her. Her eyes searched his face for a moment before she allowed a slight smile. Vordan had seen her act, her image, and her vulnerability. She felt as if she could be a little more open, he deserved that much at least for saving her, and for the empty promise of helping with her rot. "Thank you for coming with me last night. I guess it was pretty exciting. When we hit the road again, I'll teach you how to make the vials." The sun was out and Vordan actually took the time to look outside. The light showed the active citizens going to their activities and duties. Most did not realize, but waking from your sleep was a gift most did not appreciate. These mornings made Vordan realize he was lucky as hell to still be standing. What a life he was living and he wouldn’t stop now. He came back when she brought over the notes to him. The notes she was probably offered for her “services”. What a city of cowards and distasteful idiots. Worse, they were Syndarean. He had some personal business with them now and really… He knew exactly how he could actually deal with them, but he needed a weapon he was pretty sure wasn’t going to be easy to get. [b]“ I’ll probably be heading back for a few minutes before going to some other business… And yes, warn the twins. They need to know.”[/b] With that, he was gathering up whatever he had with him. He stopped before her as she spoke once more… She had a smile. Small as it may be, it was one. [b]“Please. We should do this wherever we go next, without all the Syndareans and criminal establishments and more enjoyable circumstances.”[/b] He laughed. [b] “Enjoy your day.”[/b] Vordan’s day was going to be miserable, but hey, he needed to get things done. But first, act one of the plan. Aaerynn’s face softened at the fact that he wanted to do this again with her. It was nice hearing that for once. She didn’t get to hear it often. She finally picked up her things and headed to the door, but she paused a moment, rummaging around until she found the hotel key which she threw over to Vordan. “Enjoy your day too.” She responded and then gave him a saucy smirk. “Be a good husband and return the keys to the front desk, alright?” She then exited, closing the door behind her. She didn’t know if he would remember the excuse she came up with to get a room here, but it didn’t matter, it still amused her to no end. ------ Aaerynn had gotten back to the Bronze Lantern in record time. She had stripped down almost immediately upon entering her room, and now stood in her usual black attire. She had applied her medicinal clay like substance to her hand and bandaged it up tightly. She pocketed a jar of it just in case and then grabbed her bow and arrows. She had a mission now. The wood elf exited her room and walked down to the twins where she loudly knocked on the door. Setna opened it, and looked at her a bit confused. “Aaerynn? You look a little beat.” Aaerynn’s face didn’t change as she looked over the boy’s shoulder for his sister. But she wasn’t there. Setna seemed to notice her searching and tilted his head. “If you’re looking for Serna, she went out with Tirian to work on, you know.” Thankfully this time he knew better than to drop the m-word in the hall. Aaerynn frowned, the fact that the female twin was gone unsettled her, but Tirian was at least with her. The wood elf entered the twins’ room and turned to Setna, “We have to talk. In private.” Setna looked surprised, but closed the door, willing to hear what she had to say. Aaerynn didn’t beat around the bush. “I ran into some Syndareans last night.” The boy’s face immediately turned white. “What do you mean? What did they look like? Were they wearing anything in particular?” Aaerynn held up her hand to stop his rambling. “There were three of them. The leader of the group had long hair, and a ring on his middle finger.” The boy suddenly looked green and Aaerynn wondered if he was going to vomit. She watched as he started pacing, running his hands nervously through his hair. “Oh no. Oh no, oh no.” Aaerynn quirked an eyebrow. So the men last night were in fact after the twins. He finally looked back up at the wood elf. “I need to get to Serna…I have to…I mean Tirian can take care of her…but I.” Setna shook his head and grabbed his blade. Aaerynn came over and put her hand on his shoulder. “Calm down. We’ll go together, alright? I’ll be your eyes. If we run into them, just run and attempt to expose their magic. Someone will help. If we don’t, we’ll get to your sister and Tirian first and will be able to warn them and prepare, alright?” Setna seemed to calm a bit under her touch and nodded. “Ok.” --------- Aaerynn felt a little bad that she was practically luring the Syndareans out with the male twin. But honestly, they were probably still after her, and their original mission was the twins. So really, it was doubling her chances of running into them. Setna was walking a decent amount of feet in front of her. She was being his eyes. She searched through the crowd, trying to find any of the scumbag’s faces. She knew Setna would be able to hold his own against the cronies, especially if he could get them to expose themselves. But the leader…Aaerynn wanted the leader for herself. As she kept her eyes facing forward, she didn’t expect to get blindsided. The sudden blow to the back made her stumble, and she struggled but was quickly dragged into the alleyway as arms wrapped around her neck and midsection. ------- Setna didn’t notice the elf’s disappearance for a while. He was nervous, his hand fidgeting with the hilt of his blade as he walked the busy streets of Cromerth. He was expecting people to suddenly spring out and jump him. Yet no one came. Eventually he turned back, partly because he wanted the reassurance that someone was with him, but Aaerynn was nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t help himself as he started to back track. It was weird of her to just suddenly disappear into thin air. She had promised to stay behind him. Although the elf was cold, she was a decent person. She had protected his sister, and attempted to heal her. Aaerynn seemed the type to stick by her word. It was then that he heard the struggling in an alleyway. He approached it without thinking, and there she was, strung up against the wall, barriers around her wrist holding her off her feet. And there were the three Syndarean men who looked upon the new intrusion with interest. The boy froze up as he felt his throat constrict. Aaerynn turned her head, and it was her voice that broke him out of his fear. “RUN!” She screamed. Setna glanced at her before scrambling and beginning to sprint, two of the men quickly followed, right on his heels. Desperately the teenager tried to think over the plan. Go to a public place. Make sure there are witnesses. Fight. Expose their magic. Setna grit his teeth as he ran. -------- Aaerynn struggled against the bindings on her wrists as she watched the two cronies run after the teenager. But then a barrier was slapped across her mouth and the wood elf gave an icy glare down to the long haired Syndarean who stood before her. He grinned at her, his hand reaching up to stroke her hair. “My, my, it looks like you’ve become my luck charm. I had wanted to punish you for last night, but it looks like my plan has changed.” Aaerynn continued struggling but her eyes turned wide as the man procured her dagger from his belt. He reached up, and in one slice, sheared off a large lock of her hair. She shuddered and watched as the man tucked it away in his belt. “I like mementoes. Plus, you’re such good luck, I can’t leave without keeping a piece of it.” His smile was twisted and he looked up at her, letting the back of his hand stroke her face. “Ah that’s right, this is your dagger isn’t it? Well it’s only proper that I return it to its proper owner.” He lifted the dagger for her to see for just a moment, before he impaled her with it. Aaerynn’s scream was silenced by a barrier as the man stabbed through her stomach with her own dagger. He laughed as he then twisted it, watching as the elf’s body convulsed with pain before he yanked it out. He held it up to the light, looking at the dark blood that stained the clean steel. He then promptly sheathed it into the empty sheath on Aaerynn’s belt. The man looked up at Aaerynn’s face and gave her one last smile. “Well it’s been fun. But I have a little girl to catch.” He stuck his hands into his pockets as he began to whistle, leaving the wood elf strung up on the wall by her wrists. --------- Aaerynn struggled against the restraints, her body trembling with pain as blood continued to dribble down from her wound. It took a while until the barriers were suddenly broken, most likely not from her own doing but the bastard himself. Aaerynn hit the cobblestone hard, with a loud and shrill cry of pain. She held her side and sucked in air as she tried to think. This was all her fault. This was all her stupid fucking fault. It was just like that time years and years ago. Someone was going to die because of her stupidity and recklessness. Someone was going to die from her inability to do anything. Why did it have to be here? Why Cromerth? Slowly Aaerynn pulled herself up on her knees, her shaking hands searched her pockets for the small jar of medicinal clay. She began slathering the substance across her wound. It was enough to keep it closed and somewhat help to coagulate it. It would be enough. She cautiously rose to her feet, feeling the pain beat throughout her body. She wasn’t going to go through this again. Like hell she would. She was going to fight. She was capable of fighting. She could do something. She wasn’t going to let anyone else die because of her pathetic self. Aaerynn picked her head up, holding her wound as she began to run. ------- It took Serna about in hour of full concentration until finally she found what he was referring to. She didn’t know how to explain it. But she caught onto this feeling beneath his skin, and it was powerful. It burst through his system with the beat of his heart, and she could practically feel it surge beneath her fingertips. Along with it, however, she could feel the same feeling within her. She could feel the slight hum of her magic as it filtered across her body. Finally she opened her eyes, and her face lit up with excitement and happiness. “I got it! I think I felt it!” She smiled brightly, forgetting her shyness as a sense of accomplishment burst through her chest. Tirian continued on with diligence throughout the entire hour that preceded the training. Serna seemed to be lost in a distant world of her own, concentrating entirely on the task at hand. Her hands never lost the subtle grip on his own, those tiny fingers laced tightly between his own. Tirian opened his eyes to the excitement Serna portrayed as she moved her hands away from his own. “Not too bad, it took me a full day to feel that frequency. Take a break Serna. You’ve earned it.” Tirian smiled warmly to the Syndarean female who radiated with excitement. Red hair whipped against the wind as a soldier stood up and began to clothe himself once more. Tirian buttoned on cloak and quickly reattached his weapon to on his left hipbone. Tirian reassessed his equipment to ensure their tightness and then turned to face Serna with a fading smile on his face. That serious gaze began to return and it was clear this was business rather than pleasure. “The first step is the hardest, but the next few parts can be a bit tricky.” Serna relaxed at the mention of a break. She leaned back a bit, taking a breath. She was slightly proud of herself. She had actually done something magical. Of course, it wasn’t that big of a deal but it was still important and she had figured it out and done it on her own. Serna smiled happily but then she looked up as Tirian spoke. Her smile remained but she looked a tad bit nervous as she asked, “Y-Yes?” Tirian nodded slowly to the navy-haired beaut, sitting down with her as he spoke gently and quietly. “Next we have to figure out your body’s limitations. What would kill you. What would you be able to handle, that sort of thing. After that we practice on another person until we are confident enough to use that magic on our own body. The reason for that is simple. Magic is easier to use on other people rather than yourself. Too much will kill you, while the limits for transferring magic is much higher. Much more forgiving.” Tirian looked into those beautiful eyes of Serna, losing himself in their reflection for only a moment before regaining his thoughts and speaking once more. “But don’t worry about all that. One day at a time. I say we drop the magic talk and learn more about each other.” Serna listened intently, and she faltered a bit as he talked about limitations. She doubted that she’d be able to accomplish much. Even if she were able to go stronger, she had gone without the training that the boys of her age would have gone through. She had no experience, and she was a woman. Serna frowned as she thought about it. She looked up though as he mentioned stopping the magic talk. “L-learn about eachother?” “Right. Knowing someone makes you more comfortable with that person. If you’re more comfortable with that person then the training becomes worlds easier. It works the same way as a knowing a teacher well. You learn better from someone you know, and you’re more willing to learn from that person if you know them well. So please. Ask anything.” Serna nodded slightly to the explanation. She supposed he was right. She really didn’t know anything about him. Setna had told her that he came from the same experience as them, that he had gone through the same magic outburst. So Serna sat up a bit, mustering her courage. “H-How did you learn you had magic? Setna told me…that you discovered it later in life. Who trained you and made you so comfortable with it?” She hoped she wasn’t overstepping boundaries, but he said to ask anything, and she wanted to know. Tirian knew this would be the first question, and he prepared for an honest and truthful answer. The soldier would have nothing to hide from an honest girl looking for nothing more than to protect herself in the future. “I was a prodigy in the Durandal militia. But I would have these periods of time where I would grow ill overnight. I would be feverish and incapable of doing even the simplest task without excruciating amounts of pain. To understand the story I need to backtrack.” Tirian drew in a heavy breath before continuing the monologue of his life. “My mother was a Wood Elf of the eastern continent. Allynn Runetheil. She was the Queen until my father ended her life before my very eyes some time ago. Durandal hates the elves, almost as much as they hate magic. Now my father knew I was a Halfling and also knew in his heart I would one day have magic. Why he didn’t kill me in the beginning is beside the point.” Tirian waved off the thoughts and pushed forward through the story. “I never knew my mother, I was never told who or what she was. One day out of the blue when I was sixteen she showed up as a hooded figure. But my father wasn’t too far behind. They were fighting and I just lost myself. I exploded in flames and nearly killed myself and my parents. My father escaped with scarring and amazingly enough, my mother came out of the ordeal unscathed.” Tirian stopped for a brief moment, letting the whole story sink in before continuing once more. “My mother took me back to Imladris, the Elven Empire on Thialea. She was the queen at this time so their people took me in gracefully. My teacher was her and my half-sister.” Tirian shuddered at the thought of his sister, and her ridiculous strict ways of teaching. “It took me many years to get to the level I am at now and even today the kickbacks are deadly if used recklessly. That aside, is also the reason I am going back home. My mother’s empire is really my own and that continent is riddled with war unfortunately.” Serna listened to his story with wide eyes. She leaned closer though, enthralled with it and she finally asked. “If Durandal hates the elves and magic…Why did your father um…” She blushed, trying to figure out what to say. “Why were your parents together?” It was strange to hear. Why would a man keep his Halfling child if he knew he may have magic? When his people not only hated elves but magic also? “Did Durandal always hate magic?” “My father was a good man. Was. He cared deeply for my mother, before his rise to kingship. The power corrupted his mind and he went made from the thirst of gaining more power.” Tirian ended the sentence abruptly, his unwillingness to speak on the topic very clear. Serna nodded and turned quiet, realizing she had struck an open nerve. She looked down at her lap and played with her hands nervously. The silence was a bit overwhelming so she asked another question. “How long have you been in Furus? Do you like it?” She hoped it was an easier question and would help lighten the mood again. Tirian looked over to the nervous Serna, realizing his open anger had pushed her slightly away. The soldier smiled warmly to the new question and reached out for the girls hands. Tirian took her tiny hands into his own gently to force her eyes onto his own. “Three or so years. It’s quieter. Rudolf found me unconscious outside of Cromerth in fact.” Tirian fiddled with the girl’s fingers unintentionally as he asked his own question. “How long have the two of you been on your own?” Serna looked up to him and smiled as his face was warm and inviting. She was glad she hadn’t hurt him with her questions. She flushed though as she felt him gently hold her hand. Serna paused though as he finally asked her something. “Mmm we’ve been on our own really for just the length of the journey thus far. There were only a few days where we were completely alone, and Setna happened upon Rudolf’s advertisement.” She turned quiet as she thought over another question. She turned wide eyed as she realized something obvious she didn’t know. “How old are you?” She smiled brightly, kind of laughing that she hadn’t asked before. Tirian let out a hearty chuckle, his age was something no one had ever asked. “Well I’m not as old as you think. Twenty-four years young.” Tirian continued to fiddle with the tiny digits of the girl’s hand, not really aware that he had been doing so for the passing minutes. “And yourself?” “Setna and I actually turned 18 a few days ago.” She smiled wide but then faltered a bit. “It was the day of the bandit attack.” She paused as she looked at their hands. “You’re young to have experienced so much…So you really only got to spend a little time with your mother. I’m sorry.” She frowned as she thought about it. Serna missed her mother dreadfully, but imagining being separated for 16 years was awful. To be without a mother for that long…and then for her to die so soon after finally meeting her. Serna emphasized with the warrior before her, who was being so gentle with her hands it was as if he was treating her like something worth not breaking. Tirian took the words in, their birthday was not too long ago and he did not even know. Guilt struck the soldier from within. Serna showed so much passion for what she did well and her personality seemed to just never ask for anything from anyone. “Thank you. It’s not often I get to hear words like that. I’m sorry for your position too. “ Tirian smiled for a moment before realizing he hands her hands within his own and quickly retreated them back to his lap. A shade of maroon fell over the soldier’s cheek for only a moment as he looked away from the teenager before him, completely embarrassed at his actions. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to… I mean I didn’t realize…” Serna blushed as well and waved her hands slightly. She stuttered a bit. “N-no, n-no it’s alright!” She giggled and smiled, feeling slightly better about everything now. She had gotten to know the man before her just a bit better. Hearing his story, it made her want to try even harder, maybe for his sake too. The fact that he was willing to open up to her, willing to train her, and willing to care about her wellbeing…she kind of wanted to make both him and her brother proud. She would do the best she could. “Um…So what is the next step?” Serna smiled, and it was obvious now that she had calmed down in the presence of the warrior. After hearing his past and what he had been through, she felt her shyness dissipate bit by bit. Tirian smiled at the Syndarean, she was about business too. “Next you need to tune into your frequency and try to amplify it. Then mold that magic and press it onto my hand.” Tirian held out his right hand, once more with the palm facing up. “Place a hand on each side and just try your best.” Serna did as she was told but then looked up at Tirian a bit lost. “How am I supposed to press it into your hand?” “Close your eyes and feel the magic. When you find it, imagine you’re diffusing the magic through your hands into my own.” Serna closed her eyes and tried her best. Amplifying her magic was easy, but it was too easy. She overproduced a barrier and couldn’t bend its shape. She winced a bit as she opened her eyes and wiped a dribble of blood from her nostrils. She wasn’t in pain though, so she tried again, this time it was smaller but she wasn’t able to bend it around his hand very well. Tirian noticed the blood and immediately stopped the training, grabbing the girls hand softly and moving it to her side. Tirian took his free hand and wiped the running blood away with his thumb. “Don’t push yourself. When the kickbacks happen, take a small break. Try to think what you did and what happened.” Serna nodded, helping to rub her nose. The magic had practically jumped out of her hands. She needed to restrain it more, pull it back. She could do this. -------- “How interesting.” Serna froze at the sudden new voice and turned to see a long haired man enter the clearing. He was smiling and looking directly at her. Serna stiffened as she looked at his face. She had seen him before, but where? Tirian snapped his eyes up to the voice, drawing his blade immediately and stepping in front of Serna. The tone wasn’t too friendly and the red-haired warrior wasn’t about to let someone attack him nor Serna out of the blue. No questions asked. Tirian rushed forward to the voice with haste without wasting any more thought. The man didn’t move as Tirian came fast to intercept him. Instead his blade met barrier, and then a barrier covered fist met Tirian’s gut. The blow sent Tirian back a bit, and the man held up his hand, immediately a barrier of iridescent purple light surrounded the red head, halting him completely. “Now, now calm down boy. You jump to drastic measures don’t you? I only want to talk.” The man smiled wide, and sidestepped the barrier, walking towards Serna. The girl had stood up and her eyes had turned wide. Her face was pale as she back stepped. She had seen the ring on his hand. She knew automatically what he was. Every Syndarean knew what he was, and she knew to be deathly afraid. “Y-Y-You’re an e-executioner.” “Well looks like the rebel and traitor seems to recall some of her country’s traditions.” He grinned, cornering Serna like a cat to a rat. Serna turned silent as she began shaking. What happened to Setna? Where was he? She flinched as the man came close enough and touched her face. He forced her to look at him. “My, what trouble it took to finally find you. Don’t worry about your brother, my colleagues have caught up with him.” Serna shuddered, her eyes turning watery with fear. The man just smiled, holding her jaw in his hand. “Now we have to come to a decision. Hmmm. No one wants me to kill you here, they want to continue with the rites of course. But the thing is…that isn’t very fun. Besides, we both know that everything is your fault. You begged your brother to escape, you lured him out, and you’ve caused his downfall. Your brother is tied to his execution because of your short comings. Don’t you think that deserves some punishment?” Serna couldn’t breathe as she felt her tears well up and slip down her cheeks. She tried to shake her head but he wouldn’t let her. His gray eyes were cold, and he grinned, then he hit her. She fell to the ground holding her cheek, and the man stood above her, his eyes dark as he raised his hand to hit her again. “I hate weak women like you.” He never got the chance to bring his hand down as his blood splattered, an arrow shot right through his palm. He turned, and another sliced the side of his neck. He screamed in pain as he held it, and a barrier came up just in time to deflect an arrow inches from his forehead. Aaerynn suddenly stepped through the darkness, her eyes were fiery with her rage. Her shirt was torn, showing a glob of green and brown clay that had been slopped over a wound. “Step away from her.” The man looked at the wood elf and lit up in laughter as he plucked the arrow from his hand. “I’m surprised! The filthy wench lives! I—.” He didn’t have time to say anymore as Aaerynn was suddenly upon him, dagger in hand. He lit up a barrier but he was still forced away from Serna who quickly got to her feet and ran over to where Tirian was entrapped. The man slid back, holding his bleeding neck. A twisted smile appeared across his face. “You want to play you elvish cunt? Then let’s play.” Aaerynn’s face darkened as she continued forward, unrelenting. She had to be faster. She needed to move quicker than he could react. She needed to catch him before he could get a barrier up to defend himself. She had to dodge his fists, she knew one of them had been strong enough to smash Vordan’s rib. Her body couldn’t take any more damage. They performed a deadly dance, a series of offensive swipes and a twisting routine of dodging and paring. Aaerynn had landed a few swipes, but the man quickly retaliated, landing a swift barrier covered kick into her injured side. The hit caused the elf to be blown back, her eyes wide and her breath caught in her throat with pain as she was sent tumbling across the ground. Her hand went to her injured side and it was immediately covered in blood. The coagulant had cracked, and blood was quickly pooling from the stab wound. She gasped in pain, struggling to breathe, but she didn’t have time to think as he came down on her. She just barely dodged as the man’s magic covered fist hit the ground, cracking the earth with his strength. Aaerynn quickly shifted, using all of her strength to get herself onto her feet and away. She held tightly to her elven dagger. She had to think. Even though he was able to cover his fists and body parts with barriers, he was obviously weakened from creating the one around Tirian. Aaerynn’s eyes shifted over to the red head who was struggling to break open the physical magic. The wood elf quickly dodged as the Syndarean attempted to side swipe her. C’mon, she had to think. She shifted into a defensive stance, trying her best to dodge as the man continued to attack. She was losing too much blood. At this rate it would be useless. She needed just one opening. Only one. She finally got it. There was a crack in the distance and the Syndarean man stilled, his eyes wide and a lone drip of blood came from a nostril. Aaerynn moved in immediately, she stepped forward and impaled the man straight through his gut, practically the same place he had stabbed her. Aaerynn smiled as she leaned against him, hearing him scream in agony. She twisted the dagger, which had been covered in her own blood, relishing the way he stiffened and struggled. “You injured my comrade. You mocked my sins and my rot. Now I wonder if you can handle the weight of it.” She didn’t know what would happen if defiled, rotting blood, mixed with that of a human’s. But this man deserved whatever came to him. The Syndarean grit his teeth and landed an opened palmed, and barrier covered hit, on Aaerynn’s chest. There was the sound of cracking as she was thrown away like a rag doll, her body turning along the ground until she stopped, lying on her back. Her left collarbone had been snapped in half with one hit. She was done. Her blood was continuing to pool and she couldn’t breathe from the agony. Her lungs had frozen, and her chest constricted. ------- “Aaerynn!!!” Serna screamed as she ran toward the elf’s side. The teenager turned pale, and streams of tears slid down her cheeks as she knelt down beside the wood elf. “Don’t die…please don’t die.” Serna didn’t know what to do. Aaerynn was covered in blood and the young girl immediately put her hands on the wound, trying to put pressure on it. Aaerynn grimaced in pain, and Serna continued to cry. “Please don’t die…I’m so sorry…This is all my fault…don’t die….don’t die.” Her words were choked within sobs as Serna closed her eyes and prayed. Aaerynn couldn’t focus. Her eyesight was lost in pain as she felt the stab wound crack further open as the rot attempted to destroy her. She could barely hear Serna, but she could feel drops of liquid hit her face. The word ‘die’ stuck out to her, and suddenly Aaerynn realized, oh yeah, she was dying wasn’t she? She had already lost the amount of blood that would send a normal human into death. She knew bodies well enough that she could tell. If they didn’t close her wound she would definitely bleed out before they were even a third of the way back to the inn. This was kind of a pathetic death wasn’t it? She had only gotten one good shot at the guy, and Aaerynn wondered if it had really made a difference. He could still come up and kill both her and Serna. Gods, she was pathetic. She couldn’t ever do anything right. Vordan’s words about the sunrise came back to her and Aaerynn trembled with sadness. She had thought it was stupid that he had said something like that. But in this moment, it was all she wanted to see. Another day. Gods, just when someone had reached out to her, willing to help with the rot. Even if it was a human promise, he had still offered it to her. Yet her she was bleeding to death. This was stupid, and frustrating and awful. She didn't want to die yet. She was so pathetic. To think she would die in shitty fucking Cromerth. With the little girl she had wanted to save, crying beside her and likely going to die too. Why? Why did this always happen? Why was she incapable of doing anything to change circumstances? Aaerynn felt like crying, but there were no tears to shed.