[center][h1] [color=92278f]Zach[/color] & [color=slategray]Ailsa[/color][/h1][/center] [center]A [i]Wick [/i]& [i]Dusksong[/i] Collaboration[/center] Ailsa sat up, eyes wide and alert as they darted around the room quickly before relaxing when she realized where she was. Checking her temperature, the telepath determined that she was well enough to be up and about as the previously crippling pain in her head had subsided to but a dull ache. Stumbling as she slid down from the cot, Ailsa took a moment to collect herself before taking a few steps, testing out her injured foot. Putting weight on it still sent a spike of pain up Ailsa's spine, but the venom was mostly gone from her system and she focused for a moment, urging her brain to realize that the pain was [i]just a figment of her imagination.[/i] As the pain subsided, Ailsa took a few moments to scan the shelves of the makeshift clinic. The shelves were well-stocked with various bottles and boxes, but a thin film of dusk had begun to settle. It'd been days since someone had cleaned the shelves, suggesting that the doctor was out. Maybe the man Ailsa had seen hadn't been the doctor after all. Maybe her skills would be of use. Maybe... she could stay. But that was still to be seen. Ailsa straightened up and dusted herself off in front of a mirror hanging behind the sink, looking at the tired girl in the mirror. She'd been on the road for much too long, and it was about time to start thinking about settling down somewhere. Turning on the faucet, Ailsa splashed some cold water on her face before turning towards the door. [i][color=slategray]Well, here goes nothing,[/color][/i] Ailsa thought, opening the door and stepping out into the clearing. It was about 7:30 at night, and Zach was doing some lightning tricks for the kids. Ranna and Kyle were no where to be seen and he was fine with that. He was fairly certain Kyle would punch him if he saw him. Looking up, Zach caught sight of the pretty girl from the medical office. Zach broke away fro the kids and headed towards her. [color=92278f]"How's the foot? Feeling any better?"[/color] [color=slategray]"Much better,"[/color]Ailsa said, giving the man from before a friendly smile. [color=slategray]"Are you the doctor?"[/color] [color=92278f]"No, just a smart guy who's seen many, many rat bites. There are a lot of rats in castles so it's kind of a common knowledge thing where I come from."[/color] [color=slategray]"Castles?"[/color] Ailsa echoed, eyebrows shooting up. [color=slategray]"There are castles around here?"[/color] Zach looked at her and smiled. [color=92278f]"No, I'm a long way from home. I'm here to get Princess Ranna and take her home. So where are you from?"[/color] Ailsa grinned. [color=slategray]"Princesses and castles, one has to wonder about the place you come from. I'm a traveler, if you will, spending her days on the road. Where I was born doesn't matter so much as how I got here," [/color]Ailsa said, eyes trained on the children behind Zach who were currently amusing themselves with a nearby grasshopper. [color=slategray]"I came by with a caravan of merchants who were passing through, but I made the dumb choice of breaking off from them, thinking I could venture through the forest alone for a while. Guess you know how that turned out, huh?"[/color] Zach chuckled. [color=92278f]"Yeah I guess we have. So why are you here? Was this your planned destination or just a happy accident?"[/color] [color=slategray]"I'm actually not sure," [/color]Ailsa admitted with a small smile. [color=slategray]"I'd say it was an accident, but there's a chance I could stay. Is there room for another doctor in town?"[/color] He grinned. [color=92278f]"The doctor I heard about that just got here has already alienated half of the tribe, so I'd say there is a good chance you might have a job here. Do you have a place to stay yet?"[/color] [color=slategray]"I just woke up, so I don't think I've had the time to find a place to stay yet," [/color]Ailsa laughed. [color=slategray]"But, if the clinic's empty, maybe I'll shack up there. Were you suggesting somewhere?"[/color] Zach smirked,[color=92278f] "No I just got here today myself. I have a room to stay in though, so I figured if you didn't have anywhere you could consider my room as an option. I would behave myself of course."[/color] He sighed, [color=92278f]"I haven't found anything too interesting other than mess around with the kids in the tribe. My powers fascinate them." [/color] [color=slategray]"I'll take you up on the offer for the room if booking the clinic doesn't work out,"[/color] Ailsa shot back with a grin before furrowing her brows. [color=slategray]"Your powers? Do you have powers too?"[/color] He nodded and shot a lightning rod into the air. [color=92278f]"I can generate and manipulate electricity. Do you have any powers?"[/color] Ailsa grinned, pointing at her head. [color=slategray]"I'm a telepath. I can read minds, speak to others with my mind, and tell your brain what to think. For example, I'm telling myself that my left foot feels perfectly normal when it really feels like someone's stabbing it with a knife."[/color] Zach frowned, walked over to Ailsa and knelt down to look. [color=92278f]"May I?"[/color] He held her foot and removed the shoe. He stood up, easily lifting her in his arms and carrying her back inside. He put her on a table and went to the shelves. He started looking through the bottles and found another bottle of Peroxide and more of the salve he put on before. Coming back to her he smiled. [color=92278f]"Sometimes we need to clean it and remedicate some bites more often than others."[/color] He cleaned the wound with experienced hands. [color=92278f]"My dad was the doctor in the castle for many years, so although I am not a doctor I've learned a lot." [/color]He looked it over again and said [color=92278f]"How's that feel?"[/color] [color=slategray]"Much better," [/color]Ailsa admitted with an amused smile, examining the dressing on her wound. It was precisely done, the way one'd expect an individual well-versed in medical practice to have done. [color=slategray]"Maybe this city doesn't need another doctor. After all, they have you."[/color] Zach's eyes darkened a little.[color=92278f]"No they don't. I belong to the princess. I am her royal guard and I have to take her home. It's imperative that I take her home soon."[/color] Ailsa, taken aback by the sudden change in mood, looked at Zach with wide eyes. [color=slategray]"That means you'll be leaving soon, doesn't it? You and the princess."[/color] Zach nodded.[color=92278f] "With any luck yes she will accompany me home. I would hate to think of what would happen if she didn't." [/color]He smiled slightly. [color=92278f]"There is a lot going on back home right now."[/color] [color=slategray]"I see," [/color]Ailsa said, biting her lip. The rules were that one could ask for no more information than they themselves were willing to give, and the topic of "home" was one that Ailsa very much wanted to avoid. [color=slategray]"Well if the princess wishes to return, I'm sure she would if she heard what you have to say."[/color] Zach smiled again and said, [color=92278f]"She has heard enough and she desperately does [i]not[/i] want to go back. However, there are obligations and such. She is to be married off the instant she gets back, but she has fallen for someone here...the tribe leader. So as you can see, it makes my job difficult."[/color] [color=92278f]"My name is Zach."[/color] He grinned at her. [color=92278f]"What is your name, my lady?"[/color] [color=slategray]"Ailsa,"[/color] Ailsa said, returning Zach's grin.[color=slategray]"For what it counts, us girls don't really like arranged marriage much, princesses included. Is there any way she could choose her suitor?"[/color] [color=92278f]"Possibly but not without her mother's approval. Now if she were married already it would stand unless her mother demanded it be annulled. Now those are usually reserved for marriage to someone like a pig farmer or someone of equally low status. No matter what happens I have to go back and deliver either her or the bad news and that will probably mean my head. Quite literally."[/color] Ailsa frowned, realizing the severity of the situation. [color=slategray]"That means that your life is on the line here! How can you be so calm? You just said the princess isn't willing to return, so do you have some sort of plan to convince her?"[/color] Zach laughed at that. [color=92278f]"Well after she said she was happy here I decided to try something stupid out of desperation."[/color] He continued. [color=92278f]"See she and I were raised together since she was born. We were raised like she was my responsibility from the moment she was born. I was 5. We learned how to fight, play and always I defended her no matter what. It's my duty. My life is hers to do what she wishes with. She loves me as a brother and I her as my sister. So naturally when I tried to kiss her tonight she hit me."[/color] He started laughing at the memory. [color=92278f]"Good for her! She even did it the way I taught her too."[/color] He shook his head smiling. [color=92278f]"I was hoping I would be able to remind her that she loves me too and come home with me. I told you it was a stupid move." He grinned sheepishly.[/color] [color=slategray]"That it was."[/color] Ailsa smiled, amused. [color=slategray]"It must be nice, having someone you grew up with and trust. Why go back to the kingdom then? Would it not be possible to just stay here, in this city?"[/color] [color=92278f]"Enough about me and my crazy life. Tell me about you Miss Ailsa. Where will you go if you leave here?"[/color] [color=slategray]"I don't know, and it doesn't matter," [/color]Ailsa said, laughing. [color=slategray]"This city, that city, they're all unique in their own ways. I've been to many, and each had its own story, its own allure. As a traveler, you only see the things on the surface, and I've been a traveler for long enough to see that this city is one of the more homlier, stable communities. I wouldn't mind staying here myself, provided I have a role in the community."[/color] Zach watched Ailsa and he couldn't believe how much he had told her. He hadn't gotten this comfortable with a woman in a long time. He moved closer to her and leaned in slowly to kiss her. He gave her time to smack him if she was going to. Ailsa turned her face away, causing the impromptu kiss to land on her cheek. Pushing Zach away, Ailsa stood up, her face a flushed mask of uncertainty. [color=slategray]"Zach, it's been great talking with you, but I'm not looking to get tied down right now. Especially since I might leave tomorrow, or the day after,"[/color] Ailsa explained with a sad smile. [color=slategray]"I'm not yet ready for anything, except maybe friendship and a home. I hope you don't mind."[/color] Zach looked like a wounded puppy. He nodded and stepped back. [color=92278f]"I'm sorry milady. It won't happen again." [/color]He handed her the salve. [color=92278f]"Apply it every 4-6 hours until it is no longer red."[/color] He turned to leave, hesitated and then walked out the door. Going across the street he climbed the hill and sat down with his back against a tree not ready to turn in for the night yet. Ailsa stared blankly at the bottle of salve in her hand, a pensive frown on her face. She felt bad since she hadn't made her motives clear, but Ailsa knew she'd made the right choice. There simply wasn't room in her heart. Not yet. [i][color=slategray]Someday,[/color][/i] Ailsa resolved. [i][color=slategray]Someday I'll open up that locked box and take out that lost and battered part of me, but not yet.[/color][/i] - - - [@dabombjk] [@blackpanther]