[IC] [Ebonfort] So Much White Hair

[Drache]

Starting Date and Time: Ceruleo 52nd 300DM, nightfall

Starting Location: Frostfell, somewhere in the Indiga Mountains

CS URLs: Alya Eloen & Rilana Aurorime'

The wind had been picking up all day, the icy gusts seeming to blow right through Rilana as though she were made of cheesecloth. When she looked out across the mountains all she could see was the roiling white wall of winter stormclouds, and she suspected that the next few days were going to be rough indeed. Not only that, but she was haunted by her conversation with Svarak, the joy of celebrating her birthday drastically muted by the sheer weight of knowledge pressing down on her mind like a heavy stone. This mission was no longer about getting home, nor was it about bringing strangers to her beautiful, fair city. It had become a sort of fell trudge towards misery and terrible powers she knew nothing about. Her dreams were fulling of laughing feline jaws and crystal swords and dark, terrible things suffocating her and dragging her down into a crimson darkness.

The Moon Fey lit a lantern in her tent, both to provide warmth and light. Ortha was gnawing at one of her own bony plates, and Rilana guessed that it was itching as it continued to grow. Emerging from the tent flap, doing her best to keep the hole as small as possible, Rilana went to look for Alya. Pausing only to make sure that Bruin was grazing happily in his nosebag, the druid trod lightly through the snow until she found the half-elf.

"Hey Alya. Want to come visit with me? I have honey for tea!" She probably didn't need to coax the mute, but it was fun to try luring her out with promises of the yummy treat she picked up in Green Falls. "I'm restless and I have to stand watch in a few hours anyways. Bring Echo with you and it will be warmer with all four of us."

Five. Six, if you invite him.

The snide suggestion might have made Rilana blush once, but now it only made her feel hollow.

[Rekaigan]

Her whole experience in the cave had left Alya in a constant state of shock, disbelief and pressure. She looked around at the icy environment, looking for someone. Something. Anything to tell her what she needed to do. Her purpose was entirely unclear to her. Was she meant to seek out whatever 'Jaspaiya' was? Was she meant to save those Fey within the shield? Maybe it was already too late. She had felt their power fading already and she didn't know how much time had lapsed in between. Her vision, as far as she knew, was based on what she knew to be the Death of Magic..

Her thoughts were interrupted by a certain Moon Fey. Rilana. Rilana? She tried to speak telepathically to her friend who approached her, but she only felt a slight connection, but nothing else. It didn't work. Perhaps Rilana wasn't a mage. The Fey seemed happy to see her, inviting her to tea in a tent. Alya gave Rilana a small smile and a nod, trying to mask her despair. Echo whined slightly as he arched his neck to look at his mother, sensing her troubled feelings. But she hushed him by patting her head.

As they entered the tent, Alya felt the warmth of the lantern and being 'indoors' after being outside in the snow for the past hour or so. Echo seemed quite excited about the warmth, causing him to jump out of Alya's coat, pulling it open. She slowly sat down on one side of the tent as if that didn't happen, before rummaging through her satchel, producing her usual quill, ink and paper. Her ink had frozen slightly from the cold, but the majority was still usable liquid. However she didn't write anything yet, instead waited for Rilana to say something. She tried as best as she could to keep herself from going back to her thoughts about her purpose, but all she could manage was a slightly pained smile.

[Drache]

Once they were within the relative warmth and safety of the moon fey's tent, Rilana pulled her boots off and replaced them with the soft slippers she had picked up in Stone Crest. She busied herself trying to bring some water to a boil and making some tea in the travel-sturdy cups in her pack. Everything came to a stand-still when she tried to add the promised honey, discovering that the precious golden stuff had met with a similar fate as Alya's ink, refusing to budge from the bottom of the corked pot.

"...oh! Oh my. Well that's just unfortunate," Rilana pouted crossly. "Trix did not tell me that honey could freeze! I will definitely have to have a word with her about that when I get back to Ebonfort..."

If she ever got back. If their trip was succesful and if she was allowed to keep her position as Envoy. If nothing terrible happened to either destroy the world or make her seek a life of solitude in the wild north. Nothing was certain at all. With a sad sort of grin, Rilana stuffed the honey jar down the front of her shirt were it would be sure to warm up nestled in her cleavage. "There. That might work."

Glancing up at Alya, she noticed, not for the first time, that the young woman seemed particularly distracted by something. "You look about as miserable as I feel. Tell me what's bothering you? You sit there and write. I'm going to braid your hair. Give me something to do while this honey warms up."

By this point, especially with Ortha's shenanigans, the middle of Rilana's tent was more a nest of furs and blankets than any kind of organized bed + supplies arrangement. The druid tossed a stick of trail jerky to Echo and settled down within easy reach of the lantern, arranging Alya in her lap with the songweaver's back to her chest. All she would have to do is peak over the smaller woman's shoulder to see what she was writing and they could have a relatively normal conversation.

While she waited for other things, Rilana produced a soft-bristle hairbrush and began to stroke it gently through Alya's white hair. "It's very soft, your hair. And straight!" Her own had traces of faint pastel colours, but tended to run in wild tendrils if she wasn't careful. "It's a shame we aren't in Frigmount yet," the moon fey sighed. "I will have to get you some of the beautiful scrimshaw and silver pins they make in Krarik."

[Rekaigan]

For the most part, Alya didn't really take much notice in what Rilana was saying. Something about frozen honey and how she didn't know it would happen. She knows Trix? Alya wondered when hearing the name. Such a small world they lived in. Such a terrible one too. She frowned at the thought, only to be distracted again by the Moon Fey's talking. She gave the Moon Fey a slight nod as she suggested that she just write and allow her hair to be braided. To tell Rilana what was bothering her was to tell her everything about her vision and her purpose. She didn't know if she should disclose it at all.

Meanwhile, Echo was busy chewing and pulling at the piece of jerky that the wonderfully generous Fey lady gave to him. Oh what a treat!

Alya didn't make any move to resist Rilana's actions, obediently sitting in the taller woman's lap. She had leaned back slightly when she had moved onto Rilana's lap, feeling the Moon Fey's enviable cleavage touch her back, along with the feeling of a.. jar of what may be the honey. She leaned forward slightly as she began to write, her writing was slow at the start, but soon pick up pace. She started to write about the Elf woman and how she told Alya that it was their purpose to help her, find her purpose. She explained what a White Elf's purpose was, in rather simplistic terms. "It is a mission given to us that we must complete. Some of us have greater purposes. Like me." She paused, her hand visibly trembling slightly before continuing. This most likely wasn't the kind of 'conversation' that Rilana was looking for, but Alya didn't know what else to talk about. It was all she could think of.

She began to describe her vision to Rilana. It started to sound like a fairy tale. A land filled with Fey and beautiful plants and animals. A mountain island with winged beings upon it. A colourful world. It soon started to sound like a nightmare as she explained the death and destruction that took place in her vision. She could feel the emotions flowing back to her as she tried to write about the anguish and the darkness. She stopped writing mid-sentence, her whole body trembling as tears began to spill from her eyes once more. A few tears dripped onto the parchment, smudging some of the words, however the story would still be quite evident despite that.

[Drache]

For the most part, Rilana was doing her best to create a distraction, both for herself and for Alya. Something as simple and ultimately boring as having tea and playing with the half-elf's hair was one step away from letting the fog of emotions overwhelm her.

While Alya wrote, the pen scratching fluidly against the paper, Rilana let her long fingers work through the silky locks of the Songweaver's hair, sliding them along Alya's scalp as she seperated the silvery curtain into many equal-sized strands. There was gentle tugging at different parts of Alya's head as the Moon Fey began weaving back and forth with her hair, the pattern indiscernable at first.

And in between, when she could hold the hair securely without losing her place, she glanced over Alya's shoulder to see what she was writing. She occasionally commented or asked for clarification, her voice soft and friendly in her friend's ear. If she wasn't too upset by her own inner turmoil, Alya might have noticed that Rilana was just as troubled.

"I don't understand how you get this Purpose. Who gives it to you? It has to be another elf? Are...are both of your parents White Elves?" Rilana didnt know that Alya was a half-breed, but her small stature seemed at odds with what little she did know about White Elves. "Is it just magic that defines your Purpose?" The entire concept felt a little like telling the future, which, frankly, hurt Rilana's head to think about.

When Alya began to describe her vision, Rilana felt the way her shoulders tensed and watched how her hand flew across the page, and she paused in her braiding to rub her hands up and down Alya's arms, trying to comfort her. "It sounds beautiful, but terrible. Don't cry Alya. I can't stand to see you sad." She hugged the smaller woman, making nonsense shooshing noises into her hair. "I know it's scary." And she did know, having just received a similarly distressing insight into the world.

"Unfortunately I think it is some kind of rule that people who are gentle and nice end up having to fight things that are the most dark and horrid. But you're braver than you know I think. You're here when most people are safe in their homes with their fires and furs. I think you can do it. And if I can, I'll help you!" She pulled away for a few minutes, retrieving the honey jar from her shirt and mixing them both a cup of tea. She offered one to Alya first and then sipped her own.

"Wow. Every time I have a little bit of honey it's like the first taste all over again. It's so wonderful! We don't have bees this far north."

Setting her rough cup aside, she resumed working on Alya's hair until all of it was bound up in a fancy braid that coiled prettily around the half-elf's head like a delicate crown of her own hair. Rummaging around, she found a small mirror for Alya to use to look at it.

"See? Very pretty, if I do say so myself. It looks way better than what I can do to my own hair." Currently, Rilana's hair was pulled back into a long fishtail braid that draped over her shoulder when she moved the right way. Her eyes fell on Ortha, who was trying to grab the end of Echo's wagging tail with her clawed paw without getting up from her spot.

"Yesterday was my birthday," Rilana brought up suddenly. "I had a long talk with Lord Svarak. It turns out that he is a much different man than I had originally thought." For a brief moment, her composure faltered and her lips twitched into a rueful sort of smile. "I found out a lot of things I didn't know either, including how the Death of Magic happened. Looks like we're both going to be a lot different when this journey is done, right?"

I think she should be happier now that the drunk isn't with her.

"Oh, and I'm sorry about Lyle. I hope...I hope he turns up." It was quite clear she didn't expect that to happen, but she was trying to be nice in spite of Kona's ascerbic commentary.

[Rekaigan]

She found some solace in the Moon Fey's embrace, she hadn't been held like this in a long time, and it reminded her of her childhood, feeling almost the same as when her mother used to hold her to calm her down. Her fine tuned hearing could sense hints of distress in her friend's voice as she had heard whilst writing.

She nodded slightly as Rilana reassured her and told her that she was braver than most. She didn't believe those words, but she felt her spirit being lifted, if only a little. The Moon Fey's offer of help seemed a little off-handed, but Alya felt that she could confide in her friend. She wasn't sure what Rilana could do to help, but there was no shame in asking at this point.

She dipped her quill back into the half frozen ink bottle as she took the hot cup of honey tea. She took a careful sip so that she wouldn't burn herself. She felt her body relax as the warmth and sweetness entered her. It reminded her of home. As much as she wanted to go home, she also wanted to see Rilana's birthplace. She wondered how anyone could live in such a cold place, but she figured it was just something that people got used to over time.

Alya glanced down at her now slightly smudged writing. She had ended at "I could feel the Fey's energy fading-". She was going to continue when she realized that she hadn't actually answered any of Rilana's questions. She didn't know much about her people's purpose, but it seemed magical, especially since she saw the other White elf disappear to a different plane.

She slowly put her cup aside before she continued writing, but before she could, the Moon Fey distracted her by showing her a mirror. The fancy braid that Rilana had made with her hair looked gorgeous, she didn't think her hair could be done up like that. She smiled genuinely at the Moon Fey, looking at the reflection.

The two-headed beast was successful in grabbing the wolf pup's tail, but only for the brief moment before he turned around, giving the creature a low growl. Alya glanced over to the two animals, she snapped her fingers sharply causing Echo's ears to perk up. He looked at his mother and then back at the assailant. He did this a few time before grabbing the remainder of his jerky and walking a little further away from the two-headed thing.

Rilana suddenly mentioned that it was her birthday yesterday. Alya turned to look at her friend, some of the braids coming undone from the movement. She felt guilty for not knowing about her friend's birthday, but she hadn't been told before, so she didn't really know what to do. Sva..rak? She thought. Her mind went blank for a moment before she realized, The cat man with the big blue thing..? She didn't know that he was a Lord, she just thought he was a Knight. She felt a little awkward about it now, she didn't give any proper respect to the big cat.

She noticed her friend's pained smile, giving her own kind of rueful smile in response as the Fey commented on them both changing quite a bit after this journey. Something caught her attention. The Death of Magic? She picked up her quill and some paper, a different sheet from the previous. A clean one. She wrote down a simple question. "Can you tell me about the Death of Magic?" Perhaps what she'd learn from Rilana could help her with her Purpose.

Alya gave Rilana a very helpless shrug. There was nothing she could do about Lyle, not before and not now. It dawned on her that whether or not Lyle was alive didn't actually make much of a difference to her. Even though that man had helped her in the beginning, he hadn't done much other than that for the remainder of them knowing each other. He'd only ever given her snide, drunken remarks and silly insults every time they had met up. She was thankful to him, but also not at the same time.

[Drache]

With a long sigh, Rilana lay back in her bedroll, her gaze aimed up at the thick leather roof of her tent, the sides rippling under the onslaught of frigid winds. Her hands folded across her flat stomach, but in between lacing her fingers together she used her hands to gesture along with her words as she told Alya the story of how she went out onto the frozen ice under the aurora-lit sky and Svarak had found her dancing by herself. She relived her surprise at finding herself with a partner, especially one she'd been terrified of. "Kona thinks I'm being foolish but it was really...nice. I enjoyed it."

Until he ruined it. But Rilana didn't mind that so much, not when she remembered how deftly the charr had held her in his arms...

"But then he told me about the Death of Magic." She didn't tell Alya that Svarak had used his sword to show her a vision, but told the story of what had underneath Frigmount three hundred years ago, and how now Svarak had to complete a mission to kill someone he cared about in order to keep the evil from returning.

"And I will help him if I can." Because it was the right thing to do. "When you told me about the crimson shadow in your vision, it reminded me of the man who wanted to become the God of Magic." Rilana's eyes were wet, but she didn't weep, her heart aching on Svarak's behalf like it had done last night. Showing amazing empathy for a two-headed armoured monster, Ortha slunk over and coiled up like a cat next to Rilana's hip, one chin resting on her leg.

"How can I long to return home and dread it at the same time? I feel as though I'm being torn apart." Mentally exhausted, the Moon Fey yawned, rolling onto her side to face Alya, grinning at how her long straight hair had already started t fall from the intricate braid. "Did you bring your flute? I want to hear you play."

[Rekaigan]

Alya listened to Rilana's story about her birthday, it sounded really romantic and she felt a smile form on her face as she listened to her friend's lovely sounding encounter. However the tone changed as the Moon Fey told her about the Death of Magic and Svarak's troubling position in all of this. Alya realized that.. The Charr would be older than 300 years, which surprised her. She didn't think Charr's could get that old. The story was a tragic one, and the half-elf could feel a sadness well up within her, a sadness for Svarak's position in all of this.

God of..Magic? She couldn't fathom what kind of power the man would have if he was aiming for such a goal. I need to speak with Svarak soon. She thought to herself. Speaking to the Cat will most likely help her with her Purpose. Perhaps even intertwine their.. fate? Fate isn't something she had thought of before, but after everything that had happened.. She thought that some pieces were just.. fitting together. Maybe.

She could feel the exhaustion in her friend's voice. She too, felt very exhausted after everything that had happened thus far. When Rilana asked Alya to play a song for her, she nodded slowly in compliance. She turned her body so that she was facing the Moon Fey, sitting a little further away to give each other some space. Echo, knowing his mother's intentions, had already retrieved her flute, rolling it toward her hand with his nose. The elf gave her pup a gentle pat and a smile as she took the flute.

She put the flute to her lips and began to blow a soft tune. Her magic flowed into the song as she willed for those who could hear it to feel calmer for as long as the influence would last. Lift the weight of reality off of our shoulders so that we may find peace of mind. She allowed herself to feel the influence of her magic, her mind, body and soul feeling calmer. The pressure of her greater purpose lifting away. However, some of the pressure remained, but it was bearable now. Her song was quite similar to her mother's lullaby, slow and soft with tone changes that were mellow, few and far between, however it created a melody that melded well with the intention of the magic. To soothe and calm the mind and the spirit.

[Drache]

The troubled Moon Fey watched with appreciative fascinationg as Alya lifted the flute to her lips and began to play. Rilana had always loved music, and while flute players were common enough in Frigmount, Alya's style was special. Even without the magic woven into the tunes and tones, the melody would have eased her into sleep, so it was merely moments before the pretty fey found her eyelids drooping. Shifting around, she arranged her bedroll and her furs to accommodate her and her friend, as well as the unlikely collection of creatures who would no doubt wriggle their way between their Mistresses as the temperatures outside continued to plunge. Rilana didn't even manage a 'thank you' before she was asleep, but for once she drifted off without her silvery eyebrows creased together with worry and apprehension. Bad dreams did not plague her that night, though the storm that started up the next day would be nightmare enough.

[Twhirtley]

Reward Review

Rilana Aurorime

Skills
Observation: 2
Animal Husbandry: 2
Socialization: 6
Cooking: 2
Food Preservation: 1
Leadership: 1
Hairdressing: 3

Knowledge:
Mental Note: Talk to Trix about Frozen Honey
Food Preservation: Honey Can Freeze
Alya's Purpose
Suspicion: The God from Svarak's Memory Might Be Involved in Alya's Purpose

Other
N/A

Reward Review

Alya Eloen

Skills
Animal Husbandry: 2
Writing: 4
Socialization: 4
Music (Flute): 1
Song Weaving: 1

Knowledge:
Trix: Rilana knows her too!
Svarak: Is a Lord Knight
Rilana's Birthdate
Rilana: Knows of the Death of Magic
Death of Magic: Null Stone Ritual Story from Rilana
Svarak: Over 300 Years Old
Desire: To Speak With Svarak

Other
N/A