Blackfridayrule

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne was unsurprised the hawk wasn't keen on going with anyone else. It was panicked clearly, but also Darin as the Seed Bearer had a connection with nature and animals that no one else did. It just seemed right to her, so when the human announced she was taking him with, Ridahne simply nodded. Besides, they were excellent companions and could be trained in a variety of tasks. Mitaja already hunted for Ridahne and sparing some for a hawk would be no big deal.

Ridahne went off to the kitchens and asked after the butcher to find some meat scraps cut into little chunks for the bird. It was rabbit, which was perfect. She wrapped the bits in a little piece of cloth and went upstairs to fetch her aid kit. Now that she thought about it, now would be the time to get anything that was running low replenished, so she took stock of what she had left and then went in search of more supplies. She'd hoped that with a group of Azurei living here, someone would have made the traditional salve already. After speaking with an Orosi man about it, he informed her that they had a large jar of salve, but it was not the Azurei variety. The Orosi also had a version that was honey based, though some of the other ingredients were different and, according to him, better. She refilled her wooden container with it and went out to find Darin.

She'd gotten even more cut up, and Ridahne made a mental note that if they were going to keep this bird, Darin needed some leathers. "Come, sit," she said in her no-nonsense kind of way as she spread her tools across a little table inside the farmhouse. Though the arm wound was by far the deeper and more severe, Ridahne simply put a cloth over it to stop the bleeding for the time being, and treated the cut on her face first. It didn't require stitches, but she made sure her face was clean before smearing the salve liberally over it. "Try to keep that on there as long as you can," she instructed, then lifted the cloth on her arm and began treating that.

Ridahne prepared the needle and thread, made sure the wound was good and clean, and then she took her flask of whiskey and set it on the table. "If you want it, do it now. I'll make Mitaja hold you down if you squirm..." Ridahne teased, smiling a little, then with steady hands she began to sew Darin back together. Evidently she'd done this many, many times and could do it quickly without her hands shaking. She tied off the knot, trimmed the thread, globbed on the salve, and wrapped the wound up in clean linen.

"There we go. Good as new. While we're at it, let's see your shoulder..." Ridahne hooked a finger around the collar of Darin's shirt and pulled it aside. It looked good for only being a few days old. And the stitches hadn't come out yet, which was impressive considering they'd been on the road. Ridahne nodded, satisfied, and put salve on that too. "By the Tree, I think you might just live." The delivery was dry but it was very clearly meant to be lighthearted. There was even a little smile on her face. "So, do you know much about hawks? I only know a little--only rich people back home kept them as partners. But I know they like rabbit. Here," She proffered the little cloth bundle of meat scraps. "Thought about what you'll name him?"

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Despite what Ridahne had said, she wasn't much of a sleeping in person. For years she had trained her body to wake early and typically that's what she did. This morning was different, however, and for once the elf actually slept in a little. Not terribly late, but later than usual. It felt good, especially after so long on the road and the events of the night before. Not to mention she really didn't get much sleep the night the two idiot horse thieves found them. It felt wonderful just to sleep without any worry. Eventually she did rise, and, still wearing her more traditional clothes she came down for a bit of breakfast. After eating, Ridahne went to go check on her animals. She had no doubt that they were well taken care of if not outright spoiled, but she learned long ago that animal partnership was not just about meeting basic needs. That was the first step, but it was important to connect to them on a personal level. She found Tsura chewing on some hay in the shade of a little open barn.

"Getting nice and fat, are we?" She teased in Azurian. The horse simply snorted and kept eating, so she combed through his black mane with her slim fingers. It was already very smooth and brushed, but she enjoyed the feel of his coat on her fingertips anyway. She took the opportunity to check his iron shoes and the health of his hooves too, as they had been on the road a long time and crossed all kinds of terrain. There would be more to come. Mitaja she found rolling in some cool grass not far from the farmhouse, pleased to be basking in the sun and also sleeping in late.

After that she wasn't sure what to do. She didn't see either Darin or Talbot but had no worry for them, not here, so she didn't pay that much mind. It felt strange to just stand there while all these people, who had shown her such excellent hospitality, were hard at work. But she looked over at the group of people pulling certain plants out of the ground and tossing them in wheel barrows, but they left others alone. The practice had a name, she knew...but what was it? In the region of Atakhara where she was from, the land was completely arid and sandy and outright terrible for growing anything but extremely hardy palm trees. And water was a commodity so no one in her village ever farmed, or at least not in the sense of working the soil. There was lots of livestock that was fed on hay or grain purchased from the northwest or brought in trade from the sea.

She walked up to a human man and asked, "What is it called, this thing you are doing?"
If he thought her question odd or naive, he made no sign of it. "Weeding," he said simply.
"Oh. Wee-ding. What is its purpose..?"
"There are some plants that spring up and grow very thick very fast. They can steal nutrients, water, and sunlight from the crops, so it's best to pull them out."
Ridahne nodded. "I see." And, meaning to help she said, "Like this?" But she reached down and curled her fingers around the base of a plant and pulled, and out popped a kind of squiggly, stringy little orange root that was not yet finished growing. Ridahne cringed. "Not those plants, I see...sorry..." and then a little awkwardly tried to plant it back into the soil. "I'll um...just leave you to it..." She offered, and backed away. They must know a lot about what plants look like what to know which to pull out and which to leave alone, she thought. She knew which ones would be useful in the wild and could identify those, but outside of that her knowledge of flora this far north was poor.

But then she heard a familiar sound, a rhythmic whack-thud sound that she knew at once. She found an Orosi woman with skin even darker than Ridahne's and short wooly hair cut neat and close to her scalp swinging an axe and making her way through a pile of logs to split. Ridahne approached her. "Do you have another axe?"
The woman smiled. "Yes, in the shed there. But don't feel like you have to join in the work. You have a long road ahead of you, Guardian."
Ridahne bowed slightly. "Nevertheless I will show thanks to my host with my hands." She went to fetch an axe and began splitting wood with the woman, stacking the firewood on a small cart. This was what she was doing when Darin returned with the hawk.

Ridahne saw her approach and set down the axe to go and meet her. At first she was looking at the hawk, but then she looked up to Darin's cut face and her eyes lingered there for a moment. She did not cluck over her like a worried mother, but there was an odd expression on her own face, and for a moment she actually shivered a little before forcing her eyes away from the cut and back to the hawk.

"Oh, what've we got here?" She cooed softly to the bird. She could see the way it held one wing and knew it was hurt; for a lot of birds, that spelled death unless someone intervened. But she had no doubts it would be taken care of. She spoke softly to it in Azurian, telling it that it was in good hands and was a handsome bird, and other such compliments. She looked up at Darin, though she pointedly looked into her eyes and not at her bleeding cheek. "Are you going to leave him in their care or bring him with you? Hawks are good partners if you befriend one. I assume this one tried to fight you a bit...? When you get him settled, there's a wooden container of salve in my saddlebags. You should put some on that cut."

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

That she was supposed to be executed for the death of all three, not just the one.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Oh trust me, I wouldn't do it if I thought it might make things worse. Acupuncture seriously produces shockingly good results and my last session was Tuesday and since then I've been doing markedly better than I have in months. And I'm basically out of braces and into supportive tape full time now which is amazing. So I'm alright to be typing. It's probably good for me to start doing low key tasks like typing again because I have lost strength especially in my left hand and need to build it back up. Might not get to post every day like I usually do but don't worry, I'm taking care of myself :D

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne's expression softened and she gave a very sad, very wry smile like it pained her to say it, but she answered with an obvious note of regret and sadness, "All three." The whole 'mission' to clear the court of Sols had been a doomed one and she'd always known it. There had been no legitimate option of escape for her and she'd accepted that...until she had that vision. "They were not unkind to me. They could have slain me the moment my ojih was marked but they let me live the night and it wasn't by accident that the guard posted to my cell was Ajoran." They'd both known it too.

And though she didn't say anything, there was a visible change in her posture when Darin implied that Ridahne 'belonged' to her. She looked proud. And like she'd never wanted to hear anything else. To her, having a place and a purpose was important. Ridahne did not mention that in elf culture, 19 was a child. Though Ridahne was nothing like Darin at that age, so she supposed humans aged a bit differently. And anyway, Darin was not a child. She resolved to find the balance between being a mentor when it came to certain areas and a guardian without demeaning her. They'd figure this out together, Ridahne had hope.

In the end, she merely offered the littlest quirk of a lopsided smile and gave a single gentle nod. They did not yet understand eachother completely, but they'd made some steps that night. "Personally? I'm exhausted," she said with a note of gentle dry humor. She was though. Mentally, emotionally, physically. She was ready for a little quiet time and then for an actual bed with an actual pillow instead of just her saddle. "I don't see any reason to rise especially early tomorrow. The road ahead will be easier if we are well rested and well fed, if you ask me." She then turned to Ravi and bowed low. "Thank you. You have been a most gracious host." With a silent nod of goodnight to Darin, Ridahne slipped away to first steal back onto the roof for a little bit, as she liked the solitude it bought her and she enjoyed the cool touch of the night air. And after a little silent contemplation, she slipped back inside and went to her bed where she fell asleep almost immediately.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Heh, uh, mostly. Long story short I got tendinitis in my left hand about 4 months ago and have been fighting it since. On and off, my right hand started to go down that route since it got totally overworked but never quite 'there' yet. But last week it went right over the edge and into 'officially injured' territory. So I've been wearing a brace on my left hand on and off for the last 4 months and now one on my right hand, and its specifically the thumbs that are the problem. So my hands have been USELESS recently. Can't cook, can't clean, can't do anything. I'm a welder for a living so resting them has been extremely hard. But last week they started me on modified duty at work so I'm at a computer instead of hauling steel around so that's helped, and acupuncture has done wonders. I'm recovering slowly and am now to a point where if I'm really careful I can get away with just kinesthesiolopgy tape instead of braces. But the muscles in my hands have definitely atrophied a bit so I'm not as strong as I used to be. It will be a very long time until I'm totally normal again but I'm getting there.

Thankfully I can type again as long as I've been good and careful throughout the day, so I'm about to get you a post finally!! Yay!!

In Dark Seas We Sail

Rohaan scrubbed at his eyes and gave one final spit before he opened them and looked up at Hana, who had clearly given up the gentle coaxing strategy. If Berlin had been paying attention, he would have been proud of that. The lad often needed a little force to keep in line. The boy glowered up at her, and considering he was already somewhat soapy, he snatched up the bar and, grumbling, scrubbed. For all his dawdling in the bath, he made quick work of it--the sooner over, the better. When he'd rinsed, he shot out of the tub and proceeded to toss his clothes in for a scrub. When those had been sufficiently wrung dry and hung over the lip of an empty barrel to dry in the sun, Rohaan shamelessly streaked down to the crew quarters and found his spare pair of pants. They were a more fitted cut but were too big for him by a little bit, so he cinched them around his waist with an old piece of rope tied in a square knot that would have made Pieter proud. He didn't have a spare shirt, as the one that wasn't currently hanging to dry had previously been lit on fire.

Rohaan found Hana again and was about to ask her about this linament he'd so dutifully bathed for when he caught sight of Berlin. He'd spent a lot of time relying on visual cues rather than verbal ones, so he was fairly perceptive of those things for a ten year old. And he knew his captain. He didn't know what it was exactly, but something had happened.

--

Berlin turned sharply, suddenly alert. He assumed it was another vessel, and as magically gifted pirates they really had little to fear out on the high seas. The captain considered merchant ships to be opportunities and naval ships to be a nuisance at worst. So it was with an intrigued expression that he pulled out his spyglass from a pouch at his belt and squinted through it to peer at the faint dark shape Pieter had indicated. The little smirk he had melted away almost immediately. For a while he was silent, but whatever he was seeing was clearly not at all what he expected and not at all comforting.

Then in typical Berlin fashion, he calmly handed the spyglass over to Pieter and said, "Priest...mind telling me what I'm looking at?" He assumed that if it wasn't a vessel, then it had to be something of The Salt, and he guessed and hoped that Pieter would have some idea of what exactly he was looking at. "Is...that...something in your jurisdiction? Or is that something else entirely?"

--

Uban plunked down hard in a seat with a tin mug of rum with a wedge of lime floating in it. As soon as he sat, he realized that it would be some time before he was willing to get up again; the high of his power was fading already and it left him feeling absolutely exhausted. For once, Uban was actually quiet as he drank, and by the time he got to the bottom of the cup he was beginning to nod and more than once the cup almost fell out of his hands. "Damn..." he muttered, suddenly as groggy as if Berlin had just commanded him to sleep with his influential touch. But even he could see the dark shape out in the distance. He couldn't make out exactly what it was, but he assumed it was a ship and groaned. He even entertained the idea of getting up, but instead just leaned back with a sigh and said dismissively, "Eh. Just don't let 'em kill me, mate, yeah?"

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Delayed by my hands again. Don’t ever get tendinitis...

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I'm loving it too! its been so fun!

no worries! I've got comic con this weekend anyway :)

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

The slam of the instrument case felt somehow expected and Ridahne didn't even look up. But the sudden crash of crockery against the wall made even her jump, and she turned to stare at her companion with wide eyes. That was the kind of thing she would have expected herself to do, not Darin. Not quiet, reserved Darin. She was no stranger to the raised voices and the intensity of the conversation either, just...not from her.

Admittedly, a lot of what she had to say surprised her a bit. She had always been told the tree prevented evil. Yet Ridahne had seen evil. She had seen a lot of it. And she had questioned the Tree in her youth many times. But somehow knowing it made it feel more...important. But her words did answer some of her questions about why she'd been given that vision, why she'd been sent on this insane journey. At least she knew, sort of.

"They have LAWS, Darin, laws that have to be upheld! What were they supposed to do, wash the blood off my hands and then sit me down in Khaltira-Sol's chair and put me in her place as thanks for MURDERING her? Let's not forget the two other people I slaughtered!" Her voice was raised but it lacked the fire of true rage. Darin had seen that before and this was not it. This was frustration, but not bitter, fiery rage. Ridahne's eyes locked onto hers unflinchingly. "I will make no apologies for it. I'd do it again. And again, and again, and AGAIN if that's what I had to do. But the fact of the matter is I murdered people." There was no guilt in her eyes, no pity. "I came in the night and slit their throats. They did not order my death to defend Khaltira-Sol. They ordered my death because that is what you do to a murderer. What else could they do? You forget also that they forgave my execution in order to send me here. They could have killed me anyway. But they didn't. I hold nothing against them for that. And if I can let that go, so can you."

Ridahne caught her breath. But she kept going. If they were going to talk, then by the Tree, she was going to. "I did not try to give you honor for the sake of honor. I tried to give it to you because you are earning it. You are not perfect and neither am I," she said with a bit of a laugh. She knew that all too well. "But like it or not, whether you're aiming for it or not, by the end of this you will have earned honor. Is honor given for the right reasons really so abhorrent to you? Darin, I see so much promise and hope in you, but black skies, you frustrate me sometimes! And I don't know what you WANT from me! I keep my mouth shut and you are upset with me for not being open. So I speak, and you don't like what you hear. And I'm sorry," she began, her voice a little raised but again lacking the heat of real anger. "I know I am not the easiest person to be with. 'Aggressive' is a kind word for what I am. I get it. And I'm sorry." And she meant it. Ridahne had a lot of thoughts and feelings, and none of them could be summarized so neatly into either 'good' or 'bad' feelings. She just had them, and right now they were all tumbling out at once in a disjointed mixture of respect, frustration, thoughtfulness and a desire for reconciliation.

Though Ridahne never rose from her seat, she seemed to sink a little further into it again. She put one elbow on the table and rested her forehead against the heel of her palm. She sighed deeply. "I don't even know what point I was trying to make. Typical Azurei--just start yelling until something makes sense." She shook her head, perhaps at her own folly and eventually said, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable. I'm sorry for being so damn difficult--I am. You can say it." A tiny smile pulled at the corner of her lips. "I'm sorry for snapping at you all the time. You don't deserve it. I hope I can be better. I hope we can be better, you and I. I have never wanted to be at odds with you. I still don't."

Ridahne meant it. From the depths of her soul, she meant every word. She just hoped Darin would see her earnestness. She really did want things to be better between them, though she was still figuring out how. Somewhere in her mind she was trying to remind herself of what Ravi told her of the two of them being more alike than either realized, and she held on to that quiet notion.