Dear Mr Curly, I have done little travelling lately because I have been so dreadfully weary. Can it be true as the old Ecclesiastes said; that all things lead to weariness? Surely not. Perhaps the opposite is true: that all nothings lead to weariness. I have a peculiar feeling, Curly, that I am worn out from something I haven't yet done and the more I don't do it, the more exhausted I become. How strange. Could it be something I haven't realised? Perhaps it's something I haven't said? Something I haven't finished! It must be very large and true whatever it is and a lively struggle in the doing but I look forward to it immensely. I know I need it. First, however, I must curl up in my chair and sleep deeply with the duck. Perhaps I'll dream of this thing and wake up refreshed and do it. My fond wishes to you Mr. Curly, and to all Curly Flat. Yours sleepily, Vasco Pyjama xxx P.S. Not having breakfast can make you weary. That's for sure!
@Muttonhawk, may I remind you of putting a summary on the collab? I read it anyway, but I'd be thankful if you wrote them. I've been having attention span problems lately.
Ah! Sorry about that. I'll write one up now.
Edit: Done. Probably should have written one in the first place. My bad.
A few little thoughts passed through Sabine's mind as she walked with Peiter to La'tahne's room. The friends and families of the warriors reminded her to do a round of the various people she had befriended in the clans to give farewells before noon. The smell of food in the air also brought her appetite out of hiding. As well, she needed to make sure that her own alchemical supplies were stocked for the march. Peiter may not have wanted her to run out of certain kinds of ingredients, but he would unfortunately not be indulged so. By her estimates, she would either have to ration heavily or simply have Peiter exercise patience on the way back. Then again, if she used La'khay's advice...
The train of thought was interrupted when Peiter silently expressed reluctance to knock on La'tahne's door. Despite also hearing the sounds within, Sabine was not as concerned. Even she doubted that they wouldn't close the door properly if anything private was behind it. She did not hesitate to step up and rap her fist against the wood three times. "La'tahne? La'khay?" Sabine called out in a friendly voice, "It is me and Peiter." Sabine made sure not to open the door regardless of her apparent confidence.
Toun's hunched form stood staring at the shattered tile before him. He did not know for how long that Vestec's revelation had kept him there, but its sheer contradiction had him transfixed.
Niciel was one of the few that wished to protect creation. She allowed shelter for Toun in her valley while he treated the visions in his mind. Her valley spoke only of peace and compassion, rough though it was. Would she not wish for paradise as well? Toun clutched his head in his distended hands for a moment and tried to process the treachery further. It did not matter that a weakling army was on its way to wash against his white walls. This slight had quickly festered in his mind like a splinter. If she was so blithely ignorant of Toun's intentions, then she did not deserve to be anything more than an obstacle.
Toun stood up straight again upon the now shattered central tile of his empty fortress court. The engines of his vengeance would require an improved method of control. Something more sophisticated than the static imperatives of Cornerstone. He set the refinement of initial concepts in motion, fueled by the energy of his anger. Some ideas coalesced, delving into his own fundamental marks upon the codex of creation itself. He needed nuance. Something...
A white light suddenly flashed nearby Toun. It shined very brightly, then quickly faded, and Niciel was in its place. Niciel was smiling, and she currently had a look of compassion and understanding, although this was offset by the slight aura of distrust she was giving off. She did not mean to feel this way, but with Vestec's actions and the fact that she really knew very little, if not anything, about Toun, well... it certainly didn't help matters.
Right now, Niciel had one goal in mind: to find the reason why her children were killed. Vestec had explained the reason, but she didn't trust Vestec's on the matter in the slightest, mainly because it was Vestec. So, she would have to ask the one responsible for the deaths herself.
"It's been a long time, Toun. How have you been?" Niciel asked Toun. She did want answers, but there was no reason she couldn't start off with pleasantries first.
Why is she here now? Toun thought to himself as he slowly turned his head towards the mother goddess. His blue eye twitched with impatience. "You have nerve to appear before me with such oblivious talk, sister," Toun said lowly with a shudder to his voice. "Have you come to declare your adversity openly--" Toun's voice began to hiss, "--or do you simply wish to twist the wound you left with your duplicity?"
Niciel's smile soon turned into one of disdain as the insults from Toun piled up. "Oh, Toun," Niciel began. "I had thought better of you than to use such foul words to describe my intentions. Then again, I suppose I should have known better, seeing how your children had reacted to the mention of your name. Hain, I believe they were called. What you have done to them, and in my own sanctuary as well." With each word, Niciel slowly lost her smile until there was nothing but a look of contempt. "But I digress. That is unrelated to the matter at hand," Niciel said, dismissing the topic with wave of the hand. "What I have come here for is to get an apology for the death of my children, and I intend to get one one way to another."
Toun could listen to Niciel's complaints about how he had seen fit to use his own tools for his own means, but her last statement caused him to slowly clentch his fists. "An...apology?" he repeated, "You demand an apology for the death of those attackers?" Toun's voice raised into a bluster, "What right do you have when it was you who sent them to their deaths by ordering them to start killing my own servants!?"
Niciel was both confused and outraged to find Toun accusing her of being the one to have attacked first. "I sent them!?" Niciel asked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"
Toun positioned himself straight on to Niciel and held his head stretched forward further than physically usual. Toun continued matter-of-factly, barely hiding his previous hate, "I saw their minds myself, sister. Images of their mistress ordering them to crusade against this fortress." Toun's words sped up in his rant, "Destroying my hain in spite of their pitiful numbers for the sake of expressing your personal distaste for what is necessary. Their deaths are on your hands! Take their bodies and reflect! I owe you nothing but that!"
A scraping of glossed clay sung out as Toun willed the tiles beside Niciel to lift and move aside, revealing the mangled and exsanguinated corpses of Niciel's re-purified angels unceremoniously laying together in macabre stillness. Niciel stared at the mangled bodies, horrified by their treatment. She continued to do so for a short while as she tried to make sense of these new pieces of information that had come to light. She was supposedly the attacker, yet Vestec had told her.... wait a moment...
"You have sent your message, sister," Toun continued in a mutter, "I will not be your font of respect any more than I was before you set foot here. I have a fortress to defend, I trust you do as well."
It was then that Niciel realized that both she and Toun had been played for fools. She had been suspicious of Vestec from the start, but the heat of the moment made her say things she now regretted. Taking a quick look herself at what still remained, Niciel found their memories of her ordering her children to do just as Toun had described, though she could help but notice that there were a few creative liberties taken with then. Niciel thought about telling Toun about her revelation, but she could tell that Toun was no longer in a listening mood. One day, she would get Toun to see the truth, but not today. With a flash of light, Niciel and the Angel bodies vanished from the fortress.
As for Toun himself, Niciel's sudden retreat after her apparently surprised denial did not leave the matter resolved. It was still possible that she could have been genuinely fooled. Toun might have even believed her on such a matter before. Though now she was to be trusted no longer. When Vestec shall be struck as an example, perhaps then Niciel will be the one apologising.
Niciel comes to visit Toun at Cornerstone.
Toun, being in a pissy mood at Niciel, insults her.
Niciel asks for Toun to apologise for killing her angels.
Toun, being fooled by Vestec, calls bullshit and shows Niciel the brains that Vestec tampered with.
Niciel denies Toun's accusations, puts two and two together, and leaves without another word, taking the dead angels with her. This leaves a still bitter Toun in the dark about the ruse.
Toun is not certain whether Niciel was telling the truth, opts to be paranoid. He plots taking revenge on her once Vestec's oncoming warband is dealt with.
Fendros gave Janius a small smile in an effort to relax his apparent seriousness. "If anything, a good way to look at this is how relatively benevolent Hircine has been so far. Or at least benign. Apart from turning people into lycans against their will." Fendros' smile went down as his point seemed to dissolve on its own. "Anyway, it's not as if we're gaining favour for torture and domination, like Molag Bal, or something less sane."
In response, Janius almost laughed, but only managed a wry smile. "I suppose that is an upside, yes," he conceded.
Soon afterwards, the subjects of conversation shifted onwards at a steady flow. The talking continued for a short while after everyone had finished breakfast, including mostly lighter matters and last-minute questions about the children. However, before long, it was time to get ready to leave. Thanks and commendation was given to Jo'rashaad for the nice meal and the group decided to meet up once more before marching out to say their goodbyes.
Bringing her arms around his back, Sabine returned the kiss in kind. She was so absorbed in it that she didn't even notice Peiter's shirt until he pointed it out. Her eyes widened for a moment and she let out an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry," she said in response, letting go of Peiter so he could fix the issue, "I am still waking up."
As for La'khay, Sabine looked to the door with a curious frown. "Hmm. She must be working very hard on the painting," Sabine said with an almost oblivious tone of voice. "I hope it has not been too much trouble for her. At least La'tahne has been keeping her company." Sabine's mouth twitched with an amusing thought before she smiled brightly and reached out to take Peiter by the hand, "Let us go."
"Well, it is only a few of us that have actually experienced him," Fendros reminded, "but you are right, I suppose." He shrugged, "If only we had a better answer than Meesei attaining the championship."
Janius looked into his food as he spoke. "A bit daunting, really, now that we're talking about it. Never really thought we would have a higher power watching us closely." Janius let out a silent sigh from his nose, "I don't know what to think about it."
After a pause, Janius' eyes lifted from his breakfast to Jo'rashaad and S'ajira. "Are any of you religious?"
Sabine was proactive in dressing herself when Peiter found her clothing. Still, she grinned with amusement as he tried to secure the various knots and buttons. She didn't wear much in this heat; a drab brown hide vest over a thin, stained white shirt and loose leggings, all provided kindly by the Orcrest clan. With a head wrap that she would don later, it was enough to keep the worst of the sun from her skin. She was not jealous of those that would be wearing armour on the march, if there was anyone who would.
The short time to dress gave Sabine the opportunity to think. Once finished, she turned around and began to assist Peiter dressing in return. "I think we should go and see the painting first. I have been excited to see how it looks," she suggested.
A combination of still waking up and the multitasking she was performing unfortunately ended up with Peiter's top garment being slid on backwards.
Janius reached an arm around Kaleeth's shoulders and pulled her close enough to kiss her on the side of her head. "You say this, my darling, but the way you were turned says otherwise." Janius looked to the others, resolving not to tell them all the details without Kaleeth's permission. "Kaleeth was not turned when we met her. None of us are were crocodiles."
With a small smile, Sabine wrapped her arm up around Peiter's head. Thankfully it had recovered enough feeling to do so without bludgeoning him. She also turned her head to give him a quick kiss and leaned her head onto his. She exhaled with satisfaction. If there was anything that calmed her down it was Peiter's embrace.
"It is time to get up," she quietly and reluctantly insisted. With that, she stood up from the bedding and walked around to find her clothing. "I am not very hungry yet but we can get breakfast. What do you want to do first?"
Fendros frowned and looked down at his food. Meesei had seemed so connected with Hircine at the time of Fendros' induction that it did not strike him as odd amongst lycans. With the fresh perspective, Jo'rashaad's question was valid in Fendros' mind.
"I don't think I could speak for the intentions of a Daedric prince." Fendros shrugged, "It could have been part of a greater plan or Hircine could have simply been taking notice of Meesei's supplication and offerings." Fendros looked to Ahnasha, "I know Ahna has exercised much devotion to Hircine in the past and she had a close experience."
Sabine was shunted back into consciousness with a sharp intake of breath and a thudding heart. It was morning, as evidenced by the murmuring behind her and Peiter's door. Everything except her numb left arm was where she left it before falling asleep. Opening her eyes quickly accounted for her slept-on limb.
With no more reason to be afraid, she tried to calm her mind and ignore her cold sweat to drift back to sleep. Her lycan nightmares did not differ an awful lot, save for the extra worry brought about by the coming march, so the routine did not change for her. Of course, that thought gave her consciousness another reason to be awake.
"Peiter," she mumbled with half her face against a rolled up fur hide that was her pillow, "Do we march out today? What time is it?"
Her groggy mind slowly put together the pieces and deduced that the murmuring outside spoke of it being later than she had planned to wake up. With a groan, she sat up and stretched her arms. Her bed hair stuck up and around in various manners and her ribs showed under her skin as she took a deep breath in. "I think we slept in," Sabine said as she exhaled. She sounded surprisingly calm about the scenario.
"Meesei found us, one by one," Fendros said through a mouthful. He swallowed before continuing. "Most of the time shortly after we were each turned. It seemed like chance, for me anyway. However, apparently Hircine guided her. I don't doubt it, with all that's happened since."
Janius gave a quiet acknowledgement to Jo'rashaad. As he chewed his breakfast, he wondered for a moment whether he should broach further. The topic of turning sounded sensitive enough that it was obvious to avoid, but Janius still had some curiosity left.
"What did you do before you were turned, S'ajira?" Janius asked.
[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPjJCVylFBo[/youtube][/center]
[quote=Michael Leunig. The Curly Pyjama Letters.]
Dear Mr Curly,
I have done little travelling lately because I have been so dreadfully weary. Can it be true as the old Ecclesiastes said; that all things lead to weariness? Surely not. Perhaps the opposite is true: that all [u]nothings[/u] lead to weariness. I have a peculiar feeling, Curly, that [u]I[/u] am worn out from something I haven't yet done and the more I don't do it, the more exhausted I become. How strange. Could it be something I haven't realised? Perhaps it's something I haven't said? Something I haven't finished! It must be very large and true whatever it is and a lively struggle in the doing but I look forward to it immensely. I know I need it. First, however, I must curl up in my chair and sleep deeply with the duck. Perhaps I'll dream of this thing and wake up refreshed and do it. My fond wishes to you Mr. Curly, and to all Curly Flat.
Yours sleepily,
Vasco Pyjama
xxx
P.S. Not having breakfast can make you weary. That's for sure!
[/quote]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><iframe src="//youtube.com/embed/HPjJCVylFBo?theme=dark" frameborder="0" width="496" height="279" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br><br><blockquote class="bb-quote">Dear Mr Curly,<br>I have done little travelling lately because I have been so dreadfully weary. Can it be true as the old Ecclesiastes said; that all things lead to weariness? Surely not. Perhaps the opposite is true: that all <span class="bb-u">nothings</span> lead to weariness. I have a peculiar feeling, Curly, that <span class="bb-u">I</span> am worn out from something I haven't yet done and the more I don't do it, the more exhausted I become. How strange. Could it be something I haven't realised? Perhaps it's something I haven't said? Something I haven't finished! It must be very large and true whatever it is and a lively struggle in the doing but I look forward to it immensely. I know I need it. First, however, I must curl up in my chair and sleep deeply with the duck. Perhaps I'll dream of this thing and wake up refreshed and do it. My fond wishes to you Mr. Curly, and to all Curly Flat.<br>Yours sleepily,<br>	Vasco Pyjama<br>	xxx<br>P.S. Not having breakfast can make you weary. That's for sure!<footer>Michael Leunig. The Curly Pyjama Letters.</footer></blockquote></div>
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