Nightmares From The Past

[Kali'rial]

30th Zi'da, 717

The huntress looked at Faith with an all together stern frown, knowing full well that the woman should be resting, not trampling around the Order looking after others. Beside her, the unseen wolf loped over to the short brunette healer with a lolling tongue.

"You know, he's pretty heavy when he's not floating around like this. I can make you rest, and I don't think anyone would argue with me." Kali said as she motioned to the wolf with a good natured narrowing of her amber eyes, unable to resist a little belly pat when the woman came closer. Nodding as Pash explained the reason they'd stayed, her gaze turned suddenly to look at the Biqaj when he mentioned a bigger boat, something she had entirely been left out of. Her smile came on slowly, leaning into the kiss with a soft chuckle. It seemed they had a bit to discuss.

The smell of fear came on again, surging strongly in her senses, causing the Sev'ryn to drop her smile and motion for Sarkis to take the lead as they followed Faith into the hall and down into the room. As they entered, the brunette huntress immediately smelt more. Not just fear, but anger.

"Sarkis, the red head, keep her safe." She sent the silent thought to the oversized grey wolf, who moved to stand before Delta and materialise with a low growl, eyes on Dhatri with a fierce intensity. His blessed had told him to keep the woman safe, and until otherwise identified no one but his known pack would come near her. As Faith approached, the large canine wagged his tail a little and licked her free hand in greeting.

Pash spoke in Rakahi, words that were familiar enough for Kali to understand the gyst of them. The man was working his magic, literally. She could feel smell the fear fading and the lovely scents of chamomile tea calm filled the room.

"Does she speak common?" The Sev'ryn asked both Pash and Faith, before offering the clearly distraught woman a friendly smile.

"Safe now. Sarkis no hurt. Sarkis protect." She stumbled through poor Rakahi whilst gesturing to the wolf, hoping that in the large beast materializing she hadn't just made things worse.

[Delta]

“He seemed fine, and I was always just outside the door,” Dhatri was almost pleading, clearly upset about how badly Delta had reacted. The patient in question said nothing more, merely staring down the inexperienced healer. He wasn’t much, but his heart was in the right place and he had tried to understand her. The problem was that he was simply too trusting, of everyone.

Delta felt rather than saw the presence of the trio. Well, she felt Pash, and what she had now come to associate as a slow trickle of calm, like droplets of water cooling overheated skin. She didn’t know if Pash meant to do it, or if it was just a subconscious aura that he exuded to those in close proximity. How she felt about Pash’s interference would be decided by the answer to that question.

Next was the wolf, which seemed to materialise beside her, sizing up the apprentice. Delta was rewarded by the fact that Dhatri seemed much more intimidated by the beast than she did. The slave herself flinched away initially, but it was not the first time she had seen such a creature in a primarily two-legged domain. She vaguely remembered meeting a young man with a similar familiar an arc ago, which was the only reason she had not fled instantly.

Regardless, Delta didn’t fight the influence from Pash, allowing it to wash over her as she took a deep breath and stepped back, turning to the new arrivals. She relieved to see two familiar faces, though bristled at the presence of a third, who seemed to be speaking as if she wasn’t there. Why did everyone insist on treating her like an incompetent child? “She can speak for herself.” The biqaj’s grasp of the Common tongue was by no means expert - more out of a complete reluctance to learn it rather than lack of exposure. She refused to lose her identity despite the slavery or the discovery that she was not fully-blooded biqaj. But this unknown woman didn’t know that.

“I don’t think he was going to hurt me,” she went on to say, switching back to her native tongue, for the sake of of ease. The girl was still somewhat bitter at the other biqaj for showing up and telling her how to feel. He was confusing her. Delta was sure he still pitied her, saw her as something broken, damaged, weak... she was something that needed to be put back together. Yet Delta trusted him all the same. “I don’t know what he wanted, but I didn’t want to be there, that’s all. I don’t need you to-”

The slave stopped, realising who had spoken first. Faith had become such an integral part of her life over the seasons that she barely recognised her presence, even if it had been some significant number of trials since they had last seen one another. “Faith? Why are you here?” She frowned as she glanced down at the woman’s swollen belly - she must be due any day now, surely? “You shouldn’t be here, you should be resting.”

[Faith Augustin]

Faith looked at the two of them and smiled. "Well you are a welcome sight, that is for sure. Both of you. Oh, all three." She smiled and nodded. "I am. Well. I wish I'd known you were here, though. We had a ... situation. But it is dealt with now, so no matter." To Kali'rial, though, with a smile and a grasp of the huntress' arm, pleasure lighting her face at the sight of her, Faith replied honestly. "He weighs a lot? I haven't seen my ankles in five ten-trials at least. I'm stronger than I look and scrappier than you think. No one makes me do anything." It was a simple and a complicated answer, delivered with a very genuine smile. Didn't change the simple and honest truth of it. Her trials of being made to do anything were long gone.

They moved to Delta's room, though and there, the situation was not good. Faith stepped forward and spoke to Delta but, when Kali'rial spoke to her and Pash about Delta, Faith's face remained impassive, yet when Delta replied, Faith's lips lifted into a soft smile. The biqaj noticed her, then and the human woman's expression changed to a very genuine smile. "I was here for a check up and wanted to pop in and see you." As for should be resting, she shook her head. "I am a free woman with the right to self determination, and I make my own choices," she said, speaking solely to Delta as she pulled some papers from her pocket. Those papers she put into Delta's hands, "as are you."

As she did that, Faith didn't look anywhere else, just at Delta. She had made the young woman a promise and she had been determined, more than determined, to keep it. It had been a long journey for the biqaj and there had been missteps and worries along the way. Faith had never doubted, though, and had never lost sight of the goal. The goal was that Delta would be free. "You have some decisions to make. If you want to stay on Scalvoris, I can help you. If not, I can help there, too. Maybe we can?" She said, to Pash and Kali. Either way, Faith had five hundred gold nel put to one side for Delta, ready to get her started. It was in a small box in the Domain Bag she carried, waiting to see what the biqaj did.

"Do you want to go back into there, talk it through?" Faith asked, with a smile.

Off Topic

500gn removed from ledger. I've also taken a load of material out (cotten and wool) for the clothes that I haven't mentioned yet, but are basically 2 sturdy outfits for Delta.

[Tristan Venora]

Faith:

Knowledge: N/A
Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Renown: None. Faith already has 1.000 Renown!
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

Kali'rial:

Knowledge: N/A
Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Renown: +5 for helping Delta.
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

Pash:

Knowledge: N/A
Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Renown: +5 for helping Delta.
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

- - -

Comments: This was an interesting thread. It’s a shame it ended before it was finished. I really enjoyed reading about the psychiatrist and Delta and all those people visiting her.

Merces’ posts – white text on a black background – were somewhat painful for me to look at though.

I only awarded XP to Faith, Kali and Pash since the other PCs in the thread are retired.

Faith, please edit your review request to include the button below so that the other reviewers know that it's been taken care of!

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