Completed Heal the Wounds (Azira)

[Syveris]

Azira was clearly uncomfortable by the embrace, but she didn't try to get away, and she tried to comfort her. It was enough, and Syveris felt herself relaxing a little. She still needed time to recover, to sort her thoughts and to try to forget the images that had been burnt in her head, but she would manage to do it, sometime. And she felt better, now, that she had told Azira what was bothering her. Somehow, sharing her feelings had done her good, as now she felt she wasn't alone. Not being alone was a comforting thing to know on its own, and Syveris felt herself calming down. The worst had already passed, after all, and if she managed to survive it, she would manage to survive the rest.

The huntress smiled at her comment, but Syveris frowned when she saw the smile quickly turn into a grimace. When she spoke, her voice was weak, and worry grew inside Syveris, as she watched her friend try to get up, only to have to hold the wall for support. The Avora jumped to her feet, eyes wide, heart racing as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Azira, what is wrong? Is everything alright?" she couldn't panic now, Azira needed help. Biting her lip, Syveris passed her arms around the other, supporting her. "Let's go to a bed, alright? You said you wanted to sit down." her voice trembled, afraid of not knowing what was going on. She hated it, but there was nothing she could do. Carefully, Syveris lead Azira towards the closest empty bed, and helped her to sit on it. "Just... Just wait, ok? I'll go fetch a healer."

The Avora had to calm down, otherwise she would just panic, and then the healers would have one more person to take care of. Taking a deep breath, Syveris looked around, searching for someone who could help them. She spotted one of the healers near the other end of the room, and rushed there, calling out for the woman. She hoped it was nothing serious, and she hoped that Azira would be alright. She was tired of things going bad this season.

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[Azira]

   

Azira hated her moment of weakness especially considering the effect that it had on her friend. Syveris began to panic beside her which didn't help matters at all. All the huntress wanted to do was reassure her but there was no way that she could. If she tried to stand straight to demonstrate how fine she was then she'd probably just collapse with the world spinning around her.

The Avora tried to wave off the young woman's concern. "I'm fine, Syv. Honestly I am, I'm fine I just got up too fast. Have you never got up too fast and had the room spin?" she very nearly pleaded with the glassworker as if trying to convince her of what she was saying. The girl didn't want a fuss at all.

"No! You don't have to get a healer!" she squeaked but it was too late, a woman was already hurrying over and Azira knew she'd have to talk her way out of this, or at worse, grin and bear it. 

Once the woman reached her side, the teen tried to explain  that she was only suffering from a headache and that she'd become dizzy after rising too fast. The healer didn't seem to believe her and she was sure that Syveris was just as disbelieving. The teen tried to glare at her friend but she wasn't sure which one she was; she was seeing double. The huntress had to put up with a head examination for the umpteenth time as the woman tried to discover the problem.

The pain ebbed and faded under the woman's cool fingers and she assumed that she must have a Healing gnosis. The relief was overwhelming. She smiled gratefully at the healer as she went about her business again. She looked sheepishly at Syveris.

"Thanks for getting help for me. I guess we're both helping each other today."

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[Syveris]

After explaining to the healer what had happened, Syveris nearly dragged the woman all the way to where Azira was, only resting when the healer began to examine the huntress. Azira tried to tell them it had only been a headache, but Syveris didn't believe it. Maybe it was something simple, but maybe it wasn't. She waited the healer do the examination, nervously walking around the bed. It earned her a glare from the healer and she thought that Azira had glared at her too. Or tried, as the other simply stared at some point near her shoulder.

Only after the healer had gone away did she started to calm down. She sat at the bed, as far away from the huntress as she could, both to give her room to breath and because she wasn't sure Azira would enjoy her sitting too close. She looked at the other, still a little nervous, and smiled back.

"I guess we are. But then, that's what friends do." the word made her smile. Yep, they were friends. However, Syveris soon began to think deeply about everything that was worrying her again, and she frowned.

The Avora looked at Azira, a little unsure about how to ask what she wanted, and if she should even ask it at all. It wasn't a comforting subject, for neither of them, she was sure, but even so... Crossing her legs, Syveris stared at the ground.

"Azira... How did you cope with everything? I... If you don't want to answer, that's alright, but... I've been having nightmares lately, and I was wondering, do you have them too?" her voice was just a whisper. If the huntress felt too uncomfortable with the question, she could just pretend she hadn't heard anything.

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[Azira]

   

The glassworker's use of friend made her smile again. It was something that she didn't think she'd get used to for quite awhile. She couldn't even get her head around the concept yet but she would in time. Syveris certainly seemed to be enjoying their new relationship status so that was all right, she wasn't the only one excited by the idea.

Her return to the previous topic however, severely dampened her good mood. She ran a hand through her hair as she thought about how she had coped. Not well initially, probably not very well now either considering what had happened after Insurq's death. Curling into a ball, sobbing herself to sleep, waking herself up screaming in the night didn't sound like coping to her but she couldn't say that to Syveris. Then there had been other factors as well.

"I won't lie, it wasn't easy for me. I was there when my mother died so that was a lot to deal with then I moved into the Yasi quarters not long after. The other Yasi...didn't like me much. That's putting it mildly really, they made my life hell so I suppose considering everything, I coped very well. I did have nightmares for a while but then they went away so it was all right," she explained, smiling reassuringly. She didn't mention how long the nightmares had lasted (well over a year) so as not to frighten her.

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[Syveris]

As Azira answered her, Syveris smiled at the huntress, glad that she hadn't dropped the subject. It was uncomfortable, the Avora knew that very well, but she also thought it was something she needed to talk about, specially after what Azira had told her. Syveris had to talk to someone, so she could force herself to think about it. If she kept quiet, she would only try to shove the thoughts away, and they would stay unresolved for quite a long time.

The Avora's smile turned to an apologetic one as Azira told her about the Yasi. She had been one of those that hadn't 'liked her that much', although fortunately, they hadn't met again while they were both Yasi. It would have ruined any chance of friendship. But at the same time, Syveris remembered quite a few ones that had troubled her a lot too, and she understood what the huntress was saying.

"People... Can be really cruel sometimes, can't they?" she mumbled, thinking both about the Yasi and the men that had troubled them in the Inclement Weather. She pressed her lips, anger filling her again, and decided not to talk about it.

But Azira had had nightmares too, so they were probably normal. Well, not comfortable, but normal. Syveris sighed, touching her temple, trying to rub away the faint pain she was feeling there.

"Sometimes I think Dira must be playing a nasty trick on Wind Reach. Well, her or some other God or Goddess." she stated. Syveris wasn't trying to blame the Gods, not really, but things had been way too weird lately. The game had been scarce since before the middle of Fall, and the storms had been more frequently than before. "Don't you think? I mean, what is the meaning of all this? Fall had been one hardship after another! And what if the worst hasn't come yet? I can't..." Syveris sighed, shutting her mouth. She was babbling again. The Avora only hoped she wasn't annoying Azira.

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[Azira]

Azira snorted at her friend's comment on the cruelty of people. She stretched slightly, fully exposing the skin of her stomach and moved the top of her bryda down. Where the band had been there was some of her skin that was a slightly different colour than the rest. She pointed to them so that her friend could see them.

"See these?" she asked as she traced the outline of one of the scars. "Burns. Not bad ones but I remember exactly how I got them. It was exactly a year after my mother died and I wasn't coping very well. The other Yasi didn't know anything but they decided it would be very funny to dump my soup in my lap. Hot soup. That's one act of cruelty. It was the last physical damage that they ever managed to inflict, I made sure of that but that didn't stop them. So yes, Syveris I know exactly how cruel people can be," she explained quietly, putting the bryda back in place.

The huntress was quiet for a moment as she listened to the girl. Syveris obviously had the same outlook, where the gods were concerned, as she was. She was convinced that the divine beings had a seriously sick sense of humour sometimes. The teen shrugged in reply.

"I think we've offended one of them at least though I sometimes wonder if we haven't pissed off all of them. It seems like it some days. As far as hunting goes, I've had a feeling all season that the animals have run from something. I had no idea what but it was like they knew something we didn't. They started vanishing before the groundquakes started, getting further and further into the Unforgiving. There have even been times where the weather seems to go against us on purpose. Something is definitely happening that they know about, I just wish that they'd tell us what it is."

Frowning, Azira stared intensely at the wall as her mind followed the same train of thought that she had kept coming back to throughout the season. She honestly did think that something was going to happen, it was like the whole mountain was holding its breath and waiting for something. The only thing was though was that the Inarta had no idea what that something was. Some of them were probably clueless to the atmosphere as it was. Not for the first time, she wondered if she was over thinking things again. She certainly hoped that she was because the alternative didn't bear thinking about.

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[Syveris]

Azira snorted, and Syveris wondered if she had said something wrong. And then, her friend pulled the band of her bryda down, showing her the skin underneath it, and explained what they were and how did she got then. Syveris gulped, and her eyes filled with tears again. She felt guilty, for some reason. Maybe it was because she had been just as cruel as a Yasi, and, if she had been given opportunity, the Avora couldn't swear she wouldn't have done the same.

"What was wrong with us?" she whispered, to herself. She wasn't including the huntress on the 'we', but Syveris was ashamed of what she had done and how she had been. She had changed, greatly, and she tried hard to be better, although it didn't change what she had been. The Avora didn't understand why some people just kept insisting in being cruel, though.

She listened to what Azira said, frowning and thinking hard about it. If they had offended the Gods, then it would make sense all the things that were happening. However, she couldn't think of anything they had done. They lived just like they always had, didn't they? Syveris was starting to think there was something she wasn't quite aware of going on in Wind Reach.

"Offended them? Do you think that might be it?" Syveris turned to her friend. "How? I mean, of course you wouldn't know, but... I don't see anything different in the behaviour of people here. For something to be happening on that scale, I think Wind Reach as a whole would have to offend someone. And I just can't think of how it would happen. I haven't see any changes of behaviour, so... I just don't know." she pulled her legs up to the bed, and crossed them, trying to get on a more comfortable position.

"It was that bad? The hunting, I mean. I heard Fall has been a difficult season, but it never occurred to me that the animals might be running away from something. " now that she thought of the possibility, it kind of made sense, although she still couldn't see the reason for it. "Do you think the animals are afraid of something that is going on here? Would it be that bad, to the point where they are scared?" Syveris was feeling a little uneasy again. There couldn't be something that bad going on, right? And if there was, she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out what it was.

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[Azira]

   

The teen shrugged to show that she was clueless about why Yasi behaved so. "I don't know, Syveris but I don't think I'm much better. I found an old diary entry from after I became a hunter where I wanted to shoot Dek because it would be good sport and it'd do the city a favour. I can't even believe that I wrote that. I understand what way my head was at the time but that was no excuse..." The girl trailed off, not willing to say anymore on the matter.

The Avora considered the gods for a moment. She wasn't sure how one could have been offended. How fickle were they? Surely there must be one who could be offended by them somehow. "I don't know. I'm sure that there's one somewhere who'd get offended by someone sneezing in the wrong direction," she replied dryly. "Perhaps there's one that is offended by Ivak's release. Some people don't agree with it I'm sure." The teen shrugged again. She honestly had no idea of a possible cause but the subject had turned to hunting.

She grimaced at the mere mention of the occupation. She nodded. It had most definitely been that bad. "Yep, definitely that bad. I got more bruises and wettings than I got game. You know what the weather was like so I'm sure that you can imagine," the huntress told her, pulling a face.

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[Syveris]

Syveris shuddered at the thought of shooting a Dek just for fun. Well, she shuddered now. Before, while she had never thought about killing one of them, the Avora was sure she wouldn't move a finger to stop it from happening. Now... Well, there had been enough deaths already. Dek or not, she didn't want to watch another one. She decided not to say anything, though. The past was becoming something that she had less and less interest in bringing up now.

The Avora focused on Azira's thoughts of the Gods. The woman obviously didn't like them very much. Syveris couldn't say she cared. She knew they were important for some people, but they weren't for her. But would they be so easy to anger? Syveris tried to think about the ones she knew. Dira, Caiyha, Myri... Well, knew wasn't the right word. She recognized their names, and that was about it, pretty much. She couldn't say for sure none of them wouldn't be bothered by small things.

At the mention of Ivak, Syveris looked at Azira. Oh, right. There was him, too. "But, did Wind Reach had anything to do with it?" the Avora felt quite foolish after having asked the question. She knew he had been released from the mountain, but even so, did that meant Wind Reach had something to do with it? Syveris grumbled to herself. She knew close to nothing about divinity.

"I didn't paid much attention to it, before the... you know. The storm." she admitted, referring to the girl's comment about the hunts. "But you are right. It must have been pretty hard to hunt on this crazy weather." Syveris thought for a while, before asking another question. "Do you think... Winter will be much worse than the normal? The animals are already scarce in Fall, so..." she trailed off. The Avora wasn't a hunter, but the thought that Winter was going to be much harder than what she had been first expecting seemed like a logical conclusion to her, now.

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[Azira]

   

Azira saw the shudder from Syveris and she understood how horrible her own words were. The glassworker had the right idea in being horrified by shooting Dek but she said nothing. The huntress hoped that her friend wouldn't think badly of her but it seemed unlikely. The teen understood why she'd thought that up in the first place. Her hatred for Dek had been strong at the time, or rather the hatred of one of them in particular. It had fuelled her prejudice for the whole caste until she turned into that person who wrote that diary entry. She shook her head in disgust and returned to the topic of gods.

"I suppose we could be guilty by association but I don't know. It could be something else or I could be imagining it entirely. Making up things in my head to make sense of everything that has been going on," she told her friend, shrugging. "My views are a little biased so it honestly could be something that's just in my head that would make other people thing that I'm crazy."

The other Avora began talking about something and the huntress had no idea what she was on about for a few moments. She looked at the girl in confusion until she said the word "hunt" and then understanding dawned.

"Oh yeah, it was really hard. Things have been messed up all season and I'm not the only one to think so. Perhaps some of the other hunters fared better than I did but I don't know, I don't talk with a lot," she explained, her expression apologetic as she realised what she was saying. "I'm sorry. I'm scaring you, aren't I? That was stupid of me. I don't know how the stores are, Sy. I don't know how winter will be. All I know for certain is that we won't give up easily just because of some bad weather."

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