A Dangerous Trek (Vala)

[Ronin]

Ronin agreed casually to Vala's idea of them helping each other get masters. He figured it was a long shot for any master to take on two apprentices at once, but none the less, it was worth a shot. Ronin would much prefer a friend as a coworker to a stranger. He started to wonder if she considered him a friend like he did her. She did tell him her secret, but that was more out of necessity than friendship. And she had been quite cruel to him earlier so maybe she was just being nicer to him because she needed him. Ronin didn't know, but he also didn't care. In his mind, Vala was his friend, and she would have to say otherwise to change that. Ronin had been so caught up in his thoughts that he missed the beginning of what Vala had said about the library. He caught enough of what she said to know what she was saying, but he hoped that it wasn't obvious that he hadn't really been listening. Ronin wasn't usually one for public speaking, but if Vala was doing it he figured he could give it a try. "Or I could tell the story of how we met." Ronin smiled as he teased her. "But you're right, I think this adventure would make a good story. You will have to tell me when I can come." He thought back on what had transpired that day. Their awkward beginning seemed like it had been ages ago. Satisfied that he had rested long enough and scared at the orange hue of the sky that meant the sun was setting, Ronin got ready to pick Vala up again. He waited, giving her what he thought was time to prepare herself. Instead, he got a speech of which he wasn't entirely sure the implications. Ronin listened intently as she spoke, trying desperately to understand every detail. "I must admit, I am touched. I am also deeply grateful. If this is a formal invitation to be your friend, then I formal accept. Regardless of any baggage or consequences of your 'true' nature, I would love to be your friend. I want you to be as real with me as you feel comfortable with, and I will try not to pressure you to show me more than you want to. I must warn you though. Being my friend will most definitely have it's downsides as well. I hope you can see past those." Ronin beamed with excitement. It had been a while since he had made a true friend, and there was not much he could think of that compared to the feeling. When Vala was ready, he picked her back up and continued on up the path. They did not get far before Vala was sound asleep and Ronin's mind was once again wandering aimlessly. The sun had just finished setting when they reached the gates of Wind Reach and Ronin carried Vala directly to her room. Upon arriving at her room, he placed her on the bed and put her things beside the door. He looked back at her. They were both a mess, covered in mud and blood and who knows what other filth. "I will come check on you in the morning. If you are still unable to walk, I can carry you to the baths, if you would like. You're a mess." Ronin once again was teasing her, but it was all in good fun. He knew that he was most likely just as much a mess as her.

[Vala]

Vala woke with a start when she hit her lumpy bed. “Woah! Did you think you were going to get away that easily?” Vala called out to Ronin, still a little groggy. “Get back here. I need help taking off my boot and I probably need to wrap my ankle up before I kick it off in my sleep. Aaand, you need to get re-bandaged, if not by me, then by a proper healer.” Vala pouted, rubbing her eyes. “I even said a super long, and well thought out, and genuine friendship speech, for you. So if you die I’ll be very, very mad at you!” In her disheveled state – Vala had regressed to a childish, near naïve, state: she wasn’t faking. “Oh Priskil – I’m disgusting!” Vala raised an arm and sniffed herself, cringing from the smell. “How did I get here-“ Vala looked around, finally realizing she was in her room. “Oh. Here,” Vala pulled out a key from the pocket of her byrda. “If you unlock my chest, there should be a toiletry kit. I have some basic bandages in there, so I can re wrap you, and then you can stop bleeding on my scarf.” She pouted, a jokingly. “That’s my favorite scarf.” It was her only scarf. When Ronin handed her the toiletry kit, she quickly opened it and pulled out a roll of bandages. She began unrolling it, about two arm lengths. “Can you take off my boots while I’m at it…GENTLY!” Vala yelped when her ankle shifted. Normally Vala would have been super polite, hiding the pain, keeping it off her face, but she felt comfortable enough around Ronin to act natural, and show her weakness. Bear attacks made wonderful bonding sessions. “Ok the towel draped across my chair, that should be clean; I just washed it yesterday. Bring the water basin as well. I was going to use that to wash my face this morning, but you kind of surprised me.” Without her regular cutesy, and over polite, façade, Vala was a bit (really) rude: ordering Ronin about without even a please or thank you, but at least she was trying to genuinely help him. The bed was clean; Vala made sure of it; she washed the sheets every other day. And now, it was all covered in blood, grime, and other nature crap, Vala was feeling a little irked. “I hate nature… Nature ruins everything… I only have one set of sheets! Bah.” Ronin was very gentle as he took Vala’s boots off, she only grimaced in pain a couple times. “Come here, and take of your katinu, you should probably burn the thing and buy a new one; it looks horrid.” When Ronin sat down at the edge of her bed, Vala began to unravel the scarf. It had been a little, just a little, though Vala would never admit it, too tight, but at least the pressure had stopped the bleeding from getting out of hand. Bits of the scarf’s fabric had embedded into the open wound; it didn’t look healthy and it certainly hurt when Vala tugged the cloth off. She dropped the scarf unceremoniously onto the ground. “I’m going to have to burn that as well…” She said jokingly. Dipping the corner of the towel into the luke-warm water, Vala began dabbing at Ronin’s wounds again. She had to narrow her eyes and squint to see the little strands of her scarf, in the gory matted blood. She tried to pick them out with her forefinger and thumb, but wasn’t too successful, unless her aim was to hurt Ronin. She rummaged through her toiletry bag at her side and pulled out tweezers. After a season of working at the Enclave, Vala’s fine motor skills were super developed; she held the tweezers like a quill. She didn’t know much about healing, but she knew enough not to let Ronin walk around with cotton embedded in his flesh. It took her several chimes to finally get all of them out, making sure not to leave any, in case he got an infection. When everything was all cleaned up, Vala began wrapping him up again, properly with the bandages, but not as tight this time. “Ok, now that milord Ronin is all cared for, I think I should try cleaning up my ankle…” Using a clean corner of the towel, Vala wiped her face and neck before drying off her wet ankle. She rolled up the left leg of her byrda to expose her swollen, black and blue ankle. “That… does not… look good.” The ice had numbed most of the pain, and kept the swelling to a minimum, but it still hurt like frick. “I’m not sure if there’s a proper way to do this, but I remember reading somewhere I should wrap this up tight to prevent any more movement. Seeing as I can’t really bend or reach, would you mind wrapping it for me? I’ll give you instructions.” Vala proceeded to try and figure out the process – it took them five tries to finally get it just right. Vala let herself flop onto her bed; she didn’t want to go under the covers or even lay on her pillow and get everything infected with her grime. “I think I’m going just going to sleep the pain off. I’ll probably need some help tomorrow morning getting to the baths, I would really appreciate it if you could come…” Vala cautiously brought her hand to Ronin’s, slipping her small, lithe fingers, into his large comforting palm. “Th-thank you Ronin.” A pained smile upon Vala’s face.

[Phoenix]

Ronin Socialization- 5, Hunting- 5, Archery- 5, Daggers- 2, Wilderness Survival- 5, Medicine- 5, Leadership- 5, Organization- 5 Going stir crazy, Showing appreciation of the female figure, Knowing when it let it go, Offering to help a friend, Hunting for food not sport, Knowing how to dress a kill, Feeling concern, Being aware of another’s more sensitive state, Reacting quickly in the face of danger, Missing the kill shot, Improvising, Killing a beast 10x ones size, Refusing to give up, Attempting to talk another through their hysteria, Knowing how to care for minor injuries, Caring for another’s injuries before one’s own, Taking a trophy as proof of survival, Turning the other cheek and helping anyway, Making a real friend Vala Socialization- 5, Hunting- 5, Archery- 5, Wilderness Survival- 5, Medicine(Bandaging)- 5, Organization-5, Reminacy- 5 Being boldly unclothed, Unsure of how to deal with lust, Doing one’s best to deal with an awkward situation, Being honest about ones skill level, Almost taking caste racism to a new level, Realizing how hard it is to shoot with intent to kill, Losing ones lunch at the sight of dead animals, Learning how to dress a kill, Freezing in the face of danger, Taking the time to consider options in a dire circumstance, Saving the life of a team member, Praying when it seems like no hope is left, Showing ones true colors, Overcoming ones fear enough to be helpful, Being unable to hold ones tongue or be polite, Knowing when there needs to be an apology given, Making a real friend, Bandaging up a friend This was a nice thread! I always like to read about action. It was also very nice to see Vala show her true side to someone, and I was shocked when Ronin accepted it so easily when anyone else would have left her in the middle of the woods! Nice job you two!