Even in Death (Edalene)

by **Mycroft** on May 25th, 2011, 8:00 am

Even as Edalene stooped to pick up the vials and Tarrow watched, he didn't feel relieved. If he were alive, all of this might have given him a sick feeling to his stomach. Seeing the anguish in the young girl was giving him no end of torment. Not just because he empathized with her, and felt helpless to comfort her. After all, if he so much as hugged her, he could kill her. What troubled him even more than that, however, was that he knew this wasn't over. Endrykas was in danger, and so was Edalene and everyone around her. Tarrow knew this was going to get worse before it got better.

The ghost nodded as Edalene asked if he was coming. "Yes." He "stepped" forward again, just as his imaged suddenly vanished in a startling flicker. Without missing a beat, Tarrow's voice sounded again, but from another location. He had suddenly appeared on the other side of Edalene. "I will meet you back in Endrykas. Rush those vials to your father." Tarrow turned toward the meadow, staring out at the regiment rushing back to Endrykas. Three men were lagging behind to wait for Damie's daughter. "And, Edalene." The ghost turned back to her, his expression suddenly blank and unreadable. "Just remember… you're not alone. I'm watching you. I won't let anything happen to you."

Tarrow added a smile before his image faded.

Back in Endrykas, Thetch had pushed his Strider to her limit, riding the strands of the web and running as fast as she could manage. Though Damie had gone quiet, Thetch continued talking to the man, trying to keep him conscious. He tried to joke with him about how foolish he was, or something the horses had done. Anything not to mention Zeyba, who Damie hadn't asked about yet. Perhaps he already knew. Perhaps he didn't want to. Glancing down at Damie's face though, he didn't appear lethargic, or tired. He stared out blankly, looking almost bored. There was no feeling in his eyes. What had he gone through?

The Watch regiment arrived at an Opal clan healer's pavilion, where Damie was rushed inside and onto a bed. As a healer approached him, his entire body seemed to tense up, and he sent a harsh glare at the medic. "Don't touch me," he growled, sounding more threatening than seemed natural.

"But your bandage. We have to change it, and check for infection or festering or--"

"No need," Damie cut him off, coughing weakly. "I just need rest. Please, keep your hands off of me. I don't want to be touched." Even though he had said "please," Damie's tone was anything but polite. It sounded menacing. "Where is Ed… Eda…"

"Edalene?"

Damie nodded. "My head is clouded. I can't remember any of your names. I barely remember mine."

"Damie," Thetch responded slowly and plainly. He wondered why Damie wouldn't let the healer help him. There was clearly something more wrong with him beyond the wound was in his abdomen. "I'm Thetch. This is my brother, Falree, and this is--"

"Not now. Just leave me. Leave this tent. Bring me my daughter."

Thetch lingered for a few seconds longer, absolutely puzzled. Shaking his head in bewilderment, he knew he had no option but to acquiesce. "Come on, everyone. Let's give him some air." After Thetch herded everyone out of the small pavilion, even the healer, he briefly paused to look back at Damie. Damie did not return his gaze, only stared upward. Worried, he grimaced and finally left the tent himself.

OOCFeel free to use some NPCs here to ease in your post, including Thetch if you like.

by **Edalene** on May 26th, 2011, 8:33 am

Eda watched Tarrow warily. Even though she was mainly assured of his good intention, this 'bondmate' of his was running around killing people. She couldn't be sure Tarrow wasn't going to stab them all in the back as soon as she trusted him completely. Though her heart gave a jump each time he disappeared and flickered away, she could not help but melt a little at his words. A cautionary smile towards him, and Tarrow had faded away, leaving Eda clutching a mysterious sack to her chest and plagued with a very confused mind.

She turned away, moving over to Ayira once she had seen that Damie was comfortable on Thetch's strider. She swung up onto Ayira quietly, boosting up into the yvas. Clutching the satchel with one hand, stroking Ayira's neck as she paced nervously, she wondered what to do. Instead, she decided to keep it for herself. There was no need to worry Thetch with how she had randomly acquired a satchel of healing medicines in the middle of nowhere. Best to keep it until she could see the healers.

As she rode, she kept to herself, trailing at the end of the regiment, amongst the last of the Watch. She could see her father on Thetch's horse, looking vaguely off into the distance. He looked tired, a little out of it, so she thought it best to leave him be for the moment. She waited, watching him with one eye, but mostly just concentrate on riding Ayira back home, steering mainly with her thighs. She knew that somewhere, out there, watching as she rode was Tarrow.

Eda rode up to the Opal clan healer's pavillion, and clutched at the sack worriedly as she watched her father be rushed in to the healer's. She worried outside - should she take it in? - but ultimately decided that the healers should tend to his abdomen wound first, fixing it up before they treated the underlying problem. She sat down, Ayira straying around the healer's tent, playing with a blade of grass for a bit while she waited for someone to find her. Briefly, she wondered where Tarrow was, but it was not as if he could materialise in the middle of the city randomly. She settled in to wait and wonder and worry.

It was not long after that Thetch moved out of the tent flap, shaking his head and looking bewildered. He looked from side to side, and began to walk off. Eda scrambled to her feet hastily and ran after him, still holding the satchel, calling out his name as she went. With a turn, he exclaimed back. "Eda! I was just looking for you. Your father wants you." Eda smiled and thanked him gratefully, before hesitating and looking up at him.

"Thetch, is he alright? They fixed him, right?" Eda scanned his eyes nervously, though he looked back. It was only now she noticed that he looked particularly grim.

"I don't know, Eda. He wouldn't let any of them touch him, and he was angry and asking for you. You'd better go see him. We thought it best to just give him his space for now." Not wasting anytime, Eda turned and ran back to the tent, hurrying to get inside and see what Damie needed, though she left Ayira grazing outside. "Father?" she asked quietly, ducking into the tent. She moved over to his bed in the corner, where he lay silent and brooding.

by **Mycroft** on May 26th, 2011, 10:29 am

With a soft wool blanket held up to his chest, his fingers tucked under the folded ends of it, Damie lied still in his bed of furs. It was finally quiet in the tent now, with not even the healer to bother him. Silent minutes passed as he waited for Edalene to arrive, with only the noise of shuffling horses and the scent of… shuffling horses to keep him company. Where was that girl?

"Father?" Her voice suddenly filled the tent, piercing the quiet.

Damie peeled his eyes open and very gently turned his head to get a look at her. She was carrying a strange leather satchel in her arms, holding it to her chest like a lover. His lips twitched in just the slightest hint of a smile, but he couldn't quite manage to completely pull off the expression. Giving up, he turned his head away again and stared up at the tent's canopy. "Edalene," he said lowly, and practiced. He remembered her name solidly now, but their own Pavilion name escaped him. That was fine. He didn't need it, for now. "I'm glad you're here. You're my only reason for living."

Perhaps that had been a bit much. Damie closed his eyes again, laying his arm over his covered abdomen. He could feel that his bandage was beginning to grow wet. He didn't have much time before this wound got worse. If something wasn't done soon, he would die here in this tent. Damie certainly did not intend to let that happen. He wouldn't die this way. Because of some brave fool. "Did you find that satchel? By the rocks?" Damie opened his eyes again and looked up at her. "That disgusting man, that outsider that did this to me. He was carrying it. Give to me. I need it." He did not elaborate further, only reached up with one hand toward the satchel. "Thank you. Now, leave. I need some time to rest. Don't worry. I'll be all right." Gruff as ever.

Damie would be otherwise unresponsive to Edalene, only insistent that she leave. Even if Edalene asked him about slaying two glassbeaks in his condition, he wouldn't answer. Was he embarrassed by the vulnerability? Or the tenderness he'd just shared with her? It was impossible to speculate, because Damie's face was cold again - bereft of expression or any discernible emotion.

Once Edalene decided to leave the tent, Tarrow would perk up. He was perched atop a wooden crate outside the healer's tent, hugging his knees as if he'd been there for hours. Perhaps he even had been - invisible to passersby until he chose to show himself. After Edalene had gone inside the tent, that's exactly what he'd done. Better to let her see to her father before he interrupted her. Though Tarrow's image had been blurred and flickery before, now he seemed to be a whole person, alive, solid, and tangible like any other. However, if one studied long enough, they would notice that the sandy blond was not actually breathing.

A few people had given him odd looks. He was used to that. He often gave people "odd feelings," and very often frightened animals more privy to his true nature - not having a scent easily freaked out creatures with a more keen nose for it. There was that, and the constantly cold aura he gave off. That's why he was relieved to be in Endrykas. Most of this was all outdoors, where his natural chill was less noticeable.

"Edalene!" Tarrow greeted, suddenly smiling and lifting his head from his knees. "Hey there. Is your father doing all right? If… if he doesn't need you for the moment, I was wondering if you and I could talk." The ghost looked around cautiously, then lowered his voice. "My master is still a threat but… all seems well for now. I don't sense that he plans to hurt anyone, not yet. I think Endrykas is safe for the moment. Could we… check on my Firemane? He's been cooped up at the Amethyst stables. I'm worried about him."

Off the distance, Yartree could be seen approaching the healing tent. Thetch or the healer must have informed him that Damie had been brought there. Damie wasn't his father, but it was the least Yartree could do to check on his condition. Tarrow seemed to notice him, and for a moment looked worried. It passed, however, and he returned his brown eyes to Edalene, tilting his head questioningly.

by **Edalene** on May 29th, 2011, 11:56 am

Eda smiled hesitantly, and shuffled over to Damie as he seemed to acknowledge her presence. He spoke her name, slowly, and she smiled down brilliantly at him. She loved her name, when he said it. No matter how distant he was, whenever he paid her the least bit of attention, she loved, craved and cherished it. A brilliant flush spread over her cheeks at his words, and her toe scuffed at the ground below her feet. What he said was exaggerated, and he seemed to say it without any true emotion, but at least he said it. With a soft murmur, and a pretty blush, she responded. "I am glad I am here too, Father."

She watched him, letting him speak, before she made a move. She knew from experience it was bad to interrupt him. She didn't want to be reprimanded, and there was no telling how badly the wound was affecting him. He seemed even more distant than ever, though, and it stung a little. He was harsh and quick in his words. Seemed he didn't need her, just the stupid satchel. Pretending it didn't really bother her, she handed it over willingly, letting it go without reluctance. He seemed to know what it was for, and how she did not know. She began to say his name, softly, hesitantly. But he did not acknowledge her. Why he was in this mood, she did not know, but she thought it best to let him be for now. She would question him when he was fixed. She nodded once at him, and turned to leave. He didn't say goodbye. He didn't even look at her. She pretended it didn't hurt.

She sighed as she left, but jumped with a squeal as her name was shouted. Her head scanned frantically, her heart pounding from the unexpectedness of it all. Her eyes rested on the sandy haired ghost, Tarrow, sitting on a crate just next to the entrance. She hung back, regarding him warily, but she couldn't deny the warmth she felt as his presence, and she could feel the corner of her mouth twitch up in the beginnings of an involuntary smile.

She nodded at the ghost, though he seemed to be more ... corporeal this time. He did not flicker with the wind, and the grass stayed firmly under his feet, not through them. She nodded once. "Tarrow. Hello." She listened to what he had to say, recognising this for what it was - an attempt to spend time with her. Whether or not this ghost had ulterior motives, she did not know, but she could not deny that she wanted to spend time with him. She liked him. Eda did not notice her cousin passing closer to the tent behind her, her back to the flap as it was. She held out a hand to Tarrow, a hand which faltered awkwardly as she realised you couldn't touch a ghost. "Uhhh..." The moment felt awkward as her hand hung in the space between them, a pretty blush covering her cheeks and moving down her neck. She dropped her hand, looking down, her long eyelashes fluttering as she avoided eye contact. "If you want, I would not object to meeting this horse of yours." A soft smile graced her face and she looked up at him, seeming to gain some inner confidence.

"I would like to spend time with you, Tarrow."

Her smile was brilliant.

by **Mycroft** on May 29th, 2011, 12:30 pm

Tarrow was grinning until Edalene reached out for his hand. A more inexperienced Tarrow - the ghost version, anyway - would have instinctively reached out for it before he remembered what he was. However, he'd been dead long enough to understand just what the world didn't allow him to have anymore, and he had hurt enough people to know exactly what his touch would do to her. Tarrow's smile briefly became a pained grimace, as if someone had struck him, but the expression passed and simply became an awkward smile. Fortunately, Edalene seemed to work that out on her own, so he didn't have to make this moment any worse by explaining that if he took her hand, he might kill her.

"You do?" He was relieved that Eda wanted to see the Firemane. Being mostly horse himself, or so he still liked to pretend, the creature actually meant a great deal to him. He truly was worried about it, though from what he knew about the Drykas, they treated all horses with utmost respect and care - even the horses of their enemies. It was what had drawn Tarrow to the Drykas in the first place, when he was still living. "I'm so glad."

The ghost absolutely beamed when Eda voiced her desire to actually spend time with him. That she didn't find him frightening or otherwise, well, creepy was so much more than he could have hoped for. For a moment, the two of them just smiled at each other, sharing the same jittery, giddy feeling that belonged to two young people with fleeting hormones. Well, one of them was that. The other was a more tragic being with a guilty conscience and plagued by an unspeakable loneliness. Her kindness brought him so much comfort.

"This will sound a little pathetic, but that horse has really been my only friend for years now," Tarrow told her, letting her lead him through the Endrykas pavilions toward the Amethyst stable - wherever that was. "The master has been... distant. And, well, evil too, I guess. Some years ago, he purchased the Firemane in a magnificent city called Lhavit, which is built on top of enormously high mountain peaks. It was after his Strider had died, and he was crushed. But the Firemane was beautiful and re-ignited a light in him. It's... burnt out, now, I guess. But since then, the Firemane has been the only one willing to listen to me yammer on."

Nervously, Tarrow spied the horses around the camps. He feared getting too close to them, lest he spark off some fearful reaction and cause a scene. And he was certain, as long as he appeared normal and walked calmly with Edalene, that no one tapping into the web would be made nervous by him, or even aware of him. "It's a relief to be able to talk to a human again. Don't get me wrong, I feel more like a horse than a human. Their soul is my soul. Er." He looked down at himself. His very human-looking self. "Figuratively speaking. But there are still parts of me that a horse can never understand." Tarrow offered a difficult smile "So... thanks for... not being completely revolted by me."

Grimacing again, he gazed at the animals passing through Endrykas around him. "Can you, er... lead a path that avoids all these animals? If they get too close to me, they know what I am and usually they throw a fit."

by **Edalene** on May 30th, 2011, 2:08 am

Eda could not help but grin back. The ghost's face lit up with a smile, and they simply stood there for a moment, grinning at each other. No matter what she knew about Tarrow, no matter what his bondmate may be doing, she liked him. And she was pretty sure he liked her. Whether or not it was all an act to help his bondmate take over Endrykas was a different story. But for the moment, it was simply easiest to pretend everything was fine and dandy and her father didn't lie dying in the tent behind her.

She dropped her arm, smiling a little to show it didn't really matter to her if she couldn't touch him. She was just happy to spend time with him. She crooked her finger and turned around, walking past the open tent flap to the healer's pavillion. "C'mon," she shot back over her shoulder, walking through the makeshift streets of Endrykas to see the horse, in the Amethyst stables. It was not far from where they were, but it gave her an opportunity to walk and talk with Tarrow, and find out more about this enigma. She slowed her pace til he caught up, then began to walk regularly again, trusting in Tarrow to keep up.

She looked at him every so often as he spoke, listening as she wound through the pathways of the travelling city. "That's pretty sad," she murmured, then blushed as she realised what an ineffective thing to say it was. Yes, how devastating that your master has gone insane and started killing innocent Drykas men just for the fun of it. Poor, poor Tarrow. This was why Eda was not good with romance; she never said the right thing. It was the awkwardness with Kayiri all over again. She hastily tried to recover the sentence, tried to make it look like she knew what she was talking about. "I'm, uh, glad you have a friend, then, in the Firemane." She looked away, concentrating on the walkways, not really sure she wanted to see the patronising look on Tarrow's face, a look that would almost certainly be there.

She looked up at him as the conversation began to take a more personal turn, watching how his eyes drifted over his body. She wasn't watching where she was going, and very nearly stumbled to the ground, tripping over a stray pebble. She caught herself with a yelp, and hoped he had been too involved in introspection to notice, but she flushed red in embarrassment none the less. Apparently, Eda had lost the ability to act like a normal Drykas around men. Hurrah for her. She smiled up at him tensely, rubbing the back of her neck, not sure how to respond to his thanks. "It's all right, really. I ... I, uh, like spending time with you. I don't even really have any idea who you are, and your master is running around trying to kill my father, and you could try to kill me just by touching me, but uh ... sorry." She blushed and looked down as the rambling over took her. "I just meant that I like you, even though I don't really know you. That's all," she squeaked out, her voice shrill and embarrassed. She sighed and looked away, focusing on the pavilion that was coming up before her.

She couldn't help but laugh as Tarrow's request. "Tarrow, you're in Endrykas. Everywhere you go you're surrounded by horses. I can't exactly avoid them." She pointed into the distance, where there was a larger pavilion than the surrounding ones. There was a shuffling noise, and one could identify the sound as horses if they listened closely. That was where the Firemane was.

by **Mycroft** on May 30th, 2011, 7:53 am

That's pretty sad. Tarrow raised his eyebrows at her, bewildered and a little shocked. Then he realized what she meant, and he looked away with a silent laugh. She was odd, for a Drykas, but in a cute way. He wasn't used to meeting anyone capable of being awkward as he could be. It was refreshing and, for once, he didn't feel so intimidated being in the presence of a human. Edalene then tried to save face with another comment - which brought Tarrow to show her the smile he was wearing for her.

"It means a lot to hear that," Tarrow replied, keeping a pace with her even as he maintained a safe distance. "I feel a little bad for not asking you your name. I had simply overheard it, and repeated it. You deserve to introduce yourself." Seeing as avoiding the other horses and the occasional hunting dog was more or less out of the question, he instead focused on avoiding eye contact. Though the Drykas were exceptions, what many humans didn't realize was that animals were much more intelligent than the sentient races assumed. They respond to eye contact, just as any other human might. Ignore them, and unless you're they're prey, they ignore you. At least, that way, Tarrow's lack of scent wouldn't spook anything so long as the animals didn't notice him.

"There isn't much to know about me, anyway." Tarrow smiled again at Edalene. "But I'm glad I seem likable. I like you too. I think you're charming and unique." As they arrived at the stables, the Firemane was immediately noticeable. Away from the Drykas' own horses, the dark-coated Firemane was loosely tied to the side of the open tabernacle, grazing happily on the rich Cyphrus grasses. Tarrow nearly surged forward, but feared he might call attention to himself. So he contained himself as they approached.

The horse uttered a low noise in greeting as Tarrow walked up next to it. "There you are," the ghost murmured, reaching out as if to pet the horse. His ice cold hand stopped short, hovering just away from the horse's coat as he drew his hand in the direction of his fur. Tarrow couldn't really pet his horse, but this was as close as he could come to it. "I was so worried about you."

Remembering himself, Tarrow looked back up at Edalene. "The master purchased him when I was still alive. Just before I died, actually. We were good friends before then, but... I made him nervous as a... well... this." Tarrow gestured to himself. "I probably shouldn't have, but... learning how to possess him was how I began to reestablish contact with my bondmate, to let him know I was still there, watching him. Over the years I learned other tricks, too, possession is what I mastered first. This horse really helped me accept my death, and be close to the master again." He grimaced softly. "I suppose that's... a little evil. He really fought me, at first. But after a while, I think it stopped bothering him. Maybe he understood who I was."

Spotting a discarded brush in the grass nearby, he drew an eye line over to the horse's golden mane and tail. Both of them were in a horrible tangle. Tarrow of course would never ask Edalene to care for a horse that wasn't hers. Particularly since he knew the Firemane could be skittish and didn't typically like strange humans. Edalene and the Firemane, however, had already met. Tarrow looked down at the brush again, wishing he could pick it up and give that horse's mane and coat a little care.

by **Edalene** on May 30th, 2011, 8:31 am

Eda flushed, and giggled just a little at his words. She couldn't help it, she couldn't stop the sound. Tarrow just made her feel bubbly. There was something about her that was just sweet and lovely and she liked him. She didn't even know him properly and she liked him. She flushed bright red, and stuttered when he responded. "C-charming? Uh, thank you, I guess."

She looked at his face for a moment, trying to see whether or not that was a compliment or a condescention, but she looked away quickly so he didn't catch her eye. As far as she could tell, he was being genuine. But why would he lie to her like that? He thought she was charming. Did he even know who he was talking to? Eda wasn't anything special. She was about to open her mouth and assure him of this fact when she noticed that she had arrived just outside the pavillion, and Tarrow's (or Tarrow's bondmate's) Firemane stood there.

Eda continued her average pace as Tarrow began to "walk" up to the Firemane, walking up behind him. She felt awfully bad for him as she watched him simulated the act of stroking the horse. With a gentle smile, Eda walked up and positioned herself close to Tarrow, but watched to make sure they didn't touch. Slowly, she put her hand under where his was, and matched his hand's movement, though her hand stroked the fur. It was as close as hand touching as they were going to get. With a flush, she realised how this could look to him - and she snatched her hand away.

She silently listened to him, taking everything in, having no reason not to trust him. It was a sweet story, and suddenly Edalene felt bad. She always complained about having a terrible life and no one understood her, but Tarrow was a man who chose to cheat death and come back for the master whom he loved, watching him crumbling break down, to the point where a horse was his only friend. She swallowed, and looked up at him, watching his eyes as he spoke. She should have said something. But there was nothing she could really say. Instead, she asked a question, related to the topic but away fro the horse. The horse seemed to be a pretty sad part of his life. "Do you ever really possess humans?"

While looking up at him, she followed his line of sight, looking at the tangled mane and tail. Then down to the brush. Tarrow seemed despondent at his lack of true connection with the world, but perhaps Eda could help a little. Sidestepping Tarrow, she moved to pick up the discarded brush, and moved back to the juncture of the Firemane's neck and body. She began to brush through the mane, with long strokes, starting near the top of the head. The horse seemed to pad its feet nervously, but allowed Eda to continue. A thought struck her. "The Firemane ... what is his name?"

by **Mycroft** on May 30th, 2011, 9:48 pm

Edalene slipped her hand underneath Tarrow's, eliciting him to snap his head toward her in surprise. She was so close to him, her skin just inches away from his own spirit essence. Were he alive, he expected he might blush and give a flattered smile. But knowing how dangerous he was to her, he felt a mixture of pleasure and fear, which both tapered off into a familiar melancholy. He was dead. He couldn't have pleasures like these. What was he thinking, treating her this way? How could he be so selfish? Soon enough Tarrow would be gone as with the wind, and he'd given no thought at all to how that might affect her.

The pair both seemed to realize their foolishness simultaneously and drew their hands back in tandem. Still in public, any obvious floating would surely upset some passerby, so he noiselessly stepped through the grasses in his usual imitated manner. He had grown so used to doing it, and after all, looking human and alive did bring him some measure of false comfort.

Tarrow was still feeling guilty about leading Edalene on, offering something he couldn't give her. When she asked her question, he didn't have any light hearted answer or tragic ghost story to tell her. "When I have to," he responded flatly, and that was all. He almost never possessed humans. Fighting with them in their minds was often far too jarring for him. But when he master had needed him to...

The ghost smiled as he watched Edalene brush the horse. The Firemane responded to her standing so close. Trust had been established mostly by association, and though he was visibly anxious, he was not running away or kicking her, so it looked as though they might get along. Deliberately he began chewing on the grasses around her feet - very likely to test her reaction to see if she was intimidated by him. He could be a mischievous sort. It might have been worse if he weren't so placated by the feeling of the brush in his fur.

"He doesn't have one," Tarrow replied staunchly. "The master used to call him Gallrunner, but that was the name of his Strider. I've always felt that name should only belong to the Strider. My bondmate was so very devastated by Gallrunner's death, however, that I don't think he ever intended to see this horse as its own individual. Tragic, for a Drykas, honestly."

Tarrow rubbed the back of his neck. "Your father... is he really the only family you have? You have a cousin, I think I overheard."

by **Edalene** on June 4th, 2011, 2:49 am

Eda listened to his explanation as she brushed her way through the Firemane's tangled mane. Her eyes were focused entirely on her work, as she brushed up and down carefully, tugging lightly whenever she met resistance in the knotted coarse hair. Her other hand rested on the base of the horse's neck, the unnamed horse, resting there as a comforting weight, giving her somewhere to push down on when she tugged through the knots, but also as a comfort and reassurance to the skittish horse.

She felt bad for the horse, her Drykas heritage lending her a degree of empathy towards the beast. The poor horse had a master that was barely interested in him, and the one person who did care, was dead and and couldn't touch him no matter how much she wanted to. The Drykas should never neglect a horse like this. It made her wonder how low the bondmate had fallen that he didn't even treat a beautiful horse such as this correctly, forsaking his upbringing and everything that the Drykas stood for in such a way. A wave of anger at this unnamed man rose up, but she quelled it, not wishing to upset the horse anymore than he already was.

Tarrow's description of the horse was rather distant, and Eda looked up at him worriedly. Despite his tone, she could see that it did upset him, the way in which his master treated the horse. She realised that he, too, must have a certain level of empathy, being a horse before he died. She looked at him carefully, her hand stroking the coat of the horse absently, her hand and the brush tangled midway within the mane. "You should name him," Eda said softly. "A horse should not just be called 'him' or 'Firemane'. A horse is a living breathing being, and should be honoured. You know this. The Drykas know this." She paused, garnering his reaction, then spoke again - briefly, simply. Driving her point home. "You should name him."

Eda was still watching him, her hand still resting on the Firemane's neck, watching carefully as he rubbed the back of his neck. She realised she was looking at him a bit too intently, but she didn't really mind enough to look away. The only telltale sign was the pretty flush that made it's way from her neck to her cheeks. She had never met a ghost, nor had she met someone like Tarrow. It made him riveting. She was, simply put, interested in him. "My father is the closest piece of immediate family I have," she said. "I do have a cousin. Yartree. He is ..." She didn't know how to describe Yartree. He was mean, made jokes about her, was derisive, but the last day or two she had seen a part of him that she hadn't know existed. It intriuged her, and gave her hope for a better relationship after her daddy healed. She smiled ruefully. "He is Yartree." That was the best she could do to describe him.

A thought came to her, and she hesitated, not sure if she should ask this. She didn't know what Tarrow's reaction would be, but once the seed was planted in her mind, it grew until she could not stop the words coming out of her mouth. "Your bondmate ... you said he was Drykas. How old is he? What is his name?" She flushed, and looked away. She had asked more than she had intended to, but a stubborn part of her mind told her she had a right to know. This bondmate was running around killing people, and had almost killed her father. She had a right to know what sort of a monster she was dealing with. Her jaw was set, stubborn. She felt bad if the question made Tarrow angry, but she still wanted to know - and she would prod until he told her.