Aftermath (Yuros)

by **Alea Davenport** on May 22nd, 2012, 6:18 am

2nd Spring, 512

Alea has not slept well at all, despite being curled up next to Yuros, who always made her feel safe. The events of the previous day had taken their toll. She had lost a friend yesterday, somehow, and any time she wasn't plagued by nightmares, she was woken up by her own severe coughing. She wanted to cry, her throat was so raw, but crying only made it hurt more.

At dawn, she could no longer bear trying to sleep. She sat up slowly, trying not to disturb the giant stag, but somehow knowing that he would notice her movement regardless. She looked around blinking for a moment, not sure where she was. Then she remembered, during the storm yesterday, she and Yuros had taken shelter in the stables. And then... for some reason he had stayed in his stag form rather than changing back to human as usual. Rather than leave him all alone in the stables (with her horse and cat, who would inevitably cause trouble if they had her stag to taunt), she had spent the night out here, with him.

But now it was morning, and there should be work to do. Of course, with the start of the new season she should probably evaluate where her life was going. Sitting about a pace away from Yuros, she reached into the pocket of her breeches and pulled out her sadly deflated money pouch. The fact that it could fit in her pocket was a sign of how destitute she really was. She cleared a space on the ground and poured the contents in front of her.

Alea started dismally at the seven silver mizas which were all that was left of her money. She didn't know what had happened. She had thought, 'I have a job. The job pays me money. I can spend as much as a want.' And somehow, despite having had several gold mizas at the start of winter, and being paid a gold miza for every day she had worked, she still somehow wound up with only seven tiny silver-rimmed coins.

This can't continue. If she didn't change something soon, she would starve, and she couldn't put Yuros through that. Something about living in the comfort of the hold had made her complacent. Well, winter was over, and by comparison, spring seemed like the balmiest of summers. She no longer had the biting cold as an excuse to see shelter indoors. When she first arrived, she had survived just fine pitching her tent within the city limits. She did not think the Frostfawns would mind if she camped out, say, behind the stables. It would be a shorter walk to work, for one thing. And if Yuros didn't change back soon, she might be spending a lot more time sleeping here.

by **Yuros** on May 29th, 2012, 11:13 pm

When the Huntress stirred Yuros raised his head, flicking an ear and turning to look out over the girl as she moved. Faintly he remembered the night before, their mad dash to the stables and the sounds of the storm raging about them.

The Winds were harsh. Never have I felt such before.

Blinking slowly, Yuros adjusted where he sat, his muscles aching from so long spent on the ground. Leaning down he nudged Alea, taking in her sent. His eyes seeming to ask, What now?

by **Alea Davenport** on June 9th, 2012, 8:01 pm

Alea stared rather gloomily at Yuros. She wanted to smile, but she was just feeling too miserable. Her throat was sore from coughing all night, and her financial situation was just depressing. She scooped up her mizas and put them back into the safety of her pouch, and then stood up, stretching. She yawned hugely and then said, "Now, we figure out..."

Or at least... she tried to say that. She stopped when she realized that no sound was coming out of her mouth. With a strained expression, she held her throat and tried again, but to no avail. Her voice simply would not work. A few tears stung her eyes; after everything the storm had taken yesterday, it could not be satisfied. It had to have her voice too. She buried her face in the fur of the great stag's neck, feeling too defeated to go on.

After a moment though, she got bored with feeling defeated. She stood up straight, took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and built up a new feeling of resolve. Regardless of how she was feeling, there were still things that had to be done. She had to move her things out of her room in the hold, set up her tent... that was pretty much it, other than find something to eat and figure out what work she had for the day.

She walked to the stable doors and opened them, but instead of the white landscape that usually greeted her, the ground was a muddy brown, still wet with melted snow. Alea was confused. Wasn't Avanthal the city of eternal winter?

by **Yuros** on July 14th, 2012, 3:21 am

The Kelvic blinked, tilting his head in confusion at the odd gestures the Huntress maid as she attempted to speak. He brought his head closer to the girl's, nudging her gently as the tears began to fall.

Tears... But she bears now injuries, so what causes her such pain? The kelvic tried to ponder this for a moment, but his attention seemed to be small this day, for he quickly found his mind wandering to the smells of the city, and the noise about them as well. As the Huntress settled closer against him, Yuros raised his head and looked about him. Within him the thrumming in his chest quickened as strange scents began to waif past his nose. Blinking slowly, he tried to place these smells, they seeming so familiar to him, yet he could not bring to mind what the could be...

Breathing suddenly through his nose Yuros shook his head as Alea stood, grunting as he rose to his feet as well. His thoughts seemed sluggish... as if he were wading through mud within his own head...

Shaking his head once more, Yuros followed Alea to the stable doors, and there he was met by a sight that baffled him further... The snow, the cold it was gone! Turning his head from side to side the Kelvic tried to make sense of this, yet...

Blinking, he looked down at his bonded, tilting his head in confusion.

by **Alea Davenport** on July 29th, 2012, 9:55 pm

Alea did not know what was going on with the city, but that didn't change her plans. If it was warm enough to melt the snow, that was even LESS excuse for her to stay in the hold. She did feel bad for Yuros. This was his home, and its strange weather was obviously confusing him. She patted and hugged his nose gently, trying to convey feelings of warmth and comfort.

But she had to leave him to go gather her belongings. In his current state, he would not fit through the doors of the Hold. She tried to whisper, hoping that speaking in a lower voice would not trigger another coughing fit. It didn't, but also no sound came from her throat. Her breath caught in her through and her eyes misted as she realized that they would be unable to speak to each other. She hugged him tighter, and tried to promise him with her will that she would be back. Then she dashed off into the hold, trying to be parted from him for as little time as possible. She sprinted up the stairs and down a hall until she was in front of the room she'd slept in until... was it only yesterday morning? It seemed like the whole world had changed since then.

Despite her hurry, she opened the door to her room slowly, almost afraid to disturb the place. It was with a faint sense of nostalgia that she realized how much her life had changed in such a short time. Her belongings scattered about the room already felt like a thing of the past. It was with the feeling of a closing chapter that she packed her belongings into her backpack and the saddlebags. Most of her larger things, her tent and such, were still packed from that botched excursion she and Yuros had taken back in Winter, so packing did not take as long as it might have. Besides, she wasn't taking the things far, so it didn't matter if they weren't stowed perfectly.

With one last sweep of the room, and a nod of goodbye, she hauled her bags away. They were heavier than she'd wanted to admit before. It might have been easier to take multiple trips, but she was already worried that Yuros might be feeling abandoned, and she didn't want to leave him a second time. She heaved her backpack higher and shifted the position of the saddlebags, trying to prevent her muscles from straining under the weight. She had to stop and rest every few dozen steps, but after a long struggle (the stairs where an interesting challenge), she finally dragged her belongings outside, heedless of the mud.

Yuros had wandered toward the hold after her, and as soon as she saw him, she ran to him, ducking under his nose to cling to the fur on his chest. She stayed until she know her was reassured of her presence, and then she grabbed her belongings once more. With Yuros trailing slightly behind, she took everything to a space behind the stables. When she finally set everything down, she took a long moment to stretch her aching arms. Then she unpacked her tent and found a relatively flat place on the ground. There was no dry space, so she would just have to deal with the damp. She could easily see herself sleeping in the stables with Yuros, so the tent would mostly just be a place to keep her things anyway.

It had been over a season since she'd had to set up the tent, and it took her longer than it should have. It didn't help that she kept feeling compelled to go back to Yuros, each making sure the other was still there. When the tent was finally raised, it looked a bit lop-sided, like a stiff breeze might topple it. Still, that was as much as she felt able to do that day. She placed her possessions inside, and then took Yuros around the city, taking in the destruction the melting had wreaked, and wondering what they were all going to do next.

by **Valkyrie** on July 31st, 2012, 3:46 am

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