Crossing Boundaries (Lixue)

[Volinir Orchid]

51st of Fall, 512AV The Cobweb was quite crowded tonight. Though in reality, the first fall performance had occurred twenty days ago, dreams were rarely concerned with logic. Symenestra of all shapes and sizes were pouring into the gigantic teardrop shaped school, and soon the seats surrounding the circular stage were all full. The Cobweb could be considered dimly lit at best to a non-Sym, and it was still as cool and damp as the cavern it was in, but to Volinir, it was as welcoming as a warm hearth with a crackling fireplace. He was home. Everyone was buzzing about a certain Kanasa Curare, the legendary dancer who, in reality, retired some years ago to become a teacher. Apparently, she had just become a Weaver. While Volinir had known her in childhood, he wasn't interested in the show or the dancers. He was too busy sifting through the see of white and silver heads for a familiar face. His family would still be here, wouldn't they? His sister, and his mother, and his father? It had been more than a decade since he had seen them, and his heart ached for them more than anything else at the moment. They would have come to the performance... Right? Finally, after almost a bell of searching, Volinir caught a glimpse of raven black amongst the various shades of cobweb and grey, and went weaving after it. Surely that was his sister! In two chimes, he had caught hold of the shoulder the head belonged to and was whirling the woman around, a giddy grin on his face, "Bitta!" he cried in Symenos. Even though she was certainly not a little girl any more, Volinir never got tired of referring to her using the title, to the point where it had become a little (no pun intended) joke between them. "It's been too long!"

[Lixue]

Lixue was not certain where she was. This place.. it smelled like dirt and water, a scent that made Lixue's nose tingle. She felt as though her skin itself was musty from the stench and she needed a bath. Besides that, the place was dark and Lixue was not used this transition; to go from Avanthal, where the sun bounced off the snow, to this... this hole? Besides that, everyone seemed out to get her. Snarls and hisses were sent her way in a language Lixue did not know and some even went out of their way to spit at her. Tossed and turned in the moving crowd, Lixue was left with little choice but to go with the flow. Where they were headed, she did not know. And, really, Lixue did not care to find out. All she wanted was to go home! To return to her bed and dream of the unknown and hug her pillow. All she wanted was to wake up screaming to the nightmare and, after taking comfort in a warm cup of tea, curl up in the comfy chair Ly had always sat in. But no. Instead, she was stuck here in this unknown place with hostile people and stumbling blindly into the dim room. "Excuse me," Lixue murmured quietly when the crowd shoved her into someone else. The man bared his fangs at her and kept going after roughly shoving her away. Lixue stumbled and barely caught herself, no thanks to anyone else. In fact, she was certain she heard someone cruelly laugh. Stuffing away the panic and the question of what this nightmare was, Lixue kept going. Only too soon, she was shoved into another person. The individual was jolted to the side and barely caught her balance. Lixue, flabbergasted and exasperated, lunged forward to help. But the woman managed to right herself and gave Lixue a harsh shove, enough to send Lixue falling to the floor. "I am so sorry!" Lixue exclaimed, shocked at how hard she had been pushed and feeling guilty at possibly causing the woman harm. But the woman would hear none of it. "Stupid, azo!" the woman screamed and Lixue caught sight of her fangs. Unconsciously, she scrunched away. The woman, in her rage, drew her hand back and caught Lixue across the face. In the process of moving to her feet, Lixue was thrown to the side and into someone else. The person said something else, equally as cruel before tripping her. Lixue fell to her knees and her hand clutched her cheek, where pain had erupted. And then the situation was over, as soon as it had begun. Cradling her bleeding cheek and trying to keep the tears from flowing, Lixue turned and headed in the opposite direction of the crowd. This included moving in the path of others, but Lixue did not care and paid no mind to the swears and phrases thrown her way. She had to get out of this nightmare. Someone grabbed her shoulder. Lixue, certain it was another attack, shrunk away the person and tried to make herself smaller. This included folding her shoulders and ducking her head. When the person's hand moved, even a tiny bit, Lixue literally flinched as if she were expecting a blow. Then again, she was. Tears mixed freely with the bleeding scrapes on her cheek by now and Lixue resisted the urge to pull away from the person's hold. No, the last thing she wanted to do was upset another one of these... these monsters. Instead, she waited for the blow Lixue was certain would fall.

[Volinir Orchid]

Volinir had turned the woman around certain that he was about to see his long-lost sister. Imagine his surprise then when he saw a human with a cut cheek and watery eyes instead. One of the Symenestra nearby, a tall, fierce-looking man with vibrant red eyes gave Volinir a confused look. "Why are you talking to an azo like that, krova?" He might have been away from home a long time, but he knew what was going to happen to Lixue if she was left unattended for much longer. But he also couldn't be seen talking to a non-Sym. "Are your eyes failing you? She's obviously a half. A sister of my cousin's." he said with a nod. While Lixue wouldn't be able to understand their conversation in Symenos, a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder served to let her know she wasn't about to be assaulted again. "Really?" the other man said, reaching out and snatching Lixue's chin to make her look at him, his thumbnail digging into the soft skin under her jaw. "She doesn't look like a half..." His impromptu inspection was cut short by a quick swipe on his wrist by Volinir, who pulled the Vantha girl closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Quit it!" he snapped irritably. "All right, all right..." the red-eyed man said in an appeasing tone, his hands raised on either side of him. "What's her name?" "Lixue. Dra-Lixue." Volinir said quickly, hoping his fellow wouldn't notice the mistake. Red-eye frowned for a couple ticks, then shrugged. "You've got one heck of a cousin, Dra-Lixue." he sneered in Common, "A real giver. Take care not to let yourself get separated from him, hmm?" If Lixue opened her eyes, she would have seen the other Symenestra leering at her. Volinir breathed a sigh of relief as he walked off, but didn't take his arm away. "What are you doing here Lixue?!" he hissed under his breath in Common, "How did you even get in? Oh, never mind..." he said with a weary shake of his head, "Just keep close, and if anyone approaches, let me talk." There would be time to be mean later. For now, Volinir was more interested in making sure Lixue survived her unwilling visit to Kalinor. As such, he guided her to an empty seat near the back, and settled himself down. Quite a few others gave them strange looks, but that was all. If another of the blood had decided to take an outsider under his wing, he was eccentric for certain, but it was none of their concern, and they didn't press further, even when one got bumped out of the way. "You're lucky I found you," Volinir finally said when he was certain they weren't being stared at, "Most of my kind... Well, we'd never hurt each other, but we're a little defensive of our home. You would be too, if your people's entire population numbered less than a tenth of an average city's. I hope they didn't treat you too badly..." Despite their argument the last time they met, Volinir didn't want to see Lixue come to harm. Volinir didn't want to see anyone come to harm.

[Lixue]

Lixue resisted the urge to pull away from the man who had grabbed her shoulder. She wanted to run, far and fast. Back to Avanthal, where she would be accepted. Where these... monsters did not exist. Where the Vantha were generally accepting of most races, where people did not just claw someone across the face from a simple bump. Where... where all of this horrible stuff did not happen or exist. Instead, she was stuck here, in this cave that tickled her nose and smelled like dirt with people who had no problem laying their hands on her or causing her harm. With people who had fangs and nails sharper than a scalpel Lixue used. Where... where she was hurt without a second thought. Where a nightmare existed. Lixue was certain the man gave her shoulder a squeeze in the case that she was going to run and this was a reminder that he was stronger, faster, and more deadly than her. That she did not know the way out and would only meet more like him. And when another person grabbed her chin, Lixue squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to listen. Were they bartering over her? Seeing who got to hurt her first? Or was something else entirely happening, such as how to kill her? Get rid of her body and never let anyone know? She stumbled stiffly into the person's hold, knowing he was only keeping her near so she would not run. Would not do something stupid. So intent on her thoughts and the pain in her face, Lixue completely blocked out any sound. She did not want to hear her death being discussed or the methods of which to torture her. No, she wanted to go home and feel the chill of the snow on her skin and the warmth of her bed. She wanted to go back to being naive, to ignoring this side of the world. And when he lead her away from the spot on which they stood, Lixue was certain he was leading her to her death. Would it be quick? Painless? Or would this... this monster enjoy extracting screams from between her lips and making her body bleed in agony? But, to her surprise, Lixue was forced to sit. And the man sat beside her. He began speaking, but Lixue did not listen. No, she did not want to hear this person talking to her. Instead, Lixue curled her feet up under her, cradled her cheek and shook in both fear and pain. She kept her face angled away from him and pressed herself back into the seat. With only a courageous whisper to defend her, Lixue told the man, "Get... away from me."

[Volinir Orchid]

So that was a yes. The way Lixue tried to shrink into herself, and the fact that she didn't seem to be able to hear him were more than familiar to Volinir, and he knew what had caused it. The idea that just a few chimes in Kalinor could have hurt Lixue so made Volinir's heart clench. Perhaps she was a little more sensitive than most. She did, after all, not know misery very well. Why wasn't very important, however. How to make her feel better, on the other hand, was. Her plea went on completely deaf ears. Even if it would have helped, which Volinir didn't think it would, leaving Lixue on her own was tantamount to a death sentence, especially considering her gender. As such, he did what he felt was appropriate. He tried to cradle the little woman in his arms until she calmed down enough to think clearly again. "Ssh, it's me, Lixue..." he whispered, careful not to make any sudden movements, "It's Volinir. Listen, you're safe with me. Can you understand that? You're safe." The Symenestra kept on cooing reassurances into Lixue's ear until her shaking died down to a minor tremble, something that took a little longer than he had hoped, but at least happened. "There... Better?" Volinir asked softly, a gentle smile on his face. There would be time to be upset later. Right now was time to keep Lixue feeling safe and secure.

[Lixue]

Lixue jolted when the man touched her, even attempted to pull her arm away from his grasp. But the man was stronger than she in the current predicament, and perhaps in general, and Lixue lost the battle. Within ticks, she was sitting on the man's lap and he was cradling her, even rocking back and forth. This confused Lixue. Was he going to rape her? Or was he attempting to coddle her? Perhaps the man was just insane and believed Lixue to be a teddy bear or something. Then again, in such a horrible place, would they even have teddy bears? Could so cruel of people feel affection for an inanimate object if they felt nothing, judging from how they had treated her, for mankind? Only after Lixue's mind accepted the fact that it was Volinir did Lixue relax. Only a smidge, though. Enough for her to turn her face into his chest and cry salty tears silently. Only enough for her to push away the thoughts of ill and doubts of her life. Only enough for her to release the tight circle she had curled up into and mold against the man. The man that had saved her life. That promised to keep her safe and away from harm. But could he? Even though he had, if Lixue remembered correctly, kept her away from the grasps of one person, could he keep her away from the rest? Could Volinir stop others from causing her harm? Lixue's cheek had dried, leaving four long marks across her face and swelling. Blood dotted the area and Lixue's hand was covered in dried blood as well. There was a scrape across her knees where she had fallen and these stung/ But she was safe. Right? Repeating this motto to herself, Lixue slowly quit shaking. Every time someone around them even shifted, she moved closer to Volinir in an attempt to keep them from seeing her, lest the incident happen again. But she, with time, only trembled. And when Volinir asked if she was better, Lixue glanced up at him with still watery eyes and, after thinking it through, nodded.

[Volinir Orchid]

Thin fingers ran through Lixue's hair, smoothing out messy tufts jutting out at angles from the repeated falls, and hopefully soothed her panicked soul. Volinir just wished that Lixue would be more at ease, especially in his own home, and dream-Kalinor responded to his desire. A homey female Symenestra with gold eyes and a grandmotherly air sat down next to the two, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong with her, Volinir?" she asked. With the town so small, Volinir knew almost everyone by their first name, and everyone knew him. That, and it wouldn't do for a complete stranger to approach them, now would it? "You know how some people are..." he said morosely, holding Lixue a little tighter. "Someone cut her across the cheek." "Oh! You poor thing!" the elderly Sym cried in Common before joining Volinir in hugging the Vantha. "Some of the younger krova are just so cruel sometimes." she said disdainfully to Volinir before standing. "Are you going to stay in the Cobweb?" Volinir paused at that question. Was he? He desperately wanted to see the performance, and he might still find his family in the crowd somewhere, but Lixue was bleeding, and it wouldn't do for another, more aggressive Symenestra to notice them and get angry, or for the one he was speaking to start asking awkward questions. Then of course there was the question of the plot. If it was anything like most of the performances he had seen, Lixue would find the ending horrifying. That was not good for someone who was already horrified. As such, he shook his head at the older woman. "No... I think it's better we went home. Tell me what happened tomorrow?" "Of course!" the woman Sym said, pushing him gently out of his seat, "Now shoo!" Volinir didn't need telling twice. He'd ask Lixue if she could walk. If she could, he'd lead her out of the Cobweb, instructing her not to look anyone in the eye and to keep her hands in her pockets. Otherwise, he'd carry her out, garnering a few more puzzled looks from his kinsmen, but otherwise succeeding in leaving unmolested. Kalinor proper was too dim for Lixue to see properly, but from what was in her field of vision, she could be certain of one thing: Volinir wasn't lying about the roads. Reams of red silk as thick and sturdy as ropes stretched out from the exit, and Lixue would have to cling onto Volinir in a fashion not unfamiliar to her in order to use the streets. For Volinir, traveling on them was as easy as climbing a rope. Despite the dim of the cavern, Kalinor was a truly beautiful city, and not just to Volinir. Radiant pear-shaped houses, gem-like public buildings, and all other manners of architecture made up the cavern roof, though it was a little tricky for a non-Symenestra to see much of it. After about a dozen chimes or so of skittering, the pair reached a modestly sized house the color of marble. Dropping off at the entrance located near the top of the house, a quick trip down a small set of stairs took them to a rather strange looking home. For one, it was practically spherical, and for another, there were only a few large rooms in it, but numerous niches for sleeping and storing things. Since this was a dream and not the real Kalinor, Volinir's "room" was still well-stocked. A half-chime of searching netted them a cotton dab and some alcohol, and the Symenestra asked Lixue to take a seat on his bed while he treated her cuts. It was the only bit of medicine he was aware of, and that was only because he had seen it done by others, and, indeed, had it done on him.

[Lixue]

When the woman sat down next to them, Lixue could not help but to shrink into Volinir. It was a sign that she was calmer, however, when Lixue resisted the urge to flinch away or completely look in the opposite direction. It was an even better sign when Lixue did not let her eyes drop in a sign of submission, but focused in the general area of the woman's face. Unlike the people who had so cruelly hurt her, this lady looked... approachable. Perhaps in another time and another place, Lixue would have sought this woman's advice, as she reminded Lixue of Avanthal and their elders. But here? Lixue would not have sought this woman's advice for her life. No, Lixue had been scarred against Symenstras to some degree and it would take more than trusting one of their kind to ease her mind. Then again, did Lixue trust Volinir? Thinking back to the multiple times they had met, Lixue decided yes. Even when they had argued and she had been frightened of him, Lixue still trusted him. And she was not sure why. The man had done nothing to earn her trust and he had made her leave a patient, which should have totally obliterated the trust. But it had not and this confused Lixue to the point where she ignored it. At the hug, Lixue shrunk even more into Volinir. She had estimated the woman meant her no harm, but Lixue was taking no chances. However, as the dream had wished, the woman did ease some of Lixue's panic. The Cobweb? Was that was this was? Lixue took the time while they were speaking to carefully glance around. The room was dim enough to where she had to squint, but Lixue could make out a... was that a stage? Were all of these... Lixue resisted the urge to call them monsters. Were all of these people here to see a performance of some sort? Which meant Volinir was here to see the performance as well. A hint of guilt flooded her because Lixue knew she was detracting from the performance and, when Volinir asked her if she could walk, Lixue knew she was taking away something Volinir would have enjoyed. Lixue would have said yes, but the idea of walking into another one of those... people pushed her to shake her head in denial. While carrying her might have been more embarrassing for Volinir, and for this Lixue felt sorry, Lixue's fear took higher priority. Kalinor was interesting, from what Lixue could see. She was curious about the place of which she did not know the name, and wanted to learn about it. The people could be ignored. The thing that shocked Lixue the most, and should not have, was the roads. Volinir had not been lying on a previous meeting when he claimed the roads were popular. Too soon, or maybe it had been too long, they arrived at a road extending into the darkness. At least to Lixue's eyes it was darkness. Before Lixue was even aware of what was happening, Volinir had changed positions and they were hanging from one of the threads. Lixue, akin to before, hung onto Volinir. Lixue could only guess, but she assumed this was Volinir's home. An what an intriguing home. It was completely round and, from what Lixue could tell, only had a few rooms. There were holes in the walls and Lixue was interested to find out what those were for. While he searched for something, she wandered around, admiring. Lixue glanced for a bed before looking helplessly at Volinir. "A..bed?" There were no beds in sight! Only after his explanation did she seat herself in one of the niches and await whatever he was doing. Upon seeing the alcohol and cotton swab, Lixue gripped his wrist before he could place the liquid against her cuts. "No. When you are cleaning a wound, you should first wash it thoroughly with warm water. The temperature of the water allows for the skin to loosen and expand, instead of shrink and resist healing. Alcohol is to be used to sterilize something, but you cannot truly sterilize an injury with grains of dirt still in it. Thus, you must first give the alcohol a clean area with which to work."

[Volinir Orchid]

Volinir blinks a couple times in dull surprise when Lixue demonstrated her infinitely superior sense of medicine. "Erm... Okay? Perhaps you should clean it..." he said before handing off the dab and alcohol, feeling a little embarrassed. Water came from a simple tap, and there was a fireplace near the bottom of the house. As Lixue worked, Volinir decided to help ease the tension with a bit of idle conversation. "So... How's Kalinor so far? Other than the jerks you ran into. We're not all like that, it's just... Well, I said before, but you might not have heard me. There's not a lot of us, and we're not treated very well outside our city..." A very awkward idle conversation, if his mannerisms were any indicator.

[Lixue]

Even though Volinir had handed off the healing equipment, Lixue was not going to clean this herself. Besides the fact that it was on the side of her face, an area she could not see, Lixue knew Volinir needed to know how to clean a wound. Any normal person should know how to cleanse an injury and keep an infection from happening, was Lixue's motto. Because every person is injured sooner or later, whether by their own devices or not, and every person needed medical attention sooner or later. So, if a person could learn to take care of themselves, they could take more stress of the doctors who had more pressing matters to deal with. Matters that could mean life or death. Lixue did not know how good the doctors at... Ravok? Were and by teaching Volinir how to care for an injury could maybe even save his life. The tiniest of scratches could lead to death, after all. All it took was a brush with dirt or leaving an injury open to the air too long and infection would take over. The little red line of death would race toward the heart after the wound puckered and inflamed, warm to the touch. Plus, the injury hurt like a bitch. So, instead, Lixue set the tools off to the side and waited. Her hands felt over her cheek for signs of how bad the scratches were. She was looking specifically for the depth and width of the injuries. This would tell if stitches were necessary or not. If a fingertip could slide into the wound, Lixue would definitely contemplate stitches. Thankfully, her four scratches were not deep enough for stitches, but deep enough to cause worry. They would have to be cleaned out extensively not only because Lixue did not know how clean the air here was, but because she did not know how clean the nails were that had scraped her. Lixue snorted at Volinir's words. She was still trembling on the inside from what had happened and did not relish going back out there. Here, tucked inside the cocoon, Lixue felt... safe. Yes, safe. As though the monsters on the outside did not exist and as if they could reach the home, which was an absurd idea. Lixue knew if Volinir could reach the house with each and holding her weight, another Symenstra would be able to as well. "Kalinor is fine, gorgeous from what I can tell. You were not lying about the streets, I see. I must say, the smell is something to get used to. But, I am certain I only find it odd because I am not accustomed to it... Nor have I been inside a cave before." A pause as she fiddled with the water, checking the temperature with her finger. Not warm enough yet. "This is a cave, right? And not just some dark building? I mean. I would think it is a cave. It feels like one and smells like one. Plus, the darkness. I now see why you have such great vision," Lixue's eyes slid away, back to the water. "What was that place back there? I could see there was a stage, so I am guessing some type of performance. What kind?" Lixue shifted, brushing invisible dirt off of her shorts. "I am sorry for taking you away from it." Though she had no idea what Volinir had given up just to see to her, Lixue could only estimate that he had wanted to see the performance. "And other than those... jerks, I am fine. I think." Unconsciously, one hand drifted to brush over her scraped knees. Taking a mentally tally, Lixue nodded. "Yes, I am fine." Physically. A chuckle without mirth fell from her lips. "I guess you got your wish. No longer naive, right?" Testing the water, Lixue found it was hot enough to use. She sought some type of dish and scooped some from the pot. Setting it next to the alcohol and cotton swabs, Lixue glanced up at Volinir. "Come here, take a seat. You are going to learn how to handle a wound." It was not a choice but a demand. And when Volinir sat, Lixue pressed a cotton swab into his hand. "The best to use would be a rag, but this will do." Molding his hand with her own, she encouraged him to hold the swab between his thumb, forefinger, and middle finger. "Dip it into the water enough to get it wet. Do not let the excess water drip away. Then apply it to my top scratch." Even though she gave him instructions, Lixue, holding Volinir's fingers, did the task with him. The only place she needed help was knowing where the top scratch was. Lixue, with Volinir holding the swab, pressed it against her skin and let the warm water dribble down. She repeated this several more times, until her cheek was glossy with water and her neck wet. Only then did she have him set the swab off to the side. Using her own hand this time, Lixue prodded the scratches to open. This was a task that caused her mild pain and discomfort, but needed to be done. She let her eyes close as she did this, so as to not flinch or keep the skin pulled taut. Fresh blood fell from the injuries, but Lixue paid this no mind. "Bleeding is a good sign. If an injury is not bleeding, even when encouraged, you should worry. This means there may be an infection and infection is never a good thing to have. In fact, the closer the wound is to the heart, the more you should attempt to keep the injury clean. An infection nearest to the heart spreads quickly and can cause death easier." Reopening her eyes and blinking away what few tears had gathered, she ordered Volinir to continue with dabbing the water on her face. "Here, we are seeking to flush out dirt and bad blood. This is a simple step in the cleaning process and one that is most important. If you assume you have removed any and all of the dirt and bad blood, you move onto the next steps with a naive mind. You will be less inclined to be as precise when cleaning." Number Count1,054