Closed Search Party [Meville]

[Una Tanta]

"Er... Acting the fool? Certainly, I apologize if my quixotic propensities have lead you to your current state of opinions regarding my character, though I can't say I have any sort of inkling regarding the tavern scene you seem to recall my presence at!" Una chewed her lip as form of reply suddenly unsure. Her first night here had been so hazy. She had never been to a tavern before and was intensely adverse to drinking after Cys drunken landing in the ocean but that night she had been so perilously tipsy she was sure she had heard talk of this exploration. "Of course, I may have just forgotten. I tend to do that on a regular occasion." Meville shrugged and Una watched him silently as he chattered on. She wasn't adverse to speaking up, as a storyteller she indeed loved the sound of voice and was always amazed what the maneuvers of the tongue could do but this young man did love to prattle on. His use of common was so musical it dangled over Unas ears like the chimes of Char. "I'm not very fond of taverns to begin with, mind you. They're such noisy, dirty places. It's not so much the squalor as the clientele, actually. Drunkards and loose-lipped people are entertaining enough, but they dull faster than a sword of ice in a pit of fire. Really, they're completely and effortlessly impressionable! Not a challenge at all. Alcohol, Una, is the destroyer of puzzles." Eyes widening, she couldn't help but grin in admiration. His opinion was not one widely held in Avanthal where oft times one would rush to the nearby tavern to unthaw. Or at least to convince oneself they were warm at the bottom of a pitcher. He nodded, cracking the stick in half making Una start and lose her train of thought. The lenses that protected her delicate eyes slid back slowly, a gesture she only did when she wished to peer intensely at someone. Her faint pink eyes stare unblinking and ran over his form carefully watching him frown in her direction with disbelief. "Then I must be wrong." She replied swiftly ending the inquiry not wanting to admit she may have misspoke. "Speaking of puzzles, she gazed at the twig he had snapped and smirked...I have an idea..." Standing she took the twig from his hands careful not to touch his skin. Human skin gave her goosebumps. "You are very well spoken for an idiot," She teased glancing at him playfully her white eyelids back in place. She had decided in those few swift moments that he was not like the Vantha she had met. Ever since landing in Avanthal she had been met with countless childlike human bandits. Pretending at being adult they dashed around like mad guppies through the snow. She didn't condemn frolick but she found the Vantha increasingly bothersome and frivolous with their energy. Here was potentially the first man she had met since arriving in Avanthal besides the iceguards, and she was embarrassed that his likeness to Cy had thrown her. "Taking out the animal fat and flint and steel she broke off a chunk and offered it to Meville, "My name is Una Tanta, It is a pleasure to meet you. Now, before we both get frost bitten lets get started. If we warm the animal fat between our hands and roll it out and around your sticks. If we can light the stick long enough and hot enough it should act as a wick. It wont be as warm as a fire, but it will heat the inside of the tent and wont emit any smoke to attract wild animals." She explained, she had never spent a night in the wild but an avid reader she had thoroughly explored Northern Taldera through her books. Kneading the animal fat gently and warming it in her hands she pressed back into the fur of the tent the cold starting to make her hands shake and her cheeks flush pink. Keeping an eye on the man near her she willed herself to like him and for his childish antics to cease. She was tired of selfish childish antics and potentially in her exasperation was risking imposing what she wanted to see on someone rather than truly seeing what they were.

[Meville Brightshade]

Charoda were surprisingly unnerving when their... Eyecoverings? receded and exposed the bare orb beneath. It was almost like she was peering into some dark, hidden place he kept from the world with an effortless gaze and frown of her own. He wasn't entirely sure he enjoyed it, but he made a mental note to remember the aquatic race had the ability to do exactly what Una had just done. It had caught him off-guard, so when she admitting to having been mistaken, it took a few beats before Meville could process what she'd said. In that short time, she'd drawn nearer, taking the stick out of his hands with a delicate, careful motion as she professed to an idea. Apparently there was a better way for them to stay warm in which both Meville and Una could equality contribute to. He smiled happily as he allowed her to continue on uninterrupted. She'd been kind enough to let him drawl on, so it was only just he'd allow her that nicety.

Her double edged compliment was, regardless of any acidity, a nice precursor to her elucidation. He happily smiled his amusement as she drew out a chunk of what looked like congealed soup. Biting his lower lip, Meville hesitantly held out his hand to receive Una's gift, recoiling slightly as the oily substance yielded to the heat of his hand. Uncertain what to do with it, he began to raise it to his mouth, assuming the rather repulsive substance was meant to be ingested. Thankfully, Una spoke quickly enough that he soon realized the fat was meant to be used to create a make-shift torch of sorts, though less for light and more for heat. Apparently the question about alternative heat sources had just been a test he'd miserably failed. What a strange sort of woman this "Una Tanta".

The name itself was a bit foreign on his mind's tongue. Tanta. It was almost Vani-sounding. Perhaps the language of the Charoda... Charr? Perhaps it was similar to Vani. He'd heard the amphibious race had a musical language. Immediately he wondered what Una might sound like in her native tongue. Was it comparable to Vani? Better even? He wouldn't know unless he got her to speak in it, but asking straight out seemed a bit too bland for his tastes.

Following suit, Meville rolled the fat around, sticking his tongue out in disgust at how the stuff felt against his skin. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but after awhile, it began to conduct the heat of his palms and slowly warmed the chilly tips of his fingers. "This is... Mmm..." He squatted down near the front of Una's make-shift tent, glaring at the slowly melting fat in his hands. "I don't particularly enjoy the first part of your plan, Una Tanta."

Common | Vani

[Una Tanta]

She laughed boisterously and grinned at him, "Do you expect to enjoy all things you do?" Turning she handed him one of the pieces of stick and taking one of her own began rolling the fat around the stick. Eye ridges wrinkled with concentration she fumbled with the softening fat. Wherever her hands lay for too long it grew too soft and where it was exposed to the cold it grew brittle and snapped off. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. The depths of the ocean were so devoid of distractions she found the land and snow distracting and often closed her eyes to think deeply sinking beneath the darkness as effortlessly as she did the rim of water. Without the mark of Morwen the cold was making her mind thick and heavy, struggling to move her fingers to continue kneading the fat she blushed in awe. Hands much larger than hers and just as nimble as if he were in the heat of a building he had constructed an awkward but passable candle. The pride on his face reminded her instantly of Cy making her heart tremble slightly, smiling back at him she exchanged sticks with him and slipped beneath the furs. The tent creaked in the wind forcing her to try and tie the floor and walls together tighter but her numbed fingers were useless, she could barely grip the candle let alone weave the intricate path to knot the cords. She could feel the fringes of panic on her heels as she took out the flint and steel. It was supposed to make fire...wasn't it? Growling inwardly at herself she blamed herself for wasting time watching his antics and scanning the area, They should have started the fire ages ago. If she had been without this fool she realized she'd likely die. The thought made her stumble, panic creeping up her ankles. "It looks like I'm the fool..." She murmured to herself. Glancing at Meville she caught her breath. She had seen Meville before, he had been at the tavern that night. Just as suddenly he slipped into the image of various other Vantha she had met thus far. Her mistake earlier had been a warning sign, one no amount of reading could have prepared her for. The delusions that came with the mind chilling cold of Northern Taldera. So focused on the challenge before them she hadn't noticed how cold she had gotten, it's effects took over quickly now. The water in her boots from the long hike froze, and the tension in her muscles from the attempted climb down became rigid with frost. Panic disappeared and she closed her eyes. Tired..she decided the thought moving like molasses along her conscience. Catching Meville's gaze she saw Cy before her again. His haunting visage wavering before her. Maybe she could have fought it, but she so badly wanted it to be true. Embracing the cold Una crawled into Meville's lap. If the cold brought her back Cy then the cold was welcome to have her. She closed her eyes.

[Meville Brightshade]

Una's laugh was met with a playfully defiant glare. "Yes, actually, I do. I don't have time to waste with unpleasantries." After which, he busied himself with smoothing the fat over the broken stick. It was a lot more difficult than Una had made it sound, as the fat had to be spread uniformly over the stick's tip before it froze. Once frozen, it didn't take much to break the stuff off, so Meville moved his hand slowly and steadily. The wind had begun to pick up, as Una had warned, and Meville found himself hunching more against the cold. Despite her logical rebuttal to his exercise proposal, he was glad he'd done the jumping jacks as his body was at least marginally warmer than it might have been. The tent was also a good help as it protected the two of them from the brunt of the increasingly powerful breeze.

He glanced over at Una once he'd finished his make-shift torch, checking her progress. For whatever reason, she'd closed her eyes. Perhaps... Concentration? Her eyes opened, meeting with his own. Both smiled at the other, and exchanged sticks. Apparently she wasn't quite able to handle wrapping the fat, which wasn't entirely surprising. Meville had little idea how he'd managed it in the first place. Her more talkative nature had dwindle with the increasing cold, so he hurriedly began rolling the oily substance between his increasingly cooling fingers so that he might quickly make the second torch. Neither one of them was well equipped for the freezing temperatures of the tundra.

Once he'd finally gotten the second candle completed, a large gust of wind shook their little shelter for the worse. Una moved in a surprisingly sluggish manner to try to refasten the bindings that held the whole structure together. She seemed to be succumbing to the cold around them, but Meville didn't really know what to do to stop it. Instead of saying anything, he just knelt down and began trying to tie the ropes on his side of the tent. Having very little skill with such things, he wasn't sure if he'd fixed anything or just made it worse. His concerns were interrupted by the tired voice of the Charoda behind him. "What?" He turned back to face her and let out a slight squeek of surprise as he toppled into his lap.

"Oh dear. Oh no. No no no no..." Meville set the candle down upon the firs, gingerly rubbing Una's shoulders. "Una? Una Una Una, no going to sleep out here. That's a very unwise thing to do!" She didn't really seem to be responding to his supplications. He chewed upon his lower lip, glancing around the tent. Her weight wasn't unbearable, but it was certainly restricting - especially due to the cold hampering his finer motor skills. On the bright side, where her body connected with his was much warmer than before, so he awkwardly leaned across her, trying to bring back the heat into her scaly skin through rubbing.

It didn't really seem to be working. Meville knew that should she continue sleeping, her chances of survival would be much slimmer than not; however he couldn't decide if waking her would be conducive to their survival. If she woke and became frantic, it was likely she'd get the two of them killed. Yet, if Meville did nothing and allowed her to continue on into the land of dreams, she'd at best begin to lose limbs. Struggling beneath her weight, Meville was able to squirm enough to reach the flint. Having no idea how the rock made fire, Meville did the first logical thing: bashed the things together. Sparks flew, landing impotent upon the damp hairs of the fir. "Blasted flint." Several more smacks of the infernal rocks resulted in a sputtering flame upon on of their "fat candles".

Now that fire had been made, Meville wasn't sure what to do with it. On one hand, he was extremely pleased he'd been able to light his stick. On the other, Una was still passed out in his lap and the heat was marginal. "Una? Una, you should wake up now. I've lit the-" Another gust of wind rocked the tent as a string snapped at the flap blew off into the sky in a fluttering flurry. The candle was promptly blown out and Meville braced himself against the freezing cold. "Gods' damn it, Una! Wake up" At this point, Meville was no beyond slapping the woman to wake her. Two swift strikes to her cheeks were enough to make her stir.

He was able to shimmy out from under her, frantically wrapping her in the firs. The wind was really picking up now, creating a forlorn sort of howling that sent shivers down his spine (joining in with his already shaking body). "Una. We have to go to the cave." They were too exposed now, but Meville wasn't sure if he could drag his semi-conscious companion all the way to the entrance, let alone a few paces. His projection wasn't strong enough to assist him, and even if - forbid it - he used leeching, there weren't any strong sources of magic around he could use to fuel him enough. He grit his teeth and bent down, gripping the firs as he began to shout out he needed help. Gods be merciful, he'd get them into that cave one way or another.

Common | Vani

[Una Tanta]

Her cheeks were already cold and numb, but the sound and swift painful warmth created by the friction woke her momentarily. "Mmm.." she mumbled to herself. Her surroundings were blurred and whirred slowly around her. As a sea creature she did not emit much heat into the furs to warm herself, however the warmth emitted by Meville collected in the fur slowly restoring the warmth. Precious too slow. "Una. We have to go to the cave." Meville demanded exasperated to Unas ears. She tried to stand wobbling on feet she couldn't feel. "Cave?" She murmured confused, the entire world looked like a blackening cave to her. The rest of the party was too far within, unless they got closer to the cave entrance they couldn't possibly hear his cries for help. As he moved toward the entrance Una resisted. Moving hurt, she could feel the cold like needles prickling over her skin. The growling began. Above the howling of the wind could be heard the seething growl of the Taldera wilderness. The entirety of it seethed angrily around the invaders beating them harder with the elements in its fury. Una rose at this, she had felt it in the waters at home and no matter the circumstances when this unidentifiable change occurred in the waters, you ran. Stumbling and falling over herself in desperation, dragging the sleeping mat behind her and the backpack in the other hand, Una made her way toward the cave entrance. As they fell into the darkness the howling grew as it echoed around them but the gusts receded behind them. Falling to her knees Una clutched the fur around her and gazed up at Meville panting streams of snow melting on her skin and dripping down over her eyes and lips. "We need a fire..." She stressed. Fumbling through her backpack with numb fingers she pulled out the cotton clothes she had. They were faintly moist but drier than anything else. "Is cotton flammable?" She asked wearily struggling against the darkness that encroached on her vision. They were both bleary and shaking from the cold. But awakened Una forced herself to keep going and to stay awake, if she didn't...she'd die and maybe kill Meville too. Emptying her backpack she added it to the pile and gazed up at Meville. "Give me yours too. Where are the candles, flint, and steel?" Across her cheek spread a deep red hand print as she spoke. Touching it she felt it swell slightly under her fingers but the painful reminder kept her awake. She just hoped it would keep her awake long enough to get them out of this mess. She didn't realize it but she felt unconsciously responsible for him, he reminded her so much of Cy, she wanted to care and protect him instantly.

[Meville Brightshade]

Finally, by some stroke of luck or the like, Una rose to to her feet, albeit agonizingly slowly, with shaking limb and weary eye. Meville tugged her along, at first trying to coax her with cooing noises and positive sort of "Let's go, Una!". She resisted to the point where had resorted to loudly shouting at anything that could hear them. "Come on, Una! I realize you're not exactly built for freezing winds and heavy snowfall, but it would behoove you to-" Una tugged against him, moaning about something or other being in pain. "Well if you'd just move your gods be damned feet, maybe we could address-"

The howl of something nasty hidden from their sight by the swirling snow all about them kept him from saying anything more. Something about the sounds of a ferocious and dangerous wild was enough to push Una back from her semi-conscious state enough to make a dash for the cave, closely behind Meville. The initial calls were answered by more and more, until it was difficult to discern what was beast and what was element in the swirling flurries of world outside the cave. Thankfully, they both were able to find sanctuary in the marginally warmer caverns. Meville, not usually one for praying, did so now, muttering thanks to Morwen for allowing the two of them to escape what surely could have been a very nasty demise.

Almost immediately, Una collapsed, falling to her knees but retaining consciousness. She insisted they build a fire, but her voice was so faint, Meville had to kneel down beside her. Clumsily drawing the contents of her backpack out, Una began to fade slightly, but managed a question. "Er yes, I think so." He gently took the cloth from her shaking hands and set it aside to begin the pile. They were damp, but assuming they could get a good spark, Meville was fairly certain they'd burn.

Una dumped the remainder of her pack upon the measly pile, then turned to with a drowsily expectant look. She wanted his pack as well. Meville sighed, sliding the pack off of his shoulders and grabbing the food he'd packed and tossing it to the side before dropping the rest on the pile. Finally, she asked for the fire starting tools. Patting himself down, Meville gave Una a slightly panicked look before his numbing hands slammed against the flint and steel in his pocket. Letting out a sight of relief, Meville snatched them out and frowned. I think... I think the candles are still back there."

It was really more of a fact. In the confusion, Meville had had to chose between the sticks of fat or Una. At the current point in time, it seemed as though he'd made the wrong choice. "Maybe the seaweed?" Meville turned and stooped down to gather up some of the dried seaweed, carefully placing it near the middle center of the stack from top to bottom. "Mmm alright..." From there, he sort of banged the rocks together.

Common | Vani

[Una Tanta]

Watching him pat himself down, Unas eyes met Mevilles and she felt her heart pound with panic. The sudden exhalation made Una beam and thank the gods for their good fortune. "Maybe the seaweed?" Meville turned and stooped down to gather up some of the dried seaweed, carefully placing it near the middle center of the stack from top to bottom. "Mmm alright..." From there, he sort of banged the rocks together. Una gazed at him wordlessly impressed that he could move and function in the cold. The rocks sparked slightly but no flame ignited despite Mevilles attempts. "Meville...I don't think this is going to work..." She gazed at him eyes wide. Panic made her shake harder, closing her eyes she thought hard. "We have to go into the cave..." she murmured quietly gazing into the depths, "We need to find the next team...they'll have a fire. We can't last tonight on our own. Coming here. Helping them. We're just dead weight." She stared at the icy ground her eyes widening slowly. "Meville! Look!" She exclaimed. There was a small stream of water trickling around their legs, sparks had landed from the flint and ignited the water. "The water!" It's on fire!" Deep relief left Una warm and she grabbed the cotton and seaweed trying to get the fire to catch on the clothes. It caught easily to Unas disbelief and she quickly piled the clothing together watching the fire build. Kneeling before the fire she closed her eyes and touched her forehead to the water as she prayed, "Dearest mighty lord Laviku, We thank you for your generosity of firey water and for saving us from the Talderan Wilderness. Never again will we disrespect the gods domain with ill preparedness." Raising her forehead from the water she gazed at Meville eyes reflecting the intensely hot methane lit water. "And thank you. For slapping me." She added cheekily the red mark on her cheek incandescent in the firelight. OOCBiogenic gas is created by decomposing organic material and is found in pockets close to the surface. Colorado has seen water lighting on fire due to methane gas caused by fracking. I read this in the paper and thought it was a perfect way to have them realistically get fire (as this is something that happens in coal mines too sometimes). Something they could blame on Laviku without ACTUAL godly intervention ;p

[Meville Brightshade]

Still smashing the two things in his hands together, Meville gave Una a look that was somewhere between concern and bitter mirth. "It's true. I can't decide what's more dangerous: staying here or going farther in." He sighed, nodding his head in agreement with her. Their very presence on the frozen tundra was poorly thought out to begin with. Of course, it was highly unlikely whoever had drafted the teams together had realized just how very little use the two of them would be. Still, Meville decided not to dwell on it all that much. The past was the past. It wouldn't help their present at this point.

At Una's exclamation, Meville dropped the flint and steel in surprise, jumping back from the literally fiery liquid at his feet. "W-what-?" Though his eyes widened with surprise, his chilly face broke out into a beaming grin. Whatever sort of luck or divine magic, they now had a heat source. Apparently, Una seemed to think it was Laviku's doing. The notion seemed a little silly, but the water was on fire. Meville scooted nearer to the flames, wiggling his fingers near the warmth in an attempt to thaw them out some.

He'd spent a large portion of his life learning to cope with stunted range of motion, as he'd never received a mark from Avanthal's resident goddess. So, despite being chilled through and through, he could still manage better than most in freezing temperatures, though not nearly as long. Meville had been close to his limit and was glad to now be able to relax some. The fire was surprisingly hot - perhaps due to the origin of the flame -, but it wasn't going to last forever. His blue eyes gazed down into the darkness of the cave, but common sense kept him from calling out into the cavernous abyss. He'd heard about cave-ins from Iceglazes before. If one caused enough of an uproar, it was common for parts of tunnels to collapse. Why, exactly, Meville wasn't really sure. The fact that it happened, though, he was relatively certain of. The last thing he and Una needed was to bury themselves and their group members beneath gods only knew how much ice.

When Una had finished praying, she added a little something directed at Meville. He grinned sheepishly and chuckled, "Ah, yes well... That may not have been my brightest moment, but you're welcome all the same." Biting on his lower lip as he scooted back some from the overwhelming heat of their temporary fire, Meville knit his brow. "I'm no expert in the realm of combustion or fiery longevity, but I can't imagine this flame will last us long enough to hold out indefinitely." He pressed his cool fingers against his burning lips, running the chilled digits over the rise and fall of the skin. It would seem they've gone quite far in. I can't make out any sort of illumination from here."

Though Meville much preferred huddling near the fire, he was no fool. Once the flames died, it wouldn't be long before they would be in a situation similar to the one they had just narrowly escaped. Rising now, he brushed himself off and nodded at Una. I'll go ahead and see if I can find them. I shouldn't be more than a couple chimes." Before she could speak - or even worse, protest -, he quickly continued, his bright and happy smile dancing in the strangely silent flames. "You stay here. I can handle myself in the cold a good deal better than you can at this point. Just stay warm." He nodded, adding in as an after thought: "Ah, and safe." Before slapping his cheeks and shaking his head in preparation for his - hopefully short - foray into the semi-darkness.

Common | Vani

[Una Tanta]

Mute Una watched him rise, "I'll go ahead and see if I can find them. I shouldn't be more than a couple chimes." Meville suggested rising and moving quickly toward the darkness. Stumbling to her feet and after him her toes so numb she couldn't feel them beneath her and only managed to walk by concentrating intensely. "You stay here. I can handle myself in the cold a good deal better than you can at this point. Just stay warm. Ah, and safe." He suggested. Frowning at him Una caught his arm as he strode away yanking him to a halt. "If either of us had been alone for the last hour we would have died. We should stay together, I can keep up." Ignoring any dispute Una took a step toward the darkness an arm linked with his. As they made their way into the depths the little glass bobbles decorating Una's ears and skin began to glow, illuminating the air around them as they did in the dark of the ocean floor. Her mother came from a long line of deep dwelling Charoda which not only gave Una her unique white pink colour but endowed her with the bobbles. Many deep sea created had a form of illumination but it was a quality rarely seen by humans who never encountered such remote lifeforms. The white blue glow made the icy floor more navigable and illuminated the icy walls to sparkle around them. The silence and dazzling lights made her sleepy making her movements slower and more awkward than before. "It's always the case isn't it?" She asked Meville, conversing to keep herself awake. "The most beautiful things are the most deadly, like your Polar Bears and Morwen." She added. It didn't need saying, it was something everyone knew, but the statement meant more to her than the danger of poisonous spiders or the ice that now choked them. Like the cold that numbed her limbs beautiful things were transient and sneaky, they slipped up around you. Ugly things never did that, no matter what people said, everyone always had an eye on the ugly. "When we get back to Avanthal I am going to curl up in the middle of a fireplace and drink hot soup for the rest of my life." She purred, the idea bringing euphoric goosebumps to her arms. "What are you going to do when we get back? Do you have a family?"

[Meville Brightshade]

For a half-dead, mostly frozen deepsea dweller, Una was incredibly tenacious and pushy. On top of that, she wasn't entirely the most cheery of companions. Meville chattered out a little chuckle as she linked arms with his. "Strength comes in numbers, or some sort of metaphor of the like, yes?" She was right, of course, that they stood a better chance together than apart. The miraculous fire had warmed the two of them enough to allow them to continue on, and it was already starting to die off as it faded into the distance behind them. Before them loomed a murky darkness that echoed each and every little sound, ricocheting about until the origins were lost in the muted cacophony.

Strangely enough, the darkness did not envelop them in a consuming blanket of blindness. In fact, it began to recede, pushed back by a gentle, cool light. Meville glanced around, initially confused by the change of lighting until he realized the source of the strange illumination. "Well now, that's a handy sort of bauble." It seemed Una's company was much more than just moral support. A small grin crept across his face as the light swelled and weaned with the bobbing of their steps, illuminating the icy walls with a surreal, sparking grandeur that carried with it the subtle threat of frozen death. Meville shivered at the thought of it. Freezing to death was, out of the myriad of possibilities, near the bottom of his list of "ways to die horribly".

Una had, once again, began to drag her feet, leaning upon him more and more heavily as they continued. Meville did his best to push back against her, using their conflicting forces to ease the burden of walking for the two of them. When she spoke, her voice seemed distant, dreamy. His laughter bounced around the scintillating walls around them, a playful echo interrupting the monotonous sound of their feet. "Hazard hides her face behind many a mask, but that of something pleasing is certainly one of her more dangerous visages." Ironically, the two things Una had mentioned weren't quite Meville's opinion of "beauty", yet the point still stood, and it was sound enough he felt no need to point out polar bears were, if anything, more majestic than beautiful. As for Morwen... Perhaps she was a better example than Meville wanted to give her credit for.

Una's secondary statement brought fourth another chuckle from Meville, helping to keep his mind off of the bitter fact they had yet to hear any sounds of activity ahead of them. "Soup for an entire lifetime doesn't strike me as something particularly desirable, even given these circumstances!" His grin stretched wide, Meville gave Una a merry wink, slightly tugging up on her arm to help straighten her up some. "But self-conflagration is something I would not be beyond considering at this point." Though, perhaps, given the chance to jump into the middle of a fire, Meville doubted he'd actually go that far. Very near, for certain, would be the minimal proximity, but death by fire was almost as unappealing as by frost.

At Una's next question, Meville shrugged, an awkward motion as one of his arms was burned with the weight of the Charoda. "Once, I had a father and mother, but never a family, no." Flexing his fingers some to make sure they were still functioning more or less correctly, Meville continued in his usual cheery way, unperturbed by the subject matter at hand. "But anything involving warmth, vittles, and cushioned sanctuary will do me just fine upon our return." Shooting Una a sly grin, Meville finished with, "Which, you should know, is a certainty, not a speculation."

Common | Vani