[Catholicon] What Goes Up, Must Come Down (Ollic)

by **Arysana** on October 29th, 2013, 11:16 am

Speech | Thoughts

Ollic’s eyes went shock blue, and he gave her a stammered apology. Sana wanted to interject, to tell him that it was all very well quite fine, but he drove onwards, his eyes quickly returning to a quizzical green. Perhaps that hue of blue was the tell-tale sign for sadness, she thought fleetingly, his words quickly taking her attention.

She’d decided that she liked his voice. However, there was no particular pitch or tone or ring to it that drew her in, nothing like the sweetness of those she worked with or roughness of her parents; if anything, it was far closer to that of her brother’s. Ollic’s voice seemed to make good use of his vocal cords, without sounding like some Inarta who hadn’t grasped the concept that common tongue isn’t a song – like Kade, she thought (who somehow kept his Nari twang for years after becoming fluent in common).

Some of Ollic’s words came from deep within his throat and lungs, some escaping him like a sigh, others caught and coarse. There was nothing false, as far as she could tell – with many of those she’d met putting on some bizarre tone to come off more professional, or intelligent, or whatever than they were. The only thing that truly had her doubt the man’s sincerity was the conflict that sometimes rose in those eyes of his.

They reminded her of a picture book, the kind of that only the mind of child could ever truly understand. There was an unspoken language to it, far greater than words and syllables, than tones and tunes. Every colour swirled and shifted with feeling, they spoke volumes not of pretty sights of fleeting thoughts, they were raw and true. Even those most combed and practiced still lost to their own bodies from time to time. This couldn’t be too much of a bad thing, she thought, thinking most explicitly about how rare honesty often was to come by. But then again, she reminded herself – everyone deserves their privacy, and if one can’t take refuge in their own minds, then where else could they?

His rundown was simple and sweet, though her lack of knowledge in the field of anatomy had her inherently glad he’d toned down the technical language. She knew of sprains, her mother incurring several in their journey to Lhavit, but in terms of definitions, her knowledge went little further than ‘hurts a lot [apparently].’ Although she was glad to know the textual definition, going through the joy of being subject to the pain, herself, was an entirely different matter. She supposed she owed her mother an apology, and a deep one at that.

Her breath heaved in relief. Nothing serious, nor permanently damaging; although, there was a lingering pain in her hand, and a strange sensation that could have equally been the sprain itself or the awkwardness of having her wrist set straight.

His words slipped into a short silence, and Sana’s gaze on him went soft. He sounded out of breath, almost beaten and tired. The look was similar to what she often saw her parents wear, but there was a pained shadow to him that didn’t sit quite well in her gut.

He gave a raise to his eyebrow and asked for any questions, another shift in the colour of his eyes at the end of words.

Questions? Oh, she had plenty. Although some, she supposed, weren't particularly relevant. “How about…” she began, sorting through her mental list, leaning forward as she assumed a thoughtful position. “We start with the little things – do I really need to properly wash and bandage little things? Like small cuts and scrapes from things like brushing against a stone wall?” It was a fair enough question, right? She’d often give such things a little rinse before either applying a shoddy bandage or letting it heal itself, but she figured there had to be a line somewhere.

“Where do you think the line is for things like that?” She knew no more words were needed, but felt a need to over explain, as she always did. “I mean,” she said, gesturing to her left arm, “This kind of thing obviously requires medical attention-” She could say that now, now that she was acting as though she were rather responsible, “But I’m honestly quite confused when it comes to the, uh, not-so-obvious injuries.”

One question at a time, she told herself.

OOC :

Character sheet · by **Ollic Rimesage** on November 2nd, 2013, 1:22 am

He had gotten into his own narration as if he had stepped inside someone else’s dreams, watching from a safe distance as they envisioned mythical creatures or divine sanctuaries with beautiful souls wandering aimlessly up and down trees, seeking for adventure and uncommon knowledge.

He had sat back and enjoyed listening to him speak, something he rarely found himself doing. He wasn’t one who wanted to hear himself speak for personal attention. In fact, he despised attention and wished to be one with the walls, in the shadows, in the corner of the darkest part of the room so that no one would talk to him.

Unless it was relevant to work or perhaps he had happened to know the person he was speaking with, he would develop him usually strong social anxiety and begin to claw at his hands until they were swollen and bleeding or he would bite the inside of his mouth until he couldn’t speak at all.

But sometimes things weren’t so easy to understand; they weren’t so obvious and that is when Ollic hated himself the most. When he was indecisive about his own thoughts or actions, he couldn’t help but panic inside. Life wasn’t easy, it never had been and it most certainly never will be, and this was something increasingly hard to understand and accept.

Take this exact moment in time for example, as Ollic stood and stared at his patient’s face for what seemed like the longest time after he had asked her whether or not she had any questions for him. Part of him wanted her to not and be ridden of him, but another side of him wanted to be comforted by having someone to talk to and collaborate with whether he knew them or not.

It seemed to be the latter Ollic was matched up against and that particular side sighed with relief while the other side writhed in pain from the ceaseless act of defeat that had been bestowed upon it.

“We start with the little things-“ and as she was speaking of little things, Ollic’s attention wasn’t drawn from her determined expression for even a millisecond, for it was the little things that made a difference and it was Ollic who had seen this hand first.

It was a day in Autumn not long ago when he had seen a squirrel trying its hardest to open the shell of an unidentifiable nut. The squirrel, Ollic observed, was nimbling and biting and scratching at the nut like it was the last nut on the planet; his last dying wish at a meal. Ollic had become so intrigued in watching this tiny squirrel try to open the nut that he nearly laughed at himself. That was until the squirrel broke the nut into two.

This kind of action caused Ollic to realise that if you kept at something and made small corrections or small decisions that a large and potentially triumphant out turn could occur.

“Yes,” he told Arysana, revisiting reality in the present. “You need to always wash even the smallest cuts. Small beings called bacteria can get inside even a simple cut and cause an infection, which is terrible if not treated.”

However, her next question was compelling. Whether or not there was a line drawn to specific things such as that wasn’t something that Ollic had been asked before, so he had no direct and instant answer. Thankfully, Arysana continued to explain what her meaning was behind her words. He didn’t want to hinder their current conversation with his own words seemingly out of line or disrespectful.

He never liked it when someone took his words and turned them around on him whether they knew that they had misheard him or not. It was just disrespectful the way they acted as if they somehow knew what he meant when in reality they hadn’t a clue.

“This kind of thing obviously requires medical attention,” she began and Ollic replied to her mild hesitation with the cock of his head. What was it she was hinting at? What answer did she request for her question?

And then his own questions about Arysana’s unstable and timid behavior were answered. Of course they were answered with questions, but they were all the more answered. The not-so-obvious injuries? What did she mean by that? Was there something else she was hiding? Something she feared would be harmful to her if it weren’t mentioned?

With a curious stare, a mixture of confusion giving his evergreen tree shaded eyes a blazing orange glow, he pressured the words out of her mouth.

“What do you mean by that question?” he asked her, “Is there something else you aren’t telling me?”

by **Arysana** on November 3rd, 2013, 7:22 am

Speech | Thoughts

Sana's mouth went dry, and a violent shudder shot down her spine. "No, no. Gods, no." She took in a shaky breath, and moved herself around in her seat, suddenly finding herself anything but comfortable. She swallowed hard, overthrown by the allegation thrown at her. She tried not to focus too much on the blaze of Ollic's eyes, the colouration reminding her of Elsie, or rather, the colour the Vantha's irises took when she was in a fit of ire.

She supposed that Ollic's identity would be different, but she couldn't sever that simple association, and having known the man for far too little to be able to truly understand the meaning of his eyes. "That's," she began, struggling with her words, not sure if she was to defend or explain, or question his assertion. "That's not quite," Her words were awkward and forced, mouth dry and a lump in her throat making the formation of words all the more a challenge.

"It's not that," she managed, trying to choose her words wisely, evidently failing as they came out as a broken mess. She tried to analyse her own behaviour, to think back to her own shoddy wording and body language, determined to discern what part of her had Ollic rile suspicion. Once she knew that, she could actually answer the question in a way that wasn't simply assuming his meaning.

Her eyes fell to her arm, and then to the gooseflesh she saw on her leg, before she found herself assuming a gist as to what could have been her problem. She let her gaze find Ollic's hard expression once more, and felt bad - horrible, even. "I'm not hurt, other than this," she said, finally; voice smooth and calm, but quickly breaking.

"My question-" Gods, what was it she asked, again? "It was more aimed towards future references, and past experiences." It was more of a reiteration that explanation… but that was enough, wasn't it? Were doctors allowed to force such things from their patients? A lack of change in Ollic’s expression had her realise her own naivety, and she noted that had the roles been reversed, she'd have not been satisfied with the response, either.

She found herself straightening her back, taking great care in the placement of her wrist, before preparing to tell a tale, of sorts. “I’ve just had a few bad experiences with these kinds of things,” she was having problems speaking, as though there were rocks in her mouth. She took in a deep breath, “Such as, when I was younger, my family traveled here from Wind Reach… at first we stayed with my Aunt, Lyanne, for several years – initially it was only supposed to be until my parents could afford a place of our own.” Lyanne: when was the last time she said that name?

It was all or nothing. She couldn’t drop the tale now that she’s gone so far. “She was a strong thing – my paternal grandmother’s little sister… she was only half a dozen years older than my own father.” She paused, giving herself time for a heavy breath. “I’ll spare the gory details, but she died rather young. Before we even had the chance to move out.”

It wasn’t much of an explanation, she knew, so she spoke once more to make her point. “It was a quick death,” Sana was almost breathless, and found herself pressing her lips into a fine line. “She had slipped the day before, hit her head quite hard. Not hard enough to bleed or go out cold. Or give a sign enough for anyone to worry. But enough that when she slept she didn’t wake.”

She bit her lip. She’d over—spoken, said details that were not required for the simple explanation that should have easily sufficed; but she felt like Ollic deserved to see the whole the picture.

Character sheet · by **Ollic Rimesage** on November 8th, 2013, 6:31 pm

It was unexpected, Arysana’s response to a question of which could have been easily dodged with a simple shrug or an introverted lie. At least, that is what Ollic would have done, but he knew deep down inside of himself that Arysana was different.

He didn’t know what she was struggling with or what demons possessed her soul inside, but he knew that as she spat out a story involving an aunt’s death. Ollic personally had never experienced any deaths, except for the death of his childhood but he doubted that counted.

“-she died rather young-“ and so she spoke as if she were reading a poem to her children before bedtime, a wave of emotion and memory washing over her face, the tone shifting from the fair tan to a sinister pale, something of which unless notified of beforehand, would have frightened Ollic.

Bringing out memories pained everyone, and Ollic should know.

“-that when she slept she didn’t wake-“ Ollic wondered what this would feel like, being able to slip into the realm of judgment where everything besides peace was spared and darkness swept in on him. He had thought about committing such a crime in his darkest points in time, but somehow was thrown out of his mood just in time to save himself.

He had only asked whether or not she had suffered injuries like the one she suffered today, but she had trusted him enough to spill more than what was necessary.

A blossoming of warm comfort evaded his heart. He was trusted by someone, and he knew he could be, it was just somehow people never thought of him in the right way. He was either too socially challenged or abnormally quiet or reclusive that no one bothered to stick around and learn the other side to him- the more intrusive side to him.

The latent sigh of regret filtered through the air as Ollic observed his patient bite her lip with a cowardly look in her eyes. She shouldn’t ever be upset for speaking her feelings, and with all the wishes he could muster, he wanted to slap that look off her face. He held his composure and leant in.

Trying to lighten the mood, but knowing he’d do a terrible job he said, “I’ll give you a hint. I only wanted to know whether or not you had anymore boo-boos for me to heal.”

Leaning back to observe the damage he had done, he smiled, his teeth as white as snow and his irises newly transformed into a floral shade of blush rose.

He shrugged, trying to shake the depressing mood that had accustomed to the two. “You don’t know how good it makes me feel that you are able to trust me enough to tell me all of that. Whether you say it isn’t that important or not doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that you let go of some nasty feelings you had for the past off your shoulders.”

Continuing as if he were a therapist, but desperately hoping he didn’t come off as one he said, “It must haunt you to remember the death or someone you loved. I’m not going to come off all mushy and sympathetic, telling you that I know what you’re going through, because frankly I don’t. We all have different tolerances to different things and I accept that of people. Please don’t take me wrong, but I think that your weakness to hold in your emotions and instead are able to spill them to complete and total strangers is most appeasing.”

Laying a frigid, tan hand on Arsyana’s, Ollic gave the girl a little boyish grin before he thought whether or not to speak to her about a personal experience of pain he had witnessed. He thought different of it and pushed that idea to the back of his mind. He didn’t want to make the woman feel uncomfortable so soon after all he had said to her.

Instead, he just sat and stared into her eyes, thinking of a deep, green, luscious jungle of mystery and adventure. What else was stored behind those eyes of hers?

Secret :

by **Arysana** on November 10th, 2013, 12:24 pm

Speech | Thoughts

By the time she'd finished spitting out her story, she'd forgotten to what end she'd spoken. Half of her was wondering if she merely wished to give voice to her feelings and worries, another part of her thought that she had just wanted to make the reasoning behind her questions clear - Life was fleeting and easy to lose. She didn't want to die because of something stupid, or because she failed to realise the gravity of her situation. A fall and a bump on the head was enough to kill at times, just as it could also barely cause a scratch. She took in deep breath, finding the pain in her wrist dulling as the chimes went on.

She figured there was no harm done, Ollic surely looked somewhat more pleased than uncomfortable or confused. She wasn't all too sure how she was to interpret it until he spoke, leaning in quite enough that she could feel his breath.

She almost laughed at his choice in wording upon his dramatic body language, and stifled the desire to accuse him of prompting her words because of the way he looked at her. There was almost a quiet offense and worry in his expression at the time, like he thought he wasn't trusted and alarm bells were ringing in his head, or he thought he saw her kick what seemed to be a small, defenseless animal, and shouting 'say it wasn't so.'

He seemed happier, then, eyes quickly changing from the startling orange that they were when he'd first spoken, his smile full and genuine, and she wondered what it was that brought about the change.

He shrugged, such a strange reaction, moving on to say words that she assumed would be those of comfort.

She wasn't expecting that, and was thrown aback by the tone. It took her a moment to process things, and felt the slight well in her stomach. Surely he had his own reasons to speak with such understanding. For a moment, she was convinced that he'd lost someone, as well, only dismissing the thought as his works implied understanding more on the general topic of past events, then something so specific to her own experience.

Her thoughts were confirmed when he spoke on, Ollic coupling his words of comfort with a reassuring hand lain upon her own, and gave her a look that had her forget how to speak. There was a childish look the smile he gave; it was the one you'd see on a child who just did something he thought was remarkable, gaining a friend or helping someone in need, and receiving a sweet reward. She couldn't muster up much to follow his words, and she let herself return the gaze he threw at her until she could think something up.

Part of her wanted to ask him what brought upon his words, another part thought that perhaps there was a reason they were unmentioned. "Thank you," she said simply, incapable of saying much more at that moment. "She always said that it took much more courage to show your feelings than it did to hide them," She spoke carefully, with a delicate manner. "And that to dwell on the past and worry too greatly on the future is to waste the present."

Sana gave a solid laugh, "She was such a wise one, I couldn't go a day without such words shoved down my throat. But Its only now that any really apply. Though, for all her kindness and wisdom, I hardly think that should she be here, she'd offer me more than a haughty laugh and quick comment about the stupidity of youth."

She adjusted herself in her seat slightly, recalling a vital bit of information, annoyed with herself for suddenly having to change the topic. "If you don't mind me asking," She began, "Would you be willing to do me a favour? Perhaps not now, but maybe later?" She felt like perhaps it'd be best to state the nature of her request before expecting an answer, and promptly did so. "When I so gracefully fell earlier, it was after I'd secured my belonging for a climb," She pressed her lips and gave him her own childish look, "And now I don't think I'll be able to retrieve them without aid."

She raised her eyebrows, her look of silliness becoming somewhat daring and dramatic. "Think you have the time and talent to climb a couple of meters, or are you worried you might fall and damage that pretty little face of yours?" She hadn't posed such a challenge since she was a child, and almost grinned at the joy of reviving her old taunt tactics, and the rush that came with such a game. Though, she could hardly call it that; it was something more like when she and her mother would sing and dance when they helped tidy the home; hiding a chore under the guise of something far more fun.

Secret :

Character sheet · by **Ollic Rimesage** on December 23rd, 2013, 3:07 am

After doing something so outgoing, Ollic hardly ever even speaking to complete strangers, he felt an awkward tension in the air. He remained poised with his childish grin plastered onto his face, but his eyes soon lost their charm and quickly flashed to a panicky state.

He wasn’t good with silence, more so the kind that had been filled with words and had abruptly stopped than pure silence. He admired the comfortable air that it brought, that there was nothing that could stop Ollic with his words. He was never one for social interactions as he had shown in the beginning of his meeting with Arysana. He refrained from potentially saying something wrong or embarrassing, something someone could hold over his shoulders for years to come.

He hadn’t an entire clue why he had set his hand on his patient’s shoulder. He didn’t know her and she didn’t know him, so why would she want to be touched? Thankfully, Arysana didn’t jump at the contact or pull away in disgust. This was something Ollic absentmindedly went out of his way to do, and for what? To make his point at empathy for her? What good would that do? How would she know what he thought of her if he thought anything?

After giving such an elaborate speech, something that came up from the depths of his heart and out his mouth, he felt cold, like the warmth from his heart had come up with the words and feeling. He was scared of what would happen next, his emotions swiftly fluctuating from embarrassment, to thoughtfulness to fear back to embarrassment again.

Finally the tension that surrounded Ollic like walls to a jail cell, suffocating him at the least, broke apart as Arysana thanked him and went into more detail about the subject of expressing feelings. He wished he could take back that comment about weakness to hold in emotions.

From the continuation of words the woman spoke Ollic couldn’t help but made a similar connection to his mother. She was always the one to cheer him up when he was down and give him wisdom that would later help him through life. Rarely did he remember her exact words, but the little he did saved him a great deal of self-punishment. How he missed his family back in Avanthal, but he knew better of it. He was to complete his own life sentence of adventure and if words and images of past memories were all he had to base his past off of, that was good enough for him.

Pulling Ollic out of his inner thoughts, and having him feel nervous for not listening to Arysana’s story a little closer (could she sense his distraction?), she went on to a different topic of interest with a question that was not only startling to him, but indifferent and slightly unusual. This was something Ollic was so sure he could do.

You see, Ollic has never been one for athletic ability. Hell, when he was a child he didn’t even know what a snowball fight was before his childhood friend Eshe showed him how to play! Even then he was uncomfortable with the violence and competition and found no logic in the whole concept.

"If you don't mind me asking," she began, "Would you be willing to do me a favour? Perhaps not now, but maybe later?"

He urged her on as he saw her bite her lip frantically as if the question might be too much to ask of him or whether it was embarrassing or something of the sort.

"When I so gracefully fell earlier, it was after I'd secured my belonging for a climb, and now I don't think I'll be able to retrieve them without aid."

He was going to have to help her climb for her equipment? And make a big fool of himself? No way was he going to do this, no matter how much she had been kind to him. He would ask someone else to do it for him. However, something inside of him cracked and leaked out a sensation of warmth that newly took place inside his heart. He couldn’t place what was going on, but he felt the need to help her out.

She raised her eyebrows and her nose crinkled in the slightest way, giving off a vibe of childish behavior. Her red hair was stunning and almost blinding in contrast with her eyes. Her appearance was not only beautiful, but aggressive and forward, like if you crossed her you’d be sorry you ever did. She was one to take care of herself if it weren’t for hurting her arm during climbing a mountain.

Almost as if reading his previous thoughts of fearing making a fool out of himself Arysana continued, "Think you have the time and talent to climb a couple of meters, or are you worried you might fall and damage that pretty little face of yours?"

Ollic, face heating up and turned a light shade of pink, knew his eyes had shifted colour from a blush rose to a deep purple. He hated the curse of his ancestors of how easy to read he was whether no one knew what the colours meant or not. He hated feeling see-through. He liked to keep his emotions to himself. He hated pity or sympathy or any attention whatsoever and with his mood swing eye shades he was like an open book and a warning sign for such attention.

“Sure,” he told her, getting up and pushing the roller stool over to the side of the room. He stuck out his hand in a gentlemanly manner and offered to help her up. “I’d be happy to help you get your equipment back. Just lead the way.”

His little boyish grin was back and he felt better about himself. For once he ignored the possible acts of the future and relished the present, his eyes shifting to a neutral blue of content.

This was going to be fun. Or was it?

Secret :

by **Arysana** on December 27th, 2013, 12:09 am

Thoughts | "Speech" | oocSorry for the lateness of my own reply XD Christmas bawled me over! Though, there was also the fact that I had to reread stuff because I'd forgotten XD

As much as she disliked being called a devious little thing, as her mother liked saying, she couldn't help but love teasing people. It was surprising how much you could learn about someone in how they react to a playful little word, the way they furthered the remark, brushed it off or rejected it. Ollic, it seemed, was the middle kind, though she felt that those lovely eyes of his were the primary culprit and core reason for such. As Elsie always said - better to admit or say nothing, than to have your own body give away your lie. That being said, she was always an easy one to pick - gold when pleased, orange when pissed, blue when saddened, and violet when smitten or flustered (Something Sana discovered when a rather attractive, 'lost' fellow student asked the Vantha to walk him to the common room).

The light had gone off for Ollic when his cheeks flushed and eye colour took to a rich, marvelous shade of purple. It wasn't much, but she took a liking to being privy of thought and feeling, though more often than not when in the company of those oblivious. She gave a satisfied smirk, and although she felt an inkling of guilt, she just told herself that at least she'd be able to accommodate for his feelings in the future - not that she had any intention to be throwing herself out of another tree any time soon.

When he gave the word that'd he'd help with her endeavor, the curve of her lips evened and she gave a satisfied little huff, a certain weight lifted off her shoulders. At least there was no need to have another learn of her little act of stupidity. When he went about his business before offering a hand, she graciously accepted, a certain overwhelmed look to her. With work and study doing quite the number on her, she relished in being able to play and act childishly. Now? Oh, now worked. She gave a giggle and a curtsy, finding the act a little too formal for the prior banter, and pushing it further and more exaggerated. "Thank you, sir - just follow me, it's a little bit of walk," she said, her first few steps with a frown and constant shift in the way she was holding herself and her arm, determined to find a stance she was comfortable with, and keep her walk slow enough that Ollic could go about doing what ever needed to be done before their departure.

She decided that she'd save her breath for the most part, though couldn't help throwing Ollic a bewildered look as they made their way through the corridor, "Gods, I forgot about the damn stairs." She felt her eye twitch and face momentarily contort in bitter anguish - 'perhaps' an over reaction on her own part - before tucking herself close as she kept her foot light in passing the reception. Please don't ask me to pay, please don't ask me to pay, please don't ask me to pay. She felt her back stiffen and face scrunch up a little, deciding that she'd just flat out refuse to acknowledge the woman's existence and hope she doesn't say anything.

By the time she was down the stairs, and throwing routine glances and silly faces at Ollic, she wasn't quite sure what had happened. Had Ollic said something? Had the woman said something? Was she even there? (Perhaps Sana should have checked or devised a plan of avoidance. Damn ideas that only come in retrospect.) The bulk of the walk went on for several chimes, and she soon slowed her pace when she could sight of the hulking thing. "Ollic, if I ever fall out of a tree that's quite the distance away from the Catholicon again, make me eat yucky medicine or something." She threw a tired gesture towards towards the tree in particular, a sigh leaving her she mentally slapped herself in the face for screwing such a thing up.

Character sheet · by **Ollic Rimesage** on January 4th, 2014, 8:20 am

Arysana gracefully accepted Ollic’s polite gesture with a small smile and a curtsy, a feint giggle protruding out of her thin lips. Ollic’s blush deepened as he noticed she was playing along with his childish games. Why had he acted like such an idiot in the first place? Was she insulting him by going along with it or genuinely excited to make a challenging situation fun?

"Thank you, sir,” she said, Ollic still trying to connect the dots and explain the situation that had just occurred ever so quickly in front of his eyes, “just follow me.”

She had continued speaking to Ollic, but his mind was elsewhere, for he needed to notify someone of his parting, explaining to them where he will be, with whom and when he most likely will return. Working at the Catholicon isn’t all it’s said to be, and Ollic wanted to make sure that he stayed on everyone’s good side. He’s always had an overly gracious conscience and he didn’t want his saintly streak to perish now.

As the two were walking down the corridor, Ollic snuck a quick glace to an orderly nurse standing a few feet away from him, tinkering with a few jars full of unidentifiable substances, but one that seemed to resemble a vegetation that grew in cold climates up in Avanthal.

“Hello, miss?” he called out to her with a stoic expression. “I will be leaving to assist a patient. I will return in a few bells. Could you please notify my superiors of my leaving?”

The woman looked up from her work, smiled and nodded her head all in the same instance before she returned to what she was previously doing. Ollic, with his head still in the clouds strangely found himself caring less. A pounding sense of adrenaline had formed in the pit of his stomach as he suddenly heard Arysana’s strained voice from in front of him.

"Gods, I forgot about the damn stairs."

The worry on her face was severe, and although Ollic hadn’t a clue what she could be anxious over, he assumed it was either related to what she had just been through or what she was going to have to go through a second time. Either way, in the end everything would be alright, he thought.

And soon they had left the building and were walking down those dreaded stairs that Ollic hated to walk up every morning and down every evening. He knew Arysana hated them too from her prior irritated tone of voice.

Suddenly her voice slapped the silence to the side as if saying, ‘it’s my turn to be in the spot light.’

"Ollic, if I ever fall out of a tree that's quite the distance away from the Catholicon again, make me eat yucky medicine or something."

He couldn’t help but smile at that, his eyes brightening at the daft pitch in her voice. But as quickly as the smile had formed upon his lips it had disappeared, for he was looking up at where Arysana’a equipment hung, and all he could express in words was a simple, “Wow.”

Clearing his throat and lifting his eyebrows as if to feign disbelief, he continued on. “You fell a nasty ways down, didn’t you? You climb often?”

Ollic was only half interested in what her answer would be, for one reason- he already knew she did, for why would she be doing such elaborate attempts at climbing? And for another reason, he needed to prepare himself for retrieving her equipment, and this time it wasn’t to not make a fool out of himself, but to prevent himself from injuring anything like his patient did.

Secret :

by **Arysana** on January 4th, 2014, 12:16 pm

Thoughts | "Speech" | oocHaha, you too! Perhaps we should both stop apologizing to each other for late replies XD

Sana stared at the tree for a moment, the 'wow' that escaped Ollic's lips almost taking form upon her own. She'd severely underestimated the height. She fell from a good meter and a half below the gear - but that was around an extra meter and a half that Ollic would have to climb himself. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, in the first place.

She threw Ollic an odd look, trying to gauge whether or not he was still up for a challenge. Well, it'd be awful shame to send him back after they'd gone so far, now, wouldn't it? When he cleared his throat and asked of her climbing habits, she couldn't help but frown, and return her gaze to the tree. "Not as often as I would like..." She said, eyes already making out the path that she'd tried to take, and trying to figure one out for Ollic. "When I was a child in Wind Reach, I could scarcely be pulled out, but little since I moved to Lhavit, not so much..." she trailed. The trees where not so horridly different there, she recalled, with both Lhavit and Wind Reach cities high in mountain peaks.

Her words were rather soft, and directed slightly at herself, still trying to figure out how they were going to tackle the little problem. The last thing she wanted was for Ollic himself to be injured "You're going to need to trust me to talk you through it," She said finally, before deciding otherwise. "Or at least trust me to point out a little path and shout tips at you when you're actually up there," it was a fair enough thought, she decided, nodding to herself.

It would be better to point out where he could go and what he could use to climb with while he was calm and on the ground. She wasn't sure how the Vantha fared with heights, though she took that it was not nearly as well herself or her mother's foolhardy kind. "I'm not too sure about your flexibility... or anything of the sort," She soon began, sighing as she tried to find a stance that looked both focused and trustworthy with a bandaged and splinted wrist.

"But you're going to need to be careful and use some, uh, interesting hold - and not worry too much. I fell because I'm a fool and tried to catch something when I wasn't particularly balanced in the first place. I'll be here, and you'll be fine." She wasn't all too sure why she thought the last part necessary, though it wasn't as though ensuring people that they were going to be just fine wasn't something she often did.

She stretched her back slightly and found a couple of soft spots, squaring herself next to Ollic as she tried to further and figure things out, before nodding shortly and pointing with her free hand. "Keep three points of contact at all times, if not all four. That way if you slip you'll have a hold or foot in place to prevent you from falling." She couldn't help the awkward chuckle she gave, then, before pointing to two of the lower boughs, and drawing out a general path in the air. She knew as well as any other plans often went awry, so she reframed from anything too set in stone. "I'd suggest you use the thicker, lower branches to begin with, before deviating a little too far to the left and coming back in center. You think you can make it?"

Character sheet · by **Ollic Rimesage** on January 4th, 2014, 9:45 pm

Ollic continued to observe the rocky terrain, using his own logic to decipher a rational pathway to climb to her hanging gear. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arysana’s stern expression as if she was deep in thought, and he knew she must have been thinking the same.

Trust. That was the word she used often as she told him how things were going to go down. He surly didn’t want to hurt himself, but trust wasn’t the only thing that was going to get him up and down uninjured or even alive. Still, he was here to help someone out, someone who might even be called a friend if his overactive and highly hopeful imagination hadn’t played a nasty trick on him.

“I'm not too sure about your flexibility... or anything of the sort," she sighed, concentrating even more, a slight creased between her eyebrows developing. Her hair was lightly blowing in the zephyr the goddess of nature had provided, and a hiccup in his heart gave him a little boost to help this woman all the more.

His flexibility? He stifled a laugh and blushed a little when he could hear it, knowing that Arysana probably could to. He cleared his throat in an attempt to mask his unnecessary chuckle before contemplating how ‘flexible’ he really was.

He wasn’t going to worry too much, he told himself taking deep breaths and trying to take his mind off of the possible problems that could occur. A sprained wrist, a broken femur, death. No! Shaking his head, he blinked rapidly and strained his eyes to focus on the positive things that were to come. He was going to climb up to Arysana’s gear, gracefully collect it and climb down again all with the elegance of a swan. Who knows? He might even find himself naturally talented and show off?

Don’t get too cocky, he scolded himself, suddenly realising that for the past few chimes he had been worlds away. He hadn’t a clue what the woman had been saying and now felt guilty and slightly anxious. What if she had told him some important tip about climbing? He had never climbed in his life!

Abruptly, Arysana’s slender finger pointed to a vague spot on the cliff side. Giggling slightly, and averting Ollic’s gaze from what she was forming with her fingers, he tried to see what was so funny. The entire situation and post-situation had a completely negative turnout in his state of mind.

"Keep three points of contact at all times, if not all four. That way if you slip you'll have a hold or foot in place to prevent you from falling."

Good advice, he thought to himself as he readjusted his gaze to where her fingers continued to plan a path for him to take. He barely saw what she was referring to, but had enough information to take a hint of it and try.

He was going to use the thicker, lower branches to begin with as she had instructed and he was going to not make a fool of himself by being a fool. If he had an accident it would be a while for any help to find him, if any. Arysana was too weak from her injury to carry him to any assistance or aid. He hoped with all his might that things would go as best as they could.

“You think you can make it?” she asked him, her eyes twinkling with the same hope that Ollic was now doubting inside his mind.

Inwardly he found himself shaking his head and chuckling with a dull tone all the while saying no, it’s too impossible for even her to accomplish, but outwardly, so that she could see, he puckered his lips, raised his eyebrows and as heroically as he could reassured her that yes, he could manage.

Taking off toward the designated area that his patient has marked for him to start climbing, he found his hand in a ridge between two rocks and his left foot already stuck into a chip in the wall. He had already made a short distance from the ground and was already panicking. However, he never let his panic show and continued to climb upward.

Grasping ahold of a thick and large branch as advised from his friend below, he hoisted himself up a couple feet, all the while keeping three points steady. He kept himself as calm and collected as he could before creating another couple feet between him and the safety of solid ground.

A few more branches past him by as his footing continued to stay stable and secure, his hands always in good positioning with the giant rock he was hugging. He saw his friend’s equipment insight and found himself taking a more positive approach.

I’m almost there, he told himself. I’ve made it this far- and in that thought he made the biggest mistake he probably could in such a moment as the one he currently found himself in.

He looked down as to observe the far distance he had made, but in doing so his fear got the best of him, causing him to lose his grip on the right side. He was only so far from Arysana’s gear, so in an irrational attempt to complete his task, his left hand reached up and grabbed it.

Before he knew it, the zephyr turned into a large gust of vertical wind. He was falling and he had no control over what was about to become of him. All of his negative pre-existing thoughts had come true and as if the gods and goddesses of Mizahar hated him, he knew he was going to be in pain if not dead when he made contact with the ground.

With a short yelp, the copper haired woman’s supplies in his hand, and his eye colour a frantic fiery orange, he felt his back land on something sharp and solid. His eyes shut tight, his face contorted into a pained expression and his lips screwed tightly shut, he lay still, a pain so fierce in his right arm that he felt like it was on fire.

Opening his eyes everything was blurry, going in and out of focus and it was either the fact that he was going into some sort of state of shock or that he truly was going to die, he wanted to make the best of it, and with his over-thinking process off its hinges, a few words escaped his lips.

Making an attempt to lift up his good arm, that held all of Arysana’s gear, he whispered, “I retrieved your gear my lady.” In an attempt to continue the charade, he smiled a pained and broken smile at the words ‘my lady’.

He knew his right arm was fractured, if not broken in multiple places, but he was afraid to look at it and see its disfigured position to make any judgments. His back was an inferno, but his arm was like being burned by the hands of a fire reimancer. Over and over again the pain erupted from his shoulder down to his fingertips.

And then came the screaming. The shock had subsided and now the real pain started to hit his central nervous system. He wasn’t normally a screamer, but when he did, his voice was hoarse and chilling.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Arysana running toward him. He didn’t want her to see him like this, for he was supposed to be the doctor, not the other way around. He felt ashamed and a little bit guilty that he had made the same error as she had. He was supposed to be the hero; he was supposed to rescue the dame’s needed supplies, yet here he was in excruciating pain with his arm twisted in all the wrong places, lying on the rocks.

Trying to move, Ollic found his arm resisting and stopped immediately. If he was going to get out of this situation, he was going to have to calm his mind. Arysana knew what to do if he was in too fragile of a state of mind to.

What he needed was to get up so that they could return to the Catholicon. That was their best bet. Ollic was going to be fine if it was indeed a simple fracture or break in his arm. Unless there was some serious internal bleeding which he highly doubted, he was going to be fine. Right?

Secret :

Closed [Catholicon] What Goes Up, Must Come Down (Ollic)