Completed Heal the Wounds (Azira)

[Syveris]

"I don't think you are crazy..." Syveris sighed, feeling suddenly tired. "Actually, what you said makes a lot of sense to me, it's just that I can't find a reason for them to be so angry at us." but then, there were many things she couldn't find the reason for. However, if they had done something wrong... The Valintar would know, right? She sighed again. Why things had to be so complicated?

And then Azira confirmed that, yes, the hunting had been bad all season. Syveris bit her lip, worried even more now. The huntress then tried to reassure her, but the Avora couldn't really see how Winter would go smoothly now. All winters in Wind Reach had been troublesome, and yet, somehow, there was something else in this that worried her more than it should have.

"You're right. We can't give up. I only worry that bad weather isn't the only problem we will have to face." her mind turned to the poisoned water. It hadn't been the weather to cause it. Probably. It wasn't like Syveris could say it for sure. But still... The Avora shook her head. She was overthinking everything again. Azira was right, they would manage it, somehow. There wasn't a point in try to figure out what had happened. Maybe it was just bad weather, and probably that was all that would happen in Winter too. She hoped that the stores were alright, though.

She smiled, but before she could say anything else, a sobbing sound interrupted her, and Syveris turned her head to a bed besides the one she and Azira was sitting in. There was a man there, with his hands covering his face, and obviously crying. The Avora sent a look at Azira, unsure if she should go and check on a complete stranger. However, it seemed like the the man decided for her, because he took his hands off his face and, seeing he was being stared at, sent both the Avora a pleading look, tears still falling from his face.

Jumping out of the bed, Syveris reached the man's side, kneeling down besides his bed. It wasn't none of her business, but she couldn't just ignore him.

"My son..." he breathed out. "The Winter... You said it would be bad." the Avora almost felt offended by the fact that the man was listening to their talk, but he seemed so pitiful that she didn't truly care.

"But you listened to her, right? It might not be that bad." the man shook his head, reaching for her arm and grabbing it with such a force that it hurt.

"Don't lie to me! Take care of my boy! If you don't, Winter will kill him! And I will never forgive you! It's your responsibility!" the man spit, tightening his grip. Syveris winced as she felt his nails dig into her arm.

"Just calm down!" she put her hand on top of the man's, and he relaxed his grip a little. "It's going to be alright. Winter won't be bad, right?" she looked at Azira, searching for support. The man was confusing her with someone else, as he wasn't someone she had ever met, but Syveris didn't want him going into a panicked state, anyway. She knew how bad it could be.

x
x

x Abstract

[Azira]

Azira laughed lightly. Her friend didn't think she was mad, what a lovely thing that was to hear. The huntress had all but convinced herself that she was rambling like a mad woman. Apparently not, though maybe Syveris was mad too. She laughed a little more because it wasn't something that she got to do much, especially these days. She sobered though when the young woman continued on the subject of winter. It was a worry ahead of them but she didn't think that dwelling on what might come to pass was the way to go. Something just had to be done though she didn't know what.

A sob from the bed beside them drew the attention of both teens. Turning, the Avora spotted a man sobbing into his hands. She had no idea what was the matter with him but she didn't particularly care either, it was none of her concern. She looked away disinterested but Syveris hopped up and moved to the man's side, kneeling beside him. The girl tried to comfort him, even letting him grip her arm though they were complete strangers to each other. He just kept babbling about his son and the coming winter. The glass worker looked to Azira for some sort of support.

Sighing, the girl rose from her sitting position and moved to stand beside the stranger's bed, not willing to sink to the level that her companion was at. She could back her up standing just as well as she could do kneeling.

"The winter won't be that bad and if it is nobody will starve. I assure you that every hunter in the city will risk death to bring food back to those left here. We are willing to die so that others might live. You have the promise of a hunter that we will not stand idly by if the time comes that we risk starvation," she assured the man, her voice calm and authoritative. She glanced down at the glass worker.

"Perhaps you should let go of my friend's arm though. I think that you might be hurting her," she said matter of factly. Her demeanour probably seemed cold and uncaring but she'd long since developed ways of conversing with strangers. If they didn't anger her then she still kept them at bay with her unfeeling facade. She saw no reason to be unnecessarily kind to the man; his worry was not hers.

x

[Syveris]

Azira did come to help her, but her tone was cold. Syveris thought it would bother her, but it didn't. Instead, it seemed natural that the huntress would react that way, and it made her come off the transe she had been put when she had seen the man's face pleading for help. Syveris noticed she had rushed to a complete stranger's side, to try and comfort him. Of course she had thought he just needed them to get a healer, or that he was in pain. Instead, he seemed to be delirious. Or on drugs.

When the huntress asked him to let go of her arm, Syveris smiled at her, grateful. The man did release her, but it was so he could point at Azira, accusingly. Syveris didn't like that. He couldn't seriously be thinking of picking up a fight in the middle of the Infirmary.

"You." he said, accusingly. "You lie. You know why? Because my boy is a Dek!" he smiled, smugly, as if he had discovered something amazing that no one else could see. Syveris sighed. The man really was delirious. She regreted having rushed to his side, wishing that she could think better before she acted. The Avora should just have gone and got a healer. "Would you die for a Dek? I think not! I heard what you said!" he turned to Syveris once again, and the Avora was startled by the fire in his eyes. "Help him survive, I beg you! The Winter..."

"Fine, fine!" Syveris exclaimed, just wishing he would stop begging so much. It was making her uncomfortable. "If he needs help, tell him that he can come to me and I'll help, alright?" she was now seriously doubting the man even had a son at all. It was probably just on his mind.

"You promise?" he asked, his eyes shining. He turned to Azira. "You both promise?" he repeated, as if he hadn't just accused the huntress of lying. Syveris found herself unwiling to promise. If she did, she would feel compeled to keep her promise, even if she didn't believe the man was in his right mind. Then she would feel the need to search for the Dek, even if she had no idea if he existed at all. The Avora had more important things to do.

Before she could answer, though, the man coughed, and spit blood on the white matress of the bed. Syveris' eyes widened, and she stared for a few moments, trying to take her eyes out of the red dots. Not again. Please tell me he is not dying. she pleaded in her mind, unable to look away.

"Promise me." he asked, his voice weak. His eyes were jumping from her to Azira and then back to her. "Please."

"Don't worry, ok? Everything will be fine." she said, trying to sound reassuring without actually needing to promise anything. She didn't like to make promises she didn't know she could keep. "We will survive Winter." the Avora stood up, looking around for the closest healer.

x
x

x Abstract

[Azira]

   

The man released his grip on Syveris, something that the girl's smile silently thanked her for but Azira only spared her friend a glance when the man threw her words back at her. Yes, in the past she had thought that Dek were a waste of resources but really her grudge had been with only one of them, something that had made her prejudiced against the rest. While she still hated Lorthen for what he'd done to her and hoped his life was miserable, she would not allow one if his caste to starve. The man was a petching idiot who hadn't been eavesdropping very well. 

Rolling her eyes, she replied in an exasperated tone, "So what it he's a Dek? We're supposed to stop Wind Reach starving and who do you think starve first? The Dek, so when I say we will die to prevent starvation who do you think are the ones benefitting from what we do the most? The Dek, that's right so if I say I'll do, I will." The huntress wasn't even sure if he'd heard her seeing as he was more focused on the glassworker who was making stupid promises.

The stranger was trying to extract promises from them both on the matter but the girl wouldn't give it to him. She had no idea who his son was. For all she knew this could be Lorthen's father. The man was a higher caste than his son, an Avora she thought, but she had never seen him near the boy so there was a chance...

"I've said all I'm going to say on the matter," she said, her face hardening. The man started spluttering up blood and the teen saw the alarm on the face of her friend. "Leave him, Syveris. Let's just go, I'm sure I can leave now." She began to edge away from the bed.

x

[Syveris]

Azira was understandable irritated about everything, since the man basically called her a lier. Syveris sent an apologetic look at her, since she had been the one to come and talk with a complete stranger. Maybe she should really stop doing that. Looking back at the man, she was unsure about what she could do. But she didn't want to stay any longer, specially if the man would keep trying to make them promise something weird.

"Everything is going to be alright, don't worry." Syveris couldn't know that for sure, but she needed to say something to calm him down, before she could escape to a more normal conversation. The man finally seemed happy, as he smiled and closed his eyes, sighing. The Avora looked at him, waiting for any sighs of another movement, but she saw none. Gulping, she let her hand fall on her side, cleaning the sweat on her bryda, and kept looking at the man, until Azira spoke again, getting her attention.

Turning, she forced herself not to look back at the Inarta. The Avora was almost sure that he had died, but she didn't want to ask anyone to confirm it. If his death remained only a possibility, then maybe it wouldn't have much of an impact on her. Syveris walked fast, catching up with Azira. The Avora made a mental note to at least try and stop prying in other people's business. It would cause a mess sometime, she was sure of it.

"Are you sure you can just leave?" she was slightly shaken by what had just happened, unsure what she should do, but she doubted there was anything that could be done. If he was alive, then a healer would soon treat him. If he wasn't... Syveris shuddered, and returned her attention to the huntress. It was better if she just tried to forget. "Your head isn't hurting anymore? Not even a little?" Syveris was worried that Azira would feel faint again if they left so soon.

x
x

x Abstract

[Azira]

   

Syveris looked sorry for having gotten then into that situation in the first place but she still seemed to watch the man with a worried expression as she continued to murmur assurances. The man seemed contented now but he grew still and the glassworker obviously noticed, her eyes glued on the peaceful form. Azira became more insistent in her demand to leave.

"Syveris will you just come on! Leave him in peace so that we can just go!" she snapped, beginning to move towards the entryway. The girl was reluctant to leave, probably thinking that the stranger was dead. She was probably right but the huntress wasn't going to hang around and find out. Her friend wasn't in the right mind set to deal with another death right now and Azira wasn't sure she could put up with it either.

The teen rolled her eyes at the girl's question. "Yes I can go, Syveris. I'm fine, honestly," she replied, a little annoyed that her friend hadn't just taken her word for it the first time. She didn't want to be prodded with questions that was for sure. "My head is fine, a healer just looked at it. A healer didn't see to me before because they've been busy. I'm fine now, all right? Now can we talk about something that isn't my head?"

As she talked, the Avora moved towards the doorway at a quick pace. She was fairly confident that she could actually leave but she didn't want to test that theory. It'd be annoying and embarrassing if a healer stopped her now but they all seemed too preoccupied to notice her escape.

x

[Syveris]

Syveris winced at the annoyed tone of the huntress, but said nothing. It would be best if she took her word for it, after all, she was almost sure Azira wouldn't leave if there was still a chance of her feeling any pain. Syveris had to walk quickly to keep up with the other, as it seemed like she was really anxious to leave. Not that she could blame her. The Avora wasn't eager to stay in the Infirmary either, afraid that there would be any comfirmation about the man's death.

When they were almost at the door, a voice called out to them, ordering for both girls to stop. Syveris sent a look over her shoulder, and saw it was one of the healers. Sending a quick glance at Azira, she took the others wirst and ran out of the Infirmary and through the Inner Warrens, until they made a curve and couldn't be seen anymore.

It had been an impulse, more than anything, and now that they had stopped, Syveris wasn't sure this had been a wise move. She looked at the huntress face, unsure.

"Sorry about that." Syveris apologized, looking to see if they had been followed. They hadn't, and she was sure the healers had more to do than search for them. "I just thought that, maybe, you didn't want to stay there much longer." she smiled, unsure. It wasn't like she could guess what Azira had been thinking, and maybe she should have asked the huntress first, before dragging her away like that. "If you want, we can always go back and you can put the blame on me."

x
x

x Abstract

[Azira]

The glass worker was clearly struggling to keep up with Azira and the huntress hoped that the girl wouldn't protest about the pace she was setting. She need not have worried however for when someone called for them to stop and the Avora froze, Syveris grabbed her and ran. The action startled her but she allowed herself to be dragged along, not at all eager to stop and face the healer. She was worried that the healer had called after them because Azira wasn't to leave but it could just have easily have had to do with the man they had just left behind them who was possibly dead.

When they stopped, Syveris apologised for her behaviour and offered to go back. The teen waved the suggestion away. "It's fine. Really. I don't want to go back there though," she explained, pulling a face at the very idea. "Quick thinking though," she complimented her friend,smiling at her. She wondered why the girl had been so eager to get away. The image of the still man sprang to mind and she wondered if that was the cause. Perhaps the girl was trying to deny the idea that the man could very well be dead. Maybe it would be a good idea to distract her friend.

"So do you want to go somewhere? While the Inner Warrens are great and all, wouldn't you prefer to actually go somewhere? We could go back to my room or yours and... chat for a bit. If you want." She was surprised by her own suggestion but it sounded oddly... right so she smiled encouragingly at the other girl and hoped that she'd consider it. It might actually be nice to get to know Syveris a little bit better even though the young woman was still a little distraught.

x

[Syveris]

Syveris smiled back at the compliment, glad that Azira wasn't annoyed or mad. She still didn't know why she had run like that, without even thinking about what she was doing. Maybe the idea of the maybe dead man had made her want to leave the Infirmary immediately. Not that she liked the place before. She had been there too much when she was a Yasi, enough for her to be very sick of it.

The huntress' suggestion distracted her from her musings, and she was actually surprised by it. It wasn't something she had been expecting. However, Azira was smiling, and she seemed to genuinelly want Syveris to accept. Besides, to just talk would be a great opportunity to take her mind off all the things that were bothering her, and she liked the others companion.

"I think that's definetely better than staying in the Inner Warrens." Syveris answered, turning and beginning to walk to the Darnivas Commonroom. For now, it didn't really matter to which room they were going. Both were in the same place, after all. "I don't mind neither of the places. My room is a little messy..." Syveris stopped talking, smirking at herself and shaking her head. "Ok, it would be messy if I had enough things to make a real mess, but you know what I mean. If we go there, I can show you the egg. It's not hatching yet, though. We can go anywhere, though."

She was babbling again, but she didn't mind it too much, now. Syveris was happy that Azira considered her a friend and wanted to just talk with her. It was nice, nice enough to keep her mind away from everything, at least for a while. It was something that she needed, and, while she hoped Azira hadn't suggested it for that reason, Syveris was still grateful to the huntress.

x
x

x Abstract

[Azira]

   

The pair smiled at each other, Azira glad that the  other young woman seemed pleased by the idea of them just sitting and talking. It was something that friends were just able to do right? Perhaps they could do something similar to what herself and Lavira had done earlier in the season, ask each other questions to find out more about each other. It was a good plan she thought especially as there was a question she was burning to ask her friend, one that she'd been trying to avoid thinking about.

After their time at the Inclement Weather, Azira had been there when Marrin had brought a drugged Syveris back to her room, had seen the girl kiss him and had wanted to strangle her there and then. She had refused to talk to her for days afterwards and hadn't actually talked to the glass worker until the rescue during the storm. This was the longest conversation the pair had had for days and days but the memory of what had happened was beginning to seep back into her head. The only reason she was talking to her friend now was because she was making excuses for her, hoping that the drugs and drink had been the cause of her behaviour.

"We'll go to your room, I think. I'd quite like to see this egg of yours even if it hasn't hatched," she replied, steering the other in that direction. "Besides that we can have a chance to talk properly. I want to ask you about something actually. I want to ask about that night that we went to the Inclement Weather. I was wondering if you remembered anything actually." Asking the question, made her feel a little sick. She was worried about the answer, worried that Syveris not only remembered but had consciously decided to kiss Marrin. 

Even the memory of that kiss sent a shiver of horror through her. She still couldn't believe that it had actually happened. It was just too terrible to even think about it but she had to get to the bottom of it, make sure that it meant nothing.

x