Drunken endeavors [Airil]

[Markus Andres]

Markus stood for a couple of seconds, wondering if Airil was going to say something. He wondered what was going through her mind then, wondering if she would still push away his offer of friendship. That was when he saw the first couple of tears on her cheeks. He felt like a stone had just fallen. He was perplexed for a second. Before walking over to Airil and sitting down beside her. He had gone through the imagery of their last meeting in his head, realizing that she hadn't liked his touch. But he didn't care at this moment. He knew that if it had been him, then he would be lashing out now. But he would probably be thankful for the person who tried to comfort or help him. He placed his right hand on the back of her body, while reaching across with the left. Pulling the crying girl into a warm hug. He wouldn't say anything. He would let Airil cry until her tears ran dry. If she didn't push him away, he would pat her gently on the back.

[Airil]

Before she realized what his movements were implying, she found that she was being held. Ordinarily, she would have tolerated it just long enough to not appear rude when she drew away, but with her emotions so close to the surface she found herself actually leaning into it. She tried to push these emotions back down, to seal them away again. This wasn't just sadness, this was something more. She wasn't going to be able to reign in this feeling. There was just something about being held that made her want to let it pour out of her. Her mother had held her when she cried, her master had not. The difference suddenly settled on her as being quite profound. She leaned into him, pressing her cheek against him, and cried. It wasn't the violent kind of crying with wails and body racking sobs. She was completely silent, the tears streaming down her cheeks, with only the occasional shuddering breath to indicate that she had yet to gain control. It wasn't the same kind of crying she'd done that fateful night outside of Ravok, when she mourned her master. It wasn't the kind of crying she'd done when they'd applied the brand to her hand and she'd known that she would never be the same, when her mother's life had slipped away, when her master had ended her childhood. There had been so many reasons to cry in her life, but, she'd never cried like this before. Fear, pain, sadness, grief, this was none of those things. She was mourning for herself, and now she felt dead inside. Perhaps that was what her dreams were trying to tell her. Every time that shadowy figure killed her, she never died in the dream. She'd wake up. It was in life that she was dead. It had happened gradually with one event after another, without her realizing it. The dead shouldn't be comforted. She gently pulled away from Markus and stood, wiping her tears from her cheeks. She took in a deep breath. The emotions were gone, she felt empty. "I'm sorry Markus, but I think I need to be alone now." She turned to him and gave him the slightest hint of a smile, it was the least she could do. “But thank you.”

[Markus Andres]

Markus wasn't sure if he felt alright with Airil crying like this. Perhaps this was her way of coping with a long repressed memory. He could feel how she leaned into his embrace. Markus really hadn't expected her to be this upset. It must really have been some painful memories he had stirred to life when he had told her about himself. He felt a bit bad about opening such a gaping wound. He patted her gently on the back, trying to think of something he could say that would help her, but no words came to mind. No words that he knew could help ease her pain. She gently pulled away from him and Markus let her do so, knowing that holding her tight when she didn't want it, would just be a major problem. He stood up too when she did. He could understand her desire to be alone then. Markus would just nod to her and place a hand on her shoulder. As he walked by her. "It is alright, thank you, Airil. For letting me stay here." Markus felt like giving her a kiss on the cheek, but he opted out of it, not having the guts to do it. "I hope I will see you one of these days." Markus said to her. He could feel the wet area on his shirt, where Airil had wept. "Take care Airil" He said giving her shoulder a squeeze before leaving her room. Still a bit perplexed about those last things that had happened in there.

[Airil]

Airil continued to stand, gazing at the door for chimes after Markus had closed it behind him. Her mind, usually flowing with thoughts and activities, was now completely still. It felt strange, as if she'd been meditating though she hadn't been. The tears had simply emptied her, left her hollow. Finally, as if coming out of a daze, she looked around the room. Was there something she should be doing? No, there was nothing. Nobody was demanding anything of her, nothing was required. Truly, that had been the case since her master's death, she just hadn't been able to see it. She'd kept herself busy, almost ignoring her new life. There was no longer any purpose to her life. She was a slave without a master. Airil picked up her embroidery hoop and sat down to work. One stitch later, she'd set the hoop down again. She simply couldn't sew with her wrist the way it was. One more glance around the room reminded her of the blood stained sheets, she got up and went to find Matilda for replacements. END

[Ataraxia]

Markus XP Drinking + 2, Rhetoric + 5, Intimidation + 1 Lore Speaking "Alcoholese" | Alcohol: Man's best friend | Hangovers: Man's worst enemy | Forgiving the past for the sake of the present | Familiarity with sparring injuries | Opening up about the past Airil XP Rhetoric + 5, Sewing + 3 Lore Compassion for drunks | The wrong way to break a fall | Trying to decipher "Alcoholese" | Knowledge of Head Wounds: "... they bleed a lot." | Basic First Aid | Forgiving the past for the sake of present | Markus' Past (basic) Misc Airil's wrist is sprained, and will be a significant source of discomfort from the 25th Day of Fall, 510AV until the 30th Day of Fall, 510 AV Comments This was a good social thread between Airil and Markus, and I sense more will be forthcoming as their relationship begins to mature. I did what I could with the XP, as there wasn't much action aside from Markus' drunken antics i'm afraid. If you guys have any questions about the XP/Lore awarded, send me a message and we will work it out.