A Dangerous Trek (Vala)

by **Ronin** on March 22nd, 2011, 2:06 am

Ronin was relieve that Vala had possibly saved his life as the rock collided with the bear's head. However, his gratitude toward her was soon replaced by anger as she began tugging him up by his, recently eviscerated, shoulder. He screamed in a combination of anger and pain until she changed her tactics. This time, she was actually helpful, and he was able to get to his feet. Ronin didn't notice that Vala had fallen over, until of course, she began screaming at him. Why she was mad at him, he had no idea. But what he did know was that there was a bear in front of him and it would kill them both if he didn't do something. Ronin was reminded of how he had left Maisa to die and what the guilt did to him afterwards. That is why, as quickly as it came, Ronin forced the thought of running from his mind.

Still, Ronin wasn't sure how exactly he would kill something that much bigger than him. It was still standing on it's hind legs, and Ronin still held in his hand a knife. So he decided on the obvious solution. Before the bear had fully recovered from the rock to the head, Ronin charged at it, thrusting the blade, hilt deep, into the bear's chest. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he missed the heart. The bear roared in such a way that is was not like the vicious roar before, but rather a roar of agony. Now, Ronin could tell he had caused it serious pain. The bear stepped back before Ronin could grab the knife and do it again, but Ronin had another idea. The fire was now behind the bear and maybe, just maybe, Ronin might be able to push him into it. He bolted forward with all his strength behind him as he lowered his good shoulder and crashed into the bear.

His face and arm collided with the furry mass with as much force as Ronin could muster, and it was enough to drive the bear back again. But this time, he toppled over. The bear fell on his back, directly into the fire, but he wasn't the only thing falling. As Ronin had lunged into the bear, it's giant arms had closed around, claws digging into Ronin's back. And as the bear fell, it pulled Ronin down with it. The force of hitting the ground force the bear to release his grip, causing Ronin to be hurled out on the other side if the creature. The bear rose from the fire, roaring in pain again, with it's back to Ronin. The fire had been snuffed out by the bear, but the coals had managed to burn it pretty badly. The colossal creature was in a blood rage, fighting for it's life now. It went after the first target it saw.

Vala.

Ronin wasn't about to let that thing touch her after the way she had saved his life. Luckily, the wounded bear moved slower now than it hard earlier. This gave Ronin the crucial second he needed to formulate a plan. The key to his plan was his quiver laying on the ground a couple meters from him. Once he had spotted it, the rest was just execution.

Ronin dashed for his quiver and grabbed three arrows. With the fistful of arrows ready, he charged the bear from behind. It took quite the leap, but Ronin managed to vault himself onto the bears back. With one hand he clenched onto the creatures fur to keep from falling off, and with the other, he stabbed viciously at the bear. Again and again, Ronin thrust the arrow-tips into the bear's chest and throat. The animal thrashed around violently, trying to expel Ronin from it's back, but was unable to do so before the damage was done. With one final stab, Ronin buried the arrows into it's neck. Unable to hold on any longer, he was thrown to the ground, but he was confident that the job was done. The bear stumbled around at first before coming to it's final resting place by the downed stump on which they had earlier sat.

Ronin crawled across the muddy ground to where Vala was. He was unsure about the nature of her injury and he feared the worst.
"Are you okay? You saved my life, you know? Please be okay."
The last part was said more under his breath, but if she was listening she could make it out. It had not been really been a plea to Vala but to Priskil, and prayer were rare for Ronin. Life and death situation tended to bring out his religious side. As he reached Vala, he was relieved not to see any major wounds. Perhaps they would both survive the dangerous encounter.

by **Vala** on March 24th, 2011, 2:08 am

Everything seems different when you’re on the ground. Bears look bigger. Sprained ankles hurt more. And stabbing a bear with a tiny knife seems funnier.

Vala leaned back, her head landing in a dry, prickly brush; she didn’t care: she was going to die. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the blinding pain in her lower extremity. She didn’t want to watch Ronin get mauled to death by a bear, he was a nice guy, probably didn’t deserve to die. Did she? Burning tears, more excruciating than her twisted joint, threatened to burst from her eyes, she shut them tight, trying to keep them from escaping. Nature sucks.

Roar, roar, roar - did the beast do anything other than roar and maul? “Dear Priskil, please make it quick.” Vala said dully.

Vala stopped her apathetic prayers. Thump. She tried to pick her head up. It was far too loud to have been Ronin - well he didn't seem that heavy when she had pulled his hair out. She managed to scoot up and lean on her elbows, giving her a fairly good view of Ronin wrestling with the bear. "What in Priskils' name are you doing? That thing weighs like fifty of you. Just run away already!" Vala shook her head in disappointment. Why hadn't she ran when she had the chance. "I did it for you Priskil!" Vala giggled hysterically. Now they were both going to die. Vala - for only the fates know what, foolish reason. And Ronin - Vala assumed he was either thick in the head, or fueled by some ridiculous shinning white-knight complex. Vala hoped it was from stupidity, because then she wouldn’t be so mad at him when he died. Which surprisingly, as she watched, he absolutely refused to do.

The bear looked mad, really mad. Who wouldn’t be after landing on a fire? And now, in its extreme rage, the bear charged Vala with wild abandon, forgetting about Ronin, who had been ‘hurled’ to safety.

Vala smiled wickedly - daring the bear.

Before Vala could be ripped to shreds, Ronin jumped into the rescue, yet again. Vala rolled a little to her right, and used her left hand to sarcastically clap as Ronin stabbed the giant monster to death, with a handful of arrows, no less. When the bear had finally fallen, dead, Vala reached down to touch her sprained ankle, trying to assess the damage. She pulled back and cried out weakly when she tried to pull her boot off. She didn’t want to touch it anymore then necessary until she got back to her room.

Ronin, the one who had actually been in danger, crawled over to Vala. For the most part she had been in minimal danger, so she couldn’t help but snort in mirth when he asked her if she was fine. “Right, ‘are you ok?’ Asks the guy with claw marks down his shoulder and back.” Vala’s right eye twitched; she pressed her palm, right above her cheekbone, to stop it. “I’m pretty sure I just sprained my ankle... it hurts.” Vala’s voice faltered as a warm tear ran down her cheek. “I hate this. I hate all of this. I - DON’T TOUCH ME!” Vala shrieked as Ronin reached for her. “DON’T! JUST DON’T! GET AWAY FROM ME! IHATEYOU!” Her hysterical voice, rising higher and higher, until it was inaudible and garbled in between her sobs and hiccups. “It hurts-” She whined to herself as she laid back into the brush, covering her face with her hands. She sobbed pitifully to herself.

If Vala cursed, she would probably have been stringing expletives a mile long - but now she only found comfort in her tears. She didn’t really hate Ronin, not too much anyway; she just hated the situation they were in. Sure she was pleasant, and perfect, and coiffed, and just plain adorable, but once Vala was just a little too hungry, tired, or in pain, she just lost it - to Ronin’s misfortune. It would take a miracle to get her tolerable again.

OOC :

by **Ronin** on March 24th, 2011, 2:55 am

Ronin lurched back when she began screaming, worried she would attack him. The last thing he needed after killing a bear was to be mauled by a raving lunatic. When her little tirade ended and she went back to pouting, Ronin approached, a little slower this time. He knew he was injured as well, but it was just a flesh wound and, judging by her reaction, he was in a lot less pain. Cautiously, Ronin came up beside Vala and pulled her right hand from in front of her face. He wanted her to look him in the eye to make sure she knew what he was saying. He was suspicious that she might be delusional. What person screams at the person who saves them from being slaughtered by a bear? Ronin thought to himself. Once he was confident that he had her attention or would be unable to get it, he began to explain things in a calm, level, voice.

"Vala, you need to listen to me, okay? You're right, I am injured, but at least I can walk. Your ankle doesn't look so good, so I'm going to carry you." He paused and waited for her protests. "I need to to cooperate with me to make this easier. It took us a couple hours to get here when her weren't injured or hungry or tired, so it will probably be several more before we get home. However, the woods get dangerous after dark, so we need to hurry. Do you understand?"

Ronin's voice remained calm and soothing throughout. Vala was hysterical and possibly in shock, and he was going to have to be the voice of reason if they had any chance of survival. Ronin felt bad for the injured girl, but he knew what it took to survive in the woods. And pity wasn't it. He needed to make a few last assessments before they could leave.

"Are you injured anywhere other than your ankle? Also, if we can find somewhere that the snow isn't melted, I am going to have to pack some snow in your boot to keep your ankle from swelling up." This was a trick he had learned from one of the older boys when he was a kid. Ronin took a lot of tumbles back then. "It will be really cold, but it is for your benefit, okay?"

As Ronin finished speaking he noticed more blood soaking through his katinu than he expected. He pulled in open to observe the wound and it was indeed worse than he had thought. A small trickle of blood ran door his chest, beginning to pool on the ground. Ronin knew he would have to bandage it if he was going to stop the bleeding, but he didn't know a childhood trick for this one. He pulled off his katinu and and looked at it closer. This was definitely beyond his expertise. Ronin remembered that Vala had bandaged his head after their fight. Perhaps she could fix this as well.

"What do you need to fix this? Can you make a bandage out of my Katinu? I have some water in my backpack if you need to clean in."

Ronin voice showed just a tinge of worry, but in his mind this was the first time since killing the bear that he had considered the possibility of them not making it back to Wind Reach. The idea scared him. Ronin wasn't ready to die, not now. He was finally enjoying life, and now it might all be taken away. He tried to force the thoughts from his mind, but the stayed, lingering in the back of his mind. This battle waged in his mind, unknown to the outside world, caused as much pain as the wounds he had sustained. But he couldn't stay in his head forever, he had real issues to deal with, people to save. And he wasn't about to let Vala and himself die in the middle of the woods without a fight.

by **Vala** on March 28th, 2011, 10:46 pm

Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up…

A constant, mind numbing, buzz droned on in Vala’s mind – trying its darndest to block out Ronin’s comforting words. She managed to zone him out until he finished packing her boot with snow; he was right; it was pretty petching cold.

Vala hated healers, she didn’t trust their touch feely hands; so to compensate Vala had to self teach herself basic medical techniques and procedures to keep her clumsy self alive. The ankle hurt but it wasn’t too mangled, Vala figured the snow with some bandage wrapping for a few days and she could walk again. So when Ronin pulled off his katinu, Vala couldn’t help but he snapped out of her petulant fit. Ronin was hurt; he was bleeding, less than one would expect from a bear attack, but far more than was healthy.

With the ice, the pain from Vala’s ankle had muted to a dull throb. “Don’t be an idiot. I won’t tear up your katinu; you’ve lost enough blood already, without a coat you’ll pass out from cold and then what? You want me to crawl all the way back the gates and have a party sent out to your corpse which will probably be mangled by the dead bear’s friends?” Vala scoffed cruelly; she knew she was being cruel, spiteful, and really unreasonable, but she was too drained to mask her true nature with her cutesy façade.

She took off her scarf, the cool air sending goosebumps down her spine. “Come. Come closer…Ugh!” Vala’s tone switched from cold and commanding to sick with sarcasm. “Actually, hold on Ronin. Why don’t you stay there, it’s a little boring down here. I’ll get up and come to-“ She almost managed to stay calm. “Are you serious? Get down here so I can bandage you properly. Take a moment to realize I am tiny, thus my reach is limited.” Vala had to fight not to pull back when Ronin sat down beside her; only her sense of duty, more like a sense of guilt for not helping Ronin kill the bear while she was on the ground with just a sprained ankle, kept Vala from rolling away. “Don’t touch me. Don’t even move ok? Just tell me when it hurts. Hey! What did I say? Don’t move a single muscle or I won’t bandage you up and we can both die from cold and loss of blood.” Vala’s voice rose to a hysterical pitch. She took a few deep breaths to calm back down.

Ronin was a great patient. His pain tolerance was phenomenal. “Could you uh…” Vala coughed. She remembered that just earlier that day he had seen her in her birthday suit; there should she be no reason to be embarrassed now. “Could you uh take your shirt off? I need to see the wounds.” When Ronin revealed his bloody chest, Vala knew she had some work to do. “Sorry, could you get me your water?” Ronin fetched the water and handed it to Vala before sitting back down. After seeing Ronin’s probably worse suffering, especially without her whining, Vala was starting to get a hold of herself – still not as nice as when she was faking it, but not definitely not as irritable. “Ok I’m going to clean the cuts before I wrap everything up. It doesn’t look to deep, but I’m not sure about that, so you should get it checked out when we get back to Wind Reach,” She hated them healers, not even bothering to mention their name, but she knew Ronin needed to see one just in case. “…I’m sorry if it hurts, just please try not to fidget.” Vala poured a little out of the water flask onto the end of the scarf. She even took off her right glove to have a more gentle touch.

She worked slowly to wipe away the grime and blood. “I read somewhere that sometimes the infections from cuts like these are worse than the cut themselves. Especially when they’re jagged or from a dirty animal. Oooo, sorry,” Vala whispered. “I’ll try to be more careful.” First she tried to just wipe at Ronin’s shoulder like one would with a counter, but his face revealed his discomfort, so Vala switched to a new tactic: dabbing. She dabbed carefully, using up half the water flask to keep the scarf clean and wet. “Ok, that’s as clean as I can get it out here. Its’ getting dark. I’ll bandage you up now and we can get back to Wind Reach as soon as possible so I can clean it properly. Also, drink the rest of the water: less to carry and you need to get some fluids in you.” Vala wrung out the scarf, trying to get the dirty blood water out. She leaned in towards Ronin, still making sure not to make any contact, as she blew softly on his wound, trying to get out a little pebbled embedded within. The blowing made no difference, so Vala gently picked it out with her nail, her face scrunched up in discomfort. With everything set, Vala began wrapping the scarf around Ronin’s chest. She tried to wrap it tight; the wound’s bleeding had already slowed down, but she still wanted to make sure Ronin’s blood stayed in Ronin. She tried to knot it when she had wrapped it around twice but there wasn’t enough left, so she had to loosen one wrap before tying it off with a simple but tight knot.

Vala wiped her wet hands on her byrda; she was already dirty from laying on the ground so she stopped caring. “I need you to repack my boot with snow… It’s starting to melt.” She wiggled her toes uncomfortably, cringing from the pain; her ankle was mostly numb now. “Also…” She sighed, a little angrily. “I realize that will be carrying me back to Wind Reach.” Vala tried to unclench her jaw. “But… I don’t want to… ugh…I don’t know how to…” Vala closed her eyes and thought of Priskil for strength. “I hate being touched. I absolutely hate anyone’s filthy fingers on me. The only reason I’m going to be ok with this one time… is because I don’t want to die out here in the cold… but if you try anything, anything at all.” Vala stuttered off, unable to continue. She held her heavy head in her hands, wishing, hoping that this was all just a bad dream.

by **Ronin** on March 30th, 2011, 8:10 pm

The worst part about Vala's cruel statement regarding Ronin offering his katinu as a bandage, was that it was entirely possible. Ronin's injury wasn't bad enough to kill him and it wasn't terribly cold, but the combination of the two, in addition to the possibility of it getting dark before they got back to the city, could very easily kill them both. They would have to be smart about things and stay level headed. However, Vala's indecisiveness in where she wanted Ronin to be while she bandaged him was a clear sign that levelheadedness was already leaving her. Ronin cooperated and sat down beside her, not wanting to make things any more difficult. Vala was clearly hysterical, but it seemed to stem from something beyond their current predicament. Why was she so concerned about Ronin touching here? It wasn't like he had some flesh eating disease or that he had been a threat to her before. Her reaction baffled Ronin, only adding further to the set of circumstances that threatened to kill them.

As Vala worked, Ronin showed little sign of pain. He knew he had to mask it if he was going to keep the situation calm. Ronin rifled through his backpack and pulled out a water-skin that he had filled before their trip. He handed it to Vala and watched as she cleaned his wound. Ronin hadn't noticed how filthy he had gotten during the fight. His hair was full of mud and his chest was covered in a thick reddish sludge composed of dirt, blood, and all of sorts of grime. Finally, after many painful slips and muted yelps, his shoulder was clean and ready to be bandaged.

The tight wrap put the necessary compression on the wound, but it also hurt like nothing else. Ronin cringed in discomfort as he tried to mask the sharp pain. It took him a moment to compose himself before he could return to his feet. He was about to scoop up some more snow for Vala's boot when she revealed her secret. The very reason they had such a unique first meeting, was she hated being touched. What this stemmed from and how she survived in Wind Reach with such a phobia were both questions Ronin didn't dare ask. He knelt beside her again and had to make a conscious effort not to place his had on her shoulder to try to comfort her.

"I swear to you. I would not even consider doing anything that made you more uncomfortable than necessary. I will be nothing short of a perfect gentleman, I promise." Ronin paused for a moment to gauge Vala's reaction. "Now, let me repack your boot, and he can be on our way."

Ronin found more snow in the same place as he had before and gently pushed it inside Vala's boot. He made sure that he did not touch her more than he had to, and he tried not to hurt her ankle any further as he worked. It did not take long before he was done. However, they would probably have to stop two or three times on their trip back to re-pack it.

"Okay, there is one last thing I need to do before we go. No one will believe this if we don't have proof." Ronin hurried so they could leave immediately. He ran over to the dead bear. It's size took him by surprise again. Even Ronin had a hard time believing that he had killed it, how was anyone else going to if he didn't bring proof? He found his knife in the bear's stomach and pulled it out. He was going to need it for what he would do next. Once he had cleaned off the blade he preceded to the creature's head. Ronin pried open it's mouth and removed it's two largest incisors. With these, he hoped he could convince others to come out here and see for themselves what he had done. Ronin pocketed the teeth and put the knife back in it's sheave.

Ronin was almost ready. He quickly gathered up their things and slung them all over his good shoulder. He decided not to put the water back in his backpack, since he would need that later. Instead, he handed it to Vala. "Alright, you are in charge of making sure we don't drink all our water too soon, okay?" Ronin knelt beside her again and got ready to pick her up. "I'm going to need you to hold on, and I apologize in advance for how uncomfortable this might make you." He tried to be quick and gentle at the same time. Ronin lifted her arm over his shoulder so she could hang on and place his hands underneath her. The one he placed behind her back, while the other he put behind he knees. With ease, her scooped her up off the ground. She was small and light enough that it was easy to carry her, at least one thing was going right today.

"Are this okay?" Ronin asked nervously. He was hesitant to ask at all, afraid she would tell him to put her down, but he didn't want to make this any worse for her than it already was.

by **Vala** on March 31st, 2011, 4:34 am

The one last thing Ronin needed to do was cut out the bear’s teeth? Vala chalked it up to the strangeness of men. He was bleeding, they were out in the cold, she couldn’t walk, and he wanted bear teeth; Vala sniggered. She stopped abruptly when walked over to her. It was time, time for her to face her fear of touch; it was time for her to be carried by a man she barely knew. If Vala had woken up that morning, with an inkling of an idea of how the day would pan out, she would have curled up in her covers – locking down on her blanket force field – and slept the day away in the warm, cozy safety of her bed.

She took the water, cradling the flask in her arms; she used it as a makeshift doll, pretending it was the small fuzzy bunny that they had almost eaten. She closed her eyes and pet the flask lovingly, pretending it was purring contentedly in her hands. She forced her vivid imagination into over drive, trying to help mind away from the alien touch of another on her body. She tried to hold back, but a single, pathetic sob escaped when Ronin lifted her. She scrunched up her face, keeping her eyes closed as she could feel herself being lifted off the ground.

Ronin smelt of dirt, of sweat, and of blood. Vala tried not to gag, she could feel the bile rising again. He was gentle, as gentle one could be when injured. Ronin lucked out a little: Vala was a light weight, but she definitely wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Ronin was smart and had scooped Vala up so she could hold on to him and support a little of her weight with her arms around her neck – not that she would even consider that an option. She kept her arms tucked in to her chest, clutching at the water flask desperately. Just because Vala was allowing Ronin to carry her off, it didn’t mean she wasn’t on the brink of hyperventilation. If one listened closely, a stream of whispers could be heard – “Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil. Please Priskil.”

Vala didn’t reply to Ronin when he asked her if she was ok. She figured the cupful of tears streaming down her face was indication enough, of how comfortable she felt.

As Ronin began walking off, Vala squirmed violently. “Wait!” She squeaked. “Don’t go yet! Take me back to the bear…please.” She added as an afterthought. She knew Ronin was injured so she tried to make her prayer quick. Ronin stood before the bear, holding Vala in his arms; he had to readjust his hold every few chimes to prevent her from slipping – she was very squirmy.

Vala brought her hands together, meshing her fingers together tightly. “Dear bear. We’re sorry we had to kill you because you attacked us. Please rest in peace. May Priskil bless your Chavi.. uh… goodbye bear… We’ll never forget you…” Vala knew it had tried to kill them, but she had a misplaced respect in animals that she would probably never have for the sentient Inarta or other human sub-races who were capable of more than physical abuse – mainly emotional and mental torture. Her lips quivered, wondering how easy it would have been for the bear to have just ended her, ended the pain. “Would you like to say anything to the bear? He was just hungry… “ Vala asked Ronin as she bit her lip, drawing blood.

When Ronin said what he needed to, they were off again. It was getting dark outside of Wind Reach, and damned cold too. It was still early spring and a patchy layer of snow still littered the ground, helping light up the path a little.

Slowly but surely, the ice packed in Vala’s boot was helping the throbbing pain in Vala’s ankle fade. This wasn’t good. The pain helped fill her mind; focusing on the pain helped her forget about the feel of Ronin’s bandaged chest against her own; the pain helped her forget about the feel of Ronin’s strong arms wrapped under her leg and around her slim torso; and the pain most importantly helped her forget about the short warm, puffs of air of Ronin’s breath that landed gently on Vala’s cheek. Vala knew what she had to do. Without a second thought Vala kicked her left ankle with her right foot, sending jolts of excruciating pain up her leg. She cried out sharply, a wounded animal. Delicious, mind numbing tears streamed down dirty Vala’s face.

by **Ronin** on April 1st, 2011, 9:26 pm

Vala's refusal to hand on to Ronin made carrying her much harder, but he wasn't about to say anything. Ronin considered himself lucky that she hadn't freaked out more than she did. He understood phobias, as he had a couple of his own, but he still found being touched an odd fear. Regardless, Ronin felt guilty. He wished that there was some other way they could get back, but he knew their fate now rested on his shoulders.

Ronin was startled when Vala squirmed and squeaked. At first, he thought he had done something wrong, but he wasn't just going to drop her so he did his beat to keep her cradled in his arms. He had no choice, but to go back for the bear. Vala had shone that she was willing to jump straight out of his arms to get back to the bear, and Ronin knew there was no use fighting her. Once he had a firm grip on Vala, he returned to the bear. He had already held them up by grabbing the teeth, so he wasn't going to deny her her strange religious obsession with animals.

Ronin listened as Vala prayed for the bear. The idea was completely foreign to him, but he kept his mouth shut about it. Ronin was ready to walk off again when Vala stopped him again. Did he want to say anything to the bear?! Of course not! However, he wasn't going to be rude. Ronin didn't know what one said to a dead animal, and he stumbled over his words for a while before actually saying anything intelligible.

"Um... I don't really know what to say to a dead bear, but I suppose I can give it a try. I can say I regret killing you, but I can honestly admit that I would prefer that I didn't have to."

That was all Ronin could come up with, and when he had finished, they left. The entire thing had made him rather uncomfortable, but he refused to show it. He had to stay calm and stoic, if not for his own sake, then for Vala's. They hike back to Wind Reach was far from easy and it was spent mostly in silence between the two. Vala seemed to be intently focused on anything other than Ronin, and he didn't want to make her think about the fact that he was holding her. Ronin felt proud of his chivalry. Vala had such a major fear of touch that she avoided any contact with people if possible. But here she was, laying in Ronin's arms, handling things seemingly well. Or so he thought.

Vala's violent outburst against her own ankle too Ronin by surprise, and the ensuing cry scared him enough that he almost dropped the girl. He knelt down immediately and set Vala's legs on the ground so she was sitting up, her back still supported by Ronin's arm. If she wanted to, she could away from it, but, at the moment, Ronin had no idea what was going on.

"Why did you do that? Are you okay? Should I get more snow?" His questions were hurried and frantic. Ronin wanted to identify the problem quickly so he could wipe the pained look off Vala's face as soon as possible. It was time for a break even if Vala was fine. Ronin needed water and a short rest if he was going to make it the rest of the way to the city.

by **Vala** on April 1st, 2011, 11:23 pm

High off pain, Vala only giggled at Ronin’s frantic expression. “I’m fine.” Vala giggled hysterically, her mirth raked with sobs of agony. “I remember a small clearing a little down the path, closer to the gates. You’re not looking too good.” She ran her tongue against her sharp canines, not so inconspicuously enjoying his suffering. “Here, drink the rest of this now and you can drop me and take a rest for a few chimes.” Vala gently brought the water flask to Ronin’s mouth and carefully tipped the water to let him drink. She graciously fought the urge to tip it all the way up and mildly drown him – he was carrying her after all.

Pain brought a terrible clarity to Vala’s mind. She could sense everything, while mostly blocking out the skin tearing fear of touch. Vala felt super human and vulnerable at the same time. She listened closely to Ronin’s labored breathing; she thought it sounded very similar to the Deks’ she had kicked in the ribs – he was probably in a bit of pain himself.

Vala was normally cruel and uncaring, only feigning concern when it was in her best interest. So she found it a little unnerving when she found herself genuinely wondering how to help Ronin with his pain. Maybe light conversation would bring his mind away; Vala was ok with her plan since it was self serving in the end – she was getting bored, the pain wasn’t enough to keep her entertained as she was carried like a babe; maybe she could even get some juicy information from Ronin to hold over his head later, since he had her fear of touch to hold over herself. “So what have you been doing since your master died? Do you get into life endangering adventures often?” Vala asked the last one a little playfully.

The pain was beginning to subside by the time Ronin set her down in the clearing. She leaned over and began repacking her boot with snow as she waited for Ronin to get his second wind.

by **Ronin** on April 2nd, 2011, 2:27 am

Ronin drank eagerly. The water was warm from being cradled in Vala's arms for so long, but it made no difference to him. His throat was parched from the heavy breathing, but the water quickly restored it. Ronin left plenty for Vala when he was done, concerned for her well-being also.

"You can have the rest, I should be good for the rest of the trip."

They only have a little over a mile left, so drinking the rest just would have been selfish of Ronin. He took a couple deep breaths before picking Vala back up and continuing a couple hundred feet to the clearing. When they arrived, Ronin found a large rock and set Vala beside it before preceding to sit next to her. Finally, he answered her question.

"I have been doing odd-jobs for other glassblowers, hoping that one of them will have time to take on another apprentice. But for now, I haven't found anything long term." He paused. "As for life threatening adventures.. it seems I only have those when I'm with you." He laughed. They had now both sustained injury on each of their meetings. Maybe it was a sign they shouldn't see each other, or maybe it was just a sign that good things never come easy. Ronin wasn't sure. Regardless, he wasn't going to talk about that, so he thought of something else to ask her.

"How about you, how are things going at the library? Anything exciting happening soon?" Ronin never spent much time at the library, despite his love of books. He had enough other interests to keep him busy, that spending hours to read a book never really won out over going hunting or playing with his birds.

Ronin was now adequately rested and would be able to make it the rest of the way to Wind Reach. It was just a matter of when Vala would let him touch her again.

by **Vala** on April 2nd, 2011, 3:40 am

Odd jobs at the Glass Reverie? Vala wondered when she would finally meet a glass worker that would be willing to take her on as a true apprentice. Or even when she would be able to practice again - it felt so long ago since she had last worked with the molten medium. “Maybe we can even apprentice together,” Vala smiled, a crazy, crazy good, idea popping into her head. “Hey how about this. If one of us gets an apprenticeship, they have to try and convince the master to take on the other as well?” as co-workers went Vala would have been more comfortable working with Ronin than another stranger who she would have to avoid touching without seeming rude.

Though her mind was still muddled by pain, Vala brightened up when Ronin mentioned the library. She began talking, opening herself up in her excitement. “Ever since the librarians introduced me to storytelling at the Enclave, I’ve gotten a little addicted to it. It’s so exciting to be up there in the Story Teller’s well, standing in front of everyone, telling a story. Having everyone listen to you. So I’m planning to have a sort of storyteller’s day sometime in the future. Usually I’m stuck to telling children’s stories to the Yasi - but I want this event for the adult storytellers.” Vala didn’t mention she hoped to attract some of the higher ranking Avora, to maybe help her scoot up the classes. “You can even tell this story You can call it “Ronin Versus the Bear!” And don’t forget how you mentioned saving the ‘damsel in distress’.” Vala laughed as the pain began to recede in her glowing wave of true happiness.

When Ronin looked rested enough, he walked over to her, waiting for her approval to pick her up. Vala bit her lip, tugging on one of her locks trying to, figure out her thoughts.

She held up a hand, indicating she wanted a moment. She released the air from her lungs, and took a deep breath before beginning her long winded and mostly genuine apology.

“I can’t say I’m truly sorry for what I said, and how I acted earlier. I don’t want to lie to you Ronin, you already know how I truly am, brutish and cruel, and that I’m deathly afraid of touch, which is a lot more than a lot of people. I don’t understand why you haven’t ran away from me yet; I’m frightful and an overall mess. But I believe no one should make excuses for who they are; I’m not. I may not like who I am; I may be a horrible person, but I do good work and I support Wind Reach like a good citizen should - I’m not like the Dek who just waste Wind Reach’s precious food...” Vala’s heart warming speech to a short detour for the worse when she began her little rant. Thankfully she managed to catch herself and continue with her original speech. “Anyway. I just wanted to say thank you Ronin - I am truly grateful for the friendship you are offering me. I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m a pretty good actor,” Vala flipped her hair, in attempt to be humorous. “I spend most of my energy keeping control and being social; sometimes, during times of extreme stress, times like a bear attack and any mention of healers, I lose my control - that is the risk of being my friend. And I hope that you can look past that to see, that I have some good in me, no matter how tainted by hate and fueled by rage. Please, please, accept this as an honest, not exactly apology, because that means I feel bad, but a declaration of my offer of friendship. I still feel uncomfortable showing my true nature to you all the time - and I’m sure that would scare you away in two days flat, but give me time and I’m sure I’ll be able to drop at least a few masks around you. If you want, I can even stop any of the false flattery I usually put on for strangers and acquaintances.” Vala looked up openly at Ronin - her chest lighter, as if a stone had lifted from her heavy soul.

So exhausted from the adventure, Vala promptly fell asleep in Ronin’s arms after he picked her up again.

ooc :