Even in Death (Edalene)

by **Mycroft** on May 23rd, 2011, 12:07 pm

The regiment rode with Edalene for what must have been hours, but the horses didn't mind. Many of the Striders were as excited as their companions, and the other horses were invigorated by their energy. Clutching the grips of his yvas, Thetch rode ahead of the regiment, his younger brother alongside him. Every so often, he closed his eyes and reached out with one hand, feeling for the strands of Djed that made up Damie's outstretched web. Thetch was a better webber than his brother, but it would do his younger sibling well to practice it while riding on his horse. He had been the one to find the web, anyway. It was his right to glory to lead the regiment to Damie.

Every so often, Thetch sent glances back to Edalene, to make sure she was keeping up. He knew she wasn't as experienced a rider as many of the Watchmen, but he certainly didn't want to end up leaving her behind. Sending her a smile, he performed a bit of grassland sign at her with one hand - we're almost there. Of course, there was the question of whether she knew grassland sign, but he assumed she did.

As the sun was arcing high in the sky, just a few bells from high noon, Thetch's brother began shouting. "It's here! It's here!" Kicking his legs into his horse's sides a little too vigorously, eliciting an irritated groan from the mare, he pulled ahead in excitement to a knoll just ahead, near a small arrangement of larger boulders.

Two large dark lump laid in the grasses, difficult to identify from a distance. As the regiment grew closer, it was clear that neither of them were human - they were too large, and too... feathered. Remarkably, it was two slain glassbeaks, covered in gash marks from a blade. Rounding the boulders, their killer was seen sitting up against one of the large rocks: a dark haired man remarkably late in his years. Head drooped, he held a bloodied sword in the crook of one, arm while the other was tenderly holding his abdomen.

He didn't look to be breathing, at first, but as they drew nearer, his fingers twitched on his sword, and he shifted his leg over. It was confirmed: Damie Sunblaze was alive.

by **Edalene** on May 24th, 2011, 6:48 am

Eda had ridden hard at the beginning, urging them on to reach Damie as fast as they possibly could. She had clearly underestimated just how long it would take to get there. Having ridden ahead at the beginning, now she trailed behind a lot, Ayira a strong fast Strider but Eda's thighs and calves and butt getting more and more sore. She really needed to ride more for longer periods in practice. It was kind of shameful for a Drykas not to be able to ride longer.

She trailed behind, Ayira being understanding and not pushing her to ride faster. It was kind of nice, too, to go slowly. This was the furthest she had ever been out into the Sea on her own. She had never ridden with the Watch and had never gone on such a long ... adventure. It was odd, having all of this happen to her. Exhaustion wiped out a lot of the worry for her father, and only left contemplation. She looked up at Thetch, and smiled slightly at him when he signed at her. No real point telling him she didn't understand sign.

She was startled out of her introspection in the hot sun when one of the Watch began to yell excitedly. It seemed as if the blanket of sluggishness was lifted from them, as everyone suddenly began to awake to what was behind them. Eda glanced ahead, and saw a cairn of rocks sitting, with two large bodies in front of her. With a kick of her heels, Eda guided Ayira up to the front of the regiment. "What is it?" she called, but her own question was answered as she neared.

Two dead bloodied glassbeaks were strewn in front of the boulders, but Eda only gave them a cursory glance as her eyes drew to the figure that was propped up against the rocks. Her heart leapt, and she swung from Ayira's back without even realising it, her breath heavy as she ran towards him. "FATHER!" she screamed, and laughed as she saw him move slightly. She rushed over to his side, and collapsed down beside him, kneeling. She was about to throw her arms around him when she noticed the way he clutched at his abdomen. "You're alive!" she sobbed, and tears of joy were streamed. "Are you hurt? How badly? What happened?"

by **Mycroft** on May 24th, 2011, 9:37 am

As Edalene cried for her father, Damie slightly lifted his head, his features wrenching as he appeared to wake from a stupor. Slowly, he craned his neck upward, able to lay his eyes on the girl just before she rushed in to hug him. Jerked backwards by the force of her momentum, he uttered a minor grunt in sheer surprise. Coughing weakly, Damie carefully lifted his arm and tightly wrapped it around Edalene's back, leaving his sword to fall abandoned into the grass. He dug his fingers into her hair and closed his eyes in pure relief as he embraced his daughter.

Spending a day and a half in the Sea of Grass, alone and his Strider, a reunion like this would simply erase all the bitterness between them. Edalene was his daughter. After tasting death, there was no point in hiding it; he was unquestionably happy to see her.

Petting his hand over Edalene's hair, he pressed his forehead briefly against hers, then leaned back against his boulder. He shook his head at her, forcing a dim smile. "I'll... be fine..." he whispered hoarsely. Removing his arm from his abdomen, he revealed his expertly bandaged midsection. Though the linen bandages wrapped around his waist were stained with dirt and debris, there didn't appear to be any bloodstains that had soaked through. Damie coughed again. "I'll explain later. Please... take me home... Can't stand up..."

Though in one piece and looking relatively uninjured, Damie looked a bit pale - very likely from hunger and dehydration. Above the smell of a man who had been out in the wilds for over a day, there was a very odd scent - something sharp and even acrid. It may have been the smell of the salve he'd used on his wounds. In that case, he'd been smart to pack such a thing when he'd gone riding out into the night.

"Damie, you stubborn old fool," Thetch called to him, smiling broadly. He and his brother came forward from their horses. Each of them taking one of Damie's arms, they lifted the weakened man to his feet. Thetch grinned at him, trying to mock him for his foolishness, but the only expression he could wear was relief. "We were all sure you were dead."

"Me? Dead?" Damie choked in an attempt to laugh. "That's a funny thought." He cast a look to his daughter, narrowing his eyes as he studied her, as if seeing her face for the first time. "Evaline, be a girl and pick up my sword?"

Thetch arched an eyebrow. "Her name is Edalene. Did you take a knock to the head?"

"I must have," Damie responded immediately without effect.

The senior Watchman shook his head. "Come on. Let's get you on a horse." In a group effort with his brother, the two Watchmen began helping Damie walk his way toward Thetch's horse, and began the painstaking process of loading the injured man onto the animal's back.

"Edalene..." Before Edalene could gather herself to leave with the others, a whisper would hiss her name from behind the boulders with desperate insistence. "Edalene...!"

by **Edalene** on May 24th, 2011, 3:03 pm

Eda could feel the relief, pure relief, washing over her as her arms wrapped around him and his moved over her back. It had been a while since there had been such a joyous hug together, father and daughter, pure happiness in being with the other. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck, wet tears splashing onto his skin as she cried in relief and joy and exhaustion, his calloused hand brushing over her soft hair. Her eyes were swimming in tears as their foreheads pressed together, eyes locking. She sniffed slightly, chest aching with joy, looking down at his wound.

He had been the one to teach her what little medicine she knew, but clearly he had known much more of the art than she had picked up, The wound was bandaged expertly, the cloth clean, and Eda's eyes flicked worriedly over it - but however bad the wound was underneath, he was sitting up and talking to her. She couldn't stop the grin that threatened to fly off her face from pure joy. "Of course, father," she whispered, so overjoyed that loudness could not be accomplished. "Let's get you back home to our Sunblaze pavillion." She was simply so happy to be in his arms again that she didn't notice the smell.

She rocked back onto her heels as Thetch and his brother approached, laughter lacing their tones as Thetch called out jokingly to Damie. She sat, still kneeling at his side, watching them with smiles and a hand gripping Damie's. Letting go reluctantly, she stepped back allowing them to lift him up, though she hovered by worriedly. The wound seemed to be taking a toll on him, weak as he was. Had he gotten it from the glassbeaks? Her eyes strayed to the carcasses; looks as though the stories he had told her of killing the beasts were true. Eda looked back to Damie, catching the end of their banter.

Her heart sunk when he called her the wrong name. A small seed of worry laced through her - a seed which Thetch seemed to vocalise wholly - but mostly disappointment wove through her. It didn't matter how injured or pained he was; who forgot their own daughter's name? And that look he had given her before he called her 'Evaline' ... as if he didn't even know who she was. Bowing her head, she whispered a quiet "Yes father," and scrambled to pick up his sword. It was not the knotted broadsword that she had at her hip, but it was an intimidating weapon nonetheless.

Eda didn't move, watching the men move Damie onto the Watchman's horse when she heard her name, hissed by a familiar voice. Looking around, she couldn't see anyone, but it came again from behind the boulder. She thought she recognised it, a soft young male's voice, and she had an idea of who it could be. Looking around, she opened her mouth to make an excuse to the Watchman, but of course - no one was looking at her. Typical. With a last sneaking glance towards Damie, to make sure he was okay, she crept off around the boulders to see what lay there.

by **Mycroft** on May 24th, 2011, 3:35 pm

Standing behind the rocks, without any explanation, was the golden blond Tarrow. There was no explanation for him being there. He hadn't traveled with the Watchman regiment, and even if he had been tailing them, it would have been likely for such a starkly colored horse to go unnoticed, especially by the webbers. There had been no mention of the Firemane escaping from the Amethyst horse keepers. Something would have been said if there was a problem with the capture foreign horse. So how was he there with only Edalene knowing it? It seemed impossible.

"Edalene," he repeated to her, insistently, stepping forward. In the daylight, something seemed off about him now. The light didn't hit him exactly right, and some parts about his image almost seemed blurred. Even as he smiled, he began to look more like an oil painting than a person. "I'm sorry for the things I said last night. Clearly I was wrong. However, there is something very important you should know. Your Father has been poisoned. Your healers cannot help him. But down here," Tarrow paused, pointing to a round flat rock, "beneath this stone, there is a satchel filled with vials of fluid. That fluid will treat your Father's sickness. Without it, he will perish."

Tarrow's entire image seemed to flicker then, as if it weren't really there: a mirage or a trick of the eyes, but his voice was plainly audible. And when he took another few steps around the rocks, that's when it became clear: not only did Tarrow not cast a shadow on the ground, but the grasses... they weren't rustled by the movement of his legs. The grass was going THROUGH him.

"Don't be frightened," he said softly, locking his eyes with her. He wished he could have told her in an easier way, but this was too urgent for him to stand by and wait. Damie needed the supplies in that satchel soon or things would get much, much worse. He wasn't sure whether a Drykas all the way out in Cyphrus would have seen one before, but Tarrow had to make it clear to Edalene now: he himself had been dead for some time. Tarrow was a ghost. "I haven't been completely honest with you, about what I am, and why I'm here. I promise I will explain everything back in Endrykas. For now, you must pick up this satchel and bring it back with you. Please."

by **Edalene** on May 25th, 2011, 1:14 am

Eda's face twisted into pure confusion as she saw the man she had almost thought was a dream. Tarrow was standing behind the boulder, looking toward Eda insistently, his hand stretched out toward her. He hissed her name like it was imperative that she snap to and pay attention to what he was saying, but she could not let anything but confusion reign through her. How on earth could Tarrow be here? He had not come with them, and it's not like one could appear and disappear from will. And how had no one else noticed that he was here, behind a rock, hissing for Eda to come out and talk to him? How had Damie not noticed?

She gazed at him blankly, trying to figure out just what was wrong with him, why he didn't seem to fit right with the rest of the world, when he mentioned those words and her blood ran cold. She choked as he told her that her father was poisoned and would die. How did he know this? Had he done that? He had been the horse who had disappeared, it was possible that he had been the one to do so. But then, why was he helping her? Eda was so confused, slow on the uptake, and all the more overwhelmed that he knew all this. She barely heard his apology, and just focused on the supposed location of these vials that would save him. Would they? Or was it another ploy to trick Eda? She was out of her depth.

But then he moved forward, and with a jerk backwards, she noticed just what was wrong with him. She had never seen one before, but she had heard whispers of them in stories around the campfires on summer nights, stories to make the little ones scared. A gasp wrenched from her throat, and she looked back over to the regiment. "A ghost," she gasped out hoarsely, shaking her head disbelievingly. "You're dead ... why ... what? Why did you not tell me?" She locked eyes at him, suddenly angry. He had lied to her, led her to trust him, and now he wanted her to take these mystery vials? She crossed her arms and stamped her foot, her face full of that little girl determination. "No, I'm not going yet. I'm not taking these vials that could make him worse. How am I supposed to trust you? You LIED to me! Are you even named Tarrow? You're petching DEAD!" Her voice raised in volume until it was a near shout, but her eyes were narrowed and she didn't budge. Tarrow couldn't make any more excuses.

by **Mycroft** on May 25th, 2011, 1:39 am

Tarrow leaned back, looking mildly shocked at Edalene's outburst. Of course, he hardly could have expected her or anyone to remain calm about something like this. As a ghost, Tarrow had existed long enough to know that in most places, his kind was regarded with fear and trepidation. He was used to that. It was more alarming however that Edalene was accusing him of lying. Surely he'd been misleading and omitted important truths, but he never meant to deceive her. It just would have been too difficult and complicated to explain it all at once.

"I didn't lie!" Tarrow yelped, grimacing. He appeared both hurt, as well as guilt-ridden, as the ghost was plenty of both. "I really am a Kelvic. Or... I was. Now I'm just... well." Tarrow opened his arms in a sweeping motion, presenting this flickering image of himself. He glanced down at his feet and then up at Edalene again. The ghost put on a sad smile. "I'm also dead." He dropped his arms and the smile, shrugging helplessly. "It's not something you can just casually tell someone. What did you expect me to say? 'Hey there, I'm Tarrow, ghostly apparition at your service. How can I haunt you tonight?'" Tarrow rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "The horse you saw, the Firemane, it's just a friend of mine. Most horses are terrified of me, but since I died, I can't change my form. Even if I could, I wouldn't really BE my true self. So I just... possess him, from time to time. He doesn't mind anymore. It's completely harmless."

Tentatively, the ghost took a step forward toward Edalene. It was natural for the living to fear ghosts, but he really did hope she could see past it. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. She had already been put through enough, and Tarrow knew it wasn't over. The least he could do was comfort her. "My name really is Tarrow. And that really was me, in the horse, when we met yesterday. It just wasn't my body. I'm sorry I misled you, but... being dead isn't something I'm really very proud of."

by **Edalene** on May 25th, 2011, 1:59 am

Eda would have felt bad that he seemed so upset at what she was saying but ... she didn't. He was DEAD. She didn't care what his excuses were. She was not four years old, she was not to be coddled and protected from the truth. He needed to tell her this right away! It was not as if it were just a random comment, he knew about her father and could have helped him! And he was a GHOST! Fear turned to pure irritation as her eyebrow raised, her foot began to tap and her arms were crossed over her chest. She was not impressed with Tarrow, no matter how cute he was.

She listened to his explanation, seemingly calmly, letting him run out of steam before she responded. She was NOT happy. At all. And she would let Tarrow know this. She didn't budge as he took a step towards her - could it really be called a step if he wasn't even corporeal? - and just surveyed him with disdain. Surely it was an odd situation. A young, sixteen year old girl, rather than yelling and running in fear, was standing in front of a ghost and letting him have it.

"You quite done?" she said with raised eyebrow, her tone scathing. "Good. Now, I'm sorry you're dead and all, but my father is NOT. My father is still alive and you think you have the right to withhold information that could potentially save him!" She dropped to her knees and tugged away the rock he had gestured to, pulling out the vials that he had told her to take. She didn't stop talking though, though her eyes were not focused on him. "You're a very selfish ghost, Tarrow," she sniffed haughtily. "And you better tell me just what is wrong with my father. NOW. How do you know he's poisoned?"

She stood back up, clutching the satchel with a glare, arms crossed. She looked like an angry wife whose husband had drunk too much. "How do you know this? Why won't you let me know? Why do you even care about this whole thing?!" She tapped her foot as she waited for an answer. After a short pause, she snapped out "After you've concealed this already, I think I deserve to know."

by **Mycroft** on May 25th, 2011, 2:18 am

"Selfish?" The deceased Kelvic had never been called that before. After all he had died and returned from the oblivion of death out of sheer loyalty to his bondmate. But perhaps the desire to serve was self-motivated, and was in itself selfish? Tarrow was no philosopher. He couldn't really agree or disagree with whether what she said was true. It didn't really matter. He had overstepped his bounds in this matter the minute he'd intervened late last night. "I guess, maybe. But I wouldn't be standing here trying to help you or your people if I wasn't worried that more people were going to be hurt. That monster is not through with your father, and it can still be a threat to your city. I know this very, very well. I have seen it happen nearly a dozen times over."

Tarrow brushed back his hair - his ghostly, transparent blond hair. "I know this because... that monster is my bondmate." He shook his head violently, then took another fervent step forward. It wasn't really a "step," but after decades of practice in mimicry and materialization, it comforted both him and the living to appear as human as possible. "But he wasn't always like this! He used to be a Drykas, like you, but he... changed. And now, sometimes he hurts people. He's the one responsible for Zeyba's death. He poisoned your father, too, but he wasn't supposed to survive. Something must have gone wrong, and now I'm worried that Endrykas itself is in danger." Tarrow pointed to the rock. "I would bring the vials myself, but I can't pick them up. Please, Edalene. You're the only one who can stop my master from hurting any more people. I don't want to see anyone else die."

by **Edalene** on May 25th, 2011, 5:20 am

Eda was slightly shocked that Tarrow did not consider himself selfish. Eda liked to think she was pretty perceptive, and knew her faults well. She didn't see how people could not see their own; but then again, Eda didn't do very much with her life except introspection. But she was still irritated that SHE had to be the one to psychoanalyse him. Tarrow was a selfish ghostie, and that was that.

But she did feel slightly guilty at what he was saying. She hadn't considered it in the way he was saying. She didn't look at what he had done for her, how he had helped her. She didn't consider that before accusing him. Instead, all she did think of was what he had not done, and that was be honest to her. Yes, he was helping, but this was literally a matter of life and death. Right and wrong applied here, and though she felt bad for him, she was still in the RIGHT and she knew it.

Her stomach dropped though as he explained just what it was they were up against. She swallowed a lump in her throat, and utter guilt ran through her and she stayed still as he walked closer to her. He looked so hurt, so upset, she just wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him - but she could not. He would not let her touch him. And he was a ghost ... but he looked so heart broken. Her throat was dry as she swallowed, her voice cracking as she spoke. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and it was clear there were tears in her eyes - for Endrykas, for her father, for Tarrow. "I will take them back ... are you ... are you coming back with us?" She clutched the vials to her chest, and with the back of her left wrist, she wiped away the tears in her eyes. It had been a long, emotional day.