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[ it had been a hell of a storm, and considering the last time this had happened, they'd all found themselves here and having to fight, it makes some sense that olivia's call would be somewhat frantic, if not sudden.
she can only hope he isn't trying to rouse another sacrificial ritual... ]
My Lord...! Are you alright? Please answer me—
she can only hope he isn't trying to rouse another sacrificial ritual... ]
My Lord...! Are you alright? Please answer me—
[She knows him so well...
Still is he alarmed by the resonance of her voice and the manifestation of her visage when nowhere near him she stands. He peers into the golden cuff as if that might help him better assess her status and whereabouts.]
I am unharmed, Olivia. I managed to find shelter from the tempest, that when the winds whipped into a frenzy and the waves roared themselves hoarse, I was left untouched. Rainwater making heavy my tunic - this I can survive. [With just a pinch of levity in his otherwise steady and sure voice.] How fare you in all this tumult?
Still is he alarmed by the resonance of her voice and the manifestation of her visage when nowhere near him she stands. He peers into the golden cuff as if that might help him better assess her status and whereabouts.]
I am unharmed, Olivia. I managed to find shelter from the tempest, that when the winds whipped into a frenzy and the waves roared themselves hoarse, I was left untouched. Rainwater making heavy my tunic - this I can survive. [With just a pinch of levity in his otherwise steady and sure voice.] How fare you in all this tumult?
[ her relief is practically palpable, even through the strange technology of these devices. a heavy sigh sends her shoulders drooping, and one hand distractedly comes up to brush went bangs off her face. like him, she is soaked, but she seems to be in better spirits knowing he is well. ]
If I never have to experience another rainstorm, it will be too soon, [ she says with a touch more wryness than is usual of her. her nerves are getting to her though, as is the anxiety bubbling from all her worry. ]
For a while there I thought I'd never touch ground again.
If I never have to experience another rainstorm, it will be too soon, [ she says with a touch more wryness than is usual of her. her nerves are getting to her though, as is the anxiety bubbling from all her worry. ]
For a while there I thought I'd never touch ground again.
So lithe of limb and light of weight you are, the winds must have thought you little more than a tree branch.
[Even in the wake of such dire straits he cannot help but tease her. He presents much the same image as she does: his golden curls are tangled and sodden, and rainwater glistens in his beard. He does not attempt to wipe his face dry, for lack of anything dry with which to wipe it.]
Indeed, already this is the second time we have weathered such a storm. Is it wave-ruling Ryba who tosses such fury from the sea and sky? But then if this is so, why did she speak not to the source of her displeasure when as suppliants we went to her?
[Even in the wake of such dire straits he cannot help but tease her. He presents much the same image as she does: his golden curls are tangled and sodden, and rainwater glistens in his beard. He does not attempt to wipe his face dry, for lack of anything dry with which to wipe it.]
Indeed, already this is the second time we have weathered such a storm. Is it wave-ruling Ryba who tosses such fury from the sea and sky? But then if this is so, why did she speak not to the source of her displeasure when as suppliants we went to her?
[ she lifts her shoulders in a helpless shrug; all she knows of ryba is what he and helga had told them all. ]
If she were really that unhappy now, I can't see why she couldn't just... come up and tell us.
[ there are typically more than enough of them wading the waters at any given time, considering it's one of the best places to find food around here.
she folds her arms around herself, fighting off the urge to shiver when a wind breezes past. given her surroundings, it's obvious she's still outdoors somewhere. ]
Something tells me this is just the beginning...
If she were really that unhappy now, I can't see why she couldn't just... come up and tell us.
[ there are typically more than enough of them wading the waters at any given time, considering it's one of the best places to find food around here.
she folds her arms around herself, fighting off the urge to shiver when a wind breezes past. given her surroundings, it's obvious she's still outdoors somewhere. ]
Something tells me this is just the beginning...
The gods will often reveal their hearts by other routes: they bestow their words upon mortals when they so choose, but such is not our right to demand, however strongly desperation seizes us by our throats. I can say only what I know of the glorious gods who dwell in my people's lands, however, this must hold true even in this far flung nation which lies not beneath the same sun. But indeed you speak true. Such a storm as this bears on its lashing winds a grim prophecy.
[The glimpses she might catch of the background are ever shifting: now he begins to walk, to survey the damage dealt to the land.]
Where are you, lovely Olivia? Are there others there in your company?
[The glimpses she might catch of the background are ever shifting: now he begins to walk, to survey the damage dealt to the land.]
Where are you, lovely Olivia? Are there others there in your company?
I'm by the docks, [ she confesses, tone and expression notably more somber after hearing achilles reaffirm her grim suspicions.
she draws her long hair over one shoulder, being the somewhat arduous work of wringing out all the water that had clung to it just for something to do. ]
It's just me and Saffron right now... I wasn't sure where everyone else turned up.
she draws her long hair over one shoulder, being the somewhat arduous work of wringing out all the water that had clung to it just for something to do. ]
It's just me and Saffron right now... I wasn't sure where everyone else turned up.
I shall come find you then. There are but few here who concern me, and so upon you my attention most wishes to turn, that I may make certain your well-being.
[His loyalty is not so easily earned that being thrust into the same crew demands he widen his heart to include all among their ranks: he is a part of this crew, and yet he does not integrate so easily.]
I wonder too how the Nalawi have fared: here and there I have met their men and women scattered by the terrible winds, but all have seemed well if shaken by the sudden swell of the storm. They have gone to seek their families and households.
[His loyalty is not so easily earned that being thrust into the same crew demands he widen his heart to include all among their ranks: he is a part of this crew, and yet he does not integrate so easily.]
I wonder too how the Nalawi have fared: here and there I have met their men and women scattered by the terrible winds, but all have seemed well if shaken by the sudden swell of the storm. They have gone to seek their families and households.
[ the smile she gives him is grateful, if not worn and weary. she would insist he needn't check up on her, that this is surely enough, but rather selfishly she wishes for more companionship, especially after so many of her calls refused to go through.
however, the moment he brings up the nalawi, her expression falters. it had been easy enough to ignore the sights when her mind was caught up in worry, and then relief. now, though, there is nothing to keep her thoughts from straying again to the scene she had woken up to, next to. her pallor seems to lose color. ]
...I.
[ she swallows thickly. ]
Not all of them are well...
however, the moment he brings up the nalawi, her expression falters. it had been easy enough to ignore the sights when her mind was caught up in worry, and then relief. now, though, there is nothing to keep her thoughts from straying again to the scene she had woken up to, next to. her pallor seems to lose color. ]
...I.
[ she swallows thickly. ]
Not all of them are well...
Felled by the swift arm of the storm, were they? The winds when whipped to a frenzy by the gods are indeed cruel, and blind in the justice they deliver. May the kin of the fallen recover the bodies that each shall receive his deserved burial rites despite such a hapless end.
[Implied in this prayer is consolation aimed at Olivia herself, whose gentle heart must mourn for the passing of even those she knows not.]
[Implied in this prayer is consolation aimed at Olivia herself, whose gentle heart must mourn for the passing of even those she knows not.]
[The enchanted jewelry is to him as much a frustration as it is a convenience: when he can see only the illusion of her face, rather than share solid space with her, his words cannot carry the same impact.]
Would that we could find the families that they might honor the fallen with their mourning: but where parent or child, nor husband or wife may be I know not. Sorrowful indeed are bones whose name none knows. The bodies, however, will not keep long, and so it would be best to inter them soon.
I shall not be long, Olivia - the docks are soon to be in sight.
[Speaking thus, he does not drop their communication - his presence is still there on the other side. But as promised, he appears a moment later by the shore, where the end of the dock is anchored deep in the sand.]
Would that we could find the families that they might honor the fallen with their mourning: but where parent or child, nor husband or wife may be I know not. Sorrowful indeed are bones whose name none knows. The bodies, however, will not keep long, and so it would be best to inter them soon.
I shall not be long, Olivia - the docks are soon to be in sight.
[Speaking thus, he does not drop their communication - his presence is still there on the other side. But as promised, he appears a moment later by the shore, where the end of the dock is anchored deep in the sand.]
[ she is grateful that he remains on sight; even the holographic vision of him is an easy balm on her frantic nerves, only made worse by the continued silence from the other lines of communication she had opened. where had they all gone? what was she to do without them?
true to his word, though, achilles arrives before long, breaking from the line of trees and wilderness that frames the shoreline. the moment she catches sight of him, she doesn't hesitate to rush forward and reach for him. propriety be damned, she all but throws herself against him, enveloping what she can in her arms, allowing the embrace to be both a comfort and proof of his realness. ]
Thank goodness, [ she breathes out in a sigh, not knowing what she might have done if it had all just been a concoction of her desperate mind. when she finally draws away, she allows another deep breath to escape her, though this time it is to steady herself. ]
For a second I thought I might have dreamed it all up.
true to his word, though, achilles arrives before long, breaking from the line of trees and wilderness that frames the shoreline. the moment she catches sight of him, she doesn't hesitate to rush forward and reach for him. propriety be damned, she all but throws herself against him, enveloping what she can in her arms, allowing the embrace to be both a comfort and proof of his realness. ]
Thank goodness, [ she breathes out in a sigh, not knowing what she might have done if it had all just been a concoction of her desperate mind. when she finally draws away, she allows another deep breath to escape her, though this time it is to steady herself. ]
For a second I thought I might have dreamed it all up.
[Achilles does not expect her to fling her arms around him so, and yet his sturdy body absorbs the force of her emotions: in her embrace he can feel both her frantic heart and her relief which gushes as does a river in spate. His own arms fasten over her shoulders, and in them her slight frame is easily enveloped.]
Indeed I am as real and as solid as the earth which lies beneath your feet. For you to cling thus, so like a child at her mother's skirts, you must have been stirred to fright by that which greeted your eyes. The face of death is unpleasant to gaze upon.
[She has not the blood drenching her hands that he has: she cannot learn as he has to sever herself from the rawness of death. Death shall never lose its heavy pall, but when one has seen fields filled with corpses as thickly as the sea teems with fish, he learns which lost lives deserve most to be felt - and all others blur to the peripherals, fade into forgotten almost as fast as their final breath slipped the guard of their teeth.]
Indeed I am as real and as solid as the earth which lies beneath your feet. For you to cling thus, so like a child at her mother's skirts, you must have been stirred to fright by that which greeted your eyes. The face of death is unpleasant to gaze upon.
[She has not the blood drenching her hands that he has: she cannot learn as he has to sever herself from the rawness of death. Death shall never lose its heavy pall, but when one has seen fields filled with corpses as thickly as the sea teems with fish, he learns which lost lives deserve most to be felt - and all others blur to the peripherals, fade into forgotten almost as fast as their final breath slipped the guard of their teeth.]
[ she smiles in turn, but it is not one of her usual. solemn and muted in light, truly nothing more than a forced crinkle at the corners of her mouth. ]
I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, [ she admits. she had been a soldier once, for a time. and though she was not terrible at it (despite her words) she does not yet bear the heart of a killer, and thus death will still haunt her no matter how often she comes across it.
slowly she lowers her head, gaze drifting down towards the shores where the bodies lie, not more than fifteen feet away. their smells have since mingled with that of the sea, making for an order that, while still unpleasant, is at least subdued enough to make their proximity tolerable.
unconsciously, her hands drift down to his own, fingertips light over his palms. ]
I've found five so far... I don't know if there are any more.
I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, [ she admits. she had been a soldier once, for a time. and though she was not terrible at it (despite her words) she does not yet bear the heart of a killer, and thus death will still haunt her no matter how often she comes across it.
slowly she lowers her head, gaze drifting down towards the shores where the bodies lie, not more than fifteen feet away. their smells have since mingled with that of the sea, making for an order that, while still unpleasant, is at least subdued enough to make their proximity tolerable.
unconsciously, her hands drift down to his own, fingertips light over his palms. ]
I've found five so far... I don't know if there are any more.
[He clasps her hands in the way that a child might cup a butterfly, and he gives a gentle squeeze as his gaze too falls to the crooked row of bodies. Lying thus, the Nalawi hardly appear any different from deer claimed in the hunt, or livestock slit open at the throat that the rich blood may grace the sacrificial altar: yet still he feels sorrow's touch at the edges of his heart, for these were their hosts in this foreign land. It strikes him that Olivia alone must have gathered the bodies upon this spot, and again he squeezes the soft hands which performed a duty so grim.
Soon his hands withdraw and he goes to kneel in the sand beside the bodies. Each is sodden and smeared with a second skin of grime, through which violent wounds bloom.]
Was it truly the tempest which tore life from your limbs? Then whence did these gashes come?
Soon his hands withdraw and he goes to kneel in the sand beside the bodies. Each is sodden and smeared with a second skin of grime, through which violent wounds bloom.]
Was it truly the tempest which tore life from your limbs? Then whence did these gashes come?
[ she stands just beside him, quiet and still in her reverence. though it pains her (almost physically so) to look upon the bodies once more, left twisted and exposed by the sea, she knows it is a greater disrespect to treat death as if it were some grotesque thing.
and so she stands, just a few feet away, hands clenched at her lap and with her lips tightly shut. she tries to keep her breaths shallow, and her mouth closed. swallows back the bile that threatens to rise every now and then, and even manages to blink back the tears that nearly spill.
when he muses outloud she thinks to answer, but takes care to keep her voice low. ]
It has to be from a blade... the cut is too clean, otherwise.
and so she stands, just a few feet away, hands clenched at her lap and with her lips tightly shut. she tries to keep her breaths shallow, and her mouth closed. swallows back the bile that threatens to rise every now and then, and even manages to blink back the tears that nearly spill.
when he muses outloud she thinks to answer, but takes care to keep her voice low. ]
It has to be from a blade... the cut is too clean, otherwise.
Indeed, this is the concern which grows too in my heart. For well do I know the appearance of wounds inflicted by the arms of men, and none else could cause lacerations so precise as these. I know not, however, who could have cause to murder these our hosts, whether from among our crew or the Nalawi themselves.
[So speaking, he stands once more and turns to Olivia, whose distress is as obvious as the clouds which pass over the sun and steal away its light. His touch upon her arm is light when he ushers her away from the grim display of death. He does not intend to mitigate whatever grief fills her breast, however, for mourning is a ritual demanded by his people: it shows not weakness of the heart, but strength of compassion.]
Need you time to mourn? Then pound your fist upon your breast and tear at your hair, for there will be time enough while I dig for these Nalawi their grave. Perhaps there will be time enough too for the fathers and mothers, the brothers and sisters, the husbands and wives, to learn that their dear ones have been torn away in the storm, and they shall seek the truth of what happened. Then we may at least learn the names of those lost.
[So speaking, he stands once more and turns to Olivia, whose distress is as obvious as the clouds which pass over the sun and steal away its light. His touch upon her arm is light when he ushers her away from the grim display of death. He does not intend to mitigate whatever grief fills her breast, however, for mourning is a ritual demanded by his people: it shows not weakness of the heart, but strength of compassion.]
Need you time to mourn? Then pound your fist upon your breast and tear at your hair, for there will be time enough while I dig for these Nalawi their grave. Perhaps there will be time enough too for the fathers and mothers, the brothers and sisters, the husbands and wives, to learn that their dear ones have been torn away in the storm, and they shall seek the truth of what happened. Then we may at least learn the names of those lost.
[ it would be all too easy to turn away now, to take comfort in his offer and let her heart be a little lighter.
but she only shakes her head, glancing back up at him to fashion a brave smile. ]
I'll help you dig, [ she insists. ] It... wouldn't feel right to just walk away.
but she only shakes her head, glancing back up at him to fashion a brave smile. ]
I'll help you dig, [ she insists. ] It... wouldn't feel right to just walk away.
[ it had been a long day of work, and though olivia is no stranger to manual labor, she still cannot easily shake off the ache that has begun to settle between her shoulders. she has reason to suspect part of the tension is also due to stress, but to admit as much would just make the matter worse, she thinks.
in any case, it is well after the evening hours that she finally gets around to visiting him. late enough that she's certain he has already had dinner, and so she decides to bring with her a portion of the roll cake she had made the previous day, hoping she could entice him into sharing it with her. she's there for another reason entirely of course, after the disaster that had transpired between him and law earlier that day, but with any luck, the dessert might make matters easier. she isn't sure if he'll still feel a bit put out by all that had happened, now that it's been several hours later but... it can't hurt to be sure. ]
My Lord...?
[ she knocks gently at his door, cradling the basket with the dessert close to her body as she waits. ]
in any case, it is well after the evening hours that she finally gets around to visiting him. late enough that she's certain he has already had dinner, and so she decides to bring with her a portion of the roll cake she had made the previous day, hoping she could entice him into sharing it with her. she's there for another reason entirely of course, after the disaster that had transpired between him and law earlier that day, but with any luck, the dessert might make matters easier. she isn't sure if he'll still feel a bit put out by all that had happened, now that it's been several hours later but... it can't hurt to be sure. ]
My Lord...?
[ she knocks gently at his door, cradling the basket with the dessert close to her body as she waits. ]
[Achilles goes to answer the knock upon the door and her beckoning voice which floats through the sturdy wood. To see her standing before his chamber draws from his lips a grin: she is as always a welcome sight for weary eyes.]
Lovely-haired Olivia, to what do I owe this pleasure? Please, come in.
[He gestures grandly for her to pass through the threshold and join him proper. The room while modest in size boasts lavish decorations, with rich colors, intricate embroidery, and gleaming wood beaming proudly from everywhere one's eyes can fall. By the door he has on display the glorious armor crafted for him by Hephaestus, and its brother crafted by the same hand, his magnificent shield which bears upon its broad surface the beautifully etched images of the earth, sky, and sea; of the sun, moon, and constellations; and of human life, the figures nestled in concentric circles. There stands too his tireless bronze spear, propped up against the wall in the corner]
I must apologize, for I have no wine to offer for the occasion but only water. But it seems we shall have something to eat - you are too kind a guest for this poor host. Come now, and sit at the table here.
[Here he offers her a chair at the small but finely carved table. There upon the table sits a book of legends, whose pages he cannot read but whose intricate pictures he can still delight in, and within reach of his own chair waits the lyre with which she should be familiar. These evenings absent of any with whom to share his space make his heart yearn for his dear companion Patroclus, and so the present company is indeed welcome.]
Lovely-haired Olivia, to what do I owe this pleasure? Please, come in.
[He gestures grandly for her to pass through the threshold and join him proper. The room while modest in size boasts lavish decorations, with rich colors, intricate embroidery, and gleaming wood beaming proudly from everywhere one's eyes can fall. By the door he has on display the glorious armor crafted for him by Hephaestus, and its brother crafted by the same hand, his magnificent shield which bears upon its broad surface the beautifully etched images of the earth, sky, and sea; of the sun, moon, and constellations; and of human life, the figures nestled in concentric circles. There stands too his tireless bronze spear, propped up against the wall in the corner]
I must apologize, for I have no wine to offer for the occasion but only water. But it seems we shall have something to eat - you are too kind a guest for this poor host. Come now, and sit at the table here.
[Here he offers her a chair at the small but finely carved table. There upon the table sits a book of legends, whose pages he cannot read but whose intricate pictures he can still delight in, and within reach of his own chair waits the lyre with which she should be familiar. These evenings absent of any with whom to share his space make his heart yearn for his dear companion Patroclus, and so the present company is indeed welcome.]
Hail, Achilles, son of Peleus.
[It is the tiny witch who knows no chill on her device, sitting prim and proper in a chair that dwarfs her, a far more fitting sort of presentation than... in the bushes.]
It is I, Sieglinde Sullivan, the Green Witch. Have you time to spare?
[It is the tiny witch who knows no chill on her device, sitting prim and proper in a chair that dwarfs her, a far more fitting sort of presentation than... in the bushes.]
It is I, Sieglinde Sullivan, the Green Witch. Have you time to spare?
[He is not surprised to see her visage shimmering from the gold cuff which adorns his wrist. Here are circumstance far more befitting the matter about which she must wish to speak: he too sits with appropriate carriage for one of his nobility, and his countenance is serious but not unkind.]
Well met, bright-eyed Sieglinde, the Green Witch who is mistress of her own house. Indeed I have the time to grant your audience. What is the matter which presses upon your heart? Come you now as teacher to fair-haired Olivia, pleasure of my heart?
Well met, bright-eyed Sieglinde, the Green Witch who is mistress of her own house. Indeed I have the time to grant your audience. What is the matter which presses upon your heart? Come you now as teacher to fair-haired Olivia, pleasure of my heart?
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