December 11th
The sound of a few birds chirping was the first thing to tickle the senses of the sleeping elf. Quickly following the sound was the sensation of something hard pressed to her back then the realization of how cold she was. Lashes fluttered slowly, despite the sudden urgency she felt to be up; her survivalist instincts kicking in.
The sky was gray with a touch of pink along the horizon to the east and RhyDin's two moons were still visible. Little clouds of her breath were being puffed out more rapidly as the elf struggled to pull herself to a sitting position. For some reason unknown to Raye, she was unable to fully open her eyes; it felt as if there was a large amount of dried matter sticking to her lashes. Her body felt stiff and numb, as if someone could poke at her flesh and she would have no sensation. Raye was aware enough mentally to know that she had been exposed to the elements for a long period of time for this to have happened. She finally managed to pull herself to a standing position, a hand braced upon the park bench she had been passed out on.
Unhindered by the lack of light, she focused with those partially closed eyes until she figured out where she was. Something in her mind kept whispering that she needed to find safety. Heavy, slow steps were taken, legs feeling leaden, as she traveled the short distance to Cor's house which was the closest safe location.
Little did Raye realize but what prevented her eyes from opening was the copious amount of dried blood splattered across her face. It had dried in a spray pattern except across her eyes where it was obvious she had wiped her hand across in order to see. If the elf had been possessed of any of her sensibility, she would have looked down and realized she had a pistol gripped tightly within one nearly frozen hand. Her swords were sheathed upon her back as were her daggers upon her slender hips but upon further investigation, she would later find all of those blades stained with dried blood as well. The leather jacket and jeans she wore were caked in it, some areas the blood was so thick that it had congealed more than it had dried; the cold thickening the substance into a hard goo.
The elf was dazed; whatever had happened plus her exposure to the intense cold had dulled her wits and the only thought on her mind was that repetition of the word "safety." Somehow she had figured out where she was in correlation to where she should be and this had her standing upon Cor's porch, pounding on the door with as much force as she could muster.
Cor was roused from the nap he'd been indulging in on his couch by the sounds at his door. It was quieter than one might expect of a dedicated knocker, but lacked the randomness of an animal bumping against it and thus Cor's curiosity was roused. He was dressed simply, in a long-sleeved t-shirt and crimson sweat pants and padded over to the door on bare feet, wincing slightly as they touched on the cold tile flooring near the door. He opened it as a yawn threatened to overtake, leaving Raye with the sight of Cor with a fist in his mouth and his eyes squint shut.
Eventually, though, they eased open and blinked at Raye. Then blinked again. Then wordlessly let his gaze drop from her face down the rest of her body, then back up. His eyes were wide with surprise, but his mouth didn't so much as twitch a betrayal of his feelings on her appearance. Eventually though, he quirked a half-smile at her, and spoke. "If I tell you to take the outside path to the back yard so I can hose you off first, do you think you'll freeze to death?"
He chuckled and shook his head, before letting the actual concern show on his face and speaking in a quieter tone. "You okay? I'm guessing you left whoever did this to you in even worse shape than you look. C''mon in. You need a shower, and something hot to drink." Cor stepped away from the door and hurried Raye with an arm to the cleanest place on her he could find.
His face registered in her mind as if she were a computer rapidly perusing information until she had a match. She recognized the man as Cor and allowed him to lead her inside. Whatever he was saying seemed to be lost on the elf as her expression remained blank, her face devoid of emotion and her eyes empty.
Stumbling over the threshold, an empty hand grasped ahold of him to steady herself, rigid digits digging icily into the flesh of his upper arm. Righting herself upon the heels of her boots, Raye regained her balance and let loose of Cor. Before she took another step, her gaze strayed over her shoulder towards the door before returning to Cor. Hoarse voice softly rasped, "lock the doors."
Cor quirked a single eyebrow upward at her her urging, but this didn't seem like the time to arguing about something as trivial as that. Instead, he flicked his glance to his windows as he shut the door and flipped the locks. Then, he sent a probing pulse of energy to each point of entry to make sure each one was still warded and that the wards were untampered with, when he was satisfied he went back on the move. He passed Raye, moving into the kitchen as he pointed at her, then pointed upstairs. "They're locked. You need to get cleaned up. I'll get some coffee going, then you can tell me what the hell happened."
Raye just stared at him for a moment before moving to sit on a chair in the kitchen. Cor might mistake this obstinance, gods knew he had experienced that with her enough, but this was something entirely different. For one, the characteristic snarkiness was missing...she hadn't uttered another word. Her movements seemed automatic, her expression unchanging in its lack of emotion. That blank gaze fell to the table in front of her and remained glued there as if watching something she couldn't turn away from. Cor?s words didn't seem to carry much weight at the moment as she was hearing something completely different, whispering away in her head.
~It's coming. It's coming. It's coming,~ repeated over and over inside her mind.
Cor knew it wasn't Raye being stubborn or onery. Instead, given her mannerism right now, he was - from his point of view- pretty sure she was suffering from shock of some kind. He continued making the coffee until he had two steaming cups, one in each hand. Then he carried them over to the table and set one down in Raye's line of sight. Then, he seated himself in a nearby chair and turned his gaze to her.
He began to speak in a quiet, soothing voice. "I really love coffee on a cold day, like today. Don't you? Just the right thing to warm the blood and get everything moving again. Not as good as a shower, but it's a whole lot less messy." A chuckle there. "But you know, maybe a shower wouldn't be such a bad thing. Certainly hot water and being clean tend to make the day feel a little bit brighter. And you just look like eight miles of bad road right now, Raye. I think a shower would be good for you."
He was half-way tempted to try and lead her by the hand, but right now sudden movements and trying to force her to do anything might set off the wrong responses in her so he just continued to sit there and watch her.
"It's coming." An abrupt rise from her chair sent it crashing backwards onto the floor. Even that noise didn't seem to stop the elf as she moved across the kitchen and for the front door. Yanking once on the doorknob, she was unable to open it and apparently didn't remember telling Cor to lock it. The hand that still held the pistol was lifted, aim set upon the deadbolt before the trigger was rapidly squeezed three times. Two shots fired at the lock and one click as the clip had been emptied. The clip was expelled, clattering to the floor, before Raye retrieved a new one from the pocket of her jeans and reloaded. The door was opened and the elf slipped back outside, seemingly oblivious to the biting cold.
~Run, run, run. You can't run away this time. It's coming. It's coming.
"It's coming back.?
The elf that had been slow and leaden was moving with less than her usual fluid grace but still faster than when she had first arrived at Cor's door. Maybe it was the few moments of warmth that had loosened her stiff joints, or maybe it was fear.
Cor's mug of coffee had been halfway up to his lips when Raye bolted from the chair and sent it to the floor. His brow had just begun to crease and his eyes widening as the gun came out and she blew the deadbolt right off his door. Raye might not appreciate it at the moment, but she was very lucky the wards weren't primed to go off from attacks to the door from the interior. Cor jumped as the clatter of the gunshots hit his ears and could only blink as the elf went back out into the cold. He blinked. He blinked again. "Wait. . wait. . .what?!" and then he leaped from his chair and went to the door. A quick frown for the ruined lock and then he was moving out himself with a negligent flip of his hand to keep the ward armed. It was time to go elf hunting.
(adapted from live play. Thank you to the player of Corlanthis for his collaboration.)
The sound of a few birds chirping was the first thing to tickle the senses of the sleeping elf. Quickly following the sound was the sensation of something hard pressed to her back then the realization of how cold she was. Lashes fluttered slowly, despite the sudden urgency she felt to be up; her survivalist instincts kicking in.
The sky was gray with a touch of pink along the horizon to the east and RhyDin's two moons were still visible. Little clouds of her breath were being puffed out more rapidly as the elf struggled to pull herself to a sitting position. For some reason unknown to Raye, she was unable to fully open her eyes; it felt as if there was a large amount of dried matter sticking to her lashes. Her body felt stiff and numb, as if someone could poke at her flesh and she would have no sensation. Raye was aware enough mentally to know that she had been exposed to the elements for a long period of time for this to have happened. She finally managed to pull herself to a standing position, a hand braced upon the park bench she had been passed out on.
Unhindered by the lack of light, she focused with those partially closed eyes until she figured out where she was. Something in her mind kept whispering that she needed to find safety. Heavy, slow steps were taken, legs feeling leaden, as she traveled the short distance to Cor's house which was the closest safe location.
Little did Raye realize but what prevented her eyes from opening was the copious amount of dried blood splattered across her face. It had dried in a spray pattern except across her eyes where it was obvious she had wiped her hand across in order to see. If the elf had been possessed of any of her sensibility, she would have looked down and realized she had a pistol gripped tightly within one nearly frozen hand. Her swords were sheathed upon her back as were her daggers upon her slender hips but upon further investigation, she would later find all of those blades stained with dried blood as well. The leather jacket and jeans she wore were caked in it, some areas the blood was so thick that it had congealed more than it had dried; the cold thickening the substance into a hard goo.
The elf was dazed; whatever had happened plus her exposure to the intense cold had dulled her wits and the only thought on her mind was that repetition of the word "safety." Somehow she had figured out where she was in correlation to where she should be and this had her standing upon Cor's porch, pounding on the door with as much force as she could muster.
Cor was roused from the nap he'd been indulging in on his couch by the sounds at his door. It was quieter than one might expect of a dedicated knocker, but lacked the randomness of an animal bumping against it and thus Cor's curiosity was roused. He was dressed simply, in a long-sleeved t-shirt and crimson sweat pants and padded over to the door on bare feet, wincing slightly as they touched on the cold tile flooring near the door. He opened it as a yawn threatened to overtake, leaving Raye with the sight of Cor with a fist in his mouth and his eyes squint shut.
Eventually, though, they eased open and blinked at Raye. Then blinked again. Then wordlessly let his gaze drop from her face down the rest of her body, then back up. His eyes were wide with surprise, but his mouth didn't so much as twitch a betrayal of his feelings on her appearance. Eventually though, he quirked a half-smile at her, and spoke. "If I tell you to take the outside path to the back yard so I can hose you off first, do you think you'll freeze to death?"
He chuckled and shook his head, before letting the actual concern show on his face and speaking in a quieter tone. "You okay? I'm guessing you left whoever did this to you in even worse shape than you look. C''mon in. You need a shower, and something hot to drink." Cor stepped away from the door and hurried Raye with an arm to the cleanest place on her he could find.
His face registered in her mind as if she were a computer rapidly perusing information until she had a match. She recognized the man as Cor and allowed him to lead her inside. Whatever he was saying seemed to be lost on the elf as her expression remained blank, her face devoid of emotion and her eyes empty.
Stumbling over the threshold, an empty hand grasped ahold of him to steady herself, rigid digits digging icily into the flesh of his upper arm. Righting herself upon the heels of her boots, Raye regained her balance and let loose of Cor. Before she took another step, her gaze strayed over her shoulder towards the door before returning to Cor. Hoarse voice softly rasped, "lock the doors."
Cor quirked a single eyebrow upward at her her urging, but this didn't seem like the time to arguing about something as trivial as that. Instead, he flicked his glance to his windows as he shut the door and flipped the locks. Then, he sent a probing pulse of energy to each point of entry to make sure each one was still warded and that the wards were untampered with, when he was satisfied he went back on the move. He passed Raye, moving into the kitchen as he pointed at her, then pointed upstairs. "They're locked. You need to get cleaned up. I'll get some coffee going, then you can tell me what the hell happened."
Raye just stared at him for a moment before moving to sit on a chair in the kitchen. Cor might mistake this obstinance, gods knew he had experienced that with her enough, but this was something entirely different. For one, the characteristic snarkiness was missing...she hadn't uttered another word. Her movements seemed automatic, her expression unchanging in its lack of emotion. That blank gaze fell to the table in front of her and remained glued there as if watching something she couldn't turn away from. Cor?s words didn't seem to carry much weight at the moment as she was hearing something completely different, whispering away in her head.
~It's coming. It's coming. It's coming,~ repeated over and over inside her mind.
Cor knew it wasn't Raye being stubborn or onery. Instead, given her mannerism right now, he was - from his point of view- pretty sure she was suffering from shock of some kind. He continued making the coffee until he had two steaming cups, one in each hand. Then he carried them over to the table and set one down in Raye's line of sight. Then, he seated himself in a nearby chair and turned his gaze to her.
He began to speak in a quiet, soothing voice. "I really love coffee on a cold day, like today. Don't you? Just the right thing to warm the blood and get everything moving again. Not as good as a shower, but it's a whole lot less messy." A chuckle there. "But you know, maybe a shower wouldn't be such a bad thing. Certainly hot water and being clean tend to make the day feel a little bit brighter. And you just look like eight miles of bad road right now, Raye. I think a shower would be good for you."
He was half-way tempted to try and lead her by the hand, but right now sudden movements and trying to force her to do anything might set off the wrong responses in her so he just continued to sit there and watch her.
"It's coming." An abrupt rise from her chair sent it crashing backwards onto the floor. Even that noise didn't seem to stop the elf as she moved across the kitchen and for the front door. Yanking once on the doorknob, she was unable to open it and apparently didn't remember telling Cor to lock it. The hand that still held the pistol was lifted, aim set upon the deadbolt before the trigger was rapidly squeezed three times. Two shots fired at the lock and one click as the clip had been emptied. The clip was expelled, clattering to the floor, before Raye retrieved a new one from the pocket of her jeans and reloaded. The door was opened and the elf slipped back outside, seemingly oblivious to the biting cold.
~Run, run, run. You can't run away this time. It's coming. It's coming.
"It's coming back.?
The elf that had been slow and leaden was moving with less than her usual fluid grace but still faster than when she had first arrived at Cor's door. Maybe it was the few moments of warmth that had loosened her stiff joints, or maybe it was fear.
Cor's mug of coffee had been halfway up to his lips when Raye bolted from the chair and sent it to the floor. His brow had just begun to crease and his eyes widening as the gun came out and she blew the deadbolt right off his door. Raye might not appreciate it at the moment, but she was very lucky the wards weren't primed to go off from attacks to the door from the interior. Cor jumped as the clatter of the gunshots hit his ears and could only blink as the elf went back out into the cold. He blinked. He blinked again. "Wait. . wait. . .what?!" and then he leaped from his chair and went to the door. A quick frown for the ruined lock and then he was moving out himself with a negligent flip of his hand to keep the ward armed. It was time to go elf hunting.
(adapted from live play. Thank you to the player of Corlanthis for his collaboration.)