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Post by Sablerose on Jan 27, 2010 21:08:14 GMT -5
If there was any one thing that Sablerose had expected of the Lunarian, it was most definitely not her emotional collapse. And it was in that moment that Sablerose realized just what Nerys might have discovered before her: even the best intentions in a good act do not make it good. She had tried to do, in her own way, what was a good act for Nerys. Yet it somehow fell apart totally and completely.
The reaction of the bar patrons was almost as confused. Some seemed to smirk about it, feeling that the girl had earned it from her actions. Most, though, seemed to see now that she honestly meant no real harm, despite how it turned out. Many that had come to their feet, prepared for a fight, slumped back into their chairs, deflated.
Sablerose, though, was torn by guilt. She had been the one to suggest the overall action. She had been the one to give Nerys the belief that it was a simple enough matter to create a situation where Nerys could emerge a hero, in her mind if nowhere else. She came to her feet, still a little woozy, but otherwise feeling better. She knew that she could heal herself later, but decided against it, figuring that her lumps and bruises were a fit beginning punishment for her error in judgement.
When she took her first step forward, it was unsteady, but quickly firmed up. Just before Nerys, she dropped to her knees before Nerys, her own eyes moist as the guilt ate at her soul. "I'm sorry, Nerys," she said. Her voice was tight as she continued. "It's not your fault, love. It's all mine. It was my arrogance, my belief that I knew what you needed, that I could guide you correctly."
Greystreak came and sat beside his Ward. For once, Sablerose knew, he did not need to lecture her on her mistakes. Nothing he could say would make what she truly felt at the moment any worse.
"If you hate me, Nerys, I wouldn't be surprised, and I wouldn't blame you. I just want you to know that I really did want to try to help you." She looked up to the bartender, the tears cascading down her cheeks. "Sir, I will pay for all the damages and any lost business. Just don't blame her. Whatever else you might want to believe about her people, she is her own woman. And, it seems, a far better one than me."
The Druid started to reach out to console her, but thought the better of it. She had made more than enough mistakes tonight. She stood up, unbuckled the coin purse at her belt and tossed it blindly toward the bartender, who caught it, though barely. Then, turned and began to make her way toward the door.
"Please, someone see her to the Silver Dragon Tavern," she said, stopping just shy of the doorway. She did not turn around as she added "If I find that anyone of you tried to take advantage of her, so help me, I will hunt you down and make sure that you never hurt another person again."
With that, she exited. Greystreak gave Nerys' face a couple of light licks, a goodbye kiss of sorts. Then, with a glare to the room to back up the Druid's threat, he followed his Ward.
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Post by Nerys Lamia on Feb 4, 2010 7:28:44 GMT -5
|| ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || ♥ || ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || Hate...? No, that was wrong.... Why would Nerys hate Sablerose, someone who had tried to help her do something good. It was the witch's own fault. She always failed, again and again, no matter how hard she tried. It was a doomed effort. It fluttered just beyond her grasp, tauntingly.
And now...?
She glanced up as Sablerose and Greystreak walked away, their backs toward her.
How many backs had she seen? How many people had walked away from her? How many had dismissed her failures, given up on her, abandoned her as a useless princess?
[/i][/ul] Al shuddered and nuzzled the young blonde. Yes, that was right. A sad smile crossed Nerys's lips. She wasn't missing, she wasn't lost. She was abandoned. The nightingale took off, her flight path erratic and uneven in the face of her partner's distress. She flew lower than usual, weighed down by the thoughts. And finally, she faced Sablerose, angrily fluttering her wings despite the painful tug at her soul, urging her to return to the witch's side. Stumbling, her vision blurred, Nerys finally caught up as well, the smile still remaining on her lips despite her tear-filled eyes. She wanted to tell the other girl not to leave her alone. She had been alone for two years. But she couldn't be so selfish. "You can't leave without letting me return your clothes," after a moment's hesitation, she continued, "or letting me say goodbye."[/size] |
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Post by Sablerose on Feb 4, 2010 8:16:25 GMT -5
Caught up in her own misery, Sablerose found herself brought up short suddenly, as a small, delicate, white form fluttered before her. Though Al might have been able to speak only with Nerys directly, his message was brilliantly clear, even past the blur of tears in the Druid's eyes.
It appears that her familiar is rather angry with us, Grey said tiredly, though his thought echoed hers. I think our exit somehow upset her.
Oddly, though, Al would not let them past. But the whole thing did not make sense. Sablerose had certainly made a mess of the whole situation, not just risking their lives, but also truly embarrassing the other girl. Nerys would have been much better off if the Druid went on her way.
But then why, if Greystreak's ears and nose were correct, did Nerys seem to be coming up behind them?
"You can't leave without letting me return your clothes or letting me say goodbye.
Reluctantly, Sablerose turned and look at Nerys, startled to find that, despite her tears, the Lunarian had a bit of a smile on her lips.
"I...had placed the bag with the clothes on my horse," she said quietly. "But it is back at the inn, and I guess we shouldn't be walking around here alone." It was odd that the wolf did not remind her that she was not exactly alone with him around, but the thought did not remain. "Nerys, I'm so sorry. I really wanted to help you. Give you that chance to prove that you could be a good person. Ironically, you turned out to be a better person than me."
She lowered her head, and Greystreak pushed his cool, wet nose into one of her hands, a familiar, comforting gesture. "I really didn't mean for things to turn out the way that they did back there."
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Post by Nerys Lamia on Feb 8, 2010 10:14:46 GMT -5
|| ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || ♥ || ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || Nerys was by no means a better person. In fact, she was a terrible person. That was why she was there rather than back in Lunaria. She smiled, the streaks of tears across her cheeks already drying. "Thank you..." she said simply, the faintest of smiles at the edges of her lips.
And once again, the smile never seemed to reach her off-colored eyes.
Al perched herself on the young witch's shoulder, satisfied now that her partner was feeling at least slightly better. The young women would have to part ways eventually, but that unwelcome knowledge was shoved aside. "You did help me..." she said, her words still slightly slurred and completely without thought. "I got to do something good. You helped me do something mean to those people..."
This time, the smile twinkled in her bright eyes. Suddenly, the smile disappeared. "Thank you, both o'ya," she said again before turning around. "Tha's the firs' good thing I've done here.... So I have to find some way of thanking you later. But for now..." she took a step toward the other girl. It must have been a large step because the gap between them instantly closed.
It wasn't as though she disappeared and reappeared again. But somehow, her small step had turned impossibly large in the span of an instant. She stumbled slightly, attempting to regain her balance.
"Besides, you can't make it home on your own. And you've done two good things, you made her feel bad." That was true. Why was it that none of those things felt good? Well, that wasn't what was important. The things that mattered now were that, for the moment at least, she was not alone. |
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Post by Sablerose on Feb 9, 2010 7:50:42 GMT -5
Calla was startled by how quickly Nerys gobbled up the distance between them, and she could feel Greystreak tense up next to her. But the Druid send a quick mental shake of the head. If Nerys had wanted to hurt her, she could have done so beforehand, especially before her current besotted state. And Calla was a little more than curious what she had in mind.
Her own tears finally subsided, though she couldn't help but sniffle a few times. "Thank you,' she said hoarsely, though she did smile on top of it. "I think we should get you back to the inn, though." Her voice was a bit above a whisper, still hoarse but a little unsteady. The other woman's closeness was a tad disconcerting. Oddly, she knew it wasn't due to the mismatched eye color or the fact that Nerys was Lunarian.
She cleared her throat nervously and found that she was blushing. "Um, was...was there something else?"
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Post by Nerys Lamia on Feb 9, 2010 19:02:53 GMT -5
|| ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || ♥ || ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || The blonde-haired young woman was completely oblivious to her companion's nervousness. Even if she had not been in her current state - oddly drunk - she would still have been oblivious. The slight blush had not gone unnoticed by her perceptive familiar.
However, her perceptive familiar decided that it was of no threat to her partner and of no serious interest. Not at the moment, at any rate, and chose to ignore it as she began to glow dimly, radiant in the the evening light as the sun continued its descent below the horizon.
Although they hadn't been at the inn for very long, they were there for the crucial few moments when the sun's descent became dramatic and the sky quickly became darker.
"Well, we're not going to get anywhere just standing here," Al said sharply. That was true enough.
The witch smiled at the other woman. "We're goin' back to th'inn, right?" she said, already beginning to walk in that direction, not waiting for Sablerose and fully confident that the druid would follow, as she had said she would. "There's nothin' else, but don' let me forget t'pay you back for helpin' me, alright?"
If only so that Nerys could be sure they would meet again. That would make the inevitable parting of ways more bearable. As long as she wasn't completely abandoned again. "Are ya comin'?" she asked, stopping for a moment to turn around and glance back at the other princess, her words still slurred. |
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Post by Sablerose on Feb 9, 2010 20:34:38 GMT -5
Calla released the breath that she had been holding, though she had been unaware of the act until then. "Yes." She smiled and felt her heart rate slow back to normal. "Yes, I'm right behind you. Lead on."
Seems our knight errant has gotten to you, my dear Princess. The wolf familiar's acerbic statement made Calla glare down at him for a few moments. Oh, come now, Calla. She is an interesting person, you must admit. And you did help her today, at least to some extent. He looked up at her. And I believe you've made a friend out of it.
A Lunarian as a friend. I can only guess what my parents would think of that. Still, he had a point. In a city where she knew no one, now she knew someone. And that someone, her nationality notwithstanding, seemed to be a nice person. At least she was not alone now.
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Post by Nerys Lamia on Feb 12, 2010 10:57:32 GMT -5
|| ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || ♥ || ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || Nerys was already in the process of 'leading on', her mood having lifted considerably. "You know, I don't think you should thank her..." Al commented. The witch waved the thought aside with a flick of her wrist, walking on. As the group walked on, her heart slowly began to sink, the chill night air causing her to her sober up.
She had been a nuisance. A true nuisance. She had caused trouble for so many people. She wondered how she would be able to apologize to them all.
But that had been the point, hadn't it? To cause trouble, to cause mischief? Or, at least, to be in the center of it? It was a very unsatisfactory feeling, doing something good.
As the sun made its last stretch beyond the horizon, its last rays of light clinging to the dark crimson clouds, they reached the Silver Dragon Tavern. A gentle smile graced her lips as she turned around to face Sablerose. "I'm sorry I caused ya so much trouble t'night..." greatly sobered up as compared with before, her words were still slurred despite how normal they sounded to her own ears. "Thanks for helpin' me, though." she added.
And vaguely, she wondered if she would ever see her new friend again. Or would it be just like all the other people she had met since she had left Lunaria - a passing and fleeting friendship? |
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Post by Sablerose on Feb 16, 2010 21:10:00 GMT -5
((Sorry, I had a heck of a weekend and workday. Kinda stymied my creative side.))
"No need to apologize," Calla stated, shaking her head. "I made enough trouble of my own, truth be told, even if unintentionally. I just hoped that I did help you, even a little, in your attempt to do some good."
She looked a tad uncomfortable for a moment. "I'm not very good with goodbyes, especially under the kind of circumstances we had this evening. I should go and get myself announced at the Castle; I'm overdue by quite a bit. But I really would like to spend some time with you again. Please, let someone know at the Castle that you're looking for me, and I'll try to set aside some time for us." Then discomfort seemed to fade. "I promise."
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Post by Nerys Lamia on Mar 8, 2010 19:05:12 GMT -5
|| ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || ♥ || ♥ || ♥ || &hearts || And here it was. Nerys' heart sank at the prospect of goodbyes.
Her off-colored eyes glanced quickly toward the door of the tavern. It was just another night she would be retiring alone. Al nipped the young witch's ear. That was right, she wasn't entirely alone.
Although whether or not Al could have been considered company was an entirely different matter, as they shared a soul.
The blonde smiled gently. "'M not good at goodbyes either," she admitted shyly, "so how 'bout we promise t'see each other again?" That was a strange thing to say, wasn't it? Or maybe not. Sablerose had, after all, said that it would be alright to call on her in the castle.
Not in those exact words, but that was how the lonely young witch interpreted it. With a small curtsy, somewhat lacking grace in her current state, the woman opened the door to the tavern. Its dim light flooded the quickly darkening street, her shadow elongated against the cobblestone ground. And in a moment, the light was gone as she disappeared inside the building and closed the door behind her.((OOC: Sorry that it's so bad, and I'm SO sorry that it took me so long. I've been a mess these past few weeks and I haven't noticed how much time had gone by. I figured this would be a good place to stop. PM me if you want to have them meet up again in another thread. ^^ ))[/color] |
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Post by Sablerose on Mar 12, 2010 8:43:43 GMT -5
"'Not-goodbye', then," Calla said with a half-grin. She returned Nerys' curtsy with a quick, shallow bow of her own. Her stomach fell slightly as she watched the other girl close the door as she stepped into the inn. Part of her wanted to ask Nerys to accompany her.
Don't, Calla, Greystreak said softly. You need to focus on doing what you originally came here for: to represent Laurelmoon to Terre de Conte. If fate allows, you two will meet again. Preferable under better circumstances. In the meantime, we should get underway.
He was right, she knew. Whatever else she was, Calla -or the druid Sablerose- she was still a Crown Princess of Laurelmoon, and she needed to begin to act the role. It didn't help that she felt more than a bit lonely as she made her way to the stables to retrieve Nightwind.
But she took a bit of courage from not just Greystreak's mental and physical presence, but also from the fact that she could feel a bit of the same loneliness from the familiar as well.
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