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Post by Elvander on Mar 23, 2020 0:47:58 GMT
Trys has hit the ice seconds before Kiona and watched as the beast plunged below. She skidded to a halt, sliding several steps, and turned to look at Ike with wide, fearful eyes. She was breathing heavily, wondering if Kiona was dead. It seemed... really tragic. “Gods,” Trys whispered under her breath, but her ears picked up the sounds of Kiona calling. She stilled, her hand on her bow. If the shock of the water had snapped her out of it, she wouldn’t last long out on the banks. Would it be a mercy to let her perish into a peaceful sleep? “
As suddenly as they’d become partners, she and Ike were likely at odds once more. “So you were right about her being a monster. But it seems like she doesn’t know what she is... we should take pity on her. Help her control herself. Or turn her over to be studied.” They didn’t really have time to debate. Trys was laying out the fact that she wasn’t going to let Kiona die on her watch, even though she had just tried to kill them and had probably killed Aloy.
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Post by Val on Mar 23, 2020 1:19:55 GMT
Ike found himself face to face with the werewolf as it lunged after him with snapping jaws. He threw himself backwards just in time as the massive beast crashed into the ice and plunged beneath the surface. He landed on his back and slid several feet away from the hole as all went silent. Slowly pushing himself to his feet, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the spot, half expecting the wolf to claw its way back. Seconds ticked by and he started to feel relief wash over him- good riddance.
He stepped toward the shore, but his celebration was cut short when Kiona broke the surface of the water, gasping for help. He glared down at the pathetic sight, cursing any Gods that happened to be taking the time to listen. He wished the girl would just vanish beneath the surface so he could go home, but he knew that Saint Trys would have something to say about that. His ears rung as Trys piped in with her thoughts on the matter, which were enough to drive him mad.
"Shut up!" he snapped at her. He lumbered toward the edge of the cracked ice as Kiona's struggling became weaker and weaker. He could so easily kick her, knock her out, and be done with this. Trys wouldn't even be able to stop him. He would just be putting a suffering creature out of its misery...
Ike knelt down and gripped Kiona by one of her arms, hoisting her out of the frigid water. He threw her over his shoulder and carefully edged his way toward the river bank, feeling the freezing water drip down his back. When his feet hit solid earth, he deposited her onto the snowy shore and took a few steps away, glaring off into the trees.
"Dress her. She'll freeze," he suggested coldly, shrugging his animal pelt coat off and tossing it backwards as a begrudging offering. Folding his arms, he forcefully reminded himself he'd done it for the mission to bring her back alive.
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Post by starrea on Mar 23, 2020 2:12:28 GMT
Kiona felt something pull at her she was vaguely aware of being lifted but it was hard to tell because her skin was numb. She opened her eyes, suddenly feeling a rush of panic because she couldn’t see the faces of her family anymore. She tried to look around for them but her body wouldn’t respond. Now that her eyes were open, she could see that she was above the ground, like she was flying.
All of the sudden she was on the ground, and she knew that because she felt something solid beneath her, but she couldn’t really feel anything. She tried to get her eyes to focus on something but they refused so she closed them.
Kiona didn’t even feel cold anymore. In fact, she didn’t feel anything. Somewhere along the way she had realized she was naked but that didn’t bother her. The only thing she felt was an overwhelming wave of exhaustion so she stopped trying to open her eyes back up and let herself slip into unconsciousness.
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Post by Elvander on Mar 23, 2020 3:06:37 GMT
Trys stripped as many layers of her own clothing as she could bear to lose without freezing, wrapping them around Kiona. “We need to hug up against her, and rub her arms and legs,” Trys snapped back at Ike, already seating herself in front of Kiona, pulling the girls limp body against hers, resting Kiona’s forehead against her shoulder. She began to rub Kiona’s arms furiously, trying to slowly get her body temperature back up. Why had Ike agreed to help her? He could have killed the girl. But what now?
Trys watched Ike warily as she rubbed Kiona’s arms, “What are we going to do?”
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Post by Val on Mar 23, 2020 4:11:58 GMT
Ike turned back to them as Trys implored him for help, watching her desperately cling to the unconscious girl. He in no way wanted to be in such close proximity to the princess, but his feet propelled him forward anyway. He dropped to his knees and lifted Kiona up from the snow, propping her legs onto his lap. He enveloped them both into a bear hug, wrapping his arms around Trys and squeezing so that Kiona was sandwiched between them. The girl was as cold as ice, but he'd dealt with similar situations before- she would pull through.
His eyes met Try's, their faces mere inches away as they combated the frigid weather with their ball of human warmth, "You tell me. Since your misplaced righteousness prevents you from letting this miserable creature die, tell me what you want to do," he prompted her impatiently. They both knew his mission wasn't over. The hunt was merely postponed and Trys was just posing an unprecedented challenge that he didn't know what to do with at this point.
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Post by Elvander on Mar 23, 2020 5:15:22 GMT
Trys gazed back at Ike as he settled in, wondering how her kindness had led her to be in such a terrible situation. Her companion was dead, Kiona was a werewolf, and she and Ike had very different perspectives about how to continue.
“I think we can both agree that she can’t be set free like this, especially if she truly doesn’t know what she is. The damage she could do...” Trys shivered, both from the cold night air and the prospect of setting loose a threat so deadly on the world. “But I can’t let you kill her. I know if you bring her back to her homeland, she will be put to death. I don’t know if that’s right. There must be a better way, don’t you think?” Trys mused, pressing her toes subconsciously against Ike’s torso. “Somewhere in the world someone must have learned how to cope with her affliction. I think we should find them and deliver her to them as a ward.”
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Post by Val on Mar 23, 2020 22:16:04 GMT
Ike stared at Trys incredulously as she offered her suggestions. No matter what she came up with, he knew he couldn't abandon his mission. Especially not after witnessing how dangerous Kiona actually was. He wouldn't let her wreak havoc upon neighboring nations, or risk her returning to his own country for revenge.
He felt the nudge of Trys' feet and subconsciously tightened his grip on the two of them as she shivered. Gods help him. He understood now why his training had required limited interaction with women. The two of them were bewitching him by the second, making him second guess himself and feel pity for the cause. He had the upper hand now, especially with the cat dead, and had no reason to oblige to any negotiations. So why was he considering Trys' pleas?
"You think we can find someone like that?" If there was any reason to go along with such a plan, it would be to scope out other dangerous targets. It usually wasn't his place to meddle with infestations in other kingdoms, but dispatching two werewolves would be better than one, "I'll consider it. But good luck convincing this one to trust me," he added, glancing down at Kiona. She would be smart not to trust him at all.
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Post by Elvander on Mar 23, 2020 22:38:12 GMT
Trys could hardly believe she was getting this far with Ike. It was why she hadn't killed him when she first came across him. Despite what he might think of her, Trys was a survivalist at heart. But something had told her that he was good, deep down. "I don't know. I've ranged over many lands, and Alynthia to the south of us is renown for their study and incorporation of magic into their kingdoms. Perhaps someone there would know something. I have a few connection in their kingdom's markets." Trys gazed at the unconscious Kiona with sadness in her eyes. "She has lost everything she's ever known and it's possible she doesn't know why. I want to give her a chance to prove that she deserves to live, now that she has given us a reason for her to die." Trys blinked slowly at Ike, hoping that Kiona would wake soon. "Will you tell me your name now?"
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Post by starrea on Mar 23, 2020 22:59:18 GMT
Warmth surrounded Kiona and she felt safe for the first time in days. She briefly recalled seeing her family’s faces and she figured that she was with them now.
As she started to warm up, she began to realize how cold she was to begin with. Slowly, she became aware of how numb her skin was and how her limbs felt like stumps instead of arms and legs. Her teeth finally started to chatter and she opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Ike’s face and that sent a spike of fear straight through her. She let out a weak scream and tried to scramble away from him but her body wouldn’t obey. Her thoughts were slow too and she tried to look around for her parents and sisters and it took her another couple of seconds to realize they weren’t here.
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Post by Val on Mar 24, 2020 6:29:06 GMT
Ike wrinkled his nose in disgust. He tried to imagine what life would be like in a place where magic was welcome, quickly coming to the conclusion that it could only result in chaos. Perhaps it would be a good idea to see how much of a threat the southern kingdoms actually were. Besides, he couldn't help but be a little bit curious about traveling beyond the frigid North. The internal battle continued on in his mind as he slowly convinced himself of the plan, until Trys asked for his name.
He blinked at her, having forgotten that he'd withheld the information, "Ike," he grunted shortly, averting his gaze.
Finally, he felt Kiona begin to stir back to life. He gazed down at her, fully anticipating her reaction. He couldn't blame her for that; she had woken up in the arms of her predator, "Quiet, girl," he hushed her, only tightening his grip in response to her weak movements. "Your savior is still here," he muttered, glancing at Trys pointedly. He expected the woman to not only console Kiona, but to explain to her what had happened. He figured he would at least get some amusement out of her trying to convince the stubborn princess that she had turned into a beast.
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Post by Elvander on Mar 24, 2020 21:51:15 GMT
Trys tightened her grip on Kiona as she tried to wiggle away. "Easy, don't worry Kiki," Trys murmured soothingly, shooting a glance at Ike as he called her a saviour, like it was a bad thing. Well, small steps. At least she'd gotten his name. "You're naked, and probably quite cold. You um... had a little incident." Trys didn't know how to form the words, but she decided to just plunge forward. "You turned into a werewolf and attacked us. Killed my puma, I think." Trys felt her throat tighten with grief. "You chased us onto the ice and the shock of the cold water as you fell through must have shocked you out of it. We're trying to get your body temperature back up enough to get you clothed and moving again." The young woman hesitated, turning her gaze to the ice, unable to quite look at Kiona right now. "Did you know what you are?"
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Post by starrea on Mar 24, 2020 22:49:29 GMT
Kiona only realized she was sandwiched between two people when she felt another figure tighten around her. Their attempts to calm her did not work. She suddenly felt like she was caught in the coils of a snake and if she didn’t break free, they would slowly suffocate her. But her body didn’t have the energy to break free, so she quieted down for the moment. As the seconds ticked by, she realized just how cold she was. By now her teeth her chattering and her body was wracked with near-violent shivers. There was a dull pain in her shoulder that burned white hot every time her shoulder moved but that hardly mattered right now.
Kiona processed the information painfully slowly. She was still sluggish and even thinking felt like wading through molasses. The meaning of the words slowly sunk in and it revived Kiona’s panic. They were lying, they had to be. And now, with Trys and Ike holding her between them, she was sure there was an alliance between them. She started to wriggle again, trying to claw her way out of their embrace.
“You’re lying, you’re lying!” She was suddenly hysterical, the weight of everything that had happened in the past week crashing down on her all at once. “You... drugged me or something! Let me go!” Her attempts got more and more desperate but her body still didn’t respond like it was supposed to and her hands and feet were still useless stumps. The inability to control even her own body sent her further spiraling down into a breakdown. All she could think about was how this wasn’t how she wanted to die.
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Post by Val on Mar 25, 2020 16:56:50 GMT
Ike waited as the inevitable panic rose within Kiona, not budging in the slightest as she struggled to free herself. "She's not lying." His voice rose above her cries, a warning in his tone. He took hold of her freezing hands to subdue her, holding them tightly against the heat radiating from his chest.
"Look to the sky. The moon is full and it exposed you. You cannot remain in denial, princess. You must accept what you are." He'd done his part dragging her sorry ass out of the river and he felt no obligation to be gentle with her. If she wouldn't accept Trys' kindness, he would take matters into his own hands and scare her straight. "You will see your tracks in the snow, the destruction of the cabin, and the mangled body of that cat, and you will have no choice but to confess," he promised her.
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Post by Elvander on Mar 25, 2020 23:13:17 GMT
"And your shoulder. I shot you with an arrow from horseback, trying to slow you down." Trys murmured, tightening the clothing that she and Ike had draped around Kiona to help warm the girl. She'd need to get into the cabin soon, and so would they. "I wouldn't lie to you, Kiki. And I wouldn't have killed my own pet to do so." The grief was clear in her tone. "You plunged into the water, and we saved your life. You have to understand by now that we're not trying to kill you."
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Post by starrea on Mar 26, 2020 1:15:41 GMT
Everything suddenly became very overwhelming. It was obvious her body was still too weak to fight and besides that, she was naked and injured so there really wasn’t a point, so she stopped. She went limp between them, not even tense as Ike captured her hands in his. Her body still shook almost violently from the cold, but other than that she went still as she absorbed the information. Seconds turned into minutes but she still didn’t say anything.
The events of the past week of her life hadn’t broken her, not watching her family be executed or spending nearly a week in the wilderness escaping from certain death. But now, learning what she was and accepting that her parents had lied to her was too much to handle. She couldn’t face that not only had she lost her family and her home, but now she was also losing her identity. She literally had nothing left to lose.
Kiona disappeared somewhere into her head. Life was throwing things at her that were just beyond her ability to cope, not when they were one after another as they had been. The idea of persevering on was now so daunting that she sort of wished they had let her drown. She wanted to tell Trys that the only reason Ike had probably saved is because he wouldn’t get a reward if he didn’t bring her back alive but she couldn’t find the energy to even speak.
The silence dragged on with Kiona, who was still wet and freezing, sandwiched between them. She hadn’t outwardly reacted to their revelation at all except her for lack of one and she didn’t care what they thought. All she wanted was to get warm and dry.
“I would like some dry clothes, please.” She finally whispered just loud enough that she knew they heard her, her eyes glued to the ground.
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