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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 13:42:39 GMT
“It helps with swelling,” Kara shifted the ice pack to the other side of Dhaunmyr’s hand. Faerveren had healed Dhaunmyr’s hand! So if Kara could just get him home, once the initial bit was done, she could ask Faerveren to help. That was a truly terrifying thought but Kara would do it. For Dhaunmyr.
“Water,” Kara prompted again. If she had to say it to make Dhaunmyr drink each time then - she would. They would stay here until the ice had done as much as it could, then back to his inn.
What kind of magic did Dhaunmyr have? Kara couldn’t do any magic. Hana had - maybe it was an elf thing. Kosef had been learning at the temple, as a cleric, he had been so proud of it.
Kara kept her eyes lowered until her emotions were under control, then looked back up. She didn’t ask any questions, letting Dhaunmyr say as much as he needed to. All she would do was listen, nod occasionally and keep prompting, “Water.”
After she thought the ice had done what it could and Dhaunmyr had drank as much water as she could coax into him, Kara rose and set the damp cloth aside. “Let’s go home.” She told Dhaunmyr. She clasped his right hand again, giving a gentle tug in the hopes of encouraging him to stand; it would be much easier to get him out of the bar on foot than to carry him, but she could carry him from there.
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Post by enchilada on Apr 25, 2019 14:36:39 GMT
Dhaunmyr sipped at his water when reminded, but otherwise ignored it until prompted again. It was boring and annoying, because he had to stop talking to drink it, and he was so totally busy spilling every single idea that came into his head because Kara was a good friend and she wouldn’t tell a soul.
“Kara. I’m literally fine.” Dhaunmyr grinned and squeezed her hand. He realised he’d shut his eyes from smiling so big, so he opened one, then the other. “I just wanna... I can stay. I’m fine. It’s not even that late!” Dhaunmyr had no idea how late it was at all. It was probably pretty late. He didn’t care so terribly much anyway. It’s not like he needed to sleep or anything.
He did stand up though, clinging to Kara for support, because that was something people did when they were completely fine and able to continue on with their night. He didn’t really think about how it looked to her, just disproving himself. But he liked it. The closeness. He didn’t keep that to himself, either.
“You’re so strong, Kara, it’s so good that you’re so strong. Good friends are really... really... you’re so... I don’t want to go home.” He shook his head, straightening himself up again. “I can stay.”
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 14:45:37 GMT
Dhaunmyr was more or less half on top of her. Kara bore up under it; she didn’t like it, but she wouldn’t complain either. He didn’t exactly seem like he could stand at this point. Dhaunmyr straightened up and pronounced himself fine and able to stay.
Kara rubbed the shaved part of her head, squinting at him. Should she let him stay? She wanted to get him home; she didn’t think he was fine. She thought he would be better off home in his room where Faerveren could heal his hand and Kara could make sure he was comfortable when he started puking. She wouldn’t mind. She’d had worse.
But how to convince Dhaunmyr? Kara was drawing a blank. She hadn’t had to convince drunk people to do more than leave a bar, and that was usually achieved with scowling and implied threats of violence. She wouldn’t do that to Dhaunmyr.
“No,” Kara said, finally, using her firm training voice. “Let’s go.”
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Post by enchilada on Apr 25, 2019 15:39:55 GMT
Dhaunmyr just stared at her for a really long time, almost unable to believe she’d just... say that, like, to his face. Just... tell him what to do.
He sighed, and caved. “Okay, Kara, but only because it’s you. Why were you here anyway?” He slowly made his way out the bar. Dhaunmyr couldn’t fight Kara on this. He admired her stubbornness, so it would be ridiculous to blame it for anything now. The way she was, her personality, it was why Dhaunmyr was keen to be her friend, right?
He leaned against the outside wall, shaking his head. “Faerveren is going to be so upset. So upset. I only went out because... because I knew she wouldn’t want me to.” Dhaunmyr started crying again, but it wasn’t fully sobbing, mostly tears and a breaking voice. “She’s a good friend too, I just ruin it. I ruin everything, Kara. I don’t know why you trust me, I’ll ruin something for you, too. I will.”
Dhaunmyr scared Faerveren with his self destructive behaviour, he put strain between her and Brennip, he upset his sisters with his relationship, he ran away and probably embarrassed his family, he’d left her alone. The thing that pulled at him most wasn’t her, it was the possibility that he left someone else that he didn’t even know about behind. With that crazy— everyone had to live through hardships in the Underdark. He could only wish them luck now.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 15:55:05 GMT
Kara stared back at Dhaunmyr, firm and unyielding. She had discovered that if she was quiet long enough, Dhaunmyr would usually do what she said. It wasn’t very hard really. She was just glad to learn, a few moments later, that it still seemed to work while he was drunk.
Kara accompanied Dhaunmyr out of the bar, slow and steady. She wouldn’t hold him if he didn’t seem to need it, but there was no hesitation at all in her in reaching for him if he did need it. She ignored his question about what she was doing there; it seemed better not to get him started on anything.
Kara was just starting to hope that they would make it to his place when Dhaunmyr leaned against the wall outside the bar and started crying again. Kara stepped a little closer, somehow protectively, letting Dhaunmyr cry it out as needed. She didn’t exactly know what to say; it was hard for Kara to imagine he could ruin something for her. Mostly because – well – she didn’t really have anything. She didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything, just reached out and took his right hand with hers and gave it a little squeeze. She didn’t drop it straight away either, just stood there, holding it.
“Kara!” The bar owner, Warren came rushing out of the front. “Kara, where have you been, I – ” He paused, looking from her to the sobbing dark elf against the wall. He was a slender human, quick and dark, with piercing eyes that settled immediately on Dhaunmyr. “He’s all right?” He asked Kara, raising an eyebrow.
“He needs to go home,” Kara said, quietly.
Warren paused, looking at her. Kara wasn’t sure why he looked so surprised, but she was pretty sure it was surprise on his face. She didn’t know what she’d done, exactly. After a moment he scowled and threw his hands out to the side. “Oh, by Sune! Fine. Fine, Kara. But come back tomorrow, and don’t be a minute late. Understood?”
Kara blinked at him, not understanding either. She had fully expected not to come back to the bar again; she had been fine with it. It was an easy enough sacrifice to make. But… after a moment she nodded, understanding.
Warren rushed back inside, mumbling something about by her hair.
Kara was still holding Dhaunmyr's hand, and she looked back at him, hoping he was ready to head home now.
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Post by enchilada on Apr 25, 2019 16:11:23 GMT
“Were you late today? Oh! You work here now? That’s good. I wasn’t so sure if you were even getting money, I got sort of worried actually. So I’m so glad you’re okay. Oh thank god you’re okay.”
Dhaunmyr peeled himself from the wall, squeezing her hand back. “Thank you.” He wasn’t sure what for, he just needed to say it. And then he got this little glint in eye, and the absolute best idea he could think of was to sprint back to where he stayed, to get home as quickly as possible. In his mind, he was running pretty well, in actuality, he was kind of stumbling quickly, then there’d be a brief burst of running, and then he’d have to slow down and be careful because he was about to go down. It was, however, faster than not trying.
“Faerveren is gonna... she’s gonna... oh Kara she’s gonna be so angry. Are you sure this is a good idea? I can... I can stay at yours. Or something. That’s really why I ... so I didn’t have to walk into my room and have her get all excitable, and I can’t climb up the window now. It might be open, I can’t remember... yeah... I left through the window.” Dhaunmyr rambled, a little breathless and tired sounding. “It’s not that hard.”
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 16:21:39 GMT
Kara learned, somewhat to her surprise, that Dhaunmyr was a better runner than she expected. Well, objectively they were going very slowly and awkwardly, periods of what could be called running interspersed with slow wobbly bits, but if Kara had been anywhere near that drunk, she doubted she’d have been able to manage either. As it was, she kept up with Dhaunmyr, with a quick jog when he was running and a slow, even walk when he wasn’t. Her hand stayed in his, and she didn’t hesitate to use the grasp to keep him upright as necessary; it was harder to be gentle about it than to actually do it, but Kara tried.
Kara didn’t bother answering Dhaunmyr; she wasn’t out of breath, but she thought arguing would just encourage him. Yes, they did need to go home, to his home. Mostly because Faerveren could probably fix his hand. Kara didn’t really know that for sure, but she clung to the idea, very hopefully.
Plus, Kara didn’t want Dhaunmyr to vomit all over her room. She would put up with it if she had to, but, well – she didn’t. So she wouldn’t.
Finally, Kara contributed. “Door,” she said, firmly. The last thing she wanted was Dhaunmyr falling off of the inn while trying to climb in through his open window.
And then - sure enough - they were at the inn, at the front door. Kara stopped behind Dhaunmyr, sort of trapping him between herself and the door. She didn't force him in - yet - but she waited patiently behind him, as unyielding as she had been through the whole trip.
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Post by enchilada on Apr 25, 2019 17:02:21 GMT
Dhaunmyr sighed, and pushed open the door. A few people were still drinking, but given the far more comfort-oriented, almost family like atmosphere there, people tended not to get so wild. There was no music, and only a quiet rumble of hushed chatter between the only pair left up. Dhaunmyr seemed comforted by it, like he’d stepped into another headspace altogether.
He headed straight for the stairs, for once using the hand rail to steady himself. It wasn’t so terribly high, and although the stairs twisted halfway up, they were wide across, maybe even room for three people, and they were small, so he had very few problems with them. He usually took them two at a time, but each step had its own place, that night.
Dhaunmyr reached his room, he’d clearly been trying to sneak up to the door, but had probably made more noise than he would have if he wasn’t attempting to be ‘silent’. He leaned on the door, fishing through his coat pockets for his keys, and, when they weren’t there, he just took it off and dumped it on the floor. He found them in a front pocket, just two of them. One for this door, and one for something else. He took his sweet time trying to get the thing in the lock, but he managed it.
It opened with a click, and he stumbled in and directly onto his bed.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 17:09:49 GMT
Kara followed Dhaunmyr carefully up the stairs. She kept both hands braced behind him the entire time; he was larger than she was, and if he fell backwards and it caught her unawares, it wasn’t impossible that he could knock them both down the stairs. Kara thought she would be fine, but she’d hate for Dhaunmyr to be any worse than he was already.
Kara followed him down the hall, walking normally and much more quietly than Dhaunmyr. She picked his coat up off the floor and the rest of the things he’d scattered looking for his keys, and carried them into the door. Dhaunmyr was already lying on the bed by the time she entered. Kara folded his coat, carefully setting it down, and fetched a glass of water and a small bin. The water she set within hands reach, the bin on the floor where she thought it was most likely Dhaunmyr would lean if he did need to puke.
Carefully, feeling – strange, Kara sat next to Dhaunmyr on the bed. She looked down at him. Slowly, she reached out, one small hand stroking his back, gliding up and down. She kept the rest of herself away from him, but her hand stayed steadily on his back for a long time, gently rubbing up and down. It made Kara feel – homesick, remembering childhood illnesses when her father would rub her back, or injuries when he would comfort her. Even Hana had done this for her, held her and rubbed her back.
Kara stayed until Dhaunmyr seemed asleep, or at least not particularly conscious. Only then did she pull her hand back, slowly, and get up, crossing to the door quietly and slipping to the room next door. She knocked, then took a half step back, waiting for Faerveren.
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Post by enchilada on Apr 25, 2019 17:23:09 GMT
Dhaunmyr hummed appreciatively, but he was all out of bursts of energy. He didn’t even, for once, have it in him to speak. He just lay there, feeling the hand against his back. It was enough to focus on to... fall into...
He seemed asleep. He wasn’t quite, but he was more or less unaware that Kara had moved. If anything happened, however, Dhaunmyr would be up in an instant.
The knock startled Faerveren. She was just about ready to give in and go to bed, but the noises outside had been promising. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to barge in, though. Dhaunmyr was still probably upset. The knock, though, excited her, after she jumped a little in surprise. She rubbed her eyes, and, after a moment of moving around bags and clothes and boxes and all the other kinds of things she shared with Brennip, she opened the door. Her hair was pulled back off of her face, which looked downwards for a five-five man, probably in heels, and then fell down further to find Kara. She immediately crossed her arms over herself, and stepped back a little.
“Kara? What are you doing here? Where’s Dhaun?” She whispered, face only rising in concern.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 17:29:39 GMT
Kara froze, suddenly realizing that she had to – explain. She definitely had to explain. She stared up at Faerveren for a long moment. She had thought the whole thing through to this point, very clearly, all about getting Dhaunmyr back and lying down and him needing water and somewhere to vomit. The rest of the plan had been to get Faerveren to heal his hand, but Kara hadn’t exactly thought through how much she would have to say for this part, especially with how – uh – exciteable Faerveren was.
Kara took a deep breath. “Dhaunmyr is next door. He is fine,” Kara started with that, hoping it would help Faerveren not be too upset. Kara paused after that, considering what to say next. Should she tell Faerveren that Dhaunmyr had been drunk to the point that Kara was impressed he could stand, had been about to go home with a strange tiefling, and had broken his finger punching him in the face when the tiefling had tried to pull him off to – to –
“He hurt his finger,” Kara decided less, in this instance, was probably more. “At a bar. Would you – fix it?” She hoped Dhaunmyr had been remembering correctly that Faerveren had fixed his hand before. She also sneaked in a quick hope – this one to Helm – that she hadn’t made things worse in trying to help, before promptly promising herself she wouldn’t dwell on that anymore. It was only – Dhaunmyr’s hands – Kara would blame herself if his finger didn’t heal well. She would. She felt a strange, crawling sensation in her stomach, and knew it for guilt.
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Post by enchilada on Apr 25, 2019 17:52:27 GMT
Faerveren was already tugging a silk robe around herself, tying it at the front with a very quick bow. She wasn’t terribly underdressed, she just didn’t want to stand around in her nightgown, at least not around Kara, who she didn’t mind so terribly much, but she wasn’t Dhaunmyr and she wasn’t Brennip. She was ready to see Dhaunmyr, and she was ready to apologise, and then it turned out he had... Faerveren rubbed her temples. She had told him he’d get hurt.
Faerveren kneeled next to a bag, and pulled out a lyre. She tucked it under her arm and made her way to Dhaunmyr, but not before uttering a thank you to Kara. Dhaunmyr was safe at home, and she was able to fix all the problems he had. She would fix every problem for him, eventually.
She saw the problem immediately, and Dhaunmyr lifted his head to see her. She knelt next to him, and very softly began to play her instrument. She hummed along, a soothing lullaby sort of song. Her humming turned to the lyrics of a soporific Elvish song, slower and quieter than she’d played it before. When it ended, Faerveren took Dhaunmyr’s hand in hers, and kissed it ever so lightly, and then removed the bandages and the splint.
“Thank you.” Dhaun whispered, stretching out his hand. His finger was slightly stiff, but it wasn’t broken. He sat up, pushing himself against the mountain of pillows, and weakly as anything pulled her into a hug, which Fae accepted.
“Get some rest, okay? And a bath in the morning, a long one. You smell like you brought the whole bar home.” Fae sighed. She knew exactly what he had been doing, but she was glad he was safe.
“I’m not even drunk.”
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 18:23:14 GMT
Kara just gave her head a faint shake in response to Faerveren’s thanks, dismissing it. She followed her back to Dhaunmyr’s room, edging inside and standing just in the doorway, weight lifting from her shoulders as Faerveren played her song and healed Dhaunmyr’s hand. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt a twinge of something – longing? – at the easy comfort between them, especially when Faerveren wrapped Dhaunmyr in a hug.
Kara lingered a little longer, but she felt more sure now that Dhaunmyr would be okay. She didn’t think he needed her to stay, and, in all honesty, she felt more than a little overwhelmed. The walk back to the bar felt long and oddly lonely. Kara told the bar owner she was back – or, rather, stepped inside and nodded to him – then went back to her post outside, watching strangers come and go in the fight.
Kara knelt in her room, facing the lumpy mattress which she had not used as a bed after the first night. By now, it was clean of fleas; Kara had beaten them out of it long since. The sheets were, as always, clean and perfectly folded, and the entire room seemed to have been recently swept and dusted. Kara’s pack sat in the corner, her glaive glimmering clean next to it, and her bedroll was rolled up and tucked away, tied to the base of the pack.
Kara closed her eyes, bowing her head slightly. The stone shields insignia she kept over her heart sat on the mattress. Next to it, there was a broken piece of a black iron sword, and her bear claw necklace on the other side, making a little triangle.
Kara had never really figured out what sort of words to offer Helm. She didn’t try now; she didn’t think Helm was the sort to care much for words anyway. Instead, she just knelt, focusing on the past and the future before her, and let her mind wander as it would, coming to stillness and veering away as some thought flickered over the surface. It was more like meditation than prayer, but she thought Helm would understand.
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Post by enchilada on Apr 25, 2019 18:36:35 GMT
Dhaunmyr had laughed to himself the whole time he walked through the building. He was having a particularly good day, mostly because he had decided he was going to do something, and had let himself get caught up in thinking about it. His mood brightened up his eyes, and that made his customers happy, too.
Knock knock. “It’s the guards. Open up.” Knock knock.
He wasn’t aware of any guards that snorted while they knocked on the door, nor if they actually went to people’s doors. He supposed, if they had been reported or proved as having done something, some kind of weaponed official might go and make a visit. Another thing he was fairly sure guards didn’t have, was a somewhat distinct voice, that was very very clearly Dhaunmyr.
On that day, his bag wasn’t packed with the usual materials for art, for anything at all, and he wasn’t dressed to accompany Kara to training at any point, but he was very ready to do something else with her, something he’d been wanting to do for a while, but felt rather too polite to ask about.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 25, 2019 18:42:26 GMT
Kara opened her eyes at the first knock. She frowned, rising, and crossed to the door. Her hair was loose and wet down her back, and she wore one of her usual black undershirts and leggings, nothing more. She stopped in front of the door, squared herself, and opened it, to face –
Kara blinked at Dhaunmyr, looking up at him. If she hadn’t been distracted, she thought, she would have realized it was obviously his voice. Now that she saw him, she knew it, and she felt foolish for ever thinking otherwise.
Kara nodded a greeting, stepped back, leaving the door open for him, and crossed back to the bed. The bearclaw necklace she slid back over her head, leaving the claw visible on her chest. The broken bit of iron sword she wrapped back in its handkerchief and carried back to her pack, stowing it away. The stone shields insignia she left out; she wouldn’t like to forget it.
These small tasks done, Kara glanced around the room, then sat awkwardly on the lumpy mattress, gesturing to the other side of it for Dhaunmyr. It was, after all, her only furniture.
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