[RP] In Scattered Ash

UmbraSight
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Lost in the Snow

Posts: 861

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 15, 2022 17:32:29 GMT via mobile

Post by UmbraSight on Aug 15, 2022 17:32:29 GMT

That had been a mistake.

Despite the intolerable press of consciousness threatening her, Sylph scarcely moved in her cot. She kept her face buried into her pillow, clinging as desperately as she could to the fleeting wisps of some half-forgotten dream as reality crashed around her. The longer she waited for sleep to return, the more reality continued to creep through the cracks of a fading alcohol induced haze. She croaked —rather unladylike— along all encompassing sort of throb that filled her skull with each minor sound or motion and radiated down her back until it settled itself queasily into her stomach.

Her skin felt tacky and she could feel her clothes clinging to her thin frame. Had she changed out of her dress uniform into a nightgown? Just peeled it off? The fuzz filing her mind refused to answer. She could feel something rumpled uncomfortably against her skin, so she was wearing something. She thought about moving to try to smooth out the tangle of cloth, but the thought alone made her feel like a division drummer had chosen to use her head to practice a marching call so she opted to simply not move.

She tried to sleep, she really did, but it couldn’t quite overcome her throbbing head and fragmented memories. Some piece of paper signed. A feeling of sorrow that was almost as bad as the acid rolling in her stomach. A tingling feeling of Valtellus wine against the back of her tongue. A mush of a day.

Maybe if she could just get a drink of water she could beat this headache. She just needed to take it slow. There was no need to rush things. She shifted her weight and slid a hand over the side of her cot. Her hand fumbled its way out, knocking over what felt like a collection of empty bottles — spirits, how much had she drunk? — before the tips of her fingers found one that felt heavy. With a low groan, Sylph rolled into her side, and ignoring the feeling of her teeth throbbing in time with her head she brought the bottle up to her lips.

Just a splash to cut the edge and she could go back to sleep.

//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//

Annasiel
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[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 16, 2022 23:31:14 GMT

Post by Annasiel on Aug 16, 2022 23:31:14 GMT

Was she asleep yet?

Not yet, not yet.

Chend crept close like a shadow, body low, iron dagger glinting in the pale light like the fang of a tunnelskrake. Her body wrappings swept against her cloak with a swish, swish, quiet as the wind, and her bare footfalls danced across the floor, kisses fleeting as the rainfall. It was not every day a Revenant's tooth was pressed to someone so high in the order. The enemy held their living spaces close to their chest, no doubt afraid of what terrors lurked in the nights. An opportunity like this? Impossible to miss, and impossible to fail. If she failed, she would be dead, or wish she was.

She slipped the edge of her dagger - curve-side-out - against a venom-soaked rag, rubbing the damp liquid along the ridges carved to keep it in. Then - taking a moment to glance back for any guards - she moved into the chamber proper.

The commander.

She lay on her side, breathing in a way that proved herself awake, though doubtless tired, perhaps in that twilight that oft betrayed the body, mind, and senses. Good enough. Soundless, Chend moved closer to to the bed. Remorseless, she raised her dagger. Spiteless, she prepared her duty.

Then they rolled over, hand wrapping around a bottle at her bedside, and Chend froze - directly in the target's gaze.

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there!
He wasn't there again today,
Oh how I wish he'd go away!

UmbraSight
Moderator

Lost in the Snow

Posts: 861

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 17, 2022 4:22:12 GMT

Post by UmbraSight on Aug 17, 2022 4:22:12 GMT

“Oh? You’re…?” The word felt heavy on Slyph’s tongue. It was blurry, the world was blurry, but there was a person there, right? That was odd, wasn’t it? She hadn’t heard anyone enter the room — she also couldn’t actually remember the last few minutes — so had she missed them announcing themselves? Slyph squinted, tring to force her blue eyes to focus on the person standing above her, but they remained blurry at the edges. The uniform wasn’t, well, there wasn’t a uniform they were wearing was there? In the back of her mind, somewhere in the cotton-fog, the strangeness nagged at her.

Ah, am I in danger right now?

That thought sent a jolt through Sylph's chest, which sent an equally painful crack through her skull. She sat up, the bottle held dumbly in the space between them as if she wasn’t quite certain what to do with the thing. Liquid sloshed and Slyph drew in a breath sharp to scream before she suddenly froze. A different thought burbled it’s way through the hazy corners of her mind that still hadn’t absorbed enough alcohol to completely forget.

Do I care?

The smile found Sylph's lips an easy pleasant thing one might offer to a close friend and not a stranger who slipped into your bedchamber with a knife. Spirits above, that was a knife wasn’t it?

“Ah, sister! Here to celebrate the end of the war?” Sylph asked. She was pretty sure those words were intelligible. Having not been stabbed yet, and pretty sure it would help Sylph brought the bottle to her lips and took a long draw before offering it to the… woman? — she was so fuzzy — to take.

“From Old Arendale, s’good. Been saving it for, ah, well, no one left to share it with now.” She laughed, bitterly. It felt nice or maybe that was just the fuzzy feeling to the wine. Having not been stabbed yet, she pressed on. “Be a shame to spill it.”

//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//

Annasiel
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Finally Free

Posts: 863

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 17, 2022 4:32:33 GMT

Post by Annasiel on Aug 17, 2022 4:32:33 GMT

Chend drew closer, slowly, slowly, knife held in her off-hand other hand ready to grapple - or disarm - whatever may be necessary. The commander held a bottle between them. Improvised, but dangerous. A quick strike on the bedside table would turn it into enough of a tool to bleed her, and an equally quick strike to the side of her skull might prove enough to crack it open. As the assassin paused again, two steps nearer the bed, the overhung elf might notice the leather thong beneath her black cloak, twenty-three teeth lining it like ivory gems.

"The end of the war?" Chend muttered. Where Sylph's voice was light and formal, a practiced heir of someone born above, hers was loamy, rough, a harsh whisper struck by an accent that left her vowels open and her arr trilled. She glanced at the wine. "Perhaps you are still drunk, commander. Rest assured, I am here to silence you, in the name of my people's futures and my land's prosperity."

She flashed the dagger, flickering it quickly to her dominant hand, forearm raised as she jumped forward.

"Have you last words for your gods?" she said, as she reached out for the front of the woman's nightgown.

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there!
He wasn't there again today,
Oh how I wish he'd go away!

UmbraSight
Moderator

Lost in the Snow

Posts: 861

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 17, 2022 5:14:08 GMT

Post by UmbraSight on Aug 17, 2022 5:14:08 GMT

Ah, that‘s probably no good.

“A copy of the treaty s’on my desk?” She offered, if only because something in the back of her mind decided that was a useful thing to say. Though something else told her knife wielding lunatic decorated with teeth likely wouldn’t care much about war’s paperwork.

Would my signature still be binding if I’m dead?

Oh, maybe she should have screamed, it would be a shame if the war dragged on due to such a silly thing like that. She fell back, instinctively, as the other woman advanced. Or, Sylph would have anyway if her assassin-to-be hadn’t grabbed a handful of her nightgown. Would be a shame to get blood on this too, wouldn’t it?

“I always wanted to go, you know. To see your country.” Sylph said, “A land of metal and steam, always sounded like something out of a book.” She blinked and stared past the knife at the other woman.

“I do rather think you should read the treaty, before stabbing me, anyway.” She said, “the war is over and I’d like to not be the death that keeps it going a few more years.”

//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//

Annasiel
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Finally Free

Posts: 863

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 17, 2022 5:22:17 GMT

Post by Annasiel on Aug 17, 2022 5:22:17 GMT

The knife hovered above the other's throat for a few long seconds, then slowly lowered. Suspicious eyes, yellow and wild, bounced over Sylph's face, trying to see any hint of dishonesty in them. She was not frightened, like some were, but that was to be expected. This was a woman of war. Her life had been hardened by bloodshed, just as Chend's had been. Something about the words, though, unsettled her. They were not spoken in plea, like someone might if they were lying to be spared. They were spoken like someone simply speaking the truth. Chend blinked, then lowered her knife further.

"They sent me here."

Still facing Sylph, she moved towards the desk, picking up the treaty with enough force to crumple the parchment. Her eyes flitted over each line until they reached the bottom, where the paused, looked back up at the commander, then read the letter again.

"They sent me here. To kill you."

The knife in her hand was sheathed fast enough that it seemed to vanish.

"This is not over, Commander. If I find you lie -"

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there!
He wasn't there again today,
Oh how I wish he'd go away!

UmbraSight
Moderator

Lost in the Snow

Posts: 861

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 17, 2022 5:47:58 GMT

Post by UmbraSight on Aug 17, 2022 5:47:58 GMT

Slowly Sylph sat up in her bed, holding her hands out to show she had no weapons as the assassin walked backwards to Sylph’s desk. That was rather impressive, Sylph never felt the woman’s yellow gaze lift but she managed to not trip over any of the empty bottles on the floor, which was the sort of feat that Sylph was fairly certain she couldn’t pull off. She once more raised the wine bottle to her lips as she waited, but thought better of it before she actually took a drink. Instead she placed the bottle between her thighs and spent the time straightening out her nightgown.

The woman spoke again as she finished reading the letter, causing Sylph’s brow to crease.

“Seems a rather odd time to send you. Fighting here has been slowing for weeks, and the, uh, your commander and I have been sending birds for several days.” What was the man’s name? This didn’t seem like the best time to not remember it. Still, the woman put her knife away, which seemed very reasonable.

“If I lied to you, you know where to find me.” Sylph said, once more offering up a pleasant smile.

//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//

Annasiel
Administrator

Resident Fey

Finally Free

Posts: 863

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 17, 2022 5:56:01 GMT

Post by Annasiel on Aug 17, 2022 5:56:01 GMT

"A pretty lie. If you were taking me the fool, you would be gone when I came back, and your home empty. I know how it works."

Still, she didn't draw her knife again. She drew the chair from the desk, sitting on it backwards in a squat, feet gripping the edges.

"So. If it's over - it's over. I don't know what to think of this."

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there!
He wasn't there again today,
Oh how I wish he'd go away!

UmbraSight
Moderator

Lost in the Snow

Posts: 861

[RP] In Scattered Ash Aug 17, 2022 14:32:43 GMT

Post by UmbraSight on Aug 17, 2022 14:32:43 GMT

“Mmn, fair enough.” There wasn’t really much she could say to prove that she wasn’t just going to vanish as soon as the assassin turned her back. Oh no, don’t worry I’m not super keen on this whole ‘life’ thing. Likely wouldn’t net her more than another withering look, however did that mean that the other woman was planning on sticking around until the treaty was accepted? Well, that wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen, she’d have some company at least. Sylph reached for the neck of the bottle as the assassin pulled a chair over, but thought better of it.

She could get drunk again tomorrow night, but right now she had a guest. She carefully placed the bottle down onto the floor.

“Just getting a drink of water.” Sylph said, leaning over to grab the pitcher from a side table. She clutched it close not trusting her fingers to keep their grip and brought it up to her lips to take a few deep gulps. She felt certain her manners instructor would have been horrified at her drinking directly from the pitcher and the amount of water running down her chin, but the water tasted almost sweet. With a satisfied sigh, she offered the pitcher to the other.

“Not sure what I’ll do myself, if I’m being honest. Been so long I can’t really remember what peace is like.” Well, a lot of things were still fuzzy right now. “Was going to get married, but they sent ‘em off to the Valley to die in some pointless offensive there.”

It was sort of nice knowing the other person probably didn’t really care.

“How about you?”

Last Edit: Aug 25, 2022 23:17:05 GMT by UmbraSight

//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//