riskibusiness:
Riski was starting to believe that he might, actually, be accident prone.
It wasn’t his fault that coeurls roamed the wilds around Wineport. It was a little his fault that he was more focused on the gigantoads and their long, sticky, vile tongues, but to his credit he had actually managed to avoid them. But in doing so, he’d walked right into the territory of a mother coeurl instead.
He’d gotten away – thankfully, she was more interested in getting back to her cub than giving chase – but the electricity from the whisker she’d slapped him in the back with still hadn’t faded. Riski sat with his back to a tree, his head hanging and his breath coming more shallowly than it should. Every few seconds his entire body would go rigid at another arc.
During one of the slack times, Riski looked down at the linkpearl that decorated the bracelet he wore. He could call – he could always call. But this would run its course and fade and everything would be fine. There was no sense making him worry about every little thing that happened when Riski was out in the field.
As he considered it, a noise could be heard over the sounds of the river. It was footsteps in the brush, somewhere behind him and coming closer. Riski’s hand fell away from his opposite wrist and the the linkpearl, instead finding the hilt of one of his daggers.
It was difficult to say what exactly he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t the woman who came suddenly into view. Violet eyes met blue and both held surprise.
It had started out as a trip down memory lane. It was almost her nameday and she had wanted to remember the days with Leon before his passing. Being this close to the place that brought Leon into her life was hard. Bad and good memories both were part of this place.
She walked south of Wineport with Daisy fluttering near her right shoulder, feeling more at ease the further she stepped away from Occidens. She had been careful to skirt around the
gigantoads at the river, shuddering at the thought of their slimy tongues. A disgusted expression on her face at the mere thought.
She was wondering if coming out here without her favorite bow was a bad idea. Not that having Daisy by her side didn’t give her a measure of comfort. It had just been a bad idea to bring that bow with her out this way after the things that had happened. It was too soon yet.
She stepped through the brush and froze. Blue eyes meeting violet. She was just as surprised as the man staring up at her a short distance away. Her eyes drifted from the elezen’s face to where his hand was upon a hilt of a dagger. Surprise became wariness and concern.
Her hands raised about chest height as she forced a smile, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. Her former training days in the Shroud kicking in. There was something wrong with this situation but just from looking it was hard to understand completely. Daisy’s hands were on her shoulder as her fairy companion looked down at Riski.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to startle you. It’s not exactly the safest of places to take a break though I must say.” Her tone was light and friendly. Had to keep herself from seeming dangerous. Not that she was dangerous. Well not dangerous to anyone but herself for the most part. Slowly she crouched down where she stood to be more at eye level with the stranger, hands on her knees and Daisy still holding on to her shoulder.
“My name is Destiney. This is Daisy.” A small wave and bright smile from the glittering fairy at her shoulder. Her eyes had never left him, searching. The eyes of a healer assessing the condition of a patient. “Do you need help? I’m a healer.”
( @riskibusiness I wanted to have this done sooner but I got too tired last night. XD Lack of sleep finally caught up with me.)
Riski’s hand fell away from his weapon, resting uselessly on the ground at his side. He forced a smile through another full body shudder. His breath left him all at once when it passed, once again hanging his head but at the same time shaking it no. “It’ll pass,” he assured the strange woman. “Don’t worry about it.”
He looked up at her through his hair, the inky strands taking advantage of his inability to push them back. “Don’t go that way,” he warned her once he caught his breath, nodding slightly in the direction he’d come from. The mother coeurl was out of sight, but he had no doubt that she would attack again should anyone get too near. “Coeurls.”
Spirit of the Warlock 