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RESPITE - AFTERNOON
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Vix walks the rooftops of the town, seeking out her favorite lizard while she keeps an eye out for more potential merchandise
Nesseth is on patrol along the wall right now, a little bit of a break from the stress of the investigation into the elementals. He doesn't seem all too relaxed at the moment, however, if his stiff stature and marching cadence is anything to go by. In fact, as he's been looking the past several days, he's still got a rather sour and unfocused look on his face, like he's not even really keeping an eye out, but instead examining something in his mind...
Vix spots Nesseth on the wall and stops to observe him for a few moments. After considering his body language, she decides to approach him from the front. She swiftly clambers onto the wall and waves at him.
Nesseth is indeed not paying attention to his surroundings, as it takes him several silent seconds of walking before he notices Vix waving at him. He blinks upon noticing the motion, then waves in turn, though he doesn't call out to her like normal.
Vix lightly jogs over to Nesseth and gives him a hug. "Heya, big guy~"
Nesseth oofs lightly at the hug, pausing for a moment before he gives Vix a soft hug in turn. "Hey there, Vix... You alright?"
Vix meows and looks up at at Nesseth with her big yellow eyes. "Yeah, but you seem a bit out of it. Mind if I walk with you a bit?"
Nesseth hums as he meets Vix's gaze, then shrugs and nods. "Mmh, sure, if you want. I'm just doing patrol duty right now."
Vix whirls around as she moves to Nesseth's side. She hangs lightly on his arm and stays quiet for the moment.
Nesseth gently grasps onto one of Vix's hands as she moves to his side. His shoulders seem to relax a little, but not much, as he starts to walk along the wall again, now seeming a bit more attentive than earlier.
Vix purrs quietly, hoping to soothe Nesseth's thoughts with the sound.
Nesseth listens quietly, only to sigh softly to himself as he releases some of the tension that's been built up inside for the past several days. As kind a gesture as the days off Louma gave him was, the time off didn't really help relieve any of the stress regarding the investigation.
Vix hugs Nesseth's arm a little. "You wanna take a little break?"
Nesseth shakes his head a bit as he continues to walk. "I can't. I can't stand still while not doing anything, so I might as well be doing something..."
Vix hums. "Wanna share what's on your mind? You seem really troubled..."
Nesseth glances over at Vix again. "Do you... want the long version or the short version?"
Vix: However much you're comfortable with saying, I'll listen.
Nesseth gives Vix another look. "I'm offering it to you. Long, or short?"
Vix: Alright, the long version then. Just get it off your chest
Nesseth hums quietly, nodding as he slows down a bit, but doesn't stop his patrol. "Then long it is... I guess... how much do you know about the stuff going on with Erika's garden and such, first? Might help me figure where to really start."
Vix shakes her head. "Not much, I'm afraid. I've been a bit busy with my shop lately..."
Nesseth nods. "Well, I'm in charge of an investigation into seeing what happened to Erika and Cavro, because the two were acting a bit off some time back. After I did some digging, it turns out that the two real ones vanished, and the two 'replacements' are... well, replacements. At first, I suspected doppelgangers, entities that assume a person's form and then replace them, usually for negative reasons."
Vix shivers. "That's a bit spooky. I remember you mentioned an investigation a couple times."
Nesseth nods softly. "Mmh... that's the same investigation I mentioned back then. It's been a thing I've been invol-- leading for... two, maybe three months, now? Anyway, I won't bore you with the details, but... turns out, those doppelgangers are actually elementals. If what Tarbin said is true, they're like... manifestations of a specific magical element, or something like that."
Vix nods. "Alright, I follow so far..."
Nesseth lifts his free hand and scratches at his frills, before smoothing his hand over them for a moment. "So, we've been focusing on one elemental at a time, and the one in Erika's garden was a more pressing matter. The garden's a lot harder to deal with than a hot forge, so... we decided to figure out a way to deal with her, first."
Vix hums. "So what happened?"
Nesseth sighs. "Turns out, the elemental wasn't evil or anything like that. Just... confused and scared. She didn't really have any idea what happened to Erika or Cavro, except that she was stuck in the garden, in a way. Once we were certain she was being truthful, we decided to see if we could help her move somewhere less... er... troublesome."
Vix nods, observing Nesseth's body language.
Nesseth works his jaw a bit. "And we came upon an idea that might have helped her move somewhere else. Something that was probably a bit more expeditious than the ideas I'd asked Erika about. If she's magically tied to a spot, sever the magic. Simple, right?"
Vix hums. "It makes sense...but...?"
Nesseth shakes his head slowly. "Turns out... cutting an elemental off from their magic source is a terrible idea. We as good as killed her, Vix."
Vix gulps. "Ah...I see..."
Nesseth starts to get a little agitated. "She just wanted to not be scared, trusted us to help her leave and settle somewhere calm, especially after the real Erika and Cavro came back..." He curls his free hand into a fist and slams it against his thigh with an audible thump, "And we killed her...!"
Vix hugs Nesseth's arm a little more tightly. "H-hey! You didn't know!"
Nesseth shakes his head again. "It doesn't excuse the fact that we killed someone innocent, Vix. She had nothing to do with Erika and Cavro vanishing, but we had to do something, or else the entire town would have ended up a wild jungle within a few months. We wanted to help her leave, not..."
Nesseth takes another step forward only for his leg to give out, resulting in him staggering and falling to a knee.
Vix tries to catch Nesseth but ends up falling down with him. "Whoa now...how long have you been walking?"
Nesseth grunts as he pushes himself back up, unintentionally hauling Vix up onto her feet alongside him. "Only for a couple of hours on patrol." He looks out past the edge of the wall, out into the wilderness beyond town, "I've never killed anyone before, Vix... I've hurt or injured folks as a guard if there was a reason, but never killed anyone."
Vix hugs Nesseth around the waist once he stands up. "It's a lot to process..." She thinks for a moment. "Do elementals really work like that? Can they actually be killed?"
Nesseth shrugs. "I don't know. But she died while cut off from the flow of magic. Even if they could just regenerate while connected to their magic source, she vanished. There's no coming back from that..."
Vix: Maybe the bits are...smaller than we can even see?
Nesseth snorts a bit. "Is it still even her, then?"
Vix blinks. "I ah...wouldn't know..."
Nesseth lets out another sigh. "She's gone, and we killed her. We might have been trying to help, but that doesn't change the fact she's gone. And since I was leading the investigation... I'm responsible for it."
Vix shakes her head. "You can't carry the whole blame yourself, Ness. It'll tear you up."
Nesseth twists a little to look at Vix. "Who else is there to blame, then? All this wouldn't have happened if I'd just left it alone, or made things clearer, or done things faster, or any other multitude of reasons!"
Vix: There's no changing what happened. What's next is finding a way to forgive yourself.
Vix mumbles. "I mean... I've gone through this before, too...
Nesseth chuckles darkly. "What, just forgive myself that someone is dead because of me? Someone that could have lived a nice life, gone because we rushed out a plan without considering the consequences?"
Vix nods grimly. "Yeah."
Nesseth 's chuckle continues, stretching out rather uncomfortably long, his eyes squeezing shut as tears begin to leak down his cheeks. "S-sure, sure... just... forgive myself for murder, yeah. Easy..."
Vix hugs Nesseth tighter. "You can reconcile. Pay respects. But you need to make peace with yourself as well."
Nesseth 's laugh gets a little louder, a touch of hysteria leaking into it. "Oh, yeah? How can I be at peace?"
Vix tries to pull Nesseth to the side to sit him down. "I'm trying to help you with that part! Come on, let's have a seat over here..."
Nesseth tries to continue his patrol route only to stagger as Vix pulls him the other way, and the sudden jerk pulls him out of his mirthless laughter. He doesn't offer much resistance as he starts to follow her off to the side of the wall.
Vix sits Nesseth down against the wall and offers him her canteen. "Here. First, you gotta hydrate."
Nesseth plops down at Vix's urging, though he doesn't take any moves to grab the canteen. "Thanks, but I drank from my own not too long ago."
Vix frowns and pulls out a smaller metal flask. "How 'bout this one?"
Nesseth furrows his brow a little as he eyes the smaller flask for a moment. "And that's... what, exactly...? Can't drink on the job."
Vix scratches her head, still offering the flask. "With all due respect, you're only barely doing your job. Just walking a loop with your mind elsewhere."
Nesseth shakes his head again. "Still not going to resort to drinking to getting my mind off of stuff."
Vix grumbles a little and puts the flask away, but not before taking a swig herself. "Alright, alright..." She takes a seat next to Nesseth. "You hungry, then? I've got jerky."
Nesseth pulls his knees up a bit and rests his arms against them as he shakes his head. "Not especially hungry right now, but thanks..."
Vix hums, not buying it. "Did you eat breakfast? Lunch?"
Nesseth takes a moment to wipe the moisture from his cheeks, then nods. "Ate a bit for breakfast, had a small lunch."
Vix presses a piece of jerky into Nesseth's palm. "You usually have a huge appetite. Here, you need this, even if you don't feel hungry."
Nesseth blinks as the jerky is shoved into his hand. He stares at it for a moment, then shrugs and eats it, knowing Vix isn't going to let it rest until he does. "...Thanks..."
Vix leans against Nesseth and eats a piece of jerky too. "Just lookin' out for ya..."
Nesseth spends a bit chewing on the jerky, then gulps it down. After a few moments, he starts to lightly lean against Vix as he sets his head against his folded arms.
Vix purrs once again to set Nesseth at ease. "You know...I mentioned knowing how this feels. That's 'cause I was ah...in a heist that went ass-up before I moved here. Some friends of mine got hurt..."
Nesseth hums quietly, letting his eyes drift shut as he starts to let the stress that's been building inside him over the past few months begin to slowly leave his body. "And... how'd you handle it?"
Vix nibbles on her jerky. "Not very well, at first. I thought about turning myself in. Definitely skipped the funeral." She catches herself too late.
Nesseth sighs. "So... the same situation as me, then?"
Vix nods. "I can tell the guilt is tearing you up. Eventually...I had to face it directly. Visit the grave and make amends." She sniffs. "It was too late though. My friends had shunned me, so I decided to move out here."
Nesseth just remains silent at that bit of knowledge, before he shifts an arm free and wraps it around Vix's shoulders and hugs her against his side, not sure what to say in response.
Vix hums. "Maybe you can find a book about elementals. See what you can do for her, yeah?"
Nesseth stays quiet for a few moments longer before responding. "...Mmh... maybe. Can't bury her or anything, though. No body or anything like that."
Vix: Different cultures honor nature in different ways. Maybe lighting incense would be the way to go. I do have a bit in my storage from the traders.
Nesseth shrugs again, though he continues to hold Vix close against his side. "Can't say I know anything about honoring the fallen outside of Lizard culture. Though... I suppose I could ask Xochi what Snake culture is like in that regard..."
Vix nods. "Xochi seems like she'd be really knowledgeable about elemental spirits and stuff! Uh...just a feeling..."
Nesseth hums quietly. "The spiritual, sure. She knows some illusion magic, she told me herself, but nothing like what Tarbin and Teis could do."
Vix: Xochi definitely has a lot of experience, I think. We should try to find her after your shift.
Nesseth nods slowly, still resting his head on an arm. "Yeah... yeah, we probably should." He shuts his eyes for a moment and gives Vix a soft squeeze, "I'm... sorry to hear about your friend, Vix."
Vix pats Nesseth on the back. "That's alright. It was years ago."
Nesseth sighs, nodding a bit. "Mmh..."
Vix sits quietly with Nesseth for a while, still purring.
Nesseth keeps his eyes shut for the time being, just feeling... maybe not happy, but more at ease than he has been for the past several weeks, sitting next to Vix and letting the day slip by, at least for a little while.
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TARBIN'S CAMP - WEST GATE - EVENING
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Tarbin has been spending all his time outside of the city for the past day and some, chatting occasionally with Melia when she chooses to speak up, but otherwise he's been lost in thought. Mostly wondering if he's lost some grip on reality, speaking in full conversations with the voice of an elemental he and the others though died... The lizard hasn't re-voiced this concern since they first spoke, but it's certainly one of the things keeping him from heading into town for the time being. What would he even say to the others about it. His mood begins slipping to sadness and confusion again as these thoughts circle in his mind.
Melia senses some edges of Tarbin's mood; while greater sharing between the two might be possible, for now walls have been rather up. "Tarbin. What uh... what's up? You seem a bit tense, and I don't just mean the way your tails are twitching. That sorta tickles."
Tarbin blinks, tilting his head up a bit at the voice, a slight smile curling at the edges of his lips. "Oh... No I am okay. Just... No, I'm only thinking about my failure again. It's... Not going away any time soon, I think. But that's okay. That is part of healing. A bruised heart does not heal so quickly."
Melia hums into Tarbin's ear: [Mm, I guess that's true. I mean, I'm not happy about this, I feel like I should even be more upset but... well, I said it like fifty-two times, this is a mess. You probably saved me from fire or something.]
Tarbin laughs a single harsh note. "A fire I started."
Melia pauses, considering: [You didn't summon me, create me, did you?]
Tarbin pulls a knee up close to his chest, resting his chin on it as he watches the Flow through the door of his (their?) hut. "No... We never did discover what brought you to the garden."
Melia muses quietly, her 'voice' lower than usual: [I only have this vague idea of darkness, a swirl of purple magic. It felt like a dream at the time, but now I don't really know anymore.]
Tarbin sighs, shaking his head slightly. "It's strange... If someone had a purpose for you... You would know it, I think."
Melia goes entirely quiet for a moment before continuing: [I... would, wouldn't I? But no. I thought I was Erika and that was my 'purpose', except obviously it wasn't.] She lets out a quiet non-sigh: [Seems my purpose is whatever you make of it, now.]
Tarbin takes a deep breath, nodding slowly. "Perhaps that is best? Not bound to that garden any more... Maybe we can eventually find a way to let you live as you wish. I can not make a promise that we will succeed, but I will promise to do what I can to find a way."
Melia swirls a small cloud of green around Tarbin's arms, her 'voice' turning softer: [Possibly... thank you. Of course anything I can do right now is up to you... I tried to move away from you, but I am now bound to you the way I was to that tree, except sort of even tighter. At least I think so.]
Tarbin watches the magic swirl with a degree of wonder at her ability. His scales turn color where they make contact with her magic, and the lizard blushes slightly from the sensation. "I don't think it will be so simple to separate you from me as the garden, either. And that didn't even end well. Still, even like this you have such a free connection with the Flow... Incredible."
Melia: [...Flow... what you call my power... is almost all I have, all I am, now. I do wonder, though...] She goes quiet as she concentrates. For the briefest of moments, Tarbin can see a see-through, greenish-yellow, lightly visible manifestation of natural magic in the very vague shape of an okapi in front of him, smiling for that moment before she vanishes again. [G-gah! Okay, can't do that for long at all.]
Tarbin stares wide-eyed at the magical form in front of him, though of course only able to see it among the magic around it. At the same time, he can feel a tugging at him, not from any area in particular, but as if the manifested form is trying to pull him like a magnet. He lets out a breath of relief when she returns, shivering slightly. "Ah... That... Is something worth practising."
Melia gives a bit of a shudder as she returns: [Y-yeah, probably is. Almost hurt-like though, gotta be careful with that...] She quietly ponders: [How much did you actually see of me? That was like all Flow, right?]
Tarbin nods, relaxing a bit as he leans to sit back against the side of the hut. "Er... All of you was magic, yes. Let's... Not tell Erika about that until you figure out how to create a bit of clothing."
Melia is quiet for a second before letting out a giggle: [O-oh. Right, the whole clothing thing. Oops.]
Tarbin chuckles with her, shrugging. "It's usually not a big deal, but if you share her shape... Still, with that ability... Could you have another form? One more personal to you?"
Melia hums: [I did not really... how do you put, think consciously about it? So... maybe?]
Tarbin smiles, closing his eyes as they talk. "You never know, could be a form in your soul that would be more comfortable. I know Erika's is all you've known, but that doesn't mean it's perfect for you."
Melia: [...I can agree to that. I haven't really thought about form, since.... you know, don't really have one now. But if I'm now all Flow, then maybe...?] She pauses, sighing: [Too exhausted to try again now. But it is an idea.]
Tarbin nods before resting his head back against the wall. He's quiet for a long moment, though not on the verge of sleep yet. When he finally speaks up, his voice is quiet. "Melia?"
Melia: [What's up?] The elemental never left, not that that really is an option.
Tarbin sighs. "You're not just a... Ghost in my mind, right? I'm just... If this is not some dream, the others need to know. I can't break this feeling of doubt... But if you're real the others need to know. They need to know that we didn't fail you entirely, that I didn't kill you..."
Melia: [As real as it gets, I'm pretty sure. I mean, beyond that exhausting trick I can't really DO much, but I promise you I am not a dream, I am for real and I'm honestly a bit hurt you'd think I am. I will help in whatever way I can to show to the others I am still here.]
Tarbin smiles slightly, nodding. "I don't mean to hurt you. If anything, I'm happy you're stuck in my head, Melia."
Melia chuckles softly: [I mean, not sure if you want to be happy about that, but I'm happy I'm still around? Oh wow this is messed up.]
Tarbin shrugs, setting his hand down on the ground and letting the Flow ease around his scales. "What else could we ask for at this point?"
Melia gives the mental equivalent of a shrug: [Possibly not being quite so tied up to you, but honestly I'll take it over other options. I like existing.]
Tarbin laughs briefly. "I like you existing, too, much better than the alternative. I suppose... We can go out looking for a place to let you settle sometime, as well."
Melia giggles: [Assuming I can let go of you. And... somehow that sounded wrong.]
Tarbin blushes a bit under his scales, chuckling. "I don't know, maybe we'll be too used to this by the time an answer comes around."
Melia: [I don't know... I'm not sure I want to know what the future holds just yet. For now I'm happy here, with you. Even if all of this could have gone better.]
Tarbin nods, shaking a light yawn loose. "We'll get it right the second time. I won't waste this second chance."
Melia giggles at Tarbin's yawn: [Yuh, I think we have all the time now at least.] She is quiet for a moment as though gathering her thoughts: [Tarbin... seeing as I will be here for a while, and you basically know my story - short as it is - but I don't know yours....]
Tarbin hums, shrugging. "What do you want to know?"
Melia: [Like... how did you end up in Respite? You said you came from elsewhere.]
Tarbin pauses, nodding. His mood immediately slips when he considers his home and the circumstances for being here. He takes a breath before dropping into the explanation of his homeland, a lush forested territory called Yuretti. How he'd been raised to lend his help to all his people, and to respect his gifts. How while not in direct conflict with anyone, the military they had would fight for friends, and he'd be expected to heal soldiers on their return - which he gladly did - instead of growing crops or healing citizens. How magitech had come to the land and began making most lives easier at the cost of mages being called from their professions to charge magitech devices. Until he reached the point he'd already told Melia about, the curse and reason he was on that ship. He takes a pause when the explanation has him at sea, the lizard taking a drink from a waterskin next to the bed.
Melia listens attentively and quietly: [That sounds like... a no-win situation, really. I'm sorry.]
Tarbin nods, sighing. "My uncle was the one who put the travel curse on me... I think he did it because I move the Flow, not like most mages that have a core amount of magic. I don't know if he left me able to use it on purpose, or if that's a side effect of the same thing." He grins, tilting his head a bit. "Either way, you've helped with that, by accident. Thank you again."
Melia giggles nervously: [Well, I'm glad to be good for something, even if by accident. And um... I can maybe do something about that lil' snag too, once I gather myself. I don't feel like I need to eat, but sorta having extra energy around wouldn't hurt? I don't really know.]
Tarbin blinks, nodding after a moment. "I would appreciate that... I haven't seen anything in a month... And nothing clearly in what feels like a lifetime."
Melia weakly tugs at the magical knot behind Tarbin's eyes: [It's... sort of the least I can do? At least I think I can do. I just want to do it right.]
Tarbin feels the twinge from her effort, sighing. He sets his palms on the bed and starts to pull from the Flow, directing the magic in Melia's general direction... Or at least where he feels she's at.
Melia feels Tarbin's magical help with the Flow. [I'm... I'm going to try. I hope this works.] She goes quiet as she focuses on the stubborn magical knot preventing Tarbin's vision, tugging at it at points until slowly, agonizingly slowly it starts to give up. [Oop... I think I... I got it!]
Tarbin twitches at her effort. It's not a type of magic he'd normally be able to sense, but that proximity makes it impossible to miss. So when she makes her progress, the lizard perks up. "What... Really? That... Yes, I can feel something... Incredible, Melia!" He starts teasing the 'spot' with Nature's magic, feeling like he's able to move it more freely toward healing himself.
Melia giggles, feeling very very tired suddenly: "It's... I'm glad it worked. Should be clear now. I'm just going to..." She drifts off somewhat, the effort clearly taken it out of her even with the additional Flow.
Tarbin closes his eyes, feeling a twinge of pain as the process starts. This... Is going to have to happen slowly. He lays back on his bed, sighing quietly. "Melia? Thank you. Sleep well." He wraps his fingers tight around a vine from the bed, breathing deep as he silently asks Nature for this favor... Hoping it'll manage to stay on course while they sleep.