RP - The Wakening of Hephastion

[Hephastion]

Hearing the tone in her voice he looks at her again "If it helps, I can stay in Bravia a few more days until you get your head round this" stopping for a moment he watches for her reaction.

"Im only heading to Paz to check up on a few things, there are too many bad memories there for me" giving her a smile "maybe you could come with me, a couple of days then we can head back" knowing she seemed to be happy here, he had brought this upon her and had to be accomodating to her needs, afterall she had been more than accomodating to his primary or was it primal need.

[Wandress]

The log in the fireplace snapped again, the flames briefly flaring up towards the rough redstone chimney before settling down again. Wandress took the opportunity to glance away from Hephastion towards the fire. He seemed genuine in his concern, even offering what she supposed was a sort of compromise. There seemed to be little enough that she could do at the moment - a tenuous companionship seemed mutually beneficial for now, or at least until she had the time and opportunity to study him, and maybe Heal him. And herself, she supposed, though that would be significantly more difficult...possibly. Hephastion was the key, though, and without him, she would, by his own admission, die.

She gave him a tight smile, though more from creeping exhaustion than anything. Her body had been oddly refreshed since his...since he saved her, but her mind was becoming sluggish as watery light began to drift through the small windows. Had they really consumed the entire evening already? "I suppose we must travel to Paz, then, if we will not be too long. Though, I would like some time to prepare to travel before we leave, at least until tomorrow's first light? To prepare a travel sack and possibly sleep a little; I suppose we both should, since we seem to have gotten sidetracked and frittered the night away."

[Hephastion]

"Sleep would be a good idea, you look tired. Although leavcing at first light isnt such a good idea" he goes on to explain about his unnatural sensitivty to Sunlight, and that it can be harmful to him "If its cloudy or dull im fine, but those beautiful clear mornings are not so appealing" smiling hoping his remark lightens the mood a little. It had been a trying night for her, and he knew her mind would be racing with all that had happened.

Watching the fire as she does he hopes their friendship lasts, he hadnt really had anyone to call a friend since before Modius turned on him and before that his wife but that had been nearly 30 years, since then he had travelling companions and vessels, but noone he could truely call a friend. Breaking his thoughts he looks at her, his dark eyes trying to guess what she was truely thinking.

[Wandress]

She gave him an apologetic smile while trying to rub away the twinge of pressure she was beginning to feel behind her eyes. The Clan had heard strange tales about the humans that shared their world from other Clans, nomads that had ran into the race at one time or another, and she remembered sitting wide-eyed around the fire as a youngling, listening to impossible tales about the frail but violent creatures she hadn't really believed existed at the time. Even when she had emerged from the charred wreckage of her former life and emerged into the new one, the fantastical image of what humans were followed her around even after she had settled among them. But this man, this Vampyre sitting in front of her astonished her. None of the stories came close to what he was; sustained on blood alone, unlike other carnivorous beasts that needed the flesh that housed the blood; sensitive to sunlight, not like the owl that merely slept during the day, but actually needed to avoid sunlight altogether. And then there was the matter of his skin...

Standing slowly, she moved towards the nearest window to close the shutters. The light was still weak this early in the morning, but she was sure Hephastion would not thank her for leaving them open once the sun slanted in through them at full strength. Besides, she preferred darkness while she slept, though, rarely had she not slept while the sun did. Would that change now too? "So, I suppose we won't be going for any noonday strolls by the lake," she said wryly, moving across the room to close the other window. "We'll be leaving at sundown today, then? Should get some sleep before we do then. Er, do you need...anything to sleep?" She let the question linger, unsure if he actually did sleep, while she gathered up the blanket that he had brought for her while she was...anyways.

[Hephastion]

Watching as a thousand thoughts seemed to race through her mind, he is suddenly brought back by her quick remark about strolling round the lake, smiling "So long as the sun isnt shining too brightly"

"I do sleep in a sense, everything just slows down to almost stopping" the glint in his eyes seemed to dull, the lids closed and within a few moments, anyone looking upon him would have thought him recently deceased, the colour draining slightly from his skin, the rise and fall of his chest completely stopped, Modius had called it torpor, a Vampyr could last months, even years in this state without needing sustinance and with his ability to turn his flesh to marble, he was safe from attack, although he didnt use this tonight a natural feeling of safety coming over him for the first time in years, a slight smile had formed on his lips as he slept.

[Wandress]

Had he not warned her, Wandress would have worried as Hepastion fell into...sleep. He looked even more a corpse than he had before, though she was not sure how that was possible. Even in sleep, he maintained a suggestion of menace, a hint of inherent violence not unlike a sleeping lion. Or perhaps, it was a memory of danger, the kind that made you step lightly even around a dead lion. He made her wary of him, but not frightened. No, he had not given her any reason to fear him yet. Carefully she touched her neck, pressing her fingers to the place that his fangs had scored deeply, though her fingers met unbroken skin. No, not yet.

She doubted that he actually needed it, but she settled the blanket he had brought for her over him in the chair. More for comfort, than for warmth, even if she was trying to comfort herself than him. Barely covering a yawn she retreated from the main room into her semi-enclosed bedroom. It was a simple affair, a pallet in the corner, with a few folded blankets stacked beside it, a roughshod table littered with more sprigs of drying herbs, satchels of powders and vials of dark liquids, packed around her meagre effects - an ivory comb, a long, intricately carved bone knife, a tooled leather belt, a delicate golden chain with a dull amethyst pendant. Pulling the shutters closed on the only window in her room, she crept through the weak darkness towards her pallet, curling up and promptly falling asleep.

[Hephastion]

Waking with a start, he looks around the room unsure of where he is, his eyes adjusting to the dim room. Looking down at the blanket he shakes his head slowly remembering where he was. Lifting himself off the chair he stretches, taking a deep breath even though he didnt need to, it seemed to help bring the blood to the surface of his skin making him look more human.

Opening one of the shutters a little he looks outside, blinking at the light, the sun was shining he closes the shutter again, looking at the fire, he picks up the poker clearing the ash he gets it going again, placing a couple of logs on the glowing embers, looking through to the other room where Wandress slept, he decided he would leave her be for a little longer, hoping the sun might have gone down a little more before she wakes.

Alone with his thoughts for now, he thinks back to the night of his fight with Modius, remembering some of the things he had managed to do to his sire, things Modius had never even learned. Leaving the mans body broken and burst he wonders if he is still able to draw the strength to do such things.

[Wandress]

Even the ravens had fallen silent that morning. The ravens were never silent, they always harassed and accused with every available breath as She Who Wanders Close To The River sat quietly in the clearing along the tall oaks trees. But today, they were silent. A sign from the gods that her trial had gone well? Four days by herself in the forest, to commune with the gods, to prove to the Clan she was not a child any longer. A beam of light skipped between the leafy limbs overhead and sparkled against the buffed golden cuffs around her wrists; she still fiddled with them occasionally, as they were new and still somewhat uncomfortable. A gift from her Mother, to help in her ordeal, they were supposed to help her hold and wield the Light, but they were more a reminder that her Mother thought her ready for the trials. Four days of silence, four days of solitude, four days of starvation, four days of sleeplessness. But she would no longer be a child in the eyes of the Elders, and could finally become an Apprentice. The gods had seen fit to allow her success in the tests, and the ravens were a sign. The ravens were never silent.

Woodsmoke filtered through the understory of the trees, obscuring the mossy earth in a haze that swirled around her feet as she walked. The celebration bonfires were already lit? Normally the Clan waited until they were sure the initiate had succeeded, but that only encouraged her. The gods had seen her through; of course the Elders knew that she would return triumphant. Soon the woodsmoke became twinged with the smell of meat, roasting deer or boar for the feasts in her honour. The man attending the spits would need a smack though, he was burning them.

She emerged with a gasp into the clearing where the Clan currently resided. It had been widened several hundred feet; tree trunks sat in sullen ruins, some smouldering still, but most simply shattered into splinters that littered the torn ground. Thin tendrils of smoke rose from small mounds across the field, cracked and broken domes that used to be the Clan's modest dwellings. Her scarf flailed in the air behind her as she sprinted across the field towards the smoke. Wrong. It was all wrong. A log caught her foot and sent her sprawling against the churned up dirt. The Clan always kept the village clean and clear of debris; she turned her head as she pushed herself up on her elbows and cried out in anguish. Charred and stiff, an impossibly thin arm reached out overhead, clutching a burned staff topped with what looked like a blackened sunburst. A raven hopped along the ground towards her confidently, its long ebony beak slightly open with a red string hanging from the corner, stabbing that beak into her neck, giving a triumphant caw as her blood rushed out...The ravens were never silent...

"No!" Wandress screamed, thrashing out her claws at the imaginary bird as she sat up. Jerked awake, she gasped a shuddering breath, clutching at the side of her neck in a panic. Half expecting to see blood on her claws, she held her trembling hand in front of her, before taking another deep breath to try and calm herself. A dream... she thought, as if that dispelled the horrid images from her mind. But the blood was so very fresh. Scrubbing her hand across her eyes, she pushed herself off her pallet, forcing herself to wake up. The sun was far past it's zenith as she pushed open the window's shutters, long past time she was awake and preparing for the journey to Paz with Hephastion. Her hand had half-risen to her neck before she could force it to her side again. Giving her hair a quick combing, she headed out into the main room of the cottage, to see if Hephastion was already awake.

[Hephastion]

Deep in his thoughts he was suddenly brought back by a shout from the other room, his eyes shining for a moment when he heard the womans shout, his first thought was for that of his long dead wife, then almost as quickly the room filled with light, realising Wandress had opened the shutters in her room he relaxed again.

"Afternoon Wandress, I hope you slept well" giving her a smile.

Standing up to greet her as she entered the room, he pushes the pot of water over the fire "Im guessing you'll be needing some tea before we leave"

[Wandress]

She returned a bleary-eyed smile to Hephastion, suppressing the urge to yawn again. "Good afternoon, Hephastion. I did," she lied. He didn't need to know her nightmares. "I trust you are...rested?" He did look much more lively than he did in the chair at dawn, a little more colour had flushed his skin banishing the deathy pallor. She crossed the room and gathered up the previous night's cups, dumping them hurriedly in the washbin and searching out fresh ones from the rough shelf that housed her dishes. "Tea would be lovely indeed, might as well have something in our...er, well, my stomach before we leave." Her middle grumbled softly in agreement, and she gave a slightly exasperated smile to Hephastion, as if about an unruly child she could do little about.