Tears of Shade

Log Info

• Title: Tears of Shade
• Emitter: Aryia
• Characters: Aryia, Seyardu
• Place: Warehouse District, Abandoned alleyway
• Time: September 25th, 2021
• Summary: After receiving some distressing news about her sister, Aryia sequestered herself away in an abandoned alleyway. Seyardu followed after her, but had to resort to checking a handful of places that the mute mul'neissa would normally be. Eventually, the sith-makar finds her wreathed in inky shadow. Aryia laments regret of her advice being taken too literally, as well as being frustrated at being unable to return such tender feelings she had been given. Among a slew of other things for the grieving mul'neissa as she gives Seyardu the letter to read. Seyardu manages to calm her down enough, and manages to convince her that hope is not lost for Aya, as they could very well get her back. Aryia answers the question on who Daed is, and their conversations slowly shift to other things, Aryia too emotionally exhausted to continue her baying. Seyadu provides hot chocolate, and Aryia clears up some things between herself and another that she holds important to her, giving Seyardu a fake name to protect them. They speak of a few more minor things: what to get Lily, why Seyardu's symbol is the way it is, as well as convincing Seyardu to give the newly reformed nest a break and some privacy, as they lumber off to the Fernwood for the night.

Warehouse District, Abandoned alleyway. Night.

Upon a nondescript street within the maze of the warehouse district, an alleyway, long boarded up with a block of vacant buildings, stands a lone, crumbling brick wall, it cutting the line between what used to be someone's backyard, and a back exit to a city drain. Now it was filled with debris, discarded crates of cheap merchants that skirt city code, broken glass of drunken stupors and rubble of brick and mortar that fall from the test of time. It would seem that none go here, save for the boarded up wood having been smashed in recently, and some curious looks sent that way by what of the crowd had seen what happened.

Entering the alleyway gives a sense that someone was there. Were it for the echoing of sniffles to give any evidence.

It was not long after the mul'niessa had torn out of the temple of Daeus that a certain silver sith-makar departed as well. She was no tracker, but she knew a few of the places Aryia might be, where she might hide. She had taken out her polearm again just in case to sling over her back, and then she was off, checking the usual haunts of her friend. Not at the fernwood, no one had seen her there. The Tarrace had not seen her after some inquiries. So she was checking around where she normally worked, one of the districts the monk likely knew the best. She continued her search, and the crowd of people forming got her attention. Seyardu stops. Listens, and sniffs at the air, catching a scent mingling with the stale alcohol from smashed bottles. She knocks on a more solid piece of the smashed wood.

"Aryia, is that you there? It is Seyardu." She says as gently as she can muster, waiting near, but not moving forward yet.

It's hard to tell where the sound was coming from due to the shadows and the echoing of the sound. Aryia's scent was still present and lingering, even recent. The strongest scent of her being that of her sunhat that was discarded halfway in.

The crying halts briefly. Off, deep within the alleyway and nestled into a corner, there's some movement. A flickering. It almost looked as if the dark itself was rolling down the gentle slope of the drain. In the ink, a pair of dimmed milk eyes pierce the dark, blink, then close again. The sobbing continues.

Seyardu sighs and steps into the alleyway herself. She pauses to crouch down and pick up the hat, putting it into her satchel for the time being. Then, she continues down, to the dark, where she saw the pair of eyes.

The silver sith-makar crouches down. And they reach out, hesitantly, before placing a hand where she thought their shoulder should be.

"If you need to talk, or need someone to listen, or just someone to be with you while you cry Aryia, I am here." She says.

The silverscaled hand plunges into the dark and soon rests on what it sought out. Aryia's frame is shaking as choked sobs wrack her. She shifts some, casting off the shade like it snow, though it hit the ground like trailing steam. She was, for all intents and purposes, leaking shadow. Her face breaks through.

Her visage was a mess with tears and snot, eyes bloodshot and sunken, grey skin pale and a mixture of frustration and sorrow blended perfectly together in her features.

"Whyyyyyy" a hand dripping ink gestures, dragging the motion all the way down to the ground as she drags her knees towards Seyardu. <Handspeech>

Seyardu nods to the hand movements as she reaches into her satchel to pull out a hankerchief. She offers it, before she pulls out a blanket next, setting it on to the ground. Seyardu follows to sit on it, and pull Aryia off the alley floor as well with a hug to her side.

"Aryia, I can not speak for Aya. All I could do, is trust in her, and her decisions. And I will hold that trust and belief, as long as I can."

Aryia moves past the handkerchief as Seyardu places the blanket down. She coughs a bit, interrupting her crying, as the dried blood on her chin is rewet once more. She collapses into the embrace, shadow rolling on the floor like dropped flour.

"But she- why would she- how could-" she blubbers with her hands. "I never... never got to ask her why she loves me. And now I can't tell her the same..." The shadows still for a moment before she suddenly slams a fist into the ground. "WHY DID SHE GIVE ME THESE FEELINGS THAT I CAN'T RETURN!" Despite the rock and concrete, her hand doesn't shatter.

She pulls out her letter, rolled back up but a bit creased. <Handspeech>

Seyardu watches, and winces a bit. But with the mul'niessa all but collapsing, Seyardu pulls her further, into her lap, so she could hug them with both arms.

"You have not asked her yet." Seyardu says from behind her, watching the hand movements. "But, do you need to ask her? If she accepted you as her sister, and you as hers, then there should be something clear."

"She gave you these feelings because she likes you. I saw you smiling around her, and her smiling around you, despite how she always seemed to put up aloofness around others."

Aryia sits upright in the hug, her dulled eyes shaking in their sockets. "But... I've never told her. I-I still haven't and... now she's... s-she's..." A fist clenches taught, knuckles turning white as more shadows drip from it like a squeezed fruit. "Why does she do these things? Why does she always go back? Why. WHY?!" A punch to the ground with each sign interrupting it. "WHY DOESN'T SHE LET US HELP HER?! SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING HERSELF!"

She all but throws the rolled up letter into Seyardu's lap. <Handspeech>

"What do you mean you have never told her?" Seyardu asks curiously, her own head tilted a bit even though Aryia likely could not see. "I imagine, if I was to ask her, she would probably smirk as she normally does, and same something such as, 'I thought it was obvious.' You do not need to say it to make it clear, and I am sure she picked up on it."

"As for, the reasoning, I do not agree with it, yet I understand. Aya believes that you have to be strong for yourself. Relying on others puts you at risk, and them. She likely did not wish to put you at risk, or Brae, or Cryosanthia. She saw something she could do herself, and did so."

The silver sith-makar sighs, and reaches for the message. "I do not agree, as she does not deserve whatever happens. Which is why I will do everything I can to stop it. Would you like me to read what she sent you?"

Aryia shakes her head in the hold. "I don't care! I want to show her I have the strength to tell her!"

She clenches tight against Seyardu. "I told her that it was better to experience new things than to burn your candle out into nothing waiting to play it safe. But I didn't know she's go and FUCKING DIE FOR THIS!"

The grieving elf answers the question by picking up the letter and roughly slapping it onto Seyardu's chest. <Handspeech>

"Then you will tell her when we sort this out." Seyardu states firmly. "Even if she knows you have the strength, for yourself."

Seyardu sighs, giving her friend a squeeze. And taking the letter to open, leaving one hand around Aryia. "I do not think Aya has given up, it does not sound like her. But I have to believe in her, trust her, as she trusts us to help. Which I will not betray. She saved Lily, and in doing so, likely saved Cryosanthia. Even without that trust and promise to help, I owe that to her."

She falls silent, and reads the letter.

With that, Aryia quits abusing the floor, the shadows stilling once more. she looks up at Seyardu. Silent for the longest moment within the hold. "............. she's......... not......... dead......?" the grieving mute gestures languidly. Her dimmed eyes flick for just a heartbeat. <Handspeech>

"The last I saw of her, which was just a few hours ago, she was very much alive. But she did not linger, and I know not for what reasons she did not. But she was worried about approaching the temple herself." Seyardu explains after reading the note. She takes a scroll case from her bag. And carefully rolls the letter, putting it away and offering the case to Aryia.

"Even if she was. Lily was, now she is not. This one would bring her back, would not rest until it is done. I know it is possible."

"Aya, she made me promise to stay and wait for her today. If she did not show up, to bring those scrolls to Cryosanthia. But she did show up, with Lily. This Daed, they were mentioned in the letter. Do you know them? Cryosanthia asked that I deliver the last message to them."

Aryia blankly stares at Seyardu- no, the space in front of her. The wafting shadows slowly stemming to a drip. Drip. Drip off her skin. Her eyes slowly fall to the symbol hanging from Seyardu's neck, under the armor. A shaky hand reaches out for it, curls her fingers around it and pulls it out, whispering softly. So soft, that if even a shift of fabric or a roll of a bottle would mask the words.

"If you actually are listening, please, for fuck's sake, keep my sister safe, and give her back to me."

She takes the scroll case mechanically, and hugs it against her body. Silent tears drop, along with it drops of ink against the ground. "D-A-E-D is... is... Aya's S-W-E-E-T-I-E," she motions slowly, a shell of a smile on her face that was quick to whisk away. <Handspeech>

Seyardu listens closely, and she nods to the mul'niessa. "This one is sure that the celestial mother hears you. But she cannot act directly. Which is why I am here." She states, giving Aryia another squeeze. "Why I will do what I can to bring her back. We both will."

At this, Seyardu tilts her head, and chuckles quietly. "Is that why Aya had the baked goods with the message? Something about the sugar?"

Aryia gives a tired sigh and buries herself into Seyardu's hold. She coughs some, the iron scent of crimson tainting the air once more. "I want her back," she gestures with one hand. "So I can punch her in her smug face. Then hug her."

She did not have the energy to turn red at the comment. Her just motioning out, "Cryosanthia was being a dumbass. There is no sugar involved. Aya was probably just giving D-A-E-D a gift." <Handspeech>

"We will get her back." Seyardu replies firmly. "I want her back, as well."

Seyardu pauses, and chuckles quietly. "Cryosanthia does seem to enjoy teasing about such matters. This one, needs to talk to her about that. I do not know if she was serious about trying to set me up with one of her brothers, or just trying to see how embarassed I would get."

The silverscale seems to perk up a bit. "Ah! One of her clutchmates, from the expedition to Charn showed up, a sith-makar named Boaz. This was fairly recent."

Aryia gives a small nod, sapping what little comfort she could get out of the hold as the shadows were nothing more than an occasional drip from her elbows. She's stopped crying, her shawl a mess, and her skirt ripped in a place or two to show pants underneath.

"Perhaps both," she loosely suggests. Then raises a brow against the silver scales. "... okay? I guess that's a good thing? That means your brother could still be out there?" <Handspeech>

"It is a very good thing for her, as they were thought to be dead." Seyardu explains, and then sighs. "And, she did offer to help me find them, when recovered."

"I would still like to. But helping Aya, and Lily and Cryosanthia, those come first. Or at least, will be the focus."

Aryia nods in the hold, then slowly pulls away some. Her eyes dimly aglow as they half lid to look at her lap. "Yes. It is good for her. And you. When the time comes."

Her fist tightens. "I want to help somehow. But I'm not Seldan or Aya. Or Cryo. We... we have to rid these statues. Whatever we can to make it easier for everyone else."

Her fingers slowly unclench, then look back up at Seyardu. Her head tilts one way, they looks at the symbol that she pulled out earlier. "... do you ever clean this? It's got blood on it." <Handspeech>

Seyardu offers the kerchief again.

"I want to help, too. I am tired of feeling like I can not do anything. But we can help in some way. Something to make things right." She replies. The sith-makar looks to the holy symbold, the small stone carving with a silver hook attached to a thin chain, and certainly stained with the unmistakable crimson tinge of blood in places.

"I clean it on the regular, yet the stains remain, no matter what is done to it. It is, I have always felt it a reminder perhaps, from the celestial mother, or something of that sort."

Aryia, finally exhausted emotionally from her turmoil, weakly takes the kerchief and wipes her face off with it languidly, tired. She nods, last bits of dark ink dripping off the cloth.

"It's always been there?" she asks, a hand reaching up to let a thumb run slowly across one of the silver clasps on her ear. <Handspeech>

"Not always. It is, a story." Seyardu sighs, taking the holy symbol to look at for a moment, and slip back beneath her armor. "Several years. Would you like some hot chocolate? This one stopped by the temple of Althea, and they often have some at this hour. So I had a flask filled, if you would like some." She asks, changing the topic somewhat.

Aryia could tell that Seyardu wasn't in the mood to go down memory lane just yet. So she just sighs and nods. "Later then. Yes, sure." She hasn't detached from Seyardu's side, a sad frown on her face. But at least she wasn't crying. Or leaking shadow. A hand cups the side of her own face, and she closes her eyes.<Handspeech>

Seyardu nods and pulls out a large flask with an attached cup. Unscrewing it, and the lid, she pours a still steaming mug for the mul'niessa, which she offers.

"You were doing magic there, of some sort. Do you think you will be able to control it?" She asks curiously.

Aryia cracks open an eye and weakly reaches out for the cup, her nursing it, letting it warm her fingers. She glances up, and raises a brow. "I was...? I didn't summon any light orbs..." she asks, a bit confused. "That's the only thing I figured out how to do so far." <Handspeech>

"Oh, wait!" Seyardu says suddenly, reaching into her bag. She pulls out a small back, and dumps a handful of what looked like white sponges into a hand, and into the hot cocoa. "These are supposed to go in it."

She chuckles, and looks more at Aryia's eyes. "You were, manifesting some sort of shadows when you left. And when you were here. I could barely make you out in them."

The sudden exclamation makes Aryia sit up ramrod straight in alertness, but she soon sighs and slumps against the silverscale, her furrowing her brow at the now floating white sponges. She shrugs, raising the drink to her lips and sipping on the warm drink. It's sweet. And tastes really, really good. But with her inner yet muted turmoil, it just makes her relax some and that's all. "Thanks," she gestures.

The shadow elf's eyes were a dim glow right now. Normally the milky orbs would be shimmering vibrantly with how dark it was right now. She breaks the eyes contact and looks down at her hand. "... weird. I couldn't... see anything wrong. But I also was... a bit in my head. I felt very lonely, like I was in a dark room. And I all I had was me again..." her hand trails off, and she sips from her drink slowly once more. <Handspeech>

"You were overwhelmed by everything." Seyardu nods. "That's understandable. But, you are not alone. You have me. And Venom. And Daed by the sounds of that letter. People you can trust and rely on. And when we firgure things out, you'll have Aya again, too. Hopefully still Venom after that. Did something happen between the two?"

A slow sip, and a chew of a marshmallow. She nods in agreement. Very, very overwhelmed. And still as such, just in the burnout phase. Aryia's eyes flicker in brightness for just a moment, her eyes narrowing. "Yes. I suppose I do. I don't know him very well, but if Aya trusts him, I have to as well. I know I have you all it's just... a lot," she lamely finishes.

She glances up, confused. "What do you mean? Aya and Venom? I... don't think so? Especially not with everything going on right now." <Handspeech>

"I know it is a lot, but, you have to stop and think if you are getting overwhelmed. Especially when you aren't seeing everything." Seyardu explains. "As for Aya and Venom? Well, there was no letter for Venom in the box, but she was mentioned in yours, with what appeared to be a threat. Unless she has some sort of ailment that makes her bones particularly fragile. Is that why they wear so much clothing?"

"Easy to say, hard to actually do," Aryia points out, her sighing and bottoming the cup out. It did feel... nice, to have something warm in the gut for the time being.

Though at that, finally, an actual reaction occurs. Her face dusts a tinge red. "No, Venom doesn't. She's fairly healthy. I... Aya was just watching out for me."

A long pause. "Venom... holds her anonymity in high regard. So when you see her, call her Venom. And Venom is my friend. But..." A longer pause. Her fidgeting with her fingers. "... let's just say that I'd give D-A-E-D a similar threat." <Handspeech>

"Venom is not her name, but I should call her that? Very well." The sith-makar asks, her head tilted again, but she nods after and takes the cup back. "And she is, someone you care about like Daed to Aya. A, ah, I do not know why she referred to them as a sweetie, this one read one of those books. They were usually called sweetheart, among other things."

"So be it. I do not know her well, myself."

Aryia gives a small sigh. "No, Venom is her name. When she's in those coverings, she is Venom. Even under it," the elf tries to explain, handing the cup back to Seyardu. Her face remains red as she puts forth a proposition with her hands. "Don't tell Venom that you know. Well, I'm apparently really obvious about it, so it probably won't matter too much. Just... if you talk about uh. Um. Sweet... heart... things and it involves her,-" she signs were physically painful to execute- "With me. Their name is..."

She searches the air for a word. "Violet. Call them Violet. It's for both our safety." <Handspeech>

"So, call her something she is not when talking about your, relationship? If I have this correct." Seyardu asks, looking, and sounding a bit confused. "I will not let her know then, regardless. Perhaps best if, I do not speak too much of it with you in that case." Seyardu puts away the flask and sighs. "It had probably been long enough in this alleyway. I should see you back to your room at the Fernwood."

Aryia gives a small nod. "I have... something? Something. With Violet." It seems like even she wasn't sure of the status of the relationship. Naive on what to call it. On both her, and Venom.

Her gaze goes downwards some, the light in her eyes coming back a bit brighter now. "... b-t - w-nt t- t-lk -b-t -t..." she whispers, but then starts coughing again, sharp scent of blood coming up once more. Aryia gets herself under control and sighs, squeezing Seyardu in the hug one more time before slowly rising to her feet. She offers a hand to help her up.

"... yes. Back to the Fernwood. I guess..." <Handspeech>

"If you want to talk about it, then I worry changing a name will not be enough. I understand that, though, it would be nice to speak of. Nice things to talk about are low, at times." Seyardu sighs, taking the hand and standing up, shaking off the blanket and stowing it to wash later.

"And I need to think of to make it so your throat doesn't bleed when you cough or whisper like that. But come on. Lets head back. Its been a long day, and I am sure you need to rest. And I need to go back to the temple to make sure Zeke does the same afterwards." She turns, and smiles just a bit before leaving the alley.

"This one was thinking of getting Lily something for when I return. Do you have any ideas?"

Aryia nods and hangs her head as she's lead out. Nice things to talk about were in supply. Especially now that a large chunk of that supply was ripped away. "It'll heal..." she weakly gestures as they step out into the streets.

"You need sleep too. You're overworking yourself, and spreading yourself thin. Just... leave them alone for now. Let their nest rest."

Aryia's lips flicker to threaten a smile. "... I can make a matching blanket, I think. I think maybe she might like some food. Jerky or something like that. Fish. Probably fish." <Handspeech>

"I am sure a blanket would be nice. They would like that." Seyardu smiles as they are back on the street, the crowd from earlier thinned out. "There are these strawberry candies that I was thinking of getting her again. I should get some for you some time as well. But food is a good idea. Kobolds and my kind both eat a lot of meat, usually. But I have discovered sweet things are nice as well."

The silver sith-makar keeps her hand on Aryia's, but she sighs at the suggestion. "If you are sure, but I am probably fine. I still need to return there to sleep, however."

"Not a bad idea."

Aryia looks up, her emotionally and mentally exhausted. The hand in hers is squeezed "... listen to yourself. 'Probably fine'. Rest at the Fernwood. It's closer. I'll buy your room," she offers, leaning tiredly against Seyardu as they ago. <Handspeech>

"I, alright." Seyardu relents. "But I will have to return early tomorrow, so they do not worry. And I can get dinner while I am there, since I did not have time to stop for any."

With that she falls silent, and focuses on those around them, and making sure Aryia would get back to the inn alright.

-End Scene-