aftermath ║ one on one w/ avior.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

He was right, they needed more resources. Not to mention some form of shelter until they could go their separate ways, although that could backfire rather easily. So camping together, no weapons. What about strangulation? Then she'd need to watch her sleeping habits and try to stay up later than him. She'd both fallen asleep earlier and waken up later than Arlen, meaning that he would have killed her by now if he wanted to. Or if he could, he was injured too. Shaking her head as she stood up Arrana took her first step towards what seemed to be the edge of the main battle. She paused on occasion, waiting for Arlen or catching her breath. It had been so long since the simple task of walking took effort.

It took nearly two hours of on and off walking to reach a relatively shaded part of the forest. It should've taken only half an hour, but in this condition she was simply glad that she had only passed out once on the way there. Leaning against a tree she took in a few deep yet pained breaths. She could smell death in the air. It was sickening, forcing her to pull a muddy tunic up to cover her mouth.
Every fiber in her body was telling her to turn back, that she would see something she wouldn't be able to forget. Necessity required the scar to be formed.

She stepped towards the desolate carts, not bothering to check on Arlen. She didn't know anyone, all the faces seemed unfamiliar.
It was that way until she moved around the second cart, a bit farther to the right of the one she'd examined previously. Arrana's stomach turned as she struggled to remain standing. She knew them, and yet she hadn't been able to save them. She hadn't been able to do anything. Dropping to the ground she placed a bandaged hand on the dead warriors face, ignoring the protest her wounded arm put up. She could feel tears beginning to roll down her face, the liquid merging with dried blood and mud. Her head hung low, her body trembling as the tears dropped onto the ground. War was not worth this.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen followed after Arrana, always a few steps behind, with a good idea of where she was going but not knowing for sure. If she found her allies alive, being with her would mean a death sentence for him. But he couldn’t force himself to walk the other way. So he kept on after her, stopping when she stopped to take short breaks. When she finally reached her destination, he hung back, a sickening feeling in his stomach. Somehow, he already knew what she would find. The carts hadn’t been destroyed or even looted- it was just the elves that had been attacked. From the looks of things, murder had been the only goal. He’d experienced death plenty of times before, but this was a whole new experience, probably because Arrana now seemed so much more there than any of the other high elves he’d fought without second thought in battle. She was an individual, not an anonymous face at the other end of his sword. The whole war suddenly seemed a lot more real, in a very bad way.

Unsure of what to say, the wood elf slowly advanced a few more steps, mutely falling into place beside her. He looked down at the ground, unable to look at her instead. Finally, he picked his lips, words taking a few tries before they finally spilled out. ”I-“ he stopped. Did he have any right? She’d probably be angry with him, and he wouldn’t blame her if she was. Still, the guilt was too much for him to bear. ”I’m sorry for your loss,” he said at last, voice weaker than he intended. He wanted to comfort her in some way, but wasn’t sure what wouldn’t add to the awkwardness between them.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

The world around her seemed like a blur. She could almost see the two as children, a knight and a princess against the world. Nimithil, she knew it meant something along the lines of "moon gazer" when translated to different tongues. She could faintly hear Arlen, claiming that he was sorry. She ignored him, covering her face with a trembling hand. She could taste blood in her mouth,
and released her lower lip from a clenched jaw. Inhale, exhale. She wanted to stand up, she told her body to move and yet it wouldn't. This wan't fair, none of this was fair. She'd dealt with loss before, yes, but nothing like this. She'd never lost someone she'd known for what felt like a lifetime, for what was probably a lifetime. She'd promised to protect her.

Finally her legs complied with her brain, standing up although it forced her to stagger a bit. To compensate for this Arrana slammed her injured arm into the side of one of the carts. She could feel the pain- and yet it was numb. She could hear the dull thud, and found a way to ignore it. She wasn't going to let anyone else die. Marching past Arlen she opened the door to one of the carts, growing frustrated when the door didn't open. She threw her weight against it, nearly falling into the storage area held within it. She could start to feel her arm hurting again, especially after being bludgeoned twice. That didn't matter. He wasn't going to die, she wouldn't let him die. There was food here, she could smell it. There also seemed to be blankets, dry clothes, weapons, and medical supplies. She swallowed before taking out a dry change that could fit her companion and handed them to him along with a rag, mumbling, "may as well wear something dry" through a horse throat and bloody lips.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen watched with growing worry at her obvious distress, following after her without a word. He couldn’t remember ever being genuinely close with anyone, and was thus unable to imagine what she felt, but somehow the dull, aching pain was there in his chest. A frown formed on his features as he took the clothes from her only to set them aside, reaching past her for one of the blankets. He folded it a few times and then set it down on the doorway to the cart, smoothing out any wrinkles before taking another one. It vaguely occurred to him that now was the perfect chance for him to take one of the weapons and kill her- in her state, it would be easy, and he still had one good arm, but the idea left his mind all on its own as quickly as it had arrived. Instead, he proceeded to wrap the thick second blanket around her shoulders with an uncharacteristic gentleness that surprised even him.

”Here. You should sit down.” He rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to guide her in the direction of the blanket he’d set out for her. ”I’ll get you dry clothes and food first, and then I’ll change.” Breaking contact, he stepped inside the cart, rummaging around in the supplies, picking up various swords and bows just to set them aside again. Coming back again with a few items he’d taken, he reached for the cloth she had given him and pressed it to her cut lip instead, eyes betraying some of the concern he hid.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

He was trying to help her? She swallowed, allowing him to guide her to the makeshift cushion before sitting down. She started at him silently as he retrieved several items, taking special notice to the blades. He didn't kill her though, much to the astonishment of her now muddled brain. She moved her head slightly to the side as he touched the cloth to her lip, eyes darting in another direction so as to avoid staring at him. After a moment she took the cloth from him, pressing it against the cut. She brought herself to make eye contact with him, brows furrowing at the odd expression.

She shook off the feeling as best she could, although her face reddened against her will. She returned her gaze to the ground, pulling at the blanket so that she mad a makeshift hood. The dampness of her clothes began to penetrate beneath her skin, giving her bones a sense of the cold. This simply made dry clothes seem all the more welcoming. He had offered food as well, a necessity. Looking back up at him she mumbled, "there should be water in it too... in the brownish jugs with blue ribbon or a blue symbol..." After all, he'd said they needed water.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen nodded mutely and pulled himself back into the cart, squeezing past Arrana. He found the jug just like she’d described, glad to hear the contents slosh about when he lifted it. There was plenty left. Bringing all the contents back out of he cart, he set them down and started by opening up the jug, taking the rag from her and handing her the water instead. Then he unwrapped one of the packages of food, glad there was a considerable amount this time. There was bread and meat, the bare essentials, but also a single fruit-filled pastry- a rarity during the war. It had probably been purchased by someone before they came out here, who had then saved it for a better time. Well, there was no better time than now. Letting out a soft sigh, he broke it in half and handed her a piece with a crooked half smile.

”Here.” It wouldn’t do much in making her feel better, probably, but it was an attempt. Not that he knew why he’d made an attempt at all. He set the rest of the food beside her and then took the clothes she’d brought out earlier. ”I’ll change into these in the other cart.” Holding them under his arm, he glanced down at her once, feeling somewhat awkward. ”Uh... don’t go anywhere, I guess.” Not that there was really anywhere for her to go at all. Still, better to be safe than sorry. There could be anything hiding in the trees.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

A pastry? She hadn't had one of these in years. Forcing a smile back at him she said, "thank you", in the most cheerful voice she could muster. It wan't much and still sounded like she was going to burst into tears again. She'd bitten into it as he walked off, the taste seeming bittersweet. It looked like something with lemon and blackberries, although she wasn't a baker so she couldn't be quite sure.

After Arlen turned around the second cart she stood up and walked over to the unoccupied one. With a soft grunt she hopped into it, keeping her head low as to avoid hitting the low roof. She found a pair of clothes that fir her, swiftly changing into them. She had also found a sling, and put in under the tunic to avoid getting it wet. It helped, although it made it look like she'd lost an arm to the war and had some mass growing over her stomach. Arrana took a moment to let her hair out of the tight bun, or what had once been a bun, that was compulsory for warriors with longer hair. She trudged back to the makeshift seat, running her free hand through her hair to get some of the mud out of it.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen climbed into the cart and closed the door behind him, then quickly changed into the dry clothes. It hurt every time he had to move his shoulder, but he got it done as soon as possible and then searched the cart a bit. It held the same items as the other one he’d been in, except this one also had a small pouch of copper and bronze coins. As a general rule, Arlen wasn’t a thief, but it could be an advantage to have money with him. That was the only thing he took, though, not worrying about the weapons this time. He dropped out of the cart and then wandered back to find Arrana, somewhat guilty about the relief he felt. There wouldn’t be anyone coming back here for a while, so he didn’t have to worry about being found by her allies. Of course, he still felt sorry for her- he just couldn’t help but be aware of the fact that he was safer now. When he spotted her, he stopped and looked around, searching for something to say. Then he bought of a map he’d seen once, the locations forming in his memory.

”There’s a small independent city to the east. It’s about a day and a half of walking, maybe two for us, but once we’re there we can get real medical help and transportation back to... wherever we came from.” The thought of going through the forest on foot didnt give the wood elf much pleasure, but it was the best idea he could think of in their current situation. He didn’t much want to go back to the kingdom where he served, either, but he had dealt with the intense training this long and could do so again. Besides, travelling might take Arrana’s mind off her loss. He looked over in the direction of the city, then back at her. ”If you want, we can go there.”

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

Wherever they came from. For some reason that didn't seem quite right, not to mention the fact that she'd been one of the few survivors. That meant one of two things, receiving some medal as a trophy or being called a deserter and enduring punishment. For a battle like this she'd heard of exile after torture. There were too many chances for failure, and she was with a wood elf. If they decided that simply talking to him was a crime then she could be killed along the lines or treason. However, death didn't seem all that bad anymore. It was almost like it was a friend, but someone who is nothing but a drain on resources until they finally grant one wish. She shook her head lightly at the thought, there was no point at going back. If Nimithil was still alive... no,
she was dead, nothing could change that.

"I'll go to the city... but I'm not going back..." She stood up, looking him dead in the eyes as she added, "I won't let them hurt you either." He hadn't killed her yet, and if anything he'd helped her. Therefore she was in debt to him, meaning that she'd have to wait until he deemed her debt fulfilled. Medical attention couldn't hurt either, assuming that they didn't run into anything along the way. She could take care of that. Years worth of experience as a ranger would prove to be useful yet again.

After a moment she stepped back over to the being that was once her friend. She slipped her hand behind the cold neck, pulling a plain necklace off. It was a leather band with a blue gem on one side, a trinket they'd both gotten before her father went off to some other war, inventively losing his life. Arrana stood back up, returning to Arlen only to hold out the necklace, patiently waiting for him to take it. A stone cold face waited behind it, preparing itself for the next task.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

It was nice to know someone else shared his sentiment. He felt no particular desire to go back to being a pawn in play on someone else’s chessboard. If anyone learned of Arrana, he’d be killed for treason. And even if their interactions were kept secret and he was awarded for surviving, he didn’t want to be a warrior anymore. Not in this fight, at least. He gave her a weak smile, but the expression dropped at her next words. She wouldn’t let them... had he heard her right? Confusion made his brows scrunch as he stared at her, unsure of what to say. He watched her remove the simple necklace and instinctively drew back slightly when she held it out.

“I...” His voice wavered and he stopped, trying to control himself. His light grey eyes flicked from the accessory and then to her gaze. ”I don’t know what to..” He reached out, fingers hovering over the gem, and he took it from her hand slowly, turning it over. It clearly had some sort of emotional value to her. He ran one of his fingers along the outside edge of the stone. ”I can’t take this,” he murmured indecisively, unable to look up at her under the pretense of examining the necklace. ”It’s your friend’s. You should have it.”