Activity

@irishcelticredflowercrown

Thank you for Lorcan’s reaction to Niarok! Brilliant! He greatly appreciates being respected.

He flashed her a sideways smirk. “Hang in there miss.”

YEEEEESSS!!!!!!!! *Squeals* So perfect! 🙂

Niarok

Niarok let a ghost of a smile cross his face when the assassin stood up to the test of fire. He had earned Niarok’s respect.

With Yila gripping his shoulder in a vice, he sheathed his sword as an indication of peace, but kept his eyes trained on the man to make sure he knew Niarok didn’t entirely trust him yet.

”I have experience with medicinal plants and substances, but I’m afraid I do not know what this Mirianweed is. I have never come across it. But – I have treated wolf bites before. So I will try to help you.” The assassin’s eyes flicked to Yila.

Niarok glanced at his sister in time to see her mouth drop open in awe.

He tensed.

Great.

Now Yila was going to fall in love with a man who was mostly likely an assassin. But then again, the assassin had a noble quality beneath all the grimness. Niarok could almost imagine himself becoming friends with him. Not quite, but almost.

The assassin shot Yila a sideways smirk, and Yila blushed redder beneath the fever.

Niarok internalized his wince and the curse that would have quickly followed it. He wasn’t going to let on to the assassin anything that might bother him. Any known intel could be used against him.

Niarok sent his gaze back into the assassin’s, measuring him. The assassin didn’t falter, and Niarok nodded.

“Very well. But I suspect you have little experience treating werewolf bites. Unless I am mistaken, the only way to treat a werewolf bite and save the victim from death is to use an innocuous plant called Mirianweed. So you may try, but I’m not sure you can do any better than me.”

Niarok gauged the assassin’s reaction.

He nodded, then moved quickly away.

Good. He wanted to help.

But he also wasn’t going to do it on the brink of being overcome by a hostile forest.

Niarok followed a few paces behind, supporting Yila. The rest of the senseless rabble stood wide-eyed in various positions, and Niarok noticed for the first time that one of them was missing a leg.

I wonder if it was treatable?

Niarok shook his head slightly, knowing he couldn’t go down that path. Countless times he had let the guilt of a patient’s death or paralysis overcome him.

The assassin also noticed the boy, and stopped to talk to him.

Then he disappeared.

Niarok hardly blinked.

Teleporter.

He had always wanted that ability.

But he got discernment instead, which was far more useful anyway.

When the assassin reappeared, he was carrying a rough branch, which he quickly transformed into a crutch for the man.

Then he ripped a piece of cloth off of what must have been a very expensive jacket.

Niarok’s respect for the man lifted another notch. Perhaps the assassin had decided to leave his past behind. He didn’t seem to be all that concerned about losing his mask, at any rate.

Niarok grunted and adjusted Yila’s arm on his shoulder so that he wouldn’t drop her into the lava. He was the strongest person he had ever met, but after hauling his muscular sister around for a day, his own muscles were not very proud of him.

Whatever. You’ve had it worse.

With the assassin assisting the kid with the missing leg, the weird (and 95% senseless) group started walking at a maddeningly slow pace away from the forest.

Yila

Yila blushed at the man’s glance. His smile was just so… perfect!

She mentally slapped herself.

I’m dying, and now I’m thinking about marrying a handsome guy? 

She wanted to shoot something even more now.

Or maybe hurl a knife at something. Her hand subconsciously went to her belt, but then she remember how swollen her arm was and stopped.

Oh, but he’s so handsome!

Curse this swollen arm! I have knives for a reason!

The assassin and Niarok exchanged a cool discussion which Yila only half payed attention to.

He’s so handsome!

This time she did slap herself.

It was weak, and it mostly just made her arm hurt, but it did the trick.

He’ll be handsome later. Right now he’s just an assassin.

The next few seconds passed in a blur, and soon she realized they were walking.

Niarok supported her weight almost entirely, and she wondered how long she’d been out.

“Wait, didn’t you say I’d be feverish until I die?” she realized.

Niarok glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, but as far as everyone else is concerned, no. I want them to think the injury isn’t as bad as it seems.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“I know.”

“You don’t say things that don’t make sense.”

“I know.”

Yila glared at him and gestured.

Niarok grunted a curse. Yila chuckled then glared again.

“This castle has some strange… properties.”

Yila raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes over her shoulder to pointedly glance at the jungle keeping pace with them. When her gaze returned to Niarok’s face, he grinned.

“No, I don’t mean like lava and collapsing ceilings and jungles that sprout out of nowhere and chase you.”

Yila huffed and raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, I think it has healing powers that no one is supposed to know about.”

Niarok showed her his right arm, where a jagged pink scar had formed. She didn’t remember it from anytime before.

Her eyes widened and she looked at him.

“Yesterday. I got this yesterday.”

Niarok stared straight ahead, and Yila thought she might throw up.

Dragon’s cursed breath!