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The Seeker Comes with Questions [ooc welcome] - Naunet - 03-23-2014
((Immediately after the events of Freeze first, then lightning...))
***
The eye of Azeyma was ever slow in its turning, and the supposed acolyte of Oschon wandered beneath it with short strides. He moved in impossible ways, though, his form flitting through crevice and crag, through the shadows cast by Gridanian tress and Limsan corals. He was in Thanalan and Ishgard, alone in the wilds or in the corners of the gazes of strangers who turned to see the flash of gray and saw nothing.
He was in a refugee camp outside of Ul'dah. Here he felt the sand and dirt blown by the wind against his old face, and when he looked up, he stopped moving. He paused in his footsteps, there near the walls and tents, the refugees and the brass oppressors. Azeyma was lazy above. The supposed acolyte of Oschon was unmoving below, looking slowly around as his eyes adjusted to the harsh light of overland places.
"What do you wish for me to see here?" he muttered, curling his fingers, feeling his age like a weight on his shoulders and knees, like lead in his bones. He used to Ul'dah now, and found it odd that he kept returning here. But then, he had things to do here, it seemed, and Oschon would have him finish them.
The Duskwight sighed, and shuffled in the sand and grit, searching the refugee faces for one of interest or familiarity.
A lone Hellsguard, of red skin and burning hair, was seated on the ground, seeming unconcerned with the passage of time of the daily bustle that conducted itself around her day-by-day. She moved when she needed, and not more, waiting for Althyk to deliver the Duskwight who claimed knowledge to her.Â
She had waited a long time. Before him. For him. And likely after him. Time was the answer to all things. It was a waste to worry of its passage. She watched as two Miqo'te children scuttled before her, losing a ball so that it rolled in her direction, stopping only as it knocked against her booted foot. Unconcerned, she merely kicked it back to them, with enough force only to reach them.
The dusky figure lumbered and swayed, bones rattling, as he moved across the camp as though a shadow upwards by something subterranean. He watched the children, the ball, the large woman who sat sedimentary as a stone. He paused and watched, trying to place her face.
He smirked, then, exhaling a slow "Ah," and ambling towards her in his small steps. There was no supernatural movement here. Only an old man's hobbling. He addressed her, "Seeker. Oschon sends me to you, I believe."
The woman lifted her head at the nearby voice, recalling distantly the inference of Oschon's name. "Did he? My patience and trust was the one rewarded."Â
She turned her flickering yellow eyes to the ground around her as if it held the answers. More likely she was asking it to release her from its grip. A long moment later, she pushed herself up and off the ground, like a sleeping giant awakened from its slumber, readjusted to the world again.
"Let us see what further rewards you have bought," he gestured for her to follow, dispensing with any nicety or formality. Had they even exchanged names yet? He couldn't recall. It didn't matter. "Follow me into the city."
Not bothering to dust herself off, the woman stepped towards the man. "If that is where you would lead."
The old man was slow and silent, but deliberate in his movements. There was no wandering now. He would walk the woman through the gates, to the north side of the city along the main road. He would pass the markets and the beggars without notice.
 She followed, long footstep covering far more ground than his, so her steps were slow and lumbering. But she followed faithfully, not rushing him as she was led.
The Duskwight took them to the Quicksand, walking up the steps and into the tavern. He ignored whatever business there was. No one jostled or bothered him. He seemed ever alone. "We will not have to wait here long," the old man said. "You can order drink or food if you wish. This meeting may be more amicable if it is casual."
The red woman merely nodded, "I will be fine. Do not worry about myself. Who do you wish us to meet?"
"Someone who can tell you what you're looking for, perhaps. At least, she'll have an interesting story, if you can get it out of her." He said this with a smile as he drifted through the tavern, moving towards the door the opened onto Ruby Road. He only approached it, did not go through it, and he lingered like a shadow near it once he was there.
"Are we to linger here then? What is behind that door?" She asked placidly, waiting beside him and the unfamiliar tavern doors.
"Just a street," the old man said. "If I'm not wrong, she'll be along."
"I am good at waiting." The woman settles in to do so, leaning against one of the walls by the doorway.
D'hein ushered Antimony back from the Hustings Strip as well as he could. Unlike when he was taking her home from the jail, he felt utterly undeserving of the honor of comforting her. Â Whereas before he had been rescuing her from the obvious wrongdoings of others, he had trouble dividing himself from D'ahl. D'ahl was not merely part of his tribe, but part of his life. He would not have been able to choose Antimony over D'ahl, as evidenced by the fact that he could do nothing to stop D'ahl from attempting to kill Antimony, nor to protect Antimony's friend from her.Â
He felt complicit in the harm that had befallen Antimony, in a way that even D'aijeen's misbehavior could not render him. All of this was magnified by his inability to accept D'ahl's behavior at face value. He was trying some way to make the choice to attack Antimony something reasonable. Anything other than base jealousy and selfishness, desperation to maintain something that never should have been in the first place.
By the time he had her back along Ruby Road and moving towards the Quicksand, he felt he was having trouble holding her up for how heavy he himself felt with the frustration.
Completely oblivious to D'hein's frustration and conflict, Antimony still found it difficult to take any comfort in his presence - though not for any blame she placed on him. As she leaned on his arms, feeling weak and shaky from blood loss, Antimony found all she could feel was worry, and fear. Worry over D'ahl's next intended move, if she might hurt D'aijeen in retaliation if her daughter did not show appreciation of what she'd done. And fear of what D'aijeen might do, both with D'ahl and after. Though she'd said she trusted her daughter not to leave, Antimony found her will to maintain that trust paper thin. That D'aijeen had seemed angered at Antimony's state and D'ahl's action was only a single thread of hope - one she clung to desperately but still feared it would fray before too long.
When they crossed into the Quicksand, Antimony was too distracted to feel much relief. A part of her worried what the other patrons might think to see a woman of her age walking in with a dress soaked in blood down the front, and she brought her arm up as though to hide the evidence of it, evoking a twinge from the knitted together but still very much healing flesh in her shoulder.
She ducked her head, intending to make her way to her inn room as uneventfully as possible.
Antimony had not gone far before there was a looming presence and an elderly voice saying, "It seems I've missed some event. That's very unlike me. I apologize."
D'hein did not initially pause at the voice, as his attention was famously unreliable.
Watching from her place on the wall, the red woman heard her companion greet a pair of Miwo'te who came through the wooden doors. She stood silent though, letting the those that knew each other have their business first.
Antimony's ears twitched up somewhat from their drooping state. "That's..." She trailed off, lifting her head to turn it towards the voice, and found herself suddenly caught between a look of almost chastised embarrassment and worry. She had hoped to manage a "pleased to see you" look, but it seemed that wasn't in her emotional spectrum at this moment. "Oh this--it wasn't much to miss, Megiddo."
D'hein finally paused when Antimony spoke, noticing after a moment that it wasn't to him, and then looked up at the smiling scarecrow-like man. The well-coifed Dodo's vexation became evident, and he muttered, "I don't know about the friends you are keeping."
"Nor do I," replied the Duskwight, Megiddo, with a smile as though he were joking. "You look as though you have received healing, Antimony, which is good. You should sit and eat. Your body will need food more than sleep."
"He's as good a friend as any I've had," Antimony sighed, frowning at D'hein briefly. Then to Megiddo with a tired look, "I suppose you're right. Though... I'll admit I had been favoring the latter."
"I think she should just go to sleep as well!" D'hein protested, sounding like he needed cuddles.
It drew a chuckle from Megiddo, who said, "I have a friend with something very important to speak with you about. It regards your errant daughter, I think."
Antimony froze, blinked once, and then paled more than she already had. "Aijee--what? But she was just with... has she already... what else has she done??"
"More general," Megiddo said. "Sit down and order a meal. This should not be a stressful conversation."
D'hein still protested. "This is not the right time for such a conversation! Antimony has been through an ordeal, and you can discuss D'aijeen with me as well as her. She's my daughter, after all."
The Duskwight's response was an amused, "Oh?"
"Adopted!" Antimony corrected anxiously, "And I never--" Her tail shivered behind her and then her shoulders slumped. The action drew a grimace from her face, her opposite arm moving to gingerly hold her left shoulder. "You wish to talk about Aijeen... if it's about what we discussed earlier, I... would rather not."
She pushes away from the wall, vibrantly colored, despite how easily she sometimes blends into the background. Her voice is that of crackling gravel, "My friend here thinks you know important things. I do not intend to disturb, but Althyk has had me wait many moons for such."
"Ah," Megiddo gestured Antimony's attention towards the large woman. "Here is the person I mentioned. She has been looking for your daughter for a long time, and I think you would be interested in knowing why."
Antimony cringed at the new voice, flicking her eyes towards the towering roegadyn who approached. "Ah.. what... looking for...?" Her ears pressed back against her head, and her brow furrowed in a mix of worry and a defensive air. "What would you want with Aijeen? I won't let you hurt her."
D'hein mirrored Antimony's expression, though only one of his ears responded, "This is some sort of scam, isn't it?"
"There's no reason for anyone to be hostile or rude," Megiddo muttered. "I thought we could speak over a meal."
"I do not even know of whom you speak. So you may rest at peace. I was told that you would know something of what I seek though." The woman looked down at the nervous and bloodstained woman. "It is not my intention to bring alarm. But I can not simply leave when I have searched for so long."
"That... is not exactly comforting," Antimony mumbled. She shifted her weight somewhat, uneasily, and then seemed to sag. "I can't ignore something to do with Aijeen, though. Let's... eat."
"I must protest against this action," D'hein released one hand from Antimony's arm to raise a finger and shake it, "If it is not urgent then it must wait! Rest and calm is called for."
Turning to lumber towards a table, the Duskwight said, "You may take a nap if you wish, sir."
The hellsguard simply remained silent as the others discussed their base needs.
"Anything to do with Aijeen is usually urgent," Antimony murmured with a resigned look and made to turn towards the tables, with or without D'hein's help.
The Dodo scoffed a strange, meager squawked, delaying only slightly. This was long enough for Antimony to ease away from him, so he moved forward to catch up to her. "Antimony. You're not at full strength."
"I will be fine," Antimony insisted, continuing towards the table Megiddo had moved to. "Sitting is rest. And... this is important."
"Then let us do that." The red woman gestures towards the tables gathered in the center of the tavern.
Megiddo sat slowly. He didn’t wait for anyone else. The oldest person in a group generally decided where everyone else sat, after all, since all would defer to his comfort. That was what he'd gathered of the overlanders, anyway.
D'hein maintained his wordless protest through scowl.
Antimony followed Megiddo's actions, dropping into an empty chair and holding her shoulder gingerly. Her tail curled in a weak curve over her legs.
D'hein lingered beside Antimony's chair, ears twitching, tail shivering at its end. He leaned over and said to her very openly, "Are you sure these are friends of yours? They seem unkempt."
She winced at that, frowned at her hand and the dried blood that flaked off beneath it. She really should have at least insisted on changing clothes... "That's hardly something to judge character by."
Moving slowly behind the others, the Hellsgaurd took a seat that wasn’t already occupied, though she didn’t seem to care which. "If you required food, you should go ahead and order it."
"I'll order food for the table, then," D'hein said, grudgingly.
Nodding quietly in thanks, Antimony went quiet in anxious anticipation.
D'hein turned to walk off from the table, heading to the bar to place a brief but comprehensive order of food things with milk.
Megiddo did not press the conversation. He appeared weary. His age pulled his skin into his bones, his body down towards the table on which he leaned.
"I take it then, what I am interested is this... D'aijeen?" The woman asked, turning to the Duskwright. "Is it safe for me to make assumptions of what she is?"
"She's a person." Megiddo mumbled, without awakening. When he roused, it was to gesture towards Antimony, "This is the girl's mother, Antimony, who has known her from birth. Lest you doubt it is a human we are speaking of."
Antimony had bristled, but Megiddo's words seemed to calm her slightly. She worried her hands together, ears shivering almost imperceptibly. "Aijeen. Yes. She's... my daughter."
"I am sorry if I seem callous then. I do not mean to be. I am not often around people, so my manners do not see much use."
D'hein returned to the table, wordless, grabbing a chair and pulling it nearer to Antimony before sitting down in it.
"You'll.." Antimony hesitated, searching for words, "You'll understand if I'm.." At D'hein's return she glanced his way, tail twitching against her legs. "... What do you want with Aijeen?"
"Why do you not tell me of her first? I do not even know anything of her. So I may not yet tell you what I wish of her."
Megiddo watched the table in front of him, joining his hands in front of his face to lean on them.
Antimony's brows knit deeper. "I'm not going to just... you're asking for a very personal thing!"
"Is it? Is there naught that would help assuage your worry?" the crackling voice asked.
"If you told me what you want with my daughter!" She couldn't stop the rise in pitch in her voice, though she followed it quickly with a muttered, "Apologies."
"And as I told you, I have... assumptions in my head. Based upon the trail the brought me here and why our friend wished for us to speak. But I would not burden you with them if it can be helped."
"If I could," put Megiddo. His tone was kind, but direct as he said, "I remembered something, though. The Graveyard in Drybone was not the first time I saw your daughter. I saw her once, years ago, in the Shroud."
D'hein seemed frustrated, tail whirling about behind him with enough energy that it was shifting him from side to side.
"The Shroud...?" Antimony turned confused eyes to Megiddo and then drew in a breath, "Well, she did say she's... studied conjury.."
"For two years prior to the Calamity," D'hein added in short, clipped words. "Then she came home."
Megiddo stated quick, "After the Calamity. A week after."
Glancing between them, the red woman inquired, "And what was she doing there, do you believe?"
Looking unsure and decidedly more somber at Megiddo's words, Antimony eyed D'hein. "You were unaware..?"
Frowning at the 'unkempt' people sharing the table with them, D'hein said to Antimony, "D'aijeen went to Cartenau just prior to the Calamity and returned several weeks later. That's how she found K'airos. I suppose it's possible she passed through the Shroud, but..." he looks back to the pair that are strangers to him. "What does it matter?"
Antimony's eyes went wide. "You--you allowed her to go to that.. that battlefield??"
"Who allows D'aijeen to do anything?" D'hein replied calmly. "I couldn't stop her."
Her ears drooped at that, and she went silent.
"The Shroud is where I have come from, and where I met my companion here. I met... an interesting individual there, whom my friend believes is connected to your daughter. That is the trail."
"I believe that I witnessed your daughter employing dark magics in the Shroud, the result of which was the animation of a dead man," Megiddo said this clearly and quickly. "That man still lives, though he has asked not to be involved in this matter."
"Yes... he was rather adamant about that, though I wished for him to join me, as I have much to learn study of him." the graveled voice uttered plainly.
Antimony's expression went unreadable for a moment. "A dead man," she echoed a bit numbly and for a moment looked as though she might literally crumble into a pile of dust in her chair. Then she let out a heavy sigh, dropping her eyes to her lap. "I... suppose it was only a... matter of time."
"You are not surprised by this, I take it?"
D'hein gave Antimony a raised eyebrow. "We're not surprised by that?"
For several, long moments, Antimony did nothing but worry on her lower lip in complete silence, a look of conflict deepening the faint wrinkles in her face. Eventually, however, she found herself driven to speak, though with extreme reluctance and in a tone low enough to be nearly inaudible, "The day Aijeen left the tribe, she... had tried something similar. Animated some kind of... demon made of bone and flesh from drakes and worms. It... nearly killed us before fleeing into the desert." She paused and then added, "I never thought she would try such a thing with another... person."
"And why has nobody ever told me about this!" D'hein snapped.
"Should you not ask that of Aijeen?" Antimony snapped suddenly. "It was not my choice that she left her home!"
"That is your own family's business. I am concerned for what she does and what she creates. I would speak with her if at all possible, and in lieu of that hear these little details that seem so small to you as her family."
"They are not small!" Antimony protested. "They are just..." She trailed off, failing for words.
D'hein turned his head towards the woman, "I will not have some filthy interloper judge Antimony, especially if she desires a favor of such intensely personal nature on today of all days. You haven’t even told us who you are."
"I only ask because I must. If I had a choice I would not have left my post. But that matters none to you, except that voidsent are why I left and are why I am here." The red woman said plainly. "Ask me what you will and I will answer as I can."
"I don't..." Antimony sank back into her chair weakly. "You're certain it was her. In the Shroud... You saw her doing that to a.. real person?"
Megiddo replied, "I saw her bury a body. And then the body unburied itself. The spirits f the Shroud have been attempted to reject the man's existence ever since his resurrection. Make of it what you will."
The woman gave a worried look towards the roegadyn across from her. "What do you intend to do with any of this information? Only speak with her? If you intend any harm, I--I will stop you myself if I must!"
"As I do not yet know what her part in the breaking of the gate is, I cannot say for certain anything. But the gate -must- be fixed, and the flood -must- be stopped. That is not a question. And your daughter is currently my only lead, for I have never seen such as the one she raised. He was... different than the others. It would have taken great power and finesse to accomplish.", the woman answered, her brow raised slightly, and her lips turned downward in sadness.
"The... what?" At that, Antimony only looked thoroughly confused.
 "Finesse and power are things which D'aijeen has plenty of," D'hein says, "And I don't like the tone of this conversation. If you're blaming Aijeen for... for what? A flood?" He gave a confused look to the Duskwight, then back to the large woman.
"I do not blame her for anything yet. I am merely telling you why I am searching and for what. As it is my duty, to tend one of the voidgates, as was passed to me. But it broke, so I seek to fix it."
Antimony continued looking baffled. "I... don't know what you're talking about. But..." She shook her head, and then held her head when the action left her a bit woozy. "Speak to her, yes. But I will not let you hurt her. No matter what your... mission."
The woman nodded her head, "Of course, I understand. You protect your own."
The Duskwight muttered, "Why don't you tell them what you are thinking you might find?"
The Hellsguard turned toward him, speaking as though the others were not present, "Because I do not believe that they will like it, and I would spare them that pain if I can."
"I refuse to be kept in the dark regarding matters you seem to think involve my child," Antimony said firmly, sitting up a bit in her chair.
The woman presses her lips together, returning her orange-eyed gaze flicking to the other woman. "Then yes. I do expect that she is drawing voidsent directly from the gates. Fresh. The man was so alive, that there could be no other way. I have learned a thing or two over the years, you see. I understand their nature quite well. But their place is not here, and your daughter is messing with things that she should not." She pauses. "It must come to an end."
 "An end," Antimony echoed and then stood very suddenly, swaying for a second before catching herself on the table. "You--no one goes near my daughter who means her harm! Do you hear? You do not touch her! Whatever she is doing--I doubt she... she can't possibly comprehend the full extent of it.""
"And how do you know this? It is not as if you knew of her dealings with the dead."
D'hein kept his seat. "D'aijeen has studied thaumaturgy. Conjury. She has studied respectful care for the dead. Who are you to say what should be stopped? And how do you intend to stop her?"
"That is why I would speak to her first. It is not my job to pass judgment on someone. But she must stop. The alternative is not an option."
"And what are you qualifications?" D'hein said. "Who are you? What is your study and authority?"
Her head dropped to the side as her head swung to the man addressing her, "I have already said. I am a voidgate keeper, as my grandfather before me, and his sister before him, and so forth. It my family heritage. There are not many of us left who take up the mantle, so the world has forgotten us. You will not find that I have academic credentials sir."
"That doesn't make any... a voidgate?? You work with demons??" Antimony's eyes widened and she leaned back away from the table somewhat.
The woman's fiery hair sways with sharp motion, "No. That is exactly what I do not do, and what your daughter does do."
"Accusations!" Antimony countered a bit shrilly. "You don't--you have no--" She sought aimlessly for words to protest by, wavered on her feet, and then leaned heavily against the table. A sigh and, finally, quieter, "I suppose it doesn't matter, though. I don't know where Aijeen is. I... don't know if I ever will again."
"That's enough," D'hein stood, putting his hands on Antimony to help support her. "I'll have the food sent to our room. No more of this now."
"Of course. Thank you for speaking with me. I wish you a good rest."
Ignoring D'hein's touch for the moment, Antimony pursed her lips at the fiery roegadyn. "You're going to seek her out, aren't you? You're going to--to hurt her!"
"I make no promises, lady. What will be, will be." The red woman said solemnly, her voice full of rough grit.
"Unacceptable!" Antimony slammed one hand down on the table, dropped her head forward. "That--that is enough for... I can turn you in to the Brass Blades for threatening violence..!"
"I do not threaten violence. I do not wish to hurt the girl. But she will hurt others if left unchecked."
"These are hollow threats, Antimony," D'hein put himself in front of Antimony to get her attention, putting his hand on her own. "The woman is incapable of doing any harm to Aijeen, and will find no sane reason to attempt so."
"You hear what she's saying!" Antimony's voice rose in pitch, garnering several uncomfortable looks from other Quicksand patrons. "You hear but you do nothing! You've done nothing to protect her! Or she wouldn't have--she would have learned--" she cut herself off suddenly, shaking, and shut her eyes.
The red woman stayed quiet, watching the miqo'te in front of her waver.
The miqo'te man took a breath to steady himself, "It's just a woman's words. These things cannot hurt anyone."
"I will be keeping an eye on our friend," The Duskwight said, calmly, his silver eyes opening to look at Antimony. "It is not healthy for you to be this upset right now."
"I am sorry that I brought you distress, that was not my intention." She stands from her seat.
Antimony didn't respond, just bowed her head, hands shaking against the table.
"Let us leave then, friend." She looked to the Duskwright as she said this, stepping away from the table.
"Go ahead. I'll be along." The Duskwight closed his eyes again, staying where he was.
D'hein gave the roegadyn a hard frown and said, "If anyone did attempt to force their will upon AIjeen, they would learn quickly why nobody has ever made a habit of doing so."
"I would expect as such. But I thank you for the warning." She nodded her head, making to leave the Quicksand.
The man huffed at that, one ear twitching. "Once again, Antimony, I am dubious about the friends you keep. Let's get you to your room."
Their Hellsguard inquisitor headed out the doors that she came in from, not glancing back.
With a faint grimace, Antimony backed away from the table, glanced wearily at Megiddo. "I... apologize for the outburst," she murmured and then made to shuffle towards the back rooms.
RE: The Seeker Comes with Questions [ooc welcome] - Naunet - 03-26-2014
"Those two," D'hein said as hee helped Antimony towards the inn portion of the Quicksand. "That was completely uncalled for! Assumptions and accusations." His tone was a low, aggravated grumble. The man's hands -- one of them somewhat weak and terribly scarred -- held Antimony as though she were more fragile now than after she had been stabbed. He expected her to be weaker, and his anger had made him stronger. All the more to be ashamed of his earlier weakness.
At least he had been able to defend Antimony from those two, if only in words and presence. It would be unbecoming of a gentleman to physically intimidate the homeless and elderly.
Though her limbs moved with the weak sluggishness of blood loss, Antimony's heart and mind was set on fire by the confrontation with the nosey Hellsguard. She kept her head bowed as she muttered, "All the more reason to set Aijeen to rights now. I won't... won't let harm come to her."
"Aijeen is a formidable girl. She won't let some refugee push her around. Though I suppose it falls to me to deal with D'ahl." Uttering the last sentence felt to him like drinking bile. It left him nauseous and frustrated, because 'dealing' with D'ahl was exactly what D'themia Nunh was trying to do by keeping her under house arrest. The thought of taming her, forcing a foreign will upon her, was blasphemy to every moral inclination D'hein Tia maintained. He did not want to become D'themia. He didn't want to resemble the Nunh for even the slightest moment.
They entered the hallways of the inn, and D'hein spoke through his illness, "I would present up front that legal action is out of the question. D'ahl is owned by D'themia Nunh, and he has no need for pretense in sloughing the law."
Formidable. Antimony's expression turned down. Yes, D'aijeen was certainly formidable. And terrifying. But she still struck Antimony as incredibly fragile. "She should not... I just need to talk to Aijeen again. Convince her to stop. I thought she'd stopped..."
"I had no idea such events were even possible," D'hein managed to sound more surprised the angered by that particular statement, though frustration was not far from his voice. "She told me that she had been abandoned by her tribe. That was the only history I ever received."
"Abandoned!" Antimony's voice choked and she stopped walking suddenly. "Abandoned! After I--after everything... she left us! I searched for her for weeks, I--" She shook and couldn't continue.
"Hey, it's alright. She's not telling that lie anymore." He paused to pet her arms soothingly.
She was quiet for a few moments and then just started walking again, twining her hands together up by her chest. She watched the wood planks pass beneath her feet as she spoke, "And yet I feel there are so many that remain. What else has she hidden?"
D'hein made a face. He didn't know. He didn't even know what to make of D'ahl anymore, and he'd known, admired, and adored the woman for most of his life. There was growing suspicion inside of him that D'aijeen was to blame for her behavior, but he didn't dare speak such a thing. "Perhaps if I knew more of what had occurred," he ventured, helping Antimony down the hallway.
"What had... of what?" She was distracted briefly when they arrived at her door, and she fumbled with it a time or two before unlocking and pushing it open.
"What Aijeen has been hiding from me," D'hein said as they arrived at the door. He watched her hands with a frown. "What she did before. Whatever she did while I thought she was just finding and caring for K'airos."
As the door opened, the woman who lingered in Antimony's room became animated. Skittishly, the broad Miqo'te jumped to the center of the room from wherever she'd been lingering in a dazed trance. Loughree's bear feet hit the floor hard as she set herself, sword in hand off to one side and shield in front of her facing the door. Her ears were up, eyes narrowed, fluffed-out tail wrapping her inner thigh.
Antimony flinched away from the door, ears splaying out flat from her head. "Ah what--" Blinking rapidly at the woman, it took several seconds for Antimony to recall she had been hosting a guest. When she did, her shoulders slumped, along with her ears and tail. "Oh yes, Miss Loughree... ah, apologies."
D'hein didn't even notice the woman until a few seconds after Antimony had adressed her, and when he did, one ear twitched, and he looked vexed. "What? Is this a--"
"Who's the beau?" Loughree interrupted him, looking suspicious. Her guard dropped slightly, but her tail still shivered like a wheat in the wind.
"What?" Antimony's tail twitched at the thought. "He's not--he..." She sought words for a moment and then sighed, having to settle for a simple, "This is D'hein. Ah, D'hein, I... well, I was letting Miss Loughree rest here for... well."
"More friends," Loughree said, letting the sword and shield drop to her sides, closing her stance and opening her expression.
"Yes," D'hein said, nodding slowly as his mind worked, and then he forced a smile. "I should not be surprised Antimony has such a disarmingly radiant guest, and so... prepared!"
The burly Keeper tightened her shoulders and frowned.
Grimacing, Antimony stepped into the room, now entirely unsure how to proceed. It didn't feel right discussing her daughter in front of Loughree, but she wasn't sure she was ready to just dismiss D'hein as it was a topic of such great importance. "I apologize, Miss Loughree," she spoke quietly. "I hadn't expected returning with... well."
"Don't apologize," Loughree said, tossing her sword at the bed, which was messed from use. Apparently she'd been using it. The edge of the sword pierced the blanket before it fell over. Loughree used her free hand to reach behind her and pulled her tail from between her legs. "I'm just a beggar at this point. You can throw me out anytime you want."
D'hein moved to step into the room, lifting his head high and spreading his arms, "Please, let's not behave so awkwardly. This meeting is a blessing to me, for had it never occurred I'd have missed out on one of Ul'dah's greatest gems, never knowing."
"Stop that," Antimony muttered wearily and leaned against the small, round table nearby. She winced at the hole Loughree's sword left in the bedding and then, "I wouldn't toss you out. Megiddo is... I was just speaking with him."
"Stop what?" One of D'hein's ears lay down.
Holding her tail, petting the fur flat, Loughree stopped her motions and rolled her shoulders, turning her hard eyes on Antimony. "What was that?"
She needed to sit down, she realized, and so went from the table to the bed, carefully avoiding the sword to sit at the edge. The thin mattress wasn't particularly comfortable, but it wasn't any less so than the chair she had sat in earlier. Dropping her head somewhat, Antimony rubbed at a spot between her eyes before giving Loughree a compassionate look, "I wouldn't push you out while he's still around, knowing what he... well, it just wouldn't be right."
Loughree wrung her tail between her hands. It looked painful. "You were TALKING to him?"
Completely irrelevant to the woman's tone, D'hein ambled further into the room, smirking at its quaintness. "Ah, was he that elderly fellow?"
"Er.. well... yes?" Antimony's voice faded a bit uncertainly.
"How the fu-" She released her tail and stumbled back a half-step, the motion unprompted, and then set herself in a broad stance with her shield up in front of her again. "How would you even know what he looks like? You said you didn't know anything!"
Antimony flinched, ears shifting back uneasily, but she held up her hands in a soothing gesture. "I--Not anything that would... mean anything."
“What the hell does that even mean? What do you KNOW!" Loughree was shouting loud enough that everyone in the inn had to be able to hear her, ears flat on her head and ears narrowed in hostility. She glances at the sword that sat near Antimony.
D'hein stood in still confusion nearby, as if trying to decide whether he was missing out on some sort of elaborate inside joke.
Cringing away, she caught herself on the bed with one arm and then grimaced as it sent a sharp pain through her shoulder. "I don't... I don't know..?" she all but squeaked, green eyes flicking towards D'hein and then back to Loughree. "About--about what? The... doll? I--I had no idea he was turning that into a... he said it was for his granddaughter! I had no way of knowing it was a--a--weapon!"
"You.. he said..." Loughree's gaze shook, her jaw working over half formed words. What have you told him? Did you tell him about..." In the next moment, she pounced at her sword, or at Antimony. Either way, she was holding her sword and shouting very close to the older woman, "What did you tell him!?"
Antimony fell back onto the bed, brought her arms in front of her face, and just froze, ears pressed back so far as to be nearly invisible in her hair, tail tucked away between her legs. "Please--please stop this, Miss Loughree! You're being--I didn't--unreasonable!"
Loughree stayed where she was, hand on her sword, but not threatening Antimony with it. "Shut up! What did you tell him?"
Before she could take another breath, a hot blast of unaspected aether struck her side, knocking her over the bed and against the wall. Her heavy body hit with a hard thud before falling where the base-board of the bed had once been, her upper body on the mattress and her slower body on the floor.
D'hein said with a smile, "Ah, effective! I'll have to thank Ulanan for the previous demonstration. Now," He held his scepter in front of him, robes seeming to grow darker. "I may have failed to protect Antimony from my daughter or my sister, but only your beauty stays my hand from harming you, miss. And those expressions you were just making were very ugly."
Continuing to hide behind her arms, Antimony tried to assuage Loughree by attempting to answer the woman's question, though she found her breath short and uneven, "I don't--I don't know what you mean! I haven't... I haven't said anything about you except to--I told him not to hurt you!"
"Why don't you tell him to go fucking DIE!" Loughree rolled to her feet and in the same gesture threw her shield directly at D'hein's head with notable precision. It hit the Dodo hard enough to knock his head back, making him stumble, but drew little more than a rough grunt and then a long exhalation of surprise.
Once on her feet, Lughree wasted no time darting out of the room, having reached the door in three quick strides, and she made even better time down the hall.
As the Keeper's footsteps faded down the hall, Antimony uncurled herself from her cowed position, peeking out from behind her arms to spot first D'hein and then the open door. Her eyes widened and she started, "Oh no, but he's still--", sat up as thought to move and then, very suddenly, just gave up with a heavy sigh, dropping her head to her hands.
Over several seconds, D'hein recovered from the metal plate that had slammed length-wise against his face, blood streaming from his nostrils onto the white bilaud he wore under his open black robe. He looked around in confusion with squinted eyes, one ear twitching, the other hanging limp. His scepter out in front of him, he turned one way and then the other, searching. "Wha.. I..." His voice was slurred and nasal, "Did I scare her away?"
Antimony's head shot up, eyes fixing immediately on D'hein's face. "She didn't--what happened!" She was on her feet quickly, stepping over to the tia to furrow her brow worriedly at his features. Then she started and grabbed at him to try and drag him towards the small bathroom, where the tub still sat half filled with water.
D'hein didn't struggle, letting himself be pulled along. He explained rather dumbly, "I think she hit me? Is it bad?"
"Is it--" she looked around and then just dragged him over to the tub, pushing down on his shoulders. "Sit down before--before you collapse." Her eyes cast about for a towel, settled on one still crumpled nearby, and snagged it.
The Dodo sat, not really sure what he was. He almost fell into the tub before he caught himself. "Doesn't hurt," he said. "I'll clean myself up if you give me a moment. I'm not very presentable right now I imagine."
"Doesn't hurt!" Antimony exclaimed dubiously. "At the very least your nose is broken." Dipping one corner of the towel into the tub, she hesitated only a moment at the thought of ruining yet another property that wasn't hers, and then began to wipe at D'hein's face, apparently ignoring his assertion.
"Really, it doesn't." He was actually smiling, the expression brought to his face by the mute tingling that wrapped his head, neck and shoulders. "It can't be bad if it doesn't hurt, right? And I'm sure my vision will clear up any moment."
"Your vision--how can this not hurt?!" She gave him a baffled look. Pushing aside some of his hair, she found a nicely developing lump on his brow, more swelling around his eye socket. His nose, as she'd suspected, was definitely broken, but such a thing was easily remedied. "Hold this, please," she muttered in a still bewildered tone, dragging one of his hands up to the towel pressed to the side of his face. Her own hands she moved to his face, thumbs pressed against either side of his nose, and in a very practiced motion snapped the crooked cartilage back into place.
As she moved up his hand, he chuckled, "Well, I can't refuse a lady's request, even in such a-" he paused when she snapped his nose back into place, a bit perplexed by the sound and the strangeness of the sensation. "Such an unbecoming situation. I do hope your friend is all right, though. That sounded like a terrible misunderstanding."
Antimony returned her attention to the rest of D'hein's head and skirted around his question with a nervous and weak, "I really didn't know." It was an uncomfortable thing to consider, Loughree's reaction, and so instead she focused on something that was so familiar she could work through it practically on autopilot. The swelling around his temple was concerning, but less so than... "Look up and follow my fingers," she ordered, placing a hand on his forehead to clear his face of hair and holding two fingers in front of his eyes, moving them slowly first left and right, then up and down.
With an entertained look, D'hein followed the tan blur of Antimony's fingers. "I'm not offended, if that's what you're worried about. This was a bit of a clumsy ice-breaker, but I can't hold it against her."
It was hard to tell if his pupils were even in the dim light of the bathroom, but she doubted a blow from a metal shield had left him unscathed. Grimacing at the blood that came away when she dipped the towel into the tub, Antimony returned the cool cloth to his head and again repeated, "Hold this there," before dropping to her knees with a sigh. Her shoulders slumped, drained. "I'm not worried about that," she muttered.
"I've come back from much worse blows to the head," he offered. "I don't want you to worry too much. The bleeding will slow, and my vision really is already clearing. Just a bit dazed!"
"Don't be absurd. You are not invincible," she replied, ears shivering. Her gaze drifted towards the door outside the bathroom through which Loughree had fled. She could only hope Megiddo had gone, was distracted by following that strange roegadyn, was maybe even protecting Aijeen.
Which reminded her.
Antimony leaned forward until her head rested against the edge of the tub and then just kind of sat there. Worrying.
Through the haze of his vision, D'hein watched Antimony, waiting for her to either verbally relent or dote on him some more. When she did neither for some time, the Dodo racked his brain trying to figure out what she was doing, and finally concluded, "Ah ha. You're pondering."
She realized she wasn't in an exactly flattering position currently, but there was far too much going on in her thoughts, and far too little energy in her body, for her to care. Would Loughree find a safe place to sleep, or would the next time she see her be in an obituary? Would Megiddo even bother going after her at this point? Perhaps he'd taken Antimony's words to heart finally. And what did D'aijeen intend to do with D'ahl? Would Ulanan be able to catch up with them? Would she be discovered? If there were a confrontation, would D'aijeen get hurt? Was she really going to stay in Ul'dah, or did she intend to leave, flee with D'ahl perhaps, and take K'airos with her? Why couldn't her daughter accept that her mother loved her?
Antimony's head hurt in place of D'hein's. After a time, she simply said without looking up, "If you feel any dizziness or nausea, please tell me."
"A gentleman does not discuss such things with a lady."
She did lift her head at that, frowning at D'hein. "You will tell me, because you clearly have no understanding of your own medical health."
"If I have some medical problem I can go to my tribe's healers." He blinked, thinking. "Ah, I hope you don't think it a cruel oversight of mine that I didn't force them upon you. Aijeen does good work when healing, so I did not even consider that it might be necessary."
"Had she not--" and Antimony was so glad that she had, that she had felt strongly enough about her mother to offer that kind of help, "--I could have taken care of myself," Antimony said stiffly, still frowning at D'hein. "Now tell me, dizziness or nausea?"
"Nausea, but only at my actions surrounding the events of the day," D'hein admitted. "I apologize that I did not act against D'hal, but you must understand that the woman is family, and she has never acted like this before."
Antimony let her head drop back down to the tub, letting her weight settle a bit more against it. "I understand." And she truly did. For her entire life, family had been everything. Family was what kept her people alive. She let out a sigh at the unexpected pain in her chest, thoughts unwillingly turning briefly towards that desert, towards people she'd had to let go. Antimony swallowed. "Do you think she will return? Aijeen? With or without D'ahl?"
"I do not think she can leave. Even if she were willing and able to leave the tribe, K'airos has her obligations. And she would not leave without her sister."
At that Antimony shook her head, one hand moving to loosely cradle her shoulder where it had begun to ache. "I'm unsure," she replied lowly. "The way Aijeen spoke to me here, she... there was no doubt that she would take Airos." A pause. "... Perhaps she's changed her mind."
"Changed her mind about what?" D'hein said, still sounding nasally. He takes the towel from his hand, looking at it, squinting at it, realizing for the first time that he was bleeding.
"Keep the pressure on your head," Antimony muttered with almost supernatural awareness. Then she added after a moment, ".. about leaving? About... me not loving her? About her expectations?" She closed her eyes. "I don't know what to else to do for her."
"I'm afraid I can't advise. I think you've always been a vexation for her. Otherwise..." D'hein mulled over his thought for a moment, and then said, "Things between her and D'ahl should not have twisted as they did."
"I am tired," Antimony said suddenly, not particularly feeling ready to dwell on her daughter's relationship with D'ahl and what it meant about D'aijeen's relationship with her own mother.
"You should rest, then. Nothing we can do until we hear back from Ulanan or someone." One of his ears shivered, and he winked a frustrated eye. "I realize I forgot to have the food sent to your room. It's likely sitting in the tavern going to waste."
Antimony winced, fingers distractedly scratching at some dried blood on her shoulder. He was right about Ulanan, but she didn't particularly enjoy waiting - not when it potentially meant her daughter was getting further and further away with every passing moment. As for the food... "I apologize. I don't think I have the stomach for eating right now." Perhaps when there was less worry gnawing on her gut. "You should at least take some of it with you, however."
"Ah, I know a hint when I hear one." D'hein set the towel aside and stood, then wavered a bit in his light-headedness.
"A hint..?" Antimony sat back and grimaced. "Ah, I didn't mean... that in a rude way. Just that... well. You can't exactly--" She gestured a bit uselessly.
"I should be off to a healer. Although you understand my reluctance to leave you alone in this situation. I wish you friend hadn't run off."
Antimony nodded after a moment, working herself to her feet. Her tail hung tiredly behind her. "I will be fine. Though," she gave D'hein a look, "I am a healer. I hope you are more cooperative with your own family than with me."
His tail spinning in vexation, D'hein put his hands up in front of him and said, "Ah, I didn't mean that in any way as criticism! I simply meant that some magical intervention might be able to help with the bleeding some! That was all!"
Antimony sighed, frowning at that with a muttered, "Magic. Yes," and then made to return to the larger main room.
"Not to say that your healing was in any way unsatisfactory! Quite the contrary, I feel very fine! I don't think I'll go by a healer after all! Just fine!" D'hein moved his arms to either side and over his head as if to illustrate his point, causing himself to sway a bit more.
"No, you're going to see a healer," Antimony said as she went to the foot of the bed, where a few changes of clothes sat folded in a neat pile.
"Fine, but I doubt they'll do any better than what you've done. They'll likely turn me right around and send me away as I'm perfectly fine." D'hein walked into the main room, brushing his fingers over his number face.
Turning back to D'hein with some non-bloodied clothes in her arms, Antimony watched him for a moment before just sighing. "Please just go get yourself taken care of so I can rest."
"Don't worry about me. Or anyone else, for that matter, before you worry about yourself." He paused to look around the room like he was forgetting something, then shrugged and went to the door. "I won't be far. If anything develops, we're to let one another know."
"If you hear anything of Aijeen..." She let the thought trail off, though she likely didn't need to finish it. She tried not to think about all the possible outcomes of this mess while she waited for D'hein to leave.
"Good evening, Antimony. Do rest well." And he left.