Rhianna

The moon hung low in the sky as Ceilia clutched her book and a small package under her arm, slipping quietly into the night. The Grindstone tournament was over and the spectators and participants had been trickling away. She had been invited by her beau to come and watch him participate in combat, something she disliked at the best of times. She despised combat and the thought of watching her love willingly participate in it turned her stomach, but she went because he wished it so. Once there, however, she found the need to busy herself. Never one for relaxing, she offered her services as a medic and they gladly took her. It was chaos... the clashing of weapons on armor and shields, the people fighting, the cries of pain. Dark memories flooded her, but she fought them down. None died here. Not like the other place. Here she tended to winners and losers alike; none were put to death for losing. She dodged fights, weaving in and out amongst the combatants. This she was familiar with. A call for a medic and a badly injured Roegadyn lass. Her opponent and he who called for aid stayed no longer once Ceilia arrived. The Hyur tended her, staying the blood that gushed from her wounds. The thought for the opponent's welfare crossed her mind but briefly. Surely if he had been injured he would have stayed. The woman was tended to, her wounds closed... still there was something... a wound of the mind perhaps, but beyond Ceilia's ability at that moment. The woman's friend was there and taking her into his care and others needed tending. Ceilia saw her off then resumed her duties. Wounded arms and bruises. Slashed hips and cracked heads. And everywhere around her the din of combat and the crowd. A furor, a man collapsed, but was immediately surrounded by other medics. She did not see him, but she trusted them to tend to him while she watched for others in need. Elimination matches continued; her love made it to the fourth round before losing to the eventual tournament champion. As the battles died down, she joined him on the sidelines, though remained watchful in case she was needed. It was there she saw him again, the Roe's opponent, the collapsed man collapsing again. Healed of his wounds, but suffering from extreme blood loss. Her stomach knotted tightly and her heart dropped. Guilt overwhelmed her. She'd missed him. He could have been dead because she missed him. She'd failed to recognize the extent of his injuries and stop him when he'd summoned her for the Roegadyn woman earlier. He'd left, yes, but she should have recognized something was wrong... why didn't she? Her failure to recognize his injury and treat him could have cost the man his life. She'd failed to triage properly. She'd failed as a medic. She'd failed as the only thing she'd been trained to do her entire life and it shook her. She tried to apologize, then plead, then argue with him, but he did not understand. She left, walking away into the darkness, lost in her own thoughts. (continued... ->)

Thank you for allowing Ceilia to participate. It was fun! ...Now she needs to go home and rethink her life. :3

That sums it up pretty well. From Rhi's PoV: Dealing with Alexander.... Trying to find love... So alone... She'll never know the real reason they ran... Well... he's rather beastly, but at least he's always there...

Thanks for showing up, everyone! We had fun beating up the hooker and the pimp and hope you did, too!

If you're letting party roles hold you back, don't. ICly I'm a medic. When we did Garuda, we needed a tank, so I tanked it, but was still, IC, a medic. RP's just a game of pretend. Sometimes we need to stretch it a little further than others.

As she finished emptying the bookshelves, she turned and started placing the discarded books back in their places with practiced ease. "We don't even know if she's in the city or out on mission. I doubt you'll be willing to wait for her to return? In which case, an extra set of eyes and ears would help in finding her." She knew it was likely yet another futile argument, but sometimes the gods favored her.

A sudden thought struck Rhi as Alexander went through her stacked books in vain. "You don't think it was in that stack of books you gave Ceilia to study, do you?"

"Average size, light brown, and embossed," Rhi repeated, running her hand through her short, brown hair as she looked about the room. The thought occurred to her that it could be anywhere in the cluttered chaos that was his side of the office. The only calm in that storm was the area around her desk, which she kept neat and organized. Deciding that would be the quickest place to start, she searched her desk and shelves, pulling out books that matched the description he gave and stacking them upon her desk. As she expected, it didn't take her long to search her area, and what books she did find were either records or notes and ideas from their conversations, four, in total, carefully scribed by her. She then turned her attention to his nearest bookcase and began methodically searching, pulling out dark brown books, one by one, and setting them in the stack upon her desk. "Here, start going through these. I'll finish going through the shelves, then begin the rest of the piles if you don't find it among them."

She glared back at him with a steely gaze. "As tempting as it is to set your head alight, I will be getting up. As much as you deny being a sadist, we both know it's only a matter of time before you find what you need and come barging in to wake me to assist with your work." She sighed softly in weary resignation and slid off the desk, her bare feet setting down lightly on the cool stone floor. "Now, let's find this book. What do you remember of it? It's color? Size? Embossing? Binding material?"

"No. As long as you are up, so am I," she said, continuing to watch him as he went on. Her annoyance and frustration were growing, yet she wasn't in the mood to have the same argument yet again. With a sigh of resigned exasperation, she sat carefully on the corner of his desk, ensuring that she didn't sit on anything important. As she crossed her legs, staring at him as he searched the room, the silken fabric of her night gown slipped, revealing her thigh, an unintentional gesture that went unnoticed by her. Finally, she slammed her hands on the desk. "Book! Book! What is this book?!? Will you PLEASE explain why I've been roused from a measly two hours' slumber by a sadistic insomniac madman frantically rummaging through our room?"

I. Basic Info Characters:Rhianna Oruissi Primary character:^ Linkshells:n/a Primary RP linkshell:n/a II. RP Style Amount of RP (light, medium, heavy): I'm a light/medium RPer depending on mood and how well my bad hands are holding up to typing. Open World RP (How to Initiate RP with me): I'm not always in character and am often goofing around OOCly and giving people cupcakes. If you want to RP, walk up and say hi IC or send me a /tell asking if I want to RP. Views on RP combat and injuries: While generally civil and even pleasant, Rhianna has a tendency to swing her frying pan at people who annoy or threaten her (I leave it up to the other RPer to determine if it connects.) Injuries go both ways, but I avoid attempting to kill another's character without permission. I'm up for predetermined outcomes or figure-it-out-as-we-go. I like to communicate oocly via /tell during fights to work with the RPer. Views on IC romance: I avoid IC romance due to stalker issues in the past. Flirting's fine, but I won't engage in anything more unless it's with an RPer I've known for a while and trust. Views on non-romantic RP (family ties, etc): Rhi's family is long gone, so no family ties to RP. She does have adopted family, but that's something kept to RPers I know and who are/will be around a while. Views on lore: I generally try to stay within the lore as it's what makes the world what it is. I won't harass people who stray, but will tend to avoid people who mostly or completely ignore it. Views on chat functions (/say, /linkshell, etc): Chat channel purpose depends on what is agreed upon at the time. Any may be OOC or IC depending on the situation. III. Other Info Country:U.S. Timezone:Eastern U.S.

"Bullshit..." she grumbled in response. She reached for him to pull him back to bed, but he slipped from her grasp. She grunted in annoyance. She knew this little song and dance and she knew she was going to lose, but damned if she wasn't going to try, at least a little, despite being entirely too tired for his pig-headedness. She stumbled out of bed after him, more determined and dogged than awake. "Whatever it is, leave it for when the sun's up, or write yourself a note so you'll remember. You need sleep. We've been over this. When you don't sleep, you get tired and make mistakes. You don't need to be making mistakes in your equations." 'Not to mention -I-'d like some sleep, which I'm not going to get if you stay up...' she thought. She stood beside his desk in her nightgown, glaring groggily at him as he rummaged through the books and drawers.

At Alexander's movement, Rhianna instinctively started stroking his back and arms even before fully awakening. Months of dealing with his nightmares had honed her response. "You're safe. You're safe in bed, Alexander. You're just having a nightmare. It's all right. You're safe in bed. Dreaming." Her voice was soft, caring, and concerned despite being groggy from being awoken. As she sat up, she glanced at the chronometer on the wall; they'd only been asleep two and a half hours. She groaned internally as she refocused her attention on her companion, hoping, perhaps futilely, to get him back to sleep after their three-day-long research and experimentation session.