The woman appeared, for whatever reason, to chafe against her relative nudity. She crouched in the ankle deep water with her back to Thal, pulling the charred red rags of the dress up over her chest and scowling at the water. She still wore the torn strip of fabric around her neck, but it was loose now, and her fingers slipped underneath that rag to touch her wound. She moved her wrist as though she thought she could force her throat to work by pushing on it had enough. Her tail twitched back forth in the water behind her. Her ears lay flat in her tangled hair.
Thal had been content to just relax against the stone near the water. Watching the night sky had not ceased to be an exhilarating experience even after the week or however long it had been (he honestly lost count of the days - it could have even been a month, for all he knew) since he'd left the Shroud. He'd begun to be able to pick out particular shapes in the bright specks above, which entertained him. Sometimes the shapes were not very wholesome.
Much of this night, however, had been spent watching the girl he'd pulled from the sea. And thinking. Lots of thinking, which was something he usually had a rule against, but... the situation seemed to call for it. He kept silent, though, letting the girl adjust on her own time, and every so often allowed his own thoughts to drift towards the hypothetical Megiddo had briefly proposed.
The girl who had supposedly buried him had green hair.
When he sensed the coolness of night fading, the sun inching its way past the horizon, he straightened from his stone seat, leaning forward over his knees to peer towards the girl. He tilted his head to one side, so long, red bangs hung away from both his eyes for once, and smiled. "Feeling any better, kiddo?" She didn't look it - in fact, her body language seemed extremely frustrated. But he figured she'd had enough time to stew.
When Thal spoke, the girl lifted her head. Her ears swiveled back, and she took several slow, careful, difficult breaths. Then she turned her head towards him. The cloth had slid town her neck enough that her fingers could be seen reaching deep inside the wound, inserted near her chin and curling down inside her throat. Almost completely insert. She blinked, and then made a sound like a frog's final croak. "No."
The man leaned back with a grimace, looking away. "Okay, first off, just because you're dead doesn't mean you can just... stick your fingers in places fingers have no right being."
The girl's frown shifted to annoyance. She grated out, "Trying-" and chocked, gagging as though she'd triggered some kind of reflex. Her shoulders bunched up and her body curled forward. She didn't withdraw her fingers. She did mover them, however, and the gagging ceased. She spoke with a voice of grating sand and clicking cartilage. Her jaw moved strangely. "Trying to learn. To speak."
Thal heaved a sigh, "Yeah, yeah," and ran a hand up his face, through his hair. He held his bangs back a moment, and then dropped his hand, letting them fall forward again. He grimaced again at the sensation of every single one of his hair follicles shifting minutely to accomodate the change. Idly, he lifted his gaze beyond their little lake, scanning the shore. Megiddo was right - plants were scarce out here. Still...
Pushing away from his perch, he splashed his feet into the water and stood. "Do you feel up to a walk? It's nice around here. Would be good to stretch your legs anyway."
"I need food." She kept her fingers stubbornly inside of her throat as she rose to her feet, tail dripping behind her. She turned to Thal, and it was clear that the hands crossed over her chest were trying to conceal the charred flesh there. She took a second to gag again, and then groaned out. "I remember eating."
"Ah, another thing a walk will help." Grinning, he held out one calloused hand towards her. "I bet we can find something around here. Cactus, maybe, if we take all the spines off."
His extended hand provided an opportunity which the girl took to step forward and lay her body against Thal's, laying her head against his neck. "Not hungry. Dead." She said in that very quiet, very rough breath that could barely be called a voice. "Still have to eat."
"We're gonna work on that, kiddo." Her sudden closeness caught him off guard, but he patted her back gently. He felt the cartilage in his joints giving against bone with the gesture and bit back another grimace. Then, taking her loosely by the shoulders, he turned her to start walking out of the lake. "Don't ya worry."
"Nothing worse." She walked with him. "I don't remember. Dying."
"There's not really any point in dwelling on it," he kept his tone calm and even, hopefully soothing. When their feet found dry sand, he paused to stretch and look around to pick their new trajectory. Staying near water seemed wisest for finding plants, so for now he just angled them to walk near the shore, around the lake. "It'll just upset you, and... well, that won't do you any good." He grins a bit. "But hey, at least you didn't get stuck in the Shroud."
The girl averted her eyes. "Sorry. Do you remember?"
"Hm?" He paused to consider a thin patch of grass. It looked green enough... Bending down to set his hand on it, he tilted his head to keep the girl in his sight. "Remember dying? Heh, nope. Wouldn't want to. Really, kid, let's talk about what you wanna do now, not what happened in the past."
She stood there, watching him. "I remember."
It was a lot easier without thick, leather gloves, Thal thought as he curled his fingers through the grass. Still, the aether running through them was thin, as dry as the desert they walked upon, and it pulled up into his bones in an almost imperceptible trickle. As he did this, his brow drew down in a frown. "Really, kid, it's not a subject we should talk about. Now, I'm thinking cactus is our best bet."
The girl took two steps away from thal, her tail swishing back and forth behind her. With her ears laying down on her head once more, she whispered as loud as she could. "I want to go home."
Straightening, he cast a look towards the sky and then sighed towards the girl. Sand crunched beneath his bare feet as he took a step to wrap one arm around her shoulders. "If I could help with that, I would."
She dodged away from him, and then gagged. She shifted her fingers inside of her throat, and then pointed eastward. "Home."
Blue eyes followed her gesture, then frowned. "Nothing but cliffs over there. Well, that I saw at least."
The girl gave him a pouty but stern look.
"... No, really. I was walking around over there just the other... day... week... something like that." He shrugged, offering the girl an apologetic look. "Let's keep walking though," he added when shrugging pulled on each individual muscle fiber running along his back. His vertebrae shifted upon one another to adjust his posture. He held back a wince.
Continuing her glare for a long moment, the girl's tail twitched at its tip. Then she abruptly turned to walk eastward, in roughly the same direction Thal had gone to get ot the settlement where people had tried to burn her.
"Aah, hey, wait up a second!" He caught up to her easily and grabbed her shoulders - though with as gentle a grip as he could manage. "If you mean that town, it's not really the best idea to go back there, I don't think."
"Home. Desert!" She turned towards him, and gagged when she did so. She moved her fingers to ease the sensation, but this time it didn't work immediately. He shoulders bunched up and her back bent, and she leaned her head against Thal's chest. "With mom." She managed between choked spasms.
"Mom?" He shook his ears. Of course the kid had a mom, who was probably worried sick all things considered. Petting her back lightly, he worked his jaw in thought and cast his gaze over the top of her head, towards the direction she'd wanted to go. "... you still can't go back to that town, kiddo. They didn't like you. Does your mom live there?"
Taking a moment to work her fingers inside her throat, the girl croaked out. "East then south. Very south."
"Very... hm." Pulling in a deep breath, Thal dropped his hands to the sides of the girl's arms. His tail swung in slow, thoughtful arcs behind him. "I guess... well, no one else would have a reason to not like you, I guess. How far south?" Almost as soon as he asked that question, he shook his head and let a smile cross his face. "Nah, doesn't matter. So long as we steer clear of that town, we should be just fine. And maybe find some cactus along the way."
She lifted her chin to show the wound on her neck. "Need to clean. Close cut. Find clothes."
Thal hummed at that. "Right, right... Well..." One ear quirked. "... if you hang back, I could... probably find some clothes at the place. Not sure if that's the only town around here or what."
The girl shook her head, looking unsure. She stared at her feet, and curled her toes.
"Well, I'd give ya the clothes off my own back, kiddo, but... I think that'd leave me indecent for your eyes." He gave her a lighthearted wink and then patted her reassuredly on the head. "We'll figure it out, okay? For cleaning... well, got some nice, fresh water right here. I can give ya some privacy."
She rolled her head again, "Not body. Neck. Inside."
Thal watched her a moment and then bit on his tongue to try and suppress a shudder. "Eeeheh... right. That. Hrm." He sighed. "Well, uh, you seem like a smart kid. Who... strangely knows what she's doing... help me help you out here."
She blinked, then frowned. She looked at Thal and then looked away, appearing hurt by something. After pouting for a moment, she turned to face east, as though to start walking. All she did was lean that direction, though, before stopping and looking back at Thal. "Home."
"... Okay, then!" He shrugs after a moment. "Guess it can't hurt. Not like I had anywhere else to go." Tossing a grin down at the girl, he gestured for them to start walking. "Lead on, little lady."
The girl finally pulled her fingers out of her throat, gagging and making a sound like she was coughing them up. Her chest shuttered and she staggered as she shook from her shoulders all the way through her diaphragm. Her tail shivered.
Thal decided it was better to just ignore all that grossness, though he did rub her back in a gentle, reassuring way.
When she was done with her fit, she gave Thal an apologetic look, and then ducked her head away so that her face was hidden in her tangled hair. She moved forward to push herself against him again, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him off eastward.
Thal had been content to just relax against the stone near the water. Watching the night sky had not ceased to be an exhilarating experience even after the week or however long it had been (he honestly lost count of the days - it could have even been a month, for all he knew) since he'd left the Shroud. He'd begun to be able to pick out particular shapes in the bright specks above, which entertained him. Sometimes the shapes were not very wholesome.
Much of this night, however, had been spent watching the girl he'd pulled from the sea. And thinking. Lots of thinking, which was something he usually had a rule against, but... the situation seemed to call for it. He kept silent, though, letting the girl adjust on her own time, and every so often allowed his own thoughts to drift towards the hypothetical Megiddo had briefly proposed.
The girl who had supposedly buried him had green hair.
When he sensed the coolness of night fading, the sun inching its way past the horizon, he straightened from his stone seat, leaning forward over his knees to peer towards the girl. He tilted his head to one side, so long, red bangs hung away from both his eyes for once, and smiled. "Feeling any better, kiddo?" She didn't look it - in fact, her body language seemed extremely frustrated. But he figured she'd had enough time to stew.
When Thal spoke, the girl lifted her head. Her ears swiveled back, and she took several slow, careful, difficult breaths. Then she turned her head towards him. The cloth had slid town her neck enough that her fingers could be seen reaching deep inside the wound, inserted near her chin and curling down inside her throat. Almost completely insert. She blinked, and then made a sound like a frog's final croak. "No."
The man leaned back with a grimace, looking away. "Okay, first off, just because you're dead doesn't mean you can just... stick your fingers in places fingers have no right being."
The girl's frown shifted to annoyance. She grated out, "Trying-" and chocked, gagging as though she'd triggered some kind of reflex. Her shoulders bunched up and her body curled forward. She didn't withdraw her fingers. She did mover them, however, and the gagging ceased. She spoke with a voice of grating sand and clicking cartilage. Her jaw moved strangely. "Trying to learn. To speak."
Thal heaved a sigh, "Yeah, yeah," and ran a hand up his face, through his hair. He held his bangs back a moment, and then dropped his hand, letting them fall forward again. He grimaced again at the sensation of every single one of his hair follicles shifting minutely to accomodate the change. Idly, he lifted his gaze beyond their little lake, scanning the shore. Megiddo was right - plants were scarce out here. Still...
Pushing away from his perch, he splashed his feet into the water and stood. "Do you feel up to a walk? It's nice around here. Would be good to stretch your legs anyway."
"I need food." She kept her fingers stubbornly inside of her throat as she rose to her feet, tail dripping behind her. She turned to Thal, and it was clear that the hands crossed over her chest were trying to conceal the charred flesh there. She took a second to gag again, and then groaned out. "I remember eating."
"Ah, another thing a walk will help." Grinning, he held out one calloused hand towards her. "I bet we can find something around here. Cactus, maybe, if we take all the spines off."
His extended hand provided an opportunity which the girl took to step forward and lay her body against Thal's, laying her head against his neck. "Not hungry. Dead." She said in that very quiet, very rough breath that could barely be called a voice. "Still have to eat."
"We're gonna work on that, kiddo." Her sudden closeness caught him off guard, but he patted her back gently. He felt the cartilage in his joints giving against bone with the gesture and bit back another grimace. Then, taking her loosely by the shoulders, he turned her to start walking out of the lake. "Don't ya worry."
"Nothing worse." She walked with him. "I don't remember. Dying."
"There's not really any point in dwelling on it," he kept his tone calm and even, hopefully soothing. When their feet found dry sand, he paused to stretch and look around to pick their new trajectory. Staying near water seemed wisest for finding plants, so for now he just angled them to walk near the shore, around the lake. "It'll just upset you, and... well, that won't do you any good." He grins a bit. "But hey, at least you didn't get stuck in the Shroud."
The girl averted her eyes. "Sorry. Do you remember?"
"Hm?" He paused to consider a thin patch of grass. It looked green enough... Bending down to set his hand on it, he tilted his head to keep the girl in his sight. "Remember dying? Heh, nope. Wouldn't want to. Really, kid, let's talk about what you wanna do now, not what happened in the past."
She stood there, watching him. "I remember."
It was a lot easier without thick, leather gloves, Thal thought as he curled his fingers through the grass. Still, the aether running through them was thin, as dry as the desert they walked upon, and it pulled up into his bones in an almost imperceptible trickle. As he did this, his brow drew down in a frown. "Really, kid, it's not a subject we should talk about. Now, I'm thinking cactus is our best bet."
The girl took two steps away from thal, her tail swishing back and forth behind her. With her ears laying down on her head once more, she whispered as loud as she could. "I want to go home."
Straightening, he cast a look towards the sky and then sighed towards the girl. Sand crunched beneath his bare feet as he took a step to wrap one arm around her shoulders. "If I could help with that, I would."
She dodged away from him, and then gagged. She shifted her fingers inside of her throat, and then pointed eastward. "Home."
Blue eyes followed her gesture, then frowned. "Nothing but cliffs over there. Well, that I saw at least."
The girl gave him a pouty but stern look.
"... No, really. I was walking around over there just the other... day... week... something like that." He shrugged, offering the girl an apologetic look. "Let's keep walking though," he added when shrugging pulled on each individual muscle fiber running along his back. His vertebrae shifted upon one another to adjust his posture. He held back a wince.
Continuing her glare for a long moment, the girl's tail twitched at its tip. Then she abruptly turned to walk eastward, in roughly the same direction Thal had gone to get ot the settlement where people had tried to burn her.
"Aah, hey, wait up a second!" He caught up to her easily and grabbed her shoulders - though with as gentle a grip as he could manage. "If you mean that town, it's not really the best idea to go back there, I don't think."
"Home. Desert!" She turned towards him, and gagged when she did so. She moved her fingers to ease the sensation, but this time it didn't work immediately. He shoulders bunched up and her back bent, and she leaned her head against Thal's chest. "With mom." She managed between choked spasms.
"Mom?" He shook his ears. Of course the kid had a mom, who was probably worried sick all things considered. Petting her back lightly, he worked his jaw in thought and cast his gaze over the top of her head, towards the direction she'd wanted to go. "... you still can't go back to that town, kiddo. They didn't like you. Does your mom live there?"
Taking a moment to work her fingers inside her throat, the girl croaked out. "East then south. Very south."
"Very... hm." Pulling in a deep breath, Thal dropped his hands to the sides of the girl's arms. His tail swung in slow, thoughtful arcs behind him. "I guess... well, no one else would have a reason to not like you, I guess. How far south?" Almost as soon as he asked that question, he shook his head and let a smile cross his face. "Nah, doesn't matter. So long as we steer clear of that town, we should be just fine. And maybe find some cactus along the way."
She lifted her chin to show the wound on her neck. "Need to clean. Close cut. Find clothes."
Thal hummed at that. "Right, right... Well..." One ear quirked. "... if you hang back, I could... probably find some clothes at the place. Not sure if that's the only town around here or what."
The girl shook her head, looking unsure. She stared at her feet, and curled her toes.
"Well, I'd give ya the clothes off my own back, kiddo, but... I think that'd leave me indecent for your eyes." He gave her a lighthearted wink and then patted her reassuredly on the head. "We'll figure it out, okay? For cleaning... well, got some nice, fresh water right here. I can give ya some privacy."
She rolled her head again, "Not body. Neck. Inside."
Thal watched her a moment and then bit on his tongue to try and suppress a shudder. "Eeeheh... right. That. Hrm." He sighed. "Well, uh, you seem like a smart kid. Who... strangely knows what she's doing... help me help you out here."
She blinked, then frowned. She looked at Thal and then looked away, appearing hurt by something. After pouting for a moment, she turned to face east, as though to start walking. All she did was lean that direction, though, before stopping and looking back at Thal. "Home."
"... Okay, then!" He shrugs after a moment. "Guess it can't hurt. Not like I had anywhere else to go." Tossing a grin down at the girl, he gestured for them to start walking. "Lead on, little lady."
The girl finally pulled her fingers out of her throat, gagging and making a sound like she was coughing them up. Her chest shuttered and she staggered as she shook from her shoulders all the way through her diaphragm. Her tail shivered.
Thal decided it was better to just ignore all that grossness, though he did rub her back in a gentle, reassuring way.
When she was done with her fit, she gave Thal an apologetic look, and then ducked her head away so that her face was hidden in her tangled hair. She moved forward to push herself against him again, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him off eastward.
![[Image: AntiThalSig.png]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/179079766/AntiThalSig.png)
"Song dogs barking at the break of dawn, lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm; and these streets, quiet as a sleeping army, send their battered dreams to heaven."
Hipparion Tribe (Sagolii)Â - Â Antimony Jhanhi's Wiki
