Waking up somewhere unfamiliar was an unsettling feeling. When Lho’s eyes shot open he was instantly aware he was not upon his canopy bed, nor in his room at Morbolvine’s manor. Pink eyes darted about the room, adjusting to the dark as he took in the outlines of the small guest bed, the white sheets, and the privacy wall and partition that kept this little nook separate from the rest of the room. His breathe caught in his chest as his head turned to take in every detail, as memories rushed back through his mind of the previous two days. His hands came to rest on his knees as he pushed himself to a seated position, trembling as he wondered if maybe this could have been some bad dream. Vision adjusted to the darkness, details became more clear with a layer of acceptance…and Lho’a confirmed that indeed, it had all happened just as he recalled.
“Ankou…what will we do? We got so used to being amongst them…†He spoke softly, and was greeted with another wave of dread as he received no reply.
The inner voice that had been with him since childhood was gone. He was completely and utterly alone.
“Everything I’ve done…all for that woman. And here I am….what have I to show for it? “He sighed, looking down at his ash colored palms as he shook his head. “ Nothing. “
His legs felt like lead, prying himself from the bed to rise up and drape the sheet about his shoulders like a makeshift cloak. The Keeper’s features peeking out as he slid open the door to wander out into the main portion of the room. In the corner he spied the heavy burlap bags, the faint hint of leaves and shoots emerging. His plants, his children. Dug up from the earth outside of Bentbranch and carried along on his journey, it was only fitting they should follow him here as well. Other than that he feared touching anything, it was not his room…..the words lingered in his mind “ It’s not my room.†With little concern of acknowledgement for permission, he then moved to the entrance to were Evangeline slept, the elezen who’d stepped into his corner when sharp arrows, and sharper words had been drawn upon him. He’d barely known her, and yet since that point she’d afforded him far more kindness than he deserved, and he knew it. Pink eyes honed in on her sleeping form a moment longer, as a finger raised to tap against his chin. Why? She’d been ready to bring weaponry, to fight for his cause…a cause he was rapidly realizing he may have been wrong in.
“I was wrong..†He repeated, replaying the events in his head. He’d tried to take a life. He’d tried to make put an exclamation mark on what he saw as the degradation of his Matron by making an example of what he saw as a constant point of stress in his clan. But when action became reality, and he was visited with the image of the red haired Seeker bleeding out, he’d hardly even felt it as real. It took days, and a trial to make him even reflect on the severity of such an action. It took consideration of his own near death, for him to realize that J’sahr had likely felt the exact same pain, and fear as he committed his most foul deed.
“I’m hardly better than that rabid mongrel Ronin….I may speak well, think more highly of myself, but really we are not so different at all.†He added softly, slipping out of the room and moving through the main area of Evangeline’s private chambers. There he traced fingers over the spines of the myriad of books that lined the shelves, stacked on the desks and populated just about every field of vision. This was reality now.....and this would have to do.
“Ankou…what will we do? We got so used to being amongst them…†He spoke softly, and was greeted with another wave of dread as he received no reply.
The inner voice that had been with him since childhood was gone. He was completely and utterly alone.
“Everything I’ve done…all for that woman. And here I am….what have I to show for it? “He sighed, looking down at his ash colored palms as he shook his head. “ Nothing. “
His legs felt like lead, prying himself from the bed to rise up and drape the sheet about his shoulders like a makeshift cloak. The Keeper’s features peeking out as he slid open the door to wander out into the main portion of the room. In the corner he spied the heavy burlap bags, the faint hint of leaves and shoots emerging. His plants, his children. Dug up from the earth outside of Bentbranch and carried along on his journey, it was only fitting they should follow him here as well. Other than that he feared touching anything, it was not his room…..the words lingered in his mind “ It’s not my room.†With little concern of acknowledgement for permission, he then moved to the entrance to were Evangeline slept, the elezen who’d stepped into his corner when sharp arrows, and sharper words had been drawn upon him. He’d barely known her, and yet since that point she’d afforded him far more kindness than he deserved, and he knew it. Pink eyes honed in on her sleeping form a moment longer, as a finger raised to tap against his chin. Why? She’d been ready to bring weaponry, to fight for his cause…a cause he was rapidly realizing he may have been wrong in.
“I was wrong..†He repeated, replaying the events in his head. He’d tried to take a life. He’d tried to make put an exclamation mark on what he saw as the degradation of his Matron by making an example of what he saw as a constant point of stress in his clan. But when action became reality, and he was visited with the image of the red haired Seeker bleeding out, he’d hardly even felt it as real. It took days, and a trial to make him even reflect on the severity of such an action. It took consideration of his own near death, for him to realize that J’sahr had likely felt the exact same pain, and fear as he committed his most foul deed.
“I’m hardly better than that rabid mongrel Ronin….I may speak well, think more highly of myself, but really we are not so different at all.†He added softly, slipping out of the room and moving through the main area of Evangeline’s private chambers. There he traced fingers over the spines of the myriad of books that lined the shelves, stacked on the desks and populated just about every field of vision. This was reality now.....and this would have to do.
