Facing Another Trial

Fernwood Pub, a day like most with a light dusting of snow

It was not that rare that Aelwyn had come to the Fernwood, it wasn't even uncommon that he was in the pub carrying a wrapped box. No, what was rare was him going to the barkeep to ask for it. "One has a box for this one?" The cloaked makari asked from the keep, flickering his tongue with a swish of his tail.

The ruddy sith-makar had just arrived from the outside, with some snow still lingering on his cloak. Even with the warming days, he preferred to keep much of it as shut as possible. Orb like lanterns, unlit, continued to adorn his chest, as they hung from his neck. The winter may be abating, but the cold could always return.

The cold iron glaive was leant against his shoulder as he glanced around the Fernwood Pub proper then, waiting for the forearm sized package to be pushed at him. A quiet click leaves his jaw, as he holds his mouth open, narrowing his eyes in search for something. Or someones.

Voices carry from the stairs leading away to the boarding house connected to the Fernwood. A familiar one with musical undertones and a gruffer one that is distinctly Makari.

"I've got most of the supplies we'll need, but we could still use a mage with some sort of teleportation power. Otherwise it will be a long journey." Rune speaks over her shoulder, pulling her arm into the sleeve of her winter jacket. A few days of rest has done the rogue well, but there are still the ever-present dark circles under her eyes.

There is something in her tone of voice that suggests worry and perhaps even... fear? It's the sound of someone trying hard to sound confident despite knowing they are going to face something horrible.

So, at the sight of Aelwyn collecting a package in the pub, there is that brief moment where her expression is all too readable, open in that fear with the Lava-scaled Makari who follows her down from their room. However, it schools quickly into a smile for the ruddy-scaled one, lifting a hand in greeting.

"Aelwyn. Good morning." She offers.

"I fear shifting between Realms is all the Death Singing Dragon permits to me." Harkashan answers Rune as he comes down the steps with her, wearing his full armored regalia. Each step making the stairs beneath him creak with the weight of his presence. He's not wearing a winter jacket, or anything of particular note when it comes to fighting the cold. It seems it doesn't really bother him.

When he steps down to the floor, he follows behind Rune and bows his head to the ruddy Sith-makar. "Dragoon." He rumbles to the small one, bowing his head slightly. "She told me about the Verna situation." He then adds, making sure that Aelwyn is aware that conversation had occurred. "How is your brother recovering from the surgery?"

Ah. There they were. As Aelwyn gets his box from the keep, his teeth were already sliding into a wider and as typical, rather macabre grin - before he pauses, seeing Rune's expression.

Just a momentary pause. The teeth flash once again.

"Twin," The ruddy sith-makar greets, as he makes his way over. His attention then turns towards Harkashan, whom he bows his head towards. "Lava." His orange eyes slide between the pair, trying to parse the situation, beyond the obvious stress and urgency. "Good, then everyone knows." He looks aside for the moment, and it was obvious the weight of that and Harkashan's follow up question still bothered him. Only for a moment.

Teeth showing, the smaller makari raises up his eyes. "This one did not expect to see him smile again. Yet he does." And he bows his head deeply. "This one shan't be able to repay the debt like this."

Straightening, Aelwyn looks between the two and then gestures with his palm held up. "What has happened?"

Shrugging fully into her jacket, Rune begins to button and belt it across her torso, the black fur lining pulled tight around her neck to block out the cold. The half-sil has always been more sensitive to those temperature changes, the cold tending to sink into her skin easier than most others. A lingering effect of her time among the dead.

Then, Aelwyn inquires about what has happened. There is a momentary pause, one where some part of Rune likely wants to protect her friends by not getting them involved. But, she eventually answers, with some hesitation, "It's... complicated." With a sigh, she runs a hand through her dyed hair and then starts to visibly fidget with one of the buckles on her jacket.

"It seems my 'trials' with the Fey don't end with the death of the Corpse Eater." Her blue eyes look to Aelwyn, that fear still lingering in them in a way that may be unsettling to those who know her. "I need to return to the place I died in Am'shere, and face the moment of my own death in my memories, my dreams, in order to find a door that unlocks the prison the Golden Fate's Bride and my mother are trapped behind."

Her lips press together and she shoves her hands into her pockets, looking uncomfortable with the prospect. Facing that memory, that worst moment in her life, must be what she is afraid of. And yet, she seems to be trying to hide this fact. Perhaps because she doesn't want others to worry.

Harkashan puts his hand on Rune's head, as she finishes speaking on what had occurred in regards to the trials. "She forgets to state that she also has been forgetting to eat properly. So I am trying to fatten her back up." Harkashan rumbles as Rune shows her discomfort. He then leans in a bit and teases; "Can't have her become a meager morsel."

Using levity to try and get Rune out of her own headspace, it would appear.

"Still, we would apprecaite some aid when it comes to the matter of the Golden Fate. And we would appreciate your presence as a friend and a capable warrior." The Sith-makar follows up.

Aelwyn could understand the need to protect from the cold. He should invest in one of those, he considered as he watched Rune pull her collar tighter. Then his eyes move up and he listens, orange slit pupils widening at the words.

The draconian's eyes turn towards Harkashan and his cheeky reply - and he lifts up the large but very light box and shoves it into the larger makari's hands. "Tch, even at a time like this, and you can only think of eating her?" He chastises with a teasing grin on his face. "No wonder Twin looks so haunted."

Hand freed, the ruddy sith-makar takes a step closer and then wraps his arm around the half elf, pulling her towards a half-hug. "Of course this one's blade shall be theirs to use as they see fit." He replies, "And it will be a honor to see her crush that trial like she inevitably will." He flashes his teeth. "Do not worry, Twin. We shall be strong together, yes?"

Then his gaze lifts up and he looks at Harkashan. "Are we leaving now?"

"Makari do have a tendency towards biting things they think belong to them." Rune looks over her shoulder towards Harkashan, ducking out from under the hand he has placed on her head. She reaches up and lightly rubs at one shoulder beneath her jacket along with that comment.

"She is haunted because re-living her own death is a horrific thought. Experiencing it once was difficult enough." Rune swallows, taking a deep breath as if she were reminding herself that she can still breathe.

At the half-hug, Rune returns it with an arm of her own, leaning her head briefly against the ruddy Sith Makar's shouler. "I don't know how much 'crushing' there will be. It may be more of a trial of the heart and mind than of the body." She explains.

At the prospect of leaving right away, Rune looks behind her at Harkashan again, then gives a slight shake of her head. "I still need to talk to Slixvah. She's been with us most of this foolish journey and deserves to see it to the end. And then we need the Lupecyll-Atlon clan for teleportation." She shakes her head, "So... not yet. Soon, though."

"This one has no such tendency," Aelwyn protests, "Even if this one finds certain ears quite tempting." His teeth make a light bite at the air.

When the half-elf leans over, Aelwyn lifts his hand and lightly ruffles her hair. He was slightly taller than her still - even if his horns counted quite a few inches of his height. "It may be a trial of the mind, but one's weapon is the will, not the sword." A brief pause. "Or the daggers."

There's a look of concern on his face for a moment - but then his grin returns. "This one cannot speak for the matters of the dead - but she shan't be alone, and she shan't die." He bumps his hips against hers. "And the day after, surely Lava shall make sure she shall celebrate her living." The larger makari is given a look then, and the draconian flickers his tongue tauntingly at him.

The nearest ear to Aelwyn's snapping teeth gives a twitch. "See what I mean?" Even as he protests having no such tendency, she pokes a finger to the end of his muzzle.

The corner of her mouth quirks slightly, "While I don't discount my own intelligence, I'm still far better with my blades than I am with my mind." The rogue reaches back, rubbing slightly against the back of her neck, offering a small exhalation of breath, "It's the very nightmares we're going to be traveling into that tend to make me weaker than most towards mental attacks."

The bump to her side has Rune pressing her lips together with a slight worried expression, "Even if it isn't real, it will feel real. I know because I wake up with phantoms of that memory nearly every night. Sometimes, even Harkashan can't pull warmth back into me for hours afterwards." She flicks blue eyes to the cleric, then back to Aelwyn.

"But I'm also selfish, and I know it would make me feel better to have friends at my side, whatever this last trial holds for me."

"I will protect her with all I have." Harkashan answers Aelwyn, rumbling a bit and crossing his arms now that his hand is free. "But her nightmares are not to be taken lightly. I have felt their effects. And it is by no means pleasant. They can affect the material side of you." He remarks.

The Sith-makar turns to look to Rune as she turns her gaze for a moment, and nods his head, before turning back. "I recommend you do not take this decision lightly."

The booped snout makes a grimace and Aelwyn resists the urge to wipe at it. He looks at both Rune and then Harkashan when he speaks, before the ruddy makari slowly stretches out with his tail and lightly taps at her ankles.

"Not as selfish as this one," The Dragoon tells her softly, lips twisted. "For this one has pulled so many into a trouble of this one's making. So many have paid, for a decision this one made." He looks aside for a moment, but then he looks at them both. Orange eyes widening and then narrowing in turn. "Even worse, this one kept secrets from those close to him in fear of involving them."

Then at Harkashan, he slowly lets his lips slide away from his sharp teeth. "Do not presume this to be a light decision, even if it comes readily. This one is not cheap," He cocks his hips towards the side, leaning against his glaive lightly. "And even if they had not paid in full already, this one's blade shan't shy from family." A look is given towards Harkashan then. "Is that not a makari way?"

For a moment, Rune's brows furrow as if she were trying to figure out what Harkashan is referring to in regards to her nightmares. Then, she blinks with momentary realization, "You mean that time we were both trapped in nightmares?" She shakes her head vehimently, "That wasn't me. That was Marsward and whatever power he had over the realm of nightmares."

As Aelwyn turns his regrets inward, Rune lets out a soft breath and reaches for his shoulder, twitching her boot against his tail. "That's part of having friends. If they weren't good friends, they wouldn't follow you into trouble."

She nudges at his chin with her hand, "Besides, it's not like you know all my secrets, either." Still, his steadfastness is enough to lift her spirits. Not long ago, Rune had almost no one, and now she has dear friends and loved ones that have completely changed her life in so many ways.

Harkashan rumbles; "Fair." He'd always wondered if that had been part of Rune's own abilities as well. After all, there is still mystery left around the day of Rune's passing. He then puts one hand to his own hip and sways his tail around a bit.

"And I do not presume anything. I just want to make sure." The Sith-makar answers Aelwyn with a rumble. "Rune is of course important to me, but I don't want friends to get hurt without knowing what they might be walking into. Though I am quite certain Rune is far better at telling what you might expect within." He adds.

Aelwyn tilts his head at their exchange - but he had no hope of actually following what they were talking about. This talk of nightmares makes him think on Felwood - but the sway of those visions has long lessened over far worse sights.

The draconian is brought back from his thoughts by Rune and he turns to look at her - and then his lips spread wide, as he lightly holds her hand. "Tch, careful how Twin coats her allure in the shroud of mystery - lest curious minds are left ravenous and lusting." He teases, flickering his tongue with a low thrumming trill. "And that can be quite the trouble."

Sliding his hand down from her arm, the ruddy sith-makar lets out an amused hiss, stepping closer towards the larger makari. "Ah, this one always carries a sense Lava presumes a many thing of this one." His tail sneaks out and taps at its larger counterpart. "Perhaps some of them good." He flashes his teeth.

Knowing full well that Aelwyn doesn't know about that fateful night, Rune decides to fill him in on that, "A while back, a group of us were summoned by the Sky-singer into the land of dreams to discuss the dangers Marsward and the Werewolves presented. I got trapped in that nightmare, and Harkashan tried to pull me out." She looks over to the lava-scaled Makari, "Except it got him trapped as well, and the wounds he experienced in that dream became very, very real."

She folds her arms over her chest then, letting out a Makari-like chuff, "Nothing like that has happened since, so I'm attributing that more to Marsward than to me." Sure, she doesn't know for /sure/ that is the case, but it seems likely it would have happened again in the months that followed if it had to do with her strange shadowy abilities.

Then, turning to Aelwyn, she smirks, "I've already got my fair share of ravenous and lusting fans from those Crimson Pen novels. If you believe them, I sleep with everyone. Yourself included." She laughs, not at all embarassed by her inclusion in this adventurer rite-of-passage. "Pretty good writing, though. Waaay better than the damnsel that Harkashan's book made me out to be."

Harkashan tilts his head at the claim of presumptions, seemingly not really understanding where Aelwyn is going with that, and shrugs it off for the time being. Instead, he keeps himself turned towards Rune as she regales them of something that happened in the past.

"Nobody else has been trapped in your nightmares either. But I agree it's likely it was just Marsward's powers." Harkashan answers Rune, though there's a tone of carefulness there. "As for the Novel, you are quite right. The whole Damsel thing was rather weak. It's clear it was written by a male softskin who was newer to the craft. Or at least, they had not done proper research into Rune."

Once again Aelwyn is left listening in them discussing their shared nightmare. "Ah, tch, that does sounds worse than dealing with mere physical injuries," He commiserated, "Yet like many nightmares, that one sounds as if it is in the past."

Then the discussion shifts towards those books and Aelwyn's teeth are exposed again. "Twin," He begins with that macabre grin in his face. "Do not make it sound like it were such a shame." He flickers his tongue out playfully. "This one wouldn't dream of treating one like a damsel."

Turning around, he then gestures towards Harkashan. "Speaking of, Hotstone," There's another flash of his teeth and a flick of his tail as he leans closer with a rumble. "This is for him." The draconian neatly opens the box he fetched before from the keep before.

Within the box, was a luxurious looking set of pauldrons - though on a closer look, it was actually a long flowing silken sheet of red and gold attached to the pauldrons, adorned with grey lines. A robe. Probably. Of sorts. It was more like cloth hanging off from the pauldrons from both sides; leaving the sides exposed.

"Never." Though there were plenty of others bothered by their fictional tales, Rune just finds them amusing more than anything else. "I mean, it's really well written, if nothing else." She scratches against her cheek and laughs, "Offers plenty of ideas."

Shifting her weight, Rune lets that topic drop as she looks from the package that Aelwyn offers to Harkashan. "What is it?" She asks, looking curiously.

"Never." Though there were plenty of others bothered by their fictional tales, Rune just finds them amusing more than anything else. "I mean, it's really well written, if nothing else." She scratches against her cheek and laughs, "Offers plenty of ideas."

Shifting her weight, Rune lets that topic drop as she looks from the package that Aelwyn offers to Harkashan. "What is it?" She asks, looking curiously.

Harkashan chuffs bemusedly as she mentions getting ideas from fictional takes and crosses his arms before his chest for but a short moment - then drops them to his side again. "You'll have to tell me about those ideas. In private." He remarks to Rune, before looking to the box being offered out to him.

He accepts the box itself, and takes his time to open it. Looking rather thankful, but also pensive. When he finally manages to get the gift out, he bemusedly chuckles and lifts the pauldrons to see how far down the robes go. "Something tells me that the Dragoon wishes to see me in these when not in battle." He remarks, before putting them back in the box. After all, he's not going to undress right here and now.

"Thank you Aelwyn. I do not currently have anything on me to return as a gift."

"Tch, only in private?" Aelwyn tilts his head in disappointment, then moves to bump his hip against Harkashan; whilst his tail moves to tap at Rune's ankles. "Teases, the both of them. How is this one now to leave one's poor imagination alone?" He flickers his tongue, the forked tips twisting, before he leans back.

The robes went down below knees; they had ornate symbolic flowers and fire carefully balanced either side - held together by long grey lines in balance. A cut was done on one side, for the tail. Aelwyn reaches down behind him, fetching out a bundled fold of a ribbon.

"Tch, this one does not deal in gifts - they can be very dangerous in Veyshan." The Dragoon calls out, then gestures up and down. "It is to replace the robes one lost..." This is very his casual poise falters, just a moment. "... then." A sharp flash of his teeth arrives, and he grins at Harkashan innocuously. "Though this one will gladly take in payment with Lava in them."

The bundled ribbon, with a flick of his hand, is offered to Rune. "This is to cinch it in place." The Dragoon moves closer and rumbles into her ear. "Be careful about tying that knot too tight."

A flick of blue eyes follows that bump of the hip between the two Makari males, but Rune seems to keep her comments to herself. She folds her arms across her chest again, brows lifted.

"I'm sure they robes will look stunning on him." She tilts her head slightly, "Giving me more excuses to get my hands on him, huh? Surprised you don't come up with something like that, for yourself, then." She winks to the ruddy one.

However, that playfulness only lingers so long before darker thoughts find their way back in. "We should probably get going. I need to grab lunch with Slixvah, and you were going to get supplies for your spells." She reminds Harkashan, then looks back to Aelwyn. "I'll let you know when we're ready to set out."

"Aye. Those were remarkably flamable when put against the hellfires provided by a demon." Harkashan answers with a grumpy sound - understanding now what this gift represents. "Thank you, Aelwyn." Bumping his hip back against him. "And Aelwyn has a wonderful taste in aesthetics, so I agree it will look good on me." He adds.

He then rubs Rune's back and nods his head. "Aye. I was. And I may need to pay a visit to Am'shere in order to acquire more lava-rocks, now that my supplies are emptied." He adds, before lifting his posture further and laying a hand on Aelwyn's shoulder. "Thank you." He rumbles to the small one. Moving to follow after Rune when she goes.

Aelwyn leans back against Harkashan when the hand appears on his shoulder; and he slides his own around the waist of the larger male. "Tch, this one has no need, Twin." He replies, teeth showing. "This one is already an excuse on his own." Lifting his gaze, he narrows his orange eyes and gives Harkashan's hand a playful tap. "As witnessed."

As the mood grows more sombre again, the ruddy sith-makar gazes up - and then bumps his horns against the taller male. "This one places great value on both of you." He states, then slides free. Stepping forward with the sway in his hip and flick of his tail, he turns around.

"She will be able to find this one," The Dragoon informs, "And then we all shall stand with you, Rune." He bows his head, and then slides back out into the cold.