[Fin] Chasing the Dragon [Kari]

[Vyn]

Imre stared at his sister for a long time.

The bindings were... different. Very different. His mouth opened and shut a few times and in the end he only managed to frown. He could see the big problem already. Although the old hooks that had threatened Poe's life for so many years had been removed, her wings were bound now. As a bird, that just looked like something purely unbearable.

A bird that couldn't fly...

A bird that couldn't fly back to The Tulgey where she lived. "I... I live really out of the way." Was all he could manage to say. Despite all that he'd done to allow his sister this chance, he just.. he just couldn't bring himself to actually believe it had happened. The Torque in him was reeling. "I'm sure my brother and I can get her home, if you could pay the room in advance... or something? Just until she wakes up... That would be helpful."

Oh... This just wasn't good.


Poe looked absolutely serene as she slept, oblivious to the angst her brother was experiencing... or that she would soon be experiencing. Ignorance was truly bliss.

[Kari Muffin]

She could feel the angst radiating from the boy. Her ears gave a deeply annoyed twitch as she shifted to look at him. "I'm sorry, it wasn't like I picked the bindings. I obviously have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to that sort of thing so I let two qualified bound Torquehelms pick something that wasn't lethal."

According to them it was better than having her run around unbound. Apparently it could break her, or something like that. She really didn't know. Either way there were worse things than not being able to fly, such as death. With her previous bindings she had been walking on thin ice her entire life. And if she had ever achieved her bipedal form, would she had survived at all?

"I think it's better than nothing, and I think it's a great deal better than what she had." Xiven commented as she crossed her arms. "I can easily pay for the stay ahead of time. And the Inn Keeper would be more than happy to look after her if you can't for the time being."

[Vyn]

Imre shifted awkwardly, definitely rolling about in his absolute angst. How could he explain? He shifted from one foot to another, listening, and then shifted to look up at her. The corvid's suit and rank mark changed as he shifted turning from a deep black to the unusual white and his expression seemed to change with it.

Well...

Xiven was right. It was a good deal less lethal. "Oh no, Your Majesty, it isn't your fault. What you did... I can't thank you enough for that, I would rather my sister be unable to fly rather than risk death with every step." The crow smiled faintly and tilted his head. "It's just a surprise to see..." He lifted a wing to touch his mask with the tip of it. "A part of me is still in touch with that Torquehelm mindset, it's hard to shake when you've lived it your whole life."

When a part of you truly believed it.

"I can stay and take care of her, so it's no worry. Everything will be alright." Deep in the back of his mind, a quiet piece of himself protested this vehemently. Nothing's alright with this... Nothing. Imre ignored it desperately.


And Poe slept on, blissfully unaware.

[Kari Muffin]

"Right..." Xiven said. She was still unsure of the boy's confidence. One minute he had been rather angst ridden a second ago. Last time mood changes like weren't in the realm of "Okay" or "normal." Then again people of this region were slowly driving her up the wall.

She prayed she would never be depressed as some of these people.

"All right. I'll talk to the innkeeper tonight. I think I'll be taking my leave today, unless you object. And.... I suppose I could invite you to a meal before I go. That miserable coffee house didn't have anything edible besides a scone." And frankly Xiven needed more than just a scone to make it through the night. "I'll leave you with your sister for a bit so I can make arrangements with the innkeeper."

She departed without another word. Leaving Imre alone with his sleeping sister.

[Vyn]

Imre had never claimed to be a very 'normal' person. In fact, he usually very notably was not a normal person by any means and growing up in The Wood had only reinforced that Weird. He was even the weird one out among his siblings. Parzi and Poe had their problems, sure, but none quite like his.

The crow, of course, wasn't thinking about that at the time. Instead he was staring at his sister, torn between pride and anxiety and ultimately aware that he had made both a good and horrible decision to 'help' his sister in a way that she might not find entirely helpful.

Well, fuck, he just had to live with what he'd done.

With Xiven going to make arrangements with the innkeeper, Imre simply nodded. "I don't have any objections, really... Though a meal before you go would be nice, I'm not very fond of the coffee shop either." And then she was gone and he was alone with Poe, his sleeping sister.

Parzi's going to skin you alive. Imre sighed heavily.

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven had a wonderful talk with the innkeeper. It was a good thing that the woman loved Peaches so much. Otherwise from the look in her face, this wouldn't have gone very well--payment or not. She seemed to be terribly upset about Imre being part Tulgey and mentioned something off handed about it.

Really, Xiven wasn't sure what she was implying, but from the sound of it... he came from there.

The feline shrugged it off, and returned to the room after a twenty minute conversation about food after the previous conversation about payment. Thoroughly annoyed she opened the door and slipped into the room, forcing a cheery smile on her face.

Thank the Highlands she was a cute fuzzy cat. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to pull any of this off. "Everything payment wise is taken care of. You can stay here as long as she's asleep and two days afterward if you so choose. As for food, we can go downstairs and order some, or we could try one of the local restaurants filled with depressing people."

[Vyn]

For a long time, Imre merely stood and stared at his sleeping sister. How long it took for the corvid's tension to slowly slip away and for the crow to genuinely relax was hard to tell, but slowly it did and he was forced to acknowledge just how... peaceful his sleeping sister looked. All curled up, her wings bound at the tips, but her that deadly connection to her mother was gone.

It was a good thing he'd done, even if no one else would understand later... They wouldn't, he barely did. He sighed heavily, brushing a wingtip gently over his sister's delicate cheek.

When the door creaked open once more and Xiven returned, Imre was in a lighter mood. The Tulgey mix smiled, not the easiest expression to read on an avian, but his voice expressed what his face couldn't. "Thank you, Xiven.... You're very generous." He bowed his head low, unable to see the cat from that position thanks to his mask. When he straightened it was to ponder the eating arrangements. "I think it would have to be your choice as to where we eat, you ought to be comfortable during your meal..."

[Kari Muffin]

"It's not a problem, really. I just figured that leaving her like that was irresponsible. I honestly haven't seen any bindings that lethal before, and I just... couldn't let her walk away like that." The feline shrugged as she thought about dinner.

The place downstairs was comfortable, and at least there were people who didn't stare at her like she had two heads. That was incentive enough than wandering around Torquehelm trying to find a "proper" place to eat where the patrons wouldn't pester her do to rank and her "freedom" from the curse that supposedly plagued the region.

"They have a fine menu downstairs," Xiven said with a smile as she motioned towards the door. "If you want something besides what they serve I suppose we could leave to find another restaurant, but I'm not familiar with the area."

And once dinner was over she could leave this depressing place.

[Vyn]

Imre thought for a moment, his expression becoming distant and a little odd.

Lethal... He supposed they really were, not to mention how much they hurt his poor sister just to walk, but then again he supposed it had had its purpose. Mother had either bound her like that in her own image or, even more horrifying to think of, because she had resented them all so much and had hoped they would be lethal...

It was a little awful to think about like that, so he hoped it was something else. Like high hopes or something, Torques could sometimes be a little odd like that. Torturing the ones they loved most out of the fear for their curse.

"Anything would be real nice, and if its good enough for you than it'd surely be fine for me." She was a Queen after all, she probably had refined tastes or something. Or whatever the case, he was sure the food would be edible enough to satisfy him for the time being.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Kari and Vyn both receive 3 tokens each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!