Fantasy Shattered World {one on one}

[FaddedFox]

​

The world had never been perfect. Humans had selfish desires which always begot war, tragedy, and pain for the innocent. There was so much that could have been fixed but then the world broke beyond repair. Before the Age of Monsters as it became known, things were more or less normal. Then, a necromancer decided to dabble in the dark arts. He wanted to show the world that lives needn't be sacrificed in wars when an army of the dead could be raised. No one needed to morn new loss and pain if soldiers were already dead. But as they say, the greatest evils are born from good intentions. He wasn't prepared for the consequence, nor was he skilled enough to hold back the inherent evil of the spell.

At first, nothing had happened and the necromancer thought his desire to raise his army of the dead had failed. Nothing stirred in the earth and none of the bones he had painstakingly arranged before him assembled at attention. So he tried again, and again. But the spell had worked, and the more he tried it, the more he poisoned and twisted the earth, air, and water. To bring back the dead, one needs to sacrifice the living. Slowly, the earth began to die, plants changing and evolving into ugly parasitic things. Healing herbs turned toxic or harmless plants became traps and snares. The cool waters changed too. Refreshing and life giving water sucked up the poisonous spell, radiating cells of animals and people that tried to drink from them. Plagues erupted around the world and those that didn't die from consuming the hazardous wastes, found themselves changed forever as they became children of the night; vampires and werewolves. They lost control of their senses in their desperate need for blood and the missing nutrients that now ailed their bodies. They were driven to feast upon their own people or die.

Harmless animals became predators. Predators evolved growing more adapt to their changing world. And then, the dead came back to life. Some were mindless hordes that thought of nothing but feeding, seeking human flesh to try and remember what it was like to be alive for a moment. Others, more recently deceased, were cunning, hunting humans and setting traps for them. Nothing was sacred or safe in this new world. Families were torn apart by mutations and kingdoms fell to the hoards or peoples desperate bids of survival in a world gone mad. And yet, people still try to make a living in this hellish place.

Of course, anyone who possessed magical ability were now considered evil, regardless of the magic they used and hunted down as harbingers of chaos. Distrust ran rampant and no one could tell whether or not it was better to be alone or in a group. Though hope seems lost, life still tries to reach towards the light. And at the close, begins our story.

~~~~~~~​

Iris raised a hand to block the sun that glistened between the leaves, taunting him. More and more lately, the sun seemed to find a way to momentarily blind him or send pain radiating in his skill. Pretty soon, he was going to have to travel at night whether he wanted to admit the changes or not. "Damn it..." he grumbled to himself and rubbed at his pale blue eyes. He needed to find some good shelter before night fell and hopefully get to some higher ground as well. That way nothing could sneak up on him. He looked down at his canisters of water and swished it around to check how empty it was. It looked like he was going to need to stop at get some water too. He wondered if the water in this area was Tainted.

The young man sniffed the air, trying to use the one good thing that seemed to have happened to him lately; increased sense of smell. Aha, there was the scent. He quickly made his way through the trees until he found the stream. He dropped to his knees beside it and narrowed his eyes, watching the moving surface and how the light reflected on it. He didn't see the purple hue they'd all come to realize was the 'Taint'. He opened two of his empty canisters to fill them with water before tying a ribbon around them, marking them as unsafe to drink. He would boil the water later, just in case.

He ran a hand through his crimson hair and relished the feel of the water dripping. He never thought he'd say this, but he certainly missed the freezing cold baths. Now taking a bath made one wonder if they hadn't just jumped into a vat of Plague. "Well, nothing I can do about it now," he murmured to himself and got up from his perch to continue on his journey, eyes and ears scouting for any noise that could mean danger on the horizon.[/font]

 

[obikanwenobi]

​

There were one hundred and ten other tasks that Fern would have preferred over this one, but as she’d learned, preference no longer mattered very much. She scrubbed at the remaining bits and pieces of carcass that clung to the bone. It smelled rancid and otherwise inhuman, but bones were bones. They made good weapons. She also found over time that they were good for warding off people. No one wanted to interact with a woman who bone shards woven into her hair.

She plucked the last piece of flesh off and tossed into the brush beside the stream. Fern leaned forward and swished the bone back and forth in the water until it seemed clean. She’d pulled the bone from an animal. What kind it was, she couldn’t quite tell. Her best guess was merely that it wasn’t anything natural. The mortals that roamed the lands were afraid to even touch the bodies of mutated beings. Fern was wiser than that. She had protection spells, but she also knew not to consume the meat of one of the creatures.

She held the bone up to her eyes and inspected it. It was clean enough and thick enough to make a dagger out of. She only owned one real blade— the rest were fashioned. Years ago she had an admirable collection. Now, after being hunted and raided and robbed, she only had Sankta Elana (which she’d named after her least favorite Saint).

She let out a satisfied sigh and pulled Sankta Elana from her cloak. The blade had barely made contact with the bone when a noise caught her attention. She realized quickly enough that it was footsteps. Fern rose with her face set in a stern frown. She was hidden between two brush piles. It was unlikely that whomever it was would see her, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t on edge. She was too close to home for comfort; she couldn’t risk anyone seeing her and following her.

Her eyes landed on a crimson haired individual on the other side of the stream. The bone was forgotten as she clutched Elana. She had a few options. The first was to hope he didn’t see her. The second was to attack. The third… well, was there a third? Her eyes zeroed in on him as he continued to walk past. He didn’t seem to be a mutant, but it was hard to tell.

She calculated her odds. Could she beat him? Was he a wizard with his own protection spells? Was he something worse? Plain human was also an option, but she’d learned the hard way that they could be a threat too.

 

[FaddedFox]

Iris felt an unease ooze over his skin and it made his blood run cold. Something was wrong. He stopped walking and took stock of his surroundings in more detail, hardly breathing as he listened. It was quiet. He didn't even hear a bird chirping though that wasn't something unusual anymore. The birds hardly sang songs. Even still, Iris knew that danger was nearby. He just couldn't pin-point it. Very slowly, he began to reach for the bow on his back. He had two swords at his side as well but considering he didn't know what was out there, the bow seemed a safer bet to get at anything at a distance. He nocked an arrow and and started to walk back towards the tree line to press his back against one and keep something from getting behind him.

That is when he saw it.

On the other side of the stream, a large cat was prowling. He'd never seen a large cat before but he doubted it was natural. There were spikes coming out of its back all the way down to its tail. It's dark fur had nearly camouflaged it in the darkness of the shadows. It's shining gold eyes were not looking at him though. He frowned, eyes narrowing as he followed the creature's gaze. A girl? She was hiding herself against the brush and rocks. She was looking in his direction. Shit. He couldn't call out to her, least the beat behind her decided to lung. Strangers were danger but the person he was before this mess couldn't let him just walk away, knowing that creature would eat the woman.

He was probably going to regret this later. He quickly trained his bow back on the cat and just as it was about to lunge, let loose his arrow. It hit the creature in the chest and knocked it off balance. It gave a yowl of pain and rage as it corrected himself, its eyes now going to him. The ferocity within made him tremble and for a moment, he thought running might be the best option as it started to charge at him. He quickly grabbed another arrow and struck the cat in the shoulder. Shit shit shit! It was almost on top of him! He rushed to the side as the cat swiped at the location he had just been in. He of course, managed to trip on a rock and went down hard on the rocky turf. He whirled to his back and shot an arrow without aiming just as the cat jumped on top of him. The arrow grazed the cat and it turned its head for a moment; just long enough for him to pull out one of his swords and thrust it up into the cat's skull. It gave a screech before it slumped down on top of him, pinning Iris to the ground.

Iris gave a sigh of relief. That had been too close. He really must have a death wish. There really was no reason why he saved the girl. The girl! Out of the frying pan, into the fire. He struggled beneath the cat but it was far too heavy. With the way it fell, his arms were now trapped and his bow just out of reach. If she had plans to kill him, well, there was nothing he could do. "Yuupp, totally regretting it..." he grumbled to himself.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern almost cursed aloud when the boy across the stream nocked an arrow into the string of his bow. Her expression shifted from one of mere to discontent to a darker, more threatening one. She realized rather quickly, though, that his arrow wasn't trained on her-- he had his gaze locked on something else entirely. She looked reluctantly to her left. There prowled a beast of a creature. It resembled a cat, but it was unnaturally large. The spikes on its back only served to make it appear more intimidating. How inconvenient. She pointed Elana towards the creature as she contemplated the best way to go about killing it. It would be no easy feat-- especially not when it looked like it was about to pounce on her. Fern was about to attack when it lunged towards her. Her dagger felt useless as it began to charge.

She didn't have time to bother crying out before the creature whirled around. She was confused at first, but it made sense the moment she saw the arrow protruding from its body. The boy had fired. The creature's attention had shifted. It was focused on the boy. It began to charge. Fern readjusted her grip on her dagger and followed after it, but she was too slow. She heard the creature cry out as another arrow struck it, but it didn't stop running. He slipped to the side and the cat pawed at the air where he'd just been standing. Fern was almost knee deep in water now, but the wet fabric of her skirt made it nearly impossible to wade through the water quickly. Her heart pounded. She didn't know the boy, didn't particularly care about him, but she believed in an eye for an eye. If he'd shot the beast in an attempt to keep it from attacking her, she'd return the favor.

She dove forward as the boy tripped and fell on a rock. Classic. She managed to crawl up onto the shore just as he fired another arrow. The beast landed with a thud on top of his body. If she hadn't heard him speak she might've assumed it had crushed him. His arms were pinned. She took a moment to catch her breath before she leaned forward. She didn't possess superhuman strength in the slightest, but she was stronger than a woman of her build and stature normally would be. She reached forward and rolled the beast off of his body with an exaggerated huff. Elana remained clutched between her thumb and pointer finger. As she pushed the creature, some of its blood got on her hand. She held it up like and looked at it with disdain. "Wonderful." She said. Her voice was deep, but there was still had that dark, sweet drawl to it that belonged to sirens. Her eyes flicked down to the male whom she'd done a very poor job attempting to save. "Are you alright?"

Up close, it was pretty obvious that she wasn't human. Her skin was pale, her eyes and hair dark. Her skin was a little too plump and smooth for it to be natural. She was old and young at the same time. Her fingernails were cropped short, but she'd used ink to stain them a dark black. The exact behavior that made people believe she was evil and wanted to boil them in a cauldron. She could've laughed at the thought.

 

[FaddedFox]

Iris heard the woman approaching now that he wasn't staring death in the face, and tensed. Would she kill him now that he was pinned and unable to fight back so she could take his gear? Would she just leave him here? Just as he had no reason to save her from the cat, she had no reason to save him now. Most people didn't care if you saved them or not; you were still fair game. And then he felt the cat moving. At first, he thought the cat was alive but it quickly became apparent the woman was pushing the cat. It surprised him. So he pushed against the cat until the two of them managed to roll the beast off of him.

Iris sat up with a huff, his hair now embedded with leaves, twigs, and tiny bits of sand. The cat's blood had quickly stained his shirt and made it stick uncomfortably. He was going to have to wash it. He hoped it didn't have poison or something that seeped into the skin. He turned his gaze back up to the woman warily. She hadn't approached too closely which was nice. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," he said before he got up and dusted himself off. He went to the cat and yanked his short sword out of its head and cleaned it with the edge of his soiled shirt before he sheathed it and tried to retrieve his arrows but they were embedded in the cat and wouldn't budge. He gave up on them and just picked up his bow instead, all the while, aware of the woman standing there.

When he turned back to her, he realized that she wasn't full human. There was something about her that was just different. She didn't look like one of the Accursed. His eyes trailed over her form and stopped at the black stain on her fingers. Ink. So she was a witch? Why hadn't she used her magic to protect herself? Why had she helped him? It was no secret that humans had factions hunting witches and wizards. People may blame the magic wielders for the world they lived in, but he knew better. Magic was a tool. A tool could be used for good purposes as well as evil ones. Regardless, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"There is a town to the south. They have witch hunting parties. I advised you avoid it if you can," he offered. He returned to the cat and began to cut away the flesh to get at the cat's claws. They were sharp and would make great tools. Maybe he could skin it too and take its fur. He was hesitant about the meat, but there was little that wasn't touched by the Taint and he was already corrupted. What more could it do to him and it was such a waste.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern's eyes narrowed as she watched him move to retrieve his sword. She was preternaturally still, another quality that came with being a born witch. She could sense that he knew what she was and yet he made no immediate move to set her on fire or stab her through the eye. She still hadn't moved an inch when he spoke. He began to disassemble the cat. A mortal who wasn't panicking because mutant blood got on their skin? Interesting. ​

​

"Thank you." Fern said. There was a hollowness to the words, but she meant them. She stayed in the exact same spot. Her cloak was still dripping water, as was the bottom portion of her dress. She stepped towards the water after she spent an uncomfortably long time staring at him. She knelt down and stuck her hands into the water. The blood was thick and warm, but it came off rather easily. She took the time to scrub it from beneath her nails. Fern believed in her magic, but a protection spell could only go so far. If she was with her coven it might've been stronger, but a lone witch? She was lucky it worked at all. She was powerful, yes, but not as much as she had once been. ​

​

She glanced up at the unnamed boy. His shirt was stained with blood. She wasn't worried for his safety, but it smelled rather rancid. Her nose wrinkled as her mind called attention to it. He needed it washed. "Give me your shirt." She said. Her tone was abrupt and demanding and oddly sweet, but she meant nothing by her request. His shirt needed cleansing and he was busy-- it wouldn't kill her to extend him a favor. He had warned her of the hunting parties, after all. Her face didn't look kind. It reflected some kind of hard darkness that couldn't quite be described with words. When he didn't immediately oblige, she held a hand out. Expectant.​

​

It wasn't odd to her to ask a stranger to remove a piece of his clothing, but she didn't operate on the same wavelength as mortals. Unless this boy wasn't mortal. Her eyes darkened visibly at the thought and it only served to make her look more threatening. She wasn't trying to threaten him, but witches weren't known to look inviting. Part of her enjoyed playing into the mortal view of her kind. ​

 

[FaddedFox]

[color=87CEEB]Iris was aware of the woman watching him and it was kind of uncomfortable. Why was she staring at him? Why was she just standing there? He hated people watching him; even when he'd worked at the forge. It wasn't that he was self conscious of his skills or anything, but it just felt like they were waiting for him to fail or drop his guard. He didn't like to have attention pin-pointed on him. But eventually, she did turn away and he gave a sigh of relief. He still heard her close by which was strange. Why wasn't she leaving? They'd saved each other. There was no debt between them if that is what she was worried about. He hadn't been overly friendly, just relayed information and then went about his own work.

"Give me your shirt."

Iris turned back to look at the witch when she requested his clothing. What the hell did she want with-oh. She was going to wash it? He stared at her wary. Would she steal it? Cloth could be used for a variety of things after all. Then she prompted again and her eyes darkened. Just what kind of magic did this witch have anyway? He hesitated only a moment longer before he pulled the shirt off and handed it to her. He watched as she turned to start washing it in the stream. "Thanks," he said before he went back to harvesting pieces from the cat. When he was done, he cleaned off his weapons and set them in their holsters. He moved to the stream a small distance away to start washing off the blood he'd gotten onto his chest and his hands, ensuring to scrub beneath his finger nails. Though he doubted the blood could do much to him, he didn't want to accidentally ingest the nasty raw stuff. [/color]

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern set to washing his shirt as soon as he handed it to her, but she didn't get in any hurry. She reached beneath her cloak and into one of the small pouches she wore around her waist. There were several hanging there, but none of them were visible due to the heavy black fabric she shrouded herself with. When she withdrew her hand, it was full of powdered chalk. There were a billion uses for it, hence why she tended to keep it on her along with her other frequently used herbs. Removing stains happened to be one of the many said uses.

She rubbed the chalk into the bloody fabric and waited for it to draw some of the redness out. It wouldn't ever go back to the same color, but the cold water mixed with the chalk would certainly do a lot. She submerged the shirt in the stream after a minute or so. The boy was several yards away from her cleaning his own items. He had plenty of weapons, that was for sure. Fern decided rather quickly that Sankta Elara wouldn't be enough to keep her alive forever. Small as the blade was, it wasn't much use against hordes of zombies and angry humans. She could handle the humans with her magic if she had enough time to prepare, but her luck would run out eventually.

Fern removed the boy's shirt from the water and rung out as much of the water as she could. She rose and closed the distance between them. She held the hardly damp shirt out to him without ever saying a word. It was in a wrinkled wad, but it wasn't dripping with blood any longer. The preternatural stillness didn't go away as she held it out to him. It was almost as though she were suspended in time, frozen there.

 

[FaddedFox]

Witches were really strange. Her mannerisms were kind of off putting. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. The way stillness clung to her made him remember the statues in the abandoned gardens. It brought too many bad memories. Were all witches like this? How had they not been noticed before? He cleared his throat a little and accepted the cloth. He opened his bag to pull out dark long sleeved shirt he had for spare before draping the wet one on the bag to try and let it dry. Iris stood then with a stretch and gave her a friendly nod to indicate he was leaving her company. He was glad that it had ended well without either of them having to fight the other.

After a few steps, he realized that she was walking behind him. He frowned and stopped walking. "We don't owe each other anything. You can go on your way. Bye." he pressed before he started walking again, confident that the direct approach would have done the trick. And yet he heard the witch still following along behind him. What the hell? Why was he following him now? She couldn't possibly be thinking of traveling with him. They were not friends. Besides... if he was turning, it wouldn't be safe for her and he was sure she would turn on him. He'd be a monster then.

He sighed and stopped walking again, crossing his arms. "What do you want? I am a loaner."

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern's eyebrow cocked as he told her off. How rude. She knew right off the bat she'd have fun with this one. It was so easy to get under the skin of others. She continued towards the town despite his obvious disdain. She wasn't following him-- they were just headed in the same direction. She didn't miss a beat when he spoke again.

"What do you want? I am a loaner."

"As am I." She drawled. She didn't quite smirk, but her facial expression showed her amusement. She continued to walk past him, never answering his question about what it was she wanted. "Truly, mortal, I don't understand why you are following me. It is creepy."

The tone of voice she used was somewhere between mocking, bemusement, and ingenuity. Her favorite thing to do was irk people who were anything but pleasant to her. These days, that was everyone. Beneath her cloak, she clutched Elana. She was itching to find new weapons to replace her old ones. Especially since she'd spent all that time cleaning that bone only to abandon it in the mud.

She paused after a few strides and turned to look at him. Dimples appeared on her cheeks as she gave him a tight lipped, downturned smile. "Are you ill? Should I give you a tonic?" It was oddly threatening. She wouldn't actually poison him for no reason, but he didn't know that.

 

[FaddedFox]

Following her? What the hell was she talking about? She was the one that was following him! What was she playing at here? He didn't move as she passed him and seemed to be going in the direction of the town. He frowned then. She was going to the town? He had just told her not to go there. The people would know she was a witch and immediately chase after her. Did she have a death wish or something? Was she trying to take this a challenge or something? Would she do something to the townspeople? This didn't make sense.

Her question about the tonic made him take a step back, a sudden fear in his own blood. Had she realized that he was corrupted? Was this a ploy? Was she trying to get the townsfolk to turn on him instead? He swallowed hard and tried to appear a little less affected by her words. Perhaps she hadn't realized and it was just a play on words he was taking too seriously. He swallowed hard, his hand going to his sword automatically. Realizing what he did, he let go of the sword and crossed his arms again.

"I told you, don't go to the town. They won't take kindly to you there. They are a suspicious lot. If you go there, they'll crucify you by nightfall."

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern knew this mysterious boy was right, but she made the choice to ignore his warning. She was centuries old. A mob of unruly humans weren’t anything she couldn’t escape. If they managed to catch her then perhaps she deserved the fate.

Her eyes widened with some sort of wicked delight. “That’s all?” She asked before she turned and began to walk again. He couldn’t see it due to the way she was facing, but color flooded her cheeks. The inky blankness of her nails faded to a natural pink and her skin began to show a little bit of texture. They wouldn’t notice her if she looked like them— they were focused on a stereotype. Besides, Fern couldn’t figure out why the boy cared what happened to her.

She glanced over her shoulder at the boy once more. “They don’t have room to crucify me. The pikes are all occupied. They will burn me instead.” She didn’t cease walking. “You should be more worried about yourself. I hear they’ve taken to quartering those who associate with witches.”

Her tone shouldn’t have been humorous, but it was Fern— she had to hold back her bitter chuckles.

 

[FaddedFox]

How could she be laughing about this? So many people had been killed for being witches and wizards. He knew that at least half of them had to be innocent of their crimes and many of the others hadn't hurt a fly. And now she was just walking into a town who did not like strangers and anyone who even looked funny was apprehended. He had tried to stay away from the town as best he could. And even with a warning she was waltzing right in. He shook his head and adjusted the bag on his shoulders. There was no reason for him to stick around. He had warned her. He warned her several times. If she was still going, then she was an idiot.

"Fine. Whatever. Go on then. It's your funeral." He watched her walk away a moment before he shook his head and diverged from the path, heading deeper into the woods as was his initial intent. He wanted to be far, far away from humans. When he did turn, he didn't want to be around anyone he could harm. Maybe without human blood, he'd just wither and die and not have to worry about hurting anyone. He'd die with a clean conscious and perhaps, if there was a god out there that still had mercy for people, he'd be accepted and given peace.

After a few minute, he sighed and leaned against a tree, his mind constantly going back to the witch walking into danger. He looked back in the direction of town. The knowledge that she was alone and unprotected was gnawing at him. He didn't have much social credit with the town, but he had stopped there not too long ago and mended a few things for the people. Perhaps they'd be more lenient and not scrutinize her if she was with him. He could cover for her. He shook his head. "What's wrong with me?" he growled. "I owe her nothing! It is her fault walking into it. I did my duty." And still he couldn't hush the nagging.

"Fuck." He pushed away from the tree and headed back to the path and the town. He caught up with her relatively quickly before she reached the clearing before the town. "Wait up," he called before he stepped into stride with her.

 

[obikanwenobi]

“I love funerals.” Fern responded. Okay, now she was just screwing with him. But she was having a rather good time. She couldn’t allow herself to think about her lost sisters and the way her coven seemed to turn to dust overnight. She coped by making wicked jokes about the situation. There was nothing she could do to change it now. “See to it that mine is a nice one. I love black irises.”

She was, of course, entirely unaware of the boy’s name. She even waved after him as he left her. The path towards the town was overgrown and littered with mysterious objects. Bones, perhaps? Fern didn’t look twice.

She couldn’t suppress a grin when the boy returned a short while later. She paused and turned to face him. She was looking arguably more human, but something was still… off. “Couldn’t stay away? Have I bewitched you, mind body and soul? Have I taken you under my spell and thus forced you to do my bidding? Or is my charm just irresistible?”

She found a sick amount of pleasure in taunting the young man. Humans came up with all sorts of ridiculous ideas about her kind. She loved to play into their messed up fantasies.

 

[FaddedFox]

He scoffed at her. Really? What part of their interactions had made her think that he held any of those prejudices? He hadn't gone at her to try and kill her at any point in time, nor did he run away from her. He'd given her full warning to protect herself. And yet, here she was taunting him. What was she really trying to get out of all of this? He almost wanted to turn and walk away again and say 'screw it', but it was too late. He saw some of the townspeople had noticed them and were waving at others at the gate. No doubt they'd have weapons already trained on them. If he ran away now, it would only end badly for them both. Looks like he was stuck with this decision. Another bad one he was going to regret, he was sure.

"Don't talk like that here. We're going to pretend that you're my sister. I told them last time I was searching for you. You ran off on me and it had been too dangerous before to go looking. My name is Iris. I didn't tell them my sister's name so whatever name you use is fine. We aren't staying here long," he instructed. "Just for whatever it is you came here for."

Iris raised a hand to greet the people at the gate and show he had no weapons in hand. "Good afternoon! Albert, is that you?" he called.

A older blond man who looked like he hadn't shaved or bathed in months watched them with shrewd eyes as he chewed on stick. The man said nothing as he looked them both up and down. "Iris," he man finally drawled when the two stopped at the gate. "You just left the town not too long ago. You said you wouldn't be back in these parts for a long while, but here ya are."

"Indeed. I found my sister faster than I thought. I'd assumed she'd gone to the mountains to get to higher ground, but she was looking for me. Since the town was close by, figured it would be a good idea to restock our supplies and get a good night's rest before we try our luck again with the mountain trek."

Albert seemed to chew on the answer a moment before he opened the gate enough to slip outside to stand in front of him. "You know the drill," he said before he moved forward to path him down to see if he was hiding anything on his person before he reached up to force his lips up to check for fangs or any werewolf bite mark. "Clear," Albert said, much to Iris's relief. Then the man turned to the girl and started to do the same to her. "Whatd'ya say yer name was again, darling?"

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern listened to the boy’s suggestion, noting his name. Iris— it was unusual, but not anymore so than her own. She didn’t have time to comment before Iris was speaking to a man. Her entire demeanor switched. Gone was the wicked smile and dark humor. She looked utterly innocent, her doe eyes trained on Iris. This was another thing that made witches so dangerous— witches with ill intent, that is.

“My name’s Fern.” She said as she ducked her head politely. Her tone now was honey sweet and smooth, like that of a village girl who liked to braid ribbons into her hair. She held her arms out as this Albert figure began to pat her down. Sure, she had several pouches of herbs and such tied to her waist, but she’d expected to be patted down. “Do be careful with my satchels, Mr. Albert. They’ve got the very last of my aunt’s spices in them. You can have some if you’d like! They’re hard to come by these days. Untainted at least. I’ve only got rosemary.”

Fern played the babbling sister of Iris a little too well. Sure, her hair was the wrong color— but they shared a complexion. When it came time for Albert to check for werewolf bites and fangs, she assisted him in the process. She even removed her cloak so that he could check her inner arms.

She glanced at Iris and gave him a gentle smile. Yes, gentle, not mischievous. When Albert was done, she put her arms down.

 

[FaddedFox]

Well, this was going better than he thought. She had completely changed. Which was a good thing just as much as it was scary. She was good at this playing another person thing. He'd have to watch himself. When Albert seemed satisfied with his search, he gave them both a smile, showing off his missing teeth. "Rosemary, eh? The old wife o' mine would love some of that. Thank you, Fern." The man accepted some of the spices and then the two of them were on their way walking down the road. A few people were watching since Fern was new to the area, but others waves in greeting, remembering Iris easily enough.

Without the cover of trees however, Iris was feeling the corruption in his blood. The light was blinding and he found himself squinting and trying to shield his eyes. It did nothing for the throbbing pain in his head. At least his skin wasn't burning yet. That would be far more noticeable and harder to explain away. Still, it made his skin fill tight. He needed to get his mind off of it. "So what are we here for, anyway?" he asked Fern.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern handed Albert a handful of rosemary wrapped in a handkerchief and then began to follow after Iris. She waved to passers by and smiled sheepishly at any that were particularly handsome. She fastened her cloak back over her shoulders as they walked.

“Knives.” She answered honestly, no longer honey sweet. Her face was still plastered with a girlish grin, but her voice? There was no need to fake it if no one but Iris could hear her. “I’m down to my last blade.”

Iris’ continuous eye-shielding wasn’t lost on her. “Are you alright, brother?” She asked, her lips set in a fake pout. It wasn’t a very convincing one. “Have you spent so much time brooding in the woods that your eyes can’t handle the sun?”

She enjoyed teasing him, but she wasn’t an absolute idiot. She said the second half of her sentence barely above a whisper. She was bothering him, yes, but she was also curious. His behavior wasn’t typical of a mortal.

 

[FaddedFox]

She noticed? Shoot. He offered a grimace as the sun once more blinded him when they passed a building and it's shade no longer protected him. He was seeing spots in his vision. "I spend most of my times in the forest, yes but my eyes have always been sensitive to the sun's glare," he lied. They needed to get away from this topic. "They have a blacksmith at the very end of these stalls. His weapons are durable," he informed. "We should go there. Most of the other vendors show more decorative things but they'd break in a real fight. Anything else you need? They've got a good stock of rice and dried meats."

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern didn't entirely believe his story but she didn't press him. A village set on burning people alive wasn't the place to openly discuss such manners. Even if they could do so without being mauled, Fern wasn't sure she'd bring it up. She didn't care that much. "We'll go to the blacksmith, then." She said. She had a healthy supply of coins due to not entering any villages to spend them. It wasn't a fortune, but she should be able to buy a blade or two to get her by. "We need to buy food to make sure the story remains solid. ​

​

She winked at one of the village boys who was staring as they walked by. It made her stomach roil. There was no telling how many of her kind he'd assisted in killing. She wanted to take him by the throat and draw the air from his very lungs-- but that was a little too aggressive for her to pass for Iris's sister. "I don't want to linger, else I might kill them all." She added. An empty threat-- she'd need at least two other witches to take out a village this size. Contrary to popular belief, witches didn't kill random people for the fun of it. Most humans being killed by witches in current times were vengeance murders. The humans harmed a particularly loved witch and then terrible things followed.​

 

[FaddedFox]

Iris looked over at Fern and rolled his eyes. This was why witches weren't liked. If you talked about destroying villages, even in jest, people were going to start being wary of you. How would they know if the witch was telling the truth or not? every joke or threat had a bit of truth in it. Did he believe she was going to burn down the village? Not really, but what if she would? Regardless, he was just here to help her get the things she needed and then they'd both be on their way and out of this superstitious place. It made his skin crawl. You could sneeze wrong and be proclaimed a witch. It would anyone antsy, even if they didn't have anything to hide.

They made it to the blacksmith quickly enough and Iris knocked on the store front. Soon, an old man, weathered by his work and then the world's upheaval came to great them. When his tired eyes fell on Iris, hope lightened them and for a moment, he seemed a younger man. "Iris! Have you decided to take me up on my offer? I see this woman with you, so she must be your sister, yes? Then your quest is over and you can settle down, eh?"

Iris offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Nicholas. I won't be able to stay."

The man's hope immediately faded and he seemed ancient, even older than he had just a moment ago. "Oh... I see."

"I am sorry. Truly. But you are right, this is my sister. We came here to grab a few more weapons for protection. They are of good quality."

"You stroke my ego, boy. Listen, I'll give you a deal, one tradesman to another; you do good work. If you help me in the forge today, I'll give you the weapons you want half price. Waddya say? Do an old man a favor? Good help is hard to come by these days."

Iris hesitated and looked to Fern then. "Would you be okay by yourself, getting the food and stuff? I would hate for something to happen..." Nicholas was a good man and helping him wouldn't be much of a bother. He'd been a good sort last time. It was only proper to return the favor now.

Nicholas himself looked over at the girl and gave her a smile. "Your brother takes right good care of you, child. You are lucky."

Iris flushed lightly and looked away. The words had meant to be kind, but they stung at an old wound. He hadn't protected his actual sister as well as he should have.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern's cheeks were a perpetual pink color, though it wasn't natural but of magical origin. A blushing, nervous girl. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself as Iris conversed with Nicholas. When Nicholas asked Iris for help in the forge, she feigned worry. It would be a good deal. They'd be fools to pass it up. "Oh, I... I guess I'll be alright. This place seems safe." She said, her lips turning up in a smile. She played the part well, but was careful not to overdo it. After all, all of these people knew of a sister. If she was said sister then she'd have had to survive on her own in the wild for quite some time.

A question arose in her mind. Everyone here seemed to know about him going on a search for a sister. That meant that one, he was a liar, or two, he was being honest and he'd failed so far in his mission to find her. She decided not to ask it. Partially because she wasn't one to press, and partially because she didn't really care. She looked at Nicholas with bright eyes and smiled sheepishly. "Indeed I am lucky. Luckier than most."

She reached forward and used her left hand to squeeze his wrist gently. "Be careful, Iris." She said before withdrawing her wrist. She did it for two reasons. The first was to appear as a sister who had only recently been reunited with her brother and was wary of walking away. The second was to warn him; he needed to be careful because if he gave her away, there'd be hell to pay. Her eyes were shrouded from Nicholas's view and they were icy.

She turned on her heel after that and began to walk at a leisurely pace towards the town center. She delighted the entire time about how mad the people would go if they knew she was walking amongst them.

 

[FaddedFox]

Iris offered his 'sister' a smile and watched her walk away. He was a brother that finally found his sister after all, so he had to play the part of not wanting to be parted so soon. Her threatening glance towards him however did nothing. Why was she threatening him? He came to this god forsaken town to help protect her. Giving her away now was counter productive to his goal. Whatever. He'd be rid of her once they left the town and he'd have a clean conscious about the whole thing. He turned back to Nicholas then and offered a smile. It would be nice to work in a forge again.

"Alright, what do you need me to do?" he asked as he came around the shop and into the back where the fires were roaring. He quickly realized the bright fire was much like the sun. It's brightness burned his eyes and it was hard to keep his eyes open as he worked the swords and knives. The sparks and the loud noise of metal against metal were no better. The pounding in his head was much more constant now. He hated this. He loved working in the forge and now he wouldn't be able to. It was disheartening. The more he changed, the more of himself he was losing. Even still, he worked through the pain as best as he could. It was nowhere near the quality he was used to, but it wasn't poor either. The blades wouldn't break easily and that was the goal.

Hours had passed before Nicholas finally let him go with a sword, and two long knife for his 'sister'. Since he was already there, he paid for the items and it didn't take long for him to find Fern again. "Here," he called to her and offered the weapons to her. "You owe me for buying them," he informed. "Alright, ready to go?" Please say yes, please say yes. I want to sleep. Hopefully resting would make the pain in his head go away. It was near blinding at this point.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern managed to slip through the village without any major negative encounters. Many of the locals seemed suspicious, but word was spreading by the second that Iris had returned with his sister in tow. She could hear their whispers.

The shop she chose to enter first had fairly barren shelves. All of the high demand items, it seemed, were long gone. She still managed to find a sack of dried fruits and a parcel of dried meat. She even bought a pretty deep emerald green ribbon to wear in her hair.

Fern exited that shop and milled around for a long while before she entered another— there were only a handful. This one was in a similar state. She found grain and candy there. She sat the small cloth full of sweets on the counter. As she did so, the shopkeeper reached forth and placed a hand on her wrist where a jade bracelet shimmered. It was a young boy, not much older than Iris looked to be.

“My, what a pretty bracelet.” He said. She snatched her arm away almost immediately.

“Don’t touch that.” Fern said. She immediately changed her tone when she saw the suspicious look he gave her. Her face softened. “I’m sorry, mister. It was my mother’s and I— I just am not handling losing her very well.”

Fern might’ve been a damn good actress, but she couldn’t stand the feel of grubby, greasy hands on her skin. It was part of the reason she wore that heavy cloak all of the time. She used the hem to dab at false tears.

After the shopkeeper apologized profusely and sent her on her way with an extra piece of candy, she began to look for Iris.

“Mmmm.” She said, glancing around the village. “I suppose so.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few heavy gold coins— far more than was needed.

 

[FaddedFox]

"That is too much," he said and only took what was needed for the material he bought. He gave a sigh of relief and glanced around at the others again before he started to make his way towards the gates. Soon this part would be over and he could go lay down somewhere, cover his head, and wish the pain away. All they had to do was get out of town and into the forest. Out of town, into the forest. Quick and easy. He started move a little quicker towards the gates then, his eagerness to be away and somewhere quiet and peaceful making him change his pace and forget he was supposed to be walking side by side with Fern. He just assumed she was keeping up with him.

"Hold there, friend!" Albert called, a hand gripping Iris's shoulder. The touch immediately made Iris tense. He whirled to face him, a hand shooting up to grip Albert's tightly, his own eyes narrowed in agitation. Upon realizing his sudden less than friendly approach to the man, he sighed and let go of Albert. Albert pulled his hand away quickly enough and swallowed hard, a wariness now in his eyes. "I was just sayin, it is getting dark. The forest here tends to have a lot of 'them 'Touched' creatures. It may be safer for you and your sister to stay the night at the inn."

"We'll be fine, thank you."

"Iris, why are you in such a rush? You're going to get yourself into trouble, your sister hurt. It is not safe at night."

He didn't want to argue! He didn't want to be here. "We have a camp," he insisted. "We'll be fine, thank you for your concern, Albert." He made a move to continue on his way. Albert frowned and looked to Fern then, as if imploring her to speak some sense into her thick headed brother.