|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 20, 2015 13:03:53 GMT 1
The red-headed chieftess entered the Beacon Room, leaning against a wall and staring up at the strange crystals. She still felt the keen sense of loss in her chest, in her stomach like a heavy, lead ball. Her loves, her family, were out of reach. How far, she didn't know, but it had to be very far for her to reach for them and feel nothing. A pang of grief tightened in her chest and she slid down the wall to the floor, tugging her coat tight around her but it did nothing against the chill she felt in her soul. No. Stop that. You are wolf; you live in the Now. The wolfrider growled at herself and tugged at her braids, angry that she had let herself get so wrapped up in her emotions. Rainfall would lecture you, but he's not here, so you'll have to do it yourself.
|
|
|
Post by Sefu on Aug 20, 2015 16:28:25 GMT 1
He was back in his stupor again. He lay there, as he had curled up from being beaten. He didn't know how long it had gone on. Probably not too long. It hadn't been as bad as some of the other times, but he still felt weak. Of course, he hadn't been fed for days. As customary he had been whipped before his beating, but again it hadn't been as bad as it often times were.
He could hear Master Junayd speaking. He wasn't really listening to what the human male was saying. It didn't matter anyway. He would get beat up almost no matter what.
Sefu longed for the cell. At least there he was left alone.
Now Junayd was coming closer. He sounded angry, more so than before, but that didn't really say much. The human was almost always angry. He was standing right in front of Sefu now. Suddenly there was a foot to his gut. It hurt. A lot. But Sefu didn't flinch. Not much. He might have grunted. He didn't know. He didn't care. A couple more kicks got a reaction. He was curling together again protecting his stomach, trying to protect his head as well. He had scrunched his eyes. And suddenly...
Suddenly the air and floor had changed, even the scents, the sounds, the lights and the temperature had changed. And there hadn't been any kicks for a little while. Sefu didn't move out of fear. He just lay there, on the floor balled up, not daring to open his eyes. He did all he could not to make a sound, to not disturb anything. He almost didn't dare breathe.
|
|
|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 21, 2015 4:20:19 GMT 1
Mindlight froze, watching the Beacon pulse, and she felt a twist of nervousness in her gut. Slowly the pulsing faded and and she was left staring at a thin - not just thin, underfed, even malnourished - dark elf curled into a small ball. Her heart ached as she processed the lattice-work of scars on the frail body, and her wolf surged with rage as she registered the obviously submissive, afraid way he held the pose. Quickly she got to her feet, silent as a hunter, sliding her heavy coat off as she crossed to the newcomer in a few quick strides.
Carefully, the wolfrider knelt next to the dark elf. He's taller but you'd never be able to tell. Oh, you poor child. He was so different, but by no means the strangest looking elf she'd ever met. He was as tall as a glider. She spoke gently as she draped her small coat over his lanky frame. "Do not startle, young one. You are safe here. Wherever you were, you are here now, and they cannot touch you."
|
|
|
Post by Sefu on Aug 21, 2015 10:22:09 GMT 1
His whole body jerked as soon as the coat touched him, and when he heard a female voice he dared to raise his head and open his eyes. The first thing to strike him as weird was her pale, pale skin. She was speaking to him in the elvish tongue. Oh, the joy to hear it again! It was a bit different but he could recognise it. He ended up staring at her.
Shaking his, he berated himself in his mind. He was showing disrespect! Even if she was an elf, she was a free elf, and above his station. He fought to rise up and kneel but he was sore all over, and his body was protesting the movements. But he managed to kneel low, without vocalising his discomfort, and raised his hands palms up so that he could be punished for his impertinence. He trained his eyes on the floor. The floor was hurting his shins, and the strength was leaving his arms. He could smell wafts of foods, and he hoped his stomach would stay silent, he didn't need more punishment. But just as that thought had left his mind his stomach rumbled loudly. He sucked in a gasp, and clenched his eyes closed.
|
|
|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 21, 2015 10:45:23 GMT 1
The wolfrider stifled a growl of rage; who had done this to him? In all her turns, even as a chief, she had never once seen someone show subservience to her the way he did. Swallowing against her anger against the way he had been treated, she gently took his outstretched hands. "No. No, not to me." Her throat tightened.
Gently, carefully, Mindlight reached out with her mind, sending without words warmth and comfort. Oh, how her heart ached for him, that he felt he had to look at her that way. Softly, she spoke again. "Please, do not kneel to me. I do not understand why you do, I simply know that you should not." Her blue eyes were full of concern as she let go of one of his hands and reached under his chin, tilting his face up so he would look at her. She smiled encouragingly. "You are hungry, yes? We don't have much, but what we do have we will gladly share with you."
~**Friends, we have a new arrival. Tread lightly with this one; I don't know what's wrong yet, but he is deeply troubled.**~ She locksent to the other elves within the mountain, excluding the strange dark elf.
|
|
|
Post by Sefu on Aug 21, 2015 14:15:06 GMT 1
He felt the warmth and comfort spread in his mind. It wrapped him in a blanket, and it made him feel safe and secure. He could recognise this. Master Junayd had used calm and comfort to lull Sefu into a false sense of security, and had then punished him for relaxing or feeling too secure. But he still opened his eyes to look at her. He could hope that she was like Master Navid or Master Zayn. They had treated him well enough.
But no! Who would treat him nicely? He was just a despicable and disgusting being. He wasn't even worth food or proper facilities. He shied away form her touch, trying to pull his hands from hers. He looked to the floor again and shook his head carefully, trying all he could to deny the food. He didn't dare speak. No. Not yet. He knew instinctually that Junayd was no where near, but he still feared the repercussions. Again his stomach rumbled. He felt betrayed by his own body, and his cheeks heated in shame.
|
|
|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 21, 2015 14:37:24 GMT 1
Despite her best efforts, a growl rumbled deep in her chest. With slender fingers, she forced his chin up again, locking eyes with him. She stared long and hard, opening her mind. **I do not lie, dark one. And I cannot lie, in sending.** Despite her stature, her grip was firm, unwilling to let him drop his eyes again. **I am Mindlight, once a chief of my people. Now, I am far from my lifemate and my cub, my soul sister. I am far from my home, taken by the thing that has taken you. Here, we are all equals. I speak truth.**
Behind her send, she reinforced the feeling of comfort and welcome, hoping beyond hope that he would believe her. He had the look of a tortured animal, one used to being caught, and it frightened her as much as it angered her. Who would ever do something so horrible? She knelt easily, unphased by the cold stone beneath her. Suddenly, her stomach growled as well, and it startled her, so much so that she laughed a little. "You see? I am hungry, too. Come, please." Tilting her head ever so slightly, she searched his face. **Please. No harm will be done to you here. I promise.** And strangely, the promise came easily. She would protect him.
|
|
|
Post by Sefu on Aug 21, 2015 17:47:02 GMT 1
This time Sefu was caught in her eyes, his body frozen in place. And then he heard her voice inside his head. It was frightening, but oddly not so frightening at all. He could feel how she wasn't lying, and again the blanket of comfort and welcome wrapped around him. He relaxed in her presence. He now understood that at least she woudln't hurt him, that she probably wouldn't punish him either. He still jumped when her stomach growled but he now knew that right then and there there was nothing to fear. She would let him eat.
His mouth watered just at the thought of eating! The corners of his lips made a slight upwards tuck, at her cheeriness, but the shy smile was clearly visible in his eyes. And when Sefu heard Mindlight in his mind again, he actually believed her. He gave her a small nod to let her know that he wouldn't mind the food.
|
|
|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 22, 2015 2:30:00 GMT 1
"What are you called, my friend?" Mindlight stood, releasing him carefully. She glanced over to the cooking fire, and to Tinder who tended it quietly. "Move closer to the fire, if you are cold. I will get you food."
Quietly, she moved over to the food and portioned out a small bowl of the meat and broth, as well as some of the greens in case the meat was not to his liking. We'll have to do something about how thin he is, she thought as she glanced back at him.
|
|
|
Post by Sefu on Aug 22, 2015 11:37:29 GMT 1
Sefu was so used to not being allowed to talk that it took him a couple of tries to be able to answer her. But finally a low raspy voice escape him, "Se-Sefu. I'm Sefu."
The whole ordain had drained him of energy, and it was only as she mentioned that me might be cold, that he actually registered that he was shivering a bit, and he was actually feeling a bit cold.
He managed to crawl over beside Mindlight, even if it hurt his knees and shins. His whole body protested the movements: all his joints and remaining muscles hurt.
But his hurts didn't matter, he should just do as told. And he had been told to move closer to the fire.
Just moments earlier the thought of food had made him happy, but as he sat there looking at it he didn't really feel hungry. He didn't even feel like eating. He felt a bit queasy at the thought of chewing and sinking. He just stared at Mindlights hands with a blank expression, though he seemed a bit paler.
|
|
|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 22, 2015 12:43:22 GMT 1
"Sefu. That's lovely." She handed him the bowl of broth, making sure to cup his hands around it to catch the warmth. Releasing it carefully, Mindlight rearranged the coat to try to cover his shoulders better. Cold was nothing new to her; he wasn't even slightly dressed appropriately. Her brow furrowed slightly with concern. "Please, eat. Start slow, with the broth. I'm going to try to make - to make the hurts less, all right?"
Carefully, she shifted closer to him, reaching out with slender hands to rest them on his shoulders. The wolfrider slowed her breathing, her eyes closed, and focused intensely on that spot inside her that meant magic and healing. It was harder, always harder, to touch bruised muscles and torn ligaments and High Ones forbid he break something. She'd be exhausted until she slept again just from healing his aches and surface wounds - but he had a lot of them, and it steeled her resolve to channel the energy to those wounds and not the mental ones that gaped. Slowly, her hands became surrounded by a soft golden glow and a gentle warmth spread out from them. She let the healing consume her mind, focusing on those injuries that could be most debilitating that she could handle.
|
|
|
Post by Sefu on Aug 22, 2015 13:24:44 GMT 1
He just sat there staring at the bowl. He hadn't been allowed to eat on his own for a long time. In some way he had stopped knowing how to eat on his own. He had been forced to be fed since Junayd had decide to treat him like the proper slave he was.
He didn't react when she adjust the coat and neither when she spoke. He still felt a bit queasy with the fact that he had to eat. He did jerk slightly when she rested her hands on his shoulders. He was clueless with what she was doing, but let her do whatever she wanted to.
When a gentle warmth started to spread from her hands he tried to relax into them. The worst newly inflicted wounds on him where from the kicks he had received to his stomach. Though he through the years had learned to ignore the pain of injuries, he could still feel the strain of them. And maybe it was well that he had arrived here. It seemed that, even if the beatings had gone on for a shorter time, the human had hit just the right places to do the most damage. The warmth seemed to ease some of the strain he felt, not all, no not at all, but some of the worst had eased. His aching joints and muscles were also soothed slightly.
He was grateful for it. Just the act of being had been made more comfortable for him. But still the grueling task of eating lay in front of him in the physical form of the small bowl.
|
|
|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 22, 2015 14:12:21 GMT 1
Oh, it was worse than she thought. Mindlight remained still, focused intensely inward, feeling how horrible his injuries were. She was nowhere powerful enough to heal the ones deep in his stomach, but she would use all of her power if necessary to make sure it could heal cleanly and with less pain. The redhead continued to focus in silence until at last, the golden glow faded and a wave of exhaustion crashed down on her. He would still be sore, and she would have to be careful that he didn't hurt himself further, but at least he should be able to move now without wincing. By the High Ones, how did he stand that?
Her hands slipped from his shoulders and she opened her eyes, blinking in confusion to see that he was still holding the bowl. He hadn't moved the entire time she'd been working on him. Summoning spare reserves of energy, she abandoned the idea of social comfort and moved close to him, both to share warmth and to make it easier to lift the bowl to his lips. She didn't bother to speak, as it took too much energy. ~**Here, it will be good for you. Please. You need to eat, Sefu.**~ Even her mindvoice was exhausted, and she fought the blurring of her vision, but she determinedly helped him lift the bowl to drink.
|
|
|
Post by Sefu on Aug 22, 2015 15:01:17 GMT 1
He could feel the panic inside him rise, when he felt how exhausted she was. Was it his fault? Had he done something to her? And why did she feed him if she was so tired? How could he let her continue to help him? He didn't know what to do so, again, he just let her do as she wanted.
She helped him raise the bowl to his lips, and he tried to do it by himself, but just the thought of feeding himself had the feeling of panic burrowing under his skin. Master Navid and Master Zayn had both worked to make Sefu able to feed himself without breaking down, but Master Junayd had masterfully crushed that.
He rested in the thought that she was feeding him, and managed to swallow some of the broth. It steadily settled in his stomach, and spread a comfortable warmth inside of him. He swallowed a bit more broth as he waited for the bowl to be lowered.
It felt uncomfortable with the feeling of his own hands on the bowl. He tried to push the thought away. She was feeding him, not he himself. But the one thought wouldn't ease it's grip, and suddenly the panic seized him. He let go of the bowl, some of the food spilling on him, and he cringed away from her, the fire, and the elf he hadn't yet greeted.
"No... No please... Don't punish me... I-I..." Sefu said, his voice low and raspy from misuse, and shaking with fear. His eyes had clouded over, he seemed to have gone back into a nightmare. He balled in on himself, noes, pleases and sorries flowed from his lips as a mantra.
|
|
|
Post by Mindlight on Aug 23, 2015 11:41:35 GMT 1
Mindlight set the food down, cursing under her breath as some of the broth spilled onto her fingers. She quickly grasped at his hands, sending to him desperately, **Sefu, please, it's safe, you're safe, it's all okay.** She reached frantically for her reserves, but despite that if she really had to she had energy to spare, he had to be aware. She couldn't touch the fear if he didn't let her in; all she could sense was a dark, roiling wall of terror and self-loathing that her magic could do nothing to dissipate. **Please, my friend, come back. You are safe.**
She was very tired, and if she didn't eat or sleep soon, she'd drown in the blackness. She couldn't risk being useless for that long, but she couldn't leave him like this long enough to recuperate. The redhead sent frantically for help, reaching for the only elf she could think of who may have the patience to help her. ~**Panaetha, he's traumatized. He's retreating into himself; I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself. Can you help me calm him?**~ The worry permeated her send, overwhelming the exhaustion.
|
|