Spirits of the Earth

  Today was a good day. Orion happily whistled, walking home and watching the clouds. There were some dark cumulonimbus clouds blanketing the sky, causing Orion to suspect that rain would be here in—-he checked his pocketwatch—-2 minutes and 31 seconds. Hmm. Barely enough time to get home. What's alittle rain? He enjoyed a good rain shower. Was good for the soul.
He shivered, snuggling into his black leather jacket. It wasn't supposed to be this cold and be raining. This felt cold enough for snow. He sighed. Weather was so temperamental.
The first drops of rain fell on his face, making him stop walking, wrinkle his nose and look up at the sky. Sure enough, rain began to fall, the rain hitting the green, lush grass and causing a pleasant sound to begin, the rhythm of rain beginning to pick up.
He took a step forward and the ground was gone, him falling forward, causing him to emit a startled yelp. And then the sounds of the rain disappeared. Everything disappeared in fact. Time seemed to slow down. Or did it speed up? It's hard to tell when you have nothing to gauge time by.

For what is time but the perception of one's reality?

Orion awoke with a groan, finding himself entangled in a thorn bush. Great. Was he dreaming before...and walked into a thorn bush? Or did he fall into a hole that he didn't see and is he dreaming now? The unforgiving thorns digging into his skin made him suspect that this wasn't a dream.
Very confused, Orion extracted himself from the thorn bush. Something told him to hide behind it, for there were agitated voices and shouts coming over to him.
"I saw it! A burst of light and he just...he fell!"
"Oh what, a guy fell from the sky. You're more crazy today than usual."
"I saw it! I'm going to go get the Mordecai."
Orion nervously was trying to ignore what was staring him in the face. This wasn't home. This definitely wasn't home. This ornate structure that was in the sprawling courtyard looked rather like something out his imagination.
He needed a nap. This was too much.
He gingerly inspected his hand. A thorn had dug into his hand quite deeply. It stung...a lot...he needed to find his way out of this courtyard. Before whatever the heck "mordecai" were came here.

Damnation.

He was stuck.

Not stuck in any physical sense. He was free enough to move about in that cramped closet. Rather, he was stuck in the sense that the "Mordecai" man had not moved from his desk in this dusty, stuffy office for four damned hours. Before that, there was some sort of meeting — some family affair — and before that, another Mordecai man sat at the same desk.

And before that? Well. If he must admit it, Ven had been poking his nose where he shouldn't. He had heard tale of this northern land of folk who could neutralize a man's magicks. He should have known better than to think that it would work on him...or that these people would want anything more than to slay him on sight. Or shoot him, as they were wont to do in this particular country. The barbarians.

Of course it wasn't any different than where he'd come from, he thought bitterly. Of course.

Someone knocked at the door. If Ven's heart still beat, it would have leapt from his chest. He thought that surely it was a knock on his door. But no. Through that thin slit in the closet door, he saw the Mordecai shift and glance away towards the entrance. "Come i— "

"Sir, a mage. A mage has been spotted on the grounds."

The Mordecai man spared no time in standing and shoving his heavy chair out of the way. "Where? How? They shouldn't be able to — "

"I don't know, sir, but he did. They say he fell from the sky."

"Sounds like someone's been drinking on shift," the Mordecai grumbled. "Ugh. Very well. Lead the way."

And with that, the two of them cleared out, leaving the room empty for the first time in at least twelve hours. Thank the gods for a distraction — whomever that poor soul might be to take the fall. Ven felt his face. Yes, his mask was up. His hood was low enough over his head to hide his eyes. He would be a suspicious sight nonetheless. He did not look the part of these folk, what with his flowing cloak and shabby garb. He would have to use a window and climb down the exterior wall, and even then...

Perhaps he should not attempt such an escape until cover of nightfall. Then again, he could at least find an advantageous position that was not a closet, and wait there until after dark. At least this way, he would not have to endure the hunger as badly as he had these past few hours. It was beginning to grow unbearable again. Yes. That made the most sense.

Eager to waste no further time, Ven pushed the closet door open and, upon finding the room still blessedly empty, he began to survey his surroundings. There were plenty of windows to choose from, though from this side of the building, he would have to drop down into the central courtyard — the opposite direction he wanted to go.

"Ansgar save me, where is that — "

A voice. Footsteps stomping down the hall. He had no choice. The courtyard it was, and he had to act fast. Ven raced to the nearest window and pried it open. He was one foot out when a man barged in through the entryway.

"Wh — who are you?!"

A second later, he landed in a bush, with the man still panicking above him and sounding the alarm about intruders. Thorns tore at his skin and tugged at his clothing. "Agh! Pasketa Valo, why would you grow such a thing?" Ven muttered as he flailed and ripped the prickly vines from his already battered cloak. Nevertheless, he stayed low, hoping that his forest-colored gear would be enough to camouflage him until he came up with a plan of exit. He picked more thorns from his trousers and gazed out at the courtyard from behind the bush.

And then he saw the hand. The hand attached to the arm, attached to the man who crouched not six feet away in the next bush over. He squinted. He cocked his head. And then he realized, as a figure in a white tabard and heavy armor marched directly towards them from across the courtyard, exactly with whom he shared a hiding spot. "Ah," he muttered. "I see."

Orion only heard the other man fall into the bush, and he started, glancing over at the thorn bush. "Holy mother of—-wait...did you fall from the sky too? Are you alright?"
Orion contemplated something. He wasn't accusatory or suspicious in any way, he was just genuinely curious.
"Is that just how people travel here? By falling from the sky?"
He pondered that idea for a second.
"Well...it happened to me...and you...so I'll accept it."
The man in the armor was drawing closer, and Orion anxiously looked at the man next to him.
"Are you...the mordecai someone was talking about? This place must be really technologically advanced...they left not 5 minutes ago and you're already here."
The soldier stopped in front of the bush and looked around.
"Erm...should we run? I suddenly am getting the feeling I shouldn't be here anymore," he told the other man.

"From the sk— what? No," Ven hissed. "And I hardly think that now is the best time to — "

"Is that just how people travel here? By falling from the sky?"

Ven glanced nervously between his strange partner-in-crime and the fast-approaching Mordecai. Already, more soldiers had entered the courtyard and now fanned out to search for intruders. "N...no? Wh...what are you..." He shook his head in utter disbelief, but took care to keep his hood over his eyes. He did not need a repeat incident with those 'vampire' hunters. "Clearly I must be dreaming," he muttered to himself. He began to strategize. He would not make it out of this courtyard without a fight. Not with those wicked firearms these people used.

"Well...it happened to me...and you...so I'll accept it."

"No, it very well did not," Ven corrected the man, a bit more sharply than he'd intended. He shot another anxious look at him. Not that his companion could see it. "I jumped from the window. Are you...have you...eaten some mushroom or berry that you shouldn't have? Gods help me. And...no. I am not a...'Mor-te-kai'. The Mor-te-kai is the one in white. And he will arrest us both where we stand if we remain here."

Ven shut up just as the Mordecai reached the edge of the bushes, and he motioned for the man to do the same. He watched those heavy boots pace back and forth. He bit his lip. Leave, he thought. Just go. He glanced around for a suitable weapon, or a stone to throw to distract the soldiers, but he found nothing. He wished he had brought his walking stick instead of leaving it against the exterior wall of the compound. It always proved to be too cumbersome for these clandestine operations.

"Erm...should we run? I suddenly am getting the feeling I shouldn't be here anymore."

The Mordecai jerked towards the sound of the man's voice. "In there!" he cried. Ven groaned. He didn't want it to come to this. He didn't want killing. He should have stayed in that damned closet. "We should try," he replied with a nod. "Though I fear..." He exhaled sharply. Neither of them had the time for him to explain. "Never mind it. You go left. I'll go right. Aim for the archway — there. It should lead to the front of the estate. Ready? Now!"

"Ah shit..."
Orion leapt up from the thorn bush and ran towards the archway, desperately hoping they would chase him and leave the other man alone.
All his days of training horses had paid off. Orion could probably outrun them. And so he tried, running left as the man had instructed, hearing shouts from behind him.
"He's getting away!"
Orion pushed himself to run faster. He didn't quite understand why they were chasing him...maybe getting entangled in thorn bushes were forbidden.
Orion was almost to archway when a loud bang happened.  Something hit Orion in the arm, just grazing it. Orion swore, clutching his arm and stumbling the tiniest bit just from the sudden explosion of pain in his arm.
"Fuck!"
He ran through the archway and looked frantically for a gate...ah yes there's one. Orion desperately pushed it shut in between him, Ven, and the guards, hoping it would buy them some time.
"Where do we run now? Why are they chasing us? Are you ok?" He asked Ven. He could feel blood trickling down his arm. It was annoying him.

The man dashed left. Ven slid right around the worst of the thorns and darted out into the fray, one hand held to his hood. There were even more guards now, and the Mordecai had drawn a pistol. Stupid, he thought. This would turn deadly all too quickly. Why hadn't he just stayed in that damned closet? But then this poor, strange fellow would not have had a chance at all, would he? Now, at least...

It all happened at once, and by the time he'd sensed them, it was far too late. Fingers closed around his free arm. Someone else grabbed a fistful of his cloak. The demon surged forth for them both. For the briefest moment, he had not held shut that cage, and now it was loose. And it smelled prey. "NO!" Ven cried, but a shot rang out and swallowed his plea.

Pandemonium. The two guards writhed in agony at his feet as the life left them. A third could not stop himself in time and fell screaming and clutching at his skin. Ven stumbled backwards, but as he did, a strange feeling swept over him. A...confidence. All went quiet but for a ringing in his ears. Things that had mattered a moment ago did not seem to now. And things that had not mattered at all came bubbling to the forefront. It was not the demon. No. The demon had its own primal wants. This was something...different. And familiar.

The guards kept their distance now, though a few of them had nocked arrows and drawn them. All eyes were on him, and all were fearful. Ven suddenly found that he did not care. It was time to make an exit. He stepped free of the pile of pale corpses, turned, and ran for the gate, slipping through just before the stranger shut it. Something hit him in the shoulder. It was no matter.

"Where do we run now?" the man asked. His voice was a fly buzzing in some distant window. "Why are they chasing us? Are you ok?"

Ven looked back at the gates for a moment, then at the man. His hood had fallen to his shoulders, revealing what he'd worked so hard to keep hidden: blackened eyes in blackened sockets, and skin too pale to be a living man's. Long, straight, dark hair fell in messy strands over his brow. The mask remained in place to cover the rest of his frightful appearance.

He entirely ignored the man's gunshot wound. He also ignored the arrow that stuck out of his own shoulder. That was a problem for later.

"Hmm?" he asked, almost lazily. "Ah. No. No time for questions, Mr. Sky. Come with me. And do keep your distance," he added with a rather concerning little chuckle.

Ven spun on his heel and marched through the entry vestibule with the air of a man who was out on a pleasant jaunt. He did not look back to see if the stranger followed as he burst through the doors and out into the evening light. The street was not empty. His black eyes slid from bystander to terrified bystander, challenging them to get any closer. By the awful racket they made, he was certain that it was only a matter of time before the city guard came running. Well. He could retrieve his walking stick in that time, could he not?

He swung a sharp right and followed the estate wall. "Come along, Mr. Sky!" he called.

In his adrenaline induced state, his mind somehow blocked out everything but the fact that he needed to run.
But when the gate had closed and a mad sort of calm had descended and the craziness rather faded from his brain; he took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart.
"Ah...you've got an arrow sticking out of your shoulder..."
He winced as the warmness on his arm reminded him rudely of his own wound.
The man's appearance did startle him slightly, but he said nothing. He did help him out after all.
Orion kept a hand pressed to the wound on his arm, anxiously following the pale man.
"Are we going back? But we just escaped! You know what...never mind...can I at least wrap your shoulder?"
Orion noticed the bystanders looking.
"You'll have to excuse him, it's a wrong side of the bed kind of day," he hastily explained to the onlookers.
Mr. Sky, the pale man had called him...he rather liked that name.
"My name's Orion, but you can call me Mr. Sky...or just Sky."
Orion sighed. And he thought today was going to be a good day originally.

"Ah...you've got an arrow sticking out of your shoulder," said Mr. Sky, still buzzing in the background.

"Yes," Ven barked as he strode along the outside of the estate wall.

"Are we going back? But we just escaped! You know what...never mind...can I at least wrap your shoulder?"

"Not back, Mr. Sky. Simply sideways for a moment. Priorities! A man must have his priorities. Wouldn't you agree?" His words came forth rushed and feverish and tinged with manic joviality. He ignored the offer to tend to the arrow. Later. Not now. "Aha!" he exclaimed without warning, and reached into a shallow alcove in the wall. He withdrew a tall, rustic, hand-whittled walking stick. He thumped it on the cobblestone in triumph. "Priorities," he repeated, and turned sharply to face his companion. His eyes were wide, and they darted about, never quite focusing on any one part of the man.

"My name's Orion, but you can call me Mr. Sky...or just Sky," the man said. Irrelevant, of course. They had other, more pressing matters at hand.

"Mm," Ven grunted, like what he'd just heard had bored him. "Yes." He looked around them, and then up at the sky, and drew in a deep breath and savored it as though the city air smelled of perfumed flowers and not dog droppings and rotted garbage. "Yes, yes, yes," he repeated. His attention snapped suddenly back to Mr. Sky.

"Keep the pressure on it," he instructed, eyes boring unblinkingly into the man's soul. "I must find...hmm. And then we must depart. It would be a shame for any more men to die here. Don't you think?" But by the way he said it, he didn't sound convinced of that at all. He gazed past Mr. Sky at the terrified townsfolk like he was inspecting fruit at a market stall.

Ven abruptly started forth again, passing dangerously close to Mr. Sky without a second thought. The demon surged for the man, but it was easily contained — more a nuisance than any real threat. He liked that. He liked the power that he could exert over it. The control. He chuckled. This was good. This was very good.

"Can you fight, Mr. Sky?" he called conversationally as he strode down the street towards a likely-looking shop.

The pale man seemed...strangely happy. Who was Orion to judge? He shrugged. Following the pale man. Well, Orion was keeping pressure on it. But it was starting to hurt...a lot...the pain spreading from his arm into the rest of his body.
 
"It would be a shame for any more men to die here," Ven said, shaking Orion out of his uneasy thoughts.
"Hmm? Oh...yes yes of course."
Orion fiddled with his coat pocket, feeling something in it. He dug around in it, and drew out a rather withered sprig of lavender. He slightly smiled and smelled it, the smell calming him and slowing his thoughts down.

When the pale man moved past him he felt a sudden, strange ominous feeling.
He shrugged again, feeling rather detached from the current world. Maybe it was the wound, or his body trying to adjust to this new universe.
"Can I fight? Well...I used to do fencing as a hobby...or did I? It's hard to remember." Orion frustratedly rubbed the back of his neck. Why couldn't he remember? He fell...ended up here...that was it. No memories...he sighed, slightly annoyed.
"Is there perhaps an apothecary nearby?"
He threw the wilted sprig of lavender away. He could get more...maybe...

He had so many questions, but he decided to not ask them right now. He could wait...he also felt like if he didn't sit down soon he was going to pass out.

"Fencing!" Ven exclaimed as he marched towards the shop. "I see, I see. Hmmh. Never was an interest of mine...a foreigner's sport, you see. But very good. Very..." He stopped in front of the store and his train of thought trailed off. He stared at a sign that hung in the window.

"Is there perhaps an apothecary nearby?"

Ven slapped his belt bag. "I am the apothecary," he replied. He continued to analyze the sign. "Gods damn these people and their writing. Why use a proper script when we can just — scribble nonsense?" He flailed his free hand animatedly, then huffed. He checked the doorknob. It was locked. Of course it was locked. He glanced over his shoulder — and the protruding arrow — at their onlookers.

"Hmmh," he said, and his voice was tinged with worry. "Running out of time."

Without further ado, he drew back his walking stick, bashed it through the glass, reached through, and unlocked the door. He pushed into the shop. "Quickly, Mr. Sky," he ordered, and shut and locked the door behind them. A bell tinkled as he closed it. He drew the curtains. It would buy them a few more seconds.

Footsteps in the back. Someone shuffled in from a door behind the counter. "HEY! Shop's closed! How did y—"

Ven spun and pointed his stick at the clerk. "OUT," he barked like she was a stray cat who had wandered into his home.

"Oh, absolutely not," she hissed. "You get out! I'm calling the g—"

Ven sighed with all of the patience of a man who was late for an appointment. He lowered his stick and began to rifle through some goods in a nearby display. "Hey!" the clerk cried again. He ignored her and withdrew a pair of tweezers from a box, and a little pair of scissors. In another display he found catgut, and in a third, a needle. He set all of these on a table next to a stool, and then turned to Mr. Sky.

"Sit," he said.

Orion watched as he broke into the shop. His muddled brain genuinely thought that the pale man owned the shop and had forgotten the key. He watched the exchange between the pale man that was not the shop owner—-apparently—-and the clerk. Orion spied a small pouch on a shelf about waist level and quietly grabbed it, casually grabbing the money out of it and setting the pouch back on the shelf.
"Erm...miss..." he holds up all the money "perhaps this will cover the damages? Take it before I change my mind. I worked hard for this money."
Orion handed the money to her and then sat where the pale man was indicating.
The clerk had left and Orion sighed.
"I don't much like needles but maybe I deserve this..." he sunk into thought...

"I just realized, I don't know your name."
Orion worked out of his black leather jacket with alot of difficulty, reopening the bullet wound that had just crusted over. His arm was completely covered in blood, both from the original wound and reopening it.
"So...how did you fall from the window? I'm genuinely curious," he asked, sucking in a sharp breath of pain because his damn arm was killing him. He idly wondered if the bullet had poison in it.

Ven did not expect Mr. Sky's sleight of hand, but it was not unwelcome. "Sharp," he murmured as he watched the clerk disappear. "Sharper than I thought." Presumably she'd gone to fetch the guards, but Mr. Sky had at least kept her from harm's way by placating her enough that she would leave. And it was good that she'd left, for his last order of business was to rifle through her liquor stock behind the counter. He withdrew a promising bottle of clear liquid and tilted it to gauge its strength. "It will have to do," he said. As he turned, he made note of several winter coats on display near the window. This was good. This would help.

Ven approached the chair where he'd directed his companion. "I don't much like needles, but maybe I deserve this..." the man said.

"Ah, well, you see: the needle is the easiest part." Ven grinned down at him as though this were at all encouraging for a gunshot victim to hear. "But never fear. Time works against me, and thus in your favor. For now, we must only remove that bullet and stop the bleeding." Then the smile fell. He hesitated. He knew what he must do, and that it would likely work, but still he hesitated. He set the alcohol on the table, removed his gloves, and stowed them in his pocket.

"I just realized, I don't know your name."

"Hmm?" Ven frowned. "I hardly think that is of import. Priorities, Mr. Sky. Bullet first. Questions...later."

He extended a pale hand, one finger out, and moved it slowly towards Mr. Sky's chest. As he drew closer, he began to squint and turn away, like he was frightened of touching a hot stove and not merely a man.

Finger touched shirt cloth. The demon barely stirred. Yes. It could be done. More than that: for now, it seemed, it was easy. In an instant, the fear dropped and his crazed eyes snapped back open. "Ha!" he cried. "Very good." He withdrew his hand and examined it with an air of fascination. He did not bother mentioning to his companion that his touch could have spelled death. Better for the man to focus on the now, and not what might have been.

"Yes. Good. Let's make this quick," Ven said. He rolled up his sleeves, brushed his hair from his face, swung a leg over Mr Sky, and straddled him. He plopped down squarely on the man's lap. This, as always, was for stability, as well as to render his patient somewhat immobile. He reached for the liquor bottle and pulled the cork. "Arm," he ordered.

"So...how did you fall from the window? I'm genuinely curious."

Ven paused with the bottle halfway to the wound and shot Mr. Sky an exasperated glance. "The way any man falls from a window: I jumped from it," he replied. "Triage now. Questions later. Ready? Good." He did not actually wait for the man's response, but simply upended the bottle over the bullet wound and held it there for a second. He removed it, dipped the tweezers in it, set the bottle down, and pulled Mr. Sky's arm closer. "Now the bullet," he said, and sent the tweezers in.

Orion nervously eyed the needle and the bottle of liquor.
"Make it quick, please," he anxiously requested. Gods he wished he had lavender right about now.

"Questions later"

...

He was beginning to slightly wonder if he was just cursed to never know the answers to this strange world he fell into.
Seeing how the pale man was practically flinching when he was reaching his hand out, Orion offered a smile.
"I don't bite," he joked.

Curious. He needed to write down a list of all his questions he had.

The pale man just...got on his lap and waited for him to give him his arm. Orion just pretended the needle wasn't there. He took a shaky breath and reluctantly let the pale man take his arm.

"You jumped from the window...is that normal—-Holy fucking shit!"
He involuntarily moved his arm when the pale man poured the alcohol over it. Gods that hurt worse than being shot. It was like liquid...cold...fire.
As soon as the pale man set the bottle down he took the bottle, apologized to the pale man, and drunk some of it, eyes watering at the strength of the liquor.
"I'm sorry, I'm not a habitual drinker, but...fuck...I've got to dull the pain somehow...you understand."


 

Ven stopped his work and watched, eyebrow arched in consternation, as Mr. Sky took a drink of the bloodied liquor. He reached forward and snatched it out of the man's hands, shoved the stopper back in, and set it back down on the table. He lectured the foolish stranger as he dug around in his belt bag for the one thing he'd forgotten. "You've lost blood. Drinking will make it worse. Stay still, please. We are nearly out of time, and I should remove this bullet and pack the wound at the least. Aha! Found it."

Ven withdrew a wad of long, clean fabric strips from the bag and laid them out on his thigh. Then he took the arm back up, gripped it firmly, and aimed the tweezers. He glanced between the needle on the table and Mr. Sky, and added, "If it is any relief, I shall sew you up when we are out of danger. Not just now. For now...the bullet. Hold your breath and pray to your maker. I'm going in for it."

He drove the tweezers in. His fingers trembled more than he ever remembered them doing. "Yeh...tir...fai...there it is...hmm...almost have it...just a little more...and...done." Finally, he pulled it. It had not hit bone, but the wound bled fresh from all of the digging. Ven hastily dropped the bloody tweezers in his bag and pressed a wad of the fabric over the bullet hole. "Hold this here," he instructed as he readied the remaining strips. He wrapped them around Mr. Sky's arm and tied them tight. "Pressure on it until it slows again," he added distractedly. Then he swung his leg back over the man, swept the suture supplies off the table and into his bag, and went to collect a few more things from around the shop as though he hadn't just sat on a complete stranger's lap like some woman of the evening. He began to talk again as he did so.

"Let's see. Questions...questions. And now, answers. Hmmh. They were chasing you, Mr. Sky, because they think you have magical abilities and that this makes you a criminal. I must admit that the lunacy of this particular country grates on me even more than that of the last one." Ven tore one of the long, warm coats down from a mannequin and tossed it at the man. "You will want this. As for the arrow — yes, I'll need you to pull it before we leave this shop, but not just this moment. My name is Avendego-i-Pereten, but you may save yourself seven syllables and call me Ven. What am I missing...ah." He yanked another coat down, turned, grabbed some sort of dense-looking biscuit, and lobbed it at Mr. Sky before cocking his head and grinning in feverish amusement at the last question. "As for whether or not it is normal to leap from windows: it depends upon the man doing it."

Orion winced as the pale man got the bullet out of his arm, internally wanting to curse and punch something, preferably a door.
The pale man wrapped Orion's wound, and then got up and began looking around for something.

"Chasing me?" Orion incredulously asked. He actually laughed.
"But I don't have magic abilities"—-a warm coat promptly hit him in the face.
He put on the coat, quietly awestruck by how soft the coat was.
"Thank you. About the arrow...I've only ever pulled an arrow out of one of my horses I was training—-it's a long story—-but I'm no surgeon. I'll try my best though."
"Ven. A nice name. What's our plan from here? Where do we go? I assume away from this city, yes?"
A biscuit came flying at him from the direction of Ven and he hastily caught it.
"Ah...thanks for this...what is it?"


Outside, a storm was brewing. Both in the sky...and amongst the Mordecai.

"Well," Ven chuckled, "Thankfully for you, I am not a horse. I shan't bleed like one. All you need do is pull it. The hole will repair itself." He double checked the contents of his belt bag. It was quite a bit heavier now, but he was certain that they could make do with what he'd packed away. Satisfied, he closed it and made for his walking stick, which he'd leaned against the wall.

More footsteps. More commotion. "I think they went in here!" a voice called from outside the door.

"Ah. We are out of time, Mr. Sky," Ven observed. He snatched up his stick and turned his back towards the man. "Pull, if you wouldn't mind. And then don the coat. And...yes. You would be a lot safer if you left this infernal city. And this city would be a lot safer if I left with you. So that is what we shall do."

Orion got up from the chair and quickly walked over to Ven, the increasing shouts and commotion from outside making him nervous.
"This isn't going to feel good," Orion warned, and then placed a hand on Ven's shoulder, gripping the arrow with his other hand and pulling it out, quickly pressing a strip of fabric to it and applying pressure.
The arrow was coated with a brown substance. Orion wasn't grossed out by it, but he was intrigued.
"Fascinating...is your blood always this color?"
There was a loud bang, and the door shook.
"You're right, we need to go..."
He hastily put on the coat, the coat being a slight bit larger than he was used to wearing.
Orion made sure Ven was following and then ran to the back of the store, hoping there was an exit.
He spied a rather ornate dagger hanging on the wall, and grabbed it. It wasn't a
foil but it would have to do.
Orion glanced out a small window in the back. The clouds were dark, and blanketed almost the whole sky.
"It's going to rain in...exactly 11 minutes..."
Then Orion realized he hadn't pulled out his pocketwatch...the words just kinda came out.
Up in the front of the store, the door splintered, and guards rushed in. There were...at least four guards.
"Why do they care so much about my supposed  magic? Strange country indeed."

Ven shut his eyes and clenched his teeth in anticipation of the pain. He needn't have. After all, the arrow hadn't hurt when it entered, and it did not hurt when Mr. Sky pulled it. It seemed that satiety had its own strange benefits. In fact, he found himself rather more preoccupied by the warm hand that pressed against his shoulder. He couldn't recall the last time anyone so much as brushed past him without him worrying. To be touched without consequence. It was...strange. His throat tightened. He swallowed.

"Ah, no need to tend to the wound," he informed the man over his shoulder. "It will heal without a bandage. Thank you, Mr. Sky." Ven kept his back to his companion while he flipped his hood up over his head. He pulled on that big, heavy coat — the very act he'd needed the arrow removed for. "Hmmh. Not my preference, but it will buy us time," he muttered, looking utterly bizarre with the oversized thing draped over his mishmash of ranger's garb.

"Fascinating...is your blood always this color?"

"Hmm?" Ven turned and cocked his head. "Well, yes. Rather disgusting, is it not — "

BAM. The door jumped on its hinges. Ven startled. "You're right, we need to go," said Mr. Sky.

"Indeed," Ven agreed, and followed the man further back into the shop. But while it seemed that they'd both hoped for an easy exit, all that could be found was one small, sad window. He looked Mr. Sky up and down. He swore beneath his breath. Neither of them would be able to fit through it if he broke it. And, while the part of him that rode this thrill wanted nothing more than to fuel it by marching out and feeding the demon, he could not allow that to happen. So they were trapped.

He glanced over at the man again. His giddiness was gone, replaced with quiet concern. "These are close quarters. It will be different than fencing. It may be brutal. Do you know how to use what you found?" he asked with a nod to the dagger. But Mr. Sky was distracted by something out the window.

"It's going to rain in...exactly 11 minutes..."

Ven grunted impatiently. "Is it?" he replied with the same unamused tone he'd used at the mention of the man's name.

BAM. The door blew off its hinges. Glass shattered and streamed in little pieces across the dirty floor. Men marched in one by one, looking...fearful. It was a strange sight. Yet not unexpected, Ven realized. This country did not hate the arcane and otherworldly. It simply feared what it did not understand.

...Or perhaps these men had simply seen the demon at work.

"Why do they care so much about my supposed magic? Strange country indeed," Mr. Sky remarked.

"Yes," Ven muttered as he sized up the guardsmen. "In that, Mr. Sky, we do agree."

One of the guards stepped forward. His voice shook as he spoke. "The two of you are under arrest! Come quietly, now. Don't make this worse for yourselves."

Ven barked a laugh, though it was more to himself than to the guards. "Arrest," he repeated with haughty irreverence. "No. I think not." He turned to address his companion. "We need only disable them, and then we run. Out the front door and to the right. No more killing, if we can help it. Yes?" The directive was for himself as much as it was for Mr. Sky. It was a reminder to keep his own guard up against the path of temptation. And to never forget his purpose.

"Come now. Time's up. Get out of that back room and you won't be harmed," called the guard.

"Yes, yes. Coming," Ven replied with the air of a nagged husband who was late for a minor social event. He strode back into the shop from the back, walking stick gripped tightly and head bowed. He eyed the goods behind the counter as he did so. Liquor. And matches. And a lantern sat burning right there on the counter. Well. They could add arson to their list of crimes, if the worst came to it. It would certainly prove to be a sufficient distraction.

Ven circled the counter and raised his hands, though the gesture's effect was lessened somewhat by the fact that he still held his stick. The men began to back away. Two drew swords. "Well?" he challenged them. "Arrest me, then." The guards glanced nervously at each other. They began to approach, circling around to cut him off from Mr. Sky. Like a pack of coyotes, Ven thought. He waited, stick raised.

"Drop it," the head guard ordered, waggling his sword at the stick.

"Mm. As you wish," Ven replied. Without warning, he swung downward and rapped the man square on his ugly skull. The guard staggered. The others rushed forward, but not before he whipped the stick between his opponent's legs and swept upward. The guard grunted, dropped his weapon, and clutched his nethers, his face a blotchy red. Ven withdrew the stick and rammed it into the man's breastplate, sending him stumbling back over the ruined door.

He spun, eyes wild beneath the hood. Three more, and they had him surrounded. "Any time, now, Mr. Sky!" he called.

Orion, meanwhile, had spotted the matches, liquor, and the lantern burning as well. He put on an air of false confidence, and strode out to the front room.
While Ven had gone around the counter, Orion stayed behind it, and quietly grabbed a match, holding it to the lantern and lighting it.
He then grabbed a bottle of liquor, uncorking it and snagging a sip.
"Hey!"
He roared at the guards, who were currently for some reason all targeting Ven. They stopped and looked at him.
"Any of you understand science, since you're so prone to hate magic, hmm?"
He held up the match, and the liquor.
"Wouldn't it be a shame if I dropped this? We'd all go up in flames. Also, lightning is going to strike in around 30 seconds..."
Orion sighed, acting bored, walking around the counter. The guards nervously backed up.
"I tire of killing, but Nature discriminates not."
20 seconds...
"Why don't you let my friend go, and I'll extinguish the match."
"10 seconds..." rain began to fall. He set down the bottle of liquor on the counter and placed the burning match precariously balanced on the bottle.
They seemed locked in a stalemate, until the lightning struck. The building shook, and the match fell into the bottle of liquor. Orion was practically right next to Ven by this time, and he discreetly grabbed him by the hand.
"Right on time," Orion called. He used the jarring thunder as a distraction, the guards shouting and trying to grab them, but it was too late. Orion and Ven had disappeared into the rain.

And Mr. Sky delivered. Ven froze, still poised for attack, and watched alongside the guardsmen. He understood the threat quite well: back off, or the place goes up in flames. The man's methods, however, and the way he phrased it... Before, Ven had dismissed the man out of hand as a salt-of-the-earth rancher asking too many questions. Now, his interest was piqued. And that interest grew as the rain began to fall.

Mr. Sky had said it would rain. Ven had assumed that he was simply disposed to nervous chatter. But no. Here was the rain, just as predicted, pattering over the cobble just outside of the shattered doorframe. So, he thought. They chased you for a reason. All the better that they escaped the city. And now the man predicted lightning, with the same curious compulsion to say it aloud.

Thunder rumbled. It all happened in an instant. Before he knew it, there was that same alarming sensation of warm skin, and he was dragged out the door and into the storm. The rain, while a nuisance, proved useful: the streets were clear. They were no longer under the scrutinous eye of the townsfolk. And with these coats covering their strange garb, he hoped that any guard would simply think that they were running for shelter.

Ven slipped his hand out of Mr. Sky's. He slowed and took a moment to get his bearings. "Not out the front gate," he breathed. "We'll be stopped for certain." He racked his mind for what little he recalled of this city and its entry points. They could climb to the top of the ramparts, but a leap from the parapet could break a man's bones. And he did not know enough about the city's sewer network to consider using it. He sighed. If only there was some way to speed through the gate without the posted guard catching them. If only they had a...

"Horse," Ven said suddenly. Then he realized that he'd only said the last part of it aloud. "A horse," he repeated. "We need a horse. Mr. Sky, can you ride?"

Orion grinned when Ven mentioned the horses. Horses were his specialty.
"Can I ride? That's like asking a soldier if they can fight!"
Now Orion was in his element, searching for horses.
He stopped and tugged on Ven's sleeve.
"Over there," he whispered.
He was pointing at what looked like a tavern of some kind, but the front was abandoned, save for a shiny black stallion that was waiting out front for its rider.
Orion held up a hand.
"Now the question is, can you keep up?" He teased, running over to the horse and holding a hand out, and muttering something in a foreign tongue.
The horse whinnied and nervously backed up, but Orion continued, the words he was saying seeming to melt into a lilting lullaby of some sort. The horse relaxed and nuzzled his hand. Orion took off the saddle and the bit, but kept the reins, nimbly mounting onto the horse.
"Can you ride bareback?"
Orion serenely sat on the horse, looking like a cross between a wise old rancher and an excited young boy.

Ven watched with keen fascination as Mr. Sky expertly calmed the horse. It was a beautiful beast: raven-black and well cared for. It was lively, too. What a shame to think that it might meet an early end at his hand.

The man had wasted no time in swinging his leg over their ill-gotten steed, and seemed to expect Ven to sit behind him. Under normal circumstances, this would be a death sentence — both for Mr. Sky and the animal. At present, though, he could manage, though he would have preferred to take the reins instead of calling directions into the man's ear. He was, at least, pleasantly surprised when his companion removed the saddle. "There is no other civilized way to ride," he replied as he hoisted himself up behind him. "And we shall show these barbarians how it is done, shan't we?"

Ven brushed aside the electric fear that vibrated down his spine at this claustrophobic arrangement. He had to focus. "Straight through the gate, then," he muttered. "There will be a fork in the road. Take the one to the right and into the forest. We can hide there, and hopefully make camp." He glanced up at the clouds. It was still pouring. Tonight would be miserable...especially for Mr. Sky.

Orion smiled. He was in his element now. The pouring down rain reminded him of his home. Made him feel more at home anyways.

When Ven got on the horse, there was that same, cold feeling. Again, Orion shrugged it off, not really thinking or worrying about it. He smiled and looked back at Ven.
"Fork in the road...to the right...Forest...got it!" He repeated the directions, mainly so the horse could understand.
"Wait...you can understand me?" The horse nodded its head. Orion just about fell of the horse.
"Well, we'll have to talk more once we get to the forest, yes?"
He smiled and then turned to address Ven.
"Hold on to your horses back there, I'm not going slow!"
And Orion gently whispered a word into the horses ear, and the horse took off, running like greased lightning and heading straight for the gate.
Orion was actually laughing, urging the horse to run faster.
The guards at the gate realized that there was a horse running full tilt at them too late, and by the time they grabbed their weapons, there was nothing but mud splattered all over them. At which they sighed and gave up. No horse thief was worth a muddied chase. Not in these storming conditions. Lighting flashed and thunder roared.
Orion took the fork in the road to the right, and didn't stop going full speed until they were deep in the forest. As soon as the stallion slowed to a trot Orion slid smoothly off, running in front of the horse and nuzzling the horses head, the pouring rain slightly muffled for all the dense trees.
"You served me well my friend," he whispered to the horse.
Orion then walked to the horses side and extended a hand for Ven.
"You alright? Can I lend a hand?"

The man knew horses. He had implied as much with his comment on the arrow and the way he held his weight when riding, but until now, Ven had not fully grasped the degree to which he knew horses. Even past that incessant buzzing in his mind, and that sensation of wrongness as he held onto a stranger for dear life, he could sense that this was not just a man speaking to an animal. That the animal was somehow, inexplicably, speaking back.

Then they were through the gate, wind gusting and raindrops slapping their skin like shot pellets. Ven's hood flew off and whipped at his shoulders. His mask threatened to do the same. It would not do to frighten the man. He bent his head low behind Mr. Sky and clung tight as the horse bolted into the forest and wove through the trees.

At last, they slowed, and Mr. Sky slid from the beast with the practiced maneuver of one who had known horses since he could walk. He held up a hand to help Ven down. Ven had been preoccupied with tugging his hood back up over a tangle of soaked hair. He stopped mid-struggle and cocked his head at the outstretched hand. Such kindness always caught him off guard. He stared the man in the eye for a moment, then flung the hood back up. "I...yes. Thank you," he murmured as he took the help offered and dismounted. The forest floor was dry beneath his boots. This was a good sign.

Ven glanced up through the branches at the blue-gray clouds. Already, beneath the forest canopy, it grew difficult to see. It would soon be pitch black. They would need to make a fire before then if they wished to stay warm and finish patching up that bullet wound. "Mr. Sky," he said, returning his attention to the man. "You knew when the rain would start. Do you know when it might end?" He did not stand there and wait for an answer, but rather began to stoop and gather branches from the driest patches beneath the trees.

Orion paused from talking to the horse and turned to Ven.
"Do I know when the rain will stop?"
He anxiously glanced up at the tree canopy, squinting to see the sky.
"Well...heavy cumulus clouds, 90% coverage from what I can see...winds gusting out of the east...slightly warmer than it was even though night is beginning to fall..."
The horse whinnied for attention and Orion held up a hand.
"Not now, Octavius...I'm discussing matters with my friend."
He watched as Ven began to gather up supplies for a fire and Orion found some medium-size, heavy stones and lined a circle for the fire.
"Where was I? Oh yes the wind. Conducive to the rising temperature and the wind direction change...I'd say...perhaps 5, 10 minutes? No. No no, 7 minutes," he almost added as an afterthought.
Orion guided the horse over to where two trees crisscrossed.
"You can sleep here. Ample protection from the elements."
Orion found a fallen tree and snapped the branches off of it, converting it into a rough bench of sorts, and managing to carry it with one arm, since his other arm was still rather unusable, lying it by the fire site.
"So, Ven...is the whole world as hostile as this place? And why did they attack me because of my...I don't consider it magic...but magic?"
He continued helping Ven until there was a fire set up, and then sat by the fire.
"Ven...I'm sure you've figured this out by now...but I'm not from here. I don't know how I got here, but I'd like to somehow get back to my world."
Orions face was etched with worry, and a bit of sadness.
"I have a life back home...as I'm sure you do here."

"Seven minutes," Ven echoed. The man had used a great many words with which he was not familiar. At this point, one thing was abundantly clear: Mr. Sky kept a sharp and inquisitive mind behind that unassuming farmhand facade. Strange as he seemed, he was no simpleton. This Ven found to be a relief, but it unnerved him, too. He was not accustomed to being in such company.

The man guided their ill-gotten steed to a dry spot beneath two trees. As Ven straightened, bundle of sticks in hand, he eyed those very same trees. Mr. Sky would need to keep warm if he wished to survive the night in good health, and by the way the branches angled, Ven thought it might be a good spot for a lean-to. That would be his third order of business, then. After the fire and the bullet wound. He knelt beside the ring of rocks and began to help Mr. Sky build a cone of kindling. Beneath it, they shoved some dryish moss and grasses. "Let us hope this is enough," he grumbled as he retrieved a box of matches from his belt bag and struck one. And it was, for within minutes, the two of them had a crackling fire going.

With that done, Ven stood again and shoved the matchbox back. He glanced down at the man with something not unlike pity. "You are asking the wrong man, I am afraid," he replied quietly. "I have seen very little of this place. I should hope that there is a land beyond this one where the folk are decent, but...I do not know." He fished around in his bag for the suture supplies and drew them out one by one, placing them down on a flat rock near the fire. Mr. Sky spoke up again.

"Ven...I'm sure you've figured this out by now...but I'm not from here. I don't know how I got here, but I'd like to somehow get back to my world. I have a life back home...as I'm sure you do here."

Ven jolted. He stared, unblinking and incredulous. He could scarcely believe what the man had said. "Surely I misheard you," he blurted out. "You are from another place entirely? Are you quite certain?" Supplies forgotten on the rock, he began to pace on the other side of the fire from his companion. "No, no...I...do not have anything you might consider a life," he murmured. "Not at all, in fact. Rather, I...do not remember any of it, before a certain point. And I have wondered...whether..."

Ven trailed off as that thought widened into a chasm that was too cold and dark to bear. He was already alone. He did not wish to be more alone. Instead, he cleared his throat and changed the subject. "I do not know how long I have left before I cannot be near enough to do what I must do. It is time, Mr. Sky. I should close that wound. Are you ready?"

Orion shifted uncomfortably, the eeriness of being in a strange yet familiar place settling on him like a painful burden he was forced to bear.

"I'm about as certain as one can be that has no recollection of anything."

Orion's eyes showed empathy for the troubled man.
"I don't have much, but I can offer at least to be a friend..."

Orion sighed, wishing he could remember anything about his home. The forest here felt familiar, almost seeming to offer a sort of comfort. Maybe he lived in a forest back home.

Ven's question cut through his thoughts.
"Am I ready? No," he admitted sadly.
"I'm afraid not. But it must be done." Orion steeled himself and took a deep breath.
"Go ahead, Mr. Ven."

A friend. The word sounded so foreign. He wondered if he had ever had people in his life whom he could call his friends. If he had, he did not remember them.

"Hmm," Ven replied, uncertain what to make of the man's earnestness. "Indeed." He watched Mr. Sky thoughtfully from across the fire, then seemed to come to, and he knelt and retrieved the suture supplies. "Indeed," he repeated. "Yes. It must be done. I shall be as quick as I can about it." He turned to address the man again. "As we are no longer in a hurry, I would advise you to bite down on something this time. A belt, if you have one. Or a stick."

Ven sat down cross-legged beside Mr. Sky and gestured to his shirt. "Sleeve off, please, if you'd be so kind." While he waited, he began to prepare the needle.

Orion struggled with his shirt sleeve for longer than he should have. He ended up giving up and just cutting the sleeve off at the shoulder with his small knife, and laying the cut off fabric on the log beside him.
"One moment, please," Orion requested, getting up and walking a short ways into the forest, searching the ground. He finally found what he was looking for, a small sprig of lavender growing in the shade of a live oak tree, picking it up. On the way back he also picked up a stick, thick enough that it wouldn't snap if he bit into it. He walked back to the campfire and sat down on the log.
Taking the sprig of lavender, he smelt it for a few seconds and then wrapped it around the stick.
"Lavender in small quantities has relaxing properties," he explained to Ven.
"Ok, Ven. I'm ready," he said, and put the now lavender wrapped stick in his mouth, trying to prepare himself.

Ven raised a hesitant hand as he realized what the man was doing. "I — wait — no — I didn't — mean it...so...literally," he finished as the sleeve came off. He stared at the sleeve on the log as Mr. Sky set off into the forest, presumably to answer the call of nature before being subject to pain. He returned instead with a flower to his nose. Ven remained squatted where he was like a strange, oversized frog. He did not know what lavender was, but the talk of herbal properties did pique his interest.

"Does it?" he asked as he removed his gloves and lowered his hood. The mask stayed up, as always. He grasped the man's arm once again with one cold hand. "Well, Mr. Sky. When the stick is out of your mouth, you shall have to tell me more about this...la-ven-dur. Now...alcohol." He said the final word habitually — a way of keeping his patients apprised. A split second later, he had once again doused the wound in spirits, and now he readied the needle.

"Stitching. Take a breath, please. I cannot have you fainting. It makes my job rather more difficult."

He worked as quickly as he could to close the wound, snipping off each suture with the flick of his belt knife. Still, by his understanding, it had been a very long time since he had sewn a man up, and the flickering firelight made such such precision work more difficult than he would have liked.

"And...there. Done. Ah...I will tie this...sleeve...around it. Keep it dry for the time being. We would not want you to lose an arm, hmm?" He patted Mr. Sky gently, oblivious to how ominous he had just sounded, and collected up the remaining supplies. When they were safely stowed away, he found a good spot next to the fire and began to pull his gloves back on.

"You have no recollection of anything," he remarked. "I am sorry, then, that this is your first glimpse at this place. They are a harsh people, these...Kon-loht-ins. Superstitious to the extreme. You will find a better welcome south of the mountains."

The lavender really worked wonders. Well, that and Ven's calm demeanor. Which Orion vastly appreciated.
"I won't pass out, dont worry."
Ven helped calm his growing set of nerves.
Ven started working on the wound, causing Orion to bite down hard on the stick, grunting in pain. It didn't hurt as bad as he expected it to.
He finished fixing Orion's wound.
Orion had grown pale, a combination of nerves and the sensation of the needle. Ven was gentle, quick and determined.
Orion took the stick out.
"Thank you for doing that."
"See," he managed to say, "I didn't pass out." But he felt as if he was about to, and took a whiff of the lavender again.
"Lavender. It calms my nerves somewhat. Occasionally, there are nights I can't sleep, and I'll brew a tea with it and a combination of other herbs. Helps me sleep. I can make some tea if you would like?"

Ven glanced up in mild surprise. He beamed beneath his mask — always an unnerving sight, given his pallor and his pitch-black eyes. "You are very kind," he replied, inclining his head in gratitude. "Though...unless you brought a kettle and a flask of water with you when you fell from the clouds, I am afraid we shall have to make do with nothing."

He got to his feet, stretched, and began to examine the trees next to which Octavius the horse had taken shelter. As he thought more on his lean-to, he added: "Tomorrow, when it is light again, we can search for a stream so that you might maintain your health, Mr. Sky. Now. See the branches coming off of these trees? Help me lift this log and set it atop them. The rest shall be easy after that."

"I fell from the clouds..."
Orion curiously looked up past the trees, into the sky.
"Clear skies all night at least," he mumbled to himself.
"So you say I fell...perhaps my world is above this one?...fascinating."

He got off of the log, cautiously moving his arm.
"My arm feels a lot better. Thank you, Ven. Now to the task at hand."
He carefully helped Ven set the log where it needed to go.
"So, Ven...why did you risk your life to help me? Where I come from, it's 'every man for himself", I'm not used to this. My job back home was to train horses. For the military. I wasn't apart of the military, to be clear. The horses were never shown kindness by anyone else, so I tried to treat each horse with compassion. They always would turn out well. But how I ended up here?...well...damn it I can't remember." He frustratedly scratched his head.
"Everything else is blank!"
He sighed, and continued helping gather branches and larger sticks.
"Tomorrow...after we go to the stream; what's our plan?"

The man continued to chatter away and ask questions, though now that Ven's mind had cleared a little, he was not as agitated by it. The soaring high of a true feeding had come and gone quickly. While it was good to be level-headed again, he could not help but long for more. It was a dangerous desire. The sensation was far too close to poppy for comfort. But he would set it aside again, as he always did, and pretend not to notice when it beckoned him with its siren's call.

He did not look Mr. Sky in the eye, but rather focused on setting up the lean-to. He knew the answer — that someone riding a high will make peculiar choices — but he did not wish to frighten the poor man, who still did not seem to grasp Ven's nature just yet. So he said another thing instead that skirted the truth. "We ran in the same direction, and from a common foe. My escape would not have been as...ah...clean...without your help. You were shot and might have bled out in a cell without mine. It benefitted us both, yes?" He glanced up at the man. "Think nothing of it. This world is still, as you say, every man for himself. Hmm. There. That should do it."

Ven stepped back to admire the crude structure. "This will keep you warm and sheltered from the elements," he said. "I will keep the fire going tonight, as...sleep does not come particularly easy to me these days." He removed his gloves and whacked them against his thigh to break loose the little bits of bark and fir needles that had stuck to them. "As for what happens now...we should get you to the mountain pass. You aren't safe in this country, but there is one south of here that should welcome you, and whatever magicks you possess."

Orion nodded, but eyed the fire.
"You should sleep too. I can stay up half the night. It's only right."
Orion stood up and walked over to the lean-to, petting the horse that was by it.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I would think I was in the woodlands behind where I lived. I almost feel right at home."
He yawned, and crawled into the lean-to.
"If you like, you can wake me up in the middle of the night. I'm really not that tired."
But as soon as Orion laid down he was out.

Ven did not even have time to try to explain himself to the man before he crawled into the shelter and fell asleep on a bed of boughs. It was for the best. The less this stranger knew of his idiosyncrasies, the less he might begin to suspect. Ven found his own perch on a nearby rock. He huddled there, watching the fire, and allowed his mind to wander off. Every so often, he added a piece of wood. It would not do for Mr. Sky to fall ill. The journey would be arduous enough. He had to keep the man warm.

Morning came at last, white and dreary. A heavy mist had fallen overnight. This was both a good thing and a bad one, for if they were tracked, the guardsmen would have more difficulty in finding them. But so, too, would the two of them have difficulty in finding their way south. For Ven, daytime navigation was done by the sun and the mountains. He would have to do his best to guess until the fog lifted. He stood and stretched, joints popping and crackling, and stoked the fire again. Without waiting for Mr. Sky to wake, he slipped off into the forest to find the man some food.

Orion woke up quite well rested, actually, but forgot where he was and sat up much too quickly, hitting his head on the wood above him.
"Ouch," he muttered, rubbing his head and then cautiously getting out of the lean to, stretching and standing up.
"Well, Ven, when shall we head out—" Ven was nowhere to be found.
It was extremely foggy, the fog weaving in and out of the trees, the tops of the trees invisible for the dense fog.
Orion whistled. It actually was a pretty sight.
"If it wasn't for the damned anti magic mordickis or whatever they are, I would live here," he said to himself, enjoying the warmth of the fire.
Ven must have gone out to maybe hunt, or maybe he just needed space.

Ven walked over to the horse, who was fast asleep. He knelt down, and gently laid a hand on the horse's neck.
"I'll be back, friend. I'm going to try to find a water source. There must be one close by, with the way the woods are—oh, you want an apple? If I find one I will bring it back to you."
He smiled and stood up.
He remembered the horse, when they were fleeing the city, wanting to stop at a river. But they weren't able to.
He grabbed a few unique looking, shiny black rocks and as he left the campsite, laid them down behind him, giving him a way to get back in case he got lost.
He searched for 15 minutes before he finally found a creek. The water was clear, at least.
Orion just stood there and watched the water flow, enjoying the relative peace from the chaos of when he first found himself in this world.
There was something under the water, and Orion frowned, kneeling next to the waters edge and reaching his hand in to grab it out. It took a bit of extra strength, but he finally got it out. It was a small bucket. It would work, Orion thought, for tea.
He used the bucket and scooped some water out of the creek, and made his way back to the campsite, using the black rocks he had left to guide his way back.

Orion immediately began boiling some water to purify it, and grabbed some lavender from the small grove just outside of the campsite, discovering some wild berries and a few mint plants as well.
He tore off a tiny piece of his shirt and laid it on the ground, putting the wild berries on it.
Now just to wait for Ven to get back.
He actually felt useful for once.

———————————————————

Unbeknownst to Orion, there were a few bandits up in the trees a few hundred feet away, drawn to the campfire.

For a good hour, Ven circled their camp. He paused here and there to collect what roots he could identify as safe, though it irked him that there were plants here with which he wasn't familiar. At one point, he came across a creek, and, after checking his surroundings, he removed his coverings and splashed his face. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the crisp morning air. It was good to feel the breeze on his skin, if only for a moment.

Something rustled in the brush. Ven's black eyes snapped open. The demon had sensed its preferred prey, it was true. But he had assumed that that was simply Mr. Sky's presence. And if it wasn't...? Foolish of me, he thought. He stood and spun, ready for an ambush — only to find a pair of grouse standing frozen on the rocks. He exhaled slowly and let his hands fall back to his sides. As he began to cover his face again, he chuckled to himself at how jumpy he'd been over nothing. Well...not nothing.

When he returned to the fire, it seemed that Mr. Sky had had an adventure of his own, for there was now a metal vessel sitting in the coals. Water and herbs swirled within. Ven eyed it curiously, set the game birds down, and dug around in his belt bag to retrieve the roots. He squatted near the fire and laid them carefully down to roast. "Good morning. Ah! Tea. Very good. Where there is a will, there is a way," he quipped from behind his mask. He gestured to the grouse. "We should move on before I shall have a chance to pluck these, but...there is your supper, at the least."

Orion looked very happy that he had managed to find something to make tea in.
"I stumbled across this bucket earlier while looking for water. It's lavender wild berry tea, please, help yourself if you would like some."
He smiled wistfully, smelling the tea.
"This smell...it reminds me of something...I think it reminds me of home!"
He carefully stoked the fire and then eyed the grouse. "We should save that for when the journey grows more arduous. For now," he gestured at the forest, "the forest provides, does it not?"

"But you are right...we should get going...there's a wind storm heading our way."

"Is there? Well..." Ven trailed off as he dug around in his satchel. He wound his thin fingers through the disorganized clutter until he found what he sought. Victorious, he produced a small wooden cup and drew a measure of the infusion. He examined it and sniffed it gingerly. Then, shrugging, he turned away from Mr. Sky, lowered his mask, and took a sip. The tea tasted of flowers, mostly. It was not unpleasant. He covered his face again and returned his attention to his companion.

"I thank you for the tea," Ven said with a courteous nod. "Truthfully, it is not what I am accustomed to, but it is quite lovely. And...as for the rest...at least break your fast before we depart, hmm?" He pointed at the fern and cattail roots that baked half-buried in the ash. "You cannot travel on tea alone."

Orion ate a bit of the food offered him, but truth be told, he just wasn't hungry.
"Thank you for the food," Orion said, standing up and looking towards the horse.
"I'm going to check on the horse, if we're going to get moving soon," Orion walked over to the horse and smiled, petting it gently.
"How are you, friend?" He asked softly, picking an apple off of a tree a little ways back and bringing it to the horse.
The horse happily ate it, whinnying in thanks.
"You're welcome," Orion smiled and walked back to the apple tree to pick a few more.
He had reached up to get a rather troublesome apple that was a bit too high off of the ground, when he felt something sharp poke into his side.
"Give us everything you have," a bandit with a rough voice growled. He must have been hiding in the undergrowth because Orion didn't see him at all. Apparently there was at least two, for another appeared from behind a bush.
"I don't have anything except for these apples..." Orion said, anxiously looking towards the campfire.
"No? Well maybe your friend over there," and one bandit gestured towards the smoke rising from the campfire, "has something."
And without warning the bandit in front of Orion punched him hard in the stomach, causing Orion to gasp and double over in pain.
"Maybe next time don't come through this part of the forest empty handed," the other bandit threatened, punching Orion again, and then Orion collapsed with a a grunt, dropping the apples he had gathered.
"Lets go pay his friend a visit."

He should have felt them coming. If not felt, then heard. Were his senses still so dulled by his last feeding? Something was different about his condition in this place, and it unnerved him. Ven rose quickly from where he'd crouched and snatched up his staff, cursing his own imperceptiveness. By the time he had, the bandits were through with Mr. Sky, and Ven's companion lay doubled over on the ground. Ven scowled behind the mask. There was no need for such violence. Mr. Sky had already said it: they had nothing to give.

"You will find nothing here, either," he barked. "I am as penniless as he. If you should wish to leave here with your lives, I would caution you against getting any closer." He glanced down at his friend, who still writhed beside the horse. He had to choose, and quickly. He could risk frightening the poor man. Or he could risk yet more death.

Ven raised his free hand and whipped his hood off to rest at his shoulders, then tugged his mask down to his neck. He was a shocking sight for any mortal man to behold: gaunt and deathly pale, sockets sunken and ringed with blackened veins and grotesque bruising. The whites of his eyes were no longer, and looking at them was like looking into the void. He tilted his chin up and cocked his head defiantly. "You look upon a vem-pyre. I would advise you to leave."

The bandits gasped as Ven revealed himself. One of them jumped back and drew his sword.
The wind seemed to whisper ominously through the trees. It was silent.
"Do you think he's from the Fell?" The startled bandit fearfully whispered.
"I don't care what he's from...let's kill him! And then...we can take the horse."
And with that they both walked towards Ven, not heeding his suggestion to leave.
Orion, meanwhile, thought he was seeing things. And hearing things. Did he hit his head when he fell? Because right now Ven looked like an apparition of some kind. It did frighten him alittle.

The bluff had failed. It was not that these men could not see him for what he was. It was just that they didn't seem to have a lick of sense between them. Kill the two of them for a horse? Surely there was an easier way to obtain one. Ven rolled his eyes.

"Are you quite serious?" he huffed. "Ridiculous." He brandished his staff and began to back away from them, circling around the fire. As he did, he quickly crouched and grabbed a fistful of dirt. He would try not to kill, as was always his intent. He did not know if he would succeed. "Fine. Have it your way. Come at me, then. I haven't got all morning."

Orion groaned and sat up slowly. He had been kicked by a horse before, but somehow the punches from those two bandits hurt worse.
A strange atmosphere had settled. The wind had picked up, and the horse whinnied nervously.
Orion was hidden from the bandits by the horse at least. It seemed like the two bandits were about to kill Ven. Not on Orion's watch. Although he was sure Ven could handle both of them, Orion figured he could help still.
He grabbed one of the apples from the ground, which by now was bruised.


The two bandits had strategically placed themselves on either side of Ven.
They circled around him like vultures, seemingly looking forward to killing.
Then, they both attacked at the same time, Orion managing to hit one bandit in the head with a very well placed throw. That bandit tore his attention away from Ven and looked towards the general direction the apple had come from, and another one promptly got him right on the nose.

The other bandit, meanwhile, was fighting a losing battle against Ven.

Mr. Sky came to, and not a moment too soon. The bandits had drawn dangerously close in spite of his warnings and his bluffs. At the very moment they lunged for Ven, his travel companion and partner in crime had made an expert throw. With a satisfying smack, the apple struck true, and the bandit turned to seek the source of this latest attack, effectively blundering the pincer maneuver. The second man still came for him, however. Ven narrowly managed to block the swing. Blade clashed against wood, and the sword sent chips flying into the air as it bit deep into his staff.

"I just carved this," Ven snapped as the impact turned his arm to jelly. He threw his weight forward just enough to set the man off balance, then let loose the fistful of dirt. The bandit dropped his sword and stumbled back, swearing and clutching his eyes. Quickly, Ven swept his staff around and hooked it behind his assailant's knee, toppling the unfortunate man directly onto the fire — and the boiling tea.

As the bandit screamed and rolled frantically to put out the flames, Ven stooped and collected the man's sword, clutching it in his gritty, dirty palm. It was quite heavy. It was not a weapon with which he had any practice. The man before him did not know this, however. He marched towards their remaining attacker and prodded him firmly in the shoulder with the tip of the blade: not enough to cause any real damage, but certainly enough to send a message. "Leave," he barked. "Now."

Orion had gotten his breath back and while Ven was dealing with one of the bandits, Orion emerged from behind the horse, the horse whinnying nervously and pacing alittle. Orion turned to give it a quick reassuring headpat, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other bandit running towards him and the horse. Probably to try to steal the horse. Orion tackled him headon, stopping him and knocking the sword out of his grasp. He was still alittle dazed from the apple thrown, which worked in Orion's favor.

The two scuffled on the ground. Mr. Sky was now perilously close to the man, and Ven could no longer deliver a clean shot without putting his friend at risk. But so, too, did the bandit pose a threat, and Ven could not stand by and do nothing. In the chaos, he had instinctively closed the demon off from the world, and with it, his sense of the danger that it posed. Now, he might have to gamble and hope that his own fortitude could hold it back.

He waited for an opening — for the bandit to gain the upper hand and thus expose his back. Then he dropped his staff, grabbed a fistful of the man's greasy hair, yanked his head back, and pressed the sword to his throat. The demon stirred, but it was not that all-consuming, ravenous hunger to which he was accustomed. He could still manage it for now. He avoided Mr. Sky's gaze, and thus the inevitable fear and mistrust at his ghastly appearance. "You will relent and you will leave," he ordered again, the blade held firm just beneath the man's jaw. Behind him, the other bandit staggered and stumbled, disoriented by the agony of his burns.

TW: MINOR CHARACTER DEATH

Orion and the bandit were locked in a struggle. Until they weren't, thanks to Ven.
The bandit paled, realizing the very person they were wanting to kill now had a blade held to his throat.
"Ok, we'll leave, we'll leave!"
Now that it was relatively calm, Orion realized that the other bandit had gotten burned. After taking a few minutes to calm himself down, Orion got up from the ground and dusted himself off. Ven had the one bandit handled, so Orion cautiously approached the other one, who had passed out and fallen onto the ground in agony.
"Is he alive?" The other bandit yelled, careful not to do anything to startle Ven.
Orion knelt beside the unconscious bandit and carefully grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse.
"Well? Is he alive?" The bandit yelled again.
Orion couldn't feel one.
He anxiously checked his neck. Couldn't feel one there either.
Orion shook his head sadly. Even though the bandits had attacked them, it was still a human life that had just been lost.
"I'm afraid not."

"What?"

With an inhuman jolt, Ven turned to face the carnage that he'd wrought. The man indeed lay still in a bed of smoldering ash and cinder. His skin was seared. His clothing had singed in places, but...how? How had he possibly...? "No," Ven breathed, his throat closing tight around the words. "No. I didn't...I didn't want..."

For one brief moment, he regarded the corpse with plain and utter horror. This was not the demon. This was not some loss of control. This was him. He had done this. He could have found any other way to repel their attackers, but he had chosen recklessness and this man had paid with his life. The agony rose until Ven could no longer bear it, and then it twisted into something sick and dark.

He released the man he'd been holding. He stepped away, pacing and furious, his black eyes wide. "I told you to leave," he began, and his voice cracked as it rose to an anguished cry. "I told you to leave! Why didn't you LEAVE?! Get out. GET OUT, NOW. GO."

Orion knew it wasn't Ven's fault. Ven had been protecting himself. Hell, the bandit attacked first.
But Orion could see that it was still distressing for Ven. He quietly covered the dead bandit with a blanket.

The other bandit, as soon as Ven released him, started yelling.
"You killed him! YOU KILLED HIM!"
Orion quickly interjected.
"Get the fuck out of here! Ven's warned you enough! Or I'll throw you out myself!"
After a vague threat of "getting you both for killing my friend," the bandit was scared by Ven's appearance and Orion's threat and ran off into the woods.

Orion, meanwhile, didn't know what to do for Ven. Ven honestly was freaking out Orion alittle, not because of anything Ven had done, but because of the way Ven looked at this current moment. He almost looked unhinged.
But Orion, who had no experience really with this world, was still very much new in his head.
He cautiously approached Ven and laid a gentle, comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Ven, it's alright. We're safe. We're safe."

It all blurred in and out of focus, like the smoke and the morning mist had crept in and choked the scene before him. On the outside, he was utterly wild and inconsolable: his countenance warped by a ferocity that stood in jarring contrast to his usual calm demeanor. In one hand, he held the stick fast in a white-knuckled grip. The bandit's sword weighed his other arm down as the blade hung limp, tip pointed towards the dirt.

Men shouted. A lone figure vanished into the shadows of the undergrowth. Then a warm hand rested on his shoulder, and a calm voice spoke, and the demon caught him unawares and surged. "No. NO!" Ven batted the man's arm away with his staff and stepped out of reach, now focused solely on his companion. "Do not," he growled. "Don't. I could...I..."

Horror and sorrow knit his brow as he saw, finally, how frightened this man was. Ven held the staff out to ward him off. "This was a mistake," he breathed. "A dangerous mistake. And I...I am sorry, Orion. You will be much safer alone than with me." With a dull clank, Ven dropped the sword to the ground and began to back away from their once-peaceful campsite. "Take the horse. Travel south to the mountains, then west from there. Cross the first pass you find."

With that, he lingered for one final moment, his regret plain in his eyes, and then turned on heel and dashed into the forest.

Orion, as soon as he had laid his hand on Ven's shoulder, knew that was a mistake.
Ven hit his arm away, and Orion stepped back confused. What had he done?

"Leave? Wait, I—-" but Ven turned and ran, before Orion could finish his sentence.
What did Orion do? He followed. Ven had a lead on him, but Orion was a fast runner.
"Ven, wait!"
 
When Orion finally caught up, he held his hands out in front of him.
"Just wait a goddamn second," Orion said angrily.
"What kind of companion would I be, if, at the first sign of danger, I said 'fuck it,'and just left?" His voice softened alittle.
"Where I'm from, friends stick around for each other. Through the good and the bad. I know there hasn't been much good, and honestly, I don't know what you even are. But I don't care. You helped me when I was in a tight spot, and I want to do the same for you."
Orion walked alittle closer to Ven.
"I-I'm sorry if I did anything wrong.
I—I need you...I can't do this alone."

It quickly became clear that he could not run. Ven stopped in his tracks and backed away. He held the staff out in warning, tip pointed towards Mr. Sky like a blade, and gazed down it at the man with that same horror and self-loathing. "Please," he begged. "Be reasonable. In the time you've known me I have taken the lives of three people. This is not the work of a man you want at your back. I am a murderer, and if neither of us are careful, I will mourn your corpse as well."

But Mr. Sky still advanced. "No. Stay away," Ven snapped, taking another step back and holding the staff firm. Distraught, he gestured at his face with his free hand. "Do you not see this? Did you not see what happened to the guardsmen who tried to catch me in the courtyard? You are not immune to it. I might have controlled it for a moment, but that will not last. You do not know with what you are dealing."

Hurt flashed across Orion's face for a brief moment, but was replaced by frustration.
"I've already lost everything. My home, my family...my livelihood." His voice rose.
"Or did you forget I had a life before this goddamn place? I didn't ask to be dropped here!" Orion gestured all around them, then his hand dropped sadly to his side.
"Please...don't push me away..." his voice cracked, and he went silent for a moment.
"If I truly didn't want to stay near you I would have just ran and never looked back. Don't you see? I want to stay with you. I'm a grown man. I'm choosing this path."
Orion gently pushed the stick down.
"And if it means I die, then at least I chose this path."

The more Ven listened, the more his indignation crept back in. His gaze hardened. He backed away and raised the staff again. "You are not the only one here who has lost everything," he replied coolly. "That does not entitle either of us to waste what we've been given through sheer recklessness. It does not entitle you to throw your life away at my hands and leave me with that burden." He released a frustrated sigh and took a few more steps back. "You do not believe me? Watch."

At first, nothing happened. Then, in a perfect circle, death crept outward from where he stood. Leaves and fronds browned and shriveled before crumbling to ash. Butterflies and swarms of midges dropped dead to the ground. A single songbird fell between them, its tiny legs twitching. The edge of the circle stopped well short of Mr. Sky, but it took Ven considerable effort to shut it down.

"The closer you are to me, the greater the chance that this will someday be you," he rasped, sounding winded. "The longer I go without taking a human soul, the more I must focus, day in and day out, on keeping those around me safe. And you are not safe, Orion. Not even then. For even when I have fed, I cannot trust my own judgment. You saw this for yourself. Now please. Take the horse and seek asylum to the south. I am begging you."

Orion truly did not understand this world and did not, it seemed, understand Ven.
He watched in muted horror as the death circle grew outwards from Ven.
For frustration had him in full swing. He threw his hands in the air.
"How do I explain this? I meant, I lost everything, but I was lucky enough to gain a friend like you even being dropped into this place. I don't know how else to say this," he frustratedly rubbed his forehead.
"Do you just, the minute a problem shows up that you can't solve in two minutes, run away? Is that how you want to live? On the run?" Orion took a breath to calm himself.

"Don't you see? Can't you see?? If I leave you, I'll just get arrested and thrown in jail, or killed! At least with you I have a fighting chance!"
Orion had tears in his eyes, and he took another shaky breath, running a hand through his hair.

Ven froze, stricken, as though he'd been slapped hard across the cheek. This was not the first time that a man had said those words to him. Those very words. Without his knowing, his hand strayed to his belt bag and rested there as half-formed memories swirled and then evaporated. A face...he...he could almost make out that face: a sun-worn man in the moonlight, admonishing him for trying to leave like he always did. And then it was gone, and Ven was a viper again. "I am not running — How dare you — I — "

But try as he might, he could find no rebuttal to parry Mr. Sky's blade, for what Mr. Sky had said was absolutely, irrefutably true. So instead he stood there fuming, jaw agape, casting fiery affront at the man before him. But slowly, he deflated. His shoulders slumped. He set his staff to the forest floor and allowed it to roll into the crook of his arm. He averted his gaze and frowned at his boots. He shut his mouth.

"Forgive me," he said finally, in the quiet, shaky voice of a man mortified by his own childish outburst. "You are right, of course. You are right...I...I will see this through." Ven sighed deeply and cast a guilt-ridden look at his companion. "We should discuss a plan. A failsafe, in case I..." He faded off, then tried again. "And...you should know...I can see you to the border, but I cannot cross over with you. They will attempt to kill me. And...I have business here, still. So I must remain."

Orion nodded.
"A failsafe...yes...but what kind?"
He thoughtfully listened.
"And how far is the border from here?"
Orion asked, looking back towards the direction of the camp site.
"You have business here? Is it back in the city? If it's close then...perhaps maybe I can help you."

Orion looked at the sky. No storms...for now.
"We better head back. I'll go first, and...cover the...other bandit." Orion said carefully, not wanting to trigger Ven again. They had to go back, the horse was there, the fire needed to be put out properly.

Ven shifted his weight from foot to foot as if to ground himself in that place and away from the memory he'd just visited. His guilt weighed on his countenance, tugging at the corners of his eyes and leaving him looking all at once sad and worn and troubled. "I do not think you can," he replied quietly. "I am here seeking some semblance of a cure for this. It is dangerous work. It is also likely futile. And I would not know where to even begin, so it will likely be many months before I leave this terrible place."

He tilted his head ever so slightly, peering at Orion with those strange black eyes. "I will not drag you behind enemy lines for such a selfish quest. The mountain pass is, I believe, a week's ride away, and longer by foot. If I take you there, will you go willingly?"

Orion looked towards the ground.
"I can't force you to take me with you..." he quietly said, looking up through the trees as if he could see the mountain pass from here.
"But..." and he sighed deeply, looking again at Ven.
"I shouldn't abandon you either."
He absentmindedly rubbed his arm where he had gotten shot.
He paused, sinking deep into thought.
"I'll go to the mountain pass...willingly," he reluctantly said, his eyes sad. But he understood maybe this was the only way.