A Warrior, a Healer, and an Accidental Adventure [Midnight] [Archive]

[DragonSong]

When her vision cleared, the first thing she saw was the bandit's body. Gasping, she backed away, hands flying up to cover her mouth.

"Gods..." she whispered, wide eyed. Logically, she knew that he was responsible- directly or indirectly- for the deaths of many people, and the maiming of others. Still, her heart clenched and she felt her eyes prickle, blinking furiously to keep the tears at bay.

[Nightmare]

Avalon took a few steps forward, stopping to kneel when he was just in front of the bandit's corpse. He whispered a short prayer before returning to his feet and turning to face Dusk. "Shall we continue on our way?"

[DragonSong]

Pulling herself together, Dusk nodded. A part of her wanted to stay and help the archers she'd wounded, but even she knew that was foolish. "Wh-whenever you're ready," she murmured.

[Nightmare]

Avalon wasn't always the best at picking up on other people's emotions but Elara could easily tell that the girl was still shocked with what she just saw. Talk to her, Avalon. That kind of stuff is stressful for people who don't do it every day.

He hadn't really put much thought into it. Things like this didn't really phase him anymore. Still, he kind of understood what his sister meant. "Are you okay?"

[DragonSong]

That question was all it took.

Before she could rein herself in, Dusk's eyes teared up and overflowed. She took a shuddering breath, swiping at her eyes and trying to fight it back. "S-sorry," she choked out. "B-b-being silly. I j-just-" She covered her mouth with her hands and clenched her eyes shut, trying to even out her breathing.

[Nightmare]

Aww, you made her cry! What did you do? Elara asked her brother, even though she knew it wasn't his fault. He wasn't really sure what to say, so all he could manage to get out was, "I... uh... It's okay. You didn't get hurt, right?"

[DragonSong]

"N-no, I'm f-f-f-fine," Dusk sniffled. Trying valiantly to pull herself together, she straightened her shoulders and blinked another stream of tears out of her eyes, hefting her back and bow. "L-let's go."

She could feel their pain now. Normally she loved her gift, loved healing and the connection with life it brought. But now she could feel it, the sharp pains from the various wounds they'd caused the bandits. She tried to shut it out, she really did- but once she broke down her defenses fell and it flooded in.

The death was the worst, a creeping, rotting chill the slid down her spine and curled icy fingers around her heart. She drew in a shuddering breath, wrapping her arms around herself and forcing her legs to take a few steps forward.

[Nightmare]

Now it was easy for Avalon to tell that something was wrong, though he didn't know what it was or what to do about it. He simply smiled at her and said, "The worst part of the trip is over. It should be pretty easy going from here on out."

[DragonSong]

Dusk latched onto his voice- bright and healthy and alive- using it to anchor herself. She nodded, murmuring, "Lead the way then."

Because her walls were down, now she could sense something...strange, about Avalon. At first she assumed it was the fact that he had magic, a sort of glow surrounding the core of what he was. But no, this almost felt like a separate entity...

She pushed it from her mind. This felt too much like spying.

[Nightmare]

Avalon continued down the road in silence for a while, taking in the peace and quiet. It was nice when things were calm and he wasn't sure how much longer they would remain this way.

[DragonSong]

"Um..." Dusk looked up at Avalon sidelong. She felt guilty for what she'd sensed, and she didn't want to hide it. "C-can I ask you something?"

[Nightmare]

Avalon shrugged. "Why not? What is it?"

[DragonSong]

She would have to explain her gift a bit for this to make sense. "I...when I heal, sometimes I use magic to do it," she started slowly. "But that's not all my magic does. It-it sort of lets me connect to the world around me. I can f-feel the pain I'm trying to cure, and so much more." Quieter, she said, "Sometimes I can feel emotions. I try n-not to, I don't want to pry, but..."

Looking up at him, she murmured, "B-back there, I let my guard down and...well I know you have magic, so I thought that's what I w-was sensing, but it's not quite right. It's l-like there's a whole other being surrounding you. Or inside you, I c-can't really tell."

[Nightmare]

Was it possible that this girl could actually sense Elara's presence? Until now no one seemed understand Elara's existence. Avalon thought for a moment about what he should say. "I brought up my guardian angel before, right?"

[DragonSong]

Dusk nodded, looking up at him intently. "Y-yes. Elara, right?"

Was it possible he really had a guardian angel? A tangible presence watching out for him.

[Nightmare]

"Well, Elara is my sister," Avalon started, not sure exactly how to explain what happened. "She died during birth. However, her soul stayed in the physical world, connecting to it through me."

He held out his hand and thought to his sister, Show her.

Once again the sword appeared in front of Avalon, floating in the air. "She can also take physical forms, such as this sword."

[DragonSong]

Dusk's eyes went very round. "Whoa." She said quietly. Then she frowned suddenly. "S-so...is she like...here? I mean, c-can she hear us talk? Or is m-m-more abstract?"