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Sand and Stones May Break My Bones (P)(Marakai)

Started by Blink, June 13, 2017, 03:43:30 PM

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Blink

As he told her the herbs to remember Jaela made a mental note, moving her lips to repeat the names as if it helped engrave them in her mind.

He was right, she wasn't being entirely truthful... but neither was he. For starters, her was still talking in that ridiculous accent despite the fact it was just the two of them.

Perking a brow Jaela sat up a bit, holding the majority of her weight on her arms as she tried to make herself seem as serious as possible. It had already slipped a few times, the facade she carried around strangers, and she was about to let it slip again. Except for this time she was doing it on purpose.

"I was a death guard soldier for the Black-Hearth family." Her tone was flat as if she were reading information aloud from a book. "Five siblings, two presumed dead, two estranged, and one still carrying out the family business." Jaela then flipped the page in her mental book as she continued. "Kaida Black-Hearth, youngest child to the Black-Hearth legacy and youngest sibling to the original five."

"She was the one I was assigned to and the one I still to this day carry out business for. I follow people when she needs it. I get information for her or simply take care of loose ends if she so desires. She was also the one that saw the potential in what I could do beyond the sand and stone tricks."

Falling back a bit into her crazy mantra Jaela repeated what she had said several times since she arrived. "Sand and stones, sand and stones.... sand and stones." Her face then fell serious again. "Stupid sand and stones."

"To become a member of the Black-Hearth death guard you had to first be submitted to living through Kaida's torture room. They would push you so that you would never break should you be interrogated or captured. They wanted to believe they took your mind so all that was left was a shell to do their bidding."

"So I became a shell and I play it magnificently. No one ever suspects me and everyone underestimates what I can do and I would like to keep it that way." And with that Jaela huffed as she let herself fall back in the bedroll, crossing her arms over her chest in a dramatic movement.

"Sand and stones, sand and stones... sand and stones and stupid iguanas." Despite how much she tried to sound crazy it was evident Jaela was irritated in a sense. Not so much at Itachi, but more at herself for caving and just blurting everything out like that. He had backed her into a corner, knowing that she owed him the same honesty he had shown her. Then to top it all off he saved her life. She owed him and for that, she hated herself for allowing it.

Marakai Trin

While she talked, he worked, and listened. He could sympathize with her acting differently than what was natural - this was a tactic he employed in every waking moment of his, constantly speaking like an unintelligent fool so as to keep in practice.

He mumbled when she finished speaking, dropping the accent. "Yeah. Always good to be underestimated...."

He had finished repacking her wound, and had it wrapped expertly in several layers of linen bandages. He glanced up at her, and tilted a brow. Her face was still lined with cuts, and that nasty gash on her forehead. While he was being good to her, he figured he might as well finish the job. He grabbed a small glass jar of salve, and slid over to sit beside her head.

"Your story...it's different, but not too unlike mine. I wasn't inducted into where I came from...I was born into it. Up north, back in the Thunderblacks, there's a tribe, the people I was born into. Evil, savage people. People I don't dare go back to, especially not after all this time."

He unscrewed the jar. "This might sting a bit. Don't move." He dipped a finger into the pasty substance, and began to smear it generously over her cuts.

"These are the Sarbanes. Warbands that hunt anything with two legs for whatever they have, known occasionally for eating their victims when food is scarce. My parents...were a part of one such band. That's when I discovered that I didn't want to be around anymore. When a warrior is wounded, no matter how minor an injury, they are killed, and their possessions are spread throughout the tribe. My parents were one such pair. One day, the chieftain just....dropped my father's knife," with his free hand, he reached behind him, and unsheathed a large bowie knife, jamming it point down into the ground beside him, "and my mother's vambrace," he gestured to an archers wrist guard that dangled from the center support pole of the tent, "in my lap. I knew they weren't coming back. I was eleven. I left that night for Ketra. I've been on my own since then."

He finished applying the salve to her various cuts, and glanced down at her, jade-colored eyes hard. "That's me. Now we both know, huh?"

Blink

The anger within her quickly subsided at his story. As he applied the salve to her cuts she barely winced, too focused on the words coming out of his mouth.

"I know... I mean knew someone who used to eat people..." she added with a smirk.

"I'm sorry about your parents though, I think it better to never have known mine than to lose them like you did." There was sympathy behind her eyes as she spoke, something Jaela NEVER expressed.

By now she could hear that outside the tent the sandstorm had since passed and the eerie night had overtaken once more.

"I swear I am not usually clumsy like this. I don't think I have ever been hurt so badly and to make it worse it was at the tail of a stupid insect."

Laughing to herself once more she began to almost sing the little mantra she had been repeating as she kept Itachi's face in view out of the corner of her eye. "Sand and stones, sand and stones... sand and stones and stupid iguanas and ridiculous scorpions."

When she finished Jaela was smiling again, chuckling to herself at how easy it was to sound crazy.

Marakai Trin

Itachi nodded at her consolation, but really wasn't worried about it. He'd come to terms with it years ago, and wasn't really bothered with it anymore. Twisting the knife in that wound didn't hurt anymore - that part of him had died long ago.

"Don't worry about it - there's nothing to be done about it, anyway. I'm not nearly strong enough to take the whole tribe on by myself, and that's a sortie I'd rather do on my own. So, really it's a moot point."

He, too, noticed the waning of the storm, taking note of it as he replaced his medical supplies in their rightful place.

"And maybe next time you've got a scorpion crawling on you...just brush it off, eh?" He winked at her just as he closed his case. "I might not be around the next time your leg's about to fall off."

He reached into a small sack in the far corner of the tent, withdrawing a large dark glass bottle.

"I've been saving this, you know. But...no time like the present." He pulled a throwing knife from the confines of his coat, shoved it in the cork, and twisted it out. He took a long draw from the bottle, and passed it to her.

"Cheers, bird. To a couple of crazy people in the desert."

Blink

When Itachi suggested brushing the scorpion off next time Jaela simply repeated what she had been singing. "Sticks and stones, sticks and stones.... sticks and stones and stupid iguanas and ridiculous scorpions." To anyone else it may have seemed her mind was already elsewhere, somewhere far off in la-la land. But now that Itachi knew her secret it would be easy to see she was just joking.

And then he pulled out the rum....

Immediately Jaela shot up from laying down and extended her arms out for it before he even had taken a drink for himself. After he did she happily took the bottle and took a long swig of her own.

"Cheers" she choked out before she lifted the bottle to her lips one more time to take another drink.

"Would have been so much better if you had just pulled that out from the beginning. And you forget it's not bird... I am Princess Bird."

Marakai Trin

"No, just bird. If anyone's royalty to these louts, it's me."

He chuckled a bit, and laid back on the sandy ground, folding his hands underneath his head. He stared straight up at the tents ceiling as he continued to speak.

"If you're the princess, I'm the king. But that doesn't really matter because-"

He lifted one hand from beneath his head, and pointed straight at her face.

"You, bird, aren't Craol."

Blink

When he pointed at her it almost made her eyes cross.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Thinking of the word Jaela immediately began thinking of a crab for some reason.

" I think that you may be crazier than me Itachi." The way she said it as if it were a well-known fact. It was almost refreshing for a minute, thinking that someone out there could play the crazy one for a bit.


Marakai Trin

"Eh? The way you put it, that's not hard, especially considering you aren't actually crazy." He lowered his arm and replaced it under his head again, and inclined his head just enough to see her.

"Anyway. The Craol. That's me and the boys. Bandits, thieves, warriors. All of us have one or two certain skills to fill us out. But, seeing what you can do, and knowing that kind of power is out there...I think I might be making another opening."

He laid his head back on the ground again, closed his eyes, and shrugged.

"Pity you're already employed, or there'd be a place for you, if you were interested."

Blink

"Depends on who your asking" she thought in regards to not actually being crazy.

So the Craol were what they called themselves. This small group of misfits tucked away in the desert where no one could find them. They all seemed entertaining enough since Jaela found herself having more fun this last day than she had had in a while.

When he laid his head on the floor Jaela turned hers to look at him. Was he baiting her? I mean yes she was 'employed' but she hardly had any work nowadays.

"Well...." she let the 'l' roll off her lips for a few seconds as she mulled over what she was about to say.

"I mean I don't have anything going on right now..." That was a lie of course. Jaela was actually supposed to be back at the abandoned citadel guarding the library of scrolls and books hidden within it. She did do that for a few days at least, but it was just so boring. Not like Kaida would notice anyways...

Marakai Trin

Itachi was quiet for several moments, his eyes still closed as his mind raced with possibilities. What most people didn't know, what Itachi carefully hid every day, was that the man was nearly a genius. He spent his off hours constantly planning, thinking of thousands of possibilities and variables. And this....if he could recruit this wonderful little woman into his band, it offered a multitude more of possibilities.

After a moment, his eyes opened, jade facing the ceiling again. He gave a small satisfied smile, and sat up. A deft movement of the hand snatched the bottle out of her hand.

He took a long pull from the bottle again, and sat it down next to him. Then he looked to Jaela with an amused sort of smile.

"So...you want to be a princess, then? We suddenly have an opening for mage royalty."

Blink

This guy could definitely be useful in the future. Plus, he was the first person Jaela didn't scare away with her 'crazy' in quite some time. It was actually refreshing to have someone who understood why acted the way she did.

"Well it doesn't sound awful...." she made it seem as if she were actually thinking about it, allowing for a long pause as she let her eyes scan the ceiling of the tent.

"I suppose I could tag along."

Marakai Trin

Itachi smiled. "Wonderful. Simply...wonderful." His smile quickly widened into a grin.

This was perfect! There were so many new possibilities opened now. A terramancer, here, under his employ? This was just too much. If he didn't know better, he'd pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

He removed the fingerless gloves from his hands, and extended an open hand to her.

"Welcome to the fold...Princess Bird."

Blink

Even though she didn't completely show it Jaela was excited as well. Maybe life wouldn't be so boring now that she had something productive to do with her time. Plus Itachi was good company!

Turning on her side she held out her hand to shake his and after pulled it back. "Happy to be in the mix Itachi."

Jaela then rolled on her back again and folded her arms over her stomach. It was still night out and she honestly was exhausted. Between her body still trying to heal and the stunt she had pulled earlier she was running on fumes. Yawning rubbed one of her eyes as the ceiling of the tent began to blur.

"You know Itachi I th-" and she was gone. Drifting to sleep mid-sentence.

Marakai Trin

It was amazing how easily this girl could fall asleep. Still, though, he was pretty satisfied with how the night had gone - even with the close call from the sandstorm. He'd gained a powerful ally, and added a new facet to the gem that was the Craol.

He smiled to himself, and leaned over to grab a blanket to toss over her legs. "Sleep well, princess." He grabbed his knife from the ground, sheathed it, and crept out of the tent.

Itachi made his way over to the dying embers of the fire, and worked to rekindle it with the remains of their firewood.

Then he reserved to make himself as comfortable as possible on the ground, wrapping himself up in his coat and staring at the stars.

Overall? Not a bad night.

____________


It took an age and a half for Itachi to fall asleep, and when he finally did he felt as if he slept for a grand total of ten minutes.

He cracked an eye open as the first rays of the sun shined down on his face. Quite suddenly, he wished he'd kept quiet about the rum, and he threw an arm over his face.

Well. Today was the day, then. Time to get packed up and get moving. Though the moving part would take awhile. Itachi felt as though he'd slept in the workings of a clock while it was ticking double time.

Very slowly, he dragged himself out of the sand, and began shouting.

"CRAOL! UP AN' AT'EM! FIRE, FOOD, LE'S GET MOVIN'!"

Shouting killed his head, but this was a routine he followed daily. Last to bed, first to rise, day in and day out.

So far this routine hadn't changed, and he almost forgot that there was one that wasn't a part of it, yet. He made his way back over to his (Jaela's?) tent, and brushed the flap open to poke his head in.

"Princess Bird, it's time to get up. Busy day today. Up and at 'em, chop chop, we don't have all day!" He grinned and grabbed the bottle still on the ground. He took a swig and set it back down.

Nothing like the hair of the dog to get you moving again. Though he wished he could hold his alcohol better.

Blink

Jaela jumped up at the sound of his voice waking her up. Immediately she regretted sitting up too quickly and held a hand to her head from the pain. Alcohol mixed with a head injury really wasn't the best combo. Itachi's face was the first thing she saw after she opened her eyes, the next being the ongoings happening on outside of the tent.

She couldn't see much beyond the bit of fabric he had held open but it was still enough to see everyone moving around outside of it. "I guess we are moving then?" she asked as she stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "Alright then..."

Jaela then closed her eyes for a brief moment before shooting them back open, the wild glimmer behind them now present. She had her game face on and was ready to start the day just like every other.

Without another word she crawled out of the tent past Itachi and stood as soon as she was able, placing a hand on each hip as she took in the sights of the camp. "Great job everyone! Keep doing exactly whatever it is you are doing!" Jaela then clapped her hands together as she found all of this very entertaining.

With each step, she still limped and the pain in her leg was still present, but much less severe.

Marakai Trin

With her exclamation about the daily activities of camp, Itachi winced and put a hand over his eyes, slowly running downward.

"I uh...don't suppose you could keep it down, could ya?" he asked. His next statement was mumbled. "Heads fuckin' killin' me."

He noted the way she limped, and pointed it out. "'Ow's th' leg, Princess? Need me ta take a look 'fore we start the day?"

Blink

Still standing with a hand on each hip Jaela looked at Itachi out of the corner of her eye. "And who's fault is that? I bet it's a butter witch tryin' to get into your mind." Turning to face him then Jaela smiled. "I heard the best way to prevent that from happening is strap some horseradish to your head." Jaela stared at him blankly after that with her head tilted.

When he mentioned her leg she looked down at it and then back to him, her eyes flicking to everyone hustling around them for just a second. Then her eyes widened as if she believed everything she had just said about the butter witch. "You think it's trying to possess my leg too?"

Immediately she twirled back around "Quick! Does anyone have any horseradish! It's an emergency!"

Jaela even seemed worried for a second as she asked for the silly ingredient. "I never thought they would find me out here in the desert! I guess their evil truly knows no bounds."

"Damned butter witches."

Marakai Trin

As one, the ragtag group of bandits turned to look at her incredulously, each with their brows raised. A couple even went to hunt for the ingredient.

Muttered, somewhere in camp: "Know there's some around here somewhere...where'd I put it?"

Elsewhere: "Wha's da 'mergency, Princess?"

Itachi facepalmed, before putting his hands on Jaela's shoulders and steer her toward the tent.

"Le's get ya looked at, even if'n it's ta keep them from takin' ya too seriously, mind?" With an exasperated sigh, he sat on the floor of the tent.

"Bad 'nuff I gotta be....picking the sand out of my hair all morning. Now I'll have to listen to that lot hunting for horseradish to ward off made-up witches. Now sit down, this has to be checked on every now and again."

Blink

Jaela was just about to respond, even holding a finger up to make a statement, but was so rudely interrupted by Itachi shoving her back in the tent. However, despite his best efforts she still managed to get one last thing in before completely inside.

"It's a matter of life or death! All of our lives are at stake if you don't find it!"

Once inside the tent, Jaela was still smiling at her successful declaration. They really did take her seriously and she kind of loved that. Already she was thinking of the many things she could say and do to set things into motion for entertainment purposes. By the end of the week, she would probably have them all walking around with corn husks shoved under their shirts to ward off some kind of crop monster.

Obliging Jaela slowly lowered herself to the tent floor alongside Itachi, extending her leg straight out so that he could examine what lay beneath the bandages. "So how long is this hole in my leg gonna be around anyways? I really don't like it."

Her eyes trailed down to the bandage as she studied it. Jaela had never had this kind of wound before that wasn't healed by the Black-Hearth family's mage. She was used to going out and being as reckless as she wanted to be without any long lasting damage. Every scrape, cut, stab, and broken bone usually gone within an hours time at the hands of their healer.

Marakai Trin

Itachi glanced up at her for only a moment before he got to work. "I think I'm about to tell you, actually. If you're lucky, you'll be able to go without the bandage in a couple of days. If you're not lucky, the poultice didn't do shit, and you're gonna have things crawling around in it."

He grinned and looked up at her again, the bandage half unwound from her leg.

"But I'm gonna go with lucky. I've always been lucky, and I haven't had to cut off any limbs yet." He unwrapped the last of it, and looked at her wound. His face gained a look of satisfaction, but also confusion.

"Well...the good news is....the infection is gone. The flesh doesn't even look irritated. But...for some reason, you seem to be healing alot faster than normal."

He glanced at her with an odd expression. "Leave the bandage off for today, and let it dry out. Just try not to bump it on anything...."

He settled back, no longer hovering over her wound, one hand raised to his chin as he thought for a moment. He mumbled slightly, thinking out loud.

"It can't have been something I've done...I've used that poultice a thousand times, and no one's ever...."

Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, and looked up to Jaela again. "It's you, isn't it? You're an elementalist, in your element. Fascinating..."

He grinned, and pushed his way up to his feet, and held out a hand to pull her up. "No matter! Let's get some food in our bellies before those louts eat it all."

While he spoke, the gears were turning in his head. Possibilities, angles, plans, and schemes. This man never quit.

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