[GEM]

It was dark in the ship's hold, nothing really to shed light besides some old lanterns hanging on the walls. But they were used to it given their time in the labyrinth.

Moira's hands fiddled with her amulet as the small amount of light glistened off its beautifully crafted design...

"I spy something... wood," Tuffnut said.

"The ship," Faelan guessed.

"Yep."

"Right now... I spy something... wooden."

"Oh no... oh man... uh..."

"Are you kidding me?" Arne questioned him with frustration.

"Uh..." Tuffnut looked like he was thinking very hard about this.

Arne just looked at him incredulously.

"Oh don't tell me."

"He shouldn't have to."

"You've got this," Faelan encouraged.

"This barrel!" Tuffnut said.

"Are you kidding me?!" Arne demanded.

"All of you!" Uriah finally snapped. "Enough," he said like a father to his kids.

[MELODY]

Moira had tried to completely block herself off from her surroundings as her head was hurting immensely. She was pretty sure she had a concussion so sleeping wasn't an option... not that she could right now. She sighed, irritated as she opened her eyes again looking over at the others.

[GEM]

They looked guilty and Faelan said, "Sorry," in a sheepish way.

Tuffnut leaned over and began to whisper, "I spy—"

Arne hit him in the arm.

"Ow!"

Uriah had his head leaned back against the wall as he tried to let the ship's movement relax him. He had spent most of their ride silently praying but he seemed to find it hard to not worry. This was different from the other times he'd been in captivity like this. Now he had his friends and Moira to worry about. He didn't care much what happened to him. He knew he'd be alright either way but he often carried the lives of the people he loved on his shoulders a bit too much.

With what limited "supplies" they had, they already patched up their injuries as much as they could, Uriah helping Tuffnut set his broken wrist as well.

The man once known only as Apostle looked at his love who sat hip to hip with him, sympathy in his eyes. "How are you feeling?" He basically asked this every thirty minutes.

[MELODY]

"..like me head is going to explode still.." Moira said as she closed her eyes again fiddling her amulet around it her hands. She tried to distract herself by going with her fingers over the carefully engraved flowers and symbols in the silver.

[GEM]

He shut his eyes, not wanting her to be in pain. "Head injury is rather a deja vu, don't you think?" he said quietly, remembering when they first met.

[GEM]

He had tried to clean his face of the dragon blood that covered it with what remained of their drinking water, getting most of it off but the cut on his cheek was still there, beginning to scab over now.

[MELODY]

Moira let out a dry chuckle when he said that opening her eyes slightly again as she looked sideways over her shoulder to look at him. "..a-aye..it is.." she said quietly back as she watched him.

[GEM]

"Can I ask you a question?" he said quietly, the others distracted with some argument about what kind of wood the ship was made of so they weren't listening.

[MELODY]

Moira nodded slightly trying not to move her head or neck too much. "A-Aye..of course.." she said quietly back.

[GEM]

"When did the feelings begin on your part?" He looked up at her, a held back grin on his lips as his eyes were cute and almost sheepish. He found distracting her from the pain would help, as it usually did.

[MELODY]

Moira was caught of guard by that question as a small smile appeared on her face. "..a-after the news of me family's death..when you came to the beach to comfort me..but..I think the attraction was already there.." she said honestly. "B-but it got stronger with what followed.."

[GEM]

He smiled wider with her answer, picturing it as she spoke. His heart was warmed by her words as he didn't know it was that quick. "Really?" he seemed surprised, looking at her with a cute look in his eyes.

[MELODY]

Moira nodded slightly as she looked at him with this loving expression on her face. "..I-it's what I realize now..that's what I really felt back then.."

[GEM]

"See for me I assumed it wasn't until much later on. In fact I remember sitting in Astrid's house with you... and we were playing that wretched game you always got so competitive with--"

[MELODY]

"It's a fun game! Y-Ye are only calling it that because ye suck at it and lost all the time.." Moira protested but a smirk appeared on her face. "I am not that competitive.." she added then.

[GEM]

"You gave me death threats--" he pointed out with attitude

[MELODY]

"Oh c-come on..don't be such a bairn..I didn't mean them.." She said sighing softly as she rolled her eyes.

[GEM]

He looked at her incredulously for like a full minute but then didn't even know what to say to that so he shook his head to clear it. "Anyway the point is: that arguing turned into flirting and then you looked at me like... ..." he turned back into being a bit nervous talking to her about this as his cheeks were rosy. "I... can't even really explain it—in fact I know I'm explaining it wrong but I just knew... I don't know it's like my heart leapt out of my chest for a moment and I felt like you shared my feelings at last. It was probably the happiest I had been in a long time." He looked over at her with that happiness clear in his eyes, that subtle sweet smile on his lips.

[MELODY]

Moira's smirk turned into a warm smile as she watched him finding it adorable the way he explained it. She felt very happy even in that moment that they were still together. "..for me as well..and I get what you mean.." she said to him softly

[GEM]

He looked away from her to contain himself and try not to look like a dork, trying to wipe the smile off his face bashfully.

[MELODY]

"..so since ye asked me..when did your feelings start?" Moira asked him as she watched him still doing her best to stay awake still. But this did help her forget her pain for a moment

Dec 1, 2023, 9:18 PM

[GEM]

"Oh they were always there," he said immediately. Then he frowned. "That came out wrong," he added. "I mean from the moment I saw you I thought you were so... stunning. Looks and everything else. But I suppose because romance wasn't the thing at the foreground of my mind for so long, I had been unconsciously suppressing it. And it didn't help that I thought you genuinely were not interested that way for the longest time and so I put the thought out of my mind. That and you were emotionally vulnerable for a long time when we were still getting acquainted and I wasn't about to introduce romance during that time. But I was always very much drawn to you. How could I not be?"

Dec 2, 2023, 2:31 AM

[MELODY]

Her smile grew as she listened to him. She wanted nothing more at that moment then to be in his embrace but didn't know if it was right at that moment. A blush had appeared on her face as she listened to him. "..I had the same attraction to ye.. but it was so new to me that I..I didn't know what to do with it.." she said honestly as she looked down at her hands. "..I learned things so differently growing up..love wasn't one of them..I mean real love.."

[GEM]

"I assume you mean romantic love. I'd like to think your siblings and parents loved you, and even others..."

[MELODY]

Her expression changed when he said that before she nodded slightly. "..well..I am sure me brothers loved me...I know David does..and me mum did..as well as the war chief..but me father...the king...maybe deep down..he did..he just never showed it.."

[GEM]

He looked at her with understanding before he sighed and looked ahead. "I don't know how anyone couldn't love you," he stated quietly.

[MELODY]

A small smile reappeared on her face as he said that before she reached out for his hand and interlocked it with hers. "..it was complicated..I dinna Ken (don't know) why..I still dinna Ken.."

[GEM]

He smiled when their hands held each other and listened carefully to her words. Then he looked forward once more and thought about it. "I suppose I understand it; what it is to not know how to love. Even with my parents trying to teach me, I didn't fully understand what real love was until I met Elijah. And it confuses me how we all get it so wrong so often..." He explained further. "'Perfect love drives out fear'--Love, it's not a feeling in your gut, it's... it's an action. It's a choice. A choice to be selfless, a choice to care and understand why; to truly put someone else before you and do it over and over--that is what it is to love as we should..." he opened up to her. "After Elijah taught me--opened my eyes... I... I cannot help but love others. It's a part of me now but even when I don't feel like it, I do it anyway." he looked over at her. "That's the kind of love I have for you, Moira. And I'll always have for you. Even if you were to tell me tomorrow that you never wanted to see me again," he said with a slight chuckle.

[MELODY]

With adornment and love in her eyes she was listening to his words taking them all in. "..I am never letting ye go.." it was out before she knew it as it surprised herself as well.

Dec 2, 2023, 3:57 AM

[GEM]

He was moved and so grateful that she was devoted to him... How could he be more lucky to have someone as... breathtaking inside and out as her? He probably wouldn't ever understand. But it made him full of the deepest joy a man could possess. He had no words, just emotions. And he kissed the back of her hand that he still held before he leaned over to kiss the side of her head as well, leaving his forehead there to say, "I love you so much," in a quiet and soft voice. He held her hand close to his chest.

[MELODY]

There was this intense but beautiful and unexplainable feeling inside her that was so strong every time she was near him or even thought about him when he wasn't there. She couldn't explain it other than she felt like she was meant to be with him. She smiled happily and brightly as she looked at him. "I love you too..."

[GEM]

Hiccup and Astrid sat beside one another as they hadn't separated from each other since they were caught. She had her head on his shoulder as he watched the others in front of him. Snotlout and Ruffnut had bars between them but she was resting against them to sleep, not liking being separated from her brother. And Snotlout was also resting against the bars, sleeping.

Ruarcc had been awake for a while but he finally drifted off in the corner of his cell, his cloak over Ruffnut whom he shared the cell with.

Gregor was snoring and had been since he sat down.

They all looked terrible, covered in cuts, bruises, and blood that was both human and reptile alike.

"Are you awake?" Astrid asked quietly as she wasn't looking at him at the moment, her eyes shut.

"Mm," is all he replied with, distracted and worried.

She lifted her head from him. "I can't sleep either," she sighed. "But I know we need it."

"I want to marry you," he practically interrupted her to say.

She looked over at him with surprise but her brows pulled into a frown. "Wait what?"

"If we make it out of this alive... that's the first thing I'm going to do," he said as he kept his gaze ahead, more sure about that than any other decision in his life.

[GEM]

She was moved at this. Of course she and him were essentially betrothed after they kissed when they were fifteen. But now it just seemed so much more real when they spoke about it. She was always afraid he wouldn't want things to progress or change, even worried he would find someone else after he became the famous dragon rider and women were essentially being thrown at him from every tribe by their fathers (often princesses with more to offer than she could).

But here and now she couldn't contain the joy that that thought gave her. She looked down at her hands. "Do I get a say in this?" she teased.

"Of course, you do," he said with deep tenderness. "In fact, acceptable answers include 'yes' or nothing."

She let out a chuckle before kissing him, causing him to chuckle as well before he kissed her back. She then smiled at him when they parted. "I can't wait to marry you."

"G-good. I was bluffing before."

She laughed and kissed him again.

As Moira rested against Uriah, she gently began to feel sleep taking her. But that's when there was commotion on the deck, so loud everyone was looking upwards. There was yelling, crashing, running... and roaring.

[MELODY]

The only reason Moira felt safe to fall asleep was that Uriah was there with her. Moira snapped awake again flinching as she felt pain shot into her head. "W-what is happening?" She asked Uriah and the others as she looked up holding her head.

[GEM]

"I don't know," he said but couldn't make himself stand as his--well his everything--hurt. But Faelan stood up and looked around, wishing he had his weapons. But those thugs practically took his clothes off to get them all.

[MELODY]

Moira tried to make out the sounds above them but she couldn't concentrate well enough to do so. "Are they...being attacked?"

[GEM]

There was a long pause on the deck but then the hatch suddenly slammed open and Kahu was dragging some woman by the arm as she didn't really seem to protest all that much despite his strong grip. She had fire red curly hair like Moira's but not as crazy as it was tied back into multiple braids. She had dark freckles covering her face and wore some snow covered furs and bandit clothes. "Oh I don't think I've got the hint, perhaps you should grip me harder?" she sassed him with a thick northern English accent before she bit the air at him, mocking him.

[MELODY]

Kahu didn't react to it as he threw her into a cell rather harshly. "Safe your energy..Ysra.." he said to her coldly as he locked the door behind her. "When do you finally realize this doesn't work and you end up here every time?" He was clearly irritated but underneath was something else.

[GEM]

"Only for the fun... and to visit my favorite cell. I see you've kept it nice and cold in my absence. Is that a new vomit stain?" she asked as she kept a smirk on her lips, threading her arms through the bars and leaning forward casually.

[MELODY]

Kahu rolled his eyes at that folding his arms together. "You are lucky you never succeed..otherwise I have to mention it to upper hand.."

[GEM]

"Really? Then it seems you're not very good at counting, are yuh, yuh big beetle brain? You had fifteen dragons when you started this voyage and now you have fourteen." She raised a lockpick in her left hand. "Oops."

[MELODY]

Kahu let out an irritated sigh as he pinched his nose bridge closing his eyes like she was giving him an headache. "..did you happen to see which one you let escape?" He asked coldly. He then noticed the steps creaking as he opened his eyes and turned his head to look seeing his dragon coming down the stairs. Even with his size he still squeezed his way inside smoothly. "..not this again.." Kahu mumbled. "Get back upstairs! Hoki ki runga! (Go back up)"But the dragon seemed just to ignore him with an uninterested expression on his face as he basically shoved him aside to get to Ysra sniffing her hands as if asking for attention. It was a very odd sight compared how the dragon had behaved in battle.

[GEM]

"Why if it isn't my biggest fan?" Yrsa said with a wide smile as she pet the beast. "You're sight for sore eyes and a smell for a sore nose," she said, glancing at Kahu as she was referring to him.

[MELODY]

Kahu glared at the beast as he regained his balance before rolling his eyes again. "I really don't get what he likes about you..you're just not likable.." he shot back at her. Surprisingly Whetū even purred quietly when she petted him acting like a house cat all of a sudden.

[GEM]

"Oh says the man who can't seem to get enough of me, huh?" she sent him a wink. "Come on, yuh big ape. Let's take it slow somewhere dark. I could do worse. I could do a lot better but I could do worse," she said as if compromising.

[MELODY]

"Never in a million years..again" Kahu said adding that last part quietly as he glared at her before he looked down at the beast who didn't seem to go away from her any time soon. "..you can forget your dinner tonight if you don't come with me.." he said to the dragon like a father to his son. But Whetū just didn't seem interested at all. "Alright forget it." Kahu said as he made his way back to the stairs.

[GEM]

Arne raised his eyebrows when he said that, the others locked up incredibly entertained by this interaction.

"Aw, hey you want to blow up this ship for me?" she asked as if she was simply telling the dragon to play dead.

[MELODY]

Whetū let out a soft rumble when she asked but then Kahu looked over his shoulder then as he stopped shooting the dragon a glare. The beast let out a low hiss then and seemed to roll with his eyes like he was never allowed to do anything. He then decided to follow Kahu back up anyway. As he passed the others in their cell the beast's expression changed having that killer stare in his eyes that would give anyone shivers if they hadn't seen a totally other side to him.

[GEM]

"Get some sleep you look awful!" she called after Kahu before the hatch closed. She laughed to herself and then looked around. "Who are you lot?" she asked plainly.

[MELODY]

The others had a look on their faces what clearly said "what did we just witness." Moira looked over at the red-haired woman when she asked not sure if it would be wise to introduce themselves as she glanced up at Uriah.

Dec 2, 2023, 5:42 AM

[GEM]

"Prisoners," he answered plainly.

"What are you in for?" she asked curiously.

"We were resurrected souls from the ferry of Davy Jones, cursed to ride this boat for all eternity for not paying taxes," Arne said.

[GEM]

She snickered. "I like you all. We need more humor around here. The north's been as dry as hyena picked bones lately... and boring... minus all the murders and slave trades and stuff."

[MELODY]

Moira tried her best not to laugh at Arne's dry comeback. But a small smile escaped anyway. She looked back at the woman when she mentioned the murders and slave trades. That was certainly something to worry about. She then glanced back down at her amulet thinking about her own family's murder..and Melody's tribe came to mind as well. She wondered how the witch was doing honestly although she should be more concerned about the situation they were in right now.

[GEM]

"I dunno... maybe I'll go south. Might be more to do there... but where would I be without making Drago Bludvist's life a living hell? That man takes himself far too seriously."

Their attention was grabbed at this. "We're going to Bludvist?" Tuffnut asked.

"Oh not that arsehole," Arne sighed.

Dec 2, 2023, 6:12 AM

[MELODY]

Moira glanced up at Uriah remembering Stoick mention that name. But she didn't know exactly who this man was

[GEM]

He looked back at her as well, his expression showing recognition and worry. "The dragon trapper?" he asked.

"The one and only. The old ugly bastard... Best get your sleep. You got quite the meet and greet ahead of you then."

[MELODY]

Moira didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like they would be dragged into absolute hell. They were in no state at all to even think of an escape plan.

[GEM]

But she remembered Uriah's words.

Everything would be alright. Even if the worst should happen...

She tried to let those words calm her as they continued over the thick black waves.

In the old tavern, the people were talkative and high energy, Melody overhearing some familiar words and realized that some of them were talking about what she did before. In fact, some of them tried to talk to her but she politely turned them away to focus on their task. They took the table in the corner to be furthest away and had three ales.

When the people finally left them alone, Runa looked confused. "Why is she getting so much attention? Do they have hated relatives they want to develop skin warts?" she sassed plainly.

[MELODY]

Melody had both hands around her cup. She didn't really drink alcohol but she didn't turn it down as she didn't want to be rude. She let out a chuckle when Runa asked that amused by it. "..not really..but who knows some of them have that on their minds for sure." She said before lifting the cup to her lips and took a sip. She felt it burn down her throat as she started coughing afterwards.

[GEM]

Muiredach noticed this but didn't comment on it. He looked down at his own tankard, hesitant. Not because he couldn't or even didn't want to drink it... It was just something he wasn't used to being able to do. The Brotherhood never let their members drink as it numbed their senses and limited their attack readiness. Muiredach had been looking over his shoulder for years and only now was he allowed to be free of that.

He lifted it to take a drink and when he set it back down, he saw Runa had finished hers.

[MELODY]

Melody had only took that one sip not sure if she wanted the rest. "..it..tastes odd.." she said honestly only being used to water, milk (if she had it) and herbal teas.

[GEM]

"Well... it's no robin's blood," Runa commented.

Muiredach made a subtle eye-roll.

[MELODY]

Melody looked up from her drink when Runa said that with an amused expression on her face. "..well yea it sure isn't.." she replied back calmly but at an amused tone.

Dec 2, 2023, 7:05 AM

[GEM]

"What of his army?" Muiredach asked, interrupting the tasteless jesting. "How many does he have now?"

"Forty thousand and growing," she answered him.

"And leads to the other stones?"

"He doesn't like to share his progress on those. But people were behaving as if he knew were the other two were and would have them soon."

Muiredach thought about this and looked away, distressed at it all, his expression intensely serious. "What happened after I left?" he then asked as he continued to not share his eye contact.

"...He had the men you slipped past killed... But beyond that nothing surprised him."

He seemed affected by those words but tried not to show it.

"He's different than we expected. The Brotherhood always talked of him as a great liberator and stuart of justice. But instead what I saw was fear and misery. I watched the poor go starving and the rich not even think twice about it. I watched men beaten for not doing their work. I saw children made to train night and day..."

"...I have followed Tempus Mora and his doctrine my entire adult life. The message was breaker of chains, bringer of peace, a necessary lethal justice to purge the world of its evil... I killed because I believed those I killed were deserving of it; murderers, pirates, rapists, thieves..." He looked at Runa and shook his head. "But I slowly watched us become exactly what he fought against that day in Rome... where it all began."

[MELODY]

Melody watched them both as she had no idea what they were discussing. It did however give her a bad feeling feeling the intensity of it coming from them. She was very sensitive for that.

[GEM]

Muiredach continued. "And when he returned it only got worse, as I feared it would. Part of me hoped he would put an end to the madness but that man is a power hungry, bloodthirsty, destroyed human being... I don't pretend to understand true morality. But I know one thing... absolute evil does exist and that man wears it like a crown."

Runa hadn't fully prepared for a fight against Mora, as she felt caught up in this rather suddenly. But his words were piercing her heart with a truth that she didn't realize she had wanted so badly. It felt like the first time she wasn't being lied to...

[MELODY]

Melody's expression at that moment was a mix of concern, confusion and curiosity. "..who is this man you are talking about?" She suddenly asked plainly "and what are these stones he is collecting?"

[GEM]

Runa looked at her. "I trust you have heard of the legends of the Conqueror of the South? A six hundred year old tale where a slave boy became the face of a revolution that rivaled the conquest of Alexander the Great?"

[MELODY]

Melody shook her head as she looked at them innocently. She had been protected from the outside world basically all her life so she had no idea. "I didn't..sorry.." she said with a small smile on her face as she decided to take another sip of her ale but regretted it immediately as she coughed again now putting it down on the table finally.

[GEM]

Runa seemed a bit surprised but when she looked at Muiredach he gave her a look that basically said "just go on".

She blinked and got back to what she was saying. "The slave boy grew up under his master's watch. The tale is that after years of abuse and death, he he attempted to kill him. Unsuccessful, his master threw him into the Colosseum to kill him. He became the first boy of his age to kill a gladiator. After that, he was trained to be one of the greatest arena fighters Rome had ever seen. He was tenacious and merciless... that never went away. He rose up after spending years planting a revolution, getting the chained to turn on their masters and raised an army that destroyed the city. That was what caused the Roman Empire's downfall..." She looked at Muiredach. "After that, he took most of Asia, southern Europe, and Africa... Others rose to try and take him down but what finally did the trick was illness. So seeing his inevitable death, he used dark magic to infuse his armor with his soul, cursing it so that the next man he deemed worthy to put on the armor would be possessed by him. In the meantime, the remaining members of his army were dissolved into the Brotherhood, using stealth to carry out his will on the earth until his return."

[MELODY]

Melody's smile disappeared and her brows knitted together in concern when Runa mentioned that part about dark magic. She seemed to be thinking deeply for a moment on what she knew about that before she made eye contact with Runa again. "..so he found...I mean someone found his armor and got cursed? That's terrible..what pain that poor soul must feel locked away inside.." she said with genuine concern in her voice for the man.

[GEM]

"That's the least of our concerns at the moment. He has declared war on the entire north and after that, all else. He is killing and taking what he wants and whom he wants. Entire islands of people have been wiped clean in preparation for his conquest. And now even innocent people are being assassinated for something he calls the dragonblood, just proving all he wants is death and destruction; a world to cower beneath his feet."

Muiredach was looking at her with intensity all of a sudden. "What did you say?"

[MELODY]

Melody's eyes widened in shock as Runa said that. Memories of her tribe and family flashed by in her mind as she looked away trying really hard not to let any tears escape at that moment.

[GEM]

Runa looked back at him, hesitating as she wasn't sure why he seemed so surprised by her words. "Which part?" she asked.

"You said he is having dragonblood killed..."

"That's what he told me. He said I did what you failed to do and that was killing an innocent dragonblood."

Muiredach's expression began to grow into one of deep calculation but also alarm as he put the pieces together, realization hitting him. His eyes drifted to the left away from them as he seemed even worried by this.

Runa seemed concerned by his reaction. "Muiredach what are the dragonblood?"

His eyes looked up from under his brows at her as he explained. "They're the ones who waged war against him six hundred years ago... on the backs of Night Furies. They were said to possess a unique blessing of the gods that made them able to absorb and use the stones with no need of dark magic use, passed down by blood. It was said they were all slaughtered... The dragonblood and the Night Furies..."

She widened her eyes, mirroring his expression of realization. "S-so the people we have been assassinating all these years..."

He twisted his head to the side as his eyes stayed on hers, his expression confirming her unvocalized question.

"...Shite."

[MELODY]

Melody closed her eyes trying to calm herself but that didn't help as the faces of those she lost flashed by. The table slowly started vibrating as she opened her eyes "..their lives aren't his to own or take.." she said suddenly sharply as her whole expression had changed. Like she was this totally other person. Her magic reacted to it making her eyes glow for a second as a loud crack could be heard. Slowly ale started to pour out of her cup as it cracked. She stood up then without another word and walked out pulling her hood up to cover her face again.

[GEM]

They watched her leave as their attention was pulled from the revelation to Melody, exchanging a glance. They both knew, of course, why she was upset. It was understandable given the devastation of having your entire family killed in one blow, by one man, without being there to stop it.

Dec 2, 2023, 8:22 AM

[MELODY]

Melody did her best still to keep it all in but a few tears escaped as she quickly made her way towards one of the nearby forests. Knowing it wasn't smart to keep it all cropped up inside she had to get away from there. She walked into the snow covered forest. All being very quiet and peaceful apart for the storm that was closing in. Once she was sure she was deep enough into the forest and far away from anyone she let out a frustrated heartbroken scream. Her eyes and markings glowed brightly as she did creating a shockwave of raw uncontrollable magic, it made the trees around her shake and dust away the snow around her. She fell to her knees in the snow as she put her hands into fists resting them on her thighs burying her nails in her skin as she felt numb for a moment. Tears streaming down her face once she let them out.

[GEM]

After a few minutes she heard quiet footsteps in the snow. Expecting it to be one of her new companions, she looked to see familiar paws of steel grey stepping in the snow.

[MELODY]

Melody glanced up as she was trembling not even noticing her hands were not bleeding. She felt completely drained by letting that all out.

[GEM]

...Dear Melody... your sadness is my own... he told her, stepping to her right to sit down in the snow beside her.

[MELODY]

Melody looked down again letting out big sobs now not being able to speak properly as she managed to get out: "w-..why?" She still couldn't wrap her mind around why someone would kill so many innocent people just to get power...why her people had to die while they were only protecting themselves and the world by keeping that secret.

[GEM]

Shhh my dear. Cry now. You deserve to mourn those who died. Feel it... embrace it. Let it out as much as you need. You have been victimized by those unworthy of forgiveness. They've torn you, broken you... and for this I am angry. They had no right to do this to you, my child. No right.

[MELODY]

Melody nodded slightly absent as she leaned to her right leaning against him before turning her face burying it in his fur as she cried quietly feeling so lost and broken again.

[GEM]

Lyre was unable to embrace her given the canine-like shape of his body. But he turned to lean his head against the top of hers as she wept.

They let silence take them as she felt the misery of what happened swallow her whole, thoughts of hopelessness, despair, and surrender all taking her mind in this moment of grief...

He was right. They destroyed her. She would never be the same again. What they did was unforgivable and unforgettable. Why did it have to happen to her? Why? It wasn't fair. All she ever wanted was to do what was right, to help others... and here is where she found herself...

[MELODY]

After a while her body went limp as she passed out against him exhausted from everything. But felt safe enough to do that in his presence knowing he would protect her.

Dec 2, 2023, 9:03 AM

[GEM]

Her eyes slowly began to open as she didn't know how much time had passed, her fingers, toes, and ears completely numb from lying in the snow, as well as her clothing wet. It was still dark out, the moon hidden.

But what woke her was the fact that she was moving...? She heard quiet footsteps crunching on show as a warm body was against her right side, something supporting her weight.

[MELODY]

Melody glanced up, still trembling from her meltdown and the cold, at the person supporting her wondering who it was.

[GEM]

The familiar sharp jaw of a pale scarred face under a hood is what she saw. He was carrying her bridal style from the woods, seemingly with ease, his usual calm expression of indifference on his face.

[MELODY]

A spark of relief shone through her now blank expression as she watched him. She then lowered her gaze seeing in what way he was carrying her. Normally her face would have turned red by now. But she just laid her head against his shoulder staring into nothing still feeling numb, totally drained inside.

[GEM]

She drifted in and out until warmth over took her and she realized he had brought her into a room at the inn where there was a lit fire and set her down carefully in front of it, getting the wool blanket off the bed and putting it over her brittle delicate shoulders. He knelt down to adjust it together at the front, lifting his hand to feel her cheek as her lips were practically blue at this point.

[MELODY]

Melody held onto the blanket tightly with her blood stained hands when it was around her shivering badly now as she stared past him at the flames of the fire. She wasn't the cheery woman from before. She was totally broken down and empty with no emotion on her face what so ever. She felt nothing having totally shut herself off in self protection.

[GEM]

He stood up and walked over to get something from a pack on the bed. Then coming back, he got down in front of her and began wrapping her hands in bandages, gentle but firm.

"I know you must think I am a man without feeling," he said, for once talking unprompted. "I do what I do to survive and to help others do the same." He continued to work efficiently, like he was with most things. "You're allowed to grieve for your family... but then you're going to stop." He looked up at her with intention in his eyes. "You are going to stand up, take your weapons... and carry on," he said sternly, a starkly different message than the one she got from Lyre. "You, Melody... are a hurricane. Not a victim. They will try to make you into one... make you feel weak and small. Make you feel powerless..." he tied off the bandages on her hands and lifted her chin with his finger so she'd look at him. "They're dead but you... are alive. Don't waste that... and don't let yourself be defeated."

His blue eyes were staring deep into hers, conveying a sense of power in his words, as if they were ones he had spoken to himself before and understood how important they were.

He then stood up and walked to the bedside table out of her way after he said this.

[MELODY]

Melody was caught off guard by the way he spoke. But they did penetrate that wall that she had put up hitting her deep inside. It made a bit of emotion shine through as that wall slowly started to break down. She finally reacted to him as he walked away glancing over her shoulder at him. "..t-thank you..." Was all she said with a trembling husky voice trying to let those words sink in while she returned her gaze to the flames.

[GEM]

There was an unmistakable feeling of warmth that made its dwelling in him when she said this, causing the most subtle of smiles to reach his lips but with his back turned she didn't see it. He took a small plate of food and set it by her with a tankard of water. "Eat and get warm. And after that rest. We will make a plan in the morning."

[MELODY]

Melody glanced up at him when he put it down besides her. She gave him a small nod before she looked away again.

Dec 2, 2023, 5:22 PM

[GEM]

He watched her with a soft gaze before he turned and quietly walked from the room to leave her in peace.

He was glad that nothing bad happened to her out there. Even if he knew that if Mora's conquest had begun, all of the assassins and spies would be called up to fight, his paranoia was still hard to shake.

He left the door there and stepped silently to Runa's cracked door of the room she got, knocking gently and entering after. He saw her hunched over on her bed with her hands on her face.

"Not you, too," he said quietly but not unsympathetically.

"I'll be alright," she reassured, sniffing as she wiped a few tears away. "Just dealing with some... guilt," she admitted.

He understood this well and he hung his head in thought... before he came in and shut the door behind him. Walking to her bed to sit beside her, he kept quiet for a moment.

She didn't have any words to tell him. She knew that he already understood.

[GEM]

"You couldn't have known, Runa," he said.

"You did..." she replied in the same tone, looking ahead as he looked at her.

"My circumstances were... much clearer than yours," he said vaguely. "But you have been perhaps even more misguided than I have been. All of us groomed you to be such a killer. It is as much our fault as it is yours, if not more."

"...I just keep seeing their faces... the little child and the mother..." she said, referring to the family she had killed, though she wondered just how many more died for no reason because of her blindness.

He knew this feeling well... all too well. In fact it nearly made him emotional as he thought about it, not wishing that kind of misery on someone like Runa who definitely didn't deserve it.

[GEM]

He knew what to say to her as he would say to himself... "Then let those faces be the driving force that gets you to do good instead of evil," he said to her in a sure tone.

She needed to hear that, her disappointment in herself turning to strength and anger for Tempus Mora. He was the one to blame for this.

She took in a deep breath and looked at him before nodding. But as their eyes met she became emotional and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his armor.

He held her as he closed his eyes, his adoration for this adorable little girl overwhelming sometimes. He put his lips at the top of her head as his thumb stroked her hair.

[GEM]

She found an enormous comfort in his embrace and was relieved she didn't lose him. He was the only one on this earth that she had. She didn't know what she would do without him.

They remained there like this for a few minutes until she breathed and parted from him. "Thank you..." she said softly and her voice finally stopped cracking. She looked around and then remembered— "Oh by the way these are the only two rooms left."

He breathed in and nodded. He didn't mind. He had slept without a bed many times. In fact he probably needed to keep watch anyway.

"Now I have paid for this room with the money I rightfully stole so it's mine," she said in a sassy way.

[GEM]

He gave her a half amused look with a slightly raised brow and a tilt of the head.

"Which means you should stay with Melody. She probably needs you anyway." She hesitated before adding, "And you can thank me later," with a teasing tone before hopping off the bed.

He looked down and tried to keep an amused smirk from his lips but also looked a bit irritated at her.