Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Bookbinding (presently closed)

((Yay for WiFi! And, indeed, excellent touch with the song! You all are fantastic! Please pardon me as I may be a bit more sporadic than usual in the next few weeks - I'm moving 18 hours away next Monday...))

The two guards seated at the front of the cart roll their eyes as Thirgud chats it up. As he sings his new verse to the song, they exchange uneasy looks with one another and urge the horses to a quicker pace up the hill. What's he know more than anyone else about the dragon and its business?

Once within the walls of the small fortress, Thirgud is helped down and taken down a flight of stairs. The dungeon certainly isn't a pleasant place - it reeks of vermin and disuse. But it isn't quite as horrid as one might imagine. The floor is dry, and there is a straw bed in the cell. One of the guards even goes out of his way to kick it "In case, ya know, mice and stuff." It appears to be uninhabited at the moment.

"Your quarters, sir, for the evening." They close and lock the barred door behind him. "Give me your hands," the guard instructs as he motions to a space between bars. "Com'on, mate!" he exclaims when he sees the gnarled, bloody mess the drunk has made of his wrists, "You, of all people, ought to know better than that." He wraggles the key around in the shackles before they finally crack open. Then both guards light a small fire at the other side of the room and seem to settle themselves in for the night as well.
_____

"Why, he's at home, resting, of course," Auralia replies to Jack's question. If she makes it sound as if he'd asked a silly question, it isn't intentional at all. "Did... no. No, not here. But are you from Aspenlee, have you a place to stay the night? Oh! Glenn," she suddenly remembers, "How did your place fare today? No damage, I hope."
_____

Methinks we'll get everyone in for the night and then time jump away - unless somebody really wants to do some meddling.

Thirgud continues his song as he follows guards orders. He did not seem interested in struggling but rather seemed to take great pleasure in annoying.

"Drip drip drop
Get a mop
It'll make a mess
When it cuts off your top.

Drip drop drip
Plan a trip
Best leave soon before
Your throat gets a rip."

He continued singing as he lay down on his bed and drifted off to sleep. Apparently his apprehension about the dragon was not going to keep him from a drunken nap.

((I'm all for the time warp! And no worries about being gone. Life happens.))

Glenn's face scrunches a little as he tries to make sense of Auralia's reply and is slower than Jack to ask about her father, but listens to the answer.

"Oh, ah, no.. it was fine," he answered, a bit flustered as she jumped topics, perhaps just to change the subject.

But he's still thinking about the story narrator and the way she had implied her father might know something about it. Which meant she knew something about it too, even if she was telling the truth about not actually hearing it.

"I'll come by in the morning then," he said. "Ah... I can maybe see if he still wants them peeps," he said, thinking he was being sly by finding another reason to come visit.

"Best be getting back to Aunt Dotta, then..." he said, making to leave. Though for a moment, he looked over toward where Fyonae had gone, wondering if he'd see her again. Seemed like she'd be going back to the mountains tomorrow from what little he'd gathered and he sighed to himself. "Right..." he said then, realizing he was just standing there staring. "...goodnight."

Then headed home.

Perhaps just arriving back at the group of unlikely heros as Glenn was about to take his leave, Fyonae would offer him a bright smile, and a wave, as she walked up, having caught his glance toward her. "G'night Glenn, I'm 'appy it seems your home is okay. Others 'ave fared less dandy. I'll see ya in the the mornin' maybe." She had found she liked the man in his simple way of being. Kind and caring as he was, he would no doubt make a good friend, and she never turned those down. Plus, he was a right good dancer.

Glancing at Auralia then, she ran a hand throught her hair, oblivious that the woman thought her a tad 'touched' perhaps, nor that Glenn had defended her sanity. "I think I am about to fall asleep on my feet about now." She admitted. "The captain seems to think they'll head out in the mornin', and I think they're lookin' fer all the help they c'n get." she smoothed her spring green skirts, glancing around at the others as she waited for Auralia to lead the way back to her home.

Jack's stare faltered when Auralia seemed way too dispassionate, pleased even, about the whole situation. She knew what had been happening, about what they were hearing. Maybe she was the one who was daft...

Is what he would think if she weren't so stunning to his eyes. Rose tinted glasses wanted her to be right and so she was, the man so willingly believing the mirage. He leaned in to listen to a more serious sounding question, when she changed her mind and asked him where he was from, about a place to stay. He was confident he would get some answers out of her later.

"Oh, well-" He started to answer, his grown heart fluttering at the image of him sharing an abode with the lovely lady until she exclaimed a new thought to Glenn.

He waited for them to finish before saying he would greatly appreciate a place to sleep. Smile now stained, an excited joy that could be passed off as polite appeal or gratitude, which he was grateful. He caught the countenance in Glenn's eyes as he moved to leave, that look of longing Jack so desperately knew. When he followed his gaze to Fyonae, his smile grew all the more and he considered, for a moment, shacking up with Glenn instead. It would be safer for Jack, wouldn't it? Though the man hadn't offered, maybe didn't have the room, so he quickly dropped the possibility.

He had thought this while Glenn stood there and he wished him a goodnight in return. No sooner that he did, Fyonae appeared from behind them and did the same, but better.

"I think we all are," Jack agreed with Fyonae when Glenn was about out of sight in the darkness. "Can't wait to clean myself up and close my eyes."

He hinted and stretched at the last, words coming through a strained chest before he pulled at the cloth attached to the blistering burn a little too much. He groaned his arms back to fold into himself and tried to squeeze the pain away with hunched shoulders.

"Yep, clean myself up." His croak concluded with an abashed smile.

He would follow Auralia to where ever she resided and decided he would save any questions he had for her, or her father, for tomorrow. They all needed to rest, if her father wasn't already sleeping, and he wasn't going to annoy her with an interrogation.

He would only dress his wound in a water basin, upon Auralia's go ahead, and get ready for sleep.

Once back at Auralia's home, Fyonae, after putting her satchel of things on a small cot set up to the side of the main room for tempory sleeping arrangements. She had sat upon it quietly cross legged, watching as the others went about their business of getting ready for the night.

Depending on where Jack had been given his own sleeping arrangements, she would perhaps take notice of his injury, the young man's breath catching as he attempted to clean the burn on his chest with mere cool water. She frowned, turning to open her satchel. It was a habit of hers to keep various herbs on hand, weather it be for healing or only for the occasional comforting tea. Now, she nodded as she found fat stem of aloe, as well as some wild comfrey.

If Auralia allowed, she would set water on the fire atbthe hearth to heat, then moved over toward Jack, standing with one hand on her hip, head tilted as she looked him over curiously. "Correct me if I am wrong, but t'seems the dragon's fire did damage to more than just the town.. do ye mind if I 'ave a look? I 'ave a fair hand for soothing hurts." She'd offer him a bright smile, trying to set him at ease so she could look at his burn.

If he allowed, she'd ask him to remove the remains of his ruined shirt, and kneel in front of him, peering at the puckered and angry skin on his chest before sighing and turning to look down at the aloe stem in her palm. Slicing it open with a small knife kept on a sash at her hip, she used her thumbnail to push out the clear green goo that filled the inside, holding it in the palm of her hand and glancing back up to Jack's face.

"This will help sooth it an' protect it for the evening. You've already washed it I see.. then I 'ave some herbs for a healing tea that would also help ease the pain 'an 'elp ya sleep."

Without really waiting for Jack's go ahead, she reached out to smear the salve on his burn, her fingers cool and soft, careful not to irritate the wound more. She had an odd way when she saw an injured person, of not taking no for an answer. She'd come across people who would stubbornly, and annoyingly, refuse help even when she could give it easily, even when they clearly needed it. So, often, she didn't give them much of a chance to refuse. He could have pushed her away of course, but he'd get a raised eyebrow and an exasperated look if he did.

Jack had indeed been cleaning his wound in the living space him and Fyonae shared for the night, minding his own business and sucking in air through gritted teeth when the sting worsened. His lip curled with the worst of it and he would close his eyes to think the hurt down, slow breaths calming him. It appeared that wasn't enough because the red-head came to help him, on a mission it seemed, as if he had asked for it.

"Ohh, this was just an indirect casualty," Jack spoke coolly, not looking at Fyonae as he attempted to sound unfazed by his wound. "Nothing to fuss over."

He had been hunched over the basin, splashing the water up onto his chest with cupped hands and soaking the front of his shirt which he purposefully hadn't taken off. No, much too vulnerable then. He could live with a soaked shirt, as uncomfortable and cold as it was. His sleeves were rolled up to nearly his elbows to get the draping fabric out of the way, and that was worse enough. He still didn't look at her, didn't see her smile, though he could hear it in her tone and his heart quickened.

"I'm really alright," he looked over his shoulder at her with a pleading smile. "No need to bring... Whatever that is into it."

He was looking at what she held in her hand, as she would presumably still want to sooth his injury even if he didn't take his top off. She already started with the medicinal herbs after all. He couldn't help but notice her thumbnail, even in these dire straits. It was pointed and strong, like an animal claw, the rest of her nails matching when he noted them. He looked up to her face while she focused on the plant, searching it, before she spoke again and he looked at her reaching hands.

He fully turned now, presenting his front to her purely out of instinct as the exposed skin was what he did not want her to touch. His fore arms were bare as well as his ungloved hands, which were presently splayed out in front of him to ward her off. He took a couple steps back, awkwardly tripping over the water basin and quickly steadying it when it sloshed around.

"There's no need for that." Jack reemphasized, growing louder though not enough to cause a scene. "Maybe just the tea."

Auralia had shown them in then excused herself, most likely to discuss things with her father, or perhaps to get ready for sleep herself. In any case, Jack didn't want to disturb them and had been using a low, indoor voice. Though now he hissed at Fyonae, the panic in his eyes causing one to believe him scared of the pain of the salve and not of his curse. He looked ridiculous. Like a scared child, tiptoeing backwards and stumbling into things along the way.

When Fyonae's hands got closer to his, maybe to brush them away with a motherly affection, he retracted them away from her. If he still had his gloves on, he could try and grab her arm and stop her. Though dressing a wound with clothed hands did not sound at all pleasurable. Most likely, Fyonae would be telling him to calm down or to stay still, or maybe she would plainly laugh.

When Jack backed into, what he could only assume was, a wall, he made noises in protest that held no meaning and put a hand out in a last ditch effort to stop her from setting off the curse. As soon as his finger tips touched her wrist, his sphincter clenched so tightly, he would be shitting diamonds for a week. His whole body tensed and he clamped his eyes shut, his fingers wrapping rather tightly around the lady.

After a few seconds of his world drowning out, sound flooded back and Jack opened his eyes to see that he was... normal. Two human legs, a human ass, a human- Well, everything! Short, breathy, hysterical sighs heaved from him until he laughed dumbly. He realized he looked like a mad man and let go of Fyonae, eventually getting over his fortune enough to look her over with a suspicious glint.

Weather or not she had continued to apply the balm she had made, Jack wouldn't question her now. Whatever she was, she was kind. He would thank her if she had smeared it on his stilled chest, only a little embarrassed that his heart was going a mile a minute.

"I, uh... I was scared." Jack would look down at her, trying to hide his immense relief with a look of shame.

He finished his actions good and lamely, hoping such a simple explanation would suffice.


( i hope i didn't take control too much with that one. whatever i assumed Fyonae or Auralia may have done, you can change of course! )

Auralia's father had, in fact, been sitting in the living area waiting for the young women to come in. He was surprised to find a young man following them as well, but Auralia quickly explained that he'd had nowhere to stay. Perhaps it was the daft-looking way in which he was dressed that made her father take pity on him. Whatever it was, he smiled and welcomed Jack in.

Auralia left the other two to help her father turn into bed and to find some extra blankets for their guests.

She is, indeed, telling him of her acquaintances' experiences throughout the day. She still hasn't returned with the promised blankets and such once they've finished cleaning and treating Jack's wound.

The man was frantic. Well beyond any others she'd attempted to heal who hadn't exactly welcomed the help. What in the ten hells was wrong with him? But she was near ready to do battle to get that salve on his chest. Before she could though, she bit back a hiss of her own as Jack's hand clenched tightly enough around her arm to leave a light bruise behind and she felt something uncoil dangerously within her. More than anything, she was glad she had no shadow here or else the room might've heard its ominous growl, the one that sounded in her mind. But, the dragon had not been able to pull it from her, nor would this crazy man trapped in a handsome man's body.

After an interminable period of time past, in which she just stared right back at Jack, lips pursed in determination as well as downright confusion, she gave a soft tug to release her arm from his now relaxed grip, eyeing him a bit warily as she reached forward again with the salve, when it seemed he'd allow it.

Finished with it, she sat back on her bare feet, and tilted her head as she looked him over. When she spoke, her voice was soft, as if she were trying to calm a spooked animal. "Why on this green earth would 'ye afraid?" 'Ave ya had no one give ya healin' b'fore?" Deciding to give him some space she stood up slowly, backing a way a few steps before turning to get the heated water from the fireplace. She crushed the leaves of the wild comfrey into it and let it sit for a while before moving to find a bowl or something for him to sip it from.

Once she'd aquired one she poured a bit of the tea into it and approached Jack again, slowly, her eyebrows lifted in question, trying to decipher his mood now. Clearly she needed to work on her people skills. She'd thought that was one of her strong suits, but, ahh well. "this'll help make ya sleepy for a bit and numb the pain some too." she explained before handing it to him.

Stepping back she ran a hand through her copper hair and assessed the man with her green eyes. "I am... sorry for startlin' ya. I only meant ta help of course." She gave him a reassuring smile as the lupine within calmed. Turning she wandered back to her cot and settled on it again.

Jack had greeted Auralia's father in return, surprised to find him still awake in his common area. He thanked him for letting him and Fyonae use his home, thanked Auralia too, and wished him a good night when he pardoned himself.


Now he stood in a dazed sort of slump, still against the cold, hard wall. He couldn't help but relish in the fact Fyonae had touched him. Not in an excitable, she's-a-beautiful-lady kind of way. Just that no one had touched him in a very long time, no matter the appeal.

His cheeks flushed deeper than they already were when she asked him why he was so afraid. He thought, for a brief moment, about explaining it to her. She had a secret not so unlike his own; She wasn't human. Jack didn't know what she was, but she hadn't affected him at her touch and he was smart enough to know the curse didn't just cure itself. Unless...

For an even briefer moment, he wondered if this newly acquainted lady loved him, yet quickly thought against that. That was crazy! He thought against all of it, deciding they could have that conversation in a more private place, some time that was not today. He was lost in his thinking, something he seemed to do quite often, especially when he was so tired, and his response was delayed.

"Uh.. Not really, no." He surprised even himself when he tried to think of a time someone had "healed" him.

He grew up well off and hadn't needed much in the way of medicine and wraps. After he was cursed and left home, he took care of his own bodily damage.

"And now you can see why," he smiled at that, relaxing his posture off the wall and going to sit on his blanket-less cot. "I'm sorry.. If I hurt you."

He grabbed at his own wrist, his lips pulled in an apologetic grimace as he did. He hadn't noticed her reaction in the moment, though he did notice when she jerked her arm away from him. He would feel that sinking, burning sensation of regrettable embarrassment for quite a while. The curse that keeps on cursing.

While Fyonae rummaged and checked on the tea, Jack gathered his arms in through his sleeves and turned his shirt around so that he would have it on backwards. He stole a few glances at Fyonae when her back was turned, trying to decipher what was mythological about her. He would look away if she caught him, pretending to be very intrigued in his shirt. Which now the back collar came up to the front of his neck and the V-shape in the front draped in the back now, loosely tied with leather lace. He studied this, bringing his chin down to make rolls of his neck while pulling the shirt down for a better view. His face proved he was neither here nor there about it and he stopped messing with it when Fyonae brought a bowl to him.

"Now that does sound good," Jack remarked on the tea, smiling warmly in his appreciation. "Thank you."

When he reached out to get the bowl from her, his hand touched her's and he apologized. It was, admittedly, on purpose. As if touching skin was an addictive drug that he had to get his fix with. He could touch her with no consequences! He promptly decided to stop that before it got weird, having that sentence reverberate back to him. He nodded this conclusion to himself and passed it off as an acknowledgement to what Fyonae had begun to say.

"Oh, no," Jack brushed her apology away, almost laughing. She was apologizing to him now? "I'm sorry, really. You're too kind. And I'm.. A big baby."

He shrugged then laughed, making fun of himself for being so, seemingly, afraid of some plant juice. He sipped the tea after he quieted, trying to hold back his look of pure horror while his brain yelled, swallow it, swallow it, swallow it. Medicinal teas were not meant to taste fantastic and no one had ever prepared one for the lad before. This lad, accustomed to rich foods and richer drink.

"It's very good," he lied, his eyes glistening as he tried to hide the gag in his throat. If she ever drank the herbs herself, she would catch the fib.

He stared the bowl down before he took a few big gulps and set it aside, closing his eyes with the effort. After that, he would thank Fyonae again before standing and looking around.

"Where did Auralia go? I thought she was grabbing blankets for us?"

He wasn't sure how much time had gone by, though it seemed enough for her to return by now. Hadn't she heard the noises of the things he tripped over? He wondered if Auralia was really human as well, staring into the passageway where she had gone.

He found himself hoping she wasn't.

((Hey, guys! Thank you so, so much for your patience! I'm finally pretty well settled from my move. Still experiencing some emotional ups and downs and just didn't have the brain power to keep the story going this week. But! I think I'm back! So, here we go!))

Auralia finally returns to the common area with a few blankets. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she whispers, "Here, Jack. Fyonae, do you need any more?"

Once the two guests are settled in, she adds, "I'll just be over here by the stove for the night, if you need anything else."
_____

As the grey predawn light begins to peek over the horizon, Auralia's father is already up and puttering about in the small garden behind the house. Auralia doesn't stir from the rocking chair where she curled up and fell asleep until he is back in the kitchen and setting on the kettle. Her muscles complain as she unravels herself from her cramped position, but a good stretch and yawn seems to get them moving again. She gives her da a peck on the cheek and together they work to prepare breakfast for their guests.

The night was apparently (and fortunately) uneventful in and around the village, and except for the faint smell of burnt houses and roofs the morning dawns like any other day.

Glenn hadn't slept very well. Neither had Dotta or Roxi. All anxious about the dragon possibly returning to cause more destruction and havoc. So it was that all 3 of them were awake early.

Glenn had been brooding over the words the voice in his head had said. Specifically the bit about "extraordinary people are only ordinary people in extraordinary situations".

Apparently the narrator seemed to expect him to do something... but what? His thoughts circled back to Auralia's advice to speak with her father. Maybe he'd know.

"Mind if take some herb starts over to the new folks... Auralia and her father? I promised yesterday before all the commotion broke out." And of course Dotta didn't mind, so soon enough Glenn was traipsing toward their house with a bucket of various perennials.

Thankfully, he saw a bit of movement through the window so knew he wasn't waking them as he knocked.

Fyonae would know well how the tea tasted, but, having experienced its healing power she knew it was beneficial. As Jack would blithely lie about the tea's wonderful flavor Fyonae smirked and just rolled her eyes. When he thanked her, however the responding expression of welcome would be true, reaching upward to warm her pine green eyes. "I am always 'appy to help, burns can be the worst for festering, so 'tis good to keep them protected. If you need more salve put on, I 'ave another stem or two." If Fyonae noticed how excited Jack had gotten at the contact between them, she gave no indication, but as she settled back onto her pallet, she couldn't help but wonder at the surprised suspicion she'd seen rise so quickly within the man's eyes. A warning ran through her heart. Suspicion was the first sign before people ran her off, or became violent toward her. Did he know something?

Worried, Fyonae would say nothing else the rest of the night, but for assuring Auralia she was happy with the single blanket she'd brought with her, and she'd sleep restlessly. The next morning, however, despite the light sleep, she felt refreshed and her worries of the previous evening seemes dim compared to the threat of the dragon, and the events of the day to come.

When she came out of the room she'd use to freshen up, Fyonae had donned her spare dress, similar in style to her her now ragged green one, only this one a light sky blue, which set off her copper hair. Her face had been scrubbed, and she was barefoot as usual, the tattoo along her foot the only adornment she wore other than a leather bracelet around her wrist.

When she heard the knock at the door, Fyonae poked her head into the kitchen to see that their hosts were busy preparing breakfast. Hoping to be helpful, she moved to open the door, her smile lighting some as she beheld Glenn standing on the stoop.

"G'mornin Glenn." she offered cheerily as she stretched the door open for him, closing it behind whenever he'd step in. "I'll just let Auralia and her father know ya are here." She added with a light smile before padding to the kitchen, quietly if Jack wasn't awake yet, and cleared her throat, waiting for her hosts to pause, "Glenn is 'ere with the herbs" she said, inhaling a whiff of whatever delicious smells were wafting her way. "Thank 'e again for hostin' me. It twas kind of you to do so." Her smile was a grateful one, for she knew bringing in outsiders wasn't the most comfortable situation.