By the Smell of Salt Air

[Nav]

"Wheat?" he asked, again surprised. He realized he really ought to stop being surprised, but everytime she opened her mouth and said something, or asked a question, the oddness of it always caught him off guards. "it's… it's a plant… and it's used to make bread and pasta. Do you have bread here?" he supposed not. If they lived in a rainforest like climate, the wheat probably didn't grow well in their soil. It was too hot, too rainy for it to take. When she extended him an orange, his stomach immediately panged with hunger and he took it from her hungrily, hastily making out a 'thank you!' as he began to peel away at the rind. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until she bought the fruit out, though he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten… one day? Two?

His stomach grumbled and he squirmed, peeling back the rest of the orange peel before breaking the fruit into its little sections and popping the first into his mouth with gusto. The sweet tanginess hit his palate and he released a 'mmm'ing purr of satisfaction. It didn't take him but a few seconds to wolf down the entire thing. The orange did little to quench his immense hunger, but it simmered the stabbing pain in his stomach down to a dull ache. The rest did end up feeling nice though. His aching muscles finally had a chance to relax and he had an opportunity to look down at himself properly.

His clothes were a little tattered and fraying at the edges. A jagged cut had been opened up on his forearm, opposite arm of where Rani had cut him. His knuckles were abused, too, bruised and bloody. Meanwhile, bruises—dark blue and black, licked up his arms. He could only imagine the bruising patterned all across his body from being tossed around by the water so violently. The exhaustion was real, too. Now that the adrenaline of his situation was beginning to wear off, he could feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Moving his limbs felt more like a compromise than a demand, and he recalled they were only about half way to where they needed to be.

That thought made him queasy.

"Should we keep going? It's going to be dark soon." The sun was setting quickly. The fiery red eye of sun was slowly sinking below the horizon and threads of the last light lingered, mingling with the rolling clouds, dyeing the heavens first orange, then red, then dark blue… it wouldn't be long before the last of the colour bled out into a chalky mauve and eventually blackness.

 

[Ethys]

Bread. Pasta. More words that she didn't understand. Rani frowned, shaking her head silently at his question. At least he had explained that it was a plant. Perhaps when he called it golden, it had merely been a color association and not actual gold. That would make far more sense, unless his people had evolved to the point of being able to devour actual gold. It couldn't taste very good at all. She'd rather stick to her fruits and meats and leave the gem-munching to the demons. Nodding a little to herself at the thought, she finished off her orange and glanced at Eric. Clearly ravenous. She'd need to get him dinner when they arrived in the city.

She looked up as he mentioned the time, instinctively glancing at the sky. He was right. They would barely have enough time to get there. If she was alone, she could run the whole way, but with him.. She examined him briefly, taking note of his movements and the slump of his body. Of course he was exhausted. That on top of hunger was not a fantastic combination. He was bound to be slow. At the very least, he could not run the entire way. They would need to walk quickly, but even so..

They weren't going to make it.

"Yes, come on. We'll get there in plenty of time," she assured him, climbing down out of the tree. She wasn't about to worry him over things that he wouldn't understand. The politics of the island had nothing to do with him. For all she knew, they would be lucky and would have no problems making it in time. She wasn't going to say a thing until it was absolutely necessary. For now, they were perfectly safe. They just had to get moving.

Once they were both back on the ground, she gave him a bit of a smile and gestured for him to follow, starting again on the path toward him. This time, instead of meandering and brooding, she paid far more attention to their pacing and their location. She also paid more attention to Eric, ensuring that he was not lagging behind or getting distracted.

"Tell me more about yourself. About your people."

 

[Nav]

The look on her face was one of confusion, so he didn't press. Clearly, bread and pastas, staples in his own diet back home, meant nothing to her. They shared oranges, at least, and other fruits. He had seen bananas a handful of times on various islands he had explored during his time on the open water. Feeling a little more revitalized with some food in his belly and a few minutes' rest, Eric slid down the tree and back to the forest floor after Rani. It was darker under the canopy than above, and his eyes had to squint a little to make out where his feet were falling so as to not to trip over the plethora of vines and plant matter coiled up on the forest floor.

"Of course we have plenty of time," he said, "If it gets dark, we just walk in the dark. Is that not okay?" Or was there a darkness demon, too? He tried not to ponder it. Instead, he found his stride inadvertently lengthening as he walked with a bit more purpose than he had before. Whatever she meant by 'we have plenty of time,' Eric would rather not know, not after seeing that water demon. He noted that Rani, too, was walking with more purpose than before and keeping a wary eye on him, so Eric made it his intention to not fall behind. A pace behind her at all times, never closer, never further, though he did hesitantly keep glancing over his shoulder.

His instincts were speaking to him again in the same way they had when he had watched that woman beg for help on the ocean shore. Something felt unnatural about the forest the darker it grew, perhaps almost evil. He couldn't quite figure out if the feeling was legitimate or just his own mind playing tricks on him. Whatever the case, he couldn't help but look back, half expecting to find something pursuing them, though he never found anything except forest.

"Well," he cleared his throat, "I have two younger brothers. My mother was British, my father was Spanish. I know those don't mean anything to you, but they're different… kingdoms? Clans?" he tried to explain it in a way she might understand, "My father was a sailor on the ocean. He traded goods with these different kingdoms. That's how I ended up sailing on the ocean, myself, actually." He shrugged. There wasn't much else to say, unless he wished to discuss how he had fled from Spain after being accused of a crime, which had led him from being an honest merchant to becoming a pirate… but he did not wish to speak of such things.

"My people, well… they enjoy music, art, alcohol, and food. We are all dark skinned, like me. If you came to Spain, people would look at you oddly. You look very different. What about you, here? How many of you are there on this island?"

 

[Ethys]

Rani decided against answering his question about the dark. It was best to leave it open, she figured. Besides, she really didn't want to lie to him again. He was being rather kind to her and she didn't want to be dishonest in return. She also didn't want to tell him the truth and have him lose his mind. So, for now, she kept quiet, simply listening to him as he spoke about his former home.

British and Spanish. Spanish sort of sounded like Spain. She assumed that he was from the same place as his father, then. Kingdoms was an outdated term, but one she knew. It was similar to factions. So his mother had been from a different place. She nodded a little as she slowly worked it out in her mind. If he had not followed up 'sailor' with 'on the ocean', she would have been lost. However, thanks to his mention of the sea, she understood it to mean that he traveled on the water. Probably. Traversing the sea to trade goods. How incredibly dangerous! She wondered how they dared do such a thing.

"Here? Hm.. Probably around fifteen thousand or so," she mused. "I've never actually counted," she admitted. She knew that her city alone had about eight thousand people in it. Adding up all of the factions took a lot of guesswork. She was probably estimating a bit low, but she really had no idea. There wasn't exactly a census.

"We don't have kingdoms here, we have factions. It's much the same idea, I suppose. Different sections of people. Some have.. very different ideals. Things can get tense between us, but it has been a long time since we had a war. We try to avoid fighting, as we are the only people. Or so we thought," she explained. "Everybody here looks much the same as I do. Silver hair, blue or green eyes like the sea. You already know we do not travel the sea. We do trade between factions at times. Long ago we had currency, but no longer. We provide for each other."

 

[Nav]

"That many?" that was quite a number for an island. His next thought began to ponder how was it that she spoke English, yet didn't seem to recognize the word 'British,' home of England and, incidentally—English. Naturally, in the daylight, he hadn't noticed her medallion light up, but now that it had grown darker, he could see it was actually emitting light and not just refracting it. He considered what she was saying—fractions, no currency—and it was all a bit foreign to him. Wars were fought over currency and unless you were family, no one provided for each other. Nations squabbled and fought over everything: territory, money, goods… he wanted to ask if her homeland's fractions also had wars, but his eyes kept being stolen by her necklace.

It lit up in intervals, a small shimmering light right under her throat latch that was hard to ignore in the dark. "Your necklace," he mentioned off-handedly, "What does it do? It keeps glowing." He had never seen anything like it and it made him momentarily forget about the uneasy feeling building in his gut. "Is it witchcraft? Magic?" Spain, or anywhere he had been, had no such crystals. If he could get something like that back to Europe, it would have been priceless… he would have been an extremely wealthy man. Alas, even if he could get ahold of one, he knew his chances of getting of the island went from slim to none when she mentioned that her people didn't traverse the sea.

Seeing as she had already explained they had never met outsiders before, the chances of another European vessel stumbling over the island was also nigh existent. Like it or not, Eric was stuck. The sinking feeling of fear and loneliness kept consuming him, but he spent a lot of time trying to remind himself that at least the island wasn't deserted. Far from it, in fact. Rani could have killed him, or fed him to the ocean monster… he could have washed up on a bare island with no food and no people.

He wanted to feel sorry for himself, truly he did, but even he couldn't muster up the energy to do so. He was too hungry, too tired, and too thankful for Rani's existence to feel anything but relieved. "How long have your people been here… on this island? Surely, they must have come here at some point. You're on an island, after all."

"Do you have a religion here?"

 

[Ethys]

"Glowing?" Rani repeated in confusion, looking down at her necklace. It was just a boring old keepsake. Everybody on the island had one. They were given at birth and worn for life. It was an old tradition. Nobody really knew why it had started, but nobody cared enough to end it. The long silver chain never tarnished, carefully secured around a purple crystal the size of her thumb. She was going to ask Eric what he meant, but then he spoke again and she saw it light up brilliantly. Never had it done that before! She yelped in alarm and quickly pulled it off, dropping it to the ground suspiciously. Had he cursed it somehow?!

She pulled out her dagger and crouched down, poking at the pendant. It wasn't glowing anymore. This made her extremely uneasy. She frowned and poked at it more, but it wasn't doing anything now that she wasn't wearing it. Perhaps it was best left behind. She sighed, glancing up at Eric as he spoke to her again. Except.. What was he saying? She stared at him blankly, tilting her head slightly. The lilt of his voice indicated that he was asking questions, yet he was suddenly speaking an entirely different language.

"Δεν καταλαβαίνετε. Γιατί μιλούν μια νέα γλώσσα τώρα;" she said, standing up to face him. Was he just messing with her? Sure, his accent was odd, but she had been able to understand him fine. Now he was spewing gibberish.

"Κάνατε κάτι για αυτό! Τώρα πρόκειται να είναι έξω εδώ στο σκοτάδι και δεν έχετε κανέναν τρόπο να προστατεύσει τον εαυτό σας!" she accused, pointing to the necklace with a scowl. She was absolutely convinced that this was somehow entirely his fault. Never had she seen one of the pendants glow like that. Then he shows up and questions it, making it do odd things, and now he was speaking some sort of demonic language!

This day just kept getting stranger.

 

[Nav]

Again with the knife… Eric was getting really tired of the knife.

Rani ripped it away from her neck like it burned her skin when he pointed out the light pulses of illumination and the sudden response caused his alarm. Was he not supposed to bring it up? Was it like the ocean, someone she didn't like to talk about? No, she seemed just as taken off guard by what was happening as he was. Poking the pendent with her knife, Eric stood back and watched. Nothing exciting happened. The stone just lied there, in the dirt, moss, and shriveled up old plant matter, as uninterestingly as ever. It didn't move, it didn't glow… it looks just like a stone on a chain.

"Huh?" Eric quirked his head at her, his dark eyebrows sliding up his forehead, "I don't understand you. Can we go back to speaking this language?" he asked politely, not sure why now (of all times) she had decided would be a good time to switch back to her own tongue. None of the words flowing from her mouth were even remotely familiar to him. Instead, they were harsh and foreign and no matter how he strained his ears, nothing sounded familiar. Sadly, he just shook his head, trying to communicate with her that he didn't understand her. "hablas español?" he asked, considering the possibility that she didn't want to speak in English anymore. His only other familiar tongue was his native one, Spanish, and he wondered if maybe she knew that, too.

Apparently though, she didn't, because she just kept rambling off in whatever language she was speaking. Again, his eyebrows knitted together with concern and he sadly shook his head again. Her finger pointed to the necklace before looking at him with a menacing expression and he could only respond by raising his hands and shaking his head. He just wanted to remind her that he didn't understand. "I don't understand, I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

God, the last thing he wanted was to have the knife pointing at him again all because he pointed out her necklace was glowing. It wasn't his fault it was. If anything, it would be hers. Still, he didn't bother to bring up the point… he wasn't sure she'd even bother listening, anyways. Clearly, she was upset about something but it seemed to be so secret she only could speak about it in her own tongue. Women.

 

[Ethys]

Now was not the time for frustration and fear. This was the time to think clearly and carefully about what was going on. It was getting darker and they were running out of time, but this obviously needed to be figured out as soon as possible. As much as she wanted to dwell on what it all meant, she also knew they were already going to be forced to fight unless they were extremely lucky. She hesitated, then put her dagger away and stuffed the necklace in her bag as well. Standing, she took his hand in hers and quickly led him in the direction of the city. It was easier than trying to verbally direct him now.

As they walked, she let her mind wander back to the necklace. Think about this seriously, Rani! It can't be that difficult. Everybody on the island had a necklace. They had for at least hundreds of years, perhaps more. Nobody knew why. She had never seen one do anything except look pretty. Now there was a stranger here who pointed out that it was glowing. But when she took it off, it didn't glow at all. Now the stranger was speaking in tongues and seemed just as frustrated with it all as she was. She had no idea what the link could be.

Unless..

No, that made no sense.

She shoved the thoughts aside and glanced up at the sky yet again. Darkness was coming for them fast. Her steps were fairly quick, though she made certain not to move faster than Eric could handle - she didn't want to be dragging him along. At the same time, she had no desire to see his head removed from his body quite yet.

They were nearly in sight of the city gate when she heard voices ahead. No! They were so close. She immediately halted her steps and turned to Eric, gesturing to the trees. Clasping her hands over her eyes in her best imitation of 'hurry up and go hide now!', she also put a finger over her lips. If he didn't stay still and silent, they could very well both end up dead. She wasn't willing to risk the outburst that his appearance would cause.

 

[Nav]

This woman was an emotional storm on the sea. One moment she was all but cussing and flinging a blade around all willy-nilly, and the next she was grabbing him by the hand and dragging him along through the forest at a brisk jog. It made his head all but spin in confusion. He felt like he couldn't keep up with her emotions and thoughts, even when he still could understand what she was saying. That being said, he didn't argue. He had had more than his fair share of knifepoint for one day. She led him along and Eric followed without question. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest decision, following a foreign woman through a foreign land, but what other options did he have?

With her sword tucked away, the eerily feelings in his gut from earlier returned. He couldn't help but glance over his shoulder again. His stomach bubbled with nausea, but then there were voices. They sounded human and he perked up a little, assuming they must be close to her town. Unfortunately, the minute he was about to open his mouth and (try to) ask, she slammed on the brakes and nudged him towards the dense forests to either side of the paths. Her sign language was met with a quirking of his brows. Again, he nearly opened his mouth to ask if she meant 'hide' but her fingers quickly came over her lips and he pressed his teeth firmly together. He followed her gesture and crept into the woods, the darkness feeling like it had swallowed him whole. He pressed against the trunk of one of the large trees, crouching down into the muddy earth and watching… waiting. For what, he didn't know, but the hairs on the back of his neck were bristling on end.

Time passed slowly. Eric stayed hidden within the darkness, feeling every beat of his heart pounding against his chest. It was so loud in his ears, it was a wonder the entire forest hadn't heard it. There had never been a time in his life he had been so quiet, but he was afraid to even move to scratch the itch building on his left arm. The only thing on his body that moved were his eyes. They flicked back and forth, looking for a sign of Rani… or anything, really… but all he saw was smothering darkness and the long tendrils of shadowed trees. Noises were more abundant—the forest was alive and the leaves were gossiping softly in the evening breeze.

It was when he began to wonder if they were going to hide until morning did Eric realize that he'd never been truly thirsty before. Drinks had always arrived before he knew he wanted one. Never once did he drink to quench discomfort, yet he could feeling the creeping feeling of parchment dominate down his throat. A tickle began to rise and he clenched every muscle in his chest to prevent from coughing.

 

[Ethys]

Rani watched him walk into the forest, not satisfied until she could no longer see him. He was not fantastic at hiding and had left a trail, but in this light, nobody would know he was there. She turned toward the approaching voices, her stance shifting. Though she had been defensive with Eric, it was nothing compared to the open hostility she now displayed. She had her dagger in her hand once more, not bothering to hide the fact that she was armed and prepared to use it.

She wasn't left waiting long. It was only a pair. Good. She would have struggled with more on her own in these conditions. They were supposed to be back hours ago and she wasn't prepared for this, but she would make do. If Eric dared peek, he would see two male figures casually approaching. They were pale skinned as Rani was, with the matching silver hair, but their eyes were a glowing red. Together they laughed about some shared joke, though it faded off when they noticed her standing in the middle of the path.

One spoke, his tongue obviously the same as Rani was using earlier. His tone was silky, almost as if he was trying to persuade her about something. She stubbornly glared at him, her hold on her blade tightening as the second one innocently walked around to her side. The first continued talking, moving closer as if to caress her cheek. That was his mistake. She grabbed his wrist and yanked him close, stabbing the dagger through his heart. He started shouting curses and she quickly tugged her blade free, slitting his throat and gouging out both eyes. It was the only way.

His partner, meanwhile, had stabbed Rani in the back with his tail. She dropped the corpse of the first and turned to face him. Pain had to be ignored. She didn't think he had hit anything major anyway. Her eyes kept flicking to his tail, but it was black and nigh impossible to spot in the dark. He growled and lunged at her, taking her off guard. They both fell to the ground, wrestling and trading punches until she finally managed to cut his throat as well. She removed his eyes and stabbed him in the heart, ensuring it was complete before she relaxed enough to breathe properly. That was close. If there had been three.. She took several deep breaths, getting back up to her feet. It was a good thing it was dark, or Eric would be forced to see her covered in blood.

"Eric," she said, the only word that she knew he would understand. Thankfully names were universal. She put her dagger in her bag, her legs starting to shake. No. She was not going to collapse here - she was stronger than that! They had to make it. He was defenseless. Once they got in, and he was fed properly and had a place to sleep.. Then she would attend to herself.

Once Eric was back on the path, she started leading him toward the gate once again. It was in sight now - the height of three men easily, made entirely of shining silver metal.

 

[Nav]

A shiver breathed down his spine. He couldn't make out only the soft glow of red eyes and he held his breath. He wanted to be afraid, but all he could think to himself was: and she thinks I'm the demon…? He could see only very small snippets of what was happening, but he could hear it. It started quiet—whispers, soft crooning—but quickly grew violent. Liquid dripped against the ground and it must have been blood as the skies were clear without any smell of rain. It took every ounce of his energy not to leap from the underbrush upon hearing Rani engage. She was, after all, his only friend on the island and the red eyed blokes didn't seem like any kind of welcoming party.

He had to remind himself that he was injured and without a weapon. Had he his sword, he might have been some use, but he was exhausted, famished, weak, and wounded. He would have only gotten in the way, he knew that, though his adrenaline was trying to tell him otherwise. Thankfully, as he continued to ponder whether or not to go and emerge, a voice called him. A familiar voice wrapping itself entirely around his name. "Rani," he answered, rising to his full height and picking a route through the underbrush and back on to the worn footpath. The injury on her shoulder immediately caught his attention and he motioned towards it, though he didn't touch her.

"You're hurt," he stated, wondering if she'd revert back to English. She had, after all, spoken it a few times beforehand, so he knew she could speak it… that was, until he had pointed to her necklace and she had taken it off and it had stopped glowing. For a second, a few dots began to connect, but he quickly shook it away. There were bodies on the ground next to him. Two of them, actually, and their eyes were picked out, their throats' cut, their hearts stabbed. As a boy, he had lived down the street from an abattoir and the fresh corpses reminded him of the smell—metallic, grisly. He had seen plenty of corpses in his day. Hell, even murdered corpses, but there was something unforgivably violent about how they had died.

He looked back to Rani and began to seriously doubt his agreement to her offer to go 'to her village.'

"I was a medic," he said, "I am a medic. I can help you with that." She'd probably yell at him in her native tongue again, but he tried anyways. Still, he carefully stepped around the bodies and looked ahead. Behind Rani was the gate he had seen just a glimmer of early in the day. It stood tall and impossibly strong, made of polished silver in quantities he had never laid eyes on before. It was unreal and he had to blink a few times to convince himself it was, in fact, real.

 

[Ethys]

Though she still couldn't understand him, Rani waved a dismissive hand at him as he gestured to her shoulder and spoke. He was obviously concerned but they had no time to deal with it now. Not to mention no supplies.

The more she moved, the more she realized that she had gotten hit more than once. Not too surprising. The altercation had been rather quick and she was more focused on making sure the bodies stayed dead than keeping herself pristine. Oh well. She glanced over at Eric, taking note of his worry. Was he truly so concerned for her wellbeing? Strange, but.. Nice. She forced a reassuring smile, which turned into a real smile when he caught sight of the gate. His stare told her all she needed to know about how he would react to the city.

It would certainly be an experience.

As she approached the gate, a guard at the top yelled down to her. She yelled back, her tone annoyed. The guard didn't even respond before swinging the gate open. Rani gestured for Eric to follow and the gate swung shut behind them as soon as they were clear of it. The city was, of course, immense. Houses were made in assorted styles, though the consensus seemed to be stone as the best material. All of the roofs were made of metal, however. There were people everywhere. Any time somebody caught sight of Eric, they stopped to stare, but then they would see who he was with and they would quickly go on their way.

She led him down several streets, not paying attention to a single person, other than checking occasionally to be certain she hadn't lost Eric. No other attention could be spared or she was just going to fall in the middle of the street. She carefully paced her breathing, refusing to show weakness, especially in front of her people. Near the middle of the city was a large home, which she led him inside. The layout was quite spacious and airy, allowing for plenty of breeze through the rooms to keep things from getting stale in the heat.

Rani took him to a room with a long table already laid out with food. It was here most hours of the day. They hadn't missed dinner by much. There was a spread of regular fruits, which made up the bulk of their diet, but there were also split coconuts filled with cooked meat that was covered in pineapple sauce. She gestured to the spread, as well as to several bottles of wine and water, inviting him to help himself silently.

 

[Nav]

She brushed him off just like he had expected and he didn't challenge her authority on the matter. He didn't have any supplies to spare and if she had any in her bag, she wasn't willing to share. So, he didn't push the matter. Instead, he was busy staring in wonder at what was ahead of them. Ultimately, he decided he must have discovered the lost city of Atlantis, as that was certainly the only logical explanation for the curses, the demons, and the silver platted in leaf silver and gold. It was a breathtakingly beautiful city with old architecture that reminded him of his time in Greece, but at the same time, the patterns to the streets, to the buildings, was geometrical to the last brick. The state of the statues looked like they might have sprung to life at any moment.

People were looking at him, he could feel their eyes burn across him—his eye colour, hair colour, his skin. Everyone in the city shared many similar traits, none of which Eric fit except for two arms, two legs, and a head. If he wasn't in such wonder of the sights around him, he would have wanted to crinkle down into a small ball and hide and away from the prying, curious, and investigating eyes that raked across him. He had never felt so unusual in all of his life. In fact, in Europe, no one really bothered to look at him twice. He had one of those faces that was easy to forget because he kind of looked a little bit like everyone, yet without enough defining traits to make him unique. He was handsome enough, sure, but not in a way that was out of the ordinary.

He followed closely behind Rani, hesitant at what might happen if he were to be let without her. He had already noticed that people seemed to look questioningly at him, notice Rani, and then move about their business. She seemed important, ike people respected her. Or feared her.. after watching her fell those two… whatever they were… he would be slightly afraid of her, as well.

Scurrying behind after her, letting her lead him inside of the rather large, stately home towards what he assumed was the heart of town. It was nice, bigger than he had ever claimed to have slept in. They quickly worked their way from the door to something of a dining room, except the table was already set and brimming with food. The table was laden with delicacies lining every surface. Everything he could think of wanting to eat. Most of the foods were fruits, and most of them were fruits he had never seen before, and he noted carefully the lack of bread. So, they really didn't seem to have wheat.

She invited him with a wave of her hand, but he felt hesitant and rude… like he was intruding on something he shouldn't be, but the hunger in his stomach was growing more incessant and painful with each passing moment, especially when the warming smells passed through his nostrils.

"Are you sure?" he inquired, guessing there wouldn't a response. Instead, knowing he was going to screw up the etiquette no matter what he tried, Eric helped himself to a few things. He sampled most of the fruits, first, wanting to try their exotic and sweet flavors.

 

[Ethys]

Rani leaned back against a wall and crossed her arms as she watched Eric start poking around the food. Nobody else was likely to show up at this hour to eat, so he really had the run of the table. Still, she was keeping a careful eye out. A stray guard would be fine, but she was a bit worried about the possibility of her father walking by and noticing the stranger. That was not an argument she was willing to have right now. It would take far too long to explain that Eric wasn't a demon at all, and now that he couldn't even understand her or speak to her, it would be even harder.

The fruit table itself was about eight feet long, with fruits seemingly divided by color instead of just randomly assorted. There were large kiwis in a bowl sitting next to luscious grapes and a platter of pears. The pineapples were sliced and stacked next to a small bunch of bananas, which were tucked next to the oranges and peaches. Dragonfruit sat with cherries and strawberries, and there was a massive mixed bowl of blueberries and blackberries toward the end. The mountains provided a chance to have more varieties of fruit thanks to altitude, but they were still fairly limited. At one point they had more, but it was too far behind them now to properly remember what those 'others' had been.

There was a second table attached to the end of the first. It was the one that held the coconuts, which were filled with a bird meat tasting similarly to duck. Next to those was a platter of sushi, prepared with fruit strips instead of rice. They caught only small fish that were stupid enough to swim close to shore. Nobody would risk even a canoe. They fished in short spurts, their feet remaining firmly planted in the sand. Birds were their main source of meat, along with the occasional bear or boar from the mountains when they got bored. It seemed somebody had gone up that day, as there was a heaping platter of pork next to the sushi. It was drizzled with honey and crushed red flowers that were known to be spicy.

No voices or movements outside of the room as of yet. Rani started to relax a little, her body starting to drain of the adrenaline that had been keeping her going this entire time. Now that she was standing still, exhaustion and pain hit her like a cart of stones over the head. She yawned and glanced down at herself. The front of her shirt was splattered with a great deal of blood, likely thanks to the spurt that came with slitting throats. Her hands and forearms were crimson as well. It wasn't as if she could help it. Any less and the demons would just come back. They had learned that the hard way a long time ago.

She shifted her weight, accidentally sliding down a little against the wall and leaving a wide bloody streak. Not that she noticed or cared. All she wanted was to ensure that Eric wasn't going to starve, then she could tuck him away in her room until they could get the whole talking thing figured out. Once she made it in there, she could just lay down. She'd be fine, probably. Maybe. She shifted again, forcing herself to straighten up and focus. Almost there. Just a little bit longer, then she could sleep.

 

[Nav]

He ate a bit, but not ravenously. Though he wished he could have shoved more down his throat, his stomach balked at the introduction of food, especially sweet and sugary fruits. His diet didn't often include such things and having gone so long without eating, his stomach churned and clenched like it was filled with hot coals. Eating just enough to remove the hunger from his bones and give him a slightly revitalized sense of awareness, Eric stepped back. His eyes wandered then to Rani, who seemed sick in her own right.

Her skin was already light toned, the color of an ivory carving, but somehow she seemed even paler in that moment, like she was losing opaqueness and becoming transparent. The smear of blood down the wall did nothing to ease his concerns either, nor did the fact that she seemed to be funneling in and out of focus. Taking one small cut of pork and nibbling on it, Eric watched her silently. His eyes showed a gentle kind of concern, even though he wasn't sure he owed it to her. She had waved her knife at him a few times, and angrily shouted at him even more, but she had ultimately saved his life, too. His mind recalled back to the water demon… then the two men, or whatever they were. Whether her acts were done to actually save him, or to save herself, he didn't know… or care.

"You're hurt," he repeated, "You need to get that closed before you bleed too much. Can't you understand me or are you giving me the silent treatment? Let me help you, I know how to help." Though he had never been to any university, Eric had picked up a lot during his days on water. He had become, consequentially, the ship's makeshift medic as he could patch up most wounds. Sure, his work wasn't exactly tidy and it certainly wasn't beautiful, but he usually could get the bleeding to stop, at very least. Though, hell, perhaps they had some kind of voodoo healing magic, for all he knew.

At this point, nothing would entirely surprise him.

"Mm, I know you don't seem to want to talk to me anymore, but can you even understand me? Can you at least nod, if you can?" Maybe she wasn't trying to be rude, he thought optimistically. Perhaps she really couldn't understand him. Thinking back on his voodoo magic idea, considering he had at least seen (or was currently hallucinating into seeing) demons, how far outside of the realm of possibility could it be that the necklace had something to do with their communication? He didn't want to point it out because he knew her knife was in the same bag as her necklace.

Eric was way over knives at this point.

 

[Ethys]

Questions. Talking. Eric was asking her questions, or speaking to her. Perhaps both? It was rather hard to tell when she couldn't make heads or tails out of the gibberish. It was even harder to decipher now that she was a bit out of it.

She stared at him blankly for a long moment, then looked away toward the hall. Must keep vigilant. She had to keep watch and make sure nobody showed up. If her father saw her acting like some pathetic weakling.. The thought made her straighten up more, though she almost immediately slumped back down.

"Δεν μπορώ να σας καταλάβουν καθόλου," she murmured, pointing out that she could not understand him at all, though she wasn't sure why she bothered saying it. Was it not obvious? Perhaps she had gotten sun sickness and he could understand her fine, yet her brain could no longer understand him. Was she going to die a drooling mess in a corner somewhere?

Her bag had fallen unnoticed from her shoulder, landing on the floor beside her. Other than her bloodied dagger and her necklace, all it held was a small assortment of fruit and a bit of rope. Nothing terribly threatening. She peered down at it, not bothering to budge. It could stay there.

"Νομίζω ότι μπορεί να καταρρεύσει.." she warned weakly, barely getting the words out before she slid down the wall fully and sat on the floor. That streak was going to be difficult to hide. She winced and braced herself against the floor as soon as she realized what had happened, turning to force herself back up. This was pathetic. She should be shunned to the end of her days.

 

[Nav]

She was getting worse by the moment. Her muscles seemed to be betraying her and picking herself up was harder and harder, he could tell. Thoughts would zip into her mind occasionally and she'd straighten, only to slump down again. She spoke in her native tongue again and he could only shake his head sadly; he couldn't understand. Approaching her would probably have ended poorly for him, even in her weakened state. Like millions of red flowers blooming, the droplets of blood fell across the floor. He tried not to stare at her injuries, but his eyes kept finding them.

The communication barrier was beyond frustrating. The whole situation was beyond frustrating, but at least if he was fretting about her, he wasn't feeling bad about himself. He had all but forgotten about the fact that he was a very long way from home and anything he had ever known in the sight of blood. Then, like an answered prayer, Rani's bag slipped from her shoulder and out spilled the contents. They were surprisingly tame, all in all, but the necklace was what caught his attention. Snatching it from the floor, he offered it to her on his open palm.

With his other hand, he gently tapped his throatlatch, trying to tell her to put it on. It was worth trying a theory. If it didn't work, well, he would just look like a creep and compared to everyone else on the damn island, he realized he probably looked like a creep to them anyways. All he wanted to do was find a way to be able to communicate with her again, and to tell her that he could help her with her injuries… perhaps not well, but it would be better than sitting ailing on a dining room floor leaving splashes of blood everywhere. Blood stained and that wouldn't be easy to get off the walls.

"Please put in on," he whispered, knowing she couldn't understand… or, she was just being sassy and hadn't agreed to nod her head when he asked. That, or her blood loss was becoming so dramatic she was becoming incoherent. Whatever the case, he digressed. He wanted her to put the damn necklace on.

 

[Ethys]

Rani didn't last too long in her attempt to stand back up. She just sat on her knees, resting on her heels as she stared at Eric. He had come over to her when she dropped, but he seemed more interested in her necklace than anything else. It took a long moment for her to understand that he wanted her to put it back on. At this point, she wasn't really up for arguing or bapping him in the nose to get him to back up. Instead, she took the necklace carefully and put it on. It was good thing the chain was long and could just go over her head, or she'd never have gotten the clasp open.

"I can't stand up.." she murmured, mostly to herself. Her words were slurring a bit and she rubbed her face. Focus, Rani. Now was not the time to lose it. Eric was done eating! She could get up and go to her room! Except.. She couldn't. And now she couldn't really think of why it was so important. "If my father sees you.."

"I don't know why I'm still talking to you when you're just talking gibberish at me," she added, frowning to herself.

She was debating trying to get up again, but then she heard footsteps. Startled, she looked up, registering the startled face of her sister. The poor girl's jaw dropped and she stared at the scene for a long moment. Her older sister on the floor, blood everywhere, and the sea demon from earlier right next to her. She started to back out of the room, her own pendant starting to glow softly as she mumbled to the gods to protect her from the evil being.

 

[Nav]

She didn't seem happy about it, but she did what he had asked… or motioned for her to do. The necklace was slipped on over her head and fell across his chest and, just like that, he understood. He perked up again, like a dog whose ears pricked up when listening to something. "You can't stand up? You can't stand up—I understood you!" he chimed excitedly, though he kept his voice quiet as he did so. He didn't feel like a particularly welcomed guest, even though Rani had invited him in. He already had a hunch that if Rani had thought him a demon, perhaps others might, too. He wondered if everyone in the village would need to cut him to prove he wasn't a demon. There had to be an easier way.

That was neither here nor there, because in that moment, all he was focused on was Rani and, more specifically, what Rani was saying. "I'm not talking gibberish, you were talking gibberish…" he ended up plopping down on to the floor and taking a good, hard look at the necklace, which began to glow on and off again. "How fascinating," he wondered aloud, "How does it work? Your necklace? You don't speak English then? Or Spanish? Your necklace, is it magic?" He eyed it suspiciously, "It must be magic. I have never seen such a device before. Is it witchcraft? Are your people witches?"

There were so many questions he wanted to ask but he refocused his mind. There was time for questions later, now, he needed to worry about Rani. "You're hurt," he stated for the umpteenth time, "I am a medic. I can help you. I can get the bleeding to stop, I think."

Of course, nothing could be easy. By the time he heard the sound of footfalls, it was too late and another woman approached. She swung in through the doorway but quickly scattered back, muttering out what Eric could only make out to be some kind of prayer. Of course, he knew what it must have looked like. Rani was a heap on the floor, bleeding heavily, and he was standing over her—having been thought a demon by that same woman only a few hours earlier. "Wait! Hold on!" Eric leapt back, holding his hands up, "Don't… don't be alarmed." The shock registered on his face before he could hide it, but there was only one thing he could do.

He quickly scrambled for Rani's blade and dragged the pointed edge down his palm. The pain was deep and warm, but blood quickly spilled from the wound and began to dribble from the cut. Eric opened his palm towards the other woman.

"See? Not a demon. I just wish to help, is all. Rani needs help."

 

[Ethys]

Liarra'a was essentially a mirror image of her sister. The same skin, the same shade of blue in the eyes. Her silver hair curled just as Rani's did, though Li's was longer and currently pulled back in a long braid. She was dressed in a simple sea-green dress with no metal, as she had been getting ready for bed when she decided to get a pear. The terror on her face was almost overwhelming. She was not the 'brave' sister. As proven earlier, when she bolted, she was prone to flight when confronted. That was why she was ready to turn and run to her father.

But.. Then the demon spoke to her.

She hesitated a moment, staring at him. His voice was alarmed, not the silky suave tones she had heard the darkness demons had. When it came to demons, she was fairly sheltered so far, but she knew one when she saw one. This creature looked nothing like a real person! She frowned, edging closer to the doorway as he picked up Rani's dagger. This was it, she was going to die! It was the end- wait. Did.. Did he just cut himself? She blinked, stunned as she saw the blood dripping to the floor.

He bled. He was.. not a demon?
Rani needs help.

Li looked down at her sister, who was barely conscious. She was still losing blood and had given up trying to follow the conversation at all. Her eyes were entirely unfocused and she had leaned back against the wall once more. Li frowned worriedly and quickly came over, though she wasn't sure what she could really offer.

"We need to get her to her bedroom. I can get some supplies once we have her laid down and get this shirt out of the way," she said, her tone a bit higher-pitched than Rani's, and much more anxious. "If Father sees.. Oh, dear. Help me carry her. We'll need to go upstairs," she explained quickly. No time to be squeamish now! She quickly repacked Rani's bag and slung it over her own shoulder, then picked up Rani's legs.