By the Smell of Salt Air

[Nav]

Oh, thank God, it worked. It was nice that the other woman, who looked like a mirror image of Rani, was much more easily convinced. He assumed that the two women were related, looking so much alike and being in the same house, but then Eric couldn't be confident. A lot of the people he had seen in the city looked a lot alike, unlike Europe, where people were much more diverse: from hair colour, to skin colour, to eye colour. The people of this place, this Atlantis, seemed much more uniform, though he wondered if that was just his untrained eye. Still, there was no time for such thoughts, not when Rani was beginning to lose consciousness actively. Her alertness was gone and her eyes had gone dull and gazed over, like she had fallen asleep but her eyes remained open.

He dropped the small dagger and it fell to the floor with a clatter when the woman began to speak, seeming to accept his ploy of cutting himself and showing his blood. His palm still stung and pulsed uncomfortably, though he supposed it was a small price to pay. "Okay, great," he agreed, pleased that they could communicate. Again, her crystal lit up like a lightning bug had been captured in the rock every time she spoke only continuing to prove his hypothesis. "Let's get here there. Supplies, you say? Hmm…" he didn't know what she meant by 'supplies.' He really hoped she didn't mean 'bananas and pineapples,' because those would be of no use to him.

Picking up Rani's shoulders, he shifted her until she was in a more comfortable position in his hands. "I need you to lead the way, please. I don't know where I'm going," he spoke quickly and like an educated man, his voice and diction clear as he looked across to the woman. Introducing himself and getting her name hadn't even crossed his mind, so he kept internally referring to her as 'woman.' For all he knew, Rani and this woman weren't even human, so he wasn't entirely convinced he could help them, but… he had patched up a few horses, a cat, and a cow back home, so, if he could treat other mammals, why not Rani?

She bled red, so, that had to mean something.

[Short post, sorry!]

 

[Ethys]

Li nodded as he pointed out she would need to lead. Thankfully Rani's room wasn't as far away as it could be, but she was still a little worried about running into a guard or something. Worse, she knew there was no way to clean up the dining hall. It looked as though somebody had been murdered in here while everybody else was asleep. Perhaps she could take care of it before bed, after Rani was set.

"This way," she murmured, carefully walking with Rani's legs held firmly. She peered out of the doorway, making sure the coast was clear before emerging. They went a little down the hall, then up a flight of stairs and down another hall. Even though her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears that it sounded like thunder, nobody came to see what was going on. A miracle.

She nudged open Rani's door and moved to the bed, easing her sister onto it carefully with Eric's help. There. Now to see the damage done. She pulled Rani's dagger from the bag and carefully cut the drenched shirt off of the girl. A cloth band around her breasts kept her from being 'indecent' once the shirt was off, but that was soaked in blood as well. They would need to change the blanket. She eyed the wound, jagged at the edges. No denying what this was from. She knew Rani was not stupid and would not have taken them on alone if she didn't have a reason.

She must have been protecting Eric.

Li set the dagger aside quickly, along with the bag. She turned to Eric, explained that she was going to get supplies, then darted out of the room. It was a decent-sized bedroom, with windows overlooking the darkened city. The most interesting feature of the room was the floor - it was covered in glass tiles of all colors, arranged in a gorgeous abstract mosaic. Apart from that, she had a desk and chair, a dresser, and a large bed. A stack of books sat against the wall, too.

"Here," Li said as she came back in, arms full. She had no idea what was needed, so she had grabbed a little of everything. Rolls of bandages, a dark bottle of a substance they used to sanitize things, a needle and thread. She had also brought a fluffy ball of cotton, as they had no gauze. "Will this do? Can you help her? Please, I'm not trained," she said, looking up at him desperately.

 

[Nav]

Calm down, calm down, calm down…

The chant was like a mantra in Eric's head as he mulled his options over and over. The woman scrambled along the route up ahead of him, Rani was their bridge, and Eric followed behind, her shoulders cradled in his large, calloused hands. He kept passing sideways glances throughout the house as they made their way through it, fearing meeting this 'father' both women had spoken about. He seemed strict and unrelenting from the few scraps of information he had gleaned during their conversation.

Had the moment not felt so vital, Eric would have stood back to admire the room. The tiles were smooth and horizontal glass bars, each about two quills thick. Perhaps pulled away from the wall they would have been translucent; perhaps they would have cast the irrepressible sunlight into the seaside tones they were. The deepest of them was like driftwood, another was the same hue as the sand in Barcelona, and the blue was like the ocean on a cool Autumn day. They were arranged in beautiful mosaic patterns and he almost… almost… felt guilty tromping over them in his dirty, sea-worn clothes. Alas, there were matters to be attended to.

With Rani on the bed and the cloth taken away from her body, leaving just enough for her to be decent, Eric edged in to her bedside. Normally, such an exposure of a woman's form would have caused him discomfort at the indecency, but this was not a whoreish display on Rani's part.

The other woman hastily returned with an arm bundle of objects, dumping them on the edge of the bed. He quickly shifted through them, pausing at the dark glass bottle so he could pull out the cork and take a sniff. The pungent smell immediately ripped across his nostrils and he crinkled his nose in response. "Yes," he answered, "I think so. I will try my best," Eric assured her, gently nudging Rani so he could get a better view of the injury. The edges were jagged and inconsistent, the skin ripped apart without any sort of clean edge anywhere. He started first with the cleaning agent, dabbling it on to the cotton and massaging it against the skin. He didn't rip away the cotton pieces as they were bled through, but instead only added more and pressed the weight of his upper body against them.

The less bleeding there was, the better off the stitches were bound to hold. A hot iron would have been a better option, to cauterize, but Eric didn't feel in a position to begin asking for things. Instead, he quietly worked with what he had until sweat began to dapple his brow.

 

[Ethys]

Li watched Eric carefully, though it was not because she suspected that he would harm her sister. In fact, from the way he was looking at her, it was almost as if he cared. Huh. She paced silently along the other side of the bed, unable to keep still. Fighting darkness demons alone? It was positively ridiculous. Rani might be a bit of a hothead sometimes, but she wasn't an idiot. She would never approach the demons like that if there was another choice. There must have been more than one. A single one was easily avoided, but two.. They could track. She frowned at the thought.

"Is she going to be alright?" she asked after barely two minutes had passed from the start of Eric's treatment. There was so much blood. What if Rani died?! That couldn't possibly happen, could it? It was impossible. She was so young, and so much better at basically everything. Well.. Except for the whole guy thing. Rani had never been interested. That was why Li was so proud to be good at it and tended to juggle men like some people juggled fruit. It was more to prove that she could so something better than her sister than anything else. Just the thought of it now seemed stupid. Why did she try so hard?

She just wanted Rani to approve of her.

Scooting down onto her knees, she gently took Rani's bloodstained hand into her own and squeezed her eyes shut. Now was the time to pray. Her sister had to be fine. She just had to. No other option was acceptable. A few tears escaped, tracing down her cheeks in silence, but she kept her eyes closed. After several moments, her hands started to glow, as though she was holding a brilliant white light instead of Rani's hand.

The gash that Eric was working on began to shift, the edges pressing closer together to make stitching a breeze. No longer was she gushing blood, but rather a slow trickle. Her breathing, which had become rather shallow, deepened into the normal rhythm of one who was in a deep sleep.

 

[Nav]

"I hope so," he answered in a tone that made it seem like he wasn't really listening to the woman next to him. The concentration straining his face was immense and he worked diligently, his hands delicate yet educated in every move they made. There wasn't much else of an option for him, really, as he didn't know what his fate would be if something were to happen to Rani. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure what his fate would be even if she survived. With so much up in the air, and so much grief burning into his heart better and faster than a branding iron, he was glad for the fact that he had something else to focus on. His eyes were intent and his brain was only worrying about the injury in front of him.

Nothing more, nothing less.

The cotton continued to sop but the blood like a biscuit to gravy at dinner. The blood didn't gush in a constant flow, but in time with the beating of Rani's heart. At first it came thick and strong, flowing through the cotton and his fingers as he clasped down on the ripped flesh. He felt the blood move over his hand, the thick fluid not warmer nor cooler than his own skin. Finally, the wound began to clot and the bleeding only trickled slowly, oozing out in a sap-like fashion. Feeling comfortable that he could peel away the tunicate, Eric did so and dropped the damp, soggy mess of cotton to the side. Next, he picked up the thread and needle and threaded them together, peeling away enough thread to work with. It was thick thread, thicker than he was used to, but he tied it off and began to pierce the edges of flesh together.

They knotted together and closed the wound underneath the puckered lacing of the stitches. It wasn't pretty work and Eric was definitely no seamstress, but it did the job. Pulling back, he inspected the work he had done, touching around the tender, broken flesh to see how the stitches held. Even when he gave them a soft tug, they didn't open the seam.

"I think that is good," he said aloud, though it was more to himself than to the other woman. The shock must have begun to wear off, too, because Rani's breathing had changed for the better. Her body seem to relax, but then there was more glowing. Damnit, Eric had already become sick of knives and now he was beginning to get awfully sick of glowing, too.

"So, you have witchcraft, but not healing magic?" he motioned towards the pair of hands clasped together, giving off a soft, pale light like that of a candle. "What kind of magic is that anyways?" At this point, Eric was beyond being afraid. He was too tired to be shocked and too worn out to be panicked.

 

[Ethys]

When Eric spoke up to signal he was finished, Li slowly released her breath. Done. Rani was still breathing. For now, things seemed good. She smiled and opened her eyes to look up at him, then tilted her head in confusion when he mentioned witchcraft and magic.

"Are you ill?" she finally asked, wondering if he had lost his mind. Her hands were not glowing any longer. She glanced out the window, noting how late it was. This poor man had just worked to save her sister and he was obviously exhausted and not thinking straight. She stood up and opened a door next to the one they had come through. Inside was a lavish bathroom, with a massive tub and a pump-faucet. There was a modern toilet, pump-faucet sink, and more colorful tiles all over the place. She set a fluffy towel out on the sink and came back out to smile at him.

"Go bathe. Relax. I will make a bed for you while you do so, and I'll clean Rani up," she said, picking up all of the medical supplies and setting them aside. "The hot water takes a minute sometimes, so be careful."

Li hummed to herself, getting out spare bedding and setting it up next to the window so that he could have a nice view of the stars to sleep with. She made sure to give an extra fluffy blanket to sleep on, to keep the hard tiles from destroying his back, plus a small pile of pillows. Once that was done, she turned her attention to Rani. She made quick work of washing the blood off her sister with a small basin and cloth. There. Satisfied, she rolled Rani over, changing her bedding and getting her into a soft night shirt. It felt odd to tuck the older girl in, but she didn't mind.

After a bit of thought, Li went back downstairs and cleaned up as much of the blood as she could. It wasn't as effective as she would have liked. They'd have to claim innocence. She sighed and made a plate of fruit, grabbing a glass of wine as well before heading upstairs. She left it next to Eric's bed, then wandered off to her own bedroom.

What a night!

 

[Nav]

Plumbing was not something Eric was familiar with.

Europe had no such thing. They had outhouses, sure, and water closests. Water was heated over fire and poured into basins or tubs for washing, so it was natural for Eric to wait for her to light a fire of some sort. When she didn't, and just mentioned that the hot water 'would take a moment,' his eyebrows raised in surprise. Perhaps her fire pit was somewhere else? She left him to his devices with a wash rag and a brief description of everything, gesturing him off to figure things out on his own. The door fell shut behind her and Eric paused a moment just to look around.

The pump faucet was easy enough to figure out himself, and with a few pumps of the handle, crystal clear water gushed into the basin. The water was quickly turned into a muddy shade of pink as he dipped his fingers below the surface. It took a great deal of washing and scrubbing to get the blood dried to his skin to flake free. Even when he felt like he had all but scrubbed his own skin off, he could still see the blotchy stains across his tanned skin. Eventually, he gave up and dried his arms and hands off before moving to the lantrine. It took a while for him to explore and figure out, but the system was quite clever once he had. The small lever opened up the bottom port by pulley, or so he imagined, and empties the contents into the chamber pot below.

He couldn't help but laugh in the brilliance of it all, jiggling the make-shift handle a few times before finally relieving his bladder.

Washed up and looking a little less scruffy than he had before, Eric excited the loo and glanced up and down the room. It was quiet, and empty and it felt like not a single soul was breathing in the entire place. Instead, it almost felt like the walls were leaning over him, listening to his every movement. It caused his posture to go rigid with discomfort. The extra bed in Rani's room had a small bed-stand adorned with a small platter of fruit and a glass of water. How nice, he thought.

His stomach, feeling a bit more agreeable than earlier, hastily took down a few bites of the fruit left and some of the water. Those were both nice, but the bed…

He reverently rubbed his fingers along the silken mattress. He pressed his cheek to the cool, velvety pillows. The duvet was thick and irresistibly soft, like a billowing cloud. He toppled into it, relieved to rest his weary feet. Warmth and darkness enveloped him until he soon succumbed to the call of sleep.

 

[Ethys]

The next morning, Rani was up early. She felt well-rested for once, though her back was sore. Stretching, she yawned and slid out of bed, toddling her way to the bathroom while rubbing her eyes. Today was the day she was supposed to be going with her father to speak to some of the faction leaders, but she had a feeling he would end up postponing it again. With any luck, that is.

It wasn't that she didn't want to do her duty and learn how things were supposed to be run. Far from it, really. She wanted to help her father in any way that she could. The problem was that tension between factions was on the rise and things were beginning to get heated. She was worried that soon somebody would do something stupid. That was all they needed - a war to destroy the entire island. She frowned at the thought, setting out a towel on the sink absently.

She drew a bath and sank into it, only relaxing for a minute or so before she set to scrubbing. It would not do to be dirty if the meeting actually happened today. For some reason, her back was still sore, but she didn't think much on it. Probably slept wrong. She shrugged and climbed out of the tub, wrapping herself in towel before setting to work detangling her hair in front of her mirror. It was always so plain. Just hanging in curls. Boring. She frowned a bit, eying the silvery mass before finally deciding to made it into a long side braid. Li would be excited. She smirked a bit at the thought and left the bathroom to go dress.

On her way to her dresser, she noticed a man sleeping under her window. Startled, she yelped in surprise and promptly fell after trying to step backward and sliding in a puddle thanks to not fully drying off. She landed on her backside with a dull thud, her towel thankfully falling to cover the necessities.. though barely.

Oh. Right. She had picked up a man on the beach yesterday. Well, that explained why her back was sore.. and now she felt like an idiot.

 

[Nav]

The sleep pooled on his eyelids. It came like the falling of an axe and he dreamt of home so vividly, the island, the shipwreck, the ship had all been forgotten. All he could remember was dipping his toes into the cool ocean water and letting the sand gush between his toes on the romantic, sleepy Spanish hamlet. He could remember the taste and smell of the foods of his homeland, the bubbles of laughter as children ran up and down the streets, and the soft gossip of the tropical leaves as they were tossed around in the wind. He transplanted himself back home and it made his gut roll with discomfort and homesickness.

It was a loud crash that woke him up and he was startled, not by the noise, but by the unfamiliarity of the space around him. Though his eyes could not think of why, his heart was pounding, causing him to wake up faster than a cat in ice-water, every sense urging him to claw to standing. Before a moment had passed, he had pulled himself from bed and landed on his feet, looking around the room until his memory booted back up. The island, he recalled. The woman, Rani, the attackers… the blood. He looked down at his hands that were still speckled with blood stains. His hands were red and dry, as he had scrubbed them too hard to try and get the stains off.

Next, he looked up and saw Rani. She was on the floor, sprawled out, with barely a towel to cover herself. His brows raised in equal surprise before making a soft 'errr' noise of concern. "Morning," he murmured, awkwardly going to turn his back to her so she coul become decent. His cheeks were inflamed red with a blush, embarrassed he had just seen so much of a woman who was not his significant other. In Spain, seeing so much of a woman who wasn't a wife was sinful, "Uhm… how… how is your back feeling?" he flubbed for his words, trying desperately to think of something to get the incessant burning in his cheeks to subside. Thinking about ripped open flesh and stitches seemed to do the trick.

"Glad to see you're up and about. You lost a lot of blood yesterday you may… may uh… wanna rest a bit tody." Though Rani seemed like she was back to normal. She was moving about, cleaning up, and going about like nothing had happened, though he had wondered why she had just fallen over. Perhaps she was still dizzy. After losing as much blood as she had, he wouldn't have been surprised. "Or… or at least take it easy?"

 

[Ethys]

"How am I feeling? Like I got stabbed in the back."

Rani was in a bit of a foul mood now that her ass was sore too. She was, of course, not annoyed with Eric. He just happened to be the most convenient target. She sighed and got up, quickly wrapping her towel around herself and walking to the dresser. Oh well. Around here it wasn't uncommon to accidentally happen on somebody who was naked. The open architecture made it hard to avoid sometimes. At least he had turned around.

"I'm sorry, that was mean. I'm just cranky this morning," she said after a moment, pulling out fresh clothes for the day. Thinking about the potential meeting, she selected a short sleeved tunic embroidered with purple and silver, with matching pants that flowed around her legs. The material was almost like silk, with the breathability of cotton. She set her towel aside and turned back to face him once dressed.

"Come on. There's a closet in one of the spare rooms that has men's clothes in it. You can change. No need to stay in dirty clothes. We can get them clean and mended for you," she said, going over to him and gesturing for him to follow.

It wasn't far to the room, and they thankfully didn't see a single soul on the way. The closet that she had spoken of was full of clothes to choose from, of all sizes and colors. Male clothing on the island tended to be fairly loose and flowing, to avoid heat sickness in the summer.

"Pick anything you want."

 

[Nav]

"Well, yea… not exactly surprising. You did kind of get stabbed in the back," he agreed sympathetically. The lashing out was not entirely unsurprising to him either. When he used to treat people aboard the various ships he had worked over the years, they used to get snappy too. Truthfully, he could understand why—being injured was uncomfortable, painful, and hardly a good time, and that often led to people coping attitudes. It didn't help that Rani had an attitude to begin with, but he decided not to bring up that little snippet of information, in desire to keep his head and neck attached to his shoulders.

She came around though and when he heard some shuffling around: opening and closing of drawers and the rustle of fabric, Eric cautiously peaked over his shoulder. He was greeted with a much more decent image of Rani this time, though it never ceased to amaze him of women's clothing choices on the island. Women back home were expected to be in their best dresses at all times when out in public. Their hair was done up and curled nicely by their maids and their make-up thick and well applicated. From what he could see, and from what little exposure he had, the women of the island were much less decent than the Spanish women he was familiar with. First of all, she had her hair merely in a braid… a braid! No woman over the age of ten wore a braid back home, it was too immature, and never mind that she was wearing but a tunic and trousers! The very sight caused him to nearly faint all over again.

A woman… in trousers. The audacity astounded him but, being mild-mannered Eric, he didn't say anything, just passed her an unusual, quirky browed glance and tried his best to ignore it while simultaneously swiping the surprised look from his face.

Fresh clothes for himself, however, sounded like a blessing. The clothing he was in was worn and ripping at the seams from all the time he spent in the ocean. The fabric was also stained with blood, both his own and Rani's, and while he was excited to have some clean and fresh to wear, he was also hesitant. If women wore tunics and trousers, he was wary what men wore. Alas, he followed all the same, keeping close to Rani. Thankfully, his worries were surpressed when he saw the closet chalk full of tunics and trousers. The colours surprised him, as did the looseness and the patterns of the fabrics, but he looked past it and thumbed through each article until he found a few to try on.

"Thank you for this," he said as he gathered up his armful of clothes and saw himself behind a changing curtain. It took a few tries, but he finally found a pair of trousers and a tunic that fit well. Though loose, the articles of clothing fell across his shoulders in a way that spoke the tone of muscle below, a gift from many years hard labour.

"Do you just… have clothes lying around all the time like this?"

 

[Ethys]

Rani sat on the bed as she waited for him to change into something he liked. When he questioned the abundance of clothing, she winced and looked down at her hands. If he hadn't been out of sight, he probably would have noticed the raw pain on her face. The same pain she had displayed the day before when he questioned if they ever went out to sea. She swallowed hard, again smoothing her face into an expressionless slate.

"We have extras. It's convenient, isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"Rani? Rani!" Li's voice piped up from the hallway. The girl was looking all around, a bit panicked when she had searched her sister's bedroom and found neither her nor the strange man. Thankfully, she caught sight of the open door and came in. "There you are! Father waited for you, but he's out for the day. He told me to tell you that the meeting is being postponed. Again. He also said that if you intend to be late for breakfast every day, you should start sleeping with the drunks in the tavern," she reported dutifully, though she trailed off to giggles at the end.

"How kind of him," Rani sighed. "Alright. Thank you, Li."

"Where's the man from yesterday?" Li asked, glancing around until she spotted a shadow moving behind the changing curtain. "O-Oh! Uh.. Bye!" she squeaked, darting out of the room and out of sight as quickly as she could. Rani frowned to herself. Now she had extra time on her hands and nothing to occupy her mind. Unless..

"It appears I have an open day. Would you like to explore the city?"

 

[Nav]

With a new sense of freedom and comfort in his clothing, Eric looked a bit more at ease. A gentleness came over his facial expression. The homesickness was still churning around in his gut and he knew he'd have to face that whole ordeal sooner rather than later, but for the meantime, he was just happy with a new set of clothes, some rest, and a decently full belly. The food from the previous night had done more than enough to sate his hunger and he wasn't finding himself dying for another meal. "It is convenient," he agreed, "Just a little odd."

The sound of light feet pattering over the tile floor caused him to fall silent and he peeked out around the changing curtain, his eyebrows raised. There, swinging around the corner was the other woman from the previous night. The two women had a brief discussion, about the mysterious entity known as 'Father' once more, and Eric managed to pluck up that the woman's name was 'Li.' Or, at least, that was what Rani had called her, so that was what Eric had settled on he would call her, too. It was much easier to name her Li in his head than 'woman…' and probably politer for that matter. Li asked about him and he gave her a small wave, their eyes meeting for only a second before she scampered off—in fear or surprise, possibly both.

"So, Li… she is your sister?" he asked, trying to strike up conversation, "And your father? He seems like a very busy, strict man." Eric was raised with a strict father, though his own father was a bit more tender. He didn't put up with his sons messing around foolishly, but he was warm and loving, and had spent ample time with both of his boys in their childhood.

The offer to go explore the city was met with a small smile and a shrug. "That sounds agreeable," he nodded, "But people will look at me strangely, don't you think?" He didn't want to have to cut open his hand or arm every time he saw someone giving him that 'it's a demon!' look.

 

[Ethys]

"She is my sister, yes. Younger. My father is.. Well, he is very busy. There is a lot going on with the island right now. It's complicated," she explained, half shrugging. She looked up to find that he had come out with his chosen outfit. With his coloring, he looked completely different than anybody she had ever seen wear it. That made her relax and smile.

"Good choice. Come, we'll get breakfast. And don't worry about the odd looks. There are places in this city that aren't as packed as the road we took in last night," she said, guiding him downstairs. The food tables had been refreshed and refilled with much the same as there was the night before, though there was no meat or wine. Instead it was purely fruit, water, and assorted juices. "You can explore without being stared at or screamed at because people think you're a demon."

As Rani loaded her own plate, she silently pondered. He had brought up a very real problem. Though she had been honest and knew how to avoid crowds, that would not do forever. He could not live in hiding until he died. It was impossible. Her father would soon find out, and the guards. Besides, she didn't want to keep him cooped up as though he was in a cage. He had already lost so much. She wouldn't steal his freedom. The only problem was proving his humanity to the city without having to go through one-by-one. It was an issue that would require more thought.

"Tell me more about yourself," she commanded, then she realized it sounded harsh. "If you tell me something about yourself, I will do the same. We can trade. I'm curious," she amended, taking a seat on a cushion that sat on the floor by a massive window and gesturing for him to do the same.

 

[Nav]

Back home, breakfast had always been his favorite meal.

He loved the smells of baking breads in the stone oven, the warm, melting butter, and the cheese spreads. Growing up on a small farm, they had access to fresh milk and eggs, a luxury most other poorer families did not have. Often, they would invite neighbors over, or family friends, to share in their morning meal. Instead of walking downstairs to the enjoying aromas of toasting bread and griddled eggs, and other confectionaries, he didn't smell anything until they stepped into the same dining hall they had been in the previous evening. Fruits, which seemed to be the staple of people's diets here, were abundant. Without thinking, he found himself a plate and began to pick out a few fruits that looked appetizing, keeping them well separated on his plate.

"I feel no matter where I go, I'll be claimed a demon," he looked back at her before biting down a chunk of pineapple, surprised to find how sweet and juicy it was. "But if you say so, I look forward to looking around the city and island." Anything at all to keep his mind off home. Again, a punch hit him in the gut, but he quickly took another bite of food to swallow it down. He wanted to ask more about whatever the things that had attacked Rani were, but he decided against it… at least for the time being. She seemed more comfortable now that it was daylight outside, so perhaps they only ventured out at night? What was the word for that? Nocturnal, yes… like wolves and coyotes.

"About me?" he echoed thoughtfully as he found a chair to settle himself into. "Well, I come from a place called Europe and within it, I like in a country called Spain… I believe you refer to them as fractions, here?" he recalled her mentioning something about fractions, "It has been a long time since I was last there, though. My father was a very educated man—he taught me to read and write, though I never went to school. I have a brother, too. Some… events… occurred that caused me to leave Spain and I worked as a sailor for many years. A sailor is…" he knew how they felt about the ocean, "A sailor is a person who works on a boat… a great big house that floats on the water." That sounded about right, he supposed.

If they didn't go out into the ocean, he doubted they had anything like ships or vessels from back home. "I'm not sure what to say, really. Is there anything you want to know?"

He continued to pick at his breakfast, looking away from her and down at his plate. He had been away from Spain for so many years but he had never missed it because he always could return. Now, the option was stolen right out from underneath him. He was thankful for Rani, and her graciousness, but it did nothing to settle the storm in his chest. The warm sunshine filtering in through the slats on the windows made him homesick, to long for a home he had left a long time ago.

A home he wasn't going back to.

 

[Ethys]

Rani listened with avid interest as he spoke about himself. It was odd to hear about such wild ideas and new things, but it was also incredibly fascinating. She found herself listening more than she was eating. His hesitations, his expressions, the odd emphasis he put on certain words. It was all part of him. She could tell that he was upset, and she assumed it was because he was speaking of home when he was now stranded here. That was something she could not solve for him.

"I've never been off of this island. You probably knew that," she said, toying with a grape on her plate. "But I do know what a boat is. A long, long time ago, this island traded with other lands. We traveled the world, fearless on the seas! Our leader was a woman known for her kindness. She had the gift of healing with no medicine, and a voice that could calm any temper when she sang. One day, the god of the sea came to the island and demanded her hand in marriage. She denied him, and he stayed for two weeks to beg her to reconsider. He lost his connection to the sea, on land for too long. He became a demon and was killed by the woman he loved."

"Any boat attempting to leave or come to the island after that was destroyed. Our island was plagued with demons, as were the waters. No person could enter or leave at any time. The demons ran over the entire world, slaughtering everybody, except for this one island, because they wait for their revenge. One day, the leader will be reborn, and she will be sacrificed. We will be free of the demons. At least, that's what the stories say."

Li wandered in to the room and gave them both a smile, scooping up a pear for herself.

"You two look comfy. I hope you have something fun planned for the day, just take it easy with your back. I'm going to go find Maerius," she announced, making Rani sigh. Not the boyfriend again. This was so frustrating. Before she could protest, Li cut her off. "I know, I know. I won't be gone long. He's a really good guy, Rani. He just sits and begs me to sing for him for hours," she giggled, waving to the pair of them before leaving.

"Teenagers.." Rani muttered, going back to her breakfast.

 

[Nav]

"Mm."

It was quite the story and even a week ago, Eric would have laughed in the face of it. Demons? Sea Gods? What a silly child's tale. Sure, he had grown up religious and going to the Church many days a week, but that always seemed logical… why would a God wish to marry a mortal? Couldn't a God, in all of his powers, just create any bride he wished? Didn't he have better things to do? The entire tale seemed a bit unusual and he had a hard time believing it and he probably would have denied it as a heathen's tale only a week prior, but after everything he had seen, everything he had encountered…

Well, he just wasn't sure what was truth of fallacy anymore.

That very thought rocked his foundation. If there was a Sea God, what of Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost? A shiver coursed up his spine. Perhaps it was a test in his faith—to see if he truly believed even in the face of such proof the contrary. Could he even believe his own eyes? Like an angry squirrel captured in a trap, his brain spun around in the same circle until it felt like it was beginning to overheat. Ultimately, he pushed the thoughts aside for the time being. He couldn't afford to think about such things at the moment, especially since she concluded her story with 'at least, that's what the stories say.' It made him feel better. They were just stories.

Li sauntered into the room and cut into their conversation, to which Eric could only look back and smile politely. She seemed more accepting of his presence now at least, which was nice. She didn't run in fear at the mere sight of him anymore. Of all the island, he had at least won over two of its citizens… that was a start. "A boyfriend?" he echoed once she had left, looking back to Rani. "Is her father not picking someone for her to marry?" he asked, rising his eyebrows at her, "Someone of equal or better stature in society? A woman can't just… go out and marry anyone she wants, can she?"

That was a new concept. Marrying in Europe was a very serious business agreement and love was disregarded. Though many couples, over the years, learned to love (or at least appreciate) one another, one didn't often marry for love or affection, so the concept of Li going out to date someone her sister was against was beyond him. "Don't you worry this man will defile your sister?"

 

[Ethys]

"Defile? If anything, I'd be worried about how hard Li would hit him if he tried anything that she didn't want. The problem is that I'm not sure what she wants," Rani said with a sigh. It seemed that her sister had a new boyfriend every time she turned around. This was the first one who had lasted over two weeks that she could recall. She munched a grape, then belatedly realized what Eric had been saying about marriage.

"Wait. Father pick?" she asked, then she started to laugh. "Oh, I'd like to see him try. If it were up to him, I'd be married off by now, I'm sure. Thankfully it isn't up to him. Girls marry whomever they choose. Well, as long as the man agrees, that is. I have a feeling that Li is going to end up marrying outside of our faction, which might be nice. Give me an excuse to go visit on more than political meeting business, anyway."

She looked up as she heard bells tolling outside. Already? It couldn't possibly be- but then they tolled again. She quickly stood up and peered out the window. Where was it? She didn't see anything, but it could just be the angle.

"Two bells means Demons," she murmured absently to Eric, still looking. If it was just a few, that was no big deal, but it was unusual to have an attack this early in the day. That usually meant a larger force.

Well.. At least Eric wouldn't be bored.

 

[Nav]

"Whomever they choose…" he echoed, not entirely sure what to make of what she was saying. He just stared at her with a confused expression, his head tilting a little. "Really? Or are you jesting?" But, she seemed serious, which in and of itself, was confusing. Before he had left Spain, he had been arranged to marry a lovely woman. Beth was her name and she was British, just like his mother. It was for business reasons of course—his father worked with a trade company, her father owned a trade company… the situation couldn't have been more ideal. Unfortunately, the arrangement didn't pan out and Eric was forced to leave his homeland.

He drummed his fingers against his knee and thought about what she had said. Marrying for love—what a strange concept. Furthermore, Eric wasn't even sure he had experienced such a love. He loved his mother, his brother, his father… he had even loved Beth to an extent, though more like a friend. She had been a nice, quaint, mousy woman. Naturally, he had read the poems and epics of pursuing true love, but like demons, Eric never thought them serious. Then he came to the island and had encountered a small variety of demons, or at least that was what Rani had referred to them by. He still wasn't convinced he wasn't dead and in some kind of purgatory, but for some reason, the notion of marrying based on one's own free-will was even more earth-shattering to him than demons.

Scratching a hand through his hair, he pushed away his brunette curls and smiled to break his absent-minded trance. "That is very strange," he finally admitted, "Love doesn't often mean very much back in Spain."

The bells rang in a peal and their enchanting noise soothed Eric for a beat. Normally, bells signaled the start of Sunday service, or high noon, but it was morning and the clanging that echoed through the valley was chaotic rather than melodic. Even before Rani explained, he knew it was a warning.

"Demons?" he asked, looking to her and furrowing a brow, "At this time? Do they attack all the time?" It was bright and sunny outside, warm and inviting, and by his Holy Book's definition of 'demons,' demons preferred quite the opposite. Perhaps these demons were different, perhaps they weren't even demons at all, but just a rough translation of 'evil entity.'

"What should we do?"

 

[Ethys]

Rani was quiet for a minute, thinking. She wanted to address what he had said about Spain, but that would have to wait. There was the matter of demons to handle first. Being that it was not noon yet, the sun was not as strong as it would be. Still, it was getting there. That eliminated the possibility of several demonic species already. Only one or two would dare tread in the light at this hour, and only one would be so bold - or stupid - enough to get within sight of the city to warn them.

"The demon is most likely what we call Yanna," she sighed, still gazing out the window. "Nearly all demons prefer to come out at night, or in short spurts like the one you saw on the beach yesterday. They don't venture into the sun unless it is for but a moment, when their prey is near," she explained. "However, Yanna.. Yanna is different. There is only one."

"Nobody really knows what Yanna is or wants. It takes the shape of a woman but.. almost like a spirit. Sort of translucent. She just wanders around. Nobody has ever been killed by her that we know of, but she is still a danger. Children tend to go missing when she's around. They just.. leave. Walk right out and run along behind her. Most of the time they come back several hours later with no recollection of where they've gone. Once, a child didn't make it back. We still haven't found his body."

She fell silent for a moment, frowning. There was no weapon that was of use against Yanna at all. Blades just missed and arrows sailed through as if the demon wasn't there at all. All they could do was cling to their children, really. She had only seen Yanna herself twice. Both times she had realized the demon looked quite.. sad.

"We'll go to the gate. We may not be able to attack, but we can make sure no children leave today."