Raleia is unquestionably beautiful, with pale ivory skin, scattered with freckles. Her hair is a bright coppery red in tight curls, running in length to the center of her back, her eyes blue pools, speckled with bits of green and grey. Her features are delicate, with finely arched brows, rosy cheeks and full lips.
Her form is small and lithe, with subtle but feminine curves, long arms and legs, ending in smaller hands and feet.
Secondary Weapon || A simple short sword, twelve inches in length - thick and blunt, with a heavy wooden hilt, wrapped in a scrap of red cloth.
It was them. They're certain now. The attack was unprovoked..." Raleia sat on the edge of the hearth, with her feet curled beneath her, the warmth of the flames licking at her bare legs. Shades of gold cast upon pale skin, reflecting in her empyrean eyes, coiled through sanguine ringlets. The once-stark hem of her nightdress had begun to singe, but she either had not noticed, or bore it no mind. Her voice, normally so resolute, shook with emotion, matching the quake in her hands, which gripped the sword balanced across her lap with a white-knuckled ferocity, "They killed them all. Every single one of them. Even the children... slaughtered, like lambs. I don't understand... It's our job to keep peace. Why? Why would they do something like this?"
Concern etched across Valnir's face and she was aware then of how she must have looked. She did not blame him for his wariness. Three nights in a row now, she had been wrested from sleep by the thoughts which plagued them all.
"I've told you, Leia. We'll get to the bottom of it. Those responsible, they'll be punished... " Sinking down beside her, Valnir reached out, his wide palm cupped around her cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing tenderly against her temple. His free hand moved to grasp the sword and slowly, carefully, he eased it from her hands, set it on the mantle above his head, "No one blames us..."
"You say that now, but it's only a matter of time, Val, before they decide we're all a threat." Her fingers brushed against his hand, wove around it and pulled it gently to her chest, her head coming to rest against his shoulder, her other hand curved around the amulet he wore beneath his shirt. "I'm so afraid."
"I swore an oath to you, my love, I would never let anything happen to you. Do you think me so ill fit a protector that I cannot keep my wife from harm?"
"I'm not your wife yet, Val..." She said, pulling away, and a smile softened the anxious lines, creased through the gentle curves of her face, "It's you I'm worried for. These hostilities... they're why you've been called away, aren't they?"
"It's only negotiations, Leia. There is nothing to fear."
"Then why am I so afraid?"
His arms came around her and he pulled her to him, his lips pressed to her crown, fingers wound in locks of red, "Shh. No more, my love. No more..."
Stones fell around her like hail, pebbles raining, pattering against the earth, great chunks of the outer wall slamming down with a thud which shook the ground and stirred up enormous clouds of dust. There had been no time to grab anything, no time to plan. Her bare feet cut against rocks and bits of metal, slipping in the mud. Valnir's heavy footsteps came from behind and above, high enough, she hoped to avoid detection she could sense Winnock's presence.
For a city under siege, there seemed to be an eerie sort of silence. It took Raleia some time before she realized that was because her hearing had been drowned out by the slamming tattoo of her heart, pounding in her chest. Looking up, she saw another wall crumbling and jumped out of the way of the rocks, smashing down around her. Valnir had caught up, his strong, sturdy hand closed around her arm and with a gentle tug he leg her down a set of stairs, which she knew would eventually lead to the catacombs, beneath the city, and through that, they would come out in the valley, with some grace, far enough away from the carnage and destruction of their beautiful city.
A cracking sound splintered above and rocks rained down. Valnir released her, pushed her forward and she heard it, rather than saw it... the massive slab, slamming down where'd she'd stood a moment before. For a second or two, they stood still, silent. There was a crunch, and the steps beneath her feet began to quake, to quiver. Looking up, she could see Valnir's face, could see him mouthing for her to run, but she couldn't hear, couldn't make out the sound of his voice amidst the chaos. Spinning, she set her foot down, and as she did so, the step gave way, then the next one after it. The foundation had shattered and the staircase would not hold. Her eyes shot to Val, still trapped behind the massive pile of boulders and debris and her heart gave a stab as she watched him, screaming now, to run... to leave him and run. Her feet moved when he heart would not and she leapt over the broken steps, ran, fast as her legs would carry her down, down, down...
She could hear the steps now, crumbling behind her, like a race she had no desire to be a part of. But at least she could see the end in sight, could see the stone gateway, the arch leading into the catacombs. She hit the last stair, twisted her foot and fell, slapping hard against the ground. Behind her, she could see the staircase as it came down, great plumes of dusty smoke rising from the debris. Heart hammering against her ribs, pain in her side, in her hands and feet, she looked, searched, desperately, hoping to see a glimpse of Val, coming after her...
Above her head she heard the subtle swooping sound of leathery wings and looked up to see Winnock descending, landing with a heavy thud beside her. His great, beastly head lolling towards her, lolling her towards the archway.
"I can't." She whispered, "I have to find Val."
Winnie chuffed, smoke curling from his nostrils and with the tip of his snout he nudged her, "Winnock, no! I have to find--"
The dust had settled and she could see him, surrounded by great heaps of rubble. The red of his hair stood out, a shock amongst so much grey. Stepping tentatively, then swiftly, she clambered over stones, ignoring every stitch of pain, until she came to a skidding halt beside him, landing on her knees by his side. His upper half had twisted at a strange angle, his left arm curved behind him, the rest laying flat on his chest, his lower half was gone, buried beneath the rubble. He gave a choking gasp, and his blue eyes opened, met her gaze. She felt her stomach churn, her throat tighten, her eyes stinging with dust and with tears, as she reached out, her hand clutching his.
"Val. You have to move. We have to go." She murmured.
He laughed, lightly, and it turned into a brackish cough, pink, foaming blood bubbling between his lips, "You never were very good at listening, were you, my love."
"Val! Stop it. We have to go... You have to get up!" She tugged, yanked on his arm and he grimaced, but he didn't budge. Tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving streaks smudged in the dirt coating her pale skin. He reached up, brushed them away with the pad of his thumb.
"You have to leave me, Leia."
"No." She hissed.
"Leia."
"No!" A shout this time, and she pounded her fist into his chest in anger, "No, Val! Get up! Get up, now!"
"Raleia!" Cupping her cheek, he shook his head, "I can't. My legs. I can't feel them."
The words hit hard, punched into her gut like a fist. She stared at him, silent, tears pouring out, now, and she was irrationally angry at the emotions, how they clouded her mind, "Dear Heart, you promised... You promised..."
"That we would be together, forever. And we will, my love. I will be with you, always ..." His voice crackled, dimmed. He pulled his hand free, tugged the amulet from around his neck and pressed it into her palm, "This is not the end, Raleia. Not for you... not for us. For now in memory, in song... and some day... in eternity."
"...Val..."
"I love you, Leia."
"Stop it."
"Always..."
"Val, stop it!"
"...Always."
"...And I love you." But as the words slipped from her lips, so too did Valnir slip... his eyes falling closed, his hand limp in her own. "...No." The word, an utterance of disbelief poured from her, again and again, her voice rising until the only sound within her was a sob, a cry of absolute agony.
A curl slipped to the edge of the hood and with a sigh of frustration, Raleia tucked in back beneath her woolen shroud. She loathed wearing the thing, but it's weight was a necessity in these parts. For three days now, she'd traveled on the outskirts of Thallas, stopping only to eat and to rest. Winnock flew over head, high enough that he could not be seen by passerbys, but not high enough that she could not sense him, the comfort of his presence.
It had been several weeks since the fall of Haven, and while she had no tail and come across very little in terms of trouble, she knew it would not be long before the hand of fate once more cast her aside. Comfort, it seemed, was a relative term. There was no comfort, no peace. How many were left? How many had they lost...?
Her fingers curled around the amulet she wore around her neck, and with a sigh she looked up into the clouds overhead. He was safe. He was free. That was all that mattered. That was all that would ever matter, now.