expiationlogs | Green and imperfect June

Who: Ethlyn and thee
Where: Around Aldrip
What: Open log for throughout June (or backdating a little closer after the battle if you wish!)
Warnings: None to start with!

Go home and take a shave

[Normally Ethlyn works in a little clinic near the edge of town, but the one that's been set up up in the inn is much more active what with the chaos from Pessiria and this newer chaos from the party... and then the party potions. Ethlyn's not sure what she's supposed to do about being attractive to rats or sprouting whiskers that weren't there before, but...]

All right... what did you get into that you shouldn't have?

[She's just trying to be friendly, not judging. Much.]

Cleaning up

[The colossus from the forest may be gone, but like a strawberry plant or a lilac, its runners, roots, and suckers still have life of their own that needs to be weeded out. That's in contrast to the patches of wood and field that have been bled dry.

Ethlyn's walking beside her horse, Venture, with a bagful of seeds in her hands--in the saddle is one of the forest fae.]

Well, here goes nothing... [She tosses out a handful of wildflower seeds and takes a breath, channeling the fairy's borrowed power through her hand. In a moment, daisies, sorrel, and grasses begin spiraling up from the ground.] Oh, my.

[Elsewhere, however, you may find Ethlyn riding slowly through the fields, sword in hand and scanning the ground. She must have seen movement, because in a moment she dismounts and walks briskly to confront something in the weeds.]

Healers: take your own advice

[She's been doing the usual things you're supposed to do after losing blood from severe injury: eating eggs and liver and peas, and the novelty of a thermos has allowed her to take beef tea along with her in her saddle when she makes her rounds. So she's been eating the right things.

She hasn't been doing the other thing that she always admonishes patients with... that whole 'take it easy' business. But there's so much to do, obviously she can put off the rest... until her muscles take matters into their own hands and go on strike.]

Ah... blast.

[There's a bench nearby, and she sits down on it a little more solidly than her sense of pride would like. She unhooks the thermos from her belt and rubs her sore leg. She'll just sit here for a few minutes. Five, or twenty maybe.]

Wildcard

[Nothing here appeals? Toss in your own prompt, or hmu--I'm a PM away, and in the server and on plurk @

compassinks]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're trying to blackmail me. What else am I supposed to say but that I do trust you?

[It's a mixture of amusement and exasperation. Of course she trusts Claude--well, maybe it's not wise to trust someone she's only known a couple of months, but she doesn't have any reason not to trust him.

Still, she rolls up her pant leg over her knee. The injury there is still pretty raw under its bandage--that it still needs a bandage shows that she hasn't been treating it as gently as she should--and there's a definite improvement when he casts his healing spell, as modest as it is.]

I think I'm still going to put ice on it when I get home, but it definitely feels better than a few minutes ago. That's not bad, for not using a staff at all.

Heh, thanks! I wasn't kidding when I said healing isn't my specialty. [ Claude says, opting to simply sit cross-legged on the ground where he kneeled in front of her instead of getting up. He's comfortable where he is anyway. ]

I don't think using a staff would help me much. I'm pretty happy being a combatant and a strategist anyway -- I'll leave the rest up to the likes of you guys. [ He nods at Ethlyn's knee. ] What happened there, anyway? Tricky run-in with a tree root?

Yes--I was trying to help a friend of mine who'd been hooked by the monster. I was trying to talk some reason into him, and then I got fed up and tried attacking the roots directly to see if it would break him of it.

[She sighs.]

In a way, it did--seeing me wounded by his 'master' seemed to break the spell.

[With a rare level of tact, Ethlyn decides not to name Noel as the friend. She doesn't think it's anything to be ashamed of, but it's his job to decide if he wants to spread the tale around town.]

So... wait. Seeing their friends get hurt helps snap them out of it?

[ Claude strokes his chin. It's easy to guess where his mind is going - and why it's a bad idea - but Claude has always prized risky but effective maneuvers over taking the safe route out. ]

Interesting. So, your friend -- is he just better now? How about all that black stuff growing on their limbs?

[ Allowing himself to get a little roughed up sounds a lot easier than having to bop them over the noggin. ]

[Ethlyn narrows her eyes when Claude strokes his chin like that. She's seen calculations like that on the faces of various people she knows.]

Yes, and it wasn't a pleasant discovery to make. I don't regret it, of course, but--[She had come very close to dying a second time. That's what happened. She finds herself unable to say it... as though the words stick in her heart before they can make it to her throat.

She shakes her head to cover the moment of turmoil.]--Don't go trying to do it purposely.

[Although she very much hope nothing like that ever happens again.]

I... don't actually know. To tell the truth I think he's avoiding me.

Don't you worry about that. I don't have a death wish, or anything of the kind. If I can get away with running away from something and not getting hurt, that's what I'm gonna do. But that doesn't mean that I don't want a contingency plan -- or a contingency plan for my contingency plan. You need to know all the cards you've been dealt before you make your move. [ He waves a hand. ] Besides, I'm hardly close enough to anyone here for little ol' me to snap them out of it.

[ Would he let others put themselves in harm's way for it? He wouldn't prefer it. It would be a last ditch effort. But he would if necessary, just like he'd put himself in harm's way. Like he said, it's all about planning for the worst and making sure he does everything he can to fix things. ]

Anyway... I can see why your friend would avoid you, after all that. But now's the time to hold your people closer than ever, right? Maybe you just need to let him know there aren't any hard feelings.

That's a little too many contingencies for me to keep track of. But I'm glad to hear that. I've spent so much time chasing after reckless warriors, it's a relief to know someone who knows what caution is.

Still, I'm sure you'll form bonds that close soon enough--although let's hope you don't need to test them this way.

[She's not sure any sort of contingency would have helped here. It seemed as though being badly hurt was essential to breaking Noel out of the creature's hold. But she can hope that most situations won't have such a drastic solution to them.

She looks away for a moment when Claude chides her gently for not doing more to seek out Noel in the aftermath. Maybe she's been avoiding him herself. It's nothing to do with resentment or blame. She can still feel her heart beating in the wounds, and when she does, she thinks about the desert. How it all went dark, and then the white room, and the meadows beyond town.]

...Yes, you're right. I should seek him out. I've been up to my elbows in work... so many others were hurt, and hurt more badly than me. [...] There's no hard feelings. It's just difficult to think about.

Ah, but how do you know how strong a bond is if you don't test it once in a while? [ Claude jokes, easy as ever, foot swinging cheerily in mid-air. He doesn't care to test it either, because it would be harrowing for everyone involved, but it's not just jest; there is no way to know how close a relatonship is without it being tested, in his estimation. How else can you trust it?

No, better not to put it to the test. And if that means holding people at arms length, that's still a pleasant enough way to live. Nobody said your friends and allies need to reach your heart when they can reach your smile instead. ]

Seek him out. I'm sure he just feels guilty about what he put you through. And in my expert opinion, being busy with work is just a really, really convenient excuse, [ he adds with a grin. ] It'll work out.

[ He believes it. Ethlyn is a decent sort, and he can't imagine anyone holding any ill feelings towards her for long. ]

Besides, we've seen where overwork has gotten you, [ he points out, gesturing towards her wounded knee. ] After something big like that, what everyone really needs is a celebration. Some good food, some good drink, some dancing... maybe less of the dancing, in this case, but still!

[Ethlyn gives Claude a keen look. He's cutting right through her justifications.]

I can see why you're an archer. Your insights strike just as true--and mercilessly.

[It's an acknowledgement that he's right, because when he puts it that way, she can't deny it. She doesn't blame Noel, but having to help the injured in the aftermath has been a way to hold off thinking about how she came close to death again. She doesn't want to think about that feeling. She doesn't want to talk to anyone about it. How would she even begin, anyway?]

You're right, of course. I can't imagine how badly I'd feel if someone had taken hold of my mind and used me to hurt others. It's a relief that they were able to get their minds back after all.

[She smiles a little when he mentions the idea of a celebration, though.]

That would be a wonderful way to lift people's spirits--and I'd be happy to take the role of chaperon on this occasion.

Green and imperfect June

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