Fated (Chapter Twenty-Eight)
Friday, August 28th, 2015 11:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveWarning: emotional pain may ensue from reading this chapter. Maybe.
Chapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Map of the continent: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/F
Character status spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kingdom of Valdrar, Minecraftia. October 2, year 573. Time instance 483Z.
As the first rays of sun touched the horizon, Marcus stopped the group to make camp. The moment his tent was set up he slipped inside and told the others he would see them at nightfall.
Zel sighed, sitting down on a rock to survey his surroundings to judge where they were on the map. It was beginning to get dryer and he suspected that there were near the Valdrar-Illian border, moving out of the swamp into the forest. He couldn’t say that he was upset with this development and glanced over his shoulder at Aldobiva, who was sitting by Baltbee with her knees drawn up to her chest. She had latched onto her new friend as a single source of comfort, but Zel knew that she wouldn’t recover from the loss of Vorna anytime soon, if at all.
Baltbee sighed quietly and leaned over to hug Aldobiva gently for a moment. She closed her eyes at the contact, wishing it was Vorna hugging her but knowing that it wasn’t possible, not anymore…
“I need to take a walk. Get…some water or something.”
Baltbee frowned as Aldobiva got to her feet and practically raced off into the trees, vanishing quickly. He got to his feet and followed, jumping over a puddle and easily following her tracks in the muddy ground. He ducked under a few branches and almost tripped on a tree root before finding her sitting on the lowest branch of a tree, sobbing. She was muttering something about not being good enough between sobs, but it was largely incoherent.
He jumped and pulled himself up beside her, sitting down. He hugged her again and she just shook and sobbed harder, not caring if he saw. She had been trying over the course of the night to compose herself around the rest of the group, but after a few hours she couldn’t take it anymore.
“What’s wrong?” Baltbee asked quietly.
“What do you think?” Aldobiva growled, looking up at him with a slight glare.
“I meant specifically. You were talking to yourself about something.”
“Oh…” Aldobiva sniffed. “N-nothing, it’s just…just…I never…I didn’t…I didn’t deserve her. She d-did so much for me and I n-never did enough for her…and n-now she’s d-d-dead because of me.” Aldobiva sobbed harder. “She d-deserved b-better than someone who j-just got her killed and…and…and gave n-nothing in return for wh-what she did for me!”
“That’s not true. You-”
“It IS true!” Aldobiva howled, her entire body shaking so hard that Baltbee feared that they would both fall from the tree. “Even from the b-b-beginning it was her helping me, always her, n-never me…”
“The beginning? How-”
“I shot her.” Aldobiva told him, still not calming down. “Wh-when we met I shot her. I was young and learning h-how to shoot…we were tracking s-something dangerous and I p-panicked…shot her in the leg…”
A serious injury.
“You shot her in the leg?”
“Y-yes. It was bad…” Aldobiva began to recount the story, memories flashing to the forefront of her mind.
“Oh my god! Oh my god I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…I didn’t…oh my god!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine!” The girl assured her, grimacing as she shifted her right leg to get a better look at it. The arrow had struck an important muscle and had dug deep, likely damaging it beyond repair.
“It’s not fine! That’s…that’s not fine! That’s not fine at all! That’s-”
“Aldobiva!” Aldobiva whirled around to meet the face of the village elder, who had been leading her and two boys around her age on the hunt. He didn’t look too pleased with this turn of events.
“I…I…”
“You shot an innocent girl! We’re hunting an animal, not children!” He took the bow from her grip. “Weapon discipline, girl! You’ve almost shot two people before and now you have! This is the last straw, I won’t allow-”
“It’s fine!” The injured girl insisted, looking up at him. “I’m fine. It was an accident and it’s not a bad injury.”
The elder frowned at her. “That doesn’t look like a minor injury.” He looked back at Aldobiva. “You know I’ll have to remove you from-”
“No! Please, elder, no, I didn’t-”
“It’s fine.” The girl interrupted, insistent. “I’m fine. Just a little shot, not a lot.”
“…You’re sure?” The elder looked like he wasn’t quite sure. The boys in the back snickered a bit, earning a glare from him.
“I’m sure.” The girl nodded. “It’s not that bad of a wound. I’ve had worst getting out of bed in the morning.”
“Is that sarcasm?” Aldobiva asked suspiciously.
“A bit. But it’s not that bad if my wit still works.”
The elder shook his head. “…Very well. But you are still responsible, Aldobiva.” He looked at her. “You will have to look after her and treat her wound. Assuming it’s not that serious and there are no other incidents, you will be permitted to continue training in the way of the bow…for now, at least.”
Aldobiva jumped up and down a little. “I will! I’ll make sure she’s as good as new and I won’t shoot anyone else! I promise!” She looked down at the girl on the ground. “I’m Aldobiva. Sorry for shooting you.”
“I’m Vorna. I’m sorry I got in the way.”
“She was badly hurt, a lot more than she let on...She d-downplayed it to protect me…” Aldobiva sniffed. “Her parents were d-dead and she just…never left once she r-recovered. She and I learned how to shoot together and we just…just…” She shook harder, having calmed down a little for a short time but was now escalating once again. “She h-helped me so much and all I ever did was shoot her and g-give her a limp for the rest of her l-life…” She let out a particularly heartbroken sob, burying her face in Baltbee’s chest. “A l-life that ended early all b-because of m-m-me!”
Baltbee hugged her tightly. “It wasn’t your fault.” He assured. “You couldn’t have done anything.”
“It w-was though! I w-wanted to track the l-l-lokolang that led us t-to the group, so it’s m-my fault she’s dead! It’s my fault and she never had a chance to have anyone b-better than me! I w-wanted to tell her to leave so many times, t-to find someone worth her time, that d-didn’t make her just follow and clean up m-my messes and mistakes, b-but I…I…I was afraid of losing her, I c-couldn’t bring myself to, and now…now…she’ll n-never have that chance, she d-died because of me and n-never…never…" Aldobiva trailed off into incoherent sobbing, clearly incapable of speaking more on the subject.
Baltbee didn’t know what to say, but he felt heartbroken, knowing how shattered Aldobiva was with the loss of Vorna. The sharpshooter’s death had hit them all hard- she had been a tough, capable member of the group despite her slight limp- but without her, Aldobiva was unstable and incomplete.
He held his friend close, knowing that’s all he could do for her.
All anyone could do for her.
~~~
Norazdomu, as much as I hate to admit it, I need your advice.
I’m listening.
How do you comfort upset humans?
It’s unlike you to have a caring disposition, Ishtillion. What brings this on?
You know damn well that the spirit of the girl is here and I can’t make her leave. How do I make her stop crying?
Asking me is futile. I have the emotional range of a teaspoon, I believe you are quoted as saying. In any case, she cannot pass fully to the other side until the Hostiles are dealt with and fate releases her. She is fated to see this through to the end, even if she cannot act or even coherently pay attention. So it is written in the passage of time.
That’s nice. How do I make her stop crying?
You don’t.
What?
Ignore her. You can do nothing for Vorna Star. She is beyond help.
But-
If she annoys you, that is unfortunate.
You’re more infuriating than you are useless.
That’s not difficult. If I was infuriating at all, it would surpass my uselessness by leaps and bounds.
Oh, forget it. I’ll deal with her myself.
Be kind to her. She is broken and halfway out of this world. You are familiar with the type.
I cannot pass her onto the other side.
No. You cannot. Not until she is released. She waits just as the Davions wait.
A terrible existence.
Indeed.
~~~
At around midday, Nia growled and sat up quickly. “Okay, yeah, no. Sitting around all day is driving me crazy. We’re stopping the boats and we’re stopping them right now.”
Restless.
Nessy glanced over at the area they had passed into. On their left the ground was still burnt, but on their right, the river had protected the plains and the grass still lived. She shrugged and glanced at Shred, raising an eyebrow.
“Fine!” Shred groaned. “If we don’t humor her she’ll bitch until we do and I, for one, and sick and tired of Nia’s complaining.”
Nia grinned. “Woops.”
Shred narrowed her eyes. “You’re not sorry.”
“Not at all!” Nia hopped out of the boat the moment that it stopped, glad to be stretching her legs on dry land again.
Niel and Adrian glanced at each other. “Might as well.” Niel jumped up and followed her. Teramelle was the next off the boats, followed by Shred and Mira.
Mira especially seemed bouncy, squeaking “Shreh!” and “Lookit!” as she pounced at the plants waving in the wind and the occasional grasshopper. Nessy stood a ways away, watching the little dragon and smiling slightly.
Adrian got off of his boat as well, stretching his legs before moving towards Nia, who was running in circles. He wasn’t the most aware of his surroundings, due to how little sleep he had gotten recently and how dazed he had been overall in the past few days. This led to the unfortunate circumstance of Mira pouncing on a grasshopper and checking her claws to see if it was there right as Adrian stepped forward.
Dragon and human both yelped as Adrian tripped over Mira, falling facefirst into the grass but thankfully not on the hatchling. He groaned softly, judging how badly he had been injured, if at all, while Mira screamed more in fear and surprise than pain and went rushing back to Shred. The Ashenhorn scooped up the baby dragon and held her close, checking her over for injuries and assuring her that she was okay.
Adrian pulled himself into a sitting position once he registered exactly what happened, feeling guilt well up in his chest. “Sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t see her!”
Mira continued to whimper and buried her face against Shred, upset and scared. Shred leveled a glare at Adrian.
“I’m sorry!” He repeated. “I’m really tired and she moves fast! I couldn’t see her!”
“Watch where you’re stepping.” She growled, looking away from him to focus on Mira again to shush her.
Adrian mumbled something apologetic under his breath before standing up. Having forgotten what he was going to pester his cousin about, he went to stand by Niel instead.
“You okay?” Niel asked him. He didn’t seem too concerned, though- Adrian was known for being clumsy and even tripping over his own cloak at times.
“Yeah. I’m fine. She’s just so tiny I didn’t see her.”
“She is just a baby.” Niel reasoned. “She’s awfully cute.”
“She is.” Adrian agreed. “I do feel bad, I just don’t think Shred believes me.”
“She’s protective. I would be too. Mira-”
“Nice job there, Stumbles. Another award for your wall!” Nia shouted to Adrian as she raced up, stopping suddenly about a foot away.
“Shut up, Nia! I didn’t mean to!”
“Of course you didn’t! That’s why you’re Stumbles the Incompetent and not Jerkface, the Asshole Who Kicks Baby Dragons.”
Adrian swatted at her and she danced out of the way, laughing. He rolled his eyes and wacked her with his cloak, making even Nessy giggle.
Overall, the break had been good for all of them except perhaps for Mira, who had been the one that had gotten tripped over.
-~-
Aureylian was getting really worried.
She hadn’t seen Vechs in about a day, and last she had checked, his hallucinations had started up again. She had waited awhile for him to return but since he hadn’t come back, she had gone looking.
The chunk portal hub had made it relatively easy to find him- the sign proclaimed that Vechs was within one of his maps- and she had gone through. Finding him in the hellish landscape was somewhat less easy, however. She wandered for about an hour, searching, until she heard his voice and looked up at the source.
Vechs was towards the top of a cliff, waving his sword and shouting at something that didn’t seem to exist. Aureylian called his name but he only screamed, throwing his sword through a figure that only he could see and scrambling back. One more step led him to the edge and the stone crumbled, sending him falling to the molten rock below.
Vechs didn’t realize he was falling until it was too late, and his scream of pain only echoed for a few seconds before he burned to ash.
Aureylian let out a terrified, broken scream before the realization that they were in one of his maps struck her. She shuddered slightly and hugged herself, turning away and trudging back towards the entrance.
Vechs was okay. His maps healed people who ‘died’ in them and reset them back at the entrance.
A shiver ran down Aureylian’s spine. No matter how okay he was when she found him, she had still watched him die, and that was never a pleasant experience.
She predicted nightmares for awhile yet.
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Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2015 06:48 am (UTC)I will admit, though, this part made me laugh: “Of course you didn’t! That’s why you’re Stumbles the Incompetent and not Jerkface, the Asshole Who Kicks Baby Dragons.”
It made me laugh again when I pasted it. That one is genius.
And how do I have the first comment? Seriously, how? All the others have usually already posted by now!
(::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (:;) (::) (::)
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2015 03:30 pm (UTC)They also mostly reacted in theory chat as opposed to in the comments. :P
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Date: Sunday, August 30th, 2015 06:34 am (UTC)-TLL
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Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2015 12:46 pm (UTC)G.C. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)
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Date: Sunday, August 30th, 2015 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, September 1st, 2015 06:55 am (UTC)Sorry. I'm still upset about that.
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015 06:31 am (UTC)-TLL
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Date: Monday, August 31st, 2015 01:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 31st, 2015 04:49 am (UTC)Nice harry potter reference c;
/#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/ /#/
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Date: Monday, August 31st, 2015 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, August 31st, 2015 09:35 pm (UTC)Probably my favorite quote in the series.
So the decendants can't die, otherwise the world kind of ends. So, turns out they're only 'mostly' dead. There's a big difference between being all dead and mostly dead. Now, open her mouth.
Actually, my guess would be they're stuck in a limbo between dead and not dead. If one of them completely dies, the others can't stop the hostiles. Am I correct?
no subject
Date: Monday, August 31st, 2015 09:53 pm (UTC)YOU JUST GOT +10 COOL POINTS
Anyway, nope, Vorna's dead. She's 100% completely dead. Her ghost is still around, though, just like the Davions- incapable of acting, only watching until she is freed. Sorry about that, Vorna.