come hell or high water - Printable Version

It had been far too long since he’d snuck away to meet with one in secret. Never telling a mother where steps may wander when it came to matters of a cast away. She would only insist he not bother, that it would be a waste of time to spend it in the company of one such as her. A creature so useless. How dreadful might it be if such a plague where to coil about him as well? Rob away the future he surely held. It was an inescapable snare. A noose already so close to tightening around his throat, it was sickening how close to failure one teetered. Just like that he could fall to become a greater disappointment.

Proclamations that were nothing new each time they twisted against the air. A threat which echoed so many times before and yet he still held pride of place at the forge - at least when it came to lighting the damn thing with a flicker of flames. Most of the actual work taken over by Alexandria so that he couldn’t mess up the client’s order. If he barely got to touch anything why bother keeping him around in the first place? Maybe that’s why it was so easy to slip away from her hardly watchful eye this day, to disappear within the hustle of the city and delve ever deeper into the wilds beyond.

What he chose to do was of no importance to her.
Besides, rather than concern herself with over how he might ‘contract failure’ from another, Fineás believed what should have brought worry to fester was just where Nazaria had taken up residence.

Nearly alongside fields of gold. A locale which harbored rumored truths that any would be foolish not to believe. Livestock of a different breed reared there, put to work beneath the guise of freedom until their death day neared. It was no kept secret - tales circulating freely within the capitol amidst shadier individuals. The very likes he should avoid and yet so many were dealt both alone and at a mother’s side. For so long as coin graced her talons in place of wares it mattered little what was done with forged weaponry.

Yet all one could really hope for was that the man who drove the carriage he’d hitched a ride on was no such entity. That this was not a one way trip to a new kind of hell. Cerulean gaze never strayed from the driver’s back, a close eye kept for any peculiar motions or turns. Anything offered swiftly denied whether it be food, drink, or even simple conversation. He only held one purpose in keeping this loser’s company - and that was to reach the beach front before the trace amounts of sunlight could filter away behind an enveloping shroud of night.

He sure as fuck didn’t want to be in the presence of a stranger when that happened. So when passing glance caught sight of rolling waves, he hardly waited for the slow lurch of the carriage to stop before getting out of it. A shoulder hitting the ground harder than intended before rolling to his feet and scurrying into the tree line. This mixture of sands and forestry a telling sign that perhaps he neared the right spot. That he may come upon something freeing yet tucked away upon the water’s edge. Hopefully whatever - and whoever - that man was did not stop to look for him.

Just leave him to finish this journey as intended, alone. With a huff he trudged further, attentions dancing over unknown surroundings until finally settling upon what he hoped was a cottage near blending to the landscape. A place hard to notice lest one truly looked for it and unless some witch or hag had decided to settle on beach front property - this had to be where Naza lived. If he was wrong… well at least he could run fast.

With a touch of hesitance - unease hanging in his throat - the fiery boy finds himself approaching the door. Gloves digits finding temporary pause before knuckles rapped lightly to the wood, “Naza you home?” Impatience bidding him to bang heavily upon it should a presumed sister not answer swiftly enough. For if his presence alone would not stir her then the falsifications of emergency surely would… but for now, she would be given a chance. He would attempt to keep his patience for once.

RE: come hell or high water - Naza - 01-02-2024

She had settled well enough into her new home she supposed. It was far quieter here, those ashore keeping their distance without the promise of docks and piers nearby. While there was still distress over the attack that drove her here, she had to try and remind herself that it was foolish to remain in a place so ripe with dangers for her. while she certainly couldn't find it to blame Naga for his transgressions against her, the second had been born of malice, of a greed that she could not hope to understand.

Her eyes were dull as she once again allowed them to cast over the ruined collar of her dress. The soft ivory was still stained, a remnant of that tragedy that she could not seem to cleanse from the garment. She could repair the gashes, certainly, but she was not willing to part with materials in that endeavor if she could not bring the old traces of blood from the fabric. A slight sigh poured from her lungs as she allowed her foot to move, pushing the loft hammock to peacefully swing beneath the sunlit deluge of the large open window. The wafting breeze of the ocean and the lullaby of the softly rocking tides accompanied her labors. The stitch remover was comfortable within her palm as she released the threads of the gown's neck all together.

There was a part of her that yearned to do away with it all together, to toss it into her hearth along with the reflections of memories attached to it. Woefully, however, she was not in any semblance of finances to do such a thing. Even her basket of fabric scraps was greatly diminished. It paled in comparison to the one back at her other home, though she dared not return to it's steps any longer to even retrieve any of her belongings. Her only collection now was whatever the waves were gracious enough to deliver upon the secluded beach.

Melancholy had poured itself like cold water into her heart, swimming through her veins in a breath of lonliness. It had been awhile since Naga's last visit, and the recollection often found her. Though she was certain her twin was still wrapped up in his vices and would be quite fine, it was Fin that worry tugged at her over. She knew the hardships of living under their mother's watchful gaze - though she was not as pressured as her brothers, she worried for the younger. There was also the pit of concern that came with what she eventually knew awaited him should he not be ruled a failure as she had been. The bite of immortality, an ailment that she had aided Naga through, but had also caused him to lash out at her. Maybe it was for the best if she missed it. The thought dug through her chest without reservation, and her vision blurred as she was finally forced to halt her toiling, no longer able to see properly. The tears dripped from her lash-line, yet another weakness that her mother so loathed about her. She missed them. While she had grieved the loss of her matron's love long ago, the presence of the other two was as fresh a wound as the punctures that had mottled her neck and shoulder.

It wasn't until the knock at her door that the trail of lament would end, instead replaced by the impulse of fear. An overwhelming surge that effectively froze her as she dared not even breathe. She knew it wouldn't be enough, not with her traitorous pulse frantically pounding against her ears. A sound that nearly overwhelmed the vocals that soon came. “Naza you home?” Her pent breath was released in a flood of relief, of happiness. "Yes! Yes I'm coming!" she called, allowing her work in progress to topple into the basket containing her sewing supplies. Her hands wiped along her cheeks, clearing the remnants of her sorrow as her steps hastily carried her towards the portal.

She opened it, and gave him no room to attempt to avoid her as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. He was taller than she remembered, forcing her to wonder just how long it had been since she hugged him like this. No longer could she rest her chin atop his crown. "Oh, Fin, I'm so happy to see you." She would whisper before he could escape her as she held no doubt he would not waste time in doing.

Jahi