To say one was married to their work would be far from an understatement when it came to Ekosha. If she wasn’t tending to her patients, she was busily trying to find a new solution that would hopefully rid whatever it was that plagued Matthias. From her well-kept style she had in the office, was anything but in the present. Her pants were stained in grass and dirt while mud was smeared across her freckled cheeks. A well-worn satchel was filled to the brim with different assortment of plants and herbs from vervain, and wolfsbane to bergamot and allspice. Her hair was tied back, too messy to discern if it was a loose bun or a half-assed ponytail. It was out of her face, that was all that mattered. Glacial sights with evident wear were in a constant state of motion. She was searching high and low for anything new or out of the ordinary. Something that would catch her attention – something new. She did not like being at a crossroads. Not that she would even admit that she was even there so it only motivated her to push herself and work harder than ever. “Hmm..” she hummed idly as she neared a cluster of trees. Her satchel was discarded knowing there was very little value to spare. Limbs stretched as she kicked at the base of the nearest tree to ensure its sturdiness. There were buds further up the tree she wanted and the only way to reach them, well, “I got this.” Ekosha coaxed herself with reassurance. The first jump was unsuccessful, missing the first branch. She chuffed shaking her head and aiming once more before she just barely managed to grasp hold of the lower bearing branch. She felt the twinge in her wrist, ignoring it as she struggled her climb. She’d climbed through web-filled catacombs and climbed irregular rock faces before: how difficult could it be to climb a simple tree? As she made her way to the fourth branch, Eko didn’t take into consideration of the height between herself now and the ground. The budding saplings from the tree were in her line of sight, accompanied by a few pecans. “Huh,” she mused, eagerly taking advantage of the harvest. She shoved what she gathered in her pocket and in that instance made the mistaken of looking down. “Son of a—” She nearly mis-stepped then, her heart skipping a beat and managing to catch herself by latching on to the branch then. “Damn it Eko,” she muttered under her breath. She was stuck.

Jahi

Matthias Cyprian

The wind ripped through his long black hair, his dark coattails fanned out behind him. The black beast beneath him moved at a furious gallop, his long strides devouring the ground beneath them. Matthias leaned low over his neck, weaving through the forest in wild fury. The world moved past him in a blur of greens and blues, but no matter how fast they went he could still feel the nightmares on his heels, specters whispering their visions like a serpent in his ear. The weak voices of his mother and sister, their ragged laborious breathing as the sickness took them. His mother slowly, suffering and panicked as she worried for her children. His sister blissfully quicker, gone in her sleep with the fever. He could hear Amara choking on her own blood as she grew cold in his arms, his son Luca, broken and bloody, his blonde hair stained with blood. ”Stop!” he practically lashed out at the memories, shadows moving from beneath the horse to envelope them, as if he could hide within it.

The horse tossed his head, unnerved by the growing shadows around him. Matt pulled gently on the reins, easing back in the saddle, bringing him slowly to a walk. It had seemed an endless gallop, he wasn’t sure how far or how long they’d ridden, but he knew he was far from the stench of the city, blissfully away from the noise of so many bodies pressed close together. He slid down from the horses back, pressing his hand into the damp horseflesh to steady himself on his bad leg. Retrieving the cane from it’s sling he turned to walk, leading the horse along behind him to keep him from stiffening up.

It didn’t take long before he came across a strange satchel lying on the ground. He paused, vivid blue gaze darting around to see if a trap had been laid for those trying to come or go into the city beyond. His shadow twisted and changed, forming long fanning tendrils to seek out the darkest places someone may be hiding. Finding nothing he moved closer, looking down into its contents to see a gathering of various herbs. Something about it felt vaguely familiar, as if on the tip of his tongue… Before he could think of it though something sharp came down with a clunk on the top of his head. He looked down at the pecan resting innocently on the ground beside the satchel. Another followed, landing close beside it.

Taking a step back he looked up into the tree to see the figure of a woman, high up in the branches. He took the reins to move along as not to disturb her when he caught a familiar tangle of silver white hair. Surely not, he thought. He moved closer, dropping the reins and coming closer to the trunk to peer through it’s branches to see Ekosha, far too high for his liking. ”Doc?” he called up, leaning against the trunk to watch her. ”What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

The ground appeared to shift from down below with the firm reminder of just how high up into the tree she wound herself up to be. Lower lip curled inward as she took in a bated breath. This shouldn’t perturb her as much as it truly was. She’d climbed cliffsides before and crawled under cobweb infested catacombs into proclaimed “curse” tombs. Surely the heights of a lonesome tree would prove to be child’s play, right? Then why was her heart racing a mile a minute? Ekosha sucked in a breath, mentally trying to hype herself up, convince herself that she just needed to climb down the same way she climbed up. Easy, right? Doc? Her glacial sights blinked, taken aback by the familiar calling. She finally looked down again and squealed, latching on to the face of the tree. “O-oh h-hey Matt! What are you doing out here?!” Play it cool, Eko. Play it cool. He wouldn’t let this go for a million years if he concluded she was stuck up in the tree. What the hell do you think you’re doing?! She laughed nervously, trying to brush off the fraying nerves eating at her. The drop was uncomfortably far. A chill beginning to dance around her. “Just… hanging out, you know? The view is pretty spectacular up here!” She was anything but convincing. “Hey, I’m not in office so you can call me by name too you know.” She was trying to change the subject while glancing at the next branch over that was used to climb up. She took a step and nearly slipped and immediately reassured her place hugging the tree as tightly as her smaller frame could embrace. “So, what brings you out here?” Not that she hadn't asked that question already or anything.

Jahi

[quote="Matthias" pid='1967' dateline='1704246349']

Matthias Cyprian

A high pitched screech had him taking a cautious step back, bracing to catch her if she fell. The sound of her growing panic set him on edge, a strange sharp sensation settling in his belly. She was afraid, he thought, perhaps this was not just something she just did all the time. ”O-oh h-hey Matt! What are you doing out here?!” Her arms wrapped around the trunk of the tree, her wide blue eyes met his despite the shadows that surrounded her. A nervous jittery sort of laugh escaped her, so unlike the focused collected women he saw so frequently in her pristine offices. ”Just… hanging out, you know? The view is pretty spectacular up here!” He huffed an unbelieving sort of laugh, tilting his head to the side to study her. ”Oh, you know,” he shrugged, his characteric crooked smile touching lightly on his lips, ”Just plucking women from treetops, it seems.” He moved closer, shifting his weight back to his good limb, his cane braced in front of him.

”Hey, I’m not in office so you can call me by name too you know.” Her gaze moved around the tree, looking for an escape. She reached for another branch, missing it completely, her step faltering and landing her squarely back into the trunk. He lunged forward at the same time, dropping his cane to reach for her if she fell. ”I’ve got plenty of ideas for what to call you at this moment, none of them your name,” he snapped, watching her struggle to right herself again. ”So what brings you out here?” Was she trying to distract him or herself he wondered. ”Didn’t you know I rescued damsels in distress?” He picked up the cane, leaning it against a tree, his coat slung over the silver raven head topper. Unbuttoning his sleeves he rolled them carefully up his scarred arms, preparing to come up after her.

Techniques she would use on others, she tried on herself. Taking deep breaths and trying to remain calm – so much easier said than done and she mentally scolded herself for it. There were several she would need to apologize moving forward from here. If she could safely get down in one piece. Oh, you know, Matthias’ sarcasm was palpable even where she stood. Just plucking women from treetops, it seems. She chuffed at him with a shake of her head. Messy alabaster curls bouncing in unison. She wasn’t going to simply ask him. No, she wasn’t going just have him go out of his way and place himself in similar danger. “Maybe they wanted to be in the trees for the view, you don’t know.” Came her attempt to tease back. It was a ludicrous, pitiful excuse and even she knew that. A thin coating of frost began to stretch over the branch then even though she was trying to ease the evident fear and panic that pitched her tone. I’ve got plenty of ideas for what to call you at this moment, none of them your name, “Doesn’t sound very heroic like if you ask me.” she barked back. Didn’t you know I rescued damsels in distress? Her pale brows knitted, “Pity you must be having a slow day then. I don’t see any damsel nearby.” She wanted desperately to try and reach for the branch once more though it seemed further away than it actually was. “Matthias, don’t you dare—”

Jahi

Matthias Cyprian

“Maybe they wanted to be in the trees for the view, you don’t know.” He shook his head at that, a slight smile at the curve of his mouth. ”Mm, I doubt it. What can you even see up there when you’re hugging the tree so tightly?” He laughed, looking up into the branches at her once more. He could see the slow moving wave of icey blue crystals beginning to spread out from the branches she rested amongst. Not going to make it easy, he guessed.

“Doesn’t sound very heroic like if you ask me.” She wasn’t wrong. ”I’m far from a hero, Eko.” No, not for many years had he been described as such. Dishonorably discharged from the military, pegged with crimes he never committed, a scapegoat for someone much higher than himself. A dead wife and child. Now a thriving black market tradesman. No, he’d fallen quite far it seemed in the last ten years or so.

”Pity you must be having a slow day then. I don’t see any damsel nearby.” He could see her eyeing the branch again as he prepared to come up after her, his shadows twisting and changing shape, moving up the surface of the tree to reach for her if she should slip again. ”No? We’ll fucking see then,” He started making his way up the limbs, bracing with his bad leg and hauling himself upward with his arms and good leg. “Matthias, don’t you dare—” He cut her off quickly, ”I’m coming to get you Ekosha, just hold still and don’t fall.”

Just climb down the way you came up. Ekosha was mentally trying to dissuade the presently riled nerves that ate away at her like tiny termites eating away at a decayed hollowed out tree.  Over and over again: like a broken record stuck on replay. All the same she tried to make light of the situation as if actions made were intentional. Well, they sort of were in the midst of her scavenging.  ….What can you even see up there when you’re hugging the tree so tightly?  Matthais’ laughter insinuated his disbelief  in turn caused her cheeks and the tip of her ears flush with embarrassment and her words jumbled together as she tried to verbally strike back. “I—you—” she exhaled an agitated groan. “I can see plenty from here!” She wasn’t at the very top and at most within view were more leaves and the entanglement of branches of other trees. There may have been the occasional insect oblivious to the happenings going on around them as they went on about their own.  She eyed the next branch down. There was some slight irritation to the bark from where she stepped previously from the initial climb. She listened to him rant on how there were a plethora of other names he could easily call her now rather than her own to which she nervously scoffed at. I’m far from a hero, Eko. She wasn’t one to judge him and she never had.  Ultimately she knew it was never her business what he did but still offered aid whenever he came knocking at her door. It didn’t keep her from giving him a hard time in those moments though in hopes to lighten a stringent mood. “You don’t need to start today.” Her weight shifting as she wanted to make the attempt again while the thin layer of frost stretched no further than where she was. There was the sound of branches grunting under added weight from down below, and she frantically bid him not to make the efforts to follow her path. I’m coming to get you Ekosha, just hold still and don’t fall.  “N-no! I can do this I just—I just need a second!!” she was hanging by the same branch she was previously perched up though could find her footing and remained hanging there. “B-besides I’m probably too heavy.” Though far more embarrassed by that.

Jahi

Matthias Cyprian

”I—you— I can see plenty from here!” Her flustered voice shot back. ”Of course, of course,” he murmured, more to himself then her. He was already climbing though, doing his best with a shit leg and ice melting beneath where he touched. Dark tendrils of shadow moved as if of their own mind, slithering amongst the branches in case he did manage to slip. One wrapped around his limb like a brace, aiding in his ascent. ”You don’t need to start today.” He glances briefly up at her before continuing to choose his path. ”Call it self preservation then. Who else is going to have the patience to fix a grumpy bastard but you Ekosha?” That thought hadn’t really crossed his mind, but it was better than the real reason for coming up after her. Something that pulled at the edges of his mind.

”“N-no! I can do this I just—I just need a second!! B-besides I’m probably too heavy.” He paused, looking up to see her dangling like a kitten from her limb, her feet awkwardly looking for purchase. Suddenly his pace felt far too slow. ”Hardly, to either comment.” He murmured. He made his way up the rest of the branches in a rather quick pace, coming just beneath her. ”Stop kicking, I’m almost behind you,” he said, ducking one searching foot as it grazed his hair. He moved up behind her, reaching to wrap one arm around her waist, trying to pull her against him if she’d allow.

The sound of her feet scuffing against the branch of the tree, flustered grunts of her efforts to keep balanced tuned out the mutterings of Matts disbelief. Her heart drumming an anxious tempo that rang to her ears while she internally fought with herself to maintain leveled breathing. The tips of her ears flushed to a cherry red in a combination between humility and irritation. Humiliated by the fact that she was letting her nerves get the better of her, irritated with herself with the whole ordeal alone. Was it from the lack of sleep lately or the long hours she had been fixated on in finding a better solution for the very man climbing his way up the large tree? She was usually much more well-prepared, right? Though, she couldn’t recall the last time found herself meandering up a tree on a whim, either. Call it: self-preservation then. He sounded closer than he was moments ago. Ekosha bit the inside of her cheek as she continued to kick her legs trying to find something more flat to attach her feet to. She could feel her arms getting tired from supporting her weight. Who else is going to have the patience to fix a grumpy bastard but you Ekosha? Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth, “I’m flattered.” She laughed nervously with notes of sarcasm. The realization that she was looking further down from where she was caught provoked a brief wavy of vertigo. Eko cursed under her breath while trying to readjust herself. Foot finding purchase until she stepped wrong and lost her grip as she balked at him of her self-assured confidence. Also adding the concern that her weight could prove trivial. She caught his digress; Stop kicking, I’m almost behind you, “Wait, what?!” She started to spin around without thinking just as she felt the strength of his arm snake around her, drawing her closer to him with ease. A gasp escaped her breath as he did so and unconscious movement would result into her clinging on to him, worried they would both fall to their end and some how she couldn’t help but feel that unsettling preparation to embrace that endeavor. “But—… your leg--?!” came the knowing concern. She’d never forgive herself if she would be the reason to worsen the already gimp leg of his.

Jahi

Matthias Cyprian

She clicked at him, half annoyed and sounding a little breathless from the way she was thrashing about up there. ”I’m flattered.” She sounded anything but. She tried to laugh, her feet finding purchase for a brief moment before he heard her slip again. He looked up sharply, lunging once more as though he’d have to catch her, but her arms had not failed her yet. She was still clinging to the same branch, if a bit lower than before. ”I thought you would be,” he teased, trying to keep his voice neutral, keep her from panicking anymore than she may already be.

”Wait, what?!” she shouted, trying to turn and look for him, her arms releasing too much from the branch. He reached out, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her flush against him, feeling the cool touch of her skin. Her arms wrapped around him, the edge in her vibrant gaze showing her fear that she may still fall. ”Trust me?” He spoke, a softer tone than he normally took. ”I’ve got you,” he tried to calm her down, show her that he would not let her fall, no matter what it took to keep her safe. ”But—… your leg--?!” His smile was a bit pained, a bit forced. He shrugged slightly, ”It’s fine. I can brace it with my shadows a bit, makes it almost useful.”

He helped to settle her feet on the same branch, his arm still locked around her waist, holding her against him. ”Now, let's get you down from here. I’ll step down, you follow my path. I won’t let you go, alright?” His grip on her waist eased, trailing his hand down her harm to her wrist so she still had something to hold onto. Despite her cold touch, the lack of her felt suddenly empty. Something he’d definitely shove into a deep dark corner for now. He took the first step down, a branch not too far beneath him. He looked up, still holding her wrist in one hand. He offered his other for her to hold if she wanted, ready to start their descent.