Maahes shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He knew his words would be meaningless to the people here, and it wasn't like they were pressing him for information. Still, he felt an overlying guilt when he thought about how he wasn't being completely forward.
Kellach tapped his boot against the ground as he listened. He felt calmer; despite all the terrible things that Rin had gone through, she was still willing to tell her own story. That filled him with some confidence. Admittedly, since she was a queen who had led a rebellion, her story seemed much greater than Kellach's. On the other hand, did he want the responsibility of having the best story to tell?
When Kixig and Rin stopped talking, he started speaking quietly (but got louder with time), keeping eye contact on anyone other than Killian. "I used to live by the northern shores in a world called Fayne, as one of the kids in this huge and happy family. I can't remember the country's name, but I don't think it exists anymore. Anyways, I spent my life in the sea, making friends with the other families nearby" - he didn't have the willpower to mention his cousin, so he stopped himself momentarily to change the topic - "Somewhere along the way I got bored, and I wanted to go out and explore the world."
"When I was old enough, I left home and wandered around awhile. I got picked up to work in an airship run by a guy named Adolphus. Turns out he was crazy, and I ended up steering in hot and cramped places without any pay. I was a slave, pretty much. So I got a fake eyepatch and stopped playing music, and tried to look all tough so nobody would bother me.
"Somewhere along the way a little army showed up, and he used them to stop a fight with one of his rivals. They weren't happy about that, so he gave me to them as some kind of a reward. I found out they were actually nice people for a change. I stopped hiding myself, made a few friends, and got to explore the world like I always wanted. Wasn't always happy, but I got to meet plenty of kings and queens, helped stop a couple of wars, and fought in the battle of battles. I was going on a trip to meet one of my old friends - he actually called for me himself - when I, uh, got onto the wrong ship and ended up here. And that's about that." His voice trailed off.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
War, conquering...parents killed. Lost royalty. Now that, she thinks, is quite interesting. Aeonwen. Then there was...this. Fayne. Neither one was on the map of this place she'd seen before, not any more than her homeland was. This is curious...quite curious.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Kilian took a subtle glance at the orange-haired woman out of the corner of his eye as he mulled Kellach's story over in his head. She seemed to be listening quite avidly, though she didn't really show it. He would have to keep watching her.
So Kellach had been through some rough patches after all. They were similar, in some ways, though he was loath to admit it to himself. But why would he choose to leave his family, if life with them was so happy?
No matter, he thought. These strangers will mean nothing to me when we return home.
"Well, you're here now, with us," said Rin to Kellach with a small smile. "There's always a reason for things that happen, and I believe that this can't be a bad one."
She glanced at Kilian. "Would you like to speak now, Kilian? Or do either of you have anything to share, Maahes and Kixig?"
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
Kixig eagerly bounced in his seat at the opportunity to share.
"Yeah! Yes. I was born in a small ogre village and my parents loved me very much. When my Age Day came I decided I wanted to be an adventurer! And uh, since... it doesn't look like any of you know much about us ogres and stuff, well, Age Day is like a coming of age thing! You choose what you want to be and the whole village comes around you to help you do it! But no one has ever been an adventurer before me because us ogres are pretty isolated. But I want to see the world! So I'm here with my parent's blessing!"
Though he heard the words leaving Kixig's mouth, they didn't fully register. His mind was elsewhere. They wanted him to talk about himself, but how could he? There was so much to say, and so much that he didn't want anyone to ever hear. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know if he could trust them! He wanted to, of course. Everyone would want that. But the Goa'uld were masters of deceit. If there wasn't one among their little group, there just as well might be a spy.
He got to his feet. He had an excuse on the tip of his tongue but then everyone started staring at his side. He slowly looked down. Whether fate or some ascended ancient was to blame - which wouldn't have surprised him - his coat had been brushed back.
He frantically covered the now visible wound with his coat, but the damage had been done. They had seen the strange, gelatinous substance where blood should have been.
He didn't meant to stare - not really. Not in a rude way, at least. But he was not accustomed to seeing wounds, or things of that sort, and naturally, it was drawing his attention. With eyes still locked on the strange not-blood oozing from the wound. It seemed... that perhaps Maahes was not the kind of human that Kixig knew. But then again, he was an ogre. His blood was black and thick. If Maahes's was... well, whatever that was, it wasn't that much of a stretch.
"You're hurt." Was Kixig's immediate response. To state the obvious.
Ew. Kellach felt a wave of nausea when he saw the gaping wound in Maahes, especially the weird goop inside of it. He stared at it as much as Kixig did, enthralled by its bizarre appearance. It was definitely not something that Kellach had ever seen before. Was Maahes even human, or was that some kind of guise? Kellach would've been more bothered by the prospect of a lie if it wasn't for the fact that Maahes looked injured; his experience had taught him that injuries were important to address first. "Is there a healer nearby?" he asked in concern, watching Maahes' expression.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
"It's alright!" Maahes quickly protested. He didn't know how a healer would affect someone like him, and wasn't keen on the eye of learning what would happen if one tried using magic on him. "It looks worse than it actually is, and I've dealt with more worrying injuries before."
She wasn't going to get involved. Honestly, she was just going to stay there - and watch. But the man was hurt, and despite the fact it wasn't blood, exactly, she knew she had supplies to at least bandage it up and slow the...bleeding? Was it that, or not considering the goop?
Either way, she sighs inwardly and stands, grabbing bandages out of her pack and tossing them to Maahes - either he has good reflexes or they just kind of hit him in the shoulder. "Here."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
"Thank you," he said after catching the bandages. He carefully unrolls them and begins the difficult task of covering his wound. He hadn't been lying when he claimed the injury didn't bother him, but objecting to someone's act of kindness was out of the question.
She just shrugs, adjusting her eyepatchd. "No problem."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Gender:
Points: 1234
Reviews: 590