SyncOnari09/16/2020
[Dawn of the Third Day.] 

Fire. All that surrounded him was fire. Even after being defeated, Syndu was trapped in that hellish landscape - and admist the flames stood a man with a grin that stretched from ear to ear; Grinning Reynauld. A monstrosity that none of them could have ever hoped to be prepared for. The mages sick and twisted laughter goaded him on, causing rows of teeth to clench together out of anger. Syndu went to reach for his weapon, but he could not feel his fingers grip the hilt. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror as the right forearm had been completely missing. A steady stream of crimson life essence oozed out from his wound and he cried out; dropping to his knees and clutching over where his elbow used to be until a powerful wind fed the flames, and they began to over take everything in the dreamscape.


Syndu awoke to the sound of birds chirping a morning song. The wind rushed through the leaves of the treetops overhead. It was another beautiful day. The world cared not for their misfortune; it carried on as it would any other day. Even should the city burst into flames the next morning - the planet would continue to turn. Until it too, would inevitably meet its destructive end via supernova. A blip on the radar of the massive thing known as the universe.

It had been a few days since the battle, and at some point, the party had gotten separated due to the smoke and destruction. However... the rogue looked down to the bandaged knob that was now his right arm, and he smiled - for the first time in three days. For weal or woe, his company was that of the best. Syndu scanned over the area, looking for the familiar head of silky black hair.

Laying opposite of him, nestled comfortably in a fur sleeping bag, slept Dewi. A fearsome warrior whom had somehow managed to avoid even a single scratch in that skirmish - and, in his eyes, an ideal caretaker and wife.(edited)
[10:51 PM]
Having not grown accustomed to his lesser appendage, Syndu moved his back off of the face of the tree and slightly to the side to place a hand down onto the ground - but quickly fell into the earth with an "OOF."

"****. ****! DAMN IT ALL!" he thrashed about, crying in self-pity.(edited)
September 17, 2020

Cerberus09/17/2020
Dewi had been dealing with the events of their defeat at the hands of the mage in her own little way. She had withdrawn, only speaking through glances and the occasional nod. The tears she had almost shed over the severity of their situation had burned themselves into her skull, like an admission of failure, one she wore for all to see. Her pride had taken a good kick, and every glance she got from Syndu's arm was another stark reminder. 
Only during the night, when she was left alone with noone but the stars above, did she seem at peace. The Druid had come to lean more towards a nocturnal lifestyle, or rather, had reverted back to one in the aftermath of the battle. Everything she couldn't tell Syndu, she confided to her guides. Every worry and every frustration. Dewi figured there was no reason to burden the rogue even more, on top of his lost limb. 

That didn't mean she left Syndu to his own devices. Oh no. The man still received the usual scolding and scoffing, though the sharp edges of her accusations had been sanded down significantly. The elemental adapted rather well in her eyes, his efficiency with a blade quickly reverting back to what it used to be, even with half the capacity. Dewi would almost feel a sort of fondness over their situation.

Almost.

After a long night of contemplation under the vast blanket of stars, Dewi had opted to sleep at least 5 hours. She expected Syndu to stir her awake eventually....though not in the way he eventually did. 
Dewi all but jumped up, reaching for her weapon while she did, fully expecting another Ambush. Her  dreams had been fragile and her slumber paper thin.  When she slowly realized the cause of his wailing was self inflicted, a frown formed underneath a curtain of messily assorted hair. 

"Syndu" She growled, looking at the flailing man. She would attempt to help him up, if he let her.

SyncOnari09/17/2020
The mans outrage was like an explosion. Big, flashy, and over in an instant. Syndu looked up at Dewi as he had laid on the ground, sprawled out like a child would be on a winters morning. 

Numerous twigs and dried leaves stuck to the mans hair as he had thrashed about - their bleak colours contrasting against the mans long silver locks. Lifting his right arm up for the woman to take, he flared his nostrils in realizing it had been the broken one. His former dominant; the partner in crime through all things good, and bad. 

It would take some time getting used to being acquainted with the left. For most of the time they were belligerent fools. Whom he could not hope to stand. Flopping the right arm down in defeat, he instead reached up to grip at the woman's hand with his left to pull himself up and out of the dirt. 

Syndu always looked like he never got much sleep. Dark rings paired with pale skin always made him look sickly, but now, after everything, it was so much worse. If the man's hair had been any other colour, the elemental may have even been sporting a few new greys.

Slumping himself back up against the tree, he pouted and looked away from Dewi, refusing to apologize. Not when his intentions had been so good-natured. The poor guy just wanted to wriggle over to his friend, and lay her head into his lap and play with her hair.
September 18, 2020

Cerberus09/18/2020
She pitied him. She pitied him in a way that wasn’t entirely negative. Perhaps it was better to say she felt for him, for his dark circles and the weary heaves of his chest. The diviner’s expression softened considerably. She couldn’t deny her fondness even if she tried, and by the sky, she tried.

“I expected an ambush.” She said, getting out of the confinements of her sleeping bag. The leather stemmed all the way from the proud beasts of the Steppe, and belonged to the small collection of things she had taken from the plains she once called home.

“How’s the arm?” Dark hair was tied up into a high bun, letting the rest cascade down her back, like an ebony waterfall. Her eyes went to Syndu, awaiting an answer.
September 19, 2020

SyncOnari09/19/2020
"No ambush.." he mumbled, slumping further into the pits of his despair. The soreness of his missing arm twanged out in pain, each and every pump of his heart sent that ache shooting down and into the missing appendage. Closing his eyes, he clenched the rows of his teeth onto his tongue in an attempt to not show any weakness.

"It's better, thanks to you." he replied, softly, watching the woman's bare frame slink out from the cover of her comfortable furs.

To his eye, they had belonged to beasts not found in this region. It wasn't deer, or wolf, or moose.. bear? No, it was thicker. Heavier. Larger. Syndu could only imagine what sort of crazy things the woman must have hunted with her clan, back in the good old days.

"..." 

What followed after was an uncomfortable silence. One that the man intended on keeping for all eternity until he glanced over to those bottomless obsidian eyes. Swallowing down, he thought back to the child being taken away into the forest - how he had err' d in a most crucial moment.

"I wasn't always a conniving, thieving, scoundrel. I had a family, once. A little over one-hundred years ago." he kept his eyes locked onto Dewi, trying to see what sort of reaction she might have to the revelation of his days.

"My beautiful wife, Aldriona; and my charming daughter, Zophie. She was so young, when the war started." he gestured with a hand, letting it flop back to the ground in silence, waiting to see if she had anything to say.
September 28, 2020

Cerberus09/28/2020
underneath the veil of a roughed up shirt that she apparently slept in, slender muscle coiled and twisted, as the Diviner stretched her arms above her head. She had left the remainder of her clothing a top a branch, the long strokes of fabrics dancing in the wind like a battleship’s flag. She seemed unconcerned, for the most part, but perhaps Syndu had learned to read sense into those dark almonds.

Their silence was heavy, but Dewi hardly minded. She cursed in Amaadrian once, twice, begore getting up, her figure now revealing herself from the shirt; Despite being well trained, her form retained a feminine form. She was no warrior, that much was clear, though considerable muscle had amassed in long legs. Unlike her fighting brethren, she had been raised to be a wife for the most part.

Right up until she had decided that a wife and a warrior were not mutually exclusive.

From underneath white linen, two ******* peeked just past their confinements, the woman sitting idly as she waited for Syndu to talk.

When he finally did, his words hit her like a rock.

Never had she assumed she had been his first, like he was to her. She knew of elementals and their lifespan. Dewi knew, but the revelation of a wife and child  left a sour taste in her mouth regardless. Had she been complicit in an affaire? Perhaps that’s why he had left her- she was a simple ****, a bit of fun for him to discard.

The Amaadrian cursed herself in her native tongue.

How selfish it was to spin his story to one that would see her in the starring role. No, this was his tale. One that had made him who he was.

“I was not aware of this. The war.. Did the war take them from you?”

SyncOnari09/28/2020
Normally, this is where Syndu would fold his hands into one another, to toil and chase and roll those thumbs while in deep thought. The elemental had to find a different shtick - an unhealthy one already becoming a substitute in its place; grinding teeth together. 

Seeing Dewi's womanly frame peek without the protection of her thick furs would have sent the man wild - like a beast of lust running free on the steppes. An animal capable of only one thought that must needs be put down, an act Dewi would be more than happy to assist with, no doubt. In yet, Syndu simply sat there, unmoving.

”Yeah.”

Once he had explained himself, he tried to move away from the topic, no longer seeing any reason to stay upon the past that haunted him.

"I hope the others made it back to Emery Bay okay..." he voiced aloud, before snapping back up to attention. "Which reminds me. I want you to go to the Capitol and wait for me there."(edited)
September 29, 2020

CerberusYesterday at 4:20 AM
The diviner remained motionless for a bit, not nesrly as expressive as any of the people she had met the last few days. The solitude had made her  quiet and reserved, though arguably, she had never been the loudest among her people. Dewi watched as he twiddled his fingers, before closing her eyes momentarily. 

“The sky takes and takes, like a void. Find peace knowing they have found a place among the stars. Maybe you will see them watching over you someday.”

Pragmatic, and with reduced emotion. The diviner knew he did not believe like she did, but it had been how she had put it all the ghosts in her mind to rest, too. Her hand found his shoulder, kneading it momentarily as her eyes grew increasingly more soft. 

“I understand. There is not a thing that compares to losing those you love.”

She pulled her hand back, content to leave the topic for now. The softness in her face faded somewhat, as Syndu continued, relaying the plan he had for her.

“The Capital? Why?”

SyncOnariYesterday at 4:51 AM
It was as she thought. The man didn't have a single religious bone in his body. All that nonsense about the sky taking souls into its ever expansive and limitless void? So that they might find themselves fancied as stars? Absolute shite spun on by someone who couldn't fathom the concept of true death. His family had been murdered by bloodthirsty and racist humans who saw elementals as enemies in their war.

Still, he appreciated that she showed some type of empathy for him, despite everything he had done to her - perhaps another reason why he had distanced himself from the girl that day. She was human, afterall. Syndu hissed slightly as Dewi massaged just above his bandaged deltoid. Groaning out lightly before leaning into her frame and closing his eyes while she worked at the recovering muscle. For the most part, the open wound had been healed by her magicks. At least that was real.

Opening his eyes, those grey hues flicked up to meet the others deep pools before revealing what Reynauld had said to him via a telepathic link.

"Right after Reynauld devastated the area, he... cast some kind of spell that allowed him to speak directly into my mind. I've been looking for someone who might know a bit more about what's... happening to me, and they're in Andran." 

He looked away, not wholly sure if he should divulge his powers to the diviner or not; though, she had already experienced a taste of it, unbeknownst to Syndu - whom had shared his dark vision upon her.

"... and so I don't lose you, too. I want to keep you close."(edited)

CerberusYesterday at 11:03 AM
Blessed be those that kept Syndu from expressing his thoughts. If he had voiced his opinions on her religion, he would have been met with more than just a jab in his stomach. Honestly, she would have left him right then and there. The diviner harbored strong feelings towards her guides, strong enough to not allow for such insults.

Alas. The elemental had chosen to keep silent, so none of that came to pass. Long fingers massaged the tense flesh and muscle, hard enough to hurt, but tender enough to keep bruises at bay.

“Reynauld..” she spoke the name like a curse, with equal shock and admiration. The man’s visage had not left the young warrior’s mind, though she would not give those thoughts any form. Syndu’s eyes hid from hers, and she repaid him in kind, before letting her shoulders fall.

“I will not keep you from seeking out what you need.” Dewi mused, her lips pursed slightly. “It’s not my place..... I- I was planning to roam the outskirts of the city. I have seen enough of its walls.” 

Syndu’s sugary words were not wasted on her, a small smile gracing her lips momentarily, before she rested her head atop of his for a split second.

“I am in no danger. Go, and you will find me again in the Capital.”
September 30, 2020

SyncOnariToday at 7:38 AM
Feeling the weight of the others forehead press atop his own caused the man to drop that normally tense and brooding demeanor, and he let out a sigh of relief. 

Fate sure was a strange thing, was it not? Just a few months ago, the two were at each others throats - though Syndu saw it more of a game than anything. To push the diviner to her breaking point. However, something had happened along the way of that bullying. In Dewi, he saw another chance at becoming a family man, though, he would never admit it aloud. 

Reaching out with his good arm, he entangled those slender digits into the curtain of her black and silky hair - trying to press her deeper into him before she shied away.

"Before you go - listen. I've heard many things about St. Andran. It is the humans capital, so you might have better luck than others, but they don't just let anyone in. If you're turned away, don't press it. I will come find you. If all else fails, then simply return back to Emery Bay, and we can meet up there."

[end scene]