Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » From Afar (1x1)

She relaxed a little when told she wouldn't be bathing him after all, but backed nervously away when he moved and spoke over the water. When the water-snake thing rose up and lunged, Raven turned and tripped over herself as she tried to get away, even though it wasn't her the thing had gone for. When she reached the door, she scratched at the knob, but couldn't quite get a hold on it. Even when everything had stopped, she stared at the dog-man with wide-eyed terror.

While everything had been going on, the raven had managed to force the latch on the window up. Though the window was only slightly open, the large bird now sat inside the window frame. It kept an eye on the dog-man, and somehow there seemed to be intelligence behind those glassy orbs.

Nomti felt the sudden surge of fear and a wound on his back completely vanished, which caused hil to finally notice that Raven was on the floor and he quickly rushed to her aid and helped her up.
"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly and gently got her to sit in a chair, "I-I'm sorry... Did I scare you?"

The raven rocked slightly side to side and lifted its wings partway, but refrained from doing anything more just yet. The girl remained similarly wary, but pinned against the wall and scrawny as she was, she couldn't do much as the dog-man got her into a chair.

Her eyes remained wide and locked on him, though she still couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes for more than fractions of a second at a time. When she finally got enough courage back, she pointed a quivering hand at him, then lifted the hand, palm upward, and tilted her head slightly to indicate that she was listening.

He looked down, "I'm sorry, miss... I didn't mean to scare you so much," he said apologetically, then looked into her eyes directly. His yellow ones, though a bit intimidating at first, had the look of someone who was gentle and affectionate.
"Please forgive me for that?"

The bird relaxed a bit, as did the girl, but she still kept looking to and quickly back away from his eyes even though he seemed to be trying to hold her gaze. The subordination and sense of inferiority was far too ingrained.

She nodded meekly when the dog-man asked for forgiveness, somewhat confused by it. Even those who tended to treat her more... well, like a person, rarely apologized or requested things politely. The girl repeated her previous motion then, pointing at him and turning her hand airily up. It wasn't often that she had any reason - nor right - to ask someone about themselves, so she wasn't really sure how to do it in any sort of clear manner.

He frowned, "I'm sorry... I don't know what you mean..." he said softly, "I've never had to converse with someone who can't talk... Even the dead people I work with can talk," he chuckled a little, "Here... Let me try something," he took two gold coins out of his pouch and touched them together then said a chant in Egyptian. The coins fused together into a golden scarab.
"Please do not be afraid," he said and set the bug on her shoulder then kept his hand there to try and comfort her as the bug scuttled across her chest.
His furry hand was soft and comforting to the touch and he smiled kindly at her as the golden bug crawled onto her scalp and stuck itself there by simply holding on, though it would not hurt even a little bit and it looked like a nice hair piece.
"Try asking your question to me, but in your mind," he urged.

Dead talking? Raven recoiled at the idea. Was he a necromancer?

Having a strange, apparently magical, golden bug crawling across her was no help, either. She only sat still out of a certainty that that hand on her shoulder would hold her in place if she tried to move. Raven shivered and squeezed her eyes shut as it climbed onto her head. When he told her to ask the question in her mind, she was suddenly afraid to think at all, and looked to the raven with her uncertainty clear. She heard his confirmation, and stared at her knees.

Raven had never been able to speak to anyone but Shade, but she tried tentatively, 'Why are you here?'

He smiled happily, "It works. I heard you. Don't worry though, I can only hear things that you think at me. I can't read your mind," he said positively, "Anyways. Why am I here in this inn? Or why am I here in this country?"

Raven blinked. He had heard her? 'Shade, what do I do?'

'Talk,' was the only response she received from the bird.

Nervous, she focused on the dog-man again, though she wasn't sure how to answer his question; neither of those were what she wanted to know. After a moment's consideration, she asked more directly, 'Why are you interested in me? Who are you?'

Force of habit kept her hands moving. She pointed to him and then herself several times, brow furrowed, and did the same palm-up hand raise. When she was asking who he was, she pointed at him again, and repeated the hand raise.

"I guess... I have a knack for being able to tell when you humans are sad and in need of help... I like to help people like you," he shrugged subtly, "And I am Nomti, an Anubite. I am a guardian of dead and servant of my people's god of judgement: Anubis," he explained.

'H-help? I don't need help. I... I have what I need. I have a blanket, I have food, I have... s-security...' Her eyes narrowed with distrust. 'I don't need the help of... of gods or magi or kings or... or lords or knights or... generals, or... anyone!'

'Calm yourself, child,' Shade whispered into her mind. 'You might as well find you why he is, indeed, here.'

Raven hugged herself and stared at the floor. The way she said tugged her sleeves up slightly, and more scars dotted her arms. 'Why are you here? This inn, this... country?'

He frowned a little and backed off a bit, "I'm none of those things... I'm just a friendly teenager with some supernatural relations," he smiled softly at her, "And as for why I'm here, I had a mission to do. I'm not aloud to talk about it."

The girl swallowed and her fingers were clenched, thumbs rubbing over them. 'Y-you're not... looking for anything... or anyone... are you? Because I'm no one special. Just some poor girl, working to get by. I'm useless for anything but cleaning and such.'

Maybe she was trying to push her point a little too hard. Then again, except for Shade, she wasn't used to communicating with anyone beyond basic motions.

"Don't worry, I'm not here for you," he smiled, "But... I've been rather lonely this whole trip. Would you like to come with me for a while? You seem rather miserable here."

The small teen relaxed, but was quick to shake her head at his offer. 'N-no. I have what I need. The owners give me food and a place to sleep. They almost never beat me, even when I mess up. So long as I keep busy and do things right, they don't even yell much.'

Of course, she had been sent up to him as a sort of offering, without regard to her feelings or her safety. It was also easy to tell she was malnourished, in spite of the thick, over-sized dress and apron. Remembering the threat of less food, she rubbed at her arm, and tugged the sleeved back down to its proper place right after.

'But... Madam Theshy said that... that she'll take the cost of all those dishes I broke out of my food if... if I don't get more money from you...' she admitted with shame. 'She's taking advantage of you. None of this should cost more than a few gold coins. I think this room doesn't have bedbugs, at least...'

He shrugged, "I have an almost infinite amount of gold. It matters not to me," he said with a soft smile, "I can provide food, shelter and friendship if you done with me. It will be much better than working here, I'd think."

Raven actually lifted her her eyes to meet his gaze, and actually held it a moment before she broke it to look once more at the bird near the window. Shade spread his wings and flapped promptly over to the girl's lap, where he settled with his legs tucked. She hugged him close and stroked his feathers.

'W-where are you going?'

He watched the bird curiously, his tall ears pricked forwards.
"Further north, to the lands of the Northmen," he said with a smile.

North... North wasn't so bad. Depending on the route, he might be passing a bit closer to the Sorceress' keep than she liked, but it should be easy enough to avoid problems...

'Shade?'

'It is your choice, child,' he told her gently, and rubbed his head against her hand.

She considered, arguing against herself every time she started leaning one way or the other. Ultimately, it came down to the simple fact that she really wasn't treated much better than she had been all her life previously, but this dog-man seemed... kind. Only time would tell whether or not is was an act.

'I-I am Raven, and this is Shade,' she thought to Nomti at last. 'We... we w-will go with you.'

His yellow eyes seemed to light up, "R-really?!" he asked excitedly. He'd expected her to say no, and had come up with a whole argument for her to come, but now he didn't need a word of it, "Thank you!" he smiled happily as he stood.