((1 week and 2 days previous; Lilith/Niall collaboration))
Lilith tumbled off her horse as they stopped for the night, soundly cursing the beast in her mind. The creature itself wasnât all that ill-behaved and, in all honesty, treated her much better than she reasonably deserved. It merely had had the misfortune of being born as the wrong species, and she had had the misfortune of being forced to ride it. Why anyone would choose to ride was still something of a mystery to the albino. Granted, it made travel a lot faster and less energy-consumingâfor the person riding, that is; the horse might choose to disagreeâbut it was so⊠so frustrating. At the very least, things would be much more entertaining afoot when you couldnât zone out quite so easily. Or, she admitted to herself, if you had companions you could actually talk to.
Not that she was feeling a need for socializing. Simply having someone to talk to would just give her something to do. Anahita was still entirely out of the question; Lilith had turned an icy shoulder and would continue to do so until the faery realized what an idiot she had been.
Darragh had been avoided since the incident at the stream, and Lilith would still feel an embarrassed flush catch her unawares. To counter this, she had simply continued to wear the black cloth tied around the lower portion of her face, which had the added benefit of helping prevent sunburn. Caelen had more or less stopped voluntarily talking to her since she had started wearing it, though. He was under the impression that she was âmad at someoneâ and didnât want them to realize it so she could âsneak up on them and kill them.â How he got that idea she wasnât entirely sure, but she didnât really care too much. She kept teaching him what she could and brutally grilling him to ensure he wouldnât be too far behind when he got back to DĂŠneco. In truth, though, he was quite a ways ahead of everyone else in most areas; he would need to work hard to catch up with the rest of his classmates in areas like physical combat and stealth, but heâd have the time. So the child, for the most part, chatted brightly with Fionnula and whomever else was within earshot, a situation which left both of them happy and made nearly everyone else miserable.
The other children were more or less ignored, with the exemption of a few shifter children. Every now and again Lilith would ask them how to say a few words, or how to conjugate a few verbs. These conversations were always very short, given that they got bored quickly and, merely by existing, managed to make her feel uncomfortable.
Niall was pretty much out of the question, which was a pity. Lilith had the feeling that he had an impressive amount of information crammed into his brain, and that he couldâno, shouldâshare a bit. But he was quiet, which wasnât a problem, and deferential to the point of distraction, which obviously was. But, even if he had displayed more independence, Lilith couldnât quite forget their first meeting and what she had said. She hadnât really meant it⊠quite⊠and had had a valid excuse, which was being exhausted to the point of death, neither of which helped to remove the comment she had made. So she didnât seek his company and he kept to himself whenever he wasnât with Diarmuid or kissing the ground at the Idiotâs feet.
For awhile, she had mentally reviewed various codes and logic-puzzles she had been unable to solve and tried to sort them out. After a time, she had progressed to various mathematic and linguistic problems, and had ended up working out the stems and roots of various words in different languages, a true testament to her boredom. Now she was attempting to play chess in her head and develop a winning strategy broad enough to work in almost any situation. She wasnât getting very far with it, which only increased her general irritability.
Dinner more or less followed the new pattern that had developed since Darragh went crawling back to the Moron. Lilith would eat as much as she felt was appropriate for someone of her height and general activity level and leave the rest. The b*stard would then use air magic to force the rest down her throat, which practically made her retch. Unfortunately, air magic could keep things from coming up just as easily as it could push them down. Besides, Lilith had the vague feeling that sheâd be forced to re-eat anything she vomited, just so It could discourage her from doing it again.
After Lilith had stopped gagging, she moved away from the loose circle around their campfire, sitting further in shadow. To her surprise, Niall sat himself down several paces away, just close enough to indicate that he might actually want to be in her presence but far enough to where she couldnât directly hit him.
Lilith ignored the other elf, and only glanced his direction when she heard a soft snarl. Diarmuid, his entire body tense, stalked in between them and sat down well within armâs reach of the albino. Lilith eyed him warily, recognizing the open hostility in the childâs face, but not knowing what to do about it. She hadnât even done anything to begin with and thus had nothing to say. You also couldnât just wander around and randomly hit children; they couldnât really protect themselves. And, even if they could, it was just plain wrong.
Further movement caught her eye, and Lilith suddenly wondered if she should reconsider her world view. Diarmuidâs lion curled up around him, its slitted eyes fixed upon her. The wolves slipped into a nearly silent ring around her as she firmly grasped the poison in her vials with magic. At the very least, she could drugâor kill, if need beâthe animals, and then figure out what to do about the kid.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lilith saw Niall blush pink and cast a quick glance at his nephew, reprimanding him with a tsk and a reproachful expression. When Diarmuid feigned ignorance, Niall rose and approached them, the boy growling under his breath. Lilith barely registered the apology the man gave, keeping her eyes trained upon the creature in front of her. Diarmuid was hoisted into the air and then deposited beside It, and the beasts reluctantly dispersed and gave her some space once more.
Niall crossed the clearing once more, his rather unobtrusive form and handling of Diarmuid causing no comment amongst the others. On returning post-deposition of his charge, he crouched back in his original position and cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. âI'm deeply apologetic, Lilith-eolai, that Diarmuid insisted in intruding on you; I would care to make amends for it,â he said, honestly looking embarrassed for his relativeâs actions. Lilith made no comment, other than a quiet humming sound in the back of her throat, and returned her gaze to the trees on the other side of the clearing.
A blur of motion brought her to her feet, and Diarmuid tackled Niall to the ground, snarling and attempting to do at least some damage. Almost without thinking, Lilith pulled a mild sedative from her stored blood and let it vaporize and become inhaled by the odd child. Almost immediately, he went limp and slid to the ground, an oddly blank look upon his face.
Lilith gave Niall a defiant glare, only her eyes visible enough to convey that expression. At heart, though, she felt vaguely sick. She didnât know Diarmuid at all. How was she to know if he had merely been engaging in some form of play with Niall or not? And, despite his hostility, he was still a child. Even if he was more than capable of killing them allâa fact which Lilith did not doubtâit still seemed⊠unfair, somehow, to attack him.
Fortunately, Niall didnât see her look and demand an answer. Instead, he cradling the wiry form in his arms much like an overgrown baby, the upper curve of his ears absurdly rouged. The man tipped up his nephewâs head, gingerly feeling for a pulse, and while his expression wasnât exactly hostile, it was inescapably concerned. A soft hiss escaped from between Lilithâs lips. Did he truly believe that, because she was an assassin, she automatically killed everything around her?
His eyes now turned towards her, warily. In a soft voice the Idiot might have called poeticâthough what that actually meant was still beyond Lilithâs understandingâ he asked her what sheâd done. Feeling her spine stiffen, Lilith coldly asked, âDo you truly think so little of me as to believe me capable of poisoning a child?â
Quickly, Niall responded, âI do not suspect your motives, Lilith-eolai, nor intend to impugn you,â with a natural pause between his sentences before he picked up again, âbut I wondered what you... did or use, to subdue Diarmuid so.â Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, âHe's dear to me, you see. And he doesn't like to lie in someone' embrace or be held too long,â as the lad did now, âso I just wondered if he is in... pain, or his right mind.â
Lilith snorted. âIf you ask me he wasnât in his right mind to begin with.â Darkly, she continued, âExplain to me how it is possible for you to ânot suspect my motivesâ and still believe heâs in pain.â
âPain and ill motives are not the same,â he carefully stated, seemingly unaffected by the sharpness of her words. âI have calmed him aâwell, a few times before, when he was far younger, less composed, through restraint on earth and twisting back his arms. It would be natural for him, as natural as it is for a dominant creature to inflict the painful reprimand of authority on its subordinate.â With this, Niall flushed and cleared his throat, looking down and away from her with his teeth catching on his lip, as if to berate it for being so vocal.
For a moment, Lilith eyed him skeptically. If what he said was trueâand he did seem to be telling the truthâthen his assumptions werenât in any way unnatural or insulting, from his point of view. Storing away what he saidâit was worth reflecting on, should she find Diarmuid trying to intimidate or threaten her againâLilith caved in. âI gave him a mild sedative that, in the small dose he received, will induce nothing more than lethargy and mellow out his feelings. Some people also see odd flashes of color or hear various tones, but,â she remarked with a small shrug, âthis appears to be random and disappears once the drug has worn off. In other words, he'll be able to molest you again in two to three hours."
Eyeing the only Ălfher sheâd ever be able to tolerate, a sudden question popped into her mind. âWhy do you blush all the time?â she asked, mentally noting the unbelievable whimsicality in the query. Niall simply turned several darker shades of red and mumbled a string of unintelligible words.
Moving on, Lilith asked another question that she had been half pondering for awhile now. âWhat does eolai mean? Both you and the elvish children have a tendency to add it to my name as if it is some sort of title.â
Niall rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, finally raising his eyes from the earth. They didnât quite meet hers, though, wandering instead to a position slightly to the left of where she was standing. Lilith fought the urge to step into the space he was staring into as he answered her question. âIt means âguideâ,â he stated, a shade of reluctance haunting the edge of his words.
Lilithâs eyelids dropped a fraction. Seeing a way to possibly probe him for more information, both about the meaning of the word and his surprising avoidance of Darragh, she asked, âBut doesnât Darragh also count as a guide? In fact, it could be argued that, for this part of our journey, he is more qualified than I given that he is more familiar with this territory than someone who has memorized several maps. I donât believe Iâve ever heard you call him eolai.â
Niallâs face screwed upâeyebrows, cheeks and nose all engaging in the act of formulating a responseâand his lips moved a bit, not forming words but merely a syllable here and there. Finally, he said, âHis title is Lord.â
Lilith waited for a moment, but it looked like that was all he was going to say on the subject. So⊠there had to be more to âeolaiâ than simply guide and that something, whatever it may be, wasnât applicable to Darragh. Given Niallâs rather obvious dislike of the man, it was most likely that âsomethingâ was at least marginally complimentary.
On the off-chance that she could get him to speak more of his relationship with the elf lord, she continued the topic, in quite serious tones, âYes, you do address him as such all the time. But tell me, is it so offensive to call someone Lord-Guide? Among my people it is considered an honorific to have such a double title.â
Niallâs eyes suddenly darkened and cut a sweep towards Aoise, where she lay cross-pawed by Darraghâs feet, silver fur bathed in orange from the fire-glow and tail wagging laconically as her master stroked her head.âThat is difficult for me to answer,â he murmured. Lilith observed him from beneath her eyelashes, but made no additional comment. She would just make this another thing to remember and contemplate later.
It was quite amazing, really. She had been speaking with another person for no more than twenty minutes and she already amassed substantial findings to review while they rode endlessly north. If only most conversations would yield this sort of valuable material⊠she thought wistfully. If it did, she might actually try to socialize more instead of always drifting away from everyone.
Suddenly aware that silence had settled, Lilith rediscovered why she so disliked talking to people. Struggling to find something to say to fill the voidâwhich was quite often a horrible thing to do that ended up revealing all sorts of secretsâshe suddenly remembered why they had started talking in the first place. âYou mentioned that you feel you need to make up for your nephewâs actions,â she said. âWhy?â
Niall stroked Diarmuidâs hair, a smile in the words of his soft reply, âHe has done so much for me, and yet cannot be understood by me or his family. I've raised him ever since he was rejected by his mother, Fionavar, and... he is different. Sees things differently, like an animal, but acts human when the whim catches him. I want to understand what's going on in his mind, but I don't want to change it; it's the weird in him that has influenced me to be unlike the rest of the Ălfher family. They cannot understand how embracing a mind like Dia's can help them see the world as it is. They would change him, lay strong blame and anger on him, which I think he must understand and be hurt by. So I would rather take their blame for him.â
Lilith stared blankly down at the two, trying to comprehend how Niall had come to such a decision. After vainly groping at threads of mist, Lilith admitted, âI donât understand any of that, and I donât mean in terms of a language barrier.â Though, she thought, it could be a sort of language barrier, depending on what was defined as a language. âNot really, anyway,â she added, as a means of clarification.
Niall shrugged. âNor do many,â he remarked. Smiling wryly, he said âNieander tried to separate us four years ago.â
Lilith shifted her weight, suddenly made uncomfortable. Niall had no reason to tell her any of this, especially things that seemed to carry such⊠such powerful emotion. Interrupting what would probably have been a very sappy story, Lilith asked, âIs Nieander the one that had twenty-four volumes dedicated to his life history and still keeps writing moreâŠ?â
Niall suddenly looked skeptical. âYou read them?â he asked, his tone conveying a sense of disbelief Lilith found hard to understand.
âI started reading them,â she corrected him. âI wasnât able to reach the most recent one before we got thrown out.â Niall gave her a sidelong glance, which reassured Lilith that he realized she was still there. âSorry,â he said.
Lilith gave him a slightly exasperated look. In a marginally annoyed tone, she said, âYouâre not the one who had the dream, so it isnât your fault. You really need to stop apologizing for things you didnât do.
Niall blushed again. He was really starting to remind her of her old roommate; that girl blushed and apologized and started at her shoes every second she wasnât sleeping or unconscious. To add to the connection Lilith was making, her roommate had ended up as a librarian and Niall, from what she could gather, might as well have been one. âSâum,â he paused, correcting himself. âIâ⊠Right,â he concluded.
It wasnât great, Lilith noted, but it was a start. âDiscussing your apologizing issues is a nice transition back to how sorry you are that your nephew is out of his mind, donât you think?â Without waiting for an answer, she continued. âNow, normally I would be discouraging anything related to apologizingâunless itâs for something importantâbut if you truly insist you could share some of your knowledge. And if you feel thatâs unfair, then I could try to teach you something. Although,â she admitted with a slight frown that he couldnât see, âI really donât know what I would have to teach that would actually be interestingâŠâ
Niall stared in her general direction, again not looking directly at her. It was amazing how unsettling such a simple and inconsequential action was. Lilith still couldnât make up her mind if he was doing it out of some incredibly misguided perception of respect or if he was insulting her by refusing to make eye contact. Given that it was Niall, chances were it was the former, which meant that Lilith would simply have to help him see reason. âIâŠâ he began, âan exchange would be unfair to you⊠You owe me nothing.â
âAnd, in my opinion,â Lilith said, âyou owe me nothing either. And even if you did, you havenât even the slightest clue as to how many questions Iâm going to ask you. Iâm not from anywhere around here and will literally question you to death. It would be entirely unfair for you to put up with such pestering for nothing.â
There was a moment of silence before Niall slowly began. âWellâŠâ his voice dropped significantly, âPerhaps a foreign language wouldâŠâ he mumbled.
Lilith simply shrugged, a motion his averted eyes didnât catch. âDo you have anything in mind? Itâd be best if you want to know a language I can actually teach you, and one that I donât have a terrible accent in.â
There was stunned silence from Niall. âIâŠâ he began. âNo, whichever you want.â Lilith sighed. âGive me either a list of languages you want to learn or languages you donât want to learn. If you donât, Iâll smack you,â she threatened. This was generally the point her roommate would start crying at, whilst desperately trying to force out a semi-coherent answer. âUm,â Niall said, obviously racking his brain for something. âYou donât have to, actuallyâŠâ he concluded, choosing what was almost the worst possible answer.
Lilith casually reached over and smacked the top of his head. Niallâs surprised face was quite humorous, and the only flaw in it was that it was directed at the ground. âWhichever language is easiest for you,â he finally determined, âthe most innate.â
Although Niall had meant well, Lilith truly believed he did, the albino wasnât entirely thrilled with his decision. It wasnât that she couldnât teach her first language to him, unlike Cetairiacelosian, but it had the potential to raise several questions she didnât want to answer. He might feel comfortable revealing his life story to her, but she wasnât about to start talking to him about her past. Especially the bits that marked her as really, really strange. âDo I have to explain why itâs my easiest language?â she asked.
Niall looked surprised (again). âNo! No, of course not,â he said in what was his most decisive moment in all the time Lilith had known him. âAlright⊠then does it have to be a language you would ever have any practical use for?â Niall simply shrugged. âNo,â he replied.
A small glimmer of admiration flickered in Lilithâs soul. There was just something so satisfying about people who loved knowledge for knowledgeâs sake instead of what use it could be. Keeping this momentary happiness to herself, she said, âAlright then. Iâll teach you a non-Adurian gypsy-shifter tongue. For obvious reasons you had better not mind only learning how to speak it, and for the same reasons you had better be able to learn things orally. Unless,â she sarcastically added, âyou can procure either a slateboard or paper.â
Niall remained silent, only bending his head in a quick bow. Reaching down again, Lilith poked his forehead. The man jerked back suddenly, and she said, âSpeak more when an answer is expected of you. I make it very easy to tell when Iâm being rhetorical or not, so you shouldnât have any trouble determining whatâs expected of you. Understood?â
âAlright,â Niall replied. âGood,â Lilith said, turning around and stalking off. âWe begin tomorrow.â
*********************************************************
((present; Lilith))
The further north they travelled, the better Lilith felt. The landscape and climate began to feel more like her homeland, and almost relaxed her. Almost.
That wasnât to say that the part of ĂdĂłnĂŻ they now traveled through was exactly the same as Cetairiacelos. For one thing, it wasnât nearly cold enough, and Lilith highly doubted it would be, despite the recent decrease in temperature. For another, the evergreen forest they now traveled through was too thick, at least to her knowledge. She had never truly explored the forests around SanusiĂŠr, though, so it was entirely possible that the deeper parts had more in common with this Southern forest than she knew.
As they began to close in on evening, the temperature dropped from being a miserable experience to quite pleasant. Some of the midgets grabbed additional clothing, but Lilith (and most likely Caelen) were more than content with the way things were.
As they were riding, Darraghâs dog suddenly ran out of energy. It was rather interesting, actually. One moment it was trailing Darraghâs horse, the next it looked on the verge of collapse. Darragh stopped the party to pick it up and carry it. Tentitively, Lilith extended a thread of magic in the dogâs direction, but found no poison. Not long after, Darragh was caught by Niall as he all but fell off his mount. Again, Lilith could sense nothing amiss with either of her magics. Then It slid to the ground, face screwed up as though It were in extreme agony. Niall grabbed the moron as it passed out.
Once they had retraced their steps, the afflicted elves (and the dog) began to recover. To Lilithâs vast amusement, the Moronâs first move was to try to vomit. He failedâwhich was quite unfortunate seeing that she would have been able to hold that against him foreverâand hissed at Niall.
Under ordinary circumstances, Lilith would have been perfectly fine with leaving It alone and worrying about why two members (three if the dog counted for anything) of their party had spontaneously fainted. But they were obviously alive and not hovering near Deathâs door. It was just too tempting.
Tugging down the cloth around her face, the albino ghosted over to It, a malicious smirk slowly taking over her typically-emotionless expression. âHave we been skipping meals?â she asked It, not bothering to lower her voice. She was being petty and childish and would probably be punished for it later, but that didnâtâcouldnâtâstop her. âNo,â she murmured, âwe wouldnât be vomiting after regaining consciousness if that were so. Perhaps weâve become bulimic,â she mused, eyeing him wickedly, âthat could possibly explain the impulse to vomit. Aaaaaaaaah, mage-y, youâre such a hypocrite. Or,â her eyes glittered, âmaybe our little noble mage-y-ness simply isnât strong enough for so much travel. You should have said something, then, and weâd have gladly stopped. Isnât that so, Darragh?â she asked, sparing him a quick, equally mocking glance before returning her gaze to Itâs face.
Tip jar: the author of this post has received
0.00 INK
in return for their work.