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Linde Xe' Almna

"Kyero is the Red-Eyed Demon, but he's also a human being."

0 · 3,450 views · located in Cre' Est

a character in “Assassin's Pledge: Awakening”, as played by KumoriRyuu

Description

Linde Xe' Almna

Image





Age: 21
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 135 lbs
Voice Example: Linde

Basic Personality: Linde is a very kind and compassionate woman who, as a doctor, seeks only to heal and do right by others. Her love of life drives her every decision, and she would sooner cut both her hands off than allow them to be used for killing someone else. However, she does have an edge to her. As the daughter of a Cre' Itian general, she has been taught confidence, self discipline and self respect, and the mindset of a proud warrior. She will kick your ass, and tend to your wounds directly after no matter the circumstances. To date, Linde has only let one person die in her care... And it is a death that haunts her every day.

Basic Background: Linde was born as the daughter of a Cre' Itian general who taught her a warrior's discipline and pride, and a mother who was a doctor and taught her nurturing and kindness. Blending the best of both worlds, Linde became a doctor herself and a self-appointed protector of her community in the capitol city of Cre' Est. She earned the nickname the "Angelic Knight of Cre' Est" for her kindness and tenacity in combat whenever her community was threatened by bandits, rogues, thieves, or whoever. Linde's most famous feat was defeating a mercenary named Carnal, and after soundly defeating him took him to her clinic to tend to his wounds before sending him on his way. However, Linde has one bit of baggage hanging onto her... Which you'll learn about in the RP.

So begins...

Linde Xe' Almna's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura
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Lonán was in shock of the whole thing. Firstly, Josephine was probably in danger, and couldn’t be found. Secondly, the bastard obviously knew something like this was happening, and was probably deluded by calling Josephine a traitor.

”Says the man who paid an assassin to kill the Queen.” He growled out. ”If it was me asking the questions in the mind I was in, Sir, I’d make you wish you haven’t made me cross!”

Lonán took a step back and remained in the room. He wanted to hear from this Man’s mouth exactly what was going on. If he had to witness Kyero’s interrogation to find out where the woman he’s slowly grown to love was, so be it. Whatever this was about, had better be worth this man still breathing. He had to contain his anger for now, for if he let it out, this man would be dead and Josephine forever lost.

The back of his mind however, told him to trust that she’d take care of herself. He nodded to himself and prepared to watch the interrogation.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura Character Portrait: Kieran Borral
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Aetrius watched as Kyero had taken up the role as the torturer for the meantime with Miils, and she left the room with whoever decided to follow her in the meantime to find Kieran, wherever she was. She had a bad feeling and walked down into the bar end of the inn and just as she thought, Kieran was sitting at the bar counter at the far end in the corner. Aetrius took a deep breath and slowly made her way to where Kieran was, doing her best to remain calm in the current situation.

"Kieran...What are you doing?" she asked calmly as she stood behind her sister who was continuing to drink but was obviously far too drunk for her own good already.

Kieran slowly lifted her head up more as she heard her sister's voice and gave a groan, "What does it look like, Korriban? Leave me alone." she grumbled as she continued to drink.

Aetrius growled softly and continued to do her best to remain calm as she could slowly feel herself becoming more and more agitated as the time went on. "You were supposed to get back after you did your part with Miils and look after Josephine until we got back. This sure as hell doesn't make you look good, now does it? Especially since Josephine is missing, Kieran!" she said as her voice slowly began to rise.

Kieran groaned again and shook her head, "I came back, and she was already gone...Someone said she was being held tightly sedated in near the...Southwestern border, I think? You have like....two days to find her? And something about if you can't, she'll forfeit the throne to that jackass and be never seen again...Just leave me alone in peace, right now." she groaned again as she went back to drinking.

The fury inside of Aetrius only began to grow the more she talked. From calling her by her birth name to explaining what happened to Josephine. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on Kieran's shoulder, "Call me that again, Kie...And I will-"

"Or you'll what? Kill me too?" she said with a tone of spite in her voice.

"Wh-wha? What are you talking about, Kieran? You know you're not supposed to drink." she said as her tone began to slowly grow more angry and unsettled.

"You know full well what I mean, Korriban. You have the mark of one, don't you? Or...do they not even know about that?" she said as she slowly turned around to face them. The alcohol clearly taking its full effect.


Aetrius growled and grabbed Kieran by the shoulder forcing, pulling her around and pressing her hard against the counter's edge, her eyes almost glowing from the rage that caused them to look like Dragon Amber, "A-all that I did for you...In Veilbrand, and even before that...A-all that I did, to survive...to find you...To not kill myself...And this...this is what you do, huh? M-maybe...Maybe I should have just left you there to rot...You've done nothing but cause problems..." she growled and pushed her back into the counter and breathed heavily, trying not to blow up at her sister any more than she already had.

Kieran chuckled with a tone of drunkenness in her voice as she looked at her sister, then at Lolan, "You know what I'm talking about Lolan, the mark that everyone gets when they're convicted of being a murderer in Saharan. You know what that means for her. And why she can never go back there."

Aetrius' eyes slowly grew only darker and angrier the longer that Kieran spoke. Her hands trembled and shook violently as she managed to not let her rage consume her and possibly even kill Kieran or someone else. She only shook her head and stormed out of the room and the inn, disappearing for the next few hours.



Later that day, Aetrius found herself back at the inn, in the bar end of the establishment. She was sitting by herself at a lone table in the corner, several empty tankards and glasses were covering the table, and her eyes were heavy from the amount of alcohol in her system. She was alone to her thoughts, finding the will to not find Kieran and settle it for once, she could only sit there, alone...Among her thoughts as she continued to possibly drink herself to death. "Fuckin' bitch...Who the fuck gave her the right to...hic...feckin' bitch..." she murmured as she continued to drink herself back to a hopeful rightful mindset.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura Character Portrait: Kieran Borral
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Miils laughed at both Lonan's comment and continued laughing at Kieran and Aetrius going back and forth. When Aetrius left, he caught his breath.

"Someone get that woman a sedative, and get this one a pillow. She's so drunk she's likely to die of alcohol poisoning."

Linde scowled at the man, but restrained herself as she sighed and watched as Kyero approached Miils with the spoon in hand. He knelt down beside Miils on the left, facing the others, and holding it up next to Miils' hand.

"Is that wooden spoon supposed to scare me? Ha! Some demon you are."

Kyero's eyes began glowing brighter.

"Linde, please douse the lights."

Linde did as requested, dousing the lamp lights until only one remained which was barely enough to light the room next to herself, Kieran, and Lonan. Kyero was completely invisible save his eyes and the silhouette of his face against the light from those crimson orbs. Miils felt his hand being grabbed on the arm of the chair, and the spoon placed flat against the back of his hand.

"That's not going to do much now, is it?" He asked.

Kyero made a "hmph" sound, and began gently brushing the back of his hand with the spoon.

"Are you trying to excite me, or torture me?

"Neither."

Miils blinked, thinking this all some kind of joke. However, the spoon was being pushed against his hand a little bit harder which started making it uncomfortable. It was made of wood, after all, and it began to put splinters into the back of his hands making him wince at each one. Harder and harder Kyero pressed the spoon against his hand until the splinters were being dug in deep enough to spike the tendons in the hand causing him great discomfort and sharp twinges of pain. He grit his teeth and growled to stifle the pain, trying to tough it out.

"You think that's going to be enough? Haha. You're just a boy, after all, aren't you?"

Kyero didn't reply. His eyes remained glued to Miil's hand as he rubbed the spoon harder and harder against the man's flesh. The more he rubbed, the more raw the skin became and more its integrity faltered. Soon, the skin began to peel and split causing blood to seep from beneath the spoon. And it didn't take long for Miils to begin grunting and gasping in pain.

With a flick of his wrist, Kyero spun the spoon in his hand until the edge of it faced his hand. Pushing down and turning slightly, the corner of the spoon's edge pressed into one of the splits in his skin causing it to widen and grow which made Miils yell in pain as it grew larger and larger. And, before long, Kyero tossed the bloody spoon over towards the others on the floor. Crimson liquid glistening off its soft wooden surface.

Kyero used his fingertips to grip the flesh of the split and pulled it sideways, skinning his hand. White, bloodstained tendons became exposed. Bone peeked through the gaps in twitching muscle tissues. Kyero peeled the skin further and further, inch by inch, until the flesh of his hand hung from his fingertips lazily like a glove. Blood trickled from the dangling flesh like it did in a butcher's shop from the freshly slain animals. Kyero then grabbed one tendon, the one on Miils' index finger, and pulled on it to both cause pain and make his finger pull back to an uncomfortable position.

Miils, meanwhile, fought the pain well despite his cries. Using a wooden spoon to weaken the flesh before peeling it by hand... Clever. He'd have to remember it for when he got out of this and caught Josephine and tortured her for whatever information she'd be worth later.

"Where is she being taken?"

Miils growled a few more breaths and glared into the burning crimson spheres.

"It's too late even if I did tell you."

Kyero yanked the tendon, snapping both it and, as a consequence, breaking his finger pulling it back against the back of his hand. Miils cried in pain as the white tendon wriggled and flopped out to the side of his hand while his finger then hung limp and lifeless without the tendon to provide it with support.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura Character Portrait: Kieran Borral
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Lonán glowered at the sisters as they spoke roughly and told a detail Lonán, if the situation at hand wasn’t stressful enough, would have sought answers for right away. But Aetrius’ problems had to wait another day, and it seems it’d require for a little trip back to Saharan to clear up. Perhaps it’s on one of the paths laid out before him, as part of the ‘Seeds’ of the future. No, Find out where Josephine is and help see this man to an executioner with the evidence she has. As far as she is concerned, I won’t let him touch that Throne.” He thought.

Kyero then began his interrogation, and slowly but surely the Saharan began to feel a slightly uneasy feeling in his stomach, like he shouldn’t witness this. He gagged but held it in as he kept the anger on his face. But Miils wasn’t ”Maybe he didn’t ask clearly enough, and you underestimate us, and him. So unless you want it to get worse, and I have a feeling it shall, or you want me to just flay you alive, You’d better answer us right now.” Lonán warned, his mouth turning into a snarl, letting a small amount of his anger vent through, showing his frustration.

”Where are they taking Miss Dezantro?” He hissed out, as he laid his hand on his skinning knife.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura
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Miils growled and stifled a scream as the searing pain in his hand streaked through his arm. The feeling of his flesh hanging like that and the snapped tendon... It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. His hand would never be the same. But it didn't matter. They could cut his hand off for all he cared. He could rule without one hand. If anything he could twist this into a survival of an assassination attempt and a conspiracy against his rightful rule.

"I... Won't tell you anything." He panted.

"My rule is assured no matter what you do now."

Kyero observed him calmly, but suddenly furrowed his eyebrows in a scowl and snapped another tendon, followed by a third and a fourth and finally all five leaving his fingers and thumb all hanging limp.

”I decided to go easy on you to start... I thought you'd be tougher to break.” Kyero said in a low, calm voice.

"Wh-what are you talking about? I'm not breaking, ignorant whelp!"

Kyero smiled.

"Call it experience.”

Kyero reached down to his hanging flesh and pulled it back over his hand like a sick, blood-covered glove. Miils shrieked in pain as the flesh was yanked and slid over the exposed muscle and sinew, as well as the now snapped tendons which dangled loosely inside sliding and grinding away at anything beneath them. Kyero then pulled the flesh off his hand to the fingertips, then back over his hand like a glove. Back and forth, back and forth. Like a game of "On or Off." Miils continued shrieking in pain until Kyero finally ripped the flesh completely off, the flesh tearing at the fingernails with but a few minor bits hanging beneath them as they remained attached to the fingertips.

Miils panted heavily as tears leaked down his face. He'd never experienced pain like this, nor the sickening sensation of flesh being manipulated so... Casually. The Demon, despite the blood covering his hands, seemed to be enjoying this with that calm, confident smile and those glowing red eyes of his.

"Y-you think... You-... You can... Break me?!" Miils shouted, spitting on Kyero's face.

Kyero didn't flinch. Instead, he simply wiped the spit away with one of his thumbs and his smile widened.

”You've already broken. Your brain just hasn't caught on yet.”

"What are you talking abo-"

SNAP!!!

Miils's eyes widened, pupils dilating so small you almost couldn't see them, as the sound of flesh and bone being snapped away echoed through the room. He couldn't even scream as he looked down and saw his index finger had been torn off, left dangling by only a single strand of muscle tissue and bouncing gently up and down like a bungee chord. His eyes twitched and his body trembled as he observed Kyero take his middle finger between his thumb and index finger, and yanked it back snapping it just like the first and leaving it to dangle beside its partner.

At last Miils found his voice and screamed louder than ever before. Thankfully the in keeper was a friend of Josephine's and had dismissed all guests for the night, talking about a minor renovation, so they were free to do this without consequence of anyone finding out.

When Miils finally caught his breath and stopped screaming, Kyero gripped his ring finger the same way, preparing to snap it as he leaned down and looked at Miils out of the corner of his eye with that calm, joyous smile.

”You can make this stop, you know.”

SNAP!!! Another horrible shriek.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura
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”As far as I care about your desires for the throne, it’d be wasted on you! All this for that?! Neither of y-“ Lonán stopped as Kyero began the next phase it seemed. He slowly felt his stomach churn. Kyero wasn’t human, or else he wouldn’t be so calm during all this. Lonán struggled to keep a straight, controlled face as he turned to a shade of green. He knew he shouldn’t kill him, but the smile Kyero gave made Lonán believe Miils is going through hell.

”Must... think of Miss Dezantro, we have to find her and help her. But We have to get him to talk!” he thought. He had to make Miils answer and make sure he lives to see the trial Josephine wanted him to be. ”I swear.... He’ll see justice!”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura
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Kyero grinned wickedly in the dark, his white teeth just visible in the crimson light of his eyes.

"Haa... Haa... Haa... You can... Do as you like, Demon... You won't... Break me."

"Miils... Didn't I tell you?"

His face became visible as he leaned forward out of the shadows right beside Miils' head.

"You've already broken. Your brain just hasn't caught onto it yet."

Kyero's face disappeared into the darkness, and slowly, Miils began shrieking at the top of his lungs as a sickening crunch and tearing sound began to fill the room. Slowly, Kyero's eyes rose up behind Miils and blood could be seen dripping in dangerously from behind the chair. Suddenly, in Miils' stomach, red began to gather. His shirt pushed forward with a small, sharp point. And within moments a metal spiked rod appeared and burst through the cloth splashing a few droplets of blood out in front of Miils' feet. The rod was twisted and turned, rotated and pushed in and out. Miils' screams reached deafening levels as Kyero gleefully pushed it in as far as it would go until his hand holding the rod was against Miils' bloody back.

Leaning forward and resting his head beside Miils', he looked to the man and placed his hand on the back of Miils' skinned hand.

"I told you that you could make this stop... Unless you draw pleasure from this in some way. But by all means, if it pleasures you, I will gladly continue."

Miils' screams began to slow and his breathing came under control as he looked down, green in the face, at the rod poking through his stomach.

"Don't worry. I guided it past your internal organs... You'll be fine." Kyero hissed.

Miils' body was covered in sweat, his clothing gripped tight to his skin.

"So I'll ask one more time... Where are they taking her?"

The rod was pulled back and the tip almost disappeared inside his body, only to be thrust back to full depth again splashing a few droplets of blood to the floor in front of his feet accompanied by a scream.

"G-Gah!........ Haaa... Haaaaaaaa... Haa... Hhh..." He breathed.

Kyero leaned in, his ear twitching as he listened.

"Mo-... Fort Moraello... It's on the South-"

"Southwestern border just above the Veilbrand Northern Mountain chain. I know of it... But what good is your word on its own?"

Kyero twisted the rod making Miils growl and grunt as he tried to maintain his composure.

"I swear... That's where she is!... But you'll... Never make it in time... She's going to be executed upon arrival as a traitor..."

Kyero twisted the rod.

"How do we delay the order?"

"You don't... That's the point. I only told you so you'd know just how hopeless this truly was for you." He said, laughing through his choked gasps and coughs.

Kyero's eyes narrowed, and he removed the rod from his stomach and threw it to the floor between his feet. Walking out and into the light, Kyero gazed at Lonan.

"You and I are going to find her and bring her back. Linde. Remain here with Aetrius and Kieran and keep watch on this wretch."

Linde nodded firmly.

Looking at Lonan, "Let's not waste any time."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura
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Lonán’s eye widened as his pupils turned to pinpoints to focus on the man and the answers he gave. ”Y-You bastard!!” He slowly gripped his knife. He wanted to end him. End this man right now and send his bloody soul into the deepest darkest pits of hell. But at the back of his mind, a voice seemed to pierce his mind, the tone sounding it came like thunder in a sand storm. It only said one thing.

”No Lonán. He’s not a threat.”

Any rage Lonán had in him in that moment fell as it rose like a tide. As if the very nature of that voice intimated him. Then he realized Kyero’s gaze was on him, and not for the fact he was gripping his knife. He dropped said hand as he listened to what they had to do now. He shifted his gear and made sure is weapons were on him.

He took a deep breath, before looking at Kyero with determined eyes. ”Right. Let’s get going.” he stated, showing his readiness to go after them and rescue Josephine. He gave Miils a withering stare before following Kyero's lead.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura Character Portrait: Kieran Borral
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Kyero led Lonan out of the room leaving Linde to deal with the drunken Kieran and the thoroughly damaged Miils.

As she approached him, her eyes glazed over and she glared at him without emotion.

”Every fiber of my being tells me I should leave you to suffer the damage the Demon has inflicted...”

Miils stared at her with a wicked smile.

"But you can't, can you? Being a doctor?"

Linde approached rapidly and backhanded him as hard as she could sending him and his chair falling to the ground. He grunted and shrieked as his hand and hanging flesh struck the floor, and Linde pulled him upright, slapping him hard across the face.

”I've violated my oath before whenever I encountered men who deserve death. And if it weren't for the fact I want you to face proper justice, I would kill you right here, right now.”

"Ha! I believe you, my dear. That's what's so beautiful about you."

”Be silent!”

"Beauty should be complimented, should it no-"

Linde slammed her boot into the side of his head knocking him to the ground. The impact knocked him out immediately, and Linde cursed under her breath as she propped him up and gagged him before making sure he had no serious injuries. They couldn't afford him dying on them.

She dragged Kieran to her bed, and later found and guided a very drunken Atrius, who threw up all over her favorite night gown, to bed as well. She threw the night gown away and slept naked against her lover as punishment for what she'd done.

...

The next morning, Aetrius and Kieran both would wake up with nasty hangovers while Lonan was with Kyero on the road. Lonan on his horse and Kyero, supposedly, "right behind" him. Lonan couldn't see him anywhere, but every time they stopped to rest or catch a bite to eat Kyero somehow appeared right with him. And, unfortunately, Kyero had noticed something about their progress.

”It's best we slow our pace just a bit. Your horse shouldn't be taking this many rests. It slows us down more in the long run.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura Character Portrait: Kieran Borral
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The last thing Aetrius remembered was returning to the inn hours later after the argument with Kieran the prior day, and then having a few drinks and then all went black after that. She had awoken the next morning as pain shot through her head, not wanting wake up as the sun pierced through the room. She sighed and remained lying there silently as she endured that pain that shot through her head like waves during a storm on the ocean. But eventually she would slowly clamber out of the bed and into the bathroom, finding herself further emptying the contents of her stomqch until she had found herself feeling better.

Meanwhile, Kieran had awoken hours earlier and had already endured the same punishment as Aetrius did, her headache had subsided a few hours ago and she was currently in the room with Miils, as he slowly found consiousness and slowly began to wake up. Kieran pulled up a stool infront of him as he was still tied to the chair and watched as he silently looked at her with obvious anger and spite clear as day on his face. She smiled at him and leaned forwards, "I want to say something to you, and then I will never say another word to you, alright? Good." she said as she gave him a sly grin, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to speak as he was in immense pain.

"I like to play a little game with people every now and then...I admit, I am a slow learner, I admit it. But trust me, it's better that way. Otherwise, I truly do think I'd be far more dangerous than I am already, unlike my sister. You see...I like to meld the truth with lies." she said casually, and then looked up at him with anger filled eyes that could very easily shatter the rwst of his pride, if he had anymorw that is.

"You see...What I told you, most of it was true but not all. I admit I lied, but what I told you was mostly true. I told you my name when I asked for it, but you see...I mixed it with a lie. You asked if I was Saharan, I am. And what kind of people my family were, it's true. They were simple merchants and they were indeed supliers for the royal family, as many other famlies. And were nothing more than that. So, what I said was also true. But you see...I'm loyal to no one, unless I see them deserving, and then my loyalty is even harder to lose. It's true, I have no loyalty to the royal family here, but the least that I can do is bring justice to someone that was murdered by the likes of you, Borathian Miils. You underestimate us, and you realize that now...But there is one thing that you haven't realized yet, it's how fucked you really are." she said with a snarl as she looked him over one more time, stood up and started to turn hee back on him and began to leave the room.

" Now...I'd say goodluck..but...The gods wouldn't even have pity on you. " she said as the door was opened and in stepped Aetrius, who looked passed Kieran and directly into Miils' eyes, if she could she would be glaring into his soul. Kieran gave Aetrius a silent nod and left the room, the last thing seen before it closed was Aetrius standing infront of Miils with her hands claspes tightly behind her back as she towered over him, "Have you ever wondered what the inside of one's toes would look like?" she asked in an ice cold and spine tinglingly calm and cool tone as the door behind them closed shut with the metal lock clincking as it closed.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura Character Portrait: Kieran Borral
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The next morning at the inn, Linde awoke and went about her daily activities before going into the room with Miils. She had been tending to the wounds inflicted by Kyero and Aetrius, and was struggling to keep up with them for a number of reasons. First reason was that part of her didn't want to help. Given the kind of person he was and what he'd done to Josephine, he deserved every bit of pain he was getting. The other reason she was struggling was because, following Kyero's example, Aetrius enjoyed damaging his body in rather difficult ways.

Still, today she did her best to finish the wounds which had been given him over the last day or so. She remained with him for almost two full hours carefully restitching his flesh to his body as it should have been, at least to the best of her ability, and stopping any flows of blood which were threatening to burst free.

"You are a kindly doctor, aren't you?" Miils said in a hoarse voice.

Linde didn't answer.

"You've done remarkable work. My hand may actually look semi normal when it's done healing."

"No, it won't."

"You don't think so?"

"I know so... I've made sure of it."

"... Well then... At least it will heal."

"To a certain extent, it will. But the chances you'll ever need to worry about anyone seeing it and pointing it out aren't very high."

"You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?"

Linde glared at him quietly, giving a small jerk of her needle and thread to make him grimace before returning to work.



Back with Lonan and Kyero, they were making fantastic progress with the resting of Hawk for an hour before continuing at a brisk but not break-neck pace. Another day or so and they'd arrive at their destination.

For now, they were meditating together on a pair of conveniently flat boulders in the sun with Hawk tied to a tree nearby.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kieran Borral
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After a few hours of torture, Aetrius left Miils to the devices of Linde. What she did would probably make any butcher proud of her work, but would make anyone with a weak stomach easily lose their appetite for any form of meat in the future. His feet would most likely never be the same again, at most his walk would be a bit slower and now a shuffle and hobble at most due to the damage she did to the tendons and muscles in the feet.

But once she was done, Linde had entered the room and calmed her down enough to make her stop. Begrudgingly she left, having not gotten a word out of the man in question, she'd have to be more forceful in her actions, not just mutilation. Once she had calmed down enough again, she saw Kieran in one of the rooms silently. They made silent eye contact again and nodded as Aetrius entered the room where Linde was tending to Miils' injuries. Aetrius stood by her and sighed.

"I...I'm sorry, Linde...I..I don't know what to say...From what happened the other night, to last night, and then this..I just...I'm sorry..." she said softly as she looked at her and then looked away, feeling awkward and ashamed of her actions lately.

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna
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Miils sniggered as Aetri apologized to Linde while she continued working on his injuries. But Linde remained silent and simply stitched his wounds a bit more forcefully to draw out more pain and grimacing from him. When she was finished, she glared him down and gently escorted Aetri from the room, closing the door softly behind her as they went.

In the privacy of their room, just the two of them, Linde took Aetri's hands gently in her own.

"You needn't apologize, Aetrius." She cooed, leaning in to kiss Aetri's cheek with a smile.

"I know how you are, and I know the stress we're all under. It's natural for you to become more... Aggressive, when things like this happen. And to be honest I'm impressed by how well you've handled yourself given all we've been through lately."

She came forward and gently hugged Aetrius, resting her head in the crook of her shoulder.

"It will all be fine, Aetrius. Just try to keep your cool. When you let anger rule your thoughts and actions, he wins."

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna
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Aetrius had silently watched as Linde stitched Miils' injuries, never breaking her silent eye contact with him until Linde was done and left the room. As they made their way out, Aetrius silently followed behind her as they reached the room where they could speak privately.

She nodded as Linde spoke and reasured her that her actions were understandable in this situation. Aetrius looked at her as Linde gave her a hug and reasured her again, and nodded.

"Alright, Linde...I'll try to get him to speak at some point...I'll think of something...So...I guess until Lonan and Kyero return with Josephine, we stay here and keep an eye on him?" she asked as she looked at Linde with a rather somber look on her face.

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna
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Linde offered a calm smile, and gave Aetri a soft peck on the lips.

"We keep an eye on him, yes. But we also take our time to remember what's important."

She slipped forward and wrapped Aetri in a warm, tender embrace.

"Don't worry about getting him to talk anymore. I believe I've figured something out about him that will help. So leave him to me."

She continued holding Aetri, but leaned back to look her in the eyes.

"Why don't you take this day to get some rest?"

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna
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Aetrius looked at her and gave her a small smile as she spoke returning her hug, but after she was done there was some silence that filled the room for a few moments. Eventually she sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at Linde and spoke.

"I...I haven't been able to sleep well in a while, Linde...Everytime I close my eyes...I...I see them..The nightmares, the sounds...everything. I can't sleep anymore and when I do, it's either pure darkness and silence, or nightmares filled of things that have happened..W-would you know why? Is it guilt?"
she said as she looked down and then back up at Linde, with a rather sad and somewhat scared look on her face, something she never showed to anyone was her being scared, that was until now anyway.

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura
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At the inn, Linde stood before Aetri with a soft, quiet stare. She didn't know whether to be sad, sympathetic, or something else. But as she closed her eyes a new feeling began to flood through her heart. And as her eyes opened, she walked forward towards Aetrius...

"My love," she whispered as she cupped her face in both hands.

"Is this about the other night? When Kieran said you have a mark that brands you as a murderer in Shaharan?" She asked softly.

Linde smiled and leaned in, planting her forehead against Aetri's.

"I'm a doctor. My job is to save lives. Protect health, wellness, and the potential for a future. And yet..."

She leaned back, tears welling in her eyes.

"I guess my brand is more in my soul than on my body." She whimpered as her tears began falling.

"I've spent a lot of time with Kyero. More than I'd care to admit. And in that time I did things I never thought I myself capable of... And the taking of lives was one of them."

She sat down next to Aetri and gently pulled Aetri's head to her chest, stroking her hair and resting her cheek against the top of her crown.

"There's a saying among healers... "In high enough doses, that which cures can kill." I guess they were referring to people like me, because I've used my knowledge of anatomy and herbology to take lives in spades when I was traveling with him. Being beside the Red-Eyed Demon. Hearing him talk. Hearing his persuasiveness and cold logic... It takes a toll. Weakens your defenses. Makes you question..."

Her tears dripped into Aetri's hair.

"I'm... A murderer too. The only difference is I was never caught and branded physically. But I've taken lives I should have in the name of battling Te'i Sai. Lives I never questioned until they were gone... I made mistakes, and it's cost me dearly. I've prayed to the Gods every night in my heart for forgiveness. To bestow sympathy upon this foolish child who refused to ask the right questions at the right time... But I know in my heart the Gods are not so forgiving."

She lifted Aetri's head up, looking her in the eyes for a moment before planting a soft, warm kiss to her lips.

"The sins of our past help shape our future, my love. But they do not define it. Live in the now, with me. And let's use this chance to help the future princess reclaim her throne to atone for our blood-soaked history." She whispered, again pressing their foreheads together.



Back on the rocks, Kyero had heard the sounds before Lonan. However, he didn't make a move to respond to them. Instead, he remained still and composed. And when Lonan came back, Kyero opened one eye to observe his approach.

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna
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Aetrius silently remained sitting on the bed as Linde stood in front of her and gently cupped her face with her hands and looked away as she spoke, listening all the while still. From the question of if it was about to the tattoo on her back and what it meant, to how she herself could be considered a murderer for what she had done. Aetrius gently kept her head against Linde's as she had finished talking and then gently pulled Linde closer and gently hugged her and held her close to her body. After a few moments of helping Linde calm down, Aetrius sighed and helped Linde sit up and she too sat up more.

The young Shaharan sat with her feet off the bed and held her hands in front of her and sighed while looking down. She took a deep breath and looked back up at the ceiling silently, trying to think of what to say to Linde. Should she tell her the truth? What exactly happened that day when she was young and say it was on a false accusation, or lie and say that it was true? That she was indeed a murderer since she does take lives as a living and is prone to anger and violent outbursts. But the others have seen the other side of her as well, and know that her actions aren't warranted without a cause or reasoning behind it.

She looked down at her hand and silently looked at the fresh wrappings around the still healing wound, and then looked at her other hand and looked at the burn scars, getting lost in thought. But she only silently shook her head and finally looked back up at Linde for a short moment, and then finally began to speak, "I'm sorry, Linde. I should have told you about the brand a long, long time ago...I should have let you all know what kind of person I really am..." she said as she slowly stood to her feet and began to slowly pace around the room for a few moments before she continued talking.

"You see...In Shaharan, crime isn't such a big deal. Almost no one ever commits crime because almost everyone is trained in a form of combat in one way or another at a young age, even nobles. But, like every other place, it does have its laws. And one thing that no one wants to be convicted of is being branded as a murderer or a traitor. And well, as you can see...I got branded as the prior of the two..." she said as she removed her shirt and just barely visible over her chest biding was the brand in the center of her upper back, just below the neck and in the center of her shoulder blades, but it was littered and covered with various scars, mainly from what appeared to be from whips and various other cuts and lacerations.

Aetrius sighed and looked down as she put her shirt back on and covered the brand and sat back down at the edge of the bed. She looked down and sighed again and spoke up once more, "I don't expect you to believe what I have to say, but I'd understand if you chose not to. I was young when I received this...It was shortly after my parents and many others were killed in a raid...The one responsible for it...was never caught nor did they ever face any charges...But that's for another time. Just for some explanation as to what happened will make sense, yes? A well-known citizen in the town I lived in Shaharan, had been brutally murdered and his body was discovered and I was the only one that was around and some by standards claimed it was me. Even though I didn't have any blood on me or around me, I was still accused because I was the one closest to him at the time of his death. I saw what had taken place, an assassin jumped out from the shadows, slit his throat and made a getaway without a second thought before I was dragged out and accused and blamed for his murder. I saw who it was, and I saw his face, but because I was an orphan and something that was seen as less important, I was originally sent to be executed, not branded. But one of the elders thought it would be more suiting for me to be branded for life...and so...I was..I soon after left with Kieran, after a few months in a neighboring town, we were abducted and taken as slaves...and after a year, Kieran was hurt in one of our looting outings, and I never saw her again..." she took a deep breath after that long speech she made, having finally been able to speak about it made her calm down and relax a bit as she slowly changed the way she was sitting.

She looked at Linde and nodded silently, "After that, I managed to find my way to a carnival after escaping my master and well...killing him...I was offered a job to work as one of their performers...I accepted, as I had no other choice really, and worked there for a while until I left and well...Guess I found a better paying job after that and kinda stuck with it...I don't expect you to believe me or what I say, it's only one side of the story, but it's why I can never return back to Shaharan. My face and the mark is a dead giveaway for who I am...My...My reputation as a supposed killer and then turned bounty hunter is well known in Shaharan. Going back home would just be giving me a death sentence...No use in wanting to clear my name anymore, I gave up on that after a few years of being nothing but hate-filled...Besides, it's no one else's burden but my own...I guess what I'm gtrying to say is, I became the very thing I was accused of..." she said with a sad tone and looked down, feeling her cheeks turn a light shade of pink, not of a blush, but of anger and regret of how she had handled things slowly coming to light.

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna Character Portrait: Kyero Character Portrait: Lonán Arzura
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Linde listened calmly as Aetrius spoke. Throughout, her face changed. Oblique eyebrows shifting to neutral and back to oblique. Her lips ever so slightly tightening and going slack. And her head subtly coming up and tilting back down. And as Aetrius finished speaking...

"I understand." She whispered.

Linde slowly came forward and sat on Aetri's lap, wrapping her arms around her neck and gently touching their foreheads together whilst closing her eyes.

"And I believe you, my love." She cooed.

She slowly lowered her forehead and slid her face alongside Aetri's, brushing their cheeks together. Leaning forward so their chests pressed together, she wrapped her arms more tightly around Aetri and gave her a tight, strong hug.

"Thank you for telling me the truth about yourself, Aetrius." She whispered, relaxing a bit in her embrace. "As I said, our past does not define who we are today. Whatever it is you've lived through, what you live through from here on out is by your choice. And this time you're not alone."

She slowly leaned back, smiling warmly.

"I'll be here with you. I promise." She leaned forward and gave Aetrius a soft, long, passionate kiss before leaning in and embracing her again, content to sit on her lap and potentially even fall asleep if she was left there long enough.



Kyero arched an eyebrow at Lonan as he spoke and sighed softly to himself as he stood up and followed him.

"So what's your plan?" He asked quietly.

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Character Portrait: Korriban "Aetrius" Borral Character Portrait: Linde Xe' Almna
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Aetrius couldn't even look Linde in the eyes as she spoke to her, her eyes constantly darting around the room and away from Linde. She was the first person Aetrius openly talked about it to, and it did take a large burden and an even larger amount of stress off her shoulders, but she still felt ashamed of the events that she talked about. But as she listened to Linde, she could sense the sincerity in her voice, and she was only able to return the hug ten times harder and stronger than Linde's own.

She remained completely silent for a few short minutes as Linde remained sitting on her lap and giving her a tight embrace. But eventually she slowly began to speak, but what came forth was nothing but uncontrollable sobs and muttering as she tried to talk to Linde. If she was able to understand what was being said of course, which roughly would translate to her simply thanking Linde for believing her and what she said, as well as constant apologies every now and then as tears ran down her face and she held onto Linde tightly as a storm of emotions were finally being vented, sadness, anger, frustration, hate, disappointment, almost every negative emotion she had been penting up was finally being released, and all she was able to do was sit there, with her arms around Linde and silently cry until she would finally have enough.