The good fight

[Guppy]

She was swimming.

It was her favorite activity. She was most at home in the water, cutting through the gentle waves like a fish. For a moment, there was peace. There was the carefree happiness that she often found within the cool waters.

It would not last.

Suddenly, something smacked into her back and she went down further, water entering her lungs with the shout she gave. She coughed and sputtered. The force above her began pummeling her, striking again and again until she began, dimly, to realize that the water was filled with blood. Her blood.

She awoke with a start in a room dimmed to aid the young woman in resting, the bed under her plush. The pillows under her head were soft and warm and the covers were tucked around her with care. Her entire body ached, protesting even the smallest of movements. Sharp, jagged pain cut across her back and she recalled the sting of the whip shredding through her pale skin with ease. She remembered staring at the faces of the onlookers through a battered visage - some horrified, some indifferent. None rose to stop the men, fearing repercussions of the same variety.

Now, her eyes searched the room, grateful that the swelling had come down enough for her view not to be limited. There was not a mirror that she could see, but she assumed that brilliant blues and purples marred her features. It would make others uncomfortable to see her, now.

She wondered, she worried, about the others. Had the same fate befallen Cat, Cherny, and Son? Or was she the only one?

Wearily, slowly, did she peel back the covers to see the state of herself. She would shift, eyes closing in agony and a sharp gasp sounding, to settle her feet upon the floor. There was no sense in lying about. There were things to be done. People to check on.

[Elfling]

".. and where do you think you are going?" The voice was full of a quiet humor, but at the same time, it allowed no argument. The elf wasn't the type to simply hover at the bedside of anyone, but she wasn't above sitting in a chair nearby to be a face. She knew nightmares. She knew what it was to wake up alone. The book that Solena had been reading was closed without another glance, and as she got to her feet, setting the book aside on the table next to the comfortably plush chair, the softness of daylight actually gave the girl something to look at.

It wasn't surprising, perhaps, that Solena had the potential of being gorgeous. And was gorgeous, in her own way. Wheat-blond hair had been pulled part of the way away from her face and simply pinned with a pretty clip. The left ear was decorated from root to tip in crimson swirls, tattooed underneath the glittering adornment of platinum rings that pierced the outer edge of that same ear halfway down its length. But instead of a wispy gown or other such expected, elven things, her clothing was more akin to what Cat might wear. Better quality, but boyish. An over-sized tunic dyed a deep hue of purple that was nearly black. Charcoal leggings. Grey boots. A multitude of belts around her waist.. at least three, though it was hard to tell with the way they crossed over-top each other. Her hands were covered in simple gloves, also that dark purple. Try as Arkista had, there was simply no getting Solena to adopt a different look for long.

As Solena approached the bed, her head gave a slight shake. "You are in no condition to run off. Not yet. A day. Perhaps two," the elf remarked, even as she fished out a delicate little vial from one of the myriad of pouches at her waist. ".. but this should help some." Palming it, that gloved hand held out the stoppered container as her footsteps finally ceased right before the girl whose stubborness had actually gotten herself upright, no matter how much pain it caused.

[Guppy]

A voice sounded to her right and she almost, almost hit the floor as she recoiled. She managed to catch herself, fingers clenching in linens as wild eyes snapped up to take in the elven woman. There was no violence in that voice, there was a gentle amusement that made her want to curl up in the warm sheets again. Maybe ask the nice lady to read her a bedtime story. She shook off those childish things and steeled her resolve. "Oh. The moon lady. I remember you," she remarked, carefully. There was a pause as she considered her words carefully. Finally, "Thank you. For coming for me. For saving me. For not turning away." The young woman wrung her hands in her lap as she sat upon the edge of the borrowed bed.

The beautiful woman crossed the room towards her, the bruised and beaten youthful face gazed upon her in awe at her approach. Dimly did she realize that Solena had stretched out a hand and was offering her a small vial. Numb hands accepted and gazed upon the potion, seeking to tug free the stopper. Trust that Solena might not have thought to have caused the girl to gulp down the liquid without further ado.

Eyes this young should not have this steel within them. Should not have to have this strength of conviction she was revealing as she turned her face up towards the far-prettier woman. "Are they here? Cat and Cherny and ... and Son? Did they come and are they safe?," she asked, voice trembling slightly as if she did not want to ask the question, but needed to hear the answer. "If she caught me..." The girl swallowed thickly, thoughts not for herself, but her friends.

A hand lifted to touch her lips, recalling Son's chaste affection. They had gone together, though. Perhaps the same fate had not found them.

[Elfling]

"If she caught you, she was far too busy to catch anyone else. That's typically how these things go," Solena finished the incomplete thought with an ending all of her own, even as she lowered to the bed's edge next to the girl. She really wasn't that tall, the elf. Seated, she was even less so. ".. but they have not come to the house, yet. Nor have I heard of anything wicked befalling them. I would have brought them here if it had." Even Cherny.

As for the potion swallowed, a simple enough healing potion. It wouldn't do to overpower the girl with magical remedies, and Myrkenites were so odd about that sort of thing. But it would help take the edge off of the pain, and it would accelerate the body's natural healing tendencies. If a small dose didn't have any adverse effects, then she could take a larger dose again the next time. The girlchild had made it through the worst of it on her own. That told Solena that she was strong enough. As for the steel in those eyes, it didn't surprise the elf. Or bother her. Her own, pale blues held steel often enough, and by her own culture's time.. she wasn't much older than the kids that she had promised to protect. Something Arkista did enjoy needling her with, from time to time.

"Tell me what happened."

[Guppy]

The elven woman settled beside her on the bed and the whelp scooted to the side to allow her room. It was accompanied with a grunt of pain as she did so and she barely budged at all, but at least there was the effort. "So there are no reports, then?," she asked, relieved despite the fact that this was based only on Solena's assumptions and not fact. It was something, and the girl needed to cling to every last bit of hope available.

The potion was swallowed and the vial set aside on the bedside table. There did not appear to be any odd side effects, despite her magic. The steel in her gaze was not meant for the elf, but for the situation. It was a dangerous, dark world and there was plenty of terrible events with which to build one's resolve.

She asked after what happened and the girl swallowed thickly, ducking her head to stare at the clasped hands upon her lap. "The Marshall asked us to hang those posters. I went alone. I did not expect to find anyone about at that hour. At least, not anyone loyal to Lady Rhaena," she began. "One of her Constables was going home and caught me. He dragged me to her and she ordered me whipped in the square." It was all said rather matter-of-factly, little emotion involved. Until...

"She was angry. Angry about Elliot. She told me that I had no one left. She took him. All over again." A lump formed in her throat and she was forced to stop, eyes closing against the tears welling.

[Elfling]

Putting an arm around the girl was impossible until her back healed. Instead, Solena slid off of the bed and crouched in front of the girl that was so bravely trying not to cry. "Obviously, she was wrong. There is me. And Cat, Son, and Cherny." Elliot. Solena still wasn't sure what to do about him, or what had happened between him and the girl that she'd pulled out of the stocks. The elf had her moments of bravery. Facing Elliot and seeing the lack of recognition in the boy's eyes wasn't something she'd been able to deal with. So she hadn't.

Look where that got her.

"And do not despair so much of Elliot, hm? I can tell you from experience that these horrible things do not last forever. It simply feels as if it's forever when it is happening," A brave smile for a tearful girl, and if it was one thing that Solena was good at -- besides murdering, perhaps -- it was acting. She didn't show even a hint of her own grief or worry over the boy 'knight'. "What is important now is that you survived, and that you escaped and that she is wrong. Remember that part. You are not alone, and she will find that I am far harder to get rid of than perhaps anyone else." That smile curved into a smirk that was most definitely wicked. "And unlike everyone else she has crossed, I am not a hero."

[Guppy]

Noura's eyes fell to the kind woman kneeling in front of her, blinking away the tears so that she would not be a blurred smear of color. She named those that the girl had in her corner and, despite her doubt that was actually true, she would nod in acceptance. There were a few that she could depend upon, but many more missing. It, Niall, Elliot, Gloria. She missed them desperately. Cherny's wary acceptance, Cat's vague curiosity, and Son's strong affection were the only things she had left. And now, she had this woman's allegiance, who seemed to accept her without question. Who saved her. It was enough to make her throw her arms out and seek to embrace the woman, despite the aches that assailed her.

If she'd managed, she would reply into the other's intricately-decorated ear as her chin hooked over a shoulder. "It does feel like forever. It feels as if my heart was carved away and only an aching hole remains," she murmured, emotion thick within her voice. "I miss our dances, our reading lessons, our swimming. It has been so long and now. Now he has forgotten me completely." There was a moment of nothing. No words. Just silence and breathing. "She is so cruel."

The words likely rang true for Solena as well, since he neglected to remember her, as well. Eventually, she would withdrawal and gaze upon the woman who attempted to bolster her courage. Attempted to find that steely gaze again. "Heroes," she remarked, with a clearing gaze, "are overrated."

[Elfling]

It was an embrace that was hardly shied away from. Solena's arms circled around the heartbroken girl, and she was quite careful to rest hands tenderly on Noura's back as to not hurt her, and yet firmly enough that she felt that necessary safety that she was hunting for. She wasn't shushed as she poured out her heartbreak. No promises that everything would be fine. Just a silence that stretched on until the girl pulled back. Only then did a gloved hand raise to brush the covered pad of a thumb across Noura's cheek just under an eye, sweeping away the remnants of tears.

"I have had my memory shattered. There was once a demon that hunted me often, and he decided that if he removed my memory of everyone, he could have me all to himself," Solena explained quietly. "He did so so many times that now I have books and books of written memories that I can reference should it ever happen again. But there are still things that are lost to me forever.

It is possible that Elliot may remember. It is possible that he may not. But whether he does or does not, you are not alone. If everyone else turns away from you, you may always come here. There will always be a shadow willing to accept you just as you are." That damp thumb suddenly shifted, lightly tapping the tip of Noura's nose. "And if you wish me to do something about her, you only need ask and it will be done."

[Guppy]

When she leaned back, Solena wiped away her tears gently and another few managed to sneak past her eyelids. She attempted a slight smile that could not manage the strength to reach her eyes. It was something, though.

When she was offered those insights into the elf's past, her eyes went wide and solemn as she listened with the utmost of attention. "That must have been horrible." Whelp knew a little something about that, as well. Her past was gone, though she could not miss something that she did not remember. No worse for wear, then. Solena told her that, despite everything, if she found herself without the benefit of any other soul, she would be there. Whelp would not be alone. And that was exactly what she wanted to hear. A soft, shy smile dawned and her nose scrunched when that gloved finger tapped it gently. "She must be stopped. She is a monster." The young woman spoke, seriously. "I think that the Marshall means to end things, once and for all. You need not endanger yourself." The wildling did not fancy being alone so soon after her tribulations, after all. The company was a very welcome addition.

"Maybe you should look for the others, though. I would.. It would be terrible if she managed to capture them, as well."

[Elfling]

"Yes, the Marshall quite would," Solena murmured thoughtfully as her hand lowered back down to rest on the girl's leg just above her knee. ".. but I don't like letting others pay my debts. Still, I won't rush into anything, hm?" Her briefly pensive expression disappeared, and the crouched woman pushed back up to her feet.

"I will go look if you promise to stay here and recover. There is plenty of food, and you're welcome to roam about as you wish; I realize that laying in bed by yourself can get tediously boring." Hands were suddenly planted on the elf's hips, and she leaned forward just a little. "But you need to be unseen until you are healed. If she was unhappy with you before, she will be moreso when she finds you've escaped. I do not wish to consider what she would do if she caught you now."

[Guppy]

Solena vowed not to rush into things and she was comforted. The creature often cautioned her against emotional reactions, insisted on thinking things through as much as possible. These were things to value. It seemed that the elf believed the same. At least on this matter. The elf pushed herself up and to her feet and those wide, achromatic eyes followed her path.

A pleased smile spawned on her lips at the insistence that she remain where she was. "I promise." Another showing concern for her was such a foreign concept after the bridges she found burned behind her."I will stay. I will not be seen," she vowed, almost shyly. "Thank you. For.. for everything." Her face was awash with unimaginable gratitude.