She smiles and chuckles a little.
"Thanks...you are fairly remarkable yourself."
She just continues to smile as they walk together the rest of the way to the cave.
Sādhanā breathes deeply, momentarily simply allowing her senses to process the moment. Taking in Umina’s presence, her scent, was an intense experience to say the least.
”Another life..” she says quietly, breaking away gently. ”I should get back to the others, see what everyone’s plans are. But I will definitely see you again Umina.” she says with a wry smile.
"You be marked, son of Chalandra. Someone has made you a vessel. There be magic that can suppress or evict the spirits inside of you, though the latter be much more difficult than the former. The first thing you must do is find the mark and remove it."
Marked? Drago's hand unconsciously touched his chest. "Could this mark be used to...... control the spirits?"
"This mark must have been placed on you long ago, since it aided your mother. I would need to know more of the spell in question. I doubt it. But perhaps a different spell or ritual would."
Sādhanā comes across Alethiro and Arista as they are returning to the cave, the mid-afternoon sun casting long shadows upon them. Cyna sits with Sienna as she tends to the man's wounds and Gregario pokes about the cave with disinterest.
"Perceptive, not as dim as one might expect from a Half-Not Drow. Why don't you bed this one instead of that trash you seem so fixated on?" Alexandros chimed in. "You keep out of this." Drago retorted before pushing his brother back the dark corners of his mind. It took more effort than it did with his Mother, and that worried him. "I told you, more receptive, little brother." Alexandros laughed as he faded away.
Arista smiles at seeing Sadhana approach, her hand still linked with Alethiro's.
"I'm glad we ran into you. I wanted to know what everyone thought about leaving for the fort first thing in the morning. I know there is stuff going on here, but I really think we need to get back to Godrick at the fort. Do you think you could round everybody up and figure out what they want to do?"
She pauses for a moment as if hesitant to continue.
"I was just...wondering how long everyone wanted to stay here before heading back. I wanted a chance to say goodbye to my family this time before we have to leave again. Would that be alright?"
Arista looks back and forth between the other two, a hopeful expression on her face.
Not letting go of her hand, Alethiro responded, "I think you should have one last chat with them, Arista. Family has the right to say goodbye to one another before long journeys."
She inclines her head slightly to the side and regards him with a soft sort of playful smile.
"Thank you, it means alot to me."
Arista looks over to Sadhana, "Would you mind talking to the others for me so Alethiro and I can go to Marie's house? If you could, just let them know I'll be ready to leave in the morning if that suits everyone else. Thank you so much Sadhana, you really are a good friend."
She stops for a moment and looks back at Alethiro.
"You don't mind coming with me, do you? It might make my family feel a little better about me suddenly taking off again if they know I'm in good hands."
Sādhanā smiles slightly, noticing the increased closeness between the two and Alethiro's lack of his usual smoldering rage.
"I definitely want to head back as soon as possible as well, " she replies, "But of course you should have the time to say goodbye to your family. You should both go. I'll take care of it."
"Certainly." Alethiro replied, but his expression almost seemed to indicate he wanted to say more.
Sādhanā walks away with a smile, finding the others to let them know.
Gently Arista takes her hand out of his. Stepping up to Sadhana she gives her a quick friendly hug, "Thank you."
Taking her place once again by Alethrio's side, she takes his hand and looks at him smiling.
"Let's go then, if I remember correctly their house is down a ways. We can talk along the way if you like. I'm sure Marie would be happy to see us. Maybe if we're lucky she'll even have something yummy cooling on the window."
Visibly excited about the prospect of seeing her kin again she beams a smile at Alethiro as they start walking towards Marie's house.
Andres stands outside, tilling the garden.Sweat drips off his brow as he looks up to see Arista. "Arista! You're back...and who is this with you?"
Giving a formal bow, the Elf responded, "Alethiro Milocathe. Cleric of Pharasma and travelling companion of Arista. It's a pleasure to meet you good sir."
Andres wipes his hands with a rag and offers one to the elf. "The pleasure is mine, good cleric."
Grasping the man's hand, he said, "And your name good sir?"
Arista waits as the men introduce themselves before stepping up and embracing Andres in a quick hug. She steps back and looks around for a moment.
"It's good to see you again. We just got back today, it's a very long story. I was wondering if Marie and the others were here as well? We have to leave again in the morning for the fort, but I wanted a chance to visit with everyone first."
She appears to be very happy, but there is something else as well. Although she smiles and tries to keep her tone light, there is just something about the look in her eyes that suggest things are not as well with her as she would like others to believe.
While standing there Arista just softly places her hand back in Alethiro's as she talks with Andres.
Arista seems to snap out of it momentarily when she realizes she had not introduced them.
"I'm sorry I got caught up in my thoughts. I didn't mean to be rude. Alethiro, this is my great nephew Andres Cadron. Andres, you've already met Alethiro. He is a really good friend of mine and has been of great help to me. I thought maybe you and Marie would worry less about me if you had the chance to meet him."
She smiles brightly as she gives Alethiro's arm another little squeeze.
"Andres, good cleric," the man responds. "He seems like a good sort, Arista. Yes, Marie and the kids are inside. Lucco's on patrol again today."
Andres pushes open the door to the home, inviting Arista and Alethiro inside. Marie sits on the floor, reading a story to the two children.
Speaking to Andres, Arista smiles,"He certainly is at that."
As they go inside the house, Arista lets go of his hand and gives his arm a friendly pat before going to sit in one of the chairs while Marie finishes the story for the children.
"...and then the princess and the prince were married. They lived happily ever after," Maries finishes, closing the book.
She looks up at Arista and smiles. "Well, hello dear. It's a surprise to see you after this time."
The kids run up to Arista and latch onto her legs before looking at Alethiro.
"Auntie Awista! Who is he? Your boyfwiend?" Nerah asks.
"Nuh-uh," Wilk replies. "She fights deemins and debbils. She dun't need a boyfwiend!"
"Nerah, Wilk, go get cleaned up for dinner. Your father will be late tonight," Marie chides and the children depart momentarily. "I hope you and your friend will be joining us, Arista. I've made some Shepherd's Pie."
Arista tries to stifle her laughter, but giggles anyways. She sighs as she watches the children run off.
She runs a hand through her unruly mass of hair before looking Marie and smiles.
"Well, there's a bit of a story to our absence. I'll explain all of that later. You know I can't turn down a meal from you, of course we'll stay. The children are so adorable and growing so quickly. How have things been here since I've been away?"
Pausing for a moment she looks at the mess her hair has become without the proper tools to tame it. She looks back up at Marie from where she sits,"Do you think there is any way you can help me with this mess? I haven't been able to do anything with it since my friend here and his companions found me."
Marie smiles and has Arista sit, she goes to a shelf in the living area. She retrieves a small wooden and jeweled box and sets in on the table next to Arista. Marie pulls out a silver-handled brush and begins working out the tangles in the Aasimar's hair. She sprays some perfumed water onto it, making it more pliable.
"Things have been fine since you were last here. The children ask for old stories about you constantly," Marie says happily. "Even Lucco is interested in them. Give the shepherd's pie a turn, Andres. So, you are the beloved adventurer of our family but you can't manage to keep a brush handy?"
Marie laughs and finishes with Arista's hair. She fishes in the box and pulls out an old brush with a flower etched into the handle. "Here's an old one to take with you. It was my mother's. She'd want you to have it."
Andres walks out of the kitchen. "So, Alethiro, do you know much of the world beyond Zahvroma?"
Arista looks at the brush and smiles again at Marie.
"When I left home I wasn't planning on being trapped for 500 years. I was actually planning on going home to Lansing for a while before heading back out. Since I can't slay evil meanies with a brush, I just didn't see the practicality of having it with me. The major battle was over and I had fully intended to go home to collect my things, I just....never quite made it back."
She just sort of sits there and shrugs her shoulders as if to say, that's pretty much all there was to that.
"Thank you for the brush. I will treasure it always. I hate to be a bother, but would happen to have anything I can use to get it out of my face? It just becomes difficult sometimes with it flying all over the place."
She looks at the brush in her hand that Marie had given her and turns it over in her hands a few times, tracing the pattern with her fingertips.
Marie laughs and hands Arista an simple silver headband. "That should work."
Nerah and Wilk return from the back and sit near Arista.
"Not much really. I haven't stayed in one place long enough to learn anything." Looking down at the floor with a guilty expression, "I've been obsessed with finding someone up until a short time ago."
Andres nods knowingly and puts a hand on the elf's shoulder. "Looks like you found someone else to be focused on and that's a good thing."
The Elf's eyes drift towards Arista, "Perhaps I have."
Marie brings the meal to the table and she utters a small prayer to the gods before serving everyone. The shepherd's pie is filling and quite a change from the adventurers' standard fare. Afterward, Andres plies Alethiro into playing some cards for fun. Marie and Arista talk while the children listen. After the sun sets, the children are put to bed by Marie and Andres walks Alethiro and Arista out.
"It was good to see you again, Arista, and I did enjoy talking with you, Alethiro. I hope that you'll stop by again someday," Andres says, shaking the elf's hand and hugging the aasimar. "Good night and may the gods watch over your travels ahead."
If you only knew. He thought to himself.
"Thank you for everything Andres, I really enjoyed spending time with all of you tonight. I hope we can come back and see all of you again someday soon."
Arista waves goodbye to her family as she takes Alethiro's hand and starts the walk back to the caves.
On the way back to the cave Arista steals a glance at Alethiro. I wonder what he's thinking about
The headband given to her by Marie works wonders. Now instead of her hair being all over the place and partially covering her face, it's mostly held back with some of the soft lazy curls framing her face.
"Thank you for coming with me tonight. I might have had a hard time dragging myself away if you hadn't gone with me. They are all the family I have left in this world, as far as I know....and it's so hard to leave again not knowing if I'll ever get to see any of them again. Having you by my side tonight helped me to be strong."
She falls silent again as they continue walking.
"You're quite welcome Arista." A look of guilt crossed his face, "It's more than I did for my family." He muttered.
Hearing the guilt in his voice and seeing it in his eyes again was more than Arista could stand. Coming to a stop she held onto his hand and turned him around so he could face her. She looked deep into his eyes so he would know how serious she is.
"You need to stop blaming yourself for things you had no control over. I'm sorry if being around my family triggered some unpleasant memories for you. It was not my intention to hurt you. I...I can't explain why hearing you talk that way about yourself bothers me so much...but it does. Dwelling constantly on the past wont fix anything or make you feel any better."
She lifts her hand and softly caresses his face before letting it come to rest on his cheek.
"I'm not very good at expressing how I feel, but I truly do care about you and it makes my heart ache when I see you hurting like this. I just wanted you to know that I'm hear for you and you can talk to me anytime, about anything that you need or want to. Just please try to stop beating yourself up over things that are already done. Okay?"
As she looks at him, Alethiro can see that while she isn't really angry, there is a sense of pleading in her large shining dark green eyes. She takes her hand away from his face, and placing her arms around him takes him into an embrace that speaks of all the things she is unable to communicate with words. While not really sensual, the embrace has an intimacy to it that speaks of her need to be close to someone.
"I believe in you."
As Arista stands there with her arms around him she strokes the back of his head with her other hand.
"You have been holding onto your pain and grief for so long now....it's time to let someone else take some of that from you. Just let me have it, you don't need it anymore."
Her body trembles slightly, and Alethrio can feel the strong beat of her heart against his chest. Her warmth and love radiates through her entire body as she holds him against her, willing him to let go of his pain and guilt.
Returning her embrace, the Elf quietly said, "I could have controlled saying goodbye to my family." Breaking away, Alethiro turned his back and continued, "When I announce my intention to hunt Drago, my parents, other siblings, and the rest of them told me to let it go. But I could not. They forbade me from pursuing him and told me I would be dead to them if I left. That night........I did. No note, no final words, I just left. Even if I wanted to go back, I cannot. And I didn't care, until now." Facing Arista once more, it was plain that this was his one true regret.
Her eyes seem damp, but full of kindness and compassion.
"oh...I see. I'm so sorry....I didn't realize..."
She just looks at him, her face a mixture of different emotions. None of which are critical of him or judgmental. There is only understanding and compassion in the young Aasimar's deep emerald eyes as they shine with tears in them.
"You may not be able to go back, but you can still move forward. You are a different person than you were then. I've watched you grow into the caring and compassionate man that stands before me. If you truly care for me, then stop berating yourself for things that you can not change, and instead look forward to what you can have. I'm here for you, I will always be here for you."
She leans forward and lightly brushes her lips against his own in a soft, sweet, and innocent kiss. He can feel the heat emanating from her body as she trembles ever so slightly at his touch, her skin as soft as silk beneath his strong capable hands.
Alethiro allowed himself to get caught up in the euphoria and kissed her back. After a moment, which seemed to last an eternity, he looked compassionately into her eyes, "And I will always be here for you."
She smiles softly at him then and tries to wipe the moisture away from her eyes.
"I'm sorry...I just care about you so much, and I've never felt this way about anyone before. You mean too much to me for me to just watch you let your guilt eat you up. I know you regret what you did, I can see it in your eyes. You made a mistake Alethiro, people make mistakes all the time. It doesn't mean that you deserve to be punished for it for the rest of your life. I'm sure that your family still loves you. Families say terrible things sometimes to each other when they are worried or scared for their loved ones. Maybe one of these days you might be able to go back there. I'm not saying that it will be easy, or even pleasant at first, but I don't believe that it's impossible."
She looks back down at the ground and wrings her hands lightly together.
"At least your parents and other siblings are still alive. I don't even have that option available to me. Those few people we saw tonight are all the family I will ever know from my past."
The Cleric couldn't help but bring Arista close and hold her once more. After another long moment, he said, "We need to get back, the others might start to wonder about us."
She nods her head against his chest in agreement and sniffles a little bit.
"Alright then, does my face look okay? I don't want everyone to see me with a crybaby face."
Alethiro and Arista return to the cave to find their companions already abed. Marcus looks much better and they see Sienna in the corner watching over him, her demonic eyes glinting in the dark.
After a peaceful rest, the party leaves Malwen to return to the fort. Umina, Zeph, Marie, Andres, Nerah and Wilk bid the party a fond farewell. The day's journey goes uneventfully, the cold air dampening spirits a little. You camp for the night, Sienna and Marcus handling the watches. They talk into the late hours in hushed tones.
The following day is a bit warmer and travel is more pleasant. In the afternoon, you pass what was once the abandoned village. Now people of various races work the burgeoning fields and many wave to Cyna and Sienna. You can clearly see that they wear the sigil of the Green Circle. By evening, you are greeted by a different sight: a town around the fort.
Arista just stares at the developing town in awe.
"Is that really the same place we left not that long ago?"
Arista wonders aloud as she stands outside the city with her companions.
"You forget, we were gone a 'month.' I still don't understand how that happened." Alethiro said in a more chipper tone than he seemed to be in back at Malwen.
Arista laughs then, surprised by her own forgetfulness.
"Yes, well I guess we should be glad that we only lost a month and not longer. At this point I guess the how isn't really important. It happened, and now we will deal with whatever comes next. I just hope that Godrick is still here and doing alright. He didn't look that well when we left."
She takes a look down at herself and noticing how worn her garments are and laughs quietly to herself.
"Maybe now they will at least have some decent supplies. It would be nice to have some clean clothes, not to mention soap and a few other necessities. What I wouldn't give for a nice bath."
Arista stands there a moment longer before looking around at everybody else.
"Well, are we going to go and see what is going on down there, or are we just going to stand here? I'm interested to find out what kind of shops and supplies they have now. It doesn't look like they were expecting us, so I don't think we need to stand around waiting for a welcoming committee."
She sighs and then takes Alethiro by the hand before starting off towards the town.
"Come on, I've been on the road long enough for now. It's time to get back to Godrick and find out what's been happening here in our absence."
While she sounds slightly irritated it's obvious that she's only concerned, and not really upset. She just wants to get back to Godrick and the others to show them what they found while they were away.
Alethiro felt tense, to the point that Arista's presence didn't seem to help. Something seemed off.