Kin [Closed] [Complete] - Printable Version +- Hydaelyn Role-Players (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18) +-- Forum: Role-Play (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18/forumdisplay.php?fid=27) +--- Forum: Town Square (IC) (https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/mybb18/forumdisplay.php?fid=21) +--- Thread: Kin [Closed] [Complete] (/showthread.php?tid=11103)

Kin [Closed] [Complete] - allgivenover - 04-14-2015 Limsa Lominsa was just too damn bright. Rakka'li scowled at the glare from the safety of Hawker's Alley. The market stretch wasn't terribly busy this afternoon, so it was easy to linger in the shade and find reprieve from the glare of the sun on the waves and the too white stone that was everywhere. It made stepping out into the bright again all the more intolerable. Squinting and drawing his hood up, Rakka'li stepped into the blinding bright... and nearly jumped out of his skin as a shrill wail tore through the air behind him. It was a few moments after returning into the comfort of the shade before he could see again, and by that time a small crowd had gathered around the childish wailing. Curious, he drew to the edge, pushing his hood back and brushing the unruly mane he'd grown from his eyes. "...cut 'er hand right good. Lass'll need stiches 'er conjury." A Seawolf merchant finished speaking as he approached. The man straightened and looked out over the crowd, eyes meeting Rakka'li's briefly before asking, "Any of ye lot here a physicker or a conjurer?" His first attempt to be heard was lost in the bustle and the catch of a voice not often used. He cleared his throat and tried again, "M' a conjurer," He called out firmly, lifting his stave for emphasis. The Seawolf spotted him quickly. "Make way fer him!" The man bellowed, lifting his arms, thick with muscle and good eating to gently push a few oblivious onlookers aside. The man got hold of his shoulder and pulled him, his hood fell back as he was came into the tight circle around the source of wailing. It was a Keeper maiden, no more than twelve years old, her hand had been sliced from index finger to wrist, deep. There was a bloody tool on the ground nearby the merchant's counter, an awl or some carpentry tool? Rakka'li was no craftsman and had no honest idea. It hardly mattered. Besides, it was the face of the girl's mother, looking to him hopefully, that pushed any consideration of what the damn tool was straight out of his head. Dark skin and vibrant purple eyes with the same shade of blue as his own, her ears flat with apprehension. It was like looking at his mother again, and for several quickened, tight heartbeats he thought it was his mother. But no, it wasn't her. He'd seen his mother die. It was Akkhi Kuhn, his sister, and the shocked expression on her face let him know the recognition had been mutual. "Rakka'sae? Gods, you're alive!?" She gaped at him. Rakka'li drew back slightly, his first impulse was to laugh, but he fought it down. She thought he was Rakka'sae! Maybe it was the long hair? Regardless, he knelt down. "M' Li," he corrected, taking the young girl's bloody hand firmly by the wrist. She'd quieted to subdued sniffling and regarded him with wide purple eyes. Her little face certainly had the look of his kin to it, though her skin and hair was a shade greyer and a touch bluer respectively. She had that awkward gangly build that girls stuck between childhood and womanhood had, all limbs and no shape, but she would be pretty some day. The cut was deep enough to birth little rivers of crimson that pooled where Rakka'li's fingers wrapped round her wrist tight. He was careful to hold it over the stones so the dripping didn't touch any clothing. Had the tool been left out carelessly for her hand to come down on it hard enough to do this? Or perhaps she'd been playing with something she shouldn't have? "S' not so bad," he lied gently. Truth is it was bad, she must have come down on it hard, but his conjury would set it right. It was what he did after all. He left his stave leaning against the counter and went for the greenwood branch at his belt. The aether here didn't feel the same as the Wood, and he always felt as if it were easier to draw through it when he was away. The girl regarded it curiously, though she still sniffled when he turned her hand and held the focus over the wound. "What's yer name?" He asked, eyes on the wound as he began channelling. The conjury glow lit both their faces, it was the only sort of brightness that didn't cause him to squint. "Rhun," she murmured, eyes on the wound, awed. It occurred to Rakka'li that she had perhaps never seen conjury in action before. It wasn't a rare power, but it also wasn't as if the world were swarming with Conjurer's. "Rhun?" He smiled, eyes meeting hers briefly before returning to his work. The two of them were silent a moment as they watched the blood well up from the wound before it closed entirely. He set the greenwood branch at his side. "S' a good name." Akkhi took her daughter's hand as soon as Rakka'li released it. She wiped the blood away to reveal the smooth, unmarred flesh beneath. Already the crowd was moving on, Limsa Lominsa was no stranger to such powers, and with the danger passed Hawker's alley was back on its way to normal. Rhun was staring at him with undisguised admiration, her mother's scolding ignored until Akkhi tugged on one of her ears. Rakka'li rose and turned, busying himself with fishing about his person for his handkerchief to clean his bloodied hand. A gentle touch on his shoulder pulled his attention back when he was done. "Rakka'li? It really is you," Akkhi said the words in a way that was almost like trying to convince herself. His eyes found Rhun behind her. She stood looking at her healed hand, turning it this way and that before looking up to him and flushing brightly. Rakka'li fixed his gaze back on his sister. Her hair was long and well kept in a style that only city-folk tended to wear, and her clothes were fine, as was Rhun's. She'd gained a few scars on her forehead, cheek, and chin, though they served her well in making her look fierce. Akkhi had raised him as much as the ever-busy Rakka Kuhn had, and her resemblance to their mother unsettled him and made his heart ache. Overcome, he had to look down, his voice was slightly husky as he spoke, "Good te see ye livin'." Akkhi threw her arms around him, and just like that he couldn't stop the tears from coming. RE: Kin [Closed] - allgivenover - 04-15-2015 Rakka’li could’ve guessed that Akkhi was wealthy from the finery that she and Rhun wore on their outing to Hawker’s alley, but he wasn’t quite prepared for the house she owned in the Mist. Owned. It was easily twice the size of the house he’d lived in briefly in the Lavender Beds, and it wasn’t sparse like that one, or crowded with the Shroudwolf clan he was kind enough to put up for a time. Every comfort Rakka’li ever speculated about owning was readily available, and many more he hadn’t. Presently he sat in Akkhi’s office. The voices of Ruhn and her two younger sisters Tahn and Mahla a distant thing as they took to their lessons. They had a tutor, and each could read and do arithmetic. To say that Akkhi had prospered was an understatement. “So you’re a Hearer?” She asked, seated across from him. They were close, a low table for refreshments between them. He’d shed his robe and left his stave in the foyer, revealing his tatty traveling clothes and worn boots. She had not seemed to notice. “Aye, fought it fer a time. Always blamed the Wood fer mother’s death,” he sat back, trying to relax in the plush chair. “What changed yer mind?” She’d leaned forward, chin on the back of her fingers, elbow on the arm of the chair. He shrugged, “Wood’s home.” “Hm,” it was a measured noise, something like a careful disagreement. “Ye don’t think so?” “Wood’s fine,” she leaned forward to procure a strip of jerky before settling back and tearing it easily with her fangs, “... just ain’t so nice a place to live after... “ she trailed off. “All this?” He supplied, looking around pointedly. “Was goin’ to say the fall, but aye, all this too,” she nodded, “but yer a Hearer, so it’s different for ye.” “S’ true,” he leaned forward to grab up his own piece of jerky, “think I’d go mad if I fought it.” They sat in silence a moment, chewing, the sounds of laughter from the girls a distant thing, warming. “Where’s Rakka’sae?” She asked. His ears tilted back slightly, but they were normal again by the time he’d swallowed the last of the jerky and spoke, “He’s with a Hyur girl, got a child together, can’t say I approve o’ mixin’ blood like that, but the two o’ em are happy, n’ he’d bloody me good if I spoke against it.” If she seemed put off at the knowledge that she had a half-breed niece nothing on her face or from her ears gave it away, “You see him much?” Rakka’li shook his head, “No, he’s been all about his girl for a while now.” “And what about you? Got kittens of your own?” Her younger brother’s expression darkened slightly, pained, but he smiled, “Aye, a few. Here and there.” Akkhi studied his face for a long time in silence, until Rakka’li was reminded of how things had been when he was a child. Akkhi looked too much like their mother he decided. Again he couldn’t help but look away. “What was that look fer?” She dug finally, leaning forward, but Rakka’li offered only silence. She scowled, and opened her mouth to press further, but Rhun came running in, tail swishing, stopping at Rakka’li’s chair and pressing herself up on her tiptoes with the arm-rest. She grinned wide, unabashed adoration directed Rakka’li’s way. Akkhi rolled her eyes. Rhun had just begun to notice boys, and Rakka’li’s rescue act had obviously given her a terrible case of kitten-love. His being her uncle hardly seemed to matter, and in truth among some of the clans it would not have. “Do you like sachertorte?” Rhun piped, giddy. “Ah.. can’t say I’ve tried it… ‘er even heard of it ‘afore. Sacher-what?” Rakka’li asked sheepishly, he spared a glance and a smirk Akkhi’s way that made her want to laugh aloud. He’d picked up on the kitten-love, of course. Rhun’s tail stilled and her mouth hung open in shock, “What do you mean? How could you have never had sachertorte!?” Rakka’li shrugged, “Just ain’t, sounds expensive.” “Are you poor?” Rhun frowned. It was an extremely rude thing to ask, but Rhun had always been brash. It was the wild in her blood,  Akkhi thought. Rakka’li laughed as Akkhi bristled and snapped, “Rhun!” To her credit the girl did wilt in embarrassment, her shoulders slumped and ears lowered. She cast her gaze downward before lifting her chin again and squeaking, “Sorry.” He mussed her fluffy, chin-length hair into a mess in response, and just like that all was well again, “S’alright.” Akkhi leaned across the table to swat at Rhun lightly, “Get back to yer lessons!” “May we buy sachertorte for Rakka’li?” She asked hopefully, ears tilted in apprehension as she leaned towards her mother, though she still hung onto the armrest. “Aye, just get back to yer lessons.” Lessons seemed like the last thing on Rhun’s mind, but she’d obviously learned that sort of tone meant Akkhi really meant it. She was gone the next heartbeat. The moment had been so reminiscent of their mother Rakka Kuhn that Rakka’li had to look away and gather himself again before speaking. “It’ll pass,” he offered helpfully. “Or it won’t, and she’ll be makin’ moon-eyes at you till yer sick to death of it,” Akkhi chided, smirking. He did look a little uncomfortable at that prospect, so Akkhi decided to be kind and change the subject. Her gaze slid pointedly to his clothes. “Hearin’ not pay well?” “S’ a callin, not a job,” he replied, as if he’d explained it a thousand times. Akkhi leaned back again, looking towards her desk and favoring her lip with one fang, as if considering something, though secretly she’d had the idea bells ago. “How ‘bout ye work fer me?” RE: Kin [Closed] - allgivenover - 04-17-2015 It was on his third day out that Rakka’li finally got his “sea legs”. As it turned out Akkhi was one of three partners for a trading firm that ran goods to and from the Cieldas Southern Isles. She even had some ships sailing as far as what people were calling the “New World”, a place that Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn herself had discovered in the far western seas some sixteen years ago. It was a strange, wild place, crawling with Mamool Ja and abundant with resources that the Limsans were ever eager to trade for. Rakka’li loathed the thought of sailing that far for that long. Thankfully the Cieldas were much more reasonable. Though being on the ocean so far south made it hard to Hear the Wood, and he hated that. The constant nausea of his first few days and the crowded conditions of the ship weren’t helping, but what Akkhi was paying him more than made up for it. It was more money than he’d ever had, ever, and he didn’t really have to do that much work. Mend a hand crushed by a crate, see to scrapes and bruises, things like that. Although they did ask him to help with rigging and other small tasks, most of the time he was out of the way sleeping below deck during the day, or out and about in the quiet night above. If forced to be completely honest, Rakka’li didn’t hate seafaring totally. There was some excitement to it, even if the boat was crowded and stank. The nights were his and Akkhi’s, and they spent it reminiscing and talking while gazing at more stars than he had ever seen at once. It was during one of these talks that Akkhi asked about his having a kitten again. “So who’d you get a kitten on?” She eyed him, brushing the hair out of her face despite the wind’s insistence it cover her eyes. Rakka’li scowled, drawing back from how he’d been leaning to get a look at the moon’s reflection on the waves, he briefly considered changing the subject, but then huffed and relented. “She goes by Qhon, a city girl. Got a Wildwood husband. Don’t want me to see th’ girl.” “Not at all?” Akkhi frowned, turning to face him. “N’ at all. Her wildwood husband were seedless or something, and she wanted a dauhter m’ guessin’. I were just in th’ right place at th’ right time a few years back. Didn’t introduce herself so much as come out of th’ wood like some spirit and invite me te bed.” She laughed, “That’s how I did it to make Mahla. Though I didn’t tell him he couldn’t come around. He drops by with gifts now and then.” “Mm, it’s different with city-folk. Me commin’ around would be hard fer the husband I imagine. It’s fine, I ain’t think of it too much.” “You ever thought about finding a girl that wants you around?” She cast her gaze back to the sea, even though it was hard even for them to make out anything in the black. “I did, she were born with a bad heart though, no conjury or anythin’ could save her. Had some time together ‘afore she passed on.” She looked back, “I’m so sorry… what was her name?” “Kaahi Fahtra, she weren’t raised right among our people, but she wanted to learn…” he trailed off, gaze distant but not really looking at anything. “Pretty… so no others aside from her?” He shook his head. “Other lovers betimes, but I ain’t talk to many folk.” Akkhi scowled, “Surely ye have a friend ‘er two.” He shrugged, obviously picking his words carefully before continuing, “...honest word? Not really. I got right mean after Kaahi died, drove folks away. It’s m’ own doin’,” Rakka’li paused briefly before continuing, “mother used te say us males were only good n’ small doses. Holds true fer me.” She smirked, “Holds true for more than just ye.” Rakka’li returned the smirk, turning to face her with one elbow lazily supporting his weight on the railing, “Do got one, Fhen’wo. Goes by th’ name o’ Fate. Kind, older n’ me. Quiet. I were thinkin’ of going to see him after I went to see Rakka’sae.” Akkhi brightened, “We’ll go see Rakka’sae together, I’ll bring the girls.” That seemed to brighten him too, “M’ sure he’d like that.” “You can come around the house as often as you like too, as long as ye kept that mean of yours in check.” She chided gently, “The girls like ye.” Rakka’li’s face paled slightly as he recalled how tightly Rhun had hugged him and wailed before they boarded, the melodrama had been painful to endure. It was suddenly funny to him how he could be bold with women all night without fear, but the thought of his niece’s affection terrified him. “..long as Rhun calms down.” Akkhi rolled her eyes, “Thal’s balls I’ve never seen her have it so bad, I’ll talk to her when we get back.” His relieved expression belied the need for thanks, so he turned back to the sea, thinking of how happy Rakka’sae would be to see them all. RE: Kin [Closed] - allgivenover - 04-22-2015 Rakka’li woke to Akkhi shaking him insistently. He sat up quickly and gave her a long bleary stare before he remembered where he was. The look on her face was not nearly as alarming as the tilt of her ears. “Someone hurt that bad?” Rakka’li asked as he swung his legs over the cot and reached for his shirt. The light coming in from the porthole told him it was mid-morning, and misty at that. Akkhi’s lips pressed into a firm anxious line as she shook her head, “No, worse. Clipper coming fast, sitting high with oars out. Wind is shite so they’ll be on us soon. Can you fight?” He paled slightly, Rakka’li hated fighting. A friend some time back had done her best to teach him but he was a passable student at best with a knife, he’d come to rely on his Conjury instead, not that he had too often. “...ye,” he murmured as he finished pulling his shirt over his head and reached for his stave. “Conjury can be used te kill too.” Akkhi relaxed slightly at that, probably hoping that Rakka’li was something of a battle magus. He could be if pressed, but it wasn’t like he’d had a lot of experience. Additionally a prolonged fight would deplete him, and if someone were hurt while his aether reserves recovered it could end badly for them. “C’mon, I want you with me.” She turned, Rakka’li following after scrambling into his robe. On deck the sailors moved quickly in preparation, all knowing their place and experienced at it. Axes, knives, and sabers were brought from below decks, there were even a few bows. Crews readied the few cannon the vessel bore as others wet the deck, in case of fire Rakka’li suspected. His attention was drawn back to Akkhi, who stood beside him calmly loading a pistol the likes of which he’d not seen before. It had two barrels. Rakka’li had seen pistols in action only once before, and he hated everything about them. There was simply something wrong about killing someone so easily. However, he was hardly interested in discouraging its use here. “Where’d ye get that?” He asked as she finished up. “Does it matter? I’m glad for it either way.” Her eyes were fixed on the approaching vessel as four of her best took up arms around her. Rakka’li recalled her telling him she didn’t often come on voyagers herself unless she’d business to attend to at the destination, but when she had to she took few chances. Rakka’li wanted to press her for details, but she immediately set on a discussion of tactics with a tall highlander woman called Hariet, one of Akkhi’s trusted toughs. The woman’s body was beset by scars that she had no problem showing off whenever she could. They told of a life of experience Rakka’li was glad to have not shared. “Bad word?” He asked, after Hariet had turned away to shout something at a group of sailors. “Damn clipper’s too fast to line up our shots, it’s goin’ to weave its way to us and not come alongside until we’re brushin’ elbows,” she grumbled, squinting at the distant ship with one hand held flat above her eyes. It was a little bright out here for the two of them, despite the mist. Rakka’li could not speak to the experience of the crew, as he was a layman himself when it came to the sea. But true to her word the two ships snaked a path across the seas, the clipper always behind them, out of range of the guns, and gaining. Half a bell passed, with them still a ways off. It was then that Rakka’li realized he’d left his knife below. He murmured that he’d return quickly, and Akkhi asserted he damn well better. He smiled as he felt her eyes on his back. So like mother. The knife he found quickly, buried in his satchel. He used to carry it in his boot, but a peaceful life in the Wood had made him lax. Sliding the blade out and getting the grip right came as easily as Deirdre taught him all those moons ago. He touched his thumb to the edge. Still sharp. The little sheath slipped round his belt easily too. Akkhi beckoned him over when he came back topside even though he was clearly headed her way. The ship had gained fast in his moment of absence. “Not much longer, you goin’ te be alright?” He shrugged, “Got my knife and my spellery, and I ain’t fearful of usin’ either.” She nodded, grim. Akkhi had said ‘not much longer’, but it was short, tense, eternity before the ship finally got close enough for a look at who was on deck. “Gods be good, slavers.” Rakka’li didn’t know who’d said that, but he didn’t doubt it by the look of them. They looked every bit the part. RE: Kin [Closed] - allgivenover - 04-24-2015 Overeager, the first pirate to leap the gap caught a bullet in the shoulder. He spun from the force and fell before managing to drop his saber and get a good hold on the railing. One of Akkhi’s toughs put his boot down hard on his hand. He fell to the waves screaming as gangways dropped haphazardly from the attacking ship. Most of the enemy were Hyur, but there was Roegadyn too. Rakka’li didn’t spot a single woman among them, and given the trade he doubted he would. He had his knife out already, grip tight on it and his stave.  The report of Akkhi’s second shot made him flatten his ears. She missed, whether it was because the man ducked suddenly or due to bad aim was impossible to tell. Cursing, she grabbed Rakka’li and retreated with him to the far side of the boat, to reload. Already there was a good number of them on deck, but Akkhi’s crew was ready. The two sides stood out of reach, trying to bait each other into making a mistake. Rakka’li raised his stave, emboldened by the wall of people between him and the enemy. He waited. There, someone from his side darted forward, a feint. Rakka’li was channeling as the gap between the fighting men widened. The shot was clear as aether conjured shards of stone cut through the air and caught the pirate who fell for the feint in the face. Rakka’li lost sight of him as he fell to the deck, the man from his side darting forward again and stabbing down. “Very glad we have you,” Akkhi commented dryly as she lined up another shot, this one into the press of men still trying to make their way aboard. It was impossible to tell who she hit, but one of the men fell in the gap.  Rakka’li was readying to attack again when someone from their side stumbled away from the fight, blood shooting from his arm in a spray. Rakka’li abandoned his attack and set to mending him. It felt like half a bell before the man’s wound would finally close. The man didn’t even take time to thank him as he pressed back into the fight. A sudden boom rocked the vessel, knocking Rakka’li from his feet. A spray of wood and blood showered on the deck from.. somewhere. Rakka’li never found out where. The next moment the line dissolved as the slavers poured onto the deck through a sudden gap. He rose and got his knife out again just as a man charged him, axe held high. Rakka’li jerked his stave upward, it caught in the gap between the blade and the haft and the two weapons locked. They struggled a moment before Rakka’li remembered his knife and buried it in the man’s eye. The two fell in a tangle that Rakka’li lost precious moments pulling himself from. The knife had stuck and he’d lost his grip on it. He didn’t have time to fetch it, another man was charging straight at him. This one with a short javelin leveled to skewer him. He readied to leap back but one of Akkhi’s tough’s intercepted him and cleanly lopped his hand off with her axe. The same edge bit into his neck a second later. Shaken as he was he almost stumbled as Akkhi pulled him out of the fight to a protected pocket towards the bow of the ship. “Thought I was watchin’ the end of you Rakka’li,” she murmured, calm despite the situation. “It looks bad I know, but we’re winnin’.” Rakka’li had no idea how she knew that, it looked like total chaos to him, so he just nodded and set to channeling again, this time putting spells of protection on one of the men returning to the fight. Why hadn’t he thought of that sooner? A proper battle magus certainly would have, stupid of him. The pirates fell back then, but it was only to muster again. Rakka’li had hoped that the initial defense would dissuade them, what was the point if the takings weren’t going to be easy? Injured men and women on their side were brought to him, and he was thankful for the distraction. He tried to ignore the signs of fighting and concentrate as the second round began. This one lasted several minutes, whether it was pride or greed that kept them coming Rakka’li had no idea. He mended an arm that would have been lame had the man lived at all. A dozen gashes and stabs were made right, a broken arm and a smashed hand. A belly wound that would have been fatal.  Rakka’li was finishing up the belly wound when he heard the cheer rise. The pirates were routed. They had won, just as Akkhi said. He huffed a shaky breath, relieved. His aether reserves were nearly gone. He rose to look and found Akkhi chasing off the pirates along with her toughs. A few of the them fell to the waves as the ships pulled apart. The ship he was standing on fired as the gap widened, putting a hole high in the pirate’s ship, not likely to sink it. Akkhi and her toughs cheered again, and it was then that Rakka’li noticed through the windows of the wheel house a man charging her way, saber held high, blond hair matted with blood. He’d likely been knocked out of the fight earlier and been mistaken for dead.  Rakka’li barely got his mouth open as the man tore his saber clean through Akkhi’s side. She went down with a spray as the cheer of victory died and protests of rage erupted. He swung wildly again at Hariet, then was skewered a dozen times. Rakka’li forgot him as he practically flew across the deck and knelt next to his sister. It was bad, very, very bad. The blade had cut through her slim frame through her stomach, nearly to her spine, spilling her blood and insides onto the deck. She had already lost consciousness. Mercifully. “Gods, can you save her?” It was Hariet, knelt down beside him.  Yes, yes he could. It was bad, terribly bad, but it wasn’t beyond him. He lifted his stave and reached for the aether. It wasn’t enough. His heart fell. The battle had taken too much from him, perhaps if he’d not shot that stone earlier on, or hadn’t knitted so cleanly the less serious wounds, he might’ve had it. But as he was now it would be a too long before he recovered enough to save her, and she’d certainly be dead by then. Panicked, he pushed her insides back... inside and tried to staunch the flow of blood with his sleeve. She stopped breathing. Hariet had caught on, “What are you doing? Use your magicks damn you!” Rakka’li wanted to sob and shout at her that he had none left, but he realized that wasn’t true. There was something left. There was a lesson drilled into his head a thousand times over when he first answered the call to Hearing. You always draw aether properly, shape it in a way that won’t hurt you, getting caught doing otherwise could get you cast out of the guild entirely.  Or it could get you killed. But he could do it, he could pull from his aether. The aether that gave him life.  And why not? Akkhi had her girls, what was he to do? Watch her die and then return to Ruhn and her sisters with an apology and terrible news? He was only a male. Akkhi and her daughters were his family’s only shot at keeping their name in the world. What was his life next to that? He dropped a hand to the wound and pulled.  At first it wasn’t so bad, like the wind had been knocked out of him. Slowly the terrible injury began to close. It was halfway done before it really started to hurt on his end. Heart hammering in his chest, he grit his teeth, one fang finding bloody purchase in his bottom lip. But it wasn’t enough, he had to mend her totally or she was going to die. He ignored his body’s protest and pulled harder. This time the effort of it conjuring pins and needles up and down his arms. His vision tunneled. He realized he’d been holding his breath, so he let it go, it was a monumental effort to fill his lungs again. Yet he pulled on. Soon all sound left him, leaving only a dull ringing in his ears. In a moment of horror he wondered if he would pass out before he could finish. His heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t smell either. It was such a strange feeling to him, to smell nothing, after a lifetime of being assaulted by scents from everywhere. It was horror. Finally, it was done. She would live if he hadn’t been too late. He pulled back, more exhausted than he’d ever been, as if he’d run ten malms in ten heartbeats. The deck was the most comfortable bed he’d ever laid in as he slumped onto his side roughly. The impact of his heavy landing barely notable. Each heartbeat was agony. It was loud in his ears, loud enough to drown out the concerned shouts had he been able to hear them at all, the rhythm uneven, each terrible beat a falling note as the world spun in his vision.  Did Kaahi feel like this when her heart gave out? Dimly he recalled the last time they’d laid together, despite his protest at her condition. He’d been so worried that it had taken time to ready himself. She’d seemed unconcerned as she rode him eagerly to her own quickening, but after she’d been afraid. Her heartbeat uneven and painful again, she had told him if any sensation felt like dying, it was that one. He understood her perfectly now. Odd how that exertion hadn’t killed her, but their leisurely walk home from the market a moon later had. Dimly he realized he wasn’t afraid of dying anymore. It had been nearly a year since Kaahi had gone, and he realized he hadn’t been really happy a single moment since she had. A friend had warned him that kind of love was dangerous. That friend had been right. Hariet came into his vision as she rolled him onto his back. His stare fixed on her face as she shouted to know what was wrong, though he couldn’t hear her.  He wanted to explain, but instead his vision tunneled to an ocean of shapeless gray nothing.  Why hadn’t he told Akkhi where to find Rakka’sae when he had the chance? Stupid. The gray ocean swallowed him, he couldn’t tell anymore where it ended and he began.