second rune; death; video

[deadelfwalking]

 [When the feed starts, the netbook's camera shows you a view of the forest floor.  A deer carcass lies among the grass and twigs, and it's obvious that the poor thing did not have a clean death.  It's in the advanced stages of decomposition, even though the blood around its body is red and fresh.  The camera does not linger on this image for more than a few seconds; it pans upward, to show Koltira's face.

 He's standing over the deer, holding the device in one hand, holding Byfrost with the other.  Agony creases his expression: his jaw is clenched, his eyes narrowed, every muscle in his pale, sallow face is taut with pain.  The guttural growl of his voice occasionally rises in octave as he talks, as though something is beating the shit out of him from the inside.]

Were we brought here to fight for something, or to waste time reliving the past?  Send.  Us.  On.  A mission.

[He stabs the tree next to him with Byfrost, and the sword glows sickly green; the tree bark begins to decay rapidly, as though it's practically melting.  Diseased fumes pour out of the bark, forming a nasty miasma around Koltira's body.]

I need a battle. [he hisses, and blood trickles from the corner of his mouth as he bites down on the inside of his cheek.]  Now.

Comments

[healplz]

[ He is, in fact, going to... not notice! The fifteen minutes have led him to assume Koltira is too deeply lost in his meditations to notice anything at all, and he's felt free to rest his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his hand. Probably not the best idea, lowering his guard around an enemy, but this lake, so far outside the grime of the city, is... strangely calming. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira rolls the open eye and then shuts it. He knows someone is there, and he has a few solid guesses as to who it is, but he's not close enough yet to be disturbing. Koltira licks a bit of the fresh blood--dark green, his own--from his lips. Hardly any; he's been doing well today.]

[healplz]

[ Unfortunately, naptime here can't last forever. In time Ashraf sighs and shifts, pushing himself back to his feet. He'd best make one circuit around the lake and Koltira, just to be sure he hasn't missed anything, before he heads back to the city. So he starts forward, approaching the lake as near as he dares, and then picking his way along the shore. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[you are messing with his zen thing, now. He chose this lake because it was way in the middle of goddamn n o w h e r e and because it was fucking quiet. He opens his eyes and glares, his voice extra-rough from not speaking for several days.]

Do you need something?

[healplz]

[ wow uh. hi there. Ashraf freezes, looking a little startled and a little guilty, before easing back into the usual calm. ]

No. [ He stares a few seconds longer, then seems to discover a patch of ground that warrants study. ] Do you?

[deadelfwalking]

[frowning.] You could leave, for a start.

[it may be worth nothing that, in Ashraf's absence, Koltira has idly created a kind of sunburst design of ice-roads all around the lake. Narrow ice bridges are sparkling everywhere, all leading to the platform in the center.]

[healplz]

[ All perfectly beautiful, and Ashraf trusts none of them. Of course, he wouldn't trust them even if they'd been created by someone else—a guy from a desert just never gets too familiar with large bodies of water.

He nods, holds a while longer, and resumes his slow hike. ]

I will, shortly.

[deadelfwalking]

[becoming irritated.]

What are you doing, exactly?

[healplz]

No more than I'd promised. [ scopin the area, bro. There's like a billion places to hide bodies that he could have missed from his original warp in! ]

[deadelfwalking]

[HE WILL FIND NOTHING, because there isn't anything to find. Meanwhile, Ashraf's shuffling--and his heartbeat--are aggravating the fuck out of Koltira. He struggles to keep hold on his chosen anchor, exhaling slowly to ease the tension in his muscles.]

If you come 'round again, bring me some scotch.

[healplz]

[ The continued nothing-out-of-order is making a pretty good case for the rest of his stroll finding more of the same, and Ashraf is beginning to feel a little ridiculous for conducting it under scrutiny. So he pauses, looking over the water to Koltira again. ]

...Do you drink? [ Maybe a stupid question, but not really one he'd considered before. He'd just assumed the dead would be past things like alcohol. (A theory Bariyan would soundly disprove, if Ashraf devoted any real thought to it.) ]

[deadelfwalking]

As often as I possibly can. Vendel'o eranu. It has some effect.

[he hopes you aren't a teetotaler as well, Ashraf, though he would hardly be surprised.]

[healplz]

[ He's not sure about that mystery language—the name of a drink, maybe?—but he's... actually considering it. That's stranger than anything else about this conversation. He's still for a little while longer, then turns wordlessly to disappear into that same circle of bright white light.

Scotch isn't all that expensive. He can spare the money for a bottle. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira mutters again in Thalassian as Ashraf goes.]

Shorel'aran.

[healplz]

[ It's about twenty minutes before he returns, and when he does, it's to exactly the same spot he'd first arrived in. And this time, with a bottle of scotch held at his side, almost out of sight. He's a little embarrassing to have it, really.

He eyes the ice, then Koltira. ]

Is that secure?

[deadelfwalking]

[he's more than a little surprised that you actually came back, guy. Koltira indicates himself and the plate armor he's wearing with a 'What do you think?' kind of expression.]

However, if you're worried.

[he gestures at Ashraf with one hand, and the same ice-roses that were under his own boots now start forming beneath the priest's. Grats, you can walk on the water, too.]

[healplz]

[ He eyes it with absolutely no trust at all, then edges out. When he doesn't immediately fall through the ice into the water, he walks with a little more purpose and feigns a little more confidence.

This is a terrible idea all around, he's thoroughly convinced. He watches Koltira steadily as he approaches, looking grimly resigned. Not quite the appropriate expression to come bearing a gift, but there it is. And when he's as near as necessary (and not a step closer), he stops to hold the bottle out. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Despite the misgivings, the ice is as sturdy as any other piece of ground. Koltira eyes Ashraf as he reaches to take the bottle. He hasn't had a drop in days and he's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Ashraf's obvious recalcitrance is still getting to him. He says, lightly.]

I realize that I'm dead, but this isn't a funeral, you know.

[healplz]

[ No, but it should be. Probably not the appropriate thing to say, but it's definitely on his mind. He glances away, clearing his throat awkwardly. ]

Would it disturb you to remain for a few moments?

[ Man, the Church would excommunicate him for this. Hanging out with a dead guy is definitely not in the teachings. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[He was waiting for Ashraf to say it, honestly, as it's always been clear that he thinks it. Oh, well. He drinks deeply from the bottle and then sighs. It's a start.]

Do as you will.

[The church ain't here, buddy! You're in a whole new world.]

[healplz]

[ He nods, hesitates a moment more, and slowly sinks to sit on the ice. More of a crouch, as if ready to leap up again at any second, but it will do. He's quiet for some time, watching anything but Koltira, until he finally dares a glance over. ]

Your world, within the VR... [ He wants to make that a question, but isn't sure how. "Explain that" seems a bit harsh. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[he's about halfway through this bottle already, and even though it's not nearly enough to have much of an effect, he's still enjoying the bright, momentary flashes of fire on his tongue. Koltira stays focused on the drink as he responds.]

Yes? What of it?

[There's a lot he could explain. The memory itself? The circumstances that led to it? Azeroth as a whole?]

[healplz]

[ Wow, that dead guy can drink. He takes just a half a second for a startled glance down at the bottle, then remembers the point of his almost-question. ]

What happened in the true version of it?

[deadelfwalking]

[it's easy when your blood has the consistency of sludge! He meets Ashraf's gaze.]

Exactly what you've already concluded, I imagine. I was marching with the Scourge. I killed the girl. We destroyed the village ... and then moved on, away from the fire, to destroy almost everything else.

[healplz]

[ Okay, hearing things like that is not making it any easier to stop mindlessly hating Koltira. He looks a little sick for a moment, but nods. ]

How did you come to... overcome that?