Fire Emblem On Forums: Mortal Transgressions (IC)

[Zetaark]

"Again, calm down. Now that he's been patched up a bit, he probably shouldn't be in too much trouble with a bit of care. I'll leave that to you Scarlet. Keep calm, and everything will be alright," Fey remarks, patting Liz on the back before taking a glance at Mim after hearing Lenore and moving to Tabitha. "As for you Rose, we have some more pressing issues to deal with now. Ficus will be managed, so you get to come with me and help out these two." Fey says before unceremoniously throwing Tabitha over her shoulder and running over to the other injured parties.

 

"Did someone ask for a healer? Cause I've got one right here," she announces, putting down Tabitha next to Mim. "Rose can deal with Snowbird for now while you can help out Orchid. None of you get to die today, and that's non negotiable." Fey announces before bringing out some of the medicine on her person in case it might help.

[ElfCollaborator]

Lenore nods at Fey. Problem solved. Good.

She was right. Nobody was dying today. 

"Good. I'll take care of that, you take care of this. Could've really used someone like you back in the good ol' days."
With that, Lenore steps over to administer the medicine to Baldur.

[Shauntaro]

Nearly knocked into the next world from Tabitha's furious thrashing, blood occasionally starting to flow from Shin's mouth despite the repeated healing...  Shin's eyes remained closed. Though the wounds were eventually left mended, he constantly exhibits motions as if he were in agony, though no source could be visible.

As Lizaveta sits by Shin, he calms down, the struggling stops. His arm attempts to reach out for something.. or someone, but lacked the energy to manage anything but a slight shake.

And ever so slightly, silent tears stream down his face.

[Powder Miner]

Lizaveta stayed kneeled in front of Shin as he slowly began to stop writhing and squirming, and she wasn't really sure if he was unconscious or not, to tell the truth. Was he crying and struggling against some unseen menace? Then why had he stopped? Was he fighting just against what Tabitha had done to him, and crying because of all that had happened? She didn't really know... but she sucked in a breath and a sob and wiped her eyes once again, the whole situation having drained her to her very limit even with Fey's attempts to calm her down.

 

Eventually, she gently moved to squeeze the hand that Shin was reaching out with to give him some comfort, looking down at him without glasses but with watery eyes and a tear-streaked face, speaking only loudly enough for him to hear.

"Shin... why...? Why would you do that...?"

[RedMageCole]

Arthur managed to pull himself together the second Mim whispered his name. Trying to shift her weight onto him from Lenore and Justine, he mentioned, his angered tone completely diminished.

 

"Let me handle her... I'll set her down gently."

 

He tossed off his coat, spreading it out on the ground; it managed to cover a large enough amount of ground for Mim to be completely laid in it. Arthur didn't flinch at all at the idea of dirt or blood getting on his coat, setting Mim down on it and wrapping it over her, using the sleeve to block the wound on her gut. He whispered to her, tears welling up in his eyes.

 

"I... don't care if you want to yell at me later... just please, let me keep you safe... I'm not going to lose anyone else... I can't..."

 

He does make sure Tabitha has enough room to heal when she's brought over, but he doesn't leave Mim's side.

 

Kane is about to have Tabitha go over, but he gives a nod to Fey as she carries her over, whispering a thanks. Kane called over to the wagon as he walked back to the group with Mim...

 

"Anvil! Kid! It's safe now! Please grab my bag and bring it over, it has camping supplies!"

 

From the wagon, the faint noise of Simeon getting Sid to do all the work is heard, using excuses like 'have ye seen me back?' and 'this is good discipline work for ye, boy'. As the two get ready, Kane heads over to Ferdiad.

 

"...You... You saved our lives. I... I almost felt like I was just hallucinating... but it truly is you. I... I was afraid I never would see you again."

 

For a brief moment, it looks as if Kane is about to hug Ferdiad, but he manages to restrict it to a simple arm pat.

 

"I... don't know your personal stake in this, Knight... but I'm very thankful you came when you did. They've made an enemy of us and I doubt they want to forget us anytime soon with Death's mouth... so we have that in common now. I won't beg you to come to Virtuous, as much as we nee-... would appreciate you back," Kane revised his word choice, not wanting Ferdiad to feel obligated. "But I do want to ask... what will you do from now on? Just... Just so I can know how and what my friend will be doing."

 

Outside of the wagon, Simeon and Sid (who is struggling with carrying Kane's bag) join the group. Simeon looks absolutely befuddled.

 

"Well... I'm very glad ye beat that cursed man." It doesn't take long for Simeon to notice Mim and Baldur. With a wince, he manages to kneel and then sit down with the two of them. "She's a tough lass, and he's a tough lad. They'll be fine... and if I gotta drag them outta heaven, I'll do it even if me back protests. Simeon does not let down loyal customers." He gently pats Baldur and, with a look toward Arthur resulting in a nod, pats Mim. His hands are big and rough, but the touch is soft. Suddenly, Simeon turns his head around to yell. "Boy!"

 

Sid had been nervously looking around, presumably to make sure that Death was not in view, before flinching at the sound of Simeon's voice.

 

"If I have a codename, can you at least use it, old man?" Sid grumbles.

 

"I'll call ye what I like; yer my apprentice, now! Yer first job is setting up whatever equipment Phoenix has in his bag! And if ye're lazy or sloppy, I'm gonna show ye where ye can stick that Swordbreaker ye stole from me with a polearm! And don't go beggin' for help, either! People can go help ye if they want!"

 

Sid rolls his eyes, setting down the bag and getting to setting up tents for everyone. Surprisingly, he's actually pretty decent at the job, but it's still slow work.

[Chevaleresse]

With the immediate threats gone, Justine takes a moment to really process what had just happened. When they'd attacked, she'd rushed in without a thought, wanting to fight alongside her allies. Now, though, the gravity of the situation was beginning to pull at her. She glanced between Arthur and Mim, with shame and regret creeping into the woman's normally carefree countenance. 

"I. . ." For once, her words failed her.

"I should go." The minstrel turned to walk into the trees nearby, making short, hurried strides. 

[Aurorix]

Baldur let out a guttural scream as his wrist was crushed underneath's Death's heel. He could do nothing but flail about on the ground, the strengthen sapped from his arm due to the slowed blood flow and well, his wrist now broken.  "No! Not again! I refuse to be useless again!" Once the weight of death's foot was released he immediately began to rise up. He didn't care if his clothes were ruined, his wrist was shattered, his strength gone, none of that mattered to him. He had to save them! That was his only job!  "I have to... Snowbird.... Fiscu-" He was then cut off by an arrow piercing him, sending a wave of venom into him which sapped him of all his strength sending him to the ground. His vision began to blur. Hew lie there for what seemed like an eternity. Was this the end for him? Was he really going to leave this world an even bigger failure? The searing pain of the poison coursing through his blood spread throughout his body like a raging forest fire.

 

Suddenly, Baldur's body began to move. Even after all the abuse, even after all the pain, even with only one working hand he began to raise himself from the ground. His only working hand using his healing staff as a crutch. Shaking violently and swaying too and fro, his left arm the only thing keeping him upright,  "I-I am alright, see?" On one knee....... Two knees....... One foot....... Both feet.  "Just focus on Fiscus and Snowbird, I'll-hrk... I'll be fine." The ground swayed such as it would for someone who had been spun around in place hundreds of times, His vision in a constant limbo between clear and undicernable blurs. He slowly inched inched his way to the closest victim to him, almost loosing his balance more than once and the small distance between them. Finally, collapsing to his knees he reached in front of Mim. His staff planted firmly in the ground with a trail in the dirt behind it where it was dragged it's short distance. Loosely lifted his shaking arm, his hand sulked for he did not have the means to lift it anymore, He began channeling healing magic into Mim, well, whatever was able to reach her has it meekly flowed from his limp hand and quickly dispersed. It was like trying to hit someone with a shotgun half-a-mile away. Tinted pink tears ran down the only visible side of his face, unable to hold them through the immense physical and emotional pain,  "I m-must... fufil... my duty.... As a servant... it is my-my only duty!" Feeling a wave come up his chest, he quickly used the nub of his wrist to block the flow of blood he began to cough up with his cravat, it now having a huge black and red splatter across it. Seemingly, unable to feel the pain of moving his wrist, he continued his treatment. Face covered, dirt and blood from not only himself but Death as well.  "No one... will die! I-... I-... I REFUSE TO LET ANYONE DIE HERE!" The butler's head fell, his body still on it's knees and upright. He was now only able to rise his eyes to look at Mim, fueled by pure adrenaline he pushed forward, "Come on! Work! Work you damned staff! *wheeze* What's your purpose-... if I can't save people when they need me... WORK DAMN YOU!!" Tears continued to pour as he vainly tries to heal the small archer with no progress whatsoever. 

[RedMageCole]

Arthur caught Justine right as she spoke, worry cementing in his heart even further. He looked down at Mim, then up to Justine, before shaking his head and looking down at Simeon, opening his mouth to speak-

 

"Oh, go check on her. I won't pretend I know what happened, but she needs yer care too. Don't worry, Snowbird will know what ye did."

 

Simeon gently pats the coat that enveloped Mim, and Arthur nodded and took off after Justine. As he did, Baldur began to force himself up and yell at himself, to which Simeon got up and put his big, comforting hand on Baldur's shoulder. Simeon didn't even so much as wince at the pain. Kane had looked over to Baldur, looking as if he wanted to ask Ferdiad to wait for a moment, but Simeon held his hand up to Kane before turning his attention back to Baldur, with Kane turning his attention back to Ferdiad.

 

"Orchid. Ye need to rest... Phoenix doesn't want ye overexerting yourself. Snowbird's gonna be fine, she's tough and see?" Simeon gestures to Fey walking over with Tabitha over her shoulder. "Immediate care is on the way. Snowbird's got a lotta fight in her; if ye have it right now, she also has it. People say they may want to die, but nobody really means it unless they truly, absolutely have nothin' left in the world. And considerin' who we got here... I'd say ye both have plenty to fight through a little bit'a poison for. C'mon, sit back down." Simeon pats Baldur's shoulder, ushering him to sit down slowly. Once more, Simeon fights back whatever pain he was feeling to go at Baldur's pace. "I heard the screamin', ye know. It was a loud battle. Ficus' heroic sacrifice, ye tryin' to get Snowbird to initiate a plan... Kid was whimperin' like a baby, but I've already heard it all in my age. Did I tell ye I was a pirate in me youth?" A brief pause, before Simeon gives a hearty chuckle. "I guess that mighta been obvious, never did want to ditch the fashion and the accent stuck with me ever since."

 

 

Meanwhile, Arthur didn't take long to catch up with Justine.

 

"J-Minstrel! Minstrel, wait!

 

He ran as fast as he could to try and catch up, whether he was speaking while running or standing afterwards was on Justine's terms.

 

"I... I know you'd be fine on your own, so I won't make the crappy excuse of 'there might be leftover enemies nearby', but... please let me walk with you. I'll understand if you want to be alone for a bit, but... ugh...!" Arthur kicks the ground, completely unaware of any worries Justine might have had regarding him. "I hate that bastard, Death... you finally got a few more chances to fight with your stellar swordplay, and he pulls that cheap bullshit on you... It's not fair to you. But... I know Snowbird won't blame you. She's gotta save her yelling for me from the beginning of the battle."

[Chevaleresse]

Justine sighed. She had hoped she would have time to gather herself. The singer wasn't the picture of stoicism, per se, but she had always tried to put on a good face for everyone else. Arthur's concern was touching, too, but she wasn't sure she quite deserved it at the moment. 

"I wouldn't really call it stellar." She continued to walk as she spoke, ambling aimlessly through the woods. "It's just one mistake, but. . ." She shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if I should even be here. Too many dreams, and not enough sense."

 

[Flannelmagician]

She felt like a child. Whether it be because of her outburst or being carried by Fey, in this moment she felt a rush of somewhat comforting embarrassment. Despite her feelings, she knew this was the right thing to do. She let her arms dangle as Fey carried her and sighed heavily before muttering something. 

 

_{"Thank you..."} 

 

As she was placed down she silently nodded to Fey then to everyone around Mim. As she knelt down she used Arthur's shoulder to get herself stable, despite not having suffered damage during this last encounter, her legs were shaking for other reasons. Then she began to work on healing her to the best of her abilities. 

 

_{"I'm sorry I took so long, you're not going to die here."} 

 

As she worked on healing Mim one phrase repeated itself in her mind.

 

"I'm a monster." 

[Zetaark]

"Spend enough time sailing and you get all manner of crew. Some good at what they do, some not so much. You could say I learned a bit from those experiences," Fey tells Lenore as she assists in taking care of Mim, seeing as how Baldur was being taken care of. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Snowbird after this probably but, what can you do. Need anything from me for now Rose?"

[Aurorix]

"I-I could never forgive myself if I sat back and something happened to either of them... I... I..." The calming grasp of Simeon lowered Baldur's arms and he sunk back into his heels. He really couldn't do anything to help could he. Time began to slow, Simeon's voice faded away, the strength in Baldur's entire body began to give way as the Blacksmith's ushering to sit down took hold. Before he knew it he went to sitting, then to laying back on the ground loosing the will to even sit up. He stared into the sky as it began to turn dusk, yellow slowly began to overtake the blue hue. The churning burning feeling still ever present throughout his body.

 

"Wow, could you be anymore pathetic."

"I told you that you would be useless."

"What a worthless human being!"

"Can't even stop it a second time? Talk about being completely inept."

"This is all your fault you know?"

"How could you let all this happen?"

"He was too focused on House Daxter."

"HA! Like he could do anything about that now."

 

The butler put his left palm to his forehead. He has to shut them up! He needs his canteen! But everyone is watching. If he does that now...

 

"Disgusting."

"Laughable."

"Scumbag."

 

Arg! Who cares anymore! He hurriedly rummaged though his inside suit pocket and popped open his canteen. He quickly chugs down the canteen, too quickly in fact as he begins to cough after breathing in the liquid. With the canteen completely empty he continues to stare into the dusk of the sky completely silent.

[ElfCollaborator]

Lenore casts a glance over at Baldur a minute, before looking back to Fey.
 

"You and me both. You ride with crooks, you get all sorts. Granted.....I don't think I've had a mess nearly as bad as this. Ever. Except the House Exsten heist. That was......something."

[Swordstar]

While Mim showed no signs of waking up, her breathing slowly returned to normal, and a tinge of color returned to her cheeks. Almost hesitantly, her body relaxed, settling down into the coat she was wrapped up in. If her wounds were checked, there would be no signs of bleeding, though the wounds on her neck and cheek had seemingly scarred over instead of healing normally, presumably from the poison that had invaded from those spots. Tabitha's healing had done its job. She was no longer dying. But the toll the experience had taken on her, fright, blood loss, trauma, had left her mentally and physically drained. It was unclear how soon she would wake up, but at least those worried about her could rest easy knowing that she would eventually open her eyes once more.

[RedMageCole]

Arthur looked distressed, trying to find the right words to help Justine. Though he was in a panic, it was clear that he wanted to be able to do something for her as he continued to walk with her through the woods.

 

"I... I know how it feels, too much dreams and not enough sense. To be honest... that was basically my whole life. It's why I landed myself in prison, and it's why I'm tagging along here. But..."

 

"Even if your dreams feel too big... I'd like to think that you can make them work. There are still ways to turn dreams into reality, after all... it takes courage, the drive to move forward..."

 

A pause. Arthur sighed, putting a hand on his forehead, somewhat irked at himself.

 

"I don't know if I'm making much sense, sorry. I guess... I just know that... if you weren't here... well, I don't want to think about that. Because you are here. We met. And... even if you didn't belong, our experiences... I feel that's enough to justify any reasoning for being here."

 

...

 

Simeon carefully watched Baldur, and he sighed pretty deeply, the sigh of a father who just learned that his son had been into underage drinking solely through smelling the breath and the alcohol from the canteen, granted at an old age but drinking nonetheless.

 

"Trust me... there're better ways to cope with yer stress. I would know..." Simeon talked vaguely enough so that anyone in earshot wouldn't question much what he was talking about, clearly intending on keeping Baldur's secret as secret as he could.

[Aurorix]

"I... I've only started carrying this recently. It's been a shackle on me ever since." The butler mutters, guilt drenched in his tone along with undertones of pain,  "It started as a gift from a close friend to help but quickly spiraled out of my control. *cough* I suppose apples never fall too far from their trees since my old man had much the same issue only even farther gone. Worst part is, even if I had the will to try and fix this, it wouldn't solve the cause... Nothing could..."  

[Chevaleresse]

"Oh, Arthur. . ." Intentionally or not, he was saying precisely the sorts of things she would have told someone else, had she been in his position. And they sounded. . . more than just encouraging, which didn't help her inner conflict.

"You're right, one does need courage and drive to make the world a better place. But. . . I can't help but feel like I've been lying to myself. Acting like I belong doing something like this, like I've been contributing to the group. It feels as if I should never have left the stage, if the sum of my additions to the cause have been squabbling and cutting open an ally because of my own foolhardiness." She sighed again, her pace slowing to a stop now that they were a fair distance into the woods. "And now others suffer for my mistakes, while I walk free and unburdened by anything but my own conscience." She turned to the mage.

"And how could you trust me? I could be acting right now, feigning guilt just to assuage your doubts."

[RedMageCole]

Simeon put one of his big, firm yet gentle hands on Baldur's shoulder, looking at him with understanding eyes.

 

"Aye, I understand. It's one hell of a time getting out of that spiral... but know that there're people who care about ye. They'll help ye get out of that rut... of course, we don't have to do that now. Just try'n get some rest, me boy."

 

A gentle pat.

 

---

 

Arthur crosses his arms, just thinking to himself. He stands there for a little bit, but not too long.

 

"Mmm... Well, if it helps any... I don't think you've been acting. I mean, we all make mistakes. I've made a hell of a lot of mistakes. Sometimes... sometimes I wonder the same thing too. If I should have left home. If I should have just... stayed and was obediently the crown prince of Ria. But..."

 

A sigh. Arthur briefly opens his eyes to look at Justine's, before looking back down at the ground.

 

"Look at me, talking about myself. That's not at all helpful, sorry... I don't think you're feigning guilt at all, though. Your eyes don't lie... to be honest, I'm not much of an eye reader, but I think they look pretty upset about everything. And that guilt... that willingness to admit that something had gone awry... It'll be hard, but I know you can get past it. You're strong, and you've been such a big help from what I've seen, you know? Your dances are very inspiring... though I wish I would get to see more of your swordplay, it really does feel like you don't get enough time to do that. Maybe we could fence sometime? I don't use swords very often, but I'm no slouch with them... I want to be able to see your skill. Help you realize that you do have that skill... in any way I can, really."

 

Arthur looks back where the camp is.

 

"...Oh, they can wait. I'll stay with you until you're ready to return..."

 

-----------

 

If there was any indicator to Kane's versatility and agility, it was now. Once the tents were all set up, Kane was practically cooking, keeping an eye out, checking in on the patients, giving quick orders to people, and most importantly, keeping an eye on Ferdiad who had been sitting close to the edge of camp. When talking about Ferdiad, he had this to say...

 

"Knight is our guest. Please, feel free to talk to him... say your goodbyes,"

 

Kane would say the last part, as if almost pleading with himself internally that Knight would not say goodbye this time. The smell of meat permeated the air as Kane tended to many spitroasts over one of the fires over the campfire. The plan...

 

"We're approaching nightfall. It's pretty pitch black out... but just to be safe, we're going to take one more hour to prepare. Food's almost done, please help yourselves to that... and get ready. For in one hour, we strike Castle Ulux. King Darcy's Relic will be ours by morning, I promise you all that."

 

Mim and Baldur, thankfully, were feeling much better. Shin... well, he's not bleeding anymore, whether he felt better or not was entirely a question of his own mental state.

 

Simeon stayed with Mim and Baldur, particularly Baldur, making sure they're okay. Like a good dad would.

 

Arthur, of course, stayed with Justine as long as she needed.

 

Sid is stuck in Simeon's tent, the faint sound of metal clanging together from within.

 

One last hour.

[Aurorix]

"They shouldn't..." Baldur muttered under his breath before going silent.

 

Baldur never got up from ground after that, save for going into his tent once it was pitched. Not yet has he come out even for food, the butler couldn't work up any will to eat. Whatever liquid that was in his canteen was all gone by now, not a drip remained. The numbness pf the senses that came with it, a preferable alternative. Another day unwillingly seared into his memory and another failure added to the list.  "One more hour huh?" he spoke out loud to himself as he freed his clipped watch and began to watch the time tick..... tick..... tick..... on by. His face soulless and dreary, slouching into his bent up legs as the hand holding the pocket watch sunk itself in front of his face.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Lysander helped Kane and the others in setting up the camp. The whole time hiding his thoughts about the contents of the letter he received. He had to tell someone, he needed help. But from who? After a long time of thinking he decided to go with the choice that was the most fair, rather than the one that was the smartest. 

He stood outside of Baldur's tent. "Baldur, it's me Lysander. How are you feeling? If you are feeling better, I've got something very important to discuss with you."

[Aurorix]

Well this was surprising. Out of all the people to come to him he least expected the newbie he chewed out. He let out a soft sigh before clapping his pocket watch shut, clipping it back on his outer coat pocket. The butler got himself into a more proper sitting position,

 

"You may come in." He uttered melancholingly 

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

He opened the tent's flap and ducked a little to come in. He casually looked around, not surprised at the state of the tent. Lys made eye contact with Baldur, and with an unflinching face started speaking. "I'll get to the point Baldur, during the battle I discovered you've had a run in with the Daxters. Well so have I, and I might have a lead on getting know more about them. But I need you to trust me, and even more importantly I want to be able to trust you. If you don't think you can do either, say the word and I'll be out of your way. I can't afford to have someone I can't trust come with me."

[Aurorix]

"Ah, I see. I found it odd that House Daxter was the target of so many of your heists." The butler spoke, his tone and mood picking up just slightly,  "However, unlike yourself I am not sure it was the Daxters themselves I had a 'run in' with. They are one of my suspects and to be honest one of the top ones. I... only got angered because of Famine's lyrics." He stopped himself before going any further,  "As for trust, I can trust you enough based on your history and time with us. Even if I may not have enjoyed the first impressions. However, I think you should find someone else to trust. I am... unreliable at best, as much as I would love to hear your lead. Kane would probably be your best bet here in our group. Him or Lenore anyways..."

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Lenore was my second option. Kane is out of the question, for certain reasons. I chose you because I thought it fair. The Daxters have hurt far too many people, if you were one of their victims I wanted to give you the tools to enact your own justice." Lysander paused for a moment, fist clenched. Just thinking about them made him sick, but he kept his cool. "Thank you for your honesty Baldur. I'm going to go find Lenore, I hope your recovery is swift." And with a short bow, he turns to leave the tent. 

[Aurorix]

The butler began to slowly sulk once again as Lysander spoke, 

 

"What are you doing? Here's your chance! Don't let it go!" A sweet feminine voice range through his head and his drooping ceased, "Don't just sit there!" He begins to reach his arm forward to stop the wind mage, "That's it! now just-"

 

"Oh please, are you serious." All movements cease once more as a groggy deep male voice bellows over the now meek voice of a mouse, "Look at yourself, you're disgusting. You really think YOU could be of any use? If that use is getting that man killed then go ahead. That hasn't stopped you before, why start now?" The butler retracts his arms and more rapidly goes back into his slump. Content to this being the best course of action.

 

"I'm... Sorry..." Baldur mutters lamentably as Lysander leaves the tent.