A Bitter Soul -- {Lakeside Ponderings}

[Adrastos Morandir]

Adrastos grunted in acknowledgement, keeping his distance from Rywin as best he could as he finished off the last of his share of the mushrooms. Living things grew little in the Deeps, and so he was quite used to living on fungi, mosses, lichens and various types of algae, though the Surface varieties tended not to lend as much energy as he was used to.

"What happened?" He asked at length, moving over to his pack and beginning to rumage through it. "Not a healer, myself, but I never thought it made you-" he rotated his hand in the air as he searched for words. "-whatever that was." He finished, returning to his rucksack.

A few moments later he gave a soft 'ah!', pulling out a small bundle, bound with a thin white cloth strip. In his other hand he produced a small mortar and pestle, worn with much use. While he waited for an answer he sat down, legs crossed, and opened the bundle; within was a meager supply of long, silvery fronds that were beginning to glow pallidly in the growing dark. He removed two of the fronds and crunched them into a ball, placing them within the mortar, where he proceeded to grind them thoroughly. A minute or so later he removed a waterskin from his pack, pouring a small quantity in with the ground leaves, and stirring the solution about until they created a watery paste, glowing palely.

He soaked the strip of cloth in the pasty substance, eyes still closed against the lingering light (more out of habit than neccesity), and began to run the cloth along the length of his scars, beginning with his shoulders, where they appeared the most inflamed; silvery as opposed to his dark skin. He seemed to relax as he applied the salve, cracking open one golden eye, still blood-shot from the light exposure, directing his gaze at Gabriel attentively.

[Doronlas]

Rubbing his temples, Gable tried to figure out how he was supposed to explain his little energy thing he did. The best he could call it was a healer's trance but even that wasn't precise enough for what he did. Anyone could go into a trance but not everyone could see the network of life that made up a living creature and see the color of their energy. Sighing, Gable glanced over at the Drow, watching with a neutral expression as Adrastos ministered to his scars and cuts.

"It's a gift elven healers sometimes have. My mother had it and I have it. All I do is repair what's broken in a body. Sometimes it takes more out of me than I realize and I am a true believer that one day it will kill me but, at least it works."

That was a very, very condensed version of Gable's power. He kept the part out about seeing the energy path and the glowing, hopeful the Drow hadn't noticed or wouldn't be curious enough to ask. In all honesty he was very surprised to find that Adrastos was even on this side of the mountains considering he was apparently a wanted man. Add that to the seemingly naturally aggressive and non-compassionate nature of a Drow and Gable had to say he was simply floored. True he might have hoped for a little help but in the back of his mind Gabriel had to admit he wouldn't have been surprised to find himself still on the lakeshore or captured by Adrastos' "friends".

Leaning against a tree trunk, Gable did a quick check of himself internally. He felt relatively alright, achy but in one piece at least. There wasn't any dizziness, but he hadn't tried to get up yet. He was nauseous but it would pass. Tired? Yes but again he would have to get up and keep moving anyway. Rywin would help but for now he let her rest. Reaching out with his hand, Gable pressed his palm against the dark mare's powerful neck in a silent thanks. Rywin snuffled and continued munching the grass, no longer hindered by her bridle. Gable smiled and looked toward the sky, trying to judge the time.

"Do you still think we should go north Rywin?" Gable asked, looking toward the warhorse.

Snorting, Rywin swung her head to the left toward the west. Gable chuckled.

"West this time? So be it mellon nin." Chuckling tiredly, Gable patted her neck, content to just let himself rest for now.

[Adrastos Morandir]

Adrastos scoffed quietly, muttering something about 'indecisive beasts' as he finished his chest and moved on to his arms, then his back, dislocating his arms to reach the more difficult lash-scars. With the last of the paste he gingerly covered the single scar along the left side of his face, ignoring the slashes his own nails had made the previous night. Setting aside the mortar, pestle and cloth to be washed later, he rewrapped the bundle and stowed it, exhaling deeply through his nose as he was finally able to relax. Well, as much as he ever could.

The moon had finally come into sight, large, round, and golden-yellow, like a bright coin tossed against the sky, and he could feel the lunar energy beginning to pulse at his core, heightening his Awareness. He shut his eyes gently, straightening his posture, and pressed his palms to the ground at his sides, leaning back just slightly as he felt out the ground's pulse.

Letting himself slip into the half awake-ness that allowed him to so acutely sense the world, he noted (thoughtlessly, as always) the faintly swirling orange energy of the horse, which was tinged with wisps of pale ochre-red to indicate irritation (towards him, he might have assumed), and a rosy pink (towards Gable), as well as the various browns and dark greens of most animals. Gable himself was a much more subtle, complex cocktail of colors (as someone else might have described it, though there was really no way to acurately describe the experience). Sentient creatures who held the ability of Language and Reason were always more complicated.

There was raw, brick red for some deep-seated anguish and pain, gentle blue for kindness and tenderness, the same pink-ish shade for Rywin as she held for him, and that green-ish glow healers tended to have. There was more, but Adrastos didn't bother with it, as his companions had not been his original target of 'meditation'. Instead, he turned to the world around him, immediately noting a violent crimson/gray, for anger. There had been some intrusion upon these woods that they were not pleased with (his thoughts might have jumped to the recent explosion Gable had incited-trees were never fans of fire). However, those browns and greens appeared in abundance, and in many multitudes, calm and serene, patient and complacent- a very natural place.

There were oranges and yellows- probably predators, bright lilacs and ceruleans- creatures like deer and the less-violent bears, jittery marigolds and nervous jades- the lower creatures of the food chain, such as squirrels and mice. The earth pulsed with the rythm of running water, the falls still close at hand, and the air swirled with pale, pale off-whites and silvers (travelling things, always moving, always seeking news places, never grounded for a moment).

Adrastos did not know how long he had been in his trance, but he awoke from it almost sleepily, though feeling refreshed. He had not looked into his own chi, knowing he would only see aggressive reds and blacks and dark grays, with maybe a shameful sliver of that brick red-instead he had attained a sort of strange peace from the world around him that his body could never summon on its own, the easiest way for him to clear his mind. He turned his eyes vaguely on Gable, blinking non-chalantly.

"West is clear. You should find no trouble." he said, as if he had just heard to comment a few seconds ago.