Into the Fray

The war felt… cold. Despite the raging fires that burned down the millions of homes, I couldn’t help but feel the icy grip tighten against my own milky flesh. When will it end? Why has this happened to begin with? All of these farm villages had nothing to do with the war. When they started burning them, killing the families inside or robbing them blind it nearly broke this little village, somehow they managed to struggle back from it again and again. Its been a long 10 years. Many sick women and children didn’t make it this year. The cemetery grows full… hopes are fading. Bodies are coming home to already empty houses. Mother and I were already outcasts. She had been run out for being a sorceress, father was offered a position as the kings wizard, leaving us behind. He does occasionally send us money. Mother still resents him but I cant speak on the subject, he does still help us survive after all… or did. When the war started he was drafted. His magic is great and in the effort to fight the approaching doom he was our nations one strong point against the RogueGaurds. I have older siblings but I have not met them. Perhaps it is a good thing. It is enough to take care of mother, even the Jutlik, or magical creatures, of this world age and die. Sadly she is reaching her end. I wish it didn’t have to be like this. Keeping her caged away, hidden from others. She cannot spread her wings.. Even for one last time. Some part of me aches for her even if I cannot understand. Despite popular belief, those born from magic aren’t always magical. I know simple spells to help me with everyday tasks, opening doors without touching them, walking up trees. Simple tasks that are not for the better or worse of anyone else. I know the disappointment I bring to my mothers heart but she never shows it. She cheers my small magical practice and keeps saying I have the heart of a great beast. She is wrong, my heart is soft and worthless to our kind. I hold the single purpose of serving her. Which isn’t as bad as stories make it to be. Sorceresses do not put spells over their servants, they do not steal their souls, its usually their own children that serve them. She asks for little help though, knowing how I cannot cope with her magic must be a burden for her. In her eyes I cannot make the simplest of spells without a potions help. This wouldn’t be a problem if it was easy to go to town and get the supplies needed. But we have distinctive features that set us apart from the normal Nord’s living here. Their large bodies are built for the harsh winters in these lands and the equally harsh labor they need to accomplish. Even the women mostly resemble someone who could break a brick with their head. You are lucky to find a Nordsman with more then 5 teeth as their diet consists of mostly meats, sometimes potatoes, and hygiene is not a strong point. They are always covered with some type of filth, and don’t care much for words. Jutlik tend to be on the slender side, we have no need for all the bronze when we have the long range defense to keep foes away. We do tend to be on the tall side, but with all the burly Nord’s its barely a difference at all. Our hair is naturally fair like our skin. Our ears as children are round but with age begin to point. Our memories are sharp, its rare to have to tell a Jutlik anything twice. But our most prominent feature is our eyes. Able to stop a soul in its tracks paralyzing a weaker mind, temporarily. The eyes are one of the most powerful parts of a Jutlik. And if anything is to be said of the relationship between Nord’s and Jutlik is our feeling of title, glory, and rank. Jutlik is the name that was given to us in the oldest tongue to date. Our magic was a gift from the earth herself to help us watch over her. Although the title has faded to humans and we are now just considered demons we still hold our position on this earth with great responsibility and prowess. Real Jutlik will defend their name to the death. I am slightly different which only holds my worthlessness to another level. My eyes are not the milky blue they should be. Instead mine are two toned, one a deep blue and the other a yellow. The color of a wolf‘s, they pierce but not in the way they should. Instead of striking calm serenity and submission into someone’s heart with a stare, I strike either fear or hate of the unknown into them, and being surrounded by temperamental Nord’s has proved problematic, what they hate, they attack. My skin is still fair but my hair lacks the glossy white glow of my people, instead it’s black as night. Lucky for me on my trips to the market, if I mask myself with a hood and most people think I’m just a scrawny woman. I guess you can call that luck.

Now that we are caught up on the present let us begin.

“Mother..” Doruth mumbled through a mouth full of papers and hands full of books as he rummaged through the bottles of herbs “mother where is the honey!?” he yelled the papers floating down from his mouth

“ ahh… I meant to tell you. We are all out of the honey my dear, we are also out of ginger and leek and potato and nightshade and morning glory and carrots” she said with a harsh cough at the end of her inadequate sentence.

Doruth hurried to her side pulling her blanket around her tightly “keep warm mother.” he cooed and brushed the hair behind her ear and then went to their fire and put another log on it.

“such a good boy…” she said with a deep labored breath leaning further back in her chair as Doruth reached for his coat pulling it on and grabbing his cloak.

“I will be home soon mother, just close your eyes and I’ll be home soon.” he said giving her forehead a kiss before disappearing out of the door. Taking a breath he looked around. Their house was a normal home, except for the fact it was 50 feet up in the air tenderly resting in the branches of the large oak trees just in of the forests edge. Taking a step off the from step he walked down the tree. E sighed reaching the edge of the forest pulling the hood over his head and down to cover his face.

Walking for 2 miles he finally reached the path that lead past one of the first large farms leading up to the town. As he walked by the people he said nothing and the mother hurried her children into the house, while the father stood glaring at Doruth. As hard as it was Doruth refused to make eye contact and kept moving forward. After much walking he made it to the town. ’ahh… finally, my aching feet’ he thought readjusting his hood before walking forward through the market. He purchased the majority of the things on his list before walking to the trinket shop. One thing could be said of Doruth was his love of treasures. Even if in the eyes of others it was simply junk Doruth always could spot shiny objects from miles away. He touched them tenderly letting his hood fall down his round eyes staring at the marble that was hanging from a leather strip not even noticing that someone was staring at him.

"Anne take hold of that horses lead!" Anne's eyes narrowed in concentration as the Welsh Cob trotted its way out of its makeshift stall in the barn. This horse was one of the new ones her aunt had traded for, practically a bargain, but the reason being that it was less than tame. It was hell just getting the thing into the barn, but to actually put it out in a feild was going to be like fighting a bear with her bare hands. The animal was larger than her in bulk and she could easily hear its large hooves pounding against the packed earth with loud clomps. But would Anne ever let that stop her? Not a chance.
She quickly moved infront of the currently closed door, blocking the large horses path. She planned to get the rope when the horse got close enough to her that she could get to his side and out of the way of his hooves. However she didn't expect the horse to pick up pace into a gallop and come barreling at her. Anne knew by the look her aunt was giving her that the horse wasn't going to stop and quickly dove out of the way. She tripped and rolled into a pile of fresh hay just before the horse broke through the door and took off into the farm yard. He wouldn't get very far since the property was surrounded by strong fences but he would still cause a mess perhaps in the garden.
Anne popped out of the hay pile, spitting up grass and trying to brush it off of her. She heard someone give a loud huff above her and looked up at her aunt's disappointed face. "You alright Anne?" She asked, holding her hand out for Anne to take. Anne gave the hand a look before getting to her feet herself.
"I'm fine. I almost had him..." Her aunt put a hand on her hip.
"Yeah, sure kid. How many times have I told you not to get in the way of a big animal like that? He could have trampled you! Then what would my brother have said, huh?"
Anne gave her an annoyed look. "I can handle a horse, Aunt Gina. You tought me how after all." Her aunt gave her a long look before blowing out a sigh.
"Go catch him. Then take Willow with the honey and wool to town. I have to fix this door." Anne gave her a quick nod, her rather disappointed features taking on a strong determination. IThe look reminded her aunt of her brother when they were kids. Her aunt tried not to laugh as Anne hurried off after the horse, all the while musing how much she was like her father.

Anne blew out a long sigh of exhaustion, leaning against the horses neck that she rode. Willow, her personal favorite of all the Welsh Cobs, was the largest of her aunts horses. She was the most docile however and worked as a good horse at pulling the cart to go to town. Willow had taken to her instantly and required little to no coaxing to actually put to work. That was the easiest part of Anne's week. She just wished all of it could come this easy to her. That new horse today alone had taken her a good hour to corner and finally drag back to the pasture, only because he saw the hay still sticking out of her braid and had chased her down trying to take a bite out of her hair.
She gave another long sigh at the ache that the memory brought to her lower back. The tumble into the hay hadn't been as soft as she expected and she had been up since dawn finishing the chores that her aunt allowed her to do. Those mostly consisted of taking care of the animals and none of the "hard" labor.
Anne didn't resent her Aunt for going easy on her, she simply felt that she was being looked down upon, something she just couldn't handle. She didn't want to be a waste of space, she wanted to do her part. But if people kept treating her like a little weakling she'd never get her chance to prove herself. That was why she had to get tough quick, before she really did become useless.
The noise of town was a calming noise for her, since she enjoyed the buzz of the village. She passed through the less crowded back streets, finally getting to the back of some of the shops. She hopped off of Willow's back hurrying to the back door and gave it a hardknock. The owner, a good friend of her aunts, answered eventually and he smiled at the sight of Anne.
"Hey Anneliese, what do you have for me today?"
"Some honey and wool, the good stuff too."
"My my, well that should cover the debt owed here. COme on in, I'll help you carry the stuff in."
"No I've got it." She said quickly before hurrying back to the cart. She tied up Willow and quickly got to work lifting one of the baskets of honey. She struggled getting it off the cart and teetered a little when carrying it towards the door.
A whistle came from nearby and she heard someone call, "try not to hurt yourself little one." Anger spiked in Anne's body but she quickly queeled the urge to turn around confront the person. She simply went back to work with carrying everything in. She placed it all in the back storage area and the shop owner nodded to himself.
"Okay so that's copper and some salt you need? I'll see what I have that can be melted down. Wait here." Anne nodded as he hurried off and stood tapping her foot in the small back room. When that became too boring she took a step out of the room and into the shop. She never quite understood how this shop stayed open. It was just full of a bunch of things people didn't want and junk. However a person now in the shop seemed pretty intrigued with a particular item of junk, a necklace that hung from an old looking sign. "See something you like?" She asked, getting a little closer. She thought it would be a good idea not to let a customer be unattended while the owner was away. At this point she could only see the back of his head and very little of the mans profile, the cloak covered the shape of his body too. But she could tell he was intimidatingly taller than her, though she hardly let that bother her. She took a place near the small dividing counter, leaning against it with a half smile. "You're probably the only one that ever found anything they'd like in here." She said, more as a joke.

(soooo sorry its so long)

(gatta love the long posts :3 )

"ah..." he said his eyes still a little glazed" its like an eye... so blue.." he mumbled turning his head slightly in her direction. he stood up and looked down at her "so small.. like the marble." he mumbled his ood letting in a little light that reflected off his yellow eye before he tugged the hood further down

"Ann...na ?" he said tapping his lip as if remembering. "your name is Anne? ive seen you once before. about 8 months ago. you had a big pot of honey." he said thinking about how sweet honey tasted and how much he wanted some suddenly then realized she had a rather confused expression falling on her face

"um.. you didnt introduce yourself... i heard the shop keeper say your name. my mind never lets me forget.." he felt a sense of uneasiness settle across her face and he chuckled awkwardly wondering why he even tried to have a conversation with someone anyway

"well, i should get going then." he said and took one last gaze at the marble that commanded his attention before smacking into a very muscular nord

"WHATS THE BIG IDEA BUB?" he yelled grabbing Doruth bu the collar pulling him down to the nords eye level knocking doruths hood off of him.

"WHAT THE-" he yelled and doruth quickly pulled his hood up with a scowl and grabbed his basket pushing past the nords

"he has the eyes of a devil!" the man shouted after doruth but his long strided had already carried him out of the market and nearly out of the village

~=~
halfway home doruth stopped resting the basket of herbs on a stone fence with a grunt "my shoulders bound of fall right off one day!" e grumbled sitting on the wall looking at the pasture before him. a nice little home and barn sat not to far away from him. 'how nice...' he thought but frowned 'i wonder how many they lost..' doruth sat pondering for some time. the only thing that broke his thought was the clap of hooves and a rickety cart coming up. instinctively he flung himself behind the wall into the pastures tall grass laying flat to hide himself from whoever was there. unfortunately he was sidetracked again by the pale yellow flower that was right infront of his nose "Bog Wart" he mumbled picking the vine at its roots smelling it "ahh! what a gold mine!" he mumbled crawling around the fencing for a good 30 minutes pulling up the little white flowers roots until he came to a rather large hoove

"ahh... nice pony" he said and looked up at the ill tempered young horse "good boy... nice and easy" he mumbled. "... do you want your tummmy rubbed?" he asked at the horse stomped its hooves near doruths arm

"ahh! nice pony!" he yelped trying to crawl away as the horse stomped all around him while he frantically crawled "BAD PONY! BAD!"

Anne stared after the random man that took off from the shop, her eyebrow raised upwards in question and partly in concern. That small altercation made her uneasy especially now that she heard the man say that the strange man had the eyes of a devil. That confused her even more, to the point she just had to relay all of what just happened. 'I think he just compared me to a marble...' She thought before shaking her head and going back to waiting for the shop owner. It took him a while to get back and when he did he had her order with him. She went to take the sacks from him but the guy that just entered grabbed the bag before her.
"Can't have you breaking anything missy." He said with a smirk, making Anne's nose scrunch a little. That was always a bad sign with her. She bit down on her lip, trying her best to avoid a fight. She didn't want something like that getting back to her aunt. The woman had enough problems as it was.
She awkardly thanked them as they placed the stuff on the cart and she went quickly to Willow's side. She patted the horses nose lovingly, her lips pulling into a small frown. "We don't need those men right. We're tough girls." She said before slipping onto her cart. She entertained herself on the way back home, whistling a small tune to herself. It was an old tune her father often hummed while working. She found the little tune to be a refreshing reminder of her father. She passed along the road that eventually snaked up to the property. Willow let out a snort when they passed a section of wall and Anne gave a frown. "What's up Willow?" She said but the horse kept trotting along, as if whatever it was didn't concern her enough to pay it much mind. She got to the barn and lead Willow inside with the cart. She had just unhitched her and was pulling the comb over her fur when there was suddenly a loud commotion outside. She poked her head out the door and saw the new horse was stopping around, creating a cloud of dust around him. "Hey quit it!" She called, not seeing Doruth and thinking the horse was just being a jerk. She walked out giving the animal a shrill and very precise whistle. It's ears pricked and it stopped to turn its head to look at her. She gave a huff, about to close the door when movement caught her eye. She leaned back out the door, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. It was already starting to become late afternoon, which meant the shadows were a bit more elongated. She stared in the direction of the fence and gave it a frown. "Hello?" She called, feeling a bit stupid, but was more worried about what had the horse so riled up.

doruth heard her voice and he pressed his body against the ground againreached for his basket . he grabbed a small pebble and flicked it at te horse hitting it right in the under belly trying to get it to run off. instead it got pissed and clomped a hoof down on his back

"ahhh for the love of ferns!" he yelled standing up he was nearly as tall as the horse "YOU JERK!" he yelled grabbing it by the sides of its nose. instantly the orse stopped and calmed down stiffening "yeah now you know me" he whispered to the horse patting its nose as he reaced down to pick up his things but his back hurt pretty bad

his mumbling only stopped when he heard the crunch of a foot hitting dirt behind him

"oh hey im sorry i just-" he truned holding up the white flowers noticing it was anne

"ahh... its you... great..." he mumbled his head down "your weeds are excellent termite repellent... i didnt think you would miss them..." he mumbled under his breath another had rubbing his back

the horse nuzzle his shoulder gently and he huffed "YOU! you need a time out! back to your bed! now!" he yelled at the horse and it lowered its head trotting back to the barn

"... your horse clobbered me pretty good in the back. i dont know ow you discipline in your house but its obviously not effective. " he growled looked down at his crushed basket "ahh... damn it" e moaned trying to hold all the herbs but there where too many

Anne saw something startle the new horse and its foot came down on something quite audibly. She then saw a man spring up from the ground, and begin yelling at her aunt’s horse. That struck a chord with her and her eyes narrowed in the man’s direction. She hurried out to them stopping her jog only a foot away from the man. She quickly went to restrain the horse but paused when she noticed that the horse was behaving rather well. It stood there much like her, confused as why the hell this man was here. Shaking off her shock, she opened her mouth to quickly say an apology to the person the horse had tried to mess with but she was beaten to it. He apologized and looked back at her, his face and sentence dropping quickly. She didn’t quite get a good look at his face at first, but Anne didn’t like the way he addressed her in that ‘oh it’s YOU.’ How the hell did he know her? She placed a hand on the horses side, the other on her hip, as he spoke about the weeds. Her brows furrowed in awkward confusion as his voice reminded her of someone. The horse nudged him and he freaked out at it. Instantly she thought to grab hold of the horse before it kicked him but the horse seemed to listen to him. She blinked in shock before looking back to the man. Her lip twitched a bit, her frustrations from today catching up with her mood when he mentioned the decipline in her house.
“I should be saying the same for you.” She said, her words containing enough bite to show that she was not amused. “I don’t know how your household teaches sense, but common sense should tell you not to get in a clearly marked pasture with an animal you don’t know.” She tried to keep her frown firm but watching him trying to collect his things that the basket her horse had broken once carried. She gave a small huff and took a step back. “Look...you shouldn’t be on my property but that doesn’t excuse how the horse acted. I’m sorry he trampled your things. But I can give you something to replace the basket he destroyed...okay?” She said, but had already headed back toward the barn. She went into the main stables and stopped for a moment. The new horse was in his stall, no securing lead or anything making him stay there and he was being perfectly calm. She gave a small smile of curiosity at that before grabbing a basket from the storage room. She hurried back out to him, her hair falling out of its braid from all the running around. She put the basket down and knelt beside him. “Here, this should work right?” She picked up some of the herbs and placed them carefully in the basket. She was curious as to why a guy would be collecting all this stuff, especially since some of it didn’t smell very good.
She was just trying to be nice, in hopes he wouldn’t complain to someone and get her aunt in trouble for the horse hurting him. She looked up from the herbs she was collecting into his face. He really was tall, almost tree like compared to her, and so thin, not built like the men around her. She caught herself staring and realized why his voice sounded so familiar. “You’re that guy from the shop...aren’t you?” She gave him a smirk. “So you have a thing for marbles, plants and getting into trouble? Interesting.” She said, before she cocked her head a little to the side, when she remembered what the man had said about his eyes. She hadn’t been paying much attention to them, but now she was curious to see what would constitute ‘devil eyes’.

"there is no need to get snippy. you have to pick the weeds or they will grow into the pasture over all the nice grass for your little bats out of hell to eat anyway. i see it as me doing you a favor more then anything" he said and cleared his throat at the ticked off look on her face so he changed the subject

"marbles..... i just like the way they capture something. make it so still." he said thinking of the blue swirls forever captured in that moment

"thank you for the basket. I will return it." he said after they had put everything inside of it

"i should be off. its rather late." he said looking towards the setting sun he pulled his hood further down so she still couldnt see his face

"have a pleasent night" he said standing and hopping over the wall walking away from her

'its so dark... i cant even make out my path through the trees' he tought and held out his hand a ball of light appearing in it. it was palm sized and had a lovely green glow to it. before seeing his home above himself he pulled his hood off and set a small chunk of meet out in a silver bowl under his tree. 'i hope that mutt didnt go get himself hurt' he thought before walking up the tree and into his house quitely putting away all the items he saw his mother was in her bed sleeping and had left out a bowl of soup for him. he smiled heating it over the fire and eating it slowly as he grabbed his box of treasures looking through all the marbles and shiney peices of glass or womens costume jewlery "it would have made a nice addition to my collection.. sadly it was just to expensive." he sighed standing and cleaning his plate before pulling out a blanket and pillow to lay infront of the fire with falling asleep thinking of the events from that day

~*~

a few days had gone by since the incident with Anne and the horse. he had ment to get her basket back to her but his mother seemed to be getting sicklier by the second and he couldnt leave her side

she lay in her bed while he stirred the potion over the fire "mother.. have some. its going to help with your aches" he whispered as she sipped from the spoon he was olding

"such a good boy, dont stay with your mother go do what you need to. i know you have been itching to leave this house for days!" she coughed and he smiled weakly at her "how could i leave when you are so ill. i will do it another day" he said and she sighed "i want you to know something doruth, your heart is so strong, i know you will be able to over come anything, i need you to move on when im gone, you need to find your soul" she said and he looked at her with a sad expression before she coughed rolling over on her side

"your heart will never open up to you and give you all the power you posses if you worry over trivial things such as life and death. if ive taught you anything its that in death there is life. it is a cause of celebration and not of sadness. you must make the most of your time on this earth doruth! so for the sake of the sun!!! go and run your errand." she said with a laugh and he sighed standing "ill be back quickly!" he promised grabbing the basket and his cloak stepping out of the house and down to the forest floor

inside of the basket was a jar of all different kinds of berries that where rather hard to come by in down but he found often enough in the forest.

he walked to the little house and jumped the fence looking inside the barn to see it was empty.

he walked to the crop field and saw anne plowing away 'such a difficult task...' he thought seeing her struggle with clearing the land 'even for me that would be difficult...' he sighed staying hidden while he watched her work wondering why he couldnt freeze moments like these in a marble. little did he realize it had been hours and hours. when she walked back to the barn to put the horse away he paniced and hide. while she was putting things away he walked to the front door of their house and set the basket down walking some distance away before hidding 'ill just see her reaction and then leave...' he thought knowing he should have gone home but couldnt help but want to see her suprised face

Anne was sweating profusely at this point, breathing heavily as she leaned against one of the horses stalls. She had been working since early that morning since her aunt was busy working with the sheep and preparing the food to store for the future. They still didn't have enough crops to tide them over for the rest of the month and there would probably be some pretty limited dinners for the next few days. The new horse, who still didn't have a name because no one still had been able to tame him, was unknowingly in the stall behind her. He leaned his head down beside Anne's and tried to gnaw at her braid. "Hey!" She quickly pulled her hair away from his mouth. He had pulled the leather tie from her hair, letting her hair fall loosely down around her face. He was already munching on the tie so she couldn't exatly use it anymore. "Not funny." She huffed before walking out of the barn. She walked back up to the house, rubbing the dust and sweat from her forehead. She hardly noticed the basket and only seeing it when she nearly tripped over it. She blinked and knelt down beside it. Surprise was evident on her face, her eyebrows lifted and her eyes alight with curiousity and confusion as well. She picked up the basket and looked through it, not finding any source of where it came from. She decided to look around her to make sure no body was there to at least show who it was from. When she found no one, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She went inside, bumping the door closed with her hip.
She walked into the kitchen, stumbling across her aunt who was stewing potatoes.
"Are the chores done, Anneleise?" Her aunt said and Anne nodded.
"All done." Her aunt made a small noise of approval. Anne placed the basket on the counter, plucked the jar from the basket, and smiled brightly at the contents.
"What's that?" Her aunt asked and Anne shrugged.
"They're berries. I found them in a basket on the porch." Her aunt frowned and walked over to her.
"Berries? Isn't that a rare find. And no one was there to give it to you?" Anne shook her head while she opened the jar and plucked one from it. She raised it to her nose before attempting to put it in her mouth. "What are you doing Anne?! Those could be poisonous!" Her aunt barked, popping her hand with the spoon in her hand. It sent the small berry to the floor where it rolled under a crate. She gave a small huff.
"It doesn't look poisonous..." She muttered as her aunt took the jar and placed it with the other things to be thrown away. "Now go get cleaned up for dinner. You smell worse than the sheep." Anne gave her aunt a small smile and went to the back of the small home. On her way however she grabbed the jar of berries, taking it with her back to her room. She placed the berries on the small shelf by her bed. She grabbed the water basin and placed it on the small table. She got the water and filled it then began to clean off with the cloth. She splashed her face with the cool water and laughed at how cold it was. She scrubbed at her neck and finally pulled down the shoulders of her tunic so that she could wash her shoulders and back. She loved the feel of the cool water on her skin, seeing as it made the burning in her aching muscles soothe. When finally the water had turned a dusty brown she tossed the rag inside the basin and slipped out of her clothes. She put on a sleeping dress and walked over to her bed side. She took one of the berries from the jar and gave it a once over glance. She could either eat the berry and be brave or throw it away and play it on the safe side. The choice was obvious for her. She popped the berry in her mouth and hand to surpress a smile at its sweet explosion of taste. She looked at the jar and thought about having another till her aunt's voice carried from the kitchen. "Dinner Anne!" Anne gave quickly popped another berry in her mouth and with a quiet giggle she went back to catch up with her aunt for dinner.

doruth was pleased with the reaction and walked home. "its been far to late mother will have worried.. what was i thin-" his voice stopped when he felt something tug at his heart. then the smell of smoke hit his nose and he bolted to the house. when he looked up it was engulfed in flames. he ran as fast as he could to the top bursting throug the door sheilding hismelf with his arm "MOMMA!!" he yelled in desperation seeing her body fully covered in the flames

"momma noo! please dont leave me" e yelled and she reached her hand to him "doruth... go." she wshierped her hand falling limp. he made it out of the door just in time to be flung from the house in a firey explosion a large flaming bird errupting from the house and then disappearing leaving nothing but smoke.

doruth had landed pretty hard against the forest floor, his side had a bunch of branches sticking in it, but all he could do was curl up into the cold grass tears falling down his face he let out a yell of pain that echoed through the forest he barked out in the old language his sorrow as he pused his head into the grass.

he laid there until his tears stopped, it was just before day break and surely someone would come to check where this smoke was coming from. standing he walked out of the forest his body burned and branches hanging out of it. he staggered his way to the only place he knew of. he sat down in the hay holding his bloodied side with a huff of tired desperation pulling his cloak off he used it as a blanket pulling it around him hidding his wounds. he found himself slipping into sleep so tired from the walk with his injuries.

Anne sat on the sile of the window, her eyes glazed over as she watched her father work on a sword. She wastched the flames lick up at the sword and was entranced by the subtle glow it gave off in the heat. She thought to her self just how cold, lifelless metal could look so powerful. Her father glanced over his shoulder and found her staring at him. He gave her a small smirk and motioned her to come closer. "Anneliese, would you like to help?" She shook her head quickly,
"No papa." She knew perfectly well just how hot that metal was and that it was very dangerous to get near the oven. Her father, though an experience black smith, had proven that to her with the scar that traveled up his arm.
Her father shook his head and gave her a shrug. He tossed the burning metal into the water bucket to cool before turning to Anne. "Alright enough work. Let's go play, eh, Anne?" He picked her up, Anne laughing loudly like any eight year old would. While burried into her father's chest she felt the warmth there and could smell the smoke from the oven on his clothing...

A smoky smell reached Anneliese's nose making her nose twitch in her sleep. "P-Papa?" She bolted up, her eyes wide with excitement. She looked around her but saw no one was there. She quelled her excitement quickly till finally she gave a disappointed look. She knew he wasn't there....so why did she let herself get so excited?
She pushed herself out of bed when she realized it was dawn, getting dressed and ready. She hurried to the kitchen where her aunt was sitting.
"Hey, what's the smell of smoke about? It's too warm out to be lighting a fire." Anneliese said and her aunt shook her head.
"There was a fire out in the woods. A couple of the hunters are out looking at the damage." She nodded, wondering to herself how a fire could have been started. It wasn't like they just sparked out in lush woods by themselves.
"Anyways, I need you to go and start the morning chores. Don't worry about the horses till last though. The goats need to be milked and you gave the horses too much hay yesterday so they shouldn't need to eat till a bit later."Anneleise nodded quickly before hurrying to work. When she walked out into the pasture, she could see that there was smoke rising above the forest a couple miles away. She gave a frown in concern but reminded herself she had little time to waste. She ran into the feild, trying to catch a couple of the goats. She was struggling to get them together till finally she caught a rather fat one. She lifted him up and walked to the barn. She got to the door and she paused. The door was slightly adjar, making her stop and wonder. She had locked the place up last night right? The squirming goat in her arms gave her stomach a kick and made her drop him. "Hey! Get back here!" She shouted, chasing the goat in practical circle as it bleeted loudly.
Willow in her stall gave a loud whinny at all the noise outside and the no name horse gave a kick to his stall door as he bobbed his head in annoyance.

doruth's eyes lulled open and he tried to stand "ahh.." he grabbed his side and crawled to one of the horse stalls pulling himself up. he clanked around the table finding gardening pinchers and he lifted up his shirt starting to dig the wood out.

"damn it" he growled holding his shirt up with his mouth he was still making a large bloody mess with the wounds. he heard noise again and pused the horse aside to get in the stall with him. he sat on the floor behind the closed door and began to try again 'i shouldnt be here, nords are so tempermental about their homes..' he thought

"god... its still so dark in here" he thought and held out his hand a small glowing ball appearing and sticking close to his side so he could see what he was doing "owowowowowowowow" he mumbled pulling one of the last chunks of wood out of his side

"man... i could go for some water." he say the horses head dipped into a water bucket and he crawled over to him "may i have some?" he whispered and the horse listed his head water spilling from its mouth all over doruths face "BLAHPPFFFFT" he sputtered with a scowl the horse whinnying with laughter

"gee thanks!" he grumbled leaning against the stable door

"Gotcha!" Anne said after snagging the goat before it could run off again. She picked up the animal and opened the door to the barn with her hip. The no name horse was making a ruckus again, this time whinnying loudly. She rolled her eyes at the animal, thinking it was just acting out for attention. She placed the goat on the ground before tying it to one of the support beams. "See that isn't so bad." She said, giving the goat a small smile and and a loving scratch behind the ears. She walked over to Willow and gave her nose a rub. The horse stuck its face in hers and blew out a breath at her. She giggled at the feeling of the warm breath on her face. She really did care for the horse, seeing as it was her only connection to fun outside of all the work she did. The realization of that made her heart grow a bit heavy. She hardly made time for much of anything outside this farm it seemed, not since she agreed to help her aunt keep this place running. She reached over into one of the baskets and pulled out a ripe green apple. Willow's ears pricked at the sight of the apple."How's my good girl?" She said softly and Willow bobbed her head. Anne gave a laugh, handing her the apple before looking over at the other horse. "And how are you trouble maker?" She joked and the horse simply shook off its mane. She went and grabbed another apple, walking over to his stall to offer him it. The horse gave the apple a sniff but didn't seem too interested.
"Not hungry huh?" She placed the apple on the sile of the door, just incase the horse changed its mind. She couldn't wait around and coax him to eat it anyways. She knew she had to get back to work and slipped away from Willow's stall to go and milk the goat. She began humming to pass the time as she worked, all the while getting the slightest of senses that something was up. The no name horse was being unusually quite now and things seemed a little...different? She placed the bucket of milk up on one of the tool shelves next to the stalls before she grabbed hold of the goat again. After this, she'd have to refill the stalls with hay and then she had a little more time for relaxing while she made sure the sheep didn't wander too far out of sight in the pasture. She hauled the goat into her arms and walked back to the pasture, hoping the animal didn't kick her again.

doruth had remained perfectly still watching her frim a small sliver of a whole in the stall wall. he grabbed teh apple as soon as she left and took a bite "mm. you really dont kno what your missing... soooo yummy" he said as he crunched down again the horse giving him a sad expression

"oh alright. ya big meanie" he grumbled handing the horse the rest of the apple which he ate in one bite

e watched anne all morning do her work and smiled 'how simple. must be nice, not to have to study constantly.' he thought remembering the hours he would have to spend reading about different potions.

his thirst still not cured he didnt hesitate at the opportunity when she set the milk on the shelf. he reached through when she turned and guzzled nearly half the bucket. it felt so nice to finally get something to drink. he set it back on the shelf and pushed himself down into the hay. he was rather hungry but now wasnt the time, and he wasnt about to munch on the hay 'i hope the missing milk isnt too noticeable..' he thought and looked again at the bucket. he had drank well over half the bucket. 'oh dear..' he pushed himself back down in the hay and looked down at his side. still bleeding. he would need to clean it and get fresh cloth soon.

he didnt even realize that the puddle of blood had leaked under the stall door slightly and had stained some of the hay

"Anne, have you given the dorses hay yet?" Her aunt called from the house. Anne poked her head up from the tall grass where she was playing with one of the lambs and bit her lip. She had forgotten about the horses hay in her rush to get things done. "No, I'll get right on that!" She called back before hurrying back to the barn. When she entered the door she remembered instantly that she had left the milk sitting out. "Oh shit." She hissed under her breath before hurrying over to the bucket. She went to pick the bucket up and frowned a bit at it. There was barely enough left for today, not even for the baby goats to have. "I thought I-" She muttered, thinking back to only an hour ago when she had filled the bucket to practically the top with milk. She turned around, shaking her head as she got to work on the hay. She grabbed the pitch fork and about shovled some of the hay, till she saw something red on it. "Huh?" She took a step forward and felt her shoes squish on something. She looked down and saw that there was a red liquid running into the hay. She knelt down and looked at it, running her finger over a bit of the hay. After one good look of the red against her skin she let out a gasp. "Blood-!" She dropped the pitch fork and took a step back. She whirled around, trying to find the source of it. She then noticed the hay was closest to the no name horses stall and instantly felt a spike of panic hit her. "Hey boy, are you hurt?" She went over to the stall door quickly and saw that she stepped in more blood. "Auntie!" She called back over her shoulder, but wasn't sure if her aunt could hear her. She instead opened the door and hurried over to the horse. In her panic, she didn't notice Doruth but she did however trip over his foot and land in the hay at the horses feet. The horse let out a loud whinny, getting startled as she tried to right herself on the shifty hay.

"ahhh geez like im not battered enough you go and stub my toes!" he yelled grabbing his foot

"whats the big idea?" he said and then realized what was happening and whispered "dont call your aunt. please... shes scary and large for a woman." doruth smirked uneasily "i guess now would be a bad time to ask for a bandage or two?" he said his hands covered in dry and some new wet blood from holding his side "i must 'of knicked a vein or something." he said looking down at his side

(lol I'm going to bed! I just typed the same sentance like three times)
Anne's body locked up when she heard the voice behind her. Wasn't she suposed to be the only one in here?-And that wasn't her aunts voice either-? She turned quickly, slipping back onto her ass in the hay. Her brain was functioning too fast in her fear for her to really take in much. All she saw was some strange person in the stall with her, smiling, with blood on his hands. That didn't constitute a nice sit down and chat moment. She skrieked and back peddaled away from him. The horse above her stomped his foot, forcing her to stop so that she was still only inches from Doruth.
"Who the hell are you?!" She shouted, knowing that if she screamed loud enough perhaps her aunt would hear-She paused at that. Why did she need her aunt to take care of this? Couldn't she take care of it? She sat up a little straighter and clenched her fists at her sides. "H-How did you get in here-what are you doing in here?-" She didn't know what to ask first or if she even wanted to know. This was a stranger in her home, why should she put up with him there. She should throw him out-! But....on closer inspection of him, the guy was bleeding all over the place. Not to mention he had some pretty nasty burns on him. She remembered what her aunt said about the fire and her eyes narrowed at him in suspicion. He may have been the root of that fire in the forest but....he was really badly hurt. She was surprised he hadn't passed out from blood loss by now.
'all that bloods coming from him...?' She thought just as the door to the barn swung open.
"ANNE?!" She heard her aunt and instantly she tensed. This was her chance to warn her aunt about this guy. She would get rid of this guy quickly....but did that also mean the guy would be booted out in this condtion? She thought about that a moment. If there was one thing her father taught her, if you had help to offer, give it you never know what favor you might gain in return.
She gulped a bit and stood up.
"Y-Yeah auntie?" She said and her aunt looked over at her with eyes widdened in concern.
"Anne, what's wrong?! I heard you scream." Anne bit her lip.
"Ah about that....I slipped and the horse almost kicked me." She lied. Her eyes went to the floor, more for watching that her aunt didn't notice the blood there.
All was quiet for a moment before her aunt sighed. "Don't scare me like that Anne. If there's one thing to be sure of, your father would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you." Anne nodded quietly as he aunt exited. She blew out a sigh of somewhat relief before she looked down at Doruth.
"Look... I'm only helping you because you're bleeding all over my hay and my better sense of morals is telling me it would be wrong to let you get tossed out on your ass in this condition." She gave him a look before going into the tack room. She came back with some of the stuff she used for treating the horses injuries and looked him over. "I'll help, but aslong as you don't try any funny buisness. Pull anything and my aunt will be the least of your worries." She said then a bt of realization hit her. "Oh and you have to tell me who you are and why your here. Now." She said, knwoing she wasn't handling this intimidating stature thing very well.

doruth froze when her aunt came in then relaxed when she left 'what a terrifying lady...' he thought then was snapped out of it when she demanded his name

"Doruth. my name is Doruth, funny this is the second time ive been on your property and you havent killed me. how nice." he said and noticed her confused look "ah... im the guy from the trinket shop... the marble guy" he mumbled "or the horse trampled guy... or the bleeding guy. whatever one you would prefer to stick with..." he sighed "i personally like doruth." he said and tried to clean his hands off on his pants

"why i am here? my home burned down... and my mother didnt make it" he mumbled looking away from her "now, if your going to help me then get the water away from that prankster horse" doruth pulled the cloak off his hair out of its pny tail and sleeky laying down his back. his eyes glinted the two colors focusing on the blood on his side. he used the cloak to whip away dirt and dried blood from his side before he pulled his shirt off to look better at his side. doruth had a nice build. he wasnt as muscular as a nord who worked alld ay in the sun but in no way did that mean he had an ounce of fat on him.

"give it a days time and ill be alright. just need to clean it up" he said and looked up at her his eyes piercing right through her "you wouldnt happen to have any moss growing around the barn would you?"

(me too im beat! i can barely see straight XD night! talk to ya tomorro! lol)

Anne hadnt expected him to listen to her, let alone admit that she had seen him before. But, if her memory served her correctly, she hadn't actually seen him. He'd been wearing the cloak he had over him now. It was true what he said though, about being surprised that she hadn't reacted a lot harsher to him being there. Most people would, but then again she wasn't most people. She listened to him as he told her just why he was bleeding out in her barn with a horse he obviously didn't like. So he was involved with the fire and his mother....She bowed her head a bit, trying to show at least a little respect for his loss. Perhaps by helping him it could be like a small respect to the dead...
She heard what he said about the horse and smiled a bit. "Hey, it might mean he likes you." She watched as he pulled the cloak from his face and blinked in surprise. He was actually very thin for a man, without gritty muscled features and long black hair. She noticed he showed no real signs of hard labor, especially when he pulled off his shirt but he was still built, in a even yet subtle way. He was so different, totally and completely new from what she was used to seeing in Nordic men. Then again he was obviously very different from people in general, quite strange. She caught herself staring and made herself look at his wound. It didn't look pretty at all. She winced a bit before she looked up into his face when he mentioned only needing a day to heal. "Are you serious? That needs at least two days to keep infection off-" She froze, her eyes locking with his. She felt her whole body tense at the strange stare he seemed to have, his two color eyes seeming almost in human. She felt the strange feat creeping into her thoughts, as she tried to look away. It was hard, though the eyes did elicit such a strange feeling of unease within her. She cleared her throat, knowing she was being rude just sitting there and staring. Besides, when could eyes harm someone?
"Doruth," She said, getting a feel for the name, "I'll go and grab some water....but yeah, I think there is moss around here.." She said, turning to get to work finding some of the stuff to help him. It gave her an excuse to look away from those eyes of his. She grabbed a bucket that was sitting beside the well and returned to the barn with the water, a bandage that had been cleaned for use if one of the animals got hurt, and some of the moss from the well within the bandage. "Here is this but...what's some green fuzzy stuff going to do?" She asked not quite understanding how this stuff that annoyed everyone was supposed to help with burns and blood.
She let the silence hang for a moment before she finally asked the question that she had been holding on her tongue. "Why did you come here, to the barn, instead of asking for help?" She asked wetting the cloth she had so that he could get off the dirt out of the wound better. She was sure she wouldn't have been as leery of him right now if he had just shown up asking for help instead of scaring the shit out of her by hiding in her barn. But why her place of all places? Her farm wasn't exactly close to the forest and it was the farthest from town and any source of real help if he got sick from his wounds. His reasoning just didn't make sense.

he pushed the wet moss into his wounds and huffed wrapping them up "to draw the poison out" he said and then tied it off and pulled his shirt back on looking up at her "ill clean up my mess.. you wouldnt happen to have anything to eat would you?" he asked and when she looked away he waved his hand the blood pushing itsself from the wood and hay down in the cracks of the boards and into the earth.

he sighed rubbing his hand. that little bit of magic was slightly painfun in his current state 'so tired... all the sun hasnt even completely risen yet!' he thought looking up towards the window

"how is it you can function at a god awful hour?" he asked his eyes looking at her sleepily. despite the original stare they looked more childlike and tired then anything at the moment.

Anne's expression turned curious as she watched him work with the wound. She had never really seen someone injured before. Call it sheltered but her father didn't like to have her exposed to gory things. She could only agree. If all you see is bad things, it's hard to see the good. She listened to him speak again about food and she gave a small hesitation. There wasn't much food and she knew she couldn't ask her aunt for some. That meant taking without her aunt knowing and she didn't agree with that. But...she had to help in at least some way.
'Just this once.' She thought and gave Doruth a small smile when he mentioned the time. She was gals to find the intensity of his eyes seemed almost dulled now, simply full of exhaustion and a bit of frustration. In a way it reminded her of a child. But after the day he had, with losing his mother and his home, he needed the rest.
"It's not that early, not when you know you have someone depending on you-or in this case lots of someones." She heard Willow give a whinny and sighed.
"I have a bit more to get done. When I'm finished, I'll see to getting you some food." She slipped out of the stall and opened the door. "If you want, there's space in the tack room, some hay that's still bound together and a couple horse blankets...it'd be more comfortable than the stall." She said before offering him a hand up. She knew she couldn't pull him up necessarily but it was an offer of kindness that she hoped to extend to someone who needed it. She wouldn't get carried away of course and would strictly help him so that he recovered to be able to go off on his own. But she wouldn't feel right doing so till he was okay enough till he had a good meal and rest.

doruth nodded taking her had and pulling hismelf up he held her hand still "thank you for being different" he said and kissed her hand politely before letting go and wobbling over to the tack room pulling on the blankets as he sluffed into a wheelbarrow that was sitting on the floor his long legs stretched out

"not quite a bed but pretty comfy" he mumbled rubbing his back into the hay that was sitting inside of te barrow and he shut his eyes once more

darkness in all directions. his heart raced "mom?" te hiss of her voice was not of her own. it sounded too demon... too harsh for the love she had had. and even yet he couldnt deter from the thought tat it was her "you did this to me... you killed me... my only son... worthless...' the darkness broke away and he was far above the land his falling progressed rapidly as he reached for the blackness "MOTHER! NO! IM SORRY!" he yelled but it faded still her fell to the earth but suddenly something dark grabbed him


doruth jumped as a hand lightly grabbed his shoulder. his eyes flickered open and the intense frightened stare landed on Anne. but not only her, he looked to the side of her to see hay and other objects from the barn, things that where dangerous, levitating in the air. he blinked and they all fell to the floor and he stared at her with wide eyes "what the hell was that?!?" he said with a hoarse voice trying to act shocked, but as everything fell his own tears that he had cried while sleeping pelted his face softly making him blink

Anne blinked in surprise when he kissed her hand and watched him walk away with a bit on confusion on her face. "Such a weird kid." She muttered, not sure if she should be happy at being called different by Doruth or worried.
She got to work with the rest of her chores, actually finishing them rather quickly for what it was worth.The horses and goats were fed, the bard looked as good as new, the garden was tended and the old goat had been milked a second time, to replace what Doruth drank. She thought she'd have to clean up Doruth's blood from the floors but when she went to look it was all gone, shockingly enough without even a stain. Glad to not be on blood clean up duty, she hauled everything in doors and set to work on scrounging up something for him to eat.
She snuck into the pantry, her eyes scanning the food there. Her aunt was out, possibly out tending the field or garden. Taht gave her just enough time to make something hot for him. She grabbed a potato and some of the carrots and dried meat. It was what she could spare without her aunt noticing. She set the water into the pot on the fire she started, hoping her aunt wouldn't notice the smoke with the other smoke from the forest outside. When the water began to boil she tossed in the carrots and potato like her aunt did the many times she watched her. It was a wonder to her how women learned to cook with so little but now she got an idea of how. After it all steeped and she had cooked the little dried meat, she pulled out a bowl and fixed the bit of watery stew before dumping the water onto the fire. The fire fizzled out and the water drained through the pores in the stones. She grabbed the food and a cup of clean milk and slunk out of the house.
She just hoped the guy was up for eating something. He was most likely passed out right now, meaning she didn't see reason to wake him. She placed the food down of the shelf next to the door and opened the door to the tack room just to check on him. She looked in to see him sleeping in a wheelbarrow. She gave a small laugh at that, how strange he looked with his long legs draped out of it, of course that was till she noticed that he was tossing in his sleep, muttering something. She couldn't quite hear him so she took a step inside. She walked over to his side and noticed that he was crying. "Doruth?" She called to him, just as the first of the weird things started to happen. She looked up from him to find hay floating, not to mention farming tools. She looked behind her and saw something similar happening but only in that room. The door to the tack room slammed shut and she could see the door was rattling on its hinges. She was scared shitless, enough so she couldn't make a scream or even move properly. She quickly turned to Doruth, the onl other person in the room with her that could possibly help her. She took his shoulder to shake him but he instantly responded to her touch, making Anne jump too. She was caught off gaurd by his stare and took a step back from him. She didn't know what to say or do, only watch the spectacle around her and pray nothing bad was going to happen to either of them. However, as she opened her mouth to tell him what was happening, everything in the room suddenly grew still. the floating tools fell with loud clatters and the hay fell back to the ground with a thump. She was visibly shaken by what she had seen and stood there with a tremble as she looked at Doruth. Her thoughts weren't very coherent, but she could still reason out that something weird just happened that she had never seen before, not since Doruth was there. She gave a small gulp, trying to steady her voice mentally before she spoke. "I-I don't know. Do you know?" She asked quietly, her body tensed in apprehension as she looked into his sad and seemingly confused face. He was crying still and didn't even realize it.

doruth looked around te room at all the tools and sniffed wiping his eyes on his arm "im never really sure..." he muttered to himself. and stood up brushing hay from his shirt and hair "anne.. your scared. please dont ... be different... please" he nearly begged, she was the only person he could confide in now. "can i show you things? will you be different for me?" he question even though confusing was very simple in his head. he wanted her to not hate him. not run him away, but he wanted to tell someone about the nightmare. someone about the pain, he had never bothered his mother with his nightmares but it was comforting to just wake to se eher face, now he didnt have that, and he felt lost.


he could see the fear in her eyes but he just wanted to show her "please... dont give me that look" he begged "i hate the seeing fear wherever i go! please be different!" he almost demanded still a little emotional from his dream

(Lol I just realized there's been alot of hay involved in this story. Just by chance I looked at the title and thought for a second that the title for the thread was "Into the Hay." It made me giggle though that probably means I need new glassses lol Ik I'm a bit out of it at the moment lol)
Anne stared at him, trying to stand her ground though she wanted to move away from him. She gupled, trying to find her voice past all of his pleading, something that tugged at her sympathy as well as pushed her away.
"Different? Doruth what's that suposed to mean?" She said her voice quiet. "If you want me to understand-it's really hard to look at this and not be...worried." She was trying to find the right words to not upset him, not knowing just what might set that-what ever it was off. But she wanted to be honest. "What could you show me that would make me understand something like that?" She took a step back, wondering if she should leave now and tell him to leave.

(HAHAHAHAHAHAHA OMG! YOUR SO RIGHT! XD haaayyyyyy!)
doruth nodded realizing she was actually going to give him a chance, a very closed minded one but he would still take it.

'make it count' he thought to himself concentrating as hard as he could he held out his hands and small orbs of light appeared and danced around them both looking like tiny comets lightly waving over the two of them he moved his other hand making hte light turn a brilliant blue and then fade back to its green. he made the wisps of light form the shape of people and dance together for a moment before they faded back to orbs. he felt the tension building he was almost reaching his limit. he cupped his hands and the light pulled back into his palms and a small white flower grew straight from his hand with beautiful leaves and the flower glowed for a moment before dulling

"you have called people like me many names. Nymph's, Wizards, demons..." he stated and then the white flower turned to a rose "but im not evil. i dont wish harm on anyone," he stated as if it was obvious "and im not that strong, this is the most i can do, if you fear for yourself, dont. the best i could do is make your path brighter." he said and the rose turned into a water lily. very rare in these parts. then he handed her the flower and smiled "you can touch it. its real" he said with a proud smile. he thought the display was rather lovely and enchanting himself. best he had done to date