Unearthed Legacy

[Zach Kaiser]

The long silence didn't bother Garv in the least--her playing with her shirt was more than enough to keep him entertained.

Her name, however, caught his attention. "Xibtrae...now there's a name you don't hear often." If he needed a sign that he should keep his wits about a girl, being named after the weapon of Death himself was it.

"Garv Phibrizzo, at your service," he introduced, taking off his hat and bowing to her. Given that she was probably unfamiliar with the habits of adventurers, the gesture would likely be lost on her, though.

Deciding this was enough of an icebreaker, he sat down next to her, making a small sigh suggesting he'd been on his feet for some time. "I've had worse excuses for a break. So tell me, Xibtrae, how does a girl like you end up naked in the woods of the current shade capitol of the world?"

[Nayt]

At the comment about her name, Xibtrae lifted her head up look at this man, Garv, in the face. It was a bit more than she was originally willing to do, considering what he had seen of her, and the strong shame she was experiencing. It was then that she realized that Garv was sitting relatively close to her, which made her feel even more uncomfortable. Perhaps this wasn't the best person to run into, she thought--but he hadn't physically done anything to her other than give her clothes and help her get the shirt over her horns. He might have made her extremely uncomfortable, but he wasn't doing anything worth excess worry . . . not yet, at least.

Nonetheless, she refrained from asking about what he meant (wondering if there were anyone else with the same name), recalling something that Saqin had said about myths and legends. He had idly stated that many of his exploits were discussed regularly by other gods, which became hearsay for the angels, and then humans picked them up, telling them as oral stories, which poets eventually recorded. Over time, these exploits were dramatized into some things that Death had only partially done, and many gods were made up, but the fact remained that Xibtrae was in those legends. Introducing herself by name was a mistake, but she couldn't take that back now. She'd just have to try and seem . . . well . . . not godly, which was pretty easy at the moment, considering her crippling exhaustion and difficulty moving.

This meant that she couldn't be exactly truthful, but lying didn't come natural to her. This was going to be difficult. Xibtrae stared at the ground before her again and shook her head. She had understood the idea of what Garv was saying, but replying to it was difficult. Xibtrae couldn't tell the whole truth.

"Ic cunnan nāht . . . Ic onwæcan in sceadus, nāht magan tō gemyndgian hwi oþþe hū," whispered Xibtrae as she pulled her legs up--to have her knees against her chest, so she would feel at least a little less shameful. "Hīe sēcane mec, ac ic oþgan geond se weald--ac hider."

While her language was extremely difficult to understand sometimes, there were always words to understand for anyone, even the uneducated, that could permit them to comprehend what she was saying by context alone. The same went in reverse: modern Common had similar words in her language that allowed her to get the gist of what Garv was saying. Nonetheless, if he wasn't well versed in the language, then he'd be able to pick up these words: I ---- not . . . I awoke in shadows, naht ---- to ---- why or how. They ---- me, and I ---- ---- the [forest], and to here. Garv also had the benefit of knowing more than one language, and there were words common in Xibtrae's language that were borrowed in others, and used with the same meaning. Greoul's native language, for example. There, wald and weald meant the same thing . . .

This was the most she had said in a long time, and if he asked more, she was definitely going to say much less--it hurt her throat. Xibtrae coughed dryly, her throat practically devoid of any semblance of moisture.

[Zach Kaiser]

Garv struggled to keep up with what she was saying. He wasn't a dumb man, but his wits weren't well suited to academia; still, between the words he knew, the words that were similar to other words he knew, and a few educated guesses, he could more or less get what she was saying.

"Shades...nasty little buggers, aren't they?" Or so he assumed she meant by her comment about shadows. "Not terribly strong, but then you never run into just one of 'em."

He also gathered that she had no idea where she was, so he explained, "You're on the island of Greoul--or what's left of it. The shades and whatever came out of these gates pretty much destroyed the place. There's a few people clinging to small settlements near the old ports, but otherwise it's a no-man's land."

With a sigh, he stared up at the sky--it was mid to late afternoon. He wasn't going to get much more searching done today. "Can you move? This place isn't too bad during the day, but after dark is another story."

It was safest if they could get back to one of the ports, but that would take a few hours, requiring them to leave now. If Xibtrae was unable to move, well...that would be trouble.

[Nayt]

Shades . . . yes, they were threatening pieces of work. Xibtrae had killed one of them quite easily, just with a reflexive stomp, but a whole sea of them . . . well, that was a bit tougher.

"Hit biþ gryrebroga, geise . . ." she whispered affirmatively with a nod of her head. This wasn't something Garv was going to understand at all, though. Except the end. She was obviously saying yes.

Indeed, she didn't want to run into a horde of those things again, and she'd have liked to avoid the possibility anytime in the near future. Even if she remembered how to move better and use her power and the like, she still didn't feel as if she'd be competent against a horde of enemies like that.

Xibtrae shook her head at his last question, though. She was too tired to move, at least on her own. She didn't want to ask Garv to help her walk or anything, as she'd feel even more pathetic were she to beg for such a thing, but if he was right--and her suspicions were correct--masses of shades in the dark would dramatically increase the chances of death by being outside anywhere. Still, though . . Xibtrae couldn't bring herself to ask this man for anymore help than what he had given to her so willingly, but she wasn't going to lie about this.

"Ic eom samod werig . . ." Xibtrae replied with a sigh, "Samod werig to æthleapan . . . samod werig to āstyrian. þū magon āfara mec; ic wille bēo betlic . . ."

I am ---- [tired], ---- [tired] to ----, ---- [tired] to ----. You may ---- me; I will be ----. This one was a bit more complex, though. This time, there were many words that Garv probably wouldn't recognize, and one he might have to think about. The native tongue in Greoul, which would be expected for him to know if he wanted to get by amongst the locals here, scattered or not, had a similar word to this, willan--wille when conjugated; it was willen, which meant to want. Werden was the actual future tense word for will. This also left a few things open for interpretation, which Xibtrae certainly didn't intend . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

She seemed to agree with his assessment of shades, but other than that he understood very little of what she said. You may ---- me. There were several things that immediately came to Garv's mind that he wanted to fill that blank, but in the situation he didn't think either of them were likely.

"Werig...what's that one mean..." he muttered to himself. She repeated it several times, and he wracked his brain trying to figure out what it meant. Something like...weary?

With that clue, he had an idea of what she was saying: that she was too tired to move (or something), and she was telling him to leave her, and that she'd be fine. There were several assumptions made there, but he felt pretty confident.

"Bullshit you'll be fine. If you can't even move, you're not going to survive a night fending off shades." With a sigh, he pulled himself to his feet. No rest for the weary after all. All things considered, he should just leave her there and make sure he got back safely--and he might very well have done it were she male.

Fortunately for her, he just couldn't bring himself to leave a girl alone--especially one with a body like hers. With his back to her, he squatted in front of her, holding his arms low for her. He didn't need to say anything--it was pretty much a universal way of saying "get on"--but he did anyway.

"Come on, get on and I'll get you back. What kind of ladies' man would I be if I left a lady like this?" He hoped all those stories about women falling for their rescuers had some truth behind them...

[Nayt]

Garv trying to understand what she was saying was allowed her to realize something. While Xibtrae was not finding difficulty in understanding what he said--fluently speaking two languages which were essentially the roots of his spoken language. He couldn't understand her very well, though--and it was testament to this, for her, when he verbally repeated a word and struggled to think of its meaning. It made her feel a bit more pathetic, actually--a very unpleasant feeling. She couldn't move or communicate well. Xibtrae sulked again. Perhaps this was just a surge of emotions caused by being outside, or meeting someone new . . . hopefully.

She was . . . reluctant, yes. Very reluctant. Where would he be taking her? To one of these communities, no doubt--she hoped. Xibtrae just couldn't bring herself to trust the man just yet. She had, after all, just met him, and with the way he talked to and stared at her, well . . .

But it wasn't a worse fate than if she had to deal with a horde of shades. Likewise, she wouldn't be killed, or would at least stand a better chance against one person alone than she would a sea of darkness. If she continued to survive (which originally seemed to be a very difficult prospect, and something she was rightly afraid that she would fail to do), she could release Val, and that was currently her driving goal. Well, her main goal. Xibtrae wouldn't mind experiencing a real bed or real sleep, or food or drink . . . any of these would have been nice. Or . . . perhaps . . . the warmth of another body. So, Xibtrae finally stopped staring at Garv's back as if he were crazy.

Xibtrae clambered onto him, grabbing his shoulders and hoisting herself up, so he could hold onto her legs and she could wrap her arms around his neck and shoulders. She was light, and if he was particularly strong, he'd be able to carry her easily. The only difficulty would be that she was a bit taller than most women--somewhere beteen 5'6 and 5'7, but that was something Garv would probably be able to deal with it.

". . . ic bēo sarig . . ." Xibtrae declared apologetically with a sigh. She'd have rather him able to understand her, and not have to carry her, than what it wound up becoming.

[Zach Kaiser]

Finally. Garv was wondering why she was hesitating so much, totally unaware of why she might distrust him. In his mind he'd done nothing but flirt a bit, and it certainly wasn't his fault she approached him naked.

"Don't worry about it," he grunted as he hefted her up. Truth be told he wasn't a particularly strong man, but he was still in good condition and above average for a human, so it wouldn't too hard on him. He'd probably be sore in the morning for all the wrong reasons, though.

Having her pressed against his back wasn't a bad feeling at least.

He couldn't move as fast while carrying her, so they'd be cutting it close--not to mention if anything else attacked them on the way it was going to be difficult to fight and protect her at the same time.

The trek continued, across both forest and ruin--some of which were like where Xibtrae found herself, but others were much more recent, the style entirely different, with smaller debris and personal items still intact. Cities that were only recently destroyed--especially eerie in that many were empty but with little structural damage.

Two hours after they started, the sun was still above the horizon...but only barely. Sweat poured down Garv's brow and neck from the exertion of carrying another person that far--if he'd been alone, he could have made it, but now...

"We aren't going to make it to the city by nightfall...damn, guess it's time for plan B then." They were still in the forest, but fortunately not a very thick part of it. He found an area that looked comfortable, and set Xibtrae down.

"I hope you can understand me better than I can understand you, or you're going to get the wrong idea very quickly," he muttered. He set his pack down (which he'd been carrying at his side, since she was occupying his back) and began to rummage through it once more.

"Shades come out at night to hunt--though what they hunt out here anymore I have no idea. Still, just 'cause we're stuck out here doesn't mean we're done for. There's a peculiar trait about shades--anything clad in a large amount of a certain color, they ignore entirely."

And so he pulled out his secret weapon: a very large blanket, dyed in purple. "For some reason, they overlook anything purple. So if we sleep under this, we should be safe for the night."

He gave her a slightly helpless look. "However, I only got the one, so I hope you don't mind spending being in close quarters with me for awhile longer."

[Nayt]

The process of walking was a bit odd for her. Xibtrae didn't know how to feel about it, or how to react to the stimulus of being close to and touching another person. It'd been so long since she had any physical contact with anyone. The warmth of another body was something she had long since forgotten, and Garv might have gotten the wrong idea when she wrapped her arms around him tighter after awhile and therefore pressed her body up against him just a bit tighter than before. There was no emotional or even physical attachment, just a woman who hadn't experienced the warmth of another body in thousands of years finally indulging in it.

That didn't mean she'd approve of any improper touching, though. Xibtrae heard the way he talked to her and saw the way he looked at her--she wasn't going to be happy with him at all if he took advantage of this!

After awhile, the sun started to go down, but she was tired enough that she failed to notice. Walking, or forcing herself to walk, had taken a toll on her, and Xibtrae was too exhausted to maintain consciousness for all that much longer. It was around then that she was set down, Garv talking to her about how he couldn't understand her well, and withdrawing a blanket, as well as informing her about the odd quality that shades had--that they seemed to ignore the color purple, or something along those lines.

No wonder he didn't want her to get the wrong idea--and she really considered getting the wrong idea. She was going to have to sleep in close proximity with him? This wasn't necessarily a bed, which she had been hoping for ever since he started talking about there being a town here in this place, Greoul. They were going to be sleeping on the ground, close together, with only this small blanket covering them--extremely close together. Unnervingly close together. The blanket looked like it could only fit one person at a time! Xibtrae stared at this disapprovingly. She'd have been against it if it weren't for the possibility of it saving her life.

Hopefully. If he was just using this as a means of taking advantage, then he'd have to deal with her being in close proximity to him and very upset with his behavior. How could this end? Well, Xibtrae didn't know for sure, but it certainly wouldn't end well for Garv. Xibtrae didn't have any weapons on her person except for a couple of sharp horns, which she could make use of if he was doing anything to her while she had her back turned to him. The woman didn't have to move well to make use of those sharp assets.

Notably, it wasn't until after she was on the ground again that she realized how cold it was starting to get. Xibtrae folded her arms over her chest for warmth, lifting her knees up close to her arms for a better attempt. A blanket was a good idea, but she would have still preferred two.

". . . hūru . . ." Xibtrae begrudgingly whispered whilst looking to the ground to avoid eye contact. She wasn't shaking her head, so Garv would only be left with one possibility of what she was saying: . . . all right . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

She didn't seem to be terribly happy about it, which was disappointing--the way she was squeezing him while he was carrying her, he thought she was warming up to him. Maybe she was the type that talked one way but acted another?

Well, he had other things to worry about first before that. Seeing her lay on the ground, he carefully covered her with it--head and all, which was going to be a bit awkward, most likely.

To ensure that nothing accidentally removed the blanket during the night, he drove a knife into each corner of it, securing it to the ground. Wouldn't do any good to be protected from the shades only to have one of them accidentally roll out from under the blanket.

Then he took off his belt, stashing it into the pack. Given that no other articles of clothing were removed, if Xibtrae were to even notice she could probably correctly assume he was doing this so that they were spared the hazard of sleeping with the blades that lay on it.

With a nimbleness unusual for someone his age, he slid underneath the blanket alongside her, pulling the pack in with him. "There, all set. Feel free to get comfortable, just make sure you keep all appendages under the cloth here."

[Nayt]

Truth be told, Xibtrae had barely noticed that she was clinging to him earlier. All she knew as that he was carrying her to civilization, and that he was warm--and that she missed the touch of another person. It was genuinely nice to experience it, though she hadn't made the conscious choice to do so, and once again was not making that conscious choice. This was the sort of thing that someone else had to drag her into. Seeking out the comfort and warmth of another person's body heat was, well . . . there were no foundations of marriage where she had originally come from, but there was still a nasty term for women that slept around . . . Xibtrae didn't want to feel like that.

At first, Xibtrae shut her eyes tightly when he put the blanket over her, half expecting a terrible fate right then and there--but no. Indeed, the blanket was cause for a bit more warmth. She shivered much less at first, and though the color purpose was extremely awkward, especially since she was going to have to remain completely covered by it, she could live with it. Knowing that Garv was going to be under it as well, she scooted towards one side.

Because she was under the blanket, Xibtrae couldn't see what Garv was doing outside--jabbing knives into the edges of the blanket, then taking off his belt for both of their sakes. Around the time that he slipped under the blanket, Xibtrae was starting to feel chilly again. Unfortunately it was getting colder and showed no sign of stopping tonight, not until it was too uncomfortable to sleep.

She had to face Garv, or else stab him with her horns, and she had to lay close to him, with less than a foot between them. This made it impossible to not look at him. The last person she saw . . . what did he look like? That madman with his ornate straight sword and disapproving sneer . . . Xibtrae could barely remember what he was wearing, or the look on his face when he realized that no matter how much he overpowered her, she still got the better of him--or the sound of his voice when he refused to go out alone. She couldn't remember anything beyond those two details anymore, that sneer and that sword, let alone the long lost faces of her old companions . . .

That realization had her feeling melancholic again--and she didn't realize that she was leaning her head against Garv, be it his shoulder or his chest, whichever was facing her at the time. Not that it mattered, now. He was still clothed, and wasn't talking as if he had any mal-intent. Why not trust him a bit more?

[Zach Kaiser]

Garv had his back to her for two reasons, the first being that while he would have loved the opportunity to stare at her, under the violet blanket her really couldn't see anything. The second was that he was worried he'd be a lot more tempted to try something if he was facing her.

Normally, trying something would have been exactly what he'd want; what better situation than with the two of them curled up under the same blanket? But while Garv loved women, he loved staying alive a lot more, and any excess movements would be dangerous--especially with her horns. Maybe with a human girl he could have fun and remained covered, but those horns made that impossible.

It was a shame, too, because the way she leaned against his back suggested he may have actually gotten somewhere with his advances. A perfect opportunity and I have to let it go to waste. Bugger.

"It's going to get cold, so feel free to scootch up close if you want to warm up," he whispered. Maybe the night didn't have to be a total waste...

[Nayt]

Scoot closer . . .? Xibtrae thought to herself.

Did she really want to do that? It was then that she realized that she was leaning her forehead against his back, right upon his shoulder blade. It was comfortable, and though she immediately felt apologetic for infringing upon his space (which she felt less apologetic for seconds later, knowing that he probably wanted her to be even closer than what she was willing to go), Xibtrae didn't move away. Indeed, it was comfortable, leaning her forehead up against something--someone--real, whose warmth wasn't just a silly dream of hers.

So she did. Xibtrae scooted in closer, pressing herself up against his back, head against his shoulder blade, chest against the middle of his back, and her arms awkwardly trying to find placement by her sides. She didn't want to press her hands to his back, nor did she want to wrap her arms around him from behind, so she just tried keeping them by her side . . . which just wasn't going to work.

Her horns made life difficult, yes. It was fairly obnoxious for her to get used to them when she was younger. All they did was get in the way. She couldn't wear anything other than button up shirts or shoulder hugging dresses, and she couldn't lay on her back . . . ever. Comfortably, that is. To a certain extent, she had to sit up straight when sitting on a tall chair, and sometimes even accommodations had to be made for her--a chair with a shorter back. She also got caught on things every so often. Until she got used to them, they were a terrible curse of genetics. Now, she wasn't as used to them as she'd prefer, but that went for her entire body at the moment.

"Līcian forgiefst mīnne nearo . . ." Xibtrae whispered awkwardly, shivering all the while. She was both apologetic and not--because he was warm. "Hit biþ . . . ful cald . . ."

---- forgive my closeness . . . it ---- [very] cold. Not that she had to apologize, and knew that it was probably useless, but she still felt compelled to.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Think nothing of it; I'm not one to turn away a lady in need," he replied with a chuckle. Naturally, he had no complaints no matter how close she got...not even if she practically climbed on top of him.

Actually, he'd really like that.

Ugh, this is torture. Sweet, wonderful torture, but still torture. I hope she'll be this friendly when we get back to town.

There was nothing else to do but rest--unfortunate, but true. They were stuck until daybreak, when the shades would retreat from the sun once more.

"Sleep tight, beautiful Xibtrae," he whispered. Given how exhausted she was, it probably wouldn't be much longer before she nodded off. And eventually he too would fall asleep, enjoying the sensation of a woman pressed up against his back...

[Nayt]

Xibtrae would have liked to think that she wouldn't blush or be swooned by a compliment or flirt, but when he specifically called her beautiful, she couldn't help it. Her cheeks flushed red again and she shut her eyes. As much as she wanted to avoid awkward encounters, it was cold outside, he was warm, and compliments rarely ever failed to make her feel good about herself.

"God-niht," replied Xibtrae in a hushed, tired whisper, the inflections in her voice making it quite obvious what she was saying, regardless of how odd it may have looked if she spelled it out. ***

It wouldn't take long for her to fall asleep. The ground was uncomfortable and hurt her shoulder and side, but he was warm, and she actually kind of liked being pressed up again him. Any warm body would have done at the moment, and Garv, although a bit forward, was proving to be quite the gentleman.

When she was sleeping, Xibtrae failed to realized that she had wrapped her arms around Garv's waist, holding onto him as if he were some sort of security blanket or stuffed animal of some sort. She had actually had one so long ago, one she rarely slept without. A stuffed animal in the shape of a common pet on their world, this little two legged animal with short stubby arms, a long fuzzy tail, a proportional head over on a medium sized body, long ears and a long snout, and furry like two fuzz balls stacked on top of each other. She had one when she was younger, and since pets weren't allowed in the army, a friend had purchased a stuffed animal rendition for her.

Indeed, keeping her arms by her sides just wasn't going to work, and it didn't, no matter how much she had tried.

Offtopic: Seriously. I've heard the phrase "God is good" fairly often, but that's just ridiculous.

[Zach Kaiser]

Garv remained awake long enough to ensure that even after the sun was entirely set, they were safe. The thought of shades creeping over and around them was mildly disturbing, but with Xibtrae holding him in her sleep, he found it easier to put it out of his mind.

Fortunately, the blanket did its duty--neither would be awoken by tearing claws or gnashing teeth.

What would likely wake Xibtrae was the feel of a hand on her side, where the shirt rode up a bit, exposing some skin. The hand moved slowly, as though taking in the sensation of the contact...