UUU: "Value"

Cast: Mars (Midas) and Seed (Deme)

TLDR:

Support Points Earned: 2

[6:56 PM] != Dendi: === Start RP === In hindsight, that was a bad idea. Well, no, it wasn't a bad idea, I just overestimated my ability to focus under pressure. Mars was hobbling back to camp, his right hand gripping a small stab wound on his upper chest, trying to stop blood flow. Mars had been away trying to train his mind and body. It was... sort of successful. But even Mars had to admit, this time, it wasn't worth the pain. But, I've done worse... I'm sure I'll be fine, just like last time. Mars reached the border of Wizard's Point, he wound wasn't getting any better and eventually, he just sat down on the side of the path, and let himself rest.

May 19, 2018

[9:01 AM] LadyDeme: After a small time, there came footsteps; fairly light ones, all things considered, and initially without hurry. They had, if Mars was listening, a peculiar sound, distinct from both leather shoes and bare feet. A light sound of wood, perhaps, falling to earth. After a short time, the footfalls picked up urgency, running towards the man. Seed's walk outside the town would be put, it seemed, on hold. "Mars!" Seed said to the horribly accident-prone mage as he crouched down beside him. A wound -- type not entirely clear, but Seed was very quickly leaning over Mars to get a look at whether or not it was still bleeding, or if that not inconsiderable amount of blood was just what was left; was there something in the wound, including the weapon; it was a chest wound, was Mars breathing properly? "Let me see; what happened?"

[5:47 PM] != Dendi: "Of all the people to find me..." Mars laughed a little "It just had to be you, didn't it?" His smile was short lived "I... I'm sorry." Mars laid down on his back and spread out his arms to try and make Seed's job easier. The wound was a horizontal slit, wide enough to fit a standard issue straight sword, it seemed to go right between 2 ribs, but only barely not deep enough to hit the bottom part of Mars' right lung. It was empty, no signs of a weapon still embedded in his chest, and no metal around the edges of the wound, or on his cloak. The issue however, was that Mars' cloak was stained as red as blood gets, and there was a trail of blood leading off to where he'd entered the town from. The trail was made up of mostly individual drops of blood, and though they were spread out as they approached where Mars was laying now, there was a much thicker and wider trail the further away from Mars you followed it. Mars' breathing was consistent, not shaky, and long, so at the very least, his lung probably hadn't ruptured.

May 22, 2018

[10:52 AM] LadyDeme: "Well, it's best for you that it is me -- if you're worried about me scolding you," said Seed during his inspection, his voice clearly forced to levity around his concern, "you should do less to be scolded over. Taking care of yourself is part of responsible..." Seed saw the nature of the wound and the thin bark around his face crinkled like paper being crushed. If Mars had something to staunch the bloodflow, Mars would have already used it. Seed didn't have a staff or bandages on him -- rather, he would have to use something. He began to unbutton his long, sleeveless tunic -- almost a robe over his pants -- and shrugged it off, artfully avoiding the whippy branches about his shoulders. His chest, exposed, had some vague hints at definition, at places where the wood suggested the movable joints and intertwining beneath that held him in a human shape, supple and flexible. Even with that, it was clearly one long trunk, as opposed to his intertwining and fused arms -- the bark was smooth and shiny, marked with little black horizontal marks, but only that. He began ripping the fabric of the bottom of his robes to strips, quietly, too intent to scold for the moment. When he was satisfied, he bundled the rest of the silk-like outfit up, and pressed it firmly against Mars' wound, holding a steady pressure as the blood, hopefully soon to be staunched by his efforts, soaked through the golden cloth. Then, still leaned over the man, he looked back up. "You at least need to learn some good first aid; did you remove the thing that stabbed you yourself?"

May 24, 2018

[7:55 PM] != Dendi: Mars was silent for a while, just staring up into the sky. Eventually, he looked back down to see Seed attending to his wounds, and before he could respond to his remark about being more careful, he felt a pain in his chest. GRAAAAH Mars grunted from the pressure put on his wound, his pain had been fading since he had sat himself down, and Seed's first aid, helpful as it was, wasn't making it any better immediately. After getting used to the pain, Mars' breath steadied and eventually he looked back down at Seed. "I have some knowledge on first aid, and in any other situation, I'd love to learn some more, but..." Mars trailed off. "Right, the weapon, yes. It was a uh, removed. There was a brigand, some cutthroat holding up a caravan, I stepped in and she slashed at me." The wound wasn't a slash, it was clearly a stab, based on how Mars' cloak was cut and the way the wound was shaped, like a triangle rather than a semi-circle. "She ran off after I threw some fire at her, but regardless, I should've been more careful. I understand." Mars could already feel the blood flowing out of his wounds slow, it was going to halt soon.

May 26, 2018

[6:36 PM] LadyDeme: While for a moment, Seed was relieved this was not going to be another training wound, something about the story gave him pause, inching a stiffness back into his motion as he began to wrap the strips of his clothing around the large wad, to bind it on to keep up the pressure, which seemed to be doing its work. "Mars... I... I truly understand if you wish to conceal the truth concerning personal affairs. I am not the type to pry...But..." Seed looked away, a strand of hair that ended in a leaf falling briefly into his face, as he tied a firm knot to the two ends, tugging it so the binding still put pressure, and would hold firm. "...Please do not lie to me about medical matters. Beorc always want to lie to their doctors, but it only ends up hurting them." A wry smile crossed over Seed's face, before it leveled out gravely. "This isn't a slash; what happened, truthfully?"(edited)

May 27, 2018

[2:32 PM] != Dendi: "I..." Mars was silent for a short time, even averting his eyes, looking towards the sky, the dirt path behind Seed, just anywhere but directly into Seed's eyes. "Fine, she stabbed me. From what little I know of medicine I can infer that a stab wound to my chest can do much worse damage to me than a slash to my chest could. I thought that maybe lying would make you less panicked about trying to heal me." Mars' voice was wavering, there was less conviction in each and every word he's just said than all the other words Seed had heard him speak. Mars still refused to make eye contact.

May 28, 2018

[8:15 PM] LadyDeme: "...Mars." Seed said, chidingly -- the attempt seemed very transparent indeed. In the meanwhile, he was satisfied that the wound was ready to travel a little -- the bleeding would be staunched long enough that there'd still be some blood in him when the healing staff did its work. He offered Mars a hand, and, once he was upright, a shoulder. "You don't sound like that's what happened. What's the harm in being honest with me, Mars?"

May 29, 2018

[9:36 AM] != Dendi: After regaining balance, Mars refused the offer of Seed's shoulder and started walking away, back now facing Seed. "I'm not... lying." Mars lied "I don't lie... Even if I did, I'd need a damn good reason." Wouldn't I? "Why do you think I'm lying?" Mars turned back to face Seed "I'm not lying, so why don't you trust me?" What am I doing? "Come on Seed, you know me, you were the first of this motley group I met, why..." Mars stuck out a hand to point at Seed, but he couldn't even muster the will to fully point his finger, simply letting it hang, half pointed at Seed. Why am I doing this? "Just... leave me be." Mars' voice was cracking. He swiftly turned away, and continued walking. I'm righteous. I'm heroic. I'm self sacrificing. Mars stopped, and after a short delay, fell to his knees. He was now totally motionless, and dead silent. I have to be. So am I?

[10:18 AM] LadyDeme: Seed didn't have the time to answer that -- that he thought he was lying because Mars, in fact, loved lying about his injuries. As far as Seed could tell, it was his favorite activity after 'getting injured.' And, more importantly, because he'd spoken entirely without conviction -- completely without anything in it, more than anything Mars had ever said. He'd already disregarded Mars' request before the young man had crumpled, and was following after him -- so all he had to do was speed up when Mars hit the ground. The Florkana hurried over to Mars with surprising swiftness, sending his roots forward with his steps to reach just a little faster. In comparison, Seed's thoughts were such a frantic vortex that he had no time to carefully compact them into precise words or meanings, little snippets rising up with occasional detachment, the part of him that preffered to observe the world than be in it lending a note of He dropped so abruptly, like a thing being dropped; crumpling without so much as a puff of dust or splatter of blood to the proceedings. He checked the bandages before the motionless Mars could move, applying a bit more pressure. Didn't seem like new bleeding. Good. He spent a moment considering the prospect of exactly how he was going to proceed. "I'm sorry...I really am sorry to offend you. But I refuse. Excuse me," he said, wrapping an arm around Mars. This was going to be challenging -- while being a tree had its advantages in terms of weight-bearing, the fact of the matter was that one of his arms wasn't as sturdy as the rest of him, and that would make carrying Mars' length a bit of a challenge. A fireman's carry was out. And Mars had clearly lost walking privileges, if he even could; Seed didn't want to risk it. An image of himself supporting half of Mars by a leg came to mind. He could probably sort of ambulate just by unravelling his roots and scooching along for a bit... But no.

[10:18 AM] LadyDeme: "Hmmm...Alright, I'm going to have to get you back to camp. I really am sorry to have to do this. On three, we go up and turn around, alright? If you need to, you can hold onto my back -- I could carry you that way, I believe. Forgive me; if I'd known how to take better care of my arm when I was younger, I could have managed to not make my patient work." He held his arm across Mars' waist in a way that indicated that, for all it was a phrased as a gentle request, Seed was not letting go. He began counting. "One..."(edited)

[11:37 AM] != Dendi: What is he doing? Mars thought Why is he helping me? Why is he apologizing? Mars was silent as Seed counted, two, and by three, Mars finally decided that at least he shouldn't cause more harm, and he rose with Seed. Mars' legs were wobbly, and he had to grab onto Seed's shoulder just to properly walk, but regardless, he walked. The trek back to camp wasn't particularly long, but it was still twice as long as it should've taken a healthy person to walk. Mars stayed wordless throughout the trip. By the time the 2 had returned to camp, Mars had been running the same few thoughts through his head the entire time. Why did I lie? Why to Seed? Why is he now forced to help me? Why haven't I helped him? Didn't I promise to help him? Didn't I promise to help everyone? When the 2 reached the center of camp, Mars finally spoke. "My tent is over there." Accompanying this statement was Mars pointing to a light blue tent, set up near the edge of camp "Please let go, I can walk there myself." Mars' legs seemed more stable, at the very least they weren't shaking. And his tent was only 20 meters away, making his claim seem credible.(edited)

May 30, 2018

[10:44 PM] LadyDeme: As they went, Seed wondered if he should also, just to keep Mars focused, apologize for the rough trip -- while Seed's bark was fairly supple and looked comparatively smooth, when you touched it, the difference in texture between his body and human skin was so apparent; especially like this, with his ao dai off and with Mars making full contact with his side. As Seed let Mars go, checking his walk with a long stare, he found himself debating saying a thought that had been dwelling in him on the walk back to camp; but he didn't want to make Mars being hurt again about him. He'd dwell on it later -- how Mars seemed to view him as so untrustworthy -- he probably thought of Seed as incompetent. That sort of thought swirled around Seed's head as he took a half-step back, and folded his hands in front of him. "I'll make sure you do, and be back with a staff in a moment."

May 31, 2018

[10:14 AM] != Dendi: As Mars was let go, he stumbled, trying to focus enough to at least walk 10 meters. Come on Mars... at least do one goddamn thing right today. Mars finally summoned some willpower, and began walking. He managed to make it to his tent, but not without a few stumbles on stray roots, an indent in the ground, and his own legs. When he made it to his tent, Mars sat down in the front opening, and turned around to face the Florkana, as if to assure Seed that he was fine. Mars gave him a thumbs-up, turned around, and climbed into his tent. ...Now what? It was clear to Mars he needed to reflect on his actions. But for the know he wanted to rest, sleeping tended to help. Thusly, Mars laid down in his bedroll, but due to him only being awake a short time, laying down was the most he could achieve. I need to remember why I'm here. I'm going to help people, save people, I have to believe that... Mars stared at the light blue of his tent, and waited for Seed to return.

June 1, 2018

[11:46 AM] LadyDeme: When Mars had made it there -- and it was hard not to rush over at ever stumble, like a gnawing, Seed went to his belongings, covered as they were by a tarp in case rain began to fall. His staves were there -- and now, he had to admit, he wished they were more portable. However, that wish could have just been some attempt to avoid responsibilty for his failures, Seed thought. Yes, that could have been it. But the staff he had customized himself, a poem scrolling down its sides, would do the job nicely, and he grabbed it. Later, he'd have to come back for a change of clothes, but not now; he hardly had time, even though he grabbed his first aid kit before he replaced the covering -- though he did not think the sky boded rain today. He entered back into Mars' small tent, crouching his height down as well as he could, even on his knees -- it wasn't a great place for two people to be in, the blue a claustrophobic sky. He set aside the first aid kit for a second. "I'm back; thank you for your patience with me. I'm going to take off these makeshift bandages now," he said, referring to what had once been a long, almost dress-like split tunic. The wound needed to be clear before he healed it, if he wanted a stable job; he could replace the bandages in case of a surprise re-opening...Or, rather, to lend Mars. His fingers brushed against Mars where he'd tied the strips of ripped fabric into a more secure knot, unravelling it so the bundle of bloody fabric could be moved aside. He sighed, his temper softened. "...I'm sorry for pressing you about what happened. It's important to know...But in the end, my asking only made things worse."(edited)

[8:40 PM] != Dendi: When Seed entered the tent, Mars sat up, making the room he could to accommodate for the priest. Upon hearing the proposal to remove the bandages, Mars looked down at the wrappings, and remembered what they were made of. Why did you have to use your robes? Why did I make you use your robes? Why did I... Mars' thoughts went quiet. It's time to trust someone for once. With this thought in his head, Mars assisted in the moving of his bandages. The wound seemed to have healed well naturally, it still stung, as one would expect, but all things considered, it was healing fine given the few hours that it had been since Mars has sustained it. Upon hearing Seed's apology Mars was silent, and stared down at his hands. Now or never. "No, that's wrong." Mars stared up at Seed with as serious a face as he could muster, and took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have lied. More importantly, I should tell the truth now. The truth is..." Mars averted his eyes and paused, unable to control his lying tendencies. After another deep breath, he continued. "This wound is self inflicted. I had planned to train by stabbing myself with using a sword that I would manifest from my tome. Due to the nature of my tome taking a not insignificant amount of energy to control I..." Mars trailed off. After finally working up the courage to speak again, and managing to maintain eye contact, he took another deep breath, and began again. "I wanted to find the limits of my body. I wanted to see if I could sustain the manifestation after a critical wound." Mars exhaled as he finished and broke eye contact. Now staring back at his hands, Mars started talking once again. "I'm sorry. Not just for lying but for trying to manipulate you into thinking I wasn't lying. What I did when you accused me, rightly, of lying was something I've been doing for a long time, manipulating people into not following up on an accusation. But with you I felt... guilty." Mars stopped, waiting for Seed's response.(edited)

June 2, 2018

[6:20 PM] LadyDeme: Seed listened to this and sighed. There were a lot of things people did that... That worried him. As he listened, his brow knotted as the deepest worries he'd had when he'd seen Mars. This kept happening with the young man, and it added up a picture, clear as if it had been sewn into the wall of the tent. Somehow, knowing that he'd been being manipulated didn't bother him as much as the rest of the story, which made him shift uneasily around as he began to heal the injury with his staff -- it was at least clotting nicely. "...I...I am sad you lied to me," Seed admitted, even though it was the least pressing thing on his mind. The shadows of the tree's branches were thrown up onto the walls of the tent as the festal emitted a faintly green light, making Seed's eyes less golden than they sometimes were. "Do you know why I asked? For one... I know you're not very sensible." He winced at giving the comment, but gave it firmly. He paused for a moment, and went on. "And when you've got a stab wound, your best move is to not remove the weapon until you can find a physician or healer; it can act as a plug for the wound." A sweep of the staff more, and a calming, relaxing radiance filled the air; the festal had a gentle whisper to it, almost like it was reading something in the voices of leaves, that lifted the heart. The wound knitted; a wound large enough to make a person collapse could rarely be healed up in a single staff usage, but it became less gaping, more narrow, the edges pushing inward with a red pucker of fresh skin, like a mouth. Seed was silent for a while for this. And then he asked, very quietly, "...Do you not believe your life has value?"

June 3, 2018

[8:58 PM] != Dendi: Mars had been staring at his hands until Seed began speaking. When he did, Mars raised his head to listen. He expected that Seed would be sad, but he did not expect him to call him 'not very sensible.' As Seed was healing, Mars responded. "Thank you for the advice. It wasn't applicable here but I'm sure that it will help me in the future." How on earth have I made it this far, alone, without knowing that? As Seed healed Mars, his eyes started drifting around the tent, mostly staring at the colors created from the green light of the festal hitting the tent and his own robes. Mars was trying to think up something to continue, he had other things to say, but when Seed spoke, Mars' train of thought went off the rails, as Seed's final remark echoing through his head. When Mars finally figured out what to say, he looked Seed in the eye, and began talking. "I have a purpose that gives my life meaning. I have a reason to live. That is what gives me reason to risk my life. And that is what gives my life value." Mars realized that Seed might not believe him, the implication in Seed's statement were clear, that he felt Mars was living without valuing his life, and that risking it was simply something he'd do because otherwise he wouldn't help anyone. Mars had to stop himself from trying to say something along the lines of 'please, you have to believe me here.' Instead, he decided to say what he really thought. "I... know you might not believe me." Mars paused. "Dammit. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, even if it wasn't intentional that could have manipulated you. Let me try again." Mars took another deep breath. "My life has value because of what I am going to do. That is all I need to feel like this life of mine has value."

June 6, 2018

[10:40 AM] LadyDeme: Seed couldn't help but envy an answer like that. It was as it deserved to be. He sighed, giving Mars a smile. "...If only feeling were enough. It will only do you well to act like it. I regret to inform you of this fact... But playing with your well-being like this can prevent you from doing a great many things." He tapped the base of his staff into the ground as he finished up, giving the young man an assured nod. It would need to finish healing on its own, and the scar might linger for quite some time -- but the worst was over. Even if it re-opened, it was now more like a cut than some life-threatening injury. "I am... Not experienced with war. Not much with warriors. But in all walks of life, you find men and women taken from their paths forever due to accident, or injury, or illness. Life is a spring shoot, at the mercy of a million mouths and the looming last grasp of cold to snap it. Were it not due to a simple fact of chance, rather than any action you or I performed knowingly, in choosing that path to walk today, you might never be able to do anything again. That is... The simple nature of the world. Dead men are unable to fix anything." He had proper bandages with him now, and a little salve to clean the wound and reduce pain -- and hopefully help reduce the scar. "This is going to be cold," he added, opening the lid to the mint-green salve, its surface flecked with darker green, but the consistency otherwise a uniformly creamy one. He dipped his hand in, and placed it over the puckering wound. Seed was right; it was cold.(edited)

June 7, 2018

[11:10 PM] != Dendi: "I... yes, I know that dead men help no one, but..." Mars trailed off as Seed finished the healing process. As the wound closed up, and Mars saw the nod from Seed, Mars continued. "But to stop, nay, to even slow down my training goes against what I believe. I don't just want to succeed because it's the right thing to do. I want succeed because we all have a responsibility to change the world for the better. I want to succeed because it is my duty to try." Mars' voice was confident, one that was sure of what he was going to do. Mars had been practicing that speech for over a year, waiting for the right chance to perform it. He hoped that one day he would perform it in front of his home country. As Mars returned from his day dream, he smiled "Ha, that's not even all, this wound may have been pretty bad but I've lived through worse." Mars would've explained where he got some of his scars to prove this, but on second thought, telling Seed about how Mars had survived a harpoon through the leg, only to take it out and impale the assassin with it, may cause the poor priest to faint considering how dumb Mars now knew that was. Mars' smile faded a little, but stayed there all the same. "The reason why I do this is because I know I have to. Even if I have to endure the pain, I will survive." When Seed said that this was going to be cold, that was more of a relief than a worry for Mars. "I assure you, enduring the cold is something I've always been good at. If anything, it will be more of a problem for you than for me." When the salve touched his skin, Mars felt the familiar cold that he'd grown up with, and breathed a long sigh of relief. "Like I said, more of a problem for you than me." As the salve settled, the pain that remained from the wound began to fade, and though Mars had always been good with pain, it was never a good thing. "That's much better. Thank you." Mars paused for a bit before picking back up one more time "Oh, and... sorry. For everything."

June 8, 2018

[8:51 AM] LadyDeme: "Ah, you're 'responsible,' is that it?" Seed said, smiling as his tone got more tempestuous. "Being responsible means mutilating yourself without access to first aid, right? Being responsible means losing so much blood you collapse semi-conscious on the side of the road, without having taken any effort on your own to staunch your own self-inflicted bleeding, and you never would have? No, being responsible means taking care of yourself, for those that depend on you. Shock is lethal. Concussions are killers; don't mistake your pure, foolish luck -- the luck of a naïve child, and we should all be so blessed -- for toughness. Do not think your lack of self-care as being responsible for others when you're alone, I've learned that myself, and you want them to have you alive. You're not acting with duty or responsibility; you're acting with nothing but a love of your own strength and a devotion to your own martyrdom. Don't mock people by pretending lying bloody on the ground uselessly helps them." He could carry on, and none of Mars' apologies meant anything -- how could they, when Mars didn't understand? When Mars didn't understand how fragile life was, how childish he was? They poured out of Seed like a torrent, feeling himself so useless before this poor, sweet idiot. And it hurt. What was not in Seed's words were anger. No, Seed looked near-tears, his expression one of pure, unceasing misery that could only half-heartedly work itself into a grimace. He clutched at his own chest. "Your words are very fine, but that's all they are, Mars. I'm not doubting your strength of the feeling; yet I know better than anyone how useless pretty words without a drop of action are when it counts. Act like you have a duty -- act like fulfilling that duty matters; you can't risk your ability to fulfill it without that duty being directly involved, do you understand me? If you feel your training is served by injury, let me teach you some first aid and bring a healer."(edited)

[8:55 AM] LadyDeme: With that, Seed stood up, hiding his expression so that Mars did not overly concern himself with the tears that, unbidden, were slipping down Seed's face. He'd have rather the cold of the salve, clutched to his chest -- had he had the peace of mind to answer, he'd have said that his bark was thick enough to be a little numb to cold -- or smaller amounts of direct heat, as well, provided nothing burnt. Somehow, the heat of his tears was enough to break through that entirely. His leaves rustled as he stood, trying to settle back down.

[4:11 PM] != Dendi: Mars was in stunned silence for god only knows how long. He was trying to process everything Seed had said. Mars couldn't seem to resolve the thoughts bouncing around in his head. So, quite stupidly, he said one of the first things he could properly grasp. "Why do you care?" Mars' voice was somber, almost quiet, and definitely sad. He wasn't looking at Seed, or at least Seed's back, he was starting down at his own hands "I've done nothing to help you, you have no idea who I am, no idea what my goals are, and wise though you may be you can't understand how I'm acting because you don't know my thoughts." Mars' voice was cracking, he may have been a tough guy when it came to pain, but he had only rarely dealt with emotional pain. "So why? Why are you so trusting? Why do you care?" Mars was fairly good at faking being sad or angry, but he was really bad at hiding when he really was sad or angry. He felt a solitary tear form in his eye, and begin to drop down. "I... I'm glad that you are worried but... why? I'm no one, there's no one who relies on me. My mother thinks I'm dead, my father is dead, and the only other person I've known for a long time hates me, and the feeling is mutual." At this point, Mars was trying really hard to stop himself from crying, it helped keep him from wailing, but it certainly didn't stop the tears.

June 13, 2018

[9:24 PM] LadyDeme: Seed had mostly calmed his own tears, blinking them back and wiping them away with the mossy padding that filled out his right arm, brushing his face past mint and little sprigs of lyreleaf sage. Seed expected something -- he knew that. The rest was a sharp pain in the center of his chest, squeezing. He waited for it. He listened. It would come, this rejection of everything he had to say, and it would hurt. The real response was so abrupt that he just stared, frozen, out through the entrance of the tent. He let out a single exhausted puff of air...And he turned his head back, with a sheepish smile. "Why should I need a reason to care about someone? I want to be a person who cares for people, who can be good for people. I want to be a good person, when people around me have so many good things about them," he answered honestly, turning back towards Mars in earnest. He placed a hand on Mars' shoulder, nervously, trying to comfort the young man. "...You might be stubborn, and tangled up in the way you try and do things... But you're trying very hard towards your goals, and I doubt they're bad ones. Besides..." Seed's hand paused its intermittent patting of Mars' shoulder to rest on it fully, his more papery-palmed fingers feeling the fabric of his open clothes. Mars' story creased his brow. Behind Seed's eyes, things slotted into place about Mars' behavior. "Frankly, it sounds to me like someone should have a long time ago."

June 16, 2018

[11:58 AM] != Dendi: "I..." sniff "I..." Mars was grasping at straws, trying to comprehend what he'd been doing, what he'd heard. Eventually, he gave up, and fell forward onto the tent's floor in front of Seed, crying, tired, and at a loss of words. His hair and hands now obscuring his tearful eyes as he continued crying.

June 17, 2018

[11:19 AM] LadyDeme: Seed, for a moment, felt a knot of anxiety rising in him. Did he say the wrong thing? He probably had pushed a little hard. His eyes were fixed, his expression frozen as he worriedly crouched down before Mars. But something about the way Mars was crying stilled him -- what Mars wanted, said a far calmer part of Seed's heart, probably wasn't apologies. Offering one now would be selfish. If Mars wanted anything Seed could offer, Seed thought, it was probably something just soothing. "It's ok. You're ok," Seed said, gently; he didn't usually think his touch was as comforting to a Beorc as a Beorc's touch might be -- it didn't have the right sort of weight, the right warmth. His hand wasn't cold on Mars' shoulder, but it gave its lower warmth with a slow caution. Then, perhaps, more cheerfully, "But what you will likely be is hungry; staves fix holes, but they don't put the blood back. A good, warm meal certainly wouldn't go amiss."

[12:25 PM] != Dendi: "I...th- thanks." Mars stuttered out between sobs. "Y-you've... really... helped me." Seed was right about Mars being hungry, after quite a long time of simply laying there, Mars finally regained some amount of composure and sat back up. "I... I don't... know what I say. So... I'm going to go eat. The inn I uh... nearly died in front of is supposed to serve some good food." Mars wiped his tears away with his sleeve, and started moving towards the exit, before pausing and turning back around. "I uh... if you want to come with... I'll pay for your meal... if you uh, eat, in the traditional way." Mars was scared to admit that he had forgotten which was true for Florkana.

[1:09 PM] LadyDeme: Seed said, his smile softening with the relief of his eventual exhausted, drained sort of peace -- the type you get after a storm's broken, the clouds shattering into white ripples across the sunset sky. Seed breathed in relief then as the earth breathed after the weather; like that, his flowers brightened on their stems. "Don't worry; I can if I like, and I often do." He dusted himself off and stood back up. He considered the question of a change of clothes; it wouldn't do to go eating in a public place with his bare chest exposed! Though. He supposed. As these things went... It was probably a silly worry. Still, he picked up his staff and propped it up against his shoulder, and gave a good-natured laugh at his expense. "That sounds excellent. Just...allow me to get another shirt, first. I can just run by my things." And so they went, out for lunch and a change of clothes.(edited)

[2:19 PM] != Dendi: === End RP ===