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 Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:05 pm
 The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua sighed and nodded. "It's probably for the best that some of those memories get tossed." He wasn't ever sure what had happened to her, but he didn't really want to know.
He looked surprised when she held out her arms to him. He'd been so relieved to be able to make contact that he hadn't even noticed the scars. "So you'll be alright then? That's was all I wanted to check up on. I just had to know if you would be alright." He gave the place one last look over.
With a sigh, he knew he should leave, pull out and let her finish up completely. "I'll leave you be then. I'll be waiting for you when you wake up." He told her, smiling softly before turning to leave. He should probably also let Katalina know. She would want to know that Tianara was close to waking.  The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:27 pm
Mac and company followed them into the room where Allen stayed. He walked up and was forward, "How much do you know about the seawitch from the legends past?" he asked, "You seem to know the most".
Dao sat down in a distant chair, putting her hair up in a hair clip.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:31 pm
Tianara's smile flashed once more. "I usually am, given enough time," she replied, neatly evading the question. Of course she was never going to be quite all right again - but she thought she'd recover in time. She turned back to her work for a moment, examining the teenager-clean room, and nodded to herself. Good enough. She thought it would do.
When Joshua turned to leave, she looked around and smiled a little. "Why waste time waiting? I'll come with you. I think I'm pretty well done here," she decided. "There's probably a little more filing to do, but that can wait until the next time I need to clock out for a while."
Even in the most essential part of herself, she could not admit to the warmth that had spread over her heart when he'd told her he would be waiting. That was just so...him.
Instead, she matched her stride to his and walked to the barriers with him.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:07 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Allen frowned at the question. "Nasty character she is. What do you want to know? I know a bit, but no one really knows everything about her. She's a bit of a mystery." He didn't like the seawitch. He'd only learned what he had while digging for other merfolk stuff.
Joshua paused as he heard her speak again. "You're ready?" He asked, sounding relieved. He smiled at her then walked to the barriers, leading her back out the way he'd come in.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his own mind and body. He blushed as he realized he was still cradling Tianara, but shoved his embarrassment aside. That didn't matter right now. What mattered was making sure Tianara had come back okay. "Tianara?" He asked softly, searching her blue gaze. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:34 pm
The doll-like dark blue eyes remained blank for a moment longer, then slowly began to light up and come back into focus. She blinked once or twice, and slowly shook her head.
"...J...Joshua?" she asked, as though making sure she had it right. Absently, she lifted a hand to run it through the heavy dark hair that had fallen into her face. "I...Strangest dream. I thought I was dying."
She glanced around, wincing at the stiffness in her muscles, and then blinked. Realizing the position they were in, she flushed. But she didn't comment. Honestly, she wouldn't have known what to say.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:42 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua smiled in relief as Tianara spoke. "Good. You're awake." He could see what she'd meant by things she wouldn't remember when she woke up. "Don't worry about it. You're safe here. Well, as safe as can be. I wouldn't suggest going outside though." He added, hearing the wind whistling around the cabin.
"Just give me a second, then I'll answer any questions you might have." He told her, holding up a hand to forestall any words. Katalina had to know right away. He reached out for the mermaid, calling to her. "Katalina? Did you guys find a place to ride out the storm? Tianara's awake, though she doesn't remember everything. She told me she tossed out some of the memories, things she didn't want to remember." The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:09 pm
Katalina's voice responded immediately, full of relief. "She's awake? Oh, good. Perfect." She listened for a moment, then seemed to smile. "Tossing out what she doesn't need? That's our girl. Tell her we'll see her once the storm dies off. Don't worry, we've got a snug little place to wait it out. You two should probably stay in the cabin, though - it looks like it's going to be an ugly one."
Tianara watched him, struggling to keep from asking any questions. Now that she was awake, she found that she was terribly sore, and thought she was probably pretty bruised up - although she couldn't quite think of why. She also wanted to know why she was so tired, why she felt kitten-weak, and most importantly, why she was cradled in Joshua's arms.
Not that she was really complaining or anything, but it was...strange. And certainly on her list of questions.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:18 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... "Don't worry. We aren't going anywhere. I can hear the wind just a-roaring out there." Joshua told the mermaid reassuringly. He had no intentions of leaving until he was sure the storm was over. "I'll talk to you soon. She's just about bursting with questions that she wants me to answer, but I figured I'd let you know she was up first."
Turning his attention to Tianara, his eyes refocused on her. Sorry about that. Katalina wanted to know as soon as you were awake. And I've a feeling I'll be answering your questions for awhile." He told her with a tolerant chuckle. "What do you want to know?" He could see she certainly had questions. And in trying to think of how he was going to answer the hardest of them, he'd managed to forget that he was still cradling her. He'd put that fact out of his mind for a moment and it just hadn't come back to him yet. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:27 pm
Tianara smiled a little bit, recognizing that he was teasing her. She tilted her head, hearing the wind, and frowned thoughtfully. She had so many questions that she wasn't even sure... "I don't even know if I know where to start," she admitted with a soft laugh. "Well, let's start with what's easy. I know I've missed a lot. How long have I been gone? What happened last night, Joshua? Why am I so sore?"
Now that she'd opened the floodgates, the questions just kept right on coming out. "I don't remember anything after...after the Dark One, and losing contact with Sorry and the others. Are they okay? Are they nearby? What happened to them? Did we find them or did they come home by themselves? I feel so tired - did we need to use magic to get them out?" As wrapped up in her questions as she was, she'd nearly forgotten the one that had occurred to her earlier.
It came back when she moved to sit up straighter and realized where she was sitting. "And, um..." She couldn't think of a way to phrase this question, so she sort of waved her hands around for a moment or two before coming up with the proper words. "Why are you, um...?"
Okay, so maybe she didn't have the words quite yet.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:41 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua waited patiently for her to find the questions she wanted to ask. He knew she would have enough of them. He chuckled, listening to the dam bursting, the questions pouring out one after the other. Her last, unfinished question made him blush though. "Sorry!" He squeaked, not answering the question. He hastily let go and moved away from her. He shifted so that he was sitting, leaning against the wall.
Trying to control his blush, he took a deep breath. "Alright. So let's work through this bundle of questions." He said with a smile, his blush mostly under control. "You've been out for a night and a day. So you remember the Dark One right? Then I'll skip that. Katalina and the others are fine, they're riding out the storm somewhere else." He paused gesturing to the door. The wind could be heard howling, racing across the land from the sea.
"We had to go and find them, which would be why you're so tired. Someone.....kidnapped them." He struggled for a minute, trying to decide on the right term. "They were locked up we had to free them." Anger flashed in his amber eyes, an unusual emotion for him, but he couldn't help it. The thought that the merfolk would do that to their own kind, though he knew for sure at least one of them had been controlled by a Dark One. "Does that answer your questions?" The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:18 pm
Tianara looked up at him, troubled. She hadn't meant to imply that it was a problem. No, it's okay, she thought. It had been kind of soothing, actually. So she sighed, pushing back her hair again. It had become something of a habit. Anything she'd wanted to say about it was instantly driven out the window by the first of his answers.
"A night and a day?" she asked, shocked. "Really? I thought..." She trailed off. She didn't know exactly what she had thought, but it hadn't been that. Hearing his next words, she gave a soft breath of relief. "They're okay," she murmured as though to confirm.
Finally, she nodded at his last words, before frowning slowly. "Someone...who? Joshua, did we find out who? If we didn't, we need to, right away. Someone who could do that to their own kin...they could be dangerous."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:27 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua's eyes darkened at her question. "There were four and I only know one of them. The one I know won't be bothering anyone anymore." He said evasively. He watched her for a minute, then sighed. She would find out sooner or later, so it might as well be from him.
"It was Kistad." He murmured softly. "And he's dead now." His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. There were so many conflicting emotions that he couldn't express just one. Anger, fear, confusion, shock, disbelief. And guilt. That she only had to ask these questions because he'd been too late. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:51 pm
Tianara only lifted a brow at his first words, silently encouraging him to continue. It seemed that he was uncomfortable telling her about it. She couldn't help but wonder why...
Her mind seemed to shut down when he spoke, and her breath backed up. She stared at Joshua blindly for a moment. Her lips parted as though she were going to say something, but no words came out for several minutes. Slowly, repeatedly, she shook her head. "No," she said at last. "No. Not Kistad. He wouldn't. He couldn't. I...he couldn't do this. You must be wrong."
She stared at Joshua, her eyes pleading with him to tell her that he wasn't sure, that there might be a mistake. With another, more stubborn shake of her head, she insisted, "No."
Getting to her feet a little unsteadily, she began to pace. Her brother. Kistad. Kistad couldn't have kidnapped anyone. He could never hurt anyone.
He couldn't be dead.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:59 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua sighed, watching her pace. He pulled his knees to his chest, resting his chin on them. "I'm sorry." He whispered quietly. "I am certain that it was Kistad. Or at least, his body." He corrected himself as he remembered something. "The others believe he was infected by a Dark One. They were surprised that it could have gotten that far with no one noticing." "
But he was dead." His eyes softened, watching her. "I saw him myself. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you have to hear this." And he was sorry he had to be the one to tell her. He wished he could have brought her better news. Seeing Tianara distressed like that, he wanted to reach out and comfort her but he was afraid she would push him away.
((I'm off to bed. Night!)) The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:03 am
((OOC: Morning!))
Tianara shook her head mutely. "No," she insisted. "I...Joshua, no." Kistad was her brother - the only one of her brothers she'd ever felt safe loving. He couldn't have done this. He couldn't be dead.
She turned away from him, trying to avoid the pity in his eyes - and worse yet, the fact that she knew he was not lying or wrong. She needed her illusions, and the denial was the only way to get it. "Not my brother, Joshua. Not him."
The only way he could have devastated her more was to tell her that Kiro or her mother had been involved somehow in what had happened. "I..."
Pressing both hands to her face briefly, she turned back to him. The denial was breaking down, leaving only grief behind. "He was good, Joshua," she said, so softly it was almost a whisper. "He was always good to me. I..." Shaking her head weakly, as though trying one last time to deny it, she crawled back onto the bed and turned to look at him.
Then she closed her eyes as tears threatened. She didn't want to cry. Not now. She could cry later, in private. But oh, God, she wished he would touch her. Tianara had always been more a person of sensations, and to have someone touch her or hug her to comfort her would soothe her grief better than any words.
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