Ely narrowed her eyes with Kiga's words. She had rushed back down the alleyway after the books and clutched them to her chest. He had given up. He had not tried to take them. It was confusing. She expected him to snatch them out of her hands too, or throw them up in the air with his magic where she would never see them again.
Doctor? His arm was back around his side and she wanted to help him. She wanted to steady his body, let him lean on her, and let him rest while she cooled down the burn with some healing lotion. But, the books were in contact with her skin. It gave the voices another connection to her, too. They were not only in her mind this time around. They were actively influencing her motions.
She started to reach out a hand but then clutched the books even tighter. This would be the perfect time to hide them. If Kiga left she could run home where no one would see. She looked up a strange smile on her face and in her eyes. Ely was a terrible liar.
"Good bye, Kiga. Thank you for the walk. I'm going to head back into town now."
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Kiga just waved, almost dismissively as he slumped away and faded into the nearest group of people. He broke out the other side with a bedraggled sigh, lifted his hand and looked down at his side - and then cursed at his damn luck. It would not slow him down though.
In an instant he was into the shadows and flitting up a wall, onto a rooftop with ease. He was quick, very quick to find his new perch and be sure she wouldn't get away from his view.
And so it began. Ely had reign on those books... or rather they had reign on her... and he would see just what would happen next. He crouched lower, eyes fixated on his girl.
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely did not head back to town. There was nothing in that place but a bunch of worthless shopkeepers. Instead she headed straight for the docks and her home just past it. She was very circumspect about it, too. She avoided the streets and wandered into the small camps whose cook fires were somewhat larger than normal.
And, if anyone happened to be watching her they might even notice how each of those fires brightened as she walked past and faded as she got farther away from them. Ely did not notice, she was paying no attention to the fire. Her mind and thoughts were utterly occupied by new ideas.
By the time she had reached the old library; the door she had so much trouble opening practically exploded outward to meet her. She had used one of the fires inside to warm the frame, expand the door jam, and yank the wood open.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Kiga waited until she was closer to the door, then used the noise and commotion of her hurried entry to dart across the street, before vaulting onto the roof. A normal house would have required more skill, more stealth... but Ely's home had a large tree growing out the top of it and THAT was rather easy.
So he scuttled across the tiles, quite careful of course; and slipped into the top branches of the tree that was home to the resident owl. He wasn't about to move unless he had to, to keep an eye on her.
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely kept moving. She paid no more attention to the door than she did the fires a few minutes ago. However, she was cradling the books instead of holding them clenched against her chest. She was talking, too. It's a habit she has picked up recently; talking to the walls. Though, currently, it was not the walls she addressed.
"I'm sorry. I did not know. Yes. Yes. I know. But, I only wanted to understand the words. That is all. Please. You have to believe me."
Ely put the books carefully down on a stone table. She reached out to grip the same table afterward, hands to either side of the thin volumes. She was still talking, but her tone had changed from apologetic to placating.
"I won't let them find you. I won't. No! Don't go away again."
She had gone to her knees in front of the table. Her eyes were even with the small stack of books. Though, she had bent her head and her voice had lowered to the point of a whisper.
"Yes. Yes. Of course I will."
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
He knew it. Here she was, plain as day; talking to those books. Talking like they were people. He didn't like this, not in the slightest; because he had to assume that the books were actually talking to her. Otherwise, she'd blown a fuse and now had meaningful conversations with inanimate objects...
What she said didn't seem to make much sense, but it alarmed him how desperate she sounded. He needed to know more. He could just take the books, lose them now and be done with it - but he was apprehensive. He didn't want Ely upset at him.
No, better to see just what they wanted from her.
He remained silent, hidden and most certainly attentive.
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely turned away from the books. She walked toward the small cabinet that she had gotten Kiga's medicinal herbs and bandages the other night. She looked neither right or left and stopped when reaching the cupboard. She stooped down and rummaged through it for several seconds.
When she stood back up she was carrying a folded amount of cloth, a small silver bowl, and a white handled knife that she used to cut up various herbs. The books were gathered up in her arms as well.
"I have what you asked for."
Her voice sounded odd, very thin and low. She had moved closer to one of the larger fireplaces, too. Ely put the books down on the floor carefully. Then took a twist of paper from inside the bowl and started to pour a line of salt around the outside of both her and the books.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
The moment he spotted the knife, his heart halted in his chest and he immediately broke into a cool sweat. Now was a crucial moment - was he to see what blasted ceremony were about to take place at greater risk to Ely?
No. He was curious as to what was happening not what would happen and he had no doubt in his mind that she were being influenced by those books. It was time to act, and act quickly.
He dropped from the tree without so much as a whisper and with little thought and a great sense of urgency, his hands whipped out and commanded the elements. He tore shadow from the corner of the room, whipping it like a cold mass of thick gelatin at Ely's face, he needed to disorient her, blind her.
His right hand yanked and pulled and demanded the air thrash from in front of her, scattering the items from her possession and bringing them toward him hurriedly.
He said nothing.
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely let loose a loud shriek. She batted and tore at the cold darkness obscuring her eyes, terrified her books would be snatched away. Panic had her in its grasp. She clawed frantically to free herself from the dark. She had gotten to one knee but that was as far as she could manage blind. Then the air swirled up around her. It broke the circle of salt on the floor and the voices in her head ceased immediately.
In the midst of the attacking wind, the little silver bowl had been upended and tossed about. The knife and the soft bandages were thrown across the floor and shoved into a corner. As for the salt? Well, those minuscule grains would be found for days after. Not that Ely was trying to look for them.
She had stopped clawing at her face. She had stopped shrieking and was coughing instead. Honestly, she looked rather pathetic at the moment. Tears she hadn't felt, but that the wind had caused, were dried on her face, her hair was a tangled mess around her shoulders, and her clothing was quite probably full of salt and dust.
The books, on the other hand, were in pristine condition and right in front of her. They remained just as they were only seconds ago when she had sat them upon the floor to draw the circle. Kiga's windstorm had not budged them or harmed them; not so much as an inch.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Kiga cursed then, that should have been simple. Now, instead of separating the books from Ely, he had to do quite the opposite. His hands were still weaving and winding as he shot across the floor to her, the winds about her spinning her and tugging her toward him. He reached out with an arm to scoop her up with the intent of getting the heck out of here as quickly as possible.
"Sorry about this Ely..."
He needed to take her somewhere far away - somewhere safe - and then hurry back here to deal with those bastard books without interruption. He had no idea where that place was and this plan quite plainly, sucked.
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely made another sound, this one came when her body collided with Kiga. A short yelp of pain burst from her lips and if she had any words they were lost somewhere in the back of her throat. She twisted in his arms, too, or attempted it.
She looked utterly shocked while doing so. How did she get home? Why was she at home? And why was Kiga holding on to her so tightly? Her eyes went over the area in front of the fireplace. It was utterly devoid of dirt, dust or any sign of ash.
"Sorry about what?"
She was staring up at Kiga's face her eyes wide and the remnants of the earlier tears still evident. Another question sprang to life in her mind.
"Kiga? ...weren't we just in town?"
She was rubbing at her temple with the first two fingers of her left hand repetitively.
Kiga wasn't stopping for a second. The moment he had scooped her up, he had turned, sprang and shrieked as the winds whipped them up and out of the roof, floating well above the tiles. He had a look of determination upon his face, of purpose. The dropped and he cushioned their landing on the roof well across from Ely's place, him sprinting, leaping and floating again. He wasn't slowing for anything or anyone and in very little time, he had brought her across town and to the dock's district. He looked about as he dropped to the boardwalk with her, still holding her tight.
Then finally he let out an exasperated breath. The pain in his side shattered his concentration now he had gotten her away.
"Ely. You don't remember? None of it? Are you sure?"
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely clung to him. He'd done this before with her, though it had been a very long time. She made no real protest either, beyond trying to stumble out a series of words before they took off.
"Wait... Kiga... What..."
She was not making very much sense. Did any of it make sense? That wild thought ran through her mind and bounced around several times while Kiga's flight took them farther and farther away from her home. When he came to a stop on the boardwalk she stepped back.
Ely glanced around. It was dark. When had the sun gone down? There were not that many people on the street either, which meant it was probably long past sundown. Maybe? Probably? She shook her head back and forth at Kiga's question.
"You asked me to go for a wa..."
A small wrinkle appeared on her forehead.
"I left home this morning to find a bookseller."
Ely's eyes had narrowed.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Kiga sighed, his shoulders slumping. He leaned back on the railing here, then slipped to land on his rear, holding his side. He'd expended some energy with the fleeing the house and the pain in his side was screaming into his head now. He needed to get back to the house, he needed to deal with those books, but damn if he didn't just need to sit here for a moment.
"Ely. You were talking to those books. You fell down, had a pain in your head. You attacked me. And you wouldn't get away from those damned books. You.... started some kind of ritual and I had to get you out of there.
You're not going back. Not til I deal with those damned books Ely. They're not ok."
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Ely stared at him. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had fallen open at his words.
"A-attack you? I attacked you? But... why?"
Yes. Why would she attack Kiga? She had just found him again. She had no desire to attack him, certainly. That was not possible. Which meant this was some crazy nightmare and she was asleep, surely.
Kiga was not here in front of her. But, he seemed so real and he looked terrible. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and keep him safe. Ely reached out a hand, her voice still tremulous and uncertain.
"Kiga?"
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”