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Post by Askr Mimameith on Feb 2, 2023 22:11:26 GMT -5
It is a rare thing that Askr gets any sort of time away from work.
The Ring of Cinders is almost constantly busy with a slew of commissions, dragged back and forth across the continent by whatever kind of work Oleeae deems worth their time, and in most of those cases, Askr tends to trail along with them, offering his sword as he always has for whatever cause has bought their loyalty for the moment. In truth, he has spent... less time on merc work than he once did, but the open spaces that were once filled by commission are now filled by whatever work Mister Zarius will accept his help with.
But in the recent weeks, the time he has spent committing himself to work has... dwindled, strangely, and he is not entirely sure of why. There have been fewer opportunities to go out on missions, fewer opportunities to offer his sword for others, and... even several other members of the Ring have disappeared from sight, heading out on travel plans with little warning. It had started with Ashe announcing that she'd be going back to the King's Valley for a little while, continued with Zacharias slipping away to Sol City, Aaranay going back to see his partner in Zeinav, so on and so forth until even Captain Bleier herself said she was taking a trip to Eclipse City for a little while. When Askr had asked what she expected from him in that time, she had merely given him a strange look and told him to... take some time to rest. Spend it with some people he cared for.
It was a puzzling order, truly. He did not wish to bother Mister Zarius or Mister Caedes in excess, and Mister Cyran was not around at the moment, either-- not that Askr was especially well-acquainted with him. But...
If he had all of this time to spare, then perhaps a trip to Zeinav to visit a particular someone was... not out of the question.
And so Askr had put together a small bag and set off, opting to walk until the veil of smoke that shrouded the sky ebbed away into cerulean, until volcanic-veined earth yielded to sand, and until sand yielded to water and foliage and signs of civilization, until he happened upon the door of a very particular apothecary.
It has been a while since he has seen Nyr-- the last time they saw one another was in the wake of escaping a sand-swallowed nightmare, a temple lost to time that they had unfortunately fallen into. Getting out of there had been... difficult, but they had managed. They had made it out alive, despite the living city's dedication to ensuring that Askr, at the very least, could not.
He finds himself hoping that Nyr is... doing better than he had been in the dark of that city, better than he had been in the aftermath. Askr cannot pretend he understands the wildness of the human heart well, all its tumult and discord, but he had come close to understanding when he'd seen the way fear had settled in Nyr's ink-dark eyes, heard the way his voice trembled around every syllable he formed. Glass cannot ache, and yet... Askr knew something close to heartache in that moment, seeing him so afraid.
Maybe he will be better.
He hopes so.
Askr slips through the door of the Desert Rose, curiosity flickering low in his eyes as he glances around at shelves full of jars and vials and labels he cannot wholly decipher, at blossoming plants, at all sorts of strange sights. There is... no one at the desk at the moment, but... maybe that will change. He steps up to the counter and stands there, opting to wait and see if anyone comes down, awkwardly glancing around in the meantime.
"...Nyr?"
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Post by Nyr on Feb 3, 2023 12:35:58 GMT -5
The chime of a bell flits through the air on butterfly wings. In response, there is the sound of shuffling, footsteps rapidly approaching the staircase, and a young voice calling out into the afternoon sun.
“Ah, just a moment!”
Long hair swishes through the air as Nyr bounds down the stairs, tied together with a light blue ribbon. There’s a bit of an unkempt air about him, like he had been in the middle of working on some project before rushing to greet the stranger at the door. He’s wearing a loose white shirt suited to Zeinav that hangs off his shoulders with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and on his hands sit a pair of gloves stained green and pink and so many other colors from whatever plants and potions he’s been digging his fingers into. Likewise there is a streak of pink smeared on his cheek and just as many colors staining the apron tied around his front.
He looks… Different. Certainly his attire has changed from the dark and heavy clothes he had worn on his journey from the Frost Gale to lighter, easier to wear designs native to the Oasis. But that’s not really what’s changed about him. Nyr’s face just looks… Bright. There is a light in his dark eyes, a sparkle about him in the mid-day sun that filters through the windows, cheeks flushed a healthy purple color.
There is a smile that sits on his face like it has always been there. Breathless and excited and alive, so alive.
“Coming! Sorry to keep you waiting- Welcome to the Desert Rose, Sir Kvasir is currently out at the moment, but if you’re here to pick up a prescription I can- Oh, wait.. Askr? Askr! What are you doing here?”
That smile somehow grows larger as Nyr approaches the other both. “If you’re here to pick up some medicine, you’ve certainly come a long way. Are there no pharmacies in Darkveil?” Nyr’s eyes sparkle with delight, though whether it is delight at his own terrible joking, or delight from an unexpected visit…
Who is he kidding? It’s definitely the visit.
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Post by Askr Mimameith on Feb 4, 2023 4:12:18 GMT -5
Askr cannot say what he expected to see as soon as he heard Nyr's voice echo from the floor above, lighter and more serene than he has ever heard it before, but it was definitely not the vision that presents itself to him a few moments later.
Nyr's features do not quite match up with what Askr had once committed to memory, not anymore-- his hair is smoother, no longer frayed and tangled, long and shining and adorned with a satin ribbon, a splash of color among ink. His face is not quite as haunted; the crescents of insomnia that once crept beneath his eyes have lightened, his dark eyes alight and alive with a spark of something that was not there before, and a... a smile, bright and gleaming, sits naturally on his face, something that can only be identified as delight etched into his expression. He looks lighter. Alive. A far cry from the weary-faced, shivering boy he'd navigated through hell with just a few months before.
Something about the sight does something... strange to Askr. There is a strange feeling in his chest he cannot name, an odd and nearly uncomfortable pressure or tightness around the glass organ sitting in his ribs, and yet it does not feel... bad. It is the kind of discomfort that feels antinomically good.
"...Nyr," he repeats, his gaze not wavering from those shining eyes or radiant smile, though his own countenance remains unshifting, golden eyes as illegible as ever. "...Hi."
He stands silently in place for a moment, merely staring at the sparkle illuminating those dark-lashed eyes, as if he has forgotten that he has been addressed, as if he has forgotten that he should really respond in kind. No, his attention seems to remain entirely entwined with the glorious oddity of Nyr's light-- at least until one beat of silence becomes two, until the weight of nothing in the air dawns on him.
"...Ah. Um. I am not... here for medicine," Askr says honestly, and really, he is not sure what medicine he would be here to look for in the first place. Any injuries he receives heal quickly on their own, or someone is quick to toss some kind of potion his way, and... he has not remained a part of this world for long enough to know how illness would affect his synthetic systems, to know if medication could do much for him at all. "...I am... here to see you. The other mercenaries in the Ring are all traveling and I do not know why, and Captain Bleier suggested I take time to rest and spend time with people I value."
He says the words naturally, easily, without so much as a second thought, simply because they are true. Nyr is someone he values, and so it makes sense to check in on him.
It's mere logic, isn't it?
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Post by Nyr on Feb 15, 2023 17:17:22 GMT -5
Seeing Askr standing in the Desert Rose feels different somehow; there’s a warmth in Nyr’s chest, a sort of tingling excitement dancing under his skin like sparks of fire. He isn’t used to it, not at all. But looking at Askr, there’s nothing really different about him at all. His hair was shining like glassy sand in the afternoon light, his face was still as fine as a painting, serene and steadfast and- And so many things.
Maybe it was just Nyr who was different. Maybe this was what it was like to anticipate something good, like an unexpected visit from more than just an ally he has relied on in the past, but a friend.
“Hi.” Nyr returns the greeting, delight curling up the corners of his mouth around the word.
The silence between them stretches on, basking in the sun, until Askr seems to realize how quiet he’s been and offers an almost shy explanation for his visit. It draws a small laugh from Nyr, not in mocking but in gentle amusement. He was so awkward sometimes, wasn’t he? As awkward as Nyr could be. But somehow, even a trait that Nyr detested in himself seemed more endearing when it was coming from Askr.
Askr’s explanation for his visit catches Nyr’s attention, and he lets out a fond little sigh in response. “Oh, Askr, did none of them explain Hearth Day to you?” It was easy to figure out why the band of mercenaries surrounding Askr would have dispersed around this time of year, even though Nyr had never celebrated the holiday himself.
Nafr had explained it to him, once upon a time, with an equally fond and sad look in his eyes as he explained to a much younger Nyr that the world outside of the Manor had entire days dedicated to things like love, like family.
Things Nyr had never had before.
Now, things were different. He may not exactly have a family per se, but he was making friends, and he had a new teacher to look up to. The sting of missing Nafr was still left as a burrowing ache in his chest, but the ghostly man would not have wanted Nyr to linger in his sadness. It was the least Nyr could do to try and honor that wish.
“Wait… She told you to see people you value, so you… You came to see me?” Surprise overtakes Nyr’s face when he finally puts two and two together, and the warmth of surprise chases away Frost Gale’s lingering cold from his shoulders, if just for a moment. “I… Oh, wow, Askr… Well I’m… I’m glad you came! Now we can spend some time together without the threat of imminent death lingering over our heads, yeah? But are you sure I'm the one you want to come see for Hearth Day? Surely there are others..."
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Post by Askr Mimameith on Feb 16, 2023 2:13:46 GMT -5
Askr has never been able to claim to be any sort of master in understanding facial expressions.
He has agonized over them a thousand times, and he will agonize a thousand times more; human faces can say so much without a single word ever leaving their lips, a hundred meanings packed into the movement of a single muscle, and there is always some degree of doubt when he tries to parse what is going through someone else's mind based on their countenance alone. People and the minutiae of their emotions can be so complex, and he cannot pretend he understands the intricacies of it-- not at all. But as Askr watches the way the corners of Nyr's lips lift, watches the way light dances across those night-dark eyes, there is no doubt in his mind that the look on his face is one of joy.
It is... strange to be the cause of someone else's unfettered happiness. He has never been the sole reason for someone's smile, never been the reason that their whole face lit up the way the sun's light illuminates the surface of the moon, but Nyr looks so happy, and Askr is somehow the cause of something as wonderful as Nyr's happiness, and it is... nice.
Still, the quiet elation that shines in his own sulphur-gold eyes dulls around the rise of confusion as Nyr sighs, albeit softly, sweetly, and mentions that the reason for the other mercenaries' disappearance is something called... Hearth Day.
Askr tilts his head.
"...Hearth Day?" he asks, blinking, as if trying to recall information he never possessed to begin with. "...What is Hearth Day?"
His confusion still lingers, but a gentle warmth springs to life once more as he watches the way Nyr responds to his reason for being here, watches Zeinav-gold warmth sweep away the Frost Gale's chill with sun-touched fingers. That tightness around Askr's heart returns, strange and strangling, but not at all painful or uncomfortable the way a true wound is-- no, this is... nice, still. It is good to see Nyr so content.
"...I do not... understand what Hearth Day is," he admits. "But if it is about spending time with people you care about, then... I do not regret coming to see you. It is nice to see you outside of a battlefield, or outside of a tomb. I would... like to continue to see you. Outside of those places, I mean. And at all. Seeing you is... nice."
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