IC II Toes In The Water

[CoffeeIncluded]

Once they leave the inn, Natalia taps Miriam on the shoulder. "Past days...Smashed?"

[achinca]

Miriam looks at Natalia with a confused look not sure what the rogue means. "Darkness is always there, even in the daylight. Like the evil of the human soul, you cannot see it but it does not mean it is not there.'

[CoffeeIncluded]

It's hard to restrain the urge to slap Miriam out of it. Instead Natalia says, a bit louder than necessary, "Doom and darkness now? Why?!"

[achinca]

Miriam looks at Natalia with an annoyed look '... because infinite sadness is the death of the soul ... and because darkness and evil is why we fight ... but don't waste your time with me ..... go see Shiny ... his world is all sunshine .... his life is not a lie and a scam ...."

She shakes her head and moves towards where the horses she healed last night are.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia grabs Miriam's shoulder and turns her around. She all but yells in her face, "Dark in your eyes...Something blinded you...Know...Want to know because we care!"

[achinca]

Miriam is taken back by Natalia's action. She looks at the rogue with an incredulous look on her face. Anger starts appearing in her eyes but she shakes it away.

'Care? You really care?" She bites her lower lip again and lower her eyes. "Of course you care."

Incapable of looking at Natalia in the eyes, she has barely the strength to say "My life ... my past.... a lie ... a scam .... I was just a notch on a trophy belt ".

After that she turns around, looking even more exhausted than she did.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia blinks, processing the statement. When she realizes what Miriam's talking about she pales. "...Calric?" she finally asks.

Just who was this guy, anyway? According to Miriam he was her fiance and died, but now there's much more to that. Much more unpleasant things. Wait a minute..."...Mary's son?"

[achinca]

Miriam turns around when she hears Natalia pronounces Calric's name "He .... Cal ... he ...." she puts her hand through her hair and says in a tired voice "he ... well ... a scam .... a lie ..." Words cannot come out. They hurt too much.

She starts to move away and Natalia continues her questioning. That stops Miriam dead in her tracks. She looks at Natalia and takes a series of deep breath "... yes ... he .... was ... the father ....."

Miriam turns really really pale and puts her hand against the building to avoid falling.

[Cavelcade]

Kurt comes over and grabs her hand in his, radiating stretch through the rage she feels in his body. "It is lucky for him that he's already dead, Miriam, to have treated you that badly...you sweet girl." He starts muttering in in the dwarfen tongue, then, the tone is enough to let them know what sort of language he's using to describe Caldric.

[achinca]

The rough dwarf kindness is too much for Miriam and she cannot prevent herself from crying. Holding Kurt's hand she can only say "thank you .... thank you ..."

It is clear that she is genuinely touched by how much her friends care for her.

She has barely the strength to say "I was so stupid and naive..... we were just toys ..... just trophies ...."

She breaks down and kneels and starts crying on Kurt's shoulder in an awkward situation for the stout barbarian.

Finally, after a long crying session, Miriam raised her head and with red and teary eye plant on big kiss on Kurt's forehead. "Thank you. Thank you for being so kind."

She gets up and looks at Natalia " Where do I go from here? I am so scared.... I am afraid to hope .... hope is scary ..."

[Cavelcade]

Kurt very, very awkwardly pats her on the back as she cries, the rest of his body taut, more stress in him at that moment than in any of their battles. A soft choking noise is all he can articulate, trying to thank her for her words and comfort her at once.

When she stands, he just nods at her words. "So is fighting Ogres...but you faced that."

[achinca]

She looks at Kurt and sincerely smiles at him "But Sir Kurt. I had you and Natalia and the others by my side when we fought the ogres. My past, the lies, I have to face it alone."

She shivers and kneels to give another long hug to Kurt who does not even has the time to protest against it.

[Cavelcade]

He pats her back again, his cheeks red as he resigns himself to his fate. "We only face death alone. Life, you have your friends for."

[achinca]

Miriam gives Kurt another kiss on the forehead "Thank you, thank you Sir Kurt."

As she gets up, she adds "Death does not scare me. It is living which frightens me right now."

[Athedia]

Mithril walked out of the inn, craddling Whiskers, in time to see Natalia confront Miriam, shocked she stood back and watched the events unfold.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia is quiet for a while. How could she respond to something like that? She can't even begin to contemplate having something like that happen to her.

Well...Actually...

Natalia sits by Miriam and says, "Don't know, can't know your feelings but...Do, sort of. I..." She takes a moment to collect her thoughts from a year and a half ago. She's accepted it, but it still hurts. "...Lisk. Not a trophy, not like that, but...Trial run...Test rehearsal, to see if...she...felt like me."

The last part is nearly impossible to catch; there's sadness in her voice but little resentment. Natalia throws her arms around Miriam shoulders and says, "Different for each, but...find truth, learn it. Know anger, but don't...don't be it. Leave for clear sky minds, not cloudy and murky."

[achinca]

Miriam looks at Natalia and does not get the jest of the rogue words. "How do you move forward when your past is a lie? Anger is so easy. It keeps the pain at bay. But you are right. It bring darkness to the soul."

She stops and finally thinks she understood Natalia "So that Lisk was your first one? Did he hurt you? Took you against your will?"

She stays seated, looked at the dirt on the street, her eyes lost as she speaks.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia starts, taken aback. "He...Made you?!"

She shakes her head. "No. Didn't make her, never made her...Never made me either." They didn't do as much as Miriam seems to think they did either, but...

[achinca]

Miriam continues talking, her stare lost in the dirt of the road "I wanted to wait for our wedding night. But he said I should not. And he said I should let him do what he wanted and me do what he requested. I did not know better. I ...."

She stops and suddenly looks at Natalia with big shocked eyes "She? She? SHE!...."

She smiles and gives a huge hug to Natalia "I am so sorry. I had no idea. Do the others know? Do you want them to know?"

Moving the conversation toward Natalia felt good.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia squirms uncomfortable, her face heating up. "Sorry for what? Can't change that...Can't change speech, all part of Nuts." Thinking about what Miriam said about Calric, she replies, "No...sorries from you either. Not your fault either."

[achinca]

Miriam shakes her head " NO I am sorry for not getting it and making these comments about Valen ...."

When Natalia mentions Calric, her smiles slowly fades "I was so naive and stupid. I am at fault for acting like a simple farm girl who knew nothing instead of a cleric of St. Cuthbert."

The bitterness and anger returns to her mouth but not the despair.

She looks at Natalia and in a solemn voice says "Your path will not be easy. Some in the realms will hate you for what you are. But please know that I will always there for you."

Once again moving the conversion toward Natalia helped.

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Not your fault, never your fault," Natalia replies. A difference in her word choice catches the rogues attention. "Good...More than a farm girl."

She falls silent when Miriam points out that people will have yet another reason to dislike her.

[Cavelcade]

Kurt nods at Natalia's comment about how Miriam is more than just a 'simple farm girl', but remains silent, trying to sort himself out so much that the significance of the other remarks flies right over his head for now.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Eager to change the subject, Natalia turns to the others and asks, "Timeline?"

[achinca]

Miriam also welcome the change of topic. "Let's leave now and find Henry."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"And if too far...Back for the soldiers?" A growing fear creeps in the back of her mind. "If they found more ogres?"

[achinca]

Miriam hesitates and then speaks "It is their jobs to serve and protect. If they cannot defeat a couple of ogres, what would their chances be against a tribe of charging orcs?"

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia nods. Of course, she's right on that one. But still, "Tell where we've gone?"

[achinca]

Miriam thinks for a second and replies "Good idea! Let's tell the mayor where we are going in case they need to send a rescue party."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Or head back...ourselves," says Natalia. Then another potential problem strikes her. "Silent sneaking?"