A Grave for Secrets

"She lost control of her element"

Alessa nodded "I would have thought by now she had overcome this problem, must have been something rather intense for her to comprehend that she would black out. In fact the only time she had this happen before was when she was very young." She eyed Rayner like a hawk eying a mouse in the fields.

She knew exactly what had set Ryshka off, maybe not in perfect tense but the jist was the same. This shinlai must have be a darkblood. What she couldn't comprehend was why she brought him here. Of course there was the fact she probably didn't know until a few moments before she angered herself into a fit of passing out. But there was something else, Rysh would have drown him where he stood out of vengeance, but she held back and he was still very much alive. Alessa's brain could only fathom one reason for that, and that was the same reason that her and Alric were together. In fact the situation was much the same the first day between Alric and Alessa, with the exception that Alric was the one who ended up unconscious on the ground.

She kneeled next Ryshka and checked her vitals, even going as far as forcefully opening each of her eyes. When she got up she once against gave a rather stern look to Rayner before slipping inside. For a few moments there was silence, but then there were slight murmurs. Alric had returned home. In the small warm kitchen Alessa told him the situation and there were a few mumbled curses. Alric's voice was a little louder than Alessa's so it could easily be heard. "If its true, than he's dangerous..." Alessa shushed him. 'It doesn't matter now. If this is who Rysh has called upon, then that is her choice. Maybe there is something about this one that is different."

A few more grumbles later, Alric exited the house into the backyard carrying a large tray of food. Small blue crabs, breads, cheeses, an assortment of smoked and raw fish. Enough to feed two full grown shinlai's easily.There was a decently sized table that sat near the house where he sat it down. "I am sure you are hungry Rayner, why don't you have something to eat while Alessa works." His stare was like Alessa's, but looked a bit more exhausted. "We didn't poison the food or anything if you are worried, if Ryshka didn't kill you, then we have no reason to want to harm you. Just don't give me a reason...Ryshka is like my daughter, and I will be damned if I see her harmed because of you."

Alessa walked out on Alric's last statement and shushed him once again. "Alric...that is enough. He's been though enough today." In her hand were pale yellow flowers and a grinding bowl. She sat down by Ryshka's face and began plucking feathers. "Rayner...I don't know exactly what happened. As of right now however I can tell you that when she wakes, she won't be very useful for anything. She probably hates you even right now. But if you are willing to prove yourself to her, then stay by her side. Take her to her home, care for her till she gets her strength back. If you prove you care for her more than your standing amongst the darkblood clan...She will come around. But first, I will wait for your word before I wake her up. You should eat and rest a bit, even in her weakened state, she will probably still be a very angry handful." She chuckled at that and sat cross legged on the ground.

Rayner shifted uncomfortably, he wasn't sure what to think about this only happening once before. Except, it sounded bad. As far back as he could remember, he'd never had much in the way of problems with his element. Air usually behaved when he commanded it, as long as he didn't lose his temper, which had never happened before. There were indeed some good things about training hard, however miserable it might seem.

He watched Alessa check Rysh over, checking her expressions for clues as to the blue female's condition. The stern look she gave him made him want to shrink down in a corner and hide. Was it really that bad? Did she think it was his fault? Of course, it was pretty much his fault, but he had to tell her. He settled down on the ground next to Rysh while the woman went inside, and closed his eyes, listening to the hushed voices inside the house, catching only a few words. But it was enough, he swung his head around towards the house and eyed it unhappily, the wind picking up and swirling around his feet.

A little while later Alric came out with... Food. More human food than he had ever been offered in his life. Some of it looked strange, he'd never eaten bread or cheese before, but it all smelled excellent. A bit too good to be true. "Thank you, but-" He nearly refused, but what Alric said made sense. "I will do all in my power not to betray your trust." He finished with a nod, glancing at Rysh.
He still hesitated to eat though when Alessa returned and began to speak. He lowered his eyes, he had suspected that she might be mad when she woke up, this confirmed his thoughts. At least it sounded as though Ryshka would be alright, and in the end that was really all that mattered. He could suffer being disliked, even hated. But if something worse had happened to her... His gaze shot up again, and he looked at Alessa curiously, "Ah- I never said I was a Darkblood... How did you know?"

Alessa didn't bother to look up as she spoke, continuing to pluck petals as she sat in the grass. "When I said this had happened before to Rysh, the situation was similar. Well not entirely similar but her temper tantrum threw her into such a fit that she flooded the village, and drown the darkblood that had been following her. We found her in a state similar to this laying near the beach. A fit of emotions that strong just made me suspect, and the fact you just confirmed it makes it truth."

Once she was finished plucking the pale yellow petals from the flowers she tossed the stems away and began to mash the petals in the grinding bowl. The smell was incredibly pungent up close, but even at a distance you could smell the bitter sweet scent. "Now before you go and get your tail fluff in a ruffle hear me out. I unlike Rysh and Alric over here, don't believe alliance to a faction is what determines the type of person or shinlai you are. Somewhere deep down I think Ryshka knows that too, thats why she spared your life."

"Hmph." Rayner tried to imagine the stress it would cause to do as much damage that a village would be flooded and a Darkblood drowned... Had she tried to kill him she might have succeeded in that case as well, especially since he'd been so caught off guard. Never underestimate your opponent. It seemed like he'd heard that somewhere before, but what if the potential opponent was a friend? Someone you loved?

"Be assured, I'm glad to hear that." Rayner replied, "Darkblood methods may be at fault for violence, but the movement is more than a haven for those with a lust for bloodshed." He took off his mask and placed it on the ground; it was easier to eat without the heavy object covering his face. With another look at the food, he moved towards it began to eat, taking small bites and making sure to eat quietly. After a while he paused still staring down at the plate, which still had a little more than half the amount of food it started with. It was unusually good food, better than he could have expected, but Rayner had eaten his fill, and wanted to save the rest for Rysh. He closed his eyes and sighed, there was no way he would be able to sleep or rest just yet anyway. The scent of petals drifting up from behind, for some reason it reminded him of the forest. That day when Rysh had emerged from the bushes she had seemed so young and shy. With her spikey fur and those soft blue eyes, and later how they had sat by the lake at night and looked out as she talked about the bats. He wondered, would they ever share another moment like that?

He would stick by her and wait, even if she did hate him, but sitting around wasn't doing any good. Still sitting with his head down, back facing the house, he spoke up again, "Alessa, you can wake her up now."

Alessa nodded and Alric sat next to Rayner. Alric whispered "Hope you ready for a good storm boy."
The ground yellow flowers were then mixed with a little water, making a horribly pungent and thick earthy scented sludge. Alessa then took a bit and rubbed it along the inside of Ryshka's nostrils making sure not to let any get into her delicate dailan eyes.

Rysh's breathing was shallow at first, then was promptly followed by gasps and coughing as the strong scent finally hit her. Weakly she rolled to her feet frantically rubbing her face trying to remove the smell that was overpowering her senses. She didn't stay upright long, her legs barely strong enough to hold her weight she toppled over backwards with a hiss and angrily spat words. "This...smell.. burns.. my...AGHH!!!" She growled and sneezed, gasped for breath then sneezed again.

Once the fit was through and she had sneezed out the remnents of the flower she turned her head weakly and glared at Rayner. "What are you still doing here..." her voice was as icey as any of the water she could conjure. Alessa looked at Rysh plainly, "He brought you here because you needed help."

Rayner glanced at Alric and blinked. Oh boy. He picked up his mask and replaced it on his head, just in case.
Staying back at first, he watched as Alessa applied the funny smelling sludge to Rysh's nostrils. It was strong enough to make his own eyes water, so he carefully directed the smell away from himself. No wonder it was being used, he watched as Rysh stood up, and jumped to his own feet when she went down backwords.

"Eh." Rayner smiled weakly at the icey words, indeed there was to be no warm welcome. He decided to try and change the subject, "Are you feeling better? Alric and Alessa brought food, if you're hungry. I already ate, but there's still a lot left, and I thought you might like some..." He attempted a gesture to the large plate with his paw, knocking a few fish off and onto the table in the process.

Ryshka's eyes scanned the plate, she was no doubt incredibly hungry, and with her strength not even comprable to the strength of a new born pup at the moment, she continued to just lay there, awake and out breath. However the thoughts of food only swayed the subject momentarily as a few salty tears dripped from her eyes and stained the pale blue fur on her face. "Why? Why didn't you tell me from the beginning? I...was falling for you...I loved you..." her voice weakened and she rolled over burying her face in the grass.

Alessa gestured to Alric to walk with her, leaving the two lai t state their peace without an audience.

"Huh?" Rayner stared at Ryshka for a moment, the smile gone from his face, and his mouth hanging slightly open. He glanced at the food tray and picked it up. Rayner padded over and set the food on the ground in front of Rysh, laying down beside her. Why was it that even in this state she was still beautiful? He wished he could protect her from everything, so that she would never have to cry.

"What would you have thought Rysh?" He lowered his voice so that it was barely above a whisper, even though Alric and Alessa had already gone. "If I had told you in the beginning, before either of us knew the other very well, how would that have changed things? I would never get the chance to prove to you that my beliefs in that reguard are not what's most important to me, I still may not, but I have to try.
I never wanted to hurt you, but what I said was true and you have every right to hate me for it. You could even have killed me if you'd wanted, but you didn't. We were right by the water, I didn't have my guard up, nobody would ever come looking for me. It would have been easy..." He continued to look down at her with gentle eyes, "You didn't though, and I won't either. I'll stay with you as long as I possibly can, and it's not just because I feel like I owe you something, or that I did love you in the past, but because I do now. So I'm going to make sure that you eat and get to your home so that you can rest and get better. You may not like it, but nothing you can say is going to make me leave."

She remained still for a few moments, the only sign of movement was the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She knew deep down his words were true, if she had known earlier, she would have tried to kill him. She wasn't actively agressive ever usually, but when it came to darkbloods a secret inner rage filled and blinded her, sending her into dangerous and violent outbursts. Slowly she raised herself up, her legs shaking slightly as she sat back on her haunches and looked him straight in the eyes. She didn't say a word, just stared trying to understand why she had fallen for him, a darkblood of all things. Maybe he was right and the faction you sided with didn't determine your true character, she had killed for revenge without even considering the possibility that they may not be "evil" like she had hardened herself to believe. Maybe she was the one who was truly wrong in the eyes of everyone.

"I'll stay with you as long as I possibly can, and it's not just because I feel like I owe you something, or that I did love you in the past, but because I do now."

This statement continued to fill her head, had he truely meant that he loved her. A wave of guilt ran over her as she realized she could have killed him there on beach, and all because she was afraid to be hurt. Afraid to be tormented by her past. She closed her eyes and hung her head.

She looked at the plate of foods, easily recognizing the familiar scent of Alessa's cooking. She loved it and gently took a small bun and shoved it into her mouth. She looked down at her paws as she chewed. Her stomache growled gently even though it was getting the needed sustenance, she was still nauseated by the complete exhaustion she was suffering. A soft cool breeze came in off the sea as she spoke gently. "I am sorry you distrust humans...I am sorry one gave you a reason to distrust them...I guess we both need to learn about the character of individuals more then basing our opinions on past events. "

Rayner held her gaze without blinking, wondering what it was she might be thinking. He still remembered what Alric had said earlier. It might not have been his best idea to say so much, but at the same time there were no feelings of regret. Interestingly enough, from what he could tell she didn't seem to be angry.

He laughed quietly, "Very true! I have seen from the hospitality of our hosts tonight that indeed everyone is different." He looked over at the house, how carefully it was built and how good the air that had come incontact with the food still smelled. These people were not like the ones in the woods, they had a standard of living, something that made him feel more comfortable. Perhaps it was why some shinlai seemed at home with humans, even living along side them and allowing themselves to be ridden like horses. He still wasn't sure about the last part, no human had ever ridden upon his back, nor had any saddle resided there. His eyes traveled back to Rysh as she ate, he doubted it would be a good idea to do any more traveling tonight. He was getting a bit tired as well, "It's been a long day, do you want to stay here for the night and go back to your place when you're feeling a bit better?"

Ryshka continued to eat slowly, enjoying the different tastes that ran along her taste buds. Soon her legs stopped shaking as well. "The humans really aren't bad, they are just like us only small and without fur. Some do things that are regrettable and others are as noble as the Dailan Elites. Like all sentient species it just varies from one to one." Her paw reached for her face to scratch a small itch along her eye brow when she realized her mask was gone. Her eyes widened and she looked around frantically. "Oh no! Where is it?!"
She got to her feet a little too fast and toppled over again, still not strong enough to walk on her own.

Laying there she groaned..."I must have lost it on the beach...but I don't think I can search for it now...I am very weary...do you think you can..help me home?" She slowly and wobbly got back on her feet.

As noble as the Dailan Elites... Rayner couldn't think of anything to say to that one. Then again, he'd never met any Dailan Elites, nor had he ever hoped to. From his past impression he didn't share the belief that they were anything near noble, but Rayner would never say that to Rysh.

"Your mask?" Rayner looked around, he hadn't though about that. Maybe it did come off at the beach, when she hit the ground. He hadn't considered looking for it. "Yes, we can go look for it in the morning if you want. Wait, are you sure you can manage the trip?" He asked, "I mean... I can help you get there if you're sure." He stood up too, in case she needed something to lean on.

She leaned against him as she walked, it wasn't too far Alric's and Alessa's but the terrain was still rough and muddy thanks to Ryshka's little outburst. Her breathing was short and quickened as if she had been running for miles. She couldn't help appreciating Rayner even though she felt like she hardly knew him now.

The entrance on the cave easily deceived the actual size of the interior, not to mention the coziness. As it turned out, it was a set of several large caverns that ran back into the cliff side. The rock was cold and smooth as if it had been blasted with large amounts of water to erode away the rough bits. There was a large hole in the top of the main cavern that showed up to the sky and had been sealed by thick glass giving enough light to show where some lanterns were. Large rugs and pillows lay around in a circle in this main cavern. In the center of the circle was an old dark wooden table and at its center was a mask.

The mask looked almost fragile and stood out against the greys and dark tones of the rest of the cavern. It was pale white but gave off an opalescent sheen. There were bright blue markings along the front of it and underneath the holes where the eyes should be. On each side dangled 2 long tan and brown spotted turriform shells. The top part of the mask itself was spiraled like the long shells that hung gracefully from it. It was slightly dusty as if it hadn't been disturbed for quite some time.

Ryshka paid no mind to it as she weakly lit a few of the lanterns and made her way into a smaller cavern thats entrance was sealed off by a pale blue sheer cloth. Inside this smaller cave a similar hole had been cut into the ceiling and a few smaller ones carved into the side let the ocean breeze enter the room. Numerous large pillows and soft blankets were laying about and Rysh gently laid down amongst them with a sigh of relief.

When they arrived at the cave Rayner found himself fascinated by its enterior. He'd never seen anything like it, with comforts that made him feel like he was stepping into a house of royalty. Or rather, it made him feel dirty.
He looked up at the roof through the glass, there was the sky. What was it doing there? He craned his neck upwards as if he could touch it, but he was nowhere near tall enough. He felt like a pup after discovering some new shiny object. This was Ryshka's home?

The sudden light of lanterns caught his attention, and he watched her dissapear behind a curtain of blue. Although she had allowed him into her home and even leaned on him as they walked to it, Rayner still had a feeling that she didn't trust him. Not like she had before. He looked down at the ground sadly, why did things have to be the way they were? Why couldn't he have just continued to lie, so that the happiness would last?
But then as it had occured to him before, it would be much worse if they ran into someone he knew and they told her first. He sighed, maybe it would be best to let her alone for now so she could rest. He would sleep out in the main entrance, and guard it. Rayner needed to feel like he was doing something useful.

He turned around to find a spot to sleep and noticed the mask for the first time. "What's that there for?" He muttered quietly, moving closer to investigate. It was a fascinating mask, complicated but apparently well made since it looked fragile but old enough to have gone through some hardships. He moved his face very close to it and sniffed. "Huh." He lifted one finger as if to touch it, but hesitated a few inches away. Look don't touch... Look don't touch. He lowered his finger, what if it belonged to Rysh's mother? The last thing he wanted was to break her mother's mask. That would probably do it.

He found a place near the entrance and flopped down on his side. With a yawn he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
In the early morning hours Rayner woke up again, he couldn't sleep anymore. It was probably nothing, but he felt like something was moving just out of the cave. "Paranoid." He mumbled, but just in case he went and sat outside the rest of the night.

Rysh slept deeply thought out the night, without once waking up and even a bit into the morning. A large black cat with a white eye and a green eye padded softly towards the slumbering Rayner. The sun was barely over the horizon as the cat made the approach and sniffed at his face and fur.

Rayner opened his eyes and stared at the cat for a moment. Was that what had been making those noises earlier? He'd woken up because of a cat... "Go away!" He snarled, getting to his feet and chasing the cat down the side of the cave towards the shore line, "Run cat, before I tear your flesh and use your bones to pick my teeth!"
Normally he would not have reacted in such a way, but last nights events had made him unusually grumpy. He gained quickly on the cat and stopped. Who was he kidding? Rayner couldn't kill the cat, that would be pointless and cruel. The cat continued running and he watched it go.

Now that he was down below the entrance to the cave, the water lapped at his feet and carried along with it little shells. Rayner stared at the shells and bent down to inspect them more closely. Some had smooth shells that were almost glossy with dark spots, while others were rough or spiraled. Glancing back towards the cave, he turned once again to the shells and began to scoop them up, gathering as many as he could in his mouth without breaking them. Sometimes it must be nice to be a human, he thought, that way he could walk along on two legs and carry things with his front feet. Front feet can't taste sand.

He padded back up into the cave and set down the shells. But before doing anything more with them, he decided it would be a good idea to clean himself up a bit. He carefully groomed his fur so that all the sand and dirt was gone from his feet and tail, and the rest regained its natural softness. With a satisfied grunt, he began to move the shells over towards the entrance to the smaller cave where Rysh was sleeping. He was planning to arrange the shells in some cool way, but wasn't sure what he could do with them. "Oh, maybe a tower." He mumbled, and began to stack them in a pyramid style, and went back for more until the tower of shells was about four feet high. "There." He put one on top and stepped back to look at it.

Hopefully she would like it. He sat down with an almost childishly satisfied smile, Rayner had never been taught about this sort of thing, so he was going to do his best with what he could. "Ryshka... Are you awake?" He called quietly, still sitting a few feet away on the other side of the blue cloth.

Ryshka was barely waking when she heard Rayner call for her. She opened her eyes and stretched a bit still sore and tired from yesterdays event. It took a few moments to untangle herself from the blankets and pillows and she began to walk to the doorway to her room. Carefully she paused as through the sheer cloth she could see some intrusion barring her exit. She moved the cloth to the side and hooked it on a small hook. For a moment she blinked slightly confused, and then she laughed.

Rayner's grin was the cutest thing she had seen in a while and even though she was supposed to be mad at him she couldn't help but giggle. "I um.. heh see you had a busy morning!", she said almost with a happy childish glee. She carefully stepped over the mound of shells and put her paw out to help a small hermit crab who had gotten picked up and put with the shells somewhere along the way. She laughed fully when she saw it and its small legs wiggling and flailing stuck amongst the fragile sculpture.

The tiny crab scuttled into her paw and she put him on Rayners snout. "Here a friend for your troubles."

Rayner's grin widened at her reaction. He couldn't be more pleased that she liked it. "I made a shell pyramid for you." He stated the obvious happily. Rayner watched as Rysh spotted the hermit crab and pulled it out. He must have thought it was an empty shell when he'd picked it up.

"Ah! Why thank you." He studied the little crab on his snout, trying not to move too suddenly so that it wouldn't fall off. If he thought it would stay in the same place, he would have kept it there. But as it was the little crab eventually started crawling down towards his Dailan eyes, so he let it crawl onto his finger instead and rest on his hand. "So, I take it you had a good night's rest? You're looking much better this morning."

She looked down at her self, her paws dark and muddy, the rest of her fur gritty with sand and even chunks of seaweed sticking out and dangling from her fur. Her mask was still missing and she sighed. "If this is looking better then last night I must have been a hideous monster. Perhaps we can take your new friend down near the shore where it is wet and we can search for my mask. It couldn't have gone far." She walked towards the entrance to the cavern and looked out into the bright sunlight. The villagers were already awake and running about their daily buisness and she stopped and shied back into the cavern, a look of concern on her face.

Rayner nodded, "Very well."
He refrained from saying anything about her previous statement. He hadn't thought that she looked like a hidious monster, only frail. He tried to push that thought out of his mind. She looked worried about something, so he hesitantly asked, "Is everything alright? Do you... I could help if you don't mind. It must not be so comfortable having seaweed in your fur and all. Or after we find your mask."

He seemed frustrated, none of his words were coming out right, but hopefully she would understand what he was trying to say.

She looked at him, taking a little bit of time to understand what his words had meant. "No...its not really that..just..I've never gone in public without my mask. I just don't like the stares and whispers that follow." She looked to the pale opal colored mask that sat on the table hesitantly and whispered to herself "I shouldn't...I can't...it would demean her, someone as sad and pathetic as me, could never be allowed..."

"Oh!" Rayner couldn't decide if he was relieved or dissapointed. But having mentioned that he felt suddenly more conscious of where his own eyes wondered. He followed her gaze towards the table, where the other mask sat. Now he was definately glad he hadn't touched it, "Why can't you borrow that one?"
Rayner heard her whisper something to herself, but wasn't certain what she meant. He moved forward towards it and looked at it carefully, then back at Rysh, "It even looks like it would fit."

She looked at it, sadly. "It was my mothers. I..I just don't feel fit to wear it, she was amazing...I am not worthy of it. That's why I chose my dull grey one." She liked her mask, it fit her. Plain and simple, but its designer had know her mother and even though she had asked for a simple mono-colored mask, the signature arcs we added to the mask; the same bright blue arcs that graced Ayani's delicate mask. It was true, her mothers mask did fit her perfectly, even the holes for the eyes were perfectly placed. Truth be told she looked amazingly similar to her mother, however most of the time, she didn't ever feel as graceful and beautiful as her mother was. Her mothers fur was soft and sleek, her tail was long and flowing the pale greys and blues were beautifully mixed. She however was awkward and clumsy, her tail looked like she had had it cut off by a man with shakey hands. Her fur wasn't flowing and soft but stuck out in random places, she felt deep down inside she could never live up to the way her mother was perceived by everyone. Truth be told, she didn't even try to strive for that anymore.

"That's really how you feel?" Rayner tipped his head to the side, "I can believe that she was amazing, but I don't think Ayani died for nothing. She died to save you, so that you would grow up and find your own path, surely she would not have wanted you to grow up to 'be' her. Even if you were similar in build, you're a whole different being. You have different friends, different experiances... You are alive Rysh. The past has happened and it's good to remember those we've lost, but there's still things to come, and others who would like you to come with them and see the future. Nobody is worthy of anything if they don't choose to live their lives."

He smiled sadly, "I can't seem to live up to anyone's trust though, so what do I know? It's up to you if you want to wear that mask or not, but if you're really so worried about it, I'll just go and search for yours myself."

Ryshka looked at him then quietly walked close to him and embraced him her face against his soft chest fur. "Thank you...no one has ever said anything as kind and logical as that to me before...I think I needed that." She held the hug for a few more seconds before moving towards the table and gently picking up the mask. It was heavier than it looked and exceedingly strong despite its fragile appearance. It took a minute or two before she could snap the clasps into place and settle it straight. The small shells that dangled from each side clinked gently and she turned around to see if Rayner would approve.