Redemption Ch. 01

Natalie slunk quietly into the tavern, hoping her presence was unnoticed. Her skirts seemed heavy-laden with some liquid of sorts, and her staff, gripped in one hand, glowed faintly, though not enough to attract attention. The usual abundance of ebony curls was tamed this evening, pulled back into a bun on the back of her head, though a few wayward tendrils had escaped to frame her pale face. Her eyes were dark, and the tip of her nose was pink, whether from the cold or from a good cry, it was hard to tell. She moved along the wall, an almost tangible cloud of paranoia surrounding her, then took a seat at the bar. Justin's presence registered in her mind and she looked over to him, first noticing his slightly disheveled appearance, then the fresh tear and wet-looking blood on his leg.

Justin nodded to Natalie, and gestured to the seat next to him, his eyes carefully and imperceptibly moving over her. He had so much practice with discreetly looking at people that she likely did not even notice him as he tried to figure out if she was all right or not. He made no attempt to hide his puzzlement at her wet clothing, before offering a warm smile, seemingly heedless of his wound as he sipped his water. "Evening, Natalie."

She rose gingerly, as though she bore an injury of sorts, though her movements were as such merely because she was sore. She sat herself next to Justin, taking her staff with her, now resting it in her lap, as though she did not want it to be too far away from her, lest she need it. Her eyes flickered with something akin to platonic affection for him, then the dullness returned, covering her expression with a mask of silence, through which her words sounded strange and foreign. "Merry meet," she replied, her fingers idly stroking the wood of her staff and her voice slightly stuffy. A tiny black spider crawled up the leg of the stool and onto her lap, resting near her fingers, but she made no move to shoo it away.

Realizing that it was likely a touchy subject, Justin had a feeling that his instincts were right on this. He felt a slight bubble of anger build up inside him, quickly suppressed and un-shown outwardly as he knew this had bothered her before. Attempting to think of something to say that wouldn't seem insinuating, he took another long sip of his water, feeling the coolness of the liquid put the final touches on quelling the almost burning rage. His lips curved up into a smile, unsure, but welcoming nonetheless as he hoped desperately that she did not get offended by his words. "How are you tonight?" he asked.

Somehow knowing the question was coming, she realized that he had taken special care in prepping his words so that they would not come across as upsetting or derogatory. Watching him as he sipped his water, she felt a sudden thirst and waved her free hand, a tall glass appearing on the bar top. It contained a strange bluish liquid and she seemed almost surprised at its contents, as though she had requested or expected something else. Taking the glass in her hand, she brought it to her slightly reddened nose and sniffed it experimentally, then took a small sip. She seemed to find it at least tolerable, if not tasty, and opted to answer Justin's question truthfully.

"Wet," she answered dryly. As if to emphasize this, she set her glass down on the bar top, moved her other hand to entice the spider's exit, and picked up a fold of her skirt in one hand. She rested her staff against the edge of the bar and used her other hand to squeeze a bit of water from the fabric of her dress, the drops falling to the floor with a soft plopping sound that could not be heard over the din of chatter from the other inhabitants. Dropping the fold of her skirt, she rested her hands in her lap and met Justin's gaze, her face expressionless. The spider, now on the floor, scurried into a crack in the wall and disappeared out of sight, and the blue liquid in her glass changed to a faintly greenish color and acquired a somewhat heavy scent of poison or the like.

Justin blinked a few times at the chimerical drink, his nose catching the scent of the greenish colored drink and wrinkling slightly at it unconsciously. He looked to Natalie, and tilted his head at her, deciding to take the slight risk, knowing full well that if he was right, then he would feel terrible for saying anything, but it was better to get the discomfort out of the way. "So what happened to your clothes?"

She looked down at her hands, subconsciously twisting the silver Goddess ring on her left pinky finger, completely ignoring the liquid in the glass, somehow noting that it was changing colors and scents, but not having enough energy to perform a Inquiry spell. Trying to diffuse the awkwardness with a bit of humor, she tilted her head upwards to meet his eyes. "Would you believe me if I told you I went swimming?" she asked, managing a small but slightly genuine smile.

He smirked and gave a soft laugh and a nod. "Actually, I would," he replied, noting that she seemed tired, and making no attempt to hide his puzzlement at this simple fact. "So, what've you been up to today?" he inquired, mentally cursing himself for the potential offense that could be taken from that simple seemingly harmless comment, but again managing to not show it outwardly, giving a smile instead. Running a hand through his tousled brown locks, he sighed as an afterthought and waited for her response.

Choosing to answer his question, Natalie looked at the glass before speaking. "Playing Ophelia," she answered quietly, then took the glass in one hand and eyed it. The liquid was still a greenish color and she sniffed it cautiously, then took a few sips. Her nose began to tickle with the beginnings of a sneeze but she quickly suppressed the feeling and concentrated instead on the liquid on the glass. Smears of paint seemed to slur in her vision and she bit down hard on her lip to clear her thoughts. Replacing the glass on the bar top, she nodded, as if to agree with her previous statement.

Justin blinked at Natalie's response a few times before commenting. "I... see...." It became apparent that he had no idea what she meant, and the worry started to return, plain in his eyes. Natalie realized he was clueless, and pondered her options. She could explain herself and risk his wrath, she could say nothing and let him ask, or she could tell him it meant something else, which would be an apparent lie, and would only aggravate him more. Sighing softly, she tapped the rim of the glass and smiled a bit as the liquid changed to a deep, dark crimson color, and attained a heavy scent not unlike blood.

Raising his glass of water to his lips, he sipped silently, his chocolate-colored eyes scanning hers before setting his drink down and lowering his voice to a quiet, almost uncannily understanding whisper. "If you would rather not say, just tell me as much; I won't push you." Natalie shivered at the tone of his voice, reaching for the glass and taking a sip, not bothering to smell it. The bloodwyne slid down her throat reassuringly, though she half loved and half hated the particular taste. She pondered the intimacy in his voice and nodded slightly. "It is only an expression. Do you not know of Ophelia?" she asked questioningly, rather surprised. Using one slender hand to rub at her nose, she sniffled a few times, the sound rather wet and soft, as though a strong tickled plagued her nostrils.

Justin laughed slightly, worrying that he had completely misjudged the situation, having been worried that her former lover, Casen, had raped her again. After his suicide and subsequent return through the Dark Arts, he constantly stalked her, trying to use her body for his own pleasure as a punishment for withholding sex while they were together. Justin seemed to relax slightly as he released the embarrassing feeling of having been utterly paranoid and hopefully wrong and shook his head slightly. "No, no. I never have."

Natalie listened to his laugh and enjoyed the sound, feeling as though it had been too long since she had shared the company of one who laughed well and laughed often. Though he did not seem especially happy, and though the laugh seemed almost forced and rather mirthless, it was a laugh, and she felt slightly better upon hearing it. "Ophelia is a character in one of Shakespeare's plays. She slips into insanity after her former lover murders her father. She is locked up, but she steals the key and goes out to the lake, ostensibly to swim, but ends up drowning. It's not classified as suicide because she is a high borne lady, but...." Here she trailed off and let the sentence hang, then took another sip of her drink.

His eyes widened as he slowly realized just what was being insinuated, and he could not help but wonder just how much of that related to her own life, though he refused to ask, as he wouldn't want to seem as though he were prying. "I... see.... Can I ask why? I mean...." Justin sighed softly, then continued. "I don't want to seem like I'm being rude, but..." he trailed off, and though he was doing an admirable job of controlling his anger, a hint of understandable irritation showed through the confused tone of his voice. "I can't understand why anyone would want to drown themselves."

She laughed quietly but mirthlessly as well. "No, no. Not drowning myself. Swimming. I told you," she insisted, her voice almost sing-songy. "He saw me, and I thought I'd go for a swim in the river to escape him. Granted, the thought of staying in the river was very tempting, but it's not quite my style. I have not managed to escape the unjust wrath of the Hierarchy just to do their dirty work for them by ending my life. I have too much to live for," she admitted, her words a revelation even to herself. Drinking the last of her bloodwyne, she rubbed her nose and set her glass back on the bar top, sniffling a bit. A few quick breaths escaped her parted lips before she sneezed wetly into the crook of her arm. "Iiih-ishhoo!! Heh-tishho!!"

Justin smiled, an actual warm, pleasant, and truly heartfelt smile as she spoke. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that," he answered, walking around the bar to obtain a box of Kleenex and extending it to Natalie. He bit his lip slightly, his smile faltering for a moment before he lowered his voice again, almost ashamed at having the gall to ask the question which played on his lips. "Did... he get to you again? Or did you manage to escape?"

Blinking softly, she rubbed her nose once more before accepting the box of Kleenex, taking one and bringing it to her nose, wiping gently, then setting it in her lap. After a few wet-sounding sniffles, she shivered a bit, her dress still soaked and her skin almost clammy by this point. Realizing that he had asked her a question, she shook her head a bit to clear it, then decided this could be taken for an answer, and so gave him a verbal response. "Not in that way," she confided, her voice a whisper. "Casen slapped me around a bit, but I managed to escape to the riverside." The band that held her hair in place seemed to slip, and the darkness of her ebony tresses came tumbling down around her shoulders like a waterfall of onyx.

He nodded slightly, and put the two images together: a cold, and wet clothes. Mentally scolding himself for not paying attention, he let his attention be distracted for a moment by the falling hair, before turning his eyes back to meet Natalie's. "Well... do you not have something a little less wet to wear? Being sick can't be very fun for Goddesses. I know that I, as a human, don't enjoy being sick all that much." He gave a slight smirk at the last comment, as though it amused him for some unexplained reason.

She sniffled a bit, forgetting the nearby tissues and rubbing her nose with the back of her wrist. A tickle built, but she ignored it, concentrating on Justin's words. "I don't have a change of clothes with me. Maybe *sniff* there are clothes here, perhaps? I'm not very savvy in the ways of humans. And I've never had a cold before," she added, still sniffling intermittently. Her eyes closed ever so slightly and she took another few quick breaths, before turning to her side to sneeze, the sound wet and full. "Iiih, ihh... ihh-isshho!! Hekisshoo!! Ooh, *sniff* I'b sorry." She now sounded rather stuffy, and looked pitiful, her hair falling into her face from the force of the sneezes and her eyes red-rimmed.

Justin smiled softly. "Bless you, Natalie." He gave a light, half-felt laugh. "As for the clothes, that would be a problem. If there were clothes here, they'd be upstairs, in the rooms. And unfortunately I don't have a single coin of the local currency. The odds of me being able to book a room are rather poor." His thoughts wandered off, trying to think of some way to either obtain a change of clothes for Natalie, or obtain access to the rooms legally to try to find something suitable.

She tried to internalize this information through her head, which was becoming more and more heavy, almost in direct correlation to the increasing stuffiness of her nose. She slid a hand along her skirt until she found a small slit, then dipped her fingers into the pocket, pulling out a few gold coins. "Dee Hiarkey egwibbed be wid eduff buhdey do cubblede by bisshun here, beforr digs... wed wrog...." She hoped he understood the majority of her words, but realized that the coins would help to explain. There were more in that pocket, and several more in other various pockets as well. It would be enough to get a room, she knew that much. Feeling very dizzy, she reached out to hand him the coins, then turned to the side and coughed weakly, her head spinning.

He nodded, and surprisingly understood every word she said... surprisingly for her, at least, as he knew he could hear through just about any accent - including sniffle. He hesitated to take the coins, however, before realizing that this was for her benefit, not his own, and she looked like she'd need the bed anyway. He took the coins, and hurriedly obtained a set of room keys. She felt him take the coins from her hands and shivered as he disappeared. A series of coughs left her momentarily immobile, but she managed to recover just as he returned, thankful for the ability to breathe. A quick glance was all that was required to realize that she was obviously not going to be able to walk straight, if at all, and he made a quick, but hesitant decision. Throwing his gear onto his back again, he included the stick he always carried in the sheath of sorts on his back before standing and offering Natalie a hand. "Let's get you somewhere warmer, shall we?"

His words pierced through the foggy state of her mind and she tried to decipher them. Warmth. That sounded nice. She placed her hand in his, rising somewhat unsteadily and sniffling some, before pulling her hand away to rub her nose. A few short, wet sneezes overcame her and she tried as best as she could to stifle them against the fabric of her sleeve. "Iiihh... ihh-kisshh!! Heh-isshho!! Shoo!! Hup-tisshho!!" Almost losing her balance, she teetered there, reaching out for his hand but unable to find it once more.

Justin slipped the keys into his pocket as he took her hand, forcing his own to be steady despite the nervousness that he always felt when touching someone else. Carefully, he guided Natalie up the stairs, to room four as was labeled on the large tag hanging off the ring. He paused occasionally, when he thought that she was preparing to sneeze, taking extra care to ensure she didn't lose her balance. Entering the room, it appeared to be nothing particularly special: a large bed, with white sheets; a dresser; a bathroom. Comfortable, but not overly luxurious, fairly well chosen considering he had no idea how much money she had, and wouldn't want to waste it. "First things first," he murmured, leading her to the dresser, looking away once there but still supporting her. "Dry clothes."

She leaned against the dresser for support, realizing what it was after a few moments and blinking in a futile attempt to clear her head. Opening drawers randomly, she found a cotton nightshift and a few undergarments. Certain that he was too much of a gentleman to watch her, she began to undress, her fingers fumbling as she tried to reach behind her and undo the buttons that ran from the back of her neck all the way to her waist. The task seemed hopeless and she paused to sneeze, not bothering to cover her mouth. "Ihh-isshooo!! He-kisshh!! Esshh!!"

Looking away, Justin was close enough that his shoulder could be grabbed onto for support if she needed; he was feeling extremely uncomfortable but hiding it expertly. He cringed slightly at the sound of her sneezes, feeling sorry for her predicament. "You ok, Natalie? That sounds pretty bad." His voice didn't give away his discomfort, though if being close to anyone made him uncomfortable, the thought of being close to someone who was changing was... well, suffice it to say that it took all of his considerable willpower to not show how he was feeling.

Natalie shivered from the chill of being wet and from the effects of her burgeoning cold. She knew she looked and sounded pathetic, but she could not stop herself. "I cad ged da buddods ud-dud," she whined, her nose still incredibly stuffy. She punctuated this sentence with a few wet sniffles, then sneezed unexpectedly, the sound almost harsh, but still soft somehow. "Heh-kisshh!! Uh... ihhh... ishhsheeww!! Hup-tishhoo!!" Pausing to sniffle again, her eyes were now very watery from the continued sneezes, and the shapes in the room were a blur. She again realized how pitiful she sounded but was too exhausted to make an effort to control it.

Justin nodded slightly, still feeling sorry for her, and for a moment entertained thoughts of blow-drying her clothes in an attempt to avoid a situation that would make him uncomfortable, though he had no idea what exactly she wore, nor how many layers. And above that, he was painfully aware that the layer of clothes closest to the skin was the one that would chill her most - for her to be this bad, her clothing must be soaked through. His hands trembled slightly, though his back was to Natalie and between her sight and his hands, she didn't notice. His voice, however, audibly trembled. He thought he would sound like a complete macho man for offering, but he didn't care, not where a friend's health was concerned. "I could..." he began, suppressing a shudder that ran down his spine, "help, if you want."

She could not see his trembling but knew that he abhorred physical contact and already felt miserable for causing him to have to touch her by helping her up the stairs to the room. A rising guilty feeling crept over her and she hoped he was not too upset with her. The tone of his voice did nothing to allay her fears, as she realized he was most likely shuddering with disgust. However, she could not refuse his offer of help as she could barely see, let alone reach back and undo the twenty or thirty buttons that reached from the nape of her neck all the way down to her waist. Damn those stupid dresses, she thought to herself. Sniffling thickly, she managed a slight nod, then accompanies it by a plaintive request. "Blees?" Shivers wracked her body and she suppressed the urge to sneeze yet again, not wanting him to catch her cold. He had already mentioned how much he hated being sick, and she would never forgive herself if she brought him misery, though she supposed just touching her was making him miserable enough.

He gave a slight grin as he moved behind her, and a slight laugh to match it. Quickly, and with hands that were carefully controlled to minimize the shaking, he undid the first few buttons. As those were open, he used his left hand to keep the back of her dress closed, using his right to undo the buttons one-handedly... something that he did remarkably well, considering the slight shaking that was evident. "You must have as impressive an immune system as I do if this is your first time having a cold." The trembling nervousness in his voice was lessened, though not completely alleviated as he glanced down at the open-buttoned back of her clothing, though it was still held shut with one hand.