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Post by Chani {♥} on Jul 26, 2007 20:32:54 GMT -5
"As you insist," Iliad said shortly. The sand was becoming harder, less malleable. It was slowly turning to dirt. "But if you fall again, you're riding my back all the way to the healer's."
He somehow made it to the bottom of the hill, his haunch was throbbing. He decided that he might have not cleaned it out very well. It was hard to reach. "And no, not all humans are that greedy. But there's enough of them that you must worry about, especially in bigger cities. Smaller cities are called towns, and even smaller yet are called villages." He wiped some sweat from his forehead. It had been a while since he had talked this much. "Have you ever seen an Elf, Zihan?" he asked the boy. It had been even longer since he had spoke more than he had to. Then again, he had never trusted someone like Zihan. His childish innocence and common background made Iliad look at him as a younger brother of sorts. Of course, he thought, he would have to let go of Zihan at the city. He would not drag Zihan into his life of seclusion.
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Post by valter on Jul 26, 2007 21:24:54 GMT -5
Whereas Iliad was beginning to consider Zihan as a younger brother, Zihan already regarded Iliad as an older sibling, almost even a father figure with his knowledge of the 'large outside world' and the fact that he always knew what to do.
Even though Zihan said he was going to Tigerwalk, he couldn't bring himself to cut short the conversation with a transformation. He slid down the dune hill like a surfer on a wave, the dunes being the childhood equivalent of a slide in Gigantii, and hustled to keep up with Iliad, hearing his words drifting back on the wind. He heard that all humans were not greedy, which was a relief, and had almost drawn level with Iliad while he was explaining about different cities, which was quite a feat from the Torph, as Zihan had to take two paces for each pace of from the centaur.
There's more than one city? Zihan thought, and the thought was halfway out of his mouth before Iliad asked a question of his own. "Elf?" Zihan asked quizzically, his mouth wrapping around the strange new word. "No, I don't think I have. In Gigantii, I've only run into other Torphs, some humans, a few dwarves, a bunch of orcs, and my two other centaur friends, Tavros and Maldin." He said, ticking them off of his fingers as he walked. His wound pained him every fifth step, but Zihan began to tolerate the pain, although his eyes were drawn to Iliad's bruised flank.
"If you want, I could wash that for you." Zihan said without thinking, as usual.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jul 26, 2007 21:41:17 GMT -5
Iliad laughed. "No, it'll be alright," he said. "The healer's not far off... Anyway, Elves are beautiful creatures. They're graceful, handsome, long-lived, and most enjoyable to be with." Thinking about it, Iliad decided that he liked Elves because the ones he had met hadn't spoke very much, and hadn't expected conversation from him. "The healer will most likely be an Elf. Zihan, this world's huge. There's so much you have to witness." Iliad looked around, a sad smile on his face. Then it was the usual blank stare. "Your adventure should be a lot of fun."
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Post by valter on Jul 27, 2007 10:04:16 GMT -5
Being quite lost in his imagination, Zihan failed to notice the fleeting look of sadness that flitted across Iliad's normally blank countenance. He was picturing glowing beings with invisible faces dancing through his mind's eye, his ideas of an Elf. "So much to see, so much to do..." Zihan said in a sing-song voice, swinging his arms back and forth. "And only 15 years to do it in. D'you think that'll be enough?" he asked idly, watching the torches of the city float steadily closer. His tail twitched in anticipation of the adventure ahead, and Zihan let out a small squeak of happiness. "I just can't wait, you know? How many adventures have you been on before Iliad?
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Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 13, 2007 21:12:04 GMT -5
"Countless," Iliad said, smiling. "Your adventure never ends, Zihan. Not in fifteen years, not in one hundred. And, when life is over, I guarantee that you still haven't done it all." He sighed. "But the world is dangerous, Zihan. It has its beauties, but it can be very ugly as well. Keep a keen eye, always." He trudged along in the sand, trying to hold his pain at bay. The city wasn't far now, talking made it go by faster.
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Post by valter on Aug 15, 2007 15:26:17 GMT -5
"A keen eye." Zihan repeated. "Right, sure thing." he said, looking quickly around their immediate area. It was a gesture; he'd hear, smell, and feel danger before he saw it, or so he thought. "Hm. Well, after fifteen years, it's back to the desert for me." Zihan said with a tiny nod. "Don't you live in the desert too Iliad?"
He suddenly lurched and missed a step; for the first time in his life, he'd stepped on dirt, sand that didn't move. It gave him a peculiar feeling, the same type you'd get when you miss a step going downstairs. "Whoa." Zihan said briefly, tapping the ground with his bare foot. The ground was colder than sand too.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 24, 2007 8:28:16 GMT -5
"That's dirt, there's a lot of it around here," Iliad said, grinning at Zihan's surprise. "And no, I don't live in the desert. I suppose I don't live much of anywhere, really. I'm a centaur, and in this world, centaurs don't just find a happy little town and settle down with a wife and kid." He felt no pang of depression as he said this; he had accepted loneliness until he was immune to it. They came upon a large wooden sign.
"Welcome To Ishra!" it declared boldly. "Welcome to Ishra," Iliad repeated to Zihan, chuckling a bit.
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Post by valter on Aug 27, 2007 20:38:25 GMT -5
"Ishra..." Zihan mumbled, tilting his head slightly as he repeated the word. This seemed to hold his attention for about one second, and then he rapidly turned his head again towards Iliad. "Why not?" Zihan asked bewilderedly. "Why should you be any different than anyone else? I mean, some of my clanmates would kill me for saying it, but you're just as good, if not better than any of them." He said, nodding vigorously as he spoke.
The consequence of this was that he wasn't looking were he walked, and the combination of that, along with the new hard ground and a particularly well-placed stone, led to the Torph tumbling towards the ground and making a loud clatter of banging swords as he hit the ground. "Ouch!" he muttered, rolling over onto his side and glancing up at the multitudes of stars dotting the night skies. For some strange reason, he started to laugh, for no better reason than to just be alive to see the night sky, feel the wind, and hear the-
"Erf?" Zihan rolled back over and stood on all fours, tail up, ears pricked, head darting from side to side, ignoring the fresh wave of pain that shot through him. All around there was some insistent, ringing, chirping sound the he hadn't even noticed before (Crickets). "Hey, Iliad, what's making that sound?" Zihan asked curiously.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 29, 2007 10:20:02 GMT -5
Iliad hadn't noticed the sound, as he was quite used to it, but listening, he realized what Zihan was talking about. He came over to help his friend up, laughing as well. "Crickets are what they're called," he answered, "and they happen to be one of the most annoying insects around here. And I don't really know why centaurs aren't much liked. There's a thousand rumors, all of them nothing but tales until I see some proof. But, all the same, people like to believe what they hear, it saves them having to do any actual thinking themselves." He looked around and pointed. "Look, that must be a healer. We'll go over there, they're used to late-night calls, most of them."
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Post by valter on Aug 30, 2007 16:47:23 GMT -5
"Insects? Bugs can make that big of a sound? I can't see them. Are they edible?" Zihan asked, standing up. "Erm... anyway, I think we do things better in Gigantii. In my tribe, you're liked for your ability and personality, not for your appearance. Ironically of course, my apperance doesn't do too much for my ability. Y'know, white fur... bad camoflauge." Zihan said, his eyes darting to where Iliad was pointing.
"Okay, let's go!" Zihan said for the second time that night, taking a bold step into Ishra. For the second time, a shock of intense pain shot through him. Fortunately, this time he didn't fall over and black out, but it was a very close thing. "Man, I gotta stop saying that." Zihan muttered, rubbing his side ruefully. He kept quiet from that point until they reached the healer's, glancing every so often at the red spot underneath his robe.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Aug 30, 2007 18:49:05 GMT -5
Iliad was more worried than ever for Zihan's sake. He glanced at the red spot surreptitiously as well. "You've lost a lot of blood," he said solemnly. "And yes, crickets are edible, but there's better food here, I should hope." He smiled reassuringly and rapped on the healer's door with his knuckles. It took a moment, but some muffled cursing and shuffling about could be heard, at the very least by Zihan, behind the door. Finally, the knob turned and a stout man stood there, clearly human by the fact that he was short and showed age, while elves were normally tall and did not.
"What's the meaning of showing up so late...?" he began reprimanding. He noticed that Iliad was a centaur and looked as if he had seen a ghost. Iliad ignored this.
"My companion and I require attention, sir," he said firmly, putting a hoof in the door so that it could not be closed. "We were badly hurt by the bandits in the desert." The man looked at Zihan and his face softened. He opened the door to let them in and hurried off to light torches. Iliad stepped in, his hoofs thumping on the wood floor, and waited for Zihan to enter before closing the door. Torches were being lit in the other room.
"Who is it?" called an elderly woman's voice from the floor above.
"Patients, dear!" the man yelled back. "Come on in, you two." Iliad started toward the lit room at a slow pace, so that if Zihan fell he could pull him to his feet.
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Post by valter on Sept 1, 2007 11:21:39 GMT -5
"Sorry to run into you guys so late." Zihan said, swiveling his feline ears to catch all the sounds in the house. A creaking, rocking sound from upstairs. Some low, contented snores; did the pair have a pet? He sniffed. "Dog." He said with a nod, keeping step with Iliad's slow pace as they walked, his tail swishing weakly. From the lit room, he could hear the man muttering under his breath, reciting strange words, like 'rue', and 'aconite'.
"Phew. Next time I oughta think better before running right into a mass of guys with swords." Zihan joked weakly, unconsciously keeping a hand on Iliad's back for balance. At last, they reached the healer's room, where Zihan's nose was assaulted by heavily medicinal odors.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Sept 1, 2007 14:57:43 GMT -5
Within the room, Iliad locked his knees so that he could wait while wasting no energy standing. He crossed his arms over his bare chest and watched the old man working.
"Just let me prepare the basic antibiotics," he said. "Go ahead and sit, boy," he directed at Zihan, gesturing toward a soft red sofa. "I'll have a look at your wounds in just a moment." He went about, readying herbs and strange liquids for nearly five minutes. Finally, he pushed what little hair was left on his head back and went over to Zihan. "Where are your wounds?" he asked, though he had already spotted at least one due to the red blotch on Zihan's shirt.
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Post by valter on Sept 2, 2007 21:37:05 GMT -5
Zihan jumped up when the old healer man addressed him the second time, and instantly regretted the action; his side had flared up in protest again. On the couch, Zihan's massive sword had left a temporary imprint. "Well, there's this big one in my side..." Zihan said with a feeble grin. "And I've got one on the opposite shoulder, two on the inside of my leg, and a bunch of crisscrosses over my back. It's my friend you should worry about first though, he's got a hole in his chest." Zihan said insistently. By the time he was finished speaking, he was panting, and felt distinctively lightheaded. Whoa. Maybe I did overdo it. he thought privately.
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Post by Chani {♥} on Sept 3, 2007 2:51:00 GMT -5
"Your wounds take a harder effect on your young body," the healer opposed. "Now, let's cleanse those wounds, stop their bleeding, bandage them up, get you some sustenance, and ready your bed." He cleared his throat. "Helga! Helga!"
"What?" snarled the woman from above.
"Fix up two beds immediately," called the man back, ignoring her nasty tone. Then he turned back to Zihan. "Let's see those wounds. The quicker I finish yours, the quicker I can work on his." He jerked a thumb at Iliad.
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