"To Never Falter..."

[Muse]

TIMESTAMP: Late Junctior, in the season of Autumn, era II of the Celestine Mandate, era XIV Post Fractum.

The familiarity of the city streets struck Muse Alberic with a greater force than she may have expected; she glanced about herself warily as she stepped quietly along, her eyes dancing with a tension hidden deep within cool eyes.

Carefully, she brushed at a strand of errant hair, weaving through the groups people who tried to pass her on the street. Her eyes were downcast for the most part of her journey, as though she needed nothing but the sight of the few feet before her to guide her in the direction she needed to go.

There was little on her mind but the memories this place had given her - the constant fear of any being that cast its gaze upon her, the apprehension of having to face what had been ahead of her meager life. Since then she had worked hard to climb above such vulnerability, but still she felt a constant chill tease her very spine.

Consciously, she had not been trying to come to the city of her birth. If she had any other choice, she would have probably stayed as far away from it as was comfortable. But there was something that she had never left behind that belonged to this place, and she needed to find out what unsettled her so. There was something unfinished - something strange that always laid restless in the back of her mind, and each thought and each memory cast itself back to this place.

What she would do now, she did not know. For the time being she continued to make her way along the cobbled roads, as though this brought her a distraction that she needed in this place.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

"I let you win," Kalenel said with a smirk to Markener, trainer of the Fitness and Bones, as he stepped once again upon the streets of Vortex. Throwing the cloak hood once again over his handsome dark-elven visage, Kalenel began through the city's streets replaying the recent spar in his head.

Breathing in deeply, Kalenel took in his surroundings. He was only back in the cities now for a few days, leaving late last summer for Acumin, and then journeying to Portsire. Before that, he had never touched the ground outside of Vortex. He was more cultured because of it, but was still essentially the same as he was before.

Having distracted himself with his introspection, Kalenel's heart jumped as he noticed he was but a moment before bumping into the side of a young woman. There was no chance for either to avoid it, and it was the vyystichi's folly. A short gasp came from Kalenel right before impact...

ooc: Let's have fun with this reunion, shall we

[Muse]

Though the dark elven man had not seen the woman coming, it was no doubt partially her fault, as she had not been paying enough attention to those moving around her. So engrossed in her distraction had she become, that her light and graceful footwork became nothing more than an absent shuffle, and she was no longer weaving her way through her obstructions.

The gasp of surprise came to her attention moments before the impact did, but she did not even have enough time to react to the sound. Both shoulders connected unceremoniously, leaving the two each to their seperate shock and the recoveries that came afterwards. Had she been in her right mind at the time, Muse may have done a better job of said recovery - may have spun into an elegant dance-like hold or even manage to assist the man who had fell into her. But she was not so fortunate, and her thoughts had evidently been elsewhere, and as a result she stumbled forward and then tripped onto her hands and knees.

She was quick to recover from the pain, but she was somewhat less resilient when it came to the surprise. She remained there, seated on the dirty streets, her hair spilling into her face. She was quiet, confused, and physically disoriented. The hesitation was torture.

Her first instinct when thought returned to her was to check her person for missing belongings. The man could quite possibly have been a thief who had tried a little too hard to cause a distraction. Still quiet, and without even bothering to look who it had been, Muse felt her body for objects that could have been taken, and when she found none, took care to try and remove the hair from her face. It would seem she assumed the person who had come in contact with her was not even there anymore.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Hot, seering embarresment flashed across the face of Kalenel as the woman fell upon the ground. How could he of been so careless? He would not have cared so much if it had been a male he bumped into, but it was a pretty young woman. The vyystichi, being the ladie's man he was, was determined to make it up the his victim and help her recover from the ground.

"I am sorry, it was my folly," Kalenel apoligized with his deeply accented voice as he circled around and stood in front of the toppled woman. His black leather boots were all to be seen as he stood there, with her still facing the ground. Extending his hand to help her to her feet, Kalenel's mind, no his heart, told him something. Ignoring the soaring feeling, Kalenel stayed focused.

"If there is a way I can make it up to you..."

[Muse]

The woman, who was still attempting to wipe off her dirtied hands and clear her hair from her face, suddenly paused at the sound of the figure's voice. It was now evident that she was surprised he was still there, but for some reason or another she did not look up to meet his face. To those who did not know Muse, it might appear she was embarrassed - too shy to find the eyes of the man who had caused her fall. In truth she did not know what to think, and took several moments in hesitation.

She recognized the accent, as it somewhat mirrored the subtle one of her own, but it was not unnatural to see vysstichi walking the streets of Vortex. Yet the race had always caused a lingering fear to creep up her milky skin, one that had progressed throughout the years into a calm but fiery defiance. Still, she knew those who were nothing like the ones who had abused and harmed her in the depths of Har'oloth, and the fact that Garamond Alberic had befriended one merited them a chance alone. At least in her perspective.

She seemed to shrink away from the figure's hand, however. Still without looking at him, she brushed the remainder of her hair from her eyes and carefully brought herself to her feet, brushing herself off and only briefly inspecting the few cuts on her skin. The pain had completely subsided by now but the discomfort was always there, as she still was not certain what to make of the interaction in a city that had brought her such difficulty.

She dipped her head in acknowledgement to the man, a gesture of forgiveness. Moreover, an excuse not to meet his eyes just yet. She was still gathering herself in the wake of such a startling occurance.

"Don't worry," came her cool and collected voice, its subtle accent now obvious, and akin to the figure's own. "Only a few shallow cuts here and there; nothing I can't survive."

Now that she was slowly beginning to lift her head, it was evident that the corner of the woman's lips had lifted in an attempt at a gentle, assuring smile.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Kalenel was hurt by the fact she had not let him help her up, but figured he deserved as much. Retracting his hand slowly, Kalenel sighed to himself, once again wondering how he could of been so distracted to do such a thing. "I don't doubt that you can..." Kalenel said, trailing off as he examined the women closely. Something pulled at his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

To the surprise of Kalenel, he noticed the necklace of his Houes's emblem upon the ground. Appearantly, it had fallen off from his neck as the two connected. He looked at it for a long moment before he bent to pick it up, keeping his gaze away from the eyes of the woman. Picking it up, the young rogue held it out in front of him before he strung it back upon his neck. It was a prized possession of his, for it bore the symbol of none other than the House Vamai'tai.

Kalenel's gaze had still not met the woman's...

[Muse]

The vysstichi was not the only one to see the necklace upon the ground. Though her cerulean eyes found the piece of jewelry lying there, her mind did not register its significance right away. For as long as the man's eyes rested on it there, so did hers as well.

Then, as the sound of the piece filled what seemed to be empty air to her, her eyes flickered with a recognition that seemed to jolt her from her absent state of mind. As surely as she had been unwilling to meet the figure's eyes, her head suddenly jerked upwards so that she could see him fully. Her eyes were wide - wide with a mixture of shock and disgust, but softened somewhat when they became fraught with confusion.

This man did not appear to be any of the violent figures who had looked down upon her with scorn and hatred. Even now, his eyes lacked malevolence or spite, the very things that had made her the broken child that she was. Bright eyes continued searching his own directly, as though that wariness in her had been completely swept aside. She was almost aggressive in her search for his identity, or whatever it is he could have had hidden in his gaze.

Apparently, she found nothing. But a recognition floated dangerously in her mind. A child - a boy, a compassionate boy, who had shown kindness in his heart where no other being around them even knew the terms. A comrade, an ally, a peer of sorts, who had helped her through those bleak and lightless days, when the future held no meaning or source of hope for a lost and frightened child.

Kalenal Vamai'tai.

She started, stepped back - seemed rocked by the idea that her only childhood friend was not dead as she had thought he was. It was unmistakeable now, in those familiar eyes, that it was indeed her former master. She looked away, as though finding herself inable to gaze upon him now, as her sign of oppression had manifested itself in the existence of a Vamai'tai house member. It had been the beginning of a terrible many years, in which she would be scarred for the rest of her life and never know memories without its bite.

She did not say anything for a very long time. The surprise had yet to subside again. It was not certain whether or not Kalenal saw it too, but something had obviously changed in the air about them both.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

"Darned thing," Kalenel said with a smirk as he secured the necklace once again. Throwing his silver hair behind his head, Kalenel turned his gaze finally to the woman. "It would be a shame to..."

It hit his senses like a blow to the chest.

Instantly, forgotten memories swarmed into the young Kalenel's mind. His eyes showed his shock clearly, as they stayed in a wide-eyed petrification for a long while. Taking a small step backwards, Kalenel eyed the woman closely. He was sure that the beautiful woman that stood in front of him was none other than his boyhood slave.

"Aslanica?" Was the only thing he could say. All the questions that filled him could just not come out at the moment.

[Muse]

Aslanica. She had not gone by that name for a long time. Hearing it now was as though she were being introduced to a foreign thing, something she may have known in some other lifetime, but could hardly place at this point in time. She almost did not notice that he was indeed referring to her, and for a moment her eyes remained distant and thoughtless, her expression one of a woman lost in a completely other world.

She blinked, and slowly the absence in her eyes was replaced with a creeping realization. Gently she shook herself out of her reverie, her onyx locks spilling about her face in a careless, errant fashion. So it was Kalenal. But how could that be?

"You're dead," came her voice, a murmur at best. She had seen those people slaughtered - had seen them fall right before her eyes. The murderers had been very thorough - or so even she had believed. How could have he escaped, unless by pure coincidence the two of them had both managed to find a place to remain undetected during the entire ordeal....

Apparently such was the case. Still, it was so hard to believe that the man was standing before her at that point in time. How? So many questions swimming through her mind, so many emotions that she could hardly stomach. For a moment she had the urge to reach out and touch his sleeve - to have tangible proof that he indeed was alive.

She didn't do it. It wasn't in her nature to try. Instead she fished for words, as it was obvious that he was having trouble with his own.

"It has been a very long time," she said, her voice still a murmur. She paused... wet her lips in thought. "They call me Muse now."

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

"Indeed," Kalenel spoke softly, slowly regaining his senses. It had been a very long time for the two, 30 patterns at the least. She had grown much since then, and was now a woman. Kalenel too had grown into a young warrior, one with a much better heart than his family. "I thought you were killed, in the att," Kalenel found the words hard to speak, "...the attack."

Kalenel wanted to grasp the girl in his ebony arms, to hold her and tell her how sorry he was for the treatment his family had shown her. He hesitated, and then completely gave up on the idea in fear of any wayward feelings she might have held against him. The young warrior was sure, though, that he had treated her more as a friend than a slave so many patterns ago, when she had served as his personal slave.

"Am I imagining this?" Kalenel said in a sharp whisper, to himself more than Aslancia, turning his head away from the sight of the woman. "My home," Kalenel said, turning back to look at the woman deeply with his crimson orbs. "It's close, can we talk there?"

[Muse]

Muse was quiet during the time Kalenal underwent his own recovery, not sure how to take the pauses that occured every now and then. He managed to speak each time it became uncomfortable, however, and she let him do this multiple times before she finally made an effort to speak.

"I will follow you then."

Normally, of course, Muse would not have agreed so easily to going somewhere more secretive with someone she had only just run across, even if she had known them once. But her curiosity of Kalenal's standing and that of house Vamai'tai seemed to dismiss this, as well as what had happened since the two had parted ways.

She stepped to the side to indicate that she was close behind, awaiting Kalenal's guidance toward his nearby home.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Without another word, Kalenel walked swiftly through the streets of Vortex. Before long, they arrived at his home, which appeared as many of those around them. It was worn and rugged, and in much needed of a couple coats of paint. Kalenel opened the door for Muse as they made their way in, and locked it behind him.

"I don't know where to start..." Kalenel started as he showed the woman to a seat, likely the only clean one in the house. Despite the circumstances, a look of calm showed on the visage of Kalenel. He had appearantly recovered from the shock of the initial meeting.

[Muse]

Muse was not surprised by the look of Kalenal's home, but neither was she concerned with its condition. She remained calm and quiet as he let her through the door, and gave a gentle glance over her shoulder at him when she heard the click of the lock.

She took the offered seat and watched the elf as he spoke to her from his spot, and she gazed up at him thoughtfully through her dark and smoky lashes. She was not sure where to begin either, but perhaps they could fumble with the words together.

"You survived," she said, "But how?" She moved her fingers, shifting those of one hand absently against those of the other. "I was small enough to find an inconspicuous place to hide that day. They never saw me, nor did they look for me, though I doubt they were concerned with a child... or a mere slave. But I didn't even have the thought to look for you when it was still enough for an escape. I waited for many candlemarks after it grew quiet, and even then I fell asleep. When I awoke, I assumed all were dead ,and I fled from that place and never looked back."

She shook her head. "Well, maybe I did look back. I looked back for many ordinations afterwards. But you were never there when I did, so surely you were dead."

She watched him for a long moment, very still.

"And yet here you are," she murmured. A small smile traced her lips, and they parted to make way for a simple thought, one that perhaps made little sense to those who knew no story behind it.

"To never falter... to never fade..."

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

"I escaped as you had, hiding throught the initial assault and fleeing soon afterwards," Kalenel said at length. It was apparent, no matter how much the usually unflustered Kalenel tried to hide it, that the subject was difficult for him. "I thought you were killed with the others as well, you were my only friend in that wretched place. I wasn't like my family, was I?" Kalenel asked the question with sincerity. His family was one full of hate and contempt, and Kalenel knew he was not like that and treated Muse more as a friend. He wanted to hear it from her though, wanted to make sure that time hadn't twisted his thoughts to make everything easier to bear. "What have you done since the attack, after all of these patterns?"

[Muse]

Muse shook her head. "No," she said, "You weren't like your family. I would have been much worse off without you." Her statement was also sincere, and she hoped he was aware that she was grateful for all those years of mercy. But she could feel his discomfort through the words he spoke, and knew that the matter was one not to be pressed. She remained quiet about it, rather than to urge the reminder on him, by thanking him for protection from people he would rather not think of now.

"Since the...?" She faltered at the word attack, knowing that it's make them both wince from the inside. She thought a moment. "I survived the streets of Har'oloth," she said. "Survived many years there, amongst condescending eyes. But I didn't stay more than several ordinations. A human man came and helped me from that rut and took me to the surface world. He showed me compassion that was not like the manner of those we were accustomed to."

She shook her head. "And then I suppose he left me." She looked away, evidently unable to think on it too long. "I lived in Jaedaxia after a world of travel with him, but I didn't stay there more than a few ordinations either. I went to Port Alyxandria and worked for a man there. But I left him as well

"Since my escape I have learned to defend and take care of myself," she added. "But I suppose there's more to things than standing tall." She smiled briefly, a warm and amiable smile meant for Kalenal, and not for herself. She meant him well, even though she knew nothing of what he was now.

"And what has happened with you, Kalenal?" she continued. "You seem healthy.... Are you happy?"

It may have been an odd question, but she meant it with sincere concern. After all, even if things had changed them now as surely as things had changed her, he had been of the first and only people to show her mercy and kinship during her years in this city and the streets below. A great appreciation was already cemented in her heart for that, and no matter what would happen in the future, it would always be there, right alongside her respect for him for what he had done before.