Posts by Minaiben Lavellan

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]She couldn't forgive her - not yet, not when she still ached and hurt and tried not to weep over herself night after night. She wouldn't say their friendship was over, but it was... bruised. It hurt, and it was changed. Was there supposed to be reprieve, was there supposed to be some sort of solace found in the fact that Tauriel was gone? The threat had been taken away, the perpetrator of the crime having exited. Minaiben should have felt relief in that fact, she should have felt the weight lifted from her shoulders.

Instead, she was upset. She was maddened, angry, and confused about why. Had she not felt enough horror? No, evidently not. When she approached, it was not with the hesitance that Minaiben had been suffering from these last few days. Instead, she flared her nostrils, her chin raising and her stature every bit the proud halla that would have made some proud.
[coior=#4dd5cc]"Then we start with the worst of them - anyone who's been active, who's been capturing recently. Maybe the snake knows - the one who had stayed with Tauriel for some time."

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]Dez was gone?

Minaiben let her eyes sweep the horizon, face carefully blank of emotion. This... wasn't right, was it? She didn't feel right, an unease in her gut as she realized that someone she had been partial to was gone. The halla didn't have many friends, didn't have many people she connected to. None, in fact. Her loyalties were just spread without reason to those she deemed important to her, regardless of the actual bond prevalent in the relationship.
[color=#4dd5cc]"Oh."

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]Her ribs hurt.

Pain flared out, dancing across the nerves hugging tight her bones. Each step sent out new waves, a ripple that did well to elicit a flinch from Minaiben's otherwise blank face. There was some blood on her pelt, some amount of injury that was hers and hers alone - cuts scattered on her legs and a bite mark in her shoulder to be specific. Whatever had created the marks had been canine in nature, and not too small for that matter.

The halla didn't seem to mind. Cold water ran over fur and bone, chill prickling her skin as she entered the river. Recreation was not the goal this time - instead, the need to bathe off the blood of her opponent and the blood she had split was prominent. She wasn't too hurt, for that matter. She had won not too long into the battle, having grown bored of dragging it out. Perhaps more alarming was the way to the fresh cuts were blending in with those of days past. The earliest seemed to be from the beginning of the week, but the story told was all the same. Minaiben had been off the territory frequently, seeking fights and finding them much to her delight. There was a sense of offness in the halla - perhaps not one that anyone noticed though. Samriel was the closest to understand her and even he had missed things, was unaware of many factors. Was she really changed that much? Perhaps the smile the had found permanence upon her features was less permanent now, but surely that was inconsequential.

"Fenedhis"
She murmured, the Dalish curse very similar to the Tevene. What did that mean though? How were they connected, if at all? Not that I can make connections, I should've know that - No. She didn't want to think about it.
But you didn't notice.
Shut up.
And maybe you didn't care - you didn't succeed at fighting now did you?
How many battles have I lost now?
You're losing the most important one.
Shut up.
Childish Minai, childish. Don't you see what you're doing? Denial?
Shut up.
Maybe you should just go - run away like you've been wanting to. Leave Samriel to live a better life without you his bothersome, stupid, life-sucking burden of a -

[color=#4dd5cc]"Shut up!"

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]Oh for... who picked on kids? That was messed up on several levels, and hearing the child assert that the bully was right? Hell naw - hell to the n a w. The halla trotted over, slowing as she neared the littler creatures, always underfoot and never where she thought they'd be. Couldn't be too careful when all it would take was one clumsy step and there'd be a puddle of kitten.

Actually, that thought made her ill to think of.

Lwoering her head so her white, furry features could focus in on Soda, Minaiben spoke. There was even a note of amusement in her tone, though her exhaustion halted anything beyond trying to comfort and assure.
[color=#4dd5cc]"Oi, kid, don't let anyone put you down. You're a smart kid, you've got smart parents, and whatever you choose to do is worth doing. Think we can see what you were working on? You can tell us all about it."

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana][ damn you're prepared! o__o nothing else, but she has been trying to drown the whole debacle by fighting people and seeking out more adventure than she can handle ]

She hadn't been doing anything, not really - waking up from a fitful sleep and trying to remember where she had been, why her legs ached and stung as she moved. A glance confirmed the scratches there, not too terrible that she felt worried. No, Minaiben felt fine, or at least whatever version of 'fine' she was capable of anymore. She rose from where she had laid herself down, tilting her head to try and roll out the kinks in her neck. Already she was tired again, though sleep wasn't really an option. She needed to do something, before she got antsy, before the itch in her hooves returned.

Then he was there. For a moment, the accusations of 'demon' laid comfortably on her mouth, about to be hurled at the strange kitten. What else could explain the sudden appearance of such a creature - but there was something oddly calm about his presence, something that lulled her into watching with her brown eyes widened and her mouth agape.
He spoke of things that were too familiar, that she could remember thinking in an abstract way. Was he... reading her thoughts? But then there were things about her brother, things she didn't know and didn't understand. The novelty wore into hesitance, and the young halla took a faltering step back as though putting distance between her and the stranger would protect her from whatever he was doing.
[color=#4dd5cc]"Who - what - are you? And how are you saying these things?"

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]"A friend."
Echoed the halla, as though the words were unusual to hear. And they were, they really were. She didn't have many friends, even if she was supposed to be friendly - perhaps that had gone too though, slipped away with other bits of herself that she just couldn't seem to find now. But slowly, hesitantly, Minaiben nodded and found herself worrying less about being near this strange creature. If anything, she was curious - but the sensation was as though it wasn't ready to be acknowledged yet. Her mind stuttered and she remained still, waiting until she felt safe enough to be curious again.

It was a start.

Her eyes softened, becoming more vulnerable as he moved on to other things, worse things. Did he know it hurt her to listen to him speak? It did. It was a good pain though, one that let her feel again and the young halla had to blink away what may have been tears as he mentioned laughing again.
Laughing again - when was the last time she'd done that? It seemed so long ago.

[color=#4dd5cc]"Are you reading my mind? Are you... who are you?"

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana] Theslight tilt of her head was the only outward expression of her curiosity, something that Minaiben had nearly forgotten about beneath the resentment she had let boil inside of her for so long. This creature - Cole - was so odd, but... nice. Calming. If he was here to help he was doing a spectacular job because in the middle of her wonder at his abilities, Minaiben realized that she cared about something. She was thoughtful, she was curious and inquisitive and that realization drove her a mental step backwards, and a faltering smile cut across her features. It was as though she was hesitant to smile, as though showing it on her face would erase the tentative calm she was starting to feel within. When the halla spoke, her voice was low, quieter and slower than she usually tended to be.

But that was alright because it had meaning again.
[color=#4dd5cc]"Thank you Cole. Do you help many people? The pain doesn't hurt you, does it?"

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]
Tears were everywhere, like a plague of salt and sadness. Minaiben could feel something bitter and regretful boiling under her skin, writhing like a parasite trying to feed off of her - it was disgusting, made her feel gross. A part of her wanted to shout and yell and throw a fit but it wouldn't make any sense.

When Tauriel had been gone, she had been angry.

Now?

[color=#4dd5cc]"Welcome back - do tell me, do you have a name for the person I get to run through with my antlers?"

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]Oh Creators, check ups? Minaiben didn't have the guts to go throu with one of those - she had dozens of little injuries from scuffles here and there, not to mentin some scarring from times... previous to her recent rash of fights. Scars in places that implied certain events, a night of pain best left forgotten and left unspoken of.

Mentally... was it possible to fail a check up?

[color=#4dd5cc]"Well, I'm as healthy as ever, so I'll pass."

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana][color=#4dd5cc]"I believe the correct response is 'fight me bro'."

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; bgcolor=; width: 350px; overflow: auto; height: 300px;][justify][font=verdana]Minaiben spdidn't have a clue about parent/child relationships - her family consisted of Sam, and maybe a distant cousin or two in another clan somewhere for all she knew. Parents weren't something she registered having, though she had heard a bit about them from her brother. She knew about them in theory - they were supposed to care about their kids, and so when Nemo padded off, clearly upset, Minaiben lowered her head next to Soda and stage-whispered. It was as though she were trying to advise him, grin fading a bit to a more blank expression.
"Hey, I think your dad's just worried. That's what parents are for, yeah? Worrying and all that."

Ugh, maybe she should talk to her brother in that case - she'd been avoiding him for similar reasons, though refused to apply her own logic to her life. Instead, she straightened herself and spoke lighter.
[color=#4dd5cc]"Robot arms sound cool, you'll have to show me sometime."