Downtime ((open))

[Val]

"... the miscolored agony of it seems unbearably blatant. I can feel the hatred, the pain and the uncontrollable pain emanating from it. Why? What is wrong with me? What happened to me?"

He dropped his pen, the inkwell next to him tipped and landed with a splat on the stone floor below him.

"Wonderful." Valand said as he reached down from his desk and grabbed the ink covered bottle, covering his hand in the process. Wiping the tiny bottle clean he placed the lid back on and set it in a small cabinet. Reaching for a clean rag he began to wipe the excess ink from his hand. Staring blankly at the parchment before him, a journal he had kept with him his whole life. Looking at the terribly worn book he smiled and remembered the passages of his youth. His whole life thus far was stored in the pages. Glancing down at his hand he briefly noticed that some of the black refused to come off.

"Gah, stained my hand."

Still staring at the book before him he scrubbed harder, only to become more frustrated with that the ink would not come clean. He looked down at his hand only to realize that the black was not a stain from the ink, but the poison in his re-attached hand. Scowling he threw the rag across the room and it landed in a heap. He hated looking at it, disgusting, he hated feeling it and on more than one occasion he debated hacking it off again.

"Suppose I have to live with it, just another scar."

Closing the cover of his journal he set it in the cabinet next to his pen and inkwell. He stood up from his bench and stretched.

"I wonder what time it is?"

Without really having a window how could he tell time. At least they had a running water system, no clock, but running water. Smiling as he thought about stretching out in a warm bath he shoved the chair under the desk and walked over to the heap of folded clothes next to his dresser. Grabbing a fresh change of clothes he made his way into his tiny bath. He stared at the running water, gnomish engineering was amazing. Taking his meager linen shirt off revealing a body so worn with cuts, bruises and scars that it would seem almost unbearable to live with. Valand on the other hand had a mindset of focus.

"Pain is your bridegroom on the battlefield, why not be more used to the fickle mistress? He often thought.

Knowing very well that many priests and physicians would take a great pleasure in berating his near sadistic approach to pain he laughed sometimes when they pressed so hard to dispense their healing arts.

"On a battlefield, wounds more often than not are not healed instantly, they will heal as time wears on, and in that I will live on with them."

There was a reflective slab of mirror before him set upon the wall, never one for vanity, Valand most always set a cloth over it. Although truthfully he didn't know if it was because he despised the vain, or he hated seeing himself in the mirror.

"Tub is full, better get in." Valand reached to unbutton his trousers but before he could release the first button there came a rapping at his door.

"Oh, a guest." Valand sighed, he hadn't had any guests since he arrived back from his incident from the north with the exception from a few maids and butlers. When he did venture out of the solace of his chamber's he most often grabbed some food from the Ensign Mess Hall and returned to his chambers, not unfriendly, just not one for idle chat when he was hungry. His real social calling was spent in the "Brew Building" with a mug of ale in his hand and whoever was there to drink with him.

Walking out of his bathroom and into his room he reached for the handle to greet his visitor.

((Go on, I don't care who you are, I'm lonely))

[Anna]

Anna looked at the half naked warrior with a sly smirk on her face. She'd come to find out where he'd been, but the last thing she'd been expecting to find was a body that looked like it had suffered years of torture. Her lip twitched as if she wanted to smile, and her eyes twinkled mischieviously. She strode past him and into the room, taking a seat on his bed.

"My my my.... you DO have a cruel mistress, don't you? What IS your obsession with allowing yourself to look like the victim of a very... very unstable relationship?"

One foot rested on the bed, her other leg dangling down. For once Anna was dressed some-what more appropriately than usual, in a simple white woolen gown. However, due to her rather.... "casual" position, good portions of her tanned legs were visable. Her attitude was provocative in nature, though it was clear that this flirtacious vibe was not intended for Valand necessarily. It was an ever present part of Anna's personality.

She waited for his response, eyeing the various marks and lascerations on his torso.

[Val]

Valand raised an eyebrow at the mage sitting on his bed. A interesting dychotomy had formed between himself in the young woman since she had became a Defender.

"Ah, so it's just you, always allowing yourself time to progress my slow torture I see?"

Valand left the door open a bit and stepped away from it. Looking at the ever teasing woman he pulled his bench out from his desk and took a seat. He noticed her staring at his scars.

"Ooohhh, Maybe I scare her?" He thought, those that was dismissed as he nearly laughed out loud at his own thought.

Although there was something about the way she eyed his scars that was different. It didn't necessarily bother him, it was a little strange though. Was it concern or disgust, or maybe something he hadn't even thought of before.

"Well, if you must know it was me taking a knife to myself like normal." He smiled and tried to feel as sane as possible despite the joke that he just made.

Without giving her proper time to respond he stood up once more and placed his hands on his hips.

"Well then, are you here to say something or prevent me from bathing?"

His grey eyes stared down at the figure on the bed before him.

[Anna]

She smirked at him, gesturing towards his bathroom while laying stretched out on her stomach on his bed, her head resting on her hands as she stared up at him.

"By all means, don't let ME interupt your bathing. I simply came to find out why you've been so absent. When you DO bother to return... you're usually covered in nasty wounds, and refuse any kind of holy aide.

Being one who makes it a goal to NOT be touched in battle... the life of a warrior confuses me."

One leg rose up and she absentmindedly scratched at her calf with her foot. The look in her eyes spoke of concern, but she covered it up almost perfectly with her smug attitude. She found that she rather liked Valand, despite thier back and forth arguing when-ever they were in the same room together. She wasn't seeking emotion... what she needed was a friend, and somehow Anna always managed to get along better with men, than with the women she knew.

[Val]

"What doesn't confuse you?" Valand replied, he smiled of course, meant no intention of harm.

He made his way into the doorway seperating his chambers and his bathroom. Looking back at the coy woman laying on his bed. Was he attracted to her, yes. But he was more concerned with other more pressing matters than his personal life. But it didn't seem as if she was here on more personal buisness as the such. She seemed to want something else. No idea, but the idle bantering meant she was just toying with him. What a woman, sent to him by the nether.

"Well, I am taking my bath. You can wait here, or join me if you like?" A grin spread across his tired face.

He didn't really care for an answer, he just wanted a reaction. Not giving her time to retort he stepped into his bath and continued to undress. Leaving the door half cracked to speak.

"The warriors life is that of sacrifice and pain, the holy aid is one of pure blessing on the battlefield. But as I have expressed before that aid is not always there. I seek out pain to somehow subdue it. A complete focus despite the agony, I seek out my enemies and feel the heat of their breaths and the sweat off their skin. I can hear every grunt as if it were my own. The blood shed as it drips down my blade and in the fuller. There are many forms of battle which I do not understand, but I do know how to fight as a warrior, as a phalanx, as a wall. It is because of people like me that you cloth bearing witches stay alive when things get truly rough. It is my sacrifice and the near passing of thanatos' gates that make it worth the while. Confusing, sacrificial and often times unrewarding. That is my life, the one I have chosen. Too late now to change."

Smiling he sat down in his tub and began to bathe.

"Good person at heart, as sharp as a knife and with a stinging sense of humour that could leave bleeding wounds."

He began to wonder what the she would say next.

[Anna]

She laughed at his invitation to join him, thinking about it for a moment.

"No.... no I don't think I'll be joining you today, lover. Maybe later."

She returned his wink, then rolled over on her back, staring at the ceiling to grant him a bit of privacy, since he left his bathroom door open. She could hear the sounds of the water as he settled himself in the tub, and once she was sure he was comfortable and covered, she turned back towards the door to face him.

"I didn't come here to bed you Valand. I came to check on you, believe it or not I can be a conciderate person... occasionally." She smirked, then relaxed and smiled.

"I never denied the usefulness of a good warrior, I simply said I could not understand your way of life. Just as I'm sure you couldn't possibly understand mine. Perhaps one day we should go to battle together. You never know, we just might learn something about each other."

She winked, then stood up, dusting herself off. She wandered closer to his bathroom door, pushing it further open, and leaning against the door frame to better hear him.

[Val]

"Not here to bed me?" Valand replied as he snapped his fingers in a mocking motion of disappointment.

Threshing about in the tub he continued to wash.

"Maybe one day, it would seem like a good experience, but not today I am afraid. I've had enough time outside of the hall for a while."

Leaning back in the tub he began to wonder about what she said.

"To check on me?" The question rang out in his mind as he asked it.

[Anna]

She flushed a bit, looking down at the ground to avoid his gaze.

"Aye, to check on you. Go ahead, make fun. Geez... a girl tries to be thoughtful and conciderate and people gotta think the worst of her."

She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him, throwing herself back on his bed with a sigh.

"I was concerned ok? You look like you had a really bad date with an angry ogre. I just wanted to make sure you were really ok...... and to see if I could talk you into letting someone heal.. or at the very least bandage... you up."

She stared at his ceiling again, seeming lost in thought.

[Val]

Valand could hear her plop back down on the bed. He felt kinda bad bringing her down. She had only meant to be kind.

"Wait, I'm sorry. I do appreciate it."

The room remained quiet as he finished bathing. Not sure what she was doing he stood and cried and clothed himself.

Wearing only a sleveless white tunic and a pair of grey slacks he walked back into his chambers. Seeing the young woman laying on his bed still he motioned toward her to move. Sitting down next to her he reached into a small cabinet under an end table next to his bed. Grabbing a small satchel filled with bandages. Setting the bag on the bed next to her he removed his shirt and began to wrap his arms in the necessary places with bandages.

"I suppose I could use some help, they will get infected if I don't wrap them soon. Mind giving me a hand."

Moving his hand towards the assorted wounds circling his back and torso.

He smiled and chuckled as he pointed to his COM on the end table.

"That ogre never did call me back though, I guess I don't make a good date." he mused.

He waited to see her reply as he wrapped his arms carefully.

[Anna]

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, a small smile on her face from his ogre comment. She heaved a mocking sigh, then grinned and sat up.

"Yeah yeah... I'll give you a hand. Maybe you should find a less abusive date next time, eh?"

She took a handful of the bandages and begin to slowly and carefully apply them to his lower torso and back. For a few minutes it was quiet as they worked on the various wounds of his body. Once she'd finished, she sat back, looking him over.

"Not bad, I guess... but I still think you ought to speak with a healer..."

[Val]

His eyes drooped as he sighed.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. As difficult as this sounds and as disturbing as this sounds, I get a distinct pleasure at feeling a pain in my body."

The magess arched her brow at the though and opened her mouth to speak but Valand cut her off.

"Not in a sexual manner!"

The woman relaxed a bit.

"When I feel a weariness and a heaviness on my body, the pain of feeling a dried wound... It not only helps me concentrate in battle despite a bleeding wound."

He sighed at the thought.

"When I lay to rest after a day of fighting or training, I like to feel the strain my body went through. Without it I don't FEEL like I accomplished anything that day. I know I did, but it's more of a feeling than a knowledge."

He stared at the woman hard trying to peer into her thoughts.

"I don't know if you have ever felt something like that, or if anyone feels the way I do. But it doesn't matter. I am who I am regardless of what people make me about to be."

He smiled and lay his body down on the bed, arching his neck. Staring at her.

She had a light in her eye he hadn't noticed before.

He lay his head on his pillow and stared at the ceiling, letting his thoughts run through his head, counting, planning, forming tactics, examining all possible outsets of combat. Running forms, strikes and parries in his head losing himself in his thoughts.

[Anna]

Anna sighed inwardly, trying to avoid Valand's prying gaze. She had a distinct feeling he knew what she was thinking anyways. What bothered her, was that she didn't mind. She rolled over and looked at him for a moment, wondering when her cocky attitude had disappeared.

He reminds me of Ben...Her thoughts wandered towards the boy she'd loved so much as a child. Without wanting to actually say it, she knew exactly what Valand was talking about. Ben had been an aspiring young warrior. Not technically allowed to begin his training, he'd been the type to sneak off during the day, sparring with some of the other boys and doing other such deliquent activities.

She could remember countless nights when they'd slept under the stars together, only to sneak back into the orphanage before the house maids awoke. Even then, she'd spent many of those long evenings patching up Ben's wounds, and tending to broken bones. The fire in his eyes was the very same that burned in Valand's eyes... but how to say all that?

Her voice went slightly softer, and she smiled a real smile.

"Believe it or not, I do understand. In my own strange little way, I am the same. It's not the injuries that keep my mind focused though... it's the power that runs through my viens. Each movement must be precise, each incantation pronounced perfectly. At the end of the day it is my mind that is weary, not my body."

[Val]

Valand looked at the woman and smiled at her.

At least she meant to be empathetic in her statement.

"Hrm, it is good that you feel the same way."

Something came over Valand at that moment.

Something dark

He sat up and began to move his leg rapidly in a nervous movement. This sudden change of mood set the woman back.

"I... hmm.."

Valand looked at his hand again, he could feel all of it again. The hidden malice that emenated from it. Looking back at the woman he knew she was laughing at him on the inside he knew it!

"She was here to torment him!"

"No!"

"She is lying to me!"

"No!"

"She only wants to belittle you!"

Standing he shouted verbally

"No!"

Oxanna slightly jumped at the sudden outburst of the warrior.

He looked at her, she had a concerned visage spread across her face.

"I'm sorry, I think I will have to ask you to leave, I thank you for all the help." He managed a faux smile and looked down at the woman.

[Anna]

Anna's brow furrowed in confusion and from the look on her face, it was easy to see that his sudden dismissal of her had really hurt. She stood, brushing off her gown, and walked slowly to the bedroom door.

"Ah... um... I'm not really sure what just happened... but... if you need me, I'll be in my room..."

She turned back to the door, playing with the handle, obviously stalling. When he said nothing, she sighed heavily and stepped out of the room. Closing the door behind her, she leaned up against it, pushing her hair out of her face.

What the hell just happened?

[Val]

He watched her sulk out of his room with a more than confused look on her face.

"I am such a....

He could feel a terrifying sense of paranoia as it pulsated through his body.

"What just happened to me?"

He knew, it had happened before but not like that.

So many questions ran through his mind. He had not gained any victory in the north. He knew this now, he had won a battle but, as they say, not yet the war.

Slamming his body down on the bed he felt the sheets where she just sat were still warm. What did she want?

The paranoia that plauged his thoughts slowed to a near halt. The pounding in his head ceased. He was at peace.

Sitting up in his bed he began to look about himself, he had nothing left to do this evening other than eat. Gathering himself up he laced up a comfortably pair of boots and grabbed his diary. Opening the door outside he looked about himself to see if anyone was around. Noticing not a soul around him he walked down the hallway, by no means creeping, but keeping his steps quiet. He found the sparsley decorated Ensign dining hall, which he had eloquently noted as the "Mess hall" Not only referring to the militaristic approach, but the fact that anytime there was a dwarf who ate here left the place a mess. Sitting at a table off to the side he set his diary down and walked into the kitchen. The freezebox was sitting across the kitched closed, but not locked. He walked over and reached into the freezer and found nothing but frozen or dried meats.

"Hrm, nothing for the midnight snacker."

Dropping the lid down he made sure it was closed as to not let any of the cool air out. Looking around he found a half-opened cupboard. Inside was a small loaf of spice bread. Removing a small hunk of the bread with a knife, he then placed everything neatly back into place. Walking out into the kitchen he nibbled on his bread as he read over his diary.

"... I fell out of a tree in Elwynn trying to save this girl's cat today. She was really pretty, but I knew that I could never ask her to be anything more than a friend. She says she speaks to demons, I asked her if she was a Warlock, I learned about them in the libraries at the academy. She says she has no idea what they are but the demons yell at her. I laughed and said what was she afraid of. She didn't like that, she threw a twig at me and knocked me out of the tree and stomped off. The cat was fine. - Valand, age 14"

He smiled as he remembered that day. He leaned against the nearby wall and started nibbling at the bread again as he read more. He didn't hear someone approach him from behind.