Rubble of the Rose - Chyril 26th EARLY Morningtide

[Grey Wolf]

OOC: Feel free to assume that Ashari had a bit of time to push the wardrobe onto its side

It took a bit of effort, but after less than a burn Ashari managed to get her bar into position, the loose rubble under the wardrobe providing her with a suitable gap between the ground and wood. With a sizeable rock placed under it, she made the wise decision of not jumping on the free end of her lever as that would have certainly snapped the wood, though it did creak rather ominously as weight stretched its structural integrity to its limit. The wardrobe went up and for a long flicker balanced precariously, tilted to the side. With just a bit of a push it rumbled heavily across the floor and settled upon the side, the small key that kept it locked bent and broken in the simple lock. A dagger would easily pry the wardrobe open, revealing a jumbled mess of clothes and other objects. A bit of sifting through them would reveal a bodice, a chemise, pair of dresses, of which one was rather worn and common looking, cream in color, while the other looked like it would be a appropriate for even a courtly functions, pale blue with arm length sleeves. Silk lined fur cloak rest atop a pair of shiny black boots, with one runic glove peeking from the inside of the boot. A studded belt seemed linked to the other glove, which barely peeked from under a brick red skirt, with tribal pattern embroidered at its hem. The trio of books rested in a lower corner, remains of a shattered mirror resting atop them. Lastly a whip was coiled under the books, a misshapen mass of molten wax hardened between the books and whip, keeping them together. All in all, it was a nice little treasure trove.

OOC: Basically that is mostly everything Aeris had, except a swan pendant I suspect she was wearing on her even in swan form.

[Ashari]

OOC: Yes, she would be wearing it. I don't believe she ever took it off.

IC:

Ashari's eyes widened slightly as the bar creaked. Don't snap! Don't snap! She begged the Mother. Once the wardrobe began to balance Ashari manuevered her way over to it and gave a shove to send it over on it's other side. "Hah!" She announced with vigor and immediately turned to look at Aeris with a grin at their team work. "It worked!" She smiled cheekily, quiet proud of their endeavor and how well it had been going thus far.

Reaching into her boot she retrieved a small, narrow blade and a more squat sharpened blade, both wrapped in a leather sheath back to back which fit neatly in her boot thanks to their minute size. They were delicate and well-made. Ash removed the larger of the two and slid the other back in her boot with sheath and then pried open the wardrobe, making as short work of it as possible before examining the contents of the dresser. It was all there. "Nether, you always were meticulous, Aeris." Indeed, though the clothing had been jumbled around, one could tell it had been put away neatly. The only mess was the candle. She merely hoped it didn't damage anything badly.

Closing the wardrobe again, Ashari moved onward. There was no sense in shuffling around all her belongings at the time being. Instead, she concentrated on continuing to dig from the point of the wardrobe, hoping to find Aeris somewhere in the disaster so that her body could be laid to rest properly. "Would you want to know when you were going to die? Like... the exact time and yahren and how?" It was a morbid question, but it was also a decidedly morbid situation.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin listened to the question that Ashari asked, having busied herself with more rock flinging and allowing Ashari the time and personal space to sort through her prior student's belongings. After a brief pause came Aerin's reply. “No. even if I did know...and knew it was unavoidable...I would still be just as unprepared for that final moment than if it had simply snuck up on me.” Aerin pitched a couple of rocks and smiled darkly, making morbid light of the moment as well. “It is like a knife... If you are stabbed in the back at one of the happiest moments of your life, it's over quickly. No time for regret. If that same knife is waved in your face for a few flickers, burns, marks, tides, days, yahren...that's a lo of time for regret, no matter how short or long the wick on your personal candle and the life you lived after seeing the first glimpse of that knife would not be a life at all.”

The redhead shrugged and looked to the rubble below her. “I did not know Aeris, but I would like to think that she was asleep when it happened - dreaming of her love in Amun Ra, a smile on her face and a warm glow in her heart right to the very end. We may find her otherwise, Mistress, but let the thought of her dying without time to feel pain or fear be some comfort to you instead of the alternative being the dagger which stabs you with guilt and regret with every stone we move.”

With a final glance at Ashari, Aerin resumed the dig.

[Ashari]

Aerin was right, and the more Ash listened to her, the more she thought it to be the case. She suggested that not knowing was best, not only for the pain it caused in anticipation of the act, but also in how it might damage your life in the mean-time. "What if by knowing you could change something?" She wondered if there was some sort of sign she missed that her building was going to be destroyed.

The Banner.

An attack upon Michael, and a personal one at that, which cost him a great bit of money as well as the toll of personel lost, should've warned her that she could be targetted next. Fuckin' idiot, Ash! But that very thought made her to shift gears. He will be made to pay... and slowly. But you must prepare. You can't do it wrong. It can't come back to you. Nether only knows how Tom's gonna react. In this game of Bocce there were so many players, and too many bowls were in play for there not to be another hit soon. Next time it won't be me taking the fall, she promised herself. "I won't be knocked out of play," her mental musings spilled aloud as she shuffled some wreckage around thoughtlessly, her mind quite obviously elsewhere until she realized she'd spoken. "Sorry... my mind wanders." What could've been considered bashfulness crossed her face via expressive eyebrows, but her gray eyes showed lack of embarassement and more keen interest in whether Aerin might push the subject or not. She could at times be difficult to read.

"She was sleeping," Ashari said asuredly, both to appease Aerin's thoughts and to remind herself of the fact. "And it was painless and fast." A sigh, followed by a more solid throw of material was followed with: "I can atleast be thankful of that."

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

“Would not matter...” Aerin replied with a shrug to the first question. “Sure, you change that one instance...and then another...and then another.... You are still facing the knife, dancing with it until that one time...that one time when you are too tired to fight fate anymore and welcome the steel into your breast in the hopes that the act of fatal submission truly does end both the music and the dance.” The redhead gave Ashari a moment to chew her answer over, not knowing that her new tutor was actually thinking of other things until her comment of not being knocked out of play slipped out followed by an explanation of wandering minds. Aerin gave a smile and a nod, for she was flighty at times herself.

Rock after stone passed over her shoulder, her arm starting to cramp as it lacked any assistance from her broken hand while both of Ashari's hands shared their workload, nodding once more as Ashari repeated the affirmation that Aeris' death had been painless and merely the beginning of an eternal dream. “I have been meaning to ask, Mistress...” Aerin began taking a break from her hard work to sit upon a small pile of stone and allow her arm some pause. “Was it just you and Aeris before, or are there others? I am no expert, but this place looks...I'm sorry...looked like it was big enough to be a guildhouse or school of some sort. Like an adjunct of the University only...not...” She would allow herself only a few burns of rest before resuming her duties despite pain and increasing fatigue.

[Ashari]

Ashari wiped an arm across her sweaty forehead and watched Aerin as she took to a seat. With a moment's hesitation she thought it might be a good idea to take a break for a flicker, just to catch her breath before they sifted further into the dilapidated building. Aerin's question, too, allowed for the respite during her response. Ash planted her arse on what had been her pivot rock, one arm wrapped around her knees to keep her balance on what would otherwise be a precarious placement.

"Aeris was my first student, first of what I hoped to be many," she replied. "Not in magick... I had no intention on teaching them all the ways of a mage, but you showed promise, so I am willing." Ashari smiled lightly. Once upon a time she'd shown similar promise. Had it not been, she wouldn't have been taught. "But I was attempting to resurrect a once-great establishment, the Red Rose Guild." It had been in existance for a so many yahren. She was still shocked it had so easily fallen. Andolin had been helpful in explaining why. "The previous guildmaster, Larbeido, he became too comfortable in his position, and didn't realize the accusations being put against him and the Panlings who called the Guild home.

"I don't know your religious affiliation, Aerin, and it honestly means little to me. I find great solace in the embrace of the Mother and find her teachings most suitable to my life, but I warn that if you side with Pan that you keep that to yourself. There is still much unrest and I wouldn't want any harm to come to you." She cautioned, but was swift to move back to their original topic.

"I wanted to train young men and women in ways that might lift them from their position in life - second sons and daughters needing better placement in order to marry at or above their station... as well as those without title or money to gain favor, who might need assistance in becoming something greater. You have the potential, Aerin, to be a lovely companion should you want for me to teach you." Looking over the rubble she sighed. "But I don't think I can start again with the Red Rose Guild. It shall have to be something else.. something that is mine. I hope to find some more personal students, such as yourself. From there I can expand."

[Grey Wolf]

The work was slow, but with each stone tossed over the remains of the Red Rose Guild walls, they came closer to the floor underneath it all, though it also meant the nearby rooms would require them to toss more debris out as they kept adding to the piles already there. Given perhaps a quarter of a mark more, they would be able to clear the room they were in almost completely, save for the rocks too large to be moved by the girls without some help, and the tiny pieces of debris that would require Ashari and Aerns to use a broom and a spade and probably a bucket too. Sadly, of Aeris there was no sign at all, the girl having been elsewhere when the fire had started.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Ashari's newest student studied her new tutor's face as Ashari gave her the short version of the guild's history as well as more information on Aeris, the redhead making note of the turmoil that religion played in it all. She rolled her eyes behind briefly closed lids, the words “What else is new” aching to dig themselves free of the collapsed tunnel between her mind and her mouth. Aerin's eyes opened once more as Ashari continued speaking of what type of training she was in queue to receive, a blush peeking out radiantly and immediately when Ashari complemented her, Aerin's humor coming to her defense as she presumed to be as dirt-covered as her companion.

“Thank you, Mistress... But if you or any man sees me as lovely this flicker...” she began, moving her good arm around herself to showcase the filth of soot and sweat mixed. “...then I suspect that standards are pretty low on this island, wouldn't you?” She grinned wide enough to show a little teeth, possibly the only clean spot on her face, and listened to Ashari finish her explanation of her plans.

“I say we find them now...” she said, vocalizing her weary arm's unspoken complaints. “If soot and sweat is the Citadel's idea of lovely, they will be the belles of the ball come Tradetide, I think...” She gave a final chuckle and a shrug before rising and returning to work. The longer she sat there, the harder it would be to rise...any eldest farmer's daughter knew that rule by heart and her gut told her that they were not going to stop until Aeris was found, even if it was to rouse more help.

[Ashari]

Ashari laughed heartily at Aerin's joke about the way she looks and the fact that none would find her attractive at the moment. "When I met my first love I was fighting orcs... I doubt I looked much better, you'd be surprised what a man would find attractive. I suppose it depends on the situation." She laughed some more. It was, perhaps, one of the first times she'd been able to talk about Iorn without pains of his death haunting the words. "Men here in the Citadel do have quite the funny tastes at times, I will say that much."

Aerin's teeth were definately the cleanest part of her that was showing. It caused another small chuckle from Ash before she decided that she, too, needed to get up. Stretching her arms over her head she interlocked her fingers and pushed them upwards, hearing the snaps and crackles of her knuckles and the pop of one of her elbows.

As they finished in that room and hadn't yet found Aeris' body Ash gave a sigh, but continued on the exploration, looking around and trying to decide where to go next. There was, of course, continuing to dig from the point they were at. Of course, they could crawl out of the room and look to dig downward again. She wasn't sure, and as such, she decided to look over the rubble to see where to go next.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin was five years Ashari’s senior, but she may as well have been five years old period for all of the questions that finally came bubbling forth in rapid barrage as she and Ashari looked about for the next place to dig. “So, please tell me more about Swanmaidens…” Aerin requested, keeping her voice low as not to be overheard by passers-by. “I mean, are they … how are they born, for instance? Are they born or…hatched?” She could almost picture a winged woman curling up as she had seen her mother do during the births of her youngest siblings – only in this case, the woman passed an egg through the bloodied flower of torn flesh that was not designed for a payload that size and shape which prompted her to assume egg delivery and to go on to inquire about size. “Are the eggs baby-sized? Or little, like a chicken’s?” she continued, using her good hand to pantomime the varied egg sizes.

“Do Swanmaidens and Swan…uhh…misters…you know…Uhhh” she continued bucking her hips forward as if thrusting a penis into another, a wry smirk on her face. “Or, like chickens, does the male…” Aerin made a funny face, sticking the tip of her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration as Rat had often done during the act, her empty hand formed into a loose ‘o’ of a fist as her pantomime act continued, this time with her pretending to hold and stroke the non-existent phallus.. “…do his thing on the egg after she lays it?”

Scarcely taking the time to draw a breath, she continued her interrogation. “And when they are born, hatched, whatever, are they baby birds at first and then grow into human bodies? Or little winged babies? Or a cute lil’ ball of mush that eventually gets prettier?” As tired as her body was from the digging that they had done, it was probably very evident that her mind and mouth were well-rested and energetic as she continued to segue this way and that as she carried on.

“Does she sit on the eggs? The mother, I mean…”

“Does she lay more than one egg at a time?”

“Do they nest or live in houses?”

“If they need to poop while flying, do they land or just let it go? I know if I saw that guy who broke my hand walking below me…”

Aerin paused mid-question, a puzzled look on her face as her mind took a tangent that, while of interest to her might be detrimental to Ashari’s good feelings about Aerin. Has anyone ever eaten one of these eggs? I wonder what they taste like. I wonder if there is an underground trade in Swanmaiden eggs. I wonder…do Swanmaidens taste like chicken? Or duck? Better stop before I make myself hungry… she thought rapidly, finally allowing her mouth to continue its diarrhea of dialog along a different line, lest Ashari ask her – or worse yet, probe her – for insight as to Aerin’s sudden silence.

“So, that was Aeris’ room and she was not there… Where else might she have been?” Aerin asked still peering about in the rubble for some sign of the missing woman that they may have missed before.

[Ashari]

Aerin's interest in all things Swanmaiden was fairly hilarious. Ash listened to her as her queries gained momentum. It was almost as if a new one started before she'd even gotten the oppertunity to fully ask the first. "Fool of questions, you are..." she commented wryly as her gray eyes searched along the Rubble, trying to think of where else Aerin would be. Silly Swan, where did you get to? Exploration, it seemed, was not entirely done.

Begrudgingly Ash sighed and looked around, trying to see if there was a servicable door in the vicinity which might make it easier by going UNDER some of the debris rather than digging down into all of it. If not, she climbed out of the hole they'd started in that room and looked to dig further in the next room. Her eyes scanned across the scene, trying to guage, trying to think, trying to imagine where else Aeris' body might be, but she came up with nothing unless something were to spark a thought.

"They start as women," Ash began as her fingers dug into the next task. "Well, as babies I ought say. Born from their swanmaiden mother - live birth, like regular babies. The 'gift', as Aeris called it, is granted around the time they start menstrating," she shook her head and gave a small laugh. "Aeris said it was quite the experience the first time." She continued to move the larger pieces as necessary. "There aren't any swan misters... Swanmaidens mate with human men.

"As far as where they live.. I believe it would depend on the roost of swan maidens. They need water. Aeris was from a roost in Amun Rah," Ash knew where their nesting area was, but she wasn't about to share it with Aerin. She didn't know the woman enough yet... not enough to give away the ancestral lands of mythological creatures. "Why so interested, Aerin?" Ash finally asked after she'd described answers to most of the young woman's questions.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

“Human men…huh…” Aerin noted to herself as Ashari gave her questions a solid rebuttal. And water…how ironic…how Aeris could have used some water here… Aerin thought silently as Ashari continued, once again keeping her somewhat harsh humor to herself, almost missing Ashari’s counter-question in her musings. “Well, as you probably noted earlier when you brought it up, I had never even heard of them before today and now…searching for one…I got curious about them, that’s all..” Ever like the obedient child, the older redhead continued to follow Ashari about the ruins

“Do they eat…people food?”, she asked, hating the taste of the words in her mouth the very flicker that she uttered them. “I am sorry… Forget that, please, I mean…perhaps she was hungry and getting food when it happened?” She gave a small shrug, not knowing where the rooms were or, sometimes, if such rooms existed at all. “Or maybe she was….in the library…?”

[Ashari]

"I was just as curious when I met her," Ash replied softly, thinking back to the first time she saw the display of white light and emergence of the swanmaiden's wings. As Aerin questioned their food source Ash couldn't help but attempt at supressing a smile, which wasn't entirely successful. "Fruit, mostly... and other greens. I don't think I ever saw her eat a bit of meat, nor much alcohol now that I'm thinking on it." Aeris and Ashari had been different in many ways.

"I suppose she could've been up snacking, but if that was the case she would've heard something, or atleast I imagine." Ketch, for example, had been woken by the intruder(s) as they went about setting fire to her guildhouse. He had attempted saving Aeris, but she hadn't been in her room. That's what he'd say when they met later. Ash had wasted their time in even searching there, she would realize. If only that bit of knowledge had gotten to her sooner. It would've saved them both a lot of toil.

But, that wasn't the case. Thus, Ash continued kicking through the debris trying to imagine where Aeris would've gone. She was tempted to use her powers, but she didn't feel capable at the moment. Her eyes scanned through the standing walls, taking in the outdoor scenery. Mother, she silently prayed. Give me the strength to continue searching. I wish very much to send her home to her people. She hoped for inspiration in the form of divine intervention, but such miracles had been drastically waning.

"If she wasn't in her room that leaves the kitchen and baths.. so far as I can wager," she commented. "Bath should be pretty easy to find amidst all this, considering it's size." With that in mind she trudged through the rubble and began pawing in the general vicinity of where she imagined the bathroom would've landed.

[Grey Wolf]

Moving through the house that housed the Guild only a short day ago was a practice in rock climbing and tunnel crawling as the girls soon found out, some doors completely shit with dirt and forcing them to climb over what remained of the walls, while others merely required them to bend and squeeze through, some on the other hand making them choose between climbing and crawling through a tight passage. After a few burns and quite a bit of effort they found themselves in the baths, or rather in a rubble filled chamber lacking a ceiling, with Ashari's memory telling them it was the baths at the time. The walls were covered by tiles and the rubble was higher in one corner, where the large tub would have been, though it was again only Ash' memory that made her know what stood there.

[Ashari]

Sweat rolled down between Ashari's shoulder blades as she climbed and crawled carefully through the tangle of mortar and fallen boards. A dirty arm swiped across her forehead at the beads of sweat leaving a smear of mud across both. She judged each new terrain and how they ought approach it. Her strong thief's fingers dug into their surroundings at times, scaling surfaces or treading up make-shift steps created by the fallen debris. She lead the way, and she did so with great care, not wanting her newest student to get harmed in the process of unearthing the last. As they reached the final point, she stared through the narrow pass and gave Aerin a shrug before gingerly squeezing her body through. Her hands raised above her head, feeling along for movement as she sucked in and hoped not to move anything.

Once inside the baths she glanced around. "This is it..." She said, and looking around could almost feel the weight of the room and what was going to be required to clean through it. "Back to square one," she mumbled, but trudged over toward the large bath. "I suppose we should start here," she stated. Then she started moving the rubble, piece by piece, as before. Her muscles were beginning to protest, now. The brief hiatus of lifting via their travels having caused her tired arms to come to the conclusion they were done working. She wasn't done working yet. After a few burns she stopped with a sigh and kicked one of the stones abruptly. "I just want to find her and have this be done with," she said hotly. She made a grunting noise and used her irritation and frustration to move a larger, heavier, piece of ceiling from their intended digging area. The mage sighed, and then went back to digging, almost as if the outburst hadn't happened at all.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin, ever the obedient puppy, followed Ashari as best she could over and through the rubble, her balance still greatly affected by not being able to put out both arms for balance. After what seemed to be a small eternity, Ashari came to a stop and announced that the dig would begin anew. Aerin sighed to herself as she shook out her arm – technically it had done just the work of one arm but, without the help of the other on heavier debris, it had sometimes done the work of two and, thanks to the broken hand, could not be properly massaged back into full or at least partial strength.

Aerin, however, did not follow her muscles example and protest about the work, but rather chose that moment to bring up what she thought to be a good point.

“Mistress?” She asked, looking back at the area they had already cleared. “I don’t feel right about leaving her stuff unguarded like this and my arm is about gone.” Aerin began to climb back in the original direction, not wanting to openly admit her thieving ways to Ashari when it came to the Red Banner, but well aware that if she was capable of such outright theft then so were others like her. If only she had known a thing or two about Ashari, Aerin would probably not have been so guarded but, as it were, she saw Ashari as only a mage…perhaps a socialite of sorts, but certainly not a creative acquisitionalist.

“I promise not to pocket anything… Just feel better not leaving it for others to come by and take advantage of our hard work while our backs are turned, you know?” Her voice had to rise after every other word because Aerin was on the move without awaiting permission although Ashari was free to object or give chase verbally, physically, or magickally.

[Ashari]

Ashari continued her digging, and as Aerin suggested going back and retrieving Aeris' belongings, she realized it did make the most sense. She'd stopped thinking like the thief she'd been. Who wouldn't want to capitalize on such nicely and neatly dug out booty? Ash had been lulled into a false sense of security - thinking that in their lonely digging efforts they were actually alone.

Aerin, atleast, was thinking. As she promised not to pocket anything the brunette merely nodded. She'd taken careful tabs of the contents of the wardrobe, and was confident she'd notice if anything was missing. So, she continued with her digging, using a piece of board to sift through when necessary as a make-shift shovel. The quiet air, broken only by her own maneuverings, was almost unbearable. Aerin... come back, she inwardly insisited, wishing not to be left in the desolate rubble all by her onesies.

Wanting to cover the deafening silence, she began to hum to herself, filling the void the melody of a song her mother sang when she was a child. It was an idle ditty, one interspersed with humming and the words when she knew them (which, by this time) which were few and far between. Humoring herself had never been a difficult task, for Ash had spent much of her adolescence dancing on faerie mounds and frolicking in fields with the carefree abandon that only young provides.

OOC: Sorry for this being so brief... but there's only so many ways to describe what she's doing without it being excessively boring.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

It was a tough trek back to the wardrobe, but Aerin made it, her legs happy to come to something of a rest as she knelt once more beside the fallen wardrobe and opened it up. Aerin assessed the pile before her, having not paid much attention while Ashari had been going over the inventory, her promise to Ashari going over and over in her mind as she began to puzzle it all together as far as the best way to package it with only one hand. Her eyes fell upon the old dress with a smile. Carefully, she lay the old dress out and shifted the cloth about, typing a knot in the bodice just below the armpits, turning the dress into a large makeshift bag with sleeves and a neckline dangling off of the bottom.

Once she had used a foot to hold one end of the material down while she tightened up the knot, Aerin began loading the bag with items, starting with the lightest and more breakable objects and ending with the heavier items such as boots and books, with cloth buffering the points between, everything loaded neatly save for the whip. Aerin wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled, gathering up the material tightly and adding a twist, to which she tied the small end of the whip, tugging hard on the leather until it looked solid enough to hold.

Almost done…

She knew before returning to the wardrobe that her arm was growing weak and that there was probably more in the wardrobe than she could carry single-handedly, which is why the dress had made her smile. Dropping the whip handle for a flicker, Aerin crawled up to the sleeves and tied them together tightly, double-knotting it just to make sure, and slipped the sleeves over her neck as if the stuffed dress were a headless woman choking her from behind.

Aerin ignored the cries of her leg muscles as she rose, the whip handle (and quite a few loops) once more in her hand, rising up to make sure the bottom end of the bag did not drag upon the rubble as she walked back to Ashari triumphantly.

“Mistress?” Aerin asked as she lowered the bag onto a safe spot near where Ashari was working, but still out of the way. “Could you make me think my arm was not tired while you rested? Or something like that? I still wish for you to rest after what you had to do for the fire but…” Aerin smiled, raising her broken hand a little. “You did calm me down even right after this, and I am certainly not as hard to handle as a crowd…I hope…” She gave Ashari a wink, a smile, and awaited a reply.

[Ashari]

Ash smirked at Aerin's makeshift bag. "Cute... but I'm not sure the fashion will catch on," she called over with a teasing tone directly followed with adolescent snickers. Ash was still a teenager and it showed in certain moments, though they were becoming ever the rarity. Perhaps Aerin would be one of the last people who would be able to recall her innocent charm, something which was even now growing into more adult behavior so that she might survive in the life of a courtier.

"Mmmm.. I'm not sure that's the best idea," she said. "Your body tells you things for reasons - be it tiring or pain. It's a warning, not to push it too far. As it is, with all the work and stress you've put on your hand, it's likely to hurt even after I heal it - the bruising, you understand."

Ashari straightened her back and looked at her student. "When I calmed you last night it wasn't so that you might move rubble, it was so you didn't flee in panick due to the fire." Though it had been her intention, it hadn't been the most well-thought plan. She hadn't considered the reprocussions, nor of people not being able to get out of their own way when the fire became too hot and the poisonous vapors spread through the crowd. "You're best to just keep working as you can, we'll get through it." And so, she continued to dig.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin’s lips pursed slightly as she listened to Ashari’s argument against Aerin’s plan, the redhead’s mind already clicking and whirring in an effort to churn out an idea which would get both she and Ashari some rest while still finding Aeris’ body. Begrudgingly, she began to dig once more, helping Ashari with the mound that she was working on, her eyes occasionally flittering up to gaze upon Ashari as they worked.

The teen was as determined as she was pretty, Aerin had decided as she watched Ashari’s face during the excavation. It was then that an idea struck, luckily damaging no-one in the process…as yet.

“Mistress?” she asked cautiously, not wanting to seem the type to always look for shortcuts. “I know that Aeris’ secret is…well…secret, but is there any way you could possibly…” Aerin began, putting a finger to her temple and pretending to glare at Ashari. “Hide her nature from the minds of….say….three or four burly men, making them think they found a human or Adhiel or something?” Aerin gave a smirk and brushed her hair back with her good hand before continuing. “As hard as we have been working, I might be able to dig up some buff hard bodies far easier than anything else...unless my face and curves look as tired as my arms feel…”

While awaiting an answer, Aerin continued to dig, determined to press on for as long with her one good hand as Ashari did with both of hers.

[Ashari]

"I... yes.. I suppose assistance of some kind wouldn't be all that bad." Ashari was a proud creature, her feline aura getting the better of her mind at times. It was more reliable to lean only on yourself. For her, it was a stretch to have even asked for Aerin's assistance today. "Ashtallion was supposed to come," she said with a sigh. "I... was hoping for him - was hoping we might be able to magick this along more quickly, but he hasn't shone." She frowned and felt a jab of anger toward the gilded mage, but tried to push past those negative feelings. They were friends. Something had to have come up. Still, Ash did pause and give her student a quick look over.

"Even covered in soot and cinders you glow." The magelet smiled elegantly. "Never worry on your appearance. Confidence shines brighter than any sapphire." Turning back to where she'd been digging Ash continued her excavation, but didn't stop speaking to her pupil, waving a hand dismissively. "Go ahead, go find us some hard bodies, hm?"

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin gave a small smile as Ashari began to consent to Aerin finding aid, the smile growing broader and broader as Ashari built up both her confidence and ego with the complement’s, the redhead practically radiant and glowing by the time Ashari sped her along to her task, a small bounce in her step – albeit a carefully guarded bounce due to the debris over which she trod – as she backtracked and made her way outside the rubble.

Aerin did not want to wander far – it was all too easy to get sidetracked and, considering the events of the night prior, Aerin was still a bit unsure of leaving Ashari’s perimeter of safety, even if it was imagined. Aerin took a flicker or two to straighten up her hair as best she could and kept the smile on her face as she stepped toward Temple Lane and sought out the eyes of any willing-looking men who happened to glance her way. She had no idea what she would offer them for reward for helping – her company in a non-whorish way, she assumed – as she had not discussed the matter of payment with Ashari and was certainly not about to promise anything out that she did not own.

[Grey Wolf]

OOC: I think we can wrap this up swiftly, if you do not mind me doing so.

Even whilst talking, the two girls moved about the rubble and it was when Aerin turned to leave the baths, that she literally landed ankle deep in fresh discovery. Her foot slipped, wedging itself in the rubble and as she pulled it out, white of a wing-tip caught sunlight and shone brightly for a flicker. Aeris had indeed been in the baths, and as the building collapsed, a beam fell down and ruined a bath pool carrying the swan’s body out of it and towards the door where further rubble fell upon it. Digging her out would not be a hard task, the swan form smaller than a humanoid one and with only one wing unfolded less bulky. The feather were dusty and dirty, but the swanmaiden’s body relatively undamaged, save for few missing feathers. A mere ten burns of work would be all that it would take for her to be freed of the rubble.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

OOC: Sounds fine to me.

Aerin was a bit shocked, to say the least, to find Aeris by accident, especially after the amount of digging that they had done thusfar, but felt a renewed sense of strenghth – a second wind – when she spotted the feather and turned to call Ashari to her side. Aerin would work the full ten burns, the muscles in her good arm screaming in torment as she cast aside rubble like a woman daemon possessed. When the girl was finally cleared from her grave, Aerin would sit back on her haunches atop a pile of debris and smile sadly down upon the body.

“Aeris, my dear, at least you fared better in death than Fauna.” Aerin would sigh, allowing Ashari to do whatever she wanted with the body, the redhead fully ready to re-don her makeshift bag and use her good arm to help tote the swanmaiden’s prone form to wherever it was destined to go. She was glad to have helped Ashari begin the process of closure and, at the same time, glad that Ashari was taking her away from her newfound ‘profession’ of being a rubble raider although Aerin had a feeling that Aeris’ corpse would not be the last dead body she would ever look upon.

“What now, Mistress?” Aerin asked, fully ready to do whatever Ashari commanded.

OOC: Ash, you can post Aerin’s actions in your post so we can fin with your reply.

[Ashari]

OOC: Fine with me, too.

IC:

Aerin's call to Ashari was met with a slight wince which was furthered as she moved swiftly to her side and saw the exposed feathers. There was a finality to the wing-tip, as if Ash had been secretly hoping since the night prior that her friend wasn't actually dead - that it had been some sort of mistake on her part.

Her fingers raked through the rubble and pushed aside any obstacles while mindful of creating a treacherous situation for either herself or her newly found student. Aerin's words on Fauna caused Ash's attention to snap. What relations had you with that treacherous wench? She wondered with her first feelings of cold toward the warm redhead. It would be a matter to investigate properly later. Now was a time to concentrate on Aeris and the devastation of having found her.

Once she was entirely out in the open, Ashari's fingers traced over her soft lines. A frown wrestled across her features as a sigh fell from her full lips. "Now, you're going to help me get these things to a carriage so that I can bring Aeris home, and then you're going to go back to wherever it is you've been staying and gather your things and thank them for their hospitality." The fingers of a thief lightly picked up the swan's body which was lighter than she would've imagined and cradled it next to her abdomen.

That being said, Ash walked with somber emptiness for the world to see as her feet pressed against the shifting ground beneath them on the path back out of the rubbled ruins. As she continued on her way she began to collect herself, and by the time the pair reached where they might flag down a coach, Ash had the appearance of any normal woman of bearing. Her shoulders were squared and her posture was elegant. She could've been wearing a gown and carrying a present for the Caesar for how she looked.

The guildmistress was quick to give Aerin the address and directions to Thalas manse. "I'll see you there, and I'll stop to get something for us to eat on the way - then we can tend to that hand of yours, ok?"