A Favour In Return

[Zur'lei]

Ymiden 48, 720

He knew not why he had been requested to do so but here he stood in front of an edifice as tall as the sky’s reach, remembering having been asked to report to his father’s lofty abode. The last thing that hadn’t been previous scrubbed from his memory was the illusive game of “slap dragon” Ash had been failing to teach him.

“I don’t understand the point of this game,” Zur had said.

Ash had only a moment’s pause before his quick rebuttal. “Does everything have to have a point?”

“Arrows do.” His first real joke in years it had seem, but regardless of the rust that covered his humour, the Lothorro had chuckled.

Zur had his hand at the ready, and once the card had been drawn, he was a lightning bolt. His hand shot out towards the newly drawn card and was a mere centimeters from touching it when Ash’s hand had slid underneath his, slapping the hand first.

The sting was incredible. He couldn’t fathom how it felt for his partner.

“It just seems like unnecessary pain!” He had shouted, steeling his tongue from announcing a distasteful curse.

“Pain leads to change,” Ash had said earning a confused expression from the half-breed. “The change of you slapping the card quicker. I’m beating you here, Zur!”

The two had shared a moments worth of laughter before someone without an introduction requested Zur to meet his father.

Now, here he stood, the crumbling stone of his front steps seeming to disintegrate quickly under his feet.

Once inside, a cold air chilled the hairs on his arms. It had always been so musty in the house before. Perhaps his father had conjured up plans for a new contraption and was trying it out. Controlling the minimal air currents of the days weather?

He found his father in his study, eyes glued to something infinitely small increased in size by the glare of a magnifying glass.

“Sir?” He questioned, taking a tentative step into the room. The walls had cracks and splinters, the coverings lolling their tongues to touch the wooden floors. It appeared as though centuries had gone by since he had last visited this room. But hadn’t it only been a few months?

“My boy,” his father announced with a surprising amount of excitement in his voice. Zur knew instantly that something was off.

His father released his hold on the magnifying glass and strode across the room in one incredible step. Being seven feet tall had its advantages.

“I need you to lend me one of your favours.”

He made it sound like Zur had a library of debts left unpaid. He couldn’t recall the last time he had offered any favours but was almost certain didn’t owe anything to his dad.

Brushing past the uncomfortable silence apparently only Zur felt, his father continued. “I have been trifling with this new compound, testing to see what properties it has and what effects it has on people.”

Zur’s eyebrows heightened in intrigue. What did this have to do with him? Since when had his father ever been interested in telling him anything about his research?

“I need you to fetch me more.”

The word, while just a word, held malice. Fetch. Like he was a dog. Linguistic poison; an assault on his ears. He wondered if his father had intended it to come across that way or if he was still that ignorant, selfless little man he always had been.

After being handed more information on what it was his father was searching more of, Zur let his eyes trail over the room. Empty glass beakers sat stacked on top one another on the large oak table near the window in the back; loose leaf papers littered everything that wasn’t vertical; his own father gave the impression of being just as chaotic as the room. Both lapels from his shirt were flying aimlessly around his neck and his shirt and slacks held more wrinkles than an elderly woman’s face.

“I will take Ash along with me,” he said, matching eye level with his father’s.

The man was already nodding his head in approval, possibly having not even heard what his son had just said. He was strolling to the other side of the room to resume his studies. And with a wave of his hand, his nose became hinder from view by a book.

Zur grunted, turning on his heel to leave out the way he came. As he continued to put more distance between him and his childhood home, he began to breathe easier.

Each footstep represented a mile. Each footfall illustrated an inhale, an exhale, something he often forgot to notice, not that breathing was something one focused on; it was an unconscious ability. But what other unconscious abilities had he swept under the proverbial rug? What else had he taken for granted? All of these objects, all of these activities that kept him alive, made him human, or a subset of. He was forgetting the very essence of who he was because his mind was concentrated elsewhere. Could it be a hindrance to ignore the obvious? Did it not deserve some acknowledgement? What if something he found obvious did not seem as such to the next person? What if something he did, which he found no value in, solved the world’s hunger problem?

He shook his head, neglecting to investigate the thought further. He was always spending too much time thinking about the unnecessary, the arbitrary. It didn’t matter whether he fixated on his breathing pattern, right? It would always be there, unless something occurred to him that would require further attention. But for the time being, he could rest assure his body was doing the things it was supposed to do.

Zur frowned then. Was he the only one who thought of these things? His frown deepened into a scowl. Why did he even bother? Normal people didn’t plague themselves with nonsensical thoughts as he. He should reserve his contemplation for things that actually mattered, such as finding the specimen his father had sent him to find.

Once he had reached his own residence, opening the front door had seemed slightly more difficult than he had predetermined. Why? He knew not. All he knew was that he would rather be doing something other than completing a favour for his father.

Alas, it had to be done. His psychological Id required of him to seek and fulfill his father’s wishes all for acceptance. He had always strived to be seen in high regard by his own kin. And if he ever had children of his own, he would hope they would too.

Ash was in the bedroom, doodling something on a blank parchment. Zur did not hold back from announcing his duties.

“Ash,” he said. “We have something to do.”

[Zur'lei]

Ymiden 48, 720

The sky had decided it had wanted to darken early, leaving the two with only a hint of light to work with. To find the particular specimen his father had requested would be of extra difficulty than Zur had initially planned. Even Ash seemed a little deterred.

“Your father can’t find this himself?”

Zur sighed, rolling his eyes inwardly at his partners question. “I don’t know.”

Ash chuckled then, which made the half breed cock his head with inquisition. Quickly following his response, he shook his shoulders, joining in on the laughter. When he spent the brain power, he couldn’t disagree with his partner. Sure, his father was always waist deep in research, but if this meant that much to him, could he not have taken time out of his day to search for this entity himself? Unless this particular object wasn’t of much importance to him.

Ash seemed to have been reading his mind then. “Do you think your father tries to win your acceptance by including you in on these ridiculous quests?”

Zur took a moment to process this insinuation accusation. What if the world were reversed and instead of himself always trying to win his father’s heart, his father was trying to make up for his lack of parenthood by engaging with his son in less than customary ways? Was he going about this entire thing completely wrong?

At a loss for words, Zur shrugged, not sure if Ash was even looking.

They had been scavenging the land several miles from his father’s abode for close to two hours now, and had come up empty handed thus far. But Zur’s determination was steadfast, his need to appease his father encouraging him to continue his search. At the back of his mind he hoped Ash was not growing bored or frustrated, but most importantly not discouraged.

“Have you found anything?” he asked, raising his head to search the sandy blonde’s face. There was nothing more than a furrowed brow and a downturned lip. He hadn’t found anything aside from the common grass in quite some time.

What if what he was searching for didn’t even exist? What if he had been sent off on a wild goose chase as they called it? He furrowed his own brow and let out a deep exhale, which caused Ash to lift his head from amongst the reeds.

“What?”

Zur shook his head. “Nothing.” He wouldn’t tell Ash what he was thinking. It was a thought that held no value what with no evidence to back it up. Besides, his father had never come across him as the type to purposefully waste his time. It was true he had been given excess work, but the end always resulted in additional knowledge to further his understanding of things.

“Maybe we should split, so we can cover more ground.”

The proposition didn’t seem illogical, but Zur was still skeptical. He was an expert on the layout of theses forestlands. Still, he couldn’t argue that that made any more sense than anything he had previously suggested.

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Zur, beginning to direct himself to the right. Ash started to pace to the left and before either one knew it, they were unable to see one another’s position amidst the canopy of the trees.

It left Zur alone with his thoughts, unable to explain them to anyone besides himself. That’s not to say that was a negative thing. Sometimes he enjoyed his own presence, the ability to speak aloud his thoughts and decipher what they meant without someone else’s input. And boy, was his mind reeling from the events of the current day.

The first objective that pushed to the forefront of his mind was that of integration. Lately he had been feeling as one nonessential to the current world. He felt detached, superfluous, like he could be easily replaceable. What if someone had been born into his exact position instead of him? What would that person have done up until him? Would they have won the favour of his father more modestly, more efficiently? Would it have come easier to him or her? Would they have questioned their position in the world, or would they have conceded to the methodology of “going with the flow”?

What were the chances he would have been born to his mother and father? What were the chances he had been born at all? Were these chances a random counting from the Immortals or was there a purpose? He felt like an extra in a play. There were so many people who had found their purposes, their callings, but he still wandered the realms of understanding in an effort to acknowledge that he held a purpose at all.

What if he were like a flower: a random encounter of a sperm and an egg? Perhaps that was what everyone ever was. A random probability. He knew he should count himself lucky, but he couldn’t succumb to such as thought. There had to be more than approximation, there had to be more than accidents. Yet, he could not allow himself to believe he held anything more promising than the attributes of the next individual.

His mind began to wane, his thoughts drowning in a sea of absurdism. He knew not where he was walking, just that he was. In a forest he was familiar, yet unfamiliar with. He knew one could never become too familiar with something. If chance was a logical concept, then anything could happen. And he was wary of such consequences. A tree could very well pop out of the ground where he stood. Unreasonable as that sounds, he was not daunted by the possibility.

A strange glitter from the almost nonexistent sun sparked his attention then. His father’s request had sent him and Ash out to search for a particular organism of flora, something, when hit just right by the sun’s magnificent rays, would illicit a sparkling effect.

It was much more astonishing in person than in theory and left Zur speechless as he examined the organism. The petals were a strange crimson, but as he shifted his position, so did the colour of the petals. From crimson to a teal, to a deep green and back to its original red.

Zur lifted an eyebrow, a small smile promptly spreading across his face. He took notice of the stalk, the thick ragged mess of green hues and partial blues. It looked as though it were bruised, leaving the half-breed wondering if it actually had.

He hadn’t had much of a glance before an earth quaking growl sent his heart deep into his stomach.

[Zur'lei]

Ymiden 48, 720

With his eyes latched onto the origin of the growl, his fingers grasped tightly around the stem of the plant he had been sent to collect. He could feel the tickling sensation of blood winding down his hand from the thorns stabbing into his flesh. But he dared not remove his eyes from the beast that stood before him.

The growl sounded again, a guttural blow to the eardrums, a sensation that could not only be heard but felt as well. It nearly caused the bones in his legs to crumple, the muscles to turn into a gelatinous substance. He wasn’t sure if his lungs had collapsed, or if he had simply forgotten that breathing was something necessary in order to survive. If he were able to think, he surely would have been scoffing at how breathing was supposed to be subconscious, involuntary. Yet, here he was, struggling for air as though it was being sucked out of the sky by the universe.

His heart, now resting with subtle quivers of fear in his stomach, had started to skip some beats. Was this its request to be restarted? Was he having some form of attack on his heart? Or was this solely another form of the panic attacks he had so frequently?

Could the creature hear it like he thought it could?

Zur took one involuntary blink, plucked the flower from the ground and hoped to whoever was listening that his muscles wouldn’t snap in two as he sprinted in the opposite direction.

He didn’t need anyone reminding him he was being chased; he could feel it as the soles of his feet smashed into the forest floor. A reverberating pulse was reciprocated as the predator’s own paws ferociously slammed into the ground. Every stride he took, he could sense the ground shake more aggressively, hear the smacking of flesh and fur against carpeted soil, feel the moisture on the back of his neck where the creature was breathing on him. Soon following, was a hair raising noise of grating enamel. The beast was opening and closing its maw, its teeth were grinding against one another as it readied itself to consume its prey.

Zur whipped past trees, haphazardly swatting them away with his free hand. The branches he missed cut into the tender skin on his face with their leaves. They felt like miniature razor blades, slashing left and right, leaving behind scratches that resembled large paper cuts, some deeper than others.

His quick thinking enabled him to recall what he had seen some animals doing when being chased by a predator. Rabbits bounded along at incredible speeds before burrowing under ground where they couldn’t be caught. Birds altered their elevation at an alarming pace, sometimes flying into the reeds or tall grasses for cover. Deer, however, often changed their course of direction at miraculous rates; they created a zig-zag pattern, dashing behind a tree to their left before streaking across to the right. All this to confuse their assailant.

He hoped his father needn’t a live specimen for his studies because he was certain his grip on the flower was near close to severing its stem in half. He held it tighter as a remembrance to not open his hand whilst dodging off trees in order to modify his trajectory. He only hoped the beast wasn’t intelligent enough to catch on to his plan.

At a mossy oak, Zur abruptly took a sharp left. At a shedding birch, he cut to a quick right. He heard behind him audible chuffs of disgust. He knew his strategy was confusing whatever it was that was pursuing him. However, a quick sounding tear followed by a sickening bolt of pain in his lower left leg meant that the frequency at which he was changing his direction would not be enough to win this race.

The hammering of his heart in his chest gave him no relief, and neither did his decreasing ability to breathe. His leg’s smarting grew tenfold for every additional step he took. Still sprinting through the trees, with no resolution in view, the little hope that fluttered like dust in a musky room had started to dissipate. He couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

If his father wanted this plant that badly, he should have come out into the woods to get it himself. Everyone knew how dangerous the forest could be depending on your location in it and whether you were considered lucky or not.

Zur couldn’t help but conjecture whether or not his father knew this place was the home to an enormous monster. He couldn’t help but feel anger boiling inside him- he had to have known. So why didn’t Zur? Why had Ash not stopped him when he invited him along on this treacherous escapade? Why hadn’t Zur stopped to think about the repercussions, or possible consequences, the plausible situations that could have come about from entering such a minacious place in the world?

He had been in the forests plenty of times, this was true. But the land was vast, enormous, like the range of the ocean. There were a multitude of areas, all of which held different wildlife, different stories. The areas he had often traipsed were known to be less threatening. Not entirely safe, but less threatening. How had he not taken the time to consider which area of the forest he had entered?

His fury only burgeoned. He was angrier at himself than anyone else. Whilst the direction of his vexation should have been put unto his father, he felt it was an act of displacement. Or was it an act of displacement unto himself?

The world started to shrink around him. His insides had started to twist and churn. His dark hair was plastered to his face by sweat making it almost impossible to see where it was he was going. He brushed the hair from his face with his sleeve only to reveal hundreds of beads of blood coating its surface. If only he could just take a short break.

If only…

Twigs and leaves crunched from under the weight of thousands of pounds. Zur turned his head sharply. Meeting those glowing yellow orbs turned to slits with menace knocked the wind right out of him. Or maybe it was the ginormous paw that hit him across his body. He was sent flying, knocking into the side of a tree.

He couldn’t breathe. The little gasps of air that filtered into his lungs was nothing to cease the spreading darkness in his peripheral. He was losing consciousness. He was losing himself. Was this the last call to his existence?

Fortunately, or unfortunately- the fate was arbitrary at this point- a large shadow was cast upon the predator and the prey. And it was wielding a colossal weapon.

[Zur'lei]

Ymiden 48, 720

If it weren’t for the paralyzing glint from whatever object the shadow held, Zur would have been able to see everything. Instead, however, he was indisposed, shielding his eyes so the blinding was minimal. He could hear though, and the sounds set him on edge.

There were deep reverberating growls, ear splinting clanks of metal that split the sky. He knew his skin had taken on a pallor not unlike the smoky grey of rain clouds, the noise draining him of all colour. There were grunts almost unmistakably human, but Zur was never completely certain of anything he experienced.

He was pushed roughly up against a rock that grated against his spine, undoubtedly blessing his back with a soon-to-be bruising. The forest grew silent. Too silent; an eerie quietude that gave him no comfort. Still blind to the events occurring in front of him, he lowered his arm from his face and peered out from behind his sleeve.

The beast had vanished and along with it, any noticeable trace that it had ever existed at all. Had he merely dreamt he was being attacked by a monstrosity of nature?

His surroundings had started to melt together, his sensation of himself and everything around him growing numb. He didn’t feel like he had any wounds, but knew they littered his body from the event. Was this shock? Was he going into shock? Didn’t people die from experiencing shock?

He wrestled with his pounding heart beat, trying to tame it so it wasn’t so wild, but the more he tried to calm himself, the more agitated and anxious he became. The world continued to swirl. Colours mixed into one another, sounds and smells blended into one. His head was spinning and gravity started to not feel as heavy. Perhaps this was an out of body experience he was having. But regardless of this notion, he could not see himself from above himself. His vision blurred and his mouth felt all too dry, but he was still here- he was still present on this earth.

The snapping of a twig drew his attention away from the vortexing mass of essence he had felt so comforted in viewing. Beside him stood a very tall humanoid creature with several sets of eyes all blinking in unison. It’s skin was a mute purple, but feathers adorned its flesh. Ensconced between its multiple eyes was a long snout not unlike an anteaters. But it was its voice that really surprised Zur.

“You’re dreaming,” is stated matter of factually. Zur needn’t this vocal reminder for him to know that.

He lifted his arms, unscathed, and felt his body. His hands, his legs, his face- all were tingling, yet numb at the same time. He couldn’t feel his own skin, couldn’t detect the pulsing of blood through the vessels underneath his flesh.

He was dreaming.

“Zur!”

He was brought from out of his reverie by a familiar voice. Ash was crouched down in front of him, his eyes wide with concern, his brows stitched together into a look of pure worry.

“Are you okay?”

Zur didn’t know how to answer that question. Was he okay? What had he just witnessed? What had been real and what had been an illusion? Stopping himself from a tumultuous tangent of thoughts, he soothed his aching mind. That lavender-skinned creature had not been real; it had been a hallucination, a dream, for he had been walking through an expansive slumber-land. The beast that had pursued him earlier, however, had that been real; or was that a figment of his imagination as well?

“Zur!” The shaking of his body brought him back to earth, but it wasn’t him who was shaking himself but Ash.

Ash’s tender gaze continued to look him over, as did his hands. They fondled the parts of him he assumed had been wounded and frolicked through his hair by way of comfort.

“Was it real?” came the young man’s voice, searching into Ash’s for any kind of answer.

“Was what real? The bear?” He scoffed. “Yes, Zur, the bear was real.”

He offered his hand to his fallen comrade after realizing he wasn’t too injured. Zur took it willingly, pulling himself up so he was standing. His leg was on fire, the pulled muscle screaming in agony against the movement.

“We’re going to need to put some ice on that when we get back,” Ash cooed, noticing his partner’s pained expression.

“How-what- how did you-?”

Ash held up his hand, the other tightly wrapped around Zur’s shoulder so as to help him stand. “It was nothing.”

No, Zur wanted to say. No, it wasn’t nothing. He had just fended off a bear. He had just saved not only himself but Zur also. The beast was massive, or so it had seemed. Could he have simply catastrophized the whole thing? Was it really a bear that had chased him? Everything had seemed so real, so utterly terrifying for it to have been simply a bear.

“Let’s go.”

[Zur'lei]

Ymiden 48, 720

Emerging from the forest was not unlike emerging from a chrysalis. There was more air to breathe once all the branches and leaves had been pushed away and it left someone reveling in new accomplishments, new knowledge, and with new goals in mind. He wasn't even disappointed that he had felt the lack of pressure of a stem against his palm. He wasn't even frustrated that his searching had come up empty handed, quite literally, and neither was Ash. They were both just relieved to be alive and away from danger that an insignificant flower was held at the back of their minds.

Zur was still using Ash for support in walking, but by warming up and stretching his muscles, he could already feel some relief from the pain in his leg.

It was less humid and the air less stagnant once they had returned home. Zur had found a few small bits of cloth to dab away the excess blood from his scratches. He took a wet cloth and cleaned at the wounds that had already crusted over, ensuring he would not catch an infection. He had told Ash to fetch him some ice for his leg and bruises and sprawled out on the sofa in the middle of the living room.

“I’m not sure I’m up for another adventure anytime soon,” said Zur, propping his legs up on a stray pillow. By doing so, he knew he would be less sore the next day, slowing the blood rush to those negatively affected areas of his body.

Ash laughed softly in response. “I agree with you there.”

“You still haven’t told me all that happened.”

There was a slight pause. Ash took a deep inhale. It was almost like he was trying to choose his words carefully, avoiding some of the truth and preparing to speak the other.

“There was a bear-.“

“I know there was a bloody bear! I ran like hell from it.”

Ash sat down on the sofa. “I fought it off for you.”

It was Zur’s turn to take a deep breath. “I know you’re naturally inclined towards protection; it’s in your blood. But, Ash, that was a massive bear.”

The Lothorro took one of Zur’s hands in his. “And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

There was still a myriad of things not being said, and the tension was ever prevalent in the air, but it felt best to just drop the subject completely. He was getting nowhere trying to figure out why the truth was being hidden from him. Or was he just looking too deeply into it?

As though reading his thoughts, Ash cleared his throat. “How is your leg?” He asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Not as bad now,” Zur replied, adjusting himself on the couch.

“Can you stand? I’d like to show you something.”

Skeptical, but superiorly more interested, Zur nodded and began to stand. His leg throbbed as he did, but it was nothing he couldn’t ignore for the time being.

“Hold your arms up. No, not like that, like this.”

Zur watched as Ash put one forearm up in front of the other. It was angled slightly so that it crossed his midsection in a protective manner.

“This is a basic stance to protect your abdomen from attack,” he stated, moving Zur’s arms so they matched his.

“Now move it as such-“ Ash twisted Zur’s arm so it swept from the inside to the out, until it ended up straight out in front of him with his clenched palm facing the floor.

“A basic block.”

Zur nodded, acknowledging the motion and committing it the memory. He was unsure how such a simple and ineffective block could shield him from a carnivorous beast, but he didn’t complain.

“Would you like for me to show you more?”

A quick nod of the head. A fast punch towards the gut, but Zur had been paying attention. He performed the block exactly as he had been previously instructed to and avoided the oncoming assault.

Ash, who isn’t someone to smile often, allowed himself to grin.

“You’re all too eager,” he stated, the grin gradually turning back into the normal stoic straight line. “But I want you to rest.”

Zur inwardly rolled his eyes. Ash, always the protector, always so motherly even if it caused arguments if Zur were to bring it up. Although, he couldn’t quite deny not liking the caring side of his partner.

Both men flopped back onto the couch in silence. But it wasn’t an awkward silence, merely a quiet that held nothing- no words left unsaid, no tension, no uncomfortable needs to spark conversation.

But Zur’s stomach punctured the air’s soundlessness.

From out the corner of his eye he could see Ash grin again.

“Hungry?”

[Doran]

Zur'lei:

Knowledge:
UNARMED COMBAT: BASIC BLOCK
PSYCHOLOGY: IS THERE AN ORIGIN TO ONE'S EXISTENCE?

TOBIAS: SEEKING APPROVAL THAT WILL NEVER BE THERE
ESCAPING DEATH FROM A BEAR
DREAM-WALKING: MYSTERIOUS LAVENDER MAIDEN
ASH: WILDERNESS PROTECTOR

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: Pulled leg muscle, scratches and scrapes all over, bruised ribs, bruised back
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Zur’s injuries seem to be rather minor, considering that he was attacked by a bear (which is why I increased them a bit). Furthermore, I found it a bit unrealistic that Ash who will be a Flavor NPC until he has been approved was able to fend off the bear so easily.

Points: 10

- - -

Comments: I found myself quite curious about Zur’s father. Is he some sort of scientist/alchemist? You described the relationship between the two and how Zur feels about his father quite well (calling the way Zur’s father said the word “fetch” linguistic poison is an example of that).

I also enjoyed Zur’s philosophical musings.

I wasn’t always sure what exactly was going on in this thread though. It would have helped if you had had Zur’s father tell him what exactly he was supposed to fetch for him – and described the beast that Zur was running from in a bit more detail right away. I wasn't sure which part of the thread exactly was the dream at first and why exactly Zur was dreaming (your clarifying it helped though).

Furthermore, I wasn't sure about about the knowledges you requested. You can request up to six skill knowledges for a solo, but you only seem to have requested two.

Please let me know if you want more, and I'll edit this review.

“Dreamwalking” knowledges are non-skill knowledges, by the way.

P.S.: I might have added “Investigation” to the list of skills used as Zur and Ash were looking for something, "Endurance" for dealing with exhaustion and pain and maybe “Detection”.

P.P.S.: You won’t get Dreamwalking XP for this thread as it wasn’t posted in the Emea forum.