Senkha & Oliver: February 13

Senkha seems to be waking from a dream; anything of the outside world almost seems to be taking place underwater, if it's noticeable at all. Her right arm hurts, and she cringes, but she can't seem to remember what happened. Nervously, she moves toward the bond. "Oliver?"

Oliver is there. Quiet, not speaking out at her tortures and obviously pained by the knowledge that anything he says puts her at further risk. When he hears her call out to him, it's as though he rushes to her, arms around her. "Are they gone."

Senkha nearly collapses when she feels his arms around her. "They've been g--nngh!--gone a while..." She cringes as what feels like ten snakes bite into her at various parts of her body. "Just left me with some snakes to guard me and keep me awake...I think."

"Y'think? Y'don't know?"

"I know they're gone. I wouldn't feel like I was falling asleep if they were still here." Senkha flinches again as the snakes attack her body once more. "Just every time I almost fall asleep, it feels like snake bites. I can't really tell what's going on."

As she speaks to him, he shifts so she's more cradled in his arms. Despite that they're in the dream, or something like it, he's dead. Cold. He rests a hand on where a pain is felt, even though he knows he can't help it in here. "Should kick around a bit. Maybe y'can crush one or two 'a 'em." He smiles at her. Or, tries.

Senkha also manages a smile; the coolness feels nice against her arm especially, even if it's imaginary. "I wish I could move. You should see this thing they've got me wrapped in. I can't even talk anymore." She tries to laugh.

Oliver kisses her on the temple, though his lips linger there after he does. His eyes close. "Th' bugs came back. Ah kin find you. Ah know where y'are."

Senkha brightens; this seems to push her over the edge into the realm of happy tears. "I knew you would. I always kn-- Oliver, Ariadine is here." Her happy mood dampens slightly; a memory of the mindgames the two played earlier flickers up briefly.

Oliver is quiet for a moment. He looks down at their laps for a moment before looking back at her. "Yes, well. It seems she didn' prove t'be much trouble, savin' fer a few cuttin' words Ah kin recall wasn't even spoke by her."

"Do you think it's true?" Senkha has buried her face in his chest as another wave of snakebites comes. "Do you think Dizzy was just an unfortunate side effect? Do you think she's gone?"

"Senkha, when have Ah ever thought rational when it came ter my family Don't ask questions lahk that t'me, 'cause you'll jus' git a stupid answer."

Senkha sags against him, and sighs quietly. "I miss your stupid answers," she admits. "I miss--nngh--everything about you."

"Jus' remember that Ah'm right here. Y'may not see me, but Ah am -always- by yer side. It's my music y'hear. Our music."

Her smile is faint again. "Are -you- alright? This...it's not hurting you too much, is it? What's happening to me?" Senkha winces as a jolt of pain comes from her destroyed right leg.

"... Ah ain't gunna lie that it hurts lahk hell, but y'need this open. Ah can't be close an' distant at th' same tahm."

"I wish there was some way I could...I don't know. Close that part of me off. It's funny...I can fight back rather well when they attack me, but I can't protect you yet." The feeling of her lips against his cheek. "I'll h--nngh--have to work on that."

"Don't worry 'bout that right na'. Y'jus' gotta focus on yerself, y'hear?" He looks at her sternly.

Senkha nods, almost reluctantly. "It's harder to focus just on myself. You know that." She manages a weak, wry grin before gasping as a jolt of weak electricity surges through her body; these aren't ordinary snakes.

Oliver smiles. "Think Ah know ha' that is." His smile is jolted into an angry frown as the snakes bite. "Light'sake, if Ah find those things when Ah git there, Ah am tyin' 'em into pretzels."

"I'd a-appreciate that," she breathes shakily. "I don't know where they c-came from or what they look like. They just...nngh...feel like snakes."

"Why can't y'see them? Ah can't see 'em either."

Senkha shakes her head. "I'm not sure. I think...I think it might be what Marius put in my mind. Or Her."

"Well, Ah'm... glad they's doin' their job, whiche'er one it is. Mos' folk can't count 'emselves so lucky, Ah wager."

"...you think they meant for this to happen? Radok warned me two weeks beforehand. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have been nearly as prepared as I am."

"By resistin' 'em, yer only furtherin' their intrist in yah. Ah think they very much wanted this."

"What do I do, then? Should I just...not do anything? Not react, not say anything?"

"... Hnh. No, fight it. If y'give up, they may lose intrist, an'... y'don't want that."

She suddenly seems very tired. "But you will come, won't you? Before...before it's too late?"

"Ah'm doin' everythin' in my power. Ah had t' wait a day or two. Ah had t'know where t' find you. Na' that we know that, we kin come. All y'gotta do is hang tight an' -don't lose focus-."

"Focus. Right." She pauses. "...it's harder to keep focus when everyone is using my mind as a conference room," she points out sheepishly.

Oliver laughs quietly and shakes his head. "It's yer mind. Y'can do whatever y'damn well please. Throw chairs at 'em."

"Mm, Marius would probably be proud of me," she observes and moves closer to Oliver, as close as she can. "Oliver...I'm not kidding about the bees. There are -lots- of bees. That's--nngh--probably why Riley doesn't like them much."

His cold arms wrap tightly around her middle. From a certain standpoint, the way he's holding her is almost the way a child would a comforting toy. "Ah didn' think y'was. Y'should see it out here, Senkha. Th' hives. Ah'm not keen t' say th' Light's fersakin' somethin, but this place..."

If he's holding her to comfort himself, Senkha is holding Oliver the same way. "If the Light has forsaken any place, it's the Citadel up north..." she murmurs, almost spitefully. "I almost miss that, though, being here. Light."

He chuckles again. "Light, was it all simple. Sure, it was a war, an' prob'ly jus' as dangerous... but we knew. We knew what we was doin'. Ah don't know a- mm." He stops, and is quiet a moment. "Ah'll know soon enough."

Senkha almost seems to switch into business mode, though she still clings to Oliver as if he's a lifeline. "Ariadine tried to find this," she explains softly, before saying, "There's probably millions of bugs, and the cultists themselves are more powerful than any I've seen. Maybe Riley or Stehl've seen people like this in the Highlands."

"This? Y'mean th' bond?"

"The bond. Yes. Anything that connects me to the outside." Senkha suddenly seems amused. "I think I've misdirected her rather thoroughly. I buried my memories of her behind all sorts of powerful, noisy wards. It was almost...sad, really."

"Noisemakin'? Ah'd hate t' hear y'picked up that horrible habit from me." He smiles again, sadly. "As fer Stehl an' 'Burn, Ah've been tryin'a jump mah old Echo comm inna workin'. But Ah'm terrible with mah-cheens. A letter may 'a been quicker."

Senkha returns the sad smile. "If it keeps us safe..." she murmurs; once again, he would feel the pressure of her lips: against his cheek, his forehead, his own lips. "Promise me you won't come in here alone. They'd tear you apart."

"Senkha, if Ah was lookin' ta kill m'self, Ah'd 'a not traveled t' this ass corner 'a th' planet ta do so."

She relaxes some, still raining kisses on his face and neck. "Good. Losing you... Light. Have you told Marius what you know?"

"Ah've not been in contact, no." He stills her head with his hand and gives her a light, but drawn-out kiss on the cheek. "He's in Stormwind. Most folk is. Ah'm callin' 'em back once Ah've taken a look."

Her nervousness and excitement becomes almost palpable. "Are you nearby? Oh, love, be careful. If they see you..." Her memory flits back to those giant wasps that aren't waltzing anymore.

His eyes narrow, and instead of his voice, his thoughts are impressed upon her. Nobody here. Nobody with us. Say nobody is with us.

"Nobody is with us." She frowns in confusion. The snakes are sending regular jolts of pain through her body, but they're not in her mind.

I am in Cenarion Hold. Wilhiem's scout bugs have returned. Tomorrow they will lead me to you. I need to see the outside of this place before I can even think about the inside. His thoughts are nervous. it's clear he doesn't trust the sharing of information in her brainspace.

Senkha pushes the information about his location away, almost as if letting it go. He's near; that's all she needs to hold onto, though she brightens. "Wil's helping, too? I thought he hated me."

"He is. Takin' care 'a his own business, but 'e offered a hand. If anythin' else, 'e pissed 'is pants in glee when 'e saw th' bugs."

Now she's confused, but also somewhat excited. If he's sitting, he'd get the impression that she's suddenly straddling him to be as close as possible. "So wait, how did Wil know? I don't know anything of what's going on out there. I wish I did."

"Ha'd Wil know whut? Ah called fer help."

"To who? The company?"

"-- Ah. Maryus made me." He thinks, I know, I know, I wasn't supposed to involve them."

"No, it's alright. If they want to be involved...so what happened? After I left?" Senkha cringes slightly and curls against Oliver; now it feels like she's on fire, though just enough to be annoying and keep her awake.

The cold from him seems to intensify in response to the heat. "... Emry found us. Did y'see 'im, chasin' after you...?" He smiles and begins to rock a little bit. It's faint, but their music begins to play. "Came back t'me. Took me to th' boat. Little sunn'abitch finally lets me ride 'im on th' worst day imaginable."

Senkha smiles faintly, pulling closer against Oliver as the music plays; she intensifies the sound of it. In here, it's just them. "I didn't see him. He's strong enough to carry you now?"

"Oh, not really. But 'e gave it a valiant attempt, Ah'd say." He smooths her hair with one hand and rests his face between her neck and shoulder. Maybe, if she paid close attention, she would feel something wet drop to her skin. "Got me where Ah needed."

Senkha rests her head against his, laughing quietly again; it's a weak, somewhat shaky sound, and comes out slightly choked. "What happened? Where did he bring you?"

He turns his head so his cheek is rested on her shoulder and he's facing her. By his eyes, there's no evidence that he's shed any tears. "Th' Sigil boat. They helped. Fella had a airship, kin y'believe that? Took us raht t' Silithus."

Senkha makes a sound of surprise; she leans them back until they're lying down together. After all, it's much easier to look at each other this way. "The Sigil has an airship? Did they figure out how to attach wings to the Quel'Talan?"

He falls heavily onto the brainspace ground with her. "Ah don' even know if 'e were Sigil. Never seen 'im b'fore. An' hell, Ah wish that thing had wings. We could jus' fly over th' ruins an' cannon 'em with boat magic. That thing has boat magic, right?"

"It must have boat magic. Who came with you to Silithus? You said 'we'." Their music is still playing, loud enough to drown out their voices to any outside intruders but soft enough that they can still hear each other.

"Salarous. Strahm. Wil. One 'a th' company elves, th' lady one. Ah never learned 'er name. Th' whorish dwarf woman. An'-" Oliver thinks of Llew and his Crazy Eyes, but skips over that- "Th' feller flyin' it. A few others. Folk Ah didn' even know came ter help. Oh, an' that Sigil feller always in th' grey armor."

"...what about Llew and his eyes?" Senkha shows a bit of alarm at this, as if she knows exactly what Oliver means but needs confirmation for herself.

Oliver thinks, Dammit, and sighs. "Ah didn' see much 'a him. He 'ad that look im 'is eye lahk 'e were ready t' rip somebody's throat out with 'is teeth. Kept lookin' at me. Ah thought 'e was gunna kill me."

Senkha sighs, resting against Oliver and actually laughing. "His Guardian," she explains and says no more. "Did they all go back to Stormwind after that? After you came to Silithus?"

"Y'know, Ah'm wonderin' ha' Ah managed t'go sixteh years an' not hear nuthin' about guardians an' na' they's th' reason fer everythin'."

Senkha can't help but laugh at this. The sensation of fire in her skin intensifies and, in response, it begins to snow. "I'd have gone my entire life without knowing about them, too, if it wasn't for Marius."

He chuckles. "Ah kinna lahked not knowin'."

Senkha also laughs; the snow seems to be soothing the burning in her skin and in his. "Life was simpler then, wasn't it? But then...I'd rather have this."

"An' look at all th' trouble it's got'n yah." He says this in a half-joking tone, though he's also quite serious.

"And imagine if I'd had all these latent abilities without the understanding of how--aagh!" Senkha cuts off with a cry of pain as the fire sears under her skin again. "--d-don't think I'll be sleeping much ton-night..."

"Lucky you Ah don't sleep much m'self." Oliver tries to be comforting. It's hit or miss, really.

The pain surges up again; Senkha's grip on him tightens. "Then you'll stay with me?"

"'Til th' bitter end."

"G-good." Senkha relaxes, and after a moment, begins to cry exhausted tears of pain, both at the torture and at being so alone. She's not alone in here, though, and that's what matters.