The TwiceBorn

The Stars Are Brilliant At This Time Of Night

""I dreamed of moons that night. Twin screens of themselves: one dark twin, one light."--Mary B. Sellers

The woman didn't even blink.

"No, I don't know...Syrus...how is this all going to end?" She said, her voice calm. Out of the corner of his one eye, Syrus saw Hack take a step forward. And the woman took a step back.

"Now...ya need someone to watch out for ya, is all." Syrus voice was soft and he felt a rush of sympathy for her. Out on her lonesome with a sword almost as big as she was and not even understanding what they were there for.

Slavery was a mercy for the ones like this. Too feeble to care for themselves, or understand the simple words of other people. Syrus glanced around the small campsite. Someone had cared about her though, at some point in time. They'd given her a nice horse, one that would also bring some high coin if he didn't decide to keep it for himself, and some nice gear.

Somebody probably jest got tired of trying to git her to unnerstand the simple things of life...

A lot of times that was the case. Couldn't get them to bathe, couldn't make them understand they needed to eat, couldn't get them to follow simple directions. It could quickly become a chore. And some people might believe it was just a poor luck of the draw while others would see her as some kind of witch or jinx that they no longer wanted to be around, lest it rubbed off on them. Syrus shook his head as he gazed at the woman.

The world was a tough ol' place at times...

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Alora felt a little put out. Fear of the Twiceborn was a nuisance at times but it did have its advantages. This should have been one of them. So much for her new attire; the only one intimidated by it was her. These two seemed to think she was a simple-minded fool that had somehow gotten lost out on the grasslands and now needed some kind of "help" which included selling her off for the highest coin.

She looked at the one who called himself Syrus and watched him as he quickly winked at the one introduced as Hack.

Alora shrugged.

"Well...I guess you'll have to take the sword. I'm not putting it down." She said in a pleasant tone and smiled. The tiny smile widened into a grin as she watched Syrus's eyes grow round and the quick glance exchanged between the two.

Her side hitched and the heavily bruised flesh of her backside joined in to make it a chorus but beneath that was a sense of joyful anticipation. She was suddenly aware. The thumping of her heart, the constant throb she had become used to where all the pain had made itself at home, slowed and spread through her body. Her blood moved, full and steady, through her veins and she could actually feel it, a dark river feeding whatever she was now, moving and burning within her. Readying her. The shadows around her lengthened, simply the slow end of the day, but to Alora, they felt alive. Soft caresses on her skin, a lover's touch, and a low, soft voice, a voice like home, whispered to her and corrected what she had so hastily believed earlier: