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Post by Alessia on Jan 22, 2013 16:05:23 GMT -5
Alessia smiled at her success, even if he was a bit reluctant she hoped that James would be able to fight just as effectively as before... he seemed to be able to fight well even now.
"I'm ready to keep going," Alessia nodded, she felt energized now. She looked over at James, wondering if he'd be able to make it or would they end up helping him up it, "Are you going to be okay, James?"
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Post by James Morte on Jan 22, 2013 17:14:56 GMT -5
Am I going to be okay? hell no, I got more problems then a man on fire and none of them have a magical get fix quick pill.
Depression, drinking, trust issues, all of them need time something that of lately has passed me by, letting me drink myself without so much as a 'hello'.
But Alessia betrayed me, she left without a word, can I really trust her...? No, James it's time to start, find a solution, this is a last ditch attempt at kick-starting your miserable life. So take it, you can trust Nia, she fought to the end. It's time to do something with you life, they need your help, James and I need someone I can trust more then ever.
"I'll be just fine." the truth is overrated.
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Post by Alessia on Jan 22, 2013 18:58:23 GMT -5
Alessia clapped her hands together before turning to Nia and smiling over at her. It felt pretty close to being back with the Saints... aside from the intense alcoholic smell coming from James, it all made her feel safe.
"Lead the way, Nia." Alessia was excited at the idea of getting someplace where they could properly rest.
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Post by genericvillain on Jan 23, 2013 12:46:03 GMT -5
Nia motioned for them to follow her as she began into the entrance that lead into the volcano's path upwards.
"It's been awhile since the last eruption...we'll be okay, though," she thought aloud to the both of them as she stared up at the dark walls of the mountainous volcano. She remembered how badly everything had shaken, and how completely unfazed the monks in the temple were over the action. She found out afterwards the whole place had been charmed with layers of magic to not just protect them from lava, you know, melting everything and murdering them all, and to make sure they weren't buried by anything either.
Nia looked down at her hands as she walked and somehow Alessia's comments before about her being "so strong" came into mind, and for a moment almost making her ashamed. She seemed to be so good about dealing with most things nowadays as calmly as possible, even when the thieves approached her and Alessia she felt...scared, of course but not panicky. This trip out of Ignis to Roccia and back though showed her that she for the most part could deal with issues that didn't involve people she actually knew--she remembered losing her composure finding Alessia, and just now again with James.
How could she be strong when she couldn't handle herself for the people she cared about the most?
She wasn't ready to leave. She shouldn't have left. Her gaze took her back upwards to the far east end of the volcano where she knew the temple sat.
'If Alessia has James, maybe it's best I stay here. I know he'll protect her. I know he'll do a better job than I could,' she thought to herself. The walk itself up the volcano was long, and after a half hour's point the path itself started to become very rocky and unstable, as though there wasn't really a path at all and a couple of people had just decided to take a pickaxe and knock some stones out of the way for the sake of climbing up.
They had to watch their footing. Where this would scare most, it only meant to Nia that she was closer to getting home which seemed to put an awkward spring in her step as she at points leaped over and on top of stones, some loose enough that they fell off the side of the volcano the moment she stepped on them and somehow with an odd grace managed to still hop to the next in time.
"Just around the corner--d-d-d-don't fall!"
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Post by Alessia on Jan 23, 2013 13:03:25 GMT -5
"O-Okay!" Alessia nodded, doing her best NOT to look at the potentially dangerous fall. She kept one arm wrapped around James's arm to make sure she wouldn't fall... although to be truthful she was actually making sure HE wouldn't stumble off the ledge by mistake. James could barely keep his balance.
Alessia watched her every step carefully, she was without her shoes (she gave up her heels during their long walk in Roccia) and the path had become very hostile to her poor dirt-caked feet.
Thinking of any sort of possible conversion she looked over at James and smiled, "So... do you live somewhere around here, James?"
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Post by James Morte on Jan 23, 2013 13:31:44 GMT -5
Here I was, heavily intoxicated and walking up a goddamn volcano, trying my best impersonation of a balancing act, instead of a rope I had a steep, sweaty, rocky hell hole of a path and instead of a nice cushy net, I had a ton jagged rocks. Can't get much worse right? wrong. I started to feel light headed, woozy, and nauseous, I tried to grab a hold of something, but much like my life it was a bust.
I was about to go barreling down this mountain and die a horrible painful death but with impeccable timing Alessia wrapped one of her arms around mine and in turn saved my life.
I regained my senses when Alessia asked me where had I been 'living', I looked down to the town below me.
"That pig barn, that vacant house, that inns front porch..." the list went on and on, "Oh I once spent a night in the ditch down there." happy freakin' memories.
I looked down, once again, unable to face anyone in their eyes and it was than when I noticed Alessia had no shoes.
"You have no shoes," she was walking up a volcano in no shoes...No James you need your shoes don't-
"Do you want to borrow mine?" Damn it!
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Post by Alessia on Jan 23, 2013 13:40:44 GMT -5
She felt terrible as she listened to all the different places he had stayed. She was happy though that he offered her his shoes, it gave her a way of avoiding a response to his many different houses.
"Ah..." Alessia looked down at his shoes, considering his offer yet when she recognized them she thought different - those were the shoes that every Saint pooled money into buying for his twentieth birthday...
The fact he had probably been wearing them all this time, the idea of putting on shoes which probably smelled just as bad as James did managed to steer her thoughts away from that.
"I'm okay, James, thanks though!" Alessia was hoping the monastery did have some clothes to spare for her... preferably something that would let her tattoo absorb the sunlight.
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Post by James Morte on Jan 23, 2013 13:59:27 GMT -5
I have never been more happy to get rejected, I loved these boots more then I love booze.
"Your loss, these are damn fine shoes!"
I looked down at my shoes with a crooked smile, well not a smile...no I don't remember how to smile, it was just a nod of appreciation towards the dirt that caked it, the patches I used to make repairs, the rips, and, of course, the blood stains...
They're truly boots only the owner could love.
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Post by genericvillain on Jan 23, 2013 23:14:03 GMT -5
Nia listened in to Alessia and James' conversation and couldn't help but feel a little awkward if not bad for the fact that James didn't seem to have a proper house to live in. She acknowledged it wasn't her fault...or at least she was sure it wasn't. No, it wasn't! It was his own for not telling them he was really alive, afterall!
'What's been done with is needless to talk about, and what's in the past is needless to blame...' she reminded herself with a huff and then with brightened eyes pointed out to the building that came into sight.
"Here we are!" she cried out happily. The monastery was actually quite large, made of stone and shone with obvious enchantments all over the place. There was a large, dark stone double-door that lead inside, torches brightly lit all along the walls.
She hopped over the last few bad stones along the path, as they stepped closer to the temple the rock became smooth as this was an area that was obviously well-kept. Nia ran off ahead and opened the door, peeking her head inside.
"Hello!" she called, turning back to Alessia and James and motioning them to come inside, "I've brought weary guests!"
Almost immediately a woman poked her head out of the door, looking at the two that Nia had brought along with her--the woman had long brown hair pulled into a bun and she wore the same black shawl and cloak that Nia did with the gold trimming.
"Nia, you're back," the woman said calmly, pulling Nia into a hug as she looked over Alessia and James, "and these two are...?"
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Post by Alessia on Jan 23, 2013 23:26:44 GMT -5
Alessia had to admit, for some reason she had it in her head that this place was going to be a four room stone house with a bunch of hermits who would stare and point at any new person who would enter...
So she was happy to admit that she was wrong and in fact this place had a very relaxing air to it.
She glanced over at the older lady and smiled, "I'm sorry ma'am, my name is Alessia." She bowed her head low out of respect. Really, she didn't want to piss off the owner of a potentially very comfy place to sleep!
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Post by James Morte on Jan 24, 2013 0:26:44 GMT -5
Yeah James, I was thinking the same thing: what the hell is a no-good bum who doesn't even believe in god doing at a monastery? Hell if I know, I was hoping Nia was bringing me to some high class bar where the rich kids go to drink themselves numb and not have to feel guilty about there 'good fortune'.
But I sucked it up and tried my best to look happy about being in this holy crap hole, I shuffled in my boots out of awkwardness, scratched my eyes, sighed, and looked at the woman.
"I'm James Morte...ma'am." the irony of this situation was sickening, or that could be my goddamn nausea.
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Post by genericvillain on Jan 24, 2013 12:21:28 GMT -5
The older woman pulled away from Nia and approached the two new guests. First she took Alessia's hands and stared into her eyes intently as though she were searching for something. Smiling, she gave the younger girl's hands a shaking as she said softly, "Oh, you poor dear. Tired and troubled, we'll look after you. Just call me Mama Abby, I'll help fix everything."
Abby gave Alessia's hands a light squeeze before releasing her, now turning to James who she approached much in the same way by taking his hands and staring up at him as well, though she needn't as much time to study him as she did Alessia (the staggering and smell kind of helped) before she gave his hands a brief squeeze and shake as she said, "Oh, you are a very troubled young man. Mama will get you food, lots of water, and some sleep to shake this."
Abby didn't let go of James, though. She held his hand firmly and pulled him along to the front door insisting they all followed. The first room they saw would look nothing more than a large gathering hall, a door to their front, their right, and left.
The left would lead to the dining hall, the right to baths and sleeping quarters. The one at the far end directly opposite of the entrance was a place for training, for prayer, and meditation.
Though Abby's first order of business wasn't to give a tour quite yet, it was to direct James, Alessia, and Nia straight through the right door to be properly bathed and clothed. Even as Nia tried to keep behind Alessia and James, Abby put a hand on her back and gave her a soft push forwards and Nia took that as the sign to not argue. Never argue with Mama Abby!
"There are several others in there, Nia--they'll help you all get cleaned up. Bring your friends to dinner right after, I'll have something ready for you all!"
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Post by Alessia on Jan 24, 2013 12:50:59 GMT -5
For a brief moment it was like Alessia was staring at Kain, the way Abby simply looked into her eye's and was able to tell what was troubling her, it was something Kain did all the time. It left Alessia speechless as she struggled to find a proper way to respond...
"H-How did you-" she wasn't able to finish her sentence before being motioned to follow Abby (something told her she shouldn't try and disagree with this lady). At the mere mention of getting cleaned up made her face light up, the last proper bath she had was back in Roccia, so this idea was very appealing to her.
Alessia bowed lowly to Abby in the sincerest form of thanks she could think of, "Thank you so much!" Alessia took a couple steps before stopping and turning back to Nia, this wasn't Alessia's home and the least she could do was let the person who actually lived here lead the way.
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Post by James Morte on Jan 24, 2013 12:55:21 GMT -5
She grabbed my hand and looked into my half shut eyes, telling me I was a troubled man and that she was going to get me food, water, and a bath, which to a part of me sounded nice.
The other half just wished she tell me that she couldn't help and kick me to the curb with a nice scotch instead.
"Sounds good." barely whispered that, I was waiting for her to let go so I could shamble my way to the baths, but instead she dragged me into this gathering hall of sorts, I tried to take it all in, to understand where I was, but It's been so long since I've been in nice house everything seemed foreign to me, like I was some goddamn newborn....come on James you're in a house of god!
Then she said some words I been dreading, "They're others in there,they'll help you get cleaned up" Holy shit was people actually going to help me bathe? look I know I look like a pig just crapped me out but come on, I know how to clean myself!
"These are...private bathrooms...right?" I felt my cheeks heat up and turn a pink hue as I struggled to form words.
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Post by genericvillain on Jan 24, 2013 23:00:33 GMT -5
Abby herself didn't answer James, she marched off immediately after she shooed the group into the baths. Nia was left to look after the three of them, and answered James's question first with a giggle as she went to open the door.
"If you're afraid, James, someone could join you. But we normally have them split off for men and women, a few on each side so sometimes you end up either waiting or sharing," she turned the knob and swung the door open, revealing to them more stone hallways, one to the left and one to the right, symbols inscribed on the wall pointing the gender differences. Even though they'd barely walked in, the heat coming from the baths was much higher in temperature, though enough to make it fantastically relaxing.
"It's nice, they'll take your dirty clothes and have them washed, we'll get new clothes to wear for the night--you'll like it! I-it's a good change from sweat and dirt."
And with that, Nia ushered both of them in.
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