Sionnach (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"What?" Fiona asked, lifting her head off Sam's chest and looking down at him. "Royer worked with her?"

She was slightly dizzy at that news, or maybe at the concussion, but that news had certainly hit at her core.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't know fer sure yet if she jus' said it to start a fight, or if it's actually true. Th'boy's not leavin' fer now. I'll figure it out." He lifted a hand to gently lower her head back down. "Jus' do me a favor an' focus on resting. I need you t'recover an' take yer time, fer my own peace o' mind."

 

[heartofcourage]

She let out a small sigh as he pulled her head back against his chest, murmuring that she needed to rest and relax for his own peace of mind. She knew that was going to be a hard order, but Sam had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He didn't need her adding to his stress.

"My necklace is gone." She murmured as her hand reached for the familiar weight of her trinkets and found it missing.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I have it," he assured her quietly, deciding not to tell her too much just yet. He'd wait til she was stronger. He lifted an arm off her back to pull the necklace from his pocket, placing it in her hand.

 

[heartofcourage]

She instantly relaxed as he placed it in her hand, her thumb caressing over the familiar objects. Sam's button, the charms for each of her children that contained locks of fur and hair, the ring from her mother's funeral, and other items brought her comfort when she was struggling with the world around her.

"Are you going to stay all day?" She asked him softly, sleep pulling at the edges of her consciousness.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can't..." Sam sighed. "But I'll check in often. I don' think anyone would begrudge me a little while with you, though."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Of course.” Fiona said softly as he said he had business to attend to. “My business and yours.”

She let out a long sigh and went quiet for a moment. “I wish I could help you with this entire mess. You don’t need to be going at it alone. We’re a team.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"We are, which is why yer gonna rest so you can help me again in time. Things're at a standstill fer now regardless... So don't think we're waitin' on you. Just focus on yourself fer now." Sam wasn't giving her room to argue and he refused to listen to her blame herself for yet another setback caused by outsiders.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona let out a sigh as he hushed her yet again, telling her to focus on herself and leave everything else to him. She wasn't the kind of person that did that, but she gave him a nod and closed her eyes to get some much needed sleep. Her hand curled tightly in his tunic as if he might disappear at any moment.

As the manor was closed down to outsiders, Riley was released from where she was being held. Her first mission was to find Andre and then she would check on her parents.

 

[KieranSoares]

It was early evening when Riley was let loose, but with strict instructions not to leave the castle grounds. Andre soon emerged in the main hall, looking for her as well. It had been explained that Stila Oliveras had come seeking Sam, and she had managed to catch Fiona off-guard, and traded her life for von Morden's release.

When Andre saw Riley across the hall, he waded through the mill of soldiers and guards switching shifts, and came to pull her into his arms. "Hey," he muttered, trying to hide his worry behind his usual easygoing mask. Knowing Stila had been there and gotten her claws around Fiona made him feel equal parts incredibly angry and terrified.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Are you alright, Koah?" Riley asked as she hugged Andre tightly, relieved to see him safe and sound in the middle of all the chaos. "I didn't want to be apart from you for this long, but they said it wasn't safe yet."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Physically, I'm fine. Not sure I want to think about the rest right now." He held her for a long moment and glanced around. "I'm sure you want to see your parents. Then... Once everything's settled, I need to get out of here. Just outside at least." He didn't want to admit how badly being trapped inside a single room bothered him, vulnerable to being cornered or having to be stuck for a long time.

 

[heartofcourage]

"My family can wait. You are what matters right now." Riley said as she saw the way that he looked around the room with an edge. "Let's get you comfortable."

She wrapped her arm through his and pulled him into moving. They would go outside and then to the ger to calm down before she went to check on her parents.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ri, I'm okay for now..." he tried to protest, but he couldn't stop her. As they emerged into the cool evening air, Andre felt his shoulders relax a bit. Even if he was on high alert still, walls didn't make him feel safe. Being able to see all around and spot things approaching was far more comfortable than being trapped inside, not knowing if there was someone or something just feet away about to get at him. Outside, he felt freer, like he had a fighting chance.

 

[heartofcourage]

As they stepped outside, she could feel Andre relax. She leaned against his side to give him comfort as they simply stood in the early evening air together.

"I might have taken a swing at one of my guards. They called in Qira to watch me after that. I spent hours glaring at the old man." She said softly as she nuzzled against Andre's cheek. "I didn't want you to be alone."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can't say I blame their logic... better not to have a bunch of potential targets in the same place," Andre muttered, nuzzling back against her. "As soon as they told me what was happening... I was sure she was coming for me. It took everything I had not to panic..." He sighed, frustrated. "Fuck, I hate her... How helpless she makes me feel."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know, love." Riley said softly as she let him get out his fear and frustration without interrupting him. "I wish I could make it all go away."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It will go away. Eventually, one of us is gonna catch her. She's gonna make a mistake, and she'll be done terrorizing people. And that demonic dragon of hers is gonna cross someone he can't handle."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Come on." Riley said as she took Andre's hand and pulled him towards their camp. "I'm going to take care of you."

She had no idea what she was going to cook that would be edible, but she was going to try her best to take care of him like he did for her.

 

[KieranSoares]

When they reached their little camp on the castle grounds, Andre helped her get a fire going before he finally settled, sitting on a flattened-off section of log turned makeshift stool. Letting the fire chase the chill away, Andre watched Riley move between the fire and the ger, retrieving his cooking set. He got a little half-hearted smile and muttered, "Ri... what're you doing?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Cooking." She said as she scrounged around in his cooking set to find what she needed.

She grabbed a few different ingredients and turned back towards the fire as Andre watched her with a grin. "Look, I don't know what I'm doing, but I do know a recipe or two. Just let me take care of you, alright?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Okay," he agreed quietly, watching her with a silly little smile, his head resting on one hand. He usually did all the cooking partly because he loved it and was good at it, but also partly because Riley didn't know much outside a few simple recipes learned from hunting and camping. "If you need any help, just say so," he added quietly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't need help." She said as she got to work.

She had learned a recipe in Mongolia, a fried rice with eggs and meat that had been simple to master. When she had gone camping with her family, it had been a staple for her to make when it was time to pull her own weight.

 

[KieranSoares]

Andre simply watched, quietly taking in the recipe piece by piece. At some point, he set a kettle by the fire as well to make tea, and retrieved his journal to write while Riley cooked. The general quiet was calming, though he couldn't help looking up every so often just to check around them.

 

[heartofcourage]

When she was done, she quietly dished up two plates and offered him one with a mug of brewed tea. It was much more humble than the food that he made her, but she hoped that he loved it as much as she did what he cooked.