Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20140620195216/@comment-3293219-20140621223854

The group had been wandering across the Heartlands for some time now; Silvia had remained silent unable to build up the courage to ask the Bosmer about his wife or his mother in law. He occasionally looked up, suggesting that he felt better but then he’d hang his head again, like he’d just remembered how bad things were going for him.

After a few hours of it, Silvia scampered on ahead and walked by his side, not getting his attention as he was in a deep, depression and rage induced trance. She looked to him for a few moments, hoping that he’d look back but Jaryl was too focussed on the road ahead of him…

“So… What do you think of our group?” She asked, hoping to get him talking about anything, even stuff that she knew about.

“They’re okay, ain’t getting’ too attached to them…” Jaryl grumbled, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him as he listened to the cooing of the pigeons. Sil sighed as she found herself, once again, in a cone of silence, she shook her head in frustration before looking back to him, giving him a weak smile.

“Were you ever in the military?” She decided to ask, noticing his haircut, attitude problem and aggressiveness. It wasn’t a terrible guess…

“No, though I stayed with an army for a bit…”

“Oh? Like… A refugee?”

“S-Somethin’ like that, I was with them for a while but we left ‘cause one of ours ran away…” Jaryl shrugged, folding his arms as if he was suddenly growing cold.

“Did something happen?” Silvia asked, looking a little concerned as tragedy seemed to follow in this man’s wake.

“She was raped, by the soldiers there…”

The young Bosmer gasped and brought her hand to her mouth, which was agape at the horror that must have been inflicted on the poor girl, noticing that he said ‘soldiers’…

Plural…

“Is she… okay?” Sil asked, timidly as it sounded like a stupid question but… some recover quicker than others.

“I… Guess… Set took good care of her.” He then grimaced; realising that he’d mentioned his name, it was strange as talking to Silvia was like talking to Aerin in a lot of respects.

“Set?”

Jaryl sighed and shook his head, again, it wasn’t her fault and he was starting to look stupid being so whiny and pouty all the damn time.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He’s my brother…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, okay and… The girl was his girlfriend?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, though they’re engaged now.” Jaryl corrected her, forgetting that he was sulking like a teenager at this point.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Poor thing… Still, at least she has a supportive husband.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah…” Jaryl sighed, suddenly feeling worthless as he returned to his original posture, huddled up like a sulky teenager. This prompted Silvia to place her hand on his shoulder and give it the slightest squeeze…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Look… I don’t know what happened with your wife? But I’m sure that you did all you could…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Wasn’t enough…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s never enough…” Silvia protested, feeling like she was beginning to sound like Theis at this point.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl nodded before glancing away and shaking his head, ready to punch something at this point.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So erm… What’s Azarik’s problem?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“His… Problem?” Sil raised an eyebrow, though she knew what he meant.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What’s gotten him so… guilty?”

<p class="MsoNormal">The younger Bosmer sighed and hung her head, shaking it as she looked back at the Dunmer, who was timidly shuffling along behind, looking away.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He won’t… Tell me… He’s only ever told Theis and he made him swear that he wouldn’t tell anyone else before he did.” Silvia looked back to him, with a solemn look on her face.

<p class="MsoNormal">“H-He was with an army of sorts… A militia? That’s what he called it…

<p class="MsoNormal">I think he gets… flashbacks sometimes, he’s not a violent man, maybe he regrets killing people?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Maybe… Maybe he had to do somethin’ that he didn’t wanna do, that’s the risk, when you join the army…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, Theis said that… But, do people normally hate themselves for doing something that they were forced to do?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Sometimes…” Jaryl muttered his old self emerging for just a moment.

<p class="MsoNormal">“My wife? She had to kill the closest thing she ever had to a father… She hated herself for hours after…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Gods… That sounds horrible… Why’d she have to kill him?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“He… Got sick and she had to… put him down.” Jaryl replied, sort of lying as the real story wasn’t as believable.

<p class="MsoNormal">“She got over it though, we both did… After a while…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Silvia nodded, focussing on the road ahead as she too was finding herself depressed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So… Erm… What about you?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Me?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, y’know… Are you married or somethin’?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Silvia chuckled, shaking her head and scratching her hair, like she was trying to claw the awkwardness out of it.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No… I’m not married, none of us are…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh good… So I may have a chance with Azarik afterall…” Jaryl smirked, getting Silvia to burst out laughing.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You two would make a great couple!” She grinned, looking back to Azarik in a manner similar to that, that she did before. Jaryl just smiled, for the first time in days as he looked away, eventually full on laughing.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I er… I have family…” Silvia admitted, with a smile.

<p class="MsoNormal">“In Leyawiin… Have you ever been?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“No…” Jary admitted, shaking his head.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s a nice little town but there isn’t much to do there, y’know?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, I can imagine what that’s like…” Jaryl muttered as he had a similar opinion to Bruma, it looked nice but it didn’t serve much purpose.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Since the war got close to it, me and the folks went up north… Staying in Bravil…” Silvia continued, watching the road infront of her.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It wasn’t a bad place but… it was a bit of a… erm… a…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Shithole?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, a shithole! So I… left, came up North and met Theis and Azarik, who were fleeing the Imperial City, we’ve been here, ever since.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“And then I came into your life, so at least your story has a happy ending.” Jaryl replied, drearily.

<p class="MsoNormal">Silvia gave him a faint smile, glad that she was able to get him to come out of his shell a little…

<p class="MsoNormal">-

<p class="MsoNormal">The group had been wandering for a while, Jaryl and Silvia walked side by side as Silvia was the only group member that Jaryl was comfortable talking to. They didn’t speak much and most of their ‘conversations’ were brief as they tread deeper into the wilderness.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Face it kid… We’re lost…” Theis sighed, bringing his hand to his face and rubbing his eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No, we can’t be lost, we’re in County Cheydinhal!” Azarik protested, looking back to Silvia, who just shrugged.

<p class="MsoNormal">“County Cheydinhal my ass!” Jaryl blurted, glancing around at his surroundings and shaking his head, getting a disapproving look from the Dunmer, who was adamant that he was right.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What makes you so sure?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl laughed, faintly, glancing around.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I grew up there…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Theis laughed out loud, throwing his head back and letting out a triumphant “HA!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“We are lost!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“N-No… I think that we can find our way from here… The Hanged Man might know the way…” Azarik bargained, looking to Jaryl, nervously.

<p class="MsoNormal">“ And if he doesn’t or simply doesn’t want to help us? Then what are you gonna do?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Silvia rolled her eyes and looked to Jaryl, giving him a faint punch on the arm to get his attention.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I need to pee, so… cover for me…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Will do…” Jaryl replied, turning his attention back to the argument, with a massive grin on his face as she trundled deeper into the wilderness.

<p class="MsoNormal">-

<p class="MsoNormal">Silvia rose to her feet, pulling her pants up and stepping away from the tree, which she had chosen to conceal herself. She couldn’t hear any more arguing, though she was quite far out of range…

<p class="MsoNormal">She sighed, heavily as she thought about her group, a smile creeping on her face. Having them around was like having a proper family again, she hadn’t felt lonely since she joined them.

<p class="MsoNormal">Theis was like a father/Grandfather figure, a lot older than her, wiser and capable than any of them. Azarik was like a brother or timid nephew and The Hanged Man…

<p class="MsoNormal">Well, he was warming up to them; she had a good feeling about him, that he’d stick around. She could tell that he was…

<p class="MsoNormal">Not all he seemed…

<p class="MsoNormal">The Bosmer shook her head and took two steps closer, heading back in their direction before she was grabbed from behind, a hand slipped around her mouth and an arm wrapped around her stomach. The hands were quite large and rough, obviously a man’s as she could feel the hairs on her captor’s arm as she grabbed at it.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Looks like we’ve found ourselves another keeper boys…” Colm’s voice shrieked from behind, unable to suppress the glee in his voice…