Houseguest

~He watches her leave through semi closed eyes, feeling more relaxed when he is alone in the room. He stretches out once again, rolling around on the small sofa making himself comfortable.

He sighs as his thoughts flow back over the events since arriving on Aegis. Chased out of Cape Salarain, hunted by some unseen face in Meriddia, he is unsure how to continue. The tales the sailors told were never this bad, but their eyes never glowed.

His eyes slowly close, he doesn't fall asleep, he just lays there clearing his mind, resting as he usually does. He cannot remember the last time he had a proper full nights deep sleep.~

((OOC: Not straight away, Kaeleth sleeps lightly lol and takes a while to nod off ... a little of his typist in him lol))

((OOC: Okay. There's not really anything more I can post till he falls asleep then, unless you want to read a whole post about Meghan tossing and turning. lol))

((OOC: point taken, 2 seconds ... I'll make him sleep-ish))

~As he lays listening to his own breathing his mind slowly empties, all is quiet and dark and he lets his own fatigue wash over him. It is only a light sleep he falls into, but he never sleeps deeply.~

((OOC: lol okay, that works))


::Despite her efforts, she can't fight sleep off forever, as much as she would wish she could. Her eyes drift closed, her breathing evens out, and then she begins to dream... and anyone nearby who is sleeping experiences the same dream, exactly as she does...

She walks the streets of a city that looks vaguely like Meriddia. As she turns a corner, a monster looms up in her vision, all burning eyes and giant teeth, its hands clawed with long, jagged knives. It growls at her, and she turns as if to lead it somewhere but instead she runs. Her steps take her through the city, but it's become twisted, with narrow, dark alleys in place of streets, the crooked buildings crowded together with gaping maws instead of doorways. She can feel the monster persuing her, but she can't run fast enough to get away from it. Its breath is hot on her neck, its claws ripping into her back...

She is running, this time somewhere in the countryside. Rolling hills surround her, birds sing in the trees, and not a cloud mars the perfect blue of the summer sky. But she runs in terror, hearing the angry shouts behind her, feeling the stones and the sticks hitting her from behind. Skinned knees as she trips and falls, catching herself on knees and palms, beside a small stream. Glancing into the water, she sees herself, much younger. Her copper hair is matted with mud and twigs, and there is a long scrape across her chin and cheek. She can't stay. She hears her name called by many voices, some angry, some frightened, and she knows she can't stop, can't turn around and go back. A scream builds within her as she pushes herself up and runs again...

She wakes with a start and looks to the small window, seeing it's still dark. With a heavy sigh, she closes her eyes again but doesn't go back to sleep, hoping that this time things will be different, her dreams hers alone, even as she knows the truth::

~Kaeleth was not a heavy sleeper, he has slept lightly and dreamlessly for the better part of 3 decades. He was totally unprepared. His breathing becomes more laboured as he is pulled into the dream experience of Meghan's.

He begins to roll and squirm as he is not an observer but the focus of the dream himself. He awakes, shaken and startled, as the dream is torn away, phantom aches and pains leftover from the dream all over his body.

He shakes his head, wiping loose beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, trying to clear his head and make sense of what he just went through. He is deeply shaken by the strength of the visions and by how sharply he remembers the details.

He raises himself to sitting up on the sofa, casting a concerned look at the door to the room in which Meghan sleeps. He listens but he doesn't hear any movement and begins to wonder if what he had just experienced was just the result of a poorly cooked pie.

Shaking off the slightly haunted feeling, he lays back down, stretched across the sofa, blanket laying over him and begins again the whole routine of calming his mind~

::She can feel herself drifting again and decides not to risk more nightmares. She has them frequently so is used to them, but she hasn't dreamed of the day she left home in a long time, and she finds the memories dredged up disturbing. Climbing out of he bed, she takes a seat on the stool by the window and stares out at the night sky, just letting her mind take her where it will, as long as it's not asleep, until morning::

((OOC: We can skip ahead unless you have more to RP out at night ))

((OOC: feel free to move it along ... as you said before, unless you want an entire post of tossing and turning there is little more i can do until 'morning'))

::The sun peeking through her window startles her awake. She's annoyed to find that she did fall asleep leaning against the wall, but thankfully she'd had no more nightmares. She can see by the quality of light that it's still early, but now that she's awake, she might as well get something done. With a sigh, she tosses a robe around herself, though it's more out of habit than anything, since she never changed out of her clothes from the day before. Murmuring a hope that Kaeleth is still sleeping, she opens the door a crack and peers into the house's main room for a moment before slipping out as quietly as she can. She tiptoes to the table to gather some of her things to bring back to her room, dreading her guest's reaction to what she knows he witnessed in the night::

~Upon hearing the door Kaeleth's whole body tenses, his eyes open a slit but seeing Meghan his body relaxes. He keeps his eyes virtually closed, attempting to conceal and glow that should escape through his eyelids.

He keeps his breathing soft and even as he watches her. As she picks up her things from the table he opens his eyes, shifting into a sitting position.~

'Is everything alright?'

~Now his eyes are open he notices that she is still wearing last nights clothing covered by a robe, he begins to have some suspicions about the dream he experienced the night before.~

'Rough night?'

::She hears Kaeleth moving and stiffens, her hands frozen in their task, and she doesn't have much time to hope he might still be asleep before he speaks. Still, she wonders if she can avoid the usual confrontation and replies without turning around, forcing her tone as light as she can make it::

What makes you think that?

~He notices her behaviour and this confirms to him his suspicions. He decides to let it go for now. She didn't pry into his affairs last night, he would do her the same service.~

'No reason,' he says after a pause. 'You just seem a little pre-occupied this morning. I should have guessed you'd be uncomfortable having a stranger in your home.'

~He swings his legs round and pushes himself into a sitting position.~

'Is there somewhere I can clean up? I had a strange night and I feel the need to clean up, besides, I need to change if I am going to go back into the city unnoticed.'

::Her shoulders droop at his mention of a strange night, but only for a moment before she stiffens further and spins around to face him. If he's going to attack her, at least she'll see it coming. It wouldn't be the first time, and though she doesn't have much to defend herself with, she's enough used to being run out because of her dreams and what they do to others that she knows how to get out of a building as quickly as possible. Her face is as still as she can make it as she gestures toward the bedroom door and speaks stiffly, still unsure of what he's going to do::

There's a small water closet off the bedroom. It's never been a problem not having one out here before. Feel free.

~He watches unfazed as she spins. He guages her reaction and the difference in her voice this morning. Sighing he looks her in the eyes, letting a little of his concern show on his face.

'Thank you Meghan.' He smiles slightly leaning down to pick up his cloak and the small pack of clothing concealed inside it. 'You can relax, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done last night during one of a million better opportunities.'

He picks up his cloak, rolling it into a bundle, and stands. He turns slowly towards the bedroom without saying another word~

::She watches him silently, still on edge despite his reassurance, and only relaxes after he is through the door. Leaving her things on the table, she takes a seat in the chair and closes her eyes to wait, no longer in the mood to do her crafting at the moment. She rubs at her tired eyes and sighs softly, vaguely wondering if it's too early for ale. With a mutter about a piece of fabric not being worth so much trouble, she rakes her hand through her firey, tangled hair and grabs a stray ribbon to tie it back into some semblance of order, casting nervous glances back at the bedroom door every so often::

~He enters the water closet and closes the door behind him. He lets out a deep breath and strips down to wash, finding a therapy in the cold of the water. As he cleans himself he thinks about his next move, planning.

Taking a small blade from his concealed pack and a set of clothes he sets about fabricating his disguise for the day. He shaves away the stubble from his skin using the blade and slowly dresses, being careful not to crease or mess his disguise in anyway.

He steps out of the water closet with his travel clothes and cloak bundled in his arms. He is dressed in a gold trimmed, red doublet of fine weave with pants to match, he had cleaned his boots to a shine and his hair is neatly tied back with a thong. On top of the pile of clothes is a wide brimmed hat to match his disguise as a minor noble.

His whole demeanour has changed with the disguise, from the set of his shoulders right down to his walk, every single movement reeking of self-importance. He stops in the doorway to the sitting room, leaning at ease on the frame, grinning.~

::She smiles faintly, despite herself, though it never quite reaches her eyes::

Impressive, m'lord. You'll have to be careful coming and going like that. A slew of strange men visiting my humble cottage may attract me the sort of attention I'd rather not have. You can leave out the back, if you don't mind a short trek through the woods to get to the road, down a ways.

~Placing his clothes down out of the way he sweeps the hat into a deep mock bow. Straightening up he pulls on the hat, adjusting it so the the brim blocks his eyes from view.

'I thank you, m'lady Meghan for your hospitality,' he says, his voice pitched slightly higher and his words pronounced more clear than is usual. 'I will do as you ask, a short walk through the woods is always pleasant so early in the morning.'

He looks down at his disguise, adjusting his jacket just so.

'I don't suppose you could direct me to the nearest smithy, I have need of a sword. Not that I plan on using it, it merely completes the look one might say.'

He smiles again, attempting to lighten the mood, hoping to see at least one genuine smile before he leaves.~

::Her face remains fixed in a passive but guarded expression::

Now it would definitely ruin the disguise if you called someone like me a lady, that's sure. I can't help you with a smithy, I'm afraid. I'd be as likely to cut off my own foot with anything but a dagger as I would be to injure anyone else, so I've never needed to find one. I'm sure if you ask around the city someone will be able to direct you to one. I don't recommend the same methods you used on me, though, to get someone to help you.

::The corner of her mouth quirks up briefly::

~He nods his head slightly in her direction.

'It got your attention, when one is in a rush one must often use drastic measures to get someone's attention.'

He bows once more, low and graceful, still grinning. He straightens and adjust his hat.

'Time moves on and one must be about in places that are best dealt with in daylight hours. If there is anything you require from the city, I should be able to acquire it during my travels, just let me know.'~

::She shakes her head a little, not really expecting him to be back after the previous night's experience but not about to bring it up herself::

Not unless there's something specific you'd like to eat or drink. You can see I don't keep much in the house, since I usually go out myself every few days. Just be careful while you're out there. I'd hate to have to tell Aunt Something-or-other that Uncle Fergus got himself strung up.

~He grins at the mention of last nights role.

'If anything should happen, i'd expect you to forget Fergus existed, not that it shall. One is very careful with one's life, especially in a new city.'

He becomes a little more serious now.

'If you are about the city today, and you perchance see me, do not acknowledge me. It may be dangerous to know Lord Elius Arnoura after today, and don't worry, no one will make the connection between you and I.'

Shaking his head and re-assuming the self important façade, he nods his head once more.

'Well one must depart if one is to achieve anything today, may your day remain pleasant young Meghan.'~

It's dangerous to know any lord, isn't it? Especially little ones, who tend to be intent on their own self importance. But if I'm out, I'll take pains to not meet that one in particular. Fare you well.

::She nods in the direction of the back door with a passing thought that if she does leave the house, she'll have to leave the door unlocked, in the off chance that he might not have realized she was the cause of his disturbed sleep. That would most likely be the case, if he does return, and she wonders if maybe she can get some sleep this afternoon while he's away to avoid things happening again, just in case::

~He grins, having been awake a little while now he has shaken his fatigue and, because of his current character, he feels rather spry with an axtra little spring in his step.

'One does one's best, until later fair Meghan.'

How nods once more, tilting his hat, before turning on his heel and walking towards the back door and letting himself out. His assumed confident strut reappearing as he disappears through the door and into the woods~