A Cold and Wet Night I
Frost 3rd, 120th Year, A.o.S.
It was quiet within the confines of Rickter's abode as he sat at the table, watching Telion as she sat in her chair across from where he was. Hannah had already headed out for the evening to attend to her own affairs, as the wolf could only wonder what on Ransera she had to do by herself at this time. After a bit of deliberation yesterday, and some time spent getting things arranged for them, Rickter had provided a place for the two women to rest their heads. Renting a room from Rien was getting a bit expensive for them at this point, and while they didn't plan to outright stay in Kalzasi, the wolf didn't think it too much trouble to give them a place to rest while they visited. So with the spare guestroom now converted into a secondary bedroom, and all their things relatively settled in a place of location for the time being, Rickter and Telion were pretty much left alone for the evening.
This led to the pair of them sitting across from one another, the room quiet as Telion seemed to be busy writing in something. Rickter wondered if it were a journal of some kind, something that she spent her spare time writing in when they weren't busy together. The wolf himself simply sat at the table with a drink near his hand, his eyes occasionally shifting to wander the room as he thought about things. He had to admit he didn't quite expect this, sharing his home with a couple of foreigners, who just so happened to be women as well come to think of it. People who knew him would surely talk of this...
"You're awfully quiet." The bard remarked as his eyes moved to the window, noticing a bit of lack of sunlight as the room itself started to darken. The wolf didn't even bother looking to her when he shifted, moving to rise from his chair so that he could walk into the kitchen, and pilfer through the drawers in search of something to light the brass lanterns. "Getting dark already huh?"
"Mmhm." Rickter groaned softly as he found a tinderbox finally, sliding the wooden frame out so that he could pull a match from within. The wolf then moved to one of the brass lanterns in the room, stroking the match's black tip against the side of the box itself, to evoke a small but frenzied flame that quickly settled moments after ignition. Lowering the burning tip into the basin where the oil was, he lit the first of several lanterns and moved about the room in a clockwise fashion, filling the house with a soft glow as he returned to the kitchen area. Rather than placing the tinderbox back in its drawer, the wolf searched for his pipe and tobacco in one of the cabinets, taking a second small wooden box out from a shelf as he brought it back with him to the table. Moments later as Telion still kept her writing, Rickter opened the other box to pull out his smoking pipe, cleaning it out with a metal pick found within the box as well before packing in unsmoked tobacco within the bowl.
Telion looked up to notice the candlestick at the center of the table, a brief smile given to Rickter before she placed her quill down, and reached forward with a slender finger pointed at the blackened wick. The moment it drew near a spark manifested to generate a tiny flame, much like the four match sticks on the table near Rickter. The difference was that she'd actually manifested the flame, whereas he used simple devices to complete the task. Oh but to see her do it though, the wolf couldn't help but lightly grin as he finished packing his bowl, striking a fifth match across the tinderbox so that he could ignite the tobacco; and take a deep, long hit from the mouth of his pipe. "It's a little strange honestly," She finally came to admit after watching him, "I mean I always wondered what you like to do in your spare time."
"Well," He started with a drawn-out exhale as smoke billowed from his lips, "Now you know." Next to nothing was probably the closest answer really, for there was hardly anything Rickter did when he really was at home. Simply put he was used to being out all the time, only ever going home when he needed to rest for the night, as such was the life of a laborer or mercenary. Hell even fishing he'd be out all day, and return a bit late after the sun finally set. It was just what he did really, besides there was hardly anything hobby-wise that kept the wolf home. Now though with an upcoming change in his lifestyle yet again, he may as well consider what sort of hobbies he'd like, since he clearly suspected there to be periods of free time as an Argent Hand. Telion couldn't help but lightly chuckle.
"Now I know." She agreed which led him to raise his eyebrows, his eyes averted onto the flame of the candle between them for a moment. "I haven't forgotten by the way," she pointed out with another look down at her journal, "just wanted to wait until a good time I guess." That last part of her reasoning admittedly caused him to chuckle, before taking a drink of ale from his goblet to dampen his mouth again.
"Now is a bit of a tricky time really," He reasoned with her in return, "with the Frost here the Circle of Wandering isn't really the safest to do initiations." Rickter then looked to Telion with a thought weighing on his mind, the pipe's mouth rested between his lips as he started to take another drag from it. "What sort of initiation does Elementalism entail anyways?" He inquired gently as to avoid breathing smoke out across the table, allowing the rest of his air to flow out through his nostrils after he'd asked. The bard looked up to him from her book curiously then, the corner of her lip upturned into a slight grin as she eased the tome to a close before answering.
"It's a bit different from Negation..." She started with her own heavy dose of consideration for the matter. "In retrospect, I believe it's different regarding every one, not everyone experiences the same symptoms during threshold sickness. I, for one, remember my naval being stopped up moments after it started." She explained with a fingernail pointed near her nose, garnering a groan of humor from Rickter as he half-nodded to her as a result. "Some speculate that the symptoms are akin to the Elementalist's Arche element they'll possess, but I don't know if that's always the case or not."
"So is it safe?" He regarded in turn with a tilt of his head, leading Telion's lips to pucker about in thought.
"Hmm... relatively speaking yes. It poses some risk as the case of sickness can vary, there are some who a stricken with a severe affliction such as burning fevers or even pneumonia, but they always quickly recover when the sickness fades in turn." Now that thought intrigued Rickter, as he pondered the connection between these symptoms and this 'Arche-element' Telion had mentioned just now. "Actually... We could probably start it here if you like, I don't know if you had plans for tomorrow or not, but we could give it a try tonight if that's what you would like."
The wolf's eyebrows rose again as he looked up and away, contemplating on his plans for the next day and how early he might've needed to rise. So far as he knew, nothing immediate seemed to be in the works, although the wolf did intend to resume training again sometime tomorrow. "I don't see why not," he finally responded with a shrug as his blue eyes fell onto her, "there a... ritual to this one as well?" He lightly teased as Telion shifted, the bard slightly laughing as she rose from her chair to approach from around the table.
"Sort of," She started as she reached his side, "is there a place you had in mind for the rune?" To that Rickter simply shrugged, giving Telion a bit of an innocent grin when he had done so. "I see." She laughed lightly just a little more. "Well, the concept is the same as before. I'll inscribe the rune onto your flesh, and then shortly afterward, you'll experience the threshold sickness. I take it you're leaving it up to me to determine the Rune's placement?" To that Rickter nodded gently, lifting a finger and thumb up to his collar so that he undid the linen strings there, and tugged so that he undid the loose knot they made. With that part of his shirt loosened the wolf reached for the rim of the bottom, his fingers traversing the fabric as they moved from front to back, so he could tug it over his shoulders from behind.
Telion looked down at the bare skin of his upper back then, the sensation of her cool fingers causing him to just slightly jolt in return. She quietly offered him a "sorry," as she stood behind him, leaving the wolf to wonder where it was she'd pick next. The tip of her finger stopped over the left shoulder blade, directly in the center, before he felt it lightly press into the surface of his skin. Carefully did she seem to graze it over his flesh, likely marking him as she did so, for Rickter could feel the surface of his skin tingle as aether was woven into the mark. This rune took her a bit longer to draw out compared to the first one she'd given him, leading Rickter to wonder about it while he watched traces of smoke rise from his pipe in waiting.
"There, it's done." She finally stated as she lifted her finger, the tingling sensation increasing in not just a spot, but throughout the whole area of his left shoulder. "Shouldn't be much longer now. Do you feel it taking hold?"
In light of her question, the wolf quickly nodded, for he could already feel his body reacting to the mark. Telion's rune of Elementalism was now etched into his skin completely, which meant within just a few moments he'd be experiencing the threshold sickness like before. It started first with the unusual tingles coursing throughout his back, into his skull, and down his spine, before the rest of his body began to feel a chill in the air that wasn't there before. As he tugged the fabric of his shirt back down to his waist, Rickter noticed that not only did he begin to feel cooler suddenly...
But he was starting to break out in a sweat as well.
Frost 3rd, 120th Year, A.o.S.
It was quiet within the confines of Rickter's abode as he sat at the table, watching Telion as she sat in her chair across from where he was. Hannah had already headed out for the evening to attend to her own affairs, as the wolf could only wonder what on Ransera she had to do by herself at this time. After a bit of deliberation yesterday, and some time spent getting things arranged for them, Rickter had provided a place for the two women to rest their heads. Renting a room from Rien was getting a bit expensive for them at this point, and while they didn't plan to outright stay in Kalzasi, the wolf didn't think it too much trouble to give them a place to rest while they visited. So with the spare guestroom now converted into a secondary bedroom, and all their things relatively settled in a place of location for the time being, Rickter and Telion were pretty much left alone for the evening.
This led to the pair of them sitting across from one another, the room quiet as Telion seemed to be busy writing in something. Rickter wondered if it were a journal of some kind, something that she spent her spare time writing in when they weren't busy together. The wolf himself simply sat at the table with a drink near his hand, his eyes occasionally shifting to wander the room as he thought about things. He had to admit he didn't quite expect this, sharing his home with a couple of foreigners, who just so happened to be women as well come to think of it. People who knew him would surely talk of this...
"You're awfully quiet." The bard remarked as his eyes moved to the window, noticing a bit of lack of sunlight as the room itself started to darken. The wolf didn't even bother looking to her when he shifted, moving to rise from his chair so that he could walk into the kitchen, and pilfer through the drawers in search of something to light the brass lanterns. "Getting dark already huh?"
"Mmhm." Rickter groaned softly as he found a tinderbox finally, sliding the wooden frame out so that he could pull a match from within. The wolf then moved to one of the brass lanterns in the room, stroking the match's black tip against the side of the box itself, to evoke a small but frenzied flame that quickly settled moments after ignition. Lowering the burning tip into the basin where the oil was, he lit the first of several lanterns and moved about the room in a clockwise fashion, filling the house with a soft glow as he returned to the kitchen area. Rather than placing the tinderbox back in its drawer, the wolf searched for his pipe and tobacco in one of the cabinets, taking a second small wooden box out from a shelf as he brought it back with him to the table. Moments later as Telion still kept her writing, Rickter opened the other box to pull out his smoking pipe, cleaning it out with a metal pick found within the box as well before packing in unsmoked tobacco within the bowl.
Telion looked up to notice the candlestick at the center of the table, a brief smile given to Rickter before she placed her quill down, and reached forward with a slender finger pointed at the blackened wick. The moment it drew near a spark manifested to generate a tiny flame, much like the four match sticks on the table near Rickter. The difference was that she'd actually manifested the flame, whereas he used simple devices to complete the task. Oh but to see her do it though, the wolf couldn't help but lightly grin as he finished packing his bowl, striking a fifth match across the tinderbox so that he could ignite the tobacco; and take a deep, long hit from the mouth of his pipe. "It's a little strange honestly," She finally came to admit after watching him, "I mean I always wondered what you like to do in your spare time."
"Well," He started with a drawn-out exhale as smoke billowed from his lips, "Now you know." Next to nothing was probably the closest answer really, for there was hardly anything Rickter did when he really was at home. Simply put he was used to being out all the time, only ever going home when he needed to rest for the night, as such was the life of a laborer or mercenary. Hell even fishing he'd be out all day, and return a bit late after the sun finally set. It was just what he did really, besides there was hardly anything hobby-wise that kept the wolf home. Now though with an upcoming change in his lifestyle yet again, he may as well consider what sort of hobbies he'd like, since he clearly suspected there to be periods of free time as an Argent Hand. Telion couldn't help but lightly chuckle.
"Now I know." She agreed which led him to raise his eyebrows, his eyes averted onto the flame of the candle between them for a moment. "I haven't forgotten by the way," she pointed out with another look down at her journal, "just wanted to wait until a good time I guess." That last part of her reasoning admittedly caused him to chuckle, before taking a drink of ale from his goblet to dampen his mouth again.
"Now is a bit of a tricky time really," He reasoned with her in return, "with the Frost here the Circle of Wandering isn't really the safest to do initiations." Rickter then looked to Telion with a thought weighing on his mind, the pipe's mouth rested between his lips as he started to take another drag from it. "What sort of initiation does Elementalism entail anyways?" He inquired gently as to avoid breathing smoke out across the table, allowing the rest of his air to flow out through his nostrils after he'd asked. The bard looked up to him from her book curiously then, the corner of her lip upturned into a slight grin as she eased the tome to a close before answering.
"It's a bit different from Negation..." She started with her own heavy dose of consideration for the matter. "In retrospect, I believe it's different regarding every one, not everyone experiences the same symptoms during threshold sickness. I, for one, remember my naval being stopped up moments after it started." She explained with a fingernail pointed near her nose, garnering a groan of humor from Rickter as he half-nodded to her as a result. "Some speculate that the symptoms are akin to the Elementalist's Arche element they'll possess, but I don't know if that's always the case or not."
"So is it safe?" He regarded in turn with a tilt of his head, leading Telion's lips to pucker about in thought.
"Hmm... relatively speaking yes. It poses some risk as the case of sickness can vary, there are some who a stricken with a severe affliction such as burning fevers or even pneumonia, but they always quickly recover when the sickness fades in turn." Now that thought intrigued Rickter, as he pondered the connection between these symptoms and this 'Arche-element' Telion had mentioned just now. "Actually... We could probably start it here if you like, I don't know if you had plans for tomorrow or not, but we could give it a try tonight if that's what you would like."
The wolf's eyebrows rose again as he looked up and away, contemplating on his plans for the next day and how early he might've needed to rise. So far as he knew, nothing immediate seemed to be in the works, although the wolf did intend to resume training again sometime tomorrow. "I don't see why not," he finally responded with a shrug as his blue eyes fell onto her, "there a... ritual to this one as well?" He lightly teased as Telion shifted, the bard slightly laughing as she rose from her chair to approach from around the table.
"Sort of," She started as she reached his side, "is there a place you had in mind for the rune?" To that Rickter simply shrugged, giving Telion a bit of an innocent grin when he had done so. "I see." She laughed lightly just a little more. "Well, the concept is the same as before. I'll inscribe the rune onto your flesh, and then shortly afterward, you'll experience the threshold sickness. I take it you're leaving it up to me to determine the Rune's placement?" To that Rickter nodded gently, lifting a finger and thumb up to his collar so that he undid the linen strings there, and tugged so that he undid the loose knot they made. With that part of his shirt loosened the wolf reached for the rim of the bottom, his fingers traversing the fabric as they moved from front to back, so he could tug it over his shoulders from behind.
Telion looked down at the bare skin of his upper back then, the sensation of her cool fingers causing him to just slightly jolt in return. She quietly offered him a "sorry," as she stood behind him, leaving the wolf to wonder where it was she'd pick next. The tip of her finger stopped over the left shoulder blade, directly in the center, before he felt it lightly press into the surface of his skin. Carefully did she seem to graze it over his flesh, likely marking him as she did so, for Rickter could feel the surface of his skin tingle as aether was woven into the mark. This rune took her a bit longer to draw out compared to the first one she'd given him, leading Rickter to wonder about it while he watched traces of smoke rise from his pipe in waiting.
"There, it's done." She finally stated as she lifted her finger, the tingling sensation increasing in not just a spot, but throughout the whole area of his left shoulder. "Shouldn't be much longer now. Do you feel it taking hold?"
In light of her question, the wolf quickly nodded, for he could already feel his body reacting to the mark. Telion's rune of Elementalism was now etched into his skin completely, which meant within just a few moments he'd be experiencing the threshold sickness like before. It started first with the unusual tingles coursing throughout his back, into his skull, and down his spine, before the rest of his body began to feel a chill in the air that wasn't there before. As he tugged the fabric of his shirt back down to his waist, Rickter noticed that not only did he begin to feel cooler suddenly...
But he was starting to break out in a sweat as well.
