16th of Ash, 120
Early in the morning, Arkash woke again. His yellow eye met with the grime of the moldy, stained mattress as he was jostled, shaken. His gaze only briefly traced the surrounding murky darkness of the abandoned lumber processing warehouse as he turned over, then paused in its travel as the blind side of his face met an obstruction: a plate gauntlet. Arkash tilted his head upward to try and get a better view, but the placement of his eye made it difficult.
"Asmodei?" Asked the Rathari. it seemed reasonable to assume that the plate-armored avialae would be the one to wake him; Fayeth had promised him food once the false argent returned, after all.
"Good morning, Ark," spoke the avialae's soft voice in turn. "I returned with some meats some few hours ago, but we thought it best to let you sleep." It really did help that the avialae knew how to speak Vithmi; it put Arkash at ease to be surrounded by something familiar.
The rathari took a deep breath through his nostrils, then carefully pressed into the fabric of his primitive, moldy mattress to sit up. Asmodei let him go as Arkash strained his weakened muscles. Curiously, the man didn't help the frail lizard up. Instead, he watched and nodded his affirmations when the lizard was successful. "Thanks... Az."
The avialae grinned a little as he looked down upon the rathari. The fact that the boy used the shortened version of his name was a symbol of budding trust, comfort. Arkash was adjusting well, despite the very short time he'd been awake since the end of his comatose state. "It's no problem, really. It's normal not to feel hungry, but you need to eat to regain your strength. Even if you don't want to, okay?"
Arkash furrowed his brow. He'd been messed up, sure. But why was he being treated like a child? "I know that," returned Arkash in his first language. He still couldn't see the avialae, but that served to his advantage, as Asmodei couldn't see his scornful glare. A heavy slab of wood was placed on his lap, one which held an entire bird. A chicken, uncooked. It had been plucked, at least, and the head was removed. Arkash didn't like eating raw meats, but it didn't negatively affect him like it did humans; his digestive system was strong enough to break down bones and the complications that came hand in hand with eating raw meats.
"Right, of course. Given that you're a type of monitor lizard, I'd like you to eat all of this. But, half now and a half later is acceptable." A monitor lizard? Arkash could no doubt eat the whole bird in one sitting, but he didn't feel hungry. He felt full. Perhaps his body was still asleep? Eating would help.
"Thank you for the food, but what's a monitor lizard?" Arkash asked as he took hold of the bird's leg and pulled at the limb. Its feet were still attached, but Arkash had eaten worse.
"You don't know?" Arkash scowled. He might have been uneducated, but he wasn't stupid.
"I don't; I've only met two other rathari besides myself. Both were mammals. You grew up here; you know there's no lizards in Lorien's wilderness. So how could I know?" His tone was firm, irritated. He didn't mean to let his emotions slip, but he hadn't even noticed he was doing it. Asmodei was quiet for a moment, and the silence gave Arkash a moment to reflect. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound snappy." Arkash paused in his efforts, exhaled, then looked to Asmodei with a hard turn of his body and head alike. "I think I'm just a bit stressed." That was a lie. He knew he didn't like the way that Asmodei spoke to him but elected not to say anything about it. Being stressed was a pretty good excuse, given the circumstances.
"It's alright," returned Asmodei. "I should have assumed that you were isolated from the grand family, given you've likely been in Lorien your whole life."
Arkash paused again. "The grand what? Family?" It sounded as though the argent was speaking nonsense, but Arkash didn't say anything on that. He was just curious.
Asmodei, genuinely surprised, spoke "you don't know about the grand family?!" with great enthusiasm. Arkash merely stopped his attempts at removing the chicken leg again, then looked to Asmodei with a flat expression, the kind that begged the question 'really?' "-Sorry," he cleared his throat, then took a seat on Arkash's blind side. Arkash couldn't help but roll his eyes as he returned to the task of removing the chicken leg. "I spent a lot of time in Atinaw, a land where rathari are commonplace. It's where I learned to speak vithmi and learned of their- your culture."
Arkash nodded, though he was growing more and more frustrated. He'd resorted to using his elbow to hold the bird down while the claw of the same hand tried to rip the leg off, but it wasn't working as he'd intended. He was too weak.
"But we can save that talk for another time. Just know you're in good hands, and I know a lot about your needs as a monitor lizard-based rathari. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about, regarding the state of the country; what has happened since your incident." Arkash only listened with half an earhole. He was completely absorbed in his task. His hand started to shake as fury overcame his thoughts, and his breath picked up. It was such a simple task. Even if he only had one arm, why couldn't he do it? "Need a hand?" Offered the avialae with a very poor choice of wording.
"NO!" Snapped Arkash vIciously. "JUST SHUT UP!" he roared as he gripped the edge of the wooden slab and tried to throw it, but only succeeded in rolling the bird off his lap, and off the side of the bed where it fell into Amodei's hands. He did throw the wooden board a good three feet, however. Asmodei quickly put the bird on a nearby surface and came back to the rathari's side, only to meet a swipe of the lizard's claws. The practiced combatant caught the swipe with ease and pushed Arkash's arm into the bedding. Arkash didn't give up, though. He dove his jaws at the knight's arm and wrapped his toothy maw around the dark steel plate that protected the knight. His venom flowed plentifully down the false argent's arm as he tried to blindly inject it into his captor.
A metal-wrapped hand gripped his muzzle from Arkash's blind side and roughly yanked him from the limb before it shut his mouth tight, then forced him to lay back against the bed. Asmodei's scowling features hovered above him while he was forced to lay there. He writhed and tired to part his maw, but he couldn't break the argent's grip. "Calm down!" Cried the false argent. "It's okay! It's just a chicken!" No such luck. Arkash had resorted to hitting the argent's arm with his stump. Asmodei, who saw no other option, lifted Arkash off the bed a little, then quickly forced him back down to shake him.
The cushioned impact shook Arkash's whole form and his writhing paused. Recognition flashed in his eyes, and his quickened breaths slowed for a moment. He continued to fill his achy lungs with rolling, ragged breaths. His whole body trembled.
"Breathe," instructed the avialae. "In slowly, then out." For emphasis, Asmodei took a deep breath that flared his nostrils, then exhaled through a gap in his lips. Arkash stared with his one good eye while his whole body trembled with fear and rage. Even so, Arkash obeyed. He tried to draw a deep breath through his nose, but it came ragged, and nowhere near as slowly as the argent had demonstrated. Even so, the tension in his shoulders relaxed a little. His resistance died down. "Again, but slower," instructed the avialae.
Arkash followed the same process but found greater success than the last. With every breath, he found himself calmer and more rational than the last. Asmodei even allowed him room to breathe out through his mouth after the third deep breath. Before long, Arkash had calmed almost completely, and Asmodei let him go. The winged man collected the thrown wooden board and returned the chicken to sit atop it without a word. Arkash continued to tremble some, but not with rage. "I'm sorry, Az," he spoke in regret. Why had he reacted so volatile?
"Do you normally lose your temper?" Was all the avialae spoke in turn. Arkash shook his head a stroke or two, then nodded.
"I didn't before, but I did a few times right before my incident." The argent hummed, then looked the lizard up and down.
"You need to get a handle on that, or it will catch up to you." What did that mean? Was that a threat? If it was, he sort of deserved it. He did try to bite the winged protector. Without another word, the avialae put the chicken with the board back on Arkash's lap, then pat the lizard on the shoulder of his blind side. "Try again," he instructed.
Early in the morning, Arkash woke again. His yellow eye met with the grime of the moldy, stained mattress as he was jostled, shaken. His gaze only briefly traced the surrounding murky darkness of the abandoned lumber processing warehouse as he turned over, then paused in its travel as the blind side of his face met an obstruction: a plate gauntlet. Arkash tilted his head upward to try and get a better view, but the placement of his eye made it difficult.
"Asmodei?" Asked the Rathari. it seemed reasonable to assume that the plate-armored avialae would be the one to wake him; Fayeth had promised him food once the false argent returned, after all.
"Good morning, Ark," spoke the avialae's soft voice in turn. "I returned with some meats some few hours ago, but we thought it best to let you sleep." It really did help that the avialae knew how to speak Vithmi; it put Arkash at ease to be surrounded by something familiar.
The rathari took a deep breath through his nostrils, then carefully pressed into the fabric of his primitive, moldy mattress to sit up. Asmodei let him go as Arkash strained his weakened muscles. Curiously, the man didn't help the frail lizard up. Instead, he watched and nodded his affirmations when the lizard was successful. "Thanks... Az."
The avialae grinned a little as he looked down upon the rathari. The fact that the boy used the shortened version of his name was a symbol of budding trust, comfort. Arkash was adjusting well, despite the very short time he'd been awake since the end of his comatose state. "It's no problem, really. It's normal not to feel hungry, but you need to eat to regain your strength. Even if you don't want to, okay?"
Arkash furrowed his brow. He'd been messed up, sure. But why was he being treated like a child? "I know that," returned Arkash in his first language. He still couldn't see the avialae, but that served to his advantage, as Asmodei couldn't see his scornful glare. A heavy slab of wood was placed on his lap, one which held an entire bird. A chicken, uncooked. It had been plucked, at least, and the head was removed. Arkash didn't like eating raw meats, but it didn't negatively affect him like it did humans; his digestive system was strong enough to break down bones and the complications that came hand in hand with eating raw meats.
"Right, of course. Given that you're a type of monitor lizard, I'd like you to eat all of this. But, half now and a half later is acceptable." A monitor lizard? Arkash could no doubt eat the whole bird in one sitting, but he didn't feel hungry. He felt full. Perhaps his body was still asleep? Eating would help.
"Thank you for the food, but what's a monitor lizard?" Arkash asked as he took hold of the bird's leg and pulled at the limb. Its feet were still attached, but Arkash had eaten worse.
"You don't know?" Arkash scowled. He might have been uneducated, but he wasn't stupid.
"I don't; I've only met two other rathari besides myself. Both were mammals. You grew up here; you know there's no lizards in Lorien's wilderness. So how could I know?" His tone was firm, irritated. He didn't mean to let his emotions slip, but he hadn't even noticed he was doing it. Asmodei was quiet for a moment, and the silence gave Arkash a moment to reflect. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound snappy." Arkash paused in his efforts, exhaled, then looked to Asmodei with a hard turn of his body and head alike. "I think I'm just a bit stressed." That was a lie. He knew he didn't like the way that Asmodei spoke to him but elected not to say anything about it. Being stressed was a pretty good excuse, given the circumstances.
"It's alright," returned Asmodei. "I should have assumed that you were isolated from the grand family, given you've likely been in Lorien your whole life."
Arkash paused again. "The grand what? Family?" It sounded as though the argent was speaking nonsense, but Arkash didn't say anything on that. He was just curious.
Asmodei, genuinely surprised, spoke "you don't know about the grand family?!" with great enthusiasm. Arkash merely stopped his attempts at removing the chicken leg again, then looked to Asmodei with a flat expression, the kind that begged the question 'really?' "-Sorry," he cleared his throat, then took a seat on Arkash's blind side. Arkash couldn't help but roll his eyes as he returned to the task of removing the chicken leg. "I spent a lot of time in Atinaw, a land where rathari are commonplace. It's where I learned to speak vithmi and learned of their- your culture."
Arkash nodded, though he was growing more and more frustrated. He'd resorted to using his elbow to hold the bird down while the claw of the same hand tried to rip the leg off, but it wasn't working as he'd intended. He was too weak.
"But we can save that talk for another time. Just know you're in good hands, and I know a lot about your needs as a monitor lizard-based rathari. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about, regarding the state of the country; what has happened since your incident." Arkash only listened with half an earhole. He was completely absorbed in his task. His hand started to shake as fury overcame his thoughts, and his breath picked up. It was such a simple task. Even if he only had one arm, why couldn't he do it? "Need a hand?" Offered the avialae with a very poor choice of wording.
"NO!" Snapped Arkash vIciously. "JUST SHUT UP!" he roared as he gripped the edge of the wooden slab and tried to throw it, but only succeeded in rolling the bird off his lap, and off the side of the bed where it fell into Amodei's hands. He did throw the wooden board a good three feet, however. Asmodei quickly put the bird on a nearby surface and came back to the rathari's side, only to meet a swipe of the lizard's claws. The practiced combatant caught the swipe with ease and pushed Arkash's arm into the bedding. Arkash didn't give up, though. He dove his jaws at the knight's arm and wrapped his toothy maw around the dark steel plate that protected the knight. His venom flowed plentifully down the false argent's arm as he tried to blindly inject it into his captor.
A metal-wrapped hand gripped his muzzle from Arkash's blind side and roughly yanked him from the limb before it shut his mouth tight, then forced him to lay back against the bed. Asmodei's scowling features hovered above him while he was forced to lay there. He writhed and tired to part his maw, but he couldn't break the argent's grip. "Calm down!" Cried the false argent. "It's okay! It's just a chicken!" No such luck. Arkash had resorted to hitting the argent's arm with his stump. Asmodei, who saw no other option, lifted Arkash off the bed a little, then quickly forced him back down to shake him.
The cushioned impact shook Arkash's whole form and his writhing paused. Recognition flashed in his eyes, and his quickened breaths slowed for a moment. He continued to fill his achy lungs with rolling, ragged breaths. His whole body trembled.
"Breathe," instructed the avialae. "In slowly, then out." For emphasis, Asmodei took a deep breath that flared his nostrils, then exhaled through a gap in his lips. Arkash stared with his one good eye while his whole body trembled with fear and rage. Even so, Arkash obeyed. He tried to draw a deep breath through his nose, but it came ragged, and nowhere near as slowly as the argent had demonstrated. Even so, the tension in his shoulders relaxed a little. His resistance died down. "Again, but slower," instructed the avialae.
Arkash followed the same process but found greater success than the last. With every breath, he found himself calmer and more rational than the last. Asmodei even allowed him room to breathe out through his mouth after the third deep breath. Before long, Arkash had calmed almost completely, and Asmodei let him go. The winged man collected the thrown wooden board and returned the chicken to sit atop it without a word. Arkash continued to tremble some, but not with rage. "I'm sorry, Az," he spoke in regret. Why had he reacted so volatile?
"Do you normally lose your temper?" Was all the avialae spoke in turn. Arkash shook his head a stroke or two, then nodded.
"I didn't before, but I did a few times right before my incident." The argent hummed, then looked the lizard up and down.
"You need to get a handle on that, or it will catch up to you." What did that mean? Was that a threat? If it was, he sort of deserved it. He did try to bite the winged protector. Without another word, the avialae put the chicken with the board back on Arkash's lap, then pat the lizard on the shoulder of his blind side. "Try again," he instructed.
