| |

|
"Are you sure? Because I can wait, I promise." She asked him, noting she would stay.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
Sage waved her off with a chuckle. "Seriously, send your letters. We can still go out with Liz once I'm better," he noted. He didn't want to keep her waiting. Letters took long enough to send anyway.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
She nodded, grabbing her cloak as the bitter wind had settled, causing it to be chilly out. "I'll be back in a bit, anything you want or need?" Elara asked, waiting on his response before nodding and slipping out into the woods.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
Sage nodded when she mentioned she'd be back, shaking his head in the negative when she asked if he wanted anything. "Just be careful, yeah," he mused. "It's getting cold out quick now that winters approaching." He was a bit nervous for that...winter would test them. Hopefully the cabin would stay warm enough, and they could find food still.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
Elara had already slipped out, her feet leaving tracks in the freshly laid snow. More quickly filled them, making the woman feel glad she had brought her thicker cloak. She took the path she always did---worn down by broke branches and disrupted patterns, easy to follow but, it didn't lead anywhere, was more of a guide---eventually slipping into the usual crowd forming on the cobblestone streets. Elara grabbed the letters from her pocket and slipped them to the people she trusted, eventually seeing a crowd forming and joining in. A group was surrounding a figure, a crack echoing every few seconds. Elara was curious as to what it was, pushing through the crowd until she was in the front row and looking at it, her eyes widening as her face paled. Dorian. Tied to a post. Wait, what? She relaxed, probably because of some mistake he made and his battalion played a prank. Though that thought quickly left her brain when she saw his commander lift a whip and bring it down on his back. "No. . ." She managed to say, the bloodied man searching the crowd before his eyes eventually landed on her. He mouthed the word 'help' before letting out a yell from the pain, the woman's eyes tearing as she darted back off. Yes the lovers had gone seperate ways, yet they still remained. . . not exactly friends but, somewhere in there. The woman bolted from the sight, tears streaming freely now as the image burned itself behind her eyes. Elara eventually made it back to the cabim, shutting the door behind her before sinking down to the floor with her back pressed against it, bringing her knees to her chest and sobbing, attempting to get herself to calm down yet unsuccessful.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
Sage had been content to sit with Liz and nibble at food now that he had his appetite back, but when the door burst open and Elara had rushed through, tear marks on her face, he quickly moved towards her, dropping to his knees next to her, clearly worried. "What's wrong," he asked. "Are you ...are you hurt," he asked, sort of tugging at her limbs to check her body. When he was satisfied she wasn't actively bleeding out or anything, he looked back up at her face, shaking his head slightly. "Elara,what's wrong," he asked again. "I can't help if I don't know what's upsetting you," he added, frowning slightly as his kind whirled with all the possibilities.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
Elara managed to get words down, the image still in the back of her mind. "Dorian..." She breathed his name, the word like poison on her tounge. "H-He was getting whipped in the square, then he found me in the crowd and yelled at me to help--" The woman cut off again, shaking slightly as he throat tightened once more.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
Sage frowned slightly when she mentioned Dorian, his own back aching when she mentioned the whip. He winced slightly, but decided to focus in on the girls problems.they were a bit more promenent than his own. "Right," he murmured. "Do you know why?" When she shook her head he sort of knawed on his bottom lip for a moment before getting to his feet with a grunt. "Well, he's likely to need some help after that," he mused, recalling how bad it could become. "You want to go back and do that? I'll come with," he added.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
"You would do that?" She asked, looking up at him with red rimmed eyes as she wiped her face dry, standing shakily. "Yes, I would like to. I want to figure out why they did it, and what'll happen to him afterwards." Elara explained, tone phasing back to the one she used to speak to the public when she was at the castle. She softened it quickly.
|
|  |
|
| |

|
Sage nodded with a grunt, standing up and offering her his hands. "I've been on the wrong end of a whip before too," he noted softly, a flicker moving over his face. "They'll likely lock him up....we can break him out and treat his wounds," he added, already thinking about what supplies they'd need.
|
|  |
|