i. loggerheads

Kella hadn't been entirely sure about the expedition from the get-go. She'd never been asked to participate in an expedition of this kind before—especially when she had not even been present at the guildmerge that had decided it. She preferred to remain in the Healer hall, tending to those with illnesses and injuries. Although, she thought wryly, she was a better option than Roland. He lost his temper far too quickly to work with Teknoguilders or Coercers.

Perhaps the reasoning had been because of Pavo, she continued decisively. They could not reach the Beforetime library without his aid, and he had been suffering from some type of sickness that induced coughing fits. She furrowed her brow at this, though, deciding she'd need to check up on him later. He had been avoiding the Healer hall for quite some time now, remaining holed up in the Teknoguild caves.

It was entirely practical to have a Healer on an expedition, she supposed. If something happened, the Healer would be their only chance of survival. And, as a ward, Kella had a certain degree of expertise regarding her Talent. Roland always seemed as though he largely disregarded her abilities, but since he had been the only one from their guild present when the plans had been finalised, Kella wondered if he just hid his admiration or respect. Maybe inwardly he was rather soft. She smiled a little at the thought.

Regardless, she was here now. It was strange leaving Obernewtyn and she couldn't quite shake the fear of travelling through the Land. She had arrived there fearing the worst, still unsure of the promised "refuge". The Master of Obernewtyn, however, was quickly revealed to be a kind and determined man who wished to stand up against the tyrannical Council. Kella had decided to stay, knowing that it would be a safer and kinder environment than any other she had experienced before. At first, she had to admit she'd admired the Master of Obernewtyn in a less than professional way. That was until she met Elspeth Gordie, of course.

After meeting Elspeth Gordie, she quietly entertained notions of the Farseeker Guildmistress and Obernewtyn's Master bonding. Elspeth was a fair bit younger than him, more around Kella's age, but it did not matter all that much to Misfits. They did live on rocky ground, after all. Who could know when the Council would strike? So Kella believed that there was hope for the two of them, even if it was slim. Hence why she slyly inserted Rushton into the conversation whenever she could, while she tended to Elspeth's feet.

Kella shook her head, moving away from her romantic reveries. If Elspeth happened to catch what she was thinking, she was sure the girl would be none too pleased. Sighing, she turned her mind to other topics. Specifically, those on the expedition. Pavo was a kind and gentle person who hardly gave anyone any trouble. She was slightly afraid of Louis Larkin, but dared not let this show—he was a crotchety old man who would hardly appreciate it. Matthew was a reassuring presence, and Jik was rather cute. She'd like to get to know him better, she decided.

—and then there was Domick.

Kella made a point not to interact with those of the Coercer guild too often, for she could not stand their Talent even at the best of times. It wasn't exactly the Talent itself, she amended, rather Miryum's attitude towards the "necessity" it was. Hurting people was a necessity? It sounded like Council talk to her, she thought cynically. Domick did not seem to have Miryum's brand of recklessness, but he was just as harsh with his views. She decided to avoid talking to him during the expedition, unless she had to—after all, she didn't want to cause trouble for Elspeth.

And this choice had been quite fine and well, until Louis, Jik and Matthew had gone to collect wood for the fire. Elspeth had gone to the river to bathe and Pavo began looking over his Beforetime notes. Kella awkwardly started to prepare a nightmeal for them, trying to ignore the fact that the Coercer was the only other person present—the only other one paying attention, that is. He had just come back from checking on the horses, frowning.

"If we can't find the pass, then I suppose we will have to bypass the soldierguard encampment," he said aloud, although it seemed as though he was talking to himself rather than Kella. "It will take longer and it would be dangerous … we'd have to coerce them."

Kella sighed. She'd heard enough talk of violence and soldierguards and coercing. "Is that the only solution you can ever come up with?" she inquired harshly.

Domick seemed surprised, looking over at her. "What other choice do we have?"

"Pavo is sure that there's a pass there! Whether or not the caravans can travel through the marsh, we still have to try. It will save us a lot of trouble."

"It's not a question of trouble," Domick almost sneered at this. "Maybe as a Healer you don't understand the necessity, but this is serious—"

"I'm not a child!" Kella suppressed a growl. It wasn't in her nature to become so angry like this, but she just really couldn't stand the way of the Coercer guild. It was as if violence was the only solution to every problem! It was nonsensical. "I understand the seriousness of the situation! Just because I am not narrow-minded like you are doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Domick was taken aback, but he recovered quickly. "You—"

Pavo interrupted whatever he had been about to say, starting to cough violently. Kella desperately wished to give Domick a piece of her mind, as Roland's rants never seemed to affect him or others of his guild, but her instincts as a Healer took over. She frowned, turned on her heel and went over to the Teknoguilder without a second glance. When Domick attempted to ask her some sort of question about Pavo, she deliberately ignored him.

He was so infuriating. Taking command and acting like he was so much better than everybody else! Even seeming to think he was stronger and more Talented than Elspeth! Ridiculous.

But, at the same time, she wished to see exactly how he justified his opinions. Miryum grated on her nerves far too much for Kella to bother holding a conversation with her, but Domick was different. Perhaps his reasoning was more logical? At times he did manage to surprise her. This thought unsettled her a little, but it was the truth.

Still, that didn't stop her from disagreeing.

ooc: Hello! So this is basically just meant to be an anthology of "moments" between Domick and Kella, "offscreen". I love and adore the couple so much... that I really just had to. This one is set during the beginning of The Farseekers, if you couldn't guess, when Elspeth notes that "Domick and Kella have begun a heated argument". I wondered for a while what it would be about, but decided it probably had something to do with their Talents, considering their guilds are at loggerheads. The one-shots will follow the story chronologically, and build their relationship how I think it would've progressed. However, I'm going to try hard to stick to canon facts, too! |D