Nyana/Eilirria. So give her applause *nodnod* She, of course, wrote herself ;))
Eilirria got up and dusted herself off, her expression betraying nothing but a stony calm. She removed a blood-red gauntlet and massaged her neck lightly, her eyes darting around the room from the rogue to Nithil'zir, to Faette, then to the door. The presence of other humanoids in the area nagged at the edge of her mind. She knelt before the rogue, digging in her pack and producing a roll of bandages.
"Yukale... we have to move. Here," she added in a steady tone as she ripped off a piece and bandaged the rogue's arm, "I'll handle this to the best of my ability. But you have to get up."
Yukale didn't seem like she had any desire to move. She started to rock, lowering her head into her arms. She felt drained, and as though she'd betrayed something precious by her actions just moments before. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound really came out.
She heard Eilirria's voice, but none of it really registered. She felt the woman apply a bandage to her arm, and she looked up, glancing over at Kiska. She managed to find her voice. It was firm, unmovable, "We can't leave her here. We're taking her with us."
"I wouldn't leave her, Yuka," the hunter's voice taking on a gentle tone before returning to it's steady detachment, "We're taking them both."
The hunter nodded and placed her hand on the rogue's shoulder, squeezing a moment. Then she rose and once again took in the environment before resting her eyes on Kiska's body. The druid's body was partially hidden by the fallen corpse of the male she'd shot upon entering. Inwardly she noted that neither of them were particularly heavy, which was probably good for them all. It didn't seem that Yukale was in any shape to help her.
"What do we do with her?" The rogue turned her gaze to her mother. She already knew what she wanted for Kiska, but her mother was another story entirely. She started to push herself up. She needed to get her things, needed her weapons...her knees refused to cooperate, her legs felt rubbery and weak. She slid back down along the wall.
The hunter turned her gaze to Nithil'zir a moment. It was imperative that they leave as quickly as possible, and she wondered vaguely how much trouble her supposed sister was capable of causing. At the moment the would-be blood elf was semi-unconcious on the floor, though, so they had some time yet to decide.
"I'll deal with her in a moment. Try and get up while I get Kiska," the hunter realised she was unable to admit to herself the druid was gone and suppressed a sigh. Her steps felt heavy as she approached the woman's body, pushing Trivas' body off of her carefully. She touched the druid's face with her finger and recalled absently that at one point she could return things from the dead. She suddenly wished she hadn't wasted her energy on healing Nithil'zir and shrugged it off.
Yukale nodded, pulling herself back up again, feeling suddenly nauseous. She bent over, propping her hands on her upper legs and taking long, measured breaths. Her head swam a little, and she tasted bile, but nothing came of it. In fact, she was starting to feel a little numb, her skin chilled.
"It doesn't feel real..."
She looked over at Eilirria, "It just doesn't."
The hunter didn't turn to her but it was clear she heard by the soft nodding of her head. She touched her finger to the druid's cold cheek again, and sniffed, noting the smell of death and blood. She realised suddenly that she knew, without understanding how, that Kiska was completely gone.
"It's real," she replied softly, as she picked the corpse up gently in her arms and turned with it, walking out the door.
Those words struck Yukale with a crushing finality. Her throat closed up, and she felt her stomach rising again, but supressed the urge. Pushing herself off from the wall, she pulled herself up the stairs, returning a few moments later with both her pack and her father's. She had pulled her armor on, her daggers sheathed, the motions familiar and comforting. She glanced at her mother again, walking slowly over to her.
Nithil'Zir let out a little moan.
"Why can't I hate you!?" Yukale asked, gritting her teeth and balling her fists. She kicked the woman in the side, her voice rising, "Why can't I hate you! Tell me!"
Nithil'Zir cried out in anguish, recoiling and curling up into a ball. She could hear her daughter, but could give no answer.
"Because you don't love her enough," Eilirria replied from the doorway. The hunter leaned against the doorframe, her eyes taking in both mother and daughter with calculation. "You can only truly hate something that you've loved to it's fullest extent."
Eilirria glanced down at the cowering blood elf on the ground with a look bordering on disdain. There had already been a few points of clarity for her this trip, but now she was stricken by the woman's weak condition. For all Nithil'Zir's ability to use magic, she was now nothing more than a broken rag doll. Eilirria knelt before the woman and sighed, glancing up at Yukale.
"Attacking her isn't going to make things easier. And we still need to get out of here. Come on."
"I don't understand. How can loving someone enough make you hate them? I should hate her for all this, but I don't. I still love her. Maybe that's what I should hate. Myself," Yukale sighed, shaking her head, and knelt down beside Eilirria. She forced herself to take a good, real look at her. She had just kicked this? She felt ill to her stomach again.
"Lets..get out of here, yes."
Eilirria collected the whimpering Nithil'Zir into her arms, slinging her over a shoulder casually. She rose and nodded at Yukale, taking the rogue's hand firmly in her free one. Without waiting to hear a complaint the hunter turned and walked towards the exit, Nithil'Zir slung over her right shoulder and left hand guiding her friend out the door.
"Eilirria?" Yukale asked, "We need to take Kiska to Ashenvale."
Eilirria didn't answer her at first, instead sniffing the cool night air and beckoning to the shadows near the house. At first it seemed like nothing would happen, but after a low whistle a huge frostsaber, colored a bright blue by the moon, emerged. The hunter slung Nithil'Zir over the cat's back and uttered a few calming words to the animal as it growled it's complaints at being used as a pack animal. She took a few moments to make sure that both Nithil'Zir and the cat were settled and then turned to Yukale again.
"Dawn is coming, the others are going to wake soon, and we're all three of us injured and in no condition to explain ourselves," she told the rogue in a tone that brooked no argument, "We can settle arrangements when we get somewhere safe, but we'll need to find someone who can preserve her first."
Shuddering, Yukale nodded. It was not a particularly pleasant thought, and she shoved it out of her mind, hefting her packs. She took comfort in the familiar. It was all she had right now.
Eilirria studied Yukale for another moment, trying to put herself in the rogue's shoes. If everything Nithil'Zir had said was true, the girl standing before her was her neice. The cold and abrupt way she'd been carrying herself seemed somehow inappropriate at a time like this. It was moments just like this that she cursed her awkwardness with society in general. She ran a hand through her hair, fiddling with a trinket a moment. They had to get out, but she felt like she needed to do something, anything to comfort the girl. At a loss, her stony expression crumbled into something genuinely soft and she took the rogue into her arms a minute, hugging her warmly.
"I'm sorry. I should have saved her. I'm genuinely sorry."
At times, a girl was all Yukale really was. She was far younger than Eilirria, though by no means a child. But sometimes that doesn't matter. The hunter's actions caused her to start a moment, then her arms wrapped around her back and she hugged her back tightly. It wasn't the words that mattered so much as the actions, and the tone of Eilirria's voice.
At this moment, it meant everything to Yukale, "You don't know that you would have done any good."
"It's true. I don't," agreed the hunter as she patted Yukale's back softly,"But I should have tried, regardless."
Time, the presence of others around her, and the smell of dawn brought her back to reality. She was the first to break the hug, but did it in a gentle fashion and then nodded to her mount, the great frostsaber who she named Whisper. Kiska's body had already been carefully placed across the mount's back. "Take Whisper and head toward's Light's Hope. I'll go on foot."
Yukale looked momentarily distressed, remembering her horse, "Goddess, Neoma! I haven't seen her since all this started."
She decided she wasn't going to argue Eilirria going on foot. She trusted her to meet her at the Chapel.
"She'll be fine. Probably running around waiting for me to catch her," Yukale murmured, nodding her head and holding up a hand. "Do not tarry long." She managed a smile, wondering if she should start calling Eilirria 'Auntie Ellie.'
Mounting Whisper, her momentary jovialness faded as she looked down at Kiska. Closing her eyes, she urged the great Cat to get her out of here.