"You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death. Allow me to reacquaint you." - Dominous Ghaul
Perhaps it was the stars.
At this moment, he would blame anything. So the stars were to blame - pressing down and boring into his back from their comfortable night sky blanket above. Although they watched and judged Valthyx, like billions of bright, curious eyes, his own gaze was a cement block he could not lift.
Shh. No. Better to focus on the task directly ahead and no further. Better to focus each step ahead into Radax's prints in the snow to avoid slipping backwards down the incline. Better to not imagine how poorly the human might react and what she might then think of him.
Despite his best efforts, shame and discomfort made a home in him. An internal voice screamed and thrashed. Though he acknowledged these feelings, his feeling of need was far stronger. The need to see the human again haunted him and kept him from restful slumber. Her strange smile - hinting at the even stranger trust she had once undeservedly given him kept materializing to Valthyx. The need overwhelmed all else.
He could explain everything after they reunited. He could explain and she would understand. He could-
Radax halted before him. They'd arrived.
This was unmistakably the tent she traveled with. Faltering momentarily, Radax pulled open the leather flap of the makeshift abode and twisted to look at his friend.
Ether trailed up his nostrils and Valthyx released a long sigh. Steeling his resolve, he flipped the switch in his psyche as he had done many times before. Heightening his posture, he temporarily killed Valthyx the Chronicler and became Valthyx the Parched.
He, and then Radax, breached the shelter.
Upon entering, they were immediately assaulted with a choking wall of smoke. It was as if the air here tested visitors; it threatened to smother the lungs of the unworthy who did not prove themselves capable of adapting. Four eyes watering, Valthyx began to glance about. The Hounds' subordinates were busy smoking cuts of meat. At the edges of the room, sticks of incense turned to fumes and ash. Finally, in the very back of all the commotion, The Hound herself sat. She gnawed away at burnt flesh on bone, reclined with her legs propped upon the back of a kneeling man. Upon noticing Valthyx, she gave a swift kick to her human 'foot rest', pushing the man fully to the ground. With her legs now free, she rose to greet him.
The Hound was a human, yes, but her build was one that could be easily respected by the Eliksni. She was tall by human standards, each meter littered by scars and half-healed wounds. Even just the act of rising from her seat activated ripples of muscle that wandered like waves beneath thick skin. She was a formidable sight.
"Valthyx! Radax!" she jeered with a rough timbre, "you've come to visit me, finally? Thought I'd never see the day."
She was like some wild thing - she drew your attention in the way she lurched and jumped, in the way her teeth dug into her drumstick, and in the way she bore her incisors like some insatiable war beast, hungry for any excuse to lunge. Valthyx and Radax maintained their distance, for the danger this one threatened was well established among his house.
Neither Eliksni bowed - The Hound did not respect such shows of subservience. Radax nodded to Valthyx, and Valthyx began, "I ask a favor Hound."
The Hound's head gradually tilted as intrigue took ownership. "Tell me more, Val-thyx," the end of his name a hiss.
"There is a human one that I want," he uttered cautiously, gauging her expressions as best he could. Her volatility was well-known and anticipated at this point, though Valthyx was not sure what to make of the deep chested howl she gave him in return. After her fit of laughter, she wiped imaginary tears from her eyes and proceeded to motion behind her. Into her palm fluttered the distorted, fuzzy outline of a black ghost. She pressed it close to her face, whispered something indiscernible, and the ghost left as quickly as it had appeared.
"I know, I know," the Hound relinquished, "of course I've been watching. All I really want to know if what you'd give in exchange."
"You made me a monster, remember? You don't get to cry about it when I act like one." - Fynch II
Ysolde and Danu stood.
Side-by-side.
Waiting.
"It may soon be too late. I need you to know that whoever you're looking for, they're probably not the same. The things they've gone through at this point are doubtlessly enough to break anyone. You've got the right to find 'em, and see for yourself, sure, but you know you're doin' all this just for the body that once housed them."
The breeze tickled like ribbons off her face. Her maintained silence was enough. After days of awaiting a reply, she was informed that her opportunity would be arriving any minute.
Unnatural light filtering in through the window of the payload bay door told them it was time. The blackhole of a ghost had returned.
For a moment her heart was torn. She quickly jerked to check on Ceres, housed calmly in her glistening box. As if noticing her panic, Ceres bounced lightly to renew her confidence.
She was ok. She would be ok.
She nodded in permission, and Danu hesitantly placed the shackles on her wrists before entering the code to open the doors.
They followed the ghost to the billowing tent as instructed. "Wait here," the ghost's vocal tone seemed to clash against nature itself as it darted inside the structure.
Posted outside with Danu, Ysolde felt her heartbeat accelerate and her breathing quicken. She was not captive. This was a safety measure for The Hound. In truth, the impression of captivity was far worse to her than captivity. Even the illusion of freedom can comfort.
A hand gently settled on her shoulder. Danu seemed to be dealing with his own internal anxiety. At least she wasn't alone.
Some shuffling came from within. Then stillness.
Eventually, a raspy, sing-songy call came from behind the tarp walls "Coooome innn!"
The chain connected to Ysolde's shackles rattled as Danu's hands began to shake.
He led her inside, but the air was murky and opaque. For too long, her world was only smoke. Unable to control the impulse, she began to cough. She battled her desire to close her eyes and scanned as best she could until, behind thinning smoke, she could faintly make out a figure.
Before her stood a tall, imposing woman dressed in scant leathers. She peeked out with wide eyes from behind messy auburn hair and shot Ysolde a sharp-toothed grin. "You're a pretty one, aren't ya?" she mewed, striding toward her, a wicked curved blade trailing in her grip.
"You are The Hound?" Ysolde sought firmness but her voice was more hushed than she'd intended.
The Hound's grin only widened, now revealing both canines as she continued her leisurely inspection of Ysolde's face and body.
A sliver of irritation snuck into Ysolde's voice, "Listen, I'm loo-"
The Hound's smile dropped instantly.
Danu yanked aggressively at the chains, forcing Ysolde to hunt for balance. This drew The Hound's attention away from Ysolde and toward Danu. She gingerly grabbed the panel Ysolde had reattached to his face.
"Shame you can't form scars Danu, they'd look awful handsome but... looks like you're all fixed up and ready for another go, hmm?" Danu flinched and she gave him a playful smack to the side of his head.
"Alright, alright, enough playin' around with you, little dead thing. I know that there's honestly not much fun to be had with you privileged little guardians," she leapt back, clapped her hands, and howled something... in Eliksni.
Cheers and whistles rang out from the crowd. From behind a hanging divider appeared... was that Radax? And behind him, was that-
"Valthyx?" Ysolde muttered.
He wore a demeaner more aggressive than she was use to as he prowled in. Upon catching sight of her however, he froze in his tracks, all suggestions of violence draining from his posture. "Ysolde," he returned in his characteristic, broken pronunciation.
The Hound interrupted line of sight between the two and faced Valthyx, speaking to him in his language, "brought you your toy, Warrior!" she twisted her head to hungrily take in more of the guardian, "and I think I know what I want as payment."
Valthyx shifted uncomfortably at how she regarded Ysolde.
The Hound raised her arms, revving up the crowd and switching back to the human tongue, "she's a pretty little toy. Put on a good show for us, would ya?"
The Hound enjoyed the swell of energy in the room and initially did not note Valthyx's extended lack of response. Once his reticence grew impossible to ignore, her face twisted in confusion. "What's the matter? Didn't peg you as the type to get performance anxiety," she winked, garnering chuckles from the men and women forming an audience around them. She reached for one of Valthyx's arms tugging him in Ysolde's direction but he pulled from her grip.
In that moment, realization propagated throughout her.
"You haven't fucked her?" she queried, returning to the Eliksni language.
A muscle twitched in Valthyx's jaw.
"No way!"
His nostrils flared as he kept his mind on his breathing. He glued his eyes now on Ysolde. Focus on Ysolde. She was what mattered here. Though the fear of dishonor was excruciating, he could endure this mockery so long as he left with Ysolde. He could explain everything to her then he could reassert his dominance to his house if need be.
The Hound swiveled on her heels and strolled toward Ysolde. She reached up gingerly to the guardians face, wrapping her fingers around her jaw and digging her fingernails into her cheeks. Ysolde objected by pulling away but when The Hound snapped her fingers, Danu and one other rushed forward to hold Ysolde still. She thought she saw Valthyx jerk at this but it seemed like Radax held him back. "I'm sorry," she could almost hear Danu whisper as The Hound returned her grip. She fought to object verbally but her words were too muffled to be understood.
Ignoring her, the Hound moved her lips to the base of Ysolde's neck and made eye contact with the frozen Eliksni. "I can show you how humans please each other if you need help" she slid the length of her tongue up along Ysolde's jugular, sending a shudder up Ysolde and inciting another jolt from Valthyx, which only served to delight the Hound further.
"Aww, don't like when I do that?" she cooed.
Though Danu's grip on her held firm, the other guard appeared to loosen his in order to reposition himself, seizing the opportunity to press his groin firmly against her body. Feeling the warmth of this stranger's breath was her breaking point. In one swift movement, Ysolde slammed her skull backward into the man's nose and then pressed her back into Danu in order to lift both legs and thrust them into the distracted Hound.
The offending man reacted by releasing her and applied pressure to ease the throbbing pain at his nose.
"I don't know what you thought this was, but you were wrong," Ysolde asserted, coughing.
The crowd's diameter expanded in the silence that followed. As if calculating her options, the Hound's was slow and methodical in her rotation to face the guardian. Ysolde noticed her grip tightening around the hilt of her sword and she began probing frantically for weaknesses in Danu's hold, instinctively squeezing her eyes shut and tensing for a blow.
No strike came.
Rather, she was tossed to the ground, no longer feeling Danu's hold.
Once she dared to open her eyes, she saw Valthyx's hulking figure above her, caging her, panting. He studied her state quickly, though intensely, before recasting his stare upward. "Ysolde. I am sorry. I-" the words were difficult for him, "I value you. You are friend. Meet with me once again." She looked up, dumbfounded, though the warmth that she had stifled in her heart was quick to reignite.
"Thank you Valthyx," was was she would have said if confusion did not dominate her so thoroughly.
"Speak up warrior," The Hound challenged, "you pretend to care for this one, but have you been honest with your toy? Does she know what you had to do to gain the right to retire? To become chronicler?"
An anonymous bystander threw a chunk of charcoal at Valthyx from the crowd, but he maintained his sights on The Hound. "No, it is more-," he searched for the word, "complicated."
Radax's positioned himself toward Valthyx, pointing the crackling end of his arc spear toward to ward off any bystander that would attempt assault upon them. Though he may not have understood the situation fully, his loyalties lied securely with Valthyx.
"You treat me as if I am the villain, dead one Ysolde? I've done good by you. I've helped you. I've done what you ask." she spit on the floor in front of Valthyx, "The answer of your missing friend is shielding you right now."
Without time to digest the information, five Eliksni guards stormed their way into the tent, tossing aside bystanders like ragdolls to make a path, led by the discordant ghost, humming gleefully.