Orlain

Rane nodded lightly just before drifting back off to sleep. She still held onto Taiju's hand in her sleep, and seemed pretty peaceful. This time, it looked more like she was asleep then in a coma.

((your turn for Joey time skip))

(('Kay.))

It was a few more weeks--six weeks from his departure from his friends--that he fled for his life.

Joey didn't quite know where he was going and he didn't care. Every long stride that his mare made took him farther and farther away from the mountains in which he had resided for the past month and a half, but he couldn't make his horse run fast enough from the place.

Blood leaked from a gash on his forehead and into his eyes; he shook it out desperately, unwilling to stop. More blood trickled rapidly from the gash in his side, staining his dark tunic even darker, and bruises turned his skin purple, but he had no time to tend to the injuries. He had no idea when he would be found, or if he would. He could only pray that he wasn't.

He pushed his horse as far as she would go before she nearly bucked him off in protest. He let her walk, but could never stop, and kept traveling throughout the night.

He found a river and decided to stop there, for both his sake and the horse's. He had to be far enough by now; he had put miles between himself and the mountains, and he had no idea where Rowan had gone. He couldn't care less where the elf had disappeared to after the fight.

Joey slid from the saddle and stumbled, hitting the ground hard. How much blood had he lost? It couldn't have been that much. He pushed himself into a sitting position and grasped at his cloak, pressing the thick cloth against his wounded side. He felt dizzy but forced himself to stay awake.

Looking at his reflection in the water, he felt sick again. Someone would recognize him. The tunic he wore still had the emblem--the violet-red dragon stitched over the left side of his chest. Somebody would know that for what it was.

He had to find his friends, but he had no idea how.

A smallish figure crouched behind some bushes, right near the rivers edge, about 5 feet away from Joey. It watched him carefully with violet eyes. She had been at the river when she heard a horse coming and instinctively hid. It was lucky that she did cause this guy had the insignia of the dragon. She had no idea exactly how he worked for the dragon, but she knew had did. And those who worked for the dragon were always trouble. She couldn't hide there in the bushes all night, and she would have no chance if she just ran for it. This guy was hurt though. That gave her a better chance to take him on. She had to strike, and she had to do it fast.

The girl waited for him to be distracted by his reflection before springing from the bushes, bow and arrow already prepared to shoot him in the heart. Once out of the bushes she hesitated for just a moment. This guy didn't look scary at all. In fact he looked to be the same age as her. But she held her stance, ready to kill him if he made a wrong move. She didn't say anything, waiting to see if he would say anything first,

Joey gasped in surprise as he saw a small figure spring from the nearby shrubs. Before he could react, she had an arrow notched and aimed at his chest, but she didn't release it, instead watching him warily. Swallowing his fear, he held up his hands defensively.

"I won't hurt you if you won't hurt me," he said slowly, unsure of the girl's intentions. A thief, maybe? He had a significant amount of coin on him, but he would need it in the coming days and couldn't afford to give it to some random vagabond.

The girl was shorter, about the same height at Joey. Her hair was a puffy brown and elf ears stuck out just behind her bangs. She wore a girl shirt with laces up the front, but unlike other girls around there she wore pants. Sandals were on her feet and her skin was pale like other elves. But she was shorter and thicker then other elves. She wasn't fat, just had bigger bones. Most other elves were tall and skinny,
"What are you doing out here, your kind isn't welcome..." She growled, still keeping her bow tight. She glanced down him for a moment, sizing him and his weapons up better. He didn't seem like the type of guy who would be a good fighter.

Joey wracked his brain to find a good explanation. Had he stumbled into elven territory by accident? He didn't have a clue. He didn't even know where he was. He could only hope, without a sword and injured as he was, that he appeared unthreatening enough to the girl.

"I didn't mean to intrude," he said. "I was just . . . running. I didn't mean to go somewhere I shouldn't. I'll leave if you want me to."

The girl slowly started to lower her bow. Then after another moment she seemed to relax altogether. She raised a brow at Joey, "tell me who you are running from..." She said simply. She seemed like a tomboy-ish girl. She was a bit dusty like she had been outside or traveling a lot. But she looked tired, as if she needed to rest for the night. And Joey had come out of nowhere, scaring the hell outa her.

"I don't think that's your business," Joey said, his brow furrowing. Before anything else could be said, a spasm of pain hit him from his side. He clutched his bloodied cloak back over the wound, swearing between his teeth. It hadn't hurt nearly so much as he rode; without the adrenaline to cover up the pain, it was much more obvious just how badly he had been hurt.

"Well it think you should tell me..." The elf said smoothly, "or I will just kill you now and get it over with." She looked down at Joey's wound and frowned, "and if you tell me, I'll lend you some of my supplies to patch that up... Wich you will probably die without as well...." She knew Joey couldn't hurt her in the state he was in and so returned her bow to her back and the arrow in the quiver.

Joey grit his teeth. If only the elf knew exactly what he could do. He doubted she would be threatening him so much if she did.

Mentally, he shook those thoughts away. Even so far away from Rowan, sometimes they crept into his head.

He sighed deeply. There was probably no point in lying. "I'm running from an elf named Rowan," he said lowly. "I was forced to work for him for some time and I only just got out."

The elf girl's eyes widened a little bit, but she pulled some supplied from a small bag on her back and walked over to Joey, kneeling down next to him. "That would explain the dragon insignia and the wounds.." She mused, handing him the medical supplies.
"I thought you looked a little to scrawny to ware those clothes," she mused with a teasing voice.

Joey resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead taking the supplies and mumbling a "thanks" to the girl. He hesitated a moment, then decided that his dignity wasn't worth his life and pulled his torn shirt off over his head. He continued to use the cloak to soak up the blood as he worked to bandage himself, and thought with grim amusement how horrified Rowan would be to see him use such fine garments in such a crude manner.

"Well... Look's like you wont be going anywhere tonight. You are pretty far away from Rowan anyway." The girl said, standing back up and walking a few feet away. She started to pick up sticks to make a fire, ignoring Joey for the moment.
A few minutes later she walked back over to Joey and put the sticks into a pile. She sat down next to it and dug for a flint in her bag, tossing Joey a small, friendly grin.

"You probably shouldn't stick around," Joey said, too exhausted to smile back. "I don't know when or if he's going to try to find me again. I doubt he'd spare a random girl if he did." Content with a slightly haphazard bandaging job, Joey took off his glasses and leaned forward to wash his face in the river. He nearly drew the water up, but stopped himself, knowing the elf girl might not take too kindly to magic

"I'm not scarred..." The girl admitted, finally getting the fire to light up. She blew on it a couple times and slowly it started to warm the general are around it. "Rowan is nothing but a coward. I'm guessing from you wounds that you fought him... Did you wound him at all?" She asked, curling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them comfortably.

"I did," Joey replied, using a cleaner part of his cloak to wipe his face dry and scrub off the flakes of dried blood that stuck to his skin. "He fled before I could actually kill him. I should have done it faster . . ."

He shook his head. "Regardless. I didn't succeed and now I'm on the run. That's about it."

"Then I don't think he will come after you right away. He's probably going to sit back and tend his wounds first." She said, watching Joey across the fire. She looked over at Joey's horse and could see how utterly tired it was. She felt bad for the animal, but didn't say anything.
"Are you hungry?" She asked, looking back at him from the horse.

Joey glanced back at the unnamed girl. Was he hungry? He supposed he should eat something before he inevitably passed out, but the actual idea of food sounded unpleasant.

"I guess," he replied before turning back toward the water. "I have food in my bag, though."

He looked at his reflection again for a moment. His hair was longer and scruff lined his jaw--both things that Rowan had said would make for a more presentable, intimidating image. Joey didn't know if he believed that now. Would his friends recognize him if he found them? He hadn't changed that much, he didn't think, but it was hard to guess. It probably wouldn't matter if they decided they didn't want to see him.

The girl smiled, "then you should eat. Looks like you lost a lot of blood and if you want your body to make that blood back quickly then eating will help." She dug into her own bag once again and pulled out small chunks of jerky. After taking a couple bites she chuckled lightly, "I forgot... My name is Asha. I just kinda forget that not everyone I meet will know my name..."

Joey tiredly reached for his pack and dug through it for the bread and jerky he had thought to pack before leaving the mountains. He had tried to gather enough supplies before leaving, but he wasn't sure how long it would all last.

"I'm Joey," he replied at length. He told her everything else; might as well tell her his name. He wondered how far his name had gotten from the mountains; in the villages around the range, the name Joseph had quickly become one to fear because it was so closely related to Rowan's.

Asha paused for a moment but didn't say anything. She had heard that name before, but she couldn't pin point where. She thought quietly about it. She was never around people all that often, she was usually a loner, and usually hated it. Sometimes not being around people for so long could make you a little clingy to the one's you do get to be around. It also made her talk a lot.
"So Joey, do you know where you are running to?" She asked, inspecting a piece of her jerky.

"Not really," Joey said, picking halfheartedly at a piece of bread. "Tonight I was just trying to get as far away as I could. I'm not even quite sure where we are. All I know now is that I need to find some people. I don't know where they are, but that's what I need to do."

"I could help you if you like. You are in Braavos right now." Asha said with a smile. She finished off her jerky and wiped her hands off on her pant legs. "I know my way around the land and I don't have anything else better to do."

"If you could just point me in the direction of Lenton, that would be enough," Joey said, finally convincing himself to eat a piece of the bread. It was dry and tasteless, but it was sustenance. "That's where they were when I left. Maybe they'll still be there, or I can figure out where they went from there."

Asha seemed a little disappointed, but how could she expect a stranger she just met let her tag along. It was a wonderful thought, but never reality.
"Lenton is about a 4 days ride south of here, you can make the ride shorter the faster you go. But you're horse looks pretty worn out... Anyway, if you go west through this forest you will find a road that and head south on that, don't take any turns, just fallow it stright and you will go right to Lenton." As she explained this she dug another thing that looked like a mall hard candy from her bag. She stood up and walked over to Jeoy's horse and held it out for her. The horse was quick to slurp it up and then she sat back down.

Joey swore he had traveled farther than a mere four days' ride. Maybe he was wrong; Rowan did an excellent job of making the rest of the world seem utterly disconnected from their own. Whatever the case, he was glad he was closer than he had thought. Just maybe this would be easier than he thought, though he doubted they would even still be there.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "Then I guess I know where I'm going for now."

"Welcome, "Asha chimed, "the thing i gave your horse will help with it's energy too." She explained shortly. She watched Joey again, as if studying him. She wanted to ask so many questions about working for Rowan. But she tried to hold it back. "Did you ever meet the Dragon?" She finally asked out of the blue.

Joey looked surprised; even as the dragon's power grew, there were still few who knew about it outside of the mountain villages nearby. Then he frowned and looked away.

"Once," he said. "I never spoke with it, but I saw it."

"Was it big and scary?" Asha asked, sounding intrigued. "I'm sorry but I have always wondered what it was like. My foster father told me a lot about him and the war that is going to happen." She smiled brightly even when she was talking about a grim subject.

"How did he know so much about it?" Joey inquired, ignoring Asha's question in favor of his own. "Not many people outside of the mountains know what's going on, with the exception of an elven community that was wiped out and a few other people."

"He is a really powerful healer, he lives on the coast. He is really good with black magic as well. He tried to teach me, but I never got the hand of it." She looked down at her hands and shrugged, "elves are sapposed to be good at magic, but I am a weird elf." She looked back up at Joey. "His name is Aegon, and a lot of people think he is dead, but nope, he's been in hiding for a while, preparing to try and defeat the dragon." She seemed to think very highly of her foster father, and loved to talk about him.

Joey shook his head tiredly. "I don't think he'll have much luck," he said. "And I'm not saying it to be an ass, it's the simple truth. Even for the people who know, it's a lot bigger than anyone can guess. There was talk of the prophecy that was supposed to intervene, but . . . I'm not even sure about that anymore."

"I know of the prophecy as well," Asha nodded quickly. "Aegon wants to help the ones in the prophecy. There is rumor that they have arrived but they aren't as powerful as we had hoped. Aegon said hear heard from a demon who used to be a double agent that they were nothing but kids." She sighed deeply, "I can't help but agree with you. If they are nothing but kids then we probably don't have any hope.."

"I don't know. I could be wrong. Maybe they do have a chance; being young doesn't necessarily mean they can't. It's just that threat is so much bigger than even I originally thought." Joey took a long, deep breath; all the talk of his friends, if indirectly, made his heart ache. He wanted nothing more than to see them again. "I don't know. All I do know is that nobody is prepared."

Asha nodded, "I can agree, but I heard the double agent himself say they were weak. He was taking steps to unknowingly make them stronger, but he said it only seemed to break them down more..." She let out a sigh as well, looking down.
"I think it would be so cool to travel with them and help them out, have adventures and a meaning in life."

Joey frowned. Who would have been doing anything like that? By Asha's description, the only one he could think of was Malak . . . And that didn't sound quite right at all.

He filed away the information anyway, just in case.

"I doubt it would be as fun as you think," he said. "People are constantly looking for them. They're always in danger one way or another, usually because the dragon wants them gone. I imagine everything else would be more difficult for them as well . . ."

He shook his head and pulled his dirty cloak over his shoulders. "Terrible meaning to life, if you ask me."

"I can think of worse..." Asha laughed lightly. "Who would want a boring life just hanging around and walking from here to there and never making friends." She pushed some of her bangs back with one hands.

Joey felt a twinge of annoyance. He supposed he couldn't expect Asha to understand, particularly when he couldn't explain how she was wrong without giving away who he was, but she seemed to think that it was a lot more glamorous than it was being a part of the prophecy. And of course she wouldn't know anything of what their lives were like before they were forced into this . . .

He moved to lie on his side, using his cloak as a blanket. "At least that would be simpler," he said.

"Maybe.." Asha shrugged lightly. "Maybe their life is a whole lot different then what both of us think." She laid down on her back, using her pack as a pillow. She looked up at the stairs and thought quietly. "So, we should sleep, then we can split way in the morning.."

"Sounds like a plan," Joey said, folding his glasses and setting them aside. He rested his head against his lumpy pack, not expecting to sleep well at all. In all likelihood, he would spend most of the night awake, paranoid that he would be caught again.

It didn't take long for Asha to fall asleep. She rolled onto her side and was quietly asleep for the whole night.

Joey woke up the following morning after a fitful night of sleep to find Asha gone. He thought little of it, assuming she had simply woken up before had and decided to depart. He didn't stay much longer; after putting out the fire and doing his best to hide that he had ever been there, he mounted his horse and started down the path to Lenton.

Predictably, by the time he had arrived there, the others were long gone. Joey asked the innkeeper if he had any idea when the group had left and for where, but he was less than helpful. This left Joey to simply follow the main path out of the city toward the next town and hope he was going the right way. As another week dragged on from his arrival in Lenton, he quickly felt more and more helpless.

Kerian continued to move the group every few weeks, hesitant to stay anywhere longer than they had to. Now she was moving them to a smaller village, doubling back in the direction of some larger cities in hopes of confusing any potential pursuers.

Damien had fallen silent after they met up with Malak. Jack and Zakuro had told Kerian and the others what Malak said, but there wasn't any of them could really do. Could they really believe him? They kinda had to when they had no information. When she was forced out of her room Damien wouldn't speak, even when spoken to. Other then that she his in her room constantly. She made sure to only come out on her own when the others were off doing something or asleep.

Rane's recovery was very slow, it didn't help that she fell into a depression without River. She would try really hard to be happy, but it seemed impossible. When they moved she had a really hard time staying in her saddle. The wound on her side stretched from her belly button then around to the middle of her back, and any movement hurt. The claw marks on her shoulder were healing nicely though. She tried to stay around Taiju as much as she could, but could practice with the others for a while.

Jack tried his best to be positive, trying to keep Zakuro happy. And he tried his best to make Damien talk again, but it seemed to be pointless. He helped out Taiju and Rane where he could, and Jayce barely came out in the few weeks since Malak showed up. He also stopped practicing with Damien.

Kerian was quietly reflecting on the state of the group as they rode. She hardly expected excessive cheerfulness in the absence of their friend, especially in light of the news that followed, but the depression that followed from everyone was nearly oppressive. There was nothing she could do about it, except worry for the state of the prophecy when one of the members had completely left.

Taiju could do little more than keep an eye on Rane and continue training with those who were left, Damien excluded. Like Kerian, he wondered about the prophecy and whether the mission had failed.

Zakuro felt like the only one who was still hoping for Joey's return, but even she had to admit it seemed hopeless. Joey hadn't come to say that Malak was lying, and even that might not have been enough to convince the others.

Kerian had them stop in the evening near another body of water, a creek that had run alongside the path for some miles. Some thirty feet down the way, another figure knelt by the water's edge, seeming to be scrubbing his cloak clean in the creek.

Focused on his work, trying to fend off an impending sense of panic, Joey didn't notice anyone approach.

Damien got off her horse when they stopped and tied it to a tree where Kerian said they would set up camp. She didn't look around at all, just pulling the saddle off her horse to let it rest.

Jack pulled his horse to a stop and glanced around the area. He didn't say anything for a moment then his eyes settled on the figure a ways down the river. Before getting off his horse he looked back over at Kerian to see if she noticed the figure as well.
"There is someone down there..." he mumbled.

Rane needed help getting off her horse or there was a good chance she would just fall trying to get off by herself. So she was still on her horse, she looked over at the figure, one hand on her side over her wound. It always hurt after a day of riding.

"Probably just another traveler," Taiju said dismissively. He hopped down from his horse and moved over to Rane's to help her descend. "It's not as if other people don't take this path."

Kerian nodded her agreement and cast a glance toward the figure out of curiosity. She thought for a brief second that he might be familiar, but said nothing.

"That looks like Joey," Zakuro said suddenly. She slid from her horse and took a few steps closer, trying to get a clearer view. She didn't dare let herself get too hopeful, but she wanted so badly to be right.

By that point, Joey had noticed the group. He stood as if to approach, but froze. His voice caught in his throat. He was suddenly terrified; what would they say to him? Would they listen? He remembered all too well the things he had said and done and he was sure they all did as well.

"That's what I was thinking..." Jack agreed, getting down from his horse. Damien leaned against her saddle on the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in them, not caring what the others were saying. It didn't matter to her.

Rane winced as Taiju helped her down. Once she was standing on her own she returned her hand to her side and looked over at the other person.

Jack's breath caught in his chest for a second when the figured turned to face them. "It is Joey!" he said, trying to hold back his excitement. He didn't know if he was back, or still the same as before.

Zakuro was about to run straight over, but she barely took a step before Kerian grabbed her by the arm. "Don't," she said warningly. "We don't know if he's a threat or not."

Zakuro started to argue, but stopped, reluctantly admitting Kerian was right.

Joey waited a moment, wincing slightly when he heard Jack yell. Obviously there was no hiding now. Hesitant, not knowing what to say, he walked silently toward them.

When he was close, Taiju suddenly drew one of his swords, making Joey stop in his tracks. He looked to the others, but he had no reason to believe they would defend him, either. He tired to speak, but his voice stuck again, and all he could do was stand, exhausted and ragged, in dirty clothes with the enemy's insignia.

Jack glanced between everyone when the group was silent for a minute. He gave Zakuro a stern look, telling her to stay there. He took a few careful steps away from the group and up to Joey. He stopped a little over a arms reach.
"Joey... " He asked carefully, "why are you here..." He didn't want to assume Joey was here to hurt them, but he couldn't just let him hurt his friends again.

Rane stayed behind Taiju, unsure and unable to protect herself if something horrible happened.

It took another second for Joey to find his voice. "I was looking for you," he answered. "I . . . I have a lot to explain. I probably can't begin to apologize enough for what happened. So much has happened and I've probably spent two weeks looking for you guys--I didn't even think I would find you, honestly, and now I don't know where to start . . ."

"Malak said you were working with Rowan," Kerian said calmly.

"I . . . yeah." Joey shook his head and quickly added, "But it wasn't me. I mean--it's hard to explain, he was messing with my head--I didn't just leave you. It's not like that."