The Gamble of a Djinni

[Summerchika]

The relief Rajat felt at the knowledge that it was not the Djinni of his blood that had done those deeds was short lived. At first when Avalon collapsed against him Raj felt stiff and flustered. Gods he hated being flustered. He forced himself to relax as he put a comforting arm around Avalon. She had lost her entire kingdom and family in so short a time. It was bound to catch up with her soon. He was glad that he could empathize with her to some extent and to be there for her in this moment.

"Shh..." he murmured, gently smoothing the hair from her face. "We all break eventually. That you have waited this long is just a testament to your strength." He looked around to realize that a good portion of the bar was staring at the inhuman pair and he barely suppressed a sigh.

"Come," he said solemnly, tossing a good amount of coin on the table. With his arm still around Avalon, Raj began to stand, picking up both mugs in his free hand, not caring that one sloshed as he stood. "These humans will wish they were dead if I must put up with the stares for much longer. Besides, I have much to ask about your sister's connection to fire," he paused, then added in a reluctant whisper, "I may be able to help." He looked down at her for her reaction before moving on from the tavern.

[Omio]

Finally, Buren had lost the crowd that had managed to chase him. It wasn't easy, always being on the run, but now that the glow was almost completely gone, he had used a newly regained advantage, even if it nauseated him a little as he accidentally looked at a window. The pallor of his compared to earlier that he wasn't in too great a condition, but he knew better than most that it would pass, and he would be fine again.

Seeing the tavern, Buren mulled over trying to go in and eavesdrop for anything new, or leave the town behind and search for more in another town. This decision was going to take time, however - time that he didn't realize that he was running out of.

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon looked up to Rajat as he spoke. Hearing him say that he might be able to help her find her sister made her smile. "How can you do that?" She asked as she wiped a few tears from her face. "I have searched for 5 years, ever since it all happened. I even went back to my home land to see if our palace would give any clues but it was in shambles. No one has entered the palace in years and no one dares go near it now..." She shook her head to clear the images from her mind. "Thank you for the offer of help. I accept it with much gratitude."

[Summerchika]

The stares of the humans grated on Raj's nerves, and he was more annoyed at their accusing stares toward Avalon than toward him. Really, what did he care what humans thought of him? He certainly did not care for them. But Avalon cared what they thought, so he focused on her. He smiled grimly back at her as he steered them toward the tavern door.

"I will help as much as I am able. It has to do with my lineage, so I would rather speak of it," here he gestured around him with the mugs still in his hand, "elsewhere. I do not trust these humans." He spoke the last sentence as a punctuation to the rest of the tavern, making sure they heard him clearly.

Raj pushed open the tavern door with his shoulder and once outside, swept a gaze up and down the street. Where in this human town would be a safer place to discuss such things? He saw a figure out of the corner of his eye, and he thought he may as well ask for directions.

You're learning. Nin said approvingly, and Raj couldn't help his eye roll in response.

"Pardon me," the polite words felt odd on his tongue, but he went for it anyway as he took a few steps toward the figure. "Do you know--" Rajat stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing he knew who he spoke to. Crap.

He found himself standing in front of the mage once again.

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon let Rajat lead her out of the bar under his arm. When Rajat opened the door and the cooler air hit her she felt it. She knew drinking the fire ale on an empty stomach was a bad idea but it dulled her pain, and her memories. She looked up at Rajat and realized things had a slight blurred edge. She shook her head again and tried to clear it. Avalon leaned on Rajat as he approached someone for directions. She noted that he stopped mid sentence and looked up. "Rajat is that? Oh no..." She sighed looking at the Mage.

[Omio]

He froze stiff.

People.

Not just any people, either, but the ones from earlier.

Worried that another ruckus might start, Buren quickly took a step back, looking ready to retreat again. Clearly, he posed no threat, and judging from earlier, he was certainly willing to defend himself. However, he assumed good faith, and awaited their response. For all he knew, they may seek a companion of sorts. They may have had a journey ahead of them, and it would give him a bit of peace of mind, if things worked well.

...well, at least he could hope.

[Summerchika]

The mage stepped back and Rajat thought quickly. He threw up his hands to maintain a non-threatening stance but realized the mugs still in his hands prevented that. Hm, perhaps he could use the mugs to his advantage.

“Want a drink?” he asked, half in jest but quite willing to let one go. The ale didn’t seem to work on him anyway, and he really did not want to find himself on the ground and at odds with gravity yet again today.

Raj, play nice, Nin growled at him. Raj’s eyebrows shot up in exasperation, and he briefly wondered if he might look a little odd.

Is that or is that not what I am doing? he asked, bewildered at her good will toward this mage that she had not yet even met.

[Omio]

Buren blinked a couple of times, clearly bewildered. He hadn't really noticed the mugs until now. However, there was still a very slight, hard-to-notice glow to him, and as his eyes darted to the mugs in Rajat's hand, he lost his remaining pallor. He visibly tried to keep himself from tumbling down, or otherwise showing just how the reflected glow made him, but at least he managed a voice. "N-No, thank you... ...I will be fine... ...and... ...sorry for retreating earlier... ...my skill set is frowned-on..."

Only Rajat would know that Buren meant necromancy, and it was clear that he meant no harm - not that he could pose much, anyway, in his current state.

[Summerchika]

Raj’s eyes widened in alarm, and then in a bit of guilt as the mage stumbled slightly. “Whoa there,” he said, making to catch the mage should he fall. Since when did I become this soft? he wondered in self disgust. In response to the mages words, however, Raj sighed, guilt winning out.

Then Raj bared his teeth in a disturbing grin, “Your skill set is not looked down upon by me, trust me on that.”

Raj, you sound like dad, Nin spoke snidely, and Raj did not know if he took that as a compliment or not.

“Join us,” Raj commanded, still disgusted at himself for how human he was acting. “Hold on to my arm if you must.” Raj offered his free arm that held the mugs to the mage, Avalon still under his other arm. He tried to smile gregariously to soothe his tactless speak and to soften his command toward the mage, but he wasn’t sure how effective he was. Perhaps the fire ale had done something to hinder his judgement?

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon looked up at the mage from under Rajat's arm and a puzzled look crossed her face. "Tell me were you born with this magic or did you learn it?" She moved a bit sliding out from Rajat's arm and stepped towards the mage noticing that he appeared to be ill after using his magic. She raised her hands slowly to show him that she was not going to attack him as she approached him. "Are you alright?" She looked him over and then looked down at the ground, a look of deep thought crossed her mind like she had seen the purple glow before. If that glow is like the one she had seen before then it would be linked to a change in the mage's eyes. Yes she was a bit intoxicated but she knew what she was looking for as well as what she was doing. "Please tell me who you are and where you are from. I feel like somehow I either know you or know of your powers."

[Omio]

Buren pointed to Avalon first, addressing her questions first, as they were far more plentiful. "Name's Buren... ...and I'll be fine... ...confounded guards, and..." He coughed suddenly, doing well to keep himself from retching. "...The earlier encounter made me tap into the Hellveil... ...L-Let's get somewhere obscure before I answer much else... ...I'd rather not get attention drawn my way again..."

However, he looked to Rajat, and took him up on his offer, taking his arm as support. "Thanks... ...again, sorry about earlier..."

This was a very awkward turn of events for him, and it was going to take him a few moments to "get out" of it.

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon heard Buren mention something called the Hellveil and wondered if that was what she had encountered when she went back to the ruins of her kingdom. She shook her head at the thought and then looked back to the Mage and smiled sweetly. "I agree, lets get you somewhere where you can sit down and rest." She watched him take Rajat's arm and she offered her own to the Mage to help support him as well.

[Summerchika]

The mage--Buren--took Raj’s arm while Avalon flanked him, offering him her arm as well. Burne apologized and Raj sighed inwardly. “Just don’t make me fall again, and we’re even.” Raj said, jokingly, then said seriously, “You didn’t do anything wrong.” The words came out harshly and stilted. It wasn’t exactly an apology, but it was as close as Rajat was going to get.

Raj, Nin gasped in mock surprise. I never thought I’d see the day when you would sort of apologize to a human.

Clearing his throat, Raj fought the urge to darken his expression in response to Nin’s teasing. “Wait,” he said aloud instead, placing the mugs in mid air without thinking. He steadied the mage with both hands now, then looked at Avalon. “Hold him up for a second.” Then without any warning Raj folded in on himself as he shifted into smoke. He allowed himself to float above the roof tops to scout out a secluded place not too far away. Buren didn’t look up for much of a journey at the moment, after all.

Satisfied with a small forested area a few buildings North, Raj floated back down while shifting into his humanoid form still a bit a ways above the ground. He landed softly, picked up the mugs from the air once again, then threaded his arm under Buren’s shoulder and around his back to better assist him.

“Right then, this way,” Raj said, starting toward the area he had spotted. "There is a little forested area just down here."

And you thought the humans in the tavern were staring at you because you only looked different, Nin snorted in exasperation. Raj, think about where you are before you act all Djinni-like in the middle of the street.

Raj snorted aloud in amusement. Oops.

[Avalon Silvasti]

Avalon watched Rajat perform his transformation while holding the mage up. She gazed in awe at his powers. She knew what her and her sister were able to do but never in her years has she seen someone perform such acts like he just did. As he came back to help her and the Mage she smiled at him as the guided them to a forested area. She felt a little more at ease in the wilds then she did in the city. Avalon helped Rajat place the Mage on the grassy earth and she took a few steps back and sat down herself. "I believe this place is safe. Thank you Rajat for finding this place. Now we can talk more freely."

[Omio]

Buren nodded, and began to speak - a lot, unfortunately, in his nervousness. "Alright... ...my current condition, as you likely might've guessed, is from the Hellveil that I tapped into - but indirectly. You see, when I tap into the Hellveil..." He tapped into it as he harmlessly cast and dispelled a gravity field elsewhere, and the glow that had FINALLY just faded came back, a bit more pronounced. "I begin to procure a vile purple glow... ...and if I see a reflection from anything, and see the glow from the Hellveil, I turn wonderful shades of . Too much, and I'll probably turn inside-out and die... ...As I showed Rajat earlier, I'm a necromancer - by choice, at that, but..."

Buren's head sank, remembering something in the past. Something that, to him, was devastating. Because of his movement, his hood sank enough to conceal a part of his face. He felt a bit ashamed of the fact he was now a necromancer. Clearly, though - by how quick he was to flee - he must've been a necromancer for a fairly long time. Whatever his reason was, it was clearly painful to him now.