Sand and Water, Tooth and Nail [Serian]

[Blackthorne]

With a nod, the Priestess said no more and continued guiding the man along the path to the Hall of Inari. When they arrived it was to a current of pilgrims taking their leave. The morning sermon ended, she lead him to a side entrance to bypass the crowd.

"This is the Hall of the Reviver," Loxa spoke in a hushed tone.

Their footsteps echoed deftly through the large chamber, fading into the great heights of the vaulted ceilings. Four rows of polished benches lined the length of the cathedral, facing the shrine of Inari at the front. There, settled deep within meditation upon the dais, was the Aesir herself.

Loxa approached and smoothly dropped into a kneel, dipping her head low, "Namasté, Aesir, I am not worthy," moments of silence passed and though she had not received a reply and Inari had not moved an inch, the Priestess continued on, "I have brought to you Serian Corsair Loria, who has requested an audience if you would honor him so."

[member="Serian Loria"]

 

[Serian Loria]

Lit ruby eyes studied the one who was also responsible for his survival intently. Unlike the priestess next to him she’d see not the eyes of one who was devote, but of one who was a skeptic. His eyes held nothing to take offence from, but it would be clear he wasn’t easily led nor did he believe in all the pomp and ceremony he’d thus far seen before him. Considering his injuries he could not bow, but he inclined his head and placed his free hand on his chest bowing stiffly over his cane. “I owe you my life, seemed only right that I come here.”

He didn’t see much other point in saying much else, it was true enough, but he hadn’t come before her merely to express his gratitude. He stopped bowing shortly after, it made his body ache and really he’d never much cared to bow to others. One of the many points of contention between him and his former life, he’d pay respect, but never grandiose obeisance that many of power desired from others. His gaze fell to Loxa then back to Inari, he wanted to say much, but he also didn’t think he’d be able to be fully honest around her.

He held a large portion of respect for the girl and what he might say could very well offend her for he didn’t see the things around him with the same faith she had. In fact, he didn’t have any faith in it at all, but then he couldn’t recall a time he looked at anything with such feelings. Standing now in the halls she called home, all he felt was a bitter emptiness. Were he to join this Crusade, how long would it be before he was once again forced to move on? Would he never find that place that he could find contentment? He envied Loxa in that moment, he wished there was that part of him that could believe in others and places.

[member="Loxa Visl"]

 

[Ereza]

Inari was motionless for some time, breath so slow and steady she could've been mistaken for a statue. The atmosphere of the hall reflected her meditation: still and tranquil - and then a slow lilting tide of calm trickled in and filled up the chamber wall to wall, end to end.

"I am most pleased to know you are well, Serian," the gentle tone of the Reviver sounded and behind her silver mask her eyes opened - crystalline blue.

She smiled easily, knowingly, and nodded to him, "thank you for your gratitude and for your visit."

Regarding him quietly, a subtle glance was given to Loxa who maintained her kneel, golden gaze averted while the pair spoke.

"Is there something more you wish to speak of?" Inari inquired of Serian, eyes returning to him.

[member="Serian Loria"]

 

[Serian Loria]

He nodded gravely “There is.”

He hesitated however, glancing slightly at Loxa. He wasn’t sure if she would take kindly to what he might say, after all those who held no faith oft encountered problems with those who did. More than that he wanted to keep what good regard she had for him, but his blunt manner might offend her. However he wasn’t sure if the woman would like him requesting her servant leave or not so he held his tongue. He hadn’t told Loxa much about himself, he’d been reticent when it came to that. He might speak of his interest, but not of his background or affiliations, those were best told of to one of power such as Inari.

[member="Amorella Mae"]

 

[Ereza]

It did not take great power to see what unspoken words hung in the air. Inari's gaze followed his own, falling upon the devout Priestess.

"Priest Larue," she said, now looking off to a dark-skinned man in robes of white, gold, and red, who spoke with worshippers within the pews. She needn't say anything more. The Reviver waited, eyes closed, as the Priest quietly ushered people from the hall.

"I will wait for you at the entrance, Serian Corsair Loria," Loxa bid the man before taking her leave.

Now the silence was so encompassing it held its own heartbeat, matching that of the Reviver within her domain. A calm, subtle thrum-thrum on the strings of the Force.

"Speak freely, Serian," Inari offered.

[member="Serian Loria"]

 

[Serian Loria]

He gave her a grateful nod “I lack a personal effect that would give validity to what I have to say, so I hope that you’ll take my word alone.” He paused a moment his eyes briefly closing before opening again. “I don’t sever my loyalties easily and never for mere whim. I...was one of the leading archivists for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However I only stayed because I owed Isley, but with his absence I have nothing to hold me, for what I owe you and Loxa is stronger. I wish to take a place within the Moross Crusade and follow Neth, for that is where I am best fit to serve. However, I will not lie and say that I believe the story of the Divine that the rest do. I will mind my tongue however and give my respects, but I cannot pretend to have ‘faith’.”

He then fell quiet a moment gathering his thoughts “I owe you my life Aesir Inari, you and Loxa are the only two that can claim such from me. I can only hope that what skills I possess will be of any value for they do not currently where I am from. That is...if you will accept me given that I am not one who is easily led. If you wish to question me...ask and I will answer.”

He was honest with her, as best as he could be and did his best to give what he thought was the most important while making sure she could have him answer anything she might seek to know. He wasn’t going to hide the fact that he saw her as what she was and not the image she posed for the many. He wasn’t sure if she would appreciate it, but he didn’t care to not put it where she can make use of it.


[member="Amorella Mae"]

 

[Ereza]

Inari's gaze was easy and non-judgemental, even as he spoke openly against the idea of the Divine and the faith of Moross. He was not the first to come through those doors making those statements, nor would he be the last. It was not in times like these that belief was forced - at least, not in the view of the Reviver.

Blue eyes glimmered behind her silver mask as she allowed her gaze to settle finally on the man, "Belief is something that must grow naturally. It is the idea of what Moross can do, will do, and the faith from what it has done, that should lead you, Serian. If you cannot believe in a divine cause, perhaps you can believe in a mortal one. If you cannot have faith in the intangible, perhaps you can have faith in what has already touched upon your life. Faith in myself, that I will always care for those who call Moross their own, their home. Faith in my brother, Neth, that he may use your knowledge, your abilities, to further our cause. Faith in Loxa, that she may remain a steadfast and loyal friend to you. They are little things, but one has to start somewhere, hm? Belief does not grow from nothing."

She smiled warmly, "I would be most happy to accept you as one of our own, Serian, and my brother will be very pleased to have another with the thirst for knowledge like himself."

[member="Serian Loria"]

 

[Serian Loria]

He looked away from her, pulling his robe closer to his body “I can’t make any promises on that.”

The lessons of the past still hurt and the injuries he’d sustained only added to the pain. She seemed so sure that all this was possible, he wondered which of them was the fool. Her for believing it or him for hoping she could be right. At that moment he was too tired and sore to care, later on he’d think on it, but he wanted to find a bed to rest in. He gave a bow and turned to leave his body protesting every step.

[member="Amorella Mae"]
[member="Loxa Visl"]

 

[Blackthorne]

A gentle rustle of robes was all that announced the Priestess' arrival at [member="Serian Loria"]'s side as he exited the Reviver's Hall. Though he hid his pain and fatigue well, Loxa was not blind to the weariness of his movements. He'd nearly died not so long ago and he was still healing. For his first trip out of the hospital, on his own feet, this would have been a very taxing day.

As she watched him a subtle frown curved her shadowed lips.

"They will be serving the afternoon meal now. Would you like to go somewhere quiet to rest and eat?"

 

[Serian Loria]

He shook his head “I just wish to rest.”

The idea of eating around others didn’t appeal to him and he wasn’t all that hungry anyways. In fact he hardly ate in the hospital or ever. The last time he’d eaten a full meal had been when one of his former apprentices had made it, but the man was gone. In the end he didn’t see much point, he ate enough that was all that mattered. He wasn’t in the best of moods, that meeting had only made him melancholy. She’d made it sound so easy, but it wasn’t, not for him. How could he ‘trust’ and have ‘faith’ in others when he’d never seen much proof that he could without watching those same people die? Sometimes he wondered if there was something about himself that brought such fates to people.



[member="Loxa Visl"]

 

[Blackthorne]

"Very well," the Priestess nodded, lifting a hand to the man's shoulder to offer support. With a glance around at the crowds of the Temple, she took a steadying breath and bid him follow her. Loxa lead the man along the side of the main hall to a lift at the far end. Up three floors, they exited in an area with far less faces. Down the hall, she stopped before a door, unlocked it, and lead him in.

"These is my home when I am not traveling for the Aesirs, but I have not used it for many weeks. You may rest here, Serian Corsair Loria, and when you feel better we will return to the hospital. The bedroom is just there."

She gestured to a doorway at his left as she stepped inside, Ico the tailring dropped from Loxa's shoulder and winged through the air to a high stand at the center of the main room. The chambers were quite open and the far wall presented a grand view of the city below. It was a quiet place, and one that did not look well-used or lived-in. Loxa had very little in the way of personal affects.

[member="Serian Loria"]

 

[Serian Loria]

Serian followed quietly and when they arrived he took stock of her quarters. He turned and nodded his thanks, though he had no intentions of returning to the hospital. “I will need quarters here, in the temple, if possible. I don’t intend to return to where we’d come from, nor do I intend to do anything to undo all the work the Reviver took to heal me. Considering what you’ve done for me, I don’t know what I can offer to repay you.”
[member="Loxa Visl"]

 

[Blackthorne]

"I will see that you are given your own quarters tomorrow, if that is what you wish..." her inclination was to bring him back to the hospital, but Loxa was not a doctor nor was she particularly advanced in Healing, though she knew rudimentary skills of it. His bedraggled state spoke only to her instincts, which told her he was not yet ready to make a full return to society.

Just as well, he did not seem the sort to spend any large amount of time within society at large.

"You do not have to repay me, Serian Corsair Loria. I have need of nothing that the Aesirs do not already provide to their people," the Priestess gave the man a short smile, saffron eyes glowing balefully within the cowl of her robes, "I am glad that you have decided to stay."

[member="Serian Loria"]