A Few Questions More

The soldiers defense is rather bristling with paladins on duty today. Rather than the usual two at the front door there are four. There are even more inside. They have a look of men and women who are brooking absolutely no shenanigans, and it's somehow no surprise that the clerics look similarly riled.

N'thain's room has been moved, something that earns a tense conversation with an Althean paladin before it can be learned. Only the fact that you are amongst those that saved the young man from being forcibly taken seems to have earned you the ability to learn that bit of information. At the door to the room you learn that he's being kept here 'for his own safety' and partially because no one has come for him. The details of his health are not something the paladins who guard him are willing to disclose, but they inform you that he hasn't denied any visitors before letting you inside the room.

The young man is curled on his side with his back to the door as you go in. His long brown hair spilled down his back. Someone has kindly braided it for him, but it still falls practically to his knees even like that. Somehow, knowing that he was attacked, it seems odd that he has his back to the room. He does however, at the sound of entry, slowly and almost lazily roll toward the door, his blue eyes blinking sleepily.

"Brightest of days," Dolsn greets as he walks through the door, making no secret of his presence. He is again put together, looking a good bit more coherent, cleaner, and happier than he had the last time N'thain saw him, and this time, a golden gem is set in its place where the right eye should be, and he wears a sheepskin jacket over the high-collared shirt, a soft leather cuff encasing his left shoulder and strapped across his body beneath the jacket. The unexpectedly deep voice is quiet but not a whisper. "How are you feeling?"

Andelena comes in after Dolan, the Sunguard outfitted in her usual armor, although Deliverance is peacebonded (the lesson well learned from Daechir). Her steel-gray eyes come to inspect N'thain as she enters the room, looking him over to assess his condition--which is difficult when his back is to the room and she can't get a look at his stomach.

"Hey, buddy," she says gently. "N'thain, yeah? Bry and I came here to check on you."

Blue eyes blink and the young man finally settles onto his back, covered in a blanket. Whihc still does make it difficult to tell what his condition is like. Though his shoulders are just uncovered enough to suggest that he must not be wearing a shirt. "Oh." He says softly, and he seems perhaps a little disappointed before he finishes rolling over with a little flick of his hair to keep from rolling over onto the long braid. "I'm feeling fine."

His own response is quiet, but he gives the impression that he might have said he was fine back when he certainly hadn't been. "Why did you come to check on me?"

"There's a secret about Alexandria," Dolan answers, hooking a chair with one foot and seating himself in it, a respectful distance from the man. "There's people here who give a shit." A crooked grin accompanies that. He rests elbows on knees and leans forward, both eyes and his full gaze entirely focused on the man. "Who were you hoping to see?"

Andelena can't help but grin at Dolan with the answer, coming up from behind Dolan (in a loud and slow enough manner to signal she's there) and rests her hand on the back of the chair. She turns her attention back to N'thain. "Was it whoever braided your hair?" she asks. "Someone was awfully nice to have done that for you."

N'thain shakes his head at Andelena's question. "One of the clerics did that. It kept getting in the way when they came to do their checkups." He looks from one of them to the other one and looks at the door for a moment. "I keep expecting to see Micha, even though I know..." His eyes are suddenly sad.

"Who's Micha? Maybe I can find out where he or she is, yeah?" Dolan sits up as Andelena comes up behind him, and cranes his neck to look up affectionately up at her before leaning gently back into the chair, towards her. "You deserve a little help. Baby, maybe I should grow my hair out like that." His grin is again crooked, and he is plainly joking.

Andelena snorts a little, but she grins back at him, her hand finding his hair as she pats it down. "What, you want me to braid your hair like that?" she asks. "You can just ask, baby, but I think the cats would be playing with your hair."

She looks back at N'thain. "Tell us about Micha," she asks. "Friend of yours?"

N'thain looks at Dolan, the offer makes him shake his head slowly. "You will not find him. Marsward..." The name makes him trail off, his expression becoming pained for a moment and then he shakes his head. "Won't let him come anywhere near me." The gentle words seem to only deepen the sadness in the young man's gaze. he doesn't comment on Dolan's little joke, but does gather his hair into his arms and cuddles it to himself like its a stuffed animal. This reveals his arms and upper torso, but he doesn't seem to notice.

For his part, Dolan pays the state of undress no mind, a thing to be expected in a room of healing. He's seen enough to know. His gaze is easy and relaxed, but quite intent, and possibly more unnerving than he means for it to be. "Yeah? Sounds like he's someone important to you. Why wouldn't Marsward let him near you, if I can be nosy? Sounds like he's kind of a jerk."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly a big fan of that Marsward. Not the way he was acting and treating you," Andelena says casually. She is observing the undress, but more in that it seems to her that N'thain seems somewhat shy about it and that it could lead to other clues. "He's sure got a lot of nerve telling an injured man where to go and telling another man who he can't go see."

Blue eyes flicker to Dolan, and the ghost of a smile flickers to N'thain's lips. "Jerk? I don't think I've heard that one before." The young man gently tugs the sheet up around his shoulders and hugs his hair to himself. "Marsward is like that though. He... Expects you to listen to what he says. Because there's consequences if you don't."

He doesn't look at anyone for a long moment, in fact he closes his eyes like he doesn't want to see either of them. "Marsward knows that if Micha is near me, that Micha won't listen to him anymore. So its better to keep us apart. I'm not even supposed to be here."

"Let's just say that I know Marsward by reputation, and I believe that." Dolan's crooked smile fades into something muted. Still he keeps it casual, easy, and relaxed. "If reputation has him right, that's the kindest word I'd pick, but never mind that. Sounds like Micha is someone important to you. How did you two get to know Marsward?"

GAME: Andelena rolls Sense Motive: (5)+12: 17

"Yeah. You're close with Micha, it sounds like. That's the kind of relationship you want to hold onto. Are you two... Friends? Brothers? Cousins?" Andelena's casual but curious. "And did you know each other before you knew Marsward?"

"He found us." N'thain's eyes open, but he's not looking at them, he's staring at the door. An escape perhaps. "It's... it's a long story. One that... you probably don't care to learn. You just care about Marsward right?" His eyes are filling up with tears and he turns his face into his pillow. "Well I don't know anything. Nothing that can help you."

"Try me." Dolan leans forward again, not looking back at Andelena, his elbows on his knees. "N'thain, don't think I didn't see those chain marks. You've spent time in chains. If I can help you find Micha, I will, yeah? I know a thing or two about chains. I ain't here just for Marsward. I'm here for you, too. Because too much shit has happened to good people."

"N'thain, I was focused on you the whole time back there because I wanted to get you _away_ from that asshole," Andelena says. "Whole damn time I was focused on you, and getting you upright and into a bed to heal. Like Dolan said--we've seen too many damn people suffering on account of other people's bullshit, and I'm a Sunguard. I'm called to Compassion, and I can't abide it when someone's suffering. The reason why Bry's asking about Marsward is because we want to help and we want to get to the bottom of this horse-riding bullshit so he doesn't hurt you, or anyone like you, again."

Her gaze is gentle now, compassionate and warm. "Our whole purpose as servants of the Knight is to bring the light into darkness. To bring His justice and compassion to those who need it. And we're here now."

GAME: Dolan rolls diplomacy: (6)+15: 21

N'thain turns his head back and wipes his face to clear himself of his tears. "Micha was... attacked as a boy by a were-creature." He looks at them urgently. "He's a good man, I swear. He's never hurt anyone. Full moon or no. Me... I was nothing. A nobody. But he found me and lent me his ability to change to save me from myself. For the first time in my life I knew that someone cared for me. Not for a day or a night but maybe forever."

There's softness in his voice as he talks about Micha. "But then Marsward found us. Micha had been injured and I'm... I'm no fighter. All I could do was watch as Marsward took Micha away and..." He helplessly rubs his face. "I don't even know how he found us. Something about dreams? He said that a god led him to us. Whatever that means."

He covers his eyes and shudders with the need to weep, but he's hardly made a sound so far. "Marsward... He kept us apart so that Micha would do what he wanted. Sent me to Charn as a gift for some of his friends. We who can change forms can... we can take a lot of damage as long as the weapon isn't silver..." He looks at Dolan, eyes leaking. "I was good. I swear I was good. I don't know why they did that to me. I did everything they asked but..." He's crying now. Soundlessly.

Now, Dolan gets up, and slowly, and far from noiselessly, moves towards the bed. He seats himself on it, next to the man, with a long, heavy sigh. "Yeah, I know what that's about," he sighs. "Look, Marsward's done this to a damned lot of people. You ain't alone, not by a thousand rows of barley. It also ain't your fault. Sometimes, the bad stuff people do isn't a punishment for anything they've done. Bad people are just bad people, yeah? They'll do it because they can.”

Tentatively, he reaches for N'thain's shoulder, a touch that isn't sure if he should offer a shoulder to cry on or not, but it's there all the same.

There's pain in Andelena's eyes as N’thain tells his story. It's not long before there's tears in her own eyes, but she doesn't wipe them away. Instead, she moves closer and goes to hold her hand out to him--a mirror of the gesture she gave to N'thain to encourage him to turn away from Marsward and come to her. "N'thain, we can find Micha. We can bring you to him. We can see both of you reunited and safe, and out of Marsward's clutches. Let _us_ deal with that asshole. Because Bry's right and he's done this shit to too many people. But for right now?"

She smiles at him tenderly, her hand still outstretched. "It's okay, honey. You're here. You're with people who want to see you safe and sound, and who want to bring you back together with Micha. I promise."

N'thain doesn't seem to mind Dolan's closeness or his touch. He just sinks into his pillow, and lets his tears fall as Andelena and Dolan reassure him. "Please. You have to help Micha." He takes Andelena's hand, looks at them both with pleading in his gaze. He doesn't seem to care anything for himself at all. "You have to stop Marsward before he makes Micha do something terrible."

When he sees that N'thain doesn't mind, Dolan carefully reaches an arm around the man's shoulders, pulling him close. "Understood," he answers. "I've got a few friends who might be able to help. We'll find him. When we find him, do you want to see him? Want us to bring him here?" He seems to let the lycanthropy go easily enough, for the moment. He looks briefly up at Andelena, but most of his attention remains on N'thain. "It's like Andie here says. It's what we do. We find stuff like this, and we make it right. We help people who are being exploited."

Andelena gently squeezes N'thain's hand in a reassuring gesture, smiling still at him. "We'll make sure Micha's helped," she says. "Like Bry says--we can bring him here. We can bring other things to you in the meantime to make you comfortable. And don't worry. Plenty of our friends and allies want Marsward dead at this point--we've just been given plenty of reason to make sure that happens as quickly as possible, before anything bad can happen to Micha."

N'thain nods and then nods again. "Yes. Tell him I'm safe. Tell him... He's my fire and I'll be waiting for him here. He'll know I'm safe if you tell him that. He'll listen." He squeezes Andelena's hand and lets Dolan hold him. "If I'm safe, he'll help you. I know it."

The term that N'thain uses for Micha is one that brings a lopsided grin to the mobile half of Dolan's features. "You got it," he agrees readily, letting the man lean against him or not as he chooses for a moment, then squeezing him and getting to his feet. "Baby, we'd better be about it, and about rescuing your brother too. As much as I'd love to stay and chat, helping Micha's more important." He looks expectantly at the redheaded woman in a way that clearly betokens affection.

Andelena gives Dolan a tender smile. "I agree," she says, giving N'thain's hand a small squeeze of her own before she lets go. "Because I've been in Micha's boots before in my own way. And I know this has to be eating at him. We'll get the two of you sorted, don't worry."

Once the two Daeusites offer their farewells and leave the room, Andelena sighs. "Bry, next time we meet a nice young man who speaks glowingly of another nice young man and I ask them if they're cousins, just give me the _look_." That's followed by a small shake of her head and a self-exasperated smile. "Cousins my ass..."

At least it gives them something to talk about on the way home.

-End