01-08-2017, 11:58 AM
One last coughing fit, and the taste and smell of ash finally left his breathing. A moment more to steady his pace of breath, and he finally hissed out a long sigh through clenched teeth. "Ah...s'pose I owe ya a word o' thanks, lass..." he muttered, slowly drawing himself up to a sitting posture. "...might've not had such a good time of it if ye hadn't been here." His right hand lifted, adjusting his glasses. They felt just a little...off. Probably from the rough awakening. They could be fixed later. In his still-groggy mind, it took him so long to register that the young woman who had assisted him had actually spoken that he wasn't sure how to actually respond. "Not tae worry...ah've no intention of doin' anythin' that might give ya reason tae perceive me as a threat."
Perhaps it could have been worded better, but that was something to ponder about when he was more fully awake and coherent of mind. For now, there were more pressing matter to attend to than worrying about his civility or lack thereof. "So...don' s'pose you'd have any clear idea o' where we are, then?"
She just peered at him curiously, with a strange, mixed expression on her features. "Ah...no, not...not really," she hesitantly admitted. "I just got here a little while ago, myself."
"...I see," the crusader mumbled. "Freshly arrived, jus' the same as meself, then." He turned to regard her with an impassive look. "I hope yer own arrival here was much less...suffoca'in' than mine was." It was now that he finally gathered the strength to rise up fully, drawing his legs back under himself to stand up. He teetered for a moment, instances of his last time standing up flashing through his mind and eliciting a sharp pain in his chest. A sharp hiss of breath put a lid on that. "The Omniverse," he muttered, his eyes scanning the alarming lack of anything resembling scenery in the vast expanse around them. "Reflects th' wishes o' those who are par' of it, eh? Must be a terrible dearth o' wishes in these parts, then." He turned back to the girl again, looking down at her. "Were you...also brought here by tha' Omni creature?"
She seemed unsure about that one. "I...don't know. I guess so. I just woke up here, and I can't really..." Her hand went to the injury on her forehead.
Anderson merely stared silently for a moment, as if contemplating that. "Tha'...is jus' terribly unfortunate," he murmured, almost sadly. "Ah'm sure yer memory will come back tae ya, in time." He slowly paced away, back toward the 'fountain', observing it quietly. His arms folded behind his back as he watched the flow of ash, and the growing pile of it around the apparent deathtrap, spilling out of his point of egress. "....occurs tae me, ah've been terribly rude. Not even offerin' so much as mah name. An' tae the one who rescued me, even!" He laughed, a subdued, quiet little chuckle, bowing his head slightly. "Ah...a brush with possible death is no excuse for a lack o' manners. Do forgive me," he said, his tone lighthearted as he turned back around. "Alexander Anderson," he offered, with an inclination of his head.
"Uhm...it's alright, really!" the girl said rather quickly in return. "I...my name's Malon."
"Well then, Malon..." He straightened up again, turning from her to look at the surroundings. "...would ya mind terribly, informin' me of wha' it was tha' went on here?" He took a deep inhalation through his nose. "...it's faint, but I can smell it on the air. Blood, and not from tha' wound o' yours."
The look on Malon's face betrayed her thoughts. "It...it was..." Her eyes darted briefly to one side, off past Anderson toward something out of his vision. It was all he needed.
He turned about, slowly following the direction of her brief glance, until his eyes fell on the horse. And its passenger. He was quiet for a moment, just staring. "...well, and wha' have we were?" he questioned, his tone growing alarmingly cold. A dim sheen of light gleamed off his glasses, hiding his eyes behind the glare as he dropped his arms to his sides. With a swift, purposeful stride, he approached the horse, setting the creature into great alarm at the unsettling feeling he gave off. A short raise of one hand, and a hissed "Easy there..." and he had closed the gap, the horse seeming quite agitated but not having bolted yet. A good enough sign.
With an almost oppressive silence, the bayonet priest intently studied the body tied down to the beast of burden. He eventually lifted one hand to turn the head this way and that, looking at it carefully. "....well. Isn' this quite the sigh'..." he finally spoke up. "It's a pale mockery of a real vampire's bite...far too much actual throat lef' behind. But the drainin' of blood...unmistakable." He sighed, a deep hissing noise that spooked the horse enough it finally backed away from him. And the towering priest turned back to Malon. "I'll give ya the benefi' of the doubt, lass...and assume tha' you're no' the one who had yerself a drink," he said, his voice surprisingly calm, but with the same chilling tone. "But ye mus' be quite aware o' who did. An appearance, or which way they were headed after th' fact. Body's no' gone completely cold an' stiff ye', only happened fairly recen'ly." He lifted a hand to adjust his glasses once more. "So which way...did th' freak go?"
Any further talk was forestalled by the sudden...arrival of a newcomer, who quite literally dropped out of the sky.
"......." Anderson was left speechless.
"......" Malon was equally dumbfounded.
The changing of the fountain, and another unexpected arrival, put another nail in the thought of continuing that topic of conversation immediately. "....save that topic for later," Anderson muttered, glancing at Malon. "It's no' a subject wise tae discuss when there's company about." And all at once, his expression shifted, losing that ominous, emotionless cast and adopting a bright, almost amused disposition. "Besides, ah'm sure yeh've got nothin' tae hide!" And he turned his attention to the rather...eclectic band of new arrivals, slowly pacing over to join the increasingly eccentric conversation they were taking part in.
Perhaps it could have been worded better, but that was something to ponder about when he was more fully awake and coherent of mind. For now, there were more pressing matter to attend to than worrying about his civility or lack thereof. "So...don' s'pose you'd have any clear idea o' where we are, then?"
She just peered at him curiously, with a strange, mixed expression on her features. "Ah...no, not...not really," she hesitantly admitted. "I just got here a little while ago, myself."
"...I see," the crusader mumbled. "Freshly arrived, jus' the same as meself, then." He turned to regard her with an impassive look. "I hope yer own arrival here was much less...suffoca'in' than mine was." It was now that he finally gathered the strength to rise up fully, drawing his legs back under himself to stand up. He teetered for a moment, instances of his last time standing up flashing through his mind and eliciting a sharp pain in his chest. A sharp hiss of breath put a lid on that. "The Omniverse," he muttered, his eyes scanning the alarming lack of anything resembling scenery in the vast expanse around them. "Reflects th' wishes o' those who are par' of it, eh? Must be a terrible dearth o' wishes in these parts, then." He turned back to the girl again, looking down at her. "Were you...also brought here by tha' Omni creature?"
She seemed unsure about that one. "I...don't know. I guess so. I just woke up here, and I can't really..." Her hand went to the injury on her forehead.
Anderson merely stared silently for a moment, as if contemplating that. "Tha'...is jus' terribly unfortunate," he murmured, almost sadly. "Ah'm sure yer memory will come back tae ya, in time." He slowly paced away, back toward the 'fountain', observing it quietly. His arms folded behind his back as he watched the flow of ash, and the growing pile of it around the apparent deathtrap, spilling out of his point of egress. "....occurs tae me, ah've been terribly rude. Not even offerin' so much as mah name. An' tae the one who rescued me, even!" He laughed, a subdued, quiet little chuckle, bowing his head slightly. "Ah...a brush with possible death is no excuse for a lack o' manners. Do forgive me," he said, his tone lighthearted as he turned back around. "Alexander Anderson," he offered, with an inclination of his head.
"Uhm...it's alright, really!" the girl said rather quickly in return. "I...my name's Malon."
"Well then, Malon..." He straightened up again, turning from her to look at the surroundings. "...would ya mind terribly, informin' me of wha' it was tha' went on here?" He took a deep inhalation through his nose. "...it's faint, but I can smell it on the air. Blood, and not from tha' wound o' yours."
The look on Malon's face betrayed her thoughts. "It...it was..." Her eyes darted briefly to one side, off past Anderson toward something out of his vision. It was all he needed.
He turned about, slowly following the direction of her brief glance, until his eyes fell on the horse. And its passenger. He was quiet for a moment, just staring. "...well, and wha' have we were?" he questioned, his tone growing alarmingly cold. A dim sheen of light gleamed off his glasses, hiding his eyes behind the glare as he dropped his arms to his sides. With a swift, purposeful stride, he approached the horse, setting the creature into great alarm at the unsettling feeling he gave off. A short raise of one hand, and a hissed "Easy there..." and he had closed the gap, the horse seeming quite agitated but not having bolted yet. A good enough sign.
With an almost oppressive silence, the bayonet priest intently studied the body tied down to the beast of burden. He eventually lifted one hand to turn the head this way and that, looking at it carefully. "....well. Isn' this quite the sigh'..." he finally spoke up. "It's a pale mockery of a real vampire's bite...far too much actual throat lef' behind. But the drainin' of blood...unmistakable." He sighed, a deep hissing noise that spooked the horse enough it finally backed away from him. And the towering priest turned back to Malon. "I'll give ya the benefi' of the doubt, lass...and assume tha' you're no' the one who had yerself a drink," he said, his voice surprisingly calm, but with the same chilling tone. "But ye mus' be quite aware o' who did. An appearance, or which way they were headed after th' fact. Body's no' gone completely cold an' stiff ye', only happened fairly recen'ly." He lifted a hand to adjust his glasses once more. "So which way...did th' freak go?"
Any further talk was forestalled by the sudden...arrival of a newcomer, who quite literally dropped out of the sky.
"......." Anderson was left speechless.
"......" Malon was equally dumbfounded.
The changing of the fountain, and another unexpected arrival, put another nail in the thought of continuing that topic of conversation immediately. "....save that topic for later," Anderson muttered, glancing at Malon. "It's no' a subject wise tae discuss when there's company about." And all at once, his expression shifted, losing that ominous, emotionless cast and adopting a bright, almost amused disposition. "Besides, ah'm sure yeh've got nothin' tae hide!" And he turned his attention to the rather...eclectic band of new arrivals, slowly pacing over to join the increasingly eccentric conversation they were taking part in.