| And Sometimes Voices… |
| Summary: | Early morning on the coast and Tiaryn discovers her voice is not near so loud as the old Gods in Cordelya's head. |
| Date: | 4/2/298 |
| Related Logs: | With One that Wants Her Wits |
| Players: |
  |
| Waterfront — Seagard |
|---|
| Seagard's waterfront was once the gateway to a bustling port, both for the Mallister naval fleet and merchant ships that docked here from all corners of the River coast, West, and even lands farther south. The Ironborn's initial attack on the city laid it low, however, and the wreckage of that initial assault still litters the sea. The Mallister fleet was demolished in that first wave, and the blackened remains of its once-proud war galleys float off the docks. The merchant stalls, customs stations and seedy dockside taverns that once thrived here are largely burnt as well, the Ironborn having looted and gutted them before they were driven from this part of the city. The dock - one of Seagard's three major ones - is still intact, however, and there's enough raw space in the stone buildings that couldn't be burned to house supplies. |
| Saturday Morning, February 4th, 289 |
Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again." — The Tempest, Act III Scene II
It's the next morning. Pretty darn early, actually, most of the men still in bed if they're not out drilling or on guard duty. Cordelya herself is awake, having gently slipped out of her husband's bed and dressed. It's still lightly raining, but in the south the rain is warm enough that it doesn't really bother anyone. She's come out to the very edge of town, along the sea, and that's where she sits. Whether Tia was looking for her, or just was on a morning walk, who knows. But Corrie is sitting alone, on rocks, staring at the raging sea as the wind, waves and rain kick it up a bit harder than normal. Upon growing closer, the woman is very lightly humming to herself. Slowly rocking back and forth, lost in her discordant song.
Pretty darn early, but with only two cups of ale, and a nap the previous afternoon, Tia is not in bad shape by far. She's awake and roaming about, exploring more than anything, though with her sworn and maid with her, just so she's taking care of things. Getting some exercise and enjoying the scent of the sea. She wasn't looking specifically for Corrie, not at all, but as she spies her there, Tia stops and blinks. Now shouldn't she be still sleeping with her husband? Tia heads over towards the other woman, a slight browfurrow marring the otherwise smooth line of her face. "Corrie? Shouldn't you still be sleeping?"
It takes a few moments for Corrie to drag herself out of the long, distant gaze she'd been half drowning in previously. The voice behind her is real. Tia. She knows that voice. It takes a slight shake of ehr head, but eventually Cordelya's pale eyes flicker back to her. She gives a tired, though earnest, smile to her good cousin. "Tia… I… I couldn't sleep. I…" She seems about to say something more, but then stops herself. It's nothing the woman needs to hear. Corrie paints her smile a bit warmer and tries to sit up straighter in the rain. "I just couldn't. What of you?"
Tia makes a bit of a face, and then she shrugs a bit. "I slept," she says after a moment. "And then I woke up. I think there was a rock under my mat, or something, and I'm not used to such things." She probably just isn't used to being in tents either, or the whole set up here. "But I did sleep well enough and long enough. It is morning after all." She moves to see if she can sit beside Corrie, her attendants finding their own positions. "What song were you humming? I could almost pick out the tune?"
Cordelya frowns a bit, looking back from Tia towards the sea beyond. "I…I don't know, actually. Something that the trees taught me, I think… or the children. I haven't heard it in… in a long time. I can't quite… recall it. You know that feeling? It's just… on the edge of things. Like some sort of lullabye you haven't heard since you were a child." She whispers, voice oddly distant. She's just not nearly so present as she was last night, or even that first afternoon. Something childlike and dreaming in her eyes.
If Corrie keeps humming it though, Tia will soon enough be able to play that bit of melody, even if she doesn't know the song at all. She pauses and nods. "It happens sometimes, I can recall just a small bit of a song and it sits there taunting me until I remember the rest." She gives Corrie a look. "Did you have anything to eat yet this morningg?" she asks, though she's sure the answer to that is a resounding no.
The woman keeps humming indeed. Low and distant. Something that should maybe be a pretty melody if it was a bit faster, and if one or two of the end notes were of a major chord and not a minor ending. While Tiaryn seems to have asked her something, if Cordelya heard it, there is no indication. Just that low melody, over and over, to the point that Tiaryn could no doubt play it on her harp, but it's no song that Tia's ever heard. Corrie's eyes are just a bit wider now, staring out into the sea, as if it were telling her the song… Deep and intently. Lost in those waves and that music.
Oh sure. Now just what is Tiaryn supposed to do now? She reaches out and waves a hand in front of Corrie's face. "Uhm, Corrie?" she asks, puzzled and worried both at the same time. "Corrie?" she asks, trying to catch her attention and drag her away from the siren call of the ocean. "Did you eat today?" At first, she's not really thinking anything of it - just thinking she's missed a note or something.
There isn't much of a reaction to Tiaryn, just the slightest of flinches, as if she feared whatever was at her side. Cordelya shifts forward, sitting a bit more on the edge of the rock, closer to the ocean, the siren call indeed bringing her nearer. She shakes her head to something, but her eyes aren't focused on Tia. "No… no… " A strange, almost shy little laugh escapes her lips as she stares into the waves, "I should take a boat… I know there are no trees here…"
"A boat? Well, no, now, you shouldn't be going into the water, Corrie," Tia says, more than a little bit worried. She reachea a hand to touch Corrie's arm very gently, very cautiously. "Corrie? Who are you talking to?" Cause this is about enough to have Tia's hackles raising - the hair at the nape or her neck standing on end. "Adara, we might need to bring lady Cordelya back to the tents, if she'll come," she warns.
The touch on her arm is enough to set Cordelya off. She's fast and though boney, there is an odd strength of adrenaline in her hand as she smacks Tia's hand away almost violently. Corrie scrambles back, like some sort of spider, across the rocks and away from Tiaryn's body. Her eyes are a touch unfocused, snapping between the waves and Tiaryn but not staying on either one for too long. "No… no… the Gods are here in this forsaken land… Don't you hear them, they are there, in the ocean! Speaking to us! For your trees and my men… When they have been killed and forgotten everywhere, they are still here and you won't -TAKE- me from them!"
Huh what? Tiaryn is totally shocked by Corrie's slapping her, not expecting it at all. "Corrie!?" she calls out, though she pulls back away from the other woman, not wanting to accidentally have her fall into the ocean. But - this is way out of poor Tia's scope. She has no idea what to do now. She looks to her maid and the sworn, but they're just as stunned a shse is, and with no better ideas. Tia, not having a clue what she might do, she tries humming that tune she's just picked up, just heard Corrie humming. Maybe that will calm things down?
About to shout something more, Corrie presses her eyes tightly shut, still standing on her haunches, bent over like some sort of animal ready to run. For a few entirely too rapid heartbeats, she leans there, focusing on the sound of Tia's voice, not the ocean and what she hears beyond. Not that song. It's not -real-. Tia is real, and there, and was trying to help. Cordelya forces another long breath in and out, shoving back those sounds and the Gods to the back of her head. It seems like forever but, slowly, she reopens her eyes and stares back at Tiaryn. But this time she's focused. She's a bit more clear. "…Tia. Gods… Tia… I… I'm sorry…"
"Corrie?" There's worry in Tia's voice, visible in her eyes even, and the woman has no clue what to do with poor Corrie at this point. "Corrie, I think you should come away from the rocks, in case you fall." She holds a hand out, but she doesn't touch Corrie, having learned that lesson just a moment or so ago. "Are you okay?" Unease, worry, a tinge of fear, all muddled up together, as Tia stays where she is, trying to help Corrie.
Cordelya allows herself to be eased down away from the rocks, back towards the grass behind the shore. No where near that slippery stone and the call of the Gods beyond. She exhales again, slowly, trying to keep her focus and calm, though she's gone just a hint pale for the whole ordeal. "…I… I'm fine. I'm sorry. I'm fine. Sometimes…" She falters, not really certain how to explain such things. Her eyes flicker back to the ocean, just for a heartbeat, and then she's back with her good-cousin…"I simply… did not eat today. Sometimes that can do things… to one's head…"
Aha, that's what Tia thought. She hopes. She takes a breath, and then she says "We should fix that, get you some food and make sure that things are better after you eat. And maybe some tea too?" she offers. She's still worried, but at least she's got some movement in the right direction happening. It's a start. "Shall we head back to your tent?"
Another deep breath, Corrie nods gently to Tia, more focused and clearly more herself. See? Everything's fine. "Yes. We… we should both eat, no doubt. I'm sorry, Tia, I hope I didn't hurt you. I… I don't know what I was thinking…" She gives a half embarrassed, apologetic sort of smile before she steps back along with Tia, across the path, their mutual servants trailing behind, probably as perplexed as Tia is. Surely food will fix everything! Or so, Corrie hopes.
