Log Date: 8/13/96 Log Cast: Ktai, Rayek Log Intro: Rayek has been sulking in the Scroll Chamber following an argument with Mender and Wing -- one which was witnessed by Ktai. As she has frequently done ever since taking up residence at the Palace, Ktai comes in search of the airwalker... ---------- Rayek remains where he has been sitting for some time, in the chair near the currently quiescent Scrolls; his head is tilted back against the stone behind him, and his eyes are clamped shut, the skin about them tight and strained. Ktai moves almost silently into the room and stands just within the doorway, watching you with dark eyes. Her hair is still loose about her, and her skirt looks wrinkled, as if she has slept dressed. She neither speaks, nor sends, but steps closer, her light footsteps almost echoing. Rayek appears either asleep or deeply absorbed -- and perhaps in pain; the set of his features suggests a sizable headache. At the sound of your tread, though, he lifts his head, and looks tiredly up at you. Ktai curbs an urge to send for the sleeping Mender, and merely nods her head quietly. She steps closer on her slippered feet, still quiet and unsending. When she nears, she touches the back of a closed hand to your temple and smiles softly. Only when she backs up does she send quietly. ** You should rest. ** Rayek studies you silently a few moments, then looks away, leaning forward in the shaped chair and pressing a hand to his forehead. Ktai stands there now, silent and watching. Her send hangs in the air. ** I... am sorry, Rayek. ** Ktai turns slowly and moves out by foot. Ktai has left. Ktai locksends ** At least, if you do nothing else I suggest... at the very least, get some rest. ** You locksend to Ktai, Rayek sends at last, gravely, ** I have tried. ** Ktai locksends ** Why can you not rest? ** Ktai arrives from the corridor outside. Ktai has arrived. Ktai returns to the room, this time remaining in the doorway. Rayek hasn't changed posture. Nor does he look up. But he does send, somewhat shortly, ** I still have myself for company, Ktai, and that will not change. It is not particularly conducive to... rest. ** Her send is open... in more than one way. ** The High Ones know I have tried. Rayek... I would gladly be company to you... ** She contines after a bit. ** You want honesty... that is as honest as I can get. Ask them. They know. ** Ktai gestures to the Scrolls. Ktai sends openly ** But as long as you keep only yourself as company... no matter the rest of us... you will be right. It never will change. ** Rayek shudders, once, then sends heavily, ** Ktai... please... do not be... angry... if I have.... trouble... accepting what you have constantly offered. I... find it... hard. ** His eyes close. She softens. She honestly did not expect that, and moves to your side. ** Rayek...? Why is it hard? ** Ktai kneels quietly, looking to you with concern. Rayek, as if he yet has a pounding headache, looks tiredly over at you. Dark eyes look to you, filled with many soft emotions. Her face is animate, she is willing to listen to you and try to aid. Rayek finally sends, shortly, though edged with what might be remorse and pain, a wordless answer.... perhaps because he does not wish to put it into words. But there, stark and bleak, is his awareness that he has yet to cause anything but pain any time he allows openness. But he does not specify whether it's his openness or other's... other's pain, or his. Ktai shakes her head firmly. ** I do not fear pain, Rayek. I have known it as long as I have lived. Pain gives strength and the ability to learn. If you put your hand into a fire, it hurts. Do you not then learn not to put your hand back in? It teaches... helps us grow. Pain can be good, if used to grow with and not to harm with. ** Ktai continues to look to you, but her hand closes over yours now, gentle and cool. ** Pain caused myself I can... bear. Pain caused others... ** Rayek's eyes glimmer momentarily, limpid. Then he draws in a weary breath. Ktai sends openly ** Rayek... such the gentle one. You could not cause pain for me. The smallest of glimmers in your eye, the curve of your lips... those all bring joy and love to my life. And if by some unknown happening, I do encounter pain... it could be no less than what I have known for years. ** Rayek's face turns slightly haunted, as he looks fully at you, uneasily. ** I... am not gentle, Ktai. I am an arrogant, foolhardy, pride-swollen... ** Ktai sends openly ** And kind, and loving... but unwilling to cause harm when clear of thought. _that_ is gentle. ** Ktai smiles gently. Rayek looks back at you sadly, then bows his head. ** I am also an ungrateful troll, who has the most accursed difficulty... accepting... help. ** His sending is sharp, annoyed, embarrassed. Ktai shakes her head. ** You are certainly not a troll... and we all do, Rayek. I didn't want to be healed, remember? How long did I fight? We all want to be seperate and self-fufilling. But the truth is, we need others. We simply can't help it. ** Rayek slowly reddens under his tan, one side of his jaw twitching slightly, tensely. Ktai reaches up and caresses the warming cheek softly. Rayek reaches up... and his brown fingers close about the longer ones at his face. For an instant, his hand shudders, before his grip becomes firm. With an effort, he sends unvoiced gratitude for the unwavering kindness -- and deeper, tendere emotions -- you have been showing him. The sending flickers a moment, before he restrains himself to keep it to just that -- a difficult enough admission for the airwalker as it is. Ktai moves quietly, hugging you akwardly for the stone chair in the way. A soft send takes up where yours trails, tracing to her, sending gentle love and understanding. She has not let go of your hand. Rayek murmurs huskily, "I will.... rest." That, too, a difficult admission. Ktai nods, still close. ** Would you like me near? ** Rayek looks up at you, eyes slightly liquid even yet. "Your.. songs..." he begins, awkwardly. Ktai smiles gently. ** Then let us make you more comfortable... and I shall sing. ** Rayek permits himself to rise, slowly, still regarding you with that oddly helpless look. Ktai holds your hand as she moves with you. ** Here...? Or yours and Ekuar's room? ** Softly, a send-song begins to wind its way through the room, soothing and calming. Rest. Now that Rayek is rising, in motion, the idea seems all the more alluring... and he casts a hollow-eyed gaze about the Scroll chamber, before murmuring, "This is not... a place for sleep. I... will lie down in the sleeping place below..." He allows himself to walk with you, then, out... not so fast that he gets ahead of you. Nor so quickly that it is more convenient to loosen his grasp on your hand. Rayek, half leading, half led, makes his way out. Second Level This wide corridor sports myriad tiny ripples and swirls in its walls and floor, as if once it might have been rife with damage; now, these patterns seem only to add to the ethereal feel of the place, giving your surroundings a flowing, airy look. The air is full of a barely palpable tingle, a sense of welcome, a stronger sense of magic. At one end of the corridor you can see the stairs that wind back down into the lower level of this place; at the opposite end, a tall doorway that glimmers golden in the faint light. Obvious exits: Scroll Chamber Winding Stairway Ktai has arrived. You make your way down the staircase. Entry Hall(#8823RAF) High-ceilinged, airy, this chamber widens out from the doorway that serves as its entrance from outside to an expansive room, filled with little more than strangely ornate walls and the occasional column, rising up to the ceiling far overhead. Closer inspection of the walls reveals patterns shaped into their surfaces, sometimes of wings, or flowers, or the lithe forms of elves -- and sometimes of images that defy description. The air is full of a subliminal shimmer that plays at the edge of elfin senses, a tingle that feels welcoming even in its eldritch oddness. Among the fanciful shapings in this wide chamber can be viewed a 'black spiral' of rock resting on a low column. A long winding stairway twines its way up out of this chamber and into the upper heights of this place; you might be able to find other ways out of here, but the only other exit in immediate sight is the archway and doors that lead outside. Obvious exits: Corridor Winding Stairway Doorway Ktai comes down the stairs from above. Ktai has arrived. Ktai moves along with you, her song following. Side Corridor(#6192RFL) This is one of the smaller corridors through the Palace, and gives less of a feeling of airy, open space than the larger passageways do. The damage that the Palace suffered is no longer in evidence here; translucent walls and columns once again swoop smoothly and gracefully to a delicately arched ceiling. Obvious exits: Rayek's Chamber Entry Hall Ktai has arrived. Rayek's Chamber(#7481RAFL) Smaller than many of the other chambers of the Palace of the High Ones, this quiet nook is the place Rayek has appropriated for what passes as his rest. Like the rest of the Palace, it is a room of oddly rippling walls and ceiling and floor, a room where a flicker out of the corner of your eye might be a shadow -- or perhaps a lingering spirit. Ekuar's deft and ancient touch is everywhere you look, in softly smoothed stone and gently curving walls. Shaped torch-holders bathe the chamber with a warm glow when the tapers are lit. The old rockshaper has crafted this place to be restful for the spirit, radiating the care he feels for his Brownskin. Obvious exits: Corridor Out in the corridor, Ktai has left. Ktai has arrived. Rayek staggers just a bit as he finally reaches the chamber, but lowers himself with his usual control down onto a fur, on his back. Her send-song is old and gentle, one that feels as if it was once sung by a High One. She sits by you, curled just at your shoulder, the send carrying gentleness and love. You locksend ** ** to Ktai. Ktai locksends ** Let your pride go completely for one night. My soul and my sends will keep it for you. Rest well. ** The send-song continues softly, carrying reflections of the beauty that she has seen in the world, the joy she has learned... and the joy gained by knowing she can share it. Rayek turns his head slightly, and once more sends without words, far more tiredly now than before: ** ** Rayek, as his sending trails off into silence, closes his eyes. Even as he sleeps, she sings, softer and softer, until her send-song echoes as she herself sleeps. Perhaps she knows her resting spot is close to you. Perhaps it never crossed her mind. [End log.]