February 18th:

*She jerks the wounded arm out of the way at the last second.*

"Hey watch it that one really hurts!"

*She goes to throw an awkward punch with her unwounded arm which misses horribly. Rory and Z's foreheads collide with a resounding thud sending them BOTH to the ground.*

rolls:

hp at the end of round:

Rory massages his forehead and temples as he gets to his feet. "The enemy...won't show...restraint," he replied, speaking through the mild throb from the impact, "and neither should we."

He lunges forward and grabs at her middle to lift her up and throw her, trying to get good altitude with his toss.

The toss gets good altitude, and Z lands with a hard thud on grassy ground that is remarkably more packed. Wind and spit escape her mouth as her back collides first. She curls inward, reeling from the pain. The match is over.

*Z rolls over coughing. In fact she lays on her side wheezing for a while.*

"Goo.... woonn..."

rolls:

hp at the end of round:

Borne jointly of chivalry and the bonding that formed from their fight, Rory helps Z off the ground, steadying her and giving her the chance to lean on him if she wants.

"I'm feeling better now," he said, still panting. "I'm done hunting."

Suddenly waking from his sleep, Snarg stretches, almost knocking a startled Zipar off of him. "Oohhhh, I needed that," he groans. Grabbing some food and drink for both of them, he munches on them silently as he scratches the orange lizard, lost in thought.

After downing a healthy amount, he leaves the inn and bounds off towards the local authorities, canvas in tow.

Spoiler:

Araiguna now finally fairly alert from being knocked unconscious, yet still incredibly fatigued decided it would be best to go get a very well deserved nights sleep.

to Snarg:
"If you would wait until tomorrow morning, I'd like to go with you, Gwydo, and I assume Feirnaceal to the cough*ruins*cough. I'd like to take a better look around once I am well rested. As well as try my hand at the scionic reading technique... It all sounds quite interesting"

He then continues to ramble on and on about the potential benefits of society if language was transmitted by thought. As well as complaining about how he spent years learning the various languages he knows, being particularly bothered by the unique and rather absurd grammar and pronunciations of Undercommon which took a great deal of time and effort to master.

Snarg shakes his head. "We can go tomorrow morning again if you'd like. I want to check on some things as soon as possible."

*z accepts the hand up and in an uncharacteristly good mood says*

"Whelp lets get to skinning then ill cook us up some *glancing at the sky which is beginning to brighten* ... Breakfast *laugh* and you can share some of that mead you've been carrying around with you. *

Spoiler:

"I don't know about that," Rory replied. He got down on his knees and started harvesting from the animals he killed. He worked as quickly as he could without ruining quality, as if silently challenging Z to a race.

"Bah its to early for mead anyway."

*Z joins him in skinning and harvesting the carcases.*

Rory "wins" by skinning the carcasses much faster while Z's few are crudely carved.

"I take pride in my work," he said, breaking the silence for the need to explain, partly borne of a need for an excuse. He follows Z back to her cave camp with the hides and meat in tow.

"you get a lot more practice at it than I do, but I bet I make a juicer steak than you ."

*She has the fire burning and is prepping a couple of thick slices of raw venison. *

"Listen, I might have gotten a little angrier than usual."

He pulled out the orb to show her he still had it. He dropped it when he heard the scream again, and pulled a glove out of his pack. Slipping it on, he picked the orb back up. "Earlier, I said I heard screams, and felt the presence of everyone screaming as if they were all around me."

"Everything was dark, nothing but a...void of...pain?" He continued without prompt, trying to describe the experience. "And my mind was still, as if stuck between thoughts. There was a purple light, I said that. Then, I felt Millions, just...too many. I fell for what seemed like miles."

He looks Z in the eyes, trying to convey seriousness through grim features. "I don't know how I know, but those people were feeling what I felt. Their minds were trapped and lost too, but that's not what gets me. I felt what they felt, too."

*Z listens and then sits there for a bit after you are done, watching the steaks sizzle on the skillet.*

"Umm. Is that your attempt at an apology... or are you wanting me to look into this orb ... or ..uh.. what?"

*She looks genuinely confused.*

Rory sighs and shrugs. "Maybe. I don't think I'd have gone out and started hunting. Recklessly."

"They were feeling angry too, but confused...betrayed, even," he continues. "Afraid, and like they were all crunched into this tiny space. All those people, feeling all that and so strongly added up, and for a while I couldn't take it. I don't think anybody could have. So uh, no, don't try it."

He glances at the steak, whipping his head along with his gaze and back to Z in a gesture to inquire on a silent tangent whether it was finished. "I had to get back to me."

Spoiler:

Whether the steaks were done or not, he zones out looking past her, off to the side. He had been doing that while waiting for them to cook.

"Thanks." He sounds like he doesn't want to say it, but recognizes that he has to, and that Z deserves it.

*The steaks are done a very juicy medium leaning on the medium rare side.*

"Yeah back at you. I've been wanting a good sparing match, but people just don't get that."