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Post by Rosalind on Aug 26, 2017 3:44:09 GMT
The Daemon's smile was enough to put the children at ease, even Ramla, who smiled back and giggled. Suhail was already busy tugging the man towards the door, fixated on his goal of ushering the man upstairs to show Rosalind he was awake. Rosalind would want to know - she'd said the man's injuries were very bad and she didn't know if he would survive. Here he was though, up and talking, which would make her happy. All of the children adored Rosalind, who had taken them in after their Aunt had smuggled them out of the swamp, and liked to make her happy.
"Yeah. Rosalind's a healer, didn't ya know?" Suhail looked up at the man with eyes that looked more crocodilian than human, a bright grassy green colour with no white and a thin black pupil.
"She said you lost your arm. How?" Ramla, trailing behind, nudged Suhail's shoulder. She knew it was rude to ask, but her younger brother had always had trouble with manners. He didn't mean to be rude, but he was hopelessly curious and rarely thought before he spoke.
Patiently, the two children guided the Daemon upstairs, walking slowly since he seemed unsteady on his feet. They could already smell the soup - salty and meaty, bubbling on the stove. And as they made their way closer the sounds of laughter and chatter filtered through. By the time they made it into a small, cosy living room the reason became apparent. Ophelia - a red-haired, freckled woman in her thirties - sat on the floor in a circle with four other children. Three were very obviously related to Suhail and Ramla, with dark hair, pale skin and green eyes. The other was a strawberry blonde girl, and it was easy enough to guess she was Ophelia's daughter. They were playing cards and laughing at Hamza's sour expression - the eldest boy was losing, and not happy about it. The living room adjoined a tiny kitchen, visible through an archway with no door, where Rosalind was stirring a pot on the stove and singing to a chubby, cooing baby sitting on the floor.
"Rosalind! Rosa, look! Campion is awake."
Rosalind turned, stopping her singing and stirring and instead breaking into a smile.
"Campion! You're awake. Those two didn't disturb you, did they?"
"No! He was awake already," Suhail looked affronted. He often broke the rules, though usually without meaning to. But that didn't mean he'd broken the rules this time.
"Let the poor man sit down in the living room. I'll be there in a moment, okay? Food's nearly ready. Unless you need a healer right away? Are you feeling okay?"
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Post by Campion on Aug 26, 2017 6:35:35 GMT
It was a bit difficult mustering the energy to go up a set of stairs. He was still lethargic and very unbalanced with a significant piece of mass missing from his boy. Thankfully the kids didn’t tug too much on him, but he thought it was adorable how determine they were for him to taste Rosalind’s soup. Kids were a riot.
“I did know she was a healer. That’s why I’m alive.” His tone was a little more high pitched as he spoke to them, and there was a genuine hint of both amusement and gentleness to it. He laughed at the brazen question: leave it to a daemon child to get straight to the point. “Well, I got in a fight and there was a nasty sword involved. But you kids are too young to get the details.” He wasn’t sure if this Rosalind was their guardian or parent or what since he couldn’t remember what she even looked like for the time being.
When they got to the top, the bunny daemon’s first sight was a big group of kids. It was hard for him not to grin like an idiot, watching them play with one another. They were just too damn cute! And he noted the similarities between them and the kids pulling him around. He didn’t want to interrupt their game, so he stayed quiet till the kids called out to a tiny, cute woman working at the stove.
The moment she turned around, Campion could recall the similarities between her and what he remembered happened. He had tried to flirt with her, that was a given. Even if Campion couldn’t remember he, he knew he did. He always did. She was not a daemon, and had no resemblance to the children, so he suspected she was some form of guardian or foster parent.
Though pale and weary, his ears were perked forward with interest as she spoke, his eyes shining with a hint of amusement at her concern about the children bothering him. “Not at all!” He removed his hand from Suhail’s and playfully ruffled his and Ramla’s hair. “I made a bit of a racket getting up, so they were just curious was all. In fact, they were more like my little helpers. Making sure I didn’t fall going up the stairs.” The daemon had never been good at hiding how he liked kids so much. In fact, he never felt the need to. It wasn’t very often he got to see any to begin with, being in the Savanna and all, and it was impossible for him to have any sadly.
“Oh no, I think I’m fine. Thank you.” He looked down at the kids and grinned. “Ya’ll want to be my helpers again? Might need to be lead to the couch too. Maybe I’ll let you touch my ears.” His ears always stuck out and were fun to have when they weren’t making it blatantly obvious that he was a wanted criminal.
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Post by Rosalind on Sept 2, 2017 7:32:49 GMT
"Rosalind's saved a bunch of people. Don't think we seen anyone come in with no arm before, though." The children all travelled with Rosalind and so spent a lot of time around her work - Hamza and Ramla had even shown some interest in helping, where they could.
"We are not! We seen blood and all, all the time," Suhail added confidently, although in actuality Rosalind would appreciate the two youngest children not being given unnecessary detail of such a serious injury. Suhail had a Daemon's constitution but that didn't mean he needed gory details.
"Good, I'm glad they were helpful." Rosalind was beaming as she said this, both because she was always proud of the kids when they behaved well, and because it was obvious Campion liked children. This was lucky - Ophelia's house was very small and a lot of them were crammed inside it. At the apothecary she could separate patients from the kids if she needed to but here they would all be on top of one another, and there was no helping it.
"I won't be long. Soup's nearly done."
Sure enough, it wasn't long at all before Rosalind called for help, and Amira and Zayn got up from the card game to ferry bowls of hot soup, fresh baked bread, and spoons to eat it with to everyone. Ophelia and Carys had a small round table, just the right size for two, so with Rosalind's brood visiting they ate sitting cross-legged on the floor, or off their knees on the squishy, comfortable couches. It was cosy and homely in the flat, all the windows open to let a breeze in, and the soup Rosalind had made was thick with barley, meat and vegetables. Except for her own - a vegetarian version, made from the same broth but separated before she'd put the bacon hock in, as her true form had no ability to digest meat. The youngest of the children, two year old baby D'artagnen, sat on her knee when she sat cross-legged on the floor across from Campion. Suhail and Ramla sat on either side of Campion on the couch, and Suhail had only let go of his ears once food was pushed into his hands.
"It's good to see you up. None of us were sure you were going to make it."
"No," Ophelia agreed, smiling at the Daemon too from where she sat next to Rosalind, also on the floor, her daughter leaning against her side.
"I've helped Rosalind a few times before but never with anything like that. I can hardly believe you're up and about."
"How's the pain? I can give you something for it, if you want."
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Post by Campion on Sept 2, 2017 15:00:12 GMT
Ah, the kids were little troopers! Suhail was a daemon through and through alright, not even afraid of a little blood at such a young age. Even so, Campion was considerate of the others who may have not wanted him to give the nasty details. He placed a hand gently on the daemon kid’s head and ruffled his hair. “Sorry kiddo. The story is a little different than just seeing blood that Rosalind does.” Not only had it been gory, but the act had been very violent. He had no idea what type of person the woman was, so he didn’t want to give the kids that were with her the wrong impression on hounds or humans. Campion preferred to judge an individual for who they were rather than group a whole race, but Suhail was just a child. There was no telling how he’d take the bunny daemon’s distaste towards the hounds that assaulted him.
Campion hadn’t realized how hungry he was till he was truly comfortable sitting down next to the kids, having the chance to take in the strong smell of the soup. Was Campion a soup person? Not particularly, but it felt like ages since he’d last ate. “No rush, doll.”
When the soup was finished though, he watched as Rosalind served the kids and it took all his willpower to not salivate at the sight. Unlike shifters who tended to stick to their true form’s diets, Campion was fully capable of eating meat and greens and loving both as he did so. He thanked Rosalind as she handed him his bowl, grateful that he didn’t have to get up to get it. There wasn’t a guarantee that he could without falling over or passing out, as the blood loss was still heavily affecting him.
He tried his best not to lap up the food too quickly, but it was hard. Within a solid minute or so, the soup was gone and he was dying to have more, but refrained from asking and instead wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. Ears swiveling in the direction of who was speaking to him, he smiled at both Roaslind and the other woman that had yet to be introduced to him. He nodded at her. “I’m surprised I’m even awake right now. I appreciate the help. You can call me Campion, by the way. But yeah, thought I was done for bleeding out like I was. I was lucky Rosalind was there in that moment.”
Ears and eyes turned to Rosalind, he cockily smirked. “Naw, I don’t need anything for it. I’m part golem, so all I feel is a dull stabbing sensation with an ache. The food is good enough for me.” That was already more than he’d hope for.
He set the plate down and eyed all the kids, curious where they’d all come from. “So Suhail is obviously not yours. Do you adopt kids? Babysit?” It was a blunt question, but he was genuinely curious even if it wasn’t his business. It was hard for the daemon to be anything more than upfront, especially after traveling with Kez for so long.
“Ah, I hate to tell ya but I also don’t have that much coin to give. I have some, but not nearly enough for saving my life.” And he was sure he’d need to stay in the bed for a few days to recover. “Uh, got a kid I’m sort of taking care of myself and I promised her I’d help her buy something she’s been dyin’ to get her hands on.”
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Post by Rosalind on Sept 8, 2017 23:32:29 GMT
Rosalind looked Campion over more closely as she handed him the food. He was alert, true, but still very pale. The pallor was evident even through the deep bronzing of a tan earned through a hot summer out in the sun. He'd lost too much blood to survive, ordinarily, but it seemed his body was regenerating his blood volume despite this. She gave thanks for the amulet magic that had saved his life - it was no sure fire fix, but it definitely gave her hope of saving more people she might have otherwise lost, in the future.
"There's plenty, make sure you eat as much as you can. Hard work for the body, replenishing lost blood. You're going to need to take care of yourself a little more carefully, for a little while." Campion had the hardened, leanly muscled look of someone who lived a rough life, probably often a violent one, and who went through periods of feast and famine.
Still, the atmosphere in the house was cheerful despite Rosalind's sombre examination of Campion's condition. The children all ate quietly, and with some degree of manners, which was a huge change from when they'd first come to her almost feral and prone to squabbling over food, as children did when they didn't always have enough to eat.
"Hamza, Zayn, Amira, Ramla and Suhail are all my adopted children, at the bequest of their aunt. She grew up in the same swamp in the west as they did, and wanted a better life for them. It was hard, I think, for the Humans in that family, though I never met any of their parents." Rosalind still saw Hadjara now and then, but regardless of what would happen later, as the children grew up, they were hers for good. Rosalind drew no distinction between her children - whether the youth she considered her first adopted son, the swamp children, or any others. They had a home with her for life.
"Suhail is their biological brother. He was injured, badly, a while back and the only way to save him with any quality of life was to change him. The baby, Dart - short for D'artagnen - is my biological son. And Carys over their is Ophelia's daughter."
Dart smiled at his name, but although he was beginning to talk, he was wary of strangers and stayed silent. Rosalind bounced him on her knee, the action instinctive. She'd always been a mothering type, caring and affectionate, and growing up in a close, loving, and extremely large extended family of travelling gypsies had nurtured that trait even more.
"My healing services come with no charge. Pay what you can, is the general rule, but that doesn't need to be coin. Maybe our paths will cross again in the future and you will remember me, and be able to help me out. I always like to add to my good karma savings!" Rosalind charged for her divination services, because no-one needed divination. But she'd gone into healing to help people, and her system worked. She was not a wealthy woman but over the years had saved enough for the purchase of a residence in Spirit, and the construction of two other homes in other locations. The people she helped did tend to pay her back sooner or later - whether in food, gifts, or returned kindness. And they more than made up for those who paid nothing at all.
"You save your coin for her. Where is she now? Will she be worried about you? And what are your plans...you could do with a night or two of rest, unless you're in a terrible rush."
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Post by Campion on Sept 11, 2017 5:00:08 GMT
Campion couldn’t help but chuckle at the mother-like instructions he was getting from Rosalind. Under most circumstances, he was willing to just move on past an injury and continue doing what he needed to do, but losing a whole limb was a little different than, say, getting stabbed. Most of the time he did the ‘fixing’ himself, but this time there was no way. For once, he’d listen to a healer’s advice. “No need to convince me to eat lots. Can’t say I get as much food as I wish on a daily basis anyways.” He started to get up to serve himself more food, but instantly became light headed from the action and fell back down onto his rump. Frowning, he looked down at his empty bowl, then up to Rosalind. Though he hated asking for things, this was a moment where he was too energy-drained and hungry to be stubborn. “Er, could I uh, get another bowl?” Was that too demanding? Social etiquette wasn’t really his thing. “….please.” He added at the end.
Trying as best he could, the bunny daemon smiled at the kids as Rosalind listed them off. There were so many, but the more the merrier. Hell, Campion was sure that he’d want some of his own someday, but that sadly was impossible. He threw the dark thought away though. “And here I thought just one kid would be a handful. Looks like you’ve got quite the little pack!” How in the world she was able to take care of kids and be a healer at the same time, he’d never know.
Nodding with appreciation, the bunny daemon was very grateful that she didn’t expect anything too excessive. “Thanks, I’ll defiantly keep you in mind if we run in again. I don’t live in the City or, well, in any village or town or anything. So I have no need for coin most of the time.” He wasn’t sure it was a good idea to go into detail about his daily life with her. Sure, Campion assumed she was well aware he was potentially dangerous as a daemon alone, but he really didn’t want to go, ‘Oh well, you see I live off of killing other people and taking their stuff. Oh and I’m teaching a kid how to live like that too. It’s a great life’. He was fairly certain she didn’t want that sort of exposure to the kids either.
Her concern for him was amusing yet again. Healers tended to have similar attitudes towards their patients, and Rosalind was perhaps the sweetest of them all. Campion smirked. “Oh no, I don’t think I could leave right now even if I wanted to. We won’t be meeting up for another few days, but uh. I suspect she’ll be expecting me to be late. She’s out somewhere, probably getting into trouble.” Beyond getting a bow, Campion had no idea what Kez’s plans were.
“As for being worried about me? Naw, I don’t think that’ll be an issue. I think I’m more likely to get worried. She’s like a sibling I’ve always wanted, but we’re both confident enough in each other to not worry unnecessarily. In fact, she’ll probably give me a lot of shi-“ Campion stopped himself. Under most circumstances, he would not have cared about swearing in front of kids, but Rosalind had been a hospitable woman and he did not want to step on her toes. “…er, crap, for this. Will probably make fun of me, actually.” He shrugged, overall not too worried about the situation. Death was still possible if he could not make a good recovery, but there were worse things than death. Not to mention Campion was positive he’d recover.
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Post by Rosalind on Sept 13, 2017 9:13:18 GMT
Rosalind only watched, amused but expression politely neutral, as Campion tried and failed to serve himself some more of the soup. Men. So determined to be self-sufficient.
"Ramla, sweetheart. Will you help Campion?" She wasn't even quite finished asking before the tiny girl, who looked almost doll-like with her curly black hair and wide, uncertain green eyes, had taken the Daemon's bowl from his hands and was ladling another serving in. She followed with the same for herself and Suhail before sitting back down next to Campion. Of the five swamp children it was Ramla who had taken most naturally to a city lifestyle - she, unlike any of her siblings, adored pretty clothing. Primly, she tidied the full skirt of her black and emerald dress before settling in to eat.
"You don't look like a local," Rosalind added, steering the conversation this way when Campion mentioned he didn't always get enough to eat.
"Do you live in the City?"
Rosalind glanced happily around at her little family. It was nuts, that much was true, but she wouldn't trade her life in for the world.
"They're good kids. No trouble, really. I grew up with a group of travelling performers, fifty odd in the band, all co-raising each others children. I'm used to having a big family." She was thinking of taking her family back out to find the gypsies again soon, actually. She hadn't seen her parents in some time, and they had yet to meet her youngest.
"My shop is actually in Spirit. I'm here in the City to visit Ophelia mostly. The Rose Apothecary, if you ever want to swing by and visit in the future. In the Children's district."
"She'll read your fortune at the apothecary, for a few copper," Ophelia chimed in.
"She's not bad actually. It's a laugh."
"Good. If she won't worry, you can stay a couple of nights. Right, Phee?"
"Of course. The room you're in isn't a five star hotel, but we can feed you and give you a place to sleep. And Rosalind can make sure you don't drop dead of an infection. Sound like a plan?" Rosalind finished eating as Ophelia was speaking, and set her bowl down on the table. The kids would wash up once everyone was done, then the night would be free for talking and laughing and playing games. Though she should address one more little issue first.
"Obviously I know the Hounds were after you for something, since I got to be there for most of your showdown. We'll not turn you in - clearly, since I've gone to all the trouble of fixing you up. And if the Hounds come knocking, we'll try to cover for you. But, if they don't believe us or know more than we think, we'd appreciate you telling them you lied to us about your involvement with them - that we never knew you were wanted for anything."
"And if they try to arrest you and you want to fight back, you're most welcome, but you're to keep the kids out of it. No bringing the danger into the house. Deal?"
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Post by Campion on Sept 17, 2017 6:43:04 GMT
Campion smiled as the kid went to get him another bowl a soup and brought it to him. He thanked her and immediately began to dig in again, feeling like there simply wasn’t enough for him to have. Though he heard Rosalind’s question, he didn’t answer till he finished his second bowl. Instead of asking for more though, he simply set the dish aside, content to let what he had so far start to settle. It was obvious he was listening though, regardless if he was looking at her, because his ears were directed in the direction that she was speaking from.
He finally looked over to her and wondered how much detail he’d have to give her before she decided he needed to leave, or to turn him into the Hounds. “Defiantly not a local, doll. For obvious reasons.” He just stood out too much and brought too much attention to himself. Daemons weren’t super common in the City either, or at least not so much as shifters. “I guess you could say I live out in the Savanna, but in some ways am Nomadic. Don’t stay in one place for long and I gotta keep movin’ if I want to survive.” Perhaps to some it sounded like a harsh, almost primal way of life, but Campion loved it.
Somehow, the bunny daemon wasn’t surprised to learn that the healer had been nomadic and lived amongst a group of people. She seemed so welcoming and seemed to thrive in that sort of environment. Campion mostly traveled on his own, save for Kez. In the past though, he’d been with a group of bandits, but even then at max he’d been with maybe ten people.
“Oh well, that’s good. Can’t say I’d recommend having a place in the City, but I’m biased.” Spirit was much better than the City. It was way more tolerant and welcoming to daemons. “Hell yeah I want my fortune read!” Did Campion actually believe in that sort of stuff? Not at all. He didn’t even really believe in the gods, but it still sounded like something he’d be interested to here. “Maybe if I go to Spirit sometime, I’ll try to find you.” Or maybe not since he had no idea when he’d ever even go there.
His face grew a little more serious as they offered him to stay a few nights more, but explained that they would not do so at the expense of their safety. It was interesting how other species worked that way, especially a healer, but it made sense. If Campion had kids, he’d act in a similar fashion.
As she spoke, Campion summoned the useless, spectral rabbit that he had. It had no physical form and was more like smoke than anything else, but it was an obvious rabbit. The spectral creature hopped around over Ramla’s legs, then went around the room to each kid and even to Rosalind at a point. The daemon wasn’t really able to control what it did, but it had no physical presence and could do no harm.
“Sounds like a deal to me, specially since you’re not making me pay. Don’t even worry about trying to cover for me. Hounds can’t be trusted, and if they suspected even for a second your family would still be in danger.” Truth be told, he wasn’t really all that worried for Rosalind or Ophelia. It was, not only daemon law, but just in his nature to be very protective over kids. “So if that happens, I’ll just run past them or somethin’. You can even sell me out and say I threatened ya or something so they don’t get pissed that you kept me here.”
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Post by Rosalind on Sept 22, 2017 23:14:48 GMT
A nomad on the Savannah, a Daemon, wanted by the Hounds. It wasn't too difficult to make some guesses about what Campion's life was like. Rosalind thought she'd been right in her first assessment of the man; a traveller who survived hard times and enjoyed the better times.
"My family, the ones I mentioned, cross the Savannah several times a year, mostly between Spirit and the City but sometimes to smaller villages too. They're performers, go where the crowds want to see them." Rosalind, too, loved the grasslands. Not only was it so often the setting of her childhood, those long dusty sunsoaked days on the road behind the wagons, but her true form - and those of my of her family members - considered the grasslands their native home.
"I don't travel with them, these days. But I do travel between the Forest of the Fae, the Tangle and Spirit a lot. I understand the desire for freedom, even when it's hard."
The children, for the most part, were either entranced or delighted by the rabbit. Both Amira and Zayn were on their feet at once, following it around and trying to entice it to sniff their fingers or let them pet it's strange, ghostly form. Ramla let out a surprised giggle when it first appeared and hopped over her, and Suhail's tail immediately started swishing slowly from side to side, his reptilian pupils narrowing as his instincts registered a prey animal. Fortunately, the boy was learning a degree of self-control in his hunting instincts, and Rosalind didn't think a spectral animal would be at much risk of mortal harm from him anyway. Dart wriggled off her knee and started crawling after wherever it hopped, which frequently meant over the knees or legs of his siblings, which they were familiar with and only ignored or helped him along. And Hamza, the eldest, with his solemn face and wise old eyes, looked at Campion.
"What kind of magic is that?" Hamza in particular was probably old enough for an artifact now, although Rosalind was dreading buying one for him. She knew how they were made and it wasn't pleasant. But it wasn't their fault they were Humans, so Rosalind knew she'd need to get them artifacts one day, or maybe write to Hadjara and ask her to do so - a difficult thing, since she didn't know the Daemoness' address and suspected she didn't have one. Rumour had it she was close to the Daemon Lord though, and he was easier to find. Regardless, Hamza was becoming increasingly interested in magic and there was a quiet, dignified awe to him as he asked Campion the question.
"Thank you for understanding," Ophelia smiled, hugging Carys a little tighter. Life in Litharia was risky at the best of times, and she liked helping Rosalind - Gods knew Rosalind helped her out a lot. But there was only so much either of them would risk when it came to the children.
"Lucky for you, Daemons heal quickly. You'll have a good chance of getting out of here if you're smart about it. Alright, serve yourself some more if you like, the kids are going to clean up otherwise. Then we've an evening to enjoy. Do you like cards? Or to sing?" Zayn, who loved both, was up clearing bowls away immediately. Hamza also reluctantly stood - as the eldest he tended to wash the dishes while the younger children dried.
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Post by Campion on Sept 24, 2017 0:20:46 GMT
Part of Campion was curious about this nomadic group that Rosalind was talking about, but the other part of him was a little…worried. He wondered if he, or Ginger, have ever attacked some of her people. It sounded like they travelled in a big group though, and if that was the case then the answer was a solid no. Campion avoided attacking or stealing from big groups since it was more suicide than beneficial. “From the sound of it, I don’t think I’ve ever…er, encountered them.” Again, he was careful with his words. He was sure the healer and her friend were well aware of what kind of person he was, but there was no reason to announce it out loud, especially with the kids. “But I’ll make sure to only play nice with any nomadic groups fitting that description if I run across them.” That was something he could do for her as a payment. They sounded like they were family to her, and it was no extra effort on his behalf to not raid from them.
“I’m surprised you’re here in the City at all, really. Most humans seem to treat shifters as bad as slaves if they aren’t already that.” Campion had a reason for his bad welcome into the City, but most shifters were just trying to get by and yet, they were less than garbage in more humans’ eyes. Daemons weren’t exactly welcome either, but it was still pretty easy for them to get in and out.
The rabbit continued to bounce around the room, almost oblivious to the children that were trying to touch it. Anything that touched it went through it like a cloud, and there was literally nothing that could be done to the magical entity to make it feel any pain, which made it perfect for kids. Campion smiled as he watched them entertained. Sometimes when he was bored, he’d summon the rabbit just for entertainment himself but with Kez, Crawk, and Kali, there was hardly any need.
Hamza’s question threw the daemon off a little. He looked up at nothing in particular, thinking on the subject for a moment before shrugging with a grin. “Ya know, I can’t say I’m completely sure. It’s mostly mammal based magic, but I don’t use it. I do know, though, that this little guy will help me find food and water in unfamiliar places.” That’s about all the rabbit ever did, really. In reality, Campion could have gone into a lot of detail about how daemon magic worked and whatnot, but he figured the kid would get bored after a few minutes, if not also lost.
It was almost..touching in a way, how much Rosalind seemed to care about him. Campion rarely ever went to healers, but never had he met one that was so concerned and careful about their patient. Most tended to be more in it for the money. “Uhhh, you do not want to hear me sing,” he joked. Campion was awful at it. “Never really played cards. I’ll give it a shot if you’ll teach me. Be warned though, I’m super competitive.” He wasn’t very good at anything that involved a lot of strategy or thought though.
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