The wind blew softly over the rocks. Small plants danced and swayed unseen by her cursed sight. The small nightingale that served as her warning that another living being was near sat nestled against her neck. Way up here on the side of the mountain wasn’t that bad of a place to be. The land below still looked barren and empty to her eyes. It was as if the entire place had been ravaged by a war and was never going to be able to recover.

She sat down on a ledge and looked out over the land. She pulled out the small box with her flute in it. Then Ivory closed her eyes. She took out the flute and let her fingers find their spots. She loved to flute. It was the one gift she had been given that she would never part with. It had been given to her because of her name. An ivory flute carved with feathers and leaves along it in tiny detail. Keeping her eyes closed she tried to remember what the world really looked like. The plants and animals. The people. Then she started to play the flute. She attempted to play something that reminded her of what she could no longer see. She was starting to like the sound and what she saw with her mind’s eye.

Step by step Avarice trudged up the mountain, intent to get as far from civilization as he could. Let alone the woman known as Iolanthe. There was no extent to that woman’s annoyingness, but that was an entirely different story. After a period of time there was a thought that occurred in his mind. The bloody hell was he doing up on a mountain of all places? Giving it some thought, there was finally a sudden reasoning added to the action. It wasn’t like he was worried or anything, granted there were accounts of Orc attacks, but should that occur. Well, they would be messing with the wrong person. With his axe strapped to his back, Avarice held little care to the dangers that plagued the mountainside.

All thoughts would soon cease as the melodic tones of a flute picked up to his ears, causing a sudden interest to well up within him. Deciding to check it out he began his way towards the noise only to find a woman and a bird. Not bothering to announce his presence yet, he would take the time to enjoy the wind that rustled past. Sucking in a deep breath of fresh air, Avarice’s head would tilt back, eyes sliding closed beyond the sunglasses that shielded them from the sun. The wind felt great against his bare flesh, particularly across his exposed torso as the unzipped blue jacket flapped behind him, exposing his clothes less upper body.

Trusses of his silver colored shoulder length hair would also kick up in the wind, before his head would lower and his voice would pick up, “Ahem…Sorry to interrupt your little tune there, but don’t you think this is probably the wrong place to be hanging out? After all, it’s quite the fall if you haven’t noticed.” A soft laughter picked up from his larynx, before continuing, “But then again…I’m up here as well…I suppose I shouldn’t talk.” Issuing a careless shrug, Avarice would then bow briefly, “On any account, the name is Avarice. Simple as that, don’t bother asking for any explanation."

The music brought to mind things she had not thought of in a long time. She took the time to paint a picture with the music. She let her mind’s eye recall the lush green forests and the open planes. The cities full of people bustling about their own business as she looked out the window. Music filled the air. The smells of fresh bread came to mind. The forest that she had played in with her friends. The river and their secret hiding spot. Only really a secret because the adults were too big to get inside it. The summers there…

The bird on her shoulder shifted but didn’t take wing. Someone had heard her. The bird didn’t take wing. The person had stopped then. No doubt upon seeing her. She tried to recover the image and tune but couldn’t reweave it the way it had been. She gave it up when a voice picked up. Opening her eyes she saw the world as it really was. Lush and green in this lovely spring weather. Then her eyes came into focus and it all slid away. Once more it looked horribly barren and dead. An ugly gray mist shifting about where she knew living things were making them ghosts and whispers.

She didn’t bother trying to look at the man who spoke. She doubted she could see him anyways. As she was looking out sadly over the land below she replied. “I’m not worried about falling Avarice. You’re name isn’t too simple I suppose. I’m Ivory.”

“Ivory hmmm?” The man mulled the name momentarily, before proceeding to move up alongside of her where he would take a seat at the edge, draping one over the ledge and the other would bend at the knee to place the bottom of his boot flat upon the surface of the stone beneath. Resting an arm across the knee of it, the other would lift its hand up to his face to brush a few strands of hair from his face, “It’s quite the view…Haven’t really spent much time looking at the lands like this, in fact I haven’t really gotten a chance to slow down and take it easy for a long time…” Rocking backwards, Avarice’s back would come into contact with the ground in a laying fashion, both of his hands instinctively moving behind his head to protect his head from the rigid surface of the rock beneath.

Casting a glance over at the lovely visage of the woman alongside of him, a faint grin traced his lips, “Something wrong, Angel? There’s nothing to be sad about, I’m here.” Of course it was a bit of a presumptuous statement, but that was Avarice’s style. If she took it harshly, then it was her own problem and not his. Though he doubted that she would travel too far from his company, but then again he had been proven wrong. Iolanthe was a sure sign of that wrong…

Shaking the thought of her from his head, his lavender eyes trailed up to the blue skies above, watching idly as a couple fluffy white clouds rolled overhead, “You’ll learn I’m not a simple person…So the name fits me well. Enough of that though, what brings you up here? The view is fine and all that, but there’s got to be something else, something more. Were you trying to escape the trials of life like me, if that’s the case I’m sure you were hoping I would simply go away. Unfortunately for you, it’s not that simple. I don’t do that whole leave you alone thing. Soooo, you’re stuck with me.” A wry grin crossed his lips as he shot her a wink.

She felt the bird take to the air as he moved. It didn't go far though. The little nightingale didn't seem to think he was being threatening. It landed atop a rock just further back. Out of the corner of her eye she could see someone. The details weren’t clear but she could see him a little bit. He was fairly accurate in his assumption that she wanted to escape. But one could not really escape a curse like this. Not unless she stayed where everything was dead or undead. Ivory didn’t think she could do that.

He didn’t seem that bad of a person. Better then some she supposed. As long as he didn’t try to help her like she was truly blind. That bothered her more then anything else. Details slowly began to appear from the gray mist. His clothing and colors seemed to very slowly come into focus. It was almost like it was in slow motion. She couldn't help it and looked at him. As soon as her gray eyes focused on him… he was gone completely from her sight. She looked away with a sharp twist of her head and promptly put the flute away. Why had she done that! Why was she so stupid? She pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them so she could hide her face in them. Ivory squeezed her eyes shut. Perhaps she would be better off if she blindfolded herself. Then at least that fragile hope wouldn’t be there for her to destroy. Her voice was muffled only a little bit when she decided to answer him.

“I’m cursed. I’m sure it is a lovely view but I only see death and a barren wasteland. I can’t see you unless you die. I can’t even see the bird there. My little nightingale. I can tell from the sound what type of bird it is. I don’t know what colors it is though. I don’t even know what I look like anymore. I can’t stand the cities. I can’t see the people. Everything is there except of the life. I’m starting to think I would be better off truly blind.”

Her words were sharper then she had intended and she had talked too much. Now she was feeling very much to fool. Ivory rose her head to add, “Sorry. It’s not your problem. I have no intensions of dragging anyone else into it. I didn’t mean to snap.” She sighed. Her gaze traveled to where she knew he was. It was no good though. She couldn’t see him. “Do you mind if I ask you to tell me what you see?”

The outburst took him by shear surprise, but no emotion belied the fact that she had done so; instead it would remain stoic in appearance as he continued to gaze up into the sky. Pondering for the moment, all of her words would be absorbed into his mind to analyze for the time being. Once she apologized for her outburst, Avarice would roll his eyes in response. Why did everyone do that? What a person says is what they say, there is no changing it and most of the time sorry does absolutely nothing to change the fact that it was said to begin with. Deciding not to dwell on that for too long, all attention would shift again, this time to her question.

Sucking in a deep breath, it would be released in a huff as his abs flexed and strained to throw him abruptly up to a sitting position. With his lavender eyes he would scavenge the lands, “There are mountains that stretch high into the sky, threatening to scrape the blue skies and fluffy white clouds that hang low over the horizon. Some peaks are capped in a thin snow cover, but the rest is a tannish color of stone. Bellow are lush fields of green, a couple groupings of trees here and there, and a small lake not too far off from here, and that’s all I can make out from here.” Having humored her request, his eyes would slide off to the side to gaze upon her.

Studying her for a moment, his head would simply shake, “Would you want someone guiding you like a lost child all the time, would you enjoy bumping into things that you couldn’t see, or worry if there was someone with malicious intent lurking just around the corner waiting for a person like you to happen along? If you do, then I think you should get your head examined. Be thankful you can see SOMETHING and quit crying about it. It’s not going to fix anything; the only way you can fix it is by doing something about it instead of stewing over it. Understand?” Pausing momentarily, Avarice would think on his next couple of words, before letting them slip past his lips in fluidity, “Besides, all you need to know about what you look like is that you’re beautiful.” Issuing a click of the tongue, a faint grin lined his lips, “Get angry if you want, I don’t care. I’m used to it.”

She looked out over the barren lands once more, trying to see them as anything but. His explanation, though brief, at least eased her fear that things really did look like what she saw. His next words had a point and part of her wanted to get angry like he said, but she had found no point in getting angry. It never did any good. Just like being happy never really did any good. She simply had to not care. Then at least she couldn’t get hurt.

“I don’t think there really is a difference. So I can see the rocks. I can see the things that lay about dead or should be dead but don’t seem to know any better. Try navigating a forest when you can’t see the branches. Try walking through a city being unable to see the people. It wouldn’t matter now, as I am, if there was someone with malicious intent lurking just around the corner. I can’t see them anyways. Not unless it happens to be a vampire or a zombie or perhaps a lich. In fact it was a vampire last time. Try being somewhere with the person who could have helped you and not even know if they were hurt until they were dead.” She closed her mouth. Her jaw muscles flexed as she tightened them. It was like he was provoking her to speak. What sort of person did that? She took a breath. She wasn’t going to get mad. He seemed to want her to get mad and she wasn’t going to. “I should try it for a bit. Blindfold myself to find out if being completely blind really would be any better then only being blind to life. Then I would know for sure.”

She heard the bird flicker its wings and it took off. It landed next to her then, on the opposite side of her from Avarice. It hopped up on her foot and she felt it doing a little sideways walk up her leg. It hopped up onto her elbow then and continued its little sideways walk up to her shoulder. It was there that is settled once more.

“You say this, you say that. That’s all fine and everything and your little comparisons might prove what I said wrong, but if you haven’t noticed. I wasn’t trying to make that point exactly, I was trying to make the point that the more you cry about it, the more foolish you sound. Nothing can be gained without an action taken. You can sit here and argue with me all you want, point out everything you want, but is it doing any good on changing that fact?” Releasing an annoyed grunt, Avarice would place his hands behind him, using them to help push himself up to his feet.

“I once knew a man who felt that there was nothing he could do to change what he was, a weak broken shell of a man. That man would still be as he once was if he hadn’t of taken my advice and changed himself. Now he’s probably one of the strongest beings on these planes, at least of the people I have met. Despite that fact, I suppose you’ll just brush off my words and laugh.” Another shrug rolled across his shoulders, before turning to face the woman, “If you don’t like my advice, then that just sucks doesn’t it? Because if you don’t listen to people what is the point in going on with your life? Like it or not what people say sometimes can actually prove to be useful.”

Pushing off with his right foot the man would move past the form of Ivory, pausing just a couple feet beyond her back. Dipping both of his hands within the pockets of his jacket, a smug grin crossed his lips, “Normally I would offer what I could to help you, but if you’re going to simply sit there crying and arguing with everything I say, then there’s no point in helping you. Just remember…” Avarice would lift a hand from his pocket to issue his index finger in the air out of habit, “If you really had intentions of helping yourself and changing what you so rightfully hate, then like hell you would be sitting up here on these mountains all by yourself. From the looks of it, you’ve given up on yourself long ago, Ivory.” There was no harshness in his voice, but instead a certain softness that lulled about the wind stroked air.

She laughed at him then. He was a puzzle. Both offering and not offering help at the same time. She wasn’t sure if she found it annoying or nice. It was a change though. "I guess I'm not as stuck with you as you first claimed! Unfortunately you have me all wrong.” She let her legs stretch out in front of her and she looked out over the land that still seemed to be barren and empty to her. She had been hoping to see something useful out there. There wasn’t much.

“I came up here because I have to start my search over. I had a friend, a human mage. I had sought him out as soon as I could about my curse. He was testing the extent of it so that he could find a way to reverse it. The last place I saw him, was on the ground. I saw him… so I knew he had died. I have no idea what he had in mind to help me. I was told that the Academy of Magic would be the place to go next. But I couldn’t stand the thought of going there so soon after his death. So I came up here to collect myself before trying once more to visit a city and find my way to this Academy.” She sighed. “Someone had offered to take me there before I met up with my friend. Now I wish I had gone then. Perhaps he wouldn’t have died then. But that is imposable to change, so I will have to live with it.” She moved her legs to the side and got up from the ledge she had been sitting on. She dusted off her skirt before straightening.

“And who pray tell said I was leaving?” Came the slithering suave voice of the man known as Avarice, “And of course I had you all wrong. How else am I going to get you to talk other than correcting me?” Shooting her a quick glance over his shoulder, an eye would wink at her, “Now I know your story and all it took was simple assuming things that were obviously not true and you couldn’t help but correct me. I’m not your common fool; I may be a fool, but definitely not a common one.” Again she spoke and again he fell silent to listen to what she had to say. Soaking in all the information a couple thoughts jumbled through his mind.

“The Academy of Magic isn’t your only option…Granted I’m not very fond of them, but I heard they can perform miracles…” There was a long pause as he regarded the option in his head, before shrugging, ‘The God’s of Imythess could probably help you as well. Though, that would be the common route to go and it depends on the God I suppose… I personally have no idea how those people work since I haven’t really been around one of them before, and come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve even seen one.” Lifting a hand to his face, it would lightly rub its way across his cheek briefly only to then drop back to his side, “If I followed the rumors, I could probably direct you to a temple. Of course there’s a chance they’re wrong since they’re rumors. I don’t like trusting other people’s information anyway.”

Turning around to face her finally, he would continue, “You say the Academy is where you want to go, I could join you. Just to keep an eye on you, but I’m not going to baby sit you. It’s up to you though…"

She laughed again and shook her head. The little bird on her shoulder chirped in annoyance at the movement. He really was just trying to make her talk. He wasn’t even ashamed to admit as much. She had the feeling that there was probably only one way to get rid of him and that was to out run him. She could probably do it but there really wasn’t that much of a reason. He wasn’t that annoying after all. Then there was the chance they would simply cross paths some other time and he would no doubt try to goad her into telling him more. After all, she was feeling better for some reason. Talking did seem to help. How strange.

“I think I would rather try for mortal ways of removing a curse before trying to not only find a God, but to find one who will be kind enough to remove a curse without me having to become devoted to them or something. Being in debt to a God does not sound like fun.” She stroked the little bird and it settled back down against the hollow of her neck. She felt the light prick of it’s talons through the fabric. She looked out once more. Hoping she would spot a city of something. She had been planning on taking wing and flying until she saw a city below. The she would have to ask for directions to the Academy of Magic. Should she change those plans? She could challenge him to keep up with her. That didn’t really make too much sense really. It wasn’t as if she knew where she was going. “So am I right to assume you do know where the Academy of Magic is?” She asked suddenly. Her hand falling away from the nightingale as she asked her question.

While she spoke he would listen to her words, before shrugging, “Do as you wish, it’s a mere suggestion. Can’t say I blame you really, since I don’t trust the God’s much the way it is.” Again Avarice picked up in a flurry of movements, this time tracing back to the edge where he originally had resided before moving to where he was. With his hands still in his pockets, the lavender hues of his eyes would dance across the landscape, thinking to himself for the time being. The rumors said that the Academy of Magic was located in a secluded location, but for some reason he really couldn’t think of the city that they said it was located by. Simply casting the thought aside for a moment, his eyes would shift over to that of Ivory, “To be honest…I really don’t know.”

It couldn’t be all that hard to find if they had asked around until they got some sort of usable answer to go off of, but that would take a deal of time. It was time he really didn’t want to spend, but then again there wasn’t really anything he needed to do at the current point in time. All of his contracts were complete and there was nothing else filling his time. So it really wouldn’t hurt to help her out a little bit, but that would be all…

With an issued sigh the man’s voice would pick up in a monotone sound, “I can’t guarantee anything, but maybe we could ask around. It’s not the most idealistic idea, but I think we should probably start in one of the more common towns. Taras is by far the most common, but since I hate that place we could pick another location. Possibly Cascadia?”

Ivory was starting to be able to see the outline of him again. She didn't know about the winks he had given her. He didn't seem to have connected that she would have to see him to notice the wink. Ivory remained ignorant of the fact. She did pick up the tone of his voice easily enough at least. She could sort of see a very blurred out version of him when he moved. She had to be careful though. If she looked at him again he would vanish from her sight once more.

“That's a rather odd thing to do. To offer to help without knowing the way." She smiled at that though and began to wonder why he wanted to come along. She doubted it would be that interesting. "I wouldn't be looking for a garentee. Most can't stand up to them when they are made. As for where to go... I've actually never been to Taras. I don't mind going back to Cascadia though, I used to live there for a while when I was little. Perhaps I can find someone I know who might still be alive. Most of my friends had been humans. It's a shame they age so quickly.”

She turned away from where she had been and started to walk back to Cascadia. There was no reason to stay here now that she had a course of action and a destination in mind. The little nightingale took the the sky once more as she went along. It didn't chirp out in warning when it took wing. It seemed more like it just didn't want to sit on her shoulder. As she started walking she decided to ask him another question. “Can you fly? I was just thinking it might be a little faster.”

(( OOC: Sorry I couldn't think of anything else. Would you like to start a new topic now? If ya do, you could do the opening post if you wish. ))

When the woman spoke his eyes couldn’t help by dance over in her direction to narrow themselves briefly in response. An odd thing to do? Was he supposed to be normal, because there was not one bit of normality left in these old bones to even grant her with that little belief. Hell, all throughout his life he was known as an odd one, mainly through the methods he used in fights and the way he carried himself in conversations and actions. There was neither rhyme nor reason to everything he did, because at the end of it all he still followed a beat to a different drum.

Humans…There was a lot about humans that he disliked, but he decided to bite his tongue for the time being, knowing that the woman probably wouldn’t take kindly to what he was about to say. Directing his attention from the thought, it would then trail to the Cities mentioned, contemplating them momentarily to himself for the time being. If they went to Cascadia, then she would have a better chance at finding someone she knew that could help her, where as if they went to Taras the odds might be much slimmer. It was decided when she began moving off in the direction they came.

In a slow methodical pace, Avarice would begin in her wake, listening to the question as he had. Could he fly…? Yes, he could, but it was something he liked to keep under the table. It wasn’t something that was meant to be common knowledge, so he would simply give her a plain old, “No.”

((OOC: In a little bit if you don't mind. Ivory flew up here and doesn't know where she is going exactly. It's funny that both are going to keep the fact that they can fly a secret!))

As soon as he responded to her she was inclined to take wing anyway. She had flown up here after all. She didn't want him to know she had her own wings though. Perhaps she could polymorph into something that would be able to travel better. She had used a dove before. That had worked well. So what would be suitable? She wasn't about to give him a ride. So a horse or the like was right out. Perhaps a larger bird like an eagle or falcon? That might...

She hadn't been paying enough attention and found a tree next to the path with her shoulder. She instinctively tried to move away from it. She put up a hand to try and see it as she moved too close to the edge. The rocks gave way under feet. Ivory completely lost her footing and by chance managed to grab hold of a branch of the same tree that was causing the problem in the first place. She couldn't quite get her feet back under her but she realized she was close enough to the ground now that falling here wouldn't matter much. She let go of the branch. It whistled through the air as it sprang away from her hand. Ivory found herself sitting on the edge of the path under a spindly tree that could have easily been ducked under if she had seen it. "Stupid tree." she muttered and tucked her hair back behind her ear. Now he would no doubt think she was a complete idiot. She couldn't even walk down a path.