Alcoholic
Ayrania had snapped completely. She completely broke emotionally, causing her to spend every hour of the day by herself, not wanting to deal with the emotions of other people. Oh how she loathed them... how they could walk around every day with smiles on their faces, pretending nothing was wrong with their lives...
Ayrania, however, could not pretend that her life didn't just fall down around her. Nothing could have prepared her for the loss of magic. It was total and couldn't be reversed. Ayrania was of normal temperature, and her best defense in the world of Darken Weste was now gone...
She had tried to help Andrew get rid of a demon. But, the demon had lashed out against her, and had 'saved' her by destroying her ice magic. Now she couldn't even chill the glass in her hand, let alone attack with her magic or used her enchated sword. That weapon lay in Derelict somewhere, abandonded because she couldn't touch it.
But the worst part of the entire situation.... was Lumiere. After the loss of her magic, when she was feeling her absolute worst... He then revealed he was a father. Had he told Ayrania before, she wouldn't have been angry. But, he never said a thing, not once.
In her depression, Ayra did what any other sensible person in Darken Weste would do... she drank. And she drank heavily at that. But, she never drank enough to lose conciousness. No, instead she walked back to her shop in Ariath every night, bottle clutched in her hand, and went to sleep there instead of on the streets. She'd awake with a hangover and then repeat the process.
Currently she was in the first stage, where she was drinking, but was still quite sober. Everyone avoided her, knowing that if they were to say a thing to her, she'd lash out. And even without magic, her normal sword was still sharp and deadly. Many feared or hated her presence... but the bartender was joyous.
"Anything I can get you, m'lady?" he said with a chuckle. He asked her this after every drink, knowing the answer of 'the usual'. She would then place a few coins on the bar, down her drink, and order another. On it would go until she ordered the rest of the bottle and went home.
Tonight, however, she didn't place the coins on the table. She reached for her drink, and the bartender held it just out of her reach.
"No money, no drink," he said.
It happened in a flash; Ayrania leapt from her seat and over the bar, unsheathing her sword; the drink went flying and the man was pressed again the wall.
"Don't mess with me," she said, staring him him with bloodshot eyes. Her sword pressed against his neck, and he whimpered, muttering something along the lines of 'take what you want'. She nodded and put her sword away, grabbing a random bottle before heading outside.
Sitting against the wall of the building, she opened the bottle just as thunder struck overhead and rain poured from the sky. She never had a chance to feel cold, as the drink began to spread warmth throughout her body.
Sitting at a corner, Zaigar was quietly sipping her usual Bloody Baron drink. She saw the whole thing with Ayrania jumping onto the bartender and grabbing a bottle and all.
She remembered her barely. The last time she saw her was at Silver Dale when they revealed their inner secrets and past, and after Zaigar had given her the pendant Ayrania's mother passed to her father before she died, Ayrania was a distant memory. If there is one thing about Zaigar, she can eliminate unwanted memories as she pleases. It keeps her off any strings attached. The one thing she could never forget was her past, and that was enough for her bitter brain to contain.
As she continued to sip her drink she reflected back at her outburst before. There was something different about her. She didn't seem to look like the cold Sword Dancer Elf she met before. She looked more bitter the last time she saw her. Before she was ready to die and leave the world and all, now she was just punishing herself for not being dead. It was as if she was asking for death but not given to her. Zaigar sighed. Could this be a sign? That she was asking for death? Might as well do her a favour.
She picked up her Bloody Baron, paid for it and went outside. It was raining, so she brought the hood across her head and walked over to the wall where she was sitting against. The Elf didn't seem to notice the rain nor her coming, so she broke the ice.
"Ayrania, I thought that hair and attire looked familiar."
Still, the Elf didn't answer her. She unsheathed her sword and said, "You remember our deal in Silver Dale? About thinking of me if you wish death. Seems like fate has brought us to meet again. Would you like me to do you that favour this time?"
So saying, she brandished the sword and touched the tip of it to the Elf's throat.
Ayrania didn't notice another's presence until a sword was at her neck. She didn't more or even blink, but instead took another swig from the bottle in her hands.
"Just do it."
Her words were simple, and emotionless. It seemed like she didn't care about life or death, she didn't necissarily want either of them. Completely unbiased, she simply continued to drink until the bottle was half empty.
"I would do it myself if I had any motivation... but you can do it if you want."
These few words were quite depressing in the way they were used. Last time Ayrania had thought about suicide, she actually tried to herself but knew she couldn't. Now, however, it just seemed like she just didn't care at all. And if she had real motivation, she probably would kill herself.
But, honestly, nothing really commanded her to do it, so she wouldn't. She would just sit there, drinking, or let Zaigar kill her.
"Go on, I really don't mind."
She took another swig from the bottle.
Zaigar pressed the tip harder onto the elf's neck, not yet ready to make her move. She was rather surprised at Ayrania's reaction. She knew she was suicidal, but she didn't think that she was THAT suicidal. It felt a little bit different to kill someone without a fight. Her previous victims used to either fight the daylights out of her or begged for mercy, but no this one. This was new.
"You asked for it," Zaigar let out a sigh before making her move, slitting her throat as she went. Blood flew at every corner and every direction as her skillful hands cut some more on the elf's wrists and ankles. It was almost the same way as herself when she was tortured by Ormack, but a lot kinder than her own experience. The elf made no attempt to fight. She just slipped slowly to the ground, waiting for her bleeding to claim her life.
Zaigar cleaned her sword and put it away. She stood there and watched as the elf lying on her own pool of blood, staining the entire ground they were on in red. Zaigar knew it would be a slow, painful death for her because unlike humans, elves take longer time to bleed to death and have plenty of time to get help and stop the bleeding. Zaigar just stood there, taking a swig of her Bloody Baron and watched to make sure that she had completed her job.
That was when she saw the pendant she returned to her back in Silver Dale. It was shining bright under the pale moon as the rain slowly stopped. She remembered the last words the elf's mother said before giving this pendant to her father.
"Give this...to my...Little Sword...Dancer..."
Without warning and without realizing it, Zaigar removed her hood and tore off a few straps from it. She bandaged Ayrania's jugular and her wrists and ankles tight enough to keep the pressure and stop the bleeding. She took out a small tiny vial and poured its contents onto the bandages and it created a small layer of protection around it. After making sure every bandage was covered with the solution, she wore her hood back and walked off, taking a swig of her Bloody Baron as she went.
"You're lucky. Your mother has plans for you..."
Ayrania endured the pain without so much as a twitch. The blood gushing out of her was a sign that soon it would all be over. Sure, now that the deed was done she felt some regret, but she didn't care. It was over now. All those painful memories would be gone... it was done.
Then, Zaigar decided to start bandaging the wounds she had just inflicted. Anger coursed through Ayrania. What was the point? She had already lost a lot of blood. She would have objected of fought back, but she was weak from the injuries.
At her last few words, Ayrania felt suddenly numb and quite empty inside. A sickening feeling started at the pit of her stomach. Ayrania would have said something, anything, if her throat didn't hurt so bad.
Instead, she merely watched as Zaigar walked away.
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