Foreign Visitor

"It was the war." He considered for a moment, his hands continuing to knead Kallista's muscles. "Well, that sounds a little glib. There were a lot of things going on then. I went over with a larger group of people who felt the same way I did - that we didn't want this to go on, that surely the Ahkhasics didn't either, that there must be some way we could work together to help bring peace. I got over there, and saw how people viewed the Nerathi, as oppressors, invaders... Anyway, I don't know how much impact we really had, but I stayed because there was more healing to be done. There still is, even if the wounds are older."

Kallista nodded, her eyes closed.

"There are always wounds that need healing."

As he massaged her hand she gently curled her fingers around his briefly, squeezing his hand.

"I'm glad there's people like you out there. The gods have put their faith in you, and it sounds like you don't disappoint them."

"Thank you." He smiled, pulling the last of the tension out of her fingertips before moving on to her other arm. "I know how lucky I am to lead a life that I love. It's not a choice that's so easy for everyone."

"I know," kallista said quietly, "I give thanks every day for the life the gods have given me. My life has been more blessed than I ever thought possible. Unfortunately, not everyone has it so easy."

She sighed, somewhat sadly.

"There are a lot of people who need help. I wish I was strong enough to help them all."

Merlyn nodded absently, but as Kallista still had her eyes closed, he added an "I know."

"But it's not a matter of strength." Merlyn had been around long enough to have seen how people's needs and desires put them in conflict with others, let alone themselves. "You do what you can, knowing it isn't all on your shoulders - there are other out there, too." Hopefully working towards similar goals. "Often the best you can do is give people the tools they need to help themselves."

"Yeah, I've been learning that." Kallista's eyes fluttered open to look up at the elf. She giggled lightly.

"I just realized you have your cousin's nose. Or I guess he has yours. I'm guessing you're older than him."

"Yeah, he definitely got that from our side of the family, though it somehow managed to skip his father. I'm technically Vedran's first cousin once removed but, we're considered the same generation." Merlyn shrugged. He'd been to see Jesseryn the night before for dinner, but really they didn't have much to say to each other. The only thing they really had in common was that the rest of the family considered them misfits. Playing along with the formal etiquette for most of the evening had chafed enough to make him dread going back to Vanilorra for any length of time. "It doesn't really matter though. I like Vedran - he's a good person - and that's why I'm happy to see him again."

"Yeah, he is. He's had some rough times too. Really rough times. I'm glad that he seems to be happy now. He deserves it."

She glanced up at him a gain with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"So you mus have known him growing up, huh? What was he like? I keep hearing about his wild days, but I can't picture him as anything but a responsible grown up."

Merlyjn nodded. Some of the stories Vedran had told him on his first night back had been seriously worrying, but his current happiness, mixed though it was with stressful responsibilities he'd chose to accept, seemed genuine. His family clearly provided him a needed balance in his life. "Well, I guess so. He came out to stay with me when he was fifteen. He was really pretty troubled then too, to be honest, but the freedom was really good for him." He smiled, remembering their travels as he worked more on her back. "I guess he was pretty wild though."

Kallista half-frowned. hearing that vedran had been troubled even back then was worrysome, but she took comfort in the fact that he seemed content now.

"Wild how?" she asked curiously. She knew she shouldn't pry, but the chance for picking up gossip was just too good.

Merlyn chuckled at that. "Teenager without parental supervision wild. I'm sure you can imagine. It was good for him to have the chance to start making decisions for himself without worrying about too much about people's expectations." Or at least, not family expectations. There had been other things he'd seen Vedran learn, too, about how societies treat their people. He didn't think Kallista wanted to hear those stories though. "And he was pretty popular, for a half-elf."

"I bet," kallista said with a wry smile, "I mean, he is a hottie. He deserves every bit of his Charisma score. You know, when I first met him, I tried everything I could to get him into bed. This was back when he was still with Jacinthe. At the time I was... not exactly clear on the whole monogamy concept."

"Heh." He shook his head. There wasn't any sense worrying about things in the past. "I think you missed your window of opportunity by a couple of years?"

Kallista laughed.

"Yeah, maybe that was for the best. I've learned a lot since that time. I'm not the same person I was back then. I guess none of us are. Life has a way of doing that to you."

"It certainly does at that." He was moving lower now, working on her thighs. "There was a long time that I couldn't ever imagine myself coming back to Nerath for anything."

"Mmmmm... that feels good," Kallista purred.

"Why so hesitant to come back?"

"Oh I wasn't hesitant at all, I think I was adamant. Ahkas is really home for me now. Even just being in Highmark is surreal, and I hadn't spent that much time here before I left. I think.... maybe I wasn't confident of that yet, like if I left it would mean I'd failed or given up, or that I might not get back."

"I guess I can understand that."

Kallista sighed and moved her tail out of the way of Merlyn's magic fingers.

"How long are you staying?"

Merlyn chuckled. "I have no idea. We'll see, I guess. There are some things I feel I should do, since I am here but... I need to think about why I feel that way, and then decide."

"Is it... something you want to talk about?" she asked. Merlyn was going through so much trouble to treat her, Kallista felt the least she could do was be someone who would listen.

"Well, maybe," he admitted. "I'm not sure. Maybe later though - we're trying to get you relaxed, remember? How are you feeling?"

"Better than I've felt since the battle," Kallista admitted, "There's still pain... but it's less intense. Further away, I guess. I don't suppose I could hire you on full time as a masseur, huh?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid monogamy is just not my thing either." he smiled. "But I think we're in a good spot to begin. This might feel a little strange, but try to stay relaxed. If anything hurts, or if you need me to stop, that's okay, just tell me. It's fine if you fall asleep, so don't worry about trying to stay awake."

"Ok..." Kallista said, closing her eyes once more. She didn't intend to fall asleep - she wanted to see what Merlyn had planned - but she was almost totally relaxed, her aching muscles for once not totally in rebellion.

"Don't feel like you need to be too gentle," she added with a smile, "I'm tougher than I look."

"I'll keep that in mind," he promised, before helping her turn back over on her back and getting down to business. Everything was mostly set up already, so he just needed to light the candles in the right order and get on with the actual casting elements. He was actually more comfortably using his Draconic than his Nerathi at this point, and his words were much smoother as he began the invocations. The gold-flecked green glow of his dragonmark shone in his eyes, and through the light fabric of his sleeve. When he placed his hands on Kallista, she could feel a light electric tingling pouring through her body.