...And Straight On Til Morning

"...And Straight On Til Morning" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Meranym Morgenstern: As the sky began to wake, so did the girl. Light was creeping into the windows of Ingrid’s hut as she opened her eyes, and she felt the need to stand and look around.
She’d always been an early-riser - one of many habits she’d picked up in the monastery - but today part of her wanted to continue sleeping and another part… another part wanted to run away. The constant deluge of voices in her mind gave her no explanation for the paranoia she was feeling. Something wasn’t right, but she wasn’t sure. Wherever this ‘Haligan Island’ was, it hadn’t been anywhere near where the Morning Star went down, which didn’t bode well. While she didn’t know much about tides and currents, she doubted that she landed here purely by fate - gods, she didn’t even know what day it was.
Her head throbbed dully as she slid out of the bed. She saw her clothes hanging nearby and felt a wave of horror wash over her as she glanced down at her underclothes. She had always been told to keep what she was a secret - no matter the cost. There was nothing she could do about losing control the night before… with luck, no one would remember. She barely remembered, herself. But her tattoos, among other things, were rather striking.
Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she looked over at the woman in the chair. Hopefully, the girl would be able to dress and leave without waking her.
Deoiridh Tuathanach: Deo slept lightly as she leaned back in the rocking chair. She’d spent a lot of the past day looking over the girl, making sure that she was being cared for, and that her hypothermia lost it’s grip on her. Whenever the towel lost its heat she’d warm it up once more and replace it. She was very tired and had only been resting her eyes when she fell into a light slumber. And as she slept she dreamed. Even though the memories from her previous life had returned, the still played back in her dreams. Memories of battles Greg had fought, of friendships he’d made, the life he lived, and eventually lost.
Meranym: As the girls tried to pull on her salt-stiffened clothes, she paused. The woman’s dreams were… strange. Stranger than normal. She knew that dreams were made from memories - with her abilities, she learned that a long time ago. But the woman’s dreams… these weren’t made from memories - they were memories. But how could someone die and come back? How could they come back different?
The girl shook her head and finished getting dressed. Those were questions she wasn’t sure she needed the answer to, questions that would impede her ability to find a safe place. Instead, she began to head towards the door, doing her best to be silent.
Deo: She was doing quite well too, until she made a wrong step and the floorboards creaked under her. Deo’s eyes blink open as she sucks in a breath. “Oh g'mornin’.” She says with a smile. “Good teh see ye up instead o’ thrashin’ about in yer sleep. How are ye feelin’?” She asked, making no moves to get up.
Meranym: The girl froze, silently thankful her cloak had been intact enough for her to wear. It was… like a security blanket, as it hid a vast majority of her face when the hood was up.
“I… I’m fine, thank you… I should go…”
Deo: She shrugs. “Ah mean, if ye like. Yer not a prisoner er nuthin’ but we should probably get a look atcha’ just teh make sure yer recoverin’ alright.”
Meranym: “I… I don’t want to be touched…” Her voice was wavering, and the woman could hear a faint tap-tap-tap… tap-tap-tap… as the girl tapped a hand against her leg.
Deo: She nods. “That’s more than fair. If it makes ye more comfortable I can stay in this chair and ye can sit across the room and we can just talk. But honestly nobody here’s gonna hurt'cha, ah promise.”
Meranym: “Everyone says that. Everyone. And then they do.”
It was an experience she was extremely familiar with. And even though she didn’t turn her head, the woman could tell that the girl was crying.
Deo: Deo sighed but did not make a move towards her. The girl didn’t want to be touched so she respected that. “Ah’m sorry ye’ve been hurt before dear, but if we were gonna hurt ye, it woulda been done by now don'tcha think? Ah certainly wouldn'ta spend my time makin’ sure ye got better if ah was just gonna hurt ye. And besides that we have no reason teh hurt ye. Ye just washed up on our shores after ye got shipwrecked. Our main concern is makin’ sure yer well, and gettin’ ye back teh where ye came from er wherever ye were goin.”
Meranym: “You would be surprised at the lengths people go. And sending me in either direction… that would be hurting me.” The girl takes another step to the door, and it swings open.
Deo: She shrugs. “Well, stay here then if ye like. If ye don’t want to go teh either o’ those places ye don’t have to. Like ah said, we’re not gonna make ye do anything. If ye are intent on leavin’ though I can help ye get some supplies fer the journey if ye like.”
Meranym: “I don’t think many people will be open to my staying here… not with the threat of… ‘Rhenco’… on everyone’s minds. Unsurprisingly, it seems that the Chief is approaching to question me - she seems quite suspicious already.” The girl sighs, and the door swings shut of its own accord.
Deo: She raises an eyebrow. “How do ye know about that?” Was what she asked first but then shook her head. “Regardless I think yer underestimating the island’s inhabitants, and ah dunno if suspicious is the right word. She’s probably just curious is all. Ah mean ye just kinda showed up from nowhere.” She shrugs. “Anyways, if anyone wants to kick ye out, ah’ll give ‘em a kick in the arse personally.”
Meranym: The Chief marched straight to her mother’s hut with Brandt, Ingrid, and Shadow. She wasn’t angry, she was simply hoping to catch the girl before she had a chance to leave. A stranger showed up on her island…possibly a spy…maybe, and she needed to get to the bottom of it once and for all. 
“Hey, remember, take it easy on her,” Brandt said placing a hand on her shoulder as they neared the hut. “This girl went through a lot.”
“I know,” Grey said, “but I’d rather we solve this sooner rather than later. We need to be smart about this.” With that they continued to the hut and knocked on the door. “Deo? It’s Grey, Brandt, and Mom. Can we come in?”
Meranym: The door swings open again, and the girl looks at the three humans and the night fury from under her hood. “Chief Grey,” she nods. “I believe you have questions for me.”
Grey: The Chief blinked at the girl with silver hair. For one, she wasn’t expecting the girl to already be standing up and walking around already, and the fact that…she knew that she had questions sent a little chill up her spine. Then again, she tried to ask the girl questions last night while she was throwing up, but…still…something felt weird. 
“Uhhh…” she cleared her throat, “yes, I wanted to ask you some questions as to who you are and what you remember, if that’s okay.”
Meranym: “I will answer them. I’d hate for your sister to feel the need to ‘give you a kick in the arse’.”
The girl looks back at Deoiridh calmly, then moves back to the bed and sits. She pulls back her hood to reveal those strange, matter silver curls. As she looks up at Grey, her expression softens.
“You’re confused… everyone is around me. It’s just what I am - confusing.”
Grey: “Well, yes, I mean…it’s not every day a foreigner shows up on my island out of nowhere,” Grey said as she, Brandt, Ingrid, and Shadow walked in.”I know you’ve been through a lot, but the person who saved you…there were some things that don’t line up. And…forgive me, but I would like to know who you are…”
Meranym: She passes a hand across her preternatural face as she looks at the assembled group. That strange, probing presence can be felt in their minds again as the girl takes a deep breath. “I don’t recall much, but I will answer what I can. But before I do… can you tell me the date?”
Grey: “It’s August 20, 1070,” Grey answered as she sat down on the cot and patted the space next to her inviting the girl to sit next to her. 
Deo: “Maybe not so close chief.” Deo pipes up. “She doesn’t like teh be touched.”
Grey: “Oh, yes, of course,” Grey said quickly standing up allowing the girl to have the cot to herself. “I apologize, I didn’t know that.”
Meranym: The girl watches Grey move away from the bed for a moment, then she looks down at her hands.
“My name is Meranym Morgenstern. I am seve-“ she stops, as if catching herself. “I am eighteen. I was a passenger on a frigate called the Morning Star. Three nights ago, the ship encountered a heavy storm, and I was thrown overboard. That is what I remember.”
Grey: Grey nodded as she listened to…Meranym, and she couldn’t help but look at her husband. She was around the same age as Sven and a little older than Dagny and Kari, and here she was…on a strange island…alone. The Chief just turned back to Meranym. 
“Okay, that…that’s a good start, Meranym,” she gently. “Can you tell me where you’re from…or where the Morning Star left? The man who found out said there was debris on our shoreline, but…when we looked…we couldn’t find anything. And…my scouts would’ve noticed a ship in our waters.”
Meranym: “We left from a port near Farengar Lake seventeen days ago, heading for Highguard Tower. I... was being sent there, from a monastery north of the lake.” She runs a trembling hand through her hair, “I don’t... I don’t.. don’t understand how I got here. I was told that we were a week from land in every direction.”
As she brought her hand back to the cot, she began tapping her fingers in intervals of three. 
“Shadow, my map,” Grey said quickly to the Night Fury.
Shadow quickly stepped over to Grey allowing access to her saddlebag, and sure enough, the map was inside. She pulled it out and saw the map in front of her. 
“Farengar Lake…” Grey said as she studied it with Brandt looking over her shoulder, “that’s north of here…”
“So, she would’ve passed by here eventually…” Brandt added, “and two weeks of travel…yeah…you would be pretty far out. Highguard Tower is all the way in the Wildereast…” He pointed to the area on the opposite side of the continent in the same area where the Barbaric Burgular Island was…where he grew up. “No wonder we didn’t see a ship in distress.”
Grey squinted her eyes at the map. If Meranym and her ship were so far out at sea…a week’s worth away…that was far too long for anyone to survive being in the water, but she didn’t want to say it out loud. “Is it possible that someone brought you here?” she asked the girl. “A week in the water is far too long.”
Meranym: “I wasn’t in the water for a week. The storm was only three nights ago, and I don’t remember seeing anyone but the crew…” she trails off, her brow furrowing. There was a possibility… but no. That wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. And how would she even begin to tell them about it?
A few loose objects around the room begin to shake and clatter as she fought about this internally, and her skin had taken on a subtle glow. “We were either closer than the captain thought, or something happened after I was hit by the mast… but I have no experience in sailing, so I don’t know…”
Deo: Deo noticed the objects around the room and glanced between Nym and Grey. “Is there anything else Chief? Cuz ah think our guest might need a bit more rest.” She said, put emphasis on the word trying to hint that she was badgering the poor girl.
Grey: Grey noticed the objects in the room and looked at Meranym with widened eyes. She raised an eyebrow at Deo not appreciating the slight attitude in her voice. She didn’t think she was badgering the girl. She was trying to figure out what was going on. There was a lot to this story that didn’t make sense, and if this was leading to something awful, as the Chief, she needed to figure it out. Then again, she did see that Meranym did need to be checked over. 
She sighed. “No, not now, anyway,” Grey said rolling up the map. “We can talk more another time.”
“Meranym, why don’t I check you over?” Ingrid said. “I need to look at your head.”
Meranym: Meranym pulls up her hood. “My head is fine…” she murmurs as she shies away. The clattering intensifies for a moment, then she takes a breath, and it stops entirely.
“The Chief is just trying to understand what happened, Gre - Deoiridh… things aren’t adding up, I agree…”
Grey: “Yes, but…I’m sorry if I came on too strong,” Grey said sighing. “I didn’t mean to. There’s just…a lot going on, and I’m just trying to keep everything in line…so to speak. However, I also understand that you’ve been through a lot, and you do need some rest. May I ask if there’s someone I can contact for you…to let them know that you’re safe?”
Meranym: “No.” Meranym’s voice is unusually sharp as she speaks up. “There is no one.”
Grey: The Chief and the second-in-command hid their shock from their faces when hearing that Meranym was all alone. She had no family…no one to contact. She could only sign. “Then you’re free to stay here for as long as you want,” Grey said without hesitation. 
Deo: Deo nodded. “Aye ye can even stay with me if ye like.” The redhead offered.
Meranym: “I… I shouldn’t. It isn’t safe…” Meranym fidgets uncomfortably as she tries to think of a way to rationalize or explain. How could she tell them what she was without inviting a storm on her head?
Deo: “Like ah said Nym we’re not gonna force ye to stay. If ye really want teh go, ye can. But out there is less safe than here. Here at least people care about yer well being. Out there ye’ll only have yerself fer a time.”
Grey: “Deoiridh is right,” Brandt interjected as he crossed his arms. “We’re not going to force you, but…it would probably be a better option to stay here…at least until you get back on your feet. Get some food and some rest, and if you still prefer to leave, we can have someone escort you to where you need to be.”
Meranym: Meranym looks down at her hands again. “There isn’t anywhere I need to be, not anymore. But staying here is… is dangerous,” she murmurs. “I’m… I’m better off alone… away from people.” Gods, how she was hoping no one would try to question that.
“I… I know that you think I’m young… not much older than your children. And I know… I know… know that you think I can’t handle myself. But… I am alone by choice.”
Deo: Deo shrugs. “Ah mean ah’m not much older than you muhself and ah kick ass so ah can’t really say much about you. If ye want teh go, go. We just want teh help is all.”
Meranym: “From what I can glean, that isn’t strictly true… past lives are still lives, ‘Greg’.” Meranym freezes. She shouldn’t have said that… 
Deo: She blinks, dumbstruck before she raises an eyebrow. “How do ye know about that?” She asked, her voice was calm and curious.
Meranym: Meranym doesn’t answer, instead she presses her hands to her mouth. Idiot… you should know better by now…
It was hard… with all of the voices she could hear and the recent stress, there were times when it was impossible to keep track of what had been spoken aloud, and what she had heard. How was she going to explain. Come on, Meranym… think…
Deo: She frowns as she sees that the girl is stressing out. “Hey, et’s okay. Ah mean, it’s not like et’s a big secret er somethin’. Ah’m just curious, ye don’t have teh tell me if yer uncomfortable.”
Grey: Grey immediately recovered from the shock of the girl…Meranym…a stranger who never interacted with any of the Rebellion before now…unless there was something Greg never told her, knowing the name of her late adoptive brother. However, like Deoiridh, she could see that Meranym was getting uncomfortable, and she took a step closer.
“Gre-Deo’s right,” Grey replied. “You don’t have to tell us. We’re all just curious, that’s all.”
Meranym: “No… I… I’ve never encountered anyone from this… ‘Rebellion’. And this was the first time I’ve met… Deoiridh… in any lifetime.”
Meranym bites her lip, trying to figure out how to continue.
Grey: “Okay, how did you do that?” Grey asked suddenly. “I mean…I-I was only thinking that. How do you know what I was thinking?”
Meranym: “I… I… I…” Meranym clutches her temples and doubles over. The shaking starts again, and the glowing under her hood intensifies. 
“Control, control, control… control, control, control…” she murmurs, rocking back and forth. “Control, control, c-control…” she takes in a deep, shaky breath, and the shaking around the room begins to die down. “I… I have the control…I have it…”
Suddenly, everyone in the room hears something… though ‘hear’ isn’t the right word. A voice echoes in their minds, sounding strangely like Meranym. 
Control… control, control… I can keep control… breathe… in-out, in-out, in… out…
Deo: Deo swallows as she watches this all unfold. She takes a deep breath and stands walking over to Nym and sits down next to her placing a gentle hand on her back. “Et’s alright Nym, just breathe.” She says calmly.
Grey: “It…it’s alright,” Grey said as she knelt down next to Meranym as well. “Just…take it easy. I was just…”
Meranym: Meranym takes a deep breath, and both sisters slide back about five feet. 
Deo: Deo blinks as she slides back. “Okay.” She said simply and just sits there, cross-legged. She gives a meaningful look to Grey, indicating she should do the same.
Grey: Grey nodded and turned to her husband, her mother, and her dragon holding up their hand to stay where they were. She stayed where she sat on the floor and crossed her legs.
“Alright then,” the Chief said quietly.
Meranym: Meranym pushes herself into the corner furthest away from everyone and draws her knees to her chest. Her hands disappear into her hood as she clutches her head.
“I - I’m sorry… I’m sorry… sorry…”
Deo: “Ye have nothin’ teh apologize for. Ye haven’t done anythin’ wrong.” Deo says, remaining seated.
Grey: “That’s right,” Grey said gently. “You’re not doing anything wrong. We’re just trying to understand what’s going on here.”
Meranym: “I… I can’t let people know… too dangerous…”
Deo: “ Nym we can’t help you unless ye tell us what’s going on.” Deo called to her.
Meranym: Meranym falls still for a moment, and so does everything else. Suddenly, a shudder runs through her.
“Knock... knock me out... please...” she whispers, her voice trembling. As she speaks again, her voice seems doubled, as if multiple people were speaking through her. “Please... before I hurt someone...”
A bright light shines out of her hood, and she doubles over. Meranym’s cloak flaps and waves by some unforeseen wind, and her hood is finally blown back. Her eyes are a luminous white, and a ring of light surrounds the crown of her head. She grits her teeth and digs her fingers into the bedspread, as if trying to fight what was happening.
“Do it!”
Deo: Deo frowned but she didn't know what was happening so she deferred to the one person who did. She took a chair and bonked her on the head with it. Cringing as she did. She didn't want to do this, but God knows what would happen if she didn't."
Meranym: As Meranym falls limply to the side, everything stops - the clattering, the lights... the entire room goes back to normal.
Deo: She tosses the chair aside and gently scoops up Nym. "Ma, we could use some help here." She said to Ingrid.
Grey: Ingrid ran over to the girls as soon as she saw Meranym fall to the side. She helped Deoiridh carry the girl to the bed and placed her back on the cot as Brandt helped Grey to stand up.
“You alright?” Brandt asked his wife.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Grey replied.
“What do you think?”
Grey sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know,” she said.
Deo: Deo sighs as she pulls the rocking chair closer to the city and holds Nym's hand.
Grey: “I can send word to the ports in Farengar Lake,” Grey muses aloud as she and Brandt watched the girl. “Maybe they provide some info on her and the crew. This still doesn’t make sense.”
“That might be our best option,” Brandt said. “Maybe we can track down that dock worker. There was no debris and no true way this girl was in the water for three days and survived. He has to know something.”
“You think he brought Meranym on purpose?” Ingrid asked curiously as she pulled a blanket up to the stranger’s chin.
“There’s just something that feels...off,” Grey said looking at Meranym and Deoiridh. “I can’t explain it, but--”
Deo: "Look ah don't know how she came 'ere but ah doubt it was her choice, whether it was the storm or something else. If she wanted teh hurt us she coulda done et a thousand times by now, judging by what I just seen." She looks down at the girl and gently squeezes her hand. "Also ah'd be careful pokin' 'round the port. She said goin' back there would hurt her so..."
Grey: “I know that, Deoiridh,” Grey said as she walked over placing a hand on her brother’s reincarnation’s shoulder, “but...I have a feeling that whoever or whatever brought her here...might want to. As the Chief, I have to look into this, especially when we’re dealing with Rhenco and Central. Besides, I’ll be discrete. I’ll simply ask about the ship...Morning Star.”
Deo: She nods. "Ah know ah know, ah'm jus' sayin' be careful. We don't wanna cause more trouble fer Nym then we already 'ave."
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Events
Category:Act I
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:Deoiridh Tuathanach
Category:Meranym Morgenstern
Category:Ingrid Bergman