forum Banished Together (Closed)

Started December 26, 2022 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

@Serpentess (Jonathan and Adelia)

Jonathan whistled lightly as he finished tying up his bicycle. He’d just gotten home from a visit to his favorite cafe, Lucky’s Brew. He loved that place, and especially their coffee.

After a moment to check that his bicycle was secure, he stood and headed out of his front yard, shutting the gate behind him. Now, to begin his daily routine of checking the neighborhood.

As he walked, any folks that noticed him waved, and he jovially waved back. Every single one of his tenants were strange folk among humans. Some were simply humans that had developed shapeshifting abilities, usually into some form of bird. While others, like Jonathan himself, weren’t human at all.

Unfortunately, despite the tranquility and safety Jonathan had given these strange folk, it had somewhat divided the town. The humans were starting to pick up on the unusual nature of Jonathan’s neighborhood, while his tenants were becoming more and more clannish and uninviting to true humans. And, a tragedy that had happened only a few years ago had only worsened the situation.

Jonathan quietly sighed, pushing the memories of that tragedy away to better enjoy the morning. He continued to roam through his neighborhood, greeting tenants and helping out when he saw someone in need of it.

NO! a woman's voice cried out.

A rough pull backwards.

White filled her vision, quickly replaced by black.

~~

A woman materialized just above the ground and landed with a thud. Her legs, shaking tremendously for whatever reason, gave out and caused her to collapse in a heap. She blinked quickly, trying to figure out where she was. And who she was. Why was she breathing so hard? And why was everything so loud? It was like her senses were heightened.

As the brightness began to fade, and her ears stopped ringing, she sat up and looked around at the quaint little neighborhood surrounding her. She was sitting in a grass patch by the sidewalk. Thankfully, she didn't think anyone had seen her sudden arrival. She slowly rose to her feet, taking in her appearance as she did. She was wearing a sand-colored cable knit sweater, jeans, and brown thigh-high boots with a little bit of a heel. "At least I look cute," she muttered, tugging on the sweater sleeve.

Suddenly, something caught her eye. There was writing on her hand. She frowned as she lifted it up to read it properly.

Your name is Adelia.

"Adelia," she said aloud. "My name is Adelia." A sudden urge hit her, and she checked her other hand. It was void of writing. "Curses," she whispered. "That's it?"

So she had no idea who she was other than writing on her hand that told her that her name was "Adelia." And she was standing in the middle of a random neighborhood that looked nice enough. But how had she gotten here? She couldn't remember a blasted thing.

Jonathan exited a woman’s yard after helping her with her groceries. Then, he heard a strange voice nearby. Turning, he saw a ginger-haired woman sitting in the grass. She seemed confused, and kept saying a name. ‘Adelia’. Who was this Adelia? Or was this woman trying to remember who she was?

“Lass, are you well?”Jonathan asked with an accented voice, approaching her with concern.

She didn’t smell like anyone Jonathan knew. Nor, did she smell like she was from the town, or anywhere near the town. Had she gotten lost? Did her car break down? Or had she been dropped off and left?

It took Adelia a second to realize the voice she heard was talking to her. She jerked her head in its direction and stared up at the outrageously tall man in front of her. "Oh, um, yes? No? I'm not entirely sure… I just got here…"

Her strikingly green eyes widened in worry. Was she trespassing? Would she be thrown out of the neighborhood and have to find somewhere else to go? She didn't recognize the man's accent. Was it native to here? Or had he come from somewhere else?

"I-I-I'm sorry if I'm on your property. I didn't mean to be. I can go. I'll go," she said very quickly, trying to gather herself. She was only certain of one thing – her name was Adelia. Whoever had written on her hand…

Another thought struck her. She had no idea who had written on her hand. Had it been her? Or someone else?

Jonathan’s brow furrowed in confusion. She wasn’t sure? Why? There was definitely something off about her, besides her sudden appearance, but he couldn’t quite pin it down.

When she started to the panic, he quickly waved his hands to reassure her. He then also sat down near her, so she wouldn’t have to strain her neck to meet his eyes.

“Lass, it is alright. You are not trespassing at all. I’m simply concerned, because you are sitting here, seeming rather lost. Did something happen?”he said gently.

She was certainly lost, just by her expression. Was she just disoriented? Or had his earlier guess, regarding amnesia, been more accurate than he’d thought?

Adelia cautiously watched him seat himself beside her. She looked away from his hazel eyes to the neighborhood behind him. It looked normal. But how did she know that? What was normal? What should it look like? Was she normal? Was the man in front of her normal?

She quickly looked back at him when he started talking to her, trying desperately not to hyperventilate anymore.

"I-I-I don't know," she stammered, still trying to figure out who exactly she was. "I don't remember anything before now. I just saw a flash of white, a flash of black… and now I'm here." She down at her hands and realized they were trembling.

And she didn't know why she trusted this stranger, but he seemed to genuinely want to help her. So she kept talking. "I have no idea where I am. Or who I am. The only thing I know is this." The woman held up her soft, delicate hand, which had glittery, fine nails, for him to read the message in black ink.

Your name is Adelia.

The way she looked around concerned Jonathan, but his eyes didn’t widen until she started talking. His guess had been right! By the skies, the poor woman!

Jonathan saw her trembling hands, and he nearly reached for them, but she started talking again. Then, she showed him her hand. Something had definitely happened to her, something horrific. He knew it without a doubt.

After a moment to process what she’d told him, Jonathan leaned forward and gently took her hands, cradling them in his. He would do what he could to help her. He silently vowed himself to that.

“Well, to answer one question. You are currently sitting in the neighborhood that I am landlord of. This is also a small town somewhat hidden in the woods. ‘Tis about a thirty minute drive to the next town, and an hour’s drive from the nearest city, which itself is not very big,”Jonathan said gently, hoping the information helped her.

Adelia breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a bit when he took her small hands in his. It was a comforting gesture, and if there was anything Adelia needed at the moment, it was comfort.

She listened intently to his words. He's the landlord! The woman didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was obviously destitute and had no money to her name. It wasn't an ideal first impression, but maybe if she promised to pay him back eventually, she could live here.

Thirty minutes and an hour? This really was a secluded place. It obviously seemed perfect for her at the moment. "Alright," she murmured, looking again at the message.

Your name is Adelia.

She wondered who wrote it. And her eyes trailed down further to her glittery golden fingernails. Her eyes widened, and she brought them slightly closer to examine them. They were beautiful. How had she managed to afford these?

"Is there anything else I should know?" she asked softly.

Jonathan noticed how Adelia seemed to calm a bit at his hold, so he continued to cradle her hands, even lightly rubbing his thumbs along her delicate hands. He wanted to give her as much comfort as he could.

As he mentioned that he was the landlord, he saw her eyes widen a bit. Jonathan could only pray that she wouldn’t freak out about that. He wasn’t a greedy man, nor did he really care about money at all. It was a human construct, and Jonathan far preferred the Ahkrethian ways of equal trade over the pathetic human money.

Jonathan was silent after she acknowledged his explanation. He watched as Adelia inspected her fingernails, noting the elaborate gold hue. It clearly wasn’t a cheap color, so he pondered if she had been a wealthy or important woman, one that had been cast out or attacked for some reason.

At her words, Jonathan hummed.

“Honestly, I am unsure. Though, I suppose it might be wise to be careful who you talk to here. There’s some conflict between this neighborhood and the rest of the town. Everyone here is unorthodox in some way, like how I’m wearing a medieval-style tunic instead of ‘regular clothes’. Apparently, the rest of the folks here don’t appreciate it, and it’s creating problems,”Jonathan mentioned with a sigh.

“Yet, besides that, since you appear to have nowhere to go, you are welcome to stay with me. No one will bother you, or question me. And, I’d be happy to help you in any way you need,”he offered a moment later.

Adelia practically melted as he caressed her hands gently. The motion was somehow both familiar and incredibly comforting, though she had no idea how or why.

She listened carefully to his words of advice, and nodded. “‘Unorthodox’? As in… just clothing? That truly can’t be the only thing that separates you. It’s ridiculous, the things that divide us. Always so controversial and minimal in the grand outlook.”

Adelia blinked at him, slightly shocked by his offer. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother, really. And I’ll pay you back, I swear it.”

Jonathan continued to caress her hands, seeing that it was definitely helping her. He was grateful that it was.

“No, not just clothing. Everyone here has their own oddities. Melissa, a few houses down, is obsessed with tulips, even eating them sometimes. Henry, across the street, believes that if he does not save as much water as possible, the earth will die in a big drought. Stuff like that. Yet, you are right. The judgements never cease,”Jonathan clarified.

“Yes, I’m sure, lass. You wouldn’t be a bother at all. And, I need no payment. Having some company is payment enough,”Jonathan reassured her.

He meant what he said. He didn’t get as many visitors as he used to, and the silence of his house was starting to nag at him.

Adelia blinked her wide eyes at the mention of the other neighbors' oddities. "Oh, I see. Well, that's still no reason to be harsh to someone. Everyone has their flaws and peculiar habits."

She nodded slowly in acceptance of his offer. "Only if you're sure that I won't get in your way," she insisted. "I really don't want to be a bother or cause trouble…"

A new question formed in her mind, and she was hesitant to ask it. Her lips parted, but she closed them again quickly. It's a ridiculous question anyway.

“I agree completely. That is why I am landlord here. I wanted to give sanctuary to the ‘oddballs’ of society, and I still do,”Jonathan replied.

Jonathan smiled softly,”I assure you, it will be no trouble. Though… now that I am finally thinking of it, I will warn you, I have a specific diet, thus my fridge does not have much variety in it. Hopefully, that won’t cause problems for you.”

Jonathan noticed that she seemed momentarily distracted. He also saw the movement of her lips. Was she trying to say something?

“Something on your mind, lass?”he asked gently.

(Well fuck… I forgot what I actually wanted her to ask him. Because this isn't it. But I can't remember what it was…)

Adelia shook her head slightly. "No, it's alright… I'm just…" She took a steadying breath to compose herself. "How do people come here?" she asked abruptly. "Does everyone just appear out of thin air, or has it only been me?"

She looked around, her reddish-ginger hair swirling in perfectly maintained waves around her shoulders. And her makeup was fine-looking too. Her complexion, her hair, her nails… she looked like someone who had been previously rich. Almost royalty.

(Oof. I hate it when that happens)

Jonathan rose an eyebrow.

“As far as I know, you are the only one to ‘appear’ here. Everyone else walks, drives, or something along those lines,”he answered.

He was lying. He had ‘appeared’ on Earth, via a portal. He was also naturally capable of teleportation, and Jonathan knew of a few other non-human races that could teleport.

Though, despite his lie, it concerned him to hear her say that she’d been through, most likely, a portal. She smelled human, though she had a hint of something odd in her scent, so she likely hadn’t gone through willingly. Jonathan had yet to see any humans capable of teleportation, or even of seeing portals.

He watched her as she looked around, taking in her appearance. It wasn’t just her nails that seemed expensively cared for. It was her, as a whole. This woman had definitely been, at the very least, wealthy, if not a very important individual.

Jonathan was almost certain now that she had been attacked, and cast out of her land without any memory of it. Clearly, whoever had attacked her didn’t want her coming back. The question was, why? Was she being thrown away to rot, or was she actually a threat to this enemy of hers? Unfortunately, the only one who could answer that question didn’t even know who she was.

(I know! I need to start making notes and shit XD)

Adelia blushed heavily. "Oh…" So she was the only one? What did that mean for her? Where had she come from? She had to have come from somewhere, right? She couldn't have just materialized out of thin air. Physics didn't work like that. Well, as far as she knew. Maybe she was some kind of… anomaly.

"Well, is there any way we can go back to your house? I don't want to sit here and attract attention," Adelia said softly. As she moved to stand up, her ears clouded with white noise, and her eyes widened. Then, a pained cry echoed in her mind.

"NO!"

Adelia gasped as her rouge lips parted in surprise. It was the same voice – that girl. She'd heard it before. Right before she'd appeared here.

(Lol!)

Jonathan noticed her blush and immediately regretted lying to her. He didn’t much like lying anyway, but sometimes it was a necessity. But, even with that knowledge, it still hurt. Particularly when he had to lie to this poor woman who just wanted to figure out who she was and how she’d gotten here.

“Don’t worry about it. We will find out what happened, and maybe explain why you seemed to appear out of nowhere,”Jonathan cooed.

“I understand. My house is only a short walk from here,”he replied, standing with her.

He paused when she seemed to freeze, his eyes widening a bit with concern as she gasped. Had something just happened to her? Was she remembering something?

“Adelia? Adelia, are you well?”he asked.

Adelia's expression was stricken. The white noise had faded, but all she could hear was the desperate, screaming plea echoing in her ears. There was so much emotion in the one word, and the longer she listened to the repeating cry, the more familiar the voice became.

Suddenly, she jerked out of her brief daze to find Jonathan saying her name and asking her if she was well.

"No," she whispered, her voice tight as though she had been the one who was screaming. But it wasn't her voice, she was sure of that. It was someone else. Another woman. But who?

"I-I heard a voice," Adelia continued, looking up into Jonathan's eyes. Even though they had only just met, she found herself quickly trusting him. "It was a woman. She was screaming 'no.'"

Jonathan watched Adelia, becoming more concerned as time passed. He then saw the jolt, and heard her answer. That ‘no’, and the way she said it, scared him. It was difficult to scare him, even with his paranoia, but this did.

He listened closely to her, even bending down to better meet her eyes. It was a relief that she was already starting to remember, but if her memories were as troubling as this one, she needed a sanctuary. They needed to get to his house, before she had a breakdown and attracted unwanted attention.

“It will be alright. It is a start on your memories, even though it is troubling. Come, let us get to my house. ‘Tis more private, and safe,”Jonathan cooed.

He lingered a moment to give her a reassuring look, then straightened and gently led her toward his house. He kept at an easy pace, not wanting to rush or overwhelm Adelia. Occasionally, his eyes flicked around, checking their surroundings. It wasn’t necessary, considering that if any of his tenants saw them, it would only seem like he was helping out a new friend or possible tenant, but he did it anyway.

They reached his house in a few minutes. It had a big yard, unlike most of those in the neighborhood, but the house itself was fairly modest. The yard was tidy, and three bicycles were tied up to the side. There was no car in sight, and the yard wasn’t set up to accommodate one either.

Jonathan led her inside, where they were met by a strange combination of medieval and modern decor. His living room was almost completely furnished with handmade things, down to true steel weapons hung about on the walls, while his kitchen was utterly modern and mundane.

A fireplace was set in the wall, and a tall stack of firewood sat nearby, seeming as if it hadn’t been touched in a long time. A large bearskin rug was laid out in front of the fireplace, and it even included the head and claws.

Jonathan showed Adelia to his couch, which was hand-carved wood covered in layers upon layers of varying animal pelts, sitting down next to her. The couch was set in the middle of the room, on the opposite side of the bearskin rug from the fireplace. A pair of comfy looking chairs, built in the same style as the couch, were on the other two ends of the rug, also facing the fireplace. Two small, metal tables were set between the couch and chairs.

“I’m a bit of a medieval era nut. I am also descended from a long line of artisans, and I was taught the old ways of tanning hides, carving wood, and forging metal. Thus, everything in this house that is not modern, I made with my own hands,”he mentioned.

Adelia nodded at his words. It was a start, which was better than nothing, but why did it have to be so vague and terrifying? The anguish in the woman's voice… it was like something she loved was being ripped from her grasp.

The woman followed him and noted the way he glanced around. The action worried her on its own. Was he embarrassed by her? He didn't want to be seen with the strange woman who just appeared out of nowhere in this random development. His development, she reminded herself. It occurred to her that she didn't even know this stranger's name. She needed to ask him the next chance she got.

She glanced down again at her hand and the message. Your name is Adelia. Was it even her handwriting?

At the sight of the house and its interior furnishings, Adelia's mouth dropped open slightly. "Wow," she whispered, awestruck by the grandeur and rustic stylings of the home.

Adelia let him guide her to be seated, and she felt her heart flutter as he sat beside her. She had no idea what a medieval era was, but she nodded anyway. "It's lovely," she said kindly. "It really is. I can't believe you made all of this." Her eyes swept the room before returning to him.

Ask him! a little voice in her head seemed to whisper. She pursed her lips. "Uhm…" she said quietly. "What's your name?"

Jonathan chuckled at her words, happy that someone appreciated his efforts. Not many, even among his tenants, understood his fascination with ‘the old ways’. Though, there was a big difference between the human ‘old ways’ and the Ahkrethian ways.

“I like working with my hands. It’s soothing. And, it also brings back memories of home,”he replied.

Only after he finished speaking did he realize that he’d just mentioned his home, and opened a door for questions he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer. Damn it! Oh well.

At her question, his eyes widened. He hadn’t even thought about it. Had he truly forgotten to tell her his name?

“Did I not introduce myself? By the skies! I apologize, truly. I don’t know why I didn’t. I… Anyway, my name is Jonathan Rykethil, yet just call me Jonathan,”he said.

Adelia nodded, a thoughtful smile spreading on her lips. "What kind of memories?" she asked softly. A now-familiar ache spread in her stomach. With her own memories gone, it felt like she was incomplete. She had no idea of who she was, but she was desperate to figure it out.

"Okay," she murmured, smiling shyly. "Jonathan." Though one of his expressions stuck with her. By the skies. It was oddly familiar and comforting. "It's alright. I just realized it myself."