Battle of the Stubborn

[Phoenix]

It seemed as though it had been months since he had seen Zanna and he had missed her desperately. After convincing her to move to Cinderports (at least that's how he chose to remember it, though he wasn't sure he could actually convince her to do anything), he was glad she was out of the path of the war.

The war had nearly cost him his life multiple times, and now things only seemed to have gotten worse. Some sort of dragon servants had managed to release a curse within the camp and ever since then, Kaldon had been feeling... odd. It may have seemed odd that he had torn himself away from the rest of the Grey Guard, but with his growing concern there was one thing he couldn't get off his mind: more specifically one person with red hair and an adorable petiteness that was in harsh contrast to how terrifying she could be.

Now, you might have thought that it was odd that he was going to find her, but there were a few things he knew: she had connections to seedy people (and he hoped those included someone who knew about magic), she knew something about magic (as much as she might not have wanted to, and if he was going to die from this thing, he wanted to see her first.

He made his way through the streets of Cinderports on the back of Ajax, a scarf wrapped around his face to cover up how pale he had become and how bloodshot his eyes were. He could only hope that she wasn't away. Her "business" took her all over the world and he hoped it wasn't a matter of her being totally gone.

On the bright side, he had the cure, on the downside, he wasn't going to take it and leave the rest of the company to die. He knew that Zanna was going to vehemently object to him not just taking it and saving himself, but "good guy Kal" wasn't going to let his friends die... not if he could find a mage who could produce more of this stuff.

Zan-- he broke into a bit of a coughing fit as he knocked on the door halfway through her name. --na. Zanna!

 

[Sreeya]

Zanna was busy being Zanna, which meant she was out all night chasing down a job and shanking a poor fat bastard that had a pretty price on his head. This one had been an especially gross job as he had the tendency to sweat a little too much and managed to wipe too much of it on her. And to top it off, he had gotten it on her hair. That had sent her into a flying rage that resulted in multiple stab wounds that was more than what the job called for. In the end, she had threatened her client to still hand over the full payment and then some to ensure Zanna didn’t come after him.

And so she made her way back, bleary-eyed and exhausted and ready to crash at home. That was when she saw a figure slamming on her door, and she had half a mind to knock the daylights out of the person. It took her a moment to realize she recognized the voice, and her eyes widened. She made her way over to Kal, eyes narrowing suspiciously, “What the hell are you doing?”

She didn’t wait for his answer before she reached over and yanked the cloth off his mouth. Naturally she had no respect for his privacy or reasons for why he’d be covering himself up. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, “You look like utter shit. What happened to you?”

 

[Phoenix]

Kaldon didn't pause as he continued rapping on the door, hoping she would open up and wasn't gone. He was just about to give up hope when he heard that familiar, grumpy voice behind him. He turned around and she promptly pulled the cloth off his face in a hurry, telling him how terrible he looked. Thanks, good to see you too, he managed sarcastically through a cough.

Can we go inside? he asked, looking at her and wondering why she smelled vaguely like a hairy old man. He was smart enough not to ask, and knew there was a chance he wouldn't like the answer even if he did.

He waited for her to unlock the door before stepping inside and closing it behind him. I need your help, he said as he turned back toward her. It was very clear that he was sick and he kept his distance just in case this was... contagious or something. I've got... something, he said, not really sure what to call it. I think a dragon's followers did it or... something, he said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small, wooden vial with a cork. I have the antidote, but... coughing ensued ...I need your help finding someone who can reproduce it, he told her.

And here it would no doubt come. He fully expected her to just say "just drink it you idiot" and then try to move on, but she also knew how obstinate good guy Kal could be, and he wasn't going to let his friends potentially die and continue on living himself.