The Life and Times of Trouble Tempest

[LordCove]

The sound of Troubles rubber ball bouncing off the cave wall echoed ominously, and more than once his friends around him shot him annoyed glances and glares to stop it.
He never did though, he simply gave them a blank look and continued throwing and catching it off the wall, lost in his thoughts. But eventually, he did move to the back of the cave, where the curious little garden, set up so many years ago, still seemed to thrive an survive in the cold climate.

Eventually, as the silence in the back got to him, the voice of the cave wall began to get louder, its tone quizzical, its intent probing...

" Course I still hear it, " he mutters in answer to its silent question, " ... been hearing it ever since we set off across this frozen bloody wasteland. Can't get it outta my head."

Thunk! Thunk!
The only sound made from the cave, interupted on ocassion by the little giggle from Amanda and Storold, which by now, had become like background noise that everyone hardly seemed to notice.

" Well, see pop's first I guess, ... " he again, answered its question, " ... bleed him dry for all his info about it all, and then, get a team an go find it. But I ain't stupid... aint no way we'll be the first one's there. An they ain't likely to let us look without a fight."

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
A long time passed as Trouble seemed to listen, then he sighed softly, head bowed a moment, as the wall's next question seemed to fill him with dread.

" Don't know... " he sighs again, " ... I honestly don't know. Me an him set the record straight, I've pulled myself off the hook... will just have to wait till I get back to see if there's even a rod still there fer me to grab hold of."

THUNK! as he slams the ball off the wall irritably.
And then he grins, a wry, impish grin at the wall, as it seems to ask something amusing.

" Trust is... never being truly sure if you "can" trust."
He quotes, like it's something he's just learnt and committed to memory.
With another grin and a nod at the wall, almost as though thanking it for taking it's time to listen, he pockets his rubber ball and returns back to the cave to once again, pass playful and teasing jokes and insults back around until the storm passes and it's time to move on.

[LordCove]

* Candel light spilled across the old oak table as Trouble rolled his rubber ball around in the palm of his hand, flicking it from palm to air, back and forth, until he set it motionlessly on the table and just stared at it.
Finnaly, he snatched up his quill and began scratching at the now dried and old pages in his journal*

Been some time since I wrote in here.
Sometimes I like to flick back to those first few pages, just to see how old mom's inscription is... or to see how much Screech's hand print has faded.
It's reminding me how many long years ago this started, whats happened between then and now... and sadly, how much bloody older I am and... how different I've become.

Another peculiar talk with Amanda has reminded me how I was back then.. how I thought and acted... and working alongside Legodia these past few days has drilled home much the same.

So where to start?
The ball?
I find it amusing as hell now I realise what it does for me.
At first it was just something to do, helped me concentrate, question myself... centre myself... then the questions came to mind started surprising me, and slowly, I realised it really wasn't me asking.
When I realised that, it came to me so much easier.
I can hear the whispers in the wind, the signals in the swaying of the trees, and the words in the ripples in the water.
It seems bizzare to me now that I never noticed it before, but its there, clear as day.
All I need do is bounce that ball, open myself up...and its all there in full colour.

I wonder if Legodia saw it that day in the woods, and thats why she gave me the offer. Our last meeting didn't exactly end well.

But it works ... and I'm doing my part. I followed the wind to Bastion... dead Bastion. Its rotten corpse had left a taint on the land, so we burnt it and cleansed it. A job well done.. and certainly not a small one.

And all through that journey to find him, whilst the wind and the air was with me, I looked around often to find the one who should have been... wasn't.
She was distant, with her own taint around her, a one I'm powerless to heal or remove... one I don't think I should even try to.
She's with me but... at the same time... not.
And until our time with the Druids in the Whitehorn, I thought perhaps she may never be.

The time there was, amazingly, educational. I almost felt like slapping Legodia sometimes, every incident, every situation, she seemed to turn to me, looking for my answers to the questions.
And all I could do was admit. I don't "know" the bloody answers! I just wing it.. do what I think is best! If its right.. then Yay! If its wrong.. then fine, I'll take the brunt for that!
Strangely, that seemed to be the right answer all along.

So after a few days in Hempstead, doing what I can for the town, clearing rubble and managing the lumberjack parties... I headed back to the Whitehorn where she has a job for me.

Like everything else thats going on with me right now... I'm just winging it... doing the best I can.
And eventually... we'll see how it all goes.

This is coming with me though.
It's brilliant... and I can't thank her enough for the thought of it. Maybe I'm too hard on her sometimes, she just confuses me is all. Or maybe its the other way around.

*inserted between the pages is a pink sheet of paper, the words written upon it done in flamboyant styling*
As written by Rocky the Bard:

The sun came up, the dawn of day,
Iellwen rose to make her way,
From hearth and home to place afar,
A journey long and tortuous.

Her quest to reach that place of calm,
To lie within her lover's arm,
And hear his heartbeat slow and slow,
tranquillity achieved.

The road was long, the weather foul,
She wrapped in azure cloak and cowl,
Whilst rain clouds chased her all the way,
From break of dawn to close of day,
Down to that tempestuous sea.

The Captain of the ship he waited,
Turgid stance and breath abated,
He called to her to make great haste,
No time to lose or wind to waste.
She leapt across from land to sea,
Her fate now all but sealed.

They made their way past harbour wall,
Out to stormy sea, the squall,
the wind and waves both gaining stature,
Iellwen's eyes in all but rapture,
The Tempest now approaching.

The Captain's strategy appeared,
to race the wind and waves he feared,
he threw up all the sail he had,
the old , the new, the good , the bad,
in hope of his escape.

Iellwen watched the weather chase,
the Tempest on their heels kept pace,
the cyclone formed and it bore down.
The sailors fearing they would drown,
grabbed anything they thought would float,
and left the now storm damaged boat,
and Iellwen to her fate.

The ship now held in Tempest's grip,
Iellwen cried and bit her lip,
It's form, it's power spun her round,
No sight of land, or earth, or ground,
She lay upon the spinning deck,
The tempest slowed, caressed her neck,
Her heart, her head, her very soul,
Almost her very being it stole,
Then gently laid her on a beach,
And drifted far from sight.

Iellwen staggered to her feet,
Her body heaving, warm, replete.
She cried out to the gods above,
Aching with joy, with hope, with love,
And now she waits without thought or care,
For Tempest to return to her.

[LordCove]

"Trouble!"

Trouble stopped in his tracks, wading into the waters of lake Palden, the water sloshing up against him just up to his waist. The stench of death and decay in the air was almost overpowering, and bugs and mosquito's danced across the surface of the oily and polluted water like they were doing a little dance.
He half turned, trying to keep his balance, and looked up to see Holly, one of the Druids helping with his task. She had a hand over her mouth, her eyes glazed as she pointed a finger to something floating in the water not far from Trouble.

" Its... another one.. " she murmured softly, and let her hand drop as though she was exhausted beyond measure.
Trouble turned to look where she pointed, and saw it. It seemed like nothing more than a pile of rags floating on the surface of the water, but neither of them had any doubts they would find yet another body face down underneath it.
Sighing sadly, Trouble wades his way out to it, flies and bugs buzzing about above it or crawling over the few parts of the cloth that hadn't soaked yet.
He stumbled for a moment, loosing his footing on the lake floor as it dropped sharply and the water came up to his chest, just below the neck.

Cursing, he reaches out, his fingertips brushing the cloth rags and holding on, pulling them towards him. This was the fifth body they had found this week.
But the second he began pulling it towards him, his stomach shriveled and his heart pounded.
It was too light.
Way too light.

"Holly.. go.... " his voice warbled a moment, " ... go see how the rest are doing huh?"
He turned slowly to look at her, his face saddened, knowing already she would know what it is. Her features crumbled, and wiping an eye, she nodded and hurried off away from the lakeshore.

Making sure she had gone from sight, Trouble slowly, using his fingertips, rolled the body over infront of him. The stench hit his nostrils, the colour and expression on the bodys face shriveled his soul.
It was all he could do to turn away and chew on his hand, fighting back the whimper and tears that seemed to spring from nowhere at the sight.

Taking a moment, catching his breath and calming himself, not looking back, he dragged the body of the dead child to shore, and wrapped it up in a white blanket.

[LordCove]

Sunlight shimmered off the clean waters of Palden lake, flashing glare to any passerby's on the lakeside road with dazzling brilliance. Occassionaly the sweet, fragrant air would be filled with either loud or soft splashes, as the lively fish now dived and leapt from the waters to catch the few flys that bobbed across its surface.

Trouble lay on the soft, green grasses of an embankment nearby, Iellwen in his arms with her eyes closed, as Trouble took a long, slow look around the lake... his lake.

The diseases removed, the waters cleaned... and once that had been done, the lush, healthy green came back to the plants, the air filled with a mixture of herbs, and the animals returned to their ways.
Balance.... basically... was restored.

With a soft sigh and a kiss on Iellwens brow, Trouble just smiles as he whispers.

"You know what. I think I'm done."