Erskine Ravel/ Zafira Kerias: Grand Mage meets Grand Mage

The doors opened finally and Erskine strolled in, looking mildly distressed himself. He locked his eyes with hers and was silent for what seemed like the longest time. He seemed to be making his mind up for what to say. Finally he just said "Zafira...you look like you've seen better days..."Zafira smirked looking up at him but her eyes showed the pain she felt, emotional and physical.
"I know. But Mevolent attacked us and...we lost. Badly." She told him.
"Ravel I dont know what to do!! I can't...I can't find anything that can save us! We lost one Elder and...Marissa is next! I spied but as you can tell he caught me and I feel like I have let us all down!" Zafira took a deep breath to calm but she just couldn't. She was shaking. She had witnessed horror and terror too fast.
He chewed his lip, thinking again, before hobbling over to sit down beside her. He rested a hand on her shoulder and grinned sadly. "And you decided I was the one to come to for advice?" He paused for a moment. "I'm sure you didn't let anyone down. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"
Zafira felt his hand but she didn't let it bother her.
"Yes I trust you because you're young like me and honestly you dealt with war before." She explained. It took a moment before she spoke again,
"Me personally? I dont know what I need. I'm a wreck they tried to help me but..he went far when he stabbed me. If we lose Marissa I'll be the only one left. And Mevolent nearly killed me. He can kill me." She sounded scared to death. She didn't even show her fear to Javier.
He swallowed nervously. "Then Marissa is...a priority? The rest of the Sanctuaries are geared up for full-blown war. Attack Mevolent as one or something...no real plan, just rush in until it looks like one side is going to lose. So Marissa needs protection? More forces? Uh..." He trailed off, frowning. "He's taking down a lot of people...anyone we can save is precious..."
Zafira closes her eyes "Elder Marissa....she's hiding. I need people Ravel. I'm not much use at the time because I'm in so much pain." Zafira muttered.
Ravel nodded uncertainly. "People...I think we can do people..." He took his hand away from her back, kneading the bad knee. He wasn't used to giving any advice, really, and was finding it rather awkward. "...Are we talking physical or emotional pain here? Like, I can't tell the difference anymore..." He looked away, finding his eyes drawn to a door.
"Physical." She muttered. She didn't have a hope to get help in America.
"Ravel I know you and Mist are married. Don't feel awkard around me." She put her hand to where the wound is on her stomach
"Something can be done for physical pain...not so much for emotional..." He returned his hand to her back and smiled. "As for the things with the marriage, these things get around fast, huh? That has nothing to do with why I'm feeling awkward...well, almost nothing...you okay?...stupid question..." He met her eyes and offered a sad smile.
Zafira smiled back sadly and shook her head
"Not really. I'm in agony." She showed him the wound. The doctors did what they could but it's bad. Still.
"Bad huh?" She asked laughing quietly. She felt safe near him.
His smile faded almost instantly. "Wow..." He gestured loosely to the cane he had to use. "I thought I'd been let off bad...that looks infected or something..."
She nodded
"I think Mevolent had something on that damn sword. It wasn't the god-killer or I'd be dead. The doctors did what they could. I don't have the guts to see Nye not after sealing my true name." Zafira covered her mouth and went quiet. Ravel surely would know Justaria.
Ravel frowned. "Your true name? I was...unaware you knew it...not that you'd spread it round if you did, of course..." He was massaging his knee again and looking ever so slightly suspicious.
"Yeah I know it. Not that it's exactly fun to know it." She says. She glances as his knee
"So what happened to you?" She asked trying to keep the pain from her voice but it fails.
He looked away, face softening. "Long-term damage from my last meeting with Mevolent...high chance it'll never work properly again. I'd like to do the same to his knees one day...and all the rest."
"I think he's trying to cripple the Grand Mage from each country. Let's face it we do lead our countries. If we can't fight who will the people fight for? But Javier said when I fell everyone was fighting harder and if Mevolent hadn't spoken we may have won." She put her hand around her necklace which kept her calm. The coldness did that.
"They fight for themselves...for friends and family. That's who I would fight for. For as long as we live, we have something to fight for, right?"
"Yes fighting for family and everything I know. He may have hurt me but I will get him." Zafira closed her eyes.
"I just want to know what he did to me! And also congrats for being the first Grand Mage who hasn't mocked me for being a Necromancer." Zafira opened her eyes smiling a bit, feeling bad for him. He was just married like she was. For all she knew Mist was pregnant.
"I think we're well past mocking over magic types." He replied with a chuckle. "And I think there's currently a long line of people who want to get him back for something...someone could make a lot of money out of that, actually..."
Zafira laughed at the thought then became serious,
"You know Dreylan Scarab is alive. I may be able to persuade him to help us." She hoped he didn't ask details beause she wasn't prepared to tell him her relation to Scarab.
He frowned. "I wouldn't call Scarab the most trustworthy of allies...I don't even know where he stands. From what I've heard, his son isn't exactly pro-Faceless, but him..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair, clearly stressed. "I guess we could use all the help we can get..."
Zafira bit her lip unsure how to say it,
"He'll fight for whatever side I'm on. He's...my father." She admitted to Ravel. In her facial expression it was clear she wasn't proud to say it.
"Sanguine is a complete idiot Scarab values the fact I have brains."
He gave a brief nod as if to say 'I see', and then, slowly, painfully slowly, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. A grin. "He is an idiot, isn't he? Like, how stupid can you get?"
"I think he reach stupidest. I mean I manage to get into the Sanctuary...Sanguine didn't." Zafira smiled and laughed. Then she stopped and glanced at her wound
"Stupid wound." She grumbled.
"Don't think he ever had much of a desire for that sort of work, though." He half-reached for her, then seemed to think better of it and dropped the hand by his side again. "Causing you grief, huh? Injuries love doing that. They wait until you're nice and relaxed and BAM, sudden excruciating pain. Jerks." He nodded decisively. "Call Scarab. Like I said, we might just need all the help we can get."
"I will then. Thank you." She smiled and glanced at her iPhone.
"I guess I'll be in touch with you if Scarab agrees."
"Thank you...Zaf? If you ever need to just talk, I'll be right here, okay?" He gave a smile.
"Thank you Ravel." She smiled. "If you want I could call Scarab now and ask him and I ought to find Nye." Zafira looked freaked to find Nye but with Kenspeckle dead he was next best.
Ravel nodded quickly. "Be my guest. As long as I don't have to talk to Nye." He said the second part as light-heartedly as he could under the circumstances.
Zafira went into a different room and after 20 minutes she came back to Ravel
"He agreed." She told him.
He smiled, slowly getting to his feet. "Excellent. We have one more person on our side...hopefully that will actually make some sort of difference..." Jokingly, he tilted his head and added "I don't have to talk to him or be nice to him, do I?"
"Well." She laughed. "Do make an effort to be nice but I'll keep direct communication with him." Zafira smiled again
"Maybe we have a shot."
"Maybe we do." He answered back, voice barely more than a whisper.
Zafira smiled slightly
"I guess we do. And hopefully when I go home there will be a country."
He gave an encouraging smile. "Go make there still be a country."
"I'll be in touch should anything happen." Zafira told him. She left the room to go catch a plane to America. She did miss Javier so much.