Bleed for Me [ATTN Jaryd]

[Sunny]

Jaryd nodded acceptance of her words, but his mind had strayed back to that knot of feelings that was her in his mind. Exhaustion and pain had crept into her very bones. The bond had given her enough strength to live for the moment, but it wouldn't last long. With that knowledge, he knew what he needed to do. He steadied her, then rolled to his feet. "I need to take care of her," he said, nodding to Marisa. Carra nodded, and he strode toward the other Altaran, struggling with the confusing mass of emotions in his heart.

The dark-eyed woman fell silent and stared at him as he approached. Though she held her face still, he could see the twitch of muscles in her throat and around her eyes that betrayed her thoughts. She expected to die. Why wouldn't she? He had threatened as much, after all. He stopped when he stood toe to toe with her just within the sound Ward. "Where are the others?"

"Would I tell you if I knew?" He stared down at her, his expressive face frozen by the velvet veil of the Void, but she simply stared back, defiant. After a moment she asked, "When did you get so cold, Jaryd? Did that ice queen freeze your soul?"

He tilted his head and arched an eyebrow, more amused than annoyed. "Did you think I was able to maintain order in the flaming Rahad by handing out kittens and lollipops to our -my- enemies, woman?" He asked, as he wrapped her in rapid loops of Air, restraining her as tightly as he dared. She struggled, wild-eyed, but finally she stood before him, trussed like a fly in a spiderweb. He tied off the flows, and carefully laid her on the ground. "As for frozen souls- I suggest you look in a mirror before you talk about mine."

He turned on his heel and returned to Carra. Once there, he pulled the gold ring off his finger, and handed it to her. "This is for you. It's an angreal," he said quickly. She took it without comment, then reached for him to help her to her feet. A few minutes later, they were making halting progress away from the remnants of the building and Marisa's still form.

As they walked Jaryd bore most of the first Red's weight, his eyes scanning ahead for any sign of danger. It disturbed him that no one had answered Marisa's screams; his experience so far had been to expect a rapid and pointed response. Had Sean's demise demoralized them, or was something bigger coming? Although he could feel Carra's pain increasing with every step, he kept walking until they were well out of sight of the clearing. While they walked, he told her what he had done to Marisa. She would be safe until he returned, unless someone who could channel freed her. After walking in random directions for a few minutes, he finally found a good spot to stop.

He seized saidin through the star-shaped angreal, but even with that object's aid, he struggled to keep control of the flows. By the time the gateway rotated open he could feel sweat rolling down his back. On the other side of the gateway, a patch of dusty sandstone floated in utter darkness.

Jaryd reached for Carra's hand, and lead her through. As soon as their feet settled the gate closed and they began to move through that empty space. Fear that he might not catch her if she fell froze him for a moment, then he pulled her close against him, standing as far from the edge as he could. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"Home."