Private The Winds of Frosthall | Vandor

[Beric Layne]

F R O S T H A L L

One week after Crashing Circumstances.

Tag: Millu Lee

It had been a week since Millu Lee, the mysterious young force user, had crashed on the snowy landscapes of Vandor. Beric had taken to the young woman, realizing her raw potential in the force -- but when he had offered to train her, to give her a new life in which her innate power in the force could've been realized. But, Millu had spurned Beric's offer, instead opting to continue with her life back on Nexus Ortai. Beric honored her decision and promised that her ship would be fixed up soon enough that the young woman would be able to leave soon.

Now, her ship was fixed. And Beric couldn't help but feel that he was failing Millu by letting her go back to the life she'd led.

The snows were beginning to just thaw, and Vandor's sun shone brightly, casting its brilliant rays through the crystalline peaks of Vandor's mountain range and the crenellations of Frosthall. Despite the sun, however, the wind still whipped through the air, biting and cold. Beric's cloak swirled around him, his hair tossed by the wind, his eyes sparkling ice-blue as he strode through the courtyard alone to Frosthall's dining hall. He knew that if Millu were allowed to leave today, that she would lead an uneventful -- and ultimately unfulfilled -- life. Or, even worse, some other entity would find her and corrupt her powers towards the darkness.

Beric had promised to honor his agreement, but he'd also promised to himself that the likes of Valley Court would not happen again. His older brother had held great potential that had been corrupted. He wouldn't allow for that to happen with Millu.
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[Millu Lee]

VANDOR

Beric Layne

Millu woke up early that day, and after getting ready, realized that this was probably her last day on Vandor. She hadn't done much throughout the week she spent in the frigid planet, and only wandered out of Frosthall's walls to go to the small town once or twice to oversee how the fixing of her employer's ship was going and ocasionally help out with it if she could.

It would be a shame to leave this planet without at least exploring it a bit, and Millu's infamous curiosity really wanted her to seek a little taste of adventure over on the opposite direction of the town. What did the white wilderness have to offer her?

The girl finished wrapping her hair into a low bun and grabbed one of the winter coats Lord Beric had lent her. Millu wandered a little aimlessly around the halls of the castle before finally finding her path to the main entrance. When she got to the doors, Millu made sure to tell one of Frosthall's guards to tell Lord Beric that she had gone out alone and expected to come back around mid-day.

The winds were howling in the girl's ears, and it was cold, albeit less than when she first crashed here a week ago, and much more pleasant, probably because of the heavy fur coat she was wearing now. There were paths that seemingly stretched along the mountainside to the left of Frosthall, and the girl decided to walk along them, until it was time to go back.

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[Beric Layne]

F R O S T H A L L

Tag: Millu Lee

Darkness. . .

Fear. . .

A Storm. . .

The world suddenly filled with color and light again, and he was on the snow-covered ground. Flurries of snowflakes blew past his blond hair as he slowly drew himself off, snow still clinging to his knees and forearms. His sense in the force felt frayed, almost overamplified, and he took a moment to calm his breathing and regather himself.

He had just witnessed a premonition in the force, of the magnitude that Beric had never experienced before. The Lord of Frosthall had often used precognition to predict the most immediate events that were to happen, in order to protect himself and others from dangers. But never had he witnessed this vision -- and one so powerful that it had knocked him to the ground and blinded his senses.

There was something the matter. Something so dire that the Force had chosen to warn him about it.

He remembered the swirling calamity of a storm and the surging, overwhelming emotion of fear. Today was the day that the girl who'd crashed onto the mountainside a week prior was finally leaving. It was a clear, sunny day overhead, but Beric knew that a storm with the power that he'd witnessed in his vision could easily descend in a matter of minutes; such was the weather of Vandor. A storm powerful enough that it would crash the girl's ship into the mountainside again.

Or worse.

Beric had to find Millu and warn her before it was too late.
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[Millu Lee]

VANDOR

Beric Layne

Okay, she admitted. Vandor was in fact a very beautiful planet. Cold, sure. But a beautiful planet nonetheless. The snow collected along the ground shone in the weak sunlight, and sometimes made all kinds of colors dance across the ice. Millu had also found a few bushes that had somehow survived the snow and had ice all over their leaves. It was a beautiful sight and she really wanted to take a picture, but unfortunately the girl didn't have a holocamera.

And then there was a flash of fur between the rocks to her right, and a high-pitched, quiet grumbling. Millu turned around, alert. What if it was something dangerous? She had better be on the lookout for pawprints or anything that denoted what kind of lifeform made that sound. After turning over a few small rocks, looking behind leaves and such, Millu decided it was nothing of importance, and turned around once more to continue her exploring.

And then found herself looking at a... Tooka? Of course, much different than the domestic Tooka cats she was used to in almost all the planets Millu had been to in her 5 years of traveling, but it looked like a Tooka all the same. Except it was a little bigger, and its white fur with dark gray stripes was voluminous and big. The little fellow was fluffy, no doubt in that.

And... it was probably not used to seeing humans as it let out a scared mew and set running off the mountain path. This little guy was way too cute for Millu to just let him go, so she took off running in his direction.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you, come back!" Millu called as she ran, without paying any attention to the changes in her surroundings. After quite a bit of chasing the white-furred Tooka cat around, the small animal found a way to hide that ended the chase once and for all, since Millu couldn't find it no matter how many rocks she turned over and how many freezing bushes she pushed aside.

Finally coming to her senses again, the girl got up from the ground where she was searching around and finally took a look around, realizing in a panic that she had absolutely no idea where the kriff she was. Somewhere in her running around, chasing that mountain Tooka, she had veered off the path with it, and was now in the middle of nowhere, and everywhere she looked was just the same. White, cold snow, rocks and small bushes.

And even worse, as she looked to the horizon, Millu realized it was way past mid-day, and there was a blizzard coming.

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[Beric Layne]

F R O S T H A L L

Tag: Millu Lee

The gates of Frosthall's entranceway flung open with clang that echoed through the mountain pass, the Lord of Frosthall streaming through them outside. "M'lord," one of the guards at the door started, clearly startled, but Beric interrupted him. He had little time, not enough to even explain why he didn't have time to explain.

"The girl. Millu Lee. Where is she?" Beric cut in, and the guard took a moment to process what Beric had asked before responding.

He pointed away from the castle, towards one of the various footpaths that winded through the mountains of Vandor. "I saw her set off along there, m'lord," the guard stammered and Beric nodded, setting off along the path that the guard had indicated, his fur-lined cloak billowing out from behind him. Out of all the things the girl could do, Beric thought bitterly to himself, she had to venture out on the eve of a blizzard.

Vandor's winter storms were notorious for being harsh and unforgiving, and those caught in the middle of one unprepared were more likely to be blown off a cliff or froze to death. Needless to say, there was a reason Frosthall's walls were so thick. Beric stalked along the pathway, looking along the trail for signs of the girl. His footing was firm and sure on the sleek ice and snow, a symptom from living his whole life in Vandor's mountains.

He suddenly came upon two pairs of tracks; the long, splayed fleet of the Vandorian Tooka, and two smaller, human-sized boot imprints. Crouching down onto one knee, Beric extended his hand and felt through the force for an echo.

The tooka ran low to the ground, favoring the sparse shade that mounds of snow offered. Suddenly, a voice startled it -- A voice that Beric recognized as Human, who's bright and high-pitched tone sounded familiar to Millu's -- and sent it scampering off into the bowl, the two-legged racing after it.

Beric stood up, brushing the snow off of his one knee. So, Millu had gone chasing a Tooka into the bowl of the mountain, Beric surmised with a grimace. The tracks in the otherwise-fresh snow confirmed as much, and Beric now knew that this rescue mission would be harder than if Millu had just stayed on the path. It was what it was, Beric thought to himself as he sighed audibly, and reached out into the force, turning the ice into a board and freezing his boats to the board. Sliding down the bowl in a large slalom, Beric began to reach into the force to try and feel for Millu's presence.

It was paramount that he find her before the worst happened.
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[Millu Lee]

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SHELTER​

Location: Mountains, Vandor

Attire: [X]

Tag: Beric Layne

Word Count: 527



She had no idea which direction to go. Everywhere she looked was the same. How could she go back to the trail, when the wind had already erased the footprints in her sight? Millu readjusted the fur collar on the coat she had taken that morning when the cold wind, full of snow and freezing slapped her in the face, somehow finding its way between the layers of her clothes.



She turned around and just ran. There was no way back to where she came from, the girl might as well search for a place to protect herself from the biting winds of Vandor, that were getting colder and stronger by the minute. A few paces later, Millu was no longer able to run. The snow was too deep, and the girl had to slow her pace quite a bit in order to be able to move at all. She took half of that statement back. Vandor was beautiful, only not when she was caught in a blizzard.



Millu's hair was already almost completely blended in with the rest of the world around her: white. Yet, whenever the frosty wind managed to sneak between the layers of her clothes, it was like her body grew warmer on its own to fight the cold. Strange. Could it be she was already getting a fever?



Still, as it started to heavily snow around her, Millu felt her strength fail her, and the girl came tumbling face down to the ground. There was snow all over her now, but, thankfully, as she was getting up again, Millu spied something that looked like an opening in the rock not far from where she was right now; its entrance partly concealed by snow-covered ivy. Good, now she had at least somewhere to hide while the worst of the blizzard had not passed yet.



As she finally stood up from the ground and walked as steadily as she could to this cave, the girl could feel just how tired she was after this whole ordeal. It was probably late afternoon and she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Millu was scared. This was harder than anything she had ever done, and she had no hope anyone would come to rescue her now. It was too far, and not even her host would be dumb enough to venture out in this blizzard. It was either die here or survive by a miracle.



She finally got to the cave's small opening and crawled through it as best as she could. The ivy covering the door would in a way protect her from having snow in her face, but it wasn't doing much for the cold. As the girl burrowed further into the winter coat and curled in a ball on the cave's rock floor, exhaustion started to set in. No, she couldn't fall asleep. That'd leave her vulnerable to frostbite or anything worse than that. But it was hopeless, this whole situation was too much, and once she closed her eyes, almost at once Millu drifted into a dreamless sleep, one arm thrown to the outside of the cave.

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[Beric Layne]

F R O S T B U R N

Tag: Millu Lee

The storm was only worsening. The wind whipped ferociously past Beric, blowing his long blond strands of hair past his face. He slalomed through valleys, canyons, and drop-throughs on the ice-board that he had created, using the force to both keep him propelled and to divert the flow of the storm to go around him so it didn't impede his vision. But even he could find himself outmatched by Vandor's elements, and an unanticipated rock sent him flying into the air. He broke his feet off from the board as he began to descend back down, rolling in the soft snow. He came to a stand, knee-deep in freshly-fallen powder, his hair and fur matted with snow.

He shook the snow off of him, loose flakes falling off but much more clinging to his furs. He'd be able to block out most of the icy discomfort, but nevertheless, it impeded his movement. He looked around where he had fallen. A nondistinct grove of trees, high in the mountains -- he wasn't even exactly sure where he was, much less where the girl had tracked off to. Claiming his breathing, he closed his eyes and reached out with the force, trying to sense any bit of her presence. He felt nothing. Opening his eyes, he grunted in frustration. He had opened his mouth and was halfway about to say a curse when he saw a scrap of clothing, hanging off a low-lying branch. It had to be fresh. . . it could be the girls.

Beric made his way through the deep snow over to the scrap, grabbing it off the branch with a gloved hand in a single swift motion. He let himself drift off into the Force and sense the history of the scrap. . . The girl made her way through the growing blizzard. Seeing a cave, she began to run to get to the rare offer of shelter from the storm, and in her hastiness, a piece of cloth caught on a branch and tore. Beric opened his eyes and saw the cave that Millu had seen. His brow furrowing in determination, he began to trudge towards it.

Reaching the mouth of the cave, he brushed apart the lichen that hung over the entrance like a sort of doorway to see Millu -- curled in a ball on the floor. Beric swore, but only in his head, reaching out into the Force once more. She wasn't dead, but her body was slowly succumbing to exhaustion and the cold. There wouldn't be much time to act. They had to get back to Frosthall before something serious happened. He scooped her up in his arms, willing warmth to be sent into her body through the Force as he brushed past the lichen and headed back into the storm.

They had a while to go.
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[Millu Lee]

RESCUED

Location: Mountains, Vandor
Attire: [X]
Tag: Beric Layne

She was numb. Absolutely exhausted, Millu's body hadn't been able to stay awake. Her systems were shutting down and even while sleeping, the girl was shivering uncontrollably. With every gust of wind that managed to trespass the ivy barrier to the small cave, she became more and more numb, and her breathing became ragged. And then suddenly she wasn't on the ground anymore, and warmth like a gentle fire spread through her, its flames slowly awakening her numb body, and soothing her exhausted brain. A bit more awake, Millu opened her eyes, but wasn't able to see clearly, and only registered that she was being carried by someone before falling asleep again.

This time she dreamed of snowy mountains in the night, surrounded by mist. She felt pulled to the highest mountain among them, atop which stood a dragon-like animal, white like the ice that surrounded it, seemingly ready to take flight across the ink-black sky. Millu attempted to step closer to it, but it all escaped through her hands like her misty surroundings, and the girl again fell into the dark void.

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[Beric Layne]

F R O S T B U R N

Tag: Millu Lee

The wind howled a fierce curse.

Visibility had all but been reduced to naught as snow was driven upon the mountainside by the storm. Thick, white flakes driven hard, coating Beric's fur cloak, his fair hair whipped back and forth by the wind. Beric squinted hard, trying to see through the blizzard, but it was of little avail. Even his power of the elements was coming to naught, barely able to soften a path through the quickly-rising snowdrifts.

Millu's unconscious body was heavy in his arms, small compared to the Lord of Frosthall, but heavy. A thick darkness lay over her, one that Beric's mind could not penetrate. She needed to get out of the cold, out of the storm, back to Frosthall and a healer that could prevent her from completely slipping beyond the physical plane.

Beric's heavy boot slipped in the stone, sending him falling down forward. His hands outstretched, Millu only fell softly into the freshly fallen snow in front of them, while Beric went face-first into the snow drift. Struggling against the softness and depth of the powder, Beric lifted himself up, straining against the storm. Snow encrusted his face, his beard, his hair. It was already beginning to fall on Millu's body as she lay there, a fine white dusting that was thickening by the second.

He strained against the power of the storm. The effort turning into a verbal yell of exertion. But it was futile. His right gauntlet came to rest in exhaustion on Millu's torso, as Beric concentrated on moving his bubble of warmth to shroud the young girl. It was barely all he could do. He felt the last bit of warmth leave his body as the cold began to set in around him. The flakes fell faster. It was over.

Over the howling of the storm, a wingbeat. Another. A shadow in the white. Two eyes, shining pale and blue as ice. A nonverbal blessing.

And suddenly the storm began to part.
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[Millu Lee]

SAFETY

Location: Frosthall, Vandor
Attire: [X]
Tag: Beric Layne

The light. It was too bright and coming in through somewhere above her. Her head hurt, and her body felt like it had been run over by a thousand speeders. Her hands had little needles pricking them at all times, and she was sweating buckets. At first she didn't remember what had gotten her to this stage, but slowly Millu's conscience started to return to her physical body.

The girl tentatively opened her eyes, and then closed them instantly because of the light. It hurt, it was too bright. A few seconds later she tried again, and little by little, she did it. Millu's vision was blurry at first, then things became more clear.

The girl looked at herself, covered head to toe in furs and pouches of hot water. She tried sitting up. Her head rang and everything was spinning for a moment, but she managed to do it. Millu looked around. She was in the room she had been staying in?! And was that...?

"Lord... Beric? I'm back at your... fortress?"

One week and she still didn't know exactly what was the massive structure that housed her host and his staff. For some reason Lord Beric was calmly sitting by her bedside, clutching a book that she assumed he had been reading before she awoke. Millu had so many questions...

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[Beric Layne]

F R O S T H A L L

Tag: Millu Lee

Three days.

The girl had been unconscious for three days since Beric had struggled through the blizzard to bring her to safety. Beric had ordered immediately that she be put in the warmest room in the castle, constantly attended by at least one Frosthall's nursewifes alongside the castle's aging medical droid. Beric had called on her as often as he could, feeling her life pulse through the Force, giving her his strength when he could spare it.

The blizzard had continued to pound against the castle and village; the respite that had allowed Beric to make it back to Frosthall had ended up being only a momentary miracle. The windows had been shuttered, and the native Vandorians hunkered down as they always had during these storms. With nothing to do, it had only worsened Beric's anxiety. His guilt, for letting an offworlder venture so far into dangerous terrain. If the girl died. . . it would be on his shoulders, Beric knew.

But it seemed the Force had other plans than guilt for the Lord of Frosthall. As soon as her pulse had quickened, he'd been notified. And when Millu Lee opened her eyes for the first time since the storm, Beric was right there beside her. She looked blearily around the room before taking notice of Beric standing right there. "Lord... Beric? I'm back at your... fortress?" she asked, apparently still groggy. Beric couldn't blame her.

He smiled, trying to be comforting, but his brow still contorted with worry. "I. . . my apologies. You were in a critical condition, and that cursed storm has yet to abate. It would've been too dangerous to transport you anywhere else."
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[Millu Lee]

FROSTHALL

Location: Frosthall, Vandor
Attire: [X]
Tag: Beric Layne



"What... happened? I can't remember anything after passing out in that cave."

That wasn't the entire truth of course, she remembered distinctively the feel of being carried by someone and a few flashes of colour and sounds. Millu finally noticed the frown on her host's face, by his words and expression, the girl gathered that she probably had come close to death. Millu shivered.

"How... bad was it?" She asked again, looking down at the sheets. Then she realized, a little in awe, but very guiltily, that Lord Beric most probably went through hell to bring her back. "Did you risk your life to save me?" Millu continued- "I'm so sorry, you've been an amazing host, the very best, and I couldn't even keep from trouble... You almost died because of me, I'm so so sorry!"

Millu tried frantically to control the tears that were threatening to take over her face, and failed miserably. He would throw her out now, she was certain of it. Lord Beric shouldn't have gone out of his way to save her, he shouldn't! "Why did he? No one would've missed me anyway, except for myself, I guess..." she muttered, not aware of her host's exceptional hearing.

Desperately wiping her eyes, Millu kept repeating "I'm sorry" over and over again. She really was sorry. She'd almost killed a man, one who had made sure she was comfortable and taken great care of her for the past week, who had been nothing but sweet and attentive. That way, she really had to wonder had father really been right to leave me after mom died? She was only trouble. That's why she'd always be alone.

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[Beric Layne]

F R O S T H A L L

Tag: Millu Lee

"You were unconcious," Beric admitted, "Fatigued from the weather conditions." He tried to talk in a soothing voice, trying to calm the child -- she was only a child -- as her anxiety began to rise. He did not need the Force to see that she was feeling an immense guilt for what had happened.

"I have faced much worse," Beric assured her, though he had not. He'd very nearly succumbed to the storm himself. And yet some being had rescued him and the girl both. . . he could still remember those pair of eyes, gleaming like ice-fire through the howling winds. He heard her mutterings of self-doubt, but chose to keep silent on the matter, his forehead still creased with concern. Millu Lee would not heal from this in a day, and that was only to be expected. This had been an ordeal for them both.

As tears wet the corner of her eyes, he put a single gloved hand on her shoulder comfortingly. His hand was giant compared to her small, lithe frame, and he let the Force swirl calmingly, subtly around Millu to help soothe her emotions. "You need be sorry for nothing, child. You are no tthe first one to be caught unaware by Vandors storms." He patted her shoulder awkwardly, not the best nor most experienced at giving signs of physical comfort. "What is most important is that you rest and recover."
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[Millu Lee]

SAFE

Location: Frosthall, Vandor
Attire: [X]
Tag: Beric Layne

I truly almost died.

Millu felt a shiver running down her spine at more details of the ordeal she had put herself and Lord Beric through. Her tears now came unbound and there was nothing she could do to stop them. She wanted to cry out to the universe WHY? Why did the force punish her so? What had she ever done wrong that could warrant being trapped in this unforgiving life?

But the teenager was sure that she had to have done something. It had to be her fault, because it made no sense otherwise. She was a hazard to everyone she ever did come close to- her mother and unborn brother, her father had done right in leaving her, for he would only find tragedy had he stayed.

And she had done right in distancing herself from any form of solace she could hope to seek in others- she had done right in fleeing from Cali, she had done right in never staying in one place for too long, she had done right- she was protecting people, couldn't the universe see that?! Why did they have to keep throwing good people in her path, making her want to bend and let herself be cared for- she couldn't, it would only hurt them! Sometimes Millu felt like the Force hated her.

Lord Beric was talking. But she couldn't hear a word of it above her thoughts and crying. It was only when he set a hand on her shoulder that Millu was slowly called to attention by a strange feeling, like a life jacket being thrown to her in the middle of a swirling storm. She held on with as much force as she could. She looked at him, tears still flowing down her cheeks, but less frantically, calmer.

"You need be sorry for nothing, child. You are not the first one to be caught unaware by Vandor's storms. What is most important is that you rest and recover."

Millu hugged the heavy blanket that enveloped her and slowly leant back against the pillows. Lord Beric's past offer of a place to stay permanently and training in the ways of the force swirled around her mind. It still sounded too good to be true. But apparently she had to stay here for a while anyway to recover her strength. She couldn't let herself get close to anyone since it would only cause disaster, but maybe getting some training would actually be useful, at least she would have better ways of not dying. Millu finally spoke again, by now her tears had dried and she could hear her thoughts again.

"I'm still sorry. But will do, I'll rest, I guess. I might actually also take you up on that offer of training. It would do good for me to learn to survive and keep other people alive if I don't find a way to stop being a walking disaster." Millu gave a small tired smile. Then she remembered she had never actually thanked him for all his efforts. Lost in her own self-hatred she had never even acknowledged how much she owed him. She wanted to express her gratitude before her eyes closed again in exhaustion, for she was still quite tired.

"Thank you. I.. owe you one. Two. You saved me more times this past week than you know."
She smiled one last genuine time before exhaustion took her again and Millu closed her eyes and slept. Apparently she might have just gotten herself a new home.

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[Beric Layne]

F R O S T H A L L

Tag: Millu Lee

Millu's off-handed remark that she'd take him up on his offer of training caught Beric off-guard, admittedly. Though he had only suggested it a few weeks ago, when the girl had crash-landed her way into Frosthall's hospitality, the conversation had left his mind; but at her words it came flooding back. She has potential in the force, he remembered thinking, more than she knows what to do with.

The right hand could steer her to do great things. To cultivate her powers and wax them strong, to see her grow in the light. But was Beric the right hand? He was experienced with the force, and with wielding a lightsaber, that much was true. But was that enough?

He did not know. But the girl seemed willing enough, and better him than no one. He would not refuse his own offer. But first, he nodded deeply at her thanks. "You are kind, young one," he said, standing to take his leave. At the footstep of her door, he turned around, making a scene of surveying the room. "It has been a while since someone stayed here," he remarked out loud, before looking directly at Millu. "Now, it is yours. You will rest, then your training will begin."
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