“Pravde? Can you hear me?” Ard asks worriedly. The faceless is sitting on the stage in the tavern, brought there to him after the incident.
They’d been watching Ard’s children as they strolled along the river outside town. Roxy and Cal had had a great time picking flowers and throwing pinecones into the water, respectively, until an unfamiliar merrow attacked. The noise of combat and the kids’ cries had called Isaac, patrolling nearby, to the fray. He’d attacked with magic as the merrow grappled with Pravde, hitting both. The merrow fled, the children were unhurt, but Pravde was unresponsive.
Isaac had delivered them all to Ard, the goblin having made his claim over Pravde clear. Ard tucked the children safely away into his room immediately and returned to the faceless. They weren’t more than bruised, and damp with river water, and yet…
“Pravde.” He carefully sets a hand on their shoulder. Nothing. He’s already healed them of Isaac’s powerful psionic damage, so they’re not unconscious. He can’t remove their mask to inspect them for other effects, like concussions or charms. Ard waves a hand in front of where their eyes would be. Nothing.
Soft footsteps on the stairs catch his attention. Roxy is coming down alone.
“Are you alright, darling? Where’s Cal?”
“Cal fell asleep,” Roxy shuffles in close to Ard, seeking his comfort. “Is Pravde okay?”
“I’m… not sure,” Ard admits, pulling the girl into his lap. “They’re not hurt, but they won’t - or can’t - talk right now. I’m sorry for leaving you kids alone for so long.”
“We’re okay, I just want to make sure Pravde’s okay too. The merrow was scary.” Roxy reaches for Pravde’s face. Ard moves to catch her hand.
“Ah, careful! They might be surprised-”
Roxy’s eyes glow soft white as her little fingers skim behind the mask. It’s a minute before she pulls away. “They’ll be okay later. They’re gonna have a headache, though. And a nosebleed.”
Sure enough, something about the connection draws the faceless back with an involuntary gasp. They whisper something - a name? An unfamiliar one. Pravde tucks their head down between their knees. The fabric of their tunic catches a few iron droplets.
“Pravde? How are you feeling? Honestly,” Ard asks.
They take a moment to answer. “Our. Head hurts we have. Encountered. The malfunction again. Where are the children we do not remember-”
“The kids are fine, Isaac brought you all back to the tavern,” He reassures them. “Cal’s sleeping, Roxy’s here with us. Thank you for protecting them.”
“Yes, thank you Pravde,” Says Roxy. She leans forward to give the faceless as much of a hug as she can reach. “I’m happy you’re okay.”
Despite their migraine, Pravde manages a careful hand around Roxy in turn. “We were not. Prepared for. The attack we will be. More alert next time.”
Ard offers Pravde warm, clean robes to change into while he guides Roxy back up the stairs with a promise to come tuck her and her brother in shortly. Children in bed, the goblin pauses on the landing to scrub a hand over his face. He returns to the faceless with tired eyes.
“Do you usually space out like that when… malfunctioning?”
“Unknown we. Do not experience this error often.”
Ard adds this to his mental notes on the situation.
Pravde shakily tugs a slim journal from their bag. “We will record the. Images we saw while. Incapacitated. Per your instructions.”
“How about you just tell me? Writing will only hurt your head more right now,” He suggests gently.
“We may omit details or. Speak unclearly.”
“That’s fine, Pravde. I just want a general idea of what you saw.” Ard only just keeps Pravde sitting with a cloth under their nose instead of rising into report stance.
“There was screaming. Much like: the cries of Roxy. And Cal we were fighting to protect we were. Captured struggling we could not reach the psionic magic hit and hit and hit…” Their voice trails off quietly.
A memory? A dream? “You said a name at the end, Pravde. Do you remember what it was?”
The faceless stares at the floorboards, thinking.
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