Roderika's Plights

Dave

How?...How do I approach this without sounding like an asshole or a creep?

"Everyone's…been grafted. Everyone who came with me…" She whispered, huddling her legs even closer to her chest than they already were. "They crossed the seas for me. They fought, for me."

She seemed to be out of it. Though at the same time, she also looked to be speaking with another person. I wouldn't exactly say it was us, seeing as me and Vestia just arrived at the site of grace, but there certainly wasn't anyone else there to hold the conversation.

Turning towards my partner, she gave me a quick nod, a hand finding itself on my shoulder. Moving forward without another word, I slowly entered the broken house which the woman had taken shelter in, my knees bending down to her level.

"I suppose you know of the many enemies just laying up north? This place may be safe now, but that won't be the case for long if things continue the way they are." The woman's whimpers stopped, her head craning to look me in the eye. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Dave, nice to meet you."

"Is that so?... Then heed me no mind, dear traveler. For my fate shall end the same as everyone else's, grafted to the spider… Or perhaps my future will lie with me in the embrace of the Erdtree? Too weak to even be considered for the lowliest of scions." She replied, her posture lowering.

An immense amount of self-deprecation? Couple with the fact that she just lost her group to whatever laid just up ahead… Her situation is starting to remind me an awful lot of Horace and Anri's… Except, she didn't have anyone to lean on when push came to shove.

"I wouldn't be so shallow as to say that I understand your situation, pity is the last thing you'd need at a time like this. Well, if you do decide to go down that path, where would you like me to bury you? Not to sound rude, but those men can and will desecrate your body."

An audible gult resounded from her throat, her hands shaking up a storm. Too sudden? "What!? But- but!" She stammered, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. "I mean, it is a possibility that I have entertained, but, it feels so much more…"

"Heavy?"

"Right! Like the weight of the world suddenly came crashing down. Though, it might have been my sheer uselessness and incompetence." I seriously don't get paid enough. "You're here with a companion, aren't you? Enticed by the one in the white mask, I suppose?"

"Varre?" I questioned, a smidgeon of skepticism in my words. "He's the only one that we've met who has fit that description. However, these lands are as vast as they come, so it might have been someone else."

"I think so," Huh, "damn bastard." huh… "He strung us along with his words, dragging us until the very last moment. I woul- want to give him a piece of my mind" She stated, her voice progressively lowering. "But, as of right now, that is simply an impossible impossibility. I want to, so desperately want to avenge all of those whose lives were lost, but I'm too scared… I'm nothing but a craven."

The urge to sharply inhale was strong, but not strong enough. Holding back my breath, my body tensed up as a look of worry drew on her face. "Is there perhaps something wrong, stranger? If my existence bothers you that much, then feel free to leave me be. It's the most I can ask for."

Quick to dismiss her worries, I waved my hands in the air. "No, no. It isn't anything like that. Quite the opposite actually. I had a friend, someone who I was very close with. She was in a similar situation to the one you are in. She was brave and had a duty to fulfil. However, when her companion went missing, things changed…"

Her ears twitched, seemingly in response to what I had said. "For you to compare me to someone brave? It couldn't be further from the truth. Fellow Tarnished, Dave, are you sure you aren't sullying that lady's name by putting me up next to her?"

"No." I firmly stated. "No, I do not think so. Though on the surface, the two of you may seem antithetical to one another, I believe it simply lays further underneath. We all have the potential to be brave, and to be cowardly."

"Is that so?..." She paused, taking a moment to think for herself. "Then I shall have to ruminate on your words, Dave. However, as I am right now, my confidence is nowhere near the point of matching your friend's. Until then, would you kindly take this little one along with you? I know this is asking too much, but she truly deserves better, especially after all that she has been through."

The lady passed on a small red pouch, about the size of an index finger. Picking it off her hand, I inspected it's contents, peering into the opening, only to find dust waiting for me on the other end.

"They're spirit ashes, the ashes of those who haven't returned to the Erdtree. This may be sudden, and you might not even be able to interact with them, or the spirit, but it was the least I could do for her." The unnamed woman explained.

In essence, they were souls… Don't do it, right hand. I know it may be tempting, but hold off on it, I'm sure there's a later use for such an item. Sending it into my pocket space, the usual surge of information flooded my mind, eliciting one of my eyebrows to rise to its fullest extent.

A spirit jellyfish. Prone to tears, the jellyfish girl searches for her distant home. Wait, spews poison on her summoner's behalf? It can fight!? Better yet, this thing used to be a little girl. And through my excellent skills in glueing together bits of information, I was able to infer she's supposed used as a companion in battle.

To this, I would just like to bring up the many reasons why bringing a child into battle is not a good idea, morally at least. But, I decided not to dwell too much on it.

"Where did it go? It was just in your hands a second ago… Are my eyes deceiving me?" She thought out loud, staring at her hand in shock. "Perhaps you and all of this is nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Yes. This is just a very bad dr-."

"I know you might be having a breakdown, but to completely dismiss me as though I weren't here, it seems a little too much, don't you think? No, you aren't going insane. I just have an ability that lets me store objects." I cleared up, dispelling the fog that clouded over the girl's head. "She's in a safe place, that I can assure you."

She slowly started to calm down, her breath leveling to a more moderate pace. "Ah, apologies for my impulsive ramblings then. This whole situation isn't good for my head, you see…" The lady in the red hood paused, a blush enveloping her cheeks. "I know this may be too much-."

"Go on. As long as it's within the realm of possibility, I think I can help a downtrodden soul out at least once."

"R-right." She stuttered, recomposing herself the next moment. "Should I ever internalize your words, -Not that there's anything wrong with what you said, or the way you said it. It's my faul- Ehm. Would you allow me to travel alongside you?"

Her speech came out quick, almost in a hurry. To the point where, it took me a second to realize what had come out of her mouth. Well, wasn't this a peculiar situation. Never have I had more than one companion with me. The prospect of two women following me around did sound tempting… But that would also mean I had a second person to take care of.

"Oh, right. Silly of me to forget. -Specially when it's something so simple as well.- My name is Roderika, by the way. It seems to have flown over my head… hehe~." She tried to play it off.

"No problem. It is clear to me that your mind is stressed more than it usually is. That usually makes a person prone to mistakes." I stated, causing her face to brighten just a little bit. "I'll have to talk it over with my partner first before I can the offer. But, as far as my opinion is concerned, I see no problem with it."

Her head tilted upward, looking at me from her lower position. Past the red hood, her lips curled upwards, eyes closing for moment, as streaks of wetness trailed along her face. A smile adorned her features, shaky as it was. The expression suited her more compared to her previous frown. In fact, she looked beautiful with it.

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