Sorry that this got long... wanted to offer some sort of back story as to what Ryan's been up to. Also, I hope it's Ireland that DaVinci went to. :3 The only trace of Ryan that remained in Inferni was the letter she had left on the door. Everything else had vanished with her – her possessions, her spirit, and eventually, even her daughter. It had been a hard choice for the previous leader to make, but it had been necessary in her life. When DaVinci had come to see Ryan one last time, he had spoken of his plans to leave over the ocean. Just like before, Ryan had deserted the man she loved for her clan. Yet the days ate away at her and she had finally realized – her life was nothing without love; the true love she had found in DaVinci 'Dait Nasphrite. After venturing away from Inferni’s lands, Ryan headed southeast to the other coastline of Nova Scotia. The trek had left her plenty of time to think of her actions, but she knew she was doing right by this. Sure, she would miss Inferni and those who remained there – Valkyrie, Anselm, Corona, and the rest – but she knew she had to go after DaVinci if she ever wanted to have a life with him. He had tried countless times to get Ryan to see that they were meant to be together, but she had chose the clan over him. She was finally seeing that true love was more important than the clan. After all, wouldn’t her family love her no matter what? She stumbled along the stand of trees the guarded the coast line, catching herself with a palm against the bark. Tears spilled from the flawed crimson eyes as she looked out to the sandy beach. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it across the ocean. She had neither the boat nor the knowledge of sailing to get her there, but Ryan wouldn’t let that stop her. She’d figure out a way. It took the girl days of wandering before she came across a boat that seemed to be in relatively usable condition. It had been ditched outside of the city along a private dock pulled back into a cove where the ocean had begun to erode away at the coastline. It had taken Ryan quite awhile to prepare the boat and swing it down from the contraption that kept it held slightly from floating in the water. Once the cinch had been lowered and the boat didn’t flood, she knew it was going to be okay. The gasoline in the tank had long since gone bad from almost two decades of sitting idle. The mechanics of the boat were beyond Ryan anyhow, so she merely resorted to using a paddle over the side of the boat. It was very slow going and it seemed to take her ages to get away from the dock, but she didn’t know what else she could do. She was desperate to find DaVinci, and this was all she knew to do. The Inferni woman had managed to get herself out onto the ocean’s waters, but she had no way to navigate other than the sun and stars in the sky. She had begun to drift south without even realizing it, but was blinded by emotion that she was doing the right thing. Ryan was ill prepared and it wasn’t long before her food supply had dwindled. To make matters worse, the weather had seemed to only regress since she managed to get herself away from the coast of Nova Scotia. A hurricane ripped up the east coast of North America, finding its way to the little drifting boat where Ryan had spent many nights. It was far too much for either to handle, and Ryan was tossed into the sea like a mere rag doll. As the cold water churned her body in the angry waves, the de le Poer was sure that she would die. No one would ever know what happened to her, save for Mother Nature herself. By some chance, Ryan didn’t drown in the water. Instead, she was picked up by a boat of gypsies traveling to the shores of North America. The small group pulled Ryan from the water and offered her plenty to eat. It wasn’t but days later when they made landfall in the dilapidated Boston harbor. For awhile Ryan became accustomed to a new lifestyle, living with these Luperci whom had rescued her. Though she wasn’t yet closer to being with her love, Ryan felt a small bit of contentment here amongst her rescuers. In some way, this gypsy life reminded Ryan of her youth when she and her mother moved from place to place. Still, it was always in the back of the girl’s mind to find her way to DaVinci. She wasn’t sure how things would play out, but she kept the promise in her heart – she would be with him. A ship was setting sail to retrieve more souls from Europe. Ryan’s interested was instantly piqued at the news, and she rushed to make sure she could secure herself a position on the ship. She didn’t know much about working on the sea, but they put her to use as a maid and she worked just fine repairing sails and whatever else the crew needed. It was a long, unsteady sail over the great Atlantic, but finally the crew made landfall along the coast of the United Kingdom, and Ryan was much closer to being reunited with DaVinci. From the city of Cardiff, Ryan moved her way north to Birmingham always in search of someone who may have heard her love’s name in passing. The story was always the same – no one had heard a thing of DaVinci and they wished her all the luck in the world. Ryan came to rest in Liverpool, where she met a young man by the name of Lee Bristow. He was a devilishly handsome boy with icy blue eyes and deep brown locks of hair that cascaded into his face. In some ways, the blue reminded Ryan of DaVinci, but in another, it sparked interest in a new life she could have. For some time Ryan lost footing on what her real goal of coming to Europe had been. A complex of old human buildings served as a community of fisherman where Ryan decided to stay. It was here that an interest in Lee began to blossom, and Ryan thought perhaps she might stay in Liverpool. She let her heart slip and the doubts began to work their way inside. Perhaps she’d never find DaVinci. After all, she didn’t know exactly where it was he had gone off to. The de le Poer woman still needed to find someone who had the navigation skills to get her to Ireland and the boat that could carry them. As she lay curled at his side, Ryan brought her fingers to curl into the soft, dark locks framing Lee’s face. He was fast asleep as the moonlight cascaded in through the broken window, but Ryan’s mind was far too caught up in thought to let her sleep. Even though she felt content there beside him, she knew that this wasn’t how things were supposed to play out. Lee awoke only to offer Ryan a soft smile, before shutting his eyes again. Those vibrant blue eyes should have made her want to cuddle closer to Lee, but instead they only made her think of those brooding, steel blue eyes of the Nasphrite boy. She needed her Romeo back. She wouldn’t be able to settle for life here in Liverpool, no matter how pleasant she had made herself believe it was. She knew that Lee didn’t understand her sudden decision to leave. Though they had not physically been together with one another, it was obvious to all in their complex that the two Luperci had a mutual attraction for one another. Lee planned to make Ryan his mate, though the de le Poer had her heart set on her one true love. With a parting kiss goodbye, she left on a boat that had promised to sail the relatively short distance to Dublin. It had been quite some time since Ryan had left her home of Inferni and Nova Scotia behind. She had almost all forgotten of her times in Crimson Dreams and her clan’s feuds with Phoenix Valley. But now, the de le Poer’s mind had wandered back to her thoughts of first meeting DaVinci. The boy had been such a mystery to her, but Ryan had felt some kind of an attraction almost instantly. He knew so much about her past and who she was. He would be one of the only ones in the world to ever know so much about her. Her hair had grown long and Ryan had not attempted to sheer back the curls. The auburn locks fell to her chest and her bangs had grown wildly past her crimson colored eyes. She brushed them back out of her face repeatedly, but to no avail. Her familiar purple dress had long since been abandoned. Had anyone from Nova Scotia seen her, they would have thought it strange, but Ryan had almost forgotten about that plaid smock. Now, she was dressed in a simple grey dress. It did nothing for her form – no emphasis of her curves or flattery to her minimal cleavage. Instead, the dress was really nothing more than a smock. It seemed as if her adventure had seized a hold of her, and rendered Ryan a new girl than what she had been in Nova Scotia. If only DaVinci would still accept her. Those she had met had told her that she had indeed arrived in Ireland, but she wasn’t sure where she was even to begin looking. In the crumbling city of Dublin she asked around, tossing her love’s name into the air in hopes of getting a response. No one seemed to know a thing and a sinking feeling found its way into the girl’s stomach. Perhaps she would never find him. But then, a lead! A stranger remarked that they had heard the name before, and sent Ryan in the direction of which they knew. Perhaps it wouldn’t lead her anywhere, but she could only help but try. The sky was darkening as the night closed in, and Ryan decided she would settle for the night. In a valley between two curving hills, Ryan prepared a fire that she might cuddle close to. Rabbit meat had been brought along from the night before and she skewed it onto a sharpened stick, letting it heat over the open flame. She didn’t carry much with her, but she did have matches to get the fire going. A blanket had been rolled and bound with twine, and she unrolled it so that she might cover herself from the chilly winter air. Though the ground was dusted in snow, Ryan was sure to keep warm. It had been some time since she had slept many consecutive nights out in the open. Though the stars where a beautiful sight to look up upon, the dark expanse that surrounded her left Ryan in what seemed like eternal loneliness. SoSuWriMo: 1861 |
| Messages In This Thread |