Log Date: 11/7/95
Log Intro: Rayek, after first tensely rejecting Trollkiller's offer of
companionship and further attention to his tense, strained muscles, then
having another anguished heart-to-heart with Ekuar, decides at last to
have a few needed words with certain elves. But, still not daring to
venture out physically into the village, Rayek relies on sending, boosted
by the Little Palace's magic....

----------
You locksend ** <There is a sending -- not really suddenly, but hovering on 
  the edges of your mind. A sense of bleakness... and embarrassment, as the 
  sending fans out from somewhere inside the village, seeking you.> ** to 
  Trollkiller.

You sense in a locksend, Trollkiller hesitantly extends his thoughts back in 
  the direction of the end he's caught, sendinglittle more than ** ? **

You locksend to Trollkiller, Rayek's mind is austere of feeling, almost like a 
  windswept, sandy crag, with a tingle of power that feels like -- the 
  sculpture of the Palace, in Savah's quarters. He sends, lowly, ** Wolfling. 
  I... do not wish to disturb you... **

You sense in a locksend, Trollkiller's thoughts convey a little surprise, a 
  little confusion. ** I am already awake - and not doing much. I... take it 
  you're feeling a little less hostile towards yourself? **

You locksend ** <A sense of withdrawal/refusal to answer that/considering it 
  irrelevant> I wished to give you... <reluctance, as if this is difficult for 
  him to send>... an apology. ** to Trollkiller.

You sense in a locksend, Trollkiller thinks about that. ** Well... ** You 
  sense he's contemplating that send. There's a moment of that continuance, 
  and then, ** If it helps you... I accept. And thank you. **

You locksend to Trollkiller, Rayek does not comment on whether he is helped, 
  although, perhaps, there is a slight lightening of his contact. ** I... am 
  the one who should offer... thanks. ** With that, there is a sense as of a 
  single nod, and his sending withdraws.

[After that, Rayek stands tensely by the Little Palace. This first apology
 had been easier than he'd expected; the very idea of sending the words
 needed had made him recoil in irritation, at first, but, although he
 could not really admit it aloud, he'd known Ekuar was right.

 But there's other apologies he needs to make, as long as he's letting
 himself be humble. After Leetah's abrupt departure earlier, Rayek does not
 dare to try to send to her -- she obviously wishes nothing to do with
 him. But perhaps he can relay an apology through someone else, before he
 withdraws entirely from the healer's life. _This_ will be a much
 tougher sending, as the memory of how he's been previously humbled by
 this elf has never really left him....]

You locksend ** <A sending reaches out, brushing your mind, from a quite 
  familiar source. But Rayek's contact is uncharacteristically hesitant.> ** 
  to Cutter.
You locksend ** Wolf-chief. May I... speak? ** to Cutter.

Cutter locksends ** <To say that Cutter is surprised would be an 
  understatement. But at the same time he is as wary as you are hesitant.> Go 
  ahead. **

You locksend to Cutter, Rayek's contact feels... bleak, austere, like a 
  windswept sandy crag... but at the same time, sharply clear. There's a 
  tingle to it, and, coming as it does from the unmistakable direction of 
  Savah's hut, this isn't particularly surprising. His words tightly 
  restrained, he goes on, ** Ekuar... told me that your tribe... was here. 
  There is something... I must say. Please tell Leetah... **
You locksend to Cutter, Rayek, after a pause, adds lowly, tonelessly, ** ... 
  that I am... sorry. **

You sense in a locksend, Cutter's answer is long in coming, still wary, maybe 
  moreso because of the apology. ** Sorry..? **

You locksend ** <tensely, simply> Yes. ** to Cutter.

You sense in a locksend, Cutter is curious, of course. ** She'll know what you 
  mean? **

You locksend ** <A flash, a flare, of something that might be irritation, 
  fear, or both, but Rayek squelches it fiercely before it can truly be 
  sensed.> Please... just... tell her. ** to Cutter.

Cutter locksends ** <frustration> I know you're sick and hurt, Rayek, but 
  think about her for just a minute, would you? If she wants to know what 
  you're apologizing for..? **

[In Savah's quarters, Rayek scowls quietly, pained, thinking: Wolf-chief,
 I have done nothing BUT think of her ever since I set FOOT in this
 place...! His head bowed, trembling a little, he struggles to keep his
 composure -- cursed if he will break down to Cutter! -- and finally answers.]

You locksend ** <A long, brittle pause; a sense of veiled shielding, fiercely 
  maintained. Then, at last....> Tell her... everything. ** to Cutter.

Cutter locksends ** <frustrated confusion/curiosity/annoyance> Fine. Rayek 
  apologizes for everything. I'll tell her. **

You locksend ** <brusquely> Thank you. <Then, he is silent.> ** to Cutter.
You locksend ** <Silent, that is, at least until he adds> There is... one 
  other to whom I must... <tenseness> apologize. I... have heard that she is 
  in your Holt. Please... tell Lursa that I am... sorry for injuring her. ** 
  to Cutter.

[In Leetah's hut, Cutter tosses and turns in his mate's sleeping pit,
 scowling at the ceiling and thinking: If he _thinks_ I'm going to deliver
 messages for _him_ forever....]

You locksend to Cutter, Rayek is now well and truly silent, the contact gone.

You sense in a locksend, Cutter is silent a long time. When his send touches 
  your mind again, it is terse, and forcibly controlled. ** Deliver your own 
  messages, Rayek. **

You locksend ** <A flash, a... twist, as if someone had just backhanded him, 
  or ripped a knife through his gut. He does not answer, not immediately, but 
  when he does, his sending is strangely lifeless, wilted.> As... you wish. ** 
  to Cutter.

[Rayek in the solitude of Savah's chambers winces, eyes pressing tightly 
 closed. He... deserved that. After all, Cutter has no more reason to trust 
 him than Leetah, anymore. He will not argue with the wolf-chief... but nor 
 can he bear to approach the healer directly. In a strange sort of way he 
 realizes that Cutter, uncomplicatedly forthright as he is, is one of the few 
 people he would entrust to deliver his apology -- but if Cutter will not, 
 Cutter, who better than anyone else, now, would know Leetah's mind -- then he 
 might as well not bother asking the same of anyone else.

 And Cutter, in Leetah's hut, continues to stare at the ceiling 
  overhead, unable to sink into sleep, and undesirous of nighttime wandering. 
  There is clearly something wrong with his 'rival', with Rayek, sickness, or 
  fatigue, or both, or something else entirely. But in a place where he 
  thought he might find peace awhile, he has found none. With all the elves 
  who are concerned for Rayek, and hopeful that Leetah will be his salvation, 
  the dark-haired elf doesn't need Cutter. And Cutter doesn't need to think 
  about him....

 End log.]