Agrigon.

[Lord Anglekos]

Closed/Solo.

THE BEAST LIVES...?
Class: C+

I had heard rumours about this creature, but I believed them fanciful stories made to keep humans from travelling to other areas of Dheathain. Now I know I was wrong. It lives underground and according to the legend only attacks humans. I didn’t see very much of it when my caravan was attacked, but the ground tended to shift and rumble all around me. Then the ground beneath me caved in and I found myself in some kind of tunnel. Two large glowing eyes stared back at me from the darkness. Then some kind of clawed hand reached out and slaughtered my horses right in front of me. I abandoned my wears and fled back to Talmhaidh as fast as I could. The creature is to be found in the plains between Talmhaidh and Luthmor.

Signed,
Tobias deHall

P.S. I can be found at the Drake's Roar from the 19th to the 30th.

REWARD: 300gp

Eric studied the bounty for a couple moments, a small smile gracing his lips. He'd come to Talmhaidh only on a whim after meeting a Fae warrior in Scara Brae, seeking to learn more about Althanas and its inhabitants, but instead it seemed he'd found a job opportunity. He'd never considered becoming a bounty hunter before, but now it held a sort of mysterious appeal to the swordsman. Hunting lawbreakers, keeping the peace, earning fame and fortune simultaneously? Now that was something he could get used to.

He crossed his armored arms as he considered the option. Hell's mouth, why hadn't he thought of it before? He could still travel the world, depending on the bounty. And who knows, he could even learn something about himself while he was at it. All while getting paid.

This bounty would be a good start. He looked at the rating of the job and saw it to be C+. "See plus..." He muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He didn't know the ratings, though, and didn't want his first bounty to become his last. "...What does that--"

"It's a fairly low-level bounty." A throaty, female voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned around to find a draconian standing there. She stood about as tall as he, with thick, crimson locks framing a harsh, serious face. Strange emerald eyes framed by black irises locked with his as she adjusted the short sword at her side, and he noticed that she wore black plate armor that did nothing to hide her figure. A femme fatale'.... He thought with amusement as he lifted an eyebrow at her. As she spoke, he also noticed her pointed canines, almost like fangs. "I was thinking about taking it, but it seems I'm too late."

"Sorry about that." He apologized, but he could tell by her expression that she knew he truly wasn't. He gestured to the scrap of paper on the board with his head. "We could team up, if you'd like. I always welcome company."

He wasn't surprised when she shook her head, her red hair moving like flame around her face. "The bounty's not large enough. Besides..." She slightly sneered at him. "...I work alone. Weaklings just get in my way."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged and gently ripped the bounty from the wall. "I'll be at the Drake's Roar if you change your mind anytime soon." And with that he walked away, his black cloak flaring out to reveal the blade attached to his hip as he lost himself in the hustle and bustle of Talmhaidh.

[Rebellion]

Dheathain. It'd been far too long.

Nearly a year away from her home, and Rose could still remember everything. Every sight, every smell, even the unique taste of the air around her jogged memories in her brain. She felt she was travelling not through the city of Talmhaidh but through a road made from those very memories. It was disconcerting to the former dragoon, and even though she enjoyed seeing her kinfolk and comrades again, she felt it would be best if she left as soon as possible.

Still, while walking through the port city, Rose couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of coming home that no matter where she went she couldn't shake. Her scales itched with familiarity as she found the bounty board where she'd first started out as a bounty hunter. She'd tracked a fugitive all the way from here in Talmhaidh to Scara Brae, and while the gold had barely been worth the effort, it had started her on her journey.

As she approached the board, however, she spotted something that was new. Or rather, someone. Rose grit her teeth at the sight of a human standing in front of the board. Oh, cthara... She cursed silently at the sight. While she knew that it was racist, she couldn't help but feel an inherent distaste for humans. To her, they were weak, pathetic creatures with no respect for the gods above, save a few, and they needed to learn their place in this world. Why Dheathain had opened itself up to these scum, she didn't know, but every time she saw one in her home country she could feel her blood boiling in anger.

Quietly, she walked over to the board and behind the human. He was about her height, with a black cloak that hid most of his body, save for two crossed arms that were covered in iron armor. Dark, shaggy hair covered his head, spiking in various directions here and there. Looking over his shoulder, Rose quickly studied the bounty he was examining. It was a Class C+, and the reward money was small. Silently she sighed in disappointment. Of course. Another weakling. She was about to walk away when she heard him muttering to himself; "See plus...What does that--"

Before she could stop herself, Rose interrupted him. "It's a fairly low-level bounty."

The man turned around, and the former dragoon found herself staring into a pair of clear, blue eyes framed by a youthful face. Unconsciously, she adjusted the short sword at her side as she looked back. He may have looked young, but Rose could smell the stench of battle upon him. Blood, sweat...and tears. Those sky blue eyes flickered over her form for a moment, and Rose could feel her face turning almost as red as her scales. How dare he?! A mere human... But before she could voice her indignant thoughts, his eyes returned to her face and an amused eyebrow lifted in a silent question. Feeling the need to break the silence, she cleared her throat slightly and spoke again. "I was thinking about taking it, but it seems I'm too late."

"Sorry about that." His voice was soft, and fit the rest of his figure perfectly. It was as if he were afraid of speaking louder. With a small gesture of his head, he indicated the bounty on the board. "We could team up, if you'd like. I always welcome company."

Again, Rose felt indignant rage fill her body. How dare a mere human treat her like he was her equal! She shook her head before giving him a pointed stare. "The bounty's not large enough. Besides, I work alone. Weaklings just get in my way."

He didn't react to her insult the way she expected him to. Instead of growing angry, or threatening her, or ignoring her, he simply shrugged as if he hadn't been expecting anything less than that and took the paper off the wall. "Suit yourself. I'll be at the Drake's Roar if you change your mind anytime soon." And on that note, he walked away from her towards the merchant section of the city, his cloak flying out behind him to reveal an iron breastplate and a long sword attached to his hip.

Rose watched him walk away in surprise before shaking her head. He was just a human, after all. Nothing to think about. But as she studied the board before her, she saw that all the good bounties had already been taken. All that were left were Class D's and, she saw to her dismay, Class E's; the bounty hunter's equivalent to getting a cat out of a tree. That...boy? Man?...had taken the last worthwhile job.

She grit her teeth and checked her purse, and was unsurprised to find that she was nie-broke. Of course she was. Right at the time when she needed the money the most... With a frustrated sigh, Rose looked to the direction the man had gone. Trying to convince herself she was only doing this because she had to, the bounty hunter set off in that direction with an angry stride.

[Lord Anglekos]

After a while of wandering, Eric finally came upon the Dragon's Roar. It was a small pub, compared to the others he'd passed on his way there, and its wooden frames and structure suggested humble beginnings. He tried to ignore the dirty looks and the way most of the city's inhabitants tended to avoid him, but it was hard. He wasn't accustomed to such blatant rudeness. He thought that the draconian he'd spoken to earlier just had something against men or humans in general, but it seemed that the same attitude was common amongst most of the population as well. Why were they so antagonistic? Why the dirty looks, the blatant disrespect? Those were questions he intended on getting answers to. But they would have to come later. He'd reached the pub, and the job came first. With a sigh, he pushed the wooden door open and stepped inside.

As he'd expected, it was slightly cramped. With tables covering near the entire floor, there was barely any space to move. It didn't make matters any better than almost all of the tables were already taken, as well. With a couple of grunts and squeezing past angry-looking draconians, Eric managed to make his way to the bartender, a bald draconian with black scales covering half of his head and face. "Excuse me..." The swordsman spoke, and the bartender stopped wiping a dirty bottle and eyed him suspiciously with one reptilian eye. Eric showed him the bounty. "I'm looking for Tobias deHall. Is he here?"

The bartender lifted his lip in a sneer and grunted, jerking his head in a general direction. Eric looked and saw a thin man, a human, sitting all alone at a table in the corner. "Thanks..." He told the bartender, who simply grunted and returned back to wiping the dirty bottle. Shaking his head at the attitude, Eric walked over to the table and pulled a chair up.

Now that he had a closer look, he could see that Tobias was not just thin; he was barely more than a stick. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days. Loose, grey clothes barely clung to his form, and two branch-like arms protruded from the sleeves of his robe. A shock of platinum blond hair protruded from his scalp, giving him an almost bush-like appearance. But the most disturbing thing, to Eric, was his eyes. Sunken in and dark, they had the look of a man who'd spent too many nights visited by nightmares of his past.

Tobias looked up in surprise as Eric sat down until the warrior slid the piece of paper before him. "You need an exterminator?" Eric asked quietly, with a small smile upon his lips.

The merchant before him looked at him like he was some kind of angel that had suddenly appeared and offered him a place in Heaven. "Something like that." Tobias finally said, with a sad chuckle. His voice was raspy, as if he'd lost it screaming. "I wasn't expecting a human to take this job. There aren't many of us around."

"So I've noticed."

"Heh." The merchant ran his long fingers through his shock of blond hair. "So, you're completely sure you want to take this?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Eric gave him a small smile of reassurance. Tobias didn't look reassured.

"What's your name?"

Before the warrior could answer, however, the door was thrown open and every head turned to it in reflex. Eric blinked in surprise as he saw the very woman who he'd talked to just barely an hour ago. And she looked furious.

[Rebellion]

Rose was furious.

First this guy...no, this human checks her out, then steals her bounty. And then he leads her on some wild goose chase through damn near the entire city, only to finally end up where he'd originally been heading to in the first place hours later! If she hadn't needed the money so bad, she would have left long ago and had nothing to do with him. Too bad she had no choice...

Still, that didn't stop her from snarling across the room at him, sitting there with his stupid grin. "By the GODS you are annoying!!" She could feel one of her fangs pierce her lip as she restrained a growl. "Is it your goal to piss me off or something?" Without waiting for an answer to her rhetorical question, she stalked forward, and the crowd of wide-eyed draconians and Fae parted like the sea before her. When she reached the table where he sat with a platinum-blond stick of man, whom she could only guess was the petitioner, she pulled up a chair and crossed her arms and legs. Silence reigned for a couple moments as she felt all the eyes in the room upon her, until she spun around and turned her glare on them. Like magic, everyone went back to what they were before, albeit a bit subdued.

"And who might this be?" Said the thin man.

Before she could answer for herself, the swordsman beside her spoke up. "She's my partner."

She gave an incredulous look at him, but he remained focused on the man before him and missed it. Fortunately, so did Tobias, as he'd given a similar look to the swordsman. "A human and a draconian working together?" He blinked, then shook his head. "That's not something I expected I'd live to see."

"Yeah, well, miracles happen every day." He winked and gestured a waitress over, a dark-haired draconian with a shapely body. Rose made note of the fact that he barely looked at the waitress, while he'd checked her out, even though most of her body was hidden beneath armor. What an odd man. "I'm Eric Anglekos. This is..." He lifted both a hand and eyebrow to her.

She didn't lift her glare off him, even as he took a small glass of wine from the waitress. "Eros." She gave her draconian name instead of her humanized form. She didn't want him to start thinking they were friends. "Eros dar Decarabia."

Tobias noted the tension between the two with a small sigh. "Very well. Mister Eric and Ms. Eros...the job's all yours."

[Lord Anglekos]

What was her problem? Eric wondered silently as he examined her out of the corner of his eye. She was acting like he'd personally insulted her or something. And as far as he knew, he hadn't, so he was kind of irritated that she was acting like a spoiled brat. It was her choice to come, after all. But whatever. He'd handle her later. Right now he had to focus on the job. "Thanks." He gave Tobias a slight grin before taking a sip from the golden-looking substance he'd taken from the waitress, and blinked at the sweet taste of it. Wow, that was some good stuff! He wondered what it was. Yet another mystery he had to solve, it seemed. Setting the glass down, he went back to his original thoughts. "Now, how much did you see, exactly, of this creature?"

The merchant shook his head. "Not much, I'm afraid. I was too much of a hurry to run away. All I remember is two huge, glowing eyes staring out at me from the darkness within the tunnel, and a huge, scaled hand came out and dragged my horses, along with my wares, towards those eyes." He shuddered at the memory. If he was acting, Eric thought, then he was a good actor. "Then I fled. I fled for my life."

Eric leaned back and crossed his arms, thinking. What sort of creature lived underground that attacked like that? He glanced over at Eros, who'd remained silent during this exchange. "Well? What do you think it is?"

She snorted at his question. "How the Eadhochas should I know? I've never encountered anything like that before." Even as she finished speaking, however, he saw her eyes grow haunted with the burden of a memory, and she looked away.

He rolled his eyes at her attitude and started counting off on his fingers. "Well, let's see what we know about the beast. One: It only attacks humans. Or according to the legend, right?" He looked to Tobias, who nodded. "Two. It lives underground, so we can safely make the assumption that sunlight is uncomfortable or lethal to it. And three. It's big." He looked around again at Eros and Tobias. "Anything like that sound familiar to you two?"

This time Eros didn't respond with sarcasm. She simply shook her head, and in her eyes Eric saw a slight measure of respect from them. He grinned at her. "Tobias?" The other man sighed and shook his head too.

"Look, if I knew what it was I would have gone back and killed it myself, if I could." The merchant sounded frustrated. "I just need you two to go and make sure it doesn't ever come up again."

Suddenly Eros spoke up. "Where do we find this beast, exactly?" She uncrossed her arms and legs and leaned forward. "Hard to kill something that isn't there."

She had a good point, Eric thought. Tobias waved his hand impatiently towards the sheet of parchment on the table as he spoke again. "In the plains between here and Lu--"

"We know that." The draconian snapped, and Eric suppressed a chuckle. She didn't have much skill with people. "Where exactly were you attacked?"

Tobias looked back and forth between Eric and Eros, as if trying to make one of them understand, then sighed and ran his hands through the shock of hair on his head again. "If the legends about the beast are true, it will find you long before you find it." With that dramatic and ominous sentence he stood up and walked away from the two, leaving Eric looking thoughtful and Eros looking, well, pissed.

[Rebellion]

Rose said her goodbyes to her new "companion" shortly after and left for her room, a small, cozy spot in an inn by the sea. They made their meeting arrangements for the next morning shortly before her departure, and finally decided upon the East Gate out of Talmhaidh after much debating back and forth. "I'll be there from eight to nine tomorrow morning." She growled at him before leaving. "Don't be late."

He'd simply grinned at her, and she'd stormed off.

As she walked back to her room, the daylight fading quickly, she stopped by some stables and came upon a fat, rather stout draconian with blue scales covering most of his bare arms. He was chewing on something when she came up to him, and spat it out into the gathering darkness. "What can I do for ya." He asked rather gruffly.

"I need two horses..." Rose said, and looked around. Most of the beasts around her looked well groomed, but they lacked the muscle and strength she was looking for. "...preferably two that can go a long distance without dying."

He nodded. "That'll cost ya."

She winced inwardly, but refused to show her discomfort on her face. "How much?"

"80 gold pieces." He said without any apology in his voice.

Eighty?! She tried to keep the incredulity out of her voice. "Let me see them first."

He nodded and gestured to the back of the stables, where he led her to a pair of golden-haired horses with bright eyes. Rose sucked in a breath as she recognized the sheen of their hides and the shape of their hooves. "Dear gods above, you have mithandirlon?"

The mithandirlon were supposedly horses blessed by the Elven gods above. Whether this was true or not, no one knew, but no one could deny the prowess of these beasts. Many warriors of legend were said to have ridden these horses into battle, their hooves flashing across the ground at such speed that they could outrun arrows. And no one could deny their intelligence, either; although they did not speak, they seemed to understand just what was said around them, and replied as such with their actions.

No wonder he'd wanted so much. For these, a warrior would have paid anything for. "Aye, that I do." He grinned at them proudly and stroked the one to the left, which rubbed itself against his scaled hand with compassion. "Raised 'em since they were 'ittle more than foals. Knew I was gonna 'ave to give 'em away sooner or later, though." He turned his gaze on her, black eyes wide. "So, whaddya say."

Rose reached into her purse and silently counted her gold. She had enough, but barely. It would leave her with little more than enough to pay off the innkeeper, and that was it. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, but in the end silently handed the stableman eighty gold coins and took the two horses by the reins.

[Lord Anglekos]

Eric awoke the next morning to the blinding rays of the sun piercing him in the eyes. "Ow!" He cried out as he threw one arm over his arms. "By all the powers that be, who opened those shades!?"

"I did, m'lord." A dainty voice said, and Eric peeked underneath his arm to see a small Fae girl standing there, an amused smile gracing her lips. She stood about five foot three, much shorter than he, with a bluish tint to her skin and membrane of her wings in the glare of the sunlight. Her hair was an even lighter blonde than the merchant's that Eric had met last night, almost so that it was white. Her face, however, was one of a young girl, and had she not been a Fae Eric would have guessed her to be fifteen or sixteen at the most. Eyes sparkling with happiness gazed at the swordsman as he sat up from his bed and groaned, cracking his neck.

"Hello, Aingeal." He muttered. He'd stayed at an inn called Fairy Wings, and unsurprisingly he'd found it mainly populated by Fae. While the lack of unoriginality had been slightly irritating, their friendlier attitude than most of the draconians made up for it. In fact, he found their attitude a little disconcerting, and even more so when one girl, Aingeal here, had declared herself his personal servant for the duration of his stay. He'd tried to protest, but eventually he'd given up and just let her do whatever. After all, it was her job, wasn't it? "...That's right, I told you to wake me up shortly before seven, didn't I?"

"Yes you did, m'lord."

Last night was a little fuzzy to him. Damned drinks... "Did I do or say anything stupid last night? I can't remember..."

Her amused smile grew a bit wider, and he groaned. "Great. What'd I-- no, wait, nevermind, don't tell me." He waved his hands and cut her off as she'd opened her mouth to answer already. "It's probably better off that I don't know, right?" She looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Just great." He shook his head and groaned again.

"If it helps, m'lord, you passed out before you could finish completely undressing."

"No, it doesn't help." He raised an eyebrow. "Just...get my stuff, will you?" She laughed and bowed before skipping off, her wings bouncing happily. He rolled his eyes and clambered out of his bed and into bathroom, where a hot shower and shaving kit awaited him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Using his unstrung yew bow as a walking stick and slinging his quiver of arrows across his back, Eric made his way through a bustling city of Talmhaidh to the East Gate as fast as possible. He was unsurprised to find Eros standing there with a scowl of disapproval upon her face. However, he was surprised to see that she had two new companions with her.

"And who might these be?" He asked her as he approached the draconian, gesturing to the two horses. They were magnificent animals, with golden coats that seemed almost to be burning in the morning sun. Dark, intelligent eyes stared back at him as the two horses sniffed his hand before snorting with approval. He grinned as he turned back to Eros. "Don't tell me you went and bought me a pony while I was gone."

She didn't appreciate his humor, it seemed. She pulled at the reins of the larger one and brought it closer to her. "This is Morlor'ien." As if in response to her words, the horse neighed. "He's the dominant one, so I'll be riding him. You can have his mate, Senalia." She gestured to the smaller one before putting her foot in the stirrups and lifting herself up and on top of Morlor'ien. Eric took note of the fact that he hadn't been the only one hiding weaponry yesterday; she now had, in addition to the short sword at her side, a large glaive upon her back that seemed not to trouble her movements at all.

He walked over to the other horse and took off one of his gauntlets before stroking her face gently. She whinnied in pleasure and rubbed her head against his naked flesh, and he grinned. "Hey there, Senalia. My name's Eric."

"What're you doing?"

He looked up to see the draconian warrioress looking at him with cool interest. "I'm introducing myself to her. Letting her know I'm a friend."

She stared at him for a little while, and for not the first time he wondered exactly what she was thinking about. Finally she spoke. "They're only rentals. We're to bring them back after we're done."

"Still." He patted Senalia's head once more before slipping his iron gauntlet back on, and for the first time Rose saw him wear a completely serious expression upon his face. "All living things deserve love and respect, in one way or another. Just because she's an animal doesn't mean she deserves any less."

Completely unaware of the chord his words had struck within her, Eric went to stringing his yew bow before slipping it on his back, next to his arrows. For one so young to be so wise... Rose thought as she watched him prepare. ...he must have gone through the trials of Eadhochas and beyond...

Eric pulled himself upon Senalia with a little effort, and was at first worried that she wouldn't be able to hold his weight. However, the horse didn't seem to have any trouble moving with him on her after testing out a couple of steps, so he looked over to Eros and said "Let's go."

[Rebellion]

The two bounty hunters spent a good amount of time in silence as they travelled through the grasslands, having exited the bustling port city long ago. The sun was high and bright in the sky, as it had been for the past few days. This was odd, Rose noticed, as Dheathain was normally a very cloudy and humid place. She found herself sweating beneath the layers of her armor from the sun's heat, and cursed her luck. Even though she'd traveled around the realm of Althanas and suffered through all its climates, she still was not used to its dramatic changes, and had been hoping for a return to the nice, cool humidity of her home.

But it seemed the gods above were not done testing her yet. She grit her fangs in frustration as Morlor'ien moved beneath her slowly but constantly, and she congratulated herself on thinking ahead and renting the horses. She would've hated it if she'd had to go on foot in this heat. She glanced at her companion and saw he'd put the hood up on his cloak, making him look like some grim specter upon his horse. He'd been surprisingly quiet this entire ride, and while she'd appreciated that the human was keeping his trap shut, it unnerved her. From what'd she'd seen, he was a talkative one. Why he was keeping quiet, she didn't know.

Ah well. It wasn't her problem. As she turned back around, however, his soft voice cut through the silence. "I have a question for you."

She restrained herself from groaning. Of course. As soon as she started thinking about it..."What?" She snapped at him, expecting some idiotic question about her heritage or the horses.

However, he surprised her. "Why'd you join me?"

She turned to look at him, and saw him watching her with a thoughtful expression upon his youthful face. "I needed the money." She said without pause. And it was the truth, but...No, she cut off those thoughts. She needed the money, and that was it.

He looked back at her, and his face revealed nothing. Nothing at all. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"Then I have another question for you. If all you're after is the money, then why didn't you just take the bounty yourself? Instead, you waited for me at the Gate, whereas you could have gone out and got it yourself."

Rose opened her mouth, about to answer, when a screeching cry from above interrupted the both of them. Simultaneously the two warriors looked up to see a large shape with a wingspan of about ten feet circling above them. The sun glared in their eyes, preventing them from seeing any more, but Rose still had a good guess about what the creature was.

"Is that a dragon?" She heard the human ask calmly as he unhooked his bow from his back and began to knock an arrow. She noticed that his horse, while looking nervous, hadn't been spooked by the wyvern's cry, and she was glad she'd spent so much money on them.

"No, you fool." She sneered at him and reached one armored hand out, stopping him from taking aim at the beast. "That's no dragon. If it were, we'd be dead already if it wanted to kill us. Besides, it's too small." She looked back up at the wyvern's circling form. "No, that's a wyvern. Distant cousins to dragons, but nothing like them except in appearance slightly."

Yes, it was a wyvern, but they rarely hunted out here in the plains. This one was a Cailpis, and they were known throughout Dheathain for being extremely territorial, and those usually hunted mostly around their nest for prey. For one to be this far out...it was unnatural. First the changes in climate, now this...

Something was up with the nation of Dheathain, and Rose didn't like it.

"Will it attack?"

She was brought out of her thoughts by his question, and she looked back at the human. "No, probably not. They only hunt things smaller than us, usually, unless starving and desperate. And if the wyvern above us was either of them, it would have attacked by now."

Eric continued to eye the flying monster above them. "How do you know when it will attack?"

"It'll make a series of screeching cries, like--"

Suddenly the wyvern opened its maw and from it erupted three earsplitting cries that pierced the quiet, upon which is flapped its giant leathery wings and swooped down upon the two.

Eric gave her an amused look. "Like that?"

She gulped. "Let's run."

Rose kicked her horse into a gallop while Eric followed close behind.

[Lord Anglekos]

He was astounded at the speed of his horse beneath him. One moment they were walking calmly upon the soft grass of the plains, then the next it seemed Senalia was not running but flying. Where'd Eros had gotten them, he didn't know, but these were some damned fine animals, and before he could help it, Eric threw his head back and laughed into the air. The wyvern behind them shrieked, as if it were angry at his fearless sound despite the circumstances.

Ahead of him, the draconian's flame-colored hair flew out behind her, and he got a glimpse of her back, partially covered by more of those crimson scales that marked her as part of her race. A sudden surge of heat went through him at the sight of her skin, and he felt himself growing hard beneath his trousers. Even though they were being chased by a bloodthirsty flying monster that wanted to consume their flesh and use their bones as toothpicks, he still wanted his newfound companion in ways that unsettled him. To reassure himself, he reached down with a free hand and touched the soft hair attached to the hilt of his blade, bringing Amalia's face to his mind once more. Almost immediately, his lust surged down, and he felt his blood returning back to the temperature it was before.

"What's wrong with you?"

He looked to Rose again and saw her scowling at him again. "Nothing." He said, and grinned back at her. She snorted and was about to turn around, but then her eyes widened as she looked past him. Taking that for some sort of warning, he threw his upper body down across his horse, and both felt and heard a pair of huge jaws snap above him where his head had just been. That was close... He thought to himself and leaned forward more so he could whisper in Senalia's ear. "Faster, faster!"

She neighed in agreement and almost immediately picked up the pace, flying past Eros and Morlor'ien in a blur of gold and black. There was a whinny of indignant rage, and soon Eric saw out of the corner of his eye the draconian and her horse, keeping match with him and his. He grinned at her and laughed as the wind blew his hood back, and he swore he could see a small smile grace her own face before another shriek, closer now, brought them back to matters at hand.

Eric risked a glance back, and his eyes widened. The wyvern had picked up pace as well, and was gaining. What in God's name... "Eros!" He shouted across to his partner, and pointed at the flying beast. "How's it doing that!?"

"I don't know!!" She shouted back, and he saw her draw the large glaive from her back, holding it out to the side slightly. "I've never encountered one this fast before!"

He grit his teeth and twisted his upper body, bring his bow up to bear. "Keep going!" He told his horse, and she huffed to tell him he didn't need to tell her twice. He ignored her and took aim, sighting down the length of the arrow he nocked, trying to get a clear shot despite the bouncing of him upon his horse.

He couldn't aim for the main body. He knew that his arrows weren't strong or sharp enough to pierce the thing's scales, and wasn't foolish enough to abuse his luck by trying. No...But maybe the wings..."Senalia, move closer to Eros!" She whinnied as she did as he commanded, shifting her weight over to the draconian and her horse.

"What're you doing!?" Eros yelled, but he ignored her. He took aim again, and focused on the beating wings. Up...down...up...down...He counted the strokes as pulled back harder on the string. His timing would have to be perfect. One...two...up...down...one...There!

He let go. The arrow flew straight at the thing's upturned wing, and he bit his lip. Would it hit? It seemed it would hit. Yes, it was just about to...

Then the creature veered away, and the arrow zoomed right past it. "Damn!" He swore, and nocked another arrow as it spun back around to shriek at the two again, this time with a triumphant note in its sound. The thing was getting closer...forty feet...thirty five...thirty...twenty five...He aimed for its left wing again, and this time didn't wait for the right moment. He just let the arrow fly and trusted fate to guide it.

However, it didn't turn out as he expected. Instead of hitting its wing, the beast tried to veer away at the last moment, and suddenly the arrow struck its open mouth with a resounding THUNK. Eric saw the arrow's point pierce the inside of its fleshy maw and explode out the skull of the beast, stuck there like some bloody decoration of pain and death. The wyvern blinked its reptilian eyes and tried to flap some more, but eventually the light from them faded and it fell to the ground below, creating a great gouge it the earth as it slid several feet to a stop.

And so did Eric and Eros, pulling back on their horses and trotting slowly over to the fallen beast. Eric stared at it dumbly, amazed that his luck had been that good. As if she could read his thoughts, Eros looked over at him with wide, emerald eyes and complimented him. "By the gods above, that was a nice shot."

He gave her a small smirk and shook his head. "Thanks, but it was mostly a lucky one. I'd been aiming for its wing, anyways." As he got off his horse to examine the body, he noticed that Senalia's legs were shaking, and her breathing heavy. He looked over at Morlor'ien and noticed the same thing. "We should camp here tonight."

He saw that his partner was starting to get that look upon her face whenever she was irritated with him, so he held up a hand to belay the stream of disagreement he knew would be coming. "Our horses are tired, and they need to rest. Besides, I'm hungry. A rest would do both of us good."

Eros looked from him to the wyvern and back again. "Fine. But we leave at first light." She stepped down from her horse and looked to the fallen wyvern, and this time he was certain he saw a smile grace her serious face. "At least neither of us has to hunt for food tonight."

He blinked. "You mean...?"

She grinned sardonically at him. "Ever had roasted wyvern before?"

[Rebellion]

By the time they'd set up camp, put up a fire, tied the horses to a stake they set in the ground and began to roast pieces of the wyvern meat, the day had fled and night had fallen upon the plains of Dheathain. Rose sighed irritably as she sat down across from Eric on a small boulder, the flames slightly distorting his appearance as she examined him while he was busy sharpening the edges of his long sword. Upon the hilt of the blade was tied a lock of golden hair she hadn't noticed before, and she wondered whose it was, and what it meant.

He wasn't unattractive, for a human, and more than once Rose caught herself watching him as he went to work cutting into the fallen beast before them or grooming the horses. However, he was obviously young, and that reminded Rose of the difference between them. No matter how handsome he may be, he was still human, and thus unable to be her equal, whether as a mate or a warrior. As she shifted slightly, she groaned at the subtle ache in her body from riding so long, and the weight of her cold armor upon her flesh. She wished she hadn't gone along with his wish to camp here. She would have liked to camp near a place where she could have had a bath, instead of out here where they were vulnerable to the chill winds and beasts of the night...but she was a warrior, by the gods, and she would deal with it.

"You alright?"

Rose looked up and shifted her shoulders slightly as she saw Eric watching her from across the fire, the flames reflecting strangely in those crystal-blue eyes of his. "I'm fine." She snapped.

"No you're not. You've been moaning and groaning for the past two minutes or so, and even if you say you're fine, I know you're hurting underneath all that metal." He grinned wryly and tapped the metal breastplate he wore. "I can feel it too, y'know."

Well, she couldn't argue with that. "Forgive me, I misspoke. I'll be fine." She glared at him and crossed her arms across her breasts.

She saw him roll his eyes and get to his feet, and she tensed. "Take off your armor." He commanded.

She blinked. Surely she'd misheard him. "What?"

"I said, take off that armor. I'll not sit around and listen to your muttering and groaning another second." He reached into his bag and took out a small bottle of some dark-looking substance. "This is something I picked out in Talmhaidh for cuts and bruises, but the lady I talked to said it also worked great as a massage oil substitute."

Now she understood, and rolled it over in her mind. "Fine." She spat out bitterly, and slowly began taking off the top of her armor piece by piece. "But be quick about it."

Eric said nothing as he walked behind her, and she heard him take off his gauntlets and drop them to the ground as she finally managed to get the rest of her armor off. As she sat back down, she heard him draw in a sharp intake of breath, and spun her head around to look at him. "What?"

"Nothing. Turn back around." She noticed his face looked slightly flushed, but in the end blamed it on the light from the fire as she turned back around to stare at it. At first, she felt nothing, and was about to yell at him to hurry up when he touched her.

She gasped and bit back a moan as what she imagined must be the very hands of Siolmhar caressed her back, sending unimaginable pleasure and soothing sensations through her body. Each finger was like a lover, gentle and yet urgent, strong but kind, flowing across her scales and skin in a symphony of healing that no cleric or healer had ever made her feel before. As Eric's hands moved to her neck, she closed her eyes and leaned back into them, needing to feel more, more of this pleasure...and before she knew what she was doing, one slightly scaled arm lifted from her side and wrapped itself around Eric's neck, pulling him down to her so she could meet his slightly parted lips with her own.

She was surprised when, just as his lips grazed hers, he threw himself back from her and landed on the grass, breathing heavily. Rose opened her eyes and shivered as reality returned to her with the slight cold, and her eyes opened to see Eric sitting a few feet away, his eyes closed as he took several deep breaths. "Oh, by the gods..." She whispered in horror. What had she done? Had she hurt him? What was wrong? "...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost control like that."

"No..." Eric shook his head and slowly got up to his feet, brushing himself off as he picked up his gauntlets and slid them back on, not meeting her wide gaze. "...no, don't be sorry."

"I tried to--"

"I wanted it."

She blinked, and a faint flush of heat when through her again. "W-what?"

He finally met her gaze, and in it Rose saw that steely resolve that she'd first seen back at the bounty board. "You're not an unattractive woman, Eros. And it's been...too long." She noticed that as he spoke, his hand drifted down to the blade still at his side and touched the hair wrapped around the hilt. She could only guess, now, what kind of hair it was. "But...I'm not ready, yet, to go on. Even though it's been years since..." He closed his eyes and walked back to the rock across from her, sitting down. "In any case, I'm the one who's sorry."

Rose looked at him, and saw that he was telling the truth. He really was sorry. Hating the lust still raw within her, she tried to grab hold of her composure once more. "It's fine." She managed to say evenly, and began putting her armor back on. "We should get some sleep."

He nodded and stood up, pulling his hood over his face so she couldn't see his expression. "Right. I'll be right back--have to check on Senalia and Molor'ien." And with that he walked off into the darkness.

Once he was gone, Rose sighed and bit her lip. How had he...how had this human made her feel such lust? And why, why was she disappointed that he hadn't tried to sleep with her? Things that were to be dwelt on later on. But now as the fire was leaving her bones, she felt weary, and all she wanted to do was sleep. Standing up, she noticed he'd left behind the oil he'd used on her back. Curious as to what this wondrous substance was, Rose bent down and picked it up before pouring some on her hand.

To her amazement, she found it was only water.