The First Meeting [Archive]

Lord Anglekos

11-08-10, 11:05 PM

Closed to Amaranthine. Liquid timed. All bunnying approved by both parties.

The sun hung high above the trees, casting long shadows as midday slowly began to turn to late afternoon. The Ixian Knight Anglekos slowly undid his cloak as he sat under the cool embrace of the great oak's shade, closing his eyes as he took his shield and bow off of his back and adjusted the two longswords at his side so that they wouldn't poke into his ribs. Letting out a breath as he relaxed, he slowly stretched out his legs, cramped from walking so long without stop. From Radasanth he had come, heading south to Underwood, where he was to meet the intermediary for his mission. Apparently, several tusked beasts had been seen rampaging around Scara Brae, and in desperation for some assistance the Scara Brae military had contacted the Ixian Knights, hoping for an extra hand or two from the organization's famed Monster Hunting troupe.

Eric Anglekos was that extra hand. Trained by the best the Knights had to offer, his blades were sharp and his hand steady. He'd joined the group in search of a purpose, and he honestly hadn't been disappointed so far; two completed missions under his belt, and he already felt that his life was taking a new direction. He was doing something he was meant to do; he wasn't suited for the dull life of a guard, or even the wandering one of a mercenary. He was a soldier, and a soldier needed opponents to whet their blades upon every once in a while. At at least, he thought to himself as he cooled his body off under the canopy of trees around him, he was doing something that benefited the public in general.

Taking his cloak off, his hand brushed against something soft, and he glanced down at the sword at his side. Not his mythril, elven-crafted blade, but his original steel sword, now more of a decoration than an actual weapon these days. Tied around this blade was a lock of blonde hair, serving as a tassel for the weapon that he had christened 'Amalia', after the memory of his fiance'. He smiled slightly, for once feeling light; for not only did he have a purpose, but the very leader of the organization, the telepath called 'Sei', was helping him get past the burdens that had been previously holding him down. His memories still held shackles upon his heart...but never before had they felt so loose and light upon him. Gazing up at the beautiful, cloudless sky above him with eyes as blue and as clear as the sky itself, he felt hope; hope that perhaps, one day, he could get over his past, and release those dark shackles.

Continuing to stare above him, the shade of the trees shielding his eyes from the devious sun, he took this time to enjoy the scenery about him. Life, for him, had always been about steel, and bloodshed. Very little time had been taken to simply enjoy life, and the little things in it; like nature. He wasn't an eco-maniac, but even he could appreciate the pure sense of life in the trees about him; the scurrying of the animals, even the predators that hunted the prey. There was something primally simple about it all that Eric could connect with, could understand. Above him, a bird flew from it's perch, rustling the branches and causing several leaves to fall from their limbs, floating down before the resting swordsman as the light from the sun upon the last of the dew on their edges to gleam and glimmer. Smiling quietly at the sight, he decided that like the bird taking flight, it was time for him to take flight as well. After all, he judged, gazing through a veil of ebony bangs hanging haphazardly upon his head, it would be night soon, and he had to get as much ground covered as he could before dark.

He'd barely picked his equipment off the ground, shouldered it appropriately onto his back, and taken his first few steps in the direction of the path to Underwood when a scream from deeper within the forest rang throughout the trees, causing several creatures to be disturbed from their resting places and flee before the advancing sound. Eric himself physically paused and snapped his head, eyes widened in alert, in the direction of the sound, and as he strained his ears, he could hear little feet moving fast in his direction....followed by the heavy thumps of something much, much bigger. A second scream, sounding far more stressed and terrified, caused him to move into action; for he was a Ixian Knight, and he would do his duty. Unlatching the shield from his back, it slid onto his left arm with practiced ease, even his right hand found the hilt of Pardolaes, his mythril sword, and the silver blade slid from it's ebony scabbard with a slight ringing in the air to testify to the master craftsmanship. With a burst of speed, stepping forward and pushing from his heels, he dashed around the wide berth of the tree, straight for the direction from which the screams emitted, sword and shield held out before him defensively.

By whatever gods that were watching carelessly above, he thought to himself as the land sped by his black clothed form, he would not let another life fall under his watch.

Amaranthine

11-09-10, 12:41 AM

Bursting suddenly through the many layers of green foliage that made up the area's dense forest, came the obviously panicked form of a young woman. Her bare slender feet moving in fearful haste against the earthen expanse beneath them, giving the traction needed in order to flee the creature that gave her chase. Her soft whimpering managed to weave it's way between her breathless pants, as she was slowly succumbing to the ever creeping problem of exhaustion. She dashed gracefully around the auburn trunk of a great tree that was blocking her pathway of escape. Her long ebon hair dancing around behind her as she did so; bits of the silky mass somehow managing to catch the rough edge of the trunk only to tangle and further cause her pain.

She continued to run in desperation, never taking even the slightest of moments to glance behind her to check her progress of escape, as she was just too far lost in her frightened emotional state. Just keep running...she would continually repeat to herself, in an attempt to calm her raging fears. The greenery around her was growing somewhat thicker, indicating the possibility of her venturing deeper into the already confusingly vast forest. Because of that, the young woman's foot managed to catch itself under a curved root of a nearby tree, sending her stumbling hard into the dirt below. Surprised by the suddenness of falling, she partially screamed and barely succeeded in catching herself, the slick soil smearing along her arms and legs as she did so. Without a moment of hesitation, she was up and running again. Though the creature behind her was now close on her tail.

Why does this somehow ALWAYS happen to me? She thought to herself in utter annoyance, the situation grinding against her nerves relentlessly. It had only been a number of mere hours in which she had been transferred to this new world, that she now found herself in danger. This youth was not of the world of Althanas, let alone to the undertakings of the wild, and was thus naive to the relatively common ideas of staying safe in rural areas. She was accustomed to a private and arguably privileged life in another world known as Gaia. She had been sent to Althanas at the whim of the very deity in which she devoted herself to; Gabriel, a Goddess of Light, had implored the young girl to do her bidding in another place as their native land of Gaia was far too gone in despair and ruin. It was the youth's charge to travel the lands of Althanas and spread the teachings of Gabriel or at the very least, the concepts of the benefits to choosing a life of light and love over other ever-pressing negativities. But her "mission" as it were, wasn't exactly going according to plan.

The youth went by the name of Faye, which was a shortened version of her traditional Ebudan name as it was often difficult for non-natives to pronounce the rest of it. As an Ebudan, it wasn't in her nature to fight or partake in any form of conflict whatsoever. Thus was her simple reasoning for fleeing, instead of attempting to take her pursuer's life.

Faye's azure eyes glanced quickly towards the sky, but instead found the underside of the forest's thick canopy of leaves. Which sent a shock of disheartening energy through her entire body, as she was desperately wanting to simply take flight and make her escape more promising. It was the genetic gift of the Ebudan race to possess and utilize their changeable wings; that could both change size and location upon desire. Out of that instinct, Faye had shifted her blackened wings to emerge sharply from her very upper back in a position which best suiting actual flight rather than decoration. But as she had fallen a victim to fear, she was unable to fully grow them out enough to support her own weight; her wings were just simply too small to be useful. Never the less, their mass swayed haphazardly behind her form as she ran with conviction.

Eventually, Faye found herself under the shade of an enormous oak tree, still forcing her feet to continue their quick movements despite the burning sensation of her muscle's fatigue.

Lord Anglekos

11-09-10, 01:24 AM

His enchanted greaves rendering his swift footsteps silent, even upon the broken, limb-ridden ground, he slammed his back up against a tree and, reaching up with his shield-hand, pulled the hood of his black cloak over his head so as to further obscure his form within the darkness of the shade, so graciously provided by the thick leaves and limbs above. He fought his own heavy breath with some effort, struggling to keep his voice quiet as the light footsteps drew closer; and along with them, the heavy, rapid footsteps of whatever was pursuing them. Slowly, he peered out from the right side of the thick trunk and beneath the cloth hood, biting back his panting and praying that the small beads of sweat running down from his dark hair wouldn't slide into his eyes. He couldn't see either the pursued or the pursuer yet, but he knew he would within a few seconds, so he pulled back and hid further within the dark cover of the shade, holding his silver blade vertically to himself.

Whimpering, soft and feminine, alerted him to the first figure, and he held himself as tightly against the rough, biting trunk as he could, holding his breath and biting back his first instinct; to alert whoever it was to move off the thin trail they were running along. He couldn't, because to announce his presence to them would be to alert his presence to whatever was on their trail, and whatever it was it sounded big and it sounded fast. He would have one strike, that was it; one strike to turn the tide from being the hunted to becoming the hunter. His hand tightened it's grip on his mythril blade's hilt, as finally the victim came into view, and she blurred past him in a mess of black hair and feathers, combined with her white outfit. He briefly blinked in surprise, thinking to himself, Feathers? However, he barely had enough time to do that; for as soon as she passed by, whimpering and almost crying in fear, several heavy thumps shook the ground, and an inhuman screech sent the wildlife fleeing in fear, the sound resonating like a painful bell in their ears. Even to the Knight, the sound seemed to tear his hearing apart, and it was all he could do to just grit his teeth and bear it, counting the impacts of the creature's feet upon the ground.

Three...two... He counted to himself, as the heavy creature grew closer and closer, and at the last second, stepped out onto the path and his body spun, his black cloak flaring out behind him like a cloth set of wings. The blade in his hand sang as it too spun with his movement, the fine edge slicing through the air so easily it practically felt like there was no air resistance whatsoever. The mythril weapon was not alone for long, however, as suddenly a rush of black fur met contact with the blade, and, digging his heels and feet into the relatively soft ground in subconscious expectation for the impact. It was to his pleasant surprise, Eric would later think to himself as he recalled the moment, when the weapon's master craftsmanship truly proved itself to the warrior. Slicing through the creature's legs, the metal passed through the flesh, muscle, and bone like butter; the thing's own kinetic force being it's undoing. One by one, Pardolaes sliced through the creature's legs just below each knee joint, cutting them off and sending the huge monster tumbling at the lack of support on it's right side, looking for all the world like a giant ebony mass of fuzz. Screaming that inhuman scream once more as the earth shook beneath it's fall, it cartwheeled over and over again, it's remaining four legs flailing in pain and rage. Green, glowing blood dripping from his elven weapon, Anglekos looked past it...and saw that the monster's uncontrolled movements were carrying it straight for the fleeing winged stranger.

"MOVE!" He yelled in panicked command, even as he was moving himself. Sprinting across the rough expanse of ground in a futile attempt to move her out of harms way himself, he held his blade in one hand held out of his way and to the side, his shield forgotten in his other hand.

Amaranthine

11-09-10, 02:33 AM

Faye's fear filled eyes had neglected to catch any glimpse of her savior's form as she made her way past the tree he took refuge behind. Instead she consistently focused ever more on the path before her, as the only priority on her mind was escape. It was a matter of seconds later when everything instantly changed. Her elongated and pointed ears first perked up in surprise as her pursuer's scream reflected utter pain in it's tone, which seemed odd to the Ebudan, since the cry was different from it's previous ones of amusement. It was that change which caused Faye to cease her running suddenly, allowing herself to whirl around and face the being which was now wailing in suffering.

She squinted her azure eyes to better focus on the sight before them, as they were now brimming with fear-tinged tears. Again her eyes failed to catch any sight of the being whose mercy was her luck, as the only thing which filled her vision was the ever hurdling mass of monster coming her way. Faye's eyes widened slightly as the realization of the new danger she was in set in, and her mind betrayed her into freezing up on the spot. There she stood, suffering from her own irrational fear, until a booming voice broke the silence of her mind snapping her back into reality and reason. Move. She told herself, and so she did; throwing herself to the side of the tree she stood before, rolling in an awkward manner out of harms way. Her long dark locks now twisted and tangled with the leaves and twigs of the forest's under floor.

Panting heavily, Faye's eyes followed the wounded creatures form as it went from air to ground then air again; bouncing wildly as it's unbalanced centrifugal force caused it to do so. The monster's pattern continued for a few more seconds until it's mass finally slammed into the very tree Faye had rolled away from previously. The mere force of the crash caused the tree to shake violently as splinters of wood spewed randomly throughout the air. Faye instinctively wrapped her wings around her form, but because of their smallness they were unable to reach her face. So she simultaneously also brought her forearms up to shield herself. Luckily, the tree's wooden knives sprayed out in such a way that they managed to miss Faye completely.

Once the impact finished, the forest's subtle silence returned to the area and Faye released her defensive stance; allowing her arms to fall back to the ground beneath her and her wings to relax on her back. Her head tilted upwards to allow her azure orbs to gaze upon the horrid being that so hastily craved for her earlier, her eyes widening yet again as she took in it's disgusting mass. Crying out in shock, the young Ebudan scurried away from the tree and monster, as the beast's two rather large mandibles clicked together furiously. Leaking from the creature's teeth came flowing filthy-white foam, indicating that it was utterly rabid. Faye whimpered softly as she merely stared as the monster continued to click in anger.

Still oblivious to her savior, the young Ebudan slowly pulled her legs in closer to herself as she crawled backwards, stopping only when she was up against a tree. Her gaze glanced upward towards the forest's canopy as a sudden glimmer of sun caused her to wince. Seeing a break in the leaves where she could slip through, she smiled nervously. Slowly her ebon wings at her back began to subtly shake and crackle as they gradually extended, growing in size. She then stumbled to her feet and gradually spread their mass out to the sides of her, a great feathery sound reverberating throughout them. Faye took a deep breath inward and glanced back at her monstrous pursuer one last time, her eyes reflecting both fear...but also a certain sadness.

Lord Anglekos

11-09-10, 05:16 PM

Tarantulus gargantus. In simple terms, the classic giant spider. On one metaphorical hand, Eric was unsurprised to find the creature lurking the forests around Underwood; even in lands beyond Corone, all sorts of enormous arachnids roamed and hunted. And they were especially common to the trees of this very forest, with their thick webs intertwined amongst the branches to capture their witless prey flying carelessly amongst nature's giants. And yet, on the other metaphorical hand, the swordsman felt a stab of caution as he flew on swift, silent feet, using the slightly downwards incline of the trail to pick up speed as he watched the obviously frightened girl roll away at the last second, just as the creature slammed itself into the trunk of the tree, sending bark spraying like daggers from the impact. For tarantulus gargantus, for all of it's viciousness, was not a ground hunter; never before had he seen one storm across the ground in a hungry stampede like that, nor even heard of such a thing. The spiders were treetop hunters, and when they did hunt for food upon the ground, they always did so with usual predator's cunning; luring the prey into a nie-invisible trap...until it was too late.

As he drew closer, he saw the reason for it's unusual viciousness, and he thanked his lucky stars that neither he nor the girl had been bitten (to his knowledge). For, gathering forth from the thing's mandible's was a thick, concentrated foam; a sign of infected madness. He'd heard of it before; some called it "rabies", and it drove the host mad with bloodlust and rage. Worst of all, it could even kill, and he had no idea whatsoever of how to treat such madness.

Stepping on an exposed tree root for leverage, he pushed off and leapt forward into the air, falling and landing with a heavy thump upon the earthen ground, using his shield to help soften his impact as he quickly looked up beneath his black hood to assess the damage done. The spider had four of it's legs cut off at the "knee" joints on one side; obviously done by himself, and he was relieved that the creature had been too caught up in it's madness to realize his presence there until it was too late. It twitched and hissed still, some in pain but mostly from it's bloodlust, even as it lay upside down, the spider's body paralyzed from it's own impact. Standing straight, he noted the girl also backing away from the beast, her black hair tangled with leaves and dirt, before he stared in shock as her wings slowly began to grow...and grow...and grow, until they were nearly the size of her. Giving her pursuer a look of almost regret, he was alarmed when her wings spread wide suddenly, raven feathers bursting from her body with the sudden movement, and he took a wild guess as to what her intentions were.

"Wait!" He shouted, but this time quieter, as the spider's remaining functional legs flailed at the girl, just out of it's reach. "Wait, don't!" He repeated frantically, for he could see the lines in the trap now. He quickly glanced up, and confirmed his suspicions, for there was one other fact about this species that he'd neglected to remember:

They hunted in "families".

The late afternoon sun shone down through the thick canopy, where a hole in the bristles and bunches of limbs exposed the bright blue sky. As he looked up, he saw what he'd been looking for; a glimmer of something thin and stringlike in the deceptively clear way to escape. His azure eyes bright in fear, he took a glance at the woman, who now bent her knees in preparation for flight with those massive wings of hers; she would be like a helpless fly in those thin, but strong webs. So he did the only thing he could think of.

He ran for her. Bursting from his position with that same frantic energy from before, he dropped both his shield and sword in the same movement, letting the metal weapons fall to the ground with a heavy clang. Three seconds; the girl pushed off from the ground. Two seconds; her wings flapped heavily to give her lift. One second; they lifted her off the ground and into the air.

It was this on this last second that Eric reached her, diving forward with arms outstretched, paying no mind to the disabled, giant spider screeching to his right. Like a six foot cannonball he hit her, wrapping his arms around her legs as he used his superior size and weight to drag her from the air and down to the ground. She screamed in surprise and fear, as both of them went sprawling into the forest, rolling over one another in one big mass of feathers, cloth, and skin.

Amaranthine

11-09-10, 10:21 PM

Faye had just barely managed to calm herself to a somewhat more manageable level before the man threw himself onto her so recklessly. Thanks to his rash action, the young Ebudan was now back in her previously frantic state; as she was utterly shocked to learn of his very existence, let alone to feel his touch. She was simply careless before, oblivious to the man's protective actions; all of them. That was usually not the case as Faye was typically a more observant person. But in her flurry of fear, because of her irrational level of arachnophobia, she had "tunnel vision" as it were.

Nevertheless the two beings were now rolling about on the ground, their clumsy forms almost appearing like two wild animals in the middle of a dispute. The motion continued for a small distance before eventually it slowed and stopped. The two were now laying side by side on their backs, breathing heavily in confusion from slight disorientation, as their eyes stared ever more into the canopy of emerald above. There was only silence for the first few seconds before Faye's lightly tinged rosy lips parted slightly and spoke forth, "...ouch...", her voice was barely audible and weak. It was the only thing her flustered brain could actually process currently into finalization, and thus it was the only thing she could say at the moment. Unsure of what the current situation was, she chose to stay motionless.

She laid there for another second before the curiosity within her to check her surroundings got the best of her. Shifting her gaze to the side, she finally began to take in her company's form. Looking upon the form of the man beside her, she realized that he wasn't too far off from her own age; older but relatively similar. He seemingly adorned himself with the typical wear of a warrior: a simple breastplate, dark cloak, a full quiver, and an empty sheath. Upon seeing that, Faye made the connection within her mind that he was very much likely to be the one who had wounded the arachnid which was previously hunting her. Knowing that quickly calmed the young Ebudan as she now knew that he probably meant no harm to her, despite the sudden tumble they both took.

Gathering up herself, Faye slowly pressed the palms of her hands into the muddy dirt below them and pushed, forcing her body to sit upward. Doing so was a slight mistake however, as her head rushed suddenly with a pressing throbbing pain, indicating she had somehow managed to knock her head against something with force, injuring her slightly. She subconsciously lifted her hands to hold the area of her head which hurt, but stopped midway in her motion, as her eyes caught something crimson in color. Resulting from both the chase and rolling fall she had taken, she had several small cuts and slowly forming bruises along her arms and hands. Further investigation led Faye to realize that her legs were also in the same status.

Choosing to deal with her injuries at a later time, as none of them were truly serious, Faye redirected her attention to her savior. Her azure orbs overlooked his entirety searching for any indication of harm done until eventually she felt satisfied of his relative well-being and changed her gaze to his face. His hair was unruly, probably because of the tumble she took note, and was a soft black which was now spread around himself in a haphazard way. His features were neither sharp nor soft, but a delicate balance to render him as somewhat attractive in Faye's opinion. But the most interesting feature he held, was his eyes, which were a similar to her own, but far more...pale. She stared into them in silence for a moment before she realized they also were staring back.

Blushing slightly, the young Ebudan sat back on her heels and quickly looked away from them, now glancing over back towards the creature which had posed such a threat earlier. She bit at her lip in nervousness for a few seconds, before finally mustering up enough courage to speak. "...you saved me, right?", she asked softly, her tone tinged with a certain level of apprehension.

Lord Anglekos

11-09-10, 11:45 PM

The dark-haired stranger was beautiful. He'd met his fair share of women during his initial travels of Althanas; the draconian Eros, who'd he fought side by side with during his excavations in Dheathain; the thief Reine, who he'd chased down after a brawl between them and threatened her life; and several other women, in several other situations. All of them had been relatively pretty to the Knight, and he'd nearly gotten into some sticky intimate situations with a couple, but the memory of Amalia had always held him back, dragging him away from that ledge that'd he nearly leapt from. However, as he looked up into the eyes of the stranger who now owed him her life, all those women, all those memories, fled for the brief period of a few seconds. To some, this would have been an insubstantial amount of time; insignificant in the great scheme of things. But to Eric, who'd been constantly burdened with those memories all of his life, those few seconds felt like paradise; like he was finally free.

Blue met blue as their eyes met, him still laying upon the ground and her sitting up, as they stared at one another. Her hair, albeit tangled and unruly, sat around her face in such a way that it framed her features somewhat mysteriously, and her breathless, wide-eyed expression left him suddenly wanton for a taste of her petulant lips. A white dress covered her, but left her arms and most of her legs exposed to the air, leaving her little protection, he saw, from the roughness of the ground. Judging by her looks, she couldn't have been any older than he was; perhaps just coming into the realm of "adulthood". For a few seconds they continued to simply stare, before she blushed and glanced away, just in time for the gigantic arachnid emitted another one of it's unsettling screams.

The sound seemed to snap him out of his trance, and he sat up, briefly directing his mind towards himself to check for damages. Unlike his new companion, he was covered all over in cloth and armor, and the fall had done little to him other than make his body a little sore on the arms and knees. Once he was satisfied, he started to get up when she spoke, the winged woman muttering softly in what he thought to be almost fear. Glancing at her, his hood now thrown back from his successful attempt to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life, he quietly let out a breath as he reached up and brushed his long, black hair out of his eyes. "One second." He murmured quietly back to her, and walked swiftly back to the clearing from whence they'd come, one hand on the hilt of Amalia.

He'd had naught to fear, however, once he came closer. The creature was fully paralyzed, and as far as he could see, it was dying. Weakly, it's mandibles clicked together at the sight of the human, foam still falling from it's jaws. Pausing briefly, he gazed at the creature in what could be seen as pity, green ichor pouring still from it's severed limbs and onto the leaf-ridden ground below, creating a sticky mess of dirty emerald for him to walk around as he retrieved Pardolaes and his shield, shrugging the latter onto his back in silence. The arachnid cried out quietly, it's vocal cords of little use now, and cold, cruel eyes turned to look at the monster before closing. "Sad." He said softly to no one in particular, before advancing forward, mythril blade held out to the side, tip hovering just above the ground.

And with one, swift cut, he ended the spider's pain.

He wiped both sides of the elven sword onto the bare stomach of the corpse, cleaning the jade blood briefly before silently slipping the weapon back into it's oak sheath. Making sure both long swords were clear in their scabbards and laying comfortably upon his hip with a simple lift of the hilts, Eric walked away from the the corpse and back towards the girl, his footsteps enchantedly silent despite all the bushes and twigs he was stepping upon. "Are you alright?" He quietly asked her as he came closer, trying not to attract any more attention than they already had. "That was a pretty close call." Chuckling lightly, to as to ease the tense air, he held out one unprotected hand to help her up from her seat upon the ground.

Amaranthine

11-11-10, 12:45 AM

Faye winced as the creature's horrid screams met with her pointed ears suddenly. Her hands quickly coming up in an attempt to remedy that newfound pain. Though the monster's life was rapidly dwindling down into nothingness, it still harbored the strength to cry out in flustered fury, or so it seemed. The young Ebudan's blush had faded away promptly as the unsettling tinge of fear began to settle back in her stomach, slowly growing in intensity thanks to her phobia. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes as she did so, to better focus on calming herself. Luckily her actions proved successful and the fear that had so quickly came, began to wane away gradually. The creature is dying. It can no longer harm you. She repeated to herself several times to finalize the calming of her nerves.

Faye's silent meditation stopped suddenly as the words from the man whom saved her broke the forest's silence once again. Her eyes opened and followed his motions in slight curiosity, watching his form distance from her as he went back towards the monstrosity that had previously been their foe. Things were utterly silent once again despite his footsteps on the leaves below, Faye watching intently the man's every move as she was simply astonished at the strange feat he was accomplishing. Shifting her weight to one side, she extended her hand slightly and leaned on it, better adjusting herself as the cuts and bruises were beginning to bother her. Pushing the painful thoughts aside however, she refocused her attention onto the man who was still walking away from her.

Eventually he reached the creature's side and swiftly ended it's miserable life. As he did so, Faye's eyes closed once again but this time only momentarily. "Ciri hora ellen anath." she said aloud softly, her voice carrying oddly to reverberate throughout the nearby area in a somewhat haunting fashion. It was a prayer in her native tongue, said when any life passes before the eyes of an Ebudan. Faye was so devoted in her beliefs that even though the creature was something she strongly feared, and though it meant her harm, she still managed to be forgiving and sorrowful for it's cease in existence. Deep in her heart she justified the creature's ending as merciful however, as it wasn't in a healthy condition. Faye opened her eyes again and they followed the man's movements once more as he returned to her side.

As he spoke to her in such a nonchalant and casual way, Faye's head tilted slightly to the side and she blinked her deep blue eyes slowly. She found it rather odd that he was so utterly indifferent after committing such a serious act, in her opinion at least, as murder. Her teachings influenced her ideals strongly, as they stressed the horrendous nature of death in all it's forms; that taking a life and loosing your own was both shameful and unnecessary. Faye merely continued to stare in silence at the man before her, blinking every now and then as she contemplated the many thoughts within her mind. The subtle stinging of her wounds eventually causing her to break from that contemplation.

"...I'm fine, really." She said before her eyes partially winced as the mud on her arm had some how managed to slide into one of the many open cuts, worsening the stinging that pained her. "Just a little, worn from the whole thing. That's all." she finished, her tone still soft but somehow calming. Her azure eyes glanced towards her wounds quickly before returning to his own pair of pale orbs. A slight breeze blew in suddenly and gently carried the young Ebudan's hair along itself, the tangled mass of leaves and twigs dancing around haphazardly. Reacting to the natural occurrence, Faye's wings fluttered subconsciously behind her, the wind they generated whisking leaves around carelessly.

Lord Anglekos

11-11-10, 02:06 AM

As her wings fluttered nervously to accentuate her words, he frowned inwardly, and retracted his offered hand. Of course she was nervous and scared; it was only natural. She'd just been chased down by a rabid eight-legged monstrosity and nearly killed, and she didn't look like the type of being that was exposed to this sort of thing on a daily basis. In fact, Eric thought to himself as he studied her strange yet intriguing appearance, his pale hues dancing over the unique tattoos that decorated her skin, she didn't look like any sort of creature that he'd ever seen before. Sure, there were all sorts of winged men and women that he'd encountered during his years of travel upon Althanas, but it wasn't the wings that truly intrigued him. No, it was the unique markings upon her skin that drew his gaze, for they didn't look like any inking that he'd ever seen before. In fact, if he hadn't known better, he would have guessed that the marks were part of her skin itself.

Protectively laying one hand upon the hilt of his steel blade in habit, he frowned again; this time visibly so, as he watched her wince in pain at the bits of mud and dirt that found their way into her open wounds. They would have to be healed up soon, or the small scratches would eventually become infected. Kneeling down upon the ground with her, he glanced at her face and saw the pain reflected within her deep eyes. Letting out a quiet breath, he looked behind him; he knew they didn't have much time. If the spiders had indeed used the rabid member of their "family" as the bait, then he knew they could be watching the two of them even now. Right now, with one of duo both physically and emotionally exhausted and the other distracted, the two of them were, to use the term, "sitting ducks".

He looked back over at his new winged companion, wondering why she hadn't questioned his frantic dive upon her. Perhaps, he thought, now that she wasn't hindered by her obvious fear, she was thinking more clearly. That was good; he didn't have enough versatility to be answering all of her questions and placating her mind while defending her at the same time. Eric didn't know what offensive capabilities she had, but she didn't look, on the outside, like a warrior. He would have to go with that assumption for the time being, as he laid one hand upon her leg in a placating gesture.

"Your wounds," He started off quietly, looking into her eyes to capture her attention. "I can heal them. May I?"

Amaranthine

11-11-10, 09:24 PM

Faye bit her lip softly from slight shame as she watched how careful the man's motions were, she usually wasn't this reserved or unobservant. She was just so shook up from the spider that had chased her previously, but now that the creature was taken care of she had nothing more to really worry about and was thus feeling horribly shamed. So she shook her head to clear her mind and afterwards focused her full attention on her kind company.

As she listened to his concerned words, she was surprised to hear of the gift he was also capable of; healing. Faye subconsciously smiled and stared into the man's eyes with slight adoration, pleased with his caring nature. She took a moment to think before speaking forth this time her voice was somewhat louder but it still managed to kept it's calmness. "...you are far too kind, Sir...Sir...", her words trailed off into silence from confusion since she wasn't aware of his name. But she dismissed the matter and continued on, "I'm actually a healer myself. Though I wouldn't consider myself all that sufficient, I should be able to handle these minor cuts and bruises." As she spoke she glanced at her arms and legs which were adorned with the very things she spoke of.

Without waiting for his answer however, the young Ebudan closed her eyes and grew silent from concentration. She remained quiet for what seemed to be no reason whatsoever until finally her pale skin began to blur at the edges as it gradually was beginning to glow a pure white. Her ebon wings fluttering a little behind herself so quickly that their movement was also burred, the quickness of their movement causing a soft hum to fill the air with sound. The healing initiated on the cuts first, slowly mending the skin back together erasing the red lines into flawless paleness once again. Then came the curing of the bruises, the harsh discolored skin fading in intensity until it was back to normality. Faye's body continued to glow in it's entirely for moments after the finalization of her healing. Her wing's movement slowed and the hum dissipated back into silence. Faye's bright azure eyes opened and she stared at the man before her calmly.

"Sorry about that, I have to really focus otherwise it doesn't work." She said softly, still looking into his own blue eyes. She slowly got to her feet, brushing off whatever leaves and twigs that still remained on her. Her patternless, mid-thigh length, white dress was still stained with the darkness of the dirt from her stumble earlier, but the rest of her was now back into relative perfection. Smiling yet again, Faye extended her own hand this time, trying to make up for the unintentional rejection she had giving him earlier when he extended his. "...I'm Faye, by the way. My naiveness got the best of me as I am not from this realm. Forgive my mistake. But I'm most appreciative of your intervention...", her voice was youthful and sweet as she spoke.

Lord Anglekos

11-11-10, 10:14 PM

As he watched her heal her own wounds with bright, interested eyes, Anglekos briefly thought to himself that his previous assumption had been correct. This woman, this 'Faye' as she called herself, was no warrior; her movements didn't carry the tense motions of a battle-trained cleric, and when she slowly got to her feet she did so unhurriedly, despite the growing dangers around them that came with the slowly fading sunlight. The late afternoon was passively sliding into darkness, and the last strong beams of light from the constant sun were piercing through the gaps in the trees about them in one last,futile stand against the coming night. And in the night, Anglekos thought to himself as he gazed up at the illuminated form of his new companion, was fatal to those that did not know their way through it.

Eric was, however, slightly shocked to hear that she was, as she put it, from another realm; and at her words he felt a small line of connection between them. Although he had lived on Althanas for years now, he still felt like a foreigner at times, and he had to admit that any time he met someone that was also not of this world he was naturally inclined to be closer to them than a native. He couldn't help it; as a foreigner himself, to meet fellow "outsiders" was a rare occurrence. He would savor each and every chance he got, as he usually never saw them again.

As she gazed at him and introduced herself to him, he gave her a warm smile in return and took her offered hand, more out of politeness than a real need for her delicate help in standing up. Coming to his feet, he too brushed the wet leaves and fragments of dirt that had managed to cling to his clothing aside, shaking his head and tossing his long hair from side to side in small amusement. "There's no need to apologize. The fault lies not with you, Ms. Faye." This time, he extended a bare hand to her, with every intent to formally introduce himself to the soft spoken and tattooed young woman. "Although, I do have to say that it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is--"

Before he could finish his greetings, however, a familiar ear-splitting cry echoed forth from the darkened trees and bushes at his back, and the smile melted from his face like acid, replaced with a cold and determined expression reinforced by sheer panic. Inwardly, he cursed his momentary naivety, to think that he had the time for such pleasantries as names and feelings, and reacting purely on instinct he reached over and snatched Faye's wrist with a vice-like grip, pulling her along as he dashed forward, back towards the trail from where he'd come from. "Come on!" He barked sharply to the healer as she stumbled and cried out in surprise from the swordsman's rough grip and movements. "We're not out of the woods yet!"

Sure enough, the thick rustling in the branches just to the top right of the duo confirmed his earlier suspicions about the initial attack, and reaching to his side with one swift motion he drew forth Pardolaes with an ominous ring, the silver blade gleaming in the fading sunlight. Never slowing down, practically pulling the poor girl off of her feet, the blade slashed forward and cut through a thick mess of bushes directly in his path, just as a big, dark shape slammed into the tree trunk that they'd just been standing next to. Without turning to see, he continued to run as he heard the tell-tale hiss of tartantulus gargantus from it's deadly mandibles, and it sent shivers down his spine.

They had to get out of the forest before the sun set, or they were as good as dead.

Amaranthine

11-13-10, 09:50 PM

Everything was happening so quickly. Faye barely had registered the stranger's words into her mind when suddenly he roughly grabbed her wrist with calloused fingers and with a sharp tug, she found herself being dragged along in another dreadful chase. The leaves and twigs upon the earth stabbed painfully into her feet, and she cried out in both surprise and pain several times. A slight pang of irritation went through the young Ebudan at this pain, as she had just healed herself. Still, a familiar fear kept her feet moving as the spider's cry reached her ears, and several large, dark shapes enclosed upon her and the man from beyond the veil of trees.

Peering through the dark with her widened, fearful azure eyes, she stifled a scream as one of the spiders leapt directly before them, landing with a loud thud upon the ground. The ground trembling from the massive impact, she took note that it was far larger than the beast that had been chasing her not moments before. She also realized that her apparent savior was dragging her and himself on a collision course with the creature, even as it hissed at the two of them hungrily.

"Up ahead!" Faye shouted in warning, but he had already seen, and whipped his blade out to the side with his free hand. Seconds later, the sword erupted into blue lightning, and she was nearly blinded by the sudden crackling light emitting from it's edge. There was a flash of light, and thunder seemed to echo from her rescuer's form, before she felt the rough grip of his hand pull once more and off they went. As the frightful sword lowered, she looked to the side and briefly saw the corpse of the spider, nearly cleaved in half with the insides burnt and smoking upon the forest ground.

The young Ebudan gagged upon the sickening smell, and covered her mouth with her free delicate hand to prevent her from being sick then and there. Staring with horrified eyes at the back of her savior, she briefly wondered how he could just kill with such careless ease. He showed no pause, no remorse even, at the ending of a life. To her, the concept was so foreign that it sent fearful shivers down her thin spine, and at that moment she was almost more afraid of him than the very creatures wanting to kill them.

Those thoughts cut off abruptly as a second dark shape slammed into him from their right, and his grip upon her released so suddenly that she stumbled and fell at the lack of resistance. Rolling slightly with her momentum, Faye spun around as she stood before she saw the man subsequently execute this second spider with a single thrust of his magical blade. Crying out in pain, the spider fell off his blade and curled up upon the ground, legs cramping as the smoking hole in it's head eliminated it's life. The man looked at Faye with such intensity that her breath caught in her throat, his own blue eyes glowing with what she could only guess was his own magic.

"Are you alright?" He barked out at her abruptly, panting heavily on his own, and she only nodded back. "Good. We--" He began to continue on, but suddenly his voice caught and his eyes widened as the lightning about his sword extinguished and he clutched at his neck with one hand, dropping his sword before he fell to the ground. Faye cried out and immediately ran to his side, and as she turned his head, she saw two large puncture holes in his neck; signs of where the spider had bitten him.

Despite the danger at her back, she immediately placed her hands upon his flesh and the wings upon her back opened wide with a flutter of feathers as that same faint light began to emit around her body, then transferring to his. Faye closed her eyes as she began trying to heal him, hoping she could get the poison out of his body in time, before another heavy thump from behind her caused her to almost jump out of her skin. With her eyes still closed, a drop of sweat fell from her brow as the monster screeched that hideous scream, and she thought this was the end.

Something fluttered close above her head, however, and the creature's scream was cut off suddenly. She opened her eyes, still concentrating on healing her rescuer, and saw the spider collapse to the forest ground with an arrow stuck in it's open maw. Footsteps, fast and many, alerted her to the presence of other beings, and soon many green-cloaked men burst through the trees and into the small clearing the spiders had attacked in, each wielding what looked to be bows and short swords. One of the men, an elder fellow with gray hair, glanced at her fiercely. "How bad is it?" His voice, she found, was as sharp and abrupt as her rescuer's.

Faye swallowed, even as she continued to heal. "He...He was bitten. In the neck." She spoke quietly, obviously intimidated by all this death. The older man swore beneath his breath, and gestured to the others briefly before they gathered around the two, arrows nocked and swords unsheathed.

"Get them out of here." He barked at his soldiers, and then turned to Faye. "Were you bitten?" She shook her head. "Don't stop healing him then." Nodding to the man in frightful confirmation, she soon found herself running once more as the soldiers lifted the body and blade of her now fallen savior and began to run with him out of the forest, her hand desperately clinging to his clothing to keep up.

Lord Anglekos

11-13-10, 10:27 PM

When Eric finally came to, he was lying upon something soft. Too soft to be the ground of the forest, he could only assume that it was some sort of bedding. Before he even opened his eyes, his hand had reached down to reassure himself that his sword Amalia was still there, the tendrils of blonde hair running through his fingers comforting him slightly. Slowly, he opened his pale eyes, and smelled the scent of pine as he slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep away from his vision. Silently, he took in his surroundings; he seemed to be in a small cottage of sorts, with a few beds lying here and there, and a desk sat at the far end by the door with a piece of paper and an ink well with quill. A window to his left, he glanced outside and saw that it was light out, and beyond the pane he could hear two things; voices, and the chirping of birds.

He didn't know how, but he was alive. Once he had felt the pain of the poison enter his veins, his first immediate thought was for the girl's safety; that he had to stay alive, for her sake. Still, he couldn't move, paralyzed by the spider's venom, and he could only stay helpless as slowly his vision eroded. He thought he felt her hands upon him, but he attributed it to the hallucinations of the poison; at that point, reality was indistinguishable from dreams. And then, dreams fell into blackness, and his final thoughts had been that he was finally returning to where he belonged. His Amalia would be alone no more.

It seemed that life, however, was not yet willing to let go of him, and even though his heart longed for her company, he was relieved that somehow he had survived. Glancing at his feet, he saw his mythril blade and shield laying there, the sword sheathed respectfully. Retrieving them and reattaching them appropriately, he wrapped his cloak about him to ward off the morning cold as he approached the desktop. Upon the paper, however, was naught more than simple numbers, and he dismissed it easily. Wasn't his business after all.

Opening the door slowly, he glanced outside and saw the remains of a campfire, and to his surprise also saw several Corone Rangers running about, performing various tasks about the campsite. Stepping outside, he then saw the familiar form of the girl he knew to be Faye, and smiled briefly. She was talking to an older Ranger, a bearded man with iron-grey hair, who was listening to her intently as she spoke. From this distance, however, he couldn't hear her words, and cupped his hands around his mouth before shouting. "Faye!"

The winged girl spun about, black hair flowing like ebony water around her skin, and upon seeing the walking form of her savior she smiled in what looked to be relief. Both she and the older Ranger walked over quickly, and the man chuckled as he spoke to Anglekos. "Close call there. Had we gotten there seconds later, y'would've been dead."

"I'm just glad you got there at all." Eric rubbed his neck, expecting to feel the holes the spider's mandibles had made in his flesh, only to be surprised when he felt none. "Really saved our hides."

"Well, I wouldn't give us too much credit now." The Ranger patted Faye upon the back between her wings lightly, looking huge compared to her petite form, as he looked upon her with obvious respect in his vision. "It was this one here that saved yours; all we did was getcha' outta' there."

Eric looked at Faye with one black eyebrow to confirm this, and she shyly nodded to him. "How are you feeling?" Her quiet voice slid from her lips, somehow foreign, still, to his ears.

Making a show of rolling his shoulders, he grinned lightly. "I've had better days, but I feel just fine. Which is surprising, considering that thing really did a number on me." He kept his brow raised as he spoke. "I owe you my life."

Upon those words, she blushed, and her next words stuttered as she briefly lowered her deep blue eyes to the ground. "N-No...I..."

However, he cut off her protestations. "Thank you, Faye." She lifted her eyes, and gave Eric a small, precious smile. Reaching forward, he lightly took her hand and shook it. "I'm Eric. Eric Anglekos."

Her small smile grew, and she nodded her head. "You're welcome, Eric. Thank you, as well." Her eyes dropped once more. "For saving me."

He briefly smiled, and as the older Ranger walked away, barking at his soldiers separate orders, Eric glanced over at her. "Where were you headed to anyways? Underwood?"

Faye shrugged, slightly uncomfortable. "I don't really know...I just came here." Taking a quick look about her, the young winged woman sighed simply before looking up at Anglekos. "I'm just looking for civilization. You were the first being, other than that spider, that I met."

He wasn't too surprised by this; he recalled her saying that she was a foreigner like himself. Eric smiled lightly, and decided that he could do with her company, if only for a little longer. His right hand resting on the hilt of Amalia, he extended his left to her. "Would you care for me to assist you in your venture there?" He spoke quietly and eloquently, a small smile upon his face to bely his "eloquent" speech, and the young woman giggled lightly as he bowed dramatically with his words. Reaching forward, she took his proffered hand with her dainty fingers and smiled at him, speaking quietly as well.

"I think I would like that."

End of Part 1.