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Post by Valcrist on Mar 17, 2010 20:44:19 GMT -6
((OOC: Takes place the night after the destruction of the magic school, assuming nothing huge happens afterward.))
Today was... hectic, frantic, insane, incredible, horrible.... It was all of those things, but it definitely was exciting. Still... It was nice to finally have the time to relax. There's been more excitement in this one day then he could remember in the rest of his life.
Not that that was particularly a good thing. There's been a lot of issues, and a lot of guilt circling around his heart. He learned about the grisly truth of Ostia, almost killed a man, fought in his first battle ever, had his heart accidental stepped on by a certain archer girl, and agreed to some mystery training that could mean this kind of stuff happens everyday.
He couldn't sleep, he didn't really want to sleep right now, afraid of what his dreams might be. So instead he just laid down in the grass outside his bedroll. It was back at the military camp set up when they arrived in town, outside the city's edge. He hadn't gotten a tent, they were actually a bit short. Luckily it was a nice night, and sleeping under the stars wasn't a bad idea. He missed the bed he used to sleep in, but the view of the sky... was worth it.
Still, he was restless and eventually stood up. He played with his sword as he idly walked around the camp, drawing it slightly then re-sheathing it. Everyone was sleeping, besides the night watch and a few other restless souls like himself. He even saw some soldiers talking about something, but he didn't intrude. Though he eventually saw something that caught his attention... It was Chelsea alone, no Kelvin around, as hard as that was to believe.
"Should I?" He was already confused about his feelings, and this would only serve to make things worse... still... She was his friend. It wouldn't hurt, would it? "Hey Chelsea, still up too I see."
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Mar 17, 2010 20:54:50 GMT -6
Chelsea was sitting against a tree, thinking quietly. Kelvin was already asleep and she didn't want to disturb him so she had gone outside. She hummed softly as she thought about various things, including Kelvin, the battle and her family. She didn't even hear the footsteps growing closer to her until she heard Val's voice. "Oh, hey Val. Yup, still up." She gave him a smile and looked back to over where Kelvin was sleeping before looking back to the novice. "What's up?"
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Post by Valcrist on Mar 17, 2010 21:08:20 GMT -6
"Ah, nothing. I just can't sleep." He chuckled as he walked closer. "I tried to do some drawing, but it's too dark to see now... Today was really chaotic, huh? I'm having a hard time sorting through all of it..." He sat down near, but not next, to Chelsea. His knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around his knees. His hands were still bandaged, but didn't hurt quite as much as they did before. He had a healer back in the camp heal away most of the damage, but they were still sore from where the cuts used to be.
Today was the first fight in his life... and he did remarkably bad. That wasn't exactly a happy subject though, so instead he sought out to say something that didn't bring about bad memories. "So Chelsea... um..." He didn't really know a lot about her. Just that she was Sacaen, an archer, liked horses, and was in a relationship with Kelvin. "Er..." He kinda stuttered, trying to think. He turned his head and looked at her with an odd, somewhat nervous smile. "How was your day? I mean besides all that bad stuff..."
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Mar 17, 2010 21:20:04 GMT -6
Chelsea gave a little giggle as he stuttered, but waited patiently. "It was pretty good, besides the fight and everything. I got to spend some time with Kelvin, which was great. And I got to hang out with you." She gave him a smile. "I had fun. We really should do it again. I like spending time with you." She shifted slightly from her tree and laid down on her back. After laying down, she gave a stretch, arching her back a little as she did before looking back over to Valcrist and smiling. "So what about you? Did you enjoy yourself?"
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Post by Valcrist on Mar 17, 2010 21:35:51 GMT -6
His face grew a little red and his mouth mouth twisted into a little smile that he could not hide no matter how hard he tried. She said she enjoyed being with me... Luckily it would be hard to see in the dark. Nothing but the moon, stars, and a few torches to light up the world right now. It made it hard to see, but the sky was clear and quite pretty tonight. He rose a hand up to the sky as he stared straight up, he could swear he could make out a few constellations, like... "There." That was the Hero. And... "There." there was the Sage... At least those were constellations his mother showed him back when he was a kid...
He smiled and lowered his bandaged hand from the air and returned it to around his knees. "I had a good time too." That was a half-lie. Sure there was good parts, but mostly today was chaotic and kinda depressing. Still... there was good parts too. It would be best to focus on the positive, and put the negative behind him... as easy as that was to say it was much harder to actually do. "I enjoy spending time with you too, I've never really had a friend like this before... Oh, um sorry. That's ok, right? You... we're friend right?" He was afraid he might be assuming a bit too much...
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Mar 17, 2010 21:44:40 GMT -6
Chelsea rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows. "Of course we're friends, Val." She gave him another smile. "And I'm sure you'll make many more. You really are a great person, and pretty fun to be around when you're not all mopey." She still didn't get why he was mopey so often, but that was his secret and she would respect that. Friends, after all.
"Tell you what, whenever we finally head out, you can ride with me again. That way, we can hang out ever more. How does that sound?"
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Post by Valcrist on Mar 17, 2010 21:59:23 GMT -6
"Thank you..." He didn't really know why he said it, or how it even fit with what she said, but he felt it needed to be said. He wanted to thank her, what she said helped lift his spirits. "Sorry I get... emotional sometimes." Heh, it's better she doesn't know the reason. We're friends, just friends. That all we are... and that's all we'll ever be. He smiled, trying to rationalize everything away. "I don't mean to, I just... kinda get that way." A sigh followed. He had always been that way, back at home he would get mopey about his life there... though it was definitely more noticeable lately.
"Sure... I'd like that." He looked up at the sky. "Hey, you know how I joined, you were the one who recruited me... But why are you here? Looking to see Lycia too?" He asked, not looking away from the sky. It was an innocent enough question...
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Mar 17, 2010 22:06:21 GMT -6
Chelsea's face dropped. Maybe she could avoid actually talking about them. For now at least. "Well... I was traveling alone in Sacae for a while before I came across a group of men. The leader was Sir Rayl, the former leader of this group before he parted ways. Gabriel was in that group too. I joined with them and we went to Rayl's house in Pheare, where we were joined by Saffra and Karina. it was from there that this whole group, Lady Lucy now included too, set out from." She sighed. "Feels like a year ago now..."
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Post by Valcrist on Mar 17, 2010 22:21:35 GMT -6
"Sir Rayl? Hey, I've read his book about Crowley." He laughed to himself. "The trading caravan had it one day, and I always buy all the books I find... I hope I can meet him one day." He's a hero, the caravans from Lycia always talk about him... I wonder if I can actually meet him one day? "I'm happy you guys came to Caelin. I got to leave and see Laus... And I got to meet you... Erm, I mean you and Kelvin, my new friends." He continued to sit, tucked into his self, looking at the sky.
"Hrm." He thought for a moment and palmed the decorated pommel on his sword... that reminded him! That's right! She wants me to make a bow for her one day... I wonder... I've strung hundreds of bows, my mom always made me do that part. But... I don't want to mess up. I should think about it. Maybe I can get Wyatt to help me? No, I doubt he would...
He turned his head to look at the Sacaen girl. "I don't think I know those people. Who's Karina and Saffra?" The second name sounded familiar, he thought he heard it in the clinic earlier.
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Mar 17, 2010 22:36:02 GMT -6
Chelsea rolled up onto her butt, crossing her legs as she addressed him. "Saffra's our resident dragon. You may know her as the girl with the purple hair. She's really nice once you get to know her. Karina's the blue haired pegasus knight." She felt herself go a little red. "She's one of my closest friends in the group. I even had a crush on her at one point, before I met Kelvin." She shook her head and gave a small laugh before moving herself right next to Valcrist. She looked up at the stars briefly and smiled. "It's a nice group. Everyday I'm thankful I became a part of it. Sure, there are bad times, but they always get better." She looked over at him. "Just keep your chin up."
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Post by Valcrist on Mar 17, 2010 22:52:15 GMT -6
"A dragon?" That was surprising. He knew of them, of course, he's heard many stories. Living in the desert, he'd had to of. A magical oasis in the middle of the desert of death, a land where both humans and dragons live in harmony. It was a popular myth, some even traveled to his village for the sole purpose of seeking this place out... though... they probably all died in that harsh wasteland with nothing but sand for miles around... Though he himself believed in it, he was a sucker for legends... It was still a surprising fact. "Really? A dragon?" He repeated, a bit surprised and slightly excited. "That's... that's incredible." He smiled.
He though he saw the woman she described, he'd have to talk to her himself one day... "A crush? On Karina? Really?" He was surprised. "You seem... so inseparable from Kelvin... it's hard to imagine." His voice fell a bit as he spoke, but other then that he did his best to seem perfectly normal. It was getting easier. He looked over at her and saw her looking at the stars. "I love the stars. They are the only thing that remains the same from my home. When I look at them I feel all nostalgic... Hey, do you know about the constellations? Back as a kid my mother would tell me about them, each with their own legends. I don't think they're well known, infact she could of made them up for all I know... But I always liked them." He smiled as he looked up at the sky. He could see about four of them tonight, the others would probably come in as the year went by.
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Mar 17, 2010 23:00:03 GMT -6
Chelsea smiled at Val's comment. She loved the stars too. The Sacaen had their own constellations, and her mother had said several times that they were different from the ones she knew. That made Chelsea curious about the ones her friend knew. "Would you wanna tell me some? I'd really like to know what other people see in the stars." She gave him a smile at the request. In order to get the proper view of the constellations from his angle so she wasn't confused about which he was talking about, she rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't think much of it because they were friends and she rested her head against Karina all the time.
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Post by Valcrist on Mar 18, 2010 0:01:38 GMT -6
His back straightened and his face burned red, he felt like raising his hands to cover it, but didn't. If he didn't act like anything was wrong, for all she knew there wasn't. He coughed a bit in embarrassment, but he got a hold of himself and made sure his voice didn't quiver. A friend, that's all. Stop being stupid self. "Of course, I'd be happy to."
He looked straight up and put the girl out of his mind for a moment. He rose a hand and traced the stars with an extended finger. "Here's the Hero. There, there, there, and there.... Over there, that little cluster? That's his sword. And that... that's his sheild." He pointed at the vague grouping of stars. If you looked at them, you wouldn't notice it, but if you were looking for it you would find the figure of a man with a sword and sheild in the stars. "The hero. He's paired with the Sage... He's... there." A bit aways was another constellation. "There and there... That's his cloak." He explained.
"I like these two, they were the first two I noticed. Once I saw the Hero, I had to check to see if the Sage was there as well. It's a story of enemies turned friends. The hero was a brash young man from a land far away, he traveled to the Sage's land in pursuit of a dragon scale. He wanted the scale to prove he was a warrior without par, he wielded a mighty blade that would strike fear into the hearts of any dragons he found. The man learned of the village of dragons from his elder brother. His brother had a scale of a dragon, back in his days of adventure. He learned of the village from the dragon he slayed, the dragon telling him before he died. The sage, however, was a guardian of the dragons. He stopped the Hero before he entered the hidden village of the dragons, and used his magic to stop the man. The man was almost killed by the sage, and lay there desperately wounded. The sage took him into the village to care for his wounds, revealing the peaceful nature of the dragons as well. The hero was angry, disdainful and wanted revenge on the sage. But more then that, he wanted to go home." He smile as he stared up at the stars. The story felt so familiar, but he didn't do it justice. He was no story teller.
"But... it wasn't so simple. One of the dragons refused to let the human go, afraid he'd reveal their secret home. The Hero had no choice but to remain. Deprived of all weapons and surrounded by those able to kill him, he remained against his will. He lived there, with the sage, trying to think of a way to kill the sage and escape every day. Though... that feeling faded over time. The two eventually became friends. The Hero began to enjoy his life in the village and with the Sage, that was until his brother came looking for him. His brother was a swordsman without peer, and he retrieved the original dragon scale that inspired his brother so. He knew the location of the land from his travels many years ago, but when he arrived he was greeted by the Sage. The sage was powerful, but he could not compete with the brother and he was defeated. Just as he was to strike the final blow, the Hero intercepted... dieing in the process." His smile faded somewhat.
"The brother was crushed. He had killed his younger brother in a fit of revenge. He begged the dragons to help. He begged the sage to do everything he could... there was nothing to be done. The dragons were saddened by the loss of the man, and flew his body to sky and created the constellation you see there. The sage used his magic to rearrange the sky itself, so he too would be in the stars near his friend, so he wouldn't have to endure eternity in the sky alone. The brother stayed in the village, he became the new guardian, and the town returned to being hidden to the world..."
"And that's that one." He smiled. "I... didn't do it justice. My mother tells the story much better." He laughed to his self. "Still, I like it. It's a story about how friendship can come from the oddest places... and how much you'd do for it."
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Mar 18, 2010 8:51:17 GMT -6
Chelsea was a good audience for Valcrist as he told the story. She even gasped when the hero was killed. Her eyes drifted up to the stars as he finished his tale, taking in the figures he had drawn for her. It was quite the story and if she hadn't been trying not to she may have even cried at it. She looked back down to Val as he finished. "You did a great job, Val. Your mother would be proud." She gave him a smile. "And I liked it. And it's true, you can get friendships from the oddest of places. Look at us." She smiled at him again.
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Post by Valcrist on Mar 18, 2010 10:27:14 GMT -6
He smiled and continued to look red. "Thank you." He scratched the back of his head kinda awkwardly. "Erm..." He looked around a bit embarrassed. Just friends, that's right. Atleast we're that... it's nice to have someone, you know? Even if it's nothing more then that... I still enjoy being with her... Just friends. She's with Kelvin, the two love each other... they really do.
"...You really love Kelvin, don't you?" He through with a pained smile, he looked away at the tents not really wanting to look at her. Not because he was mad, but because he was ashamed of himself, and didn't want her to see. "I mean, he makes you happy right?" He thought back to earlier that day, at the cafe, then he thought back even earlier to their fight. "It hard not to notice, the way you two always act around each other.
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