Red! (Elias/Garnet)

[Elias]

OoC: Happens between "Treasure Hunting" and "Wandering Onward"

The crimson stain was still shook up from the horse riding from earlier, quite noticeably too. He eyed the beast suspiciously, a blood lust and flame burning brightly in his eyes. That horse could be his greatest adversary...

He turned his head from his mortal enemy and into the dark of the night. He was bummed. He didn't get to make a fire, there was no fire. It just wasn't a camp if there wasn't a fire. Bah. Flo said something about 'it'll just attracted bandits ohnoes!' and some similar whining. Elias says let them come! They will experience the majesty, the awesomititude, the pure beauty of Elias the Crimson Mage! He'd take them all down his self, no sweat. He's a bonafide bandit butcher by now.

He grumbled quietly to his self, holding on to his knees as he sat on the cold ground. He didn't know what any of the others where doing, but hopefully they were having more fun then him. He kept a watchful eye on Cecil, but he was too busy being old and asleep. No fun. He actually wanted to talk to him about Alchemy, but that would have to wait. Maybe forever, but definitely for now. Maybe he should seek someone out... Bah.

[Garnet]

Once they'd stopped for the evening, Garnet had gone ahead, taken a bite of their foodstuffs, and gone to check through the supplies Cecil had packed for them. He'd brought quite a few useful things, but of the most use now was the set of blankets he'd found.

The old scholar was already covered up, and fast asleep. The merc shook his head, amazed at how the man was still up and moving about, despite getting up there in his years.

With a last shake of his head, Garnet pulled the blankets out and dropped a couple of them for easy retrieval, before carrying a couple over towards their Crimson Mage.

"You look cold Red. Here." Garnet tossed one of the cloths over to Elias, as he sat down with his back against a convenient tree stump. What? It wasn't like you just could find these things everywhere you went. They'd actually had to look for a bit to find a decent camp site.

"Well, here we are, hunting an old treasure we'd never heard of before,with scarecly a day since we met....Wasn't exactly what I was expecting this morning."

[Elias]

Elias took the blanket and placed it atop his head, reaching down and making a small little hovel. His hair matted and pressed down and reached into his face, but he just sat there with an odd look on his face. He didn't look at all unlike a little kid, bundling the blanket together at the base of his neck, he turned his head to look at Fluorite. "I'm boooored." He whined, also not at all unlike a child. He let out a small sigh and looked at the ground. The sun was setting, it wouldn't be long until he couldn't see it anymore. Well, see it well.. The crimson Mage had excellent night vision you see. And day vision, but that wasn't the point here.

He looked at the taller, red-headed man. He was wearing a black shirt, he'd look much better in a red one. Or red armor. Still his hair was the perfect shade. Elias was jealous he had that goatee, while all Elias could grow was a mustache. It was a magnificent mustache, sir, but it fit a villain and not a hero. "Well..." The mage began. "That's why you gotta stay open minded about these things, you can't just sit around and let greatness wash over you. You gotta go out and grab it!" He let go of the blanket with one hand and shot it out, clasping at the empty air. Shyly he retreated the hand back into his makeshift cloak.

"That's what my father always says atleast." He chuckled. Looking into the orangy sky, slowly fading into the night. "We aren't that far away from my home now, actually. It's over in Caelin-ish Araphen-ish area." He mused aloud. "I, for one, am glad it worked out this way. Nothing more fun then a treasure hunt... er when we're doing the actual hunting of course." He laughed. "Right now it's boring..." He thought to his self for a moment, and decided to ask, "Where are you from Flo?"

[Garnet]

"...Boring hmm?" Garnet's gaze tilted down to the ground at his feet, as he laughed quietly. He really hadn't figured out Elias yet. He seemed plenty competent, and yet at times he seemed to behave more like a child than the youngman that he was. Oh, there he went again, having to stop his thoughts. Garnet had a certain habbit of thinking he was older than he actually was. Some of his old friends had teased him about it, saying he'd mak himself grow old early.

"Not much I can do about that. The best thing we can do is try and be as prepared as we can for tomorrow. There's no telling what we'll find."

Elias went on, saying that one shouldn't just wait around. You needed to grab success, and wrestle it into submission. Garnet agreed, except that recently, he'd seemed to be dogged by chances for greatness, despite needing to try and lay low. Even stranger, was that he'd been taking those chances, rather than passing them by.

Loss lanced through Garnet as he remembered his destroyed home again, but it was not as strong as it used to be. He refused to let his past tragedy rule his future. He was still in the process of moving on, but he believed that he'd found a path that would help. "My home was a little north of the village we met at. It's gone now. It's not a happy story. Come to think of it, it could be the symbol for the war against Kraft, if anyone knew of it." Slowly, the merc's eyes raised to the bottom of the tree he was leaning against. "It was a victim of Kraft's maniac zealots... But let's not talk of that. What about you Elias? Were you always a mage?"

[Elias]

"Yeah, boring. We're just sitting here and waiting for the night to happen. I hate waiting, it's full of boringness and darkness. I do like sunrises and sunsets though, lots of pretty redlike colors." Elias spoke in one breath, his voice straining a bit thin at the end. Taking a deep breath, he laughed. "Oops, sorry. Anyways, I'm always restless at night. Don't need to worry. I'll fall asleep eventually, and then wake up right before dawn and cook everyone breakfast while I wait for you to get up." That's how it always was back at home. It's why he learned to cook in the first place, he was always so bored waiting for everyone to get up.

"Don't worry, I'm always prepared." He added with a laugh, beginning to feel chilly and pulling the blanket closer to his body with a slight shudder.

"I'm sorry to hear that Garnet. It must of been the work of uncouth villains that the world will be better off with out. That's why you should never waste a chance to take them down." Who was this Kraft person? He's heard the name a few times, but he didn't really know. Obviously a villain though, so Elias would kill him one day soon enough. It was the fate of all villains after all.

"Was I always a mage? Yes and no... I was a lot of things. A farmer, a baker, a rancher, well I tried a lot of things at least, but I wasn't really good at them." He tilted his head slightly as he spoke, thinking back a long ways. "My father was a Sage, but one who left a bit too early and never became famous. He adopted me about sixteen years ago, making me about four at the time..." He recounted his life quickly and second offhandedly, as if there was not a word of interest coming from his mouth.

"I tried to be a lot of things, but I always went back to magic. He taught me magic all the time." He touched his chin with a slight hmm... "My father said I was a prodigy, or something. I've never found magic really hard, which is apparently rare. Dunno why. It's just plow plow bam burn boom."

[Garnet]

"Hah! Who knew you would have tried your hand at so much." Garnet noticed it was starting to get a bit chillier, and pulled his own blanket around him better, shielding him from the light breeze.

"Adopted hmm? Me too. My uncle took me in when I was very young.... He was as good a father as a man could ever have wanted though. I've never felt a lack." Garnet also had to concede that, perhaps, he just wasn't the sort that required a great deal of attention. While it was true that he'd had many friends in the town he'd grown up in, he also remembered that he'd always been glad when he turned in for the day, and he'd been freed from the effort of social graces.

"So you learned enough "Bam Burn Boom" to survive, and then... left? Have you been back since then?"

[Elias]

"H-have I been back?" Elias stuttered, his solid wall of pure ego and confidence cracked slightly. Quickly he plastered over it. "N-no. Of course not! I haven't returned home because... because I have been so darn busy." He lied hastily. "I've been ALLLLL over Elibe you know? Walked across the plains of Sacae, fought bandits in the icy alps of Ilia, braved the mountains of Bern. Rode on a wyvern, took a boat to Etruria. I've done it all, I haven't had time to return home of course."

Shifting gears quickly, he attempted to change the topic so fast that it would be difficult to follow up on. "But yeah, I know enough magic to get by. What kinda mage would the Crimson Mage be if I didn't? A bad one! That's what. I'm the best mage in all Elibe after all, there's nothing I can't do!" He stated as if it was fact. "I wanna be the best at everything, but not everything is easy like magic... I tried to be a messenger once. I got yelled at because I took the order to be quiet too literally..." The mage pouted, all bundled in his blanket.

"What about you? Have you always been a super swordsman dude? You ever try to be something boring like a baker or farmer?" Boring for many, but if Elias got his claws into the job it would be NEVER ENDING FUN. He'd make red bread that shoots fire and made people fly and crap. Or be a dragon rancher! Do you ranch dragons? Aren't they, like... people? Sometimes maybe, but other times they are super cool giant lizards that breath fire. He's met one dragon before, oh wait, no that's two. There was the one that sat on him, that hurt. What is Stephan doing now? He had orangey hair, so he's probably alright. What about Marle? Her hair wasn't red! Oh no! She might be in trouble! Next time they meet he'd have to giver her hair dye.

[Garnet]

Garnet thought, for a moment, that he'd caught something in the younger man's voice as he'd answered about going home, but it had been so quick that the merc just ignored it. No sense jumping at something that wasn't there. What did amaze him was all the adventures this kid had had. He must've left home, and never stopped moving!

"Something like baking? Nah...." Garnet said, as the topic switched to his own history. "Closest I ever got to a normal job were the errands my Uncle gave me. Chopping fire wood, running messages, driving wagons, and so on. Bryant always intended on bringing me into the guard, and I joined even earlier than most were allowed. Strictly for training purposes, and sentry duty on our walls. Till I was old enough."

"I wouldn't say I was the best, few could beat us when we worked in a group. Heh, once Bryant gained the captaincy, then things got pretty exciting. He wouldn't stand for any thieves in the area. If we got word of a group troubling the road, outlying hills, heck, we even served the towns all around us under Captain Bryant.... If we heard of anything, we went out there and-" Garnet made a swiping motion with his hands. "-cut them down. Only the very brave or the very foolish tried to prey on people in our neighborhood. None for long." Bryant's lance had been unavoidable. Once he'd set a group of raiders in his sites, he ruthlessly tracked them down. When he couldn't do that, he'd bait a trap, and kill whatever he could.

His practice of mounting the heads of bandit leaders on poles on a hill outside their town had made the point to any other criminals in the area. You don't mess with Bryant's Guardsmen.

"I miss him." It was sad statement, but accompanied by a smile. A sad smile, for a memory of something lost. "Which is why I continue doing what I can, when I can for people."

Garnet had a plan. An undefined plan, still in formation, but it was something, and that was how he'd manage to keep on moving. That was what allowed him to start smiling again.

[Elias]

"Hrm, he sounded like a good man." Elias mused whimsically. "I woulda liked to meet him. I wonder if he wore red..." He added with typical crimson mage flair. "Yeah, he probably did." It was nice to hear how other people lived, it made him realize just how much he missed out on growing up in his secluded village near Ostia. Running errands sounded like a menial task, but still fun. He remembered how his father used to make him chop firewood as he barked at him about a good mage needs a good body or something strange along those lines. He hated axes, ew. So... so.... ugly and without stylishness. Atleast swords have the sleek feel to them, and the shinyness. Spears were similar except he remembered seeing one with a red ribbon on it, so it instantly made them oodles better. Axes though, ugh.

"Did Bryant train you?" He turned back to Garnet and asked. "How... how was he?" Elias added hesitantly, it wasn't really important but he was curious. "Harsh? Strict? Kind?"

Elias smiled too, but not for the same reasons as Garnet. The reason he smiled was because Garnet was the first person he's actually met who has ever talked to him like this. All of his other encounters had been brief. Marle, Kyro, Arthis, Stephan, Richter... Even Elzam, though Elzam was a jerk.

[Garnet]

Garnet grinned at Elias' guess of what color Bryant had worn. "Good instincts. He did wear red armor. Often times it was tailored to the task he needed it for as well. Heavy armor sometimes. At others, he had a set of lighter stuff."

"Yepp. Bryant trained me, as well as some others. My Uncle was one of those men who seemed to know his way around virtually every weapon he laid hands on. We had others who were our blade masters though." When he was around... Oh, you knew when he didn't approve of something, and if you were smart you didn't do it again. He also made sure to let you know when you'd done something right though.

"It wasn't so hard to get along with him. The only people that really hated him were those sorts who actively try to ruin everyone's day, or cause trouble for others."

There was a pause for a moment, as Garnet recalled one of those old memories that set Bryant apart from most other men Garnet had known.

He laughed quietly for a moment, before continuing. "I remember this one time, when I was still in my mid-teen years. Bryant wasn't our Captain at the time, but was well respected. That day, there was this one shaman. He was an overstuffed peacock if ever you saw one. He was traveling from store to store, inspecting the wares, and then insulting them as inferior. He went from one side of town to the other like this, and then my Uncle got word of it. I, like all, the other boys at the time, were watching this stranger. A few seemed to be impressed by his actions." Garnet rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That didn't last long."

"Bryant caught up to the man just as he was tracking mud into the local inn, and decrying it as filthy. My Uncle took one look, strode up to the man, grabbed him by his shirt collar, and decked him across the face." The description was accompanied by a few choice gestures. That shaman went as limp as a wet rag, and then, Bryant dragged him out front door, to the stableyard, and in plain view of everyone in the town square, threw the pest face down in the mud."

"I don't think he'd expected anything like that. Must've been from some big city, or been used to getting his way at any rate. Officially, Bryant was reprimanded, but his penalty was to hunt down all the other troublemakers, and give them 'corrective measures.' Hahah."

"I hope to be able to use the same judgement as he did one day. I used to think that the law was what made something right or wrong, but that's not always the case, it seems. Right now, the law is being controlled by the Prophet, and he certainly doesn't value the same truths I do."

[Elias]

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun Garnet." Elias gave a half smile, quite atypical for the cheerful mage. Garnet went on and on with some short story about how his uncle beat the crap outta some onion smelling shaman butt head that was probably a younger Elzam or something. He spoke so fondly of this man, Elias couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Not of Garnet's attention, no... it he was jealous of the fact that he didn't have anyone like that. He wasn't that friendly with anyone else in his village, in fact people seemed to actively avoid him. It was probably a result of his obnoxious attitude or because they didn't like his father or something.

The law isn't always right, huh? Well heroes followed the law. True heroes ignored it in the pursuit of a greater good... and the best heroes made their own. A hero... Elias was going to become one one day, no matter what. He had to.

It seemed Garnet never answered his question though. How was he. Was he strict? It sounded that way. Good then. Elias used his magnificent logical skills to make a deduction. The red haired mage let out a little sigh before summoning his energy. It seemed that talking about this kinda stuff seemed to drain him of energy more then even a hundred fire spells. Buuuut he wouldn't be the crimson mage if he let a silly thing like this defeat him! It was time to switch up his mind and change topics! That way he doesn't have to continue to dredge through this murky swamp of past lives. Elias abandoned all of that when he left to become a hero!

Elias refilled with new vigor and new energy, hopping up to his feet. "Fascinating!" He shouted. "It is official! We two will become heroes Fluorite!" Kyro eat your heart out, because you've just been replaced as Elias' partner. Nothing personal, hearts move on as time drifts through rivers that flow uphill or whatever that saying was. Elias didn't have time to worry about sayings! He brought a fist to his chest and pounded upon it once. "Our combined red will bloom into a fire that will burn ourselves into the books of history. Bards will sing of our glorious adventures, this is just the first step! Now all I need is a rival, and I'm set." He grinned like a madman, but a sudden gust of cold wind made him retreat back down and cuddled up into his blanket.

He pouted. "I should be able to make a fiiiirrrreeee" He whined. He cocked his head in Garnet's direction again. "So Garnet, what's your favorite color and breakfast food?" These question seemed to be unimportant and random.... that was because they ARE unimportant and random!

[Garnet]

"Let's just focus on finishing this task first, Hero." Garnet laughed, watching the red-headed mage shrink back down into his pile of blanket. Then he continued, quieter. "Many people want to be heroes. It's few enough that actually turn out to have the mettle for it." To Garnet, heroes did more than great deeds. They looked out for people as well, wherever they went. A hero would stand up for his beliefs no matter the opposition, though he supposed even they had to withdraw occasionally.

"Favorite color? I never had much use for picking out a favorite color, but I've always liked darker colors. Not so hard on the eyes. The guard I was part of used mostly dark red for it's armor, and it's always stuck with me." He looked down at himself then. "For now though, I'm leaving the armor off. My old stuff is broken, and you can't fix these things overnight."

"As to food, what's up? Gonna cook us something tomorrow?" He grinned a bit at the thought.

[Elias]

"And I'm one of those people with that mettle." Elias grinned widely. "I have to be after all." He said, though the context it was in was a bit confusing. Or rather, lack of context. "I'll get this done, just you watch. I won't let this chance pass me up." He added with a look of determination. He grabbed a stick laying on the ground and pushed it through the dirt with a slightly bored look on his face. There should of been a fire. Dang it. Why isn't there a fire...

"Dark red? Hrm, I suppose you have some taste. I don't like darker colors myself, too depressing. All I see when I look at black is the lack of color, it's so dark... kinda lonely. You need to stay happy! I like light colors!" Elias grinned widely. "Hey, wanna know my favorite color?" Elias looked at him with a laugh. "Hold on to your seats for this one. Seriously, it will blow you away. You won't be able to keep your head in place from the sheer 'haha no way!' of it all, I will blow your mind with this little bit of information from the legendary Crimson mage. You ready for it? Because you can say you knew this info when I go big, but I'd have to kill you for revealing such a secret." Elias could barely contain the excitement or laughter in his voice as he went on and on.

"It's... white."

He suddenly left the topic and ricocheted to a new one, as if the words from his mouth weren't red. "Yes, I was planning on cooking us breakfast. Weren't you paying attention, I said so earlier. I don't have any eggs, but I do have other things. I could make oatmeal without too much trouble, or quite a few other things, what would you like?"

[Garnet]

With Elias' confidence, it was hard to doubt that he'd become a legend one day. A story with plenty of flashy flames, bright colors and exciting excitement for the young, old, and short of attention span.

"Hey, dark colors aren't always cold and lonely. Sometimes they can be rich, filled with... with richness." At the moment, Garnet was unable to come up with any other words to describe what he was talking about.

When Elias announced his favorite color, was white...(White?), Garnet was momentarily stunned. "What about Crimson? Red? If white is your favorite color, then why not be the White Mage?"

"Oh, right. Food. Well, if it breathed I'll most likely eat it. I'll eat just about anything though, as long as it's edible. Cecil may have packed some specialties as well. He was picking up supplies while we were all getting ready."

[Elias]

"Well, Red is the best color." Elias folded his arms with a confident nod. "You see, Red is an awesome color. It's stylish, powerful, full of life and vigor. Undisputedly, it's the best color, just like I am the best mage." He suddenly flared an arm into the sky, pointing at the heavens themselves. "BUT! It is not my favorite. My favorite is White. I'm the Crimson mage, because Crimson and red in general is the most powerful and best color. But you don't have to love what's best, do you? I mean, Elmine was some healer lady and not a god of war like Roland and everyone loves her." He smiled to his self, slightly smug, knowing he caught the mercenary off guard.

Lowering his hand, he brought it back in to his cloak of blanket, flashing Fluorite a goofy grin. "Well, I'll just have to raid Cecil's stuff then. I hope I don't find any creepy old guy things in there though, eww...." So Garnet preferred meat? Typical, but then again the warrior types liked meat generally. "I will cook you a glorious meal that only I could! The Crimson Chef will rise! I put all other cooks to shame, you see."