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Post by Syana Flamberge on Jan 28, 2015 16:15:25 GMT -6
Syana stood on the deck of a boat, staring out over the water. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep. It was nice to finally be back to work. It had been... an interesting few months. Maybe interesting wasn't the right word. Awful might be closer to the mark. After she parted ways with Saturos and Aiden, she took on another job and ending up getting her leg broken. Since there wasn't much she could do, she slowly made her way home to heal. That's when she found out that her injured brother had died. They really were a rough few months.
But things finally started to get better. The rest of her brothers slowly returned to work, and eventually she healed and did the same. It took a while to get back into the swing of things. Her first few missions hadn't go as smooth as she would have liked, but they accomplished what she needed them to. She finally felt back to her old self. Which brought her to today. While ship travel wasn't her favorite form of travel, she needed to return from her last mission somehow and this was the easiest way. Unfortunately, the only ship she could find had a stop over in the Western Isles. Not her favorite place in the world, but she really didn't have a choice.
She groaned as the pulled up to the dock. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long a layover. Not much she could do at this point besides wait. She pulled her hood over her head, sunk down to the deck and watched the ramp. Maybe someone worthwhile would show up. Maybe someone with a problem that needed solving. Who know?
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Feb 11, 2015 17:47:14 GMT -6
Saturos squinted as he opened the door to the deck, his face an uninviting image of discomfort. He hadn’t been topside since yesterday, so it took his eyes time to adjust to the currently blinding light. He also looked a bit ill. The swordsman prided himself in his rigorous commitment to health and fitness, so he didn’t normally get sick, but seasickness wasn’t like other types of sick. It was the rocking and the swaying that made him feel ill, not some combination of bad humors, nor a rotten piece of fish or pork.
“I’ll just be happy to get back to Etruria,” he muttered to himself as he walked across the briney wood planks of the ship’s deck and hung his head over the side of the hull. He stared down into the water, his eyes following the contours of the crested waves as they slapped the sides of the ship. They frothy sea surf was almost picturesque in the way it painted white swirls on its surface, and while it was the boat’s to-and-fro motion that was throwing him off kilter, watching the flow and spray of the seawater made him feel a bit better. The cool, fall air and the smell of salt helped with the nausea too.
Saturos let out a deep breath. Even feeling as he did, the Etrurian could acknowledge the ocean’s beauty. Off the starboard side of the boat, he could see the shores of Fibernia. Its mountains, which reached up high in the distance, were covered with lush arboreal greenery, and its cliffy, rocky beaches stretched wide along the coast. Off the port side were the tiny rocks and islands that littered the archipelago. Saturos took delight in the calming calls of the gulls that had taken roost on the sea rocks as they dried their feathers. So peaceful. One wouldn’t think by looking that these waves were the hunting ground of the pirates that were so notorious throughout the Western Isles. The operative could only hope that the trip would remain as uneventful as it had been, and that they would all arrive at port tomorrow night with little trouble.
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Post by Syana Flamberge on Feb 11, 2015 23:40:45 GMT -6
A number of people made their way onto the boat. No one seemed particularly interesting or worthwhile. That was, however, until a familiar blue haired man walked onto the deck. A smile grew over her face, even if it was obscured by her hood. For today, at least, luck was on her side. She watched as the man walked across the deck and stared out at the sea. There was no doubt about it, it was Saturos.
She started to get up to go over to him, but stopped herself. This moment was too good to pass up. She had to have fun with this. But what could she do... Well, there were a number of things that she COULD do, but what should she do? She could just go straight up to him and say hi to him, but that was boring. She could sneak up behind him and suddenly hug him, which would probably scare him for a second, but wasn't really what she was going for. However... Maybe sneaking up wouldn't be a bad idea. But what would be a way to scare Saturos without going so far that he attacked her before he realized what was going on?
A plan haphazardly forming in her mind, Syana finally rose to her feet. Walking as quietly as she could, she made her way up behind Saturos. She came up right behind him, pressing herself against his back and wrapping one of her arms around his neck. Had this been a real attack or threat, she would have had a knife in her hand. But as it wasn't, she just acted like she did when it was only her hand. She leaned in close and whispered threateningly in his ear, "I know who you are, Prox. If you want to live... turn around and give me a hug." With that, she let him good and took a step backwards, pushing her hood off her head and beaming at him with a grin on her face.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Feb 19, 2015 17:25:01 GMT -6
"I know who you are, Prox. If you want to live..."
The sound of sharply inhaled breath exited the operative as he was suddenly accosted by a rear-approaching stranger. It was a woman, judging by the voice, and the operative would have turned to get a good look at her, but she threw one of her arms around his neck and jabbed something into the small of his back. It wasn’t sharp, so not a knife, but he hardly wanted to risk a scuffle in a position like this. The woman hadn’t even finished her sentence, and Saturos’s mind was already flipping through mental pages of his mind like a book left in a windstorm, trying to process what was going on. The boat had just stopped, and nobody had boarded yet, so whoever this was had to have been on the ship-
"...turn around and give me a hug."
Umm... what? The Etrurian looked down at the arm locked around his throat then turned his head ninety degrees to see a lock of long, red hair being tossed about by the ocean wind. He finished his turn, the woman giving him enough slack to rotate himself, and as he did Saturos found himself face to face with someone he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Syana!” he exclaimed, a delighted look on his face. “Long time no see! What are you doing here? How have you been?” He stretched out his arms to receive a hug.
Though his excited demeanor masked it well, his thoughts were not quite so cordial. What was she doing here? He wasn’t in character right now; Saturos the Wandering Swordsman, the playful man with facepaint, vestiphobia, and a twinkle in his eye. How did he play it off? That he was playing another persona? A bit of a contrivance, but telling her the truth was obviously out of the question, and hoping she just wouldn’t bring it up was equally silly. “Etrurian operative” persona it is.
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Post by Syana Flamberge on Feb 20, 2015 21:11:54 GMT -6
With a grin on her face, Syana gave Saturos about as big a hug as she could. When she pulled away, she couldn't shake the grin off her face. It was actually him! What were the odds on that? "It's been far too long! As to why I'm here, I just finished a job and was on my way back to the mainland. Ship seemed like the quickest route." She smiled faded from her face when she thought about his second question. "I'm... alright. I, uh... I had a bit of a rough time after we parted ways. Started when I broke my leg on a job, which took me out of commission for a few months. And then when I got home..." Her voice caught in her throat. It still wasn't easy to talk about. "Remember my brother, the one who had gotten injured? I got home in time to be with him when he passed away." Her eyes dropped to the deck as she blinked away a few tears.
With a sniff, she brought her gaze back up to Saturos and forced a smile back on her face. "Still have my face paint, though. Even though it looks like you've lost yours..." She had only just noticed that he no longer had his face painted. In fact, something about him seemed... different. Then again, a lot of time had passed since they were last together. Change happens. But it wasn't the time to bring it up, if there ever was such a time. "What about you? How have you been? Up to anything fun?"
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Mar 10, 2015 17:02:24 GMT -6
"Sorry to hear about your brother," replied the teal-haired Etrurian with a sympathetic look. Seeing her tears, he went to comfort her, to put his hand on the Syana's shoulder, but retracted the gesture halfway as soon as the woman began to look up. He didn't comment on the missing facepaint, since it didn't seem like she was going to dwell on it either, rather he twisted his lips thoughtfully as he recalled the answers to Syana's friendly information request.
"How have I been?" he replied, responding to question with question. He let his eyes wander skywards, a universal expression of the thinking man. It also bought him a precious few seconds as he decide what he wanted to divulge to Syana and how he wanted to do so. "Good. I've been good." The operative nodded slowly, a personable look on his face. "Nothing you wouldn't expect," continued Saturos, putting a hand on his hip, "I stuck with Aidan after you disappeared. Ran reconnaissance and counter-espionage for him, which became particularly important when exposing ourself to the bulk of the disparate rebels. Kept our gruff friend from getting taken advantage of. I'd like to think I helped the old man turn the rebellion into something fierce." Softly nudging the red-head with the side of a balled up fist, Saturos grinned. "I think if you would have stayed with us, you would have gotten a kick out of how far everything has come."
Then just as quickly as it had arrived, the grin on Saturos's face went, with the operative taking a small step away from Syana. Personal space widened, he crossed his arms across his chest, socially closing himself off. "Right now I'm just finishing up with some personal business," he said, changing the subject. His thoughts flickered to Myscha, then back to the present. "Had to get a friend out of a tight spot." It wasn't a lie, nor was it the truth. But Saturos always dealt in half truths. It was where he was most comfortable. "When we arrive in port I'll be heading back to Bern, though I'll probably visit some family along the way."
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Post by Syana Flamberge on Mar 10, 2015 22:49:48 GMT -6
Hearing Saturos' words made Syana feel incredibly nostalgic. While she had felt at the time that her leaving them was the right thing to do, hearing Saturos talk about that now made her question that decision. Maybe she would have been better off if she had stayed. Her leg probably wouldn't have broken for one. But then again, if she had stayed, she might not have had the chance to say goodbye to her brother. She pushed those thought from her head. Can't change the past, no sense to dwell on it.
She was smiling as her nudged her. It felt just like old times again. But then, suddenly, the feel of the whole conversation changed. Maybe it was subconscious, maybe it wasn't, but she couldn't help but notice that he stepped back and crossed his arms. He went from the cheerful Saturos she had known to someone closed off to her. It was almost as if there was two different Saturos' or something. Or maybe she was thinking too far into this, and it was just something he didn't want to talk about. And if that was the case, could she really blame him? Everyone had things they didn't want to talk about and if that was the case she had to respect that.
Bern, huh? Wouldn't be the worst place to go. Well, maybe it would be. The whole rebellion and all that. But still, if Saturos was heading there to see Aidan, she'd like to see the big guy too. Heh, here she was, inviting herself along on a journey that wasn't hers. "Would you mind if I traveled with you? Obviously, if you'd rather not I understand. I just think it would be fun, like the old days..." She voice trailed off. She was being truthful, it was just she wasn't sharing the whole truth. But hey, if Saturos could hold stuff back, she could too.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Mar 18, 2015 19:26:25 GMT -6
“Travel with me?” Saturos asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Syana’s suggestion. He wasn’t loathe to travel with the woman again, but an immediate “yes” didn’t seem like the appropriate response here. The idea itself didn’t turn him off, rather the fact that there was non-Bern related business that he would need to attend to before his inevitable return to Aidan’s side made him hesitant to have a tag along that wasn’t in the know. The last thing he needed was to show up at Macendew with Syana in tow, tell Aidan what he had been up to, then have the red-head contradict it.
What have you been up to? Oh, just some personal business. Yeah, and we stopped off in Etruria. Etruria? Saturos needed to stop and talk to some shady looking dudes.
That would be a wonderfully awkward conversation to behold, but exaggerations aside it wouldn’t be impossible to make the traveling arrangements relatively painless. It would only take a little legwork on the operative’s part to keep Syana well in the shade while he communicated by letter to those he absolutely needed to get in contact with before he dropped back undercover. It was a bit of a hassle but the benefit was that her backup would be helpful until a certain someone could get back on their feet and report back to him. Plus Aidan could use a familiar face to raise his spirits. He was starting to get bogged down in all this rebellion business, and it was making him even more dour than usual. Plus Saturos just enjoyed the company.
“Why not?” he replied with a chuckle, all the details churning about in his head. He’d have to work them out later. He was sure he could make it work. “I take it that means you don’t have much on your plate at the moment. Not enough mercenary work to go around?”
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Post by Syana Flamberge on Mar 19, 2015 23:23:25 GMT -6
Syana greeted that response with a smile. "I mean, I'm sure I could find a job if I really tried. But when you have the chance to travel with a friend, why not take it?" She noted the pause before Saturos had agreed to her traveling with him, but she wasn't planning on mentioning it any time soon. Something was up with the swordsman, and she was planning on finding out what it was eventually, but it wasn't pressing. She didn't think it would end up being anything that would put her in danger, it just seemed to be some kind of secret he was keeping. It was just her curiosity acting up. Admittedly, it wasn't her best quality, sometimes being overly curious, but it hadn't come back to bite her yet. And hopefully it didn't lead her into a bad situation or worse.
Besides all that, she was looking forward to seeing Aidan again. She missed the big guy. She wasn't super excited to get herself involved in the rebellion, since the way things go could end up being bad for business, but Saturos hadn't truly been drawn into it, so there was a good chance she wouldn't be either. Hopefully nothing crazy happened between now and when the two of them got there. It would be awful if things went wrong and Aidan was killed or something before they could meet up again. She had become so wrapped up in her thoughts about their travels that she hadn't realized that the boat had been getting ready to set sail. As the ship pushed away from the dock, the sudden movement cause Syana off balance. She tried to keep her balance, but quickly failed and stumbled right into Saturos. "Oof!"
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Mar 30, 2015 17:50:30 GMT -6
"Can't argue with that," replied Saturos with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'd take a friend over a job any day." He gave Syana a quick smile, as he was looking forward to the prospect of traveling with her, but his attention was quickly stolen by the distant sound of the port bell that the dock workers rung to announce the start of the next leg of the ship's journey. The swordsman's eyes tipped skywards, a hand on his brow to limit the daylight that shone into them. The sun was high in the sky. Was it noon already? All this seasickness was making him lose track of time.
Saturos crossed his arms and turned back around, putting his elbows squarely on the railing and returning to his vista viewing. He was in no hurry. He had told his companion he'd be awhile, at least until the nasuea cleared up, so she wouldn't be expecting him back to the cabin for at least another hour. Thus he made a small, inviting motion with his right hand, beckoning the red-headed woman to settle in next to him so they could continue catching up.
The operative had expected her to walk over. He hadn't expected her to trip right into him.
"Oof!" he exclaimed as he felt the weight of her body impact him from behind. His torso lurched forward as his arms slid out from under him, dropping down over the other side of the railing. The edge of the wooden barrier pressed into his gut, forcing out a grunt and momentarily winding the swordsman. At the same time, one of Syana's elbows dug its way into the leftside of his back. Ouch. Good thing ships had railings, otherwise he'd have just been thrown overboard.
Ignoring his own pain, Saturos looked over his shoulder at the woman now pressed into his back.
"Um, you alright?"
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Post by Syana Flamberge on Mar 30, 2015 23:08:48 GMT -6
Before she could do anything to stop it, Syana found her face square in Saturos' back. She felt her elbow dig into a lower portion of his back. As she pulled herself out of his back, she realized that her nose was bleeding from the impact. Of course. She had made a fool of herself and was injured on top of it. At least they hadn't gone overboard. That would have just been the icing on the cake. "Yeah... sorry about that..." She went to step back and was focusing on her bloody nose, so it wasn't until her foot hit the ground that she noticed that is was actually in quite a bit of pain.
She fell to the ground with a thud and grabbed at her ankle. She immediately swore, fearing that somehow she had broken something again. Not now, she had come so far since the last time. She couldn't go through that again. She knew somewhere in her brain that there was no way it was actually broken and was probably just sprained, but reason had momentarily left her. Between the blood running down the left side of her face, contrasting the blue face paint on the right side, and the pain in her ankle, Syana couldn't help but focus on the day where her leg had broken. It was a day she hated thinking about. It left her so helpless, and being helpless wasn't something she liked to be. She pounded the deck in frustration before letting her head fall into her hands. She forced herself to focus and tried to calm herself the best she could. After a few seconds, she took her hands away from her face and looked up at Saturos. In a weak voice, she was able to get out, "S-Sorry..."
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Apr 3, 2015 16:30:44 GMT -6
“No worries,” replied Saturos. He extended an arm in an attempt to help the Syana pull herself back to her feet, but as he did he spotted the red stream of a bloodied nose running down the lower half of the red-haired woman’s face. So careless, he thought as reached inside his pocket for his handkerchief. But when his fingers touched the hard, crusted cloth in his pocket the operative remembered he hadn’t had time to clean it since leaving port. So he signed and left the dirty rag in his jacket before reaching around into his back pocket to pull out the polishing cloth he used to keep his sword clean. This particular piece of cloth wasn't meant for dealing with thick bodily fluids, so this would ruin it, but he wasn't going to just let Syana bleed all over the deck.
The swordsman retracted his arm, instead kneeling down to bring himself to her level. He held out the cloth. "Here," he said, "just tilt your head back and hold this against your nose. It should stop the bleeding." But as soon as he had finished his instructions he shook his head. A quick chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh, what am I saying? I'm sure you know how to deal with a bloodied nose." He smiled at Syana, attempting to be reassuring, then put a hand on the injured woman's shoulder. Seems like he was dealing with a larger than normal amount of injured women as of late. He'd need to carry more handkerchiefs in the future. Musingly he considered if perhaps he should change his line of work. Nursing seemed to suit him, though it would be a bit of a waste, considering his considerable skill with the blade. Surgery? Maybe, but amputation was a gruesome profession.
"I can check to see if it's broken if you don't mind," he said, touching his pointer finger to the bridge of his own nose. "Though if I do, I take no responsibility for it hurting."
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Post by Syana Flamberge on Apr 8, 2015 12:37:04 GMT -6
Syana tilted her head backwards as she took the cloth from Saturos. She held the cloth against her nose because Saturos was right, she was well aware with how to deal with a bloody nose. Living with her older brothers had resulted in more than a few of them. More than anything, she was frustrated with herself. She was supposed to be passed this. She was healed, there was no reason for her to overreact to simply rolling her ankle like that. She needed to get passed this already, it was ridiculous.
She looked up at Saturos and shook her head. "No, I'm ok. It's fine. I just..." She sighed. "I had flashbacks to when I broken my leg and overreacted." She slowly got to her feet, still holding the cloth to her nose so her voice sounded slightly different. She pulled the cloth away to see how the bleeding was doing. It was slowing down, but still had yet to stop. Putting the cloth back in place, she tested out her ankle gently. It was sore, sure, but it would be fine. Maybe no long distance running for a bit, but no long term side effects. She turned back to Saturos. "Sorry for overreacting. I just... I hate feeling helpless. And I lost myself for a minute there." She grimaced at him and playfully hit him in the side. "And I hate to break it to you, big guy, but you already agreed to let me travel with you, so you're stuck with me."
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Apr 12, 2015 16:46:16 GMT -6
"That I did," Saturos replied with an accompanying grimace. He rose to his feet as Syana did, leaving his arms out in case she stumbled again under her own weight. "Ugh, I don't think I'll be able to deal with someone elbowing me in the back every time we hit a wave, or apologizing every time they injure themselves. At least you didn't get any blood on me." The Etrurian shot the Ilian a playful smirk, elbowing her in the arm, then once again returned to his vantage point overlooking the ship's guardrail. He could see the port slowly sinking away as they pulled further into the ocean, and as he did he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be a sailor. The operative was no stranger to life on the move, never staying put in one place longer than necessary, but he had trouble imagining himself being fine with always putting the expanses of land behind him. Yes the sea was vast, but it was different. Life on a boat was so rote and confined. He understood why, obviously, but it didn't make it any less true. How did one deal with constantly leaving freedom behind only to be stuck in a wooden bucket for months on end, completely at the mercy of rough waters and pirates?
Perhaps there was an element of "man vs nature" to it. He'd heard a seaman once describe the journey itself as freeing, that there was a world of discovery out in the blue, but Saturos just didn't see it. To him it was just miles upon miles of flat, salty, unpopulated wasteland. It was impressive to take in, but the benefits of awe never lasted very long, and Saturos imagine that was especially true to someone who spent their whole life out at sea.
"So, Syana," he said, turning his head a bit so that his left eye could see the red-head. "You're a traveler. You sail often?"
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Post by Syana Flamberge on Apr 14, 2015 22:11:36 GMT -6
Syana leaned on the guardrail next Saturos, joining him and staring out over the ocean. "I wouldn't say I sail often. More like I sail when the need arises." She gave a little shrug. "Sometimes it's unavoidable. It might not be my favorite mode of travel, because if I'm on a ship for too long, I get cabin fever. But for short trips it's not so bad." She preferred traveling on foot, if she was being honest. It always threw her off a bit when she got back on land after being on a boat for a bit. She would sway like she was still on a boat. Not great for when you have a job to accomplish and you're stumbling around. Not very professional.
Regardless, she didn't hate boats. She knew other people couldn't stand them, but she had no problem being on one. A big part of that was probably the fact that she never gets seasick. Maybe if she was puking every time she was on one, she wouldn't be too fond of them either . And as long as there wasn't a storm, it was usually a pretty easy ride. Much better than a horse. Ugh, horses. But that wasn't relevant right now. She reached her hand up and felt her nose. Thankfully, the bleeding had finally stopped. About time. She turned her head over to Saturos. She had to brush some of her hair out of her face, thanks to the sea breeze. "What about you? Big boat fan, or can't stand them?"
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