Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on May 12, 2015 9:21:49 GMT -6
“Well that was bust,” Aleth admitted, watching the figures continually moving away. It seemed like they got competition, either that or they could just be another pair of travelers around these parts. It isn’t often that one gets to find a separate group while traveling.
“Let’s keep moving then, like my mum used to say, time is money and damn the person between you and money,” she said, putting up her trademark smile. She wasn’t sure if she was joking about that part. Her mother was awfully serious about it and quite frankly, worked hard to beat that saying into her. There was truth about it, she never tried to waste much time while on a job.
It didn’t take much walking before they reached a good distance to their destination. Checking their supplies and the map, it appeared as though the bandit was much closer to them then she expected. If they continued on this route, they would make it there before dawn, but traveling in the dark was always tricky business. By this point it had become rather dark and using a torch often attracted some unnecessary attentions.
“So Syana, what’s your input? Should we rest here for the night and go the rest of the way tomorrow? I don’t think it’s a good idea considering we’ll be even more exhausted by then,” she said, leaning back onto a tree with her lantern swinging on her sides. As she did so, some snow loosened and landed on top of her head. Of course this happens, she shook it off before something caught her attention. Moving over, she reached down and picked up a torn shredded piece of cloth. It wasn’t done by a weapon, not one that she was familiar with.
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Post by Syana Flamberge on May 22, 2015 12:05:22 GMT -6
Syana stood with her hands on her hips, taking a look around their surroundings. They had definitely made good progress, and it would certainly be advantageous to approach their target under cover of night. However, they had been traveling for hours at this point in what wasn't the best terrain. They were tired, and going even further would only have them be even more tired by the time they get there. "We should rest here. While the cover of night would be nice, but you're not wrong about the exhaustion. It's better to rest here and be good for the morning."
She fought the urge to laugh when snow fell onto Aleth's head. It had been a long day, and this sudden funny scene was almost too much for her. At the same time, however, she didn't want Aleth to feel bad. So, she didn't laugh and instead helped to brush some of the snow off of her new friend. She was about to step back when she noticed the piece of cloth that Aleth had picked up. She crouched down to get a better look at it. Syana had been around her fair share of weapons in her line of work, but she had never seen anything that shredded cloth like that. It had to be an animal. Or worse. "Maybe this place isn't as safe as I had though... If we stay here, one of us has to keep watch at all times. I'd rather not wake up and find myself dead."
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on May 22, 2015 14:33:18 GMT -6
Aleth felt along the piece of cloth, trying to rationalize it. Perhaps they had it tear it off themselves for use or it simply got caught. By the looks of it though, there didn't seem to be any blood, but that can easily be lost below the snow. Digging a bit around the area, she didn't see anything suspicious. She sighed, scratching the back of her head. Stuffing the piece of cloth into one of her pockets, she took note that it might come in handy.
"Right, I'd take the first watch," she offered, moving around on the ground picking up dry pieces of wood and tinder. It wasn't easy especially with all the snow. After she found a few branches, she lays out a piece of cloth, putting the fuel for later. After digging up an area for the fire, she proceeded to work on lighting it.
"Best not take chances with freezing over, but damn is it harder to make with one hand," she admitted, rather determined to light it. After repeated tries, she finally lighted the tinder before transferring it over to the kindling and the rest of the fire. As much as a hassle it was, she had dealt with it for years. She hated the fact that others belittled her for just having one arm. It was best to keep a fire going. Most animals were weary of fire and hopefully it kept whatever tore the cloth away.
"Been in this line of business for long?" she asked, trying to strike up some conversion before they started to get whatever little sleep they might get.
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Post by Syana Flamberge on May 22, 2015 18:30:12 GMT -6
Syana waited as Aleth worked on the fire, before finally moving closer when the fire had finally started. "Agreed, freezing over before the morning wouldn't be the best plan." The cold never seemed to bother Syana as much as other people, but she knew that even she wouldn't fair very well in the snow with no warmth. And it was tough to get paid when you were dead. She began to pat down some of the snow in the nearby area to make some sort of flat area where they could sleep for a bit. It didn't need to be too big, since only one of them would be sleeping at a time. It only took a minute or two before she was satisfied with the space.
Looking back up at Aleth as she spoke, a little smile grew on her face. "I've spent my whole life in this business. Both of my parents were mercenaries. Once they were married, they started a family that grew into my five older brothers and then me. Since then, all six of us went on to become mercenaries in our own ways. I've only been out on my own for a few years now, but I've had some pretty good teachers." She neglected to bring up the recent history of her family, specifically about one of her brothers, because it was still just too fresh. Instead, she decided to take the opportunity to find out a little more about Aleth. "What about you? Been doing this long?"
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on May 22, 2015 20:58:28 GMT -6
Once the fire was properly burning, Aleth let out a puff of satisfaction for a job well done. It must have looked silly when she began grinning from a simple task. It couldn't be helped as she remember how much struggle there was for the first year of adapting without one arm. She quickly wiped away her foolish expression to listen more intently to Syana's story. Conversation was relaxing and she valued what little time they get to learn about one another.
"I see, a mercenary family huh?" she said out loud, tasting the words for herself. There was of course more families build around the profession here in Ilia. So it wouldn't be too off about it. When she asked about her family, her face visibly whitened a bit remembering her past. It took a moment for her to compose herself.
"Well, I'm an only child from two mercs too," she admitted, taking her hand and rubbing the back of her neck. She let out a sigh, finally properly preparing herself.
"They were tough, called it tough love, I considered it abuse, actually glad that I don't have any siblings. I guess I really was well trained in the end, but that didn't mean they should let one of the mercs in the group to tie me up when I was just a girl and have me hang above the treelines while flying at high speeds on a damn pegasus," she spat, one of the most unpleasant memories rising to the top. She had a number of worse memories.
"They had me training and working the field as soon as possible, ran off the first chance I got," she said, shrugging, so yes, she had been working for as long as she could remember in this line of business. The only problem was that she never seemed to charge correctly.
"Funny thing, the first time I see them after a few years, they beat the crap out of me. I think they were disappointed that I lost an arm, but what can you do? Parents right?"
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Post by Syana Flamberge on May 25, 2015 12:27:52 GMT -6
As Aleth told her story, Syana felt a mix of sadness and anger. Her parents had always been so kind and supportive, so hear that someone else didn't have the experience pained her. And the fact that parents could treat there child in such a way made her mad. So mad, in fact, that she made a mental note that if she ever ran into Aleth's parents, she'd teach them a lesson. She reached out and put her hand on Aleth's shoulder. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. If you want when we're done here, we can go find them and take an arm or two of theirs." She gave a little smile to show that she wasn't entirely serious about that suggestion. Not that she wouldn't actually do it. Would serve them right.
Still thinking about Aleth's past, Syana began to ready the rest of the sleep area. She pulled a small sleeping pad and blanket out of her bag and spread them out in the area she had flattened. Somewhat reluctantly she slid off her armor, leaving her only covered by her regular clothes. Not that she was opposed to simply being in clothes, but she was still uncertain about this area. If something attacked while she slept, she would be even more vulnerable than usual. At the same time, however, she wouldn't be able to sleep in the armor itself. So, she decided to try and get some sleep and hope Aleth could hold anything off that attacked until she could armor up again. "Are you sure you don't mind taking first watch?"
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Aleth
Hero
Everything you can do I can do one handed!
Posts: 247
Profession: NEET
Affinity: Ice
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Post by Aleth on May 26, 2015 10:30:44 GMT -6
It definitely seemed as though Aleth got the rough end of the parenting stick. Did she hate her experiences, absolutely. They weren't something she would do to others, but she'll be lying if she said she didn't learn anything from them. They had taught her how to fight, roughly, but it meant all the better. She knew she what they wanted though. They had seen a lot of their old allies perish and didn't want her to be just another dead body. It was almost caring, but she didn't like it, killing never seemed to come easy to her.
"Sometime I wonder if I made the right choice in doing this line of business," she said aloud, fidgeting in her spot, glancing above the flames. If she looked in them, she feared that she might be hypnotized with the flicker. It happens when the world seemed so still and that seems often in Ilia.
"But it's only thing I know," she said with a shrug, dealing with the hand she was dealt. In the end she will endure it, whatever the world threw at her, she would handle it.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, get some rest, we might not be getting any soon," she said with a smile. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was difficult to tell what was beyond the fire. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, but she swore she heard the sound of scuttling out in the distance. It was a faint sound and she had to focus hard on it, to make it out. She waited, her hand on her sword and waited. After a few moments the sound subsided and nothing seemed to be approaching their campsite.
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Post by Syana Flamberge on May 31, 2015 13:15:30 GMT -6
"Thus is the pain of an Ilian," Syana said as she pulled her blanket over herself. It wasn't much, but it would be enough for a few hours. "You either become a mercenary, or you become a pegasus knight. Not many other choices, right?" She tried to think of what her life might have been like if she had been a pegasus knight instead of a mercenary. Firstly, he brothers probably would have given her a lot of grief for it. But, she would also always have a pegasus around, and she had to admit she was a fan of those winged horses. "Wake me up if anything happens." As she went back to thinking about her life as a Peg Knight, she fell asleep.
After a few hours, Syana's eyes opened. While she wished she could just go back to sleep, she figured it was most likely at least close to the time for her to take over watch. Looking around, she noticed Aleth sitting close by with her hand on her sword, peering into the darkness. Knowing that something could be happening, she quickly sat up and reached for her own sword as well. Keeping an eye out, she began to slide her armor back on. Even if nothing was out there, she thought she might as well get her armor back on sooner rather than later. You never know when something could strike. Once it was fully on, she turned to Aleth again. "What is it? Did you see something out there?"
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