Blowing Smoke [Mila/Don B]

[Donovan]

The mercenary found himself at Mila’s door. It had been a couple days since they’d attacked the fortress, and he’d been checking in regularly to make sure she was recovering from her injuries. He felt like what had happened to her was his responsibility. If he hadn’t have brought Bee along, Mila never would have gotten hurt. Though Don was rather glad that Mila had been there when she was. If it hadn’t been for her, who knows how much of the forest would have been burned down in the attack.

He opened his bag and pulled out the coin purse that was owed to Mila for her part in the fight, then opened the purse and dropped a handful more coins in from his own payment. She’d earned as much. Don knocked on the door and waited a moment before entering, Kitchi close on his heels. The fox hurried over to the green haired mage and nuzzled her. Don’s hand went to the back of his neck and began to rub that tight spot that always bothered him when he felt guilty. “Hey, Mila. Are you feeling alright?” The mercenary’s hand left his neck and he held out the coin purse before putting it on her bedside table. “I just wanted to bring you your share of the earnings. We managed to arrest most of those men, so we got a bit of a bonus for that! I - ah- I just wanted to apologize for getting you caught up in all this. I didn’t mean for you to take so much strain with that plan…” His bright green eyes diverted to the floor, struggling to make eye contact with the mage.

[Mila]

Mila took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Gods help her she was in a dress. Not just any dress, but a sacean style dress that showed off too much leg for her liking. The sleeves were short too so her arms were exposed. And her chest.. well it was very obvious. She patted herself down and wished dearly for pants. Or a cloak. She sighed softly. Her usual attire which consisted of her cloak, her pants, her shirt, even the leather guard she wore to hide protect her chest, had been damaged by the events at the fort. They now needed to be washed and mended. Normally she would mend her garments herself but this time she needed the help of a professional tailor. She was fortunate that the town had one nearby but she needed to wait until she had the gold to pay the seamstress. She'd have to track down a leather smith to fix the guard.

While the dress itself is practical to horse rider nomads and to those nomads who lived in the warmer climates it was not practical to her. She buried her hand in her head for a moment and swore she could hear the cat calls of the men and disapproving stares of grandmother's everywhere. She sighed again and ran her fingers through her loose hair. She hadn't even bothered assembling the ponytail yet. She was at least glad her boots covered some of her leg. But on the other hand it only served to accentuate the rest of her curves. The dress was by no means bad, it was a good color for her eyes and hair.

"This.. sucks." She spoke to herself as she continued to try and find a way to hide her frame. She heard Donny at her door. Her eyes widened for a moment. Ah! Crap! She really didn't want anyone to see her in this. Wait. He has my pay.. and.. he.. HAS A CLOAK! I'm saved. She scrambled over to the door. Nearly tripping over her travel bag in the process. The mage turned the knob of the door and opened it. The chain on the door stopped her from opening it fully.

"Damn it.. forgot I put the lock on. One sec." She closed the door again and undid the lock then opened it again. She kept herself mostly hidden behind the door.

"Donny.. you have no idea how glad I am to see you. This.. might sound odd.. but uh.. can I borrow your cloak.. or cape?"

[Donovan]

The door jolted open and stopped just as abruptly. Mila closed the door again, fumbled briefly with the lock, and reopened it. Donovan was a little dumbfounded by what he saw in front of him. He’d known that her cloths had been damaged, but the outfit that she was wearing in their place was, well, a little revealing. His eyes drifted over the Sacaen dress that the was wearing, he noticed that the leather guard she always seemed to be wearing was not longer in its place. “You look great…” He said, mind slightly lost before he snapped back to reality, “Health wise, I mean.” He pulled the cloak off of his shoulders and held it out to Mila. “You’re not really a dress person, I gather?” Focus. Focus. Focus.

He handed Mila the earnings from her stake in the job and leaned against the door frame. “That ought to cover you enough to, well, cover you. And probably is enough to get you a fancy new tome, too. I can’t imagine who thought it’d be a good idea to let Bee get her hands on a Volcanon tome. It’s ridiculous. I wonder how I’m going to spin this tale. What was the name I accidentally gave Jule? Angle of Death?” Don started laughing, a wide smile on his face, “I promise to tell the story of how the ever beautiful Mila saved the forests of Lycia in a manner less… intoxicated. I wouldn’t want you to be known as the Savior of the Threes or something...” He hesitated a moment before his green eyes met hers, “Mind if I come in for a moment? We never got the chance to catch up last night."

[Mila]

There was a soft smile on her face at Donny's complements. She took the cloak he offered and put it on. She breahed a small sigh of relief. She was mostly covered now, so long as she didn't move her arms much no one would notice her frame underneath.

"Thank you.. for uh everything? The concern over my health.. the complement of my looks... the payment." She opened the door fully and let Donny in. The room she was in was small. But there was a large window that let in plenty of daylight. Her regular clothes were arranged on the table nearby. Folded and ready to go in the bag. Her spell tome was there too. Along with one of her journals, in it the latest entry from the fort and how she felt while channeling Volcanon. The mage giggled at Donny's comment about making titles for people.

"Savior of the Threes, HA! That would be amusing. Three's an important number!" She gave herself a quick look in the mirror and pulled her hair up in it's usual ponytail. Then dismantled it and opted for a low braid instead.

"But. Ah your right. I'm not a dress person. I'm not a skirt person either. I've been so accustomed to pants.. that this.." She pointed at the dress.

"Feels very odd to me." I feel naked. Even though i'm not. What is this madness? She then put her hands to her hips tapping them down.

"There's no pockets either! Come on..." She grumbled then sighed. The mage had enough. Arguing with the logistics of the dress wasn't going to solve her problem. She shook her head then returned her attention back to Donny.

"Yeah.. I'm sorry about that. I didn't exactly know how Volcanon worked. Then again.. I think I drew most of the raw power of the tome.. while Bee moved it. I heard Bee practically walked away unaffected from the heat. While I felt like a charred log. Funny how magic works it's mysterious ways with people." The little fox Kitchi was pawing at her boots. Mila crouched down and petted the adorable creature on the head. Her finger gently scratched behind it's ear until it gave an approving coo.

[Donovan]

The mercenary entered Mila’s room and listened to her talk about her lack of pants. He was honestly a little surprise by just how uncomfortable she seemed to be in a dress. It wasn’t as if she didn’t look good in it, in fact, she looked incredible. But the way she behaved seemed to indicate she felt somehow exposed. The mercenary tried to lighten the mood with a laugh and a quick story, “I know what you mean. I once had to convince this group of people I was a noble’s daughter. Now the wig I could deal with. The shoes were a hassle, to be sure. But the dress — while I did get a far more comfortable breeze than I’ve ever gotten with pants — the dress was just so inconvenient. You can’t run in those things, you’ll trip over all that loose cloth. I couldn’t keep any of my things on me, because the blasted thing had no pockets. I swear if I ever saw a woman fight in one of those, I would just have to stop and give her a standing ovation.” His green eyes lit up with an idea, “I’m going to have to figure out a way to get Perun to fight in a dress. It would be the most hilarious thing to ever grace Gaea’s soil.”

When the green haired mage apologized for the Volcanon incident, Donovan shook his head and reached out to grab her shoulder. “I have a rule where I never let someone apologize to me for saving my life. You were incredible. I should say, that if I ever see you put your life on the line like that again, I’m probably going to have to stop you. But thank you, Mila. Really. And as far as Bee goes? Who knows with that girl. She’s about as obsessed with fire as some are with gambling. It’ll get her in trouble one day. I might have to check in every once in a while to make sure she hasn’t burned down any villages.” He sighed and shook his head. “Gods, I wish I was kidding.”

[Mila]

"I've seen some of the finest of women fight in battle dresses. I could never do it." She shrugged then walked over to the table. The mage quietly put her things into her bag and pulled out a list of things she needed to buy and do. She took the small satchel of gold and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Wow.. this.. is a generous amount." she threw the bag up in the air for a moment then caught it. As if to gauge the amount of money from it's weight. This is enough to cover practically everything and then some. Huh.. there.. might be something more to this.

"Wait. Did you just say you want to throw Perun in a dress?" The mental image she got was one that was both humorous then very disturbing. There was a faint unpleasant sensation in the pit of her stomach. Stop thinking. Mila was used to seeing bodies, monster parts, rotting things, infected wounds all with some degree's of ease. But the thought of the large Ilian man in a dress, with all of that hair, trying to be a princess, was unpleasant.

"Uh.. Dear gods.. No. Just. No." She shook her head. She paused for a moment and thought some more. Not about Perun, but more about Donny.

"I don't think you'd be able to stop my ability to dive into danger to help out a friend. Even when logic and reason dictate otherwise. And thank you again I do know i'm pretty incredible." She smiled softly. She then rubbed the back of her neck with the comment about Bee.

"Yeah.. I suppose you'd have to keep an eye on her some more. I.. think she's part fire spirit. I swear. Then again.. she was a pupil until recently. But.. still.." She sighed. Almost certain that girl got the potential to become one of the strongest masters of fire magic in the world. Provided if the fire's don't consume her instead..

"How.. are you though? I heard you were talking with the captain. Was everything ok?"

[Donovan]

The mercenary’s brow danced to match Mila’s — a technique Joey, a former member of his troupe, had called ‘I have a fish hook in my eyebrow and I like it’. “I may have slipped in an extra few coins from Hubbs’ coffers, since you saved us from burning down a forest, and all.” The mercenary grinned wickedly, there was no need to tell Mila he’d given her money out of his own pocket. It’d just complicate things. Don burst out laughing at Mila’s reaction to Perun pretending to be a princess — evidently he and the mage had a very different sense of humor.

“I think you doubt my ability to get Perun to toss you over his shoulder and run away from the trouble,” The mercenary smiled, shaking his head. “There’s always a way out. Mila. Don’t forget that. Though it does sound like I’m rubbing off on you more than you thought. I mean, who would have believed that you’d actually admit to how amazing you are when we met in Sacae. I’ll make an honest woman of you, yet.”Donovan shook his head in frustration over the thought of Bee. “If only I had an army of matches to put her in front of. Let her get the whole being insane thing out of her system.”

“Right. The good Captain Hubbs has offered Perun and I a job. This whole job was apparently some sort of test. Laus is apparently recruiting to fight off the Prophet. So after Perun and I finish off this job we’ve been apart of, we were thinking of joining up with that. If we’re getting recruited by the Marquess himself, we could make an ungodly amount of money. And all we’d have to do is help take out the voice of a God!” The mercenary laughed, “You should join us when we go. There will never be a shortage of smart and skilled fighters when you’re taking on the biggest military in Elibe.”

[Mila]

"Well you'd be amazing too if you helped to stop a forest fire... with fire. I.. am not going to wrap my head on that logic. Anyway.. well. Thank you Hubb for your generous donation to the Mila fund." There was a bright bit of pink to her cheeks at Donny's comments. Praise was something she was not quite accustomed to hearing. She chuckled lightly at the comment about matches. A mental image of Bee standing in a field of matches popped up into her head. When Donny started talking about Eturia's prophet her chipper disposition suddenly dropped. Mila knew the horrors of the prophet and how he had countless of families slaughtered simply for thinking differently.. for thinking logically... For wanting to uphold the traditions of Eturia before the prophet's rise. Mila disliked Kraft. Although she was too young to remember the days before Kraft's rise to power she did remember the stories her family would tell. She was forced to conform to society's norms, forced to act like a devotee, in order to keep herself alive in Eturia. She looked at Donny straight in the eyes.

"...Donny. Do not underestimate the prophet and his army. They are no joke. They are powerful.. crazy.. and very scary. Kraft is nothing more then a false prophet. Elimine is dead." She realized how dark that sounded.

"Well you know.. cause people.. can't live for centuries. Her alleged words and sainthood are twisted from it's original 'teachings' into the madness that Kraft spews." She shook her head.

"Granted I don't.." She sighed.

"I am no expert on Eliminism. But I know that the prophet is wrong.. on so many things. And after studying monsters and reanimated corpses.. I fear that the 'god' that he claims to take order's from might just be a monster. Saint or god or just priestess or.. or.. whatever Elimine was.. I know the dead don't come back to life with out consequences." She stopped for a moment. Her mind started to go through the options of her life. She could join Donny in this effort to fight Eturia. Which ran the worst case scenario of her adoptive family being killed for her actions against Eturia. Or she could continue her research into monsters in Lycia. But she knew she'd be worried over Donny and her adoptive family. And it wouldn't be long until Eturia started open war with Lycia. Ugh.. the decisions! She was quiet for a while until she finally came to a decision.

"This might possibly be the worst decision of my life. But.. if you are going to help Lycia's army take down Kraft and bring order back to Eturia.. I will help you. No.. not just you. I'll help the rest of the Lycian army too."

[Donovan]

“Come on, Mila, you know me.” The mercenary shook his head and chuckled, “I’m not exactly the type to get in over my head. It’s not like I’m going to be leading any armies! The Big Guy and I will do what we do best: get the job, finish the job, get paid, and be on our merry way.” He dipped down a bit to have his bright green eyes meet hers and held that gaze firm, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good brave sword at your side, kid. Ain’t no one knocking me out of the roster.” He sat down on her bed and gestured for her to join him. “That said, I’d feel a whole lot safer if we had a good healer on the team, when we took the fight to Etruria. I’ve been working for a priest the past couple of months and he’s really saved our hides more times than I could count.”

The silver tongued mercenary looked up quizzically at the green haired mage, another thought whizzing through his mind. “Have you thought about picking up any new spells? I mean, you’ve got a pretty solid grasp of that fire tome you’ve been working with, but I’m honestly a little surprised you haven’t picked up any new tricks yet. You would definitely be one hell of an asset to any team if you could learn how to use a healing staff, though light magic would definitely help out a good deal with the monster hunting business!”

[Mila]

Mila shook her head lightly. While Donny was confident he knew how to avoid getting into dangerous situations Mila knew better. Sometimes you can't just get out of certain situations. Sometimes people build connections to one another and find it hard to leave. And while she wanted to say these things outside part of her just couldn't find the words. Donny made himself comfortable.

"..Sometimes.. you just.. can't walk away." Mila sighed softly. She couldn't spend too much time in conversation with the young mercenary. She had things to do. And yet, she found herself taking a seat next to him.

"Armies.. can be tricky." She turned her head to face Donny. The cape she borrowed from him now draped over her back and shoulders.

"Hm. Oh.. I know plenty of tricks." She gave a small smile. But Donny did raise a point, she could do so much more with her talents and magic. She glanced at the floor for a moment simply thinking. How far had she come since she left home. Her travels, her research, her adventures, and the people she had met. She was a lot stronger now then she was five years ago. Perhaps it was time for a bit of an upgrade.

"You.. have a good point. I had considered picking up a new tome with today's money. Well after I finish all of the needed repairs to my attire. I.. was considering an earth tome." She found her hands were lightly shaking. She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. She tried her hardest not to think back at the cave in. Her mind started to think about other uses for earth other then being trapped. She kept her gaze out towards the wooden floor.

"I.. can see so many practical uses for it. Imagine.. instant walls for defense.. pitfalls.. spikes.. land cultivation for food.. m-mining.. Of course once I get the tome.. I need to practice.. to understand it.." She felt a chill creep up her spine.

"..I.. can't have any mishaps like I did with the Volcanon." Her mind briefly flashed to the falling rocks. Her face paled a bit before she raised a hand to her forehead. Even though the memory was brief she could feel a bit of a cold sweat to her forehead. Distract yourself. She shook her head for a moment. She regained her composure after a bit.

"H-How about you Donny? What new weapon do you plan to learn how to use next? Or did you learn a few new tricks?" She smiled softly.

"Don't think I haven't noticed the difference between your fighting style back when we fought the doogs and now."

[Donovan]

Mila’s words struck a chord with Donovan. When he’d first left home, he didn’t have any qualms with lying or running away. He needed to survive, take care of his mother, get home with a wallet full of gold and his head safely on his shoulders. But then he met Perun and suddenly he had a partner — for a while, he felt like one extra body wasn’t going to slow him down too, much. But now he was traveling with a whole caravan of people he’d never leave behind. Perun was as much a brother as he’d ever know. Duma was his teacher, his mentor, and most of all his friend. Remus was pretty much the only truly virtuous person Don had ever met. None of them were people he could leave behind. And the kids - Amelia might be a little terror, but she was always a blast to be with, and Owain was one of the sweetest little rascals he’d ever known. “…You’re right. You can’t just walk away sometimes.” But the fight against Kraft was different. It wasn’t personal. It was about the money.

Mila brightened the tone for a moment, “Oh, you do, huh? Well, you should show me sometime. I have a few of my own.” He smirked wickedly, but quickly stopped as Mila seemed to get very suddenly unnerved. “Are you okay?” he asked tentatively, his hand reaching up to gently touch her shoulder. When should turned to ask him a question, he figured that he would probably be best to go along with her - help distract her from whatever seemed to be causing her such stress. The silver tongued mercenary laughed softly, “Yeah, I learned a few new tricks. In the caravan I’ve been protecting, there’s a sword master going along with us who’s become my teacher. I know my way around a sword a good bit better now, I’d say.” He smiled, his eyes green eyes flashing. “I’m not sure what kind of weapon I’m gonna pick up as an upgrade, though. I’ve been using this Sacaen’s blade for a little while, but… I dunno. It seems like it’s on its last legs.” He leaned back and raised an eyebrow toward the green haired mage, “Have any suggestions?”

[Mila]

"The swordsman is doing good work with you then. You've improved a lot. Maybe one day you could give my brother another swordsman, a run for his money." Though you'd have to find him first.

Mila looked at Donny with a bit of a puzzled look. She tilted her head lightly as she thought. She felt as if this was some sort of answer to a trick question. What weapon to give Donny? Her mind went though a series of weapons. An axe would be useful for extra power. Some axes were specialized for throwing. Any long range weapon was useful in her book. Then again a bow would also be extremely useful for picking off foes.

"Hmm.. well.. I suppose when you've gained enough experience my best guess for you would be an axe of some kind. It's practical in a sense that it is both a weapon and a tool. Hmm.." She returned her gaze back to the floor for a moment. This time putting the side of her index finger on her chin in her usual thinking pose.

"You know.. maybe a magic weapon.. would suit you." She turned to face him with a bit of a smile.

"Hell. I think it would suit you perfectly. Imagine all of the gossip and tales of heroism you would gain with a magic weapon at your side. Pretty sure your accustomed to such.. theatrics." She giggled softly.

"But.. seriously. Magic weapons are extremely useful. A sword that shoots fire would be a hit at any camp. A lightning sword could be used to zap enemies that were farther out of your reach. A wind sword to help deal with flying mounted units. Not to mention each.. magical blade has the added benefit of hitting though armor." She went and grabbed Donny's arm. And while the mercenary's arm wasn't thin, it wasn't exactly ripping through the seams with biceps either.

"You aren't super well built like a pirate or bouncer.. so I imagine heavily armored foes would be a problem for you to deal with. In war you have to be prepared to face all types... trickery and charm only go so far." She got up and pulled the mercenary up with her. Both of them were now quite close to one another. This made Mila blush. She cleared her throat a bit before taking a light step back.

"Uh.. uhm.. right.. were was I? Magic weapons! But in order to have a magic weapon.. you kind of have to earn it. Gather the materials and present them to a smithy. Then commision to have the blade made for you.. Once you have the weapon.. then.. well you have to learn how to use it. These.. weapons are fused with a spirit of it's chosen element. Sometimes they can be kind.. other times they are cruel... sometimes fickle.. sometimes pranksters. Eventually you and your weapon have to bond.. or come to some sort of an agreement... And that's.. just the beginning!" She gave a bit of a sigh and paused for a moment.

"A.. I got carried away again didn't I? Sorry!" She scratched the back of her head. She took a quick glance out the window behind Donny and realized it was about noon.

"Oh.. shoot.. right I've got errands to do. If I don't force myself to go now.. i'll probably be spending the day talking your ear off about all things magic. Magical properties.. Uses.. strengths.. weaknesses.. making the magic happen.." She was talking and fixing herself up in the mirror one last time. She had her arms up as she tried to push back one particularly stubborn strand of hair back in place. F*ck i'm still in this dress!

"Hey Donny you want to come with me on a shopping trip? I'll buy us lunch. Who know's maybe you'll see something in the market that'll tickle your fancy."

[Donovan]

The silver tongued mercenary felt the traces of a smirk cross his face at Mila’s mention of Duma. He was a little suspicious when Duma had mentioned he name back when he first started training with the Swordmaster, but now he was all but sure that she was his teacher’s long lost twin sister. “I’m sure watching your brother fight my instructor would be very, very entertaining.”

“An axe… maybe. Perun could probably show me a thing or two on how to use one. But a magic sword? As much as I’d love to have something like that, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford one.” The mercenary shook his head at the thought of how poor the Giant and he were. “I mean, Perun and I are guarding a couple kids and a priest for next to nothing, and we’ve been on the road forever. Honestly, the only reason he and I took this job was to help supply the trip. So unless I stumble across a magic sword in the woods, I’m probably out of luck.

“Hey, though, don’t discount trickery and charm — trickery and charm helped stop a ridiculously powerful killer who was trying to kill us all. I mean, sure, it left me more broken and bleeding than anything I’ve ever faced, but, hey, at least I left the others a glaring opening!” Donovan laughed sarcastically. Fighting Michael was both the biggest fight of his life and the most painful one.

The mercenary shrugged, he didn’t have too many other plans for the day, since Remus and the others didn’t expect them back for a little while. Seemed like as good an idea as any to join Mila on a shopping run. “Alright, I’m game. But if you want to keep talking about magic, by all means, keep going. I don’t know nearly as much about it as I’d like to. Knowing magic’s weaknesses will come in handy whether I’ve got a magic sword or not!”

[Mila]

"See.. that's exactly what I meant. Your trickery and charm almost got you killed! Seriously.. stop almost dying. Or dying in general.. that would suck." Mila gave Donny a pat on the shoulder.

"Hmm.. well you never know. There are a handful of warriors with magic weapons who had fallen in battle. Maybe.. you just might find one." She spoke out loud while gathering her things.

"Ha. Be careful what you wish for. I'm serious I can talk about magic for days. It's not fun. Well it's fun for me. But not for my listener." She sighed softly. Alright lets see.. What have we done lately? Her mind trailed off in thought. She had told Donny a handful of stories in their first encounter.

"Ah- Hey! That's a new story right? Sounds like something you can tell me about while we eat. I've got a new tale regarding a few skeletons, thunderstorm, a deserted village, and a shaman." Yeah. That sounds interesting enough. Maybe i'll leave out the part about me quibbling like a baby in the thunder parts of the the thunderstorm. She ran though a quick mental checklist to remind herself on what she needed to do. The first stop she needed to make was towards the textile district.

"Alright lets go! Sorry to ave to drag you off in such a hurry. But.. if we don't go now.. I've a feeling i'll just end up being stuck in this room all day." As she spoke she grabbed Donny's arm once more and went out the door.

[Donovan]

“We are mercenaries, Mila, little more than hired killers. If we aren’t almost dying, than we probably aren’t doing our job right.” The green clad mercenary stood up as Mila got up off the bed to gather up her things. Not really knowing what to do whilst she was getting ready, he went and stood near the door. His eyes wandered around as he tried to find out what to do, but to no avail. “Well I am ever the student. If you talking my ear off about magic for a couple days teaches me something that'll leave me a little less dead, I think I can handle the boredom.” He smiled jokingly, hoping the green haired mage didn’t take any offense to the comment. Don thought about everything that he was going to need to purchase, but the only item that really came to mind was that he needed a new cloak, which would be easy enough to find.

“This story’s one of those times where truth is stranger than fiction. I’m not gonna embellish any of it.” Besides the part where one of the guys fighting by my side is almost definitely your brother. The silver tongued story teller’s was grabbed by the small mage and she pulled him swiftly from the door. “You will never believe how much trouble a priest and two orphaned kids had gotten us into. It is completely unbelievable. But I’ll fill you in on all of that once we get something to eat.”

[End Thread]