Business As Usual (Colchys/Fargus C)

[Colchys]

[Set after Graveyard Stuffers]

The campfire's embers were still glowing when Colchys turned to watch it. She'd been keeping watch over the camp while her archer friend had been sleeping - ostensibly it was his turn to keep watch next, but she'd make some excuse to stay up again. She couldn't afford to let him keep watch in the dark, not with only one eye.

She remembered her childhood bed, and how soft it was. She'd never slept in a bed like that for many years now. Just barracks cots, rolls of fur or - more often than not - the cold, hard ground. Colchys lamented the state of her purse pocket for a moment. That reminded her, though; it was about an afternoon's journey to their destination, if they spent no time walking. She thought they deserved what little rest they could get.

She didn't entirely...comprehend why she'd decided to follow the archer. She just knew on the inside that she couldn't afford to leave him to fend for himself, doing dangerous work like this. The amount of pay she had would be just enough to keep her afloat for some time, before she drifted to some other line of work, but she'd have to give up a lot of the potential comforts if she decided to travel with him. She barely even knew the kid, much less what he was searching for, and found it rude to ask.

Colchys turned to Fargus. "So, have a good night's rest?" she said. The thought of asking him remained in her head; she felt owed it, even if she'd been the one who insisted on following him.

[Fargus]

Fargus slowly got up and stretched. He looked around and yawned. "Meh...could be better, but could have been worse." he said. He knew that from the way she looked, the swordswoman had been keeping watch for a good part of the night. He could tell that she looked tired, but he also wondered some things about her. But he knew that he needed to do his part in keeping watch in the night. Granted he only had one eye, but he survived so far with only one, no reason for him to make excuses to slack on the job.

"If you don't mind me asking, what made you take up the sword? he asked. He was quite curious, she was quite strong for someone who didn't look like she would have used a sword. Not to mention, she handled the bonewalkers back in the graveyard like they were nothing whereas he struggled to hit even one. Then again, it could have just been his inexperience with the bow and needed training. Either way, he knew he wouldn't last long alone whereas she looked like she did things like this by herself all the time.

He looked at his bow beside him and sighed. He knew he needed to get stronger, he couldn't afford to lose someone again, not like the way he did with his parents to the bandits. Fargus then looked away and stared up at the night sky. At least I know that they'll be watching me...I won't fail them again... he thought.

[Colchys]

"I'm from a far-off land called Ilia. There, the sword is our way of life - our fields are barren." She hadn't been keeping up with politics lately, but she'd heard that recently Ilia had taken over Bern. Why they'd stretched their already scarce resources so far to do that, she didn't know, but it wasn't her problem anymore. She wondered if her family were alright, but gave it no further thought...

"Beyond that? Probably the same as yours. My family didn't have enough to go around, so I had to resort to looking after myself. Didn't really have a talent for much else but swordfighting, and even that I'm not too good at."

She stretched her feet and gave the sky a wistful glance, reminiscing of better times. "It wasn't...easy, fighting other peoples' battles. A lot of my friends, well..."

Colchys tried to pinch her eyes shut. No matter how hard she tried, the memories always came back, and they hurt. "I used to think it was a fun game, you know? But killing other people - not monsters, people - it's...not good for the nerves. You probably get what I mean."

Why was she telling him this? Was it because despite everything, this young man was the first time in years that anyone actually sat down and asked about her? The emotions welled up all of a sudden, and she struggled not to show anything. Maybe that had been the real reason why she'd decided to travel with him.

"Enough about me. Feel free to tell me more about yourself." she said, an obvious attempt at deflecting her emotions.

[Fargus]

Fargus was silent for a moment. He knew the feeling, especually since he witnessed the brutality that the world offered firsthand. "Well, there is a reason I decided to take up the bow, there was a day while me and my parents were moving from our home in Sacae to Ligure in Etruria, we were ambushed by a group of bandits. They killed my mother and my father. They thought I was already dead, so they took my eye from me too. When I went to check on my parents, only my father was alive, but barely. With his last words, he told me this: Find the Vinter bow..." he sighed. It brought back painful memories of what happened to them. He then continued. "that is the clues that I'm looking for, clues for where the Vinter Bow is located..."

He then looked at the Swordswoman. "I know the feeling of losing an ally in combat, I know how it feels to lose someone you care about...I hope to grow stronger so that I-nay, no one has to suffer the loss that I felt those years ago with my parents" he said.

He then looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry for your loses...I know it's moot at this point, but even time won't be enough to remove the pain that you might be feeling...I just..." he sighed. He looked at her again and continued. "I just don't know if I could ever get strong enough...I'm just afraid of what I would do if I failed to get strong enough to protect those I care about in the future..."

[Colchys]

Colchys tried to shoot him a small smile, but wound up only looking even more on the verge of tears. She rested her hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's...alright. You will get stronger. And I'll protect you."

She wished she had an equally noble reason to fight, and she decided to tell him as much. "Unfortunately, despite my pain, all I'm working for is just...it's just money, really. What I need to survive. Gods, I miss the days when I didn't have to worry about that." Colchys had been faced with the ignoble reality many times before, and wondered if perhaps she could have aimed for some higher purpose. In a way, she admired the boy for wanting to seek out something for his father's sake, even if it was just a trinket.

The swordswoman wiped her eyes free. She cursed herself - she was crying, and not by a small amount. This boy had been the first person in a long while to actually talk to her, even empathize with her suffering. She knew now more than ever that she needed to protect him.

There was a long silence.

...

"So," she said, her voice sterner, "any idea where to start looking for this bow of yours?"

[Fargus]

Fargus remained silent as the swordswoman told him of her reasons for fighting. "I understand...I've met an Ilian squire, heck even helped her and her squadron defeat a troop of Etrurians that were invading Ilia that day, so I know why you fight for money...and how evil fighting can be in general" He shuddered slightly, he could still hear the cries of the young pegasus knights as they were slain by the Etrurian general that day. It was only a miracle that he somehow survived it all to tell the swordswoman about this.

He then looked back at the swordswoman. "My first place was maybe somewhere in Lycia, but I can see now that the clues might not be here...perhaps I might head back to Ilia somewhere, or maybe sail to the Western Islands, there might be a clue there or two..." he said. Fargus then sighed and said again "To be honest, I don't know where to head to next..." he said with a sigh. He then gave her a reassuring smile. "But don't worry, I'm sure that we'll find it somewhere...Anyways, where do you plan on going now that this missions done?" he said. He was tempted to ask if he could go with her, but he pushed that thought out of his head. He didn't want to slow her down after all with the line of work that she would be doing around the continent. Plus...he wasn't sure if he could handle to pain again if he saw her get killed.

[Colchys]

“Honestly? I don’t know. I take jobs here and there, but I’m not very committed.” Colchys flashed Fargus a weak smile. She wasn’t sure if he wanted her along, but she wanted to gamble that he did, given his own insecurity about his skill level. Besides, he was starting to grow on her.

“What about we become partners? Two heads are better than one.” And three eyes are better than one, too, she thought, although she bit her tongue before she could say it. She didn’t want to betray her real motives behind following him – to him, she was probably still a very cool and distant character, and she wanted to maintain that image. She didn’t need a kid like him spreading nasty rumors about her being a softy on the inside.

“So if you take up my offer,” she said, wringing her hand, “I’d suggest we start off in the Western Isles. There’s bound to be people there willing to point us to the right direction.” That was only part of her reason, though, the other one being that she didn’t want to go back to Ilia. Too many bad memories cropped up whenever she thought of Ilia.

[Fargus]

Fargus smiled. He knew that traveling alone was tough as is. Maybe with the two of them, they could easily accomplish many things together. "That would be a wonderful idea, I'm sure we can do things easier this way" he said. He was really happy about how things are going. He hopes that by doing this, he'll be able to grow stronger and to find the bow he is looking for a lot faster.

Fargus clutched his iron bow in his hand and held it out to the swordswoman. "I promise, I will not fail you, nor will I slow you down in any way. Besides, I think that we'd make a great team together" he said. He was not going to fail like he failed to protect his own parents. He had to admit though, he was surprised when she offered to take him with her considering she looked strong enough by herself. But Fargus didn't care. He was going to get stronger one way or another and he felt that going to the Western Islands would be a great start. Who knows, maybe he'll also find a clue or two there on where the bow might be located. I know that it's around here somewhere...if I could find it, it could help me get stronger. But even then, I must keep getting stronger. If I fail to get stronger...no...I refuse to allow that to happen. I WILL get stronger... Fargus thought. He just hoped that the swordswoman will continue to help him grow stronger during the travels.

[Colchys]

Colchys gave him a soft smile. She took the bow and gave it a shake – it was sturdy, which was decent enough. “I’m sure we will.” she said to him.

She was only telling a half-truth. It certainly would be easier for him, but not for her; in fact, she half-thought that he’d only slow her down, despite his words. An archer with only one eye was more of a liability than an asset, but was still a human being. A young one at that, and someone who’d seen too much. There needed to be someone around to keep him safe.

It was a wonder that he’d made it alive this far in various dangerous situations. She wondered if perhaps she’d been giving him too little credit, but memories of their time at the tomb resurfaced, and she realized that he was barely holding his own. She didn’t want him to take his chances and go it alone. Besides, archers were terrible at close-quarters combat.

Still, he had saved her life on one occasion. And he’d taken down a few of the monsters himself, so perhaps she was thinking too lowly of him. Anyway, he was nice, and didn’t deserve to be told these nagging thoughts.

“For the record,” she said, lying through her teeth, “I don’t think you’re a liability at all. You saved my life, remember?”

That last part, at least, was true.

[Fargus]

Fargus couldn't help but smile at the last part the swordswoman just said. "Well...I guess your right." he said. He looked around at the surroundings and sighed. "You know, this reminds me of my old home back in the plains of Sacae...Of course we had to move, but maybe if we had stayed, my parents would still be alive, and I wouldn't have lost my eye to those bandits" Fargus then shook his head and said "No use dwelling on the past I guess, only thing I can do is look towards the future, and find that bow"

He sighed as he layed back down. "So...I guess our first stop will be the Western islands huh? I'm not very familiar with the island that much, but I did hear rumors that its a haven for seafarers to go, is that true? Fargus asked as he set his bow back down beside him. He was genuinely curious. If it was true, theres bound to be someone that knew about the bow he was looking for. Especially if theres people from around the continent going to and from the islands. Yet on the other hand, he was somewhat hesitant in going, he didn't know if anyone of them knew what he was looking for, or if they would just turn around and be ruffians that were sent there. He didn't have much choice though. Besides, if they proved to be hostile when he and the swordswoman arrived, he was not going to go down without a fight.

[Colchys]

“Yes, the Western Isles are friendly towards mercenaries like us.” Or at least that had been the case the last time she’d checked. She vaguely remembered her parents taking a trip to there – they’d brought her back a small necklace. She’d pawned it off years back to pay for her meals. “We can probably learn more about the bow from whoever’s passing by.”

Colchys didn’t know what to say next.

“So, what was your home like?”

She bit her cheek and considered what she just said. That probably wasn’t what she should have said next.

“You don’t need to answer that if you’re not comfortable.” she added, as a quick aside.

Colchys didn’t particularly like dredging up bad memories, but she was legitimately curious. Maybe she’d share some of her experiences too, to even it out. She doubted it’d match the level of tragedy he’d been through, but fair was fair.

[Fargus]

Fargus perked his head up when the swordswoman asked about his old home. "You mean my old home? Well,
back where I used to live growing up in Sacae, my family lived along the outskirts of Mullingrad. Financial reasons however forced us to relocate. We thought it'd be a smooth travel from Sacae to someplace else but..." His voice grew quiet. He still had sad memories of that tragic day. "...Things just didn't go as planned...Now my parents are gone along with my eye as I said..." he sighed sadly. He still felt the pain of the bandit laying down the axe across his face as they forcefully took his eye.

"For the sake of my parents though, I kept going to Ligure where I eventually found someplace to take care of myself...and to train myself in the way of the bow." Fargus shifted his view over to his bow. "I'm still not that good with the bow, and having only one eye doesn't help much in that department, but I know I can get better enough..." Fargus then gave a reassuring smile. "But I try not to let it bother me too much. I know that my parents are now someplace better looking out for me."

He then got up and stretched. "So, what about yours if you don't mind me asking?" Fargus asked. He was legitimately curious. He knew that being a mercenary meant that the swordswoman went all over the place and he wanted to know how things was like where she lived.

[Colchys]

“I grew up in a…large family. We never had to worry about money or shelter, and had a lot of servants to do our work for us.” Colchys blushed. “You could say that I was a rather lucky girl. My father was the baron, where I lived.”

“We weren’t a very rich barony, though, and I had lots of brothers and sisters. I wasn’t much good at pegasus riding, and my brothers had been groomed to be the heirs long before I was born.” She shrugged. “I had no trouble taking up arms and fighting – I thought it was going to be a fun adventure.”

Her expression turned grave. “I guess I was mistaken.”

Some moments passed.

“Well, that’s my story. If you don’t believe me, then don’t believe me. I sold off all of my noble stuff long ago – not like I can prove it anymore. Or that it matters.”

[Fargus]

Fargus nodded. He knew all too much how painful war in general was. "Indeed...but it's better to realize that now than never I guess. I've seen...too many people that don't know what horrors lie with war and fighting in them" Fargus said. He could practically still hear the screams of the young squires that died that day in Illia. How they managed to drive back the force that day he'll never know. Maybe the commander was called back to Etruria for a new plan of attack. Perhaps the lose of his forces finally "persuaded" him to back off. Whatever the reason was, Fargus is still standing here today, talking to the swordswoman.

"I actually believe you. I have seen too much in what little time I've spent training with my bow to know what can happen. But know this-" he said facing the swordswoman. "-Since I'll be traveling with you, I won't let my failures get to me, nor let your failures get to you either. I believe that we can overcome whatever we come across, so long as we stick together." He then gave her a reassuring smile. Fargus then looked back up at the night sky. "So...I guess it's my turn to take watch? After all, you've pretty much taken watch all night. I don't think it's fair that you stay up all night while I sleep the entire time. Granted, I may lack an eye, but I still feel that I can keep watch" he said as he got up and strapped his bow to his back.

[Colchys]

Colchys grew stony-faced. Fairness didn't matter when their lives were both on the line, and she didn't know if she was comfortable letting someone so young keep watch. He'd still saved her twice, though, and she was tired from waking up. Perhaps it would do to show some trust in her new companion; she'd need to, eventually. Sleep overtook her joints and she lay on the ground.

"Alright, then. I'm glad we had this talk." she said, feeling the grass in her hair. She could scrunch up to the skins but that took effort, and her joints were tired from walking and fighting. "You're a good kid, Fargus. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't trust you so much." Lying against the ground, she slowly felt herself drift off to sleep.

An eye shot open. "Oh, and one last thing." she said, with a chuckle. "Don't try anything funny while I'm sleeping."

[END]