The Calm After the Storm (Dimino/Abelard/Aria, PM for entry)

[dimino]

It was peaceful...far more peaceful than what Dimino had been experiencing lately. First, he volunteered to help defend a Lycian village from destruction from monsters, yet dispite the best efforts he and many of the defenders provided, it still fell to the monsters, but not before the evacuation order was made. Then, an assassin had betrayed him when they were protecting a girl from monsters that suddenly appeared along with bandits.

"Is it truly impossible for peace to be brought to this world?" Dimino says out loud. He sighs in frustration as he continued to walk down the path toward the border of Bern. He looked ahead as he kept walking. He and his acquaintance, Abelard, had just survived the betrayal thanks in action to the Crimson Demon. If he had not shown up, likely the two of them would have ended up being killed, much like the Pegasus Rider from earlier. If he truely was going to inherit the weapon of his tribe, he would need to get stronger, but he now realizes, just wondering from the next battle to the next is likely not going to get him anywhere. What he needed was...

"It's getting late, we should find a town so we can rent an inn, or make camp soon" Dimino says. He honestly didn't want to stop yet, but he knew that wondering around in the night would be fruitless considering how many monsters and thieves would likely lurk under the cover of night, waiting for the next pair of foolish travelers to wonder around at night.

[Abelard]

The last few days had been a insane whirlpool of events for the golden cavalier, and although his heroic exploits often led him straight into peril, his recent encounter with that dreadful assassin had created a sour atmosphere that he constantly wished he could break free of. Perhaps a new quest would land before him and his newfound friend, and spur them to break the shackles of the past and embrace a brighter, bolder future where justice never ceases to prevail? His spirits had been dampened after the betrayal and slaying on those emerald plains, but nevertheless Abelard remained optimistic about the future. Kenshin's entourage had been the divine intervention that had allowed him to recuperate from his injury and live to fight on in the name of all that was right in Elibe, and he refused to waste such a heavenly saving grace.

Steadily plodding alongside Dimino atop Valant, the cavalier was now more determined than ever to save the day, especially after such a disheartening loss. He clearly did not question whether or not peace could be brought to Elibe, for he knew that as long as it wasn't existent, he would fight for it. "Do not fret chum, for it is only after a grievous loss that a man can truly better himself and succeed in his endeavours. Peace will arrive, I remain certain of that."

Despite the scarce conversing they had done since that dreaded day, Abelard had sensed a great deal of determination flowing from the man, and was certain that they could accomplish great and legendary feats together, even if it appeared as though the knight had gone a long while without the taste of the sweet nectar of victory. However, nothing of the sort could be done by two weary travellers during the darkness of night and Abelard knew that even his mighty steed, Valant, was tiring. "A smashing idea good fellow, perhaps we should travel just a mere distance further and then build the foundations of our camp, so that we may rest our weary bones?"

[Aria]

Ok. Laundry done. Stew is off the fire. Fire going. Weapons sharpened. Armor polished. Tent set. Wyvern..

"Wyvern?" That was a good question. Where was Chewy? The sky haired rider looked around for a moment and noticed a severe lack of large red wyvern. The pair were off the beaten path due to a delivery job they agreed to do. The duo were on their way back to Bern when they decided to make a pit stop to set up camp for the night. The little area they picked out was nice. The stream was a few feet in front of them. Aria managed to catch up on some much needed laundry and cleaning. Stuff she couldn't really do back home. Her good clothes were hanging on the branch of a nearby tree. And she was in her most plainest, patchiest, set of domestic clothes she had available. She looked a whole lot less like a barely passable knight and more like a regular old peasant girl. Her patchwork of dull, worn, but well maintained armor was arranged on a sticks and left out to dry. 

The rider took a glance down stream and found her wyvern. Coated in mud and muck. And just generally having an amazing time making a mess of herself in a vain attempt to catch the fish that swam around her feet. Now Aria knew Chewy had a good meal earlier. So she wasn't worried about Chewy being hungry. Aria whistled and the big brick of a wyvern came running. 

"Did you really have to get so dirty so late in the day?" Aria spoke to the wyvern like a tired mom to a rambunctious child. The rider sighed and grabbed a rag to wipe Chew's muddy face. Upon which, she saw something black and wriggling upon the forehead of the mighty red wyvern.

"Is.. that a leech?" The wyvern looked or at least tried to look at her own forehead. The crossy eyed wyvern couldn't see what it was but she could feel it. 

"Oh.. no. Don't you dare freak out on me. I'm going to get the tweezers. Don't.. move." Aria knew her words were useless. As the rider turned back to grab the tweezers out of her bag. The wyvern let out a loud shriek. And went about having a mini tantrum.  Damn it. Aria sighed. She knew she was going to have to find some way to wrangle the leech off of Chewy. She braced herself and charged towards her wyvern only for Chewy to knock her flat on her back with her tail. Aria pulled herself back up. The rider waited for a moment for Chewy to lower her head. That's when she charged forward and managed to hook herself onto her wyvern's head. Now Chewy, knew well enough not to hurt Aria. The rider knew how to climb her mount by hooking her feet on Chew's front shoulders. The rider then used the tweezers and pulled the leech off the wyvern's face. She chucked the black leech into the river. 

"Okay! It's off it's! AAHH!" Chewy bucked and flung Aria off.

To those who did not catch her speech to the wyvern it appeared that the woman charged at a wild beast armed with nothing but a set of tweezers. She was promptly flung off and the beast was now approaching her while she was down.

[dimino]

"A good idea, we'd best keep going so we can find a good spot to set up camp" Dimino says. Perhaps Abelard was right though in both matters. It is through defeat that one could grow stronger best and that though it may be hard with evil people such as the assassin earlier, it was not impossible to achieve.

His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a commotion of some sort up ahead. Was that...a woman going after a wyvern with some sort of tweezers? What on earth was she thinking. Though then again... "Excuse me ma'am, are you in need of some sort of assistance?" Dimino asks. If this was a Bernese soldier, from what he's heard during his travels, then it's likely that this woman may be the owner of the rampaging wyvern. But then again...why was the wyvern throwing a tempter tantrum of sorts? Dimino dealt with horses and even camels back in Nabata that would not cooperate, but he knew nothing on how to handle a wyvern. Perhaps Abelard knew a thing since he's likely more experienced dealing with these sort of creatures considering that he rides a horse into battle?

Then again, if this was a wild wyvern, then the duo likely would have a problem on hand. Dimino kept his hand at the handle of his lance, but not drawing it out yet in case he needed to help in some way, shape, or form. Though he was exhausted, he would use force if it was needed.

[Abelard]

Abelard smiled confidently, having hoped to have boosted his companion's spirits with his words of enthusiasm. In his mind, low morale helped no man and so it was always important to tackle an issue with the maximum amount of vigour you can muster.

However, before the golden cavalier could provoke further conversation with the Nabatian, a sight a short distance ahead of him immediately caught his attention. Hair as blue as the Sacaen sky on a summer's day... a face as sweet as the finest Lycian wine... bright red lips that would make even the ripest strawberries turn away in shame! Plain clothes adorned the figure in front of Abelard, hinting at the person being of common birth; someone who was innocent, someone who was defenceless! Before the weary cavalier was none other than a fair village maiden! A symbol of purity in this tainted land! And above the woman? A ferocious, bloodthirsty wyvern! A fearsome beast not unlike the dragons of ancient lore!

It appeared as though the poor woman had desperately attempted to fend off the monster with a mere pair of tweezers, hinting to the cavalier that the woman may in fact have no combat experience! Abelard could feel unbreakable and unwavering spirit rising up inside him that threatened to burst out and unleash a torrent of righteous fury upon this demented creature! His very soul was vibrating, forcing his body into action despite his fatigue so that he could be a heroic warrior of legend and protect the innocent girl! "HYAH!" Abelard ferociously whipped the reins of his steed and charged towards the wyvern, attempting to become a shield of protection between the prey and the predator. He could've sworn he had heard Dimino speak, but it mattered little with the life of a maiden at stake!

Coming to a stop between the wyvern and the girl, Abelard brandished his lance and struck a heroic pose, placing one hand on his hip and using the other to aim the lance at the fiend, a smug grin plastered on his face. "Thy twisted Gods have frowned upon thee on this day, you frightful beast! For you shall have to face Abelard, the mightiest man in this land! Flee now and leave this fair maiden in peace, before I strike thee down with the upmost fury and righteous anger!" Abelard did not believe himself to be an unreasonable man, so he allowed the monstrosity a chance to retreat. ...Even if he couldn't speak wyvern.

[Aria]

"Oof" Or something "Oof" Sounding escaped the woman's lips as her body made contact with the gritty ground. She let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. Part of her wondered what sort of god took humor in her suffering and hoped that god would get stung by a celestial bee of some sort. She failed to notice the two figures approaching her and her wyvern's commotion. She knew she heard voices somewhere in between soaring through the air and hitting the ground. She raised her arm up and saw six legs infront of her. Four of those legs were hoofed, meaning horse. And the other two belonged to it's rider. Aria pulled herself up off the ground. 

Chewy on the other hand upon realizing that the horrible worm was off her face calmed down somewhat. The wyvern had her back facing the horseman and looked around quizzically for her sky haired sister. She turned around to face the man and his horse. She saw that the man was armed and was spouting something at her. Now she did not understand what the man was saying, but she did understand that the man was threatening her due to his stance. She took a defensive pose of her own and let out a half roar in an attempt to intimidate the man and his mount. Her wings and tail were faced upwards in order to make herself look bigger. 

Aria on the other hand was trying to decipher what the hell the mounted man had said. She scoffed. She wiped her hand on her dress then put two fingers in her mouth and let out a high pitched whistle. Chewy upon hearing the call sprung into action. She galloped towards one of Aria's lances grabbed with her mouth. Then jumped and glided towards Aria and landed with a hard thud. Aria put her hand back. Chewy dropped the lance into Aria's hand. The rider drew it forward, twirled it a bit, an took on a defensive ground stance. 

"Don't know who y'all are. But, I don't take kindly to strangers hasslin my Wyvern." 

[dimino]

Wait a moment...hasslin her wyvern? Talk about a giant misunderstanding on both parties! In reaction, Dimino gripped his lance that was strapped to his back, but did not draw it out. Though he kinda wishes now that Abelard had waited for him. Nevertheless, he may as well try to bring peace back to the atmosphere. Though he had to admit, this woman had skill with a lance! Maybe once the tension settled down, he'd ask her for some training. Granted he has plenty of training in Nabata, more couldn't hurt, right?

Finally arriving at where the commotion was, Dimino lowered both his hands, unarmed. "I think there is a big misunderstanding here, my companion here thought from the distance that you were threatened by your wyvern, but clearly from your behavior, I'd say that we were wrong. Forgive us for the disruption" Dimino says. Avélarnt, írthe i óra na synechistoúme. Abelard, it's time for us to continue going forward. It's going to get late if we don't find a place to set up our camp for the night" Dimino says to Abelard. He wanted to avoid a fight if possible. First of all, he didn't know if he had anymore energy left in him for another losing battle after what happened with the girl getting killed by the assassin. Second of all, even if he did have energy to spare, he could tell that the woman was strong, not to mention, he has no experience with wyverns!

[Abelard]

Abelard paused for a moment in shock, his mouth slightly open as he was trapped in a stunned silence, something incredibly out of character for the boisterous cavalier. Hassling her wyvern? This aggressive mount that she seemed to be attacking was in fact her pet? He had never expected a flower as dainty as this woman of being a skilled warrior. In fact, she even seemed to be in a fighting stance! Dimino's words cut through the quiet though, and brought the man back to something resembling reality. Or whatever rose-tinted reality Abelard was content with living in. "Well spoken, my good companion! However, I do not think it would be just to leave this woman with such bitter relations." In a rather ambitious attempt to get the wyvern rider to lower her weapon, Abelard decides to dismount too, despite the protests from Dimino about them needing to leave.

"There, I believe thou and I now remain firmly rooted on the same soil. Perhaps you are unaware of the name 'Abelard the Mighty'? The cavalier with the virtuous spear of searing light and justice that will pierce the evil shroud of blackest smog that sullies the natural beauty of Elibe?" Abelard sticks his lance into the ground, seeing no possible use for it. Slicking back his hair with one hand and extending his other hand, he attempts to get the maiden to partake in the friendly gesture. "Usually my reputation as a symbol of honour precedes me, but it appears as though I was simply too fast for it."

Flashing a bright smile, the man continues his long, tiring and nonsensical rant about his qualities as a hero. "I meant no transgressions against you or your rather large, rather fearsome lizard. For you see, when a maiden as pure and defenceless as you appeared to be becomes irked by one of life's monstrosities, Abelard the Bold shall come running to vanquish the foul creature and ensure that the day is won. Rather simply I, my steed and my armour-clad friend meant you no harm, and it is upon my honour as a man that I shall never bare my weapons against an innocent maiden, especially not one with beauty as bountiful as yours."

[Aria]

Aria stood there for a moment lance in hand. Ready to fight. Ready to defend herself and Chewy. She knew the world was unkind to women. Especially, lone women. Fortunately, for her, Chewy made an excellent guard dog wyvern. And there have been only a handful of times where someone was fool enough to try and mess with her and her stuff. But, these guys didn't seem bad. At least from what she could see. The knight in the dusty armor at least sounded sincere. Then he spouted some words in gibberish that made Aria assume he wasn't from around here. And then the other guy on the horse spoke words. And she struggled to understand him and his storybook speech. She had heard tales of gallant knights who flung themselves in dangers to save a damsel. Her brother told her it was an allegory for the War of the Scouring. Brave souls who threw themselves at the enemy to save humanity. Although, after meeting Liam and learning his story. She was starting to question the whole thing all together. Her family were people of Elimine. Or at least they worshiped her as a saint as well as they worshiped Harmut. 

"Okay, I'm going to ignore all that useless gallivanting you said." She really couldn't understand him with his chivalrous speech. I think there was a complement towards the end there. Maybe. Rather then return his hand gesture Chewy, ever the curious. Slid her fat face over Aria's shoulders and pressed her snout against his hand. She sniffed in and huffed out. The woman sidestepped slightly to avoid falling down all together. She shot her wyvern an annoyed aside glance.

"Don't bite." She warned.

"Just talk normal. Like your companion back there. Who are you? And What?"  He thinks i'm just a normal village girl. NOW I GET IT. She took a quick glance at herself. Right. Right. Plain clothes.

"Ah.. I can see why y'all thought that. It's nothing new. She can't see her own forehead so she gets a bit antsy when I point something out on it. Like leeches." Aria spoke. Chew let out a stomp and stood on her hind legs. She made a vain attempt to stike at her snout with her wing tip.

"Will you RELAX! I told you I got it off!" She sighed again. And Chewy set herself back down.

"Y'all should make a camp fer yourselves quick then. Town's still far away even on horse back. Heck even on wyvern back."

[dimino]

Dimino bowed slightly when the girl finally noticed the errors. "But of course. I'm Dimino, a warrior from my warrior tribe in Nabata, known as I Kókkini Ílios. If it's not too much to ask, we would request permission from you if we could set up camp nearby. I promise, we both will leave promptly in the morning so neither you, nor your wyvern will be troubled by us" Dimino says. Honestly though, before he leaves, he'd really love to learn more about how this woman is so close to her wyvern, as well as her style of lance play. During his travels, he's known that there were many others who had experience with the lance that were much different than those of his warrior tribe.

Dimino lifted his head back as he turned toward Abelard, hoping that he'd get the hint. "Perhaps you'd like to gather up the supplies in the meanwhile? We'll head off when it becomes morning, neither of us don't want to trouble the young lady or her wyvern more than we had now do we?" Dimino says. Honestly, after what happened though, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep for the night. It still haunts him, the death of Lulu. Then there was the deaths of many more in the defenses of the town that was overrun by the Baels. He could still hear their screams in his mind, his self conscious blaming him for his weakness. He lowered his head again in shame, becoming very, very silent.

[Abelard]

"Ahaha, such an enthusiastic creature!" the golden-clad man chuckles mightily, seemingly unconcerned by the bold actions of the wyvern. Although he was confused as to what the woman meant about his manner of speech (after all, he spoke as only the most just hero would), he was relieved to have had the air cleared. "I am none other than Abelard of Araphen, a glorious territory widely praised for its production of only the finest cavaliers." He stands there, beaming with pride as even his horse seems to be snorting with some sort of dignity.

"We greatly accept both your offer and your company, fair maiden, although I don't believe I caught thy name." Abelard was certain that this awkward atmosphere between the three of them could be broken once they were more familiar with each other, and perhaps the maiden would be able to comprehend the reason as to why it is important for a man to attempt to be as just and as noble as he intended to be. However, Dimino's suggestion made him realise that there were over matters to attend to.

Abelard smirked knowingly at the Nabatian knight, being thoroughly convinced that he knew exactly what Dimino was implying - of course they couldn't allow this weary maiden to tire herself out further when it was in fact the job of a righteous and hardworking man to set up camp for her! Completely missing the true implication of actually needing to give the Wyvern Rider some space, the cavalier nonetheless moved to unladen the supplies attached to his horse. The Sacaen fellows had left them with some resources to make it through the journey back to the nearest village. "A marvellous suggestion my good man! Our conversations and merrymaking shall have to wait whilst we break into this drab patch of earth and create a secure encampment."

As Abelard instantly got to work, he broke the gaze that he had fixated upon Aria and instead looked back to Dimino, who had taken on a solemn expression. His smile turning into a faint grimace, he already knew what recent event was weighing heavily on the man's mind. It was a tragic loss indeed, and it pained Abelard greatly too, but he was never the brooding sort and believed that even the most grievous errors could be made up for. Dimino, however, seemed to be a man who was troubled by the memories of his mistakes rather than optimistically breaking through them like Abelard. The horse rider was very rarely lost for words, but knew that it couldn't be healthy to let the man's regrets consume him. "Good fellow, I would not be against some assistance with setting up the glorious foundations to our abode, if you were up to the requirement. However, I suppose you could also serve as warm company for our lady friend and become familiar to her plight. Nevertheless, I assure you either option would treat thou better than ruminating in such a way. Wouldn't you agree, oh fairest of maidens?" He looks back to Aria, with an encouraging nod.

[Aria]

"Don't mind y'all setting up a campsite nearby." That was the main gist of what she got. 

"So long as y'all don't disturb the one I already got." She pointed towards her own campsite. Towards the small fire and polished armor. She would have offered to share the campsite if they had asked. But, it is what it is. If they wanted to make their own site a few paces away then that was on them. These two didn't look like they would be much trouble. Not to many burglars or trappers would come up to a woman with a wyvern. Most bandits around these parts knew how much trouble a beast of Bern could be. 

"Right, so your Dimino." She pointed to the armor clad man. Not even going to try to pronounce the name of your tribe.

"Nabata huh.. that's a long way aways from Bern." She closed her eyes for a bit and visualized a world map in her head. 

"And Araphen.. is in Lycia." She tried to remember the tidbits of information she knew about Lycia. Aria didn't know the details about Lycia. All she knew was that her brother heard, from his troops, who weren't the most reliable sort when it came to gossip, that Araphen didn't like Bern. And that meant she shouldn't like Araphen people? But, then again we have this cavalier here and.. Stop. She shook her head. Abelard's talking towards you again. She stopped thinking for a moment to hear what he had to say. 

"Okay.. Abelard right?" Heh. Working Lard. She held back the chuckle.

"My name is Aria. I'm from Lucerne. And.. I request that you please use plain speech. No prose." It was a humble request. She asked and slowly made her way back towards her own well established camp. Chewy followed behind her and curled up in a comfortable but alert position by the fire. 

[dimino]

"But of course, we will do everything in our power to not disturb your camp kyría. Dimino answered. "And yes, that's me. Nabata is indeed quite a ways away from Bern. I...honestly never thought that I'd end up getting this far" Dimino answered honestly. There was more that he wanted to ask her, but he suspected that it'd be best to leave things at this for now.

He fidgeted with the lance that was strapped to his back as he looked around at the area that he thinks a camp could be set up without disturbing Arias. "Well Abelard, do you have any recommendations as to where we should set up without disturbing kyría Aria's camp?" Dimino asked his companion. Though he still felt bad about the failures of his past, he knew he had to keep going. If things feel grim, know that you are a proud warrior. The only dishonor you'd bring to the tribe is if you mope about the past. Look forward to the future, and fight for the honor of the tribe. Live by this and you will be worthy of wielding the Giraiá Lans. Those were the words of the Sofí gynaíka in his tribe. He knew it was true, but he also knew that he needed to bring honor to the tribe.

"In the mean time, I'll go and gather some wood nearby to start the campfire for the night. If you want me to, I can also stand watch during the night in case any brigands try to ambush us" Dimino says as he makes his way to the distance.

[Abelard]

"Aha! So you originate from Bern!" Abelard grinned to the woman, not bothered the slightest about this revelation. Although he knew that many of his brethren from Araphen had a strong distaste for the Bernese due to the aftermath of the Bernese invasions, he wasn't the kind of person to loathe someone purely over where they came from. It simply wouldn't be a knightly thing to do. "...Prose...?" The cavalier shrugs the request off, and puts his hands on his waist as he listens to Dimino. "Hmm...." Moving one hand to his chin, he looks around their surroundings. "It would indeed be wise to construct the foundations of our encampment close to this fair maiden's, as should any ruffians or uncouth bandits attempt to raid us, I'd wager that we'd all fare a lot better alongside each other."
Especially considering this maiden has a wyvern.

He looked around the surroundings once more with slightly more haste, as it dawned on him that this was a part of life that he was simply awful at. His smile fading to a slight grimace, a small bead of sweat ran off his forehead as he regretted the fact that construction had never really been his forte. Nevertheless, he was determined to not make himself look a fool in front of their new female companion. Returning back to his overconfident smile, he decided to just choose the flattest area he could see. "This task is a mere trifle for any man, we shall set our base just yonder!" He boldly exclaimed, gesturing towards a moderately flat patch of land a short distance away from Aria's campsite. "And how insightful of you! It would be excellent if you were to go and gather firewood whilst I unladen my steed."

"I do hope you don't intend to stand watch all night, my good fellow. It would be wise for us to perhaps divide up the duty between the thr- two of us?" It was fairly obvious that he originally intended to include Aria in the responsibility, but his heroic nature simply wouldn't allow a maiden to not receive a full night's rest!

[Aria]

And that was that. It looked like the men had settled on a place that was away from her own camp. But, still close enough to be within stones throwing distance. Aria nodded softly and took a step back. She was going to leave the men to their work. She took a seat next to Chewy and just watched them work. She was curious as to what these two men were doing in Bern. Nabata was terribly far from the mountainous region of Bern, and Araphen was somewhere in between. Right? She assumed so. It would be weird if Araphen was past Nabata. 

The wyvern rider poked at her campfire with a stick. She checked the twigs's for their color and determined she should probably add a bit more to the fire. She grab a hand full of dry sticks from her bundle and gently threw it into the flame. Her stew was off the fire and resting on a large but smooth rock she fished out of river. She leaned over, grabbed a rag, and gently removed the lid off the heavy dutch oven pot. The stew was a simple one. It consisted of a few potatoes, some wild onion, and a few shavings of cheese. The cheese stood as a stand in for cream. 

She got back up and rummaged through her belongings. She found her mug and gently dipped the mug into the stew. She hot liquid filled it's way into the mug about half way. She removed the mug from the soup. She grabbed the rag and put the lid back on the pot. She sat back down and took a sip of her meal. Needs some spices. She mused to herself.