A Change of Pace (Open)

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Flynn guided himself and the troubadour behind him across the sprawling hills of the Sacaen plains. It was a nice day, but the young man had other, more pressing matters at hand.

He had no idea where they were going.

Flynn assumed he had taken a wrong turn at that last large boulder and now found in the absolutely wrong direction. He hadn't seen which way he had turned that was wrong and the landmarks in the area did little to guide him. You could only remember so many trees and shrubs before they all melded in your mind. He didn't show his confusion and worry on the outside, though. No point in worrying Irenes. He supposed he could try to find someone else and ask for directions, but that seemed unlikely. He furrowed his brow.

That's when he heard the merry shouts from not too far away. The red haired youth looked up and in the direction of the noise. It didn't sound very far, but the wind could carry sound. Flynn turned his horse in the direction.

"Follow me," he stated firmly before spurring his horse. The horse galloped across the fields and quickly crested a hill. Flynn looked down it and saw three bandits cheering merrily as they stood over a fallen horse and man. He could hear the fallen man begging as the bandits looted the cart behind the horse. Flynn felt his blood boil and positioned his horse directly behind the distracted axe men. He spurred it and it galloped forward. The youth picked his feet up and crouched on the beasts back, drawing his sword with one hand and holding the reins in the other. When he drew close enough, he sprung from the horses back and stabbed his sword down into one of the bandits backs. The remaining two jumped back in shock.

"The hell?!?!" one shouted. Flynn pulled his sword from the now dead bandit's back.

"I suggest you leave now while you still can," he said coldly, staring at the two ruffians. "Lest you end up like your friend here."

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It's not like she would have noticed he was lost. She was so caught up in just viewing the landscape around her. It was quite beautiful to see all these rolling hills. It was such a far stretch from the cities in Etruria that it was easy for her to just begin fantasizing about living here. She would occasionally shift in her saddle to look over her shoulders or to the sides, just enjoying herself.

She hadn't heard anything, but quickly followed along with Flynn's sudden sense of urgency, spurring her horse into a gallop behind the sword fighter's. She let out a little gasp at the sight before her. That poor man was being attacked by these... these brutes! Luckily for her, it wasn't long until Flynn had charged in. She did have to stop a moment to appreciate the maneuver he had done with jumping off the horse's back and all that. She followed, but stopped her horse a good 20 or so feet behind him.

She had her staff ready just in case, watching as the red-head seemed to do quite a good job with the first bandit. Her hands were shaking a little as she watched, hoping they hadn't gotten in deeper than either of them could handle. She had thought of adding to his threat but usually people took one look at her trying to be menacing and it would move them to laughter. So, she remained quiet, shifting slightly on her horse as she watched the scene unfold before her. 'Oh please, be okay.' She begged silently.

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Flynn kept up his state towards the bandits. His gaze was cold, hard, and wolf-like in nature, accented by his crimson eyes. His father had taught him that instilling fear in your enemy was half the battle. If you acted like you were fearless and were completely sure in your victory, your enemy was likely to be less sure in theirs. Simple psychological war. One of the bandits seemed to crumble slightly under Flynn's piercing gaze. The other simply glared back at the red haired youth.

"Like hell I will! He owed me money. You'll pay for that!" The braver bandit yelled in anger. He adjusted the axe in his hand and gave a mighty roar. The mercenary kept his gaze and slowly moved into a fighting stance, his muscles tensed and ready to strike.

"If you're so keen on getting your gold," the swordsman said, keeping an even, yet harsh tone, "then be prepared to settle your debt in the afterlife."

The bandit roared again and charged at Flynn. His axe was held high. The young man waited patiently for his moment. The ruffian swung his axe at Flynn's head. He ducked, spinning on his toes and slicing the bandit's feet. He fell, crying out in pain. The mercenary silenced him quickly with a swift stab to the man's chest. His gaze shifted back to the remaining bandit, who stood shaking in fear. He withdrew his sword from the dead body.

"Don't try to run. I have some questions for you," Flynn said menacingly. "Drop the axe and come over here. Or else you're joining your friends."

The bandit nodded vigorously, dropping his axe and stumbling over to Flynn. The swordsman sheathed his sword and grabbed the ruffian by the collar. He pulled the axe man in close.

"Which way to the nearest town?" Flynn asked quietly. The ruffian stared in confusion at the red haired youth. Flynn glared at him before continuing, "Answer me."

The bandit pointed in the direction of a town and Flynn nodded, letting him go. The terrified ruffian ran off into the hills without his axe. Flynn turned to Irenes.

"Tend to the man and the horse, if you'd be so kind," he said. "I need to tend to the bodies. Even though they were bad, no man deserves to be left without funeral rights."

Flynn hefted one of the bodies onto his shoulder and laid it onto the hill as neatly as possible. He did the same for the other bandit, then retrieved large pieces of cloth from his horses saddle bags. The swordsman wrapped the bodies in the cloth and laid them side by side. He said a small prayer and finished with, "May the gods have mercy on your souls in the afterlife."

The mercenary breathed a deep sigh of relief and turned back to Irenes, the man, and horse. The bandit hadn't come back with more of his friends and man seemed to have calmed down considerably, thanking Irenes over and over for their help. He smiled, glad that he helped someine from losing everything.

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So cool~ Irenes watches Flynn fight from back behind. Sure, she couldn't fight herself, but she was pretty sure being charged by a horse wasn't on someone's agenda. Luckily, only one charged back and the mercenary finished him off. He was rather efficient, albeit a little cold feeling when dealing with the bandits. Oh well, what's done is done. She snaps out of her thoughts when Flynn speaks up before she 'oh's and heads over to the man.

Luckily, his condition wasn't too bad. A few scrapes and some bruises.. probably a few broken ribs. Nothing a good healing spell couldn't fix, though! She starts to heal up the merchant's wounds, the soft green glow travelling from the tip of her staff and to the man. She seemed to focus right now, making sure to get every little thing. After all, even the smallest of scrapes could turn into something worse if not treated.

She gave a smile as the merchant kept thanking her, feeling good about having helped someone. She does eventually finish and turns her horse up to the merchant's, looking it over for wounds as well. It didn't look injured in the least, though it had a fear in its eyes and seemed uneasy.

"Easy there. I'm not going to hurt you." She coos softly, reaching out to slowly stroke along its mane. She seemed to be doing fairly well calming the horse as well. She did steal a glance over to what Flynn was doing. There was some confusion in her mind as to why he would do such a thing for someone such as them. Something for her to think over.

Irenes turns her attention back to the merchant after a moment though, giving him a smile. "Ah... all the thanks goes to him. He heard and came running." She explains, directing him towards Flynn.

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Freddy smiled as he watched the healer work her magic on the horse and man. He walked up next to Irenes, his thumbs tucked into his belt.

"Everything alright with him?" the mercenary asked to the troubadour. The man began thanking Flynn for his help. He smiled and nodded gratefully, "No problem at all, sir. It's my job to protect people." The merchant offered to pay the mercenary, but he pushed the coin purse back to the kneeling man, "Keep your money. You need it more right now. I suggest you hire someone to keep you safe next time you travel. Be on your way now and try to get to your home as quickly as possible."

The merchant nodded and thanked the both of them one last time. Flynn whistled for his horse as the man gathered up his goods and placed them in the cart. He quickly rigged his horse back up to his cart and soon disappeared over the rolling hills. Flynn's horse trotted up to him and nuzzled his master. Flynn patted the horse's snout and retrieved a carrot from his saddlebags. He looked at Irenes as he fed the horse the carrot.

"The next town should be that way," the swordsman said, pointingin the direction of what he believed was a town. He hoped, at least. He was already lost of enough. He hoped he had scared the remaining bandit enough to spill the correct information. If he didn't, then Flynn was going to charge across Sacae and plant his sword into the ruffian's skull. The mercenary mounted his horse and turned toward the direction of the town.

"Let's be off," he said before lightly spurring his horse.

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Helping people gave Irenes a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Then again, that might just be the magic. "He's alright now. Don't push yourself though." She responds to Flynn and directed her advice to the merchant, who thanked her again. She finished up the healing and smiled, giving a little bow afterwards.

She watched Flynn turn down the man's coin, looking him over. 'He seems like a pretty decent guy. Most would have just taken the money without question.' She thinks while observing. She then notices how easily the horse returns to him. "You seem to have quite a connection with your horse. I wish I could do such things with mine." She says with a light smile.

Irenes turned to look in the direction that remaining bandit had pointed them. He had no reason to lie to Flynn, right? What would the point be? She shifted to get comfortable in her saddle again and motioned for the redhead to lead the way. After all, even with directions, he probably knew the landscape better than her. It was all just grassy hills in her mind.

Just then, his battle performance came to mind. "That was pretty cool. What you did when you went in. It's a shame that he had to die, but I'm guessing that 'kill or be killed' mindset applies just about everywhere, right?" She asks with a little smile. Wow, from trying to compliment him to talking about the morality of death. Clearly not a conversational expert. "Is that something they teach everybody in your village? Or something you came up with yourself?"

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"All thanks to you. You've got a talent for fixing people," Flynn said, complimenting Irene's gift for magic. There was only so much you could do with a sword to help people, so the young Sacaen never took a healer for granted. Especially since magic users were a rare thing to have in his old tribe. Any type of magic users were something to appreciate among nomadic people. The swordsmans smiled at the healer in response. His horse had been his constant companion since he was young. It was a big day when he'd gone out with his father to look for a horse to break. And that's what he did. He mounted a horse and stayed on until the horse bent to his will. Oddly, it wasn't as hard as Flynn thought it would be. The horse, soon to be his horse, submitted very easily, but was a stalwart companion ever since.

"We've been together for years," he finally said. "Ever since I was a young boy. We've thick as thieves and it's going to stay that way for a long time."

Flynn patted his horse's nose again and he whinnied happily. The nomad took a long look out over the plains, trying to indentify the landmarks once again, but keeping an ear open for the troubadour who trotted behind him. He looked at Irenes over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.

"It was pretty neat," he said. The mercenary's expression turned dark when she mentioned the kill or be killed aspect. "It's how the world works. Bandits don't think of who their looting from and will kill them for fun. That's why you kill them first or they'll just come back."

Flynn sated silent for a few moments before continuing, "No. That move was all me. I tend to go with whatever feels like a good idea and what can help me take down the enemy as quickly as possible. That's what we were taught. Don't waste energy. Finish the fight fast."

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Irenes blushes lightly to his compliment about her healing ability. "I'm actually not that good at it, yet. I've seen someone reattach an arm, actually!" She exclaims. She had, actually, seen this happen before but didn't understand that it had just been a 'magic' trick with a fake arm. To her, it was real enough so she believed it. "But still.. thank you." She adds with a little smile.

She listened to his story about the horse, rather enjoying how close he seemed to be to him. She had remembered meeting a few others over the last year or so who were very attached to their horses as well.

She noticed the change of tone when she had mentioned the kill or be killed thing. She hadn't meant to put a damper on his mood. "Exactly the case I was making. It's better that you took care of those three before they had really hurt that man as they likely wouldn't have stopped with just him. Greed does seem to drive them." She says with a nod.

"Well, it looked pretty cool too. And I'm guessing you get the same boost to momentum that is usually associated with cavalry charges, right?" Irenes asks curiously. "I can't imagine much of anything would be able to stop such a tactic, short of a stone wall, of course." She adds. She hadn't wanted to turn the subject dark and seemed to like it better when her travelling companion was in a better mood. She then let out a relieved sigh as she noted what appeared to be a small village become visible just over the next hill.

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Flynn smiled warmly at Irenes, "You're selling yourself short, Miss Irenes. I'm sure you will be able to accomplish such feats all on your own soon enough. All you'll need is some practice." He nodded slightly in reponse to her thanks, his smile staying warm. "You're very welcome, Miss Irenes."

The Sacaen gripped his reins tighter, anger rippling across his face. He hated bandits. They were absolute monsters, stealing and killing for their own greed. "That's all that drives them. They're nothing but scum, not even fit to be called humans. Sub-humans even. They are like an insect under my boot: Waiting to be crushed."

The swordsman didn't care if that sounded overly harsh or cruel. Good, honest people, sometimes even his fellow tribesmen were killed by these greedy monsters. Not even their own friends could be trusted. They just waited for their moment to stab each other in the back and steal each other's stolen goods. Absolutely disgusting. Flynn took a deep breath and calmed himself down. No need to make the woman behind him worry about him. He smiled back at Irenes confidently.

"Like I said, finish the fight fast," he responded. "You're correct with how powerful the strike is made by the added momentum." He paused for a moment, "If the stone wall is short enough, then I can jump over that, too. I guess that would make the move unstoppable." He laughed slightly and looked back out towards the hill. His smile grew wide when he saw the village in the distance.

"There's our destination," he said happily. "What should we do while we're there?"

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Irenes felt her cheeks flush as he called her 'Miss' and dished out a compliment as well. Such a gentleman! "W-well! Thanks for the vote of confidence." She stammers out.

She could see the rage forming as he spoke about bandits and nodded in agreement. "Insects who usually carry axes, though." She tries to explain. Sure, it would be nice if it was as easy and crushing bugs, but things were never that easy. Bugs couldn't decapitate you or remove an arm. At least without a certain kind of venom only certain ones had. Bleh, she didn't like bugs. Or arachnids.

Flynn would see her shaking her head to get the thought out of her mind as he turned back. No good to think about all the creepies and crawlies. She does giggle to his comment. "That's true too! I can imagine the face of someone when they see you just leap over a wall to get at them." Irenes smiles to that. Yeah, she was maybe fantasizing about him being heroic. "I bet something like that would start making you famous. You know... with some added flavour." She explains.

At the mention of staying at the village a bit, she lit up. "Well! I don't know about you, but I sure could use a bath. All this riding and adventure made me all sweaty." She adds with a little bit of a whine. City girls... must be used to that sort of thing. "Do you want to rest here as well? I know it's not too late but maybe we shouldn't push ourselves too hard?"

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Flynn nodded with a smile. He found it a little amusing that Irenes was embarresed by his compliment. "It's nothing, really," he replied. "Being truthful is easy for me. I remember all too well how my parents responded when I lied." He added a shudder for dramatic effect. The swordsman adjusted the sword on his back as Irenes spoke.

"Aye, that is true," he eventually responded. He clicked his tongue when he remembered he'd forgotten to clean the blade off. "They're about as smart as insects. Their basic battle strategy is, 'That person has a weapon? Blindly rush in swinging my axe like a madman!' Usually easy to predict." Despite his confidence in bandits' lack of skill, Flynn figured he should fight his battles smarter than his last display. He should probably use his sword to throw the blade off and not simply rely on dodging and reflexes. It didn't matter now. He wasn't dead quite yet.

Flynn laughed as he imagined someone seeing that. "Oh, yes," he said. "A man just minding his own business, then he sees a boy flying over a wall to stab him. True fear." He thought of something funny when Irenes mentioned it making him famous. "Of course. I'll be know to all as Flynn, the Rabbit of Sacae. Beware his mighty leaps to deliver is blade of justice!" He Sacaen struck a pose on his horse. That would be some legacy to leave behind.

The young man nodded, "Of course we can rest here. You can go take your 'bath,' whatever that is." He chuckled at his joke before continuing. "I'll clean my sword up. Leaving blood on it makes it gross and sticky."

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"Well, thank you for it." Irenes says with a soft smile. "Far too often, the truth is used to harm rather than help lately." She says, nodding slightly to herself.

"If only that were their only battle strategy. A lot less innocents would come to harm, yes?" She asks him, referring as how they didn't always rush armed people and were far more likely to attack someone defenseless. Like, say, a wandering merchant. It might have ended even worse had the merchant been female, or so she has heard.

His commentary about the jumping thing but a smile on her face again though. "Well that's why you would need to embellish, of course! You don't say it like that, you have to add in some flavor. Like..." She starts to trail off, thinking of ideas. "A guard stood vigilant, ensuring no Sacaens could enter the mighty stronghold. Yet, deep down, he knew he wasn't safe..." Irenes starts then gets a goofy grin. "For Flynn, the Rabbit of Sacae laughs at his feeble attempts to use a wall!" She ends in a teasing voice. Clearly, she didn't really mean it.

The prospect of a bath was nice and caused her to shift around in her saddle. However, she picked out the part of the sentence she noticed the most. "You don't know what a bath is? Surely you've bathed before." She says, pretty convinced that the nomads still partook in cleaning. Just because they're nomads doesn't make them savages. And based off what he had told her, they were actually quite refined.

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"Aye," Flynn responded, nodding in agreement. "People say the truth hurts. And sometimes it does. But I think the truth is better to hear and tell. It can really make someone's day, you know?"

The young man sighed and nodded in response. That was a bandit group's primary target. Defenseless villages that they could attack whenever they felt like it. "It was certainly lucky we came along when we did," he stated. "It could have ended much worse if we hadn't arrived when we did."

Flynn laughed at Irenes' "embellishments," shaking his head. What a title that would be. He would probably be laughed out of every town he visited if he told the people he was "The Rabbit of Sacae." Even his old tribe would be amused at his misfortune at becoming famous. "I'm not sure that's the kind of legacy I want to leave behind," the swordsman said with another chuckle. "My descendants will die from embarrassment knowing that their ancestor was known as a rabbit to the entire nation. Though, leaving behind the tales of me leaping walls to get to my enemy could easily be warped by time to something much more impressive. They'll tell tales of Flynn, the man who could leap walls fifty feet high in one jump and then defeat his enemies with the speed and swiftness of a lightning strike."

When the mercenary said that, being a rabbit didn't sound nearly as bad. He listened to the troubadour's disbelief at the prospect he didn't know what a bath was. He laughed and looked at her over his shoulder. "I know what a bath is," he assured her. "I'm only joking, Miss Irenes."

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"Well, it's a good thing you heard them when you did. That, in and of itself is pretty amazing. I likely would have ended up just passing by." Irenes explains as she starts to dismount. "So it's a good thing we're sticking together. I just might miss important things with my head in the clouds."

"Well, what's wrong with being a rabbit? They are known for their speed and jumping ability, among other things." She says with a nod. "Plus they're super cute with their long ears!" She adds on then blushes. Right.. that must be the part he would be embarrassed about. "But still.. wouldn't it be a big thing to be known for something positive in general? It's better to be known for something like that than being likened to a bandit or something, right?" She asks him curiously. While she didn't intend to insinuate anything bad, she wanted to try to point out the positivity of being known for something 'good'. As for her, what would she ever be known for except for 'that one healer with the purple hair'?

Irenes did give a sigh of relief when Flynn confirmed he was only joking about the bath thing. She didn't want to have to try explaining such a thing to someone older than her. "Well... it's good to be clean." She starts then gets an idea. "Just like how you mention you clean your sword. Isn't the sword meant to be an extension of its user or something like that? Best to clean yourself as well, right?" She tries to suggest. Gods, he even said he was joking. Why was she still trying to explain this to him?

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"They say the City of Heroes wasn't built in a day, after all. I was taught at a young age to hone my senses and to not rely on my eyesight alone," Flynn said as he dismounted. "I had to use my ears more than my eyes at night. With practice, you can master any skill you want."

The young man gave an enthusiastic nod in agreement, smiling, "You would be horribly lost without me, Miss Irenes. I would be going insane with nothing but the rustling grass and the occasional animal for company. I don't like when it gets too quiet. It's very eerie. Especially at night, but we don't need to worry about that for the time being."

The swords man felt his face flush as red as his hair at Irene's description. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head as he cleared his throat. "I suppose so. Being remembered and loved is better than being remembered and hated," Flynn mused. "Though, being remembered as something cool, like the Wolf of Sacae. That sounds far better than a rabbit, wouldn't you agree?"

Flynn smiled and laughed at the young women's relief at learning he was joking. He paused and thought about what she said. The troubadour had a point. His sword was an extension of his arm. The Sacaen nodded before speaking again, "You make an excellent point. I'll take a bath as well. What do you suppose we do after that, though? Between you and me, I'm famished and wouldn't mind getting some food to eat.