In the Dark of the Night (Open)

[Alex]

Rubbing his grazed, stubbly chin, Alex painfully got to his feet, barely noticing the girl's attempts at getting a response. As soon as he placed his right foot on the ground however, he immediately buckled. "Damn, I think I twisted my ankle." He observed, not really to anyone in particular. Crawling over to his tome, still neglecting to look up at the (relatively) short girl standing over him, he almost casually murmured "Nothing hurt but my pride; It's a wolf cub and, no, we just travel together; What kind of little girl are you?" Upon this last statement, he quickly turned over to sit and snatched the wolf cub up into his arms protectively, only now realising what the girl had said.

"Wait, where are you *ahem* friends? That you were travelling with just now? The long haired boy and the...pretty one..." He trailed off, just quiet enough that the small blue-haired girl couldn't hear. Once again composing himself, he didn't wait for an answer before changing the subject. "Er, what's your name? I'm Alex. This is...well, I've not really given him a name yet." He continued, looking down into the eyes of his wolf cub companion.

[Nyroshea]

Nyro smiled complacently overhearing how tenderly the Etrurian girl handled the small bundle of joy. She was a tad finicky, but not a bad person over all. Like most Etrurians she had that zealous nature underlining her kindness, perhaps it was her faith that molded her into the person she was today after all? Maybe? Or maybe he'd been thinking too much. Regardless, he felt the meeting was one blessed by some force in the sky or another. Could it have been the will of the silverwind? 'This was good.', all the same.

"Emily, huh? I will remember that name well... Tis a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance~" speaking of remembering things -- the small girl was helping him remember something too. That sense of deja vu became all the more intense as he felt her tiny embrace. ..... It was probably that girl from the pub after all. "Huh, I guess we have, Liv~ It's nice to see you again!" he winds up lifting the small girl off her feet and gives her a whirl around, it was so good to see a familiar face after such a long period without contact, twas almost like seeing a deceased loved one raise back from the dead. Setting her back down and dusting her off, he'd double check to make sure his other comrade [friend?] was well dressed and ready to set off.

"The next village is a few hours trek from here, but not all too far... The secret to safe travel is, that if we used the woods, we're less likely to be assaulted by brigands who wait on the path--" he cut himself off shortly. Realizing they were short one adventurer. Did she trail off on her own!? .... Oh no there she was--and--she rushed off again!

In silence, Nyro smiles waveringly. 'This is a blessing? ... This is more like a sign that my life is headed in a direction with too many tribulations yet to come...' But he did not give chase, she came back the first time right? Maybe she'd come back again. He instead redirected his attention to his satchel, making sure he had everything, and then to Emily, making certain she'd stayed in arms reach. "We should make haste, we're burning moonlight~ And lamp oil~" he whimsically moved onward, hoping to catch Liv before she could stray too far.

Where was she?!

He already felt himself starting to panic internally. He was sure she'd be back as swiftly as last time, but she wasn't! Did something happen to her? Did she fall into a pit somewhere? Get swallowed by the ocean?! ... No that was ridiculous, they were nowhere near the ocean. "Liv?!... Liiiiiv!" he placed both hands over his mouth, calling for her -- with some restraint. After all, he didn't want to alert any dangerous animals, monsters, or bandits -- and figured she shouldn't be too far off. Geeze, this would be a good time to know some coded animal calls.

"Erm, we should probably find her ... Her sister wouldn't be happy if something happened to her." he begrudgingly mumbled to Emily, "I'm sorry." it wasn't really his fault, but he found himself apologizing for her actions anyway--knowing they were burning up the precious moonlight he so told Emily not to.

[Deleted]

Despite all their best efforts Liv had turned and run off elsewhere and Nyro was in a panic. “Nyro! She’s right…” ‘She’ continued in a panic franticly searching. “She’s” Cut off again. Emily rolled her eyes and crossed her arms until Nyro declared they needed to go find her.
“You’re done? Good, she went that way.” Emily pointed directly behind them and led the way. “Liv!” she called. It did not take long to overtake the position. “There you a-… who is this?” Emily looked curiously down at yet another stranger in the forest this time a boy. Noticing the wolf cub Emily quickly pulled Liv behind her and drew her sword, or what existed of it. “Stay back Liv! It could be…” The thing looked terrified of the sudden hostilities.
Realizing this Emily sheathed her blade. “You two alright?” she asked helping Alex to stand, all the meanwhile keeping a very wary eye on the wolf. She quickly rounded on Liv, “You should never run off like that! What if something happened to you, or you were kidnapped again?” She sighed heavily. “At least you’re okay.”
She turned on Alex a stern look in her eyes. “Now then, who are you?” She was not angry or hostile, just… cautious to the point of appearing as such. Her stance was firm and her arms crossed but her sword was not drawn as she meant no threat to him. He looked to need a shave too, though she would not address that now.

[Alex]

Looking away, almost painfully as a show of the sheer effort he was exerting not to have one of his little "episodes". "I don't know who I am...I just...well, I just woke up in a bush a few minutes ago..." He said. Looking up at Emily for the first time, Alex was even more stunned than before. Despite the stern look on her face, there was something that was just perpetually beautiful about her. Was it her deep and innocent eyes? Or her well groomed hair? Or her soft face, which even now seemed to blush slightly; Not in embarrassment, but in radiant beauty. Everything about her just seemed perfect to Alex, who wrapped his arm around her a little more as she supported him with his "good" foot. Just being close to her was a comfort. Realising that she was staring shrewdly at Kip, Alex felt it appropriate to clarify his nature for Emily. "Oh, it's fine, he's not hostile at all...quite friendly, to be honest. He's just lonely and, well scared..." He trailed off. "Just like me..." He thought to himself, biting his head and bowing his head so his face could not be seen as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Kip meanwhile had simply trotted around Emily's "weapon" and had started licking Liv's ankle. It was clear to see that Kip had taken quite a liking to Liv, who he also seemed to view as some sort of mother figure, despite having only met the girl a few minutes ago, if that.

"So...heh...what brings you here?" Alex asked Emily nervously, just for the sake of trying to make meaningful interactions with Emily. "I mean, you're obviously not with any army or convoy, and it's a little late to be out here, so what gives?"

[Deleted]

(OOC: I am very sorry for my absence, if you all will stick with the thread I would appreciate it but if you want out, especially since I am prone to absence I will not hold it against you.)

This Alex looked honest enough but he asked the questions that Emily would like to have an answer to herself. "I am terribly sorry for your losses but, look at it like this, whatever tragedy befell you you can thank Elimine that you are alive. Also you can rebuild anew while perhaps leaving things best forgotten unknown." She spoke enthusiastically and perhaps out of turn. It was not her suffering from not knowing after all.

She then addressed his line of inquiry into her. With a beaming grin and a pounded fist against her breastplate her voice boomed in the night, "I am an inquisitor for the church. My job is to root out conspiracy and heresy in the priesthood. I carry the legacy of the Lady Fein and I follow the orders set before my by Saint Elimine." A bold boast and dangerous around anyone hostile. Were there enemies in the dark? She knew not, it did not appear as though any of them knew. If there were though they were surely alerted by now.

"We are heading to the nearest town in order to rest and visit the local church," or at least she was. "Perhaps someone there will recognize you and can get you back on your feet. If not, I am traveling to Bern and I would be most eager to have all of you accompany me there. I have full faith this meeting was one brought by the saint herself."

[Alex]

Alex considered. Emily seemed nice enough and it didn't take a genius to realise that there was safety in numbers. Besides, these people were all children his own age, so he figured he could at least make some friends, even if he didn't really know how he felt about Emily yet. There was something about her that he just found attractive, but then again, this was the first girl he had really met aside from Liv; He likely just found her presence comforting. Alex stood up. "Alright," He said, slightly cheered by the thought of having friends. "I didn't really have anywhere to be going anyway, so I guess I could go and visit Bern." And, perhaps for the first time in a long while, Alex smiled. It felt good. Everything was a new experience to him, and he was going to try and enjoy all of them.

Alex opened his left hand, and his spell book with it, and with his right hand held a small flame in his hand. "I'm a Mage, by the way...or I will be soon...I just kinda remembered that." He said, grinning sheepishly. Bits and pieces were coming together now. He was travelling the world in order to train and become a fully fledged Mage. He couldn't yet remember what he was going to do after achieving this particular goal, though. He would just have to see what happened. "So...where is Bern then? I...don't really remember much about anything, really..." He said apologetically.

(Well, as you can tell, I'm sticking to this. I don't know if anyone else is, though, hence me posting now. If the others decide to continue, I'll keep Alex's turn as being after Emily.)

[Ventus Stoll]

(OOC: I saw this thread and just decided that I might as well join it. I'm just going to follow your guys lead if that's okay.)

Ventus and his companion Aria were continuing along the main road to Ilia from Delfia. After meeting each other not to long ago, they talked a lot about their interests, dislikes, and just what made up each of them.

"So you like the color blue, your favorite foods are fruits, and you are known to be generous. Well those are some good details to keep in mind. What about me huh? Can you remember details about me?" Ventus asked his new friend wondering whether or not she was actually listening to him earlier.

"Well Ventus your favorite color is green, your favorite food is any type of meat, and ... you are known to be a swift runner." She said in triumph knowing that she remembered correctly. Ventus looked at her laughed. Seems like she will be a good friend as well as a good companion. As she walked forward a bit ahead of Ventus, the pupil took the chance to look at Aria. Her white robes were still clean considering that she begun her travels a few days back. Her dark blue hair ran a little bit longer than her shoulders and was mostly straight. Ventus picked up the pace a little so that he could catch up to her. Suddenly, they both stopped after hearing what seemed like a beast of some sort.

"Did you hear that?" Ventus asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yes, it sounded like ... like a wolf or something. It's getting pretty late so we need to be extremely careful." She told him with concern in her eyes.

"Wait! That sounded like people's voices. What if that beast is hurting them? We need to go check." Ventus declared and led Aria into the woods off the road. Aria looked at him with a scared look and followed directly behind him, hoping to St. Elimine that no one would get seriously hurt...

[Deleted]

“Honestly, I have never been to Bern myself, but it is to the South of here. If you can’t remember even that much then there is a lot of ground we’ll have to cover in your… I guess training we can call it.” If he cannot remember even the lay of the land then he must be suffering a major case of amnesia. She looked him over as best she could in the dark, the burst of flame he produced was helpful with that, though it did make her have to readjust to the dark.

His tome was recognizable to anyone that has dealt with a mage in the past, the basic of the basics. “Do you have any notes or anything about yourself written in there? You never know what you could find between the lines.” It ought to be worth a look, whether it came to fruition or not.

Her mind came back to Bern now, “But more on Bern, they are in the middle of a rebellion ever since the Illian occupation. To be expected really. I am hoping to find something in the ruins of Hargus’s old base. I don’t know what I expect to find but… I hope there could be answers to what is happening.” She just went from talking about the place to her mission. “Sorry, uh,” She pressed two fingers to her forehead, let’s get going. The town should not be too far if Nyroshea can get us there in this dark.”

She stepped with the intent to lead on when sudden footsteps rang in the night. More people? Was this even possible? How impractical for so many to meet off the road, all coming from different places, and all but her a young mage in training, very curious activities this night. "Everyone get back!" Grasping the shaft of her lance she pushed Alex behind her and braced herself.

[Alex]

"If I had anything on my person about me before, it's gone by now. All I have is this tome and the clothes on my back." Alex was glad that Emily had been trusting rather than apprehensive, not least because he was extremely vulnerable at the moment, with little orientation and still relearning his skills. Still, he couldn't help but give a small chuckle. "You? Train me? You can't be any older than I am; You certainly don't look like an experienced Inquisitor either." He stopped. How did he know what an Inquisitor look like? Had he seen one before he'd lost his memory? Weird. Whatever it was, it would have to wait. Just the party was setting off, they heard more footsteps coming towards them.

Feeling Emily's hand on his chest made Alex feel like a firework was going off in his stomach, causing him to give a small yelp. However, once he had regained composure, Alex decided to actually be of some use rather than let himself get confused by his situation. Relighting the flame in his hand, Alex increased its intensity and held it out above his head so the group had good light with which they could see these mysterious newcomers. "Wait a minute, please." Alex said to Emily. "I think I recognise this one..." He turn to Ventus. "Uh...sorry, it appears I can't quite recall your name. Please bear with me." Alex was racking his brains.This boy looked so familiar; Had they met before? He finally gave up. Half closing his eyes and hunching over in exasperation, he turned to the other boy. "Fine. I give up. What was your name again?"

[Ventus Stoll]

"Fine. I give up. What was your name again?"

Have I met this guy before? Ventus wasn't sure whether this guy was really trying to trick him or if Ventus just couldn't remember him. At least the young man was acting kind towards Ventus and Aria, but mostly Ventus though since the guy seemed to believe they knew each other. He seemed to have some ability with magic since he was able to control fire in his hand. Maybe this guy was training with magic just like him. In the corner of his eye, Ventus could see that Aria was giving him a look of reassurance saying that Ventus should trust the strange fellow.

"My name is Ventus. Ventus Stoll to be exact. This is my companion and friend Aria. She is a traveling cleric that wants to explore the world just like me. What is your name? What is her name too?" Ventus wondered if he should pry into why this fellow was seemingly alone with this girl that seems intent on protecting him. The pupil decided that it would be best to ask what was happening just to make sure everyone was okay. "So um ... what is happening here? Why are you guys just hanging out in the woods in the dark?" Ventus and Aria looked around both looking for the beast that they heard earlier. They haven't seen anything that might have made the noise yet. Hopefully whatever it was wouldn't be too dangerous and harmful towards anyone.

[Deleted]

Though quite doubtful that it was the intent Emily almost felt insulted by Ventus. An insult to her pride, he regarded Alex more and directed his questions to him. He was the one with no memories and he thought he was a better choice for dialogue than her. Her cheeks puffed with air before she exhaled coming to her senses. This would be a very petty thing to make a scene out of. Though she suspected it was because he was a male he thought he would be the leader, how sexist. No, stop it Emily, don’t overanalyze something like that, though perhaps she ought to establish her part of this relationship?
Clearing her throat Emily jabbed her lance into the ground in order to make a noticeable movement of power. “I can introduce myself thank you. I am Emily,” All well and good but where does she take this one from here? “And his name is Alex. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you.” She felt an unnecessary hostility towards the two, why would it be so odd to have two people out after dark? People travel do they not?
“I am out here because I am travelling and well… we just found him a moment before you showed up.” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, “Now then, why are YOU TWO out here? Not out here for anything that would prompt you to need to attend a confession now I hope?” She failed to not be petty, something she would beret herself for later and find herself at confession ironically.

[Alex]

Alex gave a kind of flinch. "Ouch," He thought to himself. "What's up with her?" However, he quickly swept away his questions in order to concentrate on what was important. "As Emily has said, I'm Alex. I think I'm pretty sure I'm from Etruria and I know I'm a Mage in training, but other than that, I don't really remember anything. You certainly look familiar...kind of, but your name isn't helping me remember anything. Maybe I just met someone who looks like you do some time ago?" By this point Alex was mostly talking to himself, forgetting that there were others around him as he tried to pinpoint Ventus' identity aloud. After some talking, Alex was finally brought back down to earth by an almost worried look from Emily.

"Uh, yeah...so I don't really think I've met you to be honest. Maybe I have, maybe I haven't, but sifting through vague memories and fabrications is a struggle right now..." Alex turned to Emily "I think maybe we should rest for the night before continuing on. We all look tired enough as it is and I don't think Ventus or Aria have any ill intentions, so we should be able to trust them, right?" Alex quietly realised at this point that he had briefly taken control of the situation. Maybe it was because he was in the company of people his own age who trusted and listened to him, but Alex was already becoming more confident in himself. Though he wasn't aware of it, losing his memories could have been one of the best things that ever happened to Alex.

[Ventus Stoll]

Ventus just sort of blinked at Emily's statement. He was confused. Did I do something to offend her? I hope not. Just as Ventus was about to make a response, Aria jumped in.

"I'm sorry Dame Emily. I believe my friend here is just trying to understand what connection him and Sir Alex have." She turned to Alex and gave a smile. She returned her gaze back to Emily, "As for what we are doing out here in the middle of the night, I can assure you that nothing inappropriate is happening. Me and Ventus are just friends and besides I'm a cleric of the Elimine Church. Ventus is on an adventure to simply explore Elibe. I joined him since I am on a mission to spread the faith of Elimine across Elibe." She finished and looked back to Ventus,

"Yes, she is correct. However she forgot to mention why we pulled off the road and found you guys. We heard something, a creature of some sort. Aria has heard of the existence of demon dogs and so we were both worried that someone might have been in danger. Of course, I find it hard to believe that demon dogs would be able to be in such a holy place like Etruria, but we just wanted to check." Ventus turned back to Alex after hearing his suggestion of resting. "Well I wasn't to sure if we met either. I suppose a good rest wouldn't be bad. What do you think Aria?"

"I think that is a splendid idea!" She said ecstatically. Ventus nodded and looked back to Emily.

"You can lead the way. It is okay if we rest with you guys though right?" Ventus hoped she would accept.

[Deleted]

Emily's face flushed. She spoke out of anger and quickly assumed the worst in a sort of petty revenge. "I- excuse me. I apologize for my transgressions." She hung her head before recomposing herself with dignity. Addressing Aria she appeared much more serene. “It is always a pleasure to meet a fellow sister of the church.” She held out a hand to shake.

Her immature display highlighted her lack of experience as well as cemented the idea of Alex as the more sensible of the two. He took charge and brought the talks to a normal state before Aria finished it off. As they asked her to lead the way she could not shake the feeling of being pandered to but it would only make things worse to refuse the role now.

The group began the dark trek through the woods and back to the road. “So, the sounds you heard were a wolf. It seems Alex here has an affinity for them.” She looked down at the beast as if to confirm it really did exist. “I fear what we may encounter in our travels but I have faith Elimine will watch over us all and deliver us safely wherever we go.”

The lights from the town were visible, though deceptively far off. “I fear it may be sunrise before we’d arrive but we could all rest at the church then.” Most would suggest the inn but with a young inquisitor and cleric the church seemed quite doable… and free. “What do you guys think? I’d rather not stay out and risk something, or someone unpleasant finding us. Even if there are a lot of us.”

[Alex]

Alex picked up his wolf cub companion, mulling over the group's options. As Emily had noted, they were numerous, but they were only children, with Alex and Emily seemingly being the oldest among them. Despite this, they were well off the beaten path and so it was unlikely they would be ambushed by brigands. As well as this, the younger members of the group were becoming tired, some already drifting off as they spoke. Glancing towards the lights in the distance and then back down to his feet, one finger curled over his chin, Alex tried to decide what the preferable option would be. He himself didn't feel tired, having only woken up that evening, and the night wasn't too hot or cold to the point of disrupting rest. Turning to Emily somewhat apologetically, as if to soften the blow of his disagreement towards her, despite the insignificance any momentary disagreement would hold, Alex voiced his thoughts.

"If I may, Emily; I can see the younger ones of our company all ready falling asleep where they stand; They need their rest, but having to carry them and their supplies would slow us down considerably and we likely wouldn't reach the next town until late into the morning. It isn't too cold to camp out tonight, and if we went a little into the forest we would likely be safe from any potential threats. I'm certainly not tired, so I'd be more than happy to sit up throughout the night to keep watch in case anything does happen. If that's alright with you...?" Alex made sure that it was clear to Emily that his suggestion was merely that, for fear of hurting her feelings or seeming confrontational.