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Post by Tidfe on Aug 26, 2014 18:15:44 GMT -8
Cain listened as Gambit and Brains took a tumble. A couple of black ones soon joined, crawling into Anari's lap. They prefer the soft warmth of her lap as opposed to Cain's. Nodding slowly, Cain swirled his fingers in the sand and felt the rough grains slide past his bones. "You did it cause he was a bully that was just using the excuse of 'resistance' rebels to take advantage of your town. You saved a young girl from a fate that some often says is worse than death. You did not throw it away for nothing Anari. You may not know the exact reason why you did what you did, but there is no doubt in my mind that you did the right thing at the time. The right way could be more questionable, but I'm not one of those that worries too much about the moral consequences and what ifs and the like. Do you think you did the right thing?"
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Post by Anari on Aug 26, 2014 20:45:10 GMT -8
Anari sighed, leaning back into the sand and the warm gentle weight of the echee settled in her lap, helping to diffuse the tension in her.
"I do. I know it was the right thing. To this day I remember the look of thankfulness in her father's eyes when the DHS lay defeated at my feet. They vanished the next day. I think the rebels may have found them and taken the entire family into hiding, to protect then." She gave a dry laugh. It was funny - she'd heard practically the same thing from the rebels (with a few more insults thrown in) but it was only in hearing it from Cain, who had never seen a Dragon Highlord Soldier or their masters, who had never stepped foot on her world, that she actually -listened,- and truly heard it. She smiled, and put a hand on his boney shoulder. "Thank you, Cain. I needed to hear that I think. Not just have someone say it, but really -hear- it."
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 26, 2014 21:11:35 GMT -8
Cain grinned at her. "That is the difference isn't it? You can hear something, but are you really listening to what the person is saying? I'm just glad that I was the one to finally get it through you thick skull. Most likely." Realizing that he might had just insulted her again, he placed his hands up and waved them rapidly. "I mean. Not to say you are stupid or anything or actually have a thick skull. Just more like you are stubborn. Which is to say you are constantly stubborn. Just...I'm not helping much am I?" Letting out a small sigh, he started to dig a human skull sized hole in the sand. "I should do like the myth says to do and duck my head in the sand before I stick my foot in my mouth any more."
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Post by Anari on Aug 26, 2014 22:04:02 GMT -8
Anari chuckled again, patting his shoulder.
"No, you're helping quite a bit. And it's true anyhow." She shrugged casually. "I am stubborn, and thick-headed sometimes. My old captain said it was an asset at moments, because I would get set on a case and wouldn't let it go, no matter how lost I might get in the process. Besides, I don't think Brains would appreciate it if you got her nest filled up with a lot of sand. She'd probably scold you." Again she caught herself teasing him. Finally deciding to voice her amusement, she smirked sidelong at the skeleton and asked, "Just what is it about you that's made me more relaxed around someone than I've been for the past year?"
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 27, 2014 15:45:59 GMT -8
"No. No she wouldn't." He had to chuckle, already having been scolded by the small rodent a time or two. It was more cute than scary, though Cain did try and take her words to heart. Which weren't easy when you couldn't understand a thing the little gal was saying. The skeleton had a fun time imagining what sort of words the skull lodging rodent said and would end up trying to hide his laughter from the small rodent. Tilting his head slightly at the question, he shrugged. "The dead tells no secrets and no lies? Cause technically, I am dead...I just also happen to be walking around much like you or Terris." He shrugged, not really knowing how to answer her question much beyond that.
Sometimes people trusted other people almost instantly. There was really no explanation for it though.
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Post by Anari on Aug 27, 2014 16:34:05 GMT -8
"Technically, but somehow I think you could lie and tell secrets if you want to. You act more alive than undead." As her strength finally recovered, Anari stretched and rubbed her thigh a bit to get the last kink out. "While Dorth's resting, how about we go get those flowers she requested? If you're up to it that is." In full honesty, Anari was enjoying herself so much she really didn't want to part from the sksleton's company, at least not yet. It had been quite some time since she had actually spent time with someone she considered a friend.
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 27, 2014 19:52:39 GMT -8
"True. I could lie. I do it often enough in my old line of work." Seeing her stretch, he quickly stood to follow suit, bending his joints to get them back in working order and seeing which ones needed to have the sand emptied from them. Quickly fixing that, he nodded. "I would love to accompany you. It is either that or waiting around here for something to happen. Plus. It prolongs my bathing." The two echee that had been her Anari's lap had tumbled out of it once they saw her stretch and Cain stand. Bye bye warm lap! You were fun!
Giving tiny waves, they scampered over to egg on Gambit and Brains as Cain offered Anari a hand up. "Know any good spots to pick any flowers?" Cain only had a few in mind, but he knew those as did almost everyone. He wanted to see if she had noticed any new ones. Exploring was always nice. Especially when you had someone who could put you back together if something went wrong.
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Post by Anari on Aug 28, 2014 3:49:28 GMT -8
Anari accepted the hand up after giving the two echee a stroke or two, as it made standing easier on her right leg. She fully got to her feet with a small grunt, dusting off sand, smiling in amusement at the waves.
"Personally? No, but then again other than here, the only real place I've been is the town. But if there's a particular area you usually get them, why not go to the opposite. Like I know there are plenty of flowers in the grasslands, but what about mountain flowers? I think about the only places we wouldn't have much luck would be either a desert or tundra." She was picking up on his exploratory side, as for the first time it occurred to the woman that every inch of this world was new to her. She'd never seen the mountains, or the deserts, or anything of that nature. Anari felt a grin appear on her face. "I'm up for going on a little adventure, if you are!"
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 28, 2014 16:23:44 GMT -8
Cain laughed and shook his head, but not out of saying no or anything like that. "I'm always up for a little adventure. Hmm...I've let to really explore the mountains. Think you can handle it though after getting an egg dropped on you? I'm not too sure on what exactly live in the mountains and so don't what is and is not dangerous. Not to mention what might like to take a back out of your backside. They usually leave mine alone." Laughing just a bit at that, he turned towards the mountains. "But yes. You are right. The most common flowers for this place is the meadows. I haven't thought about looking in the opposite direction."
He started walking slowly in that direction in case Anari changed her mind about taking on the mountains. "As for desert flowers...There are such things, but they are quite rare so I wouldn't go picking them if you do find them. Not unless they look like they almost have already lived their entire life." After all, it wouldn't do any good when you pick a flower like that before it had a chance to make others of its kind. That is how extinctions happen. Most of the time.
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Post by Anari on Aug 29, 2014 8:30:07 GMT -8
Above them as they were departing, a dragon winked out of between, and upon suddenly hearing the beat of leathery wings Anari flinched, her posture cringing for a moment before she straightened again.
“Yeah, definitely time to pick flowers. I think I’ve reached my dragon-limit for the moment.” Inwardly she was frustrated at her reactions. Even when she’d been helping turn the eggs, she’d felt a knot of tension in her abdomen, whispering of danger that logically she knew wasn’t there, but mentally couldn’t shake. Cain’s joking and laughter were good for her though, and her spirits lifted enough that by the time he was talking about the creatures that might live in the mountains she was able to tease back..
“I can see why they would leave you alone – no meat on your bones.” She held up a hand apologetically for the bad (and possibly insulting) pun, though as much as he’d poked at his own skeletal state, she hoped it was alright. “But I’m feeling mostly alright, as good as I was when we first started talking. The egg more just winded me, and if anything threatens…” She took a step to the side so he wouldn’t think she was threatening him, drew her flail, and spun it through the air so it whistled in the wind. After a couple of whirls she returned it to its holster and resumed walking beside Cain, feeling a small rush as wielding her preferred weapon again. “Well, we’ll just have to make sure it decides we’re not appetizing!” After a moment of silence, during which she gave him a glance out of the corner of her eyes, noting his warrior’s step that confirmed her suspicions, she asked, “So, before you became a skeleton, what were you? I mean, besides alive and fleshy and all that.” She flashed a grin before she continued her line of thinking. “I can tell from the way you move, even now, that you were a warrior of some sort. I was just curious if you were a mercenary, or a gladiator, or a watch, or what.”
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 29, 2014 18:32:33 GMT -8
"Understandable." Looking back at her, he had to laugh. "Yep. Not many go after the sticky ones like me." He shook his head at the apologetic hand. The only thing he wanted an apology for was the bad pun, but considering there was no good puns, he let it go. Not like he was really mad though. He liked it when people teased him back. Made him feel more alive. The quick demonstration had him attempting to whistle. She could wield that weapon! No doubt about that. Not that Cain had much of one to begin with, but it was always nice to have it confirmed. Hearing the question, Cain honestly could not help being a smart ass.
"I was a dashing handsome young man who got all the ladies and quite a few gentlemen!" Laughing a little bit, he shook his head. "You are close. I was what was called a knight and then, while I was still a knight, I was also a hunter. So what gave away the fact that I was a warrior? Well...Guess I still am in a way. Just a different type." He was still curious. If someone could pick out something that might be obvious to them, he would like to know so he could try to fix it. While he might not have enemies here, it was always nice to get the surprise on them should one suddenly turn up.
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Post by Anari on Aug 30, 2014 5:46:16 GMT -8
Anari laughed along with him, though she could only make a haphazard guess as to how much truth was in his initial statement. Though his claim of his former profession had her tipping her head, looking at him sidelong.
“A knight? As in wearing heavy armor, born of a noble family, served as a squire under a senior knight, and all that?” She gave a short laugh. “If so, you are far more deserving of the title than the knights I knew growing up! As to what marked you as a warrior –“ Anari paused briefly, thinking back to the first moment the thought had crossed her mind. “Honestly, how you walk is a big part of it. Warriors have a...a balance in their steps that those not used to combat and wielding a weapon lack. I saw how steady you were on the sands, despite how they would shift and move. An average man who has never picked up anything more threatening than a kitchen knife would plod through heavy sand, but a warrior? Never.” She paused briefly to hop a small rock in her path. “But not just your steps. Combat is a whole-body process. Arm movements, posture, all of it told me you had wielded a weapon before. Any lingering doubts were cleared when you moved to try and catch the egg before it fell on me. That speed was a warrior’s reactions. But it’s not just you. Even had Terris not had his armor with him when I first met him, I would’ve known because I saw similar in him, both then and after, like in the Tavern. I’m the same way, too. For example, when I’m startled my arm comes up as if to raise my shield, even though I don’t have it anymore.” She gave a wistful smile. “I still remember my mother saying one day after my training that I had a warrior’s walk in me.” Shaking the memory, she looked again at Cain. “On top of that, there’s just… something, that made me think you’re a warrior. Hard to peg down exactly what, but everything just combined to the result.” Anari smirked. “I don’t think it’s that obvious, but I was trained to be a watch member, then a lieutenant. I read people, their expressions and body language.” The sparkle in her eyes shows perhaps she’d added this last bit after reading something in his said body language to show he’d mayhap been uneasy.
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 30, 2014 19:06:59 GMT -8
Cain listened to her as she spoke, laughing only a little bit as she described a knight. "Very close. I was what was consider a rouge knight so I need not have been born a noble which I was not. Thank goodness. I think my morals would have come out a lot different. And you are right, warriors do have a completely different way of walking. Though be careful about your comment with the sands. Lighter people, which I am among now, and many skilled hunters would also be light on their feet. Rather they come by it naturally or through great practice, they would be use to not putting as much weight on their feet." Pausing for a moment, he let his mind wondered briefly for a moment before he continued to speak. "Though I guess you could classify a hunter as a warrior. Just one that fights with the forces of nature instead of the forces of man."
Though he was glad that his warrior's tells were not that obvious. Catching the last part of her comment, he cast her look. "What body are you reading? Last I checked, bones really did not tell any tales." He wondered if she could correct him. Cain knew that bones had quite a bit of history etched on them if you knew just where and how to look. He also just made the comment for the sake of making the comment and a bad attempt at keeping up his wit. Maybe Cain should just stick to punching things.
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Post by Anari on Aug 31, 2014 5:09:38 GMT -8
“Hmm, very true. Your weight would account for it, possibly –“ Here she grinned, thinking she might have him at this branch of logic. “ – but you would have learned to move around when you were much heavier. A person rarely changes how they walk over the years, barring a crippling injury.” –That- she knew for sure, from personal experience! “Though if you’d been like this for a good duration, yes, adjusting to your weight would have given you the lighter step. And I notice some healed fractures and breaks. While I suppose some might be from after your transformation, I’ve never heard of a skeleton whom could heal naturally and even so, there are more than a non-warrior would have. If you could see my bones, I’m certain I’d have quite a few myself. Seems I always had a habit of jumping between other people and weapons being swung at them. Temple healers hated seeing me come in, because I used up so many of their supplies!”
“As for reading you, pardon if I may say so, but for not having flesh attached to your bones you still move sometimes as if you do. When you were asking what gave you away as a warrior, your shoulders straightened slightly, as if you were a little tense. I take that to mean my mentioning it made you uneasy.” She shifted her own shoulders in a similar motion to demonstrate. “I’m sorry if I was being too invasive with it. I’ve been told I seem to analyze people without realizing I’m doing it. Old habits I suppose.”
Ahead of them about twenty-five feet, there was a low rumble, and then a gout of steam hissed up like a geyser, making Anari gasp and stumble back, a misstep that was aggravated by her putting too much weight to her right, though she saved her balance (and her dignity) by not tumbling right onto her backside at least!
“What was that?!”
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 31, 2014 14:54:44 GMT -8
Cain had jumped as well, hissing slightly as some of the superheated water landed on his bones. Backing away from it, he eyed the spot it had erupted. "A geyser. Did not realize we were so close to a hot spring or geothermal ground. We should back track and find a different route. Usually spots around geysers are highly unstable and the water below is so hot, I would not surprise if it could cook a dragon." He took another step back, eyes now on the ground looking for any signs of geothermal activity. "As for how long I've been a skeleton. Well over 475 years if my math has not been off." He shrugged then even as he gave a smile. "And yes. You are right, I do tend to move as if I still have flesh. It helps blending in and making my intentions clear. The unease was mainly for, if you could see what I am, could my enemies as well see? Was I missing something obvious? Glad to know I really wasn't."
Finding the edge of what he believed to the geyser land, he waved her over. "Old habits do die hard, but that is not a bad habit so for you, I hope it never dies. As for the geysers...I think we should be okay here. I think."
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