A Knight Off Duty (open)

[Kavran]

Timestamp: 27th of Spring
Time of Day: 9:02 pm
Location: Streets of Syliras- Residential District

The warm air around Kavran buffeted his loose-fitting civilian clothes, which were basically dark brown pants, boots, and vest with a black shirt; the gleaming pommel of a bastard sword in its scabbard glinted every now and then. The silver belt buckle gleamed softly in the light of the torches on the street, and a pale sliver of the moon poking out from behind the clouds barely provided any light whatsoever. The reason for Kavran's unofficial garment was his workday having been completed, and for an off-duty Knight, Kavran didn't quite look the part. His features were still frozen in that severe and calculating half-frown, though the life in his eyes was unmistakable. He had enough time now to do whatever pleased him, and due to his position, that entailed almost anything he could think of at any given moment. However, he was a well-minded man, and the concept of excessive drinking or otherwise debilitating activities didn't appeal to him in the least.

Instead, Kavran had opted for a walk. More often than not, he observed, one could encounter interesting people and situations after nightfall, and especially in the Commercial and Residential districts of Syliras. This interest in learning of new people and, possibly, a friend or two, was the main attraction. Always up for new faces and allies, Kavran was desperate for any companionship to help him through his monotonous routines. He was a good Knight, and a loyal one at that, but sometimes the weight of his duties was so much that it made a social life impossible. However, for most of his life, Kavran wasn't used to interaction with others anyway, so this lack of camaraderie contributed to his yearning for companions. His loneliness had been growing ever since his foster-father had retired, and with no one to share his experiences with, Kavran felt alone in the world.

The carrion birds circling overhead cawed with hunger and irritation, as if asking why everyone lived for so long around the city. The cobble-stone streets were bustling with people moving from bar to bar, and the other establishments were closing down- save for the ones that thrived on late night activity like pawners, hotels, and the odd brothel or two. Kavran ignored most of the people moving around, but kept a close eye on everything and everyone else. Be it a human, animal, or otherwise, the Knight kept his attentions on anything that got what he considered to be "too close" to him. He was familiar with Kelvics and their odd magic, and he was distrustful of animals as well as people, since he understood exactly what magic could do. This lack of trust steered him to a dimly-lit tavern, and although he didn't go in, Kavran could still hear the ruckus and shouting going on inside. A few feet away from him, two young men were arguing over something that the Knight was unaware of, due to his late arrival.

"...away from her, d'you hear me?" The taller of the two shouted, his messy blonde hair hanging in front of his too-delicate features. He had the air of someone who was used to getting his way, and wore clothes that made Kavran wince when he thought of the condition of the clothes he had at the boy's age. He never had any garments quite that nice, or anywhere near the level of workmanship as the garb went.

"She's not yours to order around!" The shorter one bellowed. His eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated. Kavran briefly noted the black nails on the young man's hands, and the tufts of hair growing off the sides of his face. A collar went around his neck, and the shabby make of his ragged clothes. His body language and odd way of speaking made everything clear, and Kavran made a decision that was rather uncommon for a Knight of Syliras to make.

Walking over to the two boys, Kavran held up his hand to get their attention. Immediately, their eyes narrowed at him- clearly he was unwanted here. Not caring about their delicate feelings, though, the Knight plowed through.
"Sir," he said to the blonde human boy. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to move on and leave this Kelvic alone."

At this, the Kelvic seemed surprised that he was spotted so easily for what he was, and the blonde boy "hmphed" his incredulity and tilted his chin up to say something, but Kavran silenced him again with another short gesture.
"You don't want to argue with me, kid. I'm not in the mood for your petty squabbling. Now... take it elsewhere. If I have to tell you a third time, there's going to be trouble."

"Now, you look here," the blonde one said with a snarl, poking his finger into Kavran's chest. "I don't know who in Sylir's name you think you are, but when my father hears about this-"

As quickly as it had started, Kavran reached up and grabbed the boy's finger and twisted it sharply backward, hearing the bones creak and the ligaments pop from the strain. The boy fell to his knees, and Kavran simply glared at the Kelvic as if saying, 'Get out of here right now.' The Kelvic teenager nodded silently and sprinted away, running to whomever he served. Glancing back to the troublemaker of the two boys, Kavran simply leaned closer and hissed,
"I outrank your father, kid. And if you test me, I'll have you thrown in prison for disrupting the peace. Now..." Kavran wrenched the finger one last time until he heard another small pop and released the boy's hand, who stumbled to his feet immediately.
"Go."

If looks could kill, Kavran would have been burnt to a crisp, but as it was, the boy simply reigned in his impotent rage and ran off in the opposite direction the Kelvic had. Kavran nodded to himself and sighed.
"Kids these days... No respect."

[Elliot Skythorn]

Elliot awaited for the nightfall for a long time, and now that it was finally upon him, he sighsed slowly while walking into the residential district of Syralis. Everything was so quiet at first glance, but he knew better than to suspect everyone was asleep, as he moved through the silence he passed by any stranger while only glancing his eyes upon them before sliding further into the calm night. He always loved the night, for even he who never could fit in when standing next to regular people could be one from the masses, just as subtle and just as boring.
He moved further and further until he heard a rather peculiar noise, at least for this hour, but as he moved his head towards the source of it, it was already too late to dodge it as he saw a young man rushing towards him.
His natural reflexes took over as he took the kid`s strength to his advantage and threw him over his shoulder while not making any unneccesary movements. Looking down at the boy he thought about telling him to slow down, but as he remembered how he was a few years back he just sighsed while reaching out his right hand helping the kid up, only to see him gone the next moment. There was no doubt about it, the kid was a Kelvic, but what could he have been so scared of, he did not know, but he did not give it too much thought either as he continued to cruise the night.
Walking was always pleasant for him, at least when he was not frowned upon as a freak, and after all it has been so long since he last gave himself a night out, out of the everyday madness he faced. The rules of his game were simple, do not provoke anyone unless provoked first and do not under any circumstances drop your hood...it all sounded easy...but all plans fail at one or more points, and so he was on his guard as always. Those everyday strangers they called citizens of Syralis were all so wierd today as he could not get the picture of the escaping Kelvic from his head. As he came in front of a tavern he looked around slowly to make himself sure that there is not anyone suspicious around, his thoughts drifted off into the distance as he entered the tavern. He stood at the door as much as one heartbeat only to realize that the wind has blown his hood off of his head, if it was under any other circumstances, he would probbably put it back on that very moment but as it was done by wind, he believed that it was a sign from Zulrav that he can lower his guard down and so he did. Turning his attention to the internal structure of the room only to notice a rather average man looking at him in what he thought was surprise, but with strangers you are never sure so he raised his hand as a manner of saying hello, but since it was tattooed, the stranger might take it the wrong way. Since he was not all that pleasant with this place even with Zulrav telling him it is ok to be off guard, he turned around facing the door and walking out slowly.

[Rythern]

Rythern was bored. But it was a warm night, it was a clear night, and he was in Syliras. All three were relatively good things for Rythern as the nineteen-year-old knife artist wandered the residential district of the city. As was typical, his windrunner, Aeyo, was with him, though tonight Rythern was not a rider - tonight the young Vantha simply led the mare as he walked, absently twirling a throwing knife between the fingers of his right hand as he went.

The knives he carried not out of any necessity for defense - though he could use them for that purpose, and sometimes did - but rather because he liked to include them in his performances. He was a traveling storyteller by trade, knife-thrower by choice, and entertainer at heart, so the fact that he'd decided to stick around in Syliras for a while didn't mean he was just going to sit there counting sheep.

He particularly liked to watch the more interesting individuals as he passed them by. Every person was another image. The impressions people made on him winked at him from their vantage point in his brain, clashing and blending to weave sparks and stories and bright language. Especially here. Syliras especially intrigued Rythern, with its wild hodgepodge of shops and startling variety of people. In Syliras, it was all clash, no blend. Delicious.

It was the reason Rythern had decided impulsively to take a walk here tonight, despite his usual tendency to linger in the market district. See some new people. And anyway, he was bored.

The blade of the knife caught the light from a window and reflected itself in deep blue eyes, which flickered at the sparks of nebulous ideas that drifted through his brain. Maybe he'd do something tonight. Find a good bar somewhere. Tell some good stories. Maybe do some performing.

For the love of Morwen, he was bored.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Rythern nearly found himself knocked into Aeyo by a kid that rounded the corner at a breakneck sprint, clutching one hand with a furious scowl. Rythern leapt out of the way and tugged Aeyo's line with him; the horse snorted and trotted to follow him as if to say, You'd run away from THAT?

The Vantha grinned. "Nah. Reflex."

Aeyo tossed her mane incredulously.

Ahead, he spotted another man who appeared to be looking at him; then Rythern realized the man had been looking after the fleeing boy. He appeared to have muttered something, but Rythern was too far to tell.

Well, why not. He raised a hand and called out a Vani-accented greeting. "Hey."

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts and catch his breath. A group of knights on guard duty had mentioned seeing Sir Deilos walking this street not a minute ago, he wouldn't be hard to find...

...And there he was! By the looks of things, he was getting into trouble, too. Kamrynn's heart raced and he grinned; here was his chance to make an impression on the older knight. Sir Deilos was always so cool and collected, possessed so much poise and class: Even if they rarely associated, Kamrynn had always looked up to him as a role model, the ideal knight, and what he should strive to be.

Sprinting towards the argument as fast as he could, he arrived just in time to see both men fleeing from Kavlan. Of course, Kamrynn thought to himself, coming to an abrupt halt. Why would Sir Deilos need my help dealing with a couple of thugs?

"Sir Deilos," Kamrynn said, hunching over and panting heavily. "I've a message from castle Stormhold:" He swalloed hard between gulps for air. "You, ummm..." And he suddenly realized he had forgotten the message.

His face burned bright red, but luckily there was an interruption just then to hide his forgetfulness.

"Hey!" A voice in a familiar accent called out. Kamrynn perked up. The accent sounded just like his mother's.

[Kavran]

Swirling around him, time seemed to crawl to a standstill while Kavran began to take in several things happening all at once. His focus going to the superhuman level that he was trained to use, his dark eyes narrowed imperiously and barely blinked while shifting his gaze from object to object, person to person.

No more than ten feet away, a young man with differently-colored eyes backed out of the tavern that Kavran himself had opted to not enter. He looked rather new to the area, but Kavran couldn't be entirely certain about that.

"Evening, citizen." Kavran said with his usual crisp accent, one common to the humans of Syliras- more specifically, the upper classes of the city. However, there was a finer distinction between his and the others' accents. While the nobles and merchants had their own dialect, the Knights, who frequently were raised together, also had their own individual way of speech. Kavran possessed this tone, though it was marred by his rather commanding voice.
"Are you lost?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the clanking of metal and heavy breathing drew the last portion of Kavran's attention to the second newcomer in the series. He recalled the face immediately: Kamrynn Sleightyr, a fellow Knight of Syliras. Kamrynn looked to be out of breath, and Kavran simply held up his hand to signal for the other man to catch his breath.

"Slow down, Sir Sleightyr. Gather yourself first..."

Kavran legitimately liked Kamrynn; he reminded him of himself when he was that age. Full of vigor and life, confident that his actions would have an effect on the city streets. But the realization would hit Kavran later on that no matter what he did or how hard he tried, evil refused to die. It was a hard fact of life, one that every Knight had to accept if they ever hoped to get past that barrier and still be able to do what little they could. Not everything was futile, that much was certain. He briefly recalled Kamrynn's skills in the Knighthood and smiled. The younger man was better in swordsmanship, certainly, but one had to learn how to use the most useful tool in the Knight's arsenal- the mind- before one could legitimately have any effect in their position. Though Kamrynn was far from foolish, he was naive and overly-trusting. Two traits that could get him killed one day... Kavran would just have to make certain that never came to pass.

"Now, what is this about a message from Stormhold?"

Rapidly perusing the streets after recognizing the sound of hoofbeats, Kavran spotted another figure that led a horse. He had a rather unassuming appearance, but such things could rarely be relied upon, in Kavran's line of work. The knife that twirled between the fingers of the man caught the Knight's attention quickly, but the attitude of the person wielding it- and the way it as being used so flippantly- led the Knight to the assumption that the blade-wielder wasn't a hostile figure, at the very least. This assumption was backed up once that man raised his hand in a welcoming gesture and he greeted him with a the Vani accent that was quite familiar to Kavran. He was, without a doubt, one who spent a considerable amount of time with crowds. Kavran bent his head to him just slightly and replied,

"Good evening, sir. Can I be of assistance?"

[Rythern]

As Rythern approached the dark-haired man whom he had first greeted, the young Vantha blinked as one figure ahead suddenly became three figures ahead: two others were materializing in the light-speckled dusk as they neared the scene. One was stepping out of a tavern he could see further along the road, not drunk but almost seeming disoriented somehow; the other was a young Syliran Knight skidding toward them in clanking armor.

The young knight approached the first dark-haired man enthusiastically, evidently eager to relay some information. This observation, in addition to the familiarity and the imposing stature of the first dark-haired man, made Rythern wonder if perhaps the first man was a knight as well.

He also noted with some curiosity that the young knight had made an odd sort of reaction when Rythern called out a greeting.

Then as Rythern approached with Aeyo, the dark-haired man turned from greeting the others to greeting him - his voice was commanding and assured as he bent his head briefly. "Good evening, sir. Can I be of assistance?"

Rythern took a moment to consider his response to this question.

Well. It wouldn't hurt. He was bored.

"Sure. I'm Vakya." Rythern gave his stage name and grinned widely at all three strangers, opening the conversation to further introductions. At the same time he was painting rapid, temporary impressions of them in his head - dark-haired man, young knight, tavern-shunner - and he added on a whim,

"Anyone care to hear a story about my horse?"

Aeyo snorted behind him and nudged her nose into the small of his back. Rythern laughed, doubting that she had understood his meaning, but mildly suspecting that she was judging him all the same. Well. So what? He had three good reasons for acting on this particular impulse. First, practice was always good.

Second. He didn't know much yet - scratch that, anything yet - of this potential audience, but he had already decided that he kind of liked them. Even the tavern-shunner despite having barely approached, if only by virtue of the amusing label Rythern had assigned him for the time. The point was that he kind of liked these people and this was promising.

Third, he felt like it. Good enough reason on its own, in his opinion.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn's reprieve was short lived, but perfectly timed.

"What was this about a message from Stormhold?" Kavran requested.

Kamrynn took a deep breath, cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "They wanted me to warn you that the man from yesterday night, the drunk you arrested? Well, his friends caught wind of it and they're out for some blood. They're a bunch of rowdy bad eggs if you ask me. Nothing you can't handle, I'm sure, but they're almost certain to try and jump you tonight or tomorrow. I told them you'd decline the offer, but they volunteered me to watch your back while you're off duty these next few days."

The Vanthan with the horse, having made his decision, approached the two and offered to tell a tale about his horse.

Kamrynn grinned. He knew all to well how skilled Vanthan's were at spinning stories, even from the most mundane seeming of topics. "I would be happy to hear it." He responded in the Vanthan tongue, then turned to Kavran in common. "Sir Deilos, it's sure to be an interesting story, have you the time to listen?"

[Elliot Skythorn]

Elliot just stood there in silence as he litsened to their talk, he liked being the ignored one for a change, and it was nice to get some peace from all that everyday ruckus. Sir Deilos...hm....oh yea..heard that name before, the rumor had it that he was a just and a rather well tempered man, but with strangers, you can never know for sure. A guy like Deilos getting into trouble...well that would be a rather interesting to watch and yea..it would make this night a whole lot of fun, or so he thought.
Ignoring the knight`s question he just stood there litsening to the conversation of those three as he wished to hear the story about that horse too, even tho he would never admit it. Not being too good with handling people was always one of his weak spots, but even he had to deal with them occasionally...but it was easy when those were some thugs just wanting to kill him, but when it came to actual conversations, he was not a man of too much words, as he to some extent did not want to share too much about himself and he did not have many chances to do so anyway. Looking closer at all three of them he realized the newcomer was a knight as well, or a wannabe at least, but the man with the horse is what got his attention as he awaited for him to start the story, he quickly blinked as he was still adapting to the weak light in the room. He found litsening to them talk like friends a rather nice sound to his troubled ears and their peacefull appearance a cure for his eyes that have seen many, too many things.

[Kavran]

Kavran listened to the younger Knight explain the problem of the thugs and the drunk. His mouth tightened at the idea of an ambush, and his hand twitched a fraction of a centimeter towards his sword's hilt, but he never drew it. Instead, he let himself relax again and he sighed with the burden of one too many years in his profession. Resignedly, he nodded once more to Kamrynn and replied,

"Your presence in this matter is most appreciated, Sir Sleightyr. I would welcome your assistance until such time as I can handle the issue with full focus. Until, then..."

He shifted his gaze from Kamrynn to the stranger hanging back away from the group and he gestured again, signaling for the man to come closer. Wordlessly, he seemed to tell him, 'Come on over here for a bit.'

Unsure whether or not the man would join in, he instead returned his gaze to the man with the horse, who had identified himself as Vakya. He eyeed the horse with an apparent amount of curiosity, and then his dark eyes swiveled back to the dagger-wielder. Hearing Kamrynn off to his side reassure him that the story would be worthwhile, Kavran folded his arms across his chest and tightened his mouth again. Though he would accept Kamrynn's word more than the others, he was still holding judgment on this entire thing...

"Right, then." said Kavran. "Let's hear it."

[Elliot Skythorn]

Elliot awaited a brief moment until he made his way closer to the group still not feeling all that comfortable with so many strangers standing next to him. Scratching the back of his head he remembered he did not tell them his name, he thought of it as rude, but than he sighsed, like it matters anyway. And so he stood a few inches behind the young knight as they all awaited for a story, Elliot did not hear a promising tale like this one since the time he was a child and his mother tried to put him to sleep after he was afraid of the dark, monsters under his bed or even a strange man from the closet whose name now he could not remember. His eyes opened wide again as he was now finally acustomed to the light of the room and so he awaited for a young entretainer to do his thing.
He noticed that the other two knights do not react much to his pressence...and he was thankfull for that even if those calm statures were just fake ones, he was still thankfull for them trying to accept him as he is without starting a debate about different defects and such.
He closed his eyes in a death like slumber only so he could clear his mind and get ready for the incoming adventure.