Closed The Wrong People [Orion]

[Nira'lia]

The Soothing Waters, Evening 13th Fall 513 AV A few seasons past, when Nira’lia had left Zeltiva, she had never expected that she would be visiting this kind of place to learn… to a place dedicated to baths and massages. It was relaxing and refreshing, and a number of citizens arrived here. But she was not often here for the free services, she was here to volunteer, to study under the healers. She liked the scent of medicine and herbs mixed in the steam. Various salves had been procured by the healers, some who had philtered the mixtures their selves, and she found it interesting to see what type of concoction could help a man. Was he stressed? Did his muscles hurt? It appeared that the healers always knew what jar to bring out. Nira’lia didn’t know how to massage people. Theoretically, she knew which points needed to be kneaded according to what muscles ached, but that was only because of what she knew about the body from her knowledge as a healer. That said, she often found herself here on her free time, but she wasn’t there to learn how to be a masseuse. Rather, she was there as a volunteer when it came to mixing up the more basic salves. At the moment, she wasn’t doing a thing. She was staring at a row of jars that were stacked neatly on a shelf. It was in a quiet room, situated near the area which welcomed visitors. And that’s when she heard a slight ruckus from outside. Puzzled, she stepped out of the room and saw a middle-aged man who reeked of booze. He had a grip on the door. The man was slurring on his words and appeared to have a difficult time standing up straight. He didn’t appear to be a knight, because a knight would know better… right? With an odd laugh, he waved at a nearby lady, asking her to accompany her to the bath. The lady frowned and went on her way immediately. The man had done nothing at this point, he had not even spoken to Ivis Balak yet. But for some reason, Nira’lia had a nagging feeling that this might turn ugly. But then, she wasn’t so sure… Nira’lia was still trying to figure out the city’s culture, and wondered how they would react to a person such as this.

[Orion Michaels]

He could feel the tension in every fiber within every strand of each and every single petching muscle on his entire body. Tiny tears, invisible to the human eye, ran across them all, forcing them to rebuild themselves. Thankfully they came back stronger, but unfortunately, it was painful as get all.

Orion needed a massage.

He knew a little about the art himself, having learned it in his time working within the walls of the Soothing Waters. He wasn't anyone who had been requested specifically, but he knew enough to give a serviceable foot or back rub. None of that did him any good at this point. Despite somewhat amusing efforts, the former physician couldn't quite figure out a way to massage his own upper back effectively, so he'd set off from his dorm room to come to the bathhouse for a good cleaning. Dressed in a simple white shirt and black pants, with his sword at his side, the squire had made his way throughout the depths of the Stormhold until arriving and entering the Soothing Waters.

The scene which met him inside wasn't one he'd expected at all.

A drunk man was demanding some companionship, and rather vocally at that. Now Orion couldn't fault the man. He'd been in situations where he'd had more than his fair share of drink and ended up in bed with some stranger, but Gods if this wasn't the wrong way to go about it.

"Pardon me, mister," Orion said, moving to try and diffuse the situation. His hand was on the hilt of his weapon, ready to draw it should things escalate to that point. The last the he needed was his relaxation being ruined by some drunk vagik who caused a big ruckus. If the place was running with knights trying to calm a situation, no one would get to enjoy a massage. It wouldn't be the first time they closed a place down, and it most certainly wouldn't be the last, either. "If you're looking for a good time, why don't you set about getting yourself a massage. Or head on down to the Herald Arms. But I'll have to ask you to leave these good people alone, or I'll have to act on my authority with the knights, and I really don't want to do that."

That was because he was a squire and held little to no authority. He really hoped that the fool would take his line. He wasn't in the mood for a tussle today. Not with a man, at least.

[Nira'lia]

Nira’lia had a habit of staying in the shadows and watch things unfold before her. It wasn’t her fault—she was a seer, and she often tried to make sense of her visions, even if she never acted on them. Except this wasn’t a vision. This was the present, and it was happening. Nevertheless, she didn’t think of acting, nor did she see a reason to. At least not yet. Luckily, there didn’t appear to be any other patrons in the area. There were employees and they looked both annoyed and embarrassed at the turn of events, but they appeared to let the newcomer handle it. The newcomer was dressed in simple garbs but he had a sword on his side. Nira’lia could only assume that he was with the knights. He was almost a foot taller than her and had an imposing aura, as with almost all knights she met. She didn’t even stop to think of the possibility that he wasn’t one. The drunk man didn’t seem to take Orion’s words lightly. The Konti didn’t think it was possible, but his face became even more crimson, with rage this time. He turned to the newcomer, and with slurred words, cursed him with all sorts of colorful words that he could think of. He dared Orion to unsheathe his weapon, he said that he had every right to be here like any other one of them. The newcomer’s hand was resting on the hilt of his sword. Nira’lia instantly tensed. The Soothing Waters was supposed to be relaxing. A knight using his sword on a drunken man who didn’t know better would be the worst. It didn’t look like any of the employees wanted to do anything about it. If anything, they appeared to want to call in more knights to get rid of the rude guest. And because she didn’t want an unnecessary fight, she slowly stepped towards them, her hands up in the air in caution. “Perhaps… we could just escort you outside, sir?” she inquired. Her face was wrapped in worry. “There is really no need for a bad situation, and you can always come back when you are feeling better.” It was wishful thinking and she doubted that the man would just up and go at this point. But, really, anything was better than doing it by force.

[Orion Michaels]

"Yes, of course you have a right to be here, as much as any other patron of the Soothing Waters. But this is a place to relax, and you, my friend, are infringing upon that right." Orion's blue eyes scanned the small group of people watching with horrified looks on their faces. Did he used to be that way? Fearful to intercede on the behalf of others? If this had happened a year ago, would he have just watched, wide eyed and open mouthed?

"So I must insist you cease with the vulgar language, an-." Orion was cut off by an even louder litany of curses, directed at everything up to and including his mother. This man had some issues, and took great offense at the squire's actions. No one liked to be threatened with a sword; perhaps if Orion had worn his armor here, his words would have carried more weight. At the time it seemed more trouble than it was worth, but hindsight screamed a different tale.

Orion was intrigued as a stranger stepped up to try and diffuse the ever more hostile situation. Long, blonde hair, light hair, and..were those scales on her pale white skin? He'd met one of her kind before. There was a unique beauty about her, but he didn't have the time to reflect on this, for the drunken man was advancing on him. He didn't want to go outside, he wanted to shut up this stupid sword man who thought he was so much better than him.

With his attention split between the drunk and Nira'lia, he couldn't react in time as the man went full bore into him with his shoulder. Orion had tried to draw his weapon, but only got part way, which led to the sword being knocked out of his grasp as the man drove him back into the wall.

Things were unraveling quickly, leaving Orion immediately on the defensive. Are any of these petching people going to help? The man had his arms wrapped around Orion, the fullness of his weight pressed against him with no intention of letting him move. The blue eyed man didn't want to actually do anything to him, but if things continued to escalate like this...

"Hold on there! Slow down! Listen to her and lets not get violent!" Too late for that.

"I feel fine! You're the shykehead who tried to ruin -my- fun!" The middle aged man stood up and reared back to waylay Orion with a vicious punch, or so Orion thought. When the drunk was holding onto the squire, he'd noticed Orion's dagger at his waist and retrieved it to use in silencing the stupid man.

[Nira'lia]

Orion’s sword came out of his grasp and fell across the floor in a series of clanks. Nira’lia, alarmed, brought her hands up to her mouth as she watched the drunk man push the newcomer against the wall. This was just going to get uglier, and she was sure of it. At the corner of her eye, she watched one of the employees rush towards the direction of the baths, as if there would be someone there who could help them… would there be? For some reason, Nira’lia didn’t like the idea of a number of naked knights coming out to intervene. It wasn’t something she wanted to see at the moment. “No!” Nira’lia called out in panic when she saw the drunk man reach for the dagger at Orion’s side. He had been able to retrieve it with almost too much ease, which made the Konti think that he just wasn’t your average drunkard. Because amidst the intoxication, he seemed to know how to fight, and the natural reflexes indicated that perhaps there was something more to him. Still, while his movements were quick for a drunk man, he was still moving too carelessly. His actions were inexact, and fortunately, his fumbling caused his swipe at Orion to miss. But then, he was going to give it another swipe. And she wasn’t sure what came over her, what possessed her to do such a silly thing, but she tackled him then and there. She was so much smaller and lighter. However, he was so disoriented that her weight seemed to be enough to cause him to fall over. The dagger fell from his hand… luckily. Seeing as Nira’lia’s gift was activated through touch, a wave of scenes flooded over her instantly, and she saw a beautiful, young woman, laughing and generally having a good time. And there was this man too, except he wasn’t drunk; he actually looked polished and enjoyable. When she came back to the present, she realized that she had the man beneath her. The Konti had a light (but to her, it was all she could muster) hold on him. The drunk man looked angered, which the Konti should have anticipated. He pushed her off him and she fell backwards, painfully. “Ow…” she whispered to herself as she massaged her back. She stayed in that position, sitting on the ground and holding her back. But at least he no longer had the dagger, unless he ran across the room to get it. At least she had helped the newcomer, who would have been fighting barehanded against a man with a dagger otherwise. At least, she hoped she had helped.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion caught the glint of steel, and the breath was nearly sucked from the depths of his lungs. He'd come for a massage, and he would be leaving with a dagger his chest. Of all the rotten luck. He'd never expected to go this way, at least not from a drunken man. No, he figured his end would be at the hands of a woman. Perhaps a dagger in the back. A garrote wire. Poison. Castration? Who knew. Anything but this.

Orion twisted to avoid the slice, finding it easier to maneuver with the fool only grasping him with one arm, but he was deceivingly strong, and had a ridiculously tight grip on Orion's sleeve. He was actually intent on harming the squire, and his vision had tunneled to that singular task. When the dagger raised again, Orion wasn't sure he'd be able to dodge. Then, in a sudden flash of movement, a streak of blue and blonde crashed into the drunkard, sending him, Nira'lia, and thanks to the man's gorilla grip, Orion, crashing down to the ground.

Everyone seemed to lay on the ground in shock for a moment, unsure of what had happened. Orion was free from his grasp, but the blonde woman who'd spoken up moments before had instead resorted to a rather unexpected move. He figured to be doing this alone, so it was nice that there was someone with the courage to help. The man shoved her off with ease, though, and his attention was back on Orion, laying there beside him. There was something to admire about this ferocious tenacity, but Orion had to believe there was something more to this rage than a couple too many drinks. Didn't he realize the consequences of such an action within Syliras?

"Please, there's no need for th-"

Crunch~

Orion let out a yelp of pain as the man lunged for him along the ground and sunk his teeth into the squire's forearm. All that shyke he said about admiration? Petch that.

Orion brought up his arm which wasn't a midday snack, balling his hand into a fist and bringing it down like the head of a hammer into the side of his face. This only caused Orion more pain as his teeth were locked in, blood seeping into the once pure white shirt.

When he raised his hand to strike again, backup arrived. Several knights in various stages of dress rushed into the welcome area. None were indecent, though a few only had a towel between them and that.

"Stop this madness immediately," an armored knight yelled, broadsword in his grasp. A few of the clothed knights set about separating the squire and the drunkard, and did so with no lack of brute force. Orion immediately cradled his arm, looking down fully at the Konti woman who'd saved his life. He flashed her a somewhat sheepish grin before having his attention taken by the authoritative inquisition of the armored knight. "I am Sergeant Knight Alexander Valini. Who can tell me what happened here?"

"I can, Ser. I am-," Orion began, but was cut off by the man's booming voice.

"I'll hear your side in a moment, suspect. Bite your tongue until I call upon you to speak. Anyone besides these two fools?"

[Nira'lia]

Nira’lia just sat there, unsure of what to do now. She didn’t miss the sheepish grin that Orion had given her, and she returned it with a similar one, though she didn’t mean for it to be sheepish as well. For some reason, she felt as if she had done something wrong, as if she didn’t even belong here at the moment. They were before a Sergeant Knight, and his authority was imposing and intimidating to the young Konti. The other knights were intimidating as well, even if some of them were hiding behind nothing more than towels. Did he just regard him as a ‘suspect’? She suddenly felt sick. Wasn’t this man a knight, just like them? Wasn’t it natural to assume this knight had been doing the right thing, because that’s what knights did, didn’t they? Up to this point, the sergeant hadn’t yet addressed Nira’lia. She wasn’t even sure he saw her there as she sat on the ground with an awkward expression. But when he asked for a story, and none of the other bystanders seemed to want to speak up, the Konti stood up and tried to call his attention by waving her hand. ‘…My back really hurts,’ she thought as she visibly winced. “Uhm…” she finally said. Shyness was overcoming her. She didn’t prefer being the center of attention, especially not in events such as this. Nira’lia had been in the same situation before, and she had hated it every time. But what else was she to do? Her embarrassment was apparent. “This man…” she gestured towards the drunk man, who was being held back by men, and effectively silenced. “He is not well, he has had too much to drink, and he was troubling some people.” And at this point, she gestured towards Orion. “We were both trying to calm him down, but I think there was a misunderstanding somewhere between, and it turned… well, a fight broke out,” she said. And she purposely said ‘both’, because if Orion was going to be punished, she was just as much at fault. Yet, she was at a lost. The drunk man had been in the wrong, but she knew how harsh the knights could be. The Konti didn’t want an unbecoming punishment for him. This was despite what she had seen, and despite the blood trailing down Orion’s arm. “It’s not this man’s fault, though,” she said, gesturing once again at Orion, and realizing she had no idea what his name was. “And this man, I think he may just be having a bad day, I don’t think—” While the sergeant had been listening to her patiently up until this point, he had decided that he had heard enough, and that there was no reason in listening to the Konti’s judgment. “Take him away,” he bellowed, referring to the intoxicated man. Nira’lia’s face became even paler, but she bit her lip and said nothing.

[Orion Michaels]

He's not even going to give me a chance to defend myself!?

Orion was in deep trouble if this were the case. Dinah would be none too pleased to find him locked away in the tank, awaiting the council's decision on him for disturbing the peace. He was just trying to do his job, even if it was selfishly to get himself seen. Now he had no massage, he'd been made a fool of infront of everyone, and that petcher had bitten him!

It was nothing short of a relief when Nira'lia spoke, explaining the situation rather diplomatically. She was uncomfortable, but now Orion owed her big time. She'd saved his life, and was likely to save him from joining the drunk in The Tank. She was careful in her words, trying to implicate no one in wrong doing. There was such kindness in her words, and genuine concern for the man who'd attacked him, but this Alexander Valini had no patience for her words. The crime was clear, and punishment would be swift.

"Now hold on one moment," Orion shouted, pulling his arm free of the knight who was restraining him. "I may be nothing more than a squire, but I am Orion Michaels, Squire of Captain Knight Dinah Lorene, and I will be heard."

Alexander turned to face Orion with a sneer. "Under Sera Lorene or not, you are a squire and you will not address me in that tone. Is this understood?"

Ser Valini had the right of it. He couldn't talk to a superior in such a manner. He never could get used to the way some of these knights were. Orion wasn't sure he could hold that same killer mentality that many of them had. Perhaps it was simply a difference between one indoctrinated into the knights at a young age, and a twenty six year old squire joining after he'd started down his own path.

"Forgive me, Ser," he began, his hand still cradling his injured arm."I still think you should listen to this woman. There has to be something more to this than a man attacking someone out of the blue! It's not so black and white as a crime!"

Sergeant Knight Alexander Valini had never heard something so absurd in his years. "Not so ... black and white .. as a crime, you say? The brown haired knight took a few steps towards Orion, barely contained shock on his face. "And you have the temerity to call yourself a squire? There is NOTHING clearer than the law. It's infuriating to hear someone who wishes to join this sacred order utter anything to the contrary. You disgust me, Squire Michaels. I shall have a word with Sera Lorene about this matter. Her squire clearly has a lot to learn."

With that the knights packed up and went about their business, a few returning to the Soothing Waters, and others, including Alexander, going about dealing with the 'criminal'.

With his teeth gritted together, the blue eyed squire set about retrieving his belongings, pausing only when he again noticed the blonde woman. "Thank you," he said softly, wincing as his arm reminded him of the bite he'd suffered. "Son of a ..." He leaned down to retrieve his sword, returning it to its place at his side. "At least I'm at the right place to deal with this, huh? Now to find that blasted dagger.."

[Nira'lia]

‘Oh, a squire…’ That simple realization suddenly shed light. That’s why he was being spoken down to in such a way. Nira’lia felt bad, but she also admired him. The Konti was thankful that this man actually stood up in a way to defend someone who had just tried to kill him. However, the Sergeant Knight was going to have a word with a Sera Lorene. That did not sound good. Gradually, the myriad of knights dispersed, and the person they saw as a criminal went with them. Nira’lia sighed and decided to help Orion in his search, because it was the least she could do. She had seen where the dagger had flown off before and found it waiting for them at a lonely corner of the room. The Konti leaned down picked it up by the blade, and then she walked back to the squire and held it out in front of her, offering it to him with the hilt facing him. “How is your... uh, bite?” she inquired, as if it had been a canine that had just taken a chunk out of his arm. Luckily, she doubted that the man who had bitten him could have been infected by a mad dog. So, it was just a wound. “Is it deep? I think it is, so I won’t be able to close it up… I can make sure it doesn’t get infected, though. But would you want to see if there are any higher marked healers? They would be able to help you better.” It wasn’t evident on first sight because of her clothes, but she had Rak’keli’s first mark on her shoulder. However, upon closer inspection, you could see a hint of it peeking out from underneath her shirt’s collar. “Thank you for what you did,” she said. From behind them, the employees were mumbling to themselves and returning to the fix of things. There was even a woman who was frantically waving her hands and being worrisome, even if everything had settled down by now. “My name’s Nira’lia. I’m also a squire.” She said the last word with such lack of commitment that one would have thought she was being sarcastic. But she wasn’t, she was just not excited at the idea. At least not at the moment. “What you did was really brave,” she said, as if she saw the need to reassure him, even if she couldn’t tell why.

[Orion Michaels]

And yet again she came to his rescue. He'd dealt with a lot of people in his time, but rarely had there been any so quick to just..help..him. There was something they wanted in return, be it coin or something more. He wanted to be distrustful, he wanted to be skeptical, but he couldn't. There were no signs that she was anything but genuine. What a refreshing trait.

"My hero," he said, grinning down at Nira'lia. The blue eyed man grasped the hilt of his dagger and placed it back at its rightful place. He wasn't sure why he even kept hold of the stupid thing. He didn't really know what he was doing with it and it looked like it was only going to get him in more trouble than it was worth. "I really appreciate it. That was surprisingly hectic. I was really just here to take a load off...that poor man."

With his attention turned back to the bite, it almost seemed to hurt more, the throbbing sensation intensifying as his gaze lowered to fall upon the injury. "It's probably not that bad. Human teeth aren't really meant for that use. Let's have a quick look." He rolled the sleeve to his now ruined shirt, exposing the bite for them to get a good look. "It's actually a lot worse than I thought, but I've certainly suffered worse." Her remark elicited a look of curiosity from Orion. Was she one of those types? He'd worked with marked healers in the past during his times employed within these very walls, and rarely had he seen eye to eye with them.

His knightly training had, however, given him a new found appreciate for the power they offered. He'd have been out of commission for long periods of time without their divine magics. While he was confident he had the skills to deal with any injury they could, what took him hours of precise surgery, they could do in a flash of white light. Something just weren't fair.

"I'll take any help you'd be willing to offer, but yes, I would agree it's best to seek out someone who can treat this fully. Thank you." Orion almost blushed at her offer of appreciation. Almost. He was just doing the right thing, did that require any praise? "Ah, it was nothing, I swear. The guy just seemed..desperate. I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy." He just couldn't believe that someone could act that way if everything was fine in their life. Some people did get really stupid when they drank.

"A squire?!" It came out louder than he'd intended, but it caught him by surprised. Nira'lia, Konti squire? He'd never seen such a thing, but he found himself trying to explain his rather animated reaction. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that at all, it's just..well, the last thing I'd have pegged you for. And I've not seen you around, either. A vision of beauty such as yourself wouldn't go unnoticed in the training grounds, I assure you." Grinning, Orion offered his right hand in greeting. "A pleasure to meet you Squire Nira'lia. I'm Orion, as I so boldly announced earlier. How embarrassing, right?"

There she was, complimenting him or reassuring him that he was right, he wasn't sure. Maybe she was reassuring herself that it was right? He had been told off right in front of her by a rather headstrong knight. "Nira'lia, are you trying to make me blush? If you keep this up, I might have to look away to hide it from you. The shame would be just too much." His voice had its usual playful tone about it; Orion was one that would try and make light of any situation if it could make him more comfortable in it.

"Would you mind accompanying me to the healers? I've suffered such dramatic blood loss, and I'm not sure what I'd do should I pass out alone." Orion took a few steps away from Nira'lia, backing down the hallway while still facing her, beckoning that she follow him down the corridor. He'd be disappointed if she didn't, but life would go on, somehow.

oocIf she shakes his hand and you need me to tell you some information for Nira's Konti gift, shoot me a PM