I Refuse To Sink [Aerion]

by **Septimus** on July 7th, 2014, 6:03 pm

Summer 35th, 514AV

Septimus had been fed and nourished upon her arrival back from being kidnapped. By now, the Knights had taken care of it and she was back on her feet. However, she was still recovering from her emaciated state. Her ribs on a brighter note, could no longer be seen and she had instantly hit the barracks to train and work her way back up. She had steadily been introduced back into the gist of things and today was her first day of patrol outside of the gates. Accompanied with five others, she had light armor on and her broadsword was at her side along with her shield upon her back.

Her hair had been neatly combed and was tied back into a ponytail. Her large stature was poised and straight, erect and cautious. Her cobalt eyes were fiery as she searched the treeline. Her eyes gazed over the occasional traveler along with her comrades. However, she couldn't help but look for any bandits or rogues. She'd be damned if she let anyone come across the same situation she had. Especially so close to Syliras.

Movement within the brush caused her sensitive ears to pick up on the crunching of leaves. Such a thing was a pro to being a Kelvic for even within your human form you carried over such useful traits. It wasn't long before her sapphire eyes followed to a man emerging whom was almost the same height as her.

"Sir! Halt!" Her muscular yet thin frame moved forward rapidly as she approached the man, examining every feature he possessed. "Lady Septimus, what is it?" A fellow Squire called out yet she simply looked back and nodded before directing her attention forth at the man "I've got it!"

"State your business." The man was alone but so close to the tree line, she couldn't help but let her hand hover over the hilt of her broadsword before realizing what she was doing. She played it off like she was fixing her belt.

by **Aerion** on July 7th, 2014, 6:20 pm

Aerion was traveling alongside Teren, moving along the treeline. He did not want to be in the deep forest, but he did not want to be in the open ground outside the walls. He decided to come out more into the open since the underbrush suddenly got very thick. Aerion went first out of the brush, and was about to tell Teren to follow when he suddenly was told to halt.

Aerion turned around, noticing what seemed to be... He counted six Knights in total. He figured it was probably just a patrol, and they were wondering why he was so far away from the road. As the nearest one, who he figured to be the leader, drew closer, his eyes followed her hand as it seemed to reached toward her sword, but she only fixed her belt.

Still wondering about the hand movement, Aerion kept his hands away from his own sword as his eyes moved up to hers, he answered her question, "I am coming from my encampment a few hours away to enter the city. I mean no harm to anyone, I have just been drawn to this city for months, as if something had been calling me." He stared up at the city, still in awe of the beauty even stone could have. Then his eyes came back down to meet the Knight's suspicious gaze. "I found why I was drawn here, and I will protect that young lady with my life. The gods seemed to draw us together, the reason as of yet unknown."

Teren slowly trotted out of the underbrush, and Aerion gave him a pat on the neck. "This is my horse Teren, we have what most people would call some sort of bond. We mean no harm to you, or anyone in the city. Quite to the contrary in fact."

by **Septimus** on July 7th, 2014, 7:30 pm

Septimus moved her body as she shifted her weight, coming to a complete stop. This resulted in a slight pain within her stomach from the healing cuts that had found themselves upon her stomach, arms, and even her face. Her face remained unchanged much like a stone statue. The only exception being her eyebrows furrowed at certain words.

Her ears picked up on another creature lurking within the brush and the smell infiltrated her nostrils... familiar and related, Septimus smiled. Kin. Her blue eyes looked to the man once more and nodded at the words of a bond and the horse came forth from the summer green brush that shrouded the two completely.

But the smile faded and her sapphires soon grew into a horse like seriousness, coming back to the very problem that had grabbed her attention within the first place. "You do realize just how suspicious and unnerving you look when you pop out of the woods like that?" Her sapphires looked to the horse... Teren and then proceeded to look at the man.

"Plus, it's not exactly a path I'd want to take if I were you." Her voice grew silent and her mind entered a series of flashbacks. Anger swelled within her head and eventually it passed before she came back "Too much can happen in the corners. Even for a Squire." Her eyes looked back at the rest of the Squires and Knights whom were patrolling but also looking up to look at Septimus.

"You say you were drawn here, yes? Such as joining the Knighthood drawn here or simply sightseeing drawn here?" The Knighthood was the best thing that ever happened to her. Food, board, sweat and hardwork. It was a beautiful thing. Especially for a working war horse.

by **Aerion** on July 7th, 2014, 7:53 pm

Aerion watched with interest as the Woman smiled upon seeing Teren, noting that for later, and with a push from Teren to move on with it, Aerion decided to answer her latest assault of questions.

"I do in fact realize it, it allows us to move in between two worlds, the Knights on one side, the beasts on the other. Not troubling either of them, neither of them troubling us. Until now that is, we found this clump of brush someone seemed to have put back there, so we had to come out to avoid it." He frowned slightly as the thought brought implications he had not thought of before, before thinking back to something she said earlier. "So you are not a full Knight yet? From what I have heard from random pieces of conversation, to lengthy drunken rants, it is quite a bit of work to go from a Squire to a Knight.." He gave her a thin, but genuine smile, "Dedicating your life to such a feat is admirable indeed."

He responded to her last question with, "No, not for Knighthood. I could never find myself tied down after my life of traveling the Sea of Grass. It would not fit me. Not sightseeing either"

Aerion sighed as he relayed part of the events that have unfolded so far this season, "I found this woman in the market, who seemed to be the cause of my pull toward Syliras. I know she is in danger and I need to protect her, but I am confused as to why, who, or what." A flash of anger and annoyance crossed his face as he said the last sentence.

Calming himself down, he cleared his mind as he focused his eyes once more on her gaze, matching her seemingly cold stare with a questioning eyebrow lift of his own. "And yourself? You ask so much of me, distrusting as I am toward strangers, and yet you remind me a bit of Teren for some reason, like I could trust you, even though I could swear I have never met you before in my life." Continuing the questioning look he gave her, he studied her, not quite knowing what it was about her that was different, Teren telling him not to push the issue. However, he was too curious, and after all this stranger had asked of him, he did not see how this could hurt anyone.

by **Septimus** on July 7th, 2014, 9:32 pm

Listening to his reason for treading through such a forest, she nodded her head with a slight sigh as she looked down and looked up again. She bit her bottom lip and blinked, directing her sapphire pools to look at him again. "I see." Armor clinked together as she shifted her weight, the broadsword hitting against her clad leg. She grasped the hilt of her sword to reposition it, continuing to fumble with it to where she eventually worked her way up to the shield.

Her eyes widened and her hand fell from the shield at the mentioning of full Knight yet they quickly returned as she realized what he was talking about and she smiled and chuckled "No, not yet. More like a Knight in progress if you will. The pace in which one gets promoted depends entirely upon the individual though usually, it takes a while indeed. It seems as though drunks blubbering their mouths are a common source for information."

Septimus had been a Squire for some time now, gaining experiences that had morphed her and shaped her. Experiences she would had never otherwise been able to experience. She had carried a man into combat, fought monsters from the earth, killed Balicani, slaughtered opposing forces, and crushed zombie dogs to a pulp.

She responded and fell into silence again before he complimented her choice. "Thank you. Of course, like you said Syliras drew you in, the Knighthood did the same for me as well." And again, her eyebrows furrowed. "Well, no offence but it seems rather... odd to devote yourself to someone who you don't even know. Or why... Or what.

Then he asked about her. My, some day this had been. A stopped traveler asking about Septimus? "Too much to know about me right now. Plus, I stopped you for coming out of the woods. They're gonna get suspicious if I stop you too long. You said you're staying near Syliras, right? I'm off my shift in about four hours so we can meet up at a restaurant later and discuss if you'd like. I'm intrigued about this strange woman anyways."

by **Aerion** on July 7th, 2014, 10:59 pm

Aerion listened to her responses while absentmindedly petting Terion on his neck, smiling at the sort of dodging answer for the last one. Smiling inwardly, he figured she had a distrust of strangers probably even bigger than he did.

"No offense taken whatsoever, but when the gods point you down your path, with whatever little information you receive, it is usually wise to heed them, is it not?" As he registered the fact that she needed to go, he responded, "I'm just heading into the city for the evening anyway, bars and restaurants are good sources, as long as you do not draw too much attention with your questions." He flashed her a grin.

"Very well." He replied, "I will meet you in the market area in 4 hours, to meet up before we head to this restaurant." To her very last sentence, "Hah! Aren't we all..." He bid her farewell, got astride Teren, thinking about how strange that woman had been, Teren agreeing, his feelings were as if Aerion only knew half the story.

Aerion did not look back as he drew away, not wanting to seem suspicious, so he made his way inside the city and wandered for a couple of hours, thinking of the people he had met so far in his journey's, and what the gods had in store for him...

Finally as he figured the sun was just about right for being four hours later, not knowing exactly because he was not trained in keeping perfect hours or minutes, but it was the general time. He headed to the market to look for this off duty Squire, hoping she would in fact be there.

by **Archailist** on August 12th, 2014, 10:31 am

Aerion :

Notes :

Was I a little too nuts in my grading?
If you've got concerns, just call me.

Closed I Refuse To Sink [Aerion]