[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]

[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Skugga on October 6th, 2011, 7:10 pm

36 of Spring 503 AV


Casting a look behind her to spot any of her family's guards Ziela hurriedly closed the backdoor in the wall and continued her way on a small dirt road to a more quiet place were no one that knew her could find her. She couldn't stand being inside any longer, all the women in the house chattered on about was Ziela's rapidly approaching marriage and what a lovely match it was for her. All Ziela could think was how damned her life was, everything was decided and already planned out for her and no matter what she did or said could change that for as long as she stayed in Zeltiva. Feeling the by now comfortable weight of her dagger in her pocket gave her hope that she one day may be free from her invisible shackles to a life open to her like an empty book that she could write as she so pleased.

Lifting her dress to avoid the puddles and mud that remained from the last rainfall Ziela watched her surroundings become less and less inhabited, not that there were much land without settlement but at least a few more secluded places were she could train her skills with the dagger. Ziela had no doubt that she with her meagre skills with a dagger couldn't even begin to save her neck in Mizahar but she did not intend to let that stop her from her plan, if she failed then at least she had died free instead of locked in a marriage she didn't choose.

Finally she could see the clearing a head of her, though clearing was much said as it was more of a field behind a row of trees and vegetation that barely shielded the place from the first line of houses. Ziela cared little for being seen by common people as they had had no right off correcting her, a women of higher birth than the average citizen but she still did not yearn to be seen as people could still tell her parents. Feeling satisfied that she was alone Ziela pulled the dagger from he pocket and removed it from its small scabbard, admiring the way the sun played over the polished, smooth metal before fixing her grey eyes on the targets she had placed weeks earlier to train her marksman skills.

It was a tedious task to train when she only had one dagger, Ziela aimed and threw the weapon, hitting her target much more often than she had done when she started, but for every throw she had to go over and pull out the dagger from the target before heading back and throw again. Even in her unguided training Ziela felt that she was good with the dagger, it felt right to have its weight in her slender hand and she improved more quickly than she had thought from the start. After training for over an hour Ziela sheathed her dagger and sat down on a rock in the shade, heaving deep gulps of cold water that she'd brought in a canteen, not so ladylike and her mother would certainly have gotten a smaller chock had she seen her daughter now, then again she would probably be more upset over the weapon training.
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Nathan Longstride on October 6th, 2011, 9:58 pm

Nathan didn't understand his urge to follow the woman ahead of him. The boy, only eleven, was very random in with his daily activities. Some kids spent every day playing in some abandaned lot, but Nathan enjoyed doing different things. He had swam in the ocean, ran races, and wrestled like all kids he did. But like this day, he did random things. He once followed a stray dog just to see where it would go. Some days he would hang out in taverns and watch the cooks prepare lunch and dinner for their patrons. He enjoyed new things. Some were harmless, and some, like following a girl who seemed like she didn't want to be followed, was more troublesome.

It wasn't like he picked this woman out for any particular reason. He was only a child, but he knew a cute girl when he saw them, and this girl was going out alone. She needed a man to protect him, even in Zeltiva. At least, that was Nathan's usual thoughts since father gave him his prized poccession, the assassin dagger stuck in his boots. With that on him, everyone needed protecting, and he was their guardian. No matter if it was a six foot man with bulging muscles or a bird in the air. Everyone needed protection from someone.

But as the woman ahead of him stopped, and Nathan hid in the trees shielding this girl from houses nearby, the boy learned she didn't need her protection. This girl had come out here in a dress to practice throwing daggers. For what reason, Nathan did not know. When Nathan had first saw her, she was sneaking out of a merchant's house, heading down the dirt road. If she needed protection, why didn't she have one of those guards standing out front protect her? Weren't they hired for that very reason?

But for an hour, the woman threw her dagger into the targets that had been there when they had arrived. A constant thump of steel on wood that was soothing to Nathan. He laid on his stomach watching her. She was decent with her dagger; not as skilled as Nathan. Nathan may had been only eleven, but he had practiced with daggers for a while, and was decent. Not competent as he would be eight years later, but skilled enough to match this girl. Maybe match her.

The woman finally ceased, choosing a rock in the shade to drink some water in her canteen. Which reminded Nathan of his thirst. He always left his canteen at home, so he would always come back later. The world was so big, and Nathan wanted to see it all. If he didn't go back home to quench his thirst, he was unsure if he would ever go back. Wiping leaves off his cotton shirt and trousers, he stepped into the clearing, putting on the best smile he could. Which looked more like a smirk, and seemed the better expression with his next words. "You know girls should only handle knives in the kitchen. Why must you come all the way out here to practice?" Nathan paused so the girl could see him clearly. If she was nervous enough to take up using daggers, would she see a killer in a little boy's body?
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Skugga on October 7th, 2011, 1:28 pm

Looking up to see that the person approaching her was only a boy with dirty blonde hair Ziela relaxed, though on the outside she wore her normal mask of calm confidence she had been worried it was someone from her house that had come upon her training ground and she wondered how much he had seen. Her grey eyes, as cold as the blade she had recently held, glared at the young boy at his words, men were apparently all the same no matter there age, always thinking women were useless and incapable of handling weapons. "You boy, should learn your place," Ziela cared little to hold up her well mannered facade in front of a boy that no one in her house would believe if he told on her. "I have no need of skills in a kitchen and neither do I need to explain my reasons to a common boy."

Good for this little boy that she didn't train because she was afraid or he may have had a dagger in him right now, but Ziela may have been arrogant but she could not see any danger coming from a boy that could be no older than ten, maybe eleven. "Do your mother now where you are boy?" Though most children could run around as they liked Ziela had been jealous that she, as a merchants daughter, had not been allowed that freedom and she took it out on those she could even if her words often had to be shielded as Ziela always socialised with other higher classed.

Raising the canteen to her mouth once again she emptied it half way before she was satisfied, and despite herself she was a bit curious of this boy. Ziela had little to know knowledge of people others than those her parents deemed good enough to socialize with and she was also unaccustomed to be taunted in such a way, no one other than her parents had ever spoken to her in a manner that could be taken as a reprimand. "Haven't you been taught that it is not polite to spy on others boy," she said after some silence, not caring the slightest if she angered the boy, Ziela may look frail and weak but she was stronger than most would think and despite her mothers wishes she had spied on the guards when they trained. So she was certain that she could defend herself against a boy half her age, much later Ziela's arrogance and confidence would bring her into enough trouble for her to learn the value of tact but for now she had yet to learn that lesson.
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Nathan Longstride on October 8th, 2011, 8:30 pm

Nathan listened to the girl speak to him in a tone that reeked of richly-born. He wouldn't had been surprised is she didn't thrust her nose in the air while she spoke to him. But if she thought she could best him in a war with words, she was sorely mistaken. Chuckling softly, Nathan crossed his arms across his chest. "I know my place. I'm the person who should be practicing daggers out here. At least, I should be over you." Nathan reaches into his boot, and pulls out his father's assassin dagger. He wasn't supposed to have it, but currently, his father was away on a job, so he wouldn't know. "Now don't freak out. Just wanted to show you what a real dagger looked like. And what's a common boy? a common girl is one who knew how to cooked. How you suppose to feed your husband when the times comes if you burn everything?" Nathan smirked. He knew how to cook and what a "common" boy was, but he wasn't going to let her know that.

Nathan continued speaking, answering her next question. "You know I should ask you the same question. Does your mother know where you are? Usually when someone sneaks out the back way, looking over their back often, they don't want to be seen."

When she poured out some of her water, Nathan winced slightly. He rubbed his tongue over his dry lips, an obvious body language to Skugga. The dust from the road was in his throat, but he kept talking. As a young boy, he didn't quite understand that talking with dust in your throat wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. "I'm sure my mother mentioned not spy on girl. Might see something I don't want to, or maybe something I want to see often. Whether it is polite or not is a matter of opinion. Is speaking down on someone any better than spying? 'Cause back in Zeltiva, you have power. But out here, our skill with the dagger decides who's better." Nathan chuckled, fingering the hilt. The thought of actually fighting the girl never crossed him mind. To him, they were only bantering back and forth. But he wouldn't be a pin cushion if she decided to throw it at him, nor would he let some rich prick walk away without a reminder. But would she even bother fighting a little boy?
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Skugga on October 10th, 2011, 12:56 am

She couldn't believe her ears, this boy really had an answer for everything she said and he really managed to say the exact things that made her mad. The way men thought of women in Zeltiva was one of the very reasons that she wanted to leave, though of course her marriage was the largest reason. Looking at the boy again she contemplated to just leave, but the thought of going back home so soon was not tempting, even the bantering with a kid was better than that. "Do not think that you can scare me that easily, I am not a weak little girl and why should women be denied things that men can take for granted?" She asked venomously, her eyes resembling frozen steel. "And not that it is any of your business but firstly I can cook just as well as I need and secondly I do not intend to be married off to some rich trader or a poor one for that matter." Okay that was almost a lie, not that that bothered Ziela the slightest, she knew how to read a recipe for crying out loud, but she was just not so good at actually doing it. In truth Ziela didn't really know why she talked to this boy at all, but the fact that he talked back at her and did so with good arguments made it interesting which she hadn't had much of these last months and even years.

"As you seem to know very well women are not supposed to know any kind of combat skill. If I want to practice my interests then I do not have much of a choice now do I." Ziela said coldly. "But I must say I do agree with you there boy, in the big bad world a person's own strength decides their survival." Much because of that Ziela started to train, but also because she enjoyed it, both the real battle training like with her dagger and her studies about poisons, it was a darker side of her that only seemed to grow for every week.

"You thirsty, boy?" She hadn't missed the boy's reaction when she drank and smirked, her eyes narrowing slightly and she flicked back her black hair before smoothing out some wrinkles in her pigeon blue dress with a slender hand. "Want some? Unless of course girl cooties are a problem. I won't even charge you any if you just show me what you can do with a dagger, as you spied on me you already know what I can do." She wondered how much this boy would understand of her sometimes twisted humour, Ziela herself wasn't sure what she herself meant or wanted sometimes, a person's mind was very weird often. "By the way, it is getting annoying calling you boy all the time, what's you're name?" Her mother would certainly wince if she heard how Ziela slipped out of her nicely educated language and used more and more so called "common" speech.
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Nathan Longstride on October 10th, 2011, 11:01 pm

Nathan listened to the woman speak to him with such venom that he expected from older women. They weren't called cougars for nothing. But even at a young age, Nathan enjoyed arguing, and this girl seemed to do it often. So why should he stop for her? "I just see the need for you to cook at all. Shouldn't one of your stature have a chef to cook for you and a servant to put the food in your mouth? I do believe you could have said servants if you married the rich trader over the poor trader. I don't quite know how we mentioned types of husbands, but oh well."

"But I was only jesting about survival, madam." Nathan makes a mocking bow. "I don't believe there is hardly a need for self-defense in Zeltiva. Or maybe I'm looking it from the wrong angle. I'm a 'common' boy and you're the daughter of some wealthy individual. Odds are you carry things worth more to the common thief, both physical and in the form of currency. But whatever floats your daddy's boat. Not yours. I doubt you've ever set foot on a boat."

Nathan watched her water bottle, pondering on her final statements. To earn water he needed to show her how he used his dagger, and she also desired to know his name. Would he dance like a puppet for her amusement for water? Shrugging, Nathan shifted the grip of his dagger so the dagger was at an angle, he held out his hand, and bowed his head. "To Lady No Name, Nathan Xavier Longstride vows an oath to best her with daggers so that he may quench his thirst from her noble water canteen. I vow it shall taste sweet on my lips, coodies and all." Nathan smirks, his blue eyes watching for the first move. This was going to be fun.
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Skugga on October 11th, 2011, 10:02 pm

Normally Ziela never got the chance to have either arguments or discussions with people other than in her head while she answered politely out loud so she enjoyed this argument, not that she was going to show that to the boy. "I believe I have already said it once but I'll say it one more time; I'm not going to get married because someone else says so." Thinking on her plans to leave Zeltiva made her voice more stern than she had planned for and she took a breath to calm down. "You see boy," Ziela said, a twisted smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, both over her coming words and the boy's obviously sarcastic bow. "I was not kidding about the survival, I may not need any protection inside Zeltiva especially as I do not see the need to carry any valuables on me if I don't intend to shop. But outside it is an entirely different thing, right? And no, you are right there, I have never been on a boat, thanks to my daddy," her tone changed to mockery as she said 'daddy'. "But I would actually not mind being on a boat, is it by any chance easy to get on one in the harbour?"

Something she had not really anticipated, if this boy had connections at the harbour maybe she could use some of that to get a ride out of Zeltiva. Maybe she could get some information from this boy, if not for free then she could easily get money from her father, without his knowledge of course, Ziela just needed to play her cards right and have some fun while she could.

Ziela smiled at the boy's introduction and small speech, "Well young Nathan," she said and stretched out the water canteen towards him. "Feel free to drink all you want, it's unfair for one to demand a show of skill if said person is not in perfect condition. Besides my name is Ziela Ta'ane, and please for the love of everything do not call me Lady, I hear that so often it seems my name is Lady." Taking up her dagger again she turned slightly and let her dagger fly, hitting the target almost in the middle, she looked back at Nathan waiting calmly for him to make a move.
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Nathan Longstride on October 11th, 2011, 10:44 pm

Nathan listened as the girl replyed to him. She truly was good at running her mouth, but the boy could feel the frustration in her voice. Maybe he had struck a nerve talking to her, but it was too late to back down. But not too late to dig even deeper. "Well marriage isn't your favorite subject. And how was I suppose to know. I don't leave Zeltiva much, and this is about the farthest outside I've ever been. And you don't seem like much danger. As for easy access on ships, I'm sure you could offer a captain a little gift to get you passage. Although I wouldn't know why you'd do that when you're daddy probably owns a boat." Nathan was young, and ignorant to the fact the Skugga actually wanted to leave. He didn't understand her dilemma, seeing only a girl who was rebelling against her father by riding with rival merchants.

She handed him the water canteen, which Nathan took quickly, taking a long draft. He didn't bother wiping off whatever Ziela left. It was almost like kissing a girl; atleast he was getting the same germs. Nathan caught her mention her name, Ziela Ta'ane. Nathan nodded as he handed the water canteen back to her, only to watch her ignore him, and chuck her dagger at the target. It wasn't dead center, but it was close.

Nathan looked at her dumbfounded. He had never thrown his dagger. Was that even allowed? He had never seen swordsmen throw their weapon at the enemy? Nathan was nervous, never once practicing this. He didn't even think his dagger was meant to be thrown. But Nathan held it by the hilt, and slung it at the target. His technique was horrible, and his dagger, flew past the target with no chance of hitting. It truly was a reminder that Nathan wasn't going to throw daggers for a living.

Nathan turned back to Ziela, his cheeks heating from embarassment. "If I wanted a projectile, I'd learn the bow. Daggers are for close quarters, Ziela, not to toss at someone like the bouqet in a wedding." Nathan just had to do it. She plucked his nerve, and he snapped at the one thing she seemed to dislike. But was it a bad mistake?
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Skugga on October 12th, 2011, 12:41 am

Listening to Nathan, Ziela had to hold back a smile, so it was that easy to gain a place on a ship then she would not have much have trouble leaving Zeltiva then. "Well yes father does own some boats but why ride with his boats if I want to avoid associating with my family at all. Well anyway, that's my problem," Ziela gave a small smirk ignoring anymore marriage talk.

After Nathan had finsished drinking Ziela accepted her canteen back after throwing her dagger at the target, watching how the boy got nervous, to see his surface crack a little did make Ziela feel good which was showed by her growing smirk that broke out into a short clear laugh which was silenced by Nathans next words, her face froze in a irritated frown and her standard glare sharpened slightly before going back to normal. "Nice throw," she couldn't help that comment to gain back her composure. "So Nathan if your only weapon is a dagger and your opponent stands outside your range then what do you do if he, or she, has a longer ranged weapon than you carry? Do you try to run away, run up to the enemy or maybe take a chance and throw your dagger? If that was me I'd take the last option, and if I miss then I still have a small chance of getting away."

Rising from the rock she'd been sitting on Ziela automatically brushed of her dress and walked over to the target and pulled out her own dagger placing it in its scabbard for easy carrying before looking through the vegetation for Nathan's dagger and found it under a bush. Stepping back onto the field she walked over to the boy before stretching out his dagger to him. It was a more impressive dagger than her own she had to admit, not out loud though, but she had bought her in a smaller stand to avoid the richer areas in Zeltiva where someone could have recognized her.

"You want to relax a bit more, your stance I mean," Ziela said. "Basically you can throw in two ways, either by letting your dagger rotate or not with the latter being the harder form to learn, which is way I'm still using the normal rotating throw," Ziela didn't really know why she said any of this to the kid but she had to admit that she liked to be the better for once, and be allowed to show it. "Hold the dagger's hilt in your hand, like a hammer basically, then stand about 10 feet away from the target at first and focus on a single point, like a certain formation among the grains or a knot in the wood. Then drop all thoughts other than the mark your going to hit, one trick is to always think and talk like you are going to hit the target it helps with positive thinking."

Ziela didn't particulary care if Nathan took her advise or even if he was interested in learning to throw a dagger, but she had little else to do and she actually found it entertaining and wouldn't mind staying here longer but it was up to Nathan. Ziela looked at the boy, despite their age difference she wasn't that much taller than him.
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[Flashback] An unlikely meeting [Nathan]

Postby Nathan Longstride on October 12th, 2011, 10:22 pm

Nathan didn't quite understand why Ziela didn't want to be around her family. The young boy loved his mother and father, enjoying their comfort and presence. He was always the first to hug father when he came home from work, and he loved hanging out with his mom. The boy didn't quite understand the girl's dislike of her family. And he couldn't connect it either to her dislike of marriage. He truly was a child who cared about what he wanted to, and ignored anything else.

Nathan listened to Ziela as she threw a situational question at him. Would he bother throw his dagger at an enemy, or would he run at them? That was odd for the young boy. He had never thought of fighting his friends with daggers, or even his enemies. He trained because it was a hobby he and his father shared. He never thought about this. Why did he really carry the dagger around? He didn't even need it for self-defense. Not in the city of Zeltiva. "If I only have one dagger, I wouldn't throw it. You and I aren't the type that can outrun grown men, and I'd like to have my weapon till the end. But if I have more than one. Well, let the blades fly."

Nathan watched as Ziela brushed herself off. The girl walked over to the target, pulling her dagger out cleanly. She then stepped into the brush to retrieve his own dagger. For a brief moment, Nathan enjoyed seeing the pretty girl wielding his dagger. A nice image until he remembered her aim with the dagger. She knew how to hit a target, so the boy pushed those thoughts away. The girl gave him the blade back. And then, the girl only about five years older than him, began to instruct him on how to throw daggers.

First she told him to relax, followed by explaining the proper way to throw his dagger. Why she explained it, Nathan tried to fix his technique how she explained. Rolling the hilt in his hand lightly, Nathan spread his legs apart. Then he gripped the hilt like he would a hammer, and faced the target she had thrown at. While she explained it, Nathan focused on the hole which was made from Ziela's dagger. He began to imagine himself with the dagger in the center, with the girl dumbfounded beyond belief. He wanted her to be shocked. He wanted to be better. With movement of his arm, Nathan threw the dagger.

Rotating the air, Nathan's dagger hit the edge of the target he aimed at, spinning in mid-air as it landed in the grass once more. So it wasn't perfect, but he had atleast hit the target, if not in his desired location. While the technique felt better, it still seemed the dagger wasn't made to be thrown. "Well, your advice wasn't wrong. I just think my dagger is too big to be thrown well. At least for someone as new to this as I am. Maybe with a smaller dagger, it would be better."

Nathan walks over to his dagger to pick it up. With his weapon in his hand, he walked back over. Watching Ziela, Nathan asked the question that was on his mind. "What is it like to be a merchant?" There, he asked it. Since a young age, Nathan had always wanted to travel, and a merchant seemed the best choice. While he could be a blacksmith or tanner, they eventually had to settle down to make any money. But a merchant traveled where he pleased, traded with who he wished. They went where they desired. This was what Nathan wanted to do. But he knew nothing about being a merchant. He needed an insider's perspective. And this girl was his inside scoop. But did she know anymore than he did?
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