A Road Less Traveled {Orion}

by **Hadyn Skellig** on August 28th, 2013, 4:39 am

A warm smile graced her lips when Orion pulled her closer, almost believing he was willing to continue. She sank into his deep kiss, a hand on his neck as she closed her eyes, moving gently against him. This was far better than bickering over his past. This was how it should've been. Curse her damn mouth. When he broke the kiss she pulled up only to find his gaze surprisingly lackluster. An eyebrow rose dubiously when his half hearted placation came next. But she retreated, slowly untangling herself from him as it appeared he desired of her.

"Long day. 'Course." She nodded with traces of a furrowed brow indicative of seriousness. He didn't want much to do with her now. Removing herself from his grasp the brunette crawled away and fetching the forgotten shirt as she went. It was still warm. Maneuvering around the armor he'd laid asunder Hadyn eventually stood and donned the wrinkled blouse before reaching for the dark vest. Securing her attire, the woman swallowed any trace of embarrassment down.

Mild humiliation had settled in her gut when Orion spurned her advances. One argument and they couldn't enjoy each other any more? Seemed silly. But - per usual - she didn't know the man or what made him tick. He obviously took last night's interaction personally. Part of her felt remorse, true and unsettled contrition for upsetting him so deeply. But another part (that which got the better of her earlier) told her to smack him in the back of the head. She was attempting an apology in a manner they were familiar with but he didn't want it. Pressing her lips in a line to keep from digging herself another hole Hadyn finished tying the vest's laces before chancing a glance at the man.

"Ready when you are, Squire."

There was a lightness to her voice suggesting she wasn't upset with his reaction. There was really no point. She was over the momentary disappointment, moving on with things as she saw fit. He was a peculiar creature but it wasn't her business to figure him out. If he wanted to indulge in carnal pleasure she was amenable. If not, well per his lead, they were simply awkward sexually attracted acquaintances. Hadyn could work with that. Running a hand through loose tresses the weaponsmith took pause to locate her bag at the foot of the bed before shooting Orion an earnest smile.

"Y'let me know if y'change your mind, hm?"

She tossed him a wink before pulling the satchel over one shoulder and heading to the exit. He likely would take some time to organize that gaggle of armor. Cautious steps brought her downstairs to the lobby of the tiny inn. A glance around the place confirmed this was probably the most decrepit lodging she'd ever seen. And after last night's arguing it left a sour taste in her mouth. She almost wished they'd spent the night outdoors. Waiting for Orion to join her the brunette walked to the dirty window, smudging the grime with the hem of sleeve to view the quiet land beyond. Mist was rising leisurely from the earth as the sun crept carefully over the treetops. This was Hadyn's favorite bell of the day, the light warming her face as she stared on absentmindedly.

by **Orion Michaels** on September 4th, 2013, 4:38 pm

Crisis averted?

At least for the moment, it seemed. The disappointment in her expression was far from lost on Orion. Perhaps they could have put everything behind them there. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been that big of an issue to just lose themselves in the exploration of each other’s bodies. It would have been nice, if for the chimes it last. Yet Orion was all too aware of one fact: He was his own worst enemy by far. None could sabotage a situation like him, especially if there was a chance of anything positive. There was almost a subconscious outright refusal to accept anything good. Anything at all.

Orion mostly avoided her gaze as she prepared herself for the day. There was no sense in him trying to get ready at the same time. The tiny room was likely to cause another tangling of limbs, and with how the evening and the morning had gone, it was hardly something he wanted to risk. He needed all the space in world to get that blasted armor on. A wayward arm catching her face wouldn’t do anything to improve her opinion of him.

He managed a half smile at her offer of a romp, if he changed his mind. It wasn’t at all that he lacked desire for her physically, it was just that . . .

Orion sighed, shaking his head and standing after Hadyn departed their room. ”What a mess,” he muttered. He lacked the energy or patience to really deal with the issue. She thought they were at such a point she could talk as though she knew him. Orion less than politely disagreed. That’s all there was to it. What was there to resolve?

The squire began picking up pieces of the plate armor, placing them over and on his body, tying down leather straps to keep them in place. The heavy armor was likely to prove unneeded, but if he was acting on official knight business, he may as well look the part. It took some time for him to finish donning his defenses, but once it was done, he put his sword belt around his waist and made his way from the room, moving with loud clanks down to where their altercation had occurred the night before.

Orion paused at the steps when he saw Hadyn over at the window, seemingly quiet in contemplation. She wasn’t happy with him, he was sure of that. There was only a day’s ride before them and then they could both move on, right? There was nothing further to be said on the matter.

”Some inn. Doesn’t even offer breakfast.” Orion forced a grin to his lips as he took the last step, making his way across the room to his travelling companion. ”Maybe we can snag a little something for the road? Unless you’ve got any other business around this place?” Stay pleasant, keep the chatter to small talk, no big issues. He could make it through this. They could make it through this.

At least Orion hoped so.

by **Hadyn Skellig** on September 9th, 2013, 6:32 pm

Hadyn turned to stare at her companion, a wry expression given to his poor attempt at conversation. Why was he trying so hard? It hardly made sense to her, his back and forth and absurdly unpredictable mood changes. Gods, he was tough to get along with. She'd had her share of fickle emotionally unstable men but he was taking the pastry. Pausing a moment, the woman offered him a slight grin before speaking.

"Small talk isn't your strong suit, mate." She shoulder the bag and walked to the door, opening it for him. "Best stick to drinkin', squirin' and petchin'. An' yes. I hope for a speedy return to Syliras."

Hadyn followed him out into the warm morning. Considering they'd already paid there was no reason to seek the innkeeper again. She could hear Orion clinking and clanking behind her, probably still sour from their earlier interaction. In that moment she thanked her stars that she hadn't been damned into squiredome. Something about the all pomp and circumstance - not to mention the arrogance some of the knightlings paraded in the guise of justice - made her uncomfortable. Heading to the barn, the woman didn't wait for her guide.

Both horses raised their heads at the sound of the door, though her mount was quick to drop it and resume eating. Dropping the bag, the weaponsmith entered his stall. The innkeeper's boy had done a decent enough job. There were still sweat stains crusting the outline of the saddlepad, but the gelding was clean enough for her standards. Tossing the saddle blanket back on the woman ignored the pinned ears she received as the chestnut continued munching dry hay. He enjoyed being saddled almost as much as he enjoyed being removed of his breakfast and he displayed his ire with a swift bite to the air near her hip. Swatting his face away Hadyn lifted the saddle up and on and cinched the girth, which further annoyed the horse. Finally plucking the bridle from where it sat on an exposed nail, she cast a glance toward Orion's mare. She was probably behaving herself far better than the spoiled brat Hadyn's brother called a horse.

"We ought to switch rides," she muttered to herself as she wrestled the irritated horse's face to slip the bit into his mouth. "Can't tell who's crabbier - by the blood of Rhysol y'bastard!"

After much struggling the horse was finally tacked. He adopted a sullen visage, swiping a few more stalks of hay before following Hadyn from the stall. He shot Orion and his mare an angry glare, ears flush against his skull until they stepped outside. Perked up by the morning sun, the chestnut swished his tail, now seemingly impatient to leave. Rolling her eyes before tightening the girth a final notch Hadyn mounted the horse and gathered the reins, awaiting the Squire.

"I hope y'know some good jokes for the ride back, else I'll be bored to tears."

by **Orion Michaels** on September 14th, 2013, 6:16 pm

That wasn't something he heard horribly often. I'm quite the talker, just...not with you. He kept the mostly fake smile on his lips, only letting it drop once she was far enough a head of him. He wasn't ready for their trip at all, but there was little to be done at this point. Orion had taken a job, offered to protect her, though all that had happened was something good being ruined, both by his temperament, and her assumptions.

Orion followed in shortly after Hadyn, moving to tack up his mount. He found himself observing her actions, as, truth be told, he had no idea what he was doing. He'd had to have help every time he'd gotten a horse ready, and he'd actually had one of the stable hands in Syliras get the beast ready for their trek in the first place. "Gods I hate these things.." Orion glanced over to what Hadyn was doing, trying to mimic her actions. First the saddle blanket. He placed it on the mount's back , though something was off. Orion paused, looking back and forth between his and her's. Frowning, he rotated the blanket, moved it up and down his ride's back, earning an irritated snort from it. Finally, he was settled in, though the blanket was a bit too low.

Next was the saddle. Orion took a deep breath and lifted what would be his seat for the journey home. Buckles and straps hung loosely, almost taunting him as they swayed back and forth. Frowning, Orion placed the saddle on top of the blanket and knelt down by the horse, struggling mightily to tie it down. "Stupid..piece of shyke...OUCH!" Orion snatched his hand back, having pinched his index finger in one of the buckles. Gods he hated this so much. Sighing, he took the two sides of the buckle again, feeding one through other and tightening it once he finally managed to get them to together. The horse again snorted, displeased with the tightness. "Well if you could put this shyke on yourself you little bastard," he muttered, standing to face the beast with the bridle.

"Alright. We're gonna do this." Orion was lucky for a mostly agreeable horse. It didn't fight him on finishing up the tacking and they were able to be on their way back to Syliras. He was ready for that. In fact . . . Orion quickly mounted the beast and lead it to the exit, tossing a smirk to the smithy.

He didn't reply to Hadyn's words. Instead, he was ready to get the trip underway. Maybe a little excitement would get them off of the sore subject, and onto something a little more entertaining. "HAH!" Orion shouted as he gave his mount a kick, spurring it onward out of the stable, running full tilt for the exit of the outpost. Focus on him being a stupid squire, not an uneven man. Leaning forward, he held the reins tight, grumbling with each bounce. He was really bad at this. The mount was more than excited to run, less than happy with the cramped conditions it had been left in. Orion shot a glance back at Hadyn, but narrowly missing a small house caught his attention and turned his gaze forward. What in the world was he doing?

by **Hadyn Skellig** on September 16th, 2013, 2:01 am

A dark eyebrow rose over skeptical eyes as he sent his horse cantering off, leaving her in the proverbial and literal dust. An aloof sigh slipped past her lips as the weaponsmith's feet found their way into the stirrups. Rolling her eyes skyward Hadyn shook her head, encouraging the gelding forward.

"Don't those Knights teach their Squires anythin'?" she muttered to the chestnut. He picked up an easy trot, seemingly pleased to be on his own without another horse to make faces at. She let him go on, uninterested in rushing to fall in line behind her cantankerous guide. If she could follow his trail of dust the whole way home they'd be just fine. She noted the unimpressed albeit slightly curious glances Orion's hasty departure gained him from the townspeople. No doubt they were unused to city folk galloping through their village at breakneck speed. She shot an apologetic smile to one particularly bewildered man as she rode past, her gaze suggesting a: Sorry for the idiot on the horse.

Admittedly she'd made of fool of herself many times so she certainly sympathized with Orion's reaction. But it was a bit silly of him to act so dramatic. Yes, she'd messed up. But she'd expressed remorse and even offered to make it up to him in a manner they'd both be satisfied with. At least she thought so. He was far more sensitive than she originally anticipated. Indeed, he was correct - she didn't know him. His response to her intrusive questioning was entirely unexpected. At most she figured he'd brush her off with a cheeky comment about their ground rules and tease her mercilessly later. But no. He'd flown into a temper tantrum befitting of a overly emotional poet or child. As if she actually gave a damn about his past. He took it so personally she decided he wasn't worth it, even if he petched like a champion.

"There goes another one," she informed the gelding. "They all turn out to be losers, don't they, ol' boy?" she canted her head to a passerby as they trotted through Orion's dust. She didn't mind the odd glances. So she talked to the horse? not like there was anyone else to talk to. "Didn't even want an apology petch."

Hadyn scoffed at the memory of his response. What a child. A good petch could fix nearly anything. Especially something as trivial as her mistake. Shaking her head again, the woman turned her attention to the retreating form of the Squire.

" 'Haps the mare'll throw him," she suggested as the chestnut tossed his head up, coppery mane catching the sunlight. The brunette smirked and shrugged. "One can hope."

by **Radiant** on October 10th, 2013, 8:22 pm

Hadyn :

Orion :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+3 XP
Riding: Horse	+2 XP
Socialization	+5 XP
Rhetoric	+3 XP

Skill	XP Earned
Riding: Horse	+2 XP
Socialization	+5 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Cooking	+2 XP

Completed A Road Less Traveled {Orion}