Closed [Job Thread] The Volunteer (Jorin Ertihan)

[Rinya]

Jorin explained the simplicity of choosing a quarterstaff was merely about height. The staff itself should be only an inch or two taller. Rinya wasn’t sure why a staff exactly the same height wouldn’t work just the same, but then the staff looked far more complicated of a weapon than she was used to. Granted archery wasn’t always easy, there were many components to consider - most of them instinctual for her by this point - but if Rinya couldn’t take out an enemy from a distance, then she really wasn’t comfortable with the idea of close up combat. But unarmed combat appealed to her much more than the dagger attached to her hip.

"Sparring?" It really didn’t surprise her, though she knew very little about Akalak teaching, but she honestly couldn’t imagine her mate sparring. She had never seen a violent Jorin - perhaps that was why he never won. She couldn’t see him banging it out with an Akalak for the sole purpose just to win. She was sure he had the skill to win - or at least was biased enough to think that - and she certainly wouldn’t doubt him if he had no choice but to defend himself. But still… picturing Jorin swinging around the staff currently in his possession with intent to harm was still difficult to imagine. "I think I’d like to see you spar actually..."

Rinya didn’t bother to acknowledge his flushed face and the vague sense embarrassment. She didn’t have to take a guess as to what might be bothering him, seeing as he had already admitted to never winning a spar straight up. "Well most of these Akalak have been training a long time I would bet, given their life span." Really it was impossible to tell how old an Akalak might be. It wouldn’t be surprising if most of the training Akalak were experts in their chosen weapons. Rinya shrugged slightly before grinning at him. "Maybe I’ll be a good luck charm." She meant it as a joke as she didn’t care if he won or lost, but sometimes all someone needed was an audience after all.

Rinya couldn’t help but chuckle as Jorin whined about having to repeat the same eight lines over and over again. "What? Don’t want to repeat the lines of ‘The Thief of Hearts’ my love?" She knew just how badly he hated that play even from only just one rehearsal. He had whined the whole way home about the verbiage used in the play and just how badly the plot laid out. Rinya could recognize a play meant for female masses - but she had smirked at him when he had complained about the amount of kissing that the play apparently insisted on having. Her husband was well known for so called ‘pointless’ kissing.

"Strictly?" Rinya raised a brow at him. He had mentioned it before actually, that it was general bad practice not to show up entirely. But Rinya herself wasn’t bound to push the subject - after all the stage master still seemed to carry some sort of grudge against him. There was no telling how long that man was going to hate her husband, but she really wanted to give the man a piece of her mind… however making Jorin’s life worse at the Amphitheater wasn’t an option. If he should ever quit or end up fired once again - well she could think about that then.

Anything other idea of revenge slipped from her mind as Jorin reached out to grab her waist, pulling her into his side. Blinking she glanced up at him curiously, raising a brow at him as he tried to explain that it was cold and that he didn’t want her getting sick again. It seemed like a legitimate claim, if it wasn’t for the desire that swirled around him. Honestly she had no plans to actually question him about it - after all she was withholding her own. Apparently neither of them were terribly great at keeping their hands off each other, as if they were separated for long periods of time.

However she wasn’t expecting him to quite literally steer her towards one of the smaller alcoves built into the side of the Warren. "Jorin?" Her voice came out more a squeak in her surprise, as he pressed her firmly up against him and nuzzled her neck. Rinya couldn’t help but shiver slightly, despite the fact she really should have scolded him. She had thought he had gotten it mostly out of his system before they had even entered the Warren, but the fact that for the moment they were alone apparently tugged at his patience.

Plus by the time he pulled back to look at her, she couldn’t have scolded him if she wanted to. The look on his face was familiar of course, but always welcome. There was never a doubt that her mate loved her, the bond easily translated that - but the look on his face would have told her the very same thing as well. There was no mask or acting, just the plain obvious feelings he let shine through onto his face. She could barely make out the three little words he whispered to her before he broke the only rule she had put down on him and kissed her.

Rinya knew that she should scold him. It was the only request that she had asked of him while being in the Warren, and here he was dragging her into dark corners to claim he loved her and show her just how much. But it was quiet and they were alone… and to say that she didn’t want to kiss him either would have been entirely a lie in the first place. So instead of scolding him she pressed her lips against his firmly, wrapping her arms around his neck without hesitation. If someone caught them and tattled - well she wasn’t in love with her job like Jorin was with his.

Rinya mimicked the groan the escaped him as he intensified the kiss. The man certainly learned all of her weaknesses with ease and exploited them just as easily. Despite the grip on her neck and waist she knew it would be easy enough to pull away if she so felt inclined, but honestly she rather liked when he was insistent and dominant. There was no doubt that he would feel it too based on the spike of desire that trailed through her. If they weren’t currently in the cold depths of her job she might have been more likely to try and push the subject. As he finally broke the kiss for air Rinya sucked in air she had literally forgotten she might need.

"You can’t lie to me anyways." Rinya muttered breathlessly, leaning up to meet his lips. This time she had no issues being the one to intensify the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth first and dealing with the shiver afterwards. But Jorin crowded her instincts… where she was normally on high alert there was nothing but him filling every sense across her body. His sounds, his smell, his touch… which was why she missed that they were no longer alone. There was the sound of someone clearing their throat off to her side and it actually took Rinya a moment to process the sound - and nearly leap away from her mate to face the Akalak standing not but a few feet from them, a grin spread across his lips.

"Well if there was any doubt you were only married for bluff before..." Trynmal sang lightly, causing Rinya’s face to flush redder than it already was from her rather fierce make out session with her mate. "Uh..." There really wasn’t anything she could say to clear up what had just happened… considering it was fairly obvious. Rinya spared a glance at Jorin before starting meekly at Trynmal. He just outwardly laughed and waved a hand in a slight dismissal. "Don’t worry about it. Just don’t let me catch you again." He winked at her and Rinya couldn’t help but groan - nothing near the desired filled sound she had shared with Jorin just chimes before. After a moment of simply grinning at the two, Trynmal motioned towards the stairs. "We’ve got a bit of a problem upstairs. They asked me to come find you." Rinya felt her eyebrows raise slightly, but she nodded none the less. "Is something wrong?"

Trynmal began to lead them both towards the stairs and Rinya glanced back at Jorin, holding out her hand to him. She wasn’t upset per say - but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t pay for his rule breaking when they returned home - and she wasn’t afraid to shoot him a sharp desired fill glance to let him know it too before she focused her attention back on the task at hand… her job. Trynmal seemed almost hesitant to say anything, but after a moment he sighed and shrugged. "We have a few of the Inartan’s here, and we’re debating just how far to take them."

As if that didn’t sound ominous...

[Jorin Ertihan]

Jorin shrugged when Rinya mentioned that she'd like to observe one of his sparring sessions at the Kendoka. He had no problems with her doing so, though he knew there was very little guarantee that he'd be able to be triumphant, despite the presence of his beloved. Nonetheless, he would far prefer Rinya's presence anyway - she always had a calming effect on him and he would love to see her there regardless of how well he did or did not do.

"I think I'd like that too," he replied with a smile. Rinya did not bother acknowledging his blush or the embarrassment, and Jorin knew it was because she knew him well enough to know why it was. She brought up a very good point - that the majority of his sparring partners had likely been practicing for a very long time, and thus would have been far more skilled than they might initially appear.

When Rinya lightly mentioned that she might be a good-luck charm, Jorin just smiled warmly at her. "I'm absolutely certain you would be," he insisted with confidence. Even if he got absolutely stomped, her very presence would give him such joy that he knew he would try harder, just for her. And that alone would make her an excellent good luck charm. Though he did wonder if Rinya would prove as great a distraction for him as he apparently was for her. Quite possibly so, since they were already sneaking desire-filled glances at one another even here in the Warren.

Jorin groaned - and not in pleasure - when Rinya mentioned 'The Thief of Hearts'. "Oh gods. That has got to be the worst play ever written," he sighed with a small growl. Jorin knew Rinya was probably sick of hearing how awful the play was, but it truly was one of the worst he'd ever seen.

It wasn't just the fact that there was kissing in nearly every scene. Granted, that fact made him quirk an eyebrow, and he did question the need to have such excessive kissing, but then again he loved kissing Rinya so it wasn't so much the act itself. But in Jorin's mind, him kissing Rinya and the kisses the play insisted on foisting on the characters were two entirely different things.

For Jorin, kissing Rinya was an expression of his feelings for her. It was true, quite often for seemingly no reason at all he would sneak a kiss onto her, mainly because he was thinking of her at that moment and wanted to express his feelings. She never seemed to mind and in fact encouraged it, and so he continued to do it.

But the kissing in the Thief of Hearts seemed so... artificial. Perhaps it was because, having already experienced such deep affection with Rinya, Jorin no longer saw the love as expressed by the play as genuine. Perhaps he might have if he'd never met Rinya, but now he looked upon the play as having been written by a loveless man who was desperately trying to describe something he had never experienced.

Regardless, Jorin coughed slightly when Rinya queried him on the word 'strictly'. On the one hand, he didn't want to admit he'd had to essentially beg a favor from the stage master in order to have his day with her today. On the other hand, he was never very good at lying in general, and particularly bad at lying to Rinya. With a small sigh, he crumbled.

"Well... the truth is, I had to ask for the day off," he confessed, more red creeping up on his neck and cheeks. "I... uhh, well in order for the stage master to give me the day off, I had to agree to a few... conditions." Jorin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning against his borrowed staff slightly before continuing.

"Ironic that you should bring up 'The Thief of Hearts'. Apparently I'm to 'star' in that production. Again. Turns out none of the other actors really wanted the role." Jorin grimaced. "I wonder why," he asked sarcastically. But he still grinned at Rinya anyway, taking in her braided-back hair, and spying the silvery glint of the mark on her neck that proclaimed to the world that the two of them belonged to each other.

"Completely worth it though," he insisted with a smile.

Jorin could tell Rinya didn't quite believe his excuse about it being cold, since he knew that they were both feeling the desire at the moment. The bond fairly buzzed with it, and when he directed them to the alcove, he barely heard Rinya's surprised squeak of his name when he embraced her warmly. In truth, Jorin half-expected Rinya to scold him lightly for breaking her rule when he kissed her, but the majority of him knew she probably wouldn't. The rest of him did not care as he felt the love, desire, and happiness wash over the both of them.

Jorin vaguely noted that Rinya had wrapped her arms around his neck, accepting and returning his kiss with equal vigor and groaning against his lips when he slipped in his tongue. The entire affair was so intoxicating - Jorin couldn't imagine going even a single day without this. It was true, he was completely addicted to his wife. Perhaps coming to the Warren wasn't such a good idea; at this rate they'd never leave.

As usual, their kisses were so intense they robbed them both of breath, and so all-consuming they forgot about the need to breathe until the insistent burn in their lungs forced the kiss apart. The breathless insistence that Jorin could not lie to her anyway was met with no arguments. Jorin did not want to lie to Rinya. Not ever. He trusted her so fully, loved her so completely, that the very idea wouldn't occur to him. Besides, even if he had, the bond would tell her anyway.

So instead of replying, he kissed her again. Jorin was pleased to find that Rinya actually leaned up to meet his lips, and an involuntary shudder of pleasure passed through him as she was the one to slip in her tongue this time. Just as Rinya's entire world shrank down to him, his entire world shrank down to her. It was not that Jorin was naturally unobservant, but the fact of the matter was that every time they had such intense physical and emotional connection, Jorin couldn't help but concentrate solely on Rinya. The whole world fell away leaving just the two of them, and the emotions that was passing through and between them.

There were times, especially when Jorin was alone and thinking of Rinya, when he still had tiny worries about whether he was good enough for her. But it was moments like this that eradicated such thoughts, at least temporarily. He could feel her desire and love so strongly across the bond, and he knew his own love for her was equally great. Regardless of whether or not he was good enough, he was her choice, and the intensity of their kiss merely proved it.

In fact, the love was so all-consuming that Jorin wasn't fully aware of the fact that his hands had begun to wander. His right hand had slid from her waist to her buttocks, as he pressed into the kiss with more intensity. It was an absolutely absurd thing to do - they were in the cold bowels of the Warren, not their bedroom. But Jorin just felt such desire for his wife, especially since he could sense a matching desire from her. The tiny logical part of his mind was pleading with him to stop, that this was absolute madness.

Rinya could pull away. Jorin knew this - despite the fact that their hands were firmly wrapped around each other she could still break this kiss and insist that he behave. But he also knew she wouldn't, because she loved this intimate contact between them just as much as he did. But part and parcel with the intensity was the fogginess. Their love and desire, especially when mixed like this, tended to daze them both, making them unable to sense anything but each other.

Jorin barely registered the sound of someone coughing to the side. To his embarrassment, his first thought had been, how rude! Couldn't the man see they were busy?! Then Jorin's sluggish, love-dazed mind caught up with him and he realized where they were. Rinya, it seemed, caught on faster than he did, since she broke off the kiss and whirled to face Trynmal, who was standing there with a grin.

Jorin had the grace to flush with embarrassment as the man joked that if there had been any doubts about the veracity of Rinya's marriage before, their little interrupted tryst was evidence enough to eradicate it. Rinya flushed just as deeply red, unable to really give any response, but Trynmal dismissed it, merely telling them to not get caught again. Jorin merely breathed a sigh of relief. If he had cost Rinya her job due to his own indiscretion... well, even though he knew his wife had no particular love for her work, it still wouldn't sit right with him.

Jorin raised an eyebrow when Trynmal mentioned that they apparently had a problem upstairs and needed Rinya there. What sort of problem? Regardless, the young Akalak began leading them back up and Rinya turned and offered her hand. Jorin accepted it with ease, though her sharp desire-laden glance at him told him he would pay in some fashion for his rule breaking later that evening.

Jorin just gave her a sheepish grin in response, but the truth was he would do it a hundred times over. Jorin knew his wife was not actually angry with him - he'd experienced her anger before and this was not it. But regardless, he would never regret showing affection for Rinya, now or in the future. Giving her hand a tiny squeeze, he continued to follow her as she in turn followed Trynmal up the steps. The man was talking about how the Inartans were here in the Warrren, and apparently the guards were debating 'how far to take them'.

Jorin's back straightened immediately after hearing this. Inartans. The riders from Wind Reach were here? What did they want? Was it true they were diseased? Jorin suddenly had a million questions and he was burning to ask them. But he knew that, being new, Trynmal would probably know even less than Rinya about the situation, so he held his tongue. Still he couldn't help but wonder - if there wasn't disease among the riders, why would there be trouble?

Jorin glanced worriedly over at Rinya, the silent question hanging in the air.

Is it safe?

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[Rinya]

She felt it before he even started to say anything - that there was something he had to tell her. It didn’t feel ominous, but by the look on his face and the sigh he ground out… it wasn’t something to be particularly happy about. Not hidden, but something he certainly dreaded to say - or admit to. Before she could even ask him what was suddenly bothering him, he cracked himself. "Conditions?" Rinya asked, slightly surprised. It wasn’t surprising that the man put conditions on her husband, but Jorin really must have wanted to accompany her today to accept them.

And then he split the beans that apparently he was required in the very least to be the lead once again in his oh so favorite play. Rinya twitched her nose slightly at the thought. While she knew it was his job and that he didn’t actually feel anything when he kissed another female - neither of them were very keen on the idea of him actually having to do it. His sarcastic mark about no one else willing to take the job didn’t surprise her either, but he really must have wanted to spend the day with her to accept another leading male role of that specific play. Rinya shook her head. "The things you do for love." It was only a half sarcastic mark herself… she honestly would have preferred him to turn down the role and stay home rather than be here over that petching play.

He however insisted that it was well worth it. Rinya couldn’t help but snort at that. No one should have to be put through that play - on or off the stage. Granted while most people could probably roll their eyes at how lovey dovey the two of them could be, even they were no where near the price of that play. Luckily her mate had decided to pull her mind off the play and onto him instead. She had no issues with being overly sappy and in love with him despite the fact that it was just bone cold at the bottom of the Warren. It never mattered where they were, he always managed to set her blood on fire, and that was more than enough to warm her to the point of not noticing.

She had been so caught up in their kiss that his wandering hand - which wasn’t really so surprising even with the fact they could be caught - didn’t deter her. Rinya herself was rather enjoying his own shiver when she took a little initiative with her own tongue, and enjoying his wandering hands. Though unlike Jorin she never really cared whether or not a place could be too public for such actions - though he tended to forget as well. The only reason she withdrew so quickly from her mate at Trynmal’s interruption was the fact she knew that this sort of thing was generally frowned up while at work. While she may not love her job, she did technically still need the income.

But the fact some of the riders from Wind Reach had shown up at the Warren didn’t quite make sense to her. Why in the world would that be an issue? Trynmal seemed reluctant to say anything else, and Jorin just gave her hand a small squeeze. She noticed his glance - and the worry across the bond - and she knew the silent question he was suddenly trying to ask. If everything was safe and if there was going to be trouble. Honestly she had no idea, much less why she would need to join the small flock of guards that had apparently clustered just outside the Warren.

Rinya frowned slightly and reluctantly released Jorin’s hand. While she highly doubted this would turn into a physical fight, she still wanted to be prepared enough. She could already hear arguments amongst other guards. Bits and pieces about who should take them, and if it was even alright to do so in the first place. She couldn’t actually see the Inarta, but she could make out bits and pieces of some broken common arguments that there was nothing wrong with ‘them’, and that they demanded to see someone. She couldn’t make out the entire argument and Rinya shot Jorin an exasperated look.

Apparently the rumors were either true, or had just wormed their way into everyone’s mind. Several the guards certainly looked wary and as Rinya gently shoved her way to the front of the pack, she could even spot Rhys out on the other side of the group that had gathered up. Actually by all appearances all of the Warren guards were here. The Inarta were easy to pick out, several different shades of red hair, and striking eyes… but they looked exactly as the facts said - that famine had hit Wind Reach. But they stood tall none the less and Rinya certainly couldn’t help but feel respect. Akalak were hard to stand up to even at the best of times.

"Let the bird deal with them."

The words had been spit out from somewhere, though Rinya couldn’t have pinpointed where. It wasn’t the first time someone had called her that, especially since her little hunting escapades after the dogs, but to some extent she was torn to finding it as an insult to her - and to the Inarta. If there was one thing she did know about them, it was that they were supposedly superb falconers. The fact that they had ridden on giant eagles of all things just claimed it as so, but Rinya ground her teeth together none the less. The Inarta themselves looked a little confused by the statement as well.

The small shove to her lower back - which she knew wasn’t from Jorin - caused her to stumble forward a little. She glanced behind her with a small glare, but she couldn’t actually tell who had shoved her. Trynmal had a slight grim look on his face that tallied his innocence in the very least, but Rinya just huffed a sigh before turning to the Inarta. They stared at her curiously and she found there really wasn’t going to be a choice in this. In the very least they didn’t look diseased, just tired and hungry.

Suppressing a sigh, Rinya approached the Inarta -unaware if Jorin was following her or not. "Someone want to fill me in on what’s going on?" Rinya did her best to sound pleasant - it wasn’t their fault if no one else could decide what to do. The Inarta - all four of them male now that she could see them clearly - glanced back and forth between themselves before one of them stepped forward. "We wish to see Kavalor." The apparent male ‘leader’ spoke with an accent she had never heard before, but it was easy enough to understand him in the very least.

"Anyone diseased shouldn’t be in the Warren!" One of the guards barked out from the back and Rinya was sorely tempted to smack her face. Almost instantly it seemed the arguing started back up about what was allowed and what wasn’t. In all honesty she figured Kavalor was the only one who could have that say so. The tension was running high and Rinya wasn’t exactly left a lot of options. Despite the fact that there could be chance of catching a disease, Rinya realized the was only one real option. Looking back at Jorin she gave him a grim look before turning to the Inarta.

"I will take them to Kavalor." Rinya nearly had to shout the words, but the effect she was looking for worked. The guards quieted after a tick of processing her words, and Rinya added for extra effect. "Kavalor will have to see them eventually." At least that was her best estimation. Motioning to the Inarta to follow she began to head back towards the Warren entrance. A few of the guards mumbled, but Rinya was at least pleasantly surprised a few others followed as they parted from the group. She had no doubt Jorin was with her too, and she glanced back at him to nod him forward. They couldn’t exactly hold hands at the moment, but she would much rather have him next to her.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Jorin wasn't exactly pleased to be in yet another production of Mizahar's most annoying play. After all, one had been more than enough. But while Rinya's comment about "the things you do for love" might have been somewhat sarcastic, Jorin took it to heart. Because he knew that for Rinya, he would do anything. It was not just a turn of phrase for him, not anymore. Under different circumstances, Jorin might have been somewhat worried or frightened by how willing he'd become, when it came to Rinya. But he knew deep inside that she'd do the exact same for him.

Safety, both for Rinya and himself, was paramount in Jorin's estimation. He would do anything to keep his wife safe, and the fact that she did not answer in any fashion to his unspoken question caused Jorin to worry a bit further. It wasn't that he didn't trust Rinya, but the fact that she did not know caused his mind to jump to all sorts of bad conclusions. After all, if the Inartans were perfectly safe, why would they need Rinya? Why would they need the guards at all?

By the time they reached the small knot of guards - Jorin spotting Rhys somewhere in the back of them though the man seemed to make a concerted effort to ignore both himself and especially Rinya - an argument seemed to have broken out. Rinya had released his hand in order to get closer and presumably because she might need both hands should things escalate. Only Trynmal and Rhys seemed to be aware that Jorin was not in fact a recent new hire, so he managed to slip in behind his wife, keeping a discreet distance but never allowing her to get out of his sight.

Rinya managed to get to the front, and Jorin followed closely behind, and his eyes fell upon a small group of four men who might have been Alia's relatives. They certainly looked quite striking with their red hair of varying brightness, and sharp piercing eyes. But their faces were thin, drawn, and tired. Their eyes, normally quite lively, looked exhausted and weary, and their stances were not as straight or proud as they could be, though they tried mightily to hold onto their dignity. Jorin found himself rather admiring these men. Despite their situation, they held onto their pride.

Nonetheless, the other Warren guards seemed unwilling to permit them further entry. Jorin caught snippets of the grumbling and from what he could gather, they were worried about disease. So it seemed it was more than just a rumor, if even the guards were this nervous. Surely it would have to be more than just hearsay if-

Jorin's back straightened and his eyes grew wide, then narrowed instantly when he heard someone cry out to let the 'bird' deal with them. The 'bird'. That was worse than 'pet'. Was that what his wife was to these people? Just a bird? A flash of anger surged through him and Jorin ground his teeth together, doing his utmost to maintain a calm facade. It would not help Rinya if he exploded here, but he knew she could sense his anger at Rinya's treatment by her co-workers.

Even worse, Jorin noted that one of the Akalaks - he did not recognize the man but it hadn't been Rhys or Trynmal - shoved her forward. Beyond the fact that the man was so incredibly rude as to do so, Jorin couldn't help feeling his anger surge even further. The man just touched his wife! Jorin closed his eyes briefly, missing Rinya's expression as she suppressed a sigh and stepped foward, as he tried to regain control. He kept repeating to himself. Don't get angry. Don't get angry. It was working... barely.

The Inartans, at the very least, were curt but respectful, asking to see Kavalor in answer to RInya's polite inquiry on what was going on. Jorin couldn't see why they'd be refused entry - though another Akalak saw fit to shout it out anyway. That just started up the arguing all over again, and Jorin could feel Rinya's exasperation rise. Even without the bond, he would have been able to see it on her face. Jorin still couldn't understand why Kavalor could not have been consulted by one of the guards, and actually asked if he was willing to meet with the Inartans.

Rinya looked back at Jorin with a grim expression, and even without the bond Jorin would have felt the tension. It was fairly vibrating in the room and he knew better than to make it any worse. He gave her an encouraging smile, sure that Rinya would know how to handle the situation. Jorin had no idea whether these men were diseased or not, as he was no medical expert nor a healer.

Nonetheless they looked to be healthy enough, if somewhat malnourished. Jorin was quite sure Rinya would know how to handle the situation with grace. After all, despite being called "the bird" and so incredibly rudely shoved forward, she did not lose her temper and managed to actually be fairly civil with the Inartan guests. Jorin didn't know if that was because of his influence, but regardless he felt a surge of pride for how his wife was handling this, despite all the tension in the room.

Rinya had to fairly shout that she would take the men to see Kavalor, which seemed to do the trick. The arguing stopped, replaced by a rather heavy silence as she pointed out that he'd have to see them eventually. She made an excellent point, one none of the other guards seemed willing to argue, so they made way as she led them forward.

Technically speaking, Jorin was just a visitor and volunteer, not a proper guard. Despite being Rinya's husband, he wasn't sure if it was permitted for him to follow her. But even before Rinya glanced back and nodded him forward, Jorin had already instinctively begun walking over to her side. Not a proper guard or not, he would stay by her side no matter what. As they silently marched to the man's office, he couldn't help looking over at the four men following them.

They look so grim, he thought, as they continued to walk. I wonder... just how bad is it over in Wind Reach?

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[Rinya]

Jorin was… well not very happy actually. The bond throbbed with his anger, though it didn’t surprise her, he hated it when people referred to her as something other than a person. The bird comment was bound to send him off the deep end, though she gave him plenty of credit for actually managing to keep his mouth shut. Of course the feeling intensified as she was shoved forward, his anger mixing with his protective instincts, but he remained on the sidelines and Rinya was incredibly grateful for it. The last thing she needed to do was try to explain a fight with someone that didn’t actually work in the Warren.

Luckily Jorin didn’t need the hint to follow the small assembled group. Some of the guards were probably going to return to duty, others would probably begin to make their way home. Rinya honestly wanted nothing more than to return home herself… it probably wouldn’t take much to get Jorin to join her either. She decided as soon as the Inartan’s were taken care of, they would sneak out and return home. While there wasn’t much fear - at least on her end - about a disease, the others could handle what could happen next regardless of what they thought. As it was there was tension between each and every one of them, but it was the silence that seemed to weight the heaviest.

Rinya hurried along the stone stairs, taking less caution than she had with Jorin. She wanted to get the travelers to Kavalor as soon as possible. Part of her didn’t entirely trust anyone other than Jorin in the group. That came naturally to her however, and she did her best to shove the thoughts out of her head. Most people proved to be good, but that didn’t always prove easy to believe however. Kavalor’s office was on the second floor down, so it would take no time to reach in the first place. However one of the Inartan decided to break the silence. "Why do they call you the ‘bird’?"

It was a generally considered a blunt question - something she could actually appreciate. Rinya glanced at the man - the ‘leader’ - who was staring at the man who had spoken, but he didn’t correct him. Instead the question hung in the air and Rinya tried to decide if it was worth answering. Rinya tilted her head to look at her husband for a moment before shrugging slightly. "I’m Kelvic." She replied lightly, and the Inartan that had asked the question hummed slightly in response. "What kind of bird?"

It took Rinya a moment to realize that his curiosity might span from the fact that they had giant eagles of their own. "Osprey… a fisher hawk." The answer seemed to satisfy him, because he didn’t speak again - though he did flash her the hint of a tired smile. Rinya couldn’t help but grin slightly, shooting it at Jorin before they entered the second floor hall. She came to a stop before Kavalor’s office, motioning to the door. "We’re here." Several of the guards entered the office before the Inartan’s, but Rinya stood her ground outside the door until it was just her and Jorin left in the hall. After several ticks, Rinay sighed tiredly and turned to face her mate. "Let’s just go home. Bring the quarterstaff with us, I will return it tomorrow."

Jorin’s response either way wasn’t likely to sway her. She simply took his hand, locking her fingers together with his, and led him up the stairs towards the entrance of the Warren. "How did you enjoy your first day at the Warren? Was it everything you expected?" There was a teasing tone to her voice. After all the day had been filled with all sorts of emotions. "Don’t mind the guards. They generally mean well." Rinya tried to put to rest his mind - it wasn’t often they actually called her ‘bird’. Usually only stress… and apparently today was one of those days.

Outside the Warren Syna’s light had not yet begun to fade and Rinya preferred it that way. Wandering around at night was dangerous, even more so for her. But she never trusted the distance between the Warren and the city. Reluctantly she released Jorin’s hand in favor of pulling her bow over her head and gripped into her left hand. The Glassbeak attack had left her on a kind of permanent edge. It was the very reason she had insisted that Jorin bring the quarterstaff with. Most days there was no disturbances, but she never took the chance anyways. Especially since the dog pack they had hunted in the fall was still around. Smaller numbers - but still there.

"Most days are… quieter than they were today." Rinya shot Jorin a weak smile, shrugging her shoulders slightly as her eyes did their best to scan the area around them. "In the very least it was quieter than your job." Rinya smirked lightly. Before she could tease her mate further, one of the very mutts she had been thinking about actually stepped onto the path in front of them. Rinya came to an immediate stop, fingers instinctively reaching up to pull an arrow from her quiver. By the looks of the mutt it was thin and mangy… undoubtedly hungry. Rinya groaned. "Where there is one Jorin, there is more."

After all… dogs traveled in packs.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Jorin never enjoyed seeing his wife treated with anything but dignity and respect. Of course, it was entirely possible that he was completely biased in that respect - he did love her above all else after all. But still, Jorin realized that loving Rinya had caused his eyes to open to the often double standards by which some of the "citizenry" were treated in Riverfall. Rinya was just one such example, but he'd seen Kelvics in the Amphitheater too - none of whom had ever risen to the rank of "actor".

Rinya for her part managed to keep her cool, which was more than could be said for Jorin. But he managed to keep himself under control, and he could feel his wife's gratitude across the bond. Indeed it was that gratitude that kept him under control - he was sure if Rinya had gotten upset as well, Jorin was certain there was an excellent chance he would have lost it.

Nonetheless, he followed her as she led the Inartans down some steps, leading the way presumably to Kavalor's office. Jorin couldn't tell - the winding passageways looked as similar to him as ever, but he trusted his wife's sense of direction and experience in the Warren. Not for the first time, he felt that the hallways could do with a bit better lighting. Nonetheless, he kept to himself and followed his wife as she led them through the passageways.

Jorin was pulled out of his thoughts by the question one of the Inartans. It was a very straightforward one, and had it been posed to anyone else, Jorin would have been annoyed by how blunt the question had been. But Jorin knew his wife by now. She was a woman of few words and preferred things to be aboveboard and honest. As he expected, Rinya was appreciative of the fact that the man did not mince words, though she took a tick or two to answer.

Jorin half-wondered if Rinya was considering how to phrase her response. She glanced over at him, and Jorin gave her his best encouraging smile. Truthfully, he didn't care if Rinya told them or not - if it did not bother her, it would not bother him. In the end she was as blunt as the questioner, informing him that she was a Kelvic. Then, under further questioning, told them that she was an Osprey. Jorin knew that Inartans flew on eagles. He idly wondered if his wife's answers satisfied or disappointed them - then decided it didn't matter.

Jorin made sure to return Rinya's grin, trying his best to support her. Her emotions were somewhat muted, but he could still sense her tiredness and annoyance at the whole situation. In truth, he found himself much preferring the company of his wife to the company of others. Strange. Not three seasons ago, he was almost desperate for the company of others. Now, he could care less - so long as Rinya was by his side.

When they finally reached Kavalor's office, Rinya indicated it, and waited outside as the Inartans were escorted in. Jorin stood quietly next to her, until they were alone once more. She gave him a tired smile and suggested they go home. Jorin nodded, hefting his quarterstaff and allowed Rinya to take his hand, her interlocking fingers sending warmth radiating through him at the contact.

"Well, I'll admit it was more... eventful than I thought it would be," Jorin confessed at Rinya's question, squeezing her hand slightly. He sighed when she mentioned the guards. "I know, my love. I just... really hate it when you're not treated with the respect you deserve. I mean, 'bird'? Really?"

It wasn't that Jorin necessarily thought that 'bird' was such an awful thing to call Rinya. Truthfully, he far preferred it to 'pet'. After all, technically, she was a bird. Rinya was a beautiful, strong, independent woman... but as a Kelvic Osprey, she was still also a bird. So he supposed there were worse things that the guards could have called her.

But Jorin knew that Rinya was so much more than that. And that was the crux of it. He figured these guards probably only saw her as 'the bird'. To them, she wasn't the playful girl who loved to laugh, who smiled gently at him when he kissed her, or gasped pleasantly whenever he teased her. Didn't know about that adorable little wrinkling of the nose she did whenever she thought she said or did something wrong.

"I guess I'm just a tad bit biased, though," Jorin admitted with a slight grin. But even as he said it, Rinya released his hand to pull out her bow. Jorin didn't feel upset about it - he felt her regret across the bond and while he loved the warmth of her hand in his, he understood her need for caution. The last thing either of them needed was another visit to the hospital.

"Well, quiet in my job doesn't necessarily bode good things," Jorin replied, trying to encourage his wife's smile more. He did greatly appreciate the fact that she was happy enough being with him that she smiled for him despite the day she just had, and he was just about to launch into a tale of one such 'quiet' day at the Amphitheater when he noticed the dog.

A ragged-looking dog was facing them. Its brown fur was uneven and dirty, and hung in loose chaotic waves across a lean and what was once a powerful body that had been weakened by malnutrition. Jorin remembered Rinya telling him that she and a bunch of other guards had gone out to cull this particular pack. He remembered this tale because he recalled the fact that a good portion of the Warren guards had seen his wife nude.

Jorin supposed it was not reasonable of him to have been as jealous as he'd been. He'd tried hard to not feel such, but Rinya was his and in a selfish streak, he'd wanted to be the only person to have seen her unclothed. Rinya for her part did not seem upset about Jorin's jealousy, and after a while the whole incident receded into the past... until now.

"Yeah, I figured," he replied grimly to Rinya's observation that where there was one, there was likely others. Jorin's rational and logical mind ran through the likely possibilities. Since Rinya and the Warren guards had mostly culled this particular pack, Jorin figured that the vast majority of them were likely dead.

Given the malnourished state of this dog, which had taken to bristling and growling at them, Jorin suspected that whatever dogs they'd missed had eked out a living out in the Sea by scavenging. Except there were slim pickings during winter, and now they had become desperate enough to try to make a meal of himself and his wife.

Jorin had never used his quarterstaff in any legitimate situation before. For a brief tick, all the lessons that Sohryn had taught him at the Kendoka flew right out of his head. It wasn't quite panic that gripped him - so far they'd only seen one dog - but Jorin could feel worry and nervousness crawl up his spine. Just how many of these dogs were there? For all he knew, there could be anywhere from a handful to a dozen or more waiting in the grass just beyond the path.

"We should probably stay on the path," Jorin suggested, even as he dropped low into a defensive posture. His left foot instinctively slid back as his right bent slightly, the butt-end of his quarterstaff smoothly finding its way into his left hand, leaving his primary hand about three-quarters of the way down the shaft of the weapon.

The forward stance was a defensive one, as Jorin recalled. Designed to give him maximal flexibility and freedom of movement, and Jorin needed that now as he noticed a slight rustling in the grass to his left. Swinging the staff about slightly, and his eyes wandered just slightly to glance at it. That was apparently all the distraction the first dog needed, and it lunged at him, loosing a strangled howl as it did so.

Not having time to see what had become of Rinya, Jorin instinctively swept low with the quarterstaff, hoping to catch the mutt in the side with the far end of the weapon, but the animal was already in the air by the time Jorin had swung his staff. He could feel the air being forced out of his lungs as the dog tackled him to the ground, and he panicked, barely keeping a grip on his staff as his mind scrambled to think of what to do. Despite all his practice at the Kendoka, it did not prepare him for this - everything was moving so much faster.

As the dog's jaws snapped mere inches from his face, the stink of its breath assaulting Jorin's nose, he brought his hand still gripping the staff back around, poking the animal hard in the flank with the end of it. The dog whimpered but refused to let go, and Jorin could feel the sharp pain of its paws digging into his shoulder. At least he was able to use his elbow to prop against the neck of the animal to prevent it from tearing his face off as he once again poked it in the ribs with the staff, which prompted an angry yelp from the dog as it backed off just slightly.

Jorin used the lessening of the weight of the dog to gain some leverage, which he used to heave the animal off of him. The whole experience felt like it lasted forever, but it had all occurred in the span of only a chime. The rustling of the grass became more prominent until another dog emerged from the grass. And then another. And then another.

Each one of the mangy animals appeared from a different spot, but they were all bedraggled and mangy, and clearly very hungry. Jorin picked himself up from the ground, shaking his head to clear it. He glanced over at Rinya, and was gratified to see her unhurt. He suspected she did not shoot because she was afraid of hitting him - as good a shot as she was, he figured she didn't want to risk it. Besides, it was over so fast she likely didn't have time to aim anyway.

Jorin dashed over and placed himself by RInya's side, looking on grimly at the dogs and gritting his teeth. "Well, they're certainly desperate," he coughed out, readjusting his grip on his staff a bit as he scanned the dogs yipping and growling at them. Jorin almost felt sorry for the mutts - from the looks of it, they had been starving for quite some time if the ribs poking through the chests of two of them was anything to go by.

His sympathy died a swift death when one of them lunged again - at his wife.

Jorin's body reacted almost before his mind did.

There was a loud crack as the end of Jorin's staff slammed against the shoulder of the attacking animal. It was a sloppy attack - not really worthy of the instructor that had taught it - but Jorin didn't care. At that moment the only relevant thing was the protection of his mate - his wife. The dog yipped in pain as its trajectory was altered, landing a few inches away and glaring at Jorin angrily.

Jorin glared right back.

"Petch you, you miserable mutt," he fairly snarled at the animal, whose only response was to growl back. Jorin didn't care, matching snarl for snarl.

Nobody harmed Rinya. Not while he still drew breath.

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[Rinya]

"Biased." Rinya couldn’t help but snort slightly. They were biased alright - only with each other. While she knew better of course - Jorin was a person and people made mistakes - generally she didn’t take it into account with his actions. In some ways the other could do no wrong, which probably accounted for their occasional small arguments. It still surprised her that they didn’t fight nearly as much as they could. A lot of the time they saw things completely different, yet it rarely affected how they reacted to the other. It was just… easier for her to accept his differences than someone else’s. "I don’t think they see it as an insult honestly. Either way it doesn’t really matter." Rinya shrugged at the thought. Fighting with them over a word just didn’t seem entirely justified, seeing as they would just do it again.

"I think your job could use a little quiet actually. Maybe bring some of those actors out of the clouds?" She highly doubted anything could actually accomplish that feat, but wistful thinking never hurt anyone - so long as they didn’t take it seriously anyways. Besides Jorin mostly avoided that crowd now a days, since the after party he had taken her to nearly ended in disaster. Not that Rinya was bound to complain about that - she rather preferred him to come home to her, and it seemed he had the same idea. Jorin didn’t really get the chance to go any further however as the dog came into view and disrupted their conversation.

Rinya couldn’t help but frown. She wasn’t sure if Jorin had any kind of experience in this type of fighting. She knew he went daily to the Kendoka, but training and the real thing was much different. To add to the fact that animals were much harder to read than some people. The more hungry an animal was, the more dangerous they tended to become. Her mate just agreed with her over the fact that there was going to be more than one of these mutts as well. While the dog was busy growling at them, Rinya took the off chance to glance around them. The grass wasn’t very high, but it didn’t need to be. Just enough to to hide their mangy bodies.

Humming in agreement with her husband over staying on the path, Rinya carefully knocked the arrow into her bowstring, flexing the fingers of her left hand across the handle of the bow to keep them from getting stiff. From the corner of her eye she could see Jorin shift into a position she assumed was for quarterstaff fighting. As she shifted to watch the rest of the surroundings however, the dog took it’s chance - launching itself at her mate. She didn’t even realize what was happening until she heard Jorin hit the ground. Whirling around, she was met with the sight of the dog nearly on top of him. Instinctively she drew the arrow back, feeling the pull in her muscles as the fletching reached the corner of her mouth.

But she couldn’t fire, she knew she couldn’t. There was direct chance she could hit Jorin, and with his position on the ground - well it was more likely for it to be fatal to him than the dog. There was panic filling her chest, and she watched Jorin try and poke the beast off his chest with little luck. Rinya debated her inner choice. She could shoot and injury Jorin, she could try and come at the dog with the dagger… and likely get bit first, or she could stall just for a tick longer and hope Jorin managed to get the beast off him. She went with option three, which turned out to be much better. Jorin managed to get the petching dog off him just enough to actually heave it from his form. Rinya let out a strained breath.

The moment the dog was off her mate however, she didn’t hesitate. The dog was distracted with getting back up to it’s feet and Rinya aimed for the ribs. Her arms were already feeling the burn from holding the arrow in position for so long - which meant sore muscles for later… but she didn’t have time to worry about it right now. She loosed the arrow, watching it arc just slightly in the arrow before burrowing into the side of the dog, not quite in the chest but lower into the side of the belly. Either way it had a profound effect with the dog being so thin. It yelped sharply and immediately tried to focus on the arrow in his side.

But even as the first dog was distracted, Rinya could hear the sounds of the others approaching. Jorin had managed to get himself off the ground and to her side. She didn’t bother to answer him, keeping her eyes on the first dog. A wounded, starving animal was worse to deal with if it decided to try again regardless of the arrow hindering its progress. Because of it, she didn’t even take notice of the dog leaping at her from the side. However Jorin was much quicker this time. She heard the staff hit the dog with a resounding crack that seemed to cause the others to hesitate slightly. Ripping her eyes from the wounded dog to the one Jorin had just swatted away.

"Impressive." Rinya stated darkly. Not because she didn’t mean it, but because at the moment she shared his view of the dogs. "At this rate I’m going to hate dogs as much as cats." She just hoped they had what it took to at least drive the mutts off. Reaching back she drew another arrow, feeling it out as always for the fletching, before stalling for just a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure if now was the time to try her rapid fire technique… though it would be a little hard to miss these dogs. They were close, and the light wasn’t yet fading from the sky. She had excellent vision at the moment, and that helped greatly with her aim. Watching the dogs carefully as two of them began to circle them, she shoved the first arrow into the fist of her bow hand, and proceeded to pull three more from her quiver.

"If you can keep them off me, I might be able to take down one or two. Hopefully they’ll back off at that point." Rinya grumbled slightly as she shifted herself so her back was up against Jorin’s. Reaching back for one more arrow, to make a total of five, she notched the arrow quickly and tried to spy for the dog that was most likely to lunge first. She wasn’t great at reading animal body language… that had been her father’s thing. Rinya knew one thing however, they were trying to pick out which one of them was the weakest. After what seemed like forever, another dog attempted to lunge at her - only this time she was ready for it.

Once before in fall a dog had directly lunged at her, but she knew the force of her arrow wouldn’t stop it from hitting her. But last time she had taken to long aim in the first place. Rinya drew the arrow back quickly, barely taking the time to aim and let the arrow fly. In a movement that honestly needed more practice, she carefully drew the next arrow from her bow hand, trying carefully not to cut herself on the arrowhead and notched the arrow quickly. The first arrow had lanced itself through the dog's muzzle. It must have gone astray as it stuck out awkwardly from the dog’s mouth from her lack of aim, but it did the job. The dog yowled and turned sideways, trying to paw the arrow from it’s nose.

Rinya took just a tick to aim with the second arrow. She wasn’t entirely aware of what Jorin might be doing at the moment, but she needed to put a dog or two down if they really stood a chance. Taking a deep breath, she focused down the arrow at the dog’s chest, not needing to tilt the bow upwards for distance. This time it was a clear shot of the dog’s chest, regardless of it’s constant shifting. Rinya released the second arrow, watching it slide into the dog’s fur and skin with a dull but loud thud, looking very much to have landed between the ribs. The dog yelped a second time, falling to its side in the grass. Rinya doubted it would get up a second time.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Jorin could feel Rinya's panic rising when the mutt had bowled him over. He knew she wanted desperately to help, but in his position with the mutt on top of him, there was precious little that she could do. If he hadn't been able to wrestle the animal off of himself in time, Jorin was sure Rinya would have probably charged the beast with her dagger - disregarding her own safety to try to protect him - and likely have gotten bitten for her trouble. Thankfully, such action wasn't necessary.

When he'd shoved the dog off, he heard the whistling of one of Rinya's arrows fly past and embedding tiself into the ribs of the dog, which gave a surprised cry and backed off, licking and nipping at the wound to try to ease the pain. It gave Jorin the time to retreat to Rinya's side, but he continued to try to keep an eye on the wounded beast. Despite the arrow in its side, the animal still looked to be capable of lunging again - in fact its injury appeared to only make it more desperate.

Rinya didn't respond to his comment about the desperation of the dogs. He didn't mind - there were more important things to focus on. When he batted away the mangy petching dog that dared to leap at his wife, the others seemed to get more wary. Despite their hunger, the animals weren't stupid. They backed off, out of range of his quarterstaff and watched them both carefully.

Jorin grunted in response to Rinya's comment about his attack being 'impressive'. It really wasn't - the strike was sloppy and haphazard at best, done in the heat of the moment and entirely fueled by his desire to keep his mate safe. It was a far cry from the smooth and practiced movements that he'd been taught at the Kendoka. Still, as far as Jorin was concerned, so long as the attack did its job that was all that mattered. Better a clumsy attack that protected his wife than an elegant one that didn't.

"Oh, I'm hating dogs already," Jorin replied just as darkly. It wasn't that he had any particular hatred for dogs in general - ok that wasn't entirely true. After today, it was quite likely Jorin would not be a huge fan of the animals. But if he was being honest with himself, Jorin knew it wasn't until the dog launched itself at Rinya that he truly started to hate them. They could attack him all they wanted. But no one hurts his wife.

Two of the dogs began to circle them, and Jorin could feel Rinya hesitating slightly. He just gulped and gripped his staff tighter - a rookie mistake. The tighter the grip, the easier to lose the weapon, but Jorin wasn't thinking of that. Rinya for her part seemed calmer, more focused. Jorin took a few calming breaths, drawing comfort from the bond. Rinya wasn't panicking, and it served to calm Jorin down as well.

Jorin noted Rinya drawing multiple arrows from her quiver. The last time he'd seen her do that was when she was practicing her rapid fire technique. If they weren't in such a dire situation, Jorin might have questioned the use of that technique now of all times. It wasn't that Jorin didn't trust his wife, but it was a relatively new technique; one that she herself had admitted she hadn't fully perfected. Nonetheless, Jorin nodded when she suggested he keep the dogs off her while she took a few of them down.

"Got it," he agreed, his voice surprisingly even. "Don't worry, Rinya. None of these mutts are going to touch you as long as I'm alive."

Rinya positioned herself so that the two of them were back to back, and Jorin was no longer able to see what she was up to. It left him facing the first dog they'd seen - the one with an arrow still sticking out of its side, and a large black mutt with a long shaggy tail. Jorin's jaw clenched into a grim smile as he shifted his stance slightly, this time raising his left arm and bringing it slightly behind him, his right hand still three-quarters the way down the shaft of the staff, the length of the weapon crossing diagonally across his chest.

The backward stance, practically the opposite of the forward, was designed to be aggressive. It was a stance that Jorin was never very comfortable with, since he wasn't an aggressive person to begin with. Moreover, he was in a defensive position and one would think that the defensive forward stance would be the appropriate choice.

But as Jorin observed the injured mutt and his friend watching his movements carefully, he knew that in this case, offense would be the best defense. The dog was already at the end of its rope - playing defensive would only serve to convince them that he and Rinya were weak and would encourage the mutts to attack more. He needed to injure them to the point that they'd decide the two of them weren't worth the trouble... that or he had to kill them. Neither of which were goals that were easily achievable with a defensive stance.

Jorin heard a yowl from behind him, but he did not dare turn to see what had happened. One thing was for sure, Rinya was still whole and uninjured, and that was all that really mattered. Jorin found himself not entirely caring what had become of the dog she'd obviously hit with her arrow, instead focusing on the large black mutt that had decided to sprint to the side, forcing him to divide his attention between it and its wounded comrade.

That was when Jorin was painfully reminded of one of the weaknesses of the backwards stance. Namely that unlike its forward counterpart, it did not give him as much freedom of movement. Jorin found that he had to turn his entire body to face the threat rather than just the end of his weapon, and that left his right flank exposed. The wounded dog took that opportunity to lunge at his unprotected side, and Jorin once again found himself facing the prospect of being bowled over, only this time it would also knock Rinya down with him.

Abandoning stance altogether, Jorin transitioned into a vertical buttstroke, bringing the butt-end of the staff swinging upwards in what would have been an uppercut-like strike if it had been against a human. Jorin would have attempted a horizontal strike, but he was not confident he'd be able to hit the dog as squarely if he had. The end of his staff caught the dog in the jaw, prompting the beast to yelp as it was forced to the side.

Unfortunately, the other dog took this opportunity to run at Jorin from the opposite direction, clearly looking to clamp its jaws around his leg and pull him from his position behind his wife. Jorin swung to face the mutt, But unlike his wounded companion it did not lunge at him. Rather, it continued to charge, canines exposed as it growled its fury. Jorin, not really knowing what to do, swung the staff in a low arc, catching the dog in the shoulder but not really doing any appreciable harm to it.

The dog didn't even seem to feel the impact, continuing its charge only from a different direction. From behind him, Jorin could hear the thud of another one of Rinya's arrows hitting home. He was glad to see that her rapid fire technique was working - at least one of them was having some degree of success. Deciding he needed to take more aggressive action, Jorin took advantage of his current positioning to thrust the end of his staff forward.

The forward thrust was one of the most basic of staff moves, and usually the first taught. And for good reason - it made maximum use of the weapon's effective length, and with the power of the staff wielder's core and legs behind it, the strike can be very dangerous if it hit the right place. And Jorin chose to aim it straight at the dog's head.

Unfortunately, it was too small a target and he missed, the staff glancing off the side of the mutt's muzzle and instead poking it hard in the chest. At least the strike achieved its intended purpose, though, and the animal growled but backed off, clearly now wary of the staff's speed and range. But Jorin was already beginning to feel the strain in his muscles.

His shoulder was throbbing where the first dog had scratched him with its paws, and he could feel the tell-tale burn in his thighs and arms from the strikes he had performed. It didn't matter though - both mutts were still standing, which meant that Rinya was still in danger. Suddenly, almost without warning, the injured mutt with an arrow in its side charged Jorin once again, and he barely had time to bring his staff up into a center guard before the animal leaped up, jaws snapping and eyes blazed with desperate fury.

The mutt's jaws locked against the center of the staff, the powerful muscles rippling across the dog's muzzle as it tried to tear the weapon from Jorin's hands. Not knowing what else to do, with both hands occupied simply attempting to hold onto the weapon, Jorin kicked with all his might at the chest of the dog, feeling a satisfying thud as the heel of his boots found purchase.

But the dog refused to let go. With the strength of a dying and desperate animal it held on for dear life, as Jorin kicked again and again. The black mutt, emboldened by its companion's actions, was circling over to the side, and Jorin knew if it charged, it was likely to be able to clamp its jaws around his leg, his arm, or possibly even his neck. As his panic rose, Jorin thought desperately about what to do next. He needed this injured dog off his weapon, now.

For a brief tick, Jorin considered calling for Rinya's help. But he knew that she had two dogs of her own to deal with, and if she turned to help him, they might take that opportunity to pounce on her. He couldn't take that risk, so he continued to plant kicks onto the mangy beast's midsection, to seemingly no avail. The black dog charged... and Jorin, out of desperation, yanked himself around, swinging the injured mutt still clamped to his staff to the side. This forced the two beasts to collide with one another. That caused the injured dog to release his staff as both animals yowled in pain, tumbling off to the side in a small heap.

Jorin knew they wouldn't stay down for long. He just hoped Rinya was having better luck than he was.

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[Rinya]

It was tempting to retort to Jorin’s line of - so long as he was alive. Given the fact that Jorin had obviously never been in a situation like this… she didn’t actually want those words to come true. He didn’t need to sacrifice his life to make sure she was untouched. She would much rather deal with wounds and scars than the lose of his life. As it was she could feel the vague pounding pain in the bond, pain that was obviously not hers. The dog that had tackled Jorin had caused some kind of damage, but he was barely focused on it at the moment, and honestly Rinya knew they could deal with it later. There wasn’t time to fret over it just yet.

She had no idea however how well he’d handle the dogs on his end. It was impossible to see once she put her back to his - but if she had to guess it would probably be harder. If a dog got too close, she could pull the dagger on them, but her bow let her keep distance between her and dogs. She had no idea how well a quarterstaff would handle against them. Thus far the solid sounds of the wood meeting the dogs bodies sounded harsh enough, but for her it was pure speculation as to how well he’d do. Even as she shot down the dogs, it was clear from the bond that he was struggling.

Especially when he began to panic again. His panic probably did the same thing to her as it would have done to him if the situation was reversed - well maybe not entirely the same. Jorin was protective… and while she was as well, it shifted easily into another emotion. Anger. That was something Rinya was used to using against others, though honestly it would be the first time against an animal. Even the Glassbeak that had terrified her for months afterwards didn’t bring out this kind of anger. She wanted this fight over and done with - and she wanted it now.

Behind her she could hear the sounds of bodies colliding, and for a tick she was afraid they had managed to snag Jorin, only he was still close enough to realize that he was still standing. The one dog she had shot hadn’t gotten back up, and the second dog she was dealing with seemed wary after two more of it’s pack went tumbling into each other and to the ground. But out of the corner of her eye she could see the dogs getting back. Apparently they were so desperate that even with one injured and one apparently dead, they still weren’t going to give up. Rinya gritted her teeth together and glared hard at the dog in front of her.

Shifting an arrow carefully from her fist, she nocked it smoothly into the bowstring. Her feet shifted into the ground to give her more stability, seeing as the dog seemed torn what to do. Run or fight… Rinya drew in a slow breath, pulling the string back as she did so. The muscles in her arms and across her upper chest - even down to her core - tried to protest. They ached from holding one arrow far too long, but Rinya pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She knew if she kept it up she could actually injury herself despite how often she used the muscles, but injury was still better than death.

The dog took several steps back away from her, but he didn’t actually try and move from her line of vision. Her eyes narrowed from the wide scope around them to just the dog, and Rinya tilted the bow just slightly upwards. The breath held in her lungs just added to the ache of her muscles, but Rinya held tight despite the slight shake of her arms. Focus when it came to archery came naturally to her, she was even able to blot out the aching pain from the bond that told her Jorin’s injury was bothering him with all his activity. It wasn’t a straight block, but mentally for just a tick, there was only one thing she had to do. Hit the dog.

Rinya let out her breath in a slight woosh, feeling the fletching of the arrow leave the corner of her mouth in the barest brush as the arrow flew at the dog. It sunk into the side of the dog’s neck, causing it to yelp instantly. The force of the arrow even caused the dog’s head to lash to one side, but apparently that was enough. The dog spun and took off into the grass, leaving the two left from it’s pack to deal with them. At least the numbers were even now. Two arrows were left in her bow hand - enough for one each. But these dogs were not standing still. They were still looking for weakness in Jorin’s defense.

Stepping up to his side rather than keeping her back to him, she tried to decide which target would be best. The injured dog seemed almost unhindered by the arrow still buried in it’s side. Apparently it did nothing but further agitate him. The other mutt didn’t even seem phased by the fact Jorin had knocked them to the ground. The staff seemed to be doing a decent job at keeping them at bay. However she did spot the bite marks that cut into the wood of the staff with her sharp eyes. Considering this was Jorin’s first face off with something that wanted to kill him, she was impressed.

However she had to decide her next target. The two dogs didn’t even seem to notice they were alone - and facing both of them now. They strutted back and forth, looking for weakness where they could. The dagger attached to Rinya’s hip felt heavy, almost as if it was reminding her that it was still there - a possibility if the fight came down to it. With both dogs remaining, she had to figure out which one was the alpha… if she killed that one the other would likely back off. Then again, if she killed either the other would have little choice. "Jorin which one is the leader? If we can kill it or drive it off… then we should be fine."

[Jorin Ertihan]

On an intellectual level, Jorin understood why Rinya had chosen to fight back-to-back. It allowed them to cover each other's blind spots and made sure that they could not be flanked. Being outnumbered, had they been side to side a single lunge from behind them could have spelled death for them both. Still, Jorin hated not being able to see behind him. Without any knowledge of what was happening with Rinya he had to make educated guesses based on what he was hearing, and the flashes of intent and emotion he was getting across the bond.

For the most part Rinya was calm throughout the fight, which served to keep Jorin calm as well. When the injured dog with the arrow sticking out of its side had clamped its jaws around the middle of his staff, Jorin felt a surge of sympathetic panic from Rinya - which quickly transformed into anger. She was angry at the dogs for attacking him, much like he'd been angry at the mutt he'd smacked aside for daring to lunge at his wife. But the large black dog attacked, and Jorin had no further time to analyze what he was getting across the bond.

As he'd feared, smacking the two dogs against each other proved only a temporary reprieve. It did allow him to catch his breath and readjust his stance back to the defensive forward, once again granting him the ability to block from nearly any direction in front of him. The pain in his shoulder throbbed but he ignored it, and he felt a sort of calm concentration coming from behind him. Jorin rarely felt that from Rinya - the last time he had, she'd been practicing archery at the range with him.

The two dogs had picked themselves back up and had chosen to stay a few feet away, pacing back and forth and staying a careful distance while clearly probing his stance for weaknesses. Jorin suspected they wanted to lunge, but given the ineffectiveness of their previous charges, barring the first, they weren't willing to risk being smacked aside again, despite the fact that from what Jorin could see, neither dog appeared to be any worse for the wear for it.

Jorin heard another yelp of pain from behind him, and Rinya appeared by his side a moment later. Jorin didn't bother asking her what had become of "her" dogs; he knew she wouldn't be so brazen as to turn her back on them if they weren't dead or fled. Regardless, he was very grateful for her presence. While the quarterstaff had been a very effective tool at creating distance, the dogs were much faster than he'd anticipated and that had caught him off-guard. Rinya's question as to which one was the leader caused him to pause a bit - he really hadn't had time to think on that, being so busy simply trying to keep them off of him.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, eyeing both mutts carefully. "But I think it's probably the injured one. It was the first dog to appear, and the black one seems to be taking its cue from it." Jorin noted much to his relief that Rinya was untouched - her bow had kept her foes at a greater distance than even his staff had.

It wasn't that Jorin necessarily thought Rinya could not handle herself - she'd handled the injury she'd sustained from the Glassbeak attack with aplomb despite the pain it caused her. But Jorin never liked the idea of his wife being injured, and he'd do his utmost to take as much of the injury upon himself as he could. Though if he had his way, he'd far prefer neither of them be injured.

The wounded dog that Jorin had suggested was the leader snarled in frustration, baring its sharp canines while emitting a low growl. The black dog followed suit, but Jorin kept a sharp eye on the two. They didn't seem to notice their numbers had been reduced by half; the leader appeared as aggressive as ever and Jorin tried to prepare himself for anything.

With a flurry of fur and teeth the desperate leader charged once again, the linearity and predictability of the attack compensated for by the speed with which it was executed. Despite its injury the leader was so fast Jorin barely had time to swing the staff forward in an awkward forward thrust that missed its target entirely. Rather than striking the dog in the face, it hit the airborne target in the abdomen, which while shoving the animal back did not deter it from swinging around to the side.

The black dog, meanwhile, was not idle, taking its opportunity to charge Rinya. Jorin realized he had to act quickly. Her bow, while excellent at range, was fairly useless at close range. And while she did have her dagger, he knew she had precious little experience with it. His staff was the only weapon capable of creating the distance she needed to fire her weapon.

Unfortunately, the most Jorin could do was swing back around with the follow-through strike, his elbow driving the butt-end of the staff into the neck of the charging dog and forcing it to halt and face him instead. Both the dogs were being incredibly aggressive and persistent, and Jorin could feel his muscles straining from exertion. He didn't know how badly his shoulder had been injured, but the blood was beginning to seep through his shirt and even if the cuts were not deep, infection would set in before long unless he was able to get the cuts cleaned.

Taking advantage of Jorin's change in positioning, the pack leader circled to the side, feinting a lunge that caused Jorin to turn toward him before leaping to the right, then left, and pouncing on him from below. If he'd been faster, Jorin might've been able to react quickly enough to the dog's lunge, but as it was he was barely able to swing the staff in time to prevent the powerful jaws from clamping onto his forearm... or his neck.

Instead, they latched onto the staff, and the weight of the dog bowled Jorin over once again. His back impacted the soft earth with a plop, the whoosh of air being forced from his lungs audible as he groaned slightly from the pain that lanced through his shoulder. This time, however, Jorin was not forced to use his forearm and elbow to prop against the beast's neck to prevent the snapping jaws from tearing into his face.

Jorin found himself in a precarious position. While the dog's jaws remained firmly wrapped around the staff, and with both of Jorin's arms extended outward, he was relatively safe. The dog was not able to use any of its natural weapons on him, and if it let go of the staff he'd be able to heave it off. However, if it remained in this position, Jorin's arms would eventually tire, and he was not strong enough to simply roll the animal off of him, weakened as he was from the fighting.

"Get the other one!" Jorin choked out, his voice weak from exhaustion, knowing Rinya would want to immediately help him. "I can hold this for a few more chimes!" Actually, Jorin could already feel his arms tire. The scratch on his shoulder was beginning to assert itself, sending pain radiating out and sapping him of strength every tick. Jorin didn't know how long he could hold out, but if Rinya attacked the leader that would give its comrade a perfect chance to leap onto her... and that would spell the end for both of them.

Don't panic, don't panic... was rushing through Jorin's head. It wasn't working too well. The weakening of his arms combined with the snarling of the dog above him sapped his will as well as his strength, and the pain in his shoulder throbbed a constant reminder. Only the comforting thought that Rinya was still unharmed prevented Jorin from entering full-blown panic. If necessary, she could transform and escape, but he hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

For both their sakes, Jorin prayed he'd have the strength to keep the pack leader occupied. He just hoped Rinya wouldn't miss.

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