Closed An Overnight Campsite (Kaie)

[Matthew]

25th of Spring, 515 AV.
In the forests found between Zeltiva and the nearby mountain range that surround the city...

Dorian's face wore an expression of mild disappointment. No matter how hard he stared, he wasn't as able to see as much of her rear end as he had been able to when she wasn't wearing the cloak. He wasn't entirely sure why he had enjoyed the sight so much. He just did. At the same time, she also terrified him a bit. The bronzed woman was absolutely covered in piercings and tattoos. She seemed... dangerous. Suddenly though, an annoyingly calm voice interrupted his examination.

"You aren't doing it right."

The boy slowly tore his stare away from the curves that he was trying to make out through the cloak Kaie wore, turning his now-irritated gaze towards Matthew. "What are you talking about?" The Harlot shifted the backpack that he held slung over both broad shoulders, not entirely sure what it contained. When he had suggested the idea of a camping trip in the small strip of forest that lined the sides of Zeltiva, his Myrian friend had seemed enthusiastic about the idea. Part of him wondered if some time away from the slightly prejudice Zeltivian populace was the main motivation or if she was simply more comfortable in the wild than in the city. Tilting his head, he refocused his attention on Dorian, who was slowly starting to get distracted again by the Myrian that was leading them. "You shouldn't start with the body, first of all. It is certainly okay to admire one of the many blessings that Kaie has been gifted with, but you don't want to admire her just for that single blessing." Dorian's gaze was slowly turning from irritated to thoughtful, his attention fully on Matthew as they walked deeper into the woods. "It is certainly alright to glance, but do not linger. A beautiful woman or handsome man is not a piece of scenery to admire. Find other things to admire. Attempt to learn more about them as a person, not merely a petchable body." Dorian nodded, gaze thoughtful, not at all put-off by such an unique lesson. He was quite young, but all that had happened to him had advanced his mind far past the maturity level of his body.

Both Dorian and Matthew were dressed in simple clothes, with long sleeves and pant legs to protect from thorns and scratching limbs. Thin cloaks hung from their shoulders, with Matthew shouldering a backpack that contained whatever it was Kaie had thought appropriate for the overnight camping trip. Glancing over at the friend he had just reunited with mere days ago, he realized that this was really the first time Dorian had spent an extended amount of time with another person but him in a very long while. It would be interesting to see how the boy interacted with someone else.

Right on cue, Dorian cleared his throat, slipping his stare to the back of Kaie's head and attempting to put the advice Matthew had given to practical use. "So... uh, Kaie. What is your favorite... color?" He had no idea what to ask her. He was still confused as to how Matthew had someone who appeared to be the closest thing to a friend Dorian had ever seen, at least when it came to the Harlot. He was also confused on why that friend happened to be a dangerous, exotic female with what seemed to be quite a few weapons attached to her.

Matthew's calm voice interrupted right after Dorian finished speaking, blue eyes scanning the trees for potential danger as he delivered a deadpan response. He never had encountered anything nice in the wild. "I would choose the target of your flirtatious attempts a bit better though. While she is more than double your age, it is more important to consider the fact that she could easily gauge your eyes out for glancing at her the wrong way. Bravery is certainly commendable, but it is wise to be aware of your limits, no matter how enticingly a pair of curvy hips sway." Dorian simultaneously went pale and blushed, ducking his head and studying the ground.

Interesting. Matthew hadn't seen him blush yet. Focusing his stare towards Kaie, he spoke out softly, words as carefully pronounced as they always were. "If you have anything to add Kaie, please do. I am not familiar with teaching young males how to appropriately admire the hind end of a Myrian female. Is such a thing taught to young Myrian males?"

[Kaie]

What the petch is he doing with this child?

Matthew was always an enigma Kaie struggled constantly to crack. It seemed that each time she had thought she reached an understanding, added one of the harlot's singular quirks to her mental library, the man did something that outright baffled her. This was certainly one of those times. After all, the last time she'd seen the man in Sunberth, he'd confessed to her that he had very little concept of what emotions, including love, were. It wasn't that the Myrian didn't think the man capable of looking after the boy. He was rational to almost a fault. The success he has achieved in his profession surely gave him a financial boost as well, so Kaie could only assume Mizas weren't a problem in making sure the boy's needs were met. The boy had simply been introduced to her, this Dorian, and the savage was too dumbfounded to have asked him how the child came into his care. Though, she confessed, the more pressing question was why.

Kaie's brow knit in deep thought. She adjusted the grip of the long spear in her hand, which was almost as tall as she was if she were to stand it straight up. Bladed boots made only the occasional suckling sound when they passed through the mud. Despite her own relative silence, her two companions trudging along at her back had been the only other sounds that reached her ears. A few times she spotted a chipmunk skittering into the brush or a squirrel spiraling back up the trunk of a tree. And though she'd made several casual pauses to keep herself from falling deaf to all but their footsteps, the forest was incredibly calm. It was infuriating.

Part of her was praying for danger, for a band of opportunists to pounce from the shadows. It wasn't that she wanted any harm to befall Matthew or Dorian. She didn't want that at all. Yet the injury that had kept her pugnacious tendencies under wraps had left her restless. Knuckles itched to find purchase upon a jaw. The healing wound upon her rib cage begged her to cease movement that required much use of her torso muscles. For now, she'd stick to hunting and trapping. That, and pretending she wasn't remotely uncomfortable with the conversation at her back that focused on staring at her ass.

"My favorite color?" she echoed with a bit of mirth entering her voice. Just what are you going to do with that boy, Matthew? Suddenly, her amber stare shot to their right to scan their flank. When she found nothing of interest and Matthew had interrupted to educate the boy, she decided to humor Dorian. "Red." Her left hand adjusted the straps on her backpack, whose jerking had signaled its looseness. Two of the purchased bedrolls weighed the bottom of it down, the third carried by Matthew with his pack. She'd bought them just before they set out. With a season that tended to bring rain and therefore mud, letting anyone sleep in the damp was hardly a clever idea. Then again, it still might've been more comfortable than Matthew's question directed her way. It seemed she could no longer ignore their discussion.

"Uh, well." Kaie stepped up a set of rocks as the terrain finally began to incline toward the mountains Zeltiva's valley rested between. She glanced back at the pair. "It's taught, but since I'm a female, I wouldn't know exactly what they're told." The savage focused back on her feet, watching her step as to avoid the thick roots of deciduous trees that littered the region. That's a cop out, Kaie. "Myrians have no shame in their bodies. However, males aren't always so...forward as they are in your societies. They admire, but they try to keep their stares to glances instead to keep from seeming disrespectful. If he's caught and the female decides his actions were offensive, it's not uncommon for her to physically put him in his place. Females are the superior gender in Falyndar and expect to be treated as so."

Kaie paced along for a few ticks in silence to let the two do what they would with that information. Only once did she visibly wince when her abdominal muscles were needed to help her reach the top of the strange rock outcropping. I should change the bandages tonight. She turned and peered down the incline toward the two males. For a tick she caught Matthew's eye, wherein he might've discovered the mischievous look to her eyes despite her recent misery. Kaie flashed a grin.

"So, Dorian, what's your favorite color?"



Spoiler-3sm for 3 Bedrolls

[Matthew]

He had intentionally packed his bag a bit heavy. It certainly helped that Kaie's instructions on what to bring along had made sure that packing a weighty bag was an easy task. His reasoning behind such an idea was to use the heavy bag as a sort of bodybuilding training. He didn't have traditional equipment so he had to make do with what he could come up with on the fly. As it turned out, his idea of simply carrying around a heavy bag was actually fairly good training for a novice such as him. It hadn't taken long for his shoulders and back to start burning. There wasn't a straining feeling that signaled he was in danger of actually causing damage to his body, merely the sensation that his muscles were working overtime to support the burden he had put upon them. That was probably a good thing. He had tried to mix in a little acrobatics training every now and then, hopping over fallen limbs and large rocks instead of merely going around or stepping over. That had caused a bit too much stress to his shoulders though, so he had put a hold on that idea for now.

The Harlot turned bright blue eyes to Kaie, quietly studying her. He didn't need his Auristics to sense what seemed like some sort of frustration or tension, though he could not put a finger to exactly what the sensation was. His stare was slow and careful as it swept over her figure, picking out little details here and there until he had settled his gaze upon what looked to be a wrapped wound. It was a somewhat sloppy bandage, but there didn't appear to be any infection or swelling on the bronzed skin that was near the bandaged area. He hadn't asked where she had gotten the wound but could tell it was still affecting her. She still moved like the few wild predators he had seen, but there was a subtle difference to her movements. A pause every now and then, sometimes a wince.

Refocusing his attention on the Myrian's response to his question, he slowly tilted his head, nodding slowly at the idea. "That makes a considerable amount of sense. The ability to birth a child and natural sex appeal often gives women a lot of power, so much so that I am surprised they do not hold more dominant roles in all societies. That is only two aspects as well, there are certainly many more. Falyndar. What an interesting place."

Dorian, encouraged by Kaie's response to his question, quickly glanced back up and offered her a hesitant smile. "Uhm. I like... yellow. I think yellow is my favorite color. Like the yellow of cat eyes." He paused as they reached the slightly slippery rock outcropping, trying to plot out the safest path to take. Matthew interrupted his thoughts, voice soft and firm. "Go ahead. I'll be right behind to make sure you don't fall." Dorian nodded and began to pace through the outcropping, careful to keep his feet about him but emboldened by Matthew's encouragement. It was an oddly father-like thing for the Harlot to say, but was still delivered in that deadpan tone.

Catching the grin Kaie flashed at him, the sight of the simple expression reminded Matthew of something he had wanted to ask the Myrian. He needed a partner for the dance. "Kaie, would you be available to..."

Something inside of him shuddered, twisting inside of his stomach and blossoming into a sensation that was unpleasant. Unpleasant enough to cause him to pause in the middle of his sentence. Was it self-doubt? Nervousness? He couldn't be certain. He hadn't experienced either emotion that much and certainly didn't see why he would experience either one right now.

"Matthew, don't bite your nails."

Dorian's voice interrupted his thoughts, causing the Harlot to blink. He had a fingertip in his mouth and was actually biting the tip of it. He had never bitten a nail. He stared at his hand for a moment and then let it slowly drop, nodding at Dorian and returning his stare slowly to Kaie. There was the briefest flicker of self-doubt in his eyes before he plunged on, forcing past the foreign sensation in his stomach. "Excuse me. What I meant to say was, would you be available on the 37th for a dance? Have you ever danced? I can teach you the style of dance that will be at this particular event. I just need a female partner to accompany me." Thankfully, the words came out without interruption this time. Awaiting Kaie's response, he noticed Dorian was staring at him now, looking mildly confused. Matthew was fairly sure he felt mildly confused as well.

[Kaie]

In the chime it took for the pair below to adjust to the new terrain challenge before them, the Myrian took the time to lean against her spear. It was a nice spring day. Not too cold and certainly not yet warm. The breeze that ruffled the bare branches above was oddly soothing. It whispered through her long, curly hair and brushed it to one side across her shoulders. The ends of her cloak billowed a soft hiss in tune with the rattling tree limbs. "Cat eye yellow. I like that, and so would Navre," she responded to the boy's answer with a nod. Would the boy even know who Navre was?

Matthew's voice caught the Myrian's attention again. She straightened up and returned to handling the spear with one hand. The monotone of his voice, which she had usually attributed to his confidence and self-assuredness, suddenly trailed off in something that resembled what Kaie had known to be hesitation. Her brow raised in a bit of surprise, this prospect of the harlot being lost for words. Concern took over her expression. Amber eyes carefully scanned the length of him. Other than the uncharacteristic biting of his nails, there was nothing visibly wrong with the man. The minor worry didn't cease when the harlot himself displayed a bit of surprise when Dorian had called attention to his new habit. Yet just when Kaie thought she might call out to him, he recovered incredibly well, and his inquiry shocked her into silence.

It was a tick before she realized her jaw was hanging. She shut it quick, blinked, gave a bewildered shake of her head, and then locked her eyes to the man. A dance? Memories of the wealthy merchant family in Syliras, who had unofficially taken her under their wing to train their knight-to-be daughter in exchange for advanced lessons in Common, rushed back to her. Her mind swam with the horrifying images of such an extravagant event. The corsets tighter than the one even Ruby made her wear, the ridiculous and obnoxiously large dresses she would just be bound to trip over...and, of course, how could she forget the ludicrous twirling barbarians seemed to love to call dancing. He must be drunk. Or sick. Very, very sick. For a tick there was almost genuine fear in her eyes at the very thought. Lips twisted in something like confusion or perhaps disdain.

"You're asking me to go to a dance. In a dress," Kaie attempted to clarify slowly, pronouncing each word clearly to make sure Matthew himself was hearing his own proposition clearly. After all, it had to be a mistake, right? A wild grin spread across her face and she stamped the spear butt into the earth jovially. A laugh burst from her and she proceeded to shake her head. "For a man who once told me he lacks emotion, you've still got a solid sense of humor." Her grin lingered even as she extended her weapon down toward the boy hiking up toward her. She gave it a bit of a wiggle, a gesture to encourage him he could indeed grip it for support should his balance fail along the rocky incline. Yet when her eyes flickered back to the harlot, she was beginning to feel like it wasn't intended to be a joke at all...

"Unless...you were being serious?"

[Matthew]

While Dorian was quick to laugh along with the Myrian, not entirely sure what he was laughing at but finding her too pretty to care, Matthew merely blinked at her with that same humorless expression that he most commonly wore. If anything, it was more stoic than ever before. He felt like something had slipped through his mental defenses and it was maddening to have no idea what it was or how it had done such a thing. His natural and instinctive response was only to tighten those walls even further. Was that why he was missing the joke? Apparently Dorian and Kaie had heard something funny. Or was it the idea of Matthew bringing Kaie along to a dance that struck the Myrian as amusing? He thought she would blend in well. She was just exotic enough to catch a few appreciative stares and wasn't adorned with the dozens of tattoos and piercings that Matthew had noticed on the other Myrians he had interacted with in the past.

Instead of immediately answering, he took a moment to focus his attention on Dorian as the boy appreciately reached for the shaft of the spear and used it to keep his balance until he was alongside Kaie. Satisfied, Matthew flicked his stare across the incline, calculating a path for a few ticks and then making his own way across. He moved fluidly and confidently, noticing that his recent shift toward a more physical exercise regime was starting to show rewards.

Soon he was across the incline, positioning himself so that Dorian was placed between him and Kaie. It was interesting to see how he had naturally developed some protective instincts for the boy after spending so many days with him, per Tanroa's request.


"I am being serious. There is to be a dance held that I am expected to attend. My parents will be there, and I would like to put forth the image that I am in a healthy and normal relationship, as I believe they would wish of me. It will make my time here in Zeltiva much easier. I felt you were the best choice to ask, as our interactions feel the most natural to me." He shifted the backpack on his shoulders, pondering that for a brief moment. He rarely held long-lasting relationships. Fate just seemed to keep tossing him back into Kaie's path though. Or perhaps it was the other way around. "It is not a complex dance, so I feel that I could teach you the basics in a short time. I would also pay for the dress, and actually already have one in mind for you. I also feel that it would benefit you to learn a bit more about how to better blend in with the ones you consider to be barbarians. Do you remember what I told you in Sunberth?" He stared into the amber eyes of the savage, tilting his head, giving her a moment to consider his offer before turning and sweeping the forested, rocky landscape with a careful stare.

He needed to learn more about how to survive outside of city comforts. "What are we looking for when it comes to finding an appropriate place to camp? And who is Navre? And are you trained with a spear? I believe I have only seen you use both blade and fist." Dorian's eyes grew intently focused on Kaie, wanting to absorb as much information about her that he could.

[Kaie]

Once the boy had accepted her aid, his climb went far more smoothly. When he had planted his front foot, the Myrian woman gave a smooth pull on her weapon to speed up his ascent with his next step. In a tick he was safely at her side with Matthew just behind. She paused to ensure the harlot had completely succeeded in his climb before turning her back to the two. Careful eyes scanned the forest for a chime, but by the time he was speaking again on the previous topic, the Myrian had begun to blaze the trail again. The harmless end of the spear tapped the ground like a walking stick as she moved.

By the gods, he's serious, she internally mourned and searched the sky above for answers. Syna eyed the silly Myrian in silence, her bright rays filtering through the mess of branches and twigs. She could feel that butterfly sensation in her stomach by the time the man had finished explaining. Kaie gathered her courage and glanced at the harlot over her shoulder. "Wow."
she cleared her throat and nodded slowly, trying not to quicken her pace with the nervous beat of her heart. "So you're choosing a Myrian, a savage you've seen very much live up to some of the stories they tell, to go to a dance with you for all to see...to meet your parents." Another laugh escaped her...until he brought up her newly discovered weakness.

"You have pride in the fact that you outmatch the majority of us with a blade. You do not see the other ways that you can be killed, the other things that are worse than death. That is weak, Myrian."

She whipped around at that. Eyes hardened, eyebrows slamming together as she settled her gaze on Matthew. The spear adjusted in her grasp but her feet kept moving backward. She bit her lip, and then everything seemed to change. The savage turned her back and returned her focus to the trail, back straighter than before despite the strain on her injury."I'll go to the dance with you, Matthew." Her voice was matter-of-fact, confident even. After all, what was there to be afraid of? What was a ball gown to squaring off with one of Falyndar's many beastly horrors, or civilized parents to facing down the homicidal Sunberth mob? "If you can teach me to dance as soon as you say...and if you swear I'll be able to breathe in the dress. Ruby used to put me in this stupid thing so tight I swore my ribs broke every time I tried to fill my lungs!"


Compared to his last proposal to her, his flurry of questioning was welcomed. Her body relaxed and she flashed him a smile over her shoulder. Amber eyes inspected the point of her weapon with pride. It was a strange thing, the dark steel spearhead that was mysteriously gifted to her. It had been the morning after she pledged her body and soul to the Goddess Queen, as Yitmah had instructed after almost killing her with the first workout he'd drilled her through.

"You're right, I don't think you've seen me with another weapon before have you?" She gave the weapon a twirl between her hands. "I haven't fought with a spear since I reached Syliras. It used to be my favorite when I was a child and my mother's, too. I remember a thing or two but I'm just alright. And Navre is the Demigod of Cats. He gave Myri the first Myrian Tiger, and we worship him in Taloba each season that more are born."

The savage stopped in the middle of her steady stepping. A hand was raised as if to instill silence between their group. After a few moments, she heard the tell-tale noise. Water. "It's best to be somewhat close to a water source. Makes cooking, drinking, and that sort of thing easier." Kaie gestured toward the direction of the trickling sound toward west with her spear and gave a shrug. By the sound of it, their walk would be very short indeed. "Why don't you try leading the way, Dorian? So long as you don't go too far ahead and Matthew's okay with that."

[Matthew]

For a tick, Matthew was mildly concerned that she was about to toss her spear at him. He had poked the tiger with a pointed stick and now it had turned to growl at him. He adjusted the straps of his backpack once again, absentmindedly manipulating them around as he quickly tried to calculate what he would do if the weapon was indeed thrown at his skull. Interestingly enough, as quickly as her mood had soured, it was almost instantly reset back to what it had been just ticks before. Then, just like that, she accepted. He nodded slowly at her words, finding them agreeable. "It is a simple dance. I also believe that the graceful motions of most common dances could be of use to you when it comes to fluid movement in combat. If anything, it seems there is one useful thing that you will definitely learn. I'll show you how a Myrian can walk into a den filled with barbarians, and those barbarians be none the wiser. And anyway, I've already purchased a dress for you."

It almost sounded like he had known all along that she would accept.

Both Dorian and Matthew listened with interest as the Myrian female taught them of many new things. Navre, Demigod of Cats. Myri and Myrian Tigers. Very few of those terms were familiar to the Harlot, while none of them were known by Dorian. Matthew couldn't help but thirst for more. It was astounding to him that there was such a different world somewhere over the ocean, filled with savages that were used to scare human children into behaving. A world filled with giant snakes, tigers, and more people like Kaie and Razkar. "Do you still do mercenary work? At some point, I would be very interested in participating in the ritualized cannibalization or blood sacrifices that I understand occurs to a fallen enemy. It is an offering to Myri, correct? Razkar had taught me about it, but I wasn't able to participate before he had to go on a journey." Dorian blinked at the deluge of unfamiliar words, pausing and slowly opening his mouth, searching for what question to ask first. Only whenever Kaie gestured for silence did Dorian completely forget everything but listening for whatever it was the Myrian was trying to point out to them.

Water. Of course. A basic need. It could be used for cooking, cleaning, and hydration. The Harlot found himself impressed with Kaie's keen senses, making a mental note to work on his own awareness of his surroundings. He also made a note of the basic survival rule. Find a water source.

Dorian eagerly took the lead, not even waiting for Matthew's approval before heading in the direction that the noise was coming from. Matthew adjusted his pace to fall in step alongside of Kaie, eyes focused on the boy ahead as he led them through winding trees and flowering underbrush. After a few ticks of silent travel, Matthew spoke in a low tone meant only for Kaie to hear. "Dorian and his sister were experiments for a group of magic users. They were tortured. Abused. The two of them escaped to Sunberth with this group, a group called The Silence, in hot pursuit of them. It was just by chance that I was involved, helping Dorian kill his attackers. His sister lost her life. They still wish to have him, so that is why we left. To get away." He paused, giving his companion a moment to absorb everything before continuing on to the most unbelievable part. "A Goddess had taken an interest in these events. She tasked me with taking care of him. Raising him. She also marked me. Tanroa is her name. I am not sure if she is known in Myrian culture. You can see the mark, in my eyes." He turned his head to face her, tilting his head so that the sunlight caught his eyes. Only seen if someone was looking for it or when light hit it just right, a ring of starry blue circled his bright blue irises. "I believe it is similar to how Myri marks her own children. It grants me power that I instinctively understand. And it makes me feel her. Always. Her presence, barely lingering on the end of my mind."

Dorian stopped just a bit ahead of them, grinning and spreading his arms wide to present them with the small clearing he had found in the midst of the trees. A rocky outcropping formed an overhang nearby, a small creek winding through the trees a visible distance away. "Good job, Dorian." Matthew complimented the child with that bland voice of his, the boy's grin widening at the praise.

[Kaie]

I would probably be doing mercenary work now...if it weren't for this petching wound!

"I do," she offered with a firm nod. Another flash of teeth came when she heard the rest of what he had to say. First he does mortal combat with poultry to provide for a blood sacrifice to Myri, now he wants to participate in the worship. He may see the light yet. Razkar's name had its own effect. She hadn't seen the Shorn Skull since the Bloodpits in Sunberth. There were no more whispers of The Scalper battling here nor there. Bitter as she was to admit it, part of her thought the silence was a testament to his end. If Dira reaped his soul, may she guide him safely back to our Mother. "If you think you've the stomach for it, I see no reason why you can't partake. I'll see if I can include you on the next job I take. The Goddess Queen would be pleased "

Dorian was proving to be as adventurous as his caretaker. Already had he darted forward to accept leadership over the camping party. The mess of dirt-brown hair atop his had swayed, and the Myrian couldn't help but find her own gaze carefully watching over the pale, thin boy. It was only Matthew's steps beside her that reminded her the harlot was still there. Amber eyes strayed from the boy to glance about their surroundings once, and then looked to Matthew as he began to whisper Dorian's tale.

Brow knit together in thought as it always seemed to do while she make careful considerations. Her lips had parted, but words did not escape them. A tightness entered her eyes. Goddess, how she tended to hate the idea of magic the more she discovered more about it. Hadn't the world had its fill of it after the Djed Storm? So focused was her attention on her friend, it was a wonder she hadn't fallen face first over one of the many surface tree roots in their path.

"So this is how the boy came into your care," Kaie concluded in a whisper, gazing incredulously at the strange marking that seemed to exist within his eyes when Syna graced them. She slowly nodded her understanding. "Yes, you know how it feels now. You have been favored. Blessed." There was awe and respect in her voice, a budding curiosity over this new deity he had named Tanroa. She'd seen other blessings by other deities before, but not one like his. In fact, she hadn't seen many marked individuals outside of her own race. "The boy? What is he to this Tanroa?"

Head snapped away from where it had leaned in to better hear Matthew's quiet words, looking now at the proud child ahead of them with his arms spread. She hiked closer to where the boy stood eagerly at the edge of the clearing. The savage paused in silence and surveyed the terrain before them, listening, watching. Waiting. "You found us a fine spot. Plenty of cover, too." A bronze hand ruffled his hair a bit, the best gesture the young woman could come up with on the spot to show her approval. That same hand disappeared within her cloak and to her lower back. When it returned, the blade of her kukri shined bright in the sun. She pointed with it just a bit more toward the side with the creek than the rocky overhang. "We will make shelter over there. Not too close so we have to worry about rocks falling on our heads. Not too far where we'll have to worry about the creek flooding should it rain. "

And with that the Myrian set off with both weapons bared. Left and right did her head turn constantly as she maintained awareness of the world around them. The Myrian came to halt nearby the place she'd pointed out to the boy. Trees with thick branches scattered about them seemed to satisfy her. "Here is good. Now? Now we make shelter. A lean-to. Find some strong branches. We'll need a fire, too. You can find some dry tinder for us to burn, Dorian. Matthew?" She dropped the spear at her feet to free up her right hand, and it too procured a kukri from the now empty harness at her lower back. The handle end was carefully help out toward him. "Do mind the edge." And with that the savage headed off toward a tree that struck her fancy, and set about chopping at a low-lying, sturdy branch.

[Matthew]

The stomach for it? There was a sideways glance tossed at the Myrian, Matthew briefly confused by the statement. He quickly realized that normally, people would be sickened by commiting such acts of violence, especially if it was something they had never done before. What made him different? Perhaps it was because he had so much medical experience. Perhaps it had something to do with the unique way his mind worked. Whatever the case, he had no doubt he would be perfectly capable of assisting her in one of her jobs. "Thank you. I would like that. Don't go to any trouble to fulfill my request, as I would hate to get in the way. If I do come, I want no protection. I need to learn, and if I don't learn then I may be wounded or even killed. I understand and accept that." He stared at her a tick longer before returning his gaze to Dorian's back, keeping a careful eye on the child ahead of him. Every now and then he glanced at their surroundings, but most of the time he was watching out for the boy. It took him a tick to realize this. Was it wise to make the child the center of his attention? Normally he would be more concerned about the wilderness.

Perhaps he merely trusted in Kaie's ability. Or perhaps it was something different. The child was doing something to him just by existing in his life. He just didn't know what that something was. It was odd how people could so strongly influence other people. Warp them. Mold them. Improve them. Weaken them.

At Kaie's questions, Matthew had to think a moment to figure out the best way to answer them. It was all so... far-fetched. She seemed to accept his words at face value, however. Perhaps that was the wisest way to proceed, then. "Tanroa rules over time. Her mark..." It sounded even more far-fetched when it was spoken aloud. "...her mark allows me to step back into time, under certain conditions. Due to the experiments the boy was put through, he has a monster inside of him. He can transform into something feral and raging. Something powerful. Tanroa has seen a future where, if unchecked, he will take more lives than the Valterrian stole away. She instructed me to raise him with good values. Good morals." Matthew paused again, having a hard time actually telling someone else this story. "I considered killing him. It seemed to be the safest path, if he is indeed such a threat. But Tanroa seems set on the boy being raised, instead. I am not well-suited for this sort of task. I advertised to try and find a mother, but have reconsidered the idea. It is a difficult situation."

From a Harlot to a Father. It was difficult indeed.

Turning his stare towards Dorian as the boy showed off his discovery, Matthew watched as Kaie ruffled his hair and the boy beamed with pride. Moving slowly and gracefully, Matthew carefully imitated the Myrian, reaching out with slender fingers to ruffle Dorian's hair. "Yes. Good job, Dorian." The boy beamed even brighter, but his eyes soon narrowed, peering cautiously at Matthew as he tried to understand the sudden show of affection.

Both the man and the boy refocused their attentions on Kaie as she began to teach, one with a thoughtful expression and the other with an eager one. Dorian was quick to scurry off, looking for small branches and leaves, Matthew feeling some sort of twisting sensation in his gut as he watched the child go. After a few ticks, he wrapped a firm hand around the offered kukri, looking down to study it. Curved at a slight angle, they struck Matthew as a rather unique blade. Pondering only a bit longer, Matthew soon strode over to a low-hanging branch and put the blade to use, firmly bringing it down in a firm chopping motion. It took him a few tries to get the blade correctly angled, but soon he had managed to produce several long pieces of wood.

Collecting them, he brought them back to the area Kaie had pointed out, approaching it right as Dorian returned with an armful of wood. Glancing at the Myrian and then back at Matthew, the boy spoke, not particularly concerned about if Kaie could hear or not. "Are you and Kaie a couple?" Matthew blinked at the child, then slowly shook his head. "We are not. Kaie is the lover of a man named Aider, I believe." The boy turned this over and over in his head, looking confused, then spoke again. "So you are friends? It is odd. I've never seen you with anyone else." Matthew nodded, realizing this was true. The boy certainly hadn't.

Turning to Kaie when she approached, both of her companions awaited new orders, eager to soak in all the knowledge that she could offer them.

[Kaie]

Tanroa the Goddess of Time, the savage pondered to herself once she'd separated from the two males to go about her own work. As she set about her chopping, she couldn't help but follow the boy as he bounded carefree through the woods in search of tinder. It was hard to imagine some sort of alleged beast residing within the child, something more destructive than the apocalyptic Valterrian. Her gaze hardened. The kukri's "sweet spot" hacked clean through the branch she'd been working on. I could kill him now. I should. He puts the world at risk, my people and our Queen at risk. I could make him a swift, painless death. His back's to me now. I could come right up behind him, wrap the blade around his throat and then...

The sound of Matthew successfully splitting wood nearby silenced her murderous thoughts. Another strong branch collapsed at the Myrian's feet. The beastly boy had disappeared from her immediate line of sight. She shook her head. But this Tanroa is watching him, protecting him. She's marked Matthew and placed Dorian in his care. Killing the boy may have more consequences than I can possibly comprehend. After several chimes she dragged her share of branches back to their meeting point. It was only when she saw the Harlot dragging over his own share, and Dorian trudging back with arms with twigs and brush, that the Myrian found herself looking over their campsite. It is spring. Makutsi may come.

She wandered between the trees in their vicinity. Eyes carefully studied the distance between each, until finally she gestured between two sturdy trunks of moderate distance from one another. "Here is where he will build,"
she announced, then turning this way and that before her mind was made up. The savage approached the first sapling that appeared roughly the same length as the distance between the trees. Her arm swung the kukri several times before it came down. Then she moved onto the next, and then the next, until she had three saplings and an arm full of burning muscles. One by one the small trees were dragged to the spot. "I'll set up the frame for the structure and the door. When I'm done, start laying the branches up along the frame. Lean them on an incline against one another. We'll get to the rest when we're finished with that."

When her simple instructions were through, the Myrian lifted the longest of the saplings and went to work. One end was firmly pressed at the base of one tree. The other end leaned up high against the trunk of the opposite. It took her several tries before the first sapling stuck in place, the young woman jumping up and hanging from the higher end to further dig it into the bark and hold it in place. Then came the construction with the next, shorter two saplings. They too were wedged, but done so they were an A-frame between the same support beam and the ground perpendicular to the larger wedged sapling. As she worked, she could hear the question of the child behind her where he stood beside her friend. The savage let out an exhale, shaking out her arms. A smile edged up her lips.

"Really? You've never seen Matthew with anyone else?" It was hard for the woman to restrain laughter at that notion. If the Harlot was still, well, a harlot, she doubted he spent his time in as much isolation as Dorian seemed to assume. Kaie moved to Matthew's pile of branched and began to carefully inspect them one by one. It was a tedious process, but eventually she found a pair of almost equal length and curve. She propped those up in the middle of the structure's frame and stuck a stick behind them to hold them in place. "Has Matthew not mentioned Aider to you? We all share the same room after all. I'm surprised it hadn't come up." Bronze hands clapped the tree residue off each other. Eyes wandered upward to the sky.

Still plenty of bells before nightfall.

"Alright. We can start stacking the rest of the branches up now. Hopefully the thing will hold." And hopefully the skepticism in her own wooden engineering wasn't obvious either. After all, without a solid shelter, their night would be filled with a bit more misery should the weather decide to turn. She slipped her kukri back into its harness. "Have you ever built a fire before? Dorian? Either of you?"