Completed Down Time (Brandon Blackwing)

[Shadyn]

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1st of Fall, 515 AV



It was late afternoon, and Arrmal had already retired after dinner. Shadyn, however, was restless, as usual, and decided to take up his usual spot in the market. He loved to study the skies, especially near sunset, and the large, empty space -- except on market days -- gave him room to think and relax. Of course, an nice mug of ale always made life better. Shadyn despised drunkenness, but as long as it was in moderation -- which, considering he had always been able to hold far more than his share of alcohol, was quite a lot -- he saw no reason to not enjoy strong drinks.

Thus it was that this evening Shadyn was at his usual post, leaning slightly over the edge of the market's railing. Xarrt was back in his room in Shadyn's house in the Aeries, already fast asleep. Since the market was usually abandoned, the fact that he now saw another person up here was rather strange. Still, it would pass the time, so he swallowed another gulp of ale and then hailed him.

"Hey! Bud! Mind sharing this beautiful evening with a bored Endal?"


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[Brandon Blackwing]

x

There were many things one could do in Wind Reach, that is, if one had the time. For those who sought to hone their combat skills, there were the fighting pits; for those who wanted to relax there were both the baths and the Dreaming Lady; and for those who just wanted to get drunk and have a fun time, the Inclement Weather would do wonders. Sadly, option two was now out of the question; the water still too hot to bathe in. Not that Brandon had any intention to go bathe every day, mind you. Sometimes it was just nice to soak yourself in water comfortably warm.

As per usual, the fighting pits were the place he’d just come from, having had to put up with group after group of yasi, in hopes they would learn something. Bird-brained as they were though, most had no interest whatsoever in martial arts. Which left only the Inclement, but the bat wasn’t exactly in the mood for a party. Not to mention he did not have too great memories of the place, especially in regards to last season. Then what would he do? He could just call it a day and go to bed, of course, but the bat did not have to work the next day, so he figured he’d go do something… but what? Well, perhaps he could start with grabbing a bite to eat.

Purely out of habit, the bat took a detour and went via the courtyard of the sky, even though it probably would have been faster if he’d used the warrens all the way. Not that the Kelvic himself cared, besides, the warrens would be packed anyways. True, as a thief Brandon was skilled to just slip through, but he wasn’t really willing to bother at the moment. There were times –lots of them actually- that the Kelvic had enough of dealing with the Inarta. During this time of day there wouldn’t be a soul in the courtyard, or if there were it wouldn’t be a whole lot. Of course, as to be expected, someone was indeed present, his scent drifting about, strong and fresh. Well, the chances of the guy not wanting to be spending time on his own were slim. Why else would he be loafing about here?

Against all odds, the man called out to him, and Brandon sighed internally. “I do mind. I’m busy.” And with that he continued walking. Heck, he hadn’t even stopped. He didn’t have time to serve as a bored endal’s influx of entertainment. The bat had hoped the highest caste had learned to leave him alone by now. Oh well.

The rest of the walk to the kitchens was uneventful, and due to the rather late bell, the queue was short. Brandon settled for the daily meal, which seemed to be some sort of stew… with very little meat. An actual count revealed a whopping three small cubes of … something. Probably rabbit. All in all it wasn’t too bad, but it bothered Bran that the man next to him had more than thrice the amount of meat he had. Not too surprising since the guy appeared to be avora, but still. At least it served its purpose; stilling the Kelvic’s hunger.

Some dek were busy cleaning the tables, and Brandon beckoned one to come closer, having decided he’d ask the drudge about places he could visit to pass some time. He wasn’t expecting much, especially since the dek started listing the same places everyone else always did. However, upon some more in depth questioning, the woman did inform him of one place in particular; the Edge of the World. “Climbing the cliff takes a while, but the view’s amazing,” she said, and Brandon nodded, it seemed worth a shot. Besides, it had been way too long since he’d gotten to climb anything else than trees.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Shadyn]

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The fact that the chiet ignored him was of little concern. Shadyn understood about the caste system, and considered it a simple way of ranking people according to their abilities. He honored it, and expected it to be honored by others, but was by no means obsessive about it. Really, unless someone was doing some drastic wrong in their violation of caste rules, he could not care less. Either the chiet did not hear him, or was busy, or simply did not want to chat. At least a polite “No, thank you,” would have been preferable, but…it did not matter.

The sun had not set yet, but he had already finished his ale. He stretched, trying to decide what he wanted to do. Something active, perhaps. Arrmal had been sorting out their take of stones from earlier in the week, which had once been of great interest to him, but had by now grown dull with repetition. He, moreover, was not bred for the indoors. Even when he was enjoying a leisurely drink, he preferred one of his own balconies or the open air market. Reading and crafting were the only truly worthwhile indoor pass-times, in his opinion.

Being active left him with only two options. He could either spend some time in the fight pits, or climb the edge of the world. Xarrt had already bedded down, so flying wasn’t really an option. After thinking for a moment, he decided against the fight pits. His tomahawk was not good for sparring, that was certain. Unarmed combat was something he should probably pick up, but all of the academy’s instructors were already off duty by this time, and none of the other Endals were on good enough terms with him to act as surrogate teachers. Well, except Mircor, but he had been distracted by some girl lately, and had little time for Shadyn.

“Well…climbing it is, then.”

He arrived at the top of the cliffs in only a few moments, taking a shortcut through some of the Aeries to get there. Though he had spent most of his time with Arrmal in a rope-sling, which wasn’t actual climbing, he had done enough to know proper preparations. First, he tightened the latches on his sontavs, making sure that there was absolutely no loose material. He followed this by making sure that his katinu was unbuttoned and settled back on his shoulders to allow free movement. He tucked his shirt under his belt, and then bent down tightened his boots. Many people would have objected to the wearing the katinu, its heavy ram-skin and wool flapping gently in the breeze, each of the divided sections slapping against his back, legs and feet separately, intermingling with the flowing folds of his pants. He, however, had long since grown used to these sorts of clothes, and actually appreciated how loose they were – they allowed him to move far more easily than tighter clothes would have, and the weight of the katinu served to keep him incredibly warm despite frigid winds and weather.

The final step was to stretch. Though he had never set much store by the extreme lengths some people went to in stretching, Shadyn did consider it worthwhile to limber up his muscles some. His left shoulder, especially, tended to become stiff if he didn’t use it enough…a result of his fall several years ago when he was saving Arrmal. Fortunately, there was not any actual muscle or bone damage, so tending to occasional stiffness was no big deal. Soft footsteps approached, from towards one of the communal areas. To his surprise, it appeared to be the same chiet he had seen in the market. Given the direction from which he approached, he had most likely just finished his dinner, which accounted for his rush in the market. That didn’t excuse being rude…but it did explain it, at least.

“Evening. You planning on climbing too?”




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[Brandon Blackwing]

x

As soon as he’d finished eating, Brandon made his way to the Edge of the World, following the directions he’d been given by the dek. It didn’t take that long before the bat found himself onto the poorly maintained path that should lead him to the cliff. While Brandon wasn’t too worried, the swirling route on the mountainside was rather dangerous… if one was prone to falling over small rocks and the like. Or if they were afraid of heights. Fortunately, Brandon was neither, and he pressed on with quick strides. This haste did not stem from impatience or excitement however, but from a certain feeling of dread.

Dread that had come with the scent that hung all over the path, fresh and strong. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods! Don’t do this to me! His arrival put an end to his anxiety, though only by dropping the unfortunate truth onto his shoulders. There was someone there, and the scent was stronger than before. Brandon had hoped it scent had not been going from Wind Reach to the Edge, but the other way around, even though he had clearly smelled the trail getting stronger and fresher. He sighed. More annoyed than anything else by the sight of the man latched to the ropes, getting ready to climb.

“Ugh. Not you again,” Brandon muttered to himself, still hoping he was just mistaken somehow. “Evening. You planning on climbing too?” There was no mistake, his nose had been right. That scent, that voice. It was that endal from before. Petch. “No I’m here to hunt for skygoats,” Brandon retorted sarcastically, not really looking forward to have an endal for company. Not tonight, not ever. Well, perhaps it wasn’t that bad. If he wasn’t some sort of Turrin, things could get better…right?

Having decided to ignore the man’s presence, Brandon stared at the wall, noting the many holes cut into it, as well as it being enclosed by two other walls. There wasn’t a lot of wind that managed to reach this wall, and that was good. A night in the mountains, volcano or no, tended to be rather cold. He started to strip then, removing bryda, boots and weaponry from his person, throwing it on a pile to the side. Like hell he would go climbing with some security system of ropes attached to him. Took away the thrill.

Ignoring whatever comments or questions the endal had for him, Brandon walked to the wall, studying it from up close for a bit, pleased to see there were apart from the holes cut out of the stone, there were many natural cracks and protrusions he could use. The Kelvic started his ascent right away, placing one foot on a foothold, and grabbing some sort of peg with his hand. Climbing came from the legs, he remembered, so not to exhaust or overexert ones arms. As such, Brandon pushed himself upwards with his leg, one hand searching for a hand hole for a brief couple ticks, then the same went for his other hand. Next each foot found some form of support a bit higher on the climbing wall as well, unbending the knees so his body was raised again.

The process was repeated many times, the bat keeping the “three out of four” rule in the back of his mind; always having three limbs in place before moving one. And if he moved one limb, the other three had to stay in place. That way the odds of him falling down were low, but hey, even if he did fall, he wouldn’t smash into the ground below. He could fly after all. Besides, the bat had no intentions of clambering back down from the top of the Edge. It would take way too long. He’d just drop down, shift and fly. Easy and swift. There was nothing to worry about. Sadly, that did diminish the excitement a little bit too… although, the sensation of slipping was still more than enough to instigate an adrenaline rush.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Shadyn]

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Okay…this guy is seriously beginning to get on my nerves. Not wanting to converse in one thing. Being blatantly rude is another. I don’t care who you are, you don’t show disrespect to your superior. Period. If he wants to climb, then I’ll CLIMB…

Shadyn flexed his hands and detached his rope. He did not believe in involving himself in useless conflict, but when someone deliberately crossed him, he would never, ever back away from the conflict. He would meet and beat them on their own turf. In his opinion, it was both a character strength and a character flaw.

With that, he began to climb, not even pausing to take off his clothes.

His assent was swift. Though a serious climber by no means, he had done enough to know how to do so, if not be proficient at it. Competitions like this had arisen before, and though he lost initially, over time he had learned his strong points and knew how to use them to his advantage. His first advantage was size. Being quite possibly the largest resident of Wind Reach, he could reach farther and exert more force than most people, and thus had developed a risky yet curiously reliable strategy.

Typical climbers were careful, measuring gaps visually, making sure they were stable in case they slipped or over-reached, and moving at a rather conservative pace.

Shadyn, like nearly everything in his life, was far from typical. His upper body was built like a Y – remarkably broad shoulders and a deep chest surmounting narrow hips and powerful legs. In short, he was built for lithe force, and could comfortably haul himself up spreads farther than most Inarta could reach with one arm, or hold his weight with one leg.

He knew, however, not to be careless. More than one time in the past he had nearly met disaster because he put too much trust in his own strength.

Thus, he climbed in a manner unique to himself. When still, he would press himself tightly against the cliff, letting gravity and his body weight keep him balanced while he spotted the next hand hold. Then he would lean out, give a small leap, and then swing upwards and sideways on one hand. As soon as his other hand was in the new hold, he would let go with the other, slip one or both feet into a foot hold, and press himself back into the rocks. Alternating security and risk allowed him to move quickly, while his own foolhardy nature accelerated the process even more.

Though he made no open challenge, nor even drew particularly near the chiet, he did occasionally shoot a glance sideways, and gave himself a small smile of satisfaction.




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[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Brandon's progress was steady but not quite slow, and yet from the corner of his eye he noticed the endal catching up slowly, hauling himself up high with each set of motions. Well.. now that the bat thought about it, the guy was rather tall... too tall for an Inarta even. And his hair was more black than red... a halfbreed, possibly? Perhaps, but that did not matter; it seemed this particular endal was challenging Brandon. It was obvious if one thought about the sideways glances and smirks the man gave as he was starting to overtake the bat.

A challenge it was then, and the Kelvic accepted. Not in a thousand years would he let an endal get the better of him. Especially one with such an atrocious climbing technique. True, it was fast, but it was also very, very risky. One mistake and he'd fall all the way down, but that was none of the thief's business. As things stood though, the endal was likely to tire himself out before he even came close to reaching the top. The way up was long, pacing was the key. That said, Brandon did speed up himself; excitement of a genuine challenge flowed through his veins. It accelerated his breathing and heartbeat, and allowed him to climb faster, and longer too.

His technique did not change however, the bat holding on to the iron rule of climbing. Three limbs in place, one seeking a hand or foot hold. Yet, instead of taking it easy like he had before, now he did it faster. Never did he stop moving, ceasing to be picky where he placed his limbs, all for the sake of speed. Whether one cycle allowed him to ascend one foot or three, he did not care. There were enough holes, cracks, indentations, protrusions, and pegs to use, scattered all over the wall. Finding one could be done with ease, and the faster and easier it was to find a foot or hand hold, the swifter he could scale this cliff. He'd be at the top first. Not the endal with his leaps and swings. Where'd he learned to climb?

Sure, Brandon was self-taught, but at least there was some elegance in his technique, along with efficiency. Unlike the endal's style which focused on the use of the arms, Brandon used both in synergy, especially if he tried to be fast. His legs pushed, and his hand reached, the other following. Much better than leaping, clinging and swinging like some sort of … brain damaged ape. And so the bat just continued clambering upwards, spending little time looking for grip, instead finding it instantly, which increased his speed quite a bit. Now it was his time to smirk, however, he wouldn't speed up anymore. The top was still far away, but so was the ground. Wings or no, Brandon had no intention to slip and fall; it'd only be detrimental for his chances of victory.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Shadyn]

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With his next glance, Shadyn noticed that the chiet had recognized the challenge...and accepted. He had made up the lost space, and was now working on moving higher than Shadyn. He moved smoothly and methodically, making quick, short movements that clearly favored security.

Shadyn, too accelerated. At his new speed, he focused his mind of the task at hand. Moving at this speed greatly heightened his risk of falling, making it into more of a probability than a chance. Still, long ago he had decided that fear was an absolutely useless emotion, and had summarily annihilated it from his life, so being afraid of falling was not a problem. It was simply the fact that he knew falling was becoming more likely by the second.

Nevertheless, his sloppy style remained as effective as ever, allowing him to keep pace with the chiet, and even pull ahead again. After a while, however, the muscles in his arms and shoulders began to burn. He dismissed this, reminding himself of the hours it had taken him to rescue Arrmal. No, now that his challenge had been accepted, nothing was going to slow him down. His muscles would simply do as they were told, and with time and focus, the pain would deaden itself. He had little enough lead as it was, he could not afford to slow down.

To compensate some for his arms, Shadyn altered his style slightly. From where his hands were positioned, he pulled his legs up as high as he could, allowing him to thrust upwards farther instead of pulling himself as much. This forced him to lean out more, and gave him a vague resemblance to an inch-worm, but it did ease the stress off of his arms without reducing his pace. Once his legs became tired, his upper body would be rested enough to return to his original method.

He glanced up at the top of the cliff. It had drawn much closer now, and the sun had set as well. He realized that more time had passed than he had thought, but was encouraged to notice that he was nearly two-thirds of the done with the climb. Another trick of his for any and every task at hand was to focus on the goal, and convert ever single ounce of progress made towards it into encouragement and fuel to drive him onwards. This was no different, and seeing the end approaching gave him a boost of confidence and a surge of excitement.



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[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Brandon continued to clamber, sticking to his own pace, believing it was enough to eventually win him the victory. It worked too; his pacing -even though he'd accelerated- and the synergistic usage of his limbs triumphed over the reckless leaping and arm-reliant strategy of his opponent. Well, for a moment, that is. Then the endal changed things up, swapping one ridiculous climbing style for another, and still somehow managing to keep up the pace. Worse, he even managed to stay in the lead position, though it wasn't by much. In fact, the man's saving grace seemed to be his height, allowing for him to stay just an inch or two ahead.

Don't speed up. Don't speed up. He'll tire himself out. Patience Bran, patience. It did not help much though, the drive to clamber upwards faster was there, and only a thin wall of self-restraint kept the screaming part of his mind at bay. Though a wall could not block out noise; the screams could still be heard. He wanted to stand victorious, he wanted to give in to the competition; let it force him to grow, to accelerate, to take the lead. He wanted to win. But the summit was still too far off, this was not the time to strike, no matter how frustrating it was to see the endal just that little bit ahead of him.

Besides, he calmed himself, I cannot lose. There was no possible way he could lose. No matter how fast or how wild the endal started to clamber, Brandon would still win. By a mile even. But this was not the time for that, not if he could win without playing his trump card. There was no need for a last resort just yet.

It was probably for the best that he'd picked the easy wall to climb; not only was it getting colder the higher they clambered, but that endal would have fallen to his death already. That dek from the kitchen had explained that many foolhardy Inarta – especially young ones, Inarta that just gotten old enough to flow from the yasi caste to another- had attempted the other walls. They'd climbed recklessly, she'd said, and they'd paid with their life. One mistake was all it took. One foot placed on the wrong hold, one slip and they were done for. Brandon couldn't say he cared whether there was one endal more or less, but he'd get accused for either being the cause of the death of an endal, or for not saving him. As a chiet, that was expected of him. Give his life to save that of his superior. A ridiculous notion, but still.

One hand reached out, grabbing a peg, and the bat started pulling instantly, the pin snapping in two, rust having eaten through the iron. Immediately the thing was disposed off, falling down to the ground, while Brandon's fingers found a large crack in the rock. The sound of the pin hitting the ground only reached the Kelvic's ears after a couple ticks, an indicator of the altitude. Good thing he didn't use the endal's climbing technique. With his two feet and one hand safely anchored, there had been no danger whatsoever, nor any delay. He was able to continue immediately, placing his other hand in a hole, then pulling himself up while his foot searched, and found a new spot, the other following suit. Beautiful teamwork, it felt right. This was the way to climb, this was how you won, and how you kept yourself safe enough. This was how you didn't die.

Although... Brandon couldn't die. He wouldn't die either. Not here. Or at least not now. If he would, why would Dira have bothered marking him? It would have been a waste of time. But. That he wouldn't die did not mean he couldn't fall... No, he wouldn't speed up just yet. Sure, he could go faster, and then go faster still, but the odds of falling increased every time... No, not yet. Not yet. When it was necessary. There was still about one third or one fourth of the cliff left, and the difference in altitude between the two men hadn't changed much. Yet. Nah, there was still time. The bat would beat him, he just had to be patient, and accelerate at the right moment. Strategy did matter. Strategy could make a difference. Brandon would win; he couldn't lose after all. And certainly not to an endal.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Shadyn]

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Time passed, and the top drew tantalizingly close. He had managed to maintain his pace, and his short lead. Now he only had a few dozen more feet to climb, and he would win.

Suddenly, though, his opponent sped up. His lead diminished and in another moment HE was the one lagging. Shadyn grimaced and forced himself into high gear. Every last muscle in his body was honed into driving himself upwards at breakneck speeds.

A handhold collapsed into a shower of pebbles, leaving him in mid-swing. Hastily, he slipped his hand into the nearest crevasse and hauled himself up with one arm, feet scrambling for purchase. The studded boots did their job, however, and in the next instant he was closing the gap again. It was going to be tight, the chiet still nearly a full man’s height past him. In a few seconds, he would lose.

That simply would not happen.

So, Shadyn glanced downwards, gulped, and jumped. As his legs shot up from the half-crouch in which he had positioned himself, he clasped his hands onto the next set of anchors and pushed downwards.

And… he was free-floating, suspended in air for a couple of seconds.

Reaching as far above his head as he could, he latched his fingertips onto the top of the plateau, pressing them down with all his might to provide as much grip as possible. In a single motion, he swung his body up and over the edge, rolling over onto his back, panting, just as the chiet pulled his legs onto the top as well.

After laying there for a moment, Shadyn began to laugh, rolling over onto his knees to look at his opponent.

“A tie! All this for a tie! Oh well. I think we each gave the other a run for their money, although you did it with a good deal more grace than I did, I must say. That’s the problem with being an Endal…you end up neglecting some of the ground skills that just might come in handy sometimes.”
He stood, brushed himself off, yanked off his right sontav, and extended his hand. “You’re a great climber, and an excellent opponent. If my last maneuver hadn’t worked, you would have beaten me for certain. Name’s Shadyn (Xarrt). Pleased to make your aquantaince."

OOC :

Thought a tie would be a good result...Shadyn being stronger and taller, Bran being more methodical, practiced, and generally better ...that way neither char has the upper hand, and thus dispel having too much conflict.

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[Brandon Blackwing]

x

oocGood thinking

The final stretch was approaching fast, the competition between the two men having something to do with it for sure. However, it seemed part of the rock above the Kelvic was not in quite as good a shape as the parts below. It made sense of course; there was more wind here, and it was way colder than at the bottom. While the deterioration made for many cracks and crevasses, they were not really all that well suited for climbing purposes; the stone brittle and prone to breaking off. The pegs embedded in the wall also did not appear all that stable. Most likely part of the cliff would break off, destroying the anchor point of the climbing pins.

Well, at least that meant he could use the hand and foot holds still, which wasn't exactly bad. Though it did take a bit longer to clamber up than it would have, Brandon still made significant progress in not that much time, even though he had to search for places to put his hands and feet in for a bit longer than before. Not that it mattered that much; even if he was climbing as fast as he had when he'd started, he hadn't exactly been slow. The slowed rate of the bat's advance allowed his opponent to solidify his lead position though, and while it irked Brandon more than just a little, he focused on caution, gritting his teeth and bearing with it.

One hand was put in a hole, the other in a crack, and started hauling himself up while one foot stuffed itself in whatever space was available, the other pushing the weight of Brandon's body upwards. Some sweat ran past his eyes onto his upper lip, sitting there like some shiny, salty mustache. He had to reach out too far to get by this time, which was a little too taxing on his muscles, especially those in his arms. True, his body was honed through both training in martial arts and acrobatics, but having to rely solely on ones arms after rigorously climbing a cliff was not all that easy.

Soon enough though, the deteriorated part appeared to have been passed, and Brandon could work on catching up, accelerating to a speed higher than he'd used before. Again he wasn't picky with the positioning of his hands and feet, grabbing whatever was available, clambering like a madman chased by a pack of hungry wolves. It did not matter how much height he gained per motion, what mattered was the speed with which he could cover more distance. It did not take long for the bat to overtake his competitor, gaining more and more distance fast, though he did not bother to glance down to see just how much. From the sound alone he guessed it was about as much as he was tall, or something. Quite a bit, now he thought about it. But he did not slow down, the edge was drawing nearer, and Brandon would win by a league.

The sound of falling pebbles, and groans reached his ears, and the Kelvic was sure of his victory. From the noise he could tell the endal had managed to cling on for his dear life, but now there was no way he could win anymore. Heh, I knew that would happen, the bat smirked, guess I can take it easy now. And he did, starting to relax and slow down for the last few feet, confident in his victory. Perhaps overly so. Suddenly though, the endal was next to him again, fingers latched to the edge, and Bran cussed internally. PETCH! Immediately the thief spoke to his muscles, ordering them to go all out, if only to avoid defeat. His arms hauled him over the edge in an instant, changing position so he could actually pull his feet on top of the plateau as well. Sadly, his much desired victory could not be obtained, instead he had to live with a draw.

Laughter came from the endal, who seemed rather happy with the situation, or perhaps he was just concealing his frustration. Bran turned away to stare down the ravine for a moment, catching the unexpected words of praise with not a small amount of disbelief. An endal actually not being a shykehead? That was new. “All basics besides shooting a bow, you mean,” Brandon retorted, somehow liking the fact someone was actually acknowledging what the bat had been thinking from day one. A hand was extended, and the Kelvic hesitated for a tick, and then he accepted, grabbing it firmly. “You're not half bad yourself,” he said, though despite the tone of voice used, it wasn't a compliment. His technique was awful. He wasn't half bad, he was just bad. Period. But he had to admit that this Shadyn was not a terrible opponent. It was a remarkable feat to keep up with Brandon with such a flawed and lousy climbing technique, he found.

“I'm Brandon by the way. Brandon Blackwing.” He released the endal's hand, and walked away a couple steps, looking around at the sky that surrounded them. That dek was right; the view was indeed amazing. The freshly fallen night was clear, the starts shining overhead numerous. Leth gazed down too with his one silver orb, though the moon wasn't exactly full that night. It was getting cold though, and now his muscles were cooling down, shivers were starting to run down his spine. Brandon crossed his arms and continued to stare, not really thinking about anything, just relishing the view.

x

credit goes to Euthisa