[Flashback] Growing Up (Solo)

[Xalet]

18th day of Spring, 508 AV Xalet was stuck in a strange rut in life. At 26 years of age as an Akalak he wasn't exactly certain where he fit in. Was he a child? Was he an adult? He felt grown up enough. His height had stabilized for the most part, so the Order more rarely had to look for hand-me-down uniforms that could fit his unusually sized body. His weight seemed to be drawing to it's maximum as his muscles hardened and enlarged due to his training and the hormones that rushed through his system. It was said he had a face like his mother, soft and youthful, though his eyes were as his fathers, oddly calm and cold, colored like steel. That was what his mother had told him anyway, being he had never actually met the man that was one half responsible for his birth. Additionally his situation growing up was perhaps not completely abnormal, but not altogether common. As a Squire his days were filled completing various tasks, absorbing training, and otherwise conditioning himself for a lifetime of service to Syliras in the name of the Order. Not every young adult could understand that, even if almost everyone knew someone in the Knights. Lately the few friends he had made within the Order were around less and less during the time off between training. Indeed most of them were out being social with members of the opposite sex, something even with many years over Humans that could be considered his developmental 'peers' Xalet had no experience doing. When it came to women some of his associates called him too shy. Others said he just wasn't talkative enough. One young lad suggested it was the color of his skin that was particularly off-putting. They all seemed to be excuses for the fact that, while interested, Xalet was somehow intimidated by females. There was at least one female that decided to push her way through that intimidation, and her name was Samantha, or otherwise playfully known as 'Sam' for most of her life. She had started out as quite the tomboy, and both her and Xalet seemed to get along fairly well in their youth. When she experienced her growth spurt after Xalet, Samantha became less boisterousness, though maintained a good deal of her raw communicative power. "Hey purple." she called toward him, it seemed to be the nickname that stuck the most. Though not a Knight or Squire, Samantha had a father and two brothers that were a part of the Knighthood, and thus was easily identified by most within the Order and subsequently allowed into places such as the training grounds where even she had swung a weapon or two in her youth. Xalet hung from a doorway in the training grounds where a crossbar lay imbedded within the stone just beneath the overhead portion of the frame. Utilized for upper body development, Squires would often attempt to outdo one another in a pull-up competition, although the record was still held by a Konti. The Akalak was not proceeding in any upward or downward motion, instead he was hanging steadily in the middle of ascension with large bags of sand appearing to be tied to the ends of his feet which had to be hooked together and curled behind him in order to keep them from touching down.

[Xalet]

"Hello...Samantha." the large squire responded. Each fat, vascular vein stood out against his tense purple skin as his body fought to keep his weight aloft. This type of training was supposed to promote muscular endurance, allowing the muscles to be forced to their maximums for longer periods of time instead of burning out quickly. Through endurance training Xalet had found that once exhausted, even the strongest of men could be subdued by those initially weaker than them. Endurance actually mattered that much. The anvil like blows of a boxer felt like little more than sharp points of pressure once one was brought to the point of exhaustion. Once the muscles burned and the limbs became so heavy it was difficult to lift them. "You uh, you gonna come down from there? You're tall enough as it is, it's just a little strange talking to you while you're...you know, hanging around." she said with her hands laid down upon her hips, it was a classic motherly pose, one Xalet's own mother used quite often. Her dark olive skin and raven like hair gave Samantha something of an exotic look. She was quite popular among the boys. He understood this as often they would come to him in order to gain information about her particular interests. Obeying her wishes his heavy body fell to the ground, his booted feet absorbing the shock. When Xalet's weight hit the ground you knew it. With his hands gripping the lower ends of his tunic on either side he pulled the garment up and over his head, exposing his bare upper body. Promptly he brought the fabric over toward his face and did his best to rid the sweat from his eyes. Though Samantha knew Xalet wasn't the type to go out of his way to impress a girl, she had to at least toy with him, "What, trying to get me all hot and bothered? Don't you forget who I am!" "The squire towels have yet to be laundered, this is all I have at the moment." the Akalak explained, still a bit lost on Human interaction. He had no ability to seduce a female through conscious effort even if he wanted to, his skills with woman had improved slightly, but were not yet anything to speak of. His defense was so honest it caused her to laugh and push against his shoulder lightly with a hand. She could feel the slickness upon his skin, the layer of sweat that covered him, "Though before we get too close you'd need to wash up. You're...a bit gooey. Anyway, like I said I had some things I wanted to talk to you about...."

[Xalet]

"Yeah so..." Samantha glanced about for a moment, trying to decide exactly how to put what had been on her mind, "...remember how we, you know, used to hang around more when we were younger? You know, I was just thinking maybe we could do that again. But slightly different. We could maybe go out sometimes when you're not busy as a Squire..." she mentioned, and the Akalak could see in her face that she was nervous. Nervousness was very unlike Sam. As a child she was so obnoxious that she had few friends beyond Xalet. Of course she had mellowed out as she came into young adulthood, but that confidence was always there. Within the gaze of his infravision, Xalet could see the temperature of Samantha's skin beginning to heat up. Was she embarrassed? "You want to date me?" that was what the Humans called it after all. A slightly immature and seemingly short-lived form of courting, at least from his point of view, "But you are with another. This is not socially acceptable." he pointed out. Comparative to the emotions Samantha showed, Xalet was as flat as the calmest day at sea. Inside...well that was a different story. A part of him always wished he could get closer to her, somehow. "NO! Well yes. I mean no, I'm not with another, and yes it would not be 'socially acceptable' for us to do that if I was. And...well yes I think you should date me." the brunette was quick to change the ordering of the words. It was supposed to be him dating her, not the other way around. "Well I mean, I'm not with another anymore. Reynard and I weren't working--oh who am I kidding, he was an ass. His temper was just...just...he'd get so mad sometimes. Mad over anything, it's like we were always yelling about something." she let out an exasperated sigh. The towering Xalet nodded. Despite looking so tall, and despite having a frame so large, his soft facial features revealed how difficult for him it was to always stay so mature, "Perhaps we can go to the Arch sometime? It is nice in the Spring, not too hot, as in the Summer. Not too cold, as in the Winter." that suggestion was weighted with memories of years past, when they would visit the Spring with their parents. It was where Samantha taught Xalet to swim. "Sure! It's a date then, you've only an early session of training on the 20th right? We should go that day. Yes, that's what we'll do, it's decided. We'll meet there at 12 bells, it'll work out perfectly. See you then Squire Purple!" she was already physically back pedaling as she recited the time and place, almost as if ensuring Xalet had no time to dispute her words. Then, just like she had arrived, she was so quickly gone.

[Accolade]

Xalet

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Body Building	+1 XP
Observation	+1 XP
Socialization	+2 XP
Interrogation	+1 XP
Persuasion	+1 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Pre-cursor to Human dating
•	Samantha, No longer a tomboy
•	The Arch- A date with Samantha
•	Nick name- Squire Purple

The Sylir has spoken

Notes :

A very fun read, and I think that Xalet and Samantha make a cute couple. I look forward to reading the date!

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