Completed Stumble in the dark (Kreig)

[Fallon]

56th Winter 512, Evening It was starting to grow dark by the time Fallon Skylar chose to set up camp, the colours of dusk having now filled the sky. Glows of red began streak out across the blue, bleeding out into various shades, a sign that the dark was not far behind. So far she had managed to cover a good distance, barely stopping for a few chimes from the times of sun up to sun down. The sooner she got through the Wildlands the better, travelling was dangerous business after all. Her first priority was starting up a fire, it gave her more light, warmth and would- hopefully- deter animals. She found a clearing, and did not waste any time in trying to gather the materials she needed. From tinder to larger branches to serve as a fuel, it was vital to keep it going. She could hear the quiet, sleepy whimper coming from Orvin who had nestled himself into her coat, the small cub having fallen asleep during their travels was beginning to stir. But for the moment Fallon did not concern herself with him, there was more important things to tend to right now. She took out her flint and steel, quickly striking the sharp edge with the steel, trying her best to get it to spark. She wasn't sure how long it took, but the sooner the better. As it sparked and she gently blew upon the tinder she had set up, and for a moment there was nothing, before the spark burst into flames. Without hesitating she began feeding it, letting the flame grow into a roaring fire that lit her camp. The warmth made her relax and instil calm along with peace of mind. For a moment she simply let the cold be chased away by the heat, her mind relaxing as a sense of peace came forth. Slowly she rose, her eyes looking about at he lit surroundings, before setting up her tent up wind of the fire. Even without the gloom, Fallon still found it a difficult process and something that was far from her forte. But still she managed to pitch it before setting out the rest of her camp, setting down her backpack and removing Orvin from the warmth of her coat. She watched him pad about in the new surroundings for a bit before settling down before the fire next to her. And so she finally, truly relaxed as the last rays of light from the sun disappeared from around her.

[Kreig Messer]

Gods he need to walk, not too far from Falon's own camp had Kreig's knightly escort decided to set up for the evening, with the passing of days they had been more talkative but he found it stifling to be around her. It was like he was getting a glimpse of the choking atmosphere he wouldencountre in Syliras, all its laws feeling like constraints that made the brawler want to go back to Sunberth, a city he could no longer go back too unless he wanted to greet those who would be after the bounty on his head. And he did not wish for an early sleep, or any kind of sleep at the moment as it only brought the same nightmare night after night. It only got worse as they traveled farther from the anarchic city's direction. As he walked through the breif path of woods he found himself making noises that would attract the entire forest as he stepped on the small branches that lay on the dusty earth or trip over a small rock or overgrown root that would make him yelp ever so slightly ' Petching woods' he thought to himself, frustration building up as he had to deal with another thing that made him uncomfortable. After a short while he realized he was getting lost as things became more unfamiliar, cursing himself as it meant a lecture from his escort if she found him later and he did not wish to hear another lecture. Anothe short while passed as he finally made it to a clearing where he thought they had made camp but it wasn't their camp; it was another's, after all he did recall his patron not having a horse, nor having a wolf cub.... ' Its adorable he thought as he glanced the small creature running about , all his frustration melting away and replaced with a feeling of delight. Of course the wolf and its master may have a different about Kreig.

[Fallon]

The evening so far had proven calm. Fallon had taken back to writing in her book, making various notes and ideas for stories, whilst Orvin pounced about. She gave him a stroke, feeling his soft fur before taking out her rations. She broke it up into bits, giving a few chunks of the dried meat to cub before feeding herself. For a while it was quiet, only the sound of the crackling fire filling the air. It was times like this that her mind would wander to things that existed outside of her camp, that existed in the gloom waiting to be discovered. But Fallon knew safety came first, for curiosity although healthy was also potentially dangerous. It was the sound of snapping that alerted Fallon, the quiet rustle of the undergrowth that suggested that something was quickly approaching. She quietly reached for her Kukri, her fingers wrapping around the hilt ready to draw if need be. "Orvin," she muttered "Get here." His own ears were pricked, his eyes staring out into the gloom before a low whine escaped. There was something out there in the dark, something that was making one hell of a racket. And then the man stumbled out of the dark and into the clearing. For a moment he was focused on the wolf, distracted by the small creature that ran about, followed by a low growl that was far from intimidating, his tiny ears being pressed against his head. Across the fire Fallon stood, her gaze turning sharp. She said nothing as her grip tightened around the hilt, an obvious sign that she was prepared to draw. She studied the man in the gloom, unsure on what it was he wanted, and so "What do you want?" she spoke coolly as he eyes locked upon him. Strangers stumbling in on a camp was far from likely in the wilds, there had to be some other motive behind it.

[Kreig Messer]

' what a cute little guy, he's just adorable....feisty too he thought with a dopish smile as he felt delighted in looking at cutey wutey that was the wolf cub, he was just so adorable the way he stuck out his little widdle teeth and trying to look so intimidating. Kreig just wanted to pet it and give it a big ol' hug. Then he snapped out of his 'cutesy' state as the master of the wolf called to him, and remembered where he was as he looked at the young woman before him as she held the strangely curved blade defensively and asking what Kreig wanted but it felt more like 'Who are you and what do you want? Looking at her carefully, Kreig found her somewhat....cute, must be quite the heart-breaker with boys her age "Oh I'm sorry to intrude....er...well, I got lost in the woods. Forgive me miss, you don't have to stab me with that oddly shaped knife while your cute adorable..huggable and snuggly.... wolf eats my remains" Looking at her again he realized that she wasn't quite experienced in combat, her pose didn't look the least bit threatening and her grip on that blade, while not an expert in weaponry himself, could tell that he'd only need snatch it from her like a man stealing candy from a baby 'She has courage, that's for sure' which only made her seem more attractive to Kreig " Listen miss, I know it may sound like a poor poor attempt at tricking you, but I certainly mean you no harm....I am simply lost from where I had made camp with my escort"

[Fallon]

Fallon stood her ground, her jaw for a moment tightening as she listened to the words of the man. He sounded like a fool, his words a brief string on nonsense as he tried to explain himself. The dopey grin that was on his face helped in confirming it. For the most part she could tell little else from him, other than there was an air that he could no doubt hold his own better than her. Her fingers around the hilt relaxed, but her guard was still up. She was not about to allow herself fall into a trap. “You know, if I stab you I won’t have to worry about feeding Orvin,” her eyes narrowed, but there was a subtle ring of humour behind her words “Of course, it would be rather messy.” The Kukri was slid back into its sheath, and her back straightened. Far from imposing, but it still told him she was far from afraid- or at least appeared to be. In reality her mind was racing and preparing itself to defend, or to concentrate her Djed in order to create a distraction. “You got lost?” she asked as Orvin tucked himself out of sight behind her leg, a low quiet whine escaping. A strange man, and a potentially dangerous situation, it was no wonder that the cub cowered away. She thought about his words for a moment, calling up the meanings in her head, before giving him a regarding look. “Now, that is silly,” Fallon continued “You have escorts so you don’t get lost, no?”

[Kreig Messer]

"yeeaaaaahhh, weeeeelll its not like she's my bodygaurd....I find her somewhat annoying, very annoying at times with the way she talks, like someone from the far past except she's only a few years older than I. But she isn't my escort exactly, I'm travelling with her to join her order, this is just their way in making sure I had proper protection other than my fists...and that I don't get lost....heh...yes" He chuckled awkwardly, then strayed his attnetion to the wolf cub as he moved behind his master's legs "um...Can I pet the cutey wutey that's your wolf cub, he's just.... too adorable " He asked in a childlike tone, raising his arms with open palms to further indicate he didn't mean any harm "Er... here I'll remove my guantlets" he proceeded to unstrap them from his arms, slid them off, then promptly dropped them to the snowy ground then raised them once more "And it would be messy yes, after all you don't want to see my blood spill all over the white snow, although I must admit it might be a little scenic, a nice change from all this white and slight greenery" He chuckled, his arms still raised "I'm going to be standing here till you see that my escort actually acomes or not, aren't I?"

[Fallon]

Fallon listened once more, absorbing the information as he spoke, key points coming up here and there; not a body guard, travelling, order, proper protection, getting lost. He spoke so freely, spilling out information, little bits of knowledge that could be used later, where Fallon herself had yet to say anything about herself. And for the better, questions led to giving answers, and some questions were better left unanswered. For the most part however, he seemed friendly enough, but Fallon chose to stay on her guard. “Pet him?” Fallon’s eyes slid down to Orvin “You want to pet him?” There was a tone of disbelief in her voice, and her once calm expression crumbled into one of confusion. She raised an eyebrow at the man as he removed his gauntlets and dropped them to the floor. And then there was his next statement, a chuckle with his arms raised. “Well you can go back out there, come closer and introduce yourself,” she said as she gently scooped Orvin up and held him against her “Or continue to stand there looking like an idiot.” There was a flash of a smile as she gently stroked his fur, a quiet whisper as she tried to calm the creature and instil calm once more. “So,” her eyes stared at him unwavering “You going to come over?”

[Kreig Messer]

Season, year, day, hour, minute "I'd rather not look lie an idiot, so closer I come" He said lowering his arms, picked up his gauntlets and tied them to his waist and proceed to move close, raising his arms once more just to make confirm once more he meant no harm 'She looks good with the cub in her arms' he thought to himself as he slowly approached, slowly lowering his arms and left the right one semi-raised, slowly reaching out to attempt and pet the cub, pulling back suddenly when he thought it was going to bite him, but tried again once more hoping to succeed "...er, my name is Kreig by the way, sorry if I startled you" Again he looked at her, getting a much closer look at her face, she wasn't that much younger it turns out. He wagered she was younger than him by a few years, but not that much "If I may be so bold, can I ask you for yours?" In another part of the woods his escort, Natasha, may as well begun searching once she realized he took to long in his walk. Preparing her sword and shor bow she ventured through the woods, searching for the wayward brawler and hoping to give him a tongue lashing he wouldn't soon forget.

[Fallon]

Fallon watched him carefully, her eyes ever watching his hand as she felt Orvin squirm about. The cub released a whimper, shying away, his jaw occasionally going to snap at the man’s fingers. It took a while, but soon the cub simply sniffed at him, and gingerly let him stroke him. “Just use your finger tips at first,” Fallon instructed “If he wants more he’ll force his head towards you.” She watched him eye her up, his eyes scanning her features, which for a moment at least made her feel uncomfortable. But even she could not resist looking back at the man. He was taller than her, so she had to look up at him now he was closer. The only real thing she could guess was that he was older, despite that it was hard to tell with only the firelight to make out the features. He spoke, telling her his name with ease, whilst keeping his right arm raised and away. “Fallon and this is Orvin,” she answered him with a small nod “And you can relax.” She watched him struggle still with Orvin, and so decide to step in and help. Gently she took his fingers and guided them forward, and rested them just underneath the jaw of the cub. “That’s where he likes being stroked,” she paused “And behind the ears.” She guided Kreig’s fingers around the cub, gentle pulls and suggestions helping him treat the cub in the correct way. For a few moments it continued like this, before a yip escaped the lungs of Orvin and he squirmed wildly. She had little choice but to release the cub, and so she carefully placed him on the floor. He stretched out and walked around the camp for a while, his ears perking up as he sniffed the air before settling down at the fireside. Her eyes followed for a bit before snapping back to Kreig. She gave Kreig a regarding look, her mind quietly thinking of the next course of action. She was never that good with people, or more over people and her never always saw eye to eye. It was the misfortune of being a manipulator of Djed, the majority never really liked people who could use it. And so for the most part she kept quiet about it, and constantly on the move, never really stopping in one place for too long. “So, what brings a man to the wildlands?” she asked an attempt to make simple conversation “You heading somewhere?”

[Kreig Messer]

he was nervous to say the least, since he was about to pet a cutsey wutsey little wolfey that was as nervous as he is. He moved his fingers and stroked the top of the cub's head as gently as he could, hoping not to harm the small creature. Its adorableness was just so.....adorable! If he were a painter he'd just paint a small picture of it and carried it wherever he went. At the same time he was afraid of hurting it, worried that he may do something wrong to hurt it "Fallon and Orvin? I must say that sounds like it could be a name for a children's tale" He commented with a light chuckle, at this point he was still worried about hurting the cub, he didn't realized he stopped petting it until she grabbed his hand and guided it, telling him where the Cub liked to be petted. The cub seemed to be enjoying it, which made Kreig happy, but what preoccupied the brawler more was her hands were soft and gentle. Then the wolf cub seemed to struggle as he was tired of being held and was let down to move about freely "Er.....indeed I am actually, from one city to its direct and complete opposite" He said and put on a humorless smile, then looked at the fire before him, its flames reminded him of Sunberth, a certain part of the city flashed in his mind...its unending flames were a symbol of what the city was, anarchic, lack of order and lack of morales made it what it was. It hated order, but Syliras, it hated chaos and loved order and was kinder by far than the city he grew up in and LOVED " I'm heading for Syliras to be a squire in their order, rather, I'm going there to see if I truly want to be there" But if he didn't want to...where could he go? Sunberth was no longer his haven, two syndicates putting a bounty on his head tended to make it more of a hell where paranoia would rule " My escort is actually one of their knights, and she just confirms a good number of rumors surrounding them. One's involving their combat prowess in particular"