Completed Who ever loved that loved not at first sight? (Ireth)

[Savio]

The wretched man chuckled darkly as he pressed his grimy body against her’s, his attraction evident against her thigh as he started to tug at her clothes, the fabric starting to rip slightly until a shout from behind him caught the rotten bastard’s attention.

*****

Savio ran as fast as his legs to take him, not wanting the girl to wander off and get lost again since dusk was drawing closer and closer each chime. At first he didn’t see her for the rain was starting to far harder, making it difficult to see too far ahead. As he got closer, he saw the faint shapes of a pair of people pressed against each other under an awning. Then he heard the tell-tale signs of struggle, and understood that Ireth was in trouble!

Savio shouted at the vagik to get his paws off of her! The man clearly didn’t move fast enough for Savio’s tastes, when the acrobat got close enough, he lunged at the man and tackled him the muddy cobble stones and proceeded to strike the man’s face with his trained fists and slamming the back of his head into the cobblestones below.

The man beneath him put up a good fight, getting a good hard swing at Savio’s jaw and forcing the younger man on to his back to pummel and claw at Savio’s face. Savio managed to tuck his legs under the foul smelling man and kick him off. Once free, Savio leapt to his feet and went to charge at the man but the vagrant had already scrambled to his feet and ran away as fast as he could.

Normally, Savio would have given chase but his attention was instantly drawn back to the girl. He rushed over to her and checked to see if she had been hurt in anyway. Savio’s lip was bloody and he had a long scratch that went from his right temple to his chin, perhaps the bastard had clawed him in the scuffle.

“Are you okay?” Savio breathed as he checked her carefully. “Did he hurt you? Oh Gods, I am so sorry! I shouldn’t have left you! I’m a petching idiot!” His hands were shaking from the adrenalin that was pumping though his veins, and his knuckles were bruised and bloody.

[Ireth Telemnar]

Ireth collapsed against the wall when the courier knocked her assailant away from her. She shut her eyes tight to the sounds of the men fighting, and winced in fear when someone grabbed her again. Her blue eyes flew open in fear, only to flood with relief when it was the courier instead of the vagabond.

The man checked her over carefully, gently probing the skin to the right of her collar bone, where the assailant had ripped her tunic. She watched him as the tears that ran down her cheeks mingled with rainwater. His movements were shaky, almost to the point of being frustrating for him.

The very moment that he called himself an idiot, Ireth moved forward and wrapped her own shaking arms around his neck, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Her action surprised even herself. She clung to him, her mind a muddle of embarrassment and gratitude.

"No, no. You're no idiot. I just... Thank you."

Ireth was having trouble forming words, her thoughts swimming too fast for her mouth to follow.

x

[Savio]

Savio was shocked when the woman flung herself into his arms and hugged his neck. For a short moment, he hesitated on returning the hug but he then wrapped his arms around her and held her. It just felt right to him, and he no longer felt shaky from the adrenalin or nervous about being around her. He was unsure of how long they just stood there holding each other but the world around them was starting to get dark and they needed to get to the Hostel quickly.

Savio pulled back from her and took her hand into his, marveling at how tiny her hands were compared to his, and then leading her quickly to the celestial quarter. It took all of fifteen chimes to get to the Hostel, and not a moment to spare as noises could be heard coming from the aperture. Savio quickly tugged her inside the cozy warmth of the Safe Haven Hostel.

The inn keeper, Vysia gave Savio a stern look for busting though her Inn's door until she saw the state the two of them were in. She rushed around the bar and limped over to them to make sure they were okay. “What happened?” The retired monk asked as she looked Savio’s wounded face and Ireth’s torn clothes.

“There was a little scuffle with a vagabond, but it’s been taken care of.” Savio tried to reassure the older woman but she glared at him before grabbing him by the ear and yanked him to the nearest seat and made him sit before going back to behind the bar to fetch a clean rag and a bottle of what appeared to be a strong alcoholic beverage.

Vysia began tending to Savio’s face like a stern mother. She washed his face first with water before pouring some of the drink onto the cuts, the alcohol making it sting and the young man hiss in pain. She worked what little skill she had while talking to Ireth. “Since this idiot seems to have taken a few blows to his head, how about you tell me what happened so I can report it to the monks.”

[Ireth Telemnar]

If Ireth thought that she couldn't think straight when the courier held her, she must have thought that she was drunk out of her mind at the feeling she got from holding his hand. It almost swallowed her's, and it clung to her as if she was most precious.

He drug her along alleys and streets until she had quite given up attempting to keep her sense of direction. Eventually though, he pulled her into a wooden building, a sign above the door that read the Safehaven Hostel swinging in the winds of the storm.

Ireth almost suffered a bit of deja vu the moment she and the courier entered the shelter. There was a woman with a limp, whom Ireth assumed was the Hostel's owner, took to clucking and mothering the man the way that Ireth's mother's friend did when Ireth's father died. Maeraya had taken on the role of both the Telemnar's mother and father.

When she asked Ireth for an explanation, Ireth's mind faltered. "Forgive me madam, I'm but a traveler in Nyka for a visit. This man offered to bring me to shelter, for I was lost, but left me alone for but a few clicks to do his job: deliver a package of some sort I suppose. He asked me to pause where I was while he ran his errand, then he would guide me. I moved though, no far, from the middle of the street onto the walk and under a canopy, to shield myself from the downpour.

"While under the cover, I was attacked by an older man, a vagrant. He held me down and attempted to..." Ireth paused, for thought rather than for effect. "This man, the courier, saved me though. He wrenched the vagabond from me and proceeded to... Well, I'm not sure. I shut my eyes, to be honest. And when I opened them again, the vagabond was gone..."

Ireth took a deep breath. What a way to be a nuisance in a new city, she mentally muttered. She sat herself down beside the man, resting her hand gently on his arm, sort of to let him know that she had no intention of leaving him, for the moment.

x

[Savio]

Vysia snorted while slapping the back of Savio head. “You left her lone? Some man you are. Well, at least you seem to have beaten the bastard’s face in properly, judging from your knuckles.” Savio winced and gave the monk a sour look as the woman finished up cleaning Savio’s cuts. “I don’t think you will need stiches, but I’d still visit the Infirmary tomorrow just to be sure.”

“Thank you, Vysia.” Savio murmured as he looked at his knuckles. “Um… This young woman is going to need a room for the night.”

Vysia looked the girl over to make sure she hadn’t been hurt as well. “A single room for the night is two silver mizas.” The older woman stated, but before Ireth could bring out her coin Savio was already pressing the fare into the monk’s calloused hand. Vysia snorted with a small smirk before walking back to the bar to tend to her other patrons.

Savio gave Ireth a sheepish smile. “Um… The rooms are small but they are clean and the beds are free of infestations. Though, the food here isn’t too good since its charity. It’s illegal to sell food in Nyka so unless you register at the Palace of Supplicants, you will be getting your food here or eat your own rations.”

[Ireth Telemnar]

At the mention of a clean bed, Ireth sighed in relief. She'd been sleeping on a pallet on the ground with the caravan since she left her city. A real bed, with a mattress... She thought that she might laugh out loud at the excitement she had to simply sleep comfortably.

She looked at the man. "I don't think I can properly thank you for all that you've done until I learn your name. Would you like to escort me to my room?" She held out her arm.

What the petch has come over me? She was being bold, far too bold. Taking a strange man to her room?

As he led her, she took small glances at him, taking in his hair, his clothes, his eyes. It was those eyes, she decided, they were haunting. It was like she'd seen them before...

x

[Savio]

Normally, Savio would have politely declined on going to a woman’s room out of simple respect and shyness. He shocked himself by taking her offered armed and wrapped it around his as he led her up stares. Vysia snickered from her position at the bar. “Be sure to mind your voices. Her room is the fourth door on the right.” she teased, causing Savio’s face to turn a very bright scarlet.

He led Ireth up the short staircase until they reached the rooms. Savio found himself blushing in silence, completely unsure of what to say or do because he had never been in such a situation. His heart was racing and his palms were sweaty as they finally reached the door of her room.

“Um… Here is your room…I-I need to get going. Hopefully it’s not too dark so run back to the School…” His voice was wavering slightly, because as much as his mind demanded that he leave… His body begged otherwise.

[Ireth Telemnar]

Ireth opened the door. Well, opened might be too mild a word. It had to be shoved open, an action that jarred her elbow and made tears come to her eyes. Inside, Ireth sat on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, like someone had opened a floodgate, all that had occurred since she entered this horrible city. And what that man's intentions were... The tears turned from those of pain to those of fear. She broke down and cried again, exhausted and alone.

The courier stood at the door, watching.

x

[Savio]

Ireth opened the door to her room with a small shove and stumbled into her room. Savio turned to leave when he heard small whimpering noises come from the young woman. He stopped and looked back at Ireth to see her crying once again on her bed.

Without thinking, Savio rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. She was cold ad shivering while she cried, so he only pulled her closer to the warmth of his chest even though he too was soaked to the bone. He hushed her quietly as he rocked her small form, his large hand lightly stroking her fine hair.

He might be terrible with talking to women but their tears always seemed to melt away that barrier, enabling him to do his best to soothe them. He hated hearing the soft whimpers that Ireth made as she wept into his chest, and it made him want to go back out there to find the rotten bastard who had hurt her. He felt partially to blame for her misfortune, since he had left her alone.

“Shhh, it’s alright. Nothing it going to hurt you now, just calm down.” Savio’s words were soft and whispered directly into her ear. He knew she needed to get warm, it would be terrible if she gets sick on top of what had happened.

“I’ll wait outside the door so you can change your clothes. You are cold and wet. I promise I won’t leave.” Savio said calmly as he went to pull away from her.

[Ireth Telemnar]

Ireth watched the man walk out, then wiped her nose on the sleeve of her torn tunic. Her elbow throbbed with every beat of her heart. And she would have been absolutely miserable, save one thing.

That courier.

Who was he, to care? What did he want? And why did he look at her like that... Like she was pretty. Not that Ireth minded, in the least. He wasn't too bad-looking himself.

She almost felt like a ghost, her body heavy and her teeth chattering as she dug into her pack for clean clothes. Peeling her soaked garments off, she couldn't bring herself to do anything with them but leave them in a pile on the floor. After pulling on the dry clothes, she gathered her matted and damp hair together and tied it off with a leather thong. The exercise only made her elbow scream in protest.

When she was done, Ireth opened the door. "I'm decent now...."

x