Flashback The brave, the fool and the healer (Markus)

[S'Essy]

AV 509, Fall 70th

The end of fall was closer by everyday. The weather was colder by everyday, even Syna couldn't warm them up. The forest was still colorful, though some trees already lost their leaves. It was late afternoon, the sun was going down behind those trees. The wind was strengthening. S'Essy was waiting for a bell probably, near the gates. Her body was covered by her cloak. It was the coldest, but she couldn't bear it. The weather here was different. She was walking around, to keep herself warm.

She was waiting for Markus. Agreeing that they would meet after his training. Dedicated squire he was for sure. But she couldn't blame him, she thought herself that she was dedicated to healing as well. And was proud to be one. Though she hoped he would show up soon and not have extra lessons. Who would have thought she would stay Syliras for that long.

In honestly, she didn't plan to stick around the city that much. She was about to travel further, her next destination would have been Riverfall. But things have changed. Her meeting with Markus changed everything. Being his girlfriend, the single thought that she could find such a man like him. She always got an odd and warm feeling when she was around him. Syliras became her new home apparently.

Her happy thoughts were stopped as she saw a group of people bringing in a man with serious injuries. He was in pain, but they were bringing him quickly. To a place where they could treat him. She sensed one of the man was a healer, just by looking at him. He was working hard. It was always good to see a non-Konti Healer. She would have ran there to help, but he got it under control. Although she promised Markus she would wait here.

Finally after some time, he arrived. S'Essy smiled at him and walked towards him. "Are you Captain yet?" She asked, as she gave a kiss on his cheek. "I bet if I would join now, I could become a knight before you!" She provoked him, but it was a joke of course.

[Markus Andres]

'Where are you off to?'

"Ser?" The voice was a little shaken as the left hand held his nose which bled profusely. Blood dripped into the cupped hand trying not to spill it on the stone ground. Most likely be himself who'd have to clean it up. Though such thoughts were far away in his mind as the master towered above him. Eyes full of tears from the vicious power of the blow. Markus' other hand was resting against the ground, keeping his weary body from simply tumbling over.

'Where are you going?'

"Sylir's brow, ser, at least first there. I promise I shall return by the fifth." Seemed that was satisfactory as the man sheathed his longsword and to the squire's immense surprise offered him a hand to raise him from the ground. Markus eagerly accepted the offer and found himself hoisted to the ground by the immense strength of his master. He was not a lightweight himself and the armour her wore even less so.

'She's a healer right? Have her take a look at your nose.' Markus nodded gingerly. Not wanting to stint blood around. 'Remember what you want with your life, don't lose sight of your goals. - Now get out of here and don't keep her waiting.' Markus knew he wanted to add 'don't let girls distract you from the knights', but the man seemed more inclined to trust Markus. Perhaps the shift of girlfriend from Raven to the much less rebellious and criminally inclined S'Essy was one he condoned. Markus gave a slight bow and got the backpack he had packed before going training that day. Markus suspected that ser Mason had been going lightly on him, didn't want to ruin his excursion. Though part of him contributed those wild thoughts to the blood loss from when ser Mason had smacked a fist right in his face. Markus wore the lighter armour, today had not been about full armour combat, but instead mobility when fighting in lighter armour. So chainmail was all he wore and was also all he would bring to their trip. The back pack contained food for the two. A leather skin for water, a tent and a bedroll. He figured there was no need to pack an extra, they could share the one he brought. A sly smile on his lips as he hurried through the city. Bastard sword strapped to his side, dagger just above, shield fastened on his back.

The squire wanted both arms free when he saw S'Essy. Although the pool of blood in one hand might dissuade her. Markus found a well to wash himself and be rid of the stains on his hand and remove the crimson on his upper lip. Markus rushed on, knowing he was late. There was a man being brought through the entrance and Markus stopped and watched. Wondering if the men needed help, but they seemed capable and no doubt he would only be in their way. He was a little surprised S'Essy was not there to help, which he assumed meant they had a healer capable of handling the situation. But he waited patiently for them to get by. With a last curious glance after the group he turned the corner to the main entrance. He gave a respectful nod to the superiors standing guard and then his emerald eyes fell upon the pale beauty standing there. A large smile cracked the thin line that had been his lips. She approached him as he did her. Her lips grazed his cheek.

"Oh~ are you ashamed of dating a squire?" He retorted with a sly smile, although a pebble of blood trickled down the left nostril. He felt it as it stubbornly tried to appear. "And if our last training session was an indicator, you'd be a knight before us on virtue of us being injured from sparing with you. - On that subject, could you do something about my nose? Ser Mason managed to get a good punch in, I don't think anything is broken, just a nosebleed." Markus shrugged trying to pass it off as nothing. Although in fact it did hurt quite considerably. At least the tears had been washed away and only given him the cool bloodied and bruised, but unbroken look. "Are you ready for a couple of days of uninterrupted fun in the wilderness with your brave and extremely handsome squire?"

[S'Essy]

"Maybe. But you know I got you, so I guess I'm stuck with you." She winked and had also a smile. But it quickly vanished when she saw the blood come out from his nose. Her muscles in her arm was trembling a bit at the sight of it. She didn't even really pay attention to him much. She only heard the part where he asked for help. Her hand moved automatically, fingers gently touched his nose and used her power right away. Thanks for the gods it wasn't broken, she was able to mend it for him.

After that she was looking at him carefully. His training was tough, he seemed fine but surely he looked like he had a big fight. Maybe she was worrying much, he had to train himself hard to be a good knight. She didn't know for sure, she didn't really get into knight business. Nor she thought she would ever understand. It just goes against her healer mind. "What?" She shook her head and paid attention to him again. "Oh yes, yes handsome, smart and perfect in every way." The smirk came back to her face.

S'Essy's arm shifted and wrapped around Markus, pulling herself close to him in a tight hug. She missed him much, couldn't see him for days. "Have I ever told you how lucky I am?" She couldn't express her feelings truly but she tried. It was worth to travel Syliras and she could find someone she could rely on easily. She kissed him passionately before releasing him and grabbed his hand. "Let us go, we earned some privacy."

She let him lead on and was following him to the wilderness. Just like the last time, except that it was colder this time. "Where are we going again? I forgot the name."

[Markus Andres]

Markus snorted when she said she was stuck on him. Which unfortunately meant blood splurted out and hit his upper lip and hand. He watched eagerly as her hand came up to touch his nose. There was a slight grimace, but it was soon replaced with a much more serene and blissful expression. The powers of the divine was majestic beyond belief. The feeling as the pain subsided. Apart from the blood still present he could also breathe clearer now. He was fortunate to have a Konti healer as his girlfriend. He was lucky to have met, befriended and seduced her.

"Thanks baby." If not for the blood and all the people around them, he would have kissed her. A blush appeared on his cheeks when she praised him. "I wouldn't say perfect in every way. I mean. I have this scar on my hip that ruins the illusion of perfection." His hand not smeared with blood came around the back of her head and rested on her other shoulder and hugged her tightly. Lucky beyond measure. He was surprised when she said she was the lucky one. He was falling for her hard. The woman was so cute. Not a shadow of the darkness that was in Raven. Polar opposites. Lips pressed to his and the blush exploded into every shade of red. Eagerly he followed her when she said they should leave.

"Darling, I am the lucky one." A very boyish smile came across the lips at how silly he felt for saying that. But he wanted to see her happy. He followed happily and still blushing madly from the public eyes. Glad to be leaving the city at a rapid pace so he might avoid the eyes of his superiors. His hand squeezed her shoulder.

"You forgot the name? Dear, you don't see me forgetting places named after Rak'keli." The voice was calm and the guilt tripping was not meant as such. "We call it Sylir's brow. It got a nice view over the forest. Sadly, no lakes for you to swim in." There was a brief pause as he leaned in closer. Lips almost brushing against her ear. "But we might find another good reason to undress." The lewd smile on his lips only endured for a brief moment, before he cast his eyes forward again. Upon the bronze woods. A dangerous place. But they would travel by the road first, only later turn into the woods themselves. Until then they should be relatively safe.

[S'Essy]

He was blushing as always. Just like a little boy. But she liked it, she found it cute. And he felt the same way, which made her feel great. She also noticed that rapid pace he was walking. Trying to run away from public with her? She couldn't leave the opportunity for more teasing. "What is it? I'm not the only one who is ashamed to only date with a squire? We have so much in common, Ser. " She winked and felt the squeezing on her shoulder.

She chuckled when he was asking how could she not. Her eyes wandered to him and raised her eyebrows. "OOOH Really? I'm sorry, Ser! Please tell me a few places named after Rak'keli. As a Healer I forgot!" She was grinning. Sylir's brow, with a nice view over the forest. It did sound enjoyable. The Konti shrugged when he said there would be no lake. Why would she mind that? The answer came right away. He felt his breath on her ear. She calmly reacted to his comment."The Lustful Konti successfully has corrupted the brave knight... well squire-wanna-be-knight. "

They were walking in silence on the road, among the woods just like the last time. It felt strange, seeing that person coming back injured. She tried to shake that thought out of her mind. She was with Markus, he could protect her from the danger. She hoped they could heal that man though. Just taking a quick look, but he got pretty bad injuries, she wasn't sure where could he possible get them. No she really had to shake these out from her head.

Her purple eyes looked at her side, staring at her human boyfriend. Who would have thought she would be charmed by a human? Her mother always talked about the big, dark-skinned akalak. And that reminded her. "Darling! Since we have warmed up to each other, how about we get to know each other a bit? I certainly know your body real well and you mine. " She started with a smirk. "Like... so Hi Ser! My name is S'Essy, I'm 29 years old. On Spring 21th I will be 30 , which means I will be considered an Adult. I'm from Mura, the island of my people. " She said things he already knew, only a few new information. "My mom is 67 year- no sorry she had birthday few days ago. She is 68 years old. Her name is Nam'sya. I don't know much about my father... I mean . Okay so I don't know my mortal father. Common among our people, though I never knew why my mom never wanted to tell me about him. Oh well my real Father though is the God of Sea, Laviku. He is the Father of our race, and his mate is Avalis, the goddess of Divination, she is our Mother. Her sister is Rak'keli. What else, what else?" She was pondering for a moment. "Oh yeah, I don't know have a sister. I have a lovely cousin, Alaia, we are very close to each other. Hmm... I worship to Laviku and Rak'keli. I have respect for Avalis but I'm not that gifted with sight. My family had healers for a very long time. My grandmother, mother, aunt, cousin, me. And these came to my mind first. Your turn! "

[Markus Andres]

"Uhhmmm... hmmm... House of Rak'keli? Rak'keli's pool?" Markus said. Offering two guesses and they were purely guesses on his part. He might actually remember something later, but for the moment any places named after Rak'keli was entirely lost on him. The squire continued on his path onward. With S'Essy close by and feeling the delicate shoulder under his arm. Wonderful woman. He was lucky to have met her. Lucky to have cut open his shoulder the day he had met her. It was one of those strange thoughts that often came to him. To have been lucky to have cut open his shoulder was a strange thing to think. The woman under his arm looked back worried and Markus followed her gaze. To the citadel of Syliras, he wondered what was going through her eyes. What sort of worry existed within that beautiful mind of hers. Remembering the injured man they had seen. He gave her shoulder another reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry honey. We have very capable healers and doctors here in Syliras. Only Rak'keli herself and the healers of your home could do better." He said softly. There was a fondness for the woman, that she cared so deeply for a stranger. One she had never met before and the worry was so evident. "Gods you're cute." He said squeezing her shoulder once again. "But we can check in on him when we return from our trip. If it will make you feel better?" He asked, concerned more than softness in his voice. He really wanted to change the subject. The image of an injured man wasn't exactly what he wanted to remember while with S'Essy.

Markus listened to S'Essy mention everything about her self. There was a lot of things to remember. Her age he already knew, her mother's he did not and now he had her name as well. Nam'say, curious name, then again so was S'Essy. He listened intently and a smirk drew itself across his lips at a particular moment in her retelling of her life. Before she threw the ball to him to continue.

"I am not sure what I can say about myself you don't already know. I have close to a dozen siblings in Zeltiva, where I was born and raised. My mother died while I was young- my father is still alive, to my understanding at least, I haven't been in contact with any of them since my 13th birthday. On that note, I am 17 years old. A squire, as you so mercilessly have teased me for." There was a firm squeeze on her shoulder as he bumped his butt against her side. "I worship most of the gods, but I mostly turn to Wysar, Tyveth and Yahal in my prayers and when I need extra strength to go on."

He looked to his girlfriend and smiled. "So, you're not yet an adult? Even though you're... uhm... 12 years older than me. And I am still amazed how young you look... and beautiful. Come here you" He said before drawing her in close for a kiss. A smirk drew across the lips again as he broke the kiss. "Oh, and does that mean I don't get to know your body better?"

[S'Essy]

"Very close darling, yet so far... seriously." S'Essy answered as he said two random guesses.

Of course she couldn't hide that she was worried. Looking back occasionally probably didn't help. She was just smiling at her boyfriend when he claimed they had capable doctors. She didn't doubt that and she was aware that the other healer could treat him. But she wasn't worry about him that much, she didn't want to say that she was more worried about themselves. She chuckled. "Visit him huh? Hey I'm just a random person who saw you so I thought I would check on you. Let's just not."

She listened to his story instead, as he listened to hers. It was just almost the opposite as S'Essy told. Naturally their gender, but she had her mother and Markus only had his father. She had no siblings, he had many. And of course he was a warrior, yet she was a healer. Interesting. "Tease you? Me? Never!" He said gods she barely knew about."Wysar, Tyveth and Yahal... who are they? And what about Sylir?" She asked.

She was grinning as he was praising her about her young look. She loved this man. "As I said before some s--" She couldn't quite finish as he pulled her for a kiss. Then those sassy words came out from his mouth, she was smirking too. "Oh Ser, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We have plenty of time to do that exploration." She gave a kiss to his cheek and grabbed his hand.

They were still wandering at the forest and the uneasy feeling to the Konti again. For some reason the wilds got a bit scary for her. She squeezed his hand hard this time. She had to distract herself from these thoughts, she was just imagining things. Thank god she was not a Seer. "Oh so my turn. Hmm... Okay I like healing obviously, I love the sea very much. I like getting know other cultures like yours. I like meeting other races. I like people, they have interesting tales to tell. I like many kinds of colors." She was thinking more."I love swimming of course. I like my Gods, I love Alaia and I like my dear knight. " She said while looking at him." I don't like fighting or arguing I'm very sensitive to that. I really hate violence. I don't like to feel being locked. Okay... it's weird to say that but... I guess I don't like my freedom being taken away. And that came mind suddenly."

[Markus Andres]

Markus knew next to nothing about Rak'keli beyond the fact she was the goddess of healing and she had something to do with water as well, he thought. Kontis seemed to be her main followers. Perhaps that was where the water aspect came in? He offered S'Essy a shrug at his wrong guesses, they had been a shot in the dark, so he wasn't too shaken up about it. S'Essy asked him who his gods were. It was a little strange that someone didn't know these gods, not even their realms. But he was eager, as it could be heard in his voice to speak of the gods.

"Sylir... Sylir is dead. According to what little I know, he perished during the Valterrian. As for the others... They're great. Tyveth embodies everything a knight should strive to be. The god of Honour, Chivalry, truth! Justice. A truly magnificent and inspiring god. To uphold his ideals is my goal. - Yahal is the god of faith and purity - purify oneself to remove any tainted thoughts that might lead to ... " Markus omited the name of the god. He didn't want to discuss Rhysol at all. He was too passionate about that subject. His passion in his subject was already noticeable. "Leads to corruption and crime." That sounded weak. But he didn't care. He put a hand on a trunk to stabilize himself as he took in the surroundings. Making sure he was indeed going the right direction. "Wysar, on the other hand, is not an official god of the knights. I follow him because I've had certain... problems with my discipline and ... Well. He is the god of discipline and conviction." He was not ready to talk of those things. They were marks of shame he would have to carry for all of his life. Those days where his faith and discipline wavered within the knighthood. Best to change the subject.

With a beautiful woman this close, that was surprisingly easy to think of something else to do besides talking. But she said the exploration could come later. The young squire got a lewd smile upon his lips. This trip was going to be fun. S'Essy seemed to be in a splendid mood and she was eager to talk. He was glad she was so lively and a pleasure to talk to. Her hand in his held him a little tighter, something bothered her. The wilds? She did love the ocean and he was taking her further inland. Was that a problem? Should he restrict their travels to bodies of water? If he could do it with her, it wouldn't be a problem. He squeezed her hand reassuringly when hers tightened. He was here for her. He listened as she spoke. Named things she loved and liked. He got a wide smile when he was included in that list. Then she shifted to the other side of the miza. The things she didn't like. Fighting - integral part of Markus' life, arguments - he could see that, violence - once again, huge part of his life, being locked up...? - Markus smiled a little wider at that, this time however, mischief glinted in his eyes. Perhaps later when they were in bed.

"So, what do you think of our culture?" He honestly wondered what she thought of the very orderly and militaristic city fortress of Syliras. "Oh, and I also like you, of course." He felt a little silly for saying that. He took a large step up a steep hill and made it to a more flat area. He turned around and offered his help to pull S'Essy up should she struggle. Undoubtedly the aquatic creature would do likewise if they were in the water.