Flashback Just a rabbit…[ Devlin]

[Amelia Cross]

[10th day of summer, 512 a.v.] [Somewhere between Ravok and Syliras] [Middle day] Amelia had been riding around in what seemed to be circles; she had no luck finding the way back to the main road and so had been also forced to part from the kind men she was traveling with. Amelia herself didn’t hold the skills to be in the wilderness all alone, by herself. She held little to none chances of protecting herself from the horrible creatures out here and little chances of surviving more than 5 days on her own. Things where looking bad for her. If only she and her friends hadn’t been attacked by those bandits, sure they didn’t get the chance to attack or actually take anything, but they frightened the horses and all of them ended up running in gods know what directions. ”and what now” Amelia said out loud in her voice as she saw a tree she had marked before with her knife, looks like she has been walking in circles and wasn’t getting anywhere closer to the road, not to mention civilization. She jumped off Fauna and sat down on a rock, resting her back against the tree that just killed all of her hopes of getting out. ”you just had to run away in your own way, didn’t you?” she spoke to her beloved horse, who seemed quite ashamed from her actions, or maybe it was just her imagination? ”why couldn’t you run with one of them?” she asked once more, making Fauna let out a quite angry neigh and clapping her hoof on a nearby rock. ”Ok, ok…it’s not your fault…but we have to find them and I have no clue where we are” and this was painful to admit, as she had traveled along this road for countless times and now she had no clue where she had ended up in. Amelia toke a hold of her waterskin that was half empty and toke a drink, before standing up and making a mental note of finding a clean stream to fill it. Good thing it was a calm day in big terms, that was until she saw some moving in the bushes, nothing but a yelp of horror came from her that seemed to echo through the whole forest, she heard a twig break under someone’s weight. Her black eyes widened in horror, expecting the worst of scenarios to play out, until she saw who stepped out, a rabbit. Amelia felt ashamed of herself, but glad, she kneeled down, hopping the rabbit would come to her but it ran away in a blink of an eye, leaving Amelia clueless, scared that there could be someone bigger following the small creature.

[Devlin Blackern]

Devlin loved the woods. He allowed his hands to brush trees as he walked past, feeling the rough bark under his palms. He took a deep breath, allowing the smell of decay and wet dirt fill his nose. Some people couldn't stand the smell. It reminded them of how small they were, how insignificant compared to nature. He loved it. It made him feel at home, like he was part of something bigger than himself.

He continued to wander through the woods, occasionally stopping to glance around and take in his surroundings. He stopped when he heard the crack of a branch. Up ahead, standing on its hind legs and peering about was a plump hare. Devlin grinned and unslung his bow, pulling an arrow from his quiver and nocking it on the string. He pulled the string back, pressing the arrow to his cheek, and was a hairsbreadth away from letting go when another crack split the air.

The hare dashed away and Devlin swore under his breath and took of after the critter, looking for an opportune shot as he tore through the woods. The rabbit dashed through the underbrush and darted into a clearing, and Devlin nearly followed. Had he not noticed the horse through the trees, he would have burst into the clearing without a second glance. As it were, he stopped short, ducking down behind high growing vines and peering outward.

There was a girl, or a woman as was probably the case, standing with a horse. Gods but he hated horses. She looked well off enough. Perhaps he'd be making off with a few more mizas than he already had in his pocket. Perhaps. He'd have to see first. She looked less dangerous than most of the things in the wilds, but that didn't mean he'd go in unprepared. He drew the bow again and stood up, stepping into the clearing. The rabbit was long forgotten. It'd lived to see another day. He kept the arrow trained on the girl, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Lost?" He asked, grinning mischievously.

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia watched as the rabbit ran away, she was too concerned with her own thoughts of the possible horror, to actually pay attention to anything around her, so typical of her, head in the clouds even when facing potential scenario of a horror novel. However, the time that she was lost in her mind, thinking over all of the monsters that could potentially jump out of the bushes, something else showed up. She lifted her look up at the man, the voice scared her enough on its own, but when she saw the arrow that was being pointed at her and the strong resemblance of the man to the bandits that attacked them. She was left speechless, which was quite rare of her, she might not often talk but she always had something to say. Slowly she began stepping back, her legs clearly shaking, she wished of a way to fall through the ground on any other place than this, but she couldn’t, instead she felt her back press firmly against the tree behind her ”just great Amelia, just great” she thought once realizing, she was trapped. ”Pl..plea~se don’t hurt me…” she stuttered out, her eyes shut close, clearly getting ready to feel the arrow pierce her, or even worse. Her father had spent a good amount of his life to explain the numerous methods one could do harm to a fragile creature like Amelia, most did however involve Ravok not the forest. Fauna clearly being worried of her companion, stepping in front of Amelia in a defensive manner, flicking her hoof over a rock; it was clear in her that the horse was angered by the way her ears were pinned and eyes getting narrow. Looked as if she’d be ready to kick the man away if he’d come any closer.

[Devlin Blackern]

The girl was obviously surprised by Devlin's appearance. The surprise turned to terror when she saw the bow, and she backed herself across the clearing and into a tree. Devlin's smile widened. If he wanted to rob her, she'd be an easy mark. She'd backed herself into both the proverbial and the literal corner. He was more worried about the petching horse than he was the girl. Gods but he hated horses. The big petcher took a step forward, flicking its hooves and lowering its ears. Devlin moved the arrow from the girl to the horse.

"Better call it off love. I'm not above putting an arrow between its eyes. Now, there are a couple of explanations for what a girl like you is doing out here," Devlin said, taking a step closer. "One, you're a monster. You're some kinda shapeshifter just lookin' to lure me closer so you can feast on me," Devlin said, chuckling softly. "Though, you don't look like you've got it in you to kill me, much less crack my bones for their marrow. Three, you've got a band of mates out in those trees ready to crack my skull open. Though I still don't believe it. They'd have jumped me by now," Devlin said, stepping closer. "So that leaves option number four. You're just a girl who's lost her way. Which one is it love?"

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia felt a rock slide down her throat as he mentioned hurting Fauna, of all things, the horse wasn’t guilty for having such an unprepared owner. So the best she could do, was obey ”F~fauna…it’s ok, come” she said with clear shiver in her voice, the horse wasn’t def, she could tell that Amelia was scared but she would obey and so, stepped back and next to Amelia, paying close attention to the stranger. She closely listened to the options; all of them made her question the man’s sanity. Amelia wasn’t a good enough actress, pretending to be scared wasn’t her thing, to her, horror came naturally as she could be scared from too many things in a too short amount of time. Usually, for her friends it was an object of mockery. ”I’m lost…I’m traveling to Ravok…” she began speaking, still stuttering but the words came out not so ripped up and could be perfectly well heard ”me and my friends got attacked and…we ended up parting…I’m just as fortune teller looking for the road” she explained, wanting to make her point to come across, she wasn’t dangerous and all she wanted was to find the good man she was traveling with, or at worst find the road so she could head back to Syliras, it wasn’t all that far. She had left Syliras only 12 days ago and there was one in on the way.

[Devlin Blackern]

OOCSorry it's taken me so long. Class has been rough!

"There we go. I'm not fond of horses," Devlin said as the creature backed away, heeding its master's call. Poor girl looked terrified, standing with her back to the tree with no defense but a petching horse. Devlin couldn't seem to wipe the smile from his face. There was something funny about her helplessness. He kept the bow trained on her as she talked.

"Lost eh? Headed to Ravok? Never cared for Ravok. All that zealotry makes my petchin' skin crawl," he said, taking a step closer. She said she'd been attacked, but Devlin still wasn't sure he could believe her. There weren't too many bandits in the wilds, but those that were there were good at what they did.

"You're lucky to be alive girl. Not a lot of folks run into the mean petchers that make the wilds their home and walk away. Of course...you're not out of the woods quite yet are you?" Devlin's smile was dark and mischievous. He wasn't planning on hurting the girl, but she didn't need to know that quite yet. Devlin was enjoying himself a mite too much for that.

"So, here we are. What's making it out of these woods worth to you?"

[Amelia Cross]

OOCno worries, I bet that once I get back to the dorm, my own posts will come late She was glad to hear the man didn’t care of Ravok, after all she wasn’t that far from Syliras and it was quite clear the two cities weren’t exactly found of each other. Amelia had to agree to the man, Ravok had a huge fanaticism issue regarding Rhysol and the Voice, but then again they provided safety to the city and so she could see the reasons behind it. Above all else, Ravok was more than a city of Rhysol’s fanatics, it was a beautiful city with art that is hard to find anywhere else. However she didn’t think she was in a position to argue with him, thus she kept silent. ”I know…but it’s pure luck, the horses got terrified and all of us spread out among the forest, there weren’t enough men to follow all of us and so…I was left out” Amelia explained with a calm manner of speech, she didn’t want to come off as arrogant as she was still unsure who this man was and will he help her, or will he kill her. After all, it was quite common to be attacked, robbed and killed in the forest, that’s the reason why she never traveled alone. Amelia looked up to the man, meeting his eyes and quite mischievous smile. The sight didn’t exactly scare her, but it did make her worry about her own safety a bit more than before. A man with such an expression never promises anything good, above all, his question was just the littlest bit frightening. ”I…I don’t know…I just know I want to get away from here and see my father” she explained awkwardly, as that was the truth, she didn’t know how much exactly this is worth to her, she doubted that her life could be measured in mizas.

[Devlin Blackern]

"You are awfully lucky love. Lot of men out here'd do terrible things to a pretty little thing like you. Terrible things..." Devlin said, voice trailing off. He wanted the girl to understand just how lucky she really was. Nothing better than a hefty dose of fear to do the job. The girl sounded calmer than she had. Maybe she'd conquered her fear of him. Devlin took another step closer, shortening the gap between them to little more than a few paces. The arrow was still trained on the girl's chest.

"Looks like you might be in luck again. For a fee, maybe a peck on the cheek, I'll take you back to the path. It'll be late by the time we get there. We may have to camp in the woods tonight," Devlin said, taking another step forward. The point of the arrow was inches away from her chest. Devlin's smile widened, and he lowered the bow.

"Devlin Blackern, at your service."

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia could feel her hearth beat fasten with every word he said, ever step made her hearth skip a beat that seemed to be louder than anything, fast enough to dance to it even. Her matter had warned her each time, not to go to Ravok, she said it’s not safe outside the city of Syliras. Amelia never listened; she wanted her father more than anything and to see him at least in fall, short minutes she spent with him was always the best time of the year. ”c~camp?...we?” she at first questioned, glad to see the bow lower, but she was still quite worried and confused. The moment he spoke of a fee, the kiss on the cheek, that was unexpected enough to make her blush the slightest bit. She wanted to tell herself that it wasn’t seen, but the burning was quite bad and she knew that she was horribly embarrassed by such words. However this made her lift her eyes back up at him fully, paying a bit more attention to the man than before. Compared to the men she usually had to flirt with on a daily basis, this one looked at least some what attractive. ”A~Amelia Cross” she answered, making sure to memorize the man’s name as she did a polite curtsy. Woods or not, her father had spent a lot of his time making sure Amelia was well behaved and she couldn’t let him down. If this man, despite scaring Amelia and confusing her above all, was willing to help her, the least thing she could do was be polite. ”thank you….” she added, her voice still shaky from the confusion, but she tried to hold herself together. Waiting to see where this will get her.

[Devlin Blackern]

"Aye. Camp. Unless you want to walk through the night. I know for damn sure I'm not," Devlin said, smiling as the girl blushed. "You don't have to kiss me if you don't want to. I'll get your poor little arse out of the forest," Devlin said. He loved watching women blush, especially when he was the cause. Devlin had always considered himself a cage rattler, and he knew when he'd done his job. Girl must've had a pair of bronze ones hidden away somewhere. He'd seen lesser women, and a few men go limp when they were staring at the business end of a bow.

"Amelia? Pretty name. Pretty girl, pretty name. Funny how that works innit?" Devlin said, chuckling to himself. Mischief still sparkled in his eyes, and maybe he'd give the girl one or two more scares before the night was over, but for now he was there to help.

"Calm yourself. Stop shaking love. We're going to have to move as quiet as we can, so take a drink and have a seat. We'll head into the woods whenever you're ready," Devlin said, taking his own advice and dropping down onto his arse across from her.