Getting Under The Armor

by **Kyra** on June 21st, 2013, 6:29 pm

"Are you saying that I am jealous, even though I told you that I was not?" Kyra asked as she arched a brow towards the cheeky squire. "I wasn't being untruthful, I really was only curious." She watched him closer, those deep blue eyes, the handsome and yet cocky smile, he was leading her on again. Kyra giggled softly and swayed her arms around in the water a bit. "You speak as if I had no choice. You do realize that I was here first." she added and flicked her hands out to splash him with water.

"Are you really? I am, but sometimes I think that people get tired of it. What things are you curious about Orion. I have to admit...I am curious about you."

Although she had brought up the subject of being a busker, Kyra didn't really want to talk about it, but for some reason she decided to tell him what happened. The kelvic's features sadden and for a tick she looked away, before returning her gaze to him. "I used to work with a talented magician and I helped him with his work. I wasn't very good at the things he did, but I enjoyed it. We traveled Sylira together for a time and visited the cities where we put on shows for the people. But when we went to Ravok, he was murdered by someone who said that he owed them money. After that it wasn't as fun anymore."

Kyra went on to bath his back, and she was pleased that he enjoyed it. It was a way to lighten the moment after the story that she had told, and it certainly lifted both of their moods. After she was done their conversation continued and the small window in which she had found herself feeling very vulnerable was gone, and her mood had changed quickly. In truth, she didn't want to be a Knight, she hadn't even wanted to join the army in Ravok, but it was the only way she knew of to meet people who could get her the information that she needed.

Bu that was then, and her war was over now. She had no reason to join another faction, or march off to fight someone else war for them. "I suppose not.." she said simply and leaned back against the wall. It was hard as stone and felt a bit uncomfortable against her back. Kyra moved a bit, trying to settle herself into a possible that wasn't putting bruises on her back and looked to her companion again. "They are not excepting squires anymore? Why is that, did something happen?"

by **Orion Michaels** on July 20th, 2013, 12:03 am

"Do you think that's what I'm saying?" He replied, grinning. He was forced to put his hands up in front of his face to protect himself from the watery attack. "Hey now," he laughed, closing his eyes due to the splashes that got through. "You didn't have a choice," Orion remarked between chuckles. "Once I'm here, why would you even want to go?"

That was an interesting thing of her to say. It was almost cute, but it was almost alarming. Fight or flight instinct was engaged in a battle with itself. She was curious about him? He guessed it made sense, though she'd never been quite so forward about it. "Ah, it's hard to say," he replied evasively. "I'm never sure until it's happening before me, and then I'm curious about it. I, on the other hand, am nothing to be curious about. I'm just a pathetic doctor playing squire. That's all."

"I . . uh . . " He stammered somewhat, unsure of just how to reply to the young woman. It was an unexpected and fairly sobering story. "Murder," he repeated quietly. That awful thing. It touched more people than he realized. "Is . . is that common in Ravok? It's fairly out of the norm here in Syliras. Sunberth . . . now that's another story all together." Those were hardly his proudest times, but he could dance around anything he needed to in order to talk of it.

The back washing was a much better change of focus, though. Talk of the squires, though not quite as pleasant, was still a better option. "You know, I'm not sure what happened entirely, Kyra. It seems like quite a few older squires joined around the same time as I did, and the results have been..well..less than spectacular. I'm out of place sure, but I've only cause problems for my patron, at least I believe. Who knows, maybe I'm part of the problem?"

by **Kyra** on July 24th, 2013, 4:26 am

Kyra shook her head, then returned her curious gaze to him. "I can not read minds Orion. Either you are, or..you are not." she lowered her eyes a bit, as her arms started to sway in the waters and creating ripples around her. She splashed him again, and again, forcing him to cover his head to shield himself from the water. "It's only water, it will not harm you." she giggled and splashed him once again. The kelvic soon stopped her splashing, and blinked curiously at the squire, after his interesting comment. "Did you hear that from a woman? Is that what they say about you?"

She took another dip beneath the waters suddenly, each time she surfaced with a subtle gasp for air. Her long blondish hair clung to her flesh, matting itself to her forehead, cheeks and extending down her back, and even curving about her chest. There was a wide eyes, child -like astonishment as well to further explain the joy that she found in doing so. She looked on at Orion through her blurred vision and found his watery, obscure appearance to be amusing. "You're pathetic? Why would you say that Orion, it's not very nice. I hope that you do not find me pathetic as well?"

Kyra sighed softly as she thought back to her twisted, and heart broken past. The young kelvic wasn't sure how to answer his question. Was it common, she wasn't sure. Until the moment when it happen on that horrid night, she would have said it was impossible, unthinkable. But in a flash of blood and silver, her whole world had changed, and she was suddenly thrown into chaos, where everyday was a fight to survive. "I wouldn't think so, but now..I'm not so sure." The mention of Sunberth flickered a fire into her already golden eyes, Kyra remembered the place as being just as he described it. "Sunberth is a lawless land, filled with thugs and whores...I will never go there again. You should not either."

She stared at him as he spoke, and narrowed her eyes from the words that he said. It was different, somewhat opposite what she expected from him."What has happened to you? You're not yourself, not the way you were before." Kyra smiled weakly and swam closer to him, a small hand reaching up towards each of his shoulders. "You are still Orion, are you not?" Perhaps to many, her words would seem odd, but for Kyra, someone who had already died, and been reborn as another it wasn't as crazy as it sounded.

by **Orion Michaels** on August 14th, 2013, 2:56 am

Orion opened his mouth to protest her black and white statement on jealousy, but was met with another splash in the face. Half choking on the water, half laughing from her expression, Orion went under the water to get a moment of respite from the onslaught. Women had said a lot of things about him. Compliments about his skills were among them, but profanity laced insults were nearly as common. Regardless, neither were things to share with a gorgeous and naked blonde.

Resurfacing cautiously, Orion smirked while raising his arms defensively, just in case Kyra wasn't finished. "I suppose I'll leave that for you to decide. You've not run from me yet."

He sighed at her question. She was either blind or willfully ignorant if she thought him anything but pathetic. Though, he did have to take into account that for all their experiences, she knew very little about him. "Oh, Kyra, I wish you could see me train. I'm this lumbering old man of a giant amongst teenagers who could wield their weapon better with their eyes covered than I can at my best."[/b] He chuckled, looking over at the blonde and her strategically placed hair. "It's quite a spectacle, I assure you. And I must also assure you that you're anything but pathetic. Wild, yes. Prone to finding trouble, yes. A joy to be around, yes. But pathetic, absolutely not."

She clearly didn't want to continue on the topic, so Orion would speak no more of Ravok. He didn't have much of an opinion of the city or its people besides Kyra's story. Sunberth, however, held a dark place in his history. She didn't have to tell him twice to avoid the place. "I'd just as rather avoid the place. I've nothing good to say about the city. If you can call it that."

Orion tensed slightly when Kyra touched his shoulders. Well..that was odd. Why am I so on edge? This bath was supposed to relax me. Instead, the more we talk...

"Kyra, I don't even know how to answer that. Are you ever just..uncertain about everything you're doing? Do you every second guess everything and feel like no matter what choice you make, it'll be the wrong one? Clearly I don't have this problem," he deadpanned, letting out a soft chuckle. "but..do you ever just want to act without regard for consequences?" Orion found himself placing his hands on the waist of the petite woman, almost instinctively. Long, slender fingers caressed soft skin before resting at her sides. "Most guys would be going crazy with you in this situation, Kyra, and listen to me, being all introspective. Heck, some girls would lose their minds, too. I am who I am, whether that's good or bad. It's Orion."

by **Kyra** on August 19th, 2013, 4:05 pm

"I suppose...if you want to." She offered, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him through his shielding arms. The kelvic started to splash him again once he moved his arms away but decided against it at the last moment. Instead, she lifted a single hand, fingers lightly treading on top of the watery surface as she walked them towards him, and with a very light flick of her finger, sending a tiny droplet of water against him.

"Wild? Are you talking about me?" Kyra asked curiously. The girl had never thought of herself as being wild, but she did have to agree that trouble seemed to follow her where ever she went. Ravok, Syliras, Sunberth, it was always something and always someone looking to take advantage of her, or take her life period. She smiled then, her eyes staring once again into his as she blushed a bit from the praise. "I enjoy being around you as well. You are my friend Orion. It...means so much." Then suddenly, her expression changed and the kelvic folded her arms across her chest while lifting an eyebrow. "And you are not pathetic. It is a lie."

Kyra was glad that he agreed with her, and she had spoken truthfully about it all. She wasn't the type to give advice, nor had the wisdom to teach others the ways of the world, but the kelvic knew what she didn't like. She knew fear, death, sadness, all of which she saw in the places that she visited. "I do think it is for the best...for us both."

Thinking over his words, she gave him a curious glance. He spoke of uncertainty, second guessing oneself and pushing forward into things with no clue of the outcome. "I do." she replied. Kyra's life had always been uncertain, constantly changing and she never knew what would come from day to day. The kelvic blinked curiously at the squire when he changed the serious conversation into a comedic one, though by this time she was used to him doing so. "I think that I have....before...perhaps. I suppose it happens, but it wasn't on purpose really, it was more..." her words were cut off as Orion moved closer and placed his hands on her hips.

She raised a hand to gently rest on his arm, and the other to slip her fingers through her damp, matted hair and smiled weakly. "I think that many of the people here are already crazy. It doesn't matter who they are around. Perhaps it has always been this way."

by **Orion Michaels** on August 28th, 2013, 12:36 am

"Of course I'm talking about you, Kyra? With who else have I experienced so much in a short time?" He nipped his bottom lip playfully, leaning into the blonde haired beauty. "I mean, you can't just pretend like you haven't been through everything we've gone through. Between multi armed women, Zith, and fat merchants, I think we've both had a life time of adventures, wouldn't you agree?" Then something unusual happened. Someone called him a friend and he didn't freak out. Perhaps it was because he considered her one as well.

"Can't a guy put himself down in peace," he replied, a mischievous glint to his eyes. Orion was truly curious about the one before him, the one he held so softly in his hands. He'd only seen her with someone else maybe once, that time with Kirvan when he came into the Soothing Waters with an injury. It seemed more happenstance that he and her were together. Did she always wander alone? Even out in the woods she was alone..

He nodded slightly to conclude their conversation on Sunberth. There were skeletons for all who dared step there, and it was best to leave them buried where they lay. Gods know Orion didn't want to think on it. The pains and horrors he was a part of, both as a victim and villain, they weren't who he was anymore.

"I couldn't disagree more, Kyra," he said, voice dropping dangerously low as he closed the distance between them further, leaning in close enough that her breaths ticked his face. "I think being around people, being around certain people can make someone lose their mind, for better, for worse." Orion softly brushed his lips against Kyra's, nearly sighing as he did so. "See what I mean? But maybe..maybe I've always been this way, as you say." The squire released his hold on Kyra, kicking in the water to widen the distance between them. "I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get wrinkly skin from these waters. I think I'm gonna call myself clean and go dry off. Sound like a plan?" Biting his lower lip for just a moment, Orion moved through the water, arms slicing through liquid to propel himself over to where he'd left his towel. Heart racing a million miles a minute, he couldn't bring himself to look back at her. What was going on with Orion Michaels, self proclaimed lady killer?

I'm terrified..Gods, I'm terrified..

by **Kyra** on September 5th, 2013, 7:54 pm

"A lot has happened, hasn't it? And we were there..together. I wouldn't pretend. No." she added lightly shaking her head. "But, who is the fat merchant? I do not recall this one." The kelvic had meant what she said, she considered him a friend, and someone that she could trust. It had been a long time since she had known anyone worth trusting, which made her value the relationship even more. She would stand at his side, fight with him so that he could survive and live on as long as possible. She hadn't felt that way about a person in a long time.

Kyra stared at him curiously, half believing his bluff, and half wondering if this was another of his jokes. "You're making a joke again, I can see it." she smiled and looked away for a tick before returning her gaze to rest upon him. "I suppose that, if you must, you can put yourself down? But, only if this is a joke, because I won't believe it's true." Once she had an opinion of a person, it was rather hard to get her to change her mind. For better or worse, the kelvic's mind worked in this way and her memories were a driving force in this as well.

His next move surprised her, such closeness, such a intimate embrace had never been shared with him before. If her feet had been firmly planted on the floor, she would have lifted herself up to meet his lips and complete the kiss. But she was floating, her toes barely able to touch the floor beneath her. So instead, she reached out, hands gently holding his arms as she lifted her head. Kyra lowered her eyes as their lips brushed and a soft purring sound slipped from inside her. She didn't answer him then, her mind racked with confusion with his last words and what seemed to be almost a kiss.

"Oh, Yes, I suppose you are right." she said suddenly glancing down at her hands which reminded her of white raisins. The kelvic swam back to where she had left her robes, crawled out of the water and used the robe to dry herself off. Most people would have had a towel, but Kyra hadn't thought about it. She dressed herself and pulled her damp hair to splay out around her back and shoulders to allow it to dry faster. Kyra stood up with a sigh, for some reason she felt alone again, though she hadn't just ticks ago.

"Orion?" she spoke up, yet instantly forgetting what she was going to say. "I..well, I was wondering if you were busy? Perhaps we could journey together? I haven't seen you in awhile."

by **Orion Michaels** on September 15th, 2013, 6:00 am

She'd truly forgotten about Kale Belmont? That was quite surprising, as he was quite a difficult man to miss. For all her curiosity, he'd figured there no chance she wouldn't recall him. He never did know what she was paying attention to. "If you don't remember him, Kyra, count yourself among the lucky. It's a blessing to have no memory of this man. Pleasant, kind, considerate. These are words I'd not associate with him."

Pulling away from the kiss was one of the most difficult thing he'd done. Soft, pink lips, ones that seemed so desperate to press back when he finally made his move. They'd haunt him the rest of the night. Her slender fingers wrapped around his arms as they weren't able to truly complete the embrace. Awkward, perhaps, but a perfect representation of their almost . . . whatever it was. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, but the only regret he had was not finishing this proper.

After dragging himself from the waters and drying himself out, he looked up to look at Kyra, now clothed and dried off herself. It was a shame that something so lovely was covered, but he supposed that was his own fault, wasn't it?

If things had been different, if circumstances had been so very different, he'd have jumped on the opportunity. Leave Syliras with a beautiful woman? No, leave Syliras with friend? Or leave with something . . . I don't know...

It wasn't fair that she'd ask him such a thing, but he couldn't blame her, he couldn't be upset. "I wish I could truly journey with you, Kyra," he began, blue eyes staring down at the ground before her. Biting his lip nervously, he continued, uncertainty full in his voice. "I've got commitments here that I can't leave. I guess . . . ugh, I don't know. I imagined you'd leave here sooner or later, I was just hoping for later. As long as you are here though . . ." Orion trailed off, unsure of what he should say or do. She expected nothing of him, but he trusted her more than anyone he knew. Kyra had never betrayed him, hurt him, or left him without a goodbye, like so many others in his life. He knew she would leave. She had a wandering spirit. That she wished to share it with him was more than he could have hoped, only . . .

"I've...I've got to go. I was just supposed to get cleaned up and meet back with Dinah again. It was great to see you, Kyra." It wasn't a full lie, but still. What more could he say? How could he say any of it? Kyra..

by **Kyra** on September 21st, 2013, 9:41 pm

Kyra stared at him in confusion, she couldn't remember this man. Going by the description, she had met many with those shortcomings and didn't want to remember those either. Still being a curious kitten, she couldn't let it go and stood for a bit mentally going through all the horrible men that she had met over the years. "I..suppose that I don't remember. Who is he Orion? You must tell me?"

Orion was a confusing man to her, more so than any other. Most men she didn't have to try to know them, they were happy to tell her everything and easily at that. When it came to someone guard like Marcelo, it had taken her time to get to know him, and for him to know her as well. But Orion, he was a mystery, or perhaps it was Kyra who just didn't understand what was happening. What she did know, was that whenever she was in the arms of a man, or a woman, something intimate was about to happen, a tighter embrace, a simple kiss, or something more.

"Maybe I upset him?"

The young kelvic wasn't too sure, but she figured if they spent more time together, maybe she could figure out if she was right or wrong. However even that wasn't necessary. His answer to her offer for a leisurely stroll through the city told her all that she needed to know. Kyra's eyes danced back and forth as she listened to his words. She couldn't figure out what she had said wrong to cause the change in him, he was practically backpedaling out the door.

"Leaving? But I am not...."

Kyra sighed, a full pout showing in her delicate features as she stared up at him with sadness in her golden eyes. She should have expected as much, friendships never did last and this one with the squire was coming to a close too. The kelvic wondered if she would ever understand human emotions and how to deal with her own, but for now she would just go about her way.

"I have offended you, I am sorry Orion, that wasn't my intent. Perhaps I will see you again some day. If not...well, it was good meeting you." She smiled weakly, but said nothing else and simply walked off towards the changing room.

by **Radiant** on October 13th, 2013, 1:01 pm

Kyra :

Orion :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

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

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+3 XP
Socialization	+4 XP
Seduction	+1 XP

Skill	XP Earned
Socialization	+4 XP
Seduction	+1 XP

Completed Getting Under The Armor