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[Markus Andres]

16th of Summer 513 AV. Markus had only recently been reunited with Syliras, but he was already back on full time duty. That duty brought him out into the wilderness again, normally he would be with a wing of knights ready to kick some butt should anything happen. But today, he was on his own. On his own with a big war horse, named Alluia, between his legs. His duty had consisted of a rather boring patrol out in the wilderness. It was a warm day out and Markus was glad that he was riding in the forest and not in direct sunlight, otherwise he would probably have been cooked in Syna's rays. He wore no helmet to let the air cool him down. Even with the armour covering his body, the size of the armour alone indicated that Markus was by no means a small man, standing well over 6 feet tall and weighing a good deal more than 200 pounds, he was a well-built man. By his side he carried a bastard sword, above it a dagger. On his back he carried his shield with a loose leather strap. He stopped Alluia when he heard a dog barking somewhere in the forest. Intrigued he pointed Alluia in the direction and he soon trotted in the direction. He soon broke into a clearing and saw a woman and a dog. "Well met stranger, is all well here?" Markus asked the stranger while his eyes looking from her to her dog, which to him, looked related to wolves than ordinary dogs. But Markus enjoyed dogs. Wonderful creatures, loyal to a fault, much like himself.

[Fallon]

Fallon released a wheeze and rubbed at her thighs with annoyance. It was a last moment thing, and an arrangement that was forced upon her by her patron. Today she was set to go out with another knight and play squire to him. A different change of pace to her normal routine of the training grounds, she was actually doing something after all. Or at least in theory, she was still struggling to find the blasted man. Steel clipped in their scabbards, the dull beat of arrows in their quiver. Orvin was panting, paws padding against the ground with the clip of hooves from behind her. The shield was slung across the side of the saddle.

She had taken to leading Javil by the reins, with firm steps from the squire leading him on. She flexed in the leathers, her fingers pressing against the studs that lined it. It felt easier to take the current route by foot, but the moment an opening would come she would return once more to the saddle. Before all that though she had to shake the numbness that had set into her lower half. She gave a tug at her sleeves and then let her hand hover over the hilt of the Tulwar for a chime. The forest may have been calm at present, but she was not about to let her guard down. No matter how tempting it was. Orvin released a bark, and her eyes turned to him. Bright eyed and bushy tailed he gave a second louder bark, whilst he stared at her in a judging manner. Fallon gave a sigh, “What?”

Nostrils flaring and her ears twitching, she turned sharply when she heard the voice of another and instinctively reached for the blade. Her eyes narrowed down to the speaker, a man clad in armour with the dark blonde hair resting upon his war horse. The squire froze, weighing up on whether or not she should speak. Judging by the looks she would have guessed him to be a knight, more so with his equipment and his question.
“Yes, yes… all is well Ser,” She gave a quick lowering of the head. Her eyes only drifted up briefly, and her fingers pulled away from the hilt. Pursing her lips, there was a momentary rocking on her heels as she thought. The squire spoke up “Are you the Knight my Patron sent me to assist? Ser… Ser And…” She had reached a blank and turned her head away. It was a great start if he was the Knight, and just plain embarrassing if he was not.
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[Markus Andres]

An amused smile crossed his lips when her hand automatically went to her sword. He was confident that he could defeat this woman should she decide to raise her blade against him. She reminded him of himself when Rhuryc had entered his camp. He also noted her attire with interest, there were more than one tell-tale sign of her being affiliated with the knighthood. He also noted with interest the odd curvature of the blade. He suspected that this woman was in fact the squire he had been told of would accompany out here in the wilderness. Fallon Skylar. Squire to sera Druva. A fellow knight he held a tremedous amount of respect. He spent a couple of moment examinating the squire. She looked younger than he, probably at the start of her late teens. Blossoming into a full woman. But his eyes shifted from her to the canine companion she had brought into the forest. For he had not been told of this white haired dog. It was a pleasant addition to the company. "Andres, ser Markus Andres, and I assume you're Fallon Skylar, squire to Druva. You best remember the names of the knights you are send to assist in the future. Makes things less embarassing for us all" Markus said, there was no hostility or anger in his tone of voice, just a weak vibe of amusement that lingered in his smile. Markus swung his leg over Alluia's back and dismounted from the horse. Looking at Fallon, he noticed that he was still a good deal taller than her, but he was used to that by now. He would offer her his hand and give her a firm shake. "Pleased to meet you.". He would release her hand with a warm smile and then turn to her canine friend and kneel before him. Right knee touching the ground and he tested the waters by holding out a hand for the wolf-breed waiting for a positive reaction. Would be quick to retract his hand should the canine bar its fangs. Some dogs didn't take to strangers well. If the canine reacted positively, he would pat it on its strong neck and scratch it behind the ears. If bared fangs and growls ensued, he would withdraw. "What a beautiful companion you got here. What is his name?" Markus asked intrigued. Anyone capable of handling a large dog like him in this forest deserved a good measure of respect. Looking closer at the canine. Inspecting the animal. Just admiring the creature. He had for years wanted a canine companion of his own, but decided to postpone it until after his knighting quest and then again when the campaign against Sahova had come.

[Fallon]

Fallon flinched and then snapped to attention. Her back straightened, her shoulders growing square. She was not expecting her name to be spoken by the knight, if anything she would have thought him not to even consider remembering it. She was after all just a squire, nothing more. Eyes glanced to the hand that had been extended towards her, and the up at the pure height he had over her. Feeling dwarfed to say the least she craned her neck up to him, and then accepted the firm handshake out of worry of causing insult. That and she felt if she did not answer it he would crush her. Of course, the conversation quickly shifted to Orvin and perhaps fortunately as well.

The wolf gave his master a look, then the knight and then back to his master with one that could almost be described as mocking. He gave a firm snort, and eyed Markus up. With the tail beating against the floor, the squire knew it was only a matter of time before the wolf reacted. Keeping to attention she answered him, “His name is Orvin Ser Andres. And yes, as you say Ser.” Clearing her throat she watched the man try to inspect the creature with wonder “I don’t advise getting too close, he can get a bit-“ Orvin gave the knight a firm nudge with his snout, and then pushed a paw against him. A loud bark escaped, ears cocked forward as he stared almost defiantly at the knight. She gave a wince, and placed a hand upon the back of the wolf’s neck. Her fingers gripped around the scruff, her shoulders hunching in and her other arm looking ready as if to grab him. She still had difficulty telling what he was planning, if he was simply trying to taunt the man or was just only playing, and so she chose to stick to the safe side, “Orvin. Don’t you dare.”

He responded however just with a single look and then a heavy huff. His head turned away, and he pulled away from his master’s grip. Relaxing slightly, the squire looked upon the Knight with slight embarrassment . Her hands withdrew, her own eyes looking away. It was far from a great start, but she hoped that as the day went on things would get better. Wetting her lips she spoke again “So Ser, what is it that you need assisting with today?”
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[Solin]

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Walking through the forest, Solin eyes were ever vigilant for any signs of animal track. He needed to catch something decent other than a rabbit. The kelvic knew if he was ever going to get to Avanthal. He would need a decent nest egg of money saved up for the journey. Eventually, the kelvic's eyes fall upon a large puddle of mud in the low part of the trail and noticed a few animal tracks in the soft mud. He stopped and knelt down to get a closer look at the tracks and noticed the track was definitely a hoofed animal. The animal was definitely not a horse hoof because horses hooves tended to be much larger than the beasts track in the mud, so he started to wondered if it could be a deer. Solin stood up, looked around the area, and saw the same set of track heading onto a smaller trail heading west. Solin took his bow off his back and went down the woodman's trail. It was a nice day in the forest since the sky was mostly clear with a scattering a of fluffy clouds here and there in the sky, but he could feel a touch of humidity in the air, so it was difficult to not sweat. Eventually, he stopped and noticed a few broken branches off the shrubbery hanging into the trail. He stopped to get a closer look at the broken branches and saw a clump of light brown fur hanging from the scrub. The hunter smirked to himself as he slowly walked down the trail for a bell, and he eventually came to a pile of droppings in the middle of trail. He could tell be the amount of flies hover around it that it was recently dropped, so he knelt down and put his hand inches away from the top of the pile. He noticed the pile was still warm, so he started to wonder if the deer was somewhere in the vicinity.

Solin wasn't going to take any chances, so he walked behind a tree close to the steaming pile of manure, and he took off quiver, short bow, backpack, and tulwar and tucked them under a think bush. When they were safe,secure, and hidden from sight, he started to strip off his clothing till he was completely naked and tucked his clothing in the backpack.When he was finished hiding his equipment, he walked away from the tree, and in a swirl of light and smoke, he shifted into his white wolf form. Solin started walked over to his backpack and sniffed the familiar leather. However, he knew the leather wouldn't be a strong enough scent for him to pick up later, so he moved away from his equipment and urinated on a nearby bush. When he was relieved, he smelt his urine to memorize the scent. When he had the scent of his equipment and the urine, he walked over to the manure and smelled the pungent odor of the slightly cool droppings. He back tracked down the trail for five chimes when he came to the broken with the light brown clump of hair hanging from the branch. Solin brought his black nose to the fur, took a whiff of fur, and he started to back down the trail and passed the pile of manure. As he trotted down the path, he kept smelling the air trying to catch the scent of the deer in the air. The kelvic started to think this could be a great day if he actually caught a deer and the amount of miza for turning the beast into the butcher./font]

[Markus Andres]

"At ease squire." Markus said, noticing the unnatural rank posture of the squire. She had discipline and respect for her superiors. That alone brought the squire on his good side. Not that was a particularly hard feat to accomplish. He looked down at the dog that, he assumed, put a paw against him playfully. He almost reached out to grab the paw to see if he had been taught to give hand. The loud bark did surprise him yet a brief moment later it brought a wide smile to his lips and his eyes brightened with affection. By Sylir he loved dogs and squire Skylar's Orvin was no exception. His eyes turned to said squire when she warned the dog to back down. Curious that she had felt the need to warn her own dog, perhaps Orvin was not as friendly as Markus had first assumed. "Orvin. Odd name... but I like it and he is well behaved. You have done a good job with him." Praise came easily from Markus, but he rarely placed it where he felt it wasn't deserved. Markus was a little surprised at how eager the squire was to learn their reason for being out there. Appeared she wanted right at the action. Eager and disciplined. Natasha had done well with this squire. "It is fortunate that you brought Orvin, for we are out here on a very simple reconnaissance mission. Good old fashioned patrol duty. So saddle up and instruct Orvin to keep his nose sharp. Never know what is out here." Markus deliberately left out the part about a large creature being spotted at the edge of the woods last night by a farmer. He wanted to see how the squire reacted to perhaps one of the dullest missions. At least it was outside the walls. Guarding the walls themselves were usually uneventful. Outside the walls, they might actually come across some action. Markus would place his foot in the stirrups and swing his other leg over the back of the horse. Quite a feat considering the armour, but it was a practised movement. It placed him securely in the saddle. "Plus, I have been told by sera Druva that more time in the saddle would do you well. I get an extra pair of eyes and company on this patrol and you get to spend more time in the saddle. Any questions?" Markus continued, just stating a matter of fact. Not judging Skylar that she was not a natural rider, Markus' own squire was the complete opposite. Horses were afraid of his squire and Markus sometimes suspected it was a mutual thing.

[Fallon]

Fallon gave a nod to Ser Andres, and quickly obeyed his words. She turned her head to Orvin, stooping down to his height and giving a firm rub between the ears. She tapped the space under his eyes, then his nose, before pointing to the world around them. There was a slightly perplexed look from the creature as he turned his head after the finger, and then back to his master. Her lips pursed together with thought as she tried to get across what was needed to be done.
“Just…” she gave a sigh, “Just be a good boy and pay attention okay?” There was a yap, followed by a firm lick. Pulling away the squire, walked over to Javil and mounted him. She hoisted herself up into the saddle with a bit of a struggle, her hands grasping onto the reins and fumbling to get her feet into their stirrups. There was a brief clatter of noise as she pulled her gear round. She watched the knight in all his ease get up upon the back of the horse, even when dressed up in plate.

Information spewed out, or more over little snippets as to what the Knight was planning to achieve came to light. They were to keep an eye out. Simple enough. In theory at least. It was a patrol though, there had to be more than simply keep her eyes sharp. Heels clipped at the side of Javil, her head inclining for the wolf to follow. There had to be more, right? Clearing her throat the squire forced herself to speak up, “Ser… Ser Andres! What patrol route are we taking today?”

Squirming in the saddle, Fallon forced herself to straighten. Although horses did not fear her, they still seemed to react difficultly to her. More often or not they did not always obey to her commands, or they refused to be controlled by her. Still, she was certain she was steadily getting better. Or at least she kept telling herself that. Her thighs stopped aching as much when she rode, so that had to be a sign. Right? Orvin padded alongside her, eyes staring up at her and then darting back to the world around her.
“You most likely think this is just some form of walk, eh?” she muttered.
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[Solin]

As he crept through the woods, Solin kept his nose and his ears up for any signs of the hoofed creature. The day was pleasant and sunny, so the colors of the forest were starting to dull as Syna got higher in the sky. The wolf stayed mostly to the underbrush as he crept through the forest. Occasionally, he heard the scurry of smaller game along his path, but he paid them no mind today since he had bigger game to catch. About fifteen chimes pasted, he noticed to himself that he lost track of the scent of the beast. Sitting on his hunches in frustration, Solin started to sniff the air and caught another scent of a second pile of pungent smelling of dung. The kelvic trotted towards the smell and found a fresh pile of feces laying by a large oak tree. Solin walked over to it, looked at it, and saw the pile of poop looked like brown pile of small stones or pebbles. The kelvic knew that he found his trail again, so he put his nose close to the pile of dung and noticed the temperature of it was quite warm. Solin lifted his head, backed away from the pile, kept his head down below the bush line, so he wouldn't be spotted if his prey was nearby. The kelvic started to circle the pile of dung trying to find the tracks of the beast who made it, and he noticed a faint indentation in the ground near the pile. Solin walked over to the indentation and noticed the shape was oval, and he pondered the poop and the indentation for a chime as he contemplated if his beast made the pile.

Suddenly, Solin heard a loud crack of a stick or a twig nearby, and quickly he hunched down and walked to the edge of the bush. Peering under the around the bush, he noticed a reddish brown deer walk out from a behind a tree about a one hundred yards away from him. Solin walking back behind the bush. The kelvic was curious why the creature didn't smell him, but he wondered if the smell of the dung was masking his scent. Solin licked his nose and stuck it in the air, and he noticed the wind was coming at him. If wolves could smile, the kelvic would be doing it right now. The kelvic started to double back in a large circle, so he stayed up wind from the beast. Every chime, he would like his nose to figure out the direction of the wind. Fifty yards from the deer, he started moving slowly through the underbrush as he approached the deer. The wolf knew he was at a disadvantaged because of his white fur in a green background, so he needed to move from tree to tree and bush to bush to creep up on the deer. Twenty-five yards away from deer, the wolf made a costly mistake and stepped on a stick breaking it in half. Solin thought to himself, “Petch me!” The deer looked in the direction of the sound and the deer spotting him crouching in the patch of tall undergrowth. The deer twitched it ears, turned quickly, and darted into the forest.

Solin gave out a loud howl and took chase after the deer. The deer was quick and agile as it ran through the forest. The wolf ran swiftly for it, but he decided not to sprint at the beginning since he didn't want to wear himself out to quickly. As he pursued the deer, Solin saw the deer in and out of trees, but Solin knew the deer was trying to trip him up, so he just ran straight avoiding the tree if he had too, but he stayed on his own course as he pursued his prey through the forest. Suddenly, the deer turned quickly and jumped over a small bush, and needing to stay within sight range, the wolf picked up his speed and jumped over the scrubby. Solin hurdle barely cleared the bush, but his landing was less than graceful as he stumbled forward and hitting the dirt when he landed. Solin quickly got to his feet, and he saw the deer had gained ground on him. Regardless of his setback, he had the scent of the beast, and he decided to pick up his speed for a few chimes, so he gain a little lost ground on the deer.

oocSolin's chase can intercept your patrol in the next post or the post after. It is up to you two if you wanted to talk more without him interrupting. Oh you both might hear the howl too.

[Markus Andres]

Markus watched the squire and her interaction with Orvin. Markus had a hard time keeping himself from laughing at her attempts to give him specific orders. When she gave up, he had to bite his lower lip and let out a short cough. Watching her get up on her horse was also interesting. She had her fair share of trouble. It was to be expected from squires not entirely used to getting on and off horses. He furrowed his brows. Natasha had not been lying when she told that Skylar needed more training on horseback. Markus looked away when she turned in his direction. For he knew that despite his best efforts, that there was a stupid smile plastered on his face. A smile not befitting of a superior ranking knight. He watched for any movement or signs of movement, seeing none he turned to Fallon. Might not be the best rider, but she did ask the right questions. "We're heading east until we hit the Avitar, then we turn north and then west around the geysers. I will be taking the lead, unless you have any experience with tracking." He paused to allow her to respond. Her lack of control over Orvin had been a sign that he couldn't rely on Orvin. "In either case, should bring us back to Syliras in the early evening. I promised Nat- sera Druva that I wouldn't keep her squire up beyond her -." Markus stopped mid-joke his face turned from jovial to serious in the matter of a heartbeat. His eyes narrowed and he lowered his head trying to make sure he was hearing right. His eyes perked and attention towards the specific sound. He believed he could hear a howl. It was not loud, but in a forest, sound did not always travel far. Markus looked to Orvin. The young canine would have a better hearing than him and no doubt that the dog had heard the howl. Then to Fallon. If a horse did not trust the rider then they might panic around predators. He would hate to tell Natasha that Skylar's horse had panicked and thrown her off. She would never let that down. Markus could tell that even Alluia wasn't fond of a wolf being in the vicinity. Markus held out a hand fingers spread evenly and the palm facing the ground. Universal sign for people to wait. "Wolf. Be on your guard, wolves this close to the fields is not a good thing. We'll go investigate Keep Orvin under control. Can't have him run off to join the pack." Markus ended with a joke and a smirk. Doing his best to ease the tension. That and making sure Fallon kept Orvin under control. If he ran away, Fallon would probably follow and Markus couldn't return to Natasha and tell her that he had lost her squire in the woods, thus he was forced to follow as well. Not a good way to start a patrol. Might be the wolf was what the farmers had seen, though. They had to cheek it out. "It came from that direction. We'll go investigate and scare the pack away from the fields. Kill them if they attack. Understood?" Markus pointed to the north, north-east as he spoke. "I'll take the lead." Markus ordered. He had Alluia moving in the direciton in a working trot.

[Fallon]

She could just about squeeze out a glare at his back before her question was answered. There was only a slow nod, a mark of understanding to his question as the horses clipped onwards. Heels clipped into the sides of Javil, a dark eye looking at her before he gave a snort and followed after the knight. She gave a swallow followed by a shrug, “I’ve tracked with Orvin before, when he was a lot younger. Give us a scent and we can have a go at follow it. I’m still learning my prints though.”

There was an incline of the head, and she made way after him, gloved hands gripping around the reigns. She positioned herself comfortably there and focused on keeping him both in view and in steady pace behind him. Getting lost was not a notion she fancied any time soon. Especially when the howl of a pack called out to them.

It was the wincing from Orvin however that got her attention the most. Pursing her lips she watched the ears of the wolf flicker and turn in tune to the howling, her own eyes and ears straining to listen. Her hand rubbed against the neck of her horse, eyes turning sharp as she looked about herself a low hushing noise under her breath. She may have only been a novice, but even she knew that talking in a calm voice was a way to keep animals from bolting. The wolf gave a snort, his nose pressing against the ground with a loud definite sniff.

To his comment about being on guard though, her previously calm tone turned to one of bluntness.

“No shyke genius,” she gave him a stern frown and promptly shook her head, “It might pay to get down wind of them, won’t smell us coming that way.” Still, it looked as if he was off already making the lead around and towards the fields regardless, the dulled trot of horses marking their path north, north-east. Eyes sharpened, her form occasionally leading down lower to the ground to look past the recent prints of horse hooves and at the turned undergrowth. Gentle fingers reached down to broken branches, eyes staring down upon the underlying prints of travel.

“Orvin, to heel,” she kept her voice crisp and firm. There was a gentle yap of recognition, and the wolf fell in line next to her saddle. At least that was one thing she could do with him. Keep the creature in line and not wandering too far. Her hand felt to her equipment, fingers tracing over hilts and handles, ensuring all was within easy reach should things turn nasty. And knowing her luck when it came to wolves, it generally did.

Grimacing the squire dug in her heels. Fighting would be different this time; she was more experienced to begin with. Orvin was much larger and potentially more ferocious now. And they knew what was coming. It was the low underlying growl from her companion though that caused her attention to snap once more to the surroundings. Eyes scanned the tree line, watching for movement and getting ready to draw steel if need be.

“Time to look alive.”
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