Flashback [The Seat Of The World] Secret Excursion (Matthew)

[Raven Nightfoot]

The sounds of splashing and yelling in the background told her that Matthew's fight had to the waters. She turned to see a twisted mass in the pool, it looked more like they were brawling and drowning simultaneously than having a sword fight. Raven's eyes focused on the little battle that was taken place, her brow furrowed with worry. She had known Matthew wasn't much of a fighter, his reluctance when faced with the idea of running away from the camp had only been one of the signs that she's noticed. She stood there helpless, she wanted to help but from the amount of splashing and moving she couldn't tell who was winning, if any. She also deemed it unwise to jump into the fray with two armed men who were splashing about too much to tell foe from friend, she could only hope he'd be fine. There was a loud yell and the splashing came to a halt, she stood there, watching and hoping that Matthew was okay. To Raven's relief he emerged from the water seemingly unharmed and wasted no time in getting out of the water, telling Raven they needed to go and rushing out of The seat towards in the direction of the camp. Raven sighed in relief as Matthew climbed out of the water, turning to the bandit who was on all fours now, about to get up. She stomped down on his back sending him back to the ground, his face buried in the dirt and then took his dagger for herself. "Souvenir." she said triumphantly before following Matthew out of the cave and into the wilderness. After a chime or two of running in silence Raven slowed down assuming Matthew would too, they were a safe distance from the are so there was no need to continue running. "That was fun, are you okay? Please tell me he isn't dead? You didn't kill him right?" she asked between breaths, although she had a happy demeanour due to the thrill of the fight. Although they were murderous and were planning on doing unspeakable things to her, Raven never condoned murder, or at least didn't condone doing it herself. She understood that sometimes blood needed to be spilt but she hoped she'd never have to be the one to do it. She stood there looking ahead and back again for either the camp or the bandits, she saw neither although she knew they were not far from their camp now.

[Matthew]

He slowed when she did, glancing behind them a few times to make sure they were in the clear. It was hard to tell through the trees, and the day still hadn't fully awoken. The trees still cast shadows everywhere, but he was fairly sure that they had lost their attackers. He finally allowed himself to breath, having to gasp just a bit for air. Bending over and holding his knees, he sucked in some air, refilling his aching lungs. He wished they had made some time to soak back in the water after all that they had done, but luck would have it that they would be attacked. They were lucky that the thugs had been so damaged before they even got to the pair. He was curious as to why, but he assumed it was what he was still very nervous about. The un-tamed Wildlands, thriving with all sorts of unseen life and dangers. Her firm question caused him to glance up, and he narrowed his eyes, trying to think back. "I'm not sure. I felt the blade hit skin, so I pushed. I don't think he is dead, since he cried out... but he may be pretty badly wounded." Oddly enough, he didn't feel bad about this. He didn't feel happy about it, but it seemed distant and cold. It had been an attack, he had defended, and that was as simple as that. It was a natural order. Straightening, his lean body rippled out as he tested his muscles. Everything seemed to be in working order, but his eyes soon caught the cut on the side of his stomach. It was bleeding a bit, nothing serious, but something he would have to keep an eye on. Even the smallest of cuts could get infected and turn dangerous. He snorted a bit, lessons from the Zeltiva University not something he was keen on remembering. Even if he didn't like to admit it, he did use the lessons. He had studied the human anatomy as a basic part of his certificate, and that had come in handy. If Raven knew of his history, she would certainly realize how his fingers had found some of the places they did. "Come on. Let's get back to the caravan." He glanced over himself, noting that he was barely clothed. That would raise some eyebrows. Raven would probably enjoy it. "It should be in this-" Out of absolutely petching nowhere, Matthew was blown off of his feet, his former opponent slamming into his side. While Raven's was nowhere to be seen, this one had somehow caught up, even with a bleeding wound obvious on his shoulder. He was wheezing with rasping breaths, but his eyes were wild and desperate. Something had happened to him in the Wildlands, and it had turned him near-savage. Matthew hit the ground and skidded, scrambling to get his wits about him, his arm blossoming in pain. The man cast him a sideways glance, satisfied he was out of the picture for a few short seconds. Instead he lunged, going for the one he had realized was most dangerous. Hands outstretched, he leaped for Raven, no longer interested in anything but removing her from the picture.

[Raven Nightfoot]

The pair took a moment to catch their breath, now safe from the bandits in the cave and to check on eachother. To her relief Matthew seemed to have gotten out completely unscathed from their encounter with the attackers. She hoped that Matthew was right about not killing the man, although she would have understood if he did, it was self defense afterall. With that behind them she figured that everything had gone 'swimmingly', they were quite fortunate. She turned the souvenir dagger she had stolen from the second bandit around in her hand examining it curiously. It wasn't a bad blade, but it wasn't a great one either, instead it was painstakingly average, no special features of details adorning the plain weapon. Raven figured she'd give it to the squire who's shortsword she'd lent(stolen) as an apology, since she had no interest in the weapon. "Come on. Let's get back to the caravan. It should be in this-" Before Matthew could finish his sentence he was cut off and his words were replaced with a loud grunt and the sound of a man on man collision. Raven looked up to see Matthew on the floor and the crazed bleeding bandit lunging towards her. However she had been caught off guard and was not in time to avoid his grasp. The savage man's hands wrapped tightly around Raven's neck and slammed her against a nearby tree trunk causing her to let out a soft grunt. The man's grip tightened more as he tried to choke Raven to death, all the while screaming, his eyes filled with anger. Tears welled up in hear eyes, the pain in her neck making her feel slightly dizzy. She lifted her arm, the one with the dagger in hand and slammed the back of the blade's hilt into the side of his neck. The man yelped as he released his grip on Raven causing her to slide down the tree trunk and back onto her feet. She was now angry as well, more at being touched by the filthy forest man than because he had assaulted her. Unfortunately, the man recovered quickly from her attack and was now even more enraged as he thrust his a fist toward her face. Raven ducked, barely dodging the punch as the man's fist slammed into the tree trunk with a loud thud and only a minor grunt from the man. She stood up to the side, no longer infront of the attacker but instead standing outside his outstretched arm. Her arm rose and shot forward delivering a hard slap across the man's face, with little more purpose than humiliating him. Her arm retracted and shot out again, although this time Raven's fist was clenched as it slammed into the man's jaw, sending him stumbling away from her. With her enemy's back now turned to her Raven seized her chance to end the fight. She delivered a rough kick into his back sending him stumbling forward even further to which she responded and followed with a run up, flying kick to the back of the head. Her foot crashed into the man's skull with a loud thud and he was sent flying forward into a nearby tree. The man stood there against the tree for a few moments, unmoving. Raven's eyes were fixed on him, watching him intently for his next attack, her breathing rather heavy as a panic began to snake it's way up her spine. A moment later, the still man fell backwards like a stone, landing hard against the ground. She took a few cautious steps forward to check if he was still concious and to her relief he was not. A loud sigh of relief escaped Raven's mouth as she visibly relaxed and caught her breath. She walked over to the location of the dagger which she'd dropped retrieving it before looking over to Matthew. "You okay? Let's get out of here." she said as she began walking quickly in the direction of the camp. "See? That excursion was fun...besides there's much more of them ahead, just perhaps, without the attackers." her last few words were said along with a wink, adding to the suggestive tone in which they were spoken. She said it, in an attempt to lighten the mood even though it was true, she herself had been a bit scared...although she would NEVER admit it.

[Matthew]

Matthew barely had time to actually get to his feet before it was over. Standing there, he blinked back and forth between the man and the woman, his normally-composed face giving away his surprise. "I haven't actually ever seen anyone dispose of someone that quickly." The fact that she was a woman didn't matter, as he had seen many a strong woman in his days. His mother came to mind. He couldn't help but scowl, aiming it off to the side so she wouldn't think he was scowling at her. Walking over to the heap of a beaten man, he lightly poked the bandit with the toe of his boot, glancing blue eyes over him. He looked to actually be down for the count now, and he didn't really have any blood pooling underneath him. Hopefully that meant the shoulder wound was nothing to be concerned with. Out of a minor amount of pity, Matthew would normally have bandaged the man up, but didn't have the supplies to do so. Hopefully since they were close enough to the main road, the bandit and his friend would be able to find themselves somewhere safe to recover. This was optimistic thinking though, and he knew it. At her joke, he did chuckle a bit, relief finally flooding through him as he realized it was over. "I'll be expensive one day, so I suppose you should take advantage while I am in a generous mood." Shaking his head, a smile still barely breaking across his face, he cast the bandit one last glance before taking the girl's hand and heading toward the caravan. All in all, he was satisfied. His skills worked, and he hadn't died. He hoped he wouldn't have to be satisfied with simply being alive ever again. They broke into the clearing that led to the main road, a few of the squires out and about. Wide eyes regarded Raven and Matthew, noting Matthew's apparent lack of clothes and the wound. Those same wide eyes then noticed the dagger in Raven's hand and the sultry natural sway of the woman's hips, and their faces flared a bright red. Matthew ignored them, having the feeling that Raven would enjoy dealing with it, instead going over to the wagon that held his clothes. Grabbing a new pair, he noticed one of his own escorts staring at him, gruff face filled with disapproval. "Your momma was right. You ain't no good. Don't you have any respect?" Matthew ignored him, eyes turning to ice as he quickly tugged on fresh clothes and walked away. He winced as he did, noticing his side was flaring up in a bruise. He'd have to get that looked at.

[Raven Nightfoot]

As the pair stepped out of the shadows of the forest and into their encampment Raven couldn't keep the naughty smirk from her face. They had been gone for quite a while and now they'd returned hand in hand and both looking ruffled, Raven's hair damp and Matthew still soaked. They parted as Matthew made his way to his caravan to get a change of clothes and Raven made off towards her own. "Sorry about stealing your sword." she said nonchalantly as she handed the squire his consolation dagger. All three of her escort squires said nothing, they just stood there, mouths open in shock, how were they going to tell her parents, their superiors, that they had allowed their precious daughter to run off into the forest with a male prostitute. "Here's how I see it...If you tell my parents about this you'll probably NEVER become night, so I have a proposal." she said, a mischievous smirk crossing her face. The squires shifted uncomfortably knowing what was coming. "You tell them nothing of this and that way we all win." she said as she turned and walked off towards her tent for a nap. Raven didn't bother to wait for their response knowing that she'd won. She turned to face them just as she got to her tent, "And that's how blackmail works." she finished with a wink and climbed into her tent. As she lay there she thought on her little excursion with Matthew, the overwhelming pleasure. "Wow." she caught herself saying as she reminisced, but that wouldn't be their last encounter, not if Raven had anything to say about it. No, there was still a day or two before they arrived in Syliras...a day or two for Matthew to wake up to Raven straddling him.

[Meville Brightshade]

Goodies!

Name: Raven
Experience gained:

• Stealth + 2
• Larceny + 1
• Flirting + 1
• Observation + 2
• Seduction + 2
• Acting + 1
• Unarmed Combat* + 1
• Acrobatics* + 1
• Dagger + 1
• Subterfuge + 1

Lores earned:

• Matthew: A Satisfying Lover
• Dagger Technique: Non-lethal Hilt Strike
• Romantic Technique: Strip Tease
• Observation: That Ominous Feeling
• Dagger Appraisal (Basic)
• Subterfuge Technique: Blackmail

Consequences:

• Bruised Neck (4 days)
• Fatigue from fervid fraternization (1 day)

Notes: :

Good writing, good portrayal of Raven's sexy, seductive character. Unfortunately, she's not quite up to par with her skills! You're currently writing seduction at at least a Competent level, unarmed combat and acrobatics was the high end of Competent or maybe even Expert. I'm giving you a warning now, just so you know for your future threads. The writing itself isn't bad (it's actually quite good), but just make sure you have the skills to back up the actions you're describing.

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Name: Matthew
Experience gained:

• Flirting + 1
• Acting + 1
• Seduction + 3
• Observation + 2
• Auristics + 2
• Strip Teasing + 1
• Hypnotism + 1
• Short sword + 1
• Brawling + 1

Lores earned:

• Raven: A Puzzle Solved
• Auristics Technique: Tangible Gaze
• Seduction: Aggressive Lovemaking
• Location: Seat of the Earth
• Auristics: Detecting Living Creatures
• Short Sword Technique: Basic Block
• First Combat Wound: Cut on the Side

Consequences:

• Cut on lower abdomen (on the side) (4 days)
• Bruised arm (4 days)
• Lost: set of clothes (undergarments retained)

Notes: :

Very well done! The contrast between his logical brain and his sensual body were very well played out. You did a fantastic job playing towards Matthew's strengths, especially in the fight scene. Great description, lovely speech, and a good peak further into his character. Matthew is certainly an odd one.

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Final Comments: :

Romance threads! Not my favorite, but I really did like that "flashforward" you put there, Matthew. Well done. As for the rest of the thread: It was quality! I'm really glad there was a little bit of everything: playful banter, mystique, danger, lust, and risks taken! Make sure to keep an eye on your skills levels and don't play above them! Looking forward to seeing how these two end up! Keep up the good work, you two!

Edit: Hey! I'm super sorry about the confusion with the lores! I've amended my mistake, and hopefully I won't be making too many more in the future! Please re-update your CSs! Thank you!

Questions or concerns? Send me a PM with "Grade" in the title, and we'll chat it out!