Closed The Wrong People [Orion]

[Nira'lia]

The Konti’s cheeks went red when she saw the way he acted in surprise. She should have expected it—he wasn’t the only one who reacted in such a way. Even she thought it was a ridiculous idea; the role was so unfitting for her that it elicited wonder almost all the time. And it wasn’t puzzling to know why he had never seen her in the training grounds—she didn’t particularly like going there. She was the worst ‘squire’, and she knew it. All the same though, she felt embarrassed at how he praised her looks. She stepped back very slightly when he offered his right hand to her. Cautiously, she looked down at it, a look of discomfort on her face. Should she? It was one act of politeness that she so often turned down, and it always got her odd looks. Considering what they had been through, she couldn’t be rude to him though, right? She just had to suck it up. “Nice to meet you,” she said, giving him a bright smile as she reached out and shook his hand. As expected, a vision flooded her. And while it was not often that she saw such awkward (for her) visions, this definitely joined the list of awkward visions. There was Orion, and there was a blue-haired girl. Orion seemed younger than he did now. And the young woman… she was very beautiful. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what stuck to the Konti at the moment. What stuck to her was that they were embracing each other in the waters of what appeared to be a hot spring, and they had nothing between their skins. The emotions of being in love enveloped her as well. It was a nice emotion—but the image was not preferable to her. Nira’lia’s cheeks became even more crimson and she laughed in such an embarrassed way. She looked like such an idiot, being embarrassed at something only she knew about. And he was joking around with Nira’lia about blushing, when she was the one as red as an apple. “Yes, o-of course!” she said suddenly. “Let us go see the healers.” She actually quickened her pace and went ahead of him, striding towards down the hallway. And as she walked she was muttering something under her breath. Incomprehensible but she appeared to be annoyed by what people chose to show her, even if it was really nobody’s choice. She led the way towards the massage studio. The scents of herbs and oils became more powerful, and she looked around quickly for a healer. Soon enough, she faced a young lady whom she assumed was one. The lady just had that sort of aura. “My friend got bitten by… uh, a man,” she said. The lady smiled and gave a nod of the head. She had seen the whole debacle and knew what Nira’lia was speaking about. “Perhaps somebody could take a look at him? He has lost quite some blood.”

[Orion Michaels]

He'd not mean to embarrass her, but it had proved to be unavoidable with his outburst. While he didn't wish to seem like he was backtracking, he also didn't want to be the man who was crushing the spirits of a new squire who didn't seem all that enthusiastic about the prospect in the first place. "I didn't mean to insinuate I didn't think you could do it, you just don't look the part. Neither do I, right? I'm a twenty six year old man who's pretending like he can play knight."

Orion grasped her hand firmly, but couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when she seemed somehow to blush even deeper when their skin touched. He was somewhat distracted by the foreign feeling of a Konti's flesh. Webbed fingers were indeed unique, but was it so embarrassing to make contact with him? He wasn't even being that flirty. Perhaps if another opportunity came up he would inquire as to her flustered reaction. If the laughter weren't enough, the silky white skin of her peopled acted to highlight any change in tone. It was rather hard to hide it.

Withdrawing his hand, the blue eyed man continued on his way down the corridor to try and find his way to a healer, but she seemed to have a better grasp on things, or so he hoped, because she went rushing past him. The way she carried herself almost had an irritation about it, but he couldn't be sure. He picked up his pace, trying to catch up with her in order to ask what was wrong, but before he could get his question out, they were upon who was apparently a healer. He'd hold onto his question for now. 

The healer motioned Orion over and pulled up his sleeve to get a good look at the injury. The man had really locked onto Orion, clenching his teeth about as tightly as the human jaw could. Very discernible teeth marks were sunken down into his flesh and blood was still flowing forth from the torn skin. "Gods it hurts..." Orion took a seat and allowed the woman to begin working at cleaning the blood away before she went about using her healing powers to purify and cleanse the wound. "That would have taken me so much longer back in my day," he remarked, looking back over to the previously distraught Nira'lia. "This is a lot more pleasant than having to sew myself up, I'll tell you that much." Rather than dealing with bumps, scrapes, and bruises, Orion was now here to deal with the rigors of combat and the wounds earned in them. A man's bite had nothing on a Balcini's vicious attack, of that he'd learned first hand.

[Nira'lia]

The healer hummed a strange tune to herself as she attended to Orion. On her neck was the mark of Rak’keli, a swirling sigil of winged serpents. The sigil shimmered beautifully and caught her attention. It was a mark of elegance that only proved the healer’s prowess. It was similar to the one Nira’lia had on her shoulder, except that it encompassed more skin and seemed to be a lot more distinguished. The Konti stood nearby and rested her back against a nearby wall. She watched the healer with interest, and inwardly wondered if Rak’keli would ever bless her further. The healer seemed focused enough on her task to leave the conversation solely to Nira’lia and Orion. Glancing at his face, Nira’lia blinked in slight surprise. “Back in your day…? Are you in medicine, ser?” The healer worked swiftly but accurately, and soon the excess blood had been cleaned. She put her hands over his skin and seemed concentrated, as if ready to use Rak’keli’s powers. “I’ve sewn many wounds before, but…” she said softly, as if her voice only had to reach their small group. “I’ve never done it for myself. That is impressive.” The wound appeared to close into itself. The skin folded and rebuilt itself, fixing itself into a perfect patch of skin. It was as if there had been no previous wound there, not even a scar in the shape of a man’s teeth. Nira’lia smiled to herself. She was impressed at Orion’s story, and she was just as impressed at what a person with two marks of healing could do. “There you go,” the healer said with a sweet smile. She looked at Orion and pat him playfully on his arm, just where the wound had been. “Perhaps next time, you might want to avoid getting bitten by rowdy drunkards. Does that seem like a good idea?” Nira’lia laughed. She had a point.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion watched the woman work with some sense of wonder on his expression. It was always an interesting thing to watch the power of these marks at work. His flesh began to tie itself together and the skin folded over itself until it was back to its former state. The incredible spectacle they could perform could do in a moment what would take the body days, or even seasons to do on its own. A fraction of his irritation with healers was born in jealousy. 

He looked up at Nira'lia with a half smile when she inquired as to about his past in medicine. "Yeah, I used to work here, not even a full year ago. I seemed to be on staff to deal with traumatic injuries, and I guess the knights got word of my skill and came here to recruit me." He gave a shrug as he the healer finished up her work. It was something he tried not to think about too often because it was actually something he missed. The stressful situations, the snap decisions he was required to make which either saved lives or cost them. He'd often been the hero, and now he was just 'Squire Michaels,' a nobody within the order. 

"I'm supposed to be attached to the knights a medic, once I learn to hold a sword properly." He chuckled softly as the healer cracked her joke. "I'll see about avoiding it in the future, don't you worry. While biting can be fun, that's taking it to a bit of an extreme." Orion shook her hand and bowed his head in thanks for her work. The healer smiled and made her way for the door, glancing back at the two squires before she left. "Take your time, you two. I'm going to take a quick rest after that." With that, she was gone.

"If I may inquire, Nira'lia, what were you doing here today? I remember enough about this place to know that wasn't a room that people go in for the relaxation this place offers. Hiding from your squire responsibilities, hmm?" He bit the tip of his tongue softly, slowly retracting it into his mouth as his eyes shone mischievously. Nira struck Orion as a very cerebral woman; she didn't take actions without purpose. He could have been wrong, but he didn't imagine she would be here without a purpose. "You have a vicious Patron Knight? I could understand it if that were the case."

[Nira'lia]

Curiously, Nira’lia’s attention perked up as she heard why the knights had recruited him. It was not a possibility that she had thought about or even decided on asking, but now that she had heard about it, it gave her some semblance of hope for a future that she would want. With an interested expression, she stared at Orion. “There is such a thing as being a medic once you are a knight?” she inquired. It was silly of her, but it was not even something she had thought of asking before. “So, uhm… if I learn to use your weapons… I might be able to serve as one? Is that right?” She tilted her head a bit as she thought about it deeply. Did it really have to be a sword, she wondered? Those things weighed too much for her. Wouldn’t a suvai work…? She really did have so many questions that she had yet to ask her patron. At the corner of her eye, Nira’lia watched as the healer took her leave. The Konti laughed lightly at Orion’s question. Well, yes, perhaps she was running from her squire duties. But she wouldn’t admit that. “No, no… it’s just that I’ve been a medic all my life,” she responded. All three decades of her life, though that would be short-lived if compared to a human’s life span, she had been training in medicine. Additionally, it was her passion. It was difficult to just drop it just like that. “I am only here as a volunteer. They let me study the concoctions, and I find it very entertaining. I watch them make their balms and such… it is just what I do on my free time.” At this point, the Konti suddenly realized that she was probably keeping him here. “Oh… you came here for a reason as well!” she clapped her hands together in realization. “I must be keeping you! Did you come for a massage? For a bath?” She went red again as she unconsciously remembered the memories she had seen. Inwardly, she cursed herself for her careless thoughts. Awkwardly, she fumbled with her hands. “Please, do go on with your day.”

[Orion Michaels]

He nodded in reply, thinking back on the situation that had led to his current conditions. When he went into work that day, he'd hardly expected that things would go down as they had. What was supposed to be a day backing up the other masseuses had turned into some sort of grand adventure. He'd fought in ways he never expected to fight before and found himself faced with dangers he'd only heard of in stories. Explosions, spies, and giant baboons. Who would believe anything about that?

"Does it surprise you that the knights would need healers?" He smiled, looking down at his arm to where he'd been wounded a short while ago. "Who gets hurt more than a knight? Who takes more risks than one? You'll be one of the most important knights in your company if you ask me. Not only can you fight, but you can keep others in the fight. So yeah, learn to swing a sword, ride a horse, and hold a shield. You'll be fine." It was an odd thing. She seemed to know less than he did when Orion had become a squire under Dinah Lorene. There were hundreds of questions to ask, and it seemed that for every question, there were dozens of vague answers which never really told you anything. It was natural to be confused, but it seemed like she'd been informed she was a squire, and there she sat, floundering in place as she tried to discover what her path was to be.

Free time? What an interesting concept. He rarely had an opportunity to indulge in such pleasures. It was only because his patron was busy that he was able to get out from underneath her iron fist and make his way to the Soothing Waters. If he hadn't done so, he never would have received that vicious bite. On the other hand, he never would have met Nira'lia. "Well that's very kind of you. I know a little about herbs and such, but I always made my assistants do it for me while I did the heavy lifting. Could probably stand to learn some more if I'm going to be out in the wilds with some wounded knights, huh?"

The sudden realization that she may have been keeping him from something lit up her face and she seemed to suddenly want to send him out the door, that furious blush returning again. "Oh my, Nira'lia. Was that an offer?" His eyes twinkled mischievously as he gazed upon the Konti's face. She was such an animated person, and the truth of it was that she was a refreshing personality. The blonde haired woman was so very different than the closed and narrow minded squires he'd come to know and trained with.

"You want to get rid of me so quickly? You're breaking my heart,," he said, sending an exaggerated pouty face her way. "Yeah, I'm here to get cleaned up. I suppose I should get on that, huh?" Orion gave Nira'lia a quick bow and began to slide towards the door, stopping for a moment before he left. "Will I see you around? We can talk medicine, swing swords around, make you blush again, and crush up some herbs. Sound like a plan?"

[Nira'lia]

The Konti smiled sheepishly. It wasn’t that she never had the chance to ask. It was just that she didn’t. In the process of coming into terms with all this, she had no real interest to get on her feet. And, fortunately, they seemed to be alright with that—not that they were aware, though. She did the bare minimum. With a sigh, she stuck it to her head the she really needed to speak with her patron. “That does make a lot of sense. Of course the knights would need healers,” she nodded. “I just did not think the healers were knights themselves. I thought it was a totally different division.” She should really stop speaking. Her ignorance was shining through, and it was getting embarrassing. Luckily, the topic continued on, and she didn’t have to showcase her obliviousness any longer. ...Even if he was teasing her. The Konti bit her lip and stared at the ground as she fidgeted uncomfortably. She hated being teased! It made her feel silly, and she was too transparent to the point that she couldn’t hide her awkwardness. To be fair though, his pouty face didn’t annoy her as much as she found it funny. It brought a quirk to her lips as she kept herself from chuckling. The Konti watched him start to leave, and she looked up at him to answer. It was such a tempting offer! She didn’t know much friends in the city, and it would be really fun to do things together with someone who was also into the medical field. And that someone happened to be a squire as well, just like her. They would have tons to talk about. She would just have to let go of the teasing. “That actually sounds really great!” she nodded cheerfully. “We could talk medicine, train, or work with herbs.” Purposely, she had left out that one option about blushing. “Do let me know when you are free. It is not too difficult to spot me… there are not too many Konti squires at the dorms.”

[Taylani]

XP Award!

Nira’lia:

XP Award:

• +1 brawling
• +1 observation
  
• +2 Rhetoric
• +4 socialization

Lore:

• Placating the drunk
• Vision: Woman and man enjoying company
• Desire to avoid trouble with the Knights
  
• Vision: Orion’s intimate memory

Orion Michaels:

XP Award:

• +1 intimidation
• +2 persuasion
  
• +2 brawling
• +4 socialization
• +1 medicine
• +1 Flirting

Lore:

• Acting a Knight
• Medicine: Human teeth not really made for attacking.

[spoiler=Feel free to pm me with concerns on your grade, and don’t forget to edit/delete your grade request.[/spoiler][/indent]
TAYLANI