Completed Running from nothing (Letixia)

[Rion Whitestone]

Spring 14th, 514 A.V. "Maybe what I need is a mask," Rion thought as he looked at all the stores around him. Though not one of them actually sold masks- at least not one that he saw anyway - Rion got the idea for a mask after seeing his reflection in a window display. His hood only covered the tops of his head...not his actual face. Thus, for civilians passing in front of him, his identity was easily discernible. Still, as long as he kept his head down, that was a problem easily remedied. Nonetheless, a mask seemed the most obvious step after wearing his hood 24/7. He was supposed to be hiding from detection afterall. So far, it had been thirteen days since Rion first came to Syliras, and so far his attempts to conceal his identity had been mildly successful. Or rather, he at least managed to avoid anybody he actually knew. As for hiding completely from sight...that was another story. It seemed that Rion couldn't go three steps without mistaking someone for an old acquaintance. And when he saw them, he immediately proceeded to either run in the opposite direction - making him easily seen by anyone who bothered to look - or dart into the nearest alleyway or business. Today was no different. As The Feathered Shaft loomed ahead, Rion caught only a glimpse of curly brown hair exiting the establishment. Rion only had to look at the outfit to realize he was in the presence of a Squire, and make an inaccurate speculation. "Pense." Without hesitation, Rion bolted, forgetting all about the many people roaming the streets and ignoring any shouts of rage directed towards him. In his mind, he was running so he wouldn't come home a failure.

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti pulled the string of the longbow back to her jaw, her focus on the center of the target downrange. She'd been told that when aiming, she needed to pick the smallest object on her target possible. Aim small, miss small. She loosed the arrow, and with a twang, it flew seemingly true. Until it pierced the very edge of the bale of hay, so very far from the center of the target. Ser Ranqor tutted, "You're not releasing all three fingers at the same time. It's causing your string to bounce sideways, and throwing off your shot. Do it again." Leti made sure she positioned her feet properly, one on each side of her firing line, shoulder's width apart. She kept her grip on the bow in the same spot as last time, so she drew another arrow, setting the shaft atop her gripped fingers. She hooked her index finger around the string above the tail, and her second and third fingers below it. She raised her bow arm up, straightening it toward her target, but not locking the elbow. She made sure to maintain proper posture. As she pulled the string back, she inhaled deeply. The string was pulled back to her jaw, back muscles straining under the pull. She made sure to focus on her fingers especially with this shot. She released all three at the same time, and the string snapped forward. She kept her arm in its position, and the arrow flew downrange. It sunk into one of the outer rings of the target, not a perfect shot, but certainly an improvement. "Much better Letixia. I have to place an order for later, so you can go. We will do your studies after you eat, understand?" "Yes Ser." Having been dismissed, she went upstairs to the store proper, loving how much hand carved wood was everywhere. She'd be here one day buying her own bows and arrows, when she was a Knight. She nodded at the proprietor, then stepped out of the store into the street. She was hungry, and was looking to head to the squire's dining hall. Her sword was at her hip, her shield hung from her back, and she was in her normal attire, her armor not necessary for today's errands. Then she heard a scuffle nearby. She looked over and saw a man running in the opposite direction of her, pushing people out of the way. Instinct took over Leti, "Hey stop!" She immediately began running after him, trying her best to slip between people in the crowd so as to not injure anyone. "Stop, in the name of the Order!" Her arms pumped, and she bobbed and wove through the people. A man running through the streets and halls of Syliras would eventually be stopped by the Knights. But she wanted him, and she didn't even know why he was running. But only criminals run.

[Rion Whitestone]

Even in his state of panic, Rion heard the call behind him clear as day. That was the only voice he really heard, since he was tuning out those of the angry pedestrians. It seemed more high pitched than usual for Pense, who usually spoke in a loud crackly sort of way. However, he didn't regard this voice as a sign that the stranger wasn't Pense. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to stop when he heard the approaching Squire end their sentence with "in the name of the order." If he learned anything from the farm, it was not to mess with the order. Still, as the knight approached, Rion's mind began to wander as to some kind of escape plan. However, he couldn't think of anything that would end with him going on with his usual business like none of this ever happened. But that didn't mean he was just going to face who he thought was his old friend either. Instead, his mind came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea...disguising his voice. Though he didn't have a mask, maybe the voice alone would be enough to throw off his trail. Keeping his head down, he threw a "why hello there young lad," the Squire's way in a deep unnatural tone. He had yet to realize he was in the presence of a female.

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti could still see the assailant ahead of her in the crowd, his hood raised on this sunny day. She wiped some sweat from her eyes only to have lost sight of him in the crowd. She cursed inwardly, looking through the swarm of people frantically looking for him. Her eyes were scanning each person, looking for the raised hood, it stuck out worse than a Knight without his armor. Slowing to a walk, she was afraid that she'd lost him, and had failed at her duty. Then a strange voice was thrown her way, so unnaturally deep that it clearly wasn't normal. Leti's head snapped in the direction it came from. Her suspicions aroused, she pushed forward in that direction. And then she saw the raised hood. "You!" She reached out to grab his clothing, to try and prevent him from running again. People started backing away from her and the person she was accosting, making an impromptu circle of sorts. In addition to attempting to apprehend the runner, she also tried to rest his hood from his head. "Why were you running?!" she growled. She was absolutely certain this was the man she'd seen running, but a small bit of doubt had formed in her mind since she hadn't seen more than the back of him.

[Rion Whitestone]

Rion flinched when he felt his hood being pulled down by the Squire. His voice immediately rose to a shout of panic as his identity was revealed to the world. However, this only lasted for a moment as he tried covering his face up with his hands. But he knew it was too little too late for any of that. "Well that didn't last long at all," he groaned as he finally faced the knight before him. An eyebrow raised in surprise at the Squire's feminine appearance. That's when he finally made the realization..."Hey, you're not Pense. Thanks for freaking me out for nothing." Despite her tone of irritation, Rion spoke in a casual manner now that he knew the danger was averted. Or at least...he assumed the danger was averted. Though he wasn't sure how the Squire would react now that she'd seen his face, he assumed everything would be fine after she calmed down a bit. It wasn't like he was breaking any laws by running around Syliras...

[Letixia Raigner]

The hooded man had startled rather loudly, attempting to cover his face with his hands, as if she might recognize him. Which she most certainly didn't. He'd confused her with someone named Pense, another person she didn't know. Leti noticed that he'd quickly shifted from startled to quite calm. She maintained her grip on his clothing, glaring into his eyes, and once more asked, "Why were you running? You could've hurt someone. She was half tempted to drag him back to Ser Ranqor just to see him interrogate the man. But she had this feeling in her gut that while he was guilty of something, it wasn't something illegal. It had been a long time since she'd seen an interrogation, but she decided to try her hand at it. She first needed to get out of the middle of the street. She kept a strong grip on him, and began dragging him to a nearby alcove, just out of sight of the thoroughfare they were on. She pushed him against a wall, "What is your name?" She tried to glare daggers through him. She was already a bit taller than him, but she tried to make herself appear bigger. She'd never really tried to intimidate anyone before. And again, "Why were you running? Only the guilty run away like that."

[Rion Whitestone]

When the female Squire asked why he was running, Rion quickly tried to think of a believable alibi, hoping the knight before him wasn't as sharp as the others. The best he could come up with what telling her a half-truth. "Because I was hungry," he finally responded after a moment. "I haven't eaten all day so I was in a rush to get a meal." He actually hadn't eaten anything and in fact came to the market place looking for food. That was his original plan, but then he got side tracked by all the shops...and running into a Pense look-alike. Rion was about to say more when the Squire abruptly decided to drag him out of the street and into a more private region. Being shoved against a wall and left alone with a girl he barely knew, Rion couldn't help but feel a bit...uncomfortable. He tried to ignore this, though as he answered the Squire. "Like I said before, I was running to get some food. As for my name, I'll tell you if you back up a bit. You're good looking and all, but I need my personal space. Plus we just met, so..."

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti's gut was telling her that, while this man was an idiot, he hadn't done anything wrong, aside from mildly disturbing the peace with his running. She was mostly sure he was lying, but she didn't know as to why or what about. She let go of his clothing, giving him some breathing room. "Your name doesn't matter, you clearly didn't do anything, aside from waste my time." She shoved his chest, pushing him back against the wall, not enough to hurt, just to get a point across. "Stop running through crowded streets and disturbing the peace. That's how people get hurt." She turned and left, completely ignoring his attempt at flirting, muttering "Idiot," under her breath. His excuse was that he was hungry? What a load of shyke. He could've said he had to go relieve himself at the very least. That she might've believed. But now that he'd mentioned it, she found her own stomach grumbling. She made her way inward toward the citadel proper, the Rearing Stallion now on her mind. Pushing open the door under the sign labeled 'Tavern', Leti stepped inside the normally busy tavern. There were only a handful of patrons at this hour. Leti sat down at an empty table and ordered a plate of food and a mug of ale. She could at least use this time to fill up and relax before her studies.

[Rion Whitestone]

While the Squire did let him go, it was only to before slamming him against the wall yet again and abruptly departing with a single insult. When she was out of sight, Rion let out a low groan of exhaustion. "Well at least that's over," he said tiredly. Dusting himself off, he finally put his hood back up before stepping back into the open. No sign of the Squire, though that could have just been because the crowd had gotten much denser. For all he knew, she could have been watching him right at that moment. Maybe she didn't believe he was really looking for food and would be looking to see what he was really after. Looking over his shoulder, he was almost sure he saw her lurking around in the crowd. But that could have just been his paranoia acting up again. "Better hide in a tavern for a while," he thought. "Not like she'd be willing to attack in public." That's what he hoped at least. This was the same girl who nearly throttled him for a case of mistaken identity. Shrugging the thought away, he moved through the crowd with as brisk a pace as he could manage without actually running. He wouldn't risk that again. When he finally found a suitable tavern, Rion didn't bother reading the sign. Or even looking at it for that matter. He simply darted inside as fast as he could, thinking he'd finally found safety.

[Letixia Raigner]

The server brought her a bowl of stew and some bread and a mug of ale. She always enjoyed the food here at the Rearing Stallion. There was no entertainment today, and the barmaid didn't seem particularly chatty, so Leti sat there in silence watching the other patrons. Deciding to pass the time, she went to play a game that her and her father used to do when she was little. Taking a bit of her stew, she picked a patron. He was dirty, muscular, and covered in scars. She saw that his skin was darkened from working in the sun, his hair messy and looked like straw. If her dad was here, she would go first, suggesting that he might be a sailor from Zeltiva that used to be a pirate. When he would ask why, she would say because the scars meant he fought a lot, the muscles meant he worked hard, the hair and skin meant he was in the sun a lot. Leti would never truly know if he was anything other than perhaps a baker's assistant, but that was the fun of the game. She amused herself with this for a little while, until her eyes came upon the latest person to enter the tavern. It was the annoying little man she'd come across earlier that had soured her day. She considered accosting him, at least verbally, but there was nothing wrong with showing up here. Of all the ale houses in all the cities in the world, why'd he have to come here? She chose to just eat her food and ignore him.