The Harvest Festival (Part 2)

by **Sayana** on October 5th, 2014, 5:32 am

OOC: It seemed like the general consensus was to start a new thread, and then people could start posting again. So voila.

Part 1 of the Harvest Festival is found here.

by **Bakar** on October 5th, 2014, 4:38 pm

So she hadn't known Saede or Garland before, that confirmed that she was pretty open with her body but only on her own terms. Anything unwanted, and she was pretty aggressive about letting you know it was unwanted. Well, at least she's not a push over. Bakar thought to himself and smiled.

"Fighting experience? Not.. really.. I've used a dagger before, too, but.. I'm not very good with it. Mostly for self defense.. Which honestly isn't needed if I never leave the house." He shook his head. He wasn't sure why he bought the thing, or why he practiced with it that once time. He'd almost never taken it out after that, but carried it with him always.

"Trickery, huh?" Bakar thought on this for a minute. "That makes sense.." He chuckled to himself quietly. "Well, I hardly have your charm or subtlety to get close to anyone." He spoke absently, almost accidentally. He shook his head again, embarrassed at what he had said.

“My auntie always told me to keep them guessing, and to never let them think they might have their way with me. Not without my permission.”

Well, that explained her actions. She pulled out her dagger and Bakar tensed a bit, but she was just showing it to him. He had to admit, seeing it up close like this, it was quite beautiful. Looking closely at the eyes of the golden snake he saw the small red gems inset there. "It's.. amazing.."Bakar told her being completely honest.

Saede approached and Sayana put the weapon away. She looked proud of herself, happy to have won. Bakar smiled at her. "Hey! Congratulations! That was amazing! I'm sure Garland will do well. Can't wait to see though."

He nodded to Sayana and turned back to the arena.

by **Saede Lare** on October 6th, 2014, 2:51 am

"Thanks Bakar, I hope I didn't bore you all too much." She said teasingly.
She grinned at them, pleased by her performance and hardly concerned as to why Sayana had stashed the dagger away so quickly when she had approached. Maybe if she did well, she could even get farther. Like in the top five or something. That would be fantastic, as she had heard that there was a bit of prize money to be won. Maybe if she won enough she could move into a house instead of staying at the inn.
"Yeah, he's up next, I hope he does well too."
Garland jumped onto the arena to face off with his partner, who had fallen face-first onto the floor. What a grand entrance that was. When the fighting started, Saede cheered for Garland among the crowd, and then turned her attention back to the people she was sitting with. She was quite impressed with how much Bakar had talked to her when she had come back, as all she'd heard before this was mumbling and stuttering. He must just be terribly shy. Sayana on the other hand, was anything but. Although she hadn't said much to her specifically, she concluded that if everyone else liked her; She does too.

"So, what do you guys do for a living? I've only just started doing mercenary work myself." Recalling the preparation for the festival, she was pleased to know that she had at least helped a bit. She assumed that Bakar would have a job, but she had no idea what it would be. For Sayana, she assumed that she would be a performer of some sorts. She seemed like an on-stage kind of person. It's unhealthy to make all these assumptions about people you hardly know. She told herself. I could very well ruin my relation with somebody by assuming something they're not. To her, relations were a fairly important thing. If you knew somebody well and they owned a shop, bam. Discounts. They have combat skill, you get a useful ally. If they're just fun to be around, then you become a happier person. Really, there was nothing to lose except for helping them deal with their problems. In Sunberth, she always did her best to maintain the most trustworthy allies possible, and there weren't too many of them. She placed the training spear beside them, and awaited their response.

by **Garland** on October 6th, 2014, 11:29 am

Garland helped his opponent up, and helped her make her to the healers that were on stand by. He really did a number on her, he would have offered to help her in anyway, but it seems she's rather mad at him. He couldn't blame her, she was beaten horribly, and had her arms bruised badly, her head was bleeding a bit and he was pretty sure she may have broken a bone in her arm.

After he placed her down on a stretcher, she gave him a rude gesture with her good hand, and mouthed 'thanks' probably for helping her get to the healers. He went over to Saede and the others. "Hey, sorry about that... That was pretty brutal I guess..." He sat down beside Saede.

He was avoiding Sayana, hopefully she didn't notice. Honestly, she scared him, and attracted him in equal measures. He had hoped Saede started talking and keep his mind off the fight and the kiss earlier.

by **Sayana** on October 6th, 2014, 10:51 pm

It seemed visually fitting that Bakar had used a dagger before, to match his dark cloak and withdrawn personality. But the man didn’t actually seem like a fighter and so she believed him when he said it was only for self-defence. She gave a brief smile when he complimented her dagger, but there was also a pang of loss in her eyes. She loved it dearly but it also reminded her that she no longer had its twin.

The dagger was slipped away once Saede approached and Sayana looked up with a smile. “Well done Saede,” she said. “You didn’t bore us at all.” Saede seemed pretty good with that spear. It wasn’t often that Sayana came across someone whose predominant weapon was a spear. The Eypharian turned back to the arena and saw that it was Garland up next – against some girl named Bennatra. When the girl fell on her face, Sayana couldn’t help but laugh aloud at the comical start. But with a glance at her two new friends she did her best to suppress it so it was only a smile. Despite the entrance, the girl recovered quickly but Garland seemed to hold his own.

Sayana looked up from the fight as Saede asked about earning a living. “I’m at the Rearing Stallion. I dance there.” Sayana answered. “Although if they’re really busy, sometimes I serve during my breaks. I spent most of my savings on an apartment in the stronghold, and it was time to start earning… and performing.”

When she turned back to the fight, Garland was battering the girl with a flurry of blows. “He really wants to win this one,” Sayana commented quietly. And to think, it was this man who she’d slipped past his defences earlier. He wasn’t someone she’d want to face in a contest of brute force or even a spar like this. The girl looked pretty battered up, but as soon as the bell rang he was already trying to help her up.

“Sparring is definitely not my thing,” Sayana concluded as the girl was carried off to the healers. “If I ended up looking like that and had to dance the next day…” She gave a grimace and watched as Garland came to join them. “Looks like you’re both going into the next round.”

by **Bakar** on October 8th, 2014, 1:01 am

Bakar watched the poor girl fall on her face, near the entire audience burst into laughter. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but she stood, not seeming to notice too much. She didn't look too well versed in her weaponry, but when Garland went in, she quickly changed her stance, showing her true colours.

The fight wasn't that long, and Garland beat on the girl pretty bad. When it was over though, he helped her to the healers, showing he has some compassion during fights. "Glad that I'll probably never fight him.." Bakar whispered to himself, before snapping back to the conversation at hand.

Saede was a mercenary, dangerous work, no doubt. He'd heard tales from people at the inn of mercenary work. It seems he had the strangest job out of them all. "O-oh.. I.. work at Li Mauta.. Syliras' mortuary.." Bakar said, voice going quieter as the sentence dragged on. He had already told Sayana, but she didn't say much about it. He wasn't sure how Saede would react.

Garland returned to the group after helping the poor girl. He sounded embarrassed that he had went so far with her, apologizing to everyone. He seemed to avoid Sayana, most likely because her openness had made him uncomfortable. "O-oh, it's no problem Garland. I just feel bad for your next opponent." He laughed nervously, then realized that it may be Saede. "O-oh, n-not that it'll be too bad. I'm sure you wouldn't hurt someone t-too much." He shifted and tried to avoid Saede's eyes, if she was looking. "You really need to think before you speak." He whispered, turning his head away, before clearing his throat and speaking up again.

"Y-yeah, sparring isn't really my thing either." Following Sayana's lead, talking of the tournament. "I-I'm not the strongest, or fastest, or really the most anything.."

by **Saede Lare** on October 8th, 2014, 1:41 am

Garland approached them on the stands, seemingly ashamed of what he had done. "Hey, sorry about that... That was pretty brutal I guess..." He said, his voice trailing off at the end.
"It's fine, you just don't have to hit so hard. We're not in a real fight after all. I'm sure if that girl had the chance she would've gone the same to you, and not regret it after."
Saede had spotted the girl's rude gesture at the end, and her attempt to make him underestimate her. While quite effective in a fight with high steaks, a carnival sparring tournament was hardly the place for this kind of dishonorable behavior. Hearing of Bakar and Sayana's jobs, she guessed they kind of fit their personalities. Bakar seemed like kind of a loner, which was a fine thing to be if you're hanging around with dead people all day. However he did seem to enjoy the company, I suppose he's just an introvert. She assumed. It wasn't like introverts didn't like seeing other people, they just preferred time with a few close friends for less time than an extrovert. She'd heard that they kind of had to 'recharge' after a social encounter by doing things on their own, and she wondered if Bakar would do the same. Sayana's job was almost obvious. It fit well with her flirtatious and unpredictable personality, as when she was dancing she'd need to keep people entertained. While there were two of the primary ways to keep people entertained, all she needed was danger. Then nobody could look away. Maybe I should mention it to her.. No. I don't want her hurting herself. Both Bakar and Sayana agreed that they weren't the best fighters, but there was more than one way to do fighting. Sometimes the most effective fighting is done in the shadows, or during a performance. Which either of these two could excel at if they chose to. One line in particular caught Saede's attention.

"I-I'm not the strongest, or fastest, or really the most anything.."
Saede grinned at the statement. There was nothing more truthful than that. She felt the same way, but she felt like she should offer him an encouraging statement, and did her best to come up with one on the spot.
"You don't need to be the best at one thing. If anything, being alright at everything makes you a more versatile person with lots of options. You can't be a good swordsman with only strength. You need speed and precision as well as timing and tactics to succeed. Just because me and Garland have trained in those doesn't make us better, it just makes us better at one thing, but less versatile in our other skill sets."
Satisfied as well as surprised with her small speech, she turned from one face to another, trying to lighted the mood from the subject of Garland beating the sneaky girl so badly.
"I'm sure if it really matters to you, you'll find what you're good at." She added.
She didn't want her original point to go unfinished of course.

"Next match! Garland Versus Saede!" Called the announcer.
Saede turned to Garland, very aware of how he shattered his opponent, and knew she would get no slack. Her eyes changed to a light blue, and she picked up her spear making her way out to the ring.
"Good luck," She called to him, nervously.
Round two. Me versus Garland. I've got this. I have a range advantage. She stepped into the ring on her side, going over the points board on her right once more.

Secret :

by **Garland** on October 8th, 2014, 3:10 am

Garland nodded and got his sword and shield. He looked at Saede, she seemed strong. Hopefully he won't go wild like last time. This wasn't a stranger, this was his cute friend which both of them have a lot in common. He jumped into the ring. He got into position, and looked at her, his spirit went down quite a bit. He was ready to fight, thought he was also ready to lose.

"Good luck, Saede. I hope you win." He smiled and the bell rang for the fight to start. He started to circle her, waiting for her to attack him. He won't go down without a fight, but he will probably not fight as well as he did last time. Its only three minutes long, though he wasn't sure, because this was the finals for their league in the tournament.

by **Sayana** on October 8th, 2014, 10:41 am

“You’re the most shy person I’ve ever met,” Sayana said leaning over to Bakar after Saede had given her little pep-talk speech. “You gotta learn to live a little,” she said with a smile and without knowing the irony behind her words. “Just be glad you’re in good company.”

She waved as Garland and Saede headed off for their fight. “Good luck! May the best win.” She called after them. After the two had left, the bench felt a little empty and Sayana closed the gap to sit next to Bakar, her body pressed lightly against his. The cold still radiated from him, but she gritted her teeth and figured that if he could stand it, then she could bloody well too.

“So you said you work at a morutory?” Sayana asked while mispronouncing the word. “What kind of a place is that?”

by **Bakar** on October 8th, 2014, 4:04 pm

Bakar shifted uncomfortably at Sayana's comment about being shy. Was he really? He didn't think of it as being shy. When she told him to 'live a little' however, he couldn't help but give a small smile, suppressing a chuckle.

Saede and Garland went off to the arena. So they had been pitted against each other. He was a little nervous about Saede, Garland had not been lying about the 'fit of rage' thing while fighting. Maybe because he knew Saede he would go a little easy on her? Saede seemed pretty skilled, too. Maybe she'd be able to hold her own? "Good luck you two, may the best fighter win." Bakar called after them, before Sayana came and sat closer to him, actually touching him.

He tensed slightly, not used to being touched in any way. He usually avoided contact with people. He already seemed to make people nervous just being around him, when they touched him they just got worse. His pale skin was eerily cold, even when it wasn't that cold out. Why would Sayana willingly have prolonged contact with him?

“So you said you work at a morutory? What kind of a place is that?” Sayana asked him. So that may be why she didn't find it weird the first time. She didn't know what a mortuary was.

He shifted slightly away instictivly, but didn't break full contact. "W-well.. i-it's pronounced more-chew-airy... a-a mortuary is where the dead are prepared for burial or incineration.." He felt uncomfortable explaining his job, it being an odd one. "I-I don't do most of the work, just starting to learn from the head undertaker there, B-Benoit Grivin." Bakar was trying to turn the conversation away from him, towards Benoit. "H-he's been here a long time. I heard he was even on the Council of Nine, the government of Syliras kind of, for a while."

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