[CIRCUS] Practice Makes Perfect (Open to Circus Members)

[Leiwinn]

"I never drew a weapon on a companion of mine! get your facts straight!" Leiwinn raised an eyebrow at Jokor's declaration. Her memory might not be perfect, but she knew what she saw. "Really, I seem to remember on our very first day of the journey you drew that katar of yours on that Symenestra, completely unprovoked. ...unless nicknames truly offend you that much, in which case, I'll have to remember that." Leiwinn chuckled to herself. She didn't know why she was picking on the little man, but she found it all rather amusing. "Well you can try but remember it probably ends sometime. And I don't sleep a lot." Leiwinn merely shrugged off the vague threat. Her eyes did not betray a hint of fear as she looked back at Jokor, mainly because she wasn't in the least bit afraid of him. "The only way you'll get near me while I'm sleeping is if you're invited. Unless you want a new set of broken bones, that is. That could be arranged." Leiwinn wandered to the edge of the clearing, staring off into the dark. This was the longest she had ever been away from the city and a warm bed. She had been on short ventures into the wilds, but nothing more than a few days time. She was out of her element here, something she assumed she had in common with Jokor. Perhaps that is why she continued to gather wood instead of ending their conversation and heading back to her tent.

[Jokor]

"Really, I seem to remember on our very first day of the journey you drew that katar of yours on that Symenestra, completely unprovoked. ...unless nicknames truly offend you that much, in which case, I'll have to remember that."
Jokor just snorted, and continued to gather wood.
"She isn't a companion of mine, she is just somebody I scammed once. Like I said you should get your facts straight, don't think I am a companion of yours just because I am traveling with you guy's." he dropped his logs on the growing pile frowning a bit as she continued to gather them.They had quite a bit of logs right now, and if they continued to search for more they wouldn't be able to get all of them to camp. Before he could voice his remark though he was cut of by Leiwinn.
"The only way you'll get near me while I'm sleeping is if you're invited. Unless you want a new set of broken bones, that is. That could be arranged."
Jokor scowled at her when she walked towards the edge of the clearing.
"How do you know! you didn't even see me if I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead!"
He slipped his hand underneath his tattering cloak and gripped the handle of his katar unconsciously though he didn't have any intent of drawing it, leiwinn didn't know that.
"I bet that if we left you where I came from you would have been dead to! So don't patronize me!" Jokor snapped at her, slowly getting enraged.

[Leiwinn]

Leiwinn was beginning to get annoyed with the arrogant little thief. Perhaps she was being arrogant herself, but at least she started off trying to be friendly. They were theoretically going to be traveling together for a long time, assuming they didn't kill each other along the way. Leiwinn shrugged at his comment about companionship. She was used to running solo having been alone ever since she killed the Father. Why seek companionship in this man, who clearly had no interest in befriending her. "You may not consider me your companion, but so long as we travel together I will treat you as mine. I don't need enemies in my own home." Leiwinn dropped the wood she was holding and walked back over to the pile, scooping up as many logs as she could carry. If she saw Jokor subconsciously reach for his weapon she ignored. "I think we have enough for now. My cart isn't far away.. help me bring it back if you want. I won't hold it against you if you don't." Leiwinn turned away from the man and started off back towards camp. She was set up near the edge, and so it only took a few minutes to get from the small clearing back to the main camp. She didn't wait to see if Jokor was going to follow, and would be surprised if he did. As she walked through the dark Leiwinn pondered over her uncharacteristic offense toward the man. There was no reason she should be angry with him, no reason she should think anything of him at all. Leiwinn was a murderer. She didn't think twice about the people she was paid to kill, so why did it even matter to her what this random thief thought about her. Why did it matter what any of them thought about her, for that matter. Wasn't she just here to get out of Sunberth? As Leiwinn stacked the wood neatly in the back of her thought the question rang through her mind, and the more she thought about it the more she realized maybe she had more than one reason for joining the circus.

[Jokor]

"You may not consider me your companion, but so long as we travel together I will treat you as mine. I don't need enemies in my own home."
Jokor just looked at her with a confused look on his face, not grasping why the hell she considered him her companion.
He released the hold on his weapon and just shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I think we have enough for now. My cart isn't far away.. help me bring it back if you want. I won't hold it against you if you don't."
Jokor just grumbled as he took the remaining logs from the pile, already knowing that he would get an earfull form the rest off the group if it got out that he didn't finish his jobs.

"Fine,fine." Jokor grunted out as he followed her towards her place, the logs slowing him down a bit. He followed her in silence not really wanting to start a conversation. His mind still wandering about what she said a minute early.
He just dropped the rest of his logs besides her neatly stacked pile, not bothering with stacking it or anything.
"so If I don't treat you as a companion, why would you treat me as one?" He looked at her, the confusion easy to see on his face.

[Leiwinn]

Leiwinn wasn't sure how to answer Jokor's question. It was a loaded question, really, and she had a lot of reason's behind the answer. She was Benshira, and though she hadn't seen the sands of Yahebah since childhood their ideals of family were still a part of her. And then there were the lessons that she learned from the Father. After a moments thought she decided to go the less personal route to answer the question. "We travel together. I rely on you for survival as much as you rely on me. If I am in danger, you are in danger by being with me. The same goes for the rest of the camp. That is why I treat you as a companion because like it or not, you are one." Leiwinn shrugged and began organizing the logs Jokor had so unceremoniously dropped into the cart. "Don't take it as too much of a compliment though. I killed my last companion." She wasn't sure entirely why she threw in that last part. Leiwinn had never once mentioned the Father since she had poisoned him, much less actually admitted to doing it, but she didn't think Jokor would go running to tell the authorities any time soon. Assuming he even believed her. Again she simply assumed it was because she could relate to the little man, despite how much he seemed to annoy her. With all the logs neatly stacked Leiwinn turned back to face Jokor. He was an interesting man, and he had an interesting little weapon hidden beneath his cloak. Leiwinn summoned the image of the strange dagger like weapon to her mind, having only seen it once before on the day they left Sunberth. She could see it's usefulness, especially to someone skilled in hand to hand combat. Finally deciding to bring up something Lorcan might actually enjoy talking about, she questioned him on the blade. "So... that weapon of yours. What is it called, anyway? I haven't seen anything quite like it, to be honest."

[Jokor]

"We travel together. I rely on you for survival as much as you rely on me. If I am in danger, you are in danger by being with me. The same goes for the rest of the camp. That is why I treat you as a companion because like it or not, you are one."
Jokor frowned as he took that in. Just seeing others as a companion because they traveled with you? He scoffed that was as stupid as trusting somebody just because you knew them for a few days.
As Leiwinn bend down and began organizing the logs he just dropped on the ground.
"Don't take it as too much of a compliment though. I killed my last companion."
Jokor shrugged most people living in sunberth had either killed somebody themselves or saw somebody murdered at least once so death wasn't that shocking anymore.
"As long as you won't slit my throat I have no problem with you killing other people. Just don't blame dirty the place i sleep."
When Leiwinn completely changed the subject however and asked how his weapon was called jokor looked at her with an confused look on his face, not really getting why she wanted to know that.
"I don't know honestly. I just stole it from an isur at the beginning of fall." he pulled it out and let the light play a bit over the katar, still not knowing what kind of value he was holding.
"I think its a special one though, because everybody know that isurian smith never works for somebody unless he manages to give him a task that interests him and a butload of money." He glared at leiwinn after he shared that though, "Don't think of stealing it, I'll get it back from you anyway and I'll make your life a living hell."

[Leiwinn]

Leiwinn paused in her work with the logs to eye the katar curiously, finally getting a chance to see it up close. The weapon seemed simple enough, though the metal itself was rather curious looking. It did look valuable, but the thought of steeling the weapon never even crossed her mind. Leiwinn was not a thief, though strangely enough she had no problem with killing. She did not even loot the corpses of her targets, though she might do so to someone who attacked her unprovoked. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of stealing it. Besides, I've no training in such a weapon so it would be of little use to me." Finished with her logs, Leiwinn turned around and sat on the edge of the cart, her legs dangling just above the ground as she gazed off toward the tree's. "Do you think this is a good idea... the Circus, I mean. None of us seem to have a clue what we're doing, yet we plan to travel the world putting on a show." Leiwinn wasn't sure why she was confiding her doubts in Jokor, or why she was even still talking to the unfriendly man. He certainly didn't seem the type to think much about his actions, or care anything about others. Why would he bother to tell her anything about his thoughts on the circus?

[Jokor]

"Well neither do I, I just stole it." He shrugged. "It can't be that hard though, just stab them with the sharp point." He sat down and leaned against the cart making himself comfortable, it didn't seem like she would stop this discussion anytime soon. Though he didn't really mind, he needed to have at least one person behind him in the group or it could get ugly very quickly. "Do you think this is a good idea... the Circus, I mean. None of us seem to have a clue what we're doing, yet we plan to travel the world putting on a show." Jokor shrugged at the question. "I am just in it to get away from sunberth, traveling alone in the wilderness is never a good idea so I had to find a group I could go with." He carefully put the katar back into his cloak and continued. "I never planned to stay a long time in the group just until we got in the first city that I liked then I would quit you guy's. So I don't really care that we don't know a lot about putting up a show, its only temporary for me."

[Leiwinn]

Leiwinn nodded. She understood his reasoning, having entertained similar thoughts herself when first hearing of the Circus. It wasn't until the idea of possibly giving up her life as a killer entered her mind that she even considered staying. But she knew that in all likelihood she would be forced to leave the Circus as well eventually. No matter what she gave up, there was still at least one person left to kill. Looking down at her dangling feet she let out a soft sigh. "A shame.. and here I was just beginning to enjoy your company." Hopping off the cart she raised her arms over her head, stretching them lightly and looked up toward the stars. No clouds blotted out the moon and it was a beautiful night. Leiwinn's eyes wandered across the stars, remembering a time when she was just an innocent child and would look up at the night sky wondering where all those glimmering lights went when Syna rose back into the sky. Her mother would often tell her fantasies, that the stars were their ancestors or other such things.. things she considered nonsense now but at the time they always made her feel good. "My travels with this Circus will likely end in the deserts of Eyktol... I have.. unfinished business among my people."

[Archon]

Illumination of Development Leiwinn +5 Unarmed Combat +4 Rhetoric +2 Observation +2 Subterfuge +2 Wilderness Survival +2 Intimidation Lores: Wilderness Survival Technique (Gathering Wood), Object breaking blows (Basic), Finding a reason to open up Care to see more? : Unarmed Combat experience for beating and breaking the wood, Rhetoric experience for the conversation with Jokor, Observation experience for noticing Jokor and his actions, Subterfuge experience for the little lies and hiding your feelings, Wilderness Survival experience for the wood gathering, and Intimidation experience for your threats. Jokor +4 Stealth +4 Rhetoric +3 Observation +2 Intimidation +2 Wilderness Survival Lores: Look out for lucky shots, Wilderness Survival Technique (Gathering Wood), Meaning of being companions Care to see more? : Stealth experience for being sneaky behind the bush, Rhetoric experience for the discussion, Observation experience for noticing various things, Intimidation experience for the threats, and Wilderness Survival experience for the wood gathering. Notes: A nice little thread, made me wonder if Leiwinn has a crush on Jokor. A few minor problems (Leiwinn breaking wood with her foot, Jokor observing her breaking it with her hand) but nothing big enough to really cause a problem with the story.