Retro-Dragon Presents- Flycoren: Kausim

The pounding of hammer against anvil had been a welcomed sound to her in the morning as she busied herself with daily chorus inside the house, completely unaware of the conversation between Roris and Khondis. Perhaps that was for the best as it was uncertain if the dagger would accept her and that was a responsibility she didn’t know if she could ever handle.
It was when she finally noticed the lack of sound out in the forge that it sparked her interest. Words could be heard murmured as she figured the master and the grouchy man were at it. That was something she didn’t want to get involved with again. She already felt so foolish for acting out in the she had to Khondis. She let her anger get the better of her and well… did something she knew better than to do. Touching a sword that didn’t belong to her or Roris was an unspoken rule.
The door to the forge opened with a whine of the hinges making her look to the burly man coming inside. “Master, good morning.”
“Morning lass,” he greeted in return, “Be a dear Wyllow and take Khondis a fresh towel to the basin. I forgot to put one out there for him.”
Her face flushed at the idea, “You want me to do that, he will certainly chew off my head master and plus… I don’t want to.” Roris stopped to give her a questioning look before she realized she was speaking out against him.
“You don’t have to look at the lad, Wyllow. Just bring him a towel.” He chuckled lightly, “Have you made breakfast?” she gave a nod as he hummed, “Ah good. Then the boy will surely be hungry as well.”
He turned without another word as she realized it wasn’t much of a statement. Sighing she figured she might as well comply quickly and receive the brutal onslaught of harsh words from the foul man.
Gathering up the towel, she took in a breath to step out into the forge and towards the basin. As she got closer she would clear her throat as she tucked her eyes behind her hair. “Master Roris instructed me to bring this to you.” She set it down on the table closest to the basin as she heat in her face was making her sweat. “When you are ready, breakfast is ready and waiting inside.”

Sighing he felt the presence of Wyllow as she approached before she spoke. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as she clumsily lay down the towel, as if he was some foreign object that she was afraid to see. Khondis only lightly grunted at the mention of her Master. She was obviously still unaware of their conversation, was this Roris’ way of keeping Wyllow so naïve? It almost wasn’t the poor girls fault she knew nothing of her surroundings, he did a good job of putting blinders on her. He was setting her up to fail with an attitude like that. She couldn’t even handle seeing him naked. This almost amused him enough to put him in a good mood again, at the very least for a brief moment. If he was going to be stuck with her, he may as well make good use of it.
“Very well…” Khondis tapped on the basin with his index finger. Before another moment, he stood up in the basin, stretching exaggeratedly before stepping out to grab for the towel she had just placed beside him. “What gruel are we eating today?” He dried off his hair calmly.

Whipping around to stare at anything that wasn’t Khondis, her face was so damn hot as she radiated her embarrassment like an unwanted trophy. How could he be so calm with her wandering around? Clapping her hands to the side of her face, she kept her face hidden behind the curtain of hair as she wanted nothing more than to scream at the situation.
“I’ll cook you anything if you would just cover yourself up!” she proclaimed in exasperation. She inched herself away from the basin with no careful ease but she did make she not to trip over anything around her. How could Master Roris do this to her, was this his way of making her pay for her words last night. If that was the case, she would be certain to keep a civil tongue in her head.
Taking up an iron poker to test the metal liquidity state, she played with it trying to get her mind off the horror of the moment. “But if you must know, I purchased fresh eggs this morning with some sausage from the marketers. Though they weren’t exactly pleased to see me this morning, the butcher was in that mess of a crowd last night.” She fingered the tip of the prod lightly as she lifted her face to look at the far wall -away from Khondis – in the forge. “Do you always make such a fuss with any place you go, or was it a special occasion last night.” She almost turned away to look at him, but stopped reminding herself of the absent of clothing. “Didn’t your mother teach you it was wrong to kill people?” it was her naivety showing, but she still couldn’t get over the idea that he killed two men. Sure she seen the one last night, but she thought they had just been knocked out. She hadn’t been exactly close to see the true chaos of the moment.

Khondis smirked as she bulldozed her way back into the forge. Wrapping the towel around his waist he picked up his pants and followed her. He shrugged at her questioning, even though she wasn’t looking at him.
“Not a big fan of sausage, but if you like it, then I suppose I’ll go with it…” He paused as he watched her fiddle about.
“And not that it’s any of your business what I do with my time, but killing people doesn’t exactly rank up there with my favorite things to do. It just happens when someone gets… in my way. What am I supposed to do, feel guilty? It’s not like the man that was after you last night was going to show you any mercy. He would have had his way with your body and then finished the job. How is that any better than what I do? Not everyone is the law abiding goody goody you feel we need to be.” Roughly patting down his pants he tried his best to get all the dust and muck off of them, the mud encrusted pants proved difficult to come clean. Even the metal greaves that inched their way up his legs didn’t keep them from becoming extremely dirty.

She stemmed herself at the amazement for not receiving some sort of insult when he stated that he didn’t enjoy sausage but would go along with it but apparently that was short lived.
Receiving a rant about the world around them and the ill man that had the gull to go after her, she furrowed her brow. “I know that,” she muttered as she puffed out her bottom lip. “I’ve seen it happen.” She spoke the last bit softer than the first as she didn’t want to relive such ill thoughts. She understood more than he gave her credit for. Never would she have assumed the man that wanted to cause her harm last night was going to show her mercy, she wasn’t too naïve for that. Even in her own short life time she had witnessed a lot more than she let on.
Sweet eaters, prostitutes and men kludging woman until they were bleeding profusely from there noses and ears as they would have there way with them. She knew the world was unkind, but that didn’t mean she condoned it. She didn’t think what he did was right either, but that was her thoughts.
Taking in a breath to fill her lungs to maximum capacity, she cooled her face to finally turn and look at him. She still bore red cheeks but her gaze was stone on him as he attempted to pat down his jeans. “I’d never ask you to feel guilty for what you have done, I don’t know you nor do I know your history. You will choose your own emotions for yourself and what I say won’t affect that. That is evidently clear, but must you honestly thrust everything you hate in the face of people around you?” Wyllow studied him briefly, no hint of a smile on her face, no bemusement in her lips. She just stood there, watching. “Then again I suppose with that sort of question you will proceed to insult my naivety, claiming I know nothing.” Brushing back her bangs, Wyllow pulled her roan eyes from him to begin to ascend the short stairs inside the house.

Khondis stopped patting down his pants and looked up at Wyllow. Standing there in silence unmoving for a moment, her cheeks were still flush from his actions prior. Dropping his towel he proceeded to place one leg, then the other, and pulled his pants up. His ears flicked as he silently was bemused once more.
“I care not what people feel from me, nor do I care what happens to those around me. I’m here to do a job, and that’s it. I just never imagined that old fool was going to force me into Casbael. It’s ridiculous to think that I might have to be civil to those who won’t cater to me, it makes me sick.” Khondis spat aside as he picked up the sheet that had lay on the hay bed and used it to clean out his ears.
“And I suppose you would claim to not be naïve?” He almost laughed. “Look, before you get all huffy, thinking I’m insulting you. Perhaps you should take a realistic look at your reflection. I get that you no longer have parents, it shows in your face. But honestly- you are far from the only person who has gone through such a fate… and you know that.” Silver eyes glinted at her, waiting for her remark. He was willing to welcome silence.

Letting out a small cry at him just dropping the towel she whirled around on her heels as she dropped her face into her palms. He really didn’t give a damn what or who seen him. The man was insufferable.
She kept her back to him as she listened to his venom sharp words as she let out a defeated sigh. What use was it? It was clear the man though only the worse in her and seen everything around him as such as well.
Combing back her hair as she attempted to gather herself, Wyllow seen him acting like a pig with cleaning out his ears on the sheet, before she just dropped her gaze to the floor.
“Then forget it Khondis.” She spoke softly, knowing there was honestly no worth in her being upset with him. “You know, you should have just let everything happen last night and then you would have been spared this. Yes I am naïve in many ways but at the same time, I have many experiences you don’t know about either.”
Wyllow moved past him as she slowly cantered up the stairs, “Your breakfast will be served to you as you wish,” she pushed open the door to the homestead as she seen the thin paper sitting on the table. Reaching out to scoop it up, she seen the fine signature of Roris on it as the seal of Casbael was dry in the wax. She didn’t know what this was all about but apparently it was the thing that Khondis was going on about. Frowning some, she folded the paper to tuck it in her pocket as she moved away from the kitchen and out of the door of the house.
She wasn’t going to be his weight, and there was no reason for her to even stick around until he was gone.

Khondis fumbled within his armor to pull out a very thin white shirt. He had almost forgotten what the shirt looked like; he rarely wore it without armor. Perhaps he was getting too comfortable by leaving his armor off, but he decided Roris would keep any one who wanted a piece of him at bay.
“Damn…” He looked as he watched Wyllow leave in a huff. Apparently his words were still too harsh for her ears. “You try to be nice Khondis, and it still is apparent that you suck at it.” He sighed under his breath. “What a waste of my time…” He pressed two fingers at his temple.
“Roris honestly expects me to travel with someone? He knows I can’t stand being around people. I must be getting desperate if I’m taking this crap.” He cantered around the forge for a moment, slightly snooping before going on up to eat. If Wyllow had left in such a manner, he’d give her a moment to eat in peace, and give him the chance to mull over what he had done. He couldn’t figure it out, he was being honest with her, and how could she just believe what Roris had taught her? He must have struck a nerve when he mentioned her parents.
Even if he gave her the benefit of the doubt, as she claimed she knew more then she let on, he sensed little of it. She may be suppressing those memories. But at the same time, accusing of putting hate on everyone was far from the truth. Hate just merely followed him. It’s why he chose not to be around anyone. Unfortunately in this day and age, it was nearly impossible to find true solitude; especially with the looming threat above his head always hunting him. Even having Casbael on his side wasn’t enough to stop them from coming after him; Wyllow was probably better off staying here not ever leaving the ever watching Roris.
Khondis sighed as he placed a foot up on the step leading to the small dinner table. Inspecting the hinge on the door that he had broken the night earlier, he couldn’t believe he had even let the girl touch his blade. She was the first person he had ever spared for doing so. She handled it fluently enough, but her stance was way off. If anything, that was the only hint that she knew at least something when it came to weapons. He desired to pry at her, but knew better. He found it rather hard not to insult everything that came out of her mouth. Unlike Roris, she left herself open to her folly mistakes. The only thing that he wouldn’t have been able to argue was her speech about weapons, and quite frankly it was due to the fact that it was on a matter he knew little about, or rather, cared little about.
As he opened the door he discovered the table was empty, neither Roris nor Wyllow sat at the table, silence was about, he had been so tied up with his thoughts that the lack of conversation did not sink in. The plates all had food on them, and nothing had been eaten. He shrugged as he sat at the table.
“More for me I suppose.” He loaded up his plate with a mountain of food, which he began to engulf with his mouth.

Lacing her fingers behind her back and into one another, Wyllow tossed back her blonde hair to see the scowls and prying eyes of many of the men that had been at the door last night. It was clear she was now lumped in with Khondis as being a problem and a nuisance.
Sliding her boots through the dirt and gravel of the village, she made sure not to let her gaze linger too long on anyone for fear they just might reach out to strike.
Meandering around the center of the town, Wyllow slowly made her way towards the only little green space the village had. It was a rare sight to see another sitting at the stone benches but it did happen on occasion. The women of the town took great care to make sure it was a lovely sight with all sorts of unique flowers and foliage. Every couple years as far back as she willingly could remember, they would be a festival to celebrate the blossoming of the large yellow –currently closed- flower in the center of the green space. It was one of the very few times she seen Roris with a full shirt and no leather apron.
Sucking in a slow breath through her nose, she turned herself around to sit on the marvelous carved stone of the bench as fingers dappled along her pant leg to the pocket on her hip.
Withdrawing the letter that had bore Casbael’s seal, Wyllow didn’t bother to unfold it. Rather she held it in her gloved hands just staring at it. This was what he was so angry about. No… he was angry at everything around him and she seemed to be the one he unbridled his hate and fury at. She didn’t know him and yet he struck a cord to her.
Pressing her eyes tightly together, Wyllow dipped her head letting her blond hair fall forward hiding her face. Hiding from the world around her.
Hiding from the hurt that still lingered in every fiber of her being and knitted through every vein in her body; and yet… she’d never get away.

Immaculate boots clacked as the metal heels stepped across the graveled path. Broad shoulders, covered in the finest leather jacket, and velvet vest fluidly moved with an elegance not often seen. The look of royalty was a rare sight in these parts, and he knew it. And by judging by the looks of the locals, they were very weary of strangers.
“By the looks of it…” He hummed “I’d say he is here.”
As he walked along the path he saw a young blonde beauty slouched down on a stone bench. “My, such a young lass should not be fret with such worry.” A wide smile came across his smooth features. His long auburn hair tucked back in a pony tail, and his long slender ears peaked as he approached the girl.
Stopping ten paces short of the girl he pulled out a stop watch to check the time. Before tucking it back in he pulled a handkerchief and offered it up to the girl.
“Take this if you feel necessary.” He bowed with persistence.