Fantasy "We fight for a future without fear" - Zorro's Heroes

[. D O V E]

Edelaine "Eden" Seahaven
The Dawnbreaker​

Of course, Edelaine was no stranger to danger. Her abrasive and arrogant personality made the fact apparent plenty of times after she left the orphanage. However, this didn't mean that she was immune to fear. Her cerulean eyes widened with alarm when Ilya drew his bow and aimed for her heart. She felt her chest tighten and her pulse race in fright as she scurried to fly off, a desperate attempt to dodge the incoming arrow.

Fortunately, her savior came in the form of the Wolfslayer, her booming command leading the spar to an abrupt stop. But it happened just as she was about to take off and the sudden noise caused her to lose her balance and fall to the ground, earning a few cuts and bruise. Completely stupefied, Eden could only stare at her mentor before returning her gaze at the man who almost killed her. She still felt scared and it felt horrible.

Eventually, the Wolfslayer made her way towards her and the Dawnbreaker found herself back to her feet. She felt the former's hand against her cheek, caressing it softly. "W-Wolfslayer..." She whispered as her eyes bored to her savior's. She could feel herself blushing, heat running through... the one side of her face. 'Wait, can somebody blush with just one cheek?' The girl's musing was eventually answered when she found herself hissing in pain, the veteran's touch leaving a scorching sensation on her skin.

"Ouch! My face!" She cried, immediately taking a step back from the other female who commanded the healer to check up on them. Eden glared at her mentor's retreating figure, completely upset that she did such a thing on her self-proclaimed tremendously beautiful face.

She kept on whining in pain when the priestess came over and began to heal her. While it was true that her curative prowess was astonishing, the Dawnbreaker still couldn't help herself from closing her eyes and making dramatic noises. When she open them once again, she found that all her wounds were gone, as though they never existed in the first place. "I did... good?" She echoed her words; and despite the numbness taking over, hearing those words felt somewhat good. Eden shook her head, "Of course I did good. I'm the Dawnbreaker!" She jabbed a thumb against her own chest with a proud huff.

Soon enough, Eden saw Ilya approaching and she would be lying if she said that she didn't feel her heartbeat race for purely negative reasons. She felt scared of him but also angry. When he apologized, Eden frankly didn't know how to respond. Instead, she averted her gaze away from him and furrowed her brows. "W-Why won't I be alright? I'm the Dawnbreaker, I'm used to this kind of stuff." She lied with a nervous gulp as he scrutinized her. It was then when she remembered a more pressing matter. "W-Wait, do I still look absolutely gorgeous? Or do I now have some sort of a blemish over here?" She asked, trying her best not to panic while gesturing to the area on her cheek where Kito planted her warning.

Ayama Heavenchi Yonsisac

 

[Inheritance]

Abenthy Creme​

It was good to see his old friend again. He had been on the road for years and while he was never lonely he did miss a few of the people from his old life. Emphasis on "few". Alya was one of the few people he had grown up with that he didn't find something inherently wrong with. Sure he was never a huge fan of assassins and rarely sold anything to them, but Alya had done a spectacular job of changing his opinions of them. He had grown up with her, knew her before she became an assassin. When he looked at her, he saw Alya, not the Black Death or whatever people called her these days. Hearing her laugh was good, though he suspected she hadn't laughed in a long time.

"My parents sent me here, apparently. But, no, I suspect they have no idea that I am here. But that hardly matters, they haven't known where I am for about 4 years and I intend to keep it that way." He paused as he watched the double leave his line of sight. "Monster Forest huh? What sends you out there? Did an owlbear insult some noble and needs to be taken out?" He grinned at the last bit.

He had made it a habit while they grew up to poke fun at assassins whenever he could. He was never serious of course, but he had never grown tired of the old, stupid joke. He absent mindedly recovered the things that he had dropped from Cass, already knowing she had picked up his crap. She was good like that, someone who knew his flaws well enough to be ready for them before they even hit. He was 100% certain that he'd be long dead if she hadn't been there to make sure he didn't accidentally make trinitrotoluene or mix hydrogen peroxide with acetone. Ben was an outstanding chemist, but his near immunity to poison sometimes made him a bit careless with his solutions and often left them sitting around. If Cass hadn't been there to clean and organize his station he would probably have more than just his eyebrows burnt off.

That wasn't the end of it though. Cass was brilliant. She had a fierce hunger for knowledge that matched even his own, and everything he had taught her she had eaten up and remembered. He didn't doubt that she knew his cart better than he did, and didn't doubt for a second if she had been a highborn she would own half the world. But highborn or not, she was a great friend to him, and he loved her more than he could put into words. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but if someone raised a hand to her Ben would have attacked them with an animalistic rage. Several months back they had traveled into a town that believed women to less than human, and when a man had backhanded her across her face Ben knocked him down and poured an extremely corrosive acid all over him. It was the only time he had ever attacked someone in anger.

"I digress though, the real question is not why you're doing something dangerous, it's why my double was going to join you. Care to elaborate?"

Ayama Saturn_moon

 

[Ayama]

[div class=box2]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 16px;"]Alya Oriana Vasiili[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]'The Black Death'[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Twenty-Two[/div]

[div class=imgA2]

[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 23px;"]Guild of the Seers[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Follower of Zo[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Bane[/div]

[div class=imgB2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]

[/div]

[div class=post2]

Alya rolled her eyes at the line about Ben's parents sending him there- he was sharp as ever. She raised an eyebrow when he mentioned intending to keep them in the dark about his whereabouts- did this mean he was planning to sneak into the Guild unnoticed to get his supplies? Surely even for him...

When he asked about the Forest and made the comment about the Owl Bear, Alya snickered. Owl Bears had been a running joke between the three of them in childhood- she was glad to see he had not forgotten it. He turned to pick up some of the things he had dropped, and Alya rolled her eyes again- another thing that hadn't changed. She was convinced that, without Cass helping him out, he would long since have disintegrated himself out of sheer carelessness, despite his chemistry talents.

She was brought out of fond reminiscence by Ben's inquiry, nodding at his question.

"Burgundy House is offering five thousand gold for help in a quest to clear out twenty acres of the Forest. Mad, I know," she said in response to the incredulous looks that had appeared on Ben and Cass' faces, "but Vasiili can no longer afford to have the Cremes as our only allies, so I was instructed to join up as a gesture of good will." She snorted at that last, aware of how politics created these inane situations where assassins were being sent off gallivanting into the forest to kill monsters. She focused back on her friends.

"Sima and Firar obviously had the same idea, though how they thought that worthless lump would be able to accomplish anything in the Forest besides wetting himself and hiding behind a tree is beyond me."

She focused on Ben again, wondering what he would think of his parents' latest venture in their scramble for power and connections.

[/div]

[div class=imgB2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]

[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Location:[/div][div class=extra2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Alleyway[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 125px;"]OOC:[/div][div class=OOC2]Doppelgangers get so much hate ;P[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]With:[/div][div class=extra2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Ben, Cass[/div]

[/div]
[class=box2] margin-left: 250px; width: 850px; height: 555px; border: 4px solid #000000; background-color: #e5e8e8; font-size: 10px; [/class] [class=tags2] width: 150px; border: 4px solid #000000; background-color: #7f8c8d; text-align: center; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=imgA2] margin-top: 5px; margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; height: 100px; border: 4px solid #000000; [/class] [class=imgB2] width: 150px; height: 330px; border: 4px solid #000000; [/class] [class=post2] margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; height: 330px; border: 4px solid #000000; text-align: justified; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=extra2] width: 150px; text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=OOC2] margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: #a93226; [/class]

 

[Inheritance]

Abenthy Creme​

"Five thousand?! Ben asked with awe. "That's insane. Is that to anyone involved or to one group?"

Five thousand was a huge amount of money to throw out like that, even for a dangerous job. There was always the question of why they wanted it cleared, but Ben honestly couldn't bring himself to care. There were many reasons why he had given up his place as a noble, one of which was the fact that he never cared for politics. There was a good chance this was just a way to look for allies or show off how wealthy House Burgundy was. Whatever the reason, it wasn't his business. It came as no surprise to him that his parents wanted to cozy up to some new allies.

The offer hardly intrigued Ben. He had never been hard pressed for money, and whenever he wanted to live a little nicer or pay admission to some university he would just work a little harder; selling potions or solutions that would eventually make him enough coin to get where he wanted. He had never felt the urge to hoard money or buy fancy clothes. Five thousand gold was more than he'd ever owned at one time (at least when he was on his own), but he was more shocked that somebody would toss that much money out to a rival house. Politics really didn't sit well with him.

"I doubt the Creme House had much more planned for their double except for him to take some of the credit. Doesn't surprise me that they'd try something like this." He said with disinterest. His tone was board, and spoke of the Creme House as though he wasn't a part of it; though to someone who knew him there was another piece of emotion to his tone. Anger? Remorse?

Ayama Saturn_moon

 

[Saturn_moon]

Cassandra Maris​

Despite the nonchalence in Ben's voice, Cassandra knew all too well that it was masking feelings of resentment towards his family and to a smaller extent, his guilt. Resentment was obvious. Despite years of trying to change their views, Sima and Firar had stubbornly refused to accept Ben for who he was, a kind-hearted and amazingly brilliant chemist, just because it didn't fit in with their political agenda. She carried the same resentment in her heart for her birth parents who'd, with no warning whatsoever, sold her to the Creme house like a common farm animal. Just goes to show, it doesn't matter what kind of life you were born into, the gods would still throw the same shit at you. Even if it did take varying forms... It was perhaps for this reason they'd found comfort in each other's company.

As Ben collected back the odds and ends he'd dropped back in the store from her and tried to fit it all back into his bag, an idea popped into Cassandra's mind.

"We should join the group." She said, looking at Ben. "Before you say no, just hear me out." Cassandra gestured over to their cart parked in front of the Spiced Blackberry (still such a dumb name). "Our cart is missing a wheel, not to mention the gaping hole in the bottom that is wide enough for me to use as an emergency escape. Both our clothes are so patched up, street beggers don't even bother asking us to toss them a coin anymore and all we've eaten the last two weeks is stale bread and cheese." She deadpanned. "We need the money."

Ben wasn't a spendthrift by any means but he didn't manage their finances either. She did. By the look of things they were about two weeks away from becoming completely and hopelessly broke. Usually, she'd let Ben take the lead but this seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up. The fact that they would be granted with a hot meal was also an absolute plus.

Inheritance Ayama

 

[Ayama]

[div class=box2]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 16px;"]Alya Oriana Vasiili[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]'The Black Death'[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Twenty-Two[/div]

[div class=imgA2]

[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 23px;"]Guild of the Seers[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Follower of Zo[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Bane[/div]

[div class=imgB2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]

[/div]

[div class=post2]

Alya laughed when Ben repeated the number incredulously- it was indeed a ridiculous sum, even though the Burgundys were plenty rich enough to afford it.

"The reward is shared between the participants," she replied in answer to his query.

When Ben said he wasn't surprised that the Creme House would do something like this, Alya didn't fail to notice the bitterness in his tone. His parents' priorities had always been a source of suffering for him, even though he affected indifference to it, and this definitely fed the animosity that Alya felt towards them.

As Ben bent down to collect his things, Cassandra suddenly and out of nowhere suggested that they join the quest. Alya blinked in surprise. Cass had always been a consummate warrior and would be perfectly at ease killing monsters in the Forest, but Ben had no passion for violence and no interest in monster slaying, and wherever Ben went, Cass followed.

As Cassandra began detailing the financial reasons, however, Alya's gaze followed her gesturing to the sad-looking and dilapidated cart and she had to admit the Mer made an excellent point.

She also smiled at the way Cass was speaking to Ben, as an equal and partner in his business. Before, when they'd still been bound by the constraints of Ben's station and responsabilties, she had been expected to behave like an indentured servant around him, which he had never liked.

Now, that was no longer the case, and it made Alya happy to see them together this way. She had thought his decision to leave Gento and the Guilds behind strange at the time, but now she saw that it had absolutely been the right thing to do.

She grinned at her friend and made it a particular point to let her gaze settle on the frayed hem of Ben's cloak and his muddy boots.

"You know, Cass has a point..." she said in theatrical deliberation. "I mean, there are definitely worse ways to make a quick profit than taking a stroll through the Forest. Besides," she added genially, "when was the last time the three of us got to spend any time together?"

She grinned wide, giving the slight quick head tilt in Cass' direction that the Mer had come up with for her as a kid, when she had complained one day about how no one could see her wink behind the dark band. She knew Ben was a big softie, and if Cass was set on joining in this quest, he would come with her.

[/div]

[div class=imgB2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]

[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Location:[/div][div class=extra2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Alleyway[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 125px;"]OOC:[/div][div class=OOC2]Alya and Cass are schemers ;P[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]With:[/div][div class=extra2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Abenthy, Cassandra[/div]

[/div]
[class=box2] margin-left: 250px; width: 850px; height: 555px; border: 4px solid #000000; background-color: #e5e8e8; font-size: 10px; [/class] [class=tags2] width: 150px; border: 4px solid #000000; background-color: #7f8c8d; text-align: center; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=imgA2] margin-top: 5px; margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; height: 100px; border: 4px solid #000000; [/class] [class=imgB2] width: 150px; height: 330px; border: 4px solid #000000; [/class] [class=post2] margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; height: 330px; border: 4px solid #000000; text-align: justified; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=extra2] width: 150px; text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=OOC2] margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: #a93226; [/class]

 

[Inheritance]

Abenthy Creme​

He rolled his eyes in mock annoyance as Cass went ahead and blurted out all of their financial trouble and their situation. While she wasn't wrong it was still annoying that she had thrown all their cards out on the table. Before he could get a word in Alya came along and solidified the idea. Well that was that, apparently that was what was going to happen. Did he want to go? Who knew. He had mixed feelings about the whole ordeal and couldn't really come to a solid conclusion. On one hand he was happy to spend some time with Alya (who he hadn't seen in years) and he knew they needed the money, but he was reluctant to do anything in the name of his parents and in the name of the 7 petty lords that ruled the land.

He loved the road and he loved learning, but he had been traveling for a long while and had felt himself slowly shutting down. He still learned things, but he was learning more and more slowly, having to try much harder for every scrap of new knowledge. He had graduated from several Universities and he had learned almost all he could traveling with just the two of them, and he had to admit to himself it might not be a terrible idea for them to join the task. Seeing the girls watch him, he finally spoke.

"What I don't get a say anymore? Am I the sidekick now? I am the heir to the Creme House! How dare you assume that you have a say in this? I outta ship you out to the coal mines right-" he stopped mid-rant as he started to laugh, unable to keep up the character.

It didn't matter how he felt now, both of them had already made up their minds and that was enough to win him over. Cass was completely right and even though he probably could earn the money in other ways, this was an easy way to get money and have a bit of fun. There really was no downside to it aside from working for his parents, but he supposed one little action in the name of his family wouldn't hurt. He was getting a little too old for grudges.

"You talked me into it. Let me pull the cart around and I'd be glad to offer my assistance." He started to walk towards the cart but stopped and suddenly turned. "And Cass, that wheel has got at least another 40 feet in it. Hardly broken if you ask me."

He moved over towards the Spiced Blackberry and started to have the donkeys pull the cart around. They moved slowly, but pretty soon they were on their way back over to where the other two were. He noticed the owner outside the shop sweeping, and after their eyes met, Ben couldn't help but chirp.

"I can only hope you named that shop when you were drunk. Who SPICES a Blackberry? You should have named it the Peppered Ass!" Not his best work, but he was in a hurry.

He guided the cart back over to them, the bad wheel squeaking and rumbling so much it almost fell off.

"See Cass? The wheel is totally fine." He said smugly.

At the command of his words, the wheel gave out one last groan before snapping in two, almost tipping the cart over. Ben sighed and watched the cart for longer than he needed to before turning back.

"You said 5,000 right?"

Ayama Saturn_moon

 

[Saturn_moon]

Cassandra Maris​

When the wheel on their cart broke it took nearly everything in Cassandra to keep a straight face. Still, a hint of smile managed to make its way to the corners of her mouth. She placed a gentle hand on Ben's shoulder and squeezed it. "Thanks. You can take it that I owe you a huge favor." Truth be told, favors owed to Ben meant nothing to her because there was already very little that she wouldn't do for him. The only time she'd say no was when he tried to test one of his self-concocted hair growth serums on her. No matter how much she loved him, the disconcerting lack of hair above his eyes and on his cranium had placed little faith in her during that instance.

Looking at Alya she said "Right, looks like you're stuck with the two of us now. Where are we headed?"

Ayama Inheritance

 

[Ayama]

[div class=box2]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 16px;"]Alya Oriana Vasiili[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]'The Black Death'[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Twenty-Two[/div]

[div class=imgA2]

[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-top: 5px; margin-left: 23px;"]Guild of the Seers[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Follower of Zo[/div]
[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Bane[/div]

[div class=imgB2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]

[/div]

[div class=post2]

When Ben started posturing and making himself out to be a pompous noble ass, Alya began snickering. By the time he was done trying to keep a straight face they were both laughing out loud. In truth, Ben was the furthest possible thing from what he was impersonating.

Insisting that a broken-down wheel still had some mileage in it and yelling at a shopkeeper that his establishment had a stupid name, however, were both much more up his alley. Alya laughed again- she had forgotten what it was like to hang out with the two of them, to always be laughing. She was starting to realize really just how much time had passed.

When the wheel simply snapped into two pieces, there was a comically dead silence as Ben stared at the cart and the girls stared at Ben. Slowly, he turned back and asked about the reward money again, then Cass did the same, saying

"Right, looks like you're stuck with the two of us now. Where are we headed?"

Alya grinned wide.

"Combat training."

*****​

A short while later, the three of them arrived at the training grounds, donkey and broken cart in tow. Alya took in the scene at a quick glance.

The alchemist and the Rainier heir were discussing things in a corner. The ranger and the Angel were at the other end of the raining grounds, the latter gesturing frantically at the former. Between the two pairs were the Fae healer and their team captain- the Wolf Slayer herself.

Alya walked up to this last, inclining her head in greeting, Ben and Cass behind her.

[/div]

[div class=imgB2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]

[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Location:[/div][div class=extra2 style="margin-left: 16px;"]Public Training Grounds[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 125px;"]OOC:[/div][div class=OOC2]Party time! : D[/div]

[div class=tags2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]With:[/div][div class=extra2 style="margin-left: 23px;"]Everyone[/div]

[/div]
[class=box2] margin-left: 250px; width: 850px; height: 555px; border: 4px solid #000000; background-color: #e5e8e8; font-size: 10px; [/class] [class=tags2] width: 150px; border: 4px solid #000000; background-color: #7f8c8d; text-align: center; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=imgA2] margin-top: 5px; margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; height: 100px; border: 4px solid #000000; [/class] [class=imgB2] width: 150px; height: 330px; border: 4px solid #000000; [/class] [class=post2] margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; height: 330px; border: 4px solid #000000; text-align: justified; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=extra2] width: 150px; text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: #a93226; [/class] [class=OOC2] margin-left: -17px; width: 435px; text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: #a93226; [/class]

 

[Heavenchi]

Kito Flaz'in Burgundy
"The Wolf Slayer"​

"That's good to hear," Kito admitted to the priestess, tossing her a quick smile before turning towards the group's rogue. Kito observed Illya with a steady gaze. His apology and shock seemed sincere, the outburst must've been out of character for him. Ignoring Eden's regular verbose comeback, Kito patted Illya on the back assuredly, trying to ease his guilt.

"Anyway," Kito started, as a familiar chill entered her presence. It was Alya, with a few newcomers. One, in particular, caught her eye, a bald man of a comfortable height. Almost immediately, Kito knew who he was.

"It's a pleasure to be in your presence," Kito said carefully as she gave a low bow, eyes locked to the floor. An heir to a House, he'd either be a major asset or another piece of expensive luggage. Once the formalities were done, she turned once more to Alya.

"I need to talk to you," Kito stated, pointing to a vacant corner of the grounds. A test wouldn't be necessary for the ghostly woman, Kito had heard of the girl's prowess. So instead, she wanted to strategize with Alya, to increase the group's safety.

"Continue sparring, talk amongst one another, I'll be back," Kito ordered, looking over the huddle, with a sharp gaze before walking away, beckoning Alya to follow.

 

[Inheritance]

Abenthy Creme​

"Sparring? Who the hell do they think I am?" He said with a false anger, though he waited to say it until the commander left.

Ben wasn't much of a fighter, and much preferred to stay far away from a fight if it ever broke out. He was a fair hand with a Hand-and-a-half sword, and even had his own with a dull outline of what might have been his family crest. The strange thing was, despite the dull crest that looked as if it was scrubbed or scratched out, the rest of the sword was nearly perfectly clean. No dents, and a few small scratches that told anyone with experience the blade had only been used a few times. It was expensive looking, though the scabbard seemed to have been homemade and did nothing to show off the blade. If one just saw the scabbard, they might expect the rest of the sword to be made of wood.

"Ah besides, I think I left the sword with that blacksmith! Black damn, if my head wasn't screwed onto my body!" He said laughing without much hope. Cass was too good for that, and while normally he thanked the stars that she had his back, he had a very dim hope that she might have forgotten to pick it up-just this once. He looked at her while shaking his head. "You should go spar though, you're pretty good in a fight!"

Saturn_moon

 

[Saturn_moon]

Cassandra Marais
​

When they arrived at the Public Training Grounds, Cassandra found herself looking at an extraordinarily mismatched group of people that perhaps made even Ben and herself with their new three-wheeled cart look almost normal. For a while, she wondered if they were in the right place, until a woman dressed in red and wearing tinted glasses walked up to them. Cassandra immediately recognized her, of course, as Lady Kito Flaz’in Burgundy. As a servant of the Crème House, it had been crucial for her to memorize the names and faces of each and every member of all the noble house in Gento. Failing to do so, could have very easily meant getting subjected to a lashing, both verbal and physical.

When Lady Burgundy gave Ben a low bow and formally greeted him, Cassandra stiffened slightly. When it was just them, it was easy to just be Ben and Cass, best friends travelling through Zorro in search of knowledge and adventures. Now they were back in Gento, at the heart of all the politics, she was reminded that Ben was still in fact Abenthy Crème, heir to the Crème house, and she was… well, nobody.

She was still lost in her musings when she suddenly heard Ben give some halfhearted excuse about not being able to spar because he’d left his sword at the blacksmith. She quirked a judging eyebrow at him but said nothing. They both knew his sword was stored away in their cart out on the street, but she figured she’d let him get away with it this time. After all, she’d already made him join this band of… she wanted to say slayers but she wasn’t too convinced at the moment.

With a resigned sigh, she stepped forward and drew her short swords. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”