I Cut Myself to Feel Alive!!! Dx

[Goldie]

ooc: >_>  lmao....we can change the title if you want xDDDDD  if you don't know where that's from look up "Tickle Me Emo" on youtube...lmao

ic:

Chailyn stared absently over the battlements on the far side of the castle.  No one usually came here, minus the random guard who patrolled by to double check the security of the perimeter.  She knew some of the faces, but more and more knew guards arrived by the day while veterans left.  After the battle before, Fenway took no chances on the security of the castle and the kingdom.  It would take a lot more effort to get through their new system than it had been in the past.  That was probably a good thing about having the old Master of Arms as the king.  After Dawn's departure, the kingdom was thrown into disarray and poor Fenway was confronted with the brunt of it within the first few weeks of his reign.

Now, a few years later, the kingdom rested peacefully having finally settled into the new order.  It was strange...thinking back.  She was still much more comfortable on her own, but so much had changed.  Chailyn had learned that not all people were scum and that perhaps she should let her guard down a little bit around them...

Ha...like that would ever really happen.  Despite her greatest efforts, she still couldn't shake the uncertainty she felt around certain people...strangers especially...too much in her past contradicted her current setting and she couldn't shake habits and mind-sets that had been in place for nearly seventeen years before she had finally escaped then...those people who had the audacity to call themselves family.  She had learned so much about herself since leaving them...finally understanding that her gifts were not something to be feared...

Well...at least all the time.  She still struggled with control when frightened...something that many people around the castle had come to accept.  The head mage was aloof and stand-offish they whispered, she was different, not amiable like others before her.  Perhaps her head is too much into her work, they grumbled.  At least, that's what Chailyn told herself.  She had found a place that seemed to accept her, but still couldn't help but feel the outsider.  She would never be able to sit around a table with 'friends' and gossip idly about suitors and the weather...no no, not her.  She could not feel comfortable around people...her fears had always come true before--no one could really be trusted.

But what could she do?  Fenway promoted her to head mage despite her pleads against the idea.  Apparently he thought her able or something completely ridiculous like that.

Able...

Her!?

Sure she had some abilities that could come in handy in a fight...maybe her attempts at controlling her powers had saved Dawn's life at one point...maybe...but really that was just a fluke...she had been terrified and hadn't even known if what she was doing would DO anything!  How could the head mage be someone who didn't know what she was doing?

Stupid Fenway....he had insisted and refused to hear reason...

Now she was surrounded by people...people who looked to her for help...people with whom she had to interract....

With a soft groan she lowered her head into her hands, resting her elbows on the wall of the battlements as she shook her head back and forth.  Today, in particular, she was through with dealing with people.  She had just come from a council meeting where she had to give her own opinions and suggestions....even after a few years she could not get over that her opinions actually held any weight.  It drained her, sitting there, discussing her thoughts with a group of grumpy men and women discussing protection tactics for the kingdom...

Ugh....

Lifting her head, she pulled a piece of her fiery red hair through her fingers, ignoring the fact that it had just been held back by a tie that kept her unruly curls fastened at the nape of her neck.  Sea foam eyes gazed across the landscape before her, taking in the beauty that was solitude.  Sometimes it was nice to remember that some places nature still reigned...some places people did not exist....

[Anonymous]

(( XD I wasn't exactly sure where Chailyn was, so until he actually sees her all pretty-ful like, he's... not... near by... <3! ))


Poor little head mage Chailyn. The poor girl who was oh-so-silently moping to herself was about to have a rude intrusion to her solitude. The intrusion-er was a guard, a rather handsome guard. Shoulder blade length brown hair, thick and tied back in a simple pony tail with a black tie. Friendly green eyes and a steady smile on his face. Dressed in simple Serendipity guard attire, he was attractive, but he didn't stand out. However, the one thing about the simple man that did stand out was his long pointed ears, gold earings peirced into the flesh at the bottom and a golden cuff towards the top.

He was an elf. A simple sword strapped to his back in a leather scabbard. His foot steps were quiet, an trait passed down through his blood-line oddly enough, and he had his hands in his pockets and his head down so he could stare at his feet. As much as he liked being a guard, he'd wished for an easier job. His feet hurt at the end of the day when he was doing rounds, and his brain hurt from when he had to walk past all those stupid chattering maids.

"Stupid... Birds." He mumbled as he walked up the stairs to the battlements, glaring as he walked. He hated this shift, wander around here a billion times to make sure no one was hiding anywhere or nothing was out of place. Once he reached it he sighed and looked around, nothing. Looking around he leered to the other side of the castle and sighed. All the way to over there and then he'd be done. He could do that. This still sucked.

Khas could see someone off in the distance, looked like a shiny coin the way their hair reflected the sun. They didn't look in trouble, but from what he could see they weren't a guard, or a solider. He knew that anyone could go where they were, but it still made him quicken his pace and turn to watch that place incase they disappeared. He could see it now, shiny-coin haired person blows castle into rubble because Elf Guard was too slow to pounce on 'em.

No thank you.

Of course once Khas got there, the horrible monster he conjured up in his head couldn't be farther from the truth and he stared sheepishly for a moment. Nope, this wasn't much of a monster, in fact, it was a pretty lady. He blushed faintly at his own foolery and stared at her back for a moment. He didn't know who she was, he knew he liked her hair colour, be easy to spot someone with that coloured hair.

Somewhat quietly, though he made sure to be extra loud when he walked so he didn't startle her, Khas quietly leaned against the railing and looked towards her, his lips thin and any words on his tongue died and fell out to writhe on his shoulder.

Pretty.


Uuuh... "Hi." Smooth. Very smooth, she could reply back or smack him and run. Oh, wait, should he introduce himself? "I'm Khas," His brain kicked him again, yes, you're Khas, what do you do? "I'm a guard." Lame. The brown haired elf guard quietly cleared his throat and looked out towards the trees, what was she pondering.

It then occured to him that he might have been intruding and he instantly stood up straight, hands at his side and his head straight. "I...I'm sorry ma'am. I must be intruding, unless you need help or anything?" He'd stay that extra moment, so his green eyes could drink in her image and he could keep his eye out for her to bump into accidentally.

Yes... Accidentally on purpose.

[Goldie]

ooc:  Ahhhhhh....I have to get back into Chailyn mode!  It's haaard >_<

ic:

With her eyes closed tightly, her hearing took on a higher sense of sounds.  She focused on the soft songs of the birds that wafted over the castle walls to echo pleasantly against the stones that made up the majority of the palace.  It gave her the sense of being away from people, away from the exhausting duties of being the Head Mage and keeping tabs on everyone in the place.  It wasn't as if she hadn't gotten use to everything, she just didn't like it.  She would do her job to the best of her abilities (how ever low she might think those abilities were) and then take whatever time she could and escape into the quiet of the outdoors, as far from people as she could manage to go.

That stayed within the boundaries of the palace walls of course.

ugh....

She didn't want adventure....it wasn't as if she felt confined to the palace.  She just wanted her own hermit spot to herself, away from people expecting things of her....If no one expected something from her, she would have no chance to prove them just how wrong their hopes were.  She wasn't great, she never would be great, but somehow people seemed to get these strange ideas that she was better than she could ever become.

The soft chirping of the birds was interrupted by the sound of boots walking along the battlements.  Instantly, Chailyn tensed, ready for flight if the situation called for it.  It could be someone calling her back into another meeting....another situation where people pretended that she was this great figure of power.  She couldn't take any more of that.  Any more lying to the whole kingdom that she was worth a second glance.

Her eyes remained tightly closed as she sent up silent prayers that the person would keep walking.

It took her a few seconds to realize that the footsteps had stopped, and the heat of another person pressed against her side.  

No no no no no no no no... she cried desperately in her head. Just go away, leave me alone....I'm not worth your time...

With deliberate slowness, she opened her eyes and raised her head to peer at the young man who stood beside her, eyes sweeping across her features.  This raised her guard even more.  If he got it into his head to touch her...to consider her "prime goods" she would render him immobile before he could blink and run, screaming if she had to.  After what he had done to her, she would not let another man come close.  She had no choice then, but she would never give herself willingly now that it was within her power to keep it from happening.  And ugh!  He was a man!  She couldn't even think about his appearance as being attractive as the fear rose desperately within her. A fear that was only slightly eased at the sight of the deep blue serendipity tunic with the silver embroidered rising sun on his chest.  He was obviously a guard.  She could even see the magic pulse through the embroidered emblem which proved his identity as anything but false.  Still, she had never been able to shake the terror that rose in her when a man stepped too close, or perused her with their eyes....

Why couldn't you continue on your rounds? she cried softly, thinking of ways that she could scold him about duties and have him continue on his way...but that would make her a hypocrite.  She herself was taking a break from the exhausting trials of the day, how could she in right conscience tell this man to keep moving?

Man...or elf rather, now that she had noticed the steep point of his ears.  She herself had a slight point to the tips of her ears, but had never noticed it as anything abnormal, content to view herself in the lowest possible ways.  She had nothing special, nothing unique about her.  If she had, why would her mother leave her abandoned in the forest just to be found by those terrible people in Adela?  If she were special she would never have been forced to do those things....

Her mouth opened slightly when she realized that this guard had not recognized her.  She knew that she had never really integrated herself into the guards ranks...actually, she had purposefully stayed away from them knowing that the majority were male....but it never actually occurred to her that they wouldn't know who she was on sight.

She hesitated, unsure of what to say, "Um...I'm Chailyn." she muttered, trying to tame the wild beast of fear that threatened to send her screaming in the other direction, "The head mage?" she finished lamely, aware that all the training she had undergone to seem more assertive to the public dissipated into the afternoon air.

"And you're not really intruding..." she murmured again, turning back to gaze out across the landscapes outside of the palace walls.  Gyah!  Why had she said that!?  She could have easily dismissed him....

Well....maybe he needed a break himself....and as long as he kept his distance....

Fenway would be proud...besides the King himself, Chai managed to keep her distance from any other men in the palace.  King Fenway had made a point to tell her that she needed to expand her social skills.  Not all men were pigs, he had told her, pointing out her weakness that she had never shared with anyone.  It was probably obvious, she she really shouldn't have been surprised.

"Um...how long have you been on rounds, Khas?" she asked, glancing over at him and then quickly away again to make sure that he hadn't moved any closer.  She could at least try to be nice...strike up a conversation...then tell Fenway that she tried, it failed miserably, and go back to her own quiet, hermit-like style.

[Anonymous]

(( XD So... yeah, this is pretty all over the place ))

Oh, she was Chailyn.

The head mage.

Well, crap.

Khas felt his cheeks flush and he put a gloved hand up to his chin and ahemed quietly, swallowing his shame. The Head Mage. He should have known who she was. The brown haired elf didn't have a good idea as to why he should have known who she was, he knew they had a head mage. He knew that the head mage was a friend of the king. Didn't know it was a she. Didn't know her name. Didn't know what she looked like.

Pursing his lips, Khas decided that his moment of shame was silly. He had no reason to know who she was. Well, he did. Bah! Khas crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the ledge, the hair that had fallen out of his ponytail whispering against his cheeks. The next words she said made Khas smile slightly towards her and shuffle over a little. Personal bubble. She wasn't just any pretty lady, she was a Head Mage pretty lady.

And far higher rank above him. Soldiers were above him. Sure it made him feel bad, he was an elf. A pure blooded elf, but all he was good enough was a guard. Pah. Lost in his mental musings, Khas blinked his green eyes lamely towards Chailyn... Miss.Head Mage? Ma'am? He liked her hair.

Uh...

" I've been doing rounds for about six hours. It's a normal day." Khas smiled towards her and moved a hand to pat his hair down to cover the point of his ears, he'd met one or two people who were prejudice against his 'higher' species. "Sometimes I get to wander around and look tough for eight hours." Khas chuckled slightly at his wit, which wasn't wit at all so much as not-so-secret annoyance at only being a guard.

A guard.

Eugh.

"And you Miss.Chailyn?" That was good. Adding a miss. Made it seem all formal and respectful, even though the highest ranking person had been a low ranking knight. Khas tried to smile, turning towards her and leaning towards her, just a little, enough to turn his head to face her, his eyes on hers. His mother taught him that eye contact was good, eyes were the windows to your soul. That always made him smile, that meant his soul was green, the colour of the grass and trees, things that Elves were supposed to know all about. Pfft.  " Taking a breather from your hard squishy court life?"

The smile on his face was supposed to make it apparent that it was a good natured ribbing towards her rank, here was to hoping she wasn't one of those stuffy noble girls. Khas didn't really feel like running away with his tail between his legs and hiding incase he got called out for insubordination. Yikes.

[Goldie]

ooc: awww, I didn't think it was all over the place!  It was good!!!! xD

ic:

She shifted uncomfortably as he moved closer, apparently taking her comments to mean she was ready to hold hands or something.  Well...perhaps she was overreacting, but he had obviously shifted his weight closer to her.  She tried very hard to keep her demeanor casual, keeping the fear that started to well up from consuming her.  Best to keep it down unless she wanted to do something stupid.  That would go over well....if she managed to attack a guard.

It wasn't as if he was particularly scary...but his closeness put her on edge.  Part of her knew that he was just being friendly, and took her words to mean she was as well.....

Take a deep breath Chai, she told herself, closing her eyes and sucking in a lung-full of clean, afternoon air.  Talking wasn't going to kill her, and he obviously was a nice guy...erm...elf, she guessed.  She had noticed his heavily pointed ears before he covered them, almost self-consciously, with his hair.  It was that action that made her even more curious.  She always thought that she was the only one who was so uncomfortable in her own skin...but...this man, so full of confidence, just did a self-conscious movement.  A movement that she understood very well.

What was he afraid of?  She herself stood out with her ridiculously red hair mixed with eyes that matched the color of the sea on a clear day.  Mix that with the bluish-glow her skin sometimes emitted....and she too had a slight point to her ear.  Not nearly as noticeable as Khas...a very subtle point that probably said something about her true parentage, but she had never given much thought to it.  They had abandoned her to that wretched family....that wretched man who found so much pleasure in her pain...so much pleasure in exploiting her for the "one thing" she was apparently useful to do....

Ugh...

No.

She would not think about it.  Not now.  It would only put her more on edge and possibly cause something bad to happen.  After that movement she felt a strange, almost-kind of-sorta connection with Khas.  He had something to hide, or something he felt he needed to hide...

Miss!!???

Blech...what, did he think she was about to blow his head off?  Did she look like she was a lot older than him?  Hardly!

She made a face at that, which only worsened into a scowl when he went on to mention snooty noble life.  Her life consisted of anything BUT nobility.  She herself was no noble...the only thing that connected her to this life was a stupid king who saw more in her then there was to see.

"Please, just Chailyn....and....Squishy life..." she muttered, shaking her head and unable to keep the low chuckle out of her voice, "That is certainly one way to put it."  For the first time, she looked at him and smiled, her sea-green eyes dancing--just a little.

"I hate it..." she murmured next, tearing her eyes away from him to gaze out at the trees and hills that lay outside of the palace walls.  She didn't really know why she was telling him this...probably because he was the first person who she felt any type of connection to.  Even if it was a connection of self-consciousness....it was a connection nonetheless. "I would much rather be on rounds six...or eight," she added with a small smile, "hours a day.  Fen--I mean, the King seems to think otherwise."  She paused, wondering how much she wanted to say to this man...perhaps he wasn't as nice as he let on?  Perhaps he was just like that scum of a step-father....

But what if she was wrong?  She would be judging him incorrectly...but it would protect her in case she was right...

Right?

"I came from....humble....origins." she added, not saying much, but perhaps saying more than she realized.

[Anonymous]

I hate it.

Khas could feel his mouth open slightly before he snapped it back shut. Oh. Well. Clearing his throat the elf put his hands in front of himself and leaned forward, his hair pulling back off the tips of his ears and flopping over his shoulder to hang out at the front. The sun turned his hair a gold colour, and he looked over again, a sheepish smile on his face. Way to put your foot in your mouth, stupid idiot. He barked at himself, mentally of course. If he said it out loud she would probably think it was her he was talking about.

It wasn't!

"Just Chailyn. I can do that. I mean, I can call you that." He quickly turned his head back and ducked his head, staring down, eyes wide. What an idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot. He'd caught her eye before he ducked his head, and figuered she had pretty hair and eyes. Khas was an eye guy. Pretty eyes? He'd want to be your friend. Clearing his throat, he lifted his head and looked out towards the sky.

" I take it you know King Fenway." Khas gave a nod and smiled before rubbing the heel of his palm against his eye and yawning into the back of his hand. "Sorry. Long day." He smiled again, feeling rather... Awkward. He was here to slack off! Not feel awkward because he was by a girl. He'd seen girls before! He'd had sex with, gasp! Girls! Or girl, rather, but no one needed to know that little detail.

"So. Humble origins? Little house on a farm? I'm from the city. I'm not good at anything else and I started here too late to be young enough to be a  Knights.. Uh.. Lacky... So I get to live forever as a guard." Khas shrugged, figuered that if he offered some of his story she'd return the favour, of course, Khas didn't know just how dark it was, but he'd back off if she refused to say anything. He'd leave it to that age old 'girls are mysterious,' thing his father told him about once.

Never assume the worst, stay optimistic. "Not that being a guard is bad. You get used to it. Of course, the elitist shit the knights pull on the guards is stu-..." Khas bit his lip and stopped before turning back and smiling again, standing to his full height, back straight, hands still on the rail to keep them from falling off the tower. "Sorry." He returned his eyes to her, politely looking in the general location of them if she turned away.

Her hair was nice too, his fingers itched to touch it. Just a poke. To see if it felt like it looked. Warm and sort of like burning autumn leaves. " Humble origins..." Khas resisted the urge to nudge her with his arm, too familiar, she was the Head Mage. He was a guard. Maybe on their second date. "Let me guess. A big mansion in the city that you had to do chores in?" It was teasing, and Khas made it very obvious in his voice that he was doing so.

[Goldie]

ooc: Only a few months late >_< lol

ic:

"mmmm" was her only reply to his question about Fenway.  Yes she knew him.  They had known each other back before he had taken over the thrown and Dawn was still reigning.  It had been such a terrible time...what with the Dread Army practically tearing down the castle walls and finding ways to bypass any protection the mages had placed upon the palace.  It was a terrifying period...a time that she learned more about herself and her magic than she ever really wanted to know.  Since that battle, she had never used her magic to destroy people again and probably wouldn't use it.

Probably....

Gods it was frustrating that despite her disgust of that ability she couldn't confidently say that she would refrain from using it....

Just not consciously surely.

"I was found by a family in Adela." she told him, running her fingers through her hair.  The sunlight caught each fiery red strand, sending a golden shimmer across her face before settling once again in a dormant position. One hand remained by her face, absently twisting a single strand between her middle and forefingers. "I left them as soon as I had the courage and meandered my way here." she couldn't hide the bitterness and pain in her voice even with this slight mention of her past.  She had been sixteen when she had run into the merman caged in the market...to this day she didn't know what possessed her to rescue him and run as far as she could from that hell hole...

Something about his predicament spurred her to action.  Perhaps she saw herself in him, locked in that tank..wasting away...waiting for the killing blow....

Images of her step-father's face flashed through her head. His body lingering above her own with that sinister smile lingering on his lips as he lowered himself...

She shuddered and pushed the images from her mind.  She didn't want to remember, she didn't want to see it happen again in her memories.  Even after all of these years, nearly five years since she had left...she still couldn't forget that horrible man...

"I'm sure being a guard has it's rewards." she murmured, grasping at any thread that would take them away from the subject of her past, "You're by yourself patrolling the wall, allowed to be with your own thoughts and not stuck sitting in a room where everyone expects you to find easy, yet perfect fixes to complex problems...I would much rather be able to just stay here and stare off into the distance wondering what it'd be like to have no worries...no past...no men forcing you to--" she cut herself off, realizing that she was rambling, nearly revealing her darkest thoughts.  Her sea-foam eyes widened in shock, her mouth silently working to form words as she glanced at Khas's face hoping against hope that he had missed it.

What would anyone think if they knew?  Knew that she...that...they would believe she was to blame...it was her fault for being weak...

"Ah...er..." she stuttered, her hands now clasping the wall with all the might she could muster, knuckles turning white under the strain.  Anyone looking at her would instantly see the terror that instantly arose with her slip. She had never told anyone about her past...not even Fenway knew, even though he had hinted she should tell him more than once...

Feeling the cramp in her fingers, she moved them from the wall, one of them reaching up to finger the back of her neck, reaching slightly down her shirt to feel the puffy scars that marred her back.  They were gifts from her childhood and one of the many reasons she refused to wear the gowns desired by most women.  Anything lower than her shoulders would reveal those scars...

"Do you have any magic Khas?" she let out in a rush, her head swiveling to face him much quicker than she intended.  She was beginning to like him...he seemed genuine... she only hoped he hadn't heard her slip and wouldn't press.  If anyone found out about that....

"I didn't realize I had any magical skills until I left Adela. It wasn't something that was encouraged by...the people... I was with." Ack...once again back on her past. Maybe he'd just stick to the magic conversation.  Yes...just the magic...

[Anonymous]

Being a creature of the forest, Khas had always tended to be a little more empathetic towards peoples feelings. Of course it sucked, physical pain was nothing compaired to what some people held on the inside and Khas couldn't help but sympathise with it. Like her. His gaze didn't leave her hair - it was far too interesting to him than staring at a sky. Booooring.

Her voice was pretty too.

Having such large ears, a pretty voice was most welcome compared to a bunch of gruff man voices. Khas closed his eyes, frowning slightly when she ended that first sentence. The pain and bitterness stabbed him in the chest, hm, maybe she wasn't as spoiled as he figuered her to be. Honestly Khas was amazed. A head mage who had to fight tooth and claw to get where she was - not that she had fangs or claws. The guard eyed her mouth and hands for a moment before he let his thoughts trail away.

While his eyes were on the ground below, his head worked around her words, listening, his hair falling into his face, the long ponytail of hair flopped over his shoulder. The tiniest nagging thought of 'you slacker, while you're up here making googly eyes at the head mage - who you're never going to meet again - some freak could be getting into the castle!' drifted through his head. He promptly pushed back the work throughts, and he couldn't stop his eyebrows from drifting up his hairline when she made the slip.

The pain. Khas moved a hand to his chest and frowned, it wasn't his, Khas had led a blissfully normal life, he was old, and he'd never experienced such anguish and pain. He had enough people skills to not stare at Chailyn after she paused, his own knuckles were white under his gloves. Time to pretend everything was alright and that Khas hadn't just found out the deepest darkest secret his little Head Mage had to offer.

With an exageratted yawn, he stretched his arms high up into the air and bent backwards, back popping as he brought a hand down to cover a real yawn. Mmm, he could sleep soon.

"Magic?"

Khas blinked slowly, oh! That was a question for him. The guard flashed a smile and then went blank, magic. Empathy? Khas winced slightly, visibly, he'd better not mention that. Might freak her out or make her run away. Her hair was too nice for him to scare her off so soon!  He smiled and spoke.

"I like how my name sounds when you say it."

Good job, Doorknob. Khas coughed to cover his blunder and moved a hand to his face to cover his slight blush, wrong part of his brain. That was the part he was supposed to be thinking. "Uh, I mean... No... No magic. I'd probably be a knight by now if I was talented with... Well... Anything." Khas smiled and shrugged before he crossed his arms over his chest, his tongue gliding over his teeth underneath his lips.

"Hey, at least you're one talented little lady." Khas nodded and smiled before looking around and tilting his head to the side, his gaze going distant.

"Miss.Chailyn? Do you want to walk with me? I still have my rounds to do, and walking always helps clear my mind. Standing in once place too long lets it stew." He offered an arm, his hand making a 'come here' motion. "Besides, if anyone catches me chit-chatting with you like this it might make the other guards think that I sweet talked you into a promotion." A boyish grin and he stood for a moment, his arm crooked for her own. "It's fine if you don't feel comfortable. I wouldn't either if I was short."

No comment about her being a woman, just being short. A look of challenge was on Khas face before he smiled again.

[Goldie]

ooc: OMG, I love how he is obsessing over her hair! HAHAHA, makes me giggle every time....

ic:

Chailyn blinked up at Khas when he commented about the way his name sounded on her lips. She hadn't had nearly enough experience with men to realize that this line could be viewed as sensual...instead she was simply confused. No one had ever murmured anything like it to her before. Who would consider the way their name sounded when another person said it pleasant? It was just...

Odd....

And for this reason, Chai found herself unsure of this strange, new person she had stumbled across. Or, rather, he had stumbled across her. Not that it mattered, really! Here they were now, both having a conversation with the other....Her insecurities were more than apparent the moment her fingers resumed their nervous twirling of her hair, increasing in intensity when she was nervous. If only she knew how blatantly her emotions were perceived by her companion, she would have stopped.

"You must have some talents, " she pressed, hoping to turn the conversation from her to him, "Fenwa--I mean, his Majesty screens his knights and soldiers thoroughly, as I'm sure you know. I doubt you would have been allowed to stay if he hadn't seen some promise, or competence, in your abilities." She smiled at him for a moment, before the fleeting moment of warmth left her cheeks and returned to the slight frown which she always wore. "Magic is less impressive than skill" she added as an afterthought, her finger that had been twirling her hair now pressed pensively to her lower lip. "We're born with our abilities...you have to work for them, hone your skills...continuously practice..."

It was true, too. Not just anyone could become a good solider, it took discipline and hard work to get there. And untrained mage, however, could easily become a skilled Head Mage without trying at all...but she would flounder if she were ever given a blade to hold and expected to defeat an enemy. Sure, she could probably stumble through some swings, but in the end she would be cut down. For that she respected the soldiers, knighted or not.

"Ah...um..." she stepped back in surprise when he offered his arm. The scared little girl that still lived inside wanted to cringe and run away; to hide under her bed in the hopes that this too would pass. But...to be honest...the other part of her wanted to continue talking to him. Oddly enough, she was enjoying his company. No, her guard had not been lowered, she would still run at the first sign of danger, but...

"Just Chailyn, please." she begged instead. Having any prefix made her seem too lofty for a girl who was once treated as a slave. Not that she had ever actually been one...but her childhood reflected that lifestyle...even the scars on her back made her appear to have been sold and then given her freedom by a "good, honest master," rather than the strength of her own persona. She was just Chailyn, through and through, and didn't with to be anything else. If anything, those around her were more qualified to be lords and ladies than she. Even Khas to her was not a "lowly guard." He deserved to be a knight, she did not deserve to be Head Mage...not matter what Fenway said. Deep down, Chailyn would never be able to forget that she was once called "the little whore."

Without taking his outstretched arm, she stepped beside him, her feet deciding to walk with him rather than her mind. Her hands were clasped firmly behind her back to avoid any confusion on the "holding hands" front, or whatever it was called...

Then it hit...

"Short?" She asked incredulously, staring up at him with a look of pure disbelief. All walls were momentarily down. Chai definitely had not expected that word to finish his sentence. "Woman" or "Girl" were the first thoughts in her mind!

"Short?" she asked again, her hands no longer behind her back, but gesticulating before her as she spoke. This, perhaps, was the real Chailyn, unguarded and perplexed. "I think I would prefer to say that you're just uncannily tall!" She wasn't that short! "Have you seen some of the noble women? They are short. I could probably lift some of them up with my thumb!" With this comment, she thrust her thumb forward, waving it under his nose to further her point. "And if the guards talk about you, you could probably just step on them like little bugs Sir Giant."

Without even realizing it, Chailyn found herself talking to Khas like he was a normal person, not some predator in a shell, waiting to hatch and claim her as his next meal. Whether he knew what he was doing, or not, Khas had single handedly managed to do what Fenway had been trying to do for years.

See Chailyn without her barriers.

[Anonymous]

Khas lifted his head and puffed out his chest slightly when Chailyn finally caught onto what he said. He smirked and accepted the fact that she didn't want to be escorted, or touch him, of course he felt a little stupid so he let his hands hang at his sides as she slowly soaked it in. Khas took a few steps forward and then turned around, his expression neutral but his lips tweaked at the corners, giving him an aloof, obviously fake look.

He kept his expression stiff as she waved her arms around and then when she made her comeback, him being tall, he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head into the air. "You're both short." He eyed her thrumb before blowing air onto it and turning around again.

"You're going to make me do overtime, Shorty. Get your little legs to carry you faster." Khas looked over his shoulder and gave a grin before he cleared his throat and held out a hand. "I can carry you if my giant legs are too fast for you." he was kidding, but he kept his hand out and he wiggled his fingers.  He liked this Chailyn. He'd known her for all of ten minutes and he already decided the one that barked at him and called him a giant suited her best.

Mentall, Khas smiled evilly, he would have to think of ways to pluck this Chailyn to the top. This one seemed to be burried under doubt and fear and hate and self-loathing, an effort to protect the Chailyn she liked too, Khas thought.

Another grin, this time gentle and on his face he tilted his head to the side and pushed his ponytail back over his shoulder. "Nothing wrong with being short." Khas' face went serious for a moment, " you make the best assassins." He began to walk again, his pace slow, and his footsteps not to their full leg length, a nice leisurely pace that Chailyn could keep up or run away from.

[Goldie]

At this point, running away was far from Chailyn's mind. She didn't even notice the drastic change in her personality. So many years had been spent guarding herself against the world and for the first time she became that person she had hoped that one day she could turn into. The ironic thing was that she didn't even realize it. If she had, you can bet that the self-conscious switch would go off and she would no longer walked beside this guard.

Khas....what was so different about him? Even she could tell that he was different. It was....she couldn't even explain it. Even Fenway didn't give the same vibes as this man..erm...elf...she wasn't great when it came to different races. All she knew was he had pointed ears and, oddly enough, she liked them. They were....

Cute.

Gods! Was she really looking at this man and thinking that he was cute? That was ridiculous! Even if it were just his ears, it was silly that she should be looking at someone like this. Best forget about it and remember that she was trying to get away from people. She should probably take her leave and walk away...let him finish off his rounds and never see him again.

Funny how her feet ignored her mind.

"You could always cut off your feet to make your legs shorter." she teased, "It might make it less stressful for you to keep those legs from leaping across the castle with one step." She smiled up at him, feigning innocence as she batted away his outstretched hand which threatened to carry her the rest of his rounds. She might feel an odd connection to him, she certainly was not about to let him that close...

And then, something came out of her lips she did not intend. "And I wouldn't mind walking with you longer....if you had to do overtime...." Her cheeks burned, and she tore her gaze from him, mortified at her own daring. "Ahh...I'm sorry." her eyes were glued to the ground, her hands disappearing behind her back again. It was funny, that really she was the reason that old habits resurfaced again, not him. This man...he had done nothing to put her walls back up....could it be....

Could it be it was her? Was she...was she causing half of the problems that she blamed on other people?

Unconsciously, she reached up and brushed her fingers across the scars on her upper back again. They were her brand, same as the two slashes that remained on the insides of her wrists. Such a dark past....but that's what it was wasn't it? Just her past....

How long was she going to be a slave to it?

She wished she could just break out of it, but knew that her fears ran far too deep for it to be easy. However, it definitely was easier with five years under her belt. Five years of freedom....

Five years and she had yet to meet another person like her step-father....that had to say something didn't it?

[Anonymous]

Lips pursed and he leered at her. Walk over the walls.

"I'm not the tallest person in this castle you know. Nor am I the strongest. I hear there's a lord out and about who looks like a little boy, is actually really, really old and knows all sorts of stupid sounding fighting moves." Khas turned to stare at her for a moment before nodding slowly and then cracking a smile. " Ah well, not my place to judge the people not quite right in the head."

Khas kept on walking, keeping an eye on Chailyn from the corner of his eye but doing his job, his hands moving from one resting on his hip to hanging at his sides, crossed over his chest. Hm. As long as the castle was safe he was allowed to chat right? And she was the head mage. That gave him like... Instant immunity from being barked at for slacking. He had to escourt the head mage... to... Uh....

In a circle.

Yeah.

"So, tell me about your work. Again. If I'm already asked you about it. Head Mage right? What kind of magic do you have?" Khas smiled before pausing and flicking one of his ears. "I can see." er. "I can see well, and far away. Probably be better with arrows than swords and polearms but... Then I'd be useful." Khas stuck out his tongue and made a face. "Fighting. Poor Serendipity, I've never seen any of these other insane groups attacking any other Kingdom."  Another face and he puffed out some air.

Turning around slightly and walking backwards. Towards a small flight of stairs. "I'm sorry, Chailyn, I must be really boring. I don't actually talk to strangers all that much. My mother told me it's dangerous." Another smile and a friendly wink and he turned back around to go down the stairs, but instead he went quite a different way. Grunts and a crack could be heard and by the time the tumbling was finished, Khas was laying on the bottom few steps, his head tilting backwards towards the floor, blood coming from some scratches on his head.

He was fine, of course, a grown man trained in combat knew how to save the vital parts - unfortunately this was at the expense of his non-dominant right hand which looked rather broken - and he layed there while he felt embarrassed, felt the drips of blood go down his scalp.

It was a few minutes before he'd caught his breath. The first thing he let out was a good, "Owwie" before he opened his eyes and stared at the ground, which looked oddly upside down.

[Goldie]

She blinked up at him when he mentioned the odd noble. She herself tried very hard to stay out of as many noble gathers as possible. After all, she was anything but noble, and all of those stupid people had some unsightly entitlement issues. The first, and only, event she attended ended with her nearly causing a riot by magicking some fruit punch onto one of the men's perfectly pressed, perfectly white doublet. Needless to say he called her some names that included "ugly cow" and "stupid ginger" and was even more pissed off when she rolled her eyes and left without even an attempt at an apology.

It was humorous really. She just hoped she never ran into this old-man-trapped-in-a-kids-body-noble-man anytime soon.

Chai found herself chuckling under her breath, finding Khas's company, once again, anything but nerve-wracking. Something about him was just...natural. She didn't feel the same forced pleasantries around him like she did around others. Even Fenway made her feel nervous. Maybe it was because he had made it his life's goal to put her in as many uncomfortable positions as possible in the hopes that one of these would be her "break through." It made her start to dread going on excursions with him, really.

"My work, huh?" she mused, gazing pensively upward as she thought it over. "Well...I'm in charge of training all of the young people in magic. I've always hated the fire throwing ones, they tend to burn people rather than the targets....um....other than that, I'm suppose to sit in on meetings and voice my opinion...generally it's more just show my face and be supportive." With a sigh her hand returned to its position on her hair, spinning it around her fingers. "The king likes to take me with him on his little excursions out of the castle, too. These are generally more.....interesting....events."

Chailyn shook her head at his comment about being boring. She couldn't honestly admit that she wasn't enjoying his company. He was pleasant, and kept his distance but did not exude the same vibes as some men who would try to make a move moments after promising not to. Khas was more....in-tune to her feelings.

Was that weird?

Maybe he wasn't really a man at all. That would be an odd twist. Haha....he was very pretty...

"Khas, you're not boring, hones--" Her sentence was cut short the moment she realized that her companion was no longer standing beside her. Instead, he seemed to have found it a good time to fall head over heels for her...right down the steps.

"What...!?" She barely knew what had happened as she stared down at him sprawled at the base of the staircase. Even from this distance she could see the blood on his forehead. Without a second thought she raced down after him, kneeling by his head as she gazed, panicked at his body, eyes sweeping up and down for any injuries that stood out as really really bad.

"Khas! Gods...you stupid, stupid man!" exclaimed the head mage, taking his head in between her hands and looking into his eyes, hoping that they would focus on her face. "Oww???" she replied skeptically, "You just fell down a fricking flight of stairs and all you can say is Oww?? Don't you learn how to watch where you're going in guard school? Gods. Are you hurt? Badly I mean? Anything broken?"

Seeing the blood dripping from his scalp she pulled a knife from her boot and cut off a strip of her tunic, revealing her stomach and not realizing that her back was now showing as well, old scars now visible.

Using her magic, she soaked the fabric and began to dab the blood from his head, keeping an eye out for any deep gashes or something. Head wounds always seemed to bleed worse than the wound actually was so she wouldn't be worried unless she found reason to. As she cleaned off the blood, she looked down at him again and realized just how funny it all was.

Unable to stop, she began to chuckle, sea foam green eyes sparkling as she tried to stifle her laughter, knowing that his pride must already be hurting without her adding insult to injury. But she couldn't. It was....he had just....

"...fell down the stairs..." she murmured, her hand shaking with the laughter she tried to keep inside. It was all just....

"Gods...you....actually fell..." she couldn't keep it in anymore. Her head fell to her chest and she covered her mouth with her free hand, eyes glistening with tears from the giggles that rippled through her. It was just so funny! She didn't understand why but...she couldn't stop.

"I'm...sorry! Gods...! It's not funny...I know..." she gasped between laughs.

[Anonymous]

Khas lay on the steps, his right hand throbbing and he could only look at the semi upside down Chailyn and blink slowly. "What's Guard School?" he got out before she ripped her top and then his lower lip visibly dropped when he spoke again, a lame excuse falling from his mouth gently as he tried to sit up. "I'm not stupid I just fell down the stairs because I was walking backwards." He held his hand to his chest gently, catching his breath and waiting for the throbs of pain to go away while she was cleaning his head of blood.

While Chailyn was giggling, Khas' features grew darker. He felt stupid and his hand throbbed. Though he waited patiently. He was a man! If he did what he wanted to do, such as scream at the mere sight of it - it was bent rather awkwardly - Khas stayed quiet though and looked around sheepishly. "I... Think I'm going to go get my hand looked at. I think it's broken."His voice was quiet and he used his other hand to rub at the back of his neck and a lame attempt to hide the tips of his ears, which were now bright red with shame.

Khas' cheeks were quiet pink as he shimmied down the steps and got up using his elbows, hair a mess and an attempt to move his hand had him hissing in pain and wincing visibly.  Falling down the stairs. He peeked around, hoping that the people who saw weren't still staring, he leered up at Chailyn. "You know, you could stop laughing at me any time." He huffed before standing up and stalking towards the infirmary to get his hand tied up so he could finish his rounds.

Still feeling like a fool, he walked with his shoulders slumped forward, his head down, slow steps to not shake his hand. Falling down the stairs. How classic. No wonder he was still just a guard.

[Goldie]

Chailyn remained on her knees for a few moments, laughter dying on her lips when she realized just how much they had managed to poke at Khas's pride. Of course, what had she expected? He had just fallen down a flight of stairs...and

Oh Gods...

She flushed deeply as his words sunk in. A broken wrist was not a laughing matter and all she had managed to do was anger him...or just upset him...or. Hell, she didn't even know what her laughter had done other than make him irritable and less friendly. Although, could she really blame him? Yes he had fallen down the stairs, and yes it was a little amusing...but she wouldn't be laughing if it were here would she?

Ugh...she was an idiot.

The first man she had ever felt at least slightly comfortable with and here she goes ruining everything. Lordy they were all pieces of work weren't they? Not that she didn't have her fair share of problems: number one being her strong dislike of the male gender. She tried to keep it from interfering with her responsibilities, and it usually was ok...as long as it wasn't some skeevy loser....

But here he was, walking away from her and....

She didn't want him to go.

Nothing made sense....but all she could think of was him discretely trying to cover his ears. That one motion of insecurity had made all the difference. Unlike all the other men she had met over the years, he seemed human...well....he was obviously not human...but yeah. There was a connection. He wasn't like most others....

She just hoped he wouldn't prove her wrong.....

Snapping out of her shock-induced trance, Chailyn stood and raced after Khas's retreating form, bloody scrap of clothing still clutched in her hand.

"Khas....Khas I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...." She started, but decided to take a leap of faith...and of comfort no less...and rested her hand around his uninjured arm.

"I'm the reason you're hurt, so don't think you're getting away that easily. I have to at least make sure you make it to the infirmary in one piece."

[Anonymous]

Obviously miffed. Well, Khas sighed, he wasn't as insulted or ashamed or even embarrassed as he seemed. Always at least a little used to be a bit of a failure, being laughed at was nothing new or special. Still was annoying though. Khas felt a little bad for just getting up and leaving, sure she had cackled but maybe it was a nervous reaction? Maybe falling down the stairs really was that funny?

Just like watching someone smack themselves was funny.

The hand on his arm startled him slightly and Khas stopped before looking down and breathing a sigh. Well, she was better than a knight or another solider. Anything was better than a Knight. He was generally taller than them, less waify than serenians. Khas wasn't serenian by blood line, a full blooded elf from the forests, he noticed that the men here were either really girly or not girly at all.

Then again. Khas looked down at Chailyn for a moment, the women too. Looked really, very womanly, or like the manly men.

Khas stared for a moment before a sharp pain in his hand made him gasp aloud and wince visibly.  "Yes, ma'am." He stuck his tongue out at her with the hint of a smile before he continued walking, frowning slightly before stopping and looking around. "Chai, do you know where the infirmary is from here?"

[Goldie]

A small smile tugged at her lips and she took that moment to stick her tongue out back at him. Did she know where the infirmary was...it was a ridiculous questions! How many times had she chosen to roam the halls instead of mingle with nobles and other people Fenway seemed to think important enough to entertain? All of the feasts left her feeling drained and she made sure to show her face only as long as politeness required.

People were....interesting. And not in a good way either. Most of the time she was met either with ridicule in the noble's eyes that someone of her stature would become the Head Mage over more 'suitable noble' candidates, or by fear. It seemed that stories about her and the first battle at Serendipity she had been a part of. That battle had made her aware of certain abilities that she rather liked to forget she even had.

"The infirmary?" she asked incredulously, one thin dark-red eyebrow raising after she pulled her tongue back into her mouth. "That was the first place I found after coming to Serendipity years ago. Some little thing about getting caught in some sort of explosion." she shrugged, "Small things, nothing to troublesome." the irony in her voice dripped from her words and she couldn't help her smile grow which she quickly hid by turned her head towards the ground.

Her smile faded slightly as she remembered why they were going there in the first place.

"I really am sorry, Khas." she murmured, "How is your hand feeling?"