Humility is the Worst Punishment

[kleineklementine]

It was true. Trillium was supposed to be protecting this old man. But now he was old and pathetic-looking and smelly. Tenran was... well, still old, but at least tolerable. Her loyalties were perhaps not the firmest. If she put more thought into it, she could have excused her current role in the man's predicament by insisting that she was actually meant to protect the town and that it was her responsibility to determine whether or not he was a threat to them.

Instead, when he touched her with his bound hands, she just recoiled, giving him the sort of look of disgust that only the very young can give the very old.

"You just keep calling me a 'foolish girl' and see how much it makes me want to protect you," she sneered at him. "I'm here to find out if he has tricks," she gestured with her head to Tenran, "or if you have. And I'm pretty sure that's what my mentor would want me to do, so you be quiet before I knock you back out with the but of my sword."

"Why... you...!" Bonacher seethed at her and, sensing that he wasn't going to win her back to his side - he hadn't liked her anyway, the sulky, selfish creature! - raised his bound hands to strike her in his frustration.

But while Trillium insisted that she hated fighting and swordplay and battle, she proved surprisingly ready to strike once the man made a move at her. Moving swiftly to the side, she caused Bonacher to lose his balance and, while he stumbled, she kicked him sharply in the groin. Then she snorted, like a stag that had just won a duel, as she glared hard down at the old man. Perhaps she wasn't quite the pretty girly girl she thought herself to be.

A moment later, she looked a bit sheepishly at Tenran. "Sorry, I suppose that won't make him much quicker on his feet," she said as the man cursed and groaned on the ground. Now that her disdain was focused on Bonacher, it seemed to pass over Tenran for the moment.

[Lion]

Tenran stepped back and gave Trillium and astonished expression, stepping back and even offering a chuckle at manner which Bonacher tried to exact retaliation and failed.  "No, no, a good kick to the groin is just what he needed.  And he'll walk just as fast as we need him too, or he'll get a bolt right in the ass," he laughed and gave Trillium a genuine smile.  Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.  Well, Tenran wasn't about to jump to any conclusions right off the bat, especially since it was just one instance of Bonacher getting what was coming to him.

He helped the old man to his feet and held him along, though he still whimpered from the pain.  "I'll try to be more careful about what I say around you then, Delancy," Tenran addressed casually.  "Don't need a kick to the family jewels with boots like those.  Seems you've got a good leg on you.  If you're going to tag along, then you might as well help out.  Who knows...if you make yourself worthwhile, I might even consider splitting the bounty with you as well."

He gave a mocking laugh, as if that would only happen when hell froze over, but he suppose it didn't hurt to dangle some cheese in front of the little mouse and see how fast she would run to catch it anyway. 

"You ever done bounty hunting before?"

[kleineklementine]

"I certainly have not!" Trillium answered haughtily. Or, at any rate, with affected haughtiness. For even while she turned her nose up to signify that the whole business of bounty hunting and groin-kicking was far beneath her, she couldn't suppress a faint smile from her face. The Knight-to-be was certainly not immune to praise, even in the teasing form it took on Tenran's lips. "And it's Lady Delancy."

"You just wait," Bonacher threatened darkly while he was prodded on, "you just wait, girl, until I tell the Order how you're conspiring with this filthy witch's servant. They'll hang you for treason! But I won't tell them if you..."

"Oh, put a sock in it," Trillium interrupted loudly, giving a great roll of her eyes. "I'll get commending for seeing through your scam if he's right. And if he's wrong," she gave a shrug, "I guess I'll just have to kill you to keep you quiet."

Bonacher returned to mutteringly darkly to himself; not wanting another kick. The interruption over, Trillium looked up at Tenran with an open smile now, casually brushing aside a piece of dark hair that'd come loose in a very girlish gesture. "But it'd be lucky for you if I did!" she said brightly, and a bit smugly. "Think of how valuable an Adhara would be to you. What with bigger and bigger bounties on more and more renegade mages. There will only be more as the war goes on." She said this with a disregard that betrayed how far away her youthful life was from the reality of war.

[Lion]

Tenran clearly ignored Bonacher's protests and exclamations.  He was glad to see as well that Trillium was no longer willing to listen to the bullshit that spewed out of his mouth.  The old man was a spry and sly little turd, but even the grizzled bounty hunter had to respect his persistence at trying to maintain his ruse.  it was just a shame that nobody was buying into it anymore.

"All right then, Lady Delancy," Tenran replied mockingly.  He rolled his eyes at her and gave her a speculative glare at her pompous pride.  "You do make an interesting point.  But I don't just take any ol' kid from some mud hutt and ask them to tag along.  You say you're an Adhara, and you're quite fond of yourself.  So why don't you just go back to your mentor and tell her that your mission was a smashing success, and you protected the village with flying colors.  And the old man had an unfortunate accident in a ditch somewhere.  And then she can move you onto another punishment I'm sure you'll abhor."

He laughed at her.  "Besides, life on the road isn't easy, darling.  And it's even less glamorous than that mud village you were in, or you're training, I'm sure.  You ought to go back while there's still less space between you and civilization."

[kleineklementine]

"Who said I was offering to help you?" Trillium asked loftily. But the sidelong look she cast up at him betrayed, if he was paying attention, that she might not be as wholly indifferent as she let on. "I only said that it would be useful for a bounty-hunter, having an Adhara on hand to aid them. I never actually said that I wanted to tag along after you on the road or anything as vulgar as that."

At the thought of skipping back to the citadel in Reajh to report to Lydia on her task thus far - she wasn't looking forward to what her mentor would think about her letting a bounty hunter take one of the villagers, and leaving the village without so much as a few parting words to just two women! - Trillium puffed her cheeks in exhale, her eyes big at the thought. "I think you underestimate how unpleasant the mentors of the Knights can be. I'm pretty sure they vet them for sadism," she said. The loft pretenses were gone from her voice now, and she sounded much more like a girl speaking in earnest than a Knight or lofty noble. "To make sure they have it in abundance, I mean! I don't want to be a Knight, anyway, not that anyone cares. 'It's so rare a gift'; 'I should be so honored'; 'Think of the prestige it will bring to our family,'" she rattled off the list of reasons told to her, in an imitated voice that was likely her mother.

But Trillium hadn't entirely given up on her thought from earlier, and she was perhaps walking closer now to Tenran than she had been before her answer.

[Lion]

Tenran wasn't ignorant of the sarcastic, high-n-mighty tone she offered him by way of response.  He had to hold back a laugh, not only at her choice of words, but that he might actually consider them on part of the look she offered as well.  An Adhara to aid him?  In all the years he had been working as a bounty hunter, he'd never needed help from an Adhara or a Mordecai.

"I'm sure any Adhara, would have better things to do than go bounty hunting,"  He gave her a speculative glare and walked a little faster and a little more away from her when she came closer to him.  It was a poor attempt to invade his personal space bubble.  Her tone betrayed enough, and he wasn't immune to it for it was a stark change from how she spoke only moments before.

"Welcome to the club," Tenran grumbled, shrugging it off.  Of course he'd already been there and done that, doing what was best for the family, than what you wanted to do.  His father wanted him to be as great a general as all the others in his family, to carry the name into the annals of history.  But what for...death and glory?  Those years seemed so far behind him.

"How many young boys do you think want to spend years trudging through mud and fire and blood on the battle field?  You're not the only one who isn't doing what they want to do.  Some have more choice in it than others.  Boys watching their friends blown to bits, burn to ash, screaming for their mothers, trying to put their guts back in their bellies..."  He sighed and looked at her with mild exhaustion.  Of course she didn't want to be a knight.  She didn't even look like one.  "Best to just run away while you can.  Before your years run away from you."

[kleineklementine]

Trillium stopped in her tracks at Tenran's words, looking at him open-mouthed. She stared at him with a mix of indignation and anger. "Yes, I know, and don't look at me like I'm the one who sends them there!" she countered. "All the boys I know have been sent to war. Every one of them over fifteen. And who knows which ones will come back! You think I don't know that? And it's not like it probably was whenever you were young, old man," she continued hotly, "when there was mostly peace and the army was a way to go off for a few years and get bathed in glory and manly.... whatever! There's a war now! A real one! Even my brother, who I love more than anyone, and don't look at me like there's anything I can do. Women aren't the ones sending all their boys away to the army!"

Trillium was vaguely conscious of the fact that her tirade was wobbling a bit and she shut her jaw in an angry clench. In fact, she was a little embarrassed by her response. She'd never really thought about it much before, but she knew she was supposed to think that every man - unlike her father - should join the army and take great pride in it. So she found herself frustrated, and a little confused, and then she realized that Tenran and the old fart were several meters ahead of her now. Giving a huff, she sprinted to keep up with them, looking surly up at Tenran once she'd caught up to him.

"And I suppose you know all about running away, bounty hunter."

[Lion]

Her tirade splashed on him like water on glass and leaving nothing more than little more than water beads.  He would have scowled if she wasn't just a kid really.  She was sixteen!  What did she know?  Oh, that's right, that's what she was busy telling him.  Everything she knew, but it was very different from what you knew versus what you had seen, what you heard, what you felt in your own experiences. 

But the look hadn't meant to cloak her in a cloth of guilt or contempt as if she would never understand.  Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't.  That wasn't for him to say.  He just couldn't help it from the way his own service had ended up.  Besides, Tenran liked to think he was above arguing with a twelve year old - whoops, sixteen year old.

"That depends on who you ask," he said, forcing a laugh.  "My commanding officer said I was disgraced enough that I may have been better off if I'd run away, go AWOL.  Now that I think about it, maybe I should have.  It would have saved me a lot of trouble in the long run.  No...apparently I was insubordinate, let my men die, and was dishonorably discharged from the army of our great and glorious nation.  But Ansgar be damned, I'm damned happy I'm through with all that mess.  I prefer hunting scumbags like this right here, than taking orders from some horse's ass.  But I guess you get those no matter wherever you go!"

[goddammit Klemens!]

[kleineklementine]

Keeping pace alongside Tenran now, Trillium looked sidelong up at him after his surprisingly candid description of his own service. The girl was curious; it seemed as though Tenran might be more than just a grumpy old bounty hunter after all. But Trillium was gradually deciding that she liked him - despite, or perhaps because of, his dismissive gruffness - and she decided not to press the issue. Instead she carried on next to Tenran in silence, mostly looking at the ground and thinking her own thoughts..And those thoughts, at the moment, were mostly concerned with what a sad old man Tenran was, and how good it would be of her to stick around and help him out and make him a bit less pathetic. After all, the more she thought about it, the more romantic the idea of being a bounty hunter became. (This was greatly aided by her general ignorance of the reality of life on the road, or general combat, etc.) Knights had to follow rules, rules, rules. Rules about honor, rules about behavior, rules of combat, rules about sex. But a bounty hunter surely made their own rules! Lived dangerously! (Living dangerously, in her young mind, was of course immediately equated with ‘sexy.’) It wasn’t what she’d dreamed of, obviously: being swept away by a knight or an earl or a duke. But all things considered, surely it would be better than life as a Knight.

She kicked a stone that jumped up off the ground and hit Bonacher squarely in the buttocks.

“Watch it, girl!” the old man growled, looking back and baring his teeth at Trillium. “Don’t make me hurt you!”

Trillium shook her head, then said to Tenran, “He really is a scumbag, isn’t he?” In response, she gave Bonacher another sharp kick, this time mercifully just his ankle, not his groin. “And I hope that comment about ‘horses asses’ wasn’t directed at me!” The way she said this was so devoid of her prior sassy pride that it would be hard for Tenran not to think that the girl was, perhaps, taking a bit of pity on him. Trying to manufacture harmless banter to ‘lighten the mood.’ “Obviously I’d have to slice your head off with my Very Dangerous and Impressive swordsmanship skills for the insult if it were!”

[Lion]

If Tenran could read minds - particularly Trillium's in all her considerations - at this particular moment, he would have knocked her sideways and frontways and any other -ways to knock some sense into her.  Of course she probably wasn't as feather brained or lightheaded as he assumed she was, but Tenran was never one to take much for granted.  And he didn't need a kid hanging around to make his job all the more difficult.

Though, he had to admit.  She was proving to be welcome company for now.  It was either her or talk to Bonacher and the bounty hunter wasn't about to give that old man any opportunity to try and talk his way out of this.  He was afraid if he did, Tenran would throttle him and bring him in more worse for wear.  He wasn't one to rough up his bounties like a lot of the other hunters and mercenaries that could care less.  It made for a bad reputation, no matter how reliable you were, especially if the old criminal was wanted alive and not dead.  Dead was always the easy part.

When she kicked Bonacher however, Tenran threw a glare her way and her smart comment.  But an amused grin danced on his lips and he scoffed at her, meanwhile the old man limped and danced on the road from her kick.  "So what if I did?  I doubt your skills could prove to be anymore dangerous than -"

But Bonacher had seized his momentary opportunity in Tenran's distraction to swing his own leg up as hard and as viciously as he could.  Tenran's expression suddenly blanched and a wheezing squeal escaped his mouth after the old man kicked him in the groin and began running like a wild chicken down toward the side of the road.  Tenran held his groin and feel to his knees, then glared up at the girl.  "Well!?  CATCH HIM!" he howled, and shoved her after the runaway with his free hand.

[kleineklementine]

Trillium was off before Tenran had even finished 'well.' After all, this was an opportune time to prove her usefulness! And, plus, she didn't like Bonacher. He was old, ugly, smelly, and bossy. Bossy to her nonetheless. Really. The nerve. Didn't he know about the natural order between ugly-and-old-and-common and young-and-beautiful-and-rich?

Despite his headstart, Bonacher was an old man and Trillium was young and, despite her whining, fairly athletic and it didn't take her too long to catch up with the old man. But once she decided to actually do something, Trillium wasn't one to temper her actions. Coming up to Bonacher, she caught him in a full-on tackle, sending both of them tumbling off the slightly-elevated road and into the woodland below. A short scuffle ensued, ending with Trillium sitting 'triumphantly' on Bonacher's chest, pinning him to the leaf-littered forest floor.

"Who's a horse's ass now?" she called happily up to Tenran, beaming. After all, she was the one who caught the runaway! He was just the one who'd squealed. Really, what were men thinking, having such sensitive bits? "See you, need a - OW!" she suddenly yelped. "He bit me! Can I slice his head off for that?"

[Lion]

After a full minute of recovery, Tenran was able enough to climb to his feet whilst Trillium was happily yapping on the other side of the brush.  He couldn't exactly see them between the trees, but from the sound of her triumph he made the effort to hurry toward the scene.  Limping after them, he watched Bonacher struggle beneath her weight and cursing foul obscenities that would make even him blush.

"No!  You can't chop off his head.  He'll be worth half his bounty.  But he tries that again, I'll let you castrate him if you want," Tenran growled.  At that Bonacher shot him an 'are you serious?' look and ceased his struggles.  Nudging Trillium to get off him, he grabbed the old man up by the collar and did the only thing that seemed to bring any real results and struck him with the back of his hand.

The blow was enough to make Bonacher spin on his heel and drop to the ground, unconscious.  Tenran put a hand on his hip and gave Trillium a speculative glare, especially that goofy expression on her face.  "So what?  You caught one crook, you must think you're some sort of hot shot now right?  Well, I'm not one to pass up the opportunity to tell you off but...  You did pretty good.  You never let the bounty get away.  First rule of bounty hunting.  And what the hell are you smiling about!?"

[kleineklementine]

"Gross! No thank you!" Trillium pulled a disgusted face at Tenran's suggestion that she could, if she wanted to, castrate Bonacher if he stepped out of line again. For her part, Trillium wanted nothing to do with that whole... region... of the old man! Even if it was to give him his comeuppance. She leapt nimbly up off the old man at Tenran's nudge and the disgusted look disintegrated from her features. In fact, despite her reaction to that suggestion, the girl still looked quite pleased with herself. Especially when Tenran himself said she'd done 'pretty good.' She, of course, already knew that, but now he'd said it! And his glare only made her grin brighter.

She peered down at the limp form of Bonacher, trying to hide her obvious pleasure and look serious. "Here," she said, and began undoing her braided hair. The purpose of this might not have been obvious at first, but when her long, dark hair tumbled down around her, she produced a long leather cord that had been holding it all together. Eager to show her usefulness, she hopped down to Bonacher and bound his hands together behind his back. She even used a proper knot. It seemed that, perhaps, she hadn't dismissed all of her training.

"Oh no," she answered earnestly while she finished the binding knot, "I certainly don't! I'm just starting off, after all. I suppose I won't become a very good bounty hunter unless someone with more skill and experience takes me on as his - or her! - apprentice. Maybe someone who could use some extra help, anyway, in things like running after escaping criminals." She didn't quite have the cheek to meet his eye as she said this, but she did give a meaningful look at the odd contraption around his lame leg. Then she undid the leather belt of her armor, looping it around Bonacher's binding to make something of a leash. She got back to her feet and, with her hair unbound and down around her, she looked more like a girl and less like a knight than ever. But nonetheless, she looked proudly at Tenran, explaining the obvious, "For when he wakes up again."

[Lion]

[I could have sworn Bonacher's hands were already tied up.  Maybe he undid them somehow?]

Tenran was giving Trillium the glare of glares.  If he had any magic in him surely it was a glare that could melt her skin off and make it dance around her like a separate person.  But even he wasn't that morbid.  He knew her game, he knew what she was getting at and he knew one thing was for sure -

"It's not gonna happen.  Not in a million years!  And certainly not just because you tackled one old man to the ground.  You'd get killed and the last thing I need is to be responsible for some...kid knight and her trusty sword, Rusty - or whatever you call that thing!  No thanks!  It's a lot tougher than this, trust me.  Not something you should get involved in," he said, brushing her off.  "Way too dangerous."