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Stranger Danger (DragonSong)

Started by Kingfisher, February 06, 2018, 09:38:30 AM

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Kingfisher

Alexis nodded, dipping bread into her stew.  "Right.  Well, I feel fairly confident," she admitted.  "This was the first time I've ever had a real sense of my power.  I know where to reach and from there, I might just be able to figure out how to limit my range..."  Tearing into the broth-soaked flatbread, the mercenary quickly swallowed.  "I'm still a long way off, but I have no problem with working hard."

Changing topic quickly, Alexis found her mind shifting back to earlier.  "I'm sorry.  I just realized I tore you away from your own study back at the library.  That was incredibly rude of me."

DragonSong

"Oh no, that's quite alright," Joseph hurried to assure her with a quick smile. "I'm not exactly studying anything in particular, anyway. Just...whatever I can get my hands on. Working with you is an equally valuable experience, I should think."

Kingfisher

As she continued to eat, Alexis' tactical mind buzzed.  As grateful as she was for his help, she wondered at his nature.  The way he spoke, he sounded like a wandering sage yet he came across as something more.  What that "more" actually was, she could only guess.  Though she had none to hazard as of yet...

There was a lull in the pair's talk and the mercenary found herself hunting for a new topic to discuss..."If you have no specific ties to the area, do you find yourself travelling a great deal?"  There was no criticism in her voice; she herself was migratory, travelling in search of conflicts to exploit.  In her case, Alexis tried to pass it all off as simple curiosity.

DragonSong

Joseph hummed quietly, considering how to answer. "I do," he settled on finally. "Though not as much as I should like. Until recently in fact, I hardly left Hyoite. Or, rather, just outside the village. But, we only have one life to live, yes?"

He smiled a little wistfully, almost...regretful. "It is up to us to make the most of it."

Kingfisher

Alexis was a little surprised to hear her teacher speak of a city on the edge of the tundra. "You have travelled rather a long way on nothing more than a fancy," she commented.  She herself had never been and it had been a coin toss between north and south when she abandoned Connlaoth.  "Although," the mercenary admitted, "I'm in a similar boat, despite not having travelled nearly as much."

A little curious, Alexis honed in on the new topic.  "You seem rather familiar with my homeland, but what about yours?"  Having finished her meal, she set the bowl aside before continuing to say, "All I know about Hyoite is that it gets even colder than Connlaoth."  Discretion had lead the woman to avoid pressing into Joseph's memories; it would be easy to force him to clam up if she made him defensive...

DragonSong

Joseph just smiled a little enigmatically. "To be perfectly honest, that's probably all you need to know," he chuckled. "And to be frank with you, it's not exactly my homeland. I moved there some years ago, but it was not where I grew up, or where I lived most of my life."

Kingfisher

Whatever secret this Joseph carried, they were his and Alexis could tell it would be nearly impossible to convince him to share.  Still, figuring out who this wanderer was was a secondary concern.  Having finished her meal the Captain set aside her bowl.  Looking back to the teacher, Alexis asked, "Shall we get back to our training?  I could do with another round; maybe some notes on ways to continue on my own."  Ink and vellum were back in her tent, and a part of her wondered at the merits of perhaps publishing a manuscript on controlling Mordecaism...It seemed the sort of book the world desperately needed.

DragonSong

"Of course, I'd be happy to," Joseph said, nodding. "Do you have a way of taking notes, or do you trust your memory?"

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