The Road to Adventure

[Anonymous]

((ooc: After A simple escort?))

"Thank you both very much," she said with a bow. Her reddish-brown hair toppled over her shoulder in a single plait. As she stood, she allowed it to stay there.

"No need to thank us dear. You made the ride quite enjoyable."
"Are you sure you don't want us to take you farther?"

Her eyes went from one elderly person to the next. The couple always managed to bring a smile to her face. Now, even her smile couldn't hide the mix of emotions inside of her. She wanted to stay, tucked away in their farm on the edge of Connlaoth, but she knew she couldn't stay. They'd truly been the best company she'd had in days. She didn't want to be a burden. Hazel eyes scanned the distant town that had always been her home. She looked toward the south after, towards a new life of adventure and wonder. And magic. She almost wanted to take them up on their offer. Heck, she almost wanted to  them to drive her back to the city. It passed quickly though as she regained control of her thoughts. A little fear never killed anybody. What was the worse that could happen?

She looked back at the graying pair. "No, this is fine. Really." They looked about as convinced as she felt, which wasn't much at all. She waved her hands in front of her, as if to disperse the uneasy feeling. "Truly! If you take me any farther, I won't be able to get my barrings. Out there's a whole world I want to see. if I don't start doing things myself, I won't last too long." There, that was a good excuse. She felt strongly about that. Even though it wasn't the main reason, it would serve for now.

The couple hunched over man looked at his wife. "She has a good point, Martha."

His wife, on the other hand was tearing up. The teen wasn't sure how she felt about that. Without warning, the woman put her in a smothering hug. "Oh Kaylin! I've only known you for two days and I feel like loosing my little girl again."

Kaylin tried her best to return the hug, but was only able to provide a somewhat decent pat on her back through the pain. How in the world could such a thin woman contain that much strength. When Martha was done, Kaylin took a big breath of air. "I'll miss you, too. Both of you." She gave Karl a hug before giving Martha a proper one. Thankfully it didn't hurt as much as the last one.

With a final wave, she departed the two. They had told her repeatedly to stay on the path, stay on the path. She walked along the dirt road heading toward the distant mountains. If she'd left right away, she would've made three days progress by now, now she was little more than half a day away from the edge of town. Maybe staying on the path wasn't that bad an idea as she had a tendency to get side tracked. Her eyes wandered around the lush landscape. What fun was staying on a predetermined path? Carefully she hopped onto the grass. "Ha!" She let out in triumph. It didn't take long for her to start wandering farther away from it. Eventually she heard the sound of water and decided to follow it.

She was brought to a gentle river hidden by the trees. It wasn't terribly wide, and probably not insanely deep. Maybe it was really a stream. Regardless, it was wondrous. Kaylin rushed towards the waters edge, kneeling so that she might feel it with her hands. This was the first time she'd seen water so natural. It was enchanting. She was so engaged with it that she was unaware of being watched by four sets of eyes.

[Anonymous]

Since he'd spoken with Connie and left the Inn there, he'd felt he'd been closing in on Kaylin. It'd been a long time since he'd been on a horse for this amount of time riding cross-country. It eerily reminded him of the days after he'd left his master and his training. Usually he would've been quicker to shove the thoughts aside.

Takuma's traveling had only paused when both he and the horse needed to rest. So far he was disappointed that he hadn't seen anything that look like men sent by Vaulca. Though, if he had to guess he'd say they'd already found Kaylin. A morbid thought, but it was the likely thing.

The horse's hooves clomped lazily down the road at a brisk jaunt as it passed a farm. He glanced over the rows of crops for only a moment, before looking ahead. Only a minute past the farm, following the path, he rounded a thicket of trees, his eyes catching sight of someone not far off in the distance. Stopping the horse immediately, Takuma watched, catching a glimpse of the figure hopping from the path and into the grass on the side. He lost sight.

The glimpse of long red hair told the bodyguard enough. Dismounting, he kept hold of the reins of the horse, walking down the path and to where he'd watched the girl leave the path and into the forest. Stopping at the edge of the trees, he placed the horse's reins around one of the low-hanging branches, but not tied securely enough that it could not break free if something spooked it. After he tied the reins, he looked about the trees for a few moments, listening intently for sounds of others.

He doubted they hadn't found Kaylin, so he would have to assume they were skilled. He couldn't afford to underestimate them now. Placing a hand to his belt, the message scroll was still tucked into his belt and he followed Kaylin's tracks into the forest, his spear held under his arm in it's usual passive position.

He could hear water ahead, turning from Kaylin's tracks, he moved further downstream of it through the trees, quiet and cautious while he kept himself hidden behind the line of trees. He lowered the spear to the ground as he settled himself for a moment. He could clearly see Kaylin by the water, but he wasn't watching for her. This was a good spot for an ambush as any. Away from the path so no commoners to intervene, trees for cover until the last moment. He wasn't far away, but he was close enough to intercept. No doubt these men were hidden as well as him, he'd have to wait for them to make their move.

Those dark green eyes were just as watchful as the others.

[Anonymous]

Completely opposite the side Takuma was concealed in, two figures stood hidden in their surroundings. Their dark clothes blended well into the thick trees of their area, but they wouldn't be hidden from well trained eyes. One man wore a hood that covered his face. His arms were folded one over the other, but that was all that could be made out from this distance. That, and the fact that he looked built to the extreme. He towered a head over another figure who seemed to be conversing with him. The other man had auburn hair, and was of smaller build. The clothes he wore seemed fit for travel. More than that would be hard to decipher at this distance. The larger man gave a solid nod of his head before turning, heading deeper into the trees. The remaining man turned his grey eyes toward Takuma before leaning against a tree. He didn't seem phased in the least that the spearman was there. Mildly intrigued, but not much more than that. He even had the nerve to smile and wave at man with a spear.

By the water, Kaylin was still oblivious. There were things in and on the water, aside from a few fish of course. It was really spellbinding. The thought of magic made her recoil her hand. Lifting it, Kaylin shook off the excess water. My whole life's ahead of me. Here I am thinking about being at sea, i don't even know what to call this water.... No way i'm going back now though, she thought silently. She was unaware of the danger around her. People have told her the world was dangerous. The most she had seen up close was a chicken being beheaded and a stray kitten being abducted. She's heard stories of things that her mind could only fathom. Despite how much she knew of the world, everything wasn't exactly as she pictured it.

The man hidden in the trees and waving at Takuma made a sudden gesture of his hand. It was a signal. After a brief moment, a man with a sword dropped from above the trees to attack Takuma. He also wore dark clothes and had a fiery mass of hair. His skin was darker than most in Connlaoth though. Adelan most likely. Though young, he had a fierce determination laced with pride. His attacks were silent, swift, and continuous. One good blow looked as though he would have to result into different tactics. He tried to stay out of the clearing and try to force Takuma to withdraw back ward. His attacks at this time weren't meant to hurt, but to push him back.

This was something Kaylin defiantly would notice. Before she could look in that direction though, she heard a whistle from someone approaching the river. There was a gentle smile on his lips and his eyes were closed. The auburn haired man waved to Kaylin in greeting. "Ahoy there! Water's fascinating isn't it." The man said. He looked to be in his early twenties. With his eyes closed, it was hard to see the mans true intentions.

 "Indeed," Kaylin said quietly. She was cautious, but not afraid. it was only one person after all. The She stood up, pushing her braid to its rightful place at her back. "Is this your land?" Her question went unanswered. The man kept walking towards her. This put her on edge. People usually spoke when they asked a simple question. The sounds in the surrounding land reached her ears, but she didn't want to let the man out of her sight. Her own eyes narrowed as her hands balled into fists. "Alright. Somehow I doubt you're here for small talk. What is it you want?" Still nothing. Everything stood on end. She took a step back before falling into a make shift fighting stance. "Don't make me hurt you," She said with force, despite her uncertainty. At no other time was it so painfully obvious how much she was a terrible liar.

A deep rumble came to his throat. The man stopped, tilting his head up in a light laugh. it made her skin crawl, how casual it was. He suddenly stopped, grey eyes peering at her like a predator. he paid no mind to how his friend in the woods was fairing. He had his eyes on the prize. "Now now, no need for that deary."

((ooc: please feel free to have the npc attacking Takuma react and attack how'd you like.))

[Anonymous]

(( OOC: Okay, I'll have him attack the way you described until/if you make a post to change it. ))

Remaining against the tree, he listened intently to the surroundings. Hearing only the running water and Kaylin's movements. His eyes scanned the the trees, before movement caught his eye on the opposite side of the stream. Two of them were speaking but he was much too far to hear them. When the larger of the two head into the trees, he had to assume that was the superior of the two. Either he was retreating or finding a new vantage point, but with his exit Takuma knew something was about to happen. Dark green eyes only stared down the man with the auburn hair, giving no different reaction when he smiled or waved.

Arrogant, but that was fine, their mission was over and he could tell the fool to hike it back to wherever he came from. Kaylin was still oblivious to the imminent. Seeing the man make a quick motion with his hand, Takuma assumed that was the initiation, and he stood in preparation to intervene. The moment he'd tried to step out from the trees, he'd already been beset by an attacker. There was no time for words or barely a reaction, the enemy had the element of surprise. Not having the time to unsheath his spear, Takuma rolled to the side away from the tree first, moving the shaft of his spear up and quickly began to deflect the sequence of attacks that were thrown at him, the sound of the blade making small thuds from the impacts on the flexible shaft of the wooden spear would bounce across the clearing.

Hearing the whistle, Takuma took the time to parry another attack with counter-force to throw his opponent's balance off and lunging backwards to look towards Kaylin for long enough to see the man with the auburn hair. This was getting ugly quick, and Takuma didn't know where the larger man had sneaked off to. The one attacking him was meant to suppress him so that the other could do... something. Nothing good, he knew. Takuma swiped his hand across the end of the spear, the metal sheath clattering to the ground. No, he was going to make sure the girl knew something was wrong.

The swordsman had recovered and was back on the attack, blocking his path still. Takuma gave out a battle cry, an unusual sound of fury from such a calm man echoing across the clearing and through the trees as he charged the swordsman. The problem for the swordsman is that Takuma's spear had more range, was heavier, and was more suitable for gathering momentum. The first few strikes were light, but Takuma was quickly flowing his momentum forward with his spear swings, the blade flicking out at the swordsman's arms and legs with intent to produce small cuts and at least slow his opponent's attacks. Regardless, after Takuma had at least driven the swordsman back some, he dodged away and tried to gain some ground towards Kaylin to be within range of protecting her. These men were above the level of a bunch of thugs, and he needed to stop this quick.

Before the swordsman could catch up to him, Takuma's freehand went to his belt, pulling the scroll-case out and yelling at both the swordsman and the man with the auburn hair. "This paper is from your employer. Your assignment is aborted, back down." His voice was clear, but there was a hint of fury in the spearman's words. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, already having broken a sweat dealing with the surprise attacker. He was roughly fifteen feet from Kaylin and was still slowly shifting back towards her, but was keeping his spear towards the swordsman. He didn't know if they'd submit or not.

Seeing Kaylin in a fighting stance almost made him smile and frown at the same time. She wasn't a coward, but these weren't the people for her to stand up against, the girl was out of her league.

[Anonymous]

The battle cry raised all red flags all around her. Kaylin chanced a quick glance to see a man with black hair fighting a swords man. It was a short lived look at the auburn haired man took a closer step to her. He was already less than 10 feet from her. Thankfully the man stopped when she looked at him again. "Stay Back and state your business!" Fear fueled her anger. Not knowing what was going on only intensified the reaction. The smile returned to the mans face, sliding his hands into his pockets before he looked behind her. She heard a set of footsteps, one coming at her fast. She managed to pivot herself so that all three people were in range of sight.

The man with a spear stopped a decent distance away from her. The other person chasing him looked to be in his late teens, had the brightest red hair she'd seen, and had many small, deep cuts that were slowing his movements down. The man had his weapon facing the one with the sword. Kaylin listened to his words, wondered if all of this could really be happening. Was this someone elses life she was watching?

Kaylin was stilled by the man's silent fury. If she was those other guys, she knew she'd take the hint and save her life. The others didn't seem to follow her mindset though. "Employer?" The auburn haired man asked in confusion. His eyes opened to take in the message tube before he went into a fit of humorous laughter. The red-haired young man stilled his own labored breaths to put his free hand on the hilt of another sword on his back. His whole focus came to be on the taller man with dark green eyes. The pleasant laughter became darker as the brief moment went on. Finally auburn-hair stopped, delivering Takuma a cocky glare. "The only person I answer to is Commander Wayde. Since I don't think he's magically transformed into a tasteless bum recently, maybe you should be off to fetch him if you'd like results," The sinister look returned to his features. Lin felt her legs moving her closer to Takuma, ever so slowly. "Hope you don't mind if the party continues without you." The bright, red haired grip tightened on his weapons. The first man delivered another chuckle. "Actually you're right, Agito. It wouldn't be much of a party if he left.... Finish him!"

The man with red hair drew his sword in a flash, resolve settled in his eye. It might've been clear that he never expected for a fight to go this far, that the young man though trained to take a life in combat, had never actually done so, nor even faced such an opponent that could possibly take his. He didn't want to fight, but what choice did he have now? Steeling himself, he charged for Takuma. Before within range of the spear, he dove to the side, hoping to confuse his opponent. At the sight of new battle, Kaylin's plan get-closer-to-the-least-crazed-person quickly transformed into operation Get-The-Hell-Away! Without second thought, she headed for a safer spot. She ended up closer to the water, but turned so she could see everyone. This was fine with gray-eyes as he was more focused on watching the fight. Kaylin kept backing up, wishing she had thought to bring a weapon to protect herself with before leaving that farm. An axe, a pitchfork, hell even a shovel would've been better than nothing. There had to be something she could use. Soon, she was stepping on something solid before her boots hit something hard. Kaylin glanced down. Rocks! That was better than nothing. Looking around, she found the heaviest one she could carry without strain.

The auburn haired man continued to watch the battle, a deep frown on his face. Agito was no match for the man. It didn't matter that he wanted to succeed, it was the fact that he wasn't that had to be dealt with. If only there was a way to tilt the battle in their favor. It might be too late for such measures, but he had to try something. He started to lift his arm, getting ready to initiate another signal. Before he gained much movement something smacked into the back of his shoulder. Hard. He let out a grunt laced with surprise, pain, and anger. He spun around, reaching to grab whoever it was behind him. The only thing he caught was a red braid. He snarled down at the medium rock dropped near his foot as Kaylin tried to reduce the pain of his grip. She had snuck up behind him in hopes to get a surprise blow. It was a surprise alright. She didn't mean to slip on the grass and land a hit, and avoid a blow all in one mistake. He hulled her up from the base of her braid from her crouched position.

"Ooo, I can not iterate how lucky you are that I can't hurt you. I'm certainly not in the mood to entertain you, deary. First we're ordered not to have standard fun with you, then you try to insult me with your lowly moves. Make one wrong move and I might have to rethink orders." There was a glint in the distance, unbeknown to either of the two. It was small, light reflecting off an arrow. It seemed to be pointing in the general direction of the four in the clearing. The exact target wouldn't be known until it made its mark.

((ooc: ^_^ You know the drill. Feel free to KO or injure more the npcs.))

[Anonymous]

So these weren't the men sent by Vaulca. Unfortunate, but it was a definite possibility in the beginning. Takuma took a deep breath and slowly relaxed his body more, he was outnumbered here and had to watch from more than one direction. But when Kaylin had slowly been stepping closer, he'd only glance back at her momentarily, his focus returning to the younger swordsman when he'd drawn the sword from his back.

He couldn't afford to draw this out anymore. When Agito charged him, Takuma let the wild-haired boy's momentum build, he'd already read his body language in the past couple minutes, this was over. When the strike came after the dive, he swept the blade to the side with a parry from the spear blade, throwing the boy off balance for only a moment. After that, it moved in much of a blur, letting the swordsman's momentum carry him past Takuma and his whole weight shifting at once in a pivot and turn. The dull end of the spear would strike the swordsman on the back of the head, making an audible crack as he quite nearly broke the spear shaft over the swordsman's head, listening to his body tumble to the ground. The one fluid movement that left Agito unconscious had taken place in only about the space of a second.

The blow wasn't lethal, but was enough to knock the man out for a few minutes. Turning, Takuma looked to see the man with the auburn-hair holding Kaylin by a braid. "The first time I warned you as a man with a document." He stepped towards the man with the auburn-hair, dark green eyes becoming a bit more ruthless. "Now you're being given your last chance by a warrior with a weapon. Let her go." This was going to be his last time trying to resolve things peacefully. He'd have to incapacitate him as well, and anyone else who got in his way, after this.

He only noticed the glint in the distance when he was attempting to look past the auburn-haired man to Kaylin. It could have been any piece of metal glinting, but whether it be an arrow, armor or a sword, he couldn't tell from this distance. The sooner Takuma could get Kaylin from the stream and back on the path, the better.

[Anonymous]

The man turned his glare from Kaylin to Takuma. This mission was to be an easy one. Grab the girl, get the reward. Now he was down one co-worker, and had to explain to his boss why the girl looked mildly roughed up. Why did things have to be difficult? The look in Takuma's eyes was intense. The man's own eyes tried to scrounge up more anger to cover his withering courage.

Usually in when  caught between a rock and a hard place, a witty remark could be used to get out of danger. Sometimes a mean one, sometimes a nice one, sometimes a bunch of jibberish. Kaylin was having problems coming up with said remarks as she was now beginning to understand that she wasn't just a listening to some story. This was
The grip on her hair hurt regardless of how much she tried to prevent it. Soon it just started to agitate herself as well. Pulling and hitting didn't work, Kaylin resulted to words while trying to think of something else she could do. "You should do what he says before you really regret it," she said with a mix of emotions. Looking around, she also noticed the glint in the distance. Fear sneaked up her again. The stories where something like that happened never ended up according to plan.

"Nobody asked you!" The man yelled, grip tightening before her shoved her aside with one arm. Kaylin gave a cry of pain as the man effortlessly tossed her. As soon as he did this, something shot out from the trees heading straight for the auburn haired man. Swiftly it made it's way to the grey-eyes torso. The turn of his body had it collide with his shoulder though. He made no sound at the impact, but seem obviously surprised. Kaylin pushed herself up as best as she could what was going on, thankful that the place she landed in was free of large rocks. Blood poured down the mans arm from where an arrow was deeply embedded into his flesh. His eyes glanced to the wooded lands briefly before he let out an enraged yell. He pulled the arrow head from his arm as he focused on Takuma. The pain fueled his insanity as he blindly rushed toward his opponent armed with only the arrow in his hand. It was a poor, desperate attack made by a man who knew it would be best to have battled the man than to retreat licking his wounds.

[Anonymous]

As soon as Kaylin was thrown down, Takuma lifted the head of the spear, preparing to attack. But at that moment, he also watched as the man with the auburn hair was struck by the arrow. An archer and no cover except for the trees, this spelled trouble. Looking to Kaylin, Takuma spoke. "Can you walk?" His question to her was interrupted soon by the man becoming enraged and charging him.

The spearman stepped forward quickly, planting the blunt end of the spear into the silt using it as a source to push more force through his hips as he brought a leg up, kicking square at the man charging him. Takuma wasn't using his opponent's momentum against them this time, just meeting the man's rush with a solid strike at the middle of his chest to knock the wind out of him. Hopefully that would leave the man helpless, he didn't want to have to give him more injuries to deal with on top of the puncture from the arrow. Moving past the man, if Kaylin was able to walk, he'd simply move to grab her by the wrist and try to begin pulling her back towards the path and away from the stream. He kept his body between her and the archer, in case his shot had been aimed for her. He didn't bother saying anything else at the moment, listening intently to his surroundings while he tried to at least get Kaylin away from the more immediate dangers.

[Anonymous]

Apart from  mild ache in her arms and where she landed, Kaylin was fine. Though dazed by the events, she was able to give the man with a spear a nod before the other man attacked. Takuma settled it fine, and Kaylin stood up ready to haul it out of there. She made no protest when he took her wrist and directed them in the right direction. It was better than letting her head off in some random direction and having the whole situation repeat itself.

She needed no prompting to keep it moving . Though she didn't doubt the mans skill, she couldn't help but scan the area, looking over her shoulders and listening to sounds. There was no other movement in the trees, no strange glinting either. While they were walking, Kaylin couldn't help but feel off balance. Everything seemed surreal. "This was all just a really weird dream, right?" She said lightly, her gaze finally settled on the mans spear.

[Anonymous]

Once they got back into the trees, he'd pass the head of his spear over where he'd dropped the spear sheath. He skillfully turned the spear head and shoved it into the metal sheath. He choked up on the handle of the spear, carrying it with more ease while he still held onto Kaylin's wrist gently, hearing her question, but his mind on other things.

He gave an answer, his voice mostly distance while he watched their surroundings. "No." Once they were on the path and walking they could talk more, but for now it was important they got away from the woods. He didn't know where the larger man was at, if the archer was following, nor if they were one and the same. If they reached the road without incident, he'd release her wrist, and plant the dull end of his spear into the dirt path for a moment.

Takuma rubbed a hand over the scar on his face, thoughtful. He'd lost the document during the fight and wasn't about to go back looking for it. That might come back to bite him if he ran into Vaulca's men, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, he figured she probably had a few questions, his eyes turning from the thick woods and to the girl.

[Anonymous]

Hearing his answer changed her composition. Kaylin's eyes slid away from the Spear and went to survey the surrounding area again. Her head turned at every branch snapped, bird call, gust of wind and leaf that fell earned a glance from her. Now at least the caution was not of fear, but growing intrigue. It was almost as if she was seeing the world for the first time.

Kaylin looked at her wrist and the hand surrounding it. Her eyes wandered up to the sleeve of her shirt. It had a few traces of dirt, but nothing compared to her front, and especially not her right side. Grass stains could be clearly seen on her right side. Here was a dull ache on her hip where she slid, but it was easy to ignore. Only her imagination could figure out how bad her hair looked now. She went to adjust it to at least comfortably lay against her head, but a pain in her wrist kept her from following though. Slowly she tried to move it, but had to wince. Instead she flexed the fingers. "I can't believe that really happened," she said to herself. Once the pain was too much to bear, she closed her fist and put it near her heart. She must've landed on it somehow as well. The sleeve looked a lot more disheveled than the other. There would be quite a few bruises she'll see this time tomorrow.

Her eyes slid shut at seeing the road not much farther ahead. It was before the dirt road that she realized she was shaking. Her head was bent, many loose strands curtaining her face. When she felt her other wrist being released, she pulled it close to herself as well. "This..." Her voice cracked before she could say anymore. "This is..." Without warning her arms shot up into the air. "The Best Day of My Life!! Ouch!" They didn't stay up there long before she brought her right arm quickly back down. Clearly her shoulder wasn't sharing her excitement. Perhaps it was for the best though as it brought her attention to the man with his spear in the ground.

"Hey," Kaylin began in a less ear piercing tone. There was no keeping the smile that appeared once she made eye contact with him. "Thanks for helping me out. I've never heard of anything as fantastic as that was! Who are you anyways?"

[Anonymous]

Takuma looked down the road, having noticed that Kaylin had collected a few minor wounds herself, maybe a sprain or two at the most, but she didn't look be in enough pain to suggest anything broken. However, when her arms shot into the air, and she exclaimed her excitement, he stared at her quietly for a moment.

He knew youngsters were resilient, but he did not expect her to bounce back from being attacked this quickly. Lifting the spear tip off the path, the spear head pointed towards the air, and he kept the polearm settled against his arm and in it's passive state. His eyes only watched her for a moment when she spoke, before he turned, waving his hand for her to follow. They had walking to do, they could talk while they covered ground.

He wasn't sure how to answer her, to her that might have been fantastic, but it was different for Takuma. Battle was ugly and he could have permanently injured the swordsman with how hard he struck him. He wasn't happy with how things had turned out back there, but answered her all the same. "My name is Takuma Takiro..." He paused, looking back at her. "I'm your bodyguard until you reach where ever it is that you're headed, Kaylin." He faced back forward. His voice was calmer now, not stern or angry like he'd been back at the stream. Takuma's voice sounded more natural when he wasn't angry, it suited him better.

[Anonymous]

Kaylin fell into pace behind and to the side of him. She kept her eyes on him as waited for a response. She had patience for details, more than enough for the one who saved her life. In the time being, she took the moment to study his features. He looked to be a respectable person. His posture was straight, his clothes were good for travel and swift movement. It was clear he was a strong individual, don't someone anyone in their right mind would mess with out of the blue. That conclusion could be made even without his thick arm-guards and spear.

When he looked back at her to speak his name, she took everything in. Takuma Takiro... she thought again in her mind. Forgetting it would not be an option. She'd search her database of stories to see if his name or appearance matched anything else. His hair was black, which was uncommon to Kaylin. It was fascinating how dark his green eyes were in comparison to his hair. She saw how his eyes seemed steeled. Most likely from a life of strife and hardship. She wondered what exactly happened to give his eyes such an appearance. The lack of mirth in the recent adventure toned down her own excitement. She also caught a glimpse of his scar before he turned his head back to look forward. It went jaggedly from below his eye to his jaw. Her ears perked up at his stating who he was.

"Bodyguard?" Kaylin hesitated in taking another step. A bird called loudly behind her, startling her into keeping up. This time, she came to be in stride with Takuma. "How do you know my name? I never hired a bodyguard, let alone pay for one. So, who did?" She went through a list of possible people. She knew suggesting info often distorted the truth, so she never named anyone aloud.

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In the clearing by the stream, gray eyes slowly blinked open. There was someone standing over him. Long white hair spilled from around an open hood was all he needed to see. "Marona, you vengeful bitch! Once the Commander finds out about this-!!!" His words caught in his throat as the woman slammed her foot into the mans wound.

"He'll what? Yell at me for harming his trusty worker who failed him?" The woman carefully applied her own weight as the heel from her pumps sunk deeper into him. She wanted him to feel every bit of pain. "You weren't supposed to touch her. When Wayde speaks an instruction, we follow it. Understood?"

"Sister...," Agito spoke from behind her. The woman turned he head before walking over to him. The auburn haired man couldn't suppress a small groan in protest. The swords man looked defeated in more ways than one, but she spoke nothing of it. In his hand, he held the message Takuma was trying to ward them off with. She stopped once close enough to lift the tube with her hand. Even though she was his sister, he couldn't help but straighten up at being this close to her. The bow hung over her shoulder, and the quiver of deadly arrows on her hip. The woman studied the tube carefully before handing it back to the man. "Take this to the Commander. He may find use for it."

After receiving his nod of confirmation, Marona turned to look at the auburn haired man. "Lyron, get up. We have work to do." She scanned the forest before making her way opposite where Takuma and Kaylin went.All of them were out of the clearing, only a patch of blood marking that any one was there to begin with.

[Anonymous]

If Takuma had to throw out a guess, he figured that had better chance of meeting enemies in the Kilanthro mountains than finding anymore in Sirantil valley. Then again, those who pursued Kaylin might have been strong in numbers, and if that was the case, they could just chase Takuma and Kaylin until the two of them finally got exhausted.

Depending on how many different parties Takuma had to deal with on this assignment, he began to get the picture he might not come out of this unscathed. He was brought out of his thoughts by Kaylin's voice, his eyes continuing to watch forward, however. He unfortunately couldn't tell Kaylin who sent him and why, he'd given Vaulca his word that their discussion was to remain in secrecy.

"I can't answer that right now." He dismissed her questions. It was going to be difficult to protect Kaylin if he wasn't honest with her, there'd be some trust lost there but he couldn't be forward with everything. He'd just have to let his actions speak louder than his words and keep her out of harm, hopefully that much would keep his intentions clear throughout the journey. When she walked in stride with him, Takuma only glanced to her, seeing how roughed up she was again.

"It was brave of you to try and stand up to that man, but you should've ran. He could've hurt you a lot worse." He hadn't pegged her for the courageous type when he'd first seen her, but the girl was definitely stronger than one might think.

[Anonymous]

"Hmm," Kaylin said after Takuma claimed he couldn't say. There was no trace of it being a lie of any sort. She thought about digging into it more, but this wasn't the time to harp about it. She looked forward, brows furrowed in determined thought. "Bet it was Connie," the red-head said to herself. "Or maybe Cassie. No way Mel could afford it... I don't know if I should be insulted or grateful."

She was going to explain again how grateful she was for his help, but remembering her friends made her miss them. She'd never thought about it before, but returning to Connlaoth, especially Reajh, was out of the question for a long time. Who knew if Vaulca would change his mind, or even if her own family would start to care and send someone after her. Maybe stalling at the edge had given false thought that she was truly farther than where she really was.

Takuma's words brought her back to the here and now. Being called brave by a warrior such as him made her unconsciously puff up with pride. "This is nothing compared to other injuries you've come across." She gave a small smile before looking up at the man. "I'll heal eventually. Not that I don't see your point," she added. It didn't seem right to let his words go to deaf ears.

It was strange that she was fairly comfortable around Takuma after meeting him such a short while ago. Besides he  had kicked the ass of of to people she doubt she really had a chance against. Vaulca was around the same age, as far as she knew, and she couldn't stand being alone with him. Takuma gave off a different air, his actions practically benevolent, and the look in his eyes were completely different than her ex-employer. She suppressed a shudder at the thought, giving a brief look over her shoulder. "Just who were those people anyways? Did they have some score to settle with you, or are all bandits like that?" She looked at Takuma for an answer.

[Anonymous]

The girl was right, he'd seen worse than what she had. But he hadn't noticed how desensitized he'd become to it until he'd seen the kid get roughed up by the man with the auburn hair. Though, that train of of thought lead him to dark corners his mind hadn't visited for many years, and he wouldn't follow it now.

He didn't find another reason to speak until Kaylin asked him about the previous attackers. Takuma couldn't tell if they were simply bandits, but due to one of them being fairly young he wasn't completely settled on it being a military organization, but maybe rather hired thugs or hired assassins or mercenaries even. The two he'd fought had coordination that didn't fit with lowly thugs, but either had a lot of conviction or stupidity the way they pressed their attack so strongly.

There were too many possibilities to consider unless he ran into them again, which he wasn't exactly hoping for. Only after a few moments of thinking, Takuma shrugged, his tone not sounding entirely certain. "They weren't there for me. But if I had to guess, I'd say a bunch of hired mercenaries. Bandits aren't out of the question.. but I don't often hear of bandits being as coordinated as them." The two likely had a score to settle with Takuma now after he'd given them a bit of a beating, but he'd rather hoped they had taken the hint and dropped the assignment.

Takuma's eyes lifting to the sky, looking at the position of the sun for a few moments. They had six hours, maybe a little less, until it'd be nightfall. The dirt path they were on didn't show much signs of being anything but rural, so the chances of finding an Inn wasn't likely until they got closer to a village. He'd just have to wait and see what the next few hours would bring them.

[Anonymous]

She nodded with understanding as her eyes turned forward. "That makes sense. You sure know you stuff. Hope whoever hired you paid you well. The only things I've got are songs and stories. And a comb. And a really cool map to Serendipity - that where I'm headed off to. I think." She reached over her shoulder to feel for her pack, but found none. Slightly confused about this, she figured it must've slipped lower. She tried searching under her shoulder. "Here lemme show-" Her fingers fell on her now frizzy braid. Under that was the small of her back. Nothing else was there. Maybe it was left in the fight, but she didn't remember loosing it.

Shocking realization dawned on her face. "Oh no," she began, giving a frustrated groan as she pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead. "I left my pack in Kurt's cart!" Her eyes looked at the road behind them. Smoke from their home could be seen in the distance, but that was all she could make out from such a distance. "They must be back at the farm now...." She stood there, judging time in both hand. It might take an hour or two to back track. By the time it was dark they would be about the same distance as now.

Turning determined eyes to Takuma, it was clear Kaylin had made up her mind. "We should go back to that farm. Not only for my map and stuff. It would be good to get provisions, and maybe a cart or something to ride. We'll cover more ground that way. And," Kaylin said, holding up a dramatic finger, "It might throw anyone else off that we're not keeping to schedule." She hoped he agreed. There were other, simple reasons she wanted to go back. A warm meal, bath, and maybe even Martha could fix her hair in the mean time. She was hoping the reasons she gave would be enough to have him agree. Part of her told her to go one anyways if he said no, the other half knew she wouldn't go against his advice, especially since she owed him.

[Anonymous]

He only smiled some at the compliment, but watched her begin to search her person for the map she thought she had. Watching Kaylin come to her realization, Takuma was quiet in his own contemplation. It'd give him a chance to go back and try and find his horse. On the way out of the forest, he hadn't seen it along the road, and having the horse would definitely help for getting through the mountain passes.

His eyes settled back on Kaylin when she began to speak, eye brows raising marginally when she held a finger up for dramatic effect. It didn't take Takuma long to answer. "You're right, we will need everything we can get to cross the mountains..." There was a brief pause in his reply, before he continued, raising a hand to itch at the bottom end of his scar near his jaw. "However, if I see anyone following us to the farm we'll have to leave. We wouldn't want to bring any trouble with us."

The last he'd eaten was the day before at an Inn along the way, but that likely wouldn't last him through the mountains. Thin oxygen and he didn't know how thick the snow would be at this time of the year, he'd only ever crossed in the summer when it wasn't so heavy. But he was less concerned about his own health than Kaylin's. It was too bad he hadn't had the time to prepare before the assignment, but that couldn't be helped. He would wait to see if Kaylin would agree to his condition, he didn't want to pull others into their mess if he could avoid it.

[Anonymous]

Kaylin's determination faltered for a moment at the mention of harm coming to the older couple. Those thugs wouldn't go out of their way to harm innocent people, would they? All the stories she heard in taverns and inns were of valiant battle, not wrecking havoc on a couple of seniors. Though she never heard of it, she didn't write it off. The fact that she wasn't sure of it only emphasized her want to keep it from happening. She shook her head to try to get rid of the thought of harm coming to the pair. "Me neither. I agree. We should pack something light and leave if that's the case."

It seemed to take less time getting back to the farm than leaving from it. Time always flew when you had someone to talk to. For the first bit she spoke about the farm owners. Martha Hopkins was a study woman who tended to fawn over the good qualities of people she's just met, and be sternly loving with those she knew. Karl, her husband, was slimmer than her, and starting to hunch over. Regardless, the man loved to get work done fast so he could spend most of the day taking care of the animals. Overall, they were a nice pair. "...I'm sure they planned for my bag to stay on that cart. Wouldn't be surprised if there was a big feast waiting for us," Kaylin said with a matter-of-fact tone.

Though the red head could fill a gap in conversation with ease, she knew there were times when silence was best, and necessary. If she saw Takuma was focused on something in there surroundings, she'd bring the topic to an end, unless inquired about it more. At times sounds caught her own attention, she'd keep an eye out for anything. There were several periods when she let the wonder of nature capture her. No words could express  it, so she kept the feeling to herself. It was good to be outside on her own for a change.

Aside from occasionally trying to pry who sent Takuma after her, she asked a few questions about him. How long was had he been a body guard? How long did it take to study with the spear? Where was his home and how was it like? Most of it seemed like a prelude to questions he might be asked at dinner, but she had pointed out that Hopkins never asked too many personal questions. Of course, she'd reply to any question he asked as best as she could. Eventually, the decent home came into view. Acres of farmland surrounding it.

[Anonymous]

He was correct in his assumption that she'd agree, forming a small smile on his face for a brief moment, before he'd begin walking back towards the farm. Takuma was usually dividing some of his attention to their surroundings while on the path, but he never seemed to focused to not listen to what she had to say. Takuma was a fairly quiet unless a question was specifically asked of him, so it was a bit one-sided at some times in the conversation.

He was simply content with listening more than talking. When she did ask questions about him, he was usually a bit more withdrawn about it. Most adults had an agenda when trying to learn about him or what he did, but Kaylin seemed fairly innocent in her intentions and he'd reply, giving her a bit more information about him. "I've been a bodyguard for a little more than a decade now, started around when I was eighteen, actually." It'd taken him a lot longer to become good with the spear and even today he was still learning. "I became an apprentice of Master Takiro-..." He paused a moment, his memory a bit fuzzy, it'd been a long time since he'd actually thought about his Master, even. "-around when I was eight. I.. left when I was about sixteen."

That left a two year gap between his leaving the training of his master and becoming a bodyguard, but he didn't mention it. "I used to live in Adela, but moved to Connlaoth. I usually don't have too much trouble finding business here, either." He didn't state the last part with much satisfaction. He liked helping people, it was considered a sin by his master to not use the skills he was born with to help the people around him, but it didn't bring him much happiness in the end. He would continued walking, seeing the farm coming into view more.

"So you said you had stories and songs? Were you interested in becoming a bard of some sort?" While they approached the farm, he'd soon hear something breaking twigs not far off the path. Who or what it was didn't seem to be very stealthy, he didn't call for silence, so he moved off the path some, soon finding his horse wandering around and eating grass. He gave a sigh, and walked to it, grabbing it by the reins and leading it back onto the path, it following reluctantly. "Well at least I found you."

Before too long, they'd reached the farm and Takuma would only look to Kaylin. "Hm. Lead the way. They know you much better than I." He gave a light smirk, holding the horse loosely by the reins, who seemed disinterested until they got further off the path and closer to the grass that grew off to the side of it. By now Takuma's mindset wasn't too different from the horse's. Food wouldn't be so bad after not having eaten anything since yesterday.