MoD RP (madlyhazel)

[madlyhazel]

Elise continued to watch him for some time, unsure of whether or not he would be safe to leave. However, she finally determined that he probably was asleep, and therefore it was likely that he wouldn't be causing trouble anytime soon. Though, this man was also a magician too... Did that mean the general wanted her to get to know him as well? God, she hoped not. She already didn't like him, and they had only shared a few words between them.


She flexed her hand briefly, and there was only a numb sensation of pain present. Seems like this Faeran guy knew what he was doing after all. She began to slowly rise from the cot, though she did feel a bit wobbly for a moment. Nonetheless, she managed to stand up without any help and turned to look at Faeran once more. Elise smiled, her teeth showing ever so slightly. "Well, are we gonna head off, then?"

 

[redribbon]

The smile waned a little and his brows furrowed instead. After a moment of silence, he brightened up again. "Sure, let's head out," he said cheerfully, sliding the crate underneath the cot beneath him before getting up to his feet. "Don't think I've got any work left that the girls can't handle. I think they'll be alright."


As he maneuvered himself around the cots, he spared one more glance over in Ali'sakir's direction. Sure enough, the magician's eyes were closed, his robes wrapped around his shoulders like a blanket, though Faeran thought it was strange how quickly he had managed to fall asleep while in company. Had he been staying up lately? Was his earlier excursion a result of his weariness?


The holy magician had to shake his head to clear his mind of these thoughts. Focus! It's time to show the new girl around!


It didn't take long to reach the entrance of the medic tent, which he pushed open for the new girl to pass through. As sunlight flooded into the tent, Faeran turned back and called to the medics fluttering around the open cot area, "I'm gonna show the new girl around. I'll be back later!"


"Alright, come back soon, Faeran," a few of the medics crooned with smiles, one of them waving a blotted bandage over in Faeran's direction. Just as Faeran turned his head to peer out the tent, a number of them shot Elise a dirty look.


"Let's see... Anything in particular you wanna see?" he asked as he peered around the clearing, unware of what his medic companions were doing. "We got a mess hall, an armory if you like weapons, trainin' grounds where soldiers practice their weapons... Unless you wanna go meet the magicians! We could ask around where some o' them are."

 

[madlyhazel]

Elise followed Faeran out onto the grass, and she couldn't help but allow her eyes to travel around once more. It was still so surreal for her to be here. Tents and soldiers littered practically every corner, after all, and she couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. Everyone seemed strong and meant for battle, while she still felt a bit like a lost farm girl. She wasn't about to let this fact get her down, however, and she turned her attention to the man next to her.


"I don't really mind where we head off to," she responded, "But I think the training grounds would be interesting!" She'd like to see the soldiers practicing, considering she was hoping to learn a thing or two. And, just as well, she wasn't too keen to meet any other magicians any time soon. The last one she met had tried to kill her, after all. She shuffled forward a bit in the grass, craning her neck to look back at Faeran.


"Well, let's go!" she exclaimed, more than ready to get out of that stuffy medic tent. She hadn't even originally wanted to be in there, considering the smell and view was foul. She felt better off in the open, where she could move around and not have to smell bitter medicine and that lingering metallic smell of blood.

 

[redribbon]

"Alright, alright, I'm comin'," he chuckled. The new girl seemed like a little firecracker, flitting about and rushing him out of the tent. It was a nice change of pace from the other magicians, who were either dour or reserved while in the company of others.


Faeran motioned to her with a wave of his hand before starting on his way seemingly arbitrarily towards the training grounds. "There's a fair number of them 'round the camp," he said as they crossed the clearing. "S'usually tents all around, but towards the perimeter you're gonna get the trainin' grounds. On the other hand, the closer you get t' the center o' camp, the more you're gonna see all the important tents like the general's an' the armory and things like that. Just wander far enough one way an' you're bound to figure out where you are."

 

[madlyhazel]

Elise nodded as he spoke, trying to picture the area in her head. Unfortunately, she had never been too good with navigating. In her town, you just walked to where you needed to be. There was no north or south or left or right. You just went and hoped you ended up in the right place; usually, you did, considering the town was so small. Here, she was surrounded by tents on all sides, and she had a feeling it'd be a little more than difficult to find her way.


Nonetheless, she fell in step next to Faeran. It was nice to walk with someone who at least seemed nice, no matter how scary they looked. She turned her head to look at him, narrowing her eyes. Indeed, she had to crane her neck to look up at his face. Elise pursed her lips.


"How'd you get so tall?"


Sure, the question was rather blunt, but she was curious. Maybe he had a trick or something that he could teach her. She felt awfully short here, after all, surrounded by imposing people in armor. If he taught her how to be as tall as he was, she had a feeling everyone would look at her in reverence. And that would be a great feeling.

 

[redribbon]

Faeran looked down at the new girl, his eyebrows curved up in surprise. He suddenly let out a barking laugh. He was rather tall, wasn't he? He could do with a little less height; most people weren't as receptive to medical treatment from huge, hulking people. There was also the fact that most clothes didn't fit him, though that probably had less to do with his height and more to do with his bulk.


"Eat a lot, sleep a lot, pray a lot-- just normal things like that, yeah? Though I try to lift something heavy everday. Maybe that'll help," he laughed. "You plannin' on getting some height? You're a good size. You don't need it!"

 

[madlyhazel]

Elise listened to his explanation carefully, tucking that away in her mind for later. She already ate plenty and slept probably more than she needed to, but she certainly didn't pray. Maybe she needed to find someone who would help her to. Maybe they had a church or something in this camp? She was certain if she began praying, she would get taller. And she also had to make sure to lift something. She just had to figure out what.


She attempted to straighten herself out a bit as she continued to walk, attempting to make herself seem taller. "Well, you know, being a little bit taller never hurt no one. Plus, if I'm gonna scare the enemy, I've gotta be tall, right?" She turned to grin at him, the corners of her eyes creasing. "At my height right now, I ain't scary enough!"

 

[redribbon]

Ah, so her magic happened to be one for killing people. That was one hint. He glanced down once more at the new girl, and realized she was tending towards the short side. Then again, people were usually tiny to him anyway, but she seemed to look a little smaller than normal. As a result, she looked a little frailer. Maybe it was just from being right by his side, though.


"Well, I guess a little height's not bad, but bein' tall's no good either," Faeran said with a solemn shake of his head. "You always get picked out when the enemy army engages with the troops. All the good soldiers chase after ya thinkin' you're strong or a whole bunch o' them decide they want t' try ganging up on ya."


He added, this time more cheerfully, "Anyway, height's probably no go, but maybe you could try bulking up with muscles instead? Train around with the soldiers, maybe?"


He was joking, but even the shorter soldiers in the army turned considerably more fearsome after gaining weight and muscles. Still, he somehow doubted this girl could be scary even with a bit more height to her or with bulging muscles. Then again, he didn't exactly fear girls in the sense that he feared for his physical self, so maybe he was just biased.

 

[madlyhazel]

As he talked about his height being a negative, Elise frowned a bit. Well, that had to be difficult for him. She was at least glad that he hadn't died, considering she wouldn't have been able to meet him if he had. After all, he seemed to be the only nice person in the entire camp. As he mentioned muscles, Elise glanced down at her arms. They were fairly toned from working around on the farm, but they were more lean than anything else. Nothing huge like Faeran had.


She glanced at Faeran's arms, and realized that it would probably be impossible to even wrap both her arms around his upper arm. He could probably throw a cow if he put his mind to it. She puffed out her chest a bit, attempting to compare herself to Faeran. However, it quickly turned out this was of no use, and she offered a sigh of defeat. "It's hard looking scary, y'know."


She turned her attention away from him, instead watching the ground scrawl below her feet. Elise had a small frown still plastered on her face, and she lightly scuffed the dirt as she walked along. "I figured if I was gonna be here, I was gonna be fighting. But now, looking at everyone else, I feel kind of small. I don't know how I'm supposed to fight when I can't even see over someone's head."

 

[redribbon]

Faeran just grimaced. He wished he could say something to help pick up her mood, but he'd never asked any of the shorter magicians how they'd handled their height issue. Maybe they just indiscriminately casted? It'd explain why Sho injured so many allies on the field. Then again, he had a war-steed to sit on during battles, though the people around him were on horses themselves. Rima, too, could cast somehow, but her magic was more aimed towards her own unit than for enemy units. He himself only handled things like fixing up injured people. Using magic in a distance? He had absolutely no idea how that would work at all.


He couldn't think of anything to say, so he decided to just let his mouth run by itself. "Ah, don't worry about it! You might not look scary, but the most intimidatin' people are the ones that just act like it. We got another shorty magician ourselves with a baby-face an' everyone's terrified o' him," Faeran said cheerfully, hoping simply sounding enthused would encourage her. "You just need to spend your time doin' somethin' you're good at! You know, to help your confidence. Confidence makes men bigger. S'all about the way you act.


"Trainin's gonna help with confidence. Takin' up new hobbies, honing your skills, learnin' new things... If you want, you could even help out at the medic tents with me if you like! Nothin' fills a person up with confidence like nursin' the injured and pullin' them out o' death!"

 

[madlyhazel]

Elise seemed to listen to him for several moments, staying silent even after he finished talking. After what seemed like a minute, her face broke out into a smile. "Maybe I could just sit on your shoulders in battle! That way I'll be able to see everything!" It did seem like a rather good idea to her. She wouldn't have any troubles, after all.


She now proceeded to turn her attention to his offer of helping out around the medic tents. She wasn't terribly good with blood, and she didn't know how she'd feel if she saw someone die. What if she couldn't save someone? She'd feel horrible. "I don't know if I could help out around the tents, y'know," she responded, offering a small shrug, "Other people's blood isn't really my thing. I think I'd end up being the one on the got instead of them."


She offered a nervous laugh, but it was cut off as she noticed how the scenery around them changed. Tents were far and few in between, and the sounds around her were now instead filled with either battle cries or instructions. There wasn't simple chatter anymore, and instead the soldiers around her practiced fervently. She stopped for a moment, blinking as she gazed around her.