Fantasy Wherever the Wind Takes You

[Shreb]

She bopped him on the shoulder, giggling, "Alright, food first! Hang on, I know a nice place over here. They've got a killer pot roast and a tomato stew you could die for."

Holding on to only one hand, Laila naturally tugged him along with an urging pull until she'd get them walking down the town. Off to a tavern they would go!



"Hey, you'll be fine, right? Magic is a rough thing to handle for all of us, so if you want me to, I can pre-charge your sword so you'll be able to get a couple of free swings in without forcing you to use too much magic...We'll just have to do it ahead of time. I'm gonna do the same thing to my arrowheads, so we should be a-okay! I'll have to restock on my arrows later when we're done, too, so we might just stay at my shrine for a little bit before we head out, come morning. Unless you wanna leave right away. That's up to you."

She put a finger up to her lips. "It'll be cold when we get there too, so I'd grab a warm cloak, too," She said with a happy-lucky grin. "Not me, though! I'm immune to weather!"

Confident words.

 

[Gary Sue]

Although it still didn't quite feel 'natural' or 'normal', this whole touchy-feely shtick of hers was starting to be a bit endearing. For as much of a stranger as she was, at least she was far, far from unpleasant. The concern she showed for him too... she could tell he didn't have the tiniest ounce of magic in him, huh? He let out a low chuckle as she commented about charging his sword herself, nodding and agreeing with her plan to prepare her arrowheads ahead of time too.

"Still, that's so much heavy-lifting for anyone. Preparing all of this in advance will be ridiculous, won't it..? How much magic does she have..?", Reeve found himself wondering, only to get asked if he wanted to leave right away. It'd probably be a good idea to get moving as fast as possible, wouldn't it? The longer you give any being with access to magic to prepare, the harder they'll be to take down, so best strike while the iron's still hot. That was his philosophy at least, although he was going to stop her from going anywhere the moment he sees her tired, and nothing was changing his mind.

The nonchalance on the weather remark though was a bit worrisome. "This is exactly how most kids get sick, by god... Urgh. She knows herself best... hopefully.", he grumbled in the back of his mind, as did his stomach almost in unison, earning another laugh from the man. And just in time too, as they stopped in front of the tavern. He used to eat whatever the innkeeper had ready in advance or any of his own provisions whenever he felt like he needed a 'special meal', so he couldn't say he'd tried this particular place out on his own. Ain't nothing stopping them, right?

That's what he thought as he gestured with his head and walked into the tavern, making sure she was right behind him and looking around for a table before he saw one further by the side, pointing at it and walking over. Crowds were chatting away carelessly, seated at tables with some drinking, others feasting and some just sharing stories over a mug and some of this killer pot roast, presumably. It's not like this was the result of their little Warhog errand, but... it felt kind of nice believing that white little lie. Their efforts would help preserve this atmosphere all around the town, at the very least, and that made Reeve smile as he seated himself and adjusted his sheathed blade so it wouldn't be in the way too much.

 

[Shreb]

That's what he thought as he gestured with his head and walked into the tavern, making sure she was right behind him and looking around for a table before he saw one further by the side, pointing at it and walking over. Crowds were chatting away carelessly, seated at tables with some drinking, others feasting and some just sharing stories over a mug and some of this killer pot roast, presumably.

They've entered the tavern!


Naturally, she pulled him to the most quiet part of the tavern, which wasn't more quiet than any other spot but it was a good effort regardless. Right as soon as they'd take a seat, someone would walk by to greet them; a looker of a lady wearing a surprisingly high-end outfit and a freckled face fit with glasses a little too big for her eyes. Her hair, filled with black and streaked with red, made her look like a raven goddess from a time far far away. Her outfit looked like a high-class royal robe from the kingdoms of the northwestern side, garnished with emblems along the waist sash and a classic ribbon donned on the side of the hair.

"Lilac," she cheerfully greeted, her voice a much older and warming tone than Laila's more upfront excitement, like the piano against a trumpet.

"Hi!" Laila glanced at him, quick to put her hand on the woman in particular. "I know this person! She's a duelist from the Kingdom of Taeramun. Her name's Arioon!"

The funny hair seemed to indicate such, most citizens tended to have those freckles and the red streaks, a hereditary feature thought to have originated from when the black wyverns when they were exterminated in order to make land for the valleys, the red indicative of the blood the wyverns shed Taeramunians would finally succeed in slicing through the thick scales. From the way it looks, their war-heavy tactics have now descended into more of a civilized dueling tradition that puts them ahead of most of the others due to their harsh training regimens.

Judging by this woman, she seemed like she ranked fairly high in that dueling realm.

"Pleasure's mine, sir," The woman commented as her eyes peered into Reeve with a gaze quite similar to that of a feline; sharp cornered eyes tended to be part of Taeramun's standard feature. "I know what you want, but does he want the same thing?"

"Pot roast and tomato stew! Side of garlic bread rolls and some water would also be great."

Again, Arioon put her gaze from Laila, to Reeve, back to Laila, then again to Reeve. Patiently, she asked him, "Is that what you want? She tends to be a bit pushy."

 

[Gary Sue]

The rather similar to a noble clothes that the woman was wearing, alongside her demeanor only got Reeve's attention more. When she looked at him, she would probably confirm for herself that he had locked eyes with her, rather quiet and even with an intense look for a moment. It felt jarring, for someone that looked so rich and skilled in combat to be... what, the host of the tavern? There was no way she just decided to leave Taeramun behind and come work here as a waitress instead.

When Laila passed his order over to Arioon, the man took the few seconds he was given to scan up and down her clothes, squinting his eyes somewhat and crossing his arms quietly. "It's even weirder, because past rumors about Taeramun, I don't think I've ever seen anyone from there... especially not nesting all the way in Ceril.", he nodded away to his own suspicions silently, realising he was being rude when he was addressed and perking up.

He gave a silent look for a moment before he coughed to clear his throat and then gave another nod... silently. Although they were there just for a meal, he'd completely forgotten his hunger just from this woman's demeanor earlier. She sounded so professional, looked so skilled, that he could have sworn the 'does he want the same thing' sounded suspicious for a moment. Doing his best though, he tried to shake the tension off and looked to the side at Laila, avoiding giving Arioon any more rather intrusive inspections.

"Being around Laila for just a few hours already got me to feel tension from some proper, professional person being around... Then again, maybe I'm just tired. Ugh.", he let out a grunt and pinched the bridge of his nose with his gauntlet-clad hands, shaking his head afterwards and rubbing his eyes with his sleeve's fabrics before he put his arms back down on the table.

 

[Shreb]

Arioon nodded, shortly disappearing into the tavern as Laila waved her goodbye; just like that, in and out, was that fancy...Duelist.

Inevitably, Laila felt the bit of suspicion from Reeve's part. It certainly didn't appear to make sense, especially with her having come out of seemingly nowhere; the crowds hadn't even mentioned her! Or it might be more accurate to say they were compelled not to talk about her, whether it be because of the somewhat dubious reputation of Taeramun, or just the fact that a high-ass noble was serving drinks in a tavern instead of playing it up in the tournaments.

So Laila decided to pipe in with a bit of comforting dialogue. "So...Arioon has only been here a few days. She's in search of someone here, but she hasn't really told any of us. Something about a 'heat list,' so she's under oath not to speak of who the person is. Says they could become either involved or be the cause of an attack that may or may not arrive within the next few weeks. I think it's just barely a step up from psychic talk, but she's also dressed super uptight, and she knows my mother! So I have to play nice or else she might really end up talking bad about me...She's kind of a weirdo too. Wants a husband that'll move her and him to the northern edge of the continent so they could run and ice-fishing shack together in the middle of nowhere. I guess their comfort's in solace."

Laila didn't personally get it, but she wasn't going to act like they were weird for it, otherwise she'd just be kind of a bully. How did she even know this, anyway?

"People tend to open up around me...Did you know Taeramun does arranged marriages? Yeah, she's intended to be married to some shirtless muscle hunk from the Western kingdom of Dauntilisse. You know them, probably...They have that one group of people that like to go around half-naked except for loincloths because...Body appeal is like mental training for them, or something..."

She cleared her throat, sheepishly glancing away. "They're all kind of hard to look away from, but they're great at festivities. You don't ever see a feast as big as that side of Dauntilisse...Which I guess is why they're trying to get the marriage signed."

She put her hands behind her neck. "I dunno if Arioon's overstaying her welcome here, though. She's probably just here to get away from the family. She's got that look to her, like the same kind of look you might make when you argue with your mom and dad about how you're a fully grown adult and you can handle your own things now. It's a whole 'earn respect, not demand it' debate that I'd rather not try to explore, you know?"

 

[Gary Sue]

The lack of a response was even a bit more... worrisome. He was definitely overthinking it though. That's what went through his mind as he idly listened to Laila's ranting, his hand instinctively moving towards his sword when she mentioned a 'heat list'. "Heat..? Hit list. She's an assassin then. No wonder.", his thoughts continued to echo loud and clear as he rested both arms begrudgingly on the table, groaning and nodding away.

As far as 'playing nice' went... He gave her a rather confused look, with an eyebrow raised rather doubtfully. "Uhuh, play nice... Sounds more like she's got you all stringed up, if she isn't directly bullying you like this, but... I really wonder how Laila even made it out of her home village all the way to here if she's this naive..."

The rest of her words were more so idle chitchat about the surrounding kingdoms, although Reeve made sure to pick up as much as he could from the discussion, considering how poorly educated he was on the matter. The nobless was definitely overstaying her welcome though. Something about her didn't feel quite right, and he had no way to put his finger on it. But... Laila was right about prying into it too much. It's not like she was going to be attacking Laila for the 'hit list', and he didn't have any other clients either. On top of it all, they were leaving rather soon, so he wouldn't need to keep an eye out at all in the first place for more than a few hours.

In an attempt, and a horribly failed one at that, to take the conversation to something a bit more insightful and interesting, he coughed and pointed at his throat, before moving his hand horizontally for a moment, opening and closing his hands in a 'speaking' motion and then shaking his head. Whatever this riddle meant, he watched to see if she'd try and guess before a chuckle escaped his lips.

 

[Shreb]

It took her a long-ass moment to comprehend what he was saying. Eventually, she smacked her fist against the palm.

Well, she was hoping this was the thing he was talking about, because she was about to rattle off.

"The dead speaking, yeah, I worded it like that. So, I'm not much of a paranormal person...Despite the whole get-up. But I tend to hear things people don't. Could be delusion, could just be illusive magic. It doesn't happen often, it's kind of like when you see something, corner of your eyes, like a shadow or something that isn't supposed to be there...But with your ears."



"What's a good way to describe it...The sound you make when you step on a loose floorboard. Think of the creak, and imagine it stretching, from one ear to the next, and you can turn your head..." She turned her head as she described it, moving her finger as if it was the source of the sound. "And the sound's gonna follow you...Or move away from you. You try to follow the sound, turn the ear, but you get too close, and it scurries away and it sounds like footsteps, like someone's running away from you. I want to hear the voices from the cemetery, but it's just too quiet. I have to get inside to figure it out, but chances are...It might be better to just let them rest in peace...And ashes."

An indepth description coming from a priestess; it most certainly couldn't be any illusion, could it?

"That's essentially what happens when I walk into the village, get close, floorboard creaks like a dying old woman. Get closer, gets louder, it stops...And pitter-patter, it sprints off before I can get in. Next thing, I'm kicked out of the village and I have to start it all over. The trail should be finished; they have an attuned sense of smell, so they'll recognize the trail as a road and when we come in, the trail is sort of seen as an entry point, so they'll know and "permit" us as we're coming in. There's definitely some dark arts involved with that, but I guess they must be bound by certain rules and conditions...Whatever those may be. Like how you're not allowed to challenge anyone to a duel unless you wear the belt wrap, I guess."

...

Laila wasn't sure if that was correct. "Was that what you wanted to talk about?"

 

[Gary Sue]

With the conversation steering back to the cemetery situation, Reeve nodded quietly and paid attention, moving his head along with her words to show her he was paying attention. The whole scenario sounded iffy to him, but it probably wouldn't if he knew anything more about magic than he does, would it? For all he knew, she was very in-depth and almost like a storyteller with her descriptions and physical aid, getting the man to rub his chin in thought as he looked down to the table.

"Bound by rules... But... What exactly..?", he grumbled and placed a fist up to his forehead, closing his eyes and trying to think. But nothing came to mind. There wasn't much he could really add but safety to this priestess' operation, which made it rather disappointing. Usually, his smarts or intuition could always measure up to something in escort missions, if required. But at least her goal sounded humble enough, and she looked like she knew what was going on around her... usually.

After a brief moment of silence though, came Laila's question to confirm she was right on track. The knight looked at her rather intensely, giving a nod before shaking his head for a good few seconds and raising a hand. "A-Absolutely not, you missed the mark horribly.", he laughed internally and looked to the side, having caught glimpse of someone heading their way with a few plates on their person, presumably filled with their meals too.

The only thing troubling him right now was trying to explain his situation to her, although he did think of something. So he reached for his paper again under his armor, pulling it out and stretching it on the table to point at his name, before he pointed at a 'tell' written along the lines of 'In case you need my services, tell me your situation'. Then, he glided his finger over to a 'not' and pulled his hand back to scratch the back of his head, smiling and hoping he got the point across better this time. 'Reeve', 'tell', 'not'.

 

[Shreb]

After a brief moment of silence though, came Laila's question to confirm she was right on track. The knight looked at her rather intensely, giving a nod before shaking his head for a good few seconds and raising a hand. "A-Absolutely not, you missed the mark horribly.", he laughed internally and looked to the side, having caught glimpse of someone heading their way with a few plates on their person, presumably filled with their meals too.

Her face got as red as the streaks on her robe, leaning back against her seat as she realized she just prattled off on the completely wrong note. It's not like her observation skills were horrible, but it's the matter of trying to deduce his intents that made this the most distressing. They were sort of made...Against each other. A forest dweller who hardly saw lick of the rocks of a kingdom with a knight that barely talked?

Still. She didn't look much different from a cornered animal as Laila muttered a quick and guilty, "sorry," before immediately closing on the food. Gotta transition out of that awkward moment somehow.

The pot roast was nothing short of exciting. Large carrots were in a bed around a piping hot figure of beef, glazed in a molasses-like glaze that smelled of charred garlic, sweet honey, and onion; all while contained in a broth that smelled like a damn cornucopia of spiced pepper and oxtail. Some bread lay rest next to them in a nice bowl, toasted and peppered with that enticing garlic chive scent; aside from the dancing perfume of tender meat and bone broth was the scent of salted tomato stew, filled with vegetables that couldn't quite get identified due to how dense the soup was.

The only thing troubling him right now was trying to explain his situation to her, although he did think of something. So he reached for his paper again under his armor, pulling it out and stretching it on the table to point at his name, before he pointed at a 'tell' written along the lines of 'In case you need my services, tell me your situation'. Then, he glided his finger over to a 'not' and pulled his hand back to scratch the back of his head, smiling and hoping he got the point across better this time. 'Reeve', 'tell', 'not'.

Second try!! Okay, she can do this. She eyed his movements like he was the rarest damn unicorn in Veila. She was still having trouble keeping his gaze, though, her self-confidence taking a bad hit knowing that she completely misread him the first time.

"...Uh...You...Can't talk? Or you choose not to talk for certain reasons? Or are you cursed to not be able to speak? Or is it more like you don't know how to speak very well? Your vocal chords didn't get stolen, right?"

She's sweating, but she was pretty hungry staring at that pot roast.

 

[Gary Sue]

Just how flustered she got made him raise a hand, almost as though he'd speak before he sighed and patted her back a few times. "I-If I knew how to write for myself, I'd help, but... Heh...", he grumbled and turned over to the food, pocketing that crumpled paper once again and hiding it under his chestplate's back another time as he inspected the food. It smelled really good, and if anything now he knew one more thing about Laila. As innocent and gullible as she seemed to be, at least she had good taste.

His attention though was taken away from the food as she went back to taking pot shots, this time a lot more spot on than the last. He nodded right away at the 'can't talk' remark, although he froze momentarily afterwards and slowly shook his head, offering nothing but an awkward smile before turning his attention back to the food. "Some things are better left unsaid, probably. Plus, if I even try to say anything, food's going to get cold, so..."

There wasn't any other reason to think about it further, right? He gestured with his head towards the food, dipped his head in somewhat as a gesture to the cook, and then he unleashed all of his unbridled, hungry fury on the poor roast. If she didn't already know that he were a knight, it wouldn't be too hard to see why she might have thought this was his job. Scarfing down meals at unprecedented rates, with his hand moving like clockworks to stuff his mouth as full as possible.

It wasn't more than maybe five minutes at most when he let out a deep breath and pulled his head back somewhat, resting a hand on his stomach and laughing. "Good heavens, that was a meal and a half... How did I never see this tavern before..?", he wondered as he looked around, taking a quick glance at every single group that had made their way into the tavern, seated, drinking, talking... Much of the same as five minutes ago, no doubt, but... he didn't see that woman anywhere. Less trouble for him and Laila that way though, right? He felt less wary already just by how full he felt. More food in your belly, less reasons to get stressed. That's what he lived by- well, after having finished a long day's good work... after striking the iron while it's hot.

Upon realising Arioon was nowhere in sight though, he turned his attention to Laila, quietly watching her enjoy her meal and smiling somewhat. For how stressed the both of them were, moments before they would quite possibly be cooked alive, this was good. They made it out alive and well, got paid with good money (that he would use to pay for the meal too) and even got a good moment of peace back in town. Just knowing this much felt like a cool breeze washing over the both of them, at last.

"I do wonder what that cemetery business Laila talked about is though. Is there really magic at play, or is it just her..? Her intuition usually isn't wrong... She had to have tracked the animals down somehow, after all. Otherwise, we wouldn't have met in the first place. Hm..."... If only someone could have told Reeve, he wouldn't have been looking at her so intensely, while he were lost in thought. "If it is something to do with dark arts or undead, by any means though, I should be able to take care of them... Ah right, charging up my sword. Maybe... it'd be a better idea to rest the night. Make sure she doesn't overwork herself too much."

 

[Shreb]

Just how flustered she got made him raise a hand, almost as though he'd speak before he sighed and patted her back a few times.

Guilt-ridden Laila. Sad Laila.

"I-If I knew how to write for myself, I'd help, but... Heh...", he grumbled and turned over to the food, pocketing that crumpled paper once again and hiding it under his chestplate's back another time as he inspected the food. It smelled really good, and if anything now he knew one more thing about Laila. As innocent and gullible as she seemed to be, at least she had good taste.

For moment, she thought she'd heard him mumble something...

His attention though was taken away from the food as she went back to taking pot shots, this time a lot more spot on than the last. He nodded right away at the 'can't talk' remark, although he froze momentarily afterwards and slowly shook his head, offering nothing but an awkward smile before turning his attention back to the food. "Some things are better left unsaid, probably. Plus, if I even try to say anything, food's going to get cold, so..."

So, she did somewhat land the mark on her observation, even if it took more than a handful of educated guesses...Maybe it was better to say that he had a problem with talking in general...

She took a bite. Yum!

She was a very polite eater, arms closed to her and never an elbow in sight on the table. She ate in small portions and, well, in no surprise, she ate small, too. She probably got through a sixth of the meal before she was pretty much done.

He certainly was a bit of an eater compared to her. It was kind of exciting watching him go at it, like watching Kung Fu eating.

"I do wonder what that cemetery business Laila talked about is though. Is there really magic at play, or is it just her..? Her intuition usually isn't wrong... She had to have tracked the animals down somehow, after all. Otherwise, we wouldn't have met in the first place. Hm..."... If only someone could have told Reeve, he wouldn't have been looking at her so intensely, while he were lost in thought. "If it is something to do with dark arts or undead, by any means though, I should be able to take care of them... Ah right, charging up my sword. Maybe... it'd be a better idea to rest the night. Make sure she doesn't overwork herself too much."

Now that their issues were a little more alleviated, she could work on what she was talking about earlier. The cemetery request.

"Uhm...So, if I could go back to that other thing I thought you wanted to ask about. I'm...Thinking, emphasis on thinking, that it could be connected to someone trying to resonate with...Well, whatever dark spirit you want to think about. Connecting with evil god, communing with the dark ones, a cult summoning...Could be anything...Probably not the latter, cause it would've been louder. Either way, they're either using the dead as sacrifices...Or it could be more connected to the villagers in general. They don't like anyone probing into the cemetery, and it's just two of us against...Well, a lot of them. If we wanna get this right, we'd probably need the daylight. They don't like sunlight very much."

...

"And this might end up with us fighting them."

...

"If it comes down to that, there's an heirloom I'm willing to lend to you, back at the shrine. Grandma's old sword. I've been trying to...Well, avoid the burn and raze option, but if push comes to shove, the heirloom's better off in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. So...I'll hand you it for a little bit. It's wider than your blade, front-heavier for deeper cuts, and the cross-guard's a little...Complex. Other than that, it's seen blood for a couple of generations, my own included."

She tested her hands on the table. "I only had to use it once, when my grand-"

"Will that be all for you two?"

Laila nearly jumped out of her seat, Arioon having appeared just behind her with significantly-silenced footsteps. "BY THE LIGHT- H-hah, you...F- fucking scared me!!"

Arioon blinked. She looked legitimately surprised that neither of them noticed her, but realistically speaking, Arioon just seemed to have risen from the ground herself to ask for the bill.

"...Sorry, it's a force of habit. High heels every weekend in a sporting dress puts your feet into some patterns."

Laila glanced at Arioon. Reeve might be able to see too, but the girl had just switched from standing in her tip-toes to flat down.

"I'll be damned...How long have you kept that up for?"

Arioon pursed her purple-matte lips in thought. "We approach 6 hours if I discount lunch break."

Laila pinched her forehead, as Arioon gracefully stepped until she was at the center of the table. "You should pay more attention to yourself."

A better look of her face noted some quirky things. There's a mole on her left cheek and she had dirty freckles across her nose, a more unique trait not generally found in Taeramun, instead more or less in Dauntilisse. It was a bit of a cute look, if one discarded the more adult eyes she had.

"That'll be 250." She glanced between Laila and Reeve, a little quickly, just to see who was paying. "Will you two be paying together? That's usually normal between lovebirds."

"Oh, we're not together."

"So you're paying separate?"

"No- ugh- we're traveling companions."

"So separate."

This little raven-haired...

Laila stammered, "I- No...Uh, right, Reeve? You're okay with paying, right?"

 

[Gary Sue]

With his guard let down as he heard Laila talk about her family heirloom, he nodded along and thought to himself about how using it would mean leaving his own sword behind. As sweet as the offer 𝅘𝅥𝅮 sounded 𝅘𝅥𝅮, he was going to turn it down before he heard a voice behind them both, immediately reaching for his sword's hilt and glaring daggers over his shoulder. "How the hell did..?!", he almost zoned out and forgot she was but a hostess, at least right now, a few drops of cold sweat forming as his eyes stayed trained on her.

Despite the rather mundane exchange that followed, Reeve had some serious doubts about this woman now more than ever before. "With how easily she can move around unheard, she definitely meant hitlist. Maybe talking about precious heirlooms is NOT the right thing to do here with her around.", the sentiment blared in his train of thought louder than ever, almost growling when she told them to pay more attention to themselves. Almost ironic, wasn't it?

And almost trying to push their buttons- no, his buttons, she proceeded to call the two lovebirds. Glaring a bit sharper for a moment, he groaned and looked for the pouch he'd received from the elder earlier, putting it on the table and taking out a few coins just to drop them on the table- with a quick glance, it was 250 all in all. Maybe there was a spare bronze coin or so in there, but he didn't care enough. It was surprising he hadn't slammed his fist onto the table while putting the coins down out of annoyance, if anything.

Even now that he was standing, visibly shook and threatened by Arioon's presence, one hand rested on his sword's hilt almost as carefully as it was back when Laila saw him hunting the Warhogs, with the other on his companion's shoulder as though to gesture they should be taking their leave. And if she were to look, she'd only see him gesturing towards the door with his head, despite keeping his eyes right on his target. "Laila mentioned this Arioon knows her mother, so I'll take a guess she'll know where the shrine is... It might be a good idea to warn her ahead of time and get moving to right there as soon as possible, have her prepare and set out..."

 

[Shreb]

Even now that he was standing, visibly shook and threatened by Arioon's presence, one hand rested on his sword's hilt almost as carefully as it was back when Laila saw him hunting the Warhogs, with the other on his companion's shoulder as though to gesture they should be taking their leave. And if she were to look, she'd only see him gesturing towards the door with his head, despite keeping his eyes right on his target.

Well, Laila didn't really like the look on his face; Arioon, for this matter, wasn't keenly paying attention to him...Perhaps that could be seen as just a general sign of superiority, that she saw him no less than any other normal passerby.

Laila got the vibes that something would go wrong if she didn't intervene. She grabbed the coins, not even bothering to count them, and handed it off to Arioon. "Look, ma'am, could you not...Do that? This isn't the person you're looking for, right?"

"Of 'course not, business would've been taken care of, otherwise," Arioon replied in a steady tone as she politely took the coins and bow towards the two of them. "Will that be all?"

Stop looking at her like that, you might actually start a duel!

Luckily, Arioon got the hint, raising both hands as a sign of surrender as she stared at Reeve. "Sir, I appreciate your wariness, but I promise you, it's Taeramun standard to be where we're not supposed to, swear by my mother."

Laila sighed, "She's dead, you can't swear by a living person who's not actually alive..."

"Okay, her grave," Arioon corrected. "It just isn't the first time someone wanted to pull their blade on me."

"Maybe if you'd stop doing that, people wouldn't get so uptight," Laila commented, standing up just to elbow Arioon.

"I thought bodyguards were intended to deter people, not provoke them..."

"Stop provoking him! I'll clock a good one in you, swear to you by my shrine's name."

"...Your generation has always been a fast one," Arioon noted with a slightly perturbed tone. "Your mother, especially. Hated her guts, always beat me at chess and cards. Can I put my hands down, yet?"

Laila leaned closer towards Arioon, grumbling with a sharper tone, "Look, Ari, seriously, he's getting antsy, so can you cut the dry humor just a little bit and bite the tongue? For me? I'm trying to have a good thing going, and we're just trying to have a nice meal and do our thing. We're tired from hunting warhogs and we're just trying to relax, and you're killing the atmosphere because you look like you're about to slit someone's throat here."

Arioon frowned in a hurt expression, surprisingly. "That hurt."

"Oh- S-sorry-"

"-But that is true."

So she knew?! Laila, irritated, just pushed her off into the employees' area. "I- Just go away! Go do your...Thing!"

"Have a good day, ma'am, sir," Arioon waved the two of them as Laila, in frustration, segued her into the breakroom, returning once Arioon was fully past the door. Laila just grabbed onto his wrist and encouragingly tugged him towards the path of the shrine.

"Ugh." Laila practically stomped her way out; probably a bout of impatience, or perhaps it originated with the past relationship deal. Still, at least the food was good, so she can be happy about that. "Sorry about her. She refuses to get out of those robes because she loves the look. I've tried those things, it's extremely uncomfortable. It's too tight around the waist and the emblem bit that goes towards the center of the chest, it's so heavy! It's like my chest gets two sizes larger and I'm running around with water balloons down my shirt. Then she saunters around the tavern like some kind of ninja and loves to act so secret about her job. Like saying 'leverage' to sound smarter, like she's in the 'in' when she's not doing anything more than playing multi-layered bouncer."

She scoffed. "Anyway. I'll show you around the shrine, we'll sort of branch out of the gates and move into the forests, not necessarily where we came from, more or like a rural vassal that's just adjacent to the town, and there'll be a trail that goes straight from the town to Ruina, splits off into a clearing and then you follow some landmarks, my shrine will be right there."

 

[Gary Sue]

Assuming that Reeve would even say anything in the first place, there was no longer any need as Laila had him fully covered. His glares only grew sharper and harsher from her demeanor and constant downplaying him, and he was practically growling with all of his hairs standing by the end of the encounter when she finally went out of sight. The last person he wanted to be seeing next time around would be Arioon, especially because of the shtick she tried to keep up.

Worst of all, he really couldn't tell if she was pretending just to get on peoples' nerves or if she were actually trained enough to pull this off out of sheer habit. Whichever the case, he just could not handle being around her, so it was for the best that Laila thought to get them out of the tavern. When she did though, and she started to talk about instructions to get all the way to the shrine, she was cut off short by the knight who... needed a moment. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, fixed his belt around his waste and lowered his hand from his sword, before he gestured for her to follow him.

He didn't have something in particular in mind after their little lunch break, but he had done well to remember the comment Laila made earlier about how cold the weather was going to be. Moving about the town before, he had seen this tannery that sold rather expensive looking cloaks, with some fur on the inside to keep whoever was wearing them warm, but not so much that it'd become an unwearable mess of an accessory. At least unwearable in terms of weight- it was one ordeal to swing a sword around, especially when you're lifting the weight of a Warhog or two with your shoulders constantly.

Rather skeptical about her remark on being 'immune to the weather', and frugal with his money, he stuck to just buying this single, crimson red cape, looking like he gave a good amount of coins. It must have been at least thrice as many as the meal, but it was his pay anyways, not her money to worry about. Now that they were all ready and good to go, at least from what little supplies they could get from Velia, they could start moving over to her shrine and deciding if they'd set out right away or rest and move out, come morning.

The man made sure to try the cloak on before and after buying it, finding it to be a great fit for him. In the much too likely event he'd have to give it to the shrine maiden over there, it should probably be just as comfortable, if not a bit large around her slimmer and more petite physique. Taking the cloak back off though, he slung it over his shoulder and coughed as though to clear his throat, pointing at one of the paths that led to outside of Velia. "So then the shrine must be towards... that way? Any of the exits should do if 'the gates' are the starting point."

 

[Shreb]

When she did though, and she started to talk about instructions to get all the way to the shrine, she was cut off short by the knight who... needed a moment. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, fixed his belt around his waste and lowered his hand from his sword, before he gestured for her to follow him.

"Ah- Wha?"

Confused Laila.

He didn't have something in particular in mind after their little lunch break, but he had done well to remember the comment Laila made earlier about how cold the weather was going to be. Moving about the town before, he had seen this tannery that sold rather expensive looking cloaks, with some fur on the inside to keep whoever was wearing them warm, but not so much that it'd become an unwearable mess of an accessory. At least unwearable in terms of weight- it was one ordeal to swing a sword around, especially when you're lifting the weight of a Warhog or two with your shoulders constantly.

Meanwhile, she was just following him, wondering where he was going for almost the longest time before the realization hit her like a bullet. Again, her face was flushed from how long it took for her to understand what was happening, but now that she understood, she did realize that he actually remembered the off-hand comment.

How nice. She couldn't help but smile even brighter as she watched him look around.

Rather skeptical about her remark on being 'immune to the weather', and frugal with his money, he stuck to just buying this single, crimson red cape, looking like he gave a good amount of coins. It must have been at least thrice as many as the meal, but it was his pay anyways, not her money to worry about. Now that they were all ready and good to go, at least from what little supplies they could get from Velia, they could start moving over to her shrine and deciding if they'd set out right away or rest and move out, come morning.

The man made sure to try the cloak on before and after buying it, finding it to be a great fit for him. In the much too likely event he'd have to give it to the shrine maiden over there, it should probably be just as comfortable, if not a bit large around her slimmer and more petite physique. Taking the cloak back off though, he slung it over his shoulder and coughed as though to clear his throat, pointing at one of the paths that led to outside of Velia. "So then the shrine must be towards... that way? Any of the exits should do if 'the gates' are the starting point."

Looked quite nice on him, too. Dashing, almost! She haphazardly commented, "You look good! I love the red. Truly makes the rose petals blush at the sight."

She smiled, much more warmly than one might've expected from her; despite how it seemed, the fact that he remembered really resonated in her heart, so she just...Felt good, and the presence was probably so powerful, it would've spread to him like the aura of a blooming flower. She definitely was gonna remember this.

Oh, right, to the shrine...Glancing at his direction, she shrugged. "Yeah, that'll work! Besides, it'll be okay since I'm here to make sure we get there safely! Oh, and watch for warhogs. Gotta make sure they're all extra-cleared." Wink-wonk. "If we find one, we could definitely make ourselves some salted meat too for the road, easy money saved."

 

[Gary Sue]

What should have been a blatant flirt went over his head as he just smiled and offered her a thumbs up, following right behind her. She really did appear to be glowing though, and while it was because he remembered what she mentioned, he figured it would be because she'd almost catch a cold if he didn't pass the cloak over to her later down the line. And he would, just... after confirming she really isn't immune to temperature changes.

The comment on keeping an eye out for Warhogs got a nod in response as he had her lead the way, following right behind her. Although he had some doubts about her being the one to guarantee a safe trip and arrival. If she was that confident, she wouldn't have hired a bodyguard now, would she? Granted, she knew her magic really well. What concerned him more right now were two things- if that tavern's... 'woman' looking creature was following them around for whatever reason, and less importantly, what did a shrine look like..?

"I remember since a kid that shrines were these wooden buildings, usually built in forests or lakes, but my parents were also positive that I'd never see one because they're few and far between... To have one this close to Velia sounds a bit odd. Well... If it's out of Velia anyways, it can't look that similar to the 'normal' buildings anyways, right?", he wondered to himself as he sped up his pace, making sure to walk by his client's side now that they were out of the city's walls, with a hand constantly resting on his sword's hilt.

The walk was calm enough to get him thinking though... He'd come pretty far. From Tarlan, to Picket Fort, to Veila, and even a visit by Sesseth once around a year or so ago. Probably a lot farther than he should have come, but... he shook that thought off as he softly squeezed his weapon's pommel, letting out a relaxed breath and looking to the side at Laila almost expectantly, curiosity riddling his face all over.

 

[Shreb]

Laila was no nomad; the comforts of forest did lead her to be an outstanding versatile person in the wild, but she wasn't exactly a map-reader, relying mostly on landmarks and relative positioning to get her where she needed to go. Reading stuff on a map was sort of the difference between the hands-on and the visual learning experience, and she found herself more comfortable, thus more confident, in traversing most forests.

That, and she wanted to look cool in front of Reeve.

It took her a moment to glance back at him, her eyes now in a gaze of confusion. He looked like he wanted to hear something. Maybe he was just looking to hear about her? She wasn't entirely sure, but it would've made sense: her garments were almost on the opposite end of his, and shrines weren't even popular enough to be known outside of the common churches, just another string of relics trying to find new followings.



Though, perhaps it was because she mentioned the heirloom. She would take a potshot, why not. She felt like talking about anything.

"Arioon's family and I have a pretty deep connection. It's pretty shallow now, but Arioon's great ancestors married into blacksmiths; fitting thing, since they were all crafted to be duelists. I don't remember their family name...Probably something Latin, though, they love Latin. The family's weapons were more important, though; they wanted to make a magic weapon, one that would've change the world permanently: an artifact with a soul or something along those lines. They called it an ego weapon, and they thought that they could attune a soul into a weapon if they could channel the person's connection to magic and bond into the tool itself, and, like..."

She put her hands together, as if trying to piece the puzzle of what she was talking about, "Like, uh...Like making the weapon a literal extension, a third arm, it would become part of them. And it would grow, adapt to become better and more fitting to the person, and they would make money by all of the neat little assets you needed to maintain it. Classic whetting stone, replacement and tailored pommels, customizable and interchangeable crossguards...It was just the handle and the blade that would change. Hell, they still think they can make a weapon with a 'personality.' Insane. I don't want my bow calling me stupid."

She chuckled half-heartedly, cutting off of their trail as they would dive into a deeper lushness of forest, narrowly crossing through gaps and clearings intently made with incognito in mind. "It never worked, though. No one had enough magic to establish any kind of bond with anything. People had enough trouble just making light, and now they were getting told to  link their...Magic veins into a sword. Too much time, too expensive, too much investment for so little improvement."

"But then my great-great grandmother, I think, had a marriage arranged with Arioon's great great...Cousin? Uncle? Between those two. After a little civil clashing and a bit of infighting, their relationship got stronger to the point that one of the in-laws was commissioned a sword for their anniversary. Good faith, type of thing. In exchange, she founded the Mamba Shrine, as recompense for them, and it was a nice quiet place to honeymoon. There's portraits of her still in my room, smiling like a child even in her late fourties."

A shrine built out of faith in love...

"She never actually used it. Too old, so it was just ceremonial display. No one even knew if there was a blade inside. My great-grandmother took upon wielding it, but she didn't use it for much more than ceremonies. Certain knights didn't want to use the common longsword or whatever official sword existed for their knighting ceremony, so she offered the blade as the substitute, and Arioon's great-grandfather's brother would perform the knighting. They accepted it, so you can see some academies have paintings of knights knighted by the blade of the Mamba Shrine. Again, never saw blood except for people who accidentally cut themselves with it, it was just used for special occasions."

"The first death it saw was when it was wielded by my grandpa. Grandpa and grandma were footsoldiers that met in war-time, couldn't tell you which one, so it was the first occasion marriages stopped being arranged in my generation. They got married at the shrine and loved to spar with wooden sticks, and then they'd sword-dance with the blade. We actually had dirt roads at the time and the trees were cleared, so the place used to be way more inviting. One day, some bandits came by for the chance to loot a pristine-looking shrine, ours, and out of self-defense, they fended off the shrine and sent them fleeing. They saw one casualty who didn't run. Apparently, the blade cut with such a vicious slice, down the thigh and into the knee, that the bandit died of an infection just several minutes after they were cut."

She turned back to Reeve with a solemn smile. "So I guess they succeeded in making a magic weapon."

"Grandma didn't like it. Not that it was a bad weapon, it was, I imagine, really good at its job. But I think she just didn't want to see more blood shed on what was a blade made for love. Who knows. There's a lot I can say about her and him, too. Happiest people to live, never got angry at each other for more than a few minutes. Their yelling always just...Stopped getting serious, and grandpa was deaf in one ear, so he'd cock his spine forward, go, 'huh?' and then just laugh. Laughed at everything! He died in bed, but Grandma spread his ashes around the shrine. It was his request and he wanted to 'expand' the shrine, so I guess grandma took that request very literally, now his body is quite literally under the shrine, growing the plants and trees you see now. Grandpa always ate with a spoon and chopsticks, Grandma loved bone soup. Grandpa preferred salted turkey, Grandma hated it. Sometimes I'd see them climb ontop of the roof of the shrine and gaze up at the stars, naming constellations after friends they lost during the war."

"Mom, following that, is the happiest person I know. She  also laughs at everything, and her cheeks are all dimpled because of the constant smiling she does. She just took from both of them, I guess. She's a bonafide genius at the blade, never saw her miss a cut on a rose petal. She straight up didn't care for our sword, either, I saw her spearfish with it one time at the nearby stream because she was too lazy to go back and get the real spear. She told me something along the lines of, 'swords see blood all of the time, it just doesn't have to be ours or theirs.' I feel like she preferred a tool to be use for what it's intended for, rather than leaving it on display to collect dust. Tools, even if they're precious, are designed to be used and maintained. Until Grandma came along, the blade almost never got sharpened. Then when Grandma died, Mom spread her ashes around the blade because Grandma requested for the shrine to be more alive. Mom took it as the blade giving our place life, so the blade now stands on its little metal stand, sitting above a bed of my grandma's ashes."

She snorted. "Mom thought it was the corniest thing she ever heard and they laughed when they talked about it too, I still remember when I accidentally dropped a bowl of rice and shattered the thing. There's a little chip in the floorboards now where I stood and cried about not wanting my grandma to die. Same spot where she used to measure my height, actually."

She giggled, "Times changed a lot. Arioon's family is more complicated now because they're always trying to handle the arranged marriages. Arioon used to visit Mom a few times because...Mom being this hidden in-the-rough swordmaster and then brilliant up-and-coming duelist...Yeah, it just happened to be destiny. Mom once dropped a bucket of water on Arioon as a prank because she would come in from the window. Open the windowsill, bam, water all over the wall, and her. Then what became a constant day-by-day 'I challenge you to a duel' became a shenanigans battle to see who could 'get' each other first."

...She sighed as she put her hands on her hips.

"They're really stupid together. Isn't that ironic?

 

[Gary Sue]

As Laila began to talk about her family history, spanning generations back, she made sure to get him all caught up from her great, great grandmother all the way to current day. Arioon, that unlikeable woman appeared to be more involved than he initially expected, and maybe... maybe he could understand why the shrine maiden didn't outright refuse talking with her. For the shrine to be this close to Velia though... it was surprising the rest of Arioon's family hadn't made their way over, or that Arioon had just arrived to the town a while ago.

There was little to say, as though he spoke much in the first place, but nod along and look around. Seeing all these taller, thicker and denser trees around held some form of value now. The forest went from, well, just a forest, to something more sentimental. It was like a grotto that her family had grown for generations, the cycle of life just putting in its work and almost congratulating Laila for having made it this far, herself and her family. At some point, he could feel something almost grasping at his throat, opening his mouth and moving his lips, although no words came out. Just silence and some low croaks.

His eyes got a bit blurry too, and as soon as he realised they were watering up, he hurriedly wiped them with his sleeve and cleared his throat, exhaling deeply and looking down at the ground. Just as the story came to a close and he recollected himself, he realised how slowly they were moving and lifted his head to be met with what was a rather blank expression from his companion. "... Stupid, huh?", he smiled in an attempt to comfort what must have been a somber Laila for the first time since he'd met her, giving a nod and scratching the back of his head.

It was calm and quiet, finally. Although it wasn't the most relaxing, they managed to get their reprieve at last, even if it's not in Velia. But he could already feel the coziness and homey feeling of the shrine they stood out of. She wouldn't be slowing down otherwise, right? So in an attempt to get her to rest easy, he took a few steps towards her, put a hand on her shoulder, smiled and gestured ahead with his head before taking the lead to enter the premises of her family's... household? Probably not.

Looking around, he knew that he'd have to find some place to get comfortable, so he just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be anywhere too clean. God knew how much he could accidentally dirty things with his equipment, scratch up a floorboard with his metal armor or anything... Not the kind of mark you want to leave on someone's childhood home, is it now?

 

[Shreb]

She glanced at him. Perhaps she did hear something. The fact that he seemed to attempt something gave her some notable indicators...She would definitely have to figure out what stopped him from talking. Chances are, he might've been inhibited from writing too, else he would've just been writing everything. Her gaze had turned before she noticed his eyes, so whatever tears formed had fallen under her radar.

...But he could clearly read, so if he just had access to an alphabet and some commonly used words...Hm, hm, hm. Ideas are still ideas.

She wouldn't be slowing down otherwise, right? So in an attempt to get her to rest easy, he took a few steps towards her, put a hand on her shoulder, smiled and gestured ahead with his head before taking the lead to enter the premises of her family's... household? Probably not.

Hoho? She happily let him take the lead. After all, it was just up ahead.

"We called this place the Shrine of San-To-Xyao. It means...'End With Mean.'"

An ancient dialect from an empire long gone.

The shrine premises were definitely aged with time; a circular clearing of flattened stumps lined a neatly dusted trail of beige and white rock, curving into a wooden staircase patterned with darker color, each stair younger than the one above it. Carefully paneled roof shingles and an oriental style painted the shrine premises as a memoir passed down straight from the past long, long ago.

Stone tiles, all placed around them, a sandy ground with various training dummies for practice, torn and worn from use. Several wooden sticks tossed along the ground, rusted spears, old riding swords and longsword still stuck in their scabbards waiting to be revealed were leaning against the wall of the cool stone-brick foundation of the shrine. A ring of pure black charcoal remained around the clearing between flora and stone, as if being the absolute boundary between forest and divine territory.

An overhang with a flat patio of floorboards colored like a shoreline brings them right up to a box with slits right down the middle with wands of dancing paper streamers swaying right above it. Two columns, broken in half and now sanded to slant down towards guests, and two statues of snakes lay right at the center piece of the shrine alongside a arch nearly as tall as the trees, a statue sitting right ontop detailing the stone sculpture of a black mamba, eyes charcoaled in black and its tongue and head looking to pierce the sky as the convoluted statue glimmers against the afternoon sun. Passing through the archway almost gave the feeling like every single snake in the world was now watching, rattling underneath the leaves of green and the swords of hundreds of thousands of grass all around them. The dying colors, suffering from weather and wind, made the shrine look as if it was but a capsule contained within history.

The forests shimmered and bristled, almost coming alive as they entered. The goheis and tools of the shrine priestess hang above them, waving along the soft wind chimes.

Entering the shrine...Came a blast of cold air, like the breath of a goddess. Whether it be because of the shrine's architecture or the work of magic would be a mystery in and out of itself. The walls were long since repainted, riddled with chips and marks-

There's that chip in the floorboard-

And marks made with ink on the wall trailing up as "Laila" in clean cursive could be seen as she continued to grow, slowly stagnating up to where Laila was now. Apparently, she still kept drawing the line herself. That or her mother.



And the blade. The blade was in clear sight past the donation box, right through the gaps of the paper-ribboned rods. Going around the box, the sword...The blade, it sat on a pristine metal stand, two X's holding up a curved scabbard decorated with etchings of snakes, eating each other in various colors and clearly drawn from different people. One could even see the smear of what could be an anaconda running towards the end up until the tip had an attachment, an embezzled black-diamond mamba with two ruby dots carefully pinned on its head where the eyes were. They shone against the half-burnt incense sticks on her Grandma's ashes.

The handle was in this strange carbon fiber pattern; pure black on black. A pommel of an ouroboros symbol capped the handle, strangely...While its crossguard was notably larger than usual, a circular plate that branched like a tree with the same elegance as a rapier, making that same spiral that the ouroboros did.

It was a marvel without even a hint of steel to look at, like gazing into an ornate bouquet of tree asps.

"We have different names for the sword. Great-great called it...Nigrum-Dente. Great called it Ferrum Aspidis. Grandma called it Kuroi-Kiba. Mom calls it Kamino-Kuroi-Gatana."

She looked at it with a gaze akin to nostalgia. "I just call it our sword for now."

...

She turned back to Reeve. "Hey. Are you able to tell me what caused you to stop speaking? Or is it something you don't know? Or less that, you know what stopped you, but you either can't describe it with what you have now or something is stopping you?"

 

[Gary Sue]

Even though Reeve was the one speedily walking into the shrine's premises, he found himself stopping to take in the environment and atmosphere as soon as it became clear they had arrived. Despite him never having been here or seen anything like this before, this felt... familiar. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he exhaled and opened them again, smiling. It felt all new, like he'd just discovered something out of this world. After all, Laila's family's culture didn't line up with anything he'd seen growing up in Tarlan, or wandering to any of the other four main settlements either.

Yet, the marks... She had been so descriptive when she was breaking down her family's history that just looking around, he could tell she hadn't lied about anything. Hell, it's almost like he could visualise everything she'd described, word for word. The chipped walls, the floorboard, the marks of what probably must have been her height. He quietly let his eyes trail from the bottom all the way to the top, before he sneaked a peek at Laila and grinned. "... The same person for all of these marks, right?", he thought, wondering just how she looked as a kid. Not that he knew how he did.

Hell, even if he did he wouldn't be able to describe it properly. Every day, he had a new scratch or mark on his face, maybe a bruise or two on his arms and his hair got messier depending on how energetic he was that day. He really was a storm, just like Laila is... an interesting duality. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts once he saw the blade that Laila had been talking about though, quietly admiring it in awe. To know its history is one thing, to have it right before his eyes felt almost like a mirage.

"A sword with its own legend, huh. It feels a lot more inspiring knowing the story behind it, like it's much less of a tool. I... can see why Laila's grandmother didn't want to use it for small tasks and would rather preserve it.", he thought back to the story she briefly mentioned while admiring the weapon's features, only to stop once he heard the archer speaking again. If its name changed with each generation, maybe it was nothing more than just 'a blade'. It seemed to hold a different sentimental value for each of the family members that have overseen it, after all.

And out of nowhere, a question that he thought they'd move past is asked. Although he clearly had his attention pinned on her, he appeared a bit distressed judging by the small frown he tried to hide. Almost hesitating, he looked to the side for a moment and with a second or two worth of thought, he grumbled and raised two fingers in the air before shaking his head. "T-The second one.", that's what he went with for the time being. A dry gulp and low, somewhat choked out laugh that quickly faded into silence, and then a neutral expression. No longer awed or impressed with the scenery, but just... Reeve.

Thankfully, just when he felt that the moment was starting to get awkward, it was as though he heard something moving around. It wasn't an animal or something worthy of being alert though- it came from the shrine's floorboards, so he assumed it must have been a relative or so..? Coughing to get Laila's attention and lifting his head slightly up while looking at the noise's direction, he raised an eyebrow as if to ask her what, no, who that was. Someone he would thank personally, if he could, about helping pull him out of the most difficult conversation he cannot have, even if he wanted to. "Because especially right now- it's not like I would want to, either."

 

[Shreb]

Yet, the marks... She had been so descriptive when she was breaking down her family's history that just looking around, he could tell she hadn't lied about anything. Hell, it's almost like he could visualise everything she'd described, word for word. The chipped walls, the floorboard, the marks of what probably must have been her height. He quietly let his eyes trail from the bottom all the way to the top, before he sneaked a peek at Laila and grinned.

What the heck was he smiling about?

And out of nowhere, a question that he thought they'd move past is asked. Although he clearly had his attention pinned on her, he appeared a bit distressed judging by the small frown he tried to hide. Almost hesitating, he looked to the side for a moment and with a second or two worth of thought, he grumbled and raised two fingers in the air before shaking his head. "T-The second one.", that's what he went with for the time being. A dry gulp and low, somewhat choked out laugh that quickly faded into silence, and then a neutral expression. No longer awed or impressed with the scenery, but just... Reeve.

The second one...Well, he implied something with that head shake. She had to assume her question either wasn't specific enough to ground down the answer or if he flat out refused to speak about in the same manner of open doors as she did about her family tree.

So she was okay with this. His business was his business. For the most part, they were just traveling companions for a small, small, journey.

If she could get access to his memories, everything would be a lot easier...

Thankfully, just when he felt that the moment was starting to get awkward, it was as though he heard something moving around. It wasn't an animal or something worthy of being alert though- it came from the shrine's floorboards, so he assumed it must have been a relative or so..? Coughing to get Laila's attention and lifting his head slightly up while looking at the noise's direction, he raised an eyebrow as if to ask her what, no, who that was. Someone he would thank personally, if he could, about helping pull him out of the most difficult conversation he cannot have, even if he wanted to. "Because especially right now- it's not like I would want to, either."

"Hm? Oh, that's my mom. Those are her footsteps."

She cleared her throat as she went up to the blade, picking it up with almost a revered manner. She was probably going to ask her mom for permission. The noises were coming in closer, a soft hum resonating from moose's direction as they were slowly working their way from the other rooms. Make sure to sound off, Reeve!

 

[Gary Sue]

Reeve didn't realise just how shut off he seemed in comparison to Laila, hoping she'd attribute it to his inability to speak in general and not dwell on it too much. It's not like she was digging into it too much- s-sort of... "T-Tch. I hate this.", he grumbled and narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Laila before turning back to where her mother was coming from. He coughed to clear his throat, adjusting his clothes on him to look neat and tidy and resting a hand on his weapon's pommel, with the other fully down.

What a way to look as knightly as possible, right? He was rather surprised to notice the ranger picking up the sword already, feeling a bit worried about not using his own sword for more than a few swings, but... They'd see once the time came, if it did. The way things had played out thus far, he thought Laila was the 'rightful heir' of the sword, but if her mother was still alive and well, then clearly she wasn't quite yet. So she'd probably be asking her about it, why else pick it up now anyways? They'll have to rest up in between now and their trip to Ruina, either way. "I wonder what Laila's mother looks like... Not that I'm too far away from finding out for myself, but- probably taller? Although, 'milady' herself isn't all that short to begin with. Hm..."

As he saw a silhouette step into view, he cleared his throat once again and looked over with a small smile, trying to stay easy on the eyes and raising a hand to his chest, waiting for Laila to get any introductions out of the way so he could dip his head in and thank her for the hospitality. At least, that's the custom they followed back at his home town, but he hadn't thought about the cultural divide up to this moment. And now was too late to start thinking about it either, right?

 

[Shreb]

Black hair, long straight swath, trailed past the woman, a tall traditional garment of the shrine priestess freely flowing behind her as she was carrying a bundle of various blades, katanas to wakizashis to tachis varying in length and size and looking like a bundle of sticks with the way she was carrying them with such perfect grace that they barely made a sound along her footsteps.

She had quite the walk, her feet always seeming to be floating and her posture perfected right from the forward-facing to the arced back, as if she had been aware of her path ever since she was born. Her eyes, rounded with calmness and pure blue of the ocean and sky, glanced over the blades as she eyed Laila firstly, then Reeve. A smile immediately sprouted on her face, her face sparkling with joy. Her figure is scarred with age and various wounds that absolutely could not have come from any normal human, just barely hidden underneath the complex robes and sleeves.

...



"Lilac! I don't believe it, you've found yourself-"

"Nnn-not a lovebird!!!" Laila was quick to respond. "This is Reeve, Reeve, this is-"

She chuckled as her eyes focused on the blade. "Lilac, if you don't mind!"

Sleight of hand made her hands near disappear, as Laila's grip of the heirloom disappeared in an instant and now was along the bundle in her mother's grasp.

Her mother flopped to the knees like it was a muscle memory, hands rapidly setting the sheathed blades next to each other with increasing speed, her nose letting out a huff as she said, "Can't believe her," She said, clicking her teeth as her head jutted towards Reeve as she disappointingly eyed Laila. "First, she gets pot roast without me, and now the grease is going to get all over this scabbard. I went through so much effort to make my own touch on this. You see this smear?" She pointed to the tip of the scabbard.

"That was my work!" She glanced at it once, twice, and giggled just as she went back to putting the heirloom against the side of her waist. "Good memories. Gran-mama, she hated the ouroboros. She thought it looked tacky. That's what this smear was supposed to be, so I splashed a bit of polish over it and did a little finger-painting, and Laila made the brilliant connection to our lovely spirit. Gran-mama, what did she say, again?"

"Just go to Ve-'ya, ya' fools, ain't not a paladin in sight who would eye that blade and not gawk at such a childish-looking work," Laila replied in an old-timey voice. Ve'ya clearly was heavily accented to mean Veila.

"'But I have to admit, it 'shur is best more than a snake eatin' 'er own ass!" Leila's mother chuckled. She sprung up to her feet, clacking the floor with her wooden sandals in one extremely smooth movement, she whipped the blade from the sheath, displaying a brilliant black streak of metal. Laila sighed, as if used to her mother being this...Well, active.

Shwing!​

It looked like a blazing black diamond, its edge polished in a thin line of pure steel; it really wasn't much; no engraving, no etching, no hint of a stamp, a blade completely unintended for viewing. Perhaps one could describe it like staring into the teeth of death. She flourished it, spinning it around her hand with a glorious dance all without moving her feet as she cleared her throat, barely batting an eye as she spun it around her elbow, her forearm, her wrist, and then her other arm in the exact same order. "Look, you've made her all upset now. She's crying right now, Lilac! Your Gran-mama would be horrified."

Laila pouted. "Hey, I washed my hands."

Her mother smiled as she let the blade spin and wrap around her neck, catching the edge with her wrist and elbow and passing it to the other hand, inserting back into its scabbard, Point A to Point A. "No water basin could honor this sword. Pay your due respects! Like donating! You too, kind sir!" She lifted up her scabbard, flicking the scabbard and letting it slide past her grip, having just narrowly missed Laila's nose by several inches. She gestured a finger towards the donation box, grinning with a hungry gaze. "The Mamba accepts all who wish to sharpen their internal strength."

Laila sniffed. "Mooom."

"...By the Light, fine, if you want me to play nice!" She huffed, "Lovely bow, by the way, Reeve, and I love the armor. If only I married a man with as bright a hair as yours!" She snapped her fingers in a light chuckle; definitely noticeable where Laila's contagious laugh comes from, in where Laila's laugh was more on the harmonic side, something that made people want to laugh with them, her mother's was more melodic. Like a rhythm that captured her heart, it was something to recline into rather than hum along with.

Definitely distinct differences, but it's the heart and soul of Laila's mom.

"I am Tomoe Koiyama, head priestess of this shrine. Lilac's mother, under-the-carpet grand high-master of the sword-" She playfully winked, "And practitioner of the fine arts in the name of the Mamba spirit, of which resides in the poison that sharpens our minds, our hearts, and the blades we hold."

Automatic, her blade went up, left, right, swirling down in a graceful spiral before she withdrew it into its sheath, hands clapping together in one fluid bang as she bowed. "It's a pleasant surprise to meet you." She sighed, like she hadn't just danced with the heirloom for a solid thirty seconds, looking between Laila and Reeve with hands on her hips...The same way Laila did it. "So! How are we feeling? Tea? Water? Sugar cane? Tofu?" She clapped twice, quickly, glancing right to Reeve. "You-"

"U-uh, he has trouble talking, actually..." Laila began, before Tomoe immediately rubbed her chin in thinky thought.

"Oh? Cursed, are you? Ill? Weak will? Difficult hill?" She said, tilting her head between each question like a confused rabbit. "Well, I'd recommend a pill, but you look like you've tried more than your fill."

 

[Gary Sue]

Despite having done his best to appear proper in front of Laila's mother, the sentiment wasn't quite echoed- sort of. While she looked stunning and moved with such grace, she was... How would he put it? If Laila was a storm, then her mother was definitely a tempest. "What's with all of the assumptions about lovebirds..? It's all from people in this family, I- ugh.", as much as the confusion temped him to, he tried his best to not facepalm and simply kept what became little more than a stupid smile.

A smile that only grew fainter and fainter in place of an awed look on his face, with his jaw slightly hanging in a mix of amazement and confusion. The way that she was just twirling a sword like it were nothing more than a wooden staff was definitely amusing, but it was equal parts scary. He thought he were good with the blade, but still he wouldn't try anything near half as daring as what Tomoe was doing.

Whatever this shtick was about though, she had his attention. When she started to remove the scabbard, Reeve even stepped forwards and put a hand between Laila and her mother to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. He was sweating bullets the entire time, feeling a bit more than his fair share of bad gut feeling. "K-Knights are meant to be protectors, not jesters... S-Stop twirling that thing around like it's a dagger..!"

But silent thoughts were met with silent words, ultimately. Once she finally piped down, he could see some similarities between the two. "All the good things to her mother, she's kept. The bad ones, thankfully not. But... Lilac?", he wondered curiously and gave his companion a look with a slightly tilted head and raised eyebrow, remembering Arioon calling her the same back in the tavern too. It's not like he got much time to think about it though before Tomoe finally introduced herself by name, nodding and dipping his head in a little bow, before he raised it again. And there it was, a second tavern's worth of a menu.

For lack of a more convenient way to express himself though, rather than play sign language broken phone, he'd just have whatever Laila would too. Not that he were crazy for tea, but... "Oh? Cursed are you? Ill? Weak will? Difficult hill?", the question rolled in and again, he tensed up for a moment and gave a rather hesitant nod to nothing in particular, smiling and scratching the back of his mind. Asking too many questions must be something running in the family, then. It's not like he'd acknowledge how cynical he was with this at times, so might as well fully pin the blame on Laila and Tomoe just being this way.

There was little he could really say or converse with everyone bar the very limited words he could point at on his ledger, so he thought to keep the ball rolling otherhow. He reached for his belt under the cloak, looking around before he finally grabbed what must have been a water skin and holding it out, asking for what could hopefully only be interpreted as water. Once he made sure that was clear, he turned to Laila though and rather hesitantly unholstered his sword with its sheath from his waist, holding it out as gently as he'd ever be seen handling most anything for her. "Unless magic dissipates over time, might as well charge it now and rest so we can leave early in the morning... I have no idea how little or much energy it needs to begin with, other than just knowing it's exhausting to do it myself. I'm counting on you, 'Lilac'."

In a mix of both curiosity and a rush to get things done though, he thought he might as well test the waters with how well Tomoe would be able to understand him. So carefully shifting his grip on the sword from both hands to just one of them, although still very attentively to not drop or damage the sword or its sheath anyhow, he turned his head towards the head of the shrine and gave her a quick glance, before down at his hand that was neatly protected by his gauntlet. Stretching his fingers and palm for a moment, he looked back up at her and smiled, before tilting his head somewhat expectantly. "Since I'm going to be leaving my sword in Laila's possession... I might as well make sure to scratch up as little of this poor place as I can. It looks too good to not feel bad about damaging it in the slightest."

 

[Shreb]

Whatever this shtick was about though, she had his attention. When she started to remove the scabbard, Reeve even stepped forwards and put a hand between Laila and her mother to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. He was sweating bullets the entire time, feeling a bit more than his fair share of bad gut feeling. "K-Knights are meant to be protectors, not jesters... S-Stop twirling that thing around like it's a dagger..!"

Luckily that bad gut feeling would subside as Laila glanced back at him with an It's fine look. Seriously, this seemed like this was Tomoe's day-to-day life, and her mother seemed far more keen to use the heirloom more than Laila ever would.

For lack of a more convenient way to express himself though, rather than play sign language broken phone, he'd just have whatever Laila would too. Not that he were crazy for tea, but... "Oh? Cursed are you? Ill? Weak will? Difficult hill?", the question rolled in and again, he tensed up for a moment and gave a rather hesitant nod to nothing in particular, smiling and scratching the back of his mind. Asking too many questions must be something running in the family, then. It's not like he'd acknowledge how cynical he was with this at times, so might as well fully pin the blame on Laila and Tomoe just being this way.

...

"I suppose I better be more patient with him, shouldn't I?" Tomoe commented with a finger to her cheek.

"Please?" Laila asked politely. "One question at a time?"

"Ugh, very well! You lot are so cowardly." She must've been noting the part where he had to protect Laila. "You know, we used to toss swords at each other and now even the royal knights are too afraid to do that. Everything's safe, safe this, safe that. You know what safety gave you? Neanderthals. And you know what they did? They stopped right as soon as they found land and resided there. We, no, we, we took it upon ourselves to sail far and wide the seas and travel to unknown lands and keep going past that. And you know who went extinct? They did."

Tomoe scoffed as her smile widened. "Still, if only you'd take upon the Kamino-Kuroi-Gatana for your old mother. Once the year passes, I'll start to dwindle, I can tell."

There was little he could really say or converse with everyone bar the very limited words he could point at on his ledger, so he thought to keep the ball rolling otherhow. He reached for his belt under the cloak, looking around before he finally grabbed what must have been a water skin and holding it out, asking for what could hopefully only be interpreted as water. Once he made sure that was clear, he turned to Laila though and rather hesitantly unholstered his sword with its sheath from his waist, holding it out as gently as he'd ever be seen handling most anything for her. "Unless magic dissipates over time, might as well charge it now and rest so we can leave early in the morning... I have no idea how little or much energy it needs to begin with, other than just knowing it's exhausting to do it myself. I'm counting on you, 'Lilac'."

Laila blinked as Tomoe snapped her fingers, dug behind her back, and pulled out a fresh jug! Water?

She poured a simple cup of water for Reeve. Laila then clapped her hands in realization. "Oh! Mom! I need your help. I need to bless his sword for that cemetery I talked about."

"Oh? Sure, I can do that."

"And..." Laila stopped as she continued to watch Reeve.

In a mix of both curiosity and a rush to get things done though, he thought he might as well test the waters with how well Tomoe would be able to understand him. So carefully shifting his grip on the sword from both hands to just one of them, although still very attentively to not drop or damage the sword or its sheath anyhow, he turned his head towards the head of the shrine and gave her a quick glance, before down at his hand that was neatly protected by his gauntlet. Stretching his fingers and palm for a moment, he looked back up at her and smiled, before tilting his head somewhat expectantly. "Since I'm going to be leaving my sword in Laila's possession... I might as well make sure to scratch up as little of this poor place as I can. It looks too good to not feel bad about damaging it in the slightest."

Tomoe hummed. "Here, I have a little chest for yourself. That armor must be keeping you a little encumbered, no?" She quickly stepped out of the room, holding up a large-enough container with separated shelves and indentations for Reeve to set aside what he wished to. "And there's also a little bath in the back in case you're looking to wash up!"

Laila sighed. "And um...I wanted to let him use the sword while we're there."

Tomoe immediately changed face, eyes squinting in suspicion and her demeanor turning near-deathly as she looked towards her daughter. "Hm..."

"When was the last time you used your magic?"

"...Uh...It's certainly been quite some time...Are you that concerned for the cemetery? How much power do you need?"

"...As strong as we can make it...Just to be safe. I'll be blessing my arrows, so I just want you to help me do it to his sword, because you've done it before with Grandma."

Tomoe still didn't look very certain. "You want it to be that powerful? Well, at least you're preparing far more than you might need to..."

...

Tomoe sighed, gazing at Reeve with a polite smile. "Very well. Come with me, outside."

"Wait, no seals? Talismans? Paper?"

Tomoe eyed Laila, her tone still remaining steady, but...Taking on a darker undertone. "Lilac, that's mostly for you. In war time, we don't have time to prepare spells and ink. Reeve, sir, I'll need your blade so I can show the both of you. An enchantment with divine power is, usually, done via a circle of talismans, each one drawn to represent the problem we will be facing. The more similar they are to each other, the stronger it will be against that problem. Standard practice for a shrine priestess when preparing for a journey with many dangers, the longer its preparation, the stronger it is. But in our case, to avoid any chance of you two getting hurt, we will do it in a way more expedited. So I'll show you two something different."

She gazed at Laila. "You, especially."