1x1 ｗｉｔｈ Ｗｉｎｄｆａｒｍｅｒ

[fletch]

Ｆ Ｅ Ｌ Ｉ Ｘ xＷ Ω Ｌ Ｆ Ｓ Ｂ Ａ Ｉ Ｎ
⚔⚔ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｎｍａｎ ⚔⚔
_______________________________________________
(gender; male)xx(age; twenty-four)xx(crush; maybe)xx(tagged; Alphaess)

The training session had lasted for a few hours and, by the end of it, Flick was more or less exhausted. He wasn't huge on physical work so this had definitely been a change for him. It had been both physical and mind. Flick wasn't sure what hurt more--his arms or his head. By the time it had finally called to a close, Flick had nearly collapsed in gratitude. Had he known how difficult it was to be, Flick would've thought a little harder over becoming Alphaess's apprentice. Alphaess had seemed to keep an unimpressed appeal, and yet Flick had the feeling that she might have been a little impressed by his early ability to use fire. It had actually startled Flick quite a lot as well, but he wasn't one to question his new 'human-candle' abilities. He wondered if he'd ever be able to do that hop-y thing that Alphaess did. It was kind of cool but kind of...inhuman at the same time. Then again, lightning fingertips and finger abilities were both inhuman. It was safe to say that being a 'Hero' was...inhuman altogether. Flick was far from being a Hero, however. There was still a ways to go.

Finally, they had begun to head back in the direction of the house. Flick was careful this time not to step in any traps (he'd learned his lesson for that one) He made his way carefully behind Alphaess and experimentally opened his palm. Even if his life depended on it he wasn't sure if he would be able to try and spark a flame. It seemed as though his Will ability had just outright gone and left him due to his sheer exhaustion, and Flick had no clue when it would come back. Most likely, he just needed to sleep. At this point, sleeping on his weird bed of clothing actually seemed pretty great.

Once they drew to a stop at the house, Alphaess jumped upwards onto the platform. There was no way Flick was able to do that yet (he doubted he ever would) so the conman merely gave a slight huff. Eyeing the dangling rope, Flick grasped onto it with his hands and tugged upwards. It felt a little demeaning to continuously be forced to inch up this scrappy rope every time he needed to go up to the house but there was no way Flick would be able to jump. This, probably, was the best thing he'd be getting until he figured out how to do...whatever Alphaess did. But, until then, he'd have to use the rope. Once Flick got near the top he merely grabbed onto the edge of the platform and tugged himself up from there, sitting on his knees while he took a brief moment to take a breather. His chest rather hurt from the climb, but it was nothing he couldn't get over.

Alphaess had already gone inside so, after a moment of hesitance, Flick got to his feet and followed. It seemed as though he'd finally get a night off just to sleep...he really wanted to just pass out for the remainder of the week and stay in a state of comatose. But, alas. He'd probably be getting his ass kicked again by Alphaess come morning. As Alphaess seemed to be searching through the cabinets for food, Flick approached his make-shift 'bed' with his coat. Seeing as the pants would no longer be a use without the top, Flick kicked those off and flung them onto the pile.

"So, what did you think?" Flick inquired with a cast look over his shoulder towards Alphaess. "Hero worthy?" And he gave a snort, sitting down on his makeshift 'bed'. "To be honest, I'm totally confused as to what you do here, Red. I mean...for fun. It looks peachy and all, but...a little bit lonely. What exactly do you do for fun?" Then, he grinned: "I mean, assuming that you do have fun and aren't a stick in the mud all the time." His tone was teasing.

[alphanea]

Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ
❦ Hєяσιηє σƒ Kησтнσℓє Gℓα∂є ❦
➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳
Balverine hunter - Twenty-four years - Greatwood

❧ Dried meat. Not as tasty as fresh one but... It was better than starving right? With all this training thing came up, Alphaess was unable to hunt or at least check her traps for a while. Oh, what would she give for just a little plate of fresh food and a nice glass of drink. It had taken a few minutes to find this small amount of dried meat that smelled like... Hmm... Deer. One of her own hunts probably. Good thing Flick still wasn't inside when she actually smelled a piece of dried meat. When he entered a few seconds later, she closed the cabinet and turned to another one, while holding the chunk of meat in one hand. She also had to find him something edible. Probably. How much food did a male of his size would require anyway? Hopefully she wouldn't have to give him much. Alphaess hated sharing. Especially when it came to food.

❧ Paying little attention to Flick, Alphaess continued her noble search for food, until she have heard his voice. "Hmm." There. She reached out to get the piece of pastry from the back of the board. Still edible. It seems. Well, probably. Hopefully... It wouldn't kill him... Maybe it would. Moving it closer to her face, Alphaess was now certain this was nothing close to 'food'. Ew, how could something smell like this?! And these colors, after she have taken it out of the dark cabinet were quite interesting. Sure, these did not look like food coloring either. She wondered how long this poor thing have been here, probably it have spent a very very long time in the back of the small dark place. She had to throw it out... sometime. With a disgusted look on her face, she placed the thing back to where she have taken it from. Distracted, she have forgotten the question. Oh, right. "Very much." Alphaess replied quickly without looking back over Flick and keeping her eyes on the little jars kept on the shelf. "I'm sure you would spread fear with setting your sleeves on fire. Or at least a nice laughter."

❧ Alphaess took a glance over her shoulder upon his next question. For fun? She had many things to do around; from sniping down stray Hobbes to tracking other creatures and bandits. They were quite interesting. But there were other things too. Like... More calm things... swimming... skinning... setting traps... spying on bandits... "I've got hobbies." She had turned her head back to her work when she replied, giving a slight shudder as her eyes non-intentionally went back on the cupboard that contained the really nasty thing she have just found. Ah, look, bread. She thought, grabbing the large piece of bread. Just to make sure, she inspected it carefully. Than, she pulled it closer and smelled it. It smelled right. Just like a bread. Afterwards, she turned around and walked up to Flick's little bed.

❧ "There is much to do around." Alphaess continued talking, leaind back to the wall. She also still had both the meat and bread in her hands. Good thing the bread was large enough for both of them. Maybe not enough for Alphaess, but, she wouldn't mind right now. Separating the bread into two, she extended a hand down, towards Flick, holding the bread in her hand and offering it to him. While she waited for him to take it, she continued to speak; "Especially with all the nice creatures around. These grounds are pretty rich with prey. Anything you may ask for; balverines, bandits, hobbes, gigantic bugs and rarely, different types of undead." These woods weren't the safest place around, but most of these would not dare to attack, unless they were motivated to do such. Alphaess did enjoyed telling these little stories, they were pretty interesting, especially if the person that have been told would believe and perhaps fear it. "Hope you do enjoy the undead growls and balverine howls at night" She offered a slight grin down to him, still haven't moved from where she was leaning on. Her eyes went down on the piece of bread and meat as she combined them together and raised them up to take a bite.

[fletch]

Ｆ Ｅ Ｌ Ｉ Ｘ xＷ Ω Ｌ Ｆ Ｓ Ｂ Ａ Ｉ Ｎ
⚔⚔ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｎｍａｎ ⚔⚔
_______________________________________________
(gender; male)xx(age; twenty-four)xx(crush; maybe)xx(tagged; Alphaess)

Flick knelt down on the wooden floor while he distractedly reached out and smoothed the top of the pathetic excuse for a bed. It wasn't like neatness really mattered for, come morning, it would be a crazy mess anyway. Flick was known to fall asleep in weird positions (considering he was a traveler) but he was also known to be a bit of a...weird sleeper. Sometimes he talked in his sleep and other times he would awake in totally different positions than in which he'd fallen asleep in. It was a merchant thing as they were usually always on the move and, in Flick's case, always getting into trouble and having to find weird places to stow away for the night. Pig pens. People's porches. Under those porches. Against a tree. Occasionally in a tree. Yes, Flick was definitely an expert in the field of sleeping. It was a gift. Upon neatening his little bed, Flick sat down on the edge of it to wait as Alphaess approached with something in her hand that looked to be food. Bread, to be more precise. Flick was rather glad as the long day of really having nothing to eat and doing nothing but training had not only exhausted him, but also left him starving. As soon as Alphaess broke the bread in half and offered a piece down to Flick he gratefully took it it and set it on his knees while he listened to her speak.

Yet, as Flick listened to her speech, he grew slightly uncomfortable. Balverines, bandits, hobbes, gigantic bugs and, rarely, different types of undead. Flick had no belief in any type of undead and yet this worried him in the slightest. Flick shifted slightly as he'd been about to take a bite of the bread and, suddenly, it seemed a little more unappetizing. The next sentence that Alphaess uttered made Flick even more uncomfortable, and yet he managed to look almost normal when he responded with a scoffing: "Undead and screamers...they don't exist. They're just stories." Distractedly, Flick broke off a small piece of the bread and was just holding it to his mouth when he paused and looked up at Alphaess: "I mean...right? You've been in these woods for longer than me."

Flick paused for a moment to give himself time to eat the piece of the bread he had himself and, when it was about three quarters done, he lifted his head and leaned back slightly on the wall behind him. "Back in Oakvale when I was a kid they always used to tell dumb stories to scare the daylights out of the younger kids. They were complete bullcrap, but a lot of kids believed them. Like me." A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "One time this older kid decided it would be hilarious to make a bet to see who could spend the night in the old pumpkin patch a little ways from the center of town. There was some running story that a man had killed five kids there and, every night, the spirits of the kids would take the forms of scarecrows and chase away anyone who 'dared to disturb' them. A lot of dumb kids thought they'd be super brave to go. I...was one of those dumb kids." Flick tilted his head slightly, as though trying to recall the memory. "Turns out that the kid who made the bet actually hid behind the scarecrow there and jumped out at us to trick us. We all ran. I...I don't think I've even gone back to that place since."

With a soft sigh, Flick leaned back and rested his head against the firm wood of the wall, with the remaining bit of the bread now recently gone. That memory...it hadn't been one he'd thought of for a long time. It was odd that now of all times Flick would think of that memory. The 'undead' must've brought it up, and yet Flick had no belief in any sort of afterlife. Undead seemed...weird. But, admittedly, the idea of undead 'growls' and balverine howls during the night was a little more than Flick could stomach. Maybe he just needed something to distract himself. Flick glanced to Alphaess with a slight eyebrow raise. "You got any stories, Red?"

[alphanea]

Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ
❦ Hєяσιηє σƒ Kησтнσℓє Gℓα∂є ❦
➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳
Balverine hunter - Twenty-four years - Greatwood

❧ When Flick took his share of the bread, Alphaess returned her attention back on hers. Quickly moving it closer to her mouth and taking a hungry bite, she listened to his response. Her lips curved into a smile as she chewed her piece of bread slowly. There was no need to rush or anything, so, she could enjoy the smallest bit of her not-so-tasty food. The bread was dry but still edible, unlike the thing she have just encountered at the back of the cabinet. When she swallowed and was finally able to speak once more, she gave a slight chuckle along with a deep sigh. How adorable it was. Stupid, but also adorable. "Still not a believer I see? You'll learn, soon enough." She had her eyes down on Flick from where she was, a little side from him, still standing on her feet, but leaning to the wall.

❧ After another bite she took from the bread and piece of rough dried meat (lucky, her teeth was sharp, a normal person would take a lot of time trying to take the smallest bite) Flick had started to talk once again. Strange, she have never enjoyed listening to other's stories... at least not since her childhood. Probably because no one have tried to share their stories since back at her homeland; the peaceful island of Knothole Glade. Not quite peaceful with all the balverines hunting down villagers every night. Chaotic was a more suitable word, but Alphaess liked it, no matter what. And, surprisingly, Alphaess listened. Without a word and her curious eyes down on Flick. She had an urge to sat beside him and wrap her arms around her legs and rest her head above them; just like the times she listened stories from the village elder or... No, this was not the time or place to remember long lost memories. They were... just gone. Now, the heroine listened to his story until he finished, trying to hold a laugh from escaping her lips. When he finally finished, she let a short chuckle and grinned. "Always the brave one, aren't you?" Teasing, like usual. There was no way she could show any signs of empathy. She just couldn't, even if she wanted, it was against her own personality.

❧ Finally she shoved the last bit of bread and meat into her mouth and quickly ate up. Than, his question came. You got any stories, Red? Of course she had stories, a whole lot of 'em. Always. But... not like his. Her stories were not like his. They were mostly like stories about her victories, strange things she have seen, the times she made a lot of people get pissed. Her childhood? There were stories, of course there were, more than anyone could imagine. She had a rather... eventful childhood. Even before she joined the Guild, there were many stories, much to tell. It have taken a few seconds of silence, before Alphaess have decided to say something "I... Yes, I actually have one." She said with a soft sigh, looking down at the ground.

❧ Having her arms crossed, Alphaess tried to get more comfortable. As much as someone leaning to a wall could get. "I'll tell you a very old story." Alphaess murmured this time, her hair have fallen over her golden eyes, covering them mostly, from view. "Once, there was a kid with deep brown eyes and lived in a small village surrounded by a large forest. Not just a normal forest, one with the large creatures with sharp claws and fangs, searching for human flesh to survive. Every once in a while, they attacked the village, killing many mercilessly and blood-thirsty. Child, woman or man, it never made a difference for them. They just killed without thinking. The only ones that were protecting the village from being wiped out was the protective walls around the village and the small group of hunters; trained from childhood to hunt these ferocious beasts. And they were the best too. Everyone adored these brave hunters; so did the little kid. And eventually, became one of them." She have paused for a second or two. She have been avoiding to have an eye contact with Flick while she told the story, fixing her eyes directly on the floor.

❧ "And one day, while at training, something went wrong. They were attacked, and every single one, except for the kid were killed. As all the friends have been slain, the kid could not do anything. The creatures had came from the dark and silent forest and in a matter of minutes, they were gone. A few years passed and the kid have grown into a great huntsman, now seeking the revenge of the fallen friends and dared to go into the forest alone. Getting into a great battle, the kid have slain many of the same creatures and returned with the head of the creature that have attacked the training party. " This marked the end of the brief story. "This was heard soon by the whole village and achieved glory and fame, turning into a hero among the people." Alphaess stopped afterwards, going back to silence. She would normally like to tell more but... only if he were to ask for more. Maybe a more interesting story about the corpses roaming the land or the large trolls stomping on people. Yes, that would be an interesting story to tell.

[fletch]

Ｆ Ｅ Ｌ Ｉ Ｘ xＷ Ω Ｌ Ｆ Ｓ Ｂ Ａ Ｉ Ｎ
⚔⚔ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｎｍａｎ ⚔⚔
_______________________________________________
(gender; male)xx(age; twenty-four)xx(crush; maybe)xx(tagged; Alphaess)

Flick listened with a vacant expression whilst Alphaess spoke. When she described the creatures he could not help but think of the Balverine...well, it was quite obvious, was it not? As he listened, Flick distractedly fiddled with a loose thread on his shirt that must have been ripped during either training or the bout with Quiver. At this point the failed test was long from Flick's mind. The rune, too. He'd actually been quite pleased to just take the night for once to reflect on all that had occurred in the last couple of days. He couldn't possibly have known Alphaess for longer than a month and, yet, look at where they were now. Flick vaguely wondered as to what the future held in store for them. As soon as his training was complete, would their relationship dissipate and Flick be on his own again? While Flick had originally had misgivings about Alphaess for letting her Balverine pull Flick out of the mud, nearly getting him killed by dressing him up in bandit clothes and sending him into a bandit infested camp, forcing him to the Guild upon discovering an evil rune...yes, he'd not been too peachy with Alphaess. But now, he'd started to...ugh, this might hurt his ego to say, but he'd grown to like her. Ehr--obviously not in that way, but in the way that someone...might...like another person who happened to be a woman and happened to be training him to become a Hero. There was nothing wrong with that! Or, perhaps Flick was just fooling himself. He had no idea what to think of Alphaess whether he liked her, was scared of her, or intimidated and creeped out by her. It had to be somewhere in between all three.

Finally, Alphaess's story had drawn to a close, and Flick drew into silence. He wasn't...scared of those things. They were stories, of course. The scariest beast here was the Balverine, and it had hardly interacted with Flick since coming here. Nothing would hurt him. He hoped. But the way that Alphaess spoke was so grim and serious that Flick could not help but feel a little deterred and a little unsure of himself. They were deep in the dark woods. In a tree. No lights. Was it childish to be uncomfortable? Perhaps. He'd heard rumours about monsters called Screamers before. Whether they were true or not, Flick would never know. Or...maybe he might, someday. But he'd lapsed into something of an eerie state of silence...

After this brief moment, Flick spoke yet again: "Ah...right. Great story. Didn't really know you had a knack for storytelling. It must be one of...the Balverine Slayer's many hidden talents." Flick held his hands up for emphasis. "But I've heard these types of tales before. They don't scare me. The bards tell 'em in Bowerstone and stuff. You're going to have to do better than that to scare me, Red." And Flick leaned back upon his make-shift clothing bed with the usual bold and confident grin.

Flick generally was all talk. He had a habit of saying big things and then not being able to match up to them later. This, perhaps, was one of those times. He didn't want to go to sleep yet...maybe more stories would distract him and he could just drift off to sleep after she'd finished. Sure, it was childish to be using Alphaess as a distraction for Flick to not be afraid of the night, but he'd done worse. Hell, he wasn't...scared...but uncomfortable. Large beasts with sharp fangs was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. But it hadn't even been intended to be a scary story! Flick must really be losing it. As a boy, he'd always been a little too confident and braggy for his own good. When it came to actually proving his worth, Flick usually chickened out. This situation proved that incredibly well: Flick was just putting on a falsetto mood to seem as though he wasn't uncomfortable when really he was just thinking of distractions.

[alphanea]

Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ
❦ Hєяσιηє σƒ Kησтнσℓє Gℓα∂є ❦
➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳
Balverine hunter - Twenty-four years - Greatwood

❧ A little uncomfortably, Alphaess shifted her weight on her other leg. She felt something on her bare skin on the back, possibly one of the damn pouches. Pressing on one was quite uncomfortable, even for her standarts. Plus, she could say she was getting tired of her current position. She felt that her chestplate was pulling her down with the weight. Why did she even had that much armor on at her own home? The answer was obvious; Alphaess did not felt comfortable about taking them off with a total stranger in her own place. She would feel... unsafe, if she were to take off the various weapons hung on her belt. That was probably some sick instinct she had, but when it came to instincts, she fallowed them. They did saved her from many troubles and she wasn't going to betray her own guts for just a strange man. Yes, for Alphaess, Flick indeed was a strange one. Not many merchants would fallow a half-insane hunteress to many deadly adventures. But, strange was good, most of the time. As long as he did not irritate the crap out of her with these jokes. She could even try to act nicer, like stop acting like a hungry predator waiting to bite his head off at the smallest opening around. At least she could try.

❧ When Flick replied with his confident grin on face, Alphaess slightly tilted her head to the side, much like a curious dog, as she looked down to him. "Isn't it getting late already?" So, he wasn't impressed... Alphaess did not want to let him go away with this. Oh, no, of course not. He should pay for that. A sly grin appeared on her emotionless face afterwards, thinking of a perfect 'scary story'. "Whatever, I'll try again." This time, she wasn't going to tell a stupid campsite story little kids would tell each other, made up and stupid stories... Nope. It wasn't going to be one of those. Another good thing about being a hero was hearing and seeing stuff that would make perfect bedtime stories for kids, especially since the kids would be too freaked out to even get out of their beds again. Maniac chests, ghosts wanting revenge, creatures from the Void...

❧ "Since your from Oakvale, how 'bout something related with Screamers?" Alphaess run a hand in her red hair, pushing them back and uncovering her golden eyes. Screamers. The Will users that have went against the mighty Jack of Blades, tortured and stuck between worlds. Sure, they wouldn't actually do much harm to the living, other than annoying them crazy with the painful screams, they more liked to mess with the dead instead. "Hallow eyes, long talons and large, loud mouths. Everybody knows a good Screamer." Alphaess laughed to herself, forgetting the persistence of Flick for a second. "But, what not everybody knows is what these creatures do. At least no one stays alive long enough to tell the tale." She continued with a slightly cheerful attitude, even though what she told wasn't quite enjoyable. "Their screams can drive one insane; imagine the loud screams in your head, never stopping, slowly, slowly draining your life energy. As you grow weak, the screams get even louder and closer. The cries get more intense as they feed upon your precious life energy like blood sucking leeches." While she continued to tell, she made a few gestures with one hand in the air.

❧ Alphaess was enjoying this little story. It wasn't even a real story, but it was disturbing and scaring. At least that was she hoped. "When caught by these creatures, there is no escape. They will torture you with their screams to death; which would come shortly after. Main reason for the lost merchants around Oakvale, too." At the last part, she seem to be rather bored. Lost child, lost dog, lost merchant; these came a lot to her. Men or women, begging to find a lost relative or something. "Anyway, time for the real story." She cleared her throat silently and grinned afterwards. "So, there was this little girl, who thought she was the best undead-slayer and best at everything else, but was a complete idiot and scumbag." Alphaess rolled her eyes in an uninterested way. That girl drove her crazy. Yes. She knew her well. The one and only undead obsessed heroine rival of hers. "And, she entered the woods surrounding Oakvale, her trusted silver blades with flame augmentations in hand, seeking for some fun and to see if the Screamers were real or not." And again, most of the heroes were like this, throwing themselves into life-threatening situations and call it entertainment. Alphaess was no expectation, either.

❧ "Our little id- heroine than ventured in the woods, finding absolute nothing. But when she tried to return back to the village, she took the path she used to get where she was and came across something; a scarecrow. An ordinary scarecrow, ragged and hallow. In the middle of night. She first thought it was nothing more than a joke, and did not payed attention to this warning. With a single blow out of stupidity, she teared the thing into two and continued on." Alphaess paused for a second, taking a deep breath whilst still grinning. "When she was about to put the woods behind to return back to the Guild, she was alarmed by a sharp howl. Or scream. There was nothing to see around. And the woods had gone back into silence afterwards. Slight figures were visible to her in the shadows, doing nothing other than watching her. Annoyed of the wait, the hero drew her blade and attacked towards the figures. but no chance. The shadows were too fast for her to catch and before the blade could even touch them, the shadows had fled already. Doing this over and over, attacking the targets that she could not catch, the hero fell exhausted as the dawn was neared. And with the hero weakened by herself, she could not even protect herself anymore. And than, as expected, something have struck her from the behind and caused her to collapse to the ground, unconscious." As the end neared, Alphaess seem to be enjoying the story even more as her grin grew even larger, showing off her unnaturally white and rather sharp teeth. They looked normal mostly, unless someone would take a closer look at her, which would make them realize her teeth resembled a canine's. Sharp, strong and white.

[fletch]

Ｆ Ｅ Ｌ Ｉ Ｘ xＷ Ω Ｌ Ｆ Ｓ Ｂ Ａ Ｉ Ｎ
⚔⚔ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｎｍａｎ ⚔⚔
_______________________________________________
(gender; male)xx(age; twenty-four)xx(crush; maybe)xx(tagged; Alphaess)

As Alphaess lurched into the start of a new story, Flick began to grow aware that it literally felt as though his back were crawling. He was startled by this and, of course, Flick automatically assumed it might just be his discomfort or fear. But as the feeling went on and on throughout Alphaess's story Flick began to feel as though it truly might not just be a feeling but, rather, something more...strange. There was a lot of bugs in the woods and Flick wasn't big on things like spiders or millipedes. Sure, he wasn't 'afraid' of them. As a child there had always been dares to eat bugs like that and if you chickened out, you'd never hear the end of it. That was one of the reasons Flick was a little uncomfortable around bugs even now. Well...who the hell hadn't eaten bugs as a child? But even now, Flick was bothered by the beady eyes and rough-looking shells and prickly feet. Just as he was thinking this, the same itchy feeling occurred to Flick and he involuntarily flinched a little (which probably looked as though he was acting uncomfortable about Alphaess's story). He reached back and smacked the spot just between his shoulder blades, flinching upon feeling a smooth shell underneath his palm...a bug. He wasn't sure what kind of bug it was, but Flick had almost slept with that thing. Nasty. With a disgusted expression, Flick shifted a little and gave his head a small shake, finally indulging himself into Alphaess's little tale.

To the description of 'Screamers' a start went down Flick's spine. The time he'd heard about these undead beings they'd been described as resembling old hags with ragged cloaks. They were supposed 'entities caught in the netherworlds' and frequently were known by their horrid screams (thus the name) and pained, lost faces. Flick listened with an itching feeling in his shoulders again at the crude description that Alphaess gave. She seemed cheerful! Alphaess was definitely strange, and Flick knew he'd never fully understand her. He knew that the itchy feeling he had at the moment was not the familiar sensation of a bug crawling up his spine again but, rather, discomfort. Fear...? It was just a story, and yet Screamers were frequently talked about as though they were, well, real.

Then, at last, Alphaess launched into the real story. One about a little girl. Flick had leaned back upon the wall behind him and was listening intently to every word Alphaess spoke for once. No comments. No fake smile. Just...listening. His eyes never once left her face as she spoke about a little girl who seemed to be a Heroine, who'd ventured out into the woods to encounter some shadow beings. It seemed as though the story had gone on for what seemed to be hours and yet it had to only be a few minutes. By the end, Flick felt a hollow feeling creep into his stomach and he got the impending feeling that the little girl had died. Alphaess had seemed to give what seemed to be a rather enjoying smile, as though she sheerly liked scaring the crap out of Flick. So, weakly, Flick offered a: "Yep. Definitely a good storyteller. Ha..." And he trailed off, looking with an odd expression to his right towards the door. They were secure up here in the treehouse but Flick was starting to get a little more edgy than usual. Whether it was the bug, the presence of the rune or the story he couldn't quite tell. Flick rocked a little to one side casually , but he got the feeling that this was around the time where Alphaess might be leaving to go back to her own room to sleep.

"Ah, wait--wait. Before you go back, maybe you want to...stay a bit?" Flick's inquiry could have come off flirtatious and he tried to make it like so, instead of sounding like a nervous kid who'd been scared by a fake story. He scooted over a bit and slyly patted the spot next to him of his make-shift clothing bed, offering a slight eyebrow raise to conceal his discomfort with goofiness and sarcasm. "Besides, there's still a lot we need to get to know about each other if we're going to be 'partners'." And he gave a daring wink, knowing outright that Alphaess might not be able to see it in the dark and also the fact that they weren't partners. He was, after all, technically lower than her. Their relationship did not consist of an equal balance of role, regardless of how Flick put it on to be. And, most likely, there was a good chance Alphaess would never see them as equals. But maybe his thoughts were just purposely trying to distract himself from...the reality of the fact that he was scared and just trying to make Alphaess stay with him to avert his attention from the story she'd told.

[alphanea]

Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ
❦ Hєяσιηє σƒ Kησтнσℓє Gℓα∂є ❦
➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳ ➳
Balverine hunter - Twenty-four years - Greatwood

❧ With the end she had left uncertain, Alphaess seem to be satisfied with the story. As what she could sense, it had left the effect she aimed for Flick to have. Her grin on face, she looked down to him from the place she was leaning to, which had started to make her back hurt now. Though, actually, the story wasn't ending here. No, it was more like just a beginning of a more interesting story. As for the heroine, she still had a few things to learn. But, Alphaess wasn't planning to continue and reveal the real ending. Not today. Maybe he could ask the heroine herself, if he was unlucky enough to meet that annoying rat. Which was quite certain for Alphaess's view. Even that she wanted to avoid contact with that particular heroine, one way or another, she always seem to be appearing wherever Alphaess thought it would be least possible. Yet again, Alphaess did wished the story had ended there, with the death of the useless heroine, but no... Perhaps later on, she would continue to the part she got involved to the story and when... things got out of hand...

❧ At Flick's weakly made comment, Alphaess could not help but let her grin get deeper on her face.She had gotten her eyes on him, curiously, watching him. The actions he made, the way he acted... It was so entertaining for her to watch. Scaring people was a great feeling! How much she missed this feeling. Having minimal human contact seem to be a good way to spread the rumors and fear, but what was the point of scaring them, if you couldn't see their reactions? She had a soft spot for such things; inspecting people's emotions. As she rarely showed or had emotions other than rage and greed, watching others' was quite interesting. Sometimes even tempting. Also, things she could not experience have always been attractive for her.

❧ Her eyes went on the door that separated her room from this one. It had been pretty late, it was the best if she would retire to her room. After leaning this wall for so long, she could now imagine the soft and comfortable surface of her bed. Wanting to jump right over her bed and sleep in whatever position she wanted. When it came to sleeping, it was quite common to see her in strange positions. She have even woken up in the other side of her room once. On the floor. Sure, the stories and creeping Flick out was fun, but, what she wanted right now was sleep. Just a few hours, it was enough. Getting the heavy equipment and armor off.

❧ Unexpectedly, before Alphaess could take action to go back to her room, Flick came up with a suggestion, stopping her. Stay a bit? What? What kind of heroine he thought she was? The flirtatious manner of his had accomplished nothing else than making Alphaess feel uncomfortable and rather angry. She definitely did not liked being flirted with. A growl had grew in her throat, such as a wolf in distress, but she swallowed it and replied with the grin she still had on face, trying not to show any feelings at the moment. Of course she was would just be over-reacting. Though, the cloth-bed of his was looking really more comfortable than her current location. And the position she was in had started to become a little bit awkward. Deciding to ignore his comment, she accepted his offer to sit at the space he have gestured at, still making sure there was enough space between her and Flick. "You must really enjoying my stories." She gave a low huff as she tried to get comfortable in her new place, her eyes going down on the clothing. Uncomfortably, she frowned a little with his wink that was visible barely in the dark.

❧ Narrowing her eyes a little, Alphaess spoke with a serious tune; "We are not partners. Nothing even close to that." They would never be partners. Never. He was just an apprentice. Nothing more than one of her minions. Though, he actually had a rank lower than her balverine, who was also the beta of the pack. He was more of an omega, if she had to name it. One of the useless ranks. "Also, if you dare to take advantage of this and try something stupid, I'll break your fingers; one by one." Yet again, her voice was cold and dead serious. She was leaning back to the wall, having her hands on her sides, comfortably, after threatening Flick and acting like nothing have even happened. "Since you're so interested in telling more about your story, why don't you go along with the one that explains why you carry hero blood." Tilting her head slightly to the side, she had her golden-brown eyes on him in a questioning way. He asked for it. At least he could make it worth her while.

[fletch]

Ｆ Ｅ Ｌ Ｉ Ｘ xＷ Ω Ｌ Ｆ Ｓ Ｂ Ａ Ｉ Ｎ
⚔⚔ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｎｍａｎ ⚔⚔
_______________________________________________
(gender; male)xx(age; twenty-four)xx(crush; maybe)xx(tagged; Alphaess)

To Alphaess's response, Flick could not help but grin slightly. "No, of course not, Red. You're the leader here." Though his tone was obviously teasing, and it wasn't clear whether Flick was just being himself or trying to avert his thoughts from the previous story. He was infuriating so, of course, it was assumed that Flick was just being Flick. He was actually surprised she'd agreed to sit down and, for once, their 'closeness' wasn't just because one of them was in terrible danger or training. It was actually genuine, which...surprised Flick quite a bit. But, of course, the brief moment was lost as soon as Alphaess mentioned breaking Flick's fingers and he waved her off with a: "Wouldn't dream of it." He absently reached back to scratch the back of his neck as Alphaess spoke again and, instantaneously, there was a frown visible upon Flick's face. He'd actually avoided outright speaking of his ancestry and Hero blood before, supposing that Alphaess would never care to ask. But he supposed it was probably reasonable that she'd ask, considering Flick was nothing more than a lowly conman with a surprising ability to zap and torch things. Yeah, okay. If he was in Alphaess's position, he'd probably be a little more than curious about that as well.

"It's my dad," Flick said at last, leaning forward slightly and propping his elbow against his knee while looking ahead into the murky dark. "Back in Darkwood...when we met. I told you my name was Felix, right? I wasn't completely truthful. I'm actually, ah, Felix the II. My dad is the first Felix." Flick paused for a moment, squinting as though thinking over this. He wasn't sure exactly how much to tell her, considering he was usually pretty quiet about his family life. But...who was Alphaess going to tell it to? Flick decided to be truthful. If they were going to work together (okay, not as a partnership but...in general) maybe at least she had to know a little more about him. "He was a Hero from the Guild before I was born. So...he just so happens to be related rather closely to William Black. And then...he married my mother, and...that's it." Flick offered a small shrug as though it was no big deal. "He always wanted me to be an apprentice of the Guild when I was little, but my mom didn't want me to. She didn't want me to get...hurt or something. I was a pretty clutzy kid." Flick stole a quick look at Alphaess at this, and offered a faint grin.

Deciding to keep going, Flick kept on: "And...so I started the whole conman act with the stealing. Dunno why I did it, but maybe it was a dumb grab at attention. That just made my dad more certain I wasn't 'Hero' material. So I never really figured out my abilities. I mean, I knew I had them but...it still surprised me. I wasn't sure I'd ever know how to use them, anyway." Flick experimentally closed his hand and opened it again, but dare not start a flame. Not in here...he was getting better, but he still didn't trust himself not to torch down Alphaess's house. "I guess that's why the Guildmaster seemed to know me. Before...when we arrived at the Guild. Dear old dad and I share quite a few physical traits," And he rolled his eyes slightly at this. Aside from the muscle, height and ability to grow actual facial hair that Felix the I had...Flick was technically his dad. Well, a slighter, shorter, younger and less heroic version, but still the same. Flick hadn't exactly meant to tell Alphaess a life story, but most of the information linked together so he figured he would just tell it all.

At last, Flick clasped his hands together and leaned back against the back of the wall, his head falling back a little. The whole chat about this had actually made him nearly forget about the Screamers. Nearly...but Flick wasn't as terrified now. Perhaps recalling old memories had distracted him entirely? Flick had no idea, but the exhaustion of the day was finally starting to swamp over the conman. He casually folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes but that didn't stop him from inquiring a cheeky: "But I guess all Heroes have daddy issues, don't they?" Of course, Flick wasn't exactly a Hero. But as it seemed, most Heroes had terrible, depressing backstories to go along with them and give them a 'stone-y' appeal.

At last, Flick allowed a soft sigh to escape his lips as he fully adjusted against the wall, seated upon the make-shift bed and with his legs kicked out lazily before him. With the Screamers momentarily away from his mind, Flick could just hope he'd get a good night's sleep. He was...god, he was thoroughly exhausted. Mentally and physically, considering that Will drained not just physical strength but also made you feel as though your brain had been slowly roasted on a fiery spit. Flick hoped that feeling wouldn't be a permanent thing...

[alphanea]

Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ
❦ Hєяσιηє σƒ Kησтнσℓє Gℓα∂є ❦
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Balverine hunter - Twenty-four years - Greatwood

❧ Alphaess had let her head fall back lazily, leaning to the wall still. Sitting down after hours had just felt good. She had been on her feet since morning, though she was used to stay like that more than a day or two. The training wasn't that hard either, but Alphaess could not tell why she felt so drained. Perhaps being a teacher was more tiring that she expected. Heck, she could imagine what the Guildmaster had gone through at her training. Giving him trouble was a small victory for her. And she was good with all the trouble. Her gaze went back on Flick after a while, who was still sitting next to her. It was strange for staying this close to him, but, Alphaess kinda wanted to get over this. If she was going to keep him here and train him, she would have to get used to the feeling of having him close. And keep the urge to attack him whenever he came closer than a few feet under control. So, simply, this was some sort of training for herself to avoid harming him unconsciously.

❧ It's my dad. Flick said to Alphaess's surprise. His father was a hero? How was it even possible that a son of a hero turn out to be... a travelling merchant, a conman. She thought a hero parent would be... more supportive. Though, when it came to parents... Alphaess had zero to no knowledge about their motives. Parents. It was probably nice to know your parents, spending a childhood with them. Unless you had careless scumbags for parents, like Alphaess's example. Though she have never seen, or not even properly heard about them, Alphaess had grown a strong hatred towards them, completely believing they weren't even worth the while to learn what pitiful human beings they were. No, thank you. She wouldn't even spend a freaking second for them at all. Missing a few seconds of his speech, she was able to catch to the Felix the II part. She repeated in her mind. Have she head that name before? Probably. But... she really couldn't keep all heroes of the Guild. There were simply too many to remember. And some were quite insignificant. Not wanting to call his father insignificant, she kept the statement to herself and continued to listen in a surprisingly silent state. She blinked her eyes slightly when he looked back at her with a faint grin, her everlasting grin now was long gone, faded away when the second he started talking about 'parents'.

❧ Now having a grim look on her face, Alphaess listened to the rest of his story. She haven't moved much from her space, other than pulling her legs under her and pushing herself a little back. Ah, that's explains the Guildmaster's interest in him at the first place. She should have known that old fox knew something. When he stopped, Alphaess stayed silent, unsure what to say or do. She wasn't going to pat him in the back for his sob story. But, she wasn't going to use it against him either. If he did trusted her to tell the whole story, she still had the bit of honor that would prevent herself from passing this secret to others. Her golden- brown eyes blinked a few times. The golden color in them had seem to faded away a little, letting enough room for the brown color to flicker. She had her eyes on him after he closed his eyes, leaning back, watching his actions and trying to tell his emotions. Daddy issues? Of course if they had daddies. Some might never had the luxury of knowing their parents. "I guess most of us them." Alphaess was excluding herself from the group of heroes. But even that she never had parents or parent problems, it didn't meant that she never had a family or tasted the great sorrow it might bring.

❧ Seeing he was almost ready to sleep, Alphaess looked around for a second or two, feeling awkward about the situation. Than, stretching her arms sleepily, she spoke up; "I guess that's enough stories for tonight? I'll leave you alone with your comfortable little bed now, than." She pushed herself forwards from the wall she was leaning to slowly, kinda trying to leave Flick some time to reply before she would get back on her feet. A little part of her did enjoyed listening to stories and telling them (which was more interesting for her) at midnight. But, that was just a little, tiny winy part of her. She wanted to bury herself in her bed a whole lot more than that.