1x1 ｗｉｔｈ Ｗｉｎｄｆａｒｍｅｒ

[fletch]

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{ gender; male | age; twenty-four | sexuality; heterosexual | location; darkwood }

There was the feeling of something cold rip across Flick's back, as though something sharp had just grazed his skin. There was the feeling of a sharp sting but also the noise of gurgling. Had something hit him? It felt almost like a branch whisking across the skin of his back, slightly tearing the fabric of his coat and maybe leaving a minor scratch upon his skin. Flick whirled around and glanced downwards. A Hobbe with an axe had been about to jump at him, it seemed, but had been stopped short by a small blade piercing the gray skin of its throat. The Hobbe's eyes bugged out and it took a small step back, stumbling slightly upon the slippery mud ground and fell back, hitting the ground with a gasp. Its gray hands flailed and it screeched, blood and foam bubbling from its open maw while its limbs thrashed about, until they stilled altogether. Th e creature was dead like that, and the Heroine had killed it almost without a second thought. The mud coated part of the creature's side, sticking there as evidence from its dying struggles. A little startled, Flick glanced upwards and caught Alphaess's grin.

Yet in that moment, things went wrong. In Alphaess's moment of split distraction a Hobbe had take a swing at her and she moved--avoiding a fatal blow, but being struck on the side of her right leg. He saw her wince and lose her balance to crash down upon one knee. Before he could react or do anything another Hobbe had slashed towards her face. But, before anything worse could happen, some sort of...magical aura pulsed forth, clearing a circle around Alphaess of any of the assailants. It jerked Flick back several steps, too, but he was able to stay on his feet...for once. Heroes had Will power, Flick often had to remind himself. It was so strange to think that it was actually a magic of sorts. Hell, wouldn't that be interesting to use? Flick was certain that if he had that power he would most definitely use it to his advantage. Push guards over. Intimidate people. Hell, it would be fun. Obviously Flick was no person who would hurt people for the sheer intent of harming them, but perhaps for a little scare. Anyone with magic 'hand' abilities seemed pretty damn scary in Flick's opinion.

Finally, with a last roar from the Balverine, the Hobbes began to clear out. Flick let out a panting sigh and re-sheathed his dagger, sliding it into the sheathe against his hip. Flick glanced over at Alphaess, seeing that her hood had been thrown completely off. Apparently his nickname 'Red' was true to the colour of her hair. Without the hood she seemed...well, less mysterious. More...human? Flick had to admit...she was attractive, in a sort of strange and alluring way. Surely she was not a bubbly, curly-haired and curvy tavern woman but it was strange to think that she had some sort of strange appeal to her. But he wasn't one to fall for people just by a look. People fell for him, and not the other way around. He gave his head a shake to clear his thoughts and not make it seem as though he was...staring. She seemed in pain, though even managing to be joking when she was clearly in pain. Flick was unhurt aside from the slightest cut across his back (from Alphaess's blade), an achy lower back, and his ankles being bitten to hell. His wrists were also pretty sore from being grabbed...but, overall, he was better off than Alphaess, which was quite surprising to think considering she actually had the upper hand when it came to combat, and he was the one who'd nearly been dragged away into the foliage.

It was a very well-known fact that Flick was selfish, like a lot of merchants. At that point, perhaps he could have...ran. Alphaess was distracted with her wounds, the Balverine may not have been paying attention and he could've gotten off with only paying half. But for some reason, Flick felt...obligated to stay. He felt bad for Alphaess getting hurt on his behalf, even if he seldom felt bad for anything he did. It wasn't like he'd hurt her himself but at the same time, she'd probably been distracted by him and therefore had gotten hurt. She did seem to be putting it off, however, sort of like any sort of predator would if they were to be injured or sick. It was a natural reaction for a lot of animals but...not people. Despite that, it was obvious that she was in pain and hurt. Flick carefully approached, stepping over fallen Hobbe bodies and pausing a little ways from Alphaess.

"Uhm, look, Red...I have some clothes...rags and stuff, if you need. For your leg." Flick suggested, already removing the bag from his shoulders and lowering it down in the mud. He was already coated in mud as it was, so it didn't make a big difference. His scrappy blond hair was peppered with mud and his face was somewhat streaked with dirt. Flick reached up with his arm and wiped it away, reaching into his bag to dig around. After a moment he found a small brown rag, probably from one of his various trades...really, he had no idea what it's for. But it would work. He glanced up at Alphaess and offered it to her.

[alphanea]

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
The Beast known as the Heroine
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【gender female - age twenty four - sexuality heterosexual - with flick 】

❧ Surprisingly, the Hobbe have actually managed to hit her from the leather parts of her clothing, instead of the plates. Since most of the stronger parts of her armor were covering her upper body like her shoulders and chest and only the upper part of her legs, the legs had less protection, not to limit her movement or reduce her speed. Speed was important for her. With a leather armor it was quite easier to use her skill such as her swiftness. But the armor had flaws like these. Alphaess placed her twin-swords back into the sheath that they shared quickly. With the back of her hand she wiped away the blood dripping from the smaller scratch on her face once again, the tips of her red hair were stained with the red blood though the natural red color was making it hard to be visible. Her hair was fallen on her eyes, keeping her eyes out of sight, which was a good thing, since she really didn't wanted any eye contact with her escort mission. Not in this situation. This was... embarrassing in the slightest. Heck, how could the mighty Balverine Slayer be in this situation anyway?

❧ Alphaess was still keeping one hand over the wound, as she was sitting down on the ground, where it was slightly less muddy. Her other leg (the one that haven't been skewered) was bent from the knee and pulled up to her, while the other was lying before her, allowing her to take a look at the wound closely. The leather that covered the side of her leg was ripped off but it wasn't a really important wound at all, and Alphaess wasn't feeling that much pain. She did felt pain, but, clearly, trying to cover up the fact for now. She had worse before, anyway. And she rarely cared for diseases and infections that she may catch from the wounds. Luckily, Alphaess had a strong immune system and again very rarely got any diseases or infections. Probably because the fact that she lived much like an animal, that had caused her to fave a better defense against those things. So, she only had to worry not to bleed out in the middle of Darkwood. It would be rather unfortunate if the Alphaess would die because of a small bleeding wound. Really... not the most heroic way to die. Nor a way Alphaess preferred to go.

❧ The Balverine that was standing next to its master growled a little, threatening Flick as he came close to its wounded heroine in protective manner. The Heroine was already wounded, it would not tolerate if the man tried to take advantage of this and try to approach Alphaess. But, Alphaess gestured in a calm manor, showing it was alright, and no reason to worry. She could handle herself. It was obvious that the beast still didn't trusted him, not even the smallest bit. There was actually something strange she felt about Flick. Alphaess also had some kind of ability to feel emotions easily, something that wild animals could do. The man seem to be a bit... Worried? About her? That was a unusual feeling for her. No one really cared much for her well-being much, not even other heroes. Well... After messing with them that much, that was predictable. But this man, there was something different. "It's just a simple scratch for me." Alphaess said, her voice was calmer than usual as she glanced up to Flick with her golden-ish eyes. They were, indeed strange, looking very much like... a wolf's eyes, but regardless, some said it had some sort of mysteriousness that could be considered... alluring. But, Alphaess had no thoughts about seducing this man for absolute no reason. Or any other man. "Obviously, it would take a little more than this for you to get rid of your escort." Alphaess replied, with a calm voice, returning her eyes on her wound and pausing for a second. Than she glanced up with the slightest bit of her grin appearing on her face, she spoke with a low but sly tune: "...so I still want those fifty coins."

❧ Though, after hearing his words she was surprised. Alphaess had half expected him to leave. Run away while she was distracted (though, he was lucky that he didn't. It probably wouldn't take long for the Balverine to pick on his scent). She was feeling a bit nervous, like a cornered animal would be while he was standing this close. Her gold-ish brown eyes looked through the red hair that covered them partially, glancing up at the piece of cloth he extended towards her. She was unsure if she should accept the help. Accepting it would probably be the clever choice, since she really didn't wanted to faint or die while they were still trying to reach the camp. But still, if she were to take it would it make her feel weak? Or look weak. This was all new. The whole helping thing and all. The cold-blooded Heroine had almost dropped her confidence with the shock, going all silent and expressionless. She hesitated for a second before finally reaching to the rag. She gently (and quickly) grabbed the rag with her black gauntlets still on her hands. Though, she did not tried to show any weakness while doing so. Accepting help from a random man she had met in Darkwood was strange... really strange. But, hell, it worked. For now.

❧ Once The Heroine had reached for the rag, the Balverine couldn't help but let out a silent, threatening growl. It was feeling a bit uneasy and had an instinct to just dig its fangs into the man's flesh. Just to protect Alphaess from him. But of course, the consequences of the action would not be very good. Even the Balverine would not like to have an angered Alphaess after it. So it stayed put and kept its eyes on the man, somewhat in a suspicious and accusing way, as it did believed it was Flick's fault that the Heroine was in this state. Still sitting up on the ground, Alphaess pulled her leg closer to her, paying no attention to the Balverine. The rag she had received from Flick was in her right hand, being held tightly in her palm. Than, she quickly wrapped around the wound tightly using the rag, knotting it tightly to make sure it won't just fall of while walking. It took only a few seconds for her to make sure it was good enough for the walk. After that, Alphaess got back on her feet once she was sure that it was tight enough one last time. She silently looked at the Balverine and gestured at it to lead the way once more, this time, surprisingly silently. "Let's get going." She said with a bit more emotionless and silent voice, very briefly looking at Flick after this. This wasn't something a Heroine would do. How could she look like a powerless, little girl in front of him. Not like it mattered because he was him, but more like the fact that he was a human, and was, well, able to tell this off to other people. That would scar her fame. Just like that blow had scarred her leg. Though, she doubted it would scar. It wasn't that deep at all.

[fletch]

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{ gender; male | age; twenty-four | sexuality; heterosexual | location; darkwood }

Flick stared a little worriedly up at the white Balverine. It was obvious there would be some...trust issues. But Flick mustered his courage and hunched his shoulders slightly, stepping over another Hobbe to come a little ways from Alphaess's side--though remaining at a respectable distance. He was no healer. He could see she was in pain, though, but probably trying to hide it. He was a little relieved when she took the rag from him and he closed his bag afterwards, hoisting it back over his shoulders. The bag was not thoroughly heavy, though it seemed to have gained a bit of weight due to the wet and mud. There was only a few supplies in it that he really required, but Flick refrained from dropping it or leaving it behind. Who knew, maybe he would need it for later on at any rate and Flick had grown fond of it. It was always something he had with him and it was really the only personal belonging he could actually claim to have at this point. The bag was admittedly a little scrappy and hard to look at, but it was still his. Perhaps the few holes it had needed to be sewn up to avoid any of his belongings from falling through...actually, he needed to do a lot of things once this 'adventure' was over. The Balverine teeth marks in the neck of his clothing were not going to close themselves over.

"Guess you're not the 'invincible woman' act you always put on, hm, Red?" Flick said with a dashing white-toothed grin--or at least, what he thought to be 'dashing'. It probably looked pretty goofy. He flinched slightly at another growl from the Balverine but it was quickly silenced. He watched as Alphaess bound her wound and stayed silent all the while. He didn't want to ask 'are you okay?' because he figured she might just push him off. Instead, Flick mumbled: "Ah...thanks, I suppose. You know. For...saving me. For like...the third time." Third? Maybe he was losing count. That was either a good thing or a bad thing. "But I could've gotten out myself." He added in a cheeky manner. His words were, quite obviously, either intentionally sarcastic or just an outright lie. Flick had been in trouble, and he knew that very, very well. Flick patted his side where the dagger was still sheathed, either to warn the Balverine or just to assure it was still there. Then again, 'threatening' the Balverine seemed like a bad idea. So Flick slowly lowered his hand down, realizing that it was pretty damn stupid to be 'threatening' the creature. Actually, it was an awful idea. Flick quickly forgot abotu the dagger and averted his attention elsewhere.

To distract himself, Flick drummed his finger tips against his thigh. It was quiet now in the murky Darkwood swamp...the Hobbes gone (aside from the squeals in the faraway bushes of the wounded ones), the gnats buzzing silently, the occasional cricket of bugs off in the grass. There was a sort of heavy 'warmth' that hung around them, but that was to be expected in a swamp. At least it was not cold. Being cold and wet was one of the two things Flick hated the most...and Alphaess was injured. He could at least be grateful that he had come off unscathed, aside from the occasional bump, bruise and the small cut on his back where the skin was slightly exposed.

Flick cleared his throat and gave a small nod. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. " He noticed that she seemed oddly more quiet than usual. A little more emotionless. At least he knew what she looked like now...it was more assuring than anything. The whole 'hooded Heroine' thing had been rather intimidating. She was actually quite attractive but then again, Flick figured it was a bad idea to try and flirt with her. She wasn't some typical Bowerstone lady; that was clear. If he did, he wasn't sure who would hit him first: Alphaess, or the Balverine. Better just to keep this 'strictly business', then. Flick rolled his shoulders, getting the aching pain out of them and a small nod. No more stops, no more intrusions. Just...business. He hoisted his bag up his shoulders once more and nodded. He would follow after. He preferred staying behind Alphaess and the Balverine...he didn't like being right behind that white beast, anyway. Besides, he figured that the Heroine would not like him in between them at any rate and Flick didn't like the idea of a 'conman sandwich.' Having a scary beast behind you was rather unsettling...oh, and the Balverine in the front. (Flick liked to make jokes to himself too, of course. He'd never say that aloud.) His jokes were what often got him in trouble from people who tended to not take his 'sarcasm' very well. Sometimes Flick could be a little tone deaf when people were angry with him and, thus, he didn't often know when it was right to stop with his jokes. Anger, amusement...sometimes they kinda just melded together. Or perhaps Flick wasn't tone deaf, but rather he didn't care when it seemed like someone was displeased by his jokes. That seemed to be the truth.

Curiously, Flick glanced back over his shoulder to see the scene of the Hobbes slowly fading into the distance. This was the first time he'd ever killed anything, which had probably led to a bit of overconfidence. It was a Hobbe, after all. It wasn't that impressive. But Flick couldn't take his eyes off the little gray bodies. What kind of merchant actually fought back at any rate? It made Flick feel a little powerful. Sort of. It wasn't like he'd been all that 'powerful' when he'd almost been dragged into the foliage by dozens of fat little short things. He wondered briefly what might have occurred had Alphaess not stepped in to save him in time. Hobbes didn't eat people. Maybe. They probably would have just killed him or torn the belt off by force and left him there (that was the preferable 'what if'). Then again, there had been a lot of disappearances due to Hobbes...Flick knew that the outcome would not have been good had the Heroine not saved him. It was hard for him to admit, but it was good that Alphaess had been there when she had. Otherwise...well. Death by Hobbe seemed like something very, very displeasing by Flick's point of view and thoroughly embarrassing. Flick's idea of a preferable death would be late into his older years with all the money he could want and private land all to himself. No one around. No money troubles. Ah, that was ideal. But being decapitated by a Hobbe was not.

[alphanea]

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
The Beast known as the Heroine
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【gender female - age twenty four - sexuality heterosexual - with flick 】

❧ Alphaess did not gave any reply to Flick's words, neither with a (more likely) teasing word or with any expression or anything else in general. She just stayed like that... silent. Getting in this condition was quite humiliating for a famous (infamous suits better at this point) Heroine or at least famous-like Heroine for her. She had enough renown to call herself that... she guessed. A great Hero would not fall to this. But, once she remembered that the fact she would more likely won't see the man ever in her life again once she delivered this merchant to his destination, Alphaess seemed to be... less caring about it. Well, she did cared, but... heck. As he didn't seem to be the kind that would spend much time in dark, swampy places and hunting balverines for entertainment. So, it wouldn't be much of a problem. Probably. Still, there was a feeling she couldn't get out of her mind. Damnit. Why she couldn't get out of this place before loosing her pride and dignity once and for all?

❧ The Balverine looked down at Alphaess, wondering if she could make it, clearly worried about her well-being. That was strange for one of its kind but... when did one actually managed to tame a balverine? There was nothing ordinary about the beast. It did took the Balverine to get convinced and heed Alpahess's order, but once it was convinced with her condition, it took lead quickly. Even that both of them got into fights quite frequently, Alphaess rarely got hurt and that was something unusual for both the beast and the master. Alphaess started fallowing the Balverine quickly, she didn't had any of her past joy or usual bitterness. Every time she stepped on her right foot, pain jolted from her wound. Though Alphaess was trying to hide it. Ah, she couldn't be seen whining over a little flesh wound. No way. While walking she sighed deeply, but silently, pushing the red hair that covered her face back and quickly run a hand in the short hair of hers, taking the longer breaded part of her hair out under the hood (or whatever remained from it). Than, she pulled back the hood down much as she could, sick of carrying the useless thing around her neck. She did liked keeping her face hidden, in her opinion it added some sense of 'mysteriousness' but there was no use now. And it did come in hand when she wanted to hide from the eyes, especially in a crowd and alike. But, well, Darkwood wasn't a place that would have hoards of people around.

❧ A while after a long, silent walk with the Balverine in lead, fallowed by Alphaess closely and Flick who was still staying behind, the Balverine let a silent voice, alerting. It could smell something unusual. At least in a swamp... ash and charcoals. This mean there should be fire somewhere. And if there were fire, there would be humans. Alphaess's eyes scanned the horizon silently, spotting a faint grey smoke in the distance. "The camp is nearby." Alphaess warned with a tired voice. Right after a small grin appeared on her emotionless face, still facing forwards as she spoke. "You'll finally get a brake from walking around with both of us." She said with a bit of her teasing voice, trying to hide her current emotions behind her grin. "Surely it had been a long day." Alphaess said in a bit more silent tune, turning her gaze to the large white creature that stood on its hind legs right at the side of the Heroine, as her comment was actually made for the creature instead of Flick. But, the reply was just a low, bored huff. Yeah, the Balverine wasn't the best talker.

❧ Soon enough, the small group of three reached the camp, which happened to be a small clearing with a rather large campfire in the middle, a small, worn out table at the side and a few tents surrounding, along with other various objects, like the merchants' belongings and goods. As they approached, Alphaess ordered the Balverine to fall back. Entering a merchant camp in Darkwood along with a white balverine might not be the best idea to make an entrance. Really, she didn't need any of the merchants to have heart attacks or anything that would require Alphaess to... give attention. Alphaess, whom had taken the lead, neatened her clothing a little, cleaning a bit of mud (and the dark red substance that was presumably Hobbe blood) off her armor and cloak. She stood tall, not wanting anyone to notice her leg that was wrapped by a dark colored rag. At least because of the color scheme that mostly consisted of brown, red and black, it at least seemed to be a part of her clothing. Alphaess tried to keep her cold and serious attitude as she had entered the camp. There were a few merchants around the fireplace, resting, whom immediately turned their heads to face the new figured. "Thank Avo, it's the Guild Heroine!" Said one of them quickly getting up on his feet. Oh, right, Alphaess had the Hero appearance, and it wasn't hard to tell it. In just a matter of seconds the Heroine was surrounded by the merchants, each of them talking to each other and complimenting the heroine that they have heard her bravery and good deeds, while some of them were quite obviously did not even knew who she was but played along. This was... uncomfortable and disturbing as the men came a bit too close to her personal borders. Slightly threatened by the merchants behavior, the Balverine let out a loud growl that made the merchant realize Flick and the creature were also there, backing away from the Heroine in fear.

❧ Upon the merchants panic, and trying to back away with their eyes on the Balverine with fear, Alphaess spoke with her usual 'mission' calmness : "There is no need to fear him or me. We mean no harm. We'd been sent from the Guild. I am the Alphaess and this is my... companion." She said while gesturing at the white creature that have walked up to her, standing tall beside the tall Heroine. To be honest, all of those merchants seemed to be dwarfed compared to Alphaess. She was tall for women, and average/tall-ish for Guild standards, not even talking about her lean-ish athletic body type. Not many women had that much muscle over them. As they saw the creature seem to stay put, not saying a single word as the simply stared at the creature and the Heroine in shock. Once the had finally realized that the creature wasn't going to slaughter them anytime soon (which was hard to believe due to natural, merchant uneasiness around such things), one of them dared to take a step closer but this time knowing where to stop. The blood-red eyes of the creature was now watching the merchant, much like the way it watched Flick.

[fletch]

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{ gender; male | age; twenty-four | sexuality; heterosexual | location; darkwood }

Throughout the entire walk...Flick was tired. Exhausted, actually. He tried not to show, but he was beginning to lag behind. His boots made sloshing noises in the damp mud and he struggled not to outright give up. Damn...this Heroine really was like an animal in the sense that, despite her injury, she could go on for some time. He was glad when they finally got close to the camp. Thank goodness...he was just about ready to flop face first in the mud. Bitten to death, achy, tired, hungry...yep, Flick was all of those. Naturally a merchant was not built for such things as a long day's travel. Traders like himself were wandering merchants who travel from settlement to settlement throughout, and sometimes beyond, the land of Albion. Flick himself of course never went very far but he could imagine that most merchants were not built for long, strenuous activities like fighting or long treks with a slowly-growing-heavier bag. Wandering traders were often attacked and killed by bandits, or monsters, which had actually led some traders to hire Heroes to escort them to their destinations. Flick obviously had not intended to hire Alphaess but as it looked, he was sort of in the thick of it now.

As soon as they arrived, something happened. The merchants from the camp crowded Alphaess. Complimenting her, rejoicing on her deeds...Flick instantly felt, what, jealous? Maybe not that. But. He didn't particularly like all these snob-nosed merchants crowding around his escort, either. He didn't know any of this merchants. Flick wasn't a usual merchant, after all. These guys had the funny hats, flashy colours and huge travel bags... A good amount of them also had the rather strange choices of facial hair, while Flick was more leaning on the side of being lucky if he could manage a stubble (which he probably could not). Flick, on the other hand, looked more like a traveler with his brown coat and lack of hat. He was also fairly young for a merchant, which was saying something. All these guys looked the same: old and snob-nosed.

Flick was glad he traveled alone. He didn't think he could take their endless banter. He was a one-man scheme, after all. Flick liked to think he was far more of an analytic thinker than these quick two-second, low price, basic tradesmen. They were so plain that it literally bored Flick just to look at them and he gave an inward groan at the very sight of these men...fawning over Alphaess. It was ridiculous. Hero or not, Flick never fawned over anyone. Even if it did not seem like it, Flick knew Heroes quite well. He'd met one or two prior and, of course, he'd been rather close to a particular one. This had always given Flick a bad image on Heroes, leading him to believe that all Heroes were boastful, vain and arrogant jerks who only cared for themselves. Hm. That thought had grown personal rather quickly. Flick dropped it.

The Balverine did not seem pleased. Flick could tell. He seemed to be growling...and, at least, it wasn't at Flick this time. I'm with you. Was what he wanted to say, but didn't. besides, saying that would be...weird. Flick was just glad that the Balverine was mad at someone other than himself and thus allowing Flick to actually let his guard down for once. Rather, Flick just crossed his arms and waited for the clamour to die down. It took some time, but the merchants seemed to be slightly intimidated by the sight of the massive white creature and Flick could not blame them for their slight intimidation. Well, the Balverine was scary. If Flick had ever seen that thing from a distance, he'd bolt the opposite way to avoid being killed. Flick could run fast when he needed to; a learned ability from running from guards and angry ex-girlfriends and the like. Though it was admittedly amusing to be seeing the merchants panic much like Flick had done upon seeing the beast for the first time. He could finally enjoy what it was like being on the opposite side of this for once and thus, not be in the 'growling' range. He still did not trust the Balverine, however. He never would.

"So, what now...?" Flick mumbled, with a glance at Alphaess. "Am I just supposed to...hang around for a bit? 'Till you've, you know, healed up." This obviously meant her leg. Flick had caught on to the fact that she was hiding her wound from the others, and he couldn't blame her. She had a reputation to keep, after all. Flick? Not so much. He was tired and rather cranky of the whole adventure so far. The Balverine picking him out of the mud, the Hobbes trying to steal his belt buckle...then him. One hell of a day. He hoisted his bag up his shoulders once more but, yet again, it slipped and Flick gritted his teeth a little irritably and shifted his shoulders to allow the bag to remain in place. He was probably overly irritated by it due to the long day--a result from having nearly been dragged away, almost eaten by a Balverine and cut by one of Alphaess's blades. Surely she'd saved him, but that did not mean that Flick was any less pleased with the way she'd gone at it. She could've at least not hit him. This was a cut that Flick couldn't even reach, try as he might. He was...really not at all that flexible, scarcely being able to touch his feet despite being a pretty lean guy. It was just another one of his unfortunate physical disabilities, alongside not being a great fighter, not having a lot of physical strength, not having great coordination. Some might think Flick was 'clumsy' in this manner, but he was really just 'unfortunate.' He had terrible luck. It was often as though bad luck clung to him.

[alphanea]

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
The Beast known as the Heroine
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【gender female - age twenty four - sexuality heterosexual - with flick 】

❧ Typical merchant behavior. Praise and compliment the Hero until you get into safety, than forget you have even met them. Or boast with the fact that you had met a Hero to impress some half-wits. Alphaess did not trusted these merchants with large and quite silly-looking hats. Why have they even chosen that as a uniform? Like, she could understand the flashy colors, but the hat? She would probably never understand that. All merchants wore almost the same outfit always, so it should have been a uniform. Alphaess was never interested in these traveling scrooges. But, the merchants were quite interested in her, as she was often sent to places like Darkwood to save some of these idiots from bandits, undead, beetles and pretty much everything, even the lame ones. Yeah, merchants often swarmed around Alphaess, despite her intimidating looks. And that was annoying. Really annoying. She hated merchants and bards and other people coming around her to... praise her. She didn't wanted any good words or anything from those idiots.

❧ "Oh, Hero, we have been waiting for someone from the Guild for a week now." Spoke the merchant in the front that seem to be older than the others. He was, like always, wearing the silly merchant attire, and had a weird looking mustache over his lips. "And our food have nearly ran out!" Added of the merchants that were still trying to have distance with the white Balverine, in a rather eager tune, keeping his brown eyes on the tall Heroine. "We thought we were going to die here..." Whined another while the remaining merchants also start to complain how bad thing have went, how hungry they were and how swampy this place was. Of course, if you are going though a swamp you can't expect the place to be muddy. How could they even know there could be mud? Alphaess gave a silent shiver as the merchants have actually started to chat and say all useless stuff. This wasn't getting them anywhere. Other than just wasting their time. Damn merchants. Actually, at this point, Alphaess would even prefer Flick's company, even that he drove her mad with all those cheeky comments, at least he knew when to shut up.

❧ While the merchants continued, she looked over to Flick over her shoulder with a bored look on her face who was nearby the Balverine. "We'll rest here for the night. You can go along and rest. I feel this... is going to take a while." Alphaess said quickly, keeping her voice low, ending with a deep, irritated sigh as her eyes returned on to the commotion. Why these merchants had to be so noisy? She had to brake this talking sometime now, or she was going to stay here... for a long time. "People! Hey. Now if you all don't slow down, I believe you are going to stick here for a long while." She spat, slightly annoyed, her tune having a hidden tint of a threatening growl. She crossed her arms over her chest, her look was strong and confident, like usual. After she spat, there was a temporary silence for around two seconds. Than the aged merchant continued. "...You see, Heroine, the bandits... they have blocked our way out. And they say if we want to pass, we should pay a toll." He said, disappointment was easily noticeable in his voice as he gave a shook of his head. "We only earn little money from our businesses and the amount they want is insanely high!" Another merchant at the back row spat with anger but upon noticing his anger the Balverine let out a second threatening snarl. The merchant immediately stepped back, and cowered behind another man. Ah, another thing she hated about merchants: they were sniveling cowards.

❧ Alphaess listened the merchant with slight interest, standing still with her arms crossed. Despite her wound she was acting cool. Actually, it wasn't stinging as much as it was while walking right now. Just wish she had the other half of her hood right now to cover her face to complete her look. So, it wasn't just a normal escorting mission. Was that written on the mission card anyway? Perhaps it was. Alphaess never actually the one to read these. She just took the mission because of the location. And about bandits... She didn't even know where to start. She was quite... popular among the bandits. Well, not that kind of popular but. One of the few hobbies of Alphaess is to cause trouble to these pests. Even when there is no actual reason. Purely for entertainment. Well, there were some personal reasons but, no one had to know those, anyway... She liked the way how these men swear and chase her into her traps after she grabbed their gold and equipment. Though she sometimes act nicely around, when it comes to games and gambling. The bandits are good gamblers for her, because of their lack of brains, it is quite easy to cheat during a game. She doesn't even have to think. Much like the bandits do. A swift hand was all that's needed to scam all the hardly-earned (ha) money a bandit had.

❧ "It is now too late to leave the camp, my companion and I will investigate and see what we can do early in the morning." Alphaess spoke with a cold voice, gesturing at the Balverine once again. The merchants didn't seemed to be so happy about hearing this, but Alphaess doubted any of them would dare to say anything within the mighty white Balverine's presence. Darkwood is a dangerous place during the day but at night, you wouldn't even like to see what it's like. There were faint howls that could be heard from a distance. The Balverine's ears were pinned back, not quite happy about where they were staying for the night. It did not supported the idea with staying with these men. The Balverine hated merchants as much as Alphaess did. Perhaps even more than her. But, the woods were dangerous, even more than the Heroine and her furry companion would prefer. Of course, they could've gotten through, if they wanted, but it would more likely risk their escort mission. She doubted Flick could run as fast as she and the Balverine could.

[fletch]

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{ gender; male | age; twenty-four | sexuality; heterosexual | location; darkwood }

Flick stayed awkwardly quiet while the merchants seemed to gush and bubble over Alphaess's presence. He was a little more than grateful when Alphaess brought up staying here for the night, and heading out once again the morning. Flick was tired, and he really needed the nap. He blanked out a little when the merchants went on to talk about bandits blocking the road...he was too tired to care even though it was probably really important and might cause problems for him getting his fake merchandise to his customer on time. Flick merely waved his hand in agreement and quite promptly turned around to go see what the deal was for sleeping arrangements.

As it turned out, the sleeping arrangements weren't good. It wasn't like Flick had brought anything or expected to stay overnight, and the tents were occupied. He was glad enough when one of the merchants offered him an extra bedroll and Flick, though a little uncomfortable with sleeping out in the open, obliged. He didn't exactly feel overly happy about sleeping in the same area as a White Balverine especially when their first greeting hadn't been the best one. He still did not trust the creature to not try and eat him while he was asleep. But, it seemed like he had no other choice. Flick took the bedroll with uncharacteristic gratefulness and turned to find a dry spot between the tents. It wasn't really great. Darkwood was known for being mucky and awfully wet even in a spot like the camp, which was supposed to be drier than most of the remainder of Darkwood.

Once he had, Flick set down his bag and the bedroll and sat down promptly to check the innards of his bag. Everything still seemed salvageable...His clothes, on the other hand, did not. They were caked with mud and dirt and slightly spattered with Hobbe blood in one spot. Flick was pretty sure he smelled the exact same as the swamp, too. Like...muck. Gross. What exactly did muck smell like at any rate? Experimentally Flick lifted the edge of his shirt near his chest and gave it an experimental sniff. The answer was: not good. He shivered and closed his bag, leaning back upon the bedroll to stare up at the sky. The howls and grumbles in the distance did not make a nice ambience for sleeping. Flick far preferred the swearing, bumbling and general commotion of Bowerstone. Ah, yes, home. He couldn't wait to get back there. Have his own place to himself...or, sort of. Flick didn't exactly have his own 'house'. He kinda just strayed to whatever inn was open and hoped he didn't get kicked out for scamming the customers. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. More often than not it did not, and therefore Flick was actually sort of homeless. He always had a place to sleep, which was better than some, but he never had much personal belongings or ever a place he'd continuously go back to. He still had his home back in Oakvale but it was doubtful if anyone still resided there and Flick never intended to return to there, even if he still technically was able to.

Flick put his arms behind his head, wincing slightly as part of his bare skin from where Alphaess's blade had cut touched the back of the bedroll. It was uncomfortable but probably not as bad as Alphaess's wound was. He pitied her and, to an extent, felt bad for her getting wounded on his account. They were complete strangers, which was strange. Flick was usually pretty selfish and uncaring towards other's but...nah, he couldn't think of that. Flick was a one man operation, and that was all there was to it. The Heroine was not exactly sweet or kind, either. As soon as this operation was over, they would part and that would be it. This little expedition would probably not even be something he remembered that well. Perhaps he'd recall the 'day where the Hobbes tried to drag him away' but Alphaess's presence in the adventure might slip his mind. That was how things went. People came in and out of your lives and sometimes never made an impression. Besides, the Heroine had a strange personality that occasionally made Flick concerned for his own safety. She had to be prone to snap at some point and for when she did, Flick did not want to be around. Surely she had saved his life a few times but...there was still something about the woman that made Flick cautious. She was attractive in a sort of alluring and interesting manner but most strange of all, she was no bubbly tavern woman. She was...dangerous, in a way. Flick wasn't scared of her--no, that was silly! He wasn't scared of women. In fact, Flick liked to think he was a professional lady charmer. But...Alphaess was different. There'd be no charming for her.

Now that it was getting late, Flick was aware of how tired he was getting. He was that type of person who could fall asleep at just about any position, any time, any where. This was one of the abilities of being a merchant of course. You moved around a lot, you found a lot of places to sleep. The bedroll was rather thin so there was not much space between he and the ground, but it would be enough. Sleep would be appreciated as of now due to the walk in Darkwood the next day and possibly more running from various creatures. Flick was kind of sore...it would be good to sleep and sort of 'sleep off' that achyness he was feeling deep within his bones. He let his head fall back against the bedroll and closed his eyes, allowing himself to sink into the sweet embrace of sleep. There was the slight feeling of dizziness as the day's exhaustion sunk in and, before he knew it, he was asleep and out of it like that.

[alphanea]

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
The Beast known as the Heroine
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【gender female - age twenty four - sexuality heterosexual - with n/a 】

❧ Some merchants also offered the Heroine some bedrolls, but Alphaess refused to take it. She wasn't that happy with accepting help. Taking the rage from Flick was a rare example, but she did really required something to stop the bleeding there. The Balverine was lying down at the entrance of the camp, as he would probably not be welcomed inside of the camp, nor would it like to sit so close to those red-nosed annoying merchants. It would rather stay in the cold weather than staying next to the fire with its thick fur coat. Alphaess walked up to the creature and sat nearby, still at a respectable distance. She silently looked down at her right leg. Luckily the rag have made it stop bleeding. Carefully, Alphaess uncovered her wound, trying not to harm herself while doing so, and to see the wound. It wasn't looking too bad, other than it was still giving her some pain and a stinging feeling when her leg was in use, like in walking. She tied the dirty rag (which had been painted in a dark black-red color with Alphaess's own blood) back, not as tight as before this time. She than lied down next to the Balverine on some moss, staring up to the stars, which were barely visible behind the thick blanket of clouds. She pulled her knees up to her chest, as she was in a curled up position. She sighed before closing her golden eyes and placed her head down with her arm underneath. It had been a quite long day and tiring day...

❧ In the next morning, Alphaess was awake before than everyone, except for the Balverine who seem to had left the camp. Probably went out to... hunt? It did liked hunting for its own food a lot, more than Alphaess bringing it food. It wouldn't be much of a problem though, it would return sometime soon. Alphaess probably would be rather relieved if that thing had a full stomach. It would make it less... aggressive. By a bit. And bandits would not really be much of a problem for it either. To be honest, it would be a good occurrence if it did run into some bandits. It would be able to get out some of its energy and anger. After a while of sitting up and looking around, Alphaess stood up and raised her arms above her head and stretched her arms lazily, letting out a sleepy yawn. The sun had raised (or so she believed, it was hard to know here) but no one around was awake. So, Alphaess run her eyes around the camp, searching for what to do. She couldn't just leave without the Balverine, so she was stuck here for a while until it were to return. Something caught her eye immediately. There was an old looking table with an old looking merchant sitting on a chair next to it. He was also asleep while his head was on the table and his hand on his mug, while the other arm was hanging down loosely. Alphaess curiously walked up to the man who was looking quite funny, taking cautious steps in case he would wake up suddenly. However, the man did not woke up. He had to be in a deep slumber. For a second, her eyes averted from the man to glance up to something else laid on the table. A deck of cards on the table that was neatly placed right in front of the man. Just than, something urged Alphaess, curiosity or a mere instinct, and she reached to the cards, but immediately as her hand touched to back of the cards, the strange man woke up and raised his head up. "Do not touch the cards!" The man spat loudly, he was like half awake only. Than, a little more silently added: "Games only..."

❧ Alphaess was startled by the man, her golden eyes had gotten widened, however she had stopped herself from taking a step back or doing anything at all. She had thrown the surprise off quickly afterwards. She put her hands on the table to rest instead. "How about a game than, old man?" Alphaess spoke in a disrespectful voice, a playful grin appeared on her face as she looked down at the old gambler with her wolf-ish grin. The man cautiously looked at the Heroine, meeting her golden gaze, than looking at her thoroughly, inspecting her for a second, quite silently. Than, he nodded in an approving way, so Alphaess swiftly took a seat in front of the man. After sitting down, she had reached down to her pouch and took a small amount of coins, and placing them on the table, making sure they did a rather mouth-watering (for a merchant of course) sound of the coins falling on the rough, meta surface of the table. The man watched her suspiciously but, instead of saying a single word, he started the game. Alphaess silently pulled the cards towards her and took them in her hands, inspecting the giving cards silently. The simple game of Blackjack, one of Alphaess's favorite games. The main objective of the game was to get the highest amount of cards without going over twenty-one.

❧ The first hand was rather easy, Alphaess won with a nineteen in hand. As the Heroine laid the cards on the table to reveal her cards, she flashed a grin towards the elderly merchant, who was, clearly, not impressed by this. The man's card had a lower value of eighteen. Luck? Probably. Though, Alphaess wasn't the kind to believe in luck a lot. She was more of the type that would... create her own luck instead. "I'm just getting warmed up now." She grinned, pulling the coins towards her side in a swift manner. The man gave another glare but stayed silent afterwards, getting a new set of cards for the next game. Still grinning, Alphaess took her new cards silently without dropping her rather famous wolf-like grin from her face. Oh, this was going to be fun! Especially around the last game... Alphaess had plans. Good plans.

[fletch]

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age | 24 years |mood | tired | crush | TBD
tagged | Alphaess | thoughts | ...

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Flick's sleep was usually quiet and undisturbed by dreams. Generally, Flick was someone who cared little about his actions and often had very few regrets. But for some reason, tonight, his dreams were infested with little things he had long forgotten about...

"You'll regret this!" The lady cried, her voice shrill with anger and irritation all at once. She stood on the corner of her tipped over booth, her walking stick in hand while she shook it at the fleeing con-man. "You don't think these things will ever catch up to you? They will! You're sick!"

But the con-man did not stop. Rather, he was too busy in making his escape with the pocket full of coins he had strapped to his belt. He'd accidentally knocked over a crate of presumed oranges in his haste to escape. The faster he got away, the more time he would have before he was reported to the guards. His feet drummed against the hard stone path and he had a grin on his face--a grin that only a cat who had gotten the cream would have. Except--that was when it went wrong. As he bolted across the stone bridge, making for the Bowerstone gates, looking behind him at the shrieking old lady, he slammed into something. Hard--hard enough to knock him down on his ass. Flick didn't even grunt, for it had happened that fast. He was knocked flat and, after a moment of being in a trance, Flick rubbed his head with a hand and glanced up. There stood a man--perhaps an inch or two taller than Flick himself. He had Flick's same disheveled blonde hair, faint stubble and somewhat hazel eyes. Except, he was buffer than Flick with an obvious strong jaw and more regal features. Much more 'heroic' than the slightly scrawny Flick would ever appear to be...The man had a belt on his hip, with a sword strapped to his left side. He stared down at Flick and, almost instantaneously, Flick recognized him. This man was a Hero--one of the Guild. Someone...who Flick would never live up to be.

"Dad?" Flick stuttered in dismay.

Then, before he knew it, he was awake. Flick jolted upwards to a sitting position with a gasp, glancing around himself wildly. It was still dark...perhaps very late at night or very early in the morning. But after that, he did not exactly feel like sleeping. He felt rested despite the previous day's 'adventure' and decided, since his 'escort' did not seem to be around, he may as well go check on what the commotion seemed to be about...Flick ran a hand quickly through his short blonde hair and then scrambled to his feet, leaving behind his bag and bedroll to head drearily over towards where the sound seemed to be emitting from.

Ahead, there was an older looking worn-down table with an elderly merchant sitting in a chair at the table. Opposite to him, none other than his 'escort', Alphaess sat. It seemed like they were playing a game of sorts, which instantly had Flick interested. He was excellent at any form of card games due to his intellect (or maybe just his practiced ability of cheating). But it seemed like the game was going in Alphaess's favour, which was a surprise to Flick. He knew the Heroine was intelligent, but merchants had a way of cards. Practice. They knew how to steal someone's money.

Quietly, Flick stepped to the side to watch the game with an unusually quiet demeanor. Most likely due to the strange memory...or dream. He never recalled his father being present in that situation. Normally, he would have made some sarcastic quip by now (probably a sexist one) but he refrained from doing so and rather stayed silent. Eventually, he figured, Alphaess would take attention of him being there or he'd just wait until she won the game and they'd continue on. He was unsure of where the Balverine was...but really, Flick could not care less. He was intimidated by it, and he was glad it wasn't...breathing down his neck again.

[alphanea]

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ Ｔｈｅ Ａｌｐｈａｅｓｓ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
The Beast known as the Heroine
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【gender female - age twenty four - sexuality heterosexual - with flick 】

❧ Oh, this was all going well. As well as Alphaess had planned it to be. This little game had caused Alphaess to pull a relatively large pile of coins towards her side. Grinning, Alphaess continued the game for a few more hands until Flick had arrived. Though, Alphaess didn't even averted her attention from the cards, not even a single second to peer at him. Ah, he couldn't expect something like a 'good morning' from a Heroine like her... or anything genuine like that. She played according to some kind of plan. Loosing some hands to not draw any attention on. She had an average winning rate at the game as she continued on for a few games with lower bets. But, once she though it was the time to play her last game, it should be a win. She pushed the coins towards the merchant. "Time to move on to bigger games. Shall we?" she asked, waiting for her cards from the dealer. The gambler silently lied her cards on the table and so on, she started her last game.

❧ But of course at some point, her luck would run out. But at that point, she had some other other skills that would help. She ran a hand in her short red hair as she looked down at her cards. This hand, she was short in luck. She had risked allmost all she have won from the earlier few games along with the money she have gotten from the little 'extra' job. The old gambler was keeping an eye on he moves, a very careful eye. This old fox seem to know how her kind would cheat. But surprisingly, the heroine wasn't even moving a single muscle and her eyes were locked on her cards.

❧ As the merchant was waiting for her, there suddenly came a loud noise and the merchant have turned his head away for just two seconds before then if his gaze back to the heroine, finding her in the exact same position when he turned around. The man gave a suspicious look to the heroine which the heroine replied with a grin. "Guess you want me to check it out? Sure, but I'll take my money first...." said the heroine, playing the idiot for a second while she lied her cards on the rough surface of the table that consisted of two cards, an ace and a jack, finishing the game with her first two cards and with a blackjack. "Blackjack." Alphaess said with a whispering voice to herself as she quickly pulled all the coins on the table to her side and into her pouches. Before the man could even say anything, Alphaess left the table with her signature grin.

❧ Even it did seem to be a fair game, the truth was different. Even the sound was planned before she started the hand. But yet, it wasn't all. Alphaess had two cards at ready, hidden in her pouch where she took the coins. When she took the coins she set on the table, she did also took the cards and have hidden them in her sleeves. And during the short distraction she have changed her cards with the other two. Though the cards should have been different, Alphaess always carried more than one set of blackjack cards. She had different cards from different sets that the merchants had favored the most. But of course the camber would be able to notice if he were to study them carefully, this was the reason she would be getting out soon. She wasn't sure if Flick have noticed her swift move but even if he did, she was sure he wouldn't be telling the merchants so soon.

❧ When Alphaess got up, she held Flick's arm. "We have to move out now." She said, dragging the man with her as she started moving away from the table. She was literally pulling him from his arm. And she was doing it not very softly. If he wouldn't move, she would pull even stronger. When she was done dragging him away, as they were far enough from the little table, she quickly let go of his arm. She did not enjoyed being that close to him or anyone else but she would not risk getting caught that easily. While she let go of his arm and right before she pulled her hand back, she have placed the two cards she have replaced with her cards into his hand, a sly grin was yet once again visible on the heroine's face which had her eyes once again covered with her red hair. The cards had a quite low value and would more likely cause a loss if she played with these.

❧ Than Alphaess moved away from Flick, picking up a small, white -more likely because it was made of some sort of carved bone- horn-like thing and blowing it with little power. A low, howling like voice echoed in the woods. And in just a few seconds, the loyal companion of Alphaess have appeared. It came out of the bushes silently and stood high next to Alphaess, it had some dried blood soaked nearby it's jaw, left from it's breakfast. Alphaess smiled up at the Balverine, picking something out of her pockets and throwing it up in the air to be caught in mid air by the beast. "Good one there my friend, you deserve your prize for sure." Alphaess complimented the creature and got a silent growl in response, though this one was different from it's usual, threatening ones, it seem to came out a bit more like a cat's purr. It sounded more like it enjoyed the treat and was somewhat 'loving'. Though some normal person could not be able to tell the difference. At least not very easily.