aftermath ║ one on one w/ avior.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

"It's a way of saying that I owe someone a favor, since I seem to have... failed to repay the last one I'm going to...
replace it with what I owe you..." Did that even make sense? None the less, it was a form of compensation. It may have been difficult to understand for her companion, but in Arrana's mind it was clear as day. All those days spent protecting her princess as a child, only to have her sent off and assassinated. Arlen would be taking her place for now, or until she found another childhood friend. It was unlikely, if it would ever happen. Hesitation took over for a moment before she added in a softer tone, "please."

This was redemption if anything. Her breath came out as a slight sigh or relief, a form or honoring Nim's death. Her eyes flicked around the scene, then back to Arlen. She frowned a bit, realizing that he wasn't bothering to look at her. Shaking her head she stepped past him chuckling, "So am I supposed to find the way there or not." The gem was like a weight on her chest, a promise given to someone. Nimithil even told her to give it away if she died, and to honor whomever she decided to give it to. At the moment,
the wood elf had hit the marks required to earn it.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen stared at it for a while, heartbeat fluttering slightly. It was hard to believe she’s give him something like this, especially with the meaning it held. Nonetheless, she apparently wanted him to have it, and he couldn’t bear turning her down. He slipped it around his head and adjusted it a bit with his hand. It actually made him feel a little bit different, but in a good way. All thoughts of killing her seemed to leave then and there. If she ever needed help, he vowed silently to himself, he would be there. Now, he just murmured a quiet ”thank you,” his fingers still trailing along the leather edge. He looked up as her words drifted back to him again and then hurried to catch up, leaving behind his thoughts.

”Right. I think I can find it, but we’ll want to stay close in the forest, at least until we find the road.” He paused, looking back at the carts. There would be a plethora of wild animals in the forest, and whether they were dangerous or useful for food, they would need weapons. The possibility of bandits was there, too. ”Wait here.” He hurried back over to the carts and opened one up, rifling about. She had said she was a ranger- was that the equivalent of an archer? He searched until he found a sturdy, lightweight bow and a quiver full of arrows, then a large longsword for himself. He slid it into his empty sheath, feeling considerably safer with a weapon on him, and then went back to Arrana. He made eye contact once as he held out the weapons- he’d find out before long if arming her was a fatal mistake or an act of trust.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

A bow, he was giving her a bow. Nodding mutely she accepted it, slinging the weapon over her shoulder along with the quiver. The clattering of arrows was strangely soothing. She couldn't do much with it at the moment seeing as that her arm was still in disrepair. Arrana couldn't help but notice that he'd armed himself too. She couldn't imagine herself wielding a blade like that. Stick together, avoid the things that try to eat you, scare off the bandits. Survival 101.

She met his gaze, forcing yet another smile. adjusting her arm underneath the tunic as she stepped forward into the wilderness.
A road was all they needed to find. After walking for an hour she stopped, crouching down to examine some tracks. Humanoid, running, at least two of them. She stood back up, nodding her head in the direction they seemed to be running. Following the trail until she led them to a clearing, followed by what appeared to be a makeshift road used by the carts. This wasn't what they were looking for. Looking back to Arlen she asked, "do you think this is it?" If it was then the task of finding a road was much simpler than it seemed, although it also gave them a more vulnerable position. Either army could be regulating the traffic along it, or there could be bandits waiting in the trees. She pulled her arm out of the sling, much to it's dismay, and slipped it through the sleeve that had recently been empty. Her hand traced along the bow, silently pulling it off of her shoulders as an arrow was knocked. She was going to keep her promise this time.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen took a breath as they neared the road, staring down it as far as he could. It was going in the right direction, so it was possible that it was what they were looking for. ”Maybe,” he replied, tone lowered to a hush. Something about the whole situation was sending an uncomfortable prickle up his spine, though it could just be how obviously on edge Arrana was. Nonetheless, he rested one hand against the hilt of his sword and curled his fingers around it, fully prepared to pull it from its sheath should the need arise. His eyes roamed the surrounding area. He didn’t like being in the open like this, subconsciously longing for the protection of he towering trees. At least they were hidden there, though so were any potential enemies. Here they were completely vulnerable, open to being picked off by a hostile archer.

”Let’s follow the road, but stay in the trees,” he suggested. ”Then we’ll be able to see if there’s any blockades and the like.” He was unable to resist twisting around to look behind him, the feeling of being watched intense enough to make him shiver. An attack was the last thing they needed right now.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

"right." Any form of attack could be detrimental at this point in time. It could also lead to both their deaths if it happened to be something hostile to one of them. They couldn't risk that. She retreated back into the treeline, stepping closer to Arlen. His hand was on the blade he'd taken, so he was prepared for battle as well. Her breath stopped for a moment as a shiver shot down her spine. There was a familiar whizzing in the air. Without thinking she pushed Arlen back, staring at an arrow that shot past her face. Her cheek stung for a moment, then proceeded to give off a dull throb.

Her fingers coiled around the bow, the other pulling the arrow back. Her cheek was warm, a small amount of blood trickling from the fresh wound. The arrow was released a moment afterwards, sailing through the air. It seemed to have hit something as a cry of dismay arose from somewhere along the road. Arrana's eyes snapped back to the arrow now lodged in a tree. Rogues, probably looking for loot of some sort. Her lip curled up a bit, revealing a fiendish snarl as she knocked another arrow, allowing herself to move forward in the direction of the cry. Cool fingers rested on the flecthing, silently tapping on the rod as her eyes darted from side to side,

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen let out a surprised gasp as he was shoved out of the way of an oncoming arrow. That would’ve struck him through if Arrana hadn’t gotten in the way. He could handle sword fights, but this seemed to serve as a reminder of how useless he was against long-range opponents. He followed closely after his companion, pulling his sword from its sheath with the usual low hiss of sliding metal. It’s weight was familiar and comforting in his hand. He glanced over at Arrana, making a mental note to help her with the cut on her cheek afterwards. If they survived this, of course. Rogues usually travelled in groups, so he was sure they could expect at least two or three more, though he couldn’t be sure whether or not there had only been one bowman.

Then someone leapt out from behind a tree with more grace than he wouldn’t expected from a rogue. Shocked, Arlen stumbled back and righted himself just in time to bring up his seord, the two blades clanging against one another loudly. He used it to his advantage and shoved the hooded attacker backwards, backing up until he was next to Arrana so they could each avoid attacks from behind.

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

Arlen was standing directly behind her, fighting someone off. She backed up, bumping into her companion for a moment. There was movement again, in the trees. Undoubtedly another bowman. Exhaling as she drew the bow back, pointing her finger to trace the movement. Her body arching slightly with the bow as the arrow was released. This one hit it's mark as well. The bowman fell, their body hitting the ground with a dull thud.

She pivoted to help Arlen, slamming the bow into the man's back. The full maneuver took over as she twisted the bow over his head,
holding the grip to his neck. Arrana looked back up the thieve's opponent, out of breath. Her arm was throbbing, several red splotches appearing on the gauze as re-opened wounds began to seep with blood. Forcing a smile through all of this she said, "so what do you want to do with him?" The subject was on his knees now, his chin held high so the bow wouldn't begin suffocating him immediately.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen backed off as what was hopefully the final rogue was subdued. Fresh blood stained the gauze wrapped around his wound and he grimaced, shifting his sword to one hand and rolling the injured shoulder a bit. It sent sharp pains running down his arm and torso. He glared down at the outlaw, cursing softly. Rogues didn’t have much loyalty, so by this point even if any of them had survived, they’d be making their escape by now. He couldn’t see much use in keeping him as a hostage- unless, of course, he was worth a reward for capture of some sort. But the city they were headed to wasn’t very far from their kingdoms of origin, and they’d want to lie low for a while to avoid recognition. That probably didn’t include presenting themselves to armed soldiers just to give up the criminal. But he wasn’t entirely sure he was in the mood to kill he man, either. Killing someone in combat was no problem, but there young wood elf had always been a bit queasy when it came to executions. To be fair, he’d attacked them, but Arlen didn’t think he’d be able to bring himself to do it, even if it would potentially make him look weak. It was best, he decided to just let Arrana decide.

”He’s really not of much use to us,” he replied at last. ”But we could see if he has any money or rations on him. I’m not sure beyond that, though.”

[I’m writing this on far too few hours of sleep so I’m sorry if there’s typos or none of it makes sense oof]

[parker;]

➸ ( arrana )

(sorry about being off for a so long, I've had a few projects to work on)

Arrana nodded briefly, taking note of his now red gauze. Her breath slowed for a bit as she relaxed the grip her bow had on the figure's throat. "Just let him run off I suppose..." There was no need to shed further blood, even if it was someone like a rouge. Without speaking to him she removed her bow from his neck, pulling a sack from his back. The figure ran off immediately, not bothering to look back. With a slight sigh Arrana handed the bag to Arlen, adding, "You should do something about your shoulder."

Honestly she wasn't that surprised about their wounds reopening, combat tended to have that effect. Silently she stepped past Arlen, attempting to pull an arrow out of the tree they'd been standing by prior to the ambush. The effort was to no avail as the ammunition remained lodged in the wood. With a sigh Arrana turned around again, facing her companion as she began re-wrapping her own bandages, keeping one end of the gauze in her mouth as she did so.

[avior.]

━━━( A R L E N !! )

Arlen nodded, staring after the rogue for a moment before pulling off his shirt and untying the bandage. He unwrapped it from around his shoulder and used his opposite sleeve to wipe off most of the blood, then began to re-wrap it. It was possible they’d find more gauze in the bag they’d taken from the thief, but there was no point in wasting supplies when his own was still fairly clean. They’d have to space out their supply use, or else they’d be all out by tomorrow. He finished tying it, needing to use his teeth, then ripped off the end he’d spared. He folded it a few times so it was a thick white square of gauze, then poured a bit of water from the jug onto it. Flicking off the extra drops, he approached Arrana and held it out for her once she’d finished wrapping her injuries.

”Here. Make sure you keep that cheek clean.” He looked around and shivered slightly. At least nothing bad had come out of the attack, if anything, now they knew that they were in well enough shape to fight off enemies. Still, they’d have to be wary.