Star Fall !MrCarnage2 21 Oct 2015 3:50:13 AM No.41120228>>41120458
>>41118023 >>41118036 >Sitting by the fire and fiddling through his pack over pouches of dried herbs, the knight wondered why in the Companion's sake he would ever help a murderer with her headache? It didn't help him in any way save to ensure he might not get stabbed as often if the girl thought he was useful. Still though, Jerome still thought it out of character for someone like him to go to such lengths for someone else's sake for no tangible benefit.
Kill priests of the Holy Flame temple yet still pray to its god in times of need?
You really have no shame, do you?
>Jerome tossed out with a smirk as he fiddled over a small kettle, filling it with a mixture of different dried herbs kept in his pack and heating it over the fire. Once heated for a certain time, he removed it from the flame and placed it near the girl.
Saber/(Baff no trip) 21 Oct 2015 9:36:12 AM No.41120458>>41120737
>>41120228 >Pointing out her contradictions earned him a light glare from the woman, though it was mostly because she didn't want to deal with both philosophical questions and a throbbing headache at the same time rather than actual frustration. Folding her arms, she did her best to come up with a response.
What is it they say... 'the flame giveth, the flame taketh away'? Pretty sure that includes lives, too.
>Sighing as she sat down, it was fairly clear she didn't particularly enjoy the subject, but had only taken his words partially seriously anyway, which she thought was likely how he intended them to be taken.
Besides, they can pray all they want, but if they're going to go around bullying and pillaging on the side because of their status then somewhere along the way, someone's going to post a notice on a board, and then it'll catch my eye, and then what happens to them is their own fault.
>That was an awfully long anecdote in response to what was essentially a light joke. Was she trying to reason with herself over her own motivations? Hard to tell, but the one obvious thing from her behaviour in response to his little dig was that, as confident as she'd appeared about it before, there remained hesitation, or at least some manner of guilt weighing down on her feelings, no matter how small.
>Still, all of that faded once she was offered the warm drink, taking it quickly and giving it a couple of small sips to test the temperature.
Oh wow... this is probably the best thing I've had all week. What is this?
>Saber was likely exaggerating, but given that it helped warm her up, wake her up and soothed her headache, it was hard to ignore just how refreshing the drink really was.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 21 Oct 2015 2:16:34 PM No.41120737>>41120943
>>41120458 >Defensive as always, and she so liked to expand on why her actions didn't make her into a terrible person. One would think that it would be easier for her to simply ignore his digs at her integrity rather than dig a bigger hole for herself to flaunder in but that simply wasn't up for Jerome judge. Everyone made themselves feel better some way or other after all.
Its an infusion of some potent herbs I carry around.
>The man answered quietly, deciding to ignore everything else she had said and instead busied himself with opening another wrapped ration pack from his bag, chewing on the grainy mixture with practiced ease.
Saber!pR.BaFF/uk 21 Oct 2015 3:33:18 PM No.41120943>>41120992
>>41120737 A mix of herbs? Between this and the ration packs, you're practically a chemist.
>Continuing to sit with the drink, Saber savoured it quietly, giving Jerome just the kind of environment he probably enjoyed - no irritating conversation to be handled. It helped that she was much too occupied with the pain from the earlier fall to concentrate too much on chatting, of course, but no matter the circumstances it was probably a welcome silence.
>Up until she said the absolute last three words the Cassiline Knight ever wanted to hear from her, coming away from the herbal tea with a satisfied breath.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 21 Oct 2015 4:24:54 PM No.41120992>>41121281
>>41120943 >Shrugging at the mention he might be a chemist with what little knowledge he had over various plants, Jerome finished off his ration and proceeded to start strapping his armor back onto his body.
Heading West from here I'll be moving from village to village looking for something that might be work.
>That being said though, the man would make a point to stay clear from any village that looks like it might be in any major trouble without having heard about it directly.
Other than that I'm not going to do anything more than wander.
Saber!pR.BaFF/uk 21 Oct 2015 8:28:21 PM No.41121281>>41121643>>41123472
>>41120992 >Was this guy really so directionless as this? Sure, the way of the wanderer wasn't unknown to her, but it was supposed to be a life full of exploration and learning about the world, taking something away from all of the places you visit. It was a lesson she was supposed to have learned a long time ago, but instead she'd been naively focused on a single objective.
>But this guy... his actions, his tone. Saber had spent long enough with him now to know one thing for sure - he was completely dispassionate. Twice had she ever felt a semblance of proper emotion from him; first, when she had caused a problem for him back in town and, second, when he had grown so frustrated by the wolves that Jerome had seemingly lost himself in a fit of rage, if only for a moment.
>It had only really hit her just now, as she listened to his plans for the immediate future. He just didn't care, not that she knew why, or if it was really of any consequence. If nothing else, it was a curiosity.
Hrm. I see.
>The tea having refreshed her, though the wounds still remained and a bruise was beginning to form on her head, it seemed that the pain was relieved and her mental faculties were returning. Performing a few stretches and running a quick hand through her hair, she folded her arms and stood in a somewhat professional manner, the likes of which might just exude the aura of an actual mercenary.
I suppose it's been a while since I booked vacation.
>And just like that, she brushed herself off from the dirt she'd accumulated overnight before pacing past him, heading slowly in a westerly direction.
Astrolia, huh? Guess it's time to see what all the fuss is about.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 22 Oct 2015 2:11:03 AM No.41121643>>41123472
>>41121281 >Watching the girl who'd brusquely entered his life yesterday stand there and demand she be allowed to come along for no other reason then she would left Jerome feeling cold and conflicted. On the one hand, he had every right to refuse seeing as she knew nothing about surviving in the woods, ate his food, was a general ungraceful nuisance, and posed the very real threat of being a reason the members of his order might see him executed. On the other hand however, it was really hard for Jerome to care overmuch about any of these thing. Sure, the girl ate his food, was a general mess and might see to it that his head be chopped off but so what? So what if she ate his food and was a mess, at least she was alive and made her own decisions in life, at least she chose to be the way she was and, for better or worse, lived her life as she saw fit. That being said, did someone like him have any right then to tell her what to do?
>Shouldering his large pack such that it would swing behind him and allow him to carry it on his back, Jerome sighed deeply as he shouldered his way past the girl, mumbling something just loud enough for her to hear.
Do as you wish.
>He said, setting off into the bush following a game trail that lead him in his intended direction.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 23 Oct 2015 2:46:53 PM No.41123472>>41123474>>41123534
>>41121643 >>41121281 >Having walked for two days through the gradually uphill sloping woods of the Astrolian countryside, Jerome and his companion finally emerge from the woodlands and onto a path having followed a small mountain creek west. This path wound its way up by the westward facing slope in a lazy circle that eventually lead them to the small village of Mikrochorio. With a few stone buildings covered in thatch roofs and small animal pens built by the sides of each house, this small farming community clearly wasn't the hub of commerce or thoroughfare of the area. A quick glance would inform you that the population rounded up at around 300 inhabitants and that most of those numbers came from a handful of families producing far too many children for the land to support correctly.
>Still, despite how dirty and plebeian the place was, Jerome and his companion looked worse for wear after spending a few nights sleeping in the woods and the Cassiline looked forward to resting on a straw mattress and eating food that wasn't made by his own hands. Walking into the village, the lot of them drew quite a lot of attention by the locals though none of them opposed their entry.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 23 Oct 2015 2:47:38 PM No.41123474>>41123534
>>41123472 >Smiling kindly at a few men and keeping his eyes away from the women lest his intentions be misconstrued as being something they weren't, Jerome approached a large house and knocked on its wooden door with the back of his plated glove. A short exchange with a young widow later and the explanation that he had a few coins to spend if she had a bed and a meal to offer them, left the odd traveling companions sitting at a roughly made wooden table and waiting for the woman to fetch a warm loaf of bread and some home-made butter.
>Angling his chair so that he was sitting with his back to the door and the windows around him, Jerome smiled brightly and thanked the widow for the food she brought placed on the table. And even as he broke the crust of the loaf with a mumbled thanks to the Companion, a loud noise broke out onto the streets as a young woman cried in sudden pain. From the windows at Jerome's back, an older pot-bellied man could be seen dragging a girl into the streets by her hair and yelling something about teaching her a lesson for spilling a bucket of milk again. If the sounds of pain and beatings ever bothered the Cassiline brother whose sworn duty it was to uphold goodness throughout the realm, he chose not to show it. He couldn't see what happened behind his back and he certainly chose not to hear it as he munched and savored the taste of the fresh food he had just bought.
Saber!pR.BaFF/uk 23 Oct 2015 3:24:51 PM No.41123534>>41123545
>>41123472 >>41123474 >Finally, a place where she could spend her coin and not have to completely rely on the occasionally burnt food of her present companion. That, and it presented the opportunity to show that she wasn't a total mooch, even if he insisted he pay his own way. Not that she'd asked if she could pay for his food and the like, he'd made the move to pay before she could even mention it, but at least she held the initiative to do the same.
>Small villages like this weren't an unfamiliar sight for her, but for some reason the atmosphere here felt very different to wandering the Terminian countryside. Everything was tense, heavy, and when you looked into most people's eyes, even the children, you could sense the loss that the people felt.
>Sitting opposite Jerome on the table, the event that proceeded outside sat right in her field of view. Everything from the man's bitter face to the woman's expression of anguish. Saber's eye contact flicked across to the knight who, seemingly, either hadn't noticed or didn't care, and given how loud the voices were she was certain it was the latter.
>Even though she was about to say 'isn't that your cue?', she couldn't quite bring herself to. After all, she wasn't showing any particular signs of getting up to go and help either. There was a little bit more conflict in her expression than there was his, but even so she simply lifted her mug towards her lips, taking a swig and simply letting it hover there, close to her mouth.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 23 Oct 2015 3:31:56 PM No.41123545>>41123550
>>41123534 >Looking up at his companion with an odd look in his eye, Jerome shoved a bit more buttered bread into his mouth before shrugging at the suggestion and drinking deeply from his cup of water.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
>He commented as he broke off another piece of bread and chewed on it hungrily. Outside, the cries of pain grew louder as did the dull thuds of a man's fist meeting soft flesh. If there was a choice to be made here, Jerome had clearly made his own even before coming into this village.
Saber!pR.BaFF/uk 23 Oct 2015 3:39:33 PM No.41123550>>41125221>>41125254
>>41123545 >Ah, so it was like that then. Even if she hadn't a clue what had prompted this kind of attitude, she knew the guy wasn't going to budge unless she made him. With that in mind, she'd probably have to take care of it herself.
Well, I can't eat with this racket.
>Standing up a little abruptly, the tail portions of her coat trailed behind her as the soles of her boots trod down on the wooden floorboards, heading back over to the entrance and passing straight through, staring over at the scene with a grimace. Those were going to be some nasty bruises.
Hey!
>The initial shout seemed to catch the attention of the bystanders, but whether it got through to who she wanted it to was another matter.
Take it inside, there are people trying to get on with their day around here.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 24 Oct 2015 9:52:54 PM No.41125254>>41125265
>>41123550 >>41125232 >Turning to stare at the trifling woman who dared put her nose into a man's family business, the peasant's breath caught in his throat when he saw the glint of the very many blades she carried about her person. Not knowing if she was an officer of the law of just some dangerous brigand, the humble farmer grabbed his woman's hand and quickly shuffled her towards his home before he might attract the dangerous woman's ire though he found himself muttering about dirty interlopers.
Saber!pR.BaFF/uk 24 Oct 2015 10:06:25 PM No.41125265>>41125272
>>41125254
Hmph.
>Whatever that woman did and whatever that man thought of it, it wasn't necessarily something she should barge right into. For one thing, no-one had asked her to, and if there was one rule about killing that she'd taken on since... that, it was that she'd only do so either to protect herself or when it was requested by someone else, so long as the plea was honest.
>Not that stabbing had to be done here anyway, but the rules still applied. With a huff, she turned and went back inside, sitting back at the table and not even picking up her food, simply staring right at the Knight beside her in an uncomfortable silence. The gaze didn't waver aside from the occasional blink, and lasted about five minutes until finally she realised he was immune to this kind of punishing treatment.
Jerome Bransg !MrCarnage2 24 Oct 2015 10:17:44 PM No.41125272>>41125275
>>41125265 >Munching the bread he had paid for, Jerome ignored his companion's glare with all of the titanic indiferrence he could muster, keeping his attention solesly focused on eating the meal set before him. But when the girl spoke her mind and called his actions, or lack there of, into question and even went so far as to call him names, Jerome set down his bread and butter and looked at her with a chilling stare.
Am I?
>He asked, his low voice and deliberate actions betraying a cruel anger simmering just bellow the surface that decorum would allow.
In that case I suppose I'll just have to stop feeding your and treating your wounds for free then. Go on then, cash up front, or is it rather that some murderous mercenary girl like you doesn't know a domestic dispute from a threat to the realm if she fell face first into it.