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year 5, quarter 3
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Post by Faris Scherwiz on Dec 5, 2017 12:52:50 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@tidus2
I feel I should retitle t his "Tidus gets lectured for an hour."
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"] Faris had traveled across three worlds and all the high seas, and still he couldn’t remember meeting anyone as impatiently childish as Tidus.
Almost as soon as Farias had finished speaking, Tidus was already talking over him. ”So uh. You’re done with story time, right?” he asked with a bored scowl before perking up and going off again about helping and getting things done. Faris blinked before snapping forward, giving him a wild look like the boy was a feral animal about to run awry.
”Did you listen to a thing I said? It’s like it’s all going out the other ear.” Faris sighed heavily as Tidus went on, jumping out of his chair and stretching like an excitable kid not old enough to sit still. He went on and on with his plans, talking about going in for Faris, asking about things he didn’t even know yet, bringing in some girl Faris had never heard of, and – for some reason – about the time he’d died and “got better.” It was all so fast and so jumbled that Faris didn’t even notice he’d finished until Tidus thrust his hand towards him expectantly.
For a moment, Faris just gave him a look, one that was equal parts baffled and stern. He let the silence simmer between them before pushing his chair back and standing to face him. He didn’t take the boy’s hand. ”If you’re ready to throw yourself into the fire then I won’t stop you, but you’d do good to start asking questions before you jump. If that’s what you’re interested in, then sit back down. You must be capable if this town likes you so much, but there’s some things you need to learn before you run straight into some fiend’s hands.”
Faris placed a hand on the table and leaned towards him seriously. ”Maybe you know your way around a sword. Maybe you’re a big shot where you came from – the kind of hero who takes on gods and devils and all sorts of evil, but that doesn’t make you special here, and that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop to think. It’s your ego that’ll get you in trouble one day, and if you don’t deflate that empty head of yours, it’ll get you killed.”
Faris gave him one last look before lowering himself back into his chair. He kept his hands on the table, folded in front of him. ”So. Are you ready to ask some questions or would you be better off in the rain?”
Post by Faris Scherwiz on Nov 30, 2017 13:25:45 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@tidus2
Faris is displeased, but willing to share
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"]
The boy didn’t take Faris’ suggestion well. In fact, he laughed in his face. ”You can’t tell me not to help people out, not unless you get there first!” he spat as though it had all been a joke. Faris shot him a cool look, the kind he’d have used on an unruly sailor. He hadn’t known what he’d been expecting, but either this boy was too strong or (more likely) too dull-headed to take a hint. He had the mannerisms of a child and the logic of one at that – you can’t take what isn’t yours, not unless you saw it first. Faris might have laughed right back if the stakes hadn’t been so serious. It was more than clear to him that this boy needed a lesson in how the world worked, though who should give him that lesson was harder to say. Was the information Faris needed worth assaulting some brash kid?
Maybe. If this kid in question kept rustling his feathers the wrong way.
But it didn’t seem that would be a problem once Faris explained the importance of it all. Tidus leaned forward in sudden interest, eyes wide as ever with his usual grin like an excitable puppy. ”So you do need help with something!”
”Eh? Now, that’s not what I-!“
”Listen, I’m an experienced adventurer. In the world I’m from, I helped save the world from an evil god monster!”
”That’s about a dime a dozen around here, but-!“
”If it’s something important, maybe I can help you out, you know? You get your problem dealt with, and I can keep helping the people here!”
”I’m not in need of-!“
”They need somebody to stick up for them, and I’m not about to tell them I won’t cause some dude in a scarf told me I’d be sorry.”
”And what’s that supposed to-?”
”Besides, if it’s something that big, you’re gonna need help, and my friend Yuna should be plenty to start with!”
”ENOUGH, lad!” Faris sat up straight, eyes blazing, until the slew of nonsense had stopped and he was left with a second of silence. Once he finally had the boy’s attention, he slumped back into his chair and crossed his arms moodily. ”You know how to talk big, at least,” he muttered before blowing a thicket of loose hair from in front of his eyes. He eyed the boy through a veil of his own wet and messy bangs.
”You’ve got a lot of spirit and more guts than you know what to do with. That’s not bad, but you don’t know a thing what you’re talking about.” Faris let out a harsh breath before shoving his hair behind his ear. ”There’s not a stranger that comes by dressed in odd clothes and carrying a sword that’s not faced some kind of devil or another. Me? I’m a Warrior of Light. Chosen by the crystals, though they had to be daft if they gave it to a rogue like me.” Faris sat up just straight enough to lean his elbows on the table and fix Tidus with a dark look. ”I went to all four crystals and back and then left my homeworld all together – all so it wouldn’t get sucked into the Void. I’ve been to places between worlds where time’s a thing of memories and demons run wild. I don’t need help. I just need you out of my way.”
Faris settled back into the chair again and glanced away to eye the floor heatedly. It wasn’t that he didn’t need a team behind him – he was used to friends and a crew and all kinds of allies -- but he didn’t like the boy’s implications. He talked as though Faris himself needed help – as though he couldn’t take care of himself and was just waiting for a hero to come save him. Faris had been a leader since he’d taken the helm of his ship at the age of sixteen, but that didn’t mean he wanted responsibility for a couple of kids now. He didn’t even really know what he was looking for – just rumors from a knight so unhinged Faris couldn’t be sure he’d heard the story right. But it was something, and if the knight had been right, it was a something that could endanger the very world they stood on.
”It’s a deadly task, and not one that I know an angle for yet. All I need is a place to ask questions, but those taverns won’t let me inside while they’ve got you working for them.” Faris glanced at the boy again before scuffing the floor with his boot. ”I’m looking for leads. There’s not a thing you can do for that.”
Post by Faris Scherwiz on Nov 27, 2017 12:50:58 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@tidus2
Commence talkig
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"]
This boy wasn’t the fastest ship in the sea. He didn’t even need to open his mouth before Faris knew what he was dealing with. He saw it in the boy’s hapless expression, in the way he perked up at Faris’ threat as though it was a compliment, and in the arrogant jab of his thumb towards his chest. ”Yep, that’s me!” he said without a hint of caution or foresight, and it was all so forward and pointlessly brash that Faris almost burst out laughing right then and there.
He hadn’t met a man this optimistically stupid since Bartz.
”If you wanna talk, are you sure the middle of the street’s the best place?” the boy asked with genuine concern. ”You sure you won’t get washed away by all the rain? I’m an expert swimmer, and I’m about to have to grow gills!” He looked around without waiting for Faris’ response, as though he’d find a better offer just out of his sight. It was all so fast that Faris almost couldn’t follow – a rambling string of nonsense with enough heart behind it to move the crystals themselves. Faris’ mouth twitched with a smile.
”Don’t worry yourself. I can handle this swell and anything the rain throws at me.” He wouldn’t call himself an “expert swimmer,” but it had been enough to save him from the pull of the sea three times before, and it hardly mattered when he was standing on dry land. Tidus looked him over closer before continuing.
”Things are gonna stay pretty dangerous around here until this reignstorm thing blows over, but you look like you can handle yourself. What’s up? Got a problem too big for just you to take care of? Gotta call in a hero to help you out?” The boy’s grin was almost unbearable. ”Well, you came to the right guy!”
Faris had been wrong. This boy wasn’t anything like Bartz. His head was so inflated it could have powered an airship.
”Slow down, lad. There’s nothing I can’t handle and I’m not in need of a hero.” Faris eyed him skeptically. Anyone who called himself that had to be host to more than a few complexes. ”I’ve got a few things to talk over with you. I’ll need you to stop-“ A wave of thunder drowned out his words, and Faris glanced up at the maelstrom above them. Rain fell in sheets across his forehead, and he had to squint to keep it from his eyes. The clouds flashed with lightning on the horizon, and Faris scowled.
”Maybe we should take this inside after all.” He swept his mess of wet hair over his shoulder. ”Come on then. Have it your way or Ramuh will strike us where we stand.” Faris turned and started back the way he’d come, glancing over his shoulder just once to make certain the boy was following. He’d roamed these streets long enough to know them even through the shadows and rain. ”There’s a place about two streets ahead – nothing special, but it’ll give you a roof and a fire to dry yourself by.” The words came before he’d thought of them, but they were too helpful. Too kind, almost, in his own brash way. Hadn’t he come to intimidate the boy? Faris cursed his own soft heart.
It was a hole in the wall kind of place, the kind that reeked of desperation and half-opened bottom shelf liquor. Still, as Faris sidled inside, it was warm and their roof didn’t leak except in a one corner which was avidly avoided. Faris straightened his tunic as the door closed behind him, taking a moment to wring out his hair onto the welcome mat before unraveling the scarf from his neck and folding it over his arm. The seats by the fire were crowded, but Faris contented himself with a table nearby, hanging the scarf over the back of his chair to dry.
Once he’d seated himself, Faris leaned forward, threading his fingers together on the table. ”You’re not to do business on the east side, understand? The taverns there are mine to handle, and I’ll not hear a word against it.” He gave the boy a stern look, making sure to meet his eyes. ”I have business there for something important – the kind of important you live or die by – so this is your warning. You keep this up and there'll be trouble for you.”
Post by Faris Scherwiz on Nov 26, 2017 16:18:10 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@tidus2
Tidus has been found
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"] After two hours of searching, the sky reflected Faris' mood -- dark, stormy, and colorless. What had once been a lovely afternoon had turned to dismal grey beneath a swathe of storm clouds. Faris had smelled it coming of course, an ominous scent on the wind, but that didn't make its arrival any more welcome. If he'd have been at the helm of his ship, he'd have been searching for land about now -- anything to get them out of the tempest to come -- but this was a town, not a ship, and he wasn't anywhere near his charts. So Faris marched on, asking each stranger his questions with a fading sense of optimism and a growing chip on his shoulder.
He wasn't needed around here anymore. Funny how quickly everything could change. He'd been gone for less than three months and already there was an eager young swordsman ready to take his place -- innocent, probably, and without Faris' brash demeanor. These people didn't need a scoundrel like him -- not an ex-pirate and a natural born hellraiser with a crystal to guide him. But then, there were greater problems than protecting this town. He needed information and he needed it fast before the next disaster struck. More than part of him longed for that great white knight by his side. There he'd seen the mark of a leader. Pure. Flawless. Driven. He hadn't exactly been Faris' cup of tea, but in a pinch, he'd done the job. He'd stood tall in the middle of disaster with his confident gestures and his gleaming sword, and there hadn't been another man in the world that Faris would have rather followed. But now he was gone. Taken by guilt for something he'd had little part in. And now Faris was lost again.
Tch. Lost? When had he ever needed anyone? Why did he even bother? If this had been a year before, Faris would have terrified this town himself and extorted them to fill his wallet, but somewhere between then and now, he'd changed. He wasn't the same hostage-taking pirate he'd once been. Or maybe it was all just waiting for the right time to shine.
The rain came all at once -- a sudden downpour that drenched him to his skin. Faris eyed the merchants as they grabbed their earnings and fled indoors. Faris didn't follow them. Instead, he glanced around the abandoned merchandise, swiping what he thought might fetch him a pretty penny if it was unguarded. As he started back onto the main streets, he felt eyes on him from cracked windows -- watching the eccentric, violet haired man who didn't care a thing for the rain. Faris grinned back at them, though it never quite met his stormy eyes. He'd steered a ship through worse than this and had lived to tell the tale. Water had never been his enemy.
It wasn't until he'd come to nearly the other side of town that he heard tell of the mark he was looking for -- Tidus. They told him the kid had been rescuing flood victims in the southern district, and that he'd come to be known as something of a local hero. He'd even saved a little girl that morning -- brought her right back to her parents and hadn't even taken a cent for it. Faris grumbled a little under his breath -- the last thing he needed was starting trouble with a hero -- but he didn't have a choice. There were greater things at stake than his own reputation. And so he started off towards the ruined wastes of a flooded city, searching for a boy who'd actively made it a little better.
What would Lenna have thought of him now? She'd have tried to stop him, but Lenna wasn't here. It was only Faris, and he had his own way of doing things.
The boy wasn't hard to find when he was the only other one out in the rain. Faris knew him on sight with his off-kilter leather overalls and searingly yellow half jacket. Faris had been around the natives here long enough to know when someone didn't belong, and this boy certainly didn't. Faris stopped in the street as they approached each other, arms crossed and eyes scathing. The boy was a few inches taller than him and had more than a little extra muscle on his shoulders, but Faris was a proponent of quality versus quantity. He let his attitude make up for lost height and stature.
"Are you the kid the town's been raving about? Who swims like a sea drake and will battle any manner of beast? Tidus, was it?" Faris swept his drenched hair behind his ear and angled his head to look at the boy better. "Aye, if that be you, then I'll have words for you. You're not from these lands, so spill it. Are you Tidus or not?"
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"] The woman hesitated at first, but then sighed deeply and told him she'd take his offer. Of course she would. Faris hadn't said a thing she wouldn't like -- not if she was sane, at least. But still, there was something odd about her tone. As though everything still wasn't exactly to her liking. "You can worry about your potions after the dragon," she said. "Consider it a trade if you want."
"After the dragon?" Faris raised an eyebrow at her. He hadn't said anything about doing anything with a dragon except that he'd been hunting a few. And that had absolutely nothing to do with her as far as he was concerned. "What are you-?"
"If this dragon is anything like the ones where I'm from, then you can't kill it alone."
Faris blinked at her without comprehension, waiting for something else to make more sense. "You're joking," he said, but seconds passed and the punchline never came. "Hold on. You think you can-?" Realization hit and he burst into laughter again, hard and spirited like he hadn't in weeks. "Lass, you think you can help with a dragon? Don't know where you came from, but a dragon's got a meaner bite than any wolf."
Even as his laughter faded, his grin remained -- a hearty shadow of his own amusement. He wasn't one to discourage a fight -- particularly in a spirited young woman like this -- but even he had his limits. If she couldn't handle a pack of wolves without locking herself bleeding in a cabin in the snow then she couldn't do a thing against a dragon but get in the way and maybe hurt its feelings with an insult or two. She'd have to have lost a few too many pints of blood to think any different.
"Listen." Faris straightened and gave her the most well-meaning look he could manage when he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. "It's a fine offer and a welcome one, but you'd be in for a fight you couldn't win, and it's not in my conscience to let a nice lass like you in the line of fire. I've lost the beast as it is, so there's nothing keeping me here but pride." Faris shook his head before crossing his arms and appraising her. "Let's just be on our way. It's a long walk back to town and a deadly one at that. The wind's already cold enough to freeze you numb, so we'd best hurry before we're both stranded here for good."
Post by Faris Scherwiz on Nov 22, 2017 9:24:29 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@tidus2
Sorry about the copious amounts of set up. I'm trying to manage Faris' plotline.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"]
Provo had seen better days.
Faris hadn’t heard about the floods before he saw them himself – dark, murky, and a dusky grey. The South was hit the worst and a little inquiry told him that the dam had overflowed. A crying shame, he thought as he rounded the dismal neighborhoods. If it wasn't a fiend from the sky or a horde of hungry dragons, it was floods and winds and every other kind of tragedy. Faris had seen more than his fair share as of late.
We’ve brought the Devil’s luck on these people, Faris thought as he eyed the damage from a distance. Ever since this world had opened its skies to amnesia-ridden strangers from beyond the Rift, not a thing had gone right for it. At least a flood couldn’t have been caused by a person. Probably. So long as none of the new blood had weather powers.
Faris hiked past the floods, past the dam. His destination was the Northern district near the Headstone Forest. He knew those streets, unpaved but for gravel and earth. He knew the traders’ markets and the hunting guilds, and he knew every bar within a five mile radius though he couldn’t always remember how he’d left them. It was one of these that he came to as the sun reached its highest point in the sky. After a week and a half of travel, he finally pushed in those familiar double doors and swaggered his way towards a slick, oak-polished counter.
At high noon, the tavern was nearly empty but for a clutter of tables, dusty bottles, and a modest maid he thought might be named Maggie or Marissa. She gave him a cautious smile and waved to him from where she stacked glasses on a shelf, and Faris nodded back before pounding his fist on the counter and peering around the open back doorway. ”Hey! Anyone here?”
It wasn’t long before he heard a response. ”Sorry, we’re not usually busy at this time of day. I was just doing some work in the ba-“ The word cut off as its speaker rounded the corner and saw Faris, perched there at the counter with an almost apologetic grin. The man’s expression soured. ”No.”
”I need a favor.”
”No.”
”Not even a proper favor! Just a place to ask questions over a pint of beer! You see, there’s this mad wizard with a mean streak and a penchant for dragons that I-!”
”I’m not selling to you.” The man gave him a hard look. ”We’ve gone over this. You don’t cause anything but trouble.”
Faris let out a low groan. ”Are you still on about that?
”You flipped a man through my window.”
Faris’ eyes flashed with fury. ”He called me a pretender! Said I had a face too pretty to do a thing about it! The high-talking, yellow-bellied, son of a-!”
”Do you know how much that window cost?”
”I showed him! It was a man’s honor, yeah? He didn’t leave me a choice!”
The man leaned against the counter and let out a heavy sigh, rubbing heavily at his temples. ”What was that about a wizard?”
Faris paused and glanced down at his entwined thumbs. It had been weeks since he’d met with that white-clad paladin – the Warrior of Light. He hadn’t looked a thing like the first time they’d met. Not tall or strong or noble, just tired and more than a little washed out. Faris bit his lip. After all that time he’d spent running after the knight, their conversation hadn’t been pleasant and it hadn’t ended well. The knight couldn’t come with him, not now that he carried the weight of a hundred lives torn apart by dragon’s teeth. And it was all the fault of a quick-talking sorcerer and a plot so nefarious that Faris’ fists tightened at the thought of it. He scowled.
”The reason I came to town. I’m looking for someone. A scoundrel of a man who hurt a friend of mine. Apparently he’s the reason those dragons are causing trouble.”
The man frowned. ”Dragons? You mean the ones from Torensten?”
”They’ve moved onto the mountains now, mostly. Terrible beasts. I’ve done my fair share keeping them from anyone with the luck to live in their path.” Faris sighed. ”But that won’t be enough. That man – he’s up to no good. Has to be. That’s what I heard.”
The man paused, thoughtful for a moment, before eyeing him again. ”Isn’t that the same story you told me before? When you were looking for that demon or whatever it was?”
”Chaos.” Faris’ eyes darkened. ”No one’s seen heads nor tails of that fiend in ages. But this is different. I’m looking for a man now – not a beast. Someone has to have seen him, and you know this place. Traders come from all over and stay here. If I can have a good drink with them, I’m bound to hear something.”
The man straightened. ”A no’s a no, Faris.”
”What?” Faris leaned forward at attention, eyes wide. ”How about I pay for that window? I could do a job for you! Any job! There has to be some manner of beast or bandit giving you trouble!”
”You’re not the only monster-hunter in town, you know.” The man gave him a disapproving glance. ”Just a few weeks ago, some new kid came by with his girlfriend. He’s taken on just about every job in the area if he’s asked. No one needs that kind of work with him around.”
Faris stared at him uncomprehendingly. ”Some kid?”
”His name’s Tidus. I don’t think he knows what he’s doing, but he’s got a sword and a better attitude than you.”
”And if he wasn’t here, you’d need me?”
”What? No! That’s not what I-!”
Faris hopped off the bar stool. ”Well, where's he at then?”
The man shot him a wary look. ”Faris, what are you planning?”
”Planning? I’m not the type to plan.” Faris laughed and shoved his hair over his shoulder. ”Well, I’ll be off then. Maybe I can talk you into taking me back yet.”
”Faris, no! I didn’t mean-! What are you doing-?’” Faris let the door swing shut behind him as he stepped back out into the light of high noon. He took a deep breath before starting off towards the first marketplace he could think of.
”Tidus, eh?” If the kid was really as popular as he seemed, then someone had to know him who could point Faris in the right direction. ”Sounds like we’ll have to have a talk, lad.” A long talk, maybe. A pirate’s talk.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"] The cabin was empty.
Faris looked one way and then the next. To the left where was a half-rotten bookshelf close to collapse. Straight ahead, a window so slick with grime that light filtered through in yellow shafts. To the right, nothing but an old brick fireplace long forgotten and left to the dust of time. Faris took another step forward, steel-strapped heels clicking against the floorboards. "Where are you hiding?" He took another step but still found nothing. Had he been wrong? Was there nothing here but wood rot and dust? How old was that blood? "I won't hurt you. You have a sailor's promise on tha-" He froze. Something had flashed in the corner of his eye. Behind the bookshelf. Something feral and yellow.
Eyes.
Faris spun around to face them, spear raised and ready, but they didn't move. Just caught the light again from that grimy window. Faris peered closer at the silver contraption in front of him. It was metallic and jagged with a snarling face and fiendish eyes. "A helmet...?"
The door creaked shut behind him.
Faris jumped and spun around. There was the door -- closed. And by it, a shadowy figure that might have been human. "Who are you?" Faris stared at it for a moment, eyes wide and ready to strike before cursing loudly and lowering his spear.
"What do you think you're doing? Sneaking up on someone in a shack in the middle of nowhere? I about took a swing at you! You should've announced yourself!"
Faris let out a long, heavy breath before eyeing the stranger closer. It was a woman, he thought, though he couldn't be sure with her formless overalls and plate armor. She had a sharp look to her from her harsh brow to the hair cut roughly by her ear. If Faris had to guess, he'd peg her as some kind of dock-worker or maybe a ship's engineer -- though what one of those would be doing in a place like this, he couldn't begin to say. She shifted her weight before answering his unspoken question.
"The majority of the blood is from that wolf," she said, and sure enough, though he spotted torn, blooded padding on her shoulder, it wasn't dripping the way it would have if the wound had been deeper. She straightened, her lips narrowed as she looked him over again. "The more important question is what army are you with?"
Faris blinked. "Army?" he echoed before laughing loudly. "I'm not with any army, lass. Don't you worry." He righted his spear before suddenly realizing what he must have looked like. Clad in crimson armor from head to toe. Helmed in the likeness of a dragon and carrying a wicked spear. Faris shook his head. "This is for monsters -- not people unless they cross me. Been hunting dragons, the vicious beasts. I'll take it off if it'll do you good."
He didn't want to remove his armor, not with the freezing wind about them, but it wasn't like him to go around alarming young women either. At least not if he wasn't taking them for ransom. Faris held his spear out in front of him and willed away the earth crystal's might. In a second, he felt that familiar warmth paired with an ethereal glow. His armor dissipated into blue cotton. His helm melted into purple hair and his usual green bandanna. Without the weight of his spear, Faris placed his hand on his hip and looked to the woman decisively.
"Well, the offer still stands. I've got potions, and I'm not much for sticking around any longer. I can get you patched up and back to town, if that's something that interests you. You're lucky I lost that dragon."
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"] The wind was sharp as shark's teeth and just as cruel. It bit into Faris' flesh at jagged edges until his cheeks were red and stinging with cold. It wasn't usually his style to go bounding off into a blizzard, but it couldn't be helped. He had a job to do with a life on the line. Faris landed unsteadily in the snow, adjusting his dragoon's armor as he eyed the next cliff. It was about twenty feet high with rough corners and jagged edges. He cursed the weather just as he cursed the mountain and his own foul luck. "I've gone soft," he muttered as he took to the sky again.
It had all started with those dragons.
He hadn't meant to stay in a single village for so long. He certainly hadn't meant to start working for them, but once the horde of dragons came along, there simply wasn't anything else he could do. After he'd slaughtered three of the dragons right in the village square, the town had begged it of him. They didn't have anyone who could protect them, they'd said. He just had to stay and fend the beasts off when they came, they'd said. Faris had demanded a hefty sum of gold for his trouble, and that had been that. Nothing more than a simple job, he'd thought. At least, until one of the fiends had stolen away with a child.
The boy's name was Roy. His mother had handed Faris a picture of a dimpled child with scraggled black hair and a stuffed lion. Faris had tracked the beast three days across the whole countryside and into the nearest mountain range. The boy was almost certainly dead now. "If only the crew could see me now," he muttered again. When had he gone so soft? Chasing after a damned dragon for nothing more than vengeance for a boy he'd never known. "At least it'd make Lenna happy."
Ice cracked beneath his feet as he landed at the top of the craggy outpost. He could see just about everything from here -- or at least, he could have if it hadn't been for the snow. He raised a hand against it and squinted at the sky, the cliffs, even the ground. There wasn't a dragon in sight or any sign of one for that matter. Faris cursed under his breath and rolled back on his armored heels. He'd lost it. After all that effort, it was gone with hardly a token to show for it. Faris thrust his spear into the ground and then stalked across the cliff's edge -- first one way and then the other. He'd lost it. After everything he'd tried.
After what he'd told the mother.
Faris groaned and pressed his palm against his forehead. If he never went back, he wouldn't have to tell her the bad news. He could move on again, just as he'd planned all along. He wouldn't have to tell her he'd failed. He wouldn't have to see her cry.
Just a mist on the wind, that's what Faris was. Free as the wind over salty seas. He'd move on again just like he'd always planned to. He'd find the white knight or that chaos demon or maybe just a few more dragons if he felt like it. Faris rounded on his spear and yanked it from its icy prison.
It was then that he heard the wolves.
What started as just a few yips on the wind grew into full-on growls and a feral scream below him. Faris squinted through the snow and saw it -- four gray blurs chasing down something vaguely human. Faris regripped his spear and threw himself from the cliff without thinking twice. His spear skewered one of the beasts as he landed, pinning it to the ground through its neck. The remaining two let out startled yelps before scuttling away across the ice. Faris let them go. They weren't worth it and they weren't who he was looking for.
A trail in the snow led him to a dilapidated cabin half caved in from decay. Faris glanced from the grime-caked windows to the rusty hinges before he noticed a fur-wrapped bundle near the door -- a dead wolf. Beside it was the crimson stain of blood leading in heavy drops from the corpse to the cabin door. Faris cursed.
"Hey! You alright in there?" He pounded on the door with the broad side of his fist. "Don't answer that! That beast took a good chunk out of you if the blood's anything to go by. I've got potions! I'll even let you have them if I'm feeling charitable!" Faris paused, hand still hovering above the door, before cautiously grabbing the handle and pushing it open. The hinges creaked like something alive. The air smelled of dust and wood rot. Still, Faris sidled inside and searched the shadows for his target.
"I'm coming in whether you like it or not so you'd better show yourself! I'll drag you out myself if I have to!"
"Share your adventures" is apparently the best way to get Faris to talk.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"]
“Yes, I have been more than simply around,” the knight agreed, and Faris chuckled.
"Was that a joke?" he said, grinning. He didn't know the man well, but it seemed strangely out of character for the stoic warrior he met before. For some reason, Faris' heart swelled with fondness for the man before him. But there was something dark on the edge of his friend's smile.
“However, I’m afraid the power of alcohol may be necessary to pry such a confession from me, in full. Life has not been easy, as of late.”
"Aye. Now that's the truth." Faris took another heavy swallow of his beer. Life hadn't been easy for a long time -- perhaps never. Life at sea hadn't been easy. Battling an evil warlock hadn't been easy. And this? Well, easy was one of the last words he'd use. "Well drink all you want. For once my wallet's got the space for it. Took out some dragons. Nasty things. Eyes full of fire and hearts to match." His glass nearly sloshed over again as it hit the table. A glance up showed that the knight's glass was nearly half empty. Faris blinked in surprise.
"You lied!" he said, but he was grinning even wider. "'Not familiar?' If I'd've known you could keep that pace, I'd've started us on something with a harsher bite!" He laughed again and raised his glass to his lips. He didn't lower it until he'd matched the others' progress. "Well, there's always next round," he said with a shrug.
The knight suggested that he pass the time with his own stories. "Regale me with your adventures," he said, and Faris snorted in laughter. “I’m sure you have a novel’s worth of interesting stories under your belt.”
"Aye. I can 'regale you,'" he said, glancing at him with a joking smirk. Then he shook his head, leaned back in his chair, and tilted his head to consider the ceiling. "A novel, eh? That's one way word for it." He ran a hand past his bandanna through the tangled locks of his hair. "I've had some scraps, I'd say. Now let's see..."
Faris didn't know where to start. If the knight wanted adventure stories, he had enough to fill that novel and more -- at least, if he'd been the type to spend time with a quill in his hand. Should he start with the time since they'd parted? Since he'd shown up here? Since Exdeath? Since he became the captain of a gang of pirates?
"Aye. Well, I'd say it all began when I fell off the back of a wind drake into the sea."
"You see, my Papa -- he owned a dragon. Not like those twisted fiends out there with snapping teeth and vicious claws, but a noble beast. Tamed and with a heart of gold. But one day, a storm blew in while the drake flew over harsh waters. I don't remember it much -- just the fall and the cold hands of the sea. I kicked and clawed to keep myself afloat until the storm ended, and just about when the water took me, a ship threw me down a piece of rope. They asked me my name, but me -- being without my front teeth -- I couldn't say it right. The S's whistled, see? 'Farifa,' they heard, so they called me Faris."
"And that's how I became a pirate."
Faris shook his head. He hadn't known the whole story himself for a while -- just the drowning and the end. They'd found him in a water-logged sun dress with nothing but a pendant they couldn't make heads nor tails of. Sometimes he wondered why they hadn't taken that pendant and tried to sell it for themselves. He might have chalked it up to fate if he'd believed in it.
"After that? Aye, there's more adventures than I could count on my fingers, that's for sure." Faris leaned forward and grabbed his glass, drinking thoughtfully. "There was my first bar fight when I could still hardly hold my liquor. I was thirteen, I think. Then when I met Syldra." He felt his eyes darken. Her name was like a knife through his ribs. "She was a beautiful beast. A sea drake. She nearly brought us all down in a whirlpool. Tossed me overboard and I'd've drowned if she hadn't thought to save me. She spat me back out on deck, and I ordered all half our rations overboard in thanks. Followed us around after that. Close as sisters, we were." Faris took another long drink. "Helped me out of more scraps than I could ever pay her back for, that's for sure."
"Then there was the time a princess tried to stowaway on our ship. We took her hostage, but she had this crazy idea about helping the world, and her father was off at some Wind Shrine. I gave her a ride, helped her and her friends get inside, and that was how I became a Warrior of Light." Faris snorted into his beer and glanced at the knight. He winked. "Not the most heroic of tales, I know, but I'm no hero. The crystals must've been down on their luck to have to choose a scoundrel like me." He drained the last of his glass before pushing it aside and grabbing his second.
"What about you? I bet you've got a nobler story than that. I've heard them call you a Warrior too. Small world, isn't it?" Faris shook his head, shoved some loose hair behind his ear, and then paused. "I'll be damned, I don't think I ever asked for your name." He shot the knight a wide grin. "My sister would call that rude, but there's not much time when you're being tossed about by a horned fiend, I suppose. So what is it? If there's a better time for introductions, I haven't seen one."
Yes, Wolly. Tell the drunken pirate your life story.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
[attr="class","itsover"] The knight's deadly eyes warmed at Faris' greeting. The man relaxed, just a little, from his usual stoicism, and the sight of his small smile stirred something in Faris. The Warrior didn't answer his question -- not unless "being around" counted as an answer -- but he accepted the offer of a conversation, and Faris couldn't have asked for anything more. The knight wanted a drink and a "boisterous environment" as he called it, and Faris was more than happy to provide.
"Aye. If you're wanting drinks and a crowd, I'll be right beside you," he said with a grin. There seemed something a little off about the knight's expressions. A little stilted. A little distracted. He'd said he didn't want to be overheard, and as they walked together down the dusky streets, Faris couldn't help but wonder what he wanted to keep quiet. The knight seemed like just about the last person for secrets and near the last for any kind of skeletons in his closet. Last they'd met, he'd been like a storybook hero with his hard eyes and gleaming sword, but then, Faris supposed that nothing was ever as simple as the fables. The knight was a man above all else, and every man had secrets he kept clutched like daggers beneath his pillow.
Faris, for instance, had several. Like his criminal history, his gender, and his birth right to only name a few.
To his surprise, the knight took the lead as they shifted past crowds towards the nearest bar. Of course, Faris could have easily led them if he'd asked -- this was the only decent bar in town after all -- but he followed anyway. If the knight wanted to make the choice, Faris would hardly stop him. Even if there was only one option to choose from.
Faris grinned as they stepped into the pub's dank, wild air. All around came the sounds of conversations -- loud, curt, and passionate. Beer glasses clicked on slick wooden tables. The air was sour with liquored breath and perspiration. This was the kind of place where manners meant nothing and inhibitions came to die. It was natural above all else. Loose, brash, and human in a way that most of society liked to ignore. Faris strolled easily between the aisles, eyes bright and heels nearly bouncing. He hadn't had a reason to come here before -- or at least not a valid reason that didn't involve drowning out his own thoughts -- and there was something deeply gratifying about sharing drinks with a friend. He glanced at the knight when they stopped, eyeing him for direction.
The knight met his gaze with an almost apologetic smile of his own. “Forgive me," he said. "I am afraid I’m not overly familiar with alcohol. I’ll let you make the decisions from here.”
Faris blinked at the honesty and then grinned even wider. "Aye. I've got more than a few notches in my belt on that front." He tossed back his hair and scanned the back of the bar -- a kind of platformed alcove of tables, slick leather seats, and party games. "Leave it to me, and I'll have you reeling drunk in no time. You can grab us a table. I'll be back."
Faris slipped away before the knight could comment -- or even more importantly object. He dodged through the crowd to the front of the bar then waited, fingers tapping across the wooden surface impatiently. The drunkards beside him gave him wary glances then shifted quietly away. Maybe they knew better than to cross him. Maybe they instinctively distrusted anyone in a tunic with violet hair. Regardless, Faris was given a wide enough berth that the bartender noticed him almost immediately. It took him less than five minutes to slide his newfound money on the counter and return to the knight with four pints of beer gathered precariously in his arms.
"This should get us started." Faris slapped the glasses onto the table then cursed as they sloshed over his arms and bracers. "Ah, that'll be a mess to clean," he lamented as he slid into a seat across from the knight. "I'd have brought another, but I always manage to drop more than four. There's no harm in going back, I suppose."
He wiped off his bracers with a scowl before leaning back in his chair, eyes bright and ankle propped on his knee. "Well, here we are," he said before grabbing his first glass and taking a hard swig. It was bitter, but not hard to swallow. Something even a light-weight could handle it he wanted it.
Faris turned his gaze towards the knight. "So. You mind telling me what you've been up to, or do you want a few drinks in you first?" He raised an eyebrow in interest, mouth stretched in a skeptical smirk. "I bet you've been more places than just 'around.'"
