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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 6, 2018 22:20:58 GMT -8
"What's wrong with letting folk like you enough to miss you...?" Tilly poised with a small shrug of her thin shoulders, joining hands with the man. Her eyes followed his gesture to the fog, which she acknowledged with little more than mild interest: foreboding, but certainly not the worst presentation she'd seen.
She was rather fond of the sea and its aspect.
"Nothing wrong with just... thinking, either; best to get it done now so you won't have to later." She swung their suspended hands idly between them.
"I used to wish someone would care enough to come back for me-- Freddie, or my Margerie, to go and beg me to come back and all. It's a rare thing, as it turns out..." She looked towards the gray-clouded ocean, still as the grave. She idly squeezed his hand.
"It doesn't matter if you left behind an entire cult dedicated to you, or if Taas's the only one, really. You've got someone that cares enough to come back at all, to go and look after you while thinking you might be the one to run them through. It's inspiring."
She kicked at some sand if only to satisfy the childish urge to see it plume up in a small cloud.
"I think it's... meant to be this way; neither of us can really run anymore. Makes it harder to let go of everything when you're not so busy."
A small smile dawned on her face,
"'Sides, you've got me now, too! And Taas, and Courcy, and your Crowgazer, and... the little sprout, too." She'd hesitated; it still felt awkward to mention, but she nodded her hatted head all the same and waggled a finger in the air, "All one big, awful, happy, family."
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Feb 7, 2018 9:48:54 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
An awkward, but happy smile pressed the dimples on his cheeks as he walked along; watching the small puff of sand burst up, he mimicked it by kicking along a thin stick that snapped off from a larger branch.
Her words were sweet, and made his heart clench in sanguinity as he rolled his hand over her knuckles.
"I'd not trade this family for the world, Tills..." He purred, leaning over and bumping against her shoulder before planting a kiss on her cheek, slowing their walk a touch.
"... But I wonder if maybe- if Taas is willing to forgive and... Accept me- If maybe the world, or maybe just a small handful of folk out there, will forgive. I hid here waiting for folk to forget me; what if that time's getting close? What if they already have?" He sighed, stopping entirely now and turning to face Tilly.
"What if we don't have to stay here?"
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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 7, 2018 9:57:16 GMT -8
"Not to completely rain over your picnic, but..." Tilly brought a hand up to her cheek, as if to hold the kiss there, while she frowned and looked lifelong to the camp,
"All we know of is one person who absolutely adored you; your family and family-friends still sent an assassin after you, mind." She warned, rolling her shoulders, as to shed the idea of leaving the Hamlet once and for all.
...She knew someone else quite intimately who wished for something similar.
"They just chose the worst assassin imaginable for the job, lucky for us."
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Feb 7, 2018 12:08:44 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
The Ex-Lord chuckled and shrugged, nodding,
"Aye... fair point. Though--" His expression lightened as a familiar smirk spread across his features, he bumped her rolling shoulders with his own as they made a drunk-like swaying walk along the way.
"-- My family hasn't sent any assassins, not to my knowledge. They're not the vengeful sort." He proudly nodded and rose a brow, looking out contentedly,
"They'd send a strongly worded letter, some wine, with a pretty courier to smooth over grievances." Lekalis seemed to beam at the remark as he brought a hand up to hold the heavy bevor bolted to his cuirass.
His expression darkened a touch, though it was an expression more like red wine; sour, but still sweet and pensive.
"Taas still owes herself to the Gunsches; same folk who'd kidnapped my sister. They're much more sinister, and they've sent a strongly worded letter... and their own... typical retinue of gifts." He looked to Tilly with a risen brow, his lips forming a thin line, clearly not the end of the story as he walked on and occasionally nudged her with his elbow.
"I do want to return at some point, don't you? I wonder whats changed in the world sometimes." He sighed dreamily and looked up to the rising sun.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 7, 2018 13:08:38 GMT -8
Tilly's eyes widened and she felt a flutter of nervousness at the thought of the... outside world.
The outside world hadn't taken to her too well. It seemed that things were only just now looking up.
The memory of long journeys and days spent without any bread, sleeping in streets, had begun to fade in the years she had been at the Estate, and she was not looking to reignite them.
"Hmm... I don't think there'd quite be anything left for--" She'd begun to mumble, before she stopped and almost jumped, as though she'd been shocked.
Taas mentioned the Gunsches, but she hadn't made the connection until just then...
"The Gunsches are after you?" She palmed her forehead, brow knitted in alarm; she'd thought it was only his own kin in that hall, by the rumors...
"Is it... just over your sister? Why would they be out to kill you?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Feb 7, 2018 13:23:48 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"I believe so yes!" For a moment, he shared Tilly's surprise before calm slipped back into Lekalis' tone and demeanour; he frowned and gave Tilly hand a gentle squeeze.
"... Are you alright? I-I didn't mean to frighten you! The fact they're only now sending someone rightfully towards me is relieving in and unto itself. I'm sure they've eyes and... perhaps I've more friends than I realize, keeping me safe here." The Ex-Lord's hand loosened in Tilly's, a moment of hesitation,
"... They'll not know of you or our Love if you fear this. We can be safe together." He assured her.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 7, 2018 13:33:16 GMT -8
"Fah! I'm not scared of some... snooty working family-- mostly." Tilly looked to him with a weak smile, pushing back her hat away from her face before the hand danced down to brush some sandy strands of hair away.
"You must've done something royally awful to've ticked them off like this. They're the sort of folk who wouldn't raise a finger against anything else, 'less they gain something from it. My family always avoided 'em..."
She looked to him eagerly,
"So what'd you do?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Feb 7, 2018 13:56:22 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
His onyx eyes watched his walking compatriot's hands fidget about in a familiar way, his smile turning to one of idle amusement as he seemed to try and discern how she felt; with a small chuckle he raised a hand to slow her down, even if she asked hardly more than one question.
"Alright, alright... Like I said; My sister... The Gunsches took her, and I decided to take her back." He paused, glancing off, he pursed his lips a bit,
"... Alright, so, well... Maybe she was in an arranged marriage I didn't particularly agree with. Maybe no one else was willing to do anything... Maybe I did." He shrugged, raising a brow,
"The commonfolk's stories are almost right, at the least."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 7, 2018 14:02:00 GMT -8
"Yes, but that was ages ago, wasn't it? You're stuck in some little hamlet, your war's over and all. It doesn't make sense that they'd be after you." Tilly pointed out, literally, by pointing her finger up to the sky.
"And!" She continued hastily, as fast as she could recall her conversation with the snow-haired woman, "Taas said your sister'd married her father-- said it was proper strange, being her step-daughter, but you lot got to see each other much more often. So what's that about?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Feb 7, 2018 14:53:50 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"Ah... What's... What about, precisely?" He asked a bit awkwardly, his brows raising, and, in an embarrassing spat of literalness, followed Tilly's finger up to the sky before he shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to process the query.
"My Sister was taken by the Gunsche to marry with ah--" He pinched his fingers together, trying to find the name...
"-- Brakkus. Who'd been previously with Tielania... Who is the... Mother of Taas." He nodded, his hand coming to stroke his growing beard with a sigh, a visible weight coming off his shoulders from that debacle alone.
"Before all that though, Taas, My Sister, and I were all very close. My Family and Taas' had good ties, the Paer used to protect a lot of people..." He explained with a frown of melancholy, his eyes growing a bit distant.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 7, 2018 15:25:10 GMT -8
Tilly waggled her fingers in their interlocked hands, eyeing Lekalis carefully, thoughtfully, though confusion still knitted her brows.
"Why'd they-- the Gunsches-- go and do that? Brakkus wasn't a Gunsche, was he?" She pressed gently; perhaps it was time to head back...?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Feb 7, 2018 15:34:31 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"Oh, Yes; Brakkus was a Gunsche... Not really sure on his heritage..." There was a Lordly accent slowly easing into his tone as he seemed to dredge up old memories, as he squinted and pondered.
"... If I remember right... Brakkus married Tielana after the Clansking, Oberich Paer was slain when the Gunsche laid claim to their forests. It was a white peace, of sorts... Tielana died soon after though, when Taas was born. But, she was technically tied to the Gunsche name, through Brakkus. Who married my sister, Victoria... Taas kept the 'Paer' name, but was raised under Brakkus Gunsche and sometimes the Paer's." He chewed on his lower lip and sneered,
"... It's a bit messy." He admitted, glancing off to the fire, as the rounded path he'd led himself and Tilly on now began to cut into the dry grass behind the beach.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 7, 2018 17:31:36 GMT -8
Tilly made to follow the strings of unfamiliar names, squinting in concentration.
There'd be another day to dig at this immense detail.
"Good heavens." She remarked in some mild awe, "No wonder my family never dabbled in the affairs across the continent. You lot were always so violent and complicated; you make friends with one family, and you have the ire of a whole score of others."
She chuckled a little as she walked on back to the camp,
"You ever wonder what it'd be like to pay some fellow or another off and then be done with it all, no wars needed?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Feb 7, 2018 17:37:21 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"Aye, I imagine such a things happened before; bribery is awfully convenient, just... not as flashy." He chuckled and shrugged, raising a brow,
"Doesn't get recorded because no one really wants it known, y'know?" He gave a tired shrug and unbound their hands with a deft movement; he idly thumbed the center of his palm as he meandered to the opposite side of Courcy from the campfire.
"... You think she'll ever accept me as a friend?" He asked nonchalantly, nodding to Courcy.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Feb 7, 2018 21:19:09 GMT -8
Tilly gave him a wry grin and shrugged, speaking at a hush so as to not wake Courcy just yet.
"I think she likes you enough; she wanted to knock boots with you, thinking you were a murderer, after all."
She strolled on over to the opposite of the campfire, to stand near her. "Think we should wake her now?..."
There was a pause, though, and she looked to Lekalis from across the campfire, one hand on the brim of her hat, half-serious,
"By the way, please never take her up on her offer."
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