Respite in Dangerous Waters

[Axyl]

Taking his cue, Axyl’s hand rolled to grip her delicate quivering hands. He squeezed her fingers gently to be sure she recognized he was there for her. Shaking his head in dismay, the man knew not of what to do for her. His instinct was to bring her closer to him but she just pulled away from him, perhaps away from her fears.

He watched her with worry in his brown eyes. As she spoke, he shifted himself into a higher half sitting half standing position to slowly get himself closer to her shaking form. Axyl shook his head slowly with sorrow the only expression on his face. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that, Seline. I doubt it’s true.” The man approached carefully to caress her face. Brown eyes looked for and held her fearful olive eyes.

The sun had yet to rise but early morning song birds began their chorus mixed with a few night songs.

Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, Axyl moved both hands to cup each side of her face gently forcing her to look straight at him despite all her shaking and all her fear. He allowed his eyes to speak for him for a few moments glistening in the morning light. Soon a thought took hold and broke loose through his tongue.

“Come with me.”

At this point he was being completely honest with her. Axyl felt he could not leave her along. As a soldier and a gentleman, he could not ignore his instincts to offer her protection.

“You can start a new life where you don’t have to be alone.” A weak smile broke the surface to tell her the whole truth of what he was trying to say. “You can be safe.” He paused before repeating his offer. “Come back to Saverin with me.”

[untamed]

Seline looked up at Axyl when she felt the gentle touch of his fingertips on her face. Her fearful olive eyes met his as he spoke gently to her. She watched him as he got up on the bed with her and both of his hands cradled her face. She quivered from his touch. She let her eyes rest on his until he spoke.

She closed her eyes, and then opened them and averted his. “How can I be so sure of you?” she whispered. She reached out hesitantly to touch his face. Her hand continued to tremble as her fingertips grazed the skin on his cheek.

She had trusted someone with her life once before. And he abused the trust she had given him. The evidence plain on her skin of the trust she had given him. Yet, she thought, wouldn’t a soldier have a better sense than a greedy business man? If it had been Damien that saved her the night she was wasting away at the bar, he would have taken her to a room, but he wouldn’t have done what Axyl did. Whereas Axyl cared for her and made sure she was as comfortable as she could be, Damien would have taken advantage. She couldn’t fight back, it would have been the perfect opportunity. It would be so much easier than when he had done before.

A sharp intake of breath entered her lips. Silent tears still rolled down her cheeks, “Why me?” she questioned softly, “Why do you care so much for me? I know I don’t deserve it...” she said as she put herself down again. Her hand fell from his face and she tried to pull away from his hands. The tears running down her face more. She put her face in her hands, “Why Axyl...? I shouldn’t mean anything to anybody. The only person I meant anything too left me two years ago...and I can’t get them back....” her reference to her son. Seline’s quaking didn’t stop as she tried to drawl herself up more and more. “Give me something that tells me you won’t leave me like all of them did...”

Her voice was confused, rambling. She was searching for any ground to stand on or a rock to cling to. She needed something in her life that was sturdy enough for her to hold on to. Until she had something, she would only break down farther.

[Axyl]

Searching her face, Axyl only found confusion and fear, so much of it that he knew not of what to do for her. He was determined to keep trying. But for now, he only listened. Trembling fingers tickled the flesh of his cheek. Slowly his hands fell away after his thumb wiped a tear away as she asked another string of distraught questions. After everything he had done for her in these two nights, she still needed proof he would not hurt her.

“Please just stop that already. You are not worthless and you deserve someone caring about you,” he affirmed in a firm low voice. This time he did not let her have what she wanted; he would not let her pull away from him this time. Instead he wrapped his arms around her shoulders pulling her into his chest. Axyl tried to give her a steady support hoping she would at least find the strength to stop shaking.

He backed slightly away with a hand under her chin to guide her face to look at his. “Hasn’t these past two nights been proof enough?” he asked quietly trying to mask his growing frustration. Whoever had hurt her like this did not deserve a life without more pain. No one deserved to be treated in such a way. No one.

“Come back to Saverin with me,” he repeated again with more vigilance in his voice. “You can start again there. Begin a new life. You can be safe in the city.” His heart ached for her. He wanted to pound whoever had hurt her in this way, had hurt her enough to cause the nightmares worth screaming at, into the dirt. “Please… come back with me,” Axyl pleaded again.

Brown eyes searched for an answer. He hoped to see a healthy answer in place of the self-pity she had begun showing when he had said that fateful word.

Home.

[untamed]

“Don’t Axyl...” Seline whispered helplessly. “Let me go...” her words had no effort place into them. Her hands weakly pressed against his chest trying to push him away. But she was so distraught that she could hardly do anything. She couldn’t trust him, she tried to convince herself. Damien had been just as charming in the beginning and look how that turned out. “I can’t...I can’t...” she whispered, shaking her head.

“He’s looking for me...If he did find me, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you...” Seline’s whispers hoarse from screaming and sobbing. “I don’t want you hurt...He only wants me, why not just let me go...?” she was pleading, like she had in her dreams.

It was getting hard to refuse Axyl’s offer. Seline was trying as hard as she could to keep him away from her. Self preservation told her she couldn’t fall for the same situation again. And even if she were to take his offer, what if she was found? What if Damien did hunt her down while she was with Axyl? She knew she would be useless in the fight and to have to stand by the side would while the two of them fight was unthinkable. Then she paused, which was worse though, being by herself when she was confronted, or with another who pledged to protect her? And that was even if Damien actually found them.

Still Seline was stubborn to protect Axyl, since Saverin was close to her own poverish village, it meant Damien was near. “I...I can’t....he made it so I can’t trust anyone...” Seline whispered. Her head was bent against Axyl’s chest and her hands had stopped pushing and now laid against him. “He was nice in the beginning too....look where that got me...” She picked her head up to look him in the eyes. “I had my chance at a home and I ruined it....” Damien’s impressions rubbing off on her as she blamed herself.

[Axyl]

“Stop, Seline. Just stop it,” he demanded in brisk authority; his voice a step higher in intensity than when he had asked her to take the detox two nights ago. The soldier was coming to an end with his patience and not because of Seline, but because of a man he had never met and even knew not his name. It was not fair. She was hurt and she was still bleeding but there was nothing he could do to help her. This is unfortunately something that she has to overcome on her own, but he hoped that by giving her a steady foundation, the time to do so would be shorter than if he would do nothing for her. He had to get her to come with him.

“He’s not here. You can stop listening to him.” Axyl had calmed himself a bit speaking with a firm but gentler voice. He released her rubbing her upper arms as if just to prolong their contact. Brown eyes looked for her olive-colored pools. “Trust me when I say I will protect you and I can handle myself. Just because I’m not a frontline soldier doesn’t mean I don’t know how to use the weapons I make,” he tried to reassure her. Neglecting to inform her of his specialty as Earth’s military weapons-master, he did not think the reference to be random in the least.

A calloused hand moved slowly and carefully back to her face. His expression softened.

“Seline.” He spoke her name with a new gentle passion, with a care that had not been displayed in years according to her manner of speaking. “I’m offering you a second chance here.” Axyl paused his eyes still searching for a beacon of hope. “Trust me,” he pleaded quietly. I could have given you anything besides detox and done anything if I had wanted, he thought to himself in silence. The man hoped the look in his eyes would be enough to express his sincerity not wishing to drudge up memories of their first miserable night.

“Come with me,” he pleaded once again this time offering his hand the calloused palm facing the plain ceiling. His fingers opened in a relaxed way to encourage a relaxed air from Seline. Axyl did not want her to feel pressured, but he wanted her to accept his offer for her own sake.

“Please.”

[untamed]

Drowning in her own mind, Seline’s body trembled as she sat on her folded legs. The waters were determined to pull her under. She was in too deep to touch the bottom and the rapids were too rough to swim through it easily. She saw the only chance to save herself and she took it.

Seline launched herself from sitting to kneeling and leaned over. Her arms wrapping around Axyl’s neck as she held on to him firmly. Her face found the crook of his neck and nestled into it. Soft sobs still rocked her body as she held on to him tightly. Tension released from all her muscles and tendons and she folded neatly into Axyl’s lap, still holding on. She found the only rock in the river and she knew she had to hold on to it.

“Promise me you are who I think you are and not someone that will deceive and lie to me...” she said softly. Her breath light against the skin of his neck as she spoke. Loneliness clawed at her insides. She held him tighter. Her heartache felt better around him. He seemed to be the bandages that would heal her broken soul.

“Stay with me...” she whispered softly, “Keep the nightmares away...” Her arms were slowly losing their grip. With her mind finally at ease, she was beginning to realize how tired she actually was. Unless she was in a drunken stupor, her nights of slumber were far from restful. For once, she believed she could sleep a few hours without her memories slipping into her mind.

Her arms laid lazily around Axyl’s neck, hardly any grip at all. Her tear moistened face still in the crook of his neck. Her mind made her body trembled involuntary as if to warn her not to let her guard down. Her breathing weak compared to the gasps from crying moments before. But Seline knew in her stubborn mind set that Axyl wouldn’t harm her or let someone else harm her. For years she had cowered at the thought of her ex-husband catching her, but the thought slipped away. Holding on to Axyl, she felt safe and wanted. Emotions she hadn't felt in years.

[Axyl]

His offered hand was completely ignored falling to the side as Seline surprised Axyl by launching her body into his nearly knocking him off the edge of the thin mattress. Muscled arms clasped around her trembling body now half buried into his chest. Gently resting his chin on top of her ebony crowned head, he rubbed her back tenderly. He looked beyond their simple ceiling to what would be the starlit sky above with thankful eyes. Axyl sighed finally relaxing after feeling the tension release its grip on her slender figure now resting in his lap.

Axyl embraced her tighter in response to her own small squeeze. “I promise.” A large hand came to the top of her head stroking her head pausing only for his fingers to work their way to her scalp to give her a brief massage.

Her plea came to his ears in soft whispers. It was hard for him to believe any one would be treated so that they would end up in this type of condition coming from the capital of the Earth nation. She needed some foundation. Saverin was a city of foundations. Seline would find one to stand on there. He had to get her to agree to follow him.

“Come with me?” Axyl asked a final time. He did not desire to leave her alone to experience yet another night like what he had previewed, but he could not rightly neglect his duties to his country. The man did not move fearing to scare her and not wanted to take her comfort from her but if she would look for him he would not deny her his compassionate brown eyes.


ooc: ugh....shortness

[untamed]

Seline laughed lightly when Axyl asked his question again. Slowly, she backed away. Her tear stained face with olive eyes looking into his brown pair. “If I decided not to go with you, I wouldn’t be embracing you right now, believe me,” her over confidence showing slightly. Her hands laid crossed at the wrist behind his head, her arms setting lightly on his shoulders.

Teasingly, she leaned in, her lips centimeters from his as she whispered, “But just because you saved me from myself, doesn’t mean I will get hero syndrome...” She backed away, her face now a normal distance from his. She awaited his reaction. And from his reaction, she would be able to see if it was alright if she succumbed to her hero syndrome.

She slipped gently from his hands and scooted back against the headboard of the bed. She pulled her knees to her chest and moved over to the edge of the bed. She patted the top of the bed beside her, signaling for Axyl to sit next to her. She always felt comfortable with Axyl in some way. Now she had to convince her entire being and Axyl himself that she was comfortable and trusted him, in her own way. She had to trust him, she thought at least. But the words he spoke to her while she was crying left an imprint on her. Seline knew somewhere deep inside that trusting him should be no problem.

ooc: not to worry, mine's short too....

[Axyl]

He smiled with new confidence when she finally allowed a light-aired chuckle raise into the nighttime air. His entire expression brightened at her verbal confirmation and at the irony of her telling him to believe her. As they looked into each other’s exhibited souls, Axyl could feel the space between her arms tighten around his neck and the distance between them close. Brown eyes sparkled with a new light. Feeling her breath warm on his face, the man’s breathing quickened slightly.

Eyes darted around Seline’s face, picking up on the tiniest of details as her features slowly came closer. Brown eyes flicked from her olive eyes, to her lips, to her forehead and her nose, from her cheeks to her hair. He could feel her words fall on his lips parting them slowly almost as if trying to get a tiny taste of them. Nervous energy emanated from his body especially from his eyes, the portal to the soul. Axyl nearly panicked when he reminded himself that he was not to touch… but she was so close. Still, he could not betray her trust by touching her, by overstepping invisible boundaries.

With nothing but a moment passed, she pulled away from him. He blinked himself back to conscious recognition after feeling her fingers tickle against his neck. Axyl opened and closed his jaw licking with a dry tongue a couple times attempted to wet his mouth. The man turned his head around looking with semi-conscious eyes to find Seline. Eyelids closed once more and opened again to be sure he knew where she was.

She was at the head of the bed patting a pillow next to her offering him a seat. Still fighting with himself as she summoned him to her side, Axyl glanced from her face, to her hand on the bed, to the stars outside, but his eyes ended back with hers. With a small roll of his head, he slid his butt to the designated spot. He brought one knee to his chest hugging it loosely and stretched the leg furthest from Seline down the length of the bed.

Angling his head topped with semi-greasy short brown hair, Axyl stared beyond the glass of the window. The sun had yet to give a hint that it was to rise in the morning. He looked back to Seline perhaps to draw her attention from staring off somewhere.

“There’s still time,” he offered quietly. “If you want, you can sleep a little longer.” It had been a long day and apparently a longer night, so the soldier would not have been surprised if she took the offer for a little more peace. “I’ll wake you when it’s time to leave,” he reassured her.

“Promise.”

ooc: there.... that's better...

[untamed]

She chuckled softly at his offer. Her olive eyes looking at his eyes while she answered, “I think I will take up that offer...”She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She felt Axyl’s hesitance when he touched her or when she got close to him. She would see him tense when she got close or when he went to touch her. A simply gesture would show him she felt it okay for Axyl to be near.

The loneliness that clawed at her insides became subdued. As she traveled about the land, she always seemed to be seeking comfort. Unfortantly finding it in alcohol, but now without it she had to find comfort in something else. Luckily, she had Axyl by her side. She had always sought comfort and had found it in the most unlikely person to her.

She nestled her face into his shoulder, “I’m don’t want to get hero syndrome....it will put me back to where I was....”she whispered to him. Her eyes fluttered open and her gaze turned to look up Axyl’s face. Little sleep made her mind and words confusing. Her words almost mindless ramble.

She was still wary with her emotions. She didn’t want to put too much out there only for it to get crushed again. Her hand reached out and held Axyl’s closest wrist gently. Her fingertips turned his wrist gently. Her eyes watching the movement of his wrist. After a few moments, she set his wrist down and pulled her hands into her lap.

She was getting almost delusional with no sleep. Her barriers at their weakest and her mind slowly slipping into her formal self, her less protective self. Her eyes began to flutter close again. She tried to wait to see if Axyl would say something else, but she couldn’t. She slipped into unconsciousness.

[Axyl]

Cautious eyes followed her as she leaned closer. He fought himself one half wishing to shrink away and the other desiring more. Despite the internal battle, the soldier’s body held firm even as her ebony hair tickled at his shoulder. Axyl did not understand her in the least. Yes, she was a real woman, but no woman had glanced his way like this in a number of years. The man was a soldier but he was not the most handsome of men with the best set of muscles. Taking a deep breath, Axyl listened to her voice as her words began to jumble before even leaving her mouth.

Even as she began to slip from this reality, the man who had opened his arms watched her. Brown eyes caught glimpses of her olive eyes behind fluttering lashes. He smiled back at her. As a whole, Axyl was simply relieved. Relieved that she was finally calming down, relieved that she stopped verbally pitying herself for the time being, and relieved that she agreed to follow him to Saverin. She was already half gone when she took a loose grip on his wrist.

Axyl allowed her full control of his hand (as long as she did not try to twist it a way his wrist did not twist). He was also curious watching with intrigue in his eyes wondering what it was to hold her interest. Could it have been his calloused palms or perhaps the simple complexity of a hand? The thought passed and Seline slipped into a realm of dreams.

With his new companion now fast asleep, he thought it safe to leave her to it. Carefully guiding her head to the pillow, Axyl moved his finely muscled body out of the way of a comfortable rest. After she was settled, the soldier removed his jacket to drape over her shoulders. At least this way if she would awake while he was still gone, Seline would know he had not left her.

Now that Seline was settled in for the next couple of hours, Axyl slipped away himself. Leaving the small room as quietly as he could with the creaking and squeaking not far behind, he locked the room behind her to keep her safe from any predators that may have followed now that he knew some details of her fear. He walked steadily through a quiet and relatively empty tavern lobby nodding to the man behind the counter.

He made rounds around the tavern and small stable, but all he heard was the serenade of night critters. As for what he saw, it was nothing special. The usual night life thrived under the moonlight and a few men went about their business perhaps preparing for the next day or wrapping up the previous.

After a final round to be sure of what he had seen (or not seen), he made his way to the stables and his horse. He wanted to prepare for the journey west, but he also wanted to make sure her journey was semi-comfortable. Beginning with brushing his mare down and cleaning her up, Axyl was soon on to setting her tack. Giving her a cursory look over, he gave her a pat good bye to wake Seline.

Before returning to the walls of the tavern, brown eyes peaked at the sky. Deep blue still coated the sky but the horizon boasted a brilliant orange-pink. The sun had yet to show above the tree line but it would not be long. He moved to the stairs and back to their room without rushing not wanting to shorten Seline’s rest.

Opening the lock, Axyl poked his head back into the dark room. “Seline,” he whispered. He moved further into the room closing the door behind him with a soft click. “Seline,” he whispered once more moving towards the bed.

ooc: um... muse fizzled out towards the end... ugh

[untamed]

Seline was deep in to sleep. She didn’t even feel when her head was moved from a rounded, muscled shoulder to the softer comforts of her pillow. Her arms laid at her sides as she turned on to her side. Within what consciousness she had, she knew he had left her, the extra weight gone from the bed. Yet, his warm scent still surrounded her, she snuggled into Axyl’s jacket, keeping her safe from her nightmares.

Warily, she stepped out of the kitchen. Her tan apron blotched with flour and other miscellaneous food products from cooking dinner earlier that night. She looked at her husband. He sat reading a book in his chair. Black strands of hair covered his head. His deep blue eyes set on the words in the book. She always thought he looked funny sitting in his chair. The bulky muscles he had made the chair look small and him sitting on it looked awkward. She never spoke out loud about it. Goose bumps crawled across her skin. He hadn’t raised his hand to her in almost a week, but Alexander had kept him distracted when he came home.

Unbeknownst to Seline, Axyl wondered about Seline’s attraction to him. Seline sighed within her dreams. She had everything a girl ever wanted shallowly. Damien had lots of money. He was handsome and desired by all the women Seline’s age and older. Seline lived in a luxurious house and never had to worry about when her next meal would come. She had everything and now she cowered at her dreams, let alone when she came to face the real man. Axyl wondered what made himself so appealing to Seline. To Seline, Axyl was much more than Damien ever could be.

“Mommy!” Seline turned, hearing a whiny cry. Seline bent down to touch little Alexander’s head as he clutched tightly to her leg. She smiled gently as he looked up at her. Eyes of brown looked at her adoringly as he reached out and hugged her. Seline picked him up with ease and began to head down the hallway. She could feel her husband’s eye boring into her back. He watched her every movement with the boy to make sure no harm would come to him.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. “You promised me a story...” Alexander whined. “I guess I did..” Seline muttered. She shifted Alexander on her hip to avoid the messy spots on her apron.

She turned into Alexander’s room and set him on the bed. He crawled up to the top of his bed and snuggled down into his covers. Seline gently tucked him in and then whispered to him his desired story. She told him of the creatures that wandered the land outside of Earth territory. Winged creatures and dragons and wizards, things that amused Alexander so that he would have interesting dreams that she would hear about in the morning. After about ten minutes, Alexander’s brown eyes were hidden beneath his eyelids. Seline leaned over gently, her fingers straightening out the dirty blond strands. She kissed him lovingly on the forehead and then watched him sleep for a moment. Seline couldn’t ask for a more peaceful dream.

Seline heard Axyl’s soft voice through the fogginess of her lack of sleep. Her olive eyes opened slowly, glazed with needed sleep. But slowly, she sat up, holding onto the jacket she had used as a blanket. She stared at him, expression blank. It seemed to early for her to process anything really. “We’re leaving....?” she whispered, but her voice cracked near the end of her question.

[Axyl]

“Yes,” he answered whispering. “Make sure you have your things.” Axyl turned to sit on the edge of the bed careful not to sit on Seline. He opened the drawer in the cheap nightstand to reveal a matchbox. With his back to her and his body between her sleep weary eyes and the lamp, he lit the lamp with the wick just barely drawn. It was to give them just enough light to gather their belongings.

After they were finished, their things gathered and tucked away in pockets and bag, the soldier went to Seline. Initializing the contact with a brief back rub, he gently guided her to the door with a hand pushing softly on her shoulder blade. He opened the door to her and escorted her to and down the stairs. “Like somethin’ t’ eat?” Axyl offered as he paused with her at the counter to at least return the room key.

Dropping a few coins to cover a refill in his canteens and any of hers if she carried them, he requested a few strips of dried meat for the day’s trip. To top it off he repeated Seline’s choice for the bartender to hear supplying the necessary coin.

Once the man behind the counter had finished his job, Axyl moved at a leisurely pace to the threshold of the wood framed door again escorting the tired Seline lightly. He showed her to the stables and his brown thoroughbred mare. Relieving his new road companion of her load, he secured her bag to the saddle bags pulling tightly to be sure they would not lose it on the rough road ahead. With his far hand on his mare’s hip, Axyl tried being a gentleman again offering her a hand into the saddle with a quick gesture. “You ready to git goin’?”


ooc: let me know if I assumed too much against your character... and sorry if I did, untamed

[untamed]

Seline nodded warily as she rubbed her eyes. She reached down and grabbed her bag. Brush in hand, she brushed the knots out of her dark hair and then pulled it up into her usual style. As she placed the brush back into her bag, she paused. Her hands ran over the handle of the dagger that was in her bag. She sighed, she knew she wouldn’t need it. She kept it in the bag and pulled the strings to close the opening. She then took the bag and slung it diagonally over her shoulders and chest.

She looked up from situating the bag on her shoulders. Axyl was coming over to her. He gently touched her back. His fingers massaging her back. Her olive eyes narrowed, but she didn’t see anything. Though she would be nicer to Axyl, her mood wouldn’t improve with lack of sleep. She walked to the door as he guided her with soft touches on her shoulder blades. He opened the door and went with her down the stairs.

She looked at him as he spoke. “No, I can control my stomach more than you can...” she replied in a snarky manner. She filled her canteen and went through her movements whispering under her breath about how she hated early mornings. She wasn’t exactly pleasant in the morning. The permanent scowl and snappy remarks were evident of that.

She followed Axyl’s lead to his horse. She allowed him to take her bags and secure them to the horse. Her olive eyes watched as Axyl offered a hand to help her into the saddle of the horse. This time she didn’t take the offer and gracefully mounted the horse with ease, despite waking early. She looked down at Axyl, “I don’t need your help for everything...” she muttered. She averted her gaze and sighed. “Guess I haven’t lost my moodiness completely...” she thought.

occ: you're fine, don't worry. you just have to deal with a grumpy woman now *laughs*

[Axyl]

A thick brown eyebrow rose at her comment given as an answer to the proposition of food. She was being snippy again, but for what seemed and what he hoped to be other reasons. “Well forgive my healthy appetite,” he retorted back in more of a teasing manner.

They moved out to the stables. Seline barely said a word as he strapped her bag up with the rest of his saddle bags. It was not until he offered her more help by offering a hand into the saddle. Must’ve been too much, he thought to himself with a shrug. Brown eyes meandered up her body following her curves to stop at her face. Axyl sighed to himself knowing it was highly unlikely. “Do you at least mind if I come up or do you think you can stay on while sleeping without an extra hand?” he asked with the usual jest in his voice.

As he waited her expectantly tart response, the man allowed his mind to wander and his senses to scout their surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place with the calls of birds and frogs mixing into the morning’s chorus. Mindlessly, his left arm folded behind the curve in his back allowing his fingers to dance along the leather of the belt clinging to his ribs. He fingered the décor on the hilt and sheath of his hidden dagger and then found the container and subconsciously checked it for the scroll inside. Axyl was satisfied when he felt the silence shifting of the paper in the thin cylinder.

Despite the distraction, Axyl never broke his attention from Seline.

ooc: I see that... and sorry.... back to the yuck of shortness

[untamed]

Seline scowled. Even if she was in a foul mood, she couldn’t expect Axyl to walk aside her while she took the easy way and rode the horse. Though, the fairer option also put her in the position for unwanted physical contact at the moment. She turned her head and looked at Axyl. Her olive eyes sized him up, and she finally released a disgruntled sigh.

“I guess I can handle sitting next to you on the horse...” she muttered. She averted her eyes again, slightly upset with herself. She had agreed to follow the man to Saverin. She could at least have a pleasant attitude to make the trip less agonizing. She sighed again and turned to Axyl.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” she hissed, impatiently. Her eyes watching intently on his fingers playing with something behind his back. She allowed her mind to wander for a moment before she focused back on Axyl. She would be nice to Axyl.....later.

[Axyl]

Her words drifted upon morning winds their sting no less potent than a bee. He had become accustomed to her bite and her apparent charm. He shrugged it off as a part of who she made herself to be and something he would have to get around if he really wanted to acquaint himself with the woman behind the mask. Still that would only come with time.

Leisurely, he guided them further away from the stalls from foot. Soon afterwards, having received disgruntled permission to come aboard, the man pulled himself up to the back of his mare using the saddle horn with a loose grasp on the long set of reins. He swung his leg around to land himself practically on the horse’s hip, just front of it actually. Axyl straddled the cantle letting go of the horn removing his arm from the vicinity of Seline’s hip. Using two hands on the mare’s hips, he adjusted himself to a more comfortable position for the ride. A few deft motions gathered the reins in calloused hands.

“Do you want to sleep or would you prefer to guide her?” he whispered to the woman seated in front of him. His voice drifted with a slight twinge of jest laced into his words. It was more of his natural attitude being pulled from him by her own attitude towards him, but he also understood if she did not quite know which way they were heading. Not everyone knew the area.


ooc: just a bit short on muse

[untamed]

Seline watched as Axyl led the horse further from the stables. Her olive eyes scrutinizing him as he moved. She was still confused on how his mind worked. If she always had this attitude, nobody would come near her, but Axyl stayed by her side. He didn’t once tell her to find her own way into town.

She watched as he swung himself up behind her. His hand resting for a moment near her hip. She scowled once again, but more because he now was sitting right behind her. She wasn’t exactly in the mood for physical contact, but she had no choice. Her good Samaritan acts outweighed her dislike for being touched at the moment.

His whispered question caused a chill to run down her spine. It made the fact of how close he was to her more of a reality. She rolled her eyes and glanced over her shoulder, “Do you honestly think I have any idea how to get where we’re going?” she asked. Her sense of direction wasn’t terrible, but the fact that most of the time she was either hungover or drunk, she didn’t really know how she got to places. The swamp for example, she was completely baffled how she stumbled out there.

“Besides, don’t you want to show me how manly you are, by showing me your sense of direction and not get us lost?” she teased lightly. A smirk curved her lips as she raised an eyebrow before turning her head back in front of her. Now that Axyl couldn’t get away from her easily, he was at her wrath for any teasing she came up with.

[Axyl]

“Very well then, fair lady,” he consented in a normal tone directed slightly to her right as he looked around for the path he had many times. “Hmm… Saverin,” Axyl spoke more to himself than anyone though he realized she would hear him in such close proximity. “Saverin,” he whispered again as he pulled on the reins leading the horse in a tight circle. “Saverin.” The man pulled his mare out of the circle towards a path leading northwest away from the swampy lake behind the tavern. “On to Saverin, capital city of our fair earth-bound nation,” the soldier announced with a smile quite amused with his joke.

Having played with her briefly poking fun at her comment of his sense of direction, the older man wondering at how she would fell of his teasing. Of course, he was dancing the line of teasing her and helping her tease him. Axyl did not mind which way it would take their conversation. It was merely an attempt at beginning their journey on a good foot. He wanted her to smile despite her apparently hate for the morning sun.

Guiding his brown mare over the narrow and rocky path, they quickly arrived to a fairly well-traversed dirt road the thin path opening up to the road which led further into the forest ahead. Morning birds called from the trees surrounding them while the rapid chatter of rodents interrupted with innocent calls for food and their mates. A few people traveled around them scattered by time and distance varying from journeymen to merchants transporting their goods.

Their journey proceeded in such a way even as the tree lines became thinner opening up to a prelude to the great Borgis Plain. Axyl had not spoken uncertain of whether or not Seline wished to speak rather than sleep the trek away in dreams.


ooc: yay! I can post! I know its not really worth the wait but at least we can get started with other things now, yes?

[untamed]

Seline rolled her eyes at Axyl’s constant repetition of the capital’s name. She simply wanted to get out of the swamp. Axyl chuckled at his slight joke as he boasted loudly about Saverin. Seline closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “It will be amazing if I don’t lose my mind on this trip...” she thought.

As the horse walked the now beaten path to a better place, Seline had her head against Axyl’s back. Her olive eyes watched the peaceful scenery. She didn’t need to sleep at the moment, the peaceful surroundings were rest enough. A break from the boozing and the loud bars, the sleepless nights and less than pleasant mornings.

Her slender, feminine hands rested lightly against her thighs. It seemed like hours had passed since they started riding, maybe it had actually been hours. Without the stressful aura of the drunken men in bars, she had calmed her nerves and mood. She was now much more placid. Her arms crawled from her sides to slowly hold herself against Axyl. Her arms wrapped loosely around his hips.

She didn’t speak. She didn’t want to speak, just enjoy the calmness of the moment. Seline had come to the conclusion in her moments of quiet thoughts that she had lost everything. She had nothing more to lose and it was worth the chance to gain something. The rude and obnoxious personality would be hidden in privacy and the more pleasant personality when it was just them. She sighed, “This isn’t easy for me...” she whispered, “to trust you...”

[Axyl]

ooc: I have decided to close this thread moving Axyl (and Seline if she decides to follow) to Saverin in the thread called Welcome Home. So if you all would like to continue on our journey with us, please do find us in Saverin. ;D

See you all around.