Safe Guard

"So, while the women in your city seek adventurous men...you yourself seek adventurous women?" she asked him curiously, giggling into her hand a moment later, "Well, that's like looking for a diamond in a canyon, haha. Adventurous men are like cattle: they're everywhere. Adventurous women are like flowers in winter: nearly non-existant, ha!"

She laid back fully on the ground, looking up at the roof of the cave, watching the shadows created by the fire flicker about. She had been an adventerous traveler for many years and in those years, she had come across many a male adventerers like her, but very, very few females. She could see Silas with an assertive woman, though she wasn't sure how he would feel about being with one. Hell, she even saw herself with Silas a bit in her mind, teasing the quiet, skittish man and making him blush. She even ventured to see herself riding atop him, making him moan as she kissed him passionately; he looked as if not even many prostitutes were willing to accept his offer. Still...that didn't mean he was a bad guy. From what she could see, he was very intelligent and brave, which is already the making of a fine man, and despite what he thought of himself, he was indeed handsome and obviously someone who always wanted to be well prepared.

"I believe you'll find yourself a wife yet, scholar," she said aloud after a few moments of silence, "You may not think so, but I do. A woman who will not care about the rough or rich that you can't offer her, but about the man behind it all. Who knows? If we do find this lost city, maybe one of the natives will want you for their husband."

She turned her eyes to him, the flames flickering in their depths and shimmering off the playful, teasing light that flashed in them.
 
Watching her lay back he fought the urge to admire her once again. She was truly exotic to him, where he came from all were pasty and pale, she was the first of her kind he had seen outside books. It intrigued him, made her all the more... Erotic. His own mind once more ran about, imagining similar, imagining her taking command, pushing him against a wall and having her way. Gods the thought. Truly it was scandalous and almost humiliating to actually enjoy the thought of a woman who took charge, who played the needy one in the relationship. Yet he could imagine her like that. Swallowing a lump in his throat he chuckled as she spoke again.

"Atlantis is said to have been destroyed, I highly doubt there to be natives. If there are and the legends are true my knowledge would be like a child to them." He replied with a small sigh, shifting about, placing his bag on the other side of his bedroll before setting his blade next to his right hand. He laid down on the slight feather cushion, working out the wool blanket after removing his boots.
 
"What does knowledge have to do with it? Besides, they might just find you as interesting as you find them so surely one of the females will be delighted to school you," Claradean retorted with a laugh, watching as the inexperienced man went about making himself comfortable on his bed roll; it was cute.

The woman herself didn't have one, instead just a simple blanket that she had doubled and placed on the ground while her satchel rested as her pillow. The less things she carried, the easier her journey's were. Well, she supposed the man should be allowed some comfort seeing as how he looked to have never went anywhere too far from his home or civilization in general. She was sure going to have her hands full with this one, that much she could already tell. Sighing, turned her head away and closed her eyes.

"Good night, scholar. Make sure you get your rest; we have a long ways to walk tomorrow," she said, her voice echoing gently around the walls of the cave.
 
Silas sighed, shaking his head at the teasing while he laid back, hands under his head as he stared at the ceiling of the cave. "I suppose so... Though as i said, there is more than likely no one." He replied with a nod to her before he let his eyes close. "Good night adventurer." He replied letting himself come to an unstable sleep, eventually tossing and turning and whimpering. A nightmare upon his subconscious. It was to be expected after what he had seen in the pass. All of this was a trial of fire for him. At least he hadn't crumpled yet.
 
At some point during the night, Claradean had gotten worried by the man's tossing and turning and whimpering and figured she might as well try to help him. Getting up from the ground, she quietly made her way over to him and kneeled beside him. His brow was scrunched up as if in pain and another whimper left his lips as he squirmed about. She sighed through her nose then gently placed her fingers to his forehead, letting them dance across the wrinkled skin until he stopped moving, stopped whimpering, and relaxed, his forehead going smooth. He finally seemed to be sleeping somewhat soundly and so, she went back to her own place of rest and returned to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up to the sound of light growling and soft padding. Turning over towards the extinguished fire, she was mildly surprised to see a black wolf hovering over Silas' sleeping form. The creature was sniffing at his shoulder and head, trying to decide if he was dead and ready to eat. The man was sleeping like the dead so Claradean couldn't blame the wolf.

"Tch, tch," she clicked her teeth, catching the animal's attention as it whipped around quickly to face her.

They stared each other down, her golden eyes locking with his; the wolf padded over to her next to get a better look, sniffing at her hair and neck and twitching his ears to listen for any intruders. She allowed him to do this, slowly getting to her knees just as the creature bumped her chin with his muzzle and then yipped at her. He then butted his head against her stomach before taking off out of the cave, his rapid footfalls causing pebbles and small rocks to be disturbed from their resting places. Claradean smiled as she watched him go, happy and relieved that she was able to get him away from Silas before he could take a bite out of him.
 
Silas didn't understand, even in the semi lucid nature of his dreams how the giant monsters turned to tame and friendly animals. None the less it made him sleep soundly. He hasn't moved under the sniffs of the wolf, in his dreams he had been playing with his old dog when he was a child. A bit of a groanig yawn came as the patter of pebbles woke him. His eyes slowly prying open to look at th ceiling through hazy eyes. "Morning?" He questioned, fumbling about for his glasses that had been knocked aside by the curious wolf. Finally finding them and placing them to his features he groaned once more, sitting himself up. His spine cracking with the effort as he shuddered, stretching everything he could. He took a moment to look at the kneeling woman, a bit confused as to why she was in that position.

"Did you sleep well adventurer?" He questioned figuring he'd jump on the question before she asked him it. He offered a slight smile to her, looking as it he had the best sleep of his life while he scooted off of his bed roll, folding and rolling it all back up before attaching it to his pack once more.
 
"I did," she responded kindly, getting to her feet and snatching up her satchel while folding her blanket, "And you? You seemed to have had a few nightmares through the night. Understandable; even the toughest of men are shaken up by the creatures in the Dark Pass."

Opening up her satchel, she pulled out two apples and tossed one to Silas, an indication that it would be breakfast for now as she bit into her own apple.
 
Silas fumbled about with the apple, nearly dropping it. His eyes lifted to her, "I remember having a bad dream but it left quickly... For I don't know why." He replied looking to her for a bit of answers while he too began to eat. Tugging on his boots between bites he nodded to her slightly. Showing his thanks for the food he smiled. Slipping the bag to his shoulders he placed his sword to his bit, fitting it back into his belt. "How far are we going today?" He questioned, pulling out his map, looking for where they were. "The nearest mark is... Maybe ten miles from here."
 
"Ten miles it is," she replied, kicking the smolders and ash of their fire out of it's space so others wouldn't be able to tell right away that anyone was in here and therefore throwing bandits and hunters off their tracks, "If you're prepared for that many miles, that is."

She smiled mockingly at him, clipping her cloak over her curvy body, hiding it once more from sight, and pulling the hood over her head; "Come, scholar, before we burn more daylight than is necessary. If we leave now, we'll find ourselves passing throught the small town of Newart and we'll be able to stop there for lunch or dinner, depending on how fast we go."

Just as she was beginning to leave the cave, she whipped back around to face the man and locked her golden eyes with his gaze. She saw that he did indeed get the proper sleep and that she had stopped the nightmares before they had affected his sleep too much. She placed her fingers to his forehead and smiled knowingly.

"I'm glad I was able to help," she stated in an ominous way, pulling her hand back from him and turning to continue out of the cave.
 
He nodded, seeming almost excited of having a meal in a true building. "I can make ten miles as long as we don't go through the pass again." He replied with a bit of a pout and a nod to her. His eyes lifted, going cross eyed at her fingers as they pressed to his forehead, her cryptic words confusing him. "What's that supposed to mean?!" He asked confused before heading to his horse. Already he was checking the buckles, just being cautious as he always was. Making sure all was tight he climbed up on with all the grace you could expect of him. Nearly floppin over the other side as he climbed on he soon got himself situated before looking to the cloaked woman. Oh how he loathed that cloth now that he had seen her truly without it. None the less he did his best to hide his school yard like crush.
 
"It means I'm on your side, obviously," Claradean answered, watching with a bemused smile as Silas hopped up on his horse and nearly fell over on the other side before he righted himself.

She laughed into her hand again and rolled her eyes to the sky before turning her horse around and leading them onward. They traveled for a good part of the day, crossing rivers and clopping through the countryside, white puffy clouds gliding over head as the rolling green and gold fields stretched to the end of the sky. They sorted through hills and valleys, the woman snatching Silas from certain death a number of times when he rode too close to the edge or got too close to a troll's cave. For an intelligent and careful man, he sure was careless with his own life it seemed; perhaps it was a good investment to get a guard for his journey not to save him from the bandits, but to save him from himself. They had been clopping along for quite some time, the heat of the day burning down on them mercilessly. Claradean turned her golden eyes to her charge, her brow furrowed in slight worry, especially since they just had a run in with a pack of wild and hungry coyotes. The only reason they were saved was because just a few feet ahead of them was the carcass of a cattle.

"You okay back there, scholar?" she asked him, slowing her horse down to trot beside him.
 
Silas had started the day lost in thought, perhaps his over-active mind would prove to be the death oh him. His thoughts wandered, distracting him from the world around them. Everything from recalling whether could of the primary details of what they were looking for to thinking of her once more. Yes, he was male... Such a curse. Her question snapped him back to reality, lifting his eyes to her. He looked a little bit poor, paler, almost debydrated. "Sorry, my mind keeps running off..." He apologized, reaching back behind his neck in a somewhat self comforting embarrassed gestures before his eyes grew wide. His other hand tugged on the reigns, feeling the slug like creature firmly stretched to his neck. A bog leach. Small, simply the size of a coin they swell nearly to the size of a child's foot on blood. "Clara..." He spoke looking to her in a bit of fear, wondering if there were more, afraid to remove it himself. At least it explained his absent mindedness. He must had gotten it off the kilka and had it go from his shirt to his neck as they rode.
 
The guard turned to him once again, seeing his face suddenly pale as his eyes grew wide with a growing fear, his hand still held behind his neck as he trembled slightly. She blinked at him and furrowed her brow, "What is it?"

Moving to look behind him, gently pushing away his hand, her brow rose in mild surprise at the slimy creature firmly attached to his neck and seeming to be enjoying itself a feast on his blood. It wasn't too big, already telling her that it had been attached to him for no less than an hour, but still, it was best to get it off before it made the poor man faint and they had to stop in an open space.

"Okay, scholar, don't move," she told him, reaching into her satchel to produce a match, "Now you're going to feel it wiggling and probably a little bit of uncomfortable biting as well as the heat, but try not to panic."

Lighting the match, she grabbed the leach's body and held it underneath the area closest to its mouth. A second later, the slimy thing began to wiggle and jerk from the pain of the fire underneath, squirming in Claradean's hand before it finally sheathed its sharp teeth and popped right off of Silas's neck. Three tiny holes were the evidence left by the creature; the woman held it still squirming in her fingers, clutching the tail of the thing, and looked at the scholar.

"Do you want to keep him for testing or something?" she asked the man, holding the leach in front of his face.
 
Silas looked to her as she slipped behind him, his hand nearly stuck to him in concern. "A-alright." He replied, closing his eyes and swallowing a lump in his throat he waited, the slightest wince coming as the heat came and the vile thing released itself from him. He sighed, thankful as he leaned forward upon his horse. "I'd rather not... I don't even know what I'd do with it..." He spoke, looking at the creature with disgust. Working his pack off his back he tugged up his tunic, showing somewhat pale flesh, his back marked by scarred that almost showed he had been whipped before. "Are there any more?" He questioned, looking to his front and not seeing any, unsure about his back. He was just worried now, once one had a leach or a tick the paranoia of them usually remained for a bit.
 
Claradean stared at the pale skin of her charge, checking his back and withholding a small laugh of amusement, "Um...it appears you have obtained a couple friends."

Unfortunately for Silas, he indeed had more leaches, but then again, he was fortunate enough to have her to care for him. Using the same burn and pinch method, she got them off of the scholar and killed them between her fingers before throwing the slimy things away into the rocks. Reaching into her satchel again, she pulled out a small bag of beef jerky and handed it to him.

"Here, eat these. You're losing iron from the loss of blood, the protein will replace it," she told him, also instructing that he continue to drink water so he didn't feel dizzy. Her eyes went back to his back, her finger lightly tracing the scars she saw that were revealed by the light of the bright sun, "Where did you get these, scholar? Someone whip you?"
 
That helped explain why he had become a bit less observant and clouded. Damned leaches. "Wonderful..." He muttered before wincing with each removed creatures, finally sighing and taking up the skin of water, drinking a good bit before starting on the jerky. The fingers to his scars made him shiver, eyes falling closed. They always were an odd sensation to touch. "I wasn't always a scholar..." He spoke softly, almost regrettably.

"I was once a thief... a street urchin. The scars came from when I was taken into the school, they beat my urge to run about out of me, and punished me fittingly for stealing from them before they taught me." He replied softly, letting her examine his back as much as she pleased. Then again he didn't mind her touch, he actually welcomed it.
 
Her eyes flashed something dangerous at his words; she never condoned the abuse of a child by anyone, no matter what that child did. She had been the witness to several beatings administered to a small child's body by someone bigger and stronger than them...and she had also been an unlikely hero when she couldn't control her anger for long. She continued to study his scars, her touch now gentler as if silently giving her sympathy, before she withdrew her fingers from them and let his shirt fall back down.

"It may have worked at the time, but apparently they didn't beat it all out of you for here you are now, years later, 'running about'," she replied teasingly, taking a vial of some kind of ointment out of her satchel and, after lifting his shirt again, applied it to the marks left by the leaches on his back and then to the one on his neck, "There...this should have your wounds healed by no later than tomorrow and soothe the stinging before it begins."
 
He sighed as his tunic fell back down, looking back to her as she spoke. "I suppose not, but it broke me of becoming an adventurer like you..." He replied, "No arrow to the knee required." (Yes I had to >.<) As she tugged his shirt back up he leaned forward, letting her apply it to his back a bit easier. "Thank you again Clara... I would be very much dead by now without you." Silas spoke, seeming truly thankful for her help. His eyes still a bit hazy from the leaches but at least a bit of colour was returning to his features as he sat back up and pulled the pack to his shoulders again.

"I suppose you didn't expect me to have such a past eh?" He questioned before chewing on a bit of jerky, nodding to her slightly waiting for her to lead the way again, after all she knew the land better than he. All he knew was where they were supposed to end up. He did have to wonder how much longer until they would reach the stop she had promised.
 
(Hahaha.)

Claradean laughed a little at his statement about her being an adventurer, nodding her head onward to continue on the trail, the rocks beginning to shrink in size and give way to a flattened road that crossed a green field, "The life of an adventurer, although riddled with the excitement of the unexpected, is not always as it seems. Those like me...find it hard to settle down sometimes, our bodies fidgeting with the anxiety of seeing the same place and same walls and same land day after day after day. The need to leave and move on overcomes us and we take off again, never truly feeling happy in one place, though I myself would like to have a reason to stay in one place."

She smiled secretively at him, divulging no more on her true thoughts and feelings; "And in all honesty, in answer to your question, Silas, no. I didn't think you to have such a past as the one you described. I can't imagine you as the little child thief that you claim to be...I see you more as the reluctant little troublemaker that gets himself into dangerous situations despite his best efforts to be good, haha."
 
He smiled slightly, giving her a weakened nod. "I do my best to be good." Silas spoke with a small shrug, still munching away at the jerky and water before his sense caught up and he decided to stash it in a pouch for future use. It would be idiotic to go through their food supplies so soon into their journey. "Anyway, we still need to cross some more ground..." He was trying to simply move them along, wanting to forget a bit of his past that was welling u in his mind while he brought his horse just behind hers.
 
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