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Post by Jaiden on Jan 6, 2007 12:08:12 GMT -5
Jaiden couldn't have been more relieved that they could finally take a break. They'd walked all night, which left him wondering why they had ever conisidered heading to the northern border of Iodar - they would've never made it, he was sure of that now. While they probably could have rested hours ago, he wanted to make sure they were safely inside Garumeth before doing so... buying slaves was something he imagined that Nymandine got up early to do.
Now they found themselves on a wide plain that stretched farther than either of them could see, and Jaiden wasn't going to pass up the opportunity that this large, conveniently placed tree was giving them to finally rest their feet. A nap in the shade didn't sound bad right now, considering they'd gotten no sleep at all. He tossed his bag down and himself soon after, sprawling out beneath the cool shelter of the leaves.
"Alright, time to rest, I think." He had his eyes closed, trying to shake the sensation of "getting away." Whenever he was optimistic about something, it always tended to blow up in his face, so it was best not to think positive just yet. "We've earned it, if you ask me. There's some water in my bag. It's obviously not cold, but it goes better with jerky than nothing." He didn't seem too enthusiastic about retreiving these items himself - in fact, he looked content to just lay there, immobile.
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Aubrey
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Post by Aubrey on Jan 7, 2007 2:17:34 GMT -5
Aubrey didn't answer, instead laying down in the shade beside Jaiden- yet not too closely- and closing his eyes. He was so very tired.. Between the events of yesterday and the day before, and all of the not sleeping that he got to do plus the miles of trekking they'd just done.. The poor kid was exhausted.
"Is it safe to sleep..?" he asked tiredly, words slurred from being only half-conscious as it were. It was a miracle he'd been able to walk so far and still be awake enough to ask a rather good question on the manner. Resting was one thing, sleeping was another. With eyes already closed and his hair about him and the ground near his head, the teen looked quite pretty, even with the raggedy clothing and the circles under his eyes.
In fact, he lay on his stomach, arms folded beneath him so that his hands could be seen above his shoulders. If one looked closely enough, through some of the holes, they could see the wounds and welts and angry bruises picked up from a certain someone's whip.. Yet, it did not seem to bother Aubrey in the slightest, the cute little blonde content to lay like that as long as it took to either wake up feeling refreshed or wake up and run for his life..
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Post by Jaiden on Jan 7, 2007 14:44:19 GMT -5
"Safe enough, I think." Jaiden yawned widely, hoping that his assessment was true. It was a long shot that the Nymandine would look for them here, and even then the Centaur probably didn't care for their presence in their lands. Though, if a patrol happened upon them while they were resting, hopefully they'd be well-natured... "I can stay up and watch if you'd like. I'll just sleep once you wake up. No big deal." The youth rubbed his eyes and sat up, wondering how long he could last with this. Like... twenty minutes, maybe? As long as Aubrey fell asleep before he did, it was fine.
He wasn't feeling all that observant, but he did notice some of Aubrey's wounds - a lot of them looked like they would be gone in days, but it wasn't wise to risk it. He'd take the boy to a cleric the first chance he got. It would probably be easier to find a doctor, but they aren't nearly as likely to help someone who doesn't have any Ka. "I'll take care of you. Don't worry." He succumbed to another one of those big, cat-like yawns.
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Aubrey
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Post by Aubrey on Jan 7, 2007 16:47:36 GMT -5
Aubrey nodded tiredly, a yawn escaping him in response to Jaiden's own yawn. So much had happened lately.. So much.. And then, the cute little blonde was asleep, breathing becoming steady with slumber.
It was a rare sight, seeing Aubrey so unguarded, so helpless. Of course, he had been little more than defenseless when in Iodar, too, but now.. There was a certain relief about his slender form, as if he were recovering from his traumas in his sleep..
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Post by Jaiden on Jan 7, 2007 23:07:49 GMT -5
Aubrey had fallen asleep... that was good. That meant he could too. He honestly didn't feel like they were in any danger here - the Centaurs had shown nothing but kindness and respect when he had come with his father. That was a long time ago, but he was stubborn and quite sleepy. He chuckled at the slumbering boy, who looked very adorable in his current state, and tried to get comfortable himself. Using his bag as a sort of make-shift pillow, he nestled down and eventually dozed off himself.
(Feel free to advance time with your next post. :D)
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Aubrey
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Post by Aubrey on Jan 8, 2007 19:08:26 GMT -5
Aubrey wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when he awoke, the suns were bright, and the day felt much more refreshing. He looked around him, still laying in that strange way that he did, until he was fully awake. He was laying awfully close to Jaiden, something he fixed when he noticed it, and must have attempted to snuggle closer in his sleep or something.
Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes, thinking about how peaceful everything seemed. Everything felt fresh and new, and he felt perfectly awake for the first time in a long time. He smiled, thinking about how nice it was to be able to wake up when he wanted to, and how it was nice to not have to hear Eligor yelling at him to get to work or to do this or to do that..
He smiled again, and if anyone saw, it wasn't unpretty.
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Post by Jaiden on Jan 9, 2007 17:09:58 GMT -5
Jaiden had been having a strange dream. This wasn't anything new for him, but it was still a bit jarring because he had no idea where he was when he woke up. Only a few minutes had passed from Aubrey's own rousing when his eyes opened, blinking twice before settling on the boy. That's right. We're in Garumeth. He rose to a sitting position, hand trying to shield his sensitive eyes.
"Well, looks like we're still alive." He began to brush the grass from his robes, surprised at how warm it was out here. No ambushes had come in the morning, no surprise Nymandine attacks - with his luck, he had been counting on one or the other, so he appeared generally surprised after waking. "I guess that means we have a late breakfast, then." He wasn't much of a morning person, it seemed, judging by his efforts to avoid direct sunlight. Aubrey looked pleased, and he found that it improved his own mood quite a bit. "I trust you slept alright?" His eyes had become a shocking hue of green, and he opened his mouth to carefully break off the clay "fangs."
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Aubrey
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Post by Aubrey on Jan 9, 2007 17:15:20 GMT -5
Aubrey seemed mildly surprised by Jaiden's waking, but nodded, still smiling though now it was softer, more shy. He stared for a moment as Jaiden removed his 'fangs', watching the process as well as studying the other male's pretty eyes. Aubrey liked eyes; they showed you what was in a person's soul, or so he thought, at any rate. And Jaiden's eyes were very pretty.. Not too bright, not too dark, but just the right color of green to match the rest of his strange foreigness.
"I slept fine," he said, brightly. He was a bit more of a morning person, often waking up quickly or at least doing what had to be done quicky while he did wake up fully. "What about you?"
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Post by Jaiden on Jan 9, 2007 17:25:24 GMT -5
"Would've been nicer if we had a bed, but I guess it went alright." He left out the part about how it'd been quite a while since he'd had a dream like that, and how he hoped it didn't become habit here in Garumeth. His dreams belonged to him - he never liked to trouble anyone else with them, because that's what they usually turned out to be. Just trouble. Jaiden got to his feet, standing on his tip-toes and stretching as much as humanly possible before relaxing. After this, he surveyed their surroundings, frowning thoughtfully.
"Well... I'm not really sure what time it is, but there's not much to eat. Might as well do it while we walk. If we're lucky we'll find a place to bathe before we reach Nemwe... I feel dirty just from being in Iodar. It's a bit of a walk, but we've got some things to think about, so it might be good for us." He knelt down to retrieve the pack he'd used as a makeshift pillow, slinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go."
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Aubrey
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Post by Aubrey on Jan 9, 2007 17:34:43 GMT -5
Aubrey mimicked Jaiden, standing and stretching before he relaxed and looked around. It was almost cute, if not kind of creepy. He listened intently as Jaiden spoke, nodding every now and again in agreement.
"Do you think the centaurs will like us?" he asked, voice small as he did. He didn't want to run into anyone who might return him to Iodar, especially not someone from a race that was supposed to be gentle and kind.. "I mean.. We're gonna need help, whether it's food, ka, or.. anything else, really.."
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Post by Jaiden on Jan 9, 2007 17:40:11 GMT -5
"The best we can do is hope, right?" He turned his head back towards Aubrey and winked, hitching up his bag again. "There isn't a lot of point in worrying about it. I doubt there'd be anything we could do against them if they wanted to do something about us being here, but there were very charming last time I visited." Granted, he was just a child then, but how much could change in a decade? A lot, he was sure. He grumbled quietly as he began to move.
"Just keep your eyes open for a stream or a pond. I'm dirty and it's kind of hot out here. That's my first priority." Jaiden sounded quite vain and more than a little bossy as he said this, but one could imagine that this was just who he was.
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Aubrey
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Post by Aubrey on Jan 9, 2007 18:42:00 GMT -5
Aubrey didn't seem to mind at all whether Jaiden sounded vain or not. Hell, the man had saved his life! He had a young teen who was now dedicated to him, and actually did start looking for any form of body of water. Aubrey felt indebted to Jaiden, and hopefully he could repay the other someday soon.
"It sure is pretty," he noted, looking around for said stream or pond. "Do you think we'll make it through all of this alive..?" A grim question, but one Aubrey wanted to know. Even if they did make it to Nemwe, they had no ka. Jaiden had spent all of his saving Aubrey, and Aubrey had been stripped of all of his possessions when he was sold as a slave. What would happen if they wanted to stay at an inn, or they needed to buy food? They needed ka sooner or later..
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Post by Jaiden on Jan 9, 2007 18:57:21 GMT -5
Jaiden wasn't terribly worried about money. While there was the possibility that no one would be interested in what he was selling, he never really considered it. If he wanted a customer, there tended to be one - the future was always in demand. He snickered quietly to himself as he padded across the plains, warm hair tossling about his hair. "Why so negative all of the sudden? I told you not to worry about it." He spun around, walking backwards for the moment so he could look Aubrey in the eyes. "We've got enough food to last a day or two if we make it stretch. Once we get to Nemwe, I'll make us some money. There's always a su-" He blinked and grinned mischeviously, pleased that he'd caught himself. "Customer around when I need one. We'll have inn fare in no time. Promise."
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Aubrey
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Post by Aubrey on Jan 9, 2007 19:49:24 GMT -5
Aubrey flushed at this, unsure, but smiled, and nodded. He felt silly now, having been worried when Jaiden obviously had things under control. "Okay," he said. He himself had no real skills aside from cleaning, cooking-- dear Inve, was his cooking good!-- and a few other household commodities that would do little good in the wilderness.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be such a downer," he apologized, cheeks retaining their flush and lips forming a small smile. "I've just got a lot of problems is all.. Nothing that would hurt anyone else or anything like that, but just stuff I need to make ammends with.." Like his father dying.. He had yet to have done that. And Loran..
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Post by Jaiden on Jan 9, 2007 19:58:57 GMT -5
"Kid, everyone has problems." Wasn't that the truth... in fact, one of Jaiden's own was his inability to call Aubrey by his name. He couldn't help it. "There'll be plenty of time to deal with the past once we've taken care of ourselves in the now. Speaking of which... what are you going to do now that you're out of that place?" He'd retrieved some jerky from his pack and made short work of it after asking, eyes scanning the countryside for a place to bathe. "I mean... everyone does something. You could be a fighter, or something. Maybe a wizard of some sort. That would be interesting." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, more or less unaware that he'd never told Aubrey what he did himself.
Honestly, Aubrey didn't seem much like the warrior type. He'd look cute in robes, though... Jaiden blushed slightly at this thought and muttered something to himself about needing to get back to society. He liked Aubrey, but he shouldn't really be thinking things like that.
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