Panting, he heard, the winds howling against his ears with the rumble of sprinting footsteps against the ground, dust and debris kicked up at its wake in plumes of dark clouds. The quaint outlines of zipping trees blurred past him in a flurry of blinding motion and an echo of snarling hunger. Far from starvation, it was excitement, the explosive kind ill explained through words, adrenaline perhaps but that didn't seem right either. No matter the reason, his grip turned vice-like against the saddle, his stance low behind their mane, a bellowing shroud of scarlet autumn against the winds as they leapt through narrowing woodlands.
She was terrifyingly quick in that manner, precise enough to call it lethal. Thin slits beyond the helmet over his head and it was easy to come to appreciate that, this would be a lot harder with his lead. Turning around with his free hand outstretched, he grunted, reaching back at the quiver swinging violently at the end of the saddle, the bow not too far away; swinging violently at their rapid momentum. If conditions were more ideal, they'd have finished this ages ago, there was nothing more difficult than a fleeing target; nor one as adept at such endeavors so as to call it beyond simply annoying. A certain someone would say that it was his fault although he'd never boasted about his marksmanship. One arrow slipped into his hands as he scoured for the bow, looking back occasionally as they jinked right, the annoying thing was trying its hardest to lose them between the greens; a shame that it'd met its match.
Bringing the items in front of him, his gaze trained forward, the sparsely dense foliage ahead and the backside of their timid target. Almost as large as his compatriot and feathered where she was scaled and furred, two legged as opposed to her four, beaked and slender than a robust tension of muscles and a snout almost canine yet lizard-like. One big, flightless bird it was, nothing special if not for how hard they were to catch and how annoying they were to crops. Probably why the rewards were so high in the first place, he thought, glancing down whilst contemplating the shot as a sudden weight wafted over his head along with a raised brow, {You can't be serious…} he heard her chastise, a low whisper echoing from within him alongside matching snarling growls from below, subtle but more than audible.
"The wind is a terrible foe, I must say that I barely missed that last shot"
{Six times?}
"They were all exceptionally close" She grumbled, annoyance wrapped around the fact that they had to be here in the first place. There was no such thing as an adventurer well equipped to handle everything, some were well versed in subjugation, others had never failed as an escort whilst some bore the honour of treasure hunters. Chasing down and eliminating an annoying little pest fell more in the hands of general hunters, the experienced kind, not least two escorts who'd never attempted such a thing a day in their lives. Bandits, however, had become quite the pests themselves, from now on it was probably best to throw their earnings into the town's vaults like everybody else did; would've saved them the hassle of being robbed.
"This one might end differently, straight enough I say" He could practically feel the glare from below even though he couldn't see it but a lack of options gave even the most ridiculous ideas purchase, {It'll get too far if I slow down} she mumbled as his eyes narrowed beneath the visor, "Can't miss then can I?" one well placed shot before he was thrown off the saddle, "Leave it to me"
There was no response afterwards, just a silent nod and his head lightening up as he prepared to let go of the saddle. The helmet didn't make things any easier through the visor, if it was going to be a good shot it'd have to be the head; impossible with his skills and even more so at this angle. Their body then, closer to the thighs, nothing fatal but a disturbance enough to slow it down—would she be able to catch up with it then? Probably, he thought and braced himself. Exhaling once before knocking the arrow in as he positioned the bow ahead, a sudden leap over a fallen log tossing him off the saddle and dozens of feet above the ground. He was no great marksman, barely a decent shot but he could react fast enough, muscles and an instinct trained to exceptional heights in the art of combat. The creatures silhouette threatened to slip past his peripherals but he'd already fired long before then—a well placed shot whistling in its direction as he spun, free falling from the air towards the approaching ground.
'Damnit…'
"ARGH!" He croaked, a thick branch swatting him from the air with mocking glee just as another followed suit from below, snapping in two at the wake of his body plummeting to the ground with a sickening thud, crashing onto the hard ground and tumbling through the grass before a protruding rock brought him to a sudden halt as he grumbled; the sounds of groaning branches and rustling leaves filling the silence between his muffled curses. That hurt more than it was supposed to, he thought, slowly turning a head where the two had disappeared into the wilderness and hissing as he did. Maybe just a minute, he could get up after that…
The thought had never really came to mind, not in conversations wrought with ale, not in the blissful satisfactions of a good fight hard won nor the nights shared in planning. Fleeting moments or not, it was a preposterous thing to think about, the thought of retirement. There was a thrill to it you couldn't put down in words, they'd all started out the same; never about the job and all about the money. Funny how quickly that seemed to change. No one enjoyed what they were more than an adventurer could say about it. So why end it at all? Adventures never had to end...not until death. Fifteen years had been like this, the thrill had been exhilarating so why…no, better yet, what was so terrifying about that?
The crunch of dead leaves echoed with one moaning foot shuffled ahead of the other, groaning again as he swayed sideways and leaned against a shattered trunk of wood. His back still hurt and his head still felt like a hammer had bashed the thing to mush. Idiot, he grumbled. Of course it took a nasty fall on the back to realize he hadn't paid his armour any mind. The protective incantations set over it had dampened the hit just barely, crisis, he should've known it'd expired by now, flickering white lights danced above the dull silver grey's in vaguely recognizable inscriptions vague, blurred now but barely operational, a cautionary sign that they'd ran their course. What a bummer, mending a spell cost a lot less than redoing it altogether. Another slash in their budgets, he mumbled through a soft whimper.
He'd been following the trail for a while now, lifting his head if not only to glean over the shattered greenery, a frown hidden behind the helmet. Damn the fact they hadn't thought about it fighting back, a real hunter would've known that, courtesy of being outside of your element. Val could handle that much though couldn't she? The thought came and left, adding more to his worries than it did in easing them. "Tch" He stumbled forward, one hand on the sword slung beside his waist with an arm bracing his way ahead.
Deep grooves and snapped trees led him enough towards where he assumed the fight had ended, the signs became less obvious the more he followed and seemingly in place of shattered tree bark were scorch marks still smoking from across the ground. His grip on. the handle of his sword tightening for just a moment only to twitch at the sudden rustles of movement as he quickly slid the blade free with a start. "Val!! Val!!" He shouted, the sound echoing into silence. It wasn't like the thing could've done anything significant anyway, the worst that might've happened is having lost the kill entirely, not the fight. The surroundings rustled with swaying leaves this time, a fleeting glimpse in his peripherals catching sight of a shadow just beyond the scorching rubble before toppling over in a crash.
Tense, he wasn't tense. Turning around to face the scene head on, the winds bellowed against the furs of his collared cape. "Val?!" He shouted into the expanse for a last confirmation, cursing as the rustles came again, this time rapid with thumping steps as a silhouette, visible in a split second blur of movement, sprang from beneath the undergrowth just in time to ring with the clash of swung metal as he slashed forward; pushed back by the force. Dust kicked up upon impact with a haze that did it all in obscuring the location of his target. A solitary issue as the latter had no problem swiping forward with a heavy claw, a pained groan slipping past him as he brought the blade to his side and brace with his shoulders. The impact sent him sideways with sparks of flying amber and a shuddering throb resonating through his arm; slowing him down too much to properly land a swing in response; an upwards slash to meet its height and a deadly blow that sang through nothing but air.
Fast, he thought. Quick whited and calculating, how had they even managed to corner something like—He twirled to turn around and yelped as the creature grabbed. "Crisis!" He cried out, gently dropped onto the ground a moment after with a gust of sudden winds and the dust clearing up around him enough before a familiar face loomed from over him from above, feeling that subtle weight in his head again, {You got hurt?} she inquired, autumn slit eyes catching sight of the faint shimmers of flickering white light fading into the winds over his armour, a frown creasing her features or at least it was easy to assume it was one. "Slightly, next time, I think I'll remember to grab onto something whilst falling through a tree" he said, wincing as a gentle foot kept him still against the ground, {Idiot, the enchantment is barely there. You forgot about it didn't you?} he sighed, "Partially.." dull amber light soon enveloped his chest not long after, the pain subsiding enough that he felt it bearable enough to move although he could still feel where the damage had been dealt; the pain had been nullified but the bruise remained—a fracture maybe too. He wondered what kind of magic that was.
{Better?}
He huffed, nodding as he slowly lifted himself off the ground to sit upright. "Like you wouldn't believe" he mumbled, feeling something soft wrapping around behind his back before he'd even realized her tail was offering support, "You could've responded earlier"
{Barely crossed my mind, actually, I thought it'd be fun to do otherwise} She mused, coughing after a brief moment of silence, {Sorry about that}tilting her head as he shook his, she stared at him with a hint of amusement chuckling between the thought {Were you worried? Things were going quite well, actually}
"Really?"
A branch crackled, followed promptly with a crunching snap before the sound of crashing timber bellowed against the ground,{Well...Mostly…it was annoyingly persistent} he rolled his eyes, trying to lift himself from the ground again. The request had never stated they'd wanted it subdued rather than killed anyway, a flawed manner of thinking but they'd simply have to avoid having to do that next time, assuming there ever was. He grunted, this had been a hassle better left for bitter memories of the past, something to reminisce over in the future. "Where does all this imply the need to attack me by the way?"
She scoffed, {You're the one so persistent about swords recently, I thought it'd be good practice}
"I could've killed you"
{Oh?}
"Certainly"
{With those skills?}
He paused, frowning at the comment, "I thought I was at least a little decent..." he'd been practicing quite diligently, perhaps not great but there was exceptional progress that'd been made.
{In the far future maybe, besides, why are you so obsessed with it anyway?} He went to pick up the blade laying unceremoniously on the ground and shrugged, "Does that not seem more appropriate? I think customers naturally trust a swordsman"
She groaned, {…Dear Theia}
Taking a look around, it seemed the short scuffle the two had had, had indeed held no weight to it other than just that; taking annoyingly longer than it should have. What had been a chase turned a desperate bid at physical confrontation before she'd abandoned any hopes of capturing the thing alive, its feathers laid strewn across the ground than what was nearly anything dignified as he wondered what the body looked like, searching for it as a blaze of heat swept the charred grounds whilst he moved over to brush past a bed of leaves peppered black beneath the ash; glancing back only as she let out a huff from beside him, crouching and resting her head atop her hand.
"Tell me we can eat something good after this, it's been the same stale rations the guild's been using for decades, they treat us like soldiers" She muttered over him, wincing at the thought, "Wait, don't tell me that's where their making it"
He frowned, bringing his sights elsewhere as he answered, "Before wizards and witches joined the fray, it was a place for retired knights to earn a semblance of some action as hired swords"
"But knights are rich?"
"Some, the military is drilled so well into their heads that they can't help but eat anything else whilst on duty. It's tradition and now that's our food"
She grumbled, muttering a curse beneath her breath and honestly he couldn't blame that, everyone hated it but no one seemed keen enough to change it. For that much a good meal felt warranted. "But of course, this is enough silver to earn a meal I think" the rest would have to hoard its way back to town, he pondered on an inn but at this point it was probably best to stick to how they'd been managing with it up until now. Saved more money that way.
At the mention of mulling over their rewards to pay for a meal, her face scrunched up in confusion, "There's gold all over you"
"Gold?"
She stood up, staring him over as though trying to find something that wasn't immediately obvious. "You've been covered in it for weeks, it's been a little more than odd watching you carry it around rather than using it"
He hadn't been staring at her directly up until now, still mulling over the location of their bird and finding it a joke before he'd heard her seriously contemplating the fact that there was money she hadn't been made aware of. Caution writ behind the helmet before turning to stare up at autumn slits narrowed over him quizzically, draconic features gone as the fractured light of the sun breaching through the canopy's caught the glint of gold jewelry glistening like shimmering gemstones. "What are you—" before he could question it any further, she'd already closed the distance between them and had a hand grasping at a pouch slung around his waist, opposite where his sword sat "It's not a lot but its valuable, an item maybe?" she muttered, he attempted to grab it back, too slow and too challenged in height to stop her from stepping away with it, "Val, seriously! That's a water pouch, what are you doing?!""
There wasn't any stopping her, her eyes practically glued onto the pouch like an animal, whatever words of protest that were being shouted fell on conveniently deaf ears. Cursing alongside a huff, he stepped forward for it again and met her tail barring him from getting any closer. Wrestling it out of her hands seemed futile, neither were words it seemed, watching as she flipped it over and shook the pouch's contents into her hands with a gasp, a strained sigh slipped past him as she stared at the items dazedly, Damn it, he chastised to himself. "Beryl told me this was a bad idea, haaa, why do dragons need to be so sensitive around gold—"
"GOHLM!!" He grunted, suddenly grabbed from the ground and trapped within. the confines of a tightening bear hug; their bodies so close they might've merged into one if neither of them were careful. "Val…" he mumbled into her, heard by no one as she practically nuzzled against him, "You're going…to kill me…"
"Ah!" She loosened her grip after that, remembering the fact he'd still been injured before glancing down at him in unsuppressed glee, "My name's on one of them!"
"You don't...say"
"Is this a gemstone? The colours are lovely!"
"Autumn…does seem to be your style…"She let go of him a moment later, a hand splayed out in front of her whilst another hovered the ring above her finger in wonder, eyes wide and too preoccupied on the subject that it took a second before it registered what the item had likely been meant for. Blinking as the cogs in her head whirred rather than the rumbles of her draconic instincts, the reason was clear; a gift, right? He'd clearly made an effort to hide it so it was probably a surprise too, a great one at that. Thinking on those two things, then she'd been rude right now hadn't she? An internal panic bubbled in her chest as she came to that. sudden realization, staring back at him as he rubbed his throbbing back before noticing that she'd been staring him and tilted his head whilst she asked, "Were you…planning on gifting this yourself?" she smiled warily.
A scoff of amusement couldn't help itself from him, inciting a drawn out sigh as she grumbled at herself, "You were, weren't you? Aargh, I should've thought about that! It…happens"
The other jewelry wrapped around her body seemed to glimmer and accentuate that fact, barely bothered at that, he shrugged, "I was warned enough not to take too long about it, it's a miracle you hadn't done this ages ago"
"That…did come to mind a lot" She sulked, annoyed at the fact that that was right or that she'd contemplated grabbing the pouch ages ago, he couldn't know and frankly found it too funny to care.
"I guess I'll be a little faster next time" She groaned, autumn slit eyes lowering at the ornament and only now noticing that there'd been two, one with his name engraved within, similarly designed but missing the bright autumn gemstone embedded in her own, causing her to scowl, silently hissing in a breath before lifting her gaze to meet him again. "I'd thought of silver actually, but then that wouldn't have fit so it had to be gold with some kind of gemstone on it and—"
"Don't make this worse," He blinked, staring at her as she seemed to mentally prepare herself for something, "Alright, when are you going to ask?"
..
….
...
"…Val, we've undoubtedly lost the conditions to do so"
"We'll pretend like nothing ever happened" She prepared herself again, handing the rings back and nodding to herself as though ready, "Right, what were we talking about again?"
"You can't be serious" He chuckled, the joke half but shared before she frowned, placing every fiber of her being into acting as clueless in the matter as she possibly could, "What?" she questioned, a chortle still slipping past him until he'd regained the composure to speak again, "Nothing, of course, I guess you'd have forgotten so we'll start over"
It wasn't where he'd intended it to be, missing the flare, the planning ahead of time that might've made it a little more memorable but somehow this fit just as well. Unexpected, messy, just like they'd met. The silence too couldn't have been better, as though the woods themselves held its breath. He knelt in front of her, offering the ring beneath her growing excitement, all acting dissolved when he'd exhausted the painful suspense enough to finally ask "Val.." Her heart palpated, "Would you—"
Grrrr
…
Grrrr
Wind whistled between the silence, followed only comically by his own stomach grumbling in annoyance. "I really should've thought this through better" He sighed exasperatedly, grunting before he stood, "Maybe after a meal, now, where did you leave that thing anyway?"
"Over there—" She frowned as he turned, "Wait! Can't we finish this first?!"
"You're drooling" Pausing to confirm the validity behind that and wiping it off, she hurriedly followed behind him in a huff; "At least the ring, Gohlm, it's beautiful! Is it rude to just wear it for now?"
"You've got gold all over you"
"None of them are rings, much less an engagement ring, just five minutes; I'll wear it for five minutes"
"Theia help me…"