Kail Tribal
Devoted Lionheart
Lanza had been content to leave Ora in the care of Reilley, but her words stayed with him. He hadn't meant to downplay the fact that people's lives had been lost, he'd simply lived a life of putting his mercenaries - his family, first. Watching the commander before him his smile started to gradually leave him as he began to simply accept that there was no reasoning with these people. His smile disappeared completely as one of the soldiers pointed out that they had new graves to dig thanks to him. He wasn't some omnipotent being or god-like entity, he knew that, he was merely human and had to expect that nothing he did would be flawless. Even so, despite the defense of another soldier, Lanza found the predicament starting to cut him fairly deeply. His good intentions were being thrown in his face at every turn, he thought he'd been doing something right, now he had little reason to believe that, and every reason to question it. The woman made it clear that they wanted Sif to leave, and he gave his answer without needing a moment to think about it. "If she leaves, then so do we all. We'll remain for as long as we need to get patched up, then march." he declared adamantly, his smile coming to him again, with a bit more certainty this time. "We stand together." he stated, the comforting notion of camaraderie soothing his inner concerns. At least, for a moment.
The lad noticed the soldiers before him growing slightly uneasy, before suddenly he felt a hard blow to the back of his head, sending him forward towards the ground as he hadn't been expecting it at all, giving a cry of both pain and surprise. He tried throwing his arms out in front of him to catch himself, but his injured one buckled beneath the sudden pressure, sending him almost completely to the surface. He hissed in pain as a harsh jolt shot through his wounded side, hearing a warning bark from Sieg. The wolf was watching Sif intently before she took her leave, as though he had told her to stop, which she fortunately did. For a moment, Lanza lay there, trying to piece together what had happened, when he heard Sif's words and it all fell into place. His blue eyes stared at the ground before him while he stayed silent.
This was a familiar scenario, and normally he could take it in his stride, but he was getting sick of it. So sick of putting forth his best effort for what turned out to be another thankless task. Lanza had always told himself he didn't need gratitude, but it was hard to feel as though you were making a difference sometimes. Maybe this place would have been better off if he hadn't come along with everyone? The lad needed a moment to work through the negativity and self-doubt he was being hit with, honestly it was a rather rare occurence for him. Slowly, he struggled to his feet, and began to walk over to the nearby set of stairs where he took a seat. Sieg gave a soft whimper and followed, then sat beside the young man, who leaned over to gently hug his fluffy companion for a long while for some comfort before releasing him. Lanza's face twisted slightly in pain, a gloved hand reaching to hold his injured side for a moment. Had he really done things the wrong way? He'd merely acted the way he believed was right.
Admittedly, he almost wanted to run home to Roseglade, where he had a family in Tempest Company; people who understood and appreciated him. Then he looked over his shoulder. The reality of the situation began to sink in. So these people might not have formed the most cohesive team, hell, some had even lashed out at him, verbally and even physically. But each of them had some sort of reason for fighting; pain, struggles not unlike those he had endured himself. Vorsryn was quite the esteemed dragon hunter, but someone who clearly wasn't a fool didn't hunt without a reason - especially creatures so dangerous and difficult to take down. Obviously, he had been wronged, so much so that he carried what was practically a vendetta upon his shoulders. Such things weighed heavily on even the best of people.
Then there was Reilley, who seemed to have had yet to encounter much of the world's strife and sorrow, and instead saw the opportunity for adventure. This positivity was something Lanza connected greatly with, but he was all too aware that the archer was likely feeling a lot of guilt for bringing Ora along. By no means had the issue been forced, but it seemed that Ora felt so very inclined to look out for her sibling that she took every measure to ensure Reilley's safety, even contributing a great deal to their efforts despite her aloof nature. She might not have wanted to admit it, but the fact that she looked as though she'd nearly died fighting alongside them earlier spoke volumes. Even the mirror she had purchased for herself, Morawynn, had clearly endured much. There was no telling what her story was, especially as her memory seemed fragmented.
And then his blue eyes turned to the gates of Fort Hilden. Sif had passed through them, not permitted to stay within the walls of the place she fought to liberate. She likely felt like an outcast, a victim of ignorance and intolerance. For Lanza, his home had often changed but his family had always been near enough - even now he could always hop on a boat and be with them. For Sif, it likely wasn't that simple. Even if she could easily return home, who was to say she wanted to? She gave off a sort of lonely vibe, and he imagined there must just be a reason for that. This was when a revelation hit Lanza. As their leader - one they had chosen themselves - it was his responsibility to help all of them overcome these struggles. To be there for them, whether it meant protecting with a blade or lending an ear. Not to mention, he was far from the only one with problems, in fact his share of them seemed rather menial in the grand scope of things.
It had dawned upon him that loyalty wasn't inspired from nothing. When there was no distinct common cause uniting people, you had to earn loyalty. This was exactly what Talvanetha had done, though honestly he'd forgotten and what he could remember were only details he'd heard from others due to being the last of them to be recruited. But in his case at least, Talvanetha had provided a scared and lonely boy with a home, a family, and a purpose. She taught him how to fend for himself, provided him with every comfort she could afford, and believed in him even when he didn't believe in himself. He had done none of that for these people, but they had some ounce of faith in him, else they wouldn't have appointed him as their leader. It was time to return the gesture. While it was easy for him to return to his family and make a new home almost anywhere, they would doubtlessly lose theirs if he didn't stand and fight against the Embers and their invasion. Each of his allies would ultimately fail in their personal goals - perhaps even perish themselves. It was up to him to unite them, so that they could stand together against that threat. It wasn't going to be easy, but together, they could succeed. An all too familiar calm smile made it's way onto his face, and he looked to Sieg. "Thanks mate. I'm feeling much better now." he said gratefully, the wolf wagging his tail happily, picking up on his good friend's improved emotions.
Rising up, Lanza turned and began to walk towards the fort's gates. Ora was being seen to with Reilley, so he couldn't do much to help there, and right now it seemed Sif had cause to be a bit more emotionally compromised right now than Vorsryn was. Sieg however decided to make his way over to the dragon slayer, sitting before him calmly with a soft bark as though to say hello, fluffy tail wagging softly behind him. The wolf ultimately followed when he went to meet Jexxi, and gave her a similar bark of a greeting with a big silly smile, followed up by an excitable attempt to lick her face. Fortunately Lanza had managed to leave just as Sif was leaving for the camp, and so he followed her until she reached it, and before long was calmly approaching the giantess, his boots gently padding through the snow before he wordlessly took a seat beside her, looking up at the sky. A silence passed, naught but the cold winds hitting their ears, until the young mercenary finally spoke up. "Sif...what's your home like?" he asked. It was a simple enough question, if perhaps random. He had considered bringing up the fact that she'd been cast out, but not only did it seem as though the lad who'd seen to her before him had covered that, he also felt as though focusing on that negative subject might not be best right now.
The lad noticed the soldiers before him growing slightly uneasy, before suddenly he felt a hard blow to the back of his head, sending him forward towards the ground as he hadn't been expecting it at all, giving a cry of both pain and surprise. He tried throwing his arms out in front of him to catch himself, but his injured one buckled beneath the sudden pressure, sending him almost completely to the surface. He hissed in pain as a harsh jolt shot through his wounded side, hearing a warning bark from Sieg. The wolf was watching Sif intently before she took her leave, as though he had told her to stop, which she fortunately did. For a moment, Lanza lay there, trying to piece together what had happened, when he heard Sif's words and it all fell into place. His blue eyes stared at the ground before him while he stayed silent.
This was a familiar scenario, and normally he could take it in his stride, but he was getting sick of it. So sick of putting forth his best effort for what turned out to be another thankless task. Lanza had always told himself he didn't need gratitude, but it was hard to feel as though you were making a difference sometimes. Maybe this place would have been better off if he hadn't come along with everyone? The lad needed a moment to work through the negativity and self-doubt he was being hit with, honestly it was a rather rare occurence for him. Slowly, he struggled to his feet, and began to walk over to the nearby set of stairs where he took a seat. Sieg gave a soft whimper and followed, then sat beside the young man, who leaned over to gently hug his fluffy companion for a long while for some comfort before releasing him. Lanza's face twisted slightly in pain, a gloved hand reaching to hold his injured side for a moment. Had he really done things the wrong way? He'd merely acted the way he believed was right.
Admittedly, he almost wanted to run home to Roseglade, where he had a family in Tempest Company; people who understood and appreciated him. Then he looked over his shoulder. The reality of the situation began to sink in. So these people might not have formed the most cohesive team, hell, some had even lashed out at him, verbally and even physically. But each of them had some sort of reason for fighting; pain, struggles not unlike those he had endured himself. Vorsryn was quite the esteemed dragon hunter, but someone who clearly wasn't a fool didn't hunt without a reason - especially creatures so dangerous and difficult to take down. Obviously, he had been wronged, so much so that he carried what was practically a vendetta upon his shoulders. Such things weighed heavily on even the best of people.
Then there was Reilley, who seemed to have had yet to encounter much of the world's strife and sorrow, and instead saw the opportunity for adventure. This positivity was something Lanza connected greatly with, but he was all too aware that the archer was likely feeling a lot of guilt for bringing Ora along. By no means had the issue been forced, but it seemed that Ora felt so very inclined to look out for her sibling that she took every measure to ensure Reilley's safety, even contributing a great deal to their efforts despite her aloof nature. She might not have wanted to admit it, but the fact that she looked as though she'd nearly died fighting alongside them earlier spoke volumes. Even the mirror she had purchased for herself, Morawynn, had clearly endured much. There was no telling what her story was, especially as her memory seemed fragmented.
And then his blue eyes turned to the gates of Fort Hilden. Sif had passed through them, not permitted to stay within the walls of the place she fought to liberate. She likely felt like an outcast, a victim of ignorance and intolerance. For Lanza, his home had often changed but his family had always been near enough - even now he could always hop on a boat and be with them. For Sif, it likely wasn't that simple. Even if she could easily return home, who was to say she wanted to? She gave off a sort of lonely vibe, and he imagined there must just be a reason for that. This was when a revelation hit Lanza. As their leader - one they had chosen themselves - it was his responsibility to help all of them overcome these struggles. To be there for them, whether it meant protecting with a blade or lending an ear. Not to mention, he was far from the only one with problems, in fact his share of them seemed rather menial in the grand scope of things.
It had dawned upon him that loyalty wasn't inspired from nothing. When there was no distinct common cause uniting people, you had to earn loyalty. This was exactly what Talvanetha had done, though honestly he'd forgotten and what he could remember were only details he'd heard from others due to being the last of them to be recruited. But in his case at least, Talvanetha had provided a scared and lonely boy with a home, a family, and a purpose. She taught him how to fend for himself, provided him with every comfort she could afford, and believed in him even when he didn't believe in himself. He had done none of that for these people, but they had some ounce of faith in him, else they wouldn't have appointed him as their leader. It was time to return the gesture. While it was easy for him to return to his family and make a new home almost anywhere, they would doubtlessly lose theirs if he didn't stand and fight against the Embers and their invasion. Each of his allies would ultimately fail in their personal goals - perhaps even perish themselves. It was up to him to unite them, so that they could stand together against that threat. It wasn't going to be easy, but together, they could succeed. An all too familiar calm smile made it's way onto his face, and he looked to Sieg. "Thanks mate. I'm feeling much better now." he said gratefully, the wolf wagging his tail happily, picking up on his good friend's improved emotions.
Rising up, Lanza turned and began to walk towards the fort's gates. Ora was being seen to with Reilley, so he couldn't do much to help there, and right now it seemed Sif had cause to be a bit more emotionally compromised right now than Vorsryn was. Sieg however decided to make his way over to the dragon slayer, sitting before him calmly with a soft bark as though to say hello, fluffy tail wagging softly behind him. The wolf ultimately followed when he went to meet Jexxi, and gave her a similar bark of a greeting with a big silly smile, followed up by an excitable attempt to lick her face. Fortunately Lanza had managed to leave just as Sif was leaving for the camp, and so he followed her until she reached it, and before long was calmly approaching the giantess, his boots gently padding through the snow before he wordlessly took a seat beside her, looking up at the sky. A silence passed, naught but the cold winds hitting their ears, until the young mercenary finally spoke up. "Sif...what's your home like?" he asked. It was a simple enough question, if perhaps random. He had considered bringing up the fact that she'd been cast out, but not only did it seem as though the lad who'd seen to her before him had covered that, he also felt as though focusing on that negative subject might not be best right now.
