Welcome to Gaia! ::

Leaving Zena was like carving a hole in his chest. Constantly Tryston was reminded of his mentor, no his father, and it haunted him. Why out of all things had his brothers gotten so greedy for money? Did they truly not honor the sword or the rest of the brothers at all? Who would they kill next? Such thoughts constantly had him clutching at his sword and throwing blows at random. He would travel, yes, but he would not stop training. His hidden anger and frustration made certain of that!

And now he was traveling into the land where that woman hopefully was. Such thoughts calmed the anger, but only served to twist his gut in conflicted feelings. He prayed the gods had kept her alive and that surely now she was doing well. She would perhaps even be married and settled. Another twist of his gut. Why did such a thought bother him? Frowning, Tryston decided to just venture forward rather than dwell on such a thought.

He had a mission to discover the real reason for that avalanche in the mountains. He was a seeker of truth and in time he was certain to find it. Then he could go home and prove himself to be a true brother rather than the traitor they painted as dead in the snows...

He honestly hadn't expected to find her so easily. Tryston quietly walked around the trees as he followed the leaf woman. She was alive and seemed well from the looks of it. And as usual was doing something weird with the earth. If there was one thing Tryston couldn't figure out it was Constynce's obsession with dirt and plants.

He much preferred spending time on his blade or watching the snows. A rare smile of amusement did flicker over his features at the thought - though perhaps it was even stirred by seeing Constynce smiling herself. Though at the same time realization made his features harden again into a cold mask - if she was doing so well then surely she wasn't worried about what had happened in the mountain pass.

Was it worth coming back here to investigate if she was doing fine? The last thing he wanted to do was stir up trouble for the young woman, especially if she was already someone's wife. Shouldn't he just let her live her life peacefully? The thought made Tryston take a step back. Then again what if she was connected to the incident?

What if she knew more than she let on? Was her innocence just a ploy? Or maybe now that time had passed she had more information? He thought of her fiance and his jaw tightened. Something about that man made his stomach knot. So why not use the bride to find the answers?

But as he watched her Tryston's gaze softened once more. Despite all of it he couldn't shake the image of the Constynce he had known before the accident. Could he truly bring her harm?

While Tryston had wanted to stay within the shadows the man's natural instincts kicked in. Without thinking the man had gracefully and silently left the silence of the trees to squat next to the leaf woman, "Your hand. How bad is the cut?" His once golden gaze, now silver still radiated a sincerity that rarely was for anyone other than Constynce. It was a gaze of a guardian full of worry.

His hands reached out for hers and Tryston studied it, "We'll need to bandage your fingers before they get infected." He murmured before his gaze rose once more to study her. Awkwardly he realized the situation that he was in, but it was too late. Tryston was perching himself right next to the leaf woman and had already spoken. If she recognized him then that was up to her and if not then he hoped that he could shrug off the encounter quickly and hide once more.

But....wouldn't he hope that she recognized him? He shouldn't since that was a risk to his duty, but at the same time the man found that he did hope. A hope which surprised him and even further secured him in place as he gingerly held her injured hand in his own and waited for her response.

His gaze widened as she almost spit out his name. But then the crisis seemed to be over as she surely thought otherwise. After all who would expect this stranger to be a dead man? He was reminded of his changed appearance once more and the iceling's chest knotted. It was better this way - surely. She would be safe and he could just continue observing from a distance.

"Either way I can wrap it for you." He replied quietly before taking out a salve and some bandages. Ever since traveling on his own the man had become quite capable of healing himself, a necessity as a rogue on the road. His gaze softened as she began to cry, "Why are you crying? It won't hurt much, I promise." His long fingers gently caressed her own as he applied the salve and bandaged her fingers. But then even after being finished the man found himself unable to move. She was crying - couldn't he help? Or better yet find out why?

So he stayed, a silent guardian who watched and allowed her to cry. A guardian who wished that he could weep with her, but just stayed there frozen as if made of stone.

"Ah." So at least he hadn't injured her hand. Tryston's gaze did though flicker with emotions as she admitted what truly was troubling her. His own heart knotted in response. She truly was hurt from his passing - that was if the special someone was him. Was it guilt? Or something else? He truly wished to know.

I should leave now. The warning thought flashed in the back of his mind, but the man found himself scooting closer to the woman instead, "Why..." His gaze softened even more as he noticed the necklace hanging around her neck, "His passing hurt you that much?" He finally managed to ask after a moment of silence.

"Just a dear friend? To cause this?" Tryston didn't know why the sound of those words made his stomach curl. She had cared enough to cry for him so that should have touched him enough, "I apologize I have lost a few friends, but never broke that much." He admittedly quietly, "Perhaps the experience in which you lost him was more traumatic then." He felt awful so saying such things. What was he even saying?

She should be living happily. Was that why he felt so bitter just now? The man swallowed and stilled as she touched his forehead, "If I believed in ghosts perhaps. What I do believe in are accidents and the ability to survive them." He replied in a whisper, "But if he has to hide from others then it is best that the snows changed him. There's darkness afoot and a duty to destroy it. If you know of anything regarding dangers or conspiracies and are hiding it then I am afraid a ghost he will remain." His gaze sought at hers as he hoped she could figure out the puzzle of his words.

What was he thinking? Staying out here, lowering his guard, and hinting his identity? Why all of this for one woman? Honestly Tryston couldn't figure it out himself. But he was doing what he had been taught long ago - go with your instinct.

No - the last thing he wanted to do was mock her pain, but Tryston did not admit to that. Honestly he didn't even know what he was searching for anymore. He wanted answers about the accident and should be wary of the woman before him. But he couldn't seem to not trust her. How could he blame someone who seemed to hurt so much? Surely Constynce was innocent of the attack.

But then she was leaving. Tryston's heart stilled in his chest as she turned away from him. Could he have been wrong? The man's gaze narrowed as he studied her. He would allow her to leave and would watch from afar. If she made any suspicious moves he would act then.

Tryston moved as if to stand back up, but the next thing he knew Constynce was pressing against him. Gaze widening in surprise at the turn of events the man froze. But realization had him wrapping his arms around the woman tightly, "Do I need to?" He replied quietly as he held her in his arms, "I'm afraid of danger, Constynce. So I had to be wary of saying too much." He admitted as he rested his head on top of hers, "I'm sorry that I didn't make it back sooner to you. Can you forgive me for causing such pain?"

Tryston just offered her a slight nod, "I emerged like this from the aftermath of the avalanche." He replied quietly. Lyrie thought it could have perhaps just been the trauma of a near death experience, but even Tryston wasn't certain of what had happened that night. He just remembered waking up on top of the snows that should have been covering him and the rest of the whole valley.

"I didn't know if I should have revealed myself this early." He bowed his head apologetically, "I'm sorry, Constynce." The man caught her hand after the second smack and held it. One smack or two was fine, but his instincts had kicked in from the 'assault'. Sheepishly Tryston stared at how he had caught the hand before slowly letting go, "Yes." He answered, "Those were not bandits who attacked." He took a deep breath as if the revelation still hurt him, "Those were my brothers of the sword. I still do not know what is going on, but for now I am known as dead in the avalanche while my mentor tries to find out why brothers would betray us and attack your caravan. I came here to see if I could find more answers in Tale while he seeks the truth in Zena."

"It is why I held back at first." Tryston glanced away in shame from Constynce, "I did not know if you could have been in the conspiracy. But my heart tells me that you wouldn't ever be a part of something so dark - I couldn't bear to see your pain continue either. I trust you, Constynce. Please do not let me be wrong."