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At Letalus' completely justified rebuke, she initially flushed, her bubbly mood effectively popped for a moment. The embarrassment and defensiveness that colored her cheeks shifted a bit toward the more familiar feelings of offense and anger as she was tossed up onto the horse without so much as a by-your-leave as if she were part of the collection of baggage he'd mentioned. She moved automatically to grasp the saddle and steady herself in outward complaisance at least, and the flush upon her cheeks was extended as once again, she found herself within the circle of Letalus' arms.

The soft shifts of sleeves against her and the varying sensations of body heat told her that he'd turned a bit or leaned away, and she glanced back. Merro leaned her upper body to one side and turned her head, but the retort that was sitting on the tip of her tongue lost its balance and fell out of lips that parted in a quick inhalation of surprise as Letalus now leaned forward to take the reins.

His sidelong glance found her facing partly toward him with her up-tipped features in an attitude of quiet surprise, as the flustered flush and frown had been effectively knocked to the floor by his unexpected proximity. For a brief moment, Merro locked eyes with him and froze, but had no immediate opportunity to humiliate herself further as Leana interrupted the moment with a query.

Saints bless the girl.

As Letalus' attention was drawn away to Leana, Merro whipped her head back around and gripped whatever bits of saddle and mane were immediately to hand.

Ab! So! Lute! Ly! Intolerable!

Although if Leana were to indulge her curiosity and ask about Merro's thoughts, the young noblewoman would have been hard put to accurately target what, exactly, she was finding intolerable. The way he treated her? Or the fact that she wanted different treatment and didn't even allow herself to think about thinking about whether the treatment she did wish was the standard respect accorded to one of her station or something different. Perhaps even just her own reactions to him. Or more accurately, his proximity. Again, the frog versus the snake. Definitely intolerable. She had to get away from this man.

Merro blinked.

Letalus spoke and there were some noises as Leana acted. There were more words and she felt her captor's body shift again. The horse under her shook its mane and began walking through the dim stable.

Merro barely noticed any of this as she finally realized that she'd had the most absolutely perfect opportunity to escape this morning and she hadn't taken it. Saints save her; why?! Her thoughts darted this way and that, fast as frantic fish trapped in a net.

The sword. Lady ZhaDurn had been in possession of the sword.

But this reason was not good enough. Did Merro really believe that she could not have begged or argued the sword back? That the noblewoman and paladin would have let her run off without it to the possible cost of her life, or even that Lady ZhaDurn would not have at least accompanied her with the sword if it had truly been too dangerous to either give it back or separate it from her?

Besides all this fine reasoning, she remembered now. She remembered knowing that she had an opportunity for escape before her, but instead of acting upon it her next actions had been to take one of his hands in hers and pray for him to be restored to her.

Let him be restored, and I be reborn, she had thought to herself.

Merciful Saints, had she been drunk? Merro formed the question in her mind in favor of being more honest with herself, but then had to admit it.

She was afraid and didn't know what she was doing and when it came down to it she'd chosen to cling to Letalus instead of pushing away from her father. She'd thought she wanted to simply escape from her father's keep and control and get his attention and anger if she couldn't have his approbation and favor, but what she now truly wished was to escape everything about him from his influence over her body and mind and future to the traces of him in her own personality. She'd wanted his love and then hated him for not having any to give her, and now he was just nothing to her. Nothing, nothing. She despised him and still wanted away from him but he had nothing for her.

In a moment of unthinking honesty she'd chosen to stay with Letalus whether he led her toward her father or away. To attach herself to him.

He had attached her.

As this realization came to her and stopped her wildly whirling thoughts, the horse they rode stepped into the sunlight, and she squinted shut her eyes. Her heart pounded and her hands would have trembled if they hadn't had a death grip on the saddle already. She was shocked. She was horrified. This was ridiculous and outrageous and unacceptable. It was unthinkable, inconceivable, impossible and true.

ooc: *AHAHA* "Without falling this time." Poor Leana. XD Oh, and Letalus and Merro are sitting on the horse that she and Leana rode in on last night. The pack horse is the one that Letalus purchased this morning. And Leana just casually stole a roan. *HA* Man I love these characters.

Konami: Oh, and I'm assuming Letalus has perfectly normal body heat expenditure from what you told me before and his getting chilly while in EnergyStar powersave mode.

...and Lord help me; why am I posting such tl;dr posts? gonk

Leana stared off at nothing in the village as their group headed to the exit that would take them in the right direction. She had a creeping feeling that the people she'd stolen from were nearby looking for her and reporting the crime, and thus hoped they'd get out soon.

It seemed awkwardly quiet, and Leana couldn't think of anything to say to break that silence. Instead her mind wandered to that note in her pocket...

Then she thought about that orb she'd picked up earlier. Perhaps she'd get the chance to sell it off in the next town. It looked valuable, but she wasn't sure what in the world it was supposed to be.

They reached the gates and eventually the path that would lead them on their way. Leana wasn't sure if she should stay ahead or slightly behind, for she didn't want to get in Letalus' way, but she was still the guide, wasn't she? She argued with herself over what would be best.

Finally she decided to go in front, but did so subtly, and not so that she was entirely in Letalus' way...more to the side of him. She also wondered if maybe she was making things awkward for Letalus and Merro, but she wasn't aware that things were awkward enough without her. She was however thankful that Nova was there too, so it wasn't just her making things possibly strange.

Unfortunately Leana's thoughts made her oblivious to any movement or rustling in the nearby woods. Once they'd reached the outskirts, the group of six hiding figures decided to make their move.

Leana heard the whistling before it was too late.

She felt a pain suddenly strike her in the side, and the force of it was enough to cause her to slip from the horse. The arrow had come from nowhere, but Leana seemed to suddenly hear the sounds of bandits that she hadn't heard before.

Letalus was a warrior, created for battle and destruction, instincts always at the ready. Or so he had been. Merro drove him to such distraction that the usual sense for danger he had was muffled. When he should have felt the presence of the bandits, he was instead feeling all manner of other, undignified and completely uncharacteristic things instead.

So it was that he was only aware of the surrounding danger until Leana had an arrow in her.

Their horses reared, eye rolling in terror at the sudden alarm of their riders. Quickly, Letalus unsheathed his sword and circled his horse in front of Leana, bending over slightly in an ineffective attempt to protect Merro as well. When more arrows came singing out of the surrounding woods, he blocked them with his sword easily enough...but he wouldn't be able to hold them all off for long when he had to stay on the defensive like this. His guide was injured; to what extent, he had no idea. She was a liability.

...he hesitated, weighing Leana's usefulness as a guide against the danger, ignoring any quiet pangs of conscious that may or may not have sounded in the back of his mind. Clenching his teeth, he sighed roughly -- there was no option here. Merro would never forgive him if he let Leana die.

But he couldn't just charge into the woods after their attackers, leaving the girls in the center. They were surrounded -- if he left them, they'd surely be attacked.

His horse cantered uneasily as Letalus blocked another wave of arrows.

She heard the high, thin whistling sound and the chilling thud without really noticing them, but her mind finally caught up with her ears as she saw Leana jerk suddenly before them and then begin to slide from the roan with Nova still perched on the girl's shoulder. Grabbing at the saddle in panic as Letalus fought to control their mount, Merro darted her eyes this way and that, trying to pinpoint the danger. Her captor was quicker than she was, for by the time she locked her eyes onto the shadowy forms spilling out of the treeline Letalus had already moved to shield their fallen companions somewhat with their horse.

Saints save her. Just how many bandits were there roaming the countryside?

As the wild thought raced through her mind she looked at Letalus, the bandits, and pale, silent Leana with the arrow stuck in her in quick succession and made a decision without really thinking about it.

Thankful that none of the arrows singing through the air were finding resting places in her flesh thus far, Merro twisted within the questionable shelter that Letalus was proving with his own body. With a quick writhe and tug, she slipped the cursed sword from her belt, and holding it by the crosspiece, placed it across Letalus' chest.

"Take this," she commanded, and then looked up at him briefly.

"I may need blood."

Her expression was dark and determined, but her blue eyes were worried. Not that she thought he could not handle the half-dozen or so bandits she had spied, for she was long acquainted through reputation with his skills in fighting and had glimpsed some of it firsthand in recent days. And not that she thought he would refuse, either, for the circumstances were what they were and she hardly credited him with any qualms about taking human life. However unlike in past times when she'd wished someone harmed or dead she knew that this time her words combined with the probability of concurrence from Letalus would likely result in death. Merro knew she'd never think herself wrong in having committed to this course of action, but she might regret it, surprisingly enough.

She'd definitely regret it even more - for the rest of her short life - if Letalus did not succeed in driving off or killing the bandits, however, and she would probably also regret it if she attempted to heal Leana's wounds and came up short on the energy to do so. The bottom line was that her own continued existence automatically outweighed every other consideration. Merro therefore wasted no time in conflict, only looking up at those cool grey eyes for a split second longer than was necessary before turning away. She grabbed at the reins of the roan horse which was snorting and dancing dangerously near its fallen rider and shimmied out of the saddle, hauling at the leather straps to both ease her drop down and try to bring those stomping hooves a bit farther from Leana.

Luck was with her briefly as the horse, finding over a hundred pounds of noblewoman dangling from its head, knelt in the dirt, serendipitously providing better shelter for the two young women. Hurrying around the roan's body to where Leana lay with a very worried ferret on her chest, Merro knelt in the dirt and laced her arms around the girl's torso to try and haul her up. With a bit of luck, a lot of adrenaline, and some cooperation from the horse, she could get Leana across the saddle and race to some better cover while Letalus did what Letalus did, and then see to removing the arrow and healing the girl. Merro prayed that the wounds were within her skill range, and that the damage was mostly to flesh and not the more delicate inner workings of the human body with which she had absolutely no familiarity or experience.

"We have to find some shelter so I can heal her," she gasped to Nova as she locked her hands together as best she could despite sweat-slicked palms. The diminutive creature could be of no help in moving the girl, but perhaps her sharp eyes could pick out some nearby shelter.

ooc: Konami, if Letalus wants to interrupt this post, feel free. I'll edit out as much as you want, or edit things in as well. That goes for anyone else, too, if I take too long with Merro for your convenience. I just didn't want to stretch things out unnecessarily if I could just as easily pack it all into fewer posts. XD

Taylor and/or Nova, feel free to drag Merro along in your post, too, if you want to take us to the point where our characters can find some cover. Like maybe an old barn or some other random outbuilding. Heck, even some bushes would be fine. ^^

Adhering to Merro's request, Nova quickly scanned the surrounding areas for cover. With her keen eye, Nova was able to spot an abandoned building behind the bulk of the trees. She then gave Leana a forceful nudge with her nose and took hold of her shirt sleeve in her mouth, tugging her towards her find.

As Merro's eyes met his, Letalus understood what she wanted even before she spoke her need aloud. At that moment, arrows whistling around them, the horse screaming, Leana's life trickling away -- it all faded for a second, for forever. He didn't want to let her go, damn the consequences to anyone else as long as she was protected, as long as she was safe. She thought she was so strong, thought she was invincible, stupid reckless girl, she'd only survived this long because he wasn't out of her sight for long, because he watched over her. It was his duty, his vow, the contract her father had put in him and a driving force greater than even that. She'd throw it all away and for what? To protect someone else, to save a lowly peasant girl. She was imperious and vain and selfish and beautiful, in every way.

He closed his hand around the hilt of the cursed sword, none of his thoughts reaching the mask of his face (and it truly did feel like a mask now, unnatural and wrong), but even if they had, she was already turning away. A sword in each hand now, he forced himself to turn away from the girls. He had to draw the fire from their unknown attackers. He...had to make himself a serious threat.

Letalus kicked his long-suffering horse into action -- it was hardly a stallion fit for charging into battle. Panic was the only thing spurring it forth, chaotically rampaging headlong into the brush. Hands occupied by his blades, he couldn't grab the reins and control the horse, but that was fine. The more chaotic, the better.

A cry went up as the horse trampled over a man or two. The rest scattered, weaving through the trees. Letalus rolled off the horse, now too cumbersome to ride in the denser areas of the thicket. As it barreled into another unfortunate bandit, he was right in its wake, slicing the confused man's head off with the cursed sword as if he were clay. Without stopping, he turned and threw his own blade at the retreating back of another.

The bandits apparently decided a different tactic -- instead of scattering, they surrounded Letalus, bleeding out from the shadows and brush as he removed his sword from the now dead bandit spilling blood on the forest floor. Blood dripping audibly from both swords, Letalus slowly slid into a comfortable, familiar stance...and then the bandits attacked him as one.

As the bandits circled Lelalus for an attack, the trees seemed to bounce as if something weighted were on the branch. Suddenly, the air grew cold, shards of ice exploding from above Letalus into the crowd. "HELEG!" (ICE!) screamed the invisible force that lunged from a swaying branch.

Screams could be heard, but none as close as a man who seemed to have a blade coming through his chest from nowhere.

Tomlin couldn't see what really was happening to Letalus, but he knew from several slumps in the ground that his trick had worked.

Too bad he had no time to rest, as the shroud that hid him vanished. Sliding a coarse Graphite into the hole in the gauntlet, Tomlin started to speak the words for the next stone when he was punched in the stomache.

"Stupid Mage... don't you know not to run into the middle of a fi--" the bandit was interrupted suddenly, as a blade pierced his throat. The same blade that took the life of one of his friends... and it came from Tomlin's other gauntlet.
"Who said I was a Mage?" Tomlin laughed out before sliding him off his arm.

No time to relax now.. he thought as he slid his rapier out and stepped into a defensive posture.

Nova had quickly made her way up the tail of the horse, perched securely on the back of the saddle. She was seemingly examining the arrow and wound collectively. "Oh Leana...this wound looks so painful..." she whimpered.

As the horse drew closer to the building, Nova's fur begun to rise on the back of her neck and through her tail. Something...was very wrong with this area.

"Merro...somethings...off about this place..." she gasped, having shimmied up the noblewoman's back and now perched on her shoulder, her eyes VERY wide and her senses tingling, "We shouldn't enter the building...perhaps behind it will be ok...".