“Get a good night’s rest. It’ll just be the two of us tomorrow. Is that okay Setna?”
-The boy blinked and looked at his sister. She stared back at him nervously and Setna gave a soft pat on her hand. He looked back up at Tirian seriously as he stood up.
"You'll take care of her?"-
Tirian looked Setna dead in the eyes without moving a single inch. Tirian seemed to almost be insulted. Setna had true intentions, even if the red-haired soldier didn’t quite understand them. His face grew grim and serious as the gaze hardened with a tone stern and solid as the rock beneath their feet.
“Do you doubt me?”
-Setna stood still for a minute, taking in Tirian's face. Finally the teenage boy seemed to relax. "No. If anyone could keep her safe it would be you, I guess."
He held out his hand for Tirian to shake. "But...even if it's not worth much, you'll have hell to pay if you hurt her." Setna's dark eyes were imploring and serious.-
Tirian’s blue eyes looked down to the hand in front of him without a moment’s hesitation, taking his own hand and clasping it together with Setna’s in a firm and powerful handshake. Tirian dropped the hand with a subtle smile at the nearly meaningless threat. Setna was a good kid and surely had the strength to protect his sister when need be, but to speak to a warrior of the caliber Tirian took stones bigger than the moon.
“Let’s hope that day never comes over the horizon.”
-Setna grinned wide.
"Thanks for doing this. I hope you can help her. Which means, you have to try."
His gaze shifted back to his sister, who flushed and nodded as she looked at her lap. Setna returned to
Tirian.
"I'll make sure she gets up."-
Tirian nodded to the boy, turning beautiful blue eyes over to Serna. Her shyness, the posture she held and just everything about her aura seemed to pull Tirian in. The solider of war couldn’t help but to smile at the younger girl for a brief moment before coming back to the moment at hand.
“And with that I take my leave. Until morrow’s morning blesses us, may the gods bless this evening.”
Tirian waved to the twins as he closed the door promptly behind him following the final message. The proverb was modified from something his father used to say at night, especially during those nights of feverish outbreaks and night terrors. Tirian clenched his fists at the slight though of the goodness of his father, shaking his head to force away anything remotely similar to that disgusting man.
“How I yearn to rip your organs from your body…”
Tirian muttered to himself and continued towards his room which was conveniently just a few steps down the hallway. It was a silent journey, ending with the soldier propped up by an elbow on the bed with blue eyes gazing out of the frosted window. Doubt entered his mind, followed by anxiety and even hints of nervousness. He was trained by professionals with hundreds upon hundreds of years of training. His mother was a strict teacher, as was that woman he feared so much. What would she say to him now? With all of the mindless slaughtering he’d done over the past week. Mortal shivers crawled down Tirian’s spine as he collapsed onto the bed still wearing his cloak and armor.
The same nightmare continued on through the night. White flames blazing higher than any building. Zombified bodies creeping forward with an inhuman twitch to their decaying muscles. Tirian snapped his eyes open with a loud gasp as a hand immediately came to his forehead.
“Some dream.”
Tirian looked into blue eyes as a familiar pink-haired woman sat on the foot of his bed. Her eyes showed worry and a mother-like care. Her hand was soft, warm. His eyes closed for a moment before realizing he allowed someone to get into his room without noticing.
“How the fu---“
Lucille quickly held a finger to the warrior’s lips with that trademarked smugness returning to her smile.
“Tricks of the trade, T. They don’t train you to be an assassin without showing you how to get in and out of places without being noticed.”
Tirian slapped Lucille’s hand away with obvious anger in his eyes. His movements didn’t hurt however, there was no sight of any pain or discomfort. Tirian felt his sides for broken bones but there was nothing.
“Oh yeah. I can kinda heal people. The things you know right! Whelp duty calls. Try not to get killed soldier boy!”
Lucille quickly hopped out of the window and disappeared from sight just like a stealthy assassin should. Tirian shook his head quickly at the ridiculousness that would be Lucille Hearthstone. Fortunately it was early and the day called for serious business. Tirian exited his room to head towards the Syndarean twins. The soldier stopped for a moment, a slight hesitation to his attitude before knocking loudly onto the wooden door.
-Surprisingly, it was Serna that opened the door. She had gotten up early, something out of her character for once. It was mostly due to the fact that she was so nervous she hadn't gotten much sleep. So she had time to wash up and was now wearing the navy dress that had been left in her room for her. She blinked at the sight of Tirian before murmuring a soft "Good morning."
She opened the door a bit wider to show that Setna was still fast asleep on his own bed, his limbs flung about and loud snores coming from his mouth.-
Tirian smiled warmly, stepping to the side to allow Serna to exit the room. Setna had earned sleep for all of his hard work and chivalry protecting this beautiful angel of a sister. Tirian closed the door softly and turned blue eyes to the navy-haired Syndarean.
“Walk with me. There’s a special place in Cromerth we can do this.”
-Serna nodded, fidgeting slightly before Tirian started walking ahead of her. She caught up and walked beside him, her head tilted down and her gaze mostly looking down at the ground in front of her.-
Tirian noticed Serna looking down at the ground, her shyness and awkward tendencies caused the man to yawn loudly. Tirian placed and arm around Serna to nudge her close to his own body.
“Keep your chin up, it’s a nice day. Living life in fear and shyness isn’t any way to go about things. Ask me questions. Get to know me.”
-Serna immediately turned red and stiffened up. But she listened and picked her head up a bit. She flicked a glance over to Tirian and then glanced away. "I-I..don't know w-what to ask." She mumbled slightly.-
Tirian let out a slight giggle at the sight of an absolutely red Serna. He could feel her muscles tense up even though she continued to walk forward. A moment of awkward silence followed the opening conversation, until Tirian broke that silence with the first question.
“Then I’ll ask something first. Do you trust me?”
-Serna looked at him with large eyes, but then she looked away. Her hands fidgeted as she tried to come up with what she wanted to say. "Y-Yes...Y-You're very powerful but..."
She paused, reflecting back on the incident with the bandits. She had seen the sadness and pain within his face. He was brutal and he was quick to cut down enemies, but he suffered for it as well. He had attempted to comfort her and help not only her but her twin. "I know you won't hurt me." She said it without a stutter and she looked up at him to gauge his response.-
Tirian smiled at the response given to him by Serna. She was true with her wording and her tone supported this idea as well. As they walked the buildings quickly turned from beautiful and managed to abandoned and crumbling. Tirian took a turn into one building that led into an open area that was nothing but dust.
“This is Sanctuary. One of the only places in this world that supports magic users. We are safe here. We’ll begin shortly.”
Tirian unbuttoned his cloak and removed his shirt to reveal the well-defined muscles on his back. Tirian removed his sword and place everything in a neat pile with his gloves on the very top of them. The red-haired warrior turned to Serna and instructed her to sit on the ground.
-It was becoming scary as they continued to walk. The buildings were worn down, abandoned and dilapidated. Serna stuck close to Tirian but was surprised as they entered into a clearing that seemed fenced off from the outside world. But as Tirian began to undress, Serna quickly turned away, her face becoming blood red.
But then he commented for her to sit and she slowly had to turn around and did as she said. She made sure her dress covered everything as she sat on the dirt and waited for more instruction.-
Tirian held out his hands with the palm facing upwards.
“Magic is the essence of our very soul. It runs in in our blood and hides in our genetic coding. To harness this energy is to harness our very soul. It takes some digging to find it but once you do.”
Tirian closed his eyes and two balls began to form. His left palm crackled with electricity as the ball formed. His right erupted in flames and just as fast as they came, they disappeared.
“It’s a skill that can save your life. This requires you to trust me with your life.”
-Serna was entranced as she watched the magic appear before her eyes. It was nothing like she had ever seen before. She was used to barrier magic and seeing a magic that was so alive was different for her. The teenage girl swallowed nervously though as she looked up at Tirian. "W-What do you want me to d-do?"-
“Hold your hands out, place them firm against my own and try your best to sense my magic. Finding someone else’s magic is much easier. When you hone that skill then you can move onto your own. If you’re comfortable you can place your hands onto my chest. Magic starts at the heart and it may be easier for you to find that magic that way.”
Serna blinked. She looked at his bare chest for a moment before turning red, completely scandalized. Instead she placed her small hands on Tirian's larger, calloused ones. "H-How do I s-sense it?" She asked quietly.
Her hands were soft, untouched by the world around them. There were no callouses on those hands of hers. They seemed pure as an angel with the softness of a marshmallow. The touch caused even Tirian to draw a slight hue of maroon to his cheeks,
“Close your eyes and listen to your heart beat. Match that rhythm with my own. There’s a frequency only you can feel at that point. I can’t describe it, you just have to find it.”
Serna did as she was told. She closed her eyes, attempting to focus, but she couldn't help being distracted. This was strange for her. She was nervous and slightly scared. She could hear the creaks from other buildings and the wind blow. She could hear Tirian breathe and it offset her. She didn't really know what she was supposed to be focusing on.
She couldn't feel his heart beat like this. But she had promised to try. So her hands moved up a peep, so her fingers could gently touch his wrists and feel his pulse points. Her eyebrows furrowed as she felt his heart beat and attempted to do as he said.
Tirian found her frequency quickly, it was a beautiful hum. His mind focused easily on the task at hand, noticing however that Serna was struggling. Tirian knew her mind was wandering to every sound in the surrounding area.
“Don’t fret, no-one ever gets it on their first try.”
Serna continued to try but she didn't even know what she was searching for. Eventually she opened her eyes, staring at her hands gently wrapped around Tirian's wrists. She looked up at him, and then closed her eyes again, trying to find some hint of what he was referring to.
Tirian maneuvered his hands to lace his fingers between Serna’s. It would be a bold move but he promised to train the girl and he would do so at any cost.
“We’ll try something different, this is going to tingle but try not to pay attention to it. I’m going to insert a minuscule amount of magic into your hand, when I do that search for that frequency, it’ll be much louder.”
A blush dusted Serna's cheeks but she fought it down. This was serious, he was trying to help train her. She had promised her brother that she would try. Serna nodded at his explanation and closed her eyes again waiting to feel his magic.