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[img]https://pm1.narvii.com/6545/5ca8035b24945ac5cf6a84b1d872169805ce2825_hq.jpg[/img]
[color=white][h1][b][u]Appraisals[/u][/b][/h1][/color]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rb1Ddhf4BE](Mood Music)[/url]
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[color=royalblue][i]“It may take me a bit to act like you don’t have those pretty wings on your back but thank you for making me feel easy.”[/i][/color] The shield hero said, which made Auriel smile a bit at the compliment of her wings. She looked over her shoulder to the wings and stretched them out until she felt a familiar pang of discomfort from the ruined bones within. There was a slight wince on her face.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Thank you, though being pretty is really all they're good for."[/b][/color] there was a hint of sadness in her voice, but she tried masking that statement with a chuckle in order to make it seem like more of a joke.

When Fer was handed the bag of gold, she was about to go with him to advise him on getting equipment. But Cole told her to go with him instead, an order she ultimately followed. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"We'll see each other again soon. And don't worry about getting lost, Melromarc is an easy city to navigate! Just as anybody to point you to the causeway. You can find your way to anywhere from there."[/b][/color] Auriel waved to him as she headed off with the sword hero.

She heard Cole say that he'd like to get a second opinion of her. It was a fair assumption, it isn't like anybody had told him of what she had done before their summoning. The only other hero that knew of her reputation was Flin. Auriel thought that perhaps that information should probably be brought to the light sooner rather than later if he was going to have to trust in her abilities and experience. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"I don't mean to be boisterous, Cole, but before you arrived, I was defending Melromarc against our enemy. Not against any waves, but... Considerable threats, nonetheless. I can assure you I that I know our foe well- rather, well enough to stand by your side and not at your back."[/b][/color]

They traveled through the city again, thankfully at a much later hour than when she and Flin had marched through it. There were less people on the streets, which meant less bodyguarding had to be done to afford the sword hero some personal space. Still, the folk of the evening were still eager to greet the Sword Hero. Some had greeted Auriel as well, to whom she happily returned the gesture. She heard a familiar voice call her name, a child from the orphanage who was with a young adult couple. Auriel turned to the voice and saw him excitedly running up to Auriel. On his way over to her, he tripped and scraped his knee on the cobblestone path. Auriel looked back to Cole, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"One moment please!"[/b][/color]

Auriel briskly moved over to the child and knelt by his side, using a hand to help him on his feet. She dusted off his shorts and straightened his tunic, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"You need to be more careful, William! It's getting dark and you can really hurt yourself if you're not watching where you're going."[/b][/color]

Auriel studied the scrapes on his knees and hands. She smiled gently at him and placed a hand on one knee. Her hands began to glow dimly, as well as the injury. Auriel held her hand over the scrape for a few seconds before moving to the next injury. The scrape was gone! She gave the other scrapes the same treatment. It wasn't long before the kid was happy again, and he hugged Auriel tightly. She gave him a soft embrace in return and looked down the street to the couple watching the tender moment. Auriel places her hands on his shoulders, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Are they your parents?"[/b][/color] she said hopefully.

The boy nodded cheerfully, [color=white][i]"Mhm! I'm headed to my new home with them now!"[/i][/color]

Auriel gasped and smiled bright, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Ah wow, William! That's so fantastic to hear!"[/b][/color] she then smirked, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Now don't go giving them a hard time, okay? That especially means no swinging your wooden spear around inside. You know how much trouble you got in from the sisters in the Orphanage."[/b][/color]

William was one of the many children who looked up to Auriel's martial skill with wonder. It was no surprise that he would try to emulate her skill with a spear eventually. Auriel wouldn't say it out loud, to keep the orphanage caretakers happy, but William showed great promise with a polearm. The boy laughed and nodded to Auriel, [color=white][i]"I wont! I'll be sure to practice in front of the house every morning like you did!"[/i][/color]

Auriel smirked at that, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"You'll need to eat your vegetables too if you're going to have that sort of energy in the morning."[/b][/color] She winked. Auriel knew that, like many children, convincing him to eat greens was going to be difficult.

The boy made a grossed out face, which only confirmed her suspicions. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Great warriors must make sacrifices at the dinner table, William! Words to live by!"[/b][/color]

Auriel stood back up and looked at the Sword Hero. William's new parents came to collect their son. The boy followed her gaze to the Sword Hero and looked at him with wonder, [color=white][i]"You're so lucky you get to travel with him! He's so cool! It's settled! When I grow up, I'm going to be a Holy Warrior too!"[/i][/color]

Auriel didn't have the heart to tell him that it wasn't a thing somebody could just become. She was picked at birth, just like her predecessors before her. And many Holy Warriors had gone through their entire lifetime waiting to fulfill their duty with the Cardinal Heroes, only to wither into old age. She was just lucky, unfortunately, that the waves were upon them, and the heroes were needed during her tenor has the Holy Warrior. She didn't want to crush his dreams and aspirations. He could most certainly train to be an esteemed knight, and the world would be a better place for it. That was Auriel's belief, and she had confidence in his potential.

Auriel smiled at William, then to his parents, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Take good care of him! He likes reading books on heroic knights, by the way!"[/b][/color] They waved to her, and she waved back before heading off with Cole.

Regardless if her previous point about her capability had made a difference or not, the man Cole wanted another opinion from was at the place that Cole had intended on going to originally. So he was going to get that second opinion anyways. Auriel had heard of Marcino, and he had no doubt heard about her and her exploits. So it was a little rough for Auriel to be called a rookie by him. The reasoned in her head that it was because she had been out of action for so long, that she hadn't been able to prove that her capabilities were still the same since before she fell in battle. That made her wonder, how had Melromarc's forces, or even the townspeople, fared against the violent incursions while she was recovering? Had people lost confidence in her, and looked to her as some sort of rookie as Marcino did? The people knew Auriel wasn't dead, she had been visited my many, and the people of Melromarc celebrated when they heard the Holy Warrior was to once again take to the battlefield alongside the heroes. But she couldn't help but feel a little forgotten since she was defeated, like her magnificence had left her once she was proven to be fallible. That couldn't have been the case, people were just as happy to see her as the sword hero in the street, and the spear hero before that! It was just her anxieties flaring up again that she might not be good enough. Auriel had to tell herself again that that wasn't true. She would be fine in service of the heroes.

Auriel blinked when the man offered to pay for their drinks. She sat town at the table. Of all the places she had frequented in Melromarc, this was her first time in a tavern after hours. The company was different, and the atmosphere was far more chaotic than before. She felt as out of place as she looked. Then there was the keg. She blushed a bit and waved her hand dismissively, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"O- oh. I don't drink."[/b][/color] Then again, she had never tried it either.

That sobriety comment had attracted the gaze of a few eavesdroppers, who appeared to be judging her. Maybe some of them had lost some relatability to the Holy Warrior when a battle seasoned warrior refused a drink. Auriel puffed up her chest and eyes the keg again, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Maybe I'll have just one drink then."[/b][/color]

By the time Fernando had arrived to the tavern, Auriel was half way through her second drink (how scandalous!) and she was visibly tipsy. She couldn't really figure out what it was that was causing her floaty feeling. She spotted Fernando and waved to him, though she overswung her hand a bit and she nearly flung herself off of her seat. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Whoop! Sorry! That never happens, I swear!"[/b][/color] she said to patrons occupying the next table over. They raised a brow at her.

Auriel turned her attention back to Fernando, looking over her newly acquired equipment. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"It's a good fit, Fernando! Now you look the part of a valiant hero!"[/b][/color] she paused, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Oh and one of the benefits to your legendary weapons is that they strengthen your mind and body! As we continue further in our quest, you will find yourself elevated past the abilities of a normal person!"[/b][/color]

Auriel sipped the beer, coddling the cup with two hands like a child just learning to drink for itself. A blush had permanently found its way on her cheeks. It was seem she is an exceptional lightweight.
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