[M] Seeking Refuge (Holey & Kawaii)

[KawaiiChiyan]

Spoiler: Storyline 

The human kingdom of Ablin held a long history of bigotry... a policy of human superiority. Over the past forty years, they conducted a witch hunt... an attempt at purifying their kingdom and rooting out all non-humans. It wasn't officially sanctioned by the king, at first, though he did little to suppress or stop the lynchings against anyone suspected of being elf, dwarf, or fae. But eventually, it grew to a point where the kingdom's nonhuman neighbors became enraged.

This policy ended, however, when the armies of the Empire invaded Ablin, bringing forth tech weapons that made thunderous sounds. The kingdom's armor proved ineffective at stopping these weapons, and in only a few months, the entire kingdom had fallen under the authority of the multiracial Empire that had come to dominate the continent of Empyrean.

However... life in Ablin was still far from pleasant for the majority of the population. Though a new king had been installed under Imperial authority, resources had worn thin, and banditry now plagued the countryside. Many deserters from the old king's army had turned to banditry, while orcs and goblins view the weakened kingdom as easy pickings.

Lechsinska sat in the shade by the edge of the village in which she found solace. "Udren..." She whispered. The name of the village she will be staying in felt strange on her lips. It tasted different from her home village. It somehow tasted... wrong. Her pale blue eyes looked out into the canopy of the trees. Her pale green peasant gown had become dirty and torn, but she was still stunned by the events that had taken place. Scenes flashed before her eyes. Her mother, her father, her baby brother- all slain at the hands of humans. If only she had been home that day. Maybe she could have done something. But she knew she couldn't have done anything. She would have died with them. But maybe that would have been a good thing.

[Holeypaladin]

The elven village of Udren was said to be home to a variety of fae creatures, who peacefully coexisted with the local population of wood elves. Because the local population often had varying degrees of allergy to iron, the crude weapons wielded by the orc raiders were exceptionally brutal, as the rusty blades acted like a powerful poison when inflicting wounds.

Because he came as an ally, rather than an enemy, Sir Benjamin, the Arcane Knight, wore armor that contained no amount of iron to speak of. It was instead an alloy of dwarven Adamantite. He had considered Elven mythril, but it was too light for his taste, and he had no particular need for light armor when he could instead use heavy armor that provided a great deal more protection.

As he approached the elven village riding a phantasmal steed, the knight noted a young fae woman, sitting in the canopy of trees on the outskirts of the village. Making his way over in her direction, he paused, unsure how to approach her. She was quite beautiful, but for all he knew, it could be some sort of glamour, and her true appearance might be hidden underneath. He didn't have time to ponder much, however, before he heard the distant warning bells of the village, signalling an attack of bandits or raiders. Frowning, he instantly began to examine the surrounding area for any sign of danger. The woman didn't appear to be armed, so he made his way closer to her.

"Those warning bells are signalling an incoming raid," he spoke aloud. "Do you have a house in the village? I'll take you there, as it's too dangerous to be alone."

[KawaiiChiyan]

Her thoughts had been distracting her for some time now. Only when a man clad in armor spoke did she realize that warning bells were sounding. Upon closer inspection, she noticed he was-
"A human-" She gasped, her eyes went wide with fear as she remembered the men and women who murdered her family. She scurried backwards and found herself in a corner. "Please- I-" Her voice wavered as she looked around for an escape. Of course she had managed to corner herself. There's no way she'd be able to survive out here. She should have died with her family. They were the only ones she had ever felt safe with.
"I don't- I don't have anything to give you. The bells are sounding- I-" She kept stumbling over her words as the encroaching fear of dying by this human's hands or being mauled by raiders. "I need to get somewhere-" Breathless. She was breathless.

[Holeypaladin]

As he gazed at the nymph, the knight watched her panic as she identified him as a human. Before long, she was retreating away from him, backing herself into a corner, unable to form any complete sentences, but trembling in terror. Keeping his eyes on her, the knight slowly approached. As he tapped into his foundry circuit, a sword appeared in his hand. By the looks of it, it was made out of steel, and very dangerous.

Then, he spun on his foot, swinging the sword in a clean arc which sliced through a creature. The green-skinned orc fell to the ground, but others were rapidly closing in on them. "Stay behind me," the knight said. "You might want to close your eyes, as well." The sounds of steel clashing with iron, and the pig-like cries of humanoids filled the air as the raiders came at him. Though they had spotted the nymph, they would have to get past the knight in order to get to her, and he was standing his ground, swiftly slashing into the brutes.

A decapitated head of an orc rolled over to the nymph's feet, and the knight incanted, "Bekir nar, mitne," in the draconic language. As he swung his blade, waves of force lashed forth from the weapon, striking down the orcs as they came close. Well, as an orc archer levelled his bow at the nymph, the magical waves of force were the only way to kill it without moving from his position.

At one point, the knight stepped in front of an arrow, the missile deflecting off of his armor rather than embedding itself in the flesh of the fae woman. Before long, however, the sounds of battle died down, and all that was left were the dismembered bodies of dead orcs. The sword vanished from the knight's grasp, and he slowly turned to face the woman. "Are you alright?" he asked her. "What's your name?"

[KawaiiChiyan]

For a heartbeat, all she could do was stare. Then, the first drop of blood was spilled and the scent of it came rushing into her nose. She immediately felt ill and curled into a ball, trying to cover her nose with her sleeves. The earthly scent of her clothing, however, was no match for the raw metallic scent of the weapons the orcs also carried.

"You... defended me..?" She breathed. Her heart was pounding and it felt as though her heart had somehow moved into her throat. She could also feel her blood rushing through her and the immense urge to vomit. The blood had made her lightheaded and the smell- Gods the smell- so full of iron.

"I- I don't do well with-" She tried to speak, but a gag forced its way past her words and her pale face grew even paler. She became so pale that she almost seemed transparent. "Please, I beg you-" This time, she managed to hold back the sound of the gag, but she fell silent. Her body became limp and she, somehow, gracefully fell onto her side. Her dark brown mane covered her face, only her soft pink lips could show. They were parted and her chest was visibly rising and falling.

[Holeypaladin]

"Of course..." the knight said, as if it were only natural that he protect the girl. "Why wouldn't I?" However, it seemed she wasn't in any condition to speak as she seemed... quite sick, indeed. Quickly making his way to her side, he watched as she fell over, passing out from sickness of some sort. Inspecting her for a bit, he noted that she was developing a few hives along her skin.

He had heard that fae had varying degrees of allergy towards iron, but he had never seen an allergy this severe. She hadn't even been touched by the metal of orcish weapons... the knight had made sure of that much. But it seemed even the trace amounts of iron in the air were enough to provoke an allergic reaction of sorts in this one.

"Hold on," he said, as if she had much choice. For the time being, he had to get her away from the corpses. Picking her up in his arms, he carried her in the only direction he knew would be safe... into the village. The elven soldiers had already rallied to the sound of the warning bells, and the few orcs that had escaped the knight's own blade quickly fell victim to elven archery.

Carrying the nymph like a princess, the knight headed in to the village. A pair of elven soldiers emerged from hiding to inspect them, but seeing as the knight was carrying a nymph in his arms, waved him on through. Eventually settling the girl down by a tree in the middle of the village, "Irisv weyog," channeling a restorative energy through her body which purged the trace amounts of iron as if they were a toxin.

"Now are you alright?" he asked the girl, taking a seat next to her with his back against the tree. "I still haven't caught your name."

[KawaiiChiyan]

She seemed to come back to life with the way she sucked in the fresh air around her as she immediately sat up. The hives the knight had seen were quickly fading and her hair still covered her face as she continued to try to catch her breath. Pointed ears poked through her ebony locks. With her breathing calming down a bit, she looked to the knight. One bright and icy blue eye peered over at him.

"Lechsinska.... My name is Lechsinska." She finally managed to state. She looked around at the other fae that seemed to be watching her and she seemed to shy away from their gazes, hunching her shoulders and covering her face once again. "Th- thank you for saving me. I don't know where my mind was. It was just..." She looked up into the sky, hair falling back to reveal both shinning blue eyes. "It was away."

She then stood and brushed any bits of dirt or leaves her peasant gown had gathered off. She turned away from him and tried her best to stand tall, even though she was not at all tall. Her petite figure was taut with the effort of seeming larger and stronger than she was.

"Now, I must be off." she obviously had nowhere to go and nothing to do, but she still tried to think of something to do. "I'm a very busy little bumble bee." She muttered. She didn't want to be by this human. Or any human, for that matter. She couldn't stand it. The reminder of her family was just too much, and the fact that he rescued her from certain death? Too much for this little nymph to handle.

[Holeypaladin]

"Lechsinka..." the knight repeated her name, its pronunciation a bit odd. "Nice to meet you, Lechsinka." Gazing at her shy form, an awkward smile formed as a result of her cute behavior. She really was adorable, if incredibly nervous... or perhaps because she was incredibly nervous. "You're welcome," he remarked. "I'm just glad I was able to be there at the right time in order to do so." He didn't want to think of what the orcs would have done to this innocent girl had he not been there at that moment.

Watching as she stood up, he was somewhat amused at how the tiny girl tried to appear so much larger than she actually was. It was a bit of a wasted effort, really, and only served to make her look more adorable. Standing up next to her, he listened to her words. Apparently she had somewhere to be... something to do.

"You live in this village?" he asked, making his way to his feet. "At least allow me to escort you home, Lechsinka. Your family must be worried about you, and with all the confusion in this city... well, it'd be better off if I at least walked you so far as your front door. Don't you think? It's no trouble, really."

[KawaiiChiyan]

The sensation of him growing ever closer to her made Sinska's shoulders grow tenser. If that was even possible. Ebony hair moved a bit as her ears perked. There was even a slight hint of pink beginning to grow on them.
"I- I do! I definitely live here! This is the tree I spent my entire life by!" She stuttered out. She took a deep breath in and puffed out her chest. "I can find the door to where I live all by myself, I promise!" She declared. She had no idea where she was going. She had arrived only an hour or so before the raid alarm was sounded and she had been too busy trying to dull the pain from losing her family.
She began walking in any random direction- partially to see if the man would follow and partly to see if she could actually find the place she needed to go. Her pale blue eyes hastily peered about the village, hoping to find any hint as to where the Town Hall was located.
The nerve of the man! She thought to herself as she hastily walked. Saying my name without telling me his! At least he doesn't know the rest of my name... I wonder if any documents have my full name on it...

As she became lost in thought, her pace slowed and she seemed to begin walking towards the outskirts of the town once more.

[Holeypaladin]

Something about this nymph's behavior was... odd. Though she stuttered out and insisted that she could find her own way home, the knight gazed at her, watching her wander around seemingly aimlessly as if she had no clue where she was, or where she was headed. As he watched her fluster herself before wandering towards the edge of town once again, the knight sighed and quickly caught up to her.

"Come with me, Lechsinska," he said, reaching out to take her hand. "You seem to still be in shock from the attack, as you're quite obviously confused and have no idea where you are or where you headed. I won't hurt you... I've proven that much at least, haven't I? So come with me... let's get you fed, at least." He began to steer the young nymph in the direction of an inn, where he could at least feed her and provide her with a place to relax as she regained her senses. She hadn't asked his name or shown any interest in him whatsoever, so the knight figured she didn't really want to know who he was anyway.