[M] A Light in the Dark [Ashen & Midoripickle]

[Ashen]

Perhaps it was the way his eyes seemed to linger on her form, or maybe it was the way he had to choke out his compliment, as if dazed, but Lochan's words caused Mae to look away, a new heat meeting her cheeks. She wandered to the mirror in the corner of the boutique and checked herself out. With the strings tied in the back, Mae loved the way the dress shaped her thin body, showing none of her malnutrition and much of her cleavage. She twirled in it, noting how the lavender pattern snaked up her back. It was a gorgeous thing, she had to admit, and she felt awkward and misplaced in it.

Too busy examining her unreachable treasure, Mae didn't notice Lochan go to the tailor. She caught a glimpse of him out of the mirror and turned to face him. He was talking to the old man, handing him the money for the shirt, but suddenly a smile split those lips. Mae raised a brow, parting her lips slightly as Lochan walked towards her. Was he so happy about his new shirt? "Don't you look so dashing," she mused. "It almost feels like I'll be walking down the streets with a prince by my hand. I never thought I'd get there." She turned away and sighed a bit. "A prince and his beggar," she said quietly.

But then Lochan told her that he wasn't the only one getting new clothes. Her head perked up and she glared at Lochan, looking for the hint of a lie. Finding none, she turned to the tailor, who seemed to already be done with the two. "Thank you," she said to him. She walked over to him and kissed him square on his mouth. "Thank you so much. You're a wonderful soul, and I'll never forget this kind act." She returned to Lochan's side, done kissing up to the tailor. "We get to walk out of here with these..." she said. "Look at us. It's been so long since I've had new clothes, and to think we get to keep things as beautiful as these." She twirled again, laughing a confident laugh. "I bet I could choreograph a great dance for this dress. Something to show off the way it hangs by my hips, and you could be in it..." Mae seemed to be talking more to herself than Lochan, but she snapped out of it soon. She grabbed Lochan by the hand and, after thanking the tailor again, headed back onto the streets. "I think even if we ran into another horde of zombies, nothing could ruin this day."

[Midori-Hime]

His smile quickly fell into a frown as Mae referred to herself as a beggar. "No one would think you a beggar in this dress." He told her then, putting a hand gently on her shoulder. "The dress is yours..." He informed her and then chuckled softly when he caught sight of that glare. He watched and waited as she moved to thank the tailor, though as she kissed him suddenly, he stared on in shock. But he quickly composed himself and gave one last nod to the tailor before they left.

"Y-yeah... Perhaps the first time I've ever purchased my own clothes." He agreed, smiling as he watched Mae twirl, her giddiness rubbing off on him as well. He grinned at the thought of perhaps getting to see Mae dance, however, her next comment had caught her off guard. "M-me?" He blinked, blushing a bit then before he realized she wasn't actually speaking to him. He didn't think of himself as much of a dancer, though it had been some time since he'd had the occasion to. Of course he was all for the idea of playing music to accompany Mae's dance.

Looking down at Mae's hand grasping his, he smiled to himself and followed her out onto the streets. For the first time he felt like he could fit in among these people, instead of sticking out like dirty vagabond. People no longer stared at him with a wary expression, but instead gave him approving looks as they passed. Suddenly his strides seemed more confident and there was a slight lift to his chin. "Yes... Well, we should probably still try to avoid hordes of zombies." He replied with a chuckle. "Another good thing about our new look... We'll probably be able to get away with much more now that we don't look so suspicious~" He gave her a playful nudge. "Where to now?" He asked, tilting his head.

[Ashen]

With the world now at their fingertips, Mae felt a new confidence wash over her. The wound in her chest forgotten, she started off with Lochan by her side, not having a direct route in mind. She told Lochan as much, expressing only that she wanted to head west. After talking to some of the townsfolk, Mae and Lochan learned that there was a great forest to the far west, and to get there they had to follow the river just south of town. With no other direction, they decided to do that, and after stocking up on what supplies they could pilfer, the two set off again.

It didn't take long for them to find the river. Mae walked up to it and peered at her reflection in the water. She smiled as she fingered the neckline of her new dress. "If I wasn't so horribly scarred, I might look like a princess," she mindless muttered to herself. Slowly, she lifted the hair away from her face. Seeing her ashen skin caused her to recoil, as if she'd been struck. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She had never quite admitted to anyone how much it pained her. As a child she'd been ridiculed by adults, called an abomination and a witch. Her own father had told her once that she would have made a beautiful woman if not for her mark. Mae loved her new dress, she loved the way it made her feel, but she couldn't help but think she'd never truly be beautiful.

She trusted none of this to Lochan. "Alright, so we head west now," she said. "So that would be... this way." She turned along the river and started walking again. "It sounded like we'd have a while to go before we reached the forest. Maybe when we get there we can have that picnic after all." She looked back to Lochan, glancing over his new shirt again. "You really do like fine," she said with a smile. "If I had the money for reliable thread, I'd love to make you a similar shirt in red. I think it would be just bold enough to fit you." She turned back to the road they were on. Knowing she was a lost cause, she could at least fantasize about making Lochan as beautiful as she could. "Hey, if there are wildflowers in this forest, would you let me braid your hair? I've never braided the hair of anyone else, so it might look frightful, but I do think it would be fun, and you'd be oh so pretty. The ladies really would be all over you then."

[Midori-Hime]

Lochan almost felt like a new person. It really was amazing what a new piece of clothing could do to boost ones confidence. But more than anything, he was excited to be on the road again, wandering without a destination... with his companion. Lochan looked over at Mae, smiling as he watched her admire her new gown. He smiled to himself then, looking away and missing Mae's moment of turmoil. He followed her directions, walking with her along the river. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, but with a gentle, cool breeze from the river. For once, Lochan actually felt at peace. Suddenly he looked to Mae with his stormy blue eyes and chuckled. "You were really serious about that?" He asked, raising a brow. "But, sure... Why not?"

However, the next comment quickly interrupted his little daydream of a romantic picnic with Mae. "Y-you really think so?" He asked, offering a somewhat shy smile. The grin lingered as he looked down over himself. How he'd cherish a cloth made with Mae's own hands. The grin suddenly fell away with a look of surprise and perhaps a little embarassment. "Braid my hair?" He repeated, reaching to feel over the locks anxiously. "With flowers?" A soft blush tinted his cheeks then. "Heh, is that so?" He muttered then. Though he wanted to say that there was really only one woman who held his interest.

Suddenly Lochan moved a little closer. "Only if you let me braid your hair in return. How's that?" He said with a smile, daring to reach out and gently brush some of her dark hair behind her ear. He knew better than to touch the other side, for now. "I think the flowers would suit you much better." He said before dropping his hand and looking ahead now. His cheeks were definitely red now.

[Ashen]

Lochan's sudden movement and suggestion both shocked Mae, who looked away shyly. "You wish to braid my hair?" she asked, running a hand through it and getting frustrated at one of the many knots her fingers met. Her cheeks turned the palest red when he moved her hair away. Instinctively she almost moved away, but she decided against it, letting him gently play with her. She could see the red in his cheeks too, and she laughed at that. Moving away suddenly, she said, "Well, Lochan, I didn't peg you for the type to get nervous just thinking about braiding a woman's hair. How will I ever get to truly enjoy you if you can't even think of that?"

It was a joke, though a joke perhaps in poor taste. Mae turned away and started walking along the river again. That thought--the one of she and Lochan enjoying each other's bodies--sent a deeper red to her cheeks. She shrugged her shoulders. "If you can manage to braid it, fine, I will let you do so. I wouldn't be surprised if you were a mess at it though. Men often are, I find. My father didn't know what to do with my hair. He left it down most times, until I was old enough to style it myself. He's tried a braid once or twice, but that's never gone well." She chuckled at the memory, then turned back to Lochan. "Just don't move my hair from where it shall stay, and you can do whatever you want."

Mae opened her mouth to speak again, but suddenly she noticed something in the distance. She stopped and placed a hand on her sword, waiting. The creature before the duo jumped from a bush and growled at them. It was a small, ghastly-looking thing, an obvious undead creature, one of his army. It charged at them, but it was far too small and slow to be threatening. As it charged, its long fangs bared, Mae drove her sword between its narrow eyes, killing it instantly. Once it died, she looked around. "Weird," she said softly. "I wonder if there are any more where that came from. We should be on our guard from here on out. Maybe the Black Dragon is near." She couldn't tell if she'd hid the excitement in her voice at that.

[Midori-Hime]

Lochan blinked at her laugh and then tilted his head curiously. His light blush turned his whole face red at her comment and he stammered. "W-wha- T-that's not-... Uh-I-I-" What was he going to say? 'That's not true'? When it absolutely was... Not that he was going just come out and announce that he was a virgin. Even if that obvious enough... Though if Lochan wasn't mistake, Mae seemed to be blushing as well. The sight brought the tiniest smirk to his face. Maybe he wasn't completely hopeless after all. "Hey now... I'm actually quite good at braiding. My little sister forced me to braid her hair all the time." He corrected her. His eyes glanced down at the bracelet on his wrist, his eyes saddening just a bit.

However, he was quickly sobered by Mae's silence, noticing the way her hand went to her blade. He suddenly felt defenseless, his eyes searching the trees before them. He tensed when the creature suddenly leapt infront of them, however, Mae made quick work of it easily. Lochan sighed then, feeling useless as a male who needed a beautiful woman like Mae to save his ass. He shivered then with a quiet nod. "I really... wish you would teach me how to fight?" He suggested once again. "I hate being nothing but a useless liability." He sighed then, following behind Mae as they started into the forest. Despite the creature they had just run into, the forest seemed untouched by any of the Dark One's influence. The birds were singing and everything seemed vibrant and alive. They would continue to walk for a while in the quiet of the forest.

[Ashen]

As they traversed the forest, Mae was surprised at how peaceful everything seemed. The singsong of the birds provided a nice, melodic break from the whispers in her mind, and she found herself drumming her fingers against her thigh to keep tune with them. The gentle winds shuffled the leaves around them, and from the cracks in the canopy above them, Mae could make out a darkening sky. Soon stars would alight the scene. This forest, despite how far west it must have been, despite its location all too close to the Dark One's path, seemed like paradise.

Suddenly Mae stopped walking and grabbed Lochan's hand. "Here," she mumbled. She waited until he was stopped and facing her before unsheathing her dulled blade. "The way around a sword is easy," she stated. She ran her fingers over the handle. "This is called the haft, though in most places it's referred to as the hilt. The grip is what you hold onto; see how mine is made for a hand?" She wrapped his fingers around the grip, demonstrating the grooves her fingers had solidified over the years. "The very end," she continued, "is called the pommel. Sometimes, for people with money, it's decorative, but mine is plain. The guard is this piece here between the haft and the blade that makes sure the sword doesn't slip and slice your hand open. And the rest is the blade. That's pretty self-explanatory, I think. It's best to know a weapon before you attempt to wield it effectively."

Once Mae finished showing Lochan the parts of her sword, she then handed it to him. "You want to stand like this," she said, parting her feet. "Knees slightly bent, feet firm; make yourself impossible to tip over. Or, well..." She looked Lochan over, then reconsidered. "Actually, you'd be better using your lithe to your advantage, so stand in a way that would allow you to duck and run quickly. Hold your sword with both hands at first, until you get the feel of the weapon. My sword is better two-handed, though it's light enough for one-handed operations too. Just put your non-dominant hand here, and your dominant here to be the driving force."

Mae pointed and moved Lochan's hands over the weapon as she explained everything. She'd never taught anyone to use a sword, but that was hardly obvious. She spoke as if she had been doing this for years, and when she finished she left the sword in Lochan's hands and backed away. "Now attack me," she instructed. "Don't worry, I'm more nimble than I look. You won't hit me."

[Midori-Hime]

Lochan blinked in surprise, stopping short when Mae suddenly grabbed his hand. He was bewildered as she drew her sword suddenly, explaining in detail all the different parts of what made a sword. He stared, watching the way her hands moved over the blade with an intimate familiarity. His breath stopped for a moment then, as Mae placed his hand around the hilt. The weight of it surprised him, and only impressed him further that Mae would weild it with such skill. He could almost feel it as an extension of her being.

Swallowing, he took it from her carefully, staring down at the weapon in awe. Hearing her instruction, he finally looked up at her in surprise. Was she really going to teach him? He tried to do as she instructed, but then changed to a stance that seemed much more comfortable for him to keep light on his feet. Then looking between her and the sword, he took the hilt in both hands. A soft blush tinted his cheeks and Mae took his hands, shifting them subtly over the hilt, aware of how close she got a times. There was just something strangely intimate about it. But then, he was probably thinking too much.

However, the young man did a double take as Mae instructed him to attack. His stormy blue eyes widened, mouth falling open. "W-what?" He hesitated, looking at her in disbelief, even with her reassurance. But tightening his grip on the sword, he swung it back before slowly taking a swing at her. It was much too slow, but it was obvious that he was nervous about following through with her instruction. "I feel stupid..." He muttered then, looking down as his blush deepened. But then he realized this was it, this was his chance, and he had to put some effort into it if he was ever going to step up as a man. Suddenly Lochan swung from the other direction, taking a step towards her as he did.

[Ashen]

Mae was amused by Lochan's surprise at her instruction to attack her. He was reluctant, and if that weren't made obvious by every visible part of his body, it was made even more obvious by the weak swing he tried to pass off. "Try a little slower next time, I don't think the snails could quite keep up with you," she teased. "You're not stupid, you're just a coward. Now come on, hit me." Mae stepped away from him, then hopped from foot to foot. "You're going to want to be swift. That's gotta be your strong suit, because you're not built to be sturdy. Come on, breedbate, come at me."

Lochan swung again, and this time Mae had to move out of the sword's way, though admittedly not much. "That's better!" she encouraged. "I almost felt threatened there. It might help you if you step into your swings. Swords are awkward and clunky if you don't know how to use them, and if you just use it as some stick you swing at people to cut them, you're not going to get anywhere. Think of it more as like... an extended arm. When you shove at people, you put your whole arm into it, moving with your shoulder instead of just moving your shoulder. Right? So you want to move with your sword, fall into its motions. Your movements would be a lot more fluid that way, and less predictable." She stepped away, remaining on the tips of her toes. "Try again now, but this time I want you to not look like a clown when you swing at me. Don't swing the sword. Move with it towards me."

Mae instructed Lochan some more, giving him all the pointers she had picked up over the years. Time went on, and she could see Lochan growing tired, but he was getting better. "You don't look like a jester at least," she said, a compliment. "How about we take a break for now? Overexertion is a good way to make yourself useless on the battlefield anyway." She took her sword back and placed it back in its sheath. "Though... Something we can work on is your movements. When wielding a weapon, it's also important to know how to go against your weapon. Like I said, you're a small thing, so we want to make use of your ability to get out from under the blade. Here." Mae grabbed Lochan's hands again. She parted her feet, pointed them in opposite directions, and stayed light, remaining on the tips of her toes. "If you don't know which way someone will swing at you, you want to make sure both your right and left are clear, but if someone's favoring their right, for example--and pay attention to dominant hands, since they're usually easy to tell--you should be able to make decisions on what would be the best escape route. Don't attack unless you have the upper hand, and keep moving around until the battle's in your favor."

She crouched down beside Lochan and tapped on the backs of his legs. "You need to be lighter," she said. "You're a thief, and that's good for light footsteps, but you need to make sure you're not too grounded when you're being defensive. So try more like this." She got up to his eye level again and began walking around on her toes, making no sounds on the moist forest floor. She danced around between the trees, showing off a little as she did so. "See?" she demonstrated. "Like a ballet. You... You know how to dance, don't you?" Mae extended a hand to him. "Why don't you show me?"

[Midori-Hime]

Lochan narrowed his eyes a little at her teasing, before he'd made his second swing. It seemed being called a coward had struck a nerve as he came at her again with more speed and aggression this time. Though immediately his heart skipped a beat when Mae barely moved out of the way. But this time he'd earned her praise and he began to trust that she knew what she was doing.

Carefully listening to her instruction, he looked down at his feet and then to the sword, trying to fully understand what she meant. He continued to practice under her instruction, doing his best to act on it, though he wasn't sure if he was doing much better. But soon enough he'd earned a compliment, if one could call it that. By now Lochan was panting softly, loose pieces of his hair clinging to his brow and neck with sweat. He nodded at the suggestion of a break. Though not wanting to sweat too much in his new shirt, he slipped it off over his head while Mae sheathed her sword.

Hearing that his movements needed some work, he supposed he couldn't argue with that. However, her comment about his scrawny frame had him looking down over himself with a frown. She wasn't wrong, the way his ribs and hip bones stuck out. Though perhaps with some more training he'd fill out nicely. Not to mention some hearty meals. Lochan blinked suddenly as she took his hands, then watched her as she stood on the tips of her toes with ease. Then before he knew what was going on, Mae was tapping at his legs. Lochan blinked, watching her curiously before attempting to follow her example.

Lochan stood on the balls of his feet, albeit much less graceful than Mae was. It was a bit awkward for him and he stumbled occasionally on a rock or branch. However, he stilled as Mae began to dance around, mesmerized by her movements. He blushed a little as he watched her, dancing around in her new dress. Mae's question snapped him out of it however, and he bit his lip. "Aah... N-not really, no. Not formally atlea-" He started to explain but then blushed when Mae asked him for a demonstration. Slowly Lochan took her hand, hesitant a moment before he drew her around in a circle. And then he began to move in a lively jig that one might see at a festival, knowing this was likely not what she'd had in mind, but it was all he knew. He then gave her a little spin before stopping her to face him, and with his hand at her waist, he drew her hand to his waist, twirling with her with lively steps. His eyes met with hers as they twirled and he couldn't help but grin.