Ask Takodana A wonderful coincidence

[Arden Kryze]

She refused and he gave a nod, proceeding to take off his helmet and balance it on the rifle's barrel. He helped himself to one of the treats...and with raised eyebrows he nodded, humming in delight. "No' bad a' all." he muttered with a mouth half full. As soon as the first was done, the second disappeared and then the third. In a few moments the packet was empty and he shook the crumbs into his mouth. "Can you make anythin' else? 'Cause tha' was quite nice." he admitted with a shrug.

She asked about water and he shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. There's a water source no' too far from here, anyway." he spoke calmly, picking up his helmet and sliding it back on. "How long?" he asked her. "Well at this pace, an' hopefully withou' any hiccups, we should ge' there by nightfall." he said after a second of thinking. He picked up the rifle and stored it on his back once more. With a tug of his jacket, he nodded towards her and started to walk further.

As they walked, however, something felt off. The birds were all silent. Arden couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. "Ines. Keep your eyes open." he muttered to her, drawing a pistol.

Suddenly, a blaster fired and a shot whizzed through the air at them but luckily went high over their heads. Arden ducked behind a tree and pushed Ines in behind a nearby stone. "Where did tha' come from?" he asked her, scanning the area.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

"Thanks!" she exclaimed, flashing him a bright smile. It was good to hear that he liked it and seeing him continue eating the snacks confirmed that he did indeed enjoy them for real. A happy nod was provided upon hearing his question "Next time we have access to a kitchen, I can make you all kinds of food" she said, quite obviously not minding cooking something for him.

"Nightfall" she said, reflecting on what time frame they were talking about. Just as he tugged his jacket, she continued "I guess we better start walking then" The comment came just as Arden's signal was given. Glad to comply, Ines started walking relatively calmly to the mercenary's side. While she feared for her life whilst being in his company earlier, now, she felt rather safe - much safer than if she had been alone or further away from him, that much was certain.

Raising an eyebrow, the Alderaanian allowed her hand to fall down to the stun blaster by her hip. Slowly bringing it out of its holster, she started looking around, scanning the area to the best of her abilities "I can't see anything out of the ordinary" she said, looking ahead of them. Suddenly, she felt a powerful hand on her back, just as a shot went off. It was Arden shoving her in behind a large stone. Remembering the way which the laser bolt lit up the trees as it swooshed past, she pointed to the side "It came from over there" she said before starting to crawl to what she deemed to be the safest side of the rock.

Peeking out from her cover, Ines started scanning the area but chose not to fire her blaster. It would reveal their new position and with Arden having weaponry better suited for a long ranged fight, the girl chose to let him initiate any fight. Instead, she looked for where exactly their opponent or opponents could be. After a while, she turned back and pointed in one direction "There's a Y-shaped tree over there, one guy is where the branches part, another is by the trunk of the tree" she reported, now safely behind the cover of the rock again.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Arden Kryze]

Luckily Ines managed to see where the shots came from. A few moments later she gave him more precise locations. He holstered his pistol and drew the rifle from his back, then leaned to the side to peek around the tree. He quickly retreated when a few more shots came his way. "They go' us pinned. They're gonna move in any moment." he spoke just loud enough for her to hear.

He looked around for a bit then hatched a plan. "Oi, Ines." he said, drawing her attention. Once she looked at him, he tossed the rifle over to her along the ground. "Take it, an' ge' ready to shoo' at them." he instructed, then drew both pistols. "I'll draw their attention." he finished, then moved to his feet. He nodded at her then spun around the tree, firing in their general direction while moving. Sure enough, two were moving in and were crossing open ground, making them easy targets for him.

The rest were firing from their hiding places, trying their hardest to hit Arden while only barely keeping any sight on Ines Arden kept firing at them, though his shots were not even close to their intended targets. But the attention did keep them focused on him, allowing Ines to take them out...if she could manage to shoot at them.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

She couldn't help but to feel lucky when they quickly shot at Arden as he poked out after she had just been able to keep the top of her head stuck out long enough to spot the two of them. She felt less lucky when her protector claimed that they would move in at them at any moment. Sure, they were in cover now, but any grenade or just numbers alone would remove that advantage quite readily. Looking to him, she asked "So, what do we do?" whilst feeling quite helpless, armed with just her stun blaster and the sabre.

"Yes?" she asked upon being called upon, only to see the blaster rifle being thrown at her. Being quite familiar with the weapon, she was confident that she would be able to put it to good use. His plan was, however, less confidence inspiring. The prospect of Arden risking his life to give her a good shot was unpleasant to say the least. "I'm not too sure of this" she mumbled as she readied the rifle - it was never much of a discussion though, soon, he was out of cover and blasting away.

Quickly, the Alderaanian poked out of her cover, only to see the two men rushing towards them die, both being shot by Arden. Her heart sunk, still not used to seeing death as it happened. She quickly aimed at the one in the tree. The scope brought her close to the man, sitting there firing away. She could see the weird tattoo that stretched up to his chin from his neck. She could see the heavy collection of wrinkles by his eyes and she could see the scar that traveled from his cheek to the piercing at his eyebrow. Pulling the trigger would undoubtedly kill him, either now, or as he bled out in a few hours. Her mind travelled to Arden and how he ran from tree to tree, keeping them all busy whilst risking being shot himself. Finally mustering the courage and perhaps callousness to do so, Ines pulled the trigger. A red bolt flashed from the pipe of her weapon and hit true, killing the man immediately. Her eyes started to water, but she continued, this time bringing her sights to the woman laying on the ground below the tree. Once again, she could see all kinds of little details - her brown eyes and braided hazel hair. The way she held her blaster, probably different from normal seeing the bandage on her arm. But once again, the noble pulled the trigger. This process was repeated two more times.

By the end of it, four people were dead because of her. The realisation of what she had done was slowly sinking in. Feeling like the sky was falling apart, the girl threw the rifle to the ground, not wanting anything to do with it. Although she tried to resist it, tears soon started forming and before long, she laid on the ground like a bun, only letting out quiet sobs.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Arden Kryze]

One by one, the shooters fell silent and the bolts became less and less. Arden didn't get a good look on Ines as he moved, but he saw the bolts flying through the air. Soon enough, there were no more shots going back and forth, and silence fell upon the forest once more. Arden had circled around to get to the hiding places, taking their weapons from them along with any other valuables or useful items. He then made his way back to where Ines was hiding, but as he got closer he could hear her sobs.

He carefully placed the acquired items on the ground and made his way towards her. "Ines." he said calmly. He knelt down beside her and helped her to sit up. "You did good." he assured her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Killing was easy for him. He lost the sensitivity to it many years ago, but she had never done something like this. He watched her carefully, trying to think of something to say. But he had nothing. "...Are you okay?" he finally managed to ask rather stiffly. He was lost on what to do...

Despite wanting to keep moving, he stayed where he was. Something told him that rushing her to her feet and pushing on wouldn't help her. But at the same time, they needed to get away from here. He decided on a compromise and kept an eye out for anything new while Ines got her thoughts together.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

His footsteps seemed to have a somewhat calming effect on her as she sobbed. They had a sense of cool to them, a calmness which she very much needed at the moment. Little did she realise that the mercenary was looting the bodies of the ambush party they had just killed. Eventually, he approached her - hearing his voice, the voice of someone who was experienced with life and killing, and probably cared at least a little for her felt good. Good, similar to the warmth that a lit match provided in a cold winter night - not that much warmth was exuded from it, but still, it always felt oh so good.

She felt his arm wrap around her. Gently, yet with force, Arden helped her to sit up. Looking at him, the girl felt her lower lip shiver whilst tears had already, and were still, flowing down her cheeks. "I... I... I k...." she stuttered and once again burst into a cry as she neared the word. She had killed and nothing would ever bring her victims back. They were gone forever - their loved ones would never get to meet them again and she was sure that they had redeeming qualities which would now never again be deployed, never again used for good. His words did comfort her, even the squeeze did - but then, it felt like a drip in the ocean in comparison to how horrible she felt. The noble girl tried to form a smile, but it was quick to crumble as she continued sobbing.

To Ines, it felt like he was a whole different man. Gentle, caring, warm. She was barely shaking her head in response to his question before leaning in and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "No" she whimpered. If her mouth hadn't been so close to him, it would have been impossible to hear. Unless he did anything to change it, Ines would remain in the hug for several minutes until she finally managed to recompose herself "Thank you, Arden" she said, speaking his name with more warmth and familiarity than before. Taking a deep breath, she finally released the hug, letting her arms fall to her lap as she looked on him with a tear stained face "I..." she said, feeling more tired than she had in a long time. With a new breath, she tried again "I think I'm ready to continue"

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Arden Kryze]

Arden was many things. A killer. A terrorist. A monster. Good with helping people was never in his skillset. Now, here he was, with a teenager clinging onto him for dear life, crying her eyes out. He was frozen for a good few moments. But finally, he managed to awkwardly wrap his arms around her and gently rub her back to try and console her. They stayed like that for several minutes until finally Ines managed to calm down.

She thanked him and stated that she was ready to move. He looked at her for a good few moments, thinking of something to say. The silence finally broke as he sighed. "Look, you didn't have a choice. It's either you or them. An' I can promise you tha' if you didn't kill 'em, they'd have done much worse to you...an' killin' you quickly isn't in those plans." he explained to her, placing his hands on her shoulder to look her right in the eye. "Remember, it's either you or them. I won't always be there to help you, an' neither will your parents. And when tha' happens, you need to fight for yourself." he continued.

He gave her shoulders a light squeeze then stood up, helping her to her feet. "Let's keep moving." he said to her, then started to walk. He kept a slow pace, allowing her to easily keep up and not tire herself too much. After a while of walking, they reached a small creek with fresh water. He stopped by it and took off his helmet to get another drink of water. "It's gettin' late. Should we push on or make camp?" he asked her, standing back up.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

With a lip on the verge of starting to shiver and eyes ready to burst out in another flood of tears, she listened to him. His idea of consoling someone was a little different from what she was used to - those who used to surround her had a slightly more delicate touch than "They'd have done much worse to you if you didn't kill them" and "Learn to kill sooner rather than later" She looked at him, her eyes steadying and the resemblance of a smile starting to grow on her lips. While it may not have been the best pep-talk she had ever heard, it did bring her thoughts to something else. The effort and good intents Arden showed was both endearing and cute. The teen let out an "Aww" sound as she leaned in for another hug.

Feeling the squeeze on her shoulder, Ines took his hand. The lithe girl was quickly hoisted back up to her feet. Her eyes went to the rifle which she had thrown to the ground earlier. Just looking at it made her feel sick - but there was a quick an simple solution to that problem. Looking away; it was a mistake. Soon, Ines' eyes were darting between the four corpses which laid on the ground. "B-by the stars" she said with a hand instinctively reaching out for Arden's arm. "I want to leave" she said with a shaky voice and slight sense of urgency. With that, the two soon left, leaving the place behind.

It was hard to miss - it was getting late. Her protector asked whether they should stop or not. Looking down for a moment, Ines reflected over her condition. Having maintained a good stamina throughout her life, the girl knew that she still had plenty of physical energy to go. Mentally, however, she was exhausted and there was always a risk of another attack. But then, she also knew that darkness might also be something which could work to their advantage. "Can we keep pushing?" she asked, looking up at him whilst continuing the walk. "I don't think we will need to travel for much longer" she continued, hoping that he would agree.

A short while later, a snap could be heard from diagonally behind them. Ines scurried in close to Arden, keeping a close eye on his hands to see if he would send her somewhere. It was a dramatic shift from when they first met this day, where she would probably rather have taken shelter behind a tree stub than with the mercenary. A moment later, a local beast could be seen scurrying through the woods. Letting out a heavy breath, the Alderaanian relaxed and sent a relieved smile at him. "Didn't get the chance to throw me around this time, did you?" she asked playfully as she returned to his side.

KingPrawn

 

[Arden Kryze]

Arden waited for her to finish then gave a nod. "If you think you can keep pushin' then we can." he spoke calmly, pulling a flashlight from a pouch on his belt and attaching it to the side of his helmet. He slid his helmet back on and got ready to move.

A sudden snap from behind, making him whirl around and drawing a pistol. To his surprise, Ines hid behind him. To both their relief it was only a local critter, causing Arden to relax and holster his weapon. He looked down at her as she made her comment, a smile spreading along his features. "You sure about tha', are ya?" he quipped, before wrapping an arm around her side and lifting her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as a joke.

He carried her like that over the stream before putting her down again. "Alrigh' luv. You cann keep pushin' let's keep pushin'." he confirmed, then activated his flashlight to brighten the way ahead of them.

It still took some time, but eventually they came upon their objective. The place was bustling with activity, with lights helping people move around despite it being this late. "Here we are." he spoke calmly, leading Ines through the trees towards the entrance to the area. They were stopped by the local militia. But a quick explanation from Arden and Ines got them in without a hitch. It was too late for Ines to meet with her contact, so Arden took her to the town center and sat down on a bench. "I don't know abou' you, bu' I could definitely do with a good meal an' a warm bed." he quipped with a sigh as he sat back.

@Pyrenees