Thar Shaddin

Fall

At first, he wasn't quite sure how he got here. One moment, our stoic guardsman was patrolling the city with a severe stare locked onto his face. The next, a small stubby merchant that barely met his chest level appeared, on his head a pointed hat and atop his nose little round glasses. He was hunched over, a little cane in his hand and a small bag on his back. His clothes were a bright blue and his eyes a dull grey, all of him seeming friendly. Drayel frowned.

"What is it?" Drayel growled as the short man stood pleasantly before him, as though this was the place of pure heaven for this creepy old man.

"You... are in need of companionship young man." came the squeaky response. Drayel cocked an eyebrow at him though this went unnoticed. What didn't go unnoticed was the fact the older man grabbed his arm and promptly dragged him with an abnormal amount of strength. "Come with me young man! I know another who needs a companion and you shall be hers!"

"W-what? Let of my arm!" Drayel shouted though it was no use. He couldn't get the man to unhand him without hurting the older man. "What is going on?"

Talia giggled. Not really at anything in particular, just out of sheer joy. She had been putting in long hours at the bakery trying to save up for extra money and today was her only day off for weeks and she was going to enjoy it! She breathed in a breathe of freedom as she tried to refrain from skipping along the street.

Talia raised her head at a ruckus at the other end of the street. Standing on her tiptoes she caught the sight of an old man who looked much like you would want your grandfather to look, cheery, rosy-cheeked....and with a sense of bravery, humor or maybe just plain stupidity. What made the sight so unusual and entertaining was not the old man himself but the person whom he was dragging behind. The man was considerably younger, bigger and you would suspect stronger but from the way he was flailing and trying to get away it didn't look like he could.

Talia laughed but stopped suddenly....the men was making a beeline towards her. "Good-day?" She croaked out as they pulled to a stop in front of her.

"Ah.... young lady I noticed you were in need of a companion." the old man croaked once more as he still held stubbornly onto Drayel. The guardsman huffed as he peered down at the teenager with a grumpy scowl. A jerk on his arm made him grunt in surprise however when he was somehow shoved closer to the startled looking teen. "Here, I found your perfect companion!"

"Stop this nonsense your spewing, old man. I am on patrol and have no time for such stupid grumblings." Drayel growled as he tried to jerk his hand from the man's grasp. The old man took no heed of him and simply grabbed the younger woman's hands, squeezed a pressure point in Drayel's wrist to make his hand open, then locked the teenager and the guards hands together with a pleased hum. "Oi!"

"Oh blessed be these two, connected through the grasping of hands. To held them true, so they won't part. I grant them these rings, these sacred bands." the old man crowed as he slipped a pair of ring on each of their hands. "Be on our way, be quick or be still. Know now young couple, your hands be bound still!"

With that the old man let go of both of them, let out a loud 'whoo hoo hoo' laugh and trotted away with a jiggy step. Drayel stared after the crazy old man for a moment, then at the rings. He rolled his eyes before moving to let go of the girl, his lips twitching when he found her fingers grasping firm to his hand.

"The old bloke is gone." Drayel stated irritably. "Let go."

Talia had been biting her lip to keep from giggling through the old mans' speel. This man? Her perfect companion? Where ever did he get such a notion! But when he put their hands together and presented them with rings she really started to worry...and maybe freak out just a bit. If anything it was at least a relief when the jolly old gentlman finally trotted off.

She pulled her hand away, hoping that they would both laugh about this and then continue their separate ways, but he wouldn't let go...and had the nerve to blame it on her! Like she could hold his hand a second longer then he would want!

"Me let go?! You let go of my hand, you're the one holding on to it like your life depended on it." she huffed

"You're.... not hanging onto it?" Drayel stared at her in growing dread. He did a quick jot back of that damn poem the man said, all the while trying to pry off the girl's hand. Didn't work. "That old man couldn't have been serious about us being bound, could he?"

Another thought hit his head and it came from his mouth before he could even think about it.

"Those verses sound like a damn wedding sermon." he grouched as he lifted their hands to peer at the rings before giving her a sharp look. "If this is a prank your pulling, stop now or else I'll get angry."

"Why would I ever be hanging on to your hand? It's not lady-like and I don't know a thing about you!" Talia shot back. "If you were a decent man you would let go of my hand!" Talia's voice was bordering on squeaky...She really was starting to panic.

"Wedding?!" The word snapped her back to her senses. "Oh no, no, no, I am not married and certainly not to you. Any why would I pull a prank on you? Certainly if I wanted to be stuck to a man I would choose someone a little more...." Talia looked at him trying to find a polite way of describing what she was thinking "...well a little less gruff. And a better sense of humour too. If anything this is more likely your doing!" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "What's your problem anyways? Couldn't get a date so you paid some old man to set you up with some random, young woman? There really are better ways of going about this you know. Now let go. Today is my only day off and I certainly wasn't planning on spending it with you!" Talia said as she pulled on her hand hoping that this all really was some stupid joke and she could go back to relaxing.

Hearing how generally panicked and angry she was convinced Drayel that this woman was playing no pranks. Still, those comments made his eyebrow twitch and he let loose a low growl. To show disrespect to a guard was frowned upon in this city, and for a such a small girl she certainly had a big mouth. He fumed.

"Listen here girlie." Drayel snapped hotly. "I have no interest in holding your hand either but if you can't let go and neither can I then I'm supposing these damned rings are enchanted. Now, quit your damn squealing about a day off while I think."

Drayel itched his stubbled chin as he closed his eyes in thought. First, try and figure out what enchantment this was. Second, get it taken off. First off though, he'd have to.... damn he'd have to go to the guardshouse and get one of those lazy slobs to take his patrol. He huffed in irritation.

"Come on. We need to drop by the barracks." Drayel growled as he gave her a firm tug. "Somebody needs to take my patrol while we fix this and I damned well don't want to hear your complaining about how old I am or how 'scruffy' I look. Understood?"

Talia held her breathe for a couple seconds, it helped her to calm down a bit....loose the high pitch from her voice and at least to sound like a normal adult. Although she didn't know many, actually she didn't know anyone who had ever gotten into a scrap like this. She looked up and him and attempted to smile, if this was how she was going to have to spend the day, or even a portion of it, she might as well make the most of it. At least it was a guard, she could have been stuck to someone much worse.

Talia dug in her heels. "First off, if we must be stuck together for any portion of the day, my name is Talia Idris. Since our....relationship has already progressed this far" she said as she raised their joined hands, "You may use my first name. Secondly, I never made any remarks about you looks or your age. I simply assumed what your process for picking up women were. And for that I apologize." Talia gave an apologetic nod and looked at him.....he was sort of staring now. "Okay....we can go now." She said.

As they turned around Talia glanced over at him, finally getting a chance to actually see to whom she was stuck too. While he did look a older, it seemed mostly his experiences that had aged him not so much life in general. Scruffy he was too but in some eyes it may be seen as a rugged quality....if anything he was at least attractive in his own way. Talia quickly looked away and hoped that he hadn't caught her looking, and even more so hoped she wasn't blushing.

"I am Drayel Morig." Drayel rumbled as he matched her stride without a complaint. He glanced at her reddening face with a blink, frowning slightly in slight concern. "Are you alright? You look a little.... red."

A quiet shuffle and whispers caught his attention, his eyes glancing over to a pair of beady eyed ditties with the look of perverse longing in their eyes. He tensed a bit before narrowing his eyes at them, demanding they turn their faces away and stop whatever it was making him feel uncomfortable. They giggled and continued to gossip much to his distaste.

"What in creators is their problem?" Drayel grouched before turning his glare to peer down at her dully. He gave his eyes a roll. "Woman are the curse of men I swear it. They giggle, bawl, mooch and damn well knows what else. On that note, why do you smell of bakery?"

Talia blushed again, she had to stop doing that, but it wasn't her fault that she had been so busy with work that she wasn't used to being in the company of men for a prolonged amount of time. "Its....It's just the fresh air and excitement getting to me." She said.

Talia looked back at the silly girls behind them before turning to grin at Drayel. "Well there are a couple options to what 'their problem' might be. Guessing by their giggles and whispers they were probably checking you out. And judging by the glares they are giving me they are most likely wondering why you would ever be holding my hand." Talia smiled "I will agree with you, women can be silly, but often they just want attention," she said with a shake of her head.

"As for my scent, I work in a bakery. Best buns in Marn!" Talia said proudly. "And how about you? By your uniform I would assume city guard, a noble job...for the most part." Talia hopped that Drayel wasn't one of those dishonorable men who pretended to be looking out for the good of the city when in reality they were on;y looking out for themselves.

"Checking... me out?" Drayel stared at her in disbelief. "I hardly think that's the case. After all-"

"Ooooh hohohoho! MY precious darlin', I haven't seen you in what feels like a century!" Drayel cringed in response as he hesitantly glanced behind him. What met his gaze made his eyes widen and his pace quicken with a quick warning of 'don't look back and keep my pace'. "Ohhhh Drayysie! Come baaack. and who is thatugly bitch on your arm?"

"She is my companion and she and I are currently preoccupied. Goodbye Mrs. Grandie." He stated keeping his wide eyes forward. No, he didn't want to see that large buged eyed creature with a pot belly, hunched back, saggy ass and sprawling hair. Disgustingly hidious with the broken teeth and half rotten. Instead he glanced at Talia he whispered with as much urgency as possible. "Prepare yourself."

Within two steps he ducked down and twisted, grabbed Talia behind the knees, threw her over his armored shoulder, and bolted as quickly as he could, being gentle as he could as he fled the scene. He felt the fire burn into his back and the sudden weight aggravated his old battle wound but he forced it down. He needed to flee.

"You said you work for a bakery?" he asked grunting as he bounced her on his shoulder. "I'll have to drop by to see if that claim of yours is really that good."

"Well actually..." Talia was about to explain why someone may be interested in him when all of a sudden a coarse voice interrupted her. Looking back she didn't know if she should laugh or be frightened at the sight of old woman waddling up to them. Seeing the look of panic and the quickening of Drayels' steps she had a feeling like there was an interesting story behind this. "An infatuated ex-lover?" She asked in a serious tone and tried to keep her face straight. "And I'm not just your companion, I'm your perfect companion." She said rolling her eyes "...perhaps I should inform this lovely lady of our - HEY! What do you think you are doing?!" Talia shrieked in surprise as suddenly Drayel practically threw her over his shoulder.

"Let me down this instance!" Talia demanded, trying to keep herself from flopping all over the place as well as trying to avoid staring at the not-too-shabby rear that was being flounced in her face, well at least in her line of vision. "For goodness sakes I can run just as fast as you can." She sighed as she tried to turn herself around to look at Drayel. "Of course my baking is good, I would be out of a job if I wasn't." She glared at him, hoping that he could feel her eyes drilling in to the back of his head. "Now set me down!" Talia refused the urge to start kicking and pounding him with her fists, she wasn't a little girl after all and it wasn't like he was some rogue whisking her off against her will. She just didn't like getting treated like a sack of flour!

"I'm aware you can run! The fitness of your legs tells quite the story!" Drayel fumed as he slid around a corner and down an alley. "But can you run while holding the hand of a taller man and not trip the other? No, we can get away this way faster and more reliable."

He kept going until he came close to the barracks, pausing to look around as he let out a heavy huffs of air. He looked around, eyes wide and watching as he did a full circle examination. Seeing no creepy old woman nor her duo of gossipers he let out a relieved sigh. Feeling rather embarrassed but worn down he gently put her down and coughed into his hand.

"I, apologize." he grumbled glancing away sheepishly. "She's one of my..... she's something of a wooer."

Talia covered her face with her hands, forget about trying not to be jostled around! Drayels' remark about her legs were just embarassing...would this day never end? Well thankfully she chose to wear legging today instead of just going bare-legged with her knee-length green skirt and beige blouse. She reached a hand up behind her and made sure that her skirt was still in place and not billowing all over the place....it would be just her luck today if it happened to fly up just as Drayel looked over and that wasn't going to happen if Talia had a say!

As they approached the barracks Drayel finally slowed down and after checking things out he set her down. "Well Thank-you." Talia said dryly, rubbing her lower abdomen. Yup, she would probably be ending up with some bruises tonight.

She looked up as he coughed. "Let's go inside and get you a drink of water," Talia said pulling his hand towards the barracks "and you can tell me about this lover of yours and whatever would cause a man to run that fast away from a harmless old woman." Her smile froze as they entered one of the buildings and the chatter inside died down and heads turned at the site of the two of them entering the room...holding hands no less. Talia took a step back towards the door "I'm just going to go and wait outside..." She whispered before realizing she couldn't go anywhere without dragging this guy along.

"Oi! Everybody look! Drayel's got a girlfriend!" one of them bellowed as a series of whoops and cheers echoed around the Barracks. "He's all grown up!He's gone to being a man!"

Then at the most inconvient time.

"HES GONNA GET LAID!"

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Drayel roared as his face turned a heavy scarlet. "YOU ARE ALL A BUNCH OF DAMN MONKEY BITING, TOE JAMMING IDIOTS! GO BACK TO YOUR BUSINESS! IF I SO MUCH AS SEE YOU OR EVEN SUSPECT YOU TALKING ABOUT THIS- EVEN SNICKERING- I WILL REMOVE MY BLADE FROM THE SHEATH AND RING YOU THROUGH!"

The barracks went dead silent as they paled, unsure how much of this threat was true. Seeing what he wanted done he pulled her behind him, stamping up the stairs with her in tow all the while grinding his teeth in embarrassment and frustration. He stopped only when he got to his room, pulling her in and slamming the door shut.

"Damn these idiots." he grouched as he glared hard at the door then slowly glanced at her with a blush. "Sorry, I didn't even mean to go here but.... anyway. Come on, I'm taking off my armor. Easier to move without it and I need to grab a fresh shirt from the dresser."