Esayo

The Heroes of Beacon

Emlyn was beginning to feel the strain as well before too long. Mirror was beginning to get in the way of his steps, and more than once did his breath catch in his throat when a hand knocked against the edge, and caused him the slightest stumble. He wasn't afraid of heights, but looking down did him no favors. By the time their climb gained the slightest hint of going horizontal, he was moving slower, holding his place longer.

Auriel's decision was one he was very keen to follow. He watched his partner make a small leap to the safety of the ledge, and shimmied his way over. Carefully, he took Mirror from around his shoulder, and got as good a hold on the mountain face as he could. He reeled his arm back, and then threw the chakram forward, embedding it onto the ground of the ledge a few feet away. Better safe than sorry.

The jump was easy enough; his foothold was solid and the kick off was strong enough. He landed squarely away from the edge, but held onto Mirror as a safety just in case. He pried it from the ground, shook off the specs of dirt that stuck to the blade, and then set it flat on the ground.

"Perhaps this particular mountain wasn't the ideal choice," he said, looking out from their little roost. "We could try working with what we have here, or perhaps try and transition to another mountain. Either way, you're right, we can't afford to let night hit before we get something."

The Heroes of Beacon

The tally-ho is strong

The Heroes of Beacon

Oh my god I love this freaking OOC.

The Heroes of Beacon

Ey Media, wasn't quite sure if the movement to the mountain was like too fast or anything. I'm heading to class now but if you wanna like go back or anything I'll edit it once I'm out first thing.

The Heroes of Beacon

Emlyn continued on, making way for the mountain. For a while he was silent, tossing only the occasional glance back at Auriel to make sure he was still there. The boy certainly wasn't very talkative, though normally that wouldn't have stopped Emlyn from going on about himself. He had a myriad of stories, really he did, fabricated or otherwise they never failed to impress. But with his partner already it was different; Auriel was not the sort that he usually mingled with. Gritty, determined, kept his sentences to the point. A good warrior? Probably, just looking at him, Emlyn could guess he was skilled. But what about off of the field? How would Auriel handle the spotlight? Oh god, how would he handle the added company of their team?

Mirror ceased its spinning about his wrist, and he held it still. A challenge, that's all. It'd be a challenge. He'd worked his way into tougher friendships before, and come out successful. Auriel might be a rock, but Emlyn was a chisel, and he was more than content to chip away slowly, piece by piece.

At the base of the mountain he looked up, biting his lip. The could climb it, or at least he could. He was nimble enough and Mirror was deceivingly good at digging in for holds. He gave a bit of the rock a soft kick, as if to test it, make sure it was solid, and then leaned to it to find a good starting hold.

"Alright then, best we move on up, hm? The faster we find this artifact, the faster we find our team, and the faster we get out of here and on with our journey," he said. He slung Mirror over his shoulder, and looked expectantly again back at Auriel.

The Heroes of Beacon

Emlyn was surprised to say the least, by all of what Auriel was divulging to him. They'd known each other maybe a minute or so, and out came the personal descriptions at a single request. Perhaps the information was false, and this seemingly simple young man was more clever than he appeared, or perhaps he trusted Emlyn already. If it was that he trusted him, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for Auriel. It wasn't like he had any plans to betray his partner, but he didn't expect truth from someone so quickly.

That got him thinking. Were the rules different with partners? Was he supposed to be entirely honest with Auriel now? And what of the rest of the team, would honesty be required then too? His breath caught in his throat for only a sliver of a moment. Of course not. His whole life he'd prided himself on how well he could hide the details he didn't want to share with others, and he wasn't about to betray that over the possibility of some arbitrary trust agreement. He was a good liar, he could fake things, weave a flawless web and no one would be any wiser. He hoped, anyway.

"Oh me? Well, I've always wanted to be a hunter. All you ever hear these days are glory tales of those brave souls. By the end of it, Iiiii... can safely assure you that we will be celebrated heroes. Your vengeance will be sung about, Aury my friend!" he said.

Yes, that would do.

He turned his attention -and the conversation- off their beaten path and upward. The mountains weren't too terribly far off he thought, and they were as good a place as any. With a nod of his head towards the great monoliths, he corrected his course, though kept the flare to his walk. "What's say we hit the mountain tops, hm? High ground is always good, and we might find our goal up there."

The Heroes of Beacon

@Media

Same, I think they make a pretty nice contrasting pair, will definitely be fun to see how it works out \o/

The Heroes of Beacon

Emlyn kept his gaze upon Auriel for a few moments, as if expectant. He'd been wrong, much to his disappointment; there was much more to notice about the other boy, upon an actual inspection. Well, not much more, but an abundance of a particular thing. What he had previously mistaken for dirt, he now saw were scars. For a brief moment, his grin all but vanished, and his eyes fell away from Auriel's face, examining instead his arms and visible neck area. Scars indeed, and plenty of them, a worrying amount.

So what, he had a few scars? It wasn't anything to worry over. He got them and quite obviously he'd survived. It wasn't unnerving, it wasn't frightening, it was reality. People got hurt getting to Beacon, and people would get hurt at Beacon. There was a chance even Auriel wouldn't make it through the test, and then -ugh, then he'd have to find another partner, or worse, he'd be forced to roam alone for even longer. But what if [i]he[/] didn't...

No, not even a second thought to that question. He shook his head and blinked his focus back to the present. His eyes met Auriel's again, and his smirk returned with fervor. He twirled about on his heel and sashayed onward as he had been before. "Agreed, let's get going. Soon enough we'll have our artifact, and soon after that, our team. We'll be household names before long, pal, trust me on that!"

He paused for a bit, and resumed twirling Mirror about his wrist. He looked over his shoulder back to Auriel, and cleared his throat again. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, hm? I like to know what sort of company I keep."

The Heroes of Beacon

Oh god the scares are real

The Heroes of Beacon

Emlyn had set up his pose rather well he thought. Standing sideways, one leg resting a bent knee against Mirror while the other behind was an anchor, both hands atop the chakram, slight arch to the back to draw more attention to figure than height, and a look that was just malicious enough to invoke the slightest twinge of uncertainty in those whose eyes he met.

But then it would never really get a chance to do its job, as when Auriel spun around with his weapons ready, his pose crumbled into an almost sloppy fall back. Instead his eyes hardened incredulously, and as the other boy scanned him, he did so in return. Not much in the way of new information; he still looked grungy in his armor, though the sword and shield up close had been something of a surprise.

He wasn't sure what the next move ought to be. Was this the start of a disastrous partnership? Normally when he found himself in frequent contact with someone he disliked or who disliked him, his plan of action was to tear their social life apart, but would that even be possible with this boy? He was clever, but he'd been bested before -not that he'd admit to it.

Then Auriel broke that worrisome train of thought with a question. No, not a question, much worse than a question. Emlyn enjoyed questions thoroughly, as they were opportunities to gain quick admiration. But what he enjoyed more than questions were compliments; cutting out the middle man. Instantly his harsher gaze collapsed and reformed back to its slick, suave grin, and he spun Mirror like a top, between his hand and the ground.

"Oh this? Ah yes, my gem, truly. Mirror and I have been close for many many years. It's a chakram you see, a war-ring. Slice, throw, doesn't really matter, always does its job spectacularly, always returns," he said, holding on to that proud moment before going on, his attention turning to the weapons of the other. "Your own little friends there seem quite, erhm... sturdy. Retro even! I love the weathered look, really."

Auriel went on and gave his name, which was just fine, even had a nice ring to it. Auriel Connoly. His partner. Hm. He struck out his hand as an after thought, straitening his posture and clearing his throat. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Auriel Connoly; I am Emlyn Jyri Ampelios. Second of three children to a fine couple of warriors, and soon to be legend among this rag tag community of ours."