Rina Daltis

The North Road

Zahir Rahel

All things considered, they could be in a far worse way on their first night and a far worse position. It was a nice thought, one that comforted Zahir as he pondered on the events of the day as well as the task to come. Their group was certainly one of missfits, strung together in this odd task, but at least they seemed competant.

... Well most of them at least.

The addition of a moody, half suicidal it seemed girl did complicate things, in fact it complicated things a lot. Still it was one more reason why he couldn't back out, now was not the time to begin valuing his own neck over that promise ... or his own concience.

Whatever was in the woods was staying there at the moment, which meant quite a few things, some of which deeply worried the old man, not that anyone would see it behind the mask. If it wasing coming closer, it was worried ... probably about a straight fight over open ground against a bow. However it also meant that whatever it was smart enough to realise that, or was just waiting for an opportunity. Whatever it was, it meant this thing was intelligent.

Gently he moved a hand closer towards his blade, trying to appear as non-hostile as possible while bring prepared enough should a move be made.

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If there was one thing Zahir hadn't been expecting when approaching that girl, it was to practically be completely ignored. For her to run, or to attempt to fight, those were both eventualities he'd been preparing for and for the first time in a while he felt slightly confused. An emotion which while sharp and sudden faded quickly, as it became just one of many "firsts" he'd experianced over his life. At some point he'd just simply learned to accept that new things happened, he could never know everything.

At the very least, the girl was safe for now, so in a roundabout way he'd succeeded in his objective. That thought brought a faint, fleeting smile to the lips hidden behind the mask, the kid hadn't died on his watch. Even better they seemed to have wandered over towards the party, adding one more to the number of people he could protect on this adventure.

All that seemed left for him to do was wander lazily back to the group, picking up and sheathing his blade on the way. From the outside the old mans movements may have looked practically careless, ponderous even, but there was a certain attentiveness to him. He wasn't looking for the beast, that was true, not that looking was going to do much good in the dark, at least for him. Years of sitting happily by a campfire whenever it got dark has ruined much of his nightvision, no he was listening for it. After all if he was gonna sit around campfires for years making himself a target, he needed to hear if a danger was coming, cause they'd sure as hell see him first. That or hear a commanding officer over the yells of combat.

That man ... Heddwyn, as he gave his suggestions Zahir nodded happily, he liked this man already. A nice rest would be welcome, give him a chance to rest. Of course, he'd take one of the watches, warm himself by a nice fire and get some drink in him. The wind would sting of course, but for the few patches which still felt anything it was a comforting sensation.

"I agree with that, a nice protected spot. Though anywhere I could rest my bones would be welcome. If anyone wants a drink, I've got some in my pack I could share."

He paused to smile briefly to himself, it would be nice to hear some new stories. "And if you're worried about taking watch, I can do plenty of it, it is my profession after all."

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I know, how rude of her!

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Damn, you got me there.

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Is Galia's plan here btw to yell encouragingly while letting the old man go into the dangerous situation alone and unarmed?

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They can always have more

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Is this theory time?

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Now that he was actually giving himself a chance to rest Zahir was able to take a greater stock of the small collection of souls around him. At least they looked hardened ... well most of them did at least, which was another point for defying expectations. There was certainly so much more that he'd ever expected, which hopefully meant there would be a lot less work for him to do. Despite the fact he was still in good shape and totally unwilling to give up being a fighter, he did enjoy being able to take it slow every now and then.

For now he was very content to let the rest of the group introduce itself and to be grateful for the mask that covered his face. For he knew he recognised the face of several here, like the warrior gal, though he believed that last time there'd been quite a few more people in her party when he'd seen her. The huntsman too he recognised, the man had skill, he remembered that much. But there were so many people who slipped by his little town for a day or two, so many different names and stories to remember that he had given up bothering to try. So it was with a contented little smile he recived those very helpful reminders.

Well ... it seemed his companions were eager at least to get the task done, too eager in his opinion. Conviction was certainly one thing, but recklessness was another and in his experiance a blind devotion towards getting the task done often ended in serious personal risk. Had he been younger he'd have almost certainly blurted that out, probably to the detriment of team morale and cohesion, a true win before the hunt had even begun. But apart from all the dull aches and pains from old scars, his age had brought with it a sense of tact, or at least a greater one than his younger self.

"Come now, are we really going to charge off into the beasts territory now? Won't you let an old man rest his bones for the night? It has been a long journey here and I'm not as young as you lot. One night of safety outside the beasts domain would not do us any harm."

He wanted just a little bit more time, time that they could spend becoming a better team, or at least long enough for him to come up with a plan to ensure no one died.

Any hopes of a quiet end to the night were dashed by the arrival of the sixth person, a girl far younger than the rest of the gathered adventueres, standing beyond any sort range in which he could make out identifying features. Not that it really mattered, he was watching a young person rush off into certain danger. "Fuck..."

Gently he placed his sword on the ground and raised his arms into the air, attempting to communicate as best as possible, his lack of weapons. "She is ... if we let her stay there. Which I'm not."

Slowly and with an even step he began to cross the empty stretch of land between the group and Ardonne.

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AH this is brilliant, I think Zahir might need to go full grandparent mode to try and sort this out, or bully the others into helping her out

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That works well for the character I think and I don't think posting speeds should be too fast.