Post by spastic bard on Apr 17, 2008 11:31:01 GMT -5
So this is a little on the old side. I recently just started the second part. Maybe if I post the first part I can finally get the inspiration to finish it. This takes place during the Khajit invasion on our Recon server, post-Gavin leaving. I figured despite the amount of assholery that makes up the Serlos family, one of the two people Keth had a good relationship with would eventually find her.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
She heard the voice before she felt the wave of a magical aura, untainted yet very wild.
“Don’t move. I have a bolt ready and aimed at your pretty little neck.”
The voice was commanding, though on the younger side. While it appeared as if the owner of the voice had caught her off guard, she was far from worried. Kethaniya Serlos, squire of the Open Hand and servant of Torm, was never caught off guard. Even when standing waist deep in a creek without armor or a weapon. Kethaniya found herself a little upset nevertheless; she didn’t like the idea of a strange man seeing her clad in only her under tunic, which was black and on the tight side since she wore it under her armor. Thankfully she had kept her leggings and boots on. And as far as she could tell from his aura, he meant her no harm.
Quite the way to show it, she thought to herself. Thankfully, the man was lying about the bolt as well. With a small cough, Kethaniya cleared her throat and answered the man’s request as respectfully as she could manage.
“Sir, you do not have a bolt aimed at my neck. I would have heard the click of the crossbow setting within many feet of this clearing. Also, even if you did you would not shoot me. You’re not here to draw any blood.”
She could feel the certainty of the man waver; either she called him on his bluff, or he was such an inexperienced roadside thief that he did not realized how highly trained she was. The sword and shield, both symbols of her calling, should have been more then enough to hint at it for even the lowliest of thieves. Yet the word inexperienced did not seem to fit here. His aura was awfully overbearing; very typical of users of the weave. It also seemed familiar, though she could not place where from. She heard the man move forward a few steps.
“You’re right,” he responded with a defeated tone. “I have no weapon nor do I wish you harm, my dear lady. I just wish to talk. Perhaps I picked the wrong way to do this.”
“You did.” Her tone was flat, with a touch of annoyance. She did not want to deal with this at the moment. She had wanted to clean a day’s wandering of grim and blood off of her body in peace.
“I’ll get to the point then.”
“Thank you—“ Kethaniya found herself cut off as she heard the man quickly move towards her. She turned to meet him, weapon or no weapon. However, she was a touch too slow. The stranger managed to close the distance between them at an amazingly fast rate, and before she could even raise her hand to threaten a blow, she found her arms pinned to her sides by the man’s embrace.
He was embracing her! Kethaniya felt the red flood to her cheeks along with her indignation. How dare some stranger just grab her like this! He held her close, his face hidden beyond her sight as it rested over her shoulder. The man was a great deal taller then her, clad in what appeared to be normal traveling clothes. There was no armor on his well built frame, but by the Gods was he strong! Kethaniya could barely breathe. What kind of magic user was he?
Kethaniya started to struggle against his hold until she felt the brush of hair over her face. In front of her eyes was a lock of the man’s hair – a striking, light gold color that felt strangely familiar. It even had a bit of a curl at the end.
“By the Gods Ani… You still look like a little girl playing knight. I hope you look a little more threatening in your armor.”
Ani. The name made her stop breathing for a moment. No one called her Ani anymore. Kethaniya took a breath, feeling a little weak. Silence passed between the two figures. She felt the threat of tears in her eyes as she blinked slowly to clear them. “… Kei?”
She felt the man chuckle as he released her. He took a step back and looked at her with gleaming gray eyes that mirrored her own. He appeared as if he could hardly believe he was seeing her. She felt exactly the same way. Kethaniya had been living so long in a land where her family was absent, the sight of her brother, her dear twin no less, felt strangely unreal. Keiranthe Serlos looked the same as he did the day she had left; still far too tall and bulky compared to her. She wondered for a moment if he saw his twin sister in the same light, or if she looked much changed. She felt much changed, but that didn’t mean anything. The only real physical difference was her hair, which had once been long kept like his own. She couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of his pony tail, still over one shoulder like a badge of pride. Kei quirked a brow at her laugh, obviously not following her train of thought.
“Three years without a word, and the first thing you do is laugh at me? Keth, you’re a heartbreaker!” His voice carried a note of sadness, but the glint in his eyes was one of mockery. “I would hardly be laughing if I were in your place; you look like a teenage boy with that getup.”
“And you still favor the more feminine appearance, I see.” She smiled. Like always, his thoughts were always along side of her’s. One of the perks of being twins, she guessed. “Maybe I should take a sword to it so you look more your part.”
“And maybe I should find the nearest lord and pay him to make an honest woman out of you!”
Both grinned at each other. The fact that they were still standing in the middle of a pond seemed lost on the gravity of their conversation. Truth be told, Keth was still expecting this to be a dream, and she feared she was on the verge of waking at any moment. Kei’s expression reflected much the same. After a moment passed, he glanced nervously towards the shore. “Should we continue this conversation on dry land?”
Keth laughed and started towards the shore of the lake, where her equipment was. “I’ll do one better; let’s get back to town and find a good tavern to sit down in.”
Kei laughed in response as he followed behind his sister. “You always were the smart one, my dear.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------
She heard the voice before she felt the wave of a magical aura, untainted yet very wild.
“Don’t move. I have a bolt ready and aimed at your pretty little neck.”
The voice was commanding, though on the younger side. While it appeared as if the owner of the voice had caught her off guard, she was far from worried. Kethaniya Serlos, squire of the Open Hand and servant of Torm, was never caught off guard. Even when standing waist deep in a creek without armor or a weapon. Kethaniya found herself a little upset nevertheless; she didn’t like the idea of a strange man seeing her clad in only her under tunic, which was black and on the tight side since she wore it under her armor. Thankfully she had kept her leggings and boots on. And as far as she could tell from his aura, he meant her no harm.
Quite the way to show it, she thought to herself. Thankfully, the man was lying about the bolt as well. With a small cough, Kethaniya cleared her throat and answered the man’s request as respectfully as she could manage.
“Sir, you do not have a bolt aimed at my neck. I would have heard the click of the crossbow setting within many feet of this clearing. Also, even if you did you would not shoot me. You’re not here to draw any blood.”
She could feel the certainty of the man waver; either she called him on his bluff, or he was such an inexperienced roadside thief that he did not realized how highly trained she was. The sword and shield, both symbols of her calling, should have been more then enough to hint at it for even the lowliest of thieves. Yet the word inexperienced did not seem to fit here. His aura was awfully overbearing; very typical of users of the weave. It also seemed familiar, though she could not place where from. She heard the man move forward a few steps.
“You’re right,” he responded with a defeated tone. “I have no weapon nor do I wish you harm, my dear lady. I just wish to talk. Perhaps I picked the wrong way to do this.”
“You did.” Her tone was flat, with a touch of annoyance. She did not want to deal with this at the moment. She had wanted to clean a day’s wandering of grim and blood off of her body in peace.
“I’ll get to the point then.”
“Thank you—“ Kethaniya found herself cut off as she heard the man quickly move towards her. She turned to meet him, weapon or no weapon. However, she was a touch too slow. The stranger managed to close the distance between them at an amazingly fast rate, and before she could even raise her hand to threaten a blow, she found her arms pinned to her sides by the man’s embrace.
He was embracing her! Kethaniya felt the red flood to her cheeks along with her indignation. How dare some stranger just grab her like this! He held her close, his face hidden beyond her sight as it rested over her shoulder. The man was a great deal taller then her, clad in what appeared to be normal traveling clothes. There was no armor on his well built frame, but by the Gods was he strong! Kethaniya could barely breathe. What kind of magic user was he?
Kethaniya started to struggle against his hold until she felt the brush of hair over her face. In front of her eyes was a lock of the man’s hair – a striking, light gold color that felt strangely familiar. It even had a bit of a curl at the end.
“By the Gods Ani… You still look like a little girl playing knight. I hope you look a little more threatening in your armor.”
Ani. The name made her stop breathing for a moment. No one called her Ani anymore. Kethaniya took a breath, feeling a little weak. Silence passed between the two figures. She felt the threat of tears in her eyes as she blinked slowly to clear them. “… Kei?”
She felt the man chuckle as he released her. He took a step back and looked at her with gleaming gray eyes that mirrored her own. He appeared as if he could hardly believe he was seeing her. She felt exactly the same way. Kethaniya had been living so long in a land where her family was absent, the sight of her brother, her dear twin no less, felt strangely unreal. Keiranthe Serlos looked the same as he did the day she had left; still far too tall and bulky compared to her. She wondered for a moment if he saw his twin sister in the same light, or if she looked much changed. She felt much changed, but that didn’t mean anything. The only real physical difference was her hair, which had once been long kept like his own. She couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of his pony tail, still over one shoulder like a badge of pride. Kei quirked a brow at her laugh, obviously not following her train of thought.
“Three years without a word, and the first thing you do is laugh at me? Keth, you’re a heartbreaker!” His voice carried a note of sadness, but the glint in his eyes was one of mockery. “I would hardly be laughing if I were in your place; you look like a teenage boy with that getup.”
“And you still favor the more feminine appearance, I see.” She smiled. Like always, his thoughts were always along side of her’s. One of the perks of being twins, she guessed. “Maybe I should take a sword to it so you look more your part.”
“And maybe I should find the nearest lord and pay him to make an honest woman out of you!”
Both grinned at each other. The fact that they were still standing in the middle of a pond seemed lost on the gravity of their conversation. Truth be told, Keth was still expecting this to be a dream, and she feared she was on the verge of waking at any moment. Kei’s expression reflected much the same. After a moment passed, he glanced nervously towards the shore. “Should we continue this conversation on dry land?”
Keth laughed and started towards the shore of the lake, where her equipment was. “I’ll do one better; let’s get back to town and find a good tavern to sit down in.”
Kei laughed in response as he followed behind his sister. “You always were the smart one, my dear.”