Nature's Grace (Théodred Heavenshield)

[Ylva Heavenshield]

Nirauan was beautiful at this hour of the morning, where the first breath of day passed over the mountains and the sun kissed the earthen floor in a warmth and array of light that lit up the countryside. The sound of the Birds awakening, singing to their young while the chicks all chirped and cried for their morning meal; regurgitated worms with a side of bile for perfect seasoning, life's twisted sense of humor within something so disturbingly innocent. So few of the new life in this forest would survive out a full year, predators of all kinds staking a claim on every level of the food chain of every world, the vicious cycle of the unending fight for survival, Ylva Solveig knew it oh so well.

Enveloped within the greens and browns of the Forest, her attire of furs atop hand crafted leathers kept her both insulated and hidden as she pressed her weight down upon one knee, her left foot propped forward, head and shoulders low to the cover of the shroud of plants and foliage around her. Within her hands stirred the custom made Bow, her preferred weapon of choice with a single wooden shaft tipped with a poly-alloy arrowhead notched against it's durable wire, not yet pulled but held facing the soil beneath her while she watched, ever so still and ever so silent. Listening. Waiting.

Further ahead came the sound, the first sign of her prey just a little ways south of where she sat perched among the borough. To the east the Sun had arisen and to the west it wet set in the eve, yet for now it told her plenty well what she would find ahead. The river rapids ran just shy of a single kilometer away from there, a good place for an easy kill if only her target would move on that way. Next came the call, the Nerf letting loose the call to others, soon echoed from her left and to the rear. She had not expected so many and they were large creatures despite their docile appearance, these beasts carried the mass of cattle and bore the horns of a bull, their speed and physic however were unrivaled within Nurauan's known herbivores and like the deer, they could take flight at any time; moving in herds a head on confrontation could get you killed as quickly as any man eater there.

Surrounded by these magnificent creatures, their hides would keep her warm in the night while the meat she could harvest would offer a solid few days meal were she to fry and dry it into a jerky. It was surprising as a child to see just how long one could live off of dried aged meat when conscious and taste was cast aside for the sake of living out ones days in such an isolated world. There were few other people in the area, Ylva had come across only a handful that sought to traverse the tombs and ruins of older structures from ancient times before her life, all whom usually wound up dead and leaving her with a gift in their passing. It wasn't an easy living nor a morale one yet she was one of the wilds, a castaway with little a coin to her name let alone a ways off from the only place she really knew. What Ylva expected to be outside of Nirauan was without a doubt just as putrid as the acts of the Clan in her days since passed. She who had learned to scrap like the best of them, living among larger men and fighting most every day with them over the remains of meals she hadn't killed until eventually she took up arms and began to hunt for her own sake, it was almost a rite of passage with the exception of their being any praise nor traditions among them. Clan Solveig, it sounded like a great house of high lords the way they spoke of themselves yet they had been thieves, rogues, murderers and worse; Their end had been justified by her means and intent for the future. One where she needed not the concern of being rushed in the night during one of Akron's hunts.

It was true that you could only back a dog so far into a corner before it was forced to bare it's teeth and learn to either obey or go through you. Ylva had never been one for rules, she had learned to become the she-wolf of their pack, hunting them down as she did now the Nerf. Slowly creeping closer through the thick underbrush of the great tree fall, bow slowly lifting as she closed in on the great buck. Her first shot would be a scare tactic, she rarely missed but if she hit the leg, it would seek to flee and in doing so, find itself between her and the river wild. Calculated and precise, she moved to rise slowly out from the palms of leaves and cover, the first arrow head being loosed from her bow, the air spiraling around it's feathered tail as it soared gracefully through the day break, a shot that near defied the eyes in it's velocity, a blur of black and the subtle splash of blood as the sound of flesh being punctured like a cushion of air spoke true her mark was hit.

So begins the first hunt of the day.​

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[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

It was so peaceful. The surroundings in which Theo found himself in this isolated place was refreshing to him. And warm. It had been ages since he felt the rays of the sun beating on his face with a stronger degree of heat. For the best part of two years he had been either on Ilum or Midvinter both ice cold planets that froze the blood and bone which did not worry the Valkyri born, in fact the cold was his life and gave him a strength were others would perish. The temperate climate still took a toll on him, and anything hotter would debilitate him to a vast degree but there was means to negate this .. the force.

The force, it was alive here in everything he could sense it pulsing with energy and filled everything around him to the brim. Such life within the forest he enjoyed always did even from childhood. Many hours even days spent in the wilds of Midvinter, hunting or adventuring to some part of his homeland yet to be visited. There was so much he had not seen of it, let alone the galaxy at large but there is time for all that. At least, time to try and see it all . . that would never be a wasted life. His face turned the sky, only seen though the canopy of the tall trees and dappled the ground around him, but the shadows cast their story upon the ground and told him time was marching forward. It had already been the best part of the day that had passed and still he had not found them.

He looked around wondering if he had received the correct co-ordinates, there was no tell tale signs to guide him just a set of co-ordinates which the scanner informed him that he was headed in the right direction. He was here partly due to a directive to find the ruins but mostly to take some time off so he did not mind the longer stay. He adjusted his pack on his shoulders once more before setting off again. But he did not get far when the cry of an animal in pain cut through the stillness of the forest, a loud bellow that disturbed the avian setting them to flight and ground creatures scurried to fear back into their burrows.

The warning, the thundering of pounding hooves coming his way and the crushing of undergrowth was that alerted him, before he sensed the fear and rage in the animal. It was scared for it's life, and ready to fight for it .. a wounded animal was dangerous and moreover deadly and cared little for who got in the way. Theo had only time enough to run and throw his body into the thickets before the animal caught wind of him and would charge. It was too little .. too late.

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[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

From out of the bushes reared the Nerf in a bellowing of pain, rushing on ahead in all it's strength and momentum, a far less graceful gallop than the woman who darted across the woodlands after it in full flight. Her feet found the earth with little a sound, her movements agile as she weaved around the tree's and across the fallen foliage that came between her and the kill. Ylva Solveig was as wild as any other creature of life in these lands during these moments, her breath tempered and paced against the cool air that swept up against her cheeks, hair trailing at her back while adrenaline gave her all the power and excitement that she needed; that she craved.

Following the beasts flank, she had not caught sight of the boy who had thrown himself to the ground for fear of his life; Ylva pursued the animal not from the rear but arcing out to the right side of the mark. Branches whipped up against her face as she near glided along the bank over looking the clearing, the river was coming ever close yet the creatures momentum slowed.

'Already...?'

She found herself skeptical, doubting the creatures reason to pull veer off course; something had distracted it and yet many creatures, predator and prey alike called this forest home. Rabid were the dogs that hunted in these parts, every part her equal in tact yet larger the number, her clan had killed many of them and too fallen ill to their disease. Ylva refused to let this kill be soured by vermin nor taken away, stolen by some other. She had not eaten in over a day, hunting was her way of life, her survival and she respected the risks yet refused to be overcome. Stubborn and proud of her skill, her feet skidded to an abrupt halt kicking up the soil and dried leaves around her. She turned to stumble down the bank side coming onto even ground with the pair, [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] not yet in sight thanks to the underbrush that clouded her vision and too kept her hidden. She could hear the Nerf however, could hear its staggered breath as if it were her own, could feel the tension in her shoulders as she raised the bow and notched her arrow tight against the wire, her left thumb steadying the shot as she now slowly stepped forward with a single focus.

With a thunderous applause of hooves against the dampened earth of green grass still wet from the last rains, the Nerf charged in awe of the mans ill-advised arrival. Thrashing it's head about as it sought to gain momentum to carry its weight into the smaller life, it knew not the source of its pain until another had sank it's metal tooth into the nerf's left side just behind the forward leg. It came with a sleek soar of wind, air rushing to whirl around the feathered tail as the tree's of green broke away and the wooden missile slapped heavy against he creatures underbelly, the arrow finding it's home in the animal's heart, avoiding the rib cage, bone to bite down against the tender organs like the point of a knife to limber skin.

Crashing into the ground head first the kill took up a cloud of dust and shrug with it, Ylva swiftly stepping out in haste, another arrow notched and raised as she sought to confirm her kill. Only now did she see the other life, the one who had turned the beast to heel and nearly killed himself in it's tracks. The Nerf's last breath were difficult, it tried to move yet found not the strength and would not regain its footing. Her weapon turned away from the mark and found focus now on the newcomer, the stranger to her world and to that of the wilds.

Words were not easily given, she had less experience with socializing with her own kind than she did the creatures of the natural world, yet she knew well the deeds of men and understood their general nature. Foolhardy and brash, driven by desire and brutes one and all. All that she offered this one was the moment to react, her eyes narrowing down the shaft of the arrow, watching his every move, allowing him the moment to explain himself yet ready to loose another killing shot if he even glanced her over in a disheartening fashion; her shoulders rose and fell, her breathing quick from the pursuit and her arms felt the strain of the bows tension, the wire that held the tail of death, feathered and brushing her cheek as the tree leaves had before; she stood side on from him, ever home on the edge of the hunt and he had yet to give her reason to think him any different than a predator and her new prey.

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He was truly unprepared for this, the charging Nerf filled with rage suddenly fell with an arrow sticking out of it's chest, blood spurting the ground and thickets in which he found himself splayed on the ground. It has landed only inches away from this body, inches away from trampling him to death most likely. His life had not been saved directly but indirectly from the actions of a good hunter. He was soon to discover .. huntress.

Now he looked down the shaft of arrow pointed at him on the ground. His eyes found hers filled with a wild essence as much as the essence of the hunt itself, her blood was up. Tricky situation indeed. He would have to tread carefully here and be mindful of her mind. And so Theo pulled his legs toward him and scrambled to his feet to brush away the dirt and bits of grass and twigs clinging to his clothing, as if he had not a care in the world for the arrow. Moving hands had motive however, she would not be aware of his disarming of her bow until she set to loose the arrow and everything would stay in place.

Once he finished cleaning himself, he moved to stand directly in front of the arrow head, if she moved forward an inch it would press against his torso. "The meat is going to be tough .. ", he said looking down at the dead nerf, after all adrenaline does that to fresh before it is corrupted with death. "But maybe you like tough meat". A grin curled his lips as he began to walk around her kill still caring little about the trained arrow head.

"I don't suppose you could tell me where these ruins are? you look as though you know the place", it was now he looked her over from head to toe.

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[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

Her eyes narrowed upon [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] as he moved without uttering a word first, squinting with scrutiny in her glare, her immediate judgement of the man barreled down the shaft of the arrow as he moved to step closer to her, Ylva Solveig stepping in closer without any apprehension to arc the bow up so that the arrow still notched against the wire was pressing into his throat just beneath his jaw. For the likes of men to be roaming around such parts, she found his features young and far too smooth compared to the animal's she had spent most of her life living alongside.

Théodred's lack of a dominating presence easily mistaken in her eyes for a lack of experience in self preservation and combat, like a babe sheltered from the harsher side of the realm of men; his long hair and trimmed beard reeked of highborn blood and upon first impressions, she found little to be intimidated by.

"Perhaps I do, what's it to yer'"​

She retorted in immediate defense, turning the bow ever so slightly so that the arrow would etch a little harder against the soft skin of his neck, the rough of his beard catching on the arrows rugged edge, an edge that wasn't honed by blacksmith or professional craftsman but of her own make, sharpened by rock, stone and the sweat of her own brow. Something in her tone however seemed to lift as she spoke, a curious lift towards the end of her words that whispered something of a challenge to his attempt to get a reaction out of her. It wasn't exactly the smartest thing he could have done though it showed more courage than his long black curly locks and pretty, little blue eyes gave to her as far as impressions. Groomed and catered for.

"Did your servants do your hair for you, pretty boy...-Do they know you're out here alone without a hand to hold to yours?"​

​

'He's going to be eaten alive' she almost scoffed at the thought, 'wanting to go meddling with places that aren't meant for him'. She knew of the places alright, old ruins left by a dead Empire. Nirauan was home to one of Palpatine's hidden experimental laboratories and vaults of relics unsafe for any not of the Force yet the name of the one whom these things belonged to didn't matter, nor did she care to know of the history around these places; the fact that everyone whom entered such places usually failed to come out alive or if they did they fell at the entrance to her picking up their remaining pieces for salvage on the cusp of their dying breaths...-That's all that mattered to her. If the pretty boy wanted to throw his life away then who was she to stop him. It would save her a bloodied arrow at the least.

"Clearly you're not from around 'ere" ​

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She stated the obvious, the bow slowly descending, arrow falling away from his throat whilst she moved instead to approach the kill. From the scuff of her boot, she kneeled to pull a small knife from the leather housing she had buried within, the edge sharper than her arrows and precise for skinning such trophies. With little consideration for how squeemish the lad might be, she set to work, running it across the belly of the Nerf and spilling out its innards, soon burying her left hand inside of it to help clear out the guts so that she might continue to harvest the rewards.

"You jus' gonna stand there or you gonna give me a hand here..."​

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Spoiler

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'Thoughts' ​

"Speech"​

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[Théodred Heavenshield]

It was clear to Théo this girl would not hand over the location of the ruins without him working for it. And he had to say this was a first. Never had he met a girl willing to go elbow deep into the guts of creatures and well, gut the thing, the corners of his mouth curled in a smile as her focus was now on the beast and not him. He could take a little time to look her over once more, now without the fear of the arrow burying deep into his neck and it was her long red hair that drew his attention firstly, so long and braided he had to wonder how far it would fall down her back when loose, maybe to her waist line which he noticed curled gently to her hips.

"Nope not from these parts", he stated the obvious as well while rolling up his sleeves, no need to get them dirty. "Give me the knife", he stated and did not wait for her to hand it over but took it from her hand. She was in a hurry to work, and rightly so for there most likely would be larger predators in the forest or packs of them that would now smell the scent of the kill on the air. He placed the knife at the end of her cut and extended it toward the lower torso to the backside and intestines fell to the ground near his feet. With deft hands pulling the intestines and cutting it away from the lining of body, he pulled the never ending organs from the beast.

No matter how many kills one does or how many one guts the smell is overwhelming to the senses, his face turned into a grimace at the stench of it and he continued to work. Between the two of them the work would be done fast. The beast would be lighter to carry to wherever this girl lived, even less so without it's head, but that was her choice.

"By the way, I don't have servants", he threw a large chunk of gut to the bushes. "You got a name?, if you are interested in knowing mine, it is Théo". He turned side on to look at her face, which he noted, was very beautiful.

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[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

Ylva's eyes turned on [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] with a fierce glare as he took the knife removing it from her hands without so much as giving her the time of day to refuse him; naturally she would, him being some puffed up prince of entitlement if this was anything to go by. The arrogance of the man, seeking to take what he felt was his by right just like any typical animal male...

While he set to working on the kill finishing what she had taken down and started to skin, her glare never left the back of his head, eyes seemingly drilling into the rear of his skull, that frustratingly oiled black hair of his getting in the way of her imagining the lack of brain cells he must have had in thinking that she'd let him get away with such a confident yet demeaning act taken towards her. Licking her lips, her brow furrowed, her shoulders tense as she readied herself to lash out at him, poising herself to ensure that the knife he had taken from her would not get between them least she were the one to plunge it into him. She hadn't thought that far ahead of course, her pride wounded as it was, she was young and still as rash as ever, quick to fire up alike the heat to her hair, a rabid warmth to her skin that flushed red in determination.

"if you are interested in knowing mine, it is Théo-..."​

​

As he turned to stare back at her, she jumped him then and there, throwing herself down against him, knocking him back over the kill and coming down to straddle herself atop his waist, using her weight to keep him pinned to the ground, left hand snatching at the wrist that held her knife still, ceasing him from being able to properly wield and control the weapon while her right balled up until a tight fist and she pulled it back up passed her head getting ready to bring the front of her knuckles down across his nose.

So adamant that she could knock the light of day out of the boy, she found herself frozen in uncertainty, glaring down at those bright blue eyes of his as he was forced to return the gaze no doubt surprised by her behavior. A growl escaped her through pursed lips, a huffed and heated breath expelled through her nose as she looked down at him angrily, as if she'd been emotionally hurt; though without justified reason outside of the way of the wild living she were accustomed to, for him it might likely seem well unprovoked and feral.

"Drop my knife, Bastard!"

She spoke sharply, her left hand gripping at his wrist tighter in order to further encourage the lad to release the weapon.

"I'll bloody your nose, I swear I will !".

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]

"Speech"
'Thought'

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

There are always lessons to be learned in life, and this moment was one of them. For the first time in his life he had met someone more out of touch with the galaxy than even the Valkyri, but even they had manners. This girl, for all her prettiness, had none. Not that it was her fault, Theo assumed she had grown up this way after all, this planet is very isolated and the culture on it even more so. He found himself flat on his back once more, the first time from the dangerous nerf charge now the dangerous girl sat astride him prone to punch his lights out, all over a knife.

Her grip on his wrist was firm enough but not enough to make him drop it due to strength, but he was as stubborn as she, more so than his own mother. "I am not a bastard", his words spoke in equal danger in the tone of his voice and he cared little for what she might make of it. "And you would do well to not pass judgement on someone you only just met, and .. ", with his strength of his people, the girl was easy to remove as he twisted his hip and used her firm grip on his wrists to propel her off him. Theo stood up looking down at her now on her back and threw the knife into the ground only inches from her face. "You asked me to help you, I helped you".

He walked to his pack and threw it over his shoulder preparing to leave her here to her own business, after all he had business of his own to attend to. "I will not waste anymore of your time .. nor mine". A quick check of the data pad to reaffirm the co-ordinates and direction and Theo started into the thick scrub once more. His senses however, kept a keen vigilance of the girl and her movements, he did not fancy being jump on again, not for those motives.

According to his information, the ruins are not far, in fact he reckoned that he was standing right on top of them but there was nothing around, no old stone ruins or the like and it did not help that he had no visual information on them. He placed his pack on the ground and threw his hands on his hips looking around for anything when suddenly the ground gave way underfoot, a hole opened in the earth and swallowed him. A heavy round of expletives issued from his mouth as he fell to the ground with a thud knocking the wind from his lungs, even though the landing was cushioned by a thick bed of rotten leaves and who knew what, but the smell was enough to tell him it was flesh.

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[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

The strength in which [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] tossed her aside came as something of a shock compared to most men she had encountered in her time; he more or less threw her aside as if she were nothing and coming to land on her hind quarters with a sudden loss of air from her lungs, she gasped in alarm, staring back up at him in brief surprise and disbelief before her features would run stoic and defiant in the face of him talking down at her. She fought not to flinch as he soon tossed her knife back down at her, making a point by aiming it's mark near to her head, her cheeks tightened and her upper lip curved in scowl though she moved none until the blade had found its bed within the soil beneath her and the male had begun to saunter off.

'Could've fooled me...'

She thought to herself, the silence of her own mind giving way to no further rhetoric between them as she watched him walking away, her eyes on his back once again as if expecting him to turn and glance back her way. He did not, however. That strength he carried, she knew not where he had come from yet most men she had fought with had shown at-least the slightest ounce of struggle against her weight. She wasn't by any means built of muscle like most hunters yet he had cast her like a stone and that had taken a bite of her pride, being dismissed so easily didn't come easy with anyone, let alone her with the past that hung over her shoulders like the broken hide of the wolf she wore. Where had he come from however, he was no local to Nirauan; he had to have some kind of transport to and from the world and that was something that interested her greatly. As much as she wished not to follow him, she too wished not to stay on this forsaken rock any longer...

Up ahead she heard something give way, it forced her to quieten her steps as she had been fighting to keep up with the male while too trying to mask her pursuit. She'd left the kill behind, risked losing the meet to the wilds where she could instead gain a ride out of there. Whether he was on-board with her or not hadn't really been taken into consideration. She'd heard him cuss, words cast upon the rock bed cavern for which he had landed within. Ylva Solveig recognized the patch where the earth had collapsed, it was one of the old ruin's shed seen others fall prey too in the past. It required a gently foothold, one which she slowly stepped out upon and glanced down, peering into the depths of where he had been lost to the darkness. It wasn't a treacherous fall, and he'd be able to see her from where he sat, yet from above with the light of day at her back, she couldn't tell where exactly he had landed, the darkness of the cave blinding her to what he lay witness to.

"You still alive done there, Boy?"

"Speech"
'Thought'

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

As he lay on his back collecting his thoughts and air into his lungs, the heard the sound of foot falls above ground. It could be some wild creature about to come and see what prey fell into it's trap and feast on him or it could be .. he sighed. The girl with fire in her hair, equally a wild creature ready to devour him for nothing more than looking at her sideways. However, he was pleased it was her as she leaned down and peered into the hole he had created. Her eyes would not have adjusted to the darkness in this pit he found himself in, what little light bleed into the hole from above would give her some measure of vision soon enough but for now he took the opportunity to take in her face with a growing smile.

"Who's asking?", is asked with a sense of mirth as yet she had not given her name. Finally, he stood up and brushed his clothes down from the muck of the fall, the smell had not gone and he pondered it would take several showers before the smell would leave him.

"I take it this is the ruins?", he looked around with little light and from what he could physically see, there was not much to them, in fact it appeared to be more older, something more foreign. Well, it was not what he had been expecting and .. there was a sense of darkness here, something very old, not Sith but something else. Yes they are ruins alright, but of what?

Theo moved toward the far wall, his feet unsteady as he trod on old bones and rocks unseen to him but on the wall was some strange script of a language unknown to him. It appeared primitive in application, like cut into the stone with a crude tool, but the design of symbols was not welcome. "You know anything about this place?", he yelled over this shoulder.

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[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

"The one who's still above ground, safe and sound..."

Ylva Solveig responded coyly, a hint of a smirk breaking through the cold exterior she had held towards him prior though perhaps it was the embarrassing position he found himself in now rather than his remark amusing her, that much would be left for [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] to imagine if he could even see her from wherever he was down there, her gaze having to squint in order to catch some slight movement yet not being able to make out any shapes specifically.

His asking her about the ruins at-least gave her some final confirmation as to what he was there on Nirauan looking for, it wasn't the first time he had brought it up though now he clearly found himself in more an immediate position to query the matter; still it left Ylva with an opportunity to play the piper so to speak.

"Sure I do..." She responded, her tone a little suspect of his intentions for wanting to be down there yet not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she glanced off sideways a moment in consideration; "What's it worth to ya'?" She soon asked, shuffling to seat herself on her backside, crossing her legs and leaning forward some pressing her elbows against her lap that she might get comfortable while she waited for him to dig himself a hole he couldn't pull himself out of.

"I don't imagine an upper class little lord like yourself came all this way on the breeze. Suppose you got yourself a way off this rock huh?..." She dropped her gaze a little, looking down through the hole in the earthen floor with something of a smug little smirk, she had her price of course for his want for assistance and she intended to collect, it was the way of the natural world, nothing came cheap let alone offered for free. "I'm smart enough to know the smell coming from down there didn't get there on its own. I've seen peoples come from all over...-Not so many of them managed to get away though...".

"Speech"
'Thought'

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He raised his hand about to touch the stone and the markings but stay it, thinking it might be best left alone. Theo let out a sigh with her words, she was bargaining with him, feeling him out for information and two can play that game. The history of the place mattered little to him, but in her words this girl had told him all he needed to know. "It's worth nothing. You have told me what I need to know", he said with a smirk. This place was a death trap, and it needed an end to it.

"This little lord, will leave this 'rock' the way he came", he said nothing more for the moment as he walked around investigating. He had toyed with the idea of pulling her down into the hole with him using the force, but it was too dangerous to have her here. The brashness of the girl will get her into trouble and him which he did not wish for and she would be in danger of far greater things, if this place was what he thought.

Theo reached under his jacket and removed his lightsaber from his belt and ignited the white blade of Belawir, his saber hilt. The whole room in which he stood lit up as white light flashed across the stone and markings and the bodies of the dead, sentient and creatures alike shone white with age, some still .. aging. "So .. they did not get far", he spoke to himself really.

As he turned in place, the light from Belawir cut through the darkness along the wall revealing a small passage way, the mouth of it gaping and dark as the night sky. For a moment, he stood focused centering the force within himself before reaching out into his surroundings. His force tendrils caressing the stone, moving forward into the passage way and he could 'see' the steps leading downward, the narrow corridor littered with more bones, but not so many as where he stood. It was a long corridor empty of any living thing and no discernible or immediate danger.

"It was nice to have met you, Red". His gaze turned to the girl with a smile before Theo walked through the mouth of the passage way and into the darkness.

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[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

The sudden flash of light and the sound of fire escaping steel forced Ylva Solveig to do a double take, staring down into the abyss with wide eyes, soon narrowing as she ducked her head lower in an attempt to get a better understanding of what it was that the pretty high born lad held in his hands. The Sword was unlike anything she had witnessed before, being isolated to the world of Nirauan and until now not having the means let alone the intent to escape it's secluded housing.

Truth be told she didn't hear much of what [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] said until he spoke of the fire in her hair, calling her by the heat of her head; "Red?" she murmured to herself in inaudible mumble, her gaze soon focusing back down below as the male soon turned his back on her and began to delve deeper into the ruins; her mouth opening a little in want to slow him down that she might question him more though her pride getting the better of her and reluctantly falling silent again, simply staring down until the light in the cavern had faded.

For a moment she simply sat where she was, frowning to herself not quite knowing how to get a take on the run in. No one she had seen enter into those old tombs had managed to come out without losing something, be that a friend or a limb, their own head for all the traps and trials that awaited the foolhardy. Whatever was down there was hidden well, Ylva herself knowing better than to go searching such places of death and decay. The ground itself wasn't entirely stable and the old stone tunnels and corridors that were clearly made lifetimes ago, weren't the most sturdy reliable looking places to call home either.

Tempted to turn back and check on the kill she had left behind Ylva began to shuffle back to her feet when the opening in the ground that had pulled the lad down into itself soon swallowed her too, the weight and movement, the pitch of her boot against the dirt cutting the edge with enough pull to bring down the grassy knoll that she was seated upon; and with a scream she plummeted soon after his light had faded, darkness enveloping her as she came down in a hail of dirt and dust.

"Gods damn you!" She shouted at no one in particular as she sought to pick herself up, her pride as equally bruised as her backside was.

"Speech"
'Thought'

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

The sound of dripping water entering a pool gathered on the floor of the narrow corridor was all he could hear now. The rain that has refreshed the forest above, seeping into the soil and slowly making it’s way through to the emptiness. The light of his saber cast the telling story upon the ceiling, clusters of burnt orange minerals had begun to form tooth like peaks along a thin line of crack in the stone. The floor of the corridor dank, an organic odour almost refreshing to the sense in its natural state, there was no bones here, none that had remained at least.

Théo had thought he had rid of the girl, not expecting her to care a fig what would happen to him, and go back to her business. Maybe that was her intention but fate had intervened deciding her part in this was not over yet. Fate to her (if she believed in such things), the Force to him. He had gone too far down the tunnel to turn back ..

“You alright Red?”, he called out to her, there was little point in being silent, whatever was here would know of them before this. It seemed to him she had a choice to make, it would not be hard for her to find means to get out of the hole in which they both entered, she has not lived on this rock for this long without a good head for survival and intellect to back it. He could be the gentleman and go back for her, but she did not seem to like them, or maybe it was because she had never really met one to know the difference.

“For the love of the Gods!”, he spat out as his breeding got the better of him. Besides his mother would ‘kill’ him if she ever found out. And so he turned back to find his Red. The light from Belawir filled the room once more and before him stood the girl covered from head to toe in dirt and dust, she stood doing her best to brush it away and for a moment he stood watching her. “Do not hit me, do not stab me .. don’t say word”, he extinguished his saber and clipped back on his belt before moving to her and swiftly taking her by the waist with one arm pulling her close to his body. The force summon to his tights and in one swift motion Théo jumped through the gaping opening that had swallowed them both and landed with grace on more surer ground in the forest with the girl in his arms.

[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

Brushing herself off of the dust, dirt and whatever gods awful remains had been stuck down there for so many night cycles passed, Ylva Solveig suddenly sputtered and coughed as some of the air got up her nose funny, a tickle at the back of her throat forcing a sneeze up out of her for which echoed out across the underground. For a moment, she figured that [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] would've been a while gone by now, delving ever deeper into the caves with no reason to come back looking for her after the noise that he'd have likely heard thanks to the enclosure and lack of airborne currents so far below the surface of Nirauan; however she'd have thought wrong, soon been proven to be so as she heard him call out to her. His breathing stifled, her glance lifting a moment in disbelief and apprehension, some mild relief though nothing for which she would admit. Whatever that thing was he carried would've been useful to her, most especially now where she found herself enveloped in darkness.

“You alright Red?”​

​

"My name's not Red!" she snapped back though the volume in which she retaliated was somewhat more restrained than she had been prior with him, perhaps due to his willingness to come back for her, yet again she would not admit such a thing. In her life, if someone fell behind they were then left behind to fend for themselves; no man bothered to pick up the slack for a woman...-Even one as skilled as she was in hunting and general survival out here in the wild lands of Nirauan. "And just what the hell do you think you're do-..." Her voice silenced itself as she stared back at the well dressed male, feeling his arms take to her sides, her head cocking back as if needing distance to get a second look at him in awe now. She couldn't tell whether or not she should axe him on the spot or be impressed by the share gall of the male; he had however told her to keep her mouth shut and knowing not exactly who he thought he was handling she was about to say something when his concentration took a turn away from her, his eyes glinting beneath the light that was coming down from above. 'You're not really going to..."-Arhh!!" Ylva more or less let loose an abrupt yelp in fright as the man somehow, defying anything she'd seen in the way a person might throw themselves, leaped the entire height carrying her with him to the grass laden floor above.

Glancing from left to right, she seemed to need to visibly see the land on which they stood to believe what this boy roughly around her age had done. She'd hunted some wild treks in her time, climbed cliff banks and scaled the old ruins of a city further to the west of hear where more people had fallen to their deaths than ever succeeded and survived, yet this was something entirely else. Turning her attention to stare up at him, her brows furrowed and met at the middle of her forehead yet she looked upon the male with less anger and more uncertainty, as if trying to work out just what in the name of the Gods he actually was.

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He looked down into those blue eyes of hers, watched her brow form a peak in the middle of her forehead as she turned from wanting nothing more to be angry but now full of uncertainty. His gaze moved to her lips so full and red with warmth, glistened slightly with the dappled light filtering through the trees as it danced on them, and his own lips twitched at the corners pulling into a grin.

“No clever words for your little lord Red?”, he said softly and would continue to call her this until she released her name to him. He found himself most reluctant to let her from his arms, but he would for eventually the moment would pass and her defiant nature would return tenfold. And so his arms fell away from her waist.

“Now, I have work to do”, he stated with authority as he realised he needed to ‘close’ this trap of a ruin so others would not fall prey to it and fare far most unfortunate than they had in surviving it. If she had only told him, expressed her desire to get out of this place and find a better life for herself, he would offered her that freedom willingly. “Go back to your kill, if it is still there and in one piece”, although the idea of her leaving and not seeing her again did not appeal to him. “I have to .. destroy this place and I don’t want you getting in the way, or injured because of it”.

Théo started to circumnavigate the ruin, his palms facing downward using the force to find sure footing so he would not end up in a hole once more. There was several chambers below and seemed to run for a good distance toward the west and although he did not like the idea of destroying them, it had to be done. Evil lived here.

He found a position above ground that would give him a solid base and an escape when the shock wave would hit, it was the narrowest part so he could jump safely away once the force wave rippled through the ground. He hoped the girl would pay heed and move off, but if she stayed she had best be at a distance.

​

[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

“No clever words for your little lord Red?”​

​

This one thought himself a comedian. Had it not been for the feat of inhuman agility, she might have risen a knee to put him in his place yet the shock and disbelief still hung over her; so much so that she hadn't given much of a thought to the dead buck she had left behind, nor the way her stomach tightened and growled at her following his mention of it. As if being awoken back to her senses, both of her hands shoved at his chest in order to push him away while pulling herself from his arms at the same time, startled and somewhat dumbfounded it'd taken her so long, she stumbled back shaking her head in dismay and frustration. 'He's not like the others...' She thought to herself while she continued to step backwards, putting distance between herself and this stranger to her lands. She wouldn't typically comply with someone without a fight, yet she knew not what he was capable of anymore, not able to size him up compared to the other men that had come and gone in her lifetime, he was of a different breed. She couldn't quite tell if it was intimidating or admirable, that would all depend on his attitude though in the end, a bit of both was never a bad thing either.

“Now, I have work to do. Go back to your kill, if it is still there and in one piece; ​

I have to .. destroy this place and I don’t want you getting in the way, or injured because of it”.​

​

"W-woah...-Hold on a-" Her voice fell quiet beneath the rumbling of the earth under her feet, forcing her to step back in rather quicker pace as she feared the soil giving way beneath her. Finding the trunk of a large elder tree, she pressed her back up against it hoping that it's position and roots dug deep into Nirauan would keep her above ground whilst before her very eyes the landscape shifted and collapsed in on itself, the labrynth of the ruins being filled would dirt and grass whilst the air around them was filled with thick smog, a dust cloud that rose to the sky and could likely have been seen for a few miles given the air that was sucked out from within the caverns depths before being erased by whatever hell [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] had dropped upon it. Coughing up half a lung, Ylva resigned to having to step away from her anchor and move to put further space between her and the rearranged site of the high-born's unusual powers, some sort of dark arts around him, she had heard folk tales by the other Solveig though they only ever seemed to tell them around the evening fires trying to scare her as a child, now it actually seemed like there was some truth to all that nonsense and this...-This she needed to understand.

"We're not done here!?!" She called out, trying to see through the cloud of dust and earthen smoke, her eyes squinting as she searched for any sign of the smooth faced lad; "Where'd ya' go...Eh??", it was now that she drew upon her bow again, though pointing the arrow head low to the ground at her feet, she knew not whether she could take such a risk to not be armed around this one; "What in the seven hells are you anyway!?" she called out, though lost to where he had wound up.

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He sensed the girl was a good distance away from the site, still venting her protests of course but for now he did not listen to her. The lightside of the force burning through his veins filling his blood with the energy which spread throughout his body and down his legs. The manifestation of power there had to be released which would soon enough but not before drawing the essence of Belawir, the sacred godly Vhaanir of Midvinter. The spirit of the Vhaanir so ingrained in Théo from conception after the godly creature had entered his parent's tent on the eve of battle for Midvinter. Only a young Vhaanir that would grow up to be majestic and Théo friends. Most Jedi use their fist to create their shock wave. This was a gift of the force from his father, and Théo was equally as strong as he with the power of it.

Théo stood proud and defiant, pulling his shoulders back, nostrils flaring and if one was close enough the sound of a guttural grunt issued softly from his mouth .. a shifting of his right foot before lifting it and pounding it into the ground and the wave instantly spread out causing the ground the heave, equally the wave spread downward and ripped about dirt, stone and rock base. But before the ground gave way beneath his own feet, Théo crouched and sprang into the air landing on the far side of the opening in the ground. He darted through the trees unseen at a clipping pace, as if a creature on the scent of a ..

He came to a stop abruptly and stood as the power began to ebb from his body and his wild essence subsided.

Yet he remained standing proud, his Valkyri blood at it's height along side his ancestry. "I am Théodred Heavenshield. Son of Prince [member="Thurion Heavenshield"], Lord and Warden of Midvinter and the West, and first of his name".

​

[member="Ylva Solveig"]​

 

[Ylva Heavenshield]

"I am [member="Théodred Heavenshield"]. Son of Prince Thurion Heavenshield, ​

Lord and Warden of Midvinter and the West, and first of his name". ​

​

Where the cloud of dust and dirt had subsided enough to show her the man she had accused to be of high-born descent speaking to her from some pedestal of pride in his stance, Ylva kept the bow facing low to the ground, the shaft of the weapon held tightly in her left hand while the tail of the arrow was within her right pitched against the wire while little to no tension, her eyes taking him in for all that he had announced and no less confirmed to her that she had indeed been right. What a noble lord he was coming into someone else's house and breaking things that didn't belong to him; it was true that those ruins were often the case and cause of someone else's demise but she had never been foolish enough to delve so deep as to reap the consequences of such a flawed decision like most of the halfwits that went in there seeking treasures or prestige in name. It was enough for her to merely survive, to live off of the land and to respect what simply was, not go looking for more as though the world didn't give generously enough to those that knew how to walk upon her plains.

"Lord of Midvinter eh? Of the West?" She had never heard of this place though it didn't make her any less correct in her assumption of him, she had guessed right his heritage though perhaps judged him too harshly because of it. The truth was that she didn't know nearly enough about the man himself as opposed to judging him based off of the experience of dealing with so many other lesser men of her past, her expectations in their behavior and attitudes were thus extremely low. "Ain't no place I've heard of around 'ere, High-Born!" she added in further retort though he had left her somewhat speechless and her want to insult him for the sake of her bruised pride had fallen invariably short.

'He's rich but other people will come looking for 'em...-Get myself into trouble stealing his way off this rock' she concluded in those final moments standing before the presence of this supposed Lord. "This land belongs to the Solveig! They don't care for high-born's, you best watch yourself!" She warned him, though she were lying. Fact was she'd killed the last of that Clan and now stood alone, yet it might give him pause not to follow her as she no longer seemed so inclined to tail him given that she'd be incredibly outnumbered and outmatched in muscle against this lad, should he try to pull anything on her. With that said, she turned off and moved into a swift sprint, the tree's clouding her from his sight as she sought to return to her kill and her way of living there.

​

Over the coming days she would seek to gain passage off world through stowing herself away aboard a merchant vessel.​

​

One that was destined to Crash upon the world of Roxuli, though that story was for another day.​

​

~ End ~​