Core

(Re)Gained Bonds

Ever since their first real interaction, Caelum and Alaude had met up occasionally, mostly it was a coincidence. They had never planned to meet each other, but whenever they bumped into each other, they would somehow decided to spend their day together, either talking or enjoying each other's presences. It wasn't everyday, but they had seen each other on the street every now and then.

It was no different, on their nth meeting. This time, however, it was planned from the week before. Apparently, on the day they met the week before, Alaude was about to go off to the neighbouring village for his job and had no time to stop and chat, so they had moved it to the day after Alaude returned. They met up in the meadows and simply talked about literally anything.

Alaude wasn't much of a talker, so he mostly just listened, giving his opinion once in awhile. Caelum didn't feel uncomfortable and merely stayed the chipper one between the both of them. It was rather unusual for Alaude, as most would be uncomfortable with one-sided conversation.

He had realized during their multiple meetings, that Caelum wasn't, by no means, a pushover even with how easily he had gave his trust to Alaude. At first, Alaude thought that the ginger wore his heart on his sleeves, but he was wrong. Caelum had not wore his heart on his sleeves, had never done that and probably would never do it. He had told Alaude a lot about himself, about his viewpoints, belief and perspectives, about almost everything that one would think it was all of him, but it wasn't.

Alaude had came to realize that whatever Caelum had told him was merely a scratch on the surface, merely a small chip of who Caelum truly was.

He was fascinated, in short. Alaude had never met someone so complicated before, so he was definitely fascinated. Even the blond wasn't as complicated as Caelum. In fact, the blond was merely a simple man with complicated ambition.

As he stared at Caelum talking animatedly, he noticed the bandage on the man's shoulder, briefly peeking out from under his shirt. "What happened?" He asked, pointing at his own shoulder as an indication.

Caelum stopped short, mouth clicking close as he gently touched his shoulder, a wry smile appearing on his lips. "Oh this? Hm, how should I say? I got into a fight?" He grinned sheepishly. Alaude's eyes narrowed but he merely shrug it off. "A traveller from a far away village came last week when you weren't around. He, wasn't the most polite traveller? He was looking around my father's shop when I was on duty. Tried to bargain a tad bit too much to be acceptable and was too rude.

"I had had enough and politely ask him to leave, to which you can guess what happened." He shrugged again. "Got nicked on the shoulder by a twin dagger. Nothing much."

Alaude was ready to kill when Caelum finished, but apparently it wasn't necessary when Caelum grinned in a feral way, a feat that Alaude didn't think Caelum could do. "I had tied him down and balded him with the same dagger. He may or may not lost a teeth or two--- or four by the time he left with a warning."

Caelum left out the fact that he was actually stabbed on the shoulder by the twin dagger. It wasn't deep since the traveller didn't get too far before Caelum had brought him down. He had lived with his brother- and his uncle before he passed- for his whole life after all. (His brother was a fighter when he was younger, to which he had soften as he grew up, and had taught Caelum how to fight somehow. His uncle, well, gave him lessons on general weakness of a human body, pressure points and all.)

And it wasn't much of a lost for him because he had gained a twin dagger, which he had gave his father to melt into something new or whatever his father did to it.

He could see Alaude was speechless since he had not told him that he could fight. Well, he never told anyone before actually, and no one asked him before. His lean frame had most people thinking that he was weak, most of the time, not that he mind. It was in his favour this way.