Doroon:
Doroon smacked his lips from the dirt and winced through his blinking eyes at the blonde boy, "Y-Yeah!" He called out, not fully paying attention and more or less ensuring he didn't scrape his knee or face. In fact, he was finding himself pretty intently preoccupied with brushing the dirt off that was quickly making his already freckled face look even more spotty and dirty. Christopher would surely scold him, or tease him for taking a dirt bath.
Vaughan:
Vaughan knew the region of Iskra quite well, but not from the angle he was currently in. Instead of being perched up atop the castle and looking down and the city, he was on the outside borders of it, looking up at it. He could barely make out the building he once called his home and it was an odd feeling. He was out of his element, in an area he’d never been, and yet, he was calm. He wasn’t sure what type of life “hunting” would bring him, but he figured it was better than dealing with his poisonous family and the court fluff. People out here seemed /real/ and frankly, that was what made Vaughan relax the most.
Starting a new chapter in his life, the ex-prince decided to carve out a new running path. He left the company of Christopher and made his way to the outskirts of the training camp. He figured it was a good idea to learn the area and running also got rid of any nervous energy he was feeling.
Doroon:
Doroon had been out most of that morning, fetching supplies and any extras that Christopher had asked for. 'As hungry as two' he'd said. The young hunter-in-training hadn't argued and delayed his usual morning activities for some extra-early shopping, feeling it heavily in his heavy eyelids. The town itself was all too familiar to him, the shopkeepers, the castle off in the distance, and even the people who inhabited it were all easily recognizable as if he'd known them his whole life. Outside of new recruits for the hunter's profession--which was earlier in the spring-- there wasn't much variation in faces which made things easier on the boy. He knew what to expect from who, and how he fit into all of it as well, which was the more important part.
Sending his shopping up with one of the carts heading up to the castle, Doroon eyed the area about himself. It was a beautiful day, so why waste it? He could use the exercise anyway, considering his routine had been interrupted. Setting off on his longer route, the red-headed kid grinned at the feeling of the warm air, the wind, the feeling in his lungs. It was all the same wonderful feeling in the same wonderful place with the same wonderful peop--was that someone new?
Doroon picked up the pace, spotting what he originally thought was a girl jogging along the path with her long hair billowing behind her. She certainly wasn't from around here, and all his feelings of joy at the familiar were cast aside at the excitement of the new. "Hey! Good morning!" He said, catching up to her. "Nice day for a run, miss---oh. Whups! Mister."
Vaughan:
Vaughan heard the gravel crunching behind him at the weight of another runner. His first instinct was that someone knew who he was and was chasing after him, but his mind quickly put those thoughts to rest. He was far too out of his element for people to recognize him and he was dressed commonly enough to blend in. His clothes were cleaner than the average fellow, but despite Vaughan finding himself down in the dumps, he refused to smell like it.
And while Vaughan knew the idea of someone chasing him was preposterous, his was still highly curious on why this person was following behind him. He looked back for a moment, only to see a cheery face smiling at him. Oh god. This was it. His first real instance of being social without someone knowing his title and-
Did this idiot just confuse him for a girl??? Vaughan gave the boy a glare, before huffing and looking away. “Oh yeah, it’s really great.” He said in a tone that was anything but friendly. He picked up the pace a bit, hoping this boy would leave him alone.
Doroon:
Doroon wasn't maybe the best one to judge when people were upset, but clearly, the boy who he was running with wasn't actually having a great day. Sarcasm. He could hear it, and as he thought on it he felt himself fall a bit behind.
With a small push, he matched pace with the blonde boy and chuckled, "yikes, doesn't really sound all that good. Just move here? Don't worry, it's fairly safe and all, and the people are nice. Where'd you come from originally?" Doroon said, firing out conversation rapidly.
Vaughan:
Vaughan had hoped, prayed, that the red-headed boy would get the hint and leave him alone. However, the boy didn’t connect the dots on why Vaughan was being moody. He wasn’t having a rough day, there wasn’t anything going wrong, he just happened to run into an idiot.
“I came from the capital,” Vaughan replied, not lying but not exactly ready to spill his secrets to him. After another moment, Vaughan picked up the pace a bit more and when Doroon matched it, he turned to him, “Do you normally follow people you find in the woods?”
Doroon:
Doroon couldn't help as his eyes lit up at the mere mention of the capital. Excitement and a smile lit up on his face as he thought on it, "Oh really? Wow! Long way, then." For certain, the young farm boy hadn't seen anything like the capital in his entire life. Hell, the castle he stayed at now as an apprentice was absolutely thrilling enough and made him feel like royalty, let alone a beautiful clean city like the capital.
His little daydream didn't last long as the boy picked up the pace, Doroon doing the same in an attempt to be polite and keep up the conversation. Of course, the next question caught him a bit by surprise. "Oh! Sorry, did it seem like that? I run this route in the mornings. Bit late today due to early chores. Not really following you, but I'm happy to share the path." He beamed once more, curious to know if the blonde boy would end up coming back. A running partner would be nice to have.
Vaughan:
Vaughan figured he would get excited about the capital. He didn’t talk to peasants a lot, but the few he did always acted like it was the greatest thing in the world. Maybe it was. Vaughan didn’t have a whole lot to compare to yet, but he wasn’t going to start up that conversation.
“A bit,” He replied and listened to the other boy continue about how this was his normal routine. Great, so he couldn’t go this way again. He would have to watch out for this kid and his alarming peppiness. He picked up his speed once more to see if he could lose the boy. He said he was a runner, but Vaughan had yet to meet someone better than him.
Doroon:
Doroon noticed another pick up in pace and followed, starting to feel the burn in his legs. It was okay for short distances, but after a while and for a longer distance the pace was wholly unreasonable. Still, he didn't want to give up or be rude. "So you're new here, did you... check out any places yet or still getting settled in? I'm familiar with lots of the shopkeepers... if you want some... well, I don't know... anything!" He laughed, feeling his breath getting heavier.
Vaughan:
God… This kid didn’t give up. Vaughan tried to hide the annoyance on his face as he huffed and puffed his way down the path. Maybe if he ran a bit harder? He wasn’t sure how long he was going to be able to keep this up. “I haven’t… even been here for a full… day. I don’t know… how long I’m staying,” Vaughan replied, deciding to keep the pace the same, otherwise he wouldn’t make it much farther.
Doroon:
Doroon forced himself to keep up, even though the pace was grueling. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one puffing a bit and was grateful that his new running companion wasn't showing him up in terms of speed and distance. He was meant to be an apprentice witch hunter! He couldn't be undone by a merchant's son, even if it was someone from the capital.
"Oh? Merchant traveling, huh? Well... it's a nice... stop, and lots of business up with... the castle. Weather isn't too... temperamental. We get... seasons here.... so best to come during summer... like you are now." He puffed out, "I've been here... about... seven years? Nice place..."
Vaughan:
“Not a Merchant traveler,” Vaughan quickly corrected him. What was he? He had no idea and he didn’t know if he was even supposed to tell people. Was being a hunter taboo? It was certainly better than saying he was an exiled prince. “and… Seven? Your family move here… or what?” Normally people stayed in the same place, it was odd that he had only been here for seven.”
Doroon:
"Oh... okay, so just... testing the area, then," Doroon said, feeling a little embarrassed that he'd gotten it wrong. Then again, it wasn't common for anyone not of a merchant family to travel, per say. Maybe the blonde boy's family had fallen on hard times and needed to move from the capital and start a new life, and if that were the case Doroon didn't want to cause him any more pain than needed about it. Perhaps that was why he was so grumpy?
"My family... didn't... I did. Apprentice-training..." He huffed out, determined to not fall behind but already feeling the burn in his lungs and legs.
Vaughan:
This conversation was both awkward and beginning to become physically painful. Vaughan's calves were starting to make a fist and he sucked in air, "A-Apprentice training? Like... what?" He breathed. He had a feeling he knew what the boy was going to say. Moving away from home young was normally a thing that would happen to children that went and served under Knights. However, there weren't any knights nearby, but a certain training camp was. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe this kid just moved away from home to learn the blacksmith trade or something.
Doroon:
Doroon panted. God this was beginning to wear on him, but the conversation was still going. Did this kid always run like this? It was impressive. "Well, we--we learn a lot of things... weapon repair, armor...oils, denoctations, s-some healing." Saying witch hunter didn't always get a good response, and he didn't want to make a bad impression right off the bat. Instead, describing what it was without saying exactly that he slayed monsters was maybe the better part. At least a better build-up
Vaughan:
Most of that sounded like stuff a blacksmith would do... except the healing. Vaughan turned his head to look at the boy, eyes going from the top of his red hair to his feet. He also looked physically fit; the ex-prince was starting to connect the dots. "You don't say..." Vaughan replied, and noticed they were getting close to the training camp. He didn't think he could run like this much longer, but there was no way he was going to be the first to stop running like this. He waiting for Doroon to close his eyes or look up before he decided to make his move. Once the foot closest to Vaughan was lifted up, Vaughan swiftly kicked the bottom of it, to throw the other boy off. It was enough to trip him up but subtle enough for Vaughan to apologize if the boy caught what he was doing.
Doroon:
Doroon smirked through his gulping breaths. That was a better response than normal, and it even sounded positive! The redhead gasped once more for air, turning his head up and shutting his eyes for a moment just to reach for that last bit of motivation to make it to the camp at this pace. Just to the camp, he reminded himself.
In a flash, his foot hit something and before he could catch himself and realize what was happening, he was eating dirt along the path, falling face-first into it and even giving a small roll in there. "BLAGH!" he spat out, as soon as he managed to be able to do anything other than see stars. Some dirt was most certainly swallowed, and while a little dirt never hurt anyone, he was sure he had way too much for his own liking.
Peering up after the blonde boy, Doroon noticed he had kept running, and felt himself turn a small bit of red. Of course, he tripped on something while attempting to make a friend, and made himself look like a fool. Thank god he hadn't told the boy he fought monsters. That would really make everyone doubt the witch hunting order, now wouldn't it?
Vaughan:
That was a hard fall. Hard enough to make Vaughan feel almost bad. Almost. he looked back at the boy and decided to keep running, not wanting him to easily catch up so they would be going at that same pace again. Maybe it was cruel, maybe it was rude, but Vaughan seriously doubted that he would be talking to this boy again. Christopher made it seem like hunters traveled all over the world, so even if he had to say hello to this kid a few times, he wasn't worried. "I'll see you on this path again, yeah?" He smiled, not being able to /not/ be a dick.
