#swan-ic

[bardicchord]

continued from here!

@tredispade

Erenville hummed softly in response. Golden eyes peering around them wearily. It was rather quiet in the cave they took refuse in when rain started falling heavy in the middle of travel. He just hoped that there wasn't anything waiting in the darkness of the other end. Heaving a soft sigh, he shrugged off his heavy pack, letting it plunk softly down on the ground before he followed suit to sit on his knees. He pulled his gloves off and dropped them by his pack before rummaging through it. When he spoke he didn't look at his companion. Focused on finding his flint and steel. "At least the rain water isn't pooling in here. It's rather dry. Safe enough for a small fire while we wait out the storm." Only then did he cut a look towards Swan, the barest of smirks on his lips. It was as close to teasing amusement he was willing to show. "Though I doubt the rain could stop you like it does the rest of us."

His disposition had changed since they'd first met in Sharlayan, there was notably less of a huff when it came to getting inconvenienced like this, especially with others. Still, it wasn't as if Swan minded. They had plans this evening, sure...but small expeditions like this always had their chances of going awry, and they at least, were glad of the good company.

They couldn't help but smile at his comment, however.

"I've certainly fared worse on the seas. Still, I wouldn't drag you through the mud- quite literally, might I say- just to get back into town." Besides, the storm was really bringing out the beauty of the Kozama'uka jungle. It wasn't the denser foliage of lower Yak T'el that could easily block out any upper weather on it's treeline, but it could at least afford the Warrior a moment to gather supplies they needed.

They turned to the other, a hand on the hilt of their rapier.

"I know you're a friend to the flora and fauna, but might you have a good axe arm? No worries if not, I might have a trick or two up my sleeve~"

[bardicchord]

"Who did this?" // For Swan!

Admittedly when the arrow had first grazed the feathers lining Swan's forearm, they hadn't thought much of it. Not that they could think of much else in the moment. It had been of the utmost importance to protect the frightened sylphs from the rather careless wood wailers. It was the same old song and dance with the outer societies of Eorzea; the city folk were intimidated by them, and so anything odd venturing out of it's home was a worry to them. Even something as harmless as a Sylph. Sure, their Sylvan brethren often found their lot in trickery, but you would think most folk would know one from the other...

A nasty poison had glanced their skin while grabbing one of the sylphs out of the way, and it was bruising rather poorly. Luckily, it wasn't anything strong; the wailer had merely intended on weakening the poor thing, and the dosage would have hardly affected a full grown person. It...had stung quite a bit though, and they had hoped the friendly botanist might know a thing or two about such an inconvenience.

"A rather foolish man. You need not worry for my sake though, my dear~ I was simply hoping you might have some sort of ailment for my affliction..." Swan pauses, wincing at the downy arm feathers stained a deep red and the purpling skin underneath it. "I recognize perhaps, going to a conjurer would have been the more ideal solution but...I like to have faith in Fufucha and her teachings~ Those who do not simply listen to the land but work alongside it as their main practice have my utmost respect."

[bardicchord]

"Service here is TERRIBLE today!" [[ Swan or Terha

First-Meeting Sentence Starters

"It is rather lacking today, isn't it?" Even critical, they still strove to be kind. The weather was really nice out today! The Last Stand couldn't help but be busy. Even if...admittedly, the Bismarck would have had this under control, but they seldom liked to compare water to iced tea, and all that.

They couldn't help but strike up a conversation with someone new, however, and they turned towards the rather animated voice with a warm smile, their tail swishing slightly in the breeze.

"It seems we weren't the only two with the idea of fetching some shaved ice on our day out~" They tried at a joke, before glancing over at the long line ahead of them, and sighing to themself. At least they were used to warmer weather...they didn't know if they could say the same for their new companion, and it would seem they'd be waiting awhile.

"If only I could help them...but they insisted someone like myself would have better things to do than manual labor. Hah! Can you believe that?" But it was probably true...even if Swan adored getting the chance to cook, others still harbored their concerns about getting the vaunted Warrior of Light to do the work they were getting paid for, especially when they had a history of asking for nothing in return.

[bardicchord]

"When did this happen?" // dealers choice! Feed me :>

PROMPTS FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T USED TO KINDNESS

"Oh, this?"

It was as simple as a scar on their hand, nobody usually looked twice at it. It was rather normal for someone as seasoned as they were to pick up a few marks here and there. But this one...of course it had a story. It was one they could never forget. They turned their hand slightly in the other's, feeling the rough brush of scales against their skin.

"It's kind of a long story, but the result of it was my poor aiming skills. It's why I cast with my other hand! Having it as my sword arm is fine, larger motions don't bother me much, it's the finer things that do, you know?" And the long of it of course, was personal. That someone they loved had given it to them, that it had healed wrong because they couldn't bring themself to do so. But that wasn't something they could just talk about. Especially because the last thing they wanted to do was bring the mood down around themself. So they instead gesture to her shoulder, where what looked like claw marks resided.

"What of those? I don't believe you've spoken of them."