Forum Thread

"You want revenge right?" Sage shakes her head again, the disappointed was clear on her face. "Talla has caused a lot of people quite a bit of pain. Her time will come, Tani, Gwen, Irida and I will make sure of that. But you can't lose yourself within your fury. You have love, true love. That's not something you can find very often. You can't throw it away just to speed up fate."

Sage turns towards the water again, her eyes lowering to the ground. "I've been in love once. Many, many years ago. Way before you were even alive. I had all the time in the world to be with him, but I got caught up in my duties. I lost the time that I should've spent with him. He ended up dying to a terrible sickness." Sage sighs and glaces over at Maddy. "What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't throw away what you already have. You should reconsider your priorities."
...
Just over Irida's shoulder is Winters. He sits cross legged on a barrel. His cunning gaze immediately latch onto Gwen once she is within earshot. He flashes an arrogant smile towards her. "Why hello princess, I'm sure glad you finally decided to join us" Winters tells Gwen. When she doesn't respond he adds: "Hm, you seem to look a bit better than before. There is new life in your eyes! It's quite relieving to see." Gwen glances up at Winters, her brow furrowing as she struggles to understand if Winters was being genuine or not. The tension quickly thickens between them.

Both Winters and Gwen jump in surprise when Irida suddenly stomps on the ground, her boot making a surprisingly loud sound on the floor. "Alright you two that's enough" Irida snaps. "Now out of all times is the most important time to restrain yourselves and try not to kill eachother." Her back was to the both of them so that she could hide her worried look. "I just got word that my reinforcements are late. Two days late to be exact."

A shocked look falls on Gwen's and Winters' faces. All three of them were thinking the same thing, all expecting the worse. "We are not going to take this" Irida continues. "If they really were attacked, then that will be the last time the Mountain Men do this." She turns around now, her hardened expression was back on her face. "Gwen, we will be increasing the intensity of training within our armies." She faces Winters now, who flinches under her harsh look "you will be joining us. You've been with the Mountain Men for awhile. It's time that Telmar learns their fighting tactics and how to defend themselves against it."

Irida begins pacing around again, her head was tilted up at the sky, her eyes sharpening as she begins to form a plan in her head. "I'll be sending out a small patrol to retrieve the reinforcements. No more after that. We are going to need as many hands as possible if we wish to win this war. Now, both of you rest up. We have a long few weeks ahead. You're dismissed."

*Unlike other times when Maddy would've just blown up towards Sage, she listened. But she knew deep down that what Sage was saying wasn't going to happen. Not until Talla paid. Maddy looked towards Sage and spoke* Tell me, Sage. If you ever found true love, then you would know that you would do everything it takes to protect them. I can't protect her, not with Talla determined to find and kill me, she, like everyone else, is in danger. The only way to protect her is to eliminate the threat so until then, I cant let her be with me

(thx RaRa for rewriting this for me! <3)

The answer was quite dissatisfying to Sage, but she doesn't voice her opinion. She knows that nothing she can say will change Maddy's mind. She just has to be thankful that Maddy's vengeance is fueled with good intentions.

"Don't forget that you don't have to destroy Talla alone. You have two kingdoms standing besides you. You can't protect the ones you love if you're dead." Sage stands up and stretches. "When the time comes I'll ensure that you are the one to finish off Talla. But for now, trust in the process, be patient."

Sage is silent for a moment so that Maddy can have some time to mull over her words. She glances up at the darkening sky and says "we should get inside and get some rest. We're going to have a long day ahead of us."

*Maddy took stalk in Sages advise and then nodded her head. Sage grabbed her chair and began wheeling her back towards their home.*

*Tani had no words. From what she heard, the Maddy talking to Sage wasn't the Maddy who she broke up with. It was the Maddy she fell in love woth. The one who cared about others. Tani smiled and rushed back to her cabin*

Leaf and Blossom worked throughout the day, most of the people had smaller and easily treatable injures. However, there were still plenty of people who needed much more urgent care, like an older man who needed his shattered leg bones placed back into a cast until the bones healed up.

---

The walk back to their shared home was quiet, something Sage silently appreciated. She had too much stuff to work out in her head. She drops Maddy off at the bungalow and after confirming that Maddy would be okay by herself she steps back outside.

The day may be over, but Sage couldn't rest. There was still too much work to be done. Not too far away, she spots Eric outside his bungalow and remembers that she had something to discuss with him, so she quickly makes her way over to him.

Eric watched her go, the change in step not lost on the watchful man. He smiled a little, seeing it. Though he didn't know what caused the change, it was good to see the general back to the self that he had heard of, even if it was such a small change. He heard Sage coming up behind him, and turned around, standing up a little straighter and clasping his hands. "Something I can do for you?" he asked politely and quietly.

---

"Nothing for me specifically" Sage responds. She pauses for a moment before continuing. "I noticed Gwen talking to you earlier. Whatever orders she gave you can be dismissed. I have a new job for you: I am promoting you to become Tani's bodyguard" Sage explains. "The recent attack is nothing but a cruel reminder that the Cloaks can and will strike at any moment. Whatever happens, we have to ensure that Tani survives this war."

It was odd to hear the general's first name spoken, but Eric took it in stride. Even though he had only been a soldier for a few years, he was long used to taking orders, and this promotion, while surprising, was just another order. A small, more doubtful part of his mind that had festered ever since he woke up on the side of that road, asked why him, why not another soldier. While he had skill, there were others who could handle a sword as well as he could, maybe even greater, though he hadn't paid enough close attention to notice. But he pushed that part of him down and nodded. What she was saying was absolutely true, and if he had a job to do to ensure it, he would do it as well as he could. "Of course," he said. "I'm happy to do it."

---

"Excellent. Thank you for agreeing to take up this job-" Sage felt like she should add this, even though Eric didn't have much of a choice in the first place. "-Be at her door bright and early and stay by her side, even if she tries to fight it. If she has any problems, she can take them up with me." Sage nods at Eric respectfully and turns to leave. "That's all. You're free to do whatever in the meantime."

*Maddy watched as Sage walked away from the hut and sat completely alone, watching the world through the window. And as the light slowly drained from the world, she backed away from the window and went to her bed to sleep*

The long journey had, unsurprisingly, exhausted both Telmar and the traveling Kesterian army. For most, they felt like they had only slept for a few minutes before it was daytime once again.

The threat of war had made the day go by quickly. It was already late afternoon. Both armies were still busy training, even though they had been busy at work since that very morning.

There was already some improvement in Gwen's fighting techniques, but she still had a long way to go. She had been forced to train with Winters, who seemed to be having the time of his life. He dodged a jab before returning one, which Gwen manages to dodge, but once again, she fell into his trap. The split second it took for her to compose herself was being used against her, because Winters had raced forward and swept her leg out from under her, which sent her crashing to the ground.

"Need a hand?" Winters asks with a smug smile. He had extended a hand out towards her, which she slaps away so that she can stand up on her own. The two start sparring again. They fought with wooden sticks rather than swords. But that didn't make getting hit hurt any less. Gwen takes advantage of this knowledge and manages to hit Winters leg, which was already bruised from Gwen hitting him there countless times. Winters sucks in a pained breath and immediately presses his hands onto the wound, as if that could chase away the sting. "You can't do that!" Winters snaps. "That's just playing dirty, there is no situation where it would be smart to aim for the legs!"

"You're just mad that you didn't block in time" Gwen responds while copying Winters' smug smile. Irida, who had been watching the two from a distance, turns away from them to glance down at a messenger girl. The girl whispers something in Irida's ear that alarms her. Irida storms over to the two, who stop fighting once they notice her presence.

"There is a slight issue that we have to attend to. Let's go, both of you." Irida demands while striding away from the two to get on her horse. Winters and Gwen react without thought. They both drop their 'weapons' and grab their own horses. They follow Irida for a bit, before realizing that something was off.

"Why are we heading towards the Capitol?" Winters asks. But his question goes unanswered. Which causes both Gwen and Winters to exchange confused side-eye glances.

When Eric woke up, it was like waking from a dream, though he was waking from a dreamless sleep. That was a relief, the nights when Eric had nightmares were terrifying, causing yet another sleepless night. Peaceful nights? A wonderful thing. As usual, Eric woke early, before the sun had risen, and was long since ready. He went to find Tani but had no success. A thought passed through his head, and he shook it. "No, No, I'm not following them. I can't hold them up. This has got to be the stupidest idea I've ever had." He stopped, before sighing, and muttering under his breath, "This is just amazing. Now I have to explain why I'm following them," before continuing out again, one hand gripping his sword, a nervous habit.

---

After a long afternoon of healing people, Leaf and Blossom were able to heal up most of the injured and even though the people wanted to show some gratitude for their help, but Leaf and Blossom turned the offers down (not that it stopped them anyway).

But for now, Leaf, Star, and BLossom were curled around each other as the new day turned to afternoon.

---

It didn't take long for the three to realize that they were being followed. Perhaps this was due to all of their training, they had plenty of years to hone in on their instincts. But most likely, what gave Eric away was the random fourth shadow that was following close behind them. With gritted teeth, the three of them suddenly turn their horses around. Because of the way (shadow) Eric's arm was rested onto his hip, they were all three expecting a fight. It's Gwen who saves him by speaking up first.

"Eric?" Gwen asks. "Care to explain why you were following us?" Since Gwen didn't sound suspicious of Eric, both Winters and Irida relax, realizing that there wouldn't be a fight occuring between them.

Eric moved his hand away from his sword, holding them up in surrender. "My apologies, general, but I was looking for Tani." He added quickly, "I hate to hold you up, you were the only person that I had left to ask. " He was nervous, his voice quiet. For someone who had served in the military, Eric hated grievances. He tried to hide the nervousness in his voice, waiting for a response so that he could move away, let them go on.

---

"No need to apologise, although next time you have a question, I would recommend that you don't follow us and instead grab out attention right away" Gwen responds evenly. Her brow furrows slightly at the mention of him looking for Tani. Although she wants to press, she decides against it, she could tell that Irida was becoming impatient. "I believe Tani is still at her bungalow. You can check there. Otherwise, she may be near Sage's bungalow" Gwen replies. "Best of luck for you finding her." With those final, and rather quick parting words, the three turn their horses around and continue moving forward.

Eric whirled around, running his hands through his hair as he hurried back. "Eric, you must have left your brain back with your memories, because that was the most idiotic thing you've ever done," he muttered, as he crossed the short stretch of road back, before continuing his search for Tani.

---

*Tani sat on her bed, all sprawled out like she had just layed on a bed for the first time. She stared at the ceiling, daydreaming about things. She dreamed about sitting outside her home while children played outside. In this dream, they were her children and in this dream, Maddy was her partner, sitting next to Tani with her hand in Tani's. But then she heard a knock on the door and sat up. She noticed the light had shifted its position and changed colors, making her wonder how long she had been there. As she got off of her bed and walked to the door, she began to wonder who it was that knocked. But deep down, she hoped it was Maddy. She wished it was Maddy. But upon opening the door, she tried to hide her disappointment from Eric, who seemed relieved that he had found Tani finally*

He noticed the disappointment on Tani's face, and while he didn't quite understand it, he didn't comment on it. "I was sent here, miss, because I've been asked to be your bodyguard." He kept his face emotionless, his voice quiet and respectful. Despite his earlier embarrassment, he was already slipping back into his earlier attitude. Quiet and small. It was like a default setting, the personality that no matter what, he always slipped back to. He kept his hands clasped in front of him as he looked Tani straight in the eye. "My orders were to never leave your side once I found you."

---