Hydaelyn Role-Players

Warren's demeanor tensed when she reached out to him and he sheltered himself with those words. His eyes slipped shut when she brushed his braid behind his ear and he leaned ever so slightly into the palm of her hand. A small exhalation escaped him, one of unknown origin. When he finally spoke his words were near a whisper, kept low to mask the strain in his voice.

"It doesn't matter. If they return, I'm here. I promised I would be."

"Yes, you are..."

She spoke softly, offering as much comfort as she could to the man. They had both been through their share of troubles over the past month now. Her with her work, he with is friends. Through it all they had kept each other strong, reminding the other of their shared duty as it was needed.

But he had done so much more, she felt, especially recently. While she was detained by a madman, he had born not only his own troubles but those of Ul'dah as well. And even now when things were calming down once more, it was he who paid for her to rest and recover here, standing guard at her door the first night. He had repaired her armor, had retrieved her sword where she left it, had cleaned her blood from it without a second thought.

She tried to speak but no words came out at first. Her hand still held against his cheek, she looked up to him with glassy eyes. "And I shall be here with you... if you would have me."

Warren looked back with tender eyes, his mouth falling open wordlessly as he searched her expression. His ears heard and understood what she was saying but more importantly what she meant and with misting eyes he reached up and retrieved her hand with one of his own. He looked down at it, her touch seeming so tiny and gentle in comparison to his armor. With a breaking heart, he looked into her eyes and confessed.

"I'm a murderer. I slaughtered the Inspector when I found him."

She stared at him with mixed emotions, trying desperately not to show them. The horror of his sudden confession was too much however and finally won out over everything else. She found herself slowly nodding as a tear ran down her cheek.

She backed one step away as her hand withdrew.
"Well...", she stammered.
"That seems to be the norm these days..."

She turned and grabbed her gil purse from the bed post where it hung. Clutching it in one hand she lightly pushed past him, looking back with reddening eyes.
"Good day, Ser Castille."

Without a further word she left him there.

***

The cupboards of the Duskbreak were bare. Warren had gone through the leftover stores the night before and tossed out everything that had spoiled in his time away, and it turned out that that was nearly everything. The stock of ale and liquor was depleted, too, but Warren knew why that was.

He was walking Pearl Lane, collecting things here and there. Already he was encumbered with partially-cooked things and dishes; Warren was only able to heat and eat, at best. Throngs of people came and went and the knight was glad to not be in his armor; Midday in the sun was not where he wanted to be.

Coatleque slowly walked the line of merchants down Pearl Lane, looking quite out-of-place in her usual dress. Her attempt to not stand out was wasted on the usual guttersnipes that frequented the area. That, and the growing rumors about her did nothing to help her purpose as she carefully examined the wares of each table she passed. Oblivious to her, merchants down the row of would quietly remove key items and place them below only to display them again once she was out of eye-shot.

Not that she was actively looking for contraband. She was looking for for small arms and concealables that were popular with the underground. It was best to be prepared for anything in these recent days, and knowing what your enemies were using ahead of time may tip the scales in your favor.

Her head partially in the clouds, she was not watching where she was going as she slowly collided into the side of a large man carrying various sundries.

"O-oh... excuse me Ser, how clumsy of me!", she started

Warren turned away from a stall after turning over a handful of gil and stuffing a pair of popotoes into his bag. He head was still turned and smiling to the vendor as he took a step away into the lane and abruptly crashed into someone. His head whipped around as he uttered an apology, the vegetables tumbling to the floor of the market and vanishing in a sea of moving legs and people as he steadied his supplies with the suddenly free hand.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't looking and I-" His expression changed from embarrassed and apologetic to something more serious as his eyes registered the joke being played on him by Menphina.

"Lady Crofte. My apologies, it was my fault." He cast his gaze away, unsure of how to proceed.

She instantly knew the voice and froze. All she could do was stare dumbfounded at him for a moment with her mouth agape until she realized where she was. Regaining some measure of composure she replied.

"Ser Castille. No, I... I was not watching to where I was walking."

She dropped her gaze from his face to his parcels.

"Oh! P-please, allow me to help?"

It was all Warren could do to keep his gaze away from the woman, his eyes darting in her direction before his head moved away. He was torn between looking at her to speak and being unable to gaze upon her.

"It's just a couple of popotoes. I can just buy more, really, it's no trouble or anything-"

He shrugged absently, hands still securing the bag with everything else and he found himself turning towards her. He held his breath, as if the world was waiting to annihilate him if he moved out of turn.

"Nonsense, it is the least I can do, Ser Castille".

She tried to remain entirely professional through the whole exchange, but could not help speaking in a softer voice. She paid the vendor to replace what was damaged and took it upon herself to carry them as well.

"I will just take these. You cannot carry everything yourself, you know."

She paused as she realized her own words, then blushed.

"A-anyroad... please, I shall follow. I had nothing else pressing this morning."

As the pair turned to walk again, the tall blonde-haired, easily recognizable, Hyur girl was exchanging a few gil from her purse in exchange for a bag of spices from a vendor up the way.   Aya smiled gently as she placed the spice in her small basket, and then turned toward the pair, suddenly recognizing them as she lifted her eyes.  A radiant grin quickly overcame her, and she raised her free hand offering a playful wave of her fingers to her two friends as she began to saunter past them, further into the morning's market.

Warren began to protest but was unable to form the words, watching helplessly as the woman procured two more vegetables and withheld them from him. He wondered if her choice of words was intentional and he looked away as he felt a hand grip his heart.

He kept his tone guarded, still unsure how to present himself in the wake of their last meeting. Warren nodded and gestured in the direction of the main of the city then averted his gaze again.

"I don't mean to- Aya?" He caught a glimpse of the girl as she passed, a mask of confusion settling over him.

Coatleque saw the girl at a glance and smiled briefly before turning her gaze back to Warren. She cleared her throat and walked past him, brushing her shoulder against his arm.

"You don't mean to... impose? Please, Ser Castille, it was my fault." She tried to force his attention back to his shopping. "Honestly, was it not enough I had to feed you once before, now I must also help stock the pantry? Come then, what remains on your list?"

After passing the pair, Aya bites her lip, trying to suppress the grin.  She turns to look back over her shoulder, peeking a quick glance, her heart filled with well-wishing.  Would the Pillar ever be the same?

Warren regarded her with wariness in his eyes. His mindset wasn't stable enough to properly gauge her demeanor and her words sliced right through him.

Look at her you fool she pities you
or maybe doesn't trust you enough in public
no better than you deserve

He silenced the whispers with his words. "I was mostly done for now." He tried to put on a polite smile, but it was missing something. "I have to repl- pick up something from the Quicksand, but really, you don't need to-"

His words gave out and he looked away again as he cleared his throat, fighting back the sensation of the airway closing.