Normally, he would't take that chance, for all he knew this little lady was fooling him acting like a stammering idiot. For all Regis Howle has dealt with, this one could be hiding an ambush just waiting to test his swords. He faced many hardened foes in his life, both man and monster. His name alone struck fear into the hearts of men ever heard of the ferocity of the Steel Howle, warrior of the 7 swords, brother to Victor Tantius Howle. Or at least such things mattered further North near his home of Highever.
This lass is making a fool of me....or she really is one.
Still, he didn't let his guard down. However, he began to ponder something.
"And where it be exactly that you and your 'associate' travel too?"
The swords below Tallia began to vibrate audibly as if they were ready to jump to life again.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Her mind was in total disarray... How did she wind up in this mess...? All she wanted to do was go explore, go take off somewhere, and maybe make a little money on the side. Yet, here she was, trying to lie to a man that was ready to slice her to bits because she was lost. Her knees slumped to the ground, barely avoiding the vibrating swords in front of her.
"I... I... don't know..."
She almost wanted to cry, but she knew better than that. Her ears and tail fell, no longer fear-stricken, but crestfallen. All she could really do was try and hope that he would let this go; the only other option she had was to try and run, which she didn't expect to go well...
Regis Howle, mighty warrior of House Howle, brother to Lord Victor Howle, commander of the wind caste and a general to Highever's armies; brought down low by the pathetic figure of a girl near bent on weeping.
The swords returned to being still and Regis brought down his aggressive stance, rubbing his head doing so.
Veronica would never let me hear the end of it if she were here...
Sighing loudly, he waved a hand and the two swords picked themselves up and floated back to their sheaths with ease.
"I'm not going to bloody cut you girl, you can forget about crying. Come." he said waving her over to a seat next to him on the tree log.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Caught in disbelief, she hesitated a bit before picking and dragging herself over to Regis' side. She felt bad about avoiding the truth to him; he didn't seem like a bad person, and she didn't want to have him distrust her. Nevertheless, she was already caught up in this mess, and it only looked like it would get worse from here on out. With the sadness still on her face, she brought her head up to look at his, but then quickly jerked it away, guilty about what she had done. She wanted to apologize, but she couldn't find the right words to make things right...
Regis sighed again, a part of him hoping this girl really was like any other merc that he could just cut down or scare off with his voice alone. Instead he had a little girl whom he almost brought to tears. The proud warrior was silent for a little while.
"My brother would pay half our House to see me apologize to a lass." the old man said, not looking at Tallia.
He rummaged through his person to pick up a horn slung around his waist. He handed it over to Tallia.
"Here, it's strong but it'll make you feel better, forgive an ol' man and his lack of civility in these woods." he said sarcastically, but likewise he seemed sincere. The smell of the drink rose up to Tallia's nose, it's strength was undeniable.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
A... a drink? She was a bit surprised, but she did see that he wanted her to forgive him. However, this drink was already making her nose twitch uncontrollably... how could she hope to drink this and remain standing? Inclined to accept, as she was already wishing she apologized instead, she took a drink from the horn, expecting the worst from its smell alone.
"...!"
Regis' words were true; the drink was strong indeed, as Tallia coughed up a bit of it upon downing a couple of ounces. She wasn't sure whether to thank him or to accept his apology, so she gave him a short, neutral bow instead. She handed the horn back to Regis, already feeling slightly tipsy from the strong drink. As much as she wished for a simple chat, she decided against it in the interest of avoiding slaughter and not looking stupid again.
The old man couldn't help but laugh as he took the horn from Tallia and easy downed a gulp of whatever it was he was carrying.
"Hahahaha, that's the spirit lass, you'll forget ol' Regis ever tried to kill you."
There's the intent behind the horn.
"Awfully scrawny for a mercenary you are, though, are you actually skilled with any weapon?" he took another drink.
"I was heading down this road anyway, this merchant asked me to come along in exchange for some pay and food. Not that I need the money, but I was hoping for draw my sword on something. It's been long you see, didn't mean to scare you half to death lass."
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Tallia nodded slowly, trying hard to keep up with whatever he was talking about. Fortunately, she could understand that he wanted to know how she could fight. She pointed to her sword, still sheathed in its scabbard. She almost felt the same way; it had been a while since she had seriously battled an opponent with her sword. Letting loose a small hiccup, she began to wobble a tiny bit as she sat in place.
Regis took another swig, easily, yet it seemed like the drink was getting to him too.
"Aye, I'm looking for someone as well, my niece. She's supposed to have gone this far South. I haven't seen her in a few years. I miss that woman. Suppose' she had to stop writing letters to keep herself hidden, even from ol' Uncle Regis..."
He sounded a bit mournful then, the old man taking another drink from his horn before putting it back where he got it.
All the while he hadn't noticed Tallia was beginning to feel a bit wobbly, even though she just finished sleeping a little while ago.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Looking for his niece...? She wondered who it could be... Knowing that she didn't know very many in Wistvale quite yet, she wasn't sure she could be of any help.
"I... I kn... know... t... that...fuh...*hiccup* ...th... that feeling... I... I was... was d... doing... t.. the same... for... fuh *hiccup*...for... a while... I... fi... finally found... her... s... she... she h... *hiccup* she hasn't... ch... changed... not... not a bit... th... that's good... I... I... *hiccup* like her... th... the way she is... I... I still can't... *hiccup* s... still can't... *hiccup* t... tell her... though..."
Uh-oh, she was going to say something she wasn't supposed to... She trailed off, wobbling from side to side, her face reddening in color. Tallia almost felt like going back to sleep at this point, the drink coursing through her system.
She almost fell over from Regis' action, but somehow remained stable enough to stay on the log.
"N...no... n...n-no... I'm... *hiccup* I'm fine... I... *hiccup* just need... need t-to... *hiccup* walk around....a... a bit..."
Trying to stand up, she stumbled back down upon the log.
"O... oh... I'm... *hiccup* j... just a... a little... l-little dizzy... th... that's... *hiccup* all..."
Her head looked towards the sky as she wobbled backwards on the log. Morning light...? She... she had to do something, then... right...? Rolling her eyes around, she tried of think what was missing...
"Oh... I... I need to... n-need to... fuh *hiccup* find him... I... *hiccup* I must... t-take... take my... *hiccup* l... leave... Sir... Sir Regis..."
Again coming to a stand, she remained standing straight up long enough to give a bow, then clumsily turned around, and headed back in the direction of Quick's former camp site.
"Nonsense, lass!" Regis said as he stood up. It didn't take him long to catch up to the wobbler.
"Come, that merchant and his caravan should be passing by shortly, they'll let you sleep off the drink in a wagon. Devil have me if I let you keel over in these woods, especially after having one little drink."
Tallia felt herself being picked up by Regis, who she realized was quite tall as she placed firmly on his shoulder, facing down.
"You can sleep it off in a wagon until we hit a checkpoint, we'll ask about your man then, lass."
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Tallia was a bit surprised that he threw herself over his shoulder so easily. For a second, she did nothing, but then quickly remembered that she needed to meet up with Quick. She waggled her tail and flailed her arms around, hoping to squirm away — she didn't have much time to lose.
"I... I'm.... *hiccup* r... rather... rather alright... *hiccup* S... Sir Regis... y-you can... you... c-can... re... *hiccup* release... *hiccup* me..."
Trailing off, her flailing slowed to a crawl as she drifted off into another slumber unexpectedly.
When Tallia began to stir, she could feel that she was moving, or at least something under her was. Opening her eyes slowly, she could see that she was in a stagecoach, and across from someone else.
"Kitty!" the cry came from a toddler, a girl. "Yes, sweety, Lord Regis' companion seems to have awoken, how are you dear?"
The other voice of refinement, came from a woman, finely dressed sporting a yellow dress and hat, who looked down at Tallia who realized she was laying flat across from this woman and her child.