Private Tales Any Hearth In A Storm

[Karl von Stehlen]

Karl was a bit taken back by what she said although it was hard given the stoicism of the black knight. It was his duty...his title...to protect, so much so that he had never given much thought...it was akin to an instinct. To hear it said out loud, to hear it acknowledged...where many would simply wordlessly assume...it was all too surprising for Karl.

"Perhaps I do...It comes with the title...and the armor..." Karl said, as his gaze remained on her. At first, it was just looking at her...there was somthing about her form that was rather...noble. Perhaps it was the context that made it so. Her stubbornness to aid him and to brave to venture forth to tackle a problem where the very field put you at a disadvantage...perhaps Karl was just more the same. Then the knight's eyes fell upon the cloak that was also flying in the wind, causing Karl to frown a little. It could have been put together better, he'd have to remedy that later...if they got out alive.

Regardless, Calla would advance upon the mountain, but Karl didn't much complain. "Onward and upwards." Karl nodded, as he followed suit, moving fast to catch up, before keeping pace.

The climb in of itself was rather a tedious one. Karl might have been capable with his armor, but even this was rather a trek for him, as his armor could be heard clanking even among the howling wind. The knight would nod to the Komodo when she turned around, and soon the two would be in the thick of it, snow falling all around them as the marched. At some point, Karl had clasped down his faceplate in an attempt to filter some of the wind out.

But then Calla veered to the side, disappearing into the snow, causing the knight to speed up after her, right into the cave besides her. Karl observed the larger women mutter somthing, and then her hammer began to glow, much to his silent surprise. But it was helpful for lighting up the way which revealed somthing of an auxiliary cave , remnants of it's previous dwarf inhabitants. It was big for a dwarf dug cave, but to the two of them, it was barley enough to move, but it would have to do; they'd have better luck finding their way in the shelter to the source then trying to face the snow head on.

Karl reached behind him and pulled out his shield as Calla dropped her pack. Taking it into his right hand, Karl would clasp it into his left, strapping it down as his red plume bounced up and down.

It was only when he finished did he realize the Komodo was talking to him, causing his masked face to turn around...before allowing his other hand to come up to lift his faceplate, meeting her gaze with his.

"I'm fine...I'm more worried about you..." Karl said, as he glanced towards the cave, before reinstating his gaze at her. Even out of the snow, the cave was still akin to freezing. Karl had his plate to keep him relatively functional, but if this would keep up...

"We better get moving...the faster we find the source, the quicker we may end this cold..."​

 

[Calla of Nuastone]

The Komodo hesitated, looking past him out into the gale that was raging outside, then back at him. At his earnest, determined face, weighing the pros and cons of what she saw. She was not much of a learned figure, leaving the more scholarly pursuits to those of a nimbler mind than hers… but survival. Survival she was good at. Her people had a natural.. Knack for it, at as it were.

“Little Knight, if we venture out -- in that snow, in that wind -- there is every likelihood we might fall off a cliff or lose our way. If we stay here, there is a risk of freezing, yes, but it is greater for me than you and you would not be in any danger of falling or otherwise being injured. Might I suggest we hunker down here? It is, I think, our best chance.”

She shifted the supplies off of her back onto the ground, the packing hitting the dirt with a solid thunk! befitting the weight of it.

Crimson eyes raised to him, his face visible in the square of his helm, considering him and her words carefully. “Spells cannot last forever. Once it is done, we are very close to the peak. We can surely make it there and take out whomever is behind this before we are stuck again. What do you think, Little Knight?”

The entire time her hammer kept that steady, low glow, keeping the tuck of the cave just barely luminated enough to be comfortable. It was intentional; Calla wasn’t sure how long they would be in the cave and her hammer only contained so much sunshine. She would not waste it all early and then be stuck without any energy for any foes that came their way. Though she had her claws and her tail, her hammer was a beloved comfort.

“I shall follow your lead whichever way you decide,” she finally affirmed, inclining her head slightly.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

Karl looked up at the larger women, his expression didn't seem to change. On the outset, it seemed as if he was about to say no...and suggest they push on. However, the knight said nothing, simply meeting eyes with her for a few, quiet moments.

"You might want to save some of that magic...after all, you said spells don't last forever..." Karl said, his eyes dropping from her face to her hammer. Within the next secound, Karl reached for his belt, lifting from it a hanging lamp of sorts. The knight would reach up to the object, gently grabbing a mechanism on it's side, turning it, causing a small flame to light up from within. Karl would then hold it up to Calla, offering it to her. It seemed that Karl had a knack for expressing with being expressive, as combined with the lightening, he had a rather sincerely look about him, a comforting one if anything.

If Calla did not take the lamp, Karl would place the light onto the ground, illuminating the walls along with her hammer, before advancing past Calla and further into the cave. Karl did not verbalize it, but it seemed that they would be staying after all. The knight would rest a hand onto one of his swords, as he scanned the rest of their shelter.

Damn, it was dead end. Seemed like somthing had kicked in one of the support beams and buried part of the cave with rock...which was saying somthing, considering how sturdy dwarven architecture was...what could have done this?

It didn't matter much now, though...both Karl and Calla were stuck on the other side, there backs to the cold. Yes, it was a bit better inside, but the sooner the snow lets up the better...Though in the end...the Komodo was right...with their vision skewered, they were at a disadvantage.

Better rest up for now then, they'll be more to come.

Karl would return back to Calla, taking off his smaller pack as well, and gently dropping it with Calla's pack, before looking back at the entrance. What little light there was had faded, darkness was setting in. There trip to the mountain was not a short one, and that was to say nothing of the climb.

Karl sighed, his mind on nothing but the endeavor ahead. The calm before the storm...ironic, considering the two were technically in the thick of an actual storm. Karl didn't take too long to ponder, though, as he took a few steps, looking towards the ground...before taking a seat against the wall, leaning back to allow the surface to take his weight.

"Better get comfortable...we may have to wait until morning again before we can take any further action..."​

 

[Calla of Nuastone]

==============================


The cold puffed Calla’s breath into a cloud as she looked at him, watching the Knight’s steady expression as he took in the wall of snow that was facing him, and worked through all that it meant. She didn’t think him for a second emotionless or withdrawn, but there was something distinctly appealing about watching his face. He was like the sun on a summer’s day, seemingly unchanging but flickering in every second.

His staunch refusal to leave her drew her up, a bit surprised, and concerned flickering across her face as her lips parted to disagree -- he couldn’t carry her all the way down the mountain and possibly hope to have enough strength to deal with whatever foe it was that awaited them back at the top and she wasn’t sure how she was going to last through the night. But there was… something, something that shifted in his face, a decision that he reached, that caused her to wait, to still her concern.

He removed his helmet and she let out a small, “little Knight…” because he would lose more heat that way, but he was already moving to his bag, removing… something. She couldn’t quite see what.

Then he moved back to her… and asked to share her cloak. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation from the big Komodo -- it was his cloak after all, that he had gifted to her. She would certainly not keep it from him now, even if she wasn’t sure what it was that he intended. Still, she shifted it open, carefully shifting it around both of them as he nestled closer to her.

The big woman hesitated, a little, her first thought to put her arm around his shoulder, since even in his armor he was smaller nestled against her side --

-- but, no, that was terribly forward, no matter how much more comfortable it would be. Even though they had slept closer the night before. Well, especially because of that. She had pulled him too close without making sure he was all right with it. So she contented herself with sitting next to him, breath cascading out in small clouds, each one just a little more heat lost…

Still, she watched quietly as he held a stone in his hand, then -- then spoke, and watched with obvious awe as the energy spread from the stone into his armor.

And heat. Blessed heat.

A small sound of relief slid from the big Komodo’s throat, and she leaned more into him.

“Little Knight, you are incredible,” she breathed, a soft chuckle murmuring from her throat. “I.. is it all right, though? If I put my arms around you? It would be much more comfortable and I would keenly like the heat…”

She hesitated, giving him a moment, plenty of time to tell her no, to tell her to stay where she was …

… but then, gently, she reached her arms out, settling them around his shoulders and cuddling him into herself, her cheek coming to rest against the side of his head. It took a little bit of finagling to get the cloak just so… but then, the warmth of the pelt wrapped around them both, tucked carefully around him as well as herself, with him gently resting up against her…

She let out a sigh of contentment and relief, the tension easing from her shoulders.
It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that she’d been afraid, despite the brave face she’d put on. Still, with him there, radiant warm and in her arms, much of that fear seemed to have abated.

“I am sorry to continue to be such a burden to you,” she murmured, against the side of his head, her voice gentle. “Your kindness and your goodness are truly something precious. I will do my best to be as good and kind to you in return and repay all that you have done for me, my dearest Knight.”

She turned her face into his cheek, a low rumble from her throat accenting her words.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

A secret only the dwarves yonder knew about...after all, it was they who forged the armor of all the Stahlspitze of his armor...a set armor that could withstand the mightiest of blows, for those whom's duty was to draw all danger towards themselves...yet their were legends...nothing more then outlandish theories...that these armors had more utility then just protect the wearier.

It seems that the rumors were true.

The heat was a steady sensation, warming his body against the cold, yet not scalding his skin. While the heat radiated from his armor, the source was the rune he had held in his hand; a dwarven heating stone, a nifty rune that the dwarves handed out among their rangers. It was perhaps too lucky he had decided to bring it with him, even more so that this outlandish theory had worth...especially considering it was not his to begin with...but an artifact collected by his own master. Karl didn't know what he had expected when taking the rune...but he'd only barrow it for this mission...

Whatever thoughts the knight had about dwarven runes and his master would be suddenly cut short, as the komodo next to her spoke. Karl had been in such a keen state of concentration, he had hardly noticed his own movements; as now his head was on her shoulder. Lifting his head, yet not changing his expression, his gaze turn to hers. She had asked somthing that took a moment to register in his brain.

Put her arm around him? Karl didn't see why not, if it made her more comfortable. After all, komodo's needed heat, and he had now effectively turned into a life sized blanket warmer.

Karl glanced up to meet her eyes, before nodding slightly. The knight's expression had barely changed at all since he first took out the heating stone; a neutral, calm expression that has yet to cave under the current situation.

When Calla had reached over, Karl felt the pressure of her arm upon his shoulder, feeling nothing of her cold skin through his armor. The knights head titled again, on it's on accord, and was once more resting on her shoulder. He might had removed his head had she not sighed in what sounded like relief. She sounded content about their situation, which was a good thing all things considered...they were in a rough patch, all they could do now was settle down and be patient....

A strange situation the night had found himself in: A komodo women had her hands warped around him. Growing up among the biggest seldom left room for warm hugs and what not...

...Karl, your growing to be too big of a boy to ask for such things! Big boys don't cower behind there nannies. Big boys stand tall and proud! You wanna be able to help your older brother and protect your sister...

That was right, he had devoted all his life to protecting the people he loved...it was why he wore this plate to begin with...maybe it was why it all felt so foregin to him, to have a shoulder around him...felt...oddly safe...

Karl closed his eyes and took a deep breath...but in the process, caught wafted...a wonderful, yet surprisingly familiar fragrance. It was a sweet scent, but unlike perfume(which always managed to cause Daisy to sneeze), this smell was rather...natural. Opening his eyes slightly, the knight realized that the last time he had caught a whiff of this smell, he had been in rather close proximity towards...her...oddly enough, it was all rather...comforting...

Karl's eyes fell close, as for the secound day in a row, the knight had dozed off, somthing that rarely happen without Karl's intention. Calla had just then said somthing, somthing that Karl's brain had trouble properly interpreting. Something about kindness and goodness and a knight or another.

"Uh-huh..." Was the only thing that came out of the knights mouth, as by now active consciousnesses was starting to dissipate from his mind....

 

[Calla of Nuastone]

A small, amused smile tugged at the corner of the Komodo’s lips as she looked down at the Knight, his head half-way down to her shoulder already and that answer that didn’t really answer anything except did provide the answer that he was nodding off.

It was, in many ways, a display of comfort and trust the big woman wasn’t used to. She was, as many said, ‘ferocious’ looking. Even those who had grown up with her, who knew her, often hesitated, just a bit, before getting too close. She didn’t blame them; she was, in many ways, absolutely towering. And not in a simple ‘very tall’ way, but she was also broad and foreign-smelling to her warm-blooded companions. It was only natural that there would be that slight

hesitation

before trust resurged and allowed relaxation into her personal space.

For the second time in as many days, this tough, stoic man, was comfortable, relaxed, enough in her embrace to fall asleep. She just watched him for a moment, watched as his eyes closed and his face smoothed - so calm, this way, too, almost emotionless the same way as he’d been while awake - but a different kind of calm. A relaxed, at-ease sort of calm that looked rather fitting on his face.

Leaning forward, she let her forehead rest against his, just for a moment. This… this was a good place to be.

She tucked the fur a bit closer around them, settling him in his armor against her chest, arms looped around his shoulders happily… Then she settled her cheek against the top of his head, letting her breath out slowly as she relaxed against him. He was warm and comfortable against her, and even as the storm raged outside, now their space was shelter and one of safety.

The Komodo wouldn’t sleep - she didn’t trust herself, not in this cold - but she did relax, listening to him breathing and to the sound of the wind’s howls.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

The wind raged on outside, muffled only by the mountain of snow blocking the entrance. As time passed on, the light from the lamp slow dimming to a low burn.

Needless to say, the knight had fallen asleep against the Komodo without another word. An odd sight, certainly, as his expression remained much the same in his resting state, with the rhythm of his breathing was akin to the consistent beating of a drum. As the Komodo shifted him towards his chest, the knight unconsciously crossed his hands, before resting his head against her chest...an act that was almost unthinking when he was awake.

The night marched on, as what might have seemed to be hours flew by as if they were minutes...least with the warmth radiating from the suit of armor...it made things all the more comfortable there in the tunnel. Karl might have shifted a couple of times during those moments, shifting to compliment Calla in her position...

But, it could not last forever...sooner or later...the knight's eyes cracked open, despite the alluring pull back into the comfortable void that was sleep...where was he? What was he doing?

Taking a moment to force his eyes open(with a bit of sheer will), Karl was about to turn his head, until he realized that they were on somthing rather...soft...

A couple of blinks later, Karl seemed to have been able to put two to two together. A few things went through the young knight's head, but Karl said nothing, expression remaining the same as the one he went to sleep with. It was to his credit, Karl was rather good at keeping calm under pressure.

Instead, the knight slowly tiled his head...looking up to observe the larger women...wondering...and bracing himself...

 

[Calla of Nuastone]

Calla had not slept.

She would regret that lack of rest later, to be sure, but she didn’t dare. Even with the warmth radiating off of the Knight in her arms and the comfort of his steady breathing, she kept herself awake by running through the mantras and prayers she had been taught as a young child, then when she had run out of those, she closed her eyes and practised in her mind the words and touches required to work her hammer. That had lasted for a while, until she let her mind wander through the techniques and katas she had been taught with the big weapon…

… and then, well. She had little else to do but watch the slumbering Knight who had shifted so his cheek was resting on her bosom, the firm but slightly-yielding form of her leather breastplate underneath him. Watch, and wonder.

He had shown her nothing but kindness, not a trace of even acknowledgement of who - what - she was. He hadn’t hesitated to take himself into danger if it meant protecting those underneath his care. And he had readily used his own precious resources to keep her warm and comfortable… all with little exposition or explanation and that even expression on his face.

She’d certainly never met anyone like him.

She felt the tension go back into him as he woke, and so, when he shifted and looked up at her she was already smiling down at him.

“Good morning, little Knight,” she greeted. “The winds have died down. We may be able to muscle our way out and ascend to the peak, if we are lucky enough that the sun is out.” She made no move to disturb him, however, despite her words.

He… felt nice. Like this. It wasn’t something she was used to.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

It was quite apparent that when the Komodo spoke, Karl began to relax. A wave of relief came upon him, glad that she hadn't over reacted...though, she seemed rather too please at the situation...

It was what the young knight was thinking for a moment, head still against Calla...until he remembered what he had been leaning on, causing him to immediately sit up stright. His expression did not betray his thoughts...though his eyes fell away...as he brought up an armored fist to his mouth, muffling his efforts to clear his throat.

"Good morning..." He crocked out, somehow retaining his rather stoic tone.

The knight could only be grateful that his comrades of similar age weren't around to witness any of it; they wouldn't have let him hear the end of it. Even at the thought and the subsequent jokes made Karl's head hurt.

Didn't take long for the knight to resume his focus, however, as he turned back to look at the Komodo. She was right, it was probably be a good idea to resume their trek, after they've gotten some re...

Karl's eyes squinted when he finally got a good chance to look at Calla. It might not have been obvious to many, but Karl had experienced with fatigue. There were times. weather it be skirmishes or operations, where Karl and his compatriots had to go hours at a time without proper rest. Even if she wasn't human, Karl recognized the signs all the same...even if her bright smile tried to hide it....

"Did you not rest?" A rather poignant question, one that held much more confidence then his previous 'good morning'. Might have sounded more intimating then it was intended, but the slight tilt in Karl's head...plus the concern that projected itself from his eyes, said otherwise....

 

[Calla of Nuastone]

Karl, however, didn’t escape the situation without any commentary. Because the Komodo grinned, snuggling him a bit closer - which only served to nestle him back against her chest again.

She didn’t hold him to her, though, because he had already turned to look at her, inspecting her with a scrutiny that made her eyebrows arch slightly in surprise. His question, however, brought a smile to her face and she leaned forward, gently resting her forehead against his own. Maybe it was too intimate a gesture for their relationship as it was, but it suited the situation just fine.

“I did not, Little Knight,” she replied, honestly. There was no point in lying to him, no point in trying to deceive him or to change the conversation away from it. “I could not take the risk that I would be too difficult for you to rouse when it came down to it. I did not know how long the heat from your rune would last, and I would not willingly trap you here if I were to grow too cold.”

She shifted the cloak a little bit more around them, since his shifting had allowed a bit of a draft from some of the material shifting. Thankfully, there was enough to allow him to sit up and to maintain their cocoon of warmth, though she found herself wishing keenly that he would rest against her again.

For heat, of course.

“I shall be all right, I slept well last night and one night missed should not slow me down unduly. We must deal with the threat above us, then once we return to warmer, safer areas, I will find my rest then. Honest, Little Knight.”

With that topic in mind, she turned her attention to the wall of snow that had blocked them in, before looking back at him.

“If you are ready, Little Knight, I do believe I can get us out of this cave, now. The wind has shifted enough of the snow away.”

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

Was he expecting to move so close to her? Mostly certainly not. Did he expect her to move him this close? It might have been the last thing on his mind. The fact of the matter was, he didn't get this close to someone unless he was engaging with an opponent or engaging with a family member.

The first thing that had popped into his mind when the knight had even gained consciousness of his situation was to move out of the way, not wanting to make her uncomfortable with his...presence. But sooner did he attempted to move away, the sooner she was now in his presence.

For the first time as far as he could remembered, Karl blinked; what had always been the idle stoicism that he had possessed gave way to a rising heat in his chest, rising upwards to his cheeks. His gaze upon her could've been maintained for so long before he just looked away. He couldn't meet her eyes...not when she was this close to his face...for instead of a look of indifference...it was hesitance...perhaps some may even say she had made him flustered...

Starring down a griffin would have been easier at the moment, but her...Karl struggled to come up with words to describe what he felt in that moment...perhaps actions could push this forward...

The knight reached down and gently clasped onto her hand, with his eyes following close behind. He didn't know what that would have accomplish...perhaps it would have told her that, despite his unattentive eyes, he was listening....that was the hope, anyhow. While starring at her hand, the knight gave a slight sigh. This was not good, they hadn't even engaged the target and already they're energy seemed sapped. If they had to engage a monster...

Karl closed his eyes. No use dwelling too much about it now...better think about how they were going to get out of here first.

"If you were concerned with the cold in here...I doubt it would be any better outside..." Karl said, finally allowing himself to rest his head against her. The knight opened his eyes, looking away, seemingly in thought. "We need to find another way...."

His eyes were now gazing upon her weapon. It was somthing exotic, that was for sure...the knight never had much time to properly examine it...but it was a impressive weapon...a weapon that the knight wanted to see in action sometime...though he did not voice it immediately....

Karl would get his wish soon...as his eyes began wandering...his head shifting against her skin...as they began climbing the wall...

It was then he had an idea.

"Calla..." Karl started, his hands lightly squeezing onto the Komodo's hands..The idea was on the roll, this might help them. Turning his head, he once more gazed upon the bigger women, the natural indifference returning to his face. "...how much strength can you summon...do you think it's enough to punch through a stone wall?"

It was becoming increasingly clear what Karl had meant...given the literal stone wall in front of them....

 

[Calla of Nuastone]

The Komodo stiffened ever so slightly when the man’s hands curled around her own - out of alarm, because her fingers weren’t soft and squishy like a human’s, they were clawed at the ends and she thought - surely, inevitably - that that would bother him just like it would bother most of those like him. So she waited, for him to realize his mistake and snatch his hands back, because he wasn’t looking at her but at her hands, then away towards the far side of the cave, so surely he was shocked or appalled or -

- or he gave her hands a squeeze and turned that sturdy face of his back towards her, her blue eyes taking in all of the tiny things that crept across that seemingly-stoic expression on his face. She liked that expression, liked how even it seemed, but how much there was to be said in it if one only paid a bit of attention.

Her eyes shifted to the wall in question, then back towards him.

For a moment she didn’t respond, in part because she was testing herself, flexing her feet against the dirt and wiggling her tail, just… seeing how her body would respond after a long night of remaining mostly prone in the position they’d been in. The cold had been mostly staved away by his rune-trick and the warmth of him, so it was just a matter of shaking out the stiffness of her stillness, waking up her muscles.

Then she fixed him with a grin, one of those wide, bright ones, unfettered as it spread from ear to ear.

“Little Knight,” she said, her voice humming with amusement. “I would be honored to knock down a wall or two for you.”

She dipped her head down and forward, rubbing the tip of her nose against his, that grin just bright as the summer day should have been. It was such a brief gesture, just there, and then she was standing, taking the warmth of her cloak with her as she gently disentangled from him,

(promptly hitting her horns on the top of the cavern’s roof and having to duck down as a little shower of rubble rained down around them)

and grabbed up her hammer.

The crystalline weapon was easily several times bigger than Karl’s head, the haft of it more like a small tree than anything else, delicate runes carved into it and the metal that wrapped around the shiny head. Despite the size and bulk of it, the tall Komodo wielded it comfortably, bouncing it slightly in her grasp as she turned towards the wall in question.

Stepping forward, she pressed her ear to the surface, reaching up and rapping on the stone with her fist. She listened intently for a moment, then shifted down a little bit and repeated the behavior.

Tap, tap. Listen. Tap, tap. Repeat, several more times, until finally, she nodded, squaring both hands onto the handle of her hammer.

“Stand back, Little Knight,” she warned, “and watch your handsome face.”

Her thumb lightly traced two of the runes and the hammer’s head began to glow, just a gentle thrum of light that danced along the walls of the cavern. Calla lowered her head, her eyes suddenly sharp and intense. Feet dug into the ground, hands gripped the hammer in her grasp, shoulders squared and -

She swung.

That hammer head, moving so fast in the hands of the white-haired Komodo, just whistling through the air before biting into the wall with a crack of shattering rock and it just exploded with the force of the blow, spraying rubble and dust in every direction.

Rocks settled, the Komodo kicking the last few loose ones near the sizeable hole she’d just created, before turning back to Karl, propping her hammer up on her shoulder.

“Like that?” she chimed, cheerfully.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

There much of the world that Karl hardly could even come close to fathom, weather that be the various peoples of the world or of it's mysteries. Perhaps one of those mystery sat right next to him in this very cave...what was it about her? Not even the knight could tell you...maybe it had to do with her smile, which instilled a warm sense within him in it's own right...which made him want to look away. in embarrassment..yet at same time, captivated his full attention to a point where he didn't...

These were confusing directives that came from somewhere in his chest...which was certainly not helped with every word she said.

'For him?' What was that suppose to mean? He had pointed out the wall for the sake of both of him...well, more so her. The knight would not want her to freeze to...an uncomfortable point...why was there this aching feeling that was rippling through his chest?

But before Karl could really ponder on that, she had ambushed him, as her nose came into contact with his, the young knight could feel a rising in his chest. The knight could only sit there blinking again, as she rose up with such confidence and advanced stright at their current problem. When Karl had finally recovered from that, she said somthing about handsome. and it felt like taking another blow to his chest that sent his heart stright up into his ribcage.

The knight had been told that in the past, but most of the people who said that were...rather shallow, to say the least. When she said it...it was different; he believed her.

Quickly turning his head to see what Calla was doing, Karl's eyes widen considerably, as he watched the larger women absolutely sunder the stone wall in front of them. Everything, from the form she took to her hair swaying with every blow she put down...it was somthing of a joy to watch. While people saw a brute, Karl saw somthing different that invoked feelings more akin to passion...feelings that increased his heart rate to a staggering rate. And yet it was so unfamiliar...

And when she looked back at him, looking so happy and...speechless, that was the term...Karl was absolutely out of words to describe what he felt...

Bringing up his fist, Karl stiffened a cough as he momentarily looked away. It might have been the closest that the knight every came to outright blushing, but he was embarrassed. No, he knew what those words were...though he might have not said it, at least not then, he still knew...nay, he felt it...She was, amazing...there was no disputing that, but also...beauty...so much beauty in that strength of hers...

He would never admit, not then not there...was it because it was inappropriate? Was it because he didn't know how? Karl didn't rightly know...The best advice he every had gotten about the matter was when his mentor had mourned his wife...usually with a bottle in hand...

Closing his eyes, the knight took a deep breath, all in the attempt to compose himself. Karl had been through situation that had more pressure on him then this, but this was an entirely new feeling to him. But now was not the place for...those kinds of thoughts....as the knight exhaled...he took a moment to calm his internal thoughts...allowing himself to refocus on the problem...and not think of the solution too much...

"Yes...that was...perfect..." Karl said, opening his eyes and turning to face the Komodo women, nodding in reaffirmation. The young knight's facial expression had shifted back to it's default setting, but his cheeks had a very light red in them..seen only briefly as he adjusted himself on the ground.

The knight now moved to collect his bag, placing the rune back into it's appropriate pouch. Yet before he had closed up the flaps, somthing inside caught his attention...as he reached into his bag and retrieved what seemed to somthing wrapped in cloth. When Karl had finally packed up and had finally moved next to Calla, he now held the lantern...while offering the wrapped item to Calla...

"Here...there not the best rations, but...it'll restore at least some of your energy before the fight ahead." Wrapped in the cloth was primarily bits dried jerky and dried fruit, good for providing any traveler, soldier, or otherwise the required energy to go about their day. Karl seemed to have taken care to have packed a larger portion, considering her size and no doubt the energy she would be expending...

When/if she took the wrapped cloth, Karl would take a step forward, lifting the lantern up to shine the way forward. The knight had added more fuel into the lantern, so they would have light for at least a couple hours more. Yet these old dwarven tunnels were often long and elaborate, as even with the light, the tunnel in front of them seemingly expanded forward into more darkness...