Completed Templar: Why did it have to be vampire rats?

[Saul Talith]

He blinked at the storm of words.

"Well that's not a very good decision." In all truth Saul was the type of man who could be given a bowl of oatmeal for two years straight and end up quite happy with the situation. Food wasn't a big thing for him, in fact it was hardly a thing for him at all. Still, he wanted to impress Ana, or at least make her happy with his decision.

He took a breath.

"Okay." The Templar Commander said as he took a few steps, motioning towards a section of the market. "We'll get something from the markets."

It would be affordable and likely delicious. "How about some pork and bread and..."

He frowned for a moment, what else?

"Maybe get some sweet cakes too." That would be the last of his coin, but that was alright.

 

[Anastasia]

"Maybe," she allowed, hyper conscious of his own wallet and not keen on draining it on a dessert too. Despite putting all her own funding into the architect she was gifting him, she was never comfortable accepting things back.

She kept her hand on his arm, certainly less composed and formal with that armor off and this tunic on.

"Alright. So you got a ship? From the beginning- how did you manage that?" She pried, ready to hear it now.

They walked at a comfortable pace, the crowd parting to give space to imposing templar and the two beside him. Ana felt eyes on them and tactifully ignored it, use to it by now. Her eyes skimmed the crowd out of habit, the woman a little conscious of the fact that she was armorless with only one push dagger strapped to her leg.

 

[Saul Talith]

"It was a meeting with one of the Merchant Council Members." That alone was enough to impress most people, but Ana would know Saul had done things like that before. Though he did not delve into politics often, his rank within the chapter meant that he ended up meeting more influential people than he truthfully would have liked.

Once there was even a run in with the Commander of the Rangers. That man had been sort of a dick.

"His son, six, is apparently quite a large fan of us." Saul seemed amused by that. "Reads the old stories. Apparently particularly the one about Ser Farawaith and the necromancer."

Ser Farawaith had reputedly slain a Necromancer with only his bare hands as weapons, and then went on to kill an undear dragon. The story was perhaps a bit...inflated, but it worked for them in this case. "The Galleon is an old one, and he was going to decommission it. So instead he gave it to us."

It wasn't the newest, but it would do.

 

[Anastasia]

She let out a low whistle, shaking her head. "You secured a boat. A whole boat." In truth, that was a bit of a relief to her. At least one thing could be certain about their future-- they wouldn't have to worry about fleeing into woods and tending to injuries on moving horses if things went south. All they had to do was head into the city. A 20 minutes ride, that was it. They would have protection.

Maybe wouldn't even need to raise a sword, she thought hopefully.

"But aren't you worried about word getting back? Was this done publicly or.."

 

[Saul Talith]

She was right to be worried about that of course, but Saul shook his head. "He knows to be discreet. I told him it would be for military operations, which fall under my duties."

The Commander paused for a second as a member of the city watch walked by them. The armored man glanced at Saul and gave him a look filled with bile, hands tightening on the haft of the spear that he was carrying. Saul made no move towards him of course, simply staring blankly as though he did not even see the man at all.

It was the best way to deal with them.

"Plus." He began as they entered the markets. "If the other councilors learned he gave a ship to the Templar..."

He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

 

[Anastasia]

Her fingers tightened on his arm, tension entering her body. Not for the first time, she had to bite back the urge to ask him not to do this. When he said words like that, the risks seemed too high, and the blasphemy ... too much.

She swallowed hard, slowly removing herself from his arm.

"It will save lives," she summarized, some emotion bled from her voice. "That is all we can ask for.

 

[Saul Talith]

He nodded.

That was the important part in truth, though he felt bad anput deceiving the man when he had so much kindness. Perhaps in time it would prove not to be necessary, though for some reason he doubted that would be the case. Tensions were high, and it would only get worse after their meeting in Herath. His fingers twitched slightly for just a moment, and then he motioned to the market.

"We leave tomorrow." Saul reminded her quietly.

He didn't want to go anouncing their plans to the entire market place.

"There's a few things I have to do tonight." He was sure it was the same way for her. "But lets enjoy ourselves for now."

Saul smiled, stopping at one of the stands selling fresh bread.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana struggled for a moment, swallowing hard past her emotions. Locking them up was never a hard task for her, but keeping them there often could be during moments of duress.

She nodded, her face going smooth as she tried to think only on the bread and not the soul crushing future she had tried to drown out yesterday.

She offered him a tight smile, the corners of her eyes pinched. "Thank you, Saul, for doing this with me." She would have kept herself busy with templar work without him, but in some ways, getting a few more of these moments were like collecting gold to her. Even morose now.

She gestured for the bread she's like-- a simple, ample bun. Her hunger abruptly returned to her.

 

[Saul Talith]

"Well clearly I'm just trying to get into your tunic." Saul said it with a brash smile, the woman behind the stall looking at him in abject horror.

Most people thought of Templar as something close to monks.

They had began as a religious Order, serving the gods and wiping away evil from Arethil at the behest of the priesthood. Of course, that had been thousands of years ago and at the time women hadn't even been allowed to join the Order. Over the millenia things had changed a lot, even before the schisms.

There were still a few chapters that kept to the old ways, but Broken Sword was definitely not one of them.

The previous Lord Captain had even been married, that was how much nobody cared. As long as you held to your duty and kept your loyalty, no Templar would look down upon another for more...carnal pursuits.

Not that many people outside accepted that for some reason.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana gave him an amused glance, blushing slightly but otherwise unabashed by his words. "Always a step above the rest," she mused, the sparse attentions she received from others no secret. Despite Templars being a religious base, notions of saving oneself and purity never made it down the generations of male before females came in.

Ana had other lovers and she thought nothing of it. Templar life wasn't inductive to a solid relationship, at least not in her book. Some of the others in the group would disagree, but neither side felt the other was particularly out of place for their choice over it.

That was half the reason she was looking forward to the mission to Herath tomorrow. For the first time, the ten's own group-dynamic had a chance to rekindle right and proper. It was a warm enough concept for her to distract herself with, taking the bun from the vendors hand with a slight smile on her lips.

"You know, all you have to do is ask." She paused for a second, holding the bun appreciatively to her nose. And then she tore into it, her hunger pangs taking away what manners she had acquired off the streets.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul glanced at her in surprise, though not because of her statement. Rather it was because she bit into the bun like she was a ravenous ogre who'd not had a meal in three days.

He watched her for a moment, fascinated, and then blinked a few times as he recaptured himself.

"Don't you worry yourself." The Commander said with a slight smile, finding it rather difficult to be flirtatious when he was watching her devour a meal like a Dragon devoured it's enemies. "I'm sure that will come before the day is out."

He mused for a second, though in truth he was still trying not to laugh from how she was eating.

This wasn't the first time he had seen her hungry like this, but it was still funny even after all of these years. "You're supposed to wait for...topping, you know."

They were still going to buy meat and such after all.

 

[Anastasia]

"Wha-" She murmured around her full mouth. She glanced around, understanding falling into place. "...Oh."

She coughed as some crumbs went down the wrong way, gingerly tucking up the bread as she chewed through what was stuffed in her mouth.

"Imwashungry," she explained through it, now bashful. She swallowed past it all, reaching for his water flask and helping herself to it.

She sighed in relief afterwards, even that small bit of enough doing her some good. "I'm sorry, you were saying?" she asked, finally grounded back into the moment. She gestured they could keep moving, her fingers fidgeting with the bun she wasn't. Going. To eat. Yet.

 

[Saul Talith]

"You can keep eating." She assured her with a smile, trying not to laugh once more.

He wondered briefly if she'd even allowed herself to have a meal today. From the way she was acting Saul guessed not, something that for some odd reason made him rather...not upset, but worried. He supposed it was concern, though one day certainly wouldn't end up killing her.

The Commander shifted slightly, pointing down to where the butchers had their stalls.

"You'll just have to eat more later." He assured her. "Plus there's m-"

Saul cut himself off. "That looks good."

The Commander gestured to a man selling cold cuts. That was a generally new thing in Alliria, spiced meats that kept their flavor even after cooling down. Quite good, and kept for a day or two if properly sealed away.

 

[Anastasia]

Anastasia blinked, stopping short. She considered it for a moment, more curious than anything as she took a stepped forward. "What do you think is it?" She asked, taking a slow bite of her bread and chewing though it.

She had not eaten yet today, too distracted last night to have packed something in her bag and too stingy with her money to have allowed herself this moment. She often mistepped and misplanned, the woman good at predicting others needs, but frustratingly blind with her own.

"Are those spices on the meat?" She asked, surprised. "I bet that would go good on bread." Her eyes were wide, her stomach churning.

Im sorry did he expect her to keep to one decision?

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul smiled. "Yes it would go good on bread."

The Commander had it before of course, often taking it on missions out around the Reach. He wondered if that was invented exactly for that reason. He mused for a second more, and then motioned to the man behind the stall who seemed to be watching them like a fool.

"Some of that please." He pointed to what appeared to be some sort of chicken covered in a red spice. "And that."

It was some...pork he thought. "Do you know where we could get some cheese?"

Saul asked a second later, the man at the stall pointing out a vendor just a few meters away.

 

[Anastasia]

Anastasia followed him a bit mutely, overwhelmed by the smells and the sights. Like Saul, she had not had much exposure to food outside the compound. Sure she could live on oats and bland meats just fine enough, but put her in a space full of delectables and she quickly resembled a child lost in a toy store.

"Cheese, why cheese?" She reached over, trying to grab some meat from him and try that too, half bouncing at his side as quick steps kept her pressed to him.

 

[Saul Talith]

He smirked slightly, not answering for a moment as he turned and headed towards the other stall. He wanted to at the very least get some of the cheese before Ana ended up devouring everything that they bought.

What coin they had was precious, and she wanted to give her a nice experience instead of just consuming everything bit by bit. Though he did not know much about food, there were a few things that he did know about. Even an amateur could have things that he liked.

"It's a good combination." He said quickly as he batted her away.

The small bun that she had already eaten would sustain her for a few moments at least, but he made sure that they hurried at buying what appeared to be some kind of cow cheese.

After handing over the last of his coin he turned to Ana. "Alright. Let's head to the bay. We can eat there."

If she didn't overpower him by then.

 

[Anastasia]

She groaned, painfully curious about the food in his hands now. "Wait. What about your bread. You gonna eat it or just hold it forever? Oooooo, you're going to put it all together? Weird," she commented, clearly excited and not often in this state as they made the way to the bay. "I ate all my bread though." ...Oh. Regret.

Usually she was quite, her warmth always open to those who spoke with her, but her energy muted by the worries she always obsessed with. They were small worries, ironically. Especially when compared to their worries of now. But in brief moments when life got exciting enough, a spark of enthusiasm always shone through her.

 

[Saul Talith]

"You can have some of mine." The Merchant he had negotiated with had actually provided food during the meeting, a custom that was apparently observed through most meetings.

It showed just how different things were for the rich, those that had money. The spread the man had invited would have been a fest for any other day. It was something Saul had tried to ignore as best as he could, but eventually it had gotten to him in an odd sort of way.

Not that he'd brought it up. "If you ask nicely, anyway."

A smile touched his lips. He'd of course had given her some no matter what, but it was fun to tease her. Motioning towards the exit of the Markets, he and Ana quickly made their way towards the end of the stalls and towards the path that would lead them towards the docks.

She would have to hitch her horse somewhere, but that wouldn't be much of a problem.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana snorted and broke off quickly to do just that, making a quick matter of hitching him up and giving him a tender pat before going to rejoin Saul.

"Sir," she greeted formally, going as far as to give him the salute appropriate for a commander. Polite enough?

She held it out, clearly waiting for acknowledgement as she teased him.

Giveherthebread.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul threw himself down onto the small bench that he had found, his armor clinking as he did so. The food he'd bought, wrapped as it was, sat in his lap.

He considered for a moment as Ana saluted him. "Hmmm."

The tone came from his throat as he looked at her, amusement floating across his features. A hand floating to the edge of the bench as he stretched out slightly. Oddly enough, there were no people around, though that was likely due to the fact that it was the middle of the day and most people were busy.

"That's formal." He said with a smirk. "I don't know if i'd say it's nice."

Saul made no effort to hide his amusement.

 

[Anastasia]

She rolled her eyes and leaned forward, pecking him on the lips. "Pleaaaaase?" She asked hovering over him.

She didn't necessarily need the bread, but she was enjoying the atmosphere of their time together and she was happy to add to it. A burst of confidence ran through her, her hand reaching out to brace itself on his knee as she raised a brow down at him.

"I'll wear the dress tonight."

 

[Saul Talith]

He perked an eyebrow. "Oh really now?"

His voice was playful more than anything else now. There wasn't really...well, there was something to see obviously, there was always something to see with her, but after last night Saul had already taken in all of her and more.

"Well." The Commander mused. "That just makes me wonder what else I could get you into."

A smile touched his lips, but he did relent finally.

With one hand he deftly unwrapped the packages that they had gotten from the vendors, taking a knife from his belt with the others. "Cut the bread first, then stack it all inside. Trust me."

 

[Anastasia]

She flopped besides him in a satisfied huff, eagerly taking the ingredients and preparing them as said. "Like this?" She asked a bit unsure, placing the last slice of bread on top. It looked ready to topple over, the ingredients piled high.

"But it's... so big. How do fit it into your mouth?" She looked up at him, at a loss.

 

[Saul Talith]

"I remember you asking that last night too." Saul whispered, more for himself than her, really.

"Take bites, Love." The Commander said with a smile. "Just sort of...press it together and then take bites."

It was odd that he had to instruct her on how to eat...He was sure she'd done that before.

At least once.