Private Tales Those Fallen

[Saul Talith]

Saul smiled at the both of them.

It was just about the reaction that he had expected. Neither of them would tell a soul on board of course, save perhaps the other seven. They were all friends, all close, and there was trust beyond what anyone could find anywhere else.

"Take a piece of gold and get out." Saul said as he gently kicked Edwins ankle.

The man let out a yelp, half jumping and glancing at Ana like a lost puppy who had just been thrown into a pool of very cold water.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana's own amusement grew, though a blush on her checks was present. "Take two and get out." See. She was the generous one.

"Selfish, corrupted templar!" He lamented, pocketing the gold and half being tugged out by Valerie's fire grasp. "Ow, ow, gods, woman, what do you ea-"

Thump.

The door closed, leaving them back to their sudden silence.

She glanced at him, the heat in her cheeks growing as she remained unsure of what came next.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul sat himself down in the chair again, mostly because at this point his nerves couldnt handle any more surprises.

He was tired, worn, but oddly mirthful. "So."

The Commander began quietly, his hand wrapped around Ana's, his expression soft as he looked up at her. What was the next step? Where did they go from here? Did they have to go anywhere at all?

Words were not his specialty, something he had already more than proven


So instead he looked up at her and smiled, gently squeezing her hand. He knew the others wouldn't say anything, knew that they wouldn't really care. There was trust between all them them, trust that neither Ana nor Saul would let any of them down.

"Dinner with the Captain?" He offered with a smile.

 

[Esme]

Ana smiled hesitatingly back, her fingers clammy against his. She struggled to understand how things would be different now. Perhaps she just had permission to feel what she had always kept away, which wasn't all that dangerous, was it?

She didn't know, she didn't have answers. They had been in each other's company constantly for months now, ever since the assignment to meet with the other fractions up north. That was a large enough change in itself, but then with the schism ... and the boat... what would come ... there was no normal anymore.

Maybe normal was smiling at him like this every day. She was never cold to him before. She often held all their hands. Perhaps all that would change was that she could...

She seized up and kissed him again, half shaking as she did so, feeling like a naughty child as she pressed soft and hungry against his lips.

She didn't give him time to respond, pulling away just as fast. "Ok," she agreed, jittery.

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul wasn't entirely sure what to do next.

His skin prickled with goosebumps and he couldnt help but look around the cabin like a lost puppy too excited to even really think. His fingers laced around Ana for just a brief second, lips breaking into a smile as he realized that speaking had become somewhat more difficult. A dryness welled up in his throat and he coughed slightly, pulling away from her just a bit.

"I'll go get us something to eat." He told her quietly.

They could of course go with everyone else...but Saul didn't want that. More than anything he wanted to spend the night with her alone. An idea, he was sure, that she also held.

"Ill be right back." He promised. "Dont steal all the gold."

The joke came with a gentle squeeze of her hand, lips breaking into a smile once more.

 

[Anastasia]

She nodded minutely, watching him with baited breath.

"..."

What.

Of all the things she expected to happen to day, Saul... asking for her.... attentions.

Just what.

She paced for a minute before moving to the table and fidgeting with the goods, passing the time by organizing them into small piles ... then sitting sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to steady herself with breaths.

Perhaps this was a one night thing. Like the Square. He had just seen her nearly, die, she reasoned. It had likely reminded him of a time they all mourned....

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul rushed theough the ship about as humanly possible.

He got a few looks from Edwin as he passed through the halls, one long one from Valerie, but it was clear that neither of them had immediately run off to go and tell everyone about what they had seen. Saul was thankful for that. He knew that the others would be understanding, but those Templar on this ship that had not grown up with them might be a bit more difficult to accommodate.

Still, he deserved this, and there was no regret on his part. "Thanks."

Saul said to the cook as he was handed two plates of what appeared to be some type of roasted fish.

That was the good thing about being in the middle of the Allirian Bay, there was absolutely no shortage of food to be found. The chef added some sort of vegetable to the plates, and then gave Saul a small salute and nodded his head. The Commander thanked him again and then turned to head back to the Captain's cabin.

As he walked out he spotted Edwin grinning.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana was still sitting there, her confidence wavering the longer she was left to her thoughts. She glanced up sharply when he reentered, fidgeting as he placed down the plates. With a wordless grunt she stood up and rejoined him, trying to clear space but not entirely looking him in the eyes. It was clear she was worrying. And as he knew, there was very little that could be done to stop that besides time.

 

[Saul Talith]

He placed the plates down on the small bit of space that shed made.

Then realized in his haste he'd forgotten to grab silverware.

For a moment the Templar Commander frowned, half turning back to go and grab what they needed before he suddenly stopped. He saw the expression on her face, the little creases of worry and the hints of distress about what they were doing. He looked at her, frowned for just a brief second and then glanced towards the pile of treasure in the other half of the room.

"Have you ever eaten fish with a Holy weapon?" He took two steps to his bag and grabbed one of the two pouches.

From said pouch he freed a gold and silver dagger.

"Its like extra seasoning." He told her. "Plus it ensures the Fish won't come back to life."

 

[Anastasia]

She cracked a small smile, a wordless noise of amusement catching in her breath. "Undead fish," she mused.

"Almost as bad as undead rats."

She moved to pull out a heavy chair, grunting and stopping as her abdomen caught against the motion and her wound. She pressed her lips together, letting out a careful breath and lifting more with her arms as she made herself enough space to sit down.

"You seemed pretty intent to locate those in particular," she noted, more comfortable to talk about Templar stuff.

 

[Saul Talith]

"This." He said as he waved the dagger.

It was a gaudy looking thing. The blade was curved and inscribed with dozens of tiny runes and intricate script, its handle a mixture of gold and silver inlaid with ivory. Clearly not a weapon meant for any sort of battle, but valuable nonetheless. Especially as Saul explained what it was.

"Belonged to the first Lord Captain of the Broken Sword." He flicked it forward and cut a small strip of Ana's fish. "It used to be an actual warriors weapon, but over the years they made it more..."

He frowned and showed her the handle. "This."

Of course it was now also worth about an entire country manor, which was why it was one of the three specific items he had stolen.

 

[Anastasia]

She gaped.

"And you're cutting my fish with it. The Templars rolling in their graves right now!" She shook her head, having no problem picking up the fish with her fingers and eating the stripes that way. Even with the blood left behind. Such was life.

"It's worth a small fortune. Lord Commader was a fool to keep that all in one place..."

 

[Saul Talith]

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "Who would dare steal it?"

It was an honest truth.

Any criminal would have been hunted to the ends of the earth and beyond. The Templar were a military Order, one versed in fighting demons and the undead. Messing with them was something ordinary folk steered well away from. Not to mention the fact that most people didn't even know the vault existed in the first place.

Cutting a piece of his own fish he pulled out the second pouch, unfurling it and showing Ana an odd necklace. It was an amulet, its outside facade appearing to be almost like a small spherical puzzle box. He allowed it to rest between his middle and index finger, supporting it with his thumb.

"The Chapter has had this since before the third schism, when we were just the Allirian branch." He frowned. "No one has any idea what it is. Even the Old Man didn't know."

He placed it on the table. "Technically its worthless but..."

Saul hadn't wanted to leave it to Arrawaith.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana's brows furrowed, leaning in in curiosity. "It's beautiful," she noted. "And old. Can I see it?"

 

[Saul Talith]

Saul nodded his head.

As far as he was concerned everything they jad taken belonged to all of them equally. Technically he was their leader, but he was no banker nor anything of the sort. He would leave most of that work to others. It had been his plan, but Saul knew enough about himself not to try and handle every little detail after.

That would be a disaster. "There are three stories to how we got it."

Saul frowned for a brief moment, trying to remember exactly what he had been told. This information was of course not commonly disseminated among Templars, it had only been given to him when he had made the rank of Commander.

"First, some Templar made it when the Order was whole. Second it was found on the body of a powerful Lich after we killed it." He frowned. "And third, we dug it out of the ruins of some burned city in the north."

Saul himself had no clue which story was true.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana turned it over in her fingers, her frown growing.

"Sounds dangerous," she noted, gingerly returning it to him before tearing off more fish and eating. She wasn't as hungry as she should be, but she ate for her health, chewing and swallowing mechanically.

"And that other pouch you pulled out?" Yes, she had been watching.

 

[Saul Talith]

He frowned for a moment, glancing over towards where he'd stashed the glove.

"It's called the Anti-magic gauntlet." Templar had never been particularly good at naming things, least of all when they were so direct. Perhaps it was a result of their military style...or maybe they just generally didn't tend to be very creative.

Either way. "It lets you use anti-magic...lets anyone use it at the cost of their own life force."

"Supposedly...it's how we first learned anti-magic." Saul frowned. "Studying it and eventually learning what it does."

Then making it better by not killing themselves through its use.

 

[Anastasia]

She frowned as well. "Well we have no need for that. But... maybe the other factions ... in some time... it could make a good weapon," she noted, taking one of the daggers and cutting more of her fish.

"Speaking of them ... when will we send news?" She asked carefully.

 

[Saul Talith]

It could, though he would be loath to allow anyone to use it. The damn thing cut into ones life-span, and it used improperly...end life all together.

Best to avoid any chance of that until it was absolutely necessary. "I don't think we should contact them all, not yet."

The Alliance, if it could even be called that, wasn't stable enough for such things just yet. If he called down every Chapter they'd made an agreement with things would fall apart very quickly. No, he had to do this right, elsewise all the work they'd put in would be for nothing.

"I was thinking just one." It would be enough. "Vel Anir."

He was almost positive they would send help...then once things settled they could tell others.

 

[Anastasia]

She nodded slowly, pondering through what this would mean.

A yawn caught in her mouth, one which she bit back, shoveling more food in. "From your reports, they seem to like you. It should work," she noted softly.

 

[Saul Talith]

He nodded quietly, his mind clearly wandering away for a few moments. "It will take them months to reach us."

Saul knew that this was something that they would have to finish on their own.

The difficulty was there no matter what, and waiting was simply not an option. Arrawaith would find out about the Vault tomorrow and their next step entirely depended on what he did. Lips thinned for a second as he took a deep breath, then finally he shook himself off.

"There's nothing more we can do tonight." He told her quietly. "So."

Saul went on as he quietly looked up at her, scooting just a bit closer.

 

[Anastasia]

A blush filled her cheeks.

She fell silent, picking at her nails, the concern growing in her brow again. She took a deep breath. "Saul..." She started, her tone unsure.

 

[Saul Talith]

"Ana." He scooted closer.

The Commander knew that this wasn't a simple, knew that they both had to fight against a whole host of emotion, but what else were they going to do?

Sit pointedly across from one another? Avoid each other?

He refused.

Saul had always been stubborn, he had always fought for what he wanted. Why would it be any different now? Why would he give up the first thing that he wanted for himself? He didn't do this for the good of the Order, he didn't do this for the others, he did this because he wanted to. Because he knew Ana wanted to.

 

[Anastasia]

"Saul..." She countered again.

She took a deep breath and chose her next words carefully, painfully aware of how close he was to her. Her skin felt electric, on fire, her emotions slipping through the leaks he had punctured in her walls by doing this.

"Don't you think... don't you think tonight could be better spent bolstering the men down bellow? They've been through so much. Your cheerful presence could..."

 

[Saul Talith]

He smiled.

"I am almost entirely sure that even without my presence the men will be bolstered enough." In fact he was fairly sure that if they were to be attacked within the next twelve hours they would all surely perish thanks to the general drunkenness that was no doubt about to befall every person on this ship.

They had won a great victory, great in it's own way, and that needed celebrating.

A sigh escaped him. "Ana."

He said again.

"Enough worrying." Saul attempted carefully not to sound like he was commanding or ordering her. "Enough, please."