Red and Big Guy Reunite (Varlum)

[Red]

Cylus 6, 719

It was midday under the cold moons of Cylus, and Auya and Laramy were hard at work on their plot of land. Many of the trees had been felled, and today was Laramy's turn to fell more. Auya was in charge of chopping off the branches and stripping away the bark. She was currently straddled over a large oak, hatchet in hand, swinging it over and over at a thick branch, sweating profusely in the process.

In the chilled air, steam was coming off the woman, both from her hard work as well as the heightened temperature of her blood, one of the gifts of Faldrun. She hacked and hacked and hacked at the branches, moving further back on the tree. Once she was finished with the large pine's branches, she grabbed a different type of axe, used for debarking it.

There was the dull thuds in the air of Laramy working on a particularly dense iron oak. He'd chosen to take it, but was finding it terribly frustrating and slow to chip through. She knew this mood of his. Best to leave him alone.

"Red!"

It was Chuckles, one of Laramy's kids, running over to her, having come from the caravan path. His parents gave up trying to tell him how dangerous it was to leave the village alone, he'd stopped listening on the first day they'd moved out here.

"Your monster friend is coming! I sawwed him in the village."

Auya smiled, handing the hatchet to Chuckles, "Work on that bark for me, will ya? Do a good job and I'll pay you when I get back." The boy nodded and eagerly set to work, while Auya grabbed her new metal tipped quarterstaff, heading for the road. Varlum was here? She wondered if he got the message she'd scrawled into the side of the bar they'd met in.

He was the only person from the city she missed.

She knew he'd still recognize her, even with the shorter hair. She wasn't as afraid out here as she had been in the city. Her boots were quick to carry to Mistral Village. She wanted to see her friend again. She hoped he was well. She hoped he wasn't upset by her sudden disappearance, or by the fact her business had burned up. She crossed the threshold into town, looking for the biggest, baddest guy she knew, knowing that he couldn't hide from her.

[Varlum]

"Away. I'll be back soon. You have my word."

After everything that had happened to the Ithecal, it was hard to believe he was headed on another journey. Yet he was. Last season had almost killed him, quite literally. Kane was a man that turned from a close friend to a sworn enemy. Everything he did was evil, even if he thought his intentions were good and pure, which meant Varlum had to stop him no matter what. More lives could not be lost because of that man. Every Trial the Ithecal spent doing nothing was a life or more risked, innocent Aukari coming to a cruel end. Aukari like Auya, soft souls and kind hearts. If something happened to her then the man wouldn't know what to do with himself. After the two lost touch for a while, finding the letter she had left him was a relief in a way he'd not really thought it was. With everything going on in his life Varlum had little time to realise how much he missed her.

But he did. A lot.

As he walked through the small town the Ithecal glanced around, wrapped in a warm coat. It wasn't uncommon to receive looks like he did now, but there was something different to them. Perhaps it was his subtle limp or the fairly fresh scarring across his body. Even smaller injuries had appeared on his face. Then again, he was lucky to survive. Being thrown into a building like that was bound to be dangerous for anyone, even a man of his size. If anything he was lucky to be alive. But here he was, returning to his duty as a Knight and working as best he could. Now he had a call to follow, whatever it was, something pulling him to the North. Only the Immortals knew what would be waiting for him up there, but the Knights had been understanding enough to let him go. After all he had been through it was fair, they decided, to let him have some time.

Small sighs left him as he sat back against a wall and waited for a moment, unsure of where to go from here. Auya had been pretty vague with her directions on how to find her, but it was enough. At the very least he could patrol for a while and try and see her. As of right this trill, though, Varlum paused for some breath. Head hanging low, he glanced to see both awe-filled and terrified looks coming his way. Ithecal had been scary enough for people before, let alone when they had scars down their face and a smouldering axe on his back. Not that it mattered. Wherever he went now, the Axe went with him. It was a token of kindness from the villagers, the Smith in particular. A man that had died because Varlum wasn't strong enough. All he could do now was keep a hold of it for the right moment.

Kane would die with that Axe planted in his neck.

With the dark thoughts coming back and a small snarl leaving his mouth, Varlum stood up and continued looking around the village for a small while, not wanting to be stationary for too long. Having the damage to his leg that he had endured meant he couldn't move around much while recovering. Being that vulnerable was a feeling he could spend his whole life without and not miss remotely. It was harsh and cold, accepting that he was a human too and had to go through the same pains everyone else did. All of his life he had trained to avoid it, to become the strongest and prove a point to the people around him. To show the ones that doubted him that he was stronger than they ever believed he could be. While most would see his fight as a sign of bravery, Varlum saw failure.

Eventually, he saw her. "Auya..." he said quietly as he walked towards her, smile on his face as the darker emotions faded - for now.

[Red]

She saw him the same moment he'd seen her, and her face nearly split in two with her smile. He started towards her, and she saw the limp in his step. That ignited a small bit of anger in her. She knew he was a soldier, she knew he fought man and beast alike, and one of them had hurt him, bad. But she snuffed that flame out with a shout, attracting the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

"Big Guy!"

She through down her staff and ran at him full sprint. Once she got in close she jumped up at him, her arms stretched out before her. She oofed against his chest, which was basically a brick wall, knocking all the wind from her lungs. Her arms scrambled to grab him around the back of his neck, and caught her. She heaved herself up, her toned arms bulging, planting a kiss on the side of his face, and leaning up to his ear, "You found my note."

She dangled there for a bit, not giving one damn about the people that were staring. She knew they'd stop the moment Varlum noticed them. She squeezed him tight, then slid down his front landing on her feet. She then thumped her fist against his chest, "What took you so long?" She then stepped into him again, wrapping her arms as far around him as she could, gripping his back, her face pressed into his chest. He was so warm, and his heart so strong in her ear. She stayed there for a long while, just squeezing him as tight as she could.

Auya then let go, stepping back, looking up at him, beaming. "Hungry? You have so much to tell me. There's a nice place here, big doors and sturdy chairs." She pointed over at the small mom and pop restaurant. There was so much different about her compared to the last time they'd been together. There was a glint in her eyes, a smile that wasn't ashamed or fake, a satisfied sweat upon her brow. And she could see he was different too. It had been a long season apart.

That was when she made up her mind.

The house she'd build for herself would be Varlum sized and durable. Stone, not wood. Big doors, heavy chairs, everything bigger. She'd ask around, learn some of the styles of building that were used in Ivorian. She wanted to be comfortable in her home, and she'd never be able to do that if he couldn't be comfortable. She'd build it for the both of them. She took his arm, and dragged him to the restaurant, "I'm starving. Building a new place nearby, bigger and better. We'll go see it after."

A waitress approached as they came up, eyeballing them, "If you don't mind waiting a bit, the big table will be available soon." Auya smiled and thanked her, turning her attention back to Varlum. She fully intended to ask about his leg, but that would wait. "Where are you staying?"