By the Riverside [Open]

[Aderyn]

“I really hate trolls.”

Aderyn let out a curt laugh; short, to the point. Oh, were they ever in agreement! She took a step back as the creature fought to untangle itself from her snare of rock tossing Roy an interested glance as he began to work a spell. It was something Aderyn had always taken an interest in; mage's had magic similar to her own, yet they had to use spells. And they were not shunned as "half breeds".

For a moment, the redhead's mind faltered. His lady? She thought critically for a moment. My, he was quite possessive. Still, if it meant he would finish the troll off, the woman was not about to boast a complaint or even make a face at being so possessed. Whenever she had heard herself referred to as "my" by anyone but her father...that was when she understood why and how her mother had been able to leave so easily.

How could you tie down the woods?

His spell was a success, at least in Aderyn's opinion. Save for the fact it destroyed the binds she had created. Though, it might not have mattered if the beast was truly unconscious. Unfortunately, fortune seemed to have been done smiling on them for the day. Roy and sequentially Cyrus were thrown limply into a giant redwood; and the girl knew her help would be needed.

“Have any tricks over there Aderyn? I think I'd need some time for a stronger spell.”

Tricks he called them. Pain is what Aderyn called them. The magic she could wield that would slow this troll down was hardly going to be the nourishing power that came from her dryad side, but the brutal force that came from her human blood. And that was always uncomfortable. She tossed her emerald eyes to him for a moment and replied, "I will do what I can." It was quiet, perhaps because she was already mentally preparing herself for the sharp pain she would be feeling.

She sprinted a bit away, her quick movement catching the now fuming troll's attention, turning him away from Roy and Cyrus completely. He needed time. Well, she could give that. The young woman planted her feet firmly on the ground, green eyes tight and a somewhat fierce expression even on her gentle features.

It dashed toward her and as it did so, Aderyn began to work. It was subtle at first, though did not remain so for long. The ground around the blasted troll began to heave, and shift and rumble; instantly sending the beast into some sort of stupor. The wind had picked up as well, if only in the immediate area.

She needed more.

Aderyn made a small sound of despair that she would have to do more. She could already feel the dull tearing feeling in her stomach. She closed her eyes a moment and grit her teeth. She needed to be angry. She needed to make herself furious; half for the power boost it would give her in the destructive territory. Half so she could fight through the pain. So that is what Aderyn did.

It was hard, truly, to make her angry. Aderyn, in fact, was the only one who could anger and light a fire within her so quickly. Others would take ages. She thought of her status; a "half-blood". She thought of the day her town had been ransacked. The day her father had gone missing.

The earth was lurching beneath the beast, the wind now howling around it in a deafening distraction to whatever Roy was doing and powering up for on the other side of the monster. A flash. The clearing was growing dark; Aderyn having created a few deeply grey clouds above the creature's head, a small but hot beam of lightning showing itself for a moment.

Aderyn was positively gasping for breath, fighting everything she had to not cry out, and to not call off her magic. Her mortal half could not take such powers easily. Though, her suffering seemed to be at least a bit worth it. The troll was really disoriented. Which was well; if it took notice of her sweat beaded brow, and of her weakness at that moment, Aderyn surely would have been a goner.

[Roy Foxheart]

The circle grew in size and luminosity as a vortex starts to form around Roy. He gave her a quick glance and nodded a thanks as she lured the terrible beast away with her magic. He closed his eyes and went back to focusing on his own magic. The troll had seemed resistant to his previous magic, so he would have to think and try something different, much more powerful.

His ears begin to twitch as he hears small sounds coming from Aderyn as she fought against the troll. Yet his body was relaxed, the vortex beginning to swirl down into his outstretched palm. The circle started to change color, turning from it's white to a deep sea blue, on one side of the triangle, dark crimson on the second third and a warm forest green. His eyes begin to glow white with magical energies.

The earth began to shake as flashes of lightning streaker the sky as Aderyn distracts the troll. Her emotions flared if Roy would have to guess. 'I hope she is never mad at me.' Roy's thought rings through his mind for a second, but he quickly put it to the side and placed his mind on the spell. “Aderyn, remember that spell I was telling you about!? Well you might want to move back!”

“EGO to order incendia of vita quod glacies of nex , vis of levitas quod diligo of silva , quattuor elementum possideo meus vox vocis! ”

The circle spins as the vortex begins to erupt into flames, lightning sparking out the walls. Ice shards spun in and out of the vortex. “Hey, troll face! Have a parting gift!” Controlling the massive spell's movement with the motion of his arm, he maneuvered the vortex to a spot right above the troll.

”Elementum Pluvia”

As Roy shouted the Latin words that completed the spell it dropped down upon the troll creating a brilliant light show as the elemental rain pounded upon its body. Dirt and smoke rising from the force. Roy heaved a few times, looking at what he had accomplished, before falling down backwards to the forest floor unconscious. His energies completely drained, his chest heaved instinctively trying to pump oxygen to his burning limbs while his bones scraped across each other, searching for their correct positions in his body's structure.

Cyrus rose from his spot, limping over to Roy's body to give it a sniff checking to make sure he is still alive. He laid down and placed his head on Roy's heaving chest.

[Aderyn]

She didn't know how long precisely she had been holding the troll off, but it felt as if it had been forever. The ripping feeling was quite well dispersed through her entire body, and for a moment the young woman mused on the magic she was yielding. If she continued such strain on herself...would she simply tear apart and perish? Hopefully, she would never have to find out.

Roy called to her a word of warning, and the woman nodded grimly, and leapt lightly backward and to the side, at that precise moment allowing her magic to cease. Instantly the relief washed through her body and she collapsed to her knees trying to catch her breath and still the throbbing she felt, emerald eyes still watching the troll as it seemed to wonder what had just become of the earth.

It was a pleasant thing, at that moment, that trolls were so dimwitted. If Aderyn had retained the energy to do so, she might have smiled. The magic Roy was using was released with two final words, and Aderyn squinted against the results. Dust and leaves filled her vision for a moment; though, as soon as she was able to see once more she saw the limp form of the troll on the ground. If it wasn't dead, it was unconscious. And at that particular moment, that was enough for the little woman.

She turned to look at Roy and congratulate him on a spell well executed but found him rather incapacitated. Instantly, her mothering and doting instincts took over, and the woman pried herself from the ground and rushed over, dropping to her knees to examine both he, and Cyrus.

There were some minor scrapes on them both, and Aderyn guessed it was from their impact with the redwood. But other than that, Roy seemed merely exhausted. She sighed in relief that his injuries were not more severe and decided to tap into her nurturing powers once more. She laid a hand on the ground and the grass beneath both the young man and the dog grew much softer, in Aderyn's way of cradling their hurt bodies. She then looked at the scratches that both of them possessed and sighed.

She was back to being a healer much faster than the half-dryad would have hoped. She coerced a stone to form a bowl, and then a few medicinal herbs to grow beside her before she began to grind them together. It would keep the scrapes clean, leastways. To allow for proper healing.

She worked quietly, and quickly, applying them to the visible wounds on both the man and the dog before moving away to lean against a tree. While she did desire to leave the area, she could hardly do so without Roy. How rude it would have been to do so, especially after how much he had helped her. Especially if he was in such a state. Surely trolls and mysterious archers were not the only foul things in the woods. No, it was best to at least guard him until he should wake and they respectfully parted ways on their own accord.

The call of the towns and cities had once more welled up in her.

Also too soon for her liking.

[Roy Foxheart]

“Where am I?” Pushing himself up Roy blinked his eyes open instantly noticing the troll lying limp on the ground. He turned to the side and winded in slight pain. Giving a quick look around to the area he spotted Aderyn leaning up against a tree, how he guessed was sleeping at the moment. “What happened?” He thought for a moment and the images of the ferocious fight flashed in his mind to add the the past events that sometimes plagued his dreams.

A bark sounded form his side, Cyrus looking up and him and giving him a loving lick or twelve to his face. “Ok, I'm glad to see you to, now get off my face you baboon.” he pushed Cyrus o the side and gave another wince. “Ouch!” He laid back down on the soft grass and gave thanks that he was still alive. “wait...” He looked at his arm that had been shattered by his collision with the tree and noticed that the wound had been treated. “I'm guessing this is your work then. Thank you Aderyn.”

Then to even his surprise he began to laugh a robust laugh. It rang from his vocal cords uncontrollably as he held his side, half in pain and half because of the laugh. “I can't believe I pulled of that spell, I thought I was going to blow my own body to bits.” He opened his eyes, which had shut when he had started laughing and looked back at Aderyn. “Oh, your up? How did you like the light show beautiful?”

[Aderyn]

Aderyn, though she was sitting quite still, she was not asleep. Indeed, the idea would beckon her if she was not so set on keeping watch. Surely it would bode ill if both of them were not paying mind to their surroundings; and since Roy was indeed incapable of doing just that, the half-nymph let the duty fall upon herself.

It had not been terribly long---no more than an hour or so---until Roy began to rouse himself from his unconscious state. Perhaps it had not been that long, for indeed to judge the pass of time one needed some sort of reference. And the trees blocked out the sun itself, merely some light filtered through the canopy. The stream was constant, but it could not reveal the passage of time.

“Where am I?” He began to force himself to sit upward, and the girl flashed her gaze to him for a moment before simply nodding to herself that he was well. She waited, then, to see if he was in fact well enough to travel; for it was quite a walk to the next city. The way he moved around seemed to reveal he was able to at least move most of his appendages, and that made her a bit more confident.

Surely it was not too serious if he could move himself so. He began to laugh, and it further boosted Aderyn's confidence in his recovery. His body would heal fully then. And laughter was in fact the best medicine one could have. "Oh, your up? How did you like the light show beautiful?”

She smiled slightly. "Quite awake, yes." She paused a moment. "That was quite an impressive spell," she admitted not making a move toward him, or from her comfortable recline against the large tree she had taken rest under. "How do you feel?"

[Roy Foxheart]

A small bit of pride swelled up inside of Roy as he was given the compliment. The idea of a spell he had though of in theory for such a long time, around two years, had been a success with its first full try. He had a slight doubt it would work like that ever again. Ironic that the testing of a lesser version, combining only the elements of fire and lightning, had back fired on him moments before. “I think that was the hardest spell since my first, and you know what they say about first.” You always remember them he finished in thought.

Moving his body to the side Roy pushed himself off the ground and wobbled to a stand, waving his right arm around for balance as his legs nearly gave way. “WAHHHOOO!” he exclaimed for a short second as his balance finally caught up with him. “That was fun lets battle another troll some time, eh?” as Roy made eye contact with Aderyn Cyrus trotted off into the near by woods. “So, is this where we lock arms and skip down the yellow brick road?”Under the jovial tone was a small hint of seriousness, or what could be called seriousness when dealing with someone like Roy, who laughed at every mistake he ever made.

Cyrus walked into he woods taking quick glances to his sides in search of something. He dug a bit a thin old tree roots and sniffed at fallen branches before finding one he deemed to be a suitable walking stick for his wounded friend. He barked and grabbed the five eight branch in his mouth and began to tug it out of the woods. It took his a few moments but soon his black and white pawed body came into sight once again. With a smile and pet to the head, Roy grasped the stick and put his weight on it. “So, when does the skipping start?”

[Aderyn]

“That was fun lets battle another troll some time, eh?”

Perhaps he was more hurt than she had realized. Aderyn crossed her arms and made no move to reply. Had he, by chance, hit his head hard enough to cause such brazenness? Surely if he were in his right mind he never would have exclaimed what they had just done fun. Most certainly it was not! Her body was just beginning to feel whole again; the ripping and tearing feeling having vanished for the most part. She would still not have complete use of her destructive powers for a while.

To battle something now would be suicide.

Aderyn finally stood and brushed her skirts off as she warily tested her balance. All was well with her, so she turned her attentions to Roy, who was receiving a gift from his companion. A nice large walking stick. Well, if nothing else, his body would mend. His mind, though, Aderyn could not quite gather if it had been in such a state before their battle.

Now she frowned slightly, and her crossed arms were once more motherly and authoritative. "So we have a message to deliver," she said flatly. It had been what started this whole mess to begin with. "Do we part ways here to deliver such a message?" She asked. It seemed like a relatively smart idea, to cover the most ground in the least amount of time.

All of Arysia would need to be prepared---to know the threat they saw coming was not just their imaginations and anxieties. That it was actually happening.

Still, it might not be too smart to travel alone for him. His body was still on the mend. Aderyn, on the other hand, had plenty of swiftness left in her. She could run out of the forest by nightfall if she had so desired to. She assumed she would let the mage decide. Perhaps he had a better idea.

[Roy Foxheart]

”So we have a message to deliver. Do we part ways here to deliver such message?”

The words stung at him, the idea of parting ways with such a beauty wasn't on the top of his personal priority list. Yet her loving frown told him all he needed to know. that she wasn't interested in him the slightest bit in the term of finding a life partner or wife. Another rejection to add to the list.

“Hum, parting ways would m....” he started drifting in and out of thought with his words, “But than the idea of....” he placed one hand on the stick and the other on his head in deep thought. He looked Aderyn in the eyes and took into account that she was waiting for an answer.

It would be hard to make it to a town but putting other before himself was a trait of his in many situations. “Ah hell, get out of here and warn the people. I'd only slow you down anyway.” Giving her a cheap smile he turned his back to her,, “I'll continue north, warn the new hierarchy about Mortia.” He turned back, leaning on his stick, “You should head south to the cities of the west and then south to warn the 'old' Prince. He will probably want in on the battle.”

With a wave on his hand he turned back and began his slow trek towards the northern cities.

[Aderyn]

It seemed, as Aderyn studied the man that Roy's face seemed to fall. Had her suggestion upset him? She frowned pointedly. She was about to inquire to his perplexing display of emotions at such a statement, except he was quite busy speaking to himself. Would it be rude to interrupt his own thoughts? Most certainly.

“Ah hell, get out of here and warn the people. I'd only slow you down anyway.”

Yes. Something had truly upset him over her suggestion. But what? He turned and began moving off, after distributing the lands of Arysia between them. She let him move off a bit before doing anything. But when she did something, it certainly was noticeable. She straightened herself up from the tree, her arms still crossed in a motherly fashion. As she stared after both Roy and Cyrus, she let a splurge of growing magic be used, taking two of the trees that were before him and intertwining their branches to block his escape. \

"I shall not have us part ways on a foul manner." She called to him. She finally stepped forward. "What of my suggestion offended you, precisely?" She was a bit frustrated, to be honest. She could not see in the slightest any reason to have been so disheartened by such an idea.

[Roy Foxheart]

Roy turned around and smiled to Aderyn, trying to hide his bit of sadness. He was very impressed my the use of tree magic and it brightened his mood slightly as he caught the eyes of the beautiful lass once again. “We aren't parting in a foul but purposeful manner. Duty lead me to betray some of what my heart commands me to do.”

He limped his way back towards Aderyn, slight pains sprouted through his leg with every step closer. “I haven't been offended by your words, only downhearted that you may not see me in the light I'd wish you to see. I do understand I am a character of rather strange aspects, but I did wish that you may enjoy my company.” With a finale limp he stood a step away from her, looking down into her eyes. “I guess the best way to describe it would be...” Roy leaned in and kissed her forehead tenderly pulling his head back slowly.

“That is the best way to describe my slight depression for parting ways, but...” Roy waited for Aderyn to react violently or lovingly to his action, though he expected those beautiful hands to raise up and raze his face with swift slaps.