Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Mike and Ralen - Meet Cute

"I don't really know," Caleb said, "I didn't know I had a big brother until I was ten and Mike was a lot more than ten by then. He didn't like horses then either. Maybe it's 'cause he's so short and they're so tall. One time he told me a story that they were going to distroy the world I think, I was very sleepy and I think he was drunk or that could have been one of the times he stayed up for a lot of days in a row. He doesn't sleep very good or very much. But he's a very good big brother. Way better than me," the fighter confided. Caleb found people easy to talk to and often could think of a reason to not tell them everything he knew once he got talking to one of them that would listen. "Do you think maybe they have a donkey or a mule. Horses are bad. Mike wont get near one for anything," Caleb stated firmly as they walked farther into the stable. "... It doesn't have to be a nice donkey," the fighter said after giving himself ample time to think things over.

"How did you even find each other?" Ralen asked before sympathizing with Mike's fear of horses. "I was knocked off several times by my horse, the first time I tried riding. It's not fun, it hurts, but...a good horse can make all the difference." Still, he knew what Caleb was getting at.

"Alright, we'll go for a pack mule. They'll be calmer and less likely to spook, since they're used to carrying all sorts of strange things on their backs. A person shouldn't be too weird."

A hostler appeared then and Ralen explained that he needed an extra horse, and two pack mules with mild temperaments. When that was done, he turned back to Caleb, wiping his hands against his breeches.

"Well, this should be more exciting than the trip out. I'm glad you chose to come along." When they re-emerged from the stables, Ralen searched his pocket for the right money. "Mike, you wanna go pick out a tent? We found you a mount that should be quite docile."

(messed up my post so you get all different post instead)

"I think Mike knew about me before I knew about him. I was training to be a knight when I meet him. .... I didn't make it in that year, or the next or the, a lot of years ... He helped me with stuff before we left the island," Caleb told Ralen.

"I think Mike likes donkeys more, but a mule should be fine," the fighter said, "I hope Mike never learns how mules are made." The fighter paused and looked at Ralen, How was the trip out?" he asked.

Mike had pressed her back up agains the building opposite the stable while waiting for Caleb and Relan. When they came out she looked releaved. She was tense as the horses walked by and pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

"Fine," she said nodding as she walked around them, making sure to leave a wide gap between herself and the horses.

She paused by the mule to rub its nose and whisper in its ear before heading over to look at the tents.

"He does like animals, just not horses," Caleb said, "Do you supposed it will rain a lot?" he asked. "Wet wood smells funny when it burns," the fighter reminisced, "It doesn't explode anymore. I miss that part. It was exciting."

Mike looked over the tents and quickly sorted out the ones that were too big and ones that were too small for their needs. She sorted the rest by color and again by fabric. After a little more debating on weather having a tent that would be warm or one that blended in more would be better she picked one that could sleep four, if the four were giant sardines.

The tent was big enough to give her and Caleb a little room to get away from each other when they needed to. And it was big enough that if worse came to worse and something happened to Ralen's tent they could all use Mike and Caleb's for shelter. Though the wizard hoped that such a thing did not happen as that would be very awkward for her and Ralen.

Ralen couldn't help but laugh, his deep voice carrying through the stables. "Well, it'll be our secret then," he said to Caleb.

At the mention of weather, Ralen shot a glance at the sky. "Honestly, I was never good at weather prediction. Now my brother, Zane, he could predict a rain storm almost three days in advance. I'm best at maybe a few hours before it hits. That should tell you how 'exciting' my trip out here was." More than once he'd been drenched in mid-travel with no choice but to continue on lest he just get everything else soaked too.

When Mike returned from tent shopping, Ralen had finished with saddling the horses and gentlest mule, and packing the second mule with as much as it could easily carry. His own black mare was loaded down with a few of his own personal belongings, one of which was an old sword.

He turned to smile at Mike and then brought the saddled mule over. "Gotcha the nicest one they had. You need help mounting up or can you make it on your own?" As close as he was to Mike, there was something a little off about the guy. Ralen hadn't really considered it last time because, well, there had been ale involved, but now he was alert and more aware, and while he couldn't put his finger on it, per se, he knew that time would tell.

"What did Caleb do now?" Mike asked. She'd heard Ralen's laughter and the first thing that had come to mind what Caleb had done something he shouldn't have. When the man offered to help her on the mule the woman's face turned a bit pink. She stroked the mule's head and talked to it. "He thinks we need help," she said to the mule in a sweet baby-talk voice, "He's silly isn't he? We don't need any help, no we don't," she told the animal as she climbed up onto its back. "Thanks, but no thanks," she said to Ralen once she was situated on the beast. "Should be fairly warm this time of year," she said looking up at the sky, "Might rain, but I doubt it'll last a week."

"Oh he didn't do anything," Ralen replied with a grin, "we were just talking."

Seeing that Mike was able to get up on the mule, he grabbed the reins of the other pack mule and tied them to his mare's saddle to keep them together. That done, he mounted up as well and turned the mare towards the city gates.

"Alright, any last bathroom breaks?" he joked, twisting around to look at Caleb and Mike. Was he seriously doing this? Yes. Because it promised to be entertaining as well as beneficial to all of them. The spark in his eyes had returned, as had his sense of humor. It was going to be a good trip--and no amount of rain would dampen his mood.

"I'm good," Caleb replied. "What did you two talk about that was so funny?" Mike asked Ralen, "I could hear you laughing from outside. Caleb seemed quiet at home on horseback. His stuff meager as it was was packed on his horse. The fighter's sword was on at his side for ease of use as was his quiver and bow. "Did you pack food, Mr. Ralen?" he asked as they headed out, "If not it's okay. I'm pretty good at shooting rabbits!" Mike glanced back at the armor clad warrior. "He's not as bad at it as you might think," she said to Ralen, "but that would slow our progress and I doubt you want this trip to take longer than it already will."

Ralen shook his head at Mike's persistence. "We were swapping horse stories; I told him about the several times I was knocked off my horse back when I was learning to ride. I'm stubborn though, when I want to be."

He glanced back at Caleb. "Rabbit hunting? I'm impressed. I can barely hunt deer. But to answer your question, we've got food--enough to last us to the next town and then some--in case we hit bad weather."

He grinned. "Already forecasting that this trip isn't going to be fun? You have no idea what's in store."

Seeing that everyone was more or less ready, he nudged his mare into a walk, leading them out of the gates of the small town and into the surrounding fields and hills of the great beyond. Once they were heading in the right direction, he slowed some so that he could ride alongside Mike and Caleb. Oh how good it felt to breathe in the fresh air!

Mike grimaced. "He's fallen off more than once himself," she said of her brother. Surprised he's lived this, sometimes." "I can't shoot them from up here," Caleb was saying of the rabbits, "Well I could try, but it wouldn't work very well." Mike watched the green grass pass them by as they traveled. "We have a shovel and stuff to make a little tent so we can have a privy. You don't want him wandering around through who knows what kind of plants instead," she informed the man in blue. "I suppose you know a little about magic," she said to him, "You said as much the other day."

Ralen nodded. "He mentioned something about being a knight? I can't imagine that was easy." Jousting looked painful enough, and that was just staying on the horse. Falling off after being jabbed with a lance only added insult to injury.

"Oh yes, I know a little about magic. My family is rotten with it. Most of them, anyway." He frowned a little, recalling his brother Arien. "Darien has fire magic, Zane has water magic. I have..." he glanced around for something to demonstrate with and finally reached towards a fist-sized rock lying on the ground. He gave a 'come-hither' gesture and the rock after a moment's delay, landed in his hand. "Telekinesis," he finished, holding up the rock. "From what Caleb said, I gather you have fire and...water?"

"His father was a knight and Cae grew up around knights and soldiers. I think the only thing that kept him alive this long is knowing how to fight and having access to armor and an armory," Mike said. "I can do a little fire and water magic. I've studied magic for over a decade now and have dabbled with various forms of magic," Mike admitted. Mike focused on a tree ahead of them that was in bloom. She raised a hand toward it and pulled her hand down through the air sharply then back toward herself. Her objective was to make the flowers drop their petals and for a light breeze to blow up out around them on either side. It didn't quite work as her grasp on plant and air magic were quite weak. Some of the flowers dropped their petals in small bursts and the petals did blow out toward the travelers, but they came at them straight on instead of parting to the sides as Mike had wanted. "Still need to work on that," the wizard muttered to herself as she shielded her eyes from the petals and steadied her mount who wasn't impressed by her skills. "Maybe you could try and set the tree on fire," Caleb suggested, "That would work better." Mike ignored the warrior. Setting random things on fire tended to cause problems if done too often.

"So that explains Caleb, but what about you?" Ralen waved his hand as the petals came streaking their way, dispersing them before they could strike him or his mount. The mare snorted and flicked her ears back, unamused by the display, but not shying either, for which Ralen was grateful for.

"Dabbling with magic? Sounds troublesome to me." At Caleb's comment of setting the tree on fire, he snorted. "It sounds like fire is what you're best at. Why not continue until you can get a firm grasp of it, before trying the other forms? It took me several years to figure out my own magical gift, but with training I was able to reach this point." He tossed the rock that he still held, away from him, and it soared straight for several yards before curving around and landing with a heavy thump in a thick patch of grass. Clearly he was showing off.

"I have been working at it for quite some time. I don't see the point in only being good at one type. I'd rather be fair at many than an expert in one that isn't very useful," Mike replied. She watched the rock sail over the grass. She hadn't gotten down levitation or anything similar yet though with as heavy as some of her books were she often wished she'd made it a higher priority then she had. "It seems we're from two different schools of thought on this matter," she said to Ralen. "Do you and your brothers get along?" she asked after a moment.

Ralen chuckled. "Now I get it." Actually, Mike had a point. He fell silent for a moment, his brows furrowing in contemplation. "I wonder...if I could use my telekinesis to make it appear that I have other magic..."

Unfortunately riding on horseback wasn't going to allow him to experiment easily, at least not without running the risk of getting thrown, but when they stopped for a break, perhaps they might have an opportunity.

He swiveled to look behind them, the town was just a speck in the distance and they were making good time. "I'll have to experiment when we stop for a break," he said with a grin. "You might be onto something, Mike."

Then calling over to Caleb he asked, "So you hunt rabbits--with what? Do you have magic as well?"

"You didn't answer my question," the wizard pointed out, "Do you and your brothers get along?" she asked again.

"Oh, no," Caleb said, "I don't have any magic. I don't were Mike got that from. Maybe Rita does magic? I don't know. I use my bow and arrows for rabbits or snares. Snares are more for when we're in one spot a lot."

"Bye town," the fighter called over his shoulder as their final glimpse of civilization grew farther and farther away. The man's hair was damp under his helm and the armor did little to keep him cool on the warm Spring day.

A conflicted expression crossed Ralen's face. "My brothers and I get along alright, I suppose. For the most part. I mean, we're brothers and we have our...moments, I guess you could say. But we're brothers and we look out for each other." Mostly. All except for Arien. But surely he didn't count. He was disinherited after all.

Ralen shook off the uncomfortable feeling that remembering Arien brought with it, and changed the subject. "Maybe we should stop for a break and you can loosen up your armor there, Caleb. It looks hot. And we can have a small snack."

Caleb nodded and when he was given the go ahead he his mounted. The man fiddled with his armor while Mike dug out some nuts and dried fruit for him to snack on from her pack. "Here," she called to her brother as she tossed a small bag to him. He caught it with one hand as he focused on the task at hand. "I'm guess you're fairly well off or at least your father is," Mike said to Ralen, "You don't dress like a poor man."

Ralen dismounted as well, searching through his packs for the one with food and offering bread and cheese to his companions.

"Eh, yeah, you could say that. My father, Lord Daren Chase, has made considerable money from selling his time-trinkets. Well, they're a little more than time trinkets. They can slow down or speed up a portion of time; some of his better ones can foretell the future by hours or a day. But they don't send anyone back or forward in time. He's not that powerful. But a lot of people like his gifts and love that they can use them themselves. So, he's cashed in on that market."

Ralen sat down, propped up against a tree, nibbling on his bread and cheese. "I don't know what we'll do when he...stops. My telekinesis has it's limits and I can't foretell the future." He...actually...he hadn't thought about that and the look on his face now revealed his sudden horror at the idea. Granted he was living the good life now, but what about later? He'd be stuck doing menial work, probably not unlike Mike and Caleb here.

"Wow," Caleb breathed in awe as Ralen discribed his father's wares. "Sounds expensive," Mike mused. "If they are and you budjet well you could live off the money for a while after he stops or if he was willing he could train one or more of his sons to do the same work and take over when he can't continue. Marrying someone with land or money, or both also helps I've heard," the wizard said. "Hard work is honest work my father would say, though it has it's risks like anything else. No matter what people say, more die from hard work than from sitting in a palace ordering other people about. But everyone dies in the end either way, usually." She laid some cheese on a piece of bread and fold it over so the cheese would be in the middle between the bread. She sat down beside Ralen and took a bite of her improvised sandwich. "Don't let it get you down too much. You're young yet, you could work on learning a trade if you wanted to should you need to live off one," she told him.

Ralen nodded, shifting over some to give Mike a little room. "True...we can budget and save most of the money we make. If we cut back a little more it would easily last." He trailed off. He'd have to explain this to Darien and Zane later. "But as for training my brothers and me, that wouldn't work. We don't have the same gifts as our father. We'd have to find another chrono-mage."

He sighed and finished the rest of his bread and cheese. "I think I'll have to look into a trade at some point. Smithing might be good. Or farrier." Low class jobs, but they'd be better than nothing.

He smiled a little then. "But you're right. Everyone does die at some point--though I think even people who live in palaces would have to worry about assassins."

He studied Mike a little, finding it funny that he would say Ralen was young still. "How old are you two, anyway?"