How long as it been? 2 years or 8 years? She couldn't remember everything was but a ball of blur, and all she could hear were the loud screams of the people that she could assume were those that were once her people, but what were her people? She didn't remember that either. She didn't know where she was from, who she was...everything but a name, yes a name...what more was she to be but a name. Erim Yes, that name seemed fitting for her, almost as though it belonged to her. She didn't know but for now it was fitting and it would stick.
She licked her lips as she sat by the cut down stump that was possibly once a full grown tree. Her stomach growled, and she clenched it with hunger. She had done numerous mercenary jobs, in order to keep herself fed, and though she could not remember how she had defended herself all these years, she found a bow and an arrow quite handy during times of defense. Her cerulean colored hair fell in curls in front of her aqua colored eyes, she began to gather small pieces of branches and started a small fire. At least something to keep herself warm during her small sit down, the next town was only about a day away...but that was a long time when it came to traveling by feet. It was time to rest, and eat. She felt the heat and took out a loaf of bread from her sash, as she began to eat.
It was bland in taste...but for now it would make do.
"I'm gunning down romance It never did a thing for me But heartache and misery Ain't nothing but a tragedy"
The light smell of smoke tickled his wet nose. Instantly, in a small hollow nearby, a wolf's head perked up jump above ground level. His amber colored eyes gazed around the small forest. The smell of the smoke began to come heavier, and he stood upon his four legs with a stretch. His thick, bushy tail flicked as he finished his body stretch; a pink tongue licked chops over his lips. With a yawn, he sat down for a few moments, stuck his nose in the air, closed his eyes and sniffed to tell what was going on. He could pick up the scent of a woman, the smoke, and the faint yeasty smell of bread. Once more, the wolf-- looking as though to be an Alpha male of a pack-- stood and stretched for a final time. After, he began with a quick trot to where he could smell the smoke coming from.
He hid behind a tree, and observed the woman for a few minutes; watching her as she ate her bread. After a few more moments of observation, finally deciding she would be of no harm, he shifted into his human form: his long, dark brown shoulder-length hair fell neatly around his head, and his amber eyes were focused upon her. He raised his hands in front of him, showing he had no ill intentions and no weapon on him. "You look famished." He stated softly and took another steady step towards her.,
She was startled at first but when her eyes adjusted the figure that stood before her she tossed the piece of loaf that was remaining on her with a slight harshness to it "BRUTUS You startled me!" she growled as she folded one arm over the other, it was evident that she knew him, and though he startled her at first which didn't help things, his statement didn't help either. "You were suppose to get us a hare! Did that work!" She was examining him as though searching for the hare he was sent to go see. From the looks of things he didn't this only made Erim groan as she slumped herself against the cut down tree.
"...I guess bread is all we got..."
"I'm gunning down romance It never did a thing for me But heartache and misery Ain't nothing but a tragedy"
The male couldn't help but give a rather wolfish grin to the woman. "Hare?" He repeated softly, then lightly picked up a small section of his hair. "Now, my dearest Erim..." He stated and walked over to her, then sat down on the stump beside her. He put one of his muscular arms around her and pulled her tightly against his side, "why... would I come back with something as bland as the bread you are eating?" He questioned and leaned back to look at the sky through the small clearing in the canopy. "Doesn't a nice, big piece of deer sound much more appetizing?" He asked softly, his voice becoming slightly husky in the low tone. With a small smirk, Brutus pushed himself up and walked to the edge of the clearing, then kept walking into the woods around them.
It was but a few minutes, but he came back with a good sized deer across his shoulders. He marched on over to her and put the deer at her feet. "It is a good age." He stated. "By the time I have some cut, the fire should be hot enough, and dinner will be ready." Brutus explained and held his hand out for a weapon to butcher the meat.
Erim's face turned into a slight pink as Brutus brought her closer, he was alot taller then she was in fact as he brought her closer to him her head conveniently met the flat of his chest. She said nothing, she knew if she did her voice would squeak with her sudden wave of shyness. She swallowed hard and then he released her, she watched him vanish within the darkness of the forest, and with a few minutes that passed he returned with the deer he talked about prior to this. Her eyes grew as she felt the excitement of their supper coming to them. He dropped the deer to her feet, of course he had the strength of 3 well built men but the way he carried the forest beast only made her cheeks redden more than before. She convinced herself that she was shy, she bore little to no interest to the mighty Brutus, at least that's what she lead herself to believe. He extended his hand towards her shortly after he had explained needing the to cut the beast. Erim patted her sides and pulled her satchel over her knees as she began to rummage inside. She was looking for a dagger which would allow him to carve his way into the buck. It took a couple of seconds but she found it. She pulled out a small dagger, unfortunately it was all she had on her.
"Its all I got" She sighed as she looked up at the man while handing it to him. The night was still young, but it was the time for both of them to set camp. After all she was on a mercenary job for a rather wealthy client, it was her source of survival and Brutus...he was her bodyguard. She had lost her memory a while back, and though she knew little of who she was, Brutus was there. It was about 3 years ago, when they had met for the first time, she was a wanderer then, a girl without a memory. She remembered being attacked by thugs while exiting a small fishermen town known as Mira. Though she defended herself, they were to powerful...their strength overtook her, and Erim found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, it wasn't until Brutus caught eye of it that he came to save her. Sense then he sworn to be her bodyguard at least until she regained her memory...something that was hard to find. She remembered the screams, and the people calling out to her, but now they were dreams, and the dreams came more vivid as the nights came along.
"I had another dream last night" She began as she started the fire...
Brutus took the dagger and flipped it around his finger as he looked at her. “Oh yeah? And what was this dream about?” He asked and began to cut into the meat and flesh of the animal. He couldn’t believe it had been over 3 years since the day he stumbled across her. To this day, he tries to avoid thinking about what would’ve happen to her had he not appeared at the time. It was the right time, at the right moment for once in his life. Brutus couldn’t begin to tell how long he had been hunting animals, then butchering them for food. He felt he could do it even now with his eyes closed…. But he wouldn’t try.
“Here’s the first piece…” He stated as he pulled the chunk of shoulder off and held it out to her. “What are you cooking on?” He asked and wiped his brow on his arm. He didn’t necessarily need to have cooked meat; in fact he often preferred to have raw off the bone. However, she didn’t like seeing him do such, and often ate cooked meat with her; as well as dried meat. “Make sure we have enough items to make dried meat. I can always clean the hide and we can use that to carry the food in.” He mumbled and looked at her once more as a few chunks of his dark hair fell in front of his eyes.
"I actually didn't think about that now did I..." she responded to his question about how to cook they're meet she had a skewer, and a couple of picks to stick in the ground however; venison was a delicate type of meat to touch. She laid two iron picks over the fire as she turned to look at Brutus, she nudge her head, hinting him to lay the meat over top. As she began to take out the ingredients to make dried meat, she was never the type to eat dry meat however; in the course of those 3 years and over she adapted to the bitter taste, it also made for an easy source of food during a long period of time. She hated the hunt, but Brutus loved it. It made it alot easier for the two to travel. The way his hair fell over his face made her face redden slightly, often times when his hair did that she pictured herself moving it over his ear like couples would...but they weren't a couple...and it would probably make things awkward between them if she decided to do that. She turned away as she laid against the tree stump yet again. "...It was the city in flames, and people we're calling out my name...Erim...ERIM! They were groaning...and they were dressed kinda weird like some other civilization, aside from the ones of Rosplayn...I'm thinking they're my people. I don't know its weird, and it feels like the dreams are getting more vivid, and real..." She sighed, she didn't want to focus on it, especially when her and Brutus had been traveling together for quite some time. She laid her head back as she looked at the stars that poke its way through the trees. This caused her to wander back to the dreams that kept haunting her.
"I'm gunning down romance It never did a thing for me But heartache and misery Ain't nothing but a tragedy"
Brutus immediately laid the chunk of meat across the make-shift grill. As she spoke of her dream, he kept cutting the meat rather strategically to take the best of what was proved. Any scraps he had, he popped them into his mouth and thoroughly chewed the raw, bloody piece of muscle. Savoring the flavor, he gave a small, happy moan and whine. “It sounds to me,” he began and licked his lips as he kept trimming the meat if needed, “like you are getting closer in figuring out who you once where… and that means once you figure it out, you’ll no longer be needing me…. Unless you want me to stick around, that is.” He stated and looked at her with a small wink. Over the past couple years, he’d admit he grow a “small” attachment—small being an understatement. Just speaking about parting from her caused a small ache in his chest. “But let’s focus on the tasks at hand. Where are we headed to again?” He asked as he reached across to flip the meat over on the fire.
Brutus was probably right, her memories were indeed coming back to her, however; right now there was a task at hand, and they needed to accomplish it. "...Some rich fellow wants us to go to Rosplayn shrine, he seems to be convinced its haunted and wants us to explore it for the time being..." Erim sighed, she hated how everytime she just wanted to spend time with Brutus, some other poor soul is seeking for their aid. She turned her attention to Brutus yet again. "...But personally I think its wild goose chase."
"I'm gunning down romance It never did a thing for me But heartache and misery Ain't nothing but a tragedy"
Brutus looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Going on a ghost hunt?" He snorted and shook his head, his hair once more falling into his eyes. "I would have to agree with you... however, it is Cyllaron... so spirits, ghost, and ghouls could happen.. I mean, there are demons!" He shouted with a laugh and ripped another piece of raw meat from a chunk he had just cut. "You're meat is done." He stated after he swallowed the piece of raw flesh in his mouth. "Before it burns." He added and sliced a few more pieces. "I didn't get the chance to forage around... but if my senses are correct, there are some berries just beyond the tree there," He stated and pointed to the said tree. "And possibly some mushrooms. The good ones." He added and nodded once more towards the direction.
Erim only frowned, she didn't want to eat anything but the loaf of bread that Brutus had mimicked earlier. She took the cooked meat only to hiss as it burnt the tip of her fingers, "Ouch" she whimpered dropping the hot meat onto her lap. She began to suckle on her fingers almost as if attempting to suck the pain out. It was a failed attempt. Brutus was right on the nail on that one, you never knew what to expect from Cyllaron, and Rosplayn was the worse continent for that. His hair fell over his eyes yet again and she found herself yet again memorized by his eyes, her face blushing yet again, she broke the glance and looked to the side her hands on the venison, as she began to break peices and eating it.
"Cook meat is so much better"
"I'm gunning down romance It never did a thing for me But heartache and misery Ain't nothing but a tragedy"
Brutus chuckled and smirked at her comment about cooked meat. "Well.. when you grow up eating it one way... it just tends to stick." He stated with a smirk still on his lips. "I prefer raw, but cooked seems to have a bit more flavor, I'll admit." He stated and continued to cut up the rest of the deer. After getting most of the meat off the carcus, and skinning, Brutus moved a little over to the side and glanced at Erim, "You know.. we don't have to rush to get there... we could rest in the clear, especially so we could cook all we can and get the meat into the soon-to-be made bag." He stated and nodded to the skin. "Besides, you look like you need a good rest." Brutus added and licked the blade clean.
"You're right...I like it here...its nice, quiet, and calm" She smiled as she laid back, "...nice...quiet...and calm" With that said she smiled and eventually dozed off in to her dream land. The food was to good for her to keep awake, tomorrow would be a new day, and perhaps they will get a little further. She shifted herself to the side using her satchel to prompt her head up like a pillow. It was a matter of time before her breathing became like a rhythm, and silent snores escaped her nose. It never took a long time for Erim to fall asleep, and when she did nothing could wake her up.
"I'm gunning down romance It never did a thing for me But heartache and misery Ain't nothing but a tragedy"
Brutus stayed up for a long while after she had fallen asleep. He finished cleaning the skin to store the meet in, and began to knot and put it together as a holder. He even started to prep and make the dry meat. As the fire grew lower, and the night grew cold, Brutus shifted into his wolf form. For some time, his eyes jumped around the clearing, but usually stayed on the woman, laying asleep. Finally, he decided to move and laid behind her, giving her extra warmth as she slept. Just as the fire died out, he waned off into sleep, but never a deep sleep, in case he ever needed to jump into action.
The skies were dark, and screams echoed from across the dark sky, Erim could hear the screams of people of fire as they called out to her...she couldn't figure out why, but all she did was watch them burn and couldn't defend herself. "Erim why?" A elderly man questioned her as he held onto the cloth that she wore, it shimered of gold, and Erim could sense her heart race in panic. She herself didn't even know why, and a man begged her for an answer. Why what? What was he talking about? Erim felt her heart sink, and soon she saw the firery explosion errupt from a few feet from her, and out bursted a laugh, a very familiar laugh
Erim's eyes swung open as she felt her heart race the burning rays of the morning sun, beaming onto her as she awoken from her nightmare. Her dreams have become clearer, and yet she still couldn't figure out anything. It was all a big ball of mystery, and Erim needed to find it out. She needed to find herself...and by figuring out her nightmares were the first step to success. Erim prompt herself up stretching her arms as she turned to look over her shoulder to Brutus in his wolf form whom was sleeping next to her. She released a heavy yawn as she flattened her hair from its unusual shape. Her face sparkling from the rays of the early sun. She scratched the side of her neck, following the traditional pattern that people generally go through when waking up. It was a new day and Erim was determined to carry out her adventure.
"I'm gunning down romance It never did a thing for me But heartache and misery Ain't nothing but a tragedy"