An Enchantment Of Blue [Closed]

It was sweltering out, and worse, it was humid.  It had been raining recently, so of course it was.  The village had been hit pretty hard, by both weather and disease.  One man however, was unaware of the situation.  It was hot, but he just kind of ignored it.  Take that heat!  As for the disease, he hadn't been to his home village for a few weeks, so he was unaware of just what had occurred.  He didn't have any Arcana, so it wasn't like he was mune to the Arcana ravaging disease.  On the man's back was a a bow, a quiver, and a spear.  At his hip was a blade.  It was quite obvious from the style of his weapons that he was a hunter.  He kept himself and others fed, and that was his profession.  He had a nice amount of coin on him thanks to how efficient he was, and this was considering that he prayed for every creature he killed. He had done well and enjoyed the last few weeks, though odds were you wouldn't be able to tell from his face. His face was constantly calm, though one who was observant would also see content within his face. It was a subtle content, but it was there. His hearing was acute, and he heard something loud that sounded like cheering in the distance. He brushed it off as nothing worth worrying about and just kept heading to his village.

Upon entering his village, he contemplated heading straight home. However, he had used several of his enchanted arrows over the weeks in a few emergency situations. He was down to 10 so he wanted to restock. Thus he changed his destination to his childhood friend Annika's house. She would hopefully have some prepared for him, but if not he'd just ask her to make some and he'd pick them up later. The villagers were in high spirits. As he walked past, several people greeted him. "Hey Solon, you're back." Solon turned and nodded to the man. "Hi. What's going on? Everyone seems to be in a good mood." "While you were gone a bunch of people got really sick. The healer Serenity came and cured everyone just a short while ago." "That's good. Have you seen Annika?" "Not in a few days, she's probably at home." "Thanks." The exchange was short and sweet, but with most people Solon wasn't really a talker anyway. In fact, he never really was a talker ever. He turned at the next corner and continued walking. He was focused on where he had to go so he didn't even react to, or even notice, the woman who was walking past him. It was a shame, because he'd have probably liked what he saw. He continued on for awhile, past cheering crowds of people until he finally reached Annika's house. The house was a tad eccentric by the village's standards. She didn't care if he walked right in, so he did just that. Immediately on walking in he flipped a switch and with a quick surge of Arcana the living room lights all shot on. There were many names for it, but Annika liked to call it magitech. A mixture of magic and technology. Her house had it all over, and it emulated a lot of functions that might be seen from electric power or in major Arcadian cities. Enchanted items empowering mechanisms to do a certain task.

"Annika?" He called in an attempt to get her attention. No answer. "Annika?" He called a bit louder. No answer. "Annika, hello?" She's not sayin anything! Solon assumed she wasn't home, and was about to leave when he heard something faint. He recognized it despite how quiet it was. He headed straight for Annika's bedroom and upon opening it, found her in bed. She looked terrible. Her usually vibrant and perky face was pale as can be. Her normally neatly done hair was an absolute wreck. "Annika...you're sick." Solon said bluntly. There was no need to ask. Annika would never look anything like this without being ill. "Yeah...Chronic Arcana Eradication...a lot of people around town got it." Her voice was weak. Normally this disease didn't cause this kind of drastic effect, but Annika was Arcana rich. It was probably ravaging her worse than the average person. "There is supposed to be a healer...coming...she didn't miss me...did...she?" Solon didn't say it out loud, but in his head he was thinking "You've got to be kidding me". Solon turned around. "Hold on. I'll be back." He didn't have to say more than that, as Annika knew from the way he said that exactly what he was going to do. As he left the room, he swore he heard a weak raspy "hurry". She wasn't going to die, but the pain had to end. Solon now had to go find this healer who missed his friend.

As Solon left his friend's house, he realized that he had no idea which direction the woman had gone in. He didn't even know if she had left town yet or not. He hadn't exactly gotten that detail from the man who had initially greeted him. He came across a woman walking nearby. He needed to figure out where Serenity went, so asking around was probably the best bet. He walked up to the woman. "Have you seen a woman by the name of Serenity?" The woman shook her head. "I haven't seen her since this morning. I don't know where she is." Solon thanked her regardless and kept looking around. He asked another man, same general answer. However, he came across a child, and while he doubted a child would come up with anything useful, it was worth a shot. "Excuse me, have you seen someone named Serenity?" The child looked up. "You mean that healer lady? She left town a little bit ago." The child pointed off in the direction she left. He thanked the child and immediately began moving in that direction. Solon wasn't one to run often, but his life would be a lot easier if he did. If she got too far away, he'd have to go all the way to wherever she lived. It didn't help that odds were Annika wouldn't last that long. With her body ever so weakened, she could get ill with something far worse.

Solon ran, quickly leaving the town and immediately stopped and crouched down, placing his hand on the ground. A broken twig, recently broken, something has very recently come by here. He was probably on the right track. He observed the twig's position, she had slightly changed angle and was heading about 10 degrees to the right of the original trajectory he was following. He went on and continued. He just kept walking, one might not even be able to tell he was following a trail. Yet, as if he was psychic, he stopped and crouched once more. This patch of dirt, there was a footprint. The kind that required shoes. He was definitely going the right way. She appeared to be going in a straight line, hinting that her destination was probably directly in the direction she was traveling. Solon continued to move on. He dodged all of the obstacles almost instinctively. There was almost a rough grace to how he moved over everything. It wasn't like a gazelle obviously, but he moved as if he was running across an open plain. Finally, as he came across a fallen tree trunk. There was nothing notable on the trunk, but there was definite signs of a "landing" or impact on the other end. However, nearby he saw something else. Fresh bear tracks. I'd better get to her before the bear does. He knew what the local bears were like, and the type of bear usually around this area were aggressive.

Solon continued to follow the trail for a little while before he heard something, a scream. He also heard the sounds of a rampaging bear, which was hard to mistake for ANYONE who had ever heard a bear in their life. Solon hopped another trunk and began moving in that direction. Once he gained some ground he called out. "This way! Hurry!" He called as he continued moving towards the shout.

As he moved in, it became increasingly obvious that whomever it was was panicking. She called back, and as he heard her he quickened his pace. Honestly he didn't need the additional info on her direction, he KNEW exactly which direction she was in. Granted, she couldn't know that. He heard her coming in his direction, and the bear close behind. They were obnoxiously close, in fact he thought he could see her in the distance. Immediately he began to draw his bow. As the girl passed him by, he planned on giving the bear a nice little gift. Of course, he didn't have time to worry about preparing the meat of the bear. Rather than just kill it and leave it to rot, he planned on trying to scare it off. Granted he knew how persistent some bears were. He was fully prepared to kill it if he had to to get it off their back. "Get behind me!" He called as the figure approached, by now it was obvious it was a woman. As the woman ran past him (which she would inevitably do because even if she ignored him she'd just keep running) he was prepared to fire. He drew the arrow back, elbow perpendicular to his body, back straight and closed one eye to aim. He raised the bow up and down a little bit, left and right a little bit until his aim was precise, this all happening within the course of 2 seconds. No matter where the bear was, he kept locked onto his target location.

His target was the joint connecting the bear's front left paw with its body, 1 cm to the left of any muscle to prevent permanent damage. That was enough to scare away plenty of animals, and without permanent damage it'd be in pain for awhile but it'd heal and move on. Bullseye. He relaxed his fingers and the arrow was sent flying. Thanks to the power of his bow, the arrow was sent flying at immense speed and took no time at all to land. He hit the bear right on target. It hit the joint without actually striking any muscle or major arteries. The bear keeled back onto its hind legs as it cried in pain. Immediately Solon pulled out another arrow and nocked it. "I don't want to kill you...turn back now." Normally Solon wouldn't target a spot like a limb that they need to be mobile if he planned on letting it live. However, these bears were tough, and they weren't completely crippled by a strike at that spot. However, any unnecessary chases would be unpleasant for awhile. The bear returned back onto all fours and let out a fierce roar, obviously it intended to keep trying. Shame. Solon immediately aimed for the same spot on the other paw and released. Bullseye once more, but still not fatal. "Not going to give up?" Solon lowered his bow, he had no intent to fire another arrow. However, this bear was particularly strong. THIS would have crippled it to where it shouldn't logically be able to chase, but Solon could tell...this bear could still run. The bear roared and finally began to charge. "Fierce, I respect that."

Solon drew his sword, and as the bear charged he ran forward slightly. The bear pounced and opened his mouth for a powerful bite. Solon stepped out of the way and swung his blade, swinging it right into the beast's mouth. This completely stopped the beast's momentum as it cried in pain, but still struggled to get at Solon. Farewell. Solon increased the force in his arm and with one swift motion the sword cut into the beast's head from its mouth and slew it. The bear collapsed over and lay motionless on the ground. Solon pulled out a cloth and wiped the blood from his blade, before promptly sheathing it. Solon turned. If the woman was close by and stayed by him like he asked, he'd have told her she's safe now. If she was further away, he'd call out loudly enough for her to hear however far away she was.

The girl hadn't stopped at all. A tad annoying he'd admit, but if he came across something he was incapable of stopping and it was trying to kill him, he'd run pretty damned fast. Pride and foolishness were two very different things obviously. Either way, it was annoying. He turned and all he could hear was the sound of things landing on the ground...again...and again. What the hell was going on over there? He began to rather calmly walk in the direction the girl had run. After a little bit, he heard her call. She was at the bottom of the hill, that explains all of the thuds. Solon calmly, and almost casually, went over and around every obstacle as if it was nothing new, because to him it was. As he reached the edge of the hill and looked down, there the girl was. She looked like hell, from this distance he could still see all the tears and obvious injuries. That bear had really done her in. He quickened his pace, she was injured after all, but kept his steady calm pace. "That bear caused some damage." He said abruptly as he finally approached her and leaned down. He took no time in observing her arm and leg. They were bleeding.

"I should have something to help with the bleeding." He reached into a small bag he had with him and pulled out two clean pieces of cloth. He had also picked up some antibiotics from a foreign merchant from Zakat. It was the kind you put on wounds to reduce risk of infection. "This will sting, but it'll help keep these cuts clean." He dabbed the disinfectant onto the cloth and wrapped one around her bleeding arm. He pressed it and held it for a few moments, before he took the other cloth and did the same to the cut leg. "Are you hurt anywhere else, any pain or feeling like something is...damaged." He paused towards the end as he raised his head up and looked at her face, and ended up looking straight into her eyes. He had been focused on the bear (and then her injuries) so he hadn't gotten a good look at her. However, this girl was quite beautiful. In fact, in the few moments he was looking into her eyes he quickly became smitten with her. She was beautiful, and she had both beautiful eyes and a beautiful face.

Normally Solon didn't become enamored so easily, but this girl...something hit him. After a few moments of silent eye contact he finally got out the word "damaged" and officially finished his last sentence. "How bad are your injuries?" He got back to making sure she was okay, but it was a lot less detached than he initially was. Sure, he was calm and he wasn't blushing or anything. He kept up his usual demeanor in a lot of ways. However, it was possible for someone to tell that he was taken aback by how pretty she was. He wasn't acting as if he was just healing some random person he didn't care about.

Serenity had kept looking up the hill, assuming the person calling toward her was coming from there. After waiting a few moments, she heard something coming from a different direction and looked to see someone only slightly familiar. She sat up and leaned her back against a nearby tree as he came toward her and just waited to see what he was going to do. "That bear caused some damage." he said and she looked down to herself. "Most of it is from the fall... The bear did this though..." she said, pointing to the cut on her arm. She was a clumsy one, so falling was quite common in her life. It had been a long time since she had fallen so badly though. This one she actually kept rolling, not just a fall and get right back up again.

"I should have something to help with the bleeding." he said and began pulling things that were supposed to help her out. "Thank you." she said, watching him. "This will sting, but it'll help keep these cuts clean." he said and started. As he began cleaning her wounds, she hissed in minor pain, not like a snake, but a quick breathing in through her teeth. It was then that she realized who he was. He was the young man she had seen enter the village. He was even more handsome so close. In fact, she was locked onto his eyes and was lowering her head to get a better look. She could tell they were blue, but they were a deep blue that was actually kind of rare. Soon, he got done cleaning her wounds, causing a small smile to appear on her face. She actually felt a bit better, especially knowing she wasn't out here alone.

"Are you hurt anywhere else, any pain or feeling like something is..." he froze for a moment, just staring at her. She didn't know how to react, excluding a light pink blush that appeared on her face. As he stared at her, she stared right back at him. She couldn't help it. His eyes had her entranced. "...damaged. How bad are your injuries?" he finally finished his sentences and she pushed up a small smile. "Well... my ankle is what prevented me from getting up... I don't know if it's broken... or just sprained. I'm not very good at that kind of thing." she said honestly, speaking with a slightly nervous tone and then changed to a curious one, "You're the man that just went back to the village, right? How come you're back out here?" Serenity kept her head tilted slightly, a sweet smile stuck on her face.

Most of it was the fall, well that was anticlimactic.  Not that Solon was really focused on some kind of suspense or drama.   "Not surprising, the terrain is extremely hazardous."  When he put the cloth on her wounds, as expected, it hurt.  Either that or this girl just liked to hiss, that was equally as likely.  At first Solon was unaware of this girl's gaze and observations.  He was trying to stop her from getting infected.  He's seen infections, they are nasty.  They remind him of tuna, and just the thought of tuna makes him cringe.  That stuff smells nasty!  As he looked up and noticed how pretty she was, he also noticed that she seemed just as locked onto him as he was to her.  For maybe a second or two, a small smile actually managed its way onto his face, but it slowly softened back into his usual composure, mostly anyway.  Not because of any change of mind.  The blush she had was also kind of cute.  "Hmm, I didn't realize you were so beautiful."  He said that without flinching or stuttering or anything.  He just flat out said it, stated it as a fact that she was beautiful.  Serenity explained to him that her ankle was stopping her from standing.

He went down and looked down at it.  "Even your ankle is beautiful."  He casually said.  It wasn't broken, but it most certainly sprained.  "You're fine, you need to stay off it for at least a day.  Though if you don't give it a few days to heal it could become something worse, maybe infected."  Beautiful ankle must be preserved!  The woman then began to  ask why he was all the way out here.  "I'm looking for a woman named Serenity.  She was healing people in my village and recently left, but I came back to find a friend of mine extremely sick and bedridden.  She's liable to get far sicker if she isn't helped soon."  Solon was aware that this could very well have been Serenity.  "I'm Solon.  What's your name?"  It was strange, Solon only talked this much out of necessity...that and he was enamored with this girl.

"Not surprising, the terrain is extremely hazardous." he said. "Yeah, especially after that rain that swept through recently." she replied with the continuing light pink blush. When he looked up to her, the two seemed to be locked on each other for a few moments. "Hmm, I didn't realize you were so beautiful." he said and her cheeks turned more toward a red tint. He said that with such confidence that she couldn't even assume he was just trying to be flattering toward her. Was it true? Was she really that beautiful? A shy smile formed on her lips as she thought about it. Explaining to him the situation over her ankle, she was taken aback by more of his words. "Even your ankle is beautiful." he said and the blush deepened. Part of her wanted to retreat under a blanket so he would not see her shyness, but another part of her was fluttering away. He was so kind and seemed pretty honest. She had never gotten so many sincere compliments from a stranger before. It was shocking to her. "U-Uh... Th-Thank you." she said nervously, not sure what to do in the situation at all.

"You're fine, you need to stay off it for at least a day. Though if you don't give it a few days to heal it could become something worse, maybe infected." he said as she looked down to her ankle. "I see... Oh no..." she raised her hands to her face, the blush dropping because of the worry, "Now how am I going to get home?!" She was such a clutz and because of that she was stuck. Trying to change the subject, she asked him about why he was out here. "I'm looking for a woman named Serenity." he said, obviously catching her attention, "She was healing people in my village and recently left, but I came back to find a friend of mine extremely sick and bedridden. She's liable to get far sicker if she isn't helped soon." Serenity blinked a few times at what he said and then glanced back in the direction of the village, well at least where she thought it was, but was likely wrong. After rolling down a hill, it wasn't likely that she'd know her direction. "I'm Solon. What's your name?" he asked, but she was stuck on what he had said.

"What?!" she suddenly said in a panic, but as usual she didn't raise her voice, "I missed someone?!" Serenity rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself onto her uninjured foot. She began limping toward the hill, as if she were going to be able to climb it. "I-I-I've got to get back. I can't leave someone sick." she actually tried climbing up the hill, her ankle shooting pain up her leg any time she put any type of pressure on it. She accidentally put too much pressure and ended up falling backward. "Mmm...." she sort of whined, feeling really guilty about missing someone in the village, "What have I done...? I've abandoned someone who needed me. I'm a horrible person." Obviously she was being too hard on herself, since she had no idea that another person in the village was even sick.

The girl's cheeks turned even redder than they already were when he mentioned how beautiful she was. Why? At least as far as Solon was concerned, he'd think that it he'd go out and say it like that, that most of humanity would too. After all, he isn't much of a talker, so if he feels something is worth making words over, then it has to be the truth. At the very least it is the truth to him. As he continued speaking his mind, she got even more nervous and seemed to have to force out the thank you through her nervousness. "Why do you sound so surprised? I'm sure you hear things like that on a daily basis." Solon doesn't know shit about how people really act around pretty girls half the time, otherwise her nervousness would make more sense to him. When Solon brought up how she'd have to stay off her ankle, she began to panic because she didn't know how she'd get home. "No need to worry. You can just rest at the village. If I had to I could probably carry you." As he introduced himself and explained what he was doing, the girl suddenly went into an extreme panic. She missed someone, well he found Serenity all right. She was more adorable than one would expect some great healer to be. She stood up and began trying to climb the hill as she panicked.

She was insane about it, she began to cause herself physical pain in her attempt to find the village. She went on about how she was a horrible person. Solon just stood there and stared blankly. "...what?" He couldn't comprehend how she was considering herself a bad person. "Your reaction says the exact opposite." Solon stretched his arms in front of him for a moment, and just casually strolled over to the panicking girl and just picked her up. She was in his arms, princess style. "A horrible person wouldn't panic like that, now come on. I have a friend that needs healing, and your ankle needs to be put on ice." He said nothing about how he just picked her up, he thought nothing of it. All it was was him trying to make sure she didn't agitate her ankle more than it already was. She was a light little thing, she'd probably be more pleasant to carry if he wasn't feeling all the rips in her clothing. He wasn't feeling the skin underneath or anything, just the shredder parts of the clothes that were dangling off and rubbing on his arms was mildly uncomfortable, not that anyone would notice unless somehow his arm turned red. Solon began heading in the exact opposite direction that Serenity had attempted to go. That was where the village was after all. "You're probably gonna need something to eat when we get back, you're going to need the energy so your wounds will heal faster." Solon was surprised his voice wasn't hurting. When a beautiful girl whom he was smitten with and his childhood friend are both in terrible condition, he had a lot of reason to use more words than normal.

"Why do you sound so surprised? I'm sure you hear things like that on a daily basis."

"No, no, no. I am rarely complimented about the way I look." she said, waving her hands out in front of her, "I've always thought I was average, nothing special." Oh my was this man flattering. He was making her heart race. She didn't know how to react to such kind words. "No need to worry. You can just rest at the village. If I had to I could probably carry you." he said and she shook her head. "I'd rather not trouble you. I can try and walk." she replied with a tinge of confidence in her voice. She was going to try! The two introduced each other, but Serenity's mind was on the person she left sick. She wasn't exactly in the condition to heal any one else. She had healed so many that she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to take it. Oh well, she'd still try! And she was proving that on the walking part when she tried climbing up a hill to get to the village girl. Unfortunately, she hurt herself again and ended up falling back. After being too hard on herself, Solon came toward her and sort of swooped her up into his arms.

"A horrible person wouldn't panic like that, now come on. I have a friend that needs healing, and your ankle needs to be put on ice." he said and she agreed. She was in his arms, so there wasn't much arguing with him at this point. "O-Oh. Okay then." she said her body curled in a bit as she laid in his arms, her own arms laying over her stomach. She thought of holding onto his neck to make it easier, but she felt a little too nervous to do it. He was a strong one, able to pick her up so easily. Sure, she wasn't that heavy and she had a small figure, but she wasn't expecting it to be so easy. Before now, she couldn't remember the last time someone had picked her up. "Ending up in the arms of attractive an attractive man... I'm a lucky one." she thought to herself and looked away to hide her blush and smile.

"You're probably gonna need something to eat when we get back, you're going to need the energy so your wounds will heal faster." he said. How'd he know? She blinked a couple times with a slightly surprised expression as she looked at him. "How'd you know that?" she asked tilting her head to the side, waiting for his answer and then saying, "It's okay... I'd rather heal your friend first. The pain isn't fun to deal with." Serenity was immune to this disease, but she had seen enough people with it to know the amount of pain that a person could be in. She wasn't taking any time to heal the girl. She had already skipped her once. She's been in pain long enough.

Really? She wasn't often complimented on her looks often? That made zero sense, zippity doo da. She thought she was average? "Have you looked in a mirror? I don't see how you can get anything less than beautiful from that image." One can only imagine what he'd be like when he's trying to win someone over. He'd probably be the same, only it'd be intentional. There isn't much he could do more than this besides flat out stating his interest and asking if the interest is mutual. She said she wouldn't need to be carried, but then proceeded to just fall down the hill and hurt herself. He said nothing, he felt what just happened was enough to say that she shouldn't be trying to walk on her own. When he swooped her up in his arms, you'd expect it to turn into some scene from a fairy tale. She just curled up into his arms. Her body was warm in her arms. You might be thinking "of course it is you dipshit, she is alive so she will be warm." But this was the kind of warm that you only really notice when you are interested in the person you are carrying. Not much different, but you actually notice the warmth in those situations.

This girl though shocked him in a lot of ways. When he brought up the need for food she looked at him surprised. "How'd you know that?" What kind of question was that. She was lucky he was completely smitten, otherwise confusion might have...well admittedly he'd probably just answer it calmly and move on, but still, no chances! "The body needs energy to function, and if someone is recovering from anything they need to be nourished." He said it just straight out. No confusion, or sarcasm, or "what the fuck are you stupid." He wasn't even any of those 3 at this moment. He just answered and if there was some detail he wasn't understanding about her question she'd be able to explain it. Serenity went on to say how she'd rather heal his friend first. "I appreciate it, and I'm sure she will too." They were nearing the village at this point. "Kind and beautiful. I like that in a woman." Would you believe he actually wasn't making a move right then and there? He was just saying what was on his mind. He knew this wasn't the time to be making moves on her. She was injured, his friend was sick. Granted, he realized that it might be mistaken as him making a move on her. "Sorry, this isn't an appropriate time to be saying things like that. You're hurt, my friend is in bad shape, you have bigger things to think about. I apologize." For all he knew she wouldn't have minded if he didn't say any of that apology, but anyone with a shred of decency knew that when people were injured comments that sound like you're trying to court them is a no no. "I'm not an expert on magic, but just make sure you don't overdo it. You're hurt too, remember that."

"Have you looked in a mirror? I don't see how you can get anything less than beautiful from that image." Serenity's face went from slight surprise to shock, confusion, uncertainty, and even embarrassment. Her cheeks lit up like a red light at an intersection and she covered her face completely with her hands, looking up at him by peeking through two fingers with one eye. He had her off her guard completely. She didn't know how to react and was unable to keep her composure. "The body needs energy to function, and if someone is recovering from anything they need to be nourished." he said and Serenity puffed up her cheeks in a playful pouty manner and knocked once, softly, on his head. "I meant how did you know I was out of energy!" she said to correct him and then crossed her arms along her chest. She was sure to make him understand that she'd not eat a bite until the village girl was healed. She couldn't stand the idea of someone being in pain for long just because she was hungry.

"I appreciate it, and I'm sure she will too." he said and she smiled, merely nodding to him as a reply, "Kind and beautiful. I like that in a woman." She tensed again and covered her face like she had before, even looking through her fingers with one eye, exactly like she had done before. The blush returned almost immediately so she kept it that way until the warmth in her face would calm down. She couldn't even make a remark. "Sorry, this isn't an appropriate time to be saying things like that. You're hurt, my friend is in bad shape, you have bigger things to think about. I apologize." "No, no... I-It's okay. I appreciate all the compliments." Serenity said, lowering her hands from her face, "It's not often that I am made to feel beautiful, so it's a nice feeling, especially since I'm sorta a little banged up." Serenity playfully wiggled her legs a little bit, referring to the dirt she had all over her and the fact that her ankle was broken.

"I'm not an expert on magic, but just make sure you don't overdo it. You're hurt too, remember that." he said and Serenity sorta just shrugged it off. "Yeah, but mine only causes me pain when I stand on it." she said and then she realized something, "Hey... You're the one that came to help me... That means you saved me from the bear, right?" Serenity tilted her head to look up to him and then smiled, "Thank you so much." Her tone was as gentle as the wind, sincere and sweet. "Oh, oh, but what happened to the bear, is he okay? You didn't kill him did you?" Serenity looked at him with hope, but she'd understand if he was forced to. She refused to take a life, including an animals, unless she was hunting, but that doesn't mean that everyone else in this world had to. And she accepted that.

She wasn't helping him not compliment her with her reactions. Her face lit up red and she hid behind her hands, just one eye peeking out. When he brought up how the body gets energy and uses it to heal itself she got all pouty. She even knocked softly on his head. Well she should have said what she meant in the first place. "You apparently spent earlier today healing disease with your magic, then I caught you running as fast as your legs could carry you from a bear. I figured you were tired after all that." Logic! He continued on. The entire time he was walking he had been expertly maneuvering the forest like obstacles weren't even there. He told Serenity they'd appreciate it and threw out his comment on her being kind and beautiful. She was seriously adorable. After he apologized, she went to tell him about how it was nice to be made to feel beautiful. "You are making it pretty hard for me not to compliment you. You must take good care of your body to be so stunning, and so many of the things you've been doing are really cute."

After this he told her not to push herself. She did mention that the only pain she had was when she stood on it. "Doesn't hurt to at least be a little cautious." This was when Serenity brought up the bear. She asked if he was the one who saved her. He merely nodded, all the understanding Serenity would need was in that nod. She then brought up if the bear was okay. He shook his head. "I delivered two non-fatal, non crippling shots as warnings. After each one it didn't relent. With two arrows lodged in it it still charged at me and I had no choice but to finish it." Solon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "That bear was strong and had a ferocity rarely seen even in bears. A worthy creature, with my utmost respect, may it rest in peace." He hadn't had the time to properly offer the bear his prayers and respects due to Serenity, so he offered them now with his words to Serenity. "I hate to just kill an animal and leave it to rot, but I had no choice this time. But at the very least I can offer it my respect and prayers." Solon went silent as he offered more silent respect to the bear. After a few moment he'd continue conversing with Serenity and whatever she said or brought up.

Soon though they arrived in the village. People saw Serenity injured and on Solon's back and immediately crowded around and wondered what happened. They all wanted to know and were worried if she was alright. "She's fine, please make some space for me to move through." While some people did question it, Solon wasn't exactly a man you simply said no to. Thus, everyone moved out of the way and allowed him to move on. He lead Serenity through the streets until they came to Annika's house. He tightened his grip on Serenity and held her even closer in order to balance her as he craftily turned the doorknob and opened the door. He used his elbow to flip the switch that activated all of the "magitech" that Annika had created. "Annika." He called out calmly as he headed toward her bedroom. She was exactly where he left her. Annika, normally one who would turn heads with her looks and confuse people with everything else, looked horrid and was too weak to invoke much of a reaction besides sadness or pity. In fact, she looked worse than when he left. "As you can see, she is in pretty bad shape." Which girl was he talking to? The answer is yes. Solon went over to a wooden chair in the corner and gently placed Serenity on it. Then he lifted it up, just as effortlessly as he had carried Serenity on her own, and brought it over to the bed. "You sure you don't want to eat something before you heal her? Don't exert yourself too much." A weak chuckle could be heard from Annika. "Solon...you usually don't have much to say...that's more than I've heard you speak in awhile." She chuckled for a bit more before it turned into a rather painful sounding cough.

As usual, Solon was throwing out his honest opinion.  And as usual, they were so flattering to Serenity that she turned redder and redder.  She finally acknowledged how much she was blushing and made a comment about her cheeks exploding.  "We wouldn't want that.  That would be quite the sight, but I think it'd be prettier if they didn't explode."  Once again, off handed compliments.  That one was kind of on person, but he thought it was kind of clever.  It wasn't that clever admittedly, but it was still smooth.  As he continued on she was mostly silent.  When they got to town Solon made the crowd part faster than Moses parted the Red Sea, not that that happened in this world.  She offered his thanks, but he shook his head, silently stating there was no need.  There really wasn't, they were in the way.  Upon getting to the door she mentioned she probably should have gotten it open.  "Not a big deal."

Upon finally reaching Annika Serenity shot out an arm and began to heal her.  There was a bright light, and considering his eyesight, it was even more so.  When she said to close his eyes he did so just in case, and it is a good thing he did.  It got even brighter.  He spoke up about food, but his eyes were closed and his head turned.  She was really stubborn.  As Annika spoke and chuckled a bit, Solon wasn't paying attention to her.  Well, he was listening but he was in the middle of something.  "Save your energy."  Solon said as he took his spear off his back.  He held Serenity once more in one arm, and he swung the spear over to the chair and pulled the chair by its leg.  He slid it over and next to Annika's bed, before slowly setting Serenity down.  He made sure to go slow so she could adjust what she was doing as she did it.  Once she was set down he took a moment to stretch out more.  He turned to look away and looked towards a wall.  Even the wall was ungodly bright, but he could actually open his eyes.  "Since you can't safely walk, you can stay with me for a night.  I have a spare bed."  As he spoke he adjusted himself, getting his clothes back in order and his weapons situated.  "Once you're done helping Annika we can get you something to eat, then get you settled for the night."  Solon tried to turn towards her but it really was bright.  "Bright...how long do you think it'll be before Annika is better?"  Another weak laugh could be heard from Annika.  "Offering to let her spend the night at your place.  You're being awfully..."  She stopped and coughed a bit before continuing.  "...generous."  She turned to Serenity, eyes still closed though.  "He must have...taken a liking to you.  He doesn't let many people...stay at his house.  Prefers to keep to himself." Solon just kept his composure. "I admit it, I've taken a liking to her. She's been pleasant company." Painfully honest as usual.

Serenity was stubborn, refusing to even try to conserve herself. Granted it was kind of directed at Annika, but it applied to Serenity just as much. She was highly focused so things seemed to be going over her head. However, the comment on allowing her to spend the night registered, albeit a little slowly, and she accepted the offer. That was good, he didn't want to take no for an answer, but he had no intention of forcing her to stay there. Mostly because his intentions would easily be mistaken in that scenario. Granted he would have done his best to talk her into it, that couldn't be mistaken for an attempted kidnapping. He continued to look away, but it was obvious the light was getting brighter at certain points. There wasn't much response to what he said, but she did manage to force out a "s-soon". She didn't sound in pain, but she also didn't sound like she wasn't straining. After Solon called her pleasant company, something happened. The light began to fade. "Done?" He said as he turned, his eyes ALMOST widened as he saw her small body collapse onto the ground. That can't be good. Solon walked over to her and put two fingers on her neck. There was still a pulse, and it felt fine. She was unconscious.

I told her not to exert herself. He said as he looked up. Annika was sitting up in her bed. "Did she finish healing you?" Annika shook her head. "Not quite, though I think I can at least spend the night without writhing for once." Annika got up out of bed, she wobbled a bit, apparently a little weak, but managed to keep her balance in the end. "I'm going to take this chance to get something to eat and rest. What are you gonna do?" Solon picked up Serenity into his arms as he had before and just looked back. "Righto, just remember to bring her back after she heals up. This thing is gonna relapse if it isn't completely cured." Annika headed to the front door and opened it, with Solon taking Serenity and heading out. It didn't take long to get to his own home, only about 3 minutes. He once more held Serenity in one arm as he opened the door and brought her in. His house was simple, there wasn't much to it. There was plenty of space, which made his state of living...strange. The house had a lot of empty space and even some empty rooms. Solon took Serenity up to the second floor and to the guest room, which he only had due to spaciousness. He went up to the bed, and placed her gently onto it. He lifted her lower half as he pulled the blanket out from under her, and then placed it onto her. He felt like it'd be best to keep an eye on her so he went over to a chair and sat down. He was a little tired himself, so after about 10 minutes he ended up dozing off. He was only asleep for half an hour before he woke back up. He looked outside, it was beginning to get dark. Based on his estimation, she had been unconscious for maybe 40-50 minutes. Solon from here did his best to keep himself awake. Thankfully that short nap was helping a bit.

After the first thirty minutes of the nap, Serenity's body began to calm and relax. The stress of over working herself was fading and she wasn't just laying there like a corpse. She turned onto her side and cuddled into the blanket, clenching her pillow within her hand a bit. Every now and then, she's turn over in her sleep, making low sounds that made it seem like she was having a dream. There were a few times that she'd get a stressed look on her face like she was having a nightmare, but they soon faded. An hour later, making the total an hour and a half, Serenity's eyes fluttered open. She had a really bad headache and still felt weak. She could tell some of her Arcana had been returned, but not enough to do anything with. Serenity sat up and took a deep breath. Feeling a little lightheaded still, she placed her hand over her forehead to see if she had a fever. She did, but it wasn't a big deal. She was just a little over her normal. Looking around, she turned her attention to Solon and gave off a weakened smile. "H-Hey." she said with a scratchy throat. She cleared her throat and coughed a bit to make that go away. "Thanks for letting me rest a bit. How's Annika?" Serenity slid her legs over the side of the bed and went to stand when she noticed her clothing. She was still covered in dirt and her clothes were pretty much ruined. Obviously that wasn't anyone's fault, but she would have to figure out how to get some new clothes for when she would return home. After that, Serenity's stomach let out a low growl. "Looks like I'm a little hungry." she said in a playful tone. She was hungry before she fell asleep, she needed some food otherwise she wasn't going to be able to function correctly.

She was unconscious for a little while longer before she finally stirred.  She was cute cuddling into the blanket the way she was.  He did wonder if she was dreaming, because she was making various faces.  She finally woke up and sat up.  She seemed in pretty bad shape still, but she was better than still being unconscious.  She checked her forehead and gave Solon a weak smile.  She spoke with a rather weak voice, but after some throat clearing her voice sounded more normal.  "How's Annika?"  "Fine, she got something to eat and went to sleep.  She still needs healing, but she said she'd be fine for a little while."  Solon then looked straight at her.  "I only just met you, so I don't know you that well or what you are thinking, but if you're thinking about going to heal her right now then I'm going to have to say no.  You've done enough for tonight, and we don't want you to get sick or die or anything, so just take care of yourself so you can help her tomorrow."  Serenity's stomach growled and she mentioned she was hungry.  He chuckled a bit.  "I can imagine, I'll go make some food.  The cooking will be rather basic.  Good, but simple."

Solon left the room and began to prepare the meal.  He took some meats he had and began to cook them over a fire.  Solon wasn't one to have a stove, and Annika hadn't yet invented some magical one (well rather reinvented, major cities in Arcadia had magical equipment so a lot of her concepts were just reinventions).  He took out some assorted vegetables (including some cabbages and carrots) and some fruits and began to cook them up.  The vegetables went into a soup, while the assorted fruits he didn't tamper with, though he did peel anything that should be peeled.  He even went to grab a cup and then took some oranges and squeezed them with his bare hands.  He made a nice fresh cup of orange juice.  After some time, the vegetable soup was done.  The meat took a little while, and every so often he'd take a knife and cut into it and observe the meat inside.  The moment the inside was properly cooked he put out the fire and put the meat on a plate.  There was a lot, but he made some for himself too (including a second glass of orange juice).  Solon carried all of Serenity's portions at once, somehow balancing two bowls, a plate, and a glass.  The glass and plate were in his hands, while he held the bowls carefully against his body with his lower arm.  "Dinner is served."  He placed each plate and bowl down one by one on a table near the bed.  When he put all of her things down, he went back and grabbed his portions and came back.  He pulled his chair over to the table and put his food on the other side.  "Well, how does it look?  Meat, vegetables, fruit.  This should help you recover your strength."  After getting a response Solon began to eat, and he really dug away at it.  His eating could almost be considered voracious as he tore through the food.  It'd be a little while before he ran out, but it'd still be gone pretty fast for how much food there was.

When Solon explained Annika's condition she lowered her head.  What was with her?  She is physically incapable of doing something due to exhaustion, and she looked like she was being hard on herself.  Of course, he could have been very wrong, which in his mind, he was.  When he told her he wouldn't let her go she lowered her head and sighed, maybe she WAS thinking about it.  Who knows.  Not Solon, he only had guesses.  When Solon left he didn't see a lot of what Serenity was doing.  When he came back she was on her back and she slowly sat up.  She thanked him for being so kind.  "No need to thank me."  He placed down the food and she said it looked delicious.  Mr calm might have been calm, but he was also hungry.  He thought nothing of the rate at which he ate the food.  He finished long before her, and when he looked at her he saw why.  She ate slowly.  Elegantly.  He merely sat there and waited.  He didn't stare at her the whole time, that was just creepy.  However, he did glance at her from time to time.  Partially to see how close she was to finished, but mostly because he really did think she was beautiful.

Soon she finished, and she took a deep breath.  Solon hoped it was because it tasted good, or at least was tolerable.  Suddenly she spoke up.  "Oh my..."  Solon looked over at her.  "Something wrong?"  As he asked that she asked if he could quickly say what was in it.  "Huh?  The meat is just meat, I didn't do anything other than clean and cook it.  The soup just has some cabbages, carrots, and a few other vegetables.  I just chopped them up, put them in some water, and cooked them.  The fruits, well they are just fruits.  And the juice is orange juice...just orange juice."  He listed off everything, not understanding why this was so important.  Everything was pretty basic, there shouldn't have been a problem.  Everything was clean and properly prepared. "Why do you ask?"

"Huh? The meat is just meat, I didn't do anything other than clean and cook it. The soup just has some cabbages, carrots, and a few other vegetables. I just chopped them up, put them in some water, and cooked them. The fruits, well they are just fruits. And the juice is orange juice...just orange juice."

"Oh thank goodness..." she sighed in relief and smiled, "I actually have a lot of allergies, especially in food, so I have to watch what I eat." Serenity stood up and closed her eyes. She felt a lot better with a full stomach. "Would you like to go for a walk?" she asked kindly and looked over to him, "I was told it is supposed to help you digest, so I usually do." Serenity looked down to her clothing again, but said nothing. She just shrugged it off like it was nothing and stepped over to the door. She glanced back to him and then sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "You think you could lead the way out?" she asked, unaware of his houses layout. Even if she wanted to just go, she felt wrong doing it. This was his home and any door could lead anywhere. She doubted it was some sort of massive mansion of ridiculousness, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Once they'd reach the outside, Serenity would stand for a bit, just trying to enjoy the breeze and the cool air. With night fallen, the humidity was much more bearable. She felt quite comfortable and soon would have enough energy to function arcanicly. Serenity would then begin to walk along the first path way she saw, walking around the area and maybe even through the village just to relax.