Rho had made a fair point. A shorter life meant that you could fall into committing to your mistakes, he could see the way of it but thought it to be counterproductive.

"I see. So it benefits you to choose carefully."

He thought of Petra and Blossom and felt that neither of them were choosing to be very careful but then again that was the nature of passions. Care was a thing of the mind and it had little sway on feelings. Hawkflesh saw something in the time he opened his eyes between rests, purely by coincidence he saw an echo of an expression, a memory of a twinge in Rhosyn's voice that betrayed something more to her.
Everyone had their pasts, even the short lived could go through more in their lives than some of the longest lived beings might in a lifetime. Briefly he considered asking about her, at why she had no family of her own or perhaps about her relationship with the boy.
That was it.
She had not mentioned Petra's father or mother or anyone. Hawkflesh concluded that the boy may be an orphan and perhaps Rhosyn was, in not so many words, his guardian.
"He is lucky to have you to watch out for him, Petra I mean."

Settling on that he decided not to pry. If Rhosyn thought to tell him she would. In truth it was not his business.

"Adventures?"

Slowly he leaned back and stretched out one leg, keeping the other up to anchor on the slope of the roof. The sky was gentle and red again in the glow of the current brightest moon. The belt arced above them at an angle cutting the night in half.
"I don't know if I would call them that. More like, nightmares sometimes."
A huff of a laugh left his lips as he folded his hands behind his head.
"But I'll share them. Tell you all about the South when I come back."


At Rho's last statement he grinned slightly.
"Oh yes, we are like cats that way. Always landing on our feet."

He was playing with her now, exaggerating the famous agility of his people before a more wicked idea came to him.
"Shall I show you?"

Not waiting for an answer he stood and casually waked to the ledge of the roof, balancing on his heels.
He was not yet drunk enough to fall but still the motion made his head dizzy as he turned about to look at Rhosyn before hopping off with a smile and, with a little help of his quick reflexes, managed to grip the edge of the wooden roof strut and dangle just out of view from one strained arm.
Hawkflesh looked down, it was farther than he remembered to the ground and his head was still dizzy.
*Oh dear, this is was a bad idea!*

@Rhosyn Firth
 
Rho nodded absently. She hadn't done for the thanks or recognition. She'd seen Petra in need and had taken him in. One day, if she didn't have a family of her own, then she'd leave him the brewery. Though, he was her family, if she stopped to think about it, a found family, but family nonetheless.

"Of course." She said letting the conversation turn from such a serious train of thought. "You're a traveler. Surely you've had adventures the likes of which this little village has seen. Adventures can come in all forms. The heroic to the ordinary. Still I look forward to hearing whichever you might have next you visit." She paused at his addition. "Well nightmares can be adventures too. A trial to overcome." Perhaps she'd listened to too many childhood stories. Where even faced with the nightmares, the heroes overcome and save the day. Such stories made it seem really simple as it progressed from nightmare to dreams come true.

She watched as Hawkflesh stood, staggering though not overly so, toward the edge of the roof standing on it like a diver about to leap into the water. Then leap he did. "Hawkflesh!" She shouted in concern and shock, her eyes widening as she scrambled to her feet and hurried to the edge to see if he'd in fact killed himself. Yet when she got to the edge, she found him hanging by one hand on the roof truss that stuck out to help protect the building from rain.

"Moons above, you scared me." She scolded hands on her hips as she stood at the edge, though back enough that she herself wouldn't end up going over the edge. Rho was okay with heights, though looking down like this made her stomach flip and flop about. "Can you get back up or should I move the ladder around?"​
 
Looking up at Rhosyn was very unexpected, especially given their relative height difference.
"I'm fine, I got it, just stand back a bit."
There was not nearly as much belief in himself in his voice as he'd like.
Gripping with his other hand and bracing his legs against the barn wall Hawkflesh hoisted himself up but his arms failed to keep the tension and he slipped back down.
"Oh, spit!"

The slip back down was hard on his shoulders, nothing serious, just sore.
Cursing himself for showing off he looked up at Rhosyn again.
"On second thought, yeah..."
Looking down again he tried to assess how long he could hold on.
"...the ladder is a great idea, much better than this one!"
Dangling in the moonlight he tried to think of why he had ended up here and the answer embarrassed him so much he was glad that the red moon shone so bright.

@Rhosyn Firth
 
The doe woman scooted back a bit at his urging and watched as he attempted to pull himself back up onto the roof. Only to fail before accepting her offer of the ladder. She hurried back over the roof and to the other side where the ladder had been placed originally. She pushed the ladder over letting it fall to the ground with a heavy thud before picking it up from the side. The long device easier to carry like that. She walked as quickly as she could around the barn to the other side.

"Almost there. Hold on just a few minutes more." The thing wasn't exactly easy to handle, nor light and it took a bit of work to get it into place so she could slide it along the roof and into Hawkflesh's reach. Normally, she had help setting up the big ladder.

Once the elf had made it to the ground, she looked up at him. "I believe I am now forever disabused of the notion that elves are as nimble as cats. That was perhaps the most uncat-like behavior I've ever seen." She was also now wide awake after that little display.​
 
Hawkflesh was halfways down the ladder when he heard Rhosyn state her dashed belief in elf agility.
"Yes, well..."
Descending the last few steps he stood at his full height before her.
"... I have been drinking all day so, I'm going to blame that."
Hand still on the ladder Hawkflesh looked up at the barn roof and it did not look that far from the ground. It was a great relief to be down. His arms were starting to hurt from hanging on up there.
"That's the second time you've saved me, this is becoming a habit. I thought I was the adventurer here."
Smiling still looked and felt awkward but he did it anyway as he returned his gaze to Rhosyn.
"I do declare you are my hero Rhosyn."

@Rhosyn Firth
 
Rho waited on the ground as Hawkflesh managed to grab onto the latter and then descended until his feet were also on the ground. She shook her head, a smirk teasing at her lips as chuckled at his praise. "I've had just as much to drink and didn't think walking the cliff at the edge of the roof was a good idea. Much less falling off of it."

She imagined that she was just more conscientious about her alcohol consumption and being sure to temper it throughout the evening with snacks. The doe woman had already been snacking on various treats long before Hawkflesh came to join her at her little outdoor tavern set up. "Careful. People always say things come in threes. I hope we don't end up in need of me to save you for a third time tonight. The night isn't getting any younger after all."

Now down on the ground, she was reminded of the difference in their heights. All night he'd been sitting hunched at the bar or sitting up on the roof. The woman had to arch her neck up at quite an angle to look up at his face and he down at her. "Tired or no?" She asked, suddenly finding herself more awake after their little scare. Perhaps they could find some place nice to enjoy the evening a bit longer.​
 
Smiling down at Rhosyn he leaned on the ladder more, making a bit of a show of it and resting his head against the rung.
"Hmm, maybe I was trying to impress you. Make a show of my own."
Feeling just as awake as Rhosyn he was riding the rush of his near accident for what clarity it could give him.

"That seals it."
He shot back with his own grin, wide on his narrow face.
"You have to stay with me all night. Left alone I could drown."
Extending his hand out to the lake he gestured as if his descent towards it was as inevitable as the sun rise and he shook his head.
"No, I'm not tired. I think I woke myself up with that little stunt and the lake is looking pretty appealing right now, what do you think?"
A late night swim was certainly not something he planned on but somewhere in his mind he was aware of two things. He wanted to spend at least a bit more time with Rhosyn and he had not bathed in days.

@Rhosyn Firth
 
"All night? I'm not sure there's much life left." She laughed as she looked up at the tall figure. Her gaze followed his gesturing hand to the lake. "It's got to be chilly this time of year. Spring is just setting in." That didn't stop her from starting down the hill toward the lake.

At the edge, she pulled off her socks and shoes, before stepping into the water, dancing around a little. "That's cold!" She exclaimed, confirming her hunch from earlier. Yet she didn't get out, just standing ankle deep in the water. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Rho bent down, dragging her hand through the water and splashing it up toward Hawkflesh. "Well you wanted to go down to the lake. Come on in!"
 
"There's no better time, I've heard it helps stave off old age to dip in cold waters."
Following Rhosyn to the edge of the lake he undid his cloak and let it fall to the grass just beyond the shore then stripped down to his slacks, leaving his tunic and boots on his cloak.

"I am sure this is a better idea than hanging from a roof."
replying with a chuckle the splash hit him on the back which earned Rhosyn a yelp of shock from him as the cold tried to chase the air from his body and he faced her with a grimaced smile.
"Ohhh, don't start."

It was funny though and it was his idea so he could not complain too much, his warning held no bite and was tinged with a laugh as he made his way closer to Rhosyn and for just a moment he contemplated dunking her however he was hesitant to do it to one he towered over so. Instead he dipped his fingers into the cool waters of the lake and flicked droplets at her face in retaliation. To top it off he stuck out his tongue at her just to convey his playfulness in revenge.
 
The doe-woman chuckled at the yelp. "For a former knight, you seem easily startled by a bit of water." She teased as he stepped into the water, walking over to join her, his fingers dipping into the water and flicking it at her face in revenge. Water rolled down her cheek as she snorted. "What exactly was that? A weak retaliation." She reached down splashing him further before beginning to move further out into the lake. The water reaching the edge of her dress. The chill soaking into her skin.

"Possibly better than the roof. But could catch our death of cold, just as easily as we could fall off the roof." Rho shivered as the cold water ran against her legs, soaking into the fabric of her dress. Without waiting for a response, she turned and dove into the water. The chill of the water stealing her breath away. Yet it was the quicker way to acclimate to the cold water.

Her head popped above the water a bit further into the small lake as she swam in place. "Well? This was your idea!" She called out to Hawkflesh as she tread water.
 

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As the second splash hit his body Hawkflesh stopped and shivered. Cold was terrible at first and wading out into the waters after Rhosyn the water swallowed his body with every step.
"You're right, I should be more Knightly!"
Striking a stance as if he welded a sword he lunges towards Rhosyn splashing her back.
But she was already retreating further into the lake.
So he followed, grinning still, swimming out towards her in long steady strokes before diving under completely and swimming right under her emerging on the other side of her.
Under the red moon the world was bathed in a bit of pink which made it look warmer and Rhosyn's face, wet and bobbing above the water, seemed to slip away with the white of her dress wafted like great fins into nothing as if she carried on down forever into the dark.
"No, this was a wonderful idea."
He said.
"You wear this lake well. I didn't know someone could do that."
Now that his body was used to it he was feeling the warmth of it or at least it seemed warm compared to the cool night air.


@Rhosyn Firth
 
The fabric of her dress floated around her, pulled about by the gentle currents of the water. Leaning back, she floated lightly along the surface of the water. Arms occasionally moving lightly along to help keep herself afloat. "How does one wear a lake?" She asked as she stared up at the sky and the red moon, the strands of her hair layered on the surface like a halo. The ribbons from her dress floated among the fabric.

As she drifted, she couldn't help but think about how the evening had gone. The success of the festival, the fireworks, the new friend. Hawkflesh was a unique individual, so different than that of the rest of the villagers. Complex in comparison to the simple worries of the quiet town.

"What made you want to leave your home? Become a knight?" It wasn't like she was planning on leaving, changing the way she'd gone. This brewery had always been in her family and she'd never really had a choice otherwise. She'd never give it much choice before, what it would be like to just leave. To be something or someone else, go somewhere else.
 
"If I knew that secret I'd sell it."

How does anyone look good? Hard work made effortless? A trick of the Shroud? Luck? The soul brought forth into the world?
In Rhosyn's case he decided to take a guess.
"I think it's because you like it here. The village, the lake and if I can be so bold, the company. You're enjoying yourself and I think that makes everyone look good no matter the circumstance."


As she lay back and floated he averted his gaze.
Pale fabrics concealed little when wet and he admitted to himself that he had not considered that outcome when he suggested the lake.
At least not consciously.
Thankfully as he let himself lean back and float on the waters surface he was in no short supply of other things to look at. His sharp eyes saw the night full of stars and the moons above.
Worlds out of reach.
Sometimes he felt as though the world was above him and he was facing down or across instead of upwards. Scholars of the stars had said that in the void beyond the world up and down were meaningless. It made his head swim in dizziness.
The question of his Knighthood however was enough to bring him back to the ground.
"I was always good with a sword."
And little else.
"So when the Rose Knights needed a new Red Rose I was selected. I would not call it a choice but I suppose I was eager to get out into the world. See the wild places, meet new people."

His mind did not like going back to those early days.
"Being a Knight in service to the Rose was not as beautiful as it sounds though. Keeping the peace is an ironically violent task."
Again he felt like he had been lying to Rhosyn, playing at being a better person than he was.
"We parted on bad terms."
In his minds eye he saw them dragged into the dark one by one. The first time he saw the Hands.

@Rhosyn Firth
 
"Thank you. Those are very kind words." She managed out, feeling that she had to say something. Not acknowledging the compliment would be rude.

The doe woman felt her cheeks flush at Hawkflesh's words, keeping herself afloat with the gentle wave of her hands in the water. She was lucky to be wearing a light fabric for the festival, a good choice perhaps during the heat of the day, but certainly doing nothing to keep the warmth in now, but at least it wasn't dragging her down under the water with the additional weight.

The conversation turned to her question and she felt the blush leave her cheeks. "I had never considered that. Peace being really not as peaceful as one might imagine. I hope that your people were grateful for what you gave them." She could not imagine having to fight for the peace Plumhollow enjoyed so easily. Rho knew there was a militia made of various members of the town, but mostly it was more a drinking club than a true fighting force. They hadn't been called to fight in years, probably generations even. There were stories of course, but at this point they were more exaggeration than truth.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said sincerely. She couldn't imagine parting ways with her friends, her family here. Sure traveling and seeing the world was a pretty dream, but she would miss everything that she was familiar with. She'd miss the people and the daily little struggles that made such a place like Plumhollow exciting.
 
"Every word is true, I'm a terrible liar."
He smirked and listened to Rhosyn offer kindness and empathy to his story.
This had to stop, he thought, but he didn't stop talking words came and kept coming.

"Killing in the name of peace is what being a knight is really all about. You kill to protect but who is protecting those you kill eh?"
Kicking his legs lightly he stopped his body from sinking too much.
"Oh, they were grateful. They loved it when I killed people."
Hands slapped the water in frustration and he sent his eyes upwards again into the glistening sky that seemed too good for him.
"I thought I'd be saving lives, you know the classic stuff. Protecting beautiful women from monsters and the like or matching steel against evil sorceries but all they wanted was for me to kill people."
And he did.

"So, don't be sad about me leaving. I don't regret it."
His voice calmed with certainty.
"It brought me here, to you, to this place and that's something good."
That felt like a better place to shut up as he turned his head to try and get a look at Rhosyn, she was upside down to him and the trail of her dress bobbed against the waters surface. Maybe she was too good for him as well but unlike the stars in the night sky that was not only his decision.

@Rhosyn Firth
 
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