RP:Growing Closer

Temple Entrance

Tyler sits with his back pressed against the cool wall of the temple. In his hands a honeysuckle that he fiddles with and sucks the juice from before tossing it to the side and picking another. Eyes scanning to the sky above to observe the near-dusk sunlight. A slow deep breath is taken as Tyler enjoys the fresh air and the events of the relatively slow day. After crashing last night he awoke before Skylei who seemed quite literally, passed out. The human had managed to move her from the chair to the bed and left the key on the table with a note that read; 'Feeling much better. This is the last day I can afford the room. Whenever you're up, turn the key into the dwarf for me. Thanks ~ Tyler.' The arrogant human had lied in the note as he still felt literally like he'd been hit upside the head with a large bag of bricks, The black eye he had been given in his search for a healer had gotten darker in color but the swelling had gone down significantly. The bandage on his wounded arm was once again looking rather nasty because of his insistence to move about which allowed sweat and blood to flow freely. Tyler had spent the day walking around Kelay and taking it rather easy while insulting the towns folk in his head. As he looked up to the sky he tossed another drained honeysuckle and pulled his knees up to his chest then wrapped his arms around them. Allowing the back of his head to rest against the wall he closed his eyes and began to ponder on where he would be staying tonight. Perhaps the Red Ogre Inn in Larket would front him a room?

Skylei had woken up to find herself in a completely different position to the one she had fallen asleep in. She had been determined to keep a night time vigil watch over Tyler to ensure that the human did not cause himself any more damage. Alas, this vigil had clearly failed and she had awoken, alone on a bed that did not belong to her, in a room that she had not paid for, for the second time in so many days. His note had been ignored and instead of returning the key to Mesthak as she had left the tavern she had given him a pile of coins that meant the room would remain Tyler's for a good while yet. Instead of sending a note and leaving the key with Mesthak, Sky had ambled awkwardly around the surrounding area for a good portion of the afternoon, key in pocket, looking for the human so that she might deliver it herself. The search had, up until this point been unsuccessful. Indeed, by this point in the day, the half-elf was near ready to give up her search and return to the tavern for a drink and to write a note to her new friend. Instead, she had chosen to pay a visit to the temple, knowing that just beyond lay the druid's tree. Whilst not overly religious, the half-elf had felt that a few words to the tree, on Tyler's behalf, could not do any harm. She doesn't make it past the temple entrance however, as the object of her search is sitting before her looking near as disheveled and injured as the day before. Sky would stop a few meters shy of the male and speak one word only, "Hi."

Tyler peeled his right eye open at the sound of a familiar voice. Scanning the clouds for a second before lowering his head and facing Skylei he smirked and managed to open the other eye before letting his head drop to face downwards to the grass. "Hiya." Still fiddling with the honeysuckle Tyler seemed rather awkward. A cool gust of wind rushed across the outside of the temple and gave Tyler a slight chill due to his ragged garb. When he raised his head his left eye had once again closed as he looked to Skylei with a pop-eyed focus. "How'd'ja sleep?" He asked with honest intent.

Skylei would takes a few steps towards the temple and sit down. She would sit on the opposite side of the door to Tyler in the hope that the situation would become a little less awkward. It didn't make all that much difference. As she slides her back down the wall, the half-elf winces a little, her shoulder still causing her some degree of pain, likely from her terrible sleeping position last night. Sky would begin fiddling with a stone from the path so that she didn't have to make direct eye contact with Tyler, "Aye, better than the night previous." She would fall silent again and carry on fiddling with the stone in her palm. It was strange that the two had been through so much together and yet were struggling to make small talk, "You're a hard fellow to find, y'know."

Tyler offered a soft chuckle as he tossed the honeysuckle in his hand to the pile of others in front of him allowing his legs to fall back out into their initial flat position. "That's a good trait to have, I s'pose. Of course, I don't know if I'd consider it such since I had no idea I was being sought out." The silence would cover the two again as the sun began to set on the horizon. The warmth it provided fading as the wind continued to blow outside of the temple. Tyler's caramel gaze was hard tested to remain on the ground in front of him as he fought a battle in his own mind of what to say to Skylei. His lack of experience in social interaction clearly affecting him despite having moments the past two nights where he was comfortable around the half elf. The scene of the previous night replayed in his mind including the embarrassing fall onto the stairs. He figured that was as good of a place as any to start. Swallowing the lump in his throat his voice came out slightly shaken and hesitant. "I'm..." he adjusts himself and fakes a clearing of the throat. "I'm sorry you saw me like that last night. It usually takes a bit more to throw me over the edge like that." His right hand found itself pulling the grass at his side up from it's roots and he began to doodle in the dirt with his index finger. "I trust you found my note?" He thought about his previous late payment to Mesthak and grew a bit nervous. It wasn't a well hidden secret that Tyler was no fighter. Hell, it actually made perfect sense that he was an illusionist. Able to hide and do as he pleases without often facing the consequences. It was now that the realization that he had joined a fighting tournament hit him head on and he couldn't help but pull his head back a bit in surprise with widened eyes and laugh to himself quietly while he awaited Skylei's reply.

Skylei would not in response to Tyler's question, "Aye, I found your note. It wasn't exactly hidden away from me, after all." There is a tinge of bitterness in her voice as the half-elf cannot quite reconcile herself with the fact that Tyler had not woken her to at least say goodbye. She had felt that they might be becoming close to friends, and friends don't just disappear into the ether with just a note. From her pocket Sky would pull the key to the room that the two had shared for the last few nights and toss it in Tyler's direction. It would bounce on the stony path before landing just before his feet. "I settled the debt for the room. It's yours for the foreseeable future, should you want it." In all this exchange Sky does not look up from the stone she is rolling around her hand, still increasingly unwilling to make eye contact. "As for last night, if you don't wish to speak of it again I can happily forget it."

Tyler looked at the key as it bounced to his feet. The sound of the metal colliding with the stone ringing in his ears. He raised his head and turned to his left facing Skylei where she sat. He could hear the distaste in her voice. Pressing his palms into the ground to lift himself he winced as his arrow wound gave a sharp pain. As he stood he took a moment to gain his balance before shuffling over to Skylei's side of the wall. Pressing his back to the wall he followed suit of her descent until his bottom was resting in the grass again. He would allow a moment before he turned to his now right to look at Skylei's black hair as it moved with the wind. His voice now seemed full of curiosity but still slightly shaken. "Are... Are you..." He pauses for a moment to gain his bearings. "Did I do something wrong?"

Skylei still doesn't look from the stone in her palm, indeed the rotations that she is sending it on with her finger only increases with his movements and question. She sits in silence for a good while before pulling her eyes from the pebble and looking to her companion. His closeness is welcome source of warmth as the autumn breeze threatens to chill the two to the core. A hand would reach for her hair as it blows violently in the wind, pulling it away from her face and behind the shoulder furthest from his. Waiting until his eyes met hers the Halfling would make her complaint, "You left! You just left." She wouldn't say more out of fear of sounding like a whiny child who had been deprived of her favourite plaything without reason. The cold forces her to shuffle a little closer to Tyler in spite of herself and her attempts to explain her grievances.

Tyler would break eye contact with Skylei's accusation. The human looking to the ground once more as he felt his chest and stomach turn a bit. He began to attempt to construct a series of words in his head to express how he meant no ill intent, how he only wanted to let her rest. He fumbled in his mind for a bit before taking a heavy swallow once more. His heart banging against his chest at the lack of proper thought his head began to spin a bit and his teeth chattered lightly from the wind. His eyes moved from the grass to Skylei's lap where her free hand sat. In what seemed to be a moment of clarity the socially awkward man would place his right hand ontop of Skylei's and offer a very simple set of words. "I'm sorry." His voice wasn't rattled nor confused. His statement carried a definite and true tone. Though the moment wouldn't last long for nearly as quickly as the words escaped his lips Tyler began to fear retaliation for laying his hand on Skylei's own. He pulled his own away and sat his hands between his legs where they couldn't be touched by the nights chill. At this point the sun had set and the moon was rising high. Tyler would however allow Skylei's approach as he inched closer as well to aid in keeping the duo warm. His mind began to race once more as he struggled to find something to say. Memories of his home came rushing over him as his teeth chattered together and he couldn't help but close his eyes in sheer embarrassment. What in the hell was he doing?

Skylei :: As soon as Tyler broke eye contact the half-elf averts her own gaze back to the floor. Could it truly be that only a day ago the two had been tending to each other's injuries and laughing in spite of the pain? How had they gone from jovial friends to strangers who couldn't even hold eye contact with each other for longer than a few seconds in such a short space of time? Lost in this thought, Sky is somewhat startled when Tyler's hand materializes on top of her own. In spite of this surprise she does not pull her hand away, though the contact is over almost as soon as it has begun. Confusing though it is, Sky is almost sad to feel the cold air return to the place where warm flesh had once rested. As he apologies Sky would shrug her shoulders, again forgetting that her injured shoulder is not completely healed yet. In order to stop herself wincing in pain she would bite down on her lip and bury her head into her own knees. From this position she would respond, "I know you are." Her words are as sincere as his but do little to relieve the tension between the two.

Tyler would sit in silence as Skylei dug her head into her knees. He was nearly at a loss. Four months. Four months he had been in Kelay and the first person he had finally been able to associate with was sitting her beside him beaten and freezing. His caramel eyes set to the stars once more as he pressed his head to the wall of the temple and took deep breathes. His eyes closing for a few moments before jerking open again. As the duo sat beneath the clear sky Tyler catches sight of a single shooting star. As the streak of burning light flies across the sky his eyes narrow for a moment as if facing an epiphany within his own mind. Leaning up Tyler reaches for his bag and undoes the single large brown button and pulls back the flap. "So, I figured with the fall already here and winter fast approaching make believe clothes won't be keeping me warm. So I made a stop at the market and snagged this." The human pulls out a long black flowing cloak and grins as he runs his fingers across the thick fabric. "It fits well enough but I figured I didn't want to dirty it up before I could get down to the creek for a bath." Flapping the cloak out to extend it he would then proceed to wrap it around Skylei much like a blanket to ease help warm her up a bit. Leaving his bag open for now Tyler leaned back to the wall once more and placed his eyes on the stars again. The night sky had always been a fascination of his. Filled with wonder of what could possibly be beyond the world they knew. Of course, the Prekleks had managed to prove there was life elsewhere but the fact remained. Just above the duo's heads were countless untold wonders and here they were fighting to make a simple conversation. This had been Tyler's wake up call. A sudden realization that he isn't as big as he might think. Skylei, his only known acquaintance, and quite possibly friend was sitting beside him telling him of her kind deed and expressing her frustration at his abandonment and yet the grown man struggled to simply offer her and explination or company? A smile would grace his face as he scanned the burning lights in the sky a loud quick exhale from the nose as if he found something funny. "I say I'm sorry, Sky." His voice carries out then offers a moments pause. "But that's only because I don't really know what to say. You're the first person that's actually spoken to me since I've come to this land." Another moment as he processes his thoughts. "Well, the first one who hasn't been mocking my clothes, or trying to start a fight or trying to sell me something at least." He kicks off his worn sandals and allows his bare ankles to dig around in the dirt. "I've tried talking to other people but they all seem too busy with their own lives. In fact, that's how it always goes. Before I came here I used to crave the attention of my family... my... friends". He makes a quotation gesture with his hands while he mentions friends. "But it always seems like everyone's too pre-occupied to give a moments notice of my existence." Curling his toes to pop them he continues gazing out to the heavens actually flabbergasted that he was mustering the ability to tell Skylei the things he was. "Hell, you've actually been nice to me. You drank with me. You even followed me, a complete stranger out into the night in a lawless town. A complete stranger you met in a bar I might add!" He raises his index finger for emphasis. "And then what? I attack you. I break your shoulder and get you to shoot me right through the shoulder." He chuckles again as he shakes his head to himself rubbing his head against the stone wall of the temple. "So yeah, I guess sorry is about the only thing I can think of to say because to be blunt, I've never had the chance to talk to anyone longer than five minutes time. Yet here you are, still managing to offer your company after I nearly beat you to death." His tongue offers a quick lick across his drying lips as the wind begins to chap them. "So yeah... I'm sorry." He leans his shoulder against her good one and finally allows himself to shut up and simply continues to stare up.

Skylei sat up from her huddled ball in silence and allowed Tyler to pour his heart out to her. It was not a story the girl could relate to; she had always been lucky with friends and family. When she had been vulnerable, she had found those willing to protect her, when she had been lost, she had found those willing to shelter her and she had never been short of those willing to show her love and affection. Still, though she cannot empathize, it does not stop the half-elf from feeling sad. As he talks, Sky would pull the cloak that had been wrapped around her from her form and draped it over her legs and over Tyler's. As the cloak is pulled across the two of them, she allows her legs to loll to one side so that they are touching Tyler's. She could not offer him much, but she could offer him a little physical contact. "Anyone who passes up the opportunity of your company is making a sore mistake, even if they are unable to realize it." She would sigh and pull herself in even tighter to his side, hoping that the human would not object to the physical closeness between the two. In spite of the cloak, she was still cold and his body heat was all that was making the outside elements bearable. "Surely we've done enough apologizing for now." She was right. They had apologized for their behaviour, the injuries both physical and emotional that had been caused, for their clumsiness and now for the lack of conversation. Now is time to move on.

Tyler kept his vigilant stare to the stars as Skylei adjusted the cloak to cover them both. Her words were heard but offered no true comfort to the human. He took them as a compliment from the half elf and it made him feel strongly about their friendship but he knew the bit of people passing up his company being fools was ill taken as he saw it only as a comforting measure. The past had made it clear that Tyler wasn't very interesting to potential companions. For some reason, however, the illusionist didn't seem to feel any type of self pity or upset as he thought of the past. Never one to dwell, he usually pressed on in a matter of minutes but for once he seemed to have not a care about those who've ignored him. As Skylei pressed herself into him he would raise his right arm and wrap it behind her head and rest his hand on her upper arm. The air had gotten cooler and the wind nearly felt like ice against his cheeks but he would pay no mind. Instead he rubbed his hand up and down her arm to provide some warmth while he offered a soft spoken reply to her statement. "Yeah... Yeah, I think so." His teeth had stopped chattering and he found himself allowing his eyelids to sink a bit with each blink as he never broke his gaze with the stars. However, he wasn't ready to fall asleep out here and freeze to death. He was enjoying Skylei's company and he much preferred the fresh, cool air outside of the temple as opposed to the familiar filth of the Kelay Tavern.

Skylei couldn't possibly know anything that was going through Tyler's head at that moment and, in truth, it probably doesn't matter. Much as her words are spoken as means of comfort to the human, they are also spoken as words of truth. True, the days that the two have spent together have been fraught with anxiety, injury and fear, but in a strange way, Skylei has almost enjoyed herself. And certainly, she feels closer to Tyler than she has felt to any person in quite some time. It is likely akin to a form of survivor's syndrome, where people who have shared a joint traumatic experience feel as though they are bonded by some unbreakable force. She too preferred to cold autumn air to the dark stink of the tavern, though she wouldn't have minded the warmth of the fire to infuse some heat into her frozen bones. She would rest her head onto his shoulder as she had done two days previous when he had carried her back through the streets of Kelay to that dank tavern where their friendship had been born, though this time it is a conscious choice rather than out of sheer exhaustion, "I mean it y'know. I'd buy you a drink any day." This is as close as the half-elf can get to expressing any feelings of affection she might feel.

Tyler would chuckle at Skylei's statement. His chest raising and lowering quickly with each push. Upon regaining his composure he still held a smile plastered on his face as he speaks; "Well that's good. Because I sure as hell don't have any money." Tyler had been hard pressed finding any sort of honest work and had been akin to taking what he needed rather than going to certain extremes. Finally allowing his head to drop from the stars he would lower his head to the right to look at the top of Skylei's head. His eyes examining her hair as it continued to dance about in the wind. He reaches to the cloak with his left hand and pulls it up further onto Skylei, sacrificing some of his warmth as skin became exposed to offer cover to the majority of her torso. Despite having her lay on his wounded shoulder he found that he felt no pain, perhaps from the winds numbing most of his skin. Rubbing at his eyes with his free hand he mutters; "You didn't have to pay for my room, y'know? I could've figured summin' out." Dropping his hand back to his lap he decided to lay his head down allowing his right cheek to fall atop of her head. "I appreciate it though. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

Skylei is so grateful for the extra warmth provided by the cloak that she almost forgets that her gain is Tyler's sacrifice. In order to compensate she would wrap her bruised arm across his body, laying her hand to rest on his healthy shoulder. It is becoming somewhat ridiculous, the lengths that the two have to go to keep each other warm. But for now, at least, the pair seem unwilling to leave their outside spot in spite of the wailing winds and biting chill. "Don't be silly. I have gold, a job. All it pays for is my ale and ale for my company. I would rather you had a room to sleep in than I spend my time worrying about where you're laying your head." She would gesture towards his face with the hand that rests upon his shoulder, "Or getting into any more fights and needing patching up again." The half-elf would sigh and nestle into his shoulder, forgetting his injury for the time being. "Besides, you let me sleep in your bed for the past two nights. You found me herbs and that utterly vile concoction you forced down my throat. Surely you deserve some compensation for your time." Sky is grasping at straws here, trying to prevent Tyler's pride from being damaged by her gift.

Tyler smiles as Skylei speaks unknown to her that he had no pride to shatter in the first place. He found his eyes getting heavier as exhaustion began to catch up with him again. The human allows a yawn to escape and after he catches himself embracing Skylei tighter with his head remaining atop of her own. "Well, had I not knocked you clear across a courtyard there may have been no need for herbs and such." he chuckled, clearly joking on the subject. "As for me needing aid, I'll be getting my ass handed too me for years to come so you might as well go ahead and give up on that dream before it begins." The sound of crickets began to fill the air an odd amount of them considering the time of year. It was at this sound that Tyler finally found himself beckoning for a bed. Picking his head up he looks to the west before closing his eyes a moment and allowing his thoughts to gather before opening them back up. "I think I'm ready to head in before I turn into one of those Frostmaw folks." However, despite his statement he was unwilling to be the first to move from the seated position in the dirt. Instead he focused on Skylei bundled in his cloak and looked to her arm that reached out across his body. It was odd to him. The entire situation. He had never had any physical contact with another person and he found himself stuck with a permanent smile as he awaited Skylei to make the initial move.

Skylei mumbled something about being comfy and not wanting to move. Her eyes are closed and it is clear that she too is ready for sleep's embrace to take her. Tyler's yawn proves to be contagious and one is emitted from the half-elf's petite form before she begins to withdraw her arm from across his body. Along with the movement of her arm, the half-elf would straighten her legs and raise her head from his shoulder, ending the physical connection between the two. The sudden lack of physical contact leaves the half-elf feeling increasingly chilled as the coldness begins to seep into the newly exposed parts of her body. She makes no comment about Tyler's remark that he is ready to leave the cold behind them, though her movements do all the talking for her. As she pushes her back against the wall to help her stand, the ever-present pain in her shoulder returns. This time the girl is too tired to mask the moan of discomfort. Forcing herself in the standing position, the girl would offer a hand down to Tyler, should he wish to take it.

Tyler turns once more back to the stars as Skylei picks herself up. Once she is on her feet the human also begins to feel the harsh autumn nights bite at his exposed skin. Leaning up from the wall he reaches to his bag and re-fastens the one big button. Using his good arm he places his palm into the dirt and pushes down as he begins to pick himself up letting out only a small audible grunt from discomfort. Once on his feet he picks up his bag and tosses it around his shoulder. He turns to Skylei and adjusts his cloak around her fastening the neck so that it holds in place, he even pulls the hood up over her head and tucks her hair behind her ear to keep it from her face. It would seem her hand goes ignored as Tyler turns on his heel and begins walking away. This, however, is not the case. The human moves to his original seated position and kneels down running his fingers across the grass as he struggles to see. Finally feeling the freezing metal of the room key he picks it up and slides it into a small opening of his bag before returning to Skylei's side and taking the offered hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. He takes point and leads the way south. As they begin walking blue specs would begin to coil around Tyler's feet and slowly move up his body placing heavy pieces of armor as they go including a giant two-handed sword on his back. This was merely a disguise to make sure the duo made it through the lawless streets of Kelay safely until they reached the tavern.

Skylei had been worried for a few seconds that the proffered hand was to be ignored. When she realizes this is not the case, a small smile would grow upon her face for perhaps the first time since they had met that eve. The fiercely independent half-elf had allowed him to rearrange the cloak around her form and even touch her hair from her face without a word; there was something about him that made her mannerisms a little softer and perhaps that was a good thing. As the two begin to walk away from the temple and the illusionary armour forms around Tyler's body the half-elf simply smiles again. She had grown rather used to these displays since they had met and so each one was now simply taken in her stride. Without another word they would begin their journey back to the warmth.