RP:His Only Friend

Tyler moves into the academy that rests within Frostmaw. The man in search of Hildegarde for the third time in recent weeks. Thankfully, this time he's had a lead on where to find her and upon entering the building he is quickly scanning the area for her. He looks far different than before. Instead of brown hair, the once long mop has been cut to a medium length and dyed a solid black that upon lights touch reflects an overwhelming blue. Ragged clothes have been replaced with over sized gloves, low cut boots, a hooded short sleeve fur coat that's opened with no undershirt to reveal a bare torso with scars and all, a long green scarf covering the lower part of his visage staring at the nose and a pair of cargo shorts with two chains crossing from the belt to the legs to mark an 'X' across his bum, along with a katana resting in it's holster on his belt. As he moves to the center of the room his caramel eyes are frantically scanning for the tall woman who he'd first met upon his awakening. His emotions running wild as mana leaks from his gloves in a soft mist while he resists the urge to simply burn the building to the ground.

Hildegarde had spent enough time under the watchful eyes of Josleen, Skylei and Drargon combined; it was driving her mad to linger in the tavern any longer. She felt as though she was being kept prisoner there, every movement, every word being judged and weighed to see just how her psyche was handling the recent events of the war. In truth, she was not handling it well. She suffered from the warrior malaise, what is known now as post-traumatic stress disorder. It wasn’t something that was well understood by most; it was something she even tried to hide by forcing herself into a functioning state, by ignoring it as best she could. The knight stepped into the centre of the headmaster’s office, growling to someone unseen, “Then *you* speak to Satoshi! I am not the headmaster of this establishment,” she said, her tone softening as she finally exhaled deeply and turned to spot Tyler. “Tyler,” she blinked, obviously confused as to what had brought him out here. “Why are you so far out in Frostmaw?”

No more than three seconds after Tyler spots Hildegarde he's rushed into her. After hearing her voice, his head snapped to lock onto her position and those caramel eyes that seemed so angry were flooded and he's hurled toward her, throwing his arms around her and shoving his head into her. The human's nails claw into her back as he tries to mask the obvious event that he is crying. He doesn't say a word, he simply clings onto the woman as if she is his life line.

The rush towards her is unexpected, the knight normally didn’t mind but she went ever so slightly rigid as he came towards her. But as she realized what was happening, she sighed softly and gently wrapped her arms about him. “Tyler,” she said softly, “What has upset you so?” she asked so sweetly, so gently. Her hand makes small soothing gestures upon his back.

Tyler's body is convulsing as he sobs. The man making a fool of himself to those that occupy the academy. However, the opinion of others was the furthest thing from his mind. In fact, the only things on his mind were Skylei, Emilia and of course cutting Josleen's head off... even if only a little bit. But still, he hugs Hildegarde even tighter. The soothing motion of her hands actually bringing the man some comfort. He doesn't speak for at least two minutes allowing the two to stay embraced. Finally, his tears would start to run dry. Slowly he peels himself away from Hildegarde and after wiping his eyes with it, would pull the scarf covering his face down around his neck. His hands quickly fall back in place on Hildegarde's hips, unwilling to be without contact with her. His lips part in an attempt to speak but they quickly fall closed once more. Closing his eyes he takes a deep, stressful sigh and shakes his head. "Not here." He states in a low voice. Unwilling to detail the extremely long story in the public eye view.

Hildegarde cannot help but wonder what has put the man into such a state, she almost asks him again but convinces herself that in doing so she would only push him away and upset him more; something she most definitely did not wish to do. Alas, as he pulls away, she peels his hands from her hips and keeps a hold of his hands in her own. “Okay,” she said gently, “We shall go elsewhere.” That said, she gently and calmly leads him to a deserted storage room. It had been left unattended since the end of the war and the knight had only come there once before when she felt a need to hide away from the world and everyone in it. The room itself was rather big, made to fit giants and their weapons and armour. So she sits down on a bench and gestures for Tyler to do the same. “Tell me what’s wrong,” she coaxed.

Tyler looks around the massive room when the duo enter and surprisingly finds himself feeling a bit claustrophobic. Despite this, as Hildegarde offers him the seat he takes it with no resistance. His elbows go straight to his knees as he hunches over with crossed arms and begins to stare blankly at the wall across from them. He isn't sure where to begin, and doesn't even know how to express anything. Gritting his teeth he shifts his jaw to make a loud audible pop while his thoughts gather. The sound is rather gruesome and has become a bad habit of his. However, after a minute or so he finally unfolds his arms and begins to pick his gloves from his hands while he explains. "When you found me. I had no idea who I was. Since then, I've found the man you once knew as me, killed him and fallen in love with his fiancee." The gloves are laid by his right on the bench and his hands interlock with one another. He doesn't take time to figure out if Hildegarde follows him. He has to get it all out before he changes his mind. "There is another girl I met in the caves near Xalious. I helped her and saved her. I have feelings for her as well. The ultimate truth is that I can't be with either of them without hurting someone. I feel as if the wood elf is only interested in me because I wear her former lovers skin as a neat suit. The other, I fear is just lonely because she was recently left..." His head cranes so that he can make eye contact with the knight. His eyes bloodshot and desperate from the tears. "I don't want to hurt either of them. But, I don't want to be hurt either... I met with the girl of my kind last night, and told her I couldn't possibly know what would happen if she stayed around. For some reason, she stayed by my side. I haven't spoken to the wood elf..." He groans with a sigh and decides to call them by their names. They are people, not things. "Skylei... I haven't spoken to Skylei since she told me to decide between them." He emits a rasp, unnatural chuckle as he leans against the back of the bench and finds his hand moving to Hildegarde's, hoping to take hold for comfort as he concludes. "The worst of it is... I don't even know why I care about them. I don't even know who or what I am, or how long I'm going to occupy this body. I don't know anything about my life, or life at all for that matter... Yet here I am, suffering from troubles of the heart. How *explicit*ing human of me..." he mocks before his free hand goes to clasp at his forehead in disgust. He mutters nearly beneath his breath, "And I could have that Josleen' woman's head on a pike..."

The knight grunted when Tyler’s jaw made an audible pop, murmuring, “Don’t do that,” she scolded gently. Not just because she could, but it was out of concern, which was made evident from her facial expression; brows knitted together out of worry. After that, she remains relatively quiet so she may devote her attention to what Tyler had to say. This was his moment, this was his opportunity to divulge his feelings and she would not be the one to get in the way of it: she wanted him to feel better. “It is natural to not wish to be harmed,” she told him softly, trying to make him feel as though what he felt was perfectly acceptable. As he reached for her hand, he would find it and would gain a gentle squeeze in reassurance and comfort. “There is no shame in being human or feeling things, Tyler,” but she did frown at his remark in regards to Josleen, “but I am not… not versed in things of love and the heart,” she said somewhat abashed. “My advice, if I have any, is probably not very good.”

Tyler squeezes her hand in return and doesn't let go. He chuckles between sniffles as Hildegarde states her experience in love, looking to her once more as he wipes his nose with his free arm. "And you think I do?" He jokes, reminding the woman that he is but a few months old now. The soul inhabiting the body of the old illusionist very new to all things human, including emotions. "I don't need advice Hildegarde. To be honest, I don't know what I need. But whatever you're doing... it's helping." He runs his thumb across the back of her hand before tilting his head to the ceiling and closing his eyes while he tries to stop the sinus issues he's having. A shuttering deep breath is taken, "Why did you befriend the old guy?" His head drops back down and he leans in to rest his head on her right shoulder if she'd allow it. "From what I've heard... he was an evil man. Hell, I've met him..." He pauses and chuckles once again at the thought of trying to detail his slaying of Tyler and Relyt to Hildegarde. "Even then he seemed like he was completely full of himself. When I woke up, the whole world hated me. Every single person I came across tried to hurt me, or yelled at me. Hell, Josleen did both. She told me I'd be better off staying dead and should just kill myself." His face twists in disgust at the thought of the preppy bard. He tried his best to explain to her that he and former Tyler were different people, but she wasn't having any of it. His stomach churning at some of the things he said to her in the tavern, the man having a pang of regret about that for some odd reason. "Except you.", he continues with an easier tone, "You helped me right away. You believed me that I wasn't him, and you've never so much as raised your voice to me. Why? Why the hell are you so kind?" His question isn't meant to insult the woman, but is presented in genuine curiosity as his mind boggles back and forth searching for an answer.

The knight would be lying if she said she was comfortable with the way Tyler spoke of Josleen. She had just come home from war, a war that was still plaguing her mind and giving her many restless nights; she couldn’t close her eye without seeing the faces of the dead and it terrified her so much. With so much talk of death, the knight can feel her stomach(s) tighten and knot as she drew in a shaky breath. One could have put it down to anything; maybe she was upset that he was upset. “My apologies,” she said quietly, “I didn’t really consider it, probably because you’re already doing better than me in terms of romance!” she offered him a smile. But she shrugs her shoulder when he asks why she befriended them, “I have very few friends,” she confessed quietly, “and I could see no reason why not to befriend you. Even if you only ever commented on my career choice negatively,” she said with a small smile. “You were very insistent about that!” The Silver sighed softly, “People say things like that but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they want that or that they mean it, Tyler, it’s just… when we are hurt, we say things like that. I do not think you should hate Josleen for it, she and Skylei were close after all. I think she was attempting – albeit foolishly – to protect Skylei; she could have done it differently. But that’s in the past,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I don’t know,” she answered, “it’s just who I am, I suppose.”

Tyler grunts a bit as Hildegarde tries to reason with his distaste for Josleen. The human viewing her as little more than a snob, and quick to write her off. After all, he'd tried to make peace! Still, he picks up on a hint of upset when she mentions the name. Perhaps the two of them were freinds? That thought in mind he decides to drop the topic of the bard. He pulls himself off of Hildegarde and nods to himself for a moment. "It's such a stupid problem to have..." His hands are locked together as he hunches over again and presses his elbows into his knees. The blank stare to the wall returning. "Well... I don't know what you saw in the old guy, but I'm glad you gave me a chance too." After a moment of silence he nods to himself before slowly rising to his feet and pulling the scarf back over his face. "I won't bug you any longer..." He's approaching the door but stops to turn and face her, "Thank you."

Hildegarde merely didn’t want to talk about death or killing so soon after the war, she didn’t want Tyler to see her in the throes of a panic attack or a full on breakdown. “It’s not a stupid problem to have, the heart is… the heart is complicated,” she said with a sigh. “I cannot say I know much on it, Tyler, love is not something I am well versed in,” her wording on this occasion, however, perhaps had a different sort of significance or meaning. “Everyone deserves a chance, Tyler,” she said genuinely, “if we didn’t give people chances, the world would be much poorer for it. I think, when we first met, you expected me to try and arrest you. I think you tried to goad me into it and felt, perhaps, disappointment when I didn’t,” she mused. As he rises to his feet, she does the same so she might escort him to the door as is the polite thing. “You needn’t thank me, Tyler, I’ve done nothing.”

Tyler doesn't say anything at the door. His eyes stare into her as they ready to part ways. The darkened hair blowing gently in the wind as they open the exit of the academy. The scarf hiding most of his expression, but his eyes speak wonders. He's thankful, and Hilde means the world to him. He turns to make his way out into the chilled wilderness.

Hildegarde can only hope he feels better for having spoken to her, for she does wonder about him. She hopes he is well. “Write to me,” she says, just before he steps out the door, “I don’t enjoy languishing around in the worry that my friends are hurt in some way,” she said quietly. “And for the sake of the gods, fetch a tunic. You will freeze here,” she said with evident concern, before allowing him to freely leave.