RP:Worth is a Subjective Thing

Path Leading North

The area is plain and open, you see several small frozen plants and twigs protruding through the deep snow, and every now and then a snow-rabbit hops out from its burrow to sniff the air and forage for any food it can find. To your south you see a path which would help you find your way back to town, while to your north an eerie cloud hangs above in the distance. To the west you see a small path which leads between a thin line of trees.

Kirien, after being comatose for two days and in an uncharacteristically cranky mood ever since waking up, has returned to Frostmaw in the hopes of finding something here that can help to lighten his spirit. The frozen mountains are harsh and unforgiving terrain, but as always there's that subtle spark of warmth he can find on the arctic wind, and sense through the stone beneath his feet, and the thrill of adventurous experimenting in the wilderness has grabbed hold of him once more. Right now he has Nuial'Ashier in hand, the greataxe of onyx-like metal with gold embellishments, and he's running with a distinct purpose across the snowfield, though what exactly the genasi is up to is uncertain until the moment he brings the end of Nuial'Ashier's pole down into the snow. Metal punches through permafrost and holds fast, a brilliant flare of gold building at the base of the weapon where it impacted powerfully against the ground; and then spiraling trails of that same golden energy race up the length of the axe and explode from the other end, sending Kirien flying into the air, catapulted by the buildup of raw force he called upon. It's still not clear what he's up to, actually, but he seems intent on throwing himself skyward.

A burst of golden light precedes the view of a tiny figure shooting into the sky to the west of the city, the echo of an elated 'whoop' drifting on the wind.

Hildegarde had, at long last, returned to Frostmaw after her little trip to Rynvale. She found that the island was not much to her liking in the day time, with the hustle and bustle of the people in the crowded shopping promenade. Frostmaw had a certain quiet to it, not a stillness - there was always activity, unseen and unheard - but it was in an almost perpetual silence. The weight of her armour caused her to sink somewhat in the snow, halberd joining her as she used it to press against the ground. It served a dual-purpose, not only did it pull her along in the snow; it served to guide her and keep her from tripping up upon any rocks or anything lurking underfoot. Her eyes had been drifting across the landscape, appreciating it and not taking in the idea of anyone else being here with her. That was short-lived, as all peace is. The running - and subsequent crunching of snow - disturbed her, forcing her to focus on who was actually running. A man who looked vaguely familiar from this distance, but he was carrying a massive greataxe! Her halberd twirled in her hand, upper shaft meeting her left hand as she readied herself for the worst. But her preparation went to waste, the running man simply threw the axe to the ground and actually just...propelled into the sky. The man went into the sky. It was safe to say Hilde was gobsmacked! Her jaw went slack at the very sight. Before long, however, she was quickly pushing through the snow in an effort to find where he might land.

Kirien is completely blind up here. Off the ground, his physical connection to it severed, he feels little and sees even less, thrown into a void of vulnerability and white blank nothingness. If one knew this, they'd probably wonder why he's purposely tossing himself away from the earth and the security that comes with its touch - but this is Kirien, and he has a notorious fondness for engaging in odd activity, including intentionally pushing himself out of his own comfort zones. In pursuit of...something, he now tumbles in free fall from those great heights, spinning in the air and only able to vaguely recognise up from down due to the direction in which he's falling. "Okay, okay. Focus." He rights himself, sort of, arms spread wide and the wind ripping at his coat, pushing his hair back out of his face. The golden designs upon his upper body are illuminated against the grey, wintry backdrop, his hair and teal coat a shock of colour as Kirien gives a faintly hesitant grin, opens his mouth, and lets loose an incoherent shout that tears the very air with a throbbing pulse of magic. That sound, grating in the ears like the roar of a rockslide, sets the entire landscape to shaking violently in a great earthquake that causes even the mountains to shudder. It does, however, cut out rather suddenly as Kirien slams face-first into the snow, his impact throwing up a cloud of glistening ice crystals as an eerie quiet settles over the mountain range once more.

Kirien said, "Ow."

Hildegarde had her eyes glued to the man as he free-fell from the sky, twisting and turning without a care in the world. It shocked her to some degree. She was waiting to see if the man would sprout wings or show his 'true form' and take flight, safe from the forever welcoming - but terribly lethal - embrace of the earth. Before she knew it, the man was shouting some kind of... incoherent word or so, tearing the world asunder. The earth roared in defiance before seemingly bending to his will, causing the knight to drop her halberd and clamp her gloved hands over her scale-tipped ears. Sound was not her ally: it sent her world into a state of confusing double-vision, body dropping to a knee in submission of this forever unseen opponent. As the almost eerie silence settled over the mountainous terrain once again, she scooped up her halberd and wandered over to his landing zone as quickly as armoured feet - and deep snow - would allow her to. "M'Lord?" she cried, uncertain it was actually a man in the first place but choosing to risk it.

Kirien, groaning, lifts his head from the depression his landing made - a nice two-foot deep, Kirien-shaped indent in the compacted snow. Dimly he catches the impressions and vibrations of approaching feet, of movement not his own and a voice that sounds far too feminine to be his. Far too polite, at that, and besides, his vocal chords aren't moving so he most certainly can't be making that noise. Slowly he shifts until he can shove himself up off the ground and fall to sit back on his knees, blinking bleary-eyed out of his hole in the snow at Hilde. "It didn't work," he states in a tone that suggests he's deeply upset by this, as though she knows exactly what he's talking about, and only after that adds amiably, "Allo there, by the way. Et it's still not m'lord, no matter what the giants call me-- or you, for that matter."

Hildegarde was actually quite impressed that the man hadn't died from such a fall! She had a certain expression of sheer amazement upon her face as she watched him, bewildered as to why he survived. But at this distance, she knew why the man was so familiar to her. The man had also claimed to be a vampire, but she was pretty certain even a vampire should be pretty... mangled and crushed after such a fall. "M'lord," she said, ignoring his protest at the title, "do you require medical assistance of any kind?"

Kirien eases himself into a standing position, and only at that point does his injury become more obvious as he stumbles. Wincing, the empath tugs open his coat and touches a hand to his chest, fingers splaying across his sweater, feeling that which lies hidden beneath the veil of clothing and flesh. "Two cracked ribs, et I might have had internal haemorrhaging were I not...me. Nothing much, no worries," he answers with a bright smile as if it's totally normal to break a rib, though the corners of his expression are tinted with shadows. "I didn't intend to cause -any- injury, but...this es what I get for throwing myself up there without thinking, j'suppose." His eye turns to the sky, then, and a frown passes across Kirien's freckled features.

Hildegarde watched and listened to the man as he made his assessment, frowning slightly at the mention of it all. Truly, she'd be a bit more worried if he was actually...mortal. "M'lord, I still believe you should have some medical attention. I am uncertain if...vampires can mend broken bones like the living do." Her knowledge on vampires was very stunted. "I am certain you didn't intend to injure yourself, m'lord, but it is my belief that you should seek out some aid. Accidents when left unchecked can be fatal," she said with a sage little dip of her head. That said, she extended her gloved hand to him as a gesture to help him up.

Kirien spends a moment pacing back and forth within the walls of his indent, stretching some and working out the kinks in his spine. Another 'mi'lord' has vulpine ears flicking and his expression twitching almost in a vague display of irritation. "Do you call everyone that?" he asks the knight with a slightly hardened stare, brows still drawn in a frown. Then he shrugs, takes the offered hand, and allows her to pull him up out of the hole. "I'll be fine after I've eaten something." Swishing his tail absently, he sightlessly scans the landscape for a long couple of seconds, before slowly his focus returns to Hilde and Kirien regards her with a hint of intrigue. "...Ah, no. Dragon. Can't eat you," he says, then huffs.

Hildegarde could see the irritation on his face, it caused her to smile a little bit actually. Usually it would just make her panic, but this time it made her smile. "Indeed I do, m'lord," as he took her offered hand, she pulled him up and out of the indent with little effort. "It is against my oath to go fetch you a meal that is human, so... If you can cope with an animal of sorts, I can attempt to fetch one for you." She grinned at his comment, shaking her head with a small sense of arrogance, "No, m'lord, dragon blood is far too feisty for a vampire to handle."

Kirien's annoyance only becomes more pronounced in the face of the woman's answer. "Then maybe you shouldn't call me that. I'm not 'everyone'." In a moment of unbalanced arrogance the normally-humble genasi declares proudly, "I am Kirien Vahir-Ar'Anthari, brother to Satoshi Azakhaer, the Queen in Frostmaw, et a vassal to Kasyr Azakhaer. I'm a part of the Coterie, et tu could call that Frostmaw's...royal family." For a long couple of seconds he stares hard at her, before the weight of his own voice appears to catch up with him and Kirien blinks, balks, and ends up looking utterly mortified by his conduct. "Also, I would like to eat a bear, if that es not against your oath. I acquired a taste for it-- let's go find one!" he says in a hurried tone, stepping away from the Kirien-shaped snow angel.

Hildegarde detected the arrogance in his voice, her body tensing and preparing to give as good as she got before he mentioned Satoshi. He needn't mention her title, the dragon already knew it. She dropped to an armoured knee at the mention, her head dipped respectfully. "Then you have my humblest apologies, my liege," she said apologetically. It was a point of principle to respect each and every person equally, but the nobles required a different title. It was simply how knights operated. She remained upon her knee, feeling as though it was physically impossible to rise to her feet without the permission of the prince.

Kirien actually operates relatively similar to Hildegarde, in the sense of feeling that everyone should be treated with equal measures of respect. It's why he's so appalled by his own words, of that arrogance so uncharacteristic to him, poisoning his voice. It's why he rarely acts with the regal demeanour one might expect of his standing in Frostmaw. He frowns down at the knight, regret etched into an already troubled expression before he reaches to pat her lightly atop her head - and winces at the motion. Is that a shard of glass protruding from his chest? "No worries. I'd rather just be Kirien." A pause. "You can stand up now, tu know."

Hildegarde did nothing at the pat of her head, it didn't bother her really. Her father was a fiend for patting her head, if anything it merely made her think of home and how much she missed it. She looked to him - not yet standing - and spotted what seemed to be a darkly hued crystal poking out of his chest. Her gloved fingertip rose to touch it, her mind in auto-pilot mode and simply drawn in by what seemed to be a treasure of some sorts. Her fingertip barely touched the tip of it before she yanked her hand away. Hilde rose to her feet and cleared her throat, "Could we compromise and settle upon Sir Kirien?"

Kirien looks down, toward the point Hilde's fingers are reaching for, and his eye widens just a little. "Oh--" He might have gone to warn her against touching it but his mouth can't quite find the words in time, and he jerks violently when she makes contact with the shard, as if his nerves have been electrocuted all of a sudden. With a rather sickening crunch, the gemstone vanishes back into the genasi's chest and he quickly covers the chasm with one hand, looking a little stunned. He's had his heart touched before, but not -literally-, and even in this state, torn and dead and crystallised, it still manages to surprise him. "...Sir...Kirien?" The title is tasted and not entirely to his liking, if Kirien's nose scrunching is anything to go by, but then he nods quickly. "Oui. That es better than 'my liege', j'suppose."

Hildegarde frowned as the man jerked back so violently, pulling her hand in close to her chest as if to protect it from any kind of backlash. "I will address you as liege or lord when necessary, sir," she offered a smile, choosing not to question what it was she just touched although the curiosity did burn deeply within her. "Do you wish to stand here and rest while I fetch you a bear?"

Kirien gives her an apologetic look. "Sorry. It's a...sensitive spot?" Despite it all he laughs, before the shuddering force of that secret amusement causes him to wince again as pressure is put upon his damaged ribs. "When necessary?" A very long quiet follows, a silence once more blanketing the snowfield as Kirien presumably loses himself in thought, if his expression is anything to go by. At length, he nods, once. "If you're all right with that, oui. But do bring it back...dead, et don't waste all its blood? More broken bones es not on my menu for today." With that said, he jumps back a step, spits a word crackling with mana, and falls to sit on a makeshift, snow-covered chair of rough stone that rises out of the ground just behind him - his gaze remains upon Hilde the entire time, however; a calculating look.

Hildegarde nodded in understanding, "I understand, sir, you need not explain." She said nothing more about her previous comment, very much implying that she'd be seeing more of the man. She nodded again, "If you are only going to exsanguinate the beast, I intend to eat whatever is left. Waste not, want not," she said rather sagely before thrusting her halberd onto him as he sat down, shooting him a look that said to treasure the weapon. She stripped out of her mithril armour, setting it at Kirien's feet and standing in her cotton trousers and shirt. They seemed thin, but it didn't seem to bother her. Within moments, her form had shifted and warped to that of her true heritage. The large silver left in the wake of the fiery haired girl. Her voice held a sort of flanging effect at this point, "I'll return," she stated before a gush of air and snow would hit the vampire in his makeshift chair. The dragon would drift low across the land, searching for her prey and attempting to avoid the ire of the feral silver who lurked around. Before long, talons gripped onto the bear; a talon slipping in to the body to pierce the heart quickly. The body was returned speedily, dropped before the vampire with ease. "Eat up," the voice rang out.

Kirien manages to catch the halberd before it hits him in the face and occupies himself by toying with the weapon, running a finger along its length as he scrutinises its craftsmanship with an expert's (blind) eye. "Good blade," he murmurs, before realising that pieces of mithril armour now litter the ground around his chair like fallen, silver leaves glinting in the sunlight. A curious glance toward Hilde is inevitably followed by the genasi's eye widening as his perceptions take note of the massive change in body shape and mass, the dragon's peculiar, disembodied voice surrounding him like a cloak and filling his ears with sound. He blinks, nods to her, and watches her take off, shaking snowflakes out of his hair. It seems he does not have to wait long for food, for after a short time spent contemplating, he catches wind of her return. It is not Hilde's presence that he picks up first - rather the stench of blood that precedes her, which draws him in like a moth to a flame. Sliding from his chair, Kirien leans over the fallen beast with a look that's almost sympathetic, before he dives for the open wound and the blood rushing from it. Only when he's satisfied does Kirien finally pull back, his cheeks flecked with as many droplets of red as there are freckles, his mouth rimmed with blood. "Delicious. Merci."

Hildegarde remained in her dragon form, watching as the vampire tucked into his meal. She didn't seem disgusted or anything of the sort, merely intrigued by it. Once Kirien had his fill, she dipped her head and tore a chunk of furry meat from the bear; chewing noisily before gulping it down. The fur would not bother her digestion or what have you, it didn't even bother her in the first place! A few more bites before her form reduced in mass and reverted to a more human shape. The clothes were on the ground, which she quickly pulled back on along with her mithril armour. "You're welcome, sir," she lifted the halberd carefully, "I was wondering, if I may ask you some questions, Sir?"

Kirien ducks quickly away from the bear when Hilde lowers her great head to feast, having no wish to accidentally become a meal himself. He's less tasty, anyway. He watches the dragon eat, a faintly curious expression flickering at the corners of his features as he carefully slides himself back up into his chair and relaxes against it, allowing his vampiric abilities to slowly begin the process of knitting flesh and bone back together. "Questions?" Another blink. Kirien sits up a bit, trying not to slump over. "What kind of questions?"

Hildegarde probably wouldn't have eaten Kirien, she wasn't a terribly clumsy eater like some of her kind. As he inquired as to what questions she'd be asking, she frowned slightly and clamped her earlobe; fingertips rubbing it softly in thought. "Well... You are the prince. I am a knight. I am sworn to serve a Crown, but I've found none worthy or those who have need of me. But you... I want to be your Knight."

Kirien's nose scrunches again. Somehow, the look on his face is not disgusted, but displays bemusement more than anything else. "You want to be my...?" A third blink comes, and then another, each more owlish than the last. Then, abruptly, Kirien waves his hand in a flourishing gesture and laughs, "I'm the unworthy one, then! Tu are sworn to serve a crown, you say...but I have no crown. Nothing official, that is. Why do you think I introduce myself simply as the queen's brother, et not a prince? I'm not about to claim titles I have not been given."

Hildegarde shrugged her shoulder, offering him a little smile. "I think you are worthy. I think I could be of use to you," she said, glancing to the ground for a moment. She longed to feel useful to someone. Yes, she had earned her weapon and armour by some odd jobs and what have you, but she had still failed to go find someone she could give her undying loyalty to. She had been quiet too long: would the man know what she was thinking? "I, ah, the decision is ultimately yours, Sir. I only live to serve."

Kirien sees emotions as easily as most see trees in a forest. His lips press together some in the silence that stretches between Hilde's initial words and her following ones, but he does not appear irritated by the long quiet. It gives him time to think, to assess the emotions he registers from the knight, and to ultimately make up his mind before she's even told him it's his decision to make. Sliding out of his chair again, Kirien stands and begins to meander back eastward, slowly, headed for where Nuial'Ashier lies buried in the snow a short ways off, and the city just over the snow-clad hills. "I suppose we'll have to talk to my sister about this, hm? We'll see what she says to me about a 'crown', et then I'll see to you about becoming my sworn knight. D'accord?"

Hildegarde watched as the man wandered eastward in the direction of the greataxe. She smiled slightly at his words, hoping that it would end in a good result. "Yes, sir! Do you wish for me to accompany you or should I wait for you in the tavern here?"

Kirien, yanking his greataxe out of the permafrost further across the barren field, casts a look back over his shoulder at Hilde and smiles. An arctic outcry wind strips his shadows away, briefly, and brightens his gaze some. "Do you have anywhere to stay? C'mon, I'll set you up a good room at the inn et such while I try and find Satoshi."