killing loneliness. [open!]

[FLY[leaf]]

"Me too. Otherwise we'd be doomed. Or... well, I'd leave you. You'd be doomed," Vale replied with a heartfelt smile. The only way he stayed in shape was tending to the forest and running around as a rabid lynx.

He enjoyed disappearing on people. It always freaked them out. Vale snickered and tried to keep his footsteps quiet. He moved to the other side of Banez and stood there, letting him panic a little, or at least fret.

"What, Banez?" he inquired, trying not to laugh. By this time, he eventually reappeared and put on a good poker face, looking at the individual as if something were wrong. "Calm it down. We're here." He pointed up to a nearby tree. The home was actually hard to see, but there was a small rope that dangled down. It looked weak and liable to snap. Usually Vale didn't use the rope, but he left it down for a purpose this time. Usually, he would just climb the tree.

This wasn't actually Vale's home home, he kept that one secret. This was more of his shelter when he felt like being lazy and luxurious. Which, it wasn't exactly luxurious.

Vale didn't hesitate and grabbed the rope, pulling himself up the tree. When he reached the actual tree house, he looked around. The only furniture was hammocks; a few candles, some tables made out of the tree itself, and some skeleton leaves that functioned as curtains. Vale never kept food in here; he could hunt rodents and such. The only thing he had to ingest here were some bottles of water. He kept alcohol out of here for a purpose because Vale knew and acknowledged his weaknesses on some sober occasions (which were rare).

"Banez," he called. He stuck his head out of the entry way. "Don't break the rope on your way up."

[/blockquote]

[prismaticpulse]

[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez was too preoccupied with trying to remember which way they had come from to notice the sound of brush underfoot. When he saw a shadow appear in of the corner of his vision, he instinctively spun around with his hand rigid, which would have struck Vale across the face if the other didn't move out of the way fast enough. "Oh.. sorry!" Wait, what was he saying? He wasn't sorry! That was what Vale deserved for playing tricks on him! What was it exactly that he had done, though? Banez wasn't entirely sure. His gaze followed Vale's point up into the tree. What, where? Oh, there it was. The fact that it was a tree house was at first amusing to Banez, and even though he hardly knew Vale for more than a few hours, it seemed right for him. When offered to climb the rope though, he frowned. Vale had been able to haul himself up on it, but Vale was also a scrawny little thing. He tugged gently on the rope to get a feel as to whether or not it would bear his weight. "Are you sure this can this hold me?" Gah, nevermind. Vale would probably say 'yes' even if it couldn't. "You can't blame me if it does break!" he called up before he grabbed onto the old rope and vertically shimmied his way up.

[/left][/color]

character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

"Can't blame you? Of course I will! Don't let it snap. If you hear it snapping, you might want to hurry. Can't take your sweet time, otherwise you can't get down. And I'll push you out," Vale replied. He thought things through. "I can only stand you for so long. You're lucky I don't snap the rope myself," he added off to the side.

The reason Vale preferred trees was because the odd noises that he began hearing when the sun came down could never reach him this high up. Not to say he was scared, because he could turn invisible, but he did enjoy life enough to want to keep living. "Hear that?" he inquired. The sounds were rather far off. Vale realized he didn't know what Banez was, if anything, other than a holy man. He naturally assumed Banez had good hearing.

"It sounds like something big running, huh? See what I mean? Weird. Strange stuff. Hope you can protect yourself well when you have to get back to your church. But you're a holy man. Protecting yourself should be something you're used to." For Vale, as long as the odd creatures at night did nothing to harm the forest physically, he was fine with it. Inhabitants went missing, that was fine. He was more tied to the land anyway.

"So I hope you can find your way out here. Because I'm not leading you back." Vale contemplated for a moment. He didn't want to sleep in the same place if Banez stayed here. He couldn't push a holy man out the window. Things to think about.

[/blockquote]

[prismaticpulse]

[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez sighed before he started up the rope. He felt the tension in it, and his pace hastened until he was able to throw his arms over to the more solid surface at the top. At Vale's inquiry, the human paused, silent as he held his position. Rustling... Something like... a long gait. Thinking that he heard enough, and that his muscles would start to hate him if he stayed like this for much longer, he hauled himself up and into the tree house. Oh wow, this was rather impressive. "Considering this house is in the forest, the interior is very nice," he commented, thinking that a compliment couldn't hurt their standing with each other. "What, like a bear? I guess bears don't run often, but I'm not sure if it's stranger than anything usual," Banez said. "I don't know..." he began as he quickly sorted his thoughts, "I was wondering if you found anything.. too advanced for the place we live in or impossible or otherworldly." As Vale went on about how he'd need to find his own way back, he quirked a brow. "What do you mean, 'protecting myself should be something I'm used to'?" he asked a bit defensively. As a Guardian, of course, but as a holy man? Could he get himself out? He wasn't sure. Banez frowned, features drawing in slightly with annoyance. "Knowing that I wouldn't be led back to the outskirts of the forest would have affected my decision to come here, you know. I'm not leaving until you guide me back," he said the last adamantly.

[/left][/color]

character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

"How sweet of you, Banez. I'm glad you approve," Vale snickered. He figured it was at least livable in. Perhaps Banez was right. For a house in the forest it was nice. Better than a tent or something of that poor standard. Vale's actual house had a little more furniture than this, but not by much. Staying home and biding his time was boring; he generally liked to be outside actually exploring or stirring up trouble.

"Oh, come on Banez, surely you have more imagination in that head of yours. Yes, bears are common, but . . . well, I guess for some seeing is believing. There's odd things in here, but that's fine by me. I'm confident in my abilities to stay safe. It's yours that concerns me." Now it might sound that Vale might be actually truly concerned about Banez. Don't be silly. He was concerned for Banez because Vale knew that the poor fellow couldn't find his way back and if he were with Banez when one of the extra violent creatures attacked, he was more prone to getting hurt too, or worse, scarred somewhere on his face. And that would be terrible.

"Huh?" Vale asked. "Like something I had never seen before? A contraption?" His brows furrowed and he looked at Banez as if he were crazy. "What are you looking for exactly?" Vale ran through his thoughts but couldn't find anything. Heaven help the world if he did. Who knew what he would do with something like that.

The atmosphere changed when Vale laughed at Banezs' quick defense. "Oh, nothing. I didn't mean anything by it." Now the more important matter came into play. Could Banez find his way back? Of course not. "Oh... I didn't mention that?" Banez seemed to be a very poor judge of character. "You trust to easily. You assume too much." Vale grinned and quit being a character reader, because that was boring and it took the focus off of himself. "You want to go back out now, after it's dark?" Vale didn't like the thought of dying. If he were alone, he could run around as an invisible cat. Rarely did other things see him. Vale heard the tone in his demand but did nothing more other than look at Banez.

[/blockquote]

[prismaticpulse]

[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez wasn't sure if Vale was being sarcastic, but either way, it didn't really matter. If Vale didn't like it, then it just wasn't that big of a deal. What a fickle man. Banez wondered if he found a feather plume and wagged it in front of Vale, if Vale would bat at it and maybe twist over onto his back. A smile spread over his face, but he kept his thought to himself. Odd things... It would be helpful if Vale tried to describe them! If he thought that Banez was going to hop out looking for them just because he was being vague, then he was barking up the wrong tree... so to speak. When Vale asked him what he was looking for specifically, Banez' mint green gaze flicked to the floor briefly. Did he really have to explain it? It wasn't a slam to Vale, but just that Banez didn't like to be open about his more questionable faiths. He raised his hand, nervously shoving his hair back. "You know those stories, about... Earth?" he asked, leaving it at that for now as he fished for a reaction. Didn't mean anythi-- Gahhh, this is what he got for following someone into the forest, in the middle of the night, after meeting them in a raunchy club, when they had been falling over themselves drunk an hour ago-- wow, he really needed to pay attention to these things, didn't he? "Now or tomorrow morning," Banez shrugged. "But the sooner you lead me back to Carvalo, the sooner I'll be out of your house, because I'm not going back alone." This was putting a lot of trust onto Vale again, which Banez wasn't sure if he liked, but Banez trusted Vale more than his own navigational skills, so what could he do?

[/left][/color]

character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

The thing was, Vale collected odd trinkets found all over the forest. Most of them included shiny things, and while he considered some of the junk (no, treasure) he gathered strange, they weren't strange enough to grab his attention and fawn over them. They were just trinkets, left behind by someone wandering around in the forest before they either got attacked by something mysterious or made it out alive because they were the monster. When Banez mentioned the stories about earth, Vale showed no surprise. While he wasn't involved in politics, in guilds, or other factions, he did hear talk in the forest, he heard the trees whisper it in the wind and voices carry down below when he remained up in his house. "I've heard about them. People who come through these woods sometimes bring that topic up. Rarely though." He considered it more of a superstition anyway. For some reason, this made it even less surprising that Banez would find such a subject interesting. "What's that to you, Banez? Seeing if I have anything from this so-called, disputable earth?" He grinned. Even if he did have something, Vale decided he would keep it and Banez would never know.

That is, at least, if Banez didn't give him something worth while. Vale heard the threat. Could he stand Banez being here? No. No, he couldn't probably. But for now, Vale was interested in getting something out of this Banez person. "Look, I have a stash that I keep of things I find in the woods," he began, choosing to ignore the previous statement and go back to earth. "But . . . you see, I'm not going to let you look unless you give me something that's worth something." While Vale seriously doubted that he had anything, robbing Banez of something valuable seemed like a good risk to take. "If you want to look, give me something first. If not, we'll be on our way back out to the limits of the woods. Just know that I'm not responsible for your well-being." Vale grinned, wanting to know what Banez would choose. But seriously talking, Vale refused to put his life out on the line for someone who might actually deserve to live more than he did. Nah. At least Vale could disappear. Banez would have to fend for himself. At least Vale could climb trees. With all of those good fleeing attributes, he decided that helping Banez along tonight wouldn't be that detrimental to him.

[/size]

[prismaticpulse]

[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez searched for any sort of change in expression from Vale, but none came. Either Vale was good at hiding his thoughts well, or he just didn't care. Banez was willing to bet high on the latter. As Vale spoke, the sacristan slowly leaned forward without even realizing it, hanging on the black-haired man's words as he waited for an elaboration. It was when Vale grinned that Banez instantly leaned away. Was he that easy to read? Banez frowned. "Maybe..." he uttered in response to the question. But then Vale mentioned that he had a stash and the brunette was leaning in again with a shine in his eyes. That was, until he was told he needed to relinquish something in exchange. His expression crumbled, but he supposed he should have seen it coming. But just for a look? What did he have on his person that was worth a look? Vale was not taking his necklace, that he knew immediately. He didn't have much money on him.... Banez could promise to take Vale out for another drink at another time, but then that led the risk of it turning into... well, another situation just like this. He recalled Vale's fangs in the night club. Blood, then? Banez was a little reluctant to give blood, but he could live without a little. And wasn't the blood of a pure man valuable to magic? He didn't know if that was true or not.... Banez dragged his hand through his hair, brows furrowed as he thought. "...You're not a vampire, are you?"

[/left][/color]

character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Vale tilted his head. Maybe just wasn't good enough. "Well, if you aren't, that's fine," he responded. Vale enjoyed being difficult but he decided not to push his luck because right now he decided he wanted something valuable, something that would hurt Banez to give up. It wasn't as if Vale needed it, but giving something away as free? No, the thought never even crossed his mind.

He noticed how Banez leaned in. Wow, Vale was surprised how easily he managed to capture Banez's attention. The lynx found it hard to wait to see what Banez would offer him. Some gold maybe, Vale would even take silver. One thing was for sure: he never expected the question Banez presented him. It threw him off guard so much that not even a witty one like Vale knew what to say. At first he stared and then he burst into laughter. "What if I were, Banez? What would you offer me then? It wouldn't do good to offer up your life, then you could never see my stash."

Vale entertained the idea of being a vampire. Sad life, that was for sure. He liked the sun too much even though it didn't exactly show. He was lazy and slept in a lot. "Surely you know me better than that, Banez. I can go out in the sunlight anyway. Well I definitely know you're not a vampire from that conclusion. I'm much more interesting than an old legend, a boring leech." Vale wasn't about to tell this little Banez the lynx part of him. It was something he liked keeping secret. "I'm a Changeling. Nothing special. Then again you don't seem that special either."

He shrugged and looked at Banez. "So with your life out of the way, what else have you to offer me? Gold? Silver? Anything of value?"

[/blockquote]

[prismaticpulse]

[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] "I wouldn't have given you all of my blood," Banez wrinkled his nose. "I'm not stupid." Even though Vale seemed to think otherwise.... "Although if you were a vampire, there wouldn't really be anything to stop me from cutting you down from where you stood. No good heathens...." There was nothing good about basing your whole existence around hurting people, especially when it was your only means of surviving. He'd rather cut his own heart out. Pah, as if Vale could call him unperceptive... "So you're interesting, but nothing special?" Ah well. It wasn't really important. He still didn't have anything to trade to look into Vale's stash. There was the gold swan necklace, but he couldn't bear to part with it, especially by giving it to someone of little faith who wouldn't even treat it right. After a few moments, Banez shook his head, "If you want gold or silver, a sacristan isn't the sort of person to ask after." Vale couldn't be a total magpie... there had to be something that had little monetary value that Vale would accept. Or.... "How about... a gamble?" Banez asked. "We'll have a friendly duel, to First Blood. If I win, I get a look at your stash. If you win, you can use me as you like for a day."

[/left][/color]

character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Vale made no protest to Banez's statement. Everyone was entitled to their own opinions, even if some happened to be wrong. "Lovely. Apparently you have something against vampires." Truthfully, Vale didn't think Banez could exactly defend himself against vampires, but he said nothing of the subject. He always wanted a squabble it seemed, but he was much more interested in what he might gain from this.

"Please," Vale replied, rolling his eyes rather dramatically. "I'm not a vampire, that's all that matters to you, isn't it? Thank goodness I'm not otherwise I'd be dead right now too." He smirked and chuckled to himself. But what Vale was really interested in was getting something shiny and expensive. "Hm, well I suppose you're out of luck then." Vale was very saddened by this, although his face looked blank, perhaps a bit downcast.

"A gamble?" Vale lifted a brow, not entirely sold on the idea. "Now how on earth would I use you for a day? You're of no use to me. You don't even piss gems. What do you do, Banez? How on earth would you help me? Guard the forest? I don't share that job," he rambled. "Give me a better prize than a curse like that."

Vale paused for a moment. "And you're not drunk. I'm hardly any more, but I don't think this duel is entirely fair!" he protested. He needed a reason to avoid a fight.

[prismaticpulse]

[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] 'Apparently'? Banez had thought that he had explained it rather clearly for now. "All that matters to me? I don't think I Please, Vale. Not everyone is has only one motivation like you do." He really only did care about gold and gems, didn't he? At least Vale didn't seem very creative in thinking of things to have him do, but it also might mean that Vale wouldn't be creative enough to think of what he would want for the trade, other than some shiny trinket. At least the black-haired creature wasn't keen to fighting; Banez could take him down if ever the need arose. "You could have told me to shut up and actually steal wallets..." Banez suggested. But then that spurred another idea. "Okay, Vale..." he began. "You know, I don't really have much of a reason to leave, especially since you won't show me the way. I guess I'll just have to stick around, push you around, and talk your ear off until you decide to let me see your things." Banez placed the palm of his hand onto Vale's chest, shoving him lightly, "You'd do well to stay off liquor, if you'd be unable to protect yourself because of it. Especially if you live in a forest. What are you even thinking??"

[/left][/color]

character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Vale narrowed his eyes. He didn't care about the motivation of others, he only knew what he wanted. Was it such a crime to clearly get that across? And it wasn't as if he even had to make this deal with Banez. And fighting, what a silly idea. Banez knew Vale was at an upper hand in the fighting ring. Vale decided that of course he couldn't lose, there was no way that some church worker could defeat him. Even so, testing the idea was one he shied away from though refused to outwardly state that. If worse came to worse, he could disappear, slip out of here, and go back to where he belonged.

"True," he responded at Banez's very unique idea. "I don't see how you would do that having to uphold your job and all though. And what would give me the reassurance that you wouldn't run away? Word isn't good enough." Vale could come up with so many excuses, it was a talent. That and he thought they were very valid reasons of not fighting. "You aren't seeing them without paying something. What about that shiny necklace of yours? At least give me something worth something other than your word." He thought for a minute. He wanted to get something out of Banez. Then again, he didn't want Banez staying the entire time. That would make him go crazy. Dilemmas. Vale hated them and could never solve them.

"I've survived this far, haven't I? I don't see how it's your concern what I do," he huffed. "What if I've been lying, Banez, what if I have nothing? What would you do then?" He paused. "And if I do let you look, you owe me a favor in the future." He grinned. He could live with that bargain. No fighting. That was a good plan.

[prismaticpulse]

[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] In Banez' experience, the only people that backed down from fights were people that actually kept to decency or only talked big. Considering what he knew of Vale, he considered the black-haired man to be one of the latter. "What I would do..." Banez said, in regards to upholding my job, "...is tell my superiors that some madman kidnapped me and held me hostage in his home in the forest, and then catch up on the work that I have missed. And it might be surprising to you, but if you work diligently enough, it is possible to get a few days' work done in just one." As for running away, Banez shrugged, "I could give you collateral. Otherwise, you just have my word, which, if you would believe, carries weight to be proud of. I detest liars." When Vale mentioned his necklace, the sacristan turned away, placing a hand where the golden swan rested on his chest, as though half-expecting Vale to relieve his neck of it even if he was looking. "I won't part with this," he said adamantly. And that was the end of that, in Banez' mind. But when Vale mentioned a favor, this gave Banez pause. After a few moments in thinking, he turned back to Vale. He could live with owing a favor.... "You can't ask me to kill anyone," he laid down the restriction immediately. "And you can't ask me to steal from an innocent, or harm one for that matter." And hopefully those were the only things he considered totally unforgivable. He'd hate for Vale to come up with some terrible favor and not have thought to address it now.

[/left][/color]

character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Vale slowly nodded at Banez's solution. "They wouldn't believe you, you know." He shrugged, as if that mattered to him. If Banez wanted people to think he was a fool, that was completely fine with him. Vale snorted like some sort of animal. "Well I wish you the best then, if you do get behind. Sounds like a boring existence to me, actually. You're wasting time wasting your life on all of that meaningless work." He shrugged carelessly. "But that's just a madman's opinion."

"Just because you detest liars doesn't mean you aren't one." He smiled sweetly. "But what would your collateral be?" He had captured Vale's attention. He found it funny how adamant Banez was about that silly little necklace. So it was shiny, Vale didn't need it. "I didn't know you felt that way," he added dramatically. "Keep your precious necklace." Vale was becoming more interested in just a favor though. It seemed like he could put Banez in some interesting situations. And he would dangle it over his head without asking anything from Banez until a certain time arose, whenever that time was. Yes, that sounded good.

"So if I asked you to steal from the guilty, you would? How can you tell who is innocent and who is not, by just what I say?" Vale wanted to know how Banez decided to judge individuals on that. He also enjoyed pestering Banez if that wasn't already obvious. "But that's all well and good, Banez. I will not ask you to kill someone and I will not ask you to steal from the innocent. Everyone's guilty of something, so there is no one innocent to ask from." He smiled widely. "Keep your necklace then, give me what you will as your word because I do not trust words alone. We hate most what we see in ourselves. You hate lying, I consider you a liar."

Vale hated lying to, but he wouldn't admit it now. Good people just annoyed him. "Shall we get you safely into town now or are you going to stink this place up with your presence more?"