A half Rosenite, half angel.  He couldn't help but me amused at the thought.  Aeolus wasn't far off, his blood a strange mix of celestial and draconian.  It was almost like trying to mix fire and water, yet the rest of his family somehow managed the two bloodlines rather well.  My…family…?  He winced at that thought.  "It seems like you have a wild family.  I can't really relate.  As far as I know, I don't have any family."  He finished off the apple and bread he had gotten, and had started to wander the small cottage-like tree, admiring the magic that had created it.

"It's not in my nature to take advantage of someone.  At least, not unless it was in combat.  All is fair when it comes to survival…"  He glanced to Rosemary.  "I don't mind.  I have nothing that ties me down to one area or the next.  I might request that I take a few jobs here and there to keep supplied of on silver and such, but for the most part that usually entails hunting local game, or traveling with caravans to protect them from potential dangers.  Nothing complicated."  He smirked, "Besides…it's been a long time since I've had a travel companion.  It would be a nice change of pace."  And to be honest, you're not entirely boring.  I know next to nothing of Rosenites.  

As Rosemary started to route out a path, Aeolus wandered back to the fireplace, a few feet away from Rosemary.  The height difference wasn't as bad as it could be, but she was definitely short.  "No, I've never been to Sularia.  To be honest, I've mostly kept to the south of Canelux.  I've taken a few trips to Parvpora, but mostly on business, and haven't stayed for too long."  

As Rosemary decided what she was cooking, Aeolus was thrust into cutting vegetables for the stew.  It didn't take long before he was finished, and once more watching Rosemary with interest.  "So, if you're not any of those, then what are you?  I've known a lot of people my life…they don't all have to have exciting lives.  I know a few bards, even, who travel and tell stories.  I know some traveling performers too, doing dances and plays for entertainment…"

“I can tell… It’s an angel thing I think.” She knew he wasn’t a bad person. “Battling is different. I have enough siblings that love the art enough to know that.” Rosemary offered him a smile and nodded a bit. “There are a lot of jobs in Sularia right now as well. When we get up there you might want to take advantage of that. Sularia a city of wealth. It will be fun.” She rubbed the back of her neck again as she thought about it. “It’s been a long time since I traveled by ground and with a companion to boot. It will be rather enjoyable I think.”

Now was the talk of their route and it was very important she got it down right. Their travel through the desert would be rough. “Oh, you might very well love it there. The people in Sularia are nice and well… There is a lot of things to do there. Depending on your hobbies that is. As for Parvpora generally, I stay to Zets’Ki. It is a city for half angels by half angels so I fit in rather well there. Though not everyone is as small as I am.”

The brown haired angel took the vegetables from him and dropped them in the pot. The fire was warm on her skin and felt rather good. She popped a piece of the bread she got into her mouth and thought. “I’m… I guess you could call me a visual scholar. Though I do like to read. I learn mostly from experiences and just going places. Looking for the next big thing. Adventure… feeling the wind between my feathers. The way it blows my hair about… It excites me Aeolus.”

There was a long silence from her as she stirred the soup on occasion. It was awkward to her so every once in a while she looked back at him and studied him. “I suppose… that I want to see the world through pure eyes. Not through pages of books. What holds me back is that I am so small and I am not a very good fighter. I would suppose the saying a lover and not a fighter would apply to me very well.” There was a sad smile on her face now. “So much of the world isn’t open to me. I must go where I know I am safe and now it looks like Virens has been ruined for me… As long as those hunters are here.”

Once dinner was done she got his into a bowl and handed it off. “There’s plenty if you want more.”

Aeolus felt something he hadn't in a long time.  A sense of excitement.  It was a stir only though, brought about by the machinations of the half angel practically bubbling at the thought of her adventure.  Coin was easy to come by for Aeolus, as most jobs were easy, almost trivial when it came to it.  But the thought of Sularia being a wealthy city, well, he couldn't help but be intrigued.  After all, even a genius fighter had things he would not mind paying for.  

An airship would be a fine investment, he thought to himself.  It would give him a permanent residence to live in while traveling the world for his jobs.  The thought was more than alluring.  I might have found a goal to go for.  That brought a smile to his face.  

"A visual scholar, then?  Knowledge is a powerful tool.  And 300 years worth of knowledge, even if only in text, is valuable to have.  And there's nothing wrong with pacifism.  It's noble to think that way, and to strive for it, but…well, without a guard of sorts, it does tend to put those who follow the principles into sticky situations"  Aeolus backed away from Rosemary to let her work on the rest of the stew.  As she mentioned how the Virens were now ruined for her, that put Aeolus into a deep thought.

It wouldn't take much to chase them off, especially if I just flew up there myself.  But…  He glanced down at the blade, still attached to his waist.  I doubt they'd be that much of a threat.  I could probably deal with them using a simple flash step…the blade would hardly be needed…  But that was just a small part of the problem.  Rosemary wanted to travel the world, but she lacked the ability to do so.  This gave Aeolus much to think about.  What am I doing, past aiming to travel the world myself, if only for work?  

Aeolus brought himself back to reality as he smelled the finished stew, and a bowl was passed to him.  "Thank you."  He took a spoonful, and carefully blew on it, and took the first bite.  Despite her initial misgivings about her talent, Rosemary actually had done a very good job in the creation of the stew, which Aeolus made note of.  "It's amazing.  You don't give yourself enough credit, Rosemary."  

As the two ate, silence once again fell over the small tree-cottage.  "Say," Aeolus said finally.  "The world is a vast place.  Is there…any particular place you want to go, after we reach Sularia?"  He was phrasing the question carefully, as not to fully offer his services to her, but to inquire at her determination.  Did she have a plan?  Was it something she really wanted to do?

Rosemary giggled a bit and thought about it. “I can use magic I promise but I don’t like to use my magic for violence. It makes me sad.” Even if she had to defend herself she didn’t think she could.

She scratched the side of her face with a blush. “Maybe it is a personal taste?” There was a chuckle that left her lips. “I’m nowhere near the chef my mother is but I guess being an alchemist and an herbalist gives her that advantage.”

With a mouth full of stew she sat there and contemplated his question before swallowing. She blinked a few times and even squinted as she thought about it. “If… I had a choice.” She tilted her head. “I want to go to the Hanging Gardens in Parvpora. I’ve heard it is absolutely beautiful there.” She stared distantly at the wall for a moment. “But that can be a dangerous journey. I don’t stray away from Zets’Ki often…”

Once they were all rested Rosemary packed some food up in a bag and put it over her shoulder. “This won’t do at all…” She fussed before finally in a glow of magic her wings disappeared. She put the backpack on right and sighed. “Much better. I’ve never traveled by foot much but I imagine this will be better. Once we get to Corydalis I might have to have her get me a new set of clothes that actually fit.”

Grabbing Aeolus’s hand she pulled him out of the door to the safe house and sealed it shut. “IT IS THIS WAY!” She pulled him in the direction that she knew the Rainforest to be in. “I promise.” She bounded ahead a few feet of him and turned around to make sure he was right behind her. “Do you think it is a long walk? I’ve never walked this far before… I think flying is much faster but I think it would be more fun if we walked…”

She bounced a little bit. “OH! We get to ride the magic rail across Vada! Have you ever been to Vada Aeolus?!” She probably asked a dozen more questions like that as they walked. With him by her side she could go anywhere she wanted. “Imagine if you took me across Canelux!” Her face blushed a bit and she laughed. “I’m getting ahead of myself I’m sure that there are more important things for you to do.” She readjusted the backpack on her slightly as she looked up.

For a moment she had a dark look on her face. The bubbliness that she seemed to house was dead for a bit. “We should hide.” The sunlight began to fade as a large shadow was cast through the trees. Her voice was serious when she spoke she did tremble nor was she scared. This was rather common for her if she travelled but these people were more persistent then what she was used to.

Aeolus thought for a moment.  The Hanging Gardens seemed like a place that would be perfect for an easy trip.  Something to start off into slowly.  I'll make note of that.  He finished off his stew, and placed the bowl down on the table.  "It doesn't seem like it would be too much of a hassle to get there.  I've dealt with worse.  But visiting Zets'Ki would probably be first.  It seems like a good point to start, and then head south into Parvpora."

After a few moments of tidying up, and a bit of rest, Rosemary started to put her bag on.  After struggling for a moment, which Aeolus had no idea what to do, she decided to seal her wings away.  She does know a deal of magic.  I wonder if she can sense that my wings are sealed as well?  It was, though, a question for a different time.  "Traveling by foot is more exciting.  Sure, flying is faster, but there's a lot that you miss.  Flying allows a freedom, but it comes with a cost of missing the smaller things.  You can't always spot the beauty in life if you're always far above it…"  

As they started out of the forest, Aeolus kept a steady pace, and listened to all of Rosemary's excited chatter about the places and things they would see and do whilst traveling to Sularia.  "No, I've never been to Vada before.  I've heard a great many things about it though.  He answered each of her questions, without pause.  It was definitely a change of pace for him, having traveled alone for so long.  

"It would be a fun trip to travel Canelux with you," Aeolus admitted.  "We would have to be prepared for it.  Likely would take a long time too."  He pondered for a moment.  "Would really do to have a safer way to camp out.  I really should invest in an air….:  He trailed off.  Rosemary was excited to go on, but suddenly she stopped.  Aeolus sensed the change in her mood, and looked up to see why.

That damned airship.  Have they come back to finish the job?  He glared up at the sky.  "Rosemary…go back a little, and hide.  I'll be right back."  He looked down to her, and smiled.  With a wink, he launched himself up, similarly to when he initially caught her, bouncing up and off the trees to reach the canopy.  Finally, he broke into the pure sky, and landed on the tip of one of the larger trees.  

"Ah…there we are," Aeolus said to himself.  The airship was low to the canopy.  They must really be searching for her.  With a calm strength, he launched himself from treetop to treetop, and then finally onto the deck of the airship, landing square in the middle of the main deck.  

"Excuse me," Aeolus called out.  "I don't mean to be rude, but have any of you shot something out of the sky recently?  I'd like to have a word with you…"  His eyes narrowed in a cold, yet calculating rage.  "And I must ask that you abstain from your hunt."

“Oh, you will love Zets’Ki. It’s filled with cold snow but its the buildings!” She didn’t know how to describe it all to him so he would have to wait and see what they were all like.

Rosemary blinked up at him for a few moments as he talked. “You fly too?” There was only one way to talk so passionately about the sky. She wouldn’t assume things about Aeolus but there was a lot she didn’t know. Frankly, she just cared that he looked out for her so far. She was a trusting person and that tended to get her into trouble.

“We have all the time in the world!” She was excited. All the excitement changed as she noticed the airship.

Nodding the little half angel ran back and hide in a giant bush. She didn’t know where else to hide on the ground since she couldn’t hit up in the trees. His smile was warm and helped make her feel somewhat safer.

There were only a few men on the small airship. “Yeah, we shot our prize down.” It looked like the captain of the ship was talking.

“I accidentally shot her in one of her wings. Met to hit her center mass as not to ruin her feathers. They would fetch a good price in the markets.” One of the men notched another arrow. “Then the boss said we should try and keep her alive and sell her after we get the wings. So I put two more arrows in her. She is hard to hit since she is so small… but small feathers are popular in the cities.”

Aeolus looked at each and every man on the ship, his gaze settling on one in particular.  The men watched the silver haired celestial with wary eyes, a few of them starting to move closer.  Though, after a moment of inaction, they seemed to settle a bit. 

"What's this?  Is he all bark and no bite?" One of the men moved ion for a strike, a dagger flashing through the air.  As the blade sliced through the air, Aeolus merely sidestepped to the left.  Annoyed, the man slashed again, though this time, Aeolus vanished completely, appearing behind the man.  A few of the sky hunters made an audible gasp, as if they hadn't seen something like this before.

"You know," Aeolus said, walking slowly towards the one man his eyes had been trained on the entire time.  "During my time here, I've garnered a quirky little nickname."  One of the hunters let loose a knocked arrow, which flew true, only Aeolus vanished again, leaving behind a small trail of silver flowing with the wind.  He reappeared in front of the man who had loosed the arrow, his gaze never leaving the original target.  Startled, the bow wielder tried to lash out, but was cut short as he was launched overboard by a swift punch. 

Yet again, Aeolus started to walk slowly towards his goal.  Two more of the men tried to attack him, but as they neared the half celestial, they stopped short.  In shock, they looked down to see their hands missing.  It was a perfect, clean cut.  They would die shortly without medical attention, which Aeolus very well knew would not arrive in time.  There were only two left.

Aeolus chuckled, "What.  You were so confident earlier…with your grand get rich scheme."  The one behind Aeolus thought about attacked, but instead chose to run.  Without a second thought, he jumped overboard, choosing to end his own life rather than succumb to the fate of his fellow hunters.  At last, Aeolus stood in front of the final hunter.

"My nickname, you see…" Aeolus started again, "Is the Silver Wind.  You see…when I move…your eyes can't keep up.  All you can see is the afterimage of my eyes and hair."  His eyes flared silver as he leered down at the pathetic excuse of a man.

"The Virens are off limits.  Angels…humans…they're all of limits."  He smiled calmly.  "Warn your friends…"

With that, he vanished, leaving nothing more than a trace of silver on the wind…

—


Aeolus hit the ground, and looked around.  "Oi.  Little angel?  Where are you?"