"By Xunatar's restless loins, it's hot!" Sir Isaac exclaims with his signiature cheer still in his voice despite how miserable he felt. He was positively overheated and thirsty. With his one hand he takes the gauntlet off the other, allowing him to wipe the sweat from his forehead. His finger curls around his moustache, checking if it's still looking presentable and magnificent. It is, of course. Sir Isaac puts the gauntlet back on, the sweaty leather and searing steel immediately assuring that his arm feels hot like an oven again.

Not that Sir Isaac was considering to take off his full-plate steel armour. The plains of Bodar were a relatively dangerous place, monsters were about, and there was no telling when he might run into people. If he wouldn't be wearing the armour that showed that he was a gallant knight, how would they know he was one? No, of course he would have to keep wearing his hot and ill-ventilated armour just in case.

The hellish heat wouldn't last for much longer anyway. The trees of Videns were getting closer and closer, their signiature red trunks becoming more and more defined. And where they are, there would be shadow. Blissful cool shadow. Sir Isaac continues walking, eager to reach this great boon of the forests.

Not that he would enter the forest. Of course not, Virens was a dangerous place. Everyone knew that. There were beasts of unspeakable horror lurking inside there, as well as a whole bunch of unknown beings. And what good was it to run into a group of monsters if there was no damsel in distress to save from their foul claws?

No, Sir Isaac wouldn't actually enter the dangerous woods. He would walk in the long shadows that it casts, never entering it too deeply to lose sight of the plains. That way he could simply follow the border between the two regions until he reached a settlement of sorts. No danger nor risk of getting lost was involved. Nor would he be suffering from this infernal sun beaming down on him any longer. Yes, a perfect plan indeed.

…

"But how!?" Sir Isaac exclaims, the hint of cheer in his voice making his perplexed and mildly panicking exclamation sound unintentially comedical. "I only went a bit deeper into the forest to take a leak, I walked barely a minute and only went in one direction. So how, by Dalanesca's scars, did I lose track of the entire blasted plains of Bodar!?"

Sir Isaac looks around frantically, not finding a single hint of what direction he should go. Everywhere he looked were the same red-trunked trees, leaves, plants and other nature stuff that looked the same. Sir Isaac sighs, sitting down on a rock and taking a few moments to rest and clear his head. Perhaps not being delirious from the heat would help him come up with a solution of sorts.

Fauna had been wandering the forest for a short period before she decided to sit down. She wasn't quite lost as a deer satyr she was a forest spirit she could feel the winds, the trees and the animals. She could feel the edges of the forest where the trees grew farther and farther apart. She could feel the rabbits and foxes snuggled inside their holes taking refuge from the heat. She herself was hot but she was used to it by now, she had been traveling for such a long time that the dizzy spells and beads of sweat that'd occasionally drip down her forehead were just a part of her life now. 

She took out her reed pipes from her satchel and began to play a sweet, soft and sad, melody. She closed her eyes and felt the music as it resonated in her ears. A few birds could be heard fluttering overhead and a few rabbits climbed just outside of their holes to listen. It was a blessing, a protection spell of sorts for the creatures of the forest. It had been awhile since she was able to sit and play for the forest, she hadn't done so since she had left her home. It filled her with nostalgia and the song sounded like the early mornings when her and her sister would play together. When she was little she had often skipped out on her lessons and went off exploring by herself, she had hated being forced to play but now it came so easy to her and it felt like her hands moved by themselves following the flow of the music like a slowly moving stream. The song felt so simple but if you listened closely you could hear the elegant complexity of each note. 

She didn't know where she'd go after this, if she'd settle, keep wandering or try to do something so admirable that her tribe would invite her back. Maybe this was her destiny to wander forever to play for each patch of forest or plains that she stumbled upon. If this was what Pan intended she would go to the ends of the earth to play for each and every forest.

Word Count: 370

Notes: -

Sir Isaac was still sitting on the rock, trying to figure out a plan to get out of this mess rather than wandering even further into the forest. The heat from the flatland sun was slowly dissipating from his metal armour, his body slowly getting cooler and cooler. It wouldn't get completely comfortable, the air was too hot for that, but it was getting better. Yes, perhaps he should remain here for a bit longer. Just rest, cool off and get his bearings. Just, close his eyes for a minute…

His eyelids drooped down, a sudden and demanding fatigue trying to overtake him. Sir Isaac complied, he didn't hear anything dangerous nearby anyway. He could just rest his eyes for a few minutes and then get back up. No problem. No…

Just as he was about to close his eyes completely, a long and wistful tone echoed through the forest. Sir Isaac opens his eyes, looking in the direction of the sound. He only saw red trunks and the darkness that lies beyond them, same as any other direction. He saw nothing. He heard, however. The tone was followed by other tones, other solemn notes that stringed together into a melancholic melody. A song of sorrowful loss, yet caring and with hope still rooted deep down. A melody that nigh brought a tear to Sir Isaac's eye.

Sir Isaac gets up, trying to peer through the forest to see who or what was making the music. He saw nothing, yet he saw much. This was a clue, one that would allow him to find his way out of these woods. Yes, as beautiful and alluring as the song was, it had to be some kind of trap. If it were an alluring siren playing this song, then the direction opposite to the sound would be the way back to the plains of Bodar. Sir Isaac turns around, the bushes rustling as something scurries away from his gaze. A spooked rabbit, most likely.

Unless that was the trick. If he were a siren trying to lure a handsome and intelligent knight into their nest, he would play his song from the opposite direction. That way, he would not lure the knight, rather than getting their own astute thinking to make them wander deeper into the woods. Yes, perhaps he should go towards the music after all. Instead of being deceived to go deeper into the forest, he would figure out the foul monster's trick and return to the safe border between this damnable place and the plains.

Sir Isaac gasps loudly. Unless the monster knew he'd know. What if they figured out that he would figure out their trick, and thus added an additional layer to it?

Sir Isaac gasps audibly again. Who was to say that they didn't figure out that he'd figure that out too? How many layers did the plan of this siren have?

Sir Isaac rubs his temples with his fingers, tired and delirious from the heat. No, it was even worse. There were more than two directions that he could take. What if the siren was playing their alluring song from the side? He only had to walk at a slight angle away from the plains to walk deeper into the forest. And if he figured out that this wasn't the way and walked the opposite direction, he'd still wouldn't find his way out of here. Which would lead to him turning around and walking the other way, only to not find the forest edge there either. He'd be walking in circles until he'd die of thirst.

Sir Isaac straightens his posture and turns to the sound. The solution was simple. Three directions were questionable, one direction was a solid yes or no. Either it was the right way to go, or it wasn't. Yes, certainly this was the correct answer. And if he did find some unspeakable monstrosity or ravenous beast along the road, he could solve that problem with cold steel. 

Sir isaac walks along the trees towards the source of the music, careful to mind his surroundings and distinguish some landmarks just in case. Despite his caution, he didn't notice the small creature that carefully stalked after him.

Fauna finished her song, she set down her instrument in her bag delicately. She was about to get up before she heard something, she hadn't sensed it like she did with the animals, the trees and the plants. It was something foreign…She could hear it, the clanking of metal loud heavy foot steps. Her heart beat quickened and she shot up from where she was sitting. She puled her long bow out from off her back and an arrow from her quiver. She set the arrow in her bow pulling back the string pointing at the direction in which she had heard the noise. 

The loud metal wasn't the only thing she heard a small rustling something small maybe a rat or some sort of rabbit, but she couldn't feel it either, it wasn't one with the forest like the rabbits and rats were. She pulled the string to her face, her fingers trembling. Her breathing was ragged as she braced for a fight. "S-show yourself!" She shouted. She tried to sound confident or at least calm but her voice was weak and doubtful. What were the beasts? Monstrous trolls? Orcs? Cannibals? Barbarians? She was a good shot but one arrow wouldn't take down whatever creatures were coming her way. She had her steel dagger at her hip but she wasn't great at hand to hand combat and depending on the beast a steel dagger wouldn't take them down.

She had never fought with her bow before and didn't know how she'd preform, she had all sorts of practice with moving targets but not attacking targets. Whatever she did she had to be brave, she was a satyr it was her duty to protect the forests and their inhabitants no matter what jumped out from the brush. She could run, she was fast and knew the forest but she didn't know the creature or it's intentions. If it's intentions were for blood then she'd give it blood. She'd spill it into the ground and his life would be reclaimed by the forest as are all creatures.

Word Count: 346 words

Notes: aghrvyrhm your reply was so pretentious it killed me xD

As Sir Isaac walks through the forest, he slowly begins to distinguish a clearing amidst the shade of this forest just ahead. The music stopped, but the distance and direction made it all but certain that the clearing was the source of the melody. Trudging awkwardly through the foliage and bushes, Sir Isaac makes his way to the clearing and whatever lurks there.

"Show yourself!" A voice appears ahead of him. A female voice, and she sounds frightened and doubtful. But that might just be another deceptive trick from whatever monster was about to ambush him. He should remain vigilant.

As he enters the small grassy field, barely large enough to be called a clearing at all but with a relatively large gap in the canopy above, he sees a figure. A figure that has a bow trained on him, ready to fire. Sir Isaac quickly places his hand on the hilt of his sword and prepares to duck out of the way, ready to do battle. Then, his grip loosens as he sees who and what is about to fire at him.

A deer girl, barely old enough to be considered a young adult. Or at least Sir Isaac assumed she was, it was always so hard to tell with girls. They could make themselves look half a decade older if they wanted. But that whole milkmaid incident wasn't important now, Sir Isaac should focus on the situation at hand. The girl he was looking at was certainly young and frightened. It was hard to tell her fear apart from the heat sweat, but the eyes and tensed muscles didn't lie. She was terrified of him, an innocent damsel lost in the woods. Well, not necessarily lost, but certainly a traveller like him. Anyone native to the area would've holed up in the coldest grove or cave in the area with this damnable heat.

Sir Isaac smiles and takes his hand off his sword, instead raising them to show her that he had no ill intentions. "Greetings, fair maiden. My name is Sir Knight Isaac Bartholomew Casnothal the Second, proud knight of her majesty and defender of the realm. You need not fear me." Sir Isaac smiles even wider, rubbing his hair back into model with his hand quickly. Marinated with his sweat however, it only caused strands of his hair to stand up straight like a mad scientist's. Sir Isaac doesn't notice as he slowly walks closer to the damsel with his hands still raised to show no harm.

"Tell me, my Lady, what brings a fair maiden such as yourself to travel alone through such dangerous woods? You wouldn't happen to be in distress, would you? Or chased by some ferocious beast?" Sir Isaac asks, curling his moustache around his finger confidently. "Don't fret telling me, I'll be glad to help those in need."

The figure that approached wasn't quite what she had expected, he wasn't a hulking giant beast. In fact he looked human, but with his metal plates covering his body she couldn't be sure. The plates looked hot and heavy, they were bright and reflective, it wasn't ideal for travel especially in a place like here. His outfit was loud and reflective making him more easily seen and more prone to the heat. He had a large mustache on his upper lip which looked like a thick unibrow for his mouth. "Greetings, fair maiden. My name is Sir Knight Isaac Bartholomew Casnothal the Second, proud knight of her majesty and defender of the realm. You need not fear me." She barely understood a word that the man said but apparently his name was Sir Issac. She reluctantly put her bow on her back  away and set her arrow back in it's quiver. 

"Tell me, my Lady, what brings a fair maiden such as yourself to travel alone through such dangerous woods? You wouldn't happen to be in distress, would you? Or chased by some ferocious beast?" she wondered who he thought he was waltzing up into the forest and asking her if she was in distress. She wondered who he thought she was. She wasn't some human girl that needed saving. "I'm Fauna, of the God Pan." she said eyeing him warily. "What is a human like you doing here? The forest is dangerous and easily to get lost in, all the trees look the same to the untrained eye." Why was a human here? Had he been chased into the forest or perhaps he was a hunter. The word always left a sour taste in her mouth, whenever she thought of hunters she thought of big burly men covered in blood with the smell of death lingering in his breath. Whoever he was he didn't belong here. Humans, dwarves, orcs they didn't belong in the forest they were out of their element there. 

Sir Issac looked dehydrated, his face was flushed, beads of sweat dripping down his face, his hair looked oily and damp. She could smell his body odor which hung in the air, a sour smell. She could hear the faint trickling of a stream, it couldn't be more than a quarter mile away. Perhaps she could lead him there so he'd be able to travel. It was unlikely he could hear it since human ears were notoriously bad.

Word Count: 411 words

Notes:-

Sir Isaac relaxes a bit when he sees her put away her bow. Natives could always be a bit finicky when someone like him would suddenly show up, and the deer girl seems nomadic enough to fall under that category of people who'd either attack or worship him for being a steel golem. Silly tribe people. He should be wary of how important or intelligent he'd appear. Natives were easily confused by his refined and charismatic speech, resulting in them thinking he was charming them with magic. Yes, that's definately why they'd suddenly attack him or kick him out of their tribes. Sir Isaac already decreased his vocabulary to commoner levels, but perhaps he should speak even simpler for her sake.

"I'm Fauna, of the God Pan." The deer girl responds warily. Sir Isaac smiles brightly as she sizes him up, probably trying to determine how strong and righteous he was. He hadn't heard of this Pan guy, it might be a local demi-god of their kind, or some kind of silly tribe religion. Maybe they prayed to a panflute with some shiny decorations. Plenty of tribes prayed to such silly 'gods' before the missionaries of the true pantheon would reach them. But he wasn't a missionary, so he'd best oblige her silly religion.

"What is a human like you doing here? The forest is dangerous and easily to get lost in, all the trees look the same to the untrained eye." She asks him, making Sir Isaac a bit uncomfortable. She couldn't tell that he was lost, could she? For a Sir Knight like him to get lost was most dishonourable.

"Lost, me? Haha! No need to concern yourself with me, fair maiden! I am Sir Knight Isaac II, I don't get lost. My enemies may pray that I do, but I shall never let evil catch their breath! For I am the champion of Justice and Valor that shall chase them to the ends of the world!" Sir Isaac says, proudly. Only once he finishes his sentence does he remember that he was covering up his disorientation, rather than actually chasing anything. "I may seem lost to the untrained eye, my Lady, but I can assure you that I am not. These trees are all unique and distinguishable to me."

Sir Isaac turns around and waves his hand at the damnable forest of completely identical trees that no one could possibly tell apart. He frowns and almost draws his sword in a reflex as he sees a streak of white quickly jump for cover as he so suddenly turns around. Sir Isaac calms himself. It didn't look big, the size of a fox at most. Something of such a size couldn't possibly be a threat, even to the fair maiden Fauna.

Trying to shake the glance he just caught from his mind, he turns back to Fauna. "However, I am currently in need of refreshment. If you would happen to know of a source of water, Lady Fauna, I'd be greatly obliged. I mustn't waste too much time on finding one, lest my quarry gains too much of a headstart on me."

She raised her eyebrow, how could a simple human like him travel so far into the forest and not become lost? He couldn't follow his scent trail back like most animals, he couldn't feel the differences in the spirits of the trees. Perhaps he was being arrogant like most human men. Sure she could let him wander the forest and get mauled by a bear but she was fearful that the bear would get hurt in the process or even die. She didn't say any of these things instead "I have a name, and it isn't Fair Maiden." she said slightly annoyed. There were satyrs that were in her tribe much like him, so prideful the kinds of men who thought they could say anything and they almost could with their sly smiles and charisma. 

She watched as he turned to leave, she was going to wait until he disappeared into the trees and follow him around until he turned back. She rolled her eyes. "Of course, Sir Issac." He must've realized that he had a better chance of getting out of the forest with her help, somehow she doubted such a prissy human spent his days wandering around random forests. She looked at him, he wouldn't last too long in that heavy and hot armor. It was basically an oven on him, she'd never think of wearing such bulky armor in such a hot environment. "Take off your armor." she told him, she had no idea why he hadn't done so sooner. If she was him she'd just ditch it, you could always buy or forge more of it and it's not worth losing your life over. "Unless of course you want to faint of the way there and make me drag you the rest of the way." She probably wouldn't do that for him. She'd probably just leave him for the wolves since he wouldn't be able to hurt any of the creatures of the forest and she probably wasn't strong enough to drag him since he is about the same size as her, but she wasn't about to tell him that since he might get just a little bit offended.

Word Count: 363 words

Notes:-

"I have a name, and it isn't Fair Maiden." The deer girl said, with a hint of warning in her voice. She seemed agitated. Sir Isaac only smiles and nods his head no.

"Of course your name isn't Fair Maiden, Lady Fauna, yet you are one. You are most certainly a lady, no longer a child nor old enough to be a madam. And you're certainly fair, in my humble opinion." Sir Isaac says. He extends his hand to her with the intent to grab hers and press a kiss on it, only to remember that he still didn't know her age. He quickly changes the gesture into placing his hand on his heart and taking a bow.

Now that he was a bit closer to her, she might be underaged after all. And he certainly knew the ruckus caused by pressing a kiss on an underaged lady's hand. Not to mention, she might consider his gallantry for actual courtship. Not strange considering his irresistible charm and dashing good looks, but he would hate to break her heart. And marriage with someone who wasn't of noble descend was out of the question, his father wouldn't have it.

Sir Isaac stops contemplating and returns to the real world. The deer girl was looking at him, saying nothing. And he wasn't speaking either. Sir Isaac realises that they'd been in an awkward silence for a few seconds now, one that still continued. He clears his throat nervously as yet another second passes, and another.

"Anyhow, I thank you for pointing me in the direction of the nearest water source. I greatly appreciate it, Fair Mai- Lady Fauna." Sir Isaac smiles. Twirling his moustache around his finger one last time to give it that little swoong, he turns around to the direction she pointed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off."

"Of course, Sir Issac." Fauna says.

Sir Isaac clears his throat nervously again. "That's Sir Isaac, actually. Though if it's difficult to pronounce in your dialect, you may also call me The Moustache Knight." He turns around to face her again, waiting for her to say something or make a decision. Perhaps she would like to join him, enjoy the protection that he offered? It would be most opportune, as he could use her to navigate him out of this forest without seeming like he was lost. He wasn't lost, he was escorting a maiden to safety. It's a noble cause.

"Take off your armor." She suddenly says out of the blue. Sir Isaac almost wants to correct her on pronouncing the word 'armour' wrong, the u might be silent but it was certainly important to distinguish his gear from the junk from the rabble, when the meaning of her words hit him. A blush adds to the redness on his face caused by the heat.

"Oh. My apologies, it appears you have misunderstood my intentions, Lady Fauna. I wasn't flirting with you, nor do I have any intention of engaging in… right here… it's just… I…" Sir Isaac stammers. "You see, in my culture we don't really do such things before this holy ceremony called marriage. And we don't do it in the woods either, most unsanitary. And unsafe. Not to mention there's a customary month of courting before we could even get married."

Sir Isaac continues to list reasons as to why they couldn't and shouldn't do… that, getting more and more flustered with each reason. Fauna rolls her eyes and says; "Unless of course you want to faint of the way there and make me drag you the rest of the way."

Sir Isaac straightens himself and tries to regain his cool. "Oh, my armour. Of course. Yes, I knew that's what you meant. My apologies if my hasty misinterpretation of your words offended you." Sir Isaac smiles. Clever girl, pretending that's what she meant once she understood that he was turning her down. She would make quite the noblewoman with a head like that.

''Unfortunately though, I cannot in good conscious take this armour off." Sir Isaac says. "It's not only a great deal of my house's brand recognition, armour like this is quite difficult to put back on. It takes a full five minutes when I don't have a well-trained squire to help me with it, not at all easy to slip in to like regular clothes. If we were to be besieged by a foe, I couldn't put it back on in time to face them. As such, I must remain wearing this armour just in case. No need to worry, I can bear a little heat."

Sir Isaac smiles again, striking a heroic pose and wobbling slightly as the heat and exhausting makes him woosy for a moment.

 

"Of course your name isn't Fair Maiden, Lady Fauna, yet you are one. You are most certainly a lady, no longer a child nor old enough to be a madam. And you're certainly fair, in my humble opinion." The way Sir Issac talked to her made her uncomfortable. Her being the daughter of the chief was often subjected to many of the male satyrs attempts at courtship. She took a small step back as he reached out towards her but it seemed she had mistaken his intentions as her rested his hand on his chest. He took a bow which seemed like a rather awkward gesture to her. "Anyhow, I thank you for pointing me in the direction of the nearest water source. I greatly appreciate it, Fair Mai- Lady Fauna." Did he often forget people had names? He seemed to struggle with calling her by her name. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off."

"Oh. My apologies, it appears you have misunderstood my intentions, Lady Fauna. I wasn't flirting with you, nor do I have any intention of engaging in… right here… it's just… I…" Her face turned red and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. You see, in my culture we don't really do such things before this holy ceremony called marriage. And we don't do it in the woods either, most unsanitary. And unsafe. Not to mention there's a customary month of courting before we could even get married." "I know what marriage is and don't be mistaken, I'd never bed a human of your type." The very idea, made her sick to her stomach churn. Not only that but it made her angry what did he think she was? Some sort of savage? A creature willing to bed any creature she stumbled upon? She couldn't wait to be rid of him. She wasn't the angry type but if he wasn't clad in armor she would gladly plunge her dagger through his stomach. "Oh, my armour. Of course. Yes, I knew that's what you meant. My apologies if my hasty misinterpretation of your words offended you." she folded her arms, how could they not? She wondered how no one had strangled him to death yet. 

'Unfortunately though, I cannot in good conscious take this armour off." It's not only a great deal of my house's brand recognition, armour like this is quite difficult to put back on. It takes a full five minutes when I don't have a well-trained squire to help me with it, not at all easy to slip in to like regular clothes. If we were to be besieged by a foe, I couldn't put it back on in time to face them. As such, I must remain wearing this armour just in case. No need to worry, I can bear a little heat." "Yes, but in this heat I doubt you'd be able to fight any creature. Your best bet would be to run and I doubt you'd be able to get far in that ridiculous get-up." she looked at him like he was an idiot, and to her he  was. "If social convention is more important than your life then you might want to get your priorities in order, Sir Issac." He wouldn't need to worry about being seen not wearing his armor if he dropped dead from the heat and dehydration.

"Anyway we better get going." she said whipping around and started walking towards the river. As she walked she could feel a few rabbits scurry back into their holes and a few birds fluttering away. They must've been watching her and chose to flee when they saw her leaving the human. She didn't look to see if he was following her.

Word Count: 622 words

Notes: Fauna is real pissed xD your reply made me chuckle so hard.