Through the woods we ran

[galrad]

Who: Keith galrad and you!
When: Any time between May 6th and 14th. Boy trains a lot and is building a shack!
Where: Beyond the city walls, past the slums and towards the wilds and the forest
What: Keith's way of working out his thoughts has always been through combat- maybe that's the Galra in him. Come spar with him, learn a little basic swordsmanship, or ask him what the hell he's doing building a shack out in the woods!
Warnings: None for now

I. Sparring

[ Keith's way of working out his thoughts had always been through combat. Maybe that was the Galra in him, but there was something about the focus of having a sword in his hand, the burn of his muscles put through a harsh workout- it all helped him to settle his mind. Back in the desert, on nights he couldn't sleep, thought he was going crazy searching for nothing more than a feeling, he would head out into the dunes, and either speed through them on his hoverbike until the wind bit through skin and bone, cut hard enough, deep enough to forget, or, like now, he'd look to put himself through his paces. It had been the same in the Castle of Lions, even more convenient because of the provided pre-programmed training bot. If it had tried to kill him on one occasion, well- what was an attempted murder between constant companions? Besides, Keith had never exactly gone easy on the poor thing... It had kind of seemed only fair, after the fact.

Now, though, Keith was trying to balance all of the information that had been provided to him since his arrival. Witches. Monsters. The infection spreading across the land, the part that the locals hoped they had to play... Wasn't the task of saving their own universe enough? Was it selfish of Keith to still wish to go home, to let them deal with their own problems?

Could he forgive himself if he did?

No one had tried to stop him when he had passed through the gates. Maybe no one dared, or maybe they hoped he'd do something- die, take out a few shade creatures, he didn't really know. All Keith knew was that he had thinking to do, and the best way to do it was with the steel blade strapped to his back, as far into the woods as he dared where he hoped for silence. For peace.

Cutting at trees weren't the ideal enemies, but they were better than nothing. Keith started with a few warm-up stretches, a few practice swings to get himself accustomed to the blade he had coaxed one of the local blacksmiths into allowing him to borrow. It wasn't anything like his bayard; customized in every way to his body; from the grip of the hilt to the weight to maximize the power of his swing. Nor was it like his Blade of Marmora, heavy with purpose but lithe and deadly sharp.

Keith settled on his target; a rotting stump in the middle of the clearing he had chosen for his practice space. Blowing out a slow, steadying breath, Keith readjusted his hold on the sword. And then, he lunged.

II. Home Sweet... Shack?

[ City living had never been to Keith's tastes. He could tolerate it- he'd had to endure it on more than one planet, on more than one occasion- but if he had a preference? He'd take being alone in the desert any day.

It was kind of the Coven to house them, no matter how temporarily- but that was the thing, Keith wanted to make it as temporary as he could.

He wasn't any stranger to roughing it; to making due with whatever he could. He wasn't even averse to sleeping on the streets i he had to- but beyond the wall was something almost familiar. The wild and untamed landscape beyond the wall, beyond the slums where the presence of people and monsters alike began to thin and the danger of the blight became more apparent. He was looking for a patch of uninfected land. Maybe if he got lucky, the bones of an existing structure that he could build off of.

Apparently it was Keith's lucky day.

He'd hiking through areas around the city for a couple of days, looking for the right spot. Kosmo at his side and sword strapped to his back (just in case). Radiating outwards slowly, not wanting to be too far from the city itself. The signs of population had thinned to almost nothing, only the occasional mossy lump of man made wood or rusted hunk of something poking from the ferns to mark human presence. He was following along a gentle stream when he found it.

It didn't look like much, it didn't look very good at all really, but it had four walls (well, three- but he could work on that!) was next to a water source, far enough away from any cwyld infection that he wouldn't have to worry so much about Kosmo, had enough of a clearing that if Keith put his mind to it he could start tilling the land, plant some fruit trees and vegetables- yeah. This could work.

So Keith began to transfer supplies in and out of the city, bartering labor to borrow tools, salvaging whatever scrap he could find in the rougher parts of the city that might have been able to find a use for.

Maybe you found him dragging a long rusted looking sheet of tin out towards the woods, or perhaps you were drawn by the hammering of an axe against a tree- but Keith wasn't about to say no to an extra pair of hands helping him in his endeavor. Because really, the shack needed some work.

Comments

You know the one

[interlucere]

[ Lux has always been a busy-body—and being in a new, drastically different place hardly changes that. It's her own way of working through things, letting her work sweep her up until she's worn herself out physically and mentally. So it's a natural shift here as well, because there is so much she has been grappling with since she arrived here (different worlds existing, and being somehow welcomed in a place where her existence isn't a crime).

But after a while, even the most adept social chameleons have to go back to their roots, back to what they know, and the solitude of the woods has always been a safe haven for her. The trees never judged or feared her as she worked out how to use her gift; so hopefully here, she could find the same solace to truly be herself.

Maybe that would will her magic back. Maybe that was the piece of the puzzle that she was missing.

Lux hears him before she sees him, and instinct causes her to tense up. It's all right. She was still close enough to the city that she wouldn't be in any immediate danger. Logic gives strength to her curiosity, and following the sound of steel colliding with wood, she finds Keith in the middle of a clearing. Lux might not know him, but she recognizes him. He was there in the house of mirrors, wasn't he?

Stepping out, she makes no secret of her approach. Sneaking up on him like this is just asking to get hurt. ]

I didn't think I would find anyone else out here.

[galrad]

[ Keith swung, hacking through the rotted stump and sending splinters into the air, whirling away in a dramatic roll, before pausing, in a kneel, sword flung out to his side to catch his breath. He heard her then, steps approaching- was aware, but unafraid. Launching onto his feet in a dramatic leap, coming down hard again on the stump and shearing away more of the soft wood.

Pulling the blade again from the stump, Keith turned to face Lux, sword in a relaxed position at his side. ]

I've seen some people, some monsters- but not very many. [He admit with a shrug, catching his breath and wiping his sleeve along his brow again. ] Still better than the city, though. Quieter. I'll take this over that any day.

[interlucere]

[ Watching him take a more relaxed stance, Lux makes her way over. Some people just didn't do well in big cities, it seems, and while there's a part of her that could understand that, it always comes as a surprise whenever she meets someone who feels that way.

Glancing over her shoulder, an understanding smile spreads across her lips. ]

After everything that's happened over the last few days, I think I would have to agree.

[ Turning her attention back to Keith, she offers him a quiet shrug. ]

Are you here on your own? You don't mind if I join you, do you?

[galrad]

Even without everything that's happened I'd still choose out here. [ Keith admitted with a laugh, a roll of his shoulders in an easy shrug. ]

Well, I'm not completely alone. [ He gestured with a thumb towards where Kosmo was sleeping beneath a shady tree, the wolf not even so much as glancing up. If Keith wasn't worried, Kosmo wasn't either. ] But I'm certainly not against a little company. Just trying to get some training in- it's always helped me clear my mind.