Post by Amur on Nov 24, 2012 20:24:54 GMT -5
Baldur currently stood looking at Josk in silence, over the past three years Baldur had been in the clearing less-and-less. However, he had always been around whenever Josk needed to run a personal errand of some kind –not that, that happened all that often- however, now the two of them stood at an impasse. Baldur had spent the last several weeks gathering and compiling information for a contact, and had an arranged meeting with her planned in the upcoming weeks. It was an appointment that Baldur simply could not miss.
And therein lay the problem, Josk similarly needed to depart in order to acquire some resources. Baldur had originally tried to assure Josk that his meeting wouldn’t take long and he would likely be back in fewer than four weeks. However, Josk had silenced Baldur simply by stating how great his need for these resources was, which left the both of them with little idea on what to do with Ace. Of course, Ace had progressed very rapidly over the last few years, however, his childish arrogance and propensity to make less than intelligent decisions still existed. And it was for those reasons that neither Josk nor Baldur was willing to leave Ace here by himself.
The two of them had fallen silent after both stating that it would be unwise to leave Ace here by himself when he saw fit to interject.
“Ya' know, ya' COULD jus' leave me here. Pretty sure I've earned the right to not need lookin' after all the time now."
Baldur absently wondered if Ace had even been listening to a single word that had passed between himself and Josk... Knowing his brother, the likely answer would be a very obvious “no”; Baldur very nearly asked Josk if he wanted to be the one to answer Ace’s statement. However, the look that Josk gave Ace more than told Baldur that he already had an answer.
“The day I leave you to your own devices in a forest full of elves who want nothing more than to slaughter any human they come across would be the day I decide to enter into the Order of Riders as a whipping boy. Now shut your mouth, get your things and stop wasting my time with your nigh-ceaseless stupidity.”
Well, Josk had answered Ace’s statement, just not in the way that Baldur had expected him to.
“Tch, I already said I ain’t gonna be leavin’ the clearin’, I ain’t THAT stupid. ‘Sides, I’ve come a long way, ain’t I? Dun’ I deserve at least SOME trust now?”
Baldur scoffed quietly, Ace was trying to use the “I’ve earned it, haven’t I?” angle far too much for Baldur to be able to simply take his word for it. He didn’t even need to look at Josk to know that the elf was clearly thinking the same thing.
“Are you going to test my patience again? Or have you truly learned nothing in the years you have spent under my tutelage?”
Josk asked Ace quietly. At that Ace fell silent for a long while, the expression on his face telling Baldur that he was deep in thought. He shook his head gently as the silence continued, how was Ace still able to place himself under the impression that he would be able to convince either Josk or Baldur to leave him here?
“... ‘Kay, what if I had someone else to keep an eye on me? I’m sure Varden would-”
“I’m inclined to trust you even less when you’re with him; your propensity to make less than intelligent decisions when he’s around becomes even worse.”
Baldur interrupted Ace before he could finish the thought. There was absolutely no way that Baldur was going to let Varden keep an eye on Ace while the two of them were alone, they had grown close and had rapidly proven that they both shared the propensity of being as stupid as each other.
“Listen to your brother, Ace. Sometimes he speaks with wisdom.”
Baldur narrowed his eyes at Josk’s response, had that been necessary? It was little more than a statement of fact that he knew Josk agreed with. Nevertheless, Baldur felt strangely inclined to address the distasteful comment.
“Hmph, just sometimes? Interesting, had Niko listened to any of what I had told him during our previous meetings Master Hunter Latro would not have been able to incapacitate him again.”
Baldur stated flatly.
“My brother is often an arrogant idiot. Much like yours. I fail to see how what you are saying proves that you are wise more than sometimes. It merely proves you possess more experience in that particular field than he. That does not make you wiser overall, just in that field.”
Josk replied, causing Baldur to pause for just a moment. He had no answer to that, at least Josk was capable of admitting that Niko and Ace seemed to share certain... Idiotic tendencies, Baldur had noticed the similarities and had long since gathered the impression that both Niko and Ace would vehemently deny that such similarities existed. Probably even in exactly the same way as each other, it was something he resolved to test one day.
Nevertheless, Baldur simply arched an eyebrow.
“... My previous conversations with Niko have been one-dimensional enough to only require a single topic of conversation-”
He began in a measured tone.
“Kay, guys! Before we get into another of ya’ ‘spirited debates’, am I right in guessin’ that this means I got no choice in the matter, an’ I’m comin’ along whether I like it or not?”
Ace interjected, again. At once, whatever conversation Baldur and Josk were about to have was dropped as the elf stopped and simply looked back at Ace.
“I cannot understand how you ever thought there was another end to the discussion, Ace... What part of "shut your mouth, get your things and stop wasting my time with your nigh-ceaseless stupidity" did you not understand?”
Ace simply shrugged in response to Josk’s statement.
“Worth a try, ain’t it? Figured with the rate I’ve been progressin’ at, that I had earned somethin’ at least.”
He replied.
“...At this rate, I will start adding a watchman to the clearing to prevent further stupidity from occurring.”
Ace stood up as Josk said his latest piece.
“Ouch, that one hurt. I ain’t done anythin’ too stupid in a while, cut me SOME slack, Mentor Josk.”
Ace replied.
“If you continue yammering your inanities, I will be forced to silence you. Stop pestering me.”
At that Ace very obviously concealed a small smile.
“Tch, fine.”
Was all he said in response.
---
Baldur sighed as he entered the last village that they would have to pass through before reaching The Spine; the journey had taken longer than it would have done normally since both Ace and Josk were travelling with him. But, oddly enough, Ace had not complained once, no, in fact, he had been almost uncharacteristically quiet during the travelling that had taken place. In fact, as had been the almost shocking norm for the past three years now, every time they had stopped to set up camp Ace had immediately started quietly working through his physical exercises and meditations without Josk having to tell him to.
Not that Baldur could complain about his brother’s still relatively new found sense of seriousness towards his tutelage, however, it was still something that Baldur was not used to seeing.
The placing of this village was convenient to Baldur, since he had to stop and stock up on his reserves of dried meat. Once that was done they could continue moving, he had already wasted too much time travelling, further distractions and delays were the last thing he needed right now. Securing Findinokhind to his waist Baldur paused for a moment.
“I’m not stopping here long, if either of you want to keep up, get anything you may need quickly. I cannot afford to waste too much time here.”
He stated flatly to both Ace and Josk, despite the slower progress, Baldur was still making good time, but, he still disliked being kept in one place for too long when he had more pressing matters elsewhere to attend to.
And therein lay the problem, Josk similarly needed to depart in order to acquire some resources. Baldur had originally tried to assure Josk that his meeting wouldn’t take long and he would likely be back in fewer than four weeks. However, Josk had silenced Baldur simply by stating how great his need for these resources was, which left the both of them with little idea on what to do with Ace. Of course, Ace had progressed very rapidly over the last few years, however, his childish arrogance and propensity to make less than intelligent decisions still existed. And it was for those reasons that neither Josk nor Baldur was willing to leave Ace here by himself.
The two of them had fallen silent after both stating that it would be unwise to leave Ace here by himself when he saw fit to interject.
“Ya' know, ya' COULD jus' leave me here. Pretty sure I've earned the right to not need lookin' after all the time now."
Baldur absently wondered if Ace had even been listening to a single word that had passed between himself and Josk... Knowing his brother, the likely answer would be a very obvious “no”; Baldur very nearly asked Josk if he wanted to be the one to answer Ace’s statement. However, the look that Josk gave Ace more than told Baldur that he already had an answer.
“The day I leave you to your own devices in a forest full of elves who want nothing more than to slaughter any human they come across would be the day I decide to enter into the Order of Riders as a whipping boy. Now shut your mouth, get your things and stop wasting my time with your nigh-ceaseless stupidity.”
Well, Josk had answered Ace’s statement, just not in the way that Baldur had expected him to.
“Tch, I already said I ain’t gonna be leavin’ the clearin’, I ain’t THAT stupid. ‘Sides, I’ve come a long way, ain’t I? Dun’ I deserve at least SOME trust now?”
Baldur scoffed quietly, Ace was trying to use the “I’ve earned it, haven’t I?” angle far too much for Baldur to be able to simply take his word for it. He didn’t even need to look at Josk to know that the elf was clearly thinking the same thing.
“Are you going to test my patience again? Or have you truly learned nothing in the years you have spent under my tutelage?”
Josk asked Ace quietly. At that Ace fell silent for a long while, the expression on his face telling Baldur that he was deep in thought. He shook his head gently as the silence continued, how was Ace still able to place himself under the impression that he would be able to convince either Josk or Baldur to leave him here?
“... ‘Kay, what if I had someone else to keep an eye on me? I’m sure Varden would-”
“I’m inclined to trust you even less when you’re with him; your propensity to make less than intelligent decisions when he’s around becomes even worse.”
Baldur interrupted Ace before he could finish the thought. There was absolutely no way that Baldur was going to let Varden keep an eye on Ace while the two of them were alone, they had grown close and had rapidly proven that they both shared the propensity of being as stupid as each other.
“Listen to your brother, Ace. Sometimes he speaks with wisdom.”
Baldur narrowed his eyes at Josk’s response, had that been necessary? It was little more than a statement of fact that he knew Josk agreed with. Nevertheless, Baldur felt strangely inclined to address the distasteful comment.
“Hmph, just sometimes? Interesting, had Niko listened to any of what I had told him during our previous meetings Master Hunter Latro would not have been able to incapacitate him again.”
Baldur stated flatly.
“My brother is often an arrogant idiot. Much like yours. I fail to see how what you are saying proves that you are wise more than sometimes. It merely proves you possess more experience in that particular field than he. That does not make you wiser overall, just in that field.”
Josk replied, causing Baldur to pause for just a moment. He had no answer to that, at least Josk was capable of admitting that Niko and Ace seemed to share certain... Idiotic tendencies, Baldur had noticed the similarities and had long since gathered the impression that both Niko and Ace would vehemently deny that such similarities existed. Probably even in exactly the same way as each other, it was something he resolved to test one day.
Nevertheless, Baldur simply arched an eyebrow.
“... My previous conversations with Niko have been one-dimensional enough to only require a single topic of conversation-”
He began in a measured tone.
“Kay, guys! Before we get into another of ya’ ‘spirited debates’, am I right in guessin’ that this means I got no choice in the matter, an’ I’m comin’ along whether I like it or not?”
Ace interjected, again. At once, whatever conversation Baldur and Josk were about to have was dropped as the elf stopped and simply looked back at Ace.
“I cannot understand how you ever thought there was another end to the discussion, Ace... What part of "shut your mouth, get your things and stop wasting my time with your nigh-ceaseless stupidity" did you not understand?”
Ace simply shrugged in response to Josk’s statement.
“Worth a try, ain’t it? Figured with the rate I’ve been progressin’ at, that I had earned somethin’ at least.”
He replied.
“...At this rate, I will start adding a watchman to the clearing to prevent further stupidity from occurring.”
Ace stood up as Josk said his latest piece.
“Ouch, that one hurt. I ain’t done anythin’ too stupid in a while, cut me SOME slack, Mentor Josk.”
Ace replied.
“If you continue yammering your inanities, I will be forced to silence you. Stop pestering me.”
At that Ace very obviously concealed a small smile.
“Tch, fine.”
Was all he said in response.
---
Baldur sighed as he entered the last village that they would have to pass through before reaching The Spine; the journey had taken longer than it would have done normally since both Ace and Josk were travelling with him. But, oddly enough, Ace had not complained once, no, in fact, he had been almost uncharacteristically quiet during the travelling that had taken place. In fact, as had been the almost shocking norm for the past three years now, every time they had stopped to set up camp Ace had immediately started quietly working through his physical exercises and meditations without Josk having to tell him to.
Not that Baldur could complain about his brother’s still relatively new found sense of seriousness towards his tutelage, however, it was still something that Baldur was not used to seeing.
The placing of this village was convenient to Baldur, since he had to stop and stock up on his reserves of dried meat. Once that was done they could continue moving, he had already wasted too much time travelling, further distractions and delays were the last thing he needed right now. Securing Findinokhind to his waist Baldur paused for a moment.
“I’m not stopping here long, if either of you want to keep up, get anything you may need quickly. I cannot afford to waste too much time here.”
He stated flatly to both Ace and Josk, despite the slower progress, Baldur was still making good time, but, he still disliked being kept in one place for too long when he had more pressing matters elsewhere to attend to.
