Word's Exchange [Private/Tenju]

The Fanalis gave it all on her feet, stepping on the ground as fast as she could by carrying a man on her arms so they could get away quickly from the bandits. The only thing that was in her mind was about to find somewhere they could hide at. So by using her own instinct, the girl would keep running until the dangerous vibe that she felt on her spine gone, it began to disappear a bit by bit but Altan knew they needed to be as far as they could. Her stamina couldn't keep up though, as much as she wanted to keep running, her legs began to give in slowly.

The steps that she made was not as fast as it was, but she forced herself to do it, afraid that they would be captured again even though the worst has yet to come. They were lucky to be able to get away from the bandits, but who knew who else that might target them again. "Akh!" The redhead's right left gave in and she tripped, sending Tenju that was on her arms to fall to the ground as well because she accidentally threw him away. She panted while she pushed her own body from the ground, trying to sit slowly but she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her leg. "A-are we far enough?" She asked with heavy breathes and determination on her eyes, willing to force herself to run more if they weren't far enough.

However, if they noticed, there was a cave near them that they could use as a resting place although it might be animal's nest. But it would be better to go to the cafe if it was safe enough so they could avoid resting in the middle of the forest where wild and fierce animals could prey on them on their sleep.

Tenju had given up on trying to convince Altan that he could move on his own half an hour ago. He was just starting to get comfortable in her arms when suddenly the girl tripped and tossed Tenju through the air. "Whaaaaa-Ouch!" The monk shouted in surprise only to hit the ground and roll from the force until his body crashed into a tree. It felt like his head had hit a rock while rolling as well because a sharp pain spiked around his forehead. "Ugh...I think we were far enough an hour ago..." Tenju groaned and then coughed a bit before climbing to his feet. Haunched over and in no small amount of pain, Tenju looked around and spotted the nearby cave. He turned to look at Altan in order to suggest they rest there lest the girl think of running some more. It was then that Tenju saw her on the ground with an injured leg.

The damage sustained seemed to be ignored entirely the young man as he rushed over to Altan and kneeled down next to her to inspect the injury. "Don't try to move...It looks like you sprained it..." Tenju looked Altan's leg over a few more seconds during which time she'd be able to see that there was blood streaming down Tenju's face from the corner of his forehead in addition to various scratches and bruises on his body from the tumble he had taken. Concern for himself seemed to be the last thing on Tenju's mind however as he promptly picked Altan up without even asking for her permission, it being her turn to get carried bridal style. "There is a cave over there that we can hide in if you're still worried that we're being followed. I can fix your leg there."

The jovial attitude of the monk seemed to have been torn away by the fact that someone hurt was in front of him. It didn't matter that Altan was a fanalis or that she was a girl. What mattered to him was that someone was in need of healing and he had the power to provide it. The monk took his duties to goodness and virtue seriously if nothing else.

The redhead was startled when the monk suddenly pick her up in a bridal style, finally feeling what Tenju felt when she carried him like this before. It was an urgent matter though so she didnt ask for his permission whether or not she could carry him, however fixing her leg was not an urgent stuff so he should have asked for her permission first... or not. The man noticed that she injured her leg and was willing to help her fixing it, perhaps he could use his magic to heal her. That alone made Altan stayed quiet, willingly being carried by Tenju while they entered the cave. Despite of being a clumsy one, he could be reliable sometime. She recalled the moment when the monk assisted her in the battle, mostly in the crucial times and acknowledged him as someone was no longer a stranger anymore.

"Thank you." Altan said to Tenju, her purple orbs stared right into the man's eyes. Her words were filled with sincerity to show that she really was thankful because the man was being very caring towards her. "So... how will you fix my leg?" The Fanalis asked, curious to know about what the man would do next.

Tenju wasn't looking back at Altan's eyes, he was focused on looking forward into the cave, a weary but determined look about his face as he gulped and braved the darkness in hopes that no beasts were waiting inside to make a meal out of them. The monk carefully stepped his way over uneven ground as he crossed over various rocks at the mouth of the cave. "I know a spell that can heal wounds, I'll cast it as soon as I-WOAH!" The bumbling man almost tripped on a round stone and nearly dropped Altan, but he gritted his teeth and fought against the momentum just barely managing to keep himself from falling over and Altan from falling out of his hands. She would be able to feel Tenju's heart beating fast from the shock of the near fall as he took in a deep breath and recomposed himself.

"Sorry about that...I'll cast it once I find a good place to set you down."

Tenju continued forward a bit more until the ground beneath his feet finally started feeling flat and walkable. The monk moved to set Altan down by a cave wall, just barely enough light reaching this far into the cave from the moonlight outside. "Alright, just sit still, I'll have you fixed up in just a moment." He said, still ignoring the bleeding wound on his own head which had slid all the way down his face and even sent a few drops of blood dripping onto Altan's clothing. Tenju reached out with his left hand and pulled Altan's clothing aside to reveal her entire leg from toes to thighs while he held his staff in his right and whispered to the rukh, "Resting Hands..."

A soft purple light began to glow around Tenju's hand and then spread across the fanalis girl's leg giving her a warm sensation as the injury slowly healed itself and the swelling began to go down. Tenju seemed to be staring intently at Altan's leg the entire time, watching to make sure it was healing properly and that nothing went wrong. It might even come off as him staring at her in a perverted fashion even though that was the last thing on his mind.

Magoi 160/180

Ability Used:

Altan was surprised the moment when Tenju almost dropped her, it was like he reenacting the moment when she dropped him before but she knew the monk was just… clumsy. But it was surprising to see him having a quick reflex and not dropping her, she could hear his heart beating fast as she clung against Tenju’s cloth. “That is okay…” The redhead replied, didn’t know what else she could say. The pain on her leg was kind of annoying because it began to throb, making the pain becoming worse. She admitted in her mind that she was clumsy when she hurt her leg, but part of it was because of the fear that she was feeling even until now. She acted so brave and managed to defeat most of the bandit but it was just because the uneasy feeling of what she would be if she ended up being sold to someone. Thankfully Tenju was there so she could be lot calmer, but of course she wouldn’t tell the monk about what she felt.

“Okay.” The Fanalis nodded when the monk told her to sit still and stared at the man, waiting for the man to heal her. She didn’t notice the wound on Tenju’s head at first but after a few seconds staring intensely towards the man, she realized that blood had been dripping and some of the drops even dripped to Altan’s clothing. She didn’t mind actually, she was not the type of a girl that would be angry over dirty clothing even though maybe she would because it would be a pain in the ass to wash it clean. What was important right now was the monk’s attitude actually, he prioritized other people first and that made the redhead got another good impression about the monk.

She just wanted to say something when suddenly Tenju pulled her clothing aside and revealed her entire legs, “Wha—“ Tenju’s chant cut her words and suddenly purple light glowed from his hand before spreading on her legs, slowly healing it. While she was amazed by the power of the monk himself as well as experiencing being healed by magic for the first time; Tenju’s gaze made her uneasy because he was staring at her leg now. If it was just her feet that it would be fine but he just slide her clothing aside and revealed her entire leg including her thigh before staring at it intensely. “Tenju, it is not good to stare at a girl’s leg like that.” The redhead would pull her clothing and covering her leg before cupping Tenju’s cheeks with her hands. “Thank you for your help but you see…” She would slip her hand into her bag before taking a handkerchief and used it to wipe the blood from the monk’s head. “You are wounded as well. Can you heal yourself?” She would add some pressure to the wound by using her handkerchief to stop the bleeding while waiting for the monk to answer.

The monk diligently worked his magic, concerned only for ensuring that the fanalis girl's leg healed up properly. He hadn't the single impurest thought in his mind when the girl made a comment on how staring at her leg wasn't the most refined of actions. "Hm? What are you talking about?" He asked staring at her blankly. His life in the monastery was one free of much temptations, the vices of flesh and corporeal pleasures simply hadn't been introduced to him yet. The young man knew nothing of carnal relations between a man and a woman. So when Altan expressed her concern, Tenju just looked at her like a deer spooked by a hunter, unsure of what foreign social blunder he'd just committed. "Is it really? I um...I'm sorry, I didn't know. Back home the monks all showed their legs often when doing chores. Master was right, the world really is different outside the temple walls."

Tenju had finished healing Altan's leg by now and had already brought his hand up to his chin to ponder just why exactly a woman wouldn't want her legs shown. Surely she had a twig and berries underneath just like everybody else, right? Perhaps the fanalis race were different somehow. These thoughts spun in circles around Tenju's head when he suddenly found his cheeks cupped in Altan's hands. It was true that he'd lost a lot of blood. In fact, his face was even starting to look a little pale. But the monk hadn't even noticed his own injury until just now. Shock from the impact had numbed the pain, but now it all came rushing through his senses. The sharp hurting sensation, the throbbing pulses of pain, the warm feeling of blood draining. Tenju winced from the feeling and let Altan wipe him with her fabric as he began to feel light headed.

"Ah...must have been when I fell. Don't worry, I can...heal...this up..." Tenju began to feel dizzy as the world spun around him, but he pulled Altan's hands away from himself anyways and rose his staff bringing one hand up as if he were about to cast his spell once more. However, his sentence slurred off into slow broken up words. "...in...no time..." The world went black and Tenju's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed, face falling directly into Altan's lap. unconscious from blood loss.

Looking at his reaction made Altan thought that Tenju was really an innocent one and his act to lift up the Fanalis’ clothing to see her legs was not because of perverted purpose but it was because he didn’t know that it was actually inappropriate. She began to wonder what kind of solitary life that he had been through in his home with… all the monks who lived with him. Perhaps it was clear that he lived with male only and didn’t know about female at all, pretty surprising though but maybe it was just because of this man’s oblivious personality.

Altan was surprised to see the monk suddenly collapsed to her lap, she could feel his blood dripping and staining her clothing as well but she didn’t mind. Slowly, pushing him away was kind of easy with her Fanalis strength and she would do it slowly as well as she carefully pushed his body so he could lean against the ground. It might be bad because they wouldn’t be able to go to the city today and even if they could, it would be dangerous to walk in the night. She decided that she would stay in the cave for a bit to take care of Tenju and when the morning came, she could just lift the monk up and brought him to the city where he could rest better. The Fanalis would begin by tearing her sleeve’s fabric and used it to stanch the blood’s flow by pressing it on the wound. It might not be good because it had not been cleaned first but that was what she got for now and she would kept doing it for several minutes to stop the bleeding for a bit.

As she concentrated to stop the bleeding, her sharp ear could listen to her surrounding pretty easily, just like how a beast could. She could hear something was dripping nearby and hoped that it was water. After she finished tending Tenju’s head, Altan would went ahead and looked around to see if it was really water or not. Her leg didn’t feel hurt anymore and she was amazed by it, perhaps Tenju was more capable than this. After looking for the dripping sound, he was relieved that it really was a water dripping but she was not sure about the source since it was a small cave that they currently in at the moment. The redhead would taste it first and was relieved again that the water was drinkable. She would quickly grab her bag and opened it before taking a water satchel, attempted to store the water. Once she got enough, she would bring it and place it near Tenju before stepping out from the cave to look for some woods so she could make fire.

It was pretty easy to find some twigs and she would gather a lot of it before bringing it back to the cave and tried to make fire. Besides of twigs, the redhead was able to find a thick wood that would be good to put under Tenju’s head so the blood could flow, although she was able to get it because she cut it off with her hand. Making fire was not that difficult actually since she did that a lot back in the plains to cook some foods for her tribe, just a little try and she was able to make a small fire, enough for the warm and to cook something maybe later. Altan would then put hang the satchel on the fire, trying to boil the water up so she could change Tenju’s bandage to a cleaner one. After all the things that she needed were set, Altan would slowly unwrap the bandage and pour it with the hot water, attempting to clean it before wrapping it around the monk’s head again. The wood that she got earlier would be wrapped around a fabric that Altan tore from her other sleeve before she put it under Tenju’s head. Now that she did everything that she could think of, the redhead would lean against the wall and waited for the monk to be conscious.

After a few minutes passed, the girl thought that maybe the wood wouldn’t be comfortable for Tenju’s head… He might woke up with a painful neck. The redhead then looked at her thighs and thought that it would be better if she put Tenju’s head there. So the redhead would slowly remove the wood from under the monk’s head and let his head to rest against her lap as she continued waiting for the monk to wake up.

A sweet and fragrant aroma of flowers permeated the air, a bright sun shone from within an endless sea of blue that was the sky. Tenju found himself resting in a beautiful valley on a wonderful day. There were butterflies dancing through the air and little critters prancing about without a care in the world. "What a nice place to nap~" Tenju thought quietly to himself as he closed his eyes and relaxed on the soft pillow beneath is head. The monk didn't even think about how he had wound up here, or where he'd been before. It was so peaceful that details such as those didn't really seem to matter. Then the sharp pain came and Tenju woke up from his dream. "Uhg..." The monk made a slight groan of pain as he stirred from his blood-loss induced slumber. His body had recovered a good bit since he'd been asleep. The bleeding had stopped and thanks to Altan's treatment things weren't as bad as they could be. Even so, the young man from Kina awoke to a stiff body, throbbing head, and dizzy sensation that could make a cat land on its head rather than its feet.

Tenju's eyes slowly blinked open and he tried to sit up a little bit only to find that he bumped foreheads with Altan on who was looking down at him. "Ouch! Uh, sorr...." He was in the middle of apologizing when his words were simply stopped. Tenju had found himself staring at Altan with their faces so close a mere breeze might push them together in an intimate way. No amount of sheltering could suppress a young man's instincts when he was face to face with such beauty. Altan's deep purple eyes were being framed wonderfully by strands of her gorgeous crimson hair falling around her face. She was slightly dirty from the struggles they'd been through in the past day or two, but that only seemed to give her beauty an extra charm. Tenju didn't know why this all paralyzed him, but he sat there speechless, an inch away from her face, for as long as Altan would allow him.

It was very quiet as she waited in the middle of silence, because of the quietness she could easily hear her breathing as well as Tenju’s who seemed to have a steady breathing. It felt warm with the fire that she made but it slowly made the violet eyed girl sleepy. Her eyelids were heavy and she almost fell asleep several times, but she kept trying to stay awake just in case the monk would be awake soon from his slumber. She eventually gave into the temptation to fall asleep and the moment she almost reached the lala land, something bumped her forehead and brought her back to from the dreamland.

Tenju apologized to her but he never finished his words as he was staring at her without moving at all as if the time froze for the monk himself. Altan was slightly annoyed because her forehead felt kind of hurt and waited until the man stopped whatever he was doing at the moment. Unfortunately, the time might have stopped for him as he didn’t even move away and didn’t even look away from her. However, now that she was able to look at him close like this, Altan realized that the man had a nice skin as well as a sharp jaw. His eyes were brown and she thought that his eyelashes was kind of long which made her a little bit jealous. She brought up her hands and cupped the on Tenju’s cheeks before rubbing them and said, “You have a nice skin. I wonder if living in the mountain could give you skin this nice… Anyways…” She would pushed him away from her slowly and stared at his wound, worried he might lose consciousness again after they bumped their foreheads. “How do you feel?”

"E-Eh?" Tenju made a sound of surprise when Altan cupped his cheeks and started commenting on the smoothness of his skin. The jolt of her actions sent the gears in Tenju's brain slowly turning again, though he didn't move until Altan pushed him away. The fanalis girl didn't seem to know her own strength, or maybe Tenju was just still weak from his injury, but the monk was sent into a backwards roll from the push making a full rotation before ending seated on his rear. "Um...thank you, there are hot springs and powerful waterfalls in my homeland. The monks would make me meditate in them from time to time. I think the abbot said it was good for your skin, maybe that is why."

The monk was reaching up to rub his head as he spoke and winced from the pain of it, but otherwise seemed more coherent and stable now. "I think I'm fine, thank you." He gave Altan a smile, knowing that it had to have been her that had treated his wound. "I'll go ahead and treat it fully now." Tenju leaned off to the side to grab his staff and then placed a hand on his own head where the injury was. "Resting Hands..." The monk whispered the spell causing purple light to emit from his hand and wash over the bandaged wound. It slowly healed up properly and cleanly so that when he took off the wrapping it was as if he'd never been hurt in the first place.

Now that Tenju had treated himself, he took in a deep breath and then stood to stretch, "I don't know about you, but I'm starving!"

Magoi 140/180

Ability Used:

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The Fanalis was surprised when the monk suddenly rolled backward, wondering if it was because of her strength or… because the man was just clumsy as ever. She was more certain to the latter though but she wouldn’t say anything more about it and listened to what Tenju had to say about hot spring. The redhead never been into a hot spring before, let alone bathing in one. Perhaps that was why her skin was not as smooth as this man and other reason was because she was living in the middle of the wilderness, making it hard to actually take care of her own face.

She watched as Tenju healed himself and she was glad that he actually was capable to get his energy back, all the sleeping and resting must have helped him. “I am hungry as well, let’s go to the town and order some food…” The redhead gulped as she said that, could already think about various type of foods that she might get. If she could, she might buy all the food in Kou and enjoyed it, but Altan thought it was not a really good idea so she was trying hard to decide at the moment. It was useless though because she would need to really go and see what the food stall could offer her before she could make decision. “So, what is your plan after we eat?”

Tenju wrapped up the bloodied bandages and placed them into his robe to be disposed of properly later while he listened to Altan's reply. His expression was a please smile when she agreed that going into town for some food sounded like a good plan. Happy to be leaving the cave, Tenju gathered up his things and got ready to set out. "After? Hmm...well, I suppose I'll be headed west again." The young monk said in response to Altan's question. "My destination is the magician's city, Magnostadt. It was my master who told me to go there and I trust her with my life. So I will follow her wishes!" There was a light of admiration in Tenju's eyes as he talked about his master and the tone of his voice made it clear that he held her in the highest regard.

After a brief pause of contemplating exactly what his master had told him, Tenju spoke up once more. "Although...my master also told me not to be in a rush. That my journey through the world was also my training and that I shouldn't be afraid of taking detours. So maybe I won't just head west right away after all. I'm not sure what fate has in store for me..." Tenju clenched his fists tightly and beamed a smile that was full of resolve, "But I'll face it head on with no regrets!" The monk then gave a toothy grin and looked towards Altan as he stepped to the mouth of the cave and turned to offer her a hand up the rocky path.

"What about you? Where will you go next?"

“Master? Is she like the leader of your clan?” Altan tilted her head, curious about this master that Tenju had mentioned to her. She wondered about her own clan leader now though and for how long she needed to get the information that would be necessary for their revolt. The Fanalis began to have a desire to explore the world and when Tenju mentioned Magnostadt, the redhead was a little bit interested to know more about it. She heard from the elders that Magnostadt was not a place for her though because she didn’t have the gift, perhaps they were trying to say that she was not capable to use magic like how the monk was capable to do.

“I am not sure honestly, I have an important task to do in Kou so I cant just make any travel plan. Although…” She paused and hesitated a little bit before finally encouraged herself to speak, “I heard that this place called Reim is interesting, so I want to go there if I can.” Of course Altan wouldn’t try to visit Reim now, she didn’t know when she could but at least she could dream a little bit right? The Fanalis wouldn’t take the monk’s hand, confident that she was capable to pass the rocky path just fine. She was no princess and there was no need for a man to help her to walk unless she was severely injured and couldn’t walk at all, although she knew now that Tenju was a good man with a strange child-like mind.

"Clan? No, nothing like that, I don't have a clan. My master is the one who taught me magic. She is the one who showed me just how vast and big this world is!" It was clear from the light in the monk's eyes that he thought highly of his mentor. The admiration he felt for his master wafted off him in waves that completely overshadowed the dejection he felt when Altan refused to accept his help. It was a simple polite gesture so he couldn't fathom whe she would refuse to accept, but Tenju elected not to think too deeply on it and didn't linger on the thought. Instead he was more interested in learning more about the place the red headed girl had just mentioned.

"Reim, huh? What makes it so interesting? How far away is it? It isn't listed on the map my master gave me."

Tenju's gaze lit up with the excitement of a small child, his eagerness to learn of new lands and new cultures filling his body with vigor despite the effects of his blood loss still myring his focus and strength slightly.

“Oh? That’s interesting. I always stick with my clan but we are kind of in the same situation right now.” Altan gave the monk a soft smile, amused that he was acting like a child whenever he talked about his master and the fact that they were being ‘ordered’ to do something that forced them to leave their ‘home’. “Hmmm, I haven’t really think about it yet. It just crossed my mind, the elders said it is a pretty big country and that there’s no more slavery there so maybe that’s why.” The redhead said, tilting her head for a bit as she recalled what the elders told her about the country. “I am not really sure how far it is, but it might take months to reach it. What about you? You are going to stay in Magnostadt?"