Vitmori POV

I never realized how refreshing it would be to talk about my experiences. Sure, the things that happened were horrible, but that was my life, and I have no doubt that I've been desensitized to many things. So to see Historietta react so vividly to the events of my past helped remind me of a few things I might have lost inside. How some things should make me feel sad, or how I should still be angry about the actions of others, instead of feeling all... Gray about it. I told her about the first couple of months into the apocalypse, about the friends I had made, the friends I had lost, and the things I had to learn about interacting with ordinary people who weren't nearly as prepared as I had been. As well as all the things I had seen as I journeyed along the western coast from Washington to Texas.

At some point, she decided to tell her story, how she was reincarnated as an infant in a Count's household and how she was one of two sisters and three brothers. She told me of her distant father, who only began paying attention to her when she showed promise to the household or about the kidnappings she's had to endure from criminals trying to get a payday from her affluent father. Around then was when she met Ferodias, who stumbled across her while hunting monsters in the woods after she managed to rescue herself from her kidnappers. She even talked about how he was still undergoing the trials set by his father for him and his two brothers, living undercover as a wandering warrior with his closest friend Regan, and three other guardians he met and recruited on his travels around the continent, living as everyone else would with no support from his family and seeing how the world really is.

Our talk finished for now when her stomach began to rumble; it seemed we had lost track of time, and she had missed lunch; the blush on her face when that happened was rather amusing as she chuckled to herself. "It seems we may have lost track of time... This was nice, Vitmori, thank you." She said politely as she flashed a smile. "Do you think we can try doing this again? It might be difficult to visit, but maybe we can sync slates?" She asked, seeming somewhat hopeful.

'Hah, sure, I don't see why not. Give me some time to figure it out, and we can sync them up before you leave... Actually, after you eat, I want you to get Reyvyre and ask Zasutir to take you to the snake wolf den; I have something to show you there.' I figured after all the talking we did, I could trust her a little more with some of the information I had. Who knows, she might actually have some better insight on things since she's been here longer and been around the people here.

She seemed slightly surprised by that as she considered what I said. "You mean the spitter wolves, right?"

'Spitter wolves? So that's what they're called... Eh, I suppose that fits.' I concede they do spit their venom a lot as a primary attack, so it only makes sense.

Historietta chuckled softly at that. "Well, in any case, I'll see about doing what you asked, cya soon." She said warmly before making her way out and down the mountain."

Isaak POV

It seemed like he was going to be a punching bag today, especially since his sparring session today with Zanitul, Jaz had decided to join in on the 'fun' and teamed with Zanitul to try and teach Isaak how to deal with combat against multiple opponents, though at some point it became a brawl between the two of them after Isaak was sufficiently pummeled enough as the two adults went at it. They must have hit it off or something since the last Isaak had seen of them, they were heading off into the woods together.

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It was just after lunch when Sylvia presented Isaak with his new armor, and it definitely looked rather wild; however, he loved it. It was the first armor set that he could call his own, and he could certainly appreciate the care and craftsmanship that was put into this equipment. He had just finished strapping on the chitin arm guards when he stepped out from behind cover to present himself to the dwarf, who looked him over and whistled. "I was worried how it would look once it was all put together, but you wear it well Isaak. Get used to it, and I'll see about getting you some shaped metal tiles fitted on you. Apparently, Vitmori's finally got that forge going, according to Zasutir, so that we might be seeing metal production soon."

Isaak let out a rare smile as he looked himself over, admiring himself. "I know Trisha's been rather anxious about returning to the forge." He then rolled his shoulders, testing the flexibility of his new equipment before frowning a bit. "I... I don't really see the point in continuing my training as a guard. We've got Vitmori and his beasts patrolling around and defending us, right?" He said, as he brought his arm up and ran his fingers along the chitin.

Sylvia appeared surprised by the sudden change in topic, having been reveling in the rare smile from the young guard. She wanted to say something, but she could tell he wasn't done yet and opted just to listen.

He sighed softly. "The only reason I've been training so hard was to make sure we stay safe in this dangerous place... But now we've got Reonim, Jaz, Reyvyre, and even Rita among us, not to mention Zanitul and even Cinco, who are more than enough to defend this place. That's still not even considering everything Vitmori is doing... I just wonder if it would be more useful for me to pick up a trade and be useful to the group instead of wasting resources swinging a sword around."

Sylvia nodded intently, not finding any reasonable faults in his argument. However, she decided to speak up regardless as she walked up and gently dug a knuckle into his ribs and offered a smile as she looked up at the young man before her. "Well, all that sounds reasonable, and yes, it might certainly be more helpful for you to pick up a trade. Perhaps carpentry with Woody or even hunting with Cinco... But don't ever think that your efforts are wasteful. You are young, yes, especially in the eyes of a dwarf like myself. But it's the responsibility of adults like us to guide young people like yourself down whatever path you choose to follow." She pulls over a chair before standing on it as she reaches out to pat Isaak's shoulder. "I believe the real waste here is for you to give up on your efforts after you've done so much to get to where you are."

Isaak still had a frown on his face, appearing more contemplative than anything as he mulled over her words and his feelings. However, he was soon interrupted when he heard movement around the corner. "I think you're right, kid. Your efforts would be wasted as a guard." The voice said as Tobias stepped into view, the old drakewarden offering a bit of an amused smirk as two other drakewardens soon followed him. "But Joli here thinks you've got promise as a future drakewarden, perhaps even as a drakerider." He mentioned as he gestured to the brown-skinned half-elf, the woman flashing a smile as she gave a small wave with one hand while clutching some sort of egg close to her chest with the other. "And quite frankly, I think you've got the spark, and you're young enough to fit in with the other apprentices... Unless you really want to give up and take a respectable trade instead." The older man taunted, though he was more egging Isaak on.

Sylvia was about to snap at the man but immediately caught on to what seemed to be happening here, glancing over at Isaak curiously as the drakewarden made their offer.

Isaak scowled at the man's words, ready to pick a fight as his hand fell to the hilt of his blade while taking two steps forward. Though he quickly stopped in his tracks as Tobias continued to speak. He didn't really know what to make of the offer, though he had already made a promise to himself as he sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm not planning on leaving h-... I mean, I'm not planning on going anywhere, so no thank you." He said, standing a little taller and looking more tense.

Tobias' brow quirked as he flashed a grin, reading the young man like a book as he stepped forward and clapped Isaak's shoulder before then draping his arm around him and pulling him close, loudly whispering as if conspiring with the young man. "Not to worry, kid, you won't be leaving your little sweetheart anywhere; we're moving in." He explained with a grin on his face. "So, how about it?"

Isaak made a half-hearted attempt to pull away, but he looked clearly thoughtful on it as he glanced at the older man and quirked a brow. "So what do I have to do?"