Snippet #1298802

Sydo let out a slight sigh when Raiyla complied. As he stood there, his eyes followed Raiyla as she seated herself in the spot she was before. He noticed she let out a groan of discomfort. He was sure it was from her exhaustion, and he fought with himself on whether or not to comfort her, but what could he possibly do?

Sydo’s sight shifted over to Tess when she finally asked the question he was sure was on all of their minds. He would’ve said something, but instead he decided to listen to Ryu. The Prince made a good point, but they weren’t in the best position to simply charge in and claim victory over six overly powered Commanders. It was an impossibility right now. “For a Prince, you don’t know much about the realities of war, Ryu. What we saw in Rivercliff isn’t the only the blood we’ll see spilled.” Sydo thought to himself as he focused and pondered on Ryu’s words. Sydo’s body tensed when he heard Ryu mention that woman along with his father. ‘Karen’, he would remember that name.

Sydo turned at the voice of Marina as she handed Raiyla the Valerian root. A sense of relief came over Sydo as he watched Raiyla make the root into a beverage. His eyes narrowed with concern when she winced. He also listened with a bit of amusement, when Zet finally introduced himself. “At least everyone knows now…” Sydo thought to himself as his eyes glazed over.

The young knight’s attention shifted over to Dugon just as the large Terran suddenly began to yawn, and stretch out his arms. Sydo raised his eyebrow in speculation. “Was he…napping?” Sydo thought to himself as he stared at the large man. He was somewhat amazed by the fact that Dugon actually sat and slept there this whole time without making a sound. Sydo would have been resting from exhaustion as well if it was not for his days in the army. A soldier didn’t receive much sleep, and even when they did, they always slept lightly in case of attack. This way of resting had eventually become a natural habit for Sydo.

He listened to Tess as she spoke, and suggested that the group go to the capital. She was right. It was somewhat far away, after all Sydo had just ridden from there himself on Sidian. To walk though, would take longer, and they would need to take a different route to avoid any attention. “Whether or not that woman has notified her masters of the wielders gathering, she only found out about some of them. Thankfully Marina and Raiyla weren’t in the village, so they shouldn’t be known.” Sydo thought to himself. Sydo glanced back at Zet for a moment and finished thinking, “And then there’s him. He may be a good asset to the group, if he can prove himself.” He listened to Tess further as she explained why it was best for them to head there. Sydo crossed his arms, as he debated about what they should do.

Then his focus was interrupted when Raiyla stood and began to speak about going to the capital as well. “You’re right. Both of you.” Sydo said as he glanced back from Raiyla to Tess. “If we go head on into the battlefield, Ryu, then we’ll have no chance. We’ll die the moment we cross the border. It won’t matter what we do, if we’re traveling blind either. We need to re-group at the capital. When we get there we can all get horses, food, and the supplies we’ll need for our journey to the border.” Sydo said when his sight shifted to Ryu. It seemed to him that Ryu was more intent on going to battle than anyone else. Sydo stared at Ryu as he spoke again with a lower tone of voice, “I didn’t think about this before…” Sydo’s glanced over at Raiyla as he remembered what she told him in the tent about how they all had a grudge toward the Dark Elenians. “… But, I suppose each of us has something against the Dark Kingdom. You’re not the only one who wants to end this war, Ryu.” Sydo said after his sight shifted over to Ryu again.

Sydo's attention was drawn back to Raiyla as she spoke. He was surprised to find her standing closer to him than before. "What is the best way to get to the capital?” Raiyla asked. Sydo reached under his garb from behind and took out small standardized map of the land. He unrolled the map and began to look over it. Sydo finally spoke as he glanced over the different areas of the map and pointed to a location, “Well, if we head south, we should exit the forest and head into the fields. There are no roads near there, which means no people, so that should keep us undiscovered.”

He was about to explain more, but he heard and saw Raiyla gasping for air, and holding her forehead. He immediately reached back his hand and stuffed the map back under his garb. He watched her turn, and a slight sense of distress came over him. Sydo finally stepped in front of her and spoke, “Raiyla...look at me. Are you okay?” he asked as he lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. He was actually quite nervous about doing so, and he couldn’t help but realize that her skin was so soft. He then looked into her eyes, and waited for a response.