Atonement // PAST THREAD // Aerith

[Rwaht]

x x

To Be Free

They'd nearly hung him, then they'd called him Praetor. Rwaht's life had become decidedly weird.

It hadn't been long since he'd been rotting away in a cell, as punishment for his crimes 'against the Hylian realm, its Knights, and its Princess". He supposed his crimes against the Princess were only proxy by way of his crimes against the Hylian Knights; certainly his protection of the Hybrid girl had been nothing but the protection of a common whelp.

Of course, it had been the Princess who'd pardoned him, after having been urged on by the Knights' Captain, Azler. He supposed he couldn't maintain his grudge against all of the Hylian Royalty and the Knights. But that didn't mean he had to like it. His Sentinels were still a new group, gathering members--though Rwaht was recruiting as fast as he could, and there were plenty of recruits to draw from--and so they had to be supported by the Hylian Knights, in the meantime. And most of those Knights thought that Hybrids were nothing more than lowborn scum, unless they were Hybrids themselves.

Like me, Rwaht thought bitterly, thinking of his Hylian blood. He could blend in wherever he needed to, even among the vaunted Hylian race. His sister--half-sister, really--hadn't been so lucky. He had been given gifts among measure, had even been given a second chance at life, one he did not deserve. So while he could so much as stand, he patrolled the streets, or flew above them, looking down on the city below. He was hanging off of one of the spires on Hyrule Castle, flaming wings folded behind his back, watching the city below. He narrowed his eyes, thinking that he saw something. He leapt from the spire and flew, soaring nearly as high as the clouds, watching the city below.

[Aerith]

Aerith was nervous, and certainly had every right to be at this point. It was dusk, and no doubt her father would be nervous about her not being home before nightfall. She was also alone wandering the nearly empty streets of Castle Town, and it was still so new to her to be here. At sixteen, she was still rather innocent to many things in life. Death, no, but to the ways of human nature she was. Living in the seclusion of the forest could only teach so much, and Aerith pondered what she had done to have gotten herself into this situation. She had certainly not flaunted anything that would earn her the attention of these men, and she so very much tried to remain calm. Perhaps they did not need a reason, and were merely looking for any prey to fall upon within an instant. Her wide-eyed nature had never gotten her into trouble before, and now she had been back into quite the corner. Aerith held her mother's basket close to her side, wishing the wall would hide her from their hungry eyes. It appeared the leader of the small group had attached itself toward the side of her head.

"Well, look here. We've got ourselves a half breed, boys! Almost thought she was Hylian, but look at her ears!"

Aerith did not flinch at their leers, and merely stared back at him with a raised chin, narrowing her eyes at him in defiance. What did it matter that she was half Hylian and Human? Her parents had been very much in love, and they had loved her with all of their hearts! They laughed, goading her for lack of a 'pure' heritage. She stayed silent, hoping that perhaps they would grow bored of her if they did not get the desired response out of her. Oh, how wrong she was. The longer she stayed silent, the more irritated they appeared. A startled shout of protest left her as the leader grasped her by the strap of her blue summer dress. The young woman had emitted a response, struggling against his hold with a renewed vigor, a sudden release of adrenaline making it hard to keep a good grasp upon her. "Release me!" she cried out, angered and revolted by his leer at her.

"Hey, she's rather pretty. Shame that you're only selling flowers, when you could get much more if you sold something else."

Aerith stiffened, ice blue eyes widening in revulsion and panic. No, no, no! The young woman pushed at him with her free arm, not caring if her dress strap snapped as a result. All of her instincts were screaming at her to escape, but even her surprising strength was saving her right now. Her heart hammered against her chest uncomfortably, and the adrenaline rush had her trembling. She kicked out at him, hopeful when he winced and nearly let go of her. Aerith attempted to pull herself away, but it merely angered him. Shoving her into the wall behind her, she felt dazed for a moment, but soon renewed her struggles. She would not go down without putting up some sort of fight! Scratch, claw, kick. Her breathing sounded loud to her own ears, and she prayed that someone would notice her plight. Oh, Goddesses, she did not wish to used by them in such a way!

[Rwaht]

x x

All or Nothing

Rwaht flew overhead on burning wings, moving noiselessly through the sky.

Well, not quite noiselessly. If you listened closely, you could hear the distinctive burn of flame, a load roar made silent by the fact that it was far away. And if you listened even closer, you discovered that the sound came not from the horizon, but from above....

And if you made it that far, you might look to the sky to see the huge, red silhouette against the sky, gliding like a bird, before the wings would explode and writhe as they flapped down, fire arcing and spreading and sending heat everywhere. But by then, it was usually too late.

The men below, as it happened, did not look up. They were quite busy. But Rwaht did look down. The huge mass of flame in the sky suddenly folded in on itself, becoming what appearing to be a man-sized pillar of flame that dropped from the sky, descending first slowly, then faster, faster, until it was soaring towards the ground like a diving falcon. By that time, even the rapists noticed.

"What the--"

The pillar of flame collided with the ground, flame spreading outwards in a circle, then snapping back to furl into a pair of wings on the back of a man who stood, on one knee, glaring at the men. A sword was in his hand, made of fine steel and shaped unusually, and his eyes were as cold as his wings were hot. For an absurd moment, the men stared, until Rwaht abruptly turned and flapped his wings, slapping them on either side of the man. He screamed in pain and ran, until Rwaht slapped him with the side of his sword, knocking him out. He was unhurt. The flames had not burned him. Rwaht turned to look at the remaining men, his face cruel and impassive. One ran at him with a knife, before there was a blur of movement, a flash of flames, and the man was on the ground, clutching a stump where his hand had been. Rwaht's blade was stained by blood.

"None of you will forget this," he promised. The rest ran, and Rwaht calmly raised his unusual weapon, and flicked the trigger at the back, filling it with magical energy. He fired twice, taking the other two men in the back. They stumbled and fell, burn marks searing their clothing or skin. Rwaht heard the clanking of armour, and frowned. The Hylian Knights had finally arrived.

Good for them.

After he was done, he turned to the girl and flicked the blood from his blade, before he moved one of his wings over it, burning the blood away. He sheathed his sword and his wings vanished, the flames slowly receding towards his back.

"Sorry about the mess," Rwaht said, over the groaning cries of the man who'd lost a hand, as the Knights took him into custody. "Are you all right?"

[Aerith]

Aerith did hear a distinct sound over her ringing heartbeat, pausing for a moment in her struggle. What was coming now? Fear laced her heart, nearly freezing her in place. It took much to make her feel such a way, it appeared her cries of protest had been heard by someone. A ball of flame was descending from the sky, and in her panicked state she wondered if it was the Goddess Din. The figure descended from the sky, and so she closed her eyes to shield herself from the bright light. It appeared she was not the only one that had noticed, and the one male had abruptly let go of her. Aerith stumbled, icy eyes opening as she fell to the ground with a small gasp of surprise and pain. She glanced upward, taking in the form of a man as the flames surrounded him dissipated into an outward circle. A part of her wished to laugh nervously, because she had not been expecting that at all.

Aerith wondered if she was in shock at this point, but she noticed the glint of his sword in the dying sunlight, and knew that he meant to injure these vile men. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively knew that she had no wish to witness what these males had wrought upon themselves. The young woman closed her eyes, turning her head away from the violence that was soon to come. Screams and rushed footsteps filled the air, but she did not tremble with fear. Of course, she had no wish to see pain upon others, but she was not that idealistic to be unaware of the harshness of the world. Punishment for the wicked, and Aerith was lucky this male had even seen her at all. His voice was cold, promising more pain for whomever remained. Not once did she open her eyes, slowing her breathing to keep herself calm. Was it over yet? It appeared her savior had dispatched the men easily enough, and the sound of armored boots filled the air. Hylian Knights? Well, they had come rather late, and she was grateful someone had stopped these men before they had done anything truly harmful to her. A shaken mind and bruises were enough to be grateful for over a lifetime of scars.

Aerith opened her blue eyes slowly, still staring at the cobblestone road beneath her, wondering if she would see bloodshed should she glance away. Groans and grunts of pain could still be heard, but she pushed herself into a kneeling position. It was a little surreal to her, and Aerith wondered if she was experiencing shock. Panic and fear had left her, and her heart was beginning to slow it's frantic dance beneath her breast. The male's gentle voice alerted her that he was asking for her well being, and Aerith looked up. Slim fingers hesitantly brushed her tied pink hair over her shoulder. Aside from from some aches, and no doubt a few bruises that would litter her back and upper arms from her rough treatment, she would be fine. Taking a deep breath, Aerith smile sweetly at the man above her. "Yes, I'm quite alright now. I just need a moment to regain myself," she reassured lightly. No tears, no sobs, just her eery calmness in the face of an attack that could have turned out much, much worse.

Aerith knew she was too peculiar for her own good.

[Rwaht]

x x

To Be Free

This girl was unusual.

He'd made more than a couple daring rescues before, but they usually ended in a lot of blubbering and panicked shrieks. At least this was sparing him the terrible headache. He frowned, wondering where the girl had come from. She mustn't have been very familiar with Castle Town, since she'd been caught so unawares ... selling flowers. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the flower basket, but didn't say anything. The poor girl didn't need someone chiding her for her naivete at quite this moment.

He remembered, after the fact, that she'd closed her eyes while he'd gone about his business. The thought made him strangely sad. When she spoke, he was again surprised. She sounded like she could have been discussing the weather, or asking him if he'd like to buy a flower, for all the concern in her voice.

Shock, probably, Rwaht thought, but somehow he wasn't convinced that was the case. There was something strange in the calmness the girl had. It was respectable. Suddenly, a crying boy, pounding at the walls of a burning house flashed into his mind. No trace of the thought was visible on his face, but he did close his eyes and shake his head, as though to rid himself of the memory. He looked back at the girl.

"You're sure you're ... all right," Rwaht said, his voice trailing off curiously. He didn't say anything more, but knelt down and extended a hand. "Here. Let me help you up."

[Aerith]

Aerith could see that he was rather perturbed by her lack of a reaction to her assault, but she had gotten away mostly unscathed. Yes, no doubt that it would certainly make her more sensitive for the neck few days, but she would not let the irrational fear rule her. All she could do was look to her present now and just move on. Not to mention ignore the still bloody pathway that was to the side of her, knowing that seeing the sight would merely make her sick. He had protected her, and Aerith certainly had no wish to repay his rescue with her becoming upset over blood. Her head tilted to the side, confused as to why he had raised his eyebrow at her. Was there something on her. Grimacing, she shifted her sore body to examine herself, but nothing came to sight other than the forming bruises, along with her discarded flower basket. Oh! She hastily gathered the wicker basket, not willing to leave it behind at all. A memento of her late mother, and one of the few things she had. Did he think her rather naive to be caught like that? Perhaps she should have headed home before dusk had even settled in.

Well, then Aerith would not have met this man! Everything happened for a reason, no matter how tragic and despairing. Her optimism was rather unshakeable, and so she bounced back from situations rather quickly. Was that another factor to her naivete? She just believed it was better to smile in the face of sadness rather than letting it overtake her completely. Aerith was not too surprised at his own surprise at her lack of negative emotion toward the event. She had garnered the reaction many times from her father, or from strangers that met her. Concern flickered through her sky blue eyes as he closed his own eyes, shaking his head to rid himself of an unpleasant thought. She leaned forward slightly, trying to gain a closer view of him, but he shook himself of whatever memory rather quickly. Smiling up at him in a reassuring manner, she hoped to ease whatever had left him uncomfortable.

"Yes, I'm alright. Really, you saved me before anything truly terrible could happen," she answered kindly. No doubt he was thinking something was off, but Aerith did not believe she was in shock. Perhaps later the realization would hit her, but right now she was just grateful to be relatively unharmed. Her eyes widened as as he knelt down before her, being quite a few inches taller than her. Icy eyes flickered to his outstretched hand, and she gripped it with her own without a second thought. It was rather sweet of him, and Aerith was rather sore from her rough treatment, and she think she may have injured her ankle from being shoved away so roughly. "I'm sorry if I can't stand right away," she began, using her free hand to gingerly rub her ankle. Wincing briefly, she hoped it was just a sprain. "Oh, I never told you my name. I'm Aerith," she introduced with a sweet smile.

[Rwaht]

x x

To Be Free

He watched the girl with some amusement as she scrambled to grab her basket. He supposed it must have been important to her, for her to act so panicked when she'd just nearly been ... well. Suffice to say it seemed odd that she'd care for a bit of woven wicker, under the circumstances. He supposed he'd have been just as panicked if that one, small splinter of wood that he kept in his pocket went missing. But he also supposed that they kept their respective items for entirely different reasons.

She was smiling at him. Was she actually trying to make him feel better? Stranger and stranger. Rwaht would've smiled himself, if he was more used to it, but as it was he only tried to help her to her feet, until her legs went out from beneath her.

"I'm Rwaht," Rwaht said absent-mindedly, looking at her ankle. It was probably sprained. Definitely not broken, if she could rub it so easily like that, else she had the highest tolerance for pain he had ever witnessed. "I can take you home, if you like. It won't take long," Rwaht promised.

[Aerith]

The basket was very much important to her, and as long as it was nestled within the crook of her, then she was content. A memento of her mother, and a pretty basket to display her plethora of flowers to sell to more kind citizens of Castle Town. A part of her did feel quite badly for those men that had been injured quite harshly, and no doubt the guilt would linger with her for awhile It could not be changed, and it was not her fault, a harsh lesson of life to not use strength to dominate over those not at intimidating. At least she had not been made into an example of what could have to less fortunate women caught unawares, and she vowed to never walk Castle Town unaccompanied when it was dusk again. There was safety in numbers on most occasions, and she certainly learned that now. Oh, how her father must be worried about her! Hopefully he had not left home to go looking for her, because she worried much more about him than herself at times. His age was certainly not too old, but he was certainly not as youthful as he had been.

Aerith smiled in gratitude as he lifted her upon her feet, but she winced again as weight was applied to her sprained ankle. No, certainly not broken from the fall, but it would take a few days to recover. Leaning her weight upon her right leg, she kept a grip upon his hand to steady herself. Aerith wobbled for a moment, but held in her center to maintain balance. Oh, hopefully she would not fall and make things worse. There was no tipping over, and she wondered how she would even make it back home. Journeying to the Faron Woods took quite a few hours. Her icy eyes flickered upward as the male introduced himself to her. Smiling, even though he was looking at her ankle, she found that his name rather suited him. Tilting her head to the side, Aerith was taken aback by his kind offer. It would not take long? Oh, yes, she recalled seeing those wings of flame from his back before she had closed her eyes.

"Are you sure? I'd like that very much, but you've already done more than enough," she answered, both wanting and hesitant. If it was not too out of the way for him, then Aerith would love to be taken home soon. She had been through more than enough for one day, and a nice long sleep sounded quite tempting at the moment. Honestly, Aerith had no wish to decline his offer, and so she hoped he really would not mind returning her back home. "I live along the edge of Faron Woods. It won't be too hard to see, along the north eastern edge of the forest," she described, hoping that he would be able to see it quite clearly from the sky.

[Rwaht]

x x

To Be Free

Rwaht wasn't entirely sure why he'd said that. He wasn't normally prone to big stupid noble gestures; just immeasurable small stupid noble gestures. He figured if he spread them out evenly he was doing as much good as he could in the world. But there was something about the girl ... he wasn't sure what it was, but helping her felt right. At least, that was the closest way he could describe it.

The fact that she's gorgeous probably isn't dampening that heroic impulse either, Rwaht thought dryly, before he bent down and extended a hand to pick her up. "May I?"

She consented, and he lifted her gently into his arms, truthfully not having much experience with it before. As his wings of fire slowly extended from his back, he looked at her curiously, still surprised that she was so calm in the fact of such danger. He'd known many who had faced less violence with more panic.

"Make sure to hold on tightly to that basket of yours," Rwaht warned her, before adding, "Don't worry about the wings. They won't hurt if they touch you."

He bent his knees slightly and looked up, before the huge wings of fire reared back into the sky and flapped once, sending them off like a rocket. As though remembering a second too late that he had a passenger, Rwaht slowed down a touch and began to glide at a more comfortable pace, Castle Town melting away beneath them amongst the changing landscape. He leaned towards Faron Woods and looked down, scanning the spot that Aerith had indicated. Sure enough, it was not hard to miss. After a few minutes, he started to bring them down towards the place, and brought her to her landing, his wings vanishing again. He let her down on her doorstep and said,

"Sorry about the rough ride, but you should be safe now. Farewell, Aerith." Something about that felt wrong. He felt as though there was something more he could've said, but it wasn't coming to him. He turned back for a moment and sighed, but didn't say anything else before he called his wings back and took flight once more.

Back on patrol, I guess.

_\\\ EXIT _///

[Aerith]

Aerith felt her cheeks darken as she was lifted into his arms, having never experienced such a thing before. The weight was lifted from her sprained ankle, and that was certainly a relief to the young woman. Her eyes widened as the flaming wings extended from his back, in awe as she witnessed it more clearly this time. It was certainly a wonder to behold, and it must be rather useful to be able to fly. To think she was about to experience such a sensation! Excitement bubbled in her, at odds with what she should be feeling after such a traumatic experience. Honestly, she would most likely process what had almost happened when she was alone, but her gratitude toward Rwaht was certainly pushing that away. Her head tilted, wondering why he kept peering at her with bemusement. Smiling at him rather knowingly, she used her one arm to slide around his neck for a more secure grip. Her other hand was clutching her basket to her safely, wanting nothing to happen to the precious keepsake.

"Really? Usually you have to be careful with fire," she replied, slim fingers curiously running through the warm wings. True to his word, they did not burn her at all, and it was a pleasant sensation. A gasp of surprise escaped her at Rwaht suddenly veered off into the sky, far above Castle Town. Icy eyes closed for a moment, tensing at the unexpected start. Thankfully, he had slowed his pace, and so Aerith opened her eyes to gaze in wonder at Hyrule Field beneath them. Castle Town was soon a quickly fading sight behind them, and she lamented that this experience would be over so quickly. What had taken her hours would merely take Rwaht a few minutes. Her home was not too far away now, and so she reveled the few remaining moment she had to enjoy flying like this. Perhaps some good had come from her trying day after all! Rwaht began to descend, kind enough to land right before her doorstep, so she would not have to walk too far at all.

Aerith slid her arm from around his neck, gingerly standing as he placed her before her door. No doubt her father was inside, pacing back and forth. Soon enough she would explain her experience, and she could put this entire day behind her. "Thank you so much for bringing me home. Until next time, Rwaht," she replied, watching as he turned to leave. Her lips curled into a smile as he glanced back, but he said nothing as he turned and left the same as they had arrived. Aerith was quite sure she would see him again sometime, and so she would seek him out when she next arrived at Castle Town. She would not mind parting with her flowers for free to thank him, and she she turned to enter her home.

[End Thread.]