((Another transcript.))<br/><br/>As he heard the sound of footsteps walking over to him, Caedrin steeled himself, fully prepared for a verbal torrent. The footsteps stopped, and he waited a few more moments; when nothing came, he was surprised, enough to where his head shot up and he found himself staring her straight in the eyes.<br/><br/>She smiled as he looked up, locking her eyes on his. They say eye contact is the best way to prove honesty. Few can lie with their eyes. She used this now to show him she meant it. "Finished beating yourself up yet? Can we hunt her down? She was injured. She wouldn't make it far." She almost continued, planning to point out that he was human and exhausted, and anyone would have made the same mistake, but she knew he would only resent it, much as he needed to hear it.<br/><br/>He wanted to argue, but he didn't. Nothing would come out right even if he tried. He looked off to the side, running things through in his mind. Eventually he sighed, standing up without a word as he resigned himself to the idea. He let the glow in his hand brighten, taking a look around the area to try and get a sign of which way the thief left.<br/><br/>She nodded, watching the look in his eyes slowly change. When he stood, she followed, pushing to her feet. She knew magic wouldn't help them now, so instead, she looked for signs. "With that injury, she couldn't fly. She had to have walked out. But I doubt she'd use something big enough to leave a trail to track. Maybe there's something personal in her pack?"<br/><br/>Caedrin nodded in agreement, recognizing her idea was probably the best place to start. He stepped over to the pack, letting the light shine over it as he opened it and took a look inside. There were various objects, likely stolen, but nothing that seemed particularly identifying. He threw the pack back onto the ground, cursing under his breath as he did so. He was at a loss. He had never screwed up this badly on the job before, and he had never tried to track down a shapeshifter. It seemed impossible from where he was standing.<br/><br/>She followed him to the pack and watched him dig inside it. When he threw it aside, she nodded, "Nothing, huh? Look... we're both exhausted, and we got the good back. I'd say job well done. She'll strike again, and when she does, we'll nail her. For now, I really think we should take a look at that head of yours. Come on down here"<br/><br/>He crossed his arms and looked away as she spoke, mentally disagreeing with her comment of it being a job well done. The thief escaped, the stolen medical supplies were already used, and he got himself knocked out because he let his guard down. Altogether, it seemed like a miserable failure in his eyes. The way this merchant girl had treated him previously made her personality today surprising, although that was nothing compared to his reaction when she asked him to step over so she could take care of his wound. His eyes grew wide and he stared at her, utter shock written on his features.<br/><br/>She chuckled, "What you think I'm all beast and no beauty? Please. I do have my faults..." She beckoned again, leaning forward into the cart to pick up the medical supplies from where he'd tossed them. "We can't have you bleeding all over. I'm not cleaning it up if you do. So let me take a look."<br/><br/>He let out a slight chuckle, reaching his hand up to the clotted hair on the back of his head. It had spread a bit even since he last checked, so her offer was a logical one. He stepped over, hesitating for a moment before sitting down awkwardly. "Listen, I uh.. I'm.. sorry," he said slowly, practically tripping over his own words as he did so.<br/><br/>She chuckled, hopping up into the cart before maneuvering around behind him. Setting the kit down beside her, she began pulling out items, figuring out what was in there. It was a pretty decent kit, she was surprised to discover. Using a small bottle of liquid, and a folded piece of clean cloth, she carefully began to clean the blood away to get a look at it. "Why are you sorry? I'm the one who passed out and left you alone, without backup. There is nothing you could have done."<br/><br/>"No, not for that. For the way I treated you. It seems I have.. misjudged you," he stated simply, trying to keep his head as still as he could while she worked.<br/><br/>She winced as she exposed a very large lump. The skin was split open over the lump, leaving an open wound about an inch and a half long. "Ach... that's quite the bump... your head must be killing you..." She smiled slightly as she switched bottles. Using a new cloth, she began to clean the wound. It was an antiseptic, as well as an anesthetic. It would block the nerve endings in the wound for a while, hopefully relieving him of some of the pain, though there was nothing to do about the headache except sleep. "Well, you had some help with that judgement, I admit... I only saw the pompous, uncaring knight when you came in, demanding answers. So I gave you the show you expected. Guess we were both wrong."<br/><br/>He winced a bit as she applied the other mixture, the process stinging more than he anticipated. It was a worthwhile procedure though, as the pain from the wound was greater than he let on; injuries were something he was used to working through, so masking it was relatively easy. After the pain died down, he couldn't help but laugh. She was right, they both assumed too many things, without even giving each other a chance. "Yeah.. We were. I only hope my apologies will be sufficient, Miss..?" He stopped for a minute just shy of the last word, realizing he had never even gotten her name.<br/><br/>She chuckled, finishing with cleaning it up. She would need to give it a minute to lose feeling before trying to stitch it closed, however, so she settled for digging around in the pack. Surprised, she found a pouch of herbs that smelled familiar. Perfect. She began looking around for her canteen. "You can call me M-... Brinn. My name's Brinn." She smiled as she handed him the canteen. "These herb pellets will be difficult to swallow. They were poorly made, but trust me. You will want them. Its a heavy pain killer. You'll feel absolutely fantastic for..." she examined the size of the pellet, "a good twelve hours. Just long enough."<br/><br/>His eyebrows rose a bit as she stumbled over her words, not sure whether to believe the name she gave or not. He shrugged the feeling off; if she had a reason for concealing her name, he would respect that. She had already proven she was not as one-dimensional as she initially seemed. He took the canteen and pills he was handed and eyed them for a minute, before shrugging and smiling at her. "Well then, Brinn," he said, swallowing the pills with minor difficulty after. "It's very nice to finally meet you. I'm Caedrin."<br/><br/>She brushed the fragments of herb from her hands and settled down to sit beside him, feet dangling off the end. Drawing her knife, she fiddled with it to keep her hands busy, answering without making eye contact. "How long have you been responding to petty crime calls, Caedrin?"<br/><br/>He let out a sigh, crossing his arms and leaning back. "Longer than you'd think. I may be a paladin, but there's not a lot of fascinating stuff going on in the kingdom lately. Even the higher-ranking knights can only occupy themselves on the simple things... Not that I'm complaining, of course. That just means crime is stagnant."<br/><br/>She shook her head, peering off into the blackness of the wooods around them. Spinning the hilt of the knife between her hands, she spoke quietly, "No... It just means that they are being discreet. Evil never sleeps. It never goes away."<br/><br/>"I'm well aware of that; but you shouldn't be. I take it you have.. experience.. with evil?" he questioned, turning his head towards her.<br/><br/>"This world is full of it. It is impossible not to be exposed to evil. Those that think they have yet to see evil face to face are blinded by the illusion... the facade."<br/><br/>"Yes, but don't forget the majority of the population IS blind to it.. Largely because of the army. All of the menial things the population notice are taken care of before they become an issue, while the real crimes are.. ignored." He rested his chin on his hand, his mind thinking back to his past. He had closer experience to the evil she spoke of than most people ever would.. It was his entire reason for choosing the life he did. "And, uh.. There's also the blood-magic."<br/><br/>She knew he was hinting at the magic she herself had used. But she couldn't bring herself to open up. Instead she responded as if she had nothing to do with it. "Much of the worst we see in this world comes from the forbidden ways. The power of the dark magic is enticing, and maddening to most."<br/><br/>Caedrin was extremely curious how a girl like her had fallen into dark magic, but it was clear that she had no intention of sharing that information with him. He was still somewhat uncomfortable being in the company of a dark magic user, but he owed her for her help, enough to at least give her a chance. "I see.." he said, after a long pause. "So what are you going to do now, if I may ask?"<br/><br/>She shrugged, delaying her answer to think carefully, taking the canteen from him to take a long drink. Finally, she answered quietly, "same as always... Keep moving. Buy and sell. Learn all I can about everything I can find...stay alive."<br/><br/>The way she paused and spoke the last words concerned him. "'Stay alive'? ..Are you in danger, Brinn?" he asked, turning towards her with a look of unease.<br/><br/>She smiled, glancing over at him, trying to make the smile show in her eyes. "Why? Aren't we all in danger? My life is no different from others." She drank deeply from the canteen again, wishing it was full of something more than water.<br/><br/>The girls actions spoke a completely different story than her words. In the time he had spent solving petty crimes and disputes, Caedrin learned to read people better than most, and it was clear she was being less than honest; from the way she spoke, to the forced smile she gave and the long drink she took after finishing. "Brinn, please.. Are you in danger?" he asked again, staring her straight in the eyes.<br/><br/>She thumped the stopper into the canteen with the palm of her hand. Handing it to him, she sheathed her knife and hopped to her feet. "It's nothing, really. Certainly not something the royal court can help me with. They see only shades of black and white. I would be hunted right along with those that-" she cut off the rest, moving around restlessly to check that her shipment was still secure.<br/><br/>Caedrin set the canteen down, standing up after her. He rested a firm hand on her shoulder, maintaining eye contact the entire time. "I'm not the royal court. My name is Caedrin Vallers, and I'm a human. More than that, I am intent on protecting the people of my realm. Let me help you."<br/><br/>She avoided eye contact stubbornly, her perfect, hard as stone self control began to crack. "You are enough a part of the court, that I-.... I can't. You have your duty. You have to act on it."<br/><br/>"You're right, I have my duty. And my duty is to my people," he stated simply. "Whether or not it falls in line with what the court deems proper, I will do what I believe is right. So far I've been lucky enough for those two things to coincide.. But can you guess what I would do if I had to choose between my people or my position?"<br/><br/>She squirmed, incredibly uneasy. Unable to stand the pressure of such attention from another person, especially from a soldier of the Court, she pulled away. As there was really nothing to be done, no work needing to be finished, she walked to the head of the cart and began checking the straps of the harness. The horses were unhitched, as she'd left them the day before, so she began tending to them. As she always did, she fed them a sack of oats to keep them docile, and reward them for the coming work. Next, she began strapping them into the harnesses, jerking the buckles tight with perhaps more aggression than was needed. After it would likely have seemed as though she would not answer, she finally spoke, "I can't... Don't you see? As soon as this comes out... to anyone... it's all over. This is bad, okay? It's really bad. But it's mine. I have to handle it. This is up to me to fix it." Instead of tears, as would have been the case with any other woman, anger caused her voice to crack.<br/><br/>Caedrin sighed as she walked away, forcibly resigning himself to the fact that she wouldn't talk. Even if this girl hadn't helped him, he would still insist on aiding her to the best of his ability; but the fact that she helped him capture a thief - even if only temporarily - as well as healed his wounds, just made him want to help more. It was obviously a serious issue, and he had assumed she would not trust him with it so easily, especially considering the circumstances and recency of their meeting, but he still had to try.. But, alas and alack, there was nothing to show for it. As she finished what she had to say, he shook his head and turned around, walking back to the stump he had been sitting on the previous night and leaving her with the words; "You don't have to be alone if you don't choose to be."