One x One discussion

Max was shocked into silence, staring at her, open mouthed. Then he gathered his wits about him and shook his head, his brows wrinkling and his cheeks heating defensively. "Foolish attempt?" He says. "For all I knew one of you was the sorcerer. For all I knew, you worked for him. For all I knew, you were a new freaking sorceress that wanted the staff to gain power and overthrow the current sorcerer!"

"I should have killed you when I had the chance." Lakle responds in a scarily calm voice, turning and walking away. Her fists were clenched at her sides, her knuckles white under the pressure.

Max stared after her, his brow wrinkling in confusion. He'd expected her to come back with equal amounts of anger and stubbornness, not calmly say something so sinister and walk away. He rubbed his face in his hands, suddenly feeling extremely exhausted. He then looked up, intent on working once again to distract him.

Lakle ordered one of the men to show the boy around, then disappeared into the tower. The man came over, looking quite distressed about recent events, but still in control. "So you're the one who's gotten on Miss Lakle's bad side, huh?@

Max smiled slightly at the man, nodding in greeting and agreement. "Yeah, she doesn't seem to like me much. Can't imagine why." He said in a sad attempt to crack a joke. "She's really..... Something, isn't she. Very controlling. And demanding. Not that those are bad traits, but...." He looked up at the man, raising an eyebrow. "What'd she send you to me for?" He'd seen her give the man an order, but hadn't been close enough to hear what it'd been.

"I'm supposed to show you around. As much as she dislikes you, she's not about to let you out into the world. Then again, it's probably so you don't leak our secrets." The man says it like it's not a joke, and judging on how Lakle has acted before, it probably isn't.

"Leak your secrets?" Max said incredulously. "That would be believable, but I don't know any secrets worth leaking. I mean, you got the staff, but that's not going to be new to anyone out there. It's not like they didn't see you all go into the portal."

"Except, since you've been through the portal, the magic on you can be traced. We've all been blessed with magic from the Mage's Tower, that prevents the magic from lingering, but you haven't." The man explains, glancing over his shoulder at the tower.

Max frowns slightly at the unfamiliar name, then realized what he was talking about when he'd glanced at the tower. "Well then what she so pissed at me for?" He said. "She was the one who bloody yelled for me to follow."

"She may not like you, but she is never one to leave someone to die. Killing someone, well, that's another story." The man says in a matter-of-fact voice. "Now, come on. I have to show you the barracks."

"She may not like you, but she is never one to leave someone to die. Killing someone, well, that's another story." The man says in a matter-of-fact voice. "Now, come on. I have to show you the barracks."

Max followed him wordlessly, rolling over the man's words in his mind. Sighing slightly, he decided that it probably didn't matter. He'd jumped through the portal and was landed in this awkward situation, and it didn't matter how or why he'd gotten here.

((I'm going to bed, sorry))

The man gave the boy a tour of the small island, while Lakle watched from the Tower. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. If only he had never interfered... Then she wouldn't have lost half of her men.

((I'm going to bed, sorry))

The man gave the boy a tour of the small island, while Lakle watched from the Tower. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. If only he had never interfered... Then she wouldn't have lost half of her men.

((I'm going to bed, sorry))

The man gave the boy a tour of the small island, while Lakle watched from the Tower. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. If only he had never interfered... Then she wouldn't have lost half of her men.

((K. Night))

Max followed the man around the island, in a daze but still storing away the locations of the important stuff for later reference. He kept thinking about the fight. He felt horrible for stepping in, knowing it was his fault that so many had died.

"And these are the barracks. They're mostly empty, since almost everyone stays with their family." The man gave the boy a sympathetic look, turning to head out. "As of now, Lakle is the only one who sleeps in the barracks."

Max nodded, looking around, then turned, only to see him gone. He hurried to catch up with the man, catching up after only a few long strides. "She doesn't have a family here?" He asked.

The man shook his head. "Her parents and brother were killed by the sorcerer in his first attack." He said somberly, sighing softly.

Max opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He honestly didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing. However, it seemed to demand some sort of response, so he said, "Oh. Well.... That.... Stinks."

The man nodded, then walked off again, leaving the boy. There was a reason Lakle was so iron cold- she was alone. An hour of so later, she descended from the tower.

Max had sat himself outside the barracks, looking around at the people around him. He felt like the outsider, and he was. He sat with his arms wrapped around his knees, waiting for something to happen and him to get ordered to work or thrown in some jail.

Lakle greeted some of the woman who were out still, as the island darkened, and crossed to the barracks. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the boy, but she said nothing, slipping inside with silence in her wake.

Max stayed perfectly still as the girl passed, staring down at the ground. Letting out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, he stood and walked in as quietly as he could. As much as he'd prefer to avoid her, he had no place other than in there to sleep, as he didn't fancy sleeping outside.

Lakle was laying in her bed. Well, it was more of a hammock. Hers was hidden behind a makeshift curtain that hung from the ceiling. Her hammock had a pile of blankets on it, along with a pillow, and was quite large, like every hammock in the barracks. Her things were stored underneath the hammock, but the staff was absent. Lakle stared at the ceiling, laying on top of the covers.

Max slowly walked through the room, claiming a bed a little ways away from where she was sitting and claimed it as his own. He sat down and stared for a moment at her, then abruptly asked, "What's your name?" Surprising himself, he clamped his mouth shut and looked down.

Lakle sat up, glancing at the boy in surprise. "Lakle." She answered sharply, confusion laced in her voice. She stared at the boy, her sharp expressions sharpened.

Max grunted softly in recognition, refusing to meet what he was sure would be a sharp glare. "Just thought I'd ask so I'm not referring to you as 'the girl,'" He muttered.

Lakle rolled her eyes, sighing. Her glaring was gone, however. She flopped back onto her hammock, closing them again.

The silence stretched, and Max felt himself wanting to make conversation just to fill the void. He drew his legs up onto his hammock with him, laying on his side so he could still see her. "Hey..." He started awkwardly. "Thanks for, you know... Saving me today. You didn't have to."

Lakle slowly rolled to face him, in the same position as the boy. She swallowed hard, and nodded slowly, not sure what to say. Her face was still carved into a frown.

Max looked at her for a moment, then back down. He didn't know what else to say. It wasn't like he knew her well enough to strike a conversation if she didn't want to talk.

"Who are you?" She mumbled, barely audible. She glanced at the boy, shifting slightly.

"Hm?" Max said instinctively, though he'd heard her just fine. "Oh, I'm Max." He said. He avoided telling his last name, knowing it would be recognizable as the royal name.

"And why were you after the staff?" Lakle slides off of the hammock, standing and walking towards Max. Her cold demeanor was gone, replaced with a soft caution.

"And why were you after the staff?" Lakle slides off of the hammock, standing and walking towards Max. Her cold demeanor was gone, replaced with a soft caution.

Max sat up when he noticed Lakle do the same, looking up at her. "Well, I was hoping to save the kingdom, but my interference simply made things worse.... A lot worse." He looked down, not wanting to see the accusation that was sure to be in her eyes.

Lakle swallowed hard. She forced some words to her mouth, truly meaning them but feeling awkward in saying them. "I'm sorry..." She whispered.

Max looked at her in surprise. "What are you sorry about? You have nothing to apologize for. Everything you did was to protect your men or obtain the staff. I can't blame you for either, especially after you saved my life." He said.

"But that doesn't excuse how I treated you afterwards." She said quietly, swallowing hard again. She stared at the ground, standing awkwardly.

"How you acted was totally understandable." Max said. "I don't blame you for it one bit. After all, it was my fault that half your men died. I'd be pretty pissed off too."

Lakle glanced at Max, almost nervously, hugging herself in the cool air. She swallowed hard, trying to find words to say, although she failed. Her mind drifted to thoughts of her men, and she squeezed her eyes shut.