bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
Bethen didn't like the way that the older man scowled down at her, his response less than courteous when she had been perfectly friendly. Perhaps it was because she had forgotten to call him Ser? It was, of course, nothing personal -- just as nothing between a Templar and a Mage should ever be personal -- still, it made her feel just a little sullen, even after Alderic had cut in and resolved the situation by pursuing Aurin. She stepped back into the herd of magi, removing herself from Maddock's scrutinizing stare. They were to wait, then, although it was difficult for such a large group of people -- several of them still fairly young and quite fidgety -- to stand completely idle.
Beth felt quite awkward at that moment, an uneasy silence having settled over the entire group. Maddock hadn't forbidden them from speaking, but it seemed obvious that he wanted them to remain quiet, and from the way he had practically growled at her, she didn't want to gain further ire by testing it. Bored with staring at the same direction that the duo had disappeared to, now obscured by the body of a horse and its rider, she instead turned to watching the others within the group.
In the dull, long moment, Byron kicked at a rock, which set off a game between himself and Emrys. A wordless agreement had been reached on the goal: to see how close they could get to Lirana without actually hitting her. The elf, meanwhile, wasn't paying attention to either of them, too busy stealing sideways glances at the youngest Templar, who was, in turn, trying very hard not to be obvious about watching her, either. It would have almost been cute to observe, if it wasn't so terribly doomed and completely forbidden. It seemed oddly uncharacteristic of Lirana, but these were unique circumstances -- had they never been sent together on this journey, a rapport was not likely to have blossomed between her and Ser Trevan, at all. There was a tragic illusion of freedom that came with being outside of the Tower walls.
Bethen thought to say something before things got carried away, but she knew her former roommate would have rather died than admit to any sort of inappropriate interests in people, not to mention it wasn't as though they were exactly friends or confidantes. It wasn't her place to meddle, either, so she kept her mouth shut and suppressed a sigh. By then, Aurin and Alderic should have reached the fire ahead, but there were no sounds of conflict -- if there was any trouble somewhere in the darkness, the men certainly didn't seem to be in the thick of it. In fact...was that singing? She couldn't make out the words, but it sounded like a woman's voice, jovial rather than threatening.
Everyone else must have heard it, too, and Ser Maddock narrowed his eyes and grumbled something under his breath before picking up the slack in his reins. It sounded something like, Aurin and typical, but Beth couldn't be certain. "Seems secure. Move along." The first part was directed at himself, the latter more of an order. He certainly wasn't hesitating, setting his horse into a steady trot hardly before anyone else was prepared to follow. It was either move forward now, or be left behind -- and were the unknown of the woods less threatening in appearance than the Templars, it would have been an opportune moment to slip away. But as it was, Maddock counted on there being no stragglers and he was very accurate in his gamble of sorts.
When they finally caught up to the meager campsite, there were no bandits to be found -- simply two Templars and a pretty young woman, all of whom seemed familiar with one another. It was a curious sight to Bethen, but again, she was in no position to say as much. Maddock continued the talking, instead, barking at the pair: "Demarc, Thearre, who is she, and why are you just standing around?"