The Idle Wandering of the Lost Mind [Epic|Private]

[Rae'vyn Kaldres]

Late in the Season of Winter, Era XII

Having escaped the hustle and bustle of the city and her family, the tall woman walked through the relatively unknown wilderness, staying far from the forest. She had been cursed and tortured far too much by such mysterious places. Shuddering, the woman wrapped her arms about her thin frame, her lips having gone a shade of pinkish blue. Dark feathered wings were wrapped about thin shoulders, the warmth from the attached blanket keeping her back warm.

Rae’vyn had decided to walk her horse through the wilderness, Jam, the tan mare, having travelled far with the young woman. The horse followed on lazily, Rae’vyn wondered why she held onto the horse at all. Finding a small clump of trees, the ground underneath relatively dry, Rae’vyn took of the saddle bag and set about unpacking the late lunch. Tossing an apple to the horse she settled the blanket on the floor and allowed the animal to wander. Jam never wandered too far from food.

Munching on a thick slice of bread and cheese, the lady and her ice blue eyes watched the distant road, seeing those that moved between the city and the rest of the Empire.

[Epicurus D. Vampyler]

How much longer do I have too suffer…” the thought had rung through his head the entire trip, it haunted him through the brightening and followed him to his nightmares after dark.

Two cycles before he had held a dagger to his heart, candlemark upon candlemark on his knees next to some unknown crick the dagger’s tip pressed against his chest. No amount of willpower could be mustered to complete the task, no; Aslan was not going to allow the Talon of Aslan that easy of an escape from his destiny. Ever since the Dark Alliance Epic had been deemed the right hand of the god, charged with the cleansing of Jorel’s minions on Telath. Was that all he was for, was there no more allowed to his life? He had fallen in love, yes, the great Epicurus Vampyler had been brought to his knees by beauty, grace and innocence just to have it ripped from his life like everything else he cared for. His daughter, ripped from his life by the…by Alexis Saprapa, Sapretata, Supertato…well, something like that. Arabella, ripped from his life by the gods, and now a curse upon him through some form of demonic art upon his chest creating a permanent barrier to any form of happiness.

Epicurus had decided to give Pristine, his steed a break from holding his sorry ass up. He walked next to the creature holding her reigns as they walked along slowly, a slight breeze picked up sending his unkempt, messy gray hair in a dance around his head. Two cycles of unshaven facial hair kept the cold of the breeze from his face, his cloak wrapped the rest of the body in an attempt at a little more warmth. His eyes locked to the road before him as they walked, deep and empty they were the eyes of a man who had seen too much in his time, had felt too much pain, a man who was lost to the world. Head hang they continued on, his mind traveled from his body in a separate world not hardly paying attention to what was going on around him when he was nuzzled from the side.

”Pristine no, I fed you.” Epic whispered as he brushed the face aside, but to no avail. The nuzzle came again and this time Epic looked up as he pushed it off, too see that it was even coming from the same side as his steed. It was another horse, seemed to have wandered off from it’s owner. He put his hand up to the side of the horse’s neck and rubbed gently, ”Whoa there, where is your rider?”.

[Rae'vyn Kaldres]

Holding an apple core in her hand, the winged woman looked about for the tan mare. Getting to her feet, Rae’vyn saw the horse nuzzling a stranger on the road. Rolling her eyes she half ran and walked her way to the road. Reaching the horse she gently rested a hand on its side as she looked at the man who had caught it.
“You look away for one second and they’re off in a flash, you want to go anywhere and they become slower than snails.” Tossing the apple to the tan mare, she patted the horses neck affectionately and turned to the man.

Taking in his appearance with a few glances, Rae’vyn smiled warmly and offered her hand. “Thank you, I am Rae’vyn and the horse is Jam.” As if acknowledging its name, the horses nodded before turning away to munch at the grass. “Are you traveling to Mystique or just wandering?” He looked much like a wanderer, yet held a quality about him, like he had seen more than was possible, things that would have driven people mad. Still, it was a nice face that looked back at the human.

[Epicurus D. Vampyler]

If he had not seen so much in his life, he would have been surprised at the sight of the winged woman. It had slightly caught him off guard, but only because he was not expecting it. He looked up into the woman’s eyes; his tired gaze met hers as he forced the muscles in his face to muster up a smile. She had a cool, calm demeanor about her that had caught his attention, he wondered what she was doing out here in the cold. The horse was wandering which meant that she had been off doing something else, not that it was any business of his. He did not respond to her horse comment but continued to keep the smile up and he tried not to piece the situation together too much.

”Epicurus Vampyler, and this is my companion Pristine.” he nodded to the side towards his steed as if he needed to reference whom he spoke of. He extended his hand and gently took hers in greeting. It was this contact that had thrown his into déjà vu, this was not the first time that they had met, he was sure of it. His travels had been spent trying to block the memories of the last few eras, he tried to grasp where he had met her before. Perhaps she would recall, but he would not say anything ‘til then. ”It is a pleasure to meet you.”

His cold stiff fingers did their best to hold the reigns of Pristine, who was getting restless from having to hold still for a few seconds. It seemed the winged woman’s curiosity had gotten the best of her as well as she asked Epic where he was going, if only he knew. He let out a long drawn sigh, watching his breath float away in the cold. ”I am not sure where I am going, I know, sounds a bit crazy. I just, needed to get away.” He didn’t expect her to understand, but it was the best explanation he could come up with. ”What of you, what are you doing out here in the cold, with your horse a wander?”

[Rae'vyn Kaldres]

Scratching the horses muzzle as if she were shaking its hand, Rae’vyn then turned to its master, taking his shake. She had seen him before, somewhere, something that she just couldn’t place. Shaking her mind free of the thought she smiled broadly. Jam had wandered a fair distance from the road, still munching on the grass.
“Rae’vyn Kaldres, the pleasure is mine.” It had become all to easy to change her name back to that of her heritage instead of her marriage. Shaking her head a little she flicked her eyes along the road and back the way he had come before settling her eyes back on the man before her.

The softest and most knowing of smiles came across her face as she placed her hand upon Epic’s hand, feeling the horse pull the reigns beneath.
“That’s why I’m here, just to…get away.” Eyes flicked back to the city of Mystique. Her small one, while adorable, was noisy, and not afraid of showing it. With a small smile she shivered.
“Well, since you aren’t heading to anywhere, how would you like to join me, I was just about to open the bottle of mild spiced wine from my picnic.” Jam had wandered back and head butted Rae’vyn in the back, causing the tall woman to stumble. Holding onto the horse’s saddle, she pushed the tan animal away from the road. “Its just up the hill, under the tree.” She gestured from the way she had come, smiling to Epic.

[Epicurus D. Vampyler]

Taking her hand in a gentle grasp Epicurus nodded as she spoke her name, Rae’vyn, an interesting name. It had taken him a few moments, the cold not slowed not only his body but apparently his mind, the seemingly emotionless face of Epicurus perked up as the name Kaldres finally struck him. Could it be a coincidence of the last name, or was she really a relative of Epic’s good friend Pirvan? The last he knew wings did not run through the Kaldres family, so perhaps he was wrong, but he would have to ask for pure pursuit of curiosity. A shock was sent through his system as she placed her hand to his, physical contact outside of battle has always been a stranger to Epicurus until he had met the empress, who had broken him of that habit. Since her disappearance the odd feelings of avoiding contact had started to take hold of him again and he fell further and further back into the secluded man he once was.

He took notice of her eyes darting in the direction of Mystique as she spoke of getting away herself, seemed to be a common need in the empire as of late. ”Well, it seems as though we have something in common.” He had found it odd that she trusted him so much as to invite him to have a glass with her, but then again, maybe Epic’s secluded life kept him from realizing such things were alright. He did not normally drink, in fact he avoided it at all costs but he felt in such a slump that perhaps now was as good a time as any, that and the chance to make a new friend, if she wasn’t taking him into the woods to try and rob him that is. ”I would love to join you, please lead the way.” Epic grabbed Pristine’s reigns and gave her a tug to follow him.

”So tell me, do you live around in these parts? I would assume so, seems odd for a traveler to just stop on the road for a spot of wine.” There he went, trying to analyze the situation again, a habit that he had been trying to break since he was a child, but to no avail.

[Rae'vyn Kaldres]

Turning back she took long strides to the tan horse and pressed a hand against her neck, guiding the horse gently back up the hill. Smiling to Epic, she dropped back in step with him and turned to answer his question with a chuckle.
“I’m living close by at the moment, needed a holiday.” With a sigh she shook her head sadly, eyes downcast for a moment before she turned her head back to Epic.
“Hopefully, I shall be returning home to Tearsfall in the spring.”

Upon reaching the blanketed area under the tree, Rae’vyn kneeled down to fish out an extra tumbler glass. Pouring it so it was half full, she handed it to Epic. Sitting down properly she looked down at the road. Flashing a glance, she turned to face him.
“I saw you reacted to my name, may I ask who you know?” Folding the wings about her shoulders to try and stop the chill, she sipped at the wine, while awaiting Epic’s answer. He seemed so lost, as if he needed to be found by a certain someone. With an almost sad look which seemed to dull her eyes, she felt that the man opposite just needed to be hugged and reminded he was needed. Hardly her place to do so, however.