Jacob Temple x Lawrence Everett C-Support As Guinevere's hooves monotonously clopped on the hardened road, Lawrence caught himself nodding off. The encounter with the Risen had left him exhausted, and now that he no longer had to watch over Lilithe and ensure that Sentinel wouldn't attack her, he had little to force him to stay awake. Guinevere was very well-behaved and didn't require much attention, especially not with Leonard right next to them and well capable of grabbing her reins should something scare her. Desperate for something to break the silence, he decided to turn to the giant next to him. Pushing himself up in the saddle, he looked at the blonde Lord. "...was that your first encounter with those abominations?" he asked. ---- Jacob inspects his hammer as he walks. 'I'm gonna need ta have this ol' thin' reforged er somethin'. Iron's startin' ta show wear an tear.' Scratching at the head of the hammer Lawrence speaks to the Armor Lord. "Aye. They're somethin' else I tell ya." Jacob looks at the hole in his shoulder paldron. "Strong too. I bet it's tha damn Plegians. Worshipin' that bastard o' tha Fell Dragon. Say ya didn't happen ta see tha soldier did ya?" ---- "Soldier?" Lawrence shut his eyes as he mentally revisited the scene. "No, I'm afraid I didn't. I must have been too busy watching over Dame Lilithe." He had spent much of his time in the battle protecting their Plegian, female companion. "I agree, though. The Risen are unlike anything I've ever fought, but my experiences are nothing to go by." He was young, and had rarely fought anything more than Everett soldiers instructed to help him spar, or the odd bandit. "Are they that much more terrifying than Plegian soldiers?" ---- Jacob smirks. "Got a little crush do ya?" Laughing the lord hits his thighs before clearing his throat and giving a less jovial tone. "I've fought Plegian Dark Mages all the way up to a Wyvern er two and they still are tough bastards. Worst part is tha Risen soldier was one o' mine. Obviously dead an' tha armor was dated a bit. He musta been one o' tha soldiers I lost in tha war wit Plegia. Which proves ma point it's their fault." ---- "What? NO!" Lawrence's cry made Guinevere jolt a little, but she regained her composure more quickly than her master did. "I am most certainly not... My father raised me to be considerate of women, that is all!" More unsettling was Lord Temple's own story, and his assessment of the Risen's strength. "And yet despite their strength, you must have taken out as many of them as the rest of us combined. Are all soldiers of House Temple this strong, or are your nobles subject to a special training?" ---- Jacob smiles barely holding back a laugh. "I'm messin' wit ya Lawrence. Simma down now, simma down. An' yeah. I went through tha same trainin' all ma Knights have. Soldiers an' Archers included. Although I took my father's likin' ta axes. Gotta have at least one person in ma militia that ain't weak ta axes eh? I could get ya a Temple trainer if ya want. No offense meant to Sir Leonard o' course." ---- To Lawrence's side, Leonard bowed in his saddle to indicate he took no offense to Lord Temple's words. Lawrence himself raised one hand in a gesture that the older lord had to slow down. "I appreciate the offer," he said, "But that will not be necessary. House Everett for generations has consisted of horsemen, and I have no intention of breaking with this tradition." He neglected to mention that he had yet to learn to fence from horseback, instead patting Guinevere on the neck to reinforce his words. "...I suppose you're not the only one who took something from his father," he muttered as he looked at the mare's ears, which had turned towards him as if she understood what he meant. ---- "Fair enough. Only one Armor House eh?" The Armor Lord chuckles a bit. "No...I guess I ain't. Although I'm guessin' that what ya got from yer father was better'n what I got." Jacob cracks his neck a bit before feeling the scar on the side of his face closest to Lawrence. A more grim look crosses his face. ---- "Don't look like that," Lawrence said, hazarding to put a hand on Lord Temple's shoulder in a forward gesture of camaraderie. "I don't have much left of my parents, myself. Honestly, Guinevere here, and Raymond and Leanne at home are all I have to remember them by." He took his hand back, allowing himself a moment of reverie. His father had taught him much, up until the day he died. Lawrence could only hope to be half the lord and, eventually, father, that Lord Virgil had been. ---- Jacob lets himself smile a bit. "Heh. I guess so. Ma little sis's 'bout tha only thing o' ma parents I got left. I think she's visitin' 'er friend Commander Jhora in Bannister actually. An' I knew yer father a bit. Our lands bein' so close together. He was a good man from what I knew o' 'im." Jacob returns the shoulder pat making extra sure not to flatten the lord like he did last time. It was a bit obvious the horse was left to Lawrence by his father and the Armor Lord didn't want to hurt it or the younger lord. ---- "Thank you, Lord Temple." having his father praised or complimented, or even something so simple as being compared to him, always warmed Lawrence's heart. He had been very attached to his father when he'd been younger, and missed him tremendously. "I only hope I can be half the lord he was." Lord Virgil had managed to juggle his administration of Everett, his children, his wife, and training with his soldiers. Whenever Lawrence thought about it, he wondered how he was going to pull it off. "M-my apologies," he said, straightening himself. "I didn't mean to get misty. We should hurry... the Prince is expecting us." ---- "Heh. It's fine. I only wish I could be as rounded a Lord as he was. I can only do fightin' maself. Got ma sis runnin' tha domestic side o' Temple. Why ya think ya never really see me at parties? Can't stand all tha manners an' shit they teach us." Smiling the lord remembers the few parties he's actually been to with a laugh. "An' yeah. I suppose we should try ta pick up tha pace, but I ain't young er fast." Lawrence and Jacob have acquired Support Rank C.
