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Ross simply answered with a nod and a smile when Crow said his goodbyes, now staying alone with Aurora. "Hey, there's no need to thank me. I just did what I was supposed to do." The young man said with an honest, kind smile, resting his chin over the back of his palms. "Hey you guys could stay here. There's no need to leave right now. How about it?" He inquired, tilting his head to the stairs that leaded to the second floor, where the rooms were.

He kept smiling, not having anything else to say, until... "...Dammit." He suddenly muttered against his teeth, roughly standing up from his seat. "...I'm sure Adam is awake by now." He said, trying to inquire that if the bard was desperate enough, he could spit out Aurora's secret. "This is bad...bad bad bad bad. Bad!" The young man spoke quickly, clearly nervous, almost like if he was the one getting spotted! "Aura, I'm sorry, but you must leave the town, NOW. Go with Crow and the others, I'll try to stop the other Casters, in the case that Adam did what I think he did." Ross suddenly ordered, tapping both sides of his forehead with both index fingers, seeming like the bunch of thoughts started to cause a headache.

Aurora looked at him, confused. "...what? But Ross, you just said we had to leave right away." When he suddenly cursed and spoke of Adam, she looked at him in confusion. "I...don't understand. What does it matter if he's awake?" She reached over and touched his head with her palm. "Ross. Relax. Tell me what's wrong, and what is so bad." She would wait for him to tell her, looking at him with concerned eyes.

"What do you think Adam did, Ross?" she said softly.

Ross was getting nervous by the second. "Come on, Aura. You're smart. If Adam is behind the bars, helpless, what do you think is the only way he has left for revenge?" He inquired, holding the shoulders of the girl, trying to make her realise it. "Aurora, he could tell Lady Delacroix YOU are a Caster. I know her, and even though I'm over her, I won't be able to stop her if she comes for you." He explained, not beating around the bushes anymore.

Releasing the girl from his grip, he began to walk in circles, trying to think what to do, although it was already said. "Aura...Go. Do what I just told you. I hope I'm just being a little paranoid...but it's better to be cautious than to regret a bad decission for the rest of your life."

Aurora put her hands on Ross' gently. "Ross." she said calmly. "Adam doesn't know. Only Crow and I know. I've been keeping it a secret. He stumbled upon it accidentally. The rest in the group, they think my tricks are just that; tricks. Adam is too dumb to think I'm a caster. It's alright. He's...he's not smart. He's brute force, that's all. He doesn't know, so he can't tell Lady Delacroix. It's okay." She would sit down gently, pulling herself away from his touch.

"Trust me. It's alright. You don't have to get upset. No one knows but you, me and Crow."

Ross's worry faded as soon as it came, making a plain confused look to take over his face...and then turn as red as a tomato. "...Oh...I uh....I think I overreacted..." The young man muttered, ashamed and embarrassed of his reaction, slowly, yet clumsily sit down on his chair, and cover his face with both palms, chuckling as he was trying to relax a little.

"I'm really sorry." He spoke once again, only separating his fingers to let his eyes see the girl before him. "I've seen and read so many things, that it is hard not be paranoid, or crazy by now." He explained, his voice being low, as he hid his eyes once again.

(Sorry by the long overdue reply )

(It's no problem )

Aurora smiled gently at him and would settle in her seat, reaching over to take his hands and pull them carefully from his face. "It's alright. I understand. I just don't want you to worry when you don't have to. It will be okay, alright?" She smiled gently. "So...am I staying, Ross? Or is it better if I leave?" He had said both things after all. First she had to leave, then she had to stay, then she had to leave. She was confused, honestly.

She would let go of his hands and lean back slightly with a gentle, understanding smile.

While Aura was plain confused, the young officer was horribly ashamed of his behavior. Even so, her sweet, gentle voice was like a soothing balm to his nerves, making the Caster to relax as he sighed, and rubbed his temples, remaining silent for a moment before speaking once again. "Sorry once again for my...outburst." He muttered, looking down to the table between them as one hand laid on top of the other. "You should stay and sleep inside the city for today. I wouldn't recommend leaving, since even though it is still daylight, it would take you and the bards half a day to reach the nearest city, even by horse." He explained, making a rough map with a couple of butter biscuits and the salt and pepper dispenser. The bigger biscuit was Tanosia, while another smaller, far away, almost at the right end of the table, was Cormad, the city of the merchants.

"...The offer of having you, Crow and the other bards resting here in the Inn without charge is still open. So...What do you say?" The young man finally stopped, smiling once he lifted his eyes to look into hers.

Aurora smiled gently. "It's alright. You were just worried about me. It's flattering." She would listen to him and nod. "I'll go talk to them. After all...I shouldn't be the only one making this decision. If they all like it here, I'll stay. These people are my family. And my family comes first. If, and this is only if, I get caught; Well, they don't know. Crow knows, but he is going to act like the rest of them."

She would get to her feet and brush herself off. "Would you like to walk back with me? Ah, but of course, you have duties to attend to, I"m sorry." She smiled apologetically. "I kept you long enough, you need to get back. Your superior from earlier probably wants quite the explanation.."

Ross simply smiled after her words, now his shame falling to nothing as he was reminded of his duties as a Caster. "Oh, please, I'd rather follow you to the end of the world than to get scolded back at the Temple for today's ruckus." He laughed, although, he was being completely honest.

"How about if I walk you to the bards, and then I go to the Temple? You know...Just to make sure that you will be safe." He murmured, lamely hiding what was already clear as he scratched his left cheek with a finger, chuckling as he stood up from the table, just to offer her a hand to stand up as well. "Well, shall we, M´Lady?"

Aurora chuckled softly and blushed. Then she would nod as he spoke of escorting her. "I think that's a fine idea. Just don't get in trouble even more, alright?" She would take his hand and stand, and then make her way towards the bard's living area. "So Ross...I know I don't need to tell you, but please...this secret needs to stay between us. It can't be found out." She would walk along with him, soon reaching a small caravan circle. There were only two carts, so it wasn't much of a circle. The men and Crow would come out right away. "We can leave tomorrow," Aura explained, "And Ross has said that we can stay at the inn."

The men cheered and seemed quite excited about this. Aurora smiled softly, then looked at Ross. "Well...you should get back. I don't want to keep you and get you into even more trouble." She wasn't sure if he would come see her off. "Thank you for everything, Ross. Please take care." She smiled softly and would give a curtsy.

The young man bent his arm, placing it over his chest as he aimed to walk her through the plaza like if they were a couple entering a grand hall, until they found the caravan of the bards. "What secret? I don't even know what you're talking about." He teased, playing as if he had forgotten it, letting her know that his lips was sealed.

Once the other bards were informed of the Inn offering, and Aurora had said her goodbyes, Ross still laid on his spot, his hands nervously toying with each finger as it seemed like he had something else to say about it. "Well, uhm...you know...I was thinking..." He murmured, looking around and finally looking up to meet her eyes. "I could reach the gates early in the morning, you know, to say the final goodbyes..." He inquired, suddenly looking away, being clearly embarrassed!

Aurora blinked at the offer of meeting them at the gates. She smiled and chuckled, waving her hand a little. "Oh, no, it's fine, don't bot--" And that was when Crow cut in quickly, putting a hand over her mouth. "We'd love to have ya see us off! We'll be heading out once the sun's cleared the horizon, but feel free to come see us any time before then!" He let go of Aurora, who was clearly surprised and confused at why she had been silenced and such. But Crow just smiled, so Aura looked back to Ross and smiled as well. "I will see you tomorrow morning, then. Please have a good night, Ross!"

The Caster couldn't help but laugh against his teeth as he saw how Crow stopped Aura from talking, remaining silent as their little plot seemed to work. "Perfect! I'll come here before sunrise then!" He said, a wide smile forming over his lips, thing that was clearly a mischievous expression for anyone that knew him well.

"I'll head out then. I need to make a report. Please, feel free to eat to your heart's content at the Inn. It's on the house." He teased, bowing as he said his goodbyes, and began to walk his way towards the Temple.

Once he was there....Heck, the proccess was just too tiring. He had been picked on for letting to be touched by an anger blinded bard, and even being pinned down against the floor, not to mention the severe scold from Lady Delacroix, reminding him that he couldn't take his duties too personal. After the sun had settled, and the report was finnished, Ross stretched his arms, and headed towards the Inn, wanting nothing but a nice night of sleep, heading right up towards his private room, lock the door, drop his gauntlets, boots and mechanic's suit, and stumble upon the bed, too tired to do anything else. The next morning was important...and he didn't want to be sleepy when he reached the gates.

Aurora and the others would go to the inn, have their fill of a good meal, then get some rest. In the morning, they were all out by the caravans, near the gate, making sure everything was packed up and ready. "It's a shame we can't do one last performance, Aura, everyone here loves you." one of the men said. Crow smirked a little bit. "Oh, they love you alright. I think one someone likes you a little too much." Aurora laughed softly and shook her head, helping tie things down. "You two, stop it. You're so silly. We're a group, everyone loves US. I'm no more liked than the rest of you!"

The two men exchanged looks and rolled their eyes. Crow glanced up at the sky, then looked down the path. That certain someone should be coming any minute now.

War. That's what it was happening right before his eyes, yet...it was strange. There were no humans. Well, humanoid forms, nonetheless, but not something he could recognize. At first, he didn't know how he found himself on that place, but...He was right at the top of an abandoned mannor, right in the middle of a forest, while those...beasts, fought to the death. Even so, his attention got caught at the sudden fluttering of wings, making him to turn around, and see a beautiful woman...if she could be called that. Her face structure was that of a woman, with pale, rosy skin and silvery white long hair, with a slim figure, and...wings? Yes, her arms ended on hands, yer those arms had two fingers that spreaded into bat like wings, and her feet...They were digitigrrade, with sharp talons, although they didn't seem to be bones. They seemed way solid, like--and that was when the female fluttered her wings, making a strong wind current to push him, and drop him from the top floor of the mannor, making him to fall...

...And wake up from the dream, bathed in sweat, heart pounding furiously in his chest, with hands shaking. That dream...it was just real...Too real. sighing and sitting over the edge of the bed, Ross gathered his thoughts for a minute, thinking hard about what he had just seen, but....hey, it was just a dream, nothing else. That was, when the sun rays crawled inside his room, and tthe sudden reminder of the promise he made hit his head like a bag full of bricks. He had to say his goodbyes to Aura and the bards!

"...Dammit!" He cursed to himself, jumping from his bed and gathering his boots, just to slip into a pair of clean, leather pants with hardened deffenses over the thighs and knees, and run down to the base floor, just to untie his horse, and climb atop of it, quickly riding his way out of the barn towards the gates. If he went by feet, he wouldn't make it...and he was even doubting he would make it in time!

Aurora found herself watching the path into the city. The others were all aboard the caravans. He wasn't coming. Of course. He had duties to attend to. Aurora would sigh softly and get onto the caravan. She was rather sad. Ross had protected her, and she couldn't even say goodbye. Crow was trying to put off their departure for as long as he could, but he couldn't any longer. And that was when he saw it. The horse. "Aura!" he called, pointing. The girl turned, spotting the horse and smiling.

She would hop off of the caravan and stand. The caravan kept going for a few feet before it stopped...Crow wanted to give them privacy. Hopefully Aura wouldn't be dense enough to let the moment go to waste. Honestly, he wanted Ross to perhaps bridge that gap. Crow knew that Aura herself wouldn't do such a thing. She was too kind. He knew she would feel like she was imposing herself on someone.

The Caster galloped on Dex as fast as the horse was able to, a black, thoroughbred stallion, strong, large for his species, rebellious but loyal to his owner. He was lazily eating his breakfast, a bucket full of cereal and oats, until he sensed his owner running inside the barn. It was rare when the human seemed to be that nervous, meaning that it was not the time to play.

Ross sighed happily once he saw the caravan, happy that they hadn't left, smiling and slowing Dex's pace, until the stallion came to a stop, letting Ross drop down to the floor and take some hurried steps. "Aura!" He shouted as he got closer, finally stopping and pant for air, Dex following right behind him. "I'm...I'm sorry! I overslept, wich is not...not normal...and...and I'm sorry!" He panted, laughing all the way wich made it difficult to be understood. Regaining his breath, the young man coughed, trying to look formal as he bowed slightly forward, one hand reaching forward as he was clearly asking for hers. "...M'Lady, it was a pleasure to meet you." He began, smiling softly, showing that he was indeed sad of letting her go...until that smile turned into a wide, toothy grin. "You see...I had some thoughts, and..." He stuttered, almost like if he was afraid of what he wanted to say, suddenly feeling how Dex pushed him forward with his muzzle, forcing the young Caster to step dangerously close! "W-what I want to say is I'm going with y-you, yes!" He said hurriedly, tense on the spot as he didn't know what to do next. That...was not exactly what he wanted to say, but...it was still a way to spend more time with her.

Aura would listen to him and chuckle softly. "It's alright...you have a busy day yesterday, Ross." She would rest her hand upon his, blinking in surprise when Ross was suddenly quite close to her. She would chuckle softly and smile at him, but the suddenness of his words made her stare. She didn't respond, unsure of how to, so Crow spoke up. "O'course you can come with! Better get your things though, friend. It's gonna be a long ride!"

Finally, Aurora interrupted. "W-wait, hold on here...Ross, as much as we would enjoy your company, you can't come along. You have your duties here, you're supposed to be protecting your people. You have a job, a duty. You can't simply drop it to come along with a group of bards. People are depending on you." She reached up and touched his shoulder. "I can't let you abandon your duty like that."

He was....taken aback by their words. He actually expected Crow to be the one to say no, but...Aura? What did just happen? "...You're...right..." He simply said, sighing and looking down, until Dex pushed him again! "Okay, knock it off!" He scolded his horse, gently patting the side of his head a little, almost knowing what the horse wanted.

"As much as I agree with your terms, I am afraid to mention that this town is just too big for Lady Delacroix and me to be in at the same time. She can handle this city on her own." He said with a gentle smile. "Besides, I've never gone past this walls...I want to know the world. I want to travel around! You wouldn't take that from me, would you? Besides, I would...I would spend my time with you guys...my...first friends." The young caster said, shame on the last word as it was completely honest, yet...he really didn't wanted to address Aurora as a friend...yet he didn't had the guts to say what he already felt. "Now, look, give me a couple of minutes and I'll be right back, mmkay?" The young man said, giving the hand she had lent a soft, quick kiss on the back of her palm, just to let go of it, and skillfully climb on Dex, and gallop his way back to the Inn before she could say anything on the matter!

Aurora nodded slightly, but then listened as he spoke of Lady Delacroix. She would sigh softly and chuckle as he simply finished speaking, kissed her hand and then started going off. "Don't forget to tell her about this!" she called after him, not wanting him to just leave without a trace. Crow hopped off the caravan and came over, smacking her on the back of her head lightly with his palm.

"Ow! What was that for?" she asked, rubbing her head. Crow sighed. "Great gods, girl! You're more dense than anyone I've ever seen!" Aurora would look down the road and sigh softly. "I'm not dense. If he's happy, I don't want him to drop it all and run away. He has family and friends here." Crow groaned slightly and shook his head. "Aura, I have a good feeling that he's happy wherever you are."

Aurora frowned and would turn back towards the caravan. "Don't talk like that, Crow. We've only known each other a day, don't be foolish." Crow chuckled softly. "Yeah," he murmured under his breath, "but you have a way of catching men's hearts with just a look. The worst part is you don't even know it, damn girl." He would reach over to ruffle her hair, then he got into his seat again. He figured it just had to be a Caster thing. That she just had this aura around her that made everyone want to be with her.

Aurora would not get into the caravan, but she would wait. Watching the road, and waiting for Ross to return.