(Uhhh you can make it up if you want lol. Probably something with a prophecy or something?)
Seven jumped up onto a bar stool and started spinning around on it. "That sounds like fun!" He turned to the bartender and grinned brightly up at him. "One Appletini, please,! Hold it on the 'tini'!" The bartender took one look at him and slid a glass of apple juice over to him. "Thank you, my good sir!" He turned back to Dawn while he sipped at his juice, seeming quite pleased with himself. "I've been over there before. Gets real cold up on the peaks. Hopefully you've got a nice warm coat or you'll become a lil popsicle!"
(Could potentially have something about Seven being important but he always leaves too soon for the recipients of the letters to tell him lol)
“You’ve been there before?” Dawn asked, leaning forward. His tail unraveled from the chair, almost purring as his attention rested solely on Alistair. “What was it like? Anything out of the ordinary? Any… magical things? Things people would write books about?”
Perhaps this is who he was looking for. What he was looking for, more the like. He needed someone that knew the ropes. Someone who was good at traveling. Someone who could not lead him, but be almost like a place-guide.
Someone like this little dude before him.
“Say, would you want to come with me?” Dawn mumbled, hand still cradling the unopened letter. “Of course it’s impulsive, but I’d love some company on my way to the pass.”
"Magical things?" Alistair looked up at the question. "Well, yeah! All sorts of magical things. You've got people living there who speak languages I don't know, lots of strange creatures I haven't seen anywhere else, magical storms that'll sweep you off your feet and spank you on the ass… thankfully, the letters are magical too, so I can't exactly lose them." He took another sip of his apple juice and glanced up again at the offer, his expression immediately brightening. "Come with you? R-Really? You'd let me?" He asked excitedly.
“L-Let you?” Dawn replied, smiling at the man’s excitement. “I mean— Of course. I’d love it if you came along. You seem to know the paths through here very well, and I’d need an asset. Plus, who says you can’t deliver letters on the way?”
Dawn glanced back down to the letter, nodding as he took a claw and unsealed it. He hesitated before tugging out the small piece of paper and a… compass? It was brass, intricate and acid-washed, with small metal vines curling down its side. It was truly beautiful, Dawn had to admit, eyes blinking intently as a chain unfolded from its back. He slipped it over his neck, watching it rest there square, and smiled. Perfect fit, more the like.
As for the paper, it was browned and wrinkled, like it had been written somewhat quickly with a faulty quill. Dawn took his time reading it, black eyes glinting over the page as he squinted. He then glanced back up to Alistair, cocking his head to the side.
“Do you, perhaps, know a man by the name of Kaeyn?” he asked, sort of stuttering over the name for a moment as he read it from the paper. “Because if so, that’s who we’re looking for.”
Dawn figured it best to keep the paper somewhat confidential. Not that he didn’t trust Alistair, which he had all the reason not to, but he didn’t understand it, either. It was nearly in a completely different language, with the exception of just a few words. One of those being a name— Kaeyn.
"Okay!" Alistair grinned brightly as he finished off his apple juice, ecstatic to finally have someone to travel with. Someone who wanted him to be with them. Hopefully he doesn't get too sick of me… He looked over Dawn's shoulder to try and read the letter, but the poor handwriting made it pretty difficult for him to do so.
He glanced up at the other man's face when he was asked a question. "Hmm… I don't think I've ever delivered a letter to him before, but I'm sure I can help you find him. He's waaaay up North, even far past the mountains. It'll be a long time until we can actually make it to him… why do we need him?" He asked curiously. "I know he's important… King of a distant land, maybe? Or… a cool sorcerer! Or a wizard or a prophet or something!"
“I would assume prophet, because the words I can make out are extremely confusing,” Dawn replied, fiddling with the tip of one of his horns. “Otherwise, I don’t even think this is common english. It’s sure not infernal or draconic, either, so I couldn’t read it even if I wanted to. Though they do seem relatively similar in structure, hmm?”
Dawn pondered over the letter for a moment more, then flicked his eyes back to meet Alistair’s.
“Well, anyway, I was thinking of leaving here first thing tomorrow morning. If you’re coming, you might want to look into a room here,” he said, speech hitching for a moment before he continued. “Or, you could stay in mine.”
"Okay! I can do either. Money shows up in my satchel whenever I deliver a letter, and I've learned not to question it!" Alistair grinned and got the bartender to refill his glass of juice. "If you get sick of me and don't want me to stay with you, I can get my own room." He shrugged a bit as he looked around the bar. He waved to a very unfriendly looking man across the bar, who simply glared at him and continued drinking his vodka. "He seems nice."
(Good lord I love this small innocent child)
Dawn raised an eyebrow, following Alistair’s gaze to the man across the bar. He wasn’t sure if it was sarcasm or if he actually had faith when he replied, “Yeah, he does.”
Following in Seven’s footsteps, Dawn waved as well, but quickly turned back to Alistair and pushed himself to his feet.
His tail swished behind him excitedly as he smiled, offering Alistair a hand down from the stool.
“Not sure if I can get sick of you, but I’ll try my best,” he joked. “After all, it’s been a long time since I’ve had company. Follow me— I’ll show you to the room.”
(I love him lol)
"Sir yes sir!" Alistair jumped off of his stool and followed Dawn into the room, humming contentedly to himself. Once they were in the room, he dropped his satchel on the ground and stretched a bit. "Mmm… I've been on my feet all day. I'm pretty used to that, though. Do you walk along a lot? What do you do for a living?" He asked curiously. "Do you deliver letters too? Or do you do something else?"
Dawn flicked on the light and closed the door, the fire in the lanterns casting a warm glow among the small room. It had a somewhat detailed rug in the middle of it, with a bed to the far left and a table accompanying it. The window was off to the right, smack in the middle of the wall, the cool breeze still drifting in. With swift movements, Dawn strode over, latching the glass shut.
“I’m a wanderer, so to speak,” the tiefling replied, leaning up against the side of the window and gazing out. His tail swished slowly behind him, curling and uncurling around his leg.
“And yes, I’m on my feet much too often. I don’t deliver letters, but it does seem like an interesting profession. I really am more of a scavenger— I go out and hunt for things, then bring them back to people. Or I go on journeys for my own liking; like the one we’re about to take. I’m simply going there out of blatant curiosity.”
Dawn’s voice was low, melodic even, and fluctuated with excitement as he walked over to the bedside table, picking up the worn book. He sat down on the side of the bed, patting the area next to him for Alistair to take a seat.
“You see this?” he asked, pointing to the map on one of the previous pages. It was extremely old, almost falling apart as Dawn poked it. “It looks exactly like Mountain Pass, and mentions it, too, but it seems like the terrain has changed over time. Either that, or there’s some magic at play. What say you?”
"Ooh, fancy!" Alistair examined the map curiously. "Yeah, probably has some magic happening here. Changing maps aren't exactly normal." He swung his legs underneath the bed a bit, humming contentedly too himself. "Huh… I should probably carry a map, shouldn't I? But I always end up where I need to go nonetheless… it's like I just like, know how to get there? It's pretty cool. I get lost all the time anyway." He yawned and lay back on the bed, running his fingers through his hair. "This place is so cool!" He grinned. "It's been a real long time since I've gotten to sleep in a bed!"
“Ditto,” Dawn replied, smiling. “But, I mean, I still prefer nights under the stars, hm? Sorry if I’m a bit of a romantic.”
He kept his eyes down on the map, turning it this way and that in order to figure out what it was showing. After a long moment of no success, he closed the book, setting it back on his table.
“And that seems wonderful, no? Not having to carry so many maps on your person during travel? I’m sure there’s a little sense of freedom. Even with getting lost.”
"Yeah, I guess so. I don't let getting lost get me down, though! Every little rabbit trail is a new adventure!" Alistair grinned brightly. "There's something new around every corner, even if you've traveled around as much as I have. The world's big, you know? And even though I mostly stay within our region of the world, I can't help but wish I could see what's beyond! I'm sure there's all sorts of cool things I've never seen before!" He stretched a bit and curled up on the bed, humming contentedly. "The world's bigger than everyone thinks. We're all so caught up in our own business that we can't be bothered to stop and smell the flowers from other people's places! If we stop to take a sniff, it's only of our own things, and that's no fun!"
“It’s not often I find someone who feels the same as I,” Dawn said, laughing lightly. A part of him wondered about Alistair’s story. About how he got here, and about why he seemed so important. He showed up right before Dawn was to set off, and seemed like the best asset he could have acquired.
And, thinking of how early they had to set off, Dawn pushed himself from the bed. He walked back over to his back, taking a small blanket from it and laying it out on the floor. He turned off the light, then strode back over to the blanket, catching a glimpse of Alistair curled up on the bed.
“Anyway, we have to set out very early. Get good rest, hm?” he asked, taking off his boots and adjusting the blanket he now sat on.
"Mhmm! You too!" Alistair yawned a bit and curled up tighter on the bed, soon drifting off to sleep. His dreams were filled with his travels, as usual, and travels he wished to go on. His weightless self traipsed along through a field of sunflowers; his nimble fingers clutched an envelope with a scarlet wax seal. The edges of the paper were tinged with gold that glimmered as the sun above him caught it with its burning touch. Soon, he burst through the field of flowers and a bright figure approached him. The figure's name hovered above it as names usually did in Alistair's eyes, but it was in a language that he didn't know. Nonetheless, the strange name matched the one on the envelope, and so Alistair handed off the letter. Then, the light of the figure grew brighter and brighter until Alistair could no longer bear it. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he found himself awake with the real sun shining into his eyes. He yawned as he sat up, wincing from the bright light.
Dawn was already up, standing on the balcony with his pack beside him. It sat on the floor, rested up against one of his legs as he propped both elbows on the railing. He closed his eyes for just a moment, feeling the cool morning breeze whip through his hair, over his skin, under his shirt. His tunic was still folded on the floor beside the bedside table, him now just wearing a simple buttoned shirt that required the least effort to put on. Upon hearing Alistair shuffle awake, his ears perked and his tail lashed slightly faster, happy that his company had awaken.
“Good morning~,” Dawn cooed, slipping back through the windowed doors. “Did’ya get good rest? We have a long walk to the next city today.”
"Mmm… yeah, pretty good! What about you?" Alistair asked, slipping out of bed and stretching as he yawned. "Have any fun dreams? I just had the same one of usual. Really weird… like some really bright man — a god or something, maybe — is in it, and I dunno what language its name is in, but hey, it matches the name on the letter, so I give it to them anyway, and then they start glowing really brightly and it hurts my eyes and then I wake up and it's morning!" He grinned and smoothed down his clothes, looking up at the tiefling from where he stood. "Happens almost every night."
Dawn paused for a moment, raising his eyebrows. “Well then. That’s… interesting. If you can ever find any more clues in that, let me know.”
He passed Alistair, leaning on the side of the bedside table as he picked up his tunic, slipping it over his head and tightening the straps. He hadn’t put his boots on yet either— striding over to do so afterward.
As he sat on the floor lacing them up, he glanced up to Alistair, offering a smile.
“But maybe that’s who we’re looking for. If it matches the name on the letter, I don’t see a reason not to use that as a hunch, no?”
"Mm… maybe. None of these letters have the name from the dream on them, though…" Alistair pulled some seemingly blank envelopes out of his satchel and started looking through them as though they were properly addressed. "Ah, well. Maybe it's a sign, maybe I've been doing this for way too long… who knows? Anywho, we should head out! Maybe the nice man from across the bar spent the night too!" He grinned brighter and took Dawn's hand to lead him out of the room.
Dawn grabbed his bag and the room key just in time, slipping out the door as Alistair dragged him. Not that he didn’t share the same enthusiasm— in fact, he was very excited— but the man’s hand wrapped in his own had taken him by surprise. Yet he smiled nonetheless as he was yanked down the stairway and into the bar.
“Perhaps he did, but it is quite early,” Dawn replied, pulling his pack over a shoulder. He began to lead Seven along, dropping the key at the counter. “Unfortunately, we cannot wait to see. We must get a move-on, yes? If we start now, we’ll get to… Kislock— is that the name?— by the afternoon.”
"If Kislock is his name and he's the same guy in the dreams, he must speak a different language." Alistair laughed a bit. "And Kislock would just be our translation of it." He led Dawn out the door and started wandering along with him, seeming very pleased with himself. He was obviously a morning person. "Gorgeous day, isn't it? I love this time of day. This is when all the birdies and stuff are out!" He grinned. "Sometimes I get to see deer in the forest too. Have you ever seen a deer?"
“No— Kislock is the name of the town, my friend. We have a much longer ways to go to reach this.. man in the letter,” Dawn replied, hooking a finger around his pack’s strap. “And— yes. Yes I have seen a deer. Multiple, actually.”
His voice seemed almost like when someone talked to a child, just kind of going along with it and nodding along. He seemed much calmer, letting Alistair drag him along as he smiled.
“When we get to the next town, what do you say we camp out on the side? I’ve never been a fan of it, so it’s best we stay out of any trouble in the city. We can set up in a little spot just off the brink of the river. What say you?”
"Oh, right! Silly me!" Alistair laughed softly as he pulled Dawn along. "And sure! I go camping all the time. The weather is great this time of year, so our stuff won't get hit by lightning and burned up! And we also won't get hit by lightning! Hopefully, anyway… it's not fun." He hummed to himself as he pranced along. He was obviously a morning person. And an every time of the day person. He was just a little too chipper all the time…
