Excerpt: Noctis

With a tired sigh, the eighteen year old clambered to his feet, weariness tugging at his limbs. Some days, it didn’t seem worth the effort it took to get up, but Tiberius had already gone down the route and had discovered it wasn’t worth the time it wasted. Now he had purpose, a goal, and nothing was going to get in his way. It was a new resolution however, and had only been reached after much drinking, bemoaning, and bitching to anyone who had stood still long enough to listen. He had gotten drunk some hours before while in a bar and after the aforementioned bitching, he had exited the establishment, and had managed to stumble back to where he had tied his horse, by some miracle. He had been in the area for three days now, and by his estimates, it was time to move on.

It was quick enough work to dismantle the fire, though it took a while longer to gather his things and securing the saddle bags to his saddle. By the time he finished and was securing his concipio wrist, the sun was already risen. As he tied off the concipio, Tiberius found himself wishing Silx had improved upon ways to carry the concipio as well as reducing its size. It would make the thing a lot less annoying to carry. It had a tendency to knock against his thigh as he walked and the swinging threw him off his stride sometimes. Just as Tiberius was slipping right foot into the stirrup to mount, the sound of footsteps startled him, causing his foot to miss the stirrup. A startled yelp escaped him but before he could do more than spin around, a figure stumbled into the clearing Tiberius had set up in. The firs thing Tiberius saw was a head of blond hair, the second thing was a pair of green eyes.

"Um," the other man started as Tiberius glared at him, hand automatically going towards the concipio, ready to twist the top off at a moments notice. The man must have recognized what it was, for he immediately held up both hands, “Wait! I mean you no harm.”

Tiberius only let out a low warning growl in response.

“You talked to me at the bar, remember? My name’s Ezekiel. Surely you remember.”

Tiberius tilted his head to the side, as if that would give him better remembering powers. “No, I can’t say that I do. I was pretty stinking drunk.”

Ezekiel’s face fell, though Tiberius hadn’t the fuzziest clue as to what the blond man could be upset about. They didn’t even know each other for Zashes sake.

“Well,” the blond man started slowly, eye flickering from Tiberius’ face to the concipio, “You told me about the fact that you’re looking for a man. That you want to regain your place in your nation, your honor I suppose, if how you were carrying on meant anything.”

With a decisive movement, Tiberius uncapped the concipio, the other hand disappearing into his pocket. “What do you want exactly?”

“I want to help you.”

Tiberius scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Are you serious?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more serious in my life,” the man, Ezekiel, spoke with a serious frown upon his lips.

“Really?”

“Really.” Apparently Ezekiel took that as his chance to convince Tiberius, for he once again spoke. “Listen, I want to help you, plain and simple. I have no ulterior motives. Your cause sounds like a noble one and I think I can help.”

Instead of replying, Tiberius drew the flame out of the concipio.

“I’m being honest here. Believe me, please.”

“Is there a compelling reason that I should?”

“Heh. I suppose I don’t have a compelling reason,” Ezekiel said with a huff of breath.

“That’s what I thought,” Tiberius replied, before drawing the flame out of the concipio. With his other hand, he drew out a vial of kerosene and flicked out the cork. With a narrowed eyed stare, keeping his eyes fixed on Ezekiel, Tiberius poured half the vial of lighter fluid on the flame, causing it to grow. Ezekeil took a small step backwards, body visibly tensed. Slowly, giving Ezekiel the chance to scurry away, Tiberius dropped the vial and used his newly free hand to hover over the flame he cupped in his other hand.

“Last chance,” he growled. No dice, Ezekiel stayed put, attempting to stare him down. With a disgusted shake of his head, Tiberius threw out the hand that had been hovering over the flame.