Meddling|Malagard, Khelek

[Kender Bard]

The children, out of school for the day, grouped together to chat and play with one another. Sometimes 'play' could mean something less appropriate.

A group of three boys with a girl in their ranks circled around a smaller boy, taunting him, teasing him. It didn't take long for that to escalate, and soon they were pushing him between themselves, despite his cries of protests. When he swung at one, ineffectually, he got a bloodied nose for his trouble.

Fray, the local Efilian templar, narrowed his eyes at the sight. Though he wasn't in his armor, he always wore his sword and he made an impressive sight at any rate with his tall stature and strong physique. Stepping forward, he growled at the children. "Shove off. And if I catch you little snots beating on one of your own again, there'll be trouble."

The children dispersed, sneering behind the older man's back. One of them darted off to go inform his parents of the 'big mean templar' who ruined their 'game.'

"Are you okay?" Fray asked the child. The little boy sniffled, stared at Fray a moment, then burst into tears. Fray jumped a little, startled by the sudden outburst.

[Darastrix]

Shard, who had been watching the little "game" with vague interest, rolled her eyes and walked over, picking her way through the muddy slush. "He's all right, he just thinks he isn't," the Wrathful priestess said.

"Your nose is a bloody mess, boy," she told the child, ignoring his crying. She pulled a handkerchief from her robe's sleeve and touched her sign, muttering softly to fill it with ice. "Here." Shard offered the pack to him and added, "Nice try with the punch, but I don't think brute force is gonna be your thing unless you fill out better."

[Kender Bard]

The child quieted, taking the improvised ice pack and touching it to his nose with a small cringe.

"I've seen you at the temple," Fray noted. "You're one of the Wrathful, if I remember rightly. Your name escapes me at the moment."

The child looked at Shard with interest. "You think I can beat them up someday?" he asked nasally.

[Darastrix]

"Well, that depends on a few things," she told the boy. "You, mostly. While you wait on that to stop bleeding, think about what they did to you and see which you want more: getting even or getting along."

Turning back to Fray, she said, "You remember rightly, and here, I'm THE Wrathful. Name's Shard. And you are one of those folks of Efil that's the closest thing she's got to a Wrathful."

[Kender Bard]

"Templar," Fray filled in with a nod. "We are the guardians of life, so to speak. Permitted to take it, if necessary, though I frankly am thankful I've never had cause. I hope I never do, either. I don't mind dispensing a little bit of slapping around where I see the need." Which, really, was outside his boundaries but he had a soft spot for the downtrodden.

The boy seemed to take Shard's words seriously and his brow furrowed. "Get even," he said.

Fray glanced at the child. "Getting even is only a fleeting pleasure. If you can find a way to live peacefully with the people around you, it'll be far more satisfying in the long run."

"I want to get even," the boy insisted.

[Darastrix]

Shard snorted. "It's only more satisfying if you're not the wrathful type. If you are, trying to live peacefully with the people that piss you off and try to take advantage of you is far from rewarding. It just pisses you off more. Of course, the explosion can be nice when someone holds back their Soahcian nature long enough, but the meantime is just miserable."

She grinned down at the boy. "I say if he wants to get even, he should start learning how."

[Kender Bard]

"We are all Crystalanders," Fray argued, talking more to Shard than the boy at this point. "A part of that life is learning to put up with your fellows even if they get under your skin, because when it comes down to it, those are the men who will be standing alongside you in the face of a higher threat."

The boy seemed a little chastened by this argument but then frowned and piped up. "I wouldn't trust someone like that to guard me!"

"They will learn a little humility in time, just as you must learn tolerance," Fray argued.

[Darastrix]

"And how better to learn humility than by having someone they've pushed around get the better of them?" Shard said. "The Wrathful are the ones who deflate the Proud every now and then. The oh-so tolerant Generous are the ones that help fluff them back up."

[Kender Bard]

"I wouldn't be using your temple theatrics as grounds for Crystalander life," Fray retorted. "If there's any Force more unlikely to be a paragon for the people, I can't think of it."

"My name's Absolon," the boy piped up, smiling at Shard.

[Darastrix]

"On the contrary, Soahc is very much a paragon for the people," Shard countered, grinning as she ruffled the boy's hair. "The whole attitude of turning away outsiders? Looking down on people for being a little different? That is pure pride. You don't have to act wild and erratic for Soahc's mark to show. Look at you, nose in the air and scoffing at the idea of my Lord having any place among your people. You think Crystalanders are too good for him. You're all better than that, are you? And so His Madness proves his presence even here."

[Kender Bard]

"You Soahcians could turn anything said to your favor simply because of the erratic nature of your lord," Fray snorted. "It's pointless to argue with you. I've given my word of warning to the boy. If he wants to grow up proper and respected he'll cast off this Soahcian nonsense and seek proper council."

That done, he turned to go.

"Like who, my father?" Absolon muttered, wrinkling his nose. "He doesn't listen to me anyway. I'd rather take your advice."

[Darastrix]

"Of course you would," Shard agreed. "If nothing else, you won't be bored." It was too bad she couldn't just give him a sharp knife right away. Well, she could, but Absolon would probably end up getting himself killed Then people would be pissed off, and there were so few non-Proud Soahcians in the temple as it was.

"Like I said, though, you probably won't be up to really smacking them around until you get a little bigger. But right now, that's a good thing. I move fast and use these," she said, patting the sheathed dagger at her side. "Don't go much for the shoving and the punching. And since you're not a match in size for that bunch, I think you'd do better being quick and really aiming where you want to hit."

[Kender Bard]

Absolon looked at the sheathed dagger uneasily. "I don't want to really hurt them," he admitted. "Not, um, seriously. Just hurt them like they hurt me."

[Darastrix]

Shard rolled her eyes. Well, baby steps. The kid was being picked on, so he wasn't going to be an ideal Wrathful right away. And he still might end up the type that she and Imobel did the beating up for.

"I'm not giving you a knife right off anyway," she told him. "I was thinking more that you'd be suited to being quick and punching at good spots."

[Kender Bard]

"Yeah!" Absolon enthused, balling up his fists and taking little jabs at the air. "That's what I mean. I wanna-" he jabbed the air again "-bam! Knock them on their asses!"