A Dire Mistake

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

Kaldaka watched as a man dashed down the alley she had been standing in. She stepped calmly out of the shadows and walked over to David, who she smiled warmly up at. "Very nice to see you again," she said, locking eyes with him for a moment before glancing away, feeling flustered again.

[David Augustine]

David smiled back at her. "Yes, it's good to see you again as well." he said. Their eyes locked for only a moment before she broke it. He felt unsure about these moments. He looked around before returning his gaze on her. "So what are you training to become?" he asked her.

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

Kaldaka was slightly startled by the question. "What am I training for?" she said absent-mindedly. "Well, I'm not quite positive which path I'll take yet," she said cautiously, not yet sure whether he would approve of her ultimate goal of assassin. And she did want him to approve. Very much.

[David Augustine]

"Well, you must have some sort of goal." David replied, "Mine is to become a dragoon." He hoped that this would get her to tell her his. A goal is a goal. It wouldn't have mattered if she was the worlds greatest thief or the world's most evil necromancer. He could tell that she had quick movements and stealth. So her being a thief wasn't totally out of the picture, but he figured that there was something more.

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

Kaldaka hesitated, still reluctant to tell him about her goal. She didn't want him disgusted by her goal. She wanted him to think that she was a wonderful warrior. Suddenly she realized that this wouldn't do. If he didn't like her goal and left, it might make her upset, but if he didn't realize how important it was to her, it didn't really matter. "I'm training to become an assassin," she said slowly, still reluctant. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was out. Either he would stay or.... he would leave. She winced slightly at the thought.

[David Augustine]

David stood there for a bit. He was giving it some thought. He still looked at her. He could tell that she didn't really want to tell him, but he was glad that she did. "You know, I don't think I could be an assassin even if I tried for a hundred years." he replied with a smile, "It sounds like a lot of hard work. I'm sure you'll be one of the finest assassins yet."

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

A smile broke out like summer sunshine on Kaldaka's face out of pure relief. She could have hugged him right then and there, even in the middle of the marketplace. He didn't know how important it was to her to have approval of her friends, for her path was a dark and dangerous one. She took a deep breath of relief and said, "I hope so. It is hard work, and it will take me many years no doubt, but soon," her face grew determined and her hard grey eyes glinted as she looked up to him. "Soon I will be ready."

[David Augustine]

"I'm sure you will." David replied to her. He smiled back at and remembered that look on her face. It was the same one she wore as they sparred when they first met. The look of determination. He was sure that she had her reasons why she wanted to be an assassin and he wouldn't have minded to know. But he was never the type to go prodding around in people's personal lives.

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

Kaldaka smiled softly. She wasn't sure if he knew what she meant by being ready, but it was wonderful just to have his confidence, to know that at least one person believed in her and didn't mind about her being an assassin. "So you're training to become a dragoon?" she asked questioningly.

[David Augustine]

"Yes, I am." David replied, "I'm the first one in my family to aim towards being a paladin." He smiled back at her. "Becoming a dragoon is hard work too. There is so much to learn and do. I raised in the ideal environments to become a paladin, but my skills grew faster towards being a dragoon instead."

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

Kaldaka listened interestedly, her grey eyes quizzical as she listened. "That's odd, isn't it? After all, when one is raised in the position to become a pladin, yet learns faster towards becoming a dragoon, it must mean that something important is in him." A slight shadow crossed her face. "I, too, was raised to be a paladin by my father, but I would never have become professional." She looked up, attempting a smile that didn't work. "My aunts would have been scandalized, and my mother, while she didn't mind me practicing, would have been scandalized at me going professional as well. My father-" she shrugged,"The only reason he cared about me really was because eventually I turned out to be as good as the son he almost had." She looked up at him, her grey eyes keen. "I've never told anyone all this before."

[David Augustine]

David smiled what he heard. He appreciated hearing his friend's histories. It allowed him to know where they were coming from and why they ended up where they where today. He nodded his head as she told him the last part. "Don't worry." he replied, "I won't tell anyone else. I'll keep it to myself." He made a salute when he said it as if it was sometype of vow of sorts.

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

Kaldaka smiled back, relieved. "That's good. You see-" she hesitated slightly, then turned away, wrapping her cloak around her as she gazed out over the streets. "Oh, I don't know. I just prefer not to let everyone know everything about me. I don't even know why I told you. I guess I trust you."

[David Augustine]

David walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright to trust some people." he told her. He then let go and looked around the streets.

[Kaldaka/Traveller]

Kaldaka stood for a moment, feeling the weight of his hand on her shoulder. "Yes," she agreed softly. "It's alright to trust some people."