Getting Ready To Go [Joxer/Open]

[Ava]

Well, it had all been fun, but not one hundred percent like Ava had thought things would go. Thrace had been good, well so she supposed. Ava didn't exactly get to see how Joxer worked, but she at least got to hear a bit of it. He had gotten the information that they had needed which was a good thing.

Ava got down off of Cala, and pulled out a carrot to feed to her black beauty that Joxer had so kindly let her choose from. The only horse Ava had was Tulio, but he got sick when he was little and ended up going to those big fields in the sky.

In the meantime Ava wondered what would happen next. Were they bringing their horses? Well, if she remembered correctly what Joxer had told her they were bringing their horses, unless of course Aphrodite was talking about other animals. Serving the goddess of love could get a little confusing at times, but it was all well worth it in the end.

"What are the plans now Joxer? Aside from just going overseas to get Kara? What do we do first?"

Ava looked at the boats for just a moment. They looked like big leaky tubs. A small fear of boarding was starting to settle in. You don't have anything to worry about. You're with someone that knows what they are doing.

Tag: Joxer/Any

[Joxer the Mighty]

Joxer looked out over the boats, the one they were waiting for had not yet arrived. His visit with his old friend had gone well by some standards, although he was certain that's not how it had happened. He was glad Ava had agreed to wait outside, so she wouldn't be in harms way when the fighting started, which had actually happened sooner than Joxer had planned. He thought he would at least have been able to speak with the man before his thugs attacked him, but that was in the past now. He still wasn't sure how he was going to keep the wounds from the battle hidden from her until they healed, he had bandaged himself and repaired his armor before returning to her, but as they waited for the boat he felt himself getting dizzy, as if he were bleeding out from somewhere he had not spotted. He promised he'd tell her the truth if he thought he couldn't hide it any longer, he was doing his best to protect her from his way of life and felt he was failing miserably.

"I'll be right back."

He said as he tied his mount, which he had named Ulysses, to a post and walked down river a ways, out of site of Ava he soaked some more bandages, cleaned his wounds and re-bandaged them. 'That should hold for a while.' He thought before returning to Ava, the ship they were waiting for could be seen in the distance, just coming over the horizon, they would be on their way soon enough.

"Ava." He called, pointing out to sea "There it is, we'll be on our way shortly."

He was trying to relieve any fears she may have as well as his own, he had never liked boats and would gladly have avoided this part of the journey, if he wasn't being drawn to help someone else for a change. He stood next to Ava, watching the ship approach, he checked his bag, the medallion guaranteeing their safe passage was still there, everything should be fine and dandy.





TAG: Ava/any

[Ava]

"I'll be right back."

"Alright. Be careful." Well that sounded stupid. Yup, telling a warrior to be careful. Ava waited paitently for Joxer to return. Something about him seemed different since their little stop along the way. Ava had just attribuated it to the stop as Joxer had to walk into a camp that had part of the life he had left behind. It had to be difficult to go through.

Ava walked over to Joxer's horse. "Would you tell me if something was bothering Joxer?" Ava asked as she petted him.

"He's injured." A man said as he came out from around the corner.

"Injured? Impossible." Ava replied with a small smile. "He would have told me, besides Joxer is a very skilled fighter. I don't think anyone could get the best of him." The man had to be thinking of a different person, or just trying to fill her with fear. Why do that though if he was not going to forcefully take anything? Traveling alone place to place you had to learn who you could trust; a lesson Ava was still learning a little bit every day.

"Whatever you say miss, but I saw him." The man tossed her a denar as he left.

"That was a very strange chat." Ava commented to herself and the horse, after she caught the denar he had tossed her. Perhaps that was something she was going to have to get used to; strange chats from other people. "He just said that to get you to worry." Ava told herself, though she was not quite sure she believed.

"Ava." Ava turned around and smiled. She was quite glade Joxer was back. She ran up and gave him a rather tight squeeze. Ava then looked out to where Joxer had pointed. It was a ship. Well of course it was a ship.

"There it is, we'll be on our way shortly."

"Joxer, I have a confession to make." Ava began slowly. "I'm a little scared. Are you sure these rather large boats are safe? The only boat I've been on was a rowboat." After that Ava looked away as she started to play with her fingers. She had a look of worry on her face. "There's something else too."

Ava took a breath before speaking.

"If you were hurt you'd trust me enough to tell me...wouldn't you?"

Tag: Joxer/Any

[Joxer the Mighty]

"Alright. Be careful."

Well, if that wasn't the understatement of the century. He had already been sloppy, and slow, and barely made it out of that fight in one piece...

His guard had been lower than he had wanted it and the man got in a lucky shot, but it was enough to almost cost him the battle, by the grace of the gods did Joxer survive, and not only that but make it out with the information he went in to get in the first place.

"Would you tell me if something was bothering Joxer?"

The horse simply whinnied and stared at her...

"He's injured."

"Injured? Impossible.""He would have told me, besides Joxer is a very skilled fighter. I don't think anyone could get the best of him."

"Whatever you say miss, but I saw him."

"That was a very strange chat."[/i]"He just said that to get you to worry."

"Ava."

She squeezed him, and it hurt him greatly, he felt the wound bleed out slightly again and he visibly winced but still tried to hide it.

"There it is, we'll be on our way shortly."

"Joxer, I have a confession to make.""I'm a little scared. Are you sure these rather large boats are safe? The only boat I've been on was a rowboat."
"There's something else too."

He looked at her and waited for her to speak, the pain was slowly stopping now...

"If you were hurt you'd trust me enough to tell me...wouldn't you?"

Did she know? How could she know? He figured he'd have to tell her eventually, but he had been hoping it could wait until it had healed enough to get away with saying it wasn't as bad as it actually is. He looked down, finding the toes of his boots quite fascinating at the moment.

He looked her in the eyes...

"Probably not, if I were injured in a way that could become very bad I might hide it from you in an attempt to protect you from it. Or if it wasn't as bad as it could be and I thought it wasn't worth mentioning because it would be pointless to worry about something that is actually nothing, like this small cut I received earlier, it is nothing to worry about and so i decided not to tell you..." He was about to turn and head to the shore line to meet the ship when he stopped and turned back to her "...out of curiosity, how did you know?"



Tag: Ava

[Ava]

Ava paied close attention to how Joxer reacted to her hug. It was a might odd. She also listened to his rather long speech. And the looking down to his boots, well, that was sort of a little child guilt thing that no one grew out of. Ava let a breath out. She was a might frustraited about the trust factor...or lack of. "Let's just say a little bird told me."

"Now let me take a look at and doctor you. It's not like I don't know how or that we don't have the supplies." Ava smiled. "I bought them just in case." She waited for Joxer to do as she said. She could doctor him here or on the rather large floating tub. "Well..."

Tag: Joxer/Any

[Joxer the Mighty]

"Let's just say a little bird told me."

Of course, he continued to wonder how she had known...

"Now let me take a look at and doctor you. It's not like I don't know how or that we don't have the supplies."

He sighed and looked back to the ship they were waiting for, if they didn't get on it in time they would miss their chance and that was something he couldn't risk.

"Well..."

"Well, I think that if you're going to insist on doctoring me then it can at least wait until we are safely aboard that ship. Once we're settled I'll sit still and you can do whatever you want to me."

It was only after he said it that he realized how it sounded, but it was too late for him to take it back so he didn't either bother trying. He just grabbed his gear and began walking toward the ship. He knew Ava would follow him, he also knew she was not happy that he didn't trust her enough to tell her he was injured. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust her, it was just that he had never needed to, or been able to, rely on another person before. This companionship thing was going to take some getting used to...

[Ava]

Ava lightly shook her head after he had said his piece. The ending had just sounded so very strange. Actually, a double meaning, and more than she wanted to even think or picture. "Of course I'm going to insist." Ava said with a cherry smile, taking to hold onto more items than she could easily carry, as to try and spare Joxer from any added extra weight. "I'm coming."

Once they were on the ship Ava let all the things she was carrying fall from her and land in one big pile. "Okay," Ava heaved a sigh. "we're on board. Sit, please." She said as she motioned Joxer over with one hand, and reaching into her pack with the other. While she did so, some ugly, big smelly man with a beard walked up and just blankly started at Ava and Joxer.

Blinking, Ava looked up at him. "Can I help you with something?"

The man scratched his beard. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"It's not impossible. I do-" Ava was cut off as the man shook his head 'no', and pointed to Joxer. "Him, not you." He said gruffly. "Aren't you Joxer?" Ava's brown eyes darted side to side a minute before she pulled Joxer's helmet down in front of his face. "No. That is quite impossible. His name is, Costa. He, uh, well...where do you come from?"

"Thrace." The burly man answered.

"Then I was right. It is impossible for you to have seen him before, because he comes from, Andros; the island. We were just visiting here for the first time today, city of Corinth." Ava told the man sweetly, with an innocent smile. Sure it was all a lie, but she just had one of those feelings that trouble would have started if she hadn't used her talent as a Bard.

The man skeptically left, and Ava supplies in hand, sat next to Joxer. "That was close." She whispered under her breath. "Okay, let me tend to you."

Tag: Joxer

[Joxer the Mighty]

"Okay, we're on board. Sit, please."

Joxer sat and removed his armor and shirt to reveal his wounds for her to dress...

He saw the man approach, smelled him first though, and listened to the fabulous arn Ava spun about who he was and where they came from. He was glad the man left, he wasn't sure he was in any condition to be useful in a fight of any kind...

"That was close. Okay, let me tend to you."

"Close, yes. But at least it did not turn into a fight, this time. perhaps this was a bad idea, I am far too easily recognized..."

He trailed off on that thought for a moment.

"...then again we certainly can't have you going off on this quest alone now can we?"

he asked with a smile. he tried to position himself in a way that did not cause him great pain and that also allowed her to tend to him. He had not been close to many people like this, not a physical closeness but a closeness of a different kind, he found himself wondering how long she would stick around and wondered further if he would remain a good person if her path should take her away from his side, she was inspiring him to be a better person and as much as he hated it, he also very much liked it at the same time...

"Tell me something, how long do you plan on accompanying me?"

He could not hold back the question, the thought of traveling without her left him feeling as though he would be lost in the world, like a frightened, small child who had become separated from his parents. He was beginning to grow attached to her, but he wasn't sure in what way, was he in love with her, was she like a sister to him, was she just a close companion that he could call friend? he did not know the answer to these and hoped he would soon find out how she felt, it would make things a lot easier.

[Ava]

"Close, yes. But at least it did not turn into a fight, this time. perhaps this was a bad idea, I am far too easily recognized..."

"Nonsense." Ava replied with a sunny smile, as her eyes darted to the wound to first look it over. Taking a clean rag, Ava poured a little bit of their drinking water on it. She had to wipe away the blood first.

"...then again we certainly can't have you going off on this quest alone now can we?"

"If I had been alone it's more likely that those slave traders would have gotten hold of me, then I wouldn't be here at all. You saved my life by just letting me tag along." Truth was truth. If Ava had not met Joxer that day the slave traders would have gotten hold of her, because she didn't know how to fight, and there were too many to outrun.

Ava cleaned the wound as gently as possible. Now that most of the blood was gone she could see it better. Biting her bottom lip Ava reached into her pack again and pulled out a small green bottle. It was poison; well, only if digested. Putting some of the liquid on the cork of the bottle Ava looked up at Joxer momentarily.

"This might sting a little." She softly warned before putting the liquid to the wound. "It will help keep it from getting an infection." Ava put a bit more on the wound. She then corked the small green bottle then put it away as she pulled out a white cloth to dress Joxers' wound.

"Tell me something, how long do you plan on accompanying me?"

"Until your debt to the people you wronged is paid in full I guess." Truth was she hadn't actually thought about it much. "Or longer...I never really thought about it."

Ava smiled as she gently wrapped the white cloth around Joxer. "Why? Are you looking to get rid of me? Because if you are, you know I'll just follow."

Tag: Joxer/Anyone

[Joxer the Mighty]

"This might sting a little."[/i]

He prepared himself for the sting, but when she touched his wound with the stuff he felt it on his skin and sting it did...

"This does not feel good."

"It will help keep it from getting an infection."

"Then at least it will be worth it. Thank you."

"Until your debt to the people you wronged is paid in full I guess."

"That might be a while."

Gods know he had wronged a lot of people and had a hefty debt to repay. He looked at her now and saw her concentrating on dressing his wound, she took extra care with it and he knew she had done this before.

"Or longer...I never really thought about it."

"In that case, I suppose I should either get better at not getting hurt or expect you to mother me like this when I do."

"Why? Are you looking to get rid of me? Because if you are, you know I'll just follow."

"No, I'm not looking to get rid of you at all, I truly enjoy your company. Just thought you might get tired of dealing with me after a while is all."

The sun was beginning to set when she finished playing doctor, Joxer took a look around the ship to see if anyone else might cause them problems before they arrived at their destination.

"It's getting late, you should get some rest before we arrive.



TAG: Ava

[Ava]

When she was finished dressing his wound Ava put away all she had taken out. She had also found it hard not to laugh at a few of his comments such as: 'This does not feel good'. After she had warned him about it stinging. And how in the world could she ever get tired of his company?! Joxer was a very interesting person, with a no doubt interesting life story. Naturally there were bound to be a few things he would not be willing to tell; such as his wound.

Ava smiled up at Joxer. "I'd rather you work on not getting hurt, even if I do have plenty of experience in patching up wounds." Her experience consisted of her siblings and time spent with a healer and a midwife. "How could I possibly get tired of dealing with you?" Ava inquired as she reached into her pack and pulled out a scroll, and her quill. Her back up against the side of the floating tub, she began to write. Write about what? Their adventure so far, and the main character was none other than Joxer.

During the whole time the big burly man from before kept staring at the two of them.

"It's getting late, you should get some rest before we arrive."

Ava looked up at Joxer when she heard his voice. Her eyes then shifted over to the man that approached them before, then back to Joxer. Ava had an unsettling feeling about that man. "I don't know if I'll be able to rest, but I'll try."
Ava rolled up her scroll and put it away. She then gave Joxer a peck on the cheek, then curled up in the blanket and such that they had brought along. "Good night."

Tag: Joxer
OOC: No, I don't care much for the coloring and bolding.

[Joxer the Mighty]

"I'd rather you work on not getting hurt, even if I do have plenty of experience in patching up wounds."

"I'll do my best."

"How could I possibly get tired of dealing with you?"

"It's been known to happen, but I guess since you'll be writing down a lot of what we experience than as long as your with me you'll have something to write about. Am I correct?"

"It's getting late, you should get some rest before we arrive."

"I don't know if I'll be able to rest, but I'll try."

"I've been watching him too, try not to worry about it too much and sleep. I'll make sure nothing happens to you while you rest."

"Good night."

"Good Night, may the Gods grant you pleasant dreams."

Not they ever granted him such a nicety, but he figured for someone like her they'd be more willing to be nice. After she got herslef settled in and looking comfortable he slid a blanket out of his pack, draped over himself as well as most of her as he had taken the spot next to her, and slid into a comfortable half sitting position. He rested his hands on the hilts of his swords, covered by the blanket and half closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. In reality he was simply watching the man from earlier and his friends, he saw the man glancing at them repeatedly and found himself thinking that if he didn't stop he would kill him for it, but then he remembered he was no longer that person and if he were to kill this man for simply looking at them the wrong way he doubted Ava would ever be able to forgive him for such an act...



TAG: Ava

[Ava]

Ava had fallen asleep and waken up quite a few times. The movement of the ship on the waves, the creaking sounds, and that man from before all made for not so easy sleeping. Well, it wasn't so much the man as it was the movement of the ship that caused her to awake so many times.

It was very unsettling. Ava knew if that 'dude' (as Aphrodite would say) or his friends caused any trouble she'd be safe. Posiden was never known as a friendly god. Besides, what mortal could take on a hazardous situation in the sea? Too much water could make you drown.

Ava's eyes glanced over at Joxer. Sitting up slightly, and tilting her head, Ava leaned in close and said: "Are you asleep?"

Tag: Joxer
OOC: Next post we can arrive at Kos.