"If you say so…" Nich replied, and although he didn't seem entirely convinced, he dropped the subject and kept walking. "Um… I guess we should get to know each other better? I suppose we'll probably be seeing more of each other because of the guild and the job and all." He laughed softly. "Do you have any questions or anything? I never know what to ask for get to know you stuff, to be honest…"
I guess, Rowan shrugged as she thought of things to either ask or tell. She wasn't exactly great at the whole get to know you a thing either, but she wasn't about to write that aloud. She thought for a moment tapping her fingers against her leg to keep her from humming, What's your favorite color? Sorry, it's a basic question, but I'm not great at this either.
"Favorite color? Mm… probably blue. Like, light blue." Nich replied, stretching a bit as he walked and considered. "Let's see… hm… do you… have any siblings?" He asked, looking over to Rowan again so he could see her response. "You don't have to answer if it's a touchy subject or anything. I don't have any personally… and my parents still live in what remains of my hometown."
Rowan had a little smile as Nich answered her question. Light blue was a good color, the color of the sky and water sometimes. Though that smile quickly fell as he asked his question. She glanced down at her feet as she kept walking writing out in a little shakier writing, I used to have an older brother, at least, I don't see him as my brother anymore. Rowan took a deep breath in and out, What was your favorite thing about your hometown? Since you brought the place up.
Nich nodded along as Rowan replied, feeling a bit guilty for asking, but he had given her the option not to reply if she didn't want to. He winced a little when he had to try and think extensively on his hometown. "Ah… I liked that my parents and my friends were there, I suppose. The town itself… wasn't very good. I grew up in a war zone, actually, so… a large portion of my town ended up actually being a minefield." He smiled weakly and kept walking, more aware of the metallic sound to his footsteps than usual.
Oh, I'm sorry, Rowan wrote out spotting his wince. She figured it was he was fine talking about it, clearly she was wrong. She hesitated before reaching out and patting him on the back with her right end. At least she could put two and two together figuring he lost his legs because of something that happened back at home. She gave him a comforting smile, At least everyone's okay, right? Sorry that's probably not something for me to assume.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Nich insisted, holding his hands up in front of himself with a weak laugh. "As far as I know, my parents are alright. They refuse to move away… they're very attached to our hometown." He sighed softly. "I know some of my old friends didn't fare so well. It was a very dangerous place to grow up. I'm lucky to still be here to talk about it." He looked up as he walked and hummed softly. "I wish my parents weren't so stubborn so we could have moved away when I was little."
Well, Rowan began writing before she hesitated. She didn't exactly know how parents normally act, considering both of hers "disappeared" when she was a kid. Instead, Ash was the one who take care of her, and not very well. Eventually she finished out her thought, They probably thought it was safer in a place they knew rather than some place they didn't know. You said it was a war zone right? You would have had to walk through that war zone to leave, and that can be even more dangerous than living in a town in the war zone.
Nich shrugged a bit and stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked. "Yeah, I guess so. I just know that they really didn't want to leave, even after people started getting hurt all the time. It was scary as a kid, hearing bombs and stuff going off. Most of the parents were the type to be kinda careless and let their kids play outside even when it was dangerous. You'd hear a landmine detonate and wonder if it was your friend who stepped on it, you know?" He hummed softly, not much emotion in his voice compared to his usual chipper tone.
He seemed calm, and as though he'd detached himself from his childhood entirely so it wouldn't be so bothersome. "I ran off when I was about thirteen. I love my parents, but I hated living there." He was quiet for a moment before something in his eyes seemed to snap back to reality. "Ah, I'm sorry! I really shouldn't be dumping my childhood on you or whatever. It isn't really important."
No, no it's absolutely fine. I was the one who asked, after all, Rowan wrote in return. She gave him a calm smile as she thought for a moment stopping in her steps. She began walking again as she made her decision. Rowan felt bad because she clearly asked very personal questions to Nich, and she had hardly shared anything personal herself. And living in an active warzone was no little thing as Nich's attitude seemed to show, If, if you want to ask me a personal question I'll answer it. I feel a little bad about asking about your life.
Nich watched Rowan with a confused expression when she suddenly stopped walking, and he paused as well. "Ah? Oh, no, I don't need to do that. I've got no reason to ask you something that might make you uncomfortable. It's fine, really, don't worry about it. If you want to share anything, you're welcome to, but I'm not going to force you to tell me anything." He replied, holding his hands up again. "Honestly, don't feel bad. It's not your fault."
Rowan frowned a little but shrugged anyway. She didn't exactly know what to tell Nich anyways, at least anything that wouldn't make him not concerned. She tapped her fingers on her leg as she thought for a moment and started to write to Nich once more, I wouldn't be that uncomfortable, I am offering after all. But you can't make me not feel bad about it. I thought it wouldn't be as bad as it was.
"It's fine, honestly. I'm not upset, I promise." Nich insisted with a soft smile. "I probably overshared anyway. Just got caught up talking and such. And you didn't know." He closed his eyes for a moment and scratched at his ears again, which was evidently a pretty frequent habit of his. "You're welcome to share anything you like; I won't stop you, but don't feel pressured to share anything you don't want to."
Rowan hesitated a moment as she thought. It wouldn't be awful to share something with Nich, the question was what. She had to think of something that wouldn't make Nich concerned, but was at the same level of personalness that Nich had shared with her. There was a moment of hesitation before she began to write to him, I don't have parents, at least any that I know of. Ash, my brother who I don't consider a brother, was the one who raised me.
"Mm?" Nich read the words closely, his expression growing more curious rather than sullen and uneasy. He considered for a moment how to respond. He didn't exactly know Rowan very well, after all, so he had no way of gauging how she felt about the information she'd shared. He blinked a couple times as he searched for the right words. "Do you… like Ash?" He asked awkwardly after a few seconds. "I mean… uh… I'm not sure what it's like to be raised by a sibling, of course."
Rowan paused a second as she watched Nich's expression. She wasn't surprised to see the curiosity on his face, but she was expecting something else. Then he asked his question and she froze for a moment. She took a deep breath in and out before deciding she could at least do him the courtesy of responding, No. He she hesitated for a second, He was a lot like the witch from Rapunzel. You know that story right?
"Ah, I see… yeah, I'm familiar with Rapunzel. I'm sorry." Nich replied, his tone sincere. Although the town he lived in was unsafe and unpleasant, he did still like his parents, and he was raised well enough for the most part. He wasn't sure what it was like to grow up without parents, or to be raised by a sibling that he didn't even like. So, he was sorry that Rowan had to experience such a situation. "Well, however you got here, I'm glad you made it." He smiled softly at Rowan.
I'm glad I made it too, Rowan smiled softly back at him. She was honestly happy Nich was being sincere in his apologies. Others had been insincere in their response to finding this out. Then again, she hadn't told that many people. She tapped on her leg as she walked along as she began to write out, Sorry for bringing the mood down. Um, have any happy stories to tell?
"It's fine, really. I've got lots of fun stories." Nich hummed as he searched for a story he wanted to tell. He really had adventured quite a bit, so it was far too figure out which stories were the best. He supposed it didn't really matter. "Hmm… oh! Once I had to wrangle some guy's sheep back home after they'd escaped their pen—some jobs don't involve fighting, after all—and he lent me his horse so I could chase them. I don't really know how to ride a horse, but I managed to stay on well enough for long enough to get the sheep back. As soon as we got back, though, the horse threw me off into a fence. I broke a rib and I had a nasty bruise on my side for weeks." He laughed, putting one hand on his side where the injury had supposedly been.
Rowan smiled at that and resisted the urge to laugh at his little story. She wanted to, but she knew it would be far too painful and ruin the mood. Instead, she smiled brightly at him and showed her amusement through her eyes. Rowan quickly wrote out, Sucks that you broke a rib, but hey you got the job done! Either way that was a good little story.
Nich smiled brightly as well, glad that Rowan had liked the story. "Yeah, I've had way worse than a broken rib, so I consider myself lucky. Horse related injuries can get pretty bad too." He hummed softly and tried to think of another story he could tell. "Trying to remember what my first job was… that one was pretty early, but it wasn't my first. I remember fighting some kobolds with a small group of people around my age a few years back. They were an aspiring group of adventurers. I hope they're doing well."
Did you not keep in touch with them? Rowan wrote out to Nich. Curiosity had now taken over her features as she waited for his answer. He seemed at least a little close to whoever these people were, especially since they did do some jobs together. She assumed she did more than one job together. And if he didn't, then Rowan probably wasn't going to do another job with him. Which was fine with her.
"I do write to them sometimes, but it's been a little while." Nich shrugged. "They had to go off and do their own thing. I would've gone with them, but I figured I should stick around here instead. It was a nice, balanced team. I think their ranger was my favorite." He laughed softly, smiling as he reminisced.
Why did you stick around? Rowan didn't quite understand. If he found a good group of people whose company he enjoyed, then he should have stayed with them, right? That's how most normal people worked, then again what did she know. She was isolated for 19 years of her life. She shook her head, Sorry, you have your reasons. Maybe you should write to them when we get back from the job?
"Well… I felt like I was needed here. I've got the guild and the town… this place is my home. I love those guys, but they're doing great on their own." Nich shrugged, still smiling softly. "I'll definitely remember our time together fondly. But that sounds like a good idea; I'll try to remember to write to them after we're done." He stretched a bit and kept walking.