Finn and Delta listened closely to Aesir's story, clearly intrigued. "That's interesting. Thanks for sharing." Finn smiled brightly up at Aesir and then considered what he should share about himself. "Um… I'm not too exciting, honestly. I'm just a guy. I grew up in a middle class home with supportive parents, went to school… I left one middle school because of bullying, but aside from that I've been alright." He looked up at Delta expectantly and they sighed.
"I'm Delta… you can call me Del if you want. Please use they/them pronouns if you refer to me. I grew up in a small town where the neighbors raised me more than my parents. I'm a ranger wizard class, more or less, and I'm the one who generally has to keep Finn in line."
Castor smiled slightly, trying to shield away his uneasiness. He felt like he had to say something.
"I feel like all I can do is swing my sword," he admitted, "The past is… well, not something I find worth thinking about. Really it's just me and my sword against the world, and that's alright with me."
"Oh, uh- I also use they/them pronouns, by the way," Aesir added, not sure how to follow Castor. Gods, what's up with this guy?
"Well, I'm sure there's something interesting about you!" Finn insisted, turning to look up at Castor. "There's not anything at all you might want us to know about you? We're stuck with each other for a couple of weeks, at least." Delta nodded in agreement, but stayed facing forward. "We're not gonna judge you or anything, if that's what you're worried about. I mean, I can't speak for everyone obviously, but Delta and Aesir seem nice enough."
Castor raised his eyebrows.
"I mean, not really," he said, "Trustworthy or not, there's not much to say."
"I find that hard to believe," Aesir protested, "It doesn't have to be vulnerable. No hobbies? Anything you like? Like even a favorite food or something?"
"Well…" Castor said softly, "I guess I have a bit of a sweet tooth. Not much in the way of hobbies though. I usually help out around town in my spare time with whoever needs it. That's all. I don't particularly read or study much, or anything like that."
"Well, there you go! You like helping people with day to day tasks. That's something. Also, there's this fantastic orc baker in the town we're headed to. We ought to stop by there at some point."
Finn nodded along as Castor spoke, smiling encouragingly up at him. "See? That wasn't so hard! After this project, we should meet up at a bakery or a Cafe or something!" He found himself picking up his pace and being close to the front of the group out of impatience. He kept glancing to Aesir to make sure he was going the right way though. "Do you guys have any siblings or anything? Pets, friends, et cetera? This is fun!"
Castor cast his gaze down.
"I think that's enough…" he whispered, "but for the record, no, I don't."
Aesir frowned. "Jeez, if you hate the small talk that much, you really don't have to answer. But me? I allegedly have a bunch of half-siblings here and there. And um, dear old dad who I've never met had a thing for nonhuman women. Met some guy a few months ago in a port town- a half-orc- and turns out we were half brothers. No other siblings that I grew up with though. Just me and my mom until she passed. Oh, and no pets, but I have a thing for crows. I taught a flock in my hometown to do some little things for me."
Castor tilted his head. "You have to be lying about at least half of that. There's no way-"
"Oh, come on, Cas," Aesir laughed, "It's all true, as far as I know. I didn't believe the bit about my dad either."
"That's interesting! I guess it could be kinda fun to run into somebody random and find out you're related, but I dunno." Finn shrugged and kept walking, his arms swinging at his sides as he walked. "I've got a frog named Jellyfish and a cat named Mushroom, and I have an older sister, but she's like… significantly older. I barely remember her being in the house at all." He hummed thoughtfully. "Delta's the one with the big family."
Delta looked up when they were addressed. "Mm? Oh, yes… I'm the third eldest of eight children. A couple are half or step siblings. It's exhausting to be in a home with so many other people…" They sighed, looking tired just thinking about it. "My parents didn't have the time to pour into their children individually. Maybe they shouldn't have had so many."
"I tried to pickpocket him and found a piece of jewelry with a symbol that matched a necklace my mom had, so, uh… that was one hell of a thing to try to explain to him," Aesir laughed.
They turned to Delta and thought for a moment.
"We all do come from very different families, so it seems."
Castor scoffed. He wanted to change the subject, but at the same time, it wasn't fair for him to stop the others from talking. He kept his mouth shut.
"Cas, bud… you okay?"
"Yeah, I just want to get this bit over with so I can sleep. I fell asleep as the sun was rising this morning, so I'm not really feeling all of this. You guys can keep talking. I'll just be over here."
Finn laughed softly at Aesir's story, stumbling a little as he walked along, but not quite falling. He tended to be pretty clumsy, and Delta had reached out to catch him in case he fell. They both looked over at Castor adverse reaction to the topic of conversation, and Finn looked concerned.
"No, don't leave! We can talk about something else if you'd like. Just trying to get to know each other a little better. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" He asked Castor, jogging over to be closer to him.
"Literally anything else," Castor replied tersely, "Just not like, family and all that…"
"I'm guessing that's… a sore subject," Aesir sighed, "Sorry about that, then."
"It's alright. Just maybe don't push me to answer shit I don't want to answer, rogue."
Aesir nodded. "What abouuuut… past adventures and quests? You guys ever go on any cool ones?"
They trotted ahead to catch back up with the others.
"That's more like it. Gotta think about that one, though," Castor said. He finally had a very slight smile on his face.
Finn winced at Castor's tone and nodded. He looked over to Aesir's new suggestion for a topic of conversation. "Cool adventures and quests? Um… I don't do a ton. I did go to a further village one time to get rid of some kobolds, though, and I go out a lot to try and find stuff for my potions." He looked over to Delta to see if they had anything to add.
"Mm… I do a fair amount of quests…" Delta replied softly. "Most of them are menial tasks, but I was sent out to fight a dragon one time. A really small one, mind you; probably young, and not a large species, but it was causing some trouble nonetheless."
"I usually get sent on recon missions, spying missions, that sort of thing. But the most interesting ones are always investigative. I've found many a missing person," Aesir added, "But back up there. A dragon? Was it on the quest board, or did they spring that on you?"
Castor glanced between the others before giving his answer.
"They usually like me to clear out bandits or monsters when they're causing trouble. Other than that, I run a lot of small errands for people, especially elderly townsfolk. I've fought a few strange monsters, but nothing you guys haven't heard of."
"Well, not exactly… they said there was a 'small beast' bothering the village, but they didn't know what it was. When I showed up to investigate, I found a dragon." Delta explained calmly, shrugging. "It really wasn't a big deal. Like I said, it was a really small one."
"It's still cool, though!" Finn insisted, grinning brightly up at his friend. "I've never even seen a dragon. I only see stupid deer and stuff… I saw a really big wolf one time, though! That was pretty cool."
"I've seen a dragon, but nothing I could've imagined fighting," Castor said, "It was far too big and too powerful. But it was going about its own business, so it could've been worse."
"I haven't seen a dragon either," Aesir added, their face paling a bit, "But honestly, I'm more grateful than jealous. I think the giant sewer rats are enough."
"The giant what?"
Finn grimaced. "Giant sewer rats? That's nasty." He stuck his tongue out and shook his head a bit. "I like frogs, but rats freak me out… especially when they're super big! They shouldn't get that big!" He insisted. He looked around, trying to figure out where they were. "There better not be any rats around here… do you think we're close to the questgiver's place?" He asked, to which Delta shrugged.
"I don't think we're that far."
"No, they're not exactly good company," Aesir replied, "But they tend to stick to their nasty little sewers and swamps and whatnot. And yeah, I think the town is just over this hill. I've visited more than a few times."
"What for? Other quests?"
"Pretty much. That, and the townsfolk are generally affluent and overly trusting."
"So you like to steal from people there."
Aesir shrugged. "Not from people who would miss it."
"Maybe we'll find a quest that requires stealing! You'd be good at that." Finn hummed thoughtfully and found himself at the front of the group again. He adjusted his cloak as he looked around curiously. "My parents are well off enough. They never really cared about money or talked about it, though, so it's hard to say." He shrugged and put his hands on the back of his neck again as he walked.
Aesir shifted uncomfortably. "Whoa, whoa, I don't steal just for the thrill of it, you know," they protested, "If it becomes necessary, I'll do it, but there are a million things I'd rather do. I was piss poor growing up, and I would've starved."
Castor shrugged. "That's fair enough, I guess. If I wasn't so afraid of getting caught, I probably would've done that to stay alive instead of what I had to do."
"What did you have to do?"
"Working conditions were just bad, is all," Castor replied.
There he went, closing himself off again. Almost any questions seemed to delve into territory he didn't want to breach.
"Fair enough." Finn shrugged. "I'm fine to look into any quests you guys might be interested in." He looked over to Castor and sighed. Why even bring it up if he's not willing to talk about it? Everything's such a touchy subject… "Well… I guess we can still get to know each other a bit more while we walk, yeah?" He suggested awkwardly. "Uh… do you guys have favorite colors? Animals?"
Delta yawned and decided to answer for Finn's sake. "Uh… I like gold, I guess, and I'd say I like deer and crows… I get along with most woodland type animals, anyway."
"Welllll, like I said, I have a thing for corvids. Crows, ravens, blackbirds, magpies- but uh… jays are a little beyond me, to be honest," Aesir replied. Then they gestured to their own outfit. "And black and blue for sure."
Castor gave a little shrug. He wasn't planning on answering at first, but he figured it was better to play nice, be friendly.
"Blue's nice," he agreed, "Only second to green."
He paused for a moment.
"Animals… hm… I dunno, I think cats are cute. I usually feed strays wherever it is I stay."
Finn nodded and hummed softly. He was really trying his best to keep spirits up and cut the tension. "That's cool! I like frogs and cats and owls and stuff like that." He looked around, adjusting his bag on his shoulders. "Don't really know what my favorite color is… I don't think about it too much. Maybe green?" He considered for a few seconds. We're still not there… "Is there anything else you guys want to talk about?"
"Mmm, I dunno," Aesir said, rubbing the back of their neck, "What are you guys thinking about our classes and training and all that?"
Castor tilted his head. "Well… I could be doing better in class. I feel like taking exams and reading is a bit impractical for someone in my shoes."
"I think I'm doing alright." Finn shrugged. "I do well enough without needing to study too much. Delta's the genius." He smirked and nudged his friend with his elbow. Delta flushed very lightly, an unusual expression for them, and looked away. "It's nothing special… I just pay attention and study, that's all. The class isn't that hard if you just try a little."
Castor looked over at Aesir. "What about you? You sleep in class all the time, and I rarely see you during training."
"Oh, well, that's because I usually train alone. And if you don't see me? That's by design," they replied, "As for class? Don't need to be awake. I still make good grades. My mind is a steel trap, and nothing beats out good old experience."
Castor scoffed. "You've got to be joking. Look at this guy."
Aesir laughed with him. "Look, I'm being damn serious!"
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