faithbound. [marquis & Earinor]

Ignatius followed suit, not scared at all as it seemed, or at least not visible so. Azrael couldn't have been sure beforehand, if he wouldn't freeze in place upon being in a situation like this, but he didn't. What a lunatic, maybe? Too confident and curious. Hunters died for this, but Azrael wasn't better, storming into a goblins nest with a rookie on his side. As he dashed forward he mowed down a goblin in his way, then pulled out a little hand axe with his free one. Slashing at a troll didn't help, they skin was too tough, this thing needed a bit more force. The troll stopped in his tracks as Ignatius' spell took hold. Confused it put on hand to it's eyes, trying to pull away what was obstructing it's vision. Azrael needed to jump back when the troll started swinging it's club. He hit one of the goblins instead, who'd better stayed behind. Azrael continued on, dashing through between the beasts legs to get behind him and he used all his strength and momentum to hack the axe in the back of it's knee.

The troll howled, swinging at where it thought the thing that hurt him to be. Azrael dodged the predictable swing and hacked again, causing the troll to fall on it's knee. Azrael looked up at the dark cloud around the head of the troll. It still tried to get it off, while it also started wailing it's arms around to catch the little thing that hurt it. It was almost sad to look at - almost. "Stop your spell", he yelled over to Ignatius, while he was already using the trolls leg and back to climb on top of it. He discarded his axe and instead pulled out another knife, a bigger one this time. As the cloud around the troll dissipated, Azrael jumped in to take it's place. He hadn't been sure if he could touch it. With his legs over the beasts shoulders, he rammed both his sword as well as the knife into each of the trolls eyes. They were long enough to pierce it's brain, if he got it in far enough. He ducked away from an attempt to grab him, then rammed it in a bit further. The troll started to fall and Azrael jumped off. The goblins around them stood therein shock or maybe awe for a moment and Azrael knew they couldn't relax just yet, the next troll was already on it's way over to them, killing or at least injuring a few goblins in his way.

Azrael was akin to yelling, it seemed, not to actually taking things to heart in the heat of the moment - the troll was already done for either way, complete with the new cuts and all, and Ignatius figured this was the best it would be in the long shot. Regardless of what it truly would wind up being, he couldn’t let his guard down just yet - he eased the spell out, knowing that it had made him break out in cold sweat, but they were far from done. His body had to take a bit more than that if it wanted to bed of use in that very situation. Painful as it sounded, he tore himself away from the situation for a bit, the gruesome nature of it all - he was getting heart palpitations from the anticipation and his own brain felt like it had lit itself on fire with a fair share of ideas. Only a maniac would think that way. He knew as much. Perhaps he enjoyed know that as well. Wasn’t it just the most magnificent thing? His gaze was fixated on what happened in front of him, forever focused on the beguiling nature of such a display. Was that were the common man overcame the giant? It perhaps ought to be.

Ignatius was a mad man, enraptured by his devotion to his ill-chosen faith; he clutched the knife he’d gotten earlier to his chest. Did he need to make a trial run with this thing? Ignatius wondered where he’d best stab the goblins, though their little troll friend had a different idea it seemed - he wanted a piece of the pie, now that his companion was slain or at the very least gravely injured. For the eyes, no? That he head heard and Ignatius, ever the gentleman, wished he was better at manipulating the elements around him so he could make this guy slip on some ice, for the comical effect of it - alas, no such things were possible. Instead, it was back to the same trick again, once it got close enough to Azrael; the injured goblins were just a small bonus that he got to enjoy along the way, huh? These guys weren’t coordinated at all, it was almost shameful to see - but this time, Ignatius also decided he’d dig deeper with that spell of his, to see and feel if he’d make similar strides like Azrael - he managed to at least crush one of its eyeballs, it seemed, though, the amount of pressure he had to put into that spell was a lot. Ignatius was breathing even heavier now, goosebumps riddling his body - the excitement had set in a while ago, and yet, like this, it felt almost unrecognizable. Once more, he forced himself to exert more pressure on that thing, until his spell was clutching at nothing - there were no eyeballs left for him to confuse, and perhaps it served the agonizing creature right to be sent into a blind frenzy.

Azrael took a look at the goblins weapons scattered on the floor, most of them looked brittle and unusable. They were also smaller, since the creatures were smaller than humans too, but a spear was maybe usable for the next troll. For now Azrael retrieved his axe. Ignatius was the one focusing on the next troll who started to flail too. Some of the goblins were just thrown around, hit by the club and sent flying. Azrael could see blood too, when he looked up. The troll was blind, but not dead. The troll flailed some more, then he suddenly started running. Maybe it was scared? Some goblins ans Azrael as well had to jump to the side to get out of it's way. it crashed against the wooden wall, but just ran throught it and towards the forest. Azrael doubted it would come back and some of the goblins started to run as well. Two troll being dead was enough for them to panic and disperse, running out all entrances to the settlement and back into the forest. There was no use following them.

With so many leaving, even the ones that maybe would have fought on decided to abandon this post. Azrael grunted a bit displeased, but they had more important things to do than following them. He walked over to the troll they'd killed and retrieved his weapons, then he walked over to Ignatius to check on him. "You alright?", he wondered still vigilant. Dying now, only because they thought they were save, would be very stupid. Maybe one goblin stayed behind and wanted to play the hero or some bullshit. "Maybe we should check the rest of the buildings or what's left of them for any survivors." It was probably better there weren't any. it would mean they could retrieve Njeri and move on, otherwise they had a lot more people to care for besides the two of them.

That was a task done - Ignatius had hoped to fell the second troll as well, but it didn’t seem like they’d get to it after all, especially now that the figure had taken off toward the woods. That was a bummer. Regardless of how he felt about the situation, though, he decided that it was at least worth to see if they should pursue this thing - for the moment, that was. Fortunately, or perhaps even unfortunately for him, Azrael seemed to have different ideas and already abandoned the station he’d been left at to go come look at him. Ignatius appreciated it, if only the smallest bit - he was sort of out of breath, maybe a bit sweaty, but he was quite capable of a valiant smile as he let go of his own magic, deeming it too far out of range to properly handle. “Couldn’t be better.”, he told Az, quite amused as it seemed - he was feeling lucky right now, not just because they’d won that fight. He nodded and took one more deep breath of air; that was their common goal.

A short time later, they were already quite busy looking around the place carefully, keeping their guard up in case they found another goblin. The entire village, however, seemed to be deserted and ravaged by their attacks - the priest was unable to find a single soul, no matter how far and deep he looked into each building that he still could enter. Had they all been torn to shreds? Perhaps some had been driven away, a sort of compromise and silver lining that he could come up with in his head - it was the only thing he could think of that, by any means, would make him accept the situation for what it was either way. In the end, they met back at the square - or what was left of it - and Ignatius sneezed, quite obviously so. Was that going to happen more often from now on? He almost feared it. “I couldn’t find anyone, what about you?” Perhaps some remains at least? The priest, ever the man full of surprises, grabbed Azraels hands and held them within his own shortly thereafter. “Please teach me your ways.”, he was quick to beg. “Your way of fighting is most admirable and I envy your capabilities.”

Ignatius was still happy about all this and it was highly questionable. This shouldn't be fun and he ought to take it more serious or he'd die. Azrael didn't comment on it, he only grunted and shortly after they went on the search for survivors. Azrael doubted that there were any goblins leading prisoners away from here, he didn't see any signs, so where did everyone go? Sure, it hadn't been many people here with a village this size, but still, they couldn't have eaten them all, surely. Instead of just checking the insides of what remained of the houses, he also checked underneath and lifted some rubble, almost having the rest of one of the houses cave in on him. Azrael also picked up all his weapons and anything else useful. He found blood, there definetly was a fight, but there wasn't much else. He returned to the town square to meet up with Ignatius, inspecting the still burning fire there. There was some meat on a stick, which by now was completely burnt and stunk. They had eaten someone, but they couldn't have eaten all of them. When he was asked if he found anything, he only pointed at the black piece of meat in the fire.

It was shortly after that he was grabbed as if Ignatius was an excited child. He was still dirty, his hands slightly bloody and muddy, but that didn't stop the priest apparently. "Huh?!", he let out overwhelmed by the request and stepped back a bit. "Aren't you on a time constraint? You can barely afford that luxury anytime soon, can you?", he asked him a bit defensively. He didn't take student, most definitely not some maniac that enjoyed this here. He pulled his hands out of the priests grip. "We should leave here. There is no one to save, I doubt the Goblins come back on their own, but an attack like this wasn't planned by them. I assume a demon was involved and maybe it has the townsfolk. If it hears from this, it might come back and I rather not find out what kind it is." He didn't mind fighting demons, but he liked to know what he was up against beforehand, He knew nothing about this demon. They needed to get Njeri first. Was it save to leave Ignatius alone? No, not at all. They had no time to waste either. "Come on, let's get Njeri. I want to be as far away from here as possible comes night." In the end this whole operation had been for nothing, huh?

There were none left it seemed - the fact itself was quite saddening. Had they been eaten or abducted? Ignatius wished that he were able to tell just what heinous crime it was that he punished these creatures for, and yet, there was no way to actually hell what happened. Perhaps he was simply going to have to come to his own set of conclusions once the time was right - it was the only thing he could come up with either way. Besides, there was nothing he could do for those forlorn souls and as his eyes spotted the burning piece of blackened meat, much more akin to charcoal, he assumed it would be best to let it crumble to ash, right then and there. One shallow, silent prayer followed for the souls that had not managed to evade the demons grasp, however - he couldn’t just ignore their existence, not in good conscience anyway. Perhaps it was to ruffle Azrael feathers, given his dislike for the church, but Ignatius cared little - in fact, he wasn’t sure if he cared for that admirable man’s preferences at all. The hunter ought to be a paladin of greater margin, not some forlorn hunter.

His request was turned down, but Ignatius wasn’t going to take a no for an answer - even as Azrael freed his hands, he simply smiled at him, brimming with energy past this point. “I would pay you handsomely, separately from your actual pay for actually getting me somewhere. And besides, I have to thank you for indulging me, even if our effort might have been in vain.” At least the last resting place of some souls wouldn’t be desecrated by a few goblins and trolls past this point. In a way, that was enough to make him happy for now, or even just a little bit. “Also, we have enough downtime sometimes, you know? I think some lessons might just fit in with that.” The priest was trying to reason with Azrael at this point. “Agreed, though, perhaps slaying the demon would solve some problems … but we don’t know what we’re up against.” He sneezed again, much like he was allergic to something in the air before he got a move on and they reunited with Njeri to continue their journey. They ought to get out of here while they still could, he figured, as opposed to getting out of here because they inevitably had to. They left, in a hurry, having spent enough time freeing the village of its scourge - the road was at least passable now, not just for them. Ignatius was still swooning over the entire ordeal, though - he might have a small penchant for violence. “The way you fight is truly impressive. I wish I was capable of such a feat.”

"I don't take students.", Azrael quickly answered. Absolutely not. He wasn't a teacher and it wasn't like he ever had one. He did what he learned worked and he adapted when necessary, that was all. He also doubted Ignatius had money of his own to begin with. No amount of money in the world could convince him to take on a student, especially not a priest. "Whenever we pause we do so to rest, not to train.", Azrael answered quickly. There was really no time, even if Ignatius rode the horse all day and had more energy to spare. He ought to get some stamina first anyway and he should really learn how to ride a horse before he could even begin to think about fighting. "We don't know what kind of demon it is and it probably won't have answers for us either." Not that they had time to save a whole village from a demon, if they were still alive. There wasn't anything left to do for them here. They had had good intentions anyways and the roads were a bit saver.

Njer was where they left her and they continued on on the road this time. Azrael wanted to get away from here as fast as he could so he picked up the pace. Ignatius wasn't done praising him however. "You can use magic. Why not stick to something you already learned and get better at it?", he asked the priest. "If anything you should learn how to ride a horse first and get more stamina for traveling. You need to get somewhere, right?" Wherever that was and whyever. It wasn't any of Azraels concern but it seemed like he had somewhat of a fan now and he didn't like it. Was there anything to git rid of Ignatius idea? it was probably not bad to show him how to properly use a knife, but anything else? No.

“Won’t you make an exception?”, he asked with a set of doe-like eyes, firmly planted onto his face. For all they knew, this could be everything they needed to make actual strides in their journey or it could be the worst idea since before demons roamed these lands to teach Ignatius how to wield weapons as Azrael did. “I get that, but we could squeeze a tiny bit of training in there before we go to bed, if we make it to someplace before nightfall. It would at least be something I’d enjoy, and you’d put some daily practice in, too!”, he offered to the hunter. It was stupid to believe Azrael would indulge him just because he offered money - could he offer something else? Oh, there was so much he’d have to figure out! “Demons would be smart enough to tell us that, though, I doubt whatever it is would. It would be as if it is ripping off it’s own foot, but you already know that much.” And that also meant that there really was no good reason for them to get to that. Why do something so idiotic anyway? They’d only sacrifice themselves to that thing, without even wanting to.

They moved out, one trudging after the other with Njeri accompanying them - Ignatius could probably give her a run for her money, if she had any, in terms of speed. Sure, he would lose, but at least he felt motivated enough to try, right at this very moment. “Get better at it? I mean, I can do that, but it’s plenty boring to only ever do the things you already know. Besides, wielding a weapon can have it’s benefits as opposed to magic.”, he promptly defended his decision. The redhead was definitely going insane at some point - maybe not right now, not when he had his fun with Az, but he’d eventually do so. “Oh, right! You should teach me how to ride a horse, I suppose, if you want to … hm, and as for my stamina, I guess I just have to work on that. Our walks already go a long way.” Ignatius chuckled about it and then walked two steps ahead of Azrael, looking the hunter over - he was still wearing the hood, so his eyes just peeked out from under it. “Any injuries? Need healing?”

"No. I'm not a teacher anyhow.", Azrael answered quickly. He didn't even want to get Ignatius' hopes up, he had no interest in teaching anyone anything. He wasn't here to make Ignatius enjoy himself either and this journey hopefully wasn't about that either. "I can train on my own.", he was quick to point out. He needn't worry about Azraels trailing or capabilities. Azrael sighed deeply, this was stupid. he rather fought a demon than train this guy. He was too excited and all for the wrong reasons as far as Azrael could tell. "Why do you even want to learn? Killing demons isn't a game, killing beasts and monsters neither. It's dangerous and if you're not afraid of them, you'll be the first to die." It only made people reckless and they forgot that they were just human. There was always a possiblity to die when Fighting, no matter against what or whom and nobody should do it for fun. Azrael was a hunter because he was good at it and because he knew things others didn't and because he couldn't settle down anywhere. It was a job, to earn money for things he needed, that was all.

"Learning many things just means you won't be good at either...", Azrael mumbled. Sure, paladins used magic and a weapon, but Ignatius wasn't a paladin and his spells were different too. Usually they just shone holy light at demons or imbued their weapons. Some could fly apparently, but they didn't shoot spells at demons or crushed their eyes. It was a eat trick, he should just make it stronger. "You should learn how to care for Njeri too." Maybe they wouldn't keep her forever, but he should at least now how to check the hooves, correctly feed them and how to make them comfortable for the night. Azrael averted his gaze when Ignatius pranced in front of him to stare, probably to make him reconsider his decision. "I'm fine. Just dirty. Aren't you tired? You'll fall over if you keep messing around..."

“Aw, come on! Please!” The incessant begging had to work for someone at some point, Ignatius wanted it to at the very least - he could try all the things in the world, of course, but that only meant that as long as he made an attempt, perhaps he’d be heard. Frankly, there weren’t many people he begged to do anything for him - usually, it was the other way around and he liked it that way, and yet, he felt as if Azrael was deserving of seeing him like that, groveling at his feet all the same. “I didn’t say you couldn’t, I think it’d just be neat if we could train together?” Ever the fool, he was again asking for more than he should - Ignatius wanted nothing more than for Azrael to let him have what he wanted, and yet, it hardly seemed as if he was going to get that, no matter how hard he begged him for it. What a painful truth, what an unrelenting teacher. “So I can protect myself and the people! That might sound childish, sure, but if anything, I’m supposed to help those who can’t help themselves. The more I know and am capable of, the better.” Learning some knifeplay wouldn’t hurt anyone, except, or course, any future opponents of his, as it should.

“That’s what you think. I’m just good at things when I pick them up, and besides, if I just focus on some silly magic I’ll eventually stop having fun.” To him, magic was like child’s play - he had to deepen his understanding, sure, but that was about it. In fact, Ignatius was fairly convinced that he was ready for whatever would be next - whatever that was. Maybe he wouldn’t be insanely good at it at first, but everyone had a downtime to just sit and learn, before they had to perform and show off their skills. “Caring for Njeri should be easy, no? She eats either grass or a mixture of grain and hay, she likes water, her temperament is mild at best and we’ll eventually have to clean her hooves, maybe get her new shoes eventually, if our journey takes that long. Perhaps we’ll also have to figure out where she likes to be pat, but that’s about that, no?” Taking care of a horse really was the least of his concerns, but Az was acting all shy and maybe even distant to a fault. What a silly guy he could be if he wanted to. Ignatius sneezed. “I’m quite fine and invigorated, if you ask me. I could probably scale a mountain, or hunt down the blind troll!”, he laughed - to him, all of this really was a game.

"No.", he firmly stated again and by this point he got a bit annoyed. Maybe he just ought to ignore Ignatius, maybe that would make him stop. For now he hastened his step, hoping that Ignatius would simply not be able to keep up at some point. He wanted to straight out run away, but that wasn't really an option. "I always train alone." He never had a partner or a friend, or a student, not even a master. He was fine on his own and he wanted to remain alone. What good would come from training a rookie who didn't understand anything about this world. "You just want to play the hero, that't what gets people killed.", Azrael grumbled. Maybe Ignatius wanted to be like his father or something, or he was just a child who always wanted what he couldn't have. Like this it sounded like knives and swords would bore him in a week and then, bows weren't interesting enough either. It couldn't hurt for him to learn how to defend himself, but this wasn't someone asking to learn how to survive.

"This isn't about fun! This is real life with real people being in danger and real demons able to kill you!", he angrily exclaimed. What a childish man that person was. No wonder, he always grew up save and around people who didn't want to hurt him. He had no clue about being hungry, or so tired he couldn't move on, yet he had to to not die. He had no idea how it even felt to be wounded, how it felt to be stabbed by a knife or pierced by an arrow. "And do you know how to clean her hooves? Or what to do if there is no river nearby and no rain?", he asked a bit annoyed. Already this was too boring for Ignatius and Azrael should just shut up and ignore him, but this man just didn't stop talking. "Are you stupid?!", Azrael suddenly yelled and stopped in his tracks. "People died there. Actual, living humans, parents, children and you feel great because you injured a troll?! You have no regard for their lives or yours. This isn't a game. You can die out here if only you aren't vigilant for one moment! You're like a child! Worse, a spoiled child." Azrael started walking again, briskly brushing past the priest. "Children aren't fit to fight."

God, Azrael was a tough nut to crack and he seemed as if everything what ever was wrong with anyone was, for some reason, Ignatius fault - at least he applied it to him, sort of, and then felt entitled to be mad about it. So what if some people cared? They could be glad someone like him even tried to save them, and yet, if he ever said that to Azrael, he’d probably have to answer for some sort of crime that he ought to have committed, even when Ignatius knew that to not be the case. “I don’t plan on playing hero. I just want people to be safe.”, he argued with him - it was a fine disagreement in many ways, but first and foremost, he did it because he knew that he’d simply be unhappy if he just let the hunter box him into some sort of caste that he wasn’t even part of. “And if I die because that’s what I wanted to do, so be it. Better to die while having done something that I think is good than to simply die because my time has come and I sat idly by and let it happen.” There were more things to that, surely so, and he ought to discuss them, but even still, Ignatius wasn’t going to let himself be turned down.

“Who said I couldn’t do something good and have fun while I do? That seems stupid. Let me have fun, it’s not like that’s going to hurt you.” Who didn’t want someone that had fun when he did what he did? Ignatius wanted nothing more than for Azrael to understand that having fun was fine, though, it seemed like that would never happen. It seemed almost impossible to attain, actually, and the more he thought about it, the harder it became to endure - even now, this guy saw nothing more than a priest in him, despite all that they had done together and the feat they’d made possible with a bit of teamwork. It hurt, just a bit. “Yes on the hooves, not so much on the drinking part, but I’ll figure that out - she ought to get some of our provisions, I suppose.” That was the easiest idea he had and it seemed to be the most plausible, too. Njeri ought to get something good out of being used to trudge everywhere once in a while, no? There was no use in discussing the issue any further - again, Azrael was ticked off and Ignatius froze for a second as he was being yelled at. A child? What on earth was wrong with him? “Is there anything that doesn’t tick you off?”, he briskly questioned. “And also, if I’m a child, you ought to be one as well - you at least are capable of having tantrums like one.” Ignatius trailed after Azrael, still; it didn’t seem like they’d make it a day without bickering from here on out.

"You want people to be safe, yet you don't care if they die. I don't want any part in your hopes of fame. Become a paladin and throw your life away, telling yourself you do it for them and not for yourself, I don't care, but find another idiot to go down with you." What a stupid naive child. This guy didn't care about others, no matter what he said. Even if Azrael had started to believe he did and that he maybe was different than all the other priests and holy men, he proved that it wasn't so. Saving the people in that town was nothing but an excuse to fight for him. If Azrael had known no one was inside, he'd not have done it, but Ignatius? He still would have wanted to get in there. What an idiot. "All you do is for yourself, for no one else, stop acting like you care." Azrael upped the pace again. He wanted to be in peace and he wanted this self loving idiot to shut up. He rather heard beforehand if they were followed instead of being found from a mile away, because an excited child couldn't get enough of killing trolls.

"This is not a game. You not understanding that proves that you're a child. I won't train you. Ever. Actually, I'm gonna bring you to your stupid monastery and then you can find someone else who's willing to accompany you on your so very fun journey full of death and pain. I'll be somewhere else when your naivety becomes your demise." Azrael had enough of this guy. He'd bring him there and leave. He didn't even want the rest of the coins, he just wanted to be far away from this guy. He was trouble, he'd kill someone and he wouldn't even care. When Ignatius asked his stupid question Azrael almost lost his mind. "That's what you take offense with? That I called you a child? Not that I called you a heartless monster? You admit it then. Good. Then we can stop talking now, because I will not go any further with you than that monastery." He wouldn't leave him out here to die, although he would have liked to just leave for a bit and see if this was still all fun and games to him, but it wasn't his responsibility to educate a baby.

“Who even said that? I said I want to safe people, and if I die, that’s that - still, I ought to die after they are safe.” That wouldn’t even happen. Ignatius could not and should not die, not in a long shot, and he knew that much. Perhaps, one day, he’d mess up and no spell would actually fix him up, but Azrael acted like he was still on his high horse, acting as if he was above and beyond just about anyone. The redhead scoffed - he was being boxed into all kinds of situations and stereotypes and Azrael was the one that seemed to act like as if he would be nothing more than a priest until the end of time. Ignatius didn’t like beint called a child and he didn’t like being stereotyped, either. “I do care. Is it that hard to swallow for you that a priest cares about people and not the gains of the monastery?”, he grunted. It seemed to be almost outlandish to Azrael and the redhead wondered if they’d ever manage to reach common ground - this relationship was ripe with dislike for one party and too many questions for the other. Perhaps Azrael thought this would be an easy mission, not one controlled by the whims of one naive guy.

“When did I ever claim this was a game? Also, you can’t just back out of all of this like that - I already secured your wage and because of one disagreement, you leave me out in the open like a fish out of the water?” He scoffed, still on the heels of the white haired man. Why was he being called a child and why was he not being granted at least a chance to try? The priest grumbled under his breath - Azrael had left him impressed and yet, this was the thanks he got for it all. Again, every word seemed to tick him off. “You never called me that, am I supposed to read between the lines of every thing you say? Just tack stupid onto it, too, while you’re at it.” Ignatius shut up after that - his admiration for Azrael seemed like it had blown up in an instant and the hunter proved to be nothing more than a nuisance in the end. He could make it to the promised land himself, then - he wouldn’t go back and he didn’t want to stay at another monastery, either. This was dumb, so dumb in fact, that he had lost all the whimsy the situation earlier had given him. Their whole walk was bleak again, fast-paced too, given Azrael probably wanted to gain some distance between them, but even as they marched on, dusk eventually creeped in, with no signs of the monastery just yet, but an ominous body of flames speckled not out of eyeshot. That looked like the monastery seemed to he aflame, but the village adjacent to it seemed rather fine.

"You don't have to say it for me to notice it.", Azrael replied with a deep sigh. "And it has nothing to do with you being a priest either. You just saw a whiped out village. Whether they died, were cooked and eaten alive, or they are now slaves to a demon, none of these options are good, yet you claim you had 'fun'. There is nothing fun about that situation back there. There is nothing fun in demons attacking people. There is nothing fun in risking your life to fight them. You want a lesson from me? Here, I have one for you, hunters who think killing demons and monsters is fun are the first to die." This wasn't about hi being a priest and Ignatius attributed everything he didn't want to hear to something he could rationalize away. Fine then, Azrael didn't want to deal with him anymore anyway. He didn't listen, he only heard what he wanted to hear, he was childish and naive and he would get bored or frustrated with any training easily. Quite frankly spending time with him was a waste.

"Keep the money then." Azrael was done. He'd take the money if they paid him for getting Ignatius that far, but no amount of money in the world could make him take him any further. Azrael was sure this guy was his death if he did. The fact that he didn't understand what Azrael was saying was prove enough for his lack of regard for human lives. He didn't want anyone by his side that cared so little about anyone but himself and if it benefit him, he'd probably throw Azrael off a cliff as well. His gut told him that he didn't want to be around this man and he ought to listen, it was what let him survivie this long. They walked in silence, Azrael going quick, for one to keep his distancce to the priest and for two to get distance between them and the burnt down village. It was getting dark and it didn't look like they'd reach their goal today. As it grew darker however, it was all too apparent that there were more flames on the horizon. "For fucks sake..." Was it a demon on a rampage? Whatever, he wouldn't walk through the night and two burning settlements probably meant that anyones eyes were elsewhere and not on them. Azrael suddenly turned right, off the road and towards the woods. They should set up camp for the night.

At this point they were arguing over some of the most senile stuff - Ignatius simply shut up, maybe in an effort to please the hunter for once, and he kept that up, at least until they made their way closer to the monastery. That thing was, very clearly, burning down at that very moment and once he heard Azrael sigh, he very much did the same. This wasn’t going to work out for either of them, not all too well at least, and it kind of showed right about now. “Looks like we’re out of luck.”, the priest admitted as he followed the hunter into the thicket and subverted his expectations for the night. Would that help them get along? Hopefully, but it seemed unlikely. To see the best in a situation like this helped, at least he shared that belief to some degree - they started working on their camp for the night relatively soon, and Ignatius staked out his own sleeping spot while they were at it, throwing his blanket and sleeping bag below a tree after Azrael had decided that the area they had found would be a safe bet for the night, until everything calmed down at least a little bit.

With that camp set up, Ignatius resulted to a quick prayer and then a mean - he wracked his brain over what a burning monastery would entail, but he knew that quite well. It ought to be a mess up there, and it made him question a lot of things all of a sudden - was this, too, in a divine image of some kind or was there a different reasoning for these happenings? Forlorn, he looked up at Azrael. “Do you think it’s … safe to check tomorrow morning?”, he asked, in regards to the smoldering flames of a home of priests - Azrael probably didn’t give enough of a shit about them, but Ignatius did, he always would, no matter what; he cared about people after all. His appetite was waning after a few bites, so he put the stuff away again and paced around for a bit, in hopes he’d receive answers. Why did he not have a vision about any of this? Something had to be foul. “Why are demons meddling with so much? First a village, now a monastery. What’s next? A city?” They ought to purge those things already.

Together they made their way through the thicket and after they went down a somewhat steep hill, Azrael was happy with a spot for their camp. The fire wasn't visible from here, they were save from any prying eyes thanks to the little hill and wind wouldn't be an issue either. Ignatius quietly helped setting up the camp. Azrael would have set up sme traps during the night to have something to eat tomorrow, but he doubted they'd get to cook, so there was no use. They had enough provisions left to not need to worry about it. With the tarp set up and their sleeping bags rolled out, Azrael started to get out of his coat. He needed to wash it eventually. There was a little trickling stream closeby, but it was a bit small to wash clothes in. Next he pulled out his weapons and sat down. They needed a clean and be sharpened anew and that's what he did for now. There was still silence between them and Azrael appreciated it. Ignatius paced around, but the hunter ignored him, until he said something.

"We'll see what we can learn tomorrow.", he told him. Whether they got close enough to see what had happened or not, he didn't know. He wouldn't run towards his death. If they found clues on the way, they'd have more information for a decision. "Not many cities left. The closes structures around are the monestaries and churches... This is just what demons do." There wasn't anything moer to it. Maybe that settlement was just caught because it was close to their actual target. The priests obviously didn't manage to protect it. There was no point in checking today, they already had a long walk and a fight behind them, so they were both tired. Night came too, which meant that there were more enemies afoot, it was best to go further during the day than travel through the night and be attacked. This was a mess and Azrael didn't like the fact that they were caught in the middle of two attacked settlements. "Keep your boots on tonight.", he told the priest. They should be ready to get out of here at any time. Tonight he even kept the saddle on Njeri.

It kept him on his feet - he was uneasy and unhappy about the entirety of the situation for sure but it wasn’t like him to be like that overall. Ignatius was normally quite well-paced, and impacted by the littlest of things, and yet, worry started to seep from him - something that he controlled outright and meant to show, not because he was actually worried but because he found it funny to find any reaction in Azraels entire being. Somehow, he prompted the silent man to speak again and Ignatius was the one who’s face grew solemn. “I know, and it’s better we stay away for now, but I worry for them …”, he expressed and cast his gaze to the ground. The hunter probably didn’t give a shit about the priests, he’d made that much clear. “And even if they are dead, what if whatever attacked them attacks the village, too? Those people don’t even have the means to protect themselves if they need to.” They’d lose their lives all the same - it was awful, but perhaps whoever orchestrated this was quite the cunning perpetrator. Something like this had to happen for a reason, it wasn’t just guesswork.

“I know, it’s just harrowing to see for real for the first time.”, he expressed. There was no fun about this and Azrael had been right - at least a normal Ignatius would have agreed, someone that didn’t have his head in the clouds and wasn’t going to be obsessed with slaying demons in the long run. For him, there was no death, probably not, and that was why he could afford to be the monster he’d been painted as - the redhead knew so much and yet so little of this world, and even as his worry was played to eat him alive, his outlook hardly changed. “I will.” They wouldn’t have to scramble for them if they were genuinely attacked at some point, which was a rather good thing, but he worried still, so much so that he eventually sunk down onto his sleeping bag and groaned, audibly. “I know you don’t care for priests, but don’t these situations make you feel helpless or forlorn? I know they hurt me, and I feel like anything I do won’t amount to anything …”, he worried away.

"I thought this is so much fun.", he expressed with a lot of sarcasm. No, he didn't forget and it was even worse when he was worried now, but not back then. He continued to sharpen his weapons, especially the ones he used today. "Two people won't make a difference now." Azrael didn't believe Ignatius that he suddenly cared for people. It just showed that this priest was manipulative, trying to appeal to something in Azrael so he'd agree to run there and fight. He wouldn't. "Now it suddenly is?" He saw an empty and smouldering town and laughed about it and then he saw a burning monetary fro afar and suddenly he felt bad? Either he wanted Azrael to reconsider, or he was just self-centered and only cared about his own people. Azrael didn't like either option, much less did he like the fact that he couldn't just drop him off there tomorrow. He didn't want to talk, not at all and he even turned away fro Ignatius a bit, because he couldn't stand to see him pacing around.

"It won't. That's just how it is and only because I don't like your kind, doesn't mean I wish you death. If so, I'd already left you on your own out here." Ignatius wouldn't survive alone, no chance in hell. It was getting increasingly darker now and Azrael stood up, put his weapons away and grabbed some food he quickly chowed down. He drank some water too and then he sat down on his own sleeping bag. He ate the rest of the food he grabbed, then lay down, his back turned to the priest. "Sleep.", was all he had to say. Hopefully no one would find them here, hopefully no one checked the woods for survivors. This situation could hardly get worse and Azrael wouldn't sleep well. he could maybe deter demons from their scent, but he couldn't stop them from finding them on their own.

“Fighting is, I won’t disagree with that, but … death isn’t, really.”, he tried to negate his earlier outburst. It was true that he had acted without thinking too much about it, factually obsessed with what he had witnessed, but it ought to be redeemable at some point - cold sweat beaded his back at this point and Ignatius wasn’t going to be able to gauge if these were his true feelings at that point or if he was just making himself physically sick for the attention that he hadn’t gotten before. “No, I know that, but … it still feels so miserable, to be left in the dark, unable to do anything for anyone. It’s … I wish I could do something but I know I can’t.” None of this was admirable either. Weaponized incompetence was still a thing, though, and even as Azrael seemed to grow more and more disinterested in their discussion, his feelings didn’t relent. They were in artificial turmoil at this point, torn into tiny scraps that he was trying to sort through as best he could. Ignatius bit his thumb - it irked him.

“And you’re fine with that? Accepting it for what it is?” Azrael called him heartless but thought like that himself? That stunk to the high heavens; it was hypocritical and heartless, but even then, he’d called him a monster and it seemed as if that was all he was concerned with. What an asshole. “I mean, I guess … you also made it quite clear you don’t like my kind. I don’t blame you. I’m just asking if you never feel any kind of way about situations like these, or do you think worrying for everything and everyone would eventually drive you insane?” Perhaps that was a good way to describe it. There was no way around it, nor was there any way to heal himself - all Azrael had out here was himself, something that Ignatius had to take into account. Even now he paced, the task of being asked to sleep seeming so far off and out there. Why would he? There was no need to. “I … don’t know if I can …”, he mumbled, but slowly tried to at least sit down on his sleeping bag. The next morning would come either way, and while Ignatius didn’t even lie down immediately, the use of all his magic had burnt him out and he was asleep eventually.