Warshawski's & Calwen's Midnight Conversation

Calwen
During her watch with Warshawski:

She smiles at the strange, human woman. How can a single one creature be so spirited and dance so passionately, yet at other times be so rigid? She gestures to her to follow her a few steps away from the tents of the sleepers and addresses her calmly: "If that meets with your agreement, I shall illustrate the view of a knight on the events regarding the death of the heavily armed woman last night." She pauses a moment, waits for a reaction as the dampend light of the small fire reflects in her inhumanly large eyes. "When it comes to a battle, when blades are crossed with the intent to subdue one another and the death of each other taken into account, death is what follows. Many bad things happen in the heat of a battle and the sentiment of perfect control is an illusion. In the end, while it may not sound very heroic, those who prevail are driven by the will to prevail. I cannot decide whether or not I would have made the blow that killed the woman, but the way I see it, it was his choice to make, a choice driven by the will to prevail in the heat of battle within a fraction of heart beat. It was not my choice to make at all."

"Marsh stepped in during that fight with an amazing spirit. Had he fought with any less spirit, with any less heat he would most certainly be dead, and the outcome of the fight might have been entirely different. That is the dark side of what heroism is about, the side that will consume us if we loose whatever compassion we have, but also the side that keeps heroes alive. What happens, once blade's are crossed is not murder. I will not glorify the choice he made, he caused the death of another and that, in itself, is not heroic at all and averse the very principles of what I believe in, the teachings of your deity, Shelyn, who never looses faith in the redemption of Zon Kuthon himself. But it was his choice to make, as far as I am concerned. Pray for him that he will not loose his compassion for his enemies."

She says and adds a curious, if weary smile to the amazing human woman. "I realize that you will likely not share my view, but I would ask you to think about it, as will I think about yours." She makes a gesture inviting her to respond and gives Dio and Windmane a brief glance to see whether they noticed anything in the environment.

Warshawski
''I was hot and sticky and my feet were covered in mud. I sat down and used a little water from my waterskin to clean off my feet while Calwen told me her point of view. A warrior's point of view. Well suited for war.''

Not suited for justice.

"You've made your point. Said it well. If we were in a war or in some underground warren I'd even agree with you. But we're not. We're in the middle of Magnimar territory. I've got rules to follow. Oaths to obey. You get that, right? Your order required oaths of you? I made similar ones when I was empowered as an officer of the law. Is Marsh innocent or guilty? That's not for me to decide. But he doesn't get a free pass for his behavior. The law exists for a reason. And for Marsh? It might be the only thing that stops him from making the transition from pulping heads in a fight against bandits to pulping heads in a bar brawl to pulping heads just because someone looked at him funny."

Calwen Snowpaw
"Then I pray that we will never be at odds." She sighs considers for a moment, but with visible pain she continues, but Warshawski deserves honesty in this matter. "I made a promise to avenge Armand if I found out who is betrayed him, if anyone, and I intend to keep it, so Calistria help me." She pronounces the the word Calistria in a distinctly elven way.

"Human laws mean little to me and it neither means a lot to most other creatures of this forest. But if that is what your heart tells you, then it is what you must do and I would not want to raise the impression I was criticising your choice in that matter; I am not human and not of your people after all. As for my oath:"

She manages a smile, if with undercurrent of bitterness: "By the brothers and sisters before me and beside me my heart lives, my songs dwell, my hope blooms. I shall pass on that blossom with sword or kiss, for the touch of that White Rose is mends every wound, so that any being capable of love shall be free to behold it."

"That is my oath - the best translation I can offer anyway - and intend to keep that oath as well. Of course it may sound hollow to someone who does not realize what flowers our order has made grow in the past. An oath that ties me to our constitution, what we were and what we hope to be. An understanding. To put the most important underlying principle in human terms: 'One for all and all for one.' I wish I could offer you to live with us for a few decades, to see what that means, but that is beyond the capabilities of a human. I am willing to learn of your law, though, and more importantly, the intend and history in which it roots."

Warshawski
 finished cleaning off my feet and capped the waterskin.

"Creatures don't need to worry about the law and self-defense is a viable defense. I just don't buy that Marsh's beserker rage was that."

''I had to smile as I heard Calwen recite her oath. One part struck me as funny.''

"With sword OR kiss, huh?" I couldn't help teasing Calwen a little. "I bet a few of the boys with us would like you to pass on a blossom to them with a kiss or two."

Calwen Snowpaw
Calwen grins roguishly steps closer to Warshawski and whispers into her ear: "They should mindful of what they wish for. No torrent is as enthralling of an elf maiden's kiss, if it is honest." As she steps back she lets her fingertips trail down Warshawski's arm and she lifts the other woman's hand gently to her face.Assuming that Warshawski does not pull her hand back: While her fingertips run down the sinew of Warshawski's middle finger on the back of her hand, her nose tip follows her life line in Warshawski's palm. Finally she breathes into it and lets a light and gentle kiss follow.

She folds Warshawski's hand and lets it softly sink back to her side. Either way:"That is... not considering fey of course." For a moment there seems to be ahint of shame in her face. She watches over to the boys sleeping in the camp. Calwen is not really interested in humans, but she certainly would not waste her time with playing hard-to-get if the opportunity for some experiments came up.

Warshawski
''t wasn't the first time an elf had hit on me. Or a woman. It was, however, the first time an elven woman had hit on me. As new experiences went, the tease and kiss was a hell of a lot better than dancing in mud while mosquitoes drank my blood.''

''I looked at Calwen, letting my eyes meet those gorgeous, elven eyes. As old as the sun and as wide as the sky.''

"Kiss me, and you'll have to rethink that." ''I teased back. "But I think we'll need to wait until the job's done to find out. Swapping spit is practically an invitation for something to leap out of the woods and try to kill us."''