Following the Form [Elyan]

[Deleted]

Hmm. Iwan was being relatively polite, Elyan was smiling, things seemed to be getting better. They might even be getting on by the end of the way, something which seemed rather strange after Iwan's initial impression of him. He wouldn't go so far as to say he liked Elyan, but he'd never disliked him, he just hadn't approved of him. It had never been personal, but then that meant it wasn't something that would be easily overlooked if the two did manage to form a friendship. As he had previously thought, Elyan could be the greatest knight Camelot had ever seen, but the fact remained that he shouldn't be a knight simply on principle. Not that Iwan reminding himself of this was going to change that at all. It was just going to get him annoyed again and that wouldn't be fair on Elyan...hmm. He was actually considering that...how odd. Maybe they were getting along.

Iwan nodded at Elyan's words. "Yes, yes I daresay they do." Protecting Camelot was a knight's duty, of course they all felt the same way. Once again, his thoughts wandered to those other knights, ones that, if anyone cared about upholding Camelot's traditions, would not have that status. It had always been expected that all knights of Camelot would be of Camelotian blood, as well as nobles - young men like Iwan who had lived their entire lives in kingdom. Knights like Lucan and Gwaine were from further afield, how could they have the same love and affection for the kingdom? Surely their loyalties should lie with their own kingdoms? It was yet another thing that didn't make sense to Iwan. Elyan may not be of noble blood, but at least what blood he was made of was Camelotian.

Iwan was rather surprised that it was Elyan who wanted to push on. Perhaps the man hadn't been wasting time after all. "Yes, of course." He replied and started walking before realising that he should probably tell Elyan where they were doing. "Right the armoury. It's only a short walk away, I assume you've been there before?" Iwan was sure Elyan had been to most places in and around Camelot before, but even so. This was the process so this is what they were doing.

[cherryblossom131]

The knights of Camelot where the most noble army across the lands, Elyan and he was sure almost everybody knew that. He refused though, to be the weak link in the chain. He wouldn't let all of Camelot down by having any sort of weakness. That's why he was so fiercely loyal to her, she was his home and he would protect Camelot like anyone else would protect their home. It was his duty as a citizen of Camelot. He knew Iwan probably thought his less than noble blood was a weakness but obviously Elyan didn't believe that for a second. Having noble blood and having a noble heart were completely different things and he honestly believed only the latter should really be important in choosing knights. After all the many of the knights who fought by Arthur's side weren't nobles and yet they were willing to die for him. So wasn't this one rule that could just be overlooked, after everything? Maybe not to Iwan, it seemed, and many others too. In time, he thought, in time they'd come round and understand.

He grinned when Iwan mentioned their next destination. "Of course, a couple of the weapons in there are my handiwork," he said with a proud face. A couple of the knights, mostly the people he had fought with against Morgana, had requested he make their weapons rather than the royal blacksmith. It had been a huge honour of course and now they kept a couple of the weapons he made in the armoury. He used to sneak in there as a child and admire the art of the weapons, they weren't as good as his fathers of course though, he thought with a chuckle. Oh the amount of times he'd get in trouble for hiding behind a rack of silver swords. But that never stopped him from returning to get another look. He used to smile at the thought of his weapons being in the royal armoury, and now they were he could hardly believe it. He had, though, forgotten to mention that he was a blacksmith to Sir Iwan after being so caught up in the pride he felt at achieving the honour of having his handiwork on display in the armoury.

[Deleted]

Iwan was rather surprised by Elyan's words. He'd made the swords? Since when did Elyan go around making swords? It was all very strange, then again, he had to have had some occupation before Arthur's complete disregard of the rules allowed the man to become a knight. He just looked at Elyan for a moment or two, a look of surprise and begrudged admiration. Even Iwan had to admit the swords were of a very high standard. Judging by the man's expression he was clearly proud of his work. Iwan should probably say something, something nice and encouraging. He wasn't really very good at nice or encouraging but he was going to give it a try. "They are...very fine swords." He replied with a slight nod, because of course nodding would make everything sound that much more genuine.

Seeing as his swords were displayed there, there seemed no doubt that Elyan had been to the armoury before. A less...determined man might decide there was no point in going. But there was none more determined to follow the form as Iwan. It wouldn't matter if Elyan had lived in the armoury all his life, they were still going there and Iwan was still going to tell him everything he needed to know. Beside it being the thing to be done, Iwan rather enjoyed it. It was giving him a rather good insight into Elyan's character - away from the other knights, taverns and impending doom - but it was also true that Iwan just enjoyed following the rules and keeping up with tradition. The rules kept everything organised, structured, ordered.

It was with this in mind that he continued towards the armoury, assuming Elyan was following. It was only a quick walk - luckily someone had the common sense to have the armoury and training grounds in the same area of the castle. He stepped aside as they reached the entrance to allow Elyan to enter first. "So," he began, giving the room a quick scan to make sure everything was in its place. "This is the armoury."

[cherryblossom131]

"They are...very fine swords." Elyan narrowed his eyes slightly at Iwan's attempt at a compliment. "Uhh...thank you," he hesitated. He hadn't really expected that, so it came as quite a shock to him when he heard it. He hadn't really known what to say which caused his hesitant reply. Iwan probably wasn't used to complimenting other people which was admittedly pretty obvious, especially commoners, so this was a huge step. Elyan decided at least it was a start and smiled at Iwan. Despite the shock at Iwan trying to be nice to Elyan of all people, he wouldn't just leave his reply like that with a slight awkwardness that he could already feel building at the moment. Elyan didn't want Iwan regretting his words after all.

"Well I was taught by the best." His smile turned slightly sad when he thought of his late father, but now was definitely not the time to dwell on that. Although, he did genuinely mean his words. On all of Elyan's travels he'd never met a blacksmith that could ever be quite as good as his father. Not even he would ever be as good but he'd always stubbornly try. What made his fathers' skill so unique was his modesty in his work and the fact the he'd never thought of it as work, for him it was always more like an art which was how Elyan also liked to see it. He wouldn't dare think it aloud, but it was very nearly magical the way the blunt slab of metal with the right care and imaginative vision could turn into a weapon of the finest quality and beauty. It was one of the things Elyan had always admired about his father.

When Iwan began walking to the armoury, Elyan quickly followed. He already knew where the armoury was since he'd been several times but he stayed behind Iwan anyway as they made their short walk towards it. He saw him step aside and realised he was waiting for him to go inside first. "This is the armoury." He stepped in, unsure of what he was supposed to say. "Right..." Iwan obviously knew he'd been here before but he'd chosen to take Elyan here anyway. He imagined Iwan must have planned this entire tour in his head and wasn't going to let Elyan ruin it. He walked deeper in but didn't watch his step as he tripped over an axe someone had left poking out on the floor. "Woah..." He stuck out an arm and felt a searing pain as the edge of the axe cut into his leg. He cringed while he tried to sit upright rather than having his face on the floor.

[Deleted]

Iwan was about to ask who this "best" was until he realised Elyan probably meant his father. Of course, how could he forget Tom? He had been a trusted subject for many years until...Iwan sighed. At the time he had believed, like most people, that the man had been using sorcery, not only that, but conspiring with enemies of Camelot. It was an unpleasant business, a mark on Camelot's history and unfortunately one that Iwan himself had been a part of. During Tom's incarceration, Iwan had simply done as the king had commanded, but he doubted that would be much comfort to Elyan. It had not occured to Iwan before that Elyan had pledged a loyalty to Camelot in spite of his father's fate. Not many men would vow to protect to the man who had killed their father, indeed, Iwan would certainly have felt his loyalties conflicted had he been in the same situation.

Once again, Iwan was unsure of how to proceed. He needed to say something, that much was obvious even to him. He was also a son who had lost his father, and though he would never see Elyan as equal, he could not be so unsympathetic to the young man's suffering. "I'm sorry about your father." he settled on, still not sure whether it was the right thing to say. Wasn't that what people said when they were being sympathetic? Hopefully Elyan would see this as Iwan trying to empathise.

Iwan watched Elyan enter the room, curious as to see what the man's reaction would be. It was a theory of his that you could tell the mark of a man by pointing out the obvious. In this case it was taking Elyan to the armoury. Would he just allow Iwan to continue with the tour when they both knew it was pointless, or would he voice such an opinion? His plan was not going to work, however, as Elyan was too busy stumbling into the room.

Iwan rolled his eyes, ready to make a sarcastic comment before realising Elyan had actually managed to injure himself. From where he was he couldn't tell whether the injury was serious or not. Elyan looked like he was trying not to give anything away, which probably meant he was in rather a bit of pain. "Are you alright? Do you want me to have a look?" Iwan was by no means an expert when it came to medicine and wounds, but he'd been on enough battlefields to be able to deal with minor wounds such as this.

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan hadn't meant to bring up his father when speaking with Iwan, it just happened. He rarely spoke about him to anyone really, only Gwen. Even then it would just be a fleeting moment. He still felt guilty over his father's death but he'd learned to accept it over the years. But it would always be there, in the pit of his stomach. "I'm sorry about your father." He looked over at Iwan and paused for a moment. So he knew about his father's death. He hadn't completely expected that, but since he'd said that he'd been a knight for seven years then Iwan would probably know about it he guessed. His father had been loved and known by many in the city.

He saw true sympathy in the other man's eyes though which he was glad for. He was glad that an innocent man's name may not have been completely tainted by the hatred of Uther Pendragon. But the look in Iwan's eyes was deeper, almost like he understood. It made Elyan wonder if Iwan too shared the same loss as Elyan had, but he decided not to ask. He didn't want to turn the moment awkward or strained. He knew just how difficult it was to talk about people one had lost. "So am I." He gave Iwan a short nod to show his appreciation for his sympathy, but he decided he didn't want to dwell on his father or his guilt any longer.

His clumsiness however decided to help move on from the conversation about his father instead. The fall had been much less than graceful and he was more embarrassed than anything else. He gripped his leg around the cut to stop the bleeding and looked up at Iwan when he spoke. "No that's alright, it's just a scratch." More like a gash, but he wasn't going to whine about it like a child. He took off his red cape with the Pendragon emblem on it which he'd worn especially for today and ripped a piece off the bottom. He hoped there were spares somewhere or else he'd be walking around Camelot with a tattered cape. He began tying the torn cloth around his wound until he was satisfied with it. "There...I think it'll be alright now." He smiled up at Iwan holding the other part of his cape in his hand. "Are there any spares or something of these?" He asked innocently.

[Deleted]

Sorry about the delay! I had written you a reply last week but rather stupidly left it on my sister's laptop. Not much help there...

Iwan was fairly certain that Elyan was not, in fact, alright but he wasn't going to question the man. His pride - if he was anything like Iwan - may be injured more by Iwan's questioning than his leg was currently. Instead he just stood there rather awkwardly, not sure whether he should be attempting to help or not, arms stuck to his side. Awkward situations, as most things actually, just made Iwan tense, so that was exactly what he was doing: tensing up. This was only made worse by Elyan's next actions. Iwan watched in complete horror as Elyan took off his cape...and...and ripped it. He just, just ripped it, like it was a piece of parchment. The symbol of his knighthood...and he just destroyed it. Iwan was in no doubt that the man's leg was hurting, and yes, it did need tending to but...why the cape? And why was he smiling? Was the man insane? Iwan just stared at him, mouth open, not quite knowing what to do. Seeing Elyan do that had actually hurt, like...like seeing incorrect grammar or walking into a messy room.

No, he needed to calm himself. He'd been warned several times by Gaius that getting distressed about everything was not good for his health. He was not going to let Elyan upset his life expectancy but...but the cape. The man took a deep breath. This was nothing to be upset by. Elyan had needed to do that otherwise unpleasant things would happen to his leg, and then they'd be a knight down. As much as Iwan hated to admit it, Elyan was actually a rather competent knight, the city could do with him, and Iwan could do with a lie down. And a sewing needle and thread.

"Are there any spares or something of these?"

Elyan's voice brought Iwan back to the situation at hand, but for a moment he just stared down at him, not entirely sure what he'd just said. He was being ridiculous, he was well aware of that fact but he couldn't help it. The capes were not just capes, they represented the knights of Camelot, and therefore everything Iwan stood for and strived to acheieve. It may not mean much to Elyan, or to many of the other knights, but it meant something to Iwan. He took another breath, this wasn't helping Elyan right now. So, yes, spares...of course they had some, and handily Iwan knew exactly where they were, he knew exactly where everything in the castle was. "Yes, yes of course." He replied before walking over to the other end of the room, where there was a small cupboard cum wardrobe. It was where all the spare armour and capes were kept so he pulled one out for Elyan and brushed it down. It wasn't nice and new like Elyan's ruined one, but it would do. On reaching the man he held the item out to him, managing a small smile. "Here we are."

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan was feeling more clumsy and embarrassed than hurt. His gash did sting none the less but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Pain wasn't a huge problem for him, he'd learnt how to deal with it at a young age. Elyan had burnt himself more times than he could count at his father's forge and cut himself many times with weapons his father or he made. He also knew that he'd continued to get injured in the future whether in training or on the battle field. He just didn't want to get hurt because he was too clumsy and easily distracted to take notice of a potentially harmful axe on the floor. But what was done was done and there was no point dwelling on it. He'd just have to live with the fact that he'd made a fool of himself in front of a fellow knight. He wasn't going to spend the rest of the day frowning about it.

As he tied the ripped cloth around his cut, he looked up at Sir Iwan. He raised an eyebrow slightly at the expression on his face. Saying he looked tense was an understatement. Was the man having a panic attack? He glanced around him to see what would cause such a reaction but he didn't see anything. Maybe the man had a problem with blood, but surely that couldn't be it. He wouldn't be able to last as long as he had as a knight otherwise. He decided to dismiss the reaction; he definitely didn't want to ask about it, especially if it did have something to do with him or his cut. He didn't want the situation turning awkward or anything, or at least more awkward than it already was.

Elyan's eyes narrowed when Iwan paused after his question. The other knight was looking at him like he was insane. Were there no spares then? "Yes, yes of course." Good. He watched Iwan walk toward the other end of the room and contemplated the weird reactions. Was it something to do with his cape? He wasn't sure, but it was of no matter. At least he wasn't seriously hurt. He put the ruined cape down next to him; he wasn't going to need it anymore. "Thank you," he politely accepted the cape from Iwan and slowly stood up. Testing his weight on his hurt leg for a moment, he found that it stung slightly but he'd be able to walk on it. He carefully put on the cape around his back and sighed in relief that there were spares. "Right." Elyan clapped his hands and rubbed them in an attempt to relieve the tension. He grinned at Iwan and raised his eyebrows slightly, motioning towards the door. They hadn't really had much of a tour of the armoury but Elyan already knew it pretty well. "Onwards?"

[Deleted]

Sorry about the wait!

Well. Iwan wasn’t feeling any better. Any change of heart he had been having towards Elyan seemed to be wearing off. Iwan had been a knight for over four years now and he’d never needed a new cape. It had needed the odd stitch here and there – and luckily it was red so the blood wasn’t obvious – but it was the same cape he’d been given when he took his oath and given the highest honour he could achieve. Elyan had been a knight for less than a month and already he was on his second one. But, unfortunately, this was yet another one of those things Iwan was just going to have to ignore – like the fact that Elyan had allowed to become a knight in the first place but he didn’t care about that anymore. He’d moved on. So that was just fine.

He gave a small nod in recognition of Elyan’s thanks and ended up feeling more than a little awkward. Elyan seemed to have no idea that he’d spend most of their time complaining and telling himself that his companion wasn’t fit to be a knight. He doubted Elyan would care that much though, he appeared to have an annoying amount of self-confidence and general happiness. He shouldn’t be happy. He shouldn’t be making jokes and trying to lighten the mood. He should be taking this as seriously as Iwan was – actually, that went for most of the knights. None of them seemed to take anything as seriously as Iwan did. Maybe then Elyan would have been watching his step more closely, avoided the axe and then wouldn’t need another cape. See, Iwan-logic prevented problems.

Yes, onwards, otherwise Iwan would end up saying something about the cape and really it shouldn’t be a problem only it really, really was and he was working it up into a state again and- “Yes.” He said firmly, cutting his own thoughts off. Well, they had done the training ground and the armoury, obviously Elyan already knew his way around the knights’ quarters and the parts of the castle he needed. “To the lower town?”

[cherryblossom131]

Sorry for the reeeaaally late reply and I'd totally understand if you didn't want to continue this thread because I'm so horribly unreliable but I really hope not Sorry again

“To the lower town?” Elyan visibly hesitated for a moment before briskly nodding and forcing a tight smile. Going to the lower town was probably not a good idea. In fact it was the last place Elyan should be right now but he couldn't exactly tell Iwan why. How does one say that a man the size of a house suspected Elyan of sleeping with his wife just because he caught him in their bed together, to a fellow knight; to a knight like Iwan no less. It was a complete misunderstanding of course. Elyan wasn't the type to go messing around with other people's women, that was more Gwaine's forte. He'd just had a few too many drinks while out at the tavern with the boys, which was mostly Gwaine's fault. Elyan had accidentally let slip that he couldn't really hold his liquor, so Gwaine proceeded to subtly place drink after drink in front of Elyan. He must have mistaken the giant man's house for his own and crawled in to bed with his wife thinking it was his own. She'd been wonderfully understanding, but the same could not be said for her very angry husband.

Elyan was a little jumpy to say the least as he followed Iwan out of the armoury. He'd just have to stay out of sight and most importantly make sure Iwan didn't find out. The other knight probably disliked him already without thinking he was a womaniser. It was the last thing Elyan needed. Why did this kind of thing always happen to him, he thought to himself. He would never go to the tavern again...at least not with Gwaine. "So where exactly in the lower town are we going?" He asked, acting like he didn't really care about the answer. There was still a nervous edge to his voice. It would probably be wise of him to formulate an escape plan just in case that brute of a man was still looking for him. Elyan continued walking behind Iwan trying unsuccessfully to appear calm. He just really didn't want another black eye this month.

[Deleted]

Not to worry! The wait probably gave Iwan time to get over the cape incident

Iwan noticed Elyan's reluctance, brief as it was, but decided to ignore it. The other knight probably just wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately for him, Iwan was not going to let him go until they had been through every protocol - which Elyan should actually have been thankful about. Most knights would just half-heartedly pointed out some swords to him, shrugged off any comments or questions and left Elyan to it. Iwan, on the other hand, was making sure Elyan was told everything he needed to know - sometimes more than once. Not only was it the done thing, but it could also save Elyan's life. A little enthusiasm and gratitude would not go amiss.

Without waiting for a verbal answer Iwan set off, expecting Elyan to follow him out of the armoury, out of the castle and down into the lower town. Of course Elyan knew the town (although not as well as most knights should as he had newly returned to the city but apparently that was unimportant) but he didn't know the town as a knight. It was completely different. Elyan was, rightly or wrongly, no longer a civilian. He was therefore expected to conduct himself in a certain way wherever he was - the castle, the battlefield, the town, even the tavern. Yet again he should be grateful that he had someone like Iwan to show him the ropes.

He frowned slightly at Elyan's question. Did it matter where they were going? His eyes narrowed slightly. There was a good chance he was just being overly suspicious and looking for another reason to dislike Elyan, but there was probably something going on that he should know about. Well he didn't particularly want to know if it was something he was going to disapprove of as long as it didn't interfere with the day's plan. "Nowhere in particular," Iwan replied, "But you have to learn how to conduct yourself in public now that you are a knight."

[cherryblossom131]

Elyan followed the other knight out of the armoury trying and failing to appear nonchalant. He'd already previously gotten into a brief misunderstanding the day after he was formally made a knight. He managed to get punched really hard in the face for something that really hadn't been his fault, although he didn't want to think over the actual culprit... It hadn't been a pleasant day. Gwen's piercing look of disapproval as she helped him with his bruising eye had made it even worse. He didn't want to go through that again. Elyan hated disappointing his sister, no matter how small the matter was. After all he'd done, Elyan owed her everything and he didn't want to make her life any harder than he already had.

At Iwan's answer, Elyan let out a small sigh of relief. If they weren't going anywhere specific then it would be much easier for Elyan to avoid almost certain death. He was visibly at ease for the rest of the walk to the lower town and was actually able to listen to what Iwan had said. Surely he knew how to conduct himself in public. "Is it any different?" He asked. Was he supposed to walk around and turn his nose up to people? These people had been his friends as a child, he knew them well. He didn't want to act differently around them now just because he was a knight. They finally reached the lower town and Elyan began to notice things he hadn't before. The people were actually moving away, allowing them to pass without question. He even saw a few of them bowing like the baker's son, Tim, his old friend. A troubled look settled on Elyan's features.

[Deleted]

Should he have considered it for more than a few seconds, Iwan would not have been quite so confused and slightly annoyed at Elyan's question. It was obvious that the young man had no idea what being a knight of Camelot meant, so really, Iwan should have seen the question coming. Instead he stopped walking to give his companion a quizzical look. Was it any different...? Of course it was, any fool should have been aware of that. Elyan was not a citizen anymore, he could not say and act as he pleased. He was now a standard, an example and a representative of the court. People expected a certain behaviour from the knights, one Iwan was proud to say he had all but perfected.

"Were you under any other impression?" he asked, genuinely interested in what Elyan would say. Perhaps Iwan was being too quick to judge - not that he didn't have course - but surely this much was obvious? Elyan's whole life was different, whether he liked it or not, and while some knights liked to pretend that they could still drink and womanize as they pleased, Iwan was determined to make sure Elyan learnt better. It would no doubt be a difficult challenge. The young knight didn't have the same breeding, the same manners and understanding of society that Iwan had learnt from an early age, but, with the right help, it was something he could no doubt achieve. Well...there may have been some doubt.

He didn't wait for Elyan's answer before he continued walking. They had a lot to get through and there was no time for any dillydallying. As they walked on Iwan glanced at Elyan a few times, noticing a strange expression on the man's face. Unease? Discomfort? Whatever it was, it was hardly becoming of a knight. He looked around, trying to ascertain what it was that was causing such a reaction from Elyan but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was tricky for him to get used to such a position, which was rather unfortunate for him as time was not something he had. He had to be alert, composed and ready to deal with anything, just as Iwan was. With a sigh, Iwan found himself looking at the man again, trying to seem concerned but it probably wasn't working. "Is there something wrong?"