War and Peace

Paul had been asleep on a branch of one of the trees. He was close to the edge of the forest, but not close enough for anyone near the water to see him through the trees. He had a strange dream, something about a giant elephant man or something. He wasn't sure. What strange creatures Corona had encountered over the years. He suddenly awoke, though, after feeling a slight tingle of anxiety or possibly fear. He figured maybe somebody was nearby, but the feeling would fade in and out, so he wasn't quite sure.

He thought about going to investigate, after all somebody could be in trouble, but then he heard a crack in the branches and changed his vision to focus on where the branch connected to the trunk in the tree. "Huh.. a crack. That can't be good. If this thing fell.." He looked to the ground quickly, "someone could be walking under it and be hurt." He thought of someone else before realizing, "oh.. and I'm actually on said branch. I could really get hurt too.. perhaps even die.. yeah.. that wouldn't be-" Too late. The branch cracked and fell under Paul's weight, sending him right to the ground with a loud crash. How unfortunate.

He was sprawled out on his back in a daze. "Oh yes.. fine.. quite fine.. only searing pain.. you coulda warned me, you know."

That wasn't me talking. I'm relieved you're alright, though. And I couldn't warn you because I was sleeping too.

"Oh!" He sat up quickly and looked at Kamberlyn. "Sorry.. I didn't really know what I was saying.. yes, I'm perfectly fine, thank you." She must've been who was letting off those emotions. He slowly stood and stretched. "I really should be more careful.."

He checked his sword to make sure it was still on his belt properly, ignoring her hand to help him up. He also fingered his glasses "I assure you, I'm perfectly fine. However, I appreciate the concern. As you said, I should be more careful." He looked up and thought for a second, then looked back down at her. "My name is Paul, by the way. May I ask yours?"

He gave a blank stare. "Well... are you?" He obviously didn't get the joke, and took her quite seriously.

"I.. see..."Maybe that bump on the head was more severe than he said it was. "Well, Kamberlyn, I must say that is quite a nice name. Nice to meet you. However, there is still the question of why someone such as yourself is out here alone. It can be quite dangerous, you know." He leaned against the tree he recently fell from. "Then again, looks can be quite deceiving. It is possible you can defend yourself much better than you appear to be able to. Am I correct?"