Timaeus shook his head slightly in a small laugh as he wandered through the marketplace that had sprung up near the harbor. Others may have felt crowded by the sheer amount of merchants that had swarmed the streets, but there was nowhere that the young lord felt more alive. He thrived when he was deep in the crowds, taking in all the new sights and sounds. Nothing thrilled him more than being lost in the throngs of people, knowing full well that he would never see these strangers again, but for a small moment, they were all experiencing the same childlike joy he was feeling. It was beautiful and magical, but most importantly it was a breath of fresh air to the baron’s little brother.

He had never been a man content with staying in one place for too long. Tim always had a constant need to travel and he hated being cooped up in his home province of Eubocris for extended periods of time. The stone walls of the Gorge was suffocating. So when word came to the Valaoritis manor that there would be a boat launch which his older brother Nicomedes, the current baron and house head, would be expected to attend; the middle son practically begged to tag along. Luckily for him, Nico knew that Tim needed the adventure in order to keep him happy.

So that’s why he was here, wandering the early spring market with a stupid boyish grin on his face. He didn’t care that much for the actual boat launch, he only cared for the adventure that the trip was for the military man. He wouldn’t say that out loud though if he ran into someone rather important. Nicomedes would have his hide if his little brother publically embarrassed their family name by saying he didn’t care for a Kotas event.

It wasn’t that big of a concern though of his as everyone left him alone. He was just one man in a crowd and Tim loved it as it allowed the captain to do pretty much whatever he liked.

Drifting from stall to stall, nothing extraordinary caught his eyes or his ears until he heard something familiar, yet strikingly out of place somewhere far behind him. More specifically it was the sound of thundering hooves and disgruntled shouts in the distance. Turning to the noise, Timaeus saw nothing at first, but as the seconds ticked by, he could see a small cloud of dust being kicked up on the path behind him. Being a skilled horseman himself, it didn’t take Timaeus long to recognize the speed and cries as clear signs that this was a runaway horse that was now running loose through the streets of the street fair.

And by the sounds of things, it seemed to be heading right in Tim’s direction.

Quickly, he ducked to the side with his own shout of, “Get out of the way!” Thanks to his years of being a captain and his somewhat imposing presence thanks to his taller stature and militaristic outfit, those closest to the young lord moved with little hesitation to the nearest side of the street, more concerned with not crossing paths with the man with the booming voice than meeting the hooves of the rapidly approaching horse.

However, his voice didn’t carry all that far in the crowded market and even though most of the people around him heard the warning, some of them didn’t… or willfully chose to ignore it. Timaeus knew that some people did not take kindly to being shouted at by some stranger, but at least they all had the common sense to move out of the way when they noticed the danger they were in.

Well, almost everyone.

Still standing in the street, somewhat to the side, was a group of girls. They didn’t seem to realize it, but they were still in the way of the horses and some other nearby people tried to warn them of this fact. Timaeus could see them waving their arms and shouting at them, but they seemed to be too absorbed into their own conversation to notice that everyone was trying to get their attention. Glancing back at the dust cloud which was less than a few hundred yards away. Even if they could get their attention now, Timaeus doubted they could move out of the way in time. So, he did the only sensible thing a soldier like him would do in this situation.

He would get them out of the way himself.

Without a second thought, Timaeus dashed across the street towards them. It only took him a moment to reach them and once he did so, he pushed them towards the safety of the rest of the crowd. It wasn’t too rough as he didn’t want to hurt them, but it was still just enough to spur them forward into the safety the crowd offered. Tim followed shortly after, ensuring that the whole group was out of the way of the runaway horse when it finally shot past them.

Being on the edge, Timaeus winced and let out a small cry of pain when the loose stones kicked up by the horse pelted the back of his exposed calves. Each one felt like a needle jab to his skin, but at least he had the fortune of it fading to a dull sting in the moments after it had gone past. Once the road was safe and the crowd began to disperse back into the street as nervous stablehands rushed past to catch the loose beast, Timaeus reached down and brushed the smaller stones off of his skin. They left small little red pinpricks in their wake, but the young lord wasn’t overly concerned. They would heal quickly, he knew that for a fact. After all, he was a soldier and he had been through worse.

Much, much worse.

Either way, with his own injuries being ignored, Timaeus turned his attention to the girls by saying, “Sorry ‘bout that.” As he apologized, he glanced at them, searching for any obvious signs of injuries, but they seemed to be fine. That didn’t stop his eyes from lingering on them for just a moment too long though as they were all very easy on the eyes, to say the very least. He did it at first without realizing, but once he became aware he quickly looked away. He did have standards as a baron’s brother he needed to upkeep, whether he liked it or not.

“Are you alright?” He asked drawing his own attention away from his mistake but framed as though he was just making sure there wasn’t anything wrong that he couldn’t see. Tim doubted it, but it was a good idea just to make sure. Plus it didn’t hurt that just walking away would probably be seen as rather rude.

“Well, I can imagine you’re both a bit shaken up,” He said with a light chuckle once everyone was reassured that the others were fine, “Why don’t we find something for you to eat?” As he finished this suggested this, he pointed to the nearby food booths that were showing off the many delicacies of their kingdom. “I mean at least that helps my nerves after something like that.”

For a moment there was a pause before he realized that he had yet to introduce himself. “I’m Timaeus.” He debated whether or not he would also tell them he was a nobleman, but he decided against it at the last moment. He had learned on his trips afar that people tended to treat him differently. They would be a bit more standoffish once they realized he was a family name. He was not eager to be treated in such a way at the moment. All they needed to know right now that he was a soldier based on his military uniform.

That was the safer option right now, wasn’t it?