Yep, he struck that same nerve again, but this time not in an effort to make her leave.
"Listen, I'm taking up a mantle of security of my own wishes, understand? I know you have that talented mage, I've done some research, but this is not something I've found."
Whenever a scout was in fear of an upcoming mission the others would try to comfort him by dueling and assuring them of their skills, some would even go out of the way to secretly assist, this is his attempt at that.
"I...the memory is a little fresh. She...was consumed by envy and turned into that pony you saved me from back in the other castle," she spoke.
"I was just investigating the commotion, a matter of circumstance that I was there and she had noticed me."
"Regardless, I thank you for it. I banished her to the moon."
Arctus stood in thought, magic like that but she needed help from him. It was a peculiar situation, why not just banish all creatures who opposed her to the moon? But he was thinking in absolute power and authority, the way of Aeternia, this place was not his beloved nation after all.
"I see, that's an incredible magic then. In that supply drop off box, you are more than welcome to leave any messages of events you'd like me to investigate or threats to neutralize," he offered, "that will suffice in keeping my skills sharp for when I return home and allow me to give back for your generosity so I owe no favors."
"You think very differently from us, Arctus. I hope...our arrangement will benefit us both."
"It will, I'll also investigate on my own if something catches my eyes or ears."
"Don't attack without my approval."
He sighed, "fine. My forest is still off limits for any ponies."
He walked toward the throne room exit, "wait!"
He turned back around, "why don't you take today to rest here? You deserve it."
Arctus smiled, "I'd...like that. May I walk around while you continue court?" She nodded and he continued leaving.
"I may join you later."
He still exited and began roaming the halls to make note of the new place he was informally serving, learning halls into a mental map and it didn't take him long to become fluent in it. Aeternia used the corpses of rising kingdoms to teach scouts this skill and teach them the proper stealth required as it forced them to clear bandits by themselves when they took up in those husks.
It was only an hour and he had put it all together without having been everywhere and even denoted there was a hidden room near the library, but didn't bother to pry.
So the Scout took to the town, assured that Celestia would no doubt be still in court. Ponies were continuing rebuilding efforts but some were still mopping the horrific red off buildings and he decided to help the guards doing so. Some killings required it in case you still needed a great amount of stealth on a mission so it was a skill picked up by necessity.
"So...you're her new pet project?" One of the guards spoke after a while.
"Celestia?"
"Princess Celestia."
"She's your princess, not mine. Nobody but duty rules over a Scout."
"Scout?!" One of the guard's laughed, "that's your rank? That's what you do? You better be-."
"I've killed people who wield more power than her," silence from the third syllable, "as far as her pet project, I'm simply helping her as an exchange of services."
"She's gonna domesticate you."
"I'm not an animal, do not address me as such, you can call me Arctus. We're cleaning up the fruit that chased away the minotaurs, be grateful your ruler protected all of you from the horror that night."
He had spent a while helping them rebuild and clean the dried blood off the streets, but ti would still take them a while to fully recover. He had stopped when he got news Celestia sought him in the castle so he reported there.
"A task?"
"Yes, come along," and he followed her through the castle, he was getting hints on where they were going, but confirmed when they entered the dining hall, seeing platters of many different foods laid out, "your task is to have dinner with me."
He was used to foraging for fruits and vegetables, so having farm crops was a treat, but he noticed there were not calorie and protein dense meats, as expected of an equine race. He resorted to what little jerky he had left to recover his muscles.
And he devoured a lot of food himself to try and recoup the way his body burns off calories as the training he went through changed his metabolic rate to account for the abilities demanded of his body.
"You...you weren't supposed to eat everything I didn't. I just had a bunch made because I don't know what you eat."
"My diet might terrify you, but it's consisted of a large protein and calorie intake."
"How large?"
"An estimated four thousand calories each meal. We all usually just eat throughout the day."
Celestia was a bit taken back, "that's a lot of food."
"Our body's are demanding for what we do, we have to recoup from any assignments in accordance with that."
"Are all Scouts of Aeternia so formal and serious?" She smirked at him.
"At times, I'm still evaluating you and your nation, so I'll be guarded and serious," he commented.
"Seems a bit...sad."
He shrugged her comment away, "I'm using the suite I laid claim to the last time I was here. Is that permissible?"
She nodded, "that's fine."
In the morning, Arctus had resigned to head home and make his presence scarce. The ponies were not a race used to the displays of violence and destruction that he did. Even most people in Aeternia would have winced at a Scout's work. He left without any farewells and returned to his forest in short order. The best exercise around was with the unorthodox monsters the forest held and he needed to return to keep the expectation that he was hunting them for sport. He did make sure the footpath to the city was cleared of his atrocities.
Arctus did explore it quite often and came to learn the forest very well, even the properties of some plants.
This return to his cabin was short, even after the journey. He loaded up on more food and water before leaving once again. This time the Scout headed South, discovering an almost endless desert in just a couple of hours past some canyons, "ecology doesn't make much sense here."
Arctus did he a goal in mind. If he was to be in a world alone, no return to Aeternia in sight then tempering his spear to that of a master Scout's weapon would be permitted. So he needed an active volcano and a mighty creature.
Minotaurs would not suit that purpose. He needed something special.
So he took some weeks to go traveling about, returning to his cabin every so often to collect supplies. He constructed his own map of Equestria and even some land masses beyond, but he made a special note of the giant bird he saw in the northern frozen wastelands. He even sent a note back once he returned detailing a rising kingdom he noted to the South, two actually, and the ice bird. Celestia felt it appropriate to make a trip to the forest and even waited for him.
"Hello, Arctus. Have you been enjoying the books?"
"I have, they are a great source or knowledge on how things operate here. You also tell some magnificent tales. I do have some mentions about the note I sent you."
She smiled, pleased she could add value to his life, "I'm glad. Would you mind showing me where you live so we can talk proper?"
He paused.
For a long while.
"If you aren't comfortable or don't feel safe-."
"No, I do," he pulled paper and a quill they gave him from his pack and did the best translation from magic runes to their language as he could.
"Read this. I want you to promise me you will not tell anything where I live, or even clues."
"That's...okay."
Celestia read over it confused, "now speak with me."
"Paslaptis pasižadėjimas mirtis."
Both of them spoke together, "now you may come," he turned around and she followed him into the woods, "that spell is a Scout tool. If you ever divulge information of where my home is, you'll be dead on the last word of that sentence," he heard Celestia outrage for a second with a hoof stomp.
"I...that's fine. Am I able to discuss it with you?"
"Yes, because it keeps it a secret."
They chose not to speak while Arctus traveled, head on a swivel, leading Celestia through the woods without a single encounter from any of the monsters in the woods and made it to the clearing he based his cabin at.
"My sister reported seeing you here a lot," she commented openly.
"And she never once found me," he used his spear to pull up the moss cover and descended down, Celestia following him. Arctus had since made the opening wider so he could get materials in faster, but it was still small of Celestia's long body, she managed to get inside though.
"You had...all this right under our muzzles?"
"Yes, I'm an expert in stealth, even in stealth camping but this is more like living. You let me get really comfortable," he smirked in pride.
Celestia grimaced at the still hanging jerky, "yeah...I'm an omnivore, it's what my species does. I have no intention of eating sentient, intelligent creatures however."
"A lot of people from Aeternia won't even eat magical creatures like griffons or chimeras, but we in the field don't typically get to make that choice," Celestia's face contorted more, "apologies, I'll drop the topic," he sat at his table, reviewing everything in his pack and taking all his gear off him, performing a routine check and maintenance.
He still held a smile while he went through his things, the supplies they sent allowed him to make repairs to clothing and even the mail under his tunic, "Arctus, we were discussing..."
He pipped, "oh, right, sorry. You can take a rest on my bed...more like a cot," he pointed to the wooden raised bed with home made boxes under, it was covered with dead moss, but even that was cover by some furs and had furs loosely laying around for actual warmth during the frigid nights in winter. Celestia laid on it, fitting nicely, "I had a question, but first two things to note. The kingdoms to the South, one doesn't seem like it would be an issue for many...many years."
"Years?"
"Oh sorry, a great amount of moons, that's your time count here. They don't even seem that violent, just very rpoud, so you have plenty of time before push comes to shove and you eliminate the-."
"Eliminating isn't my chief concern, I'd rather ally with them if I could," Arctus stopped tinkering and looked to her, giving his full attention.
"I've not heard that word...or heard that notion. What is ally?"
"You've never...that is Aeternia never had an ally?"
"You mean a friend or a nation we trusted?" Celestia nodded and he shook his head, "no. We're a very proud nation. We've crushed all that came before us and all that came after. We have no allies because we don't take chances or risks such as those."
"Mmmm, you should. It can be a very beneficial situation."
He paused for a bit, "it could save some soldier's lives but it would cost more in extended future for Aeternia," that also went against his core culture, but so was what he did here now, "We make all the resources we need," he turned back, making a new layer of chain mail, bending the metal wire he asked and cutting it to make a pair of chausses...weaker than the ones he had in Aeternia in his quarters, but they would protect him none the less.
That was partially true, Aeternia made all the tools, weapons, food, everything it needed. Yet it took from those it crushed in order to thrive, replenish its resource stores, and even reach the place it was now. Arctus hadn't lived through the grittier years, but he had read about them. Wood was taken, chopped from houses, carted back to Aeternia, sawn from other nations trees. No kingdom had the nerve to attack Aeternia directly.
"Maybe I can show you that you're missing some with that thinking. What about the other kingdom?"
"Maybe. The other kingdom, it's the kind to be worried about, it's conquering small little places and amassing power an armies."
"It's not too late to change their mind either," Celestia noted, "there's no need to attack either of them."
"Celestia! You have no idea what they're capable of! This is something we need to prevent! Aetern-," he caught himself, "Equestria could be threatened anytime by this rise, it's key to eliminate the possibility of these threats immediately!"
His eyes were filled with a want for destruction, and something else, a new thing Celestia had yet to see.
"Equestria, Arctus? I thought this was just a transactional relationship and you were to take orders," he grit his teeth while she smiled, "fighting, destroying, and more unsavory activities are in your blood, but there is something that's been sealed away," she nudged him with her hoof, "are you concerned?"
He stared intently into her prying eyes, "yes. I, and every Scout, has a strong love for the nation they defend. We had no formal authority above us and we were free to attack as we saw fit or were informed to. We would pick up assignments listed for us at our capital, by the dynasty authority which was only a group effort of the influential families in Aeternia to create a center of security that would alert all our groups to issues and potential threats."
"Were you an absolute authority?"
"We were, the Scouts were credited for most of the nation's security so we were given the kind of authority to issue any orders. It wasn't a power we wielded often, we were much too busy actually fighting for Aeternia," Celestia hummed at his words.
"I think I understand you more now, Arctus," a wide smile graced her lips, "you're very noble and admirable. You are incredibly devoted and headstrong. We're friends so it is important to understand one another."
"Then...you seek peaceful options?" He asked.
She nodded.
He went back to tinkering, "you could always make a show of force. That's how we handled the bigger nations. Draw your line in the sand and make sure every one...pony...thing understands the force behind that line. It prevented any kind of conflict," he mentioned.
"That might be worth investigating, but I would still offer an open hoof to anypony."
"If you can...could you have them send more of this wire? It's helpful in making chain mail...and some large sheets of metal...and coal if you could."
"That's a lot, are you planning to craft something?"
"Just making some armor I used to have. I can't enchant it like it was, but it'd be nice to have it again."
"I'll see what we can do. You are welcome to come by the castle to see me, Arctus."
"I appreciate the invitation, but I'll decline."
"That wasn't an invitation, you can just visit whenever you like," he peeked at her.
"That's...awfully trusting of you."
"I don't see the reason to be distrusting of you."
A small grin formed while he worked the metal in front of him, "Celestia, I have a question about the North."
"You went up to the Frozen North? Why? It's uninhabitable."
"There was a giant elemental there, some kind of ice bird, have you see it?"
"The Glacegere? Leaves a heavy hail as it flies?" Arctus nodded, "yes, I've seen it. It contributes to the harsh conditions there."
"Do you know...where it lives?" He asked.
"Are you planning to hunt it?" She questioned him and he pointed to his spear.
"I should, I think it's time for my promotion to a master scout regardless of Aeternia's approval."
"So it's a ceremony for you?" He nodded and she paused, something pressing her mind.
"It's a ceremony to acknowledge the best Scouts, those who have made a successful life out of what we do. A lot die young."
"How old are you, Arctus?"
"Twenty-nine years, most don't make it to twenty. I'm not sure how old that makes me in your time. I was scheduled to have my ceremony by now."
"I'll accompany you to Glacegere, it might attack us, but I think with you there that it will be safe enough."
"Give me a couple of weeks, I'll need to prepare some more gear before I go...and if you are serious about coming along," he looked at her, "travel light and I can be sure to protect you."
The direct attention and seriousness caused a heat in Celestia's face, "I-I'll make sure of it."
"Good, please, I need to go out foraging to ensure we have what we need,"
It had been three weeks before he sent Celestia the note in the supply box mentioning he was ready and the next day at dawn, she showed up.
"Perfect," he climbed out of his hovel, putting on his equipment after he did so, not a backpack in sight. He noticed Celestia did pack light, "good timing and well equipped. I made some thing for you as well," he opened her saddlebag, finding it to be empty and put in a couple furs as well as one designed as another bedroll. The Scout hooked a canteen and a bunch of dried fruit and berries from a box onto it, stitching them in a little so they would not be easily removed.
"You said travel light..."
"I didn't want you to show carrying a bunch of things you wouldn't need and leave them at my home, so I made everything for you which is why I needed a couple weeks," he was already in the new chainmail chausses he made, padded to keep them quiet.
Arctus reached behind him and pulled his spear from his back, gripping it lightly, "did you eat?" She nodded, "then we're headed off."
She was impressed he could make all of the things he did for her in just three weeks time, but then again she didn't understand his processes at all.
But he was moving through the forest with gusto, head turning about and asked her to keep quiet until they made it out, which was one a few hours. He gait did not relax however.
"Arctus...how long do you think this journey will be?"
"Two days at most. I had the thought last night that you could just teleport yourself if you wished, why not do so?"
"Because traveling with you will be more enjoyable."
Celestia was finding his company refreshing to all the official business she had to take care of day in and day out.
"I suppose my company is different enough than your regular interactions. I must be interesting to you."
"Somewhat, but not because of what you do. I find who you are much more interesting," something he definitely didn't pick up on.
"I don't think I'm anything too unique. I just keep to myself."
"But that's exactly why you are special. I've never thought of somepo-one like you existing and I enjoy talking with you and learning more."
"I share that notion. You're open minded and it makes for some surprising conversations," he heard a noise and halted Celestia in her tracks. The spear was already point in the direction and he saw a deer stand after laying in the grassland they were in.
He continued moving and the animal fled from them, "apologies."
"You're more alert and weary than some of my guards."
"That sounds like an issue."
"Well," Celestia trailed off and their conversation came to an end as they travelled except for the occassional check ups and pauses to arrange gear. He had made good time and they passed by the growing town next to the Everfree Forest and Canterlot before they reached some rolling hills past the mountains.
"Perhaps I should have met you, saved some travel time," he was already laying supplies he brought with him out, which included a large fibrous canopy that he weaved himself on the off chance there was rain. His pulled the carved stick out and linked the ends together, slotting them.
"And miss precious time with you?"
"You do have a kingdom to lead."
"Ah, they can wait, you're the priority now," he paused from staking in the wooden rods and looked to her.
"How...am I the priority?" Celestia was very used to her meaning not conveying with him and this was no exception, but it did spark his curiosity.
"I..uh," she faltered in her words and knew her cheeks tinted, "you're the one leading us through and I did choose to come just for you."
He finished staking in the six rods before he placed the plant canopy above, tying the fibers he left hanging through some holes he drilled out by hand in the wood rod tops, "for me? Why? I do find it enjoyable to have someone with me out in the wilds, but why come just for me?"
"I...want to nurture our relationship," in a way the princess was being more true to herself than she let on.
"I see. I think that's a good course of action," and the killer was being just as naïve as he was.
And next came bedrolls after he laid out a suiting plant mat, "you come prepared, Arctus."
"I only brought the necessities. I know we can forage for some food well enough in these lands so I had no intention of bringing much with me," he finished splaying the bedrolls out and guided Celestia to hers by his hand, "I had to modify a standard bedroll for you. The way we model ours are for human bodies. Go ahead and lay down on it first."
The princess laid on her side, the bottom and one side of it was stitched together, "shuffle yourself down," and she do so until her hooves touched the bottom of it. Arctus reached over her, bringing one side to close on the other side and let her feel each button as he guided her hoof to them, "you gave me those buttons so I used them for repairs and making this," he smiled, "this arrangement is working better than I thought at first."
"G-good, I'm glad you think so."
Arctus got into his bedroll, night was approaching and it was already dusk, the sunlight was leaving quite quickly. His was full stitched on three sides, he only needed to put his feet in and then shuffle all the way down into the bedroll.
"Arctus...you know, even though we haven't done anything, I'm having a lot of fun," Celestia smiled at him.
"Fun...I haven't had fun in a while outside of my usual activities. Maybe we'll go traveling across the wilds more than just this once."