endlight

@knightlyhood 
            
            there is a moment, the air stretched as taut as the string of his bow as he stares in silence. then eases. the arrow slips loose of the string, turned and held against the bow that he doesn't quite lower yet. "forgive me, there's.." the words slip out in a barely incomprehensible murmur and he shakes his head. "forgive me," he repeats slightly louder. "there's a shape-changer in this wood. i've been hunting it for weeks. it's taken the form of many travelers in that time." in the dim light his gaze takes in the form of the other, looking for any piece out of place. "it always pays to be cautious." 

[@endlight]
            
                 Alaric carried no weapon in his hands , though his sword rested sheathed at his hip , untouched.  He raised his hands in peace , making it clear he meant no harm.  Such violence was not in his nature.  He had been raised to protect others , not bring them suffering.  “ I give you my word , I am but a man.  It seems I took the wrong path while carrying a message to the neighboring kingdom.  I beg you , lower your bow.  I have no wish to harm you. ”

@knightlyhood 
            
            yes you most certainly have, he thinks but doesn't say so aloud. it's evident enough in the way he holds himself, in the arrow now nocked upon the bow string. another step back, a careless one but the weight is already setting by the time the branch snaps and it's not as if stealth matters now. "no one comes out this far," he informs the likeness of a knight, stepping back again. "not at this hour. are you human? or ... are you beast?" 

@endlight //
            
                  The male nodded and he looked up at the other, “you seem really nervous, just speak to me how you would to him.” He then pushed the coin purse across the table. He pulled his hand away and motioned to it for the other to take, “part of your payment to be able to get any resources that you may need for the bounty, you will get the rest later.” He then started to dig for a map, “if that’s fair with you?” He asked as he started to open the map to brief him on where the beast was located.

@-RoyalAdvisors 
            
            ".. yes?" the answer comes after a long pause, as if the man has forgotten entirely what brought him here. and perhaps he has, or at least he is second guessing himself now. the individual standing before him is not the one he expected and all the time practicing what he was going to say, outlining what would happen, suddenly evaporates. "yes," he says much firmer, clearing his throat and pulling his shoulders back. trying to make the image of what a stern and serious hunter might look like. "i am here for the bounty. and that's quite alright. he's a .. busy man .. i'm sure."  

/ while he avoids settlements when he can, he does occasionally make himself head into them to look for jobs and bounties that he can fulfill. he doesn't care to enrich himself. hunting a beast down and besting it is reward enough for him (—he'll still take the coin tho) 

/ his mentor figure ( /the grizzled old ranger who came across this half feral runaway in the woods) wasn't the most learned man, but he taught the boy everything he knew. he turned him into a skilled hunter and tracker, a fighter who can go toe to toe with the deadliest of beasts. 

/ so his speech may be disjointed and awkward because not only is he unaccustomed to being around people, but he often has almost physical difficulty speaking thanks to his lovely little childhood  

There was the tiniest hint of a smile when her offering was accepted. She tore off a small piece of her own, but before tasting it, she nodded and answered. "I... I am Senua." She was a little hesitant herself. She could feel the unease between them. An unease she knew all too well. It did seem like they walked similar path, though clearly for different reasons. As an attempt to ease the tension, she chewed he piece as she chewed on her own thoughts. "You don't have to worry, I won't hurt you." She attempted to offer words of ease, though they might have landed as a little awkward.
            
            Her eyes drifted for a moment to her peripheral before she shook her head slightly as if discarding a thought, or perhaps, s a memory. Then her large, piercing blue eyes met his again. "I came from a settlement a few days from here... I-" She cut herself off. Then brought the dried meat close again for another bite. 
            
            [ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵗᵉˡˡ ʰⁱᵐ. ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵗᵉˡˡ ʰⁱᵐ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᴺᵒʳᵗʰᵐᵉⁿ. ᴴᵉ ᵐⁱᵍʰᵗ ʳᵘⁿ.] (ᵂᵉ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰʸ ʰᵉ ⁱˢ ᵒᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ. ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ˢᶜᵃʳᵉ ʰⁱᵐ ᵃʷᵃʸ ⁿᵒʷ.)
            
            After a moment, she spoke again. "I am trying to help them rebuild. I am sure they would open their doors if you needed a place to rest. It is a few days, maybe a week from here though..." Her gaze drifted back to the natural path she followed. It still had not changed, which was a calming sight, despite how absent minded she was following it. 

@FuryLed 
            
               as the stranger steps closer it takes more effort than one would imagine to keep himself rooted in place, to not take a step back and another until there is once again a safe distance between them. safe... if she meant him harm then she would not have called out, he tells himself, stops his foot from sliding back. 
            
              despite the man's height and well traveled look about him, he's still rather young. little more than a youth, with long hair spun like gold and bound back into a sorry attempt at a braid. he carries himself well, dressed for hard days on the road. a waxed linen cloak was slung over one shoulder as well as a quiver with a pitiful three arrows remaining within. any sort of pack or provisions, however, is glaringly absent. 
            
               his gaze lifts to follow her's as she turns back, as if the path might suddenly appear.  "more or less,"  he answers, looking down to the offered morsels and hesitating. it isn't for long though, his empty stomach won't allow it, and with a murmured thanks he takes it.  "i'm hunting .. was hunting. ran into some trouble, but it's passed now,"  he shrugs, tries to hide his hunger as he forces himself to take only the smallest of bites from the dried meat.  "do you–" he cuts himself off with a wince, searching again for what words he needs. "what's your name? i'm kestrel. or kes." 

(ᴿᵉᵐᵉᵐᵇᵉʳ ᵗʰᵉ ʷⁱˡᵈᵉʳⁿᵉˢˢ﹖) {ʸᵉˢ﹒ ᴮᵉᶠᵒʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᶠᵒᵘⁿᵈ ᴰʳᵘᵗʰ﹒ ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵉʳᵉ ˢᵒ ˡᵒˢᵗ﹒} (ᵀʰⁱˢ ᵒⁿᵉ ˢᵉᵉᵐˢ ˡᵒˢᵗ ᵗᵒᵒ. ᵀʰⁱˢ ᵒⁿᵉ ⁿᵉᵉᵈˢ ʸᵒᵘ, ˢᵉⁿᵘᵃ.)
            
            Her posture relaxed with the other's. She took a look to the left and right. A cautious instinct to observe before engaging. Then she stepped closer. She was simply dressed for survival. Patched furs and leathers held together in rugged fashion. Her earthly green scarf protecting her neck. Her upper arms up the shoulders were exposed, though her forearms were wrapped tightly in linen. Her thickly braided hair flowed with her head movements. A few cords of leather and blue beads shinning though the mass of hair. A headband featuring a triskele inbeded in its center kept the hair out of her face. "I... I was following a path, trying to clear my head." She looked behind her for a moment, as if trying to retrace her steps. "I must have lost track in my thoughts." She reached into a travel poach strapped to her sword belt and revealed two pieces of dried meat. She sheepishly stepped closer and offered one of the morsels. "Are you out here... willingly?" 

@taverntunes ,
            
            the corner of his mouth twitches and it's unclear if the intention is an attempt at a smile or a grimace. or, simply the unfortunate side effect of being isolated in the wilderness for so long that one has forgotten how expressions work. his eyes, a sharp shock of pale blue, never linger on anything for too long. they flick away to the drink, to the other patrons, to the stained and scuffed surface of the table, but rarely rising to meet that of the stranger. 
            
            "i've never been here before," he admits, forcing himself to take another drink. "i only came into town this evening. heard there was work—" he cuts himself off with a wince. nope, he has already said far too much. he lifts his drink, tips it towards the stranger as if that's enough to draw attention away from himself. "so you travel .. and play music. do you make a lot of coin that way?" anything to draw attention away. 

@endlight 
            
            that almost casted a laugh out from his throat , though the bard was quick to catch himself .  knew better than to let out even the smallest of snickers from someone ALMOST making a fool of themselves .  “ right..  perhaps i misjudged .  ” he answered , rubbing his chin lightly as his lips were firmly pressed together .  “ ah  ,  yes !  forgive the intrusion .  i’ve simply came out of curiosity .  can’t say i have ever spotted you here before .  then again..  i am indeed new to this tavern .  ” he stood up more straight , however continued to press a palm into the table .  “ i’m a traveler you see .  i play music to whoever may listen..  or doesn’t .  not that it matters .   i simply enjoy the act of playing my lute .  and coins..  mostly coins .  ”

@taverntunes ,
            
            "hm?" the voice tears him from his reverie and he nearly spills his tankard as he startles back to awareness. to the hum of voices, the smells of spilt ale and unwashed bodies. a tavern, busier than he remembered it being. "no, i'm brooding," he says with a nod, clearing his throat and lifting his drink to his lips. "very broody.." he mumbles into the rim as he wonders how long he had been daydreaming. the drink's gone flat and far too warm and he tries very hard not to make a face at the taste of it on his tongue. "uh. is there something i can help you with?" 

@lykhaos ,
            
            there is a pause that spans several seconds when a breath is drawn, words perched upon the young man's tongue before he bites them back. "not that long," he murmurs. "an hour and a half, at most."  but is matters not in the end. he is well and truly lost and going in circles. and it would seem his mishap has not gone unnoticed. he turns to face the woman with heat rising to his cheeks and a gaze unwilling to completely meet her's. "maybe .. alright, maybe i am a /little/ lost. if you could—-" a sharp breath and he shakes his head. "if you could help me out of here, i would .. appreciate..  it." 

@endlight  
            
            i’m sure you are. after all, you have been walking in circles for what? a few hours now? 
            
            [the witch hummed, seeing through his lie. so much pride and for what? getting lost in this forest that frida knew like the palm of her hand.]
            
            i’m here because i live here and i know the way to the closest village. but since you know the way, i supposed you don’t need me to show you. 

@lykhaos , 
            
            "i'm not lost."  the words come muttered under breath as he trudges to the bend in the forest then stops, swallows hard and grips the yew bow tight in his hand. he isn't lost, he tells himself. and yet he knows he's been here before. passed through and the cursed forest turned him back around. the knots in the wood like eyes staring back at him. he exhales, blows a loose strand of hair from his face, then turns. "i meant to go this way," he lies, poorly. "why are you here?" 

@espinasin ,   
             
            ..the first thought is pain. the second thought is that the head of an arrow can pierce skin as cleanly as a knife and his quiver is within arms reach. the arrows spill onto the ground as he seizes one from the bundle, a messy and uncoordinated display but there is still power beneath each movement, in the way he holds himself. an animal caught in a snare, an arrowhead mere inches from parting the skin. then the other speaks, and only then he relents. "i don't.." he shakes his head, confusion knitting his brow. indeed, there is a void where time should be. he does not recall where he is, how he came to this place, and if the one before him be friend or foe. he does not drop the arrow. "i don't .. know you. do i?"