Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Hunted (1x1)

Ravilth did frown a bit.. Not quite a wince but close when she smacked into the ground. He remained seated however, silently brooding and looking mildly annoyed at this point. However, that expression faltered a little when the cloak came off. Even having traveled quite a bit, in both this world and the Otherland, he was accustomed to a much more conservative manner of clothing. He was so focused on looking somewhere else other than the near nudity that was suddenly very noticeable.. he -almost- missed the green blood and the sprouting flower. What was with him coming across beings with magical blood? The last time it had been a woman who bled some sort of liquid gold.

"I will not wait up for anyone. If someone were to slow me down they would get left behind." He began, just hypothetically, right? He was not actually starting to bend a bit on that was he?

"And I will not have anyone else with me when the time comes and the others begun closing in." That was something he was not willing to budge on.

"You need to find some more suitable clothing." He added a bit more tensely. Apparently, the blank wall he had his gaze fixed on was very interesting, because he kept his eyes directed that way.

He was somewhat irritated at himself, agreeing to let her come along with him. After all, what he said still stood. He was in a dangerous position. He was being hunted by beings not of this realm. But, he had no way of knowing if it would be days, or even months before they sent men through the veil after him again. He would know when they were drawing near, so then it would just be a matter of ditching her somewhere safe and putting some distance between them. That was the plan, anyways.

Lharue lifted her brows. Lonely. This man was going to die old and grumpy an lonely. If he lived that long, anyways.

She was stubborn herself, but in a different way than the man sitting in front of her. Moving the bundle of her cloak to hold at her hip, she could not help but notice his reaction to her skimpy attire. Sure, she was shy at first with others... mostly. She never knew what other's agenda's were. Somehow, this man did not make her internal alarms scream to the forefront. It must be the grumpy.

At any rate she no longer had much modesty. Her mother walked around in scraps, barely held together. At least her clothing was secure... Mostly.... Okay she might need a new wardwrobe... But unless she found a 'For Wings and Things' sort of shop, she was stuck with whatever she could find with a low back, or what she could make herself.

She was severely tempted to bend over the table and see what he would do with her chest nearly popping out of its confines, but she would be nice and refrain.

"Can I take this as an invitation to join you in your travels? I must keep up and be invisible when your stalkers find your trail?" Tilting her head she nodded once in acceptance, a flash of electicity sprouting from her eyes for a moment. "Done."

Ravilth would likely not have been able to grasp her logic on why she wore little clothing, because as far as he was considered there was none. Wings did not get in the way of wearing some some sort of garment on her lower half, and it was hardly difficult to find or alter something so that the back of it rested under her wings. Running around mostly nude was foolish for many reasons. He wondered, what exactly had made him agree to take the woman along. It certainly wasn't her lack of clothing. No, her lack of clothing he equated to a lack of good sense.. Certainly not something he needed along. He finished what was left of his ale, which was not much. "Be ready to leave just after sunrise." He told her, and stood from the table. "We will stop on the way out and find you something to cover yourself with." Either she would find something, or he'd be cutting a few holes in some potato sacks and making due.

A small smile graced her lips and she leaned into a graceful bow, giving quite an eyeful of her cleavage. "But of course, I shall have no problem meeting you at first light." She turned, cloak in hand and tail swishing after her. "Till the morrow, Sir. May you sleep well." Light knew she wouldn't. She left with an internal sigh. Hopefully she would manage a few hours of sleep this night. She hated her insomnia, but couldn't help the paranoia that crept up on her with the shadows.

She was waiting with her mare come daybreak. Light circles under her eyes, but no worse than usual. She held a mug of something warm, she had no idea what it was, but it tasted decent and that was all that mattered. Now she need only wait for her companion to show his handsome face.

Eyes watched the receding shadows with unease, but she had gotten no wind of further persuit, so perhaps, for the moment, she was free to do what she willed.

Was that an eye twitch? Maybe. His jaw tensed as well, and his gaze sort of.. started to flicker in that general direction before he caught himself. Probably the reaction she was expecting and going for too. Honestly if the man had any bigger stick up his backside he'd be coughing up splinters.

Sleep never came easy for Ravilth either, but over time out of necessity, he had more or less forced himself to be able to sleep when he needed to. But the first thing he'd done when he retired to his room, after checking the locks on the window and the door, was to ward both. No longer 'backed' by the power of an Otherland God, he was a bit more limited in what he was capable of. The wards would not exactly stop a whole lot.. But they would certainly slow down someone or something trying to force entry, as well as provide a sort of arcane 'alarm' that would wake him. Tiny threads of magic woven into the wards themselves, would make a sharp whistling and crackling sound when they broke. A simple trick, not much more than a cantrip really. What magic he did have was far better suited to combat.

He was indeed up early that morning, perhaps only taking a short while longer, twenty minutes or so to get out to the stables because he had to put armor on. He'd gone for periods of not bothering to wear it.. When he felt it was safer, when he was certain there would be no attack for some time.. But something felt off. Instinct called for him to be prepared, as well as he could manage. Perhaps then, the most foolish time to be bringing someone else along, but that could hardly be helped now.

He saddled his horse, a tall and sturdy built dark blue roan. The horse had cost him quite a bit of coin, but it was worth it having a strong well bred animal with a fairly even temperament. He led the animal out of the stable to where Lharue was waiting. "There should be a tailor shop nearby." It seemed he had been quite serious about her wearing actual clothes for this. While most shops tended to make custom clothing only, it was not too common for there to be a few made ahead of time garments. Generally simple things, or an order that someone had never picked up for whatever reason.

Lharue emptied the mug of it's contents and then mounted her mare. The horse was truly a sweetie, and deserved to be in a nice pasture with a big stallion filling her with babies.... but it was not to be. Instead she had a disfunctional mutt of a demon girl/woman/thing that she had to carry around on her back and listen to the silly little comments she made to herself and the horse in question. At least she was mellow about it.

At the mention of the local tailor Lharue had to fight a sigh. She did not deny she needed new clothes... she just hoped she had enough coin. It had been a while since lest she peddled her 'fortune telling' for coin. It was hard to come by a group she could meld with and pull off her little talent. And if her patrons thought she was a sham, that was their choice. She just hoped for those she fortold doom that they listened. Fate was not set, it could be changed. It just took some determination.

"As you wish. Though, you will have to lead the way. I have never been here before."

Ravilth frowned a bit. "I haven't been here before either. Most of these towns are laid out in a similar manner.. and it's not very large." he said, somewhat flatly. He swung up smoothly onto the horse's back. The animal stomped a slightly feathered foot once, and snorted, ears flicking back a bit, but apart from that, it gave no real reaction or protest. Certainly not a 'sweet' horse like Lharue's.. the perhaps he'd bought it from had bred warhorses for some time. The stallion was a bit on the fierce eyed side, all hard muscle and seemed to bounce between apathy and irritation. Rather fitting perhaps? He nudged the horse forward and led the way out into the street.

It didn't take long at all to find the tailor's shop. A hand painted sign with a simple depiction of a dress and a tunic.. and the words above it 'The Silver Thread' of course the picture was useful in a region of the world where probably at least two thirds of the population could not read or write.

While most of the shops were open by now, this one included, the town as a whole wasn't all that busy just yet. A cart pulled by an ox, loaded up with hay and some fresh produce rolled by. A few people of various ages, mostly peasants, judging by the way they were dressed, hurried one way or another on errands. A boy of around fourteen or so carried a yoke with two pails of water on it. There was a town guard, a man in his mid forties perhaps.. Stern faced and more grey than he likely would have been in another line of work. A few chickens roamed around in the streets, and about a hundred meters away or so a couple of smaller kids were chasing after a loose piglet. A few pairs of eyes would of course stop to linger on the two strangers. Some with curiosity, others with suspicion. After all, there was one in armor, and one not wearing much at all. Not really something someone saw in a mid sized town. Although it was on a merchant route and the place had it's share of visitors, most were traders, farmers. The few merchants that could afford a guard or two were lucky if the guard had his own armor, and then it would tend to be leather.

Ravilth stopped in front of the shop, and swung down from the horse's back. He looped the reins over one of the posts outside. The horse, despite it's occasional bit of attitude, was well trained and would not try to wander off.

Lharue followed quietly behind the 'not a knight'. When he dismounted, she did likewise, swinging her leg over the back of her horse and landing smoothly on the ground. She lightly wrapped her reins around a post outside the shop. Hopefully the shop would have something interesting that would fit. As she passed the man to enter the shop her eyes unfocused a moment when her hand touched the door. Vaguely she got an image of people laughing and bringing in merchandise.

Shaking her head, she frowned. Her psychic talents were so spotty. Why now? She would have to be careful what she touched. It was rather uncomfortable living through the past. It was rare that she saw the future, but it did happen. Usually when she touched another person...

Pushing past the door she looked inside the humbly appointed shop. Making her way to some of the pre-made things she left the man to follow, or not, as he saw fit. It did not take her long to peruse the small selection. She did find a few things that would work fairly well. She motioned the seamstress over for a moment for a word, and was assured the changes she wanted would be quickly done and she could wear the outfit out in but a few minutes. Smiling she followed the woman to the back where she could get out of her own clothes and try on the new ones.

Aftr changing she came out to pay the woman. She was now dressed in a high necked garment that gave her short sleeves. Skin shown at her hips and wrapped around to point at the main cause- the slits for her wings. The panel of fabric drapped between her wings stretched down to be connected to the front panel at her crotch. Something that could not truly be seen, but could be guessed at since she wore a pare of tight breeches that stopped at mid thigh. Her jewelry at her arms was still connected, as well as her wrists and ankles. The waist she held onto. She would pack it, and perhaps sell it at a jeweler.

The clothes were not perfect, but hopefully they were acceptable. She raised her eyebrows as she looked to the grumpy male. Gesturing to her body she spoke, "Will this do?"

Ravilth waited, patiently, for the alternations which naturally would have taken longer than a few minutes. It was still rather confusing for him the way some people of this world chose to dress. While the average person tended to have some sense, he'd seen far too much armor that might as well not been armor.. Scant outfits that covered less than what proper undergarments should.. People traveling on the road wearing something that looked like it was more suited for some ceremonial dance or ritual. Why people chose to wear things that merely looked 'fancy' according to them, rather than what actually worked and was suited to the environment was beyond him. Ravilth's own garments were downright bland, particularly in comparison to much of what he'd encountered. Grey or black wool and cotton, simple tunics and breeches.. Sturdy leather boots.. Even his armor had been designed around function and being able to wear it for long hours rather than how it actually looked. Primarily leather, with some metal reinforcements. While it wouldn't completely stop a direct forceful strike or jab from a sword or spear, it was certainly likely to make a large difference in severity. When she came out, he gave her clothing a once over.. Still.. while it looked a bit like a costume, she wasn't nearly nude anymore. He gave a curt nod, and turned. "We should get moving." Since getting her to wear actually clothing was now taken care of. He moved back over to where his horse was waiting, untied the reins, and swung smoothly into the saddle.

He was completely unaware of any sort of psychic abilities.. And likely was also one of the last people she needed to lay a hand on, considering what he was, what he'd done.. and what his future was likely to hold. Whatever happened, it was almost impossible for it to end well. He'd resigned himself to death. There was only so long he could continue his one man war against the forces of the Otherland. He merely intended to deal them as much of a blow to their ranks as he could manage before he finally fell.

He paused only briefly, giving her time to mount up as well, and then turned his horse towards the road leading out of town.

The lack of reaction besides a cursory once over made Lharue lose a bit of her good mood at getting new clothes. She didn't get a good or bad reaction... just a 'Lets go'.

With a sigh she untied the reins of her mare and vaulted into the saddle. She may not be as strong as her mother, but she was strong enough for a normal woman. Her feathers ruffled a bit as she wrapped her cloak around herself.

Turning to her companion she raised an eyebrow. She was torn between saying something snarky for the slight on his reaction to her new clothes... but that would not be good manners. "To which direction do we travel then? I will let you set the pace since I feel you have more pressing matters to get away from."

She did not look at the shrinking shadows as the sun rose a little higher in the sky. WOuld not think of it. Would not. After all, they were everywhere. Only the sun was bereft of shadow, and there it was simply uninhabitable for one of her kind...