The Nexus

The sun was low in the sky, heading toward evening. The air smelled of the sweet grass she was riding through. It was nearly knee high, even on the horse. Despite it's downward path, the sun was still warm and felt good on her skin as she rode. The horse betwixt her knees was one of the darkest she'd ever seen; black as night save for the white diamond on his forehead. He was a good horse, made for running and very fast, but the day called for a slow ride to enjoy the view. Aurelia was wont to oblige.

The elf maid had left Brackenhome not two days ago, but managed to cover enough ground that she could see her destination in the distance. Perhaps in two days she would reach it, were she to spur the horse ahead. But the look of the fields was just so pristine, she did not want to rush by them. The keep of Brackenhome was a wooden structure built atop a nearly flat hill in the middle of a field; the thing was not nearly defensible enough and was likely built as watchtower before it was added to. The old tower parts were clearly recognizable inside the mammoth structures built onto it. Aurelia had been there visiting an old friend, but business called in Duskenvale.

The town was still some miles off, but Aurelia could see the bustling little place, all stone cottages and farm fields. It was a somber place, really, but a hub for travelers to stop and rest and regain their enegery to continue traveling. There was even what one might call a famous Inn in Duskenvale called the Lion's Paw. Despite the name, it was not so much a rough and tumble place, but a peaceful inn with delicious food.

Aurelia sighed thinking about the spiced potatoes Harrigan sold. If nothing else, one should visit the Lion's Paw for the potatoes alone. Trying not to salivate at the memory, Aurelia put her heels into the horse, just lightly, and spurred it into a trot. As the sun continued to sink, the warmth of the day went with it. She longed for her fur-trimmed cloak to wear, but she had not taken it on this outing. Instead, she was wearing a white tunic with a wide, loose neck and belled sleeves. She had an underbust corset cinched about her waist and tight breeches with high leather boots. It was clear she liked white as most all of her garb was that color, or slightly off. The stallion she rode had packs slung across it's rump filling with more courtly clothing for when she needed, but they would not be suited to the ride.

For now, she was content with her riding clothes, but when the sun finally set and the moon was bright in the sky, she brought her horse to a pause and slid off. She did not stay in the fields to make camp, but rode until she was near the more wooded area to the right of Duskenvale. The trees became more thick the closer she got to the town, but they did not block her view. The lights from the village were bright and cheery and she smiled as she made camp. In two days she would enjoy that light.

Anguath was whistling a merry tune as he walked with Olohorn, swinging his bow and arrow. His hawk had long ago taken to the sky, leaving him with only his pack to carry. "One of these days you will lighten up my friend. I cannot wait to see that." They were both headed towards Duskenvale, after discovering that they made a pretty good team in the town they'd just left behind.

The sun was setting, and it didn't look as if they were going to reach the town tonight, "Looks like another night of camping for us. I think we can make it a bit farther though." Even if he was talking to himself, Ang wasn't going to stop.

A short while after Aurelia got her camp set up, it was stumbled upon by the two rangers. "Ah...hello there." Anguath gave a quick little bow, and he hoped he hadn't startled her. "I am Anguath. We're traveling to Duskenvale...might we join you at your camp for tonight?" He looked fairly harmless, with his mop of white curls and homespun tunic and leggings. He had a pair of strong but simple boots on his feet, and a small pack, along with his bow and ornate quiver. She could likely tell he spent a great deal of time outdoors because of his tan, hopefully that wouldn't put her off. He had a friendly smile, and looked to be a charmer, even if his companion was a little stoic.

Olo moved in silence, just a few steps behind and to the side of Ang. The words earned his companion a grunt and a slight tightening of the hand that rested on the hilt of his sword. He wasn't a big talker, nor was he one to lighten up.

Though when talk turned to possibly camping he gave a grave nod, "It does." Those were the first words for some time, but he didn't mind that Ang spoke out loud it at least kept the monotony of the traveling down.

Though Ang knew very well that Olo wasn't a huge fan of strangers he wasn't opposed to occasionally bedding down with one when the time was right. When his eyes fell on Aurelia he quirked a brow before allowing his voice to rise up again, "I'm Olohorn." Brisk and gruff, but not rude. Yet anyway. He was a man of few words.

Stoic was a good way to describe him, standing at his full height with his hand resting on the hilt of one of his swords and the other hanging dangerously over a dagger that hung on his other hip. He was dressed in black, with a light leather armor fitted tightly to his body and a hard look to his eyes. Olo was rough looking, but he didn't look mean which was nice.

She had been sitting on her bedroll enjoying a cup of mulled wine with a fire before her when the two strange men broke into her campsite. The stallion lifted his head, ears forward to make sure these two weren't some sort of predators. Upon seeing them to only be human creatures, he put his head back down with a whicker and tugged at the grass. The elf lowered the horn cup from her lips and looked at the two men with mild suspicion. She was a pretty thing, all slender with curves in the right spots and long legs. Her hair was a tumble of honey curls braided lazily over her shoulder and her eyes were the same blue as a midnight sky. Concern was written over the fine features of her face as her gaze moved from Anguath to Olohorn.

When she was done staring she placed her cup down and silkily moved to her feet. "I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Aurelia Nidhariana... You are welcome to share my camp." She held out a hand to Anguath and gave a small smile to Olohorn. She could tell from sight that these two were an odd pair, one being a cousin to her people and the other seemed a normal human. The taller one made her slightly uncomfortable. He dressed in all black and didn't seem to be the type to welcome friends.

Nonetheless, she could not be rude to them. "I'm afraid I do not have more cup or I would offer you some wine. It's a sweet year from the vineyards of my home."

Anguath took her hand and kissed her knuckles, "Well met Aurelia." He let her hand go, he was merely being polite, not a weirdo. "Thank you for allowing us to join you. I've only had this big oaf to talk to for days now." He jerked his head in Olo's direction. "He's not big on talking."

"It's a pity about the wine, though I'm sure we'll manage." He would settle down near her fire, "Where are you headed?" He put his pack down next to him, and dug out some dried fruits, which he split with Olo.

Olo returned the smile with a small one of his own, which did more to lighten his features than most things could. At least he didn't look so much like a murderer with that expression. "Thank you, that's quite alright about the wine."

Well at least he had manners but then Ang was being a prat and he grunted, "You'd barely notice, talking to yourself as loudly and as much as you please. There is no space to get in else wise for conversing." He'd settle next to Ang and relax some, which wasn't much at all but at least he wasn't too brooding. "Thank you." Was his only response to the fruit as he took it and began to nibble away. He'd prefer meat and ale, but sometimes you just couldn't get what you wanted.

Her eyes shifted from her recently kissed knuckles, to Anguath's face and then to Olohorn as he was mentioned. When her hand was released, she placed it around the cup again, trying not to wipe the feel of someone's lips off her skin. It was a strange lingering feeling. She nodded to him when he thanked her.

"It is my pleasure. I do enjoy meeting people." It was only half a lie. She usually enjoyed meeting people in the safety of a town or manor. On the road, most people were like to slit your throat and empty your purses. She eyed the dregs of wine left in her cup and then the pot of it sitting next to her fire. "You may use my cup, if you wish. I am full of it." She was not a fighter, nor did she have any weapons, so she wanted her wits. Perhaps traveling alone without some sort of defense was not the smartest choice.

She watched them eat and smiled softly. "I am just on my way to Duskenvale, over the hill there." She indicated the dancing lights in the town beyond them.

Anguath wrinkled up his nose, "Pah! How else am I supposed to entertain myself when you just lumber behind me, silent as a shadow?" Perhaps Aurelia would take them both for bumbling idiots rather than the sellswords they were. "We are on our way to Duskenvale too. To see if their is a job to be had."

His attention shifted to Olo, "We might not look it, but we make a pretty good team." When he looked back at Aurelia, he smiled. "Perhaps we could travel the rest of the way there together. It doesn't look as if it will be too far now." Of course, she had a horse, and they were on foot, so this would slow her down considerably, something Anguath hadn't taken into account.

Olo grinned, which for him meant just the slightest curl of his lips before something warm fell out of his mouth a soft chuckle. And that was the end of that, no other reaction would be drawn from the ranger on that matter at least.

When Ang's attention was shifted to him he grunted, they were a good team but Olo wasn't going to give that to Ang. Then again his grunts were practically a language so Ang probably knew what he was saying anyway.

"What sort of work are you looking for?" It was a curious thing to come to this town for jobs. It wasn't large enough to be considered a city and she wasn't sure what work she might find there besides farm help or tavern work, but it was not her place to advise them. "Have you been to Duskenvale before?" She asked simply.

She eyed the taller one from under her lashes, still trying to get a gage on him. To say he was a man of few words seemed to be an understatement. He was a man of rare to no words, really. Anguath offered to travel together and while she might have been inclined to say no, the village was so close and they'd likely be traveling right behind each other anyway. "The road is welcome to all, we should share it."

The elf maid shifted her weight and began to pour the wine in the pot back into it's skin and wiped the pot clean with a rag.

"We're rangers miss. We take what work we can...usually helping people. The last town we were in had a great wild beast that kept terrorizing the townsfolk. We put a quick end to its shenanigans." He shook his head about Duskenvale, "No, can't say that I have. It's just the next town along the way. If there isn't work to bed had there, I imagine we'll move on."

Anguath watched her clean up, "Might we be of assistance?" He felt awkward sitting and doing nothing while she did all the work.

Olo just offered a nod to Ang's words about being rangers, that's what they were and they did just such things. He didn't need to elaborate on it. Grunting softly about the quick end he took off his blade and rested it beside him, becoming just a little less intimidating.

"Never been." Was the only response she'd get about Duskenvale, it was their next stop nothing more and nothing less for the quiet one. Ang was asking to help clean and he offered a nod, "Don't mind pitching in." At least he was a gentleman?

"I see." She had not met many Rangers outside of the woods, but she supposed that it was not odd to find them seeking work. She was a little sad they'd killed whatever beast it was as she believed all animals had their reasons to be cruel; not unlike humans. Usually the common factors applied: hunger, fear, protection...

They were both offering to help and she looked about her. "No, I think I have it in order. Do you have bedrolls to lay out? I have a few extra blankets should you need them?"

Anguath had never actually said he killed anything, but he also hadn't bothered to elaborate. "No Miss, we sleep on the ground under the stars. It's warm enough outside that we will be fine." He nudge Olo with his elbow, "Right Olo?"

He was taking off his things, though he kept his bow and quiver close by, he didn't want to be caught without being able to reach them.

Olo watched the girl, he wasn't going to elaborate any further either. It was what it was. When she said she didn't need help Olo grunted and then started to remove some of the excess gear he had on, which made him look considerably less fierce especially when the armor came off.

The elbow got a snort, "Right. Thank you for the offer." A full sentence, that was rare and once he was sorted Olo laid back against the ground and let out a long slow breath. After a moment his arms folded behind his head and he'd just relax against the ground. Content for now.

Aurelia nodded and stood to put her things away. All of her movements were graceful, as if she thought them out before acting. She stood by the tree she'd laid the horse's pack against and reattached the wine skin and pot.

Her bedding was already laid out, so all she had to do was curl upon it. She lie on her side with her knees pulled up and a blanket rolled under her head. Most of her things looked to be finely made and slightly out of place on the road. "I will see you gentlemen on the morrow."

The elf closed her eyes and hoped Akos was perched above her and would let her know if these men tried anything foul.

Ang used his pack for a pillow, and listened to the sounds of the night. "Goodnight Miss." She wouldn't have to worry about protection from her hawk, as neither man was likely to try anything. Ang was still brimming with questions, but Aurelia seemed to want to get to sleep.

It took him a long while, but eventually Ang drifted off as well, it wasn't that he was afraid of anything, it just took him awhile to make his brain shut up.

Olo offered a chin tilt to Aurelia, "Goodnight." Once she was gone he closed his eyes, but not before he reached out to lightly smack Ang's stomach. "Look at you, all atwitter with energy. Sleep Anguath, you can expel that energy tomorrow when we hit town." And with that the otherwise silent man was off to drift in dreamland.

The elf rose with the sun. She slid to her feet and stretched her arms to the sky, glancing to see the two men still here. When she'd done a short stretching routine, she slipped off to relieve herself. Walking back into camp, she found one of her water skins to splash her face and neck and took a drink.

Next, she unbraided her hair and combed it through. She let it hang loose while she began to clean up her camp, not really trying to be quiet. If these men would travel with her, they should wake soon anyhow.

When her horse was packed, she looked up into the trees above them and held out her arm with a blanket draped over. Out of the tree came her pet, a gyrfalcon. He was mostly white with mottled grey wings and a fierce expression. Aurelia smiled and pet the bird's chest, talking to it in high elven.

Anguath woke as Aurelia was cleaning up camp, and he sat up with a yawn. "Good morning." He smiled at her pet, "That's a lovely bird you've got there. I wonder where my Toby has gotten off to..." He hadn't seen the bird last night, but that didn't mean he wasn't around.

He stood up and popped his back, "Excuse me." He wandered off to the woods to relieve himself, well out of sight. When he came back he dug around in his pack for his water skin, and splashed his hands. Then he was digging out some dried meat and a biscuit, half of which was passed to Olohorn if he was awake. "Would you like some Miss? It's not much...I'm hoping for a better meal when we get to town."