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Post by Lady Kaya on Dec 16, 2012 21:26:39 GMT -5
Eyes that resembled the Earth itself gazed upwards towards the darkening sky. It was near peak twilight and Kaya had yet to find shelter for the evening – poor judgment on her part. Her thoughts had been all but a whirl as she’d been walking and had barely noticed the warm hues of sunset. Thankfully, her elven sight was keen even in the setting darkness. Within the hour, she had scouted the area around her and had found a small clearing that would suffice. There was just something about tonight that seemed off. Perhaps it was because she was drawing closer to Dol Guldur. She knew of the evil that plagued that area, and knew it would be her first strike. Mirkwood was her home – having these vile invaders was not acceptable.
A soft sigh escaped the woman as she set down her things and made haste to collect wood for a fire. She hadn’t eaten since early afternoon and the cold of the night was beginning to take its effect. But, it didn’t take long to get camp set up. By now, she was able to take care of herself – building a fire, hunting, although she had begun to feel a loneliness of not having any companions. Most of the elves her age were busy doing other things - training for the wars, seeking guidance to become part of the counsel, and even starting families of their own. But, that life just wasn’t Kaya. She needed more – she craved more. There was a dark vengeance in her that only she could understand. And if that meant having to travel and take up arms by herself, that’s exactly what she would do.
Rummaging through her bag, she withdrew some bread and a few ingredients to make a decent enough stew. It seemed like a fitting meal for such a chilled night. Between that and the fire, hopefully she would be warm enough to get at least a few hours of sleep. As of late, the darkness had been keeping her on high alert, and she could feel it taking its toll on her. But, she pressed on regardless. She knew eventually her body would have to recover, so she wasn’t too worried about it. For now, she watched the flames dance, finding herself becoming distantly lost in her thoughts as her meal slowly cooked over the open fire.
[/justify]
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Post by Aragost on Dec 16, 2012 22:33:57 GMT -5
Aragost had been traveling. He was on important business that he was not allowed to discuss with others. It had been passed to him by the leader of the Dunedain and he was to carry it out. It was the way it was for men like him. He was to journey alone in the wild and continue that way. He was not destined for greatness nor did he have the desire to make a name for himself to become great. He knew what his role in life was and he knew exactly what he needed to do to make sure that he fulfilled that role. His cloth was poor, as it was with all rangers of the north. He was a skilled archer and fighter, more tools of his trade. He was a tracker and hunter as well as a bit of a linguist. He spoke the language of the dark lands, well, at least well enough to understand it. Elvish and Dwarfish were known to him as well as well as the forgotten language of Gondolin. He had studied them much whenever he was a boy and it had definitely paid of over the course of his life.
The night was cold and dreary. He did not really enjoy nights like these. The cold always seemed to bother him. His left knee hurt, but he knew why. That was not the point however. The night had come a little swifter than he had anticipated and thus he was a little caught off guard by it. It wasn't something that bothered him all that much though. He did not need a shelter or fire to survive in this sort of weather. He had been through it long enough to know what was needed.
He was simply considering his options whenever he noticed a small flame spring up not far away from where he was. This was strange. Some sort of trap set by the enemy to have a wanderer come up looking for shelter. No, he would not be lured so easily. With silent steps he moved closer and closer to the fire until he had come to where he could have a clear line of sight. By the small fire he saw a woman....an elf, easy enough to see and yet not to strange considering where he was in the world. Elves did not often pose a threat to him. He took a breath and placed an arrow in his bowstring and approached silently until he was just outside the visible light of the fire before speaking...
"It is unwise to light a fire in the night.... it often brings strangers that mean to do harm to those that host it..."He said in a calm yet almost menacing tone.. " Who are you and what is your business and purpose..?" he inquired, knowing any sudden movements were accounted for with the bow he held in his hands..
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Post by Lady Kaya on Dec 16, 2012 23:19:53 GMT -5
The thoughts that consumed her mind were those of memories of her and her father. It had been years since he’d died by a poisoned blame, but still she thought of him every day. Although she’d been around her mother, and loved her dearly – the warrior blood that coursed steadily through her veins was something her and her father shared. It brought them together and created some of the fondest memories that Kaya had. There was a slight twinge of pain in her heart when reality crashed down around her, reminding her that those memories would be no more. Reminding her of her purpose of hunting down those that think it wise to threaten the balance of nature. It made the muscles in her body tense for a short moment, but she calmed herself. There was no point in getting worked up when no enemies were around for her to lash out upon.
As she moved to stir the stew that was slowly beginning to boil, a voice reached her ears that didn’t sound entirely friendly. Within a fraction of a second, she moved to grab her sword from its sheath, holding it in defense against whoever was there. A hardened look fell on the woman as the fire slowly outlined the rugged silhouette of a man.
She could feel a flicker of adrenaline rid her body of any exhaustion it had previously endured. To his comment, a somewhat sadistic smile fell on her lips. “I’d enjoy watching them try. Their last breath would be drawn before they could even hope to attack.” Her own voice filled the night air, fear absent from it as she stood her ground. Who was this man and why was he demanding she give her business? Wasn’t he the outsider?
“I am Lady Kaya of Mirkwood, and my business is of my own,” The fire danced in the cool wind of the night, every now and then lighting a flicker of the man’s face. “for you have stepped footing into elvish land, stranger.” The blade of her sword glowed in the flames of the fire as she gave him a look that said ‘stand down’. Although she wasn’t much in the mood to fight, she’d do what she must to protect herself, and she’d be damned if she was the first to back down.
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Post by Aragost on Dec 17, 2012 8:47:39 GMT -5
Aragost watched the elf, who, of course as soon as he spoke drew he sword in some sort of defiance. That was all well and good, he had a bow, a sword wasn't really going to help her all that much, that was for certain. He took a breath, with bow still raised and stepped into the clearing to where she could see that he was there as well as the weapon that he possessed. Her response may have been true enough, however there were things happening in Mirkwood that even he did not understand. Things were changing, growing darker and Aragost did not understand the reason why. For all he knew it might have something to do with the elves and for that reason he could not be trusting towards anyone right away. After all, trust is what tends to get you killed, especially whenever so easily given.
" Well, Lady Kayle of Mirkwood, where do your loyalties lie? You can never be to trusting of anyone in these times.." He said calmly as he watched her.. " Lower your weapon, it is useless against a bow.." He said in a bit of a scoffing type of way, but not really to offend the elf. If she did turn out to be a friend than he may be able to get some sort of information from her that he desperately needed so it wasn't as if he wanted to burn all the bridges right at once. " Come now, if you are a friend then i mean you no harm..." He said sternly as he gestured to the sword once more awaiting for her to lower it so he could get on with his questions before determining whether or not if she was friend or foe.
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Post by Lady Kaya on Dec 17, 2012 21:09:35 GMT -5
When the man finally emerged into the light, her heart quickened as adrenaline coursed through her. It came as no shock that a bow was drawn set to strike straight between her eyes. That of course, of was the obvious kill. Eyes as hard as stone rested on the man that had come into view. She didn’t sense much hostility from him, minus the weapon he had drawn. A low growl escaped the young elf as she looked to him.
“My loyalties lie with my people and with my kind. With our existence, there will always be a ray of light and hope in this darkened realm.” Although she was nervous that perhaps he was an enemy, she felt a wave of relief wash over her as he spoke of being a friend. But, still she stood her ground. From his appearance, she could tell he wasn’t part of any army and was of the race of man. “Don’t think me so niave, ranger – I will not lower mine until you lower yours.” He was right though – her sword would be rather useless, but still…it was better than no weapon at all.
The woman did what most would dare not. Instead of letting fear dictate her reaction, she gave wind in taking the upper hand. In a split moment, she had closed the space between them by a couple steps, her own face and figure now fully lit against the fire’s glow. “You have tread upon my land, do not expect me to abide by your laws. If you want my trust, you must also earn it.” Her hair caught the wind, tousling it gently before letting it come to rest on her shoulders – her eyes never leaving the mans.
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Post by Aragost on Dec 20, 2012 15:06:24 GMT -5
She was rather stubborn. That was not really a character trait that Aragost liked in a woman. After all, it was one of those things that just made everything far more difficult. He took a breath as he listened and she referred to him as a ranger. That was true enough and of course easy enough to guess. His poor cloth and yet his noble manner was a dead give away. It was something unique about the men of the North. They still held an amazing resemblance to the men that came before them from Gondolin.
He was, as to be expected not caught off guard by her movements, not in the least. He had been expecting something such as this from her, considering that she had refused to relinquish her weapon. As she closed the distance the arrow from his bow was loosed and the arrow smashed into the hilt of her sword with so much power that her sword was send flying from her hand. As soon as she had becoming standing upright into her position he had already cast aside his bow and closed the rest of the distance and grabbed her arm that had previously held her weapon. It was dangling just a bit from the shock of what happened and the arrow had grazed her hand a bit as well. He took her arm and turned, pulling her arm around to his chest and hoisting his back and waist higher, lifting her into the air and spinning her over his shoulder and onto her back on the ground with a knife to follow from his free arm pressed tightly against her neck so that even a movement as breathing would bring a tingle of pain to her body, any other sort of movement even more difficult.. “ Why do women make things so difficult. As I said before, don’t move…and I am not here to harm you, despite the current predicament you find yourself in..” He said gruffly as he stared down at her.
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Post by Lady Kaya on Dec 27, 2012 23:10:02 GMT -5
Lady Kaya’s eyes stayed with the ranger as he looked to be processing the words she’d just spoke. There was something about him that she was unsure about, which was why she stood her ground. That is, until he decided to make an attack. Before she could even react, a searing pain coursed through her body as the arrow nicked her hand and sent the sword flying from her grasp. As if that weren’t enough, she felt a firm hold on her arm followed by a rather wind catching force against the cold, hard ground. It took her a moment to recover from the shock of what had just happened, but when she did she found she truly was a cold blade against her throat. Well, wasn’t this just fun?
Her frame was indeed much smaller than his, which gave him the advantage in this little arrangement. That and of course, he wielded the only weapon now. What ever happened to just enjoying her meal? Why did people always have to disrupt her. The muscles in her body writhed against him, trying to get free, but doubt plagued her mind. Something told her that he had won – though she was nervous of what that meant.
With a growl and hard gaze, she finally ceased her fighting against the man. “Then, what do you want? Why are you here?” She demanded, her breathing was a bit rigid from where she’d been struggling. She hated having to submit to another – especially a male, but with the blade against her skin, she knew it was probably her only chance for survival. And if he was indeed a friend, then she would have to trust him. So, that’s exactly what she did…or tried anyways.
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Post by Aragost on Dec 30, 2012 10:07:54 GMT -5
Aragost was a little annoyed about how this entire situation had played out. He had not really wanted it to be so, but, then again sometimes, who could you trust. Darkness was creeping back into the world and there was something, if not more here, in this forest, that was dark and foreboding. That was why he was here. He was trying to learn what the cause of such darkness was. He was actually the only one to accept such a mission and thus now he understood why. The greenwood was a dark place. It was full of creatures that he would have not expected to see in such a place. He had heard rumors of giant spiders that now roamed the land, close to what was now an abandoned elf fortress called, Dol Guldor. Things were amiss and he knew it. Of course, he could not think about all that now, seeing as how he had an elf before him, with a blade to her neck.
He took a breath as she asked him who he was and what he was doing her. He still did not know whether or not he should trust her. She was an elf, which gave her a little bit of credibility, however, there were dark elves, and here in Mirkwood was about the only place you could still find one really. He shuttered a little as he recoiled the knife and stood to his feet leaving her laying before him. He sheathed the knife in a sheath attached to his belt and took a deep breath.
“ I am Aragost, a Ranger from the North. My business is my own in this forest. I spotted your fire and came to investigate it..It is not wise to make a fire in the dark…It draws all sort of dangerous creatures…”He said calmly as he looked around half expecting some creature to leap out and challenge them for whatever food they had, or, more practically, try and make them food for themselves..
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