This Town With No Name (CLOSED)

[Meera]

For some strange reason, Meera straightened under his eye at hearing his compliment. It was a wonder how the change of location could bring an entirely new sort of life. Riverfall was not Endrykas, her mobile birthplace, so she could be relatively safe here for a time. Her eyes travelled from his face while she thought, wondering if Patros would ever return here, or if he too was running away, both having disobeyed the current Ankal.

Meera easily could have shared that she was told to be married once, and that she was running away from that forced marriage, but then, should Aren hear word from another Drykas of Meera, well. That simply would not do to have a trail, and who was to say that this Akalak would not sell that information to her race? Her punishment was death, and she very much wished to stay alive.

At his understanding, Meera thought it best to move on from the topic. There were notes of sadness that told the blonde that perhaps he did understand, and however much he seemed sincere, nothing good could come of closed rooms. Everything was shaded and obscured from the gods' eyes, Meera's protection from their watch was lost. A room with no view was no place for a Drykas like her.

"Day time adventures are for the weak." What other time was better to find trouble and shady back-alley quests than at night? The sun hid all and the moon shielded against eavesdroppers, allowing the lurkers and unsavoury individuals to crawl from their caves and nests. Normal folk did not adventure, and the normal folk were day-timers. Predators were at night while the prey all slept, and Meera would be damned if she were to be prey.

"Scared should to bed, and I am not tired." A grin crossed her face, full of wicked intent and a flash of light brightened her hazel eyes in playful threat.

[Aren]

"The day can be plenty dangerous, little one," Aren straightened in his seat, then began inching forward with every word, "If you know where to look." His face and her's were but breaths away from each other now, and the akalak warrior replied to her mischievous grin with one of his own. He knew the desire to get into trouble, to "adventure" as she had put it. In his more than one hundred years of life, he still had not outgrown that urge to go and do something. Sometimes... sometimes he just wanted peace, but there was a reason he no longer dwelled in Riverfall, his home. He liked meeting new people; he craved the unfamiliar, the unexpected. As much as he complained, and bitched, and moaned about human customs and drink, he had loved every minute of the time he had spent in Syliras. "Unfortunately, there aren't many "adventurous" places in Riverfall, day or night. That's why I only visit every fifty years, or so," Aren chuckled heartily, suddenly backing away from his drykas acquaintance. After a moment, he took a sip from his ale and smiled at the golden haired girl sitting across from him, "Although... I suppose those determined to look for trouble will always find it, sooner or later." This was a fact the relatively young akalak knew all too well. "If you want, I'm sure we could find a way to channel your need for "adventure" in more constructive ways," At this, Aren looked back to his scythe which was resting against a wall by the entrance to the Kulkukan. Some friendly exercise generally did wonders for anybody possessed of an overabundance of energy, and an akalak workout was bound to drain all but the most vigorous of participants.

[Meera]

"Trouble! Yes." Meera exclaimed loudly, her mouth a wide smile bearing teeth. After a bit of gruff laughter - after all, this was probably the most she laughed in her short life and was out of practice - Meera settled closer. Aren's face was closer to hers than she had thought, and her eyes dropped from his yellow gaze to his mouth, which matched her grin. Thankfully the Akalak moved back and Meera hadn't realized she was holding her breath.

Though she had her difficulties with the Commontongue, she would never apologize to the Akalak for her shortcomings. After all, it was of no fault of her own she was never taught properly and how else would she be expected to improve, if not being submerged in the language?

So Aren had been alive longer than fifty years. He certainly didn't look old, and Meera had little knowledge to the length of their lives. He had spoken as though he had come and gone 'every fifty or so', several times. Meera guessed he was well over two hundred, if that was the case, but he looked at his oldest twice Meera's age at approximately thirty years old.

She did not ask how old he truly was, but followed his line of sight to the long scythe hanging on the wall.

"..." Her mouth fell agape in awe. Her dark eyes darted back and forth, between Aren and his weapon in surprise.

"..." She made an approving sound then, her brown eyes shining bright. Meera was definitely impressed, and felt bad for her black and tan. She may wish to stay another night, if Aren was to settle here for a few days. The Akalak intrigued her. Finally, she closed her mouth sheepishly and adjusted the wisps of wheat hair. The longer strands were tucked back under their braids or let fall to rest behind her ears.

[Aren]

The akalak warrior could see the excitement in his drykas companion's eyes, and her enthusiasm fed his own, "Come then, let us see if we cannot find some place where we will not be disturbed." Aren erected himself from his seat, downing the rest of his ale in one massive gulp, and slamming the glass against the table with a satisfied exhale. As he headed towards the door, however, Nys promptly manifested himself at his heels, tapping him on the shoulder. "Uh... where exactly do you think you're going, Mr. Anazasz?" Nys eyed Aren as the retreating akalak turned to face his accuser. "I was totally going to pay Nys. Just, you know... slipped my-" Though he attempted to explain himself, Nys wasn't having any of it, his hand already outstretched in expectation of payment. "Uh-huh... just pay up you miscreant," the Kulkukan's barkeep demanded. "You could have put it on my tab..." With a grumble and some mumbling, Aren reached into his dishearteningly light purse, pulling out a couple of silver mizas and placing them on Nys' palm. "Tab? You want to talk about a tab? You still haven't payed the last tap you ran here... FIFTY years ago," understandably reticent to allow Aren to leave without paying, Nys inspected said payment carefully, aware of the shenanigans his old friend could get up to. "Alright, alright," having surrendering to justice, Aren once again headed towards the door. Scooping up his scythe from it's perch against the nearby wall, the blue skinned warrior once again looked around the place that held so many memories from so long ago, before re-directing his gaze towards his old friend, "It was good to see you again, Nys." "You too, Aren," the barkeep somberly replied, suspecting that he would not see him again for another fifty years.

[Meera]

Whether the Drykas girl had noticed any possible hidden meaning was not apparent on her face. It kept its normal blank expression as she watched him rise. Brown eyes watched with curiosity his interaction with the fellow Akalak bartender, apparently named Nys. She gathered her dark green cloak about her body and tucked fistfuls under her arms as she ducked out to take to her room.

She had kept Osri concealed inside her boot, but her bow and steel arrow were in her pack upstairs. For safe measure she holstered her long sword, a thin but strong steel blade ground to a fine edge. Caged in its sheath it bounced against her thigh as she traveled out her small quarters. She danced lightly, her soft-soled heels barely touching the floor.

[Indigo]

Character: Meera Skills: +1 Horsemanship, +1 Planning, +1 Linguistics, +1 Flirting Lore: Recognizing your Claustrophobia, Hiding your identity, Flirting through a language barrier, Character: Aren Skills: +1 Socialization, +1 Interrogation, +1 Linguistics, +1 Seduction, Lore: Confidence, Paying your debts, Flirting through a language barrier, Notes: You both did excellent in conveying your meaning despite a lack of fluency. Very entertaining and well done. If you have any questions or comments about your grade, please PM me.