Snake In The Grass

[Raven Nightfoot]

14th of Winter, 512AV It was another chilly winters day in Syliras and yet the stone city continued to buzz with activity, it's residents refusing to yield to the cold as they went on with their daily duties. Winter had only just arrived and yet the city seemed to have a completely different atmosphere although whether it was a happier or a grumpier one was debatable. Raven found herself on the road out of the city walls on her way to the all too familiar clearing in the nearby forest. As she walked down the streets she was greeted by the usual lustful stares and comments from the city men. She was wearing her usual attire; tight black leather pants with matching knee high boots, long gloves and a long black wool scalf which was wrapped tightly around her neck with the tail billowing over her shoulder as it danced in the breeze only to rest below her butt as it awaited the next breeze, it slightly resembled a cat's tail. Finally arriving at the clearing her bright amber eyes searched the area for anything unusual, a slight twitch at the ends of her mouth appearing once she was satisfied. Although Raven came to the clearing again and again day by day to get away from the noise and crowded streets of Syliras she still often wished for something or someone interesting to entertain her. She stood at the edge of the clearing as her eyes closed and her lips, covered in a rich red lipstick, curved into a smile as she acknowledged the blissful serenity of the forest.

[Savitaire]

Savitaire enjoyed the city, the stone keeping out the cold and the activity of the people bringing constant wonders for him to see. Yet for all its wonders he still left it to wander the snowy woods when restlessness took him. Spring would come soon, he had to keep telling himself that, as soon as it grew warm he would once again be able to shed his human skin and take the form he was most comfortable in. The clearing he was sitting on a rock in held high grasses in the summer, but due to the cold and snow it was just lifeless white. His tree, the one he’d normally be sleeping in, was bare of leaves looking for all the world like its bare branches were trying to claw the sky. In his case he was digging at a piece of food with a knife, he’d seen someone in the city doing something similar and thought he’d give it a try. He’d spent an hour watching the man make a horse from wood, though he was just trying to make something similar to his tree.

It looked sort of like a tree at the base, though an eating knife probably wasn’t the best thing to use. Still, it kept his mind and hands occupied, even if a few fingers had been nicked for his efforts. The sounds of feet crunching on snow made him stop and look, people usually stayed within the protection of the city while it was cold. The woman he saw was wearing clothing that, to him, looked like a second skin, the only color he could see on her was red on her lips. This intrigued him as he’d never known people to have such color other than for their hair. He set the knife on the wood, setting both on his rock when he stood, watching the stranger. It wouldn’t have been easy for someone like him to really hide as the snow on the ground would give him away. He didn’t approach either, if the woman wanted company she’d come to him.

He was dressed in his squire’s uniform, something he’d taken to wearing as it for the most part made people let him be. Brown leather pants, knee high brown leather boots, a long sleeved linen shirt, brown leather vest with the Syliran Knight’s crest embroidered on the left side and a black wool cloak that had a rabbit fur lining around the hood. The hood was down as he hadn’t needed it, his black hair mussed from the breeze. He had been given gloves as well, but they lay in his pack near the rock as doing what he’d been doing was made all the harder by wearing gloves. He knew that his lithe stocky build and six foot four height was well suited for what he was wearing, he’d been told as much when he’d been given the uniform, but it mattered little to him. There were more ways than clothing to intimidate others, should he choose to do so and clothes were of little worth to him as usually for most of the year he could simply change to forms that needed none.

The strange woman was in his territory, even if he was the only one who knew that. He had to wonder why she was out as far as she was given the climate, but wasn’t worried. One lone woman wasn’t much of a threat, though he didn’t underestimate what damage she could do if she was inclined. Even he, for all his strength, could still be out matched by someone with more skill. He would still keep an eye on her…
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[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven had been standing there, eyes closed for a short while when she heard the sound of movement nearby, calmly she opened her eyes searching for the source of the noise. Her amber eyes spotted a person nearby, how could she have missed him? . The man was handsome, black hair and light eyes with exotic features, it was immediately obvious that he was a squire, 'Great, another one.' she thought as she let out a soft sigh. It seemed like everyone was a knight or squire as of late, something she had been trying to escape for years. On the bright side, he was most probably not hostile...probably. She wondered what he was doing in her clearing but she pushed the thought away as a small smile spread across her face, some conversation might do her good.. . "Hello, I didn't see you there." she said in her usual seductive voice as she watched the man curiously. Maybe this man could provide some entertainment.

[Savitaire]

Savitaire returned her smile with one of his own “Isn’t every day that I get over looked, hope I didn’t give you too much of a start?”

He was very amused that he’d not been spotted till he had moved, but then again sometimes it happened, though this was a first for it to happen to him. “Very few are brave enough to walk out this far with all the cold, if you’d like I’d be willing to offer my company?”

He didn’t know what other squired were like when around people who were not like themselves. He treated people the same, with respect and friendliness, till they provoked him. This woman didn’t seem inclined towards violence or trouble so why shouldn’t he return the friendliness she’d given him? She didn’t move closer so he figured she wanted him to come to her if only so she could decide if he was a threat or not. He could be wrong, but he didn’t mind moving, so he walked over to her calmly taking care not to stomp through the snow. It was one of the main things he disliked about winter, you couldn’t move quietly, but then it worked in his favor as well as he’d hear others coming as well. It was often a toss between the cold and the noise which he disliked more, but usually they were equal in his dislike.

She’d see that he wasn’t carrying any weapons, an odd thing for an aspiring Knight to do, but he held a confidence to him that suggested that he wasn’t worried about being weaponless. Despite the less than quiet steps he took to walk to her his movements held a grace to them that added to his exoticness. He was not from Syliras, not from the accent nor from his looks, but placing him could prove an interesting challenge. “My name…is Savitaire, yours?”
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[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven watched as he slowly made his way toward her through the snow, she was still trying to place his features and now accent aswell. So he was offering her his company, she thought for a moment on whether she really did want company at the moment and decided there was nothing to lose. "I'm Raven, pleased to meet you." she said flashing her smile. . She looked him up and down again, scanning for anything of interest and soon noticed he wasn't carrying any weapons, or atleast none she could see but then again he wasn't exactly a scrawny little boy. "I could say the same for you, but I think I could hold my own if the need arises." she said motioning to his lack of weapons. Now that he was closer she could see that his eyes were a mesmerising gray colour, like a cloudy sky.

[Savitaire]

Savitaire chuckled “One of the benefits of being a squire, even weaponless, few are eager to try their luck even out here.”

It was true for the most part, few wanted to try attacking squires because of what would happen when they got caught. Yet he was at home with the forest, even if it was winter time, nor was a man of his size and build needing to hide behind the emblem for safety. He didn’t have the brawny arrogance of a man used to intimidation through his height or strength. It was much akin to a predator secure in their territory, yet he didn’t size her up like potential prey. In fact he was hiding nothing and completely open and honest, even if he didn’t give her a direct answer to his skills. His elusive answer might only add to his exotic mystery. “If you’d like you can use my seat, I won’t mind standing.”

A gentleman on top of being elusive.
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[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven watched the man as he spoke, her amber eyes taking in as much detail as possible. He seemed both confident in his abilities while also contempt about there being no proof of his skill, which kind of was proof anyway. He was either a competent fighter or a really good bluffer. . Few were eager to attack a squire he had said, which was true for obvious reasons. The consequences of such a transgression would most likely be death or a lifetime of labour. The knights didn't like being made to seem weak, not one bit. Raven thought for a while, she herself was curious as to the squires abilities and decided to gauge them the only way she knew how. . "Few are eager you say? Well then perhaps I am of the few." she said in her seductive voice while slowly taking a step back only to suddenly launch a quick straight kick at his chest.

[Savitaire]

With that single action she took the laughter disappeared from his eyes leaving them the color of polished steel. He didn’t wish to fight her, especially since there was really no need. He stepped smoothly to the side catching her kick, but letting her limb drop “You have one warning to stop or you’ll find yourself face deep in snow.”

His body language would easily show just as his words that he really wasn’t interested in a fight. It really took a lot for him to get upset enough to really do more than take the defensive. If she drew a weapon he’d have no choice except to disarm her and that required him to be more serious. He also didn’t want to harm her as he knew that if he wasn’t careful she’d end up with broken bones or worse. He only hoped she’d leave him an opening so that he could restrain her till she chose to relax and stop trying to harm him. He was also confused as to what was motivating her to act as she was, he carried no coin on him nor was anything in his bag even valuable. He had a locked chest back at the barracks that stored his coin now and what was in his bag was lunch he packed from the meal hall since he was provided three meals a day.
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[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven was impressed at how he handled her 'surprise' attack, so he was clearly a skilled fighter. She admired the swiftness and grace with which he deflected her kick, perhaps he could teach her a thing or two. . Once her leg was released she took another small step back, a mischievous smile upon her face, "What's the matter? I'm just trying to have a little fun. What do you say to a friendly spar?" she said although she didn't wait for a response before attacking again. This time she kicked low aiming for his shins and following up with another kick aimed at his chest. . Raven was already enjoying herself more than she had in several weeks, the thrill and risk of a fight was always entertaining. She wondered how Savi would respond to her this time.

[Savitaire]

Savitaire wasn’t impressed that for a person who wished a ‘friendly’ fight she couldn’t at least say something first. He took off his cloak tossing it on to where he was sitting “You have a funny way of showing your desires woman, but if your that eager…”

He stayed on the defensive conserving his energy, he twisted to the side with her first attack then rolled to evade her second coming up with a grin. His goal mostly was to study her attacks before he really did anything as he would probably grow tired first. He wasn’t happy about getting trapped in a fight, but against this one person he could take his time. “If I catch a cold my misery is all on your head, I’ll blame you and you’ll have to make it up to me.”

He was teasing her.
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