Closed [The Rearing Stallion] Someone New (Raven)

[Marcus Braeden]

54th of Winter, 512AV Another long day of training had passed at the training grounds where squires eagerly made progress towards their goals of becoming knights, and where knights honed their deadly skills. As usual, Marcus decided that a visit to the Rearing Stallion would be in order after a long day of training, and it was becoming a bit of a habit for him. The staff definitely recognized him and usually greeted him. He was officially a regular there. Maybe he enjoyed drowning his sore muscles in alcohol, or maybe it was just how lively the place was, or it could have been the fire and how nice its flames felt on winter evenings. It was probably a mixture of all three, making the Rearing Stallion Marcus' favorite spot to go after training, that is, when Noah didn't have some crazy evening training planned. The stallion was just as lively as it always was, with minstrels playing there instruments, groups of men discussing the day's events, and barmaids winding through mazes of citizens trying to deliver guests their drinks and meals. Marcus sighed and breathed in the smoke filled air, and began his own journey through the crowds of people to find a place to settle. A few bumps later he was seated in a spot close to the hearth, and had just slipped a barmaid a a couple of mizas, as to get a glass of ale. He leaned back in his chair and observed those around him, and smiled at cheer and activity. There really was no place like the stallion.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Today had been yet another uneventful day in Syliras, everything had happened the same way it happened every other day and once again the woman found herself nearing the Rearing Stallion. The tavern had become part of her daily schedule, it provided her with warmth, drinks and sometimes good company, although her real reason for visiting everyday was to scout for someone to pickpocket. The doors to the tavern opened and in stepped a beautiful young woman dressed in tight black leather pants with matching boots, gloves and a long black scarf hanging from her neck. Her eyes scanned the room as she made her way toward an empty seat nearby the hearth. She was greeted with several stares, noises and comments from lustful men but she took no notice since it was a daily occurrence. Raven sat down and crossed her legs as her eyes continued to search the tavern for any points of interest, more specifically a lone man who looked as if he might pass out any second, but no one seemed to be that drunk yet. She would have to find a way to burn time while she waited for a pick-pocketing opportunity to arise. Looking over she noticed a handsome young man sitting nearby, her amber eyes taking in his features. He was around her age, brown hair and beautiful sky blue eyes, very handsome indeed. Raven watched him a moment longer, her amber eyes now a luminous gold in the fire light. "Hello there." she said in her usual seductive voice.

[Marcus Braeden]

The combination of the warm fire to Marcus' back and the cold drink slipping down his throat truly made for a comfortable evening. He was practically lost in his own comfort. Marcus was surprised, almost as if he was rudely awakened, when a voice had greeted him. Before he even looked up, he knew the voice was that of a beautiful girl. It was one of those voices where one could just tell who possessed it. Marcus glanced up from his mug of ale to see if he was correct. Black hair, fair skin, and those amber eyes. It looked as though Marcus was indeed correct about his original guess. There was a long pause before he spoke. It was a combination of Marcus gazing at her beauty, and him having absolutely no words to say. It was is if he was an adolescent again. Finally the squire spoke up, "Uhh, hello there miss, did you need anything? Or were you just looking to join me at this table?" he clumsily asked. Stop babbling you idiot. Damn you are useless... Marcus yelled at himself inside his head.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven watched the young man curiously for what seemed like a short while before he finally responded. She couldn't help but smile at how she caught him off guard. Even after he responded he still seemed to be at a loss for words, cute. . She continued to smile, as she watched him "No I'm not searching for anything, except maybe interesting company. I'm Raven by the way.". She had to admit that he was easily one of the most handsome people she'd seen in quite some time. She caught herself staring and quickly averted her gaze pretending to be interested in a group of drunk men who were having a rather loud conversation. . Once she felt it was safe to return her gaze to the young man she added "Come here often, I can't say I've seen you here before."

[Marcus Braeden]

The woman continued to smile at Marcus, and Marcus continued to be bewildered by the fact. Damn this armor gets me a lot of attention around here... he thought to himself. It was true, every time he showed up at the stallion adorning his plate armor, he was bound to get more attention than your average patron. He wondered what kind of attention a full knight might receive here. Ok, breathe he thought to himself and took a breath, now talk like a capable adult. "Well, I may be some interesting company" the squire spoke. "A pleasure to meet you Raven, I'm Marcus." The girl soon broke eye contact and quickly glanced at something or someone else across the room. Marcus followed and looked towards where she looked, and found that she was looking at a group of drunks across the room, even though Marcus could hear the conversation from where he was. Marcus shrugged it off. It was the stallion, there were drunks every night. And if they started anything Syliran Knights or Marcus himself would surely step in. He still had his equipment from the day anyway, although Marcus wasn't really confident in his sword's ability to cut through butter. Right, the Ironworks, he still needed to go make himself a new blade. "I could say the same of you, as I have not seen you here before either, but yes, you could probably consider me something of a regular here." Marcus said. Well at least it was at the point where he was greeted by the barmaids and bartender by name now. "Here, sit down, I guess I'm up for meeting someone new tonight... Marcus' words ended there and trailed off into thoughts inside his mind.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven smiled as she took the nearby seat whilst watching the young squire, perhaps tonight would not be completely boring. She loosened her long scalf a bit as she watched him. Wondering if he'd be the first to speak or not. . After a moment or two Raven decided to be the catalyst of the conversation and spoke first, "So, you're a squire? How far are you from becoming a full fledged Syliran Knight?. Raven may not have liked the knights, but she hardly knew Marcus' so this was the only topic she could think of, for now. She flashed him another smile, her amber his watching him as she awaited his reply. . Slowly The Stallion began to get louder as it's occupants became more inebriated. Surely someone would be drunk enough to become easy pickings for Raven's guilty pleasure or maybe she would skip the thievery for tonight.

[Marcus Braeden]

Raven was the first one to speak after she took her seat at Marcus' table, asking him about his squire training, which to be honest, was going quite slowly. Marcus first wondered how the girl knew he was a squire, but quickly realized oh yeah the armor...I just wear it everywhere these days I guess. To be honest his quire training was going slowly, as he had reached a bit of a hill he needed to overcome before he really progressed. Every squire eventually arrived at rut at some point, so maybe this was Marcus' rut. Or the first of many ruts, but Marcus hoped it wasn't that. "Well, its going slower than I expected it to, but I'm learning, little by little, day by day. It's tough work, but I only hope it'll be worth it in the end, when I am trekking through jungles of Faylndar or climbing the mountains of Kalea... Your rambling. Shut up please... Marcus' thoughts interrupted him. There was Marcus' imaginations, his wanderlust, coming through once again. He still had that dream of being some hero or adventurer going strong in his mind. "So what about you? What do you do Raven?" Marcus asked the girl as he peered around the tavern once more. His eyes eventually lead him straight to his favorite spot in the room, the hearth. Marcus peered into the flames as they danced and flickered. As one flame dissipated, another would flash and takes its place, before it also faded away.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven watched the young squire more intently this time, not wanting to seem uninterested, besides he wasn't exactly hard on the eyes. He was definitely among the more attractive of the city's residents, in fact he was quite near the top, in Raven's opinion. As he spoke her eyes wandered back to the fire for a moment then returned to him as his words suddenly came to a halt, Raven let out a friendly chuckle in response to his obvious nervousness, "Oh, well I'm sure it will pick up again soon. You have to struggle up the hill in order to roll down right? You seem rather adventurous for someone who's joining the knights..." she said cheerfully, yet reserved. Slowly, Raven took another sip of her drink before she spoke again, "Me? Well I do odd jobs here and there, I don't really have a specific place of occupation." she answered, although it was vague , her answer was completely honest.