[World's End Grotto]A rainy day at the Grotto...[Aerdoria]

[Lhakihara]

The sun was occluded by many thick clouds today, rain drizzling down on the streets and pitter-pattering on the roofs of the buildings. Inside the World's End Grotto, the afternoon was waning into night, and the lack of sun gave Lhakihara the unique chance to interact with the locals. Normally, he'd be holed up in his room, waiting for night, waiting for his chance to peruse his new... options.

He sat in a dark corner of the common room with a single candle on his table, and he noted some things in a little notebook with a quill pen. The 77th day of Spring was a dreary one, but he seemed all the more pleased, his barely visible mouth peeled into a little smile.

His fingernails were bruised and worn, black from the lack of bloodflow. Lhakihara was a bold one, twirling the quill in his human fingers-- his Nuit nature rather hard to spot even with the light on him. His body must have been rather new despite it's poor shape. He never ordered anything to eat or drink, of course, having no need to do so. He did, however, take glances at everyone who walked in and out of the room. Whether this was from paranoia or because of his desire for a new body, it was hard to tell; indeed, it was hard to tell anything about this strange person aside from the nervous tapping of his foot. One might even think he wasn't a Nuit, until they would look into his eyes and see the ghoulish glare...

His clothes were a bit wet-- perhaps he had been outside earlier. His simple black pants were otherwise clean and normal, but his shirt had smears of something on it. While it was grey, the stains were of something... whitish? Even in daylight, it would have been difficult to discern the stains. Over this, he wore his cloak, even inside and as mildly stuffy as it was in the common room. His hood covered most of his face, only glints of his eyes peering out at random intervals and his grinning mouth was visible.

The room itself was softly lit from torches and candles sitting on the walls and tables respectively. At one end of the long, stout room was a doorway which lead outside, and some stairs leading up to the rooms. There were several tables, one of which the Nuit had taken over as his personal workstation-- littered with scraps of paper, an ink bottle, and his candle. Over near the back wall was the bar, and a passageway that led presumably to a simple kitchen.

Lhakihara was a bit nervous today, though even he couldn't say why. Perhaps it was the distant thunder outside; or maybe he'd seen something that shook him. He tried to ignore the nervousness, more lucid than he normally felt, but who knew how long this lucidity would last for him. His foot was incessantly tapping, much to the chagrin of the barkeeper. No one else was in the common room at the moment, but it had been a busy day, with people seeking shelter from the rain, and so the barkeep was simply washing mugs and keeping an eye on the strange man in the corner.

[Aerdoria]

As the boring rain would splatter all over the exterior of the World's End Grotto, Aerdoria would be fully geared up, her steel, teethed gauntlets fitting on her hands, her leather armour fitting her form like it should. The scabbard dangles by her right side, and due to the fact it's empty, it doesn't make her look intimidating or threatening at all. It actually makes her look adorable, primarily due to her silly expression as she looks out the window, watching the rain drops splash against it ever so gently. As this is going on, she's using her right hand to fiddle with her bracer crossbow, which, by nature - is not loaded whilst she's in Zeltiva, as it would quite possibly cause a lot of trouble to the citizens, and induce a bit of fear to those who aren't introduced to her odd character. Casually tapping her boot against the wooden boards, she'd look around the room, quietly humming something as she spots the male in the dark corner of the common room, along with a lit candle on the table in front of him. Glancing from the bar, to the barmaid - and then finally back to the corner of the room, pondering about the person, their thoughts, ideals, character and so on, not realizing how she's actually staring at the aforementioned person sat in the poorly lit corner. Though, after a few good moments, she'd realize how she was staring the entire time, blushing almost instantly before pivoting around to look out the window, now nervously drumming her fingers onto the left gauntlet, avoiding the teethed parts of the aforementioned gauntlet. Her humming dies out before she turns her head after a while, peeking back towards the corner, clearly intrigued. Gulping, she diffidently turns towards the individual, starting to walk over, taking deep breaths as she does. Upon reaching the corner, she stands by the table and looks at the male. Her cheeks turn completely red as she shifts her weight about, standing in place. She raises her left hand and reaches behind her head with it, gently scratching the back of her neck. "Hello, I uh.. I was wondering - are you um... writing a book?" she queries, softly biting her lower lip before looking away, being unsure on how this will work out, and completely aghasted of rejection, which she fears that might be inbound, as she's nervously, as already mentioned - shifting in place, waiting for an answer.

[Lhakihara]

Lhakihara stared intently at Aerdoria the entire time, his strange eyes never blinking, never moving from her. He was an intense person, that was for certain. He waited patiently for her to approach, and as she did, he moves his hands leisurely over the book, his foot tapping faster.

"...Why yes, I am." He responded after a moments hesitation, grinning sadistically. He was not, in fact, writing a book-- he was making notes on people around him, as well as a multitude of bizzarre figures and letters, gibberish that made it almost completely unreadable, even for him. The 'book' itself was a plain leatherbound volume, with otherwise blank pages.

"Tell me, my dear..." He said, a hint of intrigue slipping into his voice, "What are you afraid of?" He smiles wide. Something wasn't quite right with the way he was behaving, something... off. There was no way she wouldn't be able to tell that now. The flame of the candle flickered suddenly, but then rekindled itself.

Lhakihara was running a finger along the edge of the handle of his dagger, his eyes staring blankly into Aerdoria's. His eyes had deep bags under them, sunken in and ghastly looking. Was he trying to intimidate her? Or was this simply some sort of bizarre test of his? Still, he waited for her response, doing nothing to startle or interrupt her. His fingers of his other hand still twirled the quill gently, the bent and frayed feather spinning rapidly. Oh, how he was an odd one.

He was severely and sincerely interested in her, however, despite his nonchalant manner-- however strange it was. The barmaid watched from across the room, although it was questionable whether she could hear them from this distance. If something happened, however, would Aerdoria be able to rely on this person for help? Or would Lhakihara be able to claim yet another life in his quest?

[Aerdoria]

Aerdoria would take a deep breath as her eyes would meet with his. A huge lump forming in her throat as he speaks to her, a very eerie experience for her. She runs her eyes over the book, starting to tap her boot against the floorboards once more. Gulping, she examines the grin quite uneasily, slowly crossing her arms, making sure she isn't cut by the teethed gauntlets. She examines the leather-bound book with empty pages before diverting her gaze back up to his eyes, forcing a smile. His odd behaviour forcing her to give him a suspicious look. She merely scans him over again, only quickly before speaking. "I fear nothing!" she claims boldly, tilting her chin up to let him know she's not to be messed with. However, she does realize how stupid it sounded, so she bows her head and blushes quite heavily with an awkward smile on her face. She turns her head away for a brief moment, keeping her arms crossed in a careful fashion. She would now tilt her head up, noticing the candle flicker for a moment before taking a cautious step back. Her gaze would now run down to his fingers, noticing how he's spinning the feather. She takes note of his little hobby, now looking back up at him. "What is it you-..you're writ-.. writing?" she stutters out ever so shyly before slowly shaking her head from the right to the left - her face as red as ever. She forcefully unfolds her arms before letting them hang by her side, her right hand fiddling with the empty scabbard ever so playfully. She shifts about in place, still uneasy about his presence and about being observed. However, this doesn't exactly discourage her from moving her hands back up, grinding her gauntlets one against other, creating an overly annoying noise caused by the teeth of the gauntlets colliding. Once again, she's caught in her train of thought which leaves ehr staring at the individual with a significant blush on her face.

[Lhakihara]

Lhakihara couldn't help but guffaw and laugh at her response. "Fear nothing?" He teased, standing to gaze down at her, "Bold, aren't you?" He grins at her question, pondering for a moment. "A book, remember?" He says, obviously dodging the question. "But I digress, sweetness..."

He looks her over, grinning as he inspected her clearly like a chef examining his ingredients. "You are... prime, aren't you." It wasn't a question. He closes his book, without looking away from her, "Tell me, what's you're name, so I might remember this... unbreakable warrior." He was definitely taunting her now. For a Nuit, he wasn't too subtle. "And don't blush, it'll just make you look even more perfect." He said, cockiness flooding through his voice.

[Aerdoria]

Aerdoria's curious light blue eyes hastily scan over the stranger, taking a step back, pretty much ready to raise her fists. She remains quiet as he comments her bravery. She takes note of his words, her eyes hastily examining him. However, she releases a soft sigh, raising her hands only to cross them, locking the teeth of her steel gauntlets between each other. She would tilt her head, staring directly into his eyes to make him uncomfortable. And so, the rain on the outside would splash against the windows of the inn before lightning would strike, thunder echoing throughout the area. As the flash from the lightning illuminates everything, it does illuminate the inside - revealing his clothing from the dark to her. Upon which she slowly nods, biting her lower lip for a brief moment before flinching, her reaction to the loud sound delayed. After she'd flinch to the sound, she'd giggle - her cheeks as red as as a rose petal in the early, spring morning. She, as always - turns her head away to hide the blush. "I uh.. I'm prime? How so? Perfect-.. h.. how?!" she queries the man, starting to get a bit worried. She shifts awkwardly in place, tapping her boot against the ground, speeding up a little. She gulps, pivoting her entire body around a few times before focusing back onto him, nervously wiggling her toes within her boots, her right hand reaching down to the empty scabbard, pretending to draw and sheathe a sword constantly. "Hmph!" she adorably emmits before stepping closer, slamming her gauntlet-clad palms onto the table. "Hey, you better speak up and tell me what the p-..prob-..problem is!" she yells, stuttering as she does so, making her seem not so intimidating as she intended on sounding.

[Lhakihara]

He ponders for a moment, before speaking up, "Does that frighten you?" He asks, taking a step closer, invading her space. "Do you want me to frighten you?" He grins manically; his lucid moment seems to have flown out the window now. He flips his dagger out of it's sheath, brandishing it wildly-- Though making no real attempt to actually strike, Lhakihara's motions are jittery and awkard, making it rather unsafe to be this close to him regardless.

"I wanna frighten you..." He says, dangling the blade between his forefinger and thumb. The barmaid catches sight of the blade and slams the mug down, "Hey, you! You better put that away!" Lhakihara giggles, ignoring the Barmaid as he stares into Aerdoria's face, unblinking.

"Don't worry-- I won't harm you. You're too pristine to be harmed..." He teases again. The rain pattered outside, a sudden strike of lightning nearby shaking the room, yet he doesn't jolt, just continues his bizarre motions and nervous tapping. The barmaid looks nervous herself, preparing to move to intervene or run for help if she needed to.

[Aerdoria]

Aerdoria gulps, clenching her open palms into fists at the table. "Grhhh! I'm not scared! " she roars, gritting her teeth right after. With her fists resting on the table, she looks into his eyes - not blinking either. Upon noticing him play with the blade, she raises her hands from the table, stepping back with a light blush on her face. Her left foot slides over the wooden boarding as she slowly paces back. Upon getting a decent distance, she gets into a combat stance, but only for a brief moment. Lowering her hands, she sighs. "You're not worth my time, you creep!" she comments, turning around right before another lightning bolt strikes, causing her to hop up a bit, clearly flinching. She immediately moves out of picture, turning for the door before rushing outside into the rain. Upon striding outside, the door revolves itself back to it's initial position, being closed again. Absconding, although not securely, she runs past a lone pole before heading down, into the port city Zeltiva is, with a frown on her face, her cheeks as red as two fresh roses in a nobleman's garden. As rain sticks her hair to her face, she keeps the run going, before actuating into a little alleyway which has just enough area covered from the sky for one to get out of the rain, in a sitting poisition, provided they sit leaned against the wall. And what is exactly what Aerdoria would do. Unable to properly function when scared, or stressed out - she'd sit herself onto the cold stone, shivering a little as she rubs her arms with her steel gauntlets, creating a bit of friction. Though she is dry for the most part thanks to her armour, her head isn't, and her hair is completely wet. Though she was cold, she was still blushing out of embarrasment. "B-..by the Gods." she stutters to herself, closing her eyes, tilting her head downwards before allowing her warm breath to slip over the construction of her armour, and her skin. Sitting outside, the brumal downpour wasn't comfortable, especially not in a dark alleyway late at night, but it had to do for now. The intense, temporarily glacial environment wasn't something Accalia liked, all due to the wind, the brewing sea and the harsh downpour that set it's sights on Zeltiva. However, this was the perfect time to think things over, pass some time and rest. All this with wet hair. Curling herself a bit, she brings her knees to her chest, hugging them, faintly whispering something to herself before closing her eyes, resting her forehead on her knees, allowing her hair to drape over her legs. With this position, she's gathering just enough warmth to make it through the night.

[Paragon]

Lhakihara

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	1
Writing	1
Intimidation	2

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Creeping out Females
•	Wielding a Dagger in a Bar
•	People Watching

Aerdoria

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Interrogation	1
Running	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	The Danger of Approaching Strangers
•	Escaping an Uncomfortable Situation

Legend Becomes Reality

Interesting - remember to try and write in past tense Aerdoria. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.