PM to join In Search of Webbing (Rue Nightsong)

[Fallan Windchaser]

Fallan

9th Fall, 513AV

It had been but a few days since the errant rider had returned to the fold, his wanderings curtailed and his tail between his legs. Duty had brought him back, a return that once he'd hoped to be triumphant now one that proved merely that he had been able to survive and yet not prosper.

As with many of the clan, his family were out with their herd, but of all the locations of Endrykas, this season was the one where they were bound to be drawn back as inevitably as he had been for now the tented city moved through the range where they tended to be based.

Fallan lacked skill in Webbing, for as a younger son he had not foreseen the likelihood of ever becoming Ankal. Now he realised that had been foolish, not because he would become Ankal but because at times like these it would be useful if he were able to access the web, not to change or manipulate it, but enough to know the simpler details.

It had been a long time since he'd been here though and many faces that he'd once known were here no longer. Without an Ankal he knew he instead headed off towards that place were the Clan Pavilions clustered with the aim of finding a webber that could supply the information that he lacked.

[Naiya]

Rue was making her way home from work, far earlier than usual, but with the auction coming up, her mind wasn't really in the work anyway and it had been decided that she was really only getting in the way today.

Understandably so, with thoughts of her father words so closely mirroring the buying and selling of humans that was soon to pass. The change of seasons had brought with it a change of mind for him, and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to get her out of his pavilion. She told herself it was the season that brought about the change, but she knew really it was that he had been unable to prevent her bonding with a strider, something that made all his talks about how she would never be a Drykas because of her "sins" crumble into nothing. She stood now even more a reminder of his shortcomings, and he did not like the constant reminder.

His solution then, was to get rid of her, marry her off, or sell her to some traders as they passed through the city. Anything to remove her from his mind.

Frankly it was a situation that caused Rue more than her fair share of embarrassment, as he often found it necessary to parade her around before his customers and partners, speaking praises that were fabricated entirely from lies. 'She is the best cook in the pavilion' 'Hard to find a time when she isn't attending to the household chores.' One thing after another to convince the men that she was a prize to take home with them.

How he could justify such when Endrykas was in such desperate need was beyond Rue, but all the same it was happening. Which, brought her back to the auction, selling captives for breeding. Sure they needed the support in such desperate times, but was this the only way to get such things? She was unsure, hence the majority of her mind was stuck on the deliberations.

Lost so in thought, she didn't notice the approaching man until she was almost on top of him, stumbling back to avoid the collision her ankle turned, sending her tumbling almost in slow motion towards the ground.

[Fallan Windchaser]

Fallan

His eyes searching the Pavilion roofs for the carvings that he sought and his mind occupied with wondering where his family might be and more importantly how they might be for he had a sudden dread that some of them might not make it here, he didn't even see the woman who approached on a colliding path until the flash of red drew him back to the here and now.

He stopped sharp, stumbling in his haste to avoid her, but it was too late for they had almost collided and she paid the price for it. His face coloured and then he registered properly for the first time who it was that he had run into. A second glance told him that he was wrong, that this wasn't the arrogant woman of the previous day, and worse still she was no stranger though he knew her not.

He dropped to his knee and have her a short bow of apology his hand cutting in towards his heart to emphasise his words. "My lady, my apologies for my clumsiness. Are you alright?"

Now that he was closer he could see her better and he admired her though he attempted to keep it from his face and his words. Similar coloured hair and pale complexion yesterday had drawn his eye and now he was fortunate enough to once more be with a woman with that exotic colouring.

[Naiya]

The ground met her just as abruptly as she had seen the man, and though she threw her arms out to catch her fall, it was no more graceful than a tumble from a horse. She took a moment to be embarrassed, but then remembered the reason for her fall. Quickly she glanced up to find the grey eyed man still standing. She was quite relieved to find that she hadn't knocked him over.

Rue's face reddened as the man followed her to the ground, bowed to her -as if she wasn't sprawled in the dirt- and asked after her well being. Her hands moved more quickly than her mouth, signing a reassurance and an apology of her own before she had really even gathered herself enough to speak.

"No- ah, yes, I mean I'm fine, but I should be the one to apologize." She pulled herself back together slowly, sitting up and curling her legs beneath her. "I should have been paying more attention, but I find my mind wandering without my consent more often than not these days." She laughed softly, as she dusted off her hands on the dirtied hem of her tunic and rose to her feet, swiping a dirtied hand across her reddened cheeks.

"I'm sorry to cause you trouble." Rue finished, her hands echoing her words.

[Fallan Windchaser]

Fallan

Her embarrassment amused him, colouring her cheeks to match her hair, but he shook his head. "The apology is mine, I was looking for a pavilion and not paying attention to what was in front of me." He smiled, the smear of dirt along her cheek made her look younger than her years. It had been some years since he'd been in the tented city, and yet he could not remember her. Surely he would have noticed her before, in fact he was sure of it because he had realised long before he left the Grass Lands that the mere sight of red hair drew his eye like bloody meat did the eye of a starving Grassbeak.

"You are no trouble at all my Lady..." He paused and cocked his head slightly, the gesture with his hand emphasising the unasked question. "My name is Fallan." He left it at a personal level, no mention of family. He reached out his hand to her, an offer to help her rise, though in fact it was more of an excuse to touch. "Can I at least make up for my lack of attention by helping you up?"

[Naiya]

"Rue." She replied to his unasked question, smiling as she took his offered hand. How long had it been since a man acted so gentlemanly? These days too many were distracted by the goings on of the city, the planning of the elders, and often did not take the time. It was pleasant, if not unusual, and Rue let her enjoy the offered chance to be treated like a lady.

How long it would last was the question, and she hoped it was at least long enough that he didn't mention the extra weight muscle lent her as her brothers often did, commenting on what kind of girl weighs as much as a man. An exaggeration, of course, but all the same she did not appreciate the implication.

She was being silly though, letting her mind wander from the moment and so quickly after the same had led her to this position. "You are too kind, Fallan." She spoke, bringing her attention back to the man whose hand she grasped.

[Fallan Windchaser]

Fallan

It was an unusual name he thought, and confirmed that he hadn't come across her before. The mystery intrigued him and there was nothing that he was doing which was so urgent that he could not spend some time teasing at the riddle that she offered.

He braced himself and pulled as she took his hand, repositioning himself a little as she was indeed a little heavier than he expected. That though failed to concern him as it demonstrated instead that she was not the sort to sit back in her pavilion whilst others pandered to her.

As she came to her feet, the movement brought them together and he retained her hand for just a moment longer than he needed to, squeezing it slightly, and as a result partly muted for he tended to emphasise with that hand out of habit.

As he released he nodded slightly. "You are very welcome and you have dirt on your cheek." Without waiting for permission, yet moving slowly enough that she could avoid him if she were sharp enough to not wish it, he lifted his hand and wiped gently at her cheek, much as he would have done to one of his nephews.

[Naiya]

He was, she was pleased to find, as strong as he looked, lifting her to her feet with ease. More ease than she was expecting, even, and she found herself nearly on top of the man once again. She hovered there a moment, suspended between his balance and her own, closer than was really needed.

He released her hand after a rather intense moment of mutual regard, only to point out that she had dirt on her face. "I'm covered in dirt." She replied with a soft laugh that should have broken the intensity between the two, but instead came off sounding more like an invitation to change that as well. Pink once again tinted her cheeks at the thought, but she held still as he brushed the smudge away.

"Thank you." She spoke again as his hand rubbed the dirt from her face, or smudged it further, she didn't know but appreciated the effort all the same. Her hands echoed the feeling, signing her gratitude once again.

Her outstretched arm was bumped by a passerby as she signed, and she realized that despite their apparent ignorance of their location, others had noticed and grown impatient waiting for the two to move from the path where they stood.

[Fallan Windchaser]

Fallan

"Dirty,2 he agreed as his attempts had indeed smudged the dirt still further. And on reflection he realised that the same was true enough of himself for he'd done barely more than the necessary unpacking after his arrival the day before.

With all the ways through the tents it seemed as though this was the most popular, and it confirmed that Fallan was likely near to where he needed to be as that would be a focal point.

He took a further liberty and put his arm on hers to usher her a pace or two out of the way and closer to the tents that surrounded them. He glanced around and then grinned as the blockage flowed clear.

"A favour for a favour then perhaps," he suggested. I was looking for the Clan Pavilion to find a webber. If you could guide me there then I would feel obliged to assist you in the removal of the dirt and in ensuring that it is removed from those hard to reach places."[/b] Rarely was he so bold with a strange clanswoman, but she had not pushed him away at first, and he felt drawn to her enough to take the risk.

[Naiya]

She let her arm rest on his as he spoke, and even as she replied. "I can help you find a webber, but I think I'll have to take a rain check on the return favor." She smiled, not wanting to entirely put him down, but feeling the need to draw a line at such talk with a man she only just met.

"Maybe you can buy me a drink sometime instead, and I can pretend that I don't regularly find myself covered in dirt." There, see. She told herself, a line was drawn, but her invitation told him she was interested in seeing him again. "You were headed in the right direction, I believe there is help for you just ahead." She looked up the way towards the city hub. "I can show you, if you would like?" She asked despite his previous invitation, giving him the chance to decline after she had turned down his offer.