Completed Warm Yourself By The Fire, Stranger [Ardan][abandoned]

[Engghaen]

Engghaen didn't wake up any more that night. Or day. Or...
Her dreams were confusing, with bits which were clear and bits which were complicated. Eventually, when it was almost past midday, she woke up. The light-
She grunted and turned around. Sleep! But she felt she was waking up and so she opened her eyes.

[Ardan]

Ardan had barely slept at all, having trained himself to be totally nocturnal and go without any sleep for days. As he often did, he was outside, exercising. A thief could not afford to go out-of-shape. He was in his human form, his cloak and shirt resting on the ground. Normally, he had little to nothing to work with. However, this time he was able to use two logs to practice balance. One hand on either log, he went into a straight, horizontal position and held it for hours. Suddenly, he heard a rustle and looked to see Engghaen exiting the tent. "Morning!" he greeted. "Sorry, no breakfast; I'm terrible with food preparation."

[Engghaen]

"Morning" she greeted back. "It's fine, I see you're practising. I'm not really hungry."

Then she searched for her bow and searched for a target. She started shooting her arrows at different ranges and heights, carefully placing the arrow on the bow, pulling tightly, aiming and letting go.

[Ardan]

"Hmm, nice shots," he observed. He changed into a panther and began prowling about, watching for birds or small animals. He found a few rabbits and killed them cleanly. By the time he returned, he had two rabbits and a small fox in his mouth. After gently setting them down next to the fire, he returned to human form and donned the rest of his clothing. "Thought I'd do some hunting while you were training.

[Engghaen]

She smiled broadly when she saw Ardan coming back and went off to collect her arrows. When she was done, the girl placed them back where they had been and sat down next to Ardan. "Yes... Thanks. You didn't need to." ... Though a fluffy white cat trying to hunt a fox would be at least hilarious.

Not very keen on getting back in the discussion of the day before, she held her mouth shut. I don't want to be a fluffy pet cat. It's no fun. Everyone will laugh at me and it is no adittion to my selfdefence. Which I don't have. Barely.

"Ardan? You know, you should be glad you're a panther. I'm just a fluffy white cat. I could just as easy be human, well, then I would even live longer. Maybe four times as long."

[Ardan]

Ardan "Have you ever seen a panther sneak into a building?" he asked, tossing her the fox. "I say, being small and seemingly defenseless is a good thing. Then you can release your claws, so to speak. No one will see you coming if you go in as a cute little house pet. "When I was your age, I was just a black cat. That's how I got so good at stealing. Now, it's a bit trickier." He bit into the rabbit, savoring the taste of raw flesh that he so rarely got to experience in public. For some reason, humans found it absolutely revolting. He ate in silence for a few moments before curiosity defeated hunger. "Have any friend in Lhavit yet?"

[Engghaen]

She smiled. "Well, okay then. " Carefully, she twisted a leg off the fox and started eating.

"No, not really. Only people who seem to want to pet me." She laughed and almost choked in the bite of meat. "There was this drunken lad who wanted to take me home. He kept calling me 'that furry little kitty'. But he learned that furry little kittens can scratch. Apart from that, and you, there's not really someone who wants to talk to me, oh, and Kaim. But that was once."

[Ardan]

Ardan "Don't worry," said the thief. "If you wanna learn from me, you'll probably see Kaim again." He grinned, thinking of the guard's infuriated expression. He'd probably love to take me in with proof, thought Ardan. "No friends, no associates, no mortal enemies out to harvest your soul? Excellent; this will be easier than anticipated. I had friends all over Sylrias when I had to leave, and that was a pain. "A thief starts out best alone, or with other thieves."

[Engghaen]

She looked at Ardan before taking another bite. "No, no one. I've been alone since I left Syliras. Apart from Eyze, then." Her face went sour and she quickly paid her attention at the fox, now tearing it apart slightly.

[i]He's gone now, don't think about him. Don't.[ it will only make you sad. There's a reason why you're not here with him./i]

OOCEyze is her former boyfriend which she left in Syliras because she wanted to go her own way. In the Masquerade Ball he tells her he died, so, just so you know. It's not in my CS.

[Ardan]

Ardan Ardan was about to ask who this "Eyze" was, but his mouth shut when he saw the expression in Engghaen's face. Whoever it was, something happened to (or was caused by) them. Ardan's mind went back to someone he used to know. "I understand," he nearly whispered, solemnly. The darkness was trying to claw its way out, using the painful memories as leverage. That horrible part of the thief wanted to do terrible things, its bloodlust never satiated. As the battle in his mind raged, his hand gripped his dagger so furiously that his knuckles turned white. He growled quietly, and forced back the desire to shed tears. "I once had someone, a long time ago," he whispered, almost incoherently. "Sapphire."