PM to join [The Rearing Stallion] In search of traveling companions

[Serynia]

73rd Day of Winter, 513 A.V. The sun was slowly setting, the last of it's rays splashing across the sky in a brilliant red and orange glow. Serynia was on her way home from her work as a healer, heading towards her room in Traveler's Row, when she spied a red and white sign with a stallion on it. Feeling the beginning rumblings of hunger in her stomach, she decided to enter the tavern to grab a bite to eat. When she entered the crowded room, there was only one empty table, which she promptly sat down at. Looking around, she could see that there was a wide assortment of patrons. Most were human but there were also other Konti, Kelvics, Akalaks, and some other races she had never seen before. She began to realize how sheltered of a life she had on the White Isle. A waitress approached. "What would you like to order lass?" "I'd like a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese, please" Serynia replied politely. While waiting for her food to arrive, she again glanced around the room hoping to find a friendly face. Serynia had always been a bit shy with strangers and the thought of starting a conversation with one frightened her to death. But she also knew that if she was to find her way to Sahova sometime in the spring that she would need to find traveling companions. Back in Mura, she had always been surrounded by either friends or family. Here in this strange city, she was more and more conscious of how alone she was. She looked longingly at the empty chair across from her wishing that there was someone she could talk to.

[Andruen]

"Make that two." Andruen ordered from the maid before she had the chance dash off to grab the food. He took a seat on the opposite side of the konti woman, taking the longbow off his shoulder and leaning it against the table. He was cloaked in an outfit of forest green, the linen shirt, leather jerkin and leather pants giving him a nicely blended look. His hood was drawn back and his ruffled sandy-brown hair was visible to the eye. He had an outgoing smile on his lips as he took a glance over at the Konti. He'd met plenty of her kind before, but never really had the chance to speak to one. "You seem a little far from home in this desolate keep." He said in easy Kontinese, the words dripping from his mouth quite like honey on a warm summer's eve. "I take it you're not from around here?" He asked.

He leaned forward a bit to slip the quiver from his back and prop it against the table alongside his bow. He glanced back to the girl with a smirk. She was quite pretty, with a head of golden hair, beautiful eyes and a luscious set of lips. She was the perfect example of a Kontinese woman. His brow perked as he waited for her reply with a genuine enthusiasm.

[Serynia]

Serynia was a bit startled and surprised when the handsome male took the empty seat across from her and spoke in Kontinese. It reminded her of home. And while she would have normally been wary of someone she didn't know, she had an immediate feeling of comfortableness with him. Serynia considered herself a good judge of character and she detected only a genuine sense of friendliness with no ulterior motive. By the look of his dress and the longbow and quiver of arrows that he had placed against the table, she guessed him to be a hunter of some sort. He looked young and yet his demeanor hinted at someone more mature than his years. She flashed him a wide innocent smile, showing her even white teeth and replied to his question, "Yes you are correct. I'm not from around here. I came from Mura. I've only been in town for a few days. And you? Are you from around here? And how did you learn to speak Kontinese so well?" As she waited for his response, she found herself looking into his blue eyes that seemed to be twinkling from amusement. Her heart started beating faster and a curious fluttering began in her stomach that she had never felt before. It was more than the normal nervousness she felt when speaking with strangers. She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks and quickly looked down at the table. Through veiled long lashes, she sneaked a peak and could see that he was still staring intently at her. It was as if his eyes could see right through to her and she felt naked and vulnerable before his smoldering gaze. The thought made her blush even deeper. Serynia could only hope that he hadn't noticed.

[Andruen]

He couldn't help but smile at the girl as she rambled off questions to him. Where he was from, where he learned to speak Konitnese. Normally, he was the one asking the questions in his trade, but he found the change of pace refreshing. "I am from the wildlands of the Sylira Region. I do not claim any city as my own." He says with a smile, leaning back in his chair and spreading his arms, "But I frequent Syliras more than any of the other cities." He chuckled.

She had also asked where he had learned kontinese from. He smiled, "My father was a traveling merchant..." He began, his smiled waning a little, as if the subject was a touchy one for him, "He travelled all over, learned many things. When I was born, and after my mother left us for gods-know-what, my father took me to the White Isles." He said with a smile, "He had me blessed with health as a child so I could survive the struggling life of a roaming merchant." He paused, his smile slipping up, "He managed to learn how to speak Kontinese and he taught me how to speak it as well before he passed."

There was a moment of silence that followed after as the hunter diverted his eyes from the woman across from him. His lips curled in slight dissatisfaction. He had told a tale not entirely true. The events his father took were all but a mystery to the young hunter. He had passed long before Andruen had turned eight. In truth, he had learned Kontinese from the village healer that his father had left him with. She was a kind, older woman, who had always told him to help those in need, even if it was for the betterment of the wicked. She hadn't quite told him to help bad people, though. Merely, aid those he can, regardless of their unknown intentions.

His smile returned to his face as he looked back to the Kontinese woman before him, his sapphire eyes catching sight of her reddened state, "I am a Wilderness Guide by trade, and a hunter by hobby." He clarifies, "I'm not much of a hunter yet, but I will become better over time. This is certain." He smiled, nodding.

[Serynia]

As Serynia listened to the young man talk about his father, she could sense that the topic of his family made him uneasy, but she could not quite put her finger on why. A feeling of empathy washed over her when he told her how his father had passed away. It reminded her all too much of her own mother's recent death. She fought to push the thoughts away, instead focusing on the only thing that mattered...revenge. But first she had to find a way to make it to Sahova if she was ever going to find the Nuit that had killed her mother. It was funny how the gods worked. She had decided to enter the tavern on a whim as the thought of eating a meal alone in her room had not been too appealing. And then out of the blue, it seemed as if her prayers had been answered and she had found someone who she might potentially travel with. "I am in need of a wilderness guide. I plan on making my way to Zeltiva and from there taking a boat to Sahova in the spring after the snows melt. Would you be available for hire to take me? I don't have many mizas but I am hoping to save up enough to buy a horse and supplies from my work as a healer. I know that the wildlands are no place to travel alone. Perhaps we can work out some kind of deal?" It was a long shot she knew. The journey would be long and treacherous and she had no idea if he would consider even leaving Syliras. She looked at him expectantly, hoping that he would say yes.

[Andruen]

Andruen had fallen silent when the drinks came, his story having completed entirely. He took his drink in hand and brought it up to his lips as he listened to Serynia ask him for help finding her way to Zeltiva. He perked a brow, not quite sure why she would need a guide for that. There were many caravans that would leave Syliras and ship supplies down to Zeltiva, for those supplies would be only the first in the chain of trade that would blossom in the spring, once the winter cold thawed and the ground softened.

"You don't need a Guide for that, you know." He mutters into his cup, his eyes bowing down to look at the table. He didn't really want to turn her away, though. He could use the money, he knew that much. "But they don't leave until a few weeks into spring..." He mutters, taking a sip of his drink again.

"Ah, what the petch... why not?" He shrugs, sitting back in his chair and sighing, "I can take you to Zeltiva. Probably two or three weeks sooner than you'd get there with the caravans." He says, smirking a bit, "But I don't want your money." He says, leaning forward, "Your company is enough. I was thinking of heading south myself once spring came around. I have a feeling that I would be needed more down there than here. But I wouldn't be staying long. No more than two weeks. You will need to find your own passage to Sahova from Zeltiva." He explains, smiling.

He didn't know if the offer sounded appealing enough to her. He rarely gave away his services to people he just met in a tavern. But, she was a Konti. He had a bit of a soft-spot for the Konti race. They were just so... majestic. He didn't know it himself, but his smile had faded a bit into a look of awe as he simply stared at her, his lips still touching the rim of his glass. He smiled broadly, once, chuckling outwardly as he shook his head. No, I shouldn't bother. He thought to himself, shifting in his seat, Not like she has the same interest in humans as I do in Konti, He thought, his look souring as he swirled his drink within the cup, staring into it. After all, I'm just another human. No one special.

[Serynia]

The hunter had made a good point. She could have easily traveled to Zeltiva with a trading caravan. In fact, that's how she and her mother had made their way to Syliras from Mura. "You are correct," Serynia said. "I could travel there with a caravan but the wagons would slow me down. A small group would be able to travel much faster." But if she was entirely honest with herself, she knew that was not the reason, or at least not the only reason she had asked to hire him as a wilderness guide. In fact, she was not in a rush to leave Syliras just yet. She figured she probably wouldn't have earned enough money to leave until the end of Spring at least so saving a few weeks of travel was not that important. She considered for a moment before continuing, "I think the main reason I want a wilderness guide though is that I want to learn how to be self sufficient. I was hoping you could teach me skills about how to survive on my own in the wilds if I should need to. My mother recently passed away and I have no idea where my father is. Now that I'm alone in the world, I think it's important that I learn to be independent. There's nothing tying me to one city and I have a yearning to see the rest of the world and what else is out there. Of course I insist on paying you for your services. Or if you won't accept payment, the least I could do is offer my services as a healer to you for free anytime you need it. I completely understand you wanting to part ways in Zeltiva. In fact, I might stay there for a bit before finding a boat to Sahova." There...that sounded like a good reason for wanting to hire him. I hope he buys it, Serynia thought to herself. For if she was completely honest, she knew that the real reason she had asked to travel with him was that she had felt an instant connection to him and wanted any excuse to spend more time with him to get to know him better. Maybe it was the fact that her mother had been attracted to her father who was a human. Or the fact that growing up on an island of mostly females, that the few males that she had met had been human. All she knew was this was the first male that she had met who had made her want to spend more time with him. "Where are my manners? Here I am rambling on and on and I haven't even introduced myself. My name's Serynia. What's your name? If we're going to be traveling together, we ought to get to know each other better don't you think? I want to know everything about you."