Minas Tirith Streets and Levels (Free RP)

[Rillewen]

@Winddancer

Aggie and Cailon joined by Berion (with Della)
City Orphanage

Cailon watched the proceedings, as the stiff orphanage matron rang for the girl to come. He could hardly believe this was happening, hearing the orders to bring the two children there. It was really happening. He glanced at Aggie and smiled, then turned his attention back to Miss Esma. All that stood between them and their soon-to-be children, was signing a paper. He took a deep breath, then leaned forward and carefully took the form from the lady. After some of the things he had heard from Aggie about this place, the dairy farmer decided it would be wise to carefully read through this contract, just to make sure. He held it so that he and Aggie could both read it, but he saw nothing that seemed deceptive, or might come back to bite them at a later time. Just so long as they paid the fees, the children would be theirs. Forever. He glanced at Aggie, silently asking if she was finished reading, but also, whether she'd seen anything he didn't.

Aggie read through the contract, and looked up at Cailon. "Let's speak to the children first," She murmured softly. She had little reason to expect that they would object to this, but it would surely be nice to have their opinion asked, at least. Their lives would change drastically, once that paper was signed. If anyone had ever wanted to adopt her, she probably would have been delighted to have a family, but still.. she remembered how little control she had over her own life and decisions that were made about her, back in those days. Any person would surely rather be asked instead of told what was to happen in their life, and their future.. no matter how young or old they might be.


Berion was sure that he was in trouble. He didn't know what he'd done, but it didn't seem to bode well that he and Della were both summoned to Ms Esme's office, all sudden-like and out of the blue. That was never good, right? He held onto his sister's hand, protective and nervous. Suppose those men had come looking for them, to get back at them for what happened during the midsummer thing? Maybe they were still angry. Maybe Ms Esme had heard about it, and was going to scold them for it? Or maybe she'd heard about him catching a frog the other day and trying to keep it for a pet. It had gotten away somewhere in the boys' room, and hadn't been seen since. Who knows what she might have heard about. He wasn't going to let Della get in trouble for something he did, though! Already thinking up his defenses, the boy followed Alva into the office, holding tight to Della's hand. What he saw though, was rather surprising and caught him off guard.

As the young lady returned with Berion and Della, Cailon's face changed to a warm smile. "Hello there," He greeted them cheerily. "How are you both?"

Aggie's smile spread wider on her face as well, wishing she knew them both well enough to open her arms and invite them both to come hug her, but perhaps that would come in time. For now she remained seated with her hands clasped in her lap, resisting the urge to pull the children into a hug. But she smiled at them, hoping they would feel comfortable, and not intimidated. The matron certainly had an intimidating air about her, but perhaps the friendly, warm attitude of herself and Cailon would be able to counteract it.

"Hi," Berion glanced from them to Ms Esme, and back to the nice couple from midsummer. "We're alright." He replied, a little cautious, but also confused. "Did you come to visit us?" He asked, brightening a little. Berrik had promised to come visit, but it hadn't been very long since the midsummer.

"Good, I'm glad." Cailon leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees so he was closer to their height. "Actually, we hoped you might like to come with us." He answered the boy's question, and glanced at Della as well. "Both of you." He hesitated. "We'd like for you both to come and live with us.. from now on. As our children.. and we'd be your new parents. Would you like that?"



(I thought I had replied to your last post!)

[Karis Ziranphel]

Men Thalad Cirbann

Thûllir Bregedyr
@Arnyn

The small figure had finally begun to emerge from the wood under Thûllir’s blade and coaxing fingers, with the smooth folds of a hood appearing over a roughly featured face on the crouching form of a Ranger bearing an axe. He had begun the project as a gift for Karis and Macardil once he had heard of their plans to wed, intending to make bookends with small wooden sculptures to go in the library his cousin had described to him. It was painstaking to now begin adding details, but Thûllir enjoyed it, and it helped to have an artistic outlet. He sat back and uncramped his fingers as he heard Kaylin’s light step outside, setting down the figure and brushing wood shavings into the bin.

He greeted his wife with a smile, and simply nodded when she invited him to join her and Arnyn inside. He was curious, but it could just be a friendly visit. He quickly straightened his work space and draped a piece of leather over the in-progress pieces before dusting off his clothes, and following Kaylin back inside. A quick glance took in the blond lieutenant and three steaming cups of coffee on the table. “Good day, Lieutenant!” He waited for Kaylin to seat herself again, and then took one of the open seats.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trevadir
Arriving at the Main Gate
(Continued from here)

It was strange, to say the least, to be passing through the gate at last. Returning home, after all these years. Trev tensed slightly as they approached, growing more and more apprehensive, despite the report Macardil had brought back. Still, no one made any move to stop him. None of the guards saw any reason to prevent his entry into the city. It seemed unreal, and yet it was real. He slowly released the breath he had been holding. Then took a look around. It was both the same, and different. The gate had much altered; he'd noticed that from a ways off, and had expressed some surprise about it to Macardil as they rode. Having been away, and hearing only the negative rumors, Trev had yet to learn of the positive changes about the city. The gate being remade in mithril and steel was one of those things. What else had changed, he wondered?

Once through those gates, Trev let the horse come to a stop as he looked around. He wasn't sure if he'd done it, or if the horse just did it on its own, but it made little difference. It was his first view of Minas Tirith in five long years, and he wanted to relish it. Take in all of the once-familiar sights, and become familiar with them once again. He swallowed through a lump in his throat, feeling as if his emotions might spill over if he wasn't careful. He was home. He turned and looked to the right. Down that way was where his grandmother lived. If he went far enough down that street, he would pass the house, and.. she would be up on the upper levels though, he recalled, unless things were different than he expected. She probably still worked at that clothing shop up there, where the richer folks usually shopped. Of course, Trev realized, he didn't actually know. He should have asked Cali, or Iole. Well, he'd find out eventually... And what about Tobedir? He wasn't sure where his brother was about this time of day, and sort of hoped he wouldn't run into him just yet. He had enough to worry about today, without adding more stress and emotion, negative or positive, on top of it all.

Clearing his throat softly the best he could, Trev turned back toward Macardil, somewhat glad to see he had paused to wait for him. "Where was it we're supposed to meet the lieutenant? Wayfarer's, wasn't it?" He asked, feeling his nervousness return. The guards had given him no trouble, but now he had to talk to this lieutenant lady. And while he had been glad to see that the guard lieutenant was nowhere in sight, he was feeling quite nervous about meeting this other one. Mostly, because he had no idea what to expect from her. "Is it still where it used to be?" He asked with a faint, hopeful smile. It would be a relief to find the familiar establishments all still be where he remembered them, but with things he'd heard about the war, he wasn't sure what to expect.

[Arnyn]

@Karis Ziranphel

|
Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr | Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Men Thalad Cirbann

After pouring the coffee, Arnyn leaned against the counter as she waited for Kaylin to return with Thûllir. She smiled faintly, thinking about the advantages of the both of them now having the same profession, in the same unit no less. And she slanted her head as she thought of the possible disadvantages. Her smile had grown a bit by the time the two entered the kitchen. Thûllir's positive greeting made her smile and nod at him. "You too, Thûllir."

While they sat down, the Lieutenant lingered by her spot against the counter. Kaylin and Thûllir had chosen seats next to each other and opposite from her current position. She may as well stand a while longer. "I asked Kaylin to have you join us today," Arnyn said, looking at Thûllir, "because it's been decided these talks between Kaylin and myself no longer need to be private." She paused. Thûllir was a smart man. He would already know or assume some of the things she might say.

"But first. Tell me what you have deducted, or suspect, so far of what has been going on?" she inquired, finally taking a seat at the table and cupping her hands around the remaining coffee cup. His answer would give her a new and additional look at his skills and the way his mind worked, she figured. "And how you came to these conclusions or assumptions?"

*********************

@Rillewen

Macardil
Great Gate and the First Circle

It was almost fun, in a way, to watch Trevadir's reactions to the things which had changed, such as the Great Gate. It had been fortified, remade, a piece of art and splendour, in celebration of victory and the friendship between different races. Macardil decided to let Trevadir take it all in, with as little input or disturbance from him as was possible. When asked a direct question, Macardil would answer. And while friendly, he would keep it brief - so as not to distract from all there was to see.

You hardly had to be a mindreader to see that Trevadir didn't quite know what to do with himself while and after they passed through the Great Gate to the White City. Macardil slowed Night-Shade to a halt and looked away, smiling as he did. He did not want Trevadir to think he was amused at the young man; for he was not. The former ranger simply found a joy in seeing the flutist return home in such a way. This was a good thing. And the small part Macardil had played in making this possible, lifted his spirit.

When he heard Trevadir clearing his throat, Macardil looked over at him. He nodded when the young man answered his own question. At the second question, Macardil nodded again. "Yes. The Second Circle, in the place where it has always been since I can remember. They had to renovate slightly after the siege, but were lucky for the most part. It is still owned and managed by Hildy and Alfric. Do you know them?" He nodded in the direction of the stables where Night-Shade had her permanent residence. "Come. We need to stable the horses first."

Once arrived, Macardil was about to dismount and then stopped himself. "Alright. You have been riding for a while, Trevadir, and since you are not used to it, you will need to be careful as you get off the horse. It is different for regular riders." Himself, he dismounted smoothly. "One moment." He first led his black mare into her regular stall, making sure the minimal necessities were in order first, and then came to stand next to Trevadir's left leg, as the young man was still sitting the older, meek horse they had on loan from the inn back in Harlond. "You'll be a bit bow-legged for a bit," Macardil explained calmly. "As your muscles get used to walking again, as opposed to riding. Do not worry: it will have worn off by the time we get to the Wayfarer's. You might feel it for a bit longer, but no one other than you will know."

He paused briefly, then smiled. "Now! Take care your foot doesn't get caught in the stir-up. Take it out of the stir-up. Hold the reins with your left hand over the mane slowest to your saddle. Put your right hand on the flap of the saddle." He waited until Trevadir had done these things and nodded. "Stand up, as it were, in the left stir-up, shifting your weight to this foot. Swing your right leg over the back of the horse. When your right foot comes level with your left foot still in the stir-up, pause," he instructed. He took a step back when Trevadir did this. "Now lean forward a bit, so your upper legs and hips carry your weight against the horse, take your left foot out of the stir-up... and then slide and drop to the ground."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trevadir
1st circle - Stables

"I don't know them exactly," Trev answered thoughtfully. "I know the place. I once asked them about hiring me to play music, but they weren't in need of a musician at the time." He shrugged. "I passed by the place so many times though, I'm sure I could find it in my sleep." He grinned, and motioned back the other way, "Me and Nal lived down that way, and Cali and Ryn lived above their shop on the second level, and we were always running around back and forth to one another's homes. I can't even count the times we passed by the Wayfarer's," He glanced around as they traveled through the first level, and pointed out another tavern, the sort that tended to be more lively in the evenings. "I played there for a couple years, a few nights a week. My grandmother did not know about that.. she would not have approved." He admitted, lowering his voice a bit. "But I was trying to help out..you know?" He wasn't sure if Macardil would know, remembering he'd said that he always had plenty of money growing up.

Arriving at the stables, Trev was glad that the horse seemed to know to stop along with Macardil's horse. But now there was a new uncertainty. Getting off. How? He glanced at the former ranger to see if he might be able to figure it out by watching, but it seemed Macardil had remembered Trevadir's lack of experience, and told him to wait a moment. After his embarrassing first attempt at getting on the horse, Trev merely nodded and stayed right where he was. While only his pride had been injured in that first attempt, he had decided he would likely be better off to just admit that he didn't know how to do something, next time. And this was such a time. While in theory he assumed he could probably just reverse the actions he had taken to get onto the horse, he didn't want to risk another tumble into the dirt on his rear, in the middle of town.

As it turned out, that was a wise decision on his part. Hearing that his legs would be sore after getting off, he could just imagine how things might have turned out if he had decided he could manage. "Yeah, I'd rather not end up rolling in the dirt, again." He acknowledged with a light laugh. Following Macardil's instructions, Trev soon found his feet on the ground again. And found that Macardil was right; his legs were quite sore. He grimaced and held onto a nearby post. "Thanks for the warning," He did quite appreciate the heads-up about the discomfort awaiting him. He was pretty certain he didn't want to do anymore horse riding ever again. "Are you sure this'll go away by the time we get to the inn?"

[Arnyn]

Macardil
First Circle

"You get your bearings," Macardil said as he led the inn's horse into another one of the stalls. He took off the horse's saddle and reins and brushed the horse's coat methodically. Then he moved on to do the same for his own mare. He laughed quietly when Trevadir asked if he was sure the feeling in his legs would go away by the time they reached the Wayfarer's. "I did not claim the feeling would be gone completely," he said. "But the worst of it will be behind you by the time we cross the threshold, yes. Your muscles will still feel it, but similar to when you work any other muscle group hard that is not used to it. Fill up the water basins for the horses, if you will." He gestured over the stall door to where the water was kept. They didn't keep the basins filled for empty stalls, because water was always best poured fresh, instead of being still and exposed to the air in these basins.

While Trevadir made sure that the water and feed was in order, Macardil brushed down Night-Shade. Before they left the stables, Macardil signed a ledger with an older boy who was keeping an eye on the part of the stables they were using. When they returned to the streets of the First Circle, Macardil took a deep breath. "Well," he said. "We have a bit of time before we are to meet the Lieutenant. Half a bell, I think, before we really need to start out for the Wayfarer's." He glanced at Trevadir. "Any stops you want to make here first? Or would you prefer to wait until later, when you have no more engagements to keep you from taking your time? I am sure the Lieutenant will appreciate a timely arrival."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trevadir
1st circle - Stables

Trev laughed softly to himself at a thought that occurred to him as he watched Macardil take the horse into the stable. It was similar to coming off a ship after a lengthy voyage; it would take his legs a minute to readjust to walking on the ground. He took a moment to stretch his legs before walking around a little bit, which took him into the stable. It seemed better to stay out of sight, especially with the funny way he was walking at the moment. Less opportunity to have people laughing at him. At least Macardil was nice enough not to laugh, even back at the inn when Trevadir had awkwardly tried to climb onto the horse, only to have it jolt away from him and dump him on the ground.

The request for him to get water for the horses was met with a nod, and while Trevadir moved a little slowly at first, he had no issues getting the water, and then feed, for the horses. Soon they were taken care of, and he was sort of glad to be done with them.

He glanced at Macardil as the former ranger mentioned they had some time, and asked if he'd like to make any stops before meeting the lieutenant. Trev shook his head after a brief hesitation. "No.. I think just about everything I'd like to do would take too long anyway. And it can wait. " He decided with a thoughtful frown. There were many things he'd like to do, of course. But since there was only half a bell before they were supposed to meet the lieutenant, he figured it would be best to put off everything else. Assuming she didn't find some reason to decide he shouldn't be allowed to stay in the city.. all of that could wait. His stomach felt full of butterflies suddenly, wondering if this lieutenant would do that. After everything he and Macardil had been through in the past two days just to get to this point, only to be told he wasn't welcome to stay.. that might be more than he could bear, so he tried not to think of that possibility.

Finding his throat was dry, he thought of a way they might pass the time until that lieutenant lady arrived. "We probably have time to get a cool drink and maybe freshen up a bit, don't we? It's rather hot out and we've been riding for a while in the sun." He mentioned, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. The hat he was wearing had helped keep the sun off his face, but that didn't stop him from getting hot; in fact the hat's band felt soaked in sweat.

[Ercassie]

Iole Ishen, seeking Sanctuary
with Cali Dringolben - @Rillewen
A house on the 3rd Circle. On the Eve of Erulaitalë

They made for an unusual pair of shadows. What with Cali brandishing a skillet, raised warily in one hand, and a pretty lamp by which to guide them in the other. Iole had let the rolling pin fall low in her own grasp, hovering from her fingers at it's head, along the skirt of her dress, but never quite coming into contact with her leg. Her free hand curled around the corners that they took, setting out to conquer each room of the house in turn. It was hard to leave the comfort of the fire behind them, but curiosity might prove that any other part of the house was equally harmless. That was the goal.

“I thought I would be glad to be home, in my same room, my same house,” the young woman joined her friend in speaking of their current living conditions. It seemed strange that they should have to, they who had once lived in each other’s pockets and known every piece of one another’s lives. “But it feels like I am looking back at a memory that I don’t quite fit into any more. My room is the only thing that’s the same in the whole house now. I sit there, where I should feel at home, on my own bed, with my things around me. And I feel like a trespasser. I don't belong.”


The dining room reared up around them soon enough, a small wooden table with four chairs that didn’t match, all crowding in around it. The walls that were showcased by the light that Cali bore, wore the shapes of paintings; large, framed ones by the shape of the sun-stains that were left in the wake of what had been packed up, and put away. Probably portraits, or the like that the owner had taken with her to her new home. Iole placed her free hand flat upon the table as they walked around it. It was cold to touch, but clean, and she could imagine it teeming with plates, and glad faces spilling their voices over one another in every direction around it, to share their news of the day they had spent apart. Like family. Like friends ..

“Is it the lack of a bed which is keeping you from sleeping ?” she asked, suddenly, though quietly. Lest it be taken in any offence. It was, Iole had found, much easier to ask the hard questions quietly. Then if Cali really did not wish to answer, they could both pretend that the other young woman had simply not heard what was asked. And they would both know, without having to say, the answers that could not quite be spoken. It was funny that her friend was missing all that was familiar, and she was personally haunted by the frozen state of her ever the same same same .. but then, it would never be the same. People were missing ..


It was not a huge house, so soon they were stood in the kitchen. Glancing around with enough intrigue to distract, just enough. The small yard garden that Nal had mentioned, peered in through the window from it’s dark setting outside. Iole fed a wooden knob into the palm of her hand, and idly opened the cupboard, before closing it again. There was nothing alarming inside. There was nothing.

“I bet it would look nice with flowers all out there,” she imagined, of the outside view. And pulled back suddenly as a breeze she could not feel, made neglected bushes billow with a startling urgency beyond the glass. “Better than flowers rotting in vases indoors,” she pondered, pulling idly at a drawer, which opened with a slight squeak. It made her jump. A moment afterwards she laughed. “Maybe mice ..” she joked, and peeked without venturing a hand inside, to inspect the empty space. “Someone to talk to would be nice. Living with newly-weds does make me feel I shall always be lonely.”


It was when she was alone of course, that there was no one to distract from thoughts .. unwanted thoughts. So she had tried. She had sat through awkward conversations at dinner, with the strangers who now slept in her parents’ bed, and went about her father's old business, making it over, making it their own. Living their lives. And she had smiled for all their kind attempts to be friendly, but it was as though she was a ghost left over, another piece of furniture the new lodgers had inherited and were too respectful to replace. At least so far.

“Do you see much of your mother, with the two of you both working ?” Iole asked, as they came to the bottom of the stairs, and together glanced up, wondering if they would dare explore up there. The question aimed to make it less alarming, as though they would casually converse .. so it could not be that there was any cause for them to fear .. up there … in the darkness. Iole dropped the rolling pin, and fumbled to retrieve it from the floor, as though she might wake up the house.

[Rillewen]

@Ercassie

Calithildis Dringolben
A house on the 3rd Circle. On the Eve of Erulaitalë

The first words uttered into the silence startled Cali slightly. She silently hoped that Iole didn't notice her jump, but the leap of her heart was greater still, and took longer to calm. The silence thus shattered, she listened with a quiet glance toward her friend, and a nod of understanding. Cali thought about her own homecoming, months ago. She had not intended to ever enter the White City, when she and Ivornith and the children first set out from Dol Amroth. Yet, it had happened. And she had not even seen her former home, since. Even after all these months, Cali resisted the inner desire to go and look upon the forge, and the shop, where she had grown up. While the desire was strong, the dread of having her childhood memories shattered by the sight of a stranger working in her father's place.. that was stronger. She felt that it might be an experience she wouldn't be able to endure.

Thoughtful, they entered the dining room. Cali lifted the lamp higher, so that they might both get a better view of the room. Her mind was already returning to the idea Iole had given her a moment ago. Pretend that they were thinking of moving in. The empty places on the walls, where once hung paintings or other decorative items, looked sad and forlorn in the gloomy light of the only lantern, and yet Cali tried her best to imagine how this room might look, if they added a few of their own personal touches. She and Iole, perhaps with the guys coming over to pester them and bum a meal. She smiled faintly in amusement at the thought, but that quickly faded. Trevadir wouldn't come. She held back a sigh.

Iole's question startled her yet again. "Hm?" She glanced at Iole, blinking a couple of times as she hesitated. Her first reaction was to assure her that everything was fine, and that Cali was perfectly fine. But, she remembered before she said anything just who she was talking to. Iole knew her as well as Cali knew Iole. Though they did not share parents, they two were sisters of a different sort, and so they were, at least at one time, closer than many actual sisters might be. Cali's pause stretched on a moment longer. "I'm not sure." She answered at last. "It certainly doesn't help matters." She added softly. It had taken her a long time of healing from the first wound, before she was able to sleep as a normal person. And now... there was a fresh wound she did not wish to acknowledge. One not of the physical kind. Just when she had herself convinced that she need not have any more concerns.. this happened. A silent sigh slipped from her lips, but she tried to focus her attention toward learning her surroundings.

The kitchen, she had already seen, briefly enough to have located the skillet anyway. She glanced around with a faint smile, trying to put the unpleasant thoughts behind her. "Yes, daisies and violets, and..." She trailed off as Iole retreated swiftly into the house. She was about to ask what was wrong, but hesitated. They were both rather on edge, jumping at the slightest noise. She didn't ask. Instead, she conjured up a smile at the joke about mice. "We could get a cat," She suggested with a little laugh. "Rissy has plenty, I'm sure she could spare one." She smiled. Thinking of her sweet little niece, and her beloved kitties that lived in the barn, Cali felt a little guilty for having left the struggling family.. her brother's family.. and choosing to remain here. But they were doing better now than before the war. And she was sending them most of her earnings, so that was surely helping quite a bit.

Iole's following words left a small frown on Cali's face. Lonely? She hadn't quite realized that Iole would feel that way, living with others. But, hearing what she said now about her housemates, it made sense. She must feel tremendously awkward. And Iole had always been rather shy and had trouble fitting in. Before Cali had formed any sort of reply to that, however, her friend had moved onto asking Cali about her own 'roommate'. "Um..no. Not very much." She replied, hesitating slightly. She opened her mouth to say more, when a startling 'thud' made her jump. Rapidly raising the skillet in alarm, it took a second for her to realize that it was only the rolling pin. She exhaled slowly, then made an effort to resume as if nothing had happened. "I wouldn't likely see hardly anyone at all, except that Nal has been.. assigned.. to help me for the last few weeks." She explained thoughtfully. "I'm not sure whether he really was, or not, but.." She sighed softly. "I don't know." She gave a vague smile. "It has been sort of nice, but.. don't tell him I said so." She admitted. Though he was frustratingly childish at times, she couldn't deny it had even begun to feel almost like old times, and she had enjoyed the company. She glanced at Iole who hesitated at the foot of the stairs, then boldly took the first step. Lantern raised as if to banish the shadows, skillet gripped tightly in the other hand, Cali braved the ascent ahead of Iole.

She stopped at the top of the steps, peering down an empty hallway with a few closed doors placed along the length of it. The walls were barren where once might have hung pictures. She came very close to telling Iole that she could always stop by to say hello when she got lonely, but then remembered that she would most likely not be allowed in the ranger armory without some proper reason to be there. And then she recalled that Iole also had a job, in some shop in the marketplace. A soft laugh burst out, suddenly, as a thought struck her. "Do you realize," She turned a smile toward her friend, "that we've swapped places almost?" She assumed that would probably leave Iole a bit confused, so she explained. "As children, I lived on the second level, and you on the sixth. And now.. well we both live on the sixth now, but I work on the sixth and you work on the second. Isn't that sort of ironic?"

[Karis Ziranphel]

Men Thalad Cirbann

Thûllir Bregedyr
With Kaylin and Arnyn @Arnyn

Thûllir raised his eyebrows in surprise when Arnyn revealed that the discussions she was having with Kaylin no longer needed to be private. He was curious as to what had changed, although it sounded like it wasn’t only her decision. He took a thoughtful sip of his coffee as he reflected on that, but then she asked him a question as she took a seat at the table, and his gaze sharpened.

He paused and took another sip as he collected his thoughts before responding. There had been some changes over the past few months, but in reality he didn’t have all that much more to go on than at the beginning of this secrecy that had so upset Kaylin. She asked him how he made his suppositions as well, which was less comfortable to share than a straight report of what he knew for a fact. His dark blue-grey eyes examined her expression and shifted to Kaylin’s for a moment, before he set down his mug and looked back at Arnyn. “Something happened…or was shared, back in the twentieth of Nárië, at the meeting following your promotion, that hurt and angered Kaylin. She wouldn’t tell me details, and I surmised she couldn’t, but from what she did share, it was in regards to a perceived lack of trust by Pele in not sharing about two dangerous individuals. One was known and one more dangerous was not, but both were to be watched for and sought for apprehension, but quite possibly also deserving punishment and execution.” He was putting it mildly in regards to Kaylin’s emotions in that regard, but he knew Arnyn had seen those for herself. “When Kaylin gave me beans to counteract a specific poison, I understood a bit better some of the dangers that were a concern, but not much.”

His gaze was steady as he continued after brushing his hand over his beard. “I surmised from some of what Kaylin said, that the one she knew and had encountered previously might be Shamara, as she had mentioned encountering and helping imprison her last year, but I was not certain of that. Midsummer’s Eve, we detained Shamara, and the guards another, but I only participated in escorting Shamara. There seemed to be less concern about the other, although not even days later I heard about someone somewhat matching the description of one seen at Midsummer needing treatment at the Houses of Healing. Two were detained, but the second was not more well-guarded or deemed more dangerous than Shamara, and vigilance has not decreased. You have not stopped meeting to confer in private. Thus, it is my supposition that the second individual that was originally being watched for, is not, as yet, in custody.” He drew in a breath, but continued before confirmation could be voiced. “Since we deal with Shamara, and because of who was involved in the initial meeting, as well as the reactions of anger and worry, my final supposition is that this individual has to do with Pele’s experiences in Umbar and possibly having connections to the trafficking of humans to those regions. That is the only reason that I can think of so much current fear for her safety, as evidenced by guards.” He curled his hands around the mug. “That summarizes my conclusions, Lieutenant.” More he could possibly guess, but it would be stretching more than he was comfortable mentioning without further proof.

[Arnyn]

@Karis Ziranphel

|
Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr | Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Men Thalad Cirbann

As Thûllir spoke, Arnyn's dark eyes flicked from him to Kaylin and back a few times. Hurt and angered Kaylin? And apparently the Hyandaner had spoken of more to Thûllir than she really should have. Two dangerous individuals... Quite possibly deserving execution... The Lieutenant meticulously kept a frown from her face as she listened.

Kaylin kept herself from shifting in her seat, keeping her gaze on her husband and, intermittently, the table. She wasn't oblivious to the fact she had overshared with Thûllir in the heat of the moment. Yet she had not revisited the subject after, which she thought was admirable enough.

The Lieutenant nodded at the mention of the beans. It made perfect sense for Kaylin to give them to Thûllir, and it also made sense she did not concoct some silly and obviously fake story to shape into a lie. Still it was clear that if she'd had a mind to, Kaylin could have done more to hide what was going on from Thûllir. Arnyn also didn't fail to note the casual way the woman was evading her looks. However, she decided to focus on the task at hand but rather on Thûllir's conclusions, based on what he had seen... and heard, apparently. His conclusions did not surprise her, but they did satisfy her. During the mission to the Poros she had found him a logical man with a keen mind, and his exposition this day did not change this impression.

Arnyn nodded when he made it clear he was done. "Very good. And what would you ask of me now, to fill in the blanks for you?" Her words confirmed his suppositions, but surely he would not be content with that alone, and indeed she would tell him more herself. That was the reason she was here. Still, she could not resist finding out more about each ranger when the opportunity presented itself.

Kaylin was looking at Thûllir with an unreadable expression. After her discomfort with what he had openly told he'd learned from her, she was now... impressed. Though she knew very well how smart her husband was, it was still surprising from time to time how well he could keep things to himself. He had never broached the subject with her again after the initial homecoming after the meeting at Nárië 20th. When she had given him the beans, he had nodded and asked no questions. He had kept them on his person, just like she'd asked, without so much as a raised eyebrow to try and draw out anything more. When she had been meeting with Arnyn, he made himself scarce when he was home without ever commenting on it. He had never referred to Pele's guards - anymore. Mentally, she sighed. Outwardly, she sipped her coffee. She kept her peace, finally chancing a glance at the Lieutenant when the latter spoke and asked of Thûllir what questions he would now ask her. Dimly, she wondered whether she'd be in trouble, later.

[Karis Ziranphel]

Men Thalad Cirbann

Ranger Thûllir Bregedyr
With Kaylin and @Arnyn

He wasn’t sure what the Lieutenant thought of his report from the look she was giving him, as well as the glances she kept casting at Kaylin. She had asked for his suppositions, and he had been able to suppose much more than was openly stated, given his background in information gathering. It was not entirely surprising that she nodded confirmation of his conclusions, but he had almost expected more pushback given the clandestine nature of their meetings thus far, despite the need to find someone. In his opinion it usually helped for more people to have an idea of at least basics of what to look for rather than just vaguely being alert. Clarity of purpose helped guards and scouts alike to stay alert.

Thûllir found it more interesting that she then went on to ask what he wanted to know. He tilted his head as he took a second to collect his thoughts, but his gaze remained level. Thûllir’s voice was low and clear once he spoke. “Who is it that you are looking for and guarding against? If you are telling me now, I think you either have an idea of how to find them, or are enlisting more help because you don’t.” The hint of an ironic smile flashed briefly before all appearance of humor vanished once more. “I would also like to know how the others are involved, but that is more curiosity than necessity, so if I am not allowed to know that I’ll understand.” He had some vague awareness of activities related to Umbar, but his contacts were less actively maintained than they had been in the past, and he had not tried to piece together why the selected individuals had been in the room other than they were people Pele obviously trusted. Depending on the reply, he might have his answer as well as to why the need for such secrecy as to not utilize his skills and so test the restraint of Kaylin.

[Arnyn]

@Karis Ziranphel

|
Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr | Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Men Thalad Cirbann

Arnyn met his level gaze with a similar one of her own. Calm and steady her dark brown eyes met Thûllir's as he posed his question.
"An Umbarian sorceress who goes by the name of Relic and is responsible for much of Pele's physical, mental and emotional scars," the Lieutenant spoke directly.

Next to Thûllir, Kaylin's eyes widened minutely with surprise at Arnyn's incredibly direct approach. Her hands tightened around her coffee cup.

With only enough time to draw a quick breath to serve as a pause, Arnyn continued. "She has made it known she is in the city and targeting Pele once again. She has been known to use deadly nightshade - so Kaylin procured the beans for us. She is also suspected to be able to change her appearance. Not in the way you or Kaylin might - more profoundly. Changing her height, weight, face shape - everything. Whatever else she can do, is one big question mark."

The Lieutenant leaned back in her chair, still keeping her eyes on Thûllir. She had not forgotten what Ziran had told her about the couple whose house she was sitting in. They had, the both of them, received specialized training as secret operatives. And Thûllir had, she remembered, taken a few lives in that capacity. Perhaps he would not be as taken aback by this as Arnyn herself had been, and had mostly hidden, in that first, very eventful meeting.

"Pele has suspected one of the recruits, Amber, to be Relic 'in disguise'. She has suspected this since Amber arrived. And later, since Nárië 20, Kaylin and I have been keeping an eye on her when and where we may. It does not cover all of her movements, of course. In the meantime, Pele's suspicion has only grown."
"Yet it was difficult for me to accept. All shadow of a doubt has now been removed from my mind, however. Pele claims she is a red-haired woman with crystal eyes, and we know she assumed the form of Trastion Leithor at headquarters, at midsummer. And it was not Trastion whom Kaylin sent away."

"It was him," Kaylin added, quietly. "By all appearances. It was the young man I saw briefly at that meeting. Yesterday, I was reminded of how uncanny the resemblance was. It's exact, Thûllir. The term 'sorceress' is not used as a luxury."

"I suggest we talk about yesterday another time," Arnyn said pointedly.

Kaylin cleared her throat. "Well, yes. It was only a reference, Lieutenant."

Arnyn nodded. Her gaze returned to Thûllir. Before considering the other things he wanted to know, she wanted his reponse to what she had shared thus far.

[Karis Ziranphel]

Men Thalad Cirbann

Ranger Thûllir Bregedyr
With Kaylin and @Arnyn

A shape-shifting sorceress of deadly power, who had dealt physical and emotional wounds to Pele and was still a threat…and they had a confirmed suspect. Thûllir’s mentally summarized what Arnyn had conveyed as his eyes narrowed in thought. It seemed incredible, unbelievable even, and yet he had seen many things already in his life that he would have once deemed impossible. It made much more sense of Kaylin’s vehemence that this person was a threat who unequivocally deserved death. He shot her a brief glance of understanding, even though he didn’t know quite what she was referring to regarding the day before other than guessing she had spent more time with this young Trastion. Relic appeared a dangerous threat that would still be difficult to apprehend, especially with the ability to bear uncanny resemblances to people well-known.

He nodded slowly to indicate that he had heard what she said, as it appeared that Lieutenant Arnyn was looking for some response from him besides his watchful thoughtfulness. He did note that she hadn’t exactly answered his second question. “Dangerous indeed. So we have to rely on how well we know one another’s actions and words rather than what we see with our eyes. Made more difficult by how little the unit still knows of one another.” His statement was flat observation. “I assume there was a desire to not tip off this person, but…did the guards at least know what they were looking for while guarding the Captain?” He waved his hand after that question. It mattered little to their present conversation, even if he hoped they at least had warning. “What comes next?”

[Isolde Alarion]

Nelladel Alarion
Nells Bakery
Last Week of July - Morning
@Pele Alarion

The morning had started much like any other morning, stoke the fires, mix the dough and bake the bread. Between her and Andarion they were off to a good start, ahead really. She felt good about the day, maybe they would even make some time for a cup of tea and a danish.

Andarion got the shop ready as she tended the bread and worked in the back of the shop. She knew they would be opening soon and already she had a few people waiting at the door to be the first ones to pick from the fresh loaves.
She stepped out from the back of the bakery, through the curtain that separated the two spaces, wiping her hands in a clean clothe. “Are you ready?” She asked her young partner. “ They’ll be breaking down that door if we try to make them wait any longer.” Was his answer. She smiled and chuckled lightly at his answer before waving him to open the door.

Things got busy, the morning rush had them both running back and forth between the front of the store and the back to tend to the ovens and more loaves baking. She paused a moment to wipe the back of her hand across her forehead and catch her breath. It was then she noticed people outside were stopping and looking at something. Her dark brow furrowed in curiosity as she stepped toward the door and stepped out to join them and see what had their attention this morning.

What met her eyes made them widen and had her transfixed. Black smoke bellowed in the distance. She then over heard someone say fire and then barracks. Her hand come up to cover her mouth in surprise. Of course her first thought was about her son Mourgan but there was also Pele and a few of the other Rangers she knew that stayed there.

By then Andarion had come to stand beside her, curious as to what was happening. “The barracks.” It came out more of a statement than an answer. He could see the worry in her green eyes. “I’m sure Mourgans fine, if anything he’s probably trying to help put it out. “ His words were meant to comfort her but despite a slow nod it didn’t seem to worry her less.

They were then approached by someone with a note. “From Master Healer Pele.” Nell looked down from the scene to meet his gaze. She wasn’t sure what she heard for a moment and looked at the note but didn’t take it immediately. A chill ran down her back looking at it. First she was relieved to know Pele was still well enough to send her a note but why would she send her a note? She had to be busy with all that was happening.

Her fingers lightly took the parchment. “Thank you.” She looked down to the note in her hand and started to unfold it. Her green eyes scanned the familiar writing. “I need to go.” She spoke while she once more scanned the note. “It’s Mourgan, he’s hurt.”

Andarion nodded. “Of course, go.” She gave his arm a small squeeze in silent thanks, as she looked up at him. Thankful she could always count on him. She looked back at the man that had brought the note. She could tell he wanted to get back. “Please go, I know my way.” She waved him away. “I’m sure they need you more than I do.” With a polite nod he turned and hurried back, melting into crowd.

She turned and quickly headed back to the shop while her fingers worked the knot in her apron. Andarion followed close behind. “I’ll send word when I know more.” She told him as she went behind the curtain to remove the apron, pulling it over her head and quickly putting it in its regular resting place. Her steps hurried she came back from the back room meanwhile shoving the note in her dress pocket. Andarion stopped her on her way to the door long enough to give her an encouraging look. His own dark eyes showing concern. She gave him a small worried smile. “It’ll be alright.” She lightly pat the arm that held hers.

With that she turned and continued out the door and turned to make her way through the crowd and toward the billowing smoke, although now it was more white and gray but the change of color didn’t still the worry in her heart.

[Arnyn]

@Karis Ziranphel

|
Hyandaner Kaylin Maethyr | Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
Men Thalad Cirbann

"They do," Arnyn confirmed non-committally, when Thûllir asked about the guards. "The Captain first involved those who'd already had some sort of dealings with either of the individuals. Such as Kaylin and Isys with Shamara," the Lieutenant offered one such example. "Or prior knowledge of Pele's... stay.. in Umbar and its ramifications." That was just about all she was willing to say on the matter of Thûllir's earlier question, and though she did not shy away from giving this reply, she would also not shy away from a refusal to go into any more detail, should the ranger in front of her ask anything more on the matter. Arnyn did not mention that she had suggested to involve Mourgan because he was Pele's nephew and Arnyn had felt it would have been bad if he'd found out later. Pele had agreed to her suggestion, after all. It had been the Captain's decision. That was all that mattered.

As to what came next... "The Captain has grown tired of waiting for Relic to make a move, and she wishes to draw her out somehow. Karis shared some of your training history with us." The Lieutenant's eyes flicked from Thûllir to Kaylin, then back. "Both of your histories. If would be remiss to ignore such a skillset. Do you think you could be of any help in this matter?"

Kaylin straightened slightly. "Draw her out, and then?" she asked, more quietly than she usually would. "What would be our move then? Trying to lock a sorceress into a cell seems the equivalent of trying to capture a thunderstorm into a cardboard box," she remarked drily, her gaze drifting to Thûllir to see what his input would be in that regard.

---

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion Leithor

They'd left the Wayfarers and had gone down to the First Circle. Kaylin was regailing Trastion with the ending of the story about the food fight in the barracks. About, how after she had taken the blame for the foodfight, the barracks master had simply loaded one punishment atop the other. Yet the mess had been clean when he had come to inspect it, and the then Captain, Karis, had happened upon the scene as well. She had overturned his punishments of no meals and docking anyone's pay, and had instead given them a war games assignment. And Lieutenant Brian... well, he'd been forced to lead one of the teams. Kaylin's eyes sparkled as she told the story, trying to make it as real as possible for Trastion.

"I swear," she said, opening the door to a pub that, while its entrance was strangely located in a back alley, was still full of customers, "he was huffing and puffing all the way through. Yet I had to hand it to him, he completed the task appointed to him without complaint." The establishment looked a bit run down, and perhaps it could have been a bit cleaner. But that didn't seem to have much to do with the upkeep by the owners. It was rather clear that the patrons did not feel the mental burden of keeping the place... um... tidy.

Kaylin gently slapped Trastion on the back. "Follow my lead," she encouraged him. "Your stiffest drink for me!" she called out to the bar as she approached it. Then she pointed at Trastion, rolling her eyes. "And some chocolate milk or something for the pup."

The woman behind the bar eyed Kaylin carefully for a split second, then grinned and prepared her order. She put a glass of milk on the counter and poured Kaylin a drink from a labelled bottle. "No chocolate here," she said gruffly. "The pup'll have to do without any sweetener."

"Ehh, milk is sweet enough as is," Kaylin shrugged. "I prefer something a bit more bitter, you know?" She took one of two side-by-side open seats at the bar, leisurely resting one butt cheek on the stool, as if she had not yet decided whether to stay for long.

"Hmm. See if this is your sort of deal, then." The bartender put the glass on the counter, making brief eye contact with Kaylin as she did so.

Kaylin returned the look steadily, almost challengingly. And then threw back the glass without so much as sniffing it or tasting it first. She stretched her neck when she put it back down. Then she shrugged and looked a bit disappointed as she focused on the barkeep. Her voice lowered. "Come on... Is this really the strongest you have?" She gestured at Trastion and his glass of milk, no longer lowering her voice and even laughing as she spoke. "Might as well give me that, then! Makes no difference!"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

After exiting from the Wayfarer's inn, Trastion was surprised to learn that there was actually more to that story. He had thought it was ended, or he would not have interrupted it to ask Kaylin to help him with his quest. Definitely not. It was absolutely worth hearing the rest of it, and he was laughing pretty hard by the end of it, imagining the barrack's master having to lead a team, huffing and puffing and all that. "That.. wow," he said, laughing as he walked with her. "I wish I could've seen that, it sounds incredible to behold." He grinned in amusement, though his laughter faded away as they entered some sort of drinking establishment tucked away in a some back alley, without even a sign to declare its existence. He was fairly sure he wouldn't have found it on his own, and wondered how they had any business at all. Yet, they seemed to do just fine, regardless.

Taking a quiet glance around, Trastion gave a slight nod in reply to Kaylin's words to follow her lead. Although, actually, he wasn't entirely sure what she expected him to do. There were a few shady-looking folks lounging around in the place, and a few were a bit intimidating looking. But he wasn't terribly worried by the other patrons. They had no business with them. Without letting his gaze rest over long on anyone in particular, he took in his surroundings curiously, and promptly decided he did not like the place at all. He was fairly sure he would not want to come back here after this. Ever.

Being called a 'pup' was new, and slightly jarring, and Trastion blinked as he returned his attention to Kaylin. He briefly glanced at her with mild puzzlement which he swiftly tried to hide, then he had to fight not to laugh as she requested milk for him. Milk, really? So he was like a little kid or something.. a pup. Right. Well, he'd been told by folks before that he could at times pass for being younger than nineteen, at least, so that might be to his favor, here. Absently sliding a hand through his hair out of nervousness, he left it a bit more messed up than before, though he didn't notice. It was completely unintentional, but this did actually serve to make him appear a little more tousled, and therefore, slightly more youthful.

Following the ranger toward the bar stools, Trastion silently glanced around again as he took the other empty one and leisurely rested one heel on the lower spokes of the stool. While Kaylin was accepting her drink, and seemed to be almost challenging the bartender in a staring contest, Trastion eyed his glass of milk with slight wariness, although he tried not to be obvious about it. He picked up the glass and subtly sniffed, checking whether there was any smell of alcohol on the glass (was it clean, he wondered?), then got distracted as he heard Kaylin laugh and declare that her..whatever she'd been given.. was the same as milk. Raising an eyebrow slightly, he smirked a little bit in amusement. "Yeah, she likes her drinks really strong," He informed the woman behind the counter in an attempt to be helpful. He had a suspicion that this was Kaylin trying to get information about the other stuff, and hoped that her plan would work.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

The barkeep gave Kaylin an appraising look at her words and Trastion's added comment. The woman's eyes flicked over to him. "You don't say." The woman's eyes went back to Kaylin. "Who told you about this place? You're not a regular."

Kaylin almost seemed offended. "Does it matter whether I'm a regular? I may not come here often, but I have drinking buddies. They told me about this place."

The woman behind the bar seemed unimpressed. "Names," she demanded.

Giving Trastion a look that basically said she was over this, Kaylin took out her purse - which looked quite full - slapped some coin on the table and slid back off her seat. "Whatever. You probably don't have anything worth my while here, anyway." She gestured for Trastion to follow her. "Come on. This was a waste of my time. I should prolly get you home anyways."

Her eyes on Kaylin's purse, the barkeeper's eyes got a little... greedy. She seemed in doubt. Kaylin and Trastion had only taken a few steps away from the bar when she called them back. "No, wait," the woman called out, trying to sound commanding rather than pleading.

Looking back over her shoulder, Kaylin gave a disinterested frown. "What?" She sounded slightly annoyed, as if the woman wasn't giving her exactly what she wanted.

"Maybe... I have something you can try," the woman said, beckoning Kaylin back toward her. She poured something else, from a non-descript bottle this time. While maintaining eye contact with Kaylin, she slid it toward her.

Kaylin sighed. She obviously didn't seem to hold much faith that this would be much better than the first drink she'd gotten. When she lifted the glass, the barkeep raised a hand. "You don't wanna throw that back like you did the other, lass."

The redhead rolled her eyes and made a show of sipping the glass, instead. She didn't even have to taste it, though. The smell was so similar to what had been in Mourgan's flask - if this wasn't it, it was damn close to it. Close enough so Mourgan would appreciate having his stash replaced with it. Kaylin took a sip. The liquid burned down her throat. It was pleasant, in a way. But... wow. She was used to the stiffest drinks in places like the Old Guesthouse and the Wayfarers, but this.... this was of a different caliber. Her eyes stayed with the woman behind the bar. She'd have to put up a good show now.

"Alright then. Now we're getting somewhere." Against the woman's advice, and against her own better judgment, Kaylin threw back the rest of the glass anyway. Then she wiped her nose with the back of her hand and looked at Trastion. "Don't be getting any ideas," she drawled. "You're way too young for this."
The barkeeper laughed and refilled Kaylin's glass.
Meanwhile, Kaylin felt like her throat was on fire, and her head was getting heavy. She'd been drinking before, with only a small break earlier. And while she could hold her liquor, a lot of it still got her places. Her earlier buzz had returned, and then some. The first drink had brought the buzz back. This one... this one would probably hit her in a few minutes. She had to keep her head about her, she knew.

Well... at least looking drunk wouldn't be a problem. If anything, it would probably help them in purchasing some of the stuff. After all, they didn't need much. Just enough to fill Mourgan's flask. Maybe there was no need to get to the source. If Kaylin could get enough from the barkeep to fill the flask, they were done!

Ha!

This was going to be a piece of cake!

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Setting the glass of untouched milk down (somewhat gladly) Trastion scoffed lightly at the mention of 'getting him home', but he left the stool he had claimed and started following Kaylin, with a little eyeroll as he tried to play along. He wasn't sure what she had in mind, but she'd said to follow her lead, and so he figured she had a plan. Hopefully. And then, sure enough, the bartender called out to them to wait. As Kaylin turned, he also turned, and folded his arms trying to mimic the same annoyed 'what?' sort of attitude that Kaylin was giving the woman.

Instead of returning to his seat, Trastion leaned an arm on the bar counter, watching the woman pour something into a small glass for Kaylin. And then warned her not to gulp it all down in one sip. He couldn't help a slight eyebrow raise at that. Was that the stuff then? He couldn't distinguish many scents in this place, among so many others.. but he was sure he'd recognize that smell if he did get a whiff of it. After waking up covered in it, he felt fairly sure that particular scent was burned into his nostrils permanently.

Kaylin's comment about not getting any ideas was a bit amusing, considering he knew she had to remember he'd said he wouldn't touch the stuff for anything. But she was playing a part, and so would he. He rolled his eyes again. "What are you, my mother?" He answered in a slightly sarcastic tone, and shook his head. "Big sisters.. hmph." He scoffed. The comment was muttered in a low voice as he fought the urge to grin teasingly at the hyandaner. He managed to keep a sulking sort of look about his features instead, and hoped she wouldn't mind the comment implying that he was her little brother.. but he figured it would make sense to those around them. "Didn't even want to come, but someone's gotta make sure you get home alright after all your drinking." He grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for the barkeeper to overhear and, hopefully, explain why he was tagging along after the redhead when he was not drinking, himself.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

Kaylin laughed heartily at Trastion's comment. "Make sure I get home alright," she repeated, mimicking his voice, raising her hands in the air and moving from side to side. "I always get home alright," she claimed to the barkeeper, with the kind of unconvincing self-confidence the inebriated tend to display. She sipped her refill and gave it an appreciative look. "It takes a bit to get me going, nowadays," she told the barkeep slowly, given Trastion a quick glance, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to admit as much in front of him. "I've been drinking most of the afternoon, but this is..."

The woman behind the bar nodded. "Yah, I know. This is next level stuff. The alcohol content is higher than anything else we serve. And it isn't served much. It takes a..." She hesitated. "A specific kind of people."

Kaylin looked a bit unhappy with that, but her nod was a sign of resignation. "Yeah." Some regret. "I know." She looked at Trastion. "I shouldn't have brought you here... don't want you to follow in my footsteps." She glanced back at the barkeep. "Any chance I could... get some to go? That way I can take him home and still..." she shrugged.

The woman gave her a look that spoke of some sympathy, but was still mostly business. "Sorry." She pointed out a guy at the end of the bar, who was eying Kaylin carefully, and then another by the door. "Like I said... this is next level stuff. They make sure it stays here. You are welcome to have it. Here. Not take it out."

Frowning, Kaylin leaned forward. "Why?"

"The seller is peculiar about that. I have her leave to sell it here. To be consumed here. Anyone looking to buy it to take home, needs to go to her."

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "So she can drive up the price," she stated sceptically.

"Probably." The barker shrugged. "It's her product."

Kaylin scowled and looked at the two men.

"I wouldn't think of it, lass. They're big guys. You wouldn't stand a chance."

Another voice came from behind them. "Hell, she would."

Kaylin's eyes widened minutely. Crap. One hundred times crap.. She knew it had been a risk, of course. A lot of people knew her. But upon entering, no one she'd seen had looked familiar. "Unlikely," she drawled, lazily turning around to see one of the soldiers she used to serve with. She tried to signal the guy not to elaborate.

"Look," the barkeeper said, clearly unhappy with the turn of events and getting a little suspicious of what this redhead might or might not try. "I don't want to get in trouble with the seller. We have a good thing going and I'm not about to let a drunk mess that up," she said sharply.

The former soldier seemed to have missed Kaylin's hint. "Look here, woman," he told the barkeep, annoyed. "If K here wants to take some of that swill home, she'll be taking it home." He punched a fist down on the bar next to the Hyandaner.

Kaylin raised her hands. "Hey hey, Rall, relax. I'm sure the lady and I can come to an understanding." But she knew the matter was lost when she turned to the barkeeper again and saw the expression on her face. "Or you could give me the seller's address or whatever. I'd be a good customer," she added, making sure to add a little desperation into her voice. She didn't like that Rallick would pick up on it, but she could hopefully explain later.

Crossing her arms, the barkeeper looked displeased. "I don't think so," she said through pursed lips. She signalled the guys. Two more, whom had been part of the crowd until now, took their places at the bar and the door while the original 'watchers' approached them.

Kaylin swore under her breath. Not that Trastion or Rallick wouldn't be able to catch the obvious tone. She grabbed Rallick's arm. "Outside," she told him, suddenly no longer sounding desperate or all that drunk. Never mind that she felt as if she were standing on a ship in the middle of a rowdy sea. "Let them take us outside," she repeated to the man, more quietly now - and only he would have heard. She turned quickly to Trastion. "Flask," she demanded, holding out her hand. If they were going to get kicked out anyway, and this woman here wasn't going to give them the seller's information, she might as well make it worth their while. When Trastion quickly handed it to her, she poured her drink from the small glass into the flask. It was nowhere near full. But it was a small start, anyway. She closed it just when someone grabbed her by the upper arm and unceremoniously started dragging her to the door.

Not putting up a fight, she let it happen. The other guy grabbed Rallick. Kaylin grinned as she called out to Trastion. "Come on, lil bro!" she laughed. "Looks like we're leaving!"

[Rillewen]

(solo post)

Aderic Androllius
Ric's apartment, on one of the levels
(roughly a week after Midsummer)

‘Be careful what you wish for.’
He’d heard this said all his life. And yet, the wisdom of the proverb had never quite hit home so hard as it did this week. Ric was still reeling from it all. For a few years now he had been determinedly searching for some sort of evidence… some solid proof that Mar was behind any sort of criminal activities. He had scoured files and records, searching for something, anything that might tie his twin into something that would hold up in a trial, but he’d been utterly unsuccessful so far. He needed to have absolute, rock-hard proof before he brought Mar in to stand trial for anything. But anytime he did find anything, it was circumstantial at best, or quite a leap that could be easily be a drastic reach on the part of the investigator. Things that, unless one had reason to believe it was the truth, they would think it absurd. He knew that Mar could easily explain away the slightest hint of his involvement in anything Ric might dig up.

Until this week. This week… when the rug was suddenly yanked out from under Ric. Again, and again… and then yet again. Cali’s testimony had looked bad enough on Ric. Iole’s hadn’t helped. But Unalmis had been the worst. And then, if that wasn’t bad enough, that Umbarian had thrown him to the wolves to save his own skin. And Ric didn’t even know him! Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ric was aware that that was an indication. The man did know Mar. He knew about things that Mar was involved with. And that was something, but how could Ric possibly convince anyone of it? The Umbarian had named Ric as the man behind it all, not Mar. And just when he thought it couldn't possibly get any worse, another figurative rug was yanked. One he hadn't even known he was standing on.

There was a sick feeling in his stomach as Ric left the guard headquarters. Possibly for the last time. He wasn’t sure. He felt half-dazed after a devastating conversation in the captain's office, and he didn’t even quite know where he was going. Having left his lieutenant badge lying on the desk which had been his, Ric's feet moved without his consciousness guiding them, and before long he found himself at the door to his apartment. He fumbled with the key, and let himself in, then stood still for a moment in the middle of the room. His gaze landed on the closed door of the abandoned bedroom. Reilly’s room. Ric’s heart sank lower. He took a deep breath and opened it, quietly entering his friend’s former room. Reilly had packed up the most important things of his when he was told he was being transferred to another location, but it was only supposed to be temporary, so he had left most of his stuff here. Ric closed the door behind him, then leaned against it, staring ahead of him. He dusted the room periodically, but it still felt abandoned and forlorn without the cheery, outgoing young man who had befriended Ric when no one else would. The only one who had ever done so.

Ric bowed his head in silent remorse for his lost friend. Though their friendship hadn’t lasted but a couple of years, for a long time, Ric had clung to a tiny sliver of hope that the missing soldier would one day return. In that hope, he had kept his roommate’s room preserved for all this time, even after he learned that it could never be so. After that, it was a way to remember him. But now, he must leave. Then he frowned, unsure how long he might have to be gone. What if it took too long, and the rent was not paid, and he lost the apartment? The thought troubled him. Ric closed his eyes, trying to summon up memories of the fun times they’d enjoyed together. Trying to find some sort of solace for the miserable anguish that was raging through his heart at the moment.

For his entire childhood, Ric had believed that his brother was the only one who cared about him. The only one who understood. The only one he could trust. That delusion had been utterly shattered beyond repair by now. Ric had become aware a few years ago that Mar had a dark side, and suspected that he had done things which Ric could not condone. That suspicion had grown to near certainty as time went on, and yet.. there had been no proof. Now, though... now there was no disputing the evidence. The testimonies. The truth. Unfortunately, all of that evidence against Mar was pointing directly at Ric, instead. Just as it did in their childhood. He remembered so many times that this or that classmate would accuse Ric of saying something cruel, or tormenting them, even of physically attacking them, and he would ask Mar about it, wondering if his brother could have done these terrible deeds. But Mar always insisted that it was a lie, that they persecuted him just as they did Ric, and that it was all made up by their peers for reasons he couldn’t understand. Ric wasn’t such a gullible little boy anymore. He knew better than to believe what his brother swore was the truth. Mar was responsible for all of this. And now Ric might be paying the price for his deeds.

It was a jarring thing to realize. To think of how hard Ric had worked to try and repair the damage to his reputation in this city, only to have this happen. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather his senses. This was bad. Very bad. And thanks to his rotten brother, no one would ever believe that he really had a brother. The man was even going by a false name these days, so there was no connection between them! Ric’s hands clenched into fists, his jaw tightening as he fought to suppress the feelings of anger, hurt, betrayal. He was no longer a child, to run off and cry when he was upset. Tears would not help this issue. Action was needed. Action, but what action? What could he do? He had taken a vow when he joined the Tower Watch, and he had meant every word of that vow.

There was nothing Ric could do here in the city, just waiting around in case Mar returned to try anything else. And, it struck him suddenly that the other guards, and the rangers.. they were going to take action too. Actions against him. Ric. Not Mar. The sick feeling grew stronger. How could he do anything to prove the true criminal, if he was stuck in the dungeon? And so, the action he must take suddenly became clear to him. Sea-green eyes opened, filled with a new determination. He exited Reilly’s old room and went to his own bedroom instead. He must find Mar, and bring him back here. Prove to the city, once and for all, that his twin did exist, and then… from there he wasn’t sure. But he would figure it out as he went.

Suddenly fearing that the longer he waited, the slimmer his chances became, Ric hastily packed with what few things he owned which he would not, and could not, leave behind. He filled a canteen with water. He did not have a large amount of food kept in the apartment, though he did have a few grocery items he'd bought from Ms Liriel’s store. He packed what he could, then paused and then tried to think if he had missed anything.

Sorrela. The thought of the young guard in training made him stop in his tracks. If it was possible, his heart sank another inch or so further down into his stomach. There had been a brief time when he thought, maybe, just maybe, there was a chance of a friendship there. Any chance of that must be smashed to dust, now, of course. He ought to have known it wouldn't be possible. But he didn’t like the idea of what she must think of him now, after all of these accusations. He sank into the chair at his desk, dropping his head into his hands, elbows resting on the desk. What a mess. He inhaled deeply, and let it out a bit shakily. He couldn't leave without at least some attempt at letting her know something, though he doubted she would believe it. Still, he had to try. Taking some paper, he began to write.

With the letter completed, Ric sat back and reread it with a feeling of tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. It tore him up inside to have to leave like this. After rubbing a hand over his face, he carefully folded it, put it in an envelope, which he labeled with her name. He would drop it off on his way out. Then he took another piece of paper, and wrote a quick note to the landlord of the apartment, explaining he’d had to embark upon a journey at short notice and was unsure how long he may be gone, then slid it into an envelope along with a pouch containing six months’ worth of rent. It took almost all of his savings, but he doubted he would be needing much money until he returned. And with that, he locked up the apartment and stopped off at the landlord's office before setting off at a brisk walk, heading for the stables.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Trastion was a bit relieved Kaylin didn't seem to mind(at least openly) that he'd referred to her as a big sister. He smirked and gave a little scoffing type snort when she claimed she always got home alright. "Suuure, sis." He rolled his eyes. As she went on to say she'd been drinking all afternoon, he thought for a second before continuing his charade. "Been drinking too much, if you ask me," He muttered, audibly. But despite that, he was listening as the barkeeper told Kaylin about the alcohol being 'next level' stuff.

The alcohol content is higher than anything else we serve. The woman declared.
'No kidding,' Trastion thought, remembering the awful burning sensation of that stuff on his skin, and the miserable rash that had resulted. He focused on the conversation as, surprisingly, the woman refused to sell her any of it to take with her. Trastion glanced at Kaylin briefly, then the bartender, and glanced toward where she pointed out the two big guys who would enforce the strange rule. What, guards? Why were there guards there to stop people from leaving with any drinks?

He was still wondering about this when a stranger suddenly spoke up in their defense, taking Kaylin's side, and insisting she could definitely take on those big guys. Tearing his gaze away from the one by the door, Trastion blinked as he looked past Kaylin to see who had spoken. He glanced at Kaylin as the man spoke to the barkeeper, and referred to the red-haired ranger as K. So he knew her. Trastion had a sense that this was not what Kaylin had wanted or expected. But he wasn't sure what to do, and suddenly things were spiraling out of their control.

Suddenly the big guys came toward them at a cue from the bartender, and Trastion tensed. He had a bad feeling about this. When Kaylin asked for the flask, he swiftly brought it forth, shoved it into her hands, and watched anxiously as she poured what little was in the glass into it. That was nowhere near enough to fill it. But it seemed that was all they were getting from here, anyway. Darn... the operation was going well until that guy spoke up and ruined it. Slightly alarmed as the thug-looking guys grabbed Kaylin and the other guy, Trastion hastily abandoned his spot at the bar and hurried after them, having no desire to be left alone in this place.

Until, suddenly, one of the other patrons seated at a table along the way stuck out his foot. Trastion was moving too fast to notice in time, and he went flying forward with a startled yelp. He might have landed flat on his face, except his arms instinctively flew out in front of him to break the fall, and he landed in an almost push-up position, on the floor. Around him he heard laughter break out as all the other patrons found that quite funny, and a few called out jokes about the 'pup' being put in his place.. down on the floor. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Trastion looked up and saw that Kaylin had already been forcibly escorted outside.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

"Hey, take it easy!" Kaylin exclaimed when one of the.. well, bouncers, she supposed... dragged her outside. "I'm not resisting, you know?"

Meanwhile, Rallick seemed a bit confused. "Yeah, but we aren't you, K? Why aren't I, dammit?"

Kaylin gestured for him to drop it, but the guy holding her by the arm shook her a bit and addressed his companion. "Balthor, make him shut up. We don't need him riling up this one."

The other bouncer made a face. "Even if this guy riles up that one, it's not like she'd be able to kickdrop you to the cobblestones, Elmir." Elmir grinned, then turned his grin on Kaylin. "Yah. I think she knows. Not putting up a fight for a reason, hm?"

That... that rubbed her the wrong way. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at the man, although she took the time to glance at the door. Trastion should have left the place by now, and she didn't like it that he hadn't followed them out immediately. "I'm gonna need you to see what happened to my little brother," she told Elmir, ignoring the fact his grip on her arm was getting very uncomfortable. "He should be out here by now. And since he isn't, I think someone isn't letting him leave."

Elmir rolled his eyes. "Well, prolly shouldn't have brought him here. Lots of diversions and vices for a boy his age."

"He's not interested in them," Kaylin stated confidently.

A booming laugh escaped the man, and he was soon joined by Balthor, who'd pushed Rallick away from him already. Rallick was brushing invisible fingerprints from his arm. He was not amused in the slightest, and eyes Elmir unfavorably. "Let go of her. We're out. You've done your job. Now leave us alone."

"I don't know," Elmir said, grinning and tightening his hold on Kaylin's arm. "You might be a drunk, but you're a pretty enough drunk. I'm not an ugly man, even if I do say so myself. Wanna go somewhere?"

Behind her, Rallick's expression darkened and he started to approach them, but Balthor grabbed him again - this time in a lock from behind. Kaylin just gave Elmir a level stare. "Let go of my arm. Now."

Elmir was still grinning, but he let go of her, raising his hands in mock apology. "Sorry, little lady. Can't blame a man for trying."

"I know at least one guy who definitely could," Kaylin said slowly, trying to appraise what skills the man in front of her might have. She was also very aware of her own reduced alertness. She'd be less fast. She'd be less precise. That was unfortunate. But would it be a big problem?
"Do you work for this place?" she asked, suddenly playing nice. When the man shook his head, she smiled. She hadn't moved back from Elmir yet, and slanted her head. "Think you could tell me where I can find the seller?"

Elmir's grin grew. "If you make it worth my while."

"Not a chance in any of the seven circles," Kaylin said sweetly. Her tone was so opposite to the meaning of the words, it took Elmir a moment to discern her true meaning. And in that small moment of confusion, where his brain told him something was off but he was still working it out, Kaylin kneed him between the legs - didn't need precision for that - and then patted his head as he leaned forward to try and cope with the pain. "Think you could try again? Where can I find the seller?" Elmir groaned and shook his head.
Kaylin rolled her eyes and stepped away from him, now approaching Balthor who was still holding Rallick back. "How about you?" she asked. "I promise I'll play nice with whoever it is. I'll pay. All I want is a flask of the booze." She indicated Rallick with a nod of her head. "Aaaaand for you to let go of my buddy. A lock like that doesn't make for polite conversation."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

As Trastion was starting to get up, someone else 'helped', grabbing the back of his collar and dragged him up. The goon guarding the door, as it turned out. "Hey, I can manage on my own, thank you," Trastion retorted with a scowl. His palms were stinging a bit from hitting the floor, but seemed fine.

"Hold on a moment," The bartender spoke up. "I got a few questions for the pup." She declared with narrowed eyes.

Trastion tried to squirm away from the guy gripping his collar, and only accomplished convincing the guy to change his grip to the arms instead. "I just wanna get out of here, alright?" Trastion frowned. "Let me go."

"You had a flask hidden away. Why?" The woman demanded. "You two came here poking for information, or what? What'd you want? Why're you asking all those questions about my sources?"

Trastion hesitated, trying in vain to get his arms free, thinking fast. He wasn't sure whether he should tell what they were really doing, and decided to stick with the cover for as long as possible. "She..she told me to hold it for her, that's all." He answered. "Remember, she said she'd been drinking all afternoon? Well, when it got empty, she told me to hold onto it.. til she found something worth putting in it." He shrugged, wondering how believable that story would be, but it was worth a try. And not too far off from what he might expect from his stepbrother. "She just wanted some of that strong stuff, that's all. I don't like my sister drinking, but what can I do?" He gave a helpless shrug.

"Sure, you don't like her drinking, so naturally, you helped her to steal something extra strong? After I specifically said it was only to be enjoyed here?" The woman folded her arms, clearly annoyed.

Trastion frowned. "We didn't steal anything." He protested.

"I didn't see any coin left for that second glass." She retorted, apparently remembering that rather full coin purse Kaylin had not-so-subtly let her see.

Trastion scoffed. "Yeah, well, that's your own fault. You had her kicked out before she had a chance to pay," Trastion rolled his eyes, and tried again to get free. "Not feeling so smart now, are you?" He smirked.

"Well, looks like you're going to have to pay for it instead."

Trastion blinked as the smirk faded a bit, thinking for a second. He did have money that he'd brought to pay for the stuff when he found it, but it wasn't much, and after the treatment they were getting here, he didn't really want to give them any of it. Better to save it for if they managed to locate the source. "Aw, sorry. What a shame. My sister's the one carrying the money." he shrugged in a 'too bad' manner.

"What a shame then... for you." The woman made some signal to the other goon, who approached Trastion in a rather intimidating manner. "Looks like the pup has a lesson to learn."

This was not looking good. Trastion squirmed again, but his arms were trapped by the other guy's grip holding his upper arms in an iron grip. He thought of a couple of things he might do, but there wasn't much time. Goon2 drew his arm back for a punch, and Trastion could have laughed at his own thoughts; all he could think of was that he could see the punch coming from a mile away. Nevertheless, he tensed. It was aimed for his face. At the last moment, Trastion swiftly ducked his head to one side. He actually winced slightly in sympathy for Goon1 as he heard the impact of the punch landing pretty hard. Right on his nose. The sympathy didn't last long, however.

As Goon1 yelled and brought his hands instinctively to cover his face, Trastion swiftly took advantage of his instant freedom, and ran for the door. He heard both goons swearing as he made his escape, and with one last glance back, he saw Goon1 hitting Goon2 in retaliation, which knocked him backward into a table and upset the patrons there. This quickly led to a bar-wide fight breaking out while the bartender yelled at them all. Slightly amused at the chaos he'd managed to create, Trastion slipped out through the door...

...and found Kaylin in a confrontation/standoff with one of the original Goons who'd 'escorted' her and her friend out. The other one was on the ground, doubled over in pain.. was he actually crying? It was hard to be sure, but he focused his attention instead on Kaylin and her friend. Said friend appeared to be restrained, similarly to how Trastion had recently been, while Kaylin was facing off to the other goon, but for the most part, he suspected that she had things pretty well under control. Trastion cleared his throat quietly. "Hey..what'd I miss?" He asked casually, as if this whole thing was as normal as sitting down to supper.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

Trastion's arrival was overdue, but welcome. Kaylin spared him no more than a quick glance, however interesting the noises from within the pub were while the door was open.

"Nothing much," she grinned in reply to the recruit's casual question, once more looking at Balthor with a steady gaze. "I think our friend was about to share where we could find the seller?"

Balthor seemed in doubt. He took a step back, dragging Rallick along with him, although the guardsman was giving Kaylin a look she knew all too well. He was waiting for her cue - waiting for her to call it when the moment was right. Balthor, meanwhile, seemed mostly unhappy that Elmir was... out of commission. "I don't know," he said hesitantly.

"Whaaaaat?" Kaylin asked, raised her hands a bit as she shrugged. "Come on, your boss has to get new customers once in a while. Otherwise the booze just kills her old ones and she's left with no one." Her voice got a bit edgy there, she realized. Best rein it in just a little. "If she wants to make money..." she said slowly, tapping the purse at her belt. "I get a quick thirst and I'm flush with coin. Not a bad customer to have. You do have to admit I'm willing to go to great lengths to find her. I'm nothing if not committed. An excellent buyer."

Behind her, Elmir was slowly straightening. "That guy you have there is a guard, Balthor. If she'd friends with guards, she might want to bust the boss, not buy from her."

"Oh, puh-lease!" Kaylin exclaimed, annoyed. "As if someone couldn't be friends with a guard and still enjoy a proper drink? Angmar's pits - even as a guard! My pal isn't on duty now anyway, and I swear he has lost count of the times he got so bored on watch duty that he wanted to poke himself in the ear with his own weapon just to have something to do. After a shift like that, you need a drink." She sighed as if she was performing some great labour. "But hey - if it makes you feel any better, you can tell me after my friend leaves? I promise I won't blab."

That approach seemed to be getting them somewhere. Balthor looked mostly convinced as he shrugged at Elmir. As if he was asking the guy what the problem could be if the guard, indeed, left. Elmir, however, still looked doubtful. "I don't know."

"Look," Kaylin said, getting impatient. "All I want to do is buy some stuff from your boss. Whoever is crazy enough to buy from her, would know what they're getting into. It's not like she's selling to kids."

"No," Elmir agreed. "She wouldn't do that."

"Well, alright then. So what's the hold up?!" Kaylin sighed and looked at Trastion. "Can you believe this? I'm pretty sure big guy over here just doesn't want to tell me because he tried to make a move on me and I didn't respond well," she complained. She defiantly turned to Elmir again. "Would you tell me if I were ugly?!"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Folding his arms as he listened, Trastion leaned against the alley wall nearby. "It's a miracle she sells anything, with goons like that preventing potential customers from finding out how to buy from her." He remarked, rolling his eyes. He spared a glance toward the door, slightly worried that someone might decide to go after him in a moment, once they realized he'd slipped out amid the chaos. "But.. I guess it doesn't affect you guys if the lady misses out on making a sale." He shrugged. "I mean, what's it to you guys, if she ends up losing business?" He remained leaning on the side, curious what Kaylin intended to do next.

Watching in amusement as Kaylin turned to Elmir and asked if he would tell her what she wanted to know, if she was ugly, Trastion thought of a little bit to contribute that might help in convincing the guys. He cleared his throat and spoke up, in a tone as if he were giving the guy some 'friendly advice'. "Hey man, trust me... you do not want to see her get ugly," he warned the guy. "And I'm telling you, when she's in a mood like this.. desperate to get something strong.. anyone who stands in her way had better beware." He added, with a face like 'believe me'. "See, the thing is, she really wants some more of that stuff they gave her in there," He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder toward the door. "And when Sis has her heart set on something, she won't stop 'til she gets it." He added in a grave tone, though he was struggling not to snicker, since that was exactly nothing like his actual sister, and he really had no idea what Kaylin was like in reality.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

"Fine," Elmir sighed. He told them where to find the woman who was selling - and probably making - the blend.

Despite her happiness at the achieved victory, Kaylin did frown slightly when she heard. It wasn't so much that there was a bad part of town, here in the White City... but if there was one, the woman's location was smack dab in the middle of it. Of course. Probably not the best place to take a wide-eyed, fresh-faced recruit like Trastion. The things she got herself into... Well. There was nothing to be done about it. She had given her word that she'd help, right?

Kaylin clapped her hands together. "Excellent!" she said, her mood shifting for the better once more as she focused on having gotten results. She grinned at Trastion and then waggled her finger at Balthor, who was still holding Rallick. "Now let go of my friend. You boys have been playing long enough."

Balthor hesitated briefly but then let go of the man. Rallick broke free, annoyed, and not giving it a second thought, elbowed the man in the gut. "Consequences," he growled as Balthor bent forward and gritted his teeth.

Kaylin left the men to their egos and, curious about the commotion inside the pub, gave Trastion a longer look. "What happened in there?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

He could hardly believe that it actually worked. Trastion blinked, but kept his surprise as hidden as possible. Still. Victory! Unless he had made it up, to get rid of them. That thought occurred to him, briefly. But he didn't say anything, and remained silent while Kaylin finished up any further discussions. A vague smirk of amusement touched his face as Kaylin declared that 'you boys have been playing long enough', then watched Kaylin's friend elbow the goon in the gut. Trastion had to fight not to laugh at the scene. He shook his head slightly in amusement, very pleased that they'd been successful. He only hoped they really had been.

Kaylin's question caught him slightly off guard, and he blinked, then glanced back toward the door, then returned his gaze to her with a shrug. "Wellll," He tried to hide a grin. "It seems that bartender had a few questions to ask me." he answered, keeping his voice a little quiet so not to be as easily heard by the two goons still out there with them. "I guess she didn't like the answers I had for her, and she also realized she forgot to make you pay for that second glass. She really didn't like that. So, she sicced those other two goons on me." Trastion answered, then allowed a slight grin to show. "Your friend is right," he added with a nod toward Rallick, "You definitely could've beat them, easily. As it is, I just sorta.." He paused, thinking of the right words. "encouraged them to fight each other, instead of beating up on me." He smiled innocently.

"I think they might've gotten the whole room involved, too." He added. "Last I saw, Ms Bartender was trying to restore order to the place." He paused. "But... I have no idea how long it might take before they remember that I was the original target, so.. maybe we'd better hurry before they come out to look for me?" He decided, unsure whether he would get off so easily a second time around. "I don't think they had a tickle fight in mind." He concluded with a slightly nervous smile.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

She regarded Trastion with a growing grin as he answered her question. "Well. You're definitely proving to be way more interesting than I'd have thought," she said slowly, with a little nod and a big grin. Now... the door to the pub suddenly had an inexplicable attraction to her. Trastion had said the whole room had gotten involved... now that was simply a sight she couldn't just let pass by her, right?

Without saying anything, Kaylin approached the door and cracked it open to peer inside. The muffled noise they'd heard coming from behind the door was instantly amplified. As Kaylin peeked into the room, her eyes widened (with glee, although she would deny it if any inquires were to be made). The surprising sight of a brawl that size made her open the door a bit further, until she suddenly slammed it shut.

"Okay, so two things," she said, as she pushed Trastion ahead of her, now quite keen on getting away from the place. "First off: we need to go, now - Rallick, lets' go," she insisted, waving him along. "And second: dang, Trastion!" she laughed heartily. "I've decided I like you. We should be fast friends," Kaylin declared, as if her saying it simply made it so and Trastion really had no say in the matter.

Behind them, the door opened again, and the two goons Trastion had gotten involved in a fight with each other nearly jumped out into the alley, eager to get some revenge for their newly bruised faces. Elmir and Balthor gave them one look and their bearing reverted back to how they'd been behaving earlier.

Rallick didn't need any more cues and was quickly coming up behind them. Elmir, Balthor and the two other goons were conversing briefly. Probably about that second drink she didn't pay for. And the realization she had taken some booze with her out of the pub, despite that not being allowed.

"To the main street, lads," Kaylin urged Trastion and Rallick, speeding up her steps into a light run, still pushing Trastion ahead of her. She laughed, for Kaylin had the uncanny skill to view a situation as if she were already looking back at it later, rather than still living it in this very moment.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Trastion laughed lightly as the hyandaner declared that he was more interesting than she expected. He wondered what she had actually expected? He was amused by this, but then it seemed as if Kaylin tuned out the last thing he said. About needing to get out of here. He blinked as she, instead, approached the door. It was as if she were drawn to it. Like a moth to fire. He blinked in slight amazement at the redhead’s boldness as she took a peek inside. As if she just. Couldn’t. Resist. “Um, Kaylin? Don’t you think we oughta like, go?” he suggested, but his words seemed to be drowned out by the louder noises of fighting from inside.

And then she suddenly seemed to agree with him, declaring that they needed to go. Now. “Uh, yeah, you think?” Trastion answered a bit sarcastically, raising an eyebrow as he started walking briskly toward the end of the alley, expecting Kaylin and her friend to follow. He couldn’t help being a little amused that she’d arrived at the same conclusion he had tried to tell her. He grinned upon hearing the second thing the redhead announced; that she’d decided she liked him. “Ha, well I should hope so, since you’re my big sis now!” He teased, laughing a bit, before the grin faded a bit. “Just kidding by the way, I hope you didn’t mind that?” He checked, slightly worried she might not like it. The smile would return at the Hyandaner’s reply, assuring him that it didn’t bother her at all.

As the two goons (one sporting a nicely swollen and still-bleeding nose) emerged and spotted him and Kaylin, Trastion needed no further encouragement to begin running. The training with Arnyn paid off a bit here, as he found the running wasn’t all that hard. He’d done it wearing armor, so this wasn’t so bad. He couldn’t help a little grin as he ran. “By the way,” He called back over his shoulder at Kaylin, since she’d pushed him to run ahead of her, “You shouldn’t be too surprised by me... Don’t you know what ‘Trastion’ means?” he asked with a laugh as he grinned back at her, before focusing on putting some distance between him and those goons. Still… he wondered, if they were smart, couldn’t they just figure out where they would be going? Or maybe they wouldn’t be smart enough to consult with one another and realize that one guy had told them exactly where to find the seller…

[Rivvy Elf]

Tata the Tower Tortoise

Somewhere in this Circled World

Every day for the past... however many years, Tata wondered how in the world did these bipedal giants move so fast? They only had two legs and did not use all four of theirs! He considered himself hasty and was often moving as fast as he could, particularly to get out of the way of some of those furry companions of the giants who moved on four legs. They initially regarded him with curiosity, particularly when he tried to hide in his shell. Now they were used to the giant reptile that walked around looking for food and sunlight to warm himself.

Today, someone had decided to put something over Tata's back (unbeknownst to him, a child decided to put a stone on its back). He wished that it was not there... but it was too bothersome for him to take it off and discover whatever it was.

Life was pretty interesting in this circled land. It felt like whenever he walked around, he walked around in circles, ever upward and downwards. There was enough foliage and vegetables for him to eat. He particularly liked the gardens containing plentiful trees and shrubberies for him to snack on. A lot of times the bipedal giants also fed him things, even offering their fingers. But they were deceitful at times, as they would prevent Tata from biting off their finger to chew on. Why show their fingers at him if they did not want Tata to eat it?

And so Tata the Tortoise kept on walking, doing his daily adventures in this circled realm. Whenever he wished to rest he would find a nice alleyway to nap. And of course when he was awake he would walk to find some nice sunlight and food. This was a peaceful world where these strange bipedal giants, for some reason, chased away things wanting to eat him. Very strange folk about in this land.

But this was some place which he'd like to call home; Tata the Tower Tortoise carried on his day wandering about in the White City.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

"Are you kidding?" Kaylin laughed. "That's what you're worried about right now? Of course not!" As they ran, and he pointed out his name, Kaylin rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah. Your parents must have been wanting trouble then if that's what they named you." She thought it was rather funny that Trastion was living up to his name, as it were...

The three of them almost spilled out of the alley into the main street of the First Circle. Kaylin pointed in the direction of the stables. "Lots of places to hide there!" Plus, the owner knew her and wouldn't stop them. "Go, go, go!" She was not in the mood to fight some guys who were simply trying to do their jobs - even if their jobs were on the shadier side. Still. The men were just earning a living. It's not like wanting people to pay for things and wanting to keep booze inside of a pub was a crime. If you just overlooked the fact the pub was clandestine, of course. But Kaylin had never been one to get hung up on such details.

Rallick immediately ran for the stables. Kaylin dimly remembered they'd been there together before, but never on an errand of misschief. Rather for Rallick wanting to check on a particular horse that belonged to the Guard and was stabled here. An animal he had taken quite a liking to. That could only be a good thing. The three of them rushed over, slowing down some when they were only a few yards away. Kaylin turned around, walking backwards a few paces while her eyes sought out the alleyway, looking for any of the four men who were intent on.. well. She wasn't sure what they were intent on.

Rallick made sure to stay by Trastion's side, making it clear they knew each other and so Trastion wouldn't be given any trouble for entering without actually having a horse there. And Rallick's presence would only be considered normal, Kaylin realized when her eyes caught on Elmir emerging from the alley and looking around with no small amount of alacrity. Her idea had been better than she'd known the moment she'd decided on pursuing it! Ha! It was funny how things worked out sometimes. While Kaylin was feeling all too pleased with herself, the heel of one boot bumped into something as she was taking another hurried step back. What was that, she wondered, catching sight of tata the tortoise (@Rivvy Elf). Slightly alarmed as she both felt she was in danger of losing her balance and worried she might inadvertently hurt the animal, she half jumped half stumbled back over instead of on the tortoise, and just when she was starting to feel better of how she handled the unexpected obstacle, the back of her legs bumped into the watering trough that stood outside of the stables. "Balls," she mumbled as she fell backward, with only the time to bend or fold her body in such a way she wouldn't break her back or neck on the other side of the trough - and instead would simply fall... well. Right into it.

For a moment, all that was sticking out of the watering trough were her lower legs and her boots. She had to pull them in for a moment though, to get back out. When her head emerged from the trough, she peered over the edge, looking for the goons.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

As soon as he saw Kaylin pointing and saying 'go go go!', Trastion swiftly glanced around to locate the place she meant, and spotted the stables. He knew the ranger stables well, having been there plenty of times since he joined months ago. He and the horse Lightning had been developing a bit of a bond as he had been taking the horse out riding every few days, but he hadn't had any reason to visit the stables here on this level, though, he did pass by it every time he went from the first to the second, or vice versa. Trastion had vaguely toyed with the idea of trying to get a horse at some later point, but it wasn't high on his priorities and he would keep it at the ranger stables if he did. So, still no reason to come here.

He kept up with Rallick as the man made a beeline for the stables. Just when he was starting to think they were all going to get away and be fine, he heard a splash. Swiftly spinning around just as he was about to go through the stables door, Trastion's mouth dropped a little as he saw the hyandaner's legs disappear into the horse trough. He might have burst out laughing if it weren't for the goons emerging from the alley about that time. Instead, he ducked out of sight through the stable door, and waited a few seconds before finding a nice knothole in the wall to peer through and observe the street. It wasn't big enough to see everything, but he could watch pretty well and see most of what was going on.

The goons had stood looking around in bewilderment for a moment, before deciding to split up and search in a more spread-out manner. A couple of them stopped a few passersby, presumably to ask if they had seen the trio running from them, but judging by the folks shaking their heads and obviously giving negative replies, either no one had seen Kaylin, Trastion, and Rallick, or were unwilling to answer these intimidating guys, two of which bore obvious signs of a recent brawl. Trastion grinned to himself, pleased by this, and before long the goons had widened their search. Trastion moved to peek around the edge of the door, glancing up and down the street before deciding the coast was clear.

Relieved, he emerged cautiously, then ventured over to the trough. Struggling not to laugh, he offered a hand down to help Kaylin out of the trough. "Nice hiding spot." He grinned, trying not to laugh too hard. "I guess you figured they weren't looking for a fish, huh?" He teased. "I think we lost them. What made you decide to jump in there, though?" He finally gave in and laughed, as it was too comical, seeing her all dripping wet as she climbed out of the horse trough.

[Rivvy Elf]

Tata the Tower Tortoise
First Circle, Almost Attacked by Bipedal Giant

One of Tata's favorite places to frequent was the local eating establishment in the weirdly shaped dwelling of the giant warm-blooded gallopers. They looked very different from tortoises, given that they had no shell, were quite fast, and quite talkative too. The bipedal giants liked feeding them hay, which was one of the tortoise's favorite foods. It was good for his digestive tract, after all. Every so often, he would amble in, if there was an opening, and help himself to a portion of hay that was not coveted by the giant gallopers.

On his way though, there was a big commotion. He felt the ground shake as multiple people were running about and yelling. That wasn't good. In his experience, some of the bipedal giants were quite clumsy and would accidentally step on or trip over the tortoise. Perhaps if they used all four of their legs like the gallopers, they would pay better attention to what was on the road!

Moving as fast as he could, Tata walked towards the stables, hoping to avoid any of the bipedal giants. But, alas! One of them (@Arnyn) approached to close and collided with his rear! The tortoise immediately hid itself within its shell, making sure that the giant did not step on his squishy parts. He heard a large thump, like someone jumping over him, so he stuck his neck out, seeing that the bipedal giant's body had teleported in front of him.

Scared, Tata hid in his shell again, waiting until the rumblings on the ground passed so he could dine in the dwelling of the warm-blooded gallopers. He also heard a splash from the water trough, so hopefully there'd be enough water for him to drink... if he so chose. He didn't get thirsty quite that often here.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

Kaylin saw the same as Trastion. The foursome was trying to find them, but no one was willing to help them and they were out of sight... so they spread out, and soon none of them was nearby anymore. Kaylin was just considering emerging from the trough, wondering whether she needed to wait just a moment longer or not, when Trastion appeared nearby.

'Nice hiding spot.'

She didn't even have to look over at him to know he was grinning so hard it might threaten to split his face in two. Kaylin sat up straigh tin the trough, and give him her best innocent stare as he continued his teasing. Wiping at her face with both hands, she smiled - looking rather... pleased with herself?

"Well, you know," she said with a shrug. "I was still all dusty from the training grounds. It's a hot day. I could use a cool down. I'd recommend it to you, but I wouldn't want to do that to the horses." She flashed a grin of her own as she took his hand and climbed out.

When Rallick joined them, he looked amused. "A drowned cat if I ever saw one," he commented. Kaylin grinned at him and gave him a hug. Rallick protested and stepped back, spreading his arms as if to say 'no, don't!' but it was all too late. Drenched as she was, Kaylin thus gifted her friend with a little cool-down of his own. "Always great to see you, Rall," she smiled broadly when she pulled back. "But what were you doing in that place?"

He shrugged. "It's not my favorite. But their selection is... interesting."

Kaylin raised her eyebrows. "Evidently. Well alright. We should catch up some other time," she suggested, giving him a careful look as she spoke. "Nothing I need to worry about?"

Rallick shook his head with a smile. "Nay, K." He grinned momentarily at the rhyme. "I could ask the same?" he questioned, looking pointedly at Kaylin and then indicating Trastion.

The Hyandaner rolled her eyes. "You know if you're gonna worry about me, you'll get little else done," she claimed lightly. "You still at the Second?"

Rallick nodded. "Come find me sometime, eh?"

"Sure." They said goodbye and Kaylin flung back some of her wet strands. She blinked as she looked at Trastion. "Sorry. I should have introduced you," she realized. "I'm not the best at remembering social etiquette or whatever, all the time. That was Rallick. He and I used to be in the Army together. But after getting disbanded, he ended up in the Guard and I ended up in the Rangers. So."

Her blue-grey eyes glanced around what was visible of their surroundings. "I still get the feeling they could come right back," she mused. Eyes glittering, though, she grinned at the recruit. "Don't mind being seen with a drowned cat?" She would draw no small amount of attention like this. But the day was hot, and she didn't care much. "The address they gave us is still in the First Circle. They might be heading in that direction themselves, however, if they're smart..." Sounding a bit distracted during that last bit, she scanned the ground in front of the trough for the small animal she'd bumped into. Had it scurried off? Was it still...? Ah - there. (@Rivvy Elf) She watched the tortoise for a moment. It wasn't moving yet. "Have you ever seen one of those?" she asked Trastion, not realizing the question would sound way off topic for him. "I'm afraid I might have scared it by.. um.. accidentally bumping into it." She pursed her lips a bit. "Hope it's doing alright."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Trastion grinned as he helped Kaylin out of the trough. "Yeah, it does look nice and refreshing," He agreed with a laugh. "Maybe later a swim would be in order." He suggested, actually thinking that might be a nice way to reward themselves for all their trouble. "I don't even know anywhere good to go swimming around here, do you?" He wondered.

Standing back as Rallick rejoined them, Trastion couldn't hold back a laugh as he watched Kaylin hug him and thus get him soaked as well. He waited while Kaylin and her friend exchanged some words, and wondered briefly if he was going to join them in 'the quest', and if he was going to start asking a lot of questions. He had thought he heard something about the guy being a guard, or did he imagine that? Soon, though, the two said their farewells and Rallick went on his way. Trastion offered a wave of farewell, then shrugged when Kaylin mentioned that she ought to have introduced them. "It's fine, I'm not either." He answered a bit amused. "Maybe some other time." He shrugged, although he doubted he was ever likely to see the man again. But her words confirmed what he thought, that the man was a guard. "At least he doesn't seem all rigid and boring, like the others probably are." He grinned.

Kaylin quickly reminded him about their need to move on, and the grin faded to a mere smile. "Not if you don't mind being seen with a pup." He joked back, then blinked at the unexpected question as Kaylin pointed to the tortoise by the horse trough. "What, a tortoise?" He asked, a bit confused why she was asking about a tortoise. "Sure. We used to keep them for pets sometimes. But I didn't expect to see one around here in the city," He frowned, curious. "I wonder if he's gotten lost... they typically live in forests, not stone cities. Maybe someone else was keeping him as a pet, and he got away?" He frowned, wondering if some kid was looking for their pet.

[Rivvy Elf]

Tata the Tower Tortoise
First Circle, Hiding Inside Shell

Tata hid inside his shell for a bit of time as it became quieter. One of the bipedal giants was walking off somewhere. This probably meant that the other two were going to leave too.

Sticking his head out for a moment, he turned his neck and saw one of the giants (@Arnyn) gesturing straight at him. Immediately he hid inside his shell, hoping that this would fool the bipedal giant into thinking he was a rock.

It reminded him of his youth in the hot sandy lands where the sun shone everywhere and there was little food in site. Then someone decided to pick him up and put him in a bag. Days and weeks past, and after treating himself to some of the tasty fruit and vegetables in the bag, he was placed in an unfamiliar setting amongst a pile of rocks on a table. It took him a bit to find a way to get down, but eventually through his endurance he was able to escape the weird structure and left outside to a new land with much more vegetation.

Obviously he had grown bigger since then; there was more food after all. But he doubted he could intimidate the bipedal giant like he could with the little bitty insects and worms. So he continued to hide, pretending to be a rock.

Acting like a rock was actually handy to get into this circled world. One time he had hopped on a strange non-living thing that was filled with rocks, as he was searching for something to eat, then suddenly it began to move, being pushed by a giant who smelled really funny and kept stumbling every other step. He did not know exactly what happened during the journey, as he was hiding in his shell the entire time. At some points there were a lot of noises, particularly of metal, but eventually he found his way here amongst a pile of rocks next to some weird giant wooden contraptions that were pretty high up (@Rillewen).

Tata patiently waited, wondering when he could get the opportunity to eat some of the hay in the stables.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

"The guards, rigid and boring?" Kaylin repeated. "Not most of the ones I know..." She blinked. "Then again, I do seem to have a draw on certain personality types," she added, thoughtful, as she looked at Trastion - which immediately proved her point. Looking back at the tortoise (@Rivvy Elf), she thought it was a bit of a shame it felt the need to hide as it did. "I wouldn't feel good about picking it up or taking it anywhere," she said slowly. "It's clearly afraid of us. It looks like it just wants to.... be. I don't know."

Trastion's comment about the pup made her grin. "A drowned cat and a pup. An unlikely but winning team, I'd say." She considered how to move forward. "I think if we are planning to pursue this any further today, we need... disguises." Giving Trastion a curious glance, she raised an eyebrow. "How do you feel about temporarily dying your hair black? I swear it will come out in a day or two. Maybe three." She grinned. "I've done it before. Brown would work too, if you think black would be too harsh for your puppy face?" Since he'd been teasing her, she figured he'd be able to take some teasing in turn.

"I guess if you're not up for it, a swim might be a good distraction," she admitted, looking at her drenched clothes. She had nothing to lose anyway. "You know, I used to swim all the time back in Linhir and then I didn't know where to go here for years - I suppose I did never really go through the trouble to find out. Eryn showed me a spot recently out on the Pelennor, we could go there - maybe she's around too and can come with us!" Kaylin blinked, realizing she had no idea if Trastion and Eryn knew each other. "Do you know Eryn? She's Duinion's daughter." If Trastion had mentioned her, Kaylin couldn't quite remember. Then she realized something else. "Actually, do you know Duinion?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Trastion couldn't help a little laugh when Kaylin said she attracted a certain type of people and looked pointedly at him. He grinned, amused that he had fit into that category. "Funny, so do I." He told her, his grin spreading just a little wider. Turning his gaze back down to the tortoise, Trastion shrugged. "Yeah, it's not in anyone's way here, so I guess it's no big deal. If it was out in the middle of the street, then yeah, I'd suggest we move it at least out of the street, cause these guys move pretty slowly. But it should be fine here." He nodded, agreeing with Kaylin's idea of not moving the creature.

His grin returned as Kaylin declared them 'an unlikely but winning team', but then was replaced by a look of confusion at the suggestion of disguises. "What kind of..." He started asking, when Kaylin asked how he felt about temporarily dyeing his hair. He blinked, and wondered if she was actually serious. As she suggested maybe brown instead, he laughed. "Wait... you can actually do that?" He asked while still laughing, mostly in amusement at the fact she suggested it so casually. And a bit because of the teasing. "Let's do it!" He grinned, eager to see how this was done. Plus, it would be very interesting to learn something about disguising himself, right? Plus, he really wanted to finish this quest today if possible.

And right after suggesting the idea of going swimming, it occurred to him that maybe that would be inappropriate, given their opposite genders and the fact that he was pretty sure she was married and he had a fleeting thought of wondering what her husband would think of that, and felt a little awkward for having suggested it at all.. he hoped he hadn't gone red or anything. Maybe the swimming idea would be forgotten by the time they completed their quest, or else maybe they could find a few others to join so it wouldn't be just the two of them.

Kaylin's inquiry about whether he knew Eryn caught him a bit by surprise. "Uh, Eryn, the apprentice healer you mean?" He asked, then paused as she asked if he knew Duinion. "Him, no. Her, yes." He grinned. "Eryn assisted the healer while I was at the houses of healing, with a concussion." He explained. "But actually, I met Eryn on my first day right after I joined the rangers," He revealed, and grinned at the thought that Kaylin would definitely appreciate this tale. "That was... actually, you should've seen it. It was kinda hilarious." He laughed at the memory. "See, there was this dog..." He hesitated a moment, debating briefly with himself before backing up a bit.

"See, I arrived in town early that morning, all eager to join the rangers at last. And well, on my way into the headquarters to ask the captain about joining, I paused to retie one of my boots. I wanted to make the best impression possible, you know?" He shrugged, as this seemed like a fairly reasonable thing for anyone to want. "Anyway. While I'm crouched down, this pouch fell out of my pack, and I thought, 'no problem, I'll grab it when I stand up.' Except..." He paused, "what I didn't know was that there was a mugger lurking around, lying in wait to ambush me." He struggled not to grin, before going on, "First I heard like.. pounding footsteps, racing in my direction.. not like a horse, but sorta, you know? And then.. out of nowhere, this black streak of lightning practically knocks me over, snatches my pouch, and disappeared!" He widened his eyes, with a 'can you believe this?' sort of expression.

"So, naturally, I run after her. I chased her all over the place, seems like, and every time I thought I was going to catch her, she'd dart off and slip through my fingers. Then I finally caught up to the culprit somewhere around the stableyard, and tackled her to the ground. We struggled over my pouch, but she wouldn't let go of it. She had her teeth clamped around it, and there was slobber all over my hands. I guess it must've rained shortly before, because the ground was all gooey mud and puddles... but I refused to give up. And then, just as I feel like I'm starting to get the upper hand and about to pry my pouch out of her vicious grasp... someone called out and startled me. Because, well. I suddenly realized that yeah, I'm kinda trespassing or something, because I hadn't gotten any sort of permission to be in the ranger areas yet, and oh, yeah, I'm probably in big trouble now... and in my alarm, I lost my grip on the dog and she ran off." He gave a sheepish grin and shrugged. "Soooo, that's how our wonderful Lieutenant Dealedwen first met me. Covered in mud, wrestling that ridiculous dog out in the middle of the stable yard, where I was not supposed to be... And she took me straight to the captain so I could request to join the ranks," He added with a laugh, then cleared his throat, and added, "And that's where it gets even better..."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

"Sure you can." She grinned at his surprise that it was possible to dye hair. "I've done it for missions and assignments several times. The dye fades out a little every time you wash it with soap. I don't rush that process, but if you wanted to you could probably wash it several times on the same day to get it out more quickly."

Kaylin took off, gesturing for Trastion to follow as he was talking. She left a little water trail behind her as they walked, and she didn't even bother to wring out her hair or anything. Any strange looks, she took in stride, giving those people a dazzling smile instead of shying away from them.

She nodded when Trastion verified whether she meant the apprentice healer. As he set off into a story, she kept on grinning at his enthusiasm. Kaylin found she was doing a lot of grinning around Trastion. A chuckle escaped her here and there. Perhaps... perhaps Trastion would be a good story-telling apprentice, she mused in the back of her mind. He seemed to live through enough interesting things to warrant it, and he wasn't doing too bad a job with his natural flair. It could use some enhancing here and there... Something to think about. She turned them into a side street.

When he got to the part where he explained that's how Arnyn first saw him, Kaylin laughed out loud. "No way!" Still laughing, her eyes twinkling, the drenched ranger slapped the side of her thigh. "She took you right to Pele? Just like that? And it gets even better? Well go on! Don't leave me hanging!" she said, halting in front of a door. "Or maybe, leave me hanging for just a little while." She knocked on the red door. "I think she'll be home," she explained to Trastion. "She mostly does repair work to clothing from her house, and people also come here for haircuts sometimes. She has dye for the ladies who don't like the grey when they go out for a special occasion or something... or when want to remember the good old days, I guess," she shrugged. While she had dyed her hair before, it had never been related to vanity. Then again, she wasn't going grey yet or anything, so who knew what she might do later in life.

When the door opened, a woman more or less Kaylin's age, of less than average height, greeted them. Her expression started out as polite, but then it got excited upon seeing Kaylin. "K!" Then she frowned and laughed. "What's going on? Why are you soaked through? And who's this?" Her grey eyes rested on Trastion.

"A new pal," Kaylin responded cheerily. "His name is Trastion. Trastion, meet Maya. And I fell into the water trough for the horses. Can I come in? Do you have a mop somewhere?" she grinned.

"Sure." Maya moved aside. "Come on in."

They immediately entered a large room, with a long table on one end. It held several piles of clothing and a working area near the windows. Off to the side was a small curtained area, where her customers could change into the clothes if they needed to be altered to size. And on the other side, Maya had a different set up, with two washing basins and a collection of hair ties, ribbons, pins and brushes. Several chairs and stools were set up throughout the room. It was a bit messy. But at the same time, it seemed rather practical.

After Kaylin and Maya had caught up a bit, Maya gave her friend a discerning look. "Is this purely a social call? Or... were you hoping to get some clothes off me?" She laughed, gesturing at Kaylin's... condition.

The Hyandaner smiled. "Clothes, yeah. And Trastion and I were hoping you'd dye our hair dark."

Maya slanted her head, automatically looking at Kaylin's and Trastion's tresses. "Hmm. Probably shouldn't ask why."

"Probably."

"Alright. I have a good batch of dark brown?" she suggested.

Kaylin looked over at Trastion. "What do you think, lil' bro?" she asked, grinning broadly.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Trastion listened with great intrigue as Kaylin explained about dyeing hair, and sort of wished he could have known about that a couple of years ago. In fact, if only he could have talked to her a couple of years ago, things might have been a lot easier for him when he was leaving home, but then again.. he probably wouldn't have talked to her then, much less about his troubles. Still. He should have come to join the rangers right away instead of wasting time in all those other jobs first. Oh well... things were starting to turn around a little for him, at least, or so he felt like.

He laughed as Kaylin said not to leave her hanging, but then just as he was about to continue his tale, she changed her mind and suggested pausing the story for a moment after all. "Sure, just don't let me forget to continue when we leave." He laughed lightly, then listened with a small nod here and there as she explained about the lady they were going to see. As the door opened, Trastion had to stop himself from bowing or acting like a nobleman when meeting someone. Some habits were difficult to break, but he managed to act like a more normal person with his smile of greeting, and merely gave a polite smile to the lady, instead. "Hello, pleased to meet you," He grinned as he listened to Kaylin giving a quick, basic explanation as they entered, and stood quietly aside while she and her friend talked for a moment to catch up.

The request to dye both of their hair dark brown caught him slightly off guard, as he hadn't expected that Kaylin was going to dye her own hair, but that thought only made this little excursion seem all that more amusing. "Are you sure this is going to wash out?" he asked when Kaylin asked what he thought. "I mean, I can just imagine the weird looks I'll get from certain people when I show up for meals and training and stuff, with extra dark hair." He laughed. "But we'll definitely look more like brother and sister." He added with a grin. "So what do we do?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

"I'm sure," Kaylin said with an amused smile. "I've gone brown, dark brown and black. It all comes out. No worries. You'll get your pretty boy locks back," she added with a grin.

"Well. First things first," Maya said. "I'll prepare the dye. You -" she looked at Kaylin, "should get out of those wet clothes. I'll bring you something that doesn't belong to someone who will come back to look for it... Is this uh... a disguise thing? With the hair, and all?" she asked, lightly.

Kaylin shrugged. "Kind of."

"Right." Maya suddenly looked devious. "I'll be right back." She pointed at the side of the room with the brushes. "In that cupboard over there, there are towels. Get out of those wet clothes and dry off. Trastion, you can already take two towels to put over your shoulders later. So the dye doesn't stain your clothes." As she went to the back, Kaylin grabbed one of the towels, rolled her eyes at Trastion and disappeared behind the curtain. "This doesn't bode well. I'm at her mercy now. Knowing Maya, she'll make it a 'go as you aren't' quest for me..." Kaylin muttered under her breath as she did as Maya instructed.

The woman soon returned and gave Trastion a wide grin. "I've found just the thing," she said triumphantly as she passed some clothing to Kaylin behind the curtain.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!"

"A gift horse, friend," Maya reminded Kaylin. She went to the area with the hair supplies and started mixing up a collection of things. When she noticed Trastion watching her, she smiled. "Interested? Kaylin knows how to do it herself, too. She could teach you sometime, I'm sure." Her own hands moved quickly and she did not take the time to explain.

When Kaylin emerged from behind the curtain, her expression was telling. Maya had brought her a dress, but not ust any dress. It was flowy. It was lilac. The cap sleeves and light fabric made it suitable for the summer temperatures, but it was obvious Kaylin did. not. like it.

"You look great!" Maya said exuberantly, clapping her hands and nudging Trastion gently with her elbow, hinting to go along with it. "Now, sit down!" She indicated one of the chairs. Then she found a low stool and positioned it in front of the chair. With a little grin, Maya pointed it out to Trastion. "Little brother, you can sit over there. Kaylin can start on you while I start on her. It will save us some time."

Begrudgingly, Kaylin sat in the chair. She draped the towel Trastion handed to her over her shoulders and waited for the recruit to sit down on the lower stool in front of her.

[Ercassie]

Iole Ishen. Home, Safe House. Hopefully.
A house on the 3rd Circle. On the Eve of Erulaitalë
with Cali Dringolben - @Rillewen

It did not take very long for Iole to deduce that Cali had been feeling as lonely as she herself, for all their different circumstances, and the fact that they had both been back in the same city for some six months now. She was not sure if that made her feel better or worse, given how much she had missed her friend. It seemed strange on the face of things that they had not sought each other out for company more before now. But at the first, Iole had felt guilty for getting her best friend caught up in the whole drama at all, let alone that Cali’s arm had been badly hurt as a consequence. She had taken a small plant in a pot as a gift for her friend, when visiting at the Houses of Healing, and then sat somewhat awkwardly for some time as they tried to think of anything else to talk about. They had decided to visit Trev's grandmother together after that. They had then said "we must do this again soon." Only thenafter, of course, they had not. Neither one of them had been keen on venturing too far from home, not even out onto the Pelennor. So really, it was not all that surprising. And Cali ever had been a one to throw herself into some project rather than reflect on upsetting things. Her new job had stolen any and all free time that the new Smith seemed to have. Iole did not bring up, now, just how many times she had come by, and found neither Cali nor her mother at home. And returned home disappointed.

When the Smith shared that Nal had been assigned to come and ‘help’ her at the armoury, Iole felt initially jealous and then rather more amused, as she considered the reality of the situation. That at least explained their friend’s decision to run off this evening and close down the forge up on Sixth. She had been wondering if that was a thing all Rangers took a turn at learning, but of course there had not really been the time to stop and ask all about it. Now recalling how sure the young man had seemed earlier, that Cali would be attending the Erulaitalë at all, a few things slotted neatly into place. Of course he had known; because they had been properly working together. "Oh, I know," she quietly agreed, and duly swore not to tell their friend such a secret. It was nice to have a secret together again, a not utterly terrifying secret. And she did .. know. For Iole might have been a lot more lonely, even with her new job, if it were not for Sorrela Korsey. Who kept on coming by and making small talk to try and ensure she was 'alright', for some reason these days and .. and who Unalmis, their only mutual acquaintance, had probably sent to keep her company, she realised with a small but not unhappy sigh. Of course. She had never known of another city guard who had retained such a friendship with a briefly missing person after that person were 'found', before. It was nice, although sort of like starting from scratch. She didn't much like that there was so much she did not know about 'her' Guard, and the role of a damsel in distress was something she was trying to leave behind her really, rather than cement as a part of her for the rest of all days. Sorrel was though .. incredibly protective. And while obtaining new friends was of course, no reason to discard old friends, still; her old friend and new friend had, of course, just met today, and probably under the very worst sort of circumstances ... She would worry about that later.


The staircase conquered, a gloomy corridor now presented before them. Iole glanced briefly once back down into the darkness they had left behind them. Then, recalling how they had checked every room down there, and the front door was locked .. remembered there was nothing to be afraid of, downstairs at least. Raising her rolling pin, she rallied for the next stage of their investigation when suddenly Cali’s laugh gave her friend a turn at startling, and then smiling. The fingers wrapped about the rolling pin had tightened on the tool, but the other hand fell in relief across the young woman’s chest as she exhaled the breath that had caught at her throat. The exclamation did confuse her slightly then until her friend explained. But the acknowledging of them living so close now .. her smile faded slightly. So close and yet so far, she thought, and lowered her hand back to test the wall, thoughtfully.

“It will be a longer walk for you than I then, to get to and from work, when we live here ..” Iole tilted her head. “Because we’re playing ‘house move’ .. remember ?” she reminded, joked. And kind of wished that she was not. Joking. “Why don’t .. you .. pick a door, and if it’s not a washroom or a closet, or .. full of wild-eyed assassins … with fluffy tails ..” this last was thrown in swiftly, before either of them were faced with the image of actual assassins for more than a second. “Then, it’s your room ..” she resumed, in the playful dare to her friend, and then swayed slightly where she stood, from side to side, as the fluffier image refused to leave her.

“A cat would be such darling,” she uttered softly, welcoming her friend's idea still further, the longer she thought upon it. How clever Cali was ! For whether their moving in together was only a game or no, Cali was right. There was no reason any more why she should not have a cat now. She did not live with her mother, or more specifically her mother’s frail lungs, any more. In fact if she did not live at the parlour house, then she would not have to worry about fluff and hair to clean up with so many clients always coming by … And a cat was far less trouble than the likes of Nal's chaotic dog ..

Poised with rolling pin and primed for .. hopefully a cute fluffy kitten, Iole braced while giving Cali room to choose the first door to open. I mean really, if there was a mouse problem in the kitchen, then a cat would just be the only wise solution, she deviated slightly off the matter at hand again. And forgetting for a second that they had only been playing at the idea they could move in .. here .. to the home which needed tenants ...

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Hearing the 'pretty boy locks' comment, Trastion rolled his eyes and decided to otherwise ignore that. Still, it was a relief to know it would come out, so maybe only a few people would give him strange looks. Mourgan for sure, he felt there was no way he'd get around seeing his roommate before getting the dye out. He was a bit curious though what Arnyn might say if she saw him with darker-than-normal-hair. It might be amusing, but then again, he might find it awkward to explain about the whole quest thing.

As Maya spoke of preparing the dye, Trastion was quite intrigued, but first it seemed she was going to get Kaylin something to change into. He nodded in reply to the lady when she told him to grab a couple of towels for himself. "Sure," He nodded, deciding he'd rather not ruin these new clothes. At least not if he could help it. After getting ink all over his other shirt, and having to borrow money from Mourgan to get a few new shirts and things, he was hoping to make those last him a while. As he was getting the towels, Kaylin's comment about this not boding well brought a grin to his face. "Well, just keep in mind that whatever doom awaits you, you asked for it." He smirked teasingly at her before she disappeared behind the curtain.

Leaning against a wall while he waited, Trastion raised an eyebrow slightly as Maya declared she had found 'just the thing', and moments later Kaylin's voice heralded the fact she was not enthused about this, whatever it was. His curiosity level rose about five notches, wondering what in Middle earth the woman had given her to wear, and what sort of doom had befallen the hyandaner. Meanwhile, Maya had begun getting the dye ready, and he was watching with curiosity, wondering if this was an easy thing to manage on his own, and thinking something like that might be useful in the future. So, he was pleasantly surprised to hear that Kaylin knew how to do this herself. "Great, maybe I'll ask if she'll teach me about it sometime." He smiled, though he could halfway imagine a lot of mess and chaos happening. It could be great fun.

When at last Kaylin did emerge wearing a very girly, lilac dress, he blinked and stared for a few seconds. He didn't know Kaylin all that well yet, but from what he did know, this was absolutely not her style. At all. He burst out laughing, unable to help it. "Oh.. wow!" Then he coughed and amended when Maya elbowed him, "I mean yes, you look.. um.. different." He struggled to regain his composure, but it was difficult. "So yeah," He declared with amusement, "that'll definitely be a good disguise." He tried to smother a few lingering snickers before clearing his throat and making an effort not to laugh anymore. He grinned and settled down on the stool, folding his legs as if he were sitting cross-legged on the floor, and held still while the towel was draped around his shoulders. It reminded him a bit of sitting for a hair cutting. "Uh, question, is Kaylin's.. new dress.." He stifled a snicker there, "in danger of.. you know, getting dye on it?" He glanced back over his shoulder, more worried about the lap part than the shoulder part, if she was going to be working on his hair. "Just wondering if she needs a towel for her lap." He added in explanation.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

She gave Trastion a deadly glare when he burst out into laughter. His question about protecting her lap - for the dress - made Kaylin roll her eyes. "Unnecessary," Kaylin mumbled.

Maya, however, handed Kaylin a mixing bowl, a dye brush and - in agreement with Trastion - a towel for her lap. "It is necessary," she said empathically. "While no customer is waiting on this, I would still like it returned in a decent state." She remembered who she was talking to. "If at all possible."

With a sigh, Kaylin started by parting Trastion's hair and then dabbing the dye onto it, from the roots to the ends. Then she made a new partition, and so on and so forth. Behind her, Maya was having the distinctly more difficult and more timeconsuming job, with Kaylin's long locks. It was a good thing she had this down to an art.

"I feel like we're three ants in a row or something," Kaylin muttered, although as she spoke the brief sentence, humor sepeed into the words. "But instead of hauling food or stuff for a nest, we're primping." She flicked the brush against the back of Trastion's head. "Nervous? You're very trusting, that's for sure. Who is to say I am not turning your hair green hm? At any rate... I'm rather curious to see what kind of a pair we will make," she grinned from behind him.

When both Kaylin and Maya were done, the latter stepped in front of Trastion and eyed them both. "I think it will be a success!" she laughed. Now we just need to wait a bit longer before we can wash it out." Her eyes twinkled as she indicated a mirror against the wall. "In case you're dying to get a look..."

Kaylin chuckled and half-pulled Trastion off his chair to crowd the mirror with him. They looked ridiculous, with the dye plastered onto their heads, making their hair wet, and their scalp and hair dark brown. Their eyes seemed more blue than grey now. But currently, they looked like a mess. Kaylin had to resist painting a dark brown dab on Trastion's nose, or something. "Hold on," she suddenly said. "What about the eyebrows?" She wriggled her own at Trastion in the mirror.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

He couldn't resist a bit of a smirk when it seemed apparent that Maya agreed with him. Still, Trastion managed (somehow) not to continue snickering at the lilac dress thing. Partly because he remembered that she was literally doing this for him, because he had asked for her help. As he sat still for Kaylin, trying not to squirm at the weird feeling of the stuff being applied to his scalp and hair, Trastion thought about that. And pondered whether he might somehow repay her for the help, but he could think of nothing that would suffice.

He laughed lightly at Kaylin's ant comment. "Yeah, weird, isn't it?" He grinned slightly. It probably felt weirdest to Kaylin, being the one in the middle. Then her other comment made him blink. "Green?" he half-turned his head in an attempt to glance back at Kaylin, hoping she was only joking. "Is that even.. possible?" he asked, trying not to sound worried. He thought about it a moment, and gave a faint laugh as something occurred to him. "Well, she only mixed up one batch of that stuff, so if you're turning my hair green, yours will be, too." he pointed out and grinned.

At last, they were done. He smiled, hearing Maya say it was a success, but then she added they'd have to wait a bit before they could wash it off. Hmm. Well, at least with all this time they were spending, those goons would probably have given up on searching for them by now. He was a bit caught off guard as Kaylin suddenly dragged him off the stool toward the mirror. He laughed a little at her eagerness, and looked at his reflection. "Wow," He said, a little amazed to see how different they both looked with darker hair. "Eyebrows?" he glanced at Kaylin. "You think we need it?" He asked, then took a moment to study hers. "Hmm, I guess yours are redder than your hair now." He acknowledged, then took a look at his own. They were only a bit lighter. "But can we manage it without it looking absolutely ridiculous, and like.. dripping all down our faces?" he laughed.

[Rivvy Elf]

Tata the Tower Tortoise
First Circle, Appearing From His Shell and Going About His Business

It was a long time before the voices and the bipedal giants finally walked away. But just in case, he hid inside his shell for some time...

Eventually, however, after the coast was clear, he popped his head and legs back out, walked towards the stables, and promptly began eating some of the hay that was not zealously being looked at by some of the warm-blooded gallopers. After he ate his fill, Tata went on his way, traveling wherever he could in this circular world. Who knows where he would end up next?

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

"I think green might be interesting, really," Kaylin laughed. "Though I would definitely want to make sure it would wash out just as well as the dyes I'm used to."

Maya carefully made a small, different dye and put it on Kaylin's eyebrows. "Trastion doesn't need his eyebrows done," she said, after which Kaylin nodded with some disappointment. "Yeah, it's close enough I suppose. I jus really like to surprise him with my suggestions..." The Hyandaner gave Trastion a grin.

Soon, it was time to wash out the dye. Maya pinned up Kaylin's long hair so it wouldn't be as obvious it was still wet. Trastion's would dry soon enough in the warmth of summer. "Well. I dare say you're ready. Off to do something dangerous?" Maya tried.

Kaylin shrugged. "Don't know yet. I mean, there is a definite risk of pummeling. Whether we'll be dealing it out or be on the receiving end, is hard to say. It's also possible we can escape it altogether with these disguises. Though maybe Trastion should get a different shirt or something? Or wear a different one over it?"

After Maya showed the young man two or three possibilities, pieces of clothing in a different color than what he'd been wearing, Kaylin moved to take Maya's hand. "Thank you for all your help. If you ever need anything, find me. I'm also more than willing to pay you."
Maya shook her head. "I'll take the favour," she grinned. "And as for the dress and the shirt... bring them back. Clean. And mended, if necessary."

"Right," Kaylin replied with a sheepish grin. "Trastion! I'm ready when you are!" It seemed that she had quite forgotten about the very girly dress she was wearing now. That, or she'd simply decided she should not let it get to her.

Leaving Maya's, Kaylin steered them right into the direction of the address they'd gotten earlier. "Like an arrow to the target, now," she said. "Unless..." She smiled good-naturedly. "You've gotten a case of cold feet?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Trastion on a quest with Kaylin

Trastion laughed. "Well, maybe next time we should add green streaks to your hair." He grinned mischievously at Kaylin. After having the dye washed out, he donned one of the choices of shirts that Maya had brought out for him, and hoped he wouldn't get it dirty or damaged. And taking another look in the mirror, he gave a small nod, deciding it was probably enough to fool those goons. And for a moment, he considered whether he ought to keep this new darker hair look. In addition to having his hair shorter than he used to before leaving home, it might just be enough of a disguise. But then he remembered that his family would surely still recognize his face. He dismissed any thoughts of it, and decided that he'd rather just try to wash it out as quickly as possible once this quest was done.

And soon, they were leaving Maya's. Trastion waved. "Thank you for your help, ma'am." He said with a smile, and turned his attention back to Kaylin. He glanced at her with a slight laugh. "Cold feet? No way. This is fun." He grinned. "I'm feeling optimistic. I think those guys probably gave up by now. We were in there a while, and they probably lost interest." He shrugged, hoping that was the case. With any luck, they hadn't given the seller any sort of warning to expect them, or they might not be successful, regardless of disguises.

"Oh! But I didn't finish telling about when I met Eryn," He added with a little laugh. "Where was I? Just about to where the story got good, wasn't it?" He took a moment to regather his thoughts as they walked. "So, let's see. Right, I got cleaned up, changed into a spare set of clothes, went to get some gear from the armory, returned to my room with all the stuff, and then I heard barking outside. And I look out the window, and there's that dog again! So I ran outside and found her and this other guy out there. And they're..both digging. The dog is busy burying stuff, and he's busy trying to dig them back up," He laughed, remembering the comical scene. "And so, I go over to introduce myself and told him about his dog taking my stuff, and offered to help him gather his stuff up from the ground. And while we're talking, Hattie.. the dog.. ran off and returned with Eryn. She was on her way home but she knew Unalmis and Hattie, and she started talking with us for a moment." He paused. "And moments later... Lt Brian showed up."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Kaylin
First Circle, out on a quest with Trastion

His resolute denial of any cold feet was like music to her ears. And when he continued telling her about Eryn... Kaylin smiled to herself. She had heard the story about Unalmis, Trastion, Eryn and Hattie... from Eryn. It had been some of the best entertainment she'd had while having to stay home and recover from her back injury that spring. As such, Kaylin knew just what Trastion was about to delve into. This gave her two options.

One option would be to tell the young recruit that she knew the tale and he need not tell it again. They could share a laugh and that would be that. Meh.

Another option would be to see what Trastion would make of it. Hearing the story again, as he had lived it. She might assess his storyweaving skills. She might pick up some details that would help her if she ever chose to tell the story. Stories were a good commodity, after all.

"Uh oh," she responded, ignoring the skirt of the dress sweeping around her legs as she walked. "Lieutenant Brian arriving at a dig site right outside of the barracks? There's only one place I can imagine any digging being done... and that's Brian's proud little garden..." Kaylin let out a low whistle. "That probably wasn't... pleasant."