A warriors pride (open)

[Gromm]

Gromm was somewhat amused at her reaction to his tale, she seemed to miss the deeper meaning behind it. "I am a traveling warrior, of sorts. I have go from place to place looking for anyone who would offer a challenge." Gromm replied, trying not to seem to intimidating. "There is nowhere I need be, per say, But my eventual goal is Taloba, to meet and challenge Myri herself." Gromm had long dreamed of that day, but had the sense to realize he wasn't ready. "That reminds me," he began, cocking an eyebrow. "If you have a monster that need slaying, or bandits that need beating, than my services are at your disposal. Finding paying work in Avanthal is much harder that I thought it would be."

[Yuros]

Yuros walked aimlessly about the city, simply taking in the sites and sounds that were beginning to seem normal to him. He had not been in the city long, in fact it was a very short time ago that he had come into contact with Alea and his views on humans had changed slightly. Once, the Kelvic might have seen the great city as loud, strange and separate from the nature around it, but now Yuros was beginning to see that Avanthal was like a habitat in itself. The buildings were like the towering trees of the spire, the freshly fallen snow like fields of wheat in the spring. Even the races that lived within the city were as vast and different as the creatures of the Trees and Grass, each separated into their own hierarchy. With a bit of amusement Yuros realized that there was indeed a food chain in the city just as there was in the Spire, though few actually ate each other.

Winter was here, and the cold bit at Yuros' exposed skin, for he only wore his leggings and boots today, but the sun was high overhead and there was only the slightest breeze so the chill was not all consuming this day. From time to time he would hop from one foot to the other and pump his arms to keep the blood flowing through his limbs and to warm himself as well. Breathing in deeply Yuros set out at a light jog now, the muscles of his back and shoulders pulling on his scared skin. Weaving in and out of the buildings, Yuros slowly gained in speed until he was running at a full sprint, his arms pumping and his feet pounding on the ground.

Inside Yuros felt his spirits lift. There was nothing, he knew, that could aleve any worries like sprinting through the forest, your antlers held high for all the creatures to see. To feel the sun beating down and warming your fur as you feel the hard pumping of your hooves on the ground, and even though he was in his human form, Yuros felt the same sense of elation from running just as strongly.

So he ran, and ran, and ran. For how long Yuros could not say, but when his lungs began to burn and his legs protested the pace he slowed to a trot, tossing his head much like he would in his stag form. It was when he slowed and his heart had settled the Kelvic caught the sound of Alea's voice not far, as well as another voice. Curious Yuros stepped around the corner of a building to the sight of Alea speaking with the towering Jamoura.

If he had been in his stag form his fur would have bristled. The creature was large, and he gave off an aura of danger. Sniffing the air Yuros could smell the Spire in his fur and this did nothing to settle his agitation, but his time in the city had taught Yuros that he could not simply rush in. Instead, he chose the more human approach (at least more human than charging in and whisking Alea from the Jamoura's grasp).

With long strides the Kelvic reached Alea's side within a span of seconds, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking up at the Jamoura with fierce, wild eyes. He was big... Almost as big as Yuros was in his animal form, and Yuros could feel his animal nature beginning to fight for control. The muscles of his scared chest and shoulders bulged as he leaned close to Alea, his eyes never leaving the Jamoura's as he prepared to either fight or take up Alea and run.

Clearing his throat Yuros spoke in a voice deepened by agitation, "Good afternoon, you are the first of the Great Trees I have seen here in this city. I am Yuros. Are you a friend of the Huntress?"

OOCYes he just referred to Alea as the Huntress. It comes from her fierce and wild nature I'm sure XD

[Alea Davenport]

OOCXD Yuros you are insane, and she's not going to get it.

Alea held onto the knowledge that Gromm wanted to travel, and tucked it away for later. The Jamoura would make a good addition to the travelling group she was putting together, and if she could convince him to join them, it would make getting to the spires, her next planned destination, that much easier. She decided to wait until she could come up with a compelling argument before bringing the subject up.

Alea began replying to Gromm, saying, "I don't know of any monsters that need slaying, sorry." She tried to wrack her brains, thinking if there was anyone who would be willing to fight the giant. A grin spread slowly across her face as she had an idea. "Actually, I don't know anyone who needs killing, but I have a friend who might be willing to fight you." But before she could say more, she was interrupted by the arrival of a certain human-shaped stag.

Alea jumped slightly when Yuros suddenly appeared behind her, but when she looked up and saw that it was him, she relaxed and smiled. "Oh, hello Yuros. This is Gromm." At Yuros's question, Alea became confused. She asked Gromm, "Who is the Huntress? Is she from another story?"

[Gromm]

"I would like to meet this person," He began, wondering what she had in mind. "If they would stand toe-to-toe with me, then I will face them." It was then he noticed a young man approach and greet Alea as a friend. It was a kelvic, although of what type Gromm could not discern. The kelvic was ready to fight, that much was painfully clear to Gromm, and he was more then willing to oblige. He met the newcomers gaze with one of his own, as he tried to determine the mans true form. As a rule, Gromm thought little of the kelvic race, but this one seemed different. "Have you something to say, tiny man?" he inquired, bluntly.

[Yuros]

Yuros' eyes gazed deeply into Gromm's, searching for something that would tell him what it was he needed to know. The Jamoura's eyes reflected fierceness and strength, but they were not they eyes of a hunter. They did not show a need to kill for survival, or simply to kill for sport as he had seen in the eyes of some humans. Gromm's were they eyes of a warrior, not of one who would eat the Kelvic.

Yuros relaxed slightly, his shoulders not quite so tense as he came to this realization, but his hand did not stray from Alea's shoulder as he looked over the Jamoura. Sniffing the air the Kelvic could smell the Spire in his fur, if only faintly. Yuros noted the Scars that crossed Gromm's chest, but he wondered at them a moment. For all his time in the spire the Kelvic had rarely seen scars such as those, and it was with a bit of surprise that Yuros also noted that the scars did not continue to his back. Thinking on his own, Yuros knew he had multiple along his back and sides as well as the front from fending off the predators of the Trees and Grass, but for someone to only have their front scared what would that intel?

It was as Yuros was pondering these things that Gromm spoke, and when he did Yuros felt himself tense once more. Tiny man? he thought to himself. The Kelvic had never been referred to as tiny before, and for some odd reason it seemed to strike a cord of annoyance in the back of his mind. Shaking his head Yuros tried to dismiss it as a failing from spending so much time with humans lately. Rolling his shoulders he looked up at at Gromm with a slight frown, "To even the smallest tree in the Spire, you are not so large, and even not so large as many a creature that live between them." Clearing his throat Yuros nodded to the Jamoura, "I am called Yuros in this tongue, and I greet you as well Gromm." Looking down at Alea, "You seem to find the strangest acquaintances when we are not together."

[Alea Davenport]

Alea was mildly put off that no one had answered her question, but she decided to drop it for now. She wasn't quite sure, but she had the sneaking suspicion that Yuros did not particularly like Gromm. She was going to have to do something about that. With a note of irony in her voice, she replied to Yuros, "You think I'd fail to find strange acquaintances if you were with me? Is that a challenge?" She leaned back against Yuros and smiled up at him. This had the effect of getting in his way so that he could not take any hostile action, but mostly it was just fun.

Having safely defused Yuros (as far as she could tell), Alea returned her attention to the Jamoura. "Well, I don't know if he will agree to it, but I will definitely try to convince him. I think it would be good for him," she said with a sly grin. "Just tell me where and when, and I'll make sure he's there."

[Gromm]

Gromms gaze finally left the kelvic and returned to Alea. He had a strange feeling about her proposition, but his hunger for combat got the best of him. "Very well, tomorrow bring the challenger here, but he better be worth my time. Fighting humans always leaves a bad taste in my mouth." he replied. Gromm grabbed the scar across his stomach, a constant reminder not to underestimate humans and the other races, they can be just as tenacious as jamoura after all.

[Alea Davenport]

Now that Alea was over her initial fear of big scary unfamiliar people who could probably kill her (having her Kelvic at her back helped with that), she was able to have normal reactions to things. Normal, in this case, meant to bristle at Gromm's attitude. Outright insulting her entire race right in front of her? Not to mention his take on Kelvics. Did Gromm alienate everyone he ever met?

With a tone that suggested a challenge had been accepted, Alea said, "Oh, he'll be there. And I assure you, your time will not be wasted." With that, she left, dragging Yuros with her, before one of them did something they would both regret.

[Cheshire]

Character: Gromm Experience: Observation +1, Storytelling +1, Interrogation +1 Lore: Tale of Myri Character: Alea Davenport Experience: Observation +1, Interrogation +2 Lore: Jamoura [Basic], Tale of Myri Character: Yuros Experience: Observation +2, Running +1, Interrogation +1 Additional Note: Good thread guys! PM me with concerns.