[Flashback] A Meeting Over Meat (Louise)

[Owan Bardson]

22 Summer 507 AV

The smell of roasting deer had always been one of Owan's favorites. He'd considered himself especially lucky when he'd come across the doe earlier in the day. She was laying at the bottom of a crag with both forelegs jutting out in awkward angles. He guessed she'd fallen, maybe fleeing a predator, or maybe just running with the herd. Whatever it was didn't really matter to Owan. It'd just been a matter of providence and good timing. He'd sliced the doe's throat with a practiced hand and carried the body over his shoulder to a campsite that he'd used before.

He'd started a fire on a patch of clear ground next to a fallen tree that'd serve as cover if it rained. It took him a while to skin and gut the doe, and when he was done he was bloody up to the elbows. He'd taken the hide and guts off into the forest and tossed them in a bloody heap. He could've kept the hide had he wanted to -maybe made something out of it- but he didn't have the time. He'd broken off a thick sapling and sharpened it to a point. He'd run the point of the sapling down the doe's throat and shoved until the point had come out the other side. When that was done he'd set it above the flames and dropped down on his arse, occasionally spinning the spit.

"Bad luck for ye wasn't it? At least I killed ye quick. Ye'd have died no matter what; I gave ye a quick death," Owan said, chuckling. "At least now ye've got a purpose. Ye won't rot away at the bottom of some godsforsaken hole."

Owan leaned up against the fallen tree and laughed to himself as he turned the spit. Hopefully the deer'd be done before too much longer.

[Louise Risll]

It had been the smell of smoke. Louise had not planned to spend her day around others. At least, not around people who would provide nothing but an odd rummage of emotions. No. Louise had planned to spend the day hunting and maybe try to earn some coin. A usual day really. Nothing truly out of the ordinary. Some time had passed since she had left her home and set off on her own in the world. Not a lot of time had passed. But enough to shed the fears she had felt those first couple of nights away from the only world she had ever known. Louise had been wandering about the Wildlands, keeping somewhat close to Sunberth. While she did not enjoy being around large groups of people, she knew that if she wanted to obtain coin she would have to venture into Sunberth from time to time. It was the only way. But she’d make do. For now. The forest seemed quiet today. That was strange. Maybe it was the hour. Bending down to the forest floor, Louise scanned the dirt for any trace of animal tracks. As she searched the smell of smoke gently brushed beneath her nostrils. Louise’s attention immediately shifted from finding tracks to the smoke. Where was it coming from? Was there someone nearby? Straightening up Louise quietly moved through the forest, trying to follow the smoke’s trail. It was hard. She had never done such a thing before. But she wasn’t comfortable moving onwards without knowing for sure what had caused the smoke. Several long minutes of wandering through the forest passed before the glow of flames appeared up ahead. Moving a bit more quickly now Louise headed towards the glow. Brighter and brighter the glow became until she came to a sudden halt. There, only about three yard ahead, was a camp fire. A large chunk of meat sat roasting on a spit while a man leaned against a nearby tree, laughing to himself it seemed. For a moment Louise was impressed by the game the man had caught all by himself. He had to be quite the hunter to have brought down a deer all by himself. An odd thought crept into her mind. An idea to meet the man who had brought down the deer. Louise shook her head. No. What a stupid idea. She had found the source of the smoke. She should leave now. She should leave…

[Owan Bardson]

Owan leaned up from his position and sliced a cut of deer with his dagger. It wasn't fully cooked, but that didn't stop him from wolfing it down. The rest would cook to completion soon enough. His stomach rumbled as the gamy meat found its way down his throat. He wiped the grease from his mouth with the back of his left hand. He left the dagger jammed in the earth beside him. At the least it would clean the juices off, and on the off-chance that someone decided they'd like to pick a fight with him it would be within reach. He was better with the ax but he'd done his share of bloodletting with the dagger as well. It'd always felt more personal; at least with the boy he'd killed it had.

A wind crept up through the trees, casting the firelight into the bowels of the forest and sending the smoke whirling like a messenger. He cursed under his breath. As if the fire hadn't been obvious enough billowing straight up. All he needed was the catch the forest on fire around him. He chuckled again, imagining the trees going up in flames as he scrambled to escape. What a way to go? The son of The Bard burned up in an accidental blaze.

"My luck'd be worse than yers," he said to the roasting deer. He stood up from his seat on the ground and took a walk around his small campsite. He peered into the woods at each corner, checking to make sure that his meal would go on unobserved. He was on his way back to his perch -ready to drop down and cut off another slice of meat- when he caught sight of the figure in the darkness. The firelight wasn't strong enough to give him a good view, but whoever it was looked smallish. Of course, most people seemed smallish to Owan, who even at barely twenty years old stood well over six feet. He loosened his ax on his belt just in case and leaned out into the darkness.

"No use standin' out there where I can't see ye," he said, squinting to try and get a better view. He could barely make out the outline of a bow in the dark woods. "If ye were going to kill me ye should've done so already. I have no stomach for the melodramatic watcher. Come sit by the fire or be gone with ye." He finished his speech and returned to his seat, keeping his eyes focused on the spot in the darkness.

[Louise Risll]

Why she hadn’t left already was a question Louise was having a hard time finding an answer to. She had found the source of the smoke. She had no reason to get tangled up in this stranger’s business. In fact it looked like the man was just roasting his game and that was it. So why was she still here? Why was she still watching the stranger? What was going on with her today? Suddenly the stranger got up and began to walk about his campsite. Louise finally found the strength to inched backwards, praying for the shadows to help conceal her from the stranger. She should had been long gone by now but because of her foolish staring she could possibly get caught by the stranger. And who knew what this stranger intended to do. Louise remained as quiet as possible as the stranger did his rounds. If she was lucky and the shadows were thick enough he wouldn’t notice her. Then she could make her escape and move along. Only if she was lucky enough… A small wave of relief started to roll within Louise as the stranger finished his round and was heading back to his campfire. The small wave died instantly though when the stranger suddenly turned about and addressed her. Louise remained quiet as the stranger seemed to try to peer through the darkness that covered her. A million different thoughts began to run through her head. Should she attack? No. No that was absurd. And foolish. The stranger was taller than her and certainly stronger. No, she would lose any fight. She could run. But what if the stranger pursued? She had no place to safely return to. While she’d be faster her energy would eventually die and the stranger would yet again win. It wasn’t until Louise’s panicked thoughts settled when she actually listened to the stranger. Join him at his camp or be gone. The logical thing was to simply turned around and leave. But Louise found herself stepping forward. She quietly stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself to the stranger. She opened her mouth to speak but found no words. She snapped her jaw shut, taking a moment to think about what to do next. Finally she opened her mouth again to speak. “I…I did not mean to…to intrude,” she began. “I smelled the…smoke and decided to investigate.”

[Owan Bardson]

Owan kept his eyes on the darkness, ignoring the crackling of the meat for the moment. He wanted to see who had dropped by to disturb his meal. It wasn't as if he was against the sharing of meat, but he wanted to make sure all was as it seemed. He strained his ears to hear above the campfire, listening for the telltale sounds of cracking branches. Had the figure been a distraction then he imagined he'd already be dead, but it never hurt to be careful. Eyes still fixed on the shadows he pulled his dagger from the ground and leaned forward, cutting off another slice of the deer. He allowed it to cool on the blade for a moment before popping it into his mouth. He chewed slowly, savoring the flavor.

Before much longer a girl appeared from the depths of the forest, walking almost warily. She had good reason to be wary, and Owan imagined that approaching him had been a tough choice. If he wanted it wouldn't be terribly hard to toss her around a bit. He doubted her head came much higher than his chin. She was pretty though, and he couldn't help but wonder at what a pretty girl was doing out in the wilds at night. He took his eyes away from her for a brief second and scanned the woods, making sure she wasn't just a distraction. Satisfied that he wasn't being played for a fool he allowed his eyes to drift back over to his guest.

The light from the fire gave him a good look at her. She had a pretty face, framed by shoulder-length brown hair. Her body seemed toned, and the bow hanging from her back looked well conditioned. Perhaps she wasn't as defenseless as he'd expected. Her mouth opened and shut and Owan couldn't help but chuckle. She looked like a fish out of water. When she did manage to speak it was faltering and choppy.

"Yer not intrudin'," Owan said simply, finally comfortable enough with her presence to lean back against the tree. If she did decide to use the bow he reckoned he had time to flick his dagger at her. "A dangerous move that," he mused. "Approaching a stranger in the woods; it's a good way to end up in a shallow grave lass," he continued, chuckling again. "Lucky for ye those aren't my intentions. Cut yerself a slice of deer. Owan Bardson at yer service."