A day in the woods (Allison)

[Carney]

The 47th of summer, 512 AV


Carney or Sorley, depending on which soul was holding the reins at the moment, had decided to spend his time off this day going through the woods north of Syliras. He had along with him his guard dog Blue, a young white pitbull with a few brown spots here and there. The purpose of this days journey was to walk about and maybe get some hunting done, or if he happened across a stream fish. The day was still young in the morning though they had been out since day break. As he through the forrest Carney could not help but get lost watching the scene, the way the light shined down through the breaks in the tops of the trees. He listened to the sounds of the forrest and looked for any game animals he could use as target practice for his bolas.

About an hour passed and he saw nothing he deemed worth hunting so he made his way to a small creek where he thought he would try his luck with his fishing pole. In a few minutes time he had a makeshift seat and his pole rigged, after casting out his line into a calm pool of the creek he sat on the log he had found for a seat. Time began to pass by with little more than a nibble here and there, it seemed that the fish were pecking away at his bait. As he rebaited his hook and casted his line he began to drift into thought.

Then a short while later his relaxation was broken by the sound of a galloping horse, it was not far off almost on the trail that was behind him a ways. As he turned to see what or who was making the noise he saw her, she looked to be a small woman with pale skin and long blonde hair that flowed with the wind. She was about to pass and keep on going when Carney saw her fall out of her saddle. As luck had it it was the light brother Carney and not the darker one that was in control then. Carney would always go out of his way to help a member of the fairer sex, Sorley however was not as kind hearted.

As soon as he had seen that the woman was going to fall he Carney felt it was his duty to investigate and see if she needed any help. He rose from the log he had been sitting on and pulled his line out quickly telling his dog to stay, then he ran over to where the woman had fallen. "Are you alright? I saw you fall from over yonder." he said as he drew closer to the young woman. "Let me take a look here make sure you did not break anything."

[Allison]

It was early morning in the woods outside of Syliras. The sky was blue and birds chirped in the trees – it was the perfect Disney cliché. Allison had left the crowded city of Syliras not to hunt, she did that at night, but to find a quiet place to paint. She had not been able to so recently, which meant her outlet had been taken from her. This lead to a less than friendly Allison, which did little good for anyone. And so she had got on her horse and proceeded to plod along the leaf-ridden forest floor. After about half and hour or so Allison was tired and frustrated by the lack of inspiration, and so despite her lack of skill with horse riding she gave Terri a kick and took off at a gallop. The trees rushed by her as the horse seemed to fly down the steep hill they had found themselves on. And then everything stopped as Terri skidded to a halt to avoid falling into the small creek. Allison was thrown forward with a jolt before she slipped off her saddle and landed on the dusty ground. Allison shook her head, disorientated. Everything had happened so fast, she couldn’t determine what had gone wrong. So when the large blue man came to check if she was okay she got an understandable shock. For one thing she had never seen an Akalak before, and for another she was still in a more defensive state having just fallen off her horse, who was now blatantly ignoring the scene instead nibbling on some grass growing near the creek. She let a surprised hiss slip through her lips as she sprung back, now on her feet despite the ringing in her ears and the inexplicable amount of pain coming from her chest. Her breaths were shallow and her mind was racing. After a few moments of processing the scene unfolding around her, Allison finally managed to force out a coherent sentence. “Who are you?” she demanded before falling back down onto the ground, her head making the world spin and twirl around her.

[Carney]

Carney saw that the woman must not have hurt herself to badly when she sprung up the way she did. He had not stopped to think that he was a minority and his exotic look could frighten the young woman. He backed away a few feet as she asked who he was and answered her, "I am sorry if I scared you miss I meant no such thing. I am Carney and I was over there fishing when I heard you ride. When you fell I was only trying to make sure you are fine, I mean you no harm mi'lady."

Carney was the kind of man who always tried to be a gentleman, his twin soul was another person all together though. He could tell that she was likely still shook up by her fall and felt it was his duty to help the woman, he offered her his arm to steady herself and said, "Are you alright? How about you have a seat and rest your head there on that log." If she went along with it he would lead her to the log he had been sitting on a moment ago. "So where were you on your way to in such a hurry?", he asked just to make conversation, and to make sure she was coherent.

[Allison]

Allison went along with the blue man - she realized that she would not be going anywhere on her own, and this man however odd looking was not hostile. She still did not trust him though, but her thoughts would not stay on the subject any longer and so she stayed quiet. When the man asked her about her pace, she struggled to remember why she was in such a hurry. “I don’t know.” She replied honestly, glancing up at him to get a better look. He was a tall man with deep blue skin and green eyes, and he intrigued Allison. “Why are you blue?” she asked him, without any though given to if it might offend him. At the moment she was not quite capable of such complicated thinking, as simple as it might seem to most. She did not even think to label him as an Akalak, because she had never seen one outside Riverfall. Or perhaps she just hit her head too hard. As Allison awaited an answer she decided to make sure she had not in fact broken anything, as the blue man had been curious about earlier. She only felt any serious pain around her ribs, but from a few prods with her finger she figured it was just badly bruised. She let out a long breath and ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

[Carney]

Carney was happy that the young lady had went along with him and sat on the log, though he could hear his twin in the back of his head saying why should he help and care about this stranger, and that she would not have done the same for him. He said that it was only he, Sorley and Blue that could be counted on. It was a strange thing that both Carney and Sorley loved the dog, they rarely thought the same about anything.

She answered his question about why she was going about so quickly with an I don't know and he thought this to be a bad sign, or at least that she was indeed still shook up. A mement later she asked him why he was so blue, he laughed a gentle laugh and explained, "I am this color because I am an Akalak, we are a people that tend to be this color." He smiled and was unoffended by this, he may be young by his races terms but understood that other races that were shorter lived may not see his kind their whole life.

Carney saw her try and check herself, it looked as if most of the damage was in her ribs. She may not have had any broken bones but it seemed to him that she may have hurt her head as well, this concerned him as she had not responded very well to his questions, she had seemingly not heard some. He repeated himself as he dug through his pack, "What is your name? As he asked her this he produced water and some food, he handed both over to her wanting to help her.

[Allison]

As soon as it was clarified to Allison that this man was an Akalak, things began to make more sense. So they do travel beyond Riverfall… she thought to herself. She had always been told as a child that they stayed within the city, perhaps to make sure she did the same. “My name’s Allison.” She replied to the man’s question, before asking him, “And yours?”. Her head had begun to stop spinning and her thoughts became more coherent as time went on, and she found the more she forced herself to think the faster this process became. She turned away the offer of food and water. She sat there in silence for a few minutes after that, watching the man and his strange mannerisms. Why was he helping her? Allison then started to get a feeling of an inner conflict inside the Akalak. She wasn’t sure what led her to think that, but she did know of the dual personalities of the Akalaks. She did not entirely understand how it worked, just that two souls were in the same body, more or less. She decided not to voice her suspicions though, for fear of angering the huge man.

[Carney]

Carney listened as the woman spoke her name, well at least she had not bumped her head badly. It seemed that she had not heard him introduce himself though he understood after all she had just fallen so he spoke again, "My name is Carney, it is nice to meet you Allison. Though I would have liked to have met you under differnt circumstances. I trust you are okay."

Carney thought it strange that the woman would turn away his offer of food and water but mentioned nothing of it. He thought she must have some sort of reason, that she may have had trust issues. He could not blame her after all there were people in the world that would take advantage of a young hurt girl. It was true that his two souls were very differnt but even Sorley would find it to be poor sport to prey on a creature so small and fragile looking.

He noticed that she had been watching him, as if to study him and his motives. Was it that she had never seen a gentleman? Then he broke the silence, "It is very peacful here. Much better than sitting in town, don't you think?" He said it with a smile, trying to make small talk. Small talk was something he was not so good at, much of his conversations occured with Sorley and well Sorley knew everything about him and vice versa.

[Allison]

Allison eyed him carefully as he spoke, watching for any movements that suggested hostility, even an unconscious one. “Yes, that’s why I’m here rather than in there. I find it rather unpleasant.” She said, watching his reactions carefully. She felt that she was at a disadvantage however, no matter how ready she tried to be. He was so… tall. And muscled. Despite his gentlemanly disposition, Allison did not trust anyone with that much of an edge. It might be why she didn’t like the Syliran knights, but that was not the topic to be thinking about at the moment. She could not afford to let her mind wander right now. She finally convinced herself that this man, Carney, meant no harm and then turned to look at the small creek. It smelled of fish and water-dwelling birds, and she could she the little bodies of aquatic creatures slipping about under the surface. It made her quite nauseous, thinking of the water. Being very feline based, she was not fond of water or being wet. After a few moments of silence she turned back to Carney. “So, do you reside in the city?” she asked, an innocent enough question if one doesn’t know the intents behind it.

[Carney]

Carney listened as she spoke then spoke in turn, True true, much of my time is spent in and near the mines to the north. It can be very busy for lack of a better word." The truth of the matter was that while Carney did not care for all the noise of town and the mining camps, Sorley liked it very much as there was always chance for a fight and bettering his skills.

He saw her look towards the water and thought he saw her make a face though it may well have been his imagination. A short time later she asked a question of him and he replied, "Well I do have an apartment in the city, though I work as I said a moment ago in the iron mine up north so I am not always in the city. What about you?" With his question there was no hidden agenda he only asked because he wanted to keep the conversation going.

Just then Carney could hear the whine of his dog and he realized that he had been ignoring the dog. He made a clicking sound with his mouth and the young dog came to his side with tail in full motion. As he petted Blue Carney figured he had better make the introduction, "Allison this is my guard pup Blue. But don't worry he is very nice, as long as he knows that you are not a threat."

[Allison]

Allison watched him carefully for a moment before answering, “I have a camp set up in the woods, but I’ll be leaving soon enough. I’m not sure where I’ll end up – I have yet to find my goal in life.” As soon as the dog made it’s presence known, Allison leaped from her seat and spun round. Her eyes followed the heavily muscled dog as it made its way to Carney’s side. She sat down carefully as Carney reassured her that the dog was friendly, but did not take her eyes off the animal’s large jaws and stocky build. “You’re a dog person then?” she asked, with a hint of distaste in her voice. That told her a good bit about the Akalak, but mostly it told her that she didn’t like him. This seemingly unjustified hostility seemed quite sane in her own thoughts; however she understood that doing anything to upset this man would not end well for her. And so she composed herself again, returning to indifference.