Closed Under the white snow [Arden Wintervine]

[Clemens Kos]

22th of winter, 514. The mistake he was doing previously, is going out at a later time. Then he had to run back to the city walls, unless he wanted to be eaten by wolves. This time, however, the man was prepared. Or so he thought, as he was walking alongside the worn out road, giving a pretty direct indication that it was used daily. Caravans, patroling knights, you name it. Even stupid little hunters like himself, who didn't make enough for the winter - and tried against luck to actually hunt. He had a good feeling about this day, however. Unlike the previous time, he came with a small animal snare, bait, and a bag to carry everything out. He was prepared. All he needed now, is find a good enough location for it, and he'd be set to go. His snow boots making easy pathing towards his destination, he himself wrapped tightly around the thick coat he wore in the winter's day. Probably for the best, as he was able to cover his left arm with it, which was actually a plated rerebance. It did make his left arm look a lot thicker, but not that he minded. Knowing the little amount of people he met so far, his odd looks started with his hair. On one side, reaching down to bellow the neck, messy and somewhat greasy, covering his left eye. The other side, cleanly shaven, with a single deep green eye observing his surroundings. That is mostly everything the man showed, facial wise. He did wear a mask, after all, which served as a scarf of sorts, but mostly to keep his looks from scaring any poor children. He kneeled down next to a small, snow covered bush, and got to work. The toolbox he bought just for this did came with instructions on how to use such a thing, which he luckily read before departing. His fingers went to work, beginning to twist and turns the wire into a noose. He began to dig in the snow, before placing the noose there, and carefully beginning to cover it with snow. He did mutter out a curseword, as the noose tightened around on his touch, because he had to repeat the whole process again, only this time trying to be even more careful. it did took him quite some time, but after a while he managed to set up the trap, with a single slice of an apple he had for a snack placed on top of it. He asked around, getting a piece of information from older, more experienced hunters. 'Foxes eat fruits'. And that's what he hoped for. As he rose to his feet, he slowly began to move away from the small snare he set up, bringing a hand over the tracks he made to cover them. He didn't know if a fox would actually care, but it would be better safe than sorry. He finally returned back to the road, now being covered by a light sheet of snow, due to kneeling in it for too long. The halbert he wore on his back, something he couldn't really be able to hide, did reflect the little snow the day had to offer. "Now we simply wait..." He said to himself, looking up in the sky to check the sun. He still had enough time. And even though the trap offered him somewhat of a problem, he still had a good feeling about today. So in the meantime, while waiting for the trap to trigger, he decided to stay in the area, and look for something which seemed remotely interesting. He decided to move somewhat away from the main road, going to explore the near-by surroundings. Yet, he learned, that he should always keep the road in his field of view, just in case. And that's what he did. The masked human simply waddled around in the snow, checking bushes for anything on them. Sadly, as he should of known, they were all empty, nibbled by the little forest animals.

[Arden Whitevine]

It was late and Arden knew it, but after search for hours she had finally found what she was looking for. Dried comfry roots. "If only it was always this simple" Arden mutters sarcastically. Hours trudging through snow has soaked through her boots. Pulling out her small knife she began to cut through the roots one by one. Each root was wrap in a small, water soaked cloth. Dry roots are okay, but they work better if they are slightly hydrated. Arden began to cut through a particularly thick root, struggling and pulling the root it finally snaps, a sharp pain hits her leg. "OWW!" Arden screams dreading what has just happened. Her knife was sticking out of her leg. Oh no. Her thoughts swirled around and around. Being skilled in medicine with help with fighting infection, but being as late as it was getting blood was not something you wanted to be in the air. "Okay, okay. Relax Arden, you just need to pull it out and wrap it. Simple." Gritting her teeth she gripped the knife. Sharp pain shot through her leg, with a sharp and quick jerk the knife was out. Placing the knife in her bag she searched for a long piece of rag, or something to wrap around her wound. Not finding anything she ripped a piece off her coat and tied it tightly around her upper thigh. With quick hands she finished gathering the smaller roots. "Have to get back before dark. Don't be out after dark." Arden mutter stand up, using a tree for support. Leaning in the tree she tested her leg, how much weight can it handle. Standing straight and immense pain hits her. Hissing through her teeth she pulled her bag over her head. Taking a deep breath she slowly began limping forward, wincing at each step. Determination in her eyes, she followed her footprints back to the path.

[Clemens Kos]

The day luckily remained uneventful, until he heard a snap, and a violent hustle coming from the bush he set the trap under. The man was happy with himself, quite much so. It seemed that finally some luck stepped towards him, as he quite quickly hurried back, finding a small, furred fox shaking around, having a paw caught in the noose he created. The animal was visibly strartled, but it seemed okay. He could get a few coins for this find, specially because it is winter. He grabbed the longer part of the snare, lifting the animal up. All the scratching, bitting, and wiggling didn't help the animal, as the hunter closed his eyes. His right hand, which was holding the snare, was lifted up, and then without any other warning, he would flicker his wrist, sending his hand in the direction of a tree next to him. He let the animal collide right into it, and with that motion, it stopped moving. Afterwords, he openned his eyes again, and threw the snare, together with the little fox into the bag he had with him. SImple enough, he thought to himself, as he hurled the bag over his shoulder, and waddled out of the snow, and onto the road. Even though he was wearing a mask, he was smiling underneath. Happy, even. That feeling didn't usually acompany him while out in the woods. Too many bad memories, after all. As he walked alongside the road back to the city, he realized it was getting awefully late. Was he really out the whole day? Well, at least he has something to bring back. His monologue about how great he was, however, was interupted by an odd scream. That was something he didn't really expect. And something he didn't like one bit. He knew himself how dangerous these parts are, specially with it getting dark. He looked around, trying his best to find the source, or at least from what direction it came from. Tightly wrapping his fingers of his hand around the bag, he decided to go towards the source, his right hand on the dagger that was strapped to his hip. He didn't know what to expect, so at least looking like he's armed would be better than nothing at all. Hopefully, his odd looks would get him out of trouble, if there are any bandits lurking around. It wasn't long, however, until he found some footprints. They were smaller than his, so it was difficult to imagine a bandit that small. Yet, they were bigger than any wildlife he knew. Specially because it appeared only two legs were used. He followed them, until he heard a rustle. A woman was coming his way. It would appear like she was limping. Moving way slower than one should, specially outside. Looking around, he didn't find no one else, so putting one and one together, this would mean the source of the scream was the woman. And she wasn't chased, or else she would already be trying to book it. "Hey!" He spoke out, trying to get the woman's attention. "You alright, there?" the masked man asked out, even though, he well, he was a masked tall man, with a weapon poking over his shoulder. He expected the woman to not actually welcome him with open arms. So his hand left the dagger on his hip, and was raised up in the air. "I don't want any trouble. Just heard a scream."

[Arden Whitevine]

Arden's head snapped up to the sound of a voice, she stumbled back a little. A masked man, in the woods, it's dark and he's got a weapon. She's went from anxious to down right terrified. He must have heard her scream and came to investigate. Being in the woods at this time of night, masked and weaponed, must be up to no good she thought. "I-I'm fine." She said her voice shaking, either from being scared or the pain, she couldn't tell. Taking a few steps to the other side of the path, she stumbled into a tree wincing and grabbing her leg. Taking a deep shaky breathe she looked up at the tall man, then the colour drained from her face. Oh, this isn't good. Arden thought to herself, she stood up straight and started forward again. Walking slowly and painfully she made a point of trying to walk by the man. For he was in between her and safety. Pulling her bag closer to her side, she kept her eyes on him. Arden paused a few feet in front of him, observing him. Noticing the fox tail sticking out of his own bag. She gulped, Great, he knows how to kill too the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She took steps backwards. Looking around for away out, but she couldn't find one, she had to walk past him. And at this point she was ready to be that bold. [i]Come on Arden. You're just over thinking this. Maybe he's not that kind of person. But the weapons, that fox, the mask.

[Clemens Kos]

He watched the woman strugle. 'Fine' just couldn't begin to explain how un-fine this woman was. It wasn't hard to spot one of her legs was hurt, specially with a ripped coat, a bandage over her thigh, and her being unable to walk. He did just want to commend her for the dedication and the stubbornness, but just barely. He watched he stumble into the tree, grabbing the leg. That just approved his little thought about a hurt leg. The masked man released a sigh at the whole scene infront of him. Even though, he was kind of happy. It was only this girl, and not a bunch of armed thugs who he probably couldn't fight off, even if he tried to. Well, he was about to say something, but he noticed the woman beginning to walk towards him. Well, that would be an egotistical thought to have. She was probably thinking of walking pass him, and find the quickest way to the city, before the night comes. The same way he was going. His one green eye simply watched her carefully, as if thinking about the one, or the other. A brow was furrowed, as he watched her almost pass him. And that's when he decided to act. He shifted his weight on his heels, and spinned around to meet for a second, before landing in the direction she was going. "I don't want to hear a word." He spoke out afterwords, showing how bad with human interaction he actually was. He stepped on the side where her leg was hurt, and simply extended his hand to wrap it around her waist. She could feel the cold plate rembrace pressing against her back, as his much taller self bended down slightly, offering her support to lean on. Now, he didn't really know or expect how she would react to that, but in a way, she had no chance. She couldn't run off, nor did he see any weapons for her to defend herself with. Suddenly, he extended the bag with the fox to the woman. "Hold this for me." Didn't really seem like much of an question, but an order. Or well, a harsh statement. Yet, he hoped she would listen to him, because with his second hand now free, he had the leisure of reaching down towards the back of her knees, and simply swooping her off her feet. He knew himself the dark would be coming sooner or later, and waiting for her to limb around to the city was a dead sentance waiting to happen. Luckily, dragging his weapon around made him somewhat endurant, so he hoped he could get the woman somewhere without getting too tired. His snow boots now beginning to walk back, following the footprints he did getting here. It didn't take long, before they got to the well walked through road, where the whole carrying thing wasn't that complex. All he had to make sure his steps were careful, because the last thing he wanted was to trip and fall down with this girl in his hands. That would be simply embarassing. Even though, the woman was quite light. He expected something more, but he carried boars that were way ...wider, for the lack of a prettier term. "We'll be back in Syliras soon enough." He decided to break the silence.

[Arden Whitevine]

With the surprise of the cold vembrace on her back, she was suddenly off her feet. "Wait, what are you doing?" She was now holding both her bag and his as they began moving towards the city. Arden thought about getting her knife out of her bag, but what good would a knife do. It's not life she could run anywhere. Maybe she would lie in order to keep herself safe, but what good would that do, if he was going to kidnap her, nothing could stop him. "I could have made it on my own." she argued. Arden looked at the forest as they walked, the trees block a bit of the snow from falling but most just lands in uneven piles. It surely wasn't like the beauty of Avanthal but it was good enough, for seeing the lush green in the spring and summer made up for the not so beautiful winter. She sighed heavily, putting pressure on her right leg. This is so stupid. she thought angrily. She looked up at him when he spoke "We'll be back in Syliras soon enough." Great she thought, but what if he wants something for helping. Her head spun, what a mess she got herself into. Arden pulled her coat closer around her neck, she then tucked her necklace in her tunic. Looking back down she began to fiddle with her bag. He is a very strange looking man. She thought looking up. She could only see half his face, and the one green eye. Trying to find a hint of expression or emotion, but none was found. The mask hides most of his face, maybe it was meant to make him seem rough and dangerous, and it surely does. The few short months that she has been in Syliras she had never seen him around at all, nor heard of such a man looking like him. Thought Arden doesn't talk to many people, actually none at all.

[Clemens Kos]

The man simply kept walking, feeling the fatigue of the new burden getting harder and harder, he did indeed grit his teeth together and kept walking. If he would be carrying a boar, or anything that wasn't alive, he would make a stop by now, shake off his hands, and then continue his little trip. But a part of him simply wanted to appear strong and self-sufficient. He'd lie if he said he didn't think about impressing this girl he was carrying. He never had the liberty of doing this, after all. He knew he is going to regret this in the moring, as he is going to strain his muscles up to such an extend they will ache greatly. But he would simply have to live with it. He noticed the somewhat scared woman looking up at him. Happily, she wasn't going to see much, save for his one eye that kept looking forward. He did look down every now and again, simply to remind himself why he was doing all this. "What happened?" He asked, after a few moments of silence which felt like hours. He was indeed curious for what happened to the woman, with apparantly no one around her to hurt her leg this much. The only logical explanation would be an accident, and even that seemed somewhat far fetched. But who knew. He experienced first handedly how stupid a human can become at times. And as a breeze hit him head on, it moved some of his hair away. it revealed two things. His other eye, and his left ear. Or well, the lack of it. Where his ear would have to be, a simple cut off stud remained. A somewhat grotesque appearance, but something he himself learned to live with. Thing is, he felt the woman was fiddling around with her bag, but he couldn't really do anything to prevent such an action. He could only hope the woman didn't think of him so lowly, that she'd pull a knife on him. Or even worse, to throw away the fox he managed to capture after all those failed attempts. He blinked, though, feeling that his priorities were somewhat strange at the present time. As he walked, he merely shrugged his shoulders faintly, keeping his inner monologue. He simply hoped she wouldn't think of him even more weird as he actually was, doing random motions like that. As he set his eyes on the path ahead, he realized they were almost at their destination. His arms aching as never before. He had to carry his weapon, his armored arm, and now, the woman with her and his own bag. A sigh escaped his lips, as beads of sweat began to appear on his forhead. The wind was no longer in his hair, so his missing ear and eye were covered up once more.

[Arden Whitevine]

“Oh, um.” She looked at him again, then away. “You don’t need to carry me if it's becoming hard on you.” She murmured. Arden had seen the beads of sweat, and had realized that maybe he wasn't used to carrying such a weight. She avoided the questions about her leg, it was a stupid mistake, a dull knife. The wind blew, it was a nice chill. She wasn't used to such a mild winter. But that was when she had seen the rest of his face, then his ear. A small gasp escaped her lips, it was almost completely gone. What could possible do that to someone. She let her bag go, fiddling with it did ease her discomfort. Her eyes changed, instead of the usually green, they were now a purple. Seeing as she was still highly cautious of the man, but even more so now after seeing his ear. Though it was not her place to ask such questions, even more so in this situation. Arden began feeling more and more awkward as they neared the destination. She sighed, but kept her eyes down. Touching her collar bone she felt her mark, slightly raised but still smooth. Arden wondered if this would have happened if she had stayed in Wintervine hold in Avanthal. Would she have injured herself at all?

[Clemens Kos]

"It's...Fine. You nearly collapsed when we met. I don't think I want to risk that."He spoke out, simply pushing the feeling in the back of his head. Yet it was getting more and more difficult to keep a cool composure, as he felt his hands are going to start shaking any second now. He quickly realized that she wasn't ready to talk about her leg, and he could respect that. If he did something stupid, he wouldn't want other to hear it, either. If not else, he didn't want to be mocked or laughed at. He didn't really feel like he would do such, unless it would be something really, really silly. No, he wasn't going to pry. Because he had no time to. He heard the gasp that escaped her. Because it happened the same moment the air revealed his ear, and he felt such, he quickly put one and one together. "Oh...it's nothing. Don't worry." He tried to reassure her, but part of him really doubt that would in any way shape of form help. But no one could say he didn't try to. Slowly, though he came to a hold. They were right on the border of the city, already able to see the outskirts of the town. Slowly, he inched down, placing her down on the ground. once the extra weight was gone, and he was able to flex out, shaking his hands. "I think this is enough. Will you be able to go from here on your own?" He asked, as he looked down at her, offering a nod. His body felt much better now, yet he really didn't know what to do next. He shruged at the notion of having to have some actual small-talk, simply because she was somewhat silent for the whole trip. Even though, he at least learned that itnroducing himself helped in that regard. So he simply spoke out. "I'm Clemens, by the way." It did indeed seem somewhat awkward, because thar came from nowhere, but how else can one break the ice, and start the conversation. He didn't know if he should extend his hand for a handshake, or simply stay where he is. It was indeed an awkward place to be in, but he hoped the woman would be able to say something to make it less horrid.

[Arden Whitevine]

She open her mouth to say something but then quickly thought other wise. Hes determined, I'll give him that. She mused in her mind leaving a smirk on her face. Arden knew he was having trouble continuously carry her, letting out a hefty sigh. "I can give you something for the muscle ache when we get back to the strong hold." She murmur, positive that he had heard her. They had become quite close that she could almost smell the smoke coming from the chimneys and the fireplaces. After he had let her down, she gave him a small smile. "This was really kind of you. Helping out a stranger and all." She rummaged through her back, looking for one of those roots. Hoping to give it to him to help with his sore muscles. Grasping a root in her hand she pulled it out and proceeded to hand it over. "This should help with any sore muscles. Just chew on it, don't swallow. That would make you ill." She laughed altitude at his conversation making. "Well nice to meet you Clemens, I'm Arden Whitevine. Thank you for your help." She replied smoothly, giving a small nod to him. It was a great relief to make it back home before nightfall. Another cold wind blew, this time she could feel a storm coming, this excited her. Maybe some real winter weather. She thought running a hand threw her tousled hair. Even in the low light, her hair had hints of colour, like the aurora. Her eyes had changed back to green, as she was not longer cautious of the man.