Wild in Ravok (Open)

by **Aello** on January 17th, 2011, 8:43 pm

66 Winter, 510 AV
Location: Wilderness just outside of Ravok

Aello was happy to have finally gotten out of the main part of town. Although the city of Ravok was nice in its own sort of way, Aello needed a short break from it all. She wanted to get away from the boats, and the water that constantly crashed into the side of the buildings, the water that would shoot up and lick your face if you were not careful.

Aello was stepping as silently as she could through the thin line of trees. Her left hand gripping her bow, the three middle fingers of her right hand hugging an arrow that had already been knocked. The arrow was pointed down at the ground, Aello's body was slightly hunched over, and her eyes were peeled for any sign or signs of life- the rustling of leaves, footprints, broken branches, anything really. But Aello's eyes were not trained for such things, so she found nothing. She did, however, start to pick up on something. They sounded like footsteps, coming from her right.

Aello turned abruptly on her heels, swinging her body as well as her bow around and to the right. Aello slowly lifted the bow up to her face. She sighted down the arrow- it was pointed at a spot on the ground, approximately five feet away from a large tree. Her fingers were slowly pulling back on the bow string, inching it closer and closer to her ear. Aello was scarcely breathing as she waited. She was straining herself, forcing herself into silence as she waited for another sign, another sound, something that would alert her to the location of another living entity.

Aello's heart was pounding in her tiny rib cage and a few beads of sweat appeared on her brow as she waited. The anticipation was killing her, "come on... come on..." Aello whispered into the woods.

Just then, there was a rustling in a low-lying green shrub a few feet away from where Aello was currently pointing her arrow. Aello swung her arm so that her arrow was now pointed at that shrub, and let go of the bow string. The arrow shot out of the bow string, and flew straight towards the shrub.

by **Patrick Becker** on January 19th, 2011, 6:02 am

Patrick was taking what he thought would be a peaceful walk in the forests just outside the beautiful city of Ravok. He didn't have a job at the moment, so he had taken the time to take it easy.

Due to his size, he wasn't the most dextrous person in the world. He had hit his head on a low branch and fell down into a shrub. Wasn't it just his luck that some crazy bastard had decided to shoot an arrow into a random shrub, just happening to be exactly where he had just landed?

The arrow whistled through the air and into the shrub and the only thing that saved Patrick was his dumb luck. If the arrow had hit 2 finger breathes to the left, he would been a dead man. Luckily, it glanced off the massive Rockcrusher hammer that was slung over his back.

Patrick rolled out the bushes and to his feet swearing. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You trying to killed me?" he shouted. He had already taken out his hammer before he saw who his attacker was. A rather attractive woman with a bow still stretched out. He decided to figure out why she had tried to kill him before paying her back for it. A bit of a break from tradition but some exceptions had to made.

by **Aello** on January 20th, 2011, 3:13 am

Aello's bow was still raised as she watched the arrow go. Her chest was rising and falling steadily, several beads of sweat lining her brow. There was definitely something in the shrubbery, the whole thing was shaking. And it was... shouting? Aello's brow furrowed in confusion as a man rolled out of the shrubbery. He was older than she, and far heavier, perhaps weighing twice as much as Aello. He had broad shoulders and a relatively muscular body. He was holding a giant hammer. Aello lowered her bow. She was gripping it tightly in her right hand, her knuckles growing white, as her heart started to pound against her chest again.

Aello took a few steps forward, and towards the man who was rapidly growing red in the face. His garments were covered in crunchy, dead brown leaves, and small speckles of dirt. Aello looked past him, to where her peacock feather-tipped arrow rested in the dirt. She strode over to it, hastily, before plucking it from the earth and placing it into her quiver in one swift, fluid motion. She then turned abruptly on her heels, and walked back over to the man. He had gotten up since she had last bothered to look at him. She stared up at him, an amused smile appearing on her delicate face. Her eyes were glimmering playfully.

"Sorry, I thought you were a rabbit..." Aello's voice trailed off a bit as her left hand took up residence on her hip. "After all, they tend to hop around in bushes... and up until recently," Aello cast him a distrustful glance, "I was led to believe that adult humans didn't do the same... but now... who is to be sure?" Aello asked no one in particular. Perhaps the question was rhetorical, perhaps not. Aello had thought that only children rolled and played about in the woods. Her brow arched playfully, as she breathed deeply in through her nose and then out through her mouth.

Aello looked into the man's aura. It swirled all around his head, and Aello's body. Like a transparent mist, but instead of being a light grey color, the man's aura was a bright red, like blood. Red signified anger, and perhaps, an aggressive personality. Lovely, Aello thought, as she waved the aura away with her free hand. Instantly, she felt like she had walked into a brick wall, an intense wave of exhaustion washed over her, and Aello began to blink a few times, trying to get the feeling to go away. Her eyes were starting to feel heavier and heavier, and Aello just hoped that she managed to stay relatively awake and alert. She brought her free hand to her forehead for a moment, rubbing her fingers into her right temple as though she had a headache, before glancing down again, and instantly removing her hand. She lifted her eyes again, to look up at the slightly imitating man who towered over her. Her eyes were losing every glint and gleam they once possessed, they were no longer shining, and seemed to have developed a slightly paler shade.

Aello stuck her free hand out to the man. "Name's Aello, and who might you be?" she asked, waiting for the man to either take her hand, or push it away. She didn't really care, which it was. Although, if he pushed it away, it probably wasn't a good thing, because then it would be rather safe to guess that the man wasn't too friendly.

by **Patrick Becker** on January 20th, 2011, 9:50 pm

Although his expression didn't change, Patrick was furious. First this lady shoots at him, and then, instead of grovelling in apology, starts to make fun of him. How dare she! She was also obviously not a very intelligent person. Insulting a man twice her size was never a good idea, especially when he was waving a large hammer in her direction. She already seemed tired as well. It seemed like she was barely able to keep her eyes open.

Sensing no further danger, Patrick put his hammer away. However he didn't take her hand or swat it away. He took her hand and said gruffly, "Patrick". Patrick knew that the first rule of leadership was to not be rude. Never be overly nice, but never be overly rude either. And he did enjoy controlling others whenever possible.

by **Aello** on January 22nd, 2011, 4:02 am

Aello watched Patrick lower his hammer, and silently let out all the breath she hadn't even realized that she had been holding in. Her chest instantly felt lighter, as did the rest of her body, and Aello couldn't help but wonder how pale she must appear to him. Her hand was still outstretched, but trembling slightly, perhaps because she was cold, or because of the wind, or due to her general level of nervousness, or it could be a mixture of a few things, Aello couldn't really tell. And if she couldn't tell, Aello doubted that Patrick could either.

When Aello realized that Patrick wasn't going to take her hand, she slowly moved it back to her side. Her hand hung limply, as she glanced down at her feet, as though she were slightly embarrassed, when in reality, she couldn't feel anything other than a general awkwardness, and fear. She had obviously made him angry, and she wondered if there was anything she could do to fix that. Aello shuffled her foot back and forth along the forest floor, pushing some cold dirt around, and forming an upside-down "u" shape with her feet. Aello glanced up again from her feet, her cheeks slightly red as she said, "sorry about the arrow... like I said, I thought you were a rabbit or something." As soon as the words had escaped her lips, she looked down again, silently praying that her words would be enough to calm Patrick, at least a little bit. "So what are you doing here anyway?" Aello asked.

by **Patrick Becker** on January 22nd, 2011, 5:10 pm

Patrick stared at her for a few seconds before answering. He knew that his demeanor was having some kind of negative effect on her. Patrick smiled internally and thought ‘This might be a bit of fun after all!’

“The name is Patrick. I was just going for a stroll in the forest when you attacked me. I have decided not to kill you for it, but I haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to hurt you. You should know that Ravok isn’t the kind of place that you just frivolously shoot random people.” He said. “Well…, ” he amended himself, “ You can, but you have to be ready for the consequences. ” Patrick cracked his knuckles for emphasis. “What do you do anyway?”

by **Aello** on January 23rd, 2011, 1:49 am

Aello chuckled, "hello Patrick," she said, as the wind began to pick up, and whip her hair wildly around her, at times, covering her eyes and blocking her view. Aello tucked her hair behind her ears with her free hand, and smiled sweetly up at Patrick.

Who did Patrick think he was? Aello wondered. Was he trying to intimidate her by informing her that he may or may not wish her harm. That he may or may not try to kill her? Aello's eyes flashed mysteriously as her mind wandered with all the possibilities. Was he simply really bad at filtering out his thoughts, what should and should not be spoken? Was he simply socially inept? Or was it something else entirely? Something she may be missing?

Aello's grip tightened on her bow, and her knuckles turned white. Her heart began to beat a little faster, and her palms started to sweat, making her grip on the bow cold and sticky. She wondered why the man was giving her "lesson," and how he intended on "teaching her." From the look of things, he had some armor and a giant hammer, which would make him kind of scary and intimidating... if Aello felt that he could actually catch up with her. The armor and the hammer had to be difficult to carry around for long periods of time. Even though she was smaller, and not covered in armor, she had to be faster than him, and capable of out-running him, right?

Aello shifted her weight from her left foot to her right foot, as she stared up at Patrick and into his eyes. Her eyes glimmered mischievously, as a few of her peacock feather-tipped arrows tickled her right ear. "It's a rather cold day to simply go for a stroll in the woods..." Aello's voice was carried away by the wind, "is that really ALL you were doing?" Aello asked, her right brow slightly raised.

OOCPlease, please, please, write longer and more detailed posts, it is nearly impossible to write responses when I barely have a paragraph to respond to, also, you won't get very much exp. like that.

by **Patrick Becker** on January 23rd, 2011, 3:23 pm

Patrick's mind raced. He was making an enemy here. From past experience, Patrick knew that enemies were not good. His rudeness and demeanor did keep hired fighting monkeys in line, but the same could not be said for regular people. Those that weren't already under his command would not respond well to his threatenings. Patrick knew he needed to act much nicer if he was going to get anything out of this ill fated walk. Putting on a healthy coat of eloquence and an awkward smile (he wasn't used to smiling), he said

"I have been so rude, and for that I am sorry. You are already doubting me, for every word I say. I truthfully say that I was taking a walk. I have had a tough life, and I wear these arms and armour no matter where I go. I just tripped when you, accidentally I'm sure, shot at me. I'm so sorry for acting the way I did, I was just surprised by a near death experience. Will you please forgive me, so that we may start over?"

Of course, none of this had been true. He had actually wanted to try his hand at hunting. But when he had gotten out into the wilderness, he had remembered that he had no long range weapons of any kind. Instead of going back and buying a small bow or something sensible, Patrick had just resolved to solve this problem like any other in his life. Swing a hammer at it till it started to work for him. He had tried to go as quietly as possible, looking for an animal to smash with his hammer. But while looking down at the ground, making sure he wasn't stepping on any dry twigs, he hit his head on a low branch and fell into a bush. But nobody needed to know that.

by **Aello** on January 23rd, 2011, 4:50 pm

Aello simply nodding, breathing deeply, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Was she making him nervous? Aello wondered, because he did keep glancing down at the ground, and changing his story around a bit... and then there was the apologizing. Since when do angry people apologize? Aello wondered, considering the notion that she should probably look back into the man's aura to know where she stood. Auras didn't lie after all. The only error that could be made was one's interpretation of the color or colors they saw. The subtle nuances and changes in their hue and brightness. Whether they were mixed with other things; contained images as well. Aello sighed, taking one last deep breath before she delved into Patrick's aura.

Instantly, Aello found herself surrounded by a muddy pink color. It swirled all around Patrick's head, and trailed around the front of her face, a thin, transparent wisp that reminded Aello of smoke. Aello coughed into her shoulder, turning her head to the side and closing her eyes momentarily as she was hit with another wave of exhaustion. When she had stopped coughing, and opened her eyes, she turned back to Patrick. His aura confirmed what she had initially felt given his apparent, nervousness and fidgeting from time to time. The man was either immature, or dishonest, and Aello was leaning towards dishonest, which meant that the man WAS lying about something, but what? she wondered, her eyes glimmering as she looked up at him, not wanting to call him out in a lie, in order to keep him from growing suspicious about how she had known. Magic users must keep the fact that they know magic on the down low after all.

"Consider yourself forgiven," Aello said finally, as she thought about the words 'near death experience,' the man sure was one to exaggerate. She doubted a single arrow could do enough damage to him that it took away his life; but she wasn't about to tell him that either, he didn't need to know that he was slowly but surely digging himself into a hole, and chances were, that no matter what he said, Aello would never truly trust him even if he did start telling the truth and choosing his words carefully. Aello looked away for a moment, "in that case, perhaps I should ask for your forgiveness as well... for nearly shooting you... even if it was only a mistake..." Aello's voice trailed off as she looked up again. She knew she couldn't trust this man, and that chances are, he was still angry, so she would have to tread lightly in order to keep the situation from escalating into a fight; a fight in which both of them would be injured, and depending on how out of hand it became, possibly killed. "Anyway...." Aello's voice trailed off again, and she realized it was because she didn't know what to say more than anything else.

by **Verilian** on January 29th, 2011, 3:38 pm

Aello

+1 Archery
+1 Socializing
+1 Investigation
+1 Auristics

Lores: Sounds of the Wild, Aura's Never Lie

Patrick Becker

+1 Socializing
+1 Intimidation

Lores: Dumb Luck, Don't Roll Around in Shrubberies

You Question My Logic? :

Notes: This thread was graded upon request of Aello because she believes Patrick to no longer be active. Patrick, if you are still around please feel free to let us know if you wish to continue the thread and I will ungrade it.