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[Meso-The Wonderer-RP]

☧Grindar Undarra

♙Thief Informant♙

Grindar stood in the shadows of the Riften buildings. He had just escaped from jail again from Windhelm and had the guards take care of his bounty. This was a normal occurance to him and didn't phase him. True he might have went to jail alot, but he always seem to get out within the first few days. No one could keep him in. No matter how hard they tried. They only way to keep this Khajiit in jail would be to encase him in stone. and that cirtainly wasn't going to happen.

The reason Grindar was standing there, in the shadows, was because he was looking for an unsuspecting victim. He had just gotten out of jail and was looking for a target already. That was when he spotted her. Ayoung, naive looking breton girl. What was that kind of girl doing in Riften? They didn't really belong. But he did admit she was easy on the eyes. Before he could move however, he saw a familiar one take some gold out of the girl's coin purse. It was Shavir. One of his guild mates. He sighed, thinking that he would have to find someone else to pickpocket, but to his surprise, Shavir gave the money back to the girl! That was outrageous! He had the perfect opourtunity to take all of her money! Grindar huffed, finding this outrageous as he put up his hood and stepped out of the shadows,"This one will show Shavir how to pickpocket."

Grindar slowly made his way over to the two, making it look like he was a normall citizen. As he got closer he shot Shavir a look. He was hoping that he wouldn't rat him out. After all, he didn't steal from her, so it obviously had to be Grindar. As the Khajiit carefully went to slip his hand inside her coinpurse, he hoped she would talk to his guild mate just a few moments longer. Just enough time to take her gold and walk away.

Grindar Undarra

[Straychilde]

Aranni Igalluis
...and Shin-Jian!

Shin watched the girl go all giddy with disinterest, if not a twinge of humor. Really, all he wished was that Arani would hurry up, he was craving a warm bed and a good meal right about now. From the corner of his eye, fur entered his vision. He flinched, and yelped, expecting the sourche of the fur to be a hungry wolf or something, but peering ot from behind his arms, which he had thrown up as a shield to whatever attack he had thought was coming, he saw the Nord was trying to hand him a nice looking fur coat. "Oh... right." he said, obviously embaressed. He reched into his coin purse inan attempt to maybe pay the young mand for it, before remembering that due to a previously discussed incident he was dead broke. He grew abit nervous now. "Sorry... I'm grateful, really, but I don't have any coin.. and I couldn't just take it." he explained, growing more uncomfortable by the minute. He suddenly wondered to himself why Aranni insisted on accompanying an Argonian who couldn't use what he smithed properly, and was scared of fur coats. Well, he supposed it was because they were practically brothers, and Sin dabbled in Alchemy, so that could be another reason.

Smiling, Aranni began scratching the dog's belly. "A fantastic name, for a fantastic animal." he said. Turning his head, he saw the scene going on with Marcus and Shin, and smiled. This kind of interaction and kindness from a stranger would be good for him, since the only place Shin was treated kindly all of the time was Morthal, and the Argonian was always prone to receiving cross looks and wary glances anywhere else. Suddenly, he realized the girl had introduced herself, and he stood. "Whoops! How rude of me, I am Aranni Igalluis miss, and my Argonian friend back there is Shin-Jian." He said, deciding to leave it to the Orc and the Nord to introduce themselves.

ooc: Apologies, but I must now sleeeep~

[Mekin Dotelle Valentine]

..Mekin 'Whirlwind' Kurz'Gro'Gash..
.The Banished Orc.

"Please, I insist, take it. You look freezing. Don't worry about payment, I don't need it." Marcus said, and slung the cloak awkwardly over the Argonians shoulder. Just then he heard the female Bosmer say his name.

Marcus looked away from Shin to Nella as she said his name, and his face turned as red as a tomato. "N-Nice to meet you, Nella. And thanks, I've b-been practicing a long t-time." he said, so nervous he could barely speak. When she bowed, it was all he could do not to fall in love with her. He really quickly swiped some of his chestnut hair out of his face and to the back of his hood. He straightened up quickly just as she did and gave a nervous smile. She was so beautiful...

Mekin let out a little chuckle and put an arm around Marcus' shoulders, "Oh, he's being humble. Marcus here is the finest Mage I've ever had the pleasure of travelling with, that's a fact. More than once he's brought me back from the brink after a battle gone wrong, eh?" he said, patting him on the shoulder before releasing him. The Orc was happy that the boy was nervous; It meant that he liked the girl, it was healthy. Now, to just get him to interact more.

"So, you're an a-archer, huh? I've been trying to get Mekin to p-practice archery, but he refuses not to." Marcus said, to his surprise, and Mekin's. The towering Orc looked down at the boy with an expression of 'What in Oblivion are you doing??" but Marcus paid no heed to him. He was building confidence. "He insists that real fighters fight up close, with blades and axes, but I t-think archery is the best way to fight, besides Magic, of c-course." he said with a little laugh.

Mekin looked at the silver-haired Bosmer and gave a smile as if to say 'I didn't mean that'. The boy was learning too quickly the ways of speechcraft. He both hated it and liked it at the same time. That meant the boy was maturing.

..Marcus Valentine..
.The Curious Mage.

[Stiletto i]

The first thing that came to Roran's mind was the cold, "why is it cold? Did Rose forget to shut the downstairs window?" He thought to himself. No, not possible, he was the one who shu- Suddenly his memory came flooding back into him, the screaming, the agonizing blow he took to the head, and the hurried voices of what sounded like elves. The pain wasn't what bothered him, it was the sound of his family's screams that made despair wash over him, He figured those sounds would haunt him till' the end of his days. The cowards attacked him during the night, he didn't even have time to reach for his hammer, It was an ambush. Roran started to regain his senses. He was blindfolded, and bound at the wrist and feet. He was laying at an awkward angle and felt a steady sway. He heard the creek of a wagon's wheels as it crunched over dirt and sand, he slowly realized he was captive to whomever slayed his family. "But why me? Why didn't they kill the warrior and take the woman and child for hostage?" As the thought of his son crossed his mind a relentless amount of grief hammered at his mind again. "Bastards" he mumbled under his breath. "Bastards!" He shouted aloud.

"Ah, so the imperial dog awakens." Although he was blindfolded he immediately recognized the snide, overconfident voice that came from an elf. He heard a few chuckles around him. His situation seemed grim indeed, the thought of succumbing to his fate crossed his mind. It would be easy, let the elves have their way with him. They would probably kill him and feast upon his flesh. He's had his fair share of dangerous expeditions throughout cyrodil, he knew it was not uncommon for men to feast upon the flesh of their own kind. It would be a quick death, they would decapitate him first and the thought didn't seem so bad compared to his loss. But no, that's not the kind of man he was. He thought back to his time serving the imperial legion, the times that he was cornered in a cave and nearly beat to death with imp's, and all sorts of vile creatures trying to take his life. It was all an obstacle that he must overcome, that's all this was. He wasn't the type of man to just give up and let the narrow confines of fate wash over him, he would keep fighting.

"A weapon." he thought.. I must find a weapon." He thought about his hammer Brüntìng, it was a slim chance the elves left such a weapon behind, they would take it and add it to their treasures, it was unlikely an elf would use a hammer. he had a short moment of humor when he imagined the elves trying to sell such an immaculate weapon to a shop keep. "You've been out for quite some time imperial, for a moment we thought Lalthar might have hit you a little too hard" He heard the elves around him chuckle, although he was still blindfolded he guessed maybe 5 or 6 of them, it was hard to tell. Roran gritted his teeth, "You killed my family" he spat into the dark. "Yes, unfortunately we had no choice, you see, we didn't have room in the wagon for any more prisoners and they would have died on the way regardless." the elf who Roran suspected was to the left of the wagon continued. "A trip to Skyrim is no environment for a woman and a child to be walking along the wagon anyway, they would have died from the weather or a troll would have snatched them up during the night, so thank your god's that we granted them a quick death."

The elf's explanation arose so many more questions. Skyrim!? Why are they taking me to Skyrim? The anger he was feeling must have shown through his facial expression because he heard the elf chuckle again. "What could a band of elves possibly want with a blacksmith that lives on the outskirts of Bruma? And why are they taking him to Skyrim, so many unanswered questions." Suddenly he felt the wagon's weight shift as one of the elf's climbed up onto it. He tested the bounds that were around his hands and feet, they were as strong as ever, no amount of pulling or tugging would free him, he needed something sharp. Suddenly he felt the elf's hands touch his face as he pulled the blindfold off. He stared into the dirt smeared, gaunt face of a High Elf, gazing into his beady eyes he immediately knew who his attackers were. "Thalmor!" he said aloud. The elf that took his blindfold off smirked at him, "Don't try anything stupid Imperial" the elf jumped off the cart back onto the dirt road.

[disney tv]

ℕ ℯ l l a ❧ ℳ o o n b o u n d

"Thank you!" Nella said in response to the male Bosmer. Willow rolled back over onto her feet when the man rose and shook the mud off her coat, sending it flying at anyone near. Nella made a pointing gesture with her hand and Willow obediently took a seat next to her owner again. "You're layered with dirt, Willow..." Nella muttered, shaking her head at the happy pup. Nella was looking forward to sleeping and bathing. She really didn't care wear, if it was at an inn or if it was next to a river. As long as she could get some sleep and be able to wash the dirt and mud off, she would be satisfied. But by the weather, it appeared that she would unfortunately have to sleep indoors this time... She was not going to be a happy Bosmer in the morning.

"Aranni and Shin. An Argonian, you said? I don't see many Argonians when I travel," she said, smiling. Nella wasn't a racist Bosmer; she welcomed other races and found that talking to them provided the opportunity to learn much more about the world than she already knew. She only hoped that she wasn't coming across as ignorant. She knew very well what the Argonians and Khajiit had gone through, though she couldn't say she understood how it felt herself, she still felt sympathetic towards them. Marcus caught her attention once more and decided that if she ever met up with Aranni and Shin again, she would definitely like to talk to them about their travels. When Marcus spoke, Nella couldn't help giggling a bit. She wasn't used to seeing a young man like him tripping over his words when they spoke to her, but she welcomed the attention. She was a bit surprised when she saw how friendly the orc and Marcus were towards each other. For some reason she had it in her head that orcs were gruffer, but perhaps that was only because of how often she came across hostile bandits in the woods. "No need to be humble! I saw your magic; you're very good," she said to them. Nella laughed when she heard Marcus speak about archery. There was something about the two of them that she liked. They had an air to them that made her feel safe; maybe it was only because of their strong friendship, but whatever it was made her feel as though she could trust them. She looked up at the orc and gave him a sympathetic smile before returning her gaze to Marcus once more. "I definitely agree. Long-rage is much better than close-range combat. Gives you the chance to sneak up on your target!" she said enthusiastically, pretending to shoot an arrow at the sky.

Willow let out an annoyed whine by her feet and stretched in the mud, yawning. Nella chuckled and brought her fur cloak tighter around her body. "Well, I'm afraid that I must be going. Willow is telling me that she'd like to sleep inside tonight. We're going to The Bannered Mare in Whiterun. Perhaps we'll see each other by the fire for dinner!" she said, and turned away up the path. Seeing that particular group of people gave her excitement; they made her want to go hunting for a bounty and go traveling immediately. With a small smile set on her lips, she made her way up the path towards Whiterun once more. Every step she took closer to that inn made her more and more nervous, but with a glance at her mud-laden dog, she pushed the feeling aside and kept going.

[Kira_Kinen]

The walk from The Bannered Mare to Belethor's General Goods could hardly be considered more then ten steps, but what should have been a short trip soon turned into a walk around Whiterun when the young Nordic female felt the first few drops of cold Skyrim rain on her skin. So her simple errand took much longer then expected, and by the time she arrived at Belethor's store, she was dripping wet, mud caking her boots and the hem of her black mourning dress as the fabric clung to her generous figure. Her hair was plastered to her cheeks, and all in all she looked like quite the mess... But her rain cloud gray eyes danced with the simple joy of a walking in the rain.

But she had things to do, so without lingering long at the door, she stretched her hand forwards, turned the door knob and stepped into the soft warmth of the building. The shop keeper, Belethor, began to say something until he noticed his client was a soggy mess and whatever greeting he had died on his lips. Lorna watched as the man's brow knit together and his eyes went from her head, to her muddy feet. "It looks like you just crawled out of the White River," the man stated, a sigh following the words immediately. "The floors have seen worse but... Do you need something?" The man asked, leaning against the counter. Lorna looked at the puddle forming at her feet and casted Belethor a sheepish grin.

"Just came to browse, Belethor. Have anything of the musical variety? Or perhaps a good book?" She questioned, moving towards the counter and putting her hands on the counter top as she scanned the collections of odds and ends on display. The shop keeper didn't wast time in pulling out a lute and a drum, before setting a few books down next to them. A quick scan told Lorna what she had already expected; she'd read them all at least once and owned several herself. The instruments certainly didn't do anything for her either. Sighing, she reached out and plucked a string on the lute, and shook her head. "Got one already, and I certainly don't need a drum," she commented, having never been a big fan of the percussion instrument. "But, I'll take the strings on that lute. Never know when I might need a replacement. So, how much?"

After a good minute or two of haggling, Lorna left the shop grinning, her newly purchased lute strings wrapped around her hands and intertwined in her fingers. It had been hard to convince the man to sell the strings to her at a decent price (given that it would leave the lute pretty much useless to anyone else who came by looking for an instrument), but in the end, both parties felt as if they had come out ahead. And that was a sign of a good deal.

Having already taken much longer then she had expected, Lorna didn't dawdle on her way back to the Bannered Mare. She had clients to entertain, and an Inn Keeper who wasn't like to hire her back if she spent too much of her time doing anything and everything besides what she had been hired for. It was her job to liven up the place after all. So she picked up her pace and even stopped at the entrance to try and kick off the worse of the mud before slipping into the Inn. However, upon returning, the Nord woman discovered that the mood had already changed dramatically since her leaving. The patrons were drinking and laughing, smashing cups together as ale spilled over the rim and having a right good time. For a brief moment, Lorna was utterly confused as to what had happened...

... But it took her all of two seconds for someone to ask her to sit down and have a drink on the house as the Imperial sitting by the fire had paid for everyone's mead and ale for the night.

Lorna certainly couldn't consider herself a Nord if she didn't enjoy a good drink every now and again, but she decided against it and instead moved towards the fire, holding out her hands and letting the heat dry her off as she eyed the Imperial out of the corner of her eye. He looked like any other Imperial she knew (damn Imperials all looked the same to her. So did Argonians and those thieving cats), but he did have a bird perched on his leg, and given her own fondness of the creature, that meant he had to be a semi-decent man. She watched the bird peck at the plate or a moment before speaking up, her gray eyes flicking to the man's face as she spoke; "Not many men, or women for that matter, pay for an entire inn to have drinks."

[Kira_Kinen]

'Breath in and out, don't move a muscle... Patience, patience...'

Crouched on a low branch, tail held out behind her for balance, the gray and brown Khajiit raised her bow, an arrow held loosely between her two fingers as she watched the moose lower it's massive head into the chilly waters of Lake Honrich. In one swift motion she pulled back the string of the Elven Crafted weapon and let her arrow fly, hitting it's target at the base of the moose's skull. The animal didn't even have time to let out a cry. It simply slumped forwards, splashing into the shallow water of the lake.

By and large, S'jara was amazed she had made the shot. She had already notched a second arrow in anticipation of missing her shot and needing to put the poor beast out of it's misery. But things had gone much better then she had expected. Grinning, the feline female slipped out from her tree, feet hitting the ground softly as she moved towards the dead beast. Carefully, she grabbed the still warm animal by it back leg and tried to drag the corpse up onto sturdier ground. Unfortunately, she hadn't though this far ahead. After managing to work the body about an inch out of the water, she let out a frustrated growl and dropped the leg, brushing moose fur of her hands and taking several steps back to contemplate her dilemma.

When she had told the others that she could survive on her own without needing to steal coin, she hadn't honestly expected it to be this complicated. Kill a few animals for food, scrounge up some berries, build a shelter out of branches... In theory, that all sounded remarkably easy. In practice... Well... Scratching her arms, she could still feel the itch brought on after walking through a patch of some plant that had irritated her fur covered skin. She still had no idea what the plant had been, but she was thoroughly distraught at her discomfort.

"This one bit off more than she can chew," the Khajiit mumbled and returned to the corpse, pulling out a hunting knife and stabbing it into the moose's abdomen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Several hours later, ragged and tired after her mis-adventure, S'jara Swiftpaw (named so after proving how fast she could steal a person's coins) came marching down the path to Riften, the leg from her kill hung over her shoulder and the rest of an animal hide tucked under the other arm. Her fur was ruffled, her hair a tangled mess, and if one looked closely enough at her nose and ears (where there was less fur), red bumps could be seen from her altercation with a patch of plants she still had no name for. She was returning a whole two days sooner then she had boasted, but she had had enough of this sleeping in the woods business. Her bed at the guild may not have been much, but it was better then the cold Skyrim ground.

Splashing through the puddles that had formed in the pits on the road, the Khajiit female laid her ears flat against her head, and looked up at the gray skies. She really, really hated the rain.

Lashing her tail back and forth, she barely spared a greeting for her horse whom she had left behind at the stables as part of the original agreement. Rabi, the brown and white horse greeted her owner eagerly enough, but after realizing that S'jara didn't have any apples or carrots on her, the horse sulked, turning away from the Khajiit, big eyes falling on the pitiful looking hay set before her.

"S'jara will bring an apple for Rabi later. First, this one must clean... And get out of the rain."

But she still had the guards to face. They knew her face, she had been coming and going from Riften for years now, but that didn't mean they didn't take it upon themselves to poke at her. Even when she was clearly in terrible mood, they played their stupid little games. After telling them to piss off and let her through, the guards swung the gates open and let her be on her way with one last parting statement about her appearance.

She hissed in reply and continued her march through the gates... Only to stop at the sight of a small girl talking with Shavir. Arching an eyebrow, it took her a couple seconds to spot yet another Khajiit she recognized skulking in the shadows; Grindar. Shaking her head, she looked at the moose leg strung over her shoulder and hide tucked under her arm, before deciding it would be much more amusing to watch what was about to unfold then to bother selling the meat and skin to the Inn keeper or anyone in the mood for fresh meat.

Depositing her goods quietly on the ground, she stepped under the awning of a nearby building, keeping quiet and pretending to be pulling burrs from her fur.

[Straychilde]

Aranni Igalluis
...and Shin-Jian!

Shin was about to object, and state that he had no buisness in taking what others earned through honest work (at least, he was pretty sure they'd gotten that sack of stuff honestly), but the Nord didn't wait, and hung the coat over Shin's shoulder before turning around and speaking to the Bosmer woman again. Shin frowned, and looked at the coat. It wasn't that he wasn't gratefull, quite the contrary, but Argonians weren't usually shown this much compassion in Skyrim. Of course, Shin could expect similar things from his neighbours in Morthal, but hadn't expected it here. "Well... if you say so." he grudginlgy submitted, slipping the coat on over the coat he already wore, and instantly feeling grateful for it's warmth. He then decided, that he was going to find a way to repay Marcus, but how? They probably didn't need any potions, udging by that sack the Nord had been carrying they had enough items, which probably inclded potions, to fill a Mammoth Carcass with. Then and idea struck Shin. Tommorow, he was making the boy a sword. At first, it seemed silly seeing as how the Nord carried a battleaxe nearly twice the size he was, but he had a plan. He'd get Aranni to show him how those Weapon enchantments work; he remembered the Bosmer telling him about learning all about them at the College of Winterhold, where Aranni had spent a small amount of time. Surely an enchanted sword, hopefully of Skyforge steel, would be proper payment?

Meanwhle, Aranni nodded to Nella. "Aye, Shin's kind seem to be fairly scarce in Skyrim." he agreed. When the dog shook, some mud got onto his fur boots, but the Bosmer only grinned and scratched the dog behind the ear again. Then Marcus was talking, or at least trying to talk, with Nella about different forms of combat. He was amused at how the Nord fumbled over his words, but knew that if Aranni himself didn't have so much experience talking to people, he probably would have stuttered a bit while speaking to Nella, for she was a sight indeed. He caught a glance that Mekin shot at the Nord, but Marcus seemed completely oblivious to it.

Aranni straightened, stretching his arms and yawning before crossing them behind his head. "Perhaps. Until next time then, Nella." he said. Once she had gone he turned back to Shin-Jian, who was fidgeting with his new coat. "Well then, ready to head inside Shin?" he asked grinning. The Argonain stopped fidgeting, looked to him and rolled his eyes. "I was ready an hour ago you oblivious oaf." he answered, but his voice was playful toward the end. Aranni chuckled and proceeded up the path. "To the Bannered Mare then![/color" he called, to no one in particular.

[Stiletto i]

Roran was grateful to finally have the blindfold taken off, he took the opportunity to finally sit up and examine his surroundings. As he slowly nudged himself to a sitting position in the wagon he realized there were other prisoners bound and blindfolded in the same predicament he was in. Except they looked dead, there were three of them laying in the wagon and they looked much worse them him, their wounds, he examined were fatal. "Damnit, what business does the thalmor have in Cyrodil" Roran thought to himself. As he sat upright he realized his head was still very sore from being clubbed, "How long have I been out? three or four nights? If we're already in Skyrim then we've been on the road no short while" He looked around and noted five high elves, one in the shoddy wagon with him, three walking along with their hands relaxed on their weapons, and one was in the front steering the horses. There were sacks of supplies around him, shoddy weapons and fur rainments mainly, and of course the occasional sack of food filled with cheese wheels and the leg of a goat. He realized there was a sack in the front of the wagon with the handle of his hammer Brüntìng sticking out. "At least they were foolish enough to bring along my weapon"

Roran looked down and closed his eyes, he breathed heavily. It was quiet, all for the creaking of the wagon wheels and the occasional chirp from the sparrows that seemed disgruntled about their trespassing. For the most part the elves were quiet, and so was Roran. He had no interest in brandishing words with the snide elves, he knew they would tell him nothing regardless, only worsen his mood. He just had to sit and wait, He adjusted his leather jerkin he was wearing and once again tested the strength of his bounds, they were strong as ever.

They traveled well into the night and Roran kept his calm throughout most of the journey, he listened to the elves conversations and learned that they would be in Falkreath by sunrise. They only stopped to relieve themselves and have a speedy meal, They gave Roran a water skin and two raw onions with a slab of skeever meat. The meat was dry and unpleasant but it felt good to have something in his stomach. Roran wasn't sure what they were keeping him alive for, there were numerous reasons that went through his head, necromancy, cannibalism, it was hard to tell knowing the thalmor. The small wagon started rolling along the cobblestone road again towards Falkreath, it was still quite dark out but Roran could see a hint of sunlight coming from the east.

The wagon was approaching a sharp turn around a large mountain, the mountain concealed the rest of the path, Roran felt uneasy. One of the elf's shouted up to the driver of the wagon "Slow her down Lalthar." The wagon slowed down as the horses trotted very steadily along the road. Roran noted the elf named "Lalthar", the one who hit bludgeoned him in the head, if he were ever set free from his unfortunate fate he would see to Lalthar's death. It was still quite dark out and being concealed in the shadow of the mountain made it even harder to see. As they started pulling away from the sharp turn an obtrusion appeared in the road, it looked to Roran like a very large boulder fell onto the cobblestone path. As they neared the massive outcrop, Roran squinted his eyes to examine the awkward obtrusion a little better, it looked like it had arms, and maybe it was the shadows playing tricks on him but was it breathing? "Wow, easy !" The driver of the wagon pulled the reigns of the horses and they came to a stop. "Bah what now, if we want to make it to Falkreath in time we can't be halted by a roadblock!" The elf to the left of the wagon shouted. Roran noted he was probably the leader of their small band.

The elf started walking towards the rocky outcrop that blocked their path, although the driver had a torch it was till very hard to see in the shadow of the mountain. The elf approaching the massive obtrusion got about ten feet away from it and then stopped dead in his tracks. Roran heard a faint rumble from the object "Hurrrrghhhhhh?" it was a very low sound but it vibrated everything around it. Roran's eyes adjusted a little better to the dark, as did the other elves. The outcrop seemed to shift, it looked like two arms miraculously grew from the huge bulk, and Roran realized it had a head. "Huraaaaaghhhhh!" Another sound emanated from the monstrosity, except this time Roran could feel something from it, anger. The beast shifted again except this time upright, ten feet, twenty feet, thirty?! The realization hit everyone all at once, this was no boulder or man made contraption that sat in the cobblestone path. What stood in front of them was the biggest giant Roran had ever laid his eyes on.

[Mekin Dotelle Valentine]

..Mekin 'Whirlwind' Kurz'Gro'Gash..
.The Banished Orc.

Mekin and Marcus stayed on the path for a while longer, as the others filtered on through to Whiterun. The steady rain still fell, making Mekins shaved head glisten, but he showed no reaction to it. Orcs were a steadfast race, indeed. The large green man turn his attention to Marcus, who was still staring at Nella as she left, and let out a hrmph. This made the boy look up at him. For a second, Marcus looked like he was about to be scolded, but then Mekin put a heavy hand on his shoulder and gave him a good proper shake. "I knew you had it in you, Marcus. I guess all it needed was a beautiful silver-haired Bosmer." he said with a smile, as well as Orcs could smile, at least.

Marcus smiled back at him, pushing the large green hand off of his shoulder with one less than half its size. "I don't know what got into me. Shin just looked so cold and all, and-..." he was interrupted by Mekin, "No, no, no, I was talking about you speaking more than one sentence to the girl! Giving the cloak to the Argonian was kind of you, but talking to that girl seemed like you were running a marathon. But you did it, and I'm proud of you." the lumbering Orc finished. Marcus was still confused at him. All he did was talk to a girl, not that big of a deal...Although she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, EVER.

After this little conversation was over, the two set off towards Whiterun once more, hopefully with no distractions. They walked along at a steady pace, always with Mekin taking his long strides, and Marcus shuffling along, taking a few hopping steps every now and then. As they went past the stables, Mekin heard the horses in their stalls, neighing and shuffling their feet. His eye twitched a little at this. He'd never been fond of horses. He didn't trust them, with their beady black eyes and such. But then again, he had no room to talk, with his almost-expressionless coal black eyes.

These were the walks Mekin enjoyed, being alone with Marcus, just the way it should be. He supposed one Bosmer wouldn't be too much of a handful, just as long as she didn't distract Marcus from his Magic training. The boy was a prodigy, he needed his practice.

..Marcus Valentine..
.The Curious Mage.

[Meso-The Wonderer-RP]

☬Aℓℯsandℯr Silver-Tongue

♋Conjuration Warrior♋

As Alesandr sat there, he couldn't help realizing that everyone was having a good time. He took a drink of his mead, he let his hawk have some to. His food was gone and he had a few scraps left so he gave it to his bird, who promptly finished it up.

The Imperial leaned back as a saw a nord women sit down and began to warm herself. She seemed to be a bit wet and noticed she didn't have a drink in her hand. He guessed that she didn't want one at the moment. It didn't matter to him. The money would eventually be drank in mead ale.

It was when the women looked at him and talked. Her white hair and grey eyes would make some see her as old, but her face showed her true young age. He took another sip of his mead as he spoke,"Yes well, I think more people should be a bit more generous, especially with these rumors of, well you know what's going around." He knew about the rumors of dragons coming back to Skyrim, but he had seen none, and he didn't want to kill the mood here just from saying a simple word.

Alesandr watched as Storm-Eye flew onto the end of the s**c above the fire to warm himself as he cleaned his feathers. Once he was done, he tilted his head and lightly squawked at the nord women, stareing at her. Alesandr chuckled lightly,"You must feel pretty special. The bird has been in a sour mood because of his bad eye, knowing it will be messed up forever. Seeing someone with the same color as his bad eye has made him feel a better. Also, seeing a nord that favors the cold climates such as he always makes his day." The bird squawked again as it settled down and closed his eyes, resting at the moment. The Imperial looked at the nord women in front of him,"This bird cares about his appearance. A bit odd he is, for a bird to realize such things."

He looked up at the barmaid and ordered another cup of mead, his now gone. She happily brought him another drink as he drank it slowly, letting it warm him,"So what brings you here? My name is Alesandr Silver-tongue. But as long as it isn't demeaning, you can call me what you wish. And that there is Storm-Eye." He said as he gestured towards the hawk in front of them.

Alesandr Silver-tongue

[Kira_Kinen]

She eyed the Imperial as she spoke, settling herself down on a chair instead of standing next to the fire. She waved a finger at one of the bar maids and asked for a cup of mead... And her instruments from her room. The woman nodded and scurried off to do as she had been asked. Lorna got along well enough with most of those who worked here, and most knew she tipped well and often.

"The rumors certainly have put a damper on many a person's mood. I, personally, find it quite interesting..." She abstained from mentioning dragons much like the Imperial had, not wanting to affect the mood of anyone within hearing of her. Shifting in her seat, she crossed her legs and leaned against the back of the chair as she listened to the man, who eventually introduced himself Alesander Silver-Tongue, talk about his bird, Storm-eye. The name brought a smile to her lips, as she regarded the feathered creature who had apparently taken a minor interest in her as well.

"Birds certainly are smart creatures," she commented after a moment, though she had never really heard o a bird who cared about his appearance. At least, not in the way Alesander certainly met. "And I suppose I should offer my name in return now, forgive my rudeness. I am Lorna Stormborn, Bard College Graduate," she dipped her head and spread out her arms, giving her wrists a little twist for flourish. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Silver-Tongue," she stated with a wink. She quite liked his last name... It had a certain appeal. Lorna half wondered if she herself could make more money with a name like that. A bard with a name like Silver-tongue certainly inspires a certain belief that they'd be at least half decent.

No sooner then she had finished her own introduction did her drink and instruments arrive, interrupting her thoughts. She gave the girl a coin for her trouble and easily spread out the small collection of instruments before her. Two of her instruments were common around Skyrim - a lute and a flute - but the third had costed her quite a bit due to the scarcity. Resting her fingers on her prized lyre, she grabbed her mug of mead with her free hand and took a hearty swallow before setting it back down. "...As for what brings me here; good company, great mead, and a place to play my instruments for all to hear." She stated the last part with a little more vigor then previously used, half rising from her chair and looking around the bar as she raised her drink. Much as she had expected, several of those scattered around the bar let out a cheer, raising their own cups.

Lorna sat back down in her seat, grinning to herself as she took a much smaller sip of her own drink; "So, Silver-Tongue, got any requests?"

[Meso-The Wonderer-RP]

♋Conjuration Warrior♋

Alesandr enjoyed the socialization. Especially with someone who enjoyed a good time, and fine drink. When the nord asked for her instrument's He perked up. Was she a bard? He did enjoy a good song every once in awhile, especilly from a Bard College graduate. They certainly were the best.

That was when she commented about his companion and introduced her self in a somewhat flashy manner. It cause his to smirk a bit as he watched her. When she greeted him with a wink, it made him smile. It had all been to long since he had seen one of them. Whether it was affection or not. This was a long night in awhile that he had gotten to relax and enjoy his time. When he listened to his nae be said though, he realized what a ring it had to it. And to think, he brandished himself with it when he started his adventure. Her name was intriguing in and of itself. Stormborn. He hadn't heard that name before. And he had been around quite alot. When Storm-Eye heard the word storm, he perked up and looked around, thinking he had heard his name. It caused to bring a slight chuckle forth from Alesandr.

When The barmaid brought the nord her istruments and her drink. quite a collection. He normally only saw bards carry one,maybe two instruments. But she had three. One that he had seen before, but didn't know the name of. When she talked and raised her mug, several people cheered. The Imperial raised his mug as he took a drink, offering some to his bird, which took some. After Storm-Eye saw the instruments however, the bird hopped over onto the girls arm and began plucking at the strings. Alesandr luaghed as she asked if he had an request's. He thought for a minute before he smiled,"How about Ragnar the Red? My favorite song." He said leaning back in his chair as he crossed his legs at the heels, finally beginning to relax thanks to the mead.

Alesandr Silver-tongue

[disney tv]

ℕ ℯ l l a ❧ ℳ o o n b o u n d

By the time Nella had reached the gates to Whiterun, she was itching to take off her fur cloak. The rain was chilling her skin but the cloak was so hot over her armor that she was starting to sweat. She rushed through the gates, not speaking a word to either of the guards who guarded it, and went straight through the Plains District to The Bannered Mare. She slid her fur cloak off when she reached the doors to the inn and slung it over one arm, taking in one last deep breath of fresh air before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Her cold skin was immediately met by the smell of mead and meat roasting on the spit in the center of the room. She shook her silver head, shaking the water out of her hair, letting the dreads fall over her shoulders more comfortably. Her violet eyes scanned the room quickly, resting on the bar in the corner. There were plenty of people there, all sharing stories and drinks with one another. She wasn't particularly interested in speaking to any of them; most of them appeared to be Nords and none looked very fascinating. She moved towards the bar where a barmaid stood behind the counter, while Willow trotted over to the fire and curled up to wait for her owner.

"Drink on the house, miss? The man by the fire is paying tonight," the barmaid offered, pointing towards an Imperial man who appeared to be having a conversation with a pretty bard woman with white hair. Nella looked them over for a moment before turning back to the barmaid, still uninterested by the crowd in the inn. It had been too long since Nella had any mead, so she agreed to one drink. Before asking for a room, she made sure to buy some meat for Willow; she was sure the dog was hungry though Willow wasn't one to beg much. Nella pulled out her coin purse and placed fifteen septims on the counter, taking her mead with a nod and walking over to the fire next to Willow. She could at least try to enjoy herself before being forced to sleep indoors. Thinking about the rain made her shiver and she attempted to rationalize sleeping indoors by telling herself that it was for Willow. She'd do anything for her lovely pup. "Ah, almost forgot..." Nella said with a start, and tossed her fur cloak on the floor by Willow. She reached into her pack and took out the fresh meat she had just bought at the counter. Willow's ears perked up when she saw the chunk of flesh, her eyes following it as Nella tossed it to the floor by Willow's paws. The dog tore into the meat, sending shreds flying at Nella's boots, only to be cleaned off a second later by Willow's tongue. When she finished her dinner, she relaxed once more next to the fire at her owner's feet and dozed off. Nella watched her dog with a soft smile on her lips and took a few tentative sips of the mead. She didn't drink very often and when she did, she tried to avoid going over the top. She had seen too many people robbed blind after getting drunk, and there was no way she would let herself be one of those people.

Her violet eyes rested once more on the pair on the other side of the fire, and her heart leapt in excitement when she saw the hawk sitting on the end of the spit over the fire. She loved birds, and this hawk was very handsome. It appeared that Willow took no notice of the bird, and if she had, she didn't mind it being there. Willow had a certain tolerance for most creatures, except cats. She loved tormenting the poor creatures, though Nella tried to stop her whenever possible.

Nella's mind drifted off to think about the Mekin, Marcus, Shin, and Aranni. She actually hoped to see them again, perhaps in the inn. It would be nice to be able to speak with them out of the nasty weather and around a warm fire. She couldn't help looking forward to the next morning, though, when she would be able to set out and find a nice river or stream to bathe in. She wasn't looking forward to bathing Willow but it had to be done. Oh yes, Willow, you're definitely getting a bath as soon as possible tomorrow, she thought with a smirk, watching the young dog doze with the occasional twitch of a paw or ear.

[Mekin Dotelle Valentine]

..Mekin 'Whirlwind' Kurz'Gro'Gash..
.The Banished Orc.

"Halt, Orc! What business have you in Whiterun?" the guard held out his hand to stop the hulking Mekin and the small Marcus. The guards eyes met Mekins, and to the guards surprise, he smiled. "We're just stopping for the night at the Bannered Mare, maybe have a few drinks, sell some of our wares. No trouble." he said in his grumbling, yet upbeat, voice. The guard was taken aback at this, and when Marcus looked around the monolithic form of Mekin and gave a little wave, tipping back his hood so the guard could see his face. The guard retracted his hand and stepped back for the pair, "Carry on, have a nice stay!"

The large wooden doors opened, with the aid of the other attending guards, and Whiterun was open to them. Mekin saw it as a familiar sight, yet Marcus, with wide eyes, beheld it with amazement. He ran forward a few yards, and looked around at the surrounding shops; the Drunken Huntsman, Warmaidens, and farther down, Belethor's, and all the stalls, ending in the inn and tavern, The Bannered Mare.

Mekin went forward and joined the young boy as they walked along. Mekin gave a friendly wave to Adrianne Avenicci as they passed the forge, at which she was working hard on some armor. She returned the wave with a smile, and went back to work. Marcus was still looking around at all the buildings. He had only seen the smaller settlements; Morthal, Dawnstar, Winterhold, Falkreath, and other villages like Rorikstead and Riverwood. This was his first time coming to one of the larger cities. Mekin chuckled inwardly as he thought about when they reached Solitude.

The pair walked on through the Plains District, down the cobbled street to the small square that house d the Bannered Mare. Marcus was still looking around in amazement when Mekin grabbed him by the shoulder. They had reached the front steps of the Mare, and they locked eyes, Marcus' bright blues meeting Mekins coal black orbs. "Now, you can come inside with me, or you can go explore. Your choice." he said. The boy looked around at all the people, up the steps that led to the Cloud district, and then on to Dragonsreach, up at the sky, which was still dropping rain, then back to Mekin and the Mare. "I'll go in with you, big'un. Who else is going to keep you out of trouble?" he said with a smirk. The Orc snorted gruffly and and straightened up, walking up the steps to the door. He opened it and Marcus followed him inside. The crackling fire, the numerous people inside, the Redguard woman serving drinks, it all hit him like a landslide.

He felt the warmth seep through his robes, and he reached up and pulled back his hood to shake the rain off, revealing a length of chestnut hair, framing a skinny, but strong-boned, face, with the beginnings of a little scruff on his chin, and bright blue eyes that glimmered in the firelight that filled the tavern.

Mekin welcomed the familiar smell of mead and wine and sweetrolls that always met him when he came here. He ran a green hand over a green head, wiping the rain droplets off of his scalp as he made his way to the back of the tavern, to an empty table, where he took a seat, leaning back in the small wooden chair, putting one boot up against the table. Marcus hurried after him, placing the bag of loot and the large Skyforge war axe on the second chair, and taking a seat in the third. No sooner had they been seated when a Redguard came up and introduced herself as Saadia, asking them if they wanted anything to drink, saying also that a man over by the fire was paying for all the drinks tonight.

Mekin held up two fingers with a smile, "Two mugs of mead, Honningbrew, if you please..." he said, to which Marcus perked up, a smile on his lips, until Mekin held his hand out at the boy, "And some spiced wine for my boy here. And two bowls of venison stew as well." he finished, and Saadia went off to fulfill their order. Mekin looked back to Marcus, who was now grumbling, something about spiced wine being for milkdrinkers, "Now, now, Marcus, some warm spiced wine won't hurt you. Mead isn't the drink for you, trust me on this." Mekin said reassuringly. Marcus stuck his tongue out at the Orc, which made the big green monster ball his right hand into a fist, but then he saw her.

"Nella..." he said under his breath. She was sitting with her dog, Willow, at the fire, opposite of the man with the bird and the other woman. If he thought she was beautiful in the rain, seeing her by firelight only made her beauty more intense. Her silver hair shone in the light, her porcelain skin perfect...He was snapped out of this reverie by a little chuckle from Mekin, to which he turned and stared daggers at the big green Orc. "You hush it, you big green lump. At least I'm interested in women." he said jokingly. The green man shook a finger at the boy and leaned back in his chair, just as their food and drink got there. The venison stew smelled delicious, but Mekin first attended to the first mug of Honningbrew mead, which he downed in two gulps. Marcus took a drink of his spiced wine and set to the stew.

In a matter of seconds the food and drink on the table was gone, and the two were satisfied. Mekin patted his full stomach, pondering getting a leg of goat, while Marcus went back to staring infatuatedly at Nella. Mekin smiled to himself as he watched the boy. He reminded him of himself at his age, easily infatuated with women, always dogging after them, but being denied by the Chieftain; For in the Orc Strongholds, the Chieftain was the only one that could take women, and mate with them. That was, and always was, the way of the Orcs. But more than once Mekin caught himself hoping to find someone for himself. With a finger he idly began tracing the tattoo that covered his shoulder. The beginning of the line started at the apex of his heavily-muscles shoulder, and spiraled outward, hundreds of times, the lines so tightly packed they looked almost solid, and finally ended at his collarbone, with a large 'X', to signify his death. This tattoo was meant to be a mark of shame, to mean that he would live a long, deathless life, to finally expire an old Orc, dying either of old age or sickness, not of the Orc way, in battle.

As much as he despised the mark of banishment, he embraced it. He was almost glad to be free of the Strongholds, and their structured way of life. He enjoyed this life of adventure and peace, with his companion, almost always with coins in their pockets and a roof over their heads on rainy days, sitting by the fire and drinking mead. He wouldn't trade this life for anything.

..Marcus Valentine..
.The Curious Mage.