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 Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 10:47 am
All hyped up from the massive sugarrush and caffeine, Katla almost let her reflects get the best ov her again as she heard the shout comming from behind her. But no, this time she didn't hit the unexpecting fox to the ground. She did, however, turn around and give him a harsh look, then she kept on walking, not saying a word. Why was he following her? Was he some sort lawinforcer? Did he see what she was up to?
She had gone just a few meters when she suddenly stopped and put the bags down. No, you're being ridiculous again. She turned around again, yet spoke without even looking at him.
"I am more than capable of carrying my own things around, thank you. You go back to whatever castle you came from and pretend you've never seen me here. Is that clear?"
And so, she picked the bags back up and kept walking. For some reason, she felt terribly confused. Normally, she'd be annoyed whenever a male offered her help. Actually, she was annoyed at anyone trying to help. But this once, for some reason she could not see, she didn't feel quite as angered as usual. No, she would not let this get to her. She shook her head and kept focusing on her plans, with the dock and the sea ahead of her.
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 11:26 am
This was not the reaction he was looking for, but definitely the one he expected. No reply and a harsh look. Did ahe thibk he wasn't beibg sincere? Yes that was probably it.. Why he wanted a positive exchange with this female he still didn't know, but he was determined to get it. Mórdae was just lengthening his stride so he could catch up to her when she adrubtly turned around to throw some harsh words at him. She didn't even have the nerve to look him in the eye. A reply like this would've satisfied him earlier, but it just wasn't enough now.
Mórdae soon caught up to the fiesty female. He'd abandoned the notion of planning his words and decided to wing it. Perhaps all of the rigirous teaining he'd been put through was actually paying off. Being groomed to be a future duke included many speaking classes, for pronunciation, inflection, reaction.. you name it. But he dedinitely had the confidence to at least keep his cool. Fortunately.
He kept up with the female's brisk pace as he began to speak, leaving a cpuple of tail lengths between them. "Of course you're capable of carrying your bags. I had no intentions of implying otherwise." A pause. "You don't need to go around threatening people, you know. It's not the best thing to verbally attack citizens of a town you're not familiar with."
The dock was just starting to become visible. And the observation that intriguiged Mórdae the most was the absence of any military ship. So she did miss her boat. Then what was she planning to do with her supplies? Sail off on her own? "Especially when you might be in for an unexpected extended stay."
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 12:32 pm
Katla turned around to yell at him, but she was completely speechless. This was very unusual, as only a short number of people had ever managed to get her silent like that. It made her thoughts wander off to her brother, Kihmu. All the years without him, yet she had never been able to forgive herself. And this fox kept reminding her of him, with his fearless responsds. And so, she spoke without thinking. Again.
"Listen, you! You have no right to judge those who you don't know! After all, you're the one sneaking around in the dark and stalking me, while I'm used of having hitmen running at my feet. So you better leave me be to stay out of trouble, y'hear me?"
And there it was. She almost started crying, still not being able to get Kihmu out of her head. Katla shook the tears tears away and started walking again, but a lot faster than before.
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 1:58 pm
Now this was something unexpected. It took her awhile to respond to Mórdae's words. But her brief period of thinking didn't form her words to be sweeter. Hitmen? This fox has her share of troubles as well. While Mórdae never had hitmen [that he knew of], it was something he could relate to. Paranoia. He was always paranoid about having his servants around, never knowing when they're paying attention or not.. Partly the reason why he never had anyone over when he was a child.
And somehow, her words made Mórdae even more determined to get a positive response from her. Perhaps it was just his father's stubborn blood running through his veins, but his current goal was to ease this female's troubles, if only for a moment. Better than his previous, nonexistent goal. When he saw her tearing up, the goal was set in stone. What had he done to this poor fox? She started walking faster, but he kept pace as he spoke as calmly as he could. "I apologize for seeming like such a sneaky fellow.. I wasn't in the best of moods earlier, and I guess catching up to you and offering my help wasn't the best way to make up for it. And this isn't going to make it any better.. but.." Mórdae swallowed. "This dock is mainly used for recreational boats. The type of boat you came here on was a rather rare one for around here."
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 2:42 pm
She couldn't believe this guy. Nor could she read him. Did he really have good intentions, or was he just another jerk? She'd never had much trust in males, as they always seemed to assume she'd be weaker and fragile. That's why she always took charge, to prove them wrong, over and over. But this fox... He didn't care what she said to him, he just kept on. This was new to her, unfamiliar, confusing.
"It's not a matter of the boat, it's the matter of who's on it and where they're heading."
Katla loaded threw her bags up on the first boat she saw, it seemed decent enough. Normally she would've preferred something bigger, but the smaller the faster, and this time she oughta hurry. She got on and took out a dagger to cut the rope off, but first she had one last look at the other fox.
"Go home, before someone sees you. They'd think you're helping me, y'know."
And so, she cut the rope and went to set sail. Finally she could put this misadventure behind her and focus on the comming fight. Soon she'd be back on the field. Back where she belonged. The wind couldn't have been better.
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 6:05 pm
Hmm. A neutral response for once. And then she started stealing a boat. Unfortunately, it wasn't his, which Mórdae was completely willing to give to her; it was rarely used and wouldn't be missed anyways. Then she cut the rope and said what she meant to be her parting words to him. Mórdae wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Well, that's the way he wanted to think of it.
He bounded towards his own boat just a few spots away. As he was running frantically along, he called out, "Wait for me!" This was the opportunity Mórdae was waiting for. Not only to ease for his current goal, but his long forgotten goal -- to get away from this horrible life. He hadn't the nerve to do so while his father was alive, but now that he was gone, there was no issue. The head servant could do all the work himself. Hell, it wasn't as if Mórdae himself was what made it all work. I stayed in the house all day anyway. No one outside of there would know if I was gone or not. And with that train of thought ringing in his ears, Mórdae decided to leave and follow the unnamed to where ever she was going. There was a sense of finality to it that seemed appealing.
Thank goodness that Mórdae knew how to sail his ship. Back when he was younger, his father would take him out on it. Mostly just to make it seem like he loved his son, but these trips were his father's only redeeming factor. Out on the boat, he seemed a little bit more relaxed. And these were the only grooming lessons that Mórdae had grown to love. The smell, the motion, the sights.. all of it was amazing. Unfortunately, he had only been trained for recreational sailing, not speed, but hopefully some of that applied. Mórdae went around the boat preparing everything, hoping that he got everything done in time so he could catch up to her. At the very least, he wanted to know her name..
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 6:41 pm
Wait for him? He didn't plan on joining her, did he? No, Katla gave a quick glance towards the dock, but she didn't see him there. Strangely though, it felt a bit sad. It was oddly satisfying to have him standing up against her. Lately, others seemed to be too frightened to pick up a fight with her, maybe they'd learned their lessons allready. She used to fight a lot with her brother back in the day, and eventhou he was younger than her, he was always twice as stubborn.
Finally left that place behind her. She felt a calming breeze go through her hair, and for the first time in quite a while, she finally had the time to stop and reflect over her own life for a change. However, she didn't find it very positive. Afterall, why would she want to think of how lonely she really was, or the fact that nobody would notice if she died. That made her think of that fox again. Who was he? She looked back at the dock.
"Huh, that's odd. That ship's heading the same direction as I am. Must be a coincidence, of course. What else? Unless... No, he's probably back to his tea or something by now. But just in case..."
Katla went to look for binoculars. For some reason, she was certain every ship had atleast one pair lying around. Too many pirate stories maybe, but she did find some.
"Let's see then... No way. What's his problem? I can't believe he actually follows me all the way out at sea! And what for? Is he trying to get an apology or something? Oh, for crying out loud..."
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 9:31 am
Within what seemed like no time at all, Mórdae had his ship sailing in the right direction; perhaps he hadn't become that rusty after all. As everything seemed to be in order, he decided that it would be best to see if there was anything useful. And his search was basically fruitless. There wasn't much left on the boat; just the miscellaneous objects you would normally find on the boat if practically everything useful was stripped from it. There were some lifejackets, an empty cooler, a bottle of wine.. The safe barely had enough money to double what he already had. The lack of aupplies made Mórdae realize that, unless he wanted to turn back, the nameless female was his only hope for survival. He didn't know if this was a stroke of good luck or bad.
Once he finished his look over of the boat, Mórdae decided to go to the front of the boat, arriving just in time to see the female put down a pair of binoculars. Which he didn't have as well. He wasn't terribly far behind, but at the rate both ships were going, the one in front of him was going to be out of sight in a couple of hours. Fortunately, Mórdae judged the two boats to be within shouting distance at the moment. Perhaps it was wishful thinking when he called out, but Mórdae made sure that his words were at max volume, said slowly and clearly to minimize confusion. "Please wait! I know you are in a rush, but please! I need you to slow down for a bit until we can talk without yelling!" There was no garuntee of anything happening, but it made Mórdae feel better that he was at least trying.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 10:09 am
Slow down? Katla found no reason to talk to him in a common tone. Why, she hardly found any reason to even yell back at him. No, she found it best to keep running her track and ignore him, and she should be out of his reach soon enough. Though, if he'd followed her this far, would he really stop there? If he lost track of her, would he give up an turn back? Her experience with that fox had taught her allready that his determinition wouldn't let him give up, not even for a brief moment. The thought of a civilian lost at sea because of her idiocy started haunting her. No, she had dedicated her life to help the helpless, and at this point, he was sure to be helpless within the matter of hours. She had no other choice.
It would be hard to catch up with the ship now, but she had lived through even more hopeless situations, so she wouldn't consider it an impossibility. And come to think of it, there couldn't be any better reason for being late than that of saving a life. Katla would only have to listen to his nonsense, talk some sense into him and then convince him to turn back at once. How could she not succeed? A flawless plan.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 11:40 am
Mórdae's heart sank as more time lapsed without a response. Perhaps his determination was clouding his judgement. Why would she slow down anyway? She had a ship to catch. Compared to that, Mórdae was just an insignificant no-name fox that had disrupted her day. And just as he was seriously considering turning back, her boat seemed to slow down. Had she changed her mind? He wanted to check, but it seemed foolish to ask. Undignified. So Mórdae just sat there, waiting for the other fox to make a move.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 12:54 pm
The other ship came closer, and was soon close enough for them to see eachother easily, yet he hadn't said a word. It took a long, silent while untill Katla gave in and broke the ice between them.
"So, you've got a boat, huh? Good for you."
She honsetly felt as if that was the most unintelligent couple of words that had ever left her mouth since the very day she learnt to speak. But this uneasy silent was killing her patience, and she wasn't known for thinking things through before acting, nonetheless speaking. Actually, thinking takes great skill, she thought, and she much rather had other skills. Though, it wouldn't hurt to sometime, just for once, do something according to plan.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:55 pm
He didn't mean to stay silent for so long, feeling bad when the other fox spoke before him. Mórdae coughed as if to clear his throat, smiling a little bit. It was a genuine smile, and though it was slight, it lit his whole face up. Perhaps it was prompted by the training he had with negotiation, but this was somewhat different. "Yes, I do. It brings back some memories... Gladly, it isn't stolen. I would easily be able to make some more on it. Perhaps you should return that ship and use mine for the rest of your journey? That boat you're on is surely going to be missed. As payment, however, you're obligated to take me along." His voice was as firm as he could make it while still keeping his tone light.
Slightly sarcastic lead-in, but that was his offer. Mórdae didn't know what to do if she declined, but he knew he would do everything he could do. Anything that came to him, really. He began to think of what to do for plan B when he remembered something important that had been neglected until now. "My name is Mórdae, by the way. It's nice to formally meet you."
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:21 pm
She almost felt hard not to smile at him. He seemed to completely ignore the fact that he had a thief in armor right infront of him, who had allready proven to not care for the wellbeing of others. He actually seemed a tint naive, which Katla found strangely cute. But nonetheless, she didn't have time for his foolish games.
"Listen, Mordor, or whatever you said your damn name was. I couldn't care less for you and your stupid little boat. I need a real vessel, be it stolen or not!"
Katla looked down a little. She wouldn't admit how much her criminal past disgusted her. She had sworn never to go back to those deeds again, but did she really have a choice this time?
"The longer this journey takes me, the more innocent lives will be tormented and lost, and in my humble opinion, that's worth a whole lot more than these pesty posessions. So you keep your little toyboat, I'm doing just fine on my own."
And so, with a slight huff, she turned her heels and went to set sails again.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:49 pm
Mórdae looked from his boat to hers. Though he didn't have much experience in the field of boats, there wasn't much of a difference between the two. She was acting rather noble, even if she was making things up to back it. Oddly, it made him smile. He shrugged it off, focusing on what really annoyed him about her reply. Not only did he have to think of a plan B, he didn't know the stranger's name. and the slaughtering of his own. Mórdae didn't know if it was intentional or not, but it set him off. Mordor? Really? After his clear pronunciation of his name, there was no reason to say it incorrectly, even if it wasn't a name you typically hear everyday. And now Mórdae was determined to have his name pronounced correctly, as well. Which meant he would need some more time with this female as planned, more or less.
He had thought for a little too much time, apparently. Mórdae looked up and noticed his future sailing companion turned around before he could reply, heading off to prep the sails. Several ideas popped into his head at once, all drastic and nearly all relying on compliance. Mórdae decided on one of the few that didn't rely on the other party. It was all up to him, whether it failed or not, whether he would be swimming or sailing away. Thank heavens he knew how to swim. It was now or never. He was basically sinking the source of his only positive childhood memories if he succeeded, but it was a sacrifice Mórdae was willing to make. If this works, he thought, I'll have the opportunity to make far better memories.
After hurriedly gathering his money, Mórdae sized up his target. The two boats were almost perfectly lined up. A considerable length to leap, but just close enough to give him the idea. Mórdae clumsily climbed up on the safety rail, perching precariously on the surface. It definitely wasn't made for a fox to
stand on. He figured he didn't have much time to prepare for takeoff before. Muscles tensed, a deep breath taken in, and Mórdae let himself fly.
It was an odd sensation, floating over the open sea. Mórdae allowed himself to look down and admire the beauty for only a split second before focusing on the landing. He was losing altitude faster than anticipated. Instead of landing on the deck as planned, at best he could only ram his stomache on the stolen ship's railing, half of his body safe and the other dangling over open waters. Mòrdae stretched his front legs out as far as he could, hoping to grasp the railing with his paws.
With a thud, his body met the other ship, Mórdae's paws barely grasping on the edge. He dug his claws into the slick rail, praying that he had the strength to pull himself up. His legs flailed, attempting to find a grip on the boat's side. And there he was, spastically trying to pull himself up with little progress. Though it was almost more effort than it was worth, Mórdae said in a voice waytoo calm for his situation, "Would you mind helping a poor fox up, miss?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 3:12 am
Everything got so silent, so timidly calm. Almost too silent... Had Mórdae really given up on her? Katla actually felt a bit unpleased by this, as if she had wanted him to struggle just a little bit more. Maybe... Maybe she even wished for him to succeed? Now why would I want such a thing? But nonetheless, her faced turned to a slightly more sad frown than usual when the other fox didn't call for her again.
What was that sound? Like a slighty soft thud against the wood of the ship. Did a bird just die and land on the ship? No, it wasn't a bird, nor was it dead. Atleast not yet. Katla made a harsh turn and saw Mórdae struggle for his life on rail. The maniac! Can he even swim!?
"Stay right where you are, Mór... Maggie! Don't move, y'hear me!"
She leaped over the ship, landed with the poor fox just a few metres up ahead and ran for it. She tried helping him up, but her armor was too slippery from the splashings of the sea. "Goddamnit... Hold on!"
She never took her armor in the eyesight of others. But she had no other choice. NEVER leave a man behind! Katla threw her shiny armor off and on the deck, revealing her scarred legs. She quickly grabbed Mórdae around the waist and struggled to pull him up.
When he was finally safe on the deck, she laid down on her back and took a few deep breaths. "You're a madman, you know that, right?"
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