Mella white out part 2
Words: 1,339
In town after surviving the raptrix attack Mella was warming up against a nice cozy fireplace talking to the man who ran the establishment. She asked him if he knew about the raptrix in the area and regaled him with her tail. At first he seemed skeptical but it was clear by the end of it that he believed her. She felt lucky to have escaped the encounter with only the loss of a few of her supplies. The inn keep decidedly agreed telling her she was not the first traveler to meet the beast and thankfully a few others had lived to tell the tale as well. He asked that she paint him a scene of the raptrix so that he could hang it in the room and share the stories with travelers as a way of cautioning those who were foolish enough to venture the Zena landscape alone. Feeling silly but grateful for the commission she complied and found an empty table to begin her task. She used burned wood and a black paint to start so she had the lines carefully how she wanted them and could blot the others off if needed. The raptrix had a lovely white coat and black markings on it so it wouldn’t be too hard to draw but she wanted to give the graceful though fearsome creature the respect it deserved so finding the best pose for it was the hardest part. She had spent several pages of sketches before finding one that worked well in her mind. Much of the day was dedicated to getting the sketch on the canvases just so, yet while others came too look over her shoulder no one disturbed her. The innkeeper likely had something to do with it as she could hear him telling stories to other patrons to came to him. Her own story floated back to her ears, but the man was kind enough to leave her name out of it. She knew that traveling alone was dangerous and was glad not to be the subject of ridicule from others more experienced to this land.
While taking a break from the painting she stretched and listened to the din around her. it seemed that her new story was the subject of gossip. Likely because it was the first new story in a while. Much of the noise was patrons saying they were glad it wasn’t them. A few boasting that they would have slew the beast and have a nice new coat out of the deal. One in particular caught her ear. It was a woman who asked if anyone had tried to tame the raptrix and lead it from the area. Mella was surprised she supposed that was a solution since then travelers wouldn’t be in danger from that particular raptrix and they would get a good companion out of the deal. Drumming her coal stained fingers on the table she wished she could help but she really was no tamer. After all it was only by chance that Telwren had decided to come with her and that had been one little sail scale not a full grown and terrifying raptrix. Getting back to her painting she considered the manner and wondered if in the next town she stopped she shouldn’t mention it in an inn and look for a tamer to come here. After all with such a small settlement it wasn’t as thought they could just hope for a tamer to come and solve their problems if no one bothered to put a bit of word around in other places. It would be dangerous though. She would have to leave and come back a lot to check on it and see if the raptrix had been tamed or not. There would be no sense in having a tamer come if the task had been done months ago after all. Perhaps she could act as a guide for a bit and lead a tamer here? That would certainly solve the issue and of course give her a traveling companion increasing her own safety as well. Getting up she moved to the innkeep to pick his mind on the matter and get a drink. Telwren was coiled up safely on the table near the canvas so she wasn’t worried about her work being bothered. Telwren was clearly not in a hugging and welcoming mood. Anyone who got close to the table he hissed at… perhaps that was what kept others from interrupting her work and not the stories? Smiling at the thought she turned her attention to the inkeep and decided to ask his thoughts on the matter. Surprisingly he didn’t seem to mind and even ventured to offer a small reward should the raptrix be tamed. She was surprised until he grinning like a raptrx himself explained it would mean a lot more business coming to his inn after all where else would a would be tamer be staying? Mella chuckled realizing he was right. By offering to help get a tamer she was offering to help bring people to his inn. Not only that but more people meant more commerce and better things for the town. She asked what would happen when the raptrix was tamed and that traffic had no reason to come. He just laughed and said it was one attacking raptrix in the area but that didn’t mean it was the only one in the area. So long as there was a story people could come. She supposed he was right but felt guilty about the idea of bringing in people to hunt raptrix that weren’t causing trouble. The man shook his head and tried to explain it wasn’t about the taming. It was the testing of skills and the glory of the trade that was the real goal here. Shaking her own head Mella told him no it wasn’t. The goal was to remove the attacking raptrix but safely so neither it nor an innocent villager got hurt. The man just shrugged saying it might to separate goals but the same thing needed to happen in both of them. Frustrated dealing with him she moved back to her table and started to work on her commission once more. Staring at it she considered doing a shody job, but couldn’t bring herself to lower her skill just because the man was more business oriented than he was safety oriented. Where she an inn keeper she might well be the same way, but as a traveler she thought in terms of a traveler. What made the roads safer? What was best for being able to rest and restock? Where was she likely to be in danger at? It was these thoughts that the man spinning stories at the bar didn’t have in his everyday life. It made a difference to her no matter how small and was something she really shouldn’t forget. Not everyone was Uquin or Nauwahn or anyone else she had met in her travels. Pinching her nose she could feel the coal there but didn’t mind. She could wash up later. Tilting her canvas she got back to the task at hand remembering the raptrix and focusing on that not the issue that this small little settlement would have to deal with sooner or later. This project in front of her would take more than a simple sit down to finish.
In the end the image wasn’t quite what she wanted but it was enough that Mella was proud to call it her own work. Gently scribbling her name on the back she brought it down from her room she gave it to the inn keeper. He looked it over with a critical eye finally giving the nervous Mella a grin and her promised commission. Satisfied she left the inn promising herself she was going to get help for the settlement so that that image she worked so hard on would be a story to tell and not a threat to the town.
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