Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ulric pulled a ratty blanket tighter against himself, though the harsh winds pulled just as tight to strip away the thin layer of warmth. Teeth chattering, he thought bitterly of the few gold pieces tucked away in his satchel and of the warm, fur-lined cloak he had sold to receive them. The weather had been much too wonderful to haul around such a hot and heavy thing, too warm and bright. If only Ulric had taken a moment to plan for a trip up North he would be wrapped up tight instead of pleading with any god that would listen to keep him from dying of hypothermia.

The foxtaur took a mental note to start going to some sort of religious service for someone up there had apparently heard his plea. A dingy little tavern sat just a froozen leap away, and though there was a considerable amount of distance between them, Ulric could smell the decay as grey light poured onto the snowy ground from "Hilarious." Nope, no religion for this foxtaur. He gave a curt laugh at the heavenly joke and tread against the wind to the only promise of a warm fire on this cold bitter mountain.

The tavern smelled worse on the inside: the stench of rotting food, dirty workers and clientele, and who knows what else left to ferment behind surprisingly sturdy and wind tight walls. The heat from a warm hearth could be felt even at the door, though it seemed to help the odor in an unpleasant way. Unwrapping himself, Ulric went to settle himself at a table near the fire though he could see from her expression that his hostess was not pleased by his 'instrusion'. "You better eat somethin' or it's back ta the cold for ya." Her snarl put a shiver down his spine, though it very well could have been her lack of eye and the mystery as to why she was missing it.

"What ever you have that's warm."She seemed pacified by the coin now wrapped tightly in her rough hands, though Ulric felt as if he had more trouble coming out of the kitchen. Please let it be edible.

Ulric shivered in the hard wooden chair wishing he could glare at his 'hostess' and force her to bring his supper though the thought of whatever she had to serve knotted his stomach. Other travelers had begun to pour into the small mountain tavern, the smell of cooking stews now brewing to welcome them now trying hard to mask the stench of dirt. Maybe this place was a little diamond in the rough, at least that was what he hoped it would prove to be.

He was pulled from his musings as two cervitaur stalked past him, devilish grins plastered on their faces as they made a bee-line to the back rooms. Oh boys, don't do it. He shuddered at the thought of what would be waiting for them beneath the sheets. It seemed that they weren't the only ones with the same lustful thoughts as many traveling men peered toward the back doors, trying to whisper discreetly to the tavern keep. She would wink horribly with her one eye and give them a pat on the shoulder before scurrying away. Supply and demand in action he supposed.

Ulric turned his back to the lair of lust and concentrated instead on those who still sat at the table waiting for their own suppers. He saw plastered on their faces the same hunger and worry that he himself carried in his gnawing gut. While he was more than willing to go back to his previous en-devour of picking designs into his table, a flash of pink caught his eye. She sat farther from him that he would like for his curiosity, surrounded by cervitaur that could very well belong to the pair that now bounced around in the back rooms. A slight moment of her arm and he could have sworn he had seen familiar triangular markings though another movement and they were left to the imagination. Her blonde hair bounced as she spoke, a trait he knew well in someone else. Ulric adverted his eyes when she seemed to look towards the fire, his nails finding the swirls they had been carving earlier. Peering up at this familiar stranger he urged her to come closer to the fire so that he might put this hopes to rest.

A splinter wormed it's way into his nail bed, the shock at hearing her voice say his name causing him to dig just a tad too deep into the table. The throbbing of his finger was no match to the pounding against his chest as lungs and heart competed for the now restricted space. Ulric slowly brought his eyes up to meet her's, afraid the tone of voice was another slice of heavenly humor playing with the hunger in his stomach. How had he ever forgotten those soft blue eyes?

"Angelique?" Her cheeks were rosy, though wither it was from the cold or mead Ulric could not tell nor did he truly care. Those cheeks were here in the same tavern as he. "It's been a long time." He hadn't meant for the statement to simply sit in the air and yet it did. The silence he allowed to stagnate hidden by the clamor of the rest of the tavern. Clearing his throat he stood, offering the seat across from him. "You look very well." 'Amazing' "What brings you up North? I thought you would stay to the South with all the tourists and their fat wallets." He chuckled softly to himself, or so he hoped. The mead he had been sipping not only warmed him to the core, it made his head fuzzy though to be fair several mugs would do that to a man.

And in his head full of haze his drunken eyes pulled to attention long forgotten details of his once companion. Though time had passed it had only seemed to brighten her fur, the pink seeming to glow warmly in the dank tavern. Ulric was glad to see she still wore her mischievous smirk, a trait of hers he had always fancied.

Oh heavens, her laugh! Ulric pondered behind his mug for a second, allowing him the allotted time to remember that he was grown man and not some love-sick pup. "That's why I'm up North, there is so much land unexplored; the last frontier really." His eyes held a far-away gleam as his mind wandered to the places yet to be seen, the icy peaks and snowy valleys that would be his alone to explore. "Take this place for example. Anywhere else it would be shunned as a dirty blight in the city and shut down as quickly as you could say 'ugh'. Ah but here, in this frozen wasteland it is crucial to survival. How many travelers have stopped her? Or locals to socialize or sleep on their way to get supplies." Ulric paused for a swig of his cup. "Civilization has gotten a bit too, wild for me. I would rather sleep in this flea infested rat-hole than the plushest bed in any city or your choosing. And...I've gone and bored you to death." A deep laugh from his core bellowed from Ulric, his mug quickly drowning the noise.

Ol' One-eye plopped a bowl of stew before him on the table, glaring at the swirls carved into her nice wooden table. Ulric grinned sheepishly, moving the bowl ever so carefully to cover his vandalism. "So you are on an expedition? A loud bellow drew his attention to the cervitaur, his brow furrowing. "I'm glad to see you're not roughing it out here alone. Your friends seem pleasant enough." He dipped the heel of bread into the stew, a pleasant burn on the roof of his mouth followed by the delicious feeling of having something in his stomach other than hard tack.

Ulric sat back in his chair with a look of contemplation plastered over his face, a heel of bread forgotten in his hand. "What would be the point if you never had to struggle? Why would anyone leave their bed if they were promised comfort either way? I came for a struggle, for the world." To travel any other way would make him a much hated tourist or it would become his job. One day his travels would become less about adventure and more about the profit they made, he just couldn't do that to himself. It was better this way: no ties, no wealth. He saw more of the world without a single coin in his pocket than anyone with satchel's full.

His mood quickly became one of brooding, or at least it attempted to seem like brooding. He could very well feel a smile, or a smirk it was hard to tell, cracking across the once serious face. "Of course on the other hand, I would have my fair share of struggle making sure you weren't getting into any trouble." Though to be honest with himself, he preferred her brand of trouble than the ones he had currently come to face. It was easier to make sure she wasn't lifting anything from his pack, or trying to play him with sweet words than trying to wind your way through a mostly unexplored wood with no hope of calling for help. He would much rather deal with her trouble, and to simply have the sound of her voice around for a bit longer.

Ulric took another long drag from his cup, the mead making him bold. He smiled as he finished his bowl, snickering slightly to himself. "Alright Angie, I'll come with you but only if you promise me something in return." He leaned back to cross his arms over his chest, the heat from the fire petting his shoulder in encouragement. It would be easy enough to make this deal, that is if she was still a sucker for making them, and he could always back out himself if he lost the courage. "Once this is all over you will have to do something for me, and don't ask me I wont tell you yet. All I need from you is your word, and I'll follow you to the end." Ulric leaned over the table, a wicked gleam in his eye. "So what do you say?"

[quote="Painted Moose] I time skipped if that's alright :3

The pounding of Ulric's head proved further that he was not the young and wild pup that he had once been. Though he remembered the first four slooshing mugs of mead, any that may have followed were honestly a blur. Rising slowly from his bed he rubbed his throbbing temples, glaring at the sun threatening to rise behind the horizon. "Don't you dare." His voice was a growl and though the venom dripped words were an honest threat to destroy the sun if it decided to rise on this day, the orb of bright warm light continued to rise higher.

Forcing himself awake Ulric finally had time to actually observe his room and while it was not worth what he was paying, Oh lord the bill, what type of damage is that going to be?, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was in a lot better shape then the lobby downstairs. The room contained two pieces of furniture in all, the bed and a wash table which was the only reason the room seemed to be so neatly kept. As the cool water ran down his face, I can't believe it's actually clean water, details from the night before came rushing back to the surface of his memory. It was now that the pounding he head was not his tired and dehydrated head, but a heavy fist on the door.

Cold realization hit his square in the chest, his eyes quickly going to the light flowing over the snowy ground. "Morning's light." The cogs fell into place and plans made under the veil of mead and firelight slapped his across the cheek. Urlic grabbed his things and rushed from the room, leaving the knocking cervitaur to stand dumbly with his hand raised to continue his assault on the door.

Ol' one eye gave her usual snarl as Ulric tossed his coins onto the counter, ignoring any protests she may of had as he allowed the door to slam shut behind him. A chilled wind welcomed the wolftaur as he threw his cloak over his shoulders, once again cursing the sell he never should have made. A small group stood huddled together in the snow, a few shuffling their feet to keep themselves warm. In the center stood Angelique rubbing her arms, though wither to warm herself as her men did Ulric was unsure. Though the sun had just pulled itself over the horizon, he knew she had awoken long before he had sloshed water in his face in a sad attempt to join the world of the living.

Trotting up to his companion, Ulric donned his warmest smile. "Sorry I'm late." The door-banging taur joined the group just a few steps behind, grumbling to his mates in aggregated tones. Ulric clapped his hands together, rubbing them together both for warmth and in excitement. "So, who's up for adventure?"

[Sorry this one isnt the best, just trying to get something posted :/]