[Seasonal Event] not where we belong
Leatherworker

Age: 36 | Height: 175cm / 5'9 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 3 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 8 - Int:
Played by: Neowulf Offline
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Posts: 397 | Total: 642
MP: 970
#1
stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires
As always, he hunted the Luxere in the dark. It wasn't late, per se, for the sun set so early these days, but already the darkness was compact, full of promise: the unknown things roving the Long Night, all sharp teeth and hunger. They would come, this year as all other years, and while Rory had never heard of them being early, this close to their time he was always vigilant and wary. The hairs on his back pricked at the smallest of shifts in wind and sound.

He had ridden into the Settlement earlier, delivering more of his finished orders and picking up new ones, then left Talys in the care of an acquaintance. He didn't want to leave her hitched to a post for hours on end; this way she was in a shed, munching on some low-quality hay, out of the wind. She tolerated it well enough.

It wasn't often he got held up like this, but his luck with the Luxere so far had been rather scant, and he'd rather play it safe, so when he had seen the tracks of a couple of them leading deeper into the Ruins he'd left Talys to track them on foot. The Ruins were no place for a pony, and no place for Luxere either, for the matter.

He'd bought some carrots on the way and carried them in a bag slung over his shoulder. Head bowed and Ludo's white lantern in hand he followed the tracks into the winding, ruined streets of a time long forgotten, thinking that the least he could do was to try and lure the deer out of here and back into the open.

[ for Phoebe! ]
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
Played by: Grant Offline
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Posts: 3,062 | Total: 5,479
MP: 1825
#2
Phoebe had bern struggling to make ense meet lately. So many new outlanders had appeared, and she had focused mostly on helping them get on their feet rather than caring for herself. Now Long Night was close at hand and her food supply was very sorry looking. If course, one could only survive so long on root vegetables. She needed protein...and she could only get that by hunting.

Fortunately her father had once shown her how to set some basic snares and find signs of bunnies. She didn't like the idea of killing bunnies but...bunnies did taste delicious. So a few days prior she had gone out in search of bunny signs and found some around the ruins. Not the safest place but...hunger made people a bit more desperate. Phoebe was not immune to that. So she had set a few rudimentary snares, and had let them 'soak' as her pa had called it.

Now she was back, out looking to see if she had caught anything. The ruins were so creepy! But in her searching she saw a light ahead. A lantern carried by... a man? "Hello?" she called out.

Rory
Phoebe
Be gentle to all and stern with yourself
Leatherworker

Age: 36 | Height: 175cm / 5'9 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 3 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 8 - Int:
Played by: Neowulf Offline
Change author:
Posts: 397 | Total: 642
MP: 970
#3
stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires
Rory was a creature of open spaces, a child of the green meadows and the blue sky: a house was about as contained as he ever allowed himself to be, and the wind whistling through the trees of even the densest woodland brought with it the taste of freedom. But the Ruins... Even as the sky stretched from horizon to horizon above him, he felt caged. Hemmed in. Captured. Toppled buildings, stone blocks spewed out onto streets filled with centuries of debris and memories; gaping, empty doorways, black windows like sockets in a bashed-in skull. What had once likely been beautiful and prosperous laid ruined and decrepit, testament to the fragility of life.

Rory hated it, walking among the bones of a time long since past, a people long since changed. He had explored it a few times as a kid, of course, but had quickly abandoned it in favor of the forests and fields.

Every intersection looked the same. Every street pulling away into the darkness looked the same, empty and forlorn. The only thing he had was the tracks of the Luxere, and he sincerely hoped they wouldn't lead to chasm beneath the Bone Bridge, but surely they were smarter than just walking off the edge and to their deaths?

"Hello?" someone called out behind him, and Rory, startled, spun around with his greatcoat doing a dramatic flourish around his legs. He held the lantern high, almost behind his head, and the light spilled across the snow he'd trudged through, and onto the vague silhouette of .. someone. They looked very average at this distance, and Rory took a cautious couple of steps closer. Meeting someone in the Ruins wasn't his favorite thing.

"Hey there," he called back. "I was just tracking the Luxere. What are you doing out here?" Best establish their (supposed) intentions first, and then he could panic if they tried to shank him.
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
Played by: Grant Offline
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Posts: 3,062 | Total: 5,479
MP: 1825
#4
Phoebe swallowed a nervous lump in her throat. Maybe drawing attention to herself hadn't been the best idea. She held the little basket she had brought to hopefully fill with bunnies a little closer to her chest. If the other person got a good look at her, it would be clear that she was rather scared of him - if only because he seemed to be acting so suspicous of her. It certainly did nothing to calm her nerves.

But he was here looking for Luxere? She looked down and noticed the reindeer tracks in the snow for the first time. Oh no! What if they had trampled her traps?! "Uhm...well I had set some little snares because there were rabbit tracks around a few days ago..." she said, nervousness coloring her noise. "But now it seems the Luxere may have trampled them..." she said a bit sadly. Well. Shouldn't know until she saw the snares but it seemed this little trapping trip would be for naught.
Phoebe
Be gentle to all and stern with yourself
Leatherworker

Age: 36 | Height: 175cm / 5'9 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 3 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 8 - Int:
Played by: Neowulf Offline
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Posts: 397 | Total: 642
MP: 970
#5
stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires
She seemed to shrink in the light; he saw her clutch a basket to her chest, as if it could protect her from the monsters prowling about the dark.

But there were no monsters there: only Rory.

(One and the same, one and the same, one and the same...)

It wasn't the first time someone had been frightened of him, and it wouldn't be the last, but every time was equally bizarre. Rory was not physically imposing in any way: he wasn't very tall, and though he was decently muscled, he was lean. Usually mellow and gentle, and definitely not someone with a rumor of getting into fights (to be fair, he was an easy target for anyone looking to kick someone around a little, which was rather well-known in certain circles).

He supposed that in the dark, in such a place as this, he could seem a bit .. unapproachable, especially with the suspicion coursing through his veins.

And he didn't trust scared little girls to only be scared little girls. Caido bit you no matter what shape she wore.

Still, he wasn't an entirely through-and-through distrustful idiot, so he lowered his lantern and hooded it slightly, so the white light wouldn't be quite so harsh. "I doubt it," he said gently, taking a few steps closer: not close enough to press into her personal space, just close enough to be able to make out some features. She looked young, and reminded him of a spooked horse. Skittish. "They're pretty careful creatures, so if you caught anything, I'm sure it's fine. I mean.. possibly you also caught a Luxere." He grimaced. He didn't enjoy the idea of finding a trapped Luxere, wire or rope possibly cutting into its leg.
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
Played by: Grant Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,062 | Total: 5,479
MP: 1825
#6
When he looked at her, the man seemed to relax, which in turn made her relax. It seemed they were both perhaps a little on edge – her especially being rather helpless in a rather scary place. It also helped not having a bright light shone right in her eyes when they were accustomed to the dimmer light around them. He wasn’t that scary looking, but just the shift in demeanor was enough to calm her down a little.

”Oh, I don’t think that would happen…they weren’t very good snares and just made out of some little bendy twigs.” she said softly, a little smile curving her lips. If a Luxere stepped into one of her snares it would easily break it with one swift tug. Frankly she would be surprised if her snares caught any rabbits, but it was her only option. ”But I hope not…I didn’t think Luxere came all the way out here.” she said, glancing of in the distance as if she might see their antlers glowing in the darkness.
Phoebe
Be gentle to all and stern with yourself
Leatherworker

Age: 36 | Height: 175cm / 5'9 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 3 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 8 - Int:
Played by: Neowulf Offline
Change author:
Posts: 397 | Total: 642
MP: 970
#7
stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires
"Oh," he said as she revealed what her snares were made of. Bendy little twigs? That sounded rather.. desperate, and his eyebrows knitted together as he studied her in the pallid light.

He liked her smile.

He felt for her desperation. He knew that there were those who were less well off in terms of food: Rory had his goats, he had his bow, he'd get by. Not all in Caido were so fortunate. Long Night was usually a fairly comfortable affair for Rory. He worried, as he always did, but he didn't really lack for anything. He could only imagine what it would be like, hiding in whatever passed as your house, listening to the knocks and scrapes and whispers... Hungry and thirsty as you waited for the dawn to come.

"They normally don't," he responded, turning a little towards the way he'd been going before. "I was going to see if I could find them, see what's keeping them here. Hopefully get them out and back into the open." He bit his lower lip for a moment, studying the tracks. As long as there was snow—and the season did not lack snow—he should be able to find out where they'd gone.

He turned back to watch the girl. "I'm Rory, by the way. You could come with me, if you'd like, at least to check your snares."

Sometimes safety lay in numbers, and perhaps having someone else with her would put her more at ease.
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
Played by: Grant Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,062 | Total: 5,479
MP: 1825
#8
It sounded desperate because she was. Roots and berries only got a person so far. She could tell he was studying her and she stilled a bit under his gaze. It was a little unnerving but...well his eyes were captivatingly blue. It was almost unnatural really, so she distracted herself by looking at them. Which hopefully would work out well since she would appear to be making strong eye contact with him.

Phoebe frowned a little. The poor Luxere, lost in this rather scary place. She wondered briefly what had brought them here in the first place.

Her attention went back to...Rory apparently...when he spoke. She smiled warmly at him. "It's nice to meet you Rory, I'm Phoebe. I'm a midwife in town." she said. She always added that tidbit in desperate hope someone might need her skill so she could start fending for herself better to trade. "I would really appreciate that...if you don't mind?"
Phoebe
Be gentle to all and stern with yourself


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