Silence grew between them as the warrior, quite intimidating with a solid foot on the tiny witch, stared her down. Though she was not unfamiliar with being dwarfed by others, she was also not unfamiliar with injury on their part, evidenced by her arrival and the tapestry of scars that covered her from exposed fingertips to toes, though a majority of it had been concealed beneath the native cloth she'd meticulously tailored a loose-fitting outfit from during her consignment to a cot. Memories of some sort passenger riled her thoughts, prickling the hair at the nape of her neck. Every wasted muscle in her body drew taut as she prepared for the worst, distressed to remember that in her new reality there was no passenger. No secret weapon. No trump card...
Are's nervous laughter was the firing pin to her wound-spring countenance, the sudden noise causing her to jump quite badly. She recovered, visibly insulted by the show of weakness, and took a moment to straighten her clothing, preening to regain the image of a cool and collected countenance though that didn't mean she took her eyes of of him.
He was nice. He scared the shit out of her, but he wasn't unfriendly or cruel and she found that his smile was much more reassuring having heard him speak something of a common tongue. She even smiled back, the grin small and sheepish as a flush of color rose in her cheeks, the embarrassment that followed her startled reaction being wrestled with and tamped down to regain some sense of control, her silent staring giving him more than enough time to explain himself. In fact, she wished he had spoken longer, scrambling mentally as the conversation-ball returned to her side of the net.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Are." Courtly formality colored her greeting, the kind you'd expect of someone used to rubbing shoulders with nobility or big money. Her body still ached from the exertion of being absolutely terrified of the giant though she nodded her head in an approximation of a bow, unwilling and unable to do anything more to express the manners that had been pressed into her from a young age. By admitting his own lack of authority Are had bolstered her into assuming her own, allowing her to set her embarrassment aside to have an actual conversation. "I could say the same, being laid up for the last season doesn't leave much room for exploration." Flashing a toothy grin she addressed the frustrating reality of bodily injury with good humor and a short chuckle.
"It is good to know this place is fairly civilized - better that it has a cobbler. It's a shame to underestimate the value of a good pair of boots - from what I have seen of the terrain I suppose that you make quite the killing." And really, where was the lie? Walking here had been hell on one and a half feet which might have biased her opinion, though Mel was exceptionally grateful that after a bit of drying her boots had pulled through from their river adventure, a bit worse for wear but workable. "Pitiable is a man with no shoes, or worse, bad shoes."
Are's nervous laughter was the firing pin to her wound-spring countenance, the sudden noise causing her to jump quite badly. She recovered, visibly insulted by the show of weakness, and took a moment to straighten her clothing, preening to regain the image of a cool and collected countenance though that didn't mean she took her eyes of of him.
He was nice. He scared the shit out of her, but he wasn't unfriendly or cruel and she found that his smile was much more reassuring having heard him speak something of a common tongue. She even smiled back, the grin small and sheepish as a flush of color rose in her cheeks, the embarrassment that followed her startled reaction being wrestled with and tamped down to regain some sense of control, her silent staring giving him more than enough time to explain himself. In fact, she wished he had spoken longer, scrambling mentally as the conversation-ball returned to her side of the net.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Are." Courtly formality colored her greeting, the kind you'd expect of someone used to rubbing shoulders with nobility or big money. Her body still ached from the exertion of being absolutely terrified of the giant though she nodded her head in an approximation of a bow, unwilling and unable to do anything more to express the manners that had been pressed into her from a young age. By admitting his own lack of authority Are had bolstered her into assuming her own, allowing her to set her embarrassment aside to have an actual conversation. "I could say the same, being laid up for the last season doesn't leave much room for exploration." Flashing a toothy grin she addressed the frustrating reality of bodily injury with good humor and a short chuckle.
"It is good to know this place is fairly civilized - better that it has a cobbler. It's a shame to underestimate the value of a good pair of boots - from what I have seen of the terrain I suppose that you make quite the killing." And really, where was the lie? Walking here had been hell on one and a half feet which might have biased her opinion, though Mel was exceptionally grateful that after a bit of drying her boots had pulled through from their river adventure, a bit worse for wear but workable. "Pitiable is a man with no shoes, or worse, bad shoes."
