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Post by Aalis Fairclaw on Oct 14, 2013 17:48:09 GMT -6
The quick change in Valourie's demeanor was strange. Aalis furrowed her brows slightly as the woman stirred to take off. 'Why would the thought of me not being one her so called "good folk" set her so awry...?' she wondered scrupulously. However, she had little time to mull over that train of thought before suddenly, Valourie was a matter of inches away from Aalis. Eyes wide, her instincts kicked in and she refused to be trapped. Especially not by a stranger, and especially NOT in a back ally way. Without so much of a thought, she grabbed the woman's arm forcefully and turned her back towards the deeper part of the ally. "Don't get that close to me. " she blurted in panic as she did so, then propelled herself towards the crowds by pushing herself away forcefully. Then, she was out of the ally, standing in the sunlight, gaze shifted side to side furtively, before she finally returned to her senses. Her heavy breath and wide eyes gave away her panic as she tried to compose herself. Finally, she turned back towards the ally, worry on her face and prepared to apologize for her over-reaction.
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Valourie
Journeyman Roleplayer
Posts: 116
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Post by Valourie on Oct 15, 2013 18:04:23 GMT -6
Val was sent reeling suddenly and a wave of confusion, distrust and resentment pained her. Then just as abruptly she was standing still again, and Aalis stood staring at her from the light at the end of the Alleyway. Without having enough time to react or form a thought, she felt a rush of anger and betrayal from the total stranger. "What was that for?" She retorted, the leather cords binding her mouth shut catching as her raised voice forced her mouth open. And then the Anger was gone as quickly as it came, Leaving in it's wake a dull sorrow and emptiness. Valourie Raised an eyebrow. 'What just happened?' She thought, slowly lowering her hands to her hips. 'It's as If I did her some terrible wrong, And why do I feel such a mortal guilt?' She realized her eye brows were drawn down into a glare and her lips began to throb with pain. She took a few steps toward her and stopped in the shadow of the walls. "Are you alright?" She asked, calmly.
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Post by Aalis Fairclaw on Oct 17, 2013 2:15:09 GMT -6
'What was that for?' Aalis flinched and looked away. She felt now like the bottom of her stomach had fallen out, leaving her feeling so empty it made her nauseous . Identifying it as fear, she set her mouth in a hard line. Memories weren't welcome for her. Especially not ones of being homeless... and alone. There were just too many things she wanted to forget about. Those years especially.
As the woman's voice came to her a second time, Aalis looked back and nodded quickly. "Yes. Yes of course. I'm fine. Sorry about that, it was... automatic." Stumbling to find words, she cut herself off there so she didn't say too much. Seeing her become so calm suddenly was surprising and strange, however very welcomed. It gave Aalis a little bit of ease to her discomfort. Her skirts rustled softly as she shifted her feet. With a small held breath, she put her facial mask back on with a small smile. Her mask was always infallible, with the exception of being seen through by the people who truly knew how to read people's eyes...
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Valourie
Journeyman Roleplayer
Posts: 116
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Post by Valourie on Oct 21, 2013 13:02:09 GMT -6
"Automatic?" She echoed, again raising a brow at the stranger. "With reflexes like that, i'm shocked. A Warrioress like yourself leaves much to be envied." She bowed her head in respect of the stranger, and again adjusted her cloak to cover all access to the hidden armors beneath. "Do you work for someone here? A hired Sword perhaps?" She simled, genuinely impressed, which for the last few hundred years, was a rare occurrence. Slowly this time she edged toward her, stepping lightly, making the most minuscule sound atop the fallen leaves. Peering out into the streets of Wildgard.
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Post by Aalis Fairclaw on Oct 22, 2013 16:56:17 GMT -6
"No, actually... There's little need here for a hired sword when one could hire from the abundant assassins of this land. I've been looking for a means of living, but I can't find one here. Sadly, the best option I've found around here for a decent and honorable way of life was to join a band of pirates." She huffed slightly at the memory of her encounters with both their recruiter, the Bardic Possum, and the Captain of the ship, named Sixx. It was thanks to the strange woman that Aalis now had a rapier and dagger to fight with, as she'd given up a piece of obsidian that had once belonged to her mother. In a way, she was jealous of the pirate's means of life. They traveled, and traded, and had strong bonds, and were the happiest visitors to this land that she'd seen. She had almost wished to join them. But of course, Aalis knew she would never go to the sea; it just wasn't her place.
She frowned slightly as she thought, 'But where is my place then? What do I do now?' Her thoughts caught on Guile yet again. Of how he still wore his bardic clothes. Of course, she still did too, but now they were hidden. Her cinch that had been around her waist for was seemed like forever now, was covered and hidden, but yet she still didn't have the heart to take it off. Internally, she sighed, trying to put her bardic past out of her mind. She reminded herself of all the bad times, the poverty, the cold, the unreliability, and just how hard it was. Thinking of only the bad times made it a little bit easier to forget how much she missed it sometimes. "It would be nice to actually find some proper employment after all this time," she continued, "Some actual means of life, so I could actually depend upon myself..." '...and not just go back relying in Guile.'
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Valourie
Journeyman Roleplayer
Posts: 116
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Post by Valourie on Oct 22, 2013 18:05:58 GMT -6
Valourie had something of a grin on her Face while the Warrioress spoke, the more she told her the more her guard dropped. She began to Ease out of her shell and it was only then that the Divine magics of Valourie could begin to work. Once the Angel in disguise could forgo her own suspicion and distrust, she encouraged the same for Fairclaw. "Hmm, Pirates you say." The stitches tugging on her raw lips as she attempted to smile. 'If Pirates are high Standard here, I can I only speculate what the Assassins are like.' She was beginning to sense the Strangers emotions now, they were seeping through her disguise like the sap from a tree, slowly at first, sometimes to thick and rich to flow, hardening up like a bead of sweet nectar just outside the hardened exterior of er defenses. But the Feelings were there. And Valourie could sense Fairclaw had quite a story to tell. Sadness escaped her and her words became more vague. The Angel almost felt pity for her, but it came with the dangers of delving into the Hearts of strangers. 'The White Lady may have missed a few good souls, if she's done anything with them at all, that is.' She analyzed the woman with care, seeing her human self hundreds of years ago.
"Well I'm sure there is something to be said about Honor in these lands. If you seek it, it has to exist." She raised a hand to place it on the womans shoulder and remembered the consequences in advance, opting to hold her hand up as a form of testimony. "Trust me." She lowered her hand and waited for the Woman to catch wind of her assurance.
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Post by Aalis Fairclaw on Oct 22, 2013 19:19:12 GMT -6
"Maybe so, but I think it would take a rather overwhelming amount of searching. After all, it's not as though I could make it easy by just looking into people's hearts. " she replied with a small smile, and a bit of a laugh. She did want to believe, and to find something to fight for in these lands, but what little hope she'd had in the beginning had already dwindled quite low at this point. She watched the woman raise a hand towards her, and hesitate. She felt bad for scaring the woman like she had. It it wasn't for the circumstances, her reaction probably wouldn't have been as rash. 'Trust me.' Aalis looked away from Valourie then, and gazed blindly off westward. It had suddenly reminded her of how long it had been since she'd seen Guile. Not knowing where he was now was bothering her, quite a lot. Yet again, it seemed as though he'd vanished into thin air, with no explanation. "Yeah..." she sighed. 'I guess I might as well try to trust this woman... I mean, what else do I have right now?'
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Valourie
Journeyman Roleplayer
Posts: 116
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Post by Valourie on Oct 23, 2013 14:40:38 GMT -6
Val grinned nervously. Hoping beyond all words she wasn't dealing with any kind of Telepath or Empath. She held her breath, delving through the woven threads of emotions the young woman seemed to be dealing with. 'What is her story, I suppose i'd better keep a close watch on this one, she may come in handy at some point.' Silently she scoffed. 'She may be the only manipulable soul I can get my hands on...' She took a step out of her own inner schemes and looked over Fairclaw a final time. "Look, I won't Pry if you don't. I'm Here to do some business on my own, you're welcome to come along, perhaps we'll both find something we're looking for." '-Or Someone.'
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Post by Aalis Fairclaw on Nov 4, 2013 21:01:37 GMT -6
"I guess some company wouldn't be so terrible, right?" she smiled. Her face showed some actual warmth now, and though she knew little of this woman, she felt that Valourie could be trusted. Plus, maybe by following and helping her when she could Aalis could satiate some of her curiosity about the cloaked woman. And anyway, she needed something to do, or someone to spend time with, so that she could stop thinking about Guile for a little while. All she could do was hope he'd come back this time, after all. Until then, this time she'd only wait...
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Valourie
Journeyman Roleplayer
Posts: 116
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Post by Valourie on Nov 4, 2013 21:18:31 GMT -6
"Right." She said, nodding briskly. She turned on her heel, pointedly ignoring the look of sadness in Fairclaw's eyes. Stepping out into Wildgard and the light of day once again, she stopped to survey the Area. Wondering which way to go next. 'There has to be some work to be done around here. Now with this distraction I have no Idea where I was headed.' She sighed, trying to regain the internal radar she had Earlier. Tying to connect to the land.
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Post by Gaulwin on Nov 15, 2013 23:33:50 GMT -6
Gaulwin's head had been hazy for the past few days as if he were ill. Physically, he was in healthy shape, but his encounter on the road the other day had drained him. Ever since the war on his home mountain, he had been searching everywhere in the land for his mentor, Charlotte. Yet when he finally found her, he got a far different reaction than he had expected. As petty as it sounded, what he had experienced was flat out rejection. He couldn't bring himself to admit that his time spent travelling to find her was a waste. It's not like it was a romantic endeavour - it was mere respect and innocent admiration for such a strong person that kept him going. She was someone he grew close to over the hectic times on the mountain top. Like a role model. Maybe she took it the wrong way... he pondered. Come to think of it, she could have lied to get me out of there. No wonder she never met up with me. I never did quite catch on to her lessons as much as the others, rather I had been studying the way she held herself, her confidence, her beautifully curved horns that I only slightly envied... Regret and embarrassment fell upon his face, remembering every single thing he had said or done to her that could have been misinterpreted. He cupped his face in his hands as his cheeks reddened. He was sure she had caught him staring and raised an eyebrow more than once. While he picked up on a lot of things, paid attention to detail and could usually read between the lines... anything romantic got lost in the density of his naive, young brain.
He walked into the familiar town square, looking around for any sign of a familiar face. Did anyone even remember him? What was he to do here? Looking around for something, anything to do, he laid eyes upon a person in a flowing red cloak. His ears perked up and he straightened his posture, tilting his head to the side. He hadn't seen them before in the time he spent in Wildgard. Mind you, he hadn't been there too long either. He stepped toward them, nodding his head lightly in acknowledgement.
"Hello. I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?" he spoke as he eyed up the rest of their garb. It was impressive. He cursed to himself silently in his head, as this sudden conversation with a stranger did not help the heat that lingered on his cheeks.
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Post by Aalis Fairclaw on Nov 16, 2013 1:19:07 GMT -6
Caught off guard by Valourie's sudden movement, she was left behind for a moment as the woman rounded the corner quickly. Thinking that she was taking off at a rather fast pace, she quickly took off after her... only to find that Val had stopped a few steps around the corner. Aalis backpedaled in panic, trying to avoid plowing directly into the back of the stranger she'd just met. She came to a halt just behind Valourie's left shoulder, her arm and shoulder just brushing the red cloak. She looked down in slight embarrassment, hoping her fumble would go unnoticed. 'If only I wasn't in human shift. I wouldn't mess up like that...' she cursed herself internally.
As she looked at the ground, a pair of boots appeared in her vision. She followed the line of the boy's body up to his face, quickly taking in his appearance. He was a traveler, like herself, and was very young, and even more strikingly innocent-looking. Immediately, she was struck with concern. 'He's not alone, is he? Travel is extremely dangerous alone. Someone so young is easy prey for the kinds of people that skulk around here.' Aalis opened her mouth slightly to voice her concern, but quickly closed it again. 'Not like I'm one to speak though... Traveling alone is all I do.' Instead, she glanced over at Valourie and settled to merely witnessing the conversation, unless she was addressed.
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Valourie
Journeyman Roleplayer
Posts: 116
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Post by Valourie on Nov 16, 2013 1:42:23 GMT -6
Valourie squared her jaw and grit her teeth. She had spent weeks in Wildgard hiding and fleeing from interaction until it was too much to bear, now she had more Human- er, Kinto interaction than she could possibly ask for. Being in disguise took more effort than she was willing to deal with, but keeping them off her trail was the most important task. She turned her head toward him and smiled, hoping the torn wounds in her stitched mouth wouldn't send him screaming in the other direction. "Hello..." She said, carefully. "Who might you be, young one." Aalis caught up to her side and suddenly shivers ran down her spine. The Angel shot a strange glance to her and shook it off, The three of them stood stand-offishly and Valourie had to take a moment to regain a grip. Dealing with Mortals was both her favored and ill-favored pass times. "My Name is Valourie, and we- I, Am both new and old, from both very near and very far." She stopped herself there, 'Why does everything I have to do on a Daily be So convoluted?' She inwardly scowled at herself, glancing to Fairclaw. 'And what on Earth has gotten into her?'
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Post by Gaulwin on Nov 17, 2013 11:12:08 GMT -6
Behind the woman now known to him as Valourie, Gaulwin noticed someone else. She appeared to be human, and held a strange expression on her face. Actually, both of them did. He shifted his weight between both feet nervously. "Oh...I see." What had Valourie meant by that? What was the need for speaking so vaguely? Surely if she wasn't human it would make sense, but still... why introduce yourself that way to a stranger? That instantly sends you on the fast track to a shady impression. Gaulwin narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, partly to keep himself warm, and partly to send off a subtle message that he held suspicions.
"So be it." He said, bowing his head slightly as he looked into Valourie's eyes. "And who might you be? You, back there. I mean no harm, please do say something." He turned his eyes intently to the other figure. Fully aware that he himself sounded a bit on edge, he kept his distance as to not seem more menacing. This was by far one of the most awkward meetings he had ever gotten himself into. What was he even getting out of it? Nothing, that's what. The wind was growing more chilly, and he wondered if he could find shelter somewhere. Maybe he would run into someone he actually knew. As he waited for a reply, he dropped his bag to the ground and began rummaging through it, pulling out a brown cloak and wrapping it around himself. He pulled up the hood, and adjusted it so that his horns stuck out of the two slits he had made in the fabric. Of course he had the option of a full human shift, but he was kinto, and liked his species to be known upon first glance. The war-issued cloak was given out to all those who were deemed soldiers back home, and he wondered if Charlotte still kept hers.
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Post by Aalis Fairclaw on Nov 19, 2013 22:36:39 GMT -6
Taking a brisk step to put her beside Valourie, rather than slightly behind, she silently cleared her throat and spoke up. "My name is A- Er, Fairclaw." Her eyes flicked to Valourie for a brief second at her mistake. "I didn't mean for my silence to seem rude. Are you... travelling alone? What are you here for?" As she looked over the boy a second time, her eyebrows furrowed. She wondered why he had approached in the first place. Was he looking for shelter, or a place to stay? Or directions of some sort? She watched as he drew out a cloak to warm himself, and the corner of her lip turned upwards very slightly. 'At least he's prepared,' she mused, absentmindedly pulling at the edge of her own cloak. The cold wind led a small trail of leaves to circle at their feet. They spiraled closer together, then some of them blew into the open bag on the ground. The dried leaves disappeared like tiny little thieves, scurrying away and hiding among the contents of the stranger's bag. She stepped forward and picked it up to hand to him. "You should be sure to guard your things well here," she reminded him, "there's much worse company than us to be found."
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