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Post by Lerris on Mar 22, 2007 0:54:29 GMT -5
Lerris rubbed at his chin, feeling the beard that was soon to take his face if he did put off shaving any longer. “I doubt I shall ever look much older, but in truth I could essentially live forever. If I never find myself on the sharp end of a sword, or some terrible disease, I will live on this land for many, many years to come.”
The elf sighed, it wasn’t something he enjoyed speaking of. Wandering this earth with out ever finding peace was not something he dreamed of. If he kept himself safe, he would never see the white shores of the afterlife. But as he was living his life right now, he might end up seeing those shores after all.
He took a sip of tea, and sighed. “As of right now, I cannot remember my current age. My time has been spent differently in the last several years, I have lost myself in time and my current age is but a guess to me.” The elf laughed a little, “If I had to guess, I would say somewhere near….”
The elf thought quietly to himself for several moments before he spoke again. “Eighty years I have walked this Earth. If nothing else I know I draw close to one hundred years.” He sighed, “I do not know, how I will live the next one hundred…”
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Post by Rowenna on Apr 3, 2007 1:09:48 GMT -5
Rowen allowed herself a smile and leaned forward, planting her chin in her fist with the soft, saddish expression that dared to be happy.
“Don’t tell me you’re sensitive about your age,” she commented, oblivious to the reason of his present demeanor. She tried to laugh, but the laugh became stuck in her throat, and she could not be bothered with forcing it all the way out; her head bobbed in what would have been the chortle, that same look on her visage. It was the look of a face that was sad but happy, kinder, softer, but trying to be more than such an uninspiring state. It was the face of trying to be better, and then not really trying at all, not dedicated enough to try harder, to be it, to feel it. It was a long, reddish mouth curved up like a bowl, it was eyes, childlike and without defense. It was borderline, and Rowen didn’t have the energy to push herself all the way over.
For the time being, she watched for his reaction, mentally attemption to compose conversation before it was said, trying to catch the words and form them into sentences, though the words were forever beyond her reach and would only come exactly when they were needed.
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Post by Lerris on Apr 29, 2007 18:45:16 GMT -5
The elf dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand, “Not sensitive, just worried. At sometimes I feel like perhaps my choice was wrong, perhaps I should of traveled away from this place with my kin.” Lerris sighed into his cup as he drank the last of his tea, “But that is behind me, that decision, wither I like it or not, has been made.”
The elf shifted in his seat, and sat back resting his arms behind his head. His eyes wandered about the common room of the inn, not many, save a few men and of course the workers. One in particular caught his attention, because he could swear that from under the brim of his hat he was staring at Rowen.
“I do not mean this as it may sound, but there is a man in the corner staring at you…” The elf moved his eyes back to Rowen.
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Post by Rowenna on Apr 30, 2007 0:59:12 GMT -5
Rowen’s glass eyes rotated to the side, and she looked with a slight turn to her head. Her gaze withdrew the moment she conceived his image, absorbing it, burning it in her mind so the vision stayed, even when she did not see in his direction. The man, thick coat obscuring his body, skin barely visible from beneath his hat; his face, at them, at her. She felt nauseous--something to do with the intoxication of her senses, surely. Dizzy. An effect of the long night, the long day, a longjourney with little rest for the heart.
“Let’s go,” she said, voice soft, timid, like a child. “Quietly.”
Rowen the thief. Rowen the murderer. Rowen the wanted, for gold, for silver, for coins to heavy the purse and raise the spirits and buy the wine. She had always hated it, hated it, the fact that she wasn’t good enough, not skilled enough of a thief to slip by unscathed, unsighted, unseen. But what was there, now, was not hate. What was there was the remnant of too much wine, distorting her consciousness, her vibrance, her power. What was there was someone who didn’t want to go to prison again.
She took Lerris by the hand and raised him, pulling him by her side.
“He won’t follow right away, if he thinks he hasn’t been seen,” she said, barely above a whisper. “It’s a bounty hunter. He’ll stalk us slow; he thinks he has all the time in the world.”
Her arm wrapped around Saphire’s waist--the bounty hunter had to know they were not disturbed by an alternate presence, that they were calm and ignorant of his existence. She nipped Lerris’ ear--what was that, in her throat? A short breath that never escaped it; a short smile that didn’t know if it was ready to smile just yet.
“Do you like my deception?” her voice was flighty; a quiver in her voice that, a fast beat in her heart like a bird. She drew him closer with her arm as they approached the door. “Would you like to play along, or do you need to play it?”
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Post by Lerris on May 2, 2007 19:08:28 GMT -5
The elf smiled, and did his part…not that he minded doing his part to “play along” as Rowen had put it. He moved close, and bent down to kiss Rowen on the neck as he followed her lead. “A bounty hunter eh?” The elf said in-between kisses. The two of them made towards the door and Lerris took one last glance out of the side of his eye at the curious man.
The elf could suddenly tell something very odd was happening, Rowen, was enjoying this. He could of laughed, her life was at stake and here she is almost smiling. Was it just for show? Or was it because of the things they were doing now to act as if the man had not been noticed.
Lerris suddenly decided he no longer cared, and he might as well go back to playing his part. He kissed her up towards her ear and whispered gently, “So, what’s the plan?”
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Post by Rowenna on Jun 10, 2007 2:27:53 GMT -5
Her body touched the door and moved it, pressing against the wooden fibers, for her hands had forgotten to motion, dead at her side, right not knowing the left, not knowing the brain, nor the foot, nor any other part of the body. Each own moved as it would, and the cold sun blinded her face.
"Get--out," she stammered, words as the bell, the high, the low, the inconsistent as her chest moved quickly as a bird after the long flight. A moment, she registered her word, remembering the feeling of skin against her skin, against her neck, her ear. "I leave it to you, Sir Lerris--what now? Would you like to fight him for me?"
She smiled a painful smile--she did not want to fight. She wanted to be out, to be alone, with one she loved, with her student, the child by her side. Her mind drew fast as her word and heart, and she calculated her surroundings--how would the fight affect them, if there was indeed a fight; they, the city people, how many would get involved, what were the odds of being taken down by the lot of them, what were the odds of ending up in prison. The logistics weren't good; there had to be another way. I leave it to you, Sir Lerris, the words echoed in her brain. I leave it to you.
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Post by Lerris on Jun 29, 2007 18:49:56 GMT -5
Lerris chuckled lightly, “I think it is a better idea to be out of here an avoid as much ‘me fighting someone for you’ as possible.” The elf caught one last glimpse of the man and turned as he felt the door shut behind him. He took in a deep breath when at last out of the possible bounty hunter’s eyes.
He looked up to the sky, it didn’t look to bad considering the hard rainfall they had felt the night before. The skies were overcast with the sun occasionally popping out to give it’s light. It was still cold, and Lerris did not like the look of a large black cloud to the East.
“I take it our stay here should end as soon as possible?” Lerris turned back to his companion and shrugged. “West, is our best bet….if nothing but to avoid the rain, at least the brunt of it.”
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Post by Rowenna on Jul 11, 2007 18:23:19 GMT -5
A pang at the back of her brain. West... where did west lead? Did it lead to Byron, by any offshoot chance, did it take them far away--where they thinking of him or not when thinking of leaving that place called Edoras? The soft cold bit her cheek, but her mind was mush, and warm and frustrated. When examining the point of West versus all other points on an internal map, she found she couldn’t remember what was there and what was not. Scattered, she was, her mind a wing that fought against the bar and cage of her skull, that rose up and down, confined but almost free and away from her. She was collected enough to make a concerted effort to try not to be. She was there enough to cling to all coherent thought, and force it do as she bid it.
“Yes...” she said, mind falling back to the bounty hunter, who would certainly wait for a moment, two, and then walk out, pretending it was coincidence, pretending he was just passing by so he could keep an eye on when her foot would fall. “Wherever takes us away. Get the horse.”
A thought briefly touched her mind as she said it, and her eyes traced over Edoras--the housing, the carts people pushed along to sell, to exchange, to dispose of. The shifting particles of air, so cold, almost visible in their condensed chill, blanketing the images before her eyes. Was there a chance... any chance at all that they were leaving Byron behind? That she missed him, somehow? She was sure he wasn’t there, a moment ago... she had searched, and she has searched, and she had searched. But maybe it was a fool’s errand anyway. Doubt seeded, she shoved it away in the darkest places in her psyche, and squinting lightly at the light reflecting off the cold, she turned toward Lerris, facing the gateway they would soon be riding from.
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Post by Lerris on Aug 7, 2007 1:28:12 GMT -5
The elf wasted little time in doing as Rowen had said, he found the horse without any trouble and in no time had it saddled and ready for the days ride. Lerris climbed quickly on and offered his hand to Rowen, her mind seemed elsewhere as he pulled her slowly onto the horse.
Not even he was sure what lay for the both of them now, all seemed at a loss. The boy had not been found, the renegade former-apprentice seemed to have done what he truly wanted to do, disappear.
Lerris led the horse through the roads, and out the gate and as he had promised, turned West. He wasn’t sure what was West, but he could see the clouds coming from the East, and for some strange reason he felt like he may have had an idea for a new destination. Lerris was not about to spring the idea on Rowen just yet, perhaps later that night when she had had her time to think.
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Post by Rowenna on Aug 9, 2007 17:10:22 GMT -5
Rowen gently nuzzled her nose against Lerris’ back, and her eyes creased like a down towel, pale reflections of lethargy and sleep. Her body moved forward on the horse, but her mind still trailed behind on the path that was Edoras. East to Edoras, West to where? East they had traveled for days, in search of the one who was lost; West to the sea from whence they had come? To the towns, the seaside cities, the end where the sun touched the earth in search for the beginning?
Beneath the navy midnight, Grohn ran through her arm. He twisted; she lurched, and then she screamed.
The prison cell, the cold, the stone, tap, tap tap, her nails against the shackles, the ale on her breath, the damp on her neck, the cold, icicle in her brain that ran through everything, through reason, through love, through courage, through truth and nerve and tool and tongue.
Swords. Swords, and the surge of war, the surge of bloodlust, bodies flying up and down in the torrent of tides with rapid of arrows flying over head, souls flitting out their in death; and in the distance, the sound of screaming.
“He’s like my kid,” she said, monotonous, as though on the very border of sleep. She wasn’t; she wouldn’t. She was just tired... of everything.
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Post by Lerris on Aug 15, 2007 1:13:19 GMT -5
The Elf shifted, but did not speak, he dare not say another word about Byron until Rowen was ready again to talk about him. He pushed the horse forward, a bit harder then necessary but for some reason he wanted to put as much ground behind him as possible.
Lerris knew what was West, and although he doesn’t want to admit it out loud just yet, he knows where he wants to head. Home…the elf wants to go to the last place he could really call home. Although he doesn’t want to admit it out loud just yet, it cannot exactly be called home…not anymore.
So the two companions rode, the elf never stopped the horse until day turned to night, he pushed the horse a little further until he knew it would take it no more. Lerris sighed, “We need to stop, the horse cannot move much further without a break.” He slid off the horse, and helped Rowen down.
Lerris let her gather her thoughts, gave her more time alone and gave himself something to in the form of making a fire for the nights camp. He had little to work with, but after several moments he had a fine fire glowing on their faces in the dark.
The elf sat, and offered the ground next to him to Rowen, he waited for several moments and gazed at the fire, listening to the sounds of the forest around him before he finally decided to break the silence between them.
“I think, I may have an idea concerning….Byron.” Lerris took in a deep breath, and dove headfirst into his plan. “I have friends, old friends who can help us…they are skilled trackers, and have traveled to almost every place on this earth. They could help us, draw us out a plan.” He had decided to leave out the fact that he was home sick, he exhaled and continued. “It seems logical enough, unless you have a objection….”
He gazed at Rowen for several moments, and continued, “We do not have to stop looking just because we have had one case of bad luck….we…we can find him together.”
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Post by Rowenna on Aug 15, 2007 1:31:20 GMT -5
Rowen looked at him for several moments, traces of a smile crossing her face, traces of starlight crossing her eyes. She mouthed several things, several thoughts crossing her mind, several words that did not seem adequate to express the incomprehensibilities of the mind. Finally, out of the gloom and into the late night air, "... Thank you."
The words exhaled soft, but not weak, true, but not frail. Her eyes fell to the burning fire, cackling red against a night sky, glowing red against their bodies, and then her eyes rose back up to him--body, like word, not knowing how to respond, how to express, what to say if it could say, and how it would say it.
"Where?" was all she could say. It seemed a foolish question, in light of knowing how, of knowing there were resources to be utilized, it almost seemed who cared where, what place, when one knew there was wonder, and that they were headed in that direction. Byron, her Byron, her... he seemed close to her, now. Closer, at least, still too far away--close enough to know it was possible, not over, that in the wide expanse of the world, there were people who had been... everywhere. Who could...
Before he could answer, her gaze shifted once more--the fire, the twig beneath her boot, fiddling hands, fiddling eyes.
It's a big world... is it a long shot?
She couldn't say it. Her eyes rose back, smile wavered from the thought, smile returned, twitching from frowns to grins. Stronger, now. Stronger smile, stronger half-smile. She thought of the booze, and how it must have been wearing off by then.
"Thank you... yes, where?"
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Post by Lerris on Aug 15, 2007 1:45:18 GMT -5
The elf smiled, suddenly realizing he had been so excited he had forgot to tell Rowen exactly where his “friends” were. “Mirkwood, some of my kin, those I knew when I was but 20 in the lives of men. I know they are living there, most of them settled down with wives years ago.”
Talking of his home made his smile all the wider as he continued on, “Although tied to one spot, their skills I know are still of use. Trust me, they know every cave and every mountain on this earth. They must still have connections….I could have them send word to them of a description of him.” He shrugged, “We can follow their leads, and I swear we will find him.”
The elf was talking so fast he forgot to place more wood on the fire, he quickly set to work when he brought himself to a stop to keep the last flame from flickering out. “I know it sounds risky,” the elf stated as he pushed more wood towards the flame, “But I feel it is our only risk we have left to take.”
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Post by Rowenna on Aug 15, 2007 2:03:14 GMT -5
"You don't need to convince me of anything," she smiled, watching him talk like the fluttering wings of a moth, move with a pulsebeat in like. "I told you... what he's like to me." It didn't matter the risk. He wasn't ready to be out there, wasn't ready to fight, live, and die--on his own. It didn't matter the risk, even if it took everything.
She leaned in on his side; she found herself someplace between exhaustion and energy, a pulse of life beating in her chest that had been suffocated by intoxication, by argument, and by vice. Her hand traced air and the light of smoke that dissipated from the fire, and felt she could trace the face of the boy, felt she could see him more clearly, though perhaps it was only transient, a momentary burst of adrenaline that made her simulate life. For the moment, she lived it. For the moment, she let her hand drop and her eyes fade from memory.
"Quel du, Lerris."
And then her eyes faded from everything.
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Post by Lerris on Sept 21, 2007 21:02:29 GMT -5
The next morning just as the sun began to creep over the faraway mountains, Lerris woke with a start. A dream, no, not a dream, a nightmare. The true nature of the nightmare now lost, as he rubbed his eyes to help calm the pain as they adjusted to the new morning’s sunlight.
Not surprised that his jolt had not woken Rowen, he lay a hand on her shoulder and spoke, “Time to wake Rowen, we have much traveling ahead of us this morning.” He stood, and began stretching his limbs.
He would be happy to sleep in a bed when all this was over, he felt like his bones were about to crumble inside him. But, as they say, there is no rest for the weary. The elf set to kicking dirt over the embers of the fire that had long burned itself out. He wasn’t sure why he was trying to cover their trail, that man back in town might have not even been looking for Rowen.
Speaking of the fiery-maned woman, she had apparently not taken to getting ready herself and she still slept. Lerris sighed, and knelt beside her, “You better wake up Rowen…” The elf said a little louder this time, “From what I can tell, we are still trying to outrun a rain-storm….unless you fancy traveling….wet.”
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