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Post by Kayla on Jul 25, 2007 13:30:24 GMT -5
This was certainly an interesting ending to her day. She saw by the look on his face that she had guessed correctly what he would ask next. Not too hard for her, seeing as most people were very inquisitive about her past. She watched him cooly, warning him with her eyes to not approach any more for the timebeing. Standing her ground, she crossed her arms and boldly replied, "Not strangers, yet not aquaintances. For how can you be an aquaintance of someone you have not aquainted yourself with? I know your name, and you now know mine. You know that I am a traveler and outcast, and I know that you are pursued and a traveler as well. However, I know that as far as information goes, I have the upper hand. For I know more than you know I know."
He allowed himself a quick grin, flashing his ivory teeth. Intelligent, she was, highly intelligent. He thought to her, 'Should I show myself? Or would you rather I stay hidden?'
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Post by Christian on Jul 25, 2007 13:43:26 GMT -5
Cristin was right. She was smarter than he was. That was rare, but it happened. It took long enough for him to find someone that matched his intellect, but now, he had. He nodded his head and turned around, looking at the setting sun. This could cause an interesting dilemma. He turned back to Kayla and smiled, “ Either way, we still seem faced with the same problem. Because both of us are more strangers than anything, we cannot openly trust each other, as I would have no one to do. So, the problem we face is that is in fact almost dark and both of us are alone…” He said and stopped his sentence and looked to the treetops again and then returned his gaze back to Kayla, “ Maybe you are…not alone.” Cristin said and looked into her eyes, perhaps they would reveal the answer.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 25, 2007 22:07:22 GMT -5
The pink-bottomed clouds were beginning to appear behind this Cristin. She realised that she had better get home before dark. Mirkwood was not a place you wanted to be without shelter in the dark, or even in the twilight. She shifted her weight to one leg, cocking her head as she pondered his statement. The sinking sun glinted off the dark blue pommel stone of her trusty dirk, which was thrust into her leather belt. A few strands of hair fell out from behind her slightly pointed ears, framing her face in loose ringlets. "Well," she said, smirking slightly, "it would seem that it is you that faces the problem. In the first place, I would not trust you completely even if you were not a total stranger. I gave up on trust a long time ago. Secondly, you are the one wandering around with nowhere to go. I, however, know exactly where I am going when the shadow of night surrounds the forest." She boldy strode forward, stopping just short of his broad chest. Looking up into his cerulean eyes, she peered into them as if trying to see his very soul. "You fear that which pursues you. However, night will not change your vision of them."
She began to back away slowly, intent upon going to her home. She sent a quick thought message to her companion, 'Go home. He knows you are here, but not what you are. I will meet you there in a short while.'
He began to delicately pick his way through the thick canopy, decided steath was better than speed for now. As he left, silent and sleek, he inquired, 'Will he come too?'
'I do not know yet' she replied cryptically. Though she did not normally fraternize with strangers, this one was turning out rather intruiging. Well, if he followed, she might not detain him. Sneaking a glimpse at the scarlet sun, she turned back to the forest. She had almost dissappeared into the green shadows when she turned her head back, meeting his eyes once again. "And no, I am not alone. I have Sentinel." Then she ran.
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Post by Christian on Jul 25, 2007 22:29:40 GMT -5
There was a rustling in the tree canopy and Cristin diverted his eyes there, watching the silver glimmer move out of sight. He turned his head and looked back down at Kayla as she approached him, speaking all the while. He looked down at her as she stood directly in front of him for the few moments and then turned to leave. This was interesting. Most of the women or men that he met did not so bluntly end conversations with him. Yet, this one was different. Well of course this made sense considering the fact that everything about this woman was different. She turned at the forest and proclaimed the name of her partner. Sentinel. Oh, well that was not exactly comforting, that was a male name. Cristin wondered what kind of animal it was. He saw her run into the forest. He took a step forward in an attempt to pursue, but stopped and smirked. He had a creature too. Where she was, he didn’t know. It could hurt to call.
“ Tyra!” Cristin called. There was nothing for a moment. But then, out of the forest bound a beautiful female white tiger, tromping towards Cristin, stopping several yards from him. Cristin smiled and walked to her, rubbing her head and behind her ears, “ Hello old girl.” He said with a smirk, “I have someone for you to track.” He said with a smile and the tiger turned and moved to where Kayla had stood and sniffed around, turned her head and looked at Cristin, who moved after her as she bound into the woods. Tyra was an excellent tracker and even though Kayla was half elf, she could not cover her tracks well enough. Cristin wondered if she knew he was following.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 25, 2007 22:55:40 GMT -5
She ran swiftly on her toes, feet barely touching the ground. Once into the forest, she deviated from the rough path and leaped gracefully on the tops of the exposed roots of the ancient trees. She figured he might follow, since he seemed the curious type. Well, she would make it hard on him. She ran for about ten minutes, her leather shoes leaving no visible trace. She was careful to not brush against the trees or overturn any stones. She eventually ran into a thick grove of trees. This was the tricky part of her journey, and also the reason she did not go about the forest at night. Navigating would be tough enough in the waning evening light. Following a trail only she saw, she ducked under sap filled branches, around the knotty mud brown trunks, over giant moss-covered boulders. She eventually came to a part so thick that no elf, no matter how slender, could pass through. Whippy green thorn branches reached out, trying to snag her exposed arms or tangle in her hair. 'Ha!' she thought, 'he will find it difficul to make it through here with that cumbersome cape!' She stopped, nostrils flaring slightly from her run, and her deep blue eyes scanned the overgrowth. Everything looked so different at night.....ah, there it was! Approaching a rather ordinary tree, she crouched low, then jumped as high as she could. Her outstretched hand met with a thick branch, and she instinctively grabbed it. Swinging her other arm up, she then pulled herself up onto the branch. On all fours now, she scuttled to the trunk of the tree like a small animal, then stood up cautiously. Wrapping her lean arms snugly around the trunk, she shimmied around, barely squeezing through the narrow gap in the thick canopy. Then, she waited. If he could make it this far, she would help him.
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Post by Christian on Jul 26, 2007 7:45:05 GMT -5
Tyra was an excellent tracker because of her sense of smell, and whereas Kayla hardly touch the ground or leave any leaves overturned, Tyra could still follow, and Cristin followed her. The forest was dark at night as the tree canopy prevented the moon’s white light from striking the forest floor. There were streaks of light here and there, but nothing more. Cristin, still following Tyra, hoping she wouldn’t get lost, stopped beside her at the edge of a thicket. Tyra sniffed the ground and moved from left to right, whereas Cristin tried to push through the undergrowth for a moment, his legs immediately being torn by the thorns. He winced and muttered under his breath, stepping backwards.
“She could not have gone through, no matter how slender.” He said openly to himself. He looked back at Tyra. “ Where?” He asked and the tiger responded by moved to the left and stopping at the trunk of an oak tree. She leapt up onto the truck and reached a limp off to the side, sitting there. Tyra was a better tree climber than he. Cristin nodded and lifted his arm up, not needed to jump to reach the limb and pulled himself up with just his arms. Where would this lead?
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Post by Kayla on Jul 26, 2007 9:19:54 GMT -5
She watched him, unobserved, as he tried to pass through the thicket. A tiger, eh? Cheater, cheater, tsk tsk she thought to herself. Oh well. She supposed he had proved himself worthy enough, at least with tracking. The rapidly falling darkness cast eerie shadows across her face. Gently leaping a couple trees over, she located another gap, larger this time, and slipped through. Now she was on the same side as Cristin and his tiger, though they were facing away at this point. She crouched lightly on the branch, her face half shadow, half light. Staring at his powerful back, she whispered, barely audibly, "Dangerous it is, for one to be out so late."
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Post by Christian on Jul 26, 2007 9:26:15 GMT -5
Cristin didn’t turn at all when he heard the woman spoke. He recognized the voice and he smiled. He figured two things, one that he had found her, or she had found him. Either of which, he didn’t feel in danger. “ Well, I am not alone, like you, I have a friend.” He said calmly and Tyra turned and growled in the direction of Kayla. Then there was silence and Kayla heard a voice next to her ear, “ But see I have been doing this for a while, where I take it that you, are a bit new at pursuing or being pursued.” Cristin said and then his voice came from back where he was sitting, next to his tiger. “ So why is that it that you came back. I am not that irresistible.”
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Post by Kayla on Jul 26, 2007 9:37:52 GMT -5
Hmmm. This elf was well-trained. She almost expected him to jump near out of his skin, or in this case, his armor. That voice trick, though. That was something useful, it was. She would like to know the secret of that. As for being pursued, well, he had a point in a way. "No, I am not pursued because I am forgotten. Few realize my existence here." She stood up. "Well, even though you are not so alone as I originally thought, you are still in danger at night in the woods. A white tiger does not exactly bespeak of stealth, no matter how silently she moves." A flicker of a grin stole across her face. "As for why I came back, I honestly don't know all the reasons myself. I will admit, I collect unusual things, whether they are stories, objects, or ideas. You are very unusual, so you have piqued my curiosity. Now, I could give you shelter for the night, if you trust me enough, or I could just leave you here and you would never see me again. There are places not even your excellent tiger tracker could follow me. So, do you accept?" She looked at him, waiting for a response.
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Post by Christian on Jul 26, 2007 9:45:24 GMT -5
Cristin smiled when she told him of her reason. “ Oh so I find that I am now a item to be possessed. That makes me feel so secure about myself.” He said with a smile but then looked at Tyra and nodded his head. She leapt down from the tree and disappeared into the forest. “ Oh, and you would be surprised what my tiger can do.” Cristin retorted, “ You may lead the way,” He said with a smile and flipped off the tree and in moments was sitting in front of her in the branch about two feet from her.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 26, 2007 10:00:15 GMT -5
It would seem that he was not completely without humor. That was good. People who took themselves too seriously were a bore. Well, so his tiger wasn't coming. That was good. Sentinel would not be happy if she were. Where did he disappear to, anyways? She sent out a thought. 'Sentinel? Are you at the house?'
Recieving her thought, he replied back, 'Yes, just arrived. I decided to just travel among the treetops for steath reasons. Where are you? Is the tall warrior coming with you?'
'Yes, though he will be hard pressed to make it in. He was not built for small spaces.' She felt his hissing laughter reverberate through her mind. Turning her attention back to Cristin, she smiled at him, then jumped. She hit the ground running and turning back to him, called, "Well come on then, if you are going to get through you need to build up momentum. You are too large to just slip in."
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Post by Christian on Jul 26, 2007 10:04:57 GMT -5
Cristin smirked when she mentioned his size. He didn’t think he was too overweight. Maybe he was wrong. Ah well. He would do as she asked. Of course, he still wasn’t sure where exactly he needed to be running too. “ Well, as soon as you point the way ma’am.” He said with a smile and drew his sword, which glowed a bright yet cold gold color in the darkness, “ I shall make space for me.” He said with a smile.
The one thing that Cristin knew how to do with a great proficiency was use his sword. It didn’t matter if he was fighting, or cutting away irritating branches. Cristin, with his sword in his right hand, shrugged his shoulders and his cape fell from them and onto the forest floor. He didn’t need that either. Besides, Tyra would probably pick it up later. She was good for that too. “ So, where to?” He asked with a smile, twirling his sword in front of him expertly
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Post by Kayla on Jul 26, 2007 10:27:50 GMT -5
She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the sword being drawn. Whipping around, she glared at him out of cold gray eyes. Drawing her trusty dirk out of her belt, she pointed menacingly at him. "You will NOT go around cutting up my home," she snarled ferociously, "I did not at any point say that you needed that sword, therefore you do not. I know a way for you to get in, but if you have that sword out I will leave you behind." Every muscle in her lean body tensed for action, she met his eyes with her own and stared at him, a slighly possessed look gleaming behind her eyes.
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Post by Christian on Jul 26, 2007 10:40:51 GMT -5
Cristin sighed and shrugged his shoulders. This woman didn’t intimate him when she drew her dirk and went on guard. He nodded and sheathed his sword. “ Sorry, but there are ways that I get things done, that is one them. Now granted I do have differences from most men, but when it comes down to it, I do still like to use brute force.” Cristin said calmly and then took a few steps closer to her. “ Now, show me this gap or secret passage way, or whatever it is you plan for me to use to get through that thicket,” He said, pointing to the thicket.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 26, 2007 11:01:41 GMT -5
For a moment, she struggled with her rage, then let it go. No need to have that now. "Fine, come on then." Jogging swiftly in a wide circle around the seemingly unpenatrable trees, she soon stopped. One tree was slanted over, caught in the crook of the tree next to it. Stepping a few paces back, she looked to make sure he was following, then ran at the tree. With a few powerful strides, she reached the tree, then ran almost vertically up the trunk. Leaping between the fork in the tree next to her, she broke through into a clearing. She landed, crouching to absorb the shock, then stood up. She was home. The clearing had a look of wild tranquility about it. Berry bushes and various herbs grew around a small house nestled against a giant boulder. Once inside, the trees stopped and one could see that they grew in a rough semicircle around the boulder. The cottage itself was rather unimpressive, composed of a thatched roof and rough logs with the ends jutting out from the corners. A thick, dark wooden door rested on sturdy hinges. She moved towards the cottage, then turned to see if he could follow her through the secret way.
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