Tala Tales: Elin & Dirus

[SilverSuzi]

Elin sat at the base of a small hill, her back against a tree and campfire in front of her. While a mixture of various foraged veggies simmered in a small pot by the flames, she worked to stitch up a tear in the sleeve of her under-tunic. A breeze stirred the forest canopy, shaking loose some of the first few yellowing leaves of the season. The accompanying nip in the air raised goosebumps all over Elin's bare arms, and she frowned and bid her fingers to hurry. "Stupid sorcerer and his cursed rats." She grumbled while surveying the patchwork on her sleeve. The tear had come from an oversized rodent that had tried to bite her forearm. The shirt took the brunt of the damage, but her arm bore a few small cuts as well. They were minor, though she'd be watching out for infection until they healed.


To her right, almost concealed within the foliage at the side of the hill, there was a small opening. She had discovered the grotto a few months back, figuring it once belonged to a goblin family that had recently been chased out of the area for stealing from farms. It made for a decent shelter through the summer months, well hidden and large enough for her to sleep and store her few possessions. But it was lonesome. The closest town, Ebongrove, was a few hours' walk away. Some days she'd make the hike there early in the morning, and look for odd jobs. Unfortunately, most folk wouldn't hire her. First of all, with her pale-blonde hair and Rominish accent, she was easily spotted as a refugee. Tensions were growing between Romina and Erion, so foreigners were not highly thought of. And if that fact alone didn't deter potential employers, her missing eye and tomboyish attitude tended to put them off.


Elin didn't mind so much. She was who she was, and knew enough to get by, for the most part. Besides, she had no interest in being a scullery maid or laundress or seamstress (all socially-acceptable jobs for orphaned young women such as herself). Seamstress less of all she decided, as she accidentally pricked her finger with the sewing needle for the hundredth time that evening. Cursing beneath her breath, she resisted the urge to toss the shirt aside, redoubling her efforts instead. If she delayed at all, she'd soon lose daylight, and then stitching would only get harder.

@Daerune

 

[Daerune]

He moved through the forest with no purpose in mind, wandering for the sake of wandering. He had cleaned himself of the blood from his most recent trial and seen to his wounds but now a hunger set in and he knew that sooner rather than later he would have to either hunt or buy food. He hoped later and he hoped for the former. Having had the time to properly compose himself, he found a clearing in which he unfurled his wings and took to the skies. He could feel the hunger in him growing and knew that sooner or later he would need to find some sort of sustainable. It wasn’t until later in the evening that he came to tire of the directionless travel and instead focused on the plume of smoke in the distance. To his curiosity, his intuitive sense flared and caused him to take a greater caution. 


A small distance away from the camp, he landed. At first, he had been tempted to fly overhead and get a bird's eye view though decided against it. Humans and other races alike loathed and feared his kind. He took the time to complete a full circle of the camp, raising his brows as he picked up a very familiar scent. Dirus is or was the leader of the Paladin order. He wasn’t quite sure if they had replaced him in his absence. It was not something he had come to care about as things fell into a time of peace. The scent reminded him of one of the few of the Paladin order that he had raised himself. 


The scent of his pupil was not quite he remembered which did little to dissuade him. The scent was of a younger woman with a few healing injuries from what he could pick out of the scent. He furrowed his brows and moved forward coming upon the young woman trying to sow her shirt up. He eyed any of her visible injuries before looking at her face… a familiar face. His tone carried only a slight echo of recognition and confusion. “Didn’t I kill you?”

 

[SilverSuzi]

While her camp was being stealthily surveyed, Elin tied off the last clumsy stitch in her sleeve and looked it over for any glaring errors in her work. Deeming it 'good enough', she set the shirt aside and leaned over to the pot and campfire. She stirred the contents of the pot with a wooden spoon, peering through the steam and the bubbles, poking and prodding the larger bits of food to determine their level of edibility. So engrossed in her assessment was she, that she failed to notice the stranger's approach until the moment he spoke.


His sudden presence gave her such a jolt, she shouted in alarm and scrambled back against the tree. Droplets of hot broth flung up in an arc as she brandished the spoon like a weapon. His words didn't register immediately, and while one part of her mind tried to make sense of them -- something about killing?! -- the other part was trying to process the secondary shock that this wasn't a human, elf, or other normal sort of person standing before her, but a kuldari, wings and all. Wide-eyed, she struggled to form some vocal response. "What- who- are you doing... here?!" She babbled, feeling her face flush with heat, both at the jumbled sentence and the silly spoon in her right hand. With her left, she gripped the hem of her tunic, beneath which was concealed her dagger. The reassurance of its presence at her hip helped to steel her nerves, and she put on a brave face, resolving to draw the blade if he made any threatening move. "You startled me." she said, somewhat accusingly and somewhat in attempt to excuse her embarrassing reaction.

 

[Daerune]

Dirus couldn't help but smile at her reaction, a small part of unarticulated humor. He removed his hand from the tree to fold his arms and lean his back against the trunk, clearly, her mighty spoon proved to be unthreatening to his perception. "Well done in the category of redundant questions and statements. Unfortunately, it seems you have the partial scent of a friend and the face of an enemy. Your spoon will avail you little." He inclined his head down to where her hand gripped her dagger. "Nor will that." He thought about showing off but instead decided against it. He progressed forward. Stopping himself just a small remove from the cooking vegetables. "Do you have enough for two, person who smells like Annwyn?" Dirus had guessed that she might be the off-spring of his once... partly remembered friend. He knew the girl was far too young to be his friend and far too old to be the child he had last remembered, then again he never had the skill at monitoring the passage of short-lived races' time.

 

[SilverSuzi]

Elin lowered her spoon and un-clenched her left hand. Her thoughts raced about as she assessed the level of threat here. Of course she knew, by kuldari reputation (having never met one before), that no weapon she possessed -- spoon or otherwise -- was likely to stand a chance against him. Her best bet would be to run, sticking to the thickest parts of the forest in hopes that his wings would provide some hindrance through the low branches and ample foliage, and that she might be concealed if he took to the air. Maybe it wouldn't be necessary. Surely not all kuldari were the cold-hearted, blood-thirsty killers they were rumored to be.


When he mentioned the name Annwyn, her brows rose and jaw dropped. For a long moment, she said nothing. Then, slowly, she moved toward the little burrow and reached an arm inside, careful not to turn her back or blindside on him. "The soup alone won't be enough for the both of us," she said while dragging a worn-out satchel from the hole. "But I've some bread and dried meat too, altogether it should suffice." She dug around in the bag for the aforementioned food items, as well as a pair of wooden bowls and spoons, and set half of everything before him, including a portion of soup. "And while we eat, maybe you could tell me about your history with my mother?"

 

[Daerune]

Dirus sat down across from her, accepting a sharing of her meal. In normal times he would decline but having expanded so much energy... Mentally he assured himself that in recompense he would offer double in return be it a meal or teaching. Observing her for a time as he ate, he could only solidify the thought that this person was the off-spring of his friend, here, alone and living in a hole. He turned his gaze to said accommodation before speaking. "Some time ago. I met a unique soul to my perception. In a time of where she had little and there was but strife in her life. I taught her ways that would give her a foot in life and maybe a path to follow. She followed it for a time before leaving to make her own path in life." Which did remind him, he would attune his senses to the magical energies to find she was rather incapable in that field... a shame.


"In return for my words I would like to know why you are out here, I can only suspect that any venture to meet your mother would prove fruitless." He lifted a brow in thought. "Or did you run away?" Various reasons flitted through his mind. He dismissed the thought immediately that she'd of run away, the woman he remembered was far to pure hearted. It was, however, a possible way to have her start talking and sharing. He brought the remained of the food to his mouth and continued to eat, leaving the meat untouched.

 

[SilverSuzi]

Elin bit into the tough, dried meat and tore a chunk off. She chewed thoughtfully, brows furrowed, as he explained how he'd known Annwyn. Despite the vagueness of his words, something familiar stirred her memories. Mother had never said much about her childhood. Having grown up in poverty and slavery in the harsh lands of Kuld, she must not have had many happy stories to share with her young daughter. But Elin did recall tales about Annwyn's life as a young adult, from the years before her parents met...


She swallowed, and regarded him with less suspicion, her gaze softening at his question. Rather than answering right away, she sought confirmation, "You're the one who led her to join the Paladins, is what you're saying?" If it were true, then he really had been a friend of her mother's, and deserved to know what had happened. "I suppose you could say I ran away..." Quieter she added, "...but your first assumption is also accurate." She looked away, down and to the side, struggling to conceal the deep-seated sadness that always welled up with these memories. "My parents... died. About three years ago."

 

[Daerune]

Dirus finished his meal and sat the bowl on the ground. There was a weight behind his gaze, one that built in toward anger. He would take a moment to compose himself for the sake of Elin, who had likely not had much luck in the way of kindness for her years alone. He looked her over a moment to see her health and was surprised in ways, she'd done well for herself in consideration. 


Dirus stood to stretch legs and wings. "In the past, I was the one to lead her to join the Paladins when I formed it. In the stead of this all, I would like to claim guardianship over you and take you with me to the Paladin stronghold... I'm sorry child, but in time I will need you to tell me about their deaths and their killer, please prepare for this."

 

[SilverSuzi]

In the silence that stretched between them, Elin continued to eat, stealing brief glances at him. She had expected some reaction out of him over the news of her parents' deaths -- alarm, mourning, questions... something -- but instead he seemed more stoic, and she was content with this. She certainly wasn't eager to discuss any of the details...


The fact that he had yet to touch the strips of dried meat had not escaped her notice, and she was about to ask about it when he stood and set his bowl aside. Her own soup was nearly gone, only broth remained, and she lifted the bowl to her lips to gulp down the rest, as he began to speak again.

Spoiler

What he said nearly caused her to choke on the soup. She turned the embarrassing sputter into an awkward chuckle, wiping away the broth on her chin. "Guardianship? That's... uh... generous, but not necessary." Gathering up the empty dishes, she rose to her feet. "I'm capable enough of looking after myself, and besides, don't the Paladins only take mages? I haven't got any magic." With a mostly-clean rag and a water-skin, she set to work cleaning the dishes. A chill breeze picked up, sending an unintentional little shiver down Elin's spine, and she glanced at her recently-repaired undertunic, laying on the ground nearby where she'd left it. Winter was not far off, and she wasn't looking forward to facing the harsh weather alone another year. She paused in her cleaning to regard Dirus with cautious curiosity, "Most folk wouldn't be so eager to take in some dirty orphan they find in the woods. Were I to accept your offer, what exactly would that entail?" She'd heard enough about convents and workhouses for young women from other 'concerned do-gooders', and had no interest in that kind of life. And if any semblance of the phrase "more suitable for a young woman" came from his lips, she was prepared to brandish her spoon-weapon at him once more.

Spoiler

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