Just Passing Through

[Theuse]

Theuse placed the order, a glass of red wine and another mug of ale of Lo'en in addition to his own order. The serving girl nodded and smiled a little before heading away from the table. Theuse watched her go, catching sight of the oaf from before as she passed by the bar. Theuse made a show of retrieving his sword from the table, pulling out the blade and beginning to sharpen it, while offering a pleasant smile to the ruffian. Theuse hoped he got the hint.

With the weapon in hand, and his courage against further assault bolstered, Theuse turned his attention back to Lo'en and Gia. As the Elf began to speak he listened, making notes. If he was going to be spending some time with her, he might as well get to know her.

[Gia Rilan]

Gia nodded as though she hadn't already known the name. "No, I'm from up north. I've been here a few weeks now, though. It's a nicer place than some, albeit strict and heavy with rules. And thank you for the wine, Theuse." She smiled at him as she said it.

Gia subtly eyed the Oaf at the bar, leased that he seemed content with the money she'd given him, which was quickly vanishing as he purchased drinks. She was rather pleased that she'd gotten the introduction and they they didn't seem too suspicious... although the half-elf did smell slightly wary. Gia dismissed this for the time, settling back in her seat. She still wasn't sure about the silence of the wolf earlier, and even now the creature in her head seemed subdued, not offering much of an opinion. Had Gia known what the term meant, she would have classified it as a very static-y bout of reception.

She wasn't sure what to say about the goat farm. The half-elf did smell like goats, or at least there were lingering traces (goat-smell stuck in the clothes and skin for a long time, especially for werewolf senses), but whenever domesticated animals were brought into conversation she got a little nervous. There had been several occasions of her chasing farm animals, though she tried to leave money if she killed any. Even so, farmers were rather unsympathetic to the plight of a city wolf. Since she didn't know what to say, she simply didn't say anything about the farm. Goats weren't her favorite, anyway.

[Jaspenellar]

Lo'en tossed a genuine grin Theuse's direction as the serving girl came back with three drinks. Unable to resist the opportunity, the half-elf poked some more fun at the man. "Why, you'd think this 'gentleman' here would have some kind o' ulterior motive f'such liberal purchasing of th'drinks."

As if to show she had no such fear of any shady intentions from Theuse, she reached over and took a liberal swig of the fresh beer. The glint in her grey eyes was borderline challenging her newfound companion to impropriety. If either of her table mates had known her for longer, they would have realized that the recklessness in Lo'en's manner was not induced by alcohol.

"So, what can y'tell us of these parts?" She looked between the other two, remembering Theuse mentioning that he had previously been to Marn.

[Theuse]

The serving woman returned with the table's drinks in short order, allowing Theuse just enough time to smile and open his mouth to assure Gia she was very welcome and then snap it shut and glare as Lo'en sucker punched him. Theuse felt both embarrassed and offended that she questions his intentions as anything but honorable; that she would joke that he was some seducer who merely wished to get his female companions drunk and then take advantage of them. Not the the women that he had met today were not attractive, even Lo'en with her travel worn appearance and sharp tongue had a certain charm to her. Theuse shut down that line of thinking rather quickly; this was not the time for romancing.

Unable to keep from snapping back, Theuse opened his mouth. “Or perhaps I wish to have you so inebriated that I do not have to listen to your inane prattle.”

Theuse realized what he said a few seconds after it spilled out of his mouth, causing him to look surprised and blink a few times as though struck between the eyes with a mallet; where in the hells had that come from? Quickly paying the serving girl and trying to offer her a reassuring smile—or maybe just trying to reassure himself—Theuse grabbed his drink from the center of the table and took a long pull. “My apologies, please continue.” he mumbled.

[Gia Rilan]

Gia kept her mouth shut through the exchange, knowing that she probably wouldn't be welcomed into it, or her comments either. Two spots of color had burned briefly on Theuse's cheeks, and Gia ducked her head to hide a giggle.

Deciding that intervening might be smart at that point, Gia set down her wine and leaned forward onto the table, shaking her hair back as she did so. She was grateful that she'd remembered to comb it before she entered the tavern--it had been a habit, but when she'd lived wild there wasn't any reason to look good. However, she was happy that it wasn't tangled as she ran a hand through the browny-red waves to try and get it out of her face. "Like I said, I've not been here too long, but I'll tell you one thing I learned pretty quickly. This place isn't all that tolerant. Watch what you say around the Guard, and around the people here. They're a bit... touchy, when it comes to certain things."

Smiling a bit to off-set her serious tone, she asked. "But what brings you to Marn? Is there any particular thing, or are you just passing through?"

[Jaspenellar]

Lo'en was not quick enough to reply to Theuse's returned remark before he muttered an apology nearly the same time as Gia inserted herself into the conversation. The half-elf quirked an eyebrow with astonishment at the gentleman's muttered apology, momentarily stunned into silence. Justin might have retorted in a similar vein but never would have bit back his words. She was presented with an unfamiliar situation and had no way to determine if she should press with the advantage or accept the concession as a victory.

"Too much time with Bird-brain," Lo'en muttered under her breath as she went back to her proto-arrows. Her fingers started again to affix the feathers into the vanes she had cut earlier.

"Well, that's a good good question, Gia. Not quite sure what brings me t'Marn. P'raps because I was always told to stay 'way from this place. Doubtless whatever drew m'feet t'wander here will cause them t'wander 'way from here soon 'nough." The half-elf's blithe attitude matched well with her careless, carefree words.

[Theuse]

Theuse listened to the exchange, trying to hide his embarrassment between a downcast look and the occasional drink. Theuse had spent time around the rough and tumble women who would guard caravans, they were just as tough as a man in most cases and faster for sure if they weren't. He had no trouble with that sort of verbal sparring with them, so what caused him to watch his tongue now? He almost missed Gia's question, which snapped him back into reality.

He waited as Lo'en answered and considered her words, understanding them as he would his own; wanderlust was a powerful thing. Often there was no rhyme or reason for traveling, any destination would do. For the time being, Theuse had returned to the city to face down old ghosts and to visit the grave of his friend. It had been seven years since he had laid Sindri to rest along the Northern trade road.

When Lo'en finished speaking he waited, before finally saying something to fill the silence. “I come to visit a friend that I have not seen in some time, from there... who knows?” Theuse shrugged.

[Gia Rilan]

Gia's annoying sharp ears picked up something that made her even more certain that she had the right person... beyond just the name. Her sense of smell and hearing led her to disbelieve her eyes and indeed, the human speech occasionally, and she was happy to have to conformation. 'Bird-brain' wasn't a common insult to tack onto something with that hint of affection in her tone.

She looked back and forth between the two people sitting and drinking. She watched as Lo'en adept fingers picked out the bindings and fletchings of the arrows with a skill that belied her slightly slurred words. "How long have you been a fletcher, Lo'en?" Gia asked politely.

She shoved down the wolf's growl of annoyance and boredom. The beast was weary of talk and tracking, she wanted sleep. Gia herself felt stifled making polite conversation, and she needed to use the gold charm hanging on a fine gold chain around her neck to let Master Tuc know that she'd found the elf. Gia covered a yawn with her fingers, turning her head to the side. She smiled, somewhat embarrassed, at the two. "Sorry. It's been a long day."

[Jaspenellar]

Lo'en took in Theuse's rhetorical question in stride with his response. She wondered if his friend didn't have space in his own house for the traveller to stay. The half-elf shrugged off the curiosity- she was benefiting from his lack of shelter.

"How long have you been a fletcher, Lo'en?" Gia asked politely.

"'Bout since I could run," Lo'en muttered, feeling strangely out of sorts with Gia using her name. And then the girl yawned.

The half-elf's grey eyes widened slightly, but she attempted to disguise the expression of surprise and doubt by reaching for her beer and taking a long draught, nearly finishing the mug. The previous night, Aura, after finding herself in a very similar predicament of warding off an unwanted suitor, was very nervous and jumpy after the encounter. Even after she had succeeded in nearly breaking the much larger man's arm and proved she was more than capable of taking care of her own with no small martial prowess.

But Gia simply yawned, begging excuse for being tired. She should have still had some amount of adrenaline in her system. Lo'en couldn't quite pin down the fragmented train of thought in her mind. "Long day, huh," she repeated aimiably.

[Theuse]

At hearing the elf's response in regards to fletching Theuse made a note to never be on the wrong end of her bow. Most who crafted their own arrows, and all that crafted their own bows, knew how to use them and they were dangerous opponents. When Gia yawned, Theuse looked to her and suppressed a smile. Where sharp-eyed Lo'en noted Gia's reaction as seemingly out of place, Theuse did not even suspect the least bit wrong. He had seen warriors nervous before a fight turn into steel and back again when the combat was past; he simply chalked this up to being the same.

“If you need a place to stay,” Theuse begun “I would look else where. The prices are astronomical!" he took a quick drink to refresh himself.

"You would think that one is going to be dining with royalty for the cost of a night's rest.” It was true, compared to most places he had been in his travels, Theuse was utterly astounded at the cost. And yet here he was, sharing a room with two women he had only just met. Perhaps it was some strange turn of fortune, good luck perhaps? Or maybe Theuse had just had too much to drink at this point to reconsider.

[Gia Rilan]

Gia didn't notice anything too off about Lo'en's reaction, regarding it as a mix of elven wariness and general nervousness around people. She gave a light laugh and grinned at Theuse. "I doubt there's any royalty here--though I'd not know it even if I saw it. I've never been around any nobles, or even been in a city with them... unless you count the government nobility here, which people either do or don't, depending on your ideas."

She stifled a shifty look. The moon was up, and the wolf wanted to run, despite having done so earlier. But it was not the same, running under moonlight and sunlight. Gia was a werewolf, and as such she was affected more so than other shifters by the moon. She was tired of sitting and chatting politely with these people, tired of dancing around Lo'en and trying to earn trust. But Gia knew better than to let slip her master's wants, wishes, or even name... she'd heard that the locals both feared and respected him. And that was as it should be.

"I suppose I should look into getting a room for the night. Two weeks here and I still don't have a proper place to sleep," she said with a rueful grin.

[Jaspenellar]

The drinking, the arrows, the brief, strange confrontation ... the hours since they had arrived at the Inn had indeed flown by... Lo'en found herself looking at nearly three quarters of her shaft stock completed with feathers and notched for seating the metal arrow heads. She still had a good few hours of work, but the majority of it was done. The half-elf sat back, stretched her fingers, and rubbed her eyes. She made no effort to extend their rooming arrangement to Gia, merely looking curious as to if the waif-looking girl would be able to afford such a place on her own.

[Theuse]

Theuse nodded, listening to Gia's response and smiling; nobles really weren't all that different from regular folk. They just had a high propensity for being a royal pain in the hind quarters, one way or another. As the last of his drink was drained away, the sell sword sighed. It was late and he probably shouldn't drink anymore if he wanted to function in the morning. The odds were already good that he would regret what he had already imbibed. Gia's next remark took him off guard.

“You have been here two weeks and don't have a place to sleep?” Theuse was surprised, at least at first. “Have you been staying outside the city?”

[Gia Rilan]

Gia would have hit herself if she thought that it wouldn't be noticed. As it was, backing herself into a verbal corner was always bad, but she settled for a slight sigh and half-hearted shrug. "You caught me. I've been getting rooms at different places, or sometimes sleeping outside. My first two nights were spent in a collapsed warehouse, the next few in a temple, and from then it's either been cheap inn rooms or more-or-less sheltered alleys. It's not an excellent way to live, but I save a bit of money while I look around for my own place."

She sipped at the remains of her wine. "So, how outrageous is this place, anyway? I don't have much... maybe it's into the alley again with me tonight." She admitted to herself she was again counting on the chivalrous Theuse to be noble and offer her a place in their room. I'll even curl up on the rug, Gia thought with a humorless smile to herself.

[Theuse]

Theuse looked to Lo'en, who was obviously tired and more than a little drunk, then his hand snapped up to cover a rather large yawn. The traveler blinked in surprise, starting to feel the weight of the day on his eyelids. Perhaps it was time to turn in for the evening? Oh but then there was Gia, the poor girl really didn't have anywhere else to go.

Sure it was 100 Bishani a night but that could be divided up easily enough. Maybe it was his generous nature, maybe it was the drink, hell, maybe Gia was just cute, but Theuse decided that turning her away was not acceptable. “Unimportant, we have the space for you. If you don't object that is?” Theuse looked to the other woman he had met today, seeing as she was a part of the rent fee it seemed only polite to ask.