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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 13, 2011 21:51:24 GMT -5
Rick had set up Heather’s tent for her while she tended to Shasta and turned her horse out to graze. Then he fed her some of Tory’s cold griddle cakes with some honey and while she sat eating them in front of his fire, he traipsed off into the woods and came back with a bunch of saplings and some vines.
Curiously she watched Rick strip down the saplings and quickly cut them to specific lengths. Then he strapped them together with the vine, forming a bed frame almost as wide as his own bed. He then took the vine and ran it back and forth between the long shafts of the bed frame to form a rope platform for sleeping on. Finished with the construction he lay down on it to test the sturdiness and then slipped it into her tent that he had set up on the other side of Tam’s tent. Next he helped himself to her bedroll laying next to her pack where she had dropped them and the saddle outside of her tent when he’d shoved the plate of food at her. She’d only eaten a bit of travel rations and some apples in the last two days and sighed with pleasure at the sight of real food.
“These are pretty good, your creation?” Heather asked him as he emerged from making her bed.
Rick shook his head, “nope, Tory’s. She came up with the suggestion we all go in together on food here and take turns cooking.” Rick grinned, “It was a very clever ploy on her part to get out of cooking so many meals. Thing is, it gets everyone out of cooking so many meals, so we all went along with it.” Rick then lowered the goose and began carefully plucking the feathers from it. He was going to use them all for fletches or quills or down filled pillows so he didn’t want to waste any of them. “I have dinner and I hope you like goose.”
“Your bed awaits and I suggest you make use of it. You look exhausted and there isn’t much going on here right now.” Rick glanced at her as she finished the last of the griddle cakes and watched him pluck the goose.
“I love goose, particularly with an apple cranberry sauce,” she grinned back. Then she eyed her new bed through the open tent flap. She had to admit it did look inviting, but she didn’t want to miss out on anything. She’d ridden hard to get here and didn’t want to spend the whole gathering lying in bed.
Rick handed her a cup of tea and she eyed it suspiciously and sniffed at it. “What’d ya put in this?”
“Just a little bit of something to ease your aches and some chamomile to make you drowsy.” Rick shrugged. “Along with some cinnamon to make it taste better.”
“Cinnamon and chamomile, that is a strange combination,” Heather took a tiny sip and the strange flavors blended nicely. “Drowsy and not completely knock me out, right?” she asked him with a stern glare.
“I swear it will only help you get to sleep and is nothing heavy.” Rick patted his heart with his right hand. “I’ll wake you at lunch time. You really should get some rest so that you can heal.” He said gently.
Heather studied him for a moment without saying a word and then downed the cup of tea in a few gulps. “Lunchtime,” she said and then she ducked into her tent and cautiously sat down on the bed. Rick had put one of her blankets under and pulled the top one back as if she were some special guest. She smiled and placed her pack full of clothes at the head for a pillow and pulled off her boots. She was asleep almost before she got herself settled in a comfortable position that wouldn’t put any pressure on her shoulder.
A few minutes later Rick glanced in the tent as saw she was sleeping soundly and smiled. He finished cleaning the goose and placed it in his huge cast iron dutch oven that he always brought to the gathering. He was adding some herbs and apples to the pot when Old Bob limped up and sat on Tory’s camp stool. “Hi Bob, how goes the new batch of horses?” Rick said lowly and motioned to Heather then put a finger to his lips.
Bob nodded understanding and kept his voice low, “going great. I was wondering if you have some of those packets you gave me last year to ease muscle aches.” Bob rubbed his left leg, “They sure did help.”
Rick nodded and pulled out a rather large package from his tent. “I did up a few more for you this year. Got a list in there of ingredients and how to make them this time too, so if you run out you can get some from your local herbalist.”
Bob grinned and clutched the package tight. “I am getting too old for all this traveling. We need to start holding the Gathering at my place,” he chuckled. He glanced at Heather again, “She okay? I see that shiner and looks like her arm is in a sling.”
“She is much worse than she’s letting on. I think she might have some internal bleeding. I gave her something that should help, I hope, but only time will tell.” Rick looked at her with concern. “She always is taking chances and then pushing herself far beyond her limits.”
Bob looked at Rick thoughtfully, “Good thing she’s got you to watch over her. I know you will take good care of her. What happened anyway?”
“Horse thieves,” Rick answered. “So she said anyway. She was jumped by pirates that are collecting horses but she doesn’t know where they are taking them. I had thought that activity would have subsided after we brought the Grizzlies down and the war ended.”
Bob scowled. “I hate horse thieves more than I hate pirates,” he said vehemently. “I think I hate horse thieving pirates more than anything. I will put the word out in the horse community to be on the lookout, especially in the coastal areas.” Bob stood up. “All this piracy lately is getting really out of hand and something needs to be done…something big.” He shook Rick’s hand, “Thanks for the poultices. I need to go make my rounds now.” Then he limped off through the trees and Rick watched him until he was out of sight.
Rick put the finishing touches on the goose and put the cover on the pan and placed it in the fire, banking the coals around it and on top of it. Then he sat back and began carving wooden throwing knives as he watched Heather sleep. His thoughts strayed to women and children and wondering what life would be like with a wife instead of the constant stream of women that he enjoyed now. Was Heather right; was it impossible for him to change? Did he even want to?
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 14, 2011 20:49:39 GMT -5
When Bunt and the girls returned to camp for lunch, Bunt saw DoOver nosing around his tent. He looked at the cat curiously and then around the camp. He pulled knocked on her tent flap and when there was no answer, pulled it back to see if she was taking a nap. There was no sign of her.
“Hey Rick, ya seen Ivy come back this morning?” Bunt asked, just beginning to get a little concerned.
Rick shook his head, “her cat came in just a bit ago and seems like he is looking for you.” Rick motioned to DoOver who was standing there with an expectant look on his face staring at Bunt. “She went ta find DoOver right after breakfast.” Bunt mused out loud. “I wonder ifn she couldn’t find him and he wandered back here on his own.” It seemed strange though. Bunt laid out the smoked salmon and the cheese along with some herbed bread and honey butter so the others could start their lunch. He handed the bottle of wine to Rick. “Open that if you an’ Ben want any, or any o’ the others too. I’m gonna go see if she showed up fer her class.” Bunt strode off toward the command tent to check the sign-in sheets for the classes.
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erevan
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 57
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Post by erevan on Aug 14, 2011 21:37:50 GMT -5
After leaving the meeting with the team, Al walked aimlessly through the forest for a while, thinking about how much his life was changing. His thoughts were cut short though, when he heard a girl's scream nearby.
"Well," he said to himself, "it would be quicker to just check this out first and then report back. Besides, what could be wrong?" His mind made up, he checked his bow and knives just in case, and set out in the direction of the scream.
A few minutes later, he found the source. A girl slightly older than Al in a Ranger cloak was at the bottom of a deep pit, along with an old-looking skeleton, which made Al jump in surprise himself. Her name, he found out, was Ivy.
"Listen Ivy," Al said calmly, "I'll be right back alright? I'm going for help back at the camp. We'll get you out of there, I promise." He took off running as fast as he could toward the camp and quickly found Bunt.
"Bunt!" he began, panting slightly from the sprint, "I need your help. Or more accurately, an apprentice named Ivy does. She fell into about a 20-25 foot pit and is trapped there. And there's a skeleton in the pit as well. I'll show you the way to her when you're ready."
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 15, 2011 7:03:46 GMT -5
(OOC: This post happened shortly after the announcements were finished in the morning of the first full day)
Crowley finished listening to the complaints of one of his senior rangers over the schedule and promised he would take care of it right away. The old ranger nodded and headed off to the throwing range to begin his class. Crowley looked around and saw Ringulf just heading away from the meeting area.
"Ringulf, a word if you please?" Crowley called out to catch the Skandian ranger's attention. When he caught up with him he pulled him away from the others and lowered his voice. "Look, I know how excited you are to teach your class on alternative throwing weapons, but we seem to have a scheduling conflict on the throwing range." He looked up at the big ranger sheepishly. "I thought ole Chipper's class was only an hour long, but he just informed me he needs the range until lunch time." Crowley paused to consider the schedule for the rest of the day and then shook his head and consulted his little notebook.
"Okay, looks like it is open right after Gilan's knife class. Would you mind terribly moving your class to that time slot? It gives you from 2 until about 5 on the range, so that is a good two hours more than you requested." Crowley looked back up at him, his bit of charcoal stick poised over his book to make the notation. "I can have some of these young men with rather good lungs roam around and make the announcement, and if you are following Gilan's class you might get a bigger draw of people because I expect his to be pretty packed, especially with the apprentices."
"So, would that be okay with you?"
Crowley lowered his voice even further as he looked to see who was standing near. "I think we can have a team meeting right after dinner over in my tent, if that works out for you. I hear Bunt's having his just around the same time."
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Post by Firehead on Aug 15, 2011 7:54:45 GMT -5
Pippen galloped up to Rick's tent, riding Stryker, and jumped off as the horse thundered past his tent. She landed expertly on her feet and crossed the few yards to where Rick sat, looking lost in thought. She slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "What are you looking glum about? Heather turn you down again, I hope? Good for her." she said, without waiting for his reply. "What are you up to?" she asked, indicating the wood he was carving.
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 15, 2011 22:05:15 GMT -5
Rick heard hoofbeats coming up to his tent, but before he could react, Pippen had dismounted Stryker and the horse had cantered on by. He looked up and smiled at her, “Hullo Pippen. How’s the prettiest trick rider in the Corps doing?” He said softly, trying not to wake Heather. Pippen slapped him on the shoulder and he raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what her game was this time.
"What are you looking glum about? Heather turn you down again, I hope? Good for her." she said, without waiting for his reply. "What are you up to?" she asked, indicating the wood he was carving.
“Not glum, just bored.” Rick motioned to the huge cast iron pot with the lid that was mostly embedded in hot coals. “Baking a duck and killing time.” He shook the wooden knife he was making. At this point it hadn’t taken on any shape whatsoever. “Working on Yule presents, so don’t ask too many questions or you won’t get anything for Yule.” He winked at her and hooked one of the camp stools with his toe and pulled it on over.
Then he motioned toward Heather’s tent, “She’s exhausted and injured, better keep it down so she can rest.” He said in hushed tones. “Have a seat.” He patted the stool that he had pulled over nice and close to him.
“I hear you are on Crowley’s team. Out here doing a bit of scouting, are you?” Rick grinned at her. “You know, we should just blow off this whole bet nonsense and spend tomorrow together in this beautiful secluded glen I know of that is not far from here.” He laid on the charm. “I can pack us a picnic and take a couple blankets to…sit on and we can…talk…and really get to know each other.” He leaned toward her, “You will have a wonderful time, I promise,” he breathed into her ear.
Although he found Pippen highly attractive, if a little bit too young for him, and he would take things as far as she allowed, he had more fun driving her insane by his flirting just for that sake than he did it to actually get anywhere with her. He was expecting her to turn him down as she always did but he couldn’t help the little glimmer of doubt deep in his mind that made him wonder if he was getting so old he was loosing his touch, though he didn’t let it show on his face. Perhaps he had finally reached the point where his reputation outweighed his charm. ‘Or maybe women are just getting harder to please,’ he thought grimly and decided to go with that explanation.
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 18, 2011 11:22:07 GMT -5
Bunt had just returned to camp from having checked the class lists and found out Ivy hadn’t signed in. It wasn’t like her to just wander off and the last he knew she’d been trying to find her cat. Now he was worried that maybe something had happened to her. He was about to go search the grounds for her when Al ran up.
"Bunt!" he began, panting slightly from the sprint, "I need your help. Or more accurately, an apprentice named Ivy does. She fell into about a 20-25 foot pit and is trapped there. And there's a skeleton in the pit as well. I'll show you the way to her when you're ready."
“A pit? What in tarnation did she go an’ do a thing like that fer?” Bunt grumbled, actually relieved that she had been found. Then another though occurred to him, “Is she hurt? She’s okay, isn’t she?” He looked around and spotted Ringulf entering camp and hailed him.
“Ringulf, you got any rope? My apprentice fell in a pit an’ Al here found her. I could use your help pulling her out.” He grabbed his medkit, just in case she needed any doctoring once they got her up again. “I thought we filled in all those pits them Skandians made years ago.” He said to Ringulf.
They started back toward the pit with Al leading them and suddenly another part of Al’s announcement penetrated his brain, “Hey there Al, did ya say she found a skeleton in that there pit?” He looked at Ringulf, wondering if he was planting more ‘evidence’ and raised an eyebrow in inquiry, though he didn’t say anything to the younger ranger.
They reached the pit and Bunt looked over the side to see a somewhat irate apprentice looking back up at him. “DoOver’s back in camp, jes in case yer worried about him.” Bunt said calmly and looked around in the deep hole. He figured she might be a little bit worried about her cat more so than herself, although he doubted she would admit that. He couldn’t see much in the pit except for the sunlight glinting off a Skandian helmet sitting on top of a skull. “Who’s yer buddy?” He grinned at Ivy, pointing at the skeleton and lowered the end of the rope down. “Are you hurt?” he asked seriously as the end of the rope reached her. “Ya need one o’ us ta come down an help ya?” Bunt probably only weighed a few pounds more than Ivy, so he was fairly certain Ringulf and Al could lower him down without a problem.
“What ya think, Ringulf?” Bunt asked him quietly and nodded toward the skeleton, “Should I go down there an have a look-see?”
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Solo
Apprentice Cook
No! Seriously?
Posts: 82
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Post by Solo on Aug 19, 2011 8:36:34 GMT -5
A scrambling noise from above her, outside the pit attracted Ivy's attention and she jumped and whipped her head around to look up at the mouth of the pit, her scream cutting itself off abruptly. A boy's head poked into view. After getting over the start, she blurted out quickly, "Hey, I'm Ivy, Bunt's apprentice. Can you get me out of here?"
"Listen Ivy," ...... "I'll be right back alright? I'm going for help back at the camp. We'll get you out of there, I promise."
"No, it's not all right, I want outa here now!" Ivy yelled back, but it was too late, the boy was already gone. "Thanks a lot!" she hollered after him. Then she slumped back down into a sitting position, across from the skeleton and scowled. "Thanks a lot to you, too. You probably scared him off. It's not like I was going to go out on a date with him or anything. Just go an get some supplies, you know, so we can eat, and you can get some meat on them bones of yours. You really need to eat more, ya know?" She stopped for a moment to study the skeleton, and spotted something shiny loged about chest hight in the dirt behind it. Curiosity taking over, she crept cautiously closer, and picked it out.
A coroded chain, with an equally coroded silver leaf hanging on the end. She set about picking it clean and eventually was able to see the worn and faded word "Truth" on one side. "Nice." she said, scrunching her face up some in a look of distaste. Here was one Ranger who hadn't been found by anyone. Lucky her.
She looked around her for any other stuff that might have survived the years of erosion, and spotted a helmut, and what appeared to be the last remnants of a rotting leather quiver and maybe a double scabard knife sheath wrapped about the left leg of the skeleton. The leg, she noted, was broken. A little bit of digging uncovered the head of a spear, the wood having long-since rotted away. Holding up the spear head as if to show it to the skeleton, she told it, "You know, I sure hope your the only dead body down here."
She retreated back to her side of the pit and crouched studying the skeleton some more. "You know what? You need a name--I can't keep calling you 'you'. Let's see, what would be a good name...." She narrowed her eyes in a thoughtful manner. "Let's see, if I wind up dead down here, too, I guess that would make you my mentor. Right mow, my mentors name is Bunt, but I don't know about that as a first name--we'll make that a last name for ya. Oh, I know...Jedidiah Bunt! That sounds about right, don't you think? Here," she went back over and put the helmut on the skeleton's head. "Now you've got a hat to keep the rain off your head. Or in case something falls on your head."
She sat down facing the skeleton and started chatting with it as though it were a real human being that could talk back. "so, Jedidiah, what are you going to teach me first? Necromancy? Ohhh, that would be soo helpful--I could bring my brother back from the dead then. what's that? You didn't know I had a brother? Oh yeah, I did, once upon a time. He got killed in a bar fight though. No, he wasn't drunk! He was a fine, upstanding citizen. I'm glad you understand that now. What? Oh yeah, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? I'm Ivy Bramble, pleased to make your aquaintance, Mr. Jedidiah Bunt."
She continued to ramble on about this and that, carrying on a one-sided conversation with the skeleton as though it could understand and reply. Now and then, she would break off suddenly, interrupting herself with, "What is taking them so long?!" At last, she was rewarded with the sounds of people tramping towrad the pit through the woods. A few minutes later, Bunt's head appeared, grinning.
“DoOver’s back in camp, jes in case yer worried about him.”
"Yeah, thanks. I was just dying from worry and fear for his safety. Can you get me outta here, now?"
“Who’s yer buddy?”
"Who, him? Oh that's just Jedidiah Bunt, Ranger of the Dead Fief. He was so looking forward to being my mentor. You may have hurt his feelings, showing up to get me out of here."
“Are you hurt?” ....“Ya need one o’ us ta come down an help ya?”
"Neah. I'm good." She turned back to the skeleton. "It was nice visiting with you. I enjoyed the tour of hour house--I esspecially loved the skylight in the roof. That is just plain genious right there. Well, it looks like I have to go now--it was nice talking with you, we'll have to do it again sometime. Yes, I agree, it should be soon. No, I'll try not to be a stranger and visit twice a year instead of once. Good-bye, Mr. Jedidiah Bunt. Oh, I can just call you Jed? That's great, you can call me Ivy. "Yes, I'll be sure to let them know that you could use some supplies. You know, you should get out more often. Bye, Jed." She scrambled up the rope and out of the pit.
“What ya think, Ringulf?” .....“Should I go down there an have a look-see?”
"If you do, be sure you call him 'sir'. He don't like disrespectful people." Ivy told him, straight-faced.
(OOC: Edited out reference to number as per Admn request. B)
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 23, 2011 10:13:31 GMT -5
Right after they made it back to camp for lunch, Tory looked concerned when Bunt went off to check to see if Ivy had made it to her class. She looked around the grounds but didn’t see her. She eyed DoOver and then looked at Pounce in her arms. The two of them seemed to have some sort of mutual non-harassment agreement. Pounce refrained from trying to entice DoOver to play and DoOver pointedly ignored Pounce. That was probably a good thing since Pounce now outweighed DoOver by a good 16 pounds at least. The Forest Cat was still a kitten technically, but she had nearly reached her full height. She was now filling out and learning to be quite a masterful hunter. She still had that kitten play streak however, only now her playing was pretty rough. Tory was constantly covered in little claw prick marks on her arms and lap. At the moment, however Pounce was more interested in sleeping. She yawned at DoOver and then leapt out of Tory’s arms and slinked into her tent. She curled up on Tory’s blankets and promptly fell asleep.
Tory followed the cat to her tent but instead of crawling into it, she pulled her satchel off her shoulder and rummaged around inside of it for a bit. She produced her journal and charcoal stick and then closed the satchel up and hung the strap over her shoulder again. She stood up just as Al came into the camp and said Ivy was in trouble. “You want some help Bunt?” Tory asked the older ranger, but he shook his head.
“You two girls stay here so I know where ta find ya.” Bunt said as he stalked off after Al. “Don’t need two apprentices fallin’ in no pirate pits.” He muttered under his breath as he left camp.
Tory shrugged and turned to Dian, “Looks like lunch is slightly delayed.” She looked around the camp. “Maybe we have time to check the class listings real quick and see the new horses!” She grinned at Dian, “Wanna come?” she held up her journal and waved it. “I want to write down what classes I want to take.”
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erevan
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 57
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Post by erevan on Aug 23, 2011 13:38:09 GMT -5
Al became even more concerned as he heard Ivy talking about/to the skeleton. After she climbed up the rope and out of the pit, he felt he had gotten off to a rocky start with his fellow apprentice.
"Hey Ivy," he said quietly, "I'm sorry I ran off so quickly earlier. The fact was, I had no way to get you out of there alone. I needed help. I know you were probably upset that I left like that, but I figured, the longer I stayed around here, the longer it would be before anyone could help you." He sincerely hoped Ivy would not be too angry at him for leaving so hurriedly before, even though he knew he had done what was necessary.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, concerned. "This pit isn't exactly shallow, it'd be easy to get hurt falling in." Deciding he was worrying too much, he ventured the question that had been bugging him since he had first found Ivy.
"So Ringulf," he began, "what's with the skeleton? That's a Skandian helmet; did they raid here at some point? I didn't think they usually came this far inland for raids." This skeleton had raised a lot of questions in the young apprentice's mind. He knew Skandian raids were generally along the coast, but the gear next to the skeleton was that of a Ranger. This posed another problem, however. Why would a Ranger be so easily trapped in a pit like this? Surely he must have seen it. He could only hope the older Rangers could figure out more about the mysterious skeleton.
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dian
Apprentice Scribe
this status thing reminds me of Facebook
Posts: 100
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Post by dian on Aug 23, 2011 18:18:05 GMT -5
Dian was ready for lunch, she had gotten hungry. They had gotten back to the campsite, and she noticed the disappearance of a few o their members. Then Al suddenly came through the camp and said something bout Ivy falling in a pit. She was about to ask if Bunt wanted her help, but Tory beat her to it. With the answer bunt stalked off and left Dian and Tory to wait for who knew how long.
About to exclaim in boredom, her companion spoke up. “Looks like lunch is slightly delayed.” She looked around the camp. “Maybe we have time to check the class listings real quick and see the new horses!” She grinned at Dian, “Wanna come?” she held up her journal and waved it. “I want to write down what classes I want to take.” Dian nodded, "Sure, may as well do something, no point in wasting daylight," it sounded like something to pass the time. Copying Tory, she grabbed her own journal and walked over to the list of classes. They all looked pretty cool, so Dian scratched down which she wanted to do.
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Post by Firehead on Aug 31, 2011 14:53:32 GMT -5
"Not glum, just bored.” Rick motioned to the huge cast iron pot with the lid that was mostly embedded in hot coals. “Baking a duck and killing time.” He shook the wooden knife he was making. At this point it hadn’t taken on any shape whatsoever. “Working on Yule presents, so don’t ask too many questions or you won’t get anything for Yule.” He winked at her and hooked one of the camp stools with his toe and pulled it on over.
"Me, I'm doing fine, but I'll bet a dollar to that duck ya got in that oven, you ain't makin' no Yuletide presents." Pippen siad, taking a seat on the proffered stool. She leaned back, hooking both hands around one knee, getting comfortable.
“I hear you are on Crowley’s team. Out here doing a bit of scouting, are you?” Rick grinned at her. “You know, we should just blow off this whole bet nonsense and spend tomorrow together in this beautiful secluded glen I know of that is not far from here.” He laid on the charm. “I can pack us a picnic and take a couple blankets to…sit on and we can…talk…and really get to know each other.” He leaned toward her, “You will have a wonderful time, I promise,” he breathed into her ear.
Pippen turned to looked at him, almost nose to nose, and snorted. "In your dreams, Rick!" she gave him another slap on the shoulder, then paused and tilted her head to one side, narrowing her eyes at him. Speaking of dreams.... She blinked the memory aside quickly and said, "What if I said yes--what would you do then? Probably run and hide." she muttered.
She caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to greet Rab. "Hi Streamflag--finally decided to come out of hiding, huh? Didn't think Harrison scared you that much."
"He doesn't scared me--Just worries me, the way he blabs everything." Rab replied, taking a seat on the ground opposite the two of them.
Pippen tilted her head curiously. "So what he said about you is true?"
Rab shot her a dark look. "Obviously. Now don't go making such a big deal out of it."
Pippen gave him a sweet smile. "Whatever you say, Rab." ---------------------------------------
Seeing as lunch was being delayed, Ben wandered off in search of Heather--not that he was going to talk to her or anything, he just wanted to see how she was doing. From the glimpse he'd caught of her, she'd looked pretty bushed. He avoided Rick, no need to invite prying or uncomfortable questions after all. Besides, Rick looked busy flirting with Pippen. Plus it looked as though Rab were joining their conversation. Good. Rab was a good Ranger, but the solitude of his fife was showing, in that he didn't talk so much these days. A little socialization would be good for the man.
Ben returned to his own encampment, where he and Dalin shared the noon meal together. And, perhaps predicably enough, Dalin either caught on to his mentor's personal interest, or he was doing some extremely lucky guessing, because he teased Ben about looking for "a certian love interest". Ben told Dalin, in no uncertain terms, to shut up. No one knew of his interest in Heather, and he much prefered to keep it that way, esspecially since Rick--among others--appeared to have beat him to the punch.
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Post by Tandar on Sept 1, 2011 19:29:24 GMT -5
As Tandar approached Tory’s campsite, Allison caught sight of him and jogged up from behind. “Tandar, wait up,” she called.
He turned and saw her lithe form approaching. “Allison!” his face brightened as soon as he recognized her, and she flashed one of her charming smiles at him. Allison ran into his arms and they hugged. Tandar looked over her shoulder and spotted Tory near her tent, waving a notebook in the air. She seemed preoccupied and probably hadn’t noticed her mentor on the path yet. Tandar relaxed. He had wanted to speak with his apprentice about a couple matters, but it could wait.
As Tandar pulled back, Allison planted a kiss on his cheek. “It’s been so long …” her voice trailed off.
“I know,” Tandar said gently.
“I tried sending you letters, but I guess you weren’t at the estate.”
“I’m sorry, Allison. I was traveling.”
“I was worried about you,” she said quietly. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“We should, you know, catch up. Why don’t you come to my tent tonight? I’m staying in my usual spot.”
“Sounds good. Should I expect dinner?” Allison grinned.
“You bet.”
“See you tonight.”
“Bye,” Tandar called after her and raised a hand in farewell as he watched her retreating figure. When he looked back at Tory’s campsite, his apprentice had already gone.
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Post by Brandwyn on Sept 1, 2011 21:17:01 GMT -5
"In your dreams, Rick!"
Rick chuckled and leaned forward to rotate the pot with the goose in it again. He caught Pippen’s next comment but before he could think of a suitable reply they were interrupted by Rab suddenly materializing in the camp. Rick listened to their exchange with interest as he noticed Ben taking a peek into Heather’s tent. He hoped Ben wouldn’t wake her up, but he was too interested in what was going on with Rab to chase Ben off. Besides, he and Pippen had probably already made enough noise to wake her if she were going to wake up easily.
Pippen tilted her head curiously. "So what he said about you is true?"
Rab shot her a dark look. "Obviously. Now don't go making such a big deal out of it."
Pippen gave him a sweet smile. "Whatever you say, Rab."
“What’s going on Rab? Anything I can help you with?” Rick asked with concern. He hadn’t heard anything about whatever it was Pippen was referring to. Trust her to be up to date on all the ranger gossip. Rick got along with Harrison okay, as long as they didn’t have to work together, but he didn’t particularly care for the slightly older ranger. Back when he was an apprentice Harrison was a newly made silver leaf and it went to his head for a few years. He still had the tendency to be an overbearing mother hen. So if he was harassing another ranger or apprentice, then Rick was automatically on that ranger’s side and not Harrison’s. “Any news on unusual crime or anything from your fief?” Rick asked him. “I hear there are some Wargals and other strange beasts being driven out of Celtica and up here towards the north of Araluen.”
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Heather had fallen asleep quickly, figuring Rick’s brew had a lot to do with that, but she didn’t care, she needed the sleep. Her dreams were fine at first though being at the Gathering brought back her years old personal dilemma and that triggered the darker dreams. Well that inner struggle with her emotions and the four men in her life that mattered to her most beyond her own family, as well as the recent attack of the horse-thieving pirates that had nearly been the end of her were the cause of her current dark dreams.
She had started off with a pleasant dream of her and Rick on a little picnic and then when they were heading back she suddenly wasn’t with Rick anymore. In his place was Roary and they were laughing and singing all the way back to this little cottage in a mountain meadow next to a mirror smooth lake. When she opened the door, Roary vanished and there was Ben making dinner and setting the table for a nice cozy meal. In her dream she sat on the back porch of the cottage after dinner, wrapped up with Ben in his cloak as they watched the sun set behind the mountain. The next thing she knew Qwade was pounding on the door to her bedroom and telling her breakfast was ready and she could smell eggs, bacon and coffee as she hurriedly dressed, wondering why Ben wasn’t there. As soon as she opened the door, however she was greeted by Shane with his taciturn manner. He tried to appear gruff, but he had taken the time to pick two black-eyed Susan’s and place them in a vase in the center of the table.
She sat down and began to eat as he rubbed her shoulders and back and she was thinking that she could get used to this treatment when suddenly his fingers tightened around her throat and she couldn’t breathe. She looked back at him in surprise and realized that Qwade was no longer there and in his place was this misshapen giant man with a grimace of hate on his face.
Heather gasped for air and clawed at his hands gripping her neck, but it was no use, she couldn’t get free. She kicked out and the table with the flowers went flying and smashed against the wall, crushing the black-eyed Susan’s. She twisted and turned but couldn’t get free. Her vision started to go red. She reached her hand down to pull her saxe knife but her scabbards were empty. Things were starting to go hazy and her vision narrowed to a tunnel of red light straight in front of her.
With a mighty thrash she heaved and tried to scream for help and found herself lying on her new camp bed in her tent. She was breathing heavily and heard a noise by her tent door. She looked up and saw someone walking quietly away as the terror of the dream began to fade.
“Ben?” she called out softly, “Ben is that you?” He didn’t seem to hear her and Heather started to get up to follow him, but as she rolled onto her side, a sharp pain exploded in her shoulder. “Damn!” she groaned. She had forgotten that her shoulder was all banged up. She sank back to the bed and willed it to stop hurting. Then she wondered why Ben had been at her tent door.
She was close in age to all four of the rangers and they had been friends for many years. She’d had her passing infatuation with each of them over the years, but had never acted on any of those fantasies. She had always felt that to choose one over the other would be a betrayal to the other three and she didn’t want to mess up her friendship with any of them. Besides, the only one who had expressed interest in her was Rick, but he did that to all of the women so she had never thought he was serious.
She had spent years trying to sort out her feelings for them and had decided it was easier to not play favorites and keep them all as close friends, but as she got older, she found that was getting harder and harder. Thoughts of marriage kept entering her mind and messing with her head. She suppressed those thoughts and shunted them aside, locking them up in a little compartment in the closet of her mind to be examined later. Later never seemed to come…until now.
She wondered why Ben had been there and not spoken a word. He was a hard one to read, always serious and quiet. Heather knew she could depend on Ben though, if the chips were down he would be there for her. She sorted through her feelings again, as she did every time she saw one of the four. Did she like Ben more than the others? She couldn’t answer that.
Heather found Ben quite attractive, handsome in a rugged, earthy way. He might not be as dashingly handsome as Rick or as charismatic as Roary, but she was definitely attracted to him none the less. She sighed and wondered if he only felt friendship for her, or if he had ever felt anything more. If he did, he had never shown it.
Once again as she examined the merits of each of them, Ben, Roary, Rick and Qwade; she found herself wishing that just one of them would display some genuine romantic feelings back toward her. Sure Roary and Rick flirted with her all the time, but she never got the sense that they were serious. If just one of them were to show some real love toward her, it would make her dilemma so much easier. At least that is what she thought. “Give it a rest, Heather,” she muttered to herself, “don’t mess up the friendships you have.”
Carefully she rolled up into a sitting position and got tenderly to her feet, making sure not to jar her shoulder. Then she stepped outside her tent and eyed Rick flirting with Pippen and Rab looking rather miserable. “So, what’s for lunch?” She asked as she walked up behind Rick. She smiled at Pippen and Rab, “Hullo Pip, Hi Rab, how have you been? Was that Ben I just saw leaving here? Any idea what he wanted?” She asked as she stared after Ben’s retreating form.
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Post by Firehead on Sept 2, 2011 7:45:44 GMT -5
“What’s going on Rab? Anything I can help you with?”
"Not unless you know how to erase Harrison's memory of me six months ago." Rab replied.
Pippen grinned at him, and Rab reinforced his earlier warning with another glare. She squirmed guiltily, and edged closer to Rick. She could always duck behind him for shelter should she need too. She was glad when Rick changed the subject.
“Any news on unusual crime or anything from your fief?” Rick asked him. “I hear there are some Wargals and other strange beasts being driven out of Celtica and up here towards the north of Araluen.”
Rab shrugged. "It depends on what you call unusual. We had a mob in the village because of the drought, there's been very little rain and tensions are running high. More and more people are turning to crime to support themselves, and opinion of the Baron is running low--they tried to kill me and my apprentice when we went out to disperse the mob. She got a broken leg, but we managed to get into the woods and hide. Someone burned down the cabin, so we've been rebuilding it and living off the land. Hasn't been any sign of Black Wolves since early this summer, which is a blessing, what with everything else that's been going on. Other than all that, nothing much."
“Hullo Pip, Hi Rab, how have you been? Was that Ben I just saw leaving here? Any idea what he wanted?”
"Hey Heather! Sorry if we woke you, being so noisy out here. Nope. No idea. Didn't know he was here." Pip replied. Rab shook his head, and pulled the last camp stool over in a silent invitation for her to take a seat, if she wanted to. He'd said enough for now, he figured. -------------------------------------------
After lunch, Ben lounged about at his campsite, and mindlessly carved a stick of willow wood for half an hour before looking down at it. Studying the slender length, he debated inwardly about continuing, then gave a shrug and began shaping the wood into a flute.
An hour later, he held up the finished product and examined it for a signs of imperfections. When he didn't see any, he softly played a few bars. The music rippled through the air, and he gave a half-nod of satisfaction. The sound of a wood flute was softer, and more mellow in tone than a stone or a metal flute, and more to Ben's personal liking as well. Ben set about smoothing the last of the rough edges, and was still at it when Crowley came by. They talked and chatted for over an hour, Crowley trying to convince Ben otherwise, Ben steadfastly refusing. At last, Crowley gave in and walked away, saying, "Have it your way Ben."
"I intend too." Ben shot back.
For five minutes, he enjoyed peace and quiet, and was wrapping up his polishing, when Red came rambling up. he threw down what appeared to be a fur hat of some kind and shrugged out of a vest, saying, "Well, it worked. They thought I was you."
"How could they mistake you for me--there's an easy four inches difference between you and me, runt."
Red was unabashed by the name so many of the Rangers called him, letting it roll off of him like a coat sheds rain. "Simple appearances. He sat down opposite Ben and gave him a cheerful grin. "Want to go up there, looking like me? I have a--"
"Forget it."
Red paused, then grinned wider. "Okay. By the way, Heather's asking for you." Not quite how it had actually been phrased, but Red saw no harm in changing the wording a little.
Ben eyed him skeptically. "Why?"
Red shrugged. "I don't know. I went up and took a peek in to see how she was doing, and as I was walking away, I heard her asking 'Ben?'. I think it was the hat." Red added reflectively.
Ben picked up the hat that Red had cast off and held it up for inspection. Then he cut a few hairs from his head and held them next to the hat. They matched fairly closely in color. Ben cast aside the hairs and threw the hat at Red, who caught it and broke out laughing at the look on Ben's face. Ben left him to it, walking away toward Rick's encampment. On the way, he was joined by Rick's apprentice, whom he had met at the harvest faire the year before. "Tam, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Yer Ben, right?"
"Yeah." He glanced sideways at Tam. The way the kid spoke was atrocious, and the city accent made Ben distictly aware of his own way of speaking. Further conversation between the two was interrupted by Red bounding up. "Do you play that fl--oh hey! Your Rick's apprentice--we met in Gallica a few years back, Remember?"
"Yeah, I a'member. Di'nt you 'ave an 'prentice too?"
"Yah, I used te. But 'e up 'n died, though." Red didn't hesitate to copy Tam's accent, and both the other two realized it. Ben wisely decided not to get involved.
"I'm a tryin' ta get rid a it!" Tam protested to Red.
"Yer a 'tryin' ta get rid a what?" Red replied, grinning.
"My ac'ent!"
"Your acident! What did you do?"
They arrived at Rick's encampment and in answer to the questioning looks they were receiving, Ben proptly cleared himself of any blame. "I'm not with those to. Don't know who they are." he said, indicating the two young men behind him.
The two stood wrangling back and forth, Tam's accent getting thicker and thicker as he became flustered by Red, who's own verbal agility went unhindered.
"Knock it off, you two! For shame on you Red, for picking on an apprentice!" Pippen finally interceeded.
Red turned to face her. "What? I always pick on apprentices. In fact, I pick on everybody in this here campground." He tilted his head to one side, considering Pip. "I haven't picked on you in a while, have I?" he more stated, then asked. A mischivious gleam entered his eye, and Pippen hastily put Rick between her and Red. "Oh no, you don't!"
Rab added, "You might want to watch the squirt behind you."
Red turned to see Tam eying him prospectively. "Uh oh." He held up both hands defensively and took a step backward. Right into Ben, who was waiting for him. In two quick movements, Ben pulled back the coller of Red's shirt, and dropped an insect down his back.
Red lunged forward and bolted away from the group, yelling in surprise. "Yeaaugh! Ben! What'd ya do that for?"
"I still owe you one for the hat!" Ben called back.
"Oh no, you ain't getting that close again!" Red shouted, finally extracting the insect from under his shirt, throwing it away. "Play your flute and forget about me!"
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