a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Jul 3, 2013 9:00:15 GMT -5
“Let’s put them back in their stalls until this storm passes over,” he suggested. “I don’t think its going to last a long time, though it does look like we may have a very wet ride back to the city. I think its going to switch over to a nice soaking rain after this initial blast.” He once again reached for Tessa’s pony’s reins and held the horse so she could dismount.
Tessa nodded and dropped off the horse. She almost fell over when she hit the ground. This was either from being shaken up after the run, or just because the pony wouldn't stand still.
Rain! Rain was bad! Rain was never good. And to make it worse, it's a thunderstorm! How would she ever get through this without Marc finding out what she was afraid of. It was so stupid to be afraid of water, but could she help it? No!
Marcus noticed the wild look in the pony’s eyes matched the look in Tessa’s. “You did great there with him, pulling him up like that when he took off,” he smiled at Tessa. “I must admit I was a bit concerned for a moment there, but you handled him like a natural.”
"T-thanks," she stuttered. Maybe this horse thing wouldn't be so bad after all, but she didn't know if she could do it in the rain.
ZZZZZzzziiiiTTT! CRACK!
Tessa jumped again as the lightning flashed and the thunder rumbled. If this continued she'd either end up running around mindlessly or unable to move with fear. Both had happened to her before, and both were very embarrasing.
“We’d better--,“ He was interrupted by another flash and then the bottom dropped out of the bucket and the rain hit them full force. The wind whipped the rain around and drove it sideways straight into their faces.
Tessa gave a squeal that almost turned into a shriek, but she clamped her mouth shut. Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day! She cried to herself.
Marcus pulled the pony, with little urging, toward the barn door and whistled for Spirit to follow him, glancing to make sure Arianna was still clinging to the saddle. He ushered the others into the barn and then wiped the rain from his eyes. “Well, looks like we are stuck here until the storm blows over. Everyone okay?” he asked.
Tessa ran after Marcus, beating him into the barn, then stood there, shivering. What if a river floods! We'd all drown. Or what if she tripped and drowned in a puddle! She'd overheard someone saying it had happened before. Who's to say it doesn't happen again!? Calm down. Calm down, Tessa. Don't let it control you. She whispered inwardly.
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Jul 20, 2013 8:08:41 GMT -5
Marcus pulled the pony, with little urging, toward the barn door and whistled for Spirit to follow him, glancing to make sure Arianna was still clinging to the saddle. He ushered the others into the barn and then wiped the rain from his eyes. “Well, looks like we are stuck here until the storm blows over. Everyone okay?” he asked.
Olivia flicked the hair out of her eyes already she was pretty soaked. "Yep, I'm all right. How about you Arianna?" "Yep! That was fun can we go out in the storm again?" Olivia smiled and laughed a little. "No, I don't want you getting blown away." she reached up and brought the little girl back down to the ground. She looked outside the barn door as the storm raged on, and jumped when a loud crack of thunder sounded over head followed by lightning. She twisted her hair wringing water out of it. "Looks like you are right Marcus, it's going to be furious and then pass right through quickly."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 24, 2013 23:00:33 GMT -5
Marcus laughed merrily when Arianna asked to go back out in it. He pulled a green towel out of his saddlebag as Olivia lifted Arianna down and set her feet on the barn floor. He handed the towel to Olivia so she could dry her hair and face and then leaned over to whisper in Arianna’s ear, “maybe you and I can sneak back out and play in the mud puddles when Miss Olivia isn’t looking!” he winked at her conspiratorially.
As he was leaning over he glanced at Tessa whom he could see when he looked under Spirit’s belly. There seemed to be some internal struggle going on and Marcus could see all the classic signs of someone very afraid of something and trying not to show it. ‘Maybe she doesn’t like thunderstorms,’ he thought to himself. Well, the best way he knew of to deal with fear when it was right there in your face was distraction. Later talking would help, but for now he needed to take her mind off what was troubling her, find out what that thing is and then figure out how to help her get beyond her fears.
‘Now if it is the storm, then taking care of the pony should help, but if it is the pony it might only make things worse,’ he mulled it over in his mind. ‘Only one way to find out,’ he decided as he stood back up.
As he walked over to Tessa he pulled his ranger cloak off and then placed it around her shoulders. He was dry underneath, being the only one in the group who had really been dressed for the sudden downpour. The ranger cloak not only shed the water because he kept it well oiled, but it also was quite warm, though not as warm as his heavy winter cloak.
“Are you okay Bluebird? You look a little chilled,” he asked gently. “Your pony got a bit wet out there and so did the saddle. It’s best not to let the rain soak into the leather if you can help it so I always take a towel and wipe off the saddle and then rub my horse down when we get caught out in a storm like this – well after we get out of the storm I should say,” he corrected himself. “Think you could do that for your pony and that nice little saddle you are using?” He handed her another towel that had been hanging on a hook in front of a stall. It was a little dusty but otherwise seemed clean. “I always find that humming a tune makes the work go faster and helps me concentrate on the task,” he said a bit louder as he stepped back over to Spirit and started to rub his own saddle down and then the horse. He was leaving the saddles on them because he hoped the storm wouldn’t last terribly long. Marcus showed Tessa how to rub the horse to get it dry. “You always take care of your horse first and then you take care of your own needs. Remember that!” he pointed the rag at Tessa.
Marcus looked at Olivia and wondered if she knew that something was bothering Tessa. She was a diplomat and a woman so he would be willing to bet she’d already noticed. However Marcus didn’t want to embarrass Tessa so he wasn’t going to point anything out to Olivia.
CRACK!
Spirit jumped and rolled his eyes while sniffing the air which was thick with the smell of ozone. “Yikes, that sounded like it hit something close-by,” Marc commented. “Good thing we have this nice sturdy barn to shelter in.”
“Yeah, good thing, that,” said a deep voice that Marcus recognized as the stablemaster. “I thought you were rentin’ these nags so you could ride ‘em, not hide out here in my stable.” He glowered at Marcus. “I don’t let folk sleep in here. It bothers the horses. You better get on out there on yer way.”
Marcus continued to brush Spirit off with the towel for a moment before answering. Thunder rumbled in the skies above for nearly a full minute. No one could be heard over the clamoring heavens, so Marcus waited it out, very calm on the outside. “We’re just waiting out the storm. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to either of these horses of yours would you?” he asked, not expecting a favorable answer. He pulled out two silver pieces and held them out where the stablemaster could see them. “Get us all a nice hot meal each and you can have these and we will be on our way as soon as the violent weather is happening.”
“Food’s in short supply around here, in case you hadn’t noticed.” He shook his head, “We don’t have enough for the winter as it is. Can’t go around feeding every fool that gets himself trapped in a barn by a storm.”
Marc glanced at Olivia again. Perhaps she could persuade him to feed them. She was a diplomat after all. He turned a pleading look on Olivia, hoping she would come bail him out. He realized he was pretty hungry and knew Olivia was very hungry. He’d heard her tummy growl earlier and now she had to be even hungrier now.
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Jul 27, 2013 21:23:54 GMT -5
Olivia noticed Tessas nervousness and knew it had to be the thunderstorm. However she noticed that the girl was in a near panic at the storm and sensed that there might be something more going on then just a fear of thunderstorms. Something must have happened when she was little for her to be this afraid of thunderstorms.
“Yeah, good thing, that,” said a deep voice that Marcus recognized as the stablemaster. “I thought you were rentin’ these nags so you could ride ‘em, not hide out here in my stable.” He glowered at Marcus. “I don’t let folk sleep in here. It bothers the horses. You better get on out there on yer way.”
Olivia sighed did the man have to be so rude? They were paying him after all and they would be leaving once the storm had passed by. She wanted to say something but didn't know if it was her place to or not.
“Food’s in short supply around here, in case you hadn’t noticed.” He shook his head, “We don’t have enough for the winter as it is. Can’t go around feeding every fool that gets himself trapped in a barn by a storm.”
Marc glanced at Olivia again. Perhaps she could persuade him to feed them. She was a diplomat after all. He turned a pleading look on Olivia, hoping she would come bail him out. He realized he was pretty hungry and knew Olivia was very hungry. He’d heard her tummy growl earlier and now she had to be even hungrier now.
Olivia sighed again, but looked around the barn and thought for a moment or two before coming to stand beside Marcus. She said very quietly and with kindness. "I understand how hard the winters are out here. Feeding all of these horses can't be an easy task either." then she looked pointedly at marcus making it clear that he should drop the food subject. "The only thing we will be asking of you is this dry stable to stay in until the storm passes." then very deliberately she put her hands on her hips and looked up at the man. "Also kind sir there is no reason to go about calling people fools, when they didn't know that it was going to rain. We will wait out the storm here, there is no harm in that. As soon as the rain stops we will be on our way." she looked at him a moment longer he was a little taken aback but slowly nodded. He walked to the back of the barn to tend to the other horses still in their stalls. "She looked at Marcus and raised an eyebrow in a very ranger like fashion. "What is it with men and food? We are all hungry Marcus but it isn't very fair to ask someone to give us food out of their own home. We can easily stop at an inn or tavern to catch a bite to eat."
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Sept 6, 2013 10:29:32 GMT -5
As he walked over to Tessa he pulled his ranger cloak off and then placed it around her shoulders.
“Are you okay Bluebird? You look a little chilled,”
"Huh?" Tessa looked up at him, "Y-yeah, I'm fine," she stuttered.
“Your pony got a bit wet out there and so did the saddle. It’s best not to let the rain soak into the leather if you can help it so I always take a towel and wipe off the saddle and then rub my horse down when we get caught out in a storm like this – well after we get out of the storm I should say,” he corrected himself. “Think you could do that for your pony and that nice little saddle you are using?” He handed her another towel that had been hanging on a hook in front of a stall.
"Uh, sure," Tessa took the towel and began to wipe of the saddle and her wet pony.“You always take care of your horse first and then you take care of your own needs. Remember that!” he pointed the rag at Tessa. "Ok," she replied. Being able to concentrate on something was helping her forget about the storm and....the water.
CRACK!
Tessa flinched at the sound of thunder, but, she tried not to think about it. She continued to rub down the pony.
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 16, 2013 23:26:00 GMT -5
"What is it with men and food? We are all hungry Marcus but it isn't very fair to ask someone to give us food out of their own home. We can easily stop at an inn or tavern to catch a bite to eat."
Marcus picked up a brush and squatted down to clean the mud off Spirit's legs, choosing his words carefully because he knew the stablemaster was listening. "I only thought that he might be interested in making a bit more money while at the same time we could save some time if we could eat now while we wait out the storm," he said to Olivia. "It's been my experience that most intelligent, enterprising businessmen, such as our friend here," he gestured in the general direction of the stablemaster, "welcome any opportunity to turn a coin or two." He sighed heavily and looked back down to Spirit's fetlock that was caked in mud. "I guess we can stop for dinner up at the Windy Wagonwheel if we take the northeast road back to Araluen City. It will be a good hour though before we get there."
Marcus brushed his face against the crook of his arm to hide a smile. Olivia had said just what he figured she would say and he doubted she realized quite yet that she was helping him coax a good meal out of the stablemaster. He stood up and walked around Spirit to brush off his other two feet.
"Well, now if you are offering up 2 silvers for each one of you for a meal, I might be able to get the wife to rustle something up for you. It won't be no high-flaootin' fancy castle feast, mind you," said the stablemaster. "Like I said, food is scarce and we are simple folks here."
Marcus shook his head while rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, I wasn't thinking quite that much money." He looked at Tessa just as another peel of thunder shook the barn and the rain outside suddenly grew louder. "Two silvers is pretty fair for all three of us, but seeing as how we are cutting into your winter stores, I"d be willing to go as high as 3 silvers - one for each of us."
The stablemaster shook his head and started to turn back to the pile of hay he was forking into one of the stall's manger. "Can't do that low. It will cost us three times that to replace it." He tossed a forkful of hay over the top of the stall door. "If I take less'n five silvers the wife'll have my ears for dinner."
"Well we wouldn't want that," Marcus suppressed a grin. "But I am just a ranger, contrary to some beliefs, we really don't earn that much." He stroked his chin as he considered the coins in his purse versus the rumbling of his stomach. "I guess I could do four silvers if you throw in a mug each of that there apple cider you have in those barrels in the corner."
The stablemaster stared at him with a straight face for a full minute during which Marcus thought he had blown the deal. "Okay, 4 silvers and the cider," the man said at last and held out his hand. Marcus dropped the coins into it. "I'll go see what we have." The stablemaster closed the barn door up behind him.
Marcus turned to Olivia, "Thanks! You were perfect!," he grinned, but nearly had to shout to be heard over the roar of the water outside. He went to the door and pulled it open just enough to see outside. He couldln't see more than a few feet through the torrential downpour.
He closed the door and looked down, noting there was some water pooling up on the floor in front of the doors. He took a quick look up and down the stalls and noticed some of them now had an inch of water on the floor. Most of those that were flooding were in the far corner opposite the main door. "He's going to need to move these horses soon, if this rain doesn't let up," Marcus said to no one in particular. he often talked to himself and to Spirit. "Some of the stalls are starting to flood."
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Nov 8, 2013 6:43:56 GMT -5
"Thanks! You were perfect!,"
Olivia raised an eyebrow then rolled her eyes realizing a touch to late she had helped him. Olivia shook her head at Marcus she went over to Tess and slipped her arm around her shoulders. "I tell you Tess men put their brain in full power when foods involved. If I ever wanted to catch a man all I'd have to do is offer him food and he'd come willingly. Looks like our friend here is no different." she grinned down at her and whispered just loud enough for Marcus to here. "I'd be careful if I were you Tess he might steal your food if you're not careful enough." then giving the girl a one shouldered hug went over to her horse as if she had said nothing demeaning at all and rubbed her soft nose. Olivia grabbed her bag and took it off she saw an empty hook and hung it there for a moment looking at it and what it represented and meant to her. The courier symbol was etched in fine gold thread on the lid of the bag and again in one of the corners, she had come a long way since she had gotten this bag. A very long way. She gave a little sigh as she remembered the day she graduated along with a couple of other girls. That had been one of the happiest days of her life.
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Jan 7, 2014 23:14:25 GMT -5
He closed the door and looked down, noting there was some water pooling up on the floor in front of the doors. He took a quick look up and down the stalls and noticed some of them now had an inch of water on the floor. Most of those that were flooding were in the far corner opposite the main door. "He's going to need to move these horses soon, if this rain doesn't let up," Marcus said to no one in particular. he often talked to himself and to Spirit. "Some of the stalls are starting to flood."
At that sentence, Tessa looked up in alarm. "F-flood?" she whispered under her breath. She looked down as well, only just noticing the water pooling around her feet. She gripped the towel in her hand harder and harder, her knuckles beginning to whiten. She began to rub the saddle again, though it was already much dryer than her. Closing her eyes, she attempted to drown out the sound of rain and thunder outside and the world around her began to go gray. Slowly, she calmed down, forgetting where she was and what was happening outside. She opened her eyes again, biting her lip as reality closed in around her.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 9, 2014 22:45:15 GMT -5
"I tell you Tess men put their brain in full power when foods involved. If I ever wanted to catch a man all I'd have to do is offer him food and he'd come willingly. Looks like our friend here is no different." she grinned down at her and whispered just loud enough for Marcus to here. "I'd be careful if I were you Tess he might steal your food if you're not careful enough."
"Humpff," Marcus grunted from the corner. "I would not!" he said indignantly and then grew thoughtful. "Well maybe if it were pastries or cinnamon sticks...candy maybe but I would never take food from a youngster!" He shot Olivia and Tessa a lop-sided grin and winked at Arianna again.
Rain continued to pound the roof and gusts of wind rattled the shuttered stall windows. For several minutes the storm raged around them and was so loud even Marcus looked up at the roof to make sure it wasn't about to blow off and leave them standing in the rain.
He covertly watched Tessa and had not missed how terrified she had been when she first discovered the water inching toward her feet. He walked over to her and gently took her by the hand, soothingly smoothing out her clenched fingers. Perhaps concentrating on an activity wasn't enough to take her mind off the storm. Very gently he coaxed her out of the stall and over to the pile of feed bags and barrels in the corner to the side of the main door. "Why don't you sit down here on top of this barrell?" he asked her as he guided her to it. "I am afraid if you rub that poor pony any harder he is going to go bald!" he joked, trying to get her to crack a smile.
Marcus could tell she was near a panic state. 'She has a terrible fear of storms which could be a problem if she wants to be a ranger,' he thought to himself as he looked at her with concern. Usually talking about a fear or problem helped people overcome it. Marcus hoped it wouldn't push her over the edge into hysteria. Still holding one of her hands in both of his as he gently stroked the back of her hand in a calming gesture, he suggested, "would you like to tell me what happened? I sense you have more than just a passing fear of the storm. What happened to make you afraid of the water?"
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Jan 9, 2014 23:46:45 GMT -5
"Why don't you sit down here on top of this barrel?" he asked her as he guided her to it. "I am afraid if you rub that poor pony any harder he is going to go bald!" he joked, trying to get her to crack a smile.
"Hm?" Tessa barely noticed when Marcus took her hand and led her to the barrel. As hard as she may try, she couldn't stop herself from panicking. The water was everywhere around her and it seemed to be closing in on her at an alarming rate!
"Would you like to tell me what happened? I sense you have more than just a passing fear of the storm. What happened to make you afraid of the water?"
"Wha-what?" 'Oh great.' Tessa thought to herself. Now he knew! How did he know? Then again, how could he not! "I-I'm not afraid of-" she swallowed hard. 'Just say it! Just say it, Tess!' "-water!" she almost yelled the word at Marcus, wanting to be rid of it as soon as possible. She knew her little fib was a dud. Marcus would never believe her. She just couldn't admit it to him. All the other children in the ward laughed at her when she showed her fear, would Marc do the same? What if he wouldn't let her be a Ranger?
Even as she thought those things, she could feel herself begin to freeze up. If she did, she'd be completely unresponsive to the outside world. She'd be trapped in her own mind, stuck in a sea of fear. She'd done it before, she knew what it was like. She also knew that if it happened it would take a long time for her to start responding to the world again.
She clenched her hands again, only just realizing that Marc was holding one of them. Her fingernails dug into his skin and she knew it must hurt, but she couldn't help herself. The wind blew harder, seeming to fuel her fear like it was fire.
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Kallie
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 422
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Post by Kallie on Jan 11, 2014 10:16:58 GMT -5
Olivia was trying to think of was way to help the poor girl. She was obviously terrified and needed a distraction. but what can I do to help distract her? she thought then she spotted Arianna and smiled. She went over to the little girl who was tempting fate by staring at the huge puddle of water by the door. She came up behind the girl and scooped her up in her arms. The little girl gave a little shriek and a loud giggle. Olivia brought her over to where Marcus and Tessa were, she leaned over and whispered in the little girls ear. The girl grinned and nodded. She then set her down and Arianna immediately went over to Tessa running circles around the scared girl before jumping and clutching Tessa's leg laughing and giggling all the while. "Play with e! Play with me!" she cried looking up at Tess with big eyes that very few could deny.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 11, 2014 21:25:22 GMT -5
Marcus felt Tessa's fingernails digging into his hand and it seemed her fear had increased with his question rather than decreased.
"I-I'm not afraid of-" she swallowed hard. 'Just say it! Just say it, Tess!' "-water!"
'So that's it! Not the storm per se, but the water - drowning,' thought Marc. 'That's what her real fear is. Now how to help her?
Marcus glanced at Olivia as she went to play with Arianna and then whispered something in the young girl's ear. Arianna came over and started pestering Tessa to play. Marcus glanced at Olivia, an eyebrow raised in question.
"It's okay, Tessa. You don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to," He said to her. He had thought it might help to talk, but now he wasn't so sure that a distraction might be a better idea like he'd figured in the first place. Marcus patted her hand and smoothed out her fingers so they weren't digging into his palm. Then he squeezed her hand very firmly to keep her attention.
"Play with me! Play with me!" Arianna grabbed at Tessa's knees.
Play, that sounded like a good idea to Marc. Now what could they all play that wouldn't remind Tessa of the water closing in around them? He wracked his brain for a few minutes, throwing out ideas like ring around the posey's or Fox and Geese and quickly discarding them. Cards would be too boring and anything too active would involve Tessa walking in the water so that wouldn't do.
Perhaps a guessing game or riddles. He was terrible at riddles, but maybe Tess would find them fun. It needed to be something Arianna could participate in too though. Maybe singing a song would help.
"Hey Arianna, do you know a song? Could you teach Tessa a song?" Marcus asked her while he looked around the barn.
On the other side of the barn was a very narrow ladder built right into the structure of the barn alongside a rough hand-hewn 10 inch square verticle support post. Marc looked up and up the ladder to what appeared to be a hay loft above the stalls on the other side of the main aisle. It was pretty high, but not so high as Tessa's perch in the tree. At least she wasn't afraid of heights. The only problem was the four inches of water pooling down the center of the barn that was running in from under the big doors at each end.
Marcus caught Olivia's eye again and discretely directed her gaze to the loft with a slight tip of his head. Perhaps they could get the girl up there and she would feel safer being several feet above the floor. He wasn't so sure what the stablemaster would think about them climbing in the loft though. The man would probably be coming back their dinner very soon too.
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Post by Sycelus on Jan 12, 2014 21:14:06 GMT -5
It was a glorious day, beautiful even! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and life was exploding all around Rufus as he traveled down the main road towards a village. He had heard, through the more gossip leaning folk of the last town, that this particular place had been hit hard by the disease that was running rampant throughout the kingdom. This was another perfect chance to cheer up the folk of Araluen and practice his trade. One could never get enough practice at singing or telling the odd tale. Another rumor that had been passing around was that there was a group of bandits roaming about nearby, 'Just another reason to cheer some of these poor folk up!' Rufus thought to himself as he made his way to what looked like the main gates to the town. As he passed through the gates, almost as if on que, the sky let loose it thunder so loud it nearly hurt.
Taking advantage of the moment Rufus struck a pose as if the thunder had announced his arrival. After a couple of seconds he noticed that not many people were around and the couple he saw were diving for the cover of awnings or into houses. Rufus looked up to the sky and got smacked right in the eye with a heavily laden drop of water. 'Damn it's going to be a downpour, and I just got these clothes cleaned yesterday!' he thought as he swept his gaze down and around to find somewhere to stay dry. His eyes finally zoned in on the stables that weren't too far off, when the heavens opened up and in a few moments Rufus was nearly drown by the shear amount of rain. He took off at a run and managed to get inside the open stables before he was completely soaked.
Inside he found that there was a wiry man, a woman that looked as if she were in courier's clothes, a young girl, and a child that was trying to pull the young girl off her barrel seat, while the two adults spoke in a hushed tone.
Announcing himself with a quick joke Rufus said to the lot of them, "You know I had wanted to go for a swim today but could find no water, though it seems to have found me! I hope I haven't intruded, I'm merely looking to stay as dry as I can," he gestured to his practically soaked shirt. "I can compensate you for the time under your roof if you would like," he said with a playful grin to the people that were most likely the stablemaster and his family, at least he thought they might be.
Taking a second glance he was shown otherwise, the man looked to be more of the wilderness types not one that cares for horses or the like, the child looked more like a street goer, the young girl appeared to be merely that, and the woman looked to indeed be a courier and quite the fetching one at that. Rufus thought for a second and wondered why this hodge podge group of people were in the stables together when he suddenly reasoned that it was to get out of the rain. It looked though like they knew each other. The man and woman looked to be together possibly the young girl was their child, but the street goer must just be here to stay dry from the storm, and yet the child seemed to be quite comfortable with the other three. It was an odd mixture indeed. Rufus thought to himself, 'Pay it no mind that they really don't look like they belong, cause trouble and instead of helping this town you just might be run out of it, you oaf,' another smile played across his face as he recalled the last time he got run out of town.
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a1ko4
Apprentice Cook
Posts: 77
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Post by a1ko4 on Jan 14, 2014 23:03:25 GMT -5
"Play with me! Play with me!" Arianna grabbed at Tessa's knees.
"P-Play?" Tess looked down at the young girl's wide eyes. How could she say no? The thought of water, however, froze that thought. She couldn't play a game!
"Hey Arianna, do you know a song? Could you teach Tessa a song?" Marcus asked her while he looked around the barn.
"A song?" Now Tessa peered up at Marc. Perhaps a song would be good. After all, she wouldn't have to touch the water to sing!
Suddenly, a man barged into the stables, running to get out of the rain. "You know I had wanted to go for a swim today but could find no water, though it seems to have found me! I hope I haven't intruded, I'm merely looking to stay as dry as I can," he gestured to his practically soaked shirt. "I can compensate you for the time under your roof if you would like," he said with a playful grin.
Did that man think that they owned the stable? Tessa almost laughed at the thought of it.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jan 20, 2014 23:33:57 GMT -5
Marcus heard footsteps approaching the barn door fast just before it burst open and a slightly bedraggled man entered. He had startlingly blond hair and was dressed in bright colors and wore an almost indecent amount of silver jewelry. He looked to be about 4 inches taller than Marcus and Marcus suspected, with a slight twinge of jealousy, that most women would find him quite handsome.
He had the look of an entertainer about it him and as soon as he opened his mouth, Marcus was more sure than ever that the man was a bard or skald of some type.
"You know I had wanted to go for a swim today but could find no water, though it seems to have found me! I hope I haven't intruded, I'm merely looking to stay as dry as I can," he gestured to his practically soaked shirt. "I can compensate you for the time under your roof if you would like," he said with a playful grin.
Marcus smiled back at him, though it wasn’t quite his usual wide smile. He tossed the man a fairly clean rag hanging from a hook nearby so he could dry off. Then he shook his head, “I’m not the one you need to compensate,” Marcus nodded his head in the direction of the stable master’s house that was set so close to the barn they were virtually sharing a wall. “I’m Marcus Christopher Blackwater, Journeyman Ranger and fellow traveler seeking shelter from the storm just like you.” He gave a bow with a flourish, drawing on all the courtly training he’d had, mostly to prove to Lady Olivia that he observed courtly graces when the situation called for it. He wanted to find out more about this man before he introduced Olivia and the girls to him.
“The stable master should be back any time now,” Marcus thought to warn the bard of the rather crotchety owner of the barn, but the old man could be lurking out of site and within ear shot and he didn’t want to say anything that was going to loose them the dinner he already paid a small fortune for.
He watched the bard quickly size up everyone in the room and didn’t miss the man’s lingering look at Olivia. Jealousy once again tickled Marcus’ insides. He wanted to go over to Olivia and put his arm around her, announcing that she was off limits and belonged to Marcus. There was one problem with that, however…well perhaps two problems, he thought. The first one being that he really didn’t have the right to claim Olivia, as much as he wanted to. The second problem was that Olivia would probably knock his block off if he tried it. She didn’t seem the type to enjoy two young bucks butting heads over her. At least she would pretend she didn’t find it flattering, but Marcus had found that most women were very appreciative of men fighting over them, they just didn’t want to admit it to the men.
Marcus loved to listen to bards, especially when he’d been out on the trail for several days and happened upon an Inn that was offering entertainment. However he didn’t trust bards half as far as he could throw them. In his experience the bulk of them were a bit sticky-fingered and all of them were terribly good flirts. Women tended to faun all over them and tell hem their darkest secrets just because the bard had a silvery tongue and generally good looks. Marcus felt they normally took advantage of women and he didn’t have much respect for men who casually used women and tossed them aside. So far this fellow appeared to be of like ilk as far as he could see.
“So what is your name, my fine wet fellow and where to you hale from? Marcus might not care for him much yet, but it wasn’t good ranger protocol to jump to conclusions. So he would be polite until such time as the man gave him a reason to dislike him.
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