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About the Town (4/11, Late morning)
Topic Started: May 27 2013, 06:10 PM (113 Views)
Zhenya
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The clip-clip of hooves from a horse other than the one she herself rode was a consistent reminder that even more had changed about her life by coming to Ivywood than had been immediately apparent.  The surroundings were different of course:  fierce mountains and thick forests replacing the coastal scapes of Mirron.  And the air, it smelled and felt so unlike that of her home.

Then, there was the small matter that never before had venturing into town required that she have a guard trailing her.  Point of fact, in Mirron, her family had had no guards, not any engaged on their behalf directly.  There were those retained to accompany caravans and watch over the merchandise, but that was an entirely different situation.  But in Ivywood, she was not her mother's daughter, so much as her father's.  And apparently, it would not do for a Blood Oak not to have a guard in attendance.

To herself, Zhenya speculated that it might well have more to do with the news her aunt had imparted but a few days past, than social standing.  But nevertheless, it was a peculiar experience, even if under the circumstances it probably was a relief not to be solely on her own.

She was bound for Road's End, having set her sights upon visiting this, the only nearby village.  She already knew that it was nothing to get one's hopes up about size-wise.  But it was something at least.  And, all things considered, it had struck her as. . .useful. . .to be familiar with what she could about her new home.  Just. . .in case.

Upon reaching the village proper, she sat her saddle for a moment to survey it from horse-back height, before dismounting.
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Doru

Doru was in town during the high part of the day, when the animals he hunted would be hidden away and the plants not at their peak. He'd sold a few mushrooms and a handful of herbs, fruit of his latest careful explorations, and pocketed the few pennies that had brought him. His usual buyers and sellers had noticed that he'd not been around as much, so he'd made as gracious an apology as he could manage, noting that his father's death was so recent and he would be doing better soon. That done, he found himself at loose ends - without the necessity of walking from his family's house to town, or from either location to his favorite, deep-woods sites, he had more time than he really knew what to do with, and there were only so many errands to run in Road's End.

The sound of leisurely hoofbeats took his attention off his feet. Not one horse, but two; one rider in a brilliant red cloak, and a stranger, at that. Doru glanced at the other - a bodyguard? - and then decided it was best not to gain their attention by staring like a clod. Fine clothing and guards meant nobility, and that by extension meant some relative of the Blood Oak family. Curiosity warred with evil rumors heard, and he settled for smiling at the pair (why not?) and then vanishing into an open door, with wares for sale inside. He didn't really look first, figuring that whatever it was, he could keep an eye out the door as much as an eye on the goods, and determine whether or not this Blood Oak was as frightening as the rumors made out.
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Zhenya
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It took very little time to gather the surface details of Road's End:  there was not much to take in.  It was a circle, ringing the church, and her gaze came to rest upon the latter at the end.  The tallest building here, and yet not tall at all to eyes accustomed to a city's sights.  And it was the only structure Zhenya saw with glass in its windows, glittering at the angle the beams of the sun struck it.

There was a certain weight to a breeze which carried a gaze on its back; she felt it then and shifted in the saddle to look off to the side.  A young man was staring at them, dark of hair and the skin of a great grey wolf serving him as a cloak.  He flashed a smile and disappeared - almost - through a door near to hand.  Zhenya thought she could still see part of him in spite of the angle at which she was, suggesting he was hovering near the doorway.

She dismounted, the guard doing the same and seeing to the securing of the horses.  Zhenya considered her surroundings from this new vantage point, but her attention soon returned to the door through which their watcher had ducked out of sight.  She could see what looked like bolts of cloth within.  Not much at all, compared to the shops in Mirron.  Yet it was sufficient to spark an idea.

"I am going to look in there," she said to the uniformed man practically at her elbow, gesturing lightly in indication.  Lowering the hood of her red cloak, Zhenya headed for the door herself. Footsteps echoed in her wake as she crossed the threshold.  The heavy sort of footsteps belonging to a man in boots.  

Such as, say, the guard tagging along behind her.  

The young woman peered over her shoulder with a mild look of astonishment to find, indeed, he had followed her into the shop itself and looked of every intention to continue trailing her like a very attached puppy.

Well.  This particular development was deserved of further consideration.  But for the moment, Zhenya made nothing of it, and perched her attention upon the sewing goods within the room.  Wolfskin seemed to be doing the same.
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Doru

He was examining a pair of bone knitting needles, or at least making a pretense of it, when Redcloak dismounted and came in for a gander at the shop. Doru watched her sideways, curiosity getting the better of him, and was surprised immediately. He'd seen the nobles rarely, out and about with their bodyguards, and either they coolly pretended the guard was not present or took their constant companionship for granted. Never had he been so close, nor ever seen one turn her head in astonishment at the guard's attentions.

Maybe she wasn't the ogre of village rumor, after all, and any more, Doru felt he had very little to fear. He examined the guard first, saw nothing but bored attention to his charge in the man, and stepped into her field of view, not too close, a careful smile on his face.

"Good morning, I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Doru." And he bowed, with a confidence he did not feel.
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Zhenya
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A casual survey of the fabric on offer was delayed from becoming a more intent perusal with the swirl of movement at the periphery of Zhenya's vision.  She turned to see the dark-haired young man stepping forward.

An introduction made, then a bow.  Zhenya regarded him - Doru - with an inscrutable expression for a moment.

"Ah, then you have the advantage.  You may not have seen me, but I, I have not seen anyone here yet." A smile flashed to her lips then, dispelling the impression of over seriousness.

"I am pleased to meet you.  I am Zhenya.  As I suppose must be obvious--"  It was, wasn't it?  Or were there those who lived in castle and never ventured near Road's End? "I came here but very recently, to live with family."

And who they were, most likely was the most obvious thing yet, if the guard all but hanging over her shoulder suggested anything about the matter.
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Doru

"A pleasure, Zhenya." She'd been so serious - grim, almost. Fabric didn't deserve that sort of scrutiny, especially the few homespun offerings available here, but her smile showed that her cloak wasn't the only cheerful thing about her, and brought an answering smile from Doru, nervousness fading away quickly.

He made a thoughtful humming sound in his throat at her admission. "New to Road's End! That's quite a rarity. It's a small enough town, but folk are kind here." Surely with her bloodline, and clothes as fine as she wore, it would be useless to praise the material goods on offer in Road's End, so Doru defaulted to praising its community instead.

"Though all anyone's been talking about for the last few days is that... thing.. that went by overhead." He laughed to shake off the ill omen, and waved a hand in the general direction of the street. Below the cuff of his shirtsleeve, a bandage peeked briefly. "I'd offer you the gossip, but I fear it's not very interesting right now. I spend most of my time in the forest anyway - did you have such forests, where you lived before?"
Edited by Doru, Jul 6 2013, 11:02 PM.
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Zhenya
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Zhenya's eyes flickered to the bandage at Doru's wrist and for but a brief moment, her smile seemed also to flicker, before settling back in as if it had never been in doubt.

She laughed at his question, a pleased sound, and shook her head.  "Such forests as these?  Oh, no.  There are trees, yes, but one must travel east to find something properly worth the name of forest.

"I was born on the coast, in Mirron.  Our forests are of ships' masts, bobbing with the tides."  Her hand shaped a graceful description in the air that seemed to invoke such a thing.  Her head turned fractionally, enough to let her look outside.

"But I would like to learn more of Ivywood.  My father came from here; perhaps knowing this place the better will allow me to know who he was the better as well."
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Doru

Doru listened, enchanted, and a quick smile followed Zhenya's description. Her father's shadow was long enough if he was a Blood Oak, but Doru couldn't have named the man if he was offered a gold coin to do it, so he nodded instead, a shadow passing across his face. It seemed there were plenty of mysteries about fathers, waiting in Road's End.

"Perhaps if you want, I could show you more of the forest some time? Today within the town, there is a kind farmer selling bread and cheese, and someone was repairing one of the horse tethers, I'm sure you saw outside - have you met Ida Tailor, yet? She's really who everyone looks up to, in town, and has been helping to get everything put back together right, and of course there is the Church of Daak?" The latter he suggested as a belated afterthought, as the single most impressive building in town. His cheerful tone made the chatter into a series of suggestions, of things perhaps Zhenya might like to see.

"I myself hunt in the woods, and trade my goods and my family's, when I am in town." The shadow returned this time, dampened his expression toward sorrow. "Though, we have not much to sell recently. We live up in the hills, and the forest can be dangerous."
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