Scrub a Dub Dub...

[Lion]

Dram flinched back slightly but didn't budge from his spot beside her.  He withdrew his hand and laid it on his lap instead.  He looked at her with such a curious gaze.  He gestured to her tattoos, poking them abruptly.  "Your tattoos," he remarked.  "Where did you get them?  Who gave them to you?  I wasn't trying anything, I swear...  I'm not-um-like that."  He bit his lip and poked them again.  "I was...just curious.  They're very well done."

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu's glare or posture didn't soften until after Dram finished speaking in entirety. When he was done, she sighed, and ran a hand through her hair.
He couldn't have asked me about them when I was awake? she mentally lamented, but the woman decided not to push it. It was late, and she wanted to sleep. It was painfully obvious how much tact this elf lacked, but at least he wasn't a pervert.  The woman pointed to the sun on her chest, tracing out the main spiral, and then to the wings on her back.
"My mother," she gently said, "She was my teacher...."
The woman then lightly touched the leaf on her hip.
"This was Chel's," she whispered, as if pained.
The leaf tattoo  was her constant reminder of him, and the only bit she had left. His death, or the  rumor of it, had reached her a few years ago. Maybe two, maybe three; the woman didn't bother to count. Akenu shook her head to chase out the bad memories.

The woman lowered herself slowly so that she was lying on her back, tucked underneath her cloak. She gave Dram's tattoo a glance, remembering his anger from before.
Ah, well, she thought. It didn't really concern her, now, did it?
"Night," she muttered, again, and drifted back to sleep.

[Lion]

Dram nodded in understanding.  Yes, this had been the very wrong moment to ask her about such a thing, but it seemed it was only now that he noticed the painful reminder that he would never know where he came from, unlike Akenu.  They were supposed to be a part of him, he knew, had a feeling in his gut, but couldn't shake the fact that he might never understand it.  Learning that her mother had taught her how to make them, gave some glimpse of light into that dark space that separated him from where he knew he should belong and where he found himself in now.

"Okay," he nodded to her, signing how he knew how, having been practicing.  "Good night."  And he leaned back against the pillar, looking over on his shoulder to peer at his own tattoo.  It was different, this symbol.  It was a brotherhood and sisterhood, a family of a different sort.  Dram might have been a part of them, but he always felt different in some ways, separated.  He sighed and laid his head back, looking around him and finally feeling his own eyelids close.

He felt asleep keeping watch and his head dipped against his chest as he slept lightly, long ears flicking to the rustle of wind through the slot between the barn doors.

[Winters-Feather]

As the doors creaked open, the gentle rays of the just rising sun rippled into the barn. The light roused the sleeping Akenu. She gave a low groan, as she peeked from under her cloak at the somewhat startled figure of the farmer's wife.
"Oh...Hello," the woman said, forcing a smile, clearly not used to having guests in her barn.
Akenu gave a nod in return.
"Good morning," she croaked as she rose, rolling her shoulders. The woman rose to her feet and began to get dressed.
Instead of giving a chipper response, the farmer's wife gasped at the bandages around Akenu's chest.

"W...what happened?" she asked, though she found herself tempurarly ignored as Akenu pulled her tunic over her head. It was only a half minute later when Akenu dropped down to put on her belt did she notice that the woman was gawking at her. At first, she was alarmed, wondering if she had done anything wrong, when she noticed that the wife was looking at her chest.
Oh.

"New tattoo," Akenu lied with a bright smile as she attached her belt, "This one is working on it as we go."
She looked back at Dram, trying to remember what names she had given them.
This seemed a satisfying answer enough to the woman, for she nodded and proceeded to pull up a stool and get to the milking.
With a sigh, Akenu quickly readjusted her head scarf, pulled on her arm gauntlets,  put on her boots, and strapped her quiver and bow onto her back. The early morning was chilly, so she drew her cloak over her shoulders.
That all done, she rubbed Dram's shoulder.
"How are you feeling?," she asked.

[Lion]

Dram awoke with a neck cramp as she touched him.  He jerked in reaction.  He always did and would never get used to contact in his sleep.  He gasped and a hand immediately went up to his neck.  He cracked it roughly and glanced suspiciously at her.

"Like I slept in a barn," he said simply, a little irritably.  He didn't have a bedroll like hers.  "The hell is she doing here?" he whispered, jerking his head toward the farmer's wife.  "I don't like the look of her.  Feels like we're being watched."

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu rolled her eye's at Dram's response.
Not now, she thought. They had to convince the farmers just for a little while longer that they were married- did he really need to give her this attitude now?
"I meant your arm," she replied through clenched teeth,"Don't be rude. Get up..."
The woman gestured for him to put the cloak she had given him on.
Satisfayed that he was awake and whole,  the woman began to saddle up the horses. They needed to get out of there, fast.  Never mind breakfast, though Akenu doubted they would even be offered some. Now that Dram was awake, his elf features were more obvious.
She didn't bother to answer his questions, as he could figure that out himself.
The farmer's wife began to hum a folk song as she milked the cow, occasionally shooting Akenu and Dram occasional glances.

[Lion]

Bickering.  Isn't that was normal married couples did?  Well, what did he know.  He'd never had a long-lasting, even remotely fulfilling relationship in his life.  Bickering was normal for him; bickering between partners was not.  But as long as she required it, he would fill whatever roll she set him in however best he could.  Though kept in mind, he was not an actor.

He got up, cracked his neck again.  Dram watch the wife continue her task with cow milking, the cow mooing as she got much needed relief.  He frowned and tossed the cloak over his shoulders.  "I hate this thing," he murmured.  The wife quietly stood and turned towards them, holding two cups filled with fresh milk in her hands.  She paused, peering at Dram and staring at his ears.  He returned the gaze as he tossed the hood over his head, dropping the front before his eyes.

She stepped forward despite herself and handed them the cups.  "I thought you could use something refreshing.  Here," she said.  She gave Dram his own tentatively, trying to peer under his hood again.

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: should we make a new thread for where ever they're going, or keep it here?
IC:
When Akenu was done saddling up both of the horses and loading her things, she turned around to find the farmer's wife standing near Dram with a pair of bowls. She took in a sharp, short breath, a little surprised by the new development.
What's going on? she thought as she approached the two.
The woman stood next to the wife as she looked into the bowls; they were filled with milk.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, a little dumb founded.
She really hadn't been expecting this.

The wife handed over her own bowl, which Akenu accpted with a quiet word of thanks.
In return, the wife nodded and turned to face Dram once more.
"Why do you have a hood on like that, Mr. Darren?"  she asked, "You're not hiding anything in there, are you? I can't see your eyes that well, and I don't like it. Though I could have sworn..."
She sighed.
"No matter," she said with a wave of her hand as she picked up the buckets full of milk. She turned towards Akenu.
"When you two are done with your breakfast, I except you be off," she said, and promptly marched out of the barn.
Marik gave a low purr, which caused the woman to give the dragon a questioning glare.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Akenu, who quickly drank half of hers.
She then placed the bowl on the ground, allowing for Marik to drink out of it for a few moments. After the dragon had its' fill, the woman began escorting Elyin out of the barn   ; they needed to put some distance between themselves and this kingdom, fast.

[Lion]

[We can make a new thread if you like.  That might be better actually.]

Dram cleared his throat rather harshly and glared at the farmer's wife from underneath the hood.  "My ears get cold pretty easily," he grunted in response, but his tone had been so low he was sure that what he'd said was nigh completely inaudible.  Whatever, he didn't need her approval, the wench!  Dram drank the milk, warm and fresh and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand when he was done.  He checked his shoulder once more before leading Sascha out as well.

He mounted after Akenu did and was off behind her as well.

[Winters-Feather]

Here we are: viewtopic.php?f=210&t=12836