Old Wounds, New Strengths [Archive]

[DragonSong]

She smirked and took the roll. "I never said anything about getting drunk. Maybe just a little tipsy."

A shrug and she added, "C'mon, we can eat while we walk."

[Marakai Trin]

"Tipsy in the rain. Suit yourself, then." He offered a smirk, and walked back into the kitchen. A moment later, he returned with a small rucksack with bread and wrapped, dried meat.

"Lead on, and let's find this friend of yours." He took a large bite of the sweet roll, and gestured her onward.

[DragonSong]

Tara's smirk turned a little brittle and she glanced away. "Right. Come on then." She grabbed a piece of bread and nibbled at it as she slipped through the back door of the tavern.

She hissed a bit when the rain hit her, hunching her shoulders against the wind and ducking down the alley between the inn and the building beside it. "So...don't suppose I could use you like a bloodhound?" She glanced over her shoulder with a crooked grin.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai arched a brow, his mouth full. He forced the rest of the roll down before speaking.

"Have you any idea what I'm smelling right now? I smell old, stale alcohol, unwashed bodies, and an overwhelming stench of piss. And all that is - thank the gods - being washed away by the rain. I doubt I'll be able to track anything by scent unless it's particularly strong...is there anything in particular I'd be looking for?"

The large man appeared completely unfazed by the rain, apparently only bothered by it when caught sleeping.

[DragonSong]

Her eyes widened a bit. "Really? You can really smell all that? Gods, I was mostly joking."

She shook her head and ducked under an awning for a moment, trying to take stock and get her bearings. "Come on, at least get outta the rain for a few seconds."

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai moved to hunch beside her, too tall to stand straight without bumping his head. "Is this place made for men, or dwarves? I swear..."

He then snorted, and chuckled a bit. "Tara, I'm a dragon. I can see, smell, and hear on an entirely different level than humans. That's what I meant last night when I said I'd hear you if anything happened....even from outside the building, I'd hear your shout."

He looked out into the storm, then gave her a sidelong glance. "So. How are we supposed to accomplish anything with this downpour?"

[DragonSong]

"Hmph. Bet that comes in handy." She snorted and poked her head out to take a better look around, then retreated quickly.

"I'm not sure, honestly. He's probably holed up somewhere to avoid the rain, too. Not sure how to find him though."

[Marakai Trin]

"Well, what sort of places would you expect to find him at? He could easily be anywhere, honestly, if he simply hides from the rain."

Marakai, too, looked about, but even he could barely see through the falling sheets of rain.

[DragonSong]

"None of the taverns are really open yet," she mused aloud. "Maybe..."

She glanced up at him. "Feel like a quick run through the rain?"

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai heaved a sigh, but had a wry grin.

"I suppose. The real question is...are you?" He chuckled a bit, and strode out into the storm.

"Better hurry. You're leading, remember?" came his voice, barely heard over the falling rain.

[DragonSong]

Tara huffed and hired after him, grumbling under her breath. "This way." She veered as she much as she could to the left, teying to duck in and out of shelter whenever possible as she moved further into the town.

[Marakai Trin]

Despite his large size, Marakai could appear rather graceful in his movements, weaving in and out of alleyways and under awnings, ducking when necessary and never slowing in his movements.

It only took a minute for his long strides to allow him to catch up to Tara again.

"If you think I was a sight, soaking from the rain, you should see yourself. What destination do you have in mind?"

[DragonSong]

"Oh, shut up." She gathered her hair over her shoulder and attempted to wring some of the water out of it, then jerked her chin the direction of what appeared to be a rather dilapidated, abandoned house.

"In there, come on. At least we'll be dry."

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai laughed a bit. "Well, at least it's just water. Hold here a moment, I'll get the door."

He left their current shelter from the rain, taking off at a jog. His booted feet slapped the muddy ground, and he grimaced - he'd have to get both dry and clean. This wouldn't be his favorite day.

He made it to the house, and turned the knob on the door. Which, as luck would have it, was locked. He couldn't understand why someone would bother locking a ramshackle building like this, unless they were trying to jrrp vagrants or such out.

He turned to look back at Tara, and shouted. "The door is locked. Should I force it open?"

[DragonSong]

But Tara had disappeared. When Marakai started toward the building, she'd took off in the other direction, ducking around behind the little house to climb in through a narrow gap in a boarded up window.

She made her way easily through the house to the front door, flicked the latched, and bumped it open with her hip.

"You were saying something?"

[Marakai Trin]

"You....really?" He grunted, and shook his head wistfully, then chuckled and stepped inside.

"Well, good for you for not being a bloody giant, I guess," he said, spying the boarded up window it appeared she had come in by.

"I could have just broke the lock, you know. By the look of this place, I doubt anyone would have cared." He sat down heavily on an old chair. Luckily, it was sturdy enough not to break under his weight.

"So...should we just wait out the storm? This seems like it'll do well enough to keep us dry." He pulled the bag of food they'd brought with them off his belt, and checked it. Luckily, it appeared to have remained dry.

[DragonSong]

"That was the plan." Tara glanced up toward the ceiling that looked like it was falling apart.

"I need to check something," she murmured, "be back in a moment."

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai nodded. "I'll wait here. Be careful...I wouldn't bump into anything too hard." He dug in the sack for one of the hunks of bread, and tore it in half, fitting a bit if the dried meat between the halves.

[DragonSong]

Tara nodded and carefully made her way up the rickety stairs to the second floor, which essentially consisted of a long hallway with two doors on the left and one on the right.

Something moved in the house, just a soft rustling noise of clothes or sheets perhaps. She smirked, drew her dagger and whistled, long and low.

A wind gathered around her, soft at first but growing in strength until it burst out in a sharp gale that blew open the door on the right with a bang.

The man hunkered down amidst abandoned boxes and chests yelped, jumping to his feet while his hand flew to the blade at his hip. Tara tossed her dagger, pinning him to the far wall by his shirt. In the next instant she had another knife in hand and was sauntering toward him.

"Hey there. Mind if we have a quick chat?"

[Marakai Trin]

Apparently Tara forgot about his superior, enhanced senses - Marakai heard every word, every sound from upstairs. In a flash, he was standing, swift strides taking him to the bottom of the stairs.

He stood there, looking up the crickety flight, red eyes glowing like hellfire. And he was listening. To everything.

"Misunderstanding my ass...." he mumbled, the grip on his sword tight. "Sounds more like a confrontation to me."

He kept his voice low and quiet, so not to be heard, and listened to the events occurring above his head.