Put Some Madness to the Method

[Lion]

Vandryn figured she would ask something like that.  He had to give props to this girl for thinking ahead and asking such a thing.  There was always the fine print with any deal, and though currently, Vandryn had no intention of selling whatever concoction he made from her blood, he was not the kind of man to uphold any word of his without thinking ahead.  But for now, he would swear his word to her.  After all, what did he have to lose?

"All right," he said, "Fair enough.  A few droplets to fill a vial of this size."  His hand reached into the inside pocket of his fur-hide coat, and pulled out a small glass container about an inch tall and a centimeter wide, between his thumb and middle finger.  "That is all I will need.  I promise to use it only for myself."  He grinned and nodded before standing up.  "We can start as soon as possible if you'd like, but we should leave here before we overstay our welcome.  The owner is no doubt picking up whatever splinters remain of his place as we speak.  If you'll follow me, there's an exit down this hallway..."

[Clair]

Dorothea stood but grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving just yet. "You will not treat me like I'm your lesser. I will not put up being treated poorly, or like your servant or slave. Are we understood?" She then turned, before hearing his answer, and headed towards the door. "At the least, we will be partners. Nothing less will do. I will leave, without giving you any blood if this is not followed."

[Lion]

She was surprising him at every turn, and it didn't hurt that she wasn't bad looking either, but Vandryn was beginning to admire her sharp tongue.  "Servants are useless and slaves are stupid," he remarked.  "And you're obviously neither.  I will treat you as I see you deserve to be treated, nothing more, nothing less.  For now, we are equals.  Is that good enough for you?"

[Clair]

"We better stay equals," she retorted, smiling at him. She already felt like they very well were. Despite his horrid appearance, he was strong; he possessed great physical and mental strength that could be admired and appreciated. Dorothea hoped that they would both benefit from this partnership.

[Lion]

It was difficult for Vandryn to say for sure that they would stay equals, at least in the manner than he suspected Dorothea wanted.  Vandryn wasn't the type to look out for anyone but himself, with the exception of it being in his best interests to do so.  He was a selfish man, greedy to an extent and had no reason to remain truly loyal to anyone, and he saw no reason to change now.  But he was flexible enough to make exceptions to any rule where there was enough logic in his favor to do so.  She had the blood he wanted, a few droplets but nonetheless worth something, and he made an offer of what he felt was of equal or greater value.  He would treat her as he saw fit, for now they were equals in this endeavor, but he made no promises that he would go easy on her once training commenced.  He left that as a part of the fine print of the deal.

"Deal," he murmured and nodded.  He held out a gloved hand for her to shake and once that was done, he nodded toward the exit that stood out in the back of the building.  "I don't think I have to tell you twice but it's going to be very cold where we are going.  If you have any inclination to stay warm, then stay behind, but I will not be babysitting anyone who can't take whatever I throw at them.  Is that clear?  Good, c'mon then, we better get going before a blizzard sets in."  Vandryn said nothing more before he threw his hood on and his face wrap, trapping in the warmth of the room within the fur of his clothes and headed out the door.  The weather had only gotten worse since she arrived and he expected it to get worse still.  Snow flurried like something mad and he trekked through the darkening hills as evening finally settled.  If she truly was his equal, then she'd be able to keep up with no problem.

[Clair]

Dorothea did not hesitate, despite her hatred of the cold. To hesitate was to show you were unsure, to be unsure about training and hard work was to show weakness. She pulled up her cloak's hood up, pulling it tightly against her head and shoulders, and left the tavern with her new partner.

The wind was picking up, the snow was falling at a greater speed now, but Dorothea did not loose her breath or falter a single step. She was in this, and she would press through. Her blood was pumping, her fast pace warmed her body.

[Lion]

He was taller than her, and each stride  put him some feet ahead of her, but Vandryn kept up a steady pace, easy for her to keep up with, but could easily bolt off in a run if he saw someone else was following them.  She was doing good so far, though he was sure he'd hear complaints about the cold as soon as they'd entered it.  Thankfully however, with how fast they were walking, they'd reach their destination in no time.

Vandryn cast a glance behind them and heard glass breaking that echoed off the nearby mountainside and the yells and grunts of fools fighting below.  A hundred yards later and he saw horses of the local constable and his men riding up to the place and he turned his back to the path ahead of them.  The quick drift of snow covered up their tracks almost immediately.   Anyone that was even remotely interested in following would now have a hell of a time doing so.

His boots cut through the snow and he walked without looking back.  Soon they made it over the ridge where the tavern was nestled and he paused for a second to look over his surroundings, recalling the way he'd gone before.  Immediately below them was a ten-foot drop followed by a series of boulders that looked like they might serve as steps, and to their right, was a gentle incline that drifted down to a path further west.

"This way," he said, pointing towards the drop.  He stood at the edge of the ridge for a moment, looking down before he just stepped off it and landed in a crouch below.  He stepped on one of the lower boulders and waited for her to come down on her own.  "If you're not sure you can make the jump, just drop down, I'll catch you...  Or if you want to land on your own, fine by me."

[Clair]

Dorothea did not mutter even a word, no complaint would be uttered from her lips. She kept herself warm with her walking, breathing through her nose, and her wool cloak. She matched his pace, not feeling any strain; she was careful not to push herself to the point of a sweat. When she felt herself growing too warm, she removed her cloak, wrapping it around her arms. A sweat in the snow was dangerous.

When he reached the ridge, jumped, and called up to offer to catch her, Dorothea snorted. She tossed down her small pack and her cloak, and then carefully stepped of the edge, as if she were simply walking. She fell fast, but seemed to stop abruptly, as if something caught her. Her hair whipped around her face as she landed. "I can handle this myself," she said with a smirk. "You don't need to baby me."

[Lion]

"What you would call babying, I would call protecting my investment," Vandryn remarked with a sly grin and chuckle.  "But it's good that you rely on yourself.  You'll need that kind of thinking where we are going."

He stepped off the boulders with a few steps, careful of the treacherous footing.  He continued down the side of the rocks until he made it to the opening of a copse.  Walking around the bend, he continued through the trees until they reached a stream.  He wasn't out of breath yet, where the distance might cause the normal human to be breathing hard by now.  "We still got a ways to go, might be good to use this time to get to know you a little better.  So, where ya from Dorothea?" he asked, walking alongside the flowing water.

[Clair]

Dorothea followed, rolling her eyes. "I' not about to tell you 'bout my past," she hissed to him, barely heard over the wind. "You don't need to know anything about me. And you? What of your past?"

[Lion]

Vandryn laughed.  "You don't like people knowing about you," he said carefully.  "I can respect that.  But why don't we make another trade.  I tell you something about me, and you tell me something about you?  Would that be equitable enough for you?"

[Clair]

Dorothea nodded carefully, contemplating. It wasn't that bad an idea, and inside she was dying to know how all the scars came to be... and what he looked like underneath all of them. Perhaps he was truly handsome, once...?

"Alright, but don't you go'an whine about what I say 'bout myself. You take what I give you."

[Lion]

"That's good enough for me," Vandryn nodded and gave a horrid smile.  He kept following the stream. "Let's start with where you were born.  I was born in the southern Adelan mountains, in a village if you will.  What about you?"

[Clair]

"In a lord's mansion's," she said, being purposely vague. "I believe I was born in the corner of kitchen, on the floor beside a stove... if I'm recalling my mother's retelling of my birth correctly."

[Lion]

Even if she tried to be vague, there was much information to be taken from few words alone.  He laughed at the way she said it.  "That's very interesting.  I'm sure she squealed like a stuck pig," he said, being purposefully callous.  There wasn't any need for tact here.  "Where you a servant?  A slave?" he asked, taking shots in the dark with his questioning.  "I never knew my parents.  I grew up in my uncle's house."

[Clair]

Dorothea shrugged. "What woman doesn't scream at that time?" she asked. "And, yes, I was a slave. My parents sold themselves into slavery; all my siblings and I were born into slavery. It was disgusting."

[Lion]

It was a disdainful thing to be born in slave trade, but it pleased Vandryn immensely to see that she did not let the fact break her, but in fact make her stronger.  Maybe she had more in her than he at first realized.  It wouldn't be the first time he was proven wrong.  "All's well, when your throat's intact," he snickered under his breath.  "So you're not a slave anymore then?  Did you run away?  Were you freed?"

[Clair]

Dorothea grinned. "I ran," she said. "My elder siblings were freed when they came of age, but I did not want to wait. They let themselves become useless and soft, powerless. And that's what was expected of me." She stretched her arms over her head, as if enjoying the freezing cold. "I do not consider those people my family any longer."

[Lion]

Vandryn only smiled at her, saying nothing, finding his admiration grow despite himself.  He could respect that in a person, to let go of everything they once had in order to start anew, to shed oneself of weakness that was only holding them down.  In a way, her backstory was not unlike his own, and he said so with a vague tired tone.  "I can understand that.  Sometimes the anchor of family doesn't provide any sort of stability, instead all it does is weigh you down and try to drown you in the sea of life," sounding poetic despite himself.

"I saw no need in staying in the house of my uncle, so I left.  And shed myself of everything I used to be.  They only stood in my way," Vandryn smiled and kept on the path ahead.  He did shed himself of everything, even the tattoos that marked him as a member of the tribe.  "Though I don't think throwing away your old life was quite as painful as my own."

[Clair]

She followed, just a step behind. Dorothea could not help but feel a sense of connection with him. He obviously had had a similar experience, ridding himself of his family. "A family is meant to keep you stronger," Dorothea found herself saying. "If they do not, then they aren't a worthwhile family to have..." She frowned as he mentioned pain. It was concerning, hearing that leaving had caused him any pain. Was it a sign he might actually be weak...?