Freja eyed the man she'd dragged in and shook her head, "Don't thank me yet, Ranger. I've yet to locate that healer I had in mind for you. Swear I saw one here before."

Even as she spoke those words, Durian's eyes rolled and his knees buckled. Were it not for Hilferin, he would have toppled to the floor. She moved to support Durian's sagging weight, a decision clear in her mind.

"Table," she grunted, nodding to the nearest, "This can't wait. My horse is half soaked in his blood."

"You can't just sew him up here in the open," Caila objected, aghast and Freja eyed Hilferin for a moment.

"It's that or he bleeds out all over your floors, inn-keep," Freja replied and with Hilferin dragged Durian to the nearby table.

They set him atop it, face down and without delay, Freja tore apart the bloodsoaked corner of his shoulder. The cloth gave easily, wet as it was.

"You done this before, Shieldmaid?" Hilferin asked.

Freja lifted a shoulder and fished into one of the pouches she kept on her belt. Out of this she brought a skein of twine that, on closer inspection, revealed itself to be thinly stretched gut. To that she added a curved needle. On an untended table stood a half full glass of dark wine. She nodded to it and Hilferin fetched it across. Freja sniffed it, scowled with distaste, and then poured some over the needle she held. The rest she dumped onto Durian's shoulder, at which the Ranger flinched but did not otherwise stir.

"I think we should wait for the healer," Hilferin said as Freja applied pressure.

"I've done this more than once, Ranger. Why, it's a Shieldmaiden's needlework," she answered, offering him a fierce and sudden grin, "Hold him still. Sooner I close it, sooner his bleeding stops."

There was silence for a spell, Freja's concentration as sharp as the shade of her eyes or the dagger she had left with Hilferin.

"That's not bad," Hilferin said after a time, surprised, "But why do you cut it off after each stitch? It takes so long that way."

Freja paused before answering, knotting the latest stitch and severing the fine gut to start the next.

"Ever pull a thread?" she asked and Hilferin frowned before she added, "Better to pull one stitch than all of them."

"Clever," Hilferin observed and Freja grunted softly, "Not really. I can show you more than a few scars before I managed to unravel that simple lesson."

Another pause and it was done. Freja straightened just into time to see Caila standing with fists on her hips, "Just look at the mess you've made. Bloody men on my tables, wine all over my floors and that pile by the door that I told you not to leave there! I've good a mind to toss you out and keep your coin, Shieldmaiden!"

Well, she'd been tossed out of worse places than this. Better too, for that matter, and let no good deed go unpunished. Freja rolled her shoulders and threw back her hair. Torcs clattered as her braids fell into place. She eyed the inn-keeper for good measure, lifted her chin and then pushed out a sigh.

"Won't be the last time this happens, I suppose," she observed and with that made to collect up her gear by the door.

She looked back the once to where Hilferin stood by Durian's insensate form, "Ranger."

And with that she was through the door and outside again. Dusk was approaching fast. She'd need to find somewhere suitable to bed down...or she could keep warm by tracking that bounty hunter. Shouldering her shield, Freja stepped off the front steps of the inn and made for where she had left Béma.

_________________
R'AMEN

_________________
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,
there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Lochared peered through the stable doors fearfully for the Shieldmaiden was outside, all of her gear with her. Gear he'd not tended. Gear that included a number of items she could use very well indeed to his considerable discomfort if she were so minded. The shieldmaiden stood there, looking about. Her eyes, a shocking blue, raked over everything in their path from left to right to left again. His knees were shaking. Should he make a run for it? Was that what she was waiting for? Judging from the weight of that shield she carried as if she had been born with it on her arm, she could crack his skull like it was an egg with it.

"Who is she?" said a voice from behind him and Lochared yelped softly and then elbowed his sister as she shoved past him for a better look, "Loch? Who is she?"

"Trouble," Lochared answered, scowling at Rin, "Where have you been?"

"About," Rin shrugged, attention on the Shieldmaiden, "She looks...cross."

Loch rolled his eyes at Rin's understatement and then frowned when she sighed and straightened, pushing her pale hair back. Rin shuffled out of the way, no longer interested, and so Loch peered back through the doors. Sure enough, the Shieldmaiden had turned back. He remained there, watching, but she did not come out again. He sat back on his heels, puzzled for a moment, and turned to his younger sister.

"How much did you make today?" he asked and Rin shrugged once more.

"The rooms what weren't empty had nothing of value," she answered but she didn't look too perturbed so Loch guessed she'd found something - most likely cheese from the inn's kitchens.

He fished out the little hide pouch he kept on a string around his neck and emptied it's contents into his palms. Rin's eyes, a blue so stormy that they looked grey right now, grew wide with appreciation.

"How'd do that, Loch," she asked, her voice breathless with excitement.

Warm pride curled in Loch's belly at the question and he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "That Shieldmaiden."

All of a sudden Rin's excitement shrivelled up, "She was your mark? Loch, give it back!"

"No! I nearly had my face eaten for my troubles today, Rin. I'm keeping them. They're mine."

"Ours."

"Mine! And I'm not spending none of 'em on cheese, Rin. Not a one!"

This was how two children, one roughly twelve summers old and the other ten, came to be scuffling about in the stables.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Did she want the money? What sort of fool question was that, Freja wondered as she shouldered back through the door. And what was this wax? She had wax. The best wax there was. Her re-entry saw her spears catch the doorframe and so it took some doing to return. There was a woman there with a bucket and mop, cleaning up the wine and the blood on the floor. Probably just as well, for Freja loathed the smell of wine. At the bar, Hilferin waggled a tankard at her. Warm ale? Before Freja could deposit her gear, the inn-keeper bailed her up.

"Room! Put it in your room! Not here!" Caila declared, surprisingly fierce for a woman that barely stood higher than Freja's chest.

She lifted a brow at her and then eyed the Ranger at the bar, "You'd better be there when I get back."

With that cocky smile of his, Hilferin saluted her and Freja turned away to locate her room. Getting down the hall without scraping the roof with her spears proved challenging, but she located the correct one and stowed her equipment and before long she was stalking back out to the common-room. Hilferin was indeed still at the bar and so she prowled towards him. Without a word he pushed a small mound of silver coins towards her.

"You owe me five coppers though, for the wax," he said at which Freja's eyes bounced up from the coins to Hilferin.

"That's my wax," she said as he waggled the container about.

"No, it's my wax. I purchased it."

"Not from me, you didn't," she returned and then frowned, "Who sold it to you?"

Hilferin grinned at her, "Who do you think, Shieldmaid?"

At the question, Lochared's face floated across her mind's eye. Freja growled a curse and swung away to locate the wretch and teach him a lesson he'd not soon forget but Hilferin caught her arm.

"Your ale," he said as he swung her back towards the bar.

"It's warm. I don't want it. What I do want is to take that thief's ears and-"

Again Freja was swung back towards the bar and she snatched her arm back to scowl at Hilferin, "What's it to you anyway, Ranger?"

"He saw an opportunity and he took it. Sound...familiar, Freja? Sound like something you might do?"

She sniffed at that and rubbed at her elbow, "You don't know the first thing about me."

"I know how you got that horse of yours," Hilferin returned, "Vorda told me herself, she did."

At that Freja sighed and then leaned on the bar, "That's not fair."

"It's true, though," he said and flagged Caila, "Another tankard, if you please. This one has gone warm."

Freja considered the marks and scratches on the wood until Hilferin pushed the wax towards her, "Tell you what, Freja. Sit here for a while, lift a tankard with me, and you can forget all about those five coppers."

"Fine," she sighed as a fresh tankard was set down, and pushed a silver coin across to Caila, "But I should warn you, Hilferin, it we're sitting here for a while then you'll need more than one tankard to fill the time."

Caila pocketed the silver quickly and eyed the pile on the bar, "Why, you've just purchased ten tankards at least with that one coin."

Ten?! The price of ale in Arnor was ridiculous but still, Freja shot Hilferin a devious grin, "Sure you want to do this?"

_________________
R'AMEN

(Yeah...that was my mistake....I completely forgot that I had named her before. Oh well. I like Lyiana a bit better, so, we'll stick with that. )

Lyiana tried to ignore her racing heart beat as he began to unbutton his tunic, but she didn't need to anymore; for his scars on his abdomen caused her stomach to drop. She took in a breath and reminded herself what she was doing. She was checking for a broken-or cracked-rib. As she lifted her hands, she couldn't help but notice all of deep wounds he'd sustained in the past. Most of them seemed quickly stitched up, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was the one to sew them.
She took in a breath again and as she exhaled, she gently pressed her fingers into his ribs, until she noticed him flinch. It was then that she let her hands fall back into her lap and she dared to look into his eyes.
"You were right." Her eyes danced in his as she tried to refrain from asking him about his scars. "It's just a cracked rib, nothing more. All that I can give you is some herbal tea and suggest that you get some rest for a few days. Is...is there anything else I could help you with?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mariel's heart raced as she glanced behind her shoulder to see her husband gaining ground behind her. Her gaze shifted back in front of her and she kicked her pony, spurring it onwards; but she quickly realized that this animal was not meant for riding long distances, especially when going up against a war horse.
She gasped in fright as her husbands voice called out, not far behind her.
"No! I will never stop running from you, you lying wretch!"

_________________
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,
there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Kayden couldn’t help but notice that Lyiana seemed rather... distracted. He wondered, but he dare not assume. As she touched his ribs he closed his eyes and lay his head back, seeming to block out the situations. He hoped Lyiana couldnt feel his rappid heartbeat, but realistically she could probably hear it in the silence.

As Kayden sat his mind had drifted to his past but a pain from his cracked rib brought him back. He flinched, his hand reaching for a knife on his side. He stopped inches from the knife, his eyes gazing intently into Lyiana’s. His eyes, initially seeping out agression, glazed over with a sincere sadness as he realized his unnecessary reaction. The awkward moment was broken as the women spoke.

“Uh...” Kayden looked around, almost as if trying to think of something else he needed. “I think I’ll be good for now. If I could... I-I need to sleep.” He looked almost regretful at his own words. “Could you return to help change my bandages when they need it?” He requested quickly.

_________________




Visit The Varsian Kingdom!

"Skoal?' Freja asked, incredulous as her riotous and utterly inappropriate grin spread further, "SKOAL!"

She cried, her voice throaty and fulsome, crashed her tankard back against Hilferin's and then tipped it down her throat. Her head fell back as she drank and it felt good, so very good. Tankard empty, Freja wiped the foam from her lips with her forearm and laughed at Hilferin's shocked expression.

"Well?" she asked, laughter bubbling up from deep within her still, "Second thoughts, Ranger?"

By way of response, Hilferin drained his own tankard in several gulps. Of ale and air both. Freja had already tapped another by the time he lowered his own and passed her tankard to him as she collected his empty one.

"Never mind," she generously told him as she filled the empty tankard, "Takes time to master the skill."

Sipping on the ale he had in hand, Hilferin choked on the statement and so Freja helpfully thumped him on the back several times as she offered, "Can teach you, if you wish."

_________________
R'AMEN

Mariel had nearly forgotten just how much she disliked her husband; for the past few days, she had been with Durian, and it was as if she was not married to Fahalas anymore. Unfortunately, for her, none of that was true. She was married to this foul creature, and now he was trying to get her to slow down and talk with him?
"No, you would have been rich! All you've ever thought about is yourself!" She shouted as she pulled up on the ponies reigns and turned him back towards the Inn. Fahalas sped by and as he did, she kicked the pony in the side, causing him to speed back to the spot where she left Durian.
"I'm coming back for you..." She muttered as she finally approached the place where he had watched the Inn from. But what she saw made her stomach sink in fear.
She couldn't find him.
"Duri-" She began to say, before she looked behind her shoulder to see that her husband was quickly approaching. Her eyes widened and she looked around in a panic. What was she going to do? Her eyes caught the line of trees not far ahead and an idea popped into her mind.
Kicking the pony in the sides again, she took off in the direction of the trees in the hopes that she could loose him in the forest.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lyiana tensed as Kayden reached for his dagger, but she quickly realized by the tears in his eyes that he had not meant it.
This sight broke her heart, and she opened her mouth to console him when his request brought her back to her responsibility.
"Of...of course, I would be glad to come back." She stood and hid a rising blush as she realized what she said, then quickly turned and made to leave.

_________________
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,
there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

_________________
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,
there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Mariel slowed the pony down as she heard that other wretched man's name: Khorghar. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought of the consequences that would arise if he caught her in Bree. That was something she did not want to make a reality, but what was she going to do?
If she went back to the Inn, she risked getting into her husbands' grasp, but she couldn't just stay out here...or could she? Wait her husband out?
She let out a breath and turned the pony around, urging him back to the Inn.
Her decision was made....she would go back to the Inn and find Durian and talk with her husband.
The path to the Inn did not take very long, and soon, she was dismounting and leading the pony back to the stables. After the pony was was brushed and fed, Mariel slowly walked back to the Inn, through the back door.
As she closed the door however, she thought she heard Durians voice coming from one of the rooms; relief washed over her-he was safe.
"Durian...?" She asked as she knocked on the door.

Kayden sighed as Lyiana stood to leave. "Thank you," he said sincerely as she promised to return. He caught an awkward glance before she turned to leave. Given the way her statement could have been taken, he guessed he knew why.

"Liyana," he called after her, just as the door was closing. "I... Know you said money was not important.... But yours is the first kindness I have received in many years. I would be a foolish to leave that kind of a debt unpaid." He adjusted himself painfully in his chair and looked to the floor for a moment. "I,uh, don't have money. I will repay you, though. In whatever form you have need of. I'll just need time to heal."

_________________




Visit The Varsian Kingdom!