Trial and Error: On the Run (AceOfMana & Brook V)

Trial and Error: On the Run
1x1 with AceOfMana and Brook V

Medieval fantasy setting.
A story about two very different persons and their common goal, to stay alive.

Characters:
Matello and Rhelic

---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 PM ----------

Well, all things considered it had worked out quite well. It could have been worse. He could have been throw in jail or worse... well he had been on his way. Matello went over what had happened once again. He saw himself as a rather good thief and when his... line of work was asked for a job he had taken it. He had been having his doubts. In hindsight he should have listened to his gut.

Lord whathisname had approached him with a job offer. Sounded easy enough, go to the estate of the lady with yellow eyes and take a family heirloom to lord... something. He had gone there during the last hours before dawn. The estate had been a huge white building. He had climbed up on a nearby roof (it was in the city) and climbed through an window, which he "opened", on the second floor. Everything went according to plan, avoid guards etc., until he came to the chamber where the heirloom was kept. After he had taken the heirloom and was sneaking out a sound startled him. He thought it had been a guard and had rushed out of the room and... right into the wall causing a family shield and sword to fall down. In fact it had been a tiny but loud muse that run away in fear. The sound of his wall-hug had caused guards to come running. Matello ran, forgetting the damn heirloom. He had ran down the stairs and fell 5 steps and landing on his stomach. He laid there for a moment, temporarily stunned. Then one of the guards caught up with him. Matello tried to get out through the door. Of course it was looked and he couldn't open it. The guard was only a few steps away before his brain finally processed the basic way of opening a door. He left.

What happened next was quite understandable. The nobleman was angered, a lot. It was also revealed the man wasn't a lord at all... he was a prince and the family heirloom was a sacred artifact belonging to the royal family. The lady with the yellow eyes was a witch and the head of a group that sought power and maybe even wanted to end the current royal line. The artifact had been stolen by her gang and as Matello failed the witch could now use it for her own means. Most likely gain power by blackmailing the King. Prince Drew Zavak promised Matello was going to pay for this failure. So what do a thief do then? ... flee for his life of course!

Now he was here siting under a tree in a large and dark forest, trying to catch his breath. He then heard the barking of the hounds to near for comfort. 'How'll I get out of this mess?' Mantello thought bitterly his usually good mood leaving him.

Running the hard comb brush against the frothy pelt of Nevaeh, the day was turning into twilight only making the already dim forest darker than pitch. Though she didn’t honestly mind it, rather she welcomed it. It always brought out the ditch side songs of night time insects, and the soft waver of a howl or two in the distance of coyotes. It was truly a time of tranquilly.

Lazy hooves clipped forward, chipping the gravel of the roadway forward making it bounce and jump along with a gentle tick tick tick~ Ushering the large steelback horse forward – strong muscular legs striving slowly in a languid pace behind her making the lead slack in her hands. If the horse wanted to bolt, she already knew there would be no chance in hell that she could stop him. A steelback horse was rare enough in everyday culture, but it was a war horse only selected to elven men. She only received Nevaeh through her brother when she was leaving home. One of the very few massive beasts that were trained half decently; then again he was older.

Long tapered ears rose some as eyes slid open to reveal the pale green eyes to the dark forest, as Nevaeh gave a heavy snort. Slowing her walk even further than she was already, she furrowed a brow. “Barking?” she knew coyotes yipped often at night but this was far burlier than even they could muster. Almost as if it was a large dog… close to a mastiff or even Great Dane, pet like creatures common to humans rather than elves.

Turning slightly to push back the bounty of deep grape purple hair, she gave a look to the dark eyes of the beast of burden with her. Curious nature over took her mind as she turned to slap the reigns of the lead over in a crisscross action against the writhers of the large horse, only to lift a hand to balance her foot in the stirrup to swing up into the leather saddle. Clicking her tongue gently, she would canter Nevaeh in a short circle before deciding to go and look into the barking. It couldn’t honestly be more than a party of men out for a evening hunt, but that didn’t stop her. In fact she was interested. She had never seen humans hunt before, so as long as she stayed out of the way she seen no face in going to look.

Urging Nevaeh into the small slope of a ditch, she would swat the low hanging bushes from her face to allow her a safer access, “Let us see what sort of curious beings we can find, Neveah.”

Matello had caught his breath and he rose slowly and took in his surrounding. Not much to see besides a... well trees, lot of them. Matello had a good sense of orientation in cities. Out in the wilderness he failed badly at that. Everything looked the same! He the heard some more barking, coming closer. He figured out the orientation, it came from north, so he begun to slowly jog towards the south. It went well, until he tripped over a rock. He swore and got up from the ground and dusted of the dirt. His heart beat was raising as the hounds came closer.

He then recalled that dogs couldn't follow a trail that went over water. He continued to jog, doing his best to avoid tripping over stuff while he tried to find the sound of running water. After a couple of more steps he heard something. He took cover behind some rocks and tried to figure out where the sound came from. In the meantime the dogs came closer. He saw something behind some bushes and froze. Was he surrounded? He went towards east. However there was a cliff there... Matello tripped and rumbled down the cliff. Thankfully it had been a smooth and not so high cliff but it still took his breath again.

The sound must have traveled far because his followers went straight into his direction, with the intent of killing him... most likely. Or they could take him to the prince would would torture him. Matello got himself up from the ground and shook his head. He heard the dogs coming closer. 'Guess this is it then? I hope they'll kill me swiftly and not do... other... stuff to me first,' he thought bitterly, his face turning into a twisted smirk.

Sliding the reigns through her palms, she rocked slightly in the saddle letting sensitive ears take in the direction of the howls and yips of the mutts. Nevaeh stomped impatiently at the lack of movement nor being allowed to graze with her keeping the bit in his mouth tight from the pull of the reigns.

Leaning forward to press her elbows against the horn of the saddle; large ears flicked to the muffled sound of tumbling –or what she could assume was tumbling. That was her cue, giving her knees a squeeze; Nevaeh eagerly jutted forward forcing her to tame control of his impatient attitude to the moment.

Moving carefully along the skirts of the forest, she realized there was a small smooth jutted cliff that sliced through the forest –almost as if it was carved from a being of the heavens. It wasn’t overly large, but it would still be enough to scuff someone up.

Pale eyes peered through the grotto of the side; tracing over rocks and stone with no particular interest until she seen something that was clearly out of place. Ears lifted high as surprise rose into her face making deep coloured lips turn into a O shape. It was a man, well what looked to be a man. She could never tell the correct ages with Humans.

She could hear the barks coming closer at a tyrannical pace but that did little to stop her. Being so damn clueless to most rituals of humans, she had no idea that she might be stepping into some trouble here.

Ushering the grand roan horse forward as she was up on the opposite side of the cliff side than he had been on; she gave a bit of a whistle trying to catch the attention. If he would turn to her, she would have a brief flicker of a tranquil smile on her lips; “Are you alright?”

Matello turned his head around as he heard an high pitched noise. He looked into the direction of the noise. It took a few moments before his eyes had adapted to the darkening forest. In front of hims sat a elf on a noble beast. It looked like a horse but not like any horse he had seen before. The woman that sat upon it was dressed in earth colors. Her eyes very green, as far as Matello could see and her hair... purple? The only elves Matello had met before was city elves and they looked much different, much more... brown. A expression of tranquility flickered over her face as she asked him if he was ok. Matello stretched his back. He grimaced and took hold of his arm as pain spread through it. he must have landed on it and hurt himself. He tried to give the elf a reassuring smile.

"I'm a bit little bir sore but alright. I've been through worser things y'see, like falling down 8 step stair," Matello said as his face lit up briefly. He then turned his head towards the sound of the dogs that came closer. "... however I won't be alright much longer, unless I can shake those hunters off," he then added. He looked curiously at the elven woman. He would like to know more of her but his time was approaching its end. He shifted a bit from feet to feet as he looked around, trying to figure out where to go next and fast too.

Perhaps it was because she was use to the forest darkness but she could see how those eyes were peering over her. Shuffling forward in the saddle, Nevaeh snorted hard with a scrap of a hoof to the craggy ground. A basic fleeting smile would expand over her lips at hearing he was alright, though she didn't notice his flinch at the pain in his arm.

As brief as the grin was it was quickly replaced with an equal frown of concern, "hunters?" ears flexed to the sound of the dead run and howls of fore legged beasts. She never heard of humans hunting each other for sport before, such odd customs of the humans. Twisting her frown into an expression of deeper thought; she turned Nevaeh hard about, "while I may never understand the oddities of humans I don't think I can just leave knowing a man of fellow colored blood is harmed. If you can climb up onto the backside of Nevaeh here then id be more than happy to escort you out of dangers Sir." she rubbed a hand through the thick mane of the large steel back

"time is of the essence sir,"

Matello gave the elf a weary look. The girl seemed nice but naive. If he followed with her, he would surely put her in danger aswell. He didn't give it much thought though. All his life he had been watching his own back, never trusting anyone. Still, when they were out of danger he would leave as he didn't want to endanger her further. Matello walked over to the cliff and begun climbing up it. He only used his feet and his right arm as he didn't want to hurt the other arm anymore than needed. He tried to heave himself up but with only one arm he failed and went down a few steps before he regained his balance. He supported him against a large rock and looked up at the elf. He gave her a smile. "Could you help me up? I think I hurt my arm earlier and it's a bit difficult to get up from my situation here...," he asked the girl.

Sliding down from the saddle with a bit of a grunt, she would take note of the smile that crossed his face before she gave him a resolved nod to say she would be happy to help.

Stooping slightly, she would offer a firm hand for him as she grounded her feet in a wider stance to keep herself from falling over due to the increase of weight. Though it was clear she was taller than the man, but weight was a different thing completely. At least she trusted Nevaeh enough not to bolt off without his rider holding his reigns.

Matello took the offered hand and with it he dragged himself up. He placed his feet on the sloppy cliff to gain more power as he didn't want to drag the woman down with him. After a few moments his feet was firmly placed on the topside of the cliff. Now when he was closer he realized the woman was taller than him. Matello were used to people being taller than him, although the few people he knew always told him he was still young and would probably grow a bit more. Somehow he doubted it though. There wasn't many girls that was taller than him however and therfore looking up at the elven woman made him a bit weary. She had an impressive physique, probably due to her way of life in the woods. Matello was fairly muscular. His legs were strong from running and his upper body trained from climbing and sneaking. He gave the elf a bright smile.

"Many thanks miss! If it wasn't for my arm I could have gone up by myself. Still, I do appreciate it," he said to the woman. Matello then looked at the horse. It was a tall and seemed to give him an suspicious look. The brand was different from any brand he had seen. He assumed it was elven specific horse brand. He then looked back at the woman and introduced himself. Shortly thereafter the sound of the dogs where getting loud. He turned around just in time to see the dogs breaking out of the woods on the opposite side. Some of the dogs stopped at the ledge of the cliff while a few tumbled down. Those that didn't get injured rushed across the small area between the cliffs. Matello was sure that his followers weren't far away. He quickly turned back to the elf.

"Guess we don't got time for a proper introduction? We better go now. Err, perhaps you should climb up onto the horse first, I got a feeling it doesn't like me," he then said and gave the horse an uneasy look.

Having the gent pulled up onto the edge of firmer ground, she smiled with a trifle jovial giggle before she realized how silly it was to be standing here letting the beasts get a good scent of them both. Even more so.

She shook her head tightly, hair tossing in opposite unison of her as she was firm to agree with him about not having the time to introduce themselves.

Turning some, she gave Nevaeh a tight clap to his chest before notching her right foot into the stirrup and heaved herself upwards. Sliding a bit out of the saddle, she would again off a hand up seeing as he made it clear that his arm was tender and not benefiting him in the least. “Nevaeh is docile, but caution is always a wise thing to have when encountering new beasts of burden.” She quipped.

If he took up her hand again, she would give a firm pull upwards until she was certain he was planted safely on the rump of the tall steed. “Make sure you can hang on please, I’d rather not risk in loosing you in a bush for those mongrels.” She chittered. Glancing momentarily over to the hounds, she sucked in a breath through her teeth, before giving Nevaeh a sharp pinch with her heels only to make the ears of the beast whirl around in an alert stance, his strong legs lunging forth only to spurt up clumps of loose grass.

She would make sure that the sir had been firm in his seat as she ducked down to let the horse canter and stomp through the darker brush of the forest, making sure she didn’t get thwaped by a lower hanging branch. She already had that happen more than a few times in her years, it was something she was easily aware of the stinging pain of that.

Blurs of green and deeper emeralds whirled around her, until she felt the tight pull of Nevaeh’s muscles beneath her legs getting ready to let go, making her realize that they had come across the gravel roadway that was the main artery to the cities and towns.

Trampling up the side of the ditch, the horse would bound upwards to leapt off the top and back into the other side of the forest. Pulling hard on the reigns with a definite jerk, the horse snorted hard only to dig its hooves into the dirt.

Huffing slightly, she would turn when Nevaeh finally came to a firm halt to look to see if her newly acquired passenger was alright. Rubbing a hand against the smooth belt of the beast, he would be huffing heavily but she was certainly thankful his age didn’t slow him. “That should give us enough of a head start on them.” She chuckled warmly, “Are you alright?”

Not wasting any time Matello took the elf's hand again and hot up on the horse. He placed his hand around her waist making sure it wasn't... an inappropriate grip. As she leaned forward he felt the movement of the horses muscles and off they went. It didn't took long until he figured out why she was leaning forward so much, a branch in the face hurt! After that he made sure he was out of danger, hoping his face was OK.

After they have ridden for awhile the elf stopped the horse. Matello rubbed his aching, but thankfully not bleeding, nose. The elven woman turned to her with a warm chuckle and asked if he was OK.
"Besides an aching arm and now also face?" he said with a raised eyebrow. He then chuckled. "Yeah, I'm alright. Your horse is fast! What brand is it?" he then added, his curiosity winning over his usual shyness.

As she turned to see the man rubbing his face, she blinked at him before she knitted a brow deciding she should probably not ask. It was clear he ran into something, did he do that before she helped him or when they were riding... then again she hadn't been paying complete attention to when they were riding. "Branch?" she had to ask

Lifting her leg to slide down the saddle from Nevaeh, she patted any dirt off her bum before looking back up to the man sitting on Nevaeh's back. "Brand? You mean breed," she smiled to him, "He is a steel back, my father gave him to me. War steed actually, usually only elves breed them for armies for themselves or other races."

Patting a hand along the thick muscles of his neck, she stroked slowly upwards to reach the smooth face of the beast with a sweet hushing word to the beast. "Now certainly you have a name sir?" she tipped her head some to peek around up to the man if he was still sitting on Nevaeh's back, "I'd be surprise if them stupid mongrels could run that fast to catch up with a strong horse."

She would shift her weight from one foot to the other before flicking her fingers through her hair, - after she was finished praising Nevaeh for his hard work -

"I am Rhelic Windsong," she smile still, before her ears dipped downwards with a curious green eye shining in the dark at the man, "Though... why were you being chased anyways? I must admit i am terribly curious. It is not often i see Humans running from dogs and such."

Matello gave the elven woman a goofy smile and nodded. "Branch indeed," Matello replied. As the woman slide off the horse he did it too, scared the horse might kick back. He gave the woman a look as he took in her answer to his question. He then nodded slowly.
"Alright I see. I don't got much experience around horses but I knew it wasn't a human breed of horse." he then replied and looked back at the horse. It was an impressive creature, certainly a war horse of excellent caliber. Matello rubbed his shoulder. the paid had eased a bit and didn't seem to be broken. He would know if it was as he had broken quite a few bones in his short life.

"My name is Matello Worswitch," he answered and grimaced slightly. He had never liked his last name. He gave her a nod as she introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you Rhelic Windsong ," Matello replied. He was a bit curios about which clan she came from. Every elf he had met, which wasn't many, had always introduced them as belonging to a city or a clan.

He squirmed a bit at her next question. It was a good one and she had all right to ask it but if she knew... he might have two hunters, and there was not way he could outrun a elf!
"I had an disagreement with another gentleman. He's quite the hot head to react like this! It's a bit too much don't ya think?" he lied.

She smiled to him when he introduced himself, not knowing that he had been curious to know what clan she came from. She wasn't like most elves in truth, she didnt come from a clan. She was a certain race but clan"If any human had a horse like him, i'd be surprised in truth. That would cost a good coin."

Intricate eyes watched him as he squirmed under her last question, only making her furrow a brow and narrow an eye. "A disagreement like that must have had far more too it than just a couple of heated words. But then again-" she rubbed her bangs out of her face "I'll never pretend to understand humans. But i will agree with you, that is certainly a bit much."

Looping the reigns off of the horn of the saddle, Rhelic moved about to the heavy saddle bags rooting around in them briefly before she turned to face Matello. "You should be able to escape further into the brush of the forest now Lord Matello, but if you wish;" hands pulled the large loaf of french styled bread from the saddle bag, the smooth silk cloth half hanging on it. "You are certainly welcome to join me for a light lunch. I have some swiss cheese in the pack under a cold waterskin and of course a bit of weak wine."

She lifted her shoulders with a warm giggle pushing past her lips. "I'd be more than grateful for peaceful company." her gesture was sincere. it wasnt often she met many on her travels that peeked her interest or kept her sincerity.

"I can assure you that I haven't met anyone wealthy enough to buy one of those fine creatures," Matello said and gave the horse a look full of awe. He noticed that Rhelic gave him an unbelieving look. He contemplated if he should try to build on his lie or if he should let it slip. He was glad that her non-understanding of humans convinced her a bit that his lie were true. He then leaned casually against a tree with a small smirk, as he evolved his lie a bit. "It really depends on what the argument was about. Humans have started wars over love affairs," he said with a small nod. "But it doesn't matter now. Anyway, I imagine your kind is more forgiving and more collaborative?" he then asked.

When Rehlic called Matello lord he gave her an amused look. He was in no way a lord, not even a 'sir'. Most people just refereed to him as 'boy', 'young fellow' or 'damn thief, when I get you...'. His eyes gazed away from the elf and into the the forest. He did a small nod, at her suggestion. However, it was getting darker by the hour and he hoped he would find somewhere to rest, preferable somewhere high. He didn't fancy the thought of getting eaten in his sleep by some predator. When Rhelic then asked him to join her for lunch he first thought about declining. He didn't want his hunters to show up and endanger the poor girl. But as his stomach made a grumbling noise he realized how hungry he was. "Yes, I would love that," he then said and sat down on an old stock which lies nearby.

Her eyebrow only raised further to the idea of wars being started by mere love affairs. Humans were weird. Though as he spoke about her kind, she would furrow her brow. "No, you are right. Most elves are a little more easier going, perhaps it is because we live for so long that holding a grudge that long would be... ineffective." she rolled her hand, "Then again, i haven't been around long enough to understand it all." she laughed at that bit.


Seeing the amused look that stemmed over his face, she would hold her smile. She was taught to address anyone as lord or lady. it was just custom even if they weren't. It was better to safely assume rather than insult.

Rhelic would let her smile broaden to the idea of him sticking around for a meal, even though it was considered a daftly late lunch, she was still overjoyed. She would watch him moving to sit down as she glanced up to Nevaeh. Throwing his reigns up and over his saddle, she would let him wander about loosely, gathering up any grass he seen fit without worry and that was exactly as he did. Snout pressed to the ground with a snort and a huff as he picked his way along. She on the other hand would move about to settle the food in a tidy manner before looking to Matello casually. "With you being chased, what will you do now? I am certain the man you annoyed would not enjoy seeing you again so soon." she was just naturally curious, always wanting to learn anything about anyone.

Matello nodded as Rhelic spoke about her kind. He always saw her kind as a calm and grounded race. Even the elvens he had met in the city seemed much more compassionate and calm than the humans. However he had seen one or two elfs getting quite enough. City elfs had a hard time as there was some prejudice towards them. However once he was in a city were the elven had a very decent and beautiful part of the city. It was different from town to town he guessed. Matello had difficult comprehend how long an elven lifespan was. He had heard they could get a thousand years old. It had to be exaggerated he hoped.

He watched as Rhelic placed out the food, unsure if he should help or not. It could be perceived as rude. he didn't got much experience around her kind. He let his eyes wander a bit arpund the surroundings. They were in a clearing, most likely deep into the forest. There was a stream nearby. He couldn't see it, but he could hear it. He then wondered (in his head) how far away they where from his hunters. The horse had been fast, much more faster than he could run, but his sense of location was a bit off in forests. As Rhelic asked him a question he gave her a small smile.
"On the contrary, he would certainly like to meet me again, so he can give me a piece of his mind. Or strung me up, depending on his state of mind. Instead I'll pick a direction and walk along it until I've came out of this forest, preferable on the other side of it. Then I'll have to find a way to go to another town, far away from here. No offense to this beautiful nature but I'm a city boy, always been. Now... I just need to know where to go...," Matello said with a small frown.

She would make the gesture for him to help himself as she should have just stated for him to go about it in the first place. She was not like typical elves, alas all dart's weren't the generic steretypical smug, self righteous, glory ridden elves that people seemed to think were majestic and well reserved. But she wasn't going to go into detail about that. Not that she was ashamed of her culture, it was just so unheard of she realized that it startled people.

Tapered ears moved forward as she gingerly nibbled on some of the bread she had, eyes of green watching him in the settling dark of the forest. "Pick a direction and walk along it? Is that not a sure way to get lost?" she would verbally ask, in all her years she figured that most people would carry a map with them, or at least get to know there surroundings well enough to navigate through without too much chaos.

When he said he was a city boy, it all made sense. She flicked an eyebrow before she shook her head. "You are certainly out of your element then if you are a man born from that of the city. Wandering about in the forest without any barrings is no better than running in a labyrinth." she combed back the bangs of deep purple, taking note of his smaller frown. "I've already offered my assistance to helping you out run them mongrels but if you cannot get out of the forest, then it will have all been for ill reasons. They will find you again, so..." Rhelic curved a hand around to rest upon her knee, "If you wish Matello sir, i can help you out and then when you are out of the glory of the forest, perhaps taking a look at a map is not such a bad idea." She lifted a finger, "I have a couple maps with myself so i know, but we are in the Cal'rvin province, so you would only need to look at that one."

She tipped her chin to the right, "But it is certainly all up to you, i just prefer to offer any assistance when possible."

Matello reached out for some bread and cheese. He cut a thick layer of cheese with a knife and put it onto the bread. He took a bite on it and chewed at it thoughtfully as he went through what Rhelic said. Matello wasn't all too unfamiliar with using people and lying to them, it was a part of his survival in certain cases. However he did not want to put an innocent in danger. But her reasoning made a lot of sense. If he went away on his own he would just get lost and maybe go into a circle and back, right into the hunting party. If they were still searching for him, that was. He peeked up at her suggestion to help him out of the forest. After a slow nod he answered.
"Out of my element, certainly. So I can't just chose a direction? I thought that if you kept going north long enough you would find your way out of whatever mess you was in," he replied with a laugh. He then smiled at the labyrinth part. "When it comes to labyrinths it's in the eye of the observer. For you, a big city is a labyrinth while I'm good at finding my way around them." He then got a serious expression and looked up at Rhelic with appreciation in his eyes and replied: "I appreciate your offer. You have done alot already and I can't really repay you. Just... just thanks, alot."

Rhelic hummed with an accompanying giggle when he thanked her for well, everything. This was honestly a far better experience than she had with most humans, not that she was going to go and complain about it. Though she did have to inject her own view to him stating that it she may not have many skills in the city.

Swallowing her nibbles first she tipped a shoulder forward, "You may be surprised but i can figure out my way in a city as well. I am not like my elven relatives that hide out in the forest for an eon or two, i grew up in a town. Not a city but there was one close enough by for supplies." Rhelic smiled sweetly, "Dart elves are the black sheep to the other elves."

Brushing her hands off on her pants, she would slowly rise up to her feet with a sweep of a hand to remove any stray hairs from her bare skin. "But i'd still take your point of view in a city if it did come to it. Knowing my ill luck at some times, it would be better to follow a city slicker."

"Just let me know when you are ready to move along Lord Matello, and we can move along. Eat your fill and enjoy a moment of peace."

Matello gave Rhelic a wide eyed expression. He hadn't expected her to know her way around a city. He thought she was a forest living elf like all those he had heard about. But his knowledge of the elven people was... quite limited. He tilted his head as she spoke about the Dart elves. He hadn't hear about this before.
"I apologize, I didn't know you had been a city elf," he apologized. "Why are Dart elves different?" he then added.

As Rhelic rose from the ground so did Matello. He stomach was full and his pulse was under control again, so he was content. He looked back at the woman and smiled a bit. She still called him lord which caused him to grimace a bit. "You don't have to call me Lord. Matello is fine as long as I can call you Rhelic," he replied. "Let's go," he then added and started to help her pack down.

Watching his head til while she spoke, Rhelic giggled slightly. It only reminded her of how a dog would turn their heads to a high pitched noise. Though in all retrospect she wasn't that surprised he was unsure of dart elves. They were common enough but held themselves in secrecy. That and she learnt through her travels how ignorant most other races were to elves. They were stereotyped as the per usual forest dwellers that relied and tended to the earth element with such care and diligence that it was hard to believe there were other breeds.

Rhelic tapped a slender finger to her plush lips, "Well.... there are many different types of elves actually, just most people group us all together with the forest elves -they are the most common- perhaps that is why. But dart elves are two breeds of elves mixed into one. I am part poison and part white elf. So," she opened her hands as if they were scales, "One side of me is believed to be a dark shaman aspect and the other is based around a healing element like priests and priestess. Nearly two thousand years ago we were nearly wiped out because well..." she smiled some still, "Two different breeds of elves mixing is frowned upon. I don't know most of the legends and stories behind my people, but in the end we are allowed to exist cause there is ample amounts of us."

she leaned forward, "We are different because we are the fighter class of my people. Forest elves are like druids and Dart elves are like the shamans or mages. We rely on a darker magic and prefer to live around other beings than just that of forest elves and nymphs." she frowned momentarily, "if that makes sense." Hands waved back and forth in the air, "Theres a lot of information about any elf but i won't go too much into it."

When he followed her suit to rise up to his feet, she watched him carefully only to blush slightly at him telling her not to call him lord. "Sorry, my father taught me to treat anyone as a high class being. It is a bit of a habit, but if you do not mind me referring to you just by your first name, then..." she cantered over to retrieve Nevaeh as she tied his reigns to her belt. "Then i would be obliged if you just called me by Rhelic." she tipped her head forth.

With the word to continue on, she made quick work to clean up anything they left -tucking it into the saddlebags- before a hand would open with a single finger point in the direction of the town. "South west and we should be able to return to a city... Matello." she smiled at referring to him by his first name. it was strange on her tongue but it wasn't a bitter feeling. Rather, pleasing. It wasn't usually for anyone to correct her in addressing anyone, this was simply amusing. "If you wish to lead the way, i can correct any missteps of our feet as we move."

Matello listened and was intrigued by what she said. He had only met city elves and even in the cities they were frowned upon. He couldn't really understand. He did remember a tale that his mother, before she passed away, had told him. It was about a great war between the evil elves and the humans. of course the humans won and the elves fled back into the forests where they used their magic to keep anyone for entering. As he grew older he had started to believe it was just a story to keep children from running deep into the forests. But from what Rhelic said maybe he was wrong and the story was true? But she didn't seem evil... and none of the elves he had met, although bitter, didn't seem evil either.

"Thanks for telling me. When it comes to elves... and a lot of other things, I don't know much," he replied. "I know enough to survive and that's all that matters, right?" he then added with a chuckle. He then returned to helping her packing down. He gave her a smile as she explained why she had called him lord. "It's OK. When I grew up I was taught to call people sir or ma'am," he told her with a smile.

As they got finished with breaking the camp, Matello walked up to Rhelic. He appropriated the help she was giving him, he just hoped she wouldn't get hurt by it. He glanced at her as she mentioned where to go before he looked into that direction. He shifted his feet before resuming his gaze onto Rhelic. "I don't got a horse..." he then replied a bit sheepish. How was he going to keep up with her if she rode, he wondered.

She blinked to him before she laughed lightly. Pointing to the reigns that she tied to her belt, she wasn't going to ride but rather keep Nevaeh tethered to her side. "I wasn't planning on riding for a while. He may look strong and such but every animal needs a break." she smiled not meaning to make him think that she was just going to ride while leaving him to strut through the brush.

When he would begin to take the lead she would twine her fingers behind her back, letting her legs take a longer stride actually enjoying the company of the man, though that didn't mean her curiosity wasn't growing in leaps and bounds. He stated he didn't know much to many things -that only brought about the understanding that he wasn't that old in human terms. That or he really didn't get out much, not that she could say much against it. She was very young in her terms and should have never been allowed to leave the proverbial nest.

Tipping her head, letting the crown of deep purple fall in a cascading curtain sideways - eyes watching the intricate leathers of his being before knitting her brow some. "What is your profession anyways? I have not seen many humans dressed the way you are." she was being a bit snoopy but she was curious not that she would hold it against him. Everyone had to eat some way or another. Each there own.

Matello gave Rhelic a sheepish smile. Of course she wouldn't ride off and leave him. "OK, I understand," he replied with a slight nod. he the started to walk alongside the elf. The ground was rocky and overgrown with roots. Matello had to keep his eyes on the ground to avoid falling. Growing up in a city he was used to straight and mostly flat roads. It took a few moments for him to get used to the terrain but then it went on automatically. His arm still hurt a little bit and he was worried he might have broken it. Although it didn't feel like it was broken, maybe just bruised. He needed to check that tonight. As Rhelic asked him about his profession Matello looked away, pretending to focus on the ground in front of him. His mind went into overdrive. He was a thief after all and that maybe wasn't something he should reveal. After a moment he answered. "I find stuff for people, collectors, people who have lost something or people who need specific stuff," he lied with a shrug. Well, it wasn't a pure lie... he did find stuff... illegally. But mostly he found stuff for himself to sell or use.

They approached a clearing in the woods and Matello saw a strange stone formation in the middle of it. It seemed to be man-made or maybe elven made? There was 5 stones, measuring 8 feet tall, placed in a ring. Smaller stones, about 4 feet, formed a inner circle. Matello didn't see more than that. the place had an eerie feeling to it and he gave Rhelic a worried expression. "You don't happen to know what that is?" he said and pointed at the formation.

Ears shifted forward slightly as he spoke about finding things for people. She didn't buy it completely as it seemed to be missing a entire plot behind it, but then again she wasn't about to go out of her way and accuse him of being a liar. She didn't know him and for all she knew, he was telling the eye. Though she kept a slide of suspicion about it.

Rhelic gave a shuffle of a hand to toss some of her hair from her shoulder before nodding to his explanation. "I can imagine you have collected some amazing items for people then." her smile was anything but callous. it was sincere, pure and easy going.

As the woods began to dissipate into the open land of simple slow mole hills and flat land, her eyes shifted in a bright curiosity to what Matello began to point at.

Running a hand over her bottom lip, thought etching deep on her face; she allowed the grace of a long stride to move towards one of the tall stone structure. Ears lowered slowly, her eyebrows knitted before she tossed her head back in forth with a firm shake. "Actually, i don't but it might be something like a wayward stone. A blessing for travelers or something else completely." nimble fingers reached out to touch the stones, "I doubt it would be ill grace to be crossing such a sight, especially out in the open. If someone wanted to use such a structure for terrible deeds, i'd assume it would be out of sight."

She turned to allow a glimpse over her shoulder, "I take it in your midst of running from those hounds, you hadn't seen such a thing?"

Matello looked at Rhelic and gave her a smile. However deep down he doubted she had believed hi lie. It was something with her body pattern that thrown him off. On the other hand, the smile she gave her after her reply made him doubting his previous thought. He gave her a nod before replying. "Yes I have and my clients was pleased," he lied once again.

As Rhelic told him she didn't knew what it was he glanced nervously at it. He hoped it was a wayward blessing or what she now meant. Still, it seemed to be much more than that. It was a circle of stones after all. He walked closer and cast a look inside of the ring. He saw that beyond the inner ring there was a flat stone, about 6 feet, which laid horizontally. It seemed to be an altar of some kind. Matello knew a few things about religion. It was difficult to avoid it. He looked back at Rhelic and laughed nervously. "I trust your judgment but the middle of a forest is a bit out of sight don't you think? If I wanted to make bad stuff the forest would be a good cover," he replied and swallowed. He cast another look at the stones before continuing. "I didn't see anything like this one my way here... but I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings... Just wanted to get away from the hounds," he added slightly apologetic.

fingers seemed to study the simple stone with more intensity that really should have been utilized, though she was honestly curious about such a structure. Ears moved making her entire attention move back to that of Matello as he spoke. A firm grim line of a mouth spread over her face, before she watched him casting another look at the stones. "No you are right," Rhelic hummed to herself, "Its out in the open in a way but it is still in the midst of the forest. Unless you were looking for this specifically i highly doubt anyone would think much of it."

She gave him a curt nod as he spoke about just wanting to get the hell away from the hounds. She didnt honestly think he would have noticed such a oddity in the forest, but there was no harm in asking. Better safe than sorry.

"There is something utterly off with such a thing." she muttered to herself. "I've seen elven wayward stones before, there nothing like this. Its simple, maybe a couple of rocks set in a rune symbol but this..." Eyes of green peered over to the large flat stone that sat further in. Shifting ever so slightly, pupil narrowed with the streamline of sunshine sprouting through the canopies before she jerked her hand away from the stone. "I don't think we should linger here." Rhelic tucked her fingers into her other hand, "Something about this entire place makes my skin crawl and that could only mean we are stepping into something that is easily over our heads."

Lifting her gaze upwards towards the tethered horse to her belt, ears were pinned back to the thick mane. That should have been her first thing to assess. Animals were far more sensitive to minor changes in the air, Nevaeh was no exception. She should have just been grateful the horse was far more companionated, otherwise she was certain she would have been drug away in a frantic flee of the creature.

Hands reached up to grab the bridle that sat firm on the strong head of the horse, rubbing it back and forth to force him to lower his head. "Something is surely wrong here... i am not naive enough to believe that this is nothing more than a wayward blessing... but i am not stupid enough to utter my thoughts on such a place out loud either."

She made a tilt of her head signalling to move out of here as quickly as possible. "Lets keep our wits about ourselves but certainly lets make haste as well."

Matello watches as Rhelic goes over the stone. Her revelation makes him swallow loudly. With small steps he follows her across the strangely smooth ground. Someone has cut down the grass recently. He heard the horse walk behind them and he cast a look behind himself. The horse demeanor has changed in some way which Matello couldn't put his finger on. He walked up to the stone and felt a sudden coldness. There was fluid on the stone. He swallowed hard because the color of the dried stains were red... red like drained blood. Matello looked up at Rhelic. "I can't agree more, something is very off here. I once, when I was younger, found a stone ring like this. It was a different set up and there was no altar like stone in the middle. The atmosphere was calm and when I told my grandma about it she saw it could have been a sacred druid place," Matello said and remembered his grandmother warmly. He had liked her and he had been devastated when she died. "I don't think this is a place like that..." he then added.

He followed Rhelic as she walked over to the horse. He watched as she calmed the horse down. He nodded at what she said. This place was a dark one. As they begun walking away he heard a high pitched scream. far too scared to even look back he just continued. "Let's hope that the next ring we find is a Wayward Blessing... we could need it after this experience," he then said in a nervous tone.

A deep shiver ran down her spine upon listening to Matello speaking about him finding an altar somewhat like this but that did little to settle her nerves. She knew druids and this was no way in hell a druid place.

She kept her voice still and silence to the air - that is until the high pitched scream startled her. Nevaeh gave a hard start forcing her to lunge forward with the horse only to frantically remove the reigns from her belt. "I think we would need a priest blessing, a four leaf clover and a wayward blessing after all this!" Rhelic quickly prattled off as she jerked hard on the reigns; forcing the horse to look at her.

Roughing a foot into a stirrup, Rhelic heaved herself up and into the worn saddle only to lean over half way with an out stretched arm to that of the human. "No time like the present to make one scarce!"

When he would take her helping hand, she would give a heave jerking them both back up onto the steelback's body and turned him hard about. "Hang tight and lets honestly get ourselves the hell out of this place and forget it all. I'd hate to have wraiths coming after us."

Matello watched as the horse jumped forward with Rhelic. In some twisted way it was a bit funny and he had to keep himself from laughing. He quickened his stuff so that he was beside Rhelic again. As she reached down towards him he grabbed his hand and got back up on the horse. "I can't agree more," he replied to the elven woman. As Rhelic ushered the horse forward, he dared to cast one look behind him at the strange rings. He saw a green eerie light from it and quickly turned his gaze away. He didn't want something to suck out his soul. He placed his arms around Rhelic to support himself and watches as the trees and bushes passes by. It was beautiful but he couldn't see himself surviving in this environment though. He had never been out on a hunt, just working all his days for a few bronze coins. He sighed a bit at the memory. When he was small he wanted to become a royal knight or a wealthy merchant. But those dreams were long lost... swiped away with his childhood innocence.