[Dolwoods] A Little Bit of Wandering [Miguel|Open]

[Aydyn Blair]

Third Cycle of Immanis
Season of Spring

She wore a bag at her hip that brightening, a flimsy, well-worn piece that had been patched and repatched many times over to the point that it might have seemed best to the casual observer that the bag would be better suited replaced. But the people of Acumin were not given to spending when spending was unnecessary. The bag did, after all, work well enough in its purpose for it carried herbal plants and the occasional cluster of berries instead of hard-edged pieces that might tear asunder the stitching.

Aydyn adjusted it along the loose, rope belt that they had provided her as well. It looked odd and not at all matched with her blue skirt and white blouse, but that mattered little these brightenings. It served a purpose and that was good enough for her. The purpose? Gathering herbs for both Amelia's stew pot and her medicinal storage.

She'd easily enough offered to do the job herself, knowing Amelia's bones ached now with the constant bending and plucking, her hands unsettled with pain; Aydyn was young and though she bore the scars to prove she'd had a rough time of things, she did not suffer physical pain. This was not to say she wasn't nervous, for she was. Incredibly nervous. But the woods of Acumin were safe, protected...she would come to no harm as long as she did not stray over far.

So she had stepped away from the small homestead at which she'd been staying and began her wanderings through the forest. She spent much time slightly bent at the waist, narrowing her eyes on this plant or that, trying to bring to mind the lessons she had learned in Mystique. This herb or that one? It was this she concentrated on, this that made her fail to realize that she had wandered too far...wandered into the Dolwoods. A place that wasn't safe, that wasn't a place she would be protected.

She released an indrawn breath as she spotted a familiar herb. Basil. She crouched and began to draw it from the soil, hands digging to reveal the roots below, humming a little as she worked.

[Miguel]

He looked like the hermit he was. Bland brown trousers and tunic once clean were now covered in dirt and stained with sweat. His black hair was free, hanging down to his shoulders tangled and knotted and a few brightenings growth covered his chin and cheeks. Underneath his eyebrows though, cold blue eyes studied his surroundings shrewdly, an unspoken intelligence in them.

He was out checking his snares this brightening, and one rabbit had fallen victim to them. It hung by it's ears in the iron grip of his left fist, it's mouth and eyes open in pain as it had died gasping for air. He was slowly making his way back to his camp when he found her. A lone woman, picking plants here in the Dolwoods, not something one saw every brightening.

For a time, Miguel simply stood in the shadows of the tree's, invisible to the naked eyes and watching the woman go about her business. He studied her for a time, she was rather pretty, but there was no ache in his loins. Even though he had spent over ten patterns of his life on the island prison, without the company of women, he had never gone so far as to consider rape. For a murdering bastard, he still had morals.

After a time, the baijani stepped out of the shadows. He was unsure what he was going to do. If a sole woman had worked up the nerve to come into the Dolwoods, why shouldn't the bounty hunters follow him here? He had thoughts about killing her, leaving her body at the edge of the forest to be found, but killing a woman was not as easy as killing a man he had found. At least it wasn't to him.

Maybe he could simply scare her... "My, my, my, what have we got here?" He said, loud enough to get her attention as he stalked closer to her. "A pretty little lass, are you lost?" A sadistic grin spreading across his face, revealing vile yellowing teeth as he laid a hand, stained with rabbit blood upon her shoulder. "Perhaps I might be able to help the pretty lass..."

[Greyton Burhook]

Behind Aydyn the forest crunched and twigs broke, somebody else approached.

Greyton Burhook, ranch hand, appeared atop a chestnut plainsbred mare. They busted through the brush, making their own trail through the Dolwoods. His clothes were dirty from hard travelling, but not in disrepair. He wore a brown widebrimmed hat that was pushed back a bit on his head with a strip of rawhide to function as a chinstrap. He had a simple saddle with saddlebags and a lasso attached to it.

He caught the last comment and Greyton cooly observed the situation. One, here was what looked like a decent woman. Two, there was what looked like a no good muleskinner Greyton once knew. The same shifty eyes and dangerous air surrounded this vagabond like it covered ol' Clay. And what Clay did to that poor thing in Primus Gaudeo? Well, he was strung up in the end, justice in the Heartlands was swift.

Originally he wanted to simply ask for directions (he was lost) and continue on his way, but to leave now would invite some sort of tragedy. The mare knickered and shook her head. She was wary of this smelly, dirty blood covered hobo.

"Good girl Pie," He cooed and patted her neck. He looked at both the lady and the man. He had heard his offer of help, perhaps he should do the same.

"Perhaps we can all help her," He said with a smile which spread across his face. "And get her back to safety..."

"Brightenin' Ma'am." He tipped his hat at Aydyn. "Name's Burhook, Greyton Burhook."

[Aydyn Blair]

She'd been humming...but the noise trailed off as a voice intruded on the serenity of the forest. The forest. She hadn't been paying much attention at all to where she'd wandered, but now her attention had been seized and a fear gripped her, her heart racing as her eyes shifted, taking in the scenery...acutely aware of the new presence tickling the corner of her vision. The Dolwoods. She'd wandered a little too far. Further than she'd intended.

Her hands tightened around the leafy basil in the ground, crushing it unintentionally, as she turned about, still crouched on the ground, to stare at the man that had spoken. The look on his face, the blood--she couldn't tell that it was a rabbit's, only that it was red and soaked the skin of his hands in memory of some violence done--it held her in a panic and a fear brought out by recent memories.

She stood quickly as he came closer and stepped back as his hand reached to settle on her shoulder. "I'm not lost, no," she managed...after a moment of silence. Her voice came out a little ragged, hoarse. She edged back into silence as she tried to master it, to control the fear that seemed to hold her in check. "I can manage without help, thank you." There was a little more strength there and she said it firmly now, mouth tight and eyes settling into some semblance of a hardened stare. She didn't think it would be quite that easy to be rid of him and yet she hoped...

Another noise. And a fresh surge of panic jerked her about in the direction of the twigs breaking, old and brittle leaves and debris crunching. He wasn't alone. Without any weapon the situation seemed hopeless... She stared at the newcomer, dirty, perched a top a mare. She might have thought about her own lost horse if the situation wasn't so unnerving. Still, there was a notably difference between the first man and the second...the difference being their faces--one derisive and cruel in its way, the other kinder, more open. And the second man didn't boast blood on his hands.

"I'm fine, really. I just walked a little far. The village...it should be right over there," she murmured, gesturing back the way that she had come. Still, there was notable hesitation in her eyes. Had she come from that direction? She hadn't been paying very close attention. "I'm sure it'll take no time at all to find." She tried to appear confident, she did, standing tall, chin lifted a little.

ooc: sorry! I'm back from vacation now

[Miguel]

Suddenly, Miguel was not alone with the woman. Turning to watch the arrival of the newcomer, he was perturbed at the intrusion and gave the man a cold stare. Then the woman's words reached him and he turned his head and looked at her for a moment.

A moment was all before he started a deep throaty laugh as she pointed to where the village she had come from was. After a few moments, the laugher subsided and he grinned, "I'm sorry ma'am," he said mocking this newcomer, Greyton, "This here's the Dolwoods. Your village could just as easily be over there." He said pointing in the opposite direction that Aydyn had pointed.

"You mustn't be from around here, the Dolwoods are rather well known. Foolish people wander in here, and well, they ain't never seen again," the baijani said, a menacing tone in his voice making it obvious that this was more a threat then helpful information.

ooc: my apologies for the crummy post, I haven't got a feel for this PC yet.

[Aydyn Blair]

ooc: Greyton, going to move on a little, don't feel like I'm bumping you out!

ic:
Aydyn took an awkward step back, wanting to keep distance between herself and this...man. He seemed a little mad, but then the Dolwoods could do that to you. Or so people said. There seemed to be a lot of superstition tied to the strange wood that Acumin was housed within and any bad affliction could and would be blamed on the Dolwoods if they were given half the chance. Aydyn was not generally an easily annoyed individual, but she stared at the madman now with a flash of that annoyance.

"I know well enough about the Dolwoods to know that I hadn't meant to walk this far," she responded, trying to keep her voice even without a trace of the discomfort warring through her. "And you, knowing this, came here by...what? Chance? What does it say of you if you came here of your own free will? I would say you are more than foolish, knowing the stories of the Dolwoods." He called her a fool when he was standing in the Dolwoods himself? It didn't quite add up.

And then there was the matter of the other man. He, too, had happened into the Dolwoods. What did that make them? The Three Merry Fools of the Dolwoods? She hoped not. "I thank you for your concern, but perhaps it'd be best if I just turned around and left." She bent and retrieved the basil she'd pulled out with a quick glance at the madman, remaining wary of him and not wish to turn her back to him. Still, she saw little choice in the matter if she was going to turn around and try to find Acumin. Try. She hoped she did.

[Miguel]

Miguel laughed when the woman questioned him on his own decision to come into the Dolwoods knowing the rumors and tales. "But my dear, what better place is their in this empire then the Dolwoods for someone being hunter and looking to hide?" Miguel told her, a grin on his face the whole time.

Grabbing hold of Aydyn's arm with his blood stained hand, Miguel prevented her from leaving just yet. "You know, a pretty lass like yourself shouldn't wonder alone here. It's not that you might get lost, it's the numerous other danger's here. Have you heard about the necromancers?"


Bringing his own grimy face in near Aydyn's, he said suggestively, "Why don't you spend the night with me, then I can escort you to your home like a gentleman..." His appearance and the look in his eye showed that he was anything but a gentleman.

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn stared at him, disturbed by the grin that remained stable on his mouth. Not that it gave him a stable exterior. no, he simply looked frightening. Hunted? Hiding? She could only think of a few reasons why he was hiding and none of them were particularly pleasant thoughts; of someone else she might have conjured more sympathetic scenarios, but in any she imagined for him he was plain cruel.

She jerked back as he reached out towards her arm, but he was quicker. She stared down at the hand that held on to her and shuddered, terrified. Blood. He had blood on his hands. Whose blood? She stood immobilized in his grip, her thoughts running wild and panicked. She was considerably smaller than he was and without a doubt she was weaker. If it came down to a physical fight she had no doubts that she would be the loser.

Necromancers. She'd heard of them. It was hard not to, not when she'd lived in Acumin so close to the Dolwoods. She'd heard all the stories. Well, maybe not all, but enough. Was this man one of them? It somehow wouldn't have surprised her.

"I have a better idea," she challenged, trying to sound like she wasn't phased at all and though there was steel in her voice, it wavered as she spoke and the fear was evident in her very posture, in her eyes. "Why don't you escort me home...like a gentleman...now rather than tomorrow?"

[Miguel]

"Simple reason really... I was heading back to my camp to enjoy roast rabbit, and I am hungry. So, really, it's not polite to decline a nice invitation to a meal and a nice place to sleep," Miguel informed the woman, his grin still on his face, a grin that said he would not take a refusal.

Releasing his hold on Aydyn, Miguel looked up through the tangled branches to the few patches of sky that could be seen. "We must really be on our way now, we've got a bit of wondering ahead of us and I'd like to make it back before sunsdown."

[Aydyn Blair]

Aydyn stared at the man in front of her, torn between fear and anger at the dilemma presented to her. She had what seemed to be few choices: Go along with him and not make a fuss about it, try to run off and put him behind her, or go along with him and try to wriggle her way out of the situation once they'd gotten to his camp. The third seemed like a longshot. The second seemed viable, but she was wearing a skirt and skirts had never been made for running. The first was one she certainly didn't want to give a go at all for this man's grin scared her. Everything about him scared her. She didn't want to go along. But she knew she couldn't run either.

"Fine," she responded after a moment, having weighed her options and deciding she didn't want to encourage any rage or other pecularities by running; who knew what he might do once she'd been caught. "Where's your camp?" She'd go along, although she'd do her best to keep the distance between the pair of them. She couldn't imagine what Amelia might think if she didn't return.

[Miguel]

Miguel wasn't really surprised when Aydyn regretfully agreed to come along. He felt he had made it fairly obvious that she hadn't a choice in the matter. When she asked where his camp was though, he chuckled. "Same way as your own home, my dear. Could be that way," He informed her, pointing in a random direction, "Or that way, or that way," He continued, pointing in random directions each time. [b]"'Tis why I said we have a bit of wondering to do.

Miguel knew whereabouts his camp was... he had purposefully camped near a castle in these wretched woods. All he had to do to find home, was wonder until he saw the castle and head in that direction. "So, let's be off my dear," He said, not so tactfully trying to place his free arm around her shoulder's so as to lead her.

After a bit of walking in silence, the escaped con decided to make some small talk to pass the time. "How rude of me to not introduce myself, name's Miguel..." he said, waiting now to see if she would introduce herself in turn.

[Aydyn Blair]

The druidess had agreed to go along with him, but she hadn't agreed to let him touch her; would she have a choice in the matter? She doubted it. When he moved to place his arm around her shoulders, she sidled a little to the side, not paying attention to the ground and tripping herself up a little on the uneven roots that plied themselves over the terrain. Her hand unexpectedly flailed towards him to balance herself--impulse, purely, nothing more than impulse--and she snatched her hand back just as fast as she righted herself. She didn't jerk herself around after that, although she remained stiff-limbed if his hand strayed to her at all.

Although the silence dripped onward she wasn't at all phased by it. She preferred the silence over any idle chatter with someone who was effectively her captor, so she let the silence hang a little longer even as he apologized for his rudeness and provided a name. Rude not to provide a name but civil enough to consider it perfect manners that he'd practically kidnapped her? "How rude," she muttered, not at all sounding like she found him very convincing in the slightest.

She didn't offer name right away, but she saw no purpose in being sullenly quiet. It wouldn't matter either way if he had a name or not. "It's Amelia." For some reason she didn't like the idea of hearing her own name come from his mouth.

[Miguel]

He noted the pause before the woman told him that her name was Amelia... it made him think a bit. Was that her real name? Or was she lying to him? It didn't matter if she was lying to him, he didn't care if she introduced herself as the Empress... It was simply small talk to pass the time as they wondered rather aimlessly towards their target.

"So Amelia... what's a nice girl like you doing out in the Dolwood's alone?" He questioned. As they walked, and made some small talk, the escapee kept close to the woman. He wasn't about to have her run off before he was allowed his fun with her. "I saw you digging in the weeds, are you some kind of nature lover?"

As they talked, the baijani moved closer. He had noted how she had evaded his grasp the first time around. Sudden;y he made a second attempt, wanting her to feel as uncomfortable as possible. Taking a quick step towards her, he snaked his arm around her hips this time, grasping for a handful of her skirts on her opposite side so that she could not slip from his grasp so easily

[Aydyn Blair]

She could have done without the small talk. Usually a pleasant person slow to annoy, she was rather irritated with the turn of events. She'd just gotten free from Dimitri. She'd spent a month isolated in the Forest of Light. Now here she was, finally taking steps to be out in the world and something had happened. Already. No, Aydyn wasn't particularly in a good mood. Especially when the person trying to make the small talk sounded so...patronizing. Feth, why bother when he clearly meant her no good at all? Her nerves were simply too frayed, waiting for him to do something as they walked.

And then he did. Do something.

She'd been about to respond, trying to make herself sound pleasant enough despite her fear, her anger, when suddenly he grabbed at her. She'd caught the movement from the corner of her eyes and she turned her body towards him, hands up as if she might be able to push him away. But he was bigger, stronger, and grabbed hold of her hip easily enough. She pushed at him, arms against his side to try and pry him off, and came to a dead stop in her walking, as if this lack of movement might prove of any use to her at all. "Let go," she gasped, eyes wide and suddenly frantic.

[Miguel]

His hand found a grasp in Amelia's skirts rather easily, and a grin spread across Miguel's face when she came to a dead stop and ordered him to let go. He didn't. During his long patterns in Terramarique, the baijani had trained his body, always fighting to be top dog. The sudden stop that the woman made didn't accomplish much.

Pulling her close, he lifted her weight slightly and continued to walk, half carrying her and half dragging her. "Now, my dear Amelia, we can't have you tripping over a a fallen branch or stumbling on a root. I mean you know harm," at this point, his grin widened slightly as he turned to her for but a moment, and finished, "honestly."

Turning his head back to the forest before him, the escaped convict continued to drag 'Amelia' through the woods. "Ah, we are getting close to my camp," he informed her suddenly as a stone wall rose out of the surrounding forest, Castle White Dove, and his marker to find the camp.

"You can rest soon," he said, letting her weight back down to the ground, though he held his grip in her skirts and continued to force her forwards.