Chase
*The hulking figure walked through the stoney paths, ignoring the large pack on his back. The pack swayed dangerously with everystep as it was nearly just as large as the man carrying it. As strange as the massive pack was, it was only so eye catching. The man who carried it was much more eye catching. He had no hair on his body, instead the hair on the top of his head and his eyebrows were all that of living flames. They burned a bright orange and yellow as the man walked whistling a soft tune. He stopped his treck and looked around wiping his brow with a cloth that seemed not to be affected by the flames. He set down his pack and stretched a moment before his whistling picked up in a faster tune and he went to work unloading his pack and began to set up a small camp just a little ways off the road in a small outcropping of rocks. The man was on the southern half of the mountain range, looking off into the distance he could start to makeout the edge of the lilac forest. Telling him he was that much closer to his goal.*
Cynthia
Just a mile or so behind him, a significantly less imposing figure walked the roads from Aismir. She didn't know how to whistle, but she was humming something to herself, unsure of where it was going with each additional note that escaped her. The only luggage she visibly carried was the blade at her hip, curved in a gentle slope in its plain but clean sheath. Her red eyes, unusual for a human, stared forward with a sort of optimism only found in those with a certain degree of naivete. Her silver braid swayed a little in the breeze along with her waistcloth, her arms swaying in a similar fashion at her sides as she strode along the mountainsides.

It wasn't long before she came to where she could begin to see Lilac Forest over the slopes ahead.

"Yesssss," She cheered to herself, pumping her fist before her. Looking around a little more, however, just off the road was a quaint little campsite, and someone or something at it. From the distance between her and it, it definitely had magical aspects about it. Hair seemed to be leaping from its face in the place of hair. Was this the kind of hostile guardian she had been told to worry about? Surely not this far out from the forest, right? Plus, it was clothed and seemed to be minding its own business. Way too civilized to be after her. Even if she was wrong, she decided to approach it the way she approached everything else.

"Uh, hey!" She called out, as she was still a ways up the road enough to have to yell a little. "You're wouldn't happen to be guarding any rare herbs, would you!? Asking for a friend!"
Chase
*The man had set up a normal tent and had even got a small campfire going and was putting on a pot of water for tea when he hears anothers voice and he looks up the road to the form calling out to him.* 
"Greetings, traveler, i cannot say. As i have many things. But i don't think the herbs im carrying are very rare. Though you are welcome to come and partake of them and see for yourself." 
*The mans voice was deep and smooth, he gestured for the woman to come join him as he sits there. He waits calmly while pulling out a length of rope that he starts to unwide into long thin strands before he works quickly to weave them back together into a cord thay now was stronger than the original rope he had. He looks over the newcomer and notices she's not carrying a pack of any kind.*
"What brings you out here to the edge of this mountain?" He asks the woman calmly while he pulls items from a smaller pack next to his massive pack*
Cynthia
To her surprise, this creature, who was now most definitely a person instead, was really friendly. As he turned to look at her, she could see that his skin had a similar look to stone and that his eyes were as vibrant as his hair. He was definitely pretty bulky and looked durable to boot, not to mention strong by the way she would see him handle the unreasonably huge pack in a moment. As he beckoned her to join him, which surprised her further, she could see his campsite wasn't bad at all. He even brought a pot for some drink or another.

"...Alright, sure." She accepted his invitation, working her way closer and soon enough standing among the camp with one hand on her hip. "Full disclosure, I'm a merc going to Lilac Forest for those herbs I just mentioned. Apparently, it's hard to find people to get them because they're guarded by wild beasts or something." Her tone with him was casual, as if they had already been friends for a while. Now that she was closer up, he may have been able to more clearly see her. She was a slender but toned young human woman with a long silver braid down her back and ruby red eyes. She looked to be in her early to mid twenties, and her outfit showed a lot of skin for someone who was outwardly a warrior, decent portions of her upper chest and her stomach exposed. "Mind if I ask what you're doing out here, too?"
Chase
*His hands worked even with his eyes moving up from the project to the young woman in front of him.* 
"Hmmmm, how odd... Usually people introduce themselves by their names first... I dont think your parents disliked you so much to name you full disclosure. But then again. Who am i to judge." 
*He stood to his full height of 6'8" And looked down at the young woman, and he held out his hand*
"My name is Zachnephane. Please just call me Zach. Your mission is your own, and it has no impact on me. But if you wouldn't mind some company, maybe you'd like to travel with an old firestarter?" 
*He smiles warmly to her as the flames on his head dance as if caught in a windstorm remaining a warm orangish yellow with faint traces of white. He wore a simple white tunic that made his stone colored skin look even more rock like, from his other hand hung what looked like might be the beginings of some sort of leather piece with strings and cords ran through it. Despite her revealing clothing his eyes remained on her face and his smile never faultered as he offered her the handshake* 
"Id be happy to share my supplies with you as well, if you dont mind some fresh tea?"
Cynthia
The second he pointed out that she had forgotten to give her name in her little introduction, she felt a little embarrassed. That was how out of touch she was with being properly social and whatnot. She did appreciate his little joke, though. If anyone loved a little bit of banter, it was her. Before she had a chance to apologize, he stood up, towering over her at more than a full foot taller. She would have said, "Woah," But she knew that would have been rude, so her eyes widened a little instead, clearly in at least a little bit of awe. She should have expected him to be tall like that.

"Zachnephane, huh?" She repeated back to him, her expression returning to its friendly norm. She noticed the dancing and changing of the flames upon his head, but she didn't take much notice considering how normal it seemed for him. "Yea, I would have called you Zach anyway." She took his hand and accepted his greeting, noting how firm his grasp was. "I'm Sirra. Karlyle," She added, almost forgetting to mention her last name. "I guess I wouldn't mind sticking around you as long as we're heading the same direction."

The heaps upon heaps of friendliness almost intimidated her. Nobody had ever gone out of their way to be so amicable to her, let alone within the first few minutes of meeting her. The feeling was only enhanced by his appearance. Despite his obviously magical looks, he seemed so... Simple. In a good way, that is. His presence felt genuine.

"I don't think I'd mind tea at all," Sirra conceded. She had never had tea before. "You still haven't told me what you're doing out here, though." The way she said it made it sound like something of a playful jab.
Chase
*He shook her hand and then in one fluid motion he sat back down in a cross legged position and his fingers lightly worked the leather as he spoke to her.*
"You know. I noticed that too... Im out here because im moving into the lilac forest. Ive heard stories of a grove inside the forest where any and all kinds of ingredients for enchanting, alchemy, and some rare seeds that i want to see if i can plant elsewhere and grow some plants of my own. But im trying to collect ingredients to make some enchantment tools." 
*He answered and he pulled the leather peices together the final shape finally regonizable as a bag. He pulls the leather pieces together and pulls out a tool with thick black cord through it as he stitches the bag together*
"Its nice to meet you lady Sirra. And the pleasure of your company would definitely be mine, as long as you'll have me along. Though i will admit. My skill in monster hunting is... Shoddy at best. Im less effective in combat, more effective in a forge." 
*He tells her and looks down as he hears the kettle sarting to whistle he reaches down and with his bare hand he pulls the hot tea kettle off the fire as if it was still as cold as before he put it on the fire. He grabbed a pair of cups and pours some tea for each of them and offers her his hand with both cups balanced on his palm* 
"Choose whichever one youd like." 
*He instructs as the smell of fresh herbs fills the air from the tea*
Cynthia
It was right then that Sirra picked up on the fact that Zach was something of a craftsman, putting together what seemed like a bag while continuing to talk to her about the Lilac Forest and this supposed grove. This sounded like the spot she should have been gunning for, too, which was definitely a happy coincidence. He then moved on to handling the tea kettle on the fire. In bare hands. Sirra almost felt stupid for not seeing heat resistance coming. In any case, the little tidbit about him not being the best at combat was an appreciated divulgence.

"Well don't you worry about that," Sirra assured him, taking up a comfortable enough spot on the ground close to him with her legs slotted under her. "Sure is lucky that we met, because fighting is more than my thing." She gave a prideful pat to the sword on her belt. "Also, you don't have to call me 'Lady Sirra.' If you ask me, that's way too proper for my blood." As she spoke, she thankfully plucked one of the cups from Zach's large hand, holding it close to her for a moment with a hand holding onto either side. She took a solitary sip to begin, tipping the cup a little and letting some of the warm refreshment flow in. Her eyes widened once more as she lowered it again.

"Woah..." She couldn't help saying it out loud that time, looking down at the cup. The tea she held had to have been the best thing she had ever drank. Maybe that was because she didn't have any other tea to compare it to, but that didn't make her enjoy it any less.
Chase
"Well, i am indeed grateful to hear that. I was worried as to the creatures that dwell in the forest. If they are quick and nimble, i would be in trouble. I have spent much of my life in the mountains. When it comes to fighting monsters, my skills are for slow and sturdy things." 
*He pulls his hand with the cup back and takes a slow sip before balancing the cup on his knee while he works on finishing the bag* 
"Yes, it is rather impressive how some of these flowers have enough flavor in them to allow for such a strong tea with no additional sweetener. It's why i keep so much of it on hand."

*He weaved the needle and thread through the leather as if it was just a cotton fabric. Finishing with stitching all the peices together he starts stitching into the front of the bag forming letters starting with a decorative "S" His eyes looked down for the stitching before he glanced back up at her.*
"I find that our blood often doesn't decide if we are noble enough for such titles to be laid at our feet. Despite what those in power would have us believe."
Cynthia
Sirra happily took another sip of her tea. And then another. And another after that. She was no less amazed by the fourth one.

"What did you put in this?" She asked him, as if she knew anything about herbs or tea. "This is amazing. Like, 'the best thing I've ever drank' amazing." She sipped once more. Admittedly, as far as fine (or relatively fine) food and drink went, Sirra was illiterate. The most upscale thing she had ever put in her body before was some kind of pastry as a thank-you back home. Aside from the tea question, she noticed again the bag he was sewing, noticing the makings of a letter on the front of it.
Chase
*He chuckled and held out the tea pot to refill her cup as he answered her* 
"Its a simple blend of mountain flowers, some crushed roots, and a couple ingredients usually thrown into healing tonics. Its a travelers tea. The flowers cut the flavor of the root and the healing ingredients. And the root enhances the flavors of the flowers. The key is to make sure the flowers petals dry our entirely before crushing them. It takes a few weeks normally. So i usually keep a few batches drying so i have fresh tea every week."
*He would then go back to the bag and finish embroidering the "S" And move on to doing a "K" That interwove with the first letter. His fingers danced over the leather as if they had done this a thousand times.*
"Im humbled by your compliment. But this is just a simple brew. There are masters in the elven people who make teas that would scoff at this as the leaf juice that it is. And as they should. One sip of that tea will ruin tea for you for the rest of your life. Now as soon as im finishes here, i will start working on some grub. Does that sound fair?" 
*He asks with a smile of a grandfather helping a grandchild.*
Cynthia
Sirra graciously accepted the refill, not hesitating to go in for another sip as she listened to his methods.

"Wow, you really know your stuff, huh? Who needs elven tea when you have this?" Another swig. "Yeah, if your tea is this good, I can't wait to see what your cooking skills are like." Sirra appreciated Zach's apparent expertise in non-combat arts. Cooking, brewing, sewing, forging apparently, and who knows what else. He seemed like a really pleasant guy, the smile from him topping off the sentiment. She returned one of her own, her eyes of red softening a shade.

"So, you said something about being good with a forge, too? Weapon crafting, and whatnot?" She asked rhetorically, still none sick of her tea. "Is there anything you *Don't* Do?"
Chase
*He looked the young woman over for a moment and his smile softened a little. He remained quiet for a time and he finished the last letter on the bag. Before he held it out to her. 
"For you, and tea is always nice, but it never replaces people. I would take a cup of dirty water over the best tea, mead, ale, wine, you name it. It doesn't matter to me. I would just as happily drink that cup of muddy water as long as i had someone to share it with." 
*With those words the base of the flames closest to his head took on a bluish violet tone before quickly being replaced with the same bright orange and yellow of earlier.*
"But you dont need to hear that kind of talk. You're a young sellsword, please endulge an old man and tell me some stories of your travels? What have you seen in your jobs?"
*He sips his tea and stands up grabbing his pack and silently rummaging through it to find his cooking gear. He pulled out a strange flat surface with four points at the bottem and he flicked it causing the points to elongate into legs for a table. When he starts to pull out packaged supplies and he begins to unwrap them revealing cured meats, cheeses, and a variety of vegetables. He pulls a knife from the side of the table that blended in perfectly with the metal making its presence completely undetectable and he starts to cut the vegetables before adding them to a pot with some fat from the meat as he sets the pot down in the fire. He dices up the meat and opens the smaller of the packs and reaches in with a bowl before bending down to his elbow and coming back up with the bowl full of water, which he adds to the pot as he starts making a stew. As he dices up a new vegetables or meat he adds it to the pot before he grabs a small wooden box and opens it to sprinkle in some seasonings and placing a lid over the pot to let it simmer* 
"Im a little bit of a smith of all trades. I do a little bit of everything. Im not a dwarven master by any means. But i can get any job done."
Cynthia
As Zach monologued a little about the value of companionship, Sirra used her headspace to be thoroughly flattered by the bag. It was such a nice little piece of work, drawstrings and all. He had even sewn her initials into it. Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked it over.

"Zach... You didn't have to do that. You just met me in the last half hour," She reminded him and herself. "...Thank you." She smiled up at him and caught his flame's colorful flicker as he began to set up his workspace and the back down at the bag, reaching to her hip and choosing a nice spot for it on her belt. Looking back up once more, she was yet again impressed at the level of preparation he went to for things like this. No wonder that bag was so huge. He had an entire kitchen's *And* Campsite's worth in it. It seemed like a stew was on the way. Sirra, still trying to get over the flattery of being given a gift, nodded in acknowledgment of his jack-of-all-trades sort of role. She thought he was being a little humble, what with how prepared he was for his trip. She would have to ask him about her sword later.

"Stories?" Sirra repeated back to him. "Honestly, I only began traveling recently." This was where Sirra had to dance around a sensitive detail or two. "I only did mercenary work in my homeland for the longest time, dealing with a certain group that had it under its thumb mostly. I just started traveling this year. In fact, this is only the second job I've been on in Eluaria at large." She paused briefly. "Not that I don't have stories from then I can tell you, but stuff was pretty local up until recently."
Chase
*He nodded at her words and chuckles softly to himself* 
"I figured that you were working to be an adventurer of sorts and evert adventurer needs somewhere to store things. So just think of this as an investment in your future."
*He finishes the stew and occasionally pulls the lid off to stir the contents before returning the lid. He listens to her talk about her part and nods slowly.*
"Well theres nothing wrong with still being new to the work. We all have to start somewhere. And ive found i tend to get more wrapped up in local events than global ones as a whole. I can fix small issues. Big issues are out of my wheel house usually. The last time i got involved in something bigger it didnt end well for me." 
*He takes the blade from the table and sits down with a round black stone and he swirls the blade over the rock in small circular motions as he hones the edge of the blade back to a razors edge*
Cynthia
"Yeah, I get that. Not that a big conspiracy or something wouldn't be exciting, but I'm not really used to traveling and whatnot."

Sirra tried to think of something interesting to recount as he finished checking the stew, sitting down to sharpen a blade. The least she could do to try and return the favor of all of his kindness was to tell a good story. Of course, none of them could involve her using her powers, so she had to think a little.

"...So, how about the time I survived an assassination attempt on me?" She asked. She figured it had enough intrigue.
Chase
*The burly man looked up and nodded slowly to the younger woman* 
"Traveling can be much harder than some people make it look. I remember when i was a young man a traveler came through town and made wide sweeping claims about how being an adventurer and a blade for hire was so glamorous. Many of the men of my tribe went to follow him on a so called adventure. I only heard of their deaths years later when i left my people." 
*He shrugged his massive shoulders, trying to play it off as his hair again dipper into a blue and purple color at the base closest to his head for a moment before flaring back into a normal bright yellow and organe glow. All the while his hands continued to work on the knife and the whet stone. He could see the young woman was thinking about what she wanted to say so he closed his mouth and let her think. When she answered he smiled and nodded his head.*
"I would love to hear such a story. Though judging on our conversation i can assume how the story ends."
Cynthia
Seeing Zach's hair flicker again as he spoke of his companions' untimely deaths, Sirra started to realize that there may have been a connection between the color of that flame and how he was feeling. It had briefly appeared violet both a little earlier and right then, but talking about companionship and the death of tribesmen didn't seem related emotionally. She would have to ask him at a later date, as she thought it was a question a touch too personal for a first ever meeting, even if he *Was* A sweetheart so far.

Her face had grown a little sorrowful out of sympathy for his brush with a shepherd of death. Of course, it perked back up when he smiled once more and encouraged her to continue.

"What can I say?" She began. "I'm just that good, aren't I?" She clearly wasn't taking herself too seriously with that statement, evidenced by the way she shrugged and closed her eyes superflously. "But, yeah, the story. Back in my homeland, there was a cult that practically ran the place, and I had been whittling away at it ever since I started the whole sellsword thing. Point is that I had been keeping track of one of the guys that headed up their initiation ritual. And we're talking real special stuff here, like something you have to be *Really* Trained to pull off. So I thought it was pretty simple: get him out of the picture, and that means their ranks stagnate. The problem was that the guy only ever left every so often to go on a hike or something to go commune with his god. Obviously, his destination was kinda far away, and I had never traveled in my life up to that point."

Sirra remembered to partake in the delicious tea once more before continuing.

"So I did a little bit of sweet talking to a big fixer in town and convinced him he'd be better off without this guy, too. He ended up giving me supplies and four guys as traveling buddies to, 'ensure they saw proper use.' That should have been a red flag."
Chase
*The giant man sat there quietly and his eyes focused on the woman as she spoke his eyes would meet hers whenever he looked at her before he would glance down at the food as he stirred occasionally to prevent the food from burning. He didnt interrupt her instead he nodded along sliently to show her he was listening.
 
While she has been right that his hair would give away his mood, his eyes and his face gave away nothing. He was unreadable from his expressions, so he kept a smile on and did his best to be lighthearted. As he listened to her story the tips of the flames began to turn white, a new color that no trace had been seen before* 

"Often we find in the moment red flags have a diffrent shade that can only be seen in the clear vision of hindsight. So? This guy gave you 4 random thugs to help you track down this ritualist goon? And some supplies to help you take him down? Seems pretty questionable but maybe in the moment things seemed fine? Did he lead you on to think that he wanted them gone just as much as everyone else?" 
*He asks trying to come to a conclusion as to why Sirra would trust the other man that so far sounded to be part of the reason she had an attempt on her life.*
Cynthia
Sirra more than noticed the white frosting of the flames atop Zach's head, but she noticed him pointing out how stupid she had been even more. That obviously wasn't how he phrased it, but she knew what he meant, because she knew it was right.

"To be fair," She returned, "I was only seventeen at the time. Hell, I had just gotten my sword." She afforded a glance down at her hip where the blade in question rested. She *Really* Had to ask him if he knew anything about it later. "In my head, I talked him into wanting this guy dead so he'd give me the means to get to the mountain the ritual guy hiked to without starving or freezing or anything. What I'm pretty sure *Actually* Happened was that he figured out how dangerous I was while I talked and opted to send me to a mountain in the middle of nowhere with four goons could off me without much trouble." Sirra had to leave out part of *Why* She thought he realized she was dangerous. "As far as I knew, though, I had convinced him to take my side and offer me help." She didn't sound embarrassed as the emphasis on her logical blunder continued.
Chase
*He nodded as he listened to her talk about her past his mouth opening into a silent "Ah i see" As she explained the error in her youth, he did his best to keep the white from appearing in his flames but they still managed to sneak in every so often.* 
"So im guessing it was a mix of excitment for using your blade, on top of trusting that your motivation would match that of someone else in the town and hoping they would see the good in helping rid the town of this ritualist. I could see how it could lead to such a mishap... So what happened then?"
*His posture had shifted and he now sat leaning forward listening intently to her story and he only stirred the stew every few minutes just enough to keep it from burning.*
Cynthia
"Well," Sirra continued, not shying away from indulging a little further in her tea for the duration of the pause, "About what you'd think. I got provided a carriage and the travel supplies along with my four prospective murderers and shipped off to the mountain to catch the guy. I *Did* Notice on the way that the one at the reins was *Really* In a hurry. As in we were going to get there well before the ritual guy did if we kept that pace. I brought it up to him and said the whole plan could be botched if the target saw someone already there, but he gave me some crap like, 'we're professionals, little girl. We know best.'" Sirra didn't bother with a mocking impression of the goon in question. "That was when I started feeling like something was wrong.

When we got to the mountain, again, super ahead of schedule, we rounded the side opposite of the one we came from. I thought it was to hide from the target, but it was probably to hide my body. I took up a spot to rest my hide and was about to sit down, but that's when they surrounded me and took their swords out."
Chase
*He listened intently as she explained the story further and he even went as far as to grab the pot of food and take it off the heat so it wouldn't burn as he focused on the image she was painting in his mind.*
"4 men? Presumably hired thugs? Damn..." 
*The white tinged his hair again and stayed as he looked her over and tried to find any scars on her person*
"You look fairly untouched from the scenario. No scars that i can see. So... What happened?" 
*He asked as he crossed his legs in a meditative pose and waited for her to continue with her story.*
Cynthia
As Zach acknowledged and marveled at the scenario, she noticed yet again his flames gaining little white snow peaks. "Does white mean intrigue?" She thought to herself. If she ended up spending more time with this stony-skinned smith, it would definitely be fun to solve that little puzzle. Meanwhile, Sirra leaned forward and got something of a confident and proud look on her face, indulging his want for hearing what came next.

"To start, despite being surrounded, I had an advantage." Her tone for that sentence almost made it sound like a secret. "They had no idea what I could do. Even if I had only recently gotten my sword at the time, they didn't know that I'm fast and crafty, and we were around halfway up the mountain at the time. Never try and fight someone who knows how to trip you when you're someplace that features a long way down." Sirra's vocation got riled up when she fired off into the next sentence.

"They all came at me at once and tried not to give me an inch, but I took the hint and jumped over one of them!" She had started making exciting hand motions to articulate her tale, closing her two hands into a ball to signify her enemies' movements towards her and a sly slide of her hand off to one side as herself escaping their grasp. "I jumped towards the side with the drop and skidded around to face them, drawing my sword! A block here and a dodge there let me lure them closer, and they tried to surround me in a half-circle so I'd have nowhere to go but down. The guy in front gave a signal and they closed in again with their blades raised and tried to knock me off, but that was just what I wanted them to do! As soon as they raised them up, I got low as fast as I could and used the side of my sword to sweep one's legs and dash over into his spot! He was falling back away from me, so I grabbed his wrist on his way down with both hands and swung him around back towards his friends! I knocked all four of em' off the mountain!" She triumphantly roared.
Chase
*The giant man sitting there in a lotus position as he grabbed his tea and sipped slowly. If she watched carefull she would notice the white in his flames slowly fading away as he slowed his breathing and seemed to temper his enthusiasm. His body looked like he was relaxed but his eyes were still focused and burned with an energy that made it clear he was invested in her story. 
He sipped his tea and let her finish her story before he spoke again.*
"I see... I must say even knowing the outcome that still brought me anxiety for your well being. It seemd you used your own flexibility to trap them into over extending and throwing off their balance before subsequently removing their chance of recovery by using their cohort to provide them expedient travel to the valley below... You must be stronger than you look. Because i don't know many people who could use another person as a weapon." 
*He reaches up and strokes his chin in thought before shrugging and putting the stew back on the fire letting it warm back up* 
"I must say that is quite a stressful situation. What happened to the ritualist? Or the shop keeper who set you up?" 
*He asked curiously as he stirred the food and his eyes focused back on her*
Cynthia
Sirra was glad to see the spark of enthusiasm in Zach's eyes as she went on. She hadn't expected him to recount how she had won in such clinical terms. Describing knocking people off of a cliff as, "Providing expedient travel to the valley below," Was charming in a way. Admittedly, she had massively glossed over her end of the beating with the phrase, "A block here and a dodge there." She had used the fight to get more used to not using her powers, and she hadn't come out unscathed. In fact, she bore a pretty nasty cut to her arm alongside some other wounds by the end of the fight. It was just that wounds heal after six years.

"Well," She began, responding to Zach claiming her strength, "It's less about being strong and more about using momentum. He was already falling, so all I had to do was redirect him a little." And then came the question of the ritualist himself, something she had *Really* Been hoping he wouldn't ask about. Thanks to her wounds by the time he arrived, she had no choice but to fight him with her powers. If she could help it, which she could, she would really like to keep those under wraps. In all fairness, it *Was* Her fault for choosing a story that was so closely followed by an instance of that.

"To put it short and sweet," Sirra began again, making an attempt to gloss over it, "I killed the target after he eventually arrived to commune and whatnot. That fight wasn't too special. As for the fixer that tried to put me out of my misery, he sorta became a thorn in my side. Let's just say he took me not dying personally and kept trying." She retreated to her tea, hoping it wasn't too obvious that she was intentionally not getting into it, or at least that Zach wouldn't see it as an insult.
Chase
*Zachnephane was an older man. He had been around long enough to be able to pick up on someone not telling him the whole truth. And while the story she spun was captivating. There were certain things that just didn't connect in his mind. But he knew that he had no reason to expect the whole truth from a stranger, so he did his best to accept that she didn't need to tell him everything. Even with his mental conflict he couldn't stop the flare of red that washed through his flames before just as quickly vanishing. When the red flared it highlighted the grey of his skin and turned it to a pale white for a moment in the brightness before everything about him returned to normal.* 
"Is that so? My that sounds like quite the adventure. I couldnt imagine having to deal with something like that. Ive delt with some drunks in a tavern before but never have i had to cross weapons with an actual mercenary. I dont envy you at all." 
*He shook his head and let out a low whistle that caused the flames in the firepit to waver and shake as he turned his attention to his bag and pulled out a pair of bowls and some utensils. He scoops out a heaping amount of stew and fills both bowls before holding up his hands to Sirra. Letting her pick from the identical bowls* 
"I should warn you now. Its going to be a bit on the spicy side. I hope that doesn't dissuade you from partaking." 
*He explains as he waits for her with his smile still brightening up his face and his eyes burning brightly in the same joyful way they had been the entire time aside from his single moment of red flames.* 
"Who knows. Maybe ill bore you with a story from my past while you eat." 
*He says with a light chuckle*
Cynthia
A shade of red in his hair this time? Sirra thought that silvery white she had seen meant he was engaged or maybe excited, so what was red? Did he know? If he did, he let the subject be anyway, which she was thankful for.

"It's more fun than it sounds once you get used to it," Sirra argued to him shortly before recieving her bowl, which she picked from the right, and her serving of stew. "Is... Spicy the same thing to you as it is to me..? Not that I don't trust your cooking if your tea is anything to go by, but I'm human and you're kinda made of fire." Sirra didn't know if the stew in her hand would make her regret drawing breath with its world-ending spice or if it was simply mild.

Trying to push the thought out of her mind, she readied herself for a spoonful and accepted Zach's offer of a story of his own. "Sure, only fair after I bored you," She jabbed, casually partaking in a bit of the food with nervous anticipation that she veiled pretty well.
Chase
*He chuckled and shook his head in the negative* 
"Oh no. I am happy with the life ive chosen. I dont need the excitement of mercenary work. Im content with smithing and creating things." 
*He let her pick her bowl filled with stew and he let out a belly laugh that would rival the most boisterous dwarven mead hall laughs* 
"It is a little spicy for mere humans. Elfs would turn up their noses unless starving. Dwarven folk tend to enjoy it and chug a pint after finishing their bowl. Some even ask for seconds. To me its not hot, its just spiced to have flavors that i enjoy. Ive been told they can be a little warm. Its all based on people's preferences." 
*He shrugs with a small smile and he reaches into his bag and pulls out a cloth wrapped object and sets it down on the table.* 
"If its too spicy for you then add some of this cheese, it will cut the heat pretty well... As for your other statement. I am not made of fire, im just touched by the plane of fire. Im still flesh and blood, if you cut me i do bleed. I just have no hair on my body, its a gift from my father i guess you could say." 
*He shrugged and pulled out a large spoon from a pocket inside his traveling clothes and dug into his own bowl taking a big bite and chewing slowly before turning his head to the side and coughing as flames shot from his mouth like he were a dragon for a breif moment before he patted his chest and cleared his throat* 
"Excuse me... Wrong pipe." 
*He took a deep breath and calmed his breathing as a slight gold light touched the ends of his flaming hair.* 
"Anyway... Hmmmm... What story to share... I know. Ill stick with your theme and tell you about why i went on my adventure to be a craftsman."
Cynthia
As Sirra's taste buds began to process the bite she had taken, she saw Zach do his best impression of a dragon and cough up fire. She *Really* Hoped that wasn't the spice talking. Luckily for her, it wasn't. As the flavor began to seep into her being, she recognized it for the work of culinary genius that it was. Sirra was hardly accustomed to eating spicy food, but she apparently loved it. It had a sort of addictive sting that bit you and didn't let go, goading you into diving in for another spoonful. Her ruby eyes did the exact same thing as with her first sip of tea, expressing all of her joy and excitement at the discovery of the sensation in her mouth.

"Your skills are unreal, Zach..." She marveled out loud, some of her initial bite tucked away in her cheek as she spoke. She swallowed and responded in an attempt not to be rude, barely catching the gold tips of his hair and briefly wondering what that meant. "Right, your story. Sounds good to me." Frankly, she'd have been content with just about any story with food such as the sort she had before her, but she was interested nonetheless.
Chase
*The man bowed his head to her in acceptance of the compliment and he chuckles* 
"Thank you, it took a long time to find a style of cooking that i could actually reproduce consistently. There were many meals all prepper the exact same that just never tasted the same. Once i figured out the spice ratios to meat and vegetables i made sure to pack everything in individual meal portions that way everything comes out the way i want." 
*He explains and he scoops another spoon full of food into his mouth and chews it happily before swallowing and relaxing in his meditative pose. He takes a deep breath and starts to think about how to tell this story before he shrugs and gives her a half smile* 

"This story begins many decades ago. When a tribes of goliaths shaman decided to make a deal with an Efreet. In exchange for his powers she offered herself to him. And nine months later the shaman gave birth to her first, and only child. The child was raised with the other goliath children but he was far weaker than any of the others. Physically their strength was similar, but he wasn't quite as strong as even the weakest of the youths. He was often bullied because of this, and because living in the high mountains, in the cold air, the young Goliath had to wear many skins to stay warm or he would get sick. The others were immune to the cold, but not this half breed. For 16 long years he was abused by the people ment to be his family and his people. Until on his 16th birthday his powers manifested. His hair erupted into flames and his eyes burnt away to leave flaming orbs in their place, he was banished from his people and was forced to leave the tribe. And so he did." 
*Zachnephane takes his bowl and takes another spoonful of soup before continuing* 
"He traveled alone for months before he came across someone who helped the poor child. Half starved, delusional, and covered in many wounds from wild animal attacks, a dwarven smith took the boy in and put him to work."

"The work wasn't hard, at first. It was simple labor, chopping wood, cleaning the forge, until the boy and the dwarf discovered the boys tolerance for the flames. Then the dwarf began to train the young man in his art. It took many years, but in that time the pair discovered many things about the young man. And in only a handful of years, the dwarf had taught the young man everything he could. He hammered the basics into the boys hard head and helped him get a grounding in the fundamentals of forging and smithing. And that beautiful dwarf was a father to the boy that he never had before. So it broke the mans heart to leave his newly found home, but he knew he needed to go on his own and use these skills that he had been given to help others who, like the young man who stumbled into that dwarfs door, have nothing but the strength of their own arm and determination. The young man had grown into a smith and went about the world, he came across a troop of wizards who were stranded in a valley and needed help moving their cart as all their magic was geared towards other endeavors and they couldnt fix their cart. So in exchange for fixing their wagon, they gave me these dimensional bags. The larger one is my most prized possession. Its a traveling forge. I can set it up anywhere as long as i have a flat surface. And stepping inside of the tent that it opens into will open a pocket dimensional forge. Anything i add to the bag becomes part of the forge. Unlike most other bags though this one gets heavier the more thats in it. It reduces the weight but... I have a lot in it. So i doubt anyone other than those gifted with strength of giant-kin would be capable of carrying it around. With these gifts of knowledge and a traveling forge ive been able to run around and help hundreds of farmers and other smiths with work and sharpening my own skills. I trained with enchanters and alchemists to further improve my works but..."

*He looks down and his hair burns a low blue color as he finishes his story.* 
"With all my achievements and improvements by the time i made it home to show my adopted father the man i had become because of his hard work, he had passed the spring before. His soul now resides in the halls of his ancestors and all i have left of him is his trade, his ring, and a letter from him. Its been nearly two decades and i still havent had the strength of heart to open the letter." 
*Zach looks up and shrugs his hair slowly burning back up to a golden orange and yellow leaving no trace of the blue* 
"And so ive traveled the world ever since and shared my skills with those who need it and offering the same hospitality that my father offered to me."
Cynthia
Sirra, still partaking in her stew from time to time, leaned forward and listened to Zach's story. Apparently, he was the child of a goliath and a shaman. She didn't know much at all about either, but it explained why he looked the way he did. Plus, knowing he didn't like the cold was useful. Aside from that, the tale of how he was taken in by a dwarf as a surrogate son was heartwarming, right down to how he seemingly passed peacefully and left for him a letter, one that Zach apparently hadn't the courage to read. On top of that, blue and then gold flames made themselves known, Sirra bascially entirely unsure what the latter could mean. Still, the origin story had gotten to her.

"If I didn't know any better," She said aloud, "I'd say that's borderline beautiful. I guess you and I are sorta similar in that way, right? Wandering around wanting to make a name helping people out?" Even in the middle of that, Sirra could help going in for another bite of stew. "Also..." She made sure her mouth wasn't full before continuing. "...Held my tongue till the end on this, but a forge in a bag? Like, you could just pull it out right now?" Her tone turned to one of wonderment. "Man, I wish I had pocket dimension bags for stuff."
Chase
*He chuckled and shook his head at her optimistic view and smiled softly* 
"My birth giver had many faults in her raising of me. Her shamanic rituals took her true love and passion. I guess she gave me what she had left. I never got to meet my patriarchal patron in person. I just saw him through a flaming portal. He would speak to me once in a few years. I havent heard from him since i left the Goliaths. But yes. The Dwarf i call my father is the reason im going about my way and helping others. I would say it does appear that we have very similar goals you and I. Trying to help those we come across." 
*He waited for her to chew her food and when she spoke about his dimsional bag he let out a loud belly laugh and the flames on his head grew another foot higher and burned a bright gold as he reaches up and wipes a molton drop of fire from his eye and he flicks it into the flames of the cooking fire causing it to flare up slightly for a moment.*
"No, i couldn't open the forge right here. I need a little bit of time. It is more like setting up a tent. It would take me about 10 to 15 minutes and even then most people wouldn't be able to stay in it while i work. You could be safe out here. You would definitely be warm thats for sure. The forge is still being enchanted and currently it is only enchanted enough not to burst into flames as im working. It tends to increase the heat in the area around the tent... Noticeably so. The longer i work the larger the space around the tent the heat affects becomes. The closer to the tent the hotter it gets. Im trying to find a way to prevent that but... Improvement is my goal in all things." 
*He shrugs as he still smiles happily and the flames on his head slowly shrink back down to the normal height they stand at of a few inches above his head and down his shoulders.* 
"A storage bag should be much easier to come across. My hope is to be able to eventually be skilled enough to craft my own bags of holding to sell."
Cynthia
As Zach laughed once more, the gold appeared again, giving Sirra perhaps a better idea of what that tint was supposed to mean. Also, apparently his tears were lava, or something?

"So you're still figuring out how to keep it under control," She remarked out loud, having just finished off her bowl of irresistible stew. "Honestly, if it means I get to see how it works, I can take the heat." Her vocation was confident and energetic. "I've never actually seen a smith work on a weapon before. I have no idea how that whole process goes, but I'd love to see it. I'll endure whatever I have to if it means I get a peek." Sirra let out a playful giggle and relaxed a bit, giving way to the fact that she had been half-joking.

"But those bags of holding... I'm assuming those are the pocket dimension ones. You could make a killing off those if you knew how to make them. Not that I'd stop smithing or adventuring, because then stuff'd just get boring."