<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/thumb/3/3c/Brennisen.jpg/478px-Brennisen.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Brennisen.<br/><strong>Class:</strong>Ranger.<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Patchwall 6 & 7, 577 CY.<br/><strong>Location: </strong>Beratana.<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Kirien, Yesqwyn, Enastril.<br/><strong>Content Warning: </strong>None.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><hr/><br/>When her mentor had his unfortunate accident, it spelled the end of her apprenticeship.  Her master bade her to go out into the world and try to make a difference.  He gave her his specially trained ranger horse named 'Ghost', the studded leather armor he had made for her, and the weapons he had trained her to use.  She wasn't sure what gifts were the most valuable.  The weapons and armor were nice, but the horse was something special.<br/><br/>Ranger horses were a unique breed.  Bred from a stock of mountain ponies, the ranger horses were shorter in height, shaggier, and slower than standard riding horses or war horses.  But they were bred for endurance.  The small ranger horses would still be going strong long after most faster horses were winded and lathered.  As a result, they could cover a lot of distance when the ranger needed to deliver crucial intelligence to the kingdom's forces or government.<br/><br/>And they were smart too.  They were trained individually, for each ranger.  Besides the usual riding commands, each horse was trained using a special code word that ensured only the ranger who was meant for that horse, or at least one who knew the code word, could ride for more than a few minutes without being bucked off.  The horses were also trained to alert their ranger to the presence or approach of others, to move as stealthily as possible, and to obey hand signs and knee pressure commands as well as verbally spoken ones.<br/><br/>Brennisen loved Ghost and was frequently given the responsibility of taking care of the steed on behalf of her master.  So the horse was already familiar with her when the older ranger passed the animal on to her, teaching her the code word and all of the commands.  Now as often as not, Brennisen can be found in the horse's company.  She feels like he is her connection to the master she was devoted to, and that the animal understands her, even when she talks to it.<br/><br/>When she left her master's service, the young half-elf's intention was to return to the small village where she'd grown up, and to the father she'd left behind.  But fate has a way of changing plans, and hers were changed when she stopped on her journey in a small village called Beratana.  While visiting the tavern there, her attention was drawn to a petite high elf woman, and through the rest of the evening, Brennisen found her gaze drifting back to the woman often.  She didn't know why, but something about the woman fascinated her.<br/><br/>She stayed at the tavern late into the night, until at last the elf woman retired for the evening.  When she left, Brennisen felt an odd sense of disappointment, and the tavern holding no further attraction for her, the young ranger returned to the small tent in her camp outside of town.<br/><br/>She found herself going back to the tavern again the next day...and the next...and again each night, hoping to see the pretty elf woman again.  Brennisen was sure that the elf would have nothing to do with her, but she just wanted to see her, to watch her, and to hear her voice again.  At last, she saw the woman again, and soon, her observational skills noted a pattern to the elf woman's comings and goings.<br/><br/>Night after night, day after day, the lure of seeing her again made Brennisen delay moving on from the small town.  Days turned to weeks, to months, to years.  Eventually, the young half-elf and the pretty little high elf woman met and became friends.<br/><br/>Over time, Brennisen and Kirien formed a close friendship.  Brennisen enjoyed visiting Kirien's apothecary shop in town, bringing small bits of fruit or meat to try to entice the elf's exotic pet pseudo dragon out from hiding.  In exchange, Kirien provided the half-elf ranger with sticks of a rare spice, cinnamon, which Brennisen liked to idly chew on, a habit she learned from her former master.  It helped to calm her and gave her time to think, which she loved to do.<br/><br/>Spending as much time alone as she did, and being more inclined to stay on the fringes of a group or crowd, and watch instead of engaging with those she was not familiar with, gave her plenty of time to think.  Though she was not educated, and could not read or write, the young half-elf's mind was always pondering some thought or another.  She didn't shy away from esoteric subjects to ruminate on, though not many would've thought so based on the appearance she presented and the lifestyle she led.  Those things suggested a simple person living a simple life, nothing of much interest there.  But her friend, Kirien, knew better.<br/><br/>Whenever Kirien undertook a journey to a nearby town or village to spend time in the taverns and inns to learn of the latest gossip and news from travelers, Brennisen accompanied her.  For protection, or so Brennisen likes to think.  After all, the elf woman was small, delicate, beautiful in the half-elf's eyes.  But hardly formidable, by the measure the ranger was used to.  Still, no matter the reason she accompanied her friend, the two enjoyed spending the time on the road discussing deep matters.  It was from these conversations that Kirien knew Brennisen was no simpleton.<br/><br/>It was also because of these small journeys that Brennisen had been introduced to some of the high elf's other friends.  She even met another half-elf woman like herself, but that was where the resemblance ended.  Yesqwyn was most things Brennisen is not: flamboyant, confident, flirtatious, outspoken.  Brennisen liked her, though there never seemed to be a shortage of blushes by the young ranger whenever Yesqwyn was around.  Brennisen was astounded at how Yesqwyn could be so audacious at times.<br/><br/>Another person that Brennisen met when she came to visit her friend Kirien one day was a high elf named Enastril.  He was a handsome elf; Brennisen enjoyed looking at him right away.  But he seemed so sophisticated, and it was clear that Kirien had more in common with him than she did with the young ranger.  Brennisen felt intimidated and left out.  Not only was he a high elf, and so handsome, but also highly educated and obviously from a noble class.  'Next to all that, what do I have to offer?' she thought to herself.<br/><br/>For a reason she didn't quite understand, she felt resentful that he had come into Kirien's home and seemed to be capturing all of the elven woman's attention.  But after a while, she was surprised to find him trying to engage with her.  She wasn't sure how to react, or what his intentions were.  She was cautious and hesitant to open up to him, fearful that he only wanted to find out enough about her to use to mock her.<br/><br/>Her reluctance to respond to his overtures must have seemed like she was being unfriendly.  Few others would have known that it was because she was intimidated and shy, but Kirien knew.  She took the young ranger aside in private and chided her on the need to open up and come out of her shell.<br/><br/>"You've got to be more open with people, Brennisen." Kirien said. "Don't be afraid to let people in. Be friendly. Show them what is truly in your heart and they can't help but like you, just like I do."<br/><br/>Being scolded, no matter how gently, made the half-elf feel somewhat flustered.  But her friend's words were sinking in....just maybe not in the way Kirien intended.  The words were scarcely out of her mouth when the young ranger suddenly and surprisingly cupped the mage's pretty cheeks in her palms and pressed her lips to Kirien's in a kiss.  For a long moment, she closed her eyes and lost herself in the feeling, but then she realized what she had done.<br/><br/>Brennisen broke away suddenly, stammering out an apology and blushing pink clear to the tips of her ears.  She beat a hasty retreat from the apothecary shop, forgetting all about the curious piece of shiny metal she'd found and had come to ask Kirien about.  But the next day, at the edge of town, the ranger was there, sitting astride Ghost and awaiting Kirien and her guests.  She had recalled them talking about traveling to an inn called the Idle Boar, and although she wasn't sure Kirien wanted her along after what she'd done, she wasn't about to let her friend travel roads that might be dangerous, even if she wouldn't be alone.<br/><br/>To her relief, her friend didn't seem too upset, and nothing was mentioned in front of the others about the kiss.  They seemed to welcome her accompanying them, and soon the four were traveling down the road at an easy pace.<br/>