<div class="floatright">(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g393/theredfear/MaleCharPics/tumblr_lu81g5GGTv1qlvy8no2_500.png)<br/><strong>Name:</strong> River<br/><strong>Summary:</strong>  Taking in the new arrivals<br/><strong>Location:</strong> Redemption - The Gates<br/><strong>Tagged</strong> Nobody yet.</div><br/>River stood up top in a guard tower. He wasn't really expecting trouble from any of the arriving convoys, but he preferred the strategic vantage point it afforded him. His Crossbow rested lazily in his arm's nook, though he could bring it to bare quickly if he had to. And if he had to, he could jump down and be on the ground in the blink of an eye. The thirty foot drop was child's play for him ever since the...change. But more importantly, he could see far out into the wastes from up here. As far as if he had binoculars. His vision and other senses had increased as much as his strength and speed.<br/><br/>He had mostly been watching Rae, until he spotted the first sign in the distance of the coming Helka. Like most men of Redemption, he lusted for her from afar. And like most he was smart enough to make sure he only did it from afar. She was dangerous, afterall. All the vampires were, and he didn't trust them anymore than the next Ranger. The alliance held because it was mutually beneficial. But a predator can only deny it's instincts for so long. That's what he figured anyway. Sooner or later the Vamps would cross a line and have to be dealt with. That was a moment he always looked to with apprehension when he was 'normal'. Now...now he had all sorts of brand new feelings to contend with. But lusting from afar was one that hadn't changed. Much...<br/><br/>The Helka's arrival on the distant horizon brought his attention back to the task at hand though. He scoped his vision in closer. Their arrival may have brought his focus back to the task at hand, but it did nothing to end the lusting from afar. Damn. Those were some fine and impressive women. He was a bit surprised to see their leader dismiss the rest of the caravan. Most convoys were made up of a mix of warriors, diplomats,servants, and spies. The major convoys anyway. And the Helka definitely represented a significant power in the region. He was surprised to see them content with just a single representative. Unless the others were just going to camp nearby...perhaps not wanting to be caught inside the town if negotiations soured, or somebody was plotting something. That made a bit more sense...it was also a bit paranoid, but paranoia was a good thing in this world. He'd make a note to the other rangers to track the movements of the Helka Escort Expedition, at least until they knew for sure what their intentions were. He did not really expect anything nefarious from them, but once again...paranoia is a good thing nowadays.<br/><br/>Then the Homestead Patrol showed up and he clenched his muscles in preperation. Of all the major powers in the region, none were more adversarial than Helka and Homestead. Perhaps THAT'S why the Helka representative dismissed her entourage. She knew Homestead wasn't far behind them, and did not want to risk a major altercation right at the gates. The Helka captured and enslaved men. Homestead captured and enslaved women. Meetings between the two forces rarely ended well. River was sure they'd all honor the flag of truce that brought them here today, but when you have a room full of dynamite, all it takes is one spark...<br/><br/>He glanced off into the distance and noted a smaller group. That meant they were either from Mercury Lake...the werewolves could afford to travel in smaller numbers, though he expected them to show up in force as a political statement...or perhaps a band of refugees seeking shelter. They did not appear to be trying to hide their movements, so he did not think they were up to anything nefarious. Maybe they were coming as representatives of another Holdout. None he was aware of though. There were others out there of course. But none with the real numbers and resources needed to be considered a significant power in the region, besides the Helka, Homestead, Mercury Lake, the Magic Kingdom, and Redemption.<br/><br/>He eye'd the unusually pale man that was harassing Mitchel...the new Vamp. River glared breifly at Mitchel. The prick had murdered a ranger for eyeballing his woman. Except the Ranger in question...Jason...was as gay as the sun is bright. Mitchel was too dumb to notice. He thought Jason was trying to take his woman and bashed his brains in from behind as Jason was heading back to the barracks from the bar.<br/><br/>Just before his execution was about to be carried out Mitchel invoked his "Get-Out-Of-Death Free" Card and requested to be turned over to Cortez. At the time River was actually pleased. Cortez had a full roster, and didn't need any new blood. River figured Mitchel was going to get a far more excruciating death than the Rangers would have given him. He was less than pleased to see Mitchel walking around with a Barrier Brand a couple of days later. He suspected Cortez turned him just to rub salt into the still-fresh wound the Rangers were carrying around about Jason's senseless murder. Cortez was kind of a dick that way sometimes.<br/><br/>He shifted his focus to the pale man. From up here, he couldn't get a clean scent off the guy. But he looked even more pale than the palest vamp River had ever seen. He wasn't sure who the guy was or who he represented. From the pale jokester, River's gaze followed Rae to...oh. Wow. A girl. From Homestead no less. River heard stories about Homestead and how they treated their women. Female Rangers always steered clear of known Homestead patrol routes, for much the same reason male Rangers avoided Helka patrol routes. Well, the smart ones anyway. Though more than a few joked that they wouldn't mind being a Helka 'guest' for a few weeks. Looking at their 'princess' below, he suddenly understood why.<br/><br/>He wasn't sure how much truth was in those stories about what Homestead did to their women, but what he did know was that up until right now he'd never seen a woman from Homstead. She looked like she was maybe his age. More or less. Why would they include a girl in an expedition like this, he wondered. She didn't seem like a fighter. Well, not until that last exchange of words with Rae. Something seemed to come over her that made him rethink his first thought.<br/><br/>The beautiful blonde from Homestead. The seductive redhead from Redemption. The sexy brunette from the Helka. River mused breifly that there was a damn good bawdy joke somewhere in there. As much as he'd like to just keep taking in the view they offered though, he was on duty right now. He turned his attention back to the outlying group in the distance. One of them was...if River didn't know any better he'd swear the guy was looking him right in the eyes from half a mile out.