<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/orTDitJ.png)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Name:</strong>        </td><td>Ubara (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=340173.msg16119828#msg16119828)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Affiliation:</strong>        </td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Time:</strong>        </td><td>TA 3014, Winter</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Apparel:</strong>        </td><td>Woolen Tunic &amp; Trousers, Warg-Hide Boots | Scent of Sweetgrass &amp; Clover</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Condition:</strong>        </td><td>Hungry &amp; Curious</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Location:</strong>        </td><td>Bree | The Prancing Pony</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Tagging:</strong>        </td><td>GM | Cat | Open</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Ambiance:</strong>        </td><td>Mood Music (https://youtu.be/QRg_8NNPTD8)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Note:</strong>        </td><td><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Reticent</div><div class="spoiler_body">I am fully aware that this post gives very little to reply to but I can’t play a grumpy, reticent character and then immediately toss her into a social situation. I have a plan in case no one notices her so there’s no pressure for anyone else to do anything if they’re not inclined! I’m honoring my character but recognize that it makes her difficult so I figured I’d address the <del>bear</del> elephant in the room. 😅</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><hr/><br/>Ubara was not supposed to be this far from the wilds. Not in winter. She was<em>supposed</em>to be hunkering down in the boughs of her treetop abode, snoring in the shape of a massive blonde bear while awaiting the spring’s thaw, and yet<em>something</em>drew her out of her second skin like poison from a wound; something ineffable that she<em>felt</em>more than she<em>knew.</em>It was possible that she was mistaken but if she wasn’t…<br/><br/><em>I can sacrifice a single winter,</em>she reasoned. If she slept while corruption spread then she could risk more than a few months of inconvenience.<em>Something</em>was different; she could feel it like the prickle along the back of her neck whenever she sensed wargs.<em>Something</em>was making the beasts restless but they had no information to offer and thus, Ubara was forced to resort to her<em>least</em>favorite source: other people.<br/><br/>The nearest town took a few weeks to travel to and for the first time, Ubara herded her goats and sheep along with her instead of leaving them to their business in the mountains. Keeping to the forested hills, she traversed as a bear until it became a suspicious site and finished the rest of the trek in her first skin; that of a “human woman.” How long had it been since she shed her fur in favor of soft flesh? Years. At least.<br/><br/>Of course, as soon as she arrived at the village of Bree – specifically chosen for its rumored diversity – it dawned on her that she was utterly without coin and would have to barter for food, soap, and lodging. Luckily, farm work was easy fare for her and she found an aging farmer on the outskirts of town that her herds took an immediate shine to. That was enough for Ubara to choose him and she had to admit that she’d forgotten the comforts of hearth and home after so many years alone. Her pockets were mostly empty but there were pennies enough for soup and bread and she slept like a rock no matter the surface.<br/><br/>Still, as much as she loathed mannish company, Ubara knew that she could only learn so much from a grumpy and aging source and thus began spending her evenings in the local tavern, the Prancing Pony, where she bent her ear to all sorts of conversation. She’d been in Bree for four days now and had frequented the pub the last two and there, was privy to the same story on repeat from the same man. Still, like a scholar hungry for the next tome, Ubara could not keep herself away and tuned in every night, wondering if someone else would corroborate his tales, or if they grew taller.<br/><br/>Overall, in her human skin, Ubara did not feel as if she stood out very much at all, especially with her heavy woolen tunic obscuring the considerable scarification underneath; leaving only the blackened patterns at the center of her brow visible. Otherwise, she was unlikely to garner more than a passing glance. Her eyes were deep-set amber and her nose was snubbish and upturned over a pillowy pout. Her hair, flaxen as dewy wheat, was long and windblown from her braid that hung to her knees in a plait thrice as thick as most; bursting at the leather cord that secured it. There were no weapons visible nor any armor. By all appearances, Ubara was a simple farmhand and goatherd.<br/><br/>Already seated by the fire, the Beorning palmed her bowl in one hand and slurped soup from the side of it. Her attention was wholly focused on the familiar gaggle of squawking men, though she appeared nonplussed and did not look to them lest they realize she was eavesdropping. She had no talent for socializing but was<em>quite</em>adept at avoiding it.<br/><br/>Her ears pricked as she heard a new voice join the conversation, though she remained interested in her soup. In her periphery, she caught a flash of fiery hair and metal and committed those to memory along with this new voice. Perhaps if she continued to feign obliviousness, she would learn without ever having to engage...