Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Jeramiahh on 31-10-2007, 06:32:01</h2>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>31-10-2007, 06:32:01</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Alison was starting to get very annoyed.<br><br>She had been searching for the man who would be able to take her training further for almost seven months, now. A student of the schools of the Desert Wind Blade and the Tiger Claw Pounce fighting styles, she had been studying the combination of these two, drawing the powerful fiery magics of the desert through her blade, empowering her to leap great distances to descend on her enemies with the full fury of a wild tiger. A powerful combination, suited for her fast, agile, and aggressive fighting preference, but quite uncommon; there were only a few people who had mastered both of those disciplines, and nearly all of them had a student, or, worse, weren't accepting new ones.<br><br>She stopped by the side of the road, dropping down beneath an apple tree. This town up ahead is supposed to be the home of the last man on the list. If he turns her down, too... well, she might just have to go back to another one, kill the apprentice, and take their place. It'd be a lot less work than trekking across the continent and back.<br><br>The young brunette woman checked through her pack one more time, to make sure she had everything: bedroll, waterskin, bow and arrows, rations, healer's kit, potions, changes of clothes, armor polishing kit, chain shirt, her long, thin, rapier-like sword, and the scrolls her father left her, teaching her the basics of her techniques. She leans back again, savoring the cool shade of the tree, her neck-length hair blowing in the light breeze, ruffling her loose fitting shirt that covers her hardened, but still feminine, figure.<br><br>After a few minutes, she picks up again, grabs an apple off the ground, and sets off toward the town.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>31-10-2007, 20:16:59</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Eden had nothing on the town of Paradise Springs.&nbsp; Nestled in the valley between two mountains crowned with snow year round, the peaks formed a natural tunnel that beckoned warm, wet wind from the sea and buffered it against the harder, colder winds blowing in from the range further along the continent.&nbsp; Settled generations ago by almost fifty slaves that had survived a ship transporting them to the markets of the Empire towards the south, it had grown steadily but slowly over the intervening years, and had a reputation, for those that knew of it, of taking all comers who would come in peace, and defending those that turned to it for sanctuary.<br><br>Ashran worked shirtless in the cool autumn air, lifting barrels of apples and upturning them into the cider press, his thick, muscled forearms stained with sweat and pulp.&nbsp; An unlikely winter tan was on his shoulders and back, and his corn hairhad been dyed by the red light of the season to something strawberry-colored.&nbsp; The apples, fed by the rich, coolwaters of the bubbling springs that gave the town its name, had a crisp sweetness to them that made their cider, after aging and fermenting in the oak barrels he and other men toted about the farm, a drink better than any ale he'd ever tasted.<br><br>Life had been good since he'd come to Paradise Springs, driven by the raging storm that had lost him his horse, that had grown a sickness in his lungs that made him wander the countryside, delirious and raving, until he collapsed on an innkeeper's door, still clutching his bare sword.&nbsp; With his money in the saddlebags of that vanished horse, he'd worked, bending his proud back at farmhand labor, to pay for his board and the healings that had saved his life, and he'd never found a stirring to leave the life of a seasonal worker.&nbsp; To think that he would find such contentment leading such a simple, backbreaking life, would have been unimaginable to the man he'd been ten years before.<br><br>"Ashran!" a voice called out to him as he took a long, sweet drink of cider.&nbsp; Bringing a hand over his eyes, the swordsmaster peered into the setting sun to see a boy running along the road, Codswan's son, he noted.<br><br>"Take a breath, Tad," he said.&nbsp; &nbsp;The youth's excitement was nothing new.&nbsp; Most people in Paradise Springs had a past, but few had been as close with theirs as Ashran, and he supposed he was something of a subject of rumor among the young men and women.&nbsp; "Take a breath and a drink, you look like you've been eating dust for your supper."<br><br>"Ashran, she's on the road!&nbsp; The lady you asked us to look out for!&nbsp; She's in Littleblossum's orchard, and she'll be in town before sundown!"<br><br>"I see," Ashran said, mildly.&nbsp; He rubbed the day's stubble on his chin, and worked a crick in his neck.&nbsp; Tad stood by, his eyes shining the the thousand questions he had.&nbsp; Who was she?&nbsp; Why had she come?&nbsp; How had Ashran known to look for her.&nbsp; But Ashran said nothing more, other than to thank the boy for the information.<br><br>"Guess I better see what she wants," said the Master of the Desert Wind and Most Feral One of the Tiger's Claw, taking up his plain walking stick and walking along the bath, the blood-red sun at his back.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 17:38:14</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Alison moved along the road easily, her feet having long since toughened to the road. She wished the old horse she'd been using hadn't given out two months back, since she'd run out of funds to buy a new one. Actually, she'd run out of funds to buy food and lodging for herself, and had had to take on a few odd jobs to pay to get this far. Still, if this man really does exist, then all this work will finally have paid off.<br><br>She rounds the last bend of the mountains, the town coming clearly into view. An idyllic place, though not somewhere the wandering heroine would want to stay for too long, especially not after her long vacation getting here. She craved excitement and danger, something this place looked like it lacked. Figuring she ought to make a slightly better first impression than her current travel-stained self, she aims towards what looks like the inn, hoping to be able to find a good room for the night and a nice washbasin, a pleasant change from sleeping under the stars. Besides, it's nearing evening; if Master Ashran was here, he certainly wouldn't want to be disturbed at night. Best to wait until morning.<br><br>She takes no notice, obviously, of the man leaving the city, heading up the path toward her. Why should she? He looked just like anyone else who lived in these small towns.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 17:47:54</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				With the setting sun at his right, neither he nor the young woman would have an advantage, if their advance towards the other ended in a duel.&nbsp; At a hundred paces, Ashran noticed that she had not oriented her intention to him.&nbsp; Strange.&nbsp; He'd heard that a young woman had been searching for a master of the Tiger Claw, the Desert Wind, and had found out of him from those that carried such information for seekers, at a price.&nbsp; Was it possible that she wasn't the one he had been told to look for?&nbsp; No, it couldn't be; she was young, but whipcord lean, and moved with the steady, rolling grace of a dancer - or a warrior.<br><br>Fifty paces now, and Ashran realized what was amiss.&nbsp; She was looking for him, but <em>she failed to know him at the sight.</em>&nbsp; He thought about the image he must suggest; a bare-chested, sun-tanned farm hand, with pulp on his forearms, carrying a walking stick as any man in the hills might.&nbsp; He smiled, chuckling softly.&nbsp; He really had gone native, so much so that he wasn't recognizable as the warrior he'd once been.&nbsp; Well, why not play this hand.<br><br>Twenty paces, and he called out.&nbsp; "Evening, good lady.&nbsp; You have the look of a visitor to the Valley.&nbsp; Would you like me to take you 'round to the public house?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 20:16:44</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Alison paid no attention to the man, lost in her own thoughts, imagining a warm, luxurious bath at the inn, before a night in an actual bed, once again. Had she met him at the beginning of her journey, she would've taken notice of him, of his swordsman's movements, his powerful muscles that came from work not with a plow, but with a sword, as well as the leg muscles of a student of the Tiger Claw. Her time on this journey, however, had made her soft and unfocused; she had grown too used to the calm and the peace. Other than a few quick skirmishes with bandits, these months had been entirely peaceful, much to the lament of her warrior's instincts.<br><br>Startled out of her daydreaming by the man's voice, she smiles as she finally takes notice of him, though, again, her months off have dulled her senses; she sees not the swordsman, but yet another peasant, another face in the crowd. A handsome one, to be certain, but little more than that. "Aye, that I am, good sir. I've come in search of someone who is said to reside here in this town. However, as the hour grows late, I do not wish to bother him... and yes, I would much appreciate that."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 20:24:04</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Ashran was mistaken.&nbsp; Close enough, she was not a pretty girl, not just.&nbsp; She was just this shade of lovely, and he was certain the dirt and dust of the road was all that was keeping her from that.&nbsp; His eyes noticed the light scars on her hands and wrists, sealed his estimation that, yes, this was a student of the sword, and the she had come looking for him.&nbsp; To challenge him, or to learn from him.&nbsp; Either was equally possible; those same secrets passed from master to student through the years could all too easily drive one to a perfectionism that would stand no room for rivals; and a fast way to supremacy was to kill those called "Master" of a form.<br><br>"Well," Ashran said, lifting up his walking stick and laying it across his shoulder, like a yoke to carry water buckets.&nbsp; He turned on his heel, faced back to the town.&nbsp; "Most of those that come here aren't happy by the thought that one day there'd be someone to come asking for them.&nbsp; Mayhap you'll find closed mouths, full inns, and stony stares until the folks know that you don't mean any of their own any harm.&nbsp; And if you do mean bad for this one that you're looking for, you might not find a warm welcome at all."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 21:03:07</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She sighs heavily. Just what she'd feared. "Aye, I expected as much. It's been like that all across the continent. I've been seeking a master of a certain manner of swordfighting, to train me further, but none of them are willing. But, I don't need to bore you with the details of that. I am simply hoping to find him as quickly and painlessly as possible."<br><br>Could it be that she's not the first to come looking for him, and that he's already taken? That'd be just what she needed right now... but no point in worrying about that, now. It can simply wait until tomorrow. She trudges along behind the peasant, following him, watching the town around her, studying the people who look out at the newcomer, most of them watching her warily.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 21:08:24</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"A Master swordsman you say?&nbsp; To train you?"&nbsp; A small smile played at the corner of Ashran's mouth, making him look like a lad of twelve on a jape.&nbsp; "You'd be looking for Ashran then, I guess, seeing as how there's only one blademaster that I know of in the valley, and that'd be him.&nbsp; He lives in a little place on the far end of town, near the wood in a cottage that's got a queer chimney; the stone's all like black glass, makes his smoke fire come out white."<br><br>They'd reached the inn, and Ashran sat himself in one of the rockers set on the generous front porch, and dug around in the leather pouch draped over the woven wicker back, removing a pipe and a bit of smoke, leaving a coin behind.&nbsp; His eyes twinkled as he watched Alison's reaction to his offhand remarks.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 21:25:42</strong>
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				"Ashran? You've heard of him? Oh, good! D-do you know anything about him? Does he have a student? Is he still teaching?" Her words come, quick and excitable; this is the first good news she's heard in a while, having caught her off-guard, and she's eager to know as much as she can before facing him. She drops into a chair near him, no longer paying attention to her surroundings, only him. A dragon could land in the street and roar, and she might not have noticed.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 21:31:57</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				He took a long pull at the pipe and let it out; in the near-evening light, the smoke glittered blue by the light of the moon, which had just begun to rise over the tall ridge of mountains around the town, and seemed to give the question serious thought before answering.&nbsp; "I know a bit about him, yes.&nbsp; Most people don't talk about their past, here in the valley, but you hear things, oh yes, you do.&nbsp; The wagons come in a few times a year, for our cider and the pelts we've traded, bringing new folks in, taking some others away, and you hear things.&nbsp; Like how this Ashran killed an elven princess on the night of her wedding, destroying the alliance the marriage had been negotiated to secure.&nbsp; How he had ice in his veins, and fire in his eyes, and didn't know no fear, nor mercy nor weakness neither, and he'd killed more than a man like me could count.&nbsp; <br><br>"Does he have a student?&nbsp; No, my lady, he's lived alone since he came here, and good riddance.&nbsp; Who would want to learn from one such as he's rumored to be?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 21:50:12</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She doesn't let his story change her look, but that is why he was the last on her list; she'd heard the stories, as well, and knew them to be more than rumor. But it was the only way she could learn, the only way she could advance. She needed this man, regardless of his crimes. He was too valuable of a master to be ignored.<br><br>"I may not agree with how he has acted in the past, but he's one of the few who can teach me what I desire. Do you know anything else about him?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>01-11-2007, 21:56:02</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Hmmmmm," Ashran said, rubbing his chin with the stem of his pipe.&nbsp; "You know, I just had a thought that I'm giving an awful lot of information to someone whose name I don't even know.&nbsp; It's the valley, I suppose; it brings out the friendly neighbor in you, if you stay here long enough.<br><br>"Anything more about him?&nbsp; Umm. . .last year there was an orc that came up the road in the middle of winter.&nbsp; He all but dug a trench in the slow that was so deep it covered his head on either side, but still he came out, looking for Ashran, same as you.&nbsp; Only I'm thinking that tusk-face wasn't nearly so eager to be friends with him, if you know what I'm saying.&nbsp; Next morning, we found that orc lying on this porch where we're sitting, the spear he'd been carrying with him, which was taller than you or me, and almost as heavy, broke in half.&nbsp; The sharp point was in his hand, and the dull end. . ."&nbsp; He gave a knowing wink and threw back his head, laughing.&nbsp; "If you can't guess where the blunt end of that spear was, you've got no business knowing."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 07:54:42</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<em>Rather forward for a commoner,</em> she thinks to herself. Extending a hand to him, she introduces herself. "Alison Flamewalker. And to whom do I have the honor of speaking?" She listens to his story about the orc, immediately laughing along with him; definitely not the dainty lady offended by crude jokes. "Well, then, I should hope not to cross him, though I suspect he might find me a more interesting student than an orc."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 14:13:43</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				He shook her hand, bringing the smell of apples from his labor prominently to her, even over the smell of the inn's cooking fires and roasting meat, even over the smell of his pipe smoke.&nbsp; A firm handshake, but not bonecrushingly tight, as he quite plainly could, given the corded muscles of his wrists and forearms.&nbsp; "I'm very pleased to meet you, Alison.&nbsp; Flamewalker is a family name, is it?"<br><br>Tapping out the ashes of his pipe, he stood, stretching his sore back.&nbsp; "Ahh, I've done my gentlemanly duties and seen you safe to a house of good repute.&nbsp; Not that you probably needed it, if you're as sure with a sword as you are with your laugh, and I'll leave you with a good luck.&nbsp; Unless, of course, you'd let me buy you a drink."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 20:30:52</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She smiles, shaking her head. "No, I changed it after my father died. I felt it suited me more than the old one." <em>He's fairly cute... and what's the harm in a couple of drinks?</em> "I think I'll take you up on that offer for a drink... I know I need something to wash this road dust out of my mouth." She laughs heartily. "However, on one condition; you tell me your name." She winks, though she still doesn't suspect this is the man she's looking for. What would a legendary swordsmaster be doing working in an orchard?
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 20:56:45</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Ahh.&nbsp; So she wouldn't let the fact that he hadn't answered her question slip by, and the time for the charade had come to an end.&nbsp; Oh, granted, he could have been clever, and given his surname, which had not found its way to be associated with the legend that had grown up about him; he could have out and out lied to her.&nbsp; But it would have cheapened them both, in Ashran's view, if he had played games like that just because, before they got down to brass tacks, he had been enjoying her company, and would have liked to have enjoyed her company for quite a bit longer.<br><br>"Ashran," he said, as he held the door to the inn open.&nbsp; "And I assure you that you don't need to wait until morning to seek me out.&nbsp; Now about that drink?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 22:46:12</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Pleased to meet you, Ash... ran..." It takes that moment for it to sink into her mind that this, THIS, was the master she'd sought. A thousand thoughts exploded into her head at once, and she nearly panics. <em>What do I say? How do I look? Have I made a good impression? Have I insulted him? Did I compliment him? How did I miss that? What is he doing living like this?</em><br><br>She stands and staggers towards the inn door. "What? But.. how... why... were you expecting me?" <em>Not the best first question, but it'll do.</em>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 22:54:25</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				The interior of the pub, called the Plough by the shingle hung on the overhang of that comfortable porch with its west-facing view, was warm, dark, and comfortable, with a long, curling bar against the right-hand wall, and a smell soaked into every pore of the chairs and table, stools and steps, of the rich yeast of the beer that had been drunk and spilled here, over the years.&nbsp; The house was half-full, and very few did not fail to greet Ashran with a raised glass or a shouted word as he entered, and then consider her, carefully.&nbsp; Apparently, her presence at the side of a native son was enough for them that their questioning stares did not linger, and turned back to their drink and food and games and conversation.<br><br>Ashran sat at the bar, and tapped two fingers in front of him.&nbsp; The innkeeper man, a dusky half-elf with a whistle perpetually on his lips, filled two wooden cups with dark beer.&nbsp; "When someone begins making the rounds, asking for those of us to have studied the Way, we send off a letter to those of us that know, because a knife in the back tends to offend, and not everyone wishes to learn at our feet.&nbsp; So I knew a young lass was looking for me, and I promised coin in the hearing of many young lads to the eyes that spotted you first."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 23:19:53</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She takes the offered beer eagerly, downing nearly half of it in a long drink. "So, all the masters are in contact with one another? That would've been useful to know at the beginning." She looks around the room for a moment, curious as to what else she might have missed. Was there a dragon in the room, too, and she just hadn't seen it, yet? <em>How the hell did I spend all that time with a MASTER of my style, and not even notice?</em> "So, Master Ashran, I guess this is as good a time as any to ask... would you consider taking me on as your student?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>02-11-2007, 23:32:22</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh no, not all," he said, matching her pull at his own mug and swallowing his half in three long gulps.&nbsp; He put the mug down with a look of satisfaction on his face.&nbsp; Very little, he had found, ever, ever hit the spot after a day of hard work, nothing satisfied a sweat-thirst half so well as beer from a cold barrel brought up from the cellar.&nbsp; He licked his lips, and turned on his stool to face her.&nbsp; A few other men from the field, their boots and trousers dusty with hay or their limbs smelling of the cider's press, came in the door, and the general level of noise rose in the common room.<br><br>"Just those of us that knew each other of old; we who trained together or trained one another, old friends or enemies.&nbsp; I had two letters sent my way, though I suspect that you spoke with rather more than that, given that you would have had to go quite out of your way to find yourself in the valley."<br><br>The last, but most important question went unanswered as Ashran looked into his mug, seeing a dim reflection of his face in the drink.&nbsp; A single drop had spilled on the gleaming oak of the bar, and he remembered what he had told Alison, how he had killed a girl on her wedding day.&nbsp; The elfglass balcony had been strewn with white rose petals, and her blood and stained them so brightly.&nbsp; Why had she looked up at that last moment to seem him descending with steel in hand, why could he not forget the color of her eyes, the feel of her body as he lowered it to the floor, or the way her blood had gleamed on rose petals?<br><br>"It's a racket, you know.&nbsp; I get backbreaking labor out of your for a year or two and beat you over the head with a stick, and say incomprehensible things and call it wisdom, and in exchange, you learn a more efficient way to kill people.&nbsp; It's a bad deal, Alison."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>03-11-2007, 10:57:57</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Alison hangs her head for a moment at his comment. Staring into the murky liquid sloshing around in her mug, she takes only a moment to reply. "I want to do something. I want to be more than the carpenter's daughter. I want to be able to help people in trouble, not just stand by the side and watch. I've already done that, I can't stand it. Please, I need someone to help me, to guide me. I need you." Her voice has taken on a pleading quality; she's at her wit's end, by now. She's run out of options, this is her only avenue.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>03-11-2007, 15:30:47</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"And this is better than joining the Watch of some city, is it, or taking holy vows in some temple.&nbsp; No," Ashran held up a hand to cut off Alison's reply.&nbsp; "You've chosen this way, wisely or not.&nbsp; I'll train you."&nbsp; He drank the last of his beer, eyes closed.&nbsp; <br><br>"The irony is that, if what you've just told me is true, then I used to be the kind of person you want to protect people from.&nbsp; Is that irony?&nbsp; I could never remember when it was that or just Fate laughing at us."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>03-11-2007, 20:51:07</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<em>Is he trying to get rid of me? It's not going to work. I've been through too much already, I'm not about to quit, now.</em> Breathing a long sigh of relief, she finishes her beer in sync with him. "Look at it this way," she says, in reply to his last comment, "If you regret that decision as much as it sounds like you do, what better way to make up for it than to train someone who wants to do good, right?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>03-11-2007, 21:06:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				For the first time, the pleasant smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye vanished, and the scruffy rogue look he had unconsciously cultivated was replaced by something more brutish, more dangerous, more animal, as he narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists again and again in his lap.&nbsp; "Do you think that I didn't want to do good?&nbsp; Do you think that I didn't know right from wrong before I lost my way?&nbsp; Do you think I wanted to become the person I told you about."&nbsp; He was sensitive enough to keep his voice down, but even so, the half-elf bartender made a curious face at the normally easy-going Ashran seeming to menace the pretty young lady he'd come in with, and cleared his throat, drawing Ashran's attention away from her.<br><br>"Go again?" the half-elf asked with a kind of singsong accent.<br><br>"No, thank you Mel," Ashran said.&nbsp; "It's going on full dark, and I mean to see my way home tonight."<br><br>"Not just going on.&nbsp; Sun's down, Ashran," Mel said, and looked at Alison.&nbsp; "And you, my lady?" he asked with a sudden, charming smile.&nbsp; "Care to try some of my ham and bean soup?&nbsp; My own mother's recipe, you won't taste better.&nbsp; A bed for the night?&nbsp; Residents are more than welcome."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>03-11-2007, 22:13:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She looks more than a little surprised at the violence in his voice, and flinches slightly. <em>Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I should go back to that Daminor fellow, kill his apprentice, take his spot... no, that's crazy. I'm here, he's accepted me, and this is exactly what I want.</em><br><br>Snapped out of her thoughts by the bartender, she smiles at him. "Yes, I will need a room for the night. And that soup sounds wonderful, I'd love to try some."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 04:56:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				In contrast to Ashran, Mel the landlord was tall and dark, moonpale and skinny, but just as free with a smile, just as boyish in his step as he served her a bowl of soup, a crust of black bread, and a second glass of his beer.&nbsp; "Drink up, lass.&nbsp; The brewing secret I learned from an old Hilshire lad, so you know it's got some legs on it."<br><br>Meanwhile, Ashran had spent a long while looking at the bottom of his cup, the bitterness coming from him in waves before he said, simply, "I'm sorry.&nbsp; Maybe you are right.&nbsp; Maybe you'll do the good I always meant to.&nbsp; Maybe you'll just punish me for my sins.&nbsp; Either way.."&nbsp; He left the thought unfinished.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 08:52:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Alison thanks the bartender, taking a long swallow from the new mug, winking flirtingly at him. She dips a hunk of the bread into the soup, taking a large bite as Ashran speaks, frowning a little; not at the taste of the soup, which is excellent, but at the sorrow he carries in those few words.<br><br>Looking to change the subject to something a little more uplifting, she responds, "Perhaps... but that should be something we worry about at a later time. We'll have plenty of time working together to think about that, right? So... I understand you've been here for a few years, right? Did you... find someone to settle down with? Is that why you left the rest of the world?" While trying not to, her tone of voice indicates that she's interested in him, and is, effectively, asking if he's single or not.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 13:31:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				A new mug of beer was placed down in front of him, as well, which he frowned at.&nbsp; "I don't think I've got this kind of credit, Mel," he told the landlord.<br><br>"Nonsense," was the answer.&nbsp; "You've brought a lady with a bit of class in to brighten up the place, and that's worth a mug."<br><br>"Strange times, Alison," Ashran said, when the half-elf had moved away to deliver a tray of soup and cider to a group of field hands.&nbsp; "When Mel gives drinks away, wise men check the omens.&nbsp; I live alone," he answered simply.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 20:19:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<em>Interesting,</em> she thinks. <em>He's definitely attractive... but I ought to take this slow. No sense rushing into anything. Well, aside from an apprenticeship.</em> Continuing the line of questioning, she tries to pry deeper into him. "So what brought you here? What have you been doing, these past few years?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 20:49:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It almost snuck up on him, the reason she might have had for taking this line of questions, for he had been remembering more and more the gleam of blood on rose petals and sinking into a depression at the feelings that memory brought up, but he saw, or thought he saw, that her interest was more than casual, more even than wanting to know about the man who had accepted her as a student.<br><br>"Oh," he said, and left it at that for a moment, trying to arrange the words in a satisfactory way.&nbsp; "It's not much of a story.&nbsp; It involves a spell of bad weather, being thrown from my horse, and catching fever, wandering the hills blindly for gods know how long.&nbsp; Since then I've been..." he made a vague gesture, a half shrug and sweeping motion to the farm hands that now took up every stool and seat and sat upon the stairs and rail, and around the hearth and sometimes on the tables themselves.&nbsp; "I've been working.&nbsp; Coin doesn't go far, but you can earn your keep by the sweat of your brow, if you're of a mind to."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 21:05:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<em>He's being awfully vague, or he's hiding something. Well, I guess I can give it time.</em> She takes another long drink from her mug, to stall for time, as she thinks of the next thing to discuss. "You like it here, then? Over wandering the world, like before?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 22:37:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It will do, for now, I think.&nbsp; There's a certain rejuvenating aspect to the work in the seasons, to earning your bread through labor, so on and so on.&nbsp; But once you get used to the hard work, you get to thinking, and most of what I've been doing has been...well...getting my shit back together.&nbsp; I don't think it'll last forever, but I don't think I'm done just yet."<br><br>He gave her a smile, the fierceness all but gone from his expression, and he stood up.&nbsp; "Don't let Mel's sweet talk get over on you.&nbsp; He'll fleece the socks off you if you give him half a chance.&nbsp; I have my own supper at home over the fire, so I'll be getting to that.&nbsp; Come by before dawn tomorrow, and be prepared to stay.&nbsp; We'll see where things stand and figure out how much you actually know."&nbsp; Though said pleasantly, there was a hint of promise in his voice that he would not expect her to know much, and would put her through paces hard.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 22:52:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She smiles, glad that he's out of the depressing thoughts, a little caught off-guard by how quickly he's ready to leave. She stands with him, at first considering giving him a hug, but deciding to settle for offering a handshake. "Aye, sir, I'll be ready." She wonders, briefly, what sparring with a true master will be like; her instructor was hardly above where she is now, and much of what she'd learned after leaving him had been self-taught. Now she needed someone to show her the way, and she was eager to see where this would lead.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 23:15:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The chill air rushed into the room as Ashran left after exchanging his goodbyes with Alison and a few of the other men in the room; he passed one window in profile as he rounded the porch, heading off to the little cottage he'd described to her earlier, with strange black glass in the chimney.&nbsp; Mel waited until her cup was nearly empty again, and came back, doubling the charm and sweet honey of his voice.&nbsp; "I'm trying to figure out if Ash will want to have words with me if I dare comment within your hearing that you're the loveliest girl I've seen come through these doors in the last ten years.&nbsp; Are you and he...?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 23:36:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She watches Ashran leave in silence, finishing off her second mug. <em>Strong stuff, this is... better watch myself.</em> She smiles at the compliment, a slight smirk on her lips. "Together? No." <em>Not yet...</em> "I've come to learn under him, become his apprentice."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>04-11-2007, 23:52:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh?" Mel asked, pulling a stool out from under the counter so that he could sit down opposite her.&nbsp; A third mug of beer found its way in front of her, sometime between the time when he sat down and cleared away her plate.&nbsp; He gave a glance over his shoulder, but no one was calling for another round, and his boy was bustling around the tables, collecting used mugs and plates, and he could loaf for a few minutes.<br><br>"Begging your pardon, miss, but there's not much in the way of a master-apprentice relationship one might have to be a woodchopper.&nbsp; You have some logs, you have an axe, and you make kindling.&nbsp; Unless you means to tell us that Ashran is more than a woodcutter from where he and ye come from?"&nbsp; A conspiratorial wink.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>05-11-2007, 02:29:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She arches an eyebrow, momentarily confused, then it clicks. <em>Of course, these people don't know he's a swordsmaster, either, just as I was fooled. Clever dog, he is.</em> "I don't know what he's told you, and what he hasn't, but I'm certain there's a good reason he hasn't spread the truth... though, I will say he is adept at cutting more than just wood." She gestures to the blade at her side, letting him make the connection for himself. She's downed more than half of this third mug, now, and the effects of the alcohol are starting to get to her, the feeling of being more than a little tipsy. "How much is a room here, for the night?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>05-11-2007, 13:42:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Depends," Mel said slyly.&nbsp; "If you want a place by the hearth, no more than the cost of your meal.&nbsp; If you don't mind sharing a room with one of my lodgers on the third floor, I'll ask for no more than a single silver coin.&nbsp; If you'd a room to yourself, I have one on the second floor I can let you have for three silver coins, breakfast included.<br><br>"But I've got a better idea than that.&nbsp; The landlord's apartment is down here on the first floor, and my bed is the best of all."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>05-11-2007, 17:25:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She smiles, considering the offers. Her funds were running a little low, so it might not be best to waste them on the single room. Of course, it had been a while since she'd had a good companion, nearly... what, four months? And the innkeeper wasn't that bad looking, maybe a little fragile. She might break him. The thought makes her grin. Of course, she also has to consider the future... especially if Ashran is single, and he is quite attractive, and she doesn't want to ruin that chance...<br><br>"Mmhmm... I must say, that last offer is attractive... and so are you... but! I'm not so certain... I wouldn't want to irritate my new master by sleeping with his friend, would I?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>05-11-2007, 22:36:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The landlord frowned, and looked about to say something, maybe something a bit biting to salvage his ego, when he was called away to refill mugs and give his boy his supper.&nbsp; The crowds were beginning to thin, and Mel swept up the abandoned drinking vessels and bowls and plates, and added a few more logs of oak on the hot coals of the fire, rubbing the dirt and soot onto an apron no longer quite so white as when he'd began the night.<br><br>"Well, suit yourself," the half-elf said, sitting down on his stool again.&nbsp; He did not refill her drink this time, Alison noticed, his largess not nearly so limitless as he made it out to be when the prospect of bedding her had not been politely declined.&nbsp; "Most people in the valley came from other places, you know.&nbsp; Me included.&nbsp; So a little bit of advice, young lady.&nbsp; I studied at Heliantharial, and had, in my time, some small fame in the elven kingdoms as a bard.&nbsp; One of my teachers in song was a woman, lovely and wise, clever and full of wit and good humor.&nbsp; Despite being of comparable age and agreeable characters, we never became..." he held a hand up, fingers crossed, and shrugged.&nbsp; "I did not want to wake up every morning and think, 'yes, voice lessons today.&nbsp; Will I actually get voice lessons, or are we just going to end in a sweaty pile on the couch.'&nbsp; Just think it over, all I ask."<br><br>***<br><br>Three miles or so away, Ashran closed his own door shut behind him.&nbsp; The moon had risen, more full than not, and old instincts died hard; he opened the door and entered the room in the same motion, cutting right, so that he would not be framed by the bright silvery light.&nbsp; No attack came, of course, and in a moment his eyes had adjusted to the dim, lit only by the embers on his fire, where an old woman had kept them lit in his cottage, as well as at a half-dozen others, throughout the day.&nbsp; A small pot hung on an iron bar over the ashes, and the smell of roasted apples and pork from the same dish; sweet and savory together, made his stomach rumble.&nbsp; He took the pot down, but did not eat his dinner.&nbsp; Instead, the retired Master reached an arm up the chimney, though the rocks were hot enough to sear flesh, until he had withdrawn up to the shoulder, bending his legs as if suddenly holding something heavy.&nbsp; He took a step back, and pulled out his arm.&nbsp; Covered with dirty soot, the flesh was, nevertheless, undamaged, and in his hand was a long, thick box, equally covered in smoke and ashes, but nevertheless beautifully carved and richly lacquered.<br><br>"Hello again, old friends," he said in a soft whisper.&nbsp; "I knew you'd wait for me."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>05-11-2007, 23:26:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She looks a little disappointed as the bartender leaves; she'd been hoping he'd do more to try to convince her... she did always enjoy making a good game out of it. She probably could've said that a lot more carefully, gotten her point across a lot more clearly, but the ale was muddying her thoughts. She tries again, when he returns, to clarify herself, but waits until he finishes speaking, instead. <br><br>"Mmm... that is an excellent point... but did I ever actually decline? No, no... I simply meant, it might, perhaps, be better to have him not find out, yes? Tonight, perhaps, maybe a few others, in secret... and depending on how things go with him, we might even have more, more openly? Of course, you haven't entirely convinced me, yet, to bed you, but I'm not too disagreeable with that notion..." She winks at him, hoping she hasn't irritated him too much.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>06-11-2007, 05:02:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I see," replied the suddenly grinning half-elf.&nbsp; His conspiratorial smirk made him look like a youth a few weeks shy of his first encounter with a razor, and he drummed his fingers on the counter top.&nbsp; "I was grumpy because I had the thought that if I hadn't convinced you already, then I wouldn't be able to.&nbsp; You've probably heard it all before, that your face is like a portrait of a goddess, that your eyes gemstones, that your voice makes a man's heart flutter in his chest..." really pouring it on, now, but, apparently, sincere about each word.<br><br>"I'm not good enough to tell you how beautiful you are in a way you probably haven't heard, so I despaired ever winning you with my poor words.&nbsp; That you even still think me worthy makes me believe in the gods again..." a little over the top, sure, but with a knowing grin.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>06-11-2007, 08:14:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She laughs at the flowery prose, knowing, from his mention of spending time as a bard, that he is, very likely simply heaping on the praise to get on her good side. <em>Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. A girl needs to be told she's beautiful, even a thuggish woman like me.</em> "You make it sound as if you haven't seen a woman in years. Is this town so bereft of them? Of course, you still haven't convinced me <em>entirely</em>... because, while I'm fairly certain I could keep you up all night, the real question is if you can keep me interested." She grins wickedly, as she takes another long drink, nearing the bottom of her mug.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>06-11-2007, 22:06:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Ah ha!&nbsp; So by insinuating against my manhood, you hope to convince me, my rose, that you are a fiery, feisty, spunky, tough cookie, and make yourself seem even more of a challenge?&nbsp; Well played, beautiful, well played."&nbsp; The crowd had mostly played out by then, only a couple of men remained, one of them slumped over his beer, the other one looking with a thousand mile stare into the night, oblivious of Mel's easy, flowery words to the woman.&nbsp; Even the boy was curled up on the rug before the fire.<br><br>"Well let me just answer the only way I can in this little set-piece; unnecessary declaration of my own virility.&nbsp; You would have nothing to regret from the time you'd spend with me."&nbsp; He laughed into his hand, serious about it but simply tickled at describing what it was they both saw that he was doing.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>06-11-2007, 22:16:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Is that so, then?" She leans closer to him, over the bar, the front of her armor slipping down, not enough to really show anything, except a hint at what lies beneath. She's about halfway over the bar, and seems to be encouraging him to come the other halfway to meet her. "If so, I might just have to accept that offer, to test your claim. We can't have something like that go untested, can we?" She giggles, sounding more like a girl than a mercenary.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>07-11-2007, 14:15:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh yes," Mel said, and, winking, picked up on her clue from earlier about her purpose in the valley.&nbsp; "After all, a blade that is untested may well break in the heat of...battle."&nbsp; Just the tiniest pause.&nbsp; The half-elf reached up and caressed Alison's cheek with the back of his hand, bringing himself closer to her across the bar, eyes shining eagerly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>07-11-2007, 17:26:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She licks her lips a little, in anticipation of a kiss, leaning slightly into the caress, not wanting to say anything to interrupt the action.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>07-11-2007, 22:13:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				His kiss was sweet, nothing more than a whisper of his lips against her, the barest flash of warmth as his tongue explored the inner corner of her mouth, supple hand on the back of her neck and drifting down, to her shoulder on its conclusion, and giving her a small tug towards the back, towards the privacy of his bedroom.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>08-11-2007, 00:05:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She closes her eyes for the kiss, melting into it, having forgotten how good it feels. She lets the tug take her, lead her away from the bar, to his bedroom, eyes still closed, letting her other senses enjoy this moment.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>08-11-2007, 15:35:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Some might have come to the valley with nothing more than the shirts on their backs and remained dirt poor ever since, but it was clear that Mel was not one of those.&nbsp; Where he led Alison was a small suite that backed the stone hearth of the common room, and was furnished with tastefully luxuriant pieces of elven furniture.&nbsp; A four-post bed was carved with lazy patterns of dark-stained ivy and vines, and the mattress looked sinfully comfortable, soft and inviting.&nbsp; The rug continued the pattern of natural themes, suggesting golden leaves against a dark blue background of branching limbs.<br><br>Mel closed the door behind them, threw a bolt, and took her in arms, she could feel that beneath his tradesman clothes his body, thin but well made, and he kissed her again, fully, but curiously tender, his arms moving to the small of her back and up to her shoulder blades.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>09-11-2007, 22:44:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Mm, nice place," is all she manages to get out, before he takes her in his arms. She returns the kiss, a bit more forcefully and insistently, wiggling her body against his hands, and adding her own to his body, one hand running down his spine, the other sliding up, ending at the back of his neck and his belt, grinding her hips a little against him, clearly planning to enjoy this night.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>12-11-2007, 14:42:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Alison found Mel's hands drifting inside her top, across her stomach and hips, and taking the garment up, over her head, and casting it to the floor.&nbsp; He took a knee, lips and cheek against her stomach, worrying the button on her pants open before he stood up again, returning to kiss her roughly and guide her back to the elegant bed.&nbsp; "Nice," he whispered, running a hand across her bosom, fingertips light and ticklish.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>12-11-2007, 17:43:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She lets her top be discarded, giggling as he drops to one knee, taking the opportunity to remove his shirt as well. She drops to the bed easily, moaning slightly at the attention to her breasts, her fingers tracing across his chest, running along the lines of his muscles, pulling him down onto the bed with her, on top of her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>21-11-2007, 19:09:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Soft enough on its own, after a time of sleeping on the hard ground beneath the cold stars and icy moon, the bed seemed to absorb her in downy arms, warming her.&nbsp; Mel came along easily enough, cupping her ass and parting her legs as he rubbed his loins against the insides of her thighs.&nbsp; Beneath the rough fabric of his pants, she could feel him, hot and hard, pressure against her leg.&nbsp; A hand reached out, unshuttered the lantern, and cast a low glow over their twining limbs.&nbsp; "Rough or soft?" he asked, squeezing the flesh beneath his hands lightly.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>23-11-2007, 09:53:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She gasps softly as he rubs himself against her leg, slipping a hand down the back of his pants, to give his ass a squeeze, in return. "I think I, ooh, want it rough, at first... maybe if you're up for it... another time, softer, gentler." She growls at him, ready to get aggressive.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>24-11-2007, 23:12:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Can do, pretty lady," said the half-elf before he bent his head and lay his lips, hot and moist, against her neck.&nbsp; Alison could feel his teeth scraping against the flesh, seizing up bits of skin, biting oh so exquisitely and the mouth then closing around the aroused skin, sucking it.&nbsp; His hands kneaded her breasts, pinched and pulled the nipples, and from the back of his throat came a low, lusty growl.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>26-11-2007, 10:09:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She gasps at the feel of his teeth, letting her nails dig into his back, drawing him closer to her and asking for more. She moans, her body, abandoned during her long trip, awakening her fighter's instincts once more; she was about ready to flip him over, strip them both the rest of the way, and start riding him. She might have to do that, anyway. For now, though, she'll enjoy this, wrapping her legs around behind him, moaning at the touches, encouraging him onward.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>27-11-2007, 17:15:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sensing, perhaps, that her instincts are very near losing him the position "on top," Mel quickens his efforts.&nbsp; His fingers hook into the waistband of her trousers, give a jerk, and toss them carelessly over one shoulder.&nbsp; He steps back, removing his own pants as well, and lays atop of her, taking hold of the backs of her knees and drawing her legs up and apart, thighs against her torso to angle her pelvis <em>just so.</em> <br><br>And then, without another word, without breaking the firm grips on her legs, the half-elf thrusts.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>28-11-2007, 18:10:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She squeaks in surprise at his quick, fluid movements, wiggling a little to help with her pants being removed, eying him lustfully as he finishes disrobing, growling as he manipulates her legs, gasping in pleased surprise as he thrusts. Her hands dig into the bedspread, as she gives a lusty moan, encouraging him onward.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>28-11-2007, 18:59:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				In three half-thrusts, he has gathered enough of her moisture to smooth his way, bottoming out and resting their pelvises together with a satisfied moan.&nbsp; He lets go his grip on her knees, fondling her breasts, lying flat on her chest, and arches his back deeply as he pulls out.&nbsp; "Feels so damn slick," he murmurs to her.&nbsp; "Like a tight fucking glove."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>29-11-2007, 09:39:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Wriggling beneath him, she shifts her hips in time with him, helping him draw in and out, gasping as he slides in all the way. She arches her back, bringing her breasts closer to him, one hand moving to his back, running her fingers up and down his spine. "Ohh... it feels so big, oh, faster, please... don't hold back."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>01-12-2007, 20:53:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Needn't worry," he muttered, breaking the two words by placing a kiss on her gasping mouth as his hips dug and ground her against the bed like an oiled machine.&nbsp; "I wouldn't if you...ah!...if you paid me."&nbsp; And he was using his hips for all they were worth.l&nbsp; Each time their pelvises met, it was with a smack of flesh against flesh, and he was driving her across the soft mattress, until the top of her head bumped lightly against the headboard every time his cock opened her up and he felt himself drown in her warm tightness.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>02-12-2007, 09:45:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She doesn't reply, except to cry louder as he gives it his all, not even protesting as she begins to bang her head against the headboard, only seeming to be driven wilder by the feeling. Her hands claw into his back, as she uses her legs, wrapped behind him, to pull him in with each thrust, clenching her muscles around him, making herself tighter as he pushes in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>02-12-2007, 20:23:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Quicker than he would have liked, but not nearly soon enough for the burning, aching lust in his loins, Mel let out one last long moan, and shoved his cock into her as deep as it would go, spasming.&nbsp; His seed came out in a gush, and he bent his back, as if pulling it from the base of his spinal column, emptying into her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>03-12-2007, 18:45:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She hits her climax just a moment before he does, her muscles squeezing tight around him, her body shuddering as the ripples of pleasure tear through her. She arches her back, pulling herself against him as she squeezes her legs around his ack, pulling him in as deep as he can go. She's fairly sure she's going to leave a few finger-sized bruises on his back for tomorrow.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>05-12-2007, 21:00:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Wow," he said, when he'd calmed down, when he could do anything but lay there, gulping for breath like a fish out of water.&nbsp; He rolled himself off of her, propped himself on an elbow, and rested a hand on her hip.&nbsp; "Now that was nice.&nbsp; Can't thank you enough, been longer than I care to remember, etcetera."&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>06-12-2007, 09:11:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She'd had better... had worse, too, and, on the scale, this was fairly quality. One can't be choosy in a situation like this, and there's certainly nothing wrong with his appearance, not at all...<br><br>She speaks slowly, sensually, drawing her words out, taking her time. "Mmm, I'd say that was more than a good deal, on both our parts..." She giggles, trailing a finger down his chest, across his stomach, licking her lips a little. "I could certainly be up for another go, if your rapier..." she slides her hand down further, wrapping it around his member. "...isn't too worn, that is."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>18-12-2007, 16:57:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He let out a noise, somewhere between a moan and a whimper, as his cock twitched in her hand, each heartbeat stiffening it until it was hard and thick again, and the sleepiness that had overtaken him post-coitus was quite the farthest thing from his mind.<br><br>"Isn't it amazing how far you can stretch a metaphor?" he asked.&nbsp; He stood, swiftly, and took Alison by the arm, leading her to the nearest corner, where the stones were warm from the fire.&nbsp; He took a knee, burying his smooth cheeks in the fine hair of her pubis, parting her legs and letting his tongue sniff out the source of her heat.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>22-12-2007, 09:55:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She'd been content to remain in bed... but this was good, too. Soaking in the warmth of the stones beneath her feet, she closes her eyes... and, as such, is caught off guard as he drops to his knee, gasping in sudden surprise, which quickly turns into a moan of pleasure, as she rests her hands on his head for balance.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Unnatural Selection</strong> on <strong>26-12-2007, 20:32:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Tongue lapping, fingers spreading her open, she heard him give something between a laugh and a purr as he tasted his own cum in her pussy; mixed with her own juices, the sweat licked from her skin, all of it.&nbsp; Like a hot, wriggling eel, it lashed about in her, extending out of his mouth as far as it could, to thrust in and out of her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Steel and Silk (Jeramiahh and Unnatural Selection)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Jeramiahh</strong> on <strong>01-01-2008, 11:05:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Leaning more heavily on his head, her knees almost giving out under this, she shivers as she focuses on remaining standing, panting lightly and cooing softly. "Ohh, you know just what I need."
			</dd>
		</dl>
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