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The Blade And The Cogs [Lord Red and Bonnibel von Bubblegum]

The bandit's leader, bruised and battered from Connie's assault, is able to get up as Connie slithers her way to Dani's side. She stands with her back to the swordswoman, eyeing the three she fought. The leader stands up without making any sudden movements. He seems torn between a burning desire to attack those who humiliated him, and the common sense self preservation telling him that doing so would be an atrocious idea. Self preservation wins out, and he tells his goons "Back off. We lost."

They slink off into the woods, cutting strips of fabric from their clothes to wrap the wounds. Once they're out of sight, Connie looks to Dani. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

Danielle makes clear to her friend that she's fine, and asks in turn if Connie needs any help. "No, I'm fine-I'll spend a little time cleaning up the scratches, but nothing that actually impairs functionality." She gives Dani a quick hug. "I'm sorry this happened. Just get me if you need anything, okay?"
 
Danielle smiled and shook her head. "They weren't skilled enough and this was more than enough to protect me from glancing blows," the mercenary replied as she patted the strange device on her right thigh. It looked like piece of leather armour with some sort of ornate decoration on it with a red and blue stone as its focus. Upon closer inspection it would reveal itself to be a magical device and to demonstrate its functionality Dani moved to lightly hit her leg with her blade only for a magical barrier to spring up to stop her blade. "Handy little device I picked up awhile ago," she said with an self impressed smile.

Returning the Naga's hug, she nodded. "I will let you know if I need anything," she the assured the girl as she encouraged her to get some rest while she sheathed her sword and sat back down. She doubted the bandits would be back after being so thoroughly humiliated by the two but that did not mean that there weren't other threats out here to worry about.

Fortunately the rest of her watch went by uneventfully and she roused Connie awake when it was her time to take over. "Make sure to wake me if anything happens. It is better we take on any threat together then trying to take it on ourselves," she reminded the girl before climbing into the tent and getting undressed and ready to sleep, keeping her sword nearby Incase she needed it.
 
Connie's eyes linger perhaps a touch long on Dani's breasts, but she nods. "Understood!"

Luckily, it's the rays of the morning sun awakening Danielle, not any crisis at hand. When dressed and stepped outside, Connie greets her warmly. "Morning! I was going to try and have some food ready, but I didn't take any myself and I figured I shouldn't go through your stuff just to find food for you. But I did start a little fire for cooking!" she informs the mercenary, gesturing to a small circle of stones with a comfortable blaze within.

The swordswoman prepares herself a small meal, warmed over the fire, while Connie starts to pack up the tent. "So, if I read the maps right, we'll be reaching Oakenleaf in two or so days of travel. My dad didn't have any notes on it other than that it existed. Have you ever been there?"
 
After a night of contented sleep, Danielle dressed and joined Connie by the campfire. Lazily she listened to the girl and nodded as she went through her pack and began prepping breakfast for herself, and Connie if she wanted.

Though she was not stupid enough to carry any incriminating evidence with her as they set out from town, the mercenary still appreciated the Naga's respect for her privacy. It almost made her feel a little guilty for misleading her but not enough to override her professionalism.

When asked about the next town, Dani shrugged. "If I have, I do not remember it. I've travelled through many different places and so they all sorta blend together after a while," she explained a little dismissively. She obviously wasn't a morning person from her energy but neither was she trying to be rude.
 
She politely turns down the offer for food-resources might not be scarce, but no sense getting in bad habits. "That's kinda cool. And weird to me. Like... My whole life was in that little cove my dad and I called home. And now... Well, I mean, I still want to go home at some point. But the world is so big! And there's so many people, and they're so nice, and some of them are really pretty! And the food is good, and..." she trails off when she can see Dani's not in the mood for her rambling right now. "Sorry! I'll, uh... Tent."

With the tent and supplies packed up, the two women continue their journey. The day is largely uneventful, though Danielle alone notices that there are prying eyes in the forest. Probably some more of the bandits that were discouraged on the first night-nothing to be worried over, though.

The day after, when Dani awakens, she finds a few pretty wildflowers set at the front of the tent. And when she exits, she sees Connie working a bunch of them into a little crown. "Morning!" she chirps happily. "We passed these earlier, so I grabbed some. Pretty, aren't they?"

Oakenleaf's smoke is visible, as well as a few of the structures, putting it maybe two hours of walking away.
 
As the two travelled together, Connie seemed to pick up on Danielle was not a morning person and kept their conversations light until the afternoon where the mercenary was better at meeting the girl half way.

They travelled for another two days without event, despite the eyes that Dani sensed on them for the first day. When she woke the third day, she knew that they would be arriving at Oakenleaf, the lights of the town being within sight as they set up for camp.

As always, Connie was all too gleeful in the morning. This time the girl seemed to have set herself to the task of making a flower crown.

"Yeah, real pretty," Danielle replied deadly as she plopped herself down and began fixing herself some breakfast. She probably could have waited till they got to town to pick up some real food but her stomach could not wait.

Sighing as she got to cooking, she asked, "Do you want to split up once we get to town to look for clues or do you want to stick together?"
 
Peering ahead, Connie says "I don't know how large Oakenleaf is. It was barely mentioned on the maps, so it might just be a little farming village. So we can just stay in earshot, in case we need one another."

Dani finishes her meal as Connie finishes the flower crown, setting it on her head with a big smile. The two women pack the tent away, and make the last leg of the trek to Oakenleaf.

Much as Connie suspected, the village is not a large one. There's a few homes spread around the farms, and a little central collection of buildings. There's a small inn, a little store, a large house, a functional smithing area, and a few other structures in the center area. In the blacksmith's is a short and stout woman, hammering at a horseshoe. "I'll take to the smith!" Connie says. "I'm good with metalwork."

She approaches the smith, her usual smile on her face, and waves with a "Hello!" The smith grunts something in response, but remains focused on her work. "Oh, sorry! I'll wait."

While Connie waits, Danielle notices a man eyeing the naga. He's tall, broad-shouldered, and has the look of a hard-working man. And his face makes clear that he's distrustful of this strange outsider.
 
The two headed into the village and Danielle watched Connie head over to the smith. Shrugging, she had been ready to off to find someone else to talk to when she spotted the man eyeing the Naga. He was a tall man with broad shoulders but did not look like he would be an immediate threat. Just a hard working villager who was suspicious of outsiders. She could leave him till later but she thought the better of that and decided to approach him while his attention was clearly on the other girl.

"Good morning there, couldn't help but notice you watching my companion there. I can assure you she means well, she just has some questions to ask around the village," the mercenary told him in a casual tone.

"My name is Danielle, nice to meet you," she offered as she extended her hand his way. Being subtle about it, she looked him over to see if she could get a better read of the man, of whether he was more than met the eye or not before letting her guard down.
 
As best Danielle can tell, he's no threat-not a physical one, at least. He's well-muscled, but they're not fighting muscles, just farming muscles. Depending on how influential he is in the village, he might be able to cause trouble that way, but should a fight break out, there's less a chance of him injuring Dani than the bandits had.

He declines to shake the offered hand. "Yeah, 'means well'... I'm sure," he says. "Nothing good comes from things like that."

Over by the forge, Connie is completely oblivious to the man's disgust.
 
"You wouldn't be saying something like that if you got to know her. She's a lovely girl," Danielle replied with a shrug. She had found Connie to be disarmingly charming when they first met and even though the mercenary was ultimately being dishonest about her own objectives, she had come to actually like the girl quite a bit. They had not slept together since that first night though and Danielle was beginning to wonder if she had dreamed that at this point.

Taking a little breath, Danielle added, "We are just looking for somebody, is all. We'll be outta your hair once we have a lead." She then described the inventor to the farmer, keeping her tone casual and friendly as she spoke, seemingly unphased by his mistrust of them.

"If you can tell us anything about such a man, or give us directions to someone who might, then we'll not stay any longer than we need to," she tried to assure him as she finished talking.
 
"Lovely, sure... Monsterfucker," he spits venomously. "But, if it gets you to leave, someone matching that description came through. Stayed one night, left early in the morning. Didn't like him either."

Danielle pries for a little more details, and gets the direction Gregory was heading-it matches the information already known, towards the Zenni. Before she gets a chance to end the conversation, though, Connie slithers over. "Good news, Dani! It sounds like my dad did come through here-and I offered to help Pendal with some of her works. She's got the horseshoes and such down pat, but there's a more ambitious project that she's working on. And hi!" she addresses the man.

The man simply spits at Connie, glares at her and Danielle, and stalks away. "Did... Did I do something wrong?" Connie asks.
 
"Don't mind him. He wasn't very pleasant with me either. I don't think he trusts outsiders," Danielle assured the sensitive Naga.

Smiling back at the girl though, she did inform her, "He did mention seeing someone matching your father's description pass through and it looks like he continued on towards the Zenni." It was not entirely surprising but neither did the mercenary look forward to having to interact with the Zenni people, who could be quite difficult depending on whether you struck their fancy or not.

Nodding towards the smithy, she then asked, "How long do you think you will be with Pendal? Should I reserve a room at the inn for us, or do you think you'll be done in time for us to leave? I don't think we'll find ourselves very welcome here."
 
"Um," Connie starts.

Pendal says something before the naga can properly articulate her thoughts. "If she's lending me a hand, the least I can do is offer a place to sleep for the night. My home might not be the biggest, but it's got space for a few visitors. And don't mind William-he doesn't like anyone from anywhere. Hell, took him two years of me living here before he was willing to get so much as a horseshoe from me!"

"Well... I guess that's good? I mean, that it's him that's rude and not me," Connie says. "And thank you very much, Miss Pendal!"

The smith laughs. "No need for that! Just Pendal will do. Now, you say you've some experience with metallurgy, so what do you think..." she adds as she and Connie talk smithwork. Danielle knows the basics, so she can care for her equipment if nothing else, so she can follow along.

I figure Connie and Dani can stay the night and enjoy one another's company, since there's no need for a watch in town.

Also! I hope you're doing alright. Haven't been posting for a bit, so if there was something causing troubles, I sincerely hope it's all resolved for the better! :)
 
Well it was nice to see that not everyone in town was as mistrusting as the man, William. Having to not pay for a room at the inn was also a nice change of pace and not one that Danielle would pass up. The mercenary even stuck around to offer any help she might be able to provide with the metallurgy. She did not know nearly as much as the other two, but if they were forging anything she could help with precise and timely strikes. Otherwise she just stood back and listened, trying to understand as much as she could while also watching how Connie interacted with the woman, to try and see if she could gleam anything she hadn't noticed from interacting with the Naga directly.

Once the two moved onto more technical theory that she did not understand, Danielle excused herself and headed inside to set up in the spare room. She imagined that Connie would join her when she was done and so made sure to make it comfortable for the both of them. She also took care of the cooking for the evening, making use of Pendal's kitchen and ingredients to make something nice for the three of them, for more if she found other signs of habitation within the home besides Pendal herself.

It was nice to sit down and enjoy a meal with others, something that Danielle had not been as well accustomed to on her travels. She kept the conversation away from herself though and more on the project the other two had been working on and Pendal herself, or let Connie take over as the girl seemed to be quite the chatter box.

That sounds good to me. Sorry for the prolonged absences. Been busy this week in particular but hopefully that should be clearing up c:
 
Other than handing off tools, Dani isn't needed to provide a ton of help. The project Pendall is working is a rather elaborately engraved set of armor.

When the time for cooking arrives, Dani comes back for a few moments just to check with Pendall where the foodstuffs actually are. And when the day of labor is done, as the smells of delightful cooking waft their way, Connie and Pendall retire to the kitchen. No separate dining room in this home.

"Connie here tells me you're helping her look for her dad. Mighty nice of you," she lets you know. "Where are you from?"

Danielle gives a vague answer, and redirects the conversation to the armor. "That's for my birthright-my family used to be crusaders. We've long since stopped the whole 'righteous army' bit, but we've some heirlooms that are in need of repair. That suit of armor was worn by my great great grandfather, last, when he went to fight the dragon Haruspex."

"Did he win?" Connie asks.

Pendall shakes her head. "But he died saving others. An honorable death." She takes a bite of the meal provided, and smiles. "Gods, that's some good cooking! I should really get my spices out more often..."

The evening turns to night, and Pendall breaks out the alcohol. "Here, something fun for the night! Connie, can you get drunk?"

The naga shakes her head initially, but pauses. "Um... Maybe. It's not something I've built in yet. The main function I've mimicked that wasn't part of my original design is touch." She looks at Dani and blushes a little. "Something Dani knows pretty well."
 
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