Spell and Thought, Magick and Mind (runawayninja x kuro_mari)

[runawayninja]

Rafe gasped out as he bolted upright in bed. He was covered in cold sweat as he tried to catch his breath, looking around for the supernatural beast that had been pursuing him in his dreams. But as he slowly realized that it had only been a dream, he became aware of a shooting pain in his abdomen. His stomach was bandaged up and treated. That is were the arrow had been.

The next thing he realized was that he was not at home or anywhere else he might call such a familiar term. It was a place he hadn't been before or remembered. He wondered how he got here...and whether or not he might be in danger.

Rafe was a young man with the vigor and beauty of youth on him. He had long silvery hair and bright, sharp green eyes that spoke of being curious and a tinge of nervous care at the moment. He was tall and slender, lithe and athletic. He found that he was not very much dressed save for some underwear. Whoever had dressed his wound appeared to been thorough with him.

 

[kuro_mari]

The small hut was no larger than 15x15 feet, made of meticulously placed limbs and clay matting to form solid walls that would keep the wind out. In the center of the round room the hut formed was a roaring fire. Moss and other plants were strewn up on the walls for decoration or preservation, small trinkets and ornaments also on display upon the walls. Multiple baskets of goods were piled against the walls, a bed made of furs in one corner next to a pile of mixing bowls. It was apparent that this was someone’s home, that person being very familiar with the terrain Skyrim had to offer.

The silver haired man was laying on a tanned blanket of leather, fresh bindings around his stomach, a green poultice smeared over the wound to help increase the healing process. Working quietly and efficiently in a corner, a delicately framed woman turned around upon hearing the gasp from the man she had tended to earlier in the day. She had found him suffering from a grave wound, thus took him in for medicinal treatment.

Quietly rising and walking to his side, she kneeled before the fire with a mixing bowl in her hand, green and tan herbs being mixed within the bowl with her fingers. Tilting her head lightly to the side as she peered at the man’s face, watching the orange flames flick across his silvered hair, her own reddish hair took on more of an orange hue. Kneeling across from the man on her knees, she quietly gripped a metal pot of water that was near the flames and sprinkled the herbs she was mixing into the water to form a medicinal tea. Lightly moving her hand over the pot, the water immediately swirled and stirred itself as her mahogany eyes glanced up into the sharp green ones of her guest.

“Move slowly, otherwise you will disturb the poultice scabbing.” She said in a soft yet eloquent voice that reflected years beyond the appearance of her Nordic youth.

 

[runawayninja]

Once he had gotten his bearings, he calmed down a lot and started to take in his surroundings. He looked at the woman who was instructing him and then he looked down against to see his bandaged wound. For a moment, he forgot about how it got there, but just a moment to remember and it came back to him. "I'm sorry...I...don't remember getting here. But I assume you cared for me...thank you." He spoke quietly and softly, looking at her.

Once he had relaxed a lot more, he slowly laid back on the ground. She found him...and cared for him...but that was no guarantee that she had his best interests at heart. He looked at her a long moment, as if trying to read her. "While I am very grateful...I would like to know what plans you have for me..." He wanted to make sure she hadn't planned on...eating his liver or doing something of the sort. That nightmare hadn't been an idle one.

 

[kuro_mari]

Nodding lightly to confirm that she had taken care of him, the woman lightly placed the bowl she held near the fire and tucked some of her hair back with a bone pin. “You’re welcome, stranger.” She said lightly before chuckling darkly at the man’s comment about cannibalism, simply pouring some of the hot liquid from the pot on the fire into a smaller cup, handing it to the man once the herbs had settled on the bottom.

“I assure you, that is far from my intent. I am a Nord, after all.” Leaning back on her feet, she slowly sat and crossed her legs. She was dressed in simple leather armor, adorned with beads and embroidery for decoration. There were tattoos around her bare ankles and feet signifying her clan’s craft, but she didn’t expect a stranger to understand them. “These are cold lands, if you are not prepared, they will consume you. It will take time for your wound to heal, a few days at least. You need your rest and resist provoking the wound.” Her tone was kind yet firm, like a stubborn nursemaid.

 

[runawayninja]

He laid back and watched her work. One of the Northmen. They were kin, maybe a little strange, but not cannibals. At least not any that he knew of. "Did I really get this far? I've been without a map for some time now..." He looked towards her. "How far am I from the North Sea and Northwall?" Northwall was a massive mountain of impassable ice in the midst of the North Sea. It was, for all purposes, unable to be scaled or passed.

He didn't say why he was going there, but there was a lot of legend and mystery surrounding the Northwall.

 

[kuro_mari]

Glancing at the stranger, she lightly pulled her hair back and tied it with a leather strip she kept tied around her wrist, looking up at one of the walls of the hut at a marked hide. "You are pretty far north. The North Sea is a few days travel if you go down from the base of Northwall. We are on one of the neighboring mounts now to Northwall, not as cold and frigged, but still harsh enough that without proper gear you wouldn't survive the night." Her voice was a bit dry as she spoke, as if she were hinting at his carelessness for going about unprepared and getting wounded, but it soon faded away as she re-addressed the issue of their location. "There are tribes that live further into the valley, but I live up here in seclusion. You were lucky that I found you when I did, otherwise you would be frozen dog meat by now." Her earthy eyes were locked on the wound in his belly now, frowning at it as if deep in thought before she stood and walked toward the area of herbs that were drying, idly picking at them for her next concoction.

 

[runawayninja]

He nodded slowly, becoming more placid and reserved than before, if that were possible. "I thank you then...again, for sparing me." He looked up at her. "Northwall, why have you taken up residence in such an isolated place? So...dreary and alone on this, the mount of the north?" He looked at her, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

 

[kuro_mari]

Giving a light shrug of her shoulders, she simply stared off to the side for a few moments while her back was turned to him as she formulated her answer before speaking. "Well, when you are forced to live in isolation within your own village, living in a desolate place isn't much different except for the fact that you don't have to pretend to not exist around everyone that chooses to ignoring you." She wasn't very loud when she spoke, but loud enough to broadcast the message that she was used to being alone and on her own, which was most likely why she lived so far away from people now that she was an adult.

 

[runawayninja]

"I see..." Rafe thought better of asking any further. She might not like him prying into her personal matters and affairs. He watched her carefully and he seemed to be studying her, or seeing more than just her physical appearance. "Forgive me, I am remiss, I did not introduce myself. I'm Rafe...what does my savior call herself?"