Bleak and Barron [OPEN]

[M'koteg Tombclub]

He had never thought too much of the wilderness, but then again, he had never stayed too much time in it unless time or his job permitted it. He mostly stayed in inns or major cities, hoping to get hired by some poor fool who was unable to take care of themselves, even on the simplest of roads. The only time he ever really needed to go into the wilderness was when there was no work to be found in one place, and, thus, he went somewhere else to try and find it. That was what had brought him to the wilderness of Falkreath Hold, hoping to find the main city in the hopes that a traveler would be in need of his assistance. Everyone seemed to need to these days, due to the increase of bandits and whatnot. And, of course, the Dragons that still roamed the lands, even after the Dragonborn defeat Alduin two years ago.

The Orc merely snorted to himself at the thought of someone being afraid of a Dragon these days. Most that were left were sided with the Empire, and weren't looking to hurt anyone for fear of being killed. And the ones that were ready to kill a mortal, well, they seemed to know better than to try and kill someone without trying to figure something out beforehand, right? Their numbers were already dwindling, so why risk themselves even more so by doing something so idiotic? They wouldn't. Or, the ones who had some sort of brains wouldn't, at least. Nothing could ever be so stupid, could it? But then again...

"Stupid trees," the Orc muttered as he kicked a good sized branch out of his line of walking.

Said branch went flying from it's non too sturdy hold in the ground, hitting against a rocking and splitting into three different pieces, of which flew in different directions altogether. A few birds in the trees above, startled, squawked unpleasantly and thus flew from their perches, trying to flee to better hiding places before they were caught. The Orc merely grumbled at the small creatures as he walked on, ignoring them as he did so. Although he didn't entirely mind nature, it wasn't necessarily his strong suit, either. If there was an arena in Skyrim, like he heard that they once had back in Cyrodiil before the Oblivion Crisis ran down the whole country, he would have quickly joined it. He enjoyed the aspect of fighting, but it seemed that he would just have to settle for fighting for those who couldn't fight for themselves.

The light slowly began to shift from late afternoon to early evening, a few docile animals sneaking to their sleeping areas while others began to wake up for the day. A fox on a nearby hill poked it's head from behind a rock, watching the intruder cautiously before slinking quickly to a nearby bush, and thus further into the confines of the forest. A small, white hare dashed out in front of the Orc's path, and for a moment, he had to pause to make sure nothing else was going to suddenly appear and try to trip him up before moving on. Most animals seemed easy to get along with unless provoked, however some, like wolves, always seemed itching for a battle whenever they saw human life.

Not like he ever was, of course. He just knew when to act decent and subtle. Sometimes.

[Kiseena the Shadow]

Another day another Septim. Right.

For Kiseena, it was more like "another death another Septim." She had just collected her payment for her last contract. No one special, just another sellsword. He'd been asking for it anyway. The black cat rolled her eyes at the thought of her sobbing client whining something about thier dead friend who had been killed by the sellsword and how he deserved it and so on and so forth. The epitome of the word annoying. There was a pleasant silence in the forest, the kind that Kiseena thrived on. She was quite the introvert, not truly making a connection with anyone but instead preparing herself to kill anyone she met.

At any rate, she had returned to the Sanctuary and changed into her fur armour to hide the fact that she was an assassin. She looked like any other Khajiit except for her war paint. She tried to keep it on always as a connection to her past.

There she was, enjoying the silence, when a loud crack startled her. She jumped and the fur on her tail stood on end.

"By Sithis." she rasped. She stood and slunk toward the source of the sound. There was a rather large branch in three pieces near a large rock. It was either an Orc, a lost troll, or a very angry Mage. Perhaps something else, but she knew soon enought that it was, in fact, an Orc. She'd killed many Orcs over the years. Hm.

As usual, she saw him before he saw her.

"It's hardly the branch's fault that you're not in the mood for it." she said in her raspy voice. She was behind the Orc and expected him to either turn to face her with his weapon drawn or jump and frantically try to draw it. She wouldn't kill him. He didn't yet have a contract out on him so she had no reason to kill him. She could slip away from him easily enough. He'd never get past the door of the Sanctuary anyhow. No one would. That was why it was called a Sanctuary.

At any rate, she stayed calm and collected as she awaited his response. She leaned against the tree behind her and crossed her arms.

[M'koteg Tombclub]

"It's hardly the branch's fault that you're not in the mood for it."

So say that Ko was surprised as an understatement. The Orc spun around towards the source of the sound, his rather bulky frame instantly going into a slightly defensive position, ready to grab his weapon when needed. After a moment of staring at the figure, though, he seemed to relax back into his former state. A Kahjiit? And a female, no less. Now he wasn't so surprised that someone had managed to sneak up on him like that; Kahjiit were sneaky little buggers, and Ko had learned quite easily that they made better thieves more than any other race out there. At least, that's what he had learned both back at home and on his travels. This one seemed dressed up for sneaking as well, although if she had been planning to try and get something off of him without him noticing, she wasn't doing a good job of it.

"Yeah, and what's it t' you?" he snorted, however his voice betraying that it was merely a joke of the sorts.

She didn't seem too much of a threat at the moment, and if she was, he was sure he would just try to find a way to disarm her. He wasn't the type of person to hurt ladies, after all. He hadn't really met too many females around int he wilderness for a while, not that he thought about it. Most stayed at home, cleaning the house and taking care of the children and whatnot, while others joined the Stormcloaks or the Legion, and they were rarely seen in general, due to the fact that they seemed to blend into the crowd of others in their army. He wasn't against women fighting for something, of course; he was raised in a Stronghold where women were taught to fight and manage a forge from a young age. But out in Skyrim, women seemed more accustomed to house work than hard labor.

"Care if I ask what a lady like you is doin' out here in the wilderness all alone?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, before stating, "Haven't seen too many travelin' by themselves as of late, is why I'm askin'."

He wasn't too worried for her, of course. She seemed to be able to take care of herself, and anyone with good sneaking skills could probably sneak their way out of just about anything if they really wanted to. Which kind of made him wonder why she confronted him in the first place. Most people would have been put off by his size and weaponry, and he was sure she noticed - or at least heard - the tree branch he kicked against the rock, of which shattered. Then again, who was he to question?

[Kiseena the Shadow]

Amusing that the great Orc spun around so quickly. Kiseena was almost surprised that a creature his size could move that way. Then again, what did she know? She hadn't spent much time with Orcs. She was happy to keep it that way. The Orc spat out a retort that seemed more like a jest than anything. Jests did not amuse Kiseena. She was silent as usual as the Orc seemed to look her over. She looked him over as well. It was all for fun. She could slit his throat and send him to Sithis before he even knew he was dead, but she needed a reason first. She flicked her tail, hoping he wouldn't give her one. He asked what she was doing out there.

"Khajiit travels. Is it so unnatural? With 'pickpockets' and 'thieves' not allowed in cities, where is a woman to go? You seem to forget that Khajiit is not born in Skyrim, but in Elsweyr." A reasonable answer.

Truth be told, she was worse than any pickpocket or thief. She did, however, have standards, and to kill blindly is to dig your own grave. To further the honesty, she had nearly unlimited access to most cities. Bribing guards was not beneath her and it probably never would be. If bribing was beneath the guards, on the other hand, she found it easy to sneak past them. It was only a convenient coincidence, in this situation, that her race was generally shunned and spited.

"What do you seek, fellow traveler? Gold? Mead?" she asked. She wondered what his reaction would be. Would he wonder if she was a thief? She was eager to see his reaction. She then examined her claws as if no longer interested in the Orc. Perhaps she was trying to intimidate him? His guess was as good as hers. She eventually put her hand down and looked back at the Orc, retaining her "I'm not really interested in what you have to say" look. It was simply a part of her personality, and anyone that saw her on a daily basis knew that she didn't even realize she looked that way. This Orc probably didn't know that, but he would in time. Assuming, of course, she didn't kill him. She wasn't particularly violent, she just knew what to do with those who opposed her.

[M'koteg Tombclub]

"Well, Orcs aren't from Skyrim either, ya know," he grumbled lightly, slightly confused as to where she had to go with this. "Doesn't mean you have to travel alone or anything."

Well, that was defiantly contradictive. Ko bit his bottom lip lightly at that thought, however did nothing to try and correct himself on it. Here he was, traveling alone, and then saying that no one had to travel alone. He really hated to make himself look bad, although, whenever in some sort of debate - minor, like this one, or otherwise - he seemed to make himself look wrong or otherwise. He was usually a smart one, of course. He just had yet to try and use such knowledge wisely. Being born in a Stronghold and learning only their ways didn't help you much, especially when most of a Stronghold's beliefs were to fight first, and talk everything out later. His mother was good to teach him otherwise, however sometimes he tended to forget such things to his own accord.

"Erm, well I'm tryin' t' get to the next town," he informed, trying not to make a face when it seemed as if the cat seemed rather uninterested. "Need a job, ya know?" He couldn't help but look the Kahjiit over before asking, "Why, were you goin'?

He usually wasn't the one to try and pry into other people's buisness, but then again, this Kahjiit was asking where he was going, so he had the right to ask, too, didn't he? He wouldn't have asked if she didn't, but then again, with the way she was acting, she could care less about where he was going, much less to try and inform him where she was going, so why bother? Well, because... He really didn't know why. He really never pushed for things unless someone else pushed - or asked - first, because he thought that asking for no apparent reason - at least in his mind - was rather rude. A funny thing to say, but, being raised around people who didn't pursue into other people's personal problems unless it dealt with them as well, it was quite common.

[Kiseena the Shadow]

Sometimes, you can say everything with just one look. The look Kiseena gave the great Orc at his comment about traveling alone said enough. She looked at him with raised eyebrows with a somewhat sarcastic air. Her company bit his lip as if he realized what he said didn't make sense. She waited for him to try and correct himself. They always tried. Obviously he hadn't been raised the way she had. Even when her parents were alive. After their deaths, her childhood had fallen down the drain. How could she expect someone to be raised in a remotely similar way?

Town. Well wasn't that original. "You seek gold, then? A sellsword or, perhaps, a miner? You aren't a bard, are you?" she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the last bit.

She flashed an accidentally evil smile. "Khajiit comes and goes."

It was amusing that the Orc didn't have a clue how close to "home" she was. She went to town when she needed to sharpen her weapons or improve her armour. Perhaps to buy potions and poisons. There were others in the Sanctuary that could assist her, but everyone was busy at the moment. She decided it was acceptable to lie and say that she was on her way to town.

"Yes. There are much-needed supplies to buy." The Orc's question had been a fair one; she had, after all, asked him. And he had every right to believe he knew the reason why she was out there. What she told him wasn't a lie, either. She could use some potions. And she had some jewels to sell. Found, not stolen, of course. At the very least, this Orc knew how to hold his tongue. Perhaps that was why she had spoken so much. As much as she would deny it, it was nice to have someone that listened when she spoke, instead of cutting in and stopping her short.

Her ear twitched as it would sometimes. She hardly noticed. She might have heard something, be it a bird or a wolf, that she had trained herself to ignore. It was easier for her to focus on her targets while she blocked out the rest of the world. Her current "target" was the Orc. She was only waiting for him to speak this time, instead of waiting for him to turn so she could sneak up behind him, daggers drawn...

No, of course she wouldn't kill him. Not unless she was hired to.

[M'koteg Tombclub]

"A Bard?"

The Orc seemed more interested in that than the other things the Kahjiit spoke about, though he still tilted his head at them. He was used to being mistaken for such things, but being asked if he was a bard was new. He wasn't usually the type to be thought of as such, so hearing this was a rather new experience. Or at least, new to his ears. He was sure he didn't look or act like a Bard of any sort, and he was sure that he would get some funny looks if he really was a Bard. Weren't Nords and other Man races usually the ones to be Bards, anyway? He hadn't heard of any Mer or Beast races that claimed to be, although he was sure that there were a few here and there who were. He just hadn't met them yet, as always.

"Nah, I'm a Mercenary," said the Orc with a shrug. "You know, follow people around and basically be their bodyguard for pay and whatnot. Kind of boring sometimes, since people don't seem to go out anymore, anyways."

He was used to not many people going out anymore, what with the Dragons flying around and attacking people at random. More thieves and bandits seemed to be out and about as well; ransacking travelers and their loot for gold and valuable items to hawk off to the highest bidder. He was usually highered for such things, although now such things kept people locked away inside their towns and houses unless you gave them a reason to come out and do things. Most you say on the road anymore were people like himself, sell swords, merchants, and caravans. No common folk would even dream of going out in the vast wilderness without at least some knowledge of how to fight and defend themselves, it seemed.

"Goin' t' get items, hm?" he asked. "Did that already, myself. Before trying to travel, at least. Not too bright to go out and travel without having what you need."

He had rather quickly learned a while back that it wasn't smart to go out and about in the wilderness without having at least some minor items on you. You know, like food and whatnot. Good just in case you get lost or trapped somewhere, and you don't find someone real soon. Sure, he could hunt for food and try to use wild food to eat, although he wasn't very good at trying to decipher which foods were poisonous and which weren't, so he usually liked to get them from shops and markets instead. They usually knew how to tell apart the good from the bad, anyway.

[Kiseena the Shadow]

The cat was obviously more at ease after the Orc made a confused face. Naturally, Kiseena absolutely hated bards; they were much too joyous. However, if she was positively forced to sit in the company of one, she would request Ragnar the Red. That was the only song she could tolerate, and that was the end of it.

Realizing that she had receded into her own mind and forgotten about the Orc, she blinked rapidly a few times and looked back up at him.

"Splendid. This one despises performers of any sort. Mercenaries aren't much better, but exceptions can be made." she said, "Haven't you heard of the assassins lurking around every corner? It's no wonder citizens refuse to leave their towns. There are bears, wolves and dragons about, if the assassins aren't out for their heads. Then there are bandits and other foul creatures. Perhaps a troll or two, if luck is not on one's side."

She particularly despised bandits, although trolls could be just as difficult.

Presently she stood up straight, without leaning on the tree behind her. She stepped almost without sound around the Orc so that he would have to turn around if he wanted to face her. There was no reason for this; only that she was bored and couldn't sit or stand still for long unless she was after one of her targets, in which case she would remain motionless for hours.

She nodded. "There is game in the woods for hunting and plants for eating as well. This one knows how to fend for herself. If only potions and potent poisons were as easy to come by." she explained in her indirect way.

She crossed her arms again. If only she were more talkative. She would definitely not be as bored. She might even have some friends. But nobody can change someone else, and she wasn't going to fix what she didn't think was broken by herself. She knew she had her faults, but her silence was something she didn't even notice. How was she to know she came off a bit strange or snobbish? She thought her greatest fault was the way she flicked her tail and twitched her ears without knowing it. Perhaps her greatest flaw was truely her ignorance.