RP:A Perilous Prank
Summary: Talyara heads to Frostmaw to hunt down a boar for the Adventurer's Guild's upcoming pig roast, as instructed by her sister, Lanara. However, there is no initiaion task that she has to complete, it's all part of a prank! Taly ends up severely wounded and has to remain at the healing center in Frostmaw, while Krice delivers the boar to Lana's doorstep. The witch feels terrible that the prank went awry, as she never intended for her little sister to get injured, and the tension stemming off of the enigma is palpable.Lana is unable to visit the clinic, as it would endanger several more, so she gives Krice a few things to bring to her sister, and he agrees, though not before brandishing an insult.
Lanara stopped at the cottage to pick up some clothes, while dropping off some laundry that she’d have to do once her freedom was returned. The witch is neatly folding a sundress into her suitcase, when she hears a noise from outside. Had Talyara returned from her adventure in Frostmaw? To be honest, the elf didn’t think her sister would have the guts to travel to the frozen tundra, let alone face down a boar! Her little prank has her giggling to herself, as she tucks her long hair behind her ears and heads back to the closet, to eye a few more articles of clothing that would be appropriate for the coming days and the shifting weather. She had a good hour or so before she had to head back to Cenril and she’s enjoying the quiet of her home, the smell of sage in the air, and the company of the raccoon that follows at her heels. Lana doesn’t bother to peer out the window, or open the door and check on the noise, as there were often deer lurking about, and if it was someone of importance, they would have a key to enter the cottage.
Krice arrived alongside his large, green-scaled wyvern, whose steps weren't as heavy as one might expect, but she made noise to be sure. Thump, thump, thump, would alert people in the cottage to the presence of something drawing nearer, and a breathy snort through large nostrils to the presence of a reptilian creature. From the flank of his wyvern, the warrior untied a hulking mass and slung it over his shoulder, the slightest grunt telling of the effort required. The carcass was wrapped in preservation for the long trip, with only a small spot of blood seeping through the cloth. Unceremoniously, Krice dumped the boar carcass on the ground just a meter from the cottage door, thereafter pivoting to return to his wyvern.
Lanara is humming softly to herself, doing a series of pirouettes from the closet over to the bed, where she would add a few more items to the already full suitcase. She was in relatively high spirits for someone who was supposedly ‘enslaved’ to Tiberius, though since the two had been adjusting their demands, they’d been getting along much better. The elf is trying to view this as a vacation, with one week almost down, and only one more to go. What would happen after that, was anyone’s guess, and though she misses the sanctuary, she knows that Talyara cherishes the solitude that this cottage has to offer. Doing another twirl, the brunette approaches the dresser and plucks a few pieces of costume jewelry from an antique box, “These should accessorize nicely, what do you think, Scoundrel?” Holding up a feather earring beside her slightly tapered ear, she finds that the raccoon is focusing on the front door, his head tilting to the side, as he begins to wildly chitter. Someone, or something was just outside the cottage, and Lana follows the instincts of the coon and rests the earrings in the suitcase, before approaching. Opening the door, without further delay, she sees a massive package on the doorstep, with a drop of blood seeping through the cloth. Was it a wounded animal? Dropping to her knees, she reaches out and feels the cold that remains on the fabric, and she instantly knows that it’s traveled from Frostmaw, as it was only slightly thawed. But, where was her sister?! “Taly?” Lana steps out of the cottage, closing the door behind her so that Scoundrel remains save, and it’s then that she hears the snort of the wyvern, and her gaze narrows on a dark figure in the night. Was that… Krice?! “Krice?!”
Krice paused only once he arrived at his wyvern's flank. She sorted when Lanara opened the door, her head low in consideration of this new person. With his hand on the pommel of the saddle, the warrior turned to look back through the dark at Lanara, his features cool and unreadable at the best of times, more so under cover of night. Candlelight from the cottage reflected off the crimson depths of his eyes, illuminated like the gaze of a devil in the distance. "Talyara's kill," he called back casually, gesturing to the wrapped boar.
Lanara crosses her arms over her chest, considering his words, and she scoffs, “Right. You expect me to believe that my little sister killed that boar? She wasn’t allowed to use her magic. It was, uh, in the initiation details.” She grins, not wanting to tell him that this was all some sort of elaborate prank she had cooked up a few days ago. Taly had returned to the lands healthy, in better spirits, and much strong mentally, as well as physically. Lana’s reason for sending Taly off to Frostmaw was because she had landed herself in a heap of trouble, and it was best not to involve her sibling. She had enough on her plate. However, Lana didn’t think she’d actually hunt down a frost boar! Her chocolate hues flicker to the wyvern, which is greeted with a curt nod, before she returns her gaze to Krice, noting the crimson flecked gaze, which didn’t look all that friendly in the dim lighting. “Want to come in for a drink? You must have traveled quite a distance… I take it that Taly spent the night in Frostmaw?”
Krice coolly regarded Lanara. If she didn't trust that Talyara had been able to slay the boar, had she then sent her sister to her death? Flexing his fingers at his side, a gesture the woman likely wouldn't see, he declined her offer of a drink. "Not interested." Thereafter, he gestured to the boar. "Talyara killed it with an arrow. I killed the other two before they could finish her off." Clearly the warrior was displeased with Lanara, perhaps for the danger she had put her own sister in. " Talyara spent the night, and will spend the next few nights, in Frostmaw healing from injuries sustained during the completion of your task."
Lanara shakes her head, confusion evident in her gaze, as she walks closer to Krice, so that she’s only standing a few feet away. She can see the tense expression, hear the clipped tone of his words. The enigma was annoyed with her for sending Taly on a task? Concerned now, Lana’s expression softens and she glances at the boar. “Three? I-I didn’t actually think she’d hunt down the boar. It was a prank, of course. I assumed she’d ruin a few outfits, curse me in the cold, and grow to loathe the snow. I thought she’d look for the boar, and never find it, or if she were to come across one, that she’d back down and return home… Empty handed.” Lowering her gaze, the witch panics, wondering if her sister was gravely wounded. She would never get Tiber’s consent to travel all the way to Frostmaw to check up on Taly! “Is she alright? What were her injuries? I –never- meant for her to actually get hurt, Krice! I love my little sister… I never thought it would come to this. There wasn’t even an initiation task! I was just kidding around to have her skip out that day so I could have a private business meeting!” Somehow, both sisters had risked their lives in the same day. And both were still paying the price. “Were you hurt?”
Krice 's attention was unwavering on Lanara's face through the entirety of her rambling explanation, which didn't seem to lessen his... irritation over the situation. To hear that she never meant for her sister to get hurt was reassuring in its own way, but the reasons - as he knew them - behind the 'prank' were mediocre. Not good enough. "Your sister will be fine," he muttered, turning his attention to his wyvern's flank in preparation to depart, looping the rope once more. With Lanara so close, the wyvern curled her neck around Krice's body to get a whiff of the stranger, her large nostrils flaring beside the woman's right thigh. Krice gave the wyvern a nudge in her neck and muttered, "Cut it out." The warrior himself didn't seem to carry any extra injuries. In fact, he seemed much healthier than the last time Lanara had seen him.
Lanara sighs heavily, relieved that her sister would be alright, though she notes that Krice failed to mention what injuries she had suffered. She would owe Talyara a HUGE apology when she returned home, though there was something she could give her sister that would lessen her suffering. “Are you heading back to Frostmaw, Krice? I-I can’t leave.” Her words are short, her big brown eyes welling with tears. She was in trouble with a drug cartel in Cenril. She had been sold on the slave market. However, though she doesn’t tell the enigma what she’d involved with, she hopes he can read between the lines and know that if she could see Taly, she would do everything in her power get to Frostmaw. “Can you head back there and bring her something from me?” There’s an uncomfortable silence that follows, until the wyvern sticks her majestic head forward, in an attempt to pick up the woman’s scent. Lavender with a hint of vanilla would assault the animal’s nostrils, as the witch smiles and extends a hand. Most would be petrified of a wyvern, though Lana had never met an animal that didn’t love her, and vice versa. “Hello there, Pretty Girl…”
Krice's wyvern was feeding off her rider's energy. She didn't hate Lanara, but she was apprehensive of the woman purely because of Krice's current mood. Once the rope was looped and secured again, he turned his gaze upon the face of the witch and noted her teary eyes. It didn't soften his demeanor, per se, but her clear remorse was enough to get him to agree to her request. "I'm returning to Frostmaw anyway," he said, his tone still distant. As his wyvern snorted and withdrew her head, the warrior stood soundlessly staring at the witch, awaiting her revelation of the item she wished him to take to her sister. If he thought anything about the mixed scents on her body, he didn't express as much.
Lanara lowers her arm and gives a curt nod to Krice, before turning and heading back into the cottage. Once inside she’d find a piece of parchment and dip a quill into the inkwell, before writing an acceptance letter to the guild, with Talyara’s name scribbled on the top, and her own signature as the leader, at the bottom. She then neatly folds the letter, and seals it with a crimson wax heart. She’d confess to Taly when she was out of the healing center, but for now, her sister would be pleased that she was granted membership, and that Lana was proud of her for capturing the frost boar. She pauses before the jewelry box, and her fingers lightly touch a heart shaped locket, which held a lock of Kuruni, their mother’s, hair. Taly had given it to Lana, but right now her sister was probably wishing to have Lana at her side, and this was the best she could do under the circumstances. The final item is a batch of freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies, with almonds and dipped in strawberry sauce. Lana divides them in two tin boxes, along with some cloth napkins, before she returns outside. “Here you go… This letter, the locket, and one of these tins go to my sister, please. I really appreciate you doing this for me, Krice…” A pause, before Lana offers up the other tin of cookies, “This is for you and your wyvern, for doing me this huge favor. I know that we lost touch, and that I’m not at all the same woman I was when we first met… But I am grateful that you were in Taly’s corner when she faced those boars. I feel its fate that puts you two so close together, and I hope you always cherish each other… And hey, if you ever ask her out, you know you have my blessing!” She cracks a smirk, thinking back to the orange comment, which was so misplaced the other day. “What I’m trying to say is… Thank you for being the one constant in Taly’s life.”
Krice waited quietly outside for Lanara to gather her parcel, in the meantime considering the unspoken message she had tried to communicate through those teary eyes. He couldn't read minds, but while he didn't glean the details of her limitations that kept her from visiting Talyara, he understood that they must have been significant. The green-scaled wyvern was patient as she waited as well, though she dipped her face into the grass and dirt more than once to dig idly for bugs. It was quirky behavior that Krice seemed to ignore. With Lanara returning, he glanced from her face to the parcel, which he took once she was ready to give it. This parcel was secured in a saddle bag at the ear of his wyvern's right flank. Upon being offered their own share, the reptile lifted her snout to sniff at the tin but Krice shook his head once. "No thanks." Ever the enigma. He turned from Lanara as she reached her concluding words, his expression barely changing despite her warmer talk of Talyara's potential future with him. Once he had pulled himself into the saddle, he regarded the witch with an unyielding stare. "Fate is a farce." Clearly fate hadn't done him any favors. Lanara's gratitude thereafter, for his consistent presence in her sister's life, softened his demeanor just a little bit, but not enough to rid him completely of that irritation. The younger sister's injuries must have been severe. Nodding, Krice added, "Lavender's unflattering," before his wyvern turned to walk a little away from the cottage, seeking the clearing from whence she would take flight.
Lanara widens her eyes as Krice declines the offer of fresh baked goods, her mother’s recipe, and she’s a tad offended. The silver haired man was strange, though at least he was consistent with his mannerisms. She merely nods, not pushing her luck, though there’s a bitter retort at the end of her tongue just begging to be unleashed. He had arrived here, hurled a boar at her doorstep, and brought ill tidings of her little sister, and –then- declined the cookies. He could have accepted them and tossed them in the garbage later, but no… He had decided to insult her, instead. “Right.” He didn’t believe in fate, either? “Well… Thank you for doing this delivery and for checking up on my sister…” Lana awkwardly turns to leave, and it’s then that Krice speak two words that cause her lower lip to twitch, though she avoids scowling. She wouldn’t let him get beneath her skin; lavender was a calming scent, one which apparently the enigma could use. Instead, she storms into the cottage and slams the door behind her, while she figures out where she would transport the boar to for the picnic, and what else to pack for her return to Cenril.