RP:A Woman From Rynvale Meets a Reaper
Synopsis: While suffering the bitter swill of Chartsend's whiskey, Lita meets a woman that looks a little too much like a reaper.
Date: Dec. 4th, 2017
The Slippery Eel
If you want to meet local people this is the place to be. Everyone from the lowest field hand to the e Tenebris themselves frequent the inn. Smoked eels hang from the ceiling, their preparation a closely guarded local secret, something to do with the dark, warm places they are cured. You are most likely to find friendly wenches serving drinks, keen to earn the extra gold. There's a jovial air to the inn apart from the darkest corner where a group of men, who look like smugglers, talk quietly, heads together. Two off-duty guardsmen occasionally glance at them from their seats at the bar. A door lies at the back of the inn. This leads to a large square with buildings running off it and a sandy track winding South. A battered board gives some messages posted about the local area.
Lita is not such a fan of the local decor choice. Place reeks of eel. It's a stench that churns her stomach as she tries to adjust to it. She's nursing a glass of whiskey, her second or third now and a few badly bruised knuckles on her right hand. Nothing broken, it would heal. Until then it hurt something fierce. She licks her lower lip, winces slightly for the cut at the corner of her mouth. At least she was celebrating. She shifts in her seat, crosses her legs at the knee and tugs idly at the hem of her black dress. Dark eyes glance again to the group of guys in the corner. For once she's not trying to eavesdrop on some devious plan, she's just hoping a game of cards might break out. She sucks at poker but still loves to play. She lifts her glass, sips at her drink. It's not the honeyed whiskey Simon cooks up at the Barrel back home but it burns warm through her veins and that's on par with acceptable right now.
Raevyn enters the Eel with a bit more confidence in her step. More confidence than any time in the last few weeks. Perhaps in the last few years. She was seemingly finding her stride in this strange new world, and at this point, she felt as though she could do just about anything. The young girl had been riding for a greater part of the day- A return trip to further explore the town of Chartsend, as well as bring thanks upon those that had helped her get home. After having had a bit of a conversation with Mick down at the corral, she thought she best come to the Eel for a bite to eat, and to maybe see if she could once again stay in the quarters she had held the last time she visited. So, now she entered, with that infernal scythe leading those booted steps, an undead figure stuck close behind. She peered out from beneath that black hood concealing her pallid feature, a gentle wave offered to Cara before the girl gave the rest of the patrons a brief survey.
Lita is distracted by Cara's little wave at someone over her shoulder. People here were cheery and friendly. It was a vague annoyance in her current state. She glances over her shoulder, does a double-take when she catches sight of the reaper and a cruel smile tugs at the corners of her lips with the joke. At least she manages to keep her mouth shut. She turns in her seat though, leaning back against the bar top. Dark eyes give the girl a once-over in a unabashed judgment for her choice of attire. Lita thinks absently that the robes make her look like one of those eels strung up overhead awaiting slaughter. Something in her tells her artist's brain to shut up with the fancy comparison of pictures. Her fingers twitch and she flickers a glance to the undead figure behind the eel-reaper-girl. She never was good at remembering names anyway. And her brain's in a mood for snap judgments. "You carry that thing around 'cause it looks pretty?" She drawls at the newcomer. She probably means the scythe. Maybe it was a part of the girl's costume. She lifts her glass for another drink, smiling softly.
Raevyn's dead gaze finds Lita pretty quickly, especially when that comment caught her ear. "Well. Actually... Yes." It was true! She did find the thing to be a work of art, and so she proudly wielded it wherever she went. "Well, that and I think it scares off would-be attackers." Raevyn offers the woman a grin and soon peels back that hood of hers, a gloved hand run through those straight black locks. It would take a moment, but it finally dawned upon the neophyte necromancer- She knew this woman. Not personally, but there was a familiarity. Where had they met before? Searching through the last two years of her memory, it finally hit her. Gualon. "Wait. Do I know you? Your name... It's Lita, yes? I am Raevyn. We met, albeit briefly, a couple of years ago. You and a woman named Meri, if I am correct?"
Lita narrows dark eyes at the woman. She remembers the face vaguely, a blur of color, but not much else. There's not a whole lot she remembers long-term these days. The whiskey probably does little to help that. She sips at her drink again. She's suddenly frustrated that the girl had been unperturbed by her sarcasm. She was losing her edge. Too much time spent in the company of people like Sam and Meri, who were sometimes too good. It made something in her recoil. But if the girl knew Meri she couldn't very well go on about poking holes in the structure of reality. She still liked the blonde. "Lita. Yes." She agrees to this, almost snidely, lifting her chin a bit, offering a smile. "I don't quite remember but it's been some time since I've been to Gualon. Did you dress the same in the desert? Seems a bit out of place."
Raevyn's expression shifted to an odd little mixture of concern and dismay; Something was off. There was a definite shift in attitude that had the girl concerned, but it was decided that she would look past it. The woman was obviously having a drink, so that could have been a contributing factor. Or maybe, back then, Raevyn had caught the woman on a good day? The question posed was met with a nod. "Yes, for the most part. I do not own much for attire, so I work with what I have." A shrug. "Although, to be honest, I was not exactly supposed to be in Gualon. Had I known I would have been somewhere so warm, I would have dressed for the occasion." The undead creature behind the girl was beginning to draw the attention of some of the locals now, those ghastly milky white eyes seeming to only focus upon Lita in an unsettling way. Raevyn would answer simply, "Tea, please." when Cara came to take her order, a few coin settled then upon the counter top as payment.
Lita lofts a brow at the undead-thing's name. Rawr. She assumes this is a name and not a title. Was the thing a pet, then? So many questions suddenly. She glances over her shoulder to watch it shamble outside. The locals seem appeased by its absence and conversation around them picks up again. So the girl earns her attention once more. And she did know. About ending up in places. She watches the girl stir cream into her tea, nose wrinkling slightly once more. There were few things she'd enjoyed the taste of since her turning. Whiskey was one of them, even if the stuff served here was more swill than liquor. She'd always been a lightweight, even as a human. Now instead of slurred words though it awakened a different demon. She manages a little sound of amusement as the reaper agrees with her about the eel. Must have been a locals' thing. She sips at her new drink as the reaper asks her about her reasoning for visiting Chartsend. She remembers a boy, a family, a dinner. For a moment there's a light of recognition on her face, a realization that she should be elsewhere. It fades. "Restless." She answers finally. "The island gets too small sometimes, so I head someplace I ain't been in a while until I miss it again." That sounded good, almost poetic. And it was almost true.
Raevyn tipped her head forward- a nod. She understood the need to get away from some place too familiar all too well. "Do you travel like this, often?" she asked. That curiosity furthered when she noted that Lita said 'island'. She had most recently come to learn about an island, so she took a stab in the dark, pondering if it would be one in the same. "Do you mean Rynvale Island? East of Cenril?" Those two words, Rynvale and East, had been jotted down and memorized some time earlier in the week. She had been making plans to eventually visit. "Or is this some other island I have yet to hear of? Tell me, if you don't mind me asking... what is it like? This island you come from? I have never been on one before. Although, I have read of a few in my time. They always seem so tropical and lovely."
Lita nods at the girl's question about how often she travels. "When the mood strikes." And then the girl was asking questions about Rynvale and Lita's a little grateful to have this new thing to focus on. "It's not tropical, not south enough. It's closer to Cenril I s'pose. Maybe a little rougher around the edges. Its politics aren't as stable, not really. Ports are busier though. Everything smells of salt off the ocean." She pauses. The memories are vivid. The rooftop of a shop near the docks, the cool air, a full moon overhead, the smell of salt thick with each breath, the steady pulse of the ocean against the sand. "If you go, you have to try the honeyed whiskey at the Tavern. Simon cooks it up special. Worth the trip alone. Definitely worth goin' home for." She takes another sip of her drink, a vain hope that she might have gotten used to the bitterness by now. No such luck. "If you go, get lost. Best way to see the heart of a new city." Probably bad advice for normal people, certainly for tourists. Rynvale's underground was a darkness that could swallow people whole if given the chance. But the reaper seemed capable enough with her shiny toy knife and her obedient little pet. Lita smiled into her glass as she took another drink. "You've never been to Rynvale?" It's a rhetorical question, leading into, "How come?"
Raevyn was quite interested in Lita's words, evident by her posture of leaning in toward the counter with her head rested upon her palm and those blue eyes never once leaving the woman while she spoke. This was definitely a place that she wanted to see, now. It sounded so wonderful! "Oh, well. I don't know. I just learned of its existence, recently. In fact... I only just found the city of Cenril. I, um... hadn't really explored much. I am not exactly from this land that everyone calls Lithrydel." That longing for home was briefly showcased, but hidden as she divulged, "This is my first time out on my own, so everything has been a little scary. I've been taking small steps, exploring things as I go. You know, when I'm not suddenly thrust in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason." She finally looked away and into that cup of tea, slowly stirring it in thought. "Although, your home does sound nice. I will make it a point to see this Simon and sample some of thus honeyed whiskey." There is a bit of a chuckle as she added, "And I do not think I will have to worry about not getting lost. it seems to be my specialty."
Lita nods in understanding with the girl's words. Part of her still remembers a longing for home. But home now was a fluid definition, no longer the city she was born and raised in, not quite the house she'd been living in. She combs her fingers through raven tresses. She was getting a little light headed. "It's only scary if you let it be." She says as if this is some sage advice she's passing along. She finishes her drink, pushes the empty glass across the bar at Cara, shakes her head at the question of a refill. She offers the girl a few coin for a tip and pays for the reaper to indulge in a second cup of tea if she should so choose. She licks her split lip again with an annoyed wince, rubs at her bruised knuckles. "I should get going." She has the sudden notion of someone waiting. Somewhere. Dark eyes narrow slightly, as if trying to solve some puzzle in her head but the feeling is fleeting and she shrugs at its passing. She slips from her stool, bare feet on the floor, and offers the reaper a purposefully overly dramatic bow. "Was nice to see you again Rea-Raevyn." She laughs a little at her almost slip-up. "Hope next time we meet it's over better drinks." She offers the girl a playful wink and then turns for the door.
Raevyn had occasionally eyed the presumed battle wounds, but thought it might have been impolite to pry. Lita seemed like the sort that could kick ass, and for the most part, seemed to have been the victor given how she carried herself. With the other rising, Raevyn offered a smile and a thank you when the woman offered to pay for a second round of tea. "I... will keep that in mind." she states to the offered advice. While she didn't show it, deep own that actually meant a lot to the girl. it would be something to mull over later in the evening. She would then wave to Lita and offer parting words, "It was nice to see you as well, Lita. I would.. like that, i think. Do take care until then, and travel safe, okay?" Raevyn would watch as Lita made her exit, soon to inquire to Cara about that room. it was getting awfully late.