RP:Bard Bares All And Bears All
Part of the The Dust Up In Cenril Arc
Summary: What the heck, Alex?
Gates of Cenril
The massive gates of Cenril are wide and inviting, although it is easy to see how quickly that could change. Flanked on either side by high rising, heavily fortified turrets, the gates themselves can be shut fast and a heavy portcullis lowered to provide more security. The field before this gate is barren, all trees, foliage and grass cut and burned back to provide the perfect killing ground for the well-trained archers vigilantly patrolling the walls.
Eleanor was standing in the shadow of the gateway, dark hood pulled low over her features, hiding that swatch of blonde and glint of turquoise. Any other skin or clothing was concealed behind the cloak itself, leaving a peek of toe-showing boots under its ragged dirt-stained hem. She could have been sleeping there, if not for the occasional spark of orange from the herbal cigarette she was savoring, but even without that, no one seemed to be approaching the female, not with the 40lb white tiger cub curled up at her feet, chewing fiercely on what looked to be a hunk of pig thigh. El could have been waiting for something, or something -- or maybe she was just being a creeper, enjoying the flow to and from the gates that lead into her city.
Meri was amongst the group of people that was making their way into Cenril rather than leaving it. Today Meri is not on foot as she so often is but she is on the back of a gray mare, giving her a clean view of everyone and everything ahead of her. Were Eleanor without her Tuna, Meri not have even noticed the other woman as most of her distinguishing features are hidden beneath the cloak. The white tiger was a dead give away to Meri and Kadence, the gray mars, is steered to the spellrogue. Hooves clunk to a stop right before Eleanor, Tuna regarded apprehensively by Kadence but tolerated -- provided there were no sudden movements. The horse knew a predator when she saw one. Meri dismounts and a smirk is offered toward Eleanor, reaching out to try and claim that herbal smoke from the other. "Sharing is caring, you know," is Meri's hello for today. All in all, Meri is as she always is, though the bandage she wore on her shoulder when she saw Eleanor is missing with the injury looking mostly healed, faster than one might expect from a human.
Alex can be heard well before he is seen. One would not be wrong to describe the sound like that of a wailing banshee as she is made fun of in a girl's bathroom at some magical castle school. Over the horizon, a man wearing only an ill-fitting pair of unlaced boots and a torn vest slowly comes into view kicking up a cloud of dust as he desperately grabs his privates and shouts maniacally about something or the other. He doesn't slow down or seem to notice the two ladies near the gate instead keeping his steady pace as he cries out obscenities. The red sun burn covering his usually pale complexion, glistening skin from sweat and very visually apparent veins hint that he's been at this exercise for quite some time. Unfortunately, as he crosses the gate to Cenril he is tackled by a fully armored guard and taken to the ground in a painful slide allowing dirt to burn up his belly and no-no area as he declares himself to be saved from the hive of insects in his mind. If Meri were to catch a good look at the man as he is carted up and taken away she might be able to see just why he was so cautious about the drugs and drink. Not long after he's gone, a massive dire bear with a rat gripping onto it's ears sprint past in the same direction.
Eleanor spotted Meri towering above that beast with ease despite the lip of her hood and the fringe of blonde that swept across the iron circlet at her brow. Full lips twist into a wolfish smirk, and the spellrogue offered no resistance to the other blonde joining her beneath the towering turrets, left arm crossing to make it even easier for Meri to take the herbal cigarette. As she did so, however, her celadon stare was pulled away from the other female by the most awful cacophony, the noise drawing attention of guards and causing citizens to shift about nervously, trying not to look (but let's be real, they were gawking) at the spectacle. El lifted her left brow, sliding that gaze sidelong back to her partner. Tuna had also been distracted by Alex, rising slowly to her oversized paws, chuffing at Kadence, but growing restless, racing around the women as she was unable to investigate due to the runed collar around her neck. "Th' feck?"
Meri does not immediately recognize Alex. They had one encounter the middle of the forest that involved the use of booze (on her part) and dust. This is vaguely familiar looking but at present he is making too much of spectacle for Meri really to dwell on this too much. It is the bear and the rat that really causes Meri to come to the realization that she knows this sorry bloc."I guess some people and drugs just do not mix...." This is said with very little remorse, despite the knowledge that she may very well have had a hand in Alex's current bender. A shrug, one encounter with a random bard in the middle of the forest is not enough for Meri to attempt to go gung-ho on some guards. Who wants to save a half-named man, anyway? Not Meri."Would have been the bard I was thinking you should take Tuna to, what with him having a rat and a bear following him around. But maybe that guy is just f-cking nuts." Tattooed shoulders are rolled in a shrug. That herbal cigarette is almost forgotten because of this scene Alex made, but Meri is quick to resume the ritual of puff, puff and pass. Kadence is a little weirded out by the chuffing Tuna, she starts looking antsy and Meri loosens her slack on the reigns so that the horse can place additional distance between herself and the tiger.
Eleanor 's lip curled into a sneer as she looked over toward Alex again, eyes darkening with a hint of recognition. "That's th' bloke?" she all but hissed, looking back toward Tuna then Meri. "There's nae bludy way Aam takin' Tuna tae 'at bampot dobber." Tuna meanwhile was made even more nervous by Kadence's nervousness, but when that bear came into her sights, she was pulling aggro. Her striped tail whipped around as she lowered herself to the ground, a low warning growl deep in the feline's throat, ears flattened and lip curled back to reveal her growing teeth. El quickly pushed away from the wall, leaving Meri to tend the cigarette as she approached the distressed carnivore. Tuna wasn't really having it, eyes now fixed on Eleanor as she backed up toward the gates as far as her invisible bond to El would allow her to. "Ssh, settle doon, mukker," the spellrogue murmured to her, quickly stepping in to wrap a hand around the collar in a firm grip. "Settle doon." She glanced at Meri with some serious side-eye. "Hudson's lassie has patched 'er up, she doesnae need some psychotic nutjob weavin' his bardic juju at 'er." Gods, just thinking about Alex twisted her stomach into knots. "Ah need a bevvy," she declared.
Meri shrugged at the side-eye she was given, it is taken in stride because Alex put on quite a display by letting his freak flag fly there. Meri could not entirely fault El for that side-eye. "Never said I knew him well, just said he might be able to help when your feline friend gets to be ten times her size. He clearly is proving he is not a viable suggestion." El was left to try and calm Tuna, Meri had Kadence to deal with . The horse and her rider have had a few years together to be able build trust to a comfortable level. Meri approaches with herbal cigarette dangling in her mouth as gives the horses neck several soothing pets. There is a bit of whsipering, some calming sounds of 'easy girl' amongst other words. Eleanor's announcement that she needs a drink has Meri turning to continue the walk into Cenril. It was unclear if Meri actually intended to join Eleanor for a drink, but it seemed like the tattooed blonde would be at least joining her for the walk and some additional conversation, "So that bloc we met the other night? The one that was playing poker the other never night? I might have borrowed that little book of his. Seems like he keeps a running tab on what merchants are doing what around Cenril." Which could be useful information. "Also, Leo was telling Cal to look him up sometime. Cal should be rolling through Cenril so we can meet up for drinks in a few days. If you two would like to chat with him more."
Eleanor moved away from Tuna, the cat's tail still flicking with agitation even as she joined her mistress. With a wry smirk, the green-eyed female eyed the bluer counterparts of her companion. "If thes was th' first time Ah'd ever seen th' bloke, mebbe Ah'd gie heem th' benefit ay th' doobt." But, unfortunately, she'd had one encounter with the crazy bard before, and things had not ended well, leaving a sour taste in the spellrogue's mouth as she considered it. The woman shook her head, disturbing that single braid that traced along her left temple around her ear; Leo had put it there, and she'd never taken it out, choosing instead to adorn it with copper beads, which now brushed against the woman's collarbone as she shifted the cloak's tie. Adjusting it, her hand fell to reach for the remainder of that herbal cigarette from Meri. With the other woman presumably at her side (or atop the horse?), Eleanor started to weave her way through the people crowding the gate, although Tuna certainly helped encourage people to keep their distance. Carving a wide path through the gathering, El would lead Meri back to The Office rather than the Whaler's Bar for that drink, preferring the free top-shelf to the over-priced swill. "Cal, eh?" El mused aloud, sharing a sidelong gaze with the tattooist as they traveled east on Beloy. "Whit diz his book say abit th' merchants oan th' wharf?" Her mind whirled with this knowledge. "If he's got info oan ships movin' ben th' harbur, Ah need tae see thes book." They were already falling behind the race to Rynvale, but perhaps Cal was just the edge they needed after all.
Meri was not on the horse, no. She was leading the gray mare by the reigns as she and Eleanor navigated the streets -- taking a route back to The Office. Free booze was free booze, Meri understood this concept quite well. Alas, she was not looking to partake in that free booze tonight. Their paths would ultimately lead them to part once they were outside of The Office. A flask is produced once the two women get to walking, Meri more than happy to pass the flask in exchange for the herbal cigarette, enjoying the sweet taste. All talk of Alex is abandoned as it made clear to Meri that he has acted a fool in front of Eleanor before, information she will not forget but she will also not press for further detail. It just seemed to made Eleanor edgy. "Well if you need to see that book then you need to see him." Meaning Meri has given it back, it occurred to her to keep it for longer and to perhaps pass it off to the trio at The Office. Not the end of the world, Meri clearly had managed to get Callum to agree to another night out in Cenril. "Was a lot of times mostly. I am not entirely sure in relation to what. Drop off and pick up times? A lot if it was vague, it's not word for word. But even if he doesn't have the info you need on the ships? I have a hunch he could get it. It sounds like I should bring him by The Office for another hello then?"
Eleanor happily took of the flask, sharing the remainder of the cigarette with the other woman. Nodding in agreement as they came to The Office, El finished off the roach and dropped it, crushing it beneath the toe of her right boot. "Soonds loch we'll be havin' a proper caw th' crack w' 'Cal', suin, 'en," the spellrogue decided agreeably. Although they were parting their ways, she did say to the other, "Spikin ay conversations 'at need havin', Ah need tae ken what's gonnae oan wi' Purple Snaw." She meant Meri's task of distributing it into Rynvale, that is, having understood that to be Meri's mission. But they could discuss it later, she just wanted to impress the subject upon the other female with a raincheck pinned clearly into it.
Meri grins knowingly to Eleanor and nods in agreement, she would do what she can to make that happen. Hopefully it was not a fruitless endeavor, the thing with their kind is that they can be so tight lipped."Alright. Just try not to intimidate him too much? Might be sad for like a minute if I am down a drinking buddy." A smirk, as she was just joking around as Meri is prone to doing. Does she mean half of what she says? Yes, except for when she doesn't. Meri was just about to turn to leave when Eleanor puts that bug in her ear. "I think we need Hudson for that talk. He gave me some samples, enough to have some fun with, get some reviews to see if people are even digging it or if he needs to come up with something better. I got him those reviews? Now he has me working on seeing if I can't figure out where the stuff in Frostmaw is coming from." Which explains why she has been so chummy with the warrior's guild. "But if you wanna talk about the next steps for that...I will be around." Meri would stick around for any last thoughts from Eleanor before she would lead Kadence away.
Eleanor leaned back against the doorway of The Office, arms folding under the drape of her cloak as she considered Meri one last time. "Uir mukker is a body thrang wee bee lately, isnae he?" Huds always had himself neck-deep in some situation or another, it's a wonder he ever had any time for lovin' through Hollow. Tuna wended around Meri's legs, sniffing at Kadence if given a chance, before taking it upon herself to plop down around the female's feet and chew on her shoes. Meanwhile, El drawled out, "Yoo'll be hearin' frae me suin, Ah suspect." Clucking her tongue at Tuna, she nodded to Meri and pushed her way past the door into the club.
Meri was alright with having her shoe chewed on by a tiger. It had seen better days anyway, what was a few more scratches in the leather. A salute for Eleanor, an approximation as to when to expect her to try and bring Cal by. "Monday, it is not firm though." Of course, if schedules did not mesh, it happens. Off Meri goes!