RP:Rohk Scares Me

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.

Sabrina pushed open the door to the Inn, she was told there would be refuge here but that was days ago. The rain had since stopped and today was cool and clear. She arrived in the usual manner; quiet, calm, serene… and with a rather large and brutish looking hound in her wake. She stood a mere fifteen hands, fifteen and a half she would claim with the help of wedged knee-high boots. Lengthy ebon trusses flowed in an inky river to about mid-thigh; intricate braids neatly holding back the strands that would cover her porcelain features. Minty green vessels scan the inhabitants carefully before deciding on the direction she would take once inside. The hound matched her height, making him appear larger than he was by contrast. Rohk didn't give two craps about the others here; he simply followed her with twin daggered tails scraping the floorboards in his wake. Sabrina found a seat neatly, sorting the chair just so and offering the help a quaint smile of appreciation.

Tyler sits alone with a heavy book before him at a table near the entrance to the eel. The human using a rough looking quill to scratch out parts of the book he found error in before ripping them from their bounds and tossing the pages to the floor in disgust. The book was, of course, of religion. As Sabrina makes her entrance, caramel hues flicker from the pages to examine the woman before falling back to the book - but wait? What the hell was that? A double take occurs and the man finds himself glaring down Rohk. He mutters beneath his breath, something about ripping apart a holy book perhaps not being the best idea right now. He begins to chew on his lip as intimidation from the hell hound sets in. His focus adjusts to Sabrina and the human narrows his eyes for a moment as he tries to take in her features. He isn't sure why, but she looks familiar, perhaps one of those in the dreams? It isn't long before he finds himself checking on the hound once more and upon seeing the creature paying him little mind he would continue to stare at Sabrina. Rather rude, is it not?

Sabrina was surprised to see Cara arrive so quickly with an impressively pristine glass. She didn't even have to clean it herself! She placed it on the table, situating it just so, turning the glass three times clockwise before placing it rightly. Rohk pushed his way in between a couple of tables- making himself at home with as much noise as possible causing Sabrina to frown at his rudeness. Beings such as him, self aware and wearing too much attitude, were better off left uncorrected; no harm no foul so to speak. Sabrina waited for him to finish disturbing her calm, staring at him coldly the whole time with much dismay. The quiet murmurs of the others here created an ambiance she could really study to, now she was happy she finally found this place. She gives another glance around the room, her startlingly glimmering gaze pausing on the human Tyler andshecocks her head sideward's, staring right back. Her eyes did not light on him too long, lingering in that manner he may get the wrong idea… that and she didn't care. Rohk on the other hand notices her reaction and has no problem staring at the male purposefully, charcoal and crimson pupils digging into him in a twisted vortex akin to his breed. He was almost daring him to do something, anything… even blink. Sabrina's eyes travel to the pages on the floor and she shakes her head in disgust. Religion, ridiculous. She pulls a golden quill that was tucked neatly behind her ear- self inking, no doubt, unless she planned on writing in air. That idea is fleeting when she also claims a tiny roll of parchment from her belt loop. She looks up from her table at Tyler, who is still looking at her. Still didn't care. She stretches her arms out across the table, emerald flickers dashing across her eyes as pale lips mumble something discreetly. A small plume of what looks like smoke swirls from the middle of her arms as she stares down to a twinkling diamond dust in the mix. The grayish smoke pours outward, flowing into a shape that is akin of a rather large piece of text. The form holds its shape; turning to an antique looking brown and dingy book that was beyond worse-for-wear. The gold filigree on the cover glitters a name across the surface ~Annabelle Ara~ is what it would read to a keen eye. Green tendrils come from the bindings, surrounding her fingers and lacing up midway to her forearms. She begins to read in silence.

Tyler watches Sabrina with great interest, the male feeling his heart slam against his chest as she manages to make eye contact with him. Anxiety pressures him to look away and offer an apology but the same cause allows him to remain dumbfounded and before he can make a choice, she has already turned away. A stressful sigh escapes from thin lips just as he catches sight of Rohk staring at him. A lump catches in the humans throat as he finds the hell hounds' charred stare pushing down on him. In some sort of defense, the humans' complexion swiftly twists into the form of a elder vampire, an open maw allowing bloodied fangs to drip to their contents on the floor and a stern hiss provided to the beast in warning. Just as quickly as his face had turned, it reverts back and Tyler questions his action. What could he possibly do to that behemoth? Still, he finds his sight locked to Sabrina once more. A thought crosses his mind, 'She'd fetch a nice price...' He shakes his head violently as to ward off the menacing thought. The urge to flee from the horrid smelling inn becomes strong though he can't help shake the feeling that he must speak with this woman. His mind beckons for the aid of some liquid encouragement but his stomach churns in disgust at the idea of indulging in such poison. Instead, the man decides on his approach as too keep Rohk occupied. Caramel hues offer a hint of blue as mana courses through the man's veins and he replicates a doppelganger of himself in the chair, who turns back to reading and tearing out the pages of the book before him. While the illusionist cast a reflection to appear invisible to the naked eye. Slowly, he would pull himself out of the chair and sneak toward Sabrina's side. A mental battle rages as he conflicts on how to approach one who seems so... set? He decides to swallow his fear and press his anxiety to the back of his mind. He needs to present himself as a decent speaking, somewhat-normal human if he is to buy any time with her. Before he appears his voice comes out from a scratched throat. "Quite a companion you've got there." The chair by Sabrina's side seemingly pulls itself out and Tyler would reappear just before her, his clone still hard at work to keep Rohk's attention. "Always have him staring down the locals? Or is it just humans? Perhaps, males even." A smirk spills across his face as he tries to seem a little less - creepy.

Sabrina would have gone all day with her studies; reading here, scribbling down a thing or two there, but for Rohk who saw fit to rise and distract her once more. She'd toyed with the idea of losing him along the forest half a day back, but in reality she was lazy and rather travel by hound. It was the lesser of two evils at the time, besides he would have found her anyway and she still would have been left on foot. She watched him rise with darkening eyes, deepening from mint to forest green. The quill starts tapping on the table and Rohk pays her no mind. He saunters over to Tyler, looking down and staring at the pages surprisingly with little confusion to their purpose. After a lingering minute (he wasn't an avid reader) he stares over at a momentarily distorted Tyler and for the time being decides he is gonna like this guy. Ripping apart religion warmed his heart. Twin tails begin a gentle sway, knocking over a nearby chair off which Rohk didn't seem to notice or want to set right. A slick black tongue slips from his vicious maw, tracing along grey scale-lined lips tempting Tyler to give him a snack before Tyler is made into one. The dumbfounded hound fixates on the doppelganger, feeling his patience would award him with food eventually. The book in Sabrina's hands whisks itself away as soon as the replication takes place, causing the hairs on the back of Sabrina's neck to rise. Her eyes squint to the slightest bend of the floorboard and her hands rescind to her lap, veiled by the edge of the table. She was stiff from head to toe, though it would be hard to pick up on since she seemed to be a set type of individual to begin with. When he speaks Rohks head whips around and grey scales begin to vibrate, the friction causing a delicate amber glow between each armored section. "Just the humans… doesn't matter which " was her reply, the melodic tones in her voice trapping the air which they stole. She didn't seem unspeakably uneasy; definitely not afraid… possibly intrigued. It had been some time since a human could pull that trick in plain sight and still bewitch her sight. The parchment was still on the table along with the quill rendering it useless, for all the notes she had just made, without the quill in-hand the parchment appeared to be blank.

Tyler pays little attention to the parchment or the quill. Rather he finds himself looking over his shoulder to Rohk, raising his hand he waves it toward the clone who proceeds to reach into Tyler's satchel which still sits on the floor by his original seat and pulls out a small bag with some raw venison tucked inside. The clone unwraps the meat and tosses it toward Rohk before vanishing completely. Tyler hated deer meat. Why he had it in the first place was a mystery within itself. However, with his clone gone, the mana specks in his eyes would slowly fade and the initial caramel color regains dominance. His attention turns back to Sabrina though he still has the fear of being tackled and mauled by the hell hound he plays it off as if he is well. "Oh? I assume you're a bit of a racist then?" He pauses for a moment and shifts his legs to pull the left over his right and rests his hands on his lap. "Can't say I blame you, if you claim to be that is. We are as they say..." he lays focus on Sabrina's ears, "A lesser race." Feeling nausea rising in his stomach the human allows a moment to take a few heavy breathes to battle the urge to vomit. A keen eye would spot his right leg vibrating in either fear or anticipation. "Still, it seems a bit odd for a pure blood to be here in the open areas of Chartsend. Perhaps I'm just ill-informed but I figured you'd rather be somewhere... clean?" Tyler wasn't a fan of fish. In fact, being in the Eel alone made him physically ill on the daily. However, he stayed here due to his relationship with the wood elf, Skylei. Where she goes, he goes. Still, his focus on Sabrina isn't so much as why she is in Chartsend, but rather where she is from. His brain continues to grind gears rapidly as he attempts to piece together the pieces and find out why the hell this one looks so familiar.

Sabrina had never seen Rohk change his mind so fast on who he was going to like or not; having not been made to look like a fool his opinion drastically changed indeed- enough to make the offer of food irrelevant. The deer meat hit the floor, and the floor is where it would stay. By now his scales had a full amber glow; small feathers of flame licked his taloned paws as he made his way back over to his person's table. A low growl comes from deep within his chest, shaking the glass out of its precipitated ring. Sabrina says something in Elvish that shuts him up real quick then quickly places the glass back in the safe-neat confines of its watery prison. She turns it three times clockwise and grabs the quill before returning her hand to her lap. Her eyes only left him for a fraction of a second, the now purely forest green glistening to a deep dark emerald. Tiny wisps' of dust begin rising through the floorboards, collecting in tiny tornados beneath the table in silence. There is an irritated twist of her neck, followed by a grinding in her teeth over the words he just spoke to her. She was trying to rise above it. "It appears it takes a racist to know a racist." Tension began to grow as she noticed more and more of his quirks. There was enough dirt accumulated now that it would lend a faint chime as it dragged across the floor. "Some of us, however, do not cling to the old ways." There was a flash of anger in her eyes. Imagine that, two minutes in and this guy already hit a nerve. She smiles as politely as the lie would allow her and rose from her chair, the circling wind tunnel of sand secretly growing under the table before Tyler's vibrating limb. "To be honest, I do not believe this is where I need to be, it reminds me too much of home." Leaning in toward him she adds "it's the smell." It was unclear if she was blaming him or the Inn, but she bows cordially, neither her nor Rohk taking their eyes off him for a second. This guy was officially bad news bear.

Tyler grows ever more anxious as Rohk makes his way to the table and growls toward the human. His eyes closing as he tries his best not to face the hell hound in fear of angering it further. It isn't until Sabrina begins to speak and the guttural sound ceases that he allows his eyes lids to part once more. As the elven kind makes her assumption and potential insult the human offers a glare. His eyes focus upon her own shifting between the set of them before his lips finally part. "I'm no racist..." he catches himself. This woman didn't care about anything to do with Tyler, especially the small details. The hint of venom in her voice is enough to have the human think better of his move and he pulls his leg from atop the other and places it back to the floor. "And I seem to have made a mistake attempting conversation with a stranger." Pushing himself out of the chair he reaches to the small back fastened to his belt and pulls out a short stemmed white rose, dropping it on the table before her. "For your time." His legs are shaking violently despite attempts to calm them. Feeling the urge to assert himself to Rohk he turns to face the beast one last time only to cower as their eyes meet. Navigating around the chair, Tyler pushes it back in and crosses the tavern back to his seat. Gathering his satchel he tosses it around his shoulder and picks up the book on the table. After eying it over for a moment he shakes his head and tosses it on the floor beside the meat before taking his leave from the eel and fleeing into the streets. He wouldn't consider returning to his room at the inn until the elf had vanished. With his luck, it would be another night in the cold. As he continues down the road he goes on muttering beneath his breath, insulting himself for attempting to speak with Sabrina, and for trying to act as if he knew what he were doing. He had to learn to just keep his damn mouth shut.

Sabrina took great relief in watching him go, she couldn't handle another disaster like the last time. It took months to find all the pieces and put them back together. She thinks back on that damned human woman who questioned her two cycles ago. It was a close call… too close to risk it again. She was trying not to be racist, honest… but the Humans were cruel and reckless. She finally took a breath, casting a dangerously emerald glare at the back door. The winding sandy track had found its was there, hold up like a barrier ready to sandblast its way through Tyler. The sand begins to fall, leaving a pile at the doorway to match the one that now slept beneath the table. She gathers her parchment, tucking it neatly in her belt loop, and returning the quill to her hair. She slides a thin pale hand under Rohk's risen hackles and calms him. "We will give him time, then we will leave."