RP:Unexpected Encounter

Faolan had been spending most of his night running with the pack, fully giving into some of his wilder tendencies. After having gone for a hunt with them and having feasted on their kill, Faolan left most of them behind as he opted for talking a walk around the forest to help digest the meal. Marrok had chosen to accompany him on said walk, and the druid did not mind the dire wolf's company in the slightest. After all, while this was his home, he was fully aware of the dangers of the Eternal Forest; so having a companion with him wasn't usually a bad idea. He stopped to relax for a moment, having found a pleasant enough tree to seat under.

Emilia was not one of the native creatures that made home within the dark and deadly eternal forest. She was a human born and raised at its very edge for a good part of her life. Dare-devil enough she’d ventured into the darkness more times than most of her kind would, enough so that she knew her way around. Denim jeans tucked into worn leather boots with a button down blue plaid shirt marked the telltale signs that the human was a farmer in her trade. Long blonde curls had been pulled back into a braid against her scalp around her head off to one side where it fell freely ending at her waist. A dark wood bow was held loosely in her hands at her left side. Each step was almost perfectly silent as she carefully walked on through the trees. Obliviously to the lycan man and his company under an upcoming tree.

Faolan had leaned back on the tree's thick trunk, resting his back against it as he looked up at the evening sky. The dire wolf sat next to him, looking up at the moon as if entranced by her beauty. The lycan did not hear the steps of the adventurous woman, who dared travel in the forest after dark. However, his heightened sense of smell did catch an unfamiliar scent in the vicinity. He sniffed the air around him, trying to figure out where the scent came from. "Did you catch that?" he asked of his companion, turning to look at the wolf, who happened to also be sniffing around trying to find the source of the scent. The druid wasn't sure whether the unfamiliar scent signified a threat or not, but he was not one to jump to conclusions so quickly. He would of course be ready for a fight if it came down to that, but even though his nature was that of a predator, his usual demeanor was generally kind and friendly. Thus, he opted for calling out into the night, in case the stranger had not spotted him and Marrok. "Hello? Anyone out there?" he called out, careful to not be too loud as to attract unwanted attention from the nearby wilderness, but loud enough so he could be heard within the immediate area surrounding him.

Emilia walked on through the darkness with slow careful steps for a human moving about in the darkness. Bright blue eyes glanced ahead of her at such an angle where she could see the ground before her feet. It was in this manner that she avoided stepping upon sticks or tripping over the stones. Emi was not able to see better than a human, but she’d spent many hours training those ears of hers to hear better than most like her. The sound of the voice from the stranger caught the woman off guard. Very few things ever spoke out in the darkness without attacking first from her experience in the forest. Within a second that bow she carried was lifted up into the air with an arrow loaded into place as she pulled the string back taught, ready to shoot. Feet came to a halt as the blonde turned the arrow head in the direction of the stranger’s voice. Far enough back Emi wasn’t able to get a clear view of him with his dire wolf, but she was perfectly aimed with the weapon at his chest. “Who are you?” The voice just loud enough for him to hear without causing a rush of wild attacks upon them.

Faolan was surprised to hear a woman respond to his call, wondering to himself what she was doing in the middle of the forest so late at night. He figured that she was either really stupid, or she knew exactly what she was doing, and this was not her first time traveling through the Eternal Forest after the sun had set. Thus, she would likely be in need of help, or on the other hand, she was possibly armed to her teeth and rather deadly. He knew better than to make any sudden moves, and while Marrok began to growl slightly at the sound of her voice, the druid was able to calm him down by placing a hand on him and muttering a few soft words to do so. "I am Faolan," he called out in response to the woman. "I wasn't expecting anyone else to be out here." He paused for a moment, ready to shift and pounce if necessary, but he hoped it would not come to that. He had never been a fan of unnecessary violence after all. "Are you lost or in need of help?" he asked, wondering what the woman was doing in those areas.

Emilia was not foolish enough to lower her weapon when the male voice responded with a name to which she could call it by. Two steps forward lead the woman closer to the stranger with the growling animal next to him. The bow was held tightly in one hand still aimed at the male though she had let go of the string keeping the arrow barely in place at its notch, but easily ready to fire if needed. Reaching her hand into her pocket the blonde pulled free a stone from her pocket that with a whispered word lit up like a lantern. The glow from the stone was bright enough to illuminate the face of the woman with those bright blue eyes staring away at the man and his pet at the edge of the light rays. “I have played in these woods since I could walk.” Simple words that held a country twang to them. A mix of the Larket area that she was from with the traces of other regions mixed into it from her frequent visits to them. “What is it that has you out wandering the woods at this hour, Sir?”

Faolan was finally able to see the bow and the woman behind it as she approached. He did not fault her for having a weapon drawn, for these woods were quite dangerous, especially at night. He let out a soft chuckle at her words and seemed to relax slightly at the response. "That makes two of us," he said to her, a smirk forming on the corner of his lips. He was still not fully sure as to whether she was a threat or not, but he figured that if she had wanted to harm him, she would've already done so. "Well, I was born and raised in these woods," he said in response to her question. "It is my home." With those words, his smirk widened into a full blown smile, a gesture that was both kind and sincere. "If I may ask, what brings you out here at this hour?" he added, wondering what her excuse was.

Emilia was not sure who this man was that sat there in the darkness of the forest or if he wanted to cause harm to her. Thus far he had not moved to get up from where it was that he sat. For now she lowered her bow from having it aimed at him while he just sat there talking with her like they were having a conversation at the local pub. “The farm house that burned down months ago is where I grew up.” Just beyond the woods at the very edge of the forest there had been a farm for over twenty some years before a fire not too long ago. Surely, he would know of the farm with the family that was murdered there if he’d truly grown up in these woods his entire life. Even as she offered this bit of knowledge about herself the farm girl did not answer him.

Faolan seemed to relax a little more once she had lowered the bow, and so did the wolf next to him. He did not make a move to get up, figuring that any sudden movement could potentially end with having to pull an arrow out of himself later on; something he didn't necessarily want to be doing. Instead he continued to sit there and listened to her words, nodding along as she spoke. "Ahh, I do know of the place," he said to her. "Its such a pity that it burned down...and well, what happened to those that lived there." He paused for a moment, offering a respectful silence for the victims. "Such a tragedy..." he added, letting his words trail off as he shook his head. "Were those responsible ever caught?" he asked, uncertain of what the outcome of the whole thing had been. The druid had been away on a pilgrimage of sorts for some time, and recently having returned to the continent, he was just getting reacquainted with the land and its people.

Emilia continued to hold the glowing stone out to keep a light around the two of them. She listened as he replied with a knowledge about the farm that burned down and the family that had died there many years before the fire ever happened. “The bandits returned for 14 years with attempt to finish their tasks, but on their fourteenth attempt they died.” There was a pause as she stared at the man in the glow of the stone’s light. She studied what she could see of the male and his wolf with him. Blue eyes barely shifting with the subtle movements of looking him over. “Those that caused the fire that destroyed the farm have not been caught yet.”

Faolan listened to her words, paying close attention to what she was saying. When she mentioned the deaths of the bandits, his gaze met hers and he offered a nod in response. He understood what she had meant, and was at least glad to learn that the low-lifes had gotten what they deserved. "I do hope someone catches those scoundrels soon," he said in regards to the ones responsible for the burning down of the farm.

Emilia returned his nod with a simple one of her own. “Eventually they will be caught. I can almost be sure of it.” There in the light of the glowing stone she offered a smile his way. Innocent yet twisted a dark. Maybe it was just the shadows from the forest that gave that evilish look to her freckled features. “Well, Sir Faolan, it was a pleasure to meet you.” There was a little wave of her fingers holding the stone before she turned to head back the way that she came.

Faolan nodded at her words. "I'm certain that they will," he said in agreement with her words. When she referred to him as "sir" once again, he let out a soft laugh. "No need to call me sir, Faolan is just fine," he said to her, a friendly smile still evident on his lips. "And the pleasure was all mine..." he said, realizing she had not offered her name. "Miss...ehh, I don't think I got your name," he said, letting out a chuckle.

Emilia paused long enough to glance back at the man when he replied to her. There was just a smile offered toward him with a second wave. No, he’d not get her name. Not in this encounter, though he might know it already as Emi the child that survived that bandit attack. And then she was gone into the darkness as she tucked that stone away back into her pocket.