A walk on the Wild Side (open)

[Shadow]

Shadow, who was staring off at the mountains that rose in the distance, let out a loud sigh, and rested his chin in his hand, which was propped up at the elbow, and resting on his knee. He was sitting on the great wall of Avaren, remembering the time before the fall of Aesir.

The night was slightly warm, well, warm enough for Shadow to be sitting with his black leather jerkin unclasped and showing the toned body beneath. His cloak shrouded him for the most part, because he wasn't moving very much. His light leather boots finished the attire- and he was fully equipped.

He laughed to himself, thinking of the past; more specifically, his latest journey. The one where he went to the other edge of the continent- through the central deserts, through the shadow-lands, and into lands that were very different from this one. He met strange races that seemed to be more animal than human, including ones like the Tau-ru, half men, half bull, and their opposite, the Centauri; races like the Merfolk, even and the seductive Nymphs. By far, his most favorite race was the one he spent the least time with: the Draconians. Half dragon, half man- they were truly impressive. Their life span was long-longer than that of an Elf, and their ascendancy into adulthood was to preform a ritual that gave them wings.

And then, closer to home; the Drow- they were scary; the Dwarven folk- who showed him a thing or two about alchemy and even his energy storage! and the Elves, the Southerners too.

He was getting a small amount of wanderlust, building up in his soul. He wanted to go north, into the frozen wastes. The only time he had ever been there was the time he found Chao, his dragon dog.

His reminiscing was cut short, because suddenly, there was a sound that stood out against the background noises of the evening air- Shadow spun to face whatever it was, with a throwing knife palmed in one hand, and Chordia, his shortsword, in the other.

As the sound drew closer, Shadow defined the noise as footsteps, but because of the darkness of the night, he could not see where.

As he looked, the clouds passed, revealing the pale light of a full moon. the weak light shone on the top of the wall, illuminating whatever was coming toward Shadow, who relaxed, and was just about ready for anything...

[Luna Grimm]

Carefree and fearless, Luna walked down the streets at night. She was damn well able to take care of herself and with the dagger strapped to her thigh she was ready for anything. She drew her cloak around her shoulders and pulled the hood over her bright hair and pale face. It seemed that the last few nights she had been restless and Alex was gone studying his book and sword. She wished they could both be in bed doing other things, but something deep down told her that whatever was in that book, he needed to read and understand.

Sighing lightly, she reached the stairway that would lead her to the pathway along the top of the wall. She pushed back her hood and smiled at the guards as they let her up the stairs. She could feel their eyes on her as she climbed the stairs, but she brushed it off and stepped up onto the walk way.

She wanted to go look at the water off to the left, but something drew her to the right towards the mountains. She followed her curiosity and saw a familiar figure in the darkness. She focused her eyes and as she walked closer, she could see that the familiar figure was the man named Nightwalker she and Alex had met the night before. She could see that she had startled hi and she raised her hands by her shoulders, motioning her open palms down, hoping he would sheath his weapons.

"No need for alarm, Nightwalker.... It's me... Luna." She stopped just a meter from him, smiling lightly.

[Shadow]

Shadow relaxed, sheathing Chordia. The moonlight struck the elven woman walking toward him, he recognized her from the lake encounter that had happened just recently.

He bowed, touching his forehead as he bent, and his chest as he rose, an elven greeting, in return from the him by the name of his guild. That is how I introduced myself, isn't it...

"I see that, and please, release your hands. I do not intend to harm you- although you did startle me." Returning the throwing knife to its point of origin, Shadow ran his left hand through his hair.

"And what would bring a charming young lady, such as yourself; out here to the barren stretch of rock that walls Avaren away from the rest of the world?" Shadow let out a slight chuckle before continuing.

"There's all sorts of people out; thieves, beggars, sorcerers... I'm sure that there are even dragons..." The Nightwalker quickly quirked his eyebrow as he stated the last part. He just couldn't help it- she smelt very similarly to a dragon- and he speculated that it had to do something with her 'friend' Alexander.

Looking away for a moment, Shadow shifted his eyes into those of a dragon- the blood red color was lost, and replaced with a strange, platinum color. He blinked a couple of times, his mind getting used to the new sources of input. The partial transformation lingered as he continued, the light of the pale moon reflecting enough that even someone without low-light vision would have been able to notice the change.

Ever the gentleman, Shadow gestured to the patch of wall next to him, indicating that Luna join him. "One must wonder about safety... are you sure it is wise to walk around the city alone at these hours?"

As he examined her with his enhanced eyes, Shadow was able to discern Luna's aura, and that her scent was a combination of two different beings; with her own obviously more noticeable. The other scent was as he had guessed; a dragon.

[Luna Grimm]

Her eyes followed as the sword was sheathed and he bowed to her, touching his forehead and his chest as he rose. Oh how elegant! She smiled brightly and returned the bow to him. “I did not mean to startle you, Nightwalker… But tell me how it is you know the welcoming bow of my kind?” She settled her hands down by her sides, her fingers playing with the folds of her long silvery robes. A traditional outfit, but her magnificent attire had been locked up for far too long. He asked what a charming young lady like here was doing out here, especially since there were all sorts of dark people about, and even dragons. She noticed his eye brow raise and she raised hers in return. ‘Oh how sneaky…’ she thought to herself.

His eyes shifted to something for a moment, but she decided not to follow. She was thinking about his comment about the dragon being about. She knew very well that that was what Alex was, but did this man know? She saw him gesture her to join him sitting on the wall and she looked at him as he asked about her safety and it were wise to be about these late hours of the night. She smiled at him and pulled up her dress to pull the dagger from her thigh. “My dear sir… I trained with the Elvin army for three centuries… and I could consider myself a thief,” she stated, slipping the dagger back in its place and tossing the robes over her legs again. “I believe I am safe…. Though more so now that I am with good company.” She nodded to him lightly, smiling. “Gîl síla erin lû e-govaded vín." she said. She guessed if he knew the bow, he must know how to say that a star shines upon the hour of their meeting.

[Shadow]

Shadow smiled as the elven language flowed from her mouth. It was a very musical language, and the words themselves often contained a hint of magic in them- it was a very difficult language to learn. But, it was familiar enough. Even if it was slightly accented; all of the time he had spent with the elven Nature Sage that had been his most recent mentor had developed his ability to speak and understand almost as well as a native speaker.

"Baren bar lin. Le hannon a tholel."

His own vocal chords were not accustomed to making the wondrous sounds that a native speaking elf would be able to produce, but it had been a while since the druid had made use of the language.

"I'm not exactly sure if that is... acceptable in this condition- usually it was I who said the first part."

He smiled; she wanted to know how he knew the elven customs. "I spent a few years in the southern elven kingdom, training under their Nature Sage-" Shadow was distracted as she pulled out her knife. "Of course, I didn't expect an elven maiden to wander these streets without something to protect herself."

She caught my quip about the dragon. That confirms my suspicion then... Next full moon, we shall see.

Shadow returned his eyes to normal, and looked out over the sky. "So, Luna. what brings you out here at such an hour?"

[Luna Grimm]

His home was her home? She knew that he was trying, and that phrases in Elvin were hard enough to apply as they were to learn, so she appreciated him taking the time to reply in the language. He admitted that it wasn't the right thing to say at that moment, but he was usually the one that said her line first. She laughed lightly and sat on the ledge with him, after showing him the dagger, she threw her dress down over her legs again and watched him as he spoke about being taught by a Nature Sage in the Southern Elvin Kingdom. She did not know which, but she knew of them down there. Though their culture was different than her own. He commented on how he did not expect a elvin maiden to be wandering the streets without some form of protection and she nodded lightly to him.

He then gave her a quizzical look and took a moment of silence. They he switched back to normal and looked out at the sky asking her what brought her out here at such a late hour. "Oh..." she thought for a moment. "I come out here to think... Since I no longer have the balcony I did at home... this is the next closest thing...." she paused and looked up at the stars with him. "It gets me closer to my Star and I ask for guidance..." she said, clasping the cylindrical diamond wrapped in vines of silver against her bosom. And then her eyes traveled to him. "And what about you Nightwalker...?" she asked, curiously. He had intrigued her from their first meeting and she wondered who he was and what he was doing here now.

[Shadow]

((Sorry!! i've been really busy... RL kinda does that to a person, ya know?))

Shadow nodded, he knew his elvish was rusty, but of course, he had no clue just how rusty it had become. He shrugged it off, looking to the sky as Luna clasped her pendant and did the same, explaining about her desire to commune with the stars.

"Ah, I see. As for myself..." Shadow smiled, making a sweeping gesture with his arms- "I walk the night-times, protecting those that are deserving, be it loyalty or the right price. I also come here, usually, to ponder."

Shadow adjusted his sitting position to a more relaxed one, leaning his back against the cool stones. "You see, ever since I was young, I've been afflicted with a very powerful sense of Wanderlust. Avaren is my home, it has been and always will be such, but I get very powerful urges to travel... I have traveled almost every area of these lands, hindered only by the seas and the northern wastes. However, my last journey brought me through the desert, where I learned how to properly protect myself from the elements."

Shadow sighed, looking off into the northern mountains, dwarfed by their distance. "And my next trip will be into those wastes. I can feel the urges building within my soul. sometimes they grow so great, that it is painful, unless I go about in the direction I am called.

[Luna Grimm]

She nodded agreeing with him about coming here to ponder. But when he said that 'if it were the right price' it made her think that he was probably an assassin of some kind, and that spiked her interests. She had wanted to do that line of work for a while, but she was done with blood for a while. Maybe next century.

She watched as he relaxed and she relaxed as well. He spoke about how since he was a young boy he had wanted to travel even though he was hindered by the sea, and she nodded. Her own adventure was turning out to be quite an adventure indeed. He then said that he felt an urge to travel to the north to the wastes. She nodded lightly again and smiled at him. "You know... if you ever choose to cross the sea, you could come with me when I go home..." she offered. She knew it was a bit of a bold leap, but she was beginning to trust him more and more and knew that she had found a life-long friend... well... for his life span anyways. But she would remember him and hold him dear to her heart past his time anyways. Just as she did with every friend, both immortal and not.