_____This women was truly getting on Reaper’s nerve, his eyes glaring at the rapair aimed at his heart as the women refused to let him move away from the cart. He did not even want to be here to begin with, why did he have to keep an eye on the cart while she went shopping? His expression showing his annoyance as he pressed the back of his hand against the weapon and move it away from himself before sitting down near the horse that carried the cart. As she left him he could only think of countless ways to kill the women for treating him like hired help without even paying him. _____Reaper worked for her father, the hunter and village chief, not the annoying daughter. Shifting his focus to his fist before opening his menu and changing his attire to something less conspicuous that was his black robes. Shifting slightly in his seat before the horse tried to lick him and he moved away from the annoying animal. His sea green eyes lined with tiredness as he began to doze off in his seat before the women returned and decided to hit him upside the head with the sheath of her weapon. ”At least try to deter people from stealing from the cart would you Reaper!” - ”It’s not my job to deal with the cart you DRAGGED me along and had me tied to the back of the cart up until recently women!” - ”Only because you would not have come without me doing that!” _____They sounded like a married couple, the woman was Charlotte, and as far as Reaper was concerned she was the last person he wanted to be spending time around much less marry. After their small fight she began leading the horse away only to see Reaper not fully wanting to follow. Her weapon once again slamming his skull and the annoying glare from her eyes meeting Reaper’s half asleep gaze before he rose and was forced into following to avoid another hit against his skull. ”And here I thought being left for dead in a burning building was the worst time of my life…” _____Reaper’s mumbled words got him another hit upside the head as they walked into Dunnstads. The purpose of the trip was to sell the items in the cart and buy supplies to help reinforce the village over in Brisshal. Reaper did not understand why they could not just chop trees down from around the village to fix the wall but his choices did not matter at all with this woman as he placed his hands into his pockets and kept following her down the streets. They did soon stop and the woman set up her cart for selling, while Reaper tried to get away only to get hit and dragged back once again, one day he was going to kill this woman, or torture her so much she wished she was dead.
Idly meandering the streets, it seemed much of the part of the city Eleanor had stumbled upon was full of various shops. These stores, sizing from buildings to carts, seemed packed with gizmos and gadgets. Many things perhaps of niche, but great use, and many of no use at all, the woman in blue wondered if she was wasting her time. It seemed that none of the establishments had the precise set of items she was looking for. Yet she remained, with her hands in her pockets, slowly walking to place after place. Suddenly, a fist swung past her, the knuckle colliding with the cheek of a nearby customer. As Eleanor took a cautious stagger backwards, she narrowly avoided being caught in the crossfire of the street side brawl. Soon, the pair migrated towards the center of the path, people spreading out on either side to specifically avoid the dangerous interaction. Eyes wide, she watched as civilians idly walked by. All of them appeared to be ignoring the beating the two fighters were dealing to each other. Eleanor reached a hand up to he forehead, before sliding it down to pinch between her eyes. So many people, living without taking any action. She supposed that was the role of NPCs, but it still bothered her. Where were the guards here? Scanning her surroundings, she couldn't find any. With a sigh, it seemed that no one was going to help. As one man was pinned by the other, the brutality of the conflict escalated, the figure on top brutally pummeling the other. Both men, intimidatingly strong and large in stature, struck each other with powerful blows, but it appeared the man on the bottom wasn't getting up from this one. In an instant, a streak of arcane shot out, searing through the cloth covering the back of the man on top. A scorch mark was left sizzling across his flesh. Turning around, the brute of a male grit his teeth. Through squinted eyes, the animal seemed only to see red, his focus now shifted towards the woman in blue, as she had been the origin of the blast. "Bitch!" The brute spat. With her right hand extended, left grasping at her wrist, Eleanor was more baffled by her own action than anything. The impulse decision to get involved was probably one of the worst ideas she had ever come up with in terms of survival. Now, she seemed to be the target of a brutal beating, if she didn't think fast that is. Panting, still drained from the weak blast she had shot out, the only thing she could muster in response to the fist soon whistling at her face was a weak roll. Barely dodging the attack, she felt the wind if the attack brush her cheek. In her roll forward, she carried her momentum onward, sprinting as fast as her exhausted limbs could carry her. "Shit!" Turning a corner, Eleanor stripped off her blue hat and jacket, leaving her with only her white button down, bow still hanging from her collar. With a less than generous bosom, Eleanor looked more like a young man than anything, with rather soft facial features. Taking the clothes into a muddled heap, she tossed them under a nearby cart. This cart seemed to be manned by a bored looking male in a black vest with white hair. With little time to acknowledge the how her actions appeared to the stranger, she crossed her hands in front of herself, as if pondering what to purchase. With her head down, she gave a frightened glare up towards the male, who she assumed was the cart owner. "Hey." She panted softly, trying to regain control of her breath, her heart rattling like a train down tracks.
_____Most times Reaper would have simply allowed a fight to happen then bumble the winner, however as this person seemed to be running he would step in, not to mention Charlotte would lecture him for not helping if the fight took place before him. Slowing rising from his seat and making a quick motion against the larger target. Left hand clutching to his throat and pushing it backwards against the man’s forward momentum of chasing By the time the figure was against the ground Reaper had a dagger to the man’s forehead and sheer killer intent oozing from his figure. _____The threat alone seemed to be enough to make the larger target pee himself and scurry away, Reaper slowly stashing his dagger back into his cloth bracelet around his left hand before plopping back into his seat and yawning lightly. ”I’m not sure what you had done to make that man angry, but I’d advise avoiding him for some time and not saying anything about this to the women with red hair approaching us.” If the person turned there would be the women Reaper spoke of returning from another bathroom trip. ”Hello, anything you would like from the cart, I’m SURE Reaper there already asked you, I really hope he did for all our sake, he seems to be against the idea of helping others.” _____Reaper rolled his eyes slightly, the girl walking past Eleanor to get behind Reaper and twist his arm without it even looking like such, the only hint was Reaper sitting up slightly to try and ease the pressure on his joints. A few moments would pass before she left his arm go and he sat down grumbling to himself about Charlotte. ”Yes because anyone would want the poorly crafted jewelry that you made from stone and wood because you can’t afford or find anything more valuable.” _____This time the women was more clear as she hit Reaper with the sheath of her weapon and all he did in reply was rub his head and wave to the actually well crafted items in their cart, yawning.
It seemed, as she came to the cart in a subtle disguise, the attempt to hide herself was of no use, as the one she had came upon had apparently been able to subdue her pursuer. Turning to watch the display, Eleanor examined the interaction. She was not a person of conflict, and that often meant tough situations in games built around such situations. Still, she sighed, when in Rome... "Thank you for your help." Eleanor bowed her entire torso in a show of respect. Even though it wasn't to uncommon for her to find herself in uncomfortable situations, needing rescue and the sort, her appreciation for the help many strangers often offered her never dwindled for a second. As she rose her head, she nodded in response to the comment about avoiding that angry man. Something bothered her about the way in which she had been rescued, but the fact that help had came was not something to argue about. She merely dismissed these thoughts in favor of gratitude. "Oh. Alright." It was apparent how poorly acquainted Eleanor was with interaction from most of her mannerisms. From her shifting gait to her shaky squat down to regather her hidden coat and hat. She shied away from the idea that the man who had helped her did not enjoy assisting others, considering he had done so for her just a moment previous. Eleanor assumed it was as joke. Placing the hat back on her head, she held the coat folded over one arm. "Thank you again." She spoke, before beginning to idly glance through the wares of the cart. To her disappointment, it seemed this cart was not selling the precise items she was looking for either. Though, she could not let this disappointment show. Such a motion would be to disrespect those she owed a great service. With one hand holding her coat, she reached out to something that appeared to be a small wooden totem of some kind. "Where do you find these things?" She inquired, her glance shifting uncomfortably from the white haired male to the red haired female, not completely certain which to land on.
”I make them, when my dad has some spare wood from building around the village I trim them down into totems or cheap jewelry. I try to do little things to help my dad out…” ”Yes because you can’t clean, you suck at hunting, and your clumsy with everything else you do.” _____Reaper once again spoke ill of the girl, it almost seemed like a comedy act, Reaper recalled it maybe being the strait act, where one tells the truth and the other lies or is blunt and gets hurt by the truthful one. This time his pain was from her lightly pinching the nerves on the back of his neck causing him to growl loudly at her. He did not strike back or act like it was happening otherwise, mostly because he owed a debt to the girl’s father and last thing he needed was to explain how she got hurt or worse when he was there. ”Reaper with the jokes, sometimes I have to give him a little reminder not everyone likes the type of jokes he tells.” _____Reaper had no comment this time, he just grinned as she made a fool of herself by her action not being so discreet this time making her look like the real villain. As another customer arrived at the cart Charlotte moved to speak with them as Reaper sighed with relief. Looking over to the girl for a moment before turning focus back to Eleanor with a tired gaze. He did not seem the most friendly but somewhere in his eyes there might have been that small spark of it that only women could see. ”I don’t want to be seen as someone who helps others, being a hero ain’t what I want.” _____With that last bit of talking Reaper moved a small blanket from the cart to cover his face before leaning back and relaxing. He really wanted to be somewhere else right about now, out on his deck at home, cleaning his guns, smoking his pipe, anywhere that was not near the demon of a women who returned and took the blanket covering his face and glared at him again.
"Heh..." Eleanor reached up to rub the back of her neck, observing the interaction between the two. As far as she strove to be detective-like and strictly observant, she could not really tell whether the two actually despised each other, or were just close enough to sustain such interactions. Leaving a final, lingering glance towards the more mysterious, mischievous acting fellow, her eyes trailed towards the other female for a moment. "You spoke of a village? Somewhere near here?" Questions, to gather information. There were a few villages around, but telling the specific one would be a nightmare. Quickly, her eyes were glued back to the small slip of wood in her hands, fingers grazing over each groove and cut. Looking around, she could not find anything similar to what it was she came for within the market. The trip had been quite a bust, though it would be rude to end the conversation between her and the pair so soon. And... With a sigh, she opened up a menu to reexamine her funds. She supposed she could spare a bit for the woman, as she seemed kind enough, and the man, who had saved her after all. "How much are these?" Eleanor reached out her hand, signaling to the small piece she was holding. Hopefully, the price wouldn't be too absurd, though often times, the smaller things somehow found a way to be a thousand times more expensive than the larger ones. "Oh, sorry, I'm Eleanor." She reached out a hand, first to the woman, then to the man if the first were to accept. Such introductions were often voided by the ability to bypass them with a simple shifting of menus, but Eleanor still appreciated them. It made interactions feel more human, and she was practicing her interacting abilities, after all.
”Not exactly, it’s a small one over in Brisshal. Woodgrove Village. Famous for exporting decent quality lumber for building…” ”And getting attacked by bandits every other day.” _____Reaper once more chipped in the negative, he was trying so hard to get the women to let him leave but she just kept ignoring his dark comments and trying to make sure the girl also ignored him. Growling slightly as Charlotte moved to stand in front of him before she accepted the handshake. Reaper simply looked at the out reached hand and then ignored it. He was not one for friendly gestures as he just mumbled about women being cruel individuals. ”However much you think it is worth, any you can spare is enough to help me buy the supplies to bring back to the village. My dad always said ‘expect the least, so you always get more than expected.’ _____Reaper had no comment, moving his hand to wave goodbye before moving to flip over the back of his seat and trying to get away before Charlotte moved and had his blade against his forehead in a few brief moments. He growled slightly before being led back to his seat at weapon point before she smiled and sheathed her sword. Reaper moved the blanket once more over his head and this time was allowed to keep it there as he began to doze off. ”I’m Charlotte, and this lazy negative fellow behind me is Reaper. Sorry if he ain’t friendly he always seems to have a stick up his you know what.” _____Charlotte would smile happily before moving to her cart and moving some things around. They did not seem to get many people due to location and the air that seemed to come from the polar opposites. Mostly because Reaper kept his hand on his dagger hilt scaring the parents with curious kids away or women from the cart. The less people around the less times the women would force Reaper to look like he wanted to be there, or hold him at sword point like previous that caused a few to move away.
Nodding, the woman in blue listened quietly to the banter between the two, somewhat intrigued by the comment on bandits. Without much movement, she only glanced up from the small totem in her fingers a few times, mainly just allowing her fingers to run up and down the grooves. It had an appealing texture, though it certainly wasn't amazing quality. She enjoyed the small piece of wood, regardless of what it's value may be. Eleanor was caught off guard by the comment on the price of the small object. There certainly weren't many surviving businesses that could support a mantra like that one, but she figured as the two were coming from a village, there were other sorts of ways for them to obtain funds. She had mentioned lumber. Perhaps the totem that she was toying with in her fingers was merely remnant scrap from one of the more prominent logs. "Nice to meet you Charlotte." She smiled, bowing her head, and chuckling at the comment about Reaper, before bowing to him as well. "A pleasure." As the cart began to move away, Eleanor was not certain about where to go. The marketplace did not seem to have what she was looking for... The day was turning out to be a rather unproductive one, but... She seemed to have interacted a bit! And that was good for her! Interaction, being one of her most difficult struggles, was something that often had to be strove for. She had also helped someone, at least a little! Perhaps the day wasn't so much of a failure. Setting the totem into her hand, and holding the closed palm to her chest, she followed along after the cart, her jacket hanging over the angle of her elbow. Walking next to Reaper, she made attempts to wave to those passing by. This, being another thing she had been practicing to aid herself in communications and interactions, was often met with rather pleasant results. People would often smile or wave back, some even stopped to comment something to her every now and again. Practice made better, and she certainly was getting better! But the results were different that time. After a wave, Eleanor might get a small smile or wave, but it would soon be caught up as the stranger's gaze lingered slightly past her, towards Reaper. It took a few trials of her practicing effort to notice this, looking to her side towards the rather aggressive looking figure. Just as she was about to speak, she was cut off by a rather hesitant notion that ran through her. Not only his posture, but there was a sort of aura about the male. With his hand on his blade, he looked rather threatening and... No doubt, the display he had put on in the center of the street moments earlier to protect her also aided the provoking image that he put on. "Hey." Eleanor looked over towards him, hoping to somewhat dissuade the downright scary expression and vibes that he was blatantly exuding through the street. "Reaper, right?" She didn't know why she said that bit, her face twitched awkwardly, as she waited a moment for a response, before continuing. "Why are you helping her if you don't want to?" He hadn't said that he didn't want to, but it seemed quite obvious from his antics that he would prefer to be anywhere, but where he was. "I'm sorry, excuse me!" The woman in blue sputtered, as she had accidentally brushed against a passer-by during her glance towards Reaper. It might not have seemed like much of an embarrassing or uncomfortable display to him or anyone watching, but it was evident on Eleanor's face that she was quite embarrassed and discomforted by each of her little social mishaps. She felt like a communal thunderstorm, never graceful and always wrecking conversations and interactions. Reaching up to rub the back of her neck, she turned her glance back towards Reaper.
_____Reaper looked over to the girl as she asked him the question. Slowly lifting his finger to point at Charlotte before moving his hands down and grumbling lightly. ”SHE refuses to let me do anything else. Dragged me by a damn rope to this place and anytime I try to get away she points a weapon at me and forces me back to her side.” His voice cold and angry as he once more tried to break away only for the girl to spin around and hold his collar. And he waved as if to say ‘case and point’ before he resumed following. ”Honestly Reaper why is it so hard for you to just help me out like you help my dad and the guards of the village.” ”Because THEY have something over my head that forces me to do as they say to avoid any issues. YOU do not have that so I don’t want to help you or be in public spaces like this, I’m not exactly a social person as you should know by now.” _____Charlotte stopped the cart and looked at Reaper. He could understand her next action slightly as she slapped his face and seemed ready to cry. He did just claim he was getting blackmailed in an undertone manner and her father was among them. She held decent level of respect for her old man, Reaper did not share that considering he killed his dad in the real world after what he watched him do to his sister. Rubbing his cheek before resuming the change of location. His eyes told slightly of the story, he felt sad but not for what he had said.
Eleanor observed the interaction between the two that followed, after her question to Reaper. Having not been paying complete attention to the cart in front of her, as she was spending most of her wit on dodging the people passing by. This was to avoid another embarrassing incident where she ended up stumbling into a stranger, forced to apologize to them for the inconvenience. Though, another embarrassing roadblock came upon in her way, as the cart stopped, and she soon stumbled into it. "Ehh?!" Her head knocking against a wooden post in the cart. "Ow!" Stumbling back, she cursed herself mentally, spouting the usually insults like 'dumbass!' and 'idiot!' Her hands came up to rub her forehead where she had so clumsily struck herself, it was a moment before she lowered her hands and opened her eyes, confused to see Charlotte so close. Taking a cautious step back, she observed as Charlotte slapped Reaper. With eyes wide, as much as it was morally unacceptable by any means, she soaked up the details of the conflict. The interaction, ever bit of it, she observed, informed her about people. How they worked, motives, and things along those lines. She was learning increasingly more about it, like a learning AI, becoming more aware of the communication and synergies between humans. As Reaper rubbed his wounded cheek, Eleanor sighed, wincing as she looked towards him. "Sorry if I caused that..." After all, it was a chain of events that had spiraled down after she had spoken. Rubbing the back of her neck, she figured it was at least in part her fault. "You okay?" She gave a compassionate gesture. Such things were often forgotten about in her interaction, as she seldom remembered when and what to say. Charlotte seemed to go back to her place moving the cart. Eleanor lowered her head, as not to create any distress in the already heated situation. Glancing across the street, she watched as a woman began to... 'Bargain' for lower prices with a store owner. Raising her voice and flailing her arms in the air, it was obvious that she was less than pleased about something. The man, returning with a rather aggressive response. Eleanor saw them battle, with words and large expressions, until one would be the victor. The conclusion of the ordeal she would not see, as she followed the slowly moving cart onward to it's location. Still, it made her wonder. Perhaps, through the conflicts going on that day, from the slap on Reaper to the men beating each other, was Eleanor just fueling those fires? In her mind, it was hard to believe that so much conflict could occur in one day by coincidence. Maybe she was acting as a sort of catalyst for it all. Either way, she was going to be analyzing the information that the day was feeding to her for quite a while after the events were over. Maybe... It was all just the everyday events for a market of that size. Instigation and physical altercations were bound to happen in places of such massive population. No one in particular could be blamed for such things, right? None of it made Eleanor feel innocent. Though she feared instigating something else between the two, the shy detective spoke up again to Reaper. "I mean... You can always just walk away though, correct?" She shrugged, not really understanding the circumstances involving his... Employment? So it seemed. He had to be employed by them. At least in some way, shape, or form. Otherwise, someone like him would be in the wind, right? There was no real reason, it seemed to her, for him to even be there if he didn't want to be. Someone with his... Violent capabilities would certainly have more expensive work elsewhere, right? Heck, even Eleanor would have use hiring him as some sort of muscle. With a sigh, there it was again. Her plans for the future, seemingly incomplete in nature, as it felt day by day, they were getting no closer to completion. Perhaps if she had found what she was looking for in the bustling market, she would be somewhat closer to her goal. Regardless, she had found something of value. At least there was that.
”If I could I would already have left that village and been done with all the task they gave me. However due to the weakness of someone’s word in my book of trusting, and what they have over me, escaping it is not likely for some time.” _____Charlotte began moving the cart a bit faster before stopping to set up at a new location and turning to Reaper. She stilled looked fairly angry but calmed down before she chose to speak again. ”If you don’t want to help then go Reaper, I can do more without you around anyways. I thought maybe i could spend some time with you and help you out but clearly you prefer solitude.” Her hand pointing away as Reaper blinked a few times at her before moving away without a word to her, but some spoken under his breath. ”Trust me, the further you are from someone with my magic and history the better off you will be women…” _____Opening his UI to draw out his cloak before he moved into the crowds and seemed to vanish if not followed soon after. ”Boys are so dense I swear… That one is like a mountain when it comes to reading others feelings…” Hollow sad words spoken as Charlotte gave one last glance towards Reaper before tending to her cart alone. Reaper however did not go far, setting down in an alley as he watched over her sharpening his dagger to pass the time. @Eleanor Loan
Eleanor continued to wonder if she had set the whole confrontation off in the first place. Perhaps her words, like a match to gunpowder, had ignited the fuse that set the pair of them off. Of course, she hoped that it was not that way, but hope was all that she could do. Eyes following Reaper for a moment, she observed as he weaved through the crowd, certainly a skill that he had acquired somewhere. "I-I'm sorry, I will attempt to fetch him, if I can." Placing the small wooden piece back upon the cart, Eleanor attempted to weave through the crowds as well, pursuing the mysterious, though competent fighter. Though losing track of him, she entered investigation mode, scouring the colors she saw as they intensified in peculiarity. The shade of dark his cloak had, she remembered it, and could recognize it. Noticing the tip of the hood, perhaps a piece of the sleeve, through the interlocking, ever shifting crowd of bustling movement, Eleanor made her way towards the man. Though, she was not so adept at social subterfuge in the face of a large crowd of people, and her less than graceful antics left her stumbling and bumping into most people in her way. This left her a bumbling mess of apologies and 'excuse me's', as she made her clumsy way towards the alley where the Reaper had seemingly vanished into. Her timing was much less quick, had her movement was far less fluid than that of his own. It took her quite a bit more time to get there. Finally stumbling into the alley, quickly dashing past a cart that nearly ran her over, Eleanor leaned a palm against the wall, her hat obscuring her eyes as her head was lowered with exhaustion. She was not the best when it came to physical activity. Her thin frame made that rather obvious to anyone who cared to glance upon it. "H-hey." She stuttered between a pant. "You spoke of word and trust? Perhaps a bit of," She paused to take a deep breath, as she was still regaining her posture, "Blackmail, maybe?" "I might be able to help you out, if you're in trouble." She explained. With a sigh, she leaned against one of the alleyway walls, taking her hat back off to run her fingers through her somewhat sweaty hair. "And I could use someone... Strong, like you. What do you say? Symbiosis?" She tried to be charismatic, but it was very blatant that such activities were an area of weakness for her. She was not the best talker, definitely not the best walker, and she certainly was not the best fighter, placing her rather low on the totem pole when it came to threats within a gaming world. Though she hoped her other skills could reflect greater potency.
”They know something they should not, and to keep them quiet I help them when asked. It is no more blackmail considering the work they ask of me is something I’d get paid for other times, and they pay me for some of the jobs anyways so.” _____Reaper kept his focus between his dagger and Charlotte, neither got long before her would close his eyes and check them again. ”The only annoying job I have is to keep an eye on her, and to not get close to her from her dad.” Moving his dagger up to check the edge before he moved in back into his sleeve and yawned lightly watching Charlotte work to get people to buy anything from the cart or to just look. ”I hate babysitting jobs… Much more when the one I’m tasked to watch knows I’m there and is like her.” _____His hand rising slowly as arcane magic sparked and a very small bolt shot down an approaching arrow, his hand opening to catch the note it carried before he looked it over. Just what he needed, another stupid complication. Rising up as he adjusted his robe and looked at Eleanor before he vanished in a flash of arcane magic and was standing on the roof. ”Seems I have a more pressing job to deal with, If you need me there is a old graveyard in Stokbon, if you find the Grim reaper statue just move the letters on the back side plate to spell Reaper and you should find yourself the people who can contact me and others with my skill set up for hire.” Speaking cold from the roof, loud enough so she could hear him before he vanished again. @Eleanor Loan ~Reaper exit~
