from the woods > a medieval werewolf role play > closed

[scarlet_benoit]

𝘈𝘳𝘭𝘰 𝘌𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦
male| 27| werewolf| heir apparent of the pack of fordaemdur

Arlo smiled good-naturedly in response to Sersha's scoff, and finally ceased his antics. He followed her gaze to the dense canopy and rays of sunlight finally beginning to pierce it. He was surprised that he had not noticed it before, given that he was usally so attentive to the passing of time when he was in the forest. Staying in control of his time in the mornings was one of the few things that gave him the ability to keep himself afloat on the wages he earned by selling game, given that the butchers tended to buy things on a first-come basis, and that the marketgoers had their own schedules to keep to. Still, some lost time wouldn't hurt too much, and Sersha was a welcome distraction given his restless night.

He stuffed down a twinge of disappointment when she said she would need to report back soon. He gave a half-hearted shrug. "You could always come along to check the traps and travel back with me," he said.

Arlo tilted his head, picking up on the sound of steady movement that was barely discernible above the regular sounds of the forest, but present nonetheless. The source was revealed when a large wolf emerged from the nearby trees. Unmistakable and easy to recognize, but a slightly startling sight even after all these years and despite his own heritage. Or perhaps the twinge of discomfort was from the identity of the wolf, not the form of the animal. Tarner.

He did not fear his brother, but he was not too fond of him either. He missed the boy he had been before he became the leader of the pack and the power had gone to his head. At the moment though, there was an artificial air of nonchalance about him that made Arlo more uneasy. What was the trouble, and what was he trying to shroud? He knew better than to ask, and instead gave a curt nod. "Brother."

mentions: | tags: Sersha Eathe, Tarner Eathe| location: forest outside of fordaemdur

𝒜𝓋𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃 𝒮𝓂𝒾𝓉𝒽
female| 33| human| master of horse

Once they were both up on Rose's back, Ava felt more relaxed. When they got out of the stable yard, she would be free for the day and no one would be able to bother her with petty issues. Though she did worry a bit about the other stable hands' tomfoolery without her supervision, she was sure that nothing too awful could happen in the course of a day. There were a few errands to run, but she enjoyed being in the market amongst the quiet bustle and occasional heckling of the other townspeople, and it would be a nice change of scenery.

She urged Rose into a trot out of the stable yard, though it jostled both her and Moriah and made the leather of the saddle and bags creak discontentedly. She pulled back lightly on the reins and slowed her to a walk once they were past the gate posts. It was a fairly short ride to the square anyway, and she preferred to savor it since they weren't in too much of a rush. "How have you been, Moriah? I've missed your visits lately."

mentions: | tags: Moriah O'Malley| location: stable yard -> road out of castle

[azhefa.]

xxxx
𝑺𝑬𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑨
───────────────────────────────────────
sera, witch ● 28 ● female ● herbalist ● human ● heterosex/rom ● single

location; home > forest
tags; open


as with every morning, sera was up with the dawn to tend to her garden and get to work on the day's concoctions that will be sold at her tiny shop in town. the blonde slips out of her nightdress and pulls on a pair of men's trousers as well as a tunic before going about her chores. if others could see her now, she would probably be berated for wearing such a thing. women were to wear dresses in their eyes, but trousers were simply more practical when it came to kneeling and moving about the dirt.

she spends the morning pruning the variety of herbs and spice plants she has growing as well as her fruiting plants and root vegetables. why buy what you can grow yourself? funds were always rather tight, especially since the majority of people seem to view her herbal remedies witchcraft and refused to believe otherwise. though she does enjoy the area, sera starts to wonder if it was time to move. she's been at the kingdom for nearly a full decade by now so perhaps it might be time to venture elsewhere. it's hard to imagine leaving the wonderful little cabin she had made and lived in for so long. it was perfectly placed and well hidden from travelers wandering up and down the king's road, yet not so far into the woods that one could get lost. though she has a few times in the past regardless.

sera sighs to herself as she finishes up her morning chores and has a quick scrub before donning a proper dress. the article of clothing makes her scrunch her nose in distaste, but she laces it up anyway. it wouldn't be good for business if she showed up in trousers and a tunic far too large for her smaller frame. once dressed in the current fashion of strangling corsets and blister inducing heeled shoes, sera heads to her tiny barn to collect her horse. the grey mare was calmly grazing on the grass around the sheltered barn, no fence or tether tied to her as she has free will to do as she wished. sera pats the mare and murmurs loving words to her while giving her a brushing before saddling her for their ride into town. luckily, the mare hadn't rolled yet that morning so sera didn't get as dirty from the brushing as she usually would.

after gathering her coin purse, which was carefully tied to her side and hidden in the folds of her dress, and her saddle bags full of new remedies to sell, sera climbs into the saddle and heads off towards the front gates. she takes the winding paths through the forest towards the main road as her cabin was set far back from the busy thoroughfare. it was rather nice and peaceful, only the soft sounds of the forest and its creatures scurrying about were able to reach her ears, no voices shouting or ruckus like the streets of the town. it was easy to let one's guard down in such a place even though one shouldn't. she hadn't noticed the foxes playing off to the side of the path until they dart across in front of her mare.

the horse spooks at the sudden movement at her feet and shies to the side with a toss of her head and a fearful squeal. sera does her best to try and sooth the mare, but she was having none of it and throws herself back into a rear, forelegs pawing the air. sera gives her own squeal of surprise and fear as she is thrown from the equine and sent into the dirt while the beast flees back down the path towards home. sera calls after the horse, but her summons fall on deaf ears as the grey pelt disappears into the trees leaving sera in the dirt.

[Meekins12345]

❀ 𝓜𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓱 𝓚𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓭𝔂 𝓞'𝓜𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂 ❀
female|human|domestic servant

Moriah was quiet as Ava began to urge Rose to trot out of the stable yard, and soon smiled as they began to leave. While she did enjoy the castle as a place to remain and live in relative ease, she did like to get out once in a while, and she barely got out nowadays. With her line of work, she didn't really have many excuses to do such a thing. And even if she did, what sort of things would she do outside the castle, anyway? She didn't know many folk outside of it, except for maybe a small group of folks, but that's just because she had errands in the past and she had managed to meet them on such occurrences.

Her mind was on the small amount of people she knew outside of the castle by the time she heard Avalon ask such a question. It caused Moriah to blink out of her stupor before a small smile graced her features. "I've been well, thank you. A bit busy, but I suppose that's what I get. Things were a bit hectic after the previous king passed." She commented with a small sigh. "I've wanted to come visit but by the end of my day, I'm pretty exhausted... But that be no good excuse to remain away from friends. I'm sorry I haven't come by enough. I'll make it a point to come more often."

"How have ye then, then? Might as well catch up while we be on our way there." Seemed like a decent idea, anyway.

[Mentions: Avalon Smith][Tags: Avalon Smith][Location: Stable yard - Road out of the castle grounds]

[zhelaniye]

RONAN FENN!! "history repeats itself..."
[35 years] [human] [male] [king of fordaemdur] [no romantic involvement] ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

the way that aaliyah ducked her head as he approached her was not unfamiliar to ronan. as the kingdom's former heir apparent and current king, he was no stranger to bowed heads and averted eyes, but he had never been one to derive esteem from such customary showings of respect. he recognized their significance in terms of maintaining the hierarchy on which their society was built, but it was that same significance that put him off of the idea of them, and although aaliyah was a servant to the crown and to him, he felt no differently about her bowed head than he did about anyone else's.

he didn't think it was possible for him to become distracted in that moment, after what had just happened with bennet and his mind in the shambles that it was, but he knew that he was wrong about that when aaliyah raised her head, albeit hesitantly, and he felt the briefest of pangs of relief shoot through him at her willingness to meet his gaze. unfortunately, the distraction was fleeting and his anguish was quick to return, but he did what he could to keep it from seeping into his response to the young woman's question.

"if you are indeed going that way, i would be grateful for some company," he said. his eyes remained fixed quite resolutely on aaliyah's face when he spoke; a simultaneous attempt to both fool himself into thinking that hers were the only eyes on him in that moment and to make it appear as though he had told his people the truth and there really was nothing more for them to see there.

[mentions: aaliyah rolfe, bennet fenn] [tags: aaliyah rolfe] [location: streets of fordaemdur]

[axelandria]

𝐀𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐘𝐀𝐇 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐄. ─── tags: ronan
twenty-one | female | lesbian | servant

aaliyah nodded. she turned and began walking towards the castle, her hands clamped firmly behind her back. once they were away from the people, aaliyah cast a glance at ronan, unsure of what he was thinking. she opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated. how would ronan react to her speaking to him? since he spoke to her first, aaliyah decided to take the risk and went for it. "so, your highness, how are you feeling? i'm sure that was a stressful situation."

[scarlet_benoit]

𝒜𝓋𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃 𝒮𝓂𝒾𝓉𝒽
female| 33| human| master of horse

Ava sighed at her friend's apology. She knew very well how busy her life was, and felt a bit guilty that she had made the redhead feel bad for not visiting. Her own days were full of hard work, but at least she had the luxury of being the person in charge of her own small corner of the castle instead of constantly being at others' beck and call. It was a privilege, and she was somewhat humbled to know that. "That's quite alright, Moriah. Maybe I should be the one making a point to come see you," she said, hoping that her tone was enough to convey her respect and sincerity since her face was hidden from view.

She paused a moment, wondering how best to word her response without sounding alarmist or like she was complaining. "About as well as anyone can be right now," she said with a shrug. "What with the king's death and Ronan taking the throne. And of course, our beloved prince Bennet stirring things up as usual. Things are...uneasy. Feels thick in the air, you know? The stable hands have been whispering a lot. I think the horses can sense it, too. One of 'em's dropping weight for no apparent reason right now. Could be stress." There was a certain heaviness in talking about her own worries that she disliked, and she shook her head as if to dispel the thoughts from her mind. Better to focus on others and the things she could control. "Is it any better upstairs? Perhaps I could help with some things up there when I'm finished in the stables."

mentions: Ronan, Bennet| tags: Moriah O'Malley| location: road out of castle grounds

[zhelaniye]

RONAN FENN!! "history repeats itself..."
[35 years] [human] [male] [king of fordaemdur] [no romantic involvement] ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

ronan fell easily into stride beside aaliyah as she set off towards the castle. his posture differed from that of the servant, head up and shoulders back with his hands hanging loosely at his sides, but he intuitively matched her pace, and when she spoke to him, he mirrored her glance in his direction back at her.

he was grateful to her for only leaving him to his thoughts for as long as it took to get out of earshot of the dispersing crowd, but at the same time, he felt momentarily compelled to bite back his answer to her question and end the conversation that she was trying to start with him the moment it began. markin fenn had been a reasonable man, father, and king, but he had also been far more stoic in each of those roles than most, and the years that ronan spent working as markin's heir apparent and subordinate had left him with a similar, inherent disposition, at least in his interactions with those to whom he was not particularly close. but with markin dead and in the ground and the diaster that had just unfolded with bennet in the street, ronan's ability to adhere to the central tenets of his upbringing was severely compromised and much weaker than his desire to have an earnest conversation, with someone, even if that person wasn't one that he knew significantly well.

ronan sighed, a sound that regrettably communicated both his shame and his resignation, and dropped his gaze from aaliyah's face to the packed earth behenath his feet. "it was," he said quietly. "it has been a difficult few weeks," he added. although both responses were admissions, the second of the two felt more damning than the first. to admit that he was struggling with bennet was far easier for him to stomach than to admit, albeit in a vague way, that he was struggling with the crown and its associated responsibilities.

ronan swallowed and pinched a small bit of the skin inside his lip between his teeth, suddenly anxious about whether he had said too much and what aaliyah's reaction to his ill-defined confession might be. he didn't look up or at the woman beside him as though he was waiting for a response, but he did fall silent, uncertain of what more he should or could say about his feelings with the fate of the kingdom in his clearly unstable hands.

[mentions: bennet fenn] [tags: aaliyah rolfe] [location: streets of fordaemdur]

[axelandria]

𝐀𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐘𝐀𝐇 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐄. ─── tags: ronan
twenty-one | female | lesbian | servant

aaliyah did not miss the tone of ronan's sigh, but understood his hesitation to speak candidly with a servant. his admission of his difficulty was a bit of a shock. she didn't expect the king to be genuine with her. aaliyah pondered what to say for a moment, unsure, then began laughing softly. the blonde cast a playful glance at ronan. "i can't even imagine having that much power. it's a wonder that you're still sane." aaliyah hoped to put him at ease, since he could clearly use some rest. "the prince is a wild one. i know how it feels to have your brother want to do anything but his job." she smiled warmly, softening up to talking with the king.

[zhelaniye]

RONAN FENN!! "history repeats itself..."
[35 years] [human] [male] [king of fordaemdur] [no romantic involvement] ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

just as aaliyah was surprised by his candor, ronan was surprised by her response to it. laughter was undoubtedly among the reactions that he had anticipated, but not of the gentle and lenient caliber that aaliyah emitted after taking the time she needed to consider his words. in his mind, nothing he had said and nothing about the situation that they had just left behind them in the street warranted laughter like hers and, while ronan's mind was occupied with the task of attempting to reconcile the reality that was unfolding in front of him with his expectations, he raised his head and looked over at aaliyah. he was too taken aback in the moment to consider that, in doing so, he was also demonstrating to her the veracity of his confession.

with his pacifist's demeanor, some considered ronan to be half a man at his best, but in his current state, he was mere fraction of even that. although bennet hadn't so much as laid a finger on him during their altercation, ronan's eyes had a bruised quality to them, as though he had weathered a good punch or two, and beyond that, they did not hide his internal despair well. however, when they settled on alliyah and recognized the smile on her face as genuine they, like his mind before them, became clouded with confusion. perhaps not all of the citizens of fordaemdur trusted him to begin with, and certainly less of them trusted him now, but he imagined that alliyah, as a servant to the crown, would have had some faith in him to begin with and that, after witnessing what she did, she would have lost most if not all of it, so how could she seem to be so unaffected?

as perplexed as he was by her behavior, ronan found himself fixating on alliyah's words as she spoke, because those he could at least understand and respond to, even if he didn't fully understand the context surrounding them. "you have a brother as well, then?" he asked, somewhat dumbly, as it was the first question to come to mind after a short span of natural, conversational silence between them.

[mentions: bennet fenn] [tags: aaliyah rolfe] [location: en route to the castle]

[axelandria]

𝐀𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐘𝐀𝐇 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐄. ─── tags: ronan
twenty-one | female | lesbian | servant

aaliyah nodded. "i have four. three older, one younger. and a sister." she chuckled softly. ronan seemed confused and distant, so aaliyah figured he could use a distraction from the situation. "big families are crazy, my older brothers taught me to fight when i was little, and then i taught my younger brother to fight. my baby sister wouldn't let me even teach her how to defend herself." aaliyah smiled, mostly to herself. "she's a real sweetheart." the blonde paused, suddenly remembering she was talking to the king. "but uhm, i'm sure you don't want to hear about it though. you have so many other things to think about."