An Encounter In The Cold

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

Ren walked slowly step by step through a wooded area. It was cold, dark, making his mission harder. He was searching for a man, one that got away from a Hutt prison. Snow and wind pushed against his face hard as he trudged uphill. Even with his boosted senses, he couldn't see or hear to well. He started to get lost and thought about giving up on his mission. But he was determined to finish his job.

A house came into his view as he began to get weak from the cold. It was something he despised. He usually didn't go on jobs in conditions like this, so he was unprepared. Sight and his strength slowly being weakened more and more, he began to trip. Getting back up each time, hoping he'd find the man soon. The house was so close, but he fell one final time before passing out. Not a fitting end for me... he thought grinning as he passed out.

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

[member="Gren Reaper"]

It was one of the colder days on the mountain for Ai-lynn. She looked through her lumber pile and found that it was only enough to last her for another day, considering that she uses them for keeping her house warm in the cold climate and cooking. She looked at the sheathed axe in the corner of the room hesitantly. It was a difficult decision for her to make because of the unpredictable temperature in the mountains. After pacing to and fro for a few times around her small room, she made a decision. She lit a small lamp and wore her coat. She held the lamp in one hand and the axe in another.

Ai-lynn stepped out of the house and shut the door behind her. It was a familiar sight of the bare trees which was once a lush forest for her. No signs of other life forms as there was no footprints of any creatures. She walked towards the route she usually takes when foraging for wood. It was uneventful until she tripped over something huge while walking. She fell into the snow and dropped the items she held in her hands. She mentally scolded herself for constantly looking straight ahead and not around her. Grunting, she reached out for the lamp and shone it all around her. She could make out a silhouette of another human.

Ugh, another decision she had to make. She needed wood but, was it more important than another human's life? She could see the person's weak breathing and it was a sign of life fading away. It briefly reminded of how her mother died because she was unable to cure her sickness. She didn't want to live with even more guilt. She rolled him over so that he was facing up and she kneeled down beside him. She held onto his shoulders and shook him violently, hoping that he'd show some sign of waking up.

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

Ren was passed out, and snow started to pile upon him. The cold hurt him because his robes weren't designed for this weather. It appeared that his armor was what did the most damage though. The armor pieces began to stick to his gloves and socks underneath. They became frozen as well, allowing little movement.

As he slowly came back to his now weakened senses, he felt violent shaking. Ren feared this was an attack so he attempted to stand up. The result was him falling back down back into the snow. He caught a glimpse of the figure who shook him violently. It was a woman. This didn't make his guard go down. He tried to grab for his saber but it didn't work out. The cold was truly a pester.

"W-w-w-hat do y-y-y-ou want?" he asked in a low but hearable voice.

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

Ai-lynn watched him silently as he struggled to stand and resulting in him falling into the snow. She could hear that his voice was quivering due to the cold but she felt that there was some sort of menacing tone to it. She moved back from her position when he seemed to be grabbing his weapon. The cold winds felt like a sting to her cheeks even though she is used to the harsh and cold climate of the mountains.

"You.. alive. You need warm place for tonight." She finally spoke, her mind constantly searching for the right vocabularies to speak to this stranger. She kept her distance from him because he seemed hostile. Well, she was wary of him but at the same time, it didn't feel right for her to leave him to die in the cold.

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

A place for the night was ideal when he thought about it, but was her intentions only helping him? Or was she an accomplice of the run away man?he figured he'd have to try that route since he was going to die out there anyways. Ren shivered as he tried to stand up again. This time, he fell down on one knee. It burned.

"Y-yes. It w-w-would b-be appreciated." he knew he'd have to be not so defensive at the moment. Especially if she was offering a place to stay. He stood on one knee until she replied trying to save some strength to travel just a little more.

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

Ai-lynn nodded her head before turning around to collect the items she dropped on the ground. She held the items in one hand and ran towards the man who was trying to get up. Standing beside him, she lowered herself to sling his arm across her shoulder and looked at him, waiting for him to stand up so that she could follow suit.

Despite him looking vulnerable in his state of near freezing, she still couldn't let her guards down against this man who tried to attack her on sight. She also hoped that the weather for the next day would be good for her to chop down a tree for firewood.

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

Ren watched as she helped him get up. He put all of his strength into standing up. With her help, he was able to. He would follow her to her home stumbling every now and then. "T-thank you. I was p-p-probably going to die." he said shivering. Even with my strength, all it took was the cold to take me down...

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

He's so.. heavy. Ai-lynn thought to herself when she helped him up to his feet. It was just a short distance from where they stood but it felt like a long walk to her because he was stumbling every now and then and she was watching over this man. When they finally reached her house, she opened the front door and helped him into her house. "It's.. nothing much." She replied him.

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

Ren let go of the girl and fell onto the floor. It was warm in her house, but his armor and robes would most likely have to dry. If they didn't, they'd still be cold and he would too. He started to take off his armor pieces. He had several of them; shoulder, wrist, and foot pieces. Ren took them off slowly and neatly, not only because he was still cold but because he treasured them. After doing that, he took off his red robes but left on his under shirt and pants. Since the cold barely got to them. As he did this, he forgot that his acquaintance was still in the room.

Though the girl may have seen him stripping or what have seemed like it, he was unashamed. He was cold and wanted to warm up as fast as he possibly could. Ren focused his crimson eyes on his hands as he moved them back and force trying to cause friction for heat. It seemed he could talk clearly now and was a little warmer.

Looking at the girl, he noticed her items. A sheathed axe and a light. The axe was probably for wood or defending herself. The light was an easy one though, obviously to see. Just in case she was dangerous, he wanted his lightsaber nearby. He left it on his belt, which was by his robes and armor. That way, he could call on the force to grab it if needed.

Stopping his hand movement for heat, he looked at his acquaintance. "I think you deserve to know my name... since I'm already indebted to you. I am Gren Reaper."

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

Ai-lynn closed the door once they were inside and heard a thud as he fell onto the floor. She saw him slowly taking out his armour. She stood on the spot awkwardly and tried her best to not look at him while he was doing so.

Her house was considered primitive in the age of technological advancement. There were no signs of technology used anywhere. The interior of the house was illuminated by candles made out of soy wax. Judging by the way he was rubbing his hands, she understood that he was still feeling cold and the reason for him taking his armour off was probably due to him soaked in snow because of how he collapsed in it.

"I am Ai-lynn Tannog." The girl replied him. She placed the axe back into the corner of the room and the lamp onto the dining table in the room. She went over to the remaining piles of firewood and took one of them to light up in the fireplace because she needed a heat source for warmth too.

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

Ren kept watching the girl as she put her items away, and then lighted up a fireplace with some wood. She mentioned her name while doing this. Ai-lynn Tannog? What an odd name. he thought saying it over and over again in his head. After a good minute of thinking about it, he got bored and just accepted it.

His situation was an odd one. Now indebted to Ai-lynn and due to the weather, he couldn't go anywhere. He knew he was forgetting something while he sat on the warm floor. Just when he thought he remembered, a question entered his thoughts.

"Hey, do you live alone?" the question wasn't appropriate for various reasons but he wanted to know.

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

Ai-lynn was sitting down near the fireplace when he asked her the question. She looked at him weirdly and replied, "Yes. Alone." before looking over at the two rooms she had - One was vacant because it was her parents' room and the other was hers.

"Anything wrong with that?" She added while staring at the flickering flames. She couldn't understand why he would ask such a personal question.

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

The look he was given at first was understandable. After her reply, he noticed she looked at two rooms. Her attention then shifted to the flames in the fireplace, as she asked him a question. He listened to the question and paused before giving his answer.

Ren laid down on his back with his hands under his head, as if he were relaxing. Staring at the ceiling, he smirked. "Hell no. Especially if you're better off that way." He said this because he experienced loneliness all his life.

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

What Gren said seem to hit a nerve in her. Ai-lynn looked longingly at one of the rooms, her parents' room. She didn't reply to him immediately. Instead, she listened to the crackling noise from the fireplace which seemed to soothe her bitter feelings.

"Not my choice." She mumbled after a long silence.

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

Ren wasn't the type of person to apologize for little things, such as this. Even when he knew he was in the wrong. However, he owed her and getting on her bad side probably wasn't the best idea. When a semi-sincere face, he began speaking. "Sorry if I said something disturbing. I speak like this very often usually resulting in a hit to the face, so I understand if you are angry with me." It was a bit of an apology and an explanation.

Standing up and walking towards a window, Ren saw the weather wasn't changing. It wasn't getting worse though, that was a plus. As he turned around to walk back to his seat, he saw a figure in the corner of his eye at the door. It didn't appear to be doing anything but just standing there for the moment. Ren searched through his thoughts. What did I come to this place for anyways?... he thought about it quickly. The... prisoner..

While the escapee wasn't looking or doing anything, he tried to get Ai-lynn's attention if she wasn't already looking. Ren was crouched down out of the man's sight, waving at the girl. His motion was towards the rooms. With his knowledge empty of both of their combat skills, he only wanted to handle one for now. Hopefully, Ai-lynn would understand.

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

Ai-lynn wasn't actually angry at his question nor did she blame him for asking it. She was angry with the terrible fate of her parents. "No, not angry with you." She replied him, her tone a little calmer than before.

When she finally decided not to stare at her parents' room anymore, she looked over to the stranger and he seemed to be looking at.. something outside her house. What's outside? She thought to herself as she crawled towards him. However, he was crouched down and seemed to be pointing in another direction - the rooms. She looked at the rooms quizzically and back at him. Suspicion rose in her.

Was the thing she didn't see.. that dangerous? She asked herself before crawling towards her own room.

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

For the moment he was relieved. She said she wasn't angry and got behind a cover. Ren didn't know if she was skilled in fighting or not, but didn't want to risk her getting hurt. Since he was still indebted to her for starters.

The man at the door just stood there. Doing nothing, saying nothing. It was odd to Ren. This man was supposed to be dangerous, dangerous enough to be in a Hutt prison. Did that mean anything though? Ren was pretty strong, except with extreme temperatures. He was sure he could take him down.

Ren looked away from the window making sure Ai-lynn got to cover. He saw she was a looked back to the window. When he looked out again, the man was gone. Ren thought this was becoming odd and difficult. Shaking his head and wiping his eyes, Am I seeing things...? he thought.

He looked over in Ai-lynn's direction and spoke as he stood up. "I think its safe now, maybe I'm just seeing things."

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

"Oh. Lucky that it was not a huge creature." Ai-lynn replied him, her head peeking out from behind the door frame. From her angle, she couldn't see anything from the windows and relieved to hear that it was probably nothing. She slowly stood up and walked towards the fireplace again. She looked into a small pot and realised that there wasn't any water left.

She took the pot with her and walked towards the door where he was standing. She held the empty pot out at him and said, "Going out to get snow. Boiling snow into water."

[member="Gren Reaper"]

 

[Gren Reaper]

[member="Ai-lynn Tannog"]

Ren nodded and glanced out the window once again to make sure the man wasn't there. Maybe it was the cold getting to me... he thought still standing there.

When Ai-lynn announced she was going to collect snow, he was a little wary of the idea. He knew that if that wasn't the man he'd traveled to the mountains for, he was still out there. If he was armed, she could possibly be in danger. He looked at the pot thinking about what he should do.

"Would you like me to come with you? An animal could be out there or something." he could've just told her the truth that a prisoner was in the vicinity, but he'd probably have to explain why he knew that information.

 

[Ai-lynn Tannog]

"... But it's just outside." Ai-lynn replied him, looking out of the window. She saw nothing but snow and human footprints which she assumed to be theirs. "Rare for animals to be here." She didn't understand why he suddenly wanted to follow her even though she was just collecting snow from the area in front of her house.

[member="Gren Reaper"]