the darkest part of the woods; advanced roleplay discussion

Full of a seemingly endless supply of Great Oak’s and enormous Spruce trees. Over time, the result of mortals working at these ancient trees is noticeable. It’s quiet here. Some call it tranquility, others see it as a haunting feature.

Aoife's moccasin-clad feet padded noiselessly over the glistening snow as she slipped between the trees and ducked under low-hanging branches effortlessly, gliding almost exclusively through the more shadowy portions of the wood. Her destination was where one of her traps lay. Since it was easier to reuse traps than arrows, she preferred to utilize the ones she'd bartered for from other towns and villages. A while back she had mapped out the patterns of the various animals that inhabited the forest in order to know when and where to rotate the placements of her snares for maximum efficiency. It was entirely possible that she could have survived without doing so, but she had been wholly bored one day with little else to do. Besides, it helped keep her morale up if she was able to make improvements to her daily life, even if they were only minute or insignificant things, and it granted her a goal, a purpose to occupy her whilst she bided her time in solitude for a day that she could not admit might never arrive.
When she reached the location she had set one of her traps, she was wholeheartedly pleased to find a rabbit waiting for her. If some part of her pitied the poor creature for having the misfortune of being ensnared in her well-disguised trap, she had buried it long ago. There was no place for sympathy or kindness in the forest. If she didn't eat the animal, something else would. Kneeling down, she freed the lifeless rabbit from the snare and reset the trap, making sure to properly hide it from view.

Romaris was perched upon a snow colored boulder near the frozen stream, his dark eyes taking in the brilliant scene around him. The forest was blinding in light, the layers of fresh snow sparkling like crystals. Cold, dangerous, and yet beautiful crystals. He knew that if anyone, including him, were kept out here ill-prepared, the Winter Court would lay waste to them. Perhaps that is why Rome thought it was so perfect, wonderful, out here: because only those who belonged could enjoy it as he did.
Rays of sunlight filtered through the stiff trees, their bare branches covered in frost and icicles adorning them like jewelry. Romaris' dark cloak stood out against the white but in a way, blended with the surrounding tree trunks. He could spot a few places around the circumference of the boulder where animals had been digging for vegetation and he smiled, knowing the tracks symbolized good hunting for his eagles. Death would come upon the animals of the forest today.

Slowly rising to his feet, he fought back a groan from having crouched still for so long. Curse the cold and my joints. There has to be a better way to wait out here, he thought bitterly, his knees aching from the seemingly unnatural movement of standing. He tilted his head up, scanning the skies for his two birds, Gola and Malcom, and perhaps sign of prey they had captured or had locked in their sights but so far, he saw nothing.
Currently, Romaris had seven beautiful eagles in his aviary, granted to him on royal grounds by the Prince, but he could only take two out at a time for proper training and hunting. There had only been a few rare occassions in the past where all seven had been brought out and that was for the Hunt. Never was there another event so far in his life that called for such long lengths in the usage of his animals.

Holding the small hoods in his left hand, Rome let out a piercing whistle, the melody unique to his command. Return. Hopefully, the two youngsters had found a catch, perhaps a nice rabbit. Romaris wasn't planning on eating it himself, no, that would be a waste of such fine talent on the birds behalf. What they caught would be their reward, a warm treat after a freezing flight. It was only with his animals would Rome consider being so soft, so generous. They deserved such respect after he had cut their ties to their world of freedom, to their will to live their own lives. These predators were his and needed to be treated right if they were to reach their full potential.

Romaris strode quietly along the stream, letting out the sharp bird cry once more. His pride blossomed as, with a flurry of rapid wing flaps, Gola returned to him and landed hard on his heavily gloved arm. A plump rabbit was clutched in her talons, an oddity but a welcome surprise for the Winter. Perhaps it had been able to eat one too many veggies that other poor creatures couldn't find. He took the animal and stuffed it into the bag tied to his right hip before his cloak. Romaris then stroked her back gently with his left hand before fastening the hood on to cover her eyes before lifting her to his padded shoulder, setting off to see where Malcom had gotten off to.

Aoife tucked her own catch into her leather satchel, noting with a frown that the seams were weakening. Sooner rather than later she would need to procure a new one, and that meant journeying to civilization again, a trip that she dreaded making. While these travels were some of the only things that punctuated the usual monotony of her world, they often saddened her and clawed at the last shreds of hope she clung to. Every time she asked around for news of autumn and the other courts and heard the Kilwings were still thought to be traitors who had gotten what they deserved, another sliver of herself was resigned to thousands more years of living in isolation. There was no other way to ascertain the status of her family, but after hundreds of years of hearing the same hate and disdain, she had become disheartened. Once her main wish had been that the Autumn Prince would realize her family had not betrayed him and would forgive them, but if it hadn't happened by now, it likely never would. Nowadays she waited for the day when she asked someone about the Kilwings and they didn't know who she spoke of.
As soon as one of the falcons came into eyesight, she spotted it almost immediately. Interestingly enough, she didn't recognize this one. Intrigued, she meandered through the forest, watching the bird from a distance as she stuck to the shadows of the trees. Her attire was dusted with snow at this point, and frost and snowflakes were threaded all throughout her disheveled tresses, camouflaging her against the shimmering snowbanks. To move about unseen, to become shadow, was a rare ability, and luckily it was something Aoife was adept at. Otherwise, she might not have made it when she initially arrived in the far reaches of winter.
The falcon she had been keeping track of managed to get its talons on a particularly tasty-looking rabbit, and Aoife couldn't help but send a glare in the predatory bird's direction. That little rabbit had been headed in the direction of one of her snares, and from the looks of it, the falcon was better fed than she was. Oh, well. She couldn't truly blame the bird for behaving as was natural, but she was still going to be mildly irritated over not having that rabbit. Her gaze continued to follow the falcon, although it was more of an irked stare than a watchful one, and she had to continue slipping through shadows and trees to keep it in sight. However, a pang of regret stung her throat once she saw the person directly in the flight path of the bird. Of course this was someone's hunting bird. She should have realized it earlier when she didn't recognize the bird. After all, there weren't too many falcons in this part of the wood, so the bird having an owner should been the first conclusion she jumped to. Much to her irritation, her next immediate thought was that she could ask the fae for the rabbit. It wasn't like the skinny rabbit she had in her satchel was going to satisfy her today, or satisfy her enough anyway. She'd been forced to become used to never actually having a full stomach long ago and had grown so used to it that she thought she never wanted to experience the sensation of a full stomach ever again. More likely it was because she didn't exactly have a choice, but she liked to tell herself that if she did have a choice, she would eat less than her fill. Thankfully her next thought was much more pragmatic. She needed to discern what this man was doing here and if it would pose a threat to her or not. As much as she hated the idea of moving, she would have to if it appeared that the fae would be returning to these woods even one more time.
Steadying herself and ignoring the way her stomach twisted into knots, she approached the man, staying cloaked and hidden in the shadows as long as possible before forcing herself to step into view. Years of never interacting with others unless absolutely necessary had atrophied any social skills she once had. Sometimes when she entered towns, she pretended to be mute and communicated through hand signals and body language just to avoid actually speaking to anyone. Unfortunately, the means to acquiring the information she desired were too complex for simple hand motions and required her to speak normally. "Haven't seen you in this forest before." She finally ventured, deciding on being direct since that was about the only conversational strategy she was familiar with anymore.

His eyes scanned the frozen wood, marking the tracks of other wildlife in his memory as he casually covered ground, not making his goal to cover ground but merely to stretch his body while he waited. Romaris watched the sky, the weight of Gola on his shoulder an ever comforting weight. He didn't need a love in his life or a considerate friend at his side when he had his eagles, as sad as it sounded. Rome felt at home with the birds of prey and they him. The wind said so.

Romaris caught the sound of a soft flutter of wing beats with his sensitive hearing moments before he felt the hard impact of Malcom on his arm, another nice rabbit in his talons. Both birds were doing exceptional today and they hadn't even been out for a few hours yet. He followed suit from his previous actions and hooded the male eagle, adding this rabbit to their stock pile in his bag. He was half tempted to feed one of the rabbits to them now but if he were to continue the day excursion, he couldn't keep them full and content. They wouldn't work as hard.
Just thinking of feeding them a fresh rabbit made bile rise to his throat. Not because of any queasiness of the blood and guts, he was accustomed to that, but because of the memories it brought back. There had been a time when he had been stuck in an eagle's nest himself and had been forced to survive off of the raw fish and prey the occupants provided. To this day, Rome is still astounded at how he's still alive and not dead from some sickness from the raw food. Those were detestable times. The period of early life where he had been weak. Returning to his people was and will forever be a mistake, an ink spill on his history. The whispers in his mind roared louder at the mere thought of the tribe from whence he had originated, the people who had cast him away.

Determined not to let his anger out, he focused on keeping the birds balanced as he walked, halting once when he sensed something near. It wasn't a predator, otherwise the birds would've smelled it. Ignoring whatever it was, he continued until a voice shattered the icy silence of the forest. Turning as quickly as he dared, Romaris' free hand went to one of the daggers strapped to his leg until he took in the speaker.

It was a young woman, or rather, fae, perhaps? Upon closer inspection, he saw her eyes and knew his prediction had proven correct. His hand released the blade, as he looked the bedraggled woman over, a smirk slipping onto his lips. She certainly looked like a forest dweller, didn't she? What threat could she pose? His body posture relaxed into one of arrogant confidence as he addressed her, his canines flashing, "No formal greetings, forest maiden?" Her eyes in the patch of shadow were disturbing but he continued, "A new territory to fly my eagles through their training, I don't usually frequent here. What brings you all the way out here?"
That seemed safe to say without giving anything about him away, the less that she knew, the better. Romaris had learned that people would take advantage of the knowledge but he wasn't going to let this disheveled fae a chance to use him.

Aoife noticed how swiftly his hand leaped to his dagger when he first heard her voice, but she didn't flinch in the slightest, observing his movements as she remained in a static state of calm composure. It was almost disappointing how quickly he decided she was no threat, a woman of little to no importance. To her, it was obvious in the way he drew his hand away from his weapon, the self-assured expression on his face, and the way he spoke to her. It almost seemed as if he believed that she was the one trespassing. In a way, she supposed she was trespassing. This wasn't even her court by birth, but she had made it her home for the past several hundred years.
Forest Maiden... That's a new one. Apparently no one had told him of the Ashen Maiden that inhabited this forest, or if they had, he had disregarded it or forgotten it or something. Judging by the way he spoke down to her Aoife guessed that it was unlikely he had asked anyone; typically people so pompous and self-important rarely felt they didn't already know everything they needed to. He had probably just waltzed into her home without a second thought, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was someone of some importance. Even if she had long lost the social skills she had possessed in autumn, she had not forgotten the arrogance the other nobles conducted themselves with at all times. So now she was faced with a new dilemma. It could not get back to the prince or any nobles that there was a fae woman here with eyes of midnight. While she had known many other faeries with unusual eyes, she just could not run the risk of being recognized and found, for certainly execution or at least lifelong imprisonment were all that awaited her. This was most definitely not going as planned.
"Formalities are a waste of time." She replied bluntly in answer to his first query. In her opinion, formalities were a meaningless dance that for some unfathomable reason people felt compelled to participate in, though at present she could not describe this opinion that eloquently. "Besides, if you had already forgotten, you're in the forest. If you ever spend any time here, I doubt any of the wolves will introduce themselves and invite you over for tea before they gut you." This was the most amount of words she'd spoken in months, and hearing her voice was an especially odd sensation for her. She had nearly forgotten what her own voice sounded like, pausing for a brief moment to absorb the strangeness of it before thinking of an answer to the fae's second question. How was she supposed to answer that? Time was up, though. She had to reply now, or it would look like she was trying to make up a story. "I live here." The truth ended up being what came out of her mouth, although she sorely wished she had somehow thought of some, plausible reason to explain her presence here. Quite unfortunately, she was not nearly as quick on her feet in conversation as she used to be, but that was nearly a thousand years ago and would likely never be a skill she regained.

Romaris observed her reactions with careful cunning, wondering whether she was just brave to address a stranger in "her" home or if something might be missing something in her mind, like a loose screw or something because last he checked, it wasn't normal to address men with weapons and large eagles when out alone. Unless he had missed something himself seeing as things tended to drift away to the back of his mind when they didn't concern him due to his constant time with his birds, though he would never forget something. Especially something that could be useful. When he was with the animals, Rome lost any sense of caring about the human customs. They held no effect with him half of the time.

Indeed, while it had been common gossip in the past few hundred years in the royal court of the supposed traitor family in the Autumn Court but if anyone had come across the Ashen Maiden nearby, no one had cared to inform him about it. Then again, he didn't have many reliable sources of information unless he scraped it out from someone or if the prince of given the news himself. If that had been the case, Romaris never questioned it. What the ruler said would be true, no one was to question him. But no, Rome had been unaware of the inhabit of the Frosted Forest and though her eyes nagged him and his memories, he didn't make the connection quite yet. Possibly because he associated the rumors with the other, neighboring court and not his own.

Agreement pushed into his thoughts at her blunt and to-the-point words. Certainly, the pleasantries of royalty were boring not to mention exhausting. People were fake and loved hiding behind the exquisite masks their status constructed. To heck with it, Romaris did the same, though his mask was more cold with a violent touch of feral nature. To each his own, right?
"I suppose it better be a darn good cup of tea then," he said gruffly in reply, considering her. There were definitely packs of wolves out here but they didn't worry him, even if they should. But he wondered if that was so, how had a scrap of a female like her survived by herself. It was obvious that she had her struggles but to him, there wasn't much to see.
"How long have you lived in the Prince's forest," he asked coldly, his eyes darkening as he came to the conclusion that his liege wouldn't have known about the Fae. Or did he? Romaris doubted it. Her honesty was also very... well, he wasn't sure. Refreshing? No, that would not certainly be it. Maybe suspicious? Oh, that was what that feeling was. That trait was uncommon among those he kept company with.

Romaris took a step closer, wishing to know what the wench wanted, why she had addressed him. He figured the reason might have to do with his quarry but the chances of him offering the rabbits would be nonexistent. What he wanted was whoever she was to get to the point herself, perhaps give him some for information to report to the Prince. Whatever it was, he would make sure his time wasn't wasted.

((Sorry for the delay! I wasn't able to get on my computer yesterday; I was only on mobile.))

Aoife shrugged at his response to her forward statement. Back at court, she would have been intrigued to find someone like him playing along, but now she was mostly indifferent to it. If anything, she was a tad bit annoyed by his reply, but her face remained as emotionless and cold as ever. Hopefully he would just think her to be no one and would disregard her, though she had a sinking feeling that this was to be her last day in the forest. If the fae had only been someone less important, then she might have stood a chance at keeping her home. She supposed she could always attempt to kill him, but that would be unwise without knowing who exactly he was and with his two falcons nearby. The forest was large enough; perhaps she could move elsewhere in it.
At his question, she decided to answer the best way she knew. "Long enough that I don't recall anymore." Without knowing the current date, she could not tell him the correct number of years she had been surviving out here. She did watch the moon cycles, but she had counted so many that she could no longer remember the exact number and thus could only count the centuries and decades during the few occasions she entered towns or any sort of civilization since it was easy enough to ask the townspeople or villagers what day it was. Even the date she had fled home had started to become fuzzy in the past couple centuries, and in order for her to recall it precisely, she had to look it up in her worn ledger, which had been falling apart for years now.
Nothing much of any value was in the ledger. There were only a few dates with no notations attached to indicate what they signified and some vaguely drawn maps, again with no writing to reveal what part of the topography they were of. A couple of pages near the beginning had columns of numbers and letters, but everything was encoded and impossible to read without the key, which was apparently nowhere to be found in the ledger. If it had once been in there somewhere, it had fallen out or been irreparably damaged a while back. It was only valuable to one person: Aoife. She kept it for sentimental reasons and because she had drawn the maps and written some of the dates in it. In anyone else's hands, it was only worth anything as fuel for a fire.
As the stranger shortened the distance between them with a step, Aoife had to refrain from taking a step of her own backwards. Even though his presence was making her uncomfortable (as the presence of anyone other than herself did), she stayed icy cool and asked him a question of her own. "Those are lovely birds. Are they the only ones in your possession?" Soon enough she would be required to ask him if he planned on returning to the forest in the future, at which point most of her cards would be on the table. But she thought it more prudent to glean whatever she could about him in order to make an informed decision about whether it would be possible for to stay in the forest - and even, winter - or not.

((It's alright! I'm not on much during the weekends away so my apologies on my reply as well! Poor Aoife..))

He considered her answer and was slightly surprised, though his semblance remained the same: icy, cold, brutally sharp. If it had been that long since she last left this forest, how old was she? Who was she actually? What kind of threat would she be? Of course there was nothing keeping Romaris from informing the Prince of this sojourner of sorts, the one of the dark eyes, but to know that she had gone unnoticed this long in the territory irked him. Surely there had to be patrols or something of the like. If there was, he would see to it that they were more thorough. The possibility of infiltration unsettled him and he refused to let the feeling linger.
"What is your purpose here, in the forest?" Romaris figured it be best to know as much about her as he could learn, in case the knowledge might come in handy in the future. One could never be too careful, especially in a scenario such as this.

Romaris shifted Malcom off of his arm and onto his other shoulder, the bird way to heavy to hold any longer, even for him. One might not think that birds could be in possession of such weight but they certainly could be surprising, in many various ways in fact. He felt the talons clamp onto his shoulder, the talons digging into the padding and supports he kept for the birds under his cloak, concealed by his daily Winter attire.
A royal tunic with matching trousers and thick, winter boots, the inside padded for warmth. Over his shirt, Rome wore a nice, fur-lined coat and over that, he wore the water proof cloak that came with an added hood. Never once had he been seen without his gloves when he was with the birds and this frosty day was no exception. The dark leather material came up to this elbows and was littered with pale scratches and dents, the gloves now supple, soft to the bare touch.

He was still unsure of whether to reveal his title but he came to the decision that it wouldn't truly matter. Rome could almost tell the discomfort he caused but to her credit, she held a strong front. Shaking his head, he answered, "These are the youngest of the Falconer's seven eagles." He was about to continue but the whispers sharpened in his hearing, more than usual, so he smoothly cut off his statement and figured that the woman would make the connection, unless she was truly dimwitted. El hani kisoriq oflim whilak morsaik.. the foreign tongue continued and while his steel like gaze remained on his company, his attention was on listening to the strange words that he didn't understand but that continued to rant and repeat anyway. Rome hated his curse, despite the connections it came him. Others may find more use of it than he ever would but unfortunately, he couldn't give the gift away so he was stuck with it. No returns in this instance.

He cast a glance around their surroundings, seeking any other movement or signs that she may not be away while dispelling the cursed sounds in his mind. One could never be too careful with a stranger in the woods, this girl no exclusion. Romaris cast a questioning look towards her, all the more curious to know why she was alone. The more questions he had, the less likely he'd let her go without his permission. He wanted to know everything of relevance and besides, for an immortal who had nothing but time, questioning his query brought interest and entertainment to his life. This woman may prove to be of interest of both him and the Prince at this point.

((I'm not usually on weekends much either. But, this is actually working out perfectly since I wasn't sure how I was going to get Aoife out of the forest and have her meet other people in the other courts.))

Aoife noted how his expression hardly changed even when she answered his question in a sort of disturbingly honest fashion. It meant little to her; after all, the faeries she'd grown up with had mastered a number of visages and personas, never revealing every side of their character. She had been able to read them and determine what aspects of themselves still shone through their various masks, but in the wilderness, that skill was of zero use and had abandoned her. Even if this new faerie had plastered some sort of expression on his face, she doubted she would have been able to discern what it meant or what he was thinking. Her gift of perception had mutated into something else, allowing her to understand the wild beasts of the forest and deduce their moods and intentions, which was something much more useful.
At the next question he asked of her, she answered as plainly and coolly as she had responded to his previous queries. "I live here." It was puzzling to her why he had essentially asked her the same question twice, although she supposed it was possible that she had misunderstood his meaning. But then that was his fault for being extremely vague. After all, she could have taken his inquiry to mean several different things, which started to irritate her since one of the things she detested above all else and could not abide by was unnecessarily ambiguous or vague questions, remarks, and answers. Perhaps he was asking what specifically she was doing (like hunting or gathering or just taking a walk), or maybe he wanted to know why she'd approached him or why she was in this particular part of the forest. Or even - and this was the most dreadful possibility of all - he meant to ask why she lived here, to which she could think of several, annoying answers to give him now that he'd gone and properly irritated her enough. Still, her annoyance with him didn't show; it was buried far, far beneath the snow, ash, and smears of dirt and grime on her face.
Aoife's first thought at his response to her question was likely not something the falconer had intended when he answered. Does he work for the falconer, or did he steal the birds? Then she recalled what he had said earlier about exercising his birds in new territory, meaning they must be his and making him the falconer. Well, drat. She would most definitely be packing up her camp as soon as the falconer left, but depending on how the rest of this conversation went, she might wait until morning before traversing to a new home. It irked her that after centuries of living here she was suddenly going to be forced to relocate elsewhere simply because of some entitled fae tramping through the forest. To make matters worse, she would have to leave winter and settle down in some abandoned part of either spring or summer, and neither court was particularly high in her opinion. Eventually, it might be possible for her to return to winter, but she would have to wait at least a good half century before even considering going back home. Sadly, the chances of her biding her time until it was safe enough to find a home in winter were higher than the chances of reuniting with her sister and being allowed to reside in autumn.
Etiquette dictated that it was now her turn to ask the falconer a question, but she ignored the rules and said nothing. At this point she knew all she needed to; how everything else would play out depended on the how the conversation ended. Regardless, she would be gone by sunrise tomorrow, leaving behind little trace that she had ever been here. After all, becoming a shadow was no difficulty at all for her, and she knew this forest better than anyone. Perhaps she should leave a decoy trail... The option was something to think about. If it was done right, she could lead anyone attempting to find her in the wrong direction. Worst case scenario might end up with them heading in the right direction by a stroke of luck, but she was confident in her ability to evade them if that happened. Maybe the better option was to create a false trail and let her real one be visible for a bit; it might at least split up a group if there were multiple people trying to track her. She tucked the thoughts away for later, making a mental note to figure out the logistics of her escape at a later time when she was alone.

((Yes, this encounter certainly seems to have helped both of us! For me, I can get into character while adapting to beautifully long posts so thank you!))

Romaris' mind hardened with distaste from her answer that had been identical to a previous one. Surely his question hadn't been that hard to understand, all he wanted to know was why she was living here of all places. Out of the whole court, why the Frosted Forest? Yes, it was beautiful and isolated, a nice variety of animals here and there but really, there was nothing note-worthy. Just frozen trees and the frozen ground and the frozen streams... well, it was easy to get the point.
"Let me rephrase that, why are you living here, in the forest, alone and without the Prince's knowledge of your presence? What is your purpose in hiding?" His questions may have come off a little harsh sounding, his voice as icy as the air around them, but he just wanted an answer that wasn't so bland.

Her reaction to his comment on the Falconer was hardly noticeable but his gaze picked up on it immediately. He couldn't tell whether it was fear, annoyance, or just intimidation that crossed her grimy features, or if it was a combination. But that wasn't what he cared about. What Rome wanted to know was why she felt that way. His mind instantly went to the assumption that she was hiding something, something that would make her wanted, perhaps? The girl with eyes of midnight... what a mystery she would prove to be. He would figure it out. His title shouldn't be that intimidating, merely impressive and unique. Romaris would unravel her secrets if only to find if he was right about his suspicions.

When the woman didn't say anything else, Romaris decided that he would use the opportunity to grill her a little more, he needed more information. Well, it was more of a want but to his credit, it borderlines need. After all, this had to do with the security of the court and the such. He had a tendency to be a little high-maintenance when it came to information on any topic that happened to catch his interest. Did it really matter how he got the truth out of someone? In his mind, inflicting pain wasn't wrong in certain situations. In fact, agony could be useful to his cause and a real wake up call for others. Maybe it was a messed up viewpoint but Rome didn't notice and sure as heck didn't care about the opinion of others. People would judge, that was who they were, so it didn't matter to him.
"Where do you hail from, Forest Maiden?" It seemed like a decent question and a small sliver of Rome wanted to see if perhaps she was apart of one of the mountain tribes. Not that it would matter since her days with them -if she had been tribal- would have been long past, much like his own, therefore, the memories would be out of date.

Romaris became temporarily from both his thoughts and the Fae by the stretching of wings done by Gola. The downside to having eagles was having to deal with their sizes, and wingspans. Plus, they had horrific attention spans. Sighing quietly, he coaxed the female down and removed her hood, deciding that one more hunt wouldn't be wrong while he talked. It wasn't fair to her after she'd been so patient. Giving her the sharp whistle command and sending her into the air, he turned back to the woman, his shoulder already relieved from the absence of the weight.

((You're welcome!))

The falconer's obvious irritation conveyed in the harshness with which he asked her a clarifying question soothed some of Aoife's annoyance with him. She realized it was petty to feel even the least bit smug over it, but in the moment, she didn't much care. To heck with manners and etiquette; this was the wilderness, after all. Besides, if he didn't like her answer, then he should have been more specific. Vague questions deserved vague answers. If she ever stooped to any serious self-reflection, she might discover that there was possibly a deeper reason for this reaction. While part of it was born out of irritation because she couldn't stand vague inquiries and detested people wasting her time and dragging out conversations that could actually only take a couple minutes, it was very possible that she was also enacting her own sort of justice by answering ambiguous questions in kind, the only sort of justice to be had in a place where chaos and nature ruled uncontested. Or maybe that was just a heap of psychobabble. Either way, the thought had never even crossed her conscious mind before.
"I don't mean to hide." Aoife answered, an idea finally forming in her head. "And I wasn't aware that I had to make a formal request to the prince to live here." With a sigh, she wadded up one corner of her cloak in her right hand subconsciously before beginning her tale. "I used to live in one of the outer villages just on the outskirts of the forest by the foot of the mountains. It was a small one - primitive by today's standards, I gather - and it was called Liraz. But several hundreds of years ago, it was mostly wiped out by the dire wolves that used to inhabit the western part of the forest. I only survived because I had been away on business in one of the next towns over when it happened. The handful of survivors from my village told other towns what happened, and everyone was so stirred up and afraid their homes might be the next targets that they organized anyone who was able-bodied and killed most of the wolves. Of course many fae died as well, including the few survivors from my village. After that, I had no home, no family, and no friends to take me in, and work was scarce at the time. So, eventually I ended up out here; my old village had been so small and poor that I already possessed most of the knowledge and skills I needed to survive." Most of her story was true. When she had first encountered the forest and surrounding areas, there had been a village called Liraz as she described that had been decimated by dire wolves, and the other towns and villages had arranged hunting parties and killed many of the wolves. She had only lied about her role in those events. In actuality, she had tried her best to save the wolves and talk the townspeople and villagers out of it, but there was only so much one girl like herself could do against a rabble. "Is it strange to feel pity for the creatures that killed my family?" She mused, thinking back to the people of Liraz. Every so often, she had visited for supplies, preferring the outer villages except when she needed to be apprised of current events since they had little contact with the rest of the world, and the people there had always been welcoming of her even though she said little. To her, they had been the closest thing to friends she'd had since before she left autumn, but her admiration for the dire wolves conflicted her. They were striking creatures, elegantly powerful and beautifully savage all at once. It was difficult to be furious at them for slaughtering the people of Liraz, but in forgiving them, she felt a tremendous guilt as if she were betraying the whole of Liraz.

((Sorry if this isn't very well-written. I had started writing this a few days ago and just now got to finishing it today. I'm still very weak and unfocused from being sick, so I apologize if anything I wrote doesn't make sense or anything.))

((It looks great!! This, however, is way too short for my liking, so sorry! I'll do better next one.))

Romaris' eyes devoured each one of her movements, his dark eyes catching the way she crumpled the edge of her cloak in her hands. A sign of unease, perhaps, he thought smugly. Bringing his gaze back up to meet her eyes, he replied, his voice like stone, “You don’t, but, we prefer to know whether we house wanted fae or criminals. Part of the pact with our fellow courts.” Lie. They could care less about who was in their borders and what their purpose was, or at least the Prince did. Romaris, however, was true to the eagle’s nature and wanted to keep an eye on things through his own means. An eye out for traitors especially, now with the rumors of a woman masquerading as the “Queen” amongst the common folk. The whispers were kept quiet but he had his ways of learning them. That topic alone could send him over the edge of exploration, his curiosity peaked at the mention of the imposter.

The falconer remained silent while she spoke once more, his mind taking her words and spinning them over again and again, the voices whispering about lord knows what, seeming excited over the prospect of her origins. Liraz. She wasn’t trying to trick him with that at least, he was familiar with the fate of the village. Romaris had heard of the devastation the wolves had wrought and the retaliation the villages had shot back. The bloodshed had stained the ground permanently, he had heard. Somewhere deep inside, in the part of him where emotions lurked unbridled, he might have felt pity for her. He knew what it was like to lose family. He had lost his the day he became an outcast. But, his feelings were as distant as could be, Rome was detached from the things he considered his weakness. This woman didn’t need pity.

At Aoife’s musings, Romaris peered closer at her, his unreadable expression ever present. “Not if they demanded the respect they receive,” he replied thoughtfully, studying her but finding that the fae revealed nothing outwardly. Nothing that she didn’t wish to be seen. Or, maybe, it was the grime that covered her potentially striking features. Maybe.

((No problem! My reply is a bit short as well.))

Aoife was not aware of this pact between the courts that the falconer mentioned. She had no recollection of it existing before she moved here, but maybe it had been established sometime after she left autumn. "I understand." She replied coolly, one hand still fiddling a bit with the corner of her cloak. The subconscious movement was done more out of boredom than anything else. Even though part of her was uncomfortable talking to the falconer (as she was whenever she had to converse with anyone besides herself or the forest animals), mostly she desired to check the rest of her traps and get some exercise. Conversation seemed like such an idle, useless way to pass the time, and she would rather be doing something practical and useful than stand around chatting. There were snares to be inspected, a rabbit to be skinned, animals to be tracked and killed if none of her other traps caught anything, belongings to be packed, and travel routes to be plotted among many other things.
Aoife was puzzled at first by the falconer's reply to the inner turmoil she'd softly albeit accidentally voiced, but after replaying her own comment and then his in her head, she was able to discern what he had said. Most others probably would have immediately understood what he said, but after living in isolation and only rarely seeing anyone else, she had trouble with partial phrases and incomplete sentences, not to mention metaphors, insinuations, and other mechanics. "Maybe they did. Not everyone agreed with me, though."
Turning her thoughts from the wolves of centuries ago, she tucked a stray, snow-dusted strand of ebony hair behind her ear. Somehow it must have come out of her braid when she was walking through the forest earlier. "Will you ever return to the forest?" She inquired, knowing she had to put nearly all her cards on the table now. But at least they would be open to more than one interpretation, which might protect her a little longer. "I am not often granted the privilege of coming across anything that isn't an animal."

((I don’t mind this length, it’s kind of nice when a lot of dialogue is going on. I just love Aoife!))

Romaris watched her with begrudging consideration and acceptance at her icy and refined nature in regards to interacting with him. It was not everyday that he met someone with the nerves to speak with him while not pleading for favor because of his title and his close proximity to the Prince. Of course fear was good, he wholeheartedly supported that, it by far was the best motivation, but it got tiresome at times. Especially for an immortal such as Rome. With an eternity ahead of him, it took differences and unexpected events to keep him interested in living, not everyday normal tormenting. But with this fae, while she interested him, he was not taken by her nor was he interested in gaining anymore information. Besides, he was feeling generous to his kind today, he would let the Midnight-eyed Maiden go free. To think, people didn’t call him kind. Who would’ve thought.

His eyes still took in every sharp but minor detail of her, from her attire to the way she handled herself, every action spoke volumes and he had trained to hear them. It was better than the voices inside his head. A memory resurfaced against his wishes, the face of ethereal beauty of his mother contrasting against the crystal snow of the present day. She had been teaching him of observation that day long ago. How to read the signs and tells of animals, the environment, and people. He had been so, so young then, so naive and trusting of the love he had thought he had felt. Her smile was full of caring and her desire to care for him, all he had wanted to do was please. Rome could still feel the raw emotions of that past version of himself, the eagerness, loyalty, stubbornness, all of it. Everytime he looked for the miniscule details, he thought of her. She had still looked the same when she accompanied his village to run him out. She hadn’t changed when he had been old enough to be thrown off the cliff.
Romaris snapped out of the memory and voices as he relived the fall, his voice hard once more as it usually was, “You’ll find that when people think differently than you or are afraid of your viewpoint, they’ll be working to abolish the mindset.” It was true, he himself was evidence.

In response to her next question, a smirk appeared on his face. So that was why she was still here, was it? Was she just a hermit? Or was she hiding? He didn’t know or care, instead he was thinking about how he had a few different ways he could do this. For one thing, he could be outright and speak his plans, not that it mattered. Or, he could return the question with a few of his own. Or even, maybe suggest his intentions, play along. Well, Rome detested the second one for the waste of time it would bring so that was out of the option. He really did want to leave this place, his schedule wouldn’t complete itself. “Perhaps I will, since it’s better to rotate hunting grounds,” Romaris stated calmly before playing along to her silly tactic, “Nor do I ever have the pleasure of running into a midnight fae such as yourself in such a desolate forest. If I were to return, would I happen to see you once more.” Now, he was truly watching. Her reaction may very well be the factor that determined whether or not he would tell the Prince.

((Thanks! I love Rome as well!))

Aoife's eyes stayed on the falconer, watching as he seemed to abandon this world and retreat into another. A memory? A consuming line of thought? Whatever it was, she knew better than to ask to this guarded fae and waited patiently for his mind to rejoin hers in the present, her gaze flitting about the forest in search of anything mildly interesting to watch. A few squirrels scampered about, and a couple of little birds fluttered in the bare branches of the trees. Otherwise, there was not much to note, and Aoife's midnight eyes returned to the falconer, wondering what thought had captivated him so. She was not offended by his temporary departure in the least. Others might have felt as if they were being snubbed or ignored, but she possessed no such grievances against the fae as she was in a unique position to understand the comforts of letting the mind wander from reality. For her, the pull to envelop herself in her own thoughts and musings was nearly irresistible, but she consoled herself with promises of being able to do so later once the falconer was gone.
When he finally redirected his focus to the present moment and spoke in answer to her earlier comment, she nodded solemnly, knowing that the falconer's statement applied to much more than just the fate of the dire wolves. Most of her life, actually, could well be defined by that simple sentence. How often had she had to hide her secret admiration for the mortals and their work? And when others did not like her father's personal viewpoint on the princes or preferment for peace, how had they responded? They had nearly wiped out all the Kilwings, even Elaine's unborn child. It was difficult to remember vividly much of her life in autumn, but she did recall that her sister-in-law had been with child when she was murdered. What Elaine and her brother had wanted to name the child and when the baby was due were both things that had long faded from memory, but at least Aoife could remember that there was a little niece or nephew she would never have the honor of meeting. Maybe if some sort of afterlife existed. Maybe then.
The falconer's smirk did not escape Aoife's notice, but she was unsure how to interpret it at the moment. Did he suspect she was hiding from something or someone? Was he planning on taking her to the prince? Or did he think she fancied him and wanted him to return to the forest? None of those options was particularly appealing, and she hoped there was some other motive she'd overlooked. But finally he did answer her query, and she shoved her disappointment into the pit of her stomach, not letting any emotion appear on her face nor manifest in her body language. "If you truly mean that is is a pleasure, then you likely will. I move around my hunting grounds in the forest to avoid exhausting it, but if we are both in the same part, I will say hello if you wish." Her reply was as coldly casual and indifferent as most of the conversation had been, and she was wishing she could disappear this very moment without looking suspicious. Just hold on a little longer. He can't stay here forever, can he?

((Sorry for the delayed response! I believe this is the end of the RP? Or another post?))

Romaris hadn’t meant to dwell in his mind for such a long period of time and so when he had resurfaced, the fae’s response aggravated him. He didn’t know why she had been the need to feel so respectful and it caused irritation to prick him like a thorn. These emotions didn’t make sense to him, but with his way of life, they rarely did. The chances of him feeling any raw, untainted emotion were slim and when they did make it through his defenses, he never could understand them. Just another curse of immortality, too much time to overthink every little change in yourself. For Rome, he could drive himself mad analyzing his thoughts, observations, and the meanings behind the memories that he worked so hard to preserve. Sometimes, very rarely mind you, he wished that he didn’t have to deal with these type of fae dilemmas.

When she nodded, Romaris could see that she took it as he had laid it out, with its deeper meaning and implication woven between the words. Sometimes, the few authentic things he said truly were meaningful. Sometimes. At least she seemed to have enough sense to take it to heart. Or was she thinking of something else. Just like he had done earlier, she seemed to fade into her thoughts temporarily, in a place far away from the Frosted Forest. It wasn’t a long period of time but just enough time for Rome to contemplate what might’ve been so interesting in her mind, or memories, that could've captivated this fae’s once alert attention. Just as his thoughts were beginning to wonder themselves, she finally spoke up.

He nearly laughed at their whole skit, there was no way that she meant her words. Her previous actions made it clear that his company wasn’t what she desired and Rome could say without a shadow of a doubt that he reciprocated those feelings. It didn’t matter though. He had places to be and things to do. Earlier, he had received orders to prepare for another assignment in which he would leave for soon. “Very well, until then, Forest Maiden,” Romaris replied in an unfeeling and calculated tone, now bored with the whole exchange. Memorizing her details one last time in case he did decide to tell the Prince, he finally took his leave of her. They had dragged it out long enough.

Leaving the woods, his thoughts were not on the sparkling forest around him, the still and frozen wood, an occasional pitter patter or chirp of the local wildlife the only sounds. Rome was reviewing and analyzing what had just taken place. Each one of their dialogue exchanged and the information she revealed. Romaris doubted that she could ever be a threat and finally came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t need to mention her to the Prince unless he got really bored. He had enough to worry about right now and she was just a dirty, starving, fae alone in the woods. What threat did she pose. With a thought of her disheveled appearance, he smirked, a taunting idea rising to his mind. Taking out one of the rabbits, he called back his eagle and signaled it to deliver. He would find the girl and drop a little gift off from the sky. Rome wasn’t doing it out of kindness, he was just doing it out of spite. It wasn’t like he was taught mercy or how to be nice, what could one expect from a male like him?

((We can end it here! I don't think there's much left for Aoife to do or say at this point besides pick up the rabbit he sent lol.))

((Lol, alright then, it's been fun!))

End of RP