An Unlikely Journey

[Saem]

Half elves were a very rare thing. Humans were normally superstitious creatures, deeply mistrusting of anything strange or different from themselves. Elves, well they loved beauty. Relished it like nothing else. Humans normally weren't beautiful creatures, and so the elves tended to avoid them, the proud brats that most were. And so combinations of the two were very, very rare, and in dangerous times like now the relationship superficial and bound to crumble and someone was going to get hurt. Which was exactly what had happened to Saem.

And then there was always the draw back of being neither totally human, nor totally elf. He had the lithe grace of cat, far much more then any human should have, but the boyish, rounder features of a man. Of course, he also had keener ears then a human, and with the unique ability to read lips; an ability developed under Galbatorix's eyes at his first failed attempt to be a spy; he'd been able to catch most of their conversation, or at least the gist of it. He gave no sign of it as he neared them, gloved hands in his pocket and the same polite yet awed expression on his face.

"Dragon Rider," He greet, bowing his head respectfully in her direction. "Dragon." He bowed his head to the dragon as well, having the common sense to show respect to both elf and dragon. They were, after all, more intelligent then humans and elves and dwarves combined in many aspects. "I would assume the same reason as your friend, Rider. Surda's a sanctuary compared the empire, especially with the-" He hesitated slightly, as if unsure if Arya was Imperial or Varden. "Varden." He finished. He appeared to be honest and innocent, true to his word and as sweet as a lamb. Quite the contrair.

[Connor Windkeeper]

Connor followed the man as he made his way towards them, now that he had gotten closer to the group Connor took notice to his features. He seemed to carry the elegance that an elf would seem to carry yet he had the bulk of someone of a human origin. He looked at the mans ears and noticed that they were slightly elongated, a sure sign of an elf. Connor was slight bemused, he had always heard that elves were slim with fair skin and flawless features upon there face and although he would not call the man now standing before them an ugly individual he was by far not what he would imagine when thinking of an elf.

He watched him as he presented himself to Arya and her dragon companion and made Connor wonder if maybe he should have given the pair the respect that the stranger had given them. He shrugged it off for the moment "And how may i ask do you know what my reason of being here stranger?" he asked not unkindly, the man seemed to give off an uneasy feeling to Connor as if falsely sweet which unnerved him.

[Gothweniel Al'Faern]

Ooc: This is just my attempt to fit in somehow, 'cause I've got about no clue where I shoudl start, if it doesn't really fit in that well, I'd be glad to edit it so that it does, or delete it altogether if it really is that hopeless.

~+In character+~

Gothweniel sulked a distance from everyone else, she was pretty sure that they couldn't see her, and even if they did, she didn't think they would care. Good. She didn't want to be seen, or taken notice of, she was just here because, well, she had pretty much wandered here, and she wondered whether she was in the right place or not. Strange that there were so many other people here, but she didn't really care, after all, it wasn't really supposed to be her concern. Even so, disinterested in the group as she was, she could not help but take notice of the magnificent dragon near the elf. Beautiful was the first thoguht that came to mind, though several more followed. Powerful, proud, graceful, and above all, somewhat intimidating.

She shook the thoughts from her mind, she had always admired dragons, had read many ancient writings about the marvelous beasts, and now, to actually catch a glimpse of one, she felt strangely, afraid, or something, along with feeling a powerful...something, which pulsed through her mind and body. Suddenly, she felt a tendril of thought prying into her mind, and immediately, she shut it off, was it one of those people who followed her around, questioning her day in and day out? She severed the connection immediately, they had no authority to go prying into her mind, her thoughts.

Just then, a sudden thought occured to her. Why was she standing here in the first place? Almost instantly, she knew the answer, she was standing here because she was constantly annoyed with being denied the information she came so far to seek. Not really denied, they kept telling her that they would give her the information, mostly on her parents, at some point, but from her point of view, 'some point' was a long way off. Just a few hours ago, a dwarf had said he knew what she wanted, and given her a scroll on a ancient legend involving the Dragon Riders. He must have known that the legendary Dragons and their Riders interested her, and she had thanked the dwarf, out of politeness, she expected, but she had a distinct feeling that they, 'they' being whoever knew the information they were keeping from her, were mocking her, teasing her, having fun with keeping the answers she sought out of her reach.

"Forget this." She muttered angrily, she either wanted the answers she had come looking for, or she wanted to find out what they were up to. Hadn't her caretaker said to find the Varden, and something about finding her destiny there? Well, her caretaker must have been wrong. "I'm on the point of leaving right now." For once, that sounded reasonable to her, being as frustrated as she was at the moment.

[Arya]

Arya nodded to the stranger; his tone and gait was sweet and fine, but something about him wasn't quite right. What do I do, Faelin? Arya questioned. Should she search through the man's mind before speaking again, or trust him for now? The elf had second thoughts about the whole ordeal; perhaps her dragon would know what to do.

If you have any doubts at all, search his mind. If he won't let you in, then something is obviously not quite right about him. If his mind is filled with secrets, then there is reason to be suspcious. He could be true to his word also, you know. Faelin stood from where he had been laying, taking a few protective steps towards his rider in case of trouble. Ugh. I sense another presence nearby, little one. She means us no harm, I think, but all of these strangers are getting on my nerves.

Arya sighed, replying to her dragon quickly. If this new stranger wishes to show itself, then let it be. I will do as you ask. With that, Arya reached out to touch the mind of the half-elf, not bothering to conceal her identity. He would know that it was her anyways. She entered his mind slightly hesitantly, afraid of what she may find and of who this man may be. Many details were lined along the outer wall of his conscious; simple details. Arya soon found that the half-elfs name was Saem and that he had had a strange past. More specific details and history were buried even deeper within his mind. Arya would have to do a bit of prying. She took a deep breath before delving further into his consciousness.

[Saem]

Ah, they elf was trying to pry into his mind. Now this simply would not do, to much would be revealed. He would let her go so far, see his harmless current thoughts, but if she ventured to deep he would have to take action. The hard part about being a spy surrounded by magicians, eventually someone would try to read our mind. Especially in such dangerous and traitorous times. And so spying tended to be unrealistic, unless you went in as a commoner and acted as a commoner, because there were so many the magicians couldn't check them all. Except Saem had stumbled like a mongoose into a snake pit.

As soon as she attempted to dive deeper into his mind, Saem reacted. He brought forth his defenses, forming a solid wall between the important and traitorous memories and the foreign invader. The urge act more violently was almost irristable. The almost animalistic instinct to force this invader, this marauder from his head by any means necessary, to attack and crush it, was overpowering. But he resisted it smoothly, emptied the foremost recesses of his mind the prior petty details. My memories and thoughts are not yours, Rider.[/i] This single thought roared across his mind, mentally defening.

His physical stance and expression hadn't altered, expect for a small tightening of his jaw. The same charismatic smile, the same friendly eyes. He would not attack, not yet. He waited with bated mental breath, to see her reaction. Would she get suspicious, or would she merely let him be, think he simply didn't want to share his past and intended no harm. Probably the first, she'd have to be extremely thick to think the latter. Could she sense the sinister danger lurking the mental wall? If she insisted on searching his mind.. well, things might get a little ugly.

Not all of his attention was focused on Arya, however. "Seeing as the empire hasn't been flounting a new elven dragon rider, I would assume she would be with the Varden. And seeing as you haven't attacked her yet, and that you had been suspicious before, I can safely assume you are looking for them." He addressed Connor in a reasoning tone, before smiling and saying, "And, as you may have guessed, I have very good ears."

[Connor Windkeeper]

Connor felt a sudden wind blow towards the group that had now huddled on the plain. He glanced up at the sky again, his eyes widening slightly at the sight. The clouds were moving at a fast pace, like fluffy white blurs streaking across the sky. The storm was coming and it was moving fast, he did some mental calculations in his head and spoke. "Im not sure how well the two of you are with the weather but theres a big store coming and its moving fast..... i'd give it about a half hour before it reaches us." he said taking a glance up at the sky again.

He faintly heard what the stranger had said, he supposed he shouldnt be so quick to judge the man apparentally he was the new just as he was. " I'm sorry stranger I've been out in the wild for some time, i havent heard much of the going on's through out the empire. I hadn't even heard that another of the dragon eggs had hatched." he said apologitically.

[Gothweniel Al'Faern]

Ooc: Okay, I'm going to stop putting this off, because I feel like I am. I just happen to need quite a bit to work with.

~+ In Character +~

Gothweniel caught bits of their conversation, and it caught her attention for a moment, almost wanting to go closer to hear what they were talking about, but she could never do that without feeling that she was nosing into everyone else's business. She was sure the words "dragon," "elf," and "rider," came up though. She wished she could listen to their conversation without actually butting in or prying into what was obviously their business. As a result, she backed off somewhat, left to sulk in peace.

"I haven't got much time left to stay, do they honestly think I'll just stay here for years, letting them manipulate me? If they wanted me to join them, then they'll at least have to give me the information first!" Hold on, she wasn't supposed to be saying this out loud, though she was pretty sure no one else could hear. Good, that was somewhat private, at least, it was in her book. Anyways, I can't wait that much longer, because all I want is that information, then I'll just continue with my life. If they're just not going to give it to me, then I'll do more to get to the information, they'll probably hate me for how annoying I am by the time I actually get the stupid information. She thought bitterly to herself, as the single thought surfaced again, she had a purpose for coming here, and she went through the journey, which was, without need for explanation, difficult and trying. I suppose it isn't doesn't matter, she suddenly thought, with a barely audible sigh, after all, I'm sure that the same has happened to others. I just really want to find out more about my parents, like anyone would.

[Arya]

Arya didn't falter at the sound of the half-elf's roaring threat; she did back off, however, and stayed clear of the man's memories, even though it did make her just a tad bit suspicious. After probing around for quite some time and finding nothing except for the man's feelings, general information, and a little bit of basic history, Arya withrew her consciousness from his and relaxed once more. "That will do," she said, trying not to sound too cautious. Of course, that wouldn't do at all if she were to take the half-elf to the Varden, but it would do for now. "May I ask your names?" she questioned, referring to both the half-elf and the human.

Something about that half-elf doesn't seem quite right . . . Faelin mentioned. You'll have to search his mind more thoroughly if you are planning on leading him to the Varden. Or . . . allow me. The dragon grinned, showing two rows of sharp, large, pearly whites. Arya mearly snorted and turned her back on him again, but not without touching his mind and sharing her feelings of cautiousness and fear with him. He understood her perfectly; he always did. After Connor spoke about the coming storm, Faelin thought it best to mention yet another problem. Arya, we'll be joined soon by a female elf. She is very impatient for some reason.

Great, Arya whispered to him. "A storm, you say?" she said aloud to the two strangers. "We'd best to moving, then, not standing around like a herd of livestock." Her expression was stoic and devoid of emotion as she turned her back on the two to walk towards her dragon. If they followed, she would allow it. But she wouldn't take them into the encampment without probing their minds more thoroughly. Let's be off, she said to Faelin alone, and the dragon nodded in agreement. Let the female, impatient elf follow them if she liked. It mattered not to him, or to Arya.

[Saem]

As Arya's mental presence chose to back away from his heavily guarded memories and uncensored thoughts, his own consciousness subsided into a watchful back ground murmur, poised to defend or attack if she tried to dig out anything further. Basic, fuzzy historical facts, which he had fabricated to seem more natural. After all, spending the past twenty odd years of life under King Galbatorix's eyes and stern training was rather suspicious. He sent a thought in her direction, crossing the bridge as her consciousness left his, a passive murmur of Thank you, for not disturbing what he wanted to keep hidden. Saem was no fool, he knew that he would likely be searched again, probably at the Varden's entrance. All the while, his expression became a tad cheerier.

"Saem," He said without hesitation. His name had been kept under the radar, his identity not to be comperised, especially being such a promising spy. He did not ask what the Rider's name was, although it wasn't because he already knew it. The Riders were supposed to be respected, as the Elven code of conduct went, they should give there names when they feel like it verse when they are asked, especially a nobody like Saem. A tad pecular, who he knew so much about Elven customs without having lived there, though he wasn't sure that Arya knew that or not. Not that the demonstrated the full extent of his knowledge, however. The proper greeting was much different then the one they had used, less casual and more uniform.

Carried by the wind he caught the sound of someone else talking, though it was so faint and indistinct he didn't understand a word. Saem did not bother to look around, however. The unknown speaker would be coming shortly enough. The urge to reach out with his mind was powerful, but he knew that would weaken his defenses severely, let his uncensored and traitorous thoughts out for the Rider to hear which wouldn't be good. As Arya started to walk away, Saem followed, hands clasped behind his back, eyes quickly examining the size of the dragon. "A storm?" He asked Connor. "Thats inconvenient."