Treehenge 5E: The Saint, the Sinner, and Their Puppies

The birds chirped softly to one another as the morning peered over River Strid. There was already shuffling about the village; tending to alchemy crop and the clanking of glassware outside. Berana stood and stretched, pulling his soft chestnut hair back into a bun. He hummed softly as he dug through his belongings, searching for some type of daytime clothing.

Meanwhile, not entirely too far from said village, a small mer rolled out of her perch in a tree and landed with a soft thud on the ground. She rubbed her big, caramel colored eyes and blinked herself awake. She began to pick a few sticks and leaves from her long, hip-length hair and combed through the dark strands. She pulled a worn leather satchel closer to herself and patted her hip to assure herself that her dagger was still with her.

While Berana set out to practice his alchemy, his elder brother trudged through the trees.

Andetrada hunted for something to eat, silent and keen. He shuffed through the brush like a sidewinder. He paused as he heard a sound, peering around with sharp eyes to spot his prey.

Her gaze flicked about the trees with tired eyes. She stayed silent, thinking she heard something different than the normal lull of the forest. Her hand instinctively flew to the hilt of her dagger - a beautiful little piece of weaponry with a medallion tethered to the hilt, perhaps the most expensive thing on her.

Andetrada took another step. He didn't see anything yet, but he knew he was getting closer. He pulled his bow from his back and prepared to draw an arrow.

The difference in sounds put her on edge. She grabbed her satchel and quickly scampered back up the tree with the agility that indicated she'd done such a thing many times before. She sat perched on a branch and watched the brush below.

He climbed through to where she previously was. It was obvious something had been there, but Andetrada didn't know what. He dug his nose into the ground and looked around, not thinking about the trees.

She held her breath as her suspicions had been correct. She tilted her head and watched the figure quietly. He didn't seem to have much of anything on him but a bow - not worth robbing. Just a hunter. But perhaps he would be worth following. A hunter meant a settlement neaby, and that meant more food to steal. She watched and waited, and would follow him from tree to tree as quietly as possible.

He snuffed and ceased caring after a bit, but was still on edge. He began to move back the way he came, planing to make a stop by the river and try fishing.

She followed with enough distance so that she wouldn't be as easily detected. She wove between the branches, though she misjudged the amount of weight one could hold, and suddenly went tumbling to the ground. She hit the forest floor hard with a grunt, landing on her back. She wrapped an arm around her ribs and tried to stand up quickly to move out of sight, but would do so unsuccessfully.

He smelled somthing different, but his suspicions were confirmed when he heard her crash. He whipped around and drew his bow at her, lips drawing back into a scowl.

She instinctively went to the hilt of her dagger, though she knew she'd lose against a bow. She stood very slowly. The Bosmer was small in just about every way. She was thin and short. She wore old, worn clothing and lacked shoes. She was clearly young, certainly not any older than her early 20s.

She stared back at him, watching his movements. "Go on. Shoot." Her eyes flicked about him as she gaged a reaction, half preparing to take off running.

Andetrada was a rather large bosmer. He was slim an nimble, but his arms sill stretched the sleeves of his hide. His eyes flickered all over her, hands shaking. He wasn't any older than twenty-five. He narrowed his wine red eyes, dried blood spread around and under them. There were drips of it down his face. "Were you following me?!" He hissed.

She looked up at the trees, thinking of ways to talk herself out of this one. She looked back to him and stood up a little straighter, removing her hand from the hilt of her dagger. She was a little more confident that he wouldn't shoot her, and resolved herself to hauling ass if he tried. "Well. Not exactly... I wasn't following /you/. I was just... following. The fact that it happened to be /you/ doesn't make much of a difference to me."

"If you weren't following me, then what were you following? That doesn't make any sense," he squinted. He loosened his grip on his arrow, but it was still drawn back.

"Mmmmm..." She pressed a finger over her lips in thought. "Following is such a... strange word. Let's call it... wandering. And I happened to be wandering in your direction." She gave him the sweetest smile she could muster, the corners of her full lips flicking upward and her big, caramel eyes melting into a soft gaze. She twirled the ends of her dark, hip-length hair together between her slender, nimble fingers.

He frowned at her, just staring. "Why?" A little smirk drew across his face, but it quickly dropped. "Just curious about me?" He leaned down and cocked his head at her.

She smirked, happy to have him supply an excuse for her that allowed her to keep her true theft-related intentions to herself. She was more than happy to feed it. "Oh yes, curious. I dunno why you're so shocked. Seems to me a mer like you'd be plenty used to pretty girls wandering in your general direction." She tittered.

"What?" He raised a brow. "Yes, yes, I suppose so. Perhaps Father wouldn't mind if I brought you back to town for a look.. say, do you follow the Green Pact?"

She grinned at the mention of town then tilted her head. "Green Pact?" She wrinkled her nose. "Nope. I don't really believe in any 'a that stuff. Why?"

"..Just wondering," he gave her a soft nod, strapping his bow to his back. "Let's go, then, I suppose--but you've got to do one thing for me."

She lifted a single brow, her eyes narrowing some. "What?"

"Don't touch anything at all, and don't let my father see you. If he does, you're good as dead. Got it? We don't appreciate visitors."

She pretended to mull it over, having already decided in her mind to disobey the not-touching-anything order, then nodded once. She gave him a sweet smile. "Technically that was two things, but alright, alright. One question. No wait. Actually two." She touched her index finger to her lips again. "Firstly, what does your father look like? It'll be easier to avoid him if I knew."

"Well.." He squinted at her, analyzing. "He's tall, and he has red eyes like me. He has a lot of beads in his hair and he wears a mouse skull with a ruby in its mouth around his neck."

She looked up again, trying to form a mental image, then nodded, looking back at him. "I'll keep that in mind." She smiled. "Second question." She took a half step closer to him, tilting her head. She perked a brow and her smile became a bit bemused. "Why are you helping me? You don't even know my name."

He shrugged. "Well, you look harmless enough. I could kill you if you tried anything stupid, so I'm not worried about it."

"Mhmmm..." The corners of her mouth flicked up in an impish grin. She combed her fingers through her hair and walked passed him. "Soo... where are we going, Mr. Bowman?" She began to spin the ends of her hair together, pausing to look back at him.

"This way," he pointed ahead of him bluntly. "And my name is Ande. You never told me yours."

She waited for him to take the lead again then followed. "Ande. A pleasure. Oh yes, where are my manners?" She smirked. "Just call me Fae."