Nerashi crouched by the fire, her hands held out to capture the warmth as the snow around her started to fall again. Shrugging her thick cloak up over her shoulders, she pulled the hood down over her face, letting the dark grey wool grow heavy with the falling flakes that danced in the wind that howled past, threatening to put out the meager flames. She wished she svhad gotten further along the trail, only a handful of miles along was the inn she had been heading for when the storm hit. Her horse had stumbled on the suddenly ice-slicked path and fallen, throwing her into a pile of leaves before bolting into the encroaching darkness.
Stumbling upon this small shelter would probably be the difference between a cold night and a cold grave, though she wished the cave was a little deeper, and the snow not falling at the angle it was, blown by the cruel wind. She curled into a ball, pulling her cloak around her and trying to conserve heat. She knew she should not sleep, not let the fire go out, but in the end, her body failed her, and she slipped into slumber.
Nerashi woke to the scent of cooking meat, and the warmth of flame, opening her eyes carefully, she peeked out from beneath the hood of her cloak, the wool heavy with snow that had settled over her body in the night. The fire burned, larger than she had gotten it last night, and a figure crouched by it, turning a spitted chunk of meat over the flickering flames.
As her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked more closely at the figure. It was obviously a male, his shape large and bulky, muscled not fat. His hair was dark, cut fairly long so that wet curls of it clung to the sides of his face. Handsome in his own way, though age had given him lines around his eyes and his own share of scars.
Damn, it was human!
She stayed still, hoping he would think she was still asleep, or maybe dead, maybe he hadn't noticed her under the drift of snow that had covered her slight form.
He turned to look at her, a smile on his face.
'Morning' he said, turning back to cooking the meat.
With a sigh, she stretched under her cloak, working the knots out of her legs and arms, keeping her hood over her face. She wasn't in the mood for the million questions her appearance always created, and her fingers too cold to grip her sword. So many humans tried to kill her when they saw her. Sitting up, the snow fell off her, and she winced at the cold ice that trickled down her neck. Standing, she shook herself, much like an animal, getting rid of the water from her cloak. A quick rummage in her pouches produced a long, wide headscarf that she wound into place before dropping the cloak, safely hidden under warm and dry clothing.
The man continued to cook as she moved about the small space, glancing out now and then at the snow that still fell thick outside, though the wind had diminished into a light breeze that barely moved the flakes.
He turned to look at the girl as she dropped the sodden cloak to the floor, she was concealed under layers of clothing, though it didn't hide her shapely figure. Tight leather trousers enhanced her legs, tucked into long boots that looked well worn. A traveller like himself he figured. A leather bodice tied over a long-sleeved shirt of thick blue cotton. Leather gloved and now a thick, warm looking headscarf that concealed her face and most of her head, only a peek of startling amber eyes from within the shadow, and a hint of hair the same fiery shade poking out from beneath a leather hood. The battered scabbard and the well cared for sword announced loudly that she was a warrior, the two items looking well used. Her height and build made him think she was probably a youngster, no more than 16 or so, out for the first time to make her mark.
A sudden howl and crash caused them both to turn the same way, in time to watch a large tree topple, the weight of the snow pulling it from it's roots. The wind picked up again, loud and fast, blowing large amounts of snow into the small shelter, dumping most of it onto the two travellers who sheltered within.
Nerashi cursed as she felt the cold ice soaking into her clothing, soaking her to the bone in seconds, and pressed against the back of the little cave, as if trying to melt into the wall itself to keep warm. As she did, a large boulder moved slightly, revealing a narrow gap. She signaled to the man, and between them, they pushed the rock until the gap was big enough for a person. Nerashi dropped onto her belly and squeezed in, hoping it was big enough for at least her, and let out a startled gasp as she slipped into a large cavern. She poked her head back out.
'Plenty of room for two' she yelled over the maelstrom, and dragged her small pack in through the hole.
It took both of them to manhandle the mans large travelling pack into the gap, the thing was bigger than she was, and contained his whole life by the weight of it. He grabbed the cooked meat and wrapped it in a bundle before hurrying after the woman into the relative safety of the cave.
The air in the cave was cold, and Nerashi sat with her knees curled up to her face, her arms wrapped around them as she pressed close to the fire the man had made in here, trying to warm herself, to dry her clothing on her skin. She watched the man set about making a small camp for himself near the fire, blankets and a bedroll and dry clothing from the huge pack. She shivered, her whole body shaking with the cold.
'Why don't you change clothes?' He asked, watching the small woman shiver, she chuckled, a strangely unpleasant sound behind the face wrap she still wore. She gestured with one shivering hand 'My horse bolted and threw me, he has my pack, all I had on me was a little carryall, and that, I'm afraid, is just as wet as the rest of me.' She tucked her hand back under her knees, rocking slightly as she tried to warm herself.
'My names Marcus' he said finally, deciding that they were likely stuck here for a while, so he might as well get to know his cave mate.
She shrugged slightly, though that could be the cold, her whole body was convulsing with it by now, and he worried she might die of it before he could get the cave warm enough.
'Nerashi' she said, her voice strangely timbered, 'Though, mostly I am called Nera.'
He nodded, and threw her a blanket. 'Go, strip, wear that, before you freeze to death.'
She went very still, looking at the thick, dry blanket and shook her head. 'I.. I can't!' her voice now was thicker, almost as if she were afraid.
'Look lass, ' he said, 'I've got daughters older than you I'm sure, I'll not touch you, don't worry your head about that.'
A soft chuckle came from the girl, and she looked up at him. 'I'm too cold to argue.. just.. let's hold off the impending hostility until it's warmer outside okay?'
She stood, grabbing the blanket and heading into a shadowy corner, leaving him puzzled by her words. Marcus could hear her stripping off the sodden clothing, and she threw each piece over towards the fire, where he laid them out to aide their drying. He kept his eyes averted from her, giving her the privacy she wanted as she undressed, and so his startled gasp when she stepped back into the glow of the firelight was all the more audible.
Nera was no child, her figure was lush and ripe, now concealed beneath a long blue blanket that she had wrapped twice around her and then tied at the side to create a basic dress. Her hair, soaking as it was, fell to her hips, and he guessed the colour was the gold of autumn leaves when it was dry, flecks of reds and yellows and golds shimmering within the length. And her eyes were the same shade, slit in a feral manner like a cats, no whites just the rich amber and black pupils that were wide now in the darkened space. Her skin though, that was what really shocked him, a soft green in shade, like that of spring buds on trees, giving her an ethereal quality when matched against the gold. Her ears were swept back, long and pointed, an elf then he thought, though not a type he had seen before, the hair was like that of the High elves, though the skin.. never had he heard of a green skinned elf. A half breed of some sort perhaps? He felt parts of his body stirring with lust, and shifted slightly, hiding the evidence of arousal.
