Let It Snow

[Kuruk Rion Lorne]

"As much as it pains me to back down from a fight, I must depart."

Kuruk set his features into a look of disappointment. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear you have to go." He nodded his head, agreeing silently with his own words. The two felines had yet to cease snarling on either side of the man and Airi. It was a vicious backdrop to their conversation.

"Call off your creatures and I'll release your woman."

Kuruk pursed his lips, lifting one hand to his chin, tapping his index finger lightly as though in thought. "Hmm." Although his eyes never left the man, the fact that Airi was experiencing an episode did not go unnoticed. Both the physical indicators as well as the information passed on from Casia via Tilo were enough to piece that together.

"A little tit-for-tat, you say? Sounds fair enough. Except for one thing." The hand that had been on his face moved to hold out one finger. "How am I to know that you're a man of your word?" He shrugged, the very expression on his face looking apologetic for even having to suggest such a thing. "How are you to know that I am a man of mine?" Another shrug.

"Perhaps we can strike a different deal? You sheath your knife and I call off the bobcat." Kuruk gestured toward Tilo, smiling. "That way, your knife is still in range if I do not follow through and Calia is still in range if you do not. " As soon as the words had left his lips he could hear Calia reciting the preliminary plan to Tilo, letting him know that it wasn't agreed to yet. "What do you think?" He offered the man a pleasant smile.

[Melchiah Bryant Vasser]

Her scream jolted his attention. Almost enough to pull away, but instead the hand at her chest pressed harder. Should she come popping up he didn't want to he caught of guard. Had it suddenly become to much for her? The stress of the situation reached his peak? Whatever the matter, he'd be glad to be done with it. For now anyway.

"A little tit-for-tat, you say? Sounds fair enough. Except for one thing."


Tit-for-tat. An inward shudder. How he hated that phrase. The reason behind it? Not even he knew. The more this man spoke the more interesting he became. Having not met many plains people, he naturally expected them to be spear toting savages. This man was speaking well, and threw out witty remarks no less, and now he was displaying logic? Color him surprised. Melchiah sighed heavily, sheathing the blade at his wasit along side his own. Clever bastard. He could respect that.

" I think we will meet again, but as far as your offer goes.....We have an accord." He chuckled and slowly rose to stand. Melchiah let his hand drag over the width of her chest purposely cupping her breast before he fully pulled away. Taking a step back, one hand rose to grab the hilt of his blade, the other was held up in a "don't shoot" manner. He began backing away.

[Airi Jesna Kalryn]

If the arrogant prick only knew. This new found fear had nothing to do with him in the least. All she wanted to do now was curl up some place warm and sleep for a few days. Her head was pounding, her mind was whirling and her body was still trembling with cold and sudden fatigue. The worst part was? She was now going to have to rely on Kuruk, of all people, not to freeze to death out here in the snow.

She hated it.

Still, a breath of relief escaped her when she felt the pressure behind the blade suddenly be released and the blade itself fell away from the delicate flesh of her throat.

"I think we will meet again, but as far as your offer goes... we have an accord."

The feel of his hand dragging across her chest, the sudden violation, caused a flare of anger in her that almost had her on her feet with the intent to attack, maim, even kill. How dare he? Fear of getting halfway to her feet and vomiting again kept her now rigid body from twitching an inch. Even as he began his retreat with her sword still clutched firmly in his hand.

She vowed then and there that she would get it back if she had to kill him in cold blood to do so. "Pig," she growled under her breath. As if tensing her discomfort, Tilo snarled at the retreating Melchiah though the animal did not move from its retreated position until he'd moved far away away from Airi that the bobcat felt comfortable moving to her side.

Are you hurt? Tilo's voice was a hesitant whisper in her mind as though he feared causing further injury.

I'll live she replied shortly not wanting him to feel the enormity of her discomfort. She was still cold, her head ached something fierce and she couldn't make heads or tails of what she'd seen. To top all of this off? She now had Kuruk to deal with.

With this in mind she started moving, making feeble attempts to climb to her feet and ignore the dizziness that caused the world to tilt almost vertically on its axis.

[Kuruk Rion Lorne]

Kuruk felt a surge of relief when the man sheathed the blade. It had worked. Talking through problems wasn't exactly Kuruk's strong point, but he was doing his best and thankfully, this time, his best seemed to be more than enough.

"I think we will meet again, but as far as your offer goes... we have an accord."

Kuruk nodded his head in acquiescence. "I believe you're right." He watched as the man moved away from Airi's body and began slowly retreating, one hand held in the air. "Until next time." He gave a half bow, his eyes never leaving the man's face.

Like Tilo, Kuruk waited until the man was an acceptable distance away before he approached Airi, Calia quickly following suit. Well done, Calia. He said to his leopard affectionately. Kuruk could feel the warmth of her affection fill his body to the extent that the tips of his fingers tingled lightly.

Kuruk aimed his chocolate brown eyes on Airi as she began to struggle to her feet. Silently, he offered her a hand, leaving his palm outstretched for her to either accept or ignore.

Although Kuruk felt relatively relieved that it hadn't come to blows, his anger had received no channel through which to be relieved and that rage was still bubbling just below the surface. Calia was doing her best to layer a strong wave of calm over his mind, but it wasn't proving to be overly effective. It wasn't going to take much for him to snap at this point. He could only hope that Airi would realize that and let things be for the moment, however unlikely that was.

[Airi Jesna Kalryn]

Nary a glance was offered at Kuruk's approach. She was trying to figure out how to best handle the situation. It had been over a year since she'd seen him, the Latai tribe had kept as much distance between them at the Undiri clan as possible. Every since the disagreement had occurred there had always seemed to be bad blood between a few of the members. Some in Kuruk's family.

She was halfway to her feet when that hand entered her peripheral vision. For a split second she debated ignoring it but she quickly decided that she would rather take his hand a moment and r regain her balance rather than fall flat on her face and be embarrassed for the rest of her life. So she begrudgingly reached out and took hold of it, quick to release it once she'd regained her equilibrium and the world had stop spinning and tilting.

The pain in her head had eased to a dull throb now and she closed her eyes in attempts to ease the remaining pressure and block out Kuruk's face. He hadn't changed in the least. Older, perhaps, more muscle, taller, and broader. All of this she ascertained in the brief glance she'd given him just a moment before.

"I'm not going to ask what you are doing here because I don't care," she said at last, her eyes flickering open to allow the blue-green orbs to settle on his face. "Thank you." It took more strength than he'd ever realize for her to say that without screaming. She had other things on her mind however that trumped feminine pride. Firstly was the vision. She felt a strange sense of urgency, something that told her she had to find out what it meant soon or else a lot of people were going to die. Secondly was the fact that the pig bastard had just left with her sword. Not just her sword but her father's sword, a family heirloom. She had to get it back.

Turning way from him she shuffled about in the snow gathering up the parcels she'd dropped when Melchiah had attacked her. "I've got to go." That was all she intended to say but she doubted very highly that was all she would end up saying before this day was over. She was no fool, Kuruk hadn't been nearby out of coincidence or luck. There was a reason and she had an inkling that he was following her. That meant that now that he'd been revealed he wouldn't let her just walk away.

Come on Tilo. She pressed the thought outward, touching her companion's mind gently. The bobcat looked towards the duo a moment before turning to follow on the heels of his partner.

How far do you think we'll get before he stops us? Tilo implored. There was no doubt that it would happen. It was only a matter of when.

If he knows what's good for him, he won't do anything. She replied lifting a hand to gingerly touch the back of her head. There was a bump swelling similar to the one she could feel on her forehead. Today hadn't been a good day.

[Kuruk Rion Lorne]

"I'm not going to ask what you are doing here because I don't care."

It was a bold faced lie if he'd ever heard one. It was difficult not to scoff. Hell, he'd be wildly interested if the situation were reversed. Kuruk was certain she had to be as well. That'll be fun to explain, he thought sourly.

You were the one that wanted to follow her, Calia commented dryly. I'm sure it'll go over really well. 'Oh, I was just, you know, in the neighborhood. Because I've been following you for the past couple weeks. Normal.' Yeah, she'll like that.

A grin shot across Kuruk's face at Calia's words. Really helpful, he responded to her. Unfortunately, that grin happened to coincide with Airi's thanking him. He tried to sober his expression to little avail. "You're welcome."

He quirked a brow, watching as she began collecting her scattered items. Kuruk was about to stoop down to assist her when Airi stood back up and spoke.

"I've got to go."

Yeah, he was sure she did. Had to go away from him, he imagined. But he hadn't tracked her down all this way and then saved her from whatever fate would have bestowed upon her earlier to just let her walk away now. Oh, no sir.

Kuruk let her get some distance between them, thirty yards or so, before he and Calia shared a quick look and they headed out after them. It wasn't hard to catch up with the pair. Kuruk and Calia were closing in on them steadily. He didn't speak up until they were practically upon them.

"You know," he started, using the advantage of his longer legs to pass Airi and turn to block her direct path. "It's quite the coincidence. I have to go, too." Calia stood by his left side. "I just so happen to be going wherever you are. Isn't that convenient?"

Really smooth, Calia commented, accompanying the short statement with an eyeroll.

[Airi Jesna Kalryn]

For a minute, while her and Tilo made their retreat unhindered, Airi found herself wondering if that would be that. If Kuruk would surprise her and let them walk away -- just like that. The notion lasted until she heard the sound of pursuit. There was no rush to his steps, his stride was long enough that he easily crossed the distance that separated them. She didn't slow her own stride though, in fact. She didn't acknowledge him at all, even when he spoke.

"You know."

It wasn't until he positioned himself directly in front of her that she was forced to stop.

"It's quite the coincidence. I have to go, too. I just so happen to be going wherever you are. Isn't that convenient?"

There was no helping the look of contempt that flickered across her face. He was kidding right? This was just some sort of joke. If he thought he was being clever well, he needed to work on that. "Really convenient," she replied, her words dripping with sarcasm. She took a step to the left and then moved forward again as she stepped around him. At least, this was her goal. It was at risk to his own well being if he tried to stop her. She didn't have a weapon but she had no qualms punching him in the face.

"Almost as convenient as you showing up in the nick of time," she called over her shoulder. "Why are you following me, Kuruk? Do I owe you money?"

[Kuruk Rion Lorne]

Kuruk couldn't help but grin in the face of her obvious sarcasm as she side-stepped him in an effort to brush him off. Of course, as soon as she began again, he and Calia followed right along after.

"Almost as convenient as you showing up in the nick of time."

He laughed, trailing two steps behind her without haste. "I know. Some luck, wouldn't you say?" He was aware that he was being irritatingly jolly, for some reason he just couldn't stop. Okay, if he were being honest with himself, which he tried to be most often, he knew it was really because getting Airi irritated was just so much fun. She could be quite the sight when all fired up.

"Why are you following me, Kuruk? Do I owe you money?"

Another laugh sounded from him. "Not that I recall. Although, you might. I'll have to think on that." He replied merrily.

The four of them moved with the dexterity of the Seirrden people, traveling soundlessly and quickly though the snow and terrain. They walked like this for a few paces before Kuruk spoke up again. "So, where are you headed?" He was clearly avoiding the question of why he was following her. It wasn't exactly something he was entirely sure he knew how to explain.

Kuruk had the distinct feeling that telling her he was following her because he had been worried about her one irritate her and then provoke more questions as to why he was worried about her. More difficult questions that probably had something to do with the unresolved feelings he had had since the messy end to their betrothal. There was no point in lying to himself and saying there wasn't still a lingering attraction. It would be absurd considering the fact he'd just trudged through snow and sleet for the last week or so following her.

[Airi Jesna Kalryn]

"I know. Some luck, wouldn't you say?"

Airi found herself wondering if facing off with Melchiah might have proved an easier task than having to put up with Kuruk. Who was she kidding? Kuruk might be persistent and on the cocky side but in comparison to the unknown she was sure to suffer at the hands of Melchiah? Well, this was a cake walk.

"Mmmm, luck, of course," she replied with little to no amusement. Clearly she didn't care much for his brand of luck or she didn't believe him. Regardless, she had little to say on the matter and half hoped her silence would drive him away. Pipe dreams of course but who was judging?

"Not that I recall. Although, you might. I'll have to think on that."

His chipper tone did little to lighten Airi's mood. In fact, it may have made it a little worse. Her head ache was creeping back and she was still tired.

"So, where are you headed?"

For a brief moment Airi considered ignoring the question but a thought struck her and she decided it would be more fun to rile him up. "To get my sword of course," she said matter of fact. "Do you really think I'll just forget that little fact? That was my father's weapon and his before him, I won't let some arrogant fop take that from me." It was a little more than she'd intended to say but in her indignation she'd gotten a little carried away.