A Cold Reception

[Bladedwind]

The Inn of Snowheart Creek was known for it's hospitality. A warm fire, a decent meal, and a clean room to stay were all they offered, all they really needed to offer. The bartender was a kind man at heart, even if he was a bit gruff. The patrons could be described as respectful, keeping mostly to themselves and causing no trouble, and were even sociable at times. Yet today, they seemed troubled, irritated and annoyed at a new patron sitting in the corner all by himself. This man was easy to spot, standing out like a sore thumb. He was dressed from head to toe in well polished red armor, with golden lines engraved into it for decoration. Across his shoulders he donned a black cape, reaching alkl the way down to his ankles, and was currently draped over his chair. His hair was long, going well past his shoulders, blond in color and silky in texture. His green emerald eyes attracted attention, gazing at whatever they were fixated on with the utmost intensity, which could cause someone to be rather uncomfortable. His most distinguishable trait was his ears, long and pointed. Strapped at his waist was a longsword in it's sheath, and on his left arm was a buckler type shield with a nasty looking double pronged blade sticking out.

Obviously, the man was not human, but rather an elf, a Light Elf by his light skin color. Kalindas Fairbreeze was a low ranking officer in the Ice Warrior Kingdom, although he was known to be a very capable leader and an excellent fighter. He had yet to command respect from many of the locals, some of which were right now giving him a distrustful eye. To them, Light Elves were an arrogant, assuming people, and they took Kalindas to be self important and snootish. Had they gotten to know him, they would find he was an unusual elf with very human views on the world.

Right now, Kalindas was enjoying a drink of wine, sipping at it daintly as the elves usually do. He had just finished up his patrol and had stopped at the Inn on thec way back to the city, seeking a warm place to relax and lodging for the night. He ignored all the strange looks from the locals; he knew that they distrusted him, but there wasn't much he could do in order to convince them that he was harmless. All he could do is continue serving the Kingdom, and perhaps the frozen hearts of the Ice Warriors would finally warm up to him.


"Such a shame we live in these dark times. And so sad that all we can do to achieve peace is promote chaos. The irony of it all....."

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma was a regular at the Inn of Snowheart Creek, as long as time permitted it, and felt extremely comfortable next to the fire, sipping the hot chocolate delicately. She let the warmth fill her nostrils and her body, soothing every inch of her. Rhaxma let out a breath of pleasure and sniffed the sweet chocolate. The inn was a bit crowded that evening, much to her surprise, as visitors chatted away about everything and nothing. Rhaxma wasn't listening to a word anyone was saying, as she stared into the beautiful sparkling flames of the fire. However, an odd presence had caught her attention, one that she did not recognize before. Her unusual brown eyes searched the room when she spotted a man who looked out of place: very long, blonde hair, pointed ears, and an unusual set of striking armor. A Light Elf. Her eyebrows furrowed as she let the stereotype swarm through her mind. Although she wasn't one to judge people at a glance, especially from behind and of her own kind, she did not have much interest in the Light Elves.

Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, as all conversation around her ceased. The Ice Warriors had looked at the Light Elf, and scowls were upon their faces. Rhaxma had ignored them, and her facial expression was simply nothing: she didn't know what to think. He looked almost peaceful sitting there, undisturbed by the negative onlooking eyes. She stood up, ready for another cup of hot chocolate, and she stood next to him. However, for a moment, she didn't acknowledge that he was there. She waited patiently for her cocoa, when she heard him say something, the first thing the elf had said all night. She looked at him curiously. "It is a pity isn't it? Seems that talking it over is out of date these days."

She looked away to see her hot drink sitting on the counter. The other Ice Warriors were staring at her, almost in disbelief that she had spoken on the elf, although she hadn't done it intentionally. She ignored their peering eyes as she sat down, trying to be polite. She sipped her hot chocolate slowly, again enjoying its smothering warmth. She hadn't once looked back at the Light Elf, as she stared at the bartender carefully. He seemed genuinely surprised as well that she had replied to his statement. Rhaxma didn't typically talk about war so casually, only had she done it on a professional level. But this was a casual talk.

[Bladedwind]

Kalindas looked up in surprise as the woman replied to his remark. He wasn't a normal patron here, due to his busy work schedule, and when he was here, no one talked to him, both because of his race and because he was a stranger in the Inn. He wasn't used to having anyone acknowledge his presence. It was somewhat pleasant to have someone speak to him, even if it was just a casual statement. Regaining his compsure, nodding to the woman in reply.

"I wish it were so. Yet, it is an impossible task as of now. The many races of this world are so vastly different, and they do not try to understand one another."

Kalindas let the last part of this statement hang in the air, deliberatly meant to leave a rankleing shot in the bosoms of many in the room. Tapping his fingers on the table, Kalindas ordered a cup of hot cocoa himself, the smell of the chocolate tempting him for something sweet. Wine was sweet, but he was too accostommed to drinking it. This would be his very first cup of cocoa, as a matter of fact. He was looking forward to it.


"Pardon, I haven't introduced myself. I am Kalindas Fairbreeze."

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma eyed the elf curiously, his words obviously having some intention in them. She turned around and looked at her fellow Ice Warriors, staring at the two of them in disbelief. She didn't know whether they were wondering why she was talking to this man, or whether they had heard what he said and they were pondering it. She figured it was probably for both reasons. She rolled her eyes and ignored the stares, again, and turned to look at him, he had now introduced himself as Kalindas Fairbreeze. A very interesting name... Of course, I should have expected that. He is an elf after all, a bit different. She smiled at him warmly. "I'm Rhaxma Jacinto, it's very nice meet to finally meet you. And I'd ignore everyone else, they're fools to let their judgement deceive them."

Again, she sipped at the hot chocolate. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but she decided that bombarding him like that would be rather uncomfortable, especially for the fact that they had just met, and elves weren't, from what she knew, very sociable and kind. She wasn't sure just how well he would take questions. She decided to take her chances. "I haven't seen you around here before. Have you always lived in the Ice Kingdom?" She heard someone scowl from behind her, and tried her best not to turn around and growl right on back. What a disappointment, really, that people should treat a fellow Ice Warrior with such... lack of manners. No matter what he may have been, or where he came from, he served under Ice, for the Ice Kingdom, why were they being so rude and ignorant? I guess that's just how the world works... you can't have everybody like everybody.

[Alesander Victarion]

Ooc: I hope it’s all right if I jump in.

Bic: The insulated, wooden door of the inn slammed open with an unwelcome ferocity, the sound hammering away into the patron’s conversations. Many of them turned, annoyed, to see a very large Ice Warrior step through the door, one hand placed firmly on the wood where he had pushed his way in, and the other clenched into a fist angrily. If any of them had thought of objecting to the person’s actions, they thought twice about it once they saw his size, not to mention that he was garbed in the silvery armour and long, snowy white cloak of the Ice Warrior military, and had a cruel-looking great sword strapped to his back.

Three more military figures, all of them much more average sized than the first, yet sinewy from continued service in the Army, followed him in. Snowflakes billowed in behind them and the droning howl of the bitter wind could be heard around the doorframe, whistling the cold into the warm room. All four of the men had their hoods pulled up and white cloth wrapped around their faces, so only their eyes were visible, to protect them from windburn and frostbite.

Several patrons however did raise a complaint about the wind and the last soldier to walk through the door shut it promptly behind them with an irritated flourish. He, unlike the other three, was garbed in much more elaborate armour; His silvery plate was bordered by thick, golden embellishment and emblazoned with the insignia of his rank as a Captain. He also carried a similarly decorated shield and, intriguingly, a long, black spear which he used almost as a walking stick for the moment.

Most of the Ice Warriors in the pub returned to their drinks and their talk; soldiers on duty in this inn weren’t an uncommon sight, as they came around after patrols or if they just wanted to find a warm place to sleep instead of pitching a tent and roughing it out. A Captain here was a slightly rarer occurrence, although that didn’t seem to faze many. Alesander Victarion nodded to his three men and they all removed their face cloths, lowering their hoods due to the warmth inside the building. When the Captain did so, that was when people started to pay attention to him.

His skin was completely ivory in colour and in texture, a trait which for all Victarion knew, was completely unique in the North. He was famous because of it, but hardly in a good way. Alesander shouldered off his cloak and handed the heavy material to the huge soldier, who took it gruffly and hung it on a peg nearby, similarly taking off his bulky attire. The Captain breathed in slowly and forcefully, shrugging off the stares and the voices like he had done all his life and approached the barkeep, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow and exasperatingly put down a glass to speak to the idiosyncratic man. ”What will it be?” Then with a quick thought and sudden realization after seeing the aggravated look on the Captain’s dark face, he added, ”…Sir.”

Victarion skillfully undid the clasps of his intricate gauntlet so that he could better reach into his purse for some coins, the steel thudding carelessly onto the bench, snow already melting off the metal, ”Four clean rooms, all of them in close proximity, free of lice and whatever meal you have cooking. Whatever drinks the men buy they will pay for themselves.”

”I’ve got some mountain hare cooking on the spit over there by the fire, you’re welcome to a shank each for four coppers. Four rooms is a steep price though, I’d expect two silvers for the night.”

The Captain nodded, hardly in the mood to barter with the burly man after what he had just been through for the past week and dropped onto the bar two silvers and five coppers. ”Bring me a damn strong ale on top of it all, and make it quick.”

”As you wish, sir,” He turned away gladly to his business whilst Victarion leant on the wooden bar. His three soldiers had claimed an unoccupied table near the centre of the room, unclasping their sword sheaths and lying them on the table. All of their tempers had been run short over the last week, after an aggravating number of setbacks had slowed their travels between the military checkpoints, not the least of which involved a sudden ambush from a small group of anti-war activists, who were now all buried two days east of the Inn, on the banks of a frozen stream.

Alesander had half a mind to join his men, but then he noticed a strange sight sitting over in the corner of the pub. The stranger was in the shadows, and out of the way of prying eyes, though he had already caught the attention of more than a few. His mug of ale arrived and he drank a long draught from it as he thought, Well that’s not something you see everyday: a Light Elf in the North… it’s strange. He certainly doesn’t fit into the stereotype. He set the mug down and averted his eyes from the elven non-commissioned officer, casting them across the remaining patrons, some of which still held Alesander’s skin colour as their subject of conversation. That said, neither do I…

Ooc: Sorry, my entry posts are always long. All of my posts herein should be much shorter.

[Bladedwind]

((OOC: By all means, we're glad to have you.))

Kalindas gave a soft chuckle. The reason for his humor was more then one. His comment, for one, had most likely left an impression on many of the Inn's patrons. Grumbling to themselves, they had cast many a nasty glare in his direction, and most likely in Rhaxma's direction as well. Rhaxma was the other source of his laughter, but in a more positive light. It was not everyone that would willingly associate themselves with a Light Elf. This woman was one in a million.

"An honor to meet you, Rhaxma. And please, don't let it bother you. I am used to such treatment. I'm sure they will warm up to me once I prove my sincerity to the Ice Kingdom in battle. Speaking of which, in answer to your question, the answer is no. I have only lived here in Ice Kingdom for the last five years, when I entered her service. As to why I joined....well, that's another story in itself."

A loud bang caught his attention, and he turned to find it's source, a group of Ice Warriors opening the Inn door. Kalindas noted from their facial expression and body language that they were not the least bit happy, a feeling which spread through the Inn rather quickly. No one bothered the group, nor seemed willing to provoke them. This was just as well, actually. Kalindas did not want any kind of brawl breaking out, especially one that involved the soldiers of the kingdom he had sworn fealty to.

Kalindas was about to turn around when he noticed the apparent leader of the group, a dark skinned man with elaborate embellishments and crest marking his rank as Captain, eying him in curiosity. Kalindas returned the gaze, briefly examining him. He had heard of this man, a dark skinned Ice Warrior Captain named Alesander Victarion. He knew him to be a warrior of no mean skill, a man who could hold himself in a fight and keep control of his men. However, he was also known for his temper.

Kalindas turned back toward Rhaxma just as his hot chocolate arrived. He nodded politely to the waitress, who gave him a flirtatious bat of the eyelashes. Kalindas ignored them, used to such "compliments". If he was liked by one part of the Ice Kingdom population, it was the women. Sipping his hot chocolate, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. The sweet taste filled his mouth like a raging river, warming his body from the cold. He stared as if in amazement at the beverage.

"And to think I have never had this before...."

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma simply watched the elf in interest, listening intently to his words. Her typical stereotype of his species was very off, or at least in his case. He wasn't at all irritated when she asked a personal question, and just before that, he had laughed, something she was surprised to hear in the midst of angry glares sent his way. Rhaxma smiled in return, nodding her head politely. "I can understand that then," she sent a warning look to the onlookers, who only moments later stopped talking, and said, "They'll warm up eventually, we just aren't used to adaptation, unless forced upon us." Needless to say, that example would be coming into the door.

She ignored the loud slam and didn't notice that all eyes were on someone else, in fact, she wasn't very interested. She assumed it was just someone else angry to see Kalindas in the Inn, and his voice didn't reach her ears, distracted. She was drinking her hot chocolate, a delicacy that was hard to ignore, her insides warming up gradually. Her eyes drifted to Kalindas when she saw a cup of the cocoa being placed on the counter. She raised an eyebrow and watched him take his first sip, and grinned. "It's delicious isn't it? I'm surprised you haven't had it before. I could drink this all night, if it didn't give me a sugar high." She smiled playfully when suddenly, the man who had entered caught her attention.

His voice was impossible not to recognize, and his dark skin flashed in the corner of her eye. She turned her head sharply to look at the new visitor, and her eyes widened in surprise. Captain Victarion is here? A small smile tugged at her lips. "Captain, I'm surprised to see you here. It's nice to see you again, however." Her eyes twinkled. She rather liked Alesander and had much admiration for him. She had only served under him once, but that journey was rather intriguing: going through the Ice Forest to catch a Fallen Angel who broken the treaty by attacking a little Ice Warrior boy. She had volunteered to come along.

"I heard you were on a military campaign? Exaggeration or not, how did it go? Well, I should hope." She sipped her chocolate lightly and hoped she wasn't interrupting something. He didn't look very happy, and his other men that had followed him inside shared a similar expression. She ignored them, however, and looked at Kalindas. "Do you know the captain?"

[Alesander Victarion]

Alesander rubbed his mouth lightly, closing his eyes to calm himself. The trying week was over, and now, finally he was back somewhere quiet and safe. All that remained was a short journey back to Elina, and that road was soundly occupied and very well guarded. There would be no more mishaps. His hands ran over his chin, and strangely, after a whole week of not shaving, only the slightest twinge of stubble broke through his dark skin. It wasn’t even visible unless you really looked hard, but Victarion had never grown hair well, as his bald head indicated.

"Captain, I'm surprised to see you here. It's nice to see you again, however." The voice was instantaneously recognizable as female and somehow familiar as well. Alesander stopped himself mid-drink to move his eyes in the direction of the voice. The face which he saw he did recognise, but only slightly. The Captain frowned in thought and walked over to them gruffly. The largest soldier of his looked up to see where Vicatrion was going, and once he knew, returned to his own conversation.

Victarion however, stopped himself just in front of the table which was occupied by the familiar Ice Warrior and the Light Elf he had noticed earlier. ”It’s good to see you too… Rhaxa, is it?” He thought, the name slowly coming back to him. He’d commanded hundreds of soldiers, but only a few female ones. They stuck in memory more easily. ”No, Rhaxma… that’s right.” He glanced around quickly. ”A campaign you heard? That’s interesting. I wonder where you pried that information from. Regardless, it went terribly. I trust you don’t mind I join you.”

There was no chair at the table, so he wrested one out of the grip of a nearby patron who surrendered it hesitantly, and sat himself down, nodding to the Light Elf as he was introduced by Rhaxma. ”Does our elven companion here bear a name?”

[Bladedwind]

Raising from his chair, Kalindas saluted the man with respect. Although he was in a casual place, this man was still a superior officer. To not salute was a sign of disrespect, and the last thing he needed right now was trouble in the very military faction he served. The salute was also sincere; Kalindas was a good judge of character, and he could tell Alesander was a man of honor and integrity. If he had a fault, it seemed to be his temper.

"Kalindas Fairbreeze, sir, Lieutenant of the Ice Warrior Kingdom. An honor to meet you! I've heard tales about some of your exploits!"



((ooc: Short, but gets it done. I'll elaborate more in my next post.))