Run, Little Child [Dirk]

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Trega narrowed her eyes at the slave woman before shaking her head. An angry rumble came from deep inside her chest before she withdrew her head back out into the rain. It was for the best, she didn't trust anyone at first, and it was hard for anyone to gain that trust. Most of all, she hated women! 'You had best tell her that I am not some silly pet to be touched... lest she wants only one hand for the rest of her life.'

Dirk shook the back of his head and sighed. That was Trega, being stunted like she was, she developed a bad habit of biting first ask questions later. He didn't have an answer for the woman's question either. "We uh, we get around somehow. I don't bring her to the cities or anything. Last time I did she was nearly shot down. People don't like dragons I suppose, much less an angry one. She prefers the wilderness anyways, less noisy, and there is always something to hunt." It was more closer to the truth than Dirk thought. Trega was an excellent hunter, not because she could fly out of the sky and pick anything she wanted. But because she could sit and wait for hours at a time. Waiting for that unknowing prey getting closer and closer before striking out with her spiked tail like a mouse trap.

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Her hand instantly retracted, and Giselle backed up a step, that wariness back as usual. Well, the man was fine enough to be nice to her, and if Trega didn't want to be touched, then Giselle could understand that. "That makes sense, I suppose," Giselle murmured, turning from the two and settling herself back down on the soft mat of fur that used to be a cloak. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, and Giselle sighed, looking to the man. "I never introduced myself, did I?"
The woman closed her eyes for a moment, before continuing onward, the green orbs opening to take in the now dark cave, that red reflection gone. "I'm Giselle Basira."

From there she fell silent, her hair beginning to dry and fluff out to its normal state, brown and slightly wavy. It was still damp, but getting there. As well, it wasn't too dirty, compared to the rest of the slaves that she had been housed with.

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Her reaction to Trega's growl did not surprise Dirk. Most people usually shrank away in fear or challenged the Dragon. When she turned away and sat down, he thought she might have been offended by Trega's reaction. He reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, snatching it back as she turned to look at him. "Giselle" he said with a slight nod. "My name is Dirk... I don't have a family name. I search the land searching for..." The warrior gave a shrug. "Something, I dunno what."

He shivered as the damp cold worked its way through his body, Dirk could see his breath as a wisp of steam. It seemed like the rain would not stop tonight, and sitting here at the mouth of a mine was no place to sleep. Standing up, Dirk dusted off his legs and stretched his arms to the ceiling. "Looks like this storm won't go away any time soon. I'll go see if there isn't a place dry to rest." The idea may have seemed a bit silly in a Mine, but Dirk was also thinking of a place other than right out in the open. If what Trega thought was correct. Lycans were surely out an about, this rain would slow their progress greatly. Giselle's foot prints would be obliterated by the rain, and her smell untraceable. However no one could escape the curiosity of large three-clawed foot-prints leading to this mine.

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She nodded, looking out of the cave for a moment. Giselle followed him, stopping when she reached the edge of the cloak, warm and soft. The woman did want t go with him, for that simple fear of being alone. However, there was a physical problem as well. "Dirk, wait. Do you have any thick bandages? I would like to come with you, if that's okay.." She looked down at her feet, cleaned of cuts, but still didn't want them to hurt with every step.

However, if the man didn't have them, that was fine. Her mind wandered to Trega while she waited for an answer. Did she hurt the creaure's feelings, or did she simply not wish to be touched? Either way, Giselle would hold off from the dragon.

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Dirk looked back at Giselle then down at her feet. She certainly couldn't walk very far with her feet in the shape they were, but he also knew that she probably didn't want to be left alone. Even though technically she wouldn't, though Trega isn't friendly to most. Still Dirk had no such bandages for her and he would rather not use up the rest that he had. "Well no... but" Then an idea came to him. Loosing up the side straps on his bag, Dirk removed two large boots made from fur, similarly like the cloak he wore. "Here, these are probably to big, but its better than walking on bare yer clean bandages. An' wrap yerself in that cloak too."

Trega would roll her eyes at Dirk's words, thinking him a silly twit as she drew lines in the ground with a single claw, unable to remain comfortable enough to sleep. Something was eating away at her, instincts told her something was missing in this storm. But unfortunately she could not put her finger on it.

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She smiled at him, gently taking the boots and slipping them on her feet. They were indeed too big, but they would do. Besides, they were utterly warm, and she smiled, liking that. "Thank you," she murmured, stepping off the furry cloak. Giselle looked to him, deciding not to question Dirk. She wrapped herself up, the fur nice and warm, far warmer than she would have expected.

The woman followed behind the man, eagerly but also a tad bit hesitant. She stole a glance to the entrance of the cave, almost worried. Then, looking up to Dirk, she walked behind him, taking the path that he did, in order to refrain from hurting herself. He was a bit taller, yes, but it worked out all the same. "I don't like this place too much," Giselle commented as they searched for a someplace drying than where they had been. Her mind was off the Lycanthropes, but it came back to her, and the human repressed a small shudder.

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Dirk peered into the darkness with squinted eyes. Taking slow lumbering steps, careful of creating to much noise and disturbing the mines. He had terrible luck with caves and the like, it seemed like whatever one he visited had some sort of nasty creature lurking in its depths. However Dirk felt that they wouldn't have to go to far before finding a proper resting spot. Deciding to take the left most path as Giselle suggested, Dirk took no more than a few steps before bumping his toes into a rock and falling over with a thud. Picking himself up, he rummaged around in his pockets and his hands came across a lighter! A few flicks and he had a small flame.

"Ah that's better!" Dirk said, rather much to loudly. For as soon as he did, a small group of bats flew by his head and he shouted in surprise. Waving his free hand around Dirk stunned a few, dropping them to the cave floor where they stumbled about confused and lost while the rest flew off out the cave. Making sure to carefully around the stunned bats, Dirk remembered to whisper this time, "Careful don't step on the poor blighters."

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She nodded numbly to him. Instead of continuing, she picked the poor stunned creatures up off the floor. "We can't lave them here.." she whispered, before deciding just to set them on a rock. They wouldn't be stepped on that way. Giselle looked up at Dirk, before following him again. "Let's try to keep it down, eh Dirk?" she said, just a light tease, as though Giselle was trying to lighten up the mood. She had a habit of doing that, now that she was coming out of her shell.

Up above, the road branched off into two sections. She hesitantly stepped into the one on the right, before frowning. She could hear the water dripping inside, and feel the moisture. "No good, Dirk," she mumbled, before continuing on the left path.

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Dirk simply watched as Giselle handled the bats with care, it made him smile that she took time to help such creatures. It reminded Dirk of his days training under his master, who etched the lessons of helping others into his personality over the years. It molded him to the person he was right now, which is why he was in such a situation. Wandering aimlessly through an abandoned mine with an escaped slave while somewhere outside Lycans hunt for their lost property. Or why Dirk gave his only cloak to a total stranger, as well as his boots and the few scraps of food he had. It was the way Dirk was, and he never questioned himself.

Continuing on, Dirk lumbered beside Giselle holding the lighter above his head, peering into the dim tunnels, hearing nothing put the distant plop of water echoing off the stonewalls, and his heavy feet trying to make as little noise as possible with out much success. “You… haven’t heard anything down here have you?” He asked quietly.

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Giselle was a kindhearted woman, yes, but self-preservation would more than likely overcome anything else. If the Lycans did indeed find them, then Giselle would flee. It was just who she was, and she had become over the years. One of her hands traced her collar, and she looked up at the small flame that Dirl held. Giselle just wanted it off already, if that were possible. But Dirk had not the tools, and Giselle would have to wait until they could get the damned thing off.

"No," she answered him, though it was quiet. She was terrified of dark, cramped places, and this wasn't helping much at all. "Though I wasn't really paying attention, to tell you the truth." The woman supressed a shudder. If there was anything down there, they couldn't do much about it now.

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Dirk gave a slight nod, focusing on listening for any strange sounds. The darkness didn't install any fear in Dirk, and it didn't comfort him either. There were few things that made the warrior cringe, the unknown called to him night and day, dragging him across the world and back, never taking the same path, and danger was his alcohol. His free hand would instinctively grip the huge claymore sheathed on his back, then Dirk remembered the cramped space, so his hand fell to the over-sized handgun holstered on his thigh. He wasn't scared, just cautious, and maybe a slight jumpy. As Passed a side-path, Dirk caught the glint of metal out the corner of his eye and nearly jumped out of his skin, thinking it to be an enemy hiding in the darkness, drawing his gun and aiming it down the tunnel. "Stay behind me" He whispered.

Slowly creeping down the side path, the light from the lighter gradually filled the room. Dirk saw his shiny metal was nothing more than a tarnished sliver of silver. He also saw old rusted tools like pickaxes and shovels, a few crates, both smashed and whole. As well as what appeared to be a destroyed table of some kind, one with rounded edges and strangely shaped legs. Dirk shook the broken door that hung on half a hinge, looking around with squinted eyes. "Looks like a storage room." Dirk said. Seeing an upturned glass lantern on the floor, he holstered the gun and swept up the lantern. Swishing it around to hear the fuel had not leaked from it. "We're in luck." He said, lighting the wick and closing the lid on the lighter.

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She obeyed that request of his, the smile leaving. When it was revealed that they were not in danger's way, she sighed. It was a relief not to be hunted down, just to relax for a little while. The woman moved the thngs around with slight difficulty, revealing a crate of god-knows-what. she sighed, plopping down on something that didn't have jagged edges, and didn't look like it would collaspe under her wieght. "At least in here, we'd have a good warning if anyone found us. Their footsteps would echo, and I sure there's other ways out of here."

She smiled, picking up the light latern from him. She set it down on a flat rock, watching the candle. "But, then again, there's little to no food.. I say we work on that after the storm clears. What do you think?"

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Dirk wandered about the room, looking from crate to crate, searching something to eat to no avail. There was still the apple and half a loaf of bread, and Dirk figured he would let Giselle eat them. For when the storm cleared, Trega would surely go out to hunt for something more tasteful. However long away that will be, Dirk did not know. For right now, they would have to wait out the night, hungry, but dry at the very least. "I agree." He whispered, spotting something interesting off in the darkness. "Though it seems my luck is turned around, there's even a wood stove in here." There was the sound of creaking metal and a few bangs before there was the sound like sand running through a pipe.

"Dirty old thing, them miners must not have cleaned the pipes very much." Dirk said as he squinted upwards at the ceiling, where the chimney pipe disappeared into on its way outside. He shuffled about collecting wood and scraps of paper to stuff into the stove. IN a few minutes Dirk had a half decent fire burning away in the stove, which over the years had a few small holes rusted into the corners and the sides, but nothing major. "If only I had a slab of meat to roast..." Dirk muttered to himself.

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She helped him to get it going, though Dirl still did most pf the work. Giselle wast errible with things like this. It was obvious that she had never lived in a place like this, in the wildreness, or anywhere besides a physical home. She sighed, using it to get warm, though the cloak was still around her. She rewrapped herself in it, smirking at his words.

"I used to cook, you know. I can actually cook a good meal, if you got me the right ingredients. How long have you been on your own, Dirk? I think you've been on your own with Trega too long." She sent him a shy smile, the first hint of her own little joke. She looked down, though, her good mood seemingly gone. "It is comfortable in here, though. Better than in a cage, let me tell you."

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Dirk sat in front of the stove, poking at the fire once in a while with a stick. "I like to cook as well, I use a lot of wild ingredients. I miss old home cooking sometimes, which is why I don't mind visiting the town once in a while.' Dirk laughed at her joke. "I've been on my own for a little over two years now. Well... I'm never on my own, I have Trega with me all the time, and shes the best partner an adventurer like me could have."

He seemed to brood over her words, he thought that every human had the right to be free and choose their own path. The very idea of slavery was one thing that angered him greatly, and it took him some time to force the anger back down, so his voice did not appear so frightening. "Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to help you out. I know a good lock-pick we can ask about yer collar"