The Halfblood Guardian

15th Member

It was late at night when she finally set up her camp near the human village, 'Bree'. The week had been rough, orcs had been roaming around the forest sleep has therefore been a luxury she could not afford without surely dying, so she set her camp near Bree hoping that it would keep the creatures away and let her rest. After making sure the surrounding were safe and eating what little she had left of food, she laid down, using her bag as a makeshift pillow and hand clenching her dagger. Slowly she let her eyes fall shut, the only sounds she heard were owls, the wind in the trees, the crickets and footsteps.../someone coming!/ Abruptly she opened her eyes and as fast as she could, she picked up her bow stood up and listen ready for a fight. The steps were getting closer.

"Who's there?" she asked in the direction of the suspected attacker.
However, no reply came back, the steps became louder
"Who's there?!" she asked again angrily.

Nothing. The steps became even louder until she finally saw the outline of the figure.

"Take one more step, and it will be your last!" she warned the figure as she drew her bow, and the figure stopped in his tracks.

She tried figuring out what was standing near her camp, just by the outline. The possible aggressor was tall but rather slim, so it could be an elf or a human from the village.

"Now, Praell ", said the figure, which seemed to be a man
"You know I mean no harm. " /He knows my name!/
"Come forward with your hands in the air!" Preall ordered, and he did. Until he was fully visible by the light of the fire.
„Oh, it's just you. " Preall said lowering her bow
„Is that how you greet a friend?"
„I believe the word you meant to say is acquaintance, Gandalf." Praell answered, turning away from him and putting her bow next to her sword.
„Acquaintance?!" Gandalf asked rather loudly
„Psst! Keep your voice down! Are you trying to get us killed?" Praell quickly said, trying to shut him up and looking around. When she heard and saw nothing, she relaxed and sat down on her bedroll. With Gandalf now with her, she undid the belt trapping her tail, under her clothes and the metal hairband she used to permanently flatten her ears under her hair. Gandalf didn't understand why the girl thought she needed to hide the fact that she was a shifter from the world, although he was glad that she trusted him enough to be comfortable around her. After all, having such sensible ears trapped under a metal band for such a long time must surely hurt. She slowly let her ears rise and turn with a sigh, it felt good to the shifter too, finally being able to hear right.

„If there weren't things more important to discuss, I would be highly offended! " he huffed, coming back to the present, before sitting down across from her
„How did you find me?" Praell asked, not interested in what Gandalf had to discuss, it usually never ended well for her anyway.
„I heard of a lonely traveler hunting down orcs near Bree, I figured it had to be you." he calmly answered, taking out his pipe and lighting it with magic
„Fine, what do you want?"
„Who said I want something from you?" the wizard asked, taking a sip out of his pipe
„Don't play dumb with me, Gandalf! You only come looking from me when you want something, so what is it?" Praell asked knowingly as the wizard exhaled
„I have a request."
„You know I don't take requests. Especially YOURS!"

At that, the wizard grumbled something in his beard, clearly knowing why Preall was saying this. How could he not, the last time he asked Praell for a so-called request it nearly got her killed by orcs, captured by elves and seen by dwarrows. From then on Praell explicit said to Gandalf that never again was she helping the as she called him 'crazy man'. But it seems Gandalf was prepared for that backslash and quickly replied.

„Very well then I have a job for you." At that Praell perked up, she was getting low on money
„What kind of job?" she asked, still skeptic
„A company will be traveling to Lake Town, and I need to find someone who will help them reach their destination." Gandalf explained
„So you want me to bodyguard a company... How many are they? From where do they start this journey? " she asked, at that the wizard shifted. He knew that his answer was not going to be taken very well, but still he answered. After all, he needed her to accept, no matter what.