[b]"Don't worry. lady. 'Untoward' is not something I tolerate among my men."[/b] Ronan nodded, a grim glint in his eye. To be a bandit was one thing, he thought - bloodshed was another part of life, regrettable but necessary, and property was not as precious as most men perceived. But there were crimes worse than these, necromancy and other violations, which he felt were inexcusable. He had executed more than a few, a the start, who thought that lawlessness was an excuse to indulge whatever dark whim flung itself in their direction. [b]"I don't know what you think of me, lass, but I would hate to come across as a boor. Yes, I can read and write just fine - I'm also a deft hand at animal husbandry and can recite Elysian poetry from memory."[/b]

[i]"A good maiden's touch is like the flickering fire of a first fresh snowfall, which lays itself solidly upon the shifting wasteland of the soul.. it is a paradox of peculiar proportions, perfectly presentable and yet foul to the sight of the blind."[/i] Ronan waved his hand in the air, imitating the foppish mannerisms of a courtly bard mid-way through a ballad. In truth, he had a soft spot for such romantic nonsense. Ronan was no idealist, but he craved a world in which these contradictory words could be true.

[b]"It's funny, you know - how you think you know me, and how you think you're better than me. I mean, hell, [i]you[/i] might be better than me - I'll give you that. You're a damn dainty thing, probably never lifted a finger in your life and certainly never caved a man's head in with the back end of a war-axe. Your daddy though, he's probably a butcher. The rich and powerful only stay that way so long as they make sure that anyone who files grievance is still kept nice and firm underneath their boot."[/b] Ronan growled. He wasn't sure quite what it was about Alianor which provoked him - maybe her arrogance, maybe her condescension, maybe that she represented everything the world had taken from him. Maybe he was just tired- that was an option too. He calmed himself after a moment, and paced over to the map Alianor was looking at. [b]"If you can memorise this, you'd have a good chance of finding your way back here you know. Course, I didn't actually mark the camp on there - these old cartographer maps are too pretty. Never did know why they drew such creatures on the borders... maybe they're meant to live here."[/b]

Roran sniffed. He could smell dinner - fresh meat, brazed over an open camp-fire. He salivated.

[b]"Have you ever eaten food before? Not double-baked sweet breads, but a bit of muscle carved from a dead thing."[/b] Roran smiled sweetly to her. [b]"It's nice, I'll tell you. Part of what we exist for, you know - natural cycle, and all that."[/b]