Potter
FulgrimLives
Lucid Dreaming
Expendable
Kero
Tim the Yeti
rush99999
Fading MemoryThey soon made it to the markets, Ineraz leading the group, while Senn kept pace at the rear of the wagon, the four hounds split between them. Next to Ineraz was Nor, a huge black one, the ends of a few patches of his fur already greying. He was a behemoth even by drakkan standards, and though old, he could still stand his ground against many a creature and win with sheer power and ferociousness. The multitude of scars on his body where the fur never had never fully grown back told quite the story of what he was capable of surviving. The other hound was a much smaller, sleeker, and faster, a grey female by the name of Nea. She was nowhere as tough as Nor, but could easily outrun him, and took longer to tire due to her younger age, a definite advantage to her hit-and-run tactics.
Next to Senn were a pair of siblings, one hound as beige as the desert sands and the other a darker brown. These two were about the same size as Nea, though they were males, and were most useful in hunting, though they did respectably in war-fare when paired up. Ineraz wasn’t as bothered as he otherwise might have been by Senn – a Drakkan not in his employ – accompanying them; partly because of the pulsating fiery pain in his back keeping his grumblings to his own mind, and partly because there was no point trying to hide the meeting with Lord Kereg-Kor from his father when his sire already knew about it. Well, if he honestly thought about it, the two reasons were strongly correlated. Thankfully, his brides were both inside the enclosed wagon and wouldn’t get to observe the way his expression wavered between a pained grimace and an attempted scowl to mask the ever-present pain in his whole back, the agony insidiously seeming to spread even to the parts of him he knew to be undamaged.
The relentless sound of clip-clop, clip-clop of the two horses pulling the wagon was soothing to Ineraz. The myriad of Drakken wasn’t unusual for Železna Kri, and just about what one could expect in celebration of the Reaping. However, having got used to the relative solitude of a sparsely populated fort to the north, surrounded mainly by desolate forests prowled by some dangerous creatures here and there, and a tiny village or two the only nearby settlements, Ineraz was honestly somewhat uncomfortable with the mingling crowd. But ignoring them was easy enough, especially with the way his injured back proved to be a nice distraction, offering a background of aggravating searing sensations whether he was walking or standing still or being bumped into by the occasional careless Drakkan. He weaved from street to street, keeping away from the main and most populated ones, though the smaller ones were only marginally less packed. The shabby wooden stalls were littered to the sides of the paved pathways, and amongst the merchandise one could truly find almost anything one wished to. Ineraz headed to the nearest section of clothing stalls and alerted his brides to get out of the wagon and browse the offered array of garments.
Almost immediately, Sera settled herself at his side, her small hand holding onto his left arm, clutching at the elbow, barely above yesterday’s burn from the tournament. The feeling paled in comparison to his poor aching back but only reminded him of the indignities he had suffered. Preoccupied as Ineraz was, he didn’t entirely miss Sera’s beseeching gaze, but for the first time in their acquaintance, he did not meet her enthralling blood red orbs. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed forward while he waited for Zeldria to come out as well. Before they started a leisurely walk down this part of the market, however, Ineraz repositioned Sera’s hold on him so her grasp slipped into his hand, and he gave her a belated comforting squeeze.
Zeldria wandered slightly ahead of them though not out of Ineraz’s or Senn’s line of sight, the latter of whom was following the trio of Drakkan and his Gem brides, the white-haired male now the one directing the horses and wagon. Ineraz’s red-headed bride was the first to make her picks, simple light-coloured tops and several darker skirts, adding one formal dress and a light blue scarf or whatever the neck accessory was properly called. “Good choices,” he complimented her and paid for the selection. He noticed she had to carry the apparel by hand and decided to buy two bags or suitcases or something of the sort later on. He had to release Sera while he was paying, and the next thing he knew, she was already browsing, though seemingly with much less enjoyment than Zeldria had.
Trusting Senn to keep an eye on Sera while he focused on his other bride, Ineraz once again considered Zeldria’s choices, taking note of what other pieces of clothing may do her well. His gaze landed on the only accessory she had wanted, that piece of clothing easily the unique one among her assortment. “An interesting item, that one,” he commented. He picked the blue neckwear from the top of the pile Zeldria was holding onto with a purposefully slow movement, staring into her eyes with a neutral expression, then unfolded the kerchief and tied it loosely around her neck with a simple knot. He cocked his head judgingly to the side and found he appreciated the contrast. “It suits you,” Ineraz told Zeldria.
Without further ado, he turned on his heel and stalked to where Sera had just picked up the last piece of clothing she seemed intent on having him buy, a beautiful white cloak with golden accents. By the time Ineraz made it to her side, the shopkeeper was already putting the wide variety of attire she had chosen in several bags and Ineraz wondered whether they provided her with those because she had taken so many articles or because she had managed to intimidate the merchants. The young Evrenarth heir paid for her collection as well. He let her carry the bags to the wagon, keeping a guiding hand on her upper back, and only took over the bags from her to store them inside the wagon, then linked his left hand with her right once again. He turned to face Zeldria with Sera on his side.
“Put those on a bench for now,” he gestured with a head movement from the clothes Zeldria was still carrying to the wagon and its narrow wooden but fur-lined seating. “I will get you each a suitcase for the various items you may acquire. Zeldria, you might consider a travelling cloak of your own. A pair of riding breeches would not be amiss for the both of you. And Sera,” he now turned to face her instead of the red-head. “I will try to find a hunting outfit for you, preferably a leather one, though the closest we will probably come to that here is some durable cloth apparel.”
And that having been the most he had spoken since his punishment, Ineraz remained mostly silent for the rest of their shopping trip, interacting with the Gems only as a reply to any prompt either might give. If Zeldria decided to get a travelling cloak, he would let her get one before moving on. The same went for the riding pants; he’d pick a pair or two on the way if either Gem expressed an interest in having them. After that, Ineraz directed them towards travelling-oriented goods. He oversaw the kind of suitcase they picked and approved of the choice as long as the items were durable but not needlessly pricey.
Lastly, Ineraz led the group to the stalls dealing predominantly in weaponry and armour. He bought a leather vambrace for his left arm to replace the one that had been destroyed the previous day, then wandered from stall to stall to see if there was anything appropriate Sera could eventually use for hunting. The only leather apparel that would possibly fit her were some tight and skimpy pieces obviously meant to be pleasing to the eye rather than protective. With a disappointed shake of his head, Ineraz gave up on the endeavour, and simply purchased Sera a pair of trousers, a shirt, and a tunic made of thick cloth, its fibres one of the highest quality ones around here. Once done with the purchasing, Ineraz roamed the markets to find Keregar; the Drakkan warlord would be impossible to miss if he had already arrived at the meeting location.