Bear

Bear sat back in his chair and watched Faythiel talk to everyone around the table, he wanted to jut in, but didn't know what to say. Just then three stranger's entered, Gavriel had a strange look in his eyes, he got up and confronted the three. Bear just sat and watched, but knew that if things went down hill he'd have to get involved. Faythiel soon joined Gavriel, there looked to be a little commotion, and just then Tadir spoke followed by Tabrett. "Just so you know, I'm going to be less than useless if this comes to a fight." "Bear and I will more than make up for it, if something happens," "Don't worry Tadir, I'm sure nothing bad will happen... If it does, I will do my best to protect you." Bear reassured Tadir and smiled. "They want to eat. Maybe once they do so, they'll leave peacefully.." "Let's hope so, I've only got one good arm, no weapons, and that big guy looks like a challenge..." With that Bear borught the hanging chainmail on his wounded arm over the cloth bandage and reclipped the leather strap with the top strap chainmail on his shoulder. He took the shoulder plate strap and wrapped it tightly around his arm, and tied it.

"Oh, the way you were speaking to her earlier, I thought you knew her..." Bear waved at Faythiel for a minute before getting her attention, and then he motioned for her to come to the groups table. He started speaking to the group, but kept his eyes on Faythiel as she walked over, "So, this is quite the gathering we've got here... Where is everyone staying the night? Tadir and Gavriel you both must be staying at an inn, correct? Is it this inn? How about yourself Tabrett?" Bear sat back in his chair as Faythiel approached.

"Did you just call me an old decrepit man?" "You stitch as slow as one! I nearly chipped all my teeth waiting for you to finish! Hahaha!" Bear continued to joke with Gavriel, and then wiped the single tear of laughter from his right eye, "Ah, I'm only joking there, you did a wonderful job, I'm lucky I met you." Bear's attention turned to Tab as she told the men her name, "Tabrett, I like the sound to that, Tab-rett, it's nice." Bear put on silly smile, it seemed he was a little drunk, even for a roedagyn of his size, he hadn't eaten in days, and he seldom ever drank, so when he did, it hit him hard. In spite of all that, he was still able to manage it. He watched Tab turn to the Elezen woman. "He will be fine, I'm sure. Gavriel managed a good, clean stitch. As long as the wound is looked after, he should come out with nothing but a new scar and a story to tell. Thank you, for your help." Bear leaned in and whispered to Tabrett as Faythiel walked over to help a man looking at a parchment, "Hey, what is that elezen's name? I saw her in the crowd that gathered when I first got here, does she own this place or just work here?"

the only time I've ever liked the news was when there was a story about this eagle that got out of it's cage and flew into the tiger's pen, the picture was just the bird, still alive, in the tiger's mouth all like, "awww shit, what'd I do?"

"Yes, I was hired as a mercenary.. hmmm... i never thought of that, they didn't seem like the theiving types, but I suppose if they assumed I was dead, anything is possible." Bear answered to Tadir's question. Gavriel took the leather hilt of his dagger and stuck it in Bear's mouth, told him to bite down, and he did. Gavriel and Tab began working on his arm. First came the splash of the awful drink onto the wound, Bear bit down on the leather hard, his eyebrow furrowed and he clenched a fist with his free arm. Then came the closing the wound and the first stitch, upon closing the wound the dried blood cracked and blood spewed from the wound, Gavriel and Tab did their best to contain the bleeding with towels. After the second and third stitch things got better, and progressively felt better. Soon enough it was over, they poured alcohol on it, and bandaged it with cloth containing medicinal herbs to clot blood. Bear took the knife out of his mouth, smiled and moved his arm in a circle at the shoulder, "What are you two? White mages?!?! Hahahaha! Thank you both, Miqo'te I didn't even catch your name!"

As bear finished his story the Miqo'te who had originally gone to get the supplies came back, touching him lightly on the shoulder, he glanced up at her. Tadir started asking bear questions, and the Miqo'te said something to Gavriel, Bear didn't quite catch it. "This was the axe that you just had made, correct? Of the new material? That must have been disappointing, but would an ogre really take an axe? I've never seen one in person, but I was given to understand that they tend to be more of the "smash things with fiery fists after goring them on sharp horns" "Well I wasn't to upset during the time, I really didn't think about it until now... The fate of my companions has been occupying my mind... I spent almost all the gil I had to make that axe, and never got to use it." Bear sighed, "But an axe is an axe, I can always go back to the weaponsmith, although I think he'd be quite cross with me for losing his peice of work. I don't know why an Ogre would take anything from me and let me live, I don't think an axe or gil would do a beast like that any good. I must have been robbed, it was day when we encountered the Ogre, and night when I awoke, it could have been hours, or even days, speaking of days, what is the date today!?!?"

"Trust me, not the place I would choose to be. My editor wanted a piece on the nomad tribes of Dunesfolk. I've been here for close to a week now and I haven't seen so much as a Dunesfolk headwrap. I figure if I can get a few interesting tales from the dessert my editor won't mind so much that I don't have the story he wanted." Tadir grinned hopefully at Bear. "Well I'll tell you everything I can, hopefully it'll be of some use to you... " Bear was interrupted as a stunning elezen woman set down a plate of food infront of him. Bear looked at it, raised one eyebrown and said, "For me? I've never been so happy to see food!" He began to stuff his face, and stopped only when the woman came back with the rum Gavriel had requested. "ffthafnk ffyofu" He said with his mouth stuffed with food. At that moment he recognized the elezen, she was in the crowd earlier, but didn't stay long. He watched her sweep up the sand he had tracked in, he felt bad and embarressed, but didn't say anything. "As soon as you've finished that rum, Bear, I'll sew you up." "Deal." Bear finished his meal, and sipped at the rum, clenched his teeth and shook his head a little, "blech!" he thought, but didn't verbalize. Sip after sip it was the same thought, the last quarter he just slammed back and thought, "well glad that's over..." right as the elezen woman brought over 2 shot glasses full of, what was most likely, the foulest drink in the entire tavern. "So tell me, how did you come to be in the dessert being attacked by an ogre. The desserts aren't generally travelled lightly, yet you seem to have managed to get out, not only of the dessert, but of trouble with that ogre as well... What wonderful and mighty deeds did you perpetrate along your path to the ogre?" "I had been spending some time in Ul'dah with a legendary weaponsmith, he promised me he could make me an axe that would dull at a greatly decreased rate, it was a strong composite material of some sort that he invented, I don't quite remember what he called it. After half a week he finished it, and I set out looking for mercenary work, I got an odd job watching deliveries outside a jeweler's shop, the work didn't last long. I kept searching and found a group of merchants who wanted to try their hand at mining, but didn't know anything about protecting themselves so I was hired. A strange Hyur tipped us off about a large new mining project to the east, so we set out. We had a couple bandit run-in's, nothing I couldn't handle, hell, I never even got to swing my new axe. Eventually we made it to the mining site, although the only motion we witnessed was that of an Ogre. It must have been the height of 4... no 5 roedagyn's, what it was doing there I have no idea, perhaps it was chased there, maybe it got hungry, but when one of my companions saw what it had done to the mining camp he shrieked and the beast came running at us. I grabbed my axe and with both hands lifted it above my head, I came swinging down, but I was too slow, it swung at me and knocked me back, after that the rest is black. I awoke, my axe was gone, my gil was gone, as well as my water pouch, and my companions, I'm not sure what became of them... They may still be out there, hopefully the were able to run... but that beast was fast... I'm sure as hell not going back there, not without reinforcements."

"I can stand the heat, it's the damn sand that gets to me, it's everywhere, in my boots, my eyes, my mouth.." Bear spat on the ground, "I'm ready to get out of it." He stood up and staggered a bit before walking with Tadir, "Hopefully we can catch up with that Miqo'te" They trudged over to the tavern, where a man stumbled out and began wandering into the desert. Bear looked at Tadir and shrugged. They stepped into the tavern, it was noticeably cooler inside, and the smell of food made it even more inviting. They found an empty table, pulled up some chairs, and relaxed. Bear took of one boot at a time and held them upside down, sand covered the floor, and he wiped it away with his bare feet ((I originally wrote BEAR feet hahaha)) to make it look like he hadn't made a mess of the floor. He put his boots back on and began wiping the dried blood off his arm from around the wound. He tilted his head up and looked at Tadir, "Why exactly are you looking for stories in this place? It doesn't seem too exciting..."

Gavriel smiled, "You're going to need something a little stronger than ale, my friend." "Tabrett is it? If you would, head back to the tavern and tell the fat old man to put two fifths of rum on my tab. I I would guess my new friend here can hold his liquor." Bear's eyebrow perked up, "Rum?!? I like where this is headed" He gave a happy smile. Gavriel told him to lie back and relax, so he did, and flinched when the Hyur put his fingers near his eye. "We'll fix you a few drinks and get you settled. This wound won't heal itself." Bear lied there for a while, soaking in everything that had happened. He had seen some awful things during his lifetime, and each time he witnessed new tragedy, his heart became even more heavy then the previous. He was hardened by battle, anyone could tell that, but what wasn't obvious is the pain he carried with him. His thoughts wandered for a while, and then he turned to Gavriel and for a while he was at peace with himself. He was glad to have met Gavriel. His silent thoughts were broken by an unfamiliar voice. "Well, I may not be able to do much for your wounds, but I'd gladly buy you a few drinks if you'd be willing to sit down and tell me the rest of that fascinating tale in detail?" Bear stayed lying on his back, tilted his head and responded, "Huh? Oh, sure... Unfortunately I can only tell you how it began, I'm not sure quite how it ended. But I'm not going to argue about free drinks!" "You really survived a fight with an ogre. Amazing." "It wasn't much a fight, but I can tell you, an Ogre is a demon you never want to cross paths with, I guess he must of thought I was dead or something, I'm not quite sure how I'm alive..." Bear went on describing little details to Tadir and then stopped suddenly and said, "Friend, I've been so caught up in my story I've forgotten my manners, might I ask your name?"

The Hyur stranger responded with an accent Bear did not recognize. "The name is Gavriel Venitiago. I'm a hired sword here. You've managed to find your way to Al'Mian. From the looks of you, it's a good thing you showed up when you did." Bear sat for a moment and spoke softly, "If I had to spend another day without water, I'm not sure if I would have made it." He turned his attention to his arm, he picked the plate mail up and took apart the leather latch holding the chainmail together beneath the plate. "What is your name? Do you often wander the desert alone?" "My name is Bear, or that's what I've been called for as long as I can remember. I wasn't alone, I was with a band of merchants, they asked me if I would accompany them to a small mining site outside of Ul'dah, they offered a few gil, I obliged. When we arrived just outside the mine things didn't seem right, there was an unmistakable unease in the air, the kind that makes your hair stand on end. Over the last dune we saw it, an Ogre, it had killed most men in the camp, one of the merchants cried out in pain, he must have known the men, I'm not sure, but when he screamed the Ogre came after us. All I remember is grabbing my axe turning to face the beast, he took a swing at me, knocked me down, and after that it was black. When I came to, my companions were gone, and so was the Ogre, why it left me I will never know, I walked for days... and found myself here." Just then a young Miqo'te with brown hair in a ponytail, lightly tanned skin, and brilliant blue eyes, approached Gavriel and Bear. "Are you badly injured, sir Roegadyn? Have you been tended?" Bear looked up at the Miqo'te and stared into her blue eyes, something resonated with him, and just before she was about to repeat herself, Bear spoke, "Oh this? It hurts, but I'll live, I've been in worse shape before... All I need is a bandage and some ale and I'll be good as new!" He must have been still delirious, it was bad, he removed the strap holding the plate on his arm, and removed the entire plate. The chainmail fell over itself and exposed the wound, it was a gaping hole, blood was mixed with sand, portions had dried and others were still spewing blood. Bear put his fingers to the wound and clenched his teeth in pain, "Argh... it's worse than I thought... I'm going to need a lot of ale... Where's the nearest tavern?" ((I'm soooo sorry for the late reply, I was super busy last night! but don't fret, I'd never abandon a thread >.<, sorry again!))

Bear stared at the man under the palm for a while, before shaking his head and realizing what lied before him. Water. He knelt down on one knee, staggering slightly, dipped one hand in the water brought it to his dry cracked lips and sipped, it felt like the sun didn't matter anymore. He dipped his hand again, and this time brought it to his face and let it pour down. Refreshing. After he had his fill he fell backwards on to his buttocks, brought up one knee and let his arm drape over it, at which point he felt the presence of staring eyes. He turned to the crowd that had followed him and said, "I've got no gil on me, if that's what you're looking for." He was still delirious, he was suffering from heat exhaustion and loss of blood, somehow he still managed to stay conscious; However, despite that all he managed to catch, in the corner of his eye, an elaborately dressed Elezen, and in a blink she was gone. The crowd pestered him for some time, to take their help, hide in the shade, drink their potions and elixer's, he just told them the same thing, "I haven't any gil, I do not want to buy your merchandise." Soon enough the crowd dispersed, some felt sympathy for the beast, other's felt he was to stubborn, some were just to hot and didn't want to stand in the sun anymore. The majority of the crowd had left when Bear turned to the man who sat under the tree. He gazed at him for a while, he looked strange, he was of course Hyur, but there was something he could not put his finger on. Bear broke the silence, "Thank you stranger... I don't know how long it's been since I've had anything to drink. I don't even know how long I've been out in the desert. Might I ask your name?"

An old Hyur woman stood outside her small stand in the marketplace. It was early, yet the place bustled with movement, people cleaning and dusting their merchandise, things tend to sell much better when they aren't completely covered with sand. It too, was her time to get to work, she picked up her wicker broom and began sweeping down her small stand. Some stands in the marketplace were elaborate, some probably owned by more then one person or wealthier merchants; unfortunately, her business did not flourish so well, all she could afford was a run down tent at the very northern edge of the encampment. As the day grew late the sun became intense, the old woman's brow began to bead sweat, and as she motioned her arm to wipe it she saw a glimpse, a sparkle, of an unusual shine in the dunes to the north. It grew larger as time passed, a figure began to take shape, a Roegadyn suited in full armor. He began to approach her stand, limping, holding his right arm, something was strange about him, he finally got close enough for the old woman to notice the gaping hole in his shoulder plate and the blood running down his arm. In a frantic she screamed to everyone in the marketplace, "Help! Help! The man in the armor he needs help!" A crowd began to form around the giant, people yelling orders at him, telling him to slow down, stop and receive the help. He didn't return any of their plea's, instead he kept walking as if in a trance. He walked with the crowd following him for some time until he came to a palm with a man sitting underneath it and a water bladder lying next to him. "You there... beneath the palm... may I have a drink from your water pouch?" He said wearily while stumbling a little, "I... seem... to have lost mine..." ((Sorry for the long opening, and sorry if I mess anything up, I haven't done this for a whiiiile >.<;)

ohhhhhhhh, your one of those guys that thinks everyone who drinks is a vacuous moron.

lol, reminds me of: RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! hahahaha, anyways, nice drawings