It wasn’t the way that Rapunzel WANTED to see the world, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
... Well, not entirely, at least. Her mother’s behavior had her concerned, but the tale that their location had been compromised was reason enough for her to agree to follow, so they’d bound up her hair, covered her up with a cloak, packed what things they could feesibly bring along, and left the tower through a secret staircase Rapunzel had never known was there. Any frustration or confusion she felt over the secrecy was abated by two things. One, the realization that Gothel HAD to come and go somehow before her hair was long enough and she was old enough to work the pulley- and stairs were far more practical than climbing in and out, especially when she couldn’t afford to leave a baby unattended. Two, and this was by far the larger of the two points: She was seeing the outside world for the first time.
Oh… it was glorious…! True, she could only admire so much by leaving under the cover of darkness, but just to FEEL the grass and water under her bare feet, to finally see the land up close with her own eyes, to gaze upon the stars from the ground up…!
It had been days now and the wonder still hadn’t worn off. Gothel had grown annoyed at a few points more recently, but at least it meant she was finally coming around out of her distracted, paranoid state. Rapunzel wouldn’t complain about that. She’d been worried for her mother, and at one point the two even had a conversation where she admitted as such. It was the last time in recent memory that she could recall Gothel sparing her any sort of genuine pleasure. They’d found a quiet glade that night and performed the incantation to give her a much needed boost of energy.
After that Gothel decided it would be best to hire protection. Two women out in the world alone, in the middle of a war between rebel mages, rogue templars, and now rumors of demons roaming the lands? No, not a safe scenario even for one with magical talent and Rapunzel’s resourcefulness. Rapunzel was told to wait while Gothel saw to the arrangements, and so she had. At the edge of a village, tucked away in the outskirts of the forest she'd waited, only when the footsteps finally came there were more than Rapunzel felt she should have rightfully expected. She should have listened to that voice in her mind then, the one that was telling her to run, but she didn't. Instead she'd foolishly gone on trusting, believing that her mother had her best intentions at heart. It wasn't until the third night they made camp that she happened to overhear bits of the truth. She was supposed to be asleep, lying on her side on one of their bedrolls, her back to the fire for warmth, but she hadn't been able to sleep. Something kept her feeling restless. She simply couldn't shake a bad feeling that she had and she was simply waiting for the men to go to sleep so that she could speak to her mother alone. That was when she heard it.
They were nearing their destination, they'd probably be there by the week's end. That by itself wasn't strange, especially since Rapunzel had already admitted to Gothel how these men... something just seemed off about them. They were too finely dressed to be simple mercenaries, but too cold to be well meaning travelers. They carried themselves with purpose and arrogance, and it all made Rapunzel very uncomfortable no matter how charming and politely they carried themselves. She chose to try to see the best in people, but this was a bit much.
What had left her feeling cold was the comments that came after, when their voices had dropped a bit on Gothel's lead, to avoid waking her. "And when we arrive the trade will be considered complete?"
"Yes, yes, you'll have your reward, as promised. It isn't our word that's questionable. You've yet to prove this supposed incantation truly works. Rest assured, you will live to regret it should we learn you've deceived us..."
What did that mean? Why did they even know about that? What sort of deal had Gothel made...? Rapunzel didn't want to believe what she'd heard, but heartbroken as she was, she couldn't bring herself to stay and find out. Later that night when she was sure the rest were asleep she'd fled. She slipped off into the forest and didn't dare look back. Maybe if she had she would have realized she'd been followed, wouldn't be breaking past the trees looking for a place to hide, only to find her new surroundings wide open, with no hope of finding cover.
"No...!"
Behind her, footsteps rapidly approached as three Tevinter men emerged behind her. To them this was just as well. They'd only suffered Gothel's presence because she kept the girl in line. There were other ways to get the information their lord needed, and failing that, a source of magic this powerful would have other uses, besides.
"There's no use in running, girl. There's no where left for you to hide. Just come with us quietly and you need not be harmed."
"I'll be nice and give you the same offer," the Bull says, coming up to a stop behind them. He lets his feet crunch over twigs and leaves as he does it - it isn't like a guy as big as him is ever going to totally win the quiet game, not when it comes to ground like this, but these guys seemed pretty intent on their goal, and he's pretty sure he's taking them by surprise.
The sound of fighting starts up a little ways away. The Bull grins, the curve of his lips broad and bloodthirsty and pleased. "You might have to leave your friends behind - it sounds like they're a little busy - but drop the weapons, go the opposite way, and you might even manage to get away."
He rests his axe across his shoulders. It's a good pose. It shows off the size of the weapon, and the size of the guy who's ready to swing it, and it doesn't take much momentum to get a good swing started from this angle. He's ready.
They'll either come at the girl or come at him. With how much of a threat he's trying to make himself look, he's hoping they go for him first. He's thinking over tactics already if they don't.
Rapunzel doesn't recognize the voice that speaks up in her defense, or what sounds like her defense. She also doesn't recognize the man it belongs to, and she's very, very certain that she would if they'd met or if she'd seen him around before. He has enormous... enormous horns and he absolutely towered over everyone else present, between that and the axe on his shoulders she knows what SHE'D choose, but these men don't seem content to let him get away with threatening them. They clearly like their odds.
Without speaking a word to one another two of them draw their weapons and charge, while the third keeps himself between Rapunzel and the horned man. While Rapunzel is initially intimidated by The Iron Bull's appearance (literal and figurative) and unsure of his intentions (is this really a rescue, or just someone else looking to get their hands on some magic hair) she recognizes at least that he's helping, even if that's just for the moment, and she's not about to let him get hurt on her behalf!
The third, the one who'd stayed back, it turns out he wasn't just standing guard. He was a mage, drawing a staff from his back and preparing to start flinging spells. He'd written her off as a non-threat and that was something she could work with. Her fingers curled around the handle of the frying pan in her satchel, wound up, swung, and shut her eyes at the last second.
CLANG!
The poor bastard never saw it coming, sacking to the ground in a useless heap.
Rapunzel, having cracked an eye open to see if she'd succeeded in incapacitating him or just pissing him off suddenly looked triumphant.
"HAH!"
Ahead of her the other two had made it seven paces before they faltered at the noise, just glancing back, but enough to create a possible opening.
The Bull's grin goes broader, delighted. Yeah, going alone up against a group with a mage in it could have gotten hairy if the girl hadn't surprised him just now, but now's not the time to think over that. Now's the time to let himself enjoy the surprise and he lets laughter rumble out from somewhere deep in his chest as he swings. "Good one!"
Now is the time for one particular thought, at least, acceptable mostly because he doesn't let himself waste attention agonizing over it: he turns himself at the last moment to an angle that lets him swing the axe backward so its flat, spiked side is the side heading toward the nearest asshole.
Not all fighters look like fighters, not even when you're trained to see it, so the girl could be a lot more dangerous than she looks. But the pan thing makes it seem like she's probably not, and he hasn't forgotten how to fight in front of civilians. It's not that there's ever a pretty way to do it, but he can try for something that's not as obviously ugly, as long as she tries not to look too close.
Given the way the nearest guy swung and that moment of distraction, the Bull thinks the blunt, spiked force of his weapon will probably end up smashing against asshole number one's armpit. It might not put him out of the game but now that the mage is down - not necessarily dead, but down - the Bull can afford to make a swing that's not necessarily going to end in a sure kill.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-06-30 01:43 pm (UTC)... Well, not entirely, at least. Her mother’s behavior had her concerned, but the tale that their location had been compromised was reason enough for her to agree to follow, so they’d bound up her hair, covered her up with a cloak, packed what things they could feesibly bring along, and left the tower through a secret staircase Rapunzel had never known was there. Any frustration or confusion she felt over the secrecy was abated by two things. One, the realization that Gothel HAD to come and go somehow before her hair was long enough and she was old enough to work the pulley- and stairs were far more practical than climbing in and out, especially when she couldn’t afford to leave a baby unattended. Two, and this was by far the larger of the two points: She was seeing the outside world for the first time.
Oh… it was glorious…! True, she could only admire so much by leaving under the cover of darkness, but just to FEEL the grass and water under her bare feet, to finally see the land up close with her own eyes, to gaze upon the stars from the ground up…!
It had been days now and the wonder still hadn’t worn off. Gothel had grown annoyed at a few points more recently, but at least it meant she was finally coming around out of her distracted, paranoid state. Rapunzel wouldn’t complain about that. She’d been worried for her mother, and at one point the two even had a conversation where she admitted as such. It was the last time in recent memory that she could recall Gothel sparing her any sort of genuine pleasure. They’d found a quiet glade that night and performed the incantation to give her a much needed boost of energy.
After that Gothel decided it would be best to hire protection. Two women out in the world alone, in the middle of a war between rebel mages, rogue templars, and now rumors of demons roaming the lands? No, not a safe scenario even for one with magical talent and Rapunzel’s resourcefulness. Rapunzel was told to wait while Gothel saw to the arrangements, and so she had. At the edge of a village, tucked away in the outskirts of the forest she'd waited, only when the footsteps finally came there were more than Rapunzel felt she should have rightfully expected. She should have listened to that voice in her mind then, the one that was telling her to run, but she didn't. Instead she'd foolishly gone on trusting, believing that her mother had her best intentions at heart. It wasn't until the third night they made camp that she happened to overhear bits of the truth. She was supposed to be asleep, lying on her side on one of their bedrolls, her back to the fire for warmth, but she hadn't been able to sleep. Something kept her feeling restless. She simply couldn't shake a bad feeling that she had and she was simply waiting for the men to go to sleep so that she could speak to her mother alone. That was when she heard it.
They were nearing their destination, they'd probably be there by the week's end. That by itself wasn't strange, especially since Rapunzel had already admitted to Gothel how these men... something just seemed off about them. They were too finely dressed to be simple mercenaries, but too cold to be well meaning travelers. They carried themselves with purpose and arrogance, and it all made Rapunzel very uncomfortable no matter how charming and politely they carried themselves. She chose to try to see the best in people, but this was a bit much.
What had left her feeling cold was the comments that came after, when their voices had dropped a bit on Gothel's lead, to avoid waking her. "And when we arrive the trade will be considered complete?"
"Yes, yes, you'll have your reward, as promised. It isn't our word that's questionable. You've yet to prove this supposed incantation truly works. Rest assured, you will live to regret it should we learn you've deceived us..."
What did that mean? Why did they even know about that? What sort of deal had Gothel made...? Rapunzel didn't want to believe what she'd heard, but heartbroken as she was, she couldn't bring herself to stay and find out. Later that night when she was sure the rest were asleep she'd fled. She slipped off into the forest and didn't dare look back. Maybe if she had she would have realized she'd been followed, wouldn't be breaking past the trees looking for a place to hide, only to find her new surroundings wide open, with no hope of finding cover.
"No...!"
Behind her, footsteps rapidly approached as three Tevinter men emerged behind her. To them this was just as well. They'd only suffered Gothel's presence because she kept the girl in line. There were other ways to get the information their lord needed, and failing that, a source of magic this powerful would have other uses, besides.
"There's no use in running, girl. There's no where left for you to hide. Just come with us quietly and you need not be harmed."
no subject
Date: 2020-07-01 12:29 am (UTC)The sound of fighting starts up a little ways away. The Bull grins, the curve of his lips broad and bloodthirsty and pleased. "You might have to leave your friends behind - it sounds like they're a little busy - but drop the weapons, go the opposite way, and you might even manage to get away."
He rests his axe across his shoulders. It's a good pose. It shows off the size of the weapon, and the size of the guy who's ready to swing it, and it doesn't take much momentum to get a good swing started from this angle. He's ready.
They'll either come at the girl or come at him. With how much of a threat he's trying to make himself look, he's hoping they go for him first. He's thinking over tactics already if they don't.
Sorry for the delay here, busy week with the holiday!
Date: 2020-07-08 09:13 am (UTC)Without speaking a word to one another two of them draw their weapons and charge, while the third keeps himself between Rapunzel and the horned man. While Rapunzel is initially intimidated by The Iron Bull's appearance (literal and figurative) and unsure of his intentions (is this really a rescue, or just someone else looking to get their hands on some magic hair) she recognizes at least that he's helping, even if that's just for the moment, and she's not about to let him get hurt on her behalf!
The third, the one who'd stayed back, it turns out he wasn't just standing guard. He was a mage, drawing a staff from his back and preparing to start flinging spells. He'd written her off as a non-threat and that was something she could work with. Her fingers curled around the handle of the frying pan in her satchel, wound up, swung, and shut her eyes at the last second.
CLANG!
The poor bastard never saw it coming, sacking to the ground in a useless heap.
Rapunzel, having cracked an eye open to see if she'd succeeded in incapacitating him or just pissing him off suddenly looked triumphant.
"HAH!"
Ahead of her the other two had made it seven paces before they faltered at the noise, just glancing back, but enough to create a possible opening.
you're good, there's no hurry
Date: 2020-07-09 04:12 am (UTC)Now is the time for one particular thought, at least, acceptable mostly because he doesn't let himself waste attention agonizing over it: he turns himself at the last moment to an angle that lets him swing the axe backward so its flat, spiked side is the side heading toward the nearest asshole.
Not all fighters look like fighters, not even when you're trained to see it, so the girl could be a lot more dangerous than she looks. But the pan thing makes it seem like she's probably not, and he hasn't forgotten how to fight in front of civilians. It's not that there's ever a pretty way to do it, but he can try for something that's not as obviously ugly, as long as she tries not to look too close.
Given the way the nearest guy swung and that moment of distraction, the Bull thinks the blunt, spiked force of his weapon will probably end up smashing against asshole number one's armpit. It might not put him out of the game but now that the mage is down - not necessarily dead, but down - the Bull can afford to make a swing that's not necessarily going to end in a sure kill.