Private Tales The Most Ridiculous Thief

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
"The Tattered Quill. Last night and ill be performing again there tomorrow." He leaned forward. "But you don't actually care about any of that. You're trying to see what information you can get out of me. And since it isn't much, you're just trying to make small talk. To give a different impression." He would say with a sly grin.

He would eat a bit more of his chicken before taking a decent pull from his tankard. "Since we're doing small talk, when did you know you wanted to be in the Guard?"

Ellory Ashford
 
Ellory smiled. He may be a bard but he could read people better than some of the Guard she knew. She set her fork down and just looked across the table as his handsome face.

"Fine, you got me. I don't care and I don't think you being honest with me but what do I know." She took another drink of her ale and decided to answer his question honestly.

"I didn't have a choice. Everyone has to serve for at least a year. I chose to stay in because both my parents retired from the Guard. There was never really another choice for me, I guess."

Ryder
 
He would nod his head as he took a pull of his tankard, she was admitting to what he already knew. She was staring now, perhaps with a genuine smile. She either was planning her next ploy or trying to test his resolve.

"Nobody believes the bard." He mused lightly. "Not that I blame you, I get paid to craft tall tales." Another grin. "And I do tell them so very well."

He rolled his shoulders as she seemed to win some sort of internal battle. So she didn't have much of a choice. "I see. So, if your parents could retire without you needing to replace them in the Guard, have you ever thought of what else you might do?"

Ellory Ashford
 
What kind of question was that? Her parents were Anirian Guard and her sister was a Dreadlord Initiate...what else would she have done? She didn't have magic so she couldn't be a Dreadlord. The Guard was the only option. It was an honor, a privilege...it was what she was meant to do.

Ellory's brows furrowed together like she didn't understand it. "Why would I do anything else? My family serves the Anirian Guard. We always have. We always will."

Ryder
 
So this one lacked imagination. A pity. Absolutely gorgeous with zero idea about the rest of the world. "Well, there is more in this world than Vel Anir and the Anirian Guard. Much more to see and even more to do." He offered with a shrug.

"Are there any places you would want to see beyond Vel Anir? I imagine as a member of the Guard, travel options are.. entirely limited."

Ellory Ashford
 
Ellory thought for a moment on his words. She hadn't really traveled that much. Obviously to the cities nearby but not much further. "I guess Alliria," she shrugged as she mentioned the great merchant city.

The Guard took a drink of her ale and just looked at Finnick for another few moments. "I've never really traveled far..." This time her tone had a wistfulness to it and her earlier harshness seemed to vanish some.

Ryder
 
"Alliria? It's a gorgeous city.. has its issues, but most do." He mused. "What i love most about my job, I get to travel everywhere, see everything. I'm from Elbion, the slums." He added the last bit with a laugh.

He would roll his shoulders. "Maybe if you ever get a chance to travel, I can meet you in Alliria. Show you the sights and you can protect me." He added with a smirk.

Ellory Ashford
 
Ellory raised a sculpted brow at the barb across from her. "I would protect you, huh? Does the great bard need a bodyguard?" It sounded condescending but the light tone was still in her voice.

She really hated to admit that this asshole was growing on her. She took another drink from her ale and slid her now finished plate over to the edge of the table. "What are your plans for the evening, Finnick?"

Ryder
 
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He smirked at her first response. "I would be an awful Bard, if I didn't. Wives to seduce, maidens to soil..." he would say with a laugh and a wave as if to discard it as rubbish. "Bard comes to town, sings a few songs, they're lives go downhill and the blame is with us. Its all slander and always a crime, is what it is."

He would take a pull from his tankard and drain it, signaling for another. "I've no express plans, but I very much have interests. What are your plans, my dear Anirian Guard?"

Ellory Ashford
 
Her nose wrinkled in distaste at his vulgarness then she just shook her head. "Or perhaps you are the problem and you do cause the issues in town then skip to the next place before anyone can hold you accountable..." She had never thought about her thief being someone from outside the city before. Perhaps he was a merchant...or even a bard. New thoughts, new lines to look into.

Ellory shrugged, "I have work to do but I think it can wait until morning. I just don't have the ability to deal with the person I'm after tonight..."

Drastus Tal'deneshaar
 
"Its always easier to pin the blame on an outsider, Lieutenant.. or would you prefer to keep it more personal, my dear Ellory?" He asked with a grin. "I can hardly tell if you're still trying to pump me for information or not." He teased.

He would smirk. "So deal with the one you do have the ability to deal with? My my, how forward, Lieutenant Ellory Ashford." As the barmaid that liked him approached and filled both their tankards, he would lean back in his seat, his gaze inspecting every visible feature. "If you truly think I'm the cause of these problems, ill even submit myself to a strip search, just to prove my innocence, on all counts."

Ellory Ashford
 
Ellory thanked the barmaid and took a drink from her tankard. She then choked and coughed at his next words. Once she had calmed down, she just shook her head.

"You are disgusting," she said with a raise of her brow and a shake of her head. "I do not trust bards and I do not take men home I have just met," she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. There was a story behind those excuses.

Ryder
 
A smirk. "I have been told it is my third best trait. "Who said anything about you taking me home, my dear?" He teased. "As I said, forward and presumptive."

His hands clasped and he leaned forward a bit. ⁶ I would love to hear the beef you have with my kind?"
 
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Ellory did not dignify him with a quip back about her being forward or presumptive. She just wanted to punch that little smirk off his face so bad.

"You come into town, take what you want, and then leave without a word..." It was clear there was more to the story. There was, of course, but Ellory did not speak of that man or what he had done to her. She took another drink and looked around the tavern. A more people had joined but it was still on the emptier side.

Ryder
 
So apparently, a bard had broken her heart.. how original. Then again, that was the thing to do, he supposed. "I come to town, bring joy, laughter, and words to inspire young lads to make moves on maidens fair, earn what I get, and give you several days advance before I depart these lands." Another grin. "Which i will be heading northeast for a bit, then back south."

He would signal for another round of drinks, also noticing how dead it had gotten. "One more round and perhaps we find a place more lively?"

Ellory Ashford
 
It wasn't her heart he had taken. Her heart would have been easier to mend. Ellory pushed thoughts of him away. It had been years since she thought of him, what he had done to her, and the child she had given to the orphage. A shame her family knew nothing about.

Her eyes flicked back up to Finnick and she nodded slowly. She had heard a word of what he had said but another round of drinks was brought to the table and she took a very large drink from the glass.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Ryder
 
He noticed the lack of registry, in fact, he even noticed something else seconds earlier. Was it.. a struggle? A pain? He couldn't identify, but he leaned forward once more, some concern etched onto his face.

His hand would cautiously rest on hers as she spoke. "Ellory, are you alright?" No honied words, no practiced looks, just genuine concern. "I ordered us another round and suggested we find somewhere more lively, but if you are not up to it, I can escort you home and there, we can part ways... for the night."

Ellory Ashford
 
She looked down at his hand on hers and didn't pull away from him. She needed to go home though. If she stayed out any longer, she was liable to start crying and that was the last thing she needed.

"Yes, I will go home. I'm sorry..." Ellory's voice trailed off as she felt the nauseated feeling of nightmares coming back. She pulled her hand from his gently and brought it to her ale. She downed the rest in one gulp. She wasn't playing.

Ryder
 
'Finnick' nodded in understanding before signaling to the waitress to not bring the fresh round. He then rose to his feet and fished a hand around in his pouch to procure a nice stack of coins and set them on the table. It would be enough to cover their meal and provide a nice tip for each worker.

When she was done downing her drink, he would offer his arm. "Whether I can protect you or not, I plan to escort you. If only to make sure you make it there." Perhaps this was some old wound that he had unwittingly dug up.

Ellory Ashford
 
"Thank you," Ellory said quietly. She was embarrassed now. She was not one to show others anything but being stoic and fine. That was how she was raised. She stood from the booth and took Finnicks arm.

Once they were on the street, she spoke again as she led them towards her home. "I am sorry about how I acted earlier. I guess I have trust issues with strangers," she offered a very small, apologetic smile.

Ryder
 
Once they exited out into the street she began to apologize. "No need, save your breath, Ellory, you've done nothing that warrants an apology." He would laugh. "Not trusting strangers is rather commendable.. keeps you from winding up dead in an alley somewhere."

His soft gaze would focus on her. "Besides, I should be doing the apologies. It appears my words stoked emotions of old. For what it's worth, I would happily kill whatever scoundrel harmed you so."

Ellory Ashford
 
Ellory let out an amused scoff. "That is very sweet of you, but are you going to sing him to death?" She smiled. A real smile. Ellory Ashford had made a joke.

In all honesty, she had no idea where the man was, who he was, or if she would ever see him again. She prayed that she wouldn't, of course. It had been eleven years and it still hurt when she thought about it.

It was only a short walk to her modest townhome and she unlocked the door before turning to face Finnick. "Thank you for walking me home. Where are you preforming tomorrow?" She figured she should probably go as an apology.

Ryder
 
He would smirk at her. "Something like that." He returned the smile.

They didn't have to walk far, she lived surprisingly close to the bar. And to her work. When she unlocked her door and finally turned back to him, he would take her hand and kiss the back of it. "M'lady." He would say with that wolfish grin of his. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, Lieutenant. Good night." He shot her with a wink, then turned to leave.

Ellory Ashford
 
Ellory smiled as Finnick kissed her. His cryptic answer and goodnight made her smile wider before she replied with her own.

----

The next morning, Ellory walked into the office with an odd swing in her step. She had thought about Finnick and what a gentleman he had turned out to be. She looked forward to seeing him again this evening.

The good mood ended as soon as she walked into her office.

The. Furniture. Was. Rearranged.

"That motherfucking fucker had the fucking balls to come into my office and fuck with my shit! I will kill him when I find him!"

She was seething as she picked up a book and flung it at the wall. That son of a bitch knew who was after him now.

----

The rest of her day went by in a blue of re-rearranging her office, seething some more, yelling a little more, and a lot more vows of death. She survived though and she was ready to go home by the time that time came.

Ellory was quicker at washing up and changing than she would have normally been. She was excited to see Finnick and to see if he was who he said he was.

Ryder
 
Ryder had found himself just outside her work to hear the outburst drift down from the open balcony. Pleased with his work, his hands would reach into his pockets and he would whistle merrily as he kept on with his day.

She wouldn't have to go far to find him, as he had just been making his way to her steps and offered a bow with a grin. "My lady." He had his lute with him. "I hope you were planning to see me play."

Ellory Ashford
 
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