Niniel looked at Mardath. Something about him tugged at her memory. Not the bandits, something else. Something she didn't really want to remember. Something about her...father.
The big man smiled at Dorelnar. That smile, where had she seen it before? Only then, he had been angry and trying to hide it. Now it was only good humor, with not an intentional hint of malice. Not an intentional hint of malice, that was the key. But a bear would probably look menacing no matter how friendly.
Soronume didn't seem to like Mardath very much. But then, calling him "elf" without even a "mister" preceding it was very rude. The thing was, Mardath seemed harmless enough, but he was just so loud and boisterous. He seemed to have never been in civilized surroundings before.
"Well, Dorelnar, 'tisn't much of a tale. I grew tired o' the forests and me hunting, s'I decided to take a bit of a jaunt, see more of th' world. Ended up here."
The forests...hunting...it seemed so familiar, just within her grasp, but the memories still eluded Niniel. Then Mardath looked right at her.
"Excuse me, miss, but ye havna introduced yeself yet. Might I be asking ye name?"
Niniel looked rather frantically for help. No, no, no. She didn't want to be the recipient of any attention from this stranger, friendly or otherwise.
Soronume came to her rescue. "The lady is called Niniel." He frowned at Niniel's obvious discomfort, and pointedly leaned toward her in a gesture of protection.
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