Makt sat comfortably in a tavern, trying to make the best of a gloomy evening. He had chosen to take the evening nice and easy now that he had the time to relax. He was supposed to be going through inventory at work, but he had made a deal with a couple of guys who would go through the wares for him. It wasn't his preferred option, but half of the employees at the shop had taken the day off for some reason or another. They worked harder than the regular employees did and had finished in half the time which made him think whether it was better to pay for a job completed rather than by the day. "Now that I think about it, I didn't even pay them all that much. Maybe I should hire temporary workers more often."
In the middle of recalling how much money he doled out that day, Makt looked out the window at the dark grey sky. There was a sudden rumble that shook the sky and took the entire tavern by surprise. Makt saw a woman in the distance who looked up and held out her hand as the sky cracked and began to dump water on her head. She frowned and began to run towards the tavern. "I hope she doesn't stay out there too long," Makt would think as she found her way over to the tavern and stood underneath its roof.
It had been so hot that the rain was welcome. Makt knew this time of year brought storms but that didn't necessarily mean water. Makt would watch the woman who simply stood outside the window within arm's reach. He wondered why she simply stood there. Even though she was out of the direct rainfall she was still getting soaking wet and hardly had clothes to be wearing out in the rain. Her pants clung onto her body as she looked about here and there for somewhere to go.
"Would you care for a drink?" Makt asked through the window. He had to repeat his question as he had been interrupted by another thundering roar. Makt didn't have to ask to tell that the woman wasn't really interested in drinking anything here, but to be polite, maybe she should at least come in and rest. The woman gave Makt a sideways glance and obliged to climbing through the window instead of using the door. Makt found himself getting splashed in water, but he tried not to make too big of a fuss. The woman had enough to deal with, with the bartender shouting at her and the rest of the patrons staring.
She grabbed the ale and took a sip of the ale Makt had purchased. He waved his hand and opened his hands wide to show that he wanted a flagon of ale. Makt sat straight on his stool, arms folded on the table with his eyes fixated on the woman in front of him. He decided to let her have her drink in peace as she didn't seem to want to be bothered quite yet. The man's life had been a spiraling vortex of work and magic over the past few months that having a soaking woman climb through a window and drink his ale was the least of his worries. He was maturing but everything was happening way too fast for him to adapt to at the moment.
At long last, the woman met his gaze and Makt felt it was time to ask, "What brings someone like you out to these parts," Makt questioned the woman in an attempt to find some answers. With the clothing that she wore it was quite clear that she was not a faelnir from Graentun. Or at least, she didn't dress like one.
The woman brushed her hair out of her eyes and rubbed her arms. "I'm so cold." The fact that she had been rained on didn't make her feel any warmer either. She was almost tempted to steal and don dry clothes, but then there was always the fact that she didn't want to draw attention to herself. She pushed her drink aside and set her pack on the table, looking unsure of what to do.
Taking off his shirt, Makt got out of his seat and tossed it at his new female friend. "Put that on until we get you some dry clothes, you could die if you catch a sickness you know. Also, there's no need to be shy," the man said, laughing a little as he could no longer hold it. "The names Makt," he then continued. Makt then looked over the woman once more and finally said, "We really need to get you into something dry, I don't remember the last time I've seen someone as drenched as you,".
Makt motioned to the woman and guided her to the back of the tavern where he intended to let her get some privacy. When they were out of sight, Makt took the shirt and tried to put it over the woman's head. "I already have some dry clothes." She said, hugging her pack to her chest as proof. "I just... I ..." the woman wasn't sure what to say. Being a woman definitely had its advantages, as Makt's offering of his shirt just proved, but there was one more thing... it proved that he was a bit of a gentleman as well.
The woman sighed, pushing the shirt back towards Makt she pulled a ribbon out of her hair, "No peaking." she said. She began to strip off all of her clothes, throwing the wet clothing articles upon the counter. She threw on a new tight fitting garment without even thinking. The speed at which she did so might have suggested that she considered wearing a shirt more important than wearing pants.
Despite the fact that she said not to peak it was fairly difficult for Makt do to such for several reasons, probably the biggest being that he was a guy. Other then that though it really wasn't his fault, this woman didn't even give him a chance to turn before she started undressing. Seeing this much of a woman was probably any young man's dream come true.
After she had her chest covered she went ahead and covered her lower body. Her underwear was white. After she was dressed, she threw her wet clothes into her pack. "I'm Seirn," she said aloud. She didn't show any signs of shame for undressing in front of Makt, aside from the speed at which she donned her top. She had noticed how quickly Makt had been to help her so she was going to use him to her advantage.
"You can help me find a bow that looks like this one." She held up a wet piece of paper that had a sketch of a bow on it. "Seen any weapons for sale around here?" She gestured with her arms, taking in the whole area. She thought to herself for a moment, pondering how she was going to press her thoughts towards Makt, but then decided that it would be best just to let the flow take her. "I'm a hunter and I need a bow. This bow in particular. Are you in or are you out?" She lowered her head as she finished by pulling her boots over her feet.
Makt felt like he missing some key words. Makt had seen plenty of bows. He did, after all, spend most of his time in the marketplace. Had he seen the exact bow she was talking about? How was he supposed to know? "All I can do is show you where the bow shops are," Makt said firmly, "and I'll do it because you look and act so out of place that it's probably best if you don't go getting yourself into trouble." Makt didn't want to admit that he was only doing it because his mind was filling with lustful intentions.
Seirn smiled at Makt, then almost toppled over as more thunder filled the tavern. Seirn opened the door and peaked out at the bar tender and shouted, "Thank you for allowing us to use your facilities." He shrugged, what did he care? She looked out the door at all the rain. "On second thought…how are we going to find that bow in this rain? I don't plan on getting soaked a second time today."
Makt shook his head and said, "it's evening. I doubt any of the stores you're interested in are open. How about we try tomorrow morning? I've got a place if you need somewhere to stay…"
Seirn rolled her eyes, "nice try, but if what you said is true then I'll just stay here for the night. I'll see you tomorrow morning." She then walked to the barkeeper and negotiated rates for the night. Makt felt a bit awkward standing there alone and even more awkward when the woman disappeared into a room without giving him a second glance.
"Swing and a miss I guess," he would think as he headed home, "perhaps I will have more luck tomorrow." As Makt arrived home and dried off he had completely forgotten about the bow. All he knew was that he would be spending time with a woman tomorrow.