You're A Long Way From Home Mr. Reed

[Lilythe Rivers]

Lilythe was down by the river, cleaning some fish she had caught as she dried off after a quick swim. Her clothes were laying on the bank beside her to dry as she had also washed them in the river while she swam. Her bow and quiver were laying right beside her in case she had need of them, and her hunting knife was in her hand.

She glanced up periodically to keep an eye on her otter, Hunter. She had found the now large creature a few month ago. It's mother had been killed by a poacher, and it was the only one of the creatures pups still alive. The kind young archer, who had always had something of a gift when it came to dealing with animals, had taken the creature home and raised it herself. The normally vicious creature was rather sweet, to her anyway, and it made a good guardian. Of course, it wouldn't harm anyone unless they threatened Lilythe or Hunter. It made a rather nice snuggle buddy too.

She finished cleaning the last of the fish and put it in a large bag she used to haul fish and game. She'd have to smoke it or salt it when she got back to her treehouse, but before she did that she needed to clean up. She smiled as she raced up the back a bit to a spot where a fallen tree jutted out over the water. She pulled herself up onto the trunk quickly and raced out until she was in a spot where the water was deep enough to jump in. She dove into the relatively clear depths of the water, popping up again with her hair now soaked and began swimming after her otter. To anyone passing by it would probably look rather strange, seeing a girl swimming in the river and playing with an otter.

[Arthur Reed]

Arthur moved through the woods with a silence that was beyond the realm of human hearing, his eyes piercing through the woods as he heard the sound of the river and the sound of those in it not far off. What ever the creature was it was clumsy, moving around like it had not a care in the world about what might be moving up on it. Probably some deer that did not realize its predicament and now Arthur would  remove its head for the fatal mistake taht it was committing, after all he needed to eat and he needed something to take his mind off the lannister murderers that killed Eddard stark.

His hands tightened around the shaft of the spear, smooth in his hand with the sturdy head at the tip reflecting off the light for half a second. His hands drawing it back and his feet moving closer to the creature. For a moment Arthur hesitated, wondering if he would really test himself on such a thing as that and with his hands tightening he was sure and stepped through the brush. His hand shot out like a snake but before the spear could leave his hand he stopped and stared at the woman that was in the river without a word coming from him. He only stood there, and stared.

After all, he had randomly found someone swimming alone in the woods with no one else for a few leagues now.

[Lilythe Rivers]

Lilythe finally managed to catch up with Hunter and was resting her arms on the otter's belly as it floated on it's back. She glanced up at the bank and saw a man standing there, staring at her. She quickly ducked under the water, swimming quickly for the shore with her otter following close behind at a small signal from her. She resurfaced a few feet from shore, the girl hadn't really been far out to begin with, and quickly swam the rest of the way to the bank.

The young archer crawled out onto the bank, not really caring about her dismal state of dress. She didn't even bother to try and grab her clothes. Instead she reached for her bow and quiver. She slung the quiver over her back and pulled an arrow from it. She didn't place it on the string, instead she held it in her hand. Her reddish brown hair, still slick with water, fell to about her waist, and her bright green eyes glared fiercely at him. Hunter was right by her side, though for now he merely stared at Arthur. She had a bit of a problem when it came to trusting others, having little contact with people tends to do that after all. Something about her posture and the look in her eyes showed that she could easily fire the heavy longbow in a matter of seconds if she had too.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" She called, eyeing the man who was much farther up the bank than she was.

[Arthur Reed]

He watched the woman without moving so much as an inch, his eyes staring her down and raising a brow once more as she touched a bow and quiver. She hadn't even bothered with clothing and the otter at her feet annoyed him a bit but he shrugged it off as his eyes returned to her face and with the spear lowering, although only by a small bit, he motioned for her to drop the weapon. He wanted her to put the bow down or he would have to be forced to take her as a brigand herself as she had not explained her being here outside of maidenpool with no one else around. His men would not be far off and all it would take is a click of the object in his free hand to tell them where he was.

So he remained stonefaced, his eyes fixating on her for a few long moments and then on the bow before then pointing to the ground again. She would drop it, and he would learn why she was here and why she had a bow like that before he let her run off to possibly hurt someone or spy for some lannister. His hand even tightened on the spear again as his eyes shot at her like darts, waiting for her to make the wrong move and for him to have to call for help in the form of the men he brought with him searching the forest like he was for Lannister scouts.

[Lilythe Rivers]

"Oh, you want me to drop my bow? I don't think I will. What reason have I to trust you? I live in these woods. I've fought bandits, bears, even a few of those idiots with the lion banners. I have nothing to fear from you. If it makes you feel better though, I will put this away," She called back, sliding the arrow back into her quiver. It wasn't really that much of a difference to her whether she had an around in hand or not, but he had no way of knowing that. She glared at him as she did so. This was her home, and he was intending to order her around? He could at least answer her questions before issuing silent commands. This was her forest. The only place she really felt like she belonged.

The man before her did look rather sure of himself, and the spear he carried was rather sinister looking, but she wasn't afraid of him. She had faced brigands, drunken idiot soldiers, and bears. A man with a spear was nothing for her to be afraid of. The few men that she had seen had expected her to be an easy target for their own fun. The had looked like soldiers, and when she had found their small camp later she had seen some kind of banner bearing a lion, which she believed was one of the major houses, but she wasn't quite sure. The archer didn't really care what house they belonged to at the time, Lilythe had been more interested in taking out the drunken fools who had tried to harm her. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence. She was a lone girl in the woods, most men wouldn't find her dangerous, but she had made sure to show them the error of their ways, just as she would with this man if he didn't explain himself to her.

[Arthur Reed]

Arthur stared at her with a turned head and motioned again, the motion simply asking her if she thought he was stupid. Unless she truly surrendered her intent to attack the bow would be on the ground or over her shoulder. Otherwise this girl was trying to fool a trained hunter of the intelligent prey, lion especially. What she said about fighting bandits and lannisters he could care less about, she could easily be lying and until he made sure that she was no threat to his king he would not let her leave here without the assurity that she was not. And even if she didn't his hand made the click three times.

Click. Click. Click.

It would take no more than a third of a minute, twenty seconds, and she would be dealing with the famed Cannogmen, the guardians of the neck. She had to think he was stupid if he was going to simply let her run off without taking her out. As for the... creature at her feet, he was a bit curious as to what would make such a creature stick around a human... Unless. Could this girl be a warg perhaps, it would explain her tendency from the moment he met her for hostile actions and the lack of personal decency in the realm of clothing. Its likely that if she is one she was trapped in something like the otter for too long and now took to its traits. Such a poor girl, perhaps he could help her after he taught her a lesson about not doing as a lord asks.

[Lilythe Rivers]

Lilythe glared back at him but she relented and slung her bow over her shoulder.

"Before I talk to you, I'm picking up my clothes," She called, strolling a few feet to the side where her clothing lay discarded on the riverbank. She slipped into them quickly. She wore a simple of pair of brown trousers, with a deep green shirt and crude rendition of an archer's bracer and a leather vest. The looked back up at him and smirked. Oh he was good, not calling his men until he needed to. 'Must be some kind of noble', she thought as she glanced at the small force surrounding her.

"Scared of a little girl, m'lord? That's a bit unsual for a lord you know," She teased, still smirking. Living outside of society for so long might have made her a little bit more daring when she faced authority. It wasn't her fault really, but she still enjoyed poking fun at them. Especially in light of recent events. Too many soldiers had been charging through her woods and scaring off her prey lately for her tastes. She had such an easier time before this stupid war. She supposed her opinion might change if she was a soldier, but women didn't become soldiers, or else she would have been on sooner. Instead, she was a lonely little archer living on the edge of Maidenpool and surviving off the land. A rather good archer mind you, but apparently not good enough for any lord.

[Arthur Reed]

Arthur gave her a bored look and clicked the small device in his hand twice more, an all clear sign that would leave him fine. Moving towards her he looked her over then pushed her out of the way with his spear and looked around for anything as he stood there. Like a hot knife through butter his eyes cut along the treeline until he was sure and then he turned back to lilythe and waved with the staff towards some stones for her to sit down on. He wasn't asking her in doing this but rather telling her to sit, his expression clearly making the difference as it was clear in his quiet and wordless look that he was not in the mood for her to resist a direct command. He would then click the device three times again and waited for his men to come to the area.

When they did, it was not the same appearance as Arthur. Unlike Arthur's... feral and eerily silent movement and wordless actions. These men, three in total came out of the woods with the kept appearance of people of status. Not high status, but that of a knight atleast. They looked at the woman before all smiling and starting to set up camp while Arthur turned back around and sat down on another rock. He was facing her and staring, his eyes then going to the otter whom he turned his head to the side to and looked at like he himself were an animal. Most probably thought he was with how he acted. Thinking he was a wolf trapped in a human body with a human mind, hunting his prey. Some even thought he ate humans he killed, such stupid theories... the theory about him being in animals though, a different story.

[Ashelotte Sand]

Lilythe growled, but sat down. She wasn't about to argue with him, at least until she knew who he was. Judging by the way he assumed he had the right to order her around, she guessed he was some kind of nobleman. She noticed the look he was giving her otter and reached down to pet the creature behind one of it's ear.

"His name is Hunter. He won't bite you I promise, unless you hurt me or I tell him too," She assured him, keeping her tone neutral. She had no reason to trust this man, but it was clear that she'd have to get the conversations going.

"Am I going to get any answers from you? Or am I so far beneath you that I don't even deserve to hear your voice. I don't enjoy being treated like a dog. Actually, so far you've treated me worse than a dog, most men at least speak to their dogs.I'm just a simple woodsman. I like off the land and I keep to myself unless I have to fight. I don't harm innocents, I don't rob travelers coming into Maidenpool. I did save a man from drowning once when he fell into the river, and I saved Hunter from being left alone to starve after his mother died. Other than that, I hunt, I fish, and I train with my bow. You've nothing to fear from me," Lilythe explained, keeping her voice calm. She ignored the knights for now. They were merely background to what was to her, a much more pressing matter.

[Solan Dayne]

"Hes mute girl..." One of the knights looked over his shoulder, far older than that of the man that sat before her and was now watching her with his spear on his lap. He smiled though as the words came out of her and he just let her go on before nodding and pointing to his throat as if to agree with the man. The truth was that he was no more mute than her, but rarely did he let his reputation break just like that. It was curious though how she had figured out what he was from her words alone he could tell she knew he was a noble, just with the wrong tells. He did motion with his hands through, making a bow in the air with his hands and aiming the invisible weapon at his knight before letting go of a string that didn't exist.

Then his hands went to his spear to pat it and smiled as he thought to himself. With a moment he made another quick motion that involved him first pointing with a open hand to her before then reaching up and touching his eyes, asking if she can read. Sure it was ineffective but he again cared not for letting those know he was not a mute. This was because it made it all the more fun on the face of an enemy when you whispered to them their last words they would ever hear before killing them. Granted this girl was no enemy for now but it was still a caution he took.

[Lilythe Rivers]

"I see, thank you," Lilythe replied to the knight, nodding appreciatively at him. She watched him wave his hands around and mime shooting a bow with a bit of a confused look on his face. She did understand the motion about reading though. Many people used gestures to speak to her in the marketplace in Maidenpool. She didn't talk very much and many of them thought she was a bit slow.

"I can't read. Never had the opportunity to learn. I'm just a poor bastard that lives in a forest. No family except my otter," She explained, doing her best not to roll her eyes at him.

"As for why I had my bow in hand when you showed up, well I've dealt with enough bandits to know that you can't trust just anyone that wanders into these woods. It was merely a safety precaution for me. You see I like living, and I've gotten rather good at staying alive. I prefer to keep it that way," she explained, guessing that his strange motions before asking if she could read had been about her somewhat hostile response to him.

"And I don't make it a habit to run around without my clothing, but when you saw me in the river I ran for my bow first because I'm a pretty good shot and if you had tried to attack me, being able to defend myself would be more advantageous than being dressed. Though I'm sure you didn't mind too much, most men who come across me after I've been in the river seem to enjoy the sight before I grab my clothing and chase them off," she added, laughing a bit.