OOC: Brief recall of past events from the last few days.
A town of mad hounds and rumormongers, they said.
Of the poor and the unsavory, they said.
Where the Watch was oft scattered in thin numbers and the mayor was loath to fund their equipment, they said.
A year had it been since the Half-mad Huntress had trod the dusty cobblestone and old dirt paths, and it was relieving to her to know that most, if not all of the populace, had forgotten the escapades of a lost young woman who was foolish enough to presume herself self-sufficient.
And then promptly landed herself on the Wanted list.
Perhaps it had been fortunate enough that she herself was near unrecognizable from the long-haired huntress, covered in grime and oil, or mayhap the Watch would think it too grueling to chase after a figure who would vanish as swiftly as she would come, but Carlotta would not stop to ponder these questions, instead warily choosing to regard her next course of action as she sat down among the brown oaks of the Chetwood, blending in with the dirt and rough-hewn trunks, grey eyes peering about alertly.
The Rohirric woman, Aureliyn, stood at the forefront of her thoughts. A woman close to her age, perhaps more, similar to her in appearance and a shared delight for the disregard of etiquette. What had sealed the beginning of their unusual comaraderie was a rather unruly encounter shared over a pair of drinks.
"Nice armour y'got there."
"What is she saying? I cannot understand her."
In the conversations that followed, there came a time where Aureliyn's companion, Erinthryth, thought it wise to pass the huntress a tankard of mead, bought with Aureliyn's coins. Carlotta remembered the look of indignation as the tankard was slipped into her fingers.
"Oi! Erin, get back my mead!"
"All right, fine."
The next thing that had happened, Carlotta unceremoniously spilled the tankard over the man's armour. Then the challenge came forth, from Aureliyn herself.
"That was my tankard!"
"What're ya waitin' for then, lassie? You, me, outside."
And then came the brawling. Carlotta remembered it well. Pinned to the ground under the weight of the woman's heavy armour, there was not much she could do but headbutt her nose in hopes to get her off, and to attempt to elbow her head. She had managed to sneak in a well-placed blow to the eye beforehand, but the aftermath of being pinned to the ground nearly caused her to lash out in anger. A part of her was grateful for the Watcher's interference - In hindsight, she feared having possibly been unable to control her primal instincts, which she had let guide her in many do or die situations. She did not want to deal with a resurrection of her forgotten and abandoned bounty, nor an unneeded kick to the top of the Wanted list. Blince was luckily there to distract her.
After the commotion, she had snuck out of the Town to douse the ashes and tend to a growing hunger - Staying would have possibly aggravated the Watch, and the last thing she needed was an endless stream of questions that would revive the Watch's interest in her.
Combe, she found, was her salvation. Hunting often brought her to the Inn, where she would gladly exchange some of her game for money to purchase much-needed materials like bowstrings and arrow shafts. It was calming to her, knowing that a part of the small populace was willing to overlook her convoluted history in Bree-town for flesh and food. To her surprise, it was there where she met Aureliyn once more, and brought forth the idea of becoming a travelling companion to her, something Carlotta had begun to entertain of her own merit, for reasons which she attributed to boredom, and curiosity for the Rohirric woman and her 'cooking' companion.
An unexpected suggestion by Blince a day later brought the two of them to the woods of North Chetwood, where they had unexpectedly ran into a young armoursmith by the name of Presley, unexperienced, and foolish too, in her own opinion; Running off into the brigand-infested forest with little more than a poorly-handled axe and shield, all in the name of gathering materials to work his trade with. She decided to put the man to use by offering him a deal, sparing him what little kindness she would bother to show, and began thinking of ways he might become a regular correspondent - Aureliyn was sure to delight at his service.
The woman glanced up at the stars and smirked to herself. As much of a loner she tended to be, she found the idea of travelling with likeable companions - and crafting her own little fellowship - to be vaguely amusing.
