Warm Leathers {Allison Lenier}

Illyria was the perfect temperature. Not to hot, nor to cold. Perfectly in the middle, since his city was at the boundary with Valyria. About Valyria. Keaton had to know what the situation was between Illyria and Archeon, with the King and Queen of Fallen Skies. So, he saddled his horse, Amyntas, a pinto stallion. He left Rúnar Skjoldsson in charge with his family. And he brought two strong Illyrians with him. They were also saddling their horses. Once that was done they left the secure walls of Illyria.

Keaton was dressed in his usual leather armor. The armor was perfect to move easily in, to be protected and it wasn’t too warm. They drove through the mountains, slowly getting closer to the border met Valyria. Keaton kept his senses on sharp, knowing there were a lot of dangers here in the mountains. Keaton was carrying a bow and arrow on his back, a sword and knife attached to his belt around his hips and he had his Fire Bending, of course. He didn’t feel threatened or worried or anything, or he was just stupid. His men also seemed to be very relaxed, which made him feel proud of his Legion. They were well trained soldiers, warriors. But he did keep his eyes open for those so-called shades and wraithes. He didn’t even think about werewolves, though, since there wasn’t a full moon.

The rough landscaped of the mountains were left behind and had taken place for a forest. The night was also falling in, so Keaton knew it was time to set a camp. Keaton looked around and heard the rustle of flowing water. He led his men towards the river and found a clear spot. They attached the horses to the trees and grabbed their furs to sleep in. Keaton set a campfire. The water bending warrior filled some bottles with water and the earth bending warrior created some walls as protection. Keaton sat down while listening to the sounds of the forest, while the two men were talking about some adventures. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard the sound of an approaching horse, so that’s when he stood up to take a look.

Illyrians were trained to notice every small sound, movement, anything around them, to stay alert at all times. So, noticing the pace of horseshoes wasn't hard. As soon as he heard it, he stood up, looking around, scanning his surroundings. It was never certain what kind of people you might encounter, especially at this time in the forest. He even expected that whatever they might encounter couldn't be any good. But then he noticed it was just a young woman. Probably even more suspicious. He gestured to his men to stay alert, while he stepped out of the camp, watching the woman to see what she was doing, making sure that she wasn't a threat or anything. She had long, braided blonde hair and had a horse with her. He decided to walk closer, watching his steps and making sure that he was not too intimidating. Oh yeah, Keaton was well aware of how he and his men appeared, with their well-trained bodies and leather armour. Lifting his hand he stroked a lock of his half long brown hair behind his ear and curled his lips up to a friendly smile. "Everything ok, madam?" He asked, watching her while keeping a respectable distance. She didn't overcome as if something was up, he just wanted to be sure. Why would a young, good-looking woman be out on her own? Though he did know not to underestimate a young good-looking woman since he had a few of them in his own legion. He knew what women were capable of.

Scanning the woman he made sure that there were no dangers. He looked over his shoulders en noticed how his men were looking at him. He gave them a curd nod to let them know that everything seemed to be ok. Then he looked back at the woman who answered his question, telling him that was ok aside from the fact that she just had a bit of bad luck during her trip. He believed her. "Alright," he answered, thinking about what he should do next. Leave her? Invite her? He didn't know her and actually, he didn't really care either. "Are you planning to travel further this night?" Was what he decided to ask. She would be rather stupid if she did. Even for a well-trained warrior, it wouldn't be wise to travel through this area at night, let alone a lady. He didn't want to assume, but she did look like a woman who couldn't really defend herself, not against a monster or anything just as dangerous.

But maybe she possed some kind of power, though he doubted that. He heard his men laughing in the background and wished that they were a little quieter. The woman asked him if he was on his way to Archeon. He gave her a nod. "That's right, I assume that almost everyone who chooses this route is on its way to Archeon," he decided to say. He stepped a bit closer and offered his hand, "My name is Keaton Gryphon." He wondered if she knew what it meant that he was Keaton Gryphon, that he was the Chief of the Illyrian Legion and thus the Lord of I'llyria.

Keaton noticed how she brushed her hair with her fingers as if it was some kind of tick. She had done it more then twice now. She told him that she wished that she could travel further this night. That, of course, was not possible, or rather, not smart. Lucky for her, she was smart enough. Then she continued saying that the night was full of terrors. Which was true, so he nodded. "You can say that for sure," he agreed. He looked back at his own camp and men, wondering how they would respond if he invited a stranger to their camp. Het could imagine that his men would be rather pleased with a woman as a company.

He told her that he was on his way to Archeon, by saying that he assumed that everyone who went this way was going that way. Then he got closer to her and introduced himself on which she smiled and acknowledged him. An amused smile arose on his face. She bowed to him and then took his hand. She said that she hadn't expected to find the Chief of I'llyria here. He chuckled softly. "Well, here I am," he responded. Then she introduced herself as Allison Lennier. "Pleasure to meet you," he said in a friendly way. "Since you are not planning to travel any further, I would like to invite you to my camp," was what he offered en awaited her response.