The Road To Ravok (Celestia, Mac, Pi)

[Jeremiah Maccabee]

The 21st of Summer 512 Northern Wildlands Mac waited near the stables outside the Western wall of the fortress city of Nyka. Shin'ta was trying to get her nose into one of his pants pockets. She knew there was an apple hiding in there somewhere. Mac relented and pulled out the apple and held it out for her. The shaggy dirty-white mountain pony peeled her lips back in what looked like a grin and gently plucked it out of his open hand. She contentedly crunched away on it while Mac did another check to ensure that everything was securely tied down on her back. She was a sturdy horse and sure footed in difficult terrain. At twenty-two years of age, she was approaching the end of her useful life in the wilderness. She had been with Mac for a long time and they had developed a strong attachment to each other. He knew her moods and she knew his. It had been a good partnership. He was in no hurry to sell her and get a new one. Mac was not happy. This was supposed to be Rill's expedition. He had taken care of the arrangements and had handled the contract with the others, none of whom Mac had yet met. Then he got into that bar fight. Mac had missed out on the fun, being occupied with activities of a more sensual nature in an upstairs room. The upshot of it was that Rill had a broken leg and the expedition was now entirely Mac's responsibility. “They'd better show up pretty soon or I'll leave without 'em,” he said to no one in particular. Shin'ta nodded her head as though agreeing with him. OOC : If you are joining the party, I ask only that you purchase a bedroll and whatever other sundry items you might find useful in the wilderness. Mac will provide a 4-person tent and we'll assume Rill had already purchased food for the journey. Mac's horse will function as a pack animal and carry all the supplies. I'll adjust the start date if need be. The entire trip will take about 25 days.

[Celestia]

Where do I go again? Did I get lost again?! Celestia thought as she walked around the fortress city walls of Nyka. She remembered she was told to meet up at the stables, but she couldn't for the love of her remember where the stables actually were. She hoped she didn't need to walk into the city gates, for she knew she would get utterly lost in there again. Her sense of direction wasn't so good when it comes to finding people, finding animals on the other hand was a completely different story. Earlier today she had entered the city, for the first time, to buy a few things for the trip. She wasn't exactly sure what all she needed, but she got a few useful things. Like a bedroll, a quiver, some more arrows, things like that. Now all she needed was to build herself a shortbow, which she was pretty good at doing.

Soon enough, Celestia gave up on using her eyes to find out where she was going and started depending on her nose. With her heightened sense of smell, which she had because of her being a wolf kelvic, she could easily smell a stable full of horses. She took one sniff and instantly wrinkled her nose in disgust. I'm near the stable.. Bleh! It smells so bad. Why did I do that?! She shook her head, her nose still wrinkled, and headed in the direction of the horse smell. It took her a good ten minutes to find the stables and once she did she covered her nose with the back of her hand. "Man that smells..." She muttered to herself as she walked forward. She saw a man with a horse there and assumed he was the one she was meeting. "Um hello." Celestia greeted the man then nodded at his horse. She loved those creatures but sometimes their stables were less than lovely.

OOC :

Once this thread gets graded, I will be deducting: 30 gm, and 1 sm.
Items bought: Bedroll, Quiver, Climbing Claws, and Shortbow Arrows (40)

[Piraen Saneka]

Unlike the architecture, there was no uniformity in the dressage of the Nykan people. There were colors everywhere, and none seemed to match. It gave the Kite shifter a headache. Did these people not see that they looked foolish? What, with their brightly colored pants, or scarves, or hats? Piraen sighed in annoyance. He often wondered if it was just he who saw all the colors; that the humans, who were devoid of the ability to see ultraviolet, only saw in simple hues. Either way, that was no reason to dress like a blind child. He shooed away the thoughts; these peoples’ misfortune was no reason to fret. As long as they were happy in their disorganized fashions...Pi shrugged farther into his grey patterned scarf, letting it cover the bottom portion of his face. Where am I going? He slid to the corner of a street, as to not be swept away by the crowd, and peered around. He did recall the mention of a stable along the Western wall. The question was, however, which wall was to the west? Piraen knew little of the layout of this city. In fact, he knew little of even why he was in such a city. Who knows why he took this journey so easily…perhaps it was just to gain some sort of direction in this world. Perhaps it was due to loneliness. Whatever the reason, here he was: something along the lines of lost within this fortress of a city. Piraen rolled his white sleeves up to his elbow, flattened his dark velvet vest and sighed. Where am I, where am I, where am—hmm? Wondering why he had yet to notice the giant crack in the ground, Pi merged with the moving people once more. He gazed in wonder as he crossed over a bridge, baffled by the sheer size of the dent. His eyes followed it in one direction, then the other. He figured the line to run east-west, as most lines did. Well, as most lines Piraen pictured did; it was hard for him to imagine a vertical line running through a city. Using this crack as a reference point, Pi soon found his way out and around the city. Although, once he had cleared the streets and the number of people lessened, it wasn’t too hard to find the stable. Casually, the man meandered into the building. He noted a woman as she entered, nodding as he arrived at the same destination as her. “’Allo there.” His voice chimed lightly. He tugged his heirloom scarf from his features, letting it wrap around his neck. A small, yet toothy, smile emerged. “I suppose this would be where we meet for our little adventure?” It was a good assumption, seeing as the stable was low on visitors at the moment. “Though you aren’t the man I recall as my recruiter.” OOC : Hiya Celestia! ^-^ What are the odds? (I’m Qist, just on an alt account, by the by.) Also, I noticed the tag in brackets says this thread is "Open." I was under the assumption it would be just the three/four of us?

[Jeremiah Maccabee]

He looked them over. The girl was small, almost tiny, and couldn't weigh more than a hundred pounds. She had masses of long, thick, wavy black hair cascading down over her shoulders, and the most intense golden eyes Mac had ever seen. Her smile revealed an impressive pair of canines, which was what gave her away. She looked too young to be wandering around by herself, but she had a determined, no nonsense look about her. Mac could sense a wild side to her. She took a step toward Shin'ta who whinnied and tried to back away. Mac grabbed her halter and held her steady. The young man, on the other hand, was polite, almost genteel. He was well dressed and carried himself with an air of confidence. He had a winsome smile. A closer look revealed the incongruities: eyes with beady black pupils, arms and legs a little too long for his body, facial features thin and fragile looking. Great, he thought. Just my luck Rill would come up with a couple of Kelvics. Mac did not especially care for Kelvics. They were unpredictable and you had to adjust your interactions with them to match their animal nature. That and they were natural followers, making him feel like he had to take care of them or something. On the other hand, depending on their animal form, they could be real useful in a pinch. “Name's Jeremiah Maccabee,” Mac said as he stuck out his hand toward each of them. “Rill broke a leg and is out of commission. I'm his partner and I'll be takin' you to Ravok.” He pointed to Shin'ta. “If you got gear you don't want to carry, Shin'ta will be happy to carry it for you.” He looked at the girl and said, "She can be a little jittery around predators, but she'll get use to you after a while."

[Celestia]

Celestia turned and looked at the man who entered a little bit after her. He seemed like he was going to a fancy restaurant, not walking to another city through the wildlands. Fancy clothes to go traveling in. I wonder what he wears when he actually tries to impress a date. She amusingly thought. She guessed it was probably something even fancier than what he was wearing now, though she wasn't sure how that was possible. Then again, Celestia wasn't fully informed when it came to clothes of the more fancier look. She barely wore dresses when she was young and skirts were rare.

She then turned her attention back to the man who she guessed was the guy in charge of the whole trip. He wasn't young, having a bald head and worn out face. She wondered if he was just a human, not seeing any traits on him that would make her think otherwise. If he is a human, which I'm sure he is, then what is the other guy? He doesn't make me think Kelvic, but he doesn't entirely seem like a human either. Hm...I'll have to ask him, or make him indirectly tell me.

She extended her hand forward to shake hands with the man, Jeremiah Maccabee, who was to be their guide since the other man broke his leg. "Nice to meet ya Jeremiah, I'm Celestia Sylvia." She released his hand and went to grab her gear, which she stuffed in her bag. She stopped to look at Jeremiah as he added something. He knows his races well. She slightly narrowed her eyes at his comment, more from the fact he called her a predator, even if she was one. She didn't hunt horses, just small prey that can be easily caught by one wolf.

"Thanks, I'll remember that." Celestia then took her bag off and slowly walked over to the horse, Shin'ta. She held her hand out to the horse, trying to show she meant no harm. "Please don't be afraid Shin'ta, I won't hurt you." She spoke calmly and softly to her. "I'm just going to strap my gear, which is in my bag, on you." She thought explaining what she was going to do would help. After a few moments of her just standing there with her arm out stretched to Shin'ta, Celestia thought she might be able to move closer. Not too much closer though, she didn't want to spook or scare the horse. "You're safe. Nothing to worry about." She started talking again. She then walked closer, standing a few inches in front of Shin'ta. Celestia stopped and waited to see what the horse would do, prepared in case she raised her front legs.

[Piraen Saneka]

He frowned the most genuine glower he could possibly achieve. As he did not know this "Rill" too well, he really found it hard to muster up enough strength to go all-out with the emotion acting. Besides, even if he trully wanted to feel dejected for the stranger, he really couldn't have. He did, however, empathize with the broken leg tidbit. Piraen knew far too well how terrible a broken limb felt. "That's too bad. Do send him my regards whenever you next see him." Pi's grip on the man's hand was not very strong; the Kelvic favored speed and agility over brute strength. Barring from that, it always was hard for him to put any muscle on. So perhaps it was a forced favoritism. "I'm Piraen. Though, if it pleases either of you, you may call me Pi." Letting go of the man's hand, Piraen gave another decorous nod-smile combination. "Pleasure to meet you both." He chortled, almost forgetting about their fourth wheel. "I mean three." Some might've said he was off his rocker, talking to a horse in such a way. But, as an animal himself, Piraen knew that it felt good to be talked to, no matter what form. Even if the horse didn't understand his words, Pi thought that she would at the very least appreciate them. Who knows, though? I really could be mad. It was bizarre, how the human (or so Piraen assumed) picked up on their female companion's race so easily. To tell the truth, Piraen had naturally thought her to be human. Glancing over to her, he took notice of the subtle, yet clear, things that gave her away. They weren't as obvious as his own, but there were still there: coarser hair, the elongated canines and the amber eyes. Bizarre, how it always seemed to be the eyes that gave a Kelvic away. As she spoke, Piraen was pulled back to the here-and-now: he had, apparently, not been the only one to talk to the horse. He gave a brief chuckle as he watched the pair, also taking a catious step back. Sending a playful wink towards Celestia, Pi spoke. "Yes, because you look so very terrifying, don't you dear?"

[Jeremiah Maccabee]

“Celestia. A pretty name,” Mac said. “For a very pretty young woman.” He tossed an apple to her and eyed her figure appreciatively as she reached up to catch it. “Shin'ta's eminently bribable. Let her eat it out of the palm of your hand.” He turned to Pi and said, “Pi sounds good. At my age short names are better.” He walked around to the other side of Shin'ta and re-checked the cinches. She ignored him because she was more interested in the apple just now. Looking over the short horse's back he said to both of them, “Call me Mac.” He pointed west where the main road meandered between fields and orchards toward low rolling hills in the distance that marked the western boundary of Nyka's farmland. “We'll follow the road as far as it goes, which isn't very far. Then we'll follow a path as far as it goes, which also isn't very far. And then we'll be on our own for the next three to four weeks. If you're not up to the journey, now's the time to say so.”

[Celestia]

She turned her head to the side to look at the other man, Piraen or Pi. She rolled her eyes and said, "Honey, with these canines I can get pretty scary." She then gestured toward her elongated canines, which when she opened her mouth some her canines could be seen. She closed her mouth and glanced at Shin'ta.

"Thanks, Jeremiah." Celestia easily caught the apple in her hands. She put it in her palm then offered the fruit to the horse. Shin'ta happily munched on it, which brought a smile to her lips. "Mac? Alright." Celestia then made sure her own bag was securely fastened before she turned to look outside at the stable, in the direction of where Mac pointed. Three to four weeks? Well looks like I'm the only girl, besides Shin'ta, going on this fun escapade. She wondered how it would work out, her being the only female. It can't possibly be that bad. She shook her head and tried imagining the roads they were going to take. "I'm way up for it, Mac."

[Piraen Saneka]

He slid his hands into his pockets, laughing gently as he did so. At least the pair had some sort of wit and humor; Piraen had tired of spending his days with foreigners, both animal and humanoid, who lacked one, if not both, of said qualities. "Mac, Celestia. Got it." Turning his head slightly, he sent an individual chortle to the woman beside him. Of course, this gesture had to be accompanied by a sly, flirtatious smirk. "You had me at 'Honey.'" Piraen took a step forward, watching the horse carefully as he gingerly rubbed its forehead with the back of his digits. Though his words began to take a more seriouse tone, he kept the half-grin as he continued to speak. "It's more than I have anyhow." Casting his all-black eyes to the girl once more, Pi joked "What am I to do, stare you to death?" After a brief pause, Piraen stepped back to let the pony eat her treat. Only half of his attention was focused on Mac's words, the other half was lazily scattered on other thoughts. For a brief moment, the Kelvic found himself nodding involuntarily. As he ascertained that the Mac had finished speaking, Pi lassoed in some more attention to direct towards responding. "More than ready." He peered at the man as he fixed the gear to the horses back. Suddenly, he realized he had his own property to worry about. The Kite had gotten used to lugging it around, apparently not even noticing its existence anymore. He slid passed the female Kelvic and secured his small pack onto the animal. Piraen returned to his spot before finishing his thought. "I rather dislike being inside the city for too long."

[Jeremiah Maccabee]

Shin'ta slurped up water from the small stream where they had stopped for lunch. Her gray-white coat glistened in the hot mid-day sun. Her tail switched at the flies showing an excessive interest in her rump. Mac had stripped off his coat and vest and finally even his shirt, exposing an impressive collection of scars over glistening muscles. They were climbing the rocky slopes that marked the western side of the fertile plain that surrounded Nyka on three sides. The walled city was still visible in the distance, surrounded by regularly-spaced fields of wheat, corn, oats and other crops. To the south were orchards, lots of them. The overall affect was of a vast, undulating quilt composed of countless squares neatly arrayed in a bewildering variety of colors and textures. Nykans were nothing if not orderly. The road had reduced itself to a trail and would soon become a mere track among tracks in the vast wilderness appropriately called The Wildlands. They were in hill country; a mix of grasses, rock outcrops, dense brush and stunted conifers. Mac's eyes followed the path as it wound its way around hillocks and rocks on its westward journey. He slowly turned 360 degrees, scanning the immediate vicinity. Bandits were known to hide out in these hills, making small raids into the farmlands below, or attacking those who dared venture too far from the city. “We'll reach the marshlands by nightfall,” he said, looking again to the west. “Marshes, bogs, and swamps stretching north and west as far as you can see, heavily forested in some places, nothin' taller than a man in others.” He looked at his companions. “We got a ways to go before we make camp,” he said. “You two doin' okay?” He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. His head pivoted to the left just in time to see something vanish into the underbrush about fifty meters away. It wasn't big, but neither was it small. He nonchalantly retrieved his bow and arrows from Shin'ta. OOC : I have no idea what's in the bushes. Feel free to make something up.