PM to join [Flashback]Syliras, The short route (Edelweiss, Jervis)

[Jervis Hill]

Vespura River, Cyphrus Region
50th of Summer, 513AV

Jervis glanced back watching the river snake lazily into the distance, the grass slightly swaying in the cool swing breeze. He'd managed to convince a large fishing vessel to take him across the inner sea though the only thing he could pay them with was labour. Still the captain was knowledgeable and kind, he'd worked him hard for the space he'd taken and the trip but had dropped him at the mouth of the Vaspura river.

The captain had told him to follow the river until it widened and then head east. Jervis had heeded the man's advice travelling til this point. It was about five bells and he knew he could go farther, Indeed wanted to get out of this area for now in case the old lady had sent pigeons out to her old friends in the area to find him and stop him. Still without a compass it would be safest to stop here and start out in the morning.

He knew this must be the place the captain had meant as the river got much wider here. A small cluster of trees caught his eye and he made his way over, unhitching Marble after arriving and leading him over to the river five feet away and hitching him there so he could eat grass and drink. It was marshier here than in some of the area he'd travels though so he cleared a small fire pit near the river bank, lining it with stones. Least he could make himself something hot tonight for a change. Thinking of that he started to get out his fishing equipment thinking if he had time he might as well try to get some food.

As he came out of his wagon, line and hooks in hand he was stopped by a strange sight. It was a wagon much like his own in the distance, being pulled by some sort of deer with bells on the harness that jingled merrily as the creature trudged along.

That wasn't the strange part though, It was the fact that it appeared to be meandering along without a driver that bewildered him. Perhaps the driver had been ambushed by bandits and fighting had driven the poor beast away. He felt sorry for the poor thing, wandering lost without his master so he approached slow and friendly. Perhaps he could find clues to the owners whereabouts among any remaining possessions in the cart.[/color]

OOCI've tried to fix the color or font of the text but had no luck, anyone knowing more about how to fix this exactly, Please help as code is something I know nothing about.
"Jervis's Speech"--"Jerviss's Thoughts"

[Edelweiss]

Edelweiss had one heck of a time working all the straps. Stepping through it as a human only to shift it all into place as an elk. Trial and error but it had gone much smoother than the first time he had attempted it. That the harness was built for his size must have helped. So as he hitched himself with everything safely packed into the chest and locked; he had set out at a leisurely walk. He didn’t even know where he was going as the sun beat down on his white fur.

The day was beautiful, bright and warm with a faint breeze that brought the scent of fresh grass to his nostrils. Ah but he was hungry! He hadn’t had time to alter the harness straps enough that he could eat while walking, something that horses didn’t seem to do if the straps were even on correctly. Still the wagon rolled along behind him and his bells rang; delighting him to no end. They had been a last minute purchase. An older woman had made and sold them. Bright, silver and shining they had such a pretty sound.

He came out of his day dreams about more bells and shiny things when he spotted a human. Well it could have been a human, it was hard to tell they all seemed alike to him. Well no, that wasn’t true. He could tell women and men apart quiet clearly; and ages. This one was an adult, if it was even human. There was also a cart and a little pony like horse; the man must have been traveling. It was a good day for it after all. In high spirits Edelweiss was ready to pass the pair only for the man to approach him.

This was different. He had passed another fellow but the man had taken one look at him then turned away; this one was approaching him. Curious he slowed down, the wagon making him have to take a few steps more for its weight to stop before he was still and peering at the male was bright gray eyes. He was making soothing sounds. Confused Edelweiss looked around trying to decide what the man was doing; and suddenly it became clear to him that the man was doing it at him!

This was more amusing than the bells, enough that he snorted and shook his head sending said bells chiming madly. There were three on each side of his harness, glittering and flashing as the sun hit them. His wagon itself was a deep and warm red. The wood lovingly buffered and polished over the years. An equally old but well-loved cloth covered the top tight enough to bounce away stones and as white as his fur despite its age. He gave his head another shake but kept still, wanting to see just what the man would do to him once he drew enough courage to get closer.

He had only one tin on his antlers, hardly grown but it was sharp and could hurt someone if Edelweiss tried hard enough. He supposed if he were a normal elk this might be dangerous but he stood placidly and just watched. Such a brightly colored human.

oocSorry about that, fixed the spelling and grammar mistakes of doom.

[Jervis Hill]

The beast snorted and shook his head sending said bells chiming madly. Thinking he'd spooked the poor creature and not wanting it to run off before he could help he spoke soothingly as one would to an injured child. He hoped his words could calm the animal.

"Tis okay, Noble beast. I mean no harm. It seems you've lost your master and I only seek to see if I can help. You seem to have been pulling that wagon for a while, come to my camp and let me help you out of it to rest." Jervis continued forward slowly reaching out to place his hand on the harness hesitantly as he finished speaking.

He probably couldn't help the owner at this point but at least he could help this creature, roaming driverless through the plains would only kill it or cause it to suffer and Jervis couldn't allow that to happen to a poor lost beast.

"Jervis's Speech"--"Jervis's Thoughts"

[Edelweiss]

He laughed but it made no sound, instead it sent his muscles shivering through his body. ‘So I am Noble then?’ This indeed was a pleasing thought, but he had to face fact that without a larger pair of antlers he was far from being noble. Oh one day he would stand quiet proudly and full grown but for the moment he supposed he would let the human think of him as such. He doubted the man had seen many elk, he had seen them in warn old books but these elk looked nothing like him and he suspected the book had not been updated in a very long time.

The offer to unload and rest for a while was an appealing one. He had been pulling the wagon for most of the day and he was really hungry! He needed to find someone that was good at these straps and have them help fix it so he could lower his head and eat as he walked. The few attempts at trying had the straps tightening around his chest and rump like a vice. It nearly sent him in a panic of kicks. Wanting to rest he didn’t bat an ear as the man placed his hand on him. Instead Edelweiss gave a soft snort to try and appease him. It was sad he couldn’t talk like this.

He would let this human take off all the horrid straps, than at least he would spend a good bit of time trying to untangle himself when he shifted. Nothing like getting your skin pinched by a metal clasp to remind you these things were not made for human skin. Moving slowly Edelweiss bowed his head so he could just pull the straps up and over him without worrying the buckles. Another thought, maybe he could get a new type of harness made, one that he could just step into as an elk and step out of as one to; that would be such a nice bit of leather working.

[Jervis Hill]

Won't let me delete this one for some reason. sorry about the blank

[Jervis Hill]

Back at his makeshift camp Jervis's hands moved swiftly at removing the harness. He'd done this many times during his short journey, as he looked at the way this one was put on he couldn't help but feel even sorrier for the poor thing. It had been strapped on hastily with little care. It was too loose for one thing, if he'd continued a few more days he'd have chaffed and blistered. Some of the straps were twisted oddly as well.

"Good Deer, You truly are noble to have traveled this far under such poor care. I'll go fetch my brush and get any of the dirt of the days travels out of you're fur. I'll gather some of my grain for you as well, Just wait here friend" With that Jervis set off into his wagon searching for his pack.


"Jervis's Speech"--"Jerviss's Thoughts"

[Edelweiss]

His ears turned up as finally those straps fell away from him, but poor care? Edelweiss looked down at the limp harness and wondered if he had messed up so badly that he was suspected of being abused. Come to think of it he was quiet sore, but he had just assumed he’d been getting new muscles. Well darn it! ‘Stupid straps, stupid man who made them!’ Those poor wretched horses pulling things back and forth, they must hurt far worse than he.

As this human promised him a brushing down, Edelweiss gave himself a shake and pranced away from the wagon. Now this he had never felt before. He wasn’t sure if he wanted a brush that had been used on a horse put to his fur but he was willing to give it a try just to see what it felt like. He had been stroked and pet but never brushed. The grain on the other hand wasn’t as nice a thought. Looking around he found a nice patch of grass and with a few step was then grazing.

Grain often had dust in it, and that made him thirsty; plus if he was that hard up on food he could go buy some. His father gave him a week’s ration to get by with at the beginning. Stretching out a leg he turned to peer at his side. Indeed his white fur was dirty; grass seeds clung to him in a few places and he had a burr on his leg. Lovely. He moved through the camp, mindful for where he stepped. He saw the forgotten fishing equipment and came to mind of his own. No way was he eating horse food.

[Jervis Hill]

"Ah here we are." Jervis said as he emerged from his wagon and a stone bucket he had shaped for heeding Marble. The bucket held the same amount of feed he'd give marble for a days travel. Though he'd love to offer the beast more he couldn't afford it during his flight.

"Tis the best I can offer I'm afraid and poor fare indeed after what you have been through but I hope it will fill you belly." He said as he placed the feed bucket near the creatures head. He payed no mind to whether the creature would eat it or not, he knew not enough about the beast to know if it was a grain eater.

Instead of worrying he set about his next task of grooming, He began brushing down the creatures right side, getting all of the grass seed and dirt out. The creature was such a beautiful color that he decided to use some of his water flask to wash spots of dirt on the creature he could find as he went as well. It took time but this appeared a well trained creature as it hadn't tried to run away. Finishing with the right side he proceeded with the same ritual on the left finishing the remaining water in his flask.
He was thirsty from his work but he'd tend to himself after he was done with the deer.

Spotting a small stone he grabbed a small stone in his left hand and quickly manipulated it into a crude, dully pointed spike to suit his next task. He reached down his left hand gripping the deer by the ankle giving it a small tug for him to lift so he could clean it's hoofs from dirt. He held the new tool in his right hand.

"Jervis's Speech"--"Jerviss's Thoughts"

[Edelweiss]

Edelweiss looked at the food, it smelled tempting but he knew it had to cost and he could manage his own food without taking the horses. With a flick of his ears he turned his nose instead to the grass at his feet. While smelling sweeter it would take a lot more to fill him. Those bubbling thoughts of his stomach flew away as the brush touched him and slid down his side. ‘Wow! I wonder if I could pay someone to do this now and then.’ Shivering he relaxed and let his eyes slide closed.

He started to doze even until the brushing moved to a new side. He only bothered to open his eyes for a moment before drifting closed again. He was completely relaxed as more water was spilled down his side and the last few tangled were worked out of him. he did feel bruising on his side from the buckles after all. That was a bit of a mood breaker but nothing compared to his leg suddenly being grabbed. Eyes flying open he snorted and moved away.

This poor fellow really didn’t know what and elk was. Having moved away he looked at what the man held, a hoof pick. He didn’t have hollow feet like a plodding horse, he had nice sharp toes. Looking at the human he moved just a bit further away before he shifted. Instead of a white elk; a white and male man stood naked as the day he was born. “I have to say you are very nice. I don’t think many people would go up to a strange animal and let them out of a harness then groom them, but elk don’t have hooves like horses.” Thanks to the man’s work he was dirt free even like this.

His skin was pale enough to see blue veins in a number of places; and his white hair and eerie gray eyes only added to the effect of a ghost. “Oh, and thanks for the feed offer but you should keep that.” He was making no attempt to cover himself, smiling warmly at the man before him. He did reach up and pulled a bit of grass from his hair. He returned his gaze to the human and smiled warmly again. “My names Edelweiss by the way; what’s yours?” His voice was soft, neither high nor low as if he couldn’t be bothered choosing a pitch.

[Jervis Hill]

He didn't move to stop the beast as it moved away though he didn't understand what he did to startle it so.

Jervis started and fell flat on his backside when the elk transformed. He hadn't expected a kelvic though he had heard of them. The journal he had trained with mentioned them, also mentioning that he'd find no aid from them with his ability.

“I have to say you are very nice. I don’t think many people would go up to a strange animal and let them out of a harness then groom them, but elk don’t have hooves like horses.”

“My names Edelweiss by the way; what’s yours?” The kelvic continued his voice soft.

"Well that was a surprise." Jervis laughed and rubbed his bright red locks with his dark left hand. "I could not stand by and see an animal suffer, or at least what I thought was a beast suffer. I thought you an abandoned wagon so was going to try to help but it seems you needed none really. Sorry I must say your the first elk I've met and indeed spoken with. I'm Jervis Hill by the way."Jervis said getting to his feet and extending his left hand towards the man in greeting.

"Jervis's Speech"--"Jerviss's Thoughts"