Long Road to Ruin (Drayden, Cathan, Sondra)

[Kendall Saarinen]

Cathan's wariness of the new member of their group worried Kendall a bit but he tried to keep his sights clear. Prejudice was the reason he had been driven from his home. He had to give this woman her fair chance even if his friend was a little more wary of her. "Well I am excited to see the city even if it is more reformed as you say it is. I have heard great things about it. It seems a good of a place as any to stop while traveling." Although he did not want to admit it, Kendall was happy to hear the city was as safe as he had heard it would be. He was looking for adventure, there was no doubt about that. He was still getting used to everything though. The cycles and motions of being a male were very different from being a female. He needed to learn how to move differently, and fight differently. He was taller than he used to be and his weight was distributed much differently than it had once been. He needed time to find his rhythm again. He was happy to have Cathan by his side for that though. Even though Cathan was more beast than man he was still a man and he had been one longer than Kendall had been. A quick look around the forest made it quite evident that it was too late for Kendall to hunt. He could always have fire at his side to light the way but he was still scared to face the Wildlands even in the day. Morning would most likely be better for him to hunt. "I think I would hunt better during the day. We can use the food we have now and tomorrow we can head out for a hunt. Does that sound good?" Kendall was not sure if the Konti felt comfortable hunting at night. For all he knew, she loved to go running around in the dark. "Don't let me stop you two if you want to do though. I can keep an eye on the fire." He smiled at the words. He found more in fire than most men in his situation. Although, he was not sure there were any other men in his situation… A hint of blue caught Kendall's eyes as he looked over the Konti. There was something familiar about the sight. He stood up and saw in certainty what the mark was. It matched his own which burned of red, wrapping around his wrist. He was not sure whether to speak up about it. The previous Azenth he had met was more open about her mark although she seemed quite open about everything. This woman seemed much more reserved and he did not want to risk the end of her hammer because he asked the wrong question. Instead he pulled his sleeve up to show the red flames. "It is nice to see someone else touched by Ivak." He wanted to ask the woman how it happened, if only to compare it to his own experience. He wanted to know he was part of something even as he was leaving home. "You were touched by Ivak, right? I only ask because of the mark on your neck" He hoped she was one of the Azenth. If not, he could have just made an enemy with a large and powerful weapon. He had Cathan at his side but Kendall had a feeling this woman could take the two of them if the situation truly called for it.

[Cathan]

Cathan looked from Sondra to Kendall, then nodded. "I will get the food," he offered, already headed towards the saddle bags. Back in Zeltiva he had bought a few supplies, not much, just enough for the case luck was not with them on their hunts. A large part of his rations consisted of dried meat, but there was also bread and cheese and a few other things. He picked plenty of everything.

Finding himself a dry spot to sit, the Kelvic probed his knife into the corned beef. I was harder than raw venison, the tip of the blade not sinking deeper into the meat than the meager quarter of an inch. "You want to cook the meat?," he asked, the question not directed at anyone in particular. "You could probably cook a soup from it. Or we just eat it raw, with bread and cheese." With a little force he yanked the knife free, his eyes hoovering over Sondra for the blink of an eye before settling on Kendall for an answer. The young man was just in the process of pulling up his sleeve.

A red mark was running around his friends wrist. Cathan had seen similar things before. The sailors in Zeltiva had called them tattoos and they could come in all shades and forms. The Kelvic was not entirely sure how they were done, they did not seem to fade with time or frequent washings, but then he figured someone in so frequent contact with water as a seaman would find the circumstance rather practical.

Turning his attention back on the food, he started to carve generous slices for all of them. With half an ear he listened while he created small piles of food on a piece of linen he had bought the same day as the rest of his supplies. A long moment he eyed them critically, before shifting a few pieces around. Seemingly satisfied, the Kelvic started to pass the food out, careful not to interrupt the ongoing conversation.

Ivak. He still glanced towards Sondra, scanning her neck with much curiosity and little shame. You should know this, Cathan thought irritated. I have heard about such a thing once, or have I not? The Kelvic felt unable to tell. It was there, like the faint shadow of a story he had heard once, so long ago he could not even decide who might have told him the story or when. Or why.

Amber eyes wandered back to his own pile of food, picking up a piece cheese. Like the meat it tasted faintly salty. It was better than fruits he found, but barely so. Wolfing down a large chunk of it, he concentrated on the conversation again. He gained the feeling the two were not talking about mere skin decoration. Watching Kendall he could sense a certain tenseness in the other man, one he did not know the source of. Again he scanned over the pale woman. Maybe the marks had something to do with magic? He shook his head. No, that doesn't make sense.

[Sondra]

Sondra was half startled by Kendall's question, her mind steeling itself to trudge into the darkness. She almost forgot there was a season she had thought herself part of something greater. Perhaps she still was, would the gods forget as easily as her? "Yes," she pronounced the word slowly, growing accustomed to the idea. "It was a rather strange experience receiving it. Being set on fire suddenly isn't a usual afternoon for me." The Konti smirked, "So we are both marked, the gods scrawling their names on their toys." She shrugged as she resumed her seat, "At least they took notice. I am grateful for that." Idly the Konti removed her glove and stuck her delicately webbed fingers into the flames, proving the blue swath of fire was more than a mere tattoo. She did this with an even expression and made little show of the rare talent. "I knew others, ones far more blessed than I." There was a brief pang as she thought of Leo. Gone without a word. It was a lesson on the perils of laying trust at another's feet. But the gesture had not been one-sided. If he saw her now, she had an inkling he would be disappointed. An unpleasant thought among many. "How'd yours come about?" Cathan then began pulling rations from his bag and passing them out casually. When he gave her a sturdy helping she looked at it dumbfounded. Who in the gods' names would give food so freely in such meager times? "Lady Lis, Cathan. You make me nervous just handing out food like that." She pushed her hair back from her forehead, a nervous tic. "Like you're trying to fatten me up for something." Sondra was not accustomed to easy generosity. Everything had a price.

[Kendall Saarinen]

Cathan's ever present ability to think farther ahead than Kendall never ceased to amaze him. This was not the first time Cathan had to share his food with him. "Thank you Cathan, I'll cook it. We can hunt tomorrow. I hate taking food without helping to supply it." He held the meat above the fire, barely thinking about the flames climbing up and licking his fingers. His stomach growled as he looked at the meat. He smiled at Cathan's ability to stomach the meat raw. Kendall on the other hand had to cook it in fear of getting sick. His eyes trailed over to Sondra and smiled. "I am quite happy Ivak took notice. I have no clue what would have happened to me if he had not stepped in." Kendall stared into the fire as his thoughts crept back to that day. His brother would have died without Ivak's blessing. He never thought his emotions could peak so terribly until he was staring down at his brother's bloodied face. Poor Layton was simply just following his father's orders. He had to rid their home of the intruder. He wasn't intruding though. He simply wanted to go home when he needed home the most. "The story is painful, as you can imagine. I'm not comfortable talking about the events leading up to the moments that caught Ivak's attention but I can tell you Ivak's blessing saved my brother's life. If his voice had not echoed through my head my brother would probably be dead right now." He hated to make the story sound so ominous. It was truly not his intention. He just wanted to keep the details to himself for a while longer. They were the only truth he had left. Kendall pulled the meat back out of the fire and turned it back and forth in his palm trying to guage how cooked it was. He really was no expert in the fields of cooking and he did not have the slightest clue how to tell if the meat was cooked without biting into it. The meat looked cooked enough, despite a few burnt patches. He sighed and took a bite. The inside was not as burnt as the outside which was a small joy in its own. "I'm going to need to get better at cooking if we are going to continue to travel like this." Kendall sat down next to Cathan and looked out to the wilds around him. He could not deny he was a little scared to be out in the Wildlands in the middle of the night. It made him feel a little safer to know that Cathan was at his side. A wolf would be a formitable ally in a fight right? Not to mention Sondra with her hammer. He tried to calm himself and he clutched the hilt of his sword. "Things will turn out fine, just relax."

[Cathan]

Not a tattooer then, Cathan decided for himself. He would not have guessed so anyway, although the connection to the marks would have been a convenient one in the canine's mind. The additional information did not help the Kelvic understand any better what was going on however. A long second later he came to the conclusion it was not of importance either.

Only when Sondra addressed him his eyes darted towards her, worried he might have upset the pale woman with the uncooked food. Realizing it was not the case the man offered her a brief wolfish smile. "There is nothing to say against some fat in winter. Keeps warm."

As if to support his assertion he pat his belly. Ironically he missed most the fat one might have expected after his declaration. Game had been sparse in Zeltiva and most his hunts had lead him towards the port to unburden some fisher from the weight of his catching. Many had thrown away part of their haul anyway, and heads and innards the men found useless had made his meals for quite some time. It had not been enough to grow fat on.

Cathan eyed his future travel companions. "Would say you two your do with some more even." He inclined his head. "And Kendall speaks true, we will find us some fresh quarry tomorrow." Eventually they would even be fortunate and catch some smaller beast in the snares he had bought back in the city. In his youth the Kelvic had seen hunters use them, but it had been a long time since he had last laid hand on one himself.

Sitting back once he had handed the two of them their share, he started to gnaw at his meal, wolfing down larger chunks without much chewing. The moment Kendall reached into the flames however almost got the shapeshifter jump to his feet. His own instincts and the fear of the dancing red however only let him raise half from his crouch, before he sat back again. Flames licked hungrily against the young man's fingers without scorching them. A surprised sound escaped his lips, the noise resembling a growl.

It wasn't until Kendall sat down by his side when Cathan cleared his throat between bites. "You know... I got a pot back in Zeltiva. Actually to preserve some furs if we come across some foxes, however I think you might want to use it for cooking instead," he suggested. "I am not very good making food, so it will be better if you two give it I try I would think."

Absently he chucked another piece of cheese from his pile looking from Kendall to Sondra and back. Whatever their marks meant to them, the Kelvic felt it connected the two in a way he could not fathom. Some might have irritated the idea. Cathan merely interpreted it a good sign for their coming travel. All of a sudden he was looking forward to their journey again.

[Sondra]

A laugh snorted through Sondra's nose when Cathan recommended they fatten up for winter. Not a bad idea, but it was tough keeping a healthy weight when you spent your scarce Mizas on booze. Sondra showed little discretion in how prepared her meat. It was dried and it was edible that proved enough. Dainty preparations were long past, as were the days she curled her lip at an ill-poached egg. Always blunt, Sondra answered Kendall, "Course you don't want to talk about it. Sounds like a shyke memory to me. I was just having a little chat and there it came. There were other things too," Like the Alvina, the triad, the appearance of Ionu... "But nothing worth mentioning." Cathan’s quick growl at Kendall’s trick with the fire made her ears perk. Couldn’t blame him. Jamming your hand in fire was stark opposition to common sense. But the man recovered himself enough to talk about supplies. “Cooking?” She gave a half grin, “I’ll make bold men of the both of you with mine.” OOCMind if I speed things up a bit? If so I can go back and edit, no problem . I’m also talking to Dusk about adding a bit of peril… The evening went a little longer before Sondra began to set up her tent for sleeping. It was tedious work fumbling in the dim and cold, but habit and temperament had trained her to not ask for help. It wasn’t long before she was rolled in layers, staring at the peaked roof of her tent. She had been lucky, she thought, to chance upon a benevolent pair. There was something personable, maybe even good, about them. It didn’t mean her hammer was out of reach, or her caution absent, but she suspected she might sleep easier. Her suspicions were poorly founded. Sondra shot awake with a cry, sweating despite the omnipresent cold. She felt cloyingly ill and her mouth was full of a metallic taste. She contorted in her blankets, eventually kicking to remove them. Her boots and hammer were sloppy afterthoughts as she stumbled into the fresh, biting air. Her heart retched as her malingering dream began to play back. It was another borrowed sin. She had absorbed so many in such terrible emotional detail they had begun to infiltrate her own psyche. All the others’ guilt was threatening to spill into her own. While her head might understand it was not her pain to claim, her gut could make no such distinction. It just wanted to vomit, clotted with shame. Sondra moved to the outer edges of the camp, leaning against a tree to keep from toppling over. Her hammer was serving as an impromptu cane. A sudden sound made her heart jump. She lifted her head and peered warily into the dark.

[Kendall Saarinen]

OOCSondra: No problem at all. I can't wait to see what Dusk thinks up (and a little scared). Cathan: I assumed Cathan would help with the tent set up. I can change it if he wouldn't have helped though. Kendall should have been used to how blunt people could be. Cathan had a habit of not sugar coating things too often. He was surprised to hear the Konti speaking in such a calm tone about her marking. He had assumed that those who got the attention of Ivak would have some dark stories but he was happy Sondra had not gone through pain like he had. Maybe there had been something else that happened to her though. Kendall tried not to think about it. He did not want to think of what could have happened. The meat tasted a bit charred but that was to be expected. He forced it down with a few gulps and then looked at Cathan. "Sorry, I didn't meant to scare you." He had been a bit reckless to just shove his hand in the fire. He had become so accustomed to the fire that he rarely thought about who might be watching him. "Note to self for when we get to Syliras. Be careful around fire." It was a bit ironic. He should not have been scared to be seen around fire. In his mind it was his friend and his safety. Others did not think as kindly about Ivak as he did. For Cathan it was a bit different. He was not concerned with the more mystical portion of the happening but more with the fact that the happening was unnatural. The night had brought pangs of drowsiness. It was time to set up the tent. Kendall looked over to Cathan and motioned for him to come to his side. "Can you help me set up my tent?" He knew he would not be able to set it up alone. He looked awkwardly to Cathan as they began to work. He did not want Cathan to feel as though he had to sleep outside but he also was not sure how comfortable the kelvic would be if he asked him if he wanted to share the tent with him. He stayed silent throughout the set up. He was trying to think of the right way to bring up the question. Once the tent was up Kendall felt his heart racing. He needed to ask Cathan. The kelvic had done so much for him, even if it was not major things. He had to make him feel like Kendall trusted him enough to let him share his tent. "Uhh… Cathan. You are welcome to sleep in my tent if you want. Er… only if you feel comfortable of course. I just did not want you to feel like you had to stay outside to sleep." Sortly after it was time to sleep. Kendall knew that sleep would not come easy. He was nervous beyond belief. His father had spoken about the things that went on in the Wildlands. Every little crack and breeze seemed to send a chill down his spine and make him jump. He worried it would upset Cathan but he could not help himself. What if a bear or a robber decided to rip through his tent? He was scared that everyone and everything in the Wildlands was out to get him. When sleep finally claimed him a shout shook him from his sleep with a scream of his own. To his embarrassment the scream was a little more feminine than he felt it should have been. What was out there? Was someone hurting Sondra? He was ridden with fear but he inched his way to the opening of his tent. Outside he could see the faint outline of the Konti woman in the light of the moon. He was about to go out and see if she was okay but a crack shattered the silence. He felt as though he should go out and make sure whatever made the noise wasn't going to hurt Sondra but he was paralyzed with fear. He had never fought against wild animal or even another person besides his brothers. He felt ashamed but he was a scholar not a fighter. "You can do this Kendall, go check on her." Kendall slowly looked out of the tent and peered around, looking for whatever made the noise. When he finally reached Sondra's side he looked at her silently. "Are you okay?" He was not sure what else to say. That face he made it to her side was a miracle in of itself.

[Dusk]

Silence descended on the camp following that rustle deep in the woods. No insects buzzed, no birds called out sleepy song or creaked the branches of nearby trees. Even the fire had died down as they slept, giving neither comforting crackle nor reassuring light. Complete silence, utter and deafening, the sort that pressed so thick upon the listener's ears that they couldn't be sure if they had actually gone deaf. Only the sound of their quickened heartbeats answered them. Four heartbeats, ten heartbeats. "Are you okay?" Kendall's voice shattered that silence and tossed it to the ground at their feet. Before he'd even finished his question, a terrifying chorus rose up around them. Unearthly, hard to credit as even a mortal sound if you had never heard it before. And it came from everywhere, impossible for Sondra and Kendall to really know how many throats echoed the cry. Cathan, who knew the language they spoke, would also know that there were seven voices that called out to the night and let the forest know that this pack had found its prey. Winter was harsh in the Wildlands, after all, and food was scarce. They had no care for Cathan's scent, and would bring him down along with his companions.

[Cathan]

Cathan did help his friend to set up the tent, close to the fire place and still far enough away so no stray spark could set the fabric ablaze. The Kelvic was rather pleased with the result, even when the makeshift dwelling was leaning slightly to the left, not all guys were pulled as tight as they could have been. After a moment of thinking the shapeshifter corrected the later until he decided the tent would last through the night even when some snow weighted down on top of it. More to himself than Kendall he nodded.

“Don’t mind where I sleep. Inside the tent is fine, beside the fire is as well.” He had spend more night under the sky than he had done in the comfort of a house or even a shed. The cold did neither worry nor bother him. Not when his own pelt kept him warm and and the smoldering fire pit would radiate heat well till the morning hours.

“Someone should have an eye on the fire anyway,” Cathan nodded to the remaining wood gleaming beside the tent. “But I will put some of my belongings into the tent, if you don’t mind that is.”

The Kelvic could not imagine that would be the case. Already most his possessions resided in Kendall’s saddlebags and there was more than enough room for some additional pieces of clothing. And in the four years of his life the shapeshifter had learned that a no shirt was better than a wet shirt in winter. The later just tend to stick to your skin after a while and when you wanted to get out of it again you could be lucky if it left your hide intact. No, in that regard Cathan was not all to different from his human counterparts. He liked his clothing dry. If he had to wear some at all.

Once both of his travel companions had vanished into their tents the Kelvic slipped out of coat and breeches, dropping both into the darkness of Kendall’s tent without actually entering. Seconds later he lay, rolled up, next to the fire place, sleeping. Slumber had always come quick to him, especially in the woods, surrounded by the familiar sounds of the wild.

He had not dozed for too long, when a scream startled him from his night’s rest. A second followed, again from within the encampment, this time from Kendall’s tent. The Kelvic got to his feet, wide awake. Already he totted over to the man’s shelter only to see his friend step outside a moment later, heading for a figure on the other side of the camp. Sondra.

The wolf’s ears twitched. The young man had almost reached the Konti. Both appeared unhurt, from what the Kelvic could tell. He hesitated.

Something was wrong.

It was no movement. He could make out nothing in the dark surrounding the campground just yet.

It was a sound. Faint first, but quickly growing louder as one voice was answered by six others, loud, hungry. Cathan knew the sound just too well. He did not halt any longer, instead starting after Kendall, closing the distance between himself and his two travel companions.

[Sondra]

OOCAwesome sound effects. Even though she heard him coming, Sondra startled at Kendall’s questions. “Yes… no.” Poor kid, she'd probably startled him from blissful dreams. It was good of him to leave the warm cocoon of bed to check on her in the cold. The sound came rolling on the back of shadows. It was a mournful alien noise to her, but it had more right to inhabit the wilds than she. What she hated most about the sound was the sense of searching and wanting. It gave a terrible knowledge: something out there longed to discover and devour. “Gods, so many…” she marveled staring into the seemingly hollow dark. Sondra clenched her jaw, the happy illusion of safety was being sucked from the air. The troubling nature of a dream quickly shriveled in comparison to the baleful song of predators. “Weapons, if you have them, get them.” Her hammer became less of a cane and more of a weapon as she automatically raised it in her hands. Sondra turned to check the camp only to see Cathan quickly approaching as a wolf. Instinctively she slid to stand between Kendall and the beast. Without a word, only a hiss of breath, she swung her hammer towards Cathan’s head. Regardless of what she felt, there was a certainty in her steel-colored eyes. In retrospect, it might have been a good idea to inform the Konti of Cathan’s true nature.