Closed Sometimes Terrible Ideas Are the Best Ideas (Faolan)

[Alea Davenport]

67th Winter, 514

The sun was high in the sky by the time the ferry reached the southern shore of the lake. Alea had been doing well lately, so her supervisors trusted her now to do the jobs that required less supervision. Specifically, today she was being sent to the Southern Trading Post, to purchase supplies that had just come in for the NHC.

When she stepped off the ferry, she picked up the heavy bag of mizas, more than she had ever owned at one time, certainly (though that wasn't saying much). She looked around, trying to figure out where she was supposed to go.

...She had never been here before. Of course, she must have come through when she was sold, but she had not actually left the floating city since she'd arrived. A sense of giddiness rose up in her then. No one was watching, she was just a slave, not their responsibility. Carrying the heavy bag, she walked unobtrusively toward the woods, and once she was a few feet in, broke into a run.

A laugh bubbled up from inside her as she released all her pent-up energy into a sprint, dodging around trees, leaping over underbrush. She was escaping! No more Ravok for her! She finally had money, and now she could go wherever she wanted!

After a chime and a half, she started slowing down. She was well out of sight of the outpost, and even the distant murmur of voices from the bazaar had faded. More importantly, the heavy bag was starting to feel heavier, and awkward since it lacked convenient handles and could only be carried on one side, which made it difficult to stay balanced while running without a bag of pebbles banging into her side.

Her slow trot eventually dissolved into a walking pace, and after about fifteen steps, she stopped entirely and looked around. The woods looked identical in every direction. It was only now that it occurred to her to wonder where she was trying to go. The foolishness of her action hit her then. She didn't even have a map, much less supplies. She had been so focused on running away that she didn't even know where she was running to.

Still, it felt...unbelievable, to be free of the constant eyes, everyone looking down on her, waiting for her to step out of line so she could be punished. She hadn't realized until it was gone how suffocating the city could be, (and how big of entitled jerks its citizens were). She knew she would have to go back; she had no means to survive on her own. But it would be bells and bells before the ferry left again. There was plenty of time to stay out here and still her task done.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan had stayed in the city ever since his altercation with Nolan in the woods on the 20th. He had bought himself new clothes, but had not yet pawned off the items he had stolen from his attacker. The only time he had ventured outside the city was for a hunting trip, but he had been comfortable with that because it had taken him far away from this section of woods and out into the true wilderness. Today he just wanted to get away; he was tired of hiding and wanted the freedom of the woods and the hunt. So he had taken the first ferry out of the city and to the shore. Once on the shore he wandered out into the woods and located a good hiding place for his clothes. Stripping down he stuffed them into the spot in the tree and stretched with a soft groan before shifting into his wolf form. Continuing to stretch out, the wolf heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He shook out his fur with what could be construed as a smile of contentment on his maw before trotting off at a brisk pace in search of something to eat. It didn't take him long to track down a rabbit for his breakfast. He stalked it patiently through the trees, making sure that he didn't startle it. After all he didn't want his meal to get away from him. Just as he was about to pounce the sound of someone running nearby reached his ears. Unfortunately it also reached the rabbit's ears and it took off in search of cover. Huffing irritably he turned his attention to the person who was running through the woods. Tilting his head back his nose twitched a little as he searched for the scent of the person who was breaking the serenity of the forest. The wind wasn't favoring him though as it was barely blowing and it was heading in the wrong direction anyway. A soft growl came from him as he would like to know a little bit about the person before he went to investigate. Either way he was going to have to go see what this person was doing, his curiosity demanded it. Charging forward towards the sound of running feet he let his hearing guide him to the source. As he got closer he allowed himself to slow as he heard the person slow down as well. He was getting close, the person was just ahead of him and he needed to be smart about how he went about observing the wanderer. He had misjudged the distance to the person however and ended up walking out from behind a tree right in front of her. He was a little startled that she was so close. He hadn't anticipated her stopping and so had lost track of her for a moment. Well, now he found himself staring right at her from only a couple hundred feet away. Stopping in his tracks the black wolf stood very still as he watched the girl with the bag cautiously.

[Alea Davenport]

When the wolf stepped out from behind the tree, Alea nearly jumped out of her skin. She was not particularly interested in how beautiful its jet-black fur was; she was too busy wondering if it has plans on eating her. She was flashing back to her time in Avanthal, when exploring the unknown was new to her, and yet, the fear-adrenaline was rather exhilarating. She had been in safety for so long, she hadn't even noticed how much she enjoyed danger now.

She briefly considered looking around for a potential weapon, but just as she was about to drop the bag of coins to maneuver better, she realized, a heavy sack of rocks was all the weapon she'd need. Shifting her grip to better be able to swing it if the time came, she crouched into a more balanced stance, from which it would be easier to move in any direction she needed to. She looked the wolf in its pretty blue eyes, and the corner of her mouth lifted into a snarl. Her whole being conveyed the message, if you attack me I will mess you up. And I will like it.

Your move, dangerous animal.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan stood where he was as the girl reacted to his presence. As she crouched and snarled at him he couldn't decide if he was amused or if he should be concerned. He knew nothing of this girl's abilities and he knew better than to underestimate anyone or anything. Reading her body language though he saw that she didn't intend on attacking him unless he made a move first. It occurred to him just then that he had a weird habit of running into dangerous girls in the woods, the memory of Kamilla floating back to his mind for a brief moment. This girl was not like Kamilla, the mage had flung magic rocks at him whereas this girl would probably try to hit him with whatever was in the bag she was carrying. Unable to help himself he bared his teeth for a moment to send the message that he would not back down should she decide to attack him first. He had no intention of harming her, but he would defend himself should she come at him. As they stood staring each other down for a few silent moments the rabbit that he had been stalking earlier darted out from behind a tree a few feet away, a badger hot on its heels. Forgetting about the girl in favor of breakfast he lept forward, front paws landing on the rabbit with all of his weight behind it, causing a small squeel and snap of breaking bones to follow. The wolf turned its attention to the badger and showed his teeth with a low growl of warning. The badger seemed to think about challenging him for a moment before turning to scurry off in search of another meal. Having forgotten about the girl for a moment he looked down at his breakfast with a satisfied expression. He was about to eat it when he remembered that he had company. Kamilla again came flooding into his mind as her reaction to his way of eating reminded him that there was a girl who had been ready to attack him if he moved. He had moved forward towards her, but not in a manner that was threatening to her; or so he hoped she had realized he wasn't trying to hurt her. If she interpreted wrong he expected to get clubbed at any moment. His kill had taken only a few seconds to achieve and if she wanted to attack him he should be feeling it any moment now.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea waited, tension coiling every muscle, as the scene played out before her. But it seemed wild animals had little to no interest in someone her size. She slowly lowered her bag as she watched the wolf contentedly slaughtering the rabbit. At least now she knew it wasn't looking at her as a meal, which made it much less likely to attack unprovoked.

Her stomach grumbled loudly, and she became aware of a pang of jealousy. How did the wolf find food so easily, when she had to rely on the whims of humans? She had been a slave so long, did she even know how to feed herself anymore?

The wolf moved toward her slowly, but not in a way that seemed threatening. He had bared his teeth earlier, before the rabbit, and he was not doing so now. She remained cautious, just in case, but she slowly crouched down, so as to be at eye level. She almost reached out a hand to pet the beautiful beast, but she reined it in. That might be too much temptation for those hungry jaws, especially since he had not yet eaten his own kill.

Alea sighed and muttered, "I wish I knew whether you were planning to eat me."

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan's right ear swiveled back towards the girl as he heard her stomach growl. So he wasn't the only one that hadn't had a decent meal yet. Looking down at the rabbit that was between his front paws he considered sharing it with her. He glanced over at her again and didn't see any sort of cutting tool. That would mean he would have to go all the way back to his clothes just so that she could eat too. Then they would have to build a fire, and that seemed like it would take too long and be highly inconvenient. When she muttered that she wished she knew if he was going to eat her or not he looked up at her with a slightly bewildered expression. Even as a wolf he could manage that somehow. After a moment he gave her a barking laugh and shook his head a little bit. Picking his dead rabbit up he used his nose to find the trail he had taken through the trees so that he could navigate back to his clothes. Looking over his shoulder at her he motioned with his head for her to follow. He would share his meal, but only if she decided to follow him back to where he had hidden his clothes. He wasn't going to run back and forth through the woods just to give a strange girl a bit of his rabbit.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea blinked several times more than was necessary at the almost human reactions the wolf was giving. Inexplicably, she flashed back to her childhood, and a friend she was more than half convinced was imaginary. One creature, cursed to be in the shape of another... well, the world was wide and strange, and for all she knew such things were very possible. Of course the obvious answer, staring his directly in the face, eluded her as she looked ever for the sideways possibilities.

In any case, she trusted the obviously intelligent wolf not to eat her, as much as she trusted anyone these days, and so she followed him. What, should she have gone back to her duties like a good little slave, when adventure was calling? Never.

She followed at a relatively safe distance at first, but as they went on, and nothing alarming happened, she gradually came closer. Shuffling through the leaves, so he'd be able to hear where she was and not have to keep looking behind him, she got close enough to reach out and let the back of her hand brush the fur of his tail. She was about to move up further and try her luck with patting his head, when they came to their apparent destination.

Alea didn't see what was so special about this patch of woods over any other. All she saw were a few traveler's belongings, probably left there by some unfortunate soul who'd been gobbled by a less friendly denizen of the wood. Why had the wolf brought her here? Did he think she needed new clothes? Well, true her own dress was well-used and ill-suited for forest life, but she had nowhere to stash such cumbersome belongings back in the city. If they were found, they'd only be taken.

Of course, she could be wrong, and the reason they were here was something mysterious that only a wolf could understand, and had nothing to do with the clothes at all.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan walked along at a steady pace that the girl would easily be able to keep up with, his right ear turned back towards her so he could keep track of where she was in relation to him. With the rabbit hanging from his jaws he thought over his decision to share with her. This was potentioally dangerous, the more people that knew he was a Kelvic the more danger he was in. There was something about the girl that he liked though so he decided to trust her, for now. When she touched his tail he glanced back over his shoulder at her. He wasn't used to being touched in this form and it caught him by surprise. When they entered the area where he had stashed his things in he dropped the rabbit on the ground and walked over to the bundle of clothes he had stuck inside the hollowed out bottom of a tree. Looking back at her for a moment to think over his decision again he decided that if she was a threat he would just disappear into the woods; he was good at that, it was of the few skills he had. In a flash of light he shifted to his human form and reached into the tree to retrieve his clothes. Getting dressed quickly he watched her cautiously for her reaction just in case he needed to scurry off into the trees and disappear. His blue eyes were inquisitive but full of suspicion as he watched her from his spot near the tree, ready to bolt at any moment should this prove to be a trap.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea couldn't believe she'd been so oblivious. As soon as she saw the familiar flash of light, it was obvious that the wolf was a kelvic. She smacked her forehead with a palm, hoping that it would make her brain work faster in the future. At the sight of his naked behind, and old habit flared up, and she reached to her back for a cloak that wasn't there. It has been taken, along with everything else. She had nothing with which to protect the kelvic from the cold.

But, then again, at least it wasn't as cold as Avanthal. Certainly, it was winter, and colder out here than under the protective barrier of Ravok, but nothing compared to the city of winter itself.

As she stood there, stuck in her memories, the kelvic appeared to have taken care of his own clothing needs. Apparently this one was better about it than the kelvics she'd known in Avanthal. After a few moments of silence, where neither of them moved, only stared at each other, it finally occurred to Alea that the appropriate thing to do in this situation was introduce herself.

"Hello," she said softly. "My name's Alea. What's yours?" She stood motionless, afraid that any movement would somehow burst this fragile moment. And in her heart, there were things she was carefully trying not to remember.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan relaxed a little when she finally spoke. It seemed as though she didn't intend to harm him or try and capture him. He gave her a very faint smile as she introduced herself and he started clearing a space for a fire. He may be able to eat raw meat, but she probably couldn't nor would she want to he figured. "I'm Faolan." he said simply in introduction. Gathering some firewood he built a small fire and produced his hunting knife. Pulling the blade from the sheath he had bought for it recently he sat down next to the fire and began dressing the rabbit down to obtain the edible meat for Alea. "What brings you out into the woods all alone?" he asked curiously. "It's not everyday I run across a girl running haphazardly through the woods." he commented, although that wasn't necessarily true; he had met several people out in the woods on different occassions. Grabbing a nearby stick he stuck the end in the fire to clean it and then stuck the cuts of meat he thought Alea would appreciate on the end before placing it just above the flames so that it would cook. "Whenever it's cooked enough for you feel free to grab it and eat." he said as he ate other pieces of the rabbit that aren't quite as desirable for human consumption, but that are perfectly fine for him to eat. He didn't give any thought to how she would react to his eating of the raw meat; it had been a long time since he had to consider the reactions by others to his eating habits.