[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn had followed Thomis's glance -
and saw that most of her traveling companions, plus strangers, were there.
She nodded in his direction and turned to Maeve.
The storyteller decided that it would be
wise to talk to the clan woman, and get the lay of the land before she
had her general announcement. In their own tongue she said to Maeve, "He
won't hurt you, but if you have a minute I would like to speak to you?"
[Maeve]
With one uncertain hand,
Maeve pushed the wolf's head away just enough so she could slip out from
underneath its weight. "Yes," she agreed, jumping to her feet and
away from the animal. Her eyes darted in Fionn's direction, but the
Fhaolain was by now busy helping the broken-nosed man assemble a litter
for the wounded stranger. She had turned to walk some distance away
when she realized that she had left the babe on the ground near the wolf;
reluctantly, she stopped to lift the infant, then stepped to the side away
from the others. Not that any except Fionn would be able to understand
what she and Hillrover would say.
[Laurelyn]
The storyteller waited for Maeve to return
with the babe, though she was tempted to say that Rudolpho would provide
more affection for the child then its natural ma. But that was not her
business - either the child or giving away the young gypsy's guise. When
the woman returned Laurelyn indicated that they stroll a bit, and asked
in their own tongue, "Can ye tell me the lay of the land? How unhospitable
is this region to Hillrovers' these days?"
She also wanted to ask the woman if she
needed any assistance, but suspected that such a question would not be
well received. And so she would have to see if Maeve opened the topic.
[Maeve]
"I honestly don't know,"
Maeve answered quietly. Though she wrapped both arms around the babe,
Rue lay uneasily in her arms, half-dozing. "The past few months I
have not been ..." Her fair skin flushed, redder than the unruly
hair on her head. "Since I was three months gone with the child,
I ha' been without clan, without any to speak to me except -- except him."
She indicated Fionn with one jerk of her head, her mouth turning in displeasure.
"The lines change, ye know that yer ownself, from
month to month, sometimes from week to
week."
[Laurelyn]
"True," Laurelyn answered softly - knowing
they were all about to ride into a territory that fluctuated with the abandon
of the winds. "Have you a direction you're heading?" she asked. "We're
headed for Morrow's Hold - you'd have a wider range of places to go from
there. Nor do the fisher folk care about clans." The storyteller knew she
should kick herself for even thinking of taking on more companions, but
she couldn't bring herself to leave the girl and babe. Even if they seemed
to have a devoted defender. "Though," she added, "you know better
than the rest what risk we'll be riding into."
[Maeve]
"I dinna know whether
he'll let me go," Maeve answered with a faint note of self-pity, nodding
towards Fionn, who chose that moment to give her a grim look. "Is
it wrong," she continued in a rush, as if trying to say something before
she could stop herself, "to not want yer babe?" She looked at Laurelyn,
squinting in the morning sunlight. "Like there's something missing
in me, the part that should want her." In her arms, the baby yawned,
and briefly stretched before settling back into its doze.
[Laurelyn]
The storyteller had no answer to that -
she had no real idea of the circumstances of the child's birth. Maeve was
without clan because of the babe, and Fionn obviously cared more for the
child than its mother did. But whether he was the father or not was
another mystery.
With a minute tilt of her head Laurelyn indicated that they walk further out of Fionn's hearing. Perhaps then she could learn Maeve's side of the story - such as, what did the girl mean about Fionn allowing it? To fill the lull, and maybe give Maeve a chance to speak more openly, Laurelyn said, "I have no doubt circumstances have a great deal to do with whether or not a mother wants her babe." There was no judgement in her voice.
[Pierre]
Pierre silently watched them walk and talk. The woman... whom he knew to be Maeve, turned her head slightly, and he noticed that she looked almost upset about something. He almost jumped up to run over to her, but quickly stopped himself. -Fool,- he thought. -She is not here because whatever she is saying, she does not wish to make it public.- Pierre could not be quite certain that was true. However, he did have enough tact not to run up, which was something he would never do.
-When they come back,- he told himself. -You can play everybody a comforting tune. That might help, more so than you asking what's wrong and opening any wounds which might have closed.-
[Maeve]
Maeve glanced over towards Fionn, who by that time was, with Thomis, stretching a thick wool blanket over two quickly stripped and relatively straight branches to make a litter for the injured stranger. Then her eyes dropped down to the infant's, and she murmured quietly, "She's as dark as her father." When she looked up, it was to stare into the trees rather than meeting Laurelyn's gaze again.
"Calhoun is a proud name," and an echo of that pride could be heard in her voice, "but the clan is not as well off as it once was, you know that," she began softly, "and the only thing of value to a father and his two sons was a daughter who could bring a bride-price. The even prouder MacRories were willing to pay it, for their oldest. For fair Donal MacRorie." Maeve half-smiled as she glanced briefly at Laurelyn. "And a handsome man he is, Laurelyn Hillrover, to catch any girl's eye. But the fey Fhaolains are handsome, too ..."
Maeve trailed off, leaving unsaid the Calhoun's loss of the bride-price from the MacRories. "When it was over, neither MacRorie nor Fhaolain wanted me. Nor Calhoun." Maeve fell silent for a minute or two, chewing her bottom lip before answering the last unspoken question. "Fionn is her uncle. She is the get of his younger brother, Niall."
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn stopped the desire to touch the girl's arm - Maeve would not want pity. But there were a few things she could do - the Hillrovers had aided a few of the clanless in their time. Particularly if it was an unjust banishment. "If ye'd willing to brave the foothills with a Hillrover," she said, "I can give you a couple of options....the passage out from the port, or a safe place at the Hillrover's winter house. It wouldn't be the first time we've given shelter to those done wrong by their own clans." The storyteller left a few things unsaid, though at least one of them she didn't doubt Maeve would guess. The clan wintering house was deep in clan territory so it would be unlikely for any of the Calhouns to see her there - for that was a small sticking point, the Calhouns were allies to the Hillrovers and it wouldn't do to anger them. The other thing that Laurelyn had not said was that perhaps Maeve would find a husband amongst the young Hillrovers. The clanless woman was a lovely lass, and the Hillrovers weren't as strict in their marrying practises; nor would they take offense at such a pretty babe. The storyteller nearly chuckled - if they had been so strict on clan marriages she wouldn't have been born; a product of a clan chief and smuggler.
As for Fionn - he might catch the eye of a Hillrover maid - a rather independent lot. That he had stuck by girl and niece said he was not as fey as the rest of his clan.
[Rudolpho]
Rudolpho had allowed Maeve to move him and retreated slightly from her and the baby when he saw he was making her nervous. He contemplated revealing the fact that he could change, but decided he needed to know some more about Maeve first before he did. It didn't help that she was talking to Laurelyn in another language now. He followed them at a discreet distance stopping when they stopped and following when they continued to walk.
He found himself really wishing that he could understand what she was saying when her eyes took on a faraway look to them. He knew that his eyes sometimes looked like that when he remembered... Rudolpho snapped out of the trance as he caught his mind wandering to the lonely place. -I don't need to go there. I'm not alone now.- He didn't let himself wonder what happened if they ever reached the Stardreamer, or more specificly if *he* ever did. He was content to be with a fam...no, a party of people on a quest. As he looked back at Laurelyn and Maeve, he wondered why she was chewing her bottom lip and what could have made her that nervous.
[Fiend]
Rustling his way out of some nearby bushes,
Fiend scampered over to where Laurelyn and Maeve had eventually stopped,
and then skidded to an unsteady halt. He looked up Laurelyn first, and
cocked his head sideways for a few seconds with a slightly bemused, but
undoubtedly cheerful expression on his face. Then, after a short yap, looked
up at Maeve and again cocked his
head to one side.
This time he sat staring at her with wide, deep, sad brown eyes, and a disconsolate face, for a long minute of silence. He let out a quiet whimper and dropped his gaze to the baby, before letting out another.
Somewhere off to his left, a bird let out a squawk of indignation and fluttered nervously from the undergrowth. The pup's head whipped around, and he galloped off, yapping and barking fiercely.
[Jacques]
Over with the others, trying to avoid getting drawn in to help any further with the invalid, Jacques glanced over at where all the noise was coming from. Damn fool of a dog, he cursed silently. Might as well let the whole damn world know they were coming.
His eyes rested briefly on Maeve and the baby, and he huffed into his moustache. Damn fool children too. Never did know what they were getting their fool selves into. Even though there was no way he could hear them at this distance and - he guessed - no way he could understand them even if he could, he'd been watching people long enough to know the signs. Though some were easier to spot than others.
Damn fools. No point in wishing for what might have been, or what might yet be. It only got you trouble.
He pulled a long, red handled knife from one of the pockets on his crumpled clothes and began to trim lightly at his finger nails.
[Thomis/Fionn]
Once the litter was finished, Thomis and the dark-haired highlander rolled the unconscious stranger onto it and secured him to the frame -- tightly enough to hold him in place, but not so tight that he would be unable to free himself when he awakened. With the last of the rope, Thomis and Fionn attached the litter to the saddle of Thomis's horse, so that it would be dragged behind. That done, the Oath-bound murmured his thanks to the other man, who only nodded, and crossed over to Laurelyn. "We can travel when you are ready, Hillrover," he interrupted quietly. After she had spoken to the others about the road ahead.
[Rudolpho]
As Rudolpho followed the two women, he wondered what they might be talking about. They seemed to have been talking for quite awhile now. At least that's the way it seemed to him since he couldn't understand what they were saying. He noticed Thomis approach and found the impetus he needed to intrude on the women's conversation. He fell into step just behind Thomis and approached Laurelyn and Maeve. When he reached them, he sat down by Laurelyn and waited.
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn half turned when Thomis came up to her. She nodded at his words, and said in common, "I'm about ready."
Then she noted Rudolpho sitting near and said, "Rudolpho would you mind finding Daron - and make sure the river hasn't taken her?" After she said it she realized that Maeve might wonder at her conversational tone with a wolf, but decided that if the girl and Fionn were to travel with them they would see many strange things.
To Maeve she said in their own tongue, "Talk it over with Fionn and see what suits your needs."
Then the storyteller pitched her tone loud enough to carry to all in camp, and said, "Saddle up friends, and stay alert. I had planned on a civil discussion on this but with all the interruptions I'll make this short and clean - we're riding into disputed territory. Territory disputed between the Hillrovers and the MacLenans - and unfortunately you're riding with the daughter of the Hillrover's chief. So any who consider that too dangerous for their taste I'll give you a map to Morrow's Hold - neither clan is inclined to raid on travelers who are willing to leave them alone. The worst, and its bad enough, is that you might ride into a clan battle. The least will be is that you're stopped and asked to identify yourself, and more than likely treated to a warm hall and food - as clan hospitality demands."
She looked over at Ulric's litter and added, "Its my hope that we can reach a nearby village and let a couple of you take in him. So he can be cared for while he heals."
[Rudolpho]
Rudolpho barked once in acknowledgement of Laurelyn's request. -I really can't understand what they are saying anyways.- He bounded off towards the river, sniffing around trying to find her scent. He hoped that nothing had happened to her. She was acting a bit strangely.
[Daron]
Daron sat by the river bank, combing the tangles out of her dark hair after her bath. Her green eyes looked off into the distance.
The auburn haired strange man rattled her more than she cared to admit to herself. Not only did he remind the artist of her twin brother, but his thoughts of someone named "Alvende"...
She sighed deeply. Brendan's face came unbidden to her mind...along with that of Anthony. They blended together until she could not distinguish one from the other.
Daron's hands trembled as she started to resheath her daggers into their hiding places. Sleep was no longer a refuge for her, she realized. The dream was coming back...stronger this time...
A twig snapping behind her made Daron turn quickly, her dark hair tumbling loose about her green wool-clad shoulders, and her throwing dagger in hand, ready for use. Daron looked at the wolf, barely recognizing Rudolpho in time before she threw her weapon. She dropped the dagger and sank to her knees.
[Rudolpho]
Rudolpho had been approaching Daron quietly as he did not want to disturb her bath. He mentally winced and looked up in time to see her about to throw her weapon. He tensed to jump out of the way when she dropped the knife and slumped to the ground. He had noticed that she had been to the faraway place before he snapped her out of it. He walked up to her slowly and gave her a lick. He didn't know if that would suffice so he decided to revert to a form he could talk to her in. Becoming human, he knelt by her. "Are you okay? I saw you were visting the lonely place."
[Daron]
Daron looked at Rudolpho, almost not seeing him at first. Her green eyes met his dark ones hesitantly. "I have been better," she answered slowly. "And worse, too," she admitted reluctantly.
She looked at the dagger lying on the ground like it was an ebony snake, ready to strike. "Faith, but I'm sorry, Rudolpho! If I had..." She blinked back tears. "I'd never forgive myself," she whispered.
[Laurelyn]
When Rudolpho and Daron hadn't returned Laurelyn looked over at Thomis, and said, "If I'm not back in ten minutes figure that there's a problem out there." She had decided that there was no way she was going to just sit in camp and watch her companions disappear one by one as they went out looking for the missing pair. If she didn't come back then Thomis and the others would know that there was danger by the stream.
She got a good grip on her dagger and moved silently along the path to the stream. Just before she came into view of the water she heard quiet voices - one of which she recognized as Rudolpho's.
Laurelyn made sure they could hear her approach on the last few feet of the trail. Then said, "I hate to interrupt, but the party is saddling - I want as much sunlight as possible for traveling; there's a potential for danger on the roads we'll be traveling and we have a wounded man. I want everyone ready in fifteen minutes."
With these words the storyteller turned and headed back up the path. She knew she probably wasn't being fair, since the morning had started off somewhat more leisurely. But with the stranger's wounds they needed to get him to a village, which it was preferable to while it was still light. People who showed after sunset were often met with increased suspicion. Who knows - they could be raiders, or a scout for a raiding party? And while it was true that scouts could come in the daylight, people were more comfortable with being able to study a stranger's face in the harsh light of day. As she walked she also contemplated how to have Ulric delivered to a village. Most of the villages around this part of the mountains were loyal to the MacLeans, so she couldn't ride in. The best she could come up with was having Thomis and Rudolpho - in human form, take Ulric; they would raise the fewer questions.
[Daron]
Daron rose slowly, brushing the dirt off of her dark brown trousers. She gathered up her possessions and turned to Rudolpho. "Time to get a move on," she stated simply, matter-of-fact. The artist's eyes looked off into the distance as she walked back to rejoin the others.
[Laurelyn]
"I found them," Laurelyn announced as she returned to the traveler's hut, "And they're safe enough." She strode over to the remnants of the mostly uneaten oatmeal, and began cleaning out the pot. 'Should have taken this with me to clean,' she told herself with a muttered curse, though she knew it wouldn't take that long.
She got the pot and her utensils ready to be washed, and stood. To Maeve and Fionnn she said in their native tongue, "Let me know what you decide before we ride out."
[Rudolpho]
Rudolpho quickly caught up to Daron and fell into step with her. Seeing that she was staring off into the distance again he tugged at her sleeve. "You know, I saw you about to throw the dagger and I would have jumped out of the way. You'd be surprised how many people do that when they see a wolf." He smiled and continued filling the dead air with chatter, though he continued a bit more quietly. "Daron, if you want to talk about anything....I'll listen. I know what it's like to be...alo...to be lonely." He had slowed down a bit at that and had gotten a bit more serious, but brightened just as quickly. "but were not anymore so don't worry." Rudolpho got thoughtfull for a second then asked, "what would you have aimed for? A leg, my head, my heart?"
[Daron]
Daron's green eyes sparkled from unshed tears as she looked at Rudolpho. "I aim for the heart," she said softly. "And as for...other matters...I am just thinking about my brother Dillon..." A slight smile crossed her lips. "And Brendan...and Anthony too..." She stopped and hugged him briefly. "You remind me of the other Brendan...my cousin." She sighed softly. "I miss them very much..."
[Rudolpho]
Though he was curious, Rudolpho didn't ask if her family had all "gone away." Instead he said simply "That's effective." He hugged her tightly, standing on his tiptoes and added "If you need more of these..just let me know. I got lots." When they neared the others at the clearing, he transformed himself back to his wolf form.
[Laurelyn]
"Nearly ready," Laurelyn said as she passed the pair on the path to the stream. She quickly scrubbed out the pot, and cleaned up the utensils; then headed back.
While the others finished their preparations the storyteller got Beast saddled and her saddlebags arranged.
[Jacques]
Muttering something about a lack of breakfast, lager, sleep, lager, money, and lager, Jacques peered into a distressingly tangled bush from which were emenating rustling and yapping noises.
Fiend had apparently found something of interest.
"C'mon mutt. Time to leave!" Jacques was not in a mood to pamper the pup. If they had to go, it was best they got moving soon. He pulled his small silver whistle from his pocket and blew two short breaths of silence.
A familiar shaggy grey pony ambled out from behind a tree and stood patiently while Jacques strapped saddle and bags to its back.
"At least someone knows how to listen," he muttered and peered at the bush where Fiend was still yapping and rustling. He lifted a small stone from the ground and tossed it lightly into the bush. "C'mon boy, or we'll leave you behind!"
There was a whimper from the bush, and Fiend came out backwards, pulling a small wooden bird, with a metal key sticking out its back. Jacques frowned heavily, and pulled the bird from the pup without a word. Then, scooping the cheerfully yipping animal in one hand, he turned back to the pony.
[Thomis]
Thomis finished double and triple-checking his own saddlebags and horse, watching without seeming to the quietly intense conversation that was taking place between Maeve and Fionn. The dark-haired highlander had taken the baby and settled her into a carrying pouch that left her snoozing happily against his back. Maeve had shouldered one light bag that couldn't have held much, and bore an expression of extreme irritation. After a few minutes of conversation, she spat something out in the highland tongue and stalked over to stand by Laurelyn's horse. "We'll be a-going with ye for a ways," she told the storyteller firmly, shooting one glance at Thomis that almost dared him to ask questions.
[Laurelyn]
"Well enough," Laurelyn said in common, as she checked over Beast's gear. Once she was satisfied she began to pin up her auburn hair so that it would be better hidden by her wide-brimmed hat.
[Thomis/Maeve]
The Oath-bound simply nodded and tightened down the last of his ties. "I will be walking, to watch the litter," he told the girl. "If you want, you can ride a-horse." When she stared at him, obviously searching for an answer, he stepped back a bit and offered to help her mount. It was not easily done -- the animal was a bit tall for her, and she apparently had not had much experience in the saddle, for she clutched at the pommel and held herself still, as if expecting to slide right off. That would give him something else to watch for.
[Keir]
Having snuck off to the stables, and after letting the baby rabbits lick out his oatmeal bowl, Keir slipped them back into his vest pockets before the others entered. He sat quietly in the hay, waitin for a sign they were ready to depart. He'd decided to walk alongside the litter with Thomas, both to keep an eye on Ulric and to avoid having to climb aboard a horse yet again.
[Laurelyn]
The storyteller swung up into the saddle,
and took a look around - noting that all of her companions were ready to
travel.