[Laurelyn]
For the next hour Laurelyn, Thomis, and
Jacques rode along the river - the silence of the woods scattered into
hiding by the puppy's howling from the backpack. Laurelyn had been studing
the riverbank for a good crossing point, but finally reined the Beast to
a halt. The storyteller looked at her companions, sighed, and said, "I
wish I could keep my promise in regards to that decent crossing, but it
looks like it's flooded over."
The packed puppy yapped in dismay.
[Jacques]
Trying with some success to not fall off the shaggy white pony, Jacques glanced at the yapping back pack.
At least the yap was a darn sight better
than all that howling. He'd been getting a headache, even through the constant
jangling of his hat bells every time the pony lifted a hoof. For some reason
he kept wanting to whistle an obscure tune he'd picked up in Montfort.
Something about a "one horse open slay", though he couldn't for the life
of him figure out why one would kill a horse - open or not.
He turned towards the stream with a sigh.
The sight of all that water was beginning to make him queasy - and he knew
green did not go well with his uniform.
Jacques paused in thought.
"If either of you has a rope, we could
tie it to something and toss it over." Maybe something small, brown, and
furry, he added silently. "Then only one of us would probably drown trying
to get over rather than all three."
He grinned to show he wasn't serious -
though his eyes weren't so sure.
[Thomis]
"Volunteering?" Thomis asked with a glance towards the frantically wailing
backpack. His own horse, and Laurelyn's Beast, might be able to make
it across easily enough, depending on how deep the water was, and probably
without the pup getting wet again (though from the sound of it, the creature
was quite distressed at the possibility). The jester's pony, though,
was quite a bit shorter and seemingly dubious about venturing into the
current.
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn sat studying the restless, swollen waters, and wished she had control of water itself - and not just wind and fish. But that was not the gift she'd been born with so she reined Beast away from the water's edge and said, "I think it would be best to ride further down and see if there is a better crossing, or see if we can find another road."
[An]
"Why bother doing that?" a voice which could
only be described as happy came to them. An sat in a rather high up branch
of a tree by the riverside, legs swinging. "I mean," she continued,
"Wouldn't it be lots easier and more fun to just lower the water?
It's not that difficult." An looked up the tree at something. "Oh
be quiet!" she scolded. "You never want me to have any fun! And it *is*
so easy ...to me, at least!" She stuck out her tongue.
[Thomis]
Thomis had been about to act upon Laurelyn's suggestion and do what seemed
most sensible, when the strange voice came from up above. -So the jester
isn't the strangest we will encounter,- he thought to himself with a small
sigh. "For a mage or some such, it may be simple enough," he agreed
quietly, "but I don't believe any of us is particularly talented in parting
waters."
The pup let out a brief wail of disappointment in response.
[An]
"So," she continued to the people below her. "What do you say? Doesn't it sound like lots of FUN?" An then leaned forward, and fell, head first, off the branch. Almost quicker than a word she had righted herself so that she landed on her feet...a good thing too; otherwise there was a chance that the fall would have killed her.
An looked older than her actions. She was
tall...six feet...with pure blue eyes, and long, perfectly white hair.
Still, her skin
was smooth, so her age was undeterminable.
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn blinked - in shock. And Nameless
howled in reply.
[Creature]
The creature in the boughs leapt down to
a lower branch, so that it could watch the proceeding more carefully. Apparently
An was acting as happy go lucky. The black cat cast its disdainful red
eyes upon the group for but a second, and proceeded to wash its coat. This
could go on forever, knowing An's ability to treat all that she did not
like to hear as nonexistent.
[Jacques]
Jacques closed his mouth, and tried to
think of a suitable reply. He'd been about to agree with Laurelyn's suggestion
- after all, his pony wasn't really up to raging torrents. Or even whatever
the technical term was for the river as it was. Better to find a flatter,
safer, place.
Then this - well, dryad sprang to mind -
appeared and talked about lowering the water. He shrugged, to a jangling
of bells.
"If you're going to lower the water, hasn't
what _was_ there got to go somewhere else?" he asked suspiciously. Visions
of a soaked trio of travellers as the water turned into rain clouds, danced
through his mind.
[An]
An laughed. These people were so silly.
"Well, duh! That's what *wind* is for. To move it all. Boy," she whispered.
"What would you guys have done without me?"
[Jacques]
"Probably have found somewhere downstream
to cross without being harrassed and insulted?" suggested Jacques mildly.
[An]
An giggled. "You're flirting with me, aren't
you?" she exclaimed, happily.
[Jacques]
Startled, Jacques patted at a few hidden
pockets in his uniform.
"Flirting!?" He looked thoroughly confused.
"But I haven't given you any money..." There was only one way of "flirting"
that he knew of, and like foreplay, tended to involve the exchange of money
in a dark alley somewhere.
[An]
"Silly. Everybody knows that if a boy acts
like a jerk it means he likes a girl and is too shy to tell her. You must
like me, that's why you're acting like such a jerk!" An shook her head.
These people were so adorably dense!
[Thomis]
Thomis left the jester to spar with the strange woman -- the fellow undoubtedly
was better suited to that task than the Oath-bound-- and instead spent
his time studying the two newcomers. The girl, if girl she was, had
righted herself as easily as might have the cat which had glanced at them
so contemptuously. Her coloring was strikingly similar to Morrighu's,
but something about her flippant manner gave him the sense that she lacked
the Bean Nighe's depth. Which, of course, would not make her any
less dangerous.
"Maybe I should start behaving more rudely towards you," Thomis murmured
to Laurelyn. The pup whimpered in protest.
[Laurelyn]
A tiny smile touched the storyteller's
bemused face and she whispered back, "You're doing quite fine with the
tack your on."
[Jacques]
"Maybe I'm just naturally a jerk," Jacques
replied to An's comment with a shrug and a jangle of hat bells. "Don't
take it personally, kid. But you're not my type."
And that, he realised was (a) the truth
- for she was certainly a child of some kind, and definitely not his type
- and (b) probably the stupidest thing he could have said. It was sure
to set her off again. He sighed, and wondered if he was getting any closer
to winning.
[An]
"I am not a kid! I'm very very old! I'm
probably lots older than you!" she twirled around. "See! Look at me! I
don't look like a kid!" She then gave him a serious look. "You're cute,
but I'm just not ready for a serious relationship now. Sorry." An hoped
she had let him down gently. So many hearts had been broken in the past...
[Jacques]
His eyes tracked across the strange woman,
to the tree, and back again.
"Besides," he continued after a second,
"I was asking _where_ not _how_."
[An]
An rolled her eyes. These people were so
silly. "Does it *really* matter? It can go here, or there. Just so long
as it goes out of the way. I mean, duh, it doesn't have to be lowered *forever*,
just long enough for us all to cross." She laughed. "You're all so silly!"
[Jacques]
"When you're a performer," Jacques countered,
"the where *always* matters."
[An]
"Oh? Didn't I tell you? I'm not a performer."
An was tickled pink. "He thinks I'm pretty enough to be a performer!"
she told the cat, who merely stared at her. "Well, he does! He wouldn't
have said what he did if he didn't!" She stuck out her tongue at the cat.
[Jacques]
He eyed the woman suspiciously.
"And you're not a _lawyer_ by any chance
are you?" It was best to get these things cleared up as soon as possible.
No telling what might happen later on if she started _soliciting_ all over
the place. It could get quite messy.
[An]
"Nope."
[Jacques]
Jacques sighed with relief.
[An]
"You guys all forgot to say yes to my idea,"
An reminded the others.
[Laurelyn]
"Much as I can see a certain logic to your
idea," Laurelyn said, "I'm more in the mood to ride further down - we're
not in that big a rush. And I for one, am more than happy to enjoy the
outdoors - after looking at a half-destroyed town." She hated even a passing
reference to Montfort, but decided she needed the comparison.
[An]
An blinked. "What? I must have misheard
you? You know you *really* want me to help you," she sing-sang. "Well,
they all do!" she yelled at the cat. "They're just too shy to admit it!"
[Thomis]
Thomis raised one eyebrow, glanced at Laurelyn, and turned his horse in
the direction the storyteller had suggested they ride. "It is a fairly
lovely day, we might as well enjoy it," he said quietly, indicating with
one hand that Laurelyn should go before him. The pup gave some sort
of almost happy sound at the prospect of escaping another dunking in the
water.
[An]
"Ok. I guess they don't want me to do it.
Maybe they *do* want to walk," An laughed. What a silly proposition! Evidently,
they were in awe of her. "So," she asked. "Where are we going?" She smiled
happily, and did not react, or even seem to notice, as the black cat leapt
from the branch onto her shoulders.
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn glanced at the woman, being, whatever,
and swung Beast around - urging the horse into a steady gait. Until this
moment she hadn't realized _how_ raw her nerves were; Thomis was a soothing
and welcome presence, and Jacques and the pup were refreshing and whimsical.
But this strange being was at best ill-mannered, and for the briefest,
most horrible of seconds, Laurelyn yearned for one of the disciplined Young
Guardians. The storyteller would have been more than willing to leave An
to the diplomacy of Thomis or the bluntness of Jacques, but she realized
she led this little group - in the fact that it was her dream that had
started she and Thomis on the road. Which meant she was responsible. She
stopped the Beast and looked back at the girl, woman, whatever, and asked,
"Don't you have a home near here?"
[An]
"Nope." Smiling, she jogged over to Laurelyn. "Why? Don't you like me?" An knew that couldn't be true. She had been nothing but generous and kind, not the least bit rude. At least, she considered herself to have been friendly.
[Jacques]
Closing his mouth - what he had been going
to say wasn't exactly politic, though he wasn't sure why that should stop
him - Jacques looked down at his hands.
And was surprised to find he was holding a sharp knife. One that he used for skewering annoying mice and rats in the sleeping places he habitually ended up in. Vermin. But of course this child (she had to be a child - only children felt the need to assert their age, after all) wasn't _that_ bad. Was she? He shuddered, and nodded to himself - bells ringing faintly. OK, so she _was_ that bad, but he didn't think the ThomisLaurelyn Couple would appreciate him trying to skewer her.
"I know of Fnors who were more polite, friendly,
entertaining, and less downright annoying," he said instead.
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn, who had turned to look at Jacques
noticed the subtle shift of his hand; her eyes narrowed a bit - wondering
if they were going to have trouble. True, the girl (for the lack of a better
term) was ill-mannered, but that didn't require bloodshed. And all
she knew of the jester was that he seemed to have a hangover, he had a
well- trained pony, and he had the right profession considering his humor.
She knew nothing of his tolerance levels.
She turned her attention back to An and
considered both the girl and the cat (the cat blatantly having the most
sense of the pair), and answered honestly, "I don't like nor dislike you,
An, though your current behavior is grating to well-worn nerves. Is there
a reason why you wish to travel along with us?" Normally Laurelyn would
have chosen to be more tactful, particularly when she didn't have an inkling
of the possible powers of a newcomer, but she was tired of dancing around
the truth. She had been having to do it too long to keep her hide intact.
[An]
An looked confused, as though she hadn't
really thought about the why or wherefore of her plan. "You guys seem nice.
I've been watching you. Besides, you look like you're having fun together."
[Thomis]
Thomis rode on in silence, keeping his face carefully expressionless.
He had not missed the knife that seemed to have flickered into the jester's
hand, but neither had he missed the fact that the man was demonstrating
far more restraint than most people would have under the circumstances.
Laurelyn's tensely-spoken near-reprimand did catch him by just a bit by
surprise, for during the time he had known her, she had allowed very little
to throw her off balance. Then again, perhaps after long months of
stepping gingerly around Delgado and Garcia, she had reached her limit.
The occupant of the backpack had settled into a soft rhythm of occasional
querying whimper followed by intermittent silence. For a fleeting
moment, Thomis thought perhaps the puppy was demonstrating more maturity
than the humanoid half of An-Na.
[Na]
The black cat's eyes flicked towards the
man. Hmmm...there was something about him. She leapt from her perch, onto
the ground, a tree, and onto his shoulders--touching him with her whiskers--and
back onto An's all lasting barely but a few seconds of time.
Yes, she decided, settling back on to An.
There was definitely something quite interesting about him.
[Thomis]
Once the
cat had settled safely back onto An's shoulders, he closed his eyes briefly
and slipped the blade back into the sheath at his wrist. The moment he
had caught the cat's first movement from the corner of his eye, he had
readied himself to strike, if it became necessary. Thomis forced himself
to remain relaxed as the paws skittered across his shoulders, then danced
away. So far, despite the uninvited contact, there still was no overt
threat, and there was no need to skin the cat. Yet.
[Na]
The cat continued to observe Thomis. He
had been relaxed when she touched him. Perhaps a bit *too* relaxed. No
reaction whatsoever. A normal person would have at the very least
tensed up.
Na decided not to bother herself with it
all. Not now, at least. She did not know this man well, aside from minute
sensations, and was quite willing to admit possible incorrect impressions.
Perhaps he was just a naturally relaxed person.
She then gently hissed into An's ear, as
a warning.
[Laurelyn]
The storyteller shook her head, and though
her expression was kind she said, "I doubt that would be a good idea, An
- none of us are really in good enough shape to deal with someone as energetic
or as opinionated as you are - or as jumpy as your cat is."
[Na]
Jumpy? Na looked up. How interesting. She
had noticed the other's tension, and yet since she was the one to actually
do something-- her hiss had calmed An somewhat, she was labelled "jumpy".
Had she the ability, she would have laughed at the irony; for now, all
she could do was switch her tail, while affixing Laurelyn with her stare.
Then again, it was entirely possibly that this woman did not realize the importance of using her whiskers to divulge information.
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn knew that she was probably the "worn" one, though she doubted Jacques would argue the label - since he was suffering from a hangover (she had noticed how he winced everytime his bells jangled). And as for Thomis - who hardly ever showed signs of ruffling, she knew that he had been under as much pressure, if not more - watching out for Drywen, than she had been.
[An]
Gradually, An began to realize the truth...that
her initial attempts at friendliness were for naught. She started to shout
out, "What's wrong with being energetic and opinionated?" but Na's glare
refrained her from doing so. She felt hurt ... betrayed ... embarrassed.
Really, she quite wanted to run and hide, but couldn't. She knew these
people weren't bad, and she had to convince them the same of her. She managed
to hide her emotions fairly well--her voice only choked up every other
word, as she said, "Why is being energetic and opinionated so bad? I--
I'm sorry. You guys just seemed in trouble and I wanted to help. I wanted
to be nice and friendly and help you cross. You guys all seem like nice
people who would never hurt anybody much. I'm sorry."
[Jacques]
With a sigh, Jacques pulled a small, silver bottle from one of his numerous pockets, spun the cap open with one hand, and took a hefty swig from the contents.
"Hair of the dog," he muttered to no one in particular. Then he turned to Laurelyn's backpack where the puppy had been strangely quiet for a few minutes, and raised the bottle in salute.
"No offense, boy." Then he shrugged and turned to face the cat.
"No offense either."
Hopefully the booze would get rid of the hangover. Or at least make it so he didn't care about it any more. The combination of puppy wailing, dryad exuberance, and now childish remorse was giving him a headache fit to rival the one the reputed six-headed ogre-king of Kth'Kthwin had routinely got trying to walk through doorways before he'd passed _that_ law.
He kneed the pony gently over to a tree away from Laurelyn and the girl, took another pull from the bottle, and tried not to think about the puppy.
[Thomis]
They seemed to have come to a halt, while Laurelyn dealt with a six-foot
tall girl with the emotional age of a preschooler, and Jacques dealt with
the pounding in his head. Thomis drew his own horse to a stop and
half-spun it around to keep an eye on the storyteller as she faced An's
choked half-apology. The cat merely sat on the girl's shoulder and
blinked. Thomis blinked back in response. He wondered idly
whether it might have been more pleasant to stay in Montfort; at least
there, he knew it was acceptable to try to kill an annoying Inquisitor.
[Laurelyn]
"It's not that your offer of help is unappreciated,"
Laurelyn said, "But we've had more than our fair share of surprises in
the last few months and don't mind doing the things the quiet, old-fashioned
way." She smiled a bit sadly, and said, "Matter-of-fact, I doubt we would
really be that much fun to be around."
She shifted her grip on her reins, and signaled
the Beast that she was ready to move. The bay Hunter snorted and took a
couple more mouthfuls of grass before lifting her head. "It's been a pleasure
to meet you," Laurelyn said before urging her horse forward.
[Thomis]
-Liar,- Thomis thought with a small smile. He did not move his own horse, but allowed Laurelyn to move further down the path ahead of them. Instead, he waited, unmoving, to see what, if anything, An would do. Or, perhaps even more interestingly, what course of action Na would choose. And he reminded himself, yet again, that the journey with Laurelyn apparently would be as ... odd ... as his travels with Mesani I'Se.
[An]
Well, it appeared they wouldn't take her along. Anger filled An, and she raised her arms. "You'll be really sorry! I was nice and you wouldn't listen and now you're going to regret it!" She then gestured, and the water rose, into a terrific cyclone. It grew with force and intensity until...
It began to crash down. "Hahahahahahaha!" An laughed. Now, unless they could stop it, they had to get wet--or at least get their horses wet--which they had been trying to avoid. "You're meanies! I won! I won! Let's go!" She blew them a raspberry, and bounded off, dry, away - off the path the group traveled on.
Who needed such boring people, anyway?
[Laurelyn]
Luckily the group had scattered enough that the funnel was mid-way between them. Laurelyn had turned at the sound of An's tantrum and saw that Thomis would probably end up taking the brunt of the water - if something wasn't done. While water was not within the storyteller's control - wind was.
Laurelyn rarely used her inborn talent to work with winds - calling fish had much more use, since it kept her from going hungry on the road. But now she offered a silent prayer to the gods of wind and sea, and gathered the gentle air currents together into enough force to push the disintergrating funnel back over the river. Away from Thomis.
[Thomis]
The Oath-bound had braced himself for a thorough drenching -- hardly a deadly fate, but he didn't relish the thought of having either to stop to change or to ride onward in wet clothing -- but found instead that Laurelyn had acted to redirect the water summoned by An. It was the first time he had seen the storyteller use either or her two magical gifts, and the demonstration was welcome. With a smile and a nod of thanks, Thomis gently put his heel to his horse and directed it towards Laurelyn. "Tempestuous child," he commented.
[Laurelyn]
"That's an understatement," she said with a tiny smile, though her blue eyes still sparkling with anger. She was satisfied that she had forestalled the results of the imp's childish prank. Laurelyn thanked the gods of wind and sea, and waited for Thomis and Jacques to catch up with her. From the backpack the pup resumed a determined howling, and the storyteller decided that when they got further down the road she needed to let the poor pup have a short run.
[Jacques]
Screwing the cap tightly back on the bottle, Jacques vowed to never drink again. The sight of all that water rising _up_ like that, and then simply collapse again, _had_ to be an alcohol induced vision. His head throbbed somewhat, and he felt more than a little seasick. Why if it had been real....
He unscrewed the cap and took a generous gulp. And vowed to stop drinking some other time. Then he slipped the bottle back into its hidden pocket - somehow without leaving a bulge in his uniform - and turned his shaggy and unperturbed pony back towards Laurelyn.
The puppy paused in its howling as he got closer, yapped a couple of times, and then returned to its woeful cry.
Jacques raised one bushy white eyebrow at Laurelyn - it was more than one question, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted any answers. Then he eyed the stream deliberately.
"Think you can teach me that trick with the water?" he asked with likely the first genuine smile he'd offered. Or, at least as close as he could come with his head ringing under the pup's renewed assault.
Next time, he'd tie some lead to its feet...
[Thomis]
Thomis considered the likely mischief the jester could cause if he were to learn "that trick." Most likely, judging from the man's wince, the first use might be to soak the distressed passenger in Laurelyn's backpack.
[Laurelyn]
Laurelyn chuckled and said, "Afraid not
- comes with the bloodline." Once they were all together again the storyteller
urged Beast into a steady walk.