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Our scene opens with Cordell and Lor making idle chatter as they set up camp for the night:
Cordell looks down suddenly at the campfire. He picks up a stick to add to the tinder that has finally become a flame instead of just a smolder. Without looking up he says,'I am not ready to be "latched" onto, I suppose. Can't really Hunt if you are tied down.' A shudder ripples through his body at the phrase "tied down" and a mournful howl can be heard distantly from the woods to the north.
Lor stiffens as she hears the howl, eyes trying to discern animal from shadow, but gives up. She nods thoughtfully, thinking about what he said. Rubbing her hands near the flames, she smiles. "I won't tie you down. That would be the last thing I'd want to do. Just ... have fun, you know? Enjoy it while it lasts..." She shrugs and glances at him sideways.
Cordell glances up and peers off into the distance as he hears the howl. He frowns slightly then finally looks to Lor again,'Live life for the moment? You have the mindset of a Hunter.' He gives her a sly wink and a bright smile as the firelight flickers off his face. Another howl rips the night air, still distant to the north but perhaps a little closer. He frowns again into the distance and says softly,'A mindset that may well keep you sane in these troubling times.'
Lor nervously tugs on a golden curl, the dancing flames reflected in her widening eyes as the next howl is sounded. Glancing about them, especially to the north, she struggles to keep her voice from trembling, "How far away do you suppose we are from .... it...?" She chews her bottom lip in agitation.
Cordell shrugs slightly as he stirs the campfire,'Perhaps half a mile. Not to worry, though. Wild animals rarely come near a fire. They have to be very hungry.' He frowns into the darkness again and adds softly,'Sounds like more than one, though.'
Lor quickly looks behind her as Cordell tells her this, staring, quite frightened, into the darkness. Edging closer to the fire, and Cordell, she pulls her knees up to her chin and one of her swords nearby, just in case. "You don't think they'd attack us, do you?" she asks of Cordell.
Cordell shakes his head, then tosses the stick he was stirring the fire with into the fire. He stands abruptly and smiles down at Lor,'No, I do not think they will trouble us. We have enough wood to keep the fire burning all night.' As he walks over to the mule and begins unstrapping some packs, he says,'A bit odd for them to be this close to the city, though.'
Lor nods, visibly relieved, and leans back, against the tree. Her gaze falls on the forgotten bread, meat, and cheese, and she reaches over to retrieve them, telling Cordell over her shoulder "Should I start tieing the food up in one of the trees?"
Cordell shakes his head,'No, don't worry about it until we are through eating.' He unstraps all the packs from the mule and stacks then up against the tree. He pulls the bedrolls from the pile and brings them over to the campfire. He tosses both of them on the ground and sits on one of them. Two howls rend the night air in rapid succession as he sits, then the night falls silent again aside from the crackling of the fire.
Lor freezes as the silence lingers on, right hand outstretched and ears perked up. When she realizes they aren't going to be attacked, yet, she grabs the pan and scrambles onto the other bedroll between the tree and fire. Glancing between the food, the enclosing darkness, and Cordell, she ponders "How long will the fire last? Enough for them to pass us by?"
Cordell nods and pulls out a piece of jerked beef. He says,'It should. I'll stoke it up and put some more wood on it before I go to sleep. Should be enough to keep hot coals most of the night. If the wolves get very close, the mule will go nuts and awaken us. Then I can toss some more wood on to get a blaze going again.' He shrugs and seems unworried as he bites off a chunk of the jerky and begins to chew.
Lor glances about again uncertainly, but not terrified. Breaking off a piece of the warmed bread she chews it thoughtfully, then looks Cordell over. "Looks like you've handled a situation like this before, then? Nothing to worry about, right?"
Cordell nods thoughtfully as he chews, then after he swallows,'I've travelled a good bit. Did some hunting when I was younger.' He shrugs slightly,'Worrying does no good, anyway. They likely will not bother us. But, if they do, we are prepared.' He unbuckles his swordbelt and places the scabbard on the bedroll beside him, hilt in easy reach. As he frees himself from the constriction of the belt, he lets out a tired sigh.
Lor smiles at him and, upon finishing the piece of bread, brushes away crumbs. She seems more relaxed, for now, at least. Tilting her head slightly to her left, she lies down on her stomach, facing him. "I don't think I have to worry any more, thank you." Another howl, and a following one. "Umm, would you mind too much if I moved closer?"
Cordell's expression is hard to read with the flickering firelight on half his face and the other half in darkness. After a brief pause, he shakes his head,'Don't mind at all.' He turns and looks back to the north and says softly,'They've gone quiet at least. Wonder if they moved on or simply stopped howling.'
Lor sits back on her heels and carefully arranges the bedroll to her liking. Satisfied, she nods, and sits staring into the dark, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip.
Cordell finishes his jerky and stands. He moves his sword out of the way and unrolls his bedroll. Then he moves around the camp, securing the packs and tying the food up in the tree. He throws most of the rest of the wood on the fire and sits back down in the middle of his bedding. He pulls off his left boot and is working on the right when the distinctive sound of a twig snapping can be heard. He pulls his boot rapidly back on and places his right hand on the hilt of his sword, grasping the scabbard with the left. Then he goes totally silent, staring off into the night in the direction the noise came from.
Lor swallows nervously, her hand shaking as she feels around for her swords. Not finding them, she thinks for a moment, then grips the pan in her left hand, careful not to disturb anything. Muscles tense, she follows Cordell's gaze, but sees nothing of any notice.
A shape moves from the shadows of the night into the pool of light cast by the campfire. As it crosses from darkness into light, the shape resolves into the form of a man, hands held spread to show they are empty. His size and build is difficult to judge from his baggy cloak, and his hood is pulled up, hiding his face. In a soft voice that sounds slightly hoarse, he says,'As you can see, I am not holding a weapon. Do you good people mind if a fellow traveller shares your fire?' He pauses there on the edge of the light as he waits for a response. Cordell glances questioningly over at Lor, then back to the stranger. He shakes his head slightly and says,'Not at all. It is strange to see one travelling alone in these times, though.'
Lor keeps her grip on the pan, eyeing the stranger warily. Thinking for a minute, she politely offers a piece of bread and cheese. Forming a tight smile she nods, "Yes, please, do tell what brings you out here, and alone." her other hand having found a sword hilt under her bedroll.
The man sits down on the ground and takes the proffered food from Lor. He nods a polite bow and says,'Thank you miss.' He takes a bite out of the bread and chews it for a moment before adding,'But I am not alone.' Another shape detaches itself from the shadows and slips into the light. At first it appears to be a large dog, until the light catches its eyes. A grizzled grey wolf slinks into the light and sits down next to the man. He breaks his cheese in half and feeds one piece of it to the wolf before eating the rest himself. He slips back his hood, exposing unkempt dirty blond hair,'They brought me here.' Cordell's grip tightens on his hilt, but he sits back down. 'They?' he asks, gaze warily switching from man, to wolf and back again.
Lor gasps softly as the wolf enters the area, seemingly every nerve on edge. She notices the looks passed between the man and wolf, curiosity beginning to take hold over fear. Moving closer, it's as if the wolf has a spell over her, and she stares into it's glittering golden eyes. "How is that possible? For them to lead you here.... amazing..."
The man shrugs slightly and says,'They were curious.' He looks at Lor and then at Cordell, the firelight finally reflecting off his eyes, showing them to be the same yellow as those of the wolf lounging next to him. My name is .. Serval.' He pauses before the name as if having trouble remembering it or as if he was going to say something else. Cordell frowns at the man, but answers politely,'Grace favor you, Serval. I am Cordell.' He seems to relax very slightly, but his hand is still firmly gripped on his hilt. (Cordell)
Lor finally breaks her gaze from the wolf and turns to Serval. Her smile seems much more natural this time. "Welcome, Serval. I am Lor. If there's anything you need or would like, I might be of some assistance..." she folds her hands in her lap, possibly so she doesn't grab for the pan again?
Serval just smiles and shakes his head,'No, can not think of anything I need. The wolves were curious and I just came along for the company.' He takes another bite of the bread and chews on it thoughtfully. The wolf lies beside him, head resting on its paws as it seems to just stare at Cordell.
Cordell frowns at the man as if he is touched by madness. He shifts uncomfortably under the wolf's gaze and asks with a hint of irritation in his voice,'The wolves were curious? About what?' He turns loose of his scabbard and gestures with his left hand towards the mule, which has moved as far around the tree as its tether will allow. 'That is all here that I would think would be of interest to a wolf.'
Lor watches the wolf thoughtfully. Softly, almost to herself, "That is not what they want... don't think they're hungry enough to try, this one, anyways. Can't speak for the others, of course." Shaking her head, she lowers her gaze and rubs her forehead, mumbling to herself.
Serval chuckles softly, but humorlessly,'No, they are not interested in your mule.' His gaze focuses sharply on Cordell and his tone goes deadly serious,'It is you they came to see.'
Lor gasps in astonishment. Eyes flickering between the two men, and hand left hand gripping the pan's handle tightly, she stammers out "Why.. why would they want.. why -do- they want... you?" her worried gaze settling on Cordell.
Cordell stares incredulously at Serval for a moment, then turns to Lor. Silently, he mouths,'No idea.' Turning back to the strange man, he says in a just making conversation kind of tone,'Really? All this way just to see me? That is very neighborly of them, don't you think?'
Lor blinks and tugs on a lock of hair with her right hand, looking away in thought. Turning her attention back to the situation at hand, she stands up, holding the pan just in case something goes wrong, and stands in front of Serval. Jaw set and muscles tense she tries to meet Serval's gaze, which is difficult considering he's not looking at her. "Why have you come for him?" She looks as if she wants to go on, but leaves it at that.
Serval looks up at the woman, pausing to give the frying pan a significant look. He shrugs and seems to relax a bit,'I didn't. I'm just here for the company. The wolves wanted to see him. Say he can talk to them, just doesn't know it yet.' Cordell just shakes his head and moves his index finger around his ear in the universal sign for lunacy.
Lor frowns at this, glaring at Serval, then looks to the wolf, and back to Serval. Sighing in frustration? exasperation? she pleads "But he can't talk to them!" thinks for a moment, looking back to Cordell. "Can you?"
Serval just grins and shakes his head at the woman's reaction. Cordell shakes his head at her almost imperceptibly then turns his attention back towards the man and the wolf. He makes a seated bow towards the wolf and says,'Grace favor you, sir wolf. Pleasant trip, was it?' His tone of voice and the depth of his bow are very polite, but his entire body is tense and his knuckles white from their grip on his hilt.
Lor just gapes at the scene before her, not quite panicky, just near-hysterical. Dropping the pan as her muscles turn to jelly, she just kind of drops to her knees and sits there, blinking and processing what's going on. "But how...? Are they... are you..? I don't hear anything!"
Cordell looks up at Lor and makes a calming gesture. He shoots her a significant glance and says,'Sure you do. Or would if you would just calm down.' He turns back towards the wolf and says in a most gracious tone,'I apologize for my companion, sir wolf. She is just tired from our days travelling. In fact, we were preparing for sleep when you arrived.' He lets out an overly dramatic sigh and continues,'I fear I am torn. My companion needs her rest, but I would be a poor host if I were not to stay up and entertain you.' Overall his voice has a very patronizing tone to it.
Lor frowns, confusion marring her face as she wonders what all's going on, but does shut up and leans back against the tree. Closing her eyes, she takes a few deep breaths, then reopens them to look at the wolf. In a low, calm tone, she tells it "If you can understand me and you're the one to talk to, then fine, I'll talk to you. Maybe I'm just overtired from the journey, or maybe I'm just cranky today, but whatever it is, I wish to sleep. Alone. And when I wake up, I want to find everything that's here now still here. Well, almost everything. Whatever it is you came for or need to do, I'm sure you can do in the morning." She kind of crawls over to her bedroll, removing boots and pauses for a moment. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed!"
Serval snickers softly, then lets it blow into an all out guffawing laugh. When he has managed to calm himself he climbs to his feet and bows towards Lor,'Many pardons, lady.' Then he turns and begins walking back into the night. The wolf gets up and trots after him. Before the man disappears into the night he calls over his shoulder,'You cannot avoid your destiny.' Then he is gone. Cordell snorts softly then turns to Lor,'Avoid arguing with those touched by the Light. They tend to become violent when their lunacy is challenged.' He looks back to the direction Serval departed and stares into the darkness,'And that one was definitely touched.'
Lor sniffs as the two fade away, frowns slightly, and starts smoothing out her bedroll. "I'll argue with whomever I wish to argue with, thank you." She sighs, frown fading away, and folds her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to take out my frustration on you, I just... " She looks at Cordell, her eyes piercing with curiosity. "Do you feel any different? Or .... do you think he was really mad?"
Cordell turns and looks at Lor as if -she- is mad,'He said the wolves TOLD him that I could talk to them? There is any chance at all that he is not mad?'
Lor grins slightly. "Oh, I suppose you're right. He seemed so... devoted, though... Like he really knew what he was talking about." She shrugs, turns to look around a minute, then pulls over a backpack and starts sifting through it. Pulling out a heavy, brown colored shirt, she replaces the backpack and tugs on the shirt. She gets settled under the blanket and stares out at the starry night sky. "Let me know if you feel .. different, though, please?"
Cordell nods and says,'I will.' He pushes his sword aside and begins taking off his boots again. He places them next to his bedroll within easy reach, and his sword in easy reach on the other side. As he crawls inside his bedding, he lets out a yawn and then says,'Sleep well, Lor. That madman has reminded me of something to which should attend. I am changing course for Cairhien in the morning, if you have no objections.'
Lor mumbles agreement softly, already mostly asleep. Rolling over to face the dying fire, she mumbles incoherently and drifts off to a deep slumber.
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