Wayfarer's Ridge ((Open))

[Silverhart]

--------------------------------------------------------art by Silverhart

Spring has at long last set upon Eldemore. The roads are slick with snowmelt and chocked with new greenery. It is a miserable and beautiful time to travel, full as it is with sudden downpours and flooded roads, with trees in full bloom and the young animals frolicking.

You have been on the roads in the Celtlands for a while now, on your way to whatever your destination, when impish Spring decides to play it's tricks upon you. Upon reaching the river you see that in the storm last night the path has been washed away, the bridge destroyed, and the river is running wild with snowmelt. Even if you could get across it seems as if the road you need and all it's markers were washed clean away in the flood.

There is however, one way across - Wayfarer's Ridge, a wild trail up a forested ben that meets up with the road on the other side. But it can be a treacherous path, being little more then a sheep track winding along the edges of steep cliffs, and through dense patches of pine. The local guidebook assures you in good weather and without delays it takes little over half a day to summit, with another half day to descend - which seems more then doable. However the guidebook also notes wild dires and ursas are not unknown in these parts, and you are best advised to find some fellow travelers to make the journey with. There are bound to be many interesting characters going your way.

--->

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• Keep in mind if you have a Drake or Griffin or other ridable flying companion they cannot simply fly you over the river - the trail on the other side has been washed completely away so you'd have no way of finding the main road again, and the Wayfarer's Ridge trail is for the most part unable to be seen from the air to be followed

[Silverhart]

Delwyn Szarvas | Elvian
Companion to Kerf the Incense Elkrin
Caratacus the Golden Humming Bumble
Tags: none

Sunlight at last broke through the persistent cloud cover that morning, dancing it's rays momentarily across the dips and folds of the ridged valley. Delwyn visibly brightened at the sight before the sun's playful frolics were quickly swallowed once again by the petulant grey clouds. They seemed determined to ruin everyone's spring with their sulky presence that promised rain.

The Elvian took shelter against the oppressive clouds beneath the lone ash tree that stood a few yards from the road. The cleared patch of land beneath it indicated it to be a popular resting spot for travelers. Beside him, two elkrin pawed impatiently at the wet earth, throwing up clumps of mud. Kerf was being especially impossible, perhaps on account of last night's storm. The big dark buck had been tossing his head and bucking occasionally this morning. Delwyn knew better then to try and quiet him, and carefully maneuvered himself so that Burnie was between them. The quiet doe seemed unfazed by her fellow elkrin's agitation, focused as she was on trying to drag Delwyn and Kerf toward a patch of delicious clover just out of reach.

Delwyn peeked out from around the Elkrin, searching for his companion further down the road. He could hear the roaring of the swollen river, though he could not see it beyond the grassy hillock. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since Oskar had left him here to scout the riverbed, saying it was too dangerous for the elkrin. Delwyn didn't know what made it any safer for Oskar to be on that riverbed all alone, but he hadn't questioned it. Until now. He was starting to get worried, but more importantly – he was starting to get bored.

“Caratacus – pray go check on Oskar. But wait! - don't let him know I told you to check on him.” He'd be annoyed if he thought I didn't think he could look after himself. The fuzzy gold bundle on his shoulder blinked, revealing itself to not be a bauble, but a humming bumble. With a Chiir-rup! of confirmation, the little bird zipped off the Elvian's shoulder and winged toward the river's sound, leaving Delwyn to glance up and down the road.

Oskar Airgead | Wolfkin Halfborn
Companion to Burnie the Fallow Elkrin
Tags: none

Oskar scratched his chin thoughtfully as he crouched on a rock and surveyed the bloated river. The wolfkin halfborn knew this particular river well – it became a rushing torrent every spring thaw, but he had never seen it like this. If he were one to assign emotions to inanimate things he might be tempted to say it was downright angry, but he wasn't. Last night's storm had wiped out the road completely, and he had bid Delwyn wait with the elkrin while he scouted a safe route to the bridge.

But the bridge wasn't there.

What was there was a post that had once been the bridge. Oskar stood amid the rocks, and fallen trees considering this turn of events, turning it over very slowly in his mind, as if he were contemplating a painting in a gallery and not the predicament of crossing a river that clearly did not wish to be crossed.
He was startled from his thoughts very suddenly by the sound of someone – or something - pushing through the dense foliage. Though there were few trees on this side of the river, a thick clump of shrubs with lofty ambitions clustered all around the bank and overhung the waters. Oskar's first instinct was flight – he had the thought to plunge into the overgrowth and hide, but that would be silly. Surely he'd already been seen, and if not, his fleeing would certainly draw unwanted attention. What have you to hide? he asked himself, and then winced, twitching his ears without thought. Instead he forced himself to act unconcerned by the sound. If they wished to show themselves they would.

[Scyanatha]

((May I? Also, it's been a while since I've last participated in a roleplay, so please excuse me if I seem a bit inexperienced. ^^))

Seth Corvus | Half-Blood Avian
Companions: Daizen "Dai" (Sleipnir) | Dantalion "Tali" (Jackalope)
Bonded Creatures: None, as he's a half-blood.
However, he has an "accidental" blood bond with a jackdaw.

Seth had been traveling since before sunrise, and he had dismounted from his silver pinto sleipnir to stretch his legs and give his steed some rest - as much as that was possible while keeping on the move, with the tall steed carrying most of its companion's luggage tied to its saddle. A pitch-black, winged jackalope rested on the sleipnir's back instead, fast asleep, a ray of sunlight briefly warming its fur before getting swallowed up by the clouds once again.

Arriving at the top of a grassy hill, the tall, lean and dark-haired young man stopped for a moment, briefly raising the eyepatch off his left eye so he could get a better look at whatever was ahead of him. He quietly cursed the the patch, but he still kept wearing it - he preferred others to remain ignorant of his mixed heritage, even if it meant inconveniencing himself, and hiding the odd predatory eye with the silver-white iris was the only way to conceal it. Noticing a tall, lone ash tree and an Elvian with two elkrin ahead of him along the path, he quickly dropped the eyepatch again. Slowly, he surveyed the road. It was invariably muddy, as it had been most of the way since the town where he'd spent the night, and even though he could hear the noise of a raging river nearby, it was hidden from view beyond the next grassy knoll. He let out a sigh and walked over to his companions, who were slightly ahead of him, the sleipnir scraping at the muddy soil with one of its many hooves as it impatiently waited for him to move on.

"Patience, Dai. I'm gonna need to borrow Tali for a bit. We need to know what's ahead." Daizen shook his head, but kept waiting as his halfblood companion roused the sleeping Cursed Corvus jackalope. "Come on, Tali, wake up." Slowly, the jackalope's ears twitched, and finally it opened its eyes, giving the young man a curious look. Seth laughed, scratching the jackalope behind its ears. "You're awake? Good. I need you to scout ahead... it seems there's a river beyond that hill over there, and I need to know the situation. Could you do that?" Dantalion sat up, his ears twitching for a moment before standing at full alert, confirming that it had understood the half-Avian. The black jackalope leaped off the sleipnir's back, using his small wings to glide a short distance before landing, and soon he disappeared from view as it went to investigate the river up ahead.

As Tali disappeared from view, the Avian and his sleipnir continued towards the ash tree. Whoever the Elvian might be, he thought they must be looking to cross the river as well. Perhaps they could travel together.

[Silverhart]

(Of course! I'm not the most experienced either – I just want to see more Eld roleplays going on. ^^ And I was bored, so... set up a roleplay! XD)




Delwyn Szarvas | Elvian
Companion to Kerf the Incense Elkrin
Caratacus the Golden Humming Bumble
Tags:Scyanatha | Seth Corvus

Kerf made a hacking cough and rolled his eyes. Alarmed, Delwyn looked to the Incense elkrin who was straining at his halter, and tossing his antlers in display. The dark stag gave a wheezing bellow of challenge, and the Elvian looked past him to see what had him so agitated. Even Burnie lifted her head to see what the ruckus was. Delwyn's sharp eyes made out a pair of figures on the hillside picking their way down the road toward them. It seemed to be a traveler and his sleipnir. The relief at this sight surprised him – but then he supposed he was not used to being alone in strange country for any amount of time; it was quickly followed up with intense curiosity, especially for the person's animal. Delwyn had had the pleasure of meeting quiet a few sleipnir since he'd started traveling with Oskar, but though they seemed a common enough creature among the humans, to him they seemed as exotic as the two elkrin were to most passersby. How could something have so many legs, he marveled. It's phenomenal. He'd never seen one in a flat out gallop – did they look graceful, or ungainly, he wondered. How did the foals ever learn to stand up and walk? A thousand questions tumbled through his mind.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by Kerf, who was now jumping in place, digging his hooves into the mud and sending clods flying. "Oh, gentle Mythadian..." Delwyn breathed, taking a firmer grip on Kerf's lead. Seemingly he was not the only one to have an interest in the sleipnir. Kerf never tended to do well around unknown animals, but today he seemed in one of exceptionally bad moods and was ready to challenge the equine to a duel. Delwyn mustered his stern voice. "Kerfuffle – now you behave yourself ...". BLARGH! "That is hardly what I call 'behaving'! Be still you great lummox!" He wrestled with the great animal's lead, dropping Burnie's in the process. The elkrin doe gazed with amusement at her two silly bucks in their scuffle, then looked down at her loose rein. Then she looked at the approaching stranger and his horse. Then... she looked at the clover along the side of the road...

...and decided the clover was far more interesting.





Oskar Airgead | Wolfkin Halfborn
Companion to Burnie the Fallow Elkrin
Tags: Scyanatha | Seth Corvus

Caratacus winged low across the grass toward the river, a small bright golden streak. The little humming bumble pulled up as he saw something dark dash past him, stirring up a small plume of midges. Without thinking, Caratacus dove after the tiny insects, reaping a small massacre as he plucked several out of the air before pulling up to watch the dark jackalope plunge into the foliage. With a flick of his wings the golden humming bumble fluttered after him.

By the river Oscar was still judging the waters. He'd never been a particularly strong swimmer... there was no hope for it – they'd have to go the long way around. He seemed to recall there being an old trail back along the road. He was about to go back to Delwyn and check his maps, when another rustle made him hesitate.

No person immediately made their presence known, and Oskar found himself glancing back toward the foliage, thinking he had caught a shadow of movement flickering through the branches. Was that a jackalope? He could have laughed out loud at his foolishness. And then with a loud peeping a golden streak of light came out of the woods a him. The halfborn nearly stumbled back in surprise, catching himself before he slipped on the rocks. "Caratacus?" The tiny bird circled his head once, then landed on the man's shoulder, ruffling his feathers comfortably. The tiny golden creature flicked his tongue out at the foliage.

[Scyanatha]

((Finally finished Seth's character entry in my own thread ^^" Also, your writing is wonderful!))

Seth Corvus | Half-Blood Avian
Companions: Daizen (Sleipnir)
Dantalion (Jackalope)
Blood Bond: Jack the jackdaw.
Tags: Silverhart | Delwyn & Oskar

A strange movement and a loud bellow caught Seth's attention, and he lifted his eyes off the road. Under the ash tree, the Elvian seemed to be having trouble with the Elkrin buck, which was behaving in such a ridiculous way that Seth couldn't help but chuckle. Still, it was a magnificent beast, and Seth certainly didn't want to be on the wrong side of those antlers - or hooves. It didn't take long for him to recognize the elkrin's behavior as a challenge directed at his sleipnir companion. The tall steed was growing a little restless, its head raised in full alert as the steed quickened its pace, almost dancing with agitation. Seth gave a warning glance towards the steed. "Dai. No." The sleipnir seemed to give him a questioning look, turning one ear towards his companion, but eventually seemed to realize that a fight was not such a good idea after all. Still, Seth laid a hand on Daizen's shoulder as they approached the ash tree - a signal that the sleipnir knew to mean that he should calm down, or there would be hell. Literally.

As they arrived at the ash tree, making sure that Seth was in between the sleipnir and the agitated elkrin buck - was that buck smoking? - a happy cawing came from the branches above them. The source soon became apparent as a dark grey-and-black bird, just a bit smaller than a crow, landed on top of Seth's head. The halfblood laughed softly at the bird, poking its belly to make it hop down to his shoulder. "So this is where you were, Jack." The jackdaw cawed happily in confirmation as Seth shifted his attention to the Elvian. He wondered if he should introduce himself first, or wait until the Elvian had calmed the dark elkrin buck...

...

Dantalion watched from the bushes as a small golden creature whizzed past him and danced around the dark, wolf-eared human before settling on its shoulder. Deciding that the halfborn was probably safe - and that he needed to investigate the bridge's remains, he folded his small wings tightly against his body and hopped out of the foliage. Completely ignoring the halfborn, he jumped over to the single wooden pole that still remained between the rocks and sniffed at it before looking over the river in the direction of the opposite shore. No bridge. And he couldn't see the road on the other side, either. And this river looked far too deep and angry to cross...
Deciding that this was all he needed to know, he started back in the direction of the ash tree, stopping for a moment to sniff at the halfborn's boots out of curiosity.

[Silverhart]

(Well thank you – I've never thought of my writing as wonderful, but thanks! XP Seth looks like an awesome character!)




Delwyn Szarvas | Elvian
Companion to Kerf the Incense Elkrin
Caratacus the Golden Humming Bumble
Tags:Scyanatha | Seth Corvus

As the sleipnir and his man approached, Kerf got more and more excited, dancing about on his cloven hooves as he tried to outmaneuver Delwyn, but the Elvian was as light on his feet as his steed, blocking his path and wrestling his head down. In a moment of brilliant desperation, Delwyn wrapped his arms around Kerf's face, covering his eyes, in the vain hope that blocking out the sight of the sleipnir would quiet him. This actually seemed to have an effect, as Kerf stilled for an instant, confused as to why it had suddenly gone dark. The buck snorted and tried to tug free, but Delwyn had gotten a grip on his antler with his other hand, and was beaming triumphantly.

The Elvian didn't realize at first that the stranger had approached and was standing behind him. “Oh – hello!” he gasped in greeting. Kerf's nostrils flared trying to scent what Delwyn was talking to. Delwyn wondered briefly if in fact the elkrin was able to smell anything over his own musky incense, which was curling out of his mouth in wispy tendrils at his agitation.

Delwyn pulled Kerf's head around so that he could see the stranger better. The dark elkrin stag tried to figure out the best way out of this hold, seemingly still a bit dazed. “Your steed is beautiful!” Delwyn gushed, oblivious to how ridiculous he must look to the other. He could just make out through Kerf's antlers that the sleipnir was indeed a wonderful bluish color, with white markings that ran down his sides like spilled milk. His own creature grumbled deep in his throat, long tail flinging about in annoyance. The Elvian could not quite make out the man through Kerf's thrashings, other then that he was dressed for traveling, and seemingly human, and that he bore another creature - a bird or rune dragon perhaps - on his shoulder.





Oskar Airgead | Wolfkin Halfborn
Companion to Burnie the Fallow Elkrin
Tags: Scyanatha | Seth Corvus

Oskar watched as the strange jackalope leaped out of the brush. It was a strange breed to him - all blue-black, and were those feathers on it's back? How odd. Even odder was how calmly it approached the remains of the destroyed bridge, as if it were interested in crossing. Then it glanced up at the river.

“Trying to get across, wee beastie?” Oskar asked good-naturedly, amused by it's antics. It hopped over to him curiously, giving him a cursory sniff. Must be someone's pet, or a bond, Oskar reasoned, as he watched it. “Careful you don't get caught in one of my traps, or you'll find yourself in my stew pot someday,” he told it in jest. Caratacus peeped at this, although Oskar had no idea what the humming bumble was trying to say. He glanced at the small golden bird. “What are you doing here? Did Delwyn send you to check on me? Or is something wrong?” The bird fluffed it's feathers in what might have been a mock shrug. The halfborn ran a hand over his face. “Cannae leave that man alone for two minutes...”

[Scyanatha]

Seth Corvus | Half-Blood Avian
Companions: Daizen (Sleipnir)
Dantalion (Jackalope)
Blood Bond: Jack the jackdaw.
Tags: Silverhart | Delwyn & Oskar

Seth looked up and smiled, trying his best not to laugh at the sight of the Elvian who was struggling with the great incense elkrin buck while peering through said elkrin's antlers to look at him. He might not trust people, but this Elvian didn't seem so bad. Turning around, he gave his sleipnir a signal to get out of the elkrin's line of sight, and once the sleipnir was on the other side of the tree, he turned back to the Elvian, smiling ever so slightly at the compliment. "Thank you. I could say the same about your elkrin - are they both yours?" It was probably a stupid question, but he didn't really know what else to say. Absent-mindedly, he scratched Jack - who was still sitting on his shoulder - under his chin. The bird obviously loved the scratches, leaning most of his weight on Seth's fingers and closing his bright eyes.

Dantalion looked up at the wolfkin halfborn, then at the river, and back at the halfborn, seeming to understand the man's question. Raising himself on his hind legs, his little wings spreading out slightly to keep his balance on the uneven rocks, he nodded his head. A small, silver star earring blinked in his left ear as he did so, catching the ray of sunlight that briefly peeked from between the heavy clouds. The jackalope looked at the little golden creature for a moment, tilting his head in curiosity, before leaping off to reunite with his companions, seemingly satisfied with whatever conclusions he had made.

Arriving at the dry spot under the ash tree, the black jackalope quickly zigzagged between the hooves of the elkrins, stopping at his companion's feet. Rising up on his hind legs, he pawed at Seth's leg to get his attention.

[Silverhart]

(Gonna have Oskar hang out for a post in case someone else wants to join in with him – otherwise I'll have him mosey over to Seth and Delwyn soon ^^)

Delwyn Szarvas | Elvian
Companion to Kerf the Incense Elkrin
Caratacus the Golden Humming Bumble
Tags: Scyanatha | Seth Corvus

Even as the sleipnir trotted off – what an obedient creature! Delwyn silently admired – the Elvian still clung to the straining elkrin. “You must forgive Kerf – he is not accustomed to other animals...” Delwyn panted. Thinking to blind Kerf with a cloth, the elvian reached for the saddlebags he'd deposited on the ground. It had seemed like a good idea taking them off the elkrin at the time as poor things weren't used to carrying so much. Now however they seemed just out of his reach, made no easier by Kerf's thrashing. The buck seemed to have finally worked out what had happened, and was trying to fight Delwyn off, pawing angrily at the ground.

At the stranger's question Delwyn lost a hold of Kerf momentarily, and the buck threw up his head. He sprang up to snatch at his lead again. “Oh - what?” Delwyn almost blushed. “No, no – they don't belong to me-” Mythrandian forbid he ever claim what was not his. “They are simply friends accompanying us,” he said quickly. Kerf's crazed eyes rolled in his head, looking as if he wanted to murder the tiny Elvian holding his head. Delwyn shot him a look that begged: behave, please. “Kerf. Burnie. May I present -” he was about to ask the stranger's name for proper introductions when realization dawned on him. “Burnie... Burnie!” He'd dropped her lead in the excitement. Where could she have gone?! She wasn't one to wander. Panic gripped him as he didn't see her. At her name the fallow elkrin looked up from her clover patch behind the stranger to flick an ear at his cries. “Oh – there you are.” The doe went back to her midmorning snack, wandering over to the next clover patch paying no mind to the jackalope that scampered under her nose. To Delwyn's dismay she was ambling along down the road. “Ah, good sir – if you could grab her lead for me, I would be ever grateful," Delwyn gasped engaged once again as Kerf tried to wrest himself free. "I'm afraid if she eats too much sweet clover she'll make herself sick. They are both of them unused to this climate.”





Oskar Airgead | Wolfkin Halfborn
Companion to Burnie the Fallow Elkrin
Tags: none

Oskar was surprised to see the strange creature nod at him – he didn't even know jackalopes could nod. Or that they used bridges for that matter. It hopped off, leaving Oskar to scratch his chin in bemusement. He looked at the humming bumble on his shoulder. “Odd that. You ever see jackalopes of that kind round your forests?” The golden creature gave a series of harsh peeps. “Huh.” As usual Oskar hadn't understood a word.

Careful of his footing the wolfkin halfborn started to make his way back along the rocks. Unlike the jackalope he was a bit too large to slip through the dense foliage unscathed. As he trotted back he went over the landscape in his mind – he'd traveled these highlands before, but that had been alone, without him having to worry over two elkrin and a traveling companion. And a humming bumble, he added. Caratacus however, was perhaps the only one of their party who's welfare he did not worry over. He was a smart and quick little creature. Not for the first time, Oskar found himself sighing and asking all the Ancients how he ended up in this motley band.

[Scyanatha]

((Alright ^^ I've been debating if I should bring Enda in, since at this point there's only Delwyn, Oskar and Seth, but I doubt a rune drake would be able to land where Oskar is without crushing him AND the bushes. Or make the Kerf situation even worse (because rune drake). xD And I don't really have a personality or backstory for her yet... Finished Enda's backstory and edited this post to introduce her.
Also, Delwyn struggling with Kerf is so relatable, minus the antlers, hehe.))

Seth Corvus | Half-Blood Avian
Companions: Daizen (Sleipnir)
Dantalion (Jackalope)
Blood Bond: Jack the jackdaw.
Tags: Silverhart | Delwyn Szarvas

Still watching the struggle between elf and elkrin with interest, Seth nodded his head at the elf's answer. "Of course you are excused. And you have my apologies. Daizen is also a friend to me - I wouldn't be so foolish as to claim him as mine." He chuckled. "You could actually say that he claimed me, instead." He suddenly realized that he still hadn't actually introduced himself, or any of his companions, to the Elvian. "Oh, right. My name is Seth. Seth Corvus. That sleipnir you saw was Daizen, and this little guy here" - he poked the bird on his shoulder - "is Jack. Dantalion should be here any moment; I sent that jackalope ahead to scout the road." He nodded as he acknowledged the Elvian's request and turned around, walking over to the elkrin doe, only to stop in his tracks as he noticed a black creature sitting at his feet.

"How's the situation, Tali?" The black jackalope at his feet shook his head, lowering himself to all fours before hopping around seemingly aimlessly, turning left and right and back and forth, finishing with a loud thump of his hind leg. Seth raised his brow before sighing and walking the rest of the way to fetch Burnie, muttering under his breath. "Dolos have mercy." Whatever the jackalope's odd acrobatics had meant, it didn't seem to mean much good. Crouching down, Seth picked up the lead, carefully watching the hooves until he rose back to his feet, loosely holding the lead in his hands. "C'mon, sweetie. Time to go back." He didn't expect to have any trouble bringing back the doe - he didn't know why exactly, maybe it was because of his Avian blood, but animals generally seemed to respect him - and started back towards the tree, his jackalope following him closely behind, just like - hopefully - the elkrin.

----------

Enda Guaire | Human
Companions: Taraen (Rune Drake)
Lonn (Rune Dragon)
Tags: Silverhart | Oskar Airgead

The young woman sighed and patted her Rune Drake on his neck, checking the leather buckles around her legs for the tenth time that morning before leaning to the side to peer over the drake's shoulder. Far below them, the forest was dense, not the slightest sign visible of the road that should have been there, nor was there any space for them to land at all. They should head back and find another way - if they kept going like this, they would be lost forever, even if she wasn't all that far from home yet. And it was cold up here. "Come on. I think we should turn around, Taraen." The drake seemed to agree with her, leaning to the side to turn back in the direction they came from, beating his great wings until they soared through the skies at great speeds.

Soon enough, the river came into view again, drake and rider slowing down, to great relief of the small rune dragon that had been clinging to the saddle in front of the Celt woman. As they spiraled down towards the rocky riverbank, Enda spotted someone. "A wolfkin...? No, he's missing a tail. A halfborn, perhaps?" she thought to herself, her excitement rising slightly at the chance to meet a wolfkin, even if he was a halfborn. The drake below her let out an odd snort as it spiraled lower still. You see someone with an unusual skin colour, and the first thing you think is that he's missing a tail? You're an odd one, girl. She couldn't sense the exact words, but the drake's amusement was clearly audible in Enda's head and she sputtered indignantly at the drake. Little did she know, however, that she wouldn't be meeting just a halfborn, but an elvian and a rather strange "human" very soon as well.

It didn't take long for the two to finally land on the edge of the riverbank, having found a spot just large enough in between the bushes, the river, and the dark-skinned halfborn who seemed to have just started making his way back up the hill. The small rune drake chirped and fluttered off, circling around for a moment before settling on the great drake's head while Enda leaned over to the side to undo the buckles that strapped her tightly to the drake's saddle, ignoring the halfborn for the moment as she was far too eager to stretch her legs.

[Silverhart]

Delwyn Szarvas | Elvian
Companion to Kerf the Incense Elkrin
Caratacus the Golden Humming Bumble
Tags: Scyanatha | Seth Corvus

Burnie was as quiet as a lambling Sheep Rune as the stranger took hold of her lead. The doe sniffed the bird on his shoulder politely, as she munched quietly on her clover. She stuck her nose in Seth's hair in curiosity – his smell was a wonder to her. She had not known met many non-Elvians before, and each person's scent held a new curiosity. This one especially intrigued her, nearly as much as the clover had.

Kerf was still trying to fight Delwyn off as he cast about for the sleipnir. The Elvian had lunged for the saddlebags and drawn out an old shirt. He attempted to toss the shirt over the elkrin's head, and Kerf dodged, dancing on his hooves. He let out a hoarse barking cry of defiance. Delwyn for his part tried to play the courteous guest as he wrangled with the elkrin. “Corvus? Is that a Celt name?” he asked. One could fill a book with everything Delwyn didn't know about the Celtlands. He wrestled with the buck and at last managed to throw the shirt over Kerf's head. “I'm sorry, Kerf – but I said I would look after you, and if that means tying you up to keep you from attacking passersby, then so be it.” Grunting, he fastened the shirt to Kerf's head, tying the loose arms of the shirt around his antlers. Delwyn dusted off his hands and stepped back to admire his handiwork. The stag stood confused and blinded, looking as if he had come out the wrong end of a fight with a clothesline. “I am sure if he were in a better mind, Kerf would offer his sincere apologies – since he cannot, I offer mine in it's stead.” Delwyn gave the stranger a half bow, while Kerf snorted and tossed his head, looking like some strange ghoul. “You have met Burnie and Kerf – and I am Delwyn Szarvas.” He glanced up at the man he was speaking too, taking him in for the first time. He was taller then Delwyn was, pale, and dark haired with a curious patch over his eye. Immediately Delwyn wondered at what the patch was for. Equally intriguing was the bird on his shoulder, which Burnie was currently nuzzling. “Thank you for fetching her, sir,” he beamed, and Burnie seeming to recognize she was being talked about, perked her ears at Delwyn.





Oskar Airgead | Wolfkin Halfborn
Companion to Burnie the Fallow Elkrin
Tags: Scyanatha | Enda Guaire

Oskar was startled out of his thoughts by a shadow passing overhead. A jolt of fear coursed through him as he looked up to see a large drake swooping down from above. Suddenly he felt a bit of the old wolf rise up in him in that spike of fear. He had to stifle it back down as he dove for cover in the bushes, upsetting Caratacus. The golden humming bumble set up a fearful alarm call. Claws scraped against river rock as the massive dragon landed. Oskar could have sworn the very earth shook at the impact.

Oskar felt the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up. Every instinct screamed to run, but he held his ground. Running would only attract the beast's attention. How could I be such a fool? Distracted by a jackalope - I miss the drake right in front of me! It took him a moment to see the saddle and the woman on the drake's back. When he did he felt himself relax, the knot of tension untwisting in his belly. He had no love for Dragoons or their drakes, but at least the fear of being eaten was gone.

Carefully he extracted himself from the brambles and vines – earning himself quite a few scrapes and small cuts in the process. Caratacus dove at the great drake then and began haranguing him with angry chirps and whistles. He buzzed around the much larger beast's head, scolding him and daring him to a fight.