Verdana and maluruloki 1x1

[maluruloki]

(( Naw, no worries. Let's get some action going!!! Let's say the strangers are either bandits or poachers. Your choice, if you want to start a fight or something.))

Sophie watched his hands deftly move the paring knife along the wood grain and slowly, the plates began to take shape. It was with quiet awe that she acknowledged his skill. If she had to bet her life on paring out a nearly-perfect plate out of a piece of wood, well...hmm. Let's say she wouldn't bet. His hands were fascinating though, all roughened with use and deeply knuckled. They looked strong and yet she theorized they could be quite gentle. Ardent certainly seemed completely enamored with her Bearer and a Rune was always a good indicator of personal character.

A mighty fine talker indeed, Delyth thought at her Bearer as she shifted her front limbs, glancing over at a nearby bush that rustled. Sophie couldn't help but grin from ear to ear when the ruby-hued Ardent appeared with a friendly offering of a black beetle. Why thank you, Ardent. The Ancient inclined her head and took the offered beetle from the Rune's mouth with the gentleness of a lamb despite her much larger size. A quick swallow and then the Sunset Ancient gave a nearly-audible croon that Sophie read as great pleasure. When Axel offered a carved plate with the eggs on it, Delyth nodded and again, with soft lips, took the plate from his hand. She settled down and ate the eggs delicately, one bite at a time with her lavender-tinted tongue.

Sophie was so engaged with observing how the large Rune was exercising such control that she almost missed Axel offering her a plate as well!
"Oh! Yes, thanks," she stuttered as she took the wooden plate and set it on her lap. The fleeting concern of a lack of cutlery clouded her brow, but only for a moment. Finger food it was. She enjoyed the hare, despite the lack of seasoning, and the eggs were delicious as well. She tried hard not to lick her fingers and mind her manners.

As she ate, she considered Axel's words. She didn't want him going into town alone, especially if he was asking awkward questions. What if he got into trouble? How she could help him if she remained outside of town? Surely there was a way for her to change clothing or tatter it up or something... That way, she could blend in. Have Delyth wear her human guise. Have Silvanus be the one to wait on the outskirts of the villages. He probably wouldn't fight that too much. He hated attention anyways. She decided to refuse any attempt to have her sit on the sidelines. This whole thing had been her idea anyways.

When she was all done, she set her plate aside and let out a contented sigh. "That was wonderful, Axel. I didn't think that the forest could afford much food at this time of year, but you manage to make a bounty out of not a lot. It's an amazing skill." She grinned and was about to ask him another question about how he foraged within the forest when Silvanus interrupted her.

Strangers, Rider. I smell them on the breeze. They are a few yards off still, but they walk softly. Their tread is furtive. In a single graceful bound, the Silvervale stag landed beside her with a ring of his bells. I suggest we mount up, in case of trouble. Sophie quickly stood up and looked around her. The frustrating thing was the thickness of the tree trunks. There wasn't a clear line of sight more than the length of a fallen tree. Delyth had risen to her feet as well, her head craning left and right as her bright eyes scanned around the perimeter of the camp.

We might have visitors, Axel, and Silvanus is suspicious already. I trust his judgment, she announced for all to hear. Sophie slipped her pack back onto her shoulders and retreated to stand at Silvanus's left shoulder. She was dwarfed by his flank and looked oddly fragile next to the muscular Elkrin. The stag seemed to sense her insecurity and wrapped his neck about her, resting his head against her upper arm.

Be brave, my Rider. You will come to no harm. His voice was oddly soothing right now and Sophie entangled her fingers within his soft fur, looking over his slightly-crested neck at Axel.

We need to help him too if he gets into trouble, Silvanus. The stag's rubescent eyes flickered to the tow-headed lad and she felt a tension despite his response.

I will do my best, Rider.

It was then that she heard the tell-tale crack of a fallen branch and it ratcheted her nerves up higher still. She couldn't contain the flinch against Silvanus's flank. This was getting awfully adventuresome for her.

[I took a slightly different twist to this. I hope you don't mind ^^' I'm really sorry if it's PPey. I tried to leave it open, but it just sort of happened like that. If I need to change anything, please let me know. I would be happy to.]

Axel was not oblivious to the interaction between the two dragons. He was surprised to see Ardent make the gesture that she did. Ardent, who thought herself quite the queen bee, never offered any creature anything. She expected that sort of treatment herself. Offering Twila a beetle, and such a tasty-looking one, at that, was no small matter.

When the large creature accepted the gesture without even a flinch, she won Axel's heart. Anyone who treated his Rune Dragon with respect was a friend of his.

He swelled even more when the great dragon ate his simple food. He decided, once and for all, that adventuring with this bizarre band was well and truly worth it.

It was a pity about the stag, but one couldn't have everything, could they?

Sophie did not seem convinced by Ax's proposition. He kept waiting for her to object (almost hoping that she would, in fact) but she didn't say a word. She just kept eating. Axel himself was finished within minutes, and picked splinters of meat off of the tiny bones with an air of peaceful contemplation. He hummed softly to fill the silence, until everyone else had finished their meal.

Eventually they did (Law! They ate like right ladies, they did) and Sophie praised his skills. Axel waved a hand dismissively, but he blushed, clearly pleased at the compliment.
"Awww, shucks. 's nothin'- " he said, before he noticed that she was no longer listening. The stag was beside them, managing to arrive nearly silently, and his ears were pricked and alert. Axel stood with Sophie, no longer smiling. He kicked dirt over the embers to smother them.

" 's wrong?" he asked, keeping his voice low. He felt a lump of anxiety forming in his chest.

Maybe it still wasn't too late to back out of this adventure.

No. He couldn't do that. Not now. Not after he'd promised. And he couldn't leave Sophie alone. To be fair to Twila and the stag, she was hardly undefended, but that was not the point, was it? The point was, his old ma had raised him to be a gentleman. He couldn't leave.

A branch cracked.

"Well well well. If ye wen' down te the woods teday, ye're in fer a big surprise..."

The old nursery rhyme was familiar to Axel, and with a jolt, he knew that he recognised the voice, too.

"Quick!" he hissed. "Look human! Now! 'fore i' - "

Too late. The men were melting out of the foliage. Axel just had to hope that the dragon had changed in time.

There were five men in all; dirty, scruffy and reeking of old ale. They were scarred and battered. Several were missing teeth. All were holding weapons, from rusty knives to cudgels of roughly-hewn wood. One, a rangy man, with a mop of sandy hair and some flicker of intelligence in his brown eyes, stepped forwards, and Axel stepped up to meet him. They appraised each other silently.

"If i' isn' Little Lor' Windsor," the bandit said slowly, a cruel, taunting smile growing on his face.
"Wha' brings ye so far from yer castle, milord?"
Axel refused to rise to the bait.
"Always knew y'd come t' no good, Connor," he answered mildly. "Isn' this low, even f'r you? Robbin' travelers?"
"Now that ye menshun i', I do have some robbin' te do," Connor answered mildly.
"I got nothin' for you, Connor. I'm no' rich. Go on y'r way."
"Come now, milord. Surely yer father's set ye up wi' some spare change? Oh yes," he said mockingly.
"Bi' of confusion 'bou' tha' inni'?"

A hot flush crept up Axel's neck, but he remained still.

"I have nothin' for ye, Connor," he repeated slowly.

"Oh, I don' know 'bou' tha'!" the man said heartily, stepping to one side. He eyed Sophie hungrily.
"She looks like mighty fine compensashun te me... Wha' the hell!"

That was it. Axel could tolerate himself being slandered, but not his new friend. With a roar of outrage, he punched Connor in the belly before he could even fully register the other inhabitants of the clearing. Connor doubled over with a grunt, then staggered upright and threw a punch at Axel's face, striking his jaw.

With a clang and a bellow, the fighting began.

[maluruloki]

(( Thanks for being patient. Enjoy your vacation!

I would like to apologize for any accidental PPing here as well. I figured there could be some dispatching of a few members of the bandit crew. I won't be rid of them all though and I left Connor to you. And let me know if I can change something as well!))


With the quickest swirl of aurora-lights that Sophie had ever seen, the Sunset Ancient was once again in her human form. Her clothing was normal, trench coat and all, and she swiftly moved over to stand beside her Chosen. The strawberry-blonde young woman was sandwiched between stag and Ancient Rune, well-protected from the rapidly approaching band of men.

Sophie couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the sight of them. Their clothing was somewhat tattered, ragged at the edges and well-worn. On the cool breeze came the scent of unwashed bodies and rank drink. In her peripheral vision, she saw Silvanus's lips curl back to reveal his ivory teeth - not that they were scary in the least, him being an herbivore and all. Delyth leaned into Sophie's side, offering a hand in silent support. She took the hand and clutched it tightly, trying hard to not shiver.

Rider, please - don't pinch, Silvanus's voice whispered into her mind. It was then, as the men were fanning out and one was stepping forwards to meet Axel - what was he doing?! - that Sophie realized how tightly she was gripping the stag's fur. She loosened her grip a bit and was rewarded with a minute nuzzle from his velvety nose.

"If i' isn' Little Lor' Windsor," the bandit's voice oozed with derision. Sophie frowned. Lord Windsor? What did he have to do with Axel? The smarmy bandit leader's name was apparently Connor and it sounded like Axel had some history with the outlaw. They kept up the cruel remarks about Axel's heritage and Sophie was quick to notice the redness of anger that crept up the back of the young man's neck.

I feel like there's more to Axel than we originally suspected, eh? Delyth's mental comment was for Sophie alone and for how blithely it was uttered, it seemed significant that the Ancient Rune would remark on it. The young woman gave a little nod and squeezed Delyth's hand. We'll have to chat with him once this exchange is over. The Ancient Rune seemed unconcerned about the threatening group and it settled Sophie a bit. She kept forgetting the amount of power that the unsuspecting-looking woman held in one pinky finger. She wondered some days about just how scary Delyth could be and always decided against asking. Maybe she would finally see a demonstration...?

Then the bandit's beady eyes met hers from around Axel's shoulder and his cold comment towards her made breakfast curdle in her stomach. There was nothing good in his face. She shrunk into Silvanus's warm flank, tears pricking at her eyes, and the Elkrin stag moved sinuously in a half-circle, now putting the majority of his front between her and the rag-tag group. His ears were laid flat-back against his skull and if she wasn't hearing things incorrectly, the normally clear ring of his bells had gone oddly flat, like dusty bones rattling in an old box. Before he could follow through with his unspoken threat, there was a blurred movement and Axel struck a blow to the bandit leader's solar plexus. A breathy cry of shock escaped Sophie's grimacing mouth as it was brutally returned - the sound of the fist connecting with Axel's jaw made her stomach wrench again - and then chaos ensued.

Delyth stood up tall and tucked her chin in, her sunset-hued hair falling forwards to frame her face. It became shadowed as she drew power from the air around her, her violet-blue eyes becoming radiant from their centers outwards. It looked like a nova of light grew from her pupils. Two of the bandits, both holding jagged-edged pieces of metal, suddenly froze, the blood draining from their faces. They then seemed to go boneless and dropped on the spot. Sophie clapped hands to her mouth, horror freezing her in place.

They are asleep, Dear One. I don't kill unless necessary. The Ancient's voice, normally full of rich light, had a sepulchral ring to it that sent cold shivers down Sophie's spine. It sounded like that lingering ray of sunshine that you wanted so badly to be warm but ends up being bitter light on the ending of a winter's day. It didn't really make her feel better because no one was helping Axel!

Leave one for me, you selfish lizard! With a bleating bellow, Silvanus charged into the group while they were still somewhat stunned by the sudden loss of two cohorts. The wind of his abrupt departure left Sophie stumbling and she would have landed on her behind if Delyth hadn't caught her upper arm. She was hauled gently upright against the Ancient's taller body and held close. She watched as the Silvervale stag careened mercilessly into one of the bandits menacing him uselessly with a cudgel. The stag's antlers may not have been wickedly pointed, but the wind left the bandit with a raspy whoop as he was sent flying back a dozen feet. He rolled to a shattered stop. The stag bugled again as one of two bandits left standing swiped at him with a small butcher's knife. Sophie felt another squeal escape her lungs as it arced down at the stag's unprotected flank, the sunlight flashing off the pitted metal. She buried her face in Delyth's ribs, not wanting to see the blow land, and heard another ear-ringing cry from the Elkrin. I'll be a Dire Wolf's meal before you try that again, HUMAN SCUM!!! There was more scuffling and Sophie dared to open an eye. She couldn't tell exactly what was happening behind the thickly-spaced tree trunks, but it didn't sound like Silvanus had been injured.

"Silvanus! You have to help Axel!!!"

Where Sophie found the bravery to speak, she never knew. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, but she couldn't let Axel fight another second by himself. Not after all of the niceties he had done and all of his life that he had shared up until now. Her hazel eyes flickered up to the sparsely-leafed tree branches. Where was Ardent?!

[Typed in a rush. Hope it's okay!]

Your average bandit henchman often fell into a fairly predictable category. They were often lazy, frequently followers with a lack of initiative, almost always fairly dim-witted, but unanimously self-preserving above all else. In short, they were usually stupid cowards.

Which was probably why, when their leader fell to the ground , tussling with a six-foot, brawny fellow, they left him to it, and focused on the seemingly easier targets: Two women and a deer. In any case, they reckoned that the boss was on top of things. He seemed to have the upper hand.

They were quite right in their latter assumption, if wildly inaccurate about the former.

Punch after punch rained down on Axel's head, shoulders and chest. He defended himself as best he could, throwing blows wildly and blindly while trying to protect his nose, his eyes, his throat, his ears. Axel was not a natural fighter. He wasn't an experienced fighter, either. Sure, he had wrestled with his friends, like any bloke, and once or twice he'd found himself in the middle of a bar brawl after having just one too many. But, serious fighting? Fighting for his life?

Naw, not Axel. Ax was a peaceful, friendly fellow. He was more likely to hurt someone by accident than he was to do it on purpose.

He was losing rapidly. His nose crunched. He yelled out in pain and fear. He couldn't raise his head to see, but through the persistent hammering of fists (Connor's) on flesh (his) he heard a scream. He grunted, his veins surging with adrenaline.
Sophie!
Was she hurt? Was she - His fighting became more frantic, if no less erratic.

The remaining bandits had hung back. They watched their braver - or perhaps simply less intelligent - comrades attack the women, only to slowly come to terms with the idea that these women may not, in fact, have been nearly as easy targets as had first been assumed. In fact, at the taller woman's display, three bandits broke what was already a very shaggy formation, ran into the forest and disappeared. The rest lingered about uncertainly, debating which was worse: facing their boss's ire later, or suffering the fate of their comrades now.

Then Silvanus attacked, and most of the remaining ragtag rogues decided in favour of their immediate skins. They too turned and fled. That left three or four rather anxious-looking men, who swayed on the outskirts of the fight, unwilling to advance or retreat; the four prone men who were victims of the attack; and Connor, who was bludgeoning Axel into a bloodied pulp.

There was a shriek in the air, and something small and red and very, very angry threw itself at one of the lingerers. It chattered and squealed and dug its claws into his eyes, screaming Rune threats and curses. Two more men yelled, and fled, with Ardent chasing them all the while.

Axel was down, but certainly not out. He heard Sophie scream, and his eyes, squeezed shut against the horror surrounding him, snapped open. He snarled furiously, and swung his fist.

To his surprise as much as Connor's he made contact. The onslaught slowed. Axel, bleeding from his nose and mouth, cheek swelling, rose up. He was taller than Connor, and built more powerfully, and when he threw himself at the smaller man, he had both advantages of surprise and mass on his side. He knocked the man to the forest floor with a grunt, and began to punch.

He didn't like it. Not one bit. He winced every time his hands struck, and almost cried out when Connor gasped -
"'Nuff! 'Nuff, I sai'! Yiel'! Yiel'! Weren' my choice!"

Axel drew back, surprised.

"Whaddya - "

Taking advantage of the lull, Connor drew back a fist. Axel didn't even see it coming.

Fortunately, Denny did.

Connor reeled back with a yelp as Ardent pulled him by his hair. She began to lick him - ears, nose, lips, face, nothing was safe, and there was nothing affectionate about the gesture. Denny's numbing saliva went quickly to work. Connor's features began to droop.

Axel stood, looking around frantically, startled by the bodies littering the clearing. He tried for a jocular smile, but it was more of a grimace of pain than anything else.
"Tha' won' be nec'ssary, Duck," he grunted to Sophie, looking concerned.

"You alrigh'?"

Behind him, Connor was rising, and his bandits were returning.

[maluruloki]

((Awesome, Verdana. I <3 writing with you. It didn't read rushed at all! I left much of the action to be decided by you, but I do have Delyth's transformation back into an Ancient Rune as a tide-turner, if you want.))

Sophie felt the grace of small relief flood coolly through her veins, but she wasn't quite sure what caused it: the sight of Silvanus emerging from the thicker area of trees unscathed from his attack, nostrils flared, eyes blood-red and bloodshot, and ribs fluctuating with each enraged breath - or the peregrine-like stoop of ruby-hued Ardent into the scene, with her frenetic talon slashes and fearfully-sharp screeches. The little Rune made the bandits scatter like roaches under a light and the young woman's eyes flickered to the trotting approach of the Silvervale stag.

Those rank creatures will think twice about returning! I'll impale them next. You said Axel needed help? Even as the stag asked, Sophie heard Axel's voice, nasally with injury, and looked over. He hovered over the fallen bandit leader, who held up his hands appealsingly; Connor's mouth moved with unheard words that caused Axel to falter in his pummeling. She could read the stillness building in the bandit's posture and even as she took a step forwards, the warning building behind her teeth, Ardent dropped again with a feral cry. The young woman felt her jaw drop in intrigued disgust as it seemed like Connor's face began to melt. All his features appeared to become lax, like there was some numbing toxin in the Rune's spit, and Silvanus gave a derogatory snort. Deserving of imposed silence, don't you think?

"Agreed..." Delyth murmured softly from beside Sophie. She looked up at the Ancient Rune, who gave her a calming thin-lipped smile in return. The nova of golden light hadn't completed faded from her irises and it made primal nerves skitter in Sophie's spine. She averted her eyes and saw Axel looking at her.

Her heart cringed as if it had been punched instead of him.

He looked absolutely ragged as he attempted to smile; his nose had taken a brutal hit and it seemed like a resetting would be necessary or he'd have a permanent crook to it. If both eyes didn't blacken by even-tide, Sophie didn't know her injuries. No teeth were missing as he spoke, his voice low and strangled with adrenaline. He asked if she were okay.

"Yes... Yes!" The second word was said stronger, with an attempt at heartiness - the first had been whispered, laden with fright. "I'm fine," she said after swallowing and trying to wet her cotton-dry throat. She saw movement from beyond him and it made her pale once again. "Axel! Connor!" She didn't know if she had spoken loud enough for him to hear, but she prayed that he realized quickly that the bandit leader wasn't down for the count. Silvanus snorted and gave a gutteral groan, as if attempting a growl. The stag stepped forwards in front of the two women again with his ears laid flat.

I can't believe they would come back! When her hazel eyes took in beyond the two main combatants, she realized that the once-cowardly remainder of Connor's crew was skulking back, much like wild dogs after realizing that the scare was all a bluff and the carcass remained vulnerable. They didn't seem less wary, but something was galvanizing them to return to their half-beaten leader. What bizarre sense of loyalty it was baffled Sophie, who once again shrunk into herself, her shoulders rising up to her ears. The Silvervale stag bugled and lunged forwards a giant leap, landing a dozen feet short of the ragged group, who all stumbled back a few steps in response. Try me again, foolish men. Sophie watched as a good number of them looked around, as if hearing an invisible voice. Look at me when I speak to you, scum. It took a moment, but when the bandits realized that it was indeed the large Elkrin talking, a few crossed themselves and took another step back.

"'S'not righ', y'know?!"
"Begads, i' talked!"
"Me mother always warn' me 'bout this!"

So run, little hens. Run away before I trample your innards into the forest floor, Silvanus announced with a swing of his antlers, setting his bells to rattling like bones once again. His muffled stomp made many of them flinch and he coughed huskily, his version of a human laugh. Sophie looked back at Axel again and tried to figure out what to do to help him.

"Do not do anything stupid, Dear One." She felt betrayed as Delyth gave her an arched eyebrow. "I've got my trump card in case Axel truly needs help. It appears that Silvanus will keep the rest at bay and he will let me know if he needs assistance." An image of Delyth in full Ancient Rune glory, all teeth bared and glowing like a dying star was projected into Sophie's mind. She gasped, blinked and then shook her head. That was a trump card indeed! No one would stay standing for long before a thirteen-foot tall enraged dragon. "Plus, there are deeper sleeps than the ones I cast earlier..." Yet another shiver crawled up Sophie's spine.

Delyth surely meant death.

[Sorry about the wait, and the lack of things in this post. It's been a busy week.]

Axel von Thrupp did not know the rules of conflict. He had, so far, made his way in the world, alone with only his wit and killer instinct to keep him safe. This was quite remarkable, considering his marked lack of either. Axel believed strongly in honesty, integrity and the higher nobility in human nature. He also assumed, quite wrongly, that everyone else did, too.

So he, naively, assumed that an enemy who was beaten, stayed beaten. And he was completely misled in this assumption.

Connor rose to his feet, eyes droopy slits, lips hanging. Denny, still licking grimly, clung to his face with single-minded dedication to her task. Axel saw none of it. He was watching Sophie. He'd been assigned as her protector and guide, and he was not going to fail in his task. His old mam had raised him right, hadn't she?

He forced out a painful smile as Sophie strove to convince him that she was well. She certainly did not look injured. She was merely shaken.
"Good, th-" he started to say, when a cry spun him around, just in time to see that Connor was ambling forwards, and his thugs were right behind him. The men slunk , hunched and wary. They seemed surprisingly tentative, for attackers. It was as if there was no enthusiasm behind their actions at all.

Axel was astounded, and at an utter loss as to what to do. He didn't understand. Why wouldn't the men stay beaten? It just wasn't right. He lifted his fists, possibly more reluctantly than the bandits -

But Silvanus took over.

Axel heard the stag, for the first time, and felt the creature's arrogant presence in his skull. His encounter with the Dragoness had not prepared him for this, and he reeled back with no less of a yelp than the bandits. Ax was dreadfully glad that Silvanus was on his side (or Sophie's, rather; the two had not hit it off, had they?), especially when he mind-screamed his challenge into the space between adventurers and waylayers.

The bandits shuffled, stepping back and then forwards, muttering and exclaiming. A few of them looked to Connor for guidance, but many looked behind them as well. They squirmed, torn and terrified. Finally, it was Connor whose drooping, almost-closed eyes, laced in scratches from Denny's scrabbling talons, met Axel's. In his limp, sagging face was a look of defiance, hatred -
And -
Was that -
Fear?

With a last low growl of contempt, he turned tail, and disappeared back into the trees, with the remains of his ragtag band trailing behind him.

Denny only detached herself from Connor's face when his back had been lost in the foliage. She flew back with her head raised high and her chest puffed out in pride, quite convinced that she had single-handedly defeated a legion of deadly foes. She fluttered onto Axel's wrist, and gave his sore nose a tender lick. The man smiled gently, and scratched her behind the cheek plates, just where he knew she liked it best.

"Atta job, Pet," he crooned, praising her lavishly. The little Rune soaked it up joyously.

Then Axel turned to Sophie, the stag and the woman who wasn't, and his face darkened slightly. He looked from mythical creature to mythical creature, and then to the human who bound them. A look of wounded dignity came over his face, as he realised that he may have been misled somehow.

He certainly had not signed up for what he was getting.

"Righ', so, formal'ties asi', who're you lo' really? An' shoul' I be gettin' used to bein' attacked lef' righ' an' centre?"

Despite the humour of his words, there was an edge to the tone of Axel von Thrupp. He would not leave. He would not abandon his cause. But he wanted to know what he was plunging head-first into, preferably before he got there.

[maluruloki]

(( Life happens a lot, doesn't it. ^^ I know it, believe me. I appreciate you being game to continue! ))

Surely everyone heard the grateful and shivery sigh that escaped Sophie's lips as she watched the bandits melt back into the thickly-growing trees and underbrush. Another rush of thanks flooded her when Ardent flashed back into the clearing and onto Axel's wrist. The loving lick the Rune gave to his nose made her smile faintly despite the chill of adrenaline just now leaving her veins and, suddenly without the buoy of the fear-based hormone, she felt paper-thin and translucent. Delyth had a steadying grip on both of her upper arms to keep her from swaying too much. The Ancient gave a silent nod to Silvanus as the stag snorted in triumphant disdain and turned to trot lightly back to his strawberry-blonde Rider.

You were brave, Rider, he said for her ears alone. In a rare moment of affection, the Silvervale stag leaned his cheek against hers, his bells once again ringing with crystalline clarity. Sophie hugged the shaggy Elkrin's neck and took solace in his nearness. He smelled of warm fur, cool moss and fresh air, a combination soothing elementally to her shaken soul. Blowing another sigh and swallowing, she let him pull away and looked beyond him at Axel.

Her stomach quivered and nearly turned to mush again at his facial expression.

Sophie had long-ago acknowledged, for all its pros and cons, that she was sensitive in nature, even more attuned to body language than most realized due to her mild hearing loss. He was unhappy, that much was certain. It wasn't a grimace of pain though. Her subconscious flashed it through her brain faster than she could completely comprehend: betrayal.

His words had that awful edge, the beginning of suspicion, the seedling of distrust.

Delyth took up the helm of responding while Sophie mouthed empty words as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"In lieu of the whole escapade that just occurred, I will grant that you might be confused right now about us, Axel. Believe us all that when we say we introduced ourselves, we did. You know my true form - " With that glorious swirl of aurora-light, the Ancient Rune stood in dragon-form once again, her golden eyes glowing faintly. " - and you should know that Silvanus has no other form. He is as he has been and will always be. Look at Sophie. Look into her eyes and tell me that she is not human, young man. I know every one of her darkest secrets and highest hopes. I have been destined to be soul-bound with her since time immemorial." Beside her, the Silvervale Elkrin raised his head high and proud as he spoke for all to hear.

Her heart called to mine before the Mists ever knew of the lure of our sacred blood. No Silvervale bonds to anyone with evil intentions. Were Sophie to ever seek to do a truly dark deed...I would sever us asunder in such a way that not even the ending of the world would make me search her out again. The stag's rubescent eyes shifted to Sophie, who was now looking rather close to tears. Things being the way they are...I believe she's stuck with me. His moist noise nudged against her face reassuringly and Sophie hesitantly patted him on the shoulder. The Sunset Ancient Rune turned her attention to Axel once more.

"Believe as you will and aid us as you please, Axel von Thrupp. It is my duty as an Ancient of the Light to seek out the monster causing our kind such anguish and smite them. I have a theory, if you're inclined to stay with our...lively band, but I ask one thing of you, kind sir: your own secret. You know what I speak of..." Sophie frowned up at the Ancient as she settled down onto her stomach, folding her clawed hands delicately over one another, much like a sunning cat. She wasn't a big fan of how this Ancient kept things so close to her chest and many of these...things...were never shared. "Lighter son of darker man, tell us truly if you can," she quipped with a thin-lipped reptilian smile.

"Look, Axel. We're really not trying to pull any wool over your eyes. At least, I'm not," Sophie suddenly said, stepping out from behind Delyth's twitching tail. The Ancient watched her Bearer patiently as she walked over to him, hands held out appeasingly. "I'm honestly worried about my other Runes, my little family at home. Delyth does know something, never mind her smug riddles and singsongs, and she will tell us. Won't you?" The strawberry-blonde gave her Ancient a pointed glance. Delyth tilted her head to one side and another smile curved her lips.

"After Master von Thrupp, I will."

[Sorry about the wait! I didn't know how to phrase this, and there were lots of deadlines this week. I hope this satisfies your curiosity!]

Axel was not by nature a suspicious soul. In fact, he had always thought himself remarkably open-minded. However, there is only so much a man can take before he begins to question circumstances.

He most certainly considered being attacked a day after meeting a strange girl, who travelled with a gigantic dragon and some sort of magical antelope, to be strange events.

Still, he regretted it as soon as he'd said it. The girl took his suspicion like a slap to the face, and even if Axel felt that her reaction was slightly unwarranted and a little unnecessary, he still felt guilty for creating it. Instead of being the victim, he had become the villain. He wasn't sure how it had happened, and confused as he was, he didn't fight it.
"Aww, come now, pet." With a softened face and conciliatory manner, Axel approached. He raised his hands passively (wincing slightly as the muscles in his shoulder tightened) and tried for a weak smile.
"I din't mean t' offen'. 's jus'... Well, y' 'ave t' admit, 's awful suspishus-lookin', innit?"

Nonetheless, he shut his mouth, and listened to the dragon woman and the deer creature, reminding himself to judge before he trusted. This was easier said than done. He did not like their presences in his head. It was creepy. Downright unnatural, it was. He felt as if they were invading, and he couldn't block them out. It made him feel weak and vulnerable. He reminded himself to ask them to stop.

"I know she's human, ma'am. She's human, righ' 'nough. Bu' I jus' don' know whether she's a good human or not. D'you ge' m' meanin'? An' pardon m' sayin' so, bu' if you lot were plottin' somethin' dastardly, 's no' as if y'd come ou' an' say i'. Hypothetic'ly speakin', o' course."

His face gentled, and he extended a hand consolingly.
"Now, 'm no' sayin' y're a bad lo', 'm jus' sayin' I wouldn' know if y' were. As i' is, 'm choosin' t' believe tha' y're a good bunch. I jus' think y' haven' been stric'ly truthful with me, in sharin' all y'know."

However, the dragon woman had questions of her own. Axel winced again, and not because of his wounds. He looked down at Ardent, and absently smoothed her ruffled plumage.

"'s not 's if 's much of a secret, anyway," he muttered. He didn't speak about what he knew out loud very often, but when it did, the hurt of not belonging never quite went away.
"An' seems 's if y' 'lready know wha' 'm goin' t' say, bu' there's no harm in a tale, I s'pose."

"Well, as y'r Dragon Dame said, me pa's short, stumpy an' dark. Got dark skin 'n' hair, 'n' dark eyes. Ma's paler, bu' she's sandy blonde, tans, an' she's go' green eyes. 's no secret, as I said. Anyone wi' an eye in their 'ead could see tha' one parent, or both, jus' don' add up."

"Me ma worked in the Alabaster City when she were firs' married to me pa. Pa 'n' ma had some... Troubles, with babies, y' - y'know."

Axel flushed. He was uncomfortable with talking about something as intimate as child-bearing with women present. He fidgeted bashfully, but continued.

"Ma 'venchually came wi' child, an' I came ou'. Well, midwife knew, an' she spread it across town righ' sharpish. Pa knew too, bu'... "

Axel threw his hands into the air. Ardent stayed on his wrist, though she gave an indignant squawk.

"'s no' a rare thing, is it? Y' ge' good money, workin' 'n' cleanin' for th' 'Ouses. An' if one of th' masters... If 'e proposishuns y', well, 's jus' no' worth losin' y'r job over. Happens all th' time. Bu'... Well, ushually i' happens wi' th' lower Houses. Nobody's ever ha' th' kid of one of the Houses before. Y'd know. They'd be night-dark or fair or red, an' I'm plenny fair. So, ev'ryone knows. 's obvious I'm one of the Pale House halflin's."

"Not shure which Lord I come from, though. Never asked me ma. I din't wan' t' know. Me pa'll always be me pa, in blood or not. Kids began callin' me Little Lor' Windsor after 'is carriage passed thro' one day, an' it stuck."

With his chin raised defiantly, his pride unbroken despite his confession, he looked at the dragon. It was far easier to meet her impartial eyes, he found, than Sophie's.

"So, wha' d'you know, tha' I should?"

[maluruloki]

(( Nah, I like the phrasing. Axel's very human. OHEHMGEE, PLOT ATTACK.))

Sophie listened to his explanation and did her best to keep from drawing presumptuous conclusions.

It was adorable, however, how he reddened at the concept of child-bearing. As if Sophie hadn't aided in many animal births and knew how the world worked. It made a small friendly smile quirk at the corner of one side of her lips.

The source of the 'Lord Winsdor' nickname was a question of paternity...so she could understand his embarrassment in this manner. She knew well enough how one of her friends, adopted at birth, had to still endure mild ridicule within the confines of the veterinarian's office. She doubted the head veterinarian knew and she also doubted that revealing this hen-pecking would earn her any points with anyone. Darin just took it all in stride and it appeared that Axel had been doing the same for his entire life.

He earned her unspoken forgiveness and more respect with how he confronted it so plainly despite the clearly-existing pressure of the supernatural beings before him. His mother earned her quiet pity and it made her heart clench to imagine what she had gone through... How heavily the scales must have weighed on each side: losing her only means of providing for her family against the possibility of a babe to call her own.

Sophie realized too that she would never understand - until she had a child of her own - how his mother had made her decision. She had been so brave, the strawberry-blonde decided, and Axel... Well, he was a blessing to both parents, if this was how he turned out.

But still...what did this have to do with the Runes and their quest to discover what was plaguing them?

"Wait, wait," Sophie interrupted as Delyth had her mouth half-open, her breath withheld to form her response to his proud question. "So you don't know that Lord Winsdor is actually your father...? What does Lord Windsor have to do with this?"

Patience, Dear One. I will explain and then we will get moving. It's nearly noon and we're passing the time more quickly than I would like. The Sunset Ancient glanced over to where Silvanus had last been standing. He was passively browsing on the nearest forest shrub, his ruddy eyes distant; clearly, the stag had better things to do than listen to this conversation. Like eat. Sophie followed Delyth's gaze and shook her head with a breathy laugh. The Rune gave a slow sigh as her golden orbs, liquid like molten metal, flickered back to the two humans. If only they knew the extent of this whole...mess. Better little bits at a time.

...it was hard living with centuries of wisdom.

Sophie, Axel. You know that my kind, the Rune Dragons, are failing. Sophie, you begin to see more than one a week within the office and all have died. Axel, you saw the fallen Nightingale this past day. Something is seeking to destroy our kind from the inside out...from within our magic. The Ancient shifted her limbs, settling into an even more comfortable position. It made Sophie look about the forest floor around her feet and then settle down. She looked up at Axel and patted the ground next to her.

"Delyth might be a while...she rambles..." the strawberry-blonde whispered with conspiratorial sarcasm, knowing full-well how Delyth could hear her.

I have been alive for a long time. A very...long...time, the Sunset Ancient emphasized with a brief lean forwards towards the two young humans. I remember when humans first began to bond to our kind. It wasn't just because our spirits are akin in the most mysterious sense. I know you understand, Axel, the depth of your bond to Ardent. She is always on your mind, always near your heart. It was to combat this very malady that is beginning to spread.

That made Sophie's heart jump in shock. This had happened before?!

I was once revered as a goddess. In past times, humans laid offerings of fresh food and the rarest gemstones that echoed my colors. To be revered like that...to have such a palpable belief in you...is to experience a different facet of empowerment. However, I wasn't the only one revered...and I very literally mean empowerment. To an Ancient, reverence charges up our inherent powers much like the sun warms the earth on a hot day. There were conflicting sects, humans who were drawn not to the light, but to the darkness, much like it is now. They worshiped the more elemental gods and goddesses, including one who went against everything we Rune Dragons stood and now stand for: the life-bonding. Here, the sunset-hued dragon sighed and her wrist bracelets clacked together as she massaged the forest loam with her deep-violet talons. This sect worshiped a god who didn't exist. Again, I mean literally didn't exist...until that belief, the strength that the human soul can dedicate to such a concept, actually pulled the creature into being. From whence it came, I don't know... Some other dimension, perhaps... I haven't considered its existence in centuries and that was my contribution to the war against it. Do you understand what I'm saying, both of you?

From over by the shrubs, Silvanus looked up with a mouthful of greenery. Keep going, old Wise Woman. They don't quite get it yet. I can tell by the smoke coming from Sophie's ears. The Elkrin stag chuckled at Sophie's eyebrow and went back to his grazing.

Thank you, Old Man, Delyth replied dryly with some haughtiness in her tone. Buzzing her wings in pensive thought, she tried again. This ancient god...this...creature...is fueled by belief. To know of its existence is to feed it a small rivulet of power. To believe in it is to offer it a berth within your soul and a stream's worth of power. To worship it, with all of your heart and mind, is to be taken over by it, much like a molding fungus or...a plague. Other Ancients like myself, we went to war with it, backed by the beliefs of those who supported us and our cause. Delyth's golden eyes took on a predator's edge and even the colors within her scales seemed to deepen with emotion. She smashed a fisted paw on the forest floor, snapping a branch cleanly in two. We single-handedly destroyed its temples, burned its manuscripts, broke its tablets, and wiped the minds of its followers cleaner than a newborn child. With that fell blow, it disappeared...or so I thought... Flexing her fingers, she seemed to contemplate her talons for a moment or two of heavy silence. This plague...this disease within our kind...it was wrought of the creature's dying breath. Even as it evaporated from existence, it cursed us. It said that when its followers return, when it once again enters this realm, its venom will spread and begin with the Runes...and end with their Bearers. Delyth looked up at Sophie's gasp. Yes, Dear One, I said Bearers. Already the poison is at work. They haven't begun to fall yet, but soon, they will begin to wither from the inside out and their souls will sputter out like a dying candle. This creature will know their suffering and feed upon their despair to gain more power. It shares that taste of pure emotion with its followers and they find it so addictive that they spread the creature's name to gain it more influence still. It must have started not long ago, with how few Runes have died. I have been communicating within our Rune network and they know of no human to fall. But we must stop it NOW. Sophie winced at the mental blast of fierce emotion.

The Elkrin are united with the Runes in this endeavor because though we were not privy to the curse, our kind and our Riders are clearly next in line for the...contamination, Silvanus said as he slowed walked back over, apparently done eating. You must understand, Sophie...Axel - you must understand that since you are Bonded, you must have a part to play.

Sophie felt small inside. It was like...they were destined or something. ...this was a lot to digest.

[ It's 11:30 and I'm sleepy. Forgive me.]

There he stands: Axel von Thrupp, illegitimate son, without a place to call his own in the world. He was trapped between two societies, part of both but fitting into neither. He stands with his chin up, as he waits for judgement. If it didn't come from Sophie (who herself was only human, after all) it would surely come from the dragon, and certainly the stag.

The judgement didn't come. Nobody said a word in criticism of him, or his mother. Nobody scoffed or scorned, or even looked the slightest bit fazed.

That, perhaps, was what cinched the deal for Axel. It had been so long since he had been in company with people who didn't shoot him sideways glances, or avoid certain familial topics of conversation, that he had almost forgotten what it felt like. So, when nobody tittered or stared - when nobody really reacted at all, in fact - Axel knew that, whatever mayhem and chaos the trio was dragged into, he would be dragged right beside them.

Now it was Axel's turn to listen. He sat down with a thump in the grass, the breath quite taken out of him. The adrenaline was leaking out of his system. He felt weary and very sore, and dreaded having to walk until nightfall. He thought that it was perhaps wisest to rest a while. Pinching his nose to stop the bleeding, which was already dulling to a trickle, he looked up at Delyth, and paid attention.

He had a feeling that her story would be important.

He was not wrong.

His eyes grew wider and wider. Even Ardent stopped straightening her plumage and listened to the dragon woman (who may or may not have been called Twila) tell her tale.
The word 'failing' startled him from the very beginning. He looked down at Denny as if she were about to evaporate. He had seen a dead Rune Dragon, sure, but the species failing? Surely it couldn't be as serious as that. Twila, however, seemed to think that it could, and that was a dreadful notion.

His face grew grimmer and grimmer. Several times he started, and opened his mouth to protest, question or merely exclaim in horror. Every time, Ardent tightened her talons, silencing him. Axel knew that she wasn't wrong. He had to wait until the end of the story to ask questions and protest, else they'd never set off. It didn't matter how much he wanted to argue (anything to prove that none of it was true, or even that some of it was false), he would just have to hold his tongue.

It got more and more difficult, and by the time the dragon finished talking, Axel was left with more questions than he had received answers. He shook his head, troubled and defiant. He denied the dragon, not because he didn't believe her, and certainly not to offend, but because what she spoke of was too awful to comprehend.
"No."
It couldn't be so. Let it not be so.
"Wai' jus' a minute, ma'am. So, t' destroy this... This dei'y, or wha' 'ave you, an' protec' our Runes, we either gotta kill i' for real this time, or we gotta destroy i's fana'ic-like followers, or both? I dunno. There's three o' us, an' I imagine a bloomin' lo' o' them. Odds aren' pretty, are they? Don' we ge' some sor' o' help? I' jus' don' quite seem... Well, i's no' fair."

He shook his head glumly. He'd known that he was in over his head, but he'd had no idea how deeply. The walls to his tunnel were getting steeper, and the handholds higher away and further apart. He wasn't sure how he was ever going to climb out of that mess, if indeed he ever could.

As a last, desperate bid to prove events wrong, to point out some flaw which would make him exempt from this seemingly-futile quest (like a missing leg dismissed a man from a house-raising, only preferably without the pain and disability, Axel almost pleaded:

"An' wha' 'ave I go' t' do wi' this nonsense? Why me? I mean, 'm 'appy t' play me part. Y're makin' me soun' like... Like some sor' o' warrior or somethin'. I'll wave a flag an', an'... I dunno, I'll han' ou' water t' the real heros or suchlike'. Bu' why've I go' t' be in the thick of it? I'm a nobody, ma'am! Axel von Thrupp, fresh from the farm. No readin' or writin' or countin'. I'm no' very smart an' I'm no' very brave. I'm no good a' fightin'. Closes' thing t' a weapon I ever hel' were a scythe f'r 'arvest!"

"I'm no' a hero or nothin'. You sure you don' 'ave the wrong guy?"

"Listen," he said decisively, suddenly coming to a conclusion,
"I'll take y' as far as the Alabaster City. Figh' some bandits, run from some small dangers o' th' way. Plenny heros runnin' 'roun' them streets; dime a dozen, they are. Y'll fin' y'r man there. Deal?"

[maluruloki]

(( Okay, got it done, whew! Thanks for being patient. I color-coded Sophie's thoughts for less confusion. ))

It all made perfect sense - and then again, it didn't.

Nearly everything that Axel stuttered in response to this...enormously unbelievable tale that Delyth shared felt echoed within the confines of Sophie's own mind.

How do you destroy something like this...? So many people...so many objects like books, pamphlets, writings of any sort... And now we know - we know about it! We're powering it!

She shivered where she sat, staring down at the muddy bottoms of her work boots, not seeing them.

And yeah, what does Axel have to do with this? Lord Winsdor? I've never wielded a weapon. I've never shot a gun or swung a sword. I'm a female, we don't do that. It stung to admit it, even mentally, but it was true. Her parents hadn't ever given a single opportunity to teach her self-defense. The world hadn't been complicated back then...and no one had been after them. Then, Axel said something about Alabaster City. Sophie blinked and looked up to try and remember what he had just said. The flat look that Silvanus was giving the lad made her attempt all the harder, but to no avail. She had been too entrenched within her own fearful musings.

Delyth sighed again, tilting her head to one side in a manner that was both simultaneously entreating and patronizing. You are going to end up in Alabaster City with us, Axel von Thrupp, no matter what troubles we run into along the way. As far as your statement in regards to the plethora of heroes running rampant through the city streets...I highly doubt its truth. You are a rare gem, young man. If you had been born within the encircling social arms of the White City...I hesitate to imagine the probable state of the world. The Ancient Rune rose to a sitting position and once again loomed a bit over the two young adults. Sophie continued to remain silent and attempted to meld into the space beside Axel. She had long ago perfected the art of blending into a conversation without being an active part of it. Sophie was raised within the middle class of the great city and she comes with her own skills due to this. You, von Thrupp, are wondrously naive to the trappings of Alabaster City and that is your greatest power yet. No one will be able to wile you with social graces and should you choose to blend in, the city-folk will talk freely about you because they assume you pose no threat. You will come across as charming in your easy-going ways. Her thin lizard lips rose into a pleased smile as her golden eyes took all of him in, down to his blood-stained clothing and wound-darkened skin. You have more power than you think...

Now that Sophie mulled over the slyly-spoken words, the annoyingly-all-knowing Ancient was right. As a middle-class citizen, she did have the ability to blend in as a city-goer with relative ease. She knew the customs, how to speak to each class, and how to dress accordingly. Axel could hear more than her simply because she couldn't become quite as invisible as he could; every little nuance of her body language, in her own level of society, would keep her tethered to the situation and clearly involved enough for others to guard their words. Her hazel eyes flickered over to Axel and the ruby-hued Ardent. Right now though...if they walked into the city, they would be stared at and probably questioned to see which inner-city gang had robbed them blind. She shifted her knapsack into her lap and began rifling through it for the travel safety kit. Any self-respecting member of any medical profession had a travel kit full of antiseptic creams, cleaning alcohols, sterile gauze and swabs, and many tightly-wound bandages. It would still take days to reach the city and she hoped that with some ministrations, he wouldn't look like he had lost a fight to a billy goat. She found the cream and bottle of alcohol and set them down between her and Axel. She hoped that he wouldn't protest if he saw them and supposed her intent. It would irritate her nurturing tendencies.

She glanced up again as Silvanus stepped close to Delyth and they suddenly appeared to be deep in conversation, human-like expressions flickering over their faces like the shadows of wind-blown leaves. Her hand paused within the knapsack's depths.

"Hey, all-knowing ones. Don't be discussing our fates without our ears. It's rude," she said acerbically.

['s hard to get used to ^^ But I'll get there. Alexander sort of suits him.]

Alex couldn't help bit raise his hands placating.

"Come now," he soothed, "I din't mean t' 'mply I'd be goin' back on me word or nothin'. Once Alexander von Thrupp's gived 'is word, it stays gived. 'll 'company y' t' th' City an' all, jus' as I said. Bu' y're wrong abou' them heroes. They're everywhere, they are, all in their finery an' wi' their weapons an' dashin' smiles an' all. Jus' ou' o' th' ol' tales, they are. Give me a thrill t' see 'em ride by on their fine hosses. Tha's a hero. No' some farm lad wha' on'y 'as one pair o' boots t' 'is name."

Despite the emphatic nature of his protests, Alex was not nearly as convinced as he sounded. While the noblemen were all very good and well, and were wonderful to watch as they proceeded down the road in pursuit of better things, they weren't... Well, they looked very heroic, so they had to be heroes, didn't they?
Alex knew better. He knew that for all of their courageous bellows and sweeping glares, the finely-dressed young men were far more interested in keeping themselves looking gallant than necessarily acting thus. No, Alex knew what went on behind the walls of those houses. If something needed to be done, it was a servant, a commoner, who did it. The gentry fussed about plenty. They looked good and they smelled good, but they couldn't, or didn't, do very much at all.

If something was to be done, it was a peasant who would have to do it. That was the way it always was.

Alex just wished it didn't have to be him.

He didn't understand many of the words that the dragon-woman used. He thought that 'naive' might have been some sort of insult, though the creature said it without a change in tone. He wasn't sure what 'trappings' were either, but he was sure that the dragon was not using the word in the way that farmers did: to describe plough-animal harnesses used for celebration days. He wished that people would just use simple, straightforward language, without all of those fancy turns of tongue.

Alex scratched his head, not entirely certain of what had occurred. The dragon was smiling, and he could not help but hazard a bruised, tentative smile in return. Smiling was usually good, and he did not want to appear rude. His mam had raised him right, after all. It didn't do to offend. He gave Ardent's head an absent rub with one finger.
"Er... Ta? I s'pose?"

He didn't notice Sophie rustling around in her bag, at first. His attention was on Denny. He smoothed her ruffled scales, and checked her body for wounds. She had received quite a drubbing from the thugs, but unlike Alex, Ardent was not even tender. Her hard hide had protected her well. Alex was almost jealous of it.
The strong smell of alcohol turned his head and wrinkled his nose. There was no missing that stench. It was the stink of those modern, sterile white buildings in the Alabaster City, which claimed to be able to make people well better than country remedies. Personally, Alex trusted hand-me-down poultices. The ingredients were familiar, and the fixes had always fixed. He did not need any of these new-fangled, silly ideas.

It was all just a fad, anyway, and would soon die down, he was sure.

However, though he eyed the bottle with distrust, Alex did not say anything. Nor did he move away. It wasn't about the substance, it was about the gesture. The woman wanted to help, and Alex could not refuse her offering. It was an apology, a thanks, a gesture of bonding and friendship. He appreciated it, and tried not to let his displeasure show.

Ardent had no such qualms. She caught one whiff of the satchel's contents, and with a squawk of indignity, launched herself from Alex's wrist and only a nearby branch. She fluffed her plumage and twitched her tail, glowering down with clear disgust.

Alex could not help but laugh.

"She don' think much of y'r bag, Pet. Best 'urry up in there, or she'll dive a' y' in a snatch."

He looked over to Sophie, and his brow furrowed with concern.

"Oi. Y' shure y're alrigh'?"

[maluruloki]

(( As I mentioned earlier, Alexander still does have a bit of a ring to it and it does match him, to an extent. I'm also biased because it's one of my favorite male names. ^^ ))

Delyth knew as well how half-hearted the tow-headed young man's response was and just kept that sly smile on her scaly face. Those nobles...laughable in their finery and so easy to dismiss with their hot-headed words and actions. It was refreshing, after all of these centuries, to find such a humble young man.

Sophie was a bit startled at Ardent's response to the antiseptic and alcohol, but even she had to agree that it was a bit heady, the evaporative smell of it. She glanced over at Alex's lightly-posed warning and quickly fished out the last thing she was looking for: the sterile wrappings. Even as she clasped the backpack shut, she looked up again into those nearly-metallic eyes, seemingly more ashen for the darkening rings about them, as he asked in regards to her own well-being.

It was so benign, clearly for politeness' sake, but yet so sweet that it brought a little sting of tears to Sophie's eyes and she had to quickly duck her head to hide the quick surge of emotion.

Was she okay...? Yes...and no, of course. She had never been exposed to such an experience, so vivid and clearly real, so unapologetic in its darker exposition on human nature. Her sleep would be restless for many days for it. Then again, she was whole and unscathed, much better off than poor Alex. He had taken a wholloping at the hands of those filthy bandits.

Sophie swallowed down the lump in her throat, gathered her blood-given courage about her, and looked up at Alex again.

"I'm going to be truthful with you and say that yes and no, but all in all...I'm fine," she replied to him, her voice pitched low to keep the tremble from it. If she focused on cleaning his wounds, it would give her time to center herself. "I'm going to go ahead and patch up the worst of your injuries, Alex, if you don't mind. We should be getting out of these woods and onto the road again sometime soon. I don't want to spend another night here..." she whispered quietly and with a hint of shame. She had always thought herself brave and she was quickly learning that it was better to be wise than brave. "If you could settle down someplace, I want to make sure that all of the open cuts are cleaned and bandaged. I don't know what I can do about your eyes and nose, but...it'll give you character." A wry laugh slipped from her lips. No doubt they would have to share the story with curious folk on the road. "I apologize in advance for any stinging that the alcohol causes you. I don't know if you've used it before, but it is going to hurt a bit - we know that it's killing all of the bacteria that way though." Sophie honestly did feel bad when her patients whimpered and wailed with the application of a soaked cottonball of the stuff. She wondered off-handedly if she would feel worse at a human's reaction.

Silvanus and Delyth, surprisingly chastened by the young woman's acidic comment, watched the proceedings quietly. The Silvervale stag glanced over at the Sunset Ancient with thoughtful rubescent eyes.

She is clever to think of cleaning him up before we move on. He would no doubt draw unwanted attention with open wounds. Too bad we can't do anything about the dried blood on his clothing... The stag's gaze flickered to the red-brown patches on Alex's shirt and pants.

I know that you would have me work some miracle to erase it, but that isn't within the scope of my powers, Silvanus. I can drive humans mad with hallucinations, send them sleeping like babes until the Reaper calls their name, use the powers of twilight itself to cloak from sight...but no...I have never been able to heal with my powers. Not the type of healing this requires. Delyth gestured towards the human pair with her nose. A good night's sleep is never remiss, however, and perhaps Sophie would benefit from it. You know as well as I that this morning has been eye-opening for her. She might be drawing on her small reservoir of bravery yet, but it will run dry. She hasn't seen enough of the world to grow beyond shedding tired tears, which she will no doubt do this evening. The Sunset Ancient's gaze grew softer still as she watched her charge. Her amber eyes flickered to Alex and again, that ghosting thin-lipped smile crossed her maw. These two were destined for legend and they did not yet understand...but they would. Silvanus heaved a sigh and slowly shook his head.

I wish that she were more experienced in the world before we get into this, but...perhaps it is better this way. The Silvervale stag swished his tail sharply as he walked slowly over in an ambling manner, clearly intending to be as unobtrusive as possible. He surveyed the array of bottles that Sophie had set next to her and raised an eyebrow in quiet judgment. Unknowingly, he was in accord with Alex's opinions that natural poultices were clearly the better way to go about things. He spoke for Sophie to hear this time. I suggest that you clean up Master Alex as quickly as possible, Rider, so we can get to traveling once more. I don't fancy staying in towns - filthy places - but I know that you prefer your creature comforts as much as I do and another night in the open wouldn't be kind to your psyche. Sophie smiled and couldn't help but tease the stoic Elkrin as she wetted a piece of sterile gauze with the astringent alcohol.

"Master Alex, eh? Look at you, Silvanus, all polite. I think you're beginning to like him." The Silvervale stag wrinkled his nose and stomped a front hoof into the soft forest turf. "Don't be a grump, Old Man. We will get moving again. I just want Alex to be comfortable." Whether she had intended the wording to sound so endearing was unknown. A blush touched her cheeks. "We should all be comfortable before we get to traveling again," she quickly covered for herself. Silvanus gave a slow nod in reply, as if mocking her slip-of-the-tongue. Sophie waved at his nose with an empty hand and dismissed him without words.

[I have a cool twist in mind. Sorry about the lack of muse. I've been writing essays all day.]

He wasn't sure what he'd expected from Sophie.

Perhaps he'd suspected nothing at all. Alex wasn't one to make hasty judgements or assumptions. However, when she answered his question (run-of-the-mill in itself, but heartfelt) he was not so much surprised as relieved. Sophie was a woman, and women were undoubtably different to men and allowed, even predisposed, to be vulnerable. This didn't stop Alex from feeling comforted that somebody else understood what he felt about the fight. He was fine. He was alive. But he was not fine about the fighting, the punching, the pain.

Alex was human. He did not like pain. He did not like being in pain. He could bear it, but that didn't mean he wanted to.

He moved to a log obediently, and sat down upon it. This was not the most comfortable seat, but the forest was not exactly brimming with furniture, and Alex had known many households which had not had tables or chairs at all. He smiled slightly, in his crooked way.
"Aww, don' ye worry 'bou' me nose none, miss. 's bin hit real bad 'fore now, an' 'm shure 's not real bad broke now. It'll set righ' 'nough. No kink's gonna ruin nothin'. This were never a pretty face, neither," he chucked. He had certainly never been considered handsome in his village.
"'sides, we en' takin' no highways. I know a back route."

This, as it turned out, would be a fateful statement to make.

His smile slipped at the mention of pain. More pain. Alex was not a hero. He did not want to be a hero. Ardent, sensing his dismay and discomfort, fought her aversion and fluttered to his hand. Alex scratched her head fondly, but watched the bottle and white, fluffy materials apprehensively. Surely she wasn't... Wasn't going to put that...
"Y' coul' make a fine jerkin wi' tha'," he pointed out, slightly disgusted.
And she was just using it to clean blood! The thought!

He quickly forgot to be disgusted when Sophie placed the first piece of sodden gauze on his arm.

"Hell!" he yelped. The forest reverberated with his booming cries of pain.
"Tha' bloomin' 'urts! No poultice's ever 'urt so bad! Stop! No more!"

He knew that he had to hold still and let her do her work. Sophie surely would not make him suffer so for no good reason. But every now and again, a whimper sounded, or a desperate little comment.

"Isn' tha' enough o' tha'?"

"Can' we use somethin' else, Pet?"

"Gen'ly! I ent made o' silver, Lass!"

There was no doubt about it; Alex was simply no good at tolerating pain.

He was, however, amused by Silvanus's slow change of opinion, and in between applications and cleanings, Alex nettled him good-naturedly about this.

"'Master' eh? Don' think anyone's ever called me tha' 'fore now! Thank ye, sir. An', if ye don' mind me askin', what are ye? Ye en't like no deer I ever seen 'fore."

He just about overheard Sophie's comment, but was in too much discomfort to read anything else into it. Perhaps that was better.

Eventually, the torment was over, and Alex stretched himself out, examining the bandages with barely-concealed bewilderment. They seemed useless things, these white and pretty strapped. They'd be ruined after a day of travelling.

He looked thoughtfully up at the sky. The sun was a good way away from noon, and they still had over a half-day's travelling in their sights. Alex whistled thoughtfully as he weighed up their options.
"Way I see i'," he said slowly,
"Is, Ferrington's a goo' three miles from 'ere, bu' we can pass tha' easy t'day. We coul' pass there, bu' 's too close. Won' 'ave nothin' for us, there. We coul' stop an' pick i' anyway, bu' tha' puts us on th' highways, an' what wi' me lookin' so bashed, an wi' Ma'am Dragon an' Sir Stag lookin' so downrigh' pecul'yar, people'll jus' clam righ' up."

"No, I reckon 's be'er t' press on, sleep in th' fores' f'r two nights, take the back route an' then try Fordsdrift. Go' a good inn, there. Lotsa thur - thorow - people passin' through. It'll be a little rough, though, so if y're no' up for i'..."

But, somehow, Alex suspected that Sophie was tougher than she looked.

[maluruloki]

(( Essays are terrible muse-drainers. I'm always one to draw up a terrible post when I've been writing papers. I'm intrigued about your twist though, go for it! ))

Fordsdrift...I feel like I've heard that name before... Sophie mused as she packed away the partially-emptied bottle of rubbing alcohol and the unused bandages and ointment. She had to hand it to Alex: he didn't do half-badly for how open some of the wounds were and how much dirt she had to scrub out. It was also quite endearing how many pet names he'd thrown her way so pleadingly. It was yet another charming aspect of his personality. She tied her knapsack shut once more and stood up with a much-needed stretch of her muscles. It took a surprising amount of concentration to make certain that gangrene didn't haunt her new friend.

I am not a deer! This...augh! I regret saying anything to the bumbling bumpkin. The Silvervale stag's Rider glanced over her shoulder at the retreating tail of Silvanus and shook her head. The strawberry-blonde was glad that he spoke for her ears alone. She wanted to humor him, but in his offended moods, her playful jests often went quite flat - and she was certain that Alex would not have appreciated the insult. Her memory pricked and she realized where she had heard the town's name before.

"Oh, Fordsdrift. We had a client bring in a pair of matched draft horses from that area. They had been feeling badly and Dr. Brewster had to explain that while chickens might choose to eat pebbles to help digest their grain, horses didn't need them. It was very amusing." She meant no insult in the shared story. "I wouldn't worry too much about Ma'am Dragon on the main roads though. She can cloak herself, remember?" On a decidedly theatrical cue, the familiar aurora-like swirl of light wrapped around the still-reclining Delyth and her woman-form now sat primly on the nearest fallen log.

"I wouldn't worry about me at all. I've been around for many a year and you'd be surprised at the amount of experience you gain when you've been alive for...well, a long time." Sophie laughed aloud; her age was one of the few things that Delyth kept close to her heart and it was so endearingly human-like. The auburn-haired Ancient stood up and sauntered over, her hands in her long-bodied travel coat. "Alex does have a point though. Old Man Silvanus can Glamour his Rider, but not himself. He remains looking like his charming self." An answering snort came from behind a thick growth of berry brambles. "We'll stay to the back roads as you suggest, Alex. Now that we have an idea of the dangers we might cross, we'll be more prepared to deal with them as they come along. I doubt we'll run into another group of bandits, however. You were quite brave in your defense of us, young man. I commend you." Sophie glanced over at Alex as nonchalantly as she could. Delyth had a way of giving compliments that always seemed to bring a little glow of pride to the receivers of said praise. "We do need to get going, however, since the day is getting away from us."

"Yep, we'll walk a bit. I've always liked walking," Sophie said with a grin as she shouldered her pack and took in another deep breath. "We can pace ourselves so that you don't hurt as much too, Alex. Silvanus?" She was surprised to see the Elkrin stag heed her softly-spoken call so quickly as he trotted swiftly to her side, his lips stained faintly with the black-red blush of berry juice. Giggling, she half-scrubbed at his velvety muzzle and didn't succeed in getting any of it off. "Did you save some berries for us?"

It was deliberate. Would you have preferred to be in the throes of violent retching instead? His Rider put a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with sudden worry, and Silvanus appeared to smile. I will be fine, Rider. They make me tough and disgusting to eat. You wish to be to Fordsdrift sooner than later, I presume?

"No, I wanted to let you know that you don't have to stay nearby if you don't want to. We need to walk." She watched his rust-red eyes flicker to the cause of her thoughtful point and then his brows dipped down thunderously. Poor Alex. He was just gaining black mark after black mark with the Silvervale stag. Sophie knew it and fretted that she couldn't do anything about it. Even if Silvanus had wanted to let him ride, Alex would be quickly dumped as the Elkrin took one flying leap. His magic didn't permit a foreign Rider except in the most extreme of circumstances and he hadn't exactly been forthcoming with an example, even though Sophie had repeatedly inquired. "We're walking," Sophie repeated in a low voice that trembled on the very last syllable. She was getting quite tired of complications to the journey and just wanted to get a move on. Silvanus looked down at her with a huff and gave a short nod before trotting swiftly away into the underbrush. His Rider's shoulders drooped as she watched him go. He was awfully dramatic for a male creature...

[Sorry about the delay! Too much to do.]

Alex smiled at Sophie's story, but the expression was hollow. This was partly because he did not share her knowledge of animal husbandry - and therefore her joke went somewhat over his head - but mostly because the sting had not quite gone out of his cuts, and had certainly not left his memory.

However, his smile returned, albeit kindly, at Sophie's dismissal of her dragon companion.
"Oh, jus' 'cause she don' go' scales, don' mean she don' stan' ou' like a apple tree in a vineyard," he pointed out, as gently as he could.
"Nobody in 'er righ' minds'll pass 'er off as a farm maid. You... You may go f'r a merchant's lass, in a bind, bu' Ma'am Dragon'll be catchin' attenshun lef' an' righ', if y'll pardon me sayin' so."

It was dawning on him, just how difficult it would be to pass about unseen. Alex had never much thought about how he had merged so easily with new communities. He supposed that he did it by being innocuous, commonplace, ordinary and totally non-threatening. Sophie - now she was not ordinary. She was smart, and that singled her out as something unusual, and something threatening.

Not to mention her exotic companions.

Alex wasn't sure how he was going to get around this, but he resolved to fix it closer to the time. Thinking too much on things only led to disaster and unhappiness, he reckoned. He would find a way. He would have to.

And he had a couple of ideas.

It didn't matter, anyway. They would take the back routes, as he had suggested and - And the older woman, the creature of magic and mystery, had praised him. Alex felt his ears redden as a blush spread up his neck. He looked down at Denny - who was still perched patiently on his hand - and smiled bashfully.
"Aww, come now. It were nothin' really. Anybody'd ought t' have done th' same," he muttered modestly, but he radiated gratitude and pleasure.

And then it was time to leave. Alex stood up, stretching out with a wince, a grunt and a crack of stuff joints. He flicked Ardent almost playfully off of his wrist,. She chirruped and spiralled up into the foliage. Alex strode to his belongings, and picked them up, shouldering them tentatively, but without complaint. Once everything was quite secure, Denny fluttered down to perch on the top of the pack, where she could watch the world go by.

Alex shot his companions a grin, much buoyed by a sense of purpose and the recently-offered praise.
"Don' y' worry 'bou' me none," he advised, adjusting a strap near his shoulder.
"'m tough, see? Raised t' work. Little bruisin's not gon' hinner me anythin' dreadful."

The stag, it seemed, was less than impressed with this plan. Alex saw what a toll his displeasure took on his rider. The man's face softened, and he walked over, placing a heavy hand on Sophie's shoulder.
"Lotsa pleasha t' be 'ad in walkin', y'll see," he said, turning his face to the West. They'd have to go West first, then head North, to get to Fordsdrift.

The man - the only man in the band of fools and reluctant heroes, lifted his head and straightened his back.

"Well. Le's be off, then!"

Alexander von Thrupp was a compulsive whistler.

He did not do it with any thought or purpose. He never whistled a full tune. But, every now and again, when his footsteps hit the right rhythm and the sun hit his chest just so, the clear notes would burst forth from between his teeth. Each note was as defined as the tunes were abstract. Alex could carry a tune, and he did it well. He wove notes together seamlessly and subconsciously, petering out slowly as something caught his interest.

And, during any lapse in conversation, the whistling returned.

There were plenty of those. The ground was treacherous, and slippery with winter chill. Roots caught at their feet, and branches blocked the patchy and inconsistent path. The little lane - more of a deer path than any sort of road - disappeared for yards on end, reappearing just as it looked to be completely lost.

Was it reappearing, though?

Or was it wishful thinking?

Alex didn't want to say anything. He didn't want to let his new friends down just when he'd earned their respect and praise. He decided to keep his growing discontent to himself. He reassured himself, by telling himself that they were heading in more or less the right way anyway.

That the density of the branches above them was just a sign of progress.

That the cracks and ominous rustles to either side of them were just the bustle of forest creatures, amplified by the lay of the land.

After all, the forest had always been a friend to Alex.

[maluruloki]

(( It's all good. I was beginning to wonder if we were still going, so this makes my day better. ^^ ))

Sophie was glad for the cheery whistling that sparkled like birdsong from the leader of their rag-tag band. While none of it really made sense tune-wise (was that just part of Fiddler's Lass...?), it was interesting enough to keep her from focusing too much on the morose slogging of her travel boots in the leafy forest floor. Or mud. Whatever it was at this point. She shifted the shoulder straps of her backpack in unconscious discomfort as she looked around at the thick forest surrounding them. Somewhere nearby, moving silently as a ghost, Silvanus paralleled her travels on her left-hand side. Behind her, seeming annoyingly comfortable as always, Delyth walked with practiced surety over the tangles of tree roots and with utmost grace over the never-melted puddles of old ice that hid treacherously beneath old leaf litter. Sophie's golden-hazel eyes flickered to Alex's backpack, where Ardent perched with old habit, and then to the path beyond him. It disappeared once again, this time changing to a barely-noticeable track through waist-high brambles. She winced and tucked her fisted hands up under her armpits as she dance-walked through the empty space. Whatever had routinely used this...it wasn't a road at all really, so...game-path had tough hide to withstand such prickles.

"I hate thorn bushes..." Sophie grumbled as one caught badly on her coat sleeve. She gave her arm a vicious yank and got the cloth free, but not without some damage; a new rent in the fabric made her grit her teeth. "Mother Nature was clearly having a bad day when she created these." The young woman glanced behind her once she was beyond the reach of the briars to see Delyth walk through unscathed with her usual mysterious smile that deepened the color of her cobalt-blue eyes and crinkled her pale-blue facial tattoos. No tears in her travel coat, no scratches on her skin, not a fiery hair out of place.

"If everything was without thorns, we wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much, now would we? Even you have your thorns, Dear One." She gave Sophie's arm a gentle rub and fell into step companionably beside her.

"You sound like my mother," her Bearer griped in a partly-serious manner. Both women looked to their left as Silvanus appeared seamlessly from the thick trees. Despite his silvery fur, he still managed to set Sophie's heart to racing. She blinked hard and sighed heavily as the stag fell into place at her left side.

I just wanted to let you know that we're not alone, but I'm not sure how. His words, said with deliberate calm, caused Sophie to come to a stumbling halt; the combination of dismay and the kink of a tree root before her toes, you see. No need to panic, Rider. I'm just acting as sentry. I'm sure that our country bumpkin is aware of it too. The Elkrin stag scanned the woods in a nonchalantly careful manner. Ask him.

"Alex! Alex, hold on. Come here for a moment." Before she was certain if he had really heard her, more words slipped from her lips. "Did you hear anything?" Even as she said it, the hair on the back of her neck prickled. God...oh god, she hated this feeling. That visceral feeling that turned her stomach to quivering mush. That feeling of being...watched. She was loathe to turn away from the sight of Alex - somehow, keeping her eyes on him seemed to make things a bit more tolerable - but she glanced over her shoulder regardless. Behind them, the not-really-there path stretched back, looking as if they had never set foot on it. A stray breeze shuttled dead leaves across it and she barely held herself in check as an early-season squirrel tore across the pathway in a hectic bid for safety in another tree. Taking another deep breath, she bit at her lower lip and turned back to Delyth and Silvanus. If you scare me for nothing or for fun, Elkrin, you will seriously regret it.

Something changed in the way Sophie was walking.

She faltered slightly. Alex wanted nothing more than to keep walking, ignoring her falter. That way, he would not have to acknowledge that something was wrong. Something was even more wrong than the fact that they'd been walking for hours in no direction.
Because, if Alexander was being truthful to himself - really truthful - he had to concede that he had lost his way so far back that he couldn't remember knowing precisely where he was going.

In the current circumstances, willful ignorance seemed better.

please don' please please pl-

It was not to be.

Alex stopped, but didn't turn. He took a moment to savour his ignorance, and to bid a wistful farewell to his naive belief that everything would be okay if he just didn't think about it. He closed his eyes, and took a breath. Then he fixed a look of cheerful optimism onto his face, and turned to look at Sophie.
"P'aps th' little woodlan' things, Pet," he said soothingly, "Bu' n'more than tha'."
He didn't believe it, though. Not a word of it. Alex had made the woods a part of himself from the time he was a lad. He knew the moods of the trees, and the cracks of every animal. He knew the language in the forest noises, but also in the lack of noises.

And the birds around them had stopped singing. And Ardent, ever fearless, was retreating into his pack.

He was smiling still when he approached a broad-limbed tree, and patted a fat, mossy branch.
"If it'll put y'r min' a' ease, Duck, I'll climb 'bove th' tops, an' take a look 'roun'. 'm shure 's nothin' t' be afear'd o'." He stepped over, and gave the young woman a friendly pat on the shoulder. His optimism was not entirely forced.
Birds fell silent all the time.
The forest was filled with life and noises, and most would leave a peaceful traveller right alone.
don' think abou' why tha' ain' true now, Alexan'er von Thrupp. Y'll jus' give y'rsel' th' 'eebies.

He approached the tree, and clambered onto the first branch. He had been a limber climber as a boy, and kept in the habit still. He had to be careful of which branch he stood on, though. Not all could take his weight. He considered fishing Denny out, and sending her to scout ahead for weaknesses, but held back. The dragon was tired, after all, and deserved a rest. Surely that was why she had taken to snuggling into his pack.
That had to be the reason.
jus' don' think abou' i'.

Up and up and up he climbed.
If y' think abou' i', i' coul' 'come real
Each branch cracked a little more loudly, and bent a little bit more sharply. But still he climbed, for the shapes which distorted the leaves were unclear, and if he just got higher - just got to see the bigger picture - maybe they would not look quite so predatory.
A body took shape
tha's jus' a rottin' dry log
and a leg extended
roots mus' be roots
but when the flash of sharp, saliva-slick teeth caught the light, Alex knew that there was no use fooling himself any longer.

"Well," he called down to the waiting trio below. There was no hiding the new tension in his voice. His cheeriness was as jagged as broken ice, and his voice rang high with mounting hysteria. "Th' goo' news... The good news is..."
He gulped, and began to creak his way down the tree. His palms were sweaty, and his hands felt numb.

"I don' think i's dire wolves."

The first howl came from the left.

The second and third howls came from the right.

And the fourth howl was more of a growl, and it came from the undergrowth directly behind them.

"RUN! Silver, ge' Sophie an RUN!"

[Sorry it's taken so long, Loki! And I'm sorry it's so short. I've got the rhythm back now. It should go faster.]

[maluruloki]

(( Oh man, hungry predators!!! My cup of tea! Just to check: are these predators involved with Rim or Seth at all? I feel like I'll have to edit my descriptions if they are. I'm thinking that they look like thylacines, but bulkier - since they aren't exactly natural...))

She had to hand it to Alex: his forced optimism about the silence that was surrounding them and his airy ignorance of how Ardent had long disappeared into the depths of his pack was to be applauded. She could almost believe that he wasn't concerned. Almost. Sophie blinked at the friendly pat he gave her shoulder and watched him shimmy up into the old oak tree like he was part squirrel himself. She was hoping (against hope...) that he would see nothing but a small herd of deer tramping through the brush or divert them back from crossing paths with a brown bear. Silvanus flicked his ears forwards at each groaning crack of a branch that just barely kept the lad from falling to earth.

I've got to admit, you humans and your opposable thumbs do manage to make me jealous at times. His Rider glanced over with a half-smirk of nervous amusement even as Alex's voice filtered down from the leaf-strewn branches above them. His warning made a fresh coat of cold sweat drench her clothing. Sophie's heart kicked into full speed as wails arose from all sides - gods, ALL SIDES!!! Everything went hyper-crystalline, as bright as a fever-broken dream. Silvanus bugled even as a ragged cry of dismay left her lips and his shoulder seemed to careen into her, forcing her to grasp at his silky fur.

"RUN! Silver, ge' Sophie an RUN!"

It seemed that the Silvervale stag agreed with the lad for once and it was almost as if he oozed his body beneath her failing knees, for she was suddenly sitting in her proper place behind his shoulders. Atop his back, she was able to get her first glimpse at what ghoulish-sounding creatures were stalking them. To their left, closest to Alex, one was emerging from the thick brush with chilling deliberation, its lime-green eyes focused on the hapless young man. Sophie felt another cry strangle itself in her throat; the eyes, with their stark horizontal slit - much like the eyes of a goat - flickered to her and her soul wilted at the look of ancient intelligence lurking within them. The long snout wrinkled as it drew back its lips, revealing ivory-hued teeth - and all were sharp. No wonder they hadn't seen the creatures shadowing them; their pelts were dappled with all of the colors of the drab post-winter forest. Sophie couldn't even begin to decide what the creatures were. Another circled around behind Silvanus, causing the Elkrin stag to shudder and half-turn to keep his rubescent eyes upon it. They looked like dogs, but - no, like giant rats and not even - crocodilian with fur!

"Silvanus, take her! Allow me." Sophie tore her eyes from the one stalking Alex to see Delyth spread both arms wide apart, as if inviting the predators to hug her. The skin around her palms began to shimmer as if liquid light rippled over it. Alex is safe with me, tell Silvanus to go! The Ancient Rune's voice seemed to echo around her skull and the Silvervale stag lurched into movement from his statuesque stance.

"Aleeeeeeeeeeeeex!" His voice was torn from her throat as the stag cleared the nearest creature by a good ten feet. Looking over her shoulder in mid-air, she saw that Delyth now stood next to Alex, still with her outstretched arms appealing the creatures to approach her. A wisp of a thought from Delyth reached her, almost like an echo in a canyon; something about closing eyes...? Then, the Ancient Rune clapped her hands together and light burned out everything that Sophie could see.

So bright! SO BRIGHT.

She felt the Ancient's magic brush against her skin and from its whirlwind-touch, she knew that Delyth had assumed her dragon form.

Alex, quickly, onto my back! Sophie had the sensation of being privy to Delyth's thoughts even as she scrunched her tearing eyes together and buried her face into her mount's neck. He leapt again and again, trying so hard to keep from jolting her, but still her nose smacked into his spine enough times to make it feel as if it were running freely. Silvanus, keep moving! I've only stunned them. They're not natural beings - they're partially immune to my magic! Sophie rubbed her face against her sleeve in a moment where the Elkrin stag ran smoothly across a clearing between the trees. She blinked again and again, but could only see a blaring starburst of light before her. She was blinded! Huffing as she was jolted again, she felt the movement of Silvanus's limbs begin to slow and he assumed a brisk trot, his sides heaving.

Rider, we can't stop yet. I don't know where Delyth and Alex are, but I can't see or hear any of those beings, so we are out of harms way for now. Are you hurt? The Elkrin stag's voice seemed to fade in and out, as if he were having trouble focusing or formulating his thoughts, and Sophie uncurled one hand from his fur to wipe at her face. She was surprised to find her cheeks wet with tears when she was still too shocked for sadness. Scrubbing at her eyes, she tried again to blink away the glimmering disc that now blocked the majority of her vision and failed.

"I can't see, Silvanus! I can't see!" The tears came again, true in emotion this time, and she felt herself begin to crumble within. It was already hard to hear and now she couldn't see! Elemental fear boiled through her veins and sapped her further. "Where's Delyth?!" The Rune had always been there, always at her side, never more than an arm's length away and now - now she was -!!!

Stop panicking and breathe, Sophie. I'm still alive. From a distance, the soothing voice of the Ancient Rune raised a bulwark against the tide of despair that had threatened to overwhelm her. Silvanus, you're not out of the woods yet. They have your trail. We need to find someplace warded nearby. Sophie felt the Elkrin stag's haunches tense and then they were once again springing across the landscape like a manic child's toy.

Thank the gods above that I've been searching for safe heavens for centuries... the stag muttered as he cleared a fallen behemoth of a log with practiced ease. Just keep holding on, Sophie. We'll solve this problem shortly. Blinking more tears from her eyes, Sophie could only hope.

Hope that Alex was safe with Delyth.

Everything seemed about hope now...


(( If this is too god-moding, please let me know! I was hoping that you would describe how Delyth aided in Alex's escape and I give you permission to write her for that sequence. Maybe Alex can spot a safe place from above...? ))

"Hunters," Alex whispered in dismay.

They called them Hunters, in his village. The next village over simply called them 'predators'. They were half urban legend, half dark nightmare. They were blamed for every missing sheep, and every chicken found dismembered outside its coop. They were used to scare children into good behaviour, and to keep them from wandering. Alex had always scorned such tales. In fact, he had often told embellished versions to his friends, as a child, in the hopes that, by being interesting, he could fit in. It had never quite worked, and the stories had fallen back into obscurity. Hunters had become nothing more than a feeble wives' tale.

Only, it wasn't. They were real, and they were emerging from the undergrowth all around him. Alex swallowed. He would have tried his luck, once, by shouting and waving his arms. But he was tired from walking and from his earlier fight. His head hurt more than he had let on. He couldn't take on a pack of slavering creatures, even if they had been normal Dire Wolves. And they weren't. These were cunning-looking, hungry-eyed scavengers. They smelled weakness, and they would take their chance. Alex looked to the left, to where Sophie was. Silvanus had her. Alex was glad that she was safe, but realised that he had no such fortune. Denny could not lift him, as much as she loved him.

He slowly became aware that he had signed his own death warrant.

But, he had forgotten Delyth. He only remembered her as she moved beside him, spreading her arms wide. She began to glow. In a rare moment of foresight, Alexander shut his eyes tightly. He saw the glow through his eyelids regardless, and the darker shapes of the carnivores. It seared his vision, so that when he opened his eyes, he saw bright white spots, and only the dim shapes of the still creatures. Their terrified yelps lingered in his ears, but he knew better than to hope that they were dead. He blinked in vain as he hurried to the dim shape of Delyth, who had surrendered her humanoid form for something more reptilian. With no regard to modesty or manners, Alex flung himself onto the dragon. He had no better ideas for escape, and no wish to die.

”Go, go!” he urged, but as soon as Delyth began to move, he almost wished he hadn’t.

Riding a dragon was nothing like riding the placid plowbeasts from home. Delyth’s gait did not rock up and down, but to and fro. Her strides were choppier and Alex, who did not know which parts of the dragon were tender, feared gripping too tightly. He jostled up and down, side to side, barely clinging onto the racing lizard. He felt Ardent explode out of his pack and take flight, and wished that he could do the same. His sore head jolted, his tense muscles screamed, but he didn’t dare let go. He looked around occasionally, when he felt he could do so without plunging to the ground. Three times, there was nothing behind them, but on the fourth, he saw a sleek, running shape flickering between the trunks of the surrounding trees.

” ’urry, ma’am!” he yelled, crouching lower over her neck.

He felt Delyth nod. Her gait changed subtly; to a strange, jarring hop. Alex winced, and grabbed onto two protruding scales. He almost begged the dragon to stop, But suddenly the motion ended. Alex, who was staring fixedly at Delyth’s neck, noticed something odd about the patch of ground he could see out of the corner of his eye. He focused on it, and blinked, perplexed. It looked almost… Indistinct. Almost as if it was…

Alex looked up, and yelled. He flung his arms around the dragon’s neck in terror.
They were in the air! In the air, where no man had any right to be! They were off the ground, off of safety, where they could fall or be attacked by angry cloudgeists (the creatures which made thunder, according to his old mam), where anything could happen.
”Lemme down!” Alex hissed, but knew that he didn’t mean it. Flight was his only option. They could not outrun the beasts, not with Delyth’s lizard movement. He closed his eyes, and let the soft thump of wingbeats soothe him. He gathered his resolve, and opened his eyes.

He decided that he had to be useful. He would keep an eye out for Sophie and Silvanus, and safety.

”There they are!” he yelled, after several minutes of fruitless searching.
”Oh no,” he breathed, for there too were the Hunters, and they were gaining ground. Alex searched more frantically for a sign of safety, but saw nothing in his panic. He forced himself to calm down, and tried again.
Nothing.
Still nothing.
Even more nothing.
Unless -
”Wai’,” Alex whispered, squinting against the wind.
”Wassat, o’er there?”

The trees cleared abruptly off to the left, and in the centre, nestled beside a stream, was -
” ’s tha’ a house?” Alex muttered in disbelief, but growing delight.
”I’s a house! Ma’am, we’re saved! Lef’! Tell Silvanus lef’!”
He whooped joyously as the distant door opened, and a small, scurrying shape emerged from within. It was moving frantically, and as the pair spiralled downwards, Alex could see that it was a woman, and that she was waving.
”We did i’!” crowed Alex, but his joy did not last long. His smile faded as he looked over his shoulder. There, between the trees, was the silvery shape of Silvanus, and there, just behind him, were the beasts.

”Come on,” Alex whispered desperately.

They had to arrive all together, or not at all.

[I'm so so so sorry for the delay! I haven't had much time to sit down and write, but when I started this, it began to flow very nicely! I know exactly where this part of the plot is going now, and it should be fun!]