EQ Saga Chapter 28: Song and Steel
2006-Mar-02, Thursday 12:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
msmoon
Accomplished
First time posting an EQ chapter from work. Well, here goes nothing!
Title:
Song and SteelAuthor: MSMoon
Warnings: Uh...peril?
Feedback: As long as it’s constructive ^.^
Characters: MMC19, MMC20, MMC21, MMC22, MMC50, & MMC51
Disclaimers: EverQuest doesn't belong to me. I'd be slightly richer if it did, and I certainly wouldn’t be working. However the story line and characters do belong to me, thank you very much. You may use them only if you ask nicely. Otherwise I might get a bit cranky.
No bandit barns or centaurs were harmed in the making of this chapter.
Rated PG
Chapter 28
Moirai sneezed as a bead of sweat fell right into her nose. It’s a good thing she wasn’t the one hunting...Her ears pressed flat back and her eyes narrowed; agitation was one of the least of her woes. She sat upon a large rock somewhere in the Karanas. She was hot, sweaty, tired, and hungry, and put-out that Brrak and Arumubei had disagreed with her plans...three times!
Tinidril had cleared away the leaf litter and was gathering small stones to ring their camp fire with. The white tigress had bought a new leather tunic and breeches in Freeport. Brrak and Arumubei had already had all leather armor before they left Luclin. Moirai had been lucky to ‘acquire’ a pair of leather breeches along the way.
So here they were, in the middle of Antonica. She’d originally wanted to go to Velious, but Brrak and Arumubei had protested louder than squabbling human cubs. She had tried that old line about her and Tinidril sneaking off to go on their own; but, that had been ruined when Tinidril gave her a look that clearly stated that she had no intention of trying to get to Velious, with or without a group. Her petition to go to Kunark had been met with equal enthusiasm In fact, now that the guys knew Tinidril wouldn’t follow Moirai blindly, they seemed to take pleasure in rubbing her face in it. They were always going out of their way to ask, ‘What do you think, Tinidril?’
“In case you hadn’t notice, this is a group.” Arumubei had said. “If the majority of the group says no go, we don’t go. Stop thinking about only yourself!”
The ‘group’ had opted to visit Erud’s Crossing and Odus, to see the original home of their kin and ancestors, the Kera. Moirai didn’t see anything particularly exciting about that, but it still enabled her to see the world.
Arumubei came back carrying a hefty load of firewood. He surveyed the campsite, ignoring her pose of sullen indifference, and nodded approvingly.
“We should start a fire. It won’t be too much longer before Brrak returns.” He murmured, dumping half the wood in the circle Tinidril had made.
“I can take care of that.” Tinidril said with a smile. Being a Beastlord, Tinidril had flourished during their travels. She’d always enjoyed her small forays into the out-doors, but she had never ventured more than a day’s distance form Shar Vahl. Brrak had taken her under his wing, and the two had actually taken on a vital roll in the group’s comfort level (as far as camping and hunting went). As the fire began to blaze, Moirai got even more agitated. In the afternoon heat her coat became quickly soaked with sweat, and this fire wasn’t helping things.
“Perhaps we should bathe before Brrak returns...” she suggested. Arumubei said nothing, only looking between the two she-cats. Tinidril’s brow drew into a contemplative frown.
“No. I think it would be better if we waited until after the meal. We will have gotten suitably filthy by then.” Tinidril said with a slight grin. Moirai noticed a grin tugging at the corners of Arumubei’s mouth as well. But he wasn’t grinning because on Tinidril’s joke; he was grinning because Tinidril had thought for herself. One more shinning example that Tinidril was turning into an upstanding, free-thinking, Beastlord maiden...to them at least. To Moirai, it meant she was loosing her all ready small circle of friends.
Moirai sighed and laid back, her form arching over the rock. “If my fur gets any stickier...”
“You’re such a drama-queen.” Arumubei announced, receiving a heated glare for the proclamation. “You’ve sweated while hunting before.”
“Bei, females do not sweat. Males sweat; females perspire.” Moirai corrected.
He shrugged rolling his chocolate brown eyes. “Whatever. You know what I meant. You’ve hunted before, and that means you’ve sweat before.”
“Never like this! I’m unused to this heat!”
“We all are.” Arumubei pointed out. Indeed they all were fairly well plastered with sweat. Tinidril seemed the least soaked, but that was only because it didn’t show as well on her white fur.
Moirai turned her nose up, laying her ears back coolly. “Just because you all enjoy sweating like brutes doesn’t mean I should be forced to suffer.” Arumubei actually bared his teeth as he growled at her.
“Now, you two. Don’t fight.” Tinidril interjected matronly as she bustled about to find four big logs for them to sit on. “No one with fur enjoys sweating, Mo. But it is something that must be endured.”
Moirai bristled slightly as she was the only one being scolded. Their was silence in the camp till Brrak returned. The large orange and white tiger had a massive buck slung over his shoulder. They may not need to hunt again for a week!
After each had eaten their fill, Brrak studied Tinidril and Moirai. It was a look so analytical, Moirai wasn’t sure whether she admired Brrak’s will, or was offended that he didn’t find anything interesting.
“Why don’t you two go and take your bath.” He said simply. Moirai had never really liked Brrak as he wasn’t her type in the lest, but at that suggestion, she could’ve submitted to being his mate…at least for one night. Tinidril seemed slightly hesitant about bathing for some reason.
“You’re sure? We could help you clean up camp...” She said as she eyed Arumubei. He was dividing the kill into smaller portions and putting them into containers.
“I’m sure. You made camp living, so we’ll take care of this. Go one.” Brrak said, waving for them to go on.
While Tinidril swam around in the river, Moirai was perfectly content to simply recline in the water. The black leopard was almost completely submerged save only for her snout. As she was submerged, she heard Tinidril’s movements from underwater as she drew closer.
“Now this is the life.” Tinidril murmured as Moirai sat up.
“Hmph. I could think of a few better things.”
“Like what?”
“A warm bath maybe?”
Tinidril’s face scrunched up in confusion. “You’re saying, after all this sweating you would want to sit in a tub of hot water?”
Moirai rolled her golden eyes expressively. “I think it’s more the prospect of being in civilization.”
Tinidril shook her head. “I’ve been enjoying this.” She said with a contented sigh.
“So I’ve noticed.” Moirai murmured. She glared at the water. Tinidril was changing more and more lately, and she didn’t like it at all.
“Why are you so unhappy?” Tinidril asked bluntly.
Moirai shrugged. “Dunno...it’s just not how I imagined it, I guess.”
“How did you imagine it?” A new voice asked. Even though this new voice was obviously female, both girls still ducked down into the water to better cover themselves.
“Where?” Tinidril spun around, surprised when she found a lilac-eyed, female, cougar Vah Shir crouching on a bolder that was just off the bank of the river...she was practically right next to them. “Holy Cats…I didn’t even hear you!” Tinidril breathed.
“Now’s not the time to be admiring her!” Moirai bit out. “Who’re you, and why are you spying on us?”
The lady cougar grinned and straightened up smoothing out her leather breeches. She was covered in the soft tan armor the Vah Shir were famous for, and Tinidril took special note of the sword belt that ran across her torso. No doubt there was a scabbard lying against her back.
“My name is Hakshi, and I thought I heard people not too far from my camp site talking. If there are wasps in the room, I like to be able to see them.” the new-comer announced.
“That’s only natural.” Tinidril said reasonably with a nod.
“So, where are you camped?” Hakshi asked.
“We—”
“That’s not your business.” Moirai growled.
Tinidril gave Moirai a reproachful look. “That was impolite.” she announced.
“Indeed.” Hakshi seconded, looking slightly surprised.
Tinidril sighed at Moirai’s sour expression. Sometimes there was just no reasoning with her. “We’d better get back. I don’t know if the boys will want to bathe so late, and I certainly don’t want to sleep near sweat-soaked males.”
“Would you mind if I joined you? Just for an hour or so, that is.” Hakshi asked jumping from the bolder to the dry river bank. “Y’see, I usually do my traveling by night, and I’ve yet to have my breakfast.” She explained as Tinidril waded back to the bank. “And I don’t often see our people here on the planet.”
“We’ll have to ask the boys, but I’m sure they won’t mind.” She said as she blotched off her fur with a towel. If she tried to shake the water out, it would only give her fur the frizzies; so, she’d learned to suppress the impulse.
“Tin, I can’t believe you!” Moirai gasped.
“What?”
“Dressing in front of this strange female.” Moirai announced aghast.
“I’m sure I don’t have anything that will offend her.”
“Aye.” Hakshi said looking over Tinidril. “And seems to me she has nothing to be ashamed of anyway.” Tinidril blushed so deeply it shown through her fur. Hakshi actually smirked again. “If it makes you feel any better, I could close my eyes.”
“Ah, no. Thank you though.” As a consequence, the two females ended up dressing a bit more quickly than they might have otherwise.
Arumubei looked over at Brrak after he’d made sure they all had space enough to roll out their bedrolls. The Beastlord still held his taunt stance. A minute ago he had said he thought he’d heard something. But, as neither of them would dare risk walking over to check on the girls (they’d call if they really needed something, after all), the blue-eyed tiger settled for glaring in that direction.
“I’m beginning to think you’re hearing things now, m’friend.” Arumubei teased.
Brrak’s only reaction was to flick his eyes back at the leopard in a glare. He then resumed glaring towards the river, his tail lashing at his haunches agitatedly. His ears twitched and he let out a rumbling growl to draw Arumubei’s attention. Arumubei looked up to find three female figures approaching.
“Well now, what’ve we here?” Arumubei asked in a cordial manner, secretly assuring himself his dagger was handy.
“Well met, Friends!” Hakshi called warmly.
“Brrak, Arumubei, this is Hakshi.” Tinidril said in introduction.
Hakshi bowed with a graceful flourish that seemed natural to her. “Shi for short.” She smiled.
“Nice to meet you.” Arumubei nodded politely. “Not to seem rude, but where did you come from?”
Hakshi grinned. “Oh, here and there. I’ve been traveling for three months now. I realized that I wanted to see the world, and I’d much rather do so rather than only read of it. And you?”
“Much the same.” Tinidril confided. “The four of us have been friends for ages, and when the travel bug bit Mo and I, Bei and Brrak couldn’t see letting us go on our own.”
For a moment a big part of Hakshi seemed far away. “Well, that’s nice.” She admitted, drawing herself back in. “I, myself, am only passing through. On my way to the North.”
“North?” Arumubei asked.
“Aye! I’ve heard there are dog-men up there that threaten the Humans and Barbarians. I thought it might be interesting to see how they react to a cat-woman.” She admitted with a goofy grin.
“We’re on our way to Odus.” Tinidril announced, glad to have someone else to talk with.
“Well then, I’m glad we could meet before you’d left the continent. You four are the largest group of our kin I’ve yet to see on the planet!”
“I’ve noticed that myself.” Brrak rumbled.
Hakshi grinned at him. “Now I see why you don’t talk much. With a voice like that, you must have to beat the females away!” she announced coyly.
Moirai rolled her eyes as such a misplaced flirt... only to gape in shock as she saw Brrak blushing slightly through his fur! What was it about this female!
“You said you only woke up a little while ago?” Moirai questioned with only a slight tint of growl to her voice.
“Aye...” Hakshi said, confused by Moirai’s attitude. “I tend to travel at night to avoid the heat of the day.” She elaborated.
“I see the logic in it...” Brrak said with a nod.
Hakshi’s nose wrinkled. “Aye, I can see you’ve been feeling some of that heat.”
“Why don’t you boys go and wash that stink out of your fur? We’ll keep Shi company till she has to go.”
“Good idea.” Brrak said with a nod as Arumubei sniffed himself self-consciously.
“Holler if you need something.” He said. They quickly gathered their things and made their way towards the river.
“Thank you.” Tinidril said to Hakshi. “They do their best to stay as clean as possible for our sake, but sometimes they can be stubborn and...”
“They are male.” Hakshi said with a shrug as if that explained it all. She smiled and sat on one of the logs around the fire. She fished out some rations from her pack. “So, how long have ya’ll been traveling?”
“Oh, just on a week now.” Tinidril said pleasantly as she sat cattycorner from Hakshi. “We were never sure where we wanted to go, but we didn’t want to be confined to Luclin.”
Hakshi nodded as she gnawed at a bit of jerky. “I can understand that. And, as your skills grow, you’ll be well-capable of venturing near the more exciting even if slightly less-safe areas of the planet.”
“That’s the plan...we just wanted to find our place in this wide world...” Tinidril looked over at Moirai. “You’re awfully quiet...” she noticed. Moirai was sitting rigidly straight staring down her snout narrowly at Hakshi as the other female ate.
“It’s because she doesn’t like me.” Hakshi commented without looking up.
“Oh no, I’m sure—” Tinidril stopped when she noticed the fur on the back of Mo’s neck bristling. “You really don’t?”
Moirai only snorted softly and looked away.
“Well, why in the world not?” Tinidril asked confused.
“I thought it might be because I did something inappropriate around your males...” Hakshi volunteered.
“They aren’t even our males!” Tinidril exclaimed.
Hakshi looked up. “They aren’t?”
“Well, of course not!”
“Sorry...the numbers were even so...I just assumed.”
Tinidril nodded but kept looking at Moirai. “So, what is it?” She asked.
“I don’t need an excuse not to like someone.” Moirai announced.
“Charming.” Hakshi muttered, showing the first signs of distaste for Moirai’s behavior. She’d been pretty lenient so far, considering that Moirai had been an absolute beast to her. She tried taking into consideration that they had only just met, but she honestly couldn’t stand Moirai’s stand-offish, snobbery.
“You’re behaving like a spoiled cub.” Tinidril announced.
“Who is?” Brrak asked as he and Arumubei came back to camp.
“Moirai is.” Arumubei announced, as if he’d heard all of their conversation, when in truth he just assumed.
“Oh.” Brrak nodded. Moirai humphed, crossing her arms more tightly and looking away.
Hakshi packed up the remained of her breakfast. “Look, I’ll just go ahead and set out early.”
“You don’t have to.” Arumubei said giving Moirai a sideways glare.
“It’s all right. I can see you’re all tired from your journey, and now that I’m fed, I can’t wait to start mine.” She did seem quite eager. “Good luck to you, friends. I do hope we meet again.”
After farewells were exchanged and Hakshi was far enough away, Moirai began to grumble. “Good riddance.”
“What is the problem with you lately?” Tinidril asked. She had been delighted to meet one of their kinsmen on the planet. But Moirai had such a terrible attitude about it. It’d be impossible to make new friends if she continued to behave this way.
“She was being a snob.” Moirai grumbled petulantly.
“No she wasn’t!” Tinidril yelled back, which surprised everyone. Tinidril was usually the quiet, patient one. When the tigress behaved even remotely aggressive, it caught everyone’s attention. “You’re spoiled!”
“What?” Moirai yelled back standing up. Tinidril stood as well, so that the two were almost nose to nose now.
“You heard me!”
“Um, girls..” Arumubei tried.
“Stay out of this.” Tinidril growled. The two males glanced at each other and sat on the other side of the fire...as far away from the females as they could get. Tinidril turned back to glare at Moirai. “We’ve catered to your every whim!” She reminded. “I never cared that you were poor when we were cubs, I never cared that you were pushy, or arrogant, or selfish! I gave and gave and gave, and I’m sick of you not being considerate of my feelings!” Tinidril practically roared.
“You’re head’s in the sand! I’m the one here who’s had to fight for everything I’ve wanted!” Moirai bellowed back.
“I gave you my friendship without any price!”
Moirai only snarled and stomped off. Tinidril glared at her retreating back till she was no longer in sight. Then she sat down and stared into the fire balefully.
Brrak looked over at Arumubei and muttered. “Ninny.”
“...Ass.” Arumubei bit back in the same vein. But their joking didn’t even early an ear-twitch from Tinidril.
Brrak sighed deeply and stood before following Moirai.
Moirai was pacing along the river bank agitatedly. She didn’t notice Brrak till she almost ran over him.
“What do you want?” She demanded.
“Just to make sure you don’t do something foolish.” He replied stoically, reclining back on a stump.
Moirai hissed in annoyance. “I’m not the one being foolish!”
“Oh?”
“No! That Hakshi has just swept in and made everyone think she’s wonderful.” She announced, resuming her tirade.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” Moirai snapped. “It’s not as if you all grew up with her. It’s not as if you’re life-long friends and I’m the outsider. But that’s what it damn-well looks like!”
“Not from my point of view, but I suppose you’re entitled to your opinion.” He replied as he inspected a weed that was growing near the rock.
Moirai whirled on him angrily. “If you’ve come here solely to mock me, then please leave.”
He looked up at her unperturbed. “I came because Tinidril would be upset if you wandered off and hurt yourself.”
“Ha!” Moirai said stomping a foot and crossing clenching her fists at her side. “I doubt Tinidril would notice if I came back with a leg missing.”
“Now you’re just being dramatic.” Brrak said rolling his eyes. He only received a snort in reply. “No really. You know Tinidril as well as the rest of us. Why do you think she snapped at you tonight?”
“Because of Hakshi showing up and dazzling her. Damn that Bard.”
“They only met for a few minutes, and even then, Tinidril doesn’t make decisions like that lightly. You’re usually the one flying by the seat of your pants and catching your own tail on fire.” Moirai growled at him, her golden eyes snapping. “Fine. If you don’t want to listen to reason.” He said as he stood to make his way back to their camp. “Moirai?”
“What?” She snapped turning her back to him.
He turned back and surveyed her carefully. “Do you want to loose Tinidril?” That certainly made her stop and think. “You two have been friends since you were cubs...if you don’t budge on this...you may end up sacrificing the only person who ever liked you for you.”
“But...” Moirai turned and looked at him. “You and Arumubei...” She seemed so timid in comparison to her usual behavior.
“The only reason we even met was because Tinidril arranged it. She may be the meeker of us four, but she’s the spine that holds us all together.” He admitted. “I certainly wouldn’t have gone out of my way to meet a pig-headed thing like you.”
“Pig-headed!?”
“Well, you were. Still are it seems.” He observed in that laid-back voice of his. “I would’ve thought you would’ve grown out of that by now.”
“I’m not pig-headed!”
“You’re selfish, conceited, and inconsiderate. You always have been. I always thought that it was because of how you lived before the court took you in..” Moirai winced, and Brrak realized he had indeed hit a nerve. “Is that what it is then? You were denied so much when you were young that you refuse to deny yourself anything now?”
Moirai sighed. “I don’t know.” She muttered sulkily.
“Of course you do. You of all people should know.” He said now turning to face her fully. “Is that it?”
“...When you put it that way...it seems so...”
“Selfish?”
Another heavy sigh. “Yeah...” she admitted.
“That’s because it is.” Brrak clarified with a nod. “You keep saying how we’re all changing so much, but the truth is, we aren’t changing that drastically...it’s just that you haven’t changed at all. You are very selfish, and it hasn’t bothered Tinidril at all until tonight. If you continue, you may have every pleasure save true friendship.”
“With friends like this...” Moirai grumbled petulantly.
“That’s what true friendship is. I know you and Tinidril and Arumubei are my friends because you feel comfortable enough with me to tell me that I’m too antisocial.” Brrak said with a begrudged smile. Moirai smiled too. They had been telling him that for years now. “If you weren’t really friends, you wouldn’t care enough to tell me my faults...you’d just let me make mistakes and keep hurting myself.”
Moirai thought that over for a moment...she’d never really considered it that way. She’d always thought the others kept harping on her faults because they couldn’t stand them...But it wasn’t as if they’d ever abandoned her. Not even now…she had been the one to walk away...not Tinidril.
“You coming back?” Brrak asked, turning back towards their camp.
“Uh...maybe in a little bit. I have some thinking to do.” She said almost shyly as she glanced back at the river.
“Fair enough. Goodnight.” He said turning to walk away.
“Good night...Hey, Brrak?”
“Yes?”
“...I’m glad we talked...we should do it more often.” She said with a small grin.
Brrak shook his head. “I certainly hope this doesn’t happen too often.” He muttered as he walked back to the fire.
Moirai only smiled.
The next day was as miserable as the mood the group was traveling with. The heat was blazing, it was humid, Moirai kept feeling nauseous, Arumubei kept sneezing, Tinidril had a terrible rash on her calves, and though he’d never admit it, Brrak had a throbbing headache.
Moirai still hadn’t apologized to Tinidril...When she’d finally returned to the camp that night, Tinidril had been asleep, and Moirai didn’t really want to wake her up. At first she thought it might just all blow over. Tinidril would wake up and everything would go back to normal. Then she wouldn’t have to apologize...but Tinidril wasn’t normal. She was silent, she didn’t so much as look at Moirai, and when she did she just glared at her stonily. Moirai just attributed her attitude to the rash...once it was gone, everything would just go back to normal...
“I am so thirsty.” Moirai murmured tiredly. “Aren’t you guys?” She asked, trying to remember to be considerate of others instead of only focusing on herself.
“Yes...a little.” Brrak admitted. “And milk is no good in this weather...besides that, I doubt it would help your stomach.”
“I told you we should’ve taken water with us.” Tinidril reminded.
“Yes. I know. We should have. But we didn’t. I’ve heard there are settlements around here full of farmers that are willing to trade. We may be able to get some water...”
“What settlements?” Moirai asked scanning the horizon. “I haven’t seen anything for miles.”
“Then that just means we must be getting closer.” Brrak said.
“Right.” Moirai said, her shoulder hunching forward from the tedium.
Silence prevailed for quite a while till Arumubei sneezed loudly several times and shook his head vigorously, as if he could shake off the urges to sneeze. “This is all your fault.” He said to Moirai.
“Me? Why?”
“I don’t know. But it is.” He whined petulantly.
Moirai rolled her eyes and smiled. “Fine, fine. It’s all my fault. Does that make you feel better?”
“...a little.”
“Good.”
“Who’s that?” Brrak said, looking behind them.
“Who’s who?” Moirai asked turning and squinting down the road. “Who is that?”
“I don’t know...” Arumubei grumbled. “But he’s moving a lot faster than us...”
“He certainly is.” Tinidril murmured as the figure drew nearer. “Lynx!”
“eh?” Brrak said cocking an ear towards her without taking his eyes off the approaching figure.
“He’s a lynx! One of us! A lynx Vah Shir.” Tinidril cheered excitedly.
“Don’t yell, Tin.” Brrak admonished quietly as he rubbed the top of his snout.
“Sorry...Uh.” She turned and faced the approaching Lynx. “Hail there.” She said cordially. “What errand brings you so far out, friend?”
The lynx stopped and looked at them as though he hadn’t even seen them. He had milky white eyes and thick leather armor. His fur was unkempt and slightly matted with sweat.
“I am seeking another one of us...” He said cryptically.
“Oh..” Tinidril said, slightly taken back by his stern manner. “And who is it you’re looking for?”
“A female cougar named Hakshi.”
“Hakshi?” Tinidril asked looking to the others in concern.
“What do you want with this female?” Moirai asked, poker face firmly sliding into place.
“I will bring her back to Luclin to stand before the Warshadow family. She stole something of great value from their house, and I mean to bring her back to stand trial for such a crime.” He announced agitatedly. It was obvious that he wasn’t used to having anyone question him for any purpose.
“The Warshadow home?” Tinidril asked, slightly star struck.
“You know them?” Moirai asked.
Tinidril gave her a side-ways glare before addressing the entire group. “They’re a very well-to-do family back home; well known for producing some of our greatest Shamans...supposedly related to the line of our Rahj as well...”
Moirai blinked in shock and Brrak grunted.
“She did something to piss off someone that high up?” Arumubei muttered. “Sounds like something Moirai would do.”
Moirai glared at him. “Please. I never would’ve gotten caught.” She joked, sticking her nose in the air feigning disdain.
“Cute.” Brrak muttered with a half grin.
“You’ve seen her?” The lynx asked.
“What’s your name?” Brrak asked.
“Rolnayn Steelfist.” He ground out. “Have you seen her?” He asked again, this time more slowly to emphasize his agitation.
“What proof is there that she did anything wrong?” Arumubei asked. Both Tinidril and Brrak winced and Rolnayn’s fur bristled slightly. No one ever questioned a family that influential about things like proof. It was just assumed that they were truthful.
“Lord Hezikia Warshadow swore before our Rahj that this villain had stolen something precious from him.” Rolnayn announced with scarcely-contained furry. “Any who would stand in the way of my search would be considered criminals as well.”
“Hey there, big boy, don’t make promises your ass can’t keep.” Moirai snapped. “What’re you gonna do? Arrest all four of us and bring us back to Shar Vahl?” she asked cockily, knowing he couldn’t possibly arrest them and search for his prey. He only growled at her in reply.
“This isn’t helping.” Brrak announced, giving Moirai a stern look.
“We don’t know where she is.” Moirai announced raising her nose into the air not feigning disdain at all this time.
Rolnayn growled in response. “But you have seen her.”
“We saw her last night.” Brrak admitted. “We can’t impede an investigation like this.” He continued when Moirai and Tinidril turned a questioning glare at him.
“Indeed.” Rolnayn said, focusing on Brrak. “Do you know where she was heading?”
“I don’t even recall her mentioning that.” Brrak replied.
Moirai snickered slightly. “Consider the source. I doubt you even noticed the color of her coat, Brrak.” Moirai teased. “She said something about helping the Humans…”
“Yeah...” Arumubei murmured. “She said the humans up north, right?”
“The only major human settlement up north I can think of is Qeynos.” Moirai said with a nod.
Rolnayn shook his head in annoyance. “Why would that crazy female go there? She has no business being there.”
Brrak looked between the two leopards and then to Tinidril. She did not look happy at all. “Uh...I think I see some farm houses in the distance. Why don’t you go and buy us some water, Tinidril?” He asked carefully.
Tinidril sighed and nodded. She couldn’t see just standing around and listening to all them cut Hakshi down. “Go ahead and go on without me. I’ll meet you in the hills later, if it comes down to it.” She grumbled, making her way to where Brrak had pointed.
“Do you want company?” Moirai asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Tinidril replied without even looking back.
Tinidril had stalked through the plains quietly. The giant spiders out here weren’t vicious at all, so she never even minded seeing them. They weren’t that frightening to her...but then she’d grown up on Luclin. Spiders were the least of her fears. And as she was a Beastlord, most creatures just saw her as one of them anyway.
The little barn Brrak had pointed out seemed so far away, but Tinidril didn’t mind. She was glad to have the time to think. She realized that the others weren’t really giving all of Hakshi’s secrets away. Hakshi had mentioned the Gnolls and the Barbarians, and they hadn’t told that annoying male that much. He still had his work cut out for him if he really wanted to catch her...but that question kept popping up. Was he in the right at all? Sure, Hakshi had appeared seemingly out of nowhere (quite a feet for a Bard), and she had kept her origins quite the mystery...but that didn’t mean she was guilty of theft. And even Rolnayn couldn’t show any more proof than Lord Warshadow’s word. She shook her head and tried to make herself more companionable as she approached the barn.
“Hello there. Is anyone here?” she called out. She could smell sweat, dirt and metal. All things she would consider a part of a human-run farm. She caught a faint whispering sound, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. “Hello?” she called out again.
Look out!” the distant call made Tinidril ready her staff, and in just enough time. A young human woman jumped out of the barn jabbing a dagger right towards Tinidril.
“What do you mean by this!” Tinidril asked knocking the girl away with her staff.
“Over-sized beast!” Tinidril whirled and dodged a human man as he swung a scimitar at her.
“I only came to trade with you!” Tinidril cried out.
“They’re Bandits!” Tinidril looked around for the one who’d warned her and her eyes widened when she saw Hakshi on the back of a centaur charging right for the barn. The centaur skidded to a halt, letting his hind quarters fly out, and Hakshi leapt at just that momentum using the momentum to jump farther. The cougar landed right next to the young woman who’d first attacked Tinidril and bashed her on the back of the head with the hilt of her sword.
Tinidril cried out in pain as the man with the scimitar cast a flame spell on her. The fire rolled around her torso, and sent shockwaves through the rest of her body. Using her distraction to his advantage, the man swung at her left foot, knocking her down flat. She heard Hakshi start to sing, and the Bard barreled into the human man, driving him away from the prone Tinidril with an unnatural strength. Hakshi jumped back, just as the centaur cast a bolt of lightning spell. The lightning struck the man, sending him flying into the shabby barn he used as a hide out.
“Gravolet, help me!” Hakshi called as she ran over to Tinidril.
“Is he...?” Tinidril began, surprised at how painful it was just to speak.
“Shh, now. I’ll take care of you.”
Tinidril groggily opened her eyes when she began to feel damp. There was shade directly over her, but dim light was filtering in from her right.
“Waking up?” Hakshi asked. Tinidril tilted her head back to find the cougar sitting beside her head.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Not much more than a lean-to really. It’s one of Gravolet’s places.”
“This thing is someone’s home?”
“He’s a centaur, Tinidril. They don’t do well in enclosed spaces. Or at least, none of them have ever stayed in such a place long enough to find out.” Hakshi looked Tinidril over carefully. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore.” Tinidril said with a groan as she sat up. “But otherwise all right. Are we very close to Qeynos?”
“No.” Hakshi said shaking her head. “In fact we’re deeper in the Karanas. Gravolet and his people are very suspicious of outsiders, especially humans. They never go anywhere near the human city.”
“But I thought you said you were heading for the hills...towards Blackburrow?”
“I was. Then I was attacked by those bandits. Sprained my wrist pretty badly too. Gravolet helped me out of that jam. They’d caught him and stuck him in the stables. When I saw they had him, I fought to free him instead of fighting the bandits and saving myself. He returned the favor and got us both out of there. We went back to kill them once he’d tended to my wrist. He won’t risk there being a bandit camp this close to where his people roam.”
Tinidril nodded. “Where is he now?”
“Informing the herd. They still don’t trust me enough to bring me into anything like that.”
“I see.” As she tried to roll onto her side, she noticed the bandages around her legs. “What’s this?” She asked.
“Gravolet and his people are very good herbalist. He recognized the rash that was on you and gave me some salve to rub on it. I wrapped bandages around your legs to keep the salve from getting rubbed off or dirty.”
“Oh...” Tinidril considered the situation and decided to trust her instincts. “We met another Vah Shir named Rolnayn. He says he’s looking for you.”
“So, his name’s Rolnayn huh?”
“You knew he was following you?” Tinidril asked, her ears twitching expressively.
“Yeah. I usually keep myself a day ahead of him. He’s caught me off guard twice, and I don’t like that to happen too often.”
“He says you’re a thief.”
“What?” This time Hakshi’s lilac eyes flickered with anger.
“He said he was sent by the Warshadow home to search for you because you stole something from them.”
Complete and utter shock registered on the other Vah Shir’s face before she turned and stared at the misty rain that was falling on the ground. Pain and resignation was all that was left to her manner now.
“So...that’s why he’s been following me.”
“You mean you didn’t know?”
Hakshi shook her head. “I asked him once...when he first caught me. He only said, ‘You know what you’ve done’ and wouldn’t say anymore.”
“...But. It’s not true right? I mean, you haven’t stolen anything. Especially not from a family that prestigious...”
Hakshi scoffed. “Not in the way their implying.” she admitted.
“I’m really getting sick of these half-assed answers.” Tinidril griped.
Hakshi released a deep sigh. “I didn’t take anything from my parents, Tinidril.”
“You—You’re parents?” Tinidril asked confused.
“They wanted me to be a Shaman...But my heart was elsewhere. I ran away from home. So, I did take something away from them, but I never really stole from them. All the things that I have with me are things I earned.”
There was a long pause as Tinidril considered this. She surveyed the female in front of her and considered everything she knew. Hakshi didn’t seem dishonest...but neither did Rolnayn. On the other hand, Hakshi seemed capable of thinking for herself, while Rolnayn was quite content to take what everyone else said to heart without considering something like evidence.
“I’m sorry.” Tinidril said sincerely. “For ...well, everything I suppose.” Hakshi smiled at her then turned her attention back to the now steadily fall rain. The two females just sat there for a while, listening to the thunder in peace.
Moirai paced near one of the human guard towers in the Qeynos hills. It had been an hour, and still no sign of Tinidril. She knew that Tinidril was still upset with her, but it wasn’t like the Beastlord to make everyone worry. Even Arumubei and Brrak seemed slightly more anxious now.
“Something’s wrong.” Moirai muttered.
“Don’t assume the worst.” Rolnayn grumbled.
“Fine. Something’s not right.” She corrected.
“It is entirely possible that your friend passed us up and has gone on to wherever it was you were heading. We were moving quite slowly after all.” Rolnayn reminded, giving Moirai a hard glare. She had been the one who slowed them down with her belly-aching.
“It’s just not like her.” Moirai said worriedly.
“Mo’s right. Tinidril would’ve waited for us for days if she would’ve had to.” Brrak said with a nod.
“Well, can you think of any other reason?” Rolnayn asked agitatedly. “She probably got tired of waiting for us and went on to the city for shelter. Anyone with a bit of sense would seek shelter from this storm.”
“No.” Arumubei chimed in, matching Rolnayn’s brisk tone. “Don’t assume you know everything about everything. Tinidril would never leave us for something as trivial and inconstant as the weather.”
Rolnayn’s fur stood on end. “Well, I can’t wait any longer. I’m heading on to the city.”
“You do that!” Moirai spat, glaring daggers at his retreating back. “Arrogant, pushy, snob.” She muttered.
“Though it does beg the question: what should we do now?” Arumubei asked.
“We sit here and wait for Tinidril.” Moirai said matter-of-factly.
“Moirai’s right. If we keep moving around, we’re sure to miss one another.” Brrak said with a nod.
“Did you just agree with me?” Moirai asked, faking shock.
“Do not grow accustomed to it.” Brrak joked back.
“And now he shows a humorous side of himself that we’ve never seen before...” Moirai drawled out.
“Still, if she doesn’t show in the next couple of days, I say we split up and see if she’s in Qeynos or still back on the plains...” Arumubei said.
“We’ll have that as a reserve plan. But till then, we wait.” Brrak said.
“So, you told him I was headed towards Qeynos?” Hakshi asked. They’d just said good by the Gravolet and his herd. The herd had thanked them for vanquishing the bandits and given them enough food for a week.
“Yes. We said you were going to help the humans in the north.”
“And let him believe whatever he wanted to believe. That’s great.” Hakshi said with a smile. “Well, we can’t go to Qeynos now. I know a short cut to Black Burrow though. It’ll be a little harder to manage with the terrain, but we’re Vah Shir. We’ll survive.”
“I’m not so sure I should go with you...We were headed for Odus.”
“If I know that arrogant Warrior, he’ll force your friends to accompany him or threaten to charge them as criminals. They’ll be in Qeynos too. Once we hit the hills, you can head back to the city and rejoin them.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Tinidril said with a smile.
I live off of feed back.