Post by Illasan "Icarus" Lavellan on Dec 8, 2015 5:14:16 GMT
A gentle wind was slowly making it's way across the sparse plains the Lavellan clan called their home. Riding towards the head of the clan Illasan sat atop his steed, eyes never leaving the backs of his father and their Keeper. The two mages were speaking in hushed tones, but he was thankfully close enough that some of the words caught in his ears. "About half a days ride behind us." His father spoke casting a quick glance over his shoulder to take in the pace of the others. His gaze fell upon Illasan for a few seconds before it was once again moving to take inventory. If the young boy had to guess what they were talking about he would calk it up to the large group of humans some of their hunters had spotted while searching for game. Their Keeper being the ever cautious woman she was had ordered them to pack up as quickly as they could so they could be away from the group before anything happened. That had been three days ago and they had yet to loose sight of them.
The heavy thump, thump, thump of hooves jerked the young elf out of his wandering thoughts. Turning soft brown eyes to the head of the group he was surprised to spot one of their Masters (he was pretty sure his name was Alaors; not that it really mattered) had made his way to the Keepers side with a heavy frown set upon his tanned face. “Keeper Deshanna” He spoke in a stern tone as he raised a fist to press against his chest in a symbol of greeting to the two mages. Illasan's father returned the gesture with a small nod, while Deshanna only smiled gently at the warrior. It was the same smile he had seen the mothers give their children; warm, and welcoming.
“What is it my child?” She spoke softly, that motherly look never once leaving her eyes. That was the thing that Illasan liked most about their Keeper. Even if she was listening to two members of the clan having a rather heated argument, or was scolding someone for something. Her eyes never lost that look, her voice and posture always staying motherly. Then again, he thought. It could be coming off as that way to him seeing as she was the closest thing he had to a mother. Or, it could just be the way she was. He'd have to ask his father about it once they had time alone. Not that it bothered too much, it was more of a curious inquiry he had.
Alaors took a deep breath; almost as if steeling himself before he spoke. “Keeper,” He began choosing his wording very carefully. “We must stop soon. The Elders and young-lings might not be able to go on much longer.” The warriors eyes flicked over to Illasan's father, and then to Illasan himself before speaking once more. “They only ask that you give them a small break in our move for them to rest themselves.”
Illasan's eyes caught onto the subtle nod from the Keeper to his father seconds before the gold Halla in front of him was veering off to the right and trotting down the long line of Aravels and mounted elves.”Then let it be told down the line.” The young elf heard Deshanna speak. “We will make camp here.” She turned her eyes to the many dips and hills they had traveled across. "I want all Hunters and Masters on alert." Sighing heavily she halted her mount to circle around and face the scattering of Aravels that were being dragged into place for camp to be made. "If something is to happen, I would like for all of us to be ready." Alaors nodded, saying a quick thank you to the elderly female before pulling away to help set up.
Illasan said nothing as he eased his own Halla away from his place in line. He scanned the bustling bodies for any sigh of his father, but thought it to no avail after scanning the ever moving crowd for the third time. There was the possibility that the older male would not have time for him. Surely the Elders need to be checked on to make sure the trip had not been to hard on them; and with his father being the only one adequate in the arts of healing he was going to have his hands full. Taking a quick look through the stream of bodies Illasan felt a devious smirk flit across his freckled features. "You think anyone would notice if we're gone for a few minutes. Eh girl?" He asked, patting his tawny hued Halla on the neck, grinning at her snorting response. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He murmured softly while urging the beast in the direction of one of the closest dips.
As they crested the hill the small elven boy let out a whoop of happiness. There in the bottom of the dip was a small stream skirting it's way through the ground, which lead into a much larger stream about two Aravels length away. Okay so yeah, this was the perfect place for the two of them to settle down in for the time it would take the others to finish setting up camp. And once they returned he could tell his father about finding the stream. That was a awesome idea. "We did it girl. Dad's going to love this." He told the Halla as he swiftly dismounted to allow her to graze comfortably. Stretching his arms over his head to try and work the kinks that had begun to knot up from the log ride Illasan gently settled himself back onto the grass for a quick nap. Folding his arms behind his head he closed his eyes with a wide smile stretched across his face. "Make sure you wake me up once you're done stuffing your face." He mumbled "The last thing we need is Dad freaking out about us missing."
WORDCOUNT:: 1,013 MUSICPLAYING:: Victorious by Panic! At The Disco CURRENTMOOD:: Excited POSTTAGGEDFOR:: MICHY AUTHORSNOTES::What is this crap?! Ugh horrid.
Where once there had been blinding sunlight, now only shadow remained. The trees, most of them gnarled and twisted, had seemingly clumped together in the impending dusk til they formed a sea of darkness too deep to look past. The only path to take was straight ahead, which led out of the forest and into the open plains. From there, all seemed quiet and peaceful. From there, the moonlight would illuminate their way. The fields were much easier to navigate, with their beaten dirt paths and open field of vision, especially from atop a beast of burden. So why then had two men chosen the path of most resistance?
The answer was simple. Cover. What these two men needed during the day was to stay well hidden and unperturbed as they made haste towards the Hunterhorn Mountains. With the dying of the light came the promise of creatures, both big and small, which mortal men would not wish to encounter. The majority of them were known to inhabit the groves, staying in the shadow of naive travelers, and making a quick snack of them when the timing was right. Desiderius would be giving these beasts no such advantage over him and his Commander. Years of diligent training and leading The Inquisition had hardened both men into fine warriors, and though they lacked a ranger to guide them, common sense was a fair substitute. If all else failed, the two could hold their own with steel in hand, even with Desiderius missing an arm, and Cullen fighting the urge to nod off on his Fereldan Forder.
The first man, tall and proud astride his Red Hart, nodded toward the sound of trickling water. There were no words exchanged between himself and the much bulkier man on his right, but both seemed to understand each other perfectly. The second man, Cullen, urged his mount forward til he was just over a ridge and looking down upon a wide river that narrowed further down and out of sight. Honey colored eyes scanned for signs of life, but nothing caught his immediate attention. Perhaps if he had a torch in hand he might have noticed the numerous halla prints peppering the ground below. Then he too may have second thoughts about the fireflies that stood idle across the plains, and instead took them for what they were , distant Dalish campfires.
Suddenly, As the scouter made an 'All Clear' motion with his fist, Desiderius's Halla came bounding past at record speed. The silence was broken by Cullen's alarmed wheeze and a loud " FUCK. " from Desiderius himself. Cullen followed just as swift, down the ridge, and right into the river itself. " What are you doing, Man??? " came the alarmed whisper from Cullen. " I'm not doing anything! He's bumblin' about! Woah now! Steady! Steady you damned walking coat hanger. " The water barely skimmed the knees of their beasts yet still both men were speckled with droplets after a few seconds of blind cantering that quickly became a soft trot. Cullen was evidently wetter than Desiderius, but stopped his horse parallel to the Halla and shook it's horn as a negative reinforcement. The Halla only barked and counted with it's hoof on the rivers edge.
There before them stood a Halla, not unlike the ones that adorned the tapestries back at Skyhold. It did not scatter into the night when it saw them but displayed the same Doe-eyed expression one would have if it wanted to do so. The Hart approached and shook it's mane before leaning in for a sniff.
" Ay, no. NO. Stop it, you're going to scare the thing. " The reigns were pulled by the rider, right up to his armored neck, but the Hart did not budge.
" I think it's best you speak with Master Dennet when we get back, " A chuckle escaped Cullen's lips, the first chuckle since they had been summoned to The Hunterhorn Mountains on urgent personal matters. Desiderius gave another tug, this time wrapping the reigns around his sharp studded gloves. The Halla reacted by only getting closer to it's much smaller counterpart. " Your boy is just trying to reach his love. ".
" As am I. " came Desiderius's somber response. The toothy grin fell slowly from Cullen's face with a cough. Ah, yes. The reason they were out here in the first place was to reach Cassandra. Cullen regarded Desiderius as the mans eyes drifted to a rolled up parchment tucked neatly into his breastplate. Cullen had been there when the courier had arrived, with a horse that seemed close to dying from exhaustion and it's rider not in any better shape. Since the transition of the Inquisition to a peacekeeping force, under command of The Divine, Desiderius had become a figurehead of sorts, pacifying the masses with his presence alone yet having no real authority to do much of anything. He had proposed leaving once he'd skimmed the parchment then and there, but all those that paid witness, and Harding, kept him from being so reckless. The message did not relay what exactly was the matter, only that it was urgent he pay the newly reformed Seekers a visit. The script was Cassandra's, that much he was sure of. It was shaky at best, with water marks over small portions, but definitely still recognizable by Desiderius. It had taken them two days to plan, and a day to prepare. The notion that this may very well be a trap did not go unnoticed. There were still many in Thedas who wished harm upon the Inquisition and it's Leader. Fearing the worst, Desiderius claimed the fastest mounts and recruited his most trusted adviser for the trip. Cullen would have come regardless of invitation. Cassandra was an important part of his life too. Without getting too sentimental, the man entertained the thought that all of them were friends to a degree.
The sound of grass rustling sent Cullen's head spinning instantly in the direction of the noise. " Company! " was shouted as both men were put on the alert. The lighter silhouette of a body against the stark dirt was all they could see. Even the Hart had turned his head once he sensed the tension rising.
Post by Illasan "Icarus" Lavellan on Dec 9, 2015 4:03:59 GMT
The little secluded plain the young elf and had found for himself and his trusted companion had stayed just that. Well, it had long enough for the boy to go from a gentle doze to a full slumber that came upon his road weary body like one of the wolf fur blankets his father would wrap him in during the cold winter nights. Nelva had stayed close to the young boy watching over him with careful eyes. After she had seen he was resting soundly, and sweeping the surrounding area for signs of anything dangerous the dainty female trotted back to Illasan for one last check before moving down towards the larger stream. And it was there that she stayed as the sun fell from the sky, and a small feel of unease began to work it's way into her belly. Lifting her head from the stream she had been drinking from to scent the air with a snort. There was a scent coming in their direction. Coming fast. Too fast for her liking. Turning to clamber her way back to Illasan, a large bumbling figure lunged from the treeline and into her vision. Rearing her head back with a wild snort Nelva stood ready to spring away as she took in the sight before her.
A large brute of a beast was snuffling and scenting at her face and neck in thick inhales and snorts. Each sidestep she would take to rid herself of the large male he would match her eagerly, trying his damnedest to get closer to her. Much to the annoyance of his rider if the motions and curses were anything to go off of. Stomping at the river edge in annoyance the slim female lowered her head to rear her rack of horns in his direction. Granted they might not be as “showy” as the brutes, but they were just as if not more deadly. All she was hoping to do was deter him from getting any closer than he had already gotten.
“Company!”
Pushing her lowered head towards the male once more the Halla lifted her head towards the rustling noise. Snorting a few times in the air the female's eyes widened as she left out a low whine as if wounded. The rustling sounded once more this time much louder and quicker paced as the silhouette scrambled around on the ground before standing. A small flicker of flame came to life a few feet from the ground lighting the surrounding area, the wide brown eyes and freckled face of the small elven boy who was the source of the flame. Raising a slim hand to shield his eyes from the light of the flame Illasan called out softly. “Nelva? *Emm'asha?” Moving further down the small stream the small elf paused as he stared at the display before him. His heart stuttered in his chest for a few seconds before kick starting like a hare being chased as he took in the two mountains of men. Swallowing audibly his eyes darted from one man to the next, while finally landing on Nelva who was slowly creeping her way over towards him.
He could not make them out to well in the light of the slowly dimming flames. But he could make out one thing; they were humans. He had heard the elders tell stories of humans to himself and the other youth of the clan. This of course was frowned upon by many of the adults (his father included) and Keeper Deshanna; who would always shoo everyone away to their tents and share a few stern words with the elders present. But the tales he had heard talked of how humans were horrid creatures who would hunt in large rabid packs like diseased wolves. They would chase after clans for weeks, picking off any stragglers they could stick their swords into. The tales told that they would continue to do this until the only ones left were the youth; easy pickings one of the elders had hissed out at the huddled group of shivering children. "They would chase the ones remaining until they were too tired to run. Then, once the children were exhausted almost to the point of death that is when they would strike!" Illasan jumped out of muscle memory just thinking about it now. "Then they would string the children up by their ankles, and gut them like a fresh kill only to leave them hanging there as a warning to any who would come across the bodies."
The memories paired with the fact that there were two humans staring him down his fight of flight instinct kicked in. He needed to get away, he needed to warn the others! “Oh shit..” He whimpered out softly as he extinguished the flames dancing in his palm, and turned on his heel. “**Ma halani!” He called out in the direction his clan, as he felt hot fat tears welling up at the corners of his eyes for seconds before streaming down his heavily freckled cheeks in wide rivets. “Ma halani!” He called once more as his feet scrambled for purchase on the damp ground. With a loud yelp the ground finally gave way under him sending his body slamming into the cold, hard ground with a whine. The tears that been falling from his eyes were now flowing freely as his small body was wracked by hiccuping sobs and whimpers. Was this how his life was going to end? He didn't want to be strung up and gutted. He hadn't even gotten to tell his father he loved him.
His sobs came faster as Illasan curled in upon himself. The last memory he was going to have of his father was staring at the back of his head as they rode. And wasn't that just shitty in and of itself then he didn't know what was. Loud, raged snorting and the stomping of hooves caused the elven child to lift his trembling head to try and find the noise. Nelva was standing over top of him, caging his small body in the safety of her legs, head lowered at the two men. "Nelva.." He whimpered out as he looked up at the Hallas stomach in disbelief. Illasan could have sworn she would have run back in the direction of camp, but no, here she stood possibly staring her own death down. All to protect him. The thought made him uncurl one of his arms from his chest and call upon the earth magic his father had been so studious to teach him. Calling forth the decayed roots of the numerous trees around them he watched slither and twist their way towards the legs of the humans mounts. If Nelva was willing to fight her death then may the Dread Wolf take him he was as well.
WORDCOUNT:: 1,143 Um...oops? MUSICPLAYING:: Dancing On Glass by St. Lucia CURRENTMOOD:: Bloop POSTTAGGEDFOR:: MICHY AUTHORSNOTES:: Halla haters gonna hate~ {* Emm'asha - My girl **Ma halani -Help me}
" It's a boy. Dalish. His camp is probably not far off. " A quick assessment, given that the child looked like he could run at the next second. " Oh, and a mage no le- " the commanders sentence was cut short by the elves sudden outburst. It was enough to startle both of their mounts despite the fact that both men had already entertained the thought of this happening and had braced themselves for the display. Cullen was the first to react, giving a very short lived chase and trying desperately to calm his steed once the boy faltered at his hooves. His Forder neighed loudly in response to the loud wails . The duo had not heard such a commotion since their journey began. Given that the youth had fallen and not immediatedly regained his composure, Cullen saw no other alternative than to try and dismount in what would have been a kind effort to calm him. That is, if the halla who had inadvertently lured them here had not stepped in the middle. No, Cullen would stay right in his saddle. He knew better than to get near those horns, with or without his sturdy armor. If it so wished to protect it's rider Cullen would not interfere. There was no need for it to shield the boy from Cullen who only wished he could get that point across without a show of force.
Desiderius, who was quite perplexed with the whole scene, had not budged a bit. It seemed he was still trying to process what they had come upon, who this boy was, and why his Hart was suddenly buckling beneath him with an alarmed screech. By the time he realized the boy had cast a spell it was too late to move his mount to safety. Roots were sprouting and aiming to ensnare both the men in rapid slithering motions. Des did his best to roll off his mount as it collapsed onto its belly. An attempt was made to avoid the tangle of roots that were drawn to the impact of his body against the shore. When that failed, the only option was to roll quickly and backtrack on his rump whenever possible. Due to his missing limb, any effort made to regain his footing became futile and ended with him shuffling far enough to see Cullen in his peripheral. Besides the wheezing and groaning, Desi did well to muffle what could have been defensive snarls and curses.
The magic was simple enough for Cullen to dispell, which is why the man remained seated even when his own horse began to buckle. With one fluid motion Cullen unsheathed his sword and sliced down through a root with swift precision. The brightest of blue light flashed and spread through the root where contact had been made. In seconds there was nothing but stillness and the faint hum of protective magic. Miniscule specks of what could only be described as glistening dust peppered the rocky shoreline. The Templar's counter magic sunk between each crack and crevice in the rockbed and flowed with the motion of the river until there was no magic left in the immediate area. " Calm. Down. ". His horse took courage in his rider then and stood tall as ever.
The chaos had come and gone. Desi rolled over onto his stomach and did a sort of one handed push up until he was sitting on his knees. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, but the most unamused expression lingered on his features. Cullen's demeanor was more relaxed and patient than that of Desiderius. Truth be told, the rogue on the floor could have strangled the boy, one handed and everything! He was holding them up, and if his screams had reached his clan then both of them were closer to dying than they had been in the woods. " Does he even speak the Kings Language? ", Desi hauled himself up on two legs and clicked his tongue for his poor Hart to approach. The caramel pelted beast trotted quickly to its rider and stroked his back gently with its rack. Des responded by giving his snout a gentle smack. " He said 'shit' before bolting. ", and now Cullen was landing off his own steed and pointing his sword at Des. Both men narrowed their eyes at each other, though Cullen was the first to break the seriousness by smoothly flipping the sword so the hilt was offered instead. Des shoved the weapon away, opting not to scare the child further. " Well if he does speak we won't be needing that...Do you understand me, young man? We mean you no harm. ". He practically had to duck in order to see past the Halla's legs, a goofy manuever for a muddy one armed man. His single hand was extended, palm up and fingers open, for both the Halla and the elf to see. " Let me help you up. ".
" Yes, do let him give you a hand. " Des rolled his eyes at the most overused joke at his expense. Please, just let this end quick and painless. The urgency was apparent in Des's hazel eyes. Every second they spent off course was a second longer away from Cassandra. The night only grew darker and was quickly going to consume any chance they had of finding their way to the Hunterhorn mountains. All of this riled a sense of hopelessness within Des, but he was not willing to leave this child in such a disturbed state for his own benefit. No. He simply had to assure himself that the child was not lost or seperated from his clan. There was also the nasty business of scaring the youngster half to death. Maintaining his reputation as the benevolent Inquisitor was crucial to their operations, both now and for future endeavors. What would people say if they heard The Inquisition had been snooping around the Dalish and hurting their children? Parish the thought! They already had to deal with being labeled as a militia instead of peacekeepers. How about the idea that the Inquisitor was taken hostage in the Dales? The masses would question the location, what business did he have out there? News would inevitably reach Cassandra and that in itself was a terrifying notion. Who dared to keep two battle hardened lovers apart? Not a teenaged dalish but he was doing it anyways!
Post by Illasan "Icarus" Lavellan on Dec 20, 2015 6:30:18 GMT
The feeling of pride and joy that swelled and thrummed through his blood at successfully casting the spell and snaring one of the men and his mount exploded into a sudden panic in the matter of seconds. His breathing stilled into nothing as the feeling of being punched in the gut washed over him. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a strangled garble of syllables. What had they done?! His connection to The Beyond was gone. He had never in his life felt this empty. Wheezing heavily as his small body tried its damnedest to gather the air it desperately needed Illasan began to drag himself across the damp ground. A chocked laugh bubbled up in his throat at the words the shemlen spoke to him. How could he believe the soft spoken words when they had done something to sever his ties to The Beyond. It had to be one, if not both of the men. There was no one else around who could have done it. And even if for some unexplained reason the snaring spell he had cast drained him of everything, he would still feel the thrumming of The Gods call streaming through his blood. So no, there was no way he was going to just sit back and ask them what they had done to him. As if sensing her riders distress the tawny furred Halla snorted hotly at the outstretched hand, nipping at the fingers in annoyance before rounding it's attention to the boy trying to crawl his way up the slopped hill. Huffing loudly the small fem lowered her head to bump into the elven boys shoulder. The beast could sense something was . wrong, but lifting her head to gaze at the two men she could not tell why. Stomping at the ground she called towards the large brute who had been getting a little too personal was he the cause of her riders worries? Surely that was not what was happening. The same thing happened back with the clan. Granted, the clan brutes had not been as vigorous as this one had been, but that had never pulled this reaction from the young boy.
A small screeching bark filled the surrounding forest, followed by the rustling of leaves, and snapping of twigs. Illasan began wheezing even harder as he heard the sounds drawing nearer. Had his yells accidentally caught the attention of one of the many packs of wolves that roamed these parts? Would these humans save their own skins by leaving him to be eaten while they escaped? Or would they try to help defend the boy? The blonde human had said he wanted to help had he not? These thoughts however were shattered as creature burst through the woods to scurry around the heels of the Halla before coming to a halt in front of the one armed human. The breathe he had been needing for the past few minutes came flooding back to him, and he sucked it in greedily, like a man starving for a cool drink in the hot sun. His almond eyes took in the creature who had happily made it's self at home siting in front of the crouched human, sniffing curiously at the air around the hand. It was half the size of the wolves he had seen in their travels, it's body colored in a dune colored fur, with black stripes covering his slopped haunches and rod straight tail. It turned its beady eyes to peer over at him with a chirping bark, before opening it's elongated jaws to an almost unnatural angle. His eyes widened in recognition as they landed on the strip of leather decorated with the outlines of Halla clinging tightly to the creatures neck. This belonged to...
"I suggest you get away from the boy shemlen. Unless you want an arrow in your shoulder." Came a stern, yet feminine voice. Illasan jerked his head to his left, and the sight he saw could have made him cry with joy. There, standing at the top of the hill stood a female elf with a bow and arrow pulled at in the ready. "And I would hate to damage you and your friends body." She purred out as a wild smirk started pulling across her tanned features while her eyes flicked between the two men. "I mean, if it's anything like his face, I'm sure it's a rather nice looking one." She said while motion to the blonde with her bow. Illasan could have groaned at the words, but he was afraid of drawing attention to him once again. Of course out of all the people in the clan to come to his rescue it just had to be his Aunt Olwén. Don't get him wrong he was glad she was here, but did she really have to act the way she did? He shrunk back down into himself as her cold blue eyes locked with his in a heated glare. "For the sake of your own ass boy get up!" She growled out lowly before turning her attention back to the two men in front of them.
Illasan didn't have to be told twice. Casting a quick glance at the two humans to check their movements before dragging himself to his feet. As soon as he was standing his Halla bumped its head into his shoulder, shorting and nibbling at his hair. Brushing the beast off with a gentle push to her snout he swallowed in hopes of steeling himself enough to speak. He opened his mouth only to close it, and repeat the process until he was starting to look like a fish gasping for air out of the water. Olwén watched the boys actions with a roll of her eyes before cocking her head to the side as she regarded the humans. "There's no way you lot are bandits." She murmured, almost as if speaking to herself. "You're dressed to nice for bandits," she paused to do a slow once over of the rugged blonde with a almost predatory gleam in her eyes. "And I've never seen bandits as handsome as you." The small creature snapped his jaws at the two men with a bark that sounded oddly like it was laughing before scurrying over to the female elf to rub and press against her legs like some odd type of cat. Lessening her pull on the bow until it had a small bit of slack in it she spoke once more. "So, if you aren't bandits who are you? And why are you out here trying to steal a elven boy in the middle of the night?"
" I'll be needing those. They're the only ones I have left. " The joke was meant to make light of the situation but went unnoticed by the young boy. The elfs fear was unwavering, making Desiderius impatient. He sat uninterested in further attempts to calm him, if he made it up that bank he'd be out of their hair and with little to complain to his clan about. The fact that the boy was a mage had to have some sort of importance in Elven hierarchy. Something was mentioned to him once or twice in passing, but he had to admit that elves were what he knew least about in general. So with that in mind, maybe it wasn't a good idea to let him run away with a bad tale to tell. Desi entertained the thought of just lunging out to him until he got a good grip on an appendage but his train of thought was cut short by the appearance of a creature unlike any he'd laid eyes on. It was almost rodent-like in body structure, but it's head and posture resembled that of a canine. The way it opened it's jaws to an unimaginable degree was enough to elicit a disgusted groan from Des, who grimaced just before he heard a voice from above.
"I suggest you get away from the boy shemlen. Unless you want an arrow in your shoulder."
Des feared not the threat of pain but more so the time they would waste in the fight." "And I would hate to damage you and your friends body.". His eyes rolled and stayed in a corner for a good five seconds as he rose from the ground and turned almost comically to Cullen. When he hoped for an English speaking elf, he didn't mean a flirtatious one. " You remember the Winter Palace? ", he waited for a shrug in response, " This is going to be just like that, isn't it. " Cullen's face matched his robe with a deepening scarlet color. The adviser was not new to being courted and Des knew women often fawned over him with relentless abandon. If that could work in their favor just this once, instead of Cullen just whining about it, this whole ordeal would not be so bad. "I mean, if it's anything like his face, I'm sure it's a rather nice looking one." Up until now they had both been silent and back tracking step by step. " More scars actu- " his words were cut short as she let out a less than lady-like yell. Poor kid. " Perhaps he was better off if we had taken him. " Des covered the side of his mouth with one flat palm and whispered to Cullen. Cullen did not find this amusing in the least. The creature scurrying about on the floor was making their mounts nervous. If they bolted they would be stranded. The woman hesitated to shoot them on sight, but the situation was still dire. "So, if you aren't bandits who are you? And why are you out here trying to steal a elven boy in the middle of the night?"
Yes. Good. A chance to speak! Finally! The King's English rolled fluid and eloquent off the tip of Des's tongue. He'd spent countless hours conversing with various tribes, politicians, and factions. Conversation was a honed skill for him, as it should be for any leader. " M'lady, " he bowed slightly, " I am Desidarius Mars Trevelyan, Leader of the Inquisition. A formidable yet peace seeking organization, I assure. " My commander, Cullen, and I meant the boy no harm. " He'd keep their destination a secret for now. It would not be a lie if she asked and he replied with uncertainty why they were even here. That perhaps his horny beast of a Hart had startled the other doe was a suitable response. Remembering the lumbering beast, Des clicked his tongue and motioned with his head for the Hart to approach. It flicked it's ears and bellowed, head held high for all to see. " My hairy friend here, " and he hoped she didn't think of Cullen when he said this, " took off after your halla. " He pointed at her with a gloved finger, brows furrowed. " We would have been well on our way were it not for his actions, I do apologize. " A fist was raised to his chest with a light thump. What she chose to do next would either help or hinder them on their quest. The former was the preferred option, but Des could only hope for such a harmonious outcome. Hazel eyes held direct contact with what he thought might be blue ones. Sweat was building beneath the fringe of his soft fohawk in nervous anticipation of what came next. There was no way of telling what Clan they came from, seeing as they roamed, and Des was terrible at even pronouncing the names of such clans.
