Hey Diddle Diddle.

[Jayce Asher]

26th Winter - Outskirts of Zeltiva (Bit further away) Daylight came quicker than Jayce expected, the sun was up though, Jayce couldn't feel it. Neola was probably awake, Jayce didn't really care - he had to make himself ready for today. I of course mean by 'ready for today', that Jayce needed to prepare himself physically. Today was no occasion - it didn't have to be. Jayce was ready for every occasion, almost especially if one would arise without warning at all. He took his newly filled Waterskin, and wandered down to the back of his tent, where he washed his face and hair. Jayce was fairly happy today, he thought he heard music as he loitered around, though it was probably just his mind falling back on good times in the taverns of Zeltiva. He got a small glimpse of the campsite while he was outside, but didn't let the observation sink in much at all. He didn't notice Neola, if she was outside. After a little while of fumbling, Jayce produced his hair brush and started to untie the knots in his hair. He parted his fringe, and stroked at the locks until they were silky, and reflected the light much better without dust clinging to them. When he found his hair ready, he started to beat off the dirt and dust from his clothes - his shirt was expensive, and he didn't fancy being made a fool of by a bit of muck. After what must have been close to a bell, he peered out of his tent to let the world see his new and fresh looking face, now with the addition of a large grin. They'd moved to an area of flat land, and nothing could be seen anywhere on the horizon. On his left, Neola was sitting by the extinguished flames of the campfire - a thin stream of black smoke rose and danced through the air, as a snake does when charmed. Manx was nowhere to be seen, though Jayce had a good idea where he was. Manx spent the last few days out and about, trying to make the most use of his skill with the bow. Jayce searched around, and despite the flat land, he couldn't see Manx anywhere - he must have strayed further than the horizon. He hoped that Manx knew his way back. Because Jayce felt more comfortable with himself, he decided he'd go and talk to Neola. She was playing the fiddle today, which must have been what Jayce could hear as he washed himself clean. He started with a very common first liner, but it worked well in getting Neola's attention. "Sounds great!" He said. She was playing a song that Jayce found all too familiar - he asked her where she learned the song from, in the hope that it would answer the question of where he'd heard it before. It was fairly upbeat, and reminded Jayce of Manx, strangely enough. He pulled up a battered log, and smoothed off the odd bits of wood with his hand before sitting down. He was only about a metre away from Neola, so he could see her clearly in the light of the morning sun. She'd been worn down slightly over the 3 days they'd been out, Jayce could see it. She now looked different to the girls he was used to seeing - at least a little more rugged anyway. Her new look (however unintentional it was), didn't appeal to Jayce - for the moment at least, he believed that the most attractive woman were unspoiled by nature. He said nothing about how weathered she looked - partly because it was only very slightly - he just kept a conversation going about her fiddle, instead. To conclude his conversation, he asked her where she'd got the instrument from - steering himself tryingly into a personal topic of hers: her family.