One step forward, three steps back [open]

[Emberlina]

The girl took up the old pearlband from the ground again. Before it was big enough to fit around her neck, now it only got around her wrist. She peered amused on the three men's expretions, clearly enjoying their surprised looks. "Oh, no need to be so nervous, boys. I thought humans liked to see a woman's skin, especialy lonely wanderers like yourselves." she said calmly with a lightly teasing tone as she smiled softly.

She blinked a bit at the cloths Kael threw to her. She carefully picked them up with her hands and sniffed gently on them. "Hm... Smells a bit funny, but what can you really ask for, neh?" she thought to herself and shrugged lightly. She began to put the shirt on an as Kael came forth with his offer for shelter.
"Ah! Don't worry about that, sir Kael. I'm just fine with sleeping on the ground. All I'm glad for is the meal you kind men gave me!" she smiled kindly to them as she put on the trousers she was offered.

She gently took out her long black hair as it got under the shirt and shook her head a bit to let it lay lightly against her back. She then smiled to the knight as he handed her the cape. "Oh. I actually thought you guys would be angry at me or something for scaring you, but you are really too kind. Thank you!" she said happily as she took the cape from Kamrynn and pleasently warped it around herself.
"Oh, and sorry that I just came in like that, sir Nether. I just couldn't resist, you know? Cats likes a good stroke once in a while." she said to Nether with a cute smile on her soft face.

[Nether]

"Ah, come on, guys, let's try to calm down, we're all friends here.." Rummaging cautiously through a large box inside his cart a small distance away, Nether had a chance to get a bigger picture of the situation, and tried his best to defuse what risked turning into something dangerous.
"..at least, more friendly than whatever might decide to be attracted to the scent of blood if we start spilling it. Any of you has ideas of what lurks in these lands?".
There was no hidden undertone of threat in the question, just genuine curiosity.

"Besides.." He continued, as the box made an interesting variety of clanking and tingling sounds, mostly of glass against glass; despite the distraction of talking, he was obviously very cautious with how he handled the contents."..do we really want to make this sort of show in front of a lady?" He nodded towards the cat-recently-turned-girl, once again acutely aware of her nakedness, even if she was starting to cover up, and blushed once more. Then again, if this worked he'd have to be thankful to her presence."We're not barbarians, are we?"

Finally, with an expression of triumph, he emerged with something that, in the right light, could, maybe, a long time ago, have been a bowl.
Or, more likely, a mortar. He stared at it for a second with a dubious expression, then turned it down and patted on the back to clear it of some powdery remains, afterwards proceeding to wipe it with a piece of cloth. Half a second more of rummaging, and he found a spoon too. He placed it in the makeshift bowl and headed again towards the camp, hoping to not find it turned into an arena."Here you go, girl.. actually, you have a name? I can't really go on calling you cat.."

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn was more than a little upset now. Kael -a man he had only just met- had insulted him, threatened his life multiple times and now, dry fired his bow at him, claiming that the taking of his life would be an easy thing.

Kamrynn could not recall doing anything to provoke this kind of behavior from the man, and while the knight was used to being on the receiving end of some good natured ribbing, what this stranger was doing now was hostility, bordering on harassment.

When Kael reached out to touch Kamrynn on the neck, that was the last straw. He stewed silently while the man rambled on, saying things with a smug matter of fact tone that didn't sit well with the knight. When Kael had finished, Kamrynn turned around with deadly purpose.

"Listen, kiddo." Kamrynn said sharply. "I don't know, or care, where you're from, but in this area it isn't wise to go around insulting people you don't know, it's dangerous to make idle, hollow threats you can't back up and it's down right stupid to flick your bow string at a Syliran Knight."

He drew a deep breath and exhaled in a vain attempt to calm himself. "You've got one thing right, though, I could cut you down where you stand, and it makes little difference that your sword isn't in your hands -it couldn't help you even if it was."

He spat on the ground to emphasize his point, his anger mounting to a terrible crescendo. "Where the hell do people like you get off, threatening innocent, travel weary people? Do you really not know how to act around others, or maybe you think you're some dark desperado, the master of this domain and we should all fall in line behind you?"

"In either case, it's long past time someone beat some manners into you. But since there's a lady present I'll give you a choice; Apologize for your behavior or take a thrashing." Kamrynn raised his fists in a boxer's stance, his face grim and his heart dead set on the task.

[Kaelithus]

Kael looked over at Kam "Sir Knight, i told you that wasn't meant to be taken as a threat please...calm down...i will admit my actions may have been a bit drastic and not needed but i was simply wanting to make my point that even those you trust could strike you down...but i refuse to strike back...i told you i would never hert someone as noble as a knight my father had so much respect for you"

Kael looked at emberlina "my lady, i apologize for my actions" he bowed his head in respect "but please...after this beating allow me to make you a bed to lay on.."

His eyes drifted back to Kamrynns "if you insist on beating me...take your fists...strike me as hard as you deem needed...if you believe a simple warning not to doubt those around you was a threat...than by all means strike me down...beat me......just i beg you..don't touch Midnight."

[Emberlina]

The girl waved her hands before her as she seemed slightly worried about the tention around them. "Now now. No need for a fight here, even if it's just one puch... And besides that. There is no need for me to get special treatment -just- because I'm a girl..." her last sentece sounded a bit annoyed as she told it from her heart. She didn't like to be special treated because of something she can't help.

She sighed again at the knight and at the bowman as she rubbed her head. "Geesh... Mom was right. Boys can sometimes be overdoing things." she thought to herself as she blinked at Nether when he asked his question. "Oh. Actually, I don't have a name." she said calmly as she carefully held out her hands to take the spare bowl and spoon. "Nope, my mother mostly just called me "her daughter" or something like it. She said if I want a name, I can name myself... although I haven't decided yet on which one." she smiled lightly as she answered and peered back at the two arguing, hoping nothing more will come between them.

[Nether]

Despite having asked her a question, by now less than a sliver of Nether's attention was devoted to the girl: he simply mentally stashed away her answer for an eventual later use.

As the knight rose in anger his hopes for a peaceful resolution of the situation waned and he found himself hoping they'd bring out nothing deadlier than bare fists; after all, from what he had seen so far, the other wasn't very likely to back down.

Dropping the items he had been carrying on the cart, he tensed up, ready to react to the upcoming confrontation.. by hiding under the cart, most likely, or simply by keeping his distance away. As far as he knew it wasn't a good idea to step alone in a brawl between two trained fighters, especially with his less-than-impressive curriculum of martial experience. Once again an acute reminder of his need to learn some basics of self-defense if he planned to keep travelling.

It wasn't until Kael's reaction that he allowed himself to relax slightly, his shoulders slumping a bit as he he exhaled deeply, finding out that he had been unconsciously keeping his breath in for the whole event.
Now it was all up to the knight. Hopefully he wouldn't press on.
The only sure thing was that the relaxed mood for dinner was definitely over.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn grit his teeth, his face was burning and he felt equal parts a fool and a jerk.

"Sir Knight, i told you that wasn't meant to be taken as a threat please...calm down..."

"Now now. No need for a fight here, even if it's just one punch..."

Their words echoed in his head, and behind him Nether went running for his kart. Kamrynn let his hands fall forgotten to his sides.

What the hell is wrong with you, Kamrynn? He wondered. A year ago he would never have acted like this, but then again, a year ago he had just become a knight. What had the order done to him, to make him into such an angry, distrustful and malicious... jackass?


"No..." He shook his head. "It's I who should apologize. I do not know what came over me." What else was there for him to say? He couldn't bear to face the three in the camp any longer, not after he had escalated and stressed thing's so badly. "I'll -I'll take my leave now." He turned to walk back towards his horse.

"M'Lady," He nodded at the cat-girl as he passed. "Nether, may you have a safe journey." He grabbed the reigns of his horse and tugged at them gently, walking her out of the camp and back into the woods. His head hung and his shoulders slumped. There was much he needed to consider.

[Kaelithus]

Kael felt like someone he shouldn't be, it was HIS fault that he almost caused the knight to attack him, HIS fault the noble knight was leaving. it was HIS responsibility to attempt to intervene.

Kael ran towards the knight and stepped infront of his horse placing a gentle hand on its snout. he looked to Kamrynn "look, i made a mistake... i pushed you over the edge and most likely deserve the beating...but that isn't the reason i stopped you. you are a trained guardian of Syrilas, i am merely a "kiddo" who is good with a bow, i have traveled these roads alone and have nearly been killed and im used to living on my own..but these two...if they need to go on there journey to the library...they will need a guardian... a trained Knight who can defend...and if you insist on leaving...take this..." Kael reached into he bag pulling out a smaller bag that jingled as it was pulled out, he reached in and his reappeared with 10 Gold Mizas placing them in the knights hand "please, take this for the fish..."

Kael walked back to the camp picking up his quiver and bow placing them both around his shoulders and placed his Talon Sword back in its sheathe. he turned to Nether "thank you for the camp sir" he pulled out another 10 gold mizas and placed them in Nethers hand "for your troubles"

Kael turned to Ember "my lady, thank you for your presence it was a honor to meet you tonight" he gently kissed her hand "the clothes are yours to keep. i would give you Mizas as well...but...i don't know where you would keep them.."

Midnight Stuck its head up letting out a squawk "yes bud, were leaving..either back to syliras or spend some time looking for food" Kael smiled at his companion who flew back to its nest in his bag

Kael turned towards Syliras "this is gonna be a long walk without the energie of chasing you...i haven't even slept yet Midnight but..." He placed his hands over the birds wings gently picking him up from his bag "go find yourself some food" he tossed the bird in the air who spread out his wings and flew towards the sky disappearing into the night sky

[Emberlina]

The girl blinked on them while staying mostly silent, as she had quite lost reasons to. She watched Nether as he hid behind the kart, blinked twice before trying to hold a soft snicker in her throat. She just thought he looked rather funny.
She then looked back towards the two men as they mentioned her. She sighed as they again treated her special even if she hadn't done anything.

As they both had in mind to leave, she sighed and stood up as she looked rather seriously on them. Her face still being soft, but with her cat-like eyes sharper than before. "...Hey. If you ask me, both of you are just scared... I mean, both of you have apologized for how you acted, so why not just forgett it, neh? There is no need to leave because of -one- missjudgment..." she set up her finger to strengthen the word -one- as she laid her other hand on her hip.

She had actually enjoyed their company and for once, didn't want to lose it. She had travaled alone for about a mounth and gotten rather lonely even if she didn't want to admit it herself.
"So? Let's just make it up and rest here for tonight. As... one of you said, it's safety in numbers and all the creepy monsters comes out at night."

[Nether]

OOC note: Heey, I wasn't quite under the cart yet

The situation had started to evolve in a rather unpredictable way: in a sudden flip what two minutes earlier had been a moderately relaxed, if at times awkward, camp among people who were starting to know each other had became a riot of people coming and going, and other people pushing towards one result or the other.

Also, a sizeable amount of money had suddenly appeared in his hands, money he was feeling very conflicted at accepting. Sure, he wasn't certainly rich and could use the help, but neither was the man who gave it to him, unless he liked travelling incognito. Then again, some people were known to take offense at a refused gift.
So he fiddled with the bunch of small, widely coloured gemstones, half embarassed, half confused and all unsure of what to do with them.

"Kael, Kamryn.." He sighed, as he too tried to catch the attention of the parting duo, reaching once more away from the cart and towards the fire. "..As I have already said, let's try to calm down a bit before doing something stupid. Such as, I dunno, randomly heading away in the middle of the night on an already tired horse?" Here, he was eyeing Kamrynn, a hint of a smile back on his lips.. maybe not really related to what he was feeling, but a smile always helped when you tried to smooth over a situation. "Or perhaps heading on foot, after three days of lack of sleep and with half a meal in your stomach?" At this, he was looking at Kael, with genuine curiosity in his eyes. Hell, probably the archer had eaten less than his pet in the past few days.

"Here is what I propose: we bow to the wisdom of kittens, put the issue aside and, at least for tonight, play nice like good friends. Then, tomorrow, ideally after I figured out a way to repay Kael of his gift, everyone heads towards his destination.. and don't worry too much for me, Kael: the main roads are said to be quite secure, whatever direction I decide to take".