Closed Sometimes Terrible Ideas Are the Best Ideas (Faolan)

[Alea Davenport]

When Alea saw Faolan starting a fire, she felt compelled to help, to prove she wasn't as useless as she'd let herself become. She walked around the clearing, searching for wood the could use to feed the fire, to keep it going beyond the initial flame. She passed over the smallest twigs; Faolan had enough of those to get the blaze started. She focused mainly on sticks about as big around as her thumb, with one or two larger branches for good measure.

By the time Faolan has started cutting up the rabbit, she had dropped a small pile near him. It wasn't much, but it would keep the fire going long enough to hunt for more if they chose,.

She too a deep breath to answer his question,, but then couldn't decide what to let out. She was in a mood to spill her whole life story, but she had done that all too recently, to someone who had not exactly returned her trust. In the end, she just said evasively, "Oh, you know, I just needed some fresh air." There was an awkward silence as she failed to offer more, and it was only broken by his offer of food.

She was surprised at his kindness, though afterwards she wondered why else she thought he was bothering to cook the meat. She was less surprised to see him eat the remains raw. He was a wolf, after all.

Alea wasn't quite sure how to tell exactly when the meat was done cooking, but she was so hungry, and the smell so tantalizing, she decided to risk it the tick it stopped bleeding. She had the bite almost in her mouth before she froze. Quickly, she examined each wrist, and then both of her ankles. "Aha!" she declared grimly to herself as she delicately peeled a bracelet made of teeth from her left ankle. When it was safely deposited on the ground next to her,, she tore into the rabbit chunks with gusto. It was significantly under-cooked, sliding slimily down her throat, but it was still the best she'd tasted in many seasons, and she grinned at Faolan with juices dripping down her chin.

"What about you?" she finally said, with her mouth full, before swallowing a particularly large bite. "Do you live out here?"

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan looked at the pile of sticks Alea brought and smiled with a slight nod. He added some of the bigger sticks to the pile while her meat was cooking so that the fire would sustain itself and not eat up all its fuel before she decided to eat. He wasn't sure that she was telling him the truth when she stated that she wanted fresh air, but he didn't bother questioning her about it. After all he didn't know her well enough to pry. "Well, the forest is a good place for fresh air." he said softly with a faint smile on his face. He knew there was more to it than that; he could tell by the awkward silence that followed her statement that she was holding something back. He knew enough about social interaction to know that much at least; his mother had done that a lot, pause silently after telling him something and then not continuing when she had more information that she wasn't willing to part with. When she made an exclamation and pulled a bracelet of teeth from her ankle he looked at the bracelet curiously, but once again refrained from inquiring after it. He watched her eat the partially cooked meat with a bemused expression and wrapped the remains he wouldn't eat inside the rest of the rabbit carcass. He hadn't expected her to eat mostly raw meat like that and found it a little endearing. Any human that went after meat that could be harmful to them was okay with him. Her question made him shake his head a little bit. "I don't. I probably could, but I don't. It would get a little too lonely for my liking." he answered. "I've gotten pretty good at hiding among the humans in the city...I think anyway..." he stated.

[Alea Davenport]

Unlike her companion, Alea had no qualms about prying into the lives of strangers. "Ooh, what do you do in the city? I don't think I've ever seen you before; do you hang out in the parts of the city I don't go to? Were you born in Ravok, or did you come here from somewhere else? What was your home like?"

She could have kept going, but she was feeling a little queasy from the raw meat. She put a hand on her stomach to settle it, before she threw up even without the help of the bracelet.

Feeling a little chilly from sitting still for too long on such a cold winter day, she shivered noticeably and huddled a little closer to the fire. She glanced at the kelvic boy from under her eyelashes, wondering silently if he was cold too.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan's eyebrows went up a little as the girl suddenly bombarded him with one question after the other. Just as he was about to answer she put a hand to her stomach and it occurred to him that it was probably upset. He realized that she had probably eaten the meat raw because of how hungry was and it wasn't sitting well in her stomach. He had a tendency to forget that not everyone could process raw meat like he could. Blinking a few times in a row he thought back to the questions she had asked as she huddled closer to the fire. Adding a few of the larger sticks to make the flame warmer for her it occurred to him that he was feeling a little bit of a chill as well. He wondered for a brief second why he wasn't as cold as she was, but chalked it up to him wearing warmer clothing than she was. "I don't do much honestly. I'm a hunter so my work keeps me out here a lot. I wasn't born in Ravok; I'm from Zeltiva. I just wanted to explore more of the world so I signed on with a merchant caravan that was coming up this way. I just rent a room, it's not much but it works." he explained in answer to her questions. "What about you?" he inquired, turning her questions back on her. His blue eyes were inquisitive as he examined her face while awaiting her answer. Sticking some more sticks into the fire to keep them warm while she answered he wondered how long she would stand the cold before she decided that she needed to head back to the docks. He would accompany her of course, he had just been out here to get away for a little while and would return when she did; if just for the company more than an actual desire to return to the city.

[Alea Davenport]

"Zeltiva?!" Alea shouted, leaning extremely close to Faolan as startled birds flapped away from all the nearby trees. She grabbed both of the kelvic's arms and said, "That's where the Denvali went!" The implications of this raced around her brain for half a tick before releasing another flood of excited questions. "Where is it? Can you tell me how to get there? Is it very far? How long will it take? How long ago did you leave? Did you see them arrive? Did you learn any of their names? Anyone I know?"

She ran out of breath and realized she was awfully close to Faolan's face. staring deeply into his eyes, her own eyes flicking rapidly back and forth between each of his irises. Abruptly, she became embarrassed and sat back, her cheeks feeling unusually warm in the chill wind. She tried to look down, attempting to be polite, but her eyes kept flickering back to him as she eagerly awaited the revalation of anything he might know.

OOCSorry, I forgot to answer your question Keep at it, I'm sure Alea will hear one of your questions eventually!

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan jumped a little when she suddenly shouted the name of his home town right back at him. He stared at her in shock as a stream of questions poured from her mouth. He would have pulled back from her if she hadn't been holding his arms the way she was. For a brief moment he was slightly worried that she had snapped and was going to try and harm him. That thought quickly passed as he actually processed what she was asking him. He stared right back at her as she got right up in his face. When she realized what had happened and pulled away he realized that his own heart was pounding in his chest and his body had tightened up in preparation to run or to fight her off, or perhaps his heart was merely pounding at her proximity, he wasn't sure which it was. "Yes, Zeltiva." he said after a moment once he had recovered from the shock of her reaction to his simple statement. "Zeltiva is a long way from here. I left in Spring of 513 and didn't arrive in Ravok until Fall. I didn't see any Denvali arrive, but I kept to myself or the wilderness close to the city." he explained softly. He knew that wasn't what she wanted to hear; he could tell by the hope in her expression. OOCThat's alright, Fao is used to not being listened to XD

[Alea Davenport]

Alea frowned at his answer, but it wasn't one of disappointment; more of concentration. Of course she knew it was a long-shot that he would have met any of the Denvali; and even longer shot that he'd care to get to know any of them. But still, they were out there, and he knew the city they'd gone to. She felt an old fire reawaken in her. She knew at that moment, she couldn't stay in Ravok forever. She had Denvali things to do.

The trouble was, escape was easier say than done. The hardest part, motivating herself, had been accomplished, but that didn't exactly make the rest of it easy. She needed more time to prepare, to convince the Nitrozians of her loyalty and subservience so they would not in the least suspect her plan. She would have to wait for a better opportunity.

Which reminded her, she was on an assignment right now. She had spent at least a bell or two out here, and the ferry would return before too long. She had to get back to the trading post and complete her task before she raised suspicion.

The wheels were spinning in her brain, but she didn't say anything out loud, just looked at him speculatively. The fewer people knew her intentions, the easier it would be to keep them secret. Still, she intended to take the kelvic with her when she left; he knew the way to Zeltiva after all.

She stood up from the fire and said, "This was fun. I need to get back, but we should hang out again sometime. How do I find you?" She waited for him to stand as well, and she helped him put out the fire, throwing dirt over it to suffocate it. Then she set off in the direction that she hoped was the trading post, glancing at the kelvic, trying to tell by his reaction whether she was going the right way.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan could see the disappointment in her expression as he told her that he didn't know anything about the Denvali. He didn't want to lie to her though. He had learned from his mother that telling people what they wanted to hear wasn't always the best thing to do. Since he wasn't in any danger from her he didn't need to tell her what he knew she wanted to hear. He sat quietly as she thought things over. He could see the wheels in her head turning and wondered what it was she was thinking so hard about. Realizing that he was staring at her he shifted his gaze to the fire. Watching the flames dance along the wood before dispersing in bright ashes in the wind he wondered if fire was alive. It definitely seemed to be alive, but that was silly, fire didn't think, it didn't have emotions, so how could it be alive? Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts he glanced over at her just as she moved to stand up. Getting up as well he stretched with a groan. Putting the fire out with her he looked up at her as she asked how to find him. "Well, I generally spend most of my time out in the square. I stick to the shadows near a stall that sells cooked beef kabob things. Someone I met when I first got to the city introduced me to that place so I spend a lot of time over there when I'm not out hunting or hiding in my room that is." he explained. "Why?" he asked with a curious expression. When she started walking off in the wrong direction he paused and chuckled a little. "If you're heading back to the docks you're going the wrong way." he said in an amused tone. "It's this way." he said, pointing back over his shoulder. When she turned around he started back towards the docks with her.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea made a grumpy face at Faolan that stopped just short of sticking out her tongue, but she followed his directions. It was odd just walking next to someone like that. She was almost always running through Ravok, trying to avoid people, invisible unless she got underfoot. And yet surely she must have walked like this before Ravok. She stretched her mind as far back as it would go, but she still could only find a few instances.

Rather than dwell on it, she turned her mind to Faolan's words. "The kabob-seller, huh? In the square? I think I've smelled it before; I could probably find it again. As for why..." What could she say? She didn't want to tell him of her terribly stupid and reckless idea, certainly not before she'd worked out a few more details. But she pretended for a moment that she did not want to use him in her escape plan, and another reason came to mind.

"Well, I don't really have any friends..." which was a big part of why she'd left the Spires in the first place...and Denval...and any place she'd ever called home. "And you're...nicer than the average Ravokian, and it would be dumb to never see you again just because the city's too big."

She moved her right hand behind her back, suddenly self-conscious about the tattoo marking her as a slave. She wasn't sure if he'd seen it yet, but enough people in the city judged her for it, and she suddenly didn't want to take that chance with this kelvic.

Trying to gauge his character and his openness to her future plans, she asked casually, "So, how do you like living in Ravok? Could you see yourself staying forever? Or would you want to try some other cities first? You weren't born here, so you actually have something to compare it to." She tried not to let on how much she was hanging on his answer.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren Faolan was amused at the girl's grumpy face. Being a part of nature afforded him a sense of direction that many wilderness survivalists trained hard to achieve. Most of it was based on sense of smell though. While diminished in his human form he could still smell his own scent leading him back towards the docks. He was also not particularly used to walking with someone as he spent much of his time alone, but it didn't bother him much as he was already comfortable with her. He noticed the pause in her answer to his question of why she was asking where she could find him, but didn't think much of it once she said that it was because she didn't have any friends. He had a few acquaintances, but none that he really considered his friends. There was the mage girl from back home in Zeltiva, she had been his friend, but he wasn't sure if being gone for as long as he had been had changed that. "I can understand that." he said softly in response. He gave her a small smile as she said he was nicer than the Ravokians. "Well, that's probably because I'm not from here." he pointed out. The young man hadn't noticed the tattoo on her hand, but when she moved it behind her back he wondered why. He was going to ask when she asked a few questions of him instead. "It's okay. As okay as it can be when I've got to hide what I am from everyone I meet." he said with a sigh. "I don't want to stay, but finding someone to travel with has been...difficult." he explained. "Traveling alone is a bad idea and I haven't wanted to approach any of the departing merchants because of fear of being pegged as Kelvic." he said with a frown. "I like to travel though, I want to see as much of the world as possible." he stated with a smile and a spark of excitement in his blue eyes.