Quest Mirrors in The Ice[Open To Northmen/Nordenfiir]

[Talus]

The Tundra - Wastes

Talus trudged through the snow, every footstep heavier and every movement of his body seeming to slow him down. The cloak that sat around his shoulders was caked with ice, his face adorned with scraggly hair that had seemingly been forced to grow by the climate. His sword dragged through the snow behind him, tied by a small bit of rope after he had found the blade too heavy to carry.

Armor had been tossed miles back, it's weight too heavy and value too little. He could hardly feel his fingers, and even his eyes seemed to be burnt by the sun that decorated the tundra all around him.

It had been two weeks since Fen had sent him through the Portal Stone. Two weeks since he had begun to wander the wilderness aimlessly. His mentor had sent him here for a reason he did not know, and the magic of the stones had alluded him. The only advice he had received was to stay warm, a mockery now that ran in his mind.

He had tried to find a village in the first week, but with no direction and no map it had proved to be an utterly hopeless task.

Then he had climbed a mountain.

It had taken him three days to do so, and his hands had been raw at the end. Yet the adventure had been a fruitful one, and in the distance he'd spotted a forest lining the coast. It seemed his best avenue at finding life, and thus he had slowly trudged off the mountain and towards the coastline.

Now his food at run out, his feet had begun to ache, and everything seemed...less than it had before.

Yet the forest lay before him, an expanse of trees and canopy that would provide shelter from the wind. He felt his heart soar slightly, even as the doubt began to invade his mind.

Would he survive this?

His thoughts heavy, Talus dragged himself through the frozen wastes.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

There was a rumor that this region held a small amount of silver foxes. They were larger than their differently colored brethren and way more ferocious. The upside of this was that their fur was quite valued among the Nordenfiir. Aside from it being pretty, it held the cold away pretty easily while being fairly light. A worthy hunt, if you asked Mikaela who was making her way through the frosty Tundra with a small bag of belongings riding behind her on a slay made of wood.

After her return from the South she noticed that she was picking up smells even faster now. Perhaps it had to do with the land being clean and clear -- the pollen weren’t trying to kill her here either -- but she hoped that it was actually a sign of having finally become a true Nordenfiir. Whatever the reason, the moment a foreigner’s scent came drifting through the area she was in, she knew them to be there. Even if it was just a waft. To Mika the scent was clear as day. Right now, she was aware that someone else was walking these grounds. Someone who didn’t belong in the North.

Unable to pass on seeing what they were up to in this region, she followed them.

Various thoughts bugged her mind. Perhaps they too had heard about the silver foxes. Doubtful, but possible. Exiled people, adventurous ones, lost ones - she had met some and wished she had never crossed paths with others. As the scent grew heavier she wondered what this one would be like. Of course, she knew she had to be careful. That’s why her free hand found the hilt of her favorite dagger that was hidden beneath some layers of fur. Right now it looked as if she was simply warming her hand, and perhaps she was, depending on the creature’s response.

* * *​

 

[Talus]

Talus continued to move through the snow.

He did not know if anyone was tracking him, he did not know if anyone was following. The cold had settled into his bones now, and all he could think of was the forest that sat at his goal. Every gust of wind, every flake of snow...all of it was just another step forward.

The forest represented survival. It meant he could get wood. It meant that he could start a fire. It meant that he could get out of all of this and keep going.

Why? His voice rang in his head.

Objection, a press of his thoughts as he was forced to consider just what he was doing here. Fen had sent him, but why? Had his mentor wanted him to die? Had he even meant to survive all of this? Who was he to keep going?

Who was he to question.

His eyes closed for a moment, he felt his foot fall into the snow. Moving was getting harder now, keeping himself going seemed all but impossible.

Another step.

Another movement closer to the forest.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

Breaking through the line of trees she found herself at the edge of the forest facing an endless field of white before the foot of the mountains came into view. A tiny figure was walking, or was it struggling, through the snow. From here it was hard to see whether it was a male or a female, whoever it was they appeared to be moving rather slowly even for the distance they were at. Good thing they were alone - should her gaze had met a group, Mika would have turned back in case of them being hostile.

Now, though, she pulled the sled closer and impatiently waited for the figure to grow a bit larger. After a while it was hard to tell whether they were stopping because they had spotted her between the trees or Mika’s violet eyes were betraying her and the image was still moving. Unsure if they weren’t feeling well, the Nordenfiir - the curious one - took over and she stepped into the field while pulling her hood a bit further over her head. Being open in the wind like that made a difference, but she was of northern blood. Bear blood. She wouldn’t grow cold any time soon.

“Stranger!” she called out over the field of snow with her fingers wrapped around the dagger once again. His face seemed pale, perhaps it was from the cold. She was pale by nature, so she couldn’t know.

“Are you on a hunt?” Was the next thing she asked, in Common Tongue.

To ask what brought him here might be a bit too hostile. She had learned that from previous meetings with those who weren’t born here. Not everyone was the same - it was better to be neutral, the young bear decided cautiously.

* * *​

 

[Talus]

Talus froze.

The words were the first that he had heard in nearly two weeks. The first that were foreign to his own ears. At first he thought that they were an hallucination. Something that he imagined, something born of his own weakness.

Lips thinned, and then he looked around himself. His gaze swept over the empty Tundra, and then he spotted a figure.

He saw only a single figure, hooded and cloaked. They were too far to make out any detail, only furs and a blob. Was this civilization? Was this someone who could help him? Lips thinned, and for a brief moment he felt hope swell in his chest.

"No!" Talus called out.

What would he say?

There was no hunt here. He did not seek any animal, he did not...he did not seek anything at all. Talus was here because his mentor had sent him. "I am lost!"

He answered.

"I do not know what way I am going." Would the figure answer?

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

Lost!

Immediately she felt a wave of worry. To be lost in such circumstances could quickly mean death to anyone who wasn’t used to their way of life. Swiftly she let go of the dagger and quickened her pace with the sled quietly following her like a ghost. Where in the South she would have considered this being a trap, here she felt comfortable enough to act on instinct.

“Not the right one if you were looking for a settlement,” Mika let him know when she was close enough to make out his sex.

Something about him spoke of being unprepared for the weather. The Nordenfiir was baffled by his bravery or perhaps his stupidity. Unless this was a mage he definitely needed some warmer cloths.

Pulling the sled between them she took one of the larger rolls of fur. She mostly used it as a layer of fur to sleep on when camp had to be made, but it would do as a blanket for the stranger. Awkwardly offering him the roll, she let one side slip from her slender fingers so it would unroll.

“Put this on, you look cold.” Slightly wary, but mostly worried, she found him to look a bit purple too.

“How did you get here?.. Are there others?”

* * *​

 

[Talus]

The fur cloak sweeping around him was a relief that he could almost not describe.

A sense of warmth came with it almost immediately, his knees buckling as he half collapsed into the snow from just the pure sense of no longer needing to fear death. A breath left his lungs, his eyes closing and his entire body shaking.

"The Portal stone." He said quietly.

His voice was shaky, half broken up by the cold.

Talus could feel his head spinning now. The sudden rush of warmth shifting his body. Adrenaline filled his veins, and he couldn't help but breath a bit faster as he gathered himself up and glanced towards his savior.

"No." His head shook. "I'm the only one."

He doubted Fen sent anyone after him.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

Where a more anxious type of her kin might have assumed him to be telling lies, she only worried about him struggling to stand. Judging by the way he spoke and struggled, this one could have frozen to death. Would have, probably, by next day.

“You’re unlucky, you went the wrong way. There is a settlement not too far from the portal, but one has to know where to go.” Mika’s spoke and watched her own breath dance in front of her. Then something hit her, if he’s been walking that long then surely he needed some food. One could eat snow for water, but it wouldn’t give you any nutritions.

“Come, let’s shelter from the winds.” Between the ancient trees there was at least cover from that.

Figuring he would move slower than her, she remained for a moment to get out a leather bottle of mead. It wasn’t too large, and it was still full. She didn’t really like it much, but always took one with her when she could get her hands on some just in case of getting too cold. Not that it would really save you should you think to be warm and fall asleep. A bit, however, might be good for him.

“Here, take a sip.”

Honey was precious and therefor mead wasn’t that easy to get either. They managed, though. Especially if you travelled enough and had things to trade.

“Where do you come from..?” she wasn’t sure what to call him, but felt somewhat awkward to ask his name while he still found it hard to speak. By now she was regretting having asked the question, but talking and walking would keep him active enough not to die. They would have to find a place to make a fire, eventually. Unless her blanket that he used as a cloak would do.

* * *​

 

[Talus]

As they found shelter within the so coveted wood Talus gripped the small wineskin she had give him and took a sip.

His eyes bulged slightly, not expecting the tang of alcohol on his lips. A cough surged from his throat, a hand covering his mouth as he managed to swallow down the rest of the mead. His fist thudded against his chest, warmth spreading throughout him.

"The East." He said without really thinking.

Vel Anir was so far from the Tundra that he doubted the girl had ever even heard the name of his city before. Thousands upon thousands of miles separated them. The only reason he knew of this place was because of a World Map in the Academy.

The Tundra was painted on it, though there were no villages, towns, or anything of the sort represented.

"Vel Anir." He decided to offer the knowledge anyway. She had been kind so far, why lie? "I didn't have a map."

Talus explained as he rubbed his face.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

“Vel Anir..” she appeared to be tasting the name she hadn’t heard of before.

The East sounded like the South to her. The Spine was in the east, but Nordenfiir deemed it to be south anyway. Not that it quite mattered. Committing the name to mind she made a mental note to search for a map with it mentioned, one day. For she would have to travel South and away from home, then cross the sea again in order to gain such knowledge. The memory of her last journey brought forth a shiver. Still she would go again, she already knew that, because it would offer her sights and information she could not have here. More importantly was that she could bring it back home and write it down for the next generations to learn from it.

“Impressive, but slightly insane.”

The Nordenfiir tended to speak their minds whenever they felt comfortable around someone. Being less xenophobe than most, Mika had the habit to do the same with outsiders.

“Well, unless you would like to warm up by a fire and eat something first, we can head into the direction of the coast. There are villages there. Fishermen.”

It seemed like the hunt for the silver foxes would have to be temporarily put on hold.

* * *​

 

[Crocus]

Crocus had set about hunting this day. Her bare feet broke the surface of the snow, the natural magicks about her being enabling her to tread through the cold with little thought. Wrapped in a mossy coat, her yew bow was long enough to act as a staff while the sinew bow string waited, wrapped about her arm.

Something tickled her mind, a ward she had bundled up out of dried Anthurium flowers, a symbol for hospitality, Thistle as a warning, and witch hazel as the base of the floral ward.

It sang with warning to her of something entering the woods where it hung. Giving her a direction to follow rather than finding the hare dens that she had been keen on stalking for supper.

The bangles and beads on her neck and wrists sang as they clacked against one another. Bone and wood baubles slipped over sinew string with rudementary dyes and natural colors were about her.

Her hair was braided, a dried flower crown adorning her head as she walked. Her father had shown her how to make a wreath of White Heather's for protection as they symbolized in the flower language. A boon when alone and hunting by oneself, especially with the magick imbued into them.

Her curiosity was piqued at what could have triggered the ward to alert. Squirrels and the like it didn't alert to, bears certainly, but the only bears in the area were nested down already and hadn't woke for several suns.

Her eyes narrowed at a pair sitting between two old pines as she drew near. Glancing at the bundle of flowers tied to a bough above and just beyond them, she seemed to have found the intruders.

She was far enough away to not invite hospitality. But it was likely a strange sight for the pair. What looked like a young girl, dressed in moss and barefoot holding a staff. Hair tied back and gaze intent on them as she watched silently.

Humans.

She had been warned about them. Warned that they seldom spoke what they meant and hid what they wanted. Her father had told her this and he had proven such in the past.

She knelt down, the moss cloak fanning out about her in the snow as she bundled flowers together from the inside of the natural cloak.

A broom flower for humility, a dahlia for elegance and dignity, wrapped once more in witch hazel to activate the simple spell. All of the flowers were dried but her careful hands failed to break the delicate flowers. It would not harm them, merely bolster earnest feelings of greeting. All of them picked from the garden her father had allowed her to keep.

All the wards were bound in sinew, the old life force of a beast still thrumming in it being felled out of need than anger, or greed. Put to use in some way or another rather than wastefully thrown aside like most humans did.

She worked without taking her eyes from them. The staff propped against her shoulder and bobbing to and fro as her hands moved behind the cloak.

 

[Talus]

"A village...I think, if It doesn't intrude." The words came as a sort of reach, though he could feel his own voice trailing off as he spotted something among the trees.

The Tundra was foreign to him.

More than that though, his body was running on fumes. The Mead had helped perk him up a bit, but Talus was more aware of his failings at the moment than he was of his capabilities. He blinked a few times, glancing at the girl that had been helping him.

Was it one of her friend? "Do-"

His head shook.

"Do you see that?" Talus pointed towards the figure with the staff. Was he hallucinating? With the state his body was in the fact wouldn't surprise him even a little bit, though he hoped not.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

“I can smell that.” she spoke, not really in a condescending manner, though. There was a certain amount of surprise in her voice. The wind must have been blowing the wrong direction, or this one had somehow been masking her scent.

“Who are you?”

With her attention shifted to the newcomer she wondered if this one had been lost too. No, that was impossible. Magic had to be at play for one to survive these weather conditions while wearing that.

At least the entity had come in peace.

Perhaps it’s trying to trick us - a wary voice spoke in the back of her mind. The Nordenfiir inside awoke with a bit of grim smile. Various types of creatures lived in the forest and the mountains or was said to be living. Never had she heard of one surrounded by greenery which in itself an oddity in these areas.

Distrustful of someone so unnatural she carefully reached for the dagger. Someone whispered to her that none of them had to harm one another. Yet, the bear wanted to cautiously sniff first before putting its paw where it might be cut.

* * *​

 

[Crocus]

[ooc plain text will be in common while italic colored text is faerie]

One noticed her right away, but seemed to doubt themselves as they shook their head before pointing her out to the other. Her hands finished their task and she sat quietly for a breath, enjoying the last bit of silence she would likely hear for some time.

In her encounters with humans, they had all been noisy. Breathing loud, speaking nonsense, asking questions that they should have known the answers to. It made her weary thinking about it.

But they had come here. And she would see them to safety, if they permitted.

The other called to her to identify herself however, and seemed wary. Wise in her opinion. They moved though, and her guess was to a weapon.

She stood carefully, holding up the dried wrapping of flowers for them to see as she slowly moved closer. Her bare feet crunched the snow the moss cloak revealing little more than a layer of clothes and a small hand sickle on her hip.

She stopped approaching when they were within speaking distance, still holding the wrap in one hand and staff in the other. To avoid anything else becoming interested in this scene.

She did not shiver in the cold, and her gaze was an intense one, trying to discern intent without speaking as she looked them over.

"You may call me Crocus. And who might you be?" She spoke to them at first in faerie. Her voice was soft and lilting, even with the choppy words she spoke. Her tone and stresses varying from word to word as she stared at them for an answer.

The blatant confusion made her realize her mistake.

"Thousand times a fool, they spoke common." She chastised herself in faerie, her before visibly thinking and putting a sentence together.

"You call me, Crocus. You are who? Why in my home?" She struggled with the common words, plainly showing that this was not her given language.

Her scent wafted from the open space in the cloak. The smell of nordenfiir blood easily tangible along with something else. Something terribly wild that blended well with it.

 

[Talus]

Home.

Talus would have given anything right now to reach his own. He wasn't quite sure anymore where that home was, but he was certain it wouldn't ever be these woods. His fingers tightened, and in that moment he realized that his sword was gone.

A still floating and aching head looked around in search, his eyes going wide for a moment until he let out a deep sigh.

The blade was lost.

He glanced down at the girl beside him, noting the small dagger she held. Briefly Talus wondered if she were capable of using it. She seemed small, but he had learned over his years that didn't mean much of anything. He'd seen a Halfling disembowel a centigor once. Size meant very little when it came to fighting Ability. He imagined even more so in a place as cold and dead as this.

"I'm Talus." He decided to once again be forthright. The Apprentice knew that he was in no shape to fight anyone or anything, so rather than try he would simply speak.

Perhaps it would turn out better.

"I was wandering foolishly." He offered then waved to the girl besides him. "She saved me."

His pride did not sting with that truth. He had almost been dead.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

To say that whatever language the stranger spoke confused her would be an understatement. Mika wasn’t even sure if it was a real language or sounds made by Tundra ghosts before bringing hell upon the world through the use of magic. She.. realy had no idea what in the world was going on. Not until a translation of sorts came. It weren’t the words, though, that caused her to loosen her grip on the weapon. The familiar Nordenfiir smell, the scent of her own people, that’s what had Mika hiding her dagger again.

While mixed with the unknown, this one clearly belonged in the North.

“My name is Mikaela. This is my home, too.”

There was a trace of vague confusion both in her voice and in her violet eyes. It disappeared when Talus spoke. Now she had his name and silently practiced it, unsure if she would get the pronunciation right should she adress him directly. Crocus was another name she was unsure of. The bond between her and the female entity seemed to start and end in blood, and perhaps land.

“He was cold. Aren’t you cold, too?”

What sorcery kept her warm?

What type of magic did she hold?

“Crocus,” she spoke, now feeling a bit more at ease. “who else lives here, with you?”

No, wait, she cursed herself for posing the wrong question, and in her curiosity to hear more, posed another. “What do you mean by home?”

* * *​

 

[Crocus]

A name, foreign to her ears but spoken earnestly since the wrap in her hand had not shaken of its own volition. Her brow perked, an earnest answer meant they had given something of their true name. Someone plainly not from one of the nearby human gatherings.

"Taloo-. Talee-ta-lus. Tal - us. Talus." She struggled in common, accent heavily skewing the middle of his name a few times as she sounded it out. She seemed content with the end result as she looked to her hand and back to him.

He told her that he had been lost and that the other had saved him. Her eyes shifted to the other, noting yet again the bundle had not shook when he had spoke.

The other introduced themselves, and it was a name that she doubted she would be able to readily say. At least not without some time practicing it. Common she had only learned out of necessity rather than fun, and in these brief encounters, she wished she had practiced it more.

"Mo-. Moka-. Makay-." She huffed and sputtered for a moment. "Why are your names so complicated." She spoke in faerie under her breath with a huff. "La, that good?" She half asked, almost in a pleading manner.

Her mention of this being her home confused the girl for a moment. She had never seen her here in these woods before, her father might have though. Again the bundle did not shake, revealing yet again their honest nature.

She felt a touch guilty about not giving her real name, but when one knew the power names held, you became cautious very quickly. The question of being cold was asked and she tilted her head a bit, the bundle of dried flowers going to her hip below the cloak.

"Not cold, not hot." She touched her face with the bundle hand, feeling her cheeks and realizing she had lied. "Face cold, feet not." She corrected herself, remembering the magick that was imbued into her feet by her father.

"Why no warm covered? " She was entirely confused by their lack of warmth. Her cloak wasn't magical, by any means. Just well grown, as it would only last for the day after being cut from the cave wall where she and her father grew it for this purpose.

She thought about getting another such cloak, but quickly remembered how little was left and how long she would have to wait for it to grow back. Then came the other part of the question. Who also lived here.

"Father." She stated matter-of-factly, almost as though the pair should have known already. Then La asked what she had meant by home. She waved a hand towards the woods behind her.

"Home. Trees, ground, water. The - elk? - alk - elk call here home. Live be side elk here." She tried to tell them. Thinking of the proper words and using them correctly was proving something of a challenge though. She tilted her head at them and decided to be truthful.

"Not speak name, honest. You no speak your name, any more. Things here name use, harm you. No speak thanks. No make, promise. No eat food, no take, gift. Here in woods. Warn you. Safe now." She pushed through her explaining, slowing at times to properly speak the words. "You go to home human big?"

 

[Talus]

Talus looked at the girl standing beside him, then at the stranger. They were both strangers of course, but one of them had saved his life while the other was just babbling a bunch of nonsense he didn't understand. A frown touched the Apprentice's features. Fingers tightened and he took a breath.

"What?" Perhaps it was the cold, or the near death experience, but everything was still foggy.

Most of what Croc had said to him was absolute and utter nonsense. He understood about as much as he did when she spoke on that odd language. Had she been any more threatening he would have sworn she intended to kill them. Hell, with all the talk of danger that might very well have been her goal still.

He took in another breath.

His lungs worked better now, the cloak sitting on his shoulders working wonders to heat his body even in this abysmal cold.

"Did you…" Talus looked at Mikaela. "Did you catch any of that?"

Never before had Talus felt like such an ignorant foreigner.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

La?
Really?

Mika didn’t even try to correct the other girl because from the waterfall of words that was rolling down her lips she could understand only a few. The concentration required to turn them into decent sentences had her narrowing her eyes. Focus. There had to be a meaning behind them, there always was when someone was trying so hard to explain things.

Silently she went back to the last time she was trying to teach a Nordenfiir Fiirevik. Outside of the capital and a couple more places there were few Nordenfiir who knew their real language. So, when one of her own her age had asked her to teach her, Mika had tried to show her the basics. This conversation here was reminding her of the days following the introduction to Fiirevik.

“I’m not sure what she means by the big human home.. or big home to humans, unless that’s a village, but I think," she stressed. "that we’re not supposed to speak our names or eat anything out here. Maybe we’re not to speak either, I didn’t quite get that.” she hesitated, but figured that she had tried and Talus wouldn’t be mad should there be some mistakes in her interpretation.

Slowly growing in confidence, she went back to her name. La really wouldn’t do. Maybe that made Mika a grumpy bear, oh well. She gently put her palm on her own chest and spoke. “Mi-ka.”

Ahh, there she made the mistake of saying her name. Sort of.

Thinking about the map she had in mind she wondered whether Crocus would point them in the right direction or have them walk around in hopes of trapping them, or whatever she would want with them should her intentions turn out to be evil. That’s why she returned to the “home” topic. Carefully, slowly. “Where is the human home?”

The “will you bring us”- question almost followed the first one, but she managed to stop herself from asking. First she had to know if they would go into the right direction. What stood between them and the settlement was, of course, unknown.

* * *​

 

[Crocus]

Talus had not understood her words, which was maddening but she could relate. Having spoken common a total of three times now, this being the third, she didn't think she would be very clear.

Granted, the men from the human place that came to the woods seemed quick to figure out what she said.

She rubbed her cheek for a moment, frustrated by both of them but learning from them at the same time. They spoke, and she listened, picking up on their words and how they used them.

"That, yes." She spoke at the village word. She heard the men say that, but didn't feel confident saying it herself. "I take you there, you not get stuck. in magick."

When she began to explain about not using their names she nodded. The same for eating food got a nod from her. When she mentioned not speaking however, Crocus shook her head.

"Do not, make deals. Or promises. You, can talk. Just be, careful." Listening to them had done her some good. Exposure learning was something her father had done little of for common.

"Short names, okay. La, Lus. Mi, ka. Mika, Tal. Those okay. Not, full, name." Explaining faerie to mortals was always a chore. They tended to believe after the fact of what something could do rather than trust warnings.

 

[Talus]

From what Talus was able to gather the girl was going to act as a guide through the forest.

He wasn't entirely sure if he'd gotten that right. His mind was still foggy, but he hoped that the girl who had saved him would be able to suss everything out. One thing he did understand from the other woman was the idea of not making promises.

No deals, nothing of the sort.

Talus had no idea why that would be, but he got the sense there was a danger here that he didn't understand. Hips lips thinned for a moment, and he slowly reached out towards the pool of magic that sat at his core.

It was still there of course, it was always there, but he'd needed to double check. "No deals."

He confirmed with a nod.

That would be enough wouldn't it? A nod was almost universal. After a second he leaned into the woman who had given him the cloak and whispered.

"Do you know what..." He trailed off. "What she is?"

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

No use of real names, no taking food, and no making deals. Mika quietly noted those down and had a feeling of her being a little cub again. With the only difference being that all of those things only applied to those who were not Nordenfiir. Their people trusted each other with their lives and the lives of their offspring. Foreigner were, however, a danger according to many, and with good reasons too. Though, Mika preferred to give everyone the benefit of doubt. Just as she was now.

“No.. to be honest, I don’t have the slightest clue.”

Having mimicked his motions she had leaned in as well. Though realized that their other “companion” might perceive their whispering as conspiring, she figured it was best to try and have some open communication. That’s why she took a deep breath and made an attempt to understand Crocus’ nature better.

“Let’s find out,” was all she told Talus before heading toward the oddest of their party in her eyes.

“Me - Nordenfiir. Him..” she paused, unsure to offend him by calling him the obvious. So, she let him talk for himself before moving onto the real mystery. “What about you? What are you?”

Well.. that was quite blunt the girl soon realized, but hoped that the basics of language would save her here. More importantly, she threw in a smile as a sign of friendliness. A tiny cloud formed before her lips when she exhaled from between her teeth.

“To the village, now? Our guide.”

* * *​

 

[Crocus]

She nodded when he said no deals. Something at least the one had finally picked up on. It was a frustrating game for her to try and explain when another might have simply followed behind and waited to take advantage of them.

Her Father had made a point of explaining she was too kind at times. That allowing the humans even a morsel of good will was allowing them to think that they could take advantage of her.

But they had lived like herself and her father. Animals as well, even if they were far simpler than humans. Who were they to be judge and jury for those that entered the woods?

Their quiet talking didn't bother her much given their whispers carried on the wind as though she were next to them. Choosing to ignore it however she waited for the question to come that usually followed.

The approach of the one did not make her jump to defense. Rather curiosity as she did a quick up and down look at her before giving something that resembles a smile on mimicry.

"Other, some call, good neighbor. Green man, father. I am, other. More than human, but human still." She tried to explain, a bit confused at how to express it properly. "Faerie some call."

She hoped it didn't change their minds about walking with them. Of all the things to run into, she was the least dangerous, and the least likely to turn on them.

"We go. Teach you, as we go. Learn of woods." She stated, turning to walk as she spoke.

 

[Talus]

Talus followed after Mikaela, his steps not as quick as hers. The cold still gripped his bones even with the heavy cloak, and he found it was quite a bit of effort to even reach the two girls.

Still, when she said the worst faerie he couldn't help but tense slightly.

There were few sightings of such creatures around Vel Anir, but old stories clung to collective consciousness. He had heard tales of creatures capable of great magics, of blood rituals and sacrifice, deadly dealings that only ended in despair.

Was this who he was trusting his life to? A monster in the wood?

Lips thinned, and he suddenly realized that he had absolutely no stake in this situation at all. He had not the strength to call upon his magic, not truly. He had absolutely no idea where he was, and worst of all he didn't even have a way home.

Even if he wanted to walk away he simply couldn't. Not without first embracing death and deciding it was for naught.

Slowly Talus looked over to his companions.

Mikaela had saved him once. Had expended resources to keep him alive. He did not know her, not truly, but she had exhibited a good heart. It was a gamble, but an informed one. "Ok."

Talus said quietly, agreeing and realizing that he had no other choice.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

Alright, she was half human and half green? No, that made no sense at all. The idea of her being half plant clung to Mika’s mind for a brief moment just to get shattered by the word “Faerie”. Vaguely she could remember things from stories and books, but there was nothing concrete she knew about those almost mythical creatures. They were, to Mika, a bit like dragons. Old rumors had it that the Faerie folk knew magic, stronger magic than humans could mimic. As they were supposed to be tied to the earth more, and to the life-force feeding-- oh.

Mika found herself a bit lost, standing still in the snow with wide eyes. Now the puzzle came together. Green man.. plants.. earth. This one was a creature of the earth, one with outstanding connections to sources that fed the unusual, the mystical, and the unknown.

“You do things, man can’t do?” she suddenly found herself talking almost as scattered as Crocus did. Perhaps it was a good thing. Less complex sentences might be easier for her to understand, even if it would cause Taulus to (high likely) assume that Mika was weirder than he had originally thought.

Turning her head a bit to face him, she wanted to know what his thoughts were on some sort of sorceress to be taking them through the forest which she herself had thought to be dangerous in ways Mika couldn’t quite comprehend.

“Do we continue through the forest?”

The implication was clear. Either they followed through or turned around and tried to get back the way she had come or he had. His was probably the worst idea. Hers was.. partially through the same forest, but without Crocus as their guide.

Did they trust the Faerie?

The bear was curious but cautious.

* * *​