On The Shores of Despair Pt. 2

[CinderSuru]

" This out post would it have baths " she asked Adian after mounting " or a hot spring any were on that map? " she added. " i think anything out there might just smell us coming after our latest engagement. "

She caught up to Verake as they moved out he was a giant next to her, the contrast was almost comical. " You might want to be careful of Meldrinus's antlers I sharpen them now and then just to give him an edge if there is trouble." she warned him.

" What was it you called your wolf friend ? " she inquired to her newly made giant friend.

[veraka]

The aasimar looked down at the druidess as she came up to his side. He smiled at the warning, but all the same, took it seriously; "I'll make a note on where not to stoke him, should he like that," he laughed slightly at the thought.

Then hearing Cinder's next question, he replied "her name's Aurora, winter wolf of the Northern lands."

[CinderSuru]

" You may stroke him Verake he know you are a friend and if we travel together long enough he will consider you family, in the wild they travel in great herds, not un like a pack i guess but a pack might be much more closely knit. I just wanted you to be remined of his antlers . They would be much larger if i did not trim and sharpen them, it is almost a art form almost to our people, to them who are bonded to a Caribou." I am part Moon Elf " she explained.

Auroa mhmm very nice what an appropriate name for her a winter wolf. She must have been a most beautiful creture, i have seen a winter wolf from a distance, i was taught a spell to detour them as caribou make a nice dinner for a pack of wolves.

"And did you raise her Verake?" Cinder asked " that is how i bonded with Melddrinus " she continued. " What an experience that would be to raise a wolf they have such a loving disposition, so i am told by my trainer who was once of the Fellowship of Forgotten Flower, and a wise elderly man."

[veraka]

Veraka felt a tinge of regret pass through his heart at Aurora, but he also felt a bit of peace, if Cinder spoke truth.
"I'll admit that it's comforting to know that your companion, Melddrinus, is accepting of me. I've always felt at home in the wild, though I think that comes with being raised among barbarians in your youth," pausing, he laughed out loud, "and yet, a paladin of the Dark Maiden, and storm warrior of the Dragon Father; I've got one helluva oddball career. Actually, you'd be surprised at how easily a pack is separated, much like a family, it can sometimes take a lot of work to maintain, but overall, it is very close."

"Moon elf, eh? I can see how you'd bond with Melddrinus so easily then; I'm actually capable of communicating with animals, much like in the way you would with your Caribou, though mine link is more of the telepathic sort, a hereditary gift, if you will."

He continued on"being part celestial does have it's benefits, but also it's drawbacks; my telepathic ability is one of those benefits," he again paused, this time at the mention of Aurora, though more of contemplation than sadness. "Yeah, she was beautiful, especially in the snow with the sun blazing off of a fresh fall." He then stopped, as if contemplating Cinder's words; finally, he said "you do realize that most winter wolves are, for the most part, of the evil sort. Aurora however, like me, was made of a different sort. Ironically, her goodness was nearly her death."

"As to your question of whether I raised her; I did, so to speak. She was a young pup barely turning into an adolescent, and I found her and nursed her back to health. From then on, she stuck by me and we were the best of friends. You are correct in them being loving; in all my life on Faerun, I've never seen a wolf imprint upon a human, well in my case, an aasimar, as a younger brother."

[Ra'Sona Races-The-Wind]

"I can clean anyone who needs it." Pwdn had been hesitating to announce this, since it was a little embarrassing, but Cinder had said it might be important and she had decided that even if not mentioning it couldn't do any harm she could still be some help if anyone accepted. "Not anything like as well as a real bathing session, but I can clean off any dirt and such if you think it's needed?"

This was why her clothes, despite the constant travel and battle, were always so clean.

[veraka]

Hearing Pwdn's offer and thinking about all whom he'd killed in their previous battle. Veraka looked down upon his armor; it was caked and stained with dried blood that gave him an appearance of an avenger more than a champion. It reminded him of what lurked inside his soul, waiting to come out, waiting to kill all over again.

"Pwdn," the aasimar finally spoke up, "would you mind helping me out with my armor; as much as it would be a nice intimidation factor, these stains make me feel more like one of those avengers, that merely kills out of some zealous fever for their deity."

[CinderSuru]

" Oh Pwdn, I would be delighted if you were to use your gifts to such ends " Cinder was relived.

" Part celestial " she said with a slight lift to her left brow " I guess that would refer to your being the son of an arch angel how fascinating. I have some telepathic abilities but usually only when called upon though."

" Much of what I know of wolves is general, being bond to a caribou they are to be avoided at all costs and i have been taught to detect them to a certain extent at a fair distant and deter them from approaching in our direction." She coiled her hair in her fingers wile she spoke.
" Isn't it is interesting that a creature can be perceived as both evil and loving, I suppose that they're affection is toward each other and those they would consider there pack as your Aurora did with you."

[Biot-Savart]

Biot woke up, he seemed a lot weaker than the night before, struggling to get up from the hard ground he had slept on. While making his way to the group he took a deep breath.

"Something smells good, good enough to eat..." He said jokingly.

After eating he helped everyone to pack up their stuff, he didn't have anything of his own to pack. He only then realized that there was a member of the group missing. He then heard the others talking about Zarae's departure.

Biot heard Pwdn offer to help clean the group. "It will be great if you can clean my clothes Pwdn, but I'm afraid I don't have anything else I can put on while you are doing so."

[Ra'Sona Races-The-Wind]

Pwdn considered herself as they rode, she wasn't quite close enough to reach but she bade Lyon ride closer and leaned down to Veraka, brushing her hand slowly and firmly over his armour to leave it gleaming once again. "If you can manage to carry my extra weight, I can be done in a few seconds?"

Lyon stared, again surprised by her actions. He'd assumed a spell of some kind, but she was actually offering to wash them herself; he clearly had a lot to learn, he'd somehow imagined her as being beyond such mundane tasks. Frad, being more practical, simply resolved to ask for the same when she was done.

[Adian Novar]

Adian found himself idly wondering how he kept managing to run across Planetouched folk. Not that he had much room to talk: He'd seen the face of his goddess as a small child...but that had been it until he ran across Lady Rahn. And now...

[i:3p57a4ae]Enough nonsense,[/i:3p57a4ae] he told himself. [i:3p57a4ae]Be honored you are in such company.[/i:3p57a4ae]

He led the way to the trail without much trouble...a lightly traveled route.

"I doubt the outpost has much in the way of amenities," Adian said. "It is an outpost, after all. On the edge of or just withing the borders of the true wilderness. If they have much beyond a rough tub and a fire to heat water over I will be rather surprised."

[veraka]

((ok, I'm bored, bear with me))
Veraka looked up to Cinder as she raised a brow to his heritage; what came out of him next was difficult, but he managed to get it out"yes, part celestial; at times, it is a wonder of the world, but at the same time, I've always had a slight resentment towards my mother. Though I've been told she's an arch-angel, and a powerful one at that, I never understood why she abandoned me to whatever fate had in store, which was not pleasant, as my father was killed soon afterwords, so I was taken up, and raised by barbarians, whom at first despised me, for I was still a youngling back then, but soon enough, grew into what I am now."

When Cinder went back to the topic of Aurora and wolves in general, he calmed somewhat.
"Though I can understand that view point, not all of them are to be avoided; in fact, suffice to say that if I had that mentality when I first stumbled upon Aurora, I would have probably left her for dead. I know that's a callous remark to say, but it's true, at least from what I've witnessed. I remember first being sent out to help find some food for my tribe, back when I was in it, and finding five of her own kind hounding on her, for what reason, I didn't know at the time. I later found out that she'd refused to help them attack my tribe."
He paused, recalling the memory well enough; "I saw her, blood stained snow around her, and if my memory serves me correctly, that was the first time I truly unleashed the berserker, that all of you have seen before. How many of the wolves I killed I don't remember, but I do remember that the moment I saw her, near death like that, I lost it. Afterward, I patched her up, and brought her back to my tribe. Fortunately for me, my tribe at the time was more sensible than most barbarians are; the tribe's shaman was able to assist me and I was able to nurse her back to good health. From then on, she went with me wherever I roamed, and was probably the closest I've had to family." As he finished, a single drop of water rolled it's way down his face, but he wiped it away with an armored hand.
Shaking his head free of those thoughts, "so, Cinder, how did you come across Melddrinus here?"

((Ra'Sona, not sure if Pwdn is talking to Veraka; if not, I'll just edit it))
The aasimar looked to the cleric and gave a faint smile; "thank you, Pwdn, it makes me at ease to not see so much . . . of a reminder of my darker side on my armor; and yes, I'm pretty sure that I can hold your weight," he finished, looking up to her, thanks emanating from his eyes.

[CinderSuru]

" Well Verake my grand mother manages a herd along with horses and it is a costume of the mountain people of the north to raise caribou much like horses i guess, some eat caribou and use there hides and bones including antlers for various reason. My family do not eat them as it their totem animal. Mygrandmother is a moon elf baroness and so being her granddaughter i have a privilege of being bond to a caribou when a child, there are other that have this privilege but are chosen by the magus of coarse he has the last say about it even in my case. And we are taught how to ride and care for the animal, the Caribou are also chosen by the magus as being one that is of the magical nature. We are as a gift to each other. we are raised together and taught to harness the powers in our bond for the good." She explained. " I will adjust my thoughts toward the wolves as you say there are goodness in some, but normally a wolf would have a caribou as a meal that is why they are to be avoided and i must protect him from this."

But i must say what a privilege it must have been to have such a companion as a goodly winter wolf. I am sure that there was a purpose in your friendship it seems she has brought out the sensitive side of your own nature. " she suggested still coiling and weaving her hair around her fingers.

Turning to Pwdn she thanked her for her cleansing spell " Biot i you will not have to change your clothes she does it by means of magic,

It is a gift we can all most certainly appreciate Pwdn."

Adain if you come across any hot springs not far off our path on that map and we have time it would be something worth making a short detour they can be very rejuvenating and i am sure we can use any advantage, with your permission of course." she asked hopefully she did not like to miss the opportunity of a swim in a hot spring, although it would be much more fun with Zarae she thought. " you are quite this morning Adian " she said turning her head in his direction, she stared for a moment seeing a violet colour light over his left shoulder and touching the side of his face it was a beautiful color it seemed to be coming from with in him. She turned back. often with her gifts she saw these many colour lights. She knew what this meant and she knew that Adain she would have to protect at all cost

[veraka]

"I'm glad you're opened minded; most folks I know, including druids and rangers, would much rather assume a winter wolf, like Aurora, is evil and should be destroyed outright. Of course, my reason for knowing Aurora is in no small part, due to my celestial heritage, which allowed me to make out her aura at a distance."

Hearing Cinder's remark about his friendship with Aurora, he had to sniff away his tears; "she came to regard me as a younger brother in some ways. I also came to rely on her to balance some of my wilder emotions, like my darker side. Like a mountain against a raging storm, she was always right there, always ready to help me in whatever situation I needed, or ready to bail me out of a tight situation. I can honestly say, I can feel a hole right here," he slammed his fist into his chest-plate, where his heart was, "now that she's gone, or at least I think she's gone, but I don't know anymore, and I'm so close to giving up."

[CinderSuru]

" It sounds to me like there is hope that she could still be alive then, you must not give up hope Verake if she is still in this world she will find you I am sure of it. It will be her greatest priority to find you if it is one thing i know of wolves their family is all to them and it sounds that you were her family, I am sure that there is an emptiness she carries as well, she will seek to find the only one that can fill that void or die trying. Perhaps your hope could be a beacon for her. " Cinder saw that there was a side to this great warrior that was as gentle as a kitten. " I hope some day that she finds you. As i said before Verake i have a trained sensitivity to wolves it may be possible for me to track her with my mind, do you have something of hers anything that i can use to get a feel for her distinctness." she asked hopefully.

[veraka]

The storm warrior thought for a long moment; then, without thinking, he pulled off one of his armored gauntlets. Holding the glove up to Cinder, he said "this and the other were given to me by a good-aligned alpha winter wolf spirit, in thanks for saving Aurora. I don't know if they are directly linked to her, but whenever I groomed he mane and that thick coat of fur, she'd calm down, almost like when you or another elf goes into that reverie, if that's what you call it. It's probably the closest thing that I have that was hers, so to speak."
There was a slight tone within the aasimar's voice as he said all that; that tone was hope, a hope that had been dwindled to it's very threads, until now.