"Keeping Watch and Making Plans" Log Date: 6/24/2002 Log Cast: Wayfound, Tefin Log Intro: It's not long after the attack upon the Vraeyan camp by magically altered beasts, an attack that's resulted in the deaths of two of the Vraeyans and two of the Briarholt elves as well. Horrified to learn that the creatures that attacked them were deliberately changed, Vardeus, captain of the Vraeyans, has ordered his crew to abandon their camp by the wreck of their ship and head eastward on the strength of a promise of welcome by the tribe of Olbar. But the trek has not yet begun, and until it does, one of the elves is doing her part to keep watch for any further harm that threatens the camp: Wayfound, who has befriended Arnos the Wordgiver. And a newcomer to the camp, Tefin of the Go-Backs, is anxious to seek _her_ out.... ---------- Shoreline near the Shoaltail River The path here is wooded and dark, yet never silent -- to the north, you can hear the loud rushing of the Shoaltail River. You know the deep waters are west of here, but tangled foliage blocks your view and passage that way. To the north you can see an opening of sort in the trees, and to the southeast the foliage breaks open onto a beach clearing. Little Moon is a barely visible crescent as the dimming red light of sunset fills the chill winter skies. Contents: Tefin Pile of Fronds (#7989JUVt) Obvious exits: To the River To the Beach Night has fallen, and Wayfound is taking her turn at the watch, relieving Valnek now that the Vraeyan has retired for his dinner and his bed. The human looked tense to her eyes, and worried, and fretful -- not that Wayfound is surprised. She is all of these things herself, for all that she is far more at home in the woods than any of the Tall Ones could hope to be, nestled up on the branches of a tree and keeping an unflinching watch on everything she can see from her vantage point. None of the Vraeyans would spot her, and that is the way she wants it, right now. _Let's just hope there are no monsters I'll have to worry about spotting me, either,_ she grimly tells herself. Night has fallen, hasn't it? Even in these short, cool days of whitecold, the darkness does not seem oppressive in the least, but comforting, like a warm fur blanket on the coolest of nights. Luckily, here by the beach the cold isn't as extreme as it could be, but it still is a bit nippy for those not dressed warmly enough. Tefin awoke to glowing coals and no Wayfound...Her sleepfurs were undisturbed from the previous night and this worried Tefin slightly. A quick trek to the human's camp at the beach gave him the information that he was seeking...she was on watch. Perhaps a little company would cheer her up? He made his way slowly down the path towards the lookout spot, trying his best to be silent and succeeding better than he did the first time you laid eyes on him. Once he reached the bottom of the lookout tree, a tiny tap of send flits out, to see if you are there... ** ... ** There aren't too many who would send to her -- Wayfound tends to keep out of the way of the Briarholters and the elves from the Raft Holt, often almost more shy of them than she is of the Tall Ones. But as soon as she feels the tentative sending, she straightens up in her hiding place, ever so slightly, eliciting no sound whatsoever from the branch on which she's perched. ** Here. Up in the trees. I can see better from up here. ** Try as he might, Tefin can not see where Wayfound perches, but at least knows she is in one of the nearby trees. "let's see..." he murmurs softly to himself, looking about at the trees surrounding the area, trying to ascertain which one Wayfound had chosen for her perch. Hot the biggest one...nor the tallest one, but one slightly in between that would offer an unobstructed view of the surrounding area, but be able to easily support the weight of an elf in the higher branches. Looking around, his eyes fall on a likely canidate with several good handholds low enough for even him to grab. "I hoipe this is the right one..." he whispers quietly as he starts to climb, keeping an eye open for Wayfound's slim form. Good guess, little Go-Back. Traces of her scent are on this tree, detectable even to an elfin nose that must function without the added benefit of wolf-blood; it's strong enough that it's detectable even under the tang of the scents of humans on the ground. ** Here, ** she sends again, closer now -- and aye, that's a glint of her ambergreen eyes, just a little higher, between the branches of this particular conifer. Slowly, carefully, he continues climbing, testing each handhold and foothold carefully before putting his full weight on it, heading toward that glint of ambergreen hidden in the needles of this tree. Eventually he reaches the crown of the tree where you sit, offering a shy smile as he pulls himself up to your level. "I thought you would like a little company." he whispers just loud enough for you to hear. Wayfound is there, her leathers muted against the darkness, but her face and hair pale wraiths of color that can be picked out of the night. "Thank you," she whispers back, though she does not change her position of vigilance. She's spent hours before waiting for prey to come to her bow and arrows; she's been trained on the hunt by the likes of Strongbow of Lostholt, and she isn't about to let her guard down now. "Two sets of eyes can watch better than one." If anything can be said about the Wolfriders, it is this. They sure know how to blend in with the background. "Two sets of eyes are better than one, but I do not know how much use mine will be in this darkness." As you said, he does not have the benefit of wolf blood in his veins as you do, and therefore can not see as well as you do in this inky darkness. Thankfully the stars are out, as well as a sliver of Mother and Child moon...without that bit of light, Tefin would be as blind as a bat. "Still," murmurs the she-elf, "I am... glad to not be alone." Her voice is still the barest of whispers, but still, Wayfound lets it lighten just a touch. She is silent, then, for a few moments. And then, almost as an afterthought, another murmur comes from her: "I stare out into the night, and all I can wonder is whether more beasts will come for us. And who has done this thing to the near-wolves." Tefin smiles slightly at those words. She's glad to not be alone. That means she's glad to see him...right? Still, is silent for a time, chewing on his lower lip as he thinks. "I have also wondered these things, Wayfound. I even thought on them while I was in Fallberry's cocoon, but no answers were forthcoming. I can only assume the worst..." "What... _was_ it like? Being in the wrapstuff, that is?" That question is Wayfound's next, along with a sober addendum, "My mother said that when she and my fathers were wrapped, they were asleep, and so there was nothing to sense besides sleep." "It's difficult to explain. Your mother's assessment was correct, in the sense that I felt asleep, but my mind was still working. It was like a waking dream, and all that I needed to do was sit and ponder the mysteries that had been placed before me." He adjusts himself a bit on the branch he has perched on, sliding a small pack off of his shoulder and resting it in the crook of the treebranches. "It was an interesting experience, and perhaps I will allow Fallberry to wrap me again, but not for a good while." "I would advise against it, until we are in a place assured of safety," is Wayfound's agreement. "Fallberry wrapped Mother and my fathers, you know. Long ago. It, and its companion Sunbright. They didn't know any better... but when Mother and Fur-father and Fire-father were freed, they stayed with them, to try to make up for it. Mother gave Fallberry to me." Tefin chuckles softly. "Are you sure she wasn't punishing you for being a naughty cubling when she bequeathed Fallberry to you?" he teases, nodding in agreement. "as much as Fallberry enjoyed wrapping me, I do not think he will be allowed to do it again until I am safely in a holt." Wayfound snorts, though it, like her words, is barely audible against the overall hush of the night. Normal night sounds fill the wood, the rush of the breeze through the branches, the occasional flutter of a night-flying bird through the air... and Wayfound is content to let those be louder than she. All the better to be able to hear danger, if it chooses to come out of the darkness. "I was many things as a cub," she murmurs, "but I do not believe that 'naughty' was one of them." Wait a minute. Is that a bit of humor? Perhaps. There's more plaintive memory there than amusement, though. Perhaps this pandora's box should be opened? Tefin knows very little of Wayfound's past except for the little that she has shared with him. Perhaps now is the time that she would share more? "Would you tell me of your childhood and family, Wayfound?" He asks, reaching slowly for his pack and unfastening it. To this the Wolfrider is silent... and then, slowly, she begins to answer, the words taking shape with surprisingly little reluctance. Perhaps it is because of the protective shelter of the tree's branches; perhaps it is because they are a bulwark against a night that should have been welcome to a Wolfrider's senses and is instead rendered hostile by the possibility of death borne by magic-warped beasts. "My mother," she begins, "is Rillwhisper, the Wolfbringer. Once chieftess of Willowholt. The father who sired me was Lonehowl... killed, just after he Recognized Mother. An elf who desired him thought Mother was trying to take him from her... and she killed him, without meaning to." Perhaps this box should not have been opened, but it is too late to prevent what has already been said. As a counterpoint, Tefin gives his side of the story. "I never knew my mother or my sire. She was too busy fighting the trolls to keep a child, and my sire, whoever he was, was probably killed in the palace war. Either way, no-one claimed me." Fret not -- Wayfound has known from the start that Lonehowl died before she was born, and that gives her no grief. "I have been more fortunate," she allows softly. "I... used to feel Father's spirit in the Willowholt. I think he followed Mother home; I think that's why I've spent so much time in the marshes where the Holt used to be. He may still be there, with Sweetleaf. You were raised by the tribe, then?" "Yes, I was. I spent most of my childhood alone as well, out on the tundra, in the snow, having fun with the few fawns that were my age." A small quirk of his lips before he continues. "They never seemed to want to know why certian things were...or why the elk migrated, or anything interesting. All they were concerned about was learning the spear and killing trolls..." And now it is Wayfound's turn to provide a counter. "I had two age-mates in the Holt," she murmurs. "Midnight and Summit, both born close to me; Midnight, the child of my Fur-father's daughter Dusk and a Glider. Summit... another in the Holt of mixed bloods. Go-Back and Wolfrider and Glider, for him, from his mother Joy and his father Vale. I was between them, and Summit kept to himself, and Midnight always told me I talked too much and tried to show off." "It sounds as if we had similar childhoods, then. My nemeses were Ril and Jok, two males a little older than I was. More often than not, they delighted in treating me like a second-hand person; Asking me questions and laughing at the answers, even when I knew I was right and they were wrong. and High Ones help me if I assisted an adult with a problem." A tinge of bitterness is in Tefin's voice at this admission...apparently he dealt with prejudice for a good portion of his childhood. "Similar at least in dealing with age-mates," answers the she-elf, turning her head ever so slightly for a fraction of an instant, just enough for a sympathetic gleam of ambergreen eyes to be glimpsed in the gloom, though she then turns away again to resume her vigil on the night. "I did have two fathers who raised me as if they'd sired me; Fur-father, who is Trollkiller, Mother's first Recognized. And Fire-father, who is Woodhawk. They're all at Lostholt, though I..." And now Wayfound blows out a soft sigh... one that might, to sensitive elfin ears, just barely be detected to contain hints of regret and worry. "I have not seen them in over ten years, and I worry now about getting back to them speedily enough with news of the beasts. I wonder if I should send Fallberry ahead; it can fly. And it knows how to talk to Mother." A kindred spirit, it seems....but, back to the matter at hand. "Perhaps it would be best to send Fallberry ahead. If it can reach Lostholt before we do, it would be able to prepare the way, so to speak." he offers you a sympathetic smile, giving your shoulder a gentle pat. "I'm sure your parents are fine, and when we reach Lostholt, you will be reunited with them again. A happy event to look forward to, is it not?" "I am sure they will be pleased to know that I am alive," Wayfound allows, and for a moment her voice lets a bit of what must be a great deal of affection she carries for her family ring through. "As I will be, them; however, I daresay that I will not stay at Lostholt long. Much will depend on how well the tribe reacts to news of the Vraeyans... and whether a hunt will need to be launched for more of these monsters." She pauses and blows out a breath, and then adds grimly, "I am given to understand that a messenger has come to Leafshimmer with word of other monsters upon the Plains to the east." So she does show emotion..a little, at times. Tefin nods slightly, making himself more comfortable in the tree as he hatches the land spread out before him for any sign of danger. "Then let us make apromise to each other and ourselves, Wayfound. there will be a hunt if more of these creatures are being formed, and once the threat is gone, you will return to your family for an extended visit." Some emotion -- yes. When it's safe enough, and she trusts enough. Now, though, there's mostly Wayfound's solemnity, and her watchfulness against what might hide within the dark. "Long enough to remind myself of their scents, to be certain," she breathes. "And to tell them that there are humans in the world who do not hate us, and who have thought of wondrous things..." Now she slants over another look, and adds, "And only if you will come with me, if nothing else to demonstrate to them that there are other elves of reason within the world. They may not look at me so oddly in the future, if they know of you." "Done." He says simply, offering a slight nod in acceptance before looking out over the forest again. What he has agreed to, however, he is not sure, but as long as Wayfound is with him, he will be able to face any trial that her family is involved with. [End log.]