define('WP_CACHE', true); Chapter 65: Leaving Kodan, Redux – Crossed Paths – Logs

May 12

Chapter 65: Leaving Kodan, Redux

Chapter 65: Leaving Kodan, Redux

In Which The Pair Are Happy To Put The Town Behind Them, Again.

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Yazeth: Soon the two are rounding the bend that leads to Joseph’s door just as Fiarah and Jinx are exiting the house. Jozra waves at them with her free paw. “I didn’t know you guys were coming over today.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan shouts his own greeting at Jinx and Fiarah stroll towards them. Once the two pairs meet, Fiarah speaks. “I actually came over to give you another checkup Jozra.”

Yazeth: Jozra’s ears perk up at this. “Oh?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah nods. “Yeah, Alvsia said you two should be able to leave soon.”

Yazeth: Jozra’s surprise is visible as her eyebrows shoot up. “Alvisa said so?”

Arrin Woodgreen: She nods. “Yeah. Apparently, she’s taken quite an interest in you two.”

Yazeth: The ferret glances at Soquan and then back to the vixen. “That’s… really kind of unexpected.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah shrugs briefly. “It is… I have no idea why she’s taken this interest.”

Yazeth: Jozra frowns a little, somewhat troubled by this news. “Well, did she say how soon?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah grins slightly. “By the end of the week. Personally, if it were my decision, you’d be here two more weeks. However, Alvisa thinks that Soquan can take care of you just fine if the need arises.”

Yazeth: The ferret grins, very happy at being allowed to leave soon. “Well, I suppose that means we need to finish reading our books pretty soon, huh Soq?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles happily. “Yeah, we better. I’ll try not to fall asleep while you’re reading tonight.”

Yazeth: Jozra smiles at Fiarah and Jinx. “Thanks for the news.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods at them, “Aye, thank you.”

Jinx smiles and Fiarah grins, “I’m happy for you two.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods at the two as they head out of the yard, “Thanks.” She leads Soquan up the porch, preoccupied by the fact that Alvisa seems to be interested in them.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan bids them a farewell and follows Jozra into the house silently.

Yazeth: Jozra waves a greeting to Joseph who smiles at the pair as they enter. “How-how was your walk?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles at the elderly mouse. “The walk was wonderful Joseph, thank you.” He deposits their garbage in the waste bin and stretches a bit. “What’s for dinner tonight, Jo?”

Yazeth: The healer mouse shrugs a little. “I’m not, not sure. I hadn’t s-s-started on it yet… I think I have some po-potatoes and onions that might make a nice, nice stew.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan fake whines, “But we had stew last night! Why don’t you let me see if I can scrounge something up.”

Yazeth: Across the room Jozra chuckles as the mouse smiles at the joke. “S-suit yourself.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan beams, “Right then, move aside.” He heads for the kitchen

Yazeth: Jozra merely quirks an eyebrow at Joseph before settling herself in the armchair with the other book the pair had picked up at the library.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan fiddles around in the kitchen with Joseph fretting in the doorway the entire time. Soquan manages to cobble together a meal from the leftovers without burning the kitchen to the ground and soon he announces proudly, “Dinner!”

Yazeth: The ferret marks her place and tucks the book back under the other before making her way to the kitchen for some food. “Smells pretty good, Soq.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He beams, “Battered and fried fish and potatoes drizzled in leftover stew.”

Yazeth: Joseph already has a plate of his own and takes a generous taste. “It’s, it’s very good, Soquan. Y-you should cook more often.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He beams happily. “Thank you Joseph, I do try my best. When you only have limited things while traveling, you learn to be creative.”

Yazeth: Jozra doesn’t eat quite as much as usual, still being somewhat full from lunch, but she agrees with Joseph. “Now I remember why you were the one doing all the cooking on the trail.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He places a small platter of cheese bread on the table and finally sits himself to begin the meal. “I’ll cook tomorrow night too if you two want.”

Yazeth: Joseph smiles and pats at his lips with a napkin. “That, that would be wonderful, S-soquan.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins at Joseph with a mouthful of food for a moment before digging back into the meal. “Read anything interesting Joz?”

Yazeth: “Hrmm?” The ferret swallows her mouthful of food before replying. “Just the memoirs of a rat that decided to explore over the Eastern mountains on a whim. So far he’s just talked about things on this side of the ranges.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “Sounds interesting. You going to stick with that book for the rest of the night or are we going to keep going with my grandfather’s book?”

Yazeth: Jozra shrugs. “It’s up to you, Soq. I could go either way.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He clears the table as he speaks. “I don’t care either, I just enjoy listening to the stories.” He grins at her, “Having your voice lull me to sleep isn’t half bad either.”

Yazeth: The ferret blushes a little at Soquan’s comment while Joseph gets up to lend the otter a paw at clearing off the table. “You, you two go and read, I’ll take c-care of the dish-dishes.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles, “Thanks Jo.” Walking over to where Jozra was standing in the kitchen, he slings her over his shoulder and carries her towards their “area’.

Yazeth: The ferret squeaks a little in surprise and then berates the otter once he sets her down on the bed. “Now what did I tell you about doing that?!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles, “I don’t believe you’ve said anything about that.”

Yazeth: Jozra mutters about the situation but doesn’t seem to really take any terrible offence, despite what she’s saying. She grabs the book off the top of the pile and flips it open. “Where were we again?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan flops down beside Jozra and stretches out, pulling the covers over them both. “We were just about to read about the siege I think.”

Yazeth: The ferret tries to find the page she thought she had marked earlier. “Really?” Finally finding it, she notes the large amount of pages in her left hand compared to the right. “I guess we did get a lot of reading done this morning.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles, “Read on then Jozra m’dear, like before, I’m all ears.”

Yazeth: Jozra clears her throat and begins again. “‘The day arrived that something happened that all Northern Knights from then on hoped would never happen again. Donfin was under siege. We all hugged our family and loved ones goodbye and went to defend our town.’”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan listens intently as the book goes on to describe the siege and his grandfather’s meeting with a beautiful otter maid named Elianza from the South. Finally the siege ends and the book begins to describe Springfest.

Yazeth: Jozra pauses between two paragraphs. “Ah, the whole Springfest thing makes so much more sense now.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods, “Aye, with all that explained it does make it clearer.” While Jozra read on, he grows silent and grim-faced as his grandfather jumps to the time he’s writing the story, mentioning his wife and children, the betrayal, and how the children would never know about his involvement in the Northern Knights.

Yazeth: In the middle of a sentence, Jozra notices her friend’s demeanor. She frowns slightly, knowing it’s probably a hard tale for the otter to hear. “…you alright, Soq?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan nods and wraps an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “I’ll be fine. It’s just hard, you know?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods, “Do you want me to continue or should we take a break?” She’s more concerned about her friend than about the fact that it has gotten rather late.

Arrin Woodgreen: He shakes his head slowly. “No, it’s okay, the book’s nearly over isn’t it?”

Yazeth: Jozra runs her thumb thought the few remaining pages. “That’s very true.” With that, she continues the tale.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is amazed as his grandfather begins to write about his father as he grew up, and Soquan began to puzzle about how his father had been said to follow in his footsteps relationship wise. The otter is nearly in tears at the very end, as his grandfather closes off saying that he had to go meet his newborn grandson.

Yazeth: At the end of the last sentence, Jozra snaps the book shut and then turns to look at her friend, somewhat surprised to see tears nearly rolling down his cheeks. She places the book on top of the other and leans over to give to otter a hug. “Oh Soq…”

Arrin Woodgreen: He hugs the ferret back, resting his head on her shoulder as he sighs heavily. “I wish I could remember him better Joz. He died a little after Arrin was born.”

Yazeth: Jozra strokes the top of Soquan’s head. “I never really knew my father’s father either.” She thinks about this for a moment, “Though, from what I hear that’s probably for the best.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs again. “It all makes sense now, but he didn’t deserve it. He was such a nice beast.”

Yazeth: The ferret makes comforting noises, but she really doesn’t know what to say to the otter.

Arrin Woodgreen: He murmurs something inaudibly and for a while, he remains with his face buried in her shoulder, his shoulders giving a bit of a shake once and a while.

Yazeth: Eventually, the ferret drifts off to sleep holding the otter.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is brought out of his brooding as he notices his friend’s breathing change and he lifts his head from her shoulder. Seeing her asleep he smiles softly and wraps his arms around her, whispering softly. “Thanks Joz.”

Yazeth: The remainder of the week passes pleasantly, marked by walks around town — including back to the library to return the Northern Knights book — and evenings reading of interesting passages from the book about the rat.
The day that Alvisa has said that the two can leave has finally arrived and, despite Fiarah’s disapproval of the early date, Jozra and Soquan are nearly ready to head out.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is humming happily to himself as he fastens his cloak and adjusts his pack straps. It’d be good to travel again. He looks towards Jozra with a grin. “Nearly ready to go Joz?”

Yazeth: Jozra nods, tightening the straps on her own pack. “Just about. Think Jinx and Fia-“ Before the ferret can finish the sentence, a knock comes at the door, and then the bouncy, young ferret pushes her way indoors without waiting for someone from inside to open it for her and Fiarah.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan beams at the younger ferret. “Hullo Jinx, I see you’re feeling well today.”

Yazeth: Jinx grins rather ruefully at Soquan. “Well, I wish you guys didn’t have to go.” The backdoor can be heard opening as Joseph enters the house. “H-hello Fiarah. Jinx.” There’s a slightly troubled look on his face but he smiles at his former student and her unofficial apprentice.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grabs Jinx in a noogie type motion and laughs. “I’d love to stay longer m’dear but Jozra’s whining about going South to see her family would drive me nuts.” He chuckles a bit.

Yazeth: Jozra playfully slugs Soquan in the shoulder. “I’m glad you guys stopped by before we left. I won’t say I liked being bedridden for that long, but I did like getting to know you guys.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods, releasing Jinx from his hold. “Yeah, I’ll miss you guys, but don’t you worry, when Joz and I head back up North, we’ll be sure to stop in. Right, Joz?” He turns to give his friend a very pointed look.

Yazeth: The ferret grins sheepishly. “Uh, yeah.” A thought occurs to Jozra and she hands the remaining library book to Jinx. “Before I forget, could you do me one last favor? This needs to be returned and it’s kind of out of our way.”

Jinx looks over the book. “Sure! What’s it about anyway? I might want to read it first.”  Jozra grins. “Just a rat that tried to explore over the Eastern mountains and nearly got sandy in the process… It had its moments.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan moves to embrace Fiarah briefly. “Thank you for all you did, and thank Alvsia for us too when you get the chance.”

Yazeth: Joseph clears his throat a little. “S-speaking of Alvisa, she-she told me to tell you both best, best of luck and to re-remember what she said. Sh-she also gave me these t-to give to you both.”

With that he gives to Soquan a cone shell just big enough for the otter to enclose completely in his paw. Through the top enough twine for the otter to tie the shell comfortably about his neck sprouts and on the shell its self a red rune is painted.

To Jozra, he hands a large-ish feather, also with leather-like strips tied neatly near the end with enough loose to attach it to something else. The feather is strikingly colored – half jet black, half pure white with the colors splitting evenly up the midrib.

The room is silent for a moment before Joseph stutters out, “Sh-she said you would know what it, what it meant.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan holds the shell in his paw for a moment before tying it around his neck. “What’d you get Joz?”

Yazeth: Jozra is, understandably, a little shocked at to what her gift represents. She blinks and takes a moment to respond. “A feather, Soq. A black and white feather.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He blinks as well, stunned for a moment as his mind clicks into place. “Like the one on the wall hanging?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods and replies hoarsely, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with Joseph, Jinx and Fiarah there as well. “Yeah…” She clears her throat a little. “Yours is like one of the shells on there too.”

Arrin Woodgreen: His brow furrows a bit as he fiddles with the shell. “Which one?”

Yazeth: Firarah answers the otter’s question instead in a rather wondering voice. “…the healer’s commitment to the patient…” She shakes herself a little and smiles weakly at Jozra and Soquan. “Well, Alvisa has always been known to do strange things like that.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan shrugs off the off feeling for the moment and puts on another smile. “Well I’m sure the reason’ll make itself clear soon.” He turns to Jozra, “We better get moving, we don’t want to lose too much day.”

Yazeth: The ferret shakes herself into the present as well and nods. “Thanks again everybody.” A couple rounds of hugs are exchanged before the pair even make it to the front porch.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan waves at Joseph happily. “Thanks for putting up with us Jo!” He hugs Jinx again tightly, whispering quietly in her ear, “Good luck with Nolan, kiddo.”

Yazeth: The younger ferret blushes furiously but can’t help grinning. From the porch, Joseph waves back at the pair as they walk out onto the street. “N-no problem, c-come back anytime!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan smiles happily and releases Jinx to fall in beside Jozra. “Shall we get out of here then?”

Yazeth: Jozra smiles at her companion as she ties the feather to the strap of her pack. “Let’s go.”

Arrin Woodgreen: With one last wave to the group on the doorstep, the two head off towards the exit of the city. With a smirk, Soquan leans over to murmur to Jozra, “Let’s just hope Kirrian doesn’t try to be sneaky again.”

Yazeth: The ferret smiles deviously, “I think she’s learned her lesson.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan smiles happily. “Hopefully we make it across the river this time.”

Yazeth: Jozra nods, “I’d be really surprised if they haven’t fixed the bridge yet, though.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins, “Supposedly, repairs are underway, I asked Jinx and it should be done soon.”

Yazeth: The city is soon put behind them as the pair take the road out of town. “Soon enough for us to cross it?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shakes his head. “Sadly, no, we need to find another way across.”

Yazeth: The ferret sighs. “I suppose we’ll manage.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan scratches absently behind his ear. “Perhaps we can try to find some shallows to cross, or a fallen tree across the river…wait! Maybe they might let us across the support beams of the new bridge!”

Yazeth: Jozra’s ears perk up at this thought. “That would be very nice.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He beams at her. “Well then. Shall we go ask?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods decidedly, not wanting to take her chances against the river again without a proper crossing. “I think we just follow the road to get to the bridge.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan gives an affirmative nod and strolls casually beside the ferret. A few minutes pass in silence as he listens to their surroundings and very quietly, he pipes up almost hesitantly, “Hey Joz?”

Yazeth: She looks over at her companion. “Yeah?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He looks towards her a bit. “You’ll tell me if you get tired right? I know you’re not up to scratch yet, and I don’t mind if we have to stop early, or take lots of breaks, or even carrying you.”

Yazeth: The ferret smiles faintly. “Yeah, Soq. We’ll take it easy.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins hooks an arm around her shoulder, ruffling her ears slightly. “Atta girl.”

Yazeth: Jozra grins and chuckles, then she smoothes the fur between her ears back into place.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and his arm remains draped over her shoulder as they continue on in comfortable silence. Suddenly, he shudders as he gets an odd sense of Deja-vu.

Yazeth: The ferret quirks an eyebrow at Soquan’s sudden change in mood. “What’s wrong?”

Arrin Woodgreen: His brow furrows. “It’s odd, it feels like we’ve already done this before. You and me, like this after we had that conversation. I wonder… “He shakes his head, “Bah, don’t mind me, I’m just being weird over a bit of deja-vu.”

Yazeth: She shrugs. “It is a little familiar. But then again, we did try to leave Kodan once before.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He snickers softly. “Yeah, but then we were fleeing for our lives and being shadowed by Kirrian’s goons.”

Yazeth: The ferret smirks a little. “True, that.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles. “Aye. Plus we had next to no sleep so we were both dead tired on our feet.”

Jozra

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