define('WP_CACHE', true); Jinx – Crossed Paths – Logs https://crossed-paths.com/logs The Story Thus Far... Sat, 01 Feb 2014 20:51:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.6 Chapter 65: Leaving Kodan, Redux https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/347 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/347#respond Mon, 12 May 2014 11:00:29 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=347

Continue reading]]> 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.”

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/347/feed 0 Chapter 62: The Healer’s Web https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/339 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/339#respond Mon, 05 May 2014 11:00:08 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=339

Continue reading]]> Chapter 62: The Healer’s Web

In Which The Talismans Healers Use Are Examined.

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Yazeth: Jozra enters the healer’s house and heads towards the bed, depositing the books at the foot and leaning on the mattress for a few moments for a rest she needs but deeply resents. Sounds of conversation can be heard coming from the kitchen where apparently Fiarah and Jinx are helping Joseph prepare dinner.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan plunks down beside her and grins as conversation in the kitchen continues. “You feeling okay hun?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods. “Yeah, just…” it pains her to have to admit it but what the hell, “…just needed a little rest.” She places her paws behind her and pushes herself up onto the bed so that she’s actually sitting on it.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and winks at her. “I won’t tell, you just rest a bit.”

Yazeth: Fiarah wanders out of the kitchen, wiping her paws free of flour on a towel. “Ah, I did hear you two return. How was the walk?” She casts a critical glance at Jozra. “Feel alright?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan answers Fiarah, “The walk was great, I was just saying to Jozra that even though she feels fine she should rest, you never know.”

Yazeth: Jozra, thankful for Soquan’s intervention, pulls her feet up and sits cross-legged on the bed, trying to look healthy and not at all tired out by the walk. Anything to leave sooner. “So, when do you think we can get on our way again?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah frowns, “Not for a while yet I’m afraid, Jozra. You may feel fine now, but imagine walking all day like you two do.”

Yazeth: The ferret harrumphs and bats idly at the wall hanging over the bed, setting the various shells and stones to jangling.

Arrin Woodgreen: Not knowing the presence of the wall hanging, the sudden noise startles the otter immensely, causing his fur to stand on end. His tenseness causes the otter to overbalance and fall to the ground with a loud thud.

Yazeth: Both Jozra and Fiarah start as Soquan topples over. The ferret pokes her head over the end of the bed to look at the fallen otter. “You alright, Soq?”

Before he can answer, Joseph hurries into the room. “Wh-what was that?” Jinx looks on from behind the mouse.

Arrin Woodgreen: His adrenaline surging, the otter is breathing heavily. “Just–  startled–” Soquan heaves himself onto his feet and turns to Joz. “What in the gods name did you hit Joz?”

Yazeth:  Joseph frowns as he leans over the bed to stop the hanging from swinging.* Y-you shouldn’t have smacked that.”

Jozra helps guide Soquan back onto the bed. “It looks like a branch and shells and things. It’s been hanging on the wall since we got here, Soq.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins at her somewhat lopsidedly. “Well I guess in the future I’ll have to feel out all the walls where we’re staying.”

Yazeth: Joseph frowns a little at Jozra, still apparently upset at her batting at the wall hanging. “Th-that’s fragile.”

Jozra glances at the now still wall hanging. “Well, what is it anyway?”

Fiarah picks the books up off the floor and sets them on the bed, glancing idly at the titles.

“It’s, it’s the Healer’s Web. Kind of a, a series o-of talismans.”  Joseph answers.

Jozra quirks an eyebrow skeptically. Despite all that’s happened to her, she’s not all that superstitious.

The vixen smoothly takes over the healer mouse’s explanation, noting Jozra’s look. “It’s a traditional wall hanging among healers. If you had been conscious, you might have noticed one in my clinic.”

Jozra grins weakly as her ears redden a little.

Fiarah sits on the edge of the arm chair and continues. “Each of the things on it represent something, though I don’t remember them all. Lets see… That big shell in the center with the rune is just the healer symbol. Most healers have that symbol somewhere outside their door.”

Jozra nods, remembering seeing that same symbol on Joseph’s door frame just that day.

“The stone hanging from it represents… I think faith in the healer’s ability. Um, the acorn is nourishment, I don’t remember what that tassel is. I think the wood holder itself is supposed to signify something.”

She glances at Joseph who merely shrugs, “The, the flat stone is t-trust and the b-black and white fea, feather is life and death. Er… th-the cone shell is…”

Fiarah interrupts, “The healer’s commitment to healing the patient and one of the other feathers is just optimism, but I don’t remember which one.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan listens intently as Fiarah and Joseph take turns telling the two of them about the wall hanging, a small smile touching his features. “I remember one of those used to be at the healer’s clinic in Donfin. If I remember correctly, the holder is supposed to mean some sort of stability.”

Yazeth: Anything the healer mouse might have said in response was lost as Jinx shouts from the kitchen. “Joseph! Is this supposed to smoke like that?”

Fiarah and Joseph glance at each other for a second with wide eyes before dashing into the kitchen to salvage what remains of dinner.

Arrin Woodgreen: While Joseph and Fiarah rush off to deal with the crisis in the kitchen, Soquan turns to the ferret with a grin. “So should I be expecting an apology from you anytime soon for scaring the wits outta me?”

Yazeth: The ferret eyes Soquan and then grins wickedly and says sweetly. “Apologize? I thought it was part of my job description.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He mock scowls at her and sticks his tongue out. “Well remind me next time how ungrateful you are for your friend lying for you.”

Yazeth: Jozra’s smile falters a little at the mention of lies but she grabs a book and says rather cheerfully, “I wonder if this book is going to be as good as the last one.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “Well we’re just going to have to find out, now won’t we?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods and scoots backwards until she’s can prop herself up on the pillows and opens up the book to the first page. “‘For Elianza.’ I wonder who that is?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan starts beside her, propping himself up on an elbow. “You said Elianza right? My mind’s not playing tricks on me?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods slowly. “Yeeeahhh… Elianza. E-L-I-A-N-Z-A.  I am pronouncing it right, right?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan seems a bit pale as he swallows. “That was my Grandmother’s name.”

Yazeth: Jozra flips the pages to the beginning of the story. “Weird… How common is the name?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shakes his head. “Not very.”

Yazeth: The ferret looks at Soquan quizzically. “Why would there be a book apparently about your Grandfather to someone with the same name as your Grandmother without you knowing about it?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shrugs, slumping back onto the pillows. “I don’t know.”

Yazeth: Jozra watches the otter for a moment and is about to say something when Jinx enters the room, smirking a little. “Well, I hope you’re not very hungry because dinner is ready but it’s a little… charred.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Deciding to risk it, Soquan, addresses the younger ferret. “Jinx, what do you know about Erran, the Northern Knight?”

Being blind, Soquan cannot see Jinx’s eyes light up, but should be very apparent to Jozra.

Yazeth: Jozra’s surprised at the recognition in Jinx’s eyes and even more intrigued as a result. The younger ferret bounces into the armchair near the bed, forgetting all about dinner.

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx eyes Soquan excitedly, “Are you kidding Soq? Erran Woodgreen (Soquan tenses at this) is one of the most well known Northern Knights of all! He was still a new recruit when the siege of Donfin happened and he took lead after his commander fell in battle and lead them to victory!”

Yazeth: Jozra manages to keep her eyes from straying towards Soq but Jinx is able to catch on anyway. “Wait, Soq! Your last name is Woodgreen too!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan nods, “Aye, it is, he scratches the back of his neck. “I’m fairly certain Erran was my grandfather too.” Soquan barely had enough time to brace himself as Jinx gives a very fan-girlish screech and leaps at Soquan.

Yazeth: Jozra laughs at the general mayhem that ensues as Joseph and Fiarah come bustling back in with a loaded plate in each hand.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan pats Jinx on the head awkwardly as she clings at him, obsessing. He throws the occupants of the room a pleading look as he tries to pry the ferret off of him.

Yazeth: Joseph looks astonished at the scene as Fiarah merely shakes her head and hands a plate to Jozra. “Wh-what’s going on?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan continues to pry Jinx off of him, “Well, between the three of us, we found out Erran of the Northern Knights was my grandfather and… well… this happened.” He gestures at Jinx

Yazeth: The young ferret looks sheepish as Fiarah hands her a plate. “It’s just Erran’s always been sort of my hero.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan crinkles his nose slightly as he takes the plate. “Well it woulda helped if I knew he was a Northern Knight.”

Yazeth: Jozra tries a hesitant taste and finds it to be alright. Not up to par with Joseph’s usual cooking but edible.The other three settle themselves about the room but Jinx isn’t able to keep her mouth shut for long. “Um… How could you not know?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan shakes his head, “I don’t know.”

Jinx falls silent for a bit, but not for long. “Wait! The betrayal!”

Soqua blinks. “The what?”

Jinx rolls her eyes and explains. “A small army started to make their way into the town using a secret entrance only the Knights knew about. They fought off the attack, but after that the Knights were heavily persecuted because they thought the Knights were turning against them and it scared them how much they relied on their defenders. So, the Knights, in exchange for peace in the town, vowed to lay down their arms until the need for them arose again, which it hasn’t.”

Yazeth: Jozra looks at Jinx with a mix of amazement and newfound respect. “Seems you sure know a lot about the subject.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx scratches the back of her neck “Err… well, after I read about Erran, I kinda became obsessed about the Northern Knights in general, and things concerning them. I love how Springfest generated around their victory over the siege.”

Yazeth: Jozra quirks an eyebrow at the mention of Springfest but continues with her dinner. Fiarah seems to be absorbed with the wall hanging, apparently trying to remember the significance of the rest of the talismans.

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx points to the book on Jozra’s beside table. “Yeah, I think it goes into detail about it in there.”

Yazeth: Jozra smiles around her fork, chews, swallows and replies, “I suppose I’ll just have to read it then, huh?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx nods and finishes the last of her meal. “Yeah, you should, it’s a great book.”
Meanwhile, Soquan has gone quiet, pushing his meal around on his plate, taking the odd nibble here and there.

Yazeth: Fiarah finally tears herself away from the Healer’s Web and starts gathering up empty plates from Jinx and Jozra. “We should head back soon, Jinx.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan hands off his practically full plate to Jinx, who gives him an odd look then nods at Fiarah. “Okay Fiarah.” After depositing the dishes in the kitchen she shouts a goodbye to the two before following Fiarah out the door.

Yazeth: Soon Joseph is busy again in the kitchen with the dishes. Jozra watches the rather thoughtful looking otter before her for a while. “Want to talk about it?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan jerks out of his thoughts. “What? Oh… no, it’s okay Joz. I mean, I was just wondering why he didn’t tell me, even if the Knights were ‘retired’.”

Yazeth: The ferret shrugs, “Maybe he didn’t want to think about it anymore.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods, “True… So are you going to start reading or what?” He cracks a grin.

Yazeth: Jozra chuckles, “Sure.” She cracks the book open to the first chapter and starts reading. “My mother’s stories of magic and great heroes fueled my childhood…”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan listens to the story of his grandfather intently for quite a while before his eyelids grow heavy, and not too long after that he listens with his eyes closed, eventually dropping off to sleep.

Yazeth: It takes a few moments for Jozra to realize her companion is asleep and that Joseph went to bed quite a while ago. She smiles faintly before marking her spot and setting the book aside to snuggle down under the covers herself.

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/339/feed 0 Chapter 60: Library Books https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/335 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/335#respond Wed, 30 Apr 2014 11:00:03 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=335

Continue reading]]> Chapter 60: Library Books

In Which Jinx Gives Soquan A Hand.

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Yazeth: Jozra’s ear flicks and with it, her consciousness rises a level. Early morning sunlight barely reaches the house, much less enters the windows, but the light outside is morning light. A rapping echoes through Jozra’s ear and breaks the last threads of sleep. Her eyes pop open — well, the eye not pressed into Soquan’s shoulder pops open — and she strains to listen for the rapping again.

Beside her, Soquan snoozes on and she can hear Joseph’s soft snores from the other room. Carefully she moves away from the otter, wriggles out from under the covers, pauses to stifle a cough, slips into a robe, across the floor and out the door.  She should have grabbed a heavier robe. Winter may be giving way to spring, but it’s still chilly in the mornings.

Again she strains to hear the rapping, the tapping, the noise that couldn’t have been anything other than a message coded in a woodpecker’s hammering. Now, did she actually hear it or did she dream it? Frankly, she admits to herself as a few dry coughs escape into the morning mist, she wouldn’t be surprised if it was the latter.

She’d been having some stranger than usual dreams since her chat with the Priestess. Well, maybe not stranger, but they tended to be more dreams and less memories and for Jozra, that’s pretty strange.

Arrin Woodgreen: Back indoors and under the blankets Soquan begins to stir and idly, a paw reaches out to locate bedmate. He jerks awake as he realizes she’s not present and he sits up as he faintly hears her coughing. He climbs out of the bed and pulls on a robe before following the sounds to outside where the ferret stood. He pads up silently behind her and places a paw on her shoulder. “South, right?”

Yazeth: The ferret starts under his paw; she was listening so hard for the phantom tapping that she didn’t even hear him pad up behind her. Wait. Did he hear it too? How could he decode the message?! “Wh… What?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He cocks an eyebrow at her. “C’mon, you’ve been talking about it all week, and I still think it’s a bad idea to get moving so soon.”

Yazeth: Oh. Right. That explains it. Jozra mentally kicks herself for automatically jumping to conclusions but her brain is still rather scattered. She looks out in the general direction of the forest. “Did you hear a tapping?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shakes his head and wraps an arm around her shoulders, attempting to lead her back inside. “No, now c’mon Joz, it’s cold out here, I don’t think that’s too good for you. You’re still very sick.”

Yazeth: Jozra’s brow furrows at that comment. Sure she’s nowhere near as strong as she was before falling in the river and the cough hasn’t completely gone away and if she wasn’t emotionally scarred before, she certainly is now. Even as a pup she never liked the ‘stay in bed’ part of being sick. That she’s been cooped up in bed for more than a week now has made her very restless. But it is cold outside and despite rebellious thoughts, Jozra follows Soquan inside.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs and gives her shoulders a squeeze. “I know you don’t like being cooped up, but it’s for the best, trust me. Maybe when you’re stronger, I’ll ask Fiarah if we can go for walks or something.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods dejectedly. She’s entirely convinced that if she has to spend another week cooped up while the weather progresses every day towards spring and the pull of duty leads her brain ever South she’ll go completely insane. Her stomach growls, interrupting her thoughts. “Hrm… What do you think is for breakfast?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He chuckles. “I don’t think Joseph’s even conscious yet. It’s still early.” He helps her out of her robe and into bed before shedding his own and crawling in beside her.

Yazeth: “Hrm.” She drums her fingers against the blankets, trying to either focus her thoughts or think of nothing. Other than sleeping, dreaming or eating, she’s had very little to engage her brain the entire week other than her own thoughts: “What’s in the south and why is it important? How do I really feel towards Soquan? Is Kirrian a security risk? What’s the family up to? Probably farming.” But always her thoughts return to trying to make sense out of Alvisa’s words.

Arrin Woodgreen: From his spot beside her, the otter pipes up again. “I might go for a stroll later if that’s okay with you. Joseph said I need to start stretching out the muscles in my foot again.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods absently before realizing that’s what she’s doing. “That’s fine, Soq… I’ll be alright.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He reaches out, rubbing one of her shoulders. “You sure?”

Yazeth: Jozra smiles at the otter. “Joseph will be around and I think Fiarah was going to pop in later. I’ll be fine.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and curls close, wrapping his arms around the ferret. “If you say so.” With a wide yawn, Soquan closes his eyes, intent on dozing for a bit.

Yazeth: Jozra listens for a while longer, still not entirely sure if what she heard was real or a dream echo. Eventually she dozes a little, but not for very long. When Joseph gets up her eyes follow the healer mouse as he wanders into the kitchen to start breakfast, which prompts another growl from her stomach.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan dozes for a good while, not moving from his current position. He does however, come awake again as Joseph enters the room with their meals. He sits up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “What’s for breakfast, Jo?”

Yazeth: The mouse smiles at his two patients. “P-pancakes, Soq. And I have some, some honey here too.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and stretches out his back muscles. “Smells wonderful!” He adjusts their pillows and sits up, helping Jozra up as well. He receives a plate and gives it to Joz before taking his own. “Thank you very much Joseph.” Joseph grins, “Y- you know it’s no, no problem.”

Yazeth: Jozra takes her own plate and mutters internally, unhappy with needing to be ‘helped up.’  “Thanks, Joseph.” She digs into the pancakes, her appetite much improved.

Arrin Woodgreen: He digs in as well, happy to have some food into his grumbling stomach. He finishes rather quickly and settles back, content to listen to the sounds coming from the kitchen. He sits up suddenly. “Fiarah and Jinx are here.”
As if on cue, a knock sounds from the front door.

Yazeth: Joseph sets down his own dishwashing endeavors and shuffles to the door. “G-good morning Fiarah. Jinx.  W-we were just having breakf-fast. Come in, come in.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins in Jinx and Fiarah’s general direction as they enter. “Hullo you two, how’ve you been?”

Fiarah nods. “Well enough, Kirrian’s behaving much better now.”

Jinx grins, “Yeah, she’s moved from badger with a toothache, to hare with stolen food.”
Soquan laughs at this.

Yazeth: Jozra smiles wanly at the joke and finishes off her plate of pancakes as Fiarah and Jinx settle themselves about the room. Joseph takes the ferret’s and otter’s empty plates back to the kitchen and resumes cleaning up, leaving the other four to their own devices.

Arrin Woodgreen: He thanks Joseph as he takes their plates, and after a few minutes of small talk with Jinx and Fiarah, he looks towards Jozra. “Mind if I head off now Joz?”

Yazeth: Jozra gazes forlornly out the window for a second before responding. “Go ahead Soq. We’ll be fine here.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He reaches out and squeezes her paw slightly before climbing out of the bed. Jinx watches him. “Where are you going Soq?”

Soquan grins as he replies, “I’m going for a walk.”
Jinx perks up. “Can I come?”
Soquan shrugs, “Why not?”

Yazeth: Jozra waves to Jinx as the young ferret and the otter depart. “Have fun.”
The door shuts and Jozra sighs. “Fiarah… Please tell me you’re here to tell me I can DO anything other than sit here forever now.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Friarah shakes her head. “I’m here to give you a look over to see how you’re recovering. I can tell by just looking at you that you’re not well enough to be up and about. I’m sorry Jozra.”

Meanwhile, Soquan strolls down the street with Jinx beside him. At some point, he turns to her. “Jinx, I need your help. Joz is absolutely bored of just sitting around and doing nothing. I wanna do something to help her though.”

Yazeth: Jinx glances up at Soquan. “Well… Like what?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shrugs. “I dunno, I wanna get her a book or something.”

Yazeth: Jinx skips along by Soquan’s side. “We could always find something for her at the library.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He starts. “There’s a library here?”

Jinx nods quickly, “Yep.”

Soquan grins at her, “What’re we waiting for then?”

Yazeth: Jinx laughs and grabs Soquan’s paw. “Follow me!” She hurries down a couple of side streets and alleys, arriving rather quickly in the early bustle of downtown Kodan. Jinx swerves around a trio of rats entering the now infamous bathhouse and continues up the street before stopping at a squat, round-ish sort of building.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins at her, “Wow, you certainly know your way around here.” They enter the building and he lowers his voice. “Hey Jinx, I think I just found a flaw in our plan. What do we get Jozra to read?”

Yazeth: Jinx puts her chin in her paw and furrows her brow. “Hrmm… Well, what do you think she’d like to read?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He frowns, “That’s the problem, I don’t know. Do you have any suggestions?”

Yazeth: Jinx wanders off towards her favorite section, idly pulling Soquan behind her. “Well…” Jinx runs her finger along the book spines, thinking. “There’s “Xeirgo’s Folly,” and “The Forbidden Lover”… Um, “Medicinal Plants” which is good if you want to be a healer. Lets see, “Adventure on the High Seas,” that one wasn’t as adventurous as the title makes you think it is though. “Way of the Wanderer” was pretty good.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He frowns. “I dunno Jinx, none of those really seem like something Joz would read. What else is there?”

Yazeth: Jinx moves along to the next set of shelves. “Um, let’s see. There’s “Bragi” and “Springfest Romance” and “Imperial North.”” The young ferret wipes some of the dust that gathered on her fingers off on a nearby curtain.*  “Loke’s Farewell,” um, “Tales of the Knights,” “The Snail That Ruined It All,” “Red Branch”…”

Arrin Woodgreen: He starts, reaching out towards the bookshelf slightly. “What was that about Knights?”

Yazeth: Jinx backs up to the spot where that book was. “I think it’s a collection of short stories about the Northern Knights.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He scratches his chin. “Hmmm… Sounds promising, don’t you think?”

Yazeth: Jinx shrugs as she pulls the book off the shelf. “I haven’t read it but sure, if you think that’s what she’d like.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He waves a paw briefly at the book in Jinx’s paw. “I can always return it and try another if it’s not her cup of tea.”

Yazeth: The ferret grins at Soquan. “Lets go check this out then!” She leads the blind otter over to the circulation desk where a young marten is quietly dozing, a book laying open on his stomach.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan allows himself to be lead by the paw towards the desk. He clears his throat slightly as he realizes the clerk is asleep.

Yazeth: The marten starts and nearly drops his book. “Oh, um… Ready to check out?” He takes the book Jinx hands to him and writes down the title in a rather large ledger. “Name please?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He speaks up from beside Jinx, “Soquan Woodgreen.” The marten starts and looks at Soquan oddly before shrugging and writing the name down. “Okay, thank you for supporting our library, the book is due back in three weeks.”

Yazeth: Jinx takes the book back from the marten and leads Soquan back out to the street. She idly thumbs through the book as they walk along at a more leisurely pace than the one they arrived at. “Looks interesting. Maybe I’ll have to read it when Jozra’s done with it.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins, chuckling softly. “Maybe I can get Joz to read some of the stories out to me then.” He points his grin at Jinx, “Thanks for taking me to the Library Jinx.”

Yazeth: Jinx grins back. “No problem. It was nice to take a little walk.” She pauses for half a second to look at some early spring flowers beginning to bloom along the street. “Should we head back to Joseph’s or do you want to wander around a little more? It’s a very nice day for walking.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He stretches his arms out a bit. “I think I should actually get back to Joz. The poor girl is bored out of her skull.”

Yazeth: The young ferret nods. “Okay then. This way.” She leads Soquan back through some side streets and the two soon arrive at Joseph’s where the healer mouse is trying to keep his bed of chamomile from being choked out by weeds.

“H-hello, Jinx. Soquan.”
He stands up, dusting some dirt off of his paws. “Jinx… F-fiarah asked me to, to tell you that she went back to th-the safe house.” Inside, Jozra slips back into bed.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan turns to Jinx, “Why don’t you head back to the safe house then?” Jinx nods and starts to head off. Soquan calls after her before heading inside, “Thanks again for the help!” Once he slips inside, he grins in Jozra’s general direction. “
“Hullo again.”

Yazeth: Jozra coughs a little, the result of doing the traditional version of the set of exercises adopted by the Scorpions while nobody was there to tell her that she shouldn’t. “Hi Soq. Have a nice walk?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan nods, crossing the room towards the bed. “Yep.” He sits on the bed next to her. “Got yah something…” He tosses the book lightly into her lap.

Yazeth: The ferret’s ears perk with interest. “Oh? What’s this?” She picks up the book and glances at the title before thumbing through the first few pages.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins at her. “Well, Jinx and I decided that maybe getting you a book will help you pass your free time, I mean I know how bored you’ve been. So when we went out, Jinx and I swung by the library and got you this.”

Yazeth: From what Jozra can tell by just glancing through the pages, it looks like a book written for children. But she smiles anyway. It’s the thought that counts, right? “Thanks, Soq. That really means a lot to me.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He beams at her. “I hope you like it, Jinx looked through it and said it looked good, but if it’s not really what you usually read, I can always go back tomorrow or something.”

Yazeth: “Heh, with the way things are going I might be finished with the book by tomorrow.” She settles the book on her lap and opens it to the first chapter.

Arrin Woodgreen: He stretches out beside her and he’s silent for a moment before he pipes up rather quietly. “Hey Joz? Do you think… maybe… if you’re up for it… do you think you could read a chapter out loud?”

Yazeth: The ferret smiles softly at her companion. “Sure thing, Soq.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles and turns his full attention to the ferret. “Thanks Joz. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book, used to inhale them.” He chuckles softly.

Yazeth: Jozra props the book up a little better and clears her throat a little. “Lets see… ‘Avan always was a mischievous little squirrel, but the day he decided to take the long way home would change him forever.’

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/335/feed 0 Chapter 59: Reconciliation https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/333 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/333#respond Mon, 28 Apr 2014 11:00:38 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=333

Continue reading]]> Chapter 59: Reconciliation

In Which Kirrian May Not Be All Bad.

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Yazeth: It was just past noon when Fiarah and Jinx returned to the safehouse.  Dysa let them in through the kitchen door and promptly put them to work washing the dishes from lunch. It’s a small price to pay to be let back into what has become their home without having to deal with Kirrian’s wrath.
Jinx pauses as she wipes a plate clean, her usually chipper expression furrowed in worry. “Fiarah… What will we do if Kirrian’s still mad?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah takes the plate from Jinx and dries it, her brow furrowed. “I don’t know. I could open up a healing clinic of my own.” She turns to Jinx with a bit of a smile, taking another plate. “You can come too, of course!”

Yazeth: The young ferret grins. It’s always good to know that one will have a roof over one’s head. “Kirrian looked really mad this morning. I wonder what all that was about between her and Jozra?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah shrugs. “I have no clue, maybe I’ll ask her when she’s cooled down a bit.” Jinx grins, “Do we even want to know went on through your sister’s head during all that?”

Yazeth: Fiarah grins at that comment. “Probably not.” She continues wiping dishes dry in silence for a moment. “You know, my sister and I have never really gotten along, but I’ve never known her to be so- hot headed. Oh she has a temper, but she’s never been so mean or personal. Especially to someone that needed help…”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx frowns. “Yeah, she’ll be kinda distant at times, but I’ve never seen her like that. Think they might actually know each other and like… hate each other or something?”

Yazeth: The vixen glances at Jinx. “I don’t think they know each other. I mean, I’ve never seen Jozra before and Kirrian’s certainly never mentioned her but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” Fiarah considers the possibility.

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx mutters a quiet ‘oh’ before the conversation fades into silence. The two finish washing and drying the dishes and Fiarah turns to Jinx. “Okay, now that that’s over with, we need to get to our rooms without Kirrian noticing.”

Yazeth: Dysa, who has been preparing for cooking dinner in the meantime, peeks around the door for the pair. “Try and stay out of trouble, eh?” The rattess winks at Fiarah and Jinx as they slip out of the kitchen and into the hall.

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx grins at Dysa, “We’ll try!”
Fiarah chuckles and the two manage to sneak upstairs into their rooms without being detected. Or so they think.

Yazeth: Kirrian had just left her room as Fiarah slipped into her own. She narrows her eyes as Fiarah’s door softly closes.

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah lets out a sigh and collapses on her bed. She gets to relax for only a few minutes before Kirrian walks over to her room and bursts in. “Hello, dear sister…”

Yazeth: Fiarah groans and flings a forearm over her eyes. “You know, knocking is the polite thing to do.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian eyes Fiarah with a quirked eyebrow. “I figured you’d want to… talk.”

Yazeth: Fiarah sighs and sits up. “Are you going to kick us out, Kirrian? I’d like to know now if I have to pack. I saw Deke and Nolan standing around across the street without a clue as to what to do.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs. “I’ll have someone go get them and say they can come back. Jinx maybe, she seems to be rather… fond… of Nolan. You two will not be kicked out and you may stay for as long as you want.”

Yazeth: Fiarah eyes Kirrian. With the way her sister had been acting lately, this was hardly expected. She scoots back on the bed and pats the space beside her. “Why the change of heart?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sits beside her sister and sighs. “I’m afraid I was rather… hasty about my decisions earlier, and I let myself be jaded by my own fears. I owe you and Jinx, as well as Deke and Nolan apologies.”

Yazeth: Fiarah gives her sister a long look and then finally relents. “Apology accepted, provided you explain yourself.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs and leans back. “All in due time sister…” Both are silent for a good while before Kirrian speaks again, turning towards her sister. “You know Jinx isn’t from Kodan, right?”

Yazeth: Fiarah glances at Kirrian. “I pretty much assumed that, but a lot of beasts aren’t originally from Kodan. What makes Jinx notable?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs and looks up at the ceiling. “She’s from a place further south called Krad. When she first came here she told me what was happening in the city she just barely managed to escape from. They treat our… our kind… differently down there. When Jinx arrived she was saying something about the stereotypically vermin species being like a whole different class of society down there.”

Yazeth: Fiarah cocks her head. Maybe it’s just the way Kirrian has been acting lately, but the vixen is less inclined to believe her sister than she would usually be. “Oh? She hasn’t told me anything of this.”

Arrin Woodgreen: She returns her sister’s gaze. She knows Fiarah doesn’t believe her, and she hopes to make her do so. “When she told me, I made her promise not to tell anyone else and it appears she’s kept that promise. Since then I’ve been hearing rumors that it’s getting worse and worse down there. I never made this news fully known because I didn’t want that type of mindset worming its way in up here.”

Yazeth: Fiarah frowns. Kirrian may have been acting strange lately, but she doubts her sister would ever lie about something like this. “What do you mean worse? What’s going on?”

Arrin Woodgreen: She turns quickly to Fiarah. “They’re locking us up, Fiarah! Like savages! They treat us like dirt!” She lowers her head, taking in a breath. “To them we might as well be beasts contracted with the Red Plague…”

Yazeth: Fiarah stares at her sister in shock. “They’re WHAT?!  How… what…. WHY?!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian’s throat has begun to tighten and her eyes begin to tear. From her place beside her sister, Fiarah stares longer as her sister manages to croak.“I don’t know, I just don’t know.”

Yazeth: Fiarah sighs and then scoots over to giver her sister a hug. “Oh Kir… What do we do? What CAN we do?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian leans against her sister’s shoulder with a sigh. “I-I think we need to warn Alvsia. She can talk to the town and let them know how horrible this is. I will NOT have this town turn out like that!”

Yazeth: Fiarah ponders this for a moment. “I think you’re right, but I think we need more evidence. Jinx will have to tell her story, of course. And we don’t really know if Alvisa knows about… THIS already.”

Arrin Woodgreen: She lets out a shuddering breath. “I-If I know Alvsia, Jinx’s story will be enough, if not she can look into it.”

Yazeth: Fiarah nods and then considers something else. “How long have you had this information? I have a feeling Alvisa isn’t going to be very happy with having to see us several days in a row.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian quirks an eyebrow at Fiarah. “I realize that. As to how long I’ve had this information, how long has Jinx been here?”

Yazeth: Fiarah scowls at her sister. “That’s my point exactly. If Alvisa doesn’t know, she might not be too happy that you’ve been keeping this from her for nearly two seasons.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian lowers her head. I know. To tell you the truth, I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, that it would be righted.

Yazeth: Fiarah sighs. “You know Kir, it wouldn’t have been as bad if you had told me about some of these things. And what was that whole business with Jozra and Soquan? That really didn’t help matters with Alvisa.”

Arrin Woodgreen: She looks at Fiarah again. “I was trying to protect you, little sister, that’s why you were not informed. And as for those two, I was worried that the ferret might have been mixed up with those things. To tell you the truth, I had no qualms about the otter, only at first when I thought he might be harming her.”

Yazeth: This statement puzzles the healer. She glances askance at her sister. “Why would Jozra be mixed up in what’s going on in the South?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs. “I’m afraid I rather jumped to conclusions. You see, black-footed ferrets like Jozra are more common in the Southlands around where Jinx is from. It seems I was wrong.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Conversation sputters to a stop between the two and for a good while they sit in silence. It’s Kirrian who breaks the silence. “I… guess I better tell Jinx to find Deke and Nolan before it gets too late. I have some paperwork to finish as well.”

She rises and heads for the door turning to address her sister before leaving. A slight grin touches her features. “This was nice, we should do it again sometime.”

Yazeth: A slow smiles spreads across Fiarah’s face. “Yeah, we should.” She watches as her sister exits the room and then lays back down on her bed again to ponder the situation.

Arrin Woodgreen: Still grinning, Kirrian strides down the hall towards Jinx’s room. She’s about to burst in without knocking but stops herself. She takes a breath and knocks heavily on Jinx’s door.

Yazeth: Inside her room where the young ferret had been looking over her belongings, Jinx jumps at the knock. She mutters to herself, “Well… here we go,” before going to the door and opening it.

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian does her best to give Jinx a friendly smile. “If you’re not to busy my dear, I’d like you to go find Deke and Nolan and tell them they’re welcome to come back.”

Yazeth: Jinx’s eyes open wide in surprise. “Er, um… Sure!” The ferret ducks under Kirrian’s arm and dashes down the hall to find Deke and Nolan.

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian chuckles as she watches Jinx scamper off and slowly meanders back up the hall towards her room. She slips inside and lets out a sigh as she collapses at her desk.

At the moment, Nolan stands in Deke’s room, his bags lying at his feet. With a frown he watches as his mentor rushes this way and that, gathering up his belongings and trying to fit them into his suitcases.

Yazeth: It’s not like Deke is being particularly quiet about all this rushing around, mind, so it’s no wonder that Jinx manages to hear the commotion and skids to a halt in front of Deke’s door. She bursts through the door and manages to get a few words out around her panting. “Kirriansaysyoucanstay!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Nolan jerks around to look at Jinx and actually looks like he’s about to say something before Deke cuts the ferret off. “What? You’re kidding!”

Yazeth: The ferret shakes her head vigorously. “Nope! She said you both were welcome to come back.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Nolan gives a very un-Nolan like whoop and hugs Jinx tightly before running back towards his room with his bags.

Yazeth: Jinx grins rather bashfully as she’s hugged and stands about for a moment or two before realizing that she’s kind of hindering Deke’s process of rearranging his room back to how it was.

Arrin Woodgreen: After depositing his things in his room, Nolan doubles back just as enthusiastically, grinning at Jinx as he arrives. “Wha’d’ya say ‘Kirrian t’let us stay ‘ere?”

Yazeth: Jinx takes a second to shake out of her momentary stupor. “Nothin! She just came and knocked on my door and said you guys could come back! And she wasn’t all angry or anything.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Deke looks bemused. “Really? Strange.” Nolan flashes Jinx another grin. “Well ’tis good t’know we ‘dun ‘afta go anywhere. I like it ‘ere jest fine.”

Yazeth: Jinx grins back at Nolan, once again rather tongue tied. Deke finally gets the two moving and out of his room. “You know, it’s hard to unpack with you two just standing around here.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx finally finds her voice and she gives Deke a sideways look. “Do you need help unpacking, Nolan?”

Yazeth: Nolan grins at the ferret and nods. With that, they dash off leaving Deke in his now rather messy room, shaking his head. “Kids…”

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/333/feed 0 Chapter 58: Recuperation https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/331 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/331#respond Fri, 25 Apr 2014 11:00:35 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=331

Continue reading]]> Chapter 58: Recuperation

In Which The Two Can Rest Without Interruption.

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Arrin Woodgreen: The two exit the dim room and into the bright waiting room. He almost instantly senses their party in the room and grins in their direction. “Well that was fun. Shall we head back to Joseph’s then?”

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan had stayed behind as Alvisa had suggested as Kirrian walked off in a huff since even they were no longer obeying her orders. As the rest of the small party stands and exits the room to make the rather short trek back to Joseph’s cottage, Deke addresses himself to Soquan. “Wou’d you like a ‘and, Mister?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan’s startled by Deke’s sudden vocalization and it takes him a moment to reply. “I’m fine. Errr, thanks though.” Jinx chuckles but is silenced by a look from Fiarah. Soquan doesn’t really hear the chuckle, he’s just concentrating on getting himself and Jozra back to Joseph’s.

Yazeth: Deke looks slightly crestfallen but recovers quickly enough. Jinx grins and tugs lightly on Deke’s arm as he exits the building. “You know, you two can follow us back a ways. Just in case.” Deke looks to Nolan and shrugs and Nolan shrugs right back. They stay to the rear of the little party but by the time Soquan and Jozra are over three-quarters of the way there, they realize that their help probably won’t be needed and return to the safe house.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins slightly as they reach Joseph’s house and without a word, the otter scoops Jozra up and carries her towards their sleeping area. Joseph makes his way into the kitchen to see what can be done about breakfast and Jinx gives Fiarah a pointed look while motioning subtly to the two.
The pair are now both curled under the covers of the bed and Soquan is curled protectively around his ferret companion.

Yazeth: Fiarah smiles and steps into the kitchen to let Joseph know that the two shouldn’t be disturbed, even for food, until they wake. “Come on now, Jinx. I think there’s a few things that belong to Jozra and Soquan back at the safe house.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx quirks an eyebrow. “They do?” Fiarah gives Jinx a ‘You know what I mean’ look and Jinx gives a nod. “Oh right! Their stuff!” She grins and follows her mentor out the door.

Yazeth: It’s well past mid-afternoon when Jozra first begins to stir with Alvisa’s words echoing in her ears.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan has, and still remains asleep through all this. He’s settled close with his arms around her, snoring softly. Joseph, who had poked his head in to check on the two, softly asks Jozra if she feels hungry.

Yazeth: The ferret nods blearily, still feeling partly asleep, partly awake and not at all whole. That, and it’s just occurred to her that she might be here for quite some time. Just the prospect of this sets the roots of cabin fever.

Arrin Woodgreen: Joseph pads into the room quietly a few minutes later with some heated soup, he helps the ferret sit up gently before handing her the bowl with a grin, telling her, “Eat up, doctor’s orders.”
Soquan remains asleep through this, exhausted by the events from the past few days. However, he does begin to stir partway through the ferret’s meal, the smell of the soup rousing him from his sleep.

Yazeth: Jozra pauses with her spoon halfway to her mouth as the otter stirs. She smiles down at him briefly, swallows the spoonful of soup and asks, “Hungry?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins briefly in reply before yawning broadly and stretching in a very catlike manner. “I’m famished.” As if on cue, Joseph putters into the room with another bowl. It seems he had heard the otter stirring and assumed he would be hungry.  Soquan accepts the bowl with a smile as he sits up and digs in hungrily.

Yazeth: Joseph grins, he likes to see his patients eating heartily. “Er, while you’re a, awake… How’s the p-paw, Soquan? It, it seems to have been rather, ah, overlooked l-lately. Y-you really shouldn’t be walking on, er, it.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan pauses his meal just long enough to give his paw a flex and reply. “It feels fine, just a little stiff if anything, it doesn’t really bother me much anymore.” He continues to eat heartily, occasionally stopping to lick bits of soup from his whiskers.

Yazeth: Jozra watches the exchange as she finishes up her soup. As she hands her empty bowl back to Joseph, the healer mouse remarks to Soquan, “Well, m-maybe I should take a l-look at it in a bit. Er, just, ah, just in case.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and hands off his empty bowl to Joseph as well. “Sounds good, just say when. I don’t want to distract you if you have other things to do.” He settles back comfortably in the bed.

Yazeth:  Too awake to sleep and too tired to do anything else, Jozra lets her mind wander as Joseph and Soquan talk. “W-well I’ll just take these, er, these bowls back to the kitchen and th-then perhaps we could see, ah, about your foot.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods to Joseph. “Sounds good, no need to hurry yourself though.” Soquan’s ears begin to swivel as he slowly blocks out noise from the household and listens to the noise of the bustling city outside.

Yazeth: “Oh-okay.” The mouse then bustles off to the kitchen to wash the bowls quickly and set them to dry. He returns a few moments later drying his paws on a towel. “Um…” Joseph looks around briefly before pulling a chair up near the bed. “N-now, let’s look at that foot.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is jerked out of his state of mind and is a bit baffled at first. However, he recovers quickly and uncovers his injured paw, angling it towards the healer mouse. “I bet it’s healing fine. It hardly ever bugs me, just a twinge here and there.”

Yazeth: Feeling better or not, it’s in Joseph’s nature to keep tabs on all injuries and illnesses. The healer mouse carefully unwraps the paw and examines the cut. “S-seems to be healing well.” Joseph takes a fresh roll of bandages from his ever-ready healer’s bag and rewraps the paw. “Y-you should try to stay off, off it a little while longer, though.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan nods slowly. “Of course, I would have theses last couple days, but it’s not like I could help it eh?” He gives a slight chuckle, and once his paw is rewrapped, he re-covers his feet.
Once Joseph packs away his bag, he turns to the two. “I-I have to go into, into town for some errands, I trust you two will be alright on your own for a few hours?”
Soquan chuckles again and waves a paw at the mouse. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Yazeth: The mouse nods and turns towards the closet. “I, I should be back before dark. If you get hungry, ah, there’s food in the kitchen. H-help yourself.” He takes up his walking stick and a small bag and starts out the door.

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “See you then Joseph.” He settles back again, going silent for a few minutes. He listens to his equally silent companion breathing for a time before turning towards her. “Joz?”

Yazeth: Jozra’s thoughts meander casually back from wherever they had been. Even she’s not sure where they were. “Hrmm?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan props himself up on an elbow, facing her. “I was just thinking about what happened between Sola and I in the bathhouses, about me not knowing what you look like…” He pauses, his brow furrowing. “There is something I can do to get a rough idea of what you look like, if you’ll let me.”

Yazeth: The ferret’s eyebrow quirks, her interest piqued. “What do you want to do?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan hesitates for a brief moment before replying. “I want to feel your face, I can get a bit of an idea of what you look like by feeling the contours on your face.”

Yazeth: Jozra smiles. For a second there, she wasn’t sure what he was going to ask. She sits up a little straighter, still feeling stiff and sore, and leans forward slightly. “Okay.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins and sits up as well. He brings his paws up and he very softly runs them over her face and neck. He deliberately begins to retrace areas he’s been before, trying to get more detail in some spots that were too rough in his mind.
At some point, he changes the method in which his paws are running over her face. His paws move now, leading more with his thumbs, almost the way some beast would mold clay. He begins by gently moving his thumbs along her lips, then down the sides of her muzzle, then across either cheek and down her neck.
If one didn’t know any better, this might seem like a caress.

Yazeth: Throughout this, the ferret sits quite still. The movement of the otter’s paws over her face, while somewhat strange at first, soon becomes very relaxing and Jozra catches herself dozing off.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan finishes not long after the change in the method and he grins at her slightly and takes her paw, placing it on the paw remaining on her face. “Do you mind tracing the outline of your mask for me?”

Yazeth: The ferret frowns slightly. “I might need a mirror first. I’m not sure if Fiarah put they dye on the way I usually apply it.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He thinks for a moment. “Show me where you’d usually have it then.”

Yazeth: Jozra nods and does a practice run, tracing where her mask should be with her own fingers first. After she’s got a general idea of it, she takes Soquan’s paw and runs his fingers over the edge of her mask, starting at nearly between her brows, tracing it like one might draw something with two equal sides. A butterfly, perhaps.

Arrin Woodgreen: His brow furrows while she does this, trying to place this new information to the picture he has in his mind’s eye. After she finishes, he asks rather quietly. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your coloring?”

Yazeth: The ferret smiles to herself. “Well, right now I’m sort of a pale brown all over, except for a rather black mask, of course.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and settles back down in the covers, but not before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks Joz.” He settles down some more. “…now, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna get some more sleep.”

Yazeth: Jozra nods and hunkers down under the covers as well, tired once again. “Sound’s like a good idea.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and snuggles close. “Warm enough hun?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods sleepily and soon falls asleep.

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/331/feed 0 Chapter 57: Preistess https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/329 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/329#respond Wed, 23 Apr 2014 11:00:09 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=329

Continue reading]]> Chapter 57: Priestess

In Which The Dispute Is Settled.

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Arrin Woodgreen: During the short trek to the Temple, or rather to Alvasia’s office, Soquan lags behind with Jozra. He supports her as she plods along slowly and catches her as she stumbles or trips.

Although Fiarah and her party stop and wait at these intervals, Kirrian’s group continues to get farther and farther ahead with no interest to them whatsoever.

Yazeth: Normally, Jozra would at least glare at Kirrian. Normally. As it is, Jozra is quite relieved once they finally reach the door. Fiarah glances at the ferret worryingly. This is far and away from anything she would have recommended for her patient to do.

Arrin Woodgreen: To one who has seeing eyes, Alvasia’s waiting room is full of grandeur. Tapestries adorn the walls, depicting scenes and stories of two rival siblings on their path to godhood. Statuettes and relics are placed around the room and the furniture itself is lightly polished and the light reflects off it brightly.

There seems to be enough comfortable seating for their troupe but Kirrian it seems, has sprawled herself out on the only couch within the room. A satisfied smirk appears on her face as she watches Fiarah’s half of their party enter.

Yazeth: It is perhaps a testament that Jozra is getting better that somewhere in the back of the ferret’s mind without her conscious knowledge, the Scorpion stirs and records everything important about the room. Soquan tries to lead her to a seat but she shakes her head slightly. “I’m up now, let’s stay standing.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He frowns at her. “Are you sure? I don’t want you using up your energy.”

Yazeth: Jozra shakes her head again and leans heavily on Soquan. “More energy to stand again.” Fiarah scowls at her sister and then knocks gently on the door leading to Alvisa’s sanctuary, hoping the owl can settle this dispute quickly.

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian shoots a dirty look at the back of Fiarah’s head as she knocks, confident that she’ll win this debate and these two troublemakers would be thrown out of the city. It would show Fiarah to think first before going behind her back and disrespecting her authority.

Yazeth: It’s only a moment before the door opens smoothly on well oiled hinges. A snow-white hare dressed in a deep purple robe stands in the threshold, bows slightly, and then stands aside, beckoning all creatures in the waiting room to enter. “Please come in. Alvisa has been expecting you.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan quirks an eyebrow at this but follows anyway, lagging behind the group while supporting Jozra. He matches her slow, plodding pace, ignoring the tisks from Kirrian’s group and ignoring their dirty looks as well, but it’s not like he can see them anyway right?

Yazeth:  The hare gently shuts the door behind the last to enter — this being Sola as she tries to avoid the blind otter — bows into the dimmed recesses of the main chamber and retires to a side room. Those that can see stand about vaguely bewildered as their eyes adjust to the dim lighting.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan’s ears perk up as he tries to listen to what’s going on in the room. Sadly, all he can hear at the moment is everyone breathing and the rustle of clothes as they all settle in place. He leans close to Jozra and whispers softly in her ear. “What’s going on? What do you see?”

Yazeth: Gradually Jozra is able to make out several large shapes in the center of the room. Statues? Another image soon resolves as the snowy owl steps closer. Jozra is about to describe it for the otter when Alvisa speaks. “Welcome, my darlings. I apologize for the dimness but more than moonlight damages my eyes. Come in, come in.”

A broad wing gestures them further into the room where a number of soft cushions and pillows are scattered about the floor for visitors and worshipers to sit.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan nods briefly towards the owl and allows himself to be lead by Jozra towards one of the cushions while still supporting the ferret. He eases her down to a cushion first before plunking down on one beside her.

Again he tries to scan the room, only able to hear the same as before except now there’s the added sounds of the town coming awake for the day.

Yazeth: The owl allows everyone to settle themselves on the cushions before addressing the assembled beasts. “Now, I would have you tell me what has brought us all here this morning.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Chaos erupts in the owl’s inner sanctum as nearly everyone in the room tries to speak at once. Soquan’s startled at the sudden blast of audio stimulation and almost makes a grab for Jozra and his staff before realizing what’s happening. With a grimace he lays his ears back, he has had a headache all day so far and this was NOT helping.

Yazeth: The owl is also rather adverse to the noise. She spreads her wings wide and with a low ‘shhhh’ somehow manages to bring everyone’s yammering to a halt. “One at a time, please.”

Her voice never raises beyond a calm, conversational tone, but everyone present can tell she means business. The owl focuses her all-encompassing gaze on Jinx. “Young ferret, if you would please describe the problem to me?”

Arrin Woodgreen:  Jinx shrinks a bit under Alvisa’s gaze. Her explanation splutters to a start and she has trouble keeping her explanation from speeding up. “Y-y’see… From what I heard, Dawn and her friends brought Jozra here…” she motions briefly to the ferret, “…to the safe house all beat up like, with bruises and welts on her back and shoulders. They were convinced that Soquan…” she gestures at the otter, “…that he was doing that harm. They… err… captured them pretty quick like, cause he was still around the bathhouse and they shut him up in some storage closet. During the night sometime Jozra woke up screaming I think, and Dawn went in to comfort her, but then somehow Soquan was up there too… and then Jozra attacked Dawn and they were sent out of the safe house.”

She pauses and gasps in a breath. Soquan stares at her, amazes that she was actually talking that fast at the tail end of that last bit. “I answered the door when Soq and Joz reappeared not the next night, but the night after and called Dawn. Jozra was obviously unwell, since she was being carried by the otter, and Soquan didn’t look to be in much better shape either. Dawn wanted to leave them out there but I took them to Fiarah instead and she helped the both of them the best she could before Kirrian kicked them out just before dawn.”

“After they were kicked out, I took them to Joseph so Jozra could continue to get treatment for her hypothermia. Kirrian found out we were helping them and tried to order them out of Joseph’s house but we won the consensus that we’d come here and have you deal with the issue once and for all.”

Yazeth: It may have been fast but it was also incredibly concise for such a convoluted story and wonderfully unbiased, which might have been surprising as Jinx is obviously on Soquan and Jozra’s side, but in the presence of the Preistess, well, Jinx wouldn’t have dared to try and spin the story. Alvisa nods her head at Jinx as the young ferret sits down again with wobbly knees. “Thank you, dear.”

She fluffs her feathers briefly and then swivels her head in Kirrian’s direction. “Did you not tell me when you began your commendable project that the House would exist in order to care for those that needed it?”

Arrin Woodgreen: The corners of the otter’s mouth twitch in amusement as they vixen is put on the spot. Kirrian swallows and tries to puff herself up a bit. “But they both attacked members of my staff, what was I supposed to say? ‘Oh well’ and let it go and possibly happen again?”

Yazeth: Alvisa looks at Soquan and, though he may be blind, it’s like he can feel her looking at him. “And why did you attack Sola, dear one?” A warning light goes off in Jozra’s head. Jinx never mentioned that Soquan had attacked Sola… What was going on here?

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan closes his eyes for a moment and takes a breath before re-opening them, he ties to make eye contact with the owl as he begins. “I did not attack Sola, nor did I have any intention of going so.”

He pauses. “After Dawn and her friends took Jozra to the safe house, I was left at the bathhouses without any clue as to what in the gods name was going on. I waited for a bit before scoping out the females section. It was empty but I found Jozra’s clothes. That’s when Sola came in. I told her I was looking for a ferret and described Jozra to the best of my abilities. I guess she didn’t realize my lack of vision because she said something about me not being a very good friend if that’s all I can describe.”

He sighs, “I was a bit on edge and I admit, after that I grabbed her. Grabbed her mind you, not attacked. I thought I could maybe make her see why I’m “Obviously not a very good friend then.” After that she bit my paw for me to let go and she ran away before I could say much else… I know it was probably very stupid of me to grab her, I didn’t mean to hurt her if I did, and I’m sorry.”

Yazeth: From where she’s sitting — as far away from Soquan as she can get — Sola sniffs and starts to make a snide comment before she is brought to a grinding halt by Alvisa’s gaze. “Is what Soquan said true? Is it possible you misconstrued his intentions, dear?”

The rattess withers under the owl’s gaze and stutters out a pathetic, “…yes…”

Alvisa returns her attention to Kirrian. “Then they did not both attack members of your staff, correct?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian stands pointing to Jozra while looking at Alvsia. “Okay, so the otter may not’ve attacked Sola but she still attacked Dawn! She is a danger to everyone in the city and we will not be safe until she and the otter are out of our city limits!”

Soquan gives the lowest of growls and springs to his paws. “Now you wait just a second! Jozra is NOT a threat! She…she…” His blind world actually manages to tilt and the otter sways. “She’s not…” It happens again, except this time the otter crumples to the ground.

Yazeth: Jozra’s brain fires impulses to her limbs but they only respond marginally and she ends up sort of slouching towards Soquan instead of lunging to catch him like her brain obviously intended.

Fiarah, however, is quicker and though she’s not close enough to catch him, per se, she does manage to slip on a pillow and accidentally-on-purpose kick it under Soquan’s head before it hits the hard stone floor.

Alvisa takes a moment to sum up the situation and then gives a low hoot, a summons to the hare.

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah scrambles to her paws and to the otter’s side. She checks his vitals quickly before looking up at Alvisa. “With everything that’s been going on for the two, Soquan hasn’t slept much, and I’m guessing he hasn’t eaten much either. There’s nothing really wrong with him, it’s just all caught up with him is all.”

Yazeth: The owl smiles gently at the vixen before turning and addressing the hare that quickly returned from wherever he had been keeping himself. “Trendorn, the blue tea, if you please.” The hare bows and goes to fetch whatever it was his mistress requested.  Alvisa turns her head back to Fiarah, “Make him comfortable as you see fit, dear healer. He may rest for now as I do not believe we need his testimony currently.”

Arrin Woodgreen: With a nod, Fiarah gathers a few of the extra pillows from around the room. She makes them out into a bed-ish type thing and looks towards Deke and Nolan. “Hey! Muscle One and Two, get over here and help me move him will you?”

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan glance at each other, shrug, and move to help Fiarah. Gently they lift the sleeping otter and place him on the makeshift bed and then they return to where they had been sitting. Jozra feels woefully incompetent as she can do very little to help out other than twitch a couple of pillows into position.

Alvisa looks towards Kirrian once again. “As you were saying?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Her gaze drifts from Alvisa and she glares at the otter and the ferret for a moment before replying, an undoubtedly spiteful tone in her voice. “They’re both dangerous and should be run out of town.”

Yazeth: If Alvisa is irritated by Kirrian’s purely judgmental statement, she doesn’t let it show. Instead she looks to Jozra. “Would you be so kind as to explain your actions, my dear?”

Jozra, looking more like some sort of ruffian than ever with sunken eyes and matted fur, gives a very slight, mirthless grin and begins to speak but is interrupted before she can go anywhere by yet another fit of coughing.

After a moment, she is able to speak.  “Quite simply, I was being held against my will. I had tried reasoning with Kirrian and Dawn, explaining that they had gotten my situation all wrong. When they continued to hassle me about it, I lost my temper. I assure you, my intent was only to scare Dawn a little, not harm her, and knock enough sense into these… biddies so that Soquan and I could leave.”

The ferret casts a dark look in Kirrian’s direction. “And it’s not like she is completely innocent either… Any particular reason why you had us followed?” The last is directed at Kirrian, who suddenly can’t seem to keep her ears from turning pink.

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian regains her composure quickly and continues to glare at Jozra. “I sent those beasts to follow you to make sure what I thought about the otter was wrong.” She pauses. “Now that we’re being open with each other, I have a few questions.”

“It’s common for a traveler to carry a few knives is it not? Well while your things were being washed, our laundry assistant found at least ten knives hidden in each of your shirts. Care to explain? Or would you rather explain why a black-footed ferret is doing this far from the desert? Or possibly this?” She pulls something out of her belt pouch and slides it across the floor to Jozra, a smug look on her face.

Yazeth: If Kirrian was hoping to get some sort of visible reaction from Jozra, she failed. Actually, the ferret did pale slightly but it was unnoticeable to all but the most well trained observers as not only is the room still quite dim but the ferret is already pale as it is.

Not a flinch, though. They train those Scorpions well. Jozra gazes at Kirrian levelly and responds to each question in reverse order. “This…” She picks up the pendant and slips it around her neck “…was a gift from Soquan this past SpringFest. I’m not sure why he chose a scorpion but I’m afraid asking him would hurt his feelings.”

“My family emigrated from the desert before I was born, they tell me about sand storms and dunes but I’ve never seen them. The only reason I conceal my black feet is because other beasts tend to jump to conclusions, like you just did. And I find it best to travel prepared. There’s a lot of bandits here up North and before I met Soquan, I traveled alone.”

Jozra continues to hold Kirrian’s gaze as the vixen grows more flustered, the ferret’s eyes betraying none of her thoughts, which went along the lines of, “She knows, or thinks she knows too much. We may just have to have a Talk before I leave town…”  The stare down is interrupted as Trendorn returns with the ‘blue tea’ that Alvisa had requested.

“Set it near the otter so he may breathe the steam. Thank you, Trendorn, that will be all.”  Having regained every beast’s attention, Alvisa quietly gazes at Jozra for a while, long enough for the ferret to grow uncomfortable for many reasons, but it’s a perfectly acceptable response. Alvisa shifts her gaze to Kirrian. “The ferret’s actions may have been a little extreme but have you any reason to doubt what she said then and what she says now?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian lowers her gaze to the floor. “I’m sorry Priestess, I had no reason to treat either of them that way.” From beside Jozra, the tea seems to have worked, Soquan now groans and tries to sit himself up.

Yazeth: Jozra turns towards Soquan at the same moment their concerned doctor moves to help the otter. Alvisa waves the vixen away, however. “Give him a moment, dear. Take all of the time that you need, Soquan. There is no hurry. In a moment you might try drinking the tea, it should clear your thoughts and get you where you need to be safely.”

Alvisa returns her attention to the group at large. “Now, it appears that the issue has been settled. I have one remaining query: where shall these two travelers stay while they recuperate?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Joseph pipes up from an obscure corner of the room as Soquan manages to heave himself into a sitting position. “I-I don’t mind having the two at, at my place. I r-rather enjoy the, the company.” Soquan grins at Joseph from overtop his cup as he takes a sip.

Yazeth: Alvisa smiles benevolently at the mouse. “Then this dispute has been resolved successfully. Now, if you please, my dears, I would have a word alone with the two travelers. The rest of you may wait in the antechamber is you wish. Deke, Nolan, perhaps you should wait so that you may help Jozra and Soquan back to Joseph’s in a moment.”

Arrin Woodgreen: The muscle nods and steps out of the room with almost everyone else. Soquan listens to the shuffling and movement of everyone as he drains the rest of his tea. He looks towards Alvaisa. “Sorry I blacked out, I hope I didn’t disturb things too much.”

Yazeth: The snowy owl smiles at the otter. “Do not worry, my dear. It seems you have had a trying few days. Once you return to Joseph’s, however, I strongly suggest that you take the time to get the rest that you need.”

“Now, once you feel strong enough, I would like you to join me across the room. I would like to speak to each of you individually.” At that, the owl turns and moves away from the two, making just enough noise that the blind otter would be able to follow her path.

Arrin Woodgreen: After a few moments the otter finds his strength and he stands. He stays still for a few minutes, finding his balance before walking across the room to the priestess. “That tea works wonders.”

Yazeth: The owl nods pleasantly at the otter. “Too much of it too often can be harmful, but it will help where it is needed. Now, I have some words for you before you leave.”

Alvisa pauses a moment to make sure she has the otter’s full attention. What light there is in the room reflects strangely off of the owl’s large eyes and she begins to speak firmly but quietly, so as not to be overheard. “You have more family than you realize, my dear.  You are doing so much for your friend but soon you will have to choose.

If you choose her you must be patient and forgiving, she has need of you now and she will have need of you in the future. But take heart, my dear, you are not as alone as you may believe that you are.”

The priestess exhales softly but continues before Soquan can string any words together to question the owl. “I would like for you to remain here for a moment to think upon what I have said while I speak to your fellow traveler.”

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter nods somewhat dumbly at the owl’s words and his brow furrows slightly as he rattles all that through his brain again.

Yazeth: Jozra’s attempts to listen in on the conversation at first, but quickly finds it to be futile, as well as exhausting. She considers the possible problem with Kirrian until the owl leaves Soquan and comes to speak with the ferret. Jozra soon finds herself under Alvisa’s piercing gaze again. She squirms uncomfortably for a moment and then the priestess begins to speak.

“Your companion is more loyal than anyone you have met. Do not underestimate the lengths he is willing to go for you, not believing in something does not mean that it is not so. There will come a time where you can no longer walk alone but first, there is a chance at northern redemption.”

The ferret’s mind clamors, particularly at the last. She attempts to get information from the owl that is less vague but the best she can manage is a hoarse “Wha…” before the owl speaks again.

“Think hard upon what I have said here today. Now, if you are feeling well enough to journey back to the house of Joseph, you may do so, and remember, in times of great need, this temple is open to you.” The last is spoken loud enough for both the ferret and otter to hear, and then the owl retires into the darkened room before either of them can interject a word.

Arrin Woodgreen: He remains in thought for just a few moments more, murmuring bits and pieces of what the owl said quietly to himself. After a bit longer, he rises and looks towards the ferret. “Ready to go Joz?”

Yazeth: Jozra’s brow is furrowed ferociously as she tries to decipher Alvisa’s message, particularly the last part. She starts at Soquan’s voice and then nods. She gestures him over and then catches herself in the process. “Over this way, Soq.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He makes his way towards the ferret’s voice, shuffling around pillows and whatnot. He picks up his staff and braces himself before helping her onto her feet.

Yazeth: The ferret carefully gets to her feet and holds on to the otter for support as she  waits for her head to adjust to the altitude again. She takes a couple of short steps towards the exit. “Straight ahead, Soq.”

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/329/feed 0 Chapter 56: Kirrian The Persistant https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/327 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/327#respond Mon, 21 Apr 2014 11:00:15 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=327

Continue reading]]> Chapter 56: Kirrian The Persistant

In Which Sola Doesn’t Always Rise With The Dawn .

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Arrin Woodgreen: The two sleep through what’s left of the night and well into the morning when Kirrian arrives. They do not even wake up, in fact, when she knocks loudly on Joseph’s door.

Yazeth: The mouse of the house, on the other hand, does hear the knocking, as does Fiarah. Jinx, being young and not a normally early riser in the first place, sleeps blissfully on. Joseph hastily throws on a robe and shuffles towards the door. “C, coming!”

Arrin Woodgreen: The knocking on the other side of the door continues, louder this time, as Kirrian grows impatient on the doorstep.

Yazeth: Joseph mutters almost unintelligibly under his breath as he ties the cord around his waist. “Keep your pants on, I said I was coming…” At that moment he reaches the door and opens it. “Er, er, hello?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian stands in the doorway angrily, flanked on one side by Sola and Dawn with Deke and Nolan on the other side. She says, “It’s morning. Let’s go.”

Yazeth: The mouse sighs and glances about the room, noticing the otter and ferret still sound asleep. “No, nobody else is, er, is awake yet.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian harrumphs and pushes her way into the healer’s house. “Lazy slackers!”

Yazeth: Joseph looks frantically as the five push past him. He scurries after them protesting. “It was a long night! We-we still had to, had to deal with dinner after you left!” He catches a glimpse of the outdoors, noting the darkness still out there. “The, the sun hasn’t even risen yet!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian frowns. “I’m a busy vixen! I don’t have much time for dealing with delinquents! I want to get this over with now and I want them out of this town now!”

Yazeth: Fiarah appears at the doorway to the other bedroom and growls ever so softly at her sister. “I never knew you to be such an early riser when we were pups, Kirrian. This is two days in a row now that you’re up before the dawn.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian growls back a reply, “I wake as I please. What does it matter to you anyway what time I get up in the morning?”

Yazeth: Fiarah fails in an attempt to stifle a yawn. “Just that by most beasts standards this still counts as night.” Her gaze falls on Sola, who has a slight reputation about the safe house of consistently sleeping through breakfast.

Arrin Woodgreen: Sola shrinks back at Fiarah’s gaze and Kirrian shrugs. “To Alvisa it’s her daytime.”

Yazeth: Unfortunately, neither Joseph nor Fiarah can really argue with that, though Fiarah tries. “Yes but she does keep certain hours to advise her diurnal followers.” In the other room, Jinx snores on blissfully.

Arrin Woodgreen: Dawn pipes up from Kirrian’s side. “I’d hate to agree with THEM but maybe we should let them rest some more.”

Yazeth: Fiarah quirks an eyebrow at the rattess, surprised by her support. Sure she would have expected something like that from Dysa, but Dawn? The vixen glances at Deke and Nolan before looking to her sister again.

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sputters. “But, but… Just look at them! The lazy beasts have probably been sleeping every chance they get! “

Yazeth: Fiarah glares. “WHICH, I might mention, have been few and far between, at least for the otter. Jozra needs all of the sleep she can get.” Joseph, long since forgotten by the others in the room, has been busying himself with readying some tea. From experience he knows that he won’t get any more sleep this morning.

Arrin Woodgreen: Deke speaks, “Maybe we should let ‘dem sleep? Ya?”

Yazeth: Across the room, Jozra coughs in her sleep and twitches a little before settling back into sleep. Fiarah is not quite as surprised by Deke’s support. Despite being Kirrian’s lackey, the stoat tends to have a pretty level head on his shoulders. “At least another couple of hours, Kirrian. Farmers don’t get up this early.” Well, some farmers do, but Fiarah won’t mention that.

Arrin Woodgreen: At this time, Jinx shuffles into the room, rubbing her eyes tiredly, with a sleepy yawn. “What’s goin’ on, why is it so loud in here?” Soquan mutters something sleepily at Jozra’s side and moves closer to the sleeping ferret.

Yazeth: Fiarah simply gestures in Kirrian’s direction for Jinx’s benefit. “Just another couple of hours, Kirrian. It’s still dark out and Alvisa often doesn’t come back until dawn.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx’s attention is shifted over to the sleeping pair a little ways off. “Maybe we should go into the other room. Y’know, and let these two sleep?”

Yazeth: Kirrian scowls. “You’re just stalling, sister dear.” The vixen narrows her eyes at the pair in bed. “I’ve half a mind to just haul them next door.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah scowls in return. “If you try to, I’ll be forced to stop you. Now, dear sister, if you would just step into the next room please.” She steps towards the door, along with Jinx.

Yazeth: While Deke and Nolan look ready to follow Fiarah and Jinx, Kirrian plants her feet and crosses her arms. “This… issue needs to be resolved NOW.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Deke gives Nolan a look, and Nolan nods. Both beasts move towards Kirrian and lift her, carrying her into the next room.

Yazeth: Dawn follows the strange procession, rather unsure if she should go to her protesting mistress’ aid. Sola remains hunkered in the doorway for a minute, and then scuttles quickly to bring up the rear. Fiarah just looks on in amazement as Kirrian rages against her own bodyguards.

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah and the rest of the currently conscious beasts follow the muscle into the room.

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan set the very flustered Kirrian down and for a moment she just stands in the center of the room glaring at everybody. At this precise moment, Joseph decides to stick his head in. “Do-does anybeast want some, some tea?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah turns to Joseph. “Yes please.” This is followed by a chorus of more affirmative answers.

Yazeth: Joseph nods and ducks back out to heat up enough water. It takes another moment for Kirrian to untie her tongue and start lashing everyone within sight with it. “HOW DARE YOU?!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx yelps softly as Kirrian starts yelling and ducks behind the nearest beast, Deke.

Yazeth: The vixen snarls at Deke and Nolan. “YOU’RE BOTH FIRED! And YOU!” She rounds on the other vixen in the room.

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah blinks and takes a step back from Kirrian, wiping spittle from her face. In the next room Soquan shifts a bit and groans, the sound of yelling reaching his ears and bringing him closer to consciousness.

Yazeth: Kirrian takes a step forward for Fiarah’s step back and shoves her snarling muzzle in her sister’s face, her voice alternating between a growling whisper and a shout. “You! You’ve always been out to ruin me… Ruin my dreams and undermine MY AUTHORITY!!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan growls softly as he realizes the yelling is coming from within the house, from the next room even. He squeezes his eyes shut. Why couldn’t they just let him and Jozra rest?

He moves from out of the bed, careful not to wake up the ferret beside him. He strides over to the door with as much grace as a blind beast can have and flings it open. He had recognized Kirrian’s voice the moment he had woken and he snarls on her direction, sending Dawn and the other rattess scrambling.

“YOU AGAIN! Who do you think you are? Just waltzing in here and SHOUTING like you just were. There is a SICK BEAST in the next room, and she’s trying to rest.” He snarls again, “I just got her to sleep TWO hours ago, and if you just expect me to STAND BY and do nothing, you better think again, ’cause if you don’t BE QUIET, I’ll show you just how VIOLENT I CAN be!”

Yazeth: Everybody in the room jerks back a step or two, the first to recover being Fiarah, who smacks her palm to her brow and shakes her head. The otter is not helping the situation, indeed, he’s just verified the claim that he is a violent beast.

Kirrian is right behind her sister in terms of regaining her wits and she can’t seem to keep a smug expression off her face as she says, “You see? He admits to being violent!”

In the other room, huddled under a number of blankets, seasons of training awaken and drag with them a certain ferret’s consciousness. A familiar voice in what could be trouble…  Jozra cracks her eyelids open in an automatic response to acclimate her eyes to the light before fully awakening.

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter growls again. “I didn’t admit to being anything, I’m just saying that if you don’t be quiet I might have to forcefully silence you.” He falls silent, grumbling slightly as he paws sleep from his eyes.

Yazeth: This part of the conversation reaches the Scorpion’s ears and she groans, vaguely recalling something about seeing some priestess. Kirrian must be here. Sure enough, Kirrian’s voice is the next thing she hears. “Frankly, I don’t see what the point of waiting is anymore.”

The vixen sounds mighty smug which irks the ferret who quietly flings a few coarse desert words at Kirrian. “Sand-storming thorn…” It takes a couple of attempts for Jozra to rasp Soquan’s name loud enough for him to hear it.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan’s mouth opens for him to berate Kirrian further, but he stops, mid-word as he catches Jozra calling for him. He sends a baleful glare towards Kirrian, along with a low, warning growl and slips into the other room, limping back towards the bed. “You should be resting, why don’t you go back to sleep, hun?”

Yazeth: The ferret quirks an eyebrow at the otter and rasps perhaps the most logical argument yet. “Sleep? With that shouting? I’m awake now, so lets do this… thing.” She waves a paw vaguely. “Whatever it is.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He frowns, bowing his head. “I’m sorry if I woke you. It’s just… they were yelling, and I didn’t want them to wake you. I guess I just got angry.” He pauses a moment.  “Are you sure you want to go to the Priestess now? Do you need help?”

Yazeth: The murmuring in the main room piques the interest of those in the other room. Fiarah is the first to poke her head out to see what’s going on, though Jinx isn’t too far behind. Joseph, practical as always, leans out of the kitchen and addresses Jozra. “W-would you like some tea, dear?”

The ferret nods her assent to the mouse before grabbing Soquan’s arm to pull herself into a sitting position. “I’m not sure I want to go to a Priestess ever, but if it’ll stop everybody from shouting…” She’s interrupted briefly by a fit of coughing, “…then let’s go.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He helps the ferret rise to her feet and holds her steady as she readies herself. He stays silent though, ashamed of his previous outburst.

Yazeth: Joseph distributes mugs of tea to the oddly silent beasts in the house. Even Kirrian feels somewhat… Well, not ashamed, but kind of put-out by the ferret’s complacency. Tea distributed, Joseph retrieves a fresh robe from the closet, one of a cut less likely to look out of place outside the house.

Arrin Woodgreen: Still offhandedly supporting Jozra, he sips his tea silently. His thoughts wander as he mentally berates himself for loosing his temper.

Yazeth: Several minutes later, Jozra is dressed in the new robe and she sits on the bed slowly sipping her tea. She quirks an eyebrow as Fiarah, Kirrian and the others slowly filter into the room. After a moment she asks in a gravelly voice, “So where is it we’re going?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah sips her tea and replies. “We’re going to go see Priestess Alvasia. She’s going to settle this once and for all.” Jinx nods a confirmation.

Yazeth: The ferret nods, drains her tea, chokes a little on the dregs and after a severe coughing fit wheezes, “Then lets go.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan, who had been seated beside her, rises and offers Jozra his arm to help her up. Kirrian harrumphs, “About time.”

Yazeth: The ferret, too exhausted to take any serious offense, merely quirks an eyebrow at Kirrian. “Imp- *cough!* -atient thing aren’t you?”

The comment, like everything else the ferret’s been saying, is spoken in a rasp, probably too low for the vixen to hear, but it’s the thought that counts, yes?

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter, who has heard the ferret’s comment, despite her rasp, chuckles softly and replies to the ferret’s comment, leaning over to whisper in her ear. “I guess we better get going then before this one gives herself a heart attack eh?” He motions subtly to Kirrian.

Yazeth: Jozra’s lips twitch upwards briefly. She grabs a hold of Soquan’s upper arm in order to pull herself up and finds herself having a much harder time of it than she expected.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan turns to assist his companion, helping to the point of lifting the ferret from her seated position and placing her on her feet. He holds most her weight, allowing her to ease herself to the ground as gingerly and slowly as she thinks suitable. His expression has turned back to one of concern. “You alright?”

Yazeth: Jozra nods shortly, more than a little unhappy with the fact that she can’t even seem to stand upright by herself. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter nods at her and speaks in a soft undertone. “Just let me know if you need me to carry you or anything.”

Kirrian gives a shout from the door, “Come ON! Let’s GO!” She then proceeds to sneer at the two, striding out the door and quickly followed by her four companions.

Yazeth: Fiarah put her head in her paw and mutters darkly about her sister under her breath. Jinx catches a bit of it and promptly stops her giggling when the vixen shoots a withering glare at the young ferret. The older ferret, on the other hand, is merely concentrating on putting one paw in front of the other.

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/327/feed 0 Chapter 54: On The Mend https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/323 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/323#respond Wed, 16 Apr 2014 11:00:08 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=323

Continue reading]]> Chapter 54: On The Mend

In Which Permanent Is Better Than Temporary.

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Yazeth: Fiarah breathes a sigh of relief before turning to Joseph. “What do you think Alvisa will say?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan shrugs. “I hope she listens to reason. She probably does if she’s at such a high place of command.”

Yazeth: The mouse nods. “Alvisa is very, very even, er, handed when it comes to these things.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “Good.”

Yazeth: Fiarah sighs and sinks into Joseph’s chair. “I’m afraid I must apologize for my sister. She’s always been very strong willed.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shrugs. “It’s not your fault.”

Yazeth: The vixen shrugs helplessly. “Still…” She turns to Jozra. “She shouldn’t have said those things about you. I don’t know what she was thinking.” Jozra does, but she tries not to let it show. She smiles slightly at the vixen. “It’s alright…” She trails off into a short fit of coughing that leaves her winded.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan pats her back gently as she coughs and lays her back as she finishes. “Rest up, I’ll be no more than an earshot away.”

Yazeth: Jozra nods weakly and shuts her eyes in exhaustion. Jinx saunters up to Fiarah and says quietly, “Do you suppose we should help her re-dye her fur?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan hears their whispering and noting that Jozra is now asleep pipes up. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

Yazeth: Jinx beams at Soquan. “Do you know where she keeps her dyes?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shakes his head. “No, in her pack I’m guessing, but she said she was pretty much out of them.”

Yazeth:  “Oh.” The young ferret mulls this over but is interrupted by Fiarah. “No problem. I know where to get some more permanent dyes that should work just a well, if not better.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “She’d love that.”

Yazeth: Fiarah smiles. “How about you stay here and help Joseph put together some dinner for all of us. I’ll be back with the dye.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins and Jinx nods.

Yazeth: The vixen smiles back before exiting the house. Joseph, who’s been feeling like a mole in a tree for the past few minutes despite being the ‘host,’ finally has something to do. “Er, I suppose we could make a, ah, a stew. Is the bakery still open at this, this hour?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan shrugs. “I dunno.”

Yazeth: Jinx shrugs as well. “If not I could probably swipe some bread from the safe house.” She grins before catching sight of Jozra who’s staring dully off into space. “What about you, Jozra. Would you like some more soup?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns to listen to his friend’s answer.

Yazeth: It takes a second or two for the sleepy ferret to realize she’s being addressed. “Um…” She blinks sleepily, trying to figure out if she’s hungry or not. “Soup would be nice.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “Think you can feed yourself this time?”

Yazeth: The ferret nods slightly. “Probably.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “It’s good to know you’re getting your strength back.”

Yazeth: Jinx trots into the kitchen to help Joseph heat up some more soup for Jozra, who smiles weakly at Soquan’s comment.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sits on the edge of the bed again, thinking.

Yazeth: Jinx soon returns with a bowl full of soup for Jozra. “Here you go. I’m going to go run and see if I can get us some hot rolls.” Jozra, who has since sat up, tentatively takes the bowl, sloshing only a little bit of the soup as she settles the bowl on her lap.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan waits to see if she needs his help.

Yazeth: The ferret, with a little difficulty, is able to manage on her own, though she eats slowly, concentrating on not spilling the bowl or what’s in the spoon.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins at her. “How is it?”

Yazeth: She pauses between spoonfuls to answer. “Pretty good.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “Good.”

Yazeth: A few moments later, as Jozra debates trying to get the last of the soup out of the bowl with the spoon or just drinking the rest right out of the bowl, Fiarah and Jinx return.  They walk into the house as Fiarah comments, “You know, I could have picked up the bread. Nobody said anything about groceries though.”

Arrin Woodgreen: His ears perk up and he listens as the two enter the house.

Yazeth: Jinx hops into the kitchen to set down the still steaming loaf of bread before returning to take Jozra’s empty bowl. Fiarah unwraps a package and lines up a series of little jars on the counter. “Ah good, you’re awake. We thought perhaps you’d want to dye your fur again.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns to catch Jozra’s reaction.

Yazeth: Jozra’s rather surprised. She didn’t expect this. “But what about Kirrian? If we have to go to the temple tomorrow won’t she say something?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns back to the fox and younger ferret.

Yazeth: Fiarah shakes her head. “I don’t think it matters what Kirrian says. The only ones who noticed besides us were Dysa, Kirrian, Nolan and Deke. The other three probably won’t say anything if that’s what you’re worried about and Kirrian, well, it seems she has a vendetta against you in the first place so I don’t think that really matters.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan nods in agreement.

Yazeth: Jozra thinks about this for a bit. In the end she decides that Fiarah’s probably right and anything Kirrian could say wouldn’t be as bad as risking other beasts finding out and possibly talking about ‘that unusual ferret with black feet.’  “Okay. Ah, how do these dyes work?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He listens.

Yazeth: Fiarah glances at the bottles. “Well, they’re liquid dyes that you just rub into your fur and let dry. They’re rather permanent though. Either the color grows out or you scrub it out with a lot of soap root.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He looks back to Jozra. “I told them you needed more.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods. “I do, though mine are powdered and, er, rather temporary. Permanent will be much better.”

Yazeth: The vixen nods. “If you’re feeling well enough to stand up for a bit, we could do this now.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He waits for an answer.

Yazeth: The ferret nods hesitantly. “I suppose so.” She swings her feet over the side of the bed and begins to stand before doubling over in a coughing fit.

Arrin Woodgreen: He moves quickly over to her side to help support her.

Yazeth: Jozra gasps her thanks once she can breathe again. She uses Soquan to help haul herself upright and props herself against him.

Arrin Woodgreen: He supports the ferret’s weight and helps her towards the others.

Yazeth: Though Jinx has been in the kitchen the whole time, she’s had her ear on the other room. Now she tells Joseph to stay in the kitchen and walks into the main room drawing curtains over the windows as she goes. Joseph mutters something about having seen plenty of nude patients to himself but is content with cooking dinner.

Arrin Woodgreen: He continues to support her after they have arrived.

Yazeth: Jinx helps Jozra out of her robe as Fiarah asks how the dye should be applied.  After a moment of thought Jozra instructs the vixen. “Lighter paws and tail tip… If you can, see if you can make them match the rest of my fur. If not we may need to darken my back and sides a little. The mask is tricky. It needs to be lighter, especially across my muzzle but the white patches need to go away.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He stands patiently, listening to the conversations between them.

Yazeth: Fiarah nods in understanding and un-stoppers one of the bottles. She pours a little bit of dye onto one of Jozra’s paw and rubs it in. “Lets see if this gets your paws light enough.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Now off in his own world, Soquan hums a song softly.

Yazeth: The dye dries quickly and soon it’s evident that the light-colored dye turns the ferret’s darker patches of fur a color closer to that of the rest of her body. Jinx laughs as she points out the light patches of fur on the vixen’s paws.

Arrin Woodgreen: He continues to hum, still offhandedly supporting his friend.

Yazeth: Soon Jozra’s paws and tail tip are all a lighter color. Fiarah pauses for a moment, uncapping another bottle. “I knew it was a good idea to get a few of each color.” She begins the detail work on the ferret’s mask.

Arrin Woodgreen: After the task is done, Soquan’s attention is back at the group, he grins at Jozra. “Like the dye job?”

Yazeth: The ferret looks into a mirror that Jinx has produced from another room before nodding. “It looks good, probably even better than some of my hasty dye jobs. Is it dry enough for me to put the robe back on?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shrugs. “Feels like it to me.” He looks to Fiarah and Jinx for confirmation.

Yazeth: Fiarah nods. “I believe so. It dries rather quickly.” Jinx retrieves Jozra’s robe and helps her back into it.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins once she’s robed and scoops up, carrying her back to her bed.

Yazeth: Jozra protests weakly, certain she can walk back to the bed but too weary to really insist on the matter.

Arrin Woodgreen: He chuckles slightly at her protests and lays her down, pulling the blankets up around her.

Yazeth: Jozra hunkers down in the blankets, yawning widely, as Jinx and Fiarah head into the kitchen to check on the status of dinner.

Arrin Woodgreen: He tucks her in and whispers softly to her. “Get a full night’s sleep, I’ll be right here to keep away you nightmares.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods sleepily. “Okay.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He gives her an encouraging grin and slumps into the chair beside her bed with a yawn.

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/323/feed 0 Chapter 53: Feuding https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/321 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/321#respond Mon, 14 Apr 2014 11:00:42 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=321

Continue reading]]> Chapter 53: Feuding

In Which Kirrian Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone.

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Arrin Woodgreen: He starts as the knock is heard. Realizing their rather awkward position, he clears his throat a bit and pulls away from her grasp slightly. He looks towards the door, waiting.

Yazeth: Once again Jinx and Fiarah let themselves in before Joseph can get to the door.  The vixen smiles apologetically at the mouse healer. “Sorry, didn’t want to risk being seen waiting out on the stoop.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan gives a bit of a grin and greets the two. “Hullo again.”

Yazeth: Fiarah greets Soquan and smiles gently at Jozra. “It’s good to see you awake.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grins a bit, staying silent so his companion can reply.

Yazeth: Jozra grins weakly, entirely too self conscious and terribly confused as to what just happened. “Ah, pleased to meet you.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan attempts to slip out of the blankets. “Did you have trouble getting away from the safe-house?”

Yazeth: Jinx grins at Fiarah before answering for her. “Just the trouble of coming up with a good excuse to be in town for a while.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He gives a chuckle. “I see.”

Yazeth: The younger ferret quirks an eyebrow at the older one in amusement as she accurately reads Jozra’s expression of confusion and embarrassment. Jinx says nothing, however, and instead saunters into the kitchen and pokes around for something to eat.  Joseph, who has been standing rather helplessly in the middle of the room, suddenly has a thought. “Oh, oh! Your, your foot S-soquan. I-I keep forgetting to, er, to look at it.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He’s a bit bemused by this and it take him a while to realize what the mouse is talking about. “What? Oh, right, my foot.”

Yazeth: Fiarah pulls up a chair for the mouse, assuming the otter will sit on the bed and then stands attentively, ready to give any aid her mentor requires.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan does indeed sit on the end of the bed and waits for the healer to also have a seat.

Yazeth:  Joseph settles himself in the chair and gently pulls Soquan’s bandaged foot towards him. He unwraps the bandages and examines the cut in the paw, noting that it could have been much more severe than it is.

He is just about to ask Fiarah to prepare a fresh poultice to put on the paw when a heavy knocking comes at his door.

Before anyone can respond to it, the door is flung open from the outside by Deke revealing a very irate Kirrian. Soquan overhears the normally very mild mannered mouse mutter irritably to himself, “I’ve got to put a lock on that door.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan’s on his feet right away, his paw going for his staff. Once it is in his paws, he waits fully prepared to defend himself and Jozra.

Yazeth: Kirrian stalks into the house, glaring at her sister who stands firmly by the bed. “You…  I ordered them out and this is what you do? Help them behind my back?!”  Fiarah’s lip curls automatically at her sister. “What did you expect me to do?! Just dump them on the street in the rain without any aid?” The vixen points sharply at Jozra. “She nearly DIED thanks to you ordering them out!!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He snarls silently, his grip tightening on his staff.

Yazeth: Kirrian glares at her sister, sure Fiarah is exaggerating, but then does a double-take when she catches sight of Jozra’s full mask and black paws. She also notes that the ferret is conscious as well. “Surely you exaggerate, sister. That ferret tried to harm one of my girls and who knows what else. She’s probably on the run from somewhere if she’s been disguising herself.”

Jozra can only stare at Kirrain in horror, not that the vixen notices. She can’t know! SANDSTORMS! She should have pretended to be asleep!

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter gives a much, much louder snarl this time and he crosses the room, grabbing Kirrian’s collar roughly. “How can you brush that aside so lightly? You nearly KILLED my best friend! And the only reason she ‘attacked’ one of your girls is because you were all too pig-headed to listen to either her or me and wouldn’t let her go!”

Yazeth: Deke quickly moves to protect his mistress but it’s Jozra that calls the otter off.  She rasps his name. “Let her alone…  It doesn’t matter anymore.”

It suddenly occurs to her that it doesn’t. She’s doomed but Soquan isn’t. Best keep him out of trouble.

Jinx, who had slunk back into the room at the commotion, catches the tinge of hopelessness in the other ferret’s voice and shoots a worried glance at Jozra.

Arrin Woodgreen: He releases the vixen at Jozra’s command and shoots Kirran a dirty look as he growls softly and returns to Jozra’s side.

Yazeth: Kirrian gestures at the otter, glaring at Fiarah as though everything in the entire world were her fault. “You see?! This is why I had them kicked out! They must leave!” At this comment Joseph stands to address the vixen, astonished that she would kick someone out of his house. “You, you can’t kick them out of, out of my house…”

Arrin Woodgreen: He growls again. “Is there a rule against defending you friend?”

Yazeth: Kirrian glares at Soquan now, she didn’t invite him to the conversation. “There’s a rule against assaulting other beasts!” She turns back to Joseph. “They’re dangerous beasts, they must leave!” Even Joseph’s hackles rise at this comment, but it’s clever Jinx that has a solution. The young ferret casually pipes up. “Joseph, your house is a part of the Solstice Temple, right?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan blinks a few times, confused as to where this is going.

Yazeth:  Joseph is as well but he nods jerkily. “Y-yes. Alvisa thought it would be a, a good idea to have a healer with, ah, near the temple.”  Jozra is still somewhat panicky but she’s trained well enough to notice Jinx’s sudden, very deliberate, hijacking of the conversation. Kirrian now turns her glare to Jinx. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything, child.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan’s frown deepens as his listens, his brow furrowing.

Yazeth: Jinx smiles disarmingly. “Well it seems to me that this is a Temple matter then.  Perhaps we should take it up with Priestess Alvisa.”

Kirrian’s eyes narrow but Jozra catches a glimpse of fear in the vixen’s eyes. Fiarah recalled her promise to herself to never underestimate Jinx again when the jill began to speak and now can see exactly where this is going. She smiles to herself before turning to her sister. “Yes, we should take this up with Alvisa.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan quirks an eyebrow, listening further.

Yazeth: Kirrian is startled by this turn of events and nervous that they may not be bluffing. No matter who was in charge of what officially, in the end it all boiled down to the snowy owl’s quiet authority over everything in Kodan. It was Alvisa that approved the plan for the safe house, Kirrian’s whole life, and should she suddenly find fault with it…  “I, I don’t think that’s totally necessary.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan chuckles softly, crossing his arms. “I say we take this up with the priestess, that way she can settle this once and for all.”

Yazeth: Kirrian turns on the otter, seething, but four votes beats three. Deke is rather oblivious to the conversation going on but of course he has to side with his mistress and Jozra, well, she just doesn’t want anymore trouble but she keeps her mouth shut. Joseph glances at Jozra and then back at Fiarah. “Per, perhaps I should stay here with her…”

Arrin Woodgreen: He suddenly gets an idea. “Why don’t we wait ’till tomorrow? That way Jozra has time to recuperate and we can all head out to this Alvisa’s place.”

Yazeth: Kirrian is about to protest as a matter of principle when it occurs to her that this would give her more time to prepare her argument and come across as a calm and rational beast. Besides, even Deke has this look about him as though he’s unwilling to force the obviously unwell ferret out of her bed. “Fine.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “Alright. Now leave.”

Yazeth: The vixen bristles at the otter’s tone but says nothing as she turns on her heel and stalks to the door. After a moment, Deke shrugs and follows her.

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/321/feed 0 Chapter 51: Dark Forest https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/317 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/317#respond Wed, 09 Apr 2014 11:00:59 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=317

Continue reading]]> Chapter 51: Dark Forest

In Which Things Take A Turn For The Worse.

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Yazeth: Joseph putters quietly about the kitchen before briefly retreating to his bedroom to dress for the day. He pays a visit to his herb garden, harvesting some leaves and removing snails. By this time the sun has been fully up for about an hour and he decides to check the ferret’s condition again.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is still sleeping. He has moved a little though, and now sleeps beside the ferret rather than underneath.

Yazeth: Placing a paw on the ferret’s nose, the mouse frowns. Despite the tea her temperature has climbed. Preoccupied by worrying a little about this fact, Joseph is startled when a swift, muffled knock comes at his door.

Arrin Woodgreen: He mumbles something in his sleep as the knock sounds and he snuggles closer to the feverish ferret.

Yazeth: The beast on the other side doesn’t even bother waiting for the healer mouse to open the door. Instead, Fiarah lets herself in, with Jinx trailing behind swiftly. The vixen grins at her mentor. “Finally able to get away without Kirrian noticing. How are they doing?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx peers around Fiarah, searching around the room for the pair of beasts.

Yazeth: The mouse smiles warmly at his protégé. “I didn’t catch the name of your, of your little friend here.” His brow furrows. “Business first. The otter is fine but the ferret…  She, ah, she seems to have developed a fever. While it was still low I gave her some tea to help but it didn’t, it didn’t work, apparently.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx frowns a bit then asks the old mouse. “What about Soquan’s foot? He was limping pretty bad yesterday.”

Yazeth: Joseph blinks at the young ferret for a second. “Oh! The foot!” He frowns in dismay. “I’d, ah, forgotten about, about that. He seemed to, to get around fine while helping me, ah, earlier.”

Arrin Woodgreen: She quirks an eyebrow. “Really? Interesting.”

Yazeth: The mouse moves over to the bed to check on Jozra again, indicating the vixen should feel free to join him and loan her experience.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan begins to wake groggily, the noises around him bringing him closer and closer to consciousness.

Yazeth: Fiarah leans over the bed to check on Jozra. She frowns after a moment, glancing at her mentor. To her surprise, his brow is furrowed with worry. “Her tempera, temperature’s risen in the past few minutes.” Fiarah shakes her head, standing back from the bed. “That’s too high, too fast.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan awakes, propping himself up on an elbow. “What’s too high too fast?”

Yazeth: The vixen frowns and murmurs, “Her temperature…” Joseph wrings his paws. “We should, we should try a larger dose of fevervew.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “Okay… Is she going to be okay?”

Yazeth: Jinx, who had perched herself on a counter in the meantime, watches the conversation intently. Fiarah looks at Joseph who shrugs helplessly. “Fevers, fevers are tricky. Usually, ah, usually the beast will be okay but…” He glances at the vixen.

“But,” she continues for the mouse, “her temperature has risen quite high for such a short amount of time.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods slowly. “Oh…”

Yazeth: Fiarah moves to the counter, gesturing to Jinx. “You can watch while I prepare Jozra’s tea.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Now worried, Soquan checks Jozra’s fever for himself.

Yazeth: The poor ferret’s temperature is quite high, now dangerously high in fact. Even with his lack of medical skills, the otter is sure to feel her pulse racing as well.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan frowns, taking his paw away. “That is hot… Her heart’s going like crazy.”

Yazeth: Joseph looks sharply at the otter. “It, it is?” Fiarah looks perplexed, pausing in the midst of crushing some medicinal leaves. “It wasn’t a minute ago.” The mouse beats the vixen to the ferret’s bedside.

Arrin Woodgreen: He moves back a bit, allowing the mouse to check Jozra over.

Yazeth: Now the healer mouse IS worried. VERY worried. He looks to the vixen, thinking exactly what she’s thinking. “She’s… she’s going into shock.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan listens helplessly. “She’s what?”

Yazeth: Fiarah shakes her head. No time to explain. Jozra’s pulse is too high and her breathing’s thin and reedy. “Jinx, bring some pillows to prop up her feet, now!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan hops out of the bed, listening as the young ferret scampers off to get the pillows.

Yazeth: Jinx returns quickly with the pillows. As Fiarah settles them under the ferret’s legs she looks at the mouse attending to Jozra. “Do you think maybe she was allergic to something in the drink you gave her?”

Arrin Woodgreen: His anxiety barely contained, the otter paces restlessly.

Yazeth: The mouse shakes his head. “It’s possible, ah, but none of the herbs were very, very potent.” His brow furrows in worry.

Arrin Woodgreen: Pace. Sit. Fidget. Pace. Fidget. Pace. Sit. Fidget. Pace.

Yazeth: Fiarah, who had been cooling Jozra’s face with a damp cloth, suddenly glances up at her mentor in horror as the ferret’s breath catches.

Arrin Woodgreen: He stops and stiffens as he senses the sudden increase in tension in the room. “What? What’s wrong?”

Yazeth: Even Jinx sits up and pays attention as a tense look passes between the mouse and the vixen. The elder healer moves to the ferret’s head, ignoring the otter. “Check her airway.” The command is unnecessary, though, for that is what the vixen is doing.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan remains motionless, every bit of his focus aimed at Jozra’s prone form.

Yazeth: The vixen shakes her head in consternation. “Nothing…” Joseph lays his more experienced paw on the ferret’s wrist. The mouse had been an exceptional healer thanks this light touch. “Her blood pressure is too low.”

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter is forgotten as the healers work. “Some poppy might help that,” Fiarah offers.

Yazeth: The mouse nods. “See to it.” Fiarah’s movement is hampered, though, by the breath catching in the ferret’s throat again. This time it stays there.

Arrin Woodgreen: She whirls back around and the four conscious beasts echo the same word. “No!”

Yazeth: Jozra walks along the path, a thought vaguely escaping her grasp. She pauses along the path and in another moment she has the thought by the tail. Quirking an eyebrow and looking about she asks one of the most fundamental questions of the universe, Where the hell am I, and what am I doing here?

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan flies to the bedside. “No! No Jozra!” Joseph quickly checks her over. “She, she’s gone…”

Yazeth: Fiarah shakes her head, a stubborn light suddenly in her eye. “Not if I can help it.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah begins to pump at the ferret’s chest. “C’mon, c’mon…” She plugs Jozra’s nostrils and breathes air into her lungs.

Yazeth: The only way to find that out was to follow the path one way or the other and forward felt the most obvious. After a moment, she rounds a bend in the path and spies a massive forest just ahead of her. Perplexed, she tries to stop along the path.

Logically she would have been able to see the forest from where she was previously, as the path wound across flatlands. Logic is such a liar. Her feet continue to move along the path despite her direct order for them to stop.

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah begins the procedure again. “Come on! Breathe!” Soquan, on the verge of hysteria, stands tense as he listens to what’s going on.

Yazeth: The trees ahead look… Well, some of them look ominous, others look downright welcoming. At the head of the path is a… Jozra squints and in a moment the object, a massive wrought iron gate, is brought into sharp focus. The ferret blinks and pinches herself. As real as all her dreams and nightmares have felt to her, they were all wraiths compared to this. This couldn’t be Dark Forest, could it?  But she can’t ignore the yawning gate, or the fact that her feet won’t stop moving towards it.

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah now pounds the ferret’s chest. “Breathe damnit!” Soquan takes up pacing again, his mind whirling.

Yazeth: The ferret snarls to herself. This is stupid, she doesn’t remember dying. She glares at the gates trying harder than ever to stop her feet. Had she a pulse at the time, it would have stopped, again, once she realized what was just beyond the gate. Her eyes widening in horror, a small whimper escapes her throat.

There beyond the gate stands a large group of beasts: old, young, in their prime. Each of the beasts glare at her but they all have a somewhat satisfied expression on their face, as if saying, ‘Finally.’ Standing tall over the mass of villagers is The Badger. Never before had Jozra ever been so terrified. She backpedals ferociously, frantic to escape the pull, “No!NononoNONO!!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah continues to pound on and breathe into the ferret. “No, no, no… Breathe, you’re supposed to breathe!” Soquan’s anger flares and he strides over to the bedside with a growl. “Let me at it.” He moves Fiarah out of the way and puts some air into Jozra’s lungs before giving her chest a strong, solid thump.

Yazeth: The ferret grabs hold at anything and everything as she is pulled inexorably forward, tears streaming. She digs her heels into the dirt and scrabbles with her paws for purchase. “NO! NO!” The expressions on the faces of the murdered villagers gleam with righteousness and then…

For a second everything hangs in delicate balance. The villager’s faces fall as they realize their revenge may have to be postponed. Snarling, they reach for the ferret. The forest twists, Jozra vision hazes…

And in the real world, she sucks in a rasping breath.

Arrin Woodgreen: He stops once she breathes, giving a sigh of relief as he nearly collapses overtop Jozra.

Yazeth: The ferret’s cough reflex takes over as a collective sigh of relief is breathed about the room. Joseph moves to roll Jozra to the side as she coughs up fluid. Fiarah rubs her eyes. “Of course… It never occurred to me that there was water in her lungs. I thought it would have been coughed up before now.” The coughing fit stops and Jozra groans miserably as she leans back into the pillow.

Arrin Woodgreen: He crouches at the bedside, taking the ferret’s paw in his own. “Joz, speak to me…”

Yazeth: Jozra’s eyelids flutter but the light sears her brain and she decides to keep them shut tight. She tries squeezing the otter’s paw with her own and croaks, “Soq…”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles in relief as she speaks, squeezing her paw in return. “I’m glad you’re okay now.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods jerkily, not really believing the otter. Okay? She feels as though she’s been chewn up and spit out by a… by a… well she doesn’t know by what, exactly.  By something big. With teeth. What? Yes, teeth. Sands she’s hungry!

Arrin Woodgreen: He gives her a slight grin. “Is there anything you want?”

Yazeth: Fiarah stands beside the bed and strokes the ferret’s head. “We can get you a little soup if you’d like that.” Jozra takes a moment to comprehend what’s being said before nodding jerkily.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan grips her paw a bit tighter. “How do you feel?”

Yazeth: The ferret grins slightly and rasps, “Like I’ve been crushed by a boulder.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He frowns. “Where does it hurt?”

Yazeth: Jozra merely grits her teeth and shakes her head. The effort prompts another coughing attack, though fortunately less severe than the one before. As she gulps in a few deep breaths, Jinx, who is perched again on the counter across the room, states matter of factly, “Probably her ribs, from the coughing. She’s probably achy all over too, from th’ fever.”

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter nods, and to Jinx’s surprise, Soquan helps himself into the ferret’s bed, drawing her against him as he leans against the pillow. He gives her the gentlest of nuzzles, talking quietly to her. “Get some rest eh? I can tell you’re exhausted. I’ll wake you when your soup gets here.”

Yazeth: Jozra, eyes already closed in exhaustion, simply nods jerkily.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan smiles softly, giving her paw another squeeze. “I’ll look after you, don’t worry.”

Yazeth: The ferret only vaguely hears Soquan’s words as she drifts off again into the realm of unconsciousness. Jinx, who had been casually looking outside the window, suddenly realizes the time. In a loud whisper, not that the older ferret would wake if Jinx had used a normal tone of voice, Jinx calls to Fiarah. “They’re going to miss us if we aren’t back soon!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He gives a half yawn and settles off into a doze, his ears and whiskers twitching a bit.

Yazeth: The vixen leaves the soup preparation to the mouse and hurries to the door with Jinx, checking to make sure everything is in order. “We’ll be back this evening, Joseph.”

Arrin Woodgreen: The mouse, nods, waving at them absently as he adds some medicinal herbs to the soup. “G-go on then, I’ll see you la-later.”

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