A Small Glade

[Asila]

Yep, the dragon thing had definately been some kind of riddle. Or perhaps it could be better expressed as an abstract philosophical rhetorical question. Whoa, just catagorizing it was exhausting, let alone trying to decipher it! She decided to give it up. If Roho had asked only one question at a time she could have participated, but when stormed by so many she didn't have a chance. One didn't exactly get very many chances to hone her philisophical discussion skills while living in a forest.

Nobles were very peculiar. She'd have to remember to avoid them in the future. The next one she ran across might be a homicidal maniac instead of the type that rambled a lot and had random phobias. She shook her head. It was no small wonder that her family had warned her of them!

Devon's response was easier to follow, and she found herself thinking of what he had said. She was particularly interested in his comment about those who chose to become strong. She liked to consider herself one of them, but his assessment sounded pessimistic to her. Wasn't it unfair to qualify all strong people as mistrustful and dark? Was she? That made her think. She was definately mistrustful, and she was a thief who had fun tricking hapless travelers out of expensive items. Not to mention she was literally dark, since darkness was her element. Yep, she could easily qualify as dark.

She hated it when generalizations were right. Was there anything more irritating than discovering you'd just fallen into a pattern?

She stared at Rojo when he stood and hugged Devon. What was going on now? Did humans always embrace each other after philosophical queries? What a ridiculous custom...oh no, she hoped he wouldn't try the same thing with her. She really wasn't a touchy-feely sort of girl. She might sink shifted claws into his side just to prove a point. She liked these humans, as odd as they were, but she was a firm supporter of boundaries. Oh, for the love of the silver stars above, she was terribly mistrustful. How had she ever become so fearful of everything that walked on two legs and breathed?

Well, that was the type of question best saved for a sleepless night. Rather than ponder it, she smiled warmly at Rojo, glad that he hadn't pushed her. As she had just realized, her reactions to such surprises could not be trusted. She really had to find a way to get over that. If she ever physically harmed someone who didn't deserve it she'd never forgive herself. Of course, financial trauma and harsh words were all right. As long as she didn't actually hurt people, she couldn't be considered evil. Right?

It seemed Rojo's vague question had sparked more that he could have foreseen. For the first time, she had actually begun to think of herself in relationship to the values of others. It was quite the intercultural experience.

She continued to grin as Devon and Jenri spoke back and forth, though she gave a surprised snort when Jenri referenced their battle. "Putting you in dangerous situations?!!" She reiterated with clear disbelief, practically scoffing. "I must have missed you in the heat of the skirmish, then. And here I had thought that you'd skipped out on us!" She stopped herself, thinking she had taken her sarcasm too far. It hadn't been her intention to taunt the poor man, but she had been unable to hold back. Besides, he had practically taunted her with his melodrama. He'd brought it upon himself.

[Rojo]

He smiled. He felt his mellow feeling recceding into the back of his mind for when he might need it again. But what Devon said was intriguing...you choose who you are...who knew.

He wondered almost the same thing as Evening, although slightly altered: He could be considered dark and sneaky. Rojo had stolen a few things in his life- and a few more in his unlife -but he had never been considered evil. Well, save for a few priests and the occassional paladin, but appart from that he had't really done anything wrong...but that just awnsered more questions,
"So...if a theif steals, is it wrong, or is it simply what a theif does?" he looked out the window at the stars for a moment, wondering if somewhere up there...he grinned.

He was almost take aback by Evening's warm smile. It was so contrasted to her normal self, who apparently had shackled herself to Devon and his legs against her own will.
"Say, Miss Evening...what happens if me and Devon here have to...part ways? Who would you go with?"

The question had popped into his head when he had been thinking about her "debt". Rojo supposed Devon, as he would be more likely to look after the young girl and give her a family and shelter. This brought frightening thoughts to him: he suddenly realised how small he was here, he was no longer "Rojo Rodrieguez, most valiant hero this side o' the mountains!" he was now "Some filthy git in weird clothing..."

He shuddered. He had no home, no food, one set of clothes, and he couldn't just leech off poor Devon, though he thought Devon probably had egnough money for over a hundred people to leech off him. He felt sad of the thought that he might have to leave, maybe to never see these two again...he gave a sad chuckle, that reminded him of something that had happened before, but had still seen them again...

Rojo smiled politely, awaiting Evening's awnser.

[Seven]

Devon as well also looked taken aback as well. Evening's change in moods were really astounding, from acting innocently (though that was with the intention of scamming them), to being extremely cold, to kind again? Perhaps she was finally warming up to them, or maybe the girl had listened to his opinion about people choosing what they want to be.

Maybe she wanted to be accepted, even if she didn't outright admit it or even realize it herself.

Jenri interrupted his train of thoughts when Evening had teased him, crossing his arms and frowning, "Oy, you've got a problem with that? I'm a driver not a flippin' body guard! I'm too old for all this mess you kids get into! And yes, it was a very dangerous situation--if those things had finished you off, they'd have come after me, and god knows what they'd have done. Eat me may-be?"

Devon laughed ironically. "I doubt it Jenri, with all of the alcohol you consume, they'd probably consider you toxic and poisonous. That is, assuming those creatures eat at all," he teased the old man.

Jenri frowned again, "No matter, I'm still not being paid nearly enough to be put under all this stress. I should have believed my ma' when she told me as a laddie that driver's have a stressful job. And here yad think you nobles would at least keep ya-selves out of trouble. Ya parents would certainly give you quite the scolding, Master Devon, if they'd seen all that I have...." Jenri mumbles then end.

Devon rolled his eyes, smiling a little, as if such a sentiment were funny or a joke. "To answer your thief question, Rojo, I suppose it would depend on the thief. Why is the thief stealing to begin with? Is it for survival, or for pleasure? Does the thief even consider himself a thief? He could very well be a man who's just lost everything all of his wealth, and needs to feed his family. Perhaps he considers himself a carpenter, but with no job, he steals temporarily so his children don't go hungry. While the action is wrong, that doesn't mean the man is a bad one. In fact, one could argue that he's actually very good, since he is endangering himself (since he could be caught and hung for the crime) for the sake of others. It too could be considered a form of strength....the strength to go against your morals...."

Devon shrugs, "Nothing is black and white. When it comes down to it, everything depends upon the circumstances. Murdering a rapist in self-defense is different than murdering out of hate or psychoticism, isn't? Despite murder being wrong? But in the end, we still make the decisions that define our character. The only thing is, a personality or 'character' can be interpreted in many different ways."

If Devon had known Rojo's inner quandary, he would have reassured the man that they were friends and he had no problem with treating him during his stay here at Venera. But as he is not a psychic, he just smiles, leaning back a little. Another interesting question Rojo had posed, though he didn't know why. 'Rojo certainly has a strange train of thought...' he thought to himself with a chuckle. But it was a good question; if they went separate ways, and Evening hadn't repaid her debt, who would she feel obliged to follow to repay it? It had been Rojo's herb, after all. He too was curious to hear what the girl had to say.

[Asila]

Evening only shook her head at Jenri's defensive comments, trying not to laugh. Teasing people was even more fun than tricking them. When Devon teased the incorrigible old man about his tendency to drink, she actually did laugh, spontaneous giggles escaping her lips until she covered her mouth, her eyes wide with surprise. What was wrong with her? She had never before felt such a wide range of emotion in one day. From fury to fondness, fear to amusement, humiliation to gratitude. She was so confused!

If she were less befuddled by what had been a very hectic day, she would have understood that she was in such a light-hearted mood because she was traveling again, just as she had done when her family was still alive. The rumble of the wagon wheels against the dirt road was as familiar to her as cherished story and made her feel as though everything was returning back to normal. As though they would soon meet up with her family along these roads and she would discover that she really had been lost in the woods for only a few days, and everything else had been just a dream. She didn’t actually think this, of course, but she couldn’t help but feel that her time of loneliness and despair had come to an end and that she would be all right again. How could she help but feel happy?

But Devon and Rojo were humans, and humans were not supposed to make her feel happy. She was not supposed to like them. They were foolish and selfish, ignorant and quick to kill anything that they didn’t understand, were frightened by, or thought was different. She knew that she was different, and that her race were the monsters of their legends. She was just the type of thing they liked to destroy. She could not trust them. They would turn on her. Yet…she found herself wanting to, and that frightened her. Part of her mind whispered that she was setting herself up for betrayal, and though it was the smaller faction of her brain, the bigger being all for friendship, it was also the most distinct voice and she could not ignore it.

She had never been in such turmoil. She just couldn’t decide what to make of them. Where they her friends or her enemies by virtue of their opposing race? Was she deluding herself into thinking that they could be anything but the latter? She didn’t know!

And Rojo’s question only confused her more. Why would she have to choose? Were they planning on parting ways? She’d never even considered what would happen if the two split up. The idea seemed unfathomable to her. Her family had always traveled together. It was safer that way. Small groups of merchants did not last for long. She never would have guessed that these two were different…though now that she thought about it, humans did travel alone fairly frequently…

She frowned slightly, thinking very hard. What a choice to make, especially when she had known them for such a short length in time. She guessed that Rojo was in the most danger, and that traveling with him would offer more chances to even the score between them, but she did not like the idea of facing those monsters again. She did not want to die. Not over this. A minor debt was not something to charge into battle over. Then there was Devon. Of what use could she possibly be to him? He didn’t need someone like her! Then again, did anyone?

She found herself shaking her head as she tried to answer. “I…don’t know. I think you’re the one who could use the most help, Rojo. If those things are after you, then you are the one most in need of an extra hand. But…it doesn’t matter, does it? You aren’t really going to split up.” She glanced from one to the other, trying to find the answer in their expressions. “Are you?” She paused, stared at the cabin floor, out the window, back at them. She was clearly at a loss. “That would make things complicated.”

[Rojo]

Rojo smiled when Evening covered up her own mouth for laughing. He almost laughed himself. He wondered what she would awnser...

When he heard her awnser, he felt an inner rush of warmth and affection towards the girl. In the few hours the three people had been in eachother's presence, Evening had gone for someone who was in more need of help. He didn't know she was saying that merely to settle a debt, but he still felt good that this apparently human-hater had chosen to do something good for a human.

When she asked if they were going to split up, his mind jumped to another thought: What if he was going back? Would she follow him then? Would this girl, who knew nothing about him, follow him to another world? No...surely if she knew what that might entail she would stay with Devon. It would be safer...

"We...may, have to go very far apart at one point, prehaps never to see eachother again, and doubt I shall be able to return" he said, looking at Devon, then back at Evening. "But" he continued with a grin "I'm sure that will not be for a very, very long time."

Shadow sat up suddenly. He looked around; he had been having a rather disturbing nightmare...he shuddered and edged up to Rojo on the seat, and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Although, if I were to have a say, I think you would be better off in Devon's company. He can provide you with food, shelter, prehaps even you could be adopted by Devon's parents. I am...less..." he searched for a word "capable" he decided, looking at Evening. "I don't have much in the ways of shelter...nor do I have a food, and my family is such an abismal lot, that if you were adopted and lived with them, you might catch some disease" it was hard to tell if he was joking about the last part.

[Seven]

((sorry, this might be short, as I am VERY pressed for time today))

The mood was becoming lighter, happier, Devon noted gladly. Even Jenri, the typical sour puss seemed to be in a good mood. The idea of that seemed awkward, since they just emerged from a dangerous battle. But then again, perhaps the excerise and battling released endorphins to the brain? Perhaps they were still a little high from the reminants of an adrenaline rush.

Devon grinned to himself, leaning back and tipping his hat a little down to cover his eyes, a relaxed resting position. Though he closed his eyes, he wasn't asleep; he was thinking as well.

Rojo was making it seem as though Evening had made herself their slave, and would follow them to the ends of the earth. Of course this wasn't true, she only meant to stay until her honor-bound debt was repaid. Once that was over, she would leave, just like any other person, and move on with her life. He chuckles at the slight worry in Evening's voice as she questions if the two boys will part or not.

Lifting up his hat again, he smiles, scooching a little unorthodoxily closer to Rojo, "Oh don't worry Miss Evening, I'm not letting this one out of my sight for a long while!" and gives him a good smack on the back, "Heaven knows what terrors he'll leave in his wake should he go unsupervised. I simply can't unleash that to an unsuspecting world!" Devon was in a bit of a cheeky mode.

Though Evening didn't know the true meaning of Rojo's words, Devon did. He wondered how long would he be able to enjoy this man's company before he too left back to from whence he came. He sighs. A whole other world, possibly in another dimension. He secretly wished he too could see this Yorl Rojo had spoke of to him. It appealed to his inner adventurer, the idea of traversing the plains and mountains, soaring to new heights. But alas, such was not his destiny. He was a noble, he lived a comfortable, educated life. He should be glad to have drawn such a lot in life, but tis the nature of man to never be content.

Devon, slightly more mellow now, chuckles again as Rojo brings up adoption of Evening. Wasn't such a thought a little early? Furthermore, was he in ANY position to adopt ANYONE? He was only 17 you know, a young man still under his parent's (and society's, of course) juristriction. How did Rojo know the evening even wanted to be adopted in the first place. Surely she did not mean to follow them forever.
He grinned, "You do realise, dear Rojo, that our Miss Evening may very well be centuries old than we are?" he said, having forgotten to mention that Tallamous and Ostens live for hundreds of years. "And surely she has a place to return to. You may be a little hasty to assume she wants to be adopted Rojo."

He then looks up at Evening, a question occuring to him, "Speaking of which....Miss Evening, why is it that you are in Humale anyways? Don't most Tallamous live south of the wastelands? Or have you always lived here?'

[Asila]

Evening gave a sigh of relief when Rojo informed her that he didn't plan on traveling independent of Devon for a while. That was good for two reasons, only one of which she was consciously aware of. The first was related to her pride, and the debt she felt she had to pay because of it. If the two traveled together, chances were good she could even the score between each of them in one shot. All she would have to do is fight well in the next skirmish that presented itself. This was what her logic told her was good. Then there were the vague and wordless impressions that made her feel as though this were a good thing, instead of just thinking it. That was the essence of the second reason she was glad this pair was not going to part soon.
She enjoyed traveling in a group, the larger the better. And she was growing fond of them, despite herself and the less than mellow circumstances under which they had met.

However, when you fought alongside someone, such things ended up lost in the background. Both of them had fought honorably. It had made an impression on her, even if the positive influence was wordless as of now.

When Devon edged closer to Rojo she didn't even blink. She just assumed that they were old friends, and since physical nearness had been commonplace amongst the members of her caravan, that explanation seemed a perfectly acceptable one. She gave a slight, amused snort when listening to his comment. "I could imagine," She said with enough sarcasm that it was clear she couldn't. Not only was Rojo a human, and therefor pretty much harmless, but he didn't strike her as the type to wreak havoc on a whim. He seemed perfectly nice. Even if he did have an attitude problem. She was remembering the moment he'd spit at her when she thought this last.

Her eyebrows rose when Rojo started telling her that Devon would be the better provider, and that his family may even adopt her. She couldn't even imagine living life as a noble. It was far too constrained. She knew that much, at least. Noble's had nice houses in populated areas of the world. Coincidentally, these were the last places she ever wanted to live.

As for the last line, the one regarding his family, she was sure he was joking. So she took the opportunity to tease him, as well. Her smile became distinctly mischievous. “Oh really? How quaint! I hear abysmal is the new gracious, and disease the latest look for this season. Everybody who is somebody will be withering away this summer!” Her eyes glittered, amused by the idea. It had been a very long time since she’d had this much fun. Maybe her near-death experience was making her giddy with a new appreciation for the life she still had.

She smothered a grin when Devon pointed out that she could be decades older. She had absolutely no intention of enlightening them to her true age. Let them think she was much older! Perhaps they'd take her more seriously if they did so.

As for the young noble's last question, well, there was no reason she shouldn't answer. "I haven't always lived here," She began, tactfully avoiding the topic of where most of the Tallomous race lived. What she held back probably made no difference, they knew the general location already, but she wasn't going to support their knowledge. When it came to the topic of her race, she'd rather err on the side of caution. "I moved to these forests because they were empty and I wanted to be alone. Other Tallomous come here only rarely and most humans are too afraid to venture here." This last was an implied question. Falling into silence, she waited for one of the two humans to pick up on it.

[Rojo]

Rojo frowned. He didn't know why, he just frowned. Then he looked at Devon, a sort of suprised look on his face as Devon seemed a few inches closer. Rojo must have been fatigued, as normally he would have noticed Devon's movement.

When Evening made the joke, he gave a short laugh
"Then my family is the most gracious and beautiful family in the world" he replied, grinning widely.

Of course, Evening would have probably settled her debt by the time Rojo had to leave. He gave a faint smile, thinking that he woiuld have to make the most of this while he could.

Shadow looked out the window, watching the sky darken and the outside go black. He sighed. This wasn't going well. If he and Rojo brought some of Her guards to this young nobles house...he could never forgive himself.

[Seven]

As tempting as it was to reply to Evening's family comment with 'Really? Oh dear, my family's reputation is certainly going to flounder in this new season,' he didn't want to sound to pompous and arrogant. After all, the two of them could tell he was well off, he didn't need to rub it in by implying it again. Somehow, it wasn't fun being the odd man out--it meant he couldn't joke the same way the other two could, he would like to, since it would seem rude in light of their struggles. Still, the joke was funny, so he permitted himself to grin and laugh softly.

"Oh dear, I suppose you might see me in the next abituary if I am ever to keep up with this new fad Evening has presented," he opts for joking in this manner instead. Interestingly enough, no one ever notices how much thought goes into the words a noble selects (as they make it seem very casual), even at ease, someone like Devon is always mindful of what comes out of his or her mouth. But then again, half of what being a noble is all about is playing into what society deems as politically correct, remaing gracious, and being eloquent.

Devon listens to what Evening has to say about being in this forest. He's a little surprised though, that she only came here to be alone. Nothing magical about the woods? Well, Devon had always assumed this, though he wondered why it seemed Tallamous frequented these woods. But then again, perhaps that was only human perception. Perhaps Tallamous hardly ever came to these woods, and the only inhabitants of this dark place were imaginary. People did have overactive imaginations, and it was easy to gossip and become superstitious. Then stories get passed down through the generations and soon enough, the idea of the woods being infested by monsters is set in stone.

It was just as he had figured, though he was slightly disappointed. After all, science was interesting, but the idea of forbidden 'dark' Tallamous magic hidden in a mysterius forest was almost romantic. Devon was too lost in his thoughts at this point to realise Evening's hidden question, though he would have normally picked up on it. "So...you mean there is nothing actually special about Mrue Forest? And that the Tallamous aren't hiding something in here?" he asks thoughtfully.
"I had always thought that there was nothing wrong with these woods, that it was only superstition that drove villagers away," he says, unintentionally answering her question, "so you can only imagine my surprise to actually meet a Tallamous here. Still, when I saw you, I began to rethink those old stories---after all, there are certainly a great deal of stories surrounding this forest...."

He then smiles, teasing her a little, "So you're not secretly after that magical crystal that Tallamous and Ostens have fought over for millenia, are you? After all, if I recall that legend, it is said that some Tallamous managed to get a hold of it when it suddenly vanished here in these woods again...." The legend he refers to is a widespread one tht all three lineages have heard about.

[Asila]

Evening grinned at Rojo's response to her joke. "See?" She said cheerfully, though most of that bubbly, all-is-wonderful attitude was for the benefit of her joke. While content in the company of these humans, she had yet to completely relax. She knew better. Still, she elaborated on her own joke with yet another sardonic comment. "Anything can look wonderful when seen through the lens of a more flattering perspective."

She continued to grin to herself for a moment longer after she finished, proud of her acting skills. She had been going for the lofty tone of the stereotypical noble and she had pulled it off well. She was feeling very proud. She usually wasn't that eloquent. Such words didn't come to her with the ease through with they seemed to grace Devon. She usually had to struggle.

But not now. Maybe the young noble's mannerisms were rubbing off on her. That was plausible. Mimicry was a skill of hers.

Her smile only brightened, if that was possible, when Devon played into her joke as well. Being possessed of more stereotypes than she seemed to realize, she had thought that a noble would not find her teasing reference to their seasons amusing. Despite Devon's kindness and overall tolerance of her, someone most nobles would never associate with, she still found herself expecting an extreme display of snobbery. She couldn't be blamed for her close-mindedness, however. She hadn't socialized with people for seven years. And even back then she hadn't really talked to anyone outside of her family. Her experiences with people, with humans or even other Tallamous, were very few. She only had the stories and predjudices that she had gathered thoughout her childhood to guide her.

"You poor thing! That trend wouldn't be any fun at all for you, would it?" She said, trying out a motherly tone now. At this rate she was going to confuse this pair to no end. But that thought didn't stop her. Instead, it actually made her want continue shifting personas rapidly, just to see the looks on their faces. She could even pretend that she couldn't remember what she said during alternate personas. They would think she had a multiple personality disorder.

It was an amusing thought, but she didn't think she'd take it too far. She didn't want them to think she was crazy. More evidence supporting her growing fondness of them.

She was considering questioning him more on the topic of high society fashion, but Devon was questioning her now. She rolled her eyes. "You humans are so ridiculous when it comes to your superstitions." She began, but paused, glowering comically, when she realised that Devon was basically telling her that she was not the stereotypical, scary, darkness-possed Tallamous demon creature. "What? You don't think I add to the legend?" She said, staring at him with an I-can-not-believe-this expression. Oh well, she thought to herself, feeling fractionally stronger as the sun set and darkness began to cloak the forest. If I wished, I could feed into the legends once I completely regain my strength. But she wouldn't. She didn't want to frighten them away.

When Devon mentioned the Crystal, she only shook her head. "I bet my chances of finding the Crystal in your pocket are just as good as they are of finding it in these woods. No one knows what's happened to the Crystal. You're just being a silly, superstitious human." Her tone was a tad defensive, though this could be because she was annoyed that someone had let it be lost, or it could be because she thought that the Crystal was no business of humans, or maybe she just felt stupid for not knowing anything at all. For not knowing some great secret that would make her feel enigmatic and superior. There would always be that part of her that wanted to prove that her race was far more advanced and knowledgable than their's.

Whatever her reasons, she found herself rolling her eyes once more. She shifted her weight as though impatient with his foolish questions but contrarily kept her interested gaze on the humans as she awaited their response.

[Rojo]

There seemed to be an increase in the happiness in the atmosphere of the cabin. He felt relaxed and dreamy, although the numbing spells on himself and Evening would be starting to wear off and pain to slowly creep back into their respective wounds.

When Evening commented about looking at people with different perspectives, he nearly said "you could've looked at us with a different lens" but instead he settled for
"If you were looking at my family, the len's'd have to be very dirty, the wearer woiuld have to be half blind and having no nose" he grinned again, he seemed intent on assuring the others his family were a horrible lot who'd drop one another if there was food or money in question. It wasn't though he couldn't make a wittier joke, it was simply he enjoyed the clown aproach on humour.

Shadow leaned back in, blinking again. The Darkling seemed to blink a lot, and he certainly did it more often than the other three. Nobody knew if it was a racial thing, as nobody had ever caught a Darkling; few even believed in them. Shadow played with his hair absently, looking at Evening with a much higher level of interest than he had earlier, as if he could see past her physical form, and see deeper....

Rojo noticed what Shadow was doing, and had an urge to distract him. But instead he turned away from the black figure next to him to look at Devon so quickly his neck made a 'crick' noise. Crystals? He suddenly wanted to know everything about this crystal: Its past, its ties with the Tallamous and Ostens, its powers and capabilities, its shape, its colour, its creator; everything. But he knew he mus'n't ask, becuase doing so could reveal his origins. Although it might not. Maybe only nobles and the Tallamous knew about it, maybe nobody below the noble bar would know it. He could ask, but then Evening would think him poor, prehaps even a slave. But then again, she had seen him fight, and slaves weren't taught in combat, well, the ones on his world weren't. But then she might think him a henchman, and oh-- there were so many things that could go wrong, if only he let a few small words escape his mouth. He shook his head and looked out the window, watching as the stars slowly became visible, and the moon slowly begin to rise....

[Seven]

Devon grins back, enjoying the teasing game. He stands up suddenly with the air of dramaticism, taking a mock melancholic-look as he raised his head to the heaven and brought his hand to his forehead, as though he had become faint, "Such a cruel fate I must endure! If I have perished from this world by the end of this fall, you shall know what finally outdid me!" Devon might have been outside of what was considered 'acceptable' by nobilities standards, but at this point, he couldn't contain himself. He was, in the end, just a 17 year old boy. And in the midst of all this laughter, 'youth,' and teasing, he couldn't help but subcumb to the desire to be silly as well. "But alas, what can I do to prevent my dark and morbid destiny? Being noble means there is obviously no escaping society's cruel whims!

But when I am frail and pale upon my death bed, I shall remember the happier, sunnier times I had sporting with the two of you, my fine companions--Yes, I shall think of our," he briefly looks out the window, seeing the moon now lighting up the sky. Time certainly was flying by, wasn't it? "the travels we had with only the beautiful and radiant moon to guide our way, the lovileness of--" Devon was comically continuing his instant prose when an interuption occured. Jenri, who had been rolling his eyes the whole time at the young man's display, purposely steers the carriage's wheel over a rock. The whole carriage thumps, causing Devon (who was standing) to stumble.

"Ack!!" he gives a surprised yelp, losing his balance, and nearly falls into Evening's lap. He only manages to catch himself moments before the collision by outstretching his arms and grasping the carriage's frame. A close call indeed, for he was only a relatively small distance ((as I don't feel like coming up with a measurement, and then it's translation into the metric system)) from the Tallamous. He blinks, still, for a moment's time not comprehending the 'indecency' situation, but it doesn't last long, as he quickly pulls away, glaring through the driver's compartment with a hunch that the bump was intentional.

Jenri looked over, smiling crookedly again, "Ei, forgive me, Master Devon, I didn't see that rock in the darkness...."
"Of course not Jenri..." he had to hold back the desire to roll his eyes. Devon could always tell when Jenri was lying, just as Jenri could do the same with him.

Devon decided to disregard the previous clowning and continue with the subject he brought up. He sympathised with Rojo, since he had not enough time to tell him about the old legend before they stumbled upon Evening, and he couldn't very well explain it to him now. It would seem unusual, since EVERYONE knew about the crystal. He hoped he could at least incorportate the information of legend in his conversation without sounding too odd.

"Yes, the strangest things have arisen in gossip and superstition; I know from the experience of the former, and seen people completely enveloped in the latter. " He then smiled at Evening, saying with a good amount of flattery, "Well, I am sure you could be simply terrfiying, putting both Rojo and myself on the run."

He paused, trying to think of a clever way of revealing some information of the crystal to Rojo, since he's expression suddenly looked curious and excited at the mention of the relic. "Ah yes, the legendary crystal said to be both the creation and resting place of it's creator, lost again. Seems to be a trend, doesn't it Evening?" This was becoming more difficult, as speaking about the Ostens would probably infuriate her, so he wouldn't be able to speak unbiased about the situation to Rojo. He then giggled a little, "Is it really so foolish of me to ask a simple question? After all, it's a chance rare to none that one is so fortunate to be in such delightful company, much less company that may have insights and interesting views about the happenings of an event. As I said, I have only heard the old wives-tales of humans," he paused, giving a grin, since he could now incorportate some of those legends for Rojo's sake, "such as a the story of a Tallamous tricking a human into taking the crystal from an Osten shrine, and then making a mess of the thing.

After all, such stories are obviously biased and become twisted over the years; I merely was curious on how others thought of these things, seek clarification, and such."

[Asila]

Evening gazed at Rojo with a small degree of bemusement when he spoke of his family again. They really sounded like terrible people, and she was about as clueless as to what growing up with such people would be like as Devon was. Her childhood had at least started out wonderful. If it had ended too early and in a nightmarish, cataclysmic fashion...well, at least she'd had a loving family. How could she complain about her lot in life when some people, like Rojo here, never even had that much.

She was still smiling, after all, Rojo still was, but the expression had faded noticebly. The undesirable qualities of his family didn't seem to bother him in the least, but somehow that just made her feel even more sad. This was empathy, and an echo of her past self. A sympathetic gleam softened her normally sharp amber gaze, and if either of the two humans had been paying close attention to her expressions, they may have seen that her attitude toward them was quickly changing. With every minute that passed, she began to see them less as humans and more as people.

It was a very quick transformation, considering her supposed 'hatred' of the human race, but hers was not the type of personality that could sustain an undying hatred of anything. However misguided she may have become in her years of solitude, she had once loved every living creature, every plant, every star, in a hopeless romantic sort of way. What she had seen in the years since her optimism had been mortally wounded had caused her to gaurd that girl viciously with deceit and illusion, but who she was had never really changed. Even if she acted out a different version more often than not.

This rare vision of what really lay beneath the personas she tended to wear like a shield was short lived, however. Far a series of small distractions had begun to take place, the most subtle being nightfall. She was more alert and energized during the night hours, more aware of the subtle currents of magic that coursed through all living things, more attuned to auras. And she was getting that odd sense of something else in the carriage again, as she had when she'd first stepped inside. A subtle chill drifted up her spine and she frowned slightly.

"Does anyone else feel as though they're being watched?" She questioned very softly, unsure of just what it was she was feeling or if her instincts weren't just reacting to her paranoid suspicion that another attack may take place in the near future.

However, Devon's theatrical, teasing rant (having taken place just as she'd begun to murmur her suspicions) amused her out of her dark mentality and she dismissed the sensation as she had when she had first felt it. Surely she was only being paranoid. Everyone else seemed calm enough. Even she had adjusted so well to the presence of these humans that she forgot to think Well, of course they're calm! They're humans, and humans aren't very perceptive... No, for once these thoughts slipped her mind. She was really enjoying Devon's performance, as any fellow actor may enjoy the performance of another.

Jenri, on the other hand, must not have been so appreciative. Even she doubted that the old man had hit that rock by accident. The ride had been perfectly smooth exept for two instances, the two being her trick with the shadow tar and this event now. She would have laughed at Devon's surprised expression...except that he fell toward her and she immediately sat up in surprise. She winced as did so, paling slightly in response to the pain that speared through her abdomen. The feeling was coming back to the injury...and she wasn't sure what to do about that. Despite what the others may think, she lacked the skill needed to heal this wound. She had been young when her isolation had begun, and so did not get a chance to learn advanced magic.

She just crossed her arms over her abdomen, her only defense against her discomfort, and waited for Devon to correct himself. Her smile returned when she watched the noble glare at their driver. It really was very funny, even though she'd nearly been fallen upon and was still too jumpy for such things.

She glared at Devon when he teased her about her ferocity, the expression more for show than anything. "That's right. I can be very frightening and you better not forget it!" She nodded, as though to confirm her point.

Then, listening to the noble's reference of the legend behind the Crystal, she narrowed her eyes. "That is a pretty narrow-minded perspective. The Tallamous had the same right to the Crystal that the snobby Ostens had! If they'd been less shifty about the whole thing, one of our own never would have taken it back from them!" There were a few oddities about this short outburst, the first being that, in the eyes of a Tallamous, it was the Osten who where to blame for the whole mess. The second was her use of the word our, as though she had completely forgotten that this pair was human and seemed to think she was talking to two very misguided members of her own race. Perhaps that was why she had launched into her short rant, even though she had been so secretive about her race before.

It was almost funny. Here Devon had been worrying about trying to get Rojo the information regarding the crystal without giving his origins away, and the Tallamous girl had just proven herself conveniantly opinionated on this topic.

[Rojo]

A volley of laughter followed Devon's short performance. It was quite amusing, much better than most of the operas he had seen back home. But now, he felt the same feeling, not scared, or worried that he was in a whole new world, but excited and intrepidated and full of wonder at what he might see and find here. For one, there were these Tallamous and Ostens. They seemed interesting. Now this crystal had pricked his attention. Of course, he doubted he would ever see it, but by the sound of it, this crystal held immense importance, and magical power.

When Evening commented on feeling as if the others felt they were being watched, Rojo said
"No!" a little too quickly.

When the carriage hit the bump, Rojo was thrown against the window, his shoulder hiting it. Another wave of pain coursed through his wound. He bit back the pain and reajusted himself.

Shadow tried to stand up just as the carriage hit the bump. This caused him to trip forward and crash into Evening. He scrabbled, trying to free himself, then opened the door and jumped out the carriage.

Rojo and Devon were the only ones who could see Shadow, so when he left the cabin, Rojo immeditately got to his feet and looked outside. Shadow would be following them, he could never stray far from Rojo, but he certainly wasn't coming back until later.

Rojo shook his head ever so slightly in Devon's direction to gesture not to follow Shadow. He sat back down very calmly, trying to act as if nothing had happened, and looked over at Evening.
"Wind, eh?" he said unconvincingly.

[Seven]

When Evening had brought up feeling watched, he suddenly remembered Shadow. He had completely forgotten him, as he was perfectly visible, to him at least. Devon just remembered that Evening, Jenri, and anyone else could not, would not see him. He meant to reassure the girl that they were in no danger, when Rojo piped up and all too hastily said "No!"
Devon had to hold back his expression from deadpanning and doing a sarcastic slow clap. Hopefully Evening wouldn't notice?

The bump in their smooth ride seems to have caused all sorts of crashes for the other passengers as well, crashes in very inconvenient places. He saw that they both held back a twinge of pain, giving Devon more reason to glare at the driver. Though the other two may have forgiven him, that sort of thing was inacceptable for him.

"Jenri," he says with a colder tone, "Do remember that we have injured passengers in here. If it's becoming too dark for you to see..." he said, referrencing his lie, "perhaps we should pull over and make camp for the night."

Devon watched as Shadow jumped out the carriage. He'd miss that fellow, but for now, perhaps that was best. Evening would probably be confused by the door suddenly flinging open, but even so, all Devon could do was try to hold back a smirk at Rojo's second, very unconvincing lie. Instead, he smoothly walked over to the door, shutting, and then turning to them, "Maybe the door was damaged in all the pandemonium of the day."