Things That Go Bump in the Night

Beyond the usual chirps and shuffles and stirrings of the night-time creatures, there is the light crackle of a small fire dancing merrily in a small hollow of stones; the site looking as if it has hosted many another blaze in the past. Leaning against Conceit's saddle and folded blanket, well within the fire's warmth in spite of the temperate evening, Ashlynn makes careful notations upon a hand-made map with a fine quill.


 * crack *

It's a soft sound, the faint sound of a twig popping from simple weight rested upon it. A rustle of low grass comes out of time with the intermittent, slight breeze. Someone - or something - is here.

The alert might notice, to the left where the firelight doesn't dazzle... a red glow moves in the direction of the camp. two of them, in fact; embers of light that are barely visible in the darkness. Eyes.

Even without the finer senses of her mount - the animal currently coralled safely away in the distant paddock - Ashlynn is not so absorbed by her task that the interruption goes wholly unnoticed. Her head comes up; eyes squinted against the fire's glare, surreptitiously shifting her weight away from the lounge she had previously adopted as she waits for her gaze to adjust to the darkness beyond.

The red embers come closer - the form they are attached to largely hidden by the firedazzle and the dim of the Dawnstar Forest underneath mere slivers of moons.

The voice, however, is gravelly. Rough, growling - words that are chewed on, and spat out bloody. "A fire, out awful far. Do y' mind sharin' it?"

Ashlynn's head turns unerringly toward the source of the voice, even if her eyes cannot yet make out the speaker. "My fire is always welcome to friendly parties," she answers levely, setting parchment and pen down to rise to her feet, stance loose and balanced as she spares a single glance for the distant silhouette of Wolfsbane Lodge, gauging its distance, before returning her attention to her unexpected visitor. "Name yourself."

Something.. shifts, out there in the dim. The eyes remain largely the same but.. as eyes adjust, perhaps that form to which they are attached is not quite so large, not quite so menacing. The voice certainly is far more genial, if a bit hoarse. "Oh, light. Last time I did that, I got th' name 'Sheepdog'. Y' mind 'f I use th' sort o' name m' da passed on m' way?"

The young man that steps into the circle of light isn't utterly unfamiliar, perhaps; the grey hair and the Mark make him distinctive enough. Within the light proper, his eyes seem almost normal, Kael's arm no longer in a sling (though he does still move stiffly). "That woul' be Kael, if y' like, Mistress. Kael Firelight."

Ashlynn blinks at the sudden shift in mood, subconscious tension betrayed by a surprised twitch and a reflexive brush of a hand toward the simple knife at her belt. But just as quickly, a slow breath is released along with most of the caution, and she nods to the man in greeting with a different sort of surprise, taking in his appearance with one upraised brow. "Are you well? Firelight...no wonder the name had seemed familiar. Do you have any relations by the name of Caprice?" she asks curiously as she invites him to a space near the fire with a motion.

"I been better." Kael moves a step closer.. then just settles into the grass. "I hae heard o' her afore, once o' twice." He flashes a toothy, wolfish smile. "Sh' is m' sister. An' a brat 't that. Ye were wi' her in th' wood, nae too long ago - s' odd y' woul' ask whether I were well - were what I figured I woul' do, smellin' ye. 't.. seemed th' right thing."

Ashlynn's other brow rises alongside its mate at the man's description of his sibling, and her mouth twitches appreciatively. "The prerogative of all brothers, I suppose, to think thus of their sisters," she concedes as she settles down once more into her seat, though not to lean back yet as she considers her new companion with a sideways, wary look. "You were nearby? I asked, because you move like I do if I had fallen from horseback at a good clip..." Her words trail away as she considers the rest of his comments, gaze narrowed thoughtfully upon him.

"Mmph. Horses.." Kael does take a moment to eye the one here supsiciously - it's worth noting that he picked a decent conversational distance /on the other side of the fire from the horse/. And the distrust there? Obvious. "Why y' lot muck about wi' 'em 's beyond me, 't is. Messy, mean things th' are."

Ashlynn turns her head slightly in the direction of the paddock, though she never lets her gaze leave the apparent man sharing her fire so companionably. "They have their uses," she counters mildly, "particularly for those that are stuck with two legs. To tell the truth, I am particularly fond of the temperamental ones - they have more heart. Good to have in a pinch, if they learn to trust your training."

"Th' donnae much care f' me, 'o me fer them - " Kael chuckles, wryly - "Mind, w' all got good reason." And then, quite seriously - he simply says. "M' sorry. T' ye."

Ashlynn blinks and then blinks again, obviously turning possible responses over in her mind one after another, before settling cautiously, curiously, upon: "For what, exactly, are you apologizing?"

"Mmmph. See.." Kael .. manages to look mildly sheepish. "S' th' trouble - I mos'ly cannae say. But .. I did do y' a bit o' wrong, an' ... well. T' be honest, m' nae terrible sure what t' /do/ 'bout 't, save tell ye that, Mistress."

This time, caution is overwhelmed by sheer bewilderment, and Ashlynn stares outright for impolitely long before she opens her mouth. And pauses, uncertain what to say, before finally filling in the silence with a perplexed, "Well, I appreciate an apology offered in good faith, Master Firelight, but considering the circumstances, I am afraid I cannot say how it balances against a debt that I cannot measure."

Kael offers, very wryly. "S' a reason w' allus called Caprice "Trouble". Nothin' wi' 'er in 't 's e'er simple. Y' ken 'er well, then? I seen y' about wi' her.. well, th' once, fer certain. S' more 'n mos' get."

Ashlynn's brow furrows at the seeming digression, but with no concrete clue to pursue, she eventually tilts her head in somewhat wry acknowledgment. "I might jest that I have had more conversation from drunks left snoring in their drool on late nights at the taverns. I suppose it is enough that we have helped each other once or twice. She seems to tolerate my presence on the few occasions we met."

"Sh' used t' nae be like that." Kael allows - "But.. if sh' does, s' more 'n sh' does fer mos' folk. Used t' be sh' woul' talk y' ears off - allus th' one plottin' e'erythin'. All I coul' do t' keep up, half th' time." Wistful, he smiles - "Sh' got a good heart, though. Allus hae."

Ashlynn shifts her weight, the lines of her shoulders slowly relaxing with the amicable conversation, arms braced loosely around bent knees. "Ah. I am sorry to hear she has closed herself off, thus...but she seems well able, otherwise. Frighteningly so, in certain ways," she adds cheerfully.

"Y' got no idea - ne'er seen 'er like wi' a bow, o' trailfindin' - an' s' sayin' sommat, comin' from Da. Sh' allus were th' best o' us." kael touches his own Marked cheek, absently. "Better n' me, anyroad. If.. sh' puts up wi' ye, though - well, sh' may be doin' s' much 's sh' kin do t' call y' friend. Sh' gave up n' me a while back, I figure."

Ashlynn's gaze grows shadowed at the touch of finger to Mark, and she gives the matter its due consideration before continuing more gravely, "I suppose it is not my place to be asking too many questions yet on the matter. But so long as she does not intend harm to me or those I care for, I would be happy to call her friend." A heartbeat, and then her eyes narrow and her mouth curves with mischief. "Of course, she may not wish to in return, should our acquaintance carry on for long. I did not become a courier solely for the fresh air...I like my gossip."

"I donnae figure sh' woul'." Kael is earnest, there - "Nae t' ye. Sh' were ne'er th' sort t' go so far n' hurtin' folk. Sh' got a right good heart, sh' does." Reassuring. Very reassuring. Or as much as he can be. "Y' are a courier? Mus' be right good work, that."

"It keeps me decent and fed, and my life has been interesting," Ashlynn shrugs one shoulder with a rueful shake of her head, gaze distant for a moment before she refocuses upon him with new soberness. "And yourself? You have argued for her character, which effort she might not appreciate from what little I have seen...why are you doing so, and what of your own relationship with her?"

"M' 'er brother, Mistress." As though that explains it all - perhaps, in some ways, it does. Kael offers a rueful grin. "I love 'er, e'en if I were nae very good t' er. I were th' best I coul' be, I guess - but.. s' nae very good. I left 'er behind, a long time agone now. An'.. maybe 's nae sommat I kin put right, but .. donnae change what I ken 'er t' be."

Ashlynn considers him for a heartbeat longer before she sighs, resting an elbow on her knee and perching her chin upon her fist. "Admirable. Well, perhaps I will accept your apology after all, Master Firelight..." A crook of her mouth, and she qualifies cheekily, "at least, insofar as it covers the trouble of trying to be companionable with someone like your sister."

"Well - s' sommat, 't least." Kael chuckles, softly - "Are y' plannin' 'n stayin' out this way t'night? wi' make sure y' are safe, if y' are - least I kin do. I got nae any sleep 'n me t'night."

A blink, and Ashlynn shakes her head with a glance in the direction of the lodge. "That is...a generous offer. Not wholly necessary, as I can always avail myself of Vhramis' hospitality. It is merely that some of his...more transient 'friends' sometimes leaves one rather nostalgic for the peace and quiet of the outdoors," she notes with good-humored amusement, before asking delicately after a hesitant pause, "Is there anything in particular, one should be wary of on the roads these days? I was at the Jade Gardens, when the duke led the parties out to hunt..."

"Mmph. Th' wild spaces 'r as wild as I kin remember 'm bein'." Kael says that simply, shaking his head - "An' jus' seems like e'erywhere y' turn s' sommat else dark goin' on. Woul' tell ye y' are safer on th' roads - th' farther y' go afield th' darker 't gets." A wry chuckle. "B'yond th' ol' bear gettin' vicious up by East Leg? S' nae anythin' more o' less 'n 't hae been - an' mos'ly less, t' tell ye truth."

A lifted brow, but then Ashlynn's mouth curves in a lopsided grin. "Fair enough, and I appreciate the answer. What brought you around this way this evening, if I may ask? Do you roam about often?"

"Th' sky 's m' roof tree, th' earth 's my floor." Kael chuckles, softly - "I stay 'n one place too long, Mistress, feels like th' walls close in. But - m' livin' nae far - jus' across th' wood, there, o'er 't Night's Edge. Me 'n m' mate take care o' 't fer th' lady Celeste. Y' shoul' come by a time o' two - s' allus room at th' table fer another, 'n a bed if yer passin' through."

Ashlynn inclines her head with a wider smile. "My thanks for the offer. I do not yet have rounds that take me that way, but if I do happen there, it would be particularly reassuring to have a friendly hearth to stay by. Is there anything I can bring that you or your wife would like that would pay for the inconvenience?"

"S' nae one - th' Edge 's open t' any what pass through." Kael is firm, on that - "'er Chapel 's there fer th' use o' all, 'n 'er beds, too. Celeste woul' nae hae 't any other way. Y' put a turn 'n cleanin' o' whate'er needs doin'? Wi' be a home fer ye while y' are there, if y' wish."

Ashlynn bows her head in thanks. "I put a lot of weight upon such generosity," she says with a smile. "I think I would like to visit at some point, even if I have no routes there. It has been some time since I have made new ties with good people."

"Then y' shoul'. We wi' be watchin' fer ye." The mage stands - wincing as he does, wary of his left arm. "T'night, though - wi' be near, 'f y' got need. Nae what I figure y' wi' need, mind - but .. rest easy. Wi' keep 'n eye on th' night - 's nothin' n' it more frightenin' n' me." A rueful grin. "Thankye fer sharin' yer fire, fer a time."

"It was a small price, in exchange for some company - sane and intelligent company - tonight," Ashlynn waves away his words with an answering grin. "Thank you, though be sure to watch yourself as well...the way you are, I may almost be in a better position to offer such reassurances," she quips.

Kael's rueful grin remains, as he moves for the shadows - "M' nae so important - dream well, Mistress." And the darkness swallows him easily enough, the magus looking back, those burning eyes visible once more without the fire's light to hide them. "Light keep ye."

Ashlynn cannot help the wholy reflexive shiver which arises at the sight of the paired embers gleaming in the darkness, but she returns promptly enough, "Light keep," even as the irony of the words makes her tongue clumsy. Her gaze lingers for a time upon the shadows where he used to be before she finally moves with slow motions to pack her writing implements, eventually banking the fire and bedding down for the night.