One with the Trees (Drama x DoctorRed)

[DRAMA]

Silence seemed to ring in everyone's ears for a few moments before the voices of the Princes' came again unto them.

"As you desire. The Amalgam shall accompany you, as she desires it as much as you do." the said once more in unison. The trees and plants recoiled where they had entered the sacred spot the night before. Weebee looked to him and was again, flattered at what was said. Nodding her head towards the exit, she discreetly signaled him to exit.

Once his hint was understood, the fey and the Princes' were left to their Audience. The whole proceeding didn't take more than a few minutes as the druidic language was fantastically efficient compared to other tongues. Emerging beside the ranger, Weebee looked relieved.

"You know, most mortals would have asked for something tangible. You impressed Them a little, back there." she said point back to the closing trees and plants. Walking away from the circle, she wore a small reddish brown leather sack at her side, hanging from her shoulders to her equine-to-humanoid hips. "They gave me this with some... instructions, I guess you would call it. Told me it would be handy for what was in store for us." she said jiggling the bag.

Weebee also wore a new necklace of leather cord with some metallic charm dangling from the center of it. Still wearing the same torn canvas wrap, she beckoned him to come on. Picking up the pace, she let him lead the way. Only she knew what the bauble was for and awaited for the appropriate time to use it.

[DoctorRed]

Richard knelt and watched them intently, sure that when they spoke it would be a comment on what he'd chosen, rather than to acquiesce to his wishes and allow him to move forward to claim the promise he'd made the night before. He almost said something to the effect of his surprise, but instead nodded and followed Weebee as he had done before, with a nothing more or less than  a curt bow and silent footsteps. He kept behind her, frowning at the bag she carried a little and standing patiently at her side.

"Most mortal men are enthralled with the things that they own, and not their own person. Would that I could ask for a bit more understanding, I thought of asking for that. There are things that many people want in this world, but what good is such an emotion? I think it is better to be determined to dream only when you are asleep," he said, waving a finger as he tightened his gloves and looked to her, his eyes on hers.

"The bag... and instructions?" he asked, tilting his head slightly as he watched her, a hand on his hip as he scrutinized it, noting the necklace but thinking nothing of it. What was it to him what jewelery she wore when she wanted? It wasn't his concern, was it? He supposed not. He tilted his head. "What is in it? And what is it for?" he said, watching her patiently as he asked. " Is it something for that Orc? Or something else we need to do on the way?" he asked her, frowning slightly.

He moved his feet quickly, finding himself behind her again as the moved quickly through the woods, their steps of her hooves and his feet taking them over logs, through brush and around larger trees. Down paths. Across the undergrowth as they raced along, Weebee a bit ahead as Richard moved to try and keep after her and not fall behind too far. Curiosity burning within him as they moved along.

[DRAMA]

The human was a wise one, she thought to herself. Intelligence was something that was generally born from suffering or old age. With Richard's general appearance, it seemed like a good mix of the two that caused his level of understanding to be what it is. The fey had a small smile, knowing he wasn't the average human. It was surly refreshing.

"Not sure what's in it. I was told to take it with me as it would hold the needed resources to complete our journey. I suppose, if you're curious, we could open it." she said faking her own curiosity. The Princes' wielded great magics, so only they truly knew what the sack was about.

[DoctorRed]

The thought that they had taken something like that together with them irked him  a bit. What could it be? What if it was something they needed to know about beforehand? Richard looked her over, an eyebrow cocked, as he frowned then at the bag. "I don't mean any insult to your people or the druids, but... they handed you a bag that you knew nothing about and told you to carry it with us and you didn't even want to look inside?" he asked, slowing to a stop and waiting on her.

"Not only for my own amusement, we should probably look at it, otherwise we'll never know when they meant for us to use it. Chances are we won't anyhow, though," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. He waited and watched her, eyes both curious and wary as he stood there, interested in what she did.

[DRAMA]

"Then we shall open it!" she said with a little more excitement than she probably should have. Pausing their trek, she plucked a twig from a near by bush and created the little natural lantern she had done before. Swinging the little bag around, she pulled the drawstring to open it up.

The light would not penetrate the depths of the bag. It seemed as if light was not allow in the recesses of this container. As odd as that may have seemed, this was not unknown to the fey. Sticking her hand in the bag, much akin to the excitement elicited as a child with a pouch of sweets, Weebee felt around in the bag. A look of disappointment crossed her face for a moment.

"That's tragic. It feels empty." she said a little down now, but Richard could see that the depth of the bag and the length of her arm were not the same. The bag seemed to devour her arm. Strange as that was, she paused for a moment, surprised. Pulling her arm from the bag, she clutched a small dark green cloth item. Bewildered, she unfolded the cloth to discover it was a small sleeveless tunic.

Her mouth agape, she looked at the item of clothing for a moment before sizing it up to her chest. Sure enough, the item would fit. Looking at Richard with a mix of amazement and shock, she handed him the bag.

"I don't know how that happened, but I was just thinking to myself how uncomfortable this draped cloth was on my skin... then I could feel this." she said waving the tunic a little. "Uh... you see what happens! You do it!" she said excitedly.

[DoctorRed]

Richard skidded to a stop and tilted his head, though his eyes strayed from the bag to the light source she made and he grinned softly. What a maddeningly useful trick that was, really. He watched her, looking down at the bag and away from the light upon her as they stood, frowning when she stated that it seemed empty. Perhaps they'd find something to bring back. Hopefully not the Orcs head. Those tasks were just... tasteless, he felt. And it would be a strange request from Druids. Perhaps, though.

He tilted his head as she drew out the green tunic, watching her. "Curious. A shirt? I wonder if maybe it was just left inside?" he asked, though he then noted how far in her arm had gone. He stepped closer to her, leaning over and noting the depth more thoroughly.  "Your arm... was almost all the way in there, but it's not that big," he told her, stepping back. "I've seen stuff like that before, a bag-of-holding they're called. But yours is different. You said it felt empty?" he asked, tilting his head. He frowned as she offered him the bag.

He reluctantly took it and peered into the darkness within before he flexed a hand and stuffed it into the bag, searching around for something, anything. He dug around a bit and frowned. He shrugged his shoulders and drew out an empty hand.

"It seems there's nothing in there for me, Weebee. Perhaps my head is just empty," he said, grinning in the light as he looked to her and offered her the bag again. "You should try again. I didn't realize that the skin was so uncomfortable. You could have had my cloak or something. My tunic probably would have been more a dress, so that was probably not something you wanted." he laughed gently, shrugging his shoulders. He looked back to the small bag and tilted his head, curiously looking at it. What a mad thing to have. What sort of magic must that be? Not for the first time did he wish he knew more about magic than swordplay.

[DRAMA]

Weebee was beside herself in anticipation. She passed the magic bag to Richard, eagerly waiting what was in it for him. The moments passed and alas, nothing. How anticlimactic. Frowning, she took the bag back and sighed. Pulling the drawstring on it, she let it hang by her side.

"Well, I've nothing else I need. All that's left are wants, really." she huffed a little. "Pardon me." she excused herself. Turning her back to Richard, she discarded the ripped canvas from her body and slid the small tunic over her head. Once fitted on her body correctly, she greeted him once more with a smile.

"Good news, it fits!" she said with a bright smile as she clapped her hands together once in praise. The fresh tunic came down to about where a navel should be as her humanoid flesh melded into the equine. With 3/4 sleeves, the shirt was more function over form.

"Hmm, I guess we move on, yes?" the fey said with a touch of disappointment. She really had hoped for the man to have pulled something from the bag, but there was always another time. Maybe he'll need something sooner or later, she wished. The bag was curious and she just couldn't have enough of the possibilities in her mind. Starting off again, she let Richard lead the way.

[DoctorRed]

"Perhaps it was just as well. I'm not full of need anymore, really. It's been so long since I discarded the way my people think. It's... liberating. I feel free now, more than I ever did before, when I lived in the society I'm from, Weebee. This, here with you. This is the life that I want to live, not life in the castles and on walls. I am more at home here than I ever could have been without the open night above me every night,' he told her, letting his eyes slip and remember the world behind him before focusing them on her, a distracted grin on his lips as he sat there, and then frowned, realizing he'd been daydreaming a bit.

"Sorry. I'm sure we'll need it later. " he said, turning and flushing a bit as she slid on the new shirt and then turned to watch her in the new tunic and laughed softly. "I'm glad you're comfortable," he told her, turning to the forest to the left, which was filling again with light and sounds, coming to life. "Yes, my friend. There is a monster waiting for us, and I have promised you your revenge." he told her, reaching out and patting her flank gently and taking off briskly into the brush, casting aside a few stray leaves and taking off down the thin trail and glancing back at her along the narrow path, before pushing ahead.

He ran on for a while, his pace steady and not a sprint, just moving as he could to be efficient and not wear himself down. Nothing to be afraid of as much in the light, and less things to perturb him in the forest in the early hours. He felt more safe, but kind of... placated. Like living in the shadows served him better if only because there he had no desire to enjoy himself or thrill the world. He wanted to survive, at night, but here in the daytime, he wanted to live.

He skidded to a halt, his gloved palm reaching out and gripping a low branch to keep from hurtling into the river he'd almost splashed his way into for his placated mood, the safety of light and daytime driving him maddeningly into a sense of security, despite himself. He stood over the bank and peered down at the water, turning to look for Weebee.

[DRAMA]

Weebee followed Richard in the general direction in which they had come from. Bouncing and trotting here and there, she kept a good pace behind the human. Stewing to herself, her thoughts began to move back to that night. Her human savior was a comfort, but her fey blood boiled in her veins. She herself, seemed lost in her mind. The silence between them, while necessary, seemed to isolate her thoughts more than she had liked.

Paying attention to the man, she saw him come to a quick halt. His stance told her he hadn't expected his footing, but it was confirmed by the look on his face. Slowing her gait down, she sidled up to Richard and peered past him.

"Not so deep to cause an issue, but if we go this way, there's a downed log to cross over." she said pointing downstream. Shuffling past him, she leaned into the decline and slid down the grassy bank near the water's edge. Kicking a rock in, she flicked her tail in slight annoyance and turned back to Richard. "So are we getting wet now or later?" she playfully jested making her way downstream.

[DoctorRed]

He stopped and turned to look at her, listening to her words patiently and keeping his eyes on hers, the way a child might have his teacher, as though she would pour from them secrets and mysteries like a jug of wine for him to drink. His goblet always had room for more of the wine of knowledge and friendship. He smiled a bit, and nodded. Reaching out over her head and patting her head, ruffling her hair a bit as he did so, before resting the offending hand on her shoulder. "Would that all my allies and friends were so knowledgeable I feel that I would never be lost or without company all the time," he said, watching her with amusement and a swell of confidence in her.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to have you as a companion, if only for a while," he told her, turning from her reluctantly and looking upon the water. "I suppose it is only water and we might as well get a bit wet if we're to continue. But... Thank you, Weebee." he said, grinning over his shoulder at her.

[DRAMA]

With an agreeable nod, Weebee leapt into the cool water with sudden gasp at the water's temperature. Her eager gait slowed a bit as she attempted to trudge through it quickly. The resistance of the water flow pushed on her lower body, making the passing a bit more difficult than she'd like. With a few angry hops, the fey made footing on the other bank successfully pulling herself from the river.

Richard wasn't long in the water as his size allowed for much easier movement. With him at her side, Weebee bucked and shook her lower half to try and free some water from her fur. The water acted much like sweat, carrying heat from her skin into the air, leaving her a little chilled. A shiver and a shake later, her composure was roughly regained.

"Do you need to wring those out or can we carry on?" she asked about Richard's garments. Fey had innate magic that helped compensate for most temperature changes, but she knew mortals were relatively fragile when it came to the cold.

[DoctorRed]

Richard followed behind her, floundering a bit at first but trudging forward dutifully, shaking the water free of his hair and beard as he tugged his sodden cloak off, standing on the other side of the bank with Weebee. He looked down at her, almost confused by her words before he reached down and plucked at his clothes a bit. He supposed it would be better if he didn't catch cold over something so silly as a bit of water. He shrugged off his cloak and took most of his leathers off, setting them  neatly in a pile and turning to her, tilting his head.

"Do you have some.. druid power that helps with such things?" he asked, watching her with half-hidden curiosity as he stood, naked from the waist up, reluctant to lose more of his clothing and risk being inappropriate before her. He'd seen her naked, but that had been in other circumstances, not... like that. Not in a way that they had agreed upon, that had been different. He flushed a bit, rubbing his palms over his arms and chest, almost a bit embarrassed. "I'm a bit envious, I wish I could just shake it off like you," he said, swatting her flank lightly as he spoke, trying to ignore the naked feel that being without his armor left him.

He glanced down at his breeches and reached down, wringing them out a bit with his hands, working them carefully to do so, not accomplishing much in the process but doing it nonetheless.A

[DRAMA]

As he plucked his wet clothes off, she picked up the cloak off the ground so it wouldn't become muddy. walking a dozen paces to the brush, she stretching the cloak out to get maximum air exposure, then proceeded to do the same with the other articles of clothing.

"Afraid not. Most of the things I can do are fairly benign or really destructive, sadly. However..." she paused with a grin. A small trot to his side, she pulled off and tossed the magic bag to Richard. "... this might have something!" the fey said in excitement.

Eager to see if the human could use the bag's magic, she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth gently biting it. Her eyes were wide and darted between the bag and Richard a few times as she waited. "Go on! See what it has for you!" Weebee said while prancing her rear hooves in the sandy soil.

[DoctorRed]

Richard stood a few moments and peered at the bag, watching her set his clothes aside, he reached into the bag gingerly, rummaging around with a wary look on his face. Here eagerness to see him use it was amusing, so he thought there could be no harm in using it. He felt a bit disappointed at first, and thrust his bare arm further in before he drew out something cloth-covered and drawing it out. He shook it a bit, frowning before he realized it was exactly what it looked like. A set of trousers, to replace the ones he was hesitant to remove before her. He flushed a bit at it, as if the bag had chastised him for his silliness and slung them over his shoulder./"I think we can assume these aren't for you." he said, looking over her hooves playfully, a grin on his lips as he watched her.

"I suppose I may as well get the wet ones off," he admitted, flushing a bit, almost for her as he turned to look for a place to go do so in.  He handed the bag back to her, almost as if it had scorned him. He grinned over his shoulder at her. "Wanna try 'em on?": he teased, grinning at her.

[DRAMA]

Holding her breath for a moment, she watched as Richard pull a pair of bipedal trousers from the bag. She nearly squealed as the bag allowed the human to use it. It was valuable knowledge to her. She bounced a little in excitement as he examined the pants.

"Yes, let me see if I can cram all four legs into your giant pants!" she said with happy sarcasm before blowing him a playful raspberry. She stood waiting for him to change, then realized the human may have some weird sense of self. Turning towards the wet clothes on the bushes, she made her way back and began to wring them out as best she could.

"Don't take all day, now. Might give me some ideas." she teased Richard. She flicked her tail a little as the water reluctantly ran free of the fibers. "What is this made of? By the gods..." she muttered to herself as she tried to rid his cloak of water rather unsuccessfully.

[DoctorRed]

"Haha, we can do that, if you'll wear them. I'll even help," he teased. After moving along, he grumbled something about fitting them over her head before he turned and made his way off a bit, tugging off his boot and casting the old trousers aside, before cramming himself into the new ones, dumping the last of water out of his boots before putting them back on his feet. With that done, he worked on reclothing himself.

He pondered what made his clothes? They felt cotton-y but it was different somehow. Was there some magic working here that he was unaware of? They didn't seem to peculiar, just their origin was strange to him as he drew his fingers idly over the cloth.

He stretched and admired them a bit before he returned, clasping his belt patiently before laying his pants next to where the rest of his clothes were, wringing them out carefully before sighing and leaving them. "This is slowing us down. I can just wear them like this, I won't get sick today, even if I do," he said, reaching for his tunic. He started to wring it out impatiently, moving to tug it back on.

[DRAMA]

As he joined her near the bushes, she nodded. Admiring the pants, Weebee smiled to see they fit him perfectly. The bag was surely going to come in handy if it truly did answer their needs. With the grin still on her face, she stopped her futile attempts at drying his clothing.

"I agree. I say we get a move on for a few more hours before we settle in for sleep. Keep your eyes open for dinner. You can only eat so much fruit before it makes you sick." she stated. When Richard was finished donning his damp clothing, she let him lead the way onward.

[DoctorRed]

"Hah, should I keep my eyes out for Deer?" he asked, swatting her flank gently before moving, turning in the proper direction as he considered the sun and moving quickly out of the bank, back onto the small game trails on the wooded paths. He raced along, keeping himself moving to warm up and ignore his sodden clothes and cloak, which flapped lazily now in the air, drying slowly.

"Weebee, what is it you eat? It's not just fruit, is it? If you like,I could catch you something, and we could feast together when the time comes," he said, glancing over his shoulder, back at her as he leaped up onto a log and glanced back, offering his palm to her, leaning down a bit to peer at her.

"I'm afraid even if you were a centaur, I wouldn't know what to feed you, friend," he said to her, looking a bit embarrassed."Sorry, about that. You said you were more than just one thing at once. What is that like, Weebee?" he asked, waiting with his hand outstretched to her.

[DRAMA]

"Venison sounds marvelous!" she said as they began their journey together. The time passed slowly for her as they bounded here and there through the brush. Richard was very adept in finding the better places to move about. Weebee knew she could just tree walk to where she wanted to be, but she couldn't take him along easily.

As his pace slowed, she watched him jump up on a log and wait for her. She approached him while analyzing the log. The fey wouldn't want to topple the man standing on it, but he seemed intent in assisting her.

"Truth be told, I can eat just about anything. If I wanted to eat rocks, I could, but they're dreadful. I prefer sweets over sours and bitters, but you'll never see me turn down a well cooked slab of meat." she explained. Grabbing his hand, she bucked a little to clear the log, then landed gently on the other side, now waiting for him.

"No offense made. It's hard to explain. It's nice being faster than nearly anything in the forest, but what I wouldn't give to be able to travel freely outside of the trees." she said with a tinge of sad desperation. It was much akin to an outsider wanting to merely fit in amongst peers.

"Being me is fine, if you're content with living in secrecy. The magic is nice as I know humans have a difficult time with even the simplest of spells, but not every fey is able to shapeshift. My father's blood kind of ruined that for me as my mother was easily able to bounce between forms. I mean, I'm here for god's sake... but it's... just hard." Weebee said a little forlorn. Offering a heavy sigh, she walked a few steps to prevent herself from becoming to emotional over it.

When Richard made his way past, she followed suit a little less boisterous than before.

[DoctorRed]

"Wait, seriously? I thought that you wouldn't like deer....well, because..." he let his eyes wander over her body and frowned a bit, trying not to feel silly for bringing it up. He wondered a bit if it was okay for that type of thing or not. He flushed a little and glanced away. "I guess that's a handy power. I would have killed to be able to eat rocks, just once, a long time ago," He said, trying to change the subject a bit from that.

When they were clear of the log, he stood and tilted his head and grinned at her. "You make it sound like you're trapped here, and you can't leave," he said, watching her with a frown. "All you have to do is explore, and go beyond them, don't you know that?" he asked, watching her with a bit of a frown.


When he strode passed her, he laid his palm on her furry back, brushing the firm hand down and along it, grinning at her a bit. "I think that sometimes I would like to have a home, and not have to travel all the time. Just for a little while, you know? It's kind of lonely, sometimes, not having a community that would take you in for a bit, just to have done so. Whenever I change something in a village, or slay a monster or fight off bandits, I'm only welcome until I heal. Then it gets tense, and I'm forced to leave, to move along." he said, sighing softly, before realizing hie'd left his palm on her back, pulling it away and grinning a silly grin through his rough facial hair at her.

"I think that you're form is a nice one. I'm glad I can have it to myself here, and don't have to oggle with others. It'd make me feel less unique and lucky," he told her, reaching up and ruffling her hair a bit, turning."If you can cheer up a bit, maybe I'll catch us a deer to eat," he offered, winking over his shoulder at her to encourage her, bothered that the free-spirited Weebee was so upset by something.