Reunion of Friends [Ariel]

[Zane]

Ah Jadenshrine. Not much in the way of forests, sure there were several small groves dotting the land but it is nothing like other places such as Adela's Draconi. But Zane wasn't here for the forests. He was here to meet an old friend. But first things first he had to stop at the market to buy and sell herbs. That was how he made a majority of his money. Also how he first met his friend. His ears were constantly switching angles, hoping to pick up her voice.

[Ariel Buchanan]

What a beautiful day, Ariel thought as she walked into the market. It's a little chilly but still. One couldn't ask for a clearer sky. She pulled the small list out of one of her many pockets, committing it to memory. Just a few things to get today. As she walked past an older woman with a table of trinkets she saw a striking necklace. It was a narrow column of jade, roughly three inches in length strung on a small leather cord. "May I?" she asked the woman, indicating the necklace. The woman nodded and Ariel picked up the piece, studying it. "How much for-oh!" she exclaimed. Suddenly standing in front of her was a man in a long cloak. "Can I... Zane?" she asked. "Is that you?"

[Zane]

"How Is this for an answer?" Zane picked up Ariel and hugged her close, and perhaps a bit tight, "it's good to see you again Ariel." He said as he set the woman down. He looked at the necklace in her hands. He fished through his coin purse for several coins then presented them to the woman behind the counter. "Will this cover it?" The woman nodded and Zane laid the the coins on the counter. "So how have you been?"

[Ariel Buchanan]

"You didn't have to do that," Ariel said as the woman picked up the coins. "Thank you though." She smiled at him fully. She hooked her arm through his and started walking. "I've been pretty good," she said. "You know me, trying to keep busy. What about you? What are you doing up here?"

[Zane]

Of course Zane didn't have to buy the necklace, but he wanted to. He only ever spent money out of pleasure. It help that he didn't have a need to eat or sleep. "Well, as per usual I've been traveling, spent a majority of my winter in Niahi woods. Then traveled up from there. I was in Arca not to long ago and Jadenshrine is only a few days hike away so I figured I would stop in and see how you were getting along. Are you a doctor yet?" Of course he already new the answer to that, she carried herself differently than when they last met.

[Ariel Buchanan]

"Well I'm quite glad you decided to drop in," Ariel said with a grin. "Yes I am. I finally finished school a little over a year ago. It was a good thing I finished when I did. Grandmother became ill just before I finished and began to decline rapidly so as soon as I was done I rushed home. She's doing better now thank goodness." The two continued their leisurely walk through the market, Ariel stopping once to peruse the wares of one of the many herbalists to get the items on her list. "Okay now that that chore is finished," she said, "how long will you be here for?"

[Zane]

Zane was rather shocked at the sound of her grandmother become ill, "You should have sent word for me I would have made my way here immediately." Zane nodded to the herbalist that she did a dealing with, he had just been trading with him. "Well I'm not entirely sure how long I'll be here, perhaps I'll leave tonight or maybe in a few days time, or perhaps I shall decide to extend my stay even longer, I do come and go as I please. It help that I don't really have a place to be." He looked down at the bowstring that was strung across his chest, is was showing signs of wear, "you wouldn't happen to know where I can buy some flax would you?"

[Ariel Buchanan]

"I'm not sure if anyone here has any but I have some at home," Ariel replied. "I try to keep well stocked. You're more than welcome to it if we don't find any. I wasn't sure how to find you. It had been so long I had no idea where you might be." She playfully elbowed him. "And I'm quite aware that you come and go as you please. I simply wasn't sure if you had any pressing engagements."

[Zane]

"Well thank you kindly, it's about time I make a new bowstring, so I have been trying to find some flax, but lately I have only found flax that was struggling to survive so I couldn't use it." Zane looked over at Ariel, "In the future if you need me, send out word that you are seeking a fox eared archer, I guarantee that I will hear of you seeking me before too long."

[Ariel Buchanan]

"You know you're more than welcome dear," Ariel said. "And I'll remember that next time. Though if you came around more often I might have a better idea of where you are." She giggled and pulled on his arm. "Come on," she said. If you're done here we can ahead and go to the house. You know Grandmother would love to see you."

[Zane]

"That sounds like a lovey idea. I would love to see how she is doing, also to make sure none of her illness is persisting just to be sure." Zane always felt so at home around Ariel and her family. Sure at first they wanted to know all about his ears and boy did they get a kick with his tail, but now they were his closest thing to family. "So tell me. What was the worst and best part of your doctoral training?"

[Ariel Buchanan]

"I don't even know where to begin," Ariel laughed. "It was exhausting and exhilarating. Probably the worst part was just the amount of time it consumed. With all of the things you have to learn you barely have time to sleep, much less anything else. Yet learning those things was probably my favorite part. There's just so much information. It can be overwhelming but immersing yourself in that information and then using it to make a difference in someone's life is the ultimate satisfaction." Ariel caught herself rambling and blushed. "Sorry," she said. "I get caught up sometimes. So what about you? What have you been doing with yourself? Meet any interesting people?

[Zane]

"You're fine, sweetheart. I don't mind listening to you ramble, especially about your education. Learning a trade is a fine thing. I'm glad you chose something I could relate to." Zane stopped walking when Ariel asked what he had been doing. "Well in the past few months I met a huntress in Niahi and stayed with her for most of the winter, partly due to a horrendous storm that almost froze the forest. I hunted and killed a terrifying creature of pure destruction called a banshee. And I met two forest spirits, one of which was bound to a forest, with the other I made a pact to hunt banshees with her and her friend whom I've yet to meet. Now I know how you are about the lives of animals but you have to understand, a Banshee is a corrupted spirit, there is no way to revert to their original state. It is a mercy kill."

[Ariel Buchanan]

Ariel stared at him, agape. "Oh wow, Zane," she said. "You've definitely kept yourself busy. A banshee? I thought those were only myth. Even in the books in the family library they are always talked about like they aren't real. Oh I have so many questions. What do they look like? How do you kill them?  When are you supposed to meet this friend?"

[Zane]

"I was told that they would find me if they got word on a banshee. To kill them? With caution, fearlessness, and preferable at a distance. They have two weak spots but only one will kill them, the eyes and between the shoulder blades, aim for the latter. And well. to describe a banshee is to describe fear itself. They stand between seven and ten feet tall and have massive arms that come down as far as their knees, past the shoulder there is two joints in the each arm. they have five razor sharp claws on each hand that are between three and six inches. They are incredulously fast so getting near on is almost always fatal. But the worst part of a banshee is their hunting cry, it sounds like someone screaming in agony or terror." It was all Zane could do to keep from shuddering,

[Ariel Buchanan]

Ariel reached out and touched Zane's cheek in a gesture of comfort. "That sounds terrifying sweetheart," she said softly. "You have always been one of the bravest souls I've ever known." She shook her head slightly. "Perhaps even a little too brave. Please promise me you will be careful. Let's talk about something else. Tell me about these forest spirits."

[Zane]

"Don't worry about me, I have faced a banshee before, I know what to expect, plus I won't be fighting alone," Zane looked to watch the road for a minute as the left the town, headed for her family's manor. "One of the spirits claimed to know my mother while she walked the earth, the other is fairly young, less than two decades, but she is strong and has a lot of latent ability, it's obvious one of her parents is a divine, though I don't know which."

[Ariel Buchanan]

"Well that certainly will make for some interesting adventures," Ariel said with a smile. "Almost makes me wish I could come with you, if only for the experiences. I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourself. But you know me. I worry. It's what I do." She grinned ruefully. "It's part of what makes me good at my job."

[Zane]

"I don't disagree with you, the experience would be invaluable, plus no one can teach about the uses of a herb like a nature spirit," Zane said with a slight smirk, "But I bet you are a damned good doctor as you are, I mean to nurse your grandmother back to health, most people can't do that, they become to emotionally attached and it clouds their judgment. I congratulate you." They were getting close to the manor now, Zane could see the manor in the distance.

[Ariel Buchanan]

"Thank you," Ariel said with a small smile. "It definitely had it's moments but as long as I reminded myself it was for her own good I was okay. Still, I think it would be a marvelous adventure." She sighed when she glimpsed the manor in the distance. She loved her family without question, but sometimes she longed to just be Ariel. Since her grandmother had taken ill she was forced to take a more active role at family functions, something she spent most of her life avoiding at all costs.