Spirits of the Earth

@Lion I wanted to get this up last night, but that didn't work out quite as planned. So here you are, one thread start slightly delayed!
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Everything was so different here! Traveling across Serendipity – never staying in one place for more than a night or two – had been quite the experience for Elysia. Traipsing around her country of birth was one thing, but this was an entirely different beast. In Serendipity the young bard had managed to pick up a handful of new stories, but most were simply variations of stories and songs she had already known. In Hyoite everything was new and exciting. Not to mention the locals were fairly friendly and welcoming to her, despite being an 'outsider' and 'odd'.

Already she had nearly spent an entire week just in Hyoite itself. Elysia couldn't help it though, there was just so much to learn. From strange new dances, to songs, and stories, there was a plethora of wonderful new things for her to experience. Even the local food was exciting, meals were much different here. The meats and fish were hearty and filling, though she found herself missing some of her favorite dishes from back home.

A touch of homesickness certainly didn't hamper her good time though. It must have been the ninth night in Hyoite (or was it the tenth?) that she was sitting around a warm fire, laughing and exchanging tales, when she heard about the Ice Man. The story immediately captivated her, the young woman listening with rapt attention. Of course it sounded far-fetched and fantastical. Still, it was intriguing – a mysterious man from out of the mountains that frosted like a skyward peak.

Thus far Elysia had been hesitant to venture out onto the open tundra herself. It was a cold, vast expanse of snow and ice. Not that she would admit it, but going out there alone was more than a little intimidating. Off the beaten path with no clear roads – what if she got lost or suffered snow blindness? On the other hand, how cool would it be to hunt down the origin of the Ice Man? Surely he wasn't real, but if she could find the source of the story she'd have quite the story of her very own!

With a lot of help she managed to gather appropriate supplies for a trip to the small settlement that supposedly had the first sighting of the Ice Man. It was a pretty arduous journey, to be sure. Somehow Elysia managed to make the trek, although she knew there was no way she'd have managed it without getting so much help along the way. Surprisingly tiny settlements did kinda act like a road to follow – or at the very least they served as great landmarks and kept her resupplied.

Finally she managed to reach her destination. Or at least her first destination. The people in the small little place were more than willing to tell her what they knew about the mysterious Ice Man, which was more than she'd first learned. She found herself giggling at the idea of a huge naked man running down the mountain into town with icicles in his beard. By now she was quite convinced that this supposed 'Ice Man' was just a man that had stumbled out from the frozen tundra with icicles in his beard and everyone had simply gotten very carried away with the retelling of the tale. For starters she highly doubted he had been naked. The poor thing would have frozen to death. Or at least lost some appendages to frostbite!

Armed with her new information on the Ice Man legend, even if she didn't believe it to be strictly accurate, Elysia set out in the direction of this supposed cave that the Ice Man came from. Not that she doubted that there was a cave! There were probably lots of caves in the mountains. The reports of it being a tomb full of frozen corpses (some eaten to the bones!) were what she kind of had her doubts about. Although how creepy would that be if she did find a cave with a bunch of dead bodies? There was only one way to find out.

And that is how Elysia found herself wandering around the frozen tundra hunting for a cave that may or may not exist.

[Consider this a very late reply D: so sorry.]

The cold was his home, this much he knew.  Inyavin knew there must be a wider world out there beyond the mountain ranges, but whether it was trepidation or the weather that kept him from seeking it, he didn't know.  It certainly wasn't a lack of curiosity, for he had that a-plenty.  His hair whipped about as the icy wind dragged across the summits, as he watched the horizon.

Wherever he walked, he mapped out the paths in his mind, for it was easy to see how one could get lost in these large expanses, particularly when wandering alone.  There were no trails, and he wondered how the natives of such a place could so easily get around, travelling village to village, going on large expeditions, and somehow find their way home again.  He supposed he was a native to this tundra, just as they were, but unlike them, he wanted to discover all there was to see in this wide world.

The villagers often spoke of places beyond, of lands so hot, ice would melt simply by contact with the air, or watery drenched islands where roots gnarled up from the ground, curling viciously, or of rolling hills with grass so green it served as an ocean all its own...  The ocean!  Oh he'd heard stories of such a wondrous thing, and even met with some villagers that had been on it!  Or, was it 'in it'.  He could never tell.

But his wonder was never diminished, for every story flourished it, cultivated it, like the wild jungles of the far south. 

Inyavin smiled at that thought, wondering if he might ever leave this place and be happy to do so.  He looked out across the expanse again, the wind and snow obscuring view a little, but it came down in a gentle flutter rather than a massive windstorm.  He squinted his eyes, looking out and swearing he spotted a figure moving across the snow.  He jumped to his feet, and saw something else chasing behind it. 

It was a much larger than the first one, walking on all fours this time and running after the first at full force.  Oh, and the one in front didn't even seem to notice it!  Inyavin leapt up from his perch off the trail that lead up to his cave and ran out across the snow, as fast as his legs could take him.  "Bear!  BEAR!" he called out to the first stranger.  "BEHIND YOU!"

He only hoped he could get there in time.

Gods above, how big was this place? Elysia had been trudging through the snow in the wind and cold for hours and she hadn't even reached the damned mountains. Well, not really. They were super close, which was kind of exciting, but any feelings of elation were subdued by her very tired and cold feet. Going on an adventure, what had she been thinking? A couple years of traveling about spending most of her time in inns with cozy fireplaces and hot cider had not hardened her at all to the kind of real trekking she'd undertaken with this crazy notion!

But it had seemed like such a good idea at the time...

Mainly she'd kept her head slightly downward, trying to shield her face from the worst of the wind. Not that it was as bad as she'd seen it some other times, but even a slight breeze felt too cold out here. Because of this Elysia didn't see the strange figure running towards her, but she did kind of hear him shouting. At least she thought she heard someone shouting. Looking up the young mage was surprised to actually see another living thing way out here.

"Behind you?" She mouthed the words quietly, a somewhat puzzled look crossing her face until she turned and saw what had the guy in such a hurry. For a moment Elysia could only stare in wide-eyed terror. If she got eaten by a bear she'd never have her story to tell.

Well then!

Never in her young life had she ever moved so fast. As soon as her feet weren't paralyzed with fear, Elysia turned and sprinted across the snow towards the lumbering giant of a man that had been shouting at her. The idea to use her magic never once crossed her mind as she bolted towards Inyavin with her arms flailing slightly and a shriek escaping her.

Inyavin's legs carried him faster than he initially thought, and he heard the loud growling of the hungry bear coming in hot behind the stranger - he couldn't see much through all the clothed them and he didn't want to be rude.  His hands tingled and a burst of cold rushed through his hands as he made the ground slick with ice beneath his feet and he slide along it to reach them much more quickly.

He rolled through the snow, tumbling over a rock and landing unceremoniously beside Elysia as the bear came barreling toward them.  "Run!" he yelled out, though that was what they were clearly doing!  He reached out and tackled the bear, pushing all his weight into it and throwing the bear on it's back.

Yup, because wrestling the bear was clearly the smarter option.

Now Elysia understood what people meant when they said they thought their heart had been about to explode from their chest it was beating so hard. The deep, thunderous growls of the bear gaining on her could only spur her legs to move so fast, because dang it they wouldn't move any faster! This was the worst. She'd been so sure that this would be easy, just her going out to hunt down a local legend and make a story of her own. This was supposed to be an in and out adventure and here she was about to be eaten by a humongous bear.

The big guy landed beside her and told her to run. She actually managed to flash him an incredulous look amidst her heart-pounding terror. What the heck did he think she was doing?! Of course taking even that moment to gawk at him was too much time to let herself get distracted. Elysia tripped and stumbled, arms windmilling as she tried to keep her balance. After a couple seconds of suspense she face planted into the snow with a grunt of pain, the air knocked out of her.

That wasn't the only thing about to be knocked out of her, she thought glumly. The bear was going to catch her for sure now. She threw her hands over her head in a pathetic attempt to protect herself. Goodbye cruel world, this was the bittersweet end of a bard in her prime.

I'm not famous enough to die!

Of course the blow she was expecting never came, there were no tearing claws and fangs, but there was some serious noise going on! Rolling onto her back she lifted herself to her elbows to stare at what she was seeing. Was he actually fighting with a bear?

Inyavin forced cold out onto his skin, encasing it in ice as the bear quickly overturned him and bore down on him.  Teeth reached for his arm, cracking the ice with that powerful bite and trying to rip it off.  But the frost kept layering, kept solidifying over Inyavin's form.  The Ice Man rolled away, the bear swiping a great powerful paw at him, just in time.

Inyavin was at an impasse.  He did not want to kill the animal.  But there was no way either of them could survive this encounter.  He wasn't sure he was afraid of death...he wasn't even sure he could die.  He had seen the bodies of the dead that returned to the village from fishing expeditions, so that their loved ones could say goodbye, to give a chance to mourn...

He had no one to mourn him, no one to bother tears for.  But that did not mean he might not protect someone who did have someone, who did have family, whoever this stranger was.  He was not significant.

Inyavin rushed the bear, icicles forming around his forearms, massive frozen protrusions that gutted the bear, though the animal continued to swipe at him furiously.  The fire of life was not always so easily snuffed.

Oh Kia!

Elysia couldn't believe what she was seeing. He didn't even have a spear or anything. This weird, big man had come out of nowhere and was now fighting a bear with his bare hands. There was something else she hadn't noticed before - he was completely naked. If her face hadn't already been red from the wind and cold it certainly would have turned red at that little tidbit!

That was when the last straw came. He formed icicles on his arms and gutted the bear. Gutted it! Sure, it would have killed her and him both in a heartbeat and without a bit of remorse, but she felt so sorry for the poor thing. It was all her fault for being way out here where she didn't belong that the poor bear had to die.

All she could do was scramble to her feet and turn tail and run. Elysia had no idea where she was running too, but she couldn't wrap her mind around this level of crazy and wanted the hell out! Who ran about in the snow bare assed?! Come to think of it...

Holy Kia that had been the Ice Man! He's real!

It had to have been him. Huge strange man that came from a cave in the mountains with icicles and frost and naked. That was totally the Ice Man. Although she still thought they had exaggerated a bit. Well, she'd found what she'd been looking for, but that didn't stop her at all as she continued her wild flight towards the mountains.

She might have been screaming, she honestly wasn't even sure anymore.

It wasn't like he was killing it for sport.  He had long months of experience in the tundra, and in these mountains in particular, of dealing with beasts such as these.  Normally they avoided him; just took one whiff and averted direction, or took a detour entirely.  To them, he was a stranger, an invader in their land, but no one they wanted to trifle with.  After all it was easier to avoid conflict than to wonder the unknown.

For that was not in an animal's nature.

The bear continued to strike at him, despite the blood that dripped down along Inyavin's arms.  He felt great remorse for what had done, and it pained him to think that this creature would die for no reason at all.  And yet he was unsure he would have settled for allowing the animal to kill him in turn.  The ice continued to drift off his body, and the powerful paws that swiped at him actually tore through along his arms and chest, staining the frost on his skin red with blood.

But then the bear gave a few final grunts, growing tired and laying prostrate in the ground.  And soon it was still in the snow.

Across where Elysia ran, screaming her head off no less, had alerted a creature beyond her, from where Inyavin had been sitting.  It was a wolf, a teenager with long gangly legs, and once it spotted Inyavin across the distance, and someone else running it's way, it bolted down from the hill full force, barking loudly at Elysia.

Inyavin heard the barks and peered up from body of the bear.  No, no no no no!  He stood up and ran after Elysia, arms flailing.  "NO!  NO!  RUN THE OTHER WAY!"

Even over her screams Elysia could hear the barking of the wolf that was running towards her. Oh Kia what else was going to be thrown at her?! First the bear and now a wolf! It was like she had a huge sign painted on her that said 'breakfast' or something. Yeah, she definitely didn't belong in a wild, savage, unforgiving land like this! If she survived today she was absolutely making a dash for civilization.

She skidded to a halt, breaths coming in painful gasps as her lungs burned with the cold air and the effort of so much running. The Ice Man was yelling at her to run the other way, but she honestly wasn't sure which way to run - or if she should do anything he said for that matter. That was unfair, he'd saved her life, so if he wanted her dead he could have just let the bear eat her.

Without really knowing what to do now, Elysia did the only thing left she could think of trying - playing dead. Did wolves fall for that? Maybe it was bears you were supposed to use that on...

Either way, it was only half playing at this point, because she simply collapsed on the ground in a dead faint from the shock of everything.

Great! Now she was dead! ALL that effort and she just dies? Just like that!  He stumbled through the snow until the wolf was just about upon her.  The animal did stop and began to sniff around her as if to be sure, and reached out to take a nip of hand.  When a snowball came sailing its way, the wolf yelped and bared her teeth at Inyavin.  "Bad! No!  Not good!  Friend!"  He movedttoward the wolf and shoved her big head out of the way so he could examine the body.

Maybe she had a few things he could salvage from her body.  There was no reason her things had to go to waste.  He knelt beside her and paused, noticing the white puffs of breath coming from her nostrils. He poked her cheek with a cold hand, the wolf curious too and peering over his shoulder.

Then she sniffed that hand again and tried to nibble on it a second time.

The cold finger poking her cheek had Elysia turning her head away, groaning and murmuring incoherently, but when the wolf tried to nibble on her fingers, well that caused her hand to jerk away from the sharp teeth. A moment later she jerked awake with a sharp gasp, sitting up fast enough to completely smack face first into Inyavin, which had her falling back again, this time holding her face with her gloved hands.

"Ow! What are you made of?!"

Inyavin sat back on his haunches looking at her clearly for the first time.  Oh, but to discover she was alive made him smile.  He knew she couldn't just drop and die!  And the accent she had!  She wasn't a villager, that he recognized immediately. 

At her question he blinked.  "Ice I think.  I cannot say why," he said, smiling and reaching out to poke a cold finger at her again.  He hadn't realized he'd still been covered in ice, and he immediately dissipated it.  And when he did, his wounds began to bleed a little more easily, the bites on his arms dripping blood onto the snow.  "Inyavin.  That is my name."

He held out his hand to shake hers, as he'd seen villagers exchange in greeting.  But the wolf behind him just growled as he did so.

Elysia wondered if maybe she was having the weirdest dream ever, because this all felt surreal and ridiculous, especially the notion of being poked by a naked Ice Man. Well the stories hadn't exaggerated about that! Sitting up again, more carefully this time, she continued to rub her nose for another moment longer, staring at Inyavin with a mixture of wonder and disbelief.

He introduced himself and offered his hand for her to shake like any normal person might. Except, you know, for that whole naked thing. Speaking of which, her grey eyes turned skyward, trying hard not to look anywhere indecent.

"I'm Elysia, but I don't think your, uhm, wolf likes me." She hadn't missed the way the animal had growled at her. Not to mention Elysia had just fainted because she was sure the wolf had been about to eat her. "You're not wearing any clothes, you know!"

At that her eyes involuntarily moved to look at him, stopping when his bleeding arms came into view. "Oh hey, you're hurt."

Inyavin laughed!  Well, because she was acting odder than he when he first entered the village.  She was all flushed and couldn't even look him in the eye.  And had called the wolf beside him, his.  Oh, he didn't know how to describe that relationship, but if he did, he was more than certain he belonged to the wolf.

No matter what he did to try to get her to go away, she just wouldn't.  Maybe he smelled like a wolf.  But whatever the case was, he was happy to have the companionship.

"It's okay, I'm not cold," he said and looked down to his arms where the bear had managed to injure him despite his ice armor.   "Oh, the bleeding!  Yes, that is unfortunate.  But it is only a flesh wound.  YOU!  You however, are you hurt, El IH-SEE-Aaaaah?"

He wasn't cold. Elysia could only stare at him as he laughed. They were in the snow in freezing cold and he wasn't cold. Okay, well he was the Ice Man, so she could let that pass - for the moment. Did he not know that clothes weren't just about being cold or not? Well wait, if he came out of a cave in the mountains all alone and never being around people maybe he just didn't think about clothes.

The way he pronounced her name caused her to wince slightly. "It's just Elysia. Ee-lee-see-ya. You're trying to hard, and I think I'm okay. Uhm, I guess I have you to thank for that. Are you crazy, though? You attacked a bear. With your bare hands! I mean, don't think I'm not grateful, I am, but holy mother of Kia that was nuts!"

Holy Mother of Kia?

He stared at her inquisitively.  "Who's Kia?  Is she your mother?  Did she come all the way here with you?  If so, you should really get back to her, you wouldn't want her to worry!" 

"Eelee," he said again, and stood this time, holding out a hand to help her up, not minding at all that he was naked.  He wasn't sure what shame felt like, but many of the village women giggled he had no reason to bear it.  "Where are you going in this expanse?  There are still many more bears where that came from.  There is danger all around.  Not just the animals either.  Let us get you to shelter, before the wind picks up."

And then maybe he would put on some clothes.

"My mother? Uh, no, Kia is a god. The god, of Serendipity, anyway." Did the Ice Man even know about deities? Elysia had no idea, he seemed a bit, well not dumb, but uneducated. You'd think after coming out of the mountains somebody would have sat him down and taught him some things about polite society!

Grey eyes widened and her head was jerked to the side, looking away as he stood up. It was worse, much worse, from this angle! Her hand fumbled and flailed for a moment before managing to grasp his and haul herself back to her feet, thankfully without getting too much of an eyeful!

"Shelter sounds good to me. I was kind of out here looking for, well, uh, you. If I'm being honest. I heard some stories about the Ice Man and wanted to see if they were true and, well, here you are, so I guess they weren't making it up."

Inyavin's eyes widened a bit at the prospect of being told stories about.  That he might a object of fascination, the kind people would cross lands for, never dawned on him.  But while the cold never bothered him, it was quite likely even in her parka, Elysiawould find great discomfort if they stayed out here too long.

The wolf beside him was clearly less than stellar about the whole prospect and tried to nip at her heels until Inyavin stepped in.  The wolf whimpered a little and continued to snarl. But when the smell of the bear caught her nostrils, she bounded off toward the corpse. No reason for it to go to go to waste.

"My cave is not far. The cold will get colder," he said with a nod and they started up the mountain.  After a while of walking, they emerged to the lip of the cave, an outlet constructed to deter the wind. With the help of the villagers, they had made his cave feel more homely, and even have him a clay oven to light a small fire, and showed him how to store foodstuffs. There were even blankets and robes offered to him.

He beamed to his guest. "Home sweet home!"

Well there were stories about him, but it was debatable how many people would actually go through the trouble of looking for him. Elysia had made the decision on impulse because she'd thought that it would be a great story to tell, she had a ton of great stories, but this one would have been her story. It still was her story, she was alive to tell it. She, Elysia Merryweather, small-time bard from Serendipity had gone on an adventure to find the Ice Man and she'd done it.

Him and his nippy wolf! She squeaked and drew the wolf in circles around Inyavin, trying to avoid the beast's teeth snapping at her heels and trying to use him as a shield against the furry monster. Thankfully he got the animal to leave her be, and she stuck her tongue out at the wolf as she ran off towards the dead bear.

Oh hey, the cave! Him taking her there would be so much easier than having to try to find it on her own. Elysia wondered if it still had all the dead bodies in it - or if it ever had them. Despite how cold and tired she'd been, now that the immediate danger was past she felt a second wind coming on, a renewed sense of purpose and discovery that gave her a nice little surge of energy as she followed him almost bouncing in excitement.

She wasn't sure what to expect when they entered the cave, but as she stepped inside Elysia blinked and looked around in surprise. Sure, most people she knew didn't live in caves, but if they did, she figured this wasn't so far off from what it'd be like - in a very primitive kind of way. "Oh hey, you have a little oven and everything. That's really neat."

Now that they were out of the wind she pushed back the hood of her parka and ran her gloved fingers through her short hair, messing it up even more than the hood had and actually getting a little static frizz going on. "I bet all the water is frozen, but we could heat a little up and get those scratches and bites cleaned up a some. I'm not much of a healer, but I can tie a bandage."

He made an 'oh' face at the sight of her hair and his hands immediately flew to it and started to temper with the floor I ends and his touch made the ends of her hair crystallize with frost and he smiled. "Your hair! It's so bluuue'"

Well wasn't today just full of fun surprises! Elysia squawked when her hair was suddenly grabbed, hissing as the ends were frosted over by his exploring fingers. This guy had no personal space awareness did he? "H-hey! Let go, you're messing it up more than it already is! Plus that's cold!"

Inyavin's blanched and pulled his hands away.  "I am sorry!" he said quickly, feeling his cheeks tingle with what warmth his body could muster.  But embarrassment was more figurative than literal and he pulled his hands away anyway.  "But your hair," he continued.  "It's such a odd color. How do you get it to be so? Does your mother Kia also have blue hair?"

"What do you mean how do I get it to be this color? This is the color it always is. My dad's is almost the same, his is just a little darker though." Elysia tried to smooth her hair back down into some semblance of order, but only managed to further her static problem, causing individual hairs to rise in a blue halo of sorts. "And my mom's name isn't Kia. Her name's Amara. Kia is a deity. People pray to deities for wishes and good luck and that sort of thing. Not that I'm sure praying makes much of a difference, but it makes some people feel better."

He was fascinated by the color of her hair and despite trying to keep his hands to himself, his fingers were itching to dance in their entanglements.  Oh the strange things she said, he found himself wanting to know more.  There was so much more in this world that he did not know!  It seemed so big and daunting all at the same time.

"You 'pray' but it doesn't make a difference?" he asked, caught off guard from his excitement for a moment.  "What do people pray to deities for, if they will do nothing?  And you do not trust these deities?  Curious things from people so far away!  Oh it's all fascinating.  I want to know everything!"

"Well some people think that gods and goddesses do answer prayers. Some people find praying makes them feel better. I'm probably not the best person to try to explain it. I never was hugely big into all the praying and church stuff." Elysia rubbed the back of her head with an exasperated sigh. She wasn't sure what she'd expected from the Ice Man if she'd met him, which she hadn't expected to, but this was probably weirder than some of the things she'd have come up with.

It was then her eyes wandered to him again, causing her face to heat up and turn red again as she jerked her eyes away. "Inyavin, wasn't it? Yeah, I don't know about how you were raised and all, but could you maybe put some clothes on or at least cover up? Where I'm from men don't tend to run around naked in front of women all willy-nilly."

She said willy. Elysia giggle-snorted before clapping a hand over he mouth and trying to suppress her highly immature little guffaw.

He hadn't realized his nakedness offended her!

"Oh!  Clothes!  Yes!  I have those!"  Inyavin wasted no time rushing toward the back of his homey little cave and retrieving trousers and throwing them onto his legs.  They were a thick leathery material, walrus perhaps, and stitched with a thick thread that ran up the sides of his legs.  He even threw on a tunic, a nice, thickly embroidered garment that snuggled around his body comfortably.

These were odd things, and felt equally unnatural and perfectly comfortable.  However, it would not do to offend his new guest.  He returned and sat down beside her, grinning widely, a bit manically even and he even offered her tea, something to warm her bones after nearly getting mauled twice.  It was the least he could do.

"You sound like you come from a very interesting, if confusing world, and yet you ventured all the way out here.  Why?  Do you just really like the cold?  Or is it the wild life?"

Elysia blinked as he ran off towards the back end of the cave. Did he really already have clothes? Why the heck hadn't he been wearing them? Then again, the guy looked like his whole body was about to frost over, so she guessed the Ice Man just liked the cold. He lived in a good place then, she supposed.

While he threw on some clothes, she found a place to sit, figuring she might as well make herself comfortable. Who knew when she'd actually be able to leave. At the very least, she knew getting a bit warmed up first was in order. No way would Elysia last out there without a break. Living so far south of here, where it was a lot warmer probably made her all soft and wimpy to the people up here, but hey, it was what it was.

"Tea sounds nice, thanks." She made a slight face at Inyavin's questions. "I can honestly say I haven't been real thrilled with the cold or the wildlife. I came because I'm a bard. I sing and tell stories to people to entertain them. Coming here was an adventure, and I wanted to learn the songs and stories from the people in Hyoite. Then of course there was the story of you that got me all the way out this way, when I probably should have turned back south instead."

He blinked at her response, bobbing his head back a little bit.  "You came all the way out here because of me?" he asked, as if he didn't hear her right.  He examined his body, to think such stories could spread so quickly, so far, and in such a span of time was fascinating.  This bard thing intrigued him.  Were there all sorts of stories being traded all the time between peoples?

"Wow," he breathed, face thoroughly open and child-like.  "Could you take me there?  To the sooth.  Or, um, Sooow-uuuuth?  South?  Oh, I'd love to see it.  I want to see it all!  Could you make me a bard?"

Well when the Ice Man was real and kind of like a regular person(kinda) it did seem a bit weird to Elysia. She was supposed to be chasing down a legend, not this strange, childish man. How was she to know this is what she'd find? Ah well, it was still going to make a pretty interesting story! Especially the naked bear wrestling - her audiences were bound to get a hoot out of that!

"Wait what?" Did he just ask if she could take him south? Sweet gods above he did. "Well, uh...I wasn't really planning on taking anybody with me when I left this frozen deathtrap! I mean, you could go south if you wanted. I actually recommend it, but not into Connlaoth, you should probably go around that place like I do, what with you being Mr. Frosty and all! Serendipity is real nice, though. That's where I'm from."

His face grew drawn at her reply and he looked down at his feet for a moment, and then back to the fire.  "Why not?" he murmured.  "I don't understand.  Did I do something wrong?  Is the tea not hot enough?  I can fix that!"

He moved back to the stove and took the kettle from it and poured more into the cup.  A bit too much was poured in and overflowed, spilling hot water onto her hands.  "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

Elysia looked at Inyavin rather...dumbfoundedly. She truly was struggling with the 'this guy doesn't really think like a normal person' thing. He seemed to panic a little, as if trying to right some invisible thing he'd done wrong. "Hey, you didn't do anything wro-"

The tea overflowed in his haste and she yelped lightly, jumping up and dropped the entire cup, shaking the hot tea off her hands, or trying too. Her pale skin was splotched with some pinker flesh where it had burned her just a little. "Sweet mother, just stop!"

She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, and maybe a little control of the situation! "It's okay! It was just an accident, okay? I'm alright!" She waved her hands at him. "See? No harm done."

Inyavin just stared at her wide-eyed like a child that had spilled the milk and was trying to drink it up.  He did stop, and slowly put the kettle down on the ground.  When he did, he picked up the tea cup and held them gingerly in his hands, the outside frosting over and the inside steaming out what water remained.

"I...I am sorry.  I didn't realize I was so bumbling," he murmured and shook his head.  "I guess, I ...I got overexcited with the fact that I have some company to entertain.  I've...never had a guest over before.  The villagers, though they were kind, never wished to stay for long."  He sighed through flared nostrils, steam emerging from them as they would from a person short of air in the deep of winter.

Elysia immediately felt bad. The poor guy looked kind of like a kicked puppy. A gigantic, frosty kicked puppy, but still. Her hands flailed slightly and she stepped closer to lightly put her little warm(in comparison) hands over his cold big ones. "Hey, it's okay. Really. You're not bumbling, just...not super graceful, you know? Just look at me, I'm about the most ungraceful person I know! So...don't feel bad? Please?"

For this supposedly formidable, giant Ice Man, Inyavin was turning out to be more like a little kid trapped in a grown man's body. Not that Elysia didn't think he was formidable, the guy had wrested a bear with his bare hands, saving her life, for sure. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. It just isn't every day someone asks if they can travel with you, but you know what? You can tag along with me when I go back south, okay? I'm sure having along a guy that can wrestle a polar bear will come in handy."

Well...it was true. Plus she really did feel bad for upsetting him after he had saved her life and everything. She kind of owed him one.

[Yes she does!  What a meanie! D:]

At her own hands, seeing them over his made his face brighten considerably and he looked up at Elysia with starlight twinkling in his eyes.  "Oh!?  OH!  Yes, I'd love to come.  Thank you.  You won't regret this!"

Well, she might.

"I won't be in the way, I promise."

Well, he might.

"But we'll have lots of fun.  And it'll be safer for the both of us probably.  I can't imagine traveling alone.  I won't get you into trouble."

Well, he probably would.  But not intentionally!

"And it's okay, you didn't hurt my feelings.  I was more worried that I hurt your feelings.  I wouldn't ever dream of doing such a thing to a guest in my home.  So...when are we leaving?"  And he beamed at her with extreme enthusiasm.  His wolf however, growled, not quite so enthusiastic.

"Nah, you didn't hurt my feelings." Oh she was already beginning to regret the decision to let him come with her. Elysia gave him a weak smile before rubbing her face with her hands. At least his heart was in the right place? Hopefully his enthusiasm was infectious! That or it went away.

The sound of growling made her jump and she looked over at the wolf warily. "Um, yeah, this is going to be great, but uh...we're not leaving now. That whole almost getting eaten by a bear thing kind of wore me out." She wondered how long he would follow her, and how far. He was bound to find a distraction to focus on at some point that would have him forget all about traveling with her, right? The world was a big place with lots of neat stuff, so yeah, he would totally find someone else to latch on to!

Feeling better with the idea that eventually Inyavin would get bored of her and find someone else to focus his child-like enthusiasm on, she hummed softly. "Well, so I guess we'll start moving tomorrow. I have been traveling to the different camps all over to learn new songs and stories, but I've been gone from home for a while, so I think starting south back to Serendipity might be a pretty good idea."

It was entirely possible that Inyavin might find himself inadvertently attached to someone else.  In his enthusiasm, he hadn't realized that his growing fondness for Elysia may simply be due to the fact that this was the longest he'd ever interacted with anyone over an extended period of time.  A few conversations here and there in passing weren't enough to sate his need for social contact.

But here someone came, looking for him of all people.  And he would savor that.

"I don't have much to take with me.  But in the mean time, please, be comfortable.  And don't mind the wolf.  She just doesn't like strangers."

"She tried to eat me. I tend to mind things that do that." Elysia huffed, crossing her arms and throwing a glare at the vicious beast. Oh gods above, a thought struck her. "We're not taking it with us are we?"

Having a childish giant ice man following her around like a lost puppy was one thing, but having an actual wolf following him while following her didn't sound like a good idea. What if the wolf tried to eat her while she slept?!

"Oh Shiran?" Inyavin said gesturing to the wolf and the wild canine shuffled closer to him, sitting properly and allowing her fluffy neck to be pet.  She was poofy in her winter coat and even laid down with her head propped onto Inyavin's lap.

"I understand your point.  She is just very possessive.  And protective of that which she considers to be hers," he explained.  "But she'll be good, I promise.  I found her when she was just a pup and raised her myself.  The villagers helped me of course, but they didn't recommend rearing a wolf.  But I wouldn't let her just die out in the tundra all alone.  Her mother was killed by a hunter, and they found no other pups.  Perhaps she's a reject from an omega.  Normally the alphas kill any other wolves in their pack that breed.  Only alphas are allowed to breed."

"Yeah. You say she'll be good. Really. Tried. To. Eat. Me." Elysia huffed, giving a very mistrustful glare at the beast before looking up at Inyavin with a sigh and rubbing the back of her neck.

"I mean, I can feel bad for a little wolf pup all orphaned and alone, but I'm not sure how people will like you taking her into town or anything. They don't mind dogs usually, but she's not a dog, and I really don't think we can pass her as one either. People are gonna notice she's a freaking wolf."

Perhaps she and the animal had gotten off on the wrong foot. Maybe they would warm up to each other? That didn't solve the issue of people freaking out if a wolf strolled into town with them! It might be alright up here in Hyoite. Maybe. In Serendipity she didn't think it would fly well. "If we go into town do you think we could leave her out on her own somewhere? Just until we leave again, I mean."

"Hmm," Inyavin gave the notion some thought.  He really didn't want to leave his wolf behind.  She was a good pup, loyal and even loving.  And perhaps just a tad over protective.  He leaned in and murmured something in her ear.

The dog made a clearly grumpy sound, but a few scritches behind the ears made her whine and soon she shuffled forth along her belly, ears down and even wagging her tail, giving a few conciliatory sniffs to Elysia.  And held a paw out toward her leg, gently nudging for pets.

Elysia could already see that leaving the wolf behind probably wasn't going to work. If she had a pet she was fond of and someone told her she would have to abandon the poor thing she'd probably have been upset or given them an earful and told them where they could shove that notion.

Still, a wolf inside towns or buildings probably just wasn't a good idea. The wicked beast had tried to eat her! She could easily imagine the furball biting someone and getting them in big trouble.

The bard had been so busy fretting about what to do about the wolf that she hadn't really noticed Inyavin having a little chat with the canine until Shiran was crawling towards her looking all cute and puppy-like with her wagging tail and nudging paws. She found herself looking down at the furry menace and heaving an exasperated sigh.

Elysia knelt down, still eyeing the wolf warily even as she hesitantly reached out to lightly pet her head. She was surprised at how soft her fur felt. "Is this your way of calling a truce? Don't think I trust you, fur face, but you are kinda cute when you're not trying to eat me."

Against her better judgment the pets felt nice and her tail began to wag as Shiran scooted closer to her.  And when Elysia was within range, she lunged and gave her kisses all over her face.  The wolf soon relaxed, although remained antsy beside the yound bard, tail wagging and leaning in for more pets when the hand that stroked her stopped.

"Ack!" Elysia squealed, raising her hands trying to defend herself from the sudden onslaught of wolf kisses. Well that was a big change from wanting to eat her to slobbering all over her face. Or was it really? Maybe the foul beast was just getting a taste to see if she was worth eating.

"Alright! Alright! You can go, Furface." The young bard said, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat, before dropping her hands to rub her fingers through the wolf's fur some more.

She looked back at Inyavin with a smile. "I doubt people like like it once we get far enough south, but we'll work something out. Worst case we can just avoid towns, I guess." Elysia frowned at that. She made a living going into those towns and cities. The inns would often offer her free room and board for a couple nights in exchange for her performances.

"Avoid towns?"  He knew what she meant, and what that meant for his companion.  Shiran turned to Inyavin, gave him a whine and settled down onto her side, breathing deeply as if disappointed.  Not everyone could take wolf hugs and Shiran had been told she was easily clingy.

"We can't avoid towns," Inyavin said and put his head on Shiran's side, pressing his face deep into her fur.  "How will I get to explore the world without meeting her people? Surely you couldn't get along trying to avoid them?  You are...a storyteller after all.  You need people to listen to them."

"Yeah, going in to towns is kind of how I make my living..." It definitely wasn't a perfect solution, or even a good one. Elysia scratched her head, looking at the pair with a sigh. The Ice Man was a lot different than she was expecting, and none of this was really how she had planned on things to turn out. Getting a companion and his pet wolf along for the trip was kind of a wild card thrown at her.

"Well we can figure something out as we go, cross those bridges when we come to them and all. I'm sure it'll be alright." Maybe if Shiran was on good behavior people wouldn't mind too much.

While Inyavin was thoroughly overjoyed at her conclusion, he could understand the hesitation in her voice. He was a stranger and she taking the most risk by venturing with him into the southern edge of the world that which he had no real knowledge of.

So he extended the rest of his hospitality to her and in the morning they would travel back to the village where she had first ventured out from. And the villagers there watched in gaping surprise to see the little foreigner returning with a towering figure behind her.  And a wolf at his side

When they had drawn close enough to the village that Elysia could make out the gaping she got a huge grin on her face, not that anyone could see most of her face since it was bundled up. With no small amount of enthusiasm she waved to the watching crowd, a jovial bounce in her step. Sure, things had turned a tiny bit weird and she had a strange, child-like giant man following her around, but she had found the ice man just like she said she would.

How many bards could really say they'd not only hunted down, but brought back, a legend?

"I'm back!" She called out to them, voice muffled some behind her heavy scarf. Honestly, how did they live out in this? Her bones felt half frozen even under all the layers of thick wool and fur. They lived in it year round! Kind of impressive, really.

It was kind of odd, being this close to real people. And Inyavin couldn't stave off the self-conscious feeling he was getting from all the gazes and whispers exchanged between villagers. He was half bundled in stray robes and cloth, emitting the drift that came from snow when wind blew over it. Shiran loped along behind them, minding her own business, and making a point sniff every step that Elyisa took.

Once they were inside her housing, Inyavin shook the snow from his out robe and smiled at her. "You truly are dedicated," he said softly. Shiran waited outside, sitting patiently and nipping anyone that tried to pet her.

"To have come all this way to find a story. What stories will you write?"

Her "housing" consisted of a large lodge that was home to multiple families. They'd been kind enough to let her stay with them, and had urged her against going out hunting for the Ice Man. While Inyavin wasn't so scary, Elysia had to admit that she'd nearly gotten herself killed pursuing him - at least it had all worked out.

Sorta.

"You can't be the best without dedication, and I'm going to be the best." She chirped happily as she dropped her things into the guest alcove that had her sleeping furs. "I don't actually write any stories. I just learn them and then tell them to other people that want to hear them. Maybe once I've done my traveling I'll settle down somewhere to write them all down in a collection of tales. And one just for my own adventures too!"

Elysia looked around with a sigh. It was going to be a very long trip back south, but there would be a lot of cool things to show him along the way. "I think we should stay here tonight and head out first thing in the morning. We'll go from village to village until we get far south enough to make camps."

Experiencing another's hospitality was not something Inyavin was accustomed to. As much as he loved hosting himself, actually being hosted left him at much of a staggering loss. The Ice Man felt like he was practically 'sweating' in the warm large where all those bodies were nestled, sleeping and snoring, all cuddled and curled up with each other like how Shiran did as a pup.

He snorted a little, moving to sit down, not quite too close to the hearthfire.  "That is a good idea. It's...a little warm in here, isn't it?  Oh, but never mind," he shrugged and curled in on himself, to insulate himself from the heat and keep his coldness to himself.

"What sort of stories have you told so far? Any that you'd want to share? I mean, coming this far north, you have to have come across some pretty interesting ones so far. Even before finding me," he murmured, looking up at her, grinning.