Slave to the Moon [Goblin]

[Juno]

Lyra reached slowly to pull the door shut at last, relieved she'd "trapped" him back outside again. "What are you doing?" she asked him again, failing to scold him as her voice was far from stern and instead was more concerned that the wolf was out so far from his den with the others and even so far from the forest's edge. She knew she wouldn't be able to protect him from her family if they were not understanding about his being there. Given their attitude towards wolves she doubted they would listen.

"You need to go home," she pleaded, crouching down to pet at him again and point out towards the treeline on the horizon. "Home. Not here. Home. May I remind you, your friend will probably kill me if anything happens to you out here."

[GoblinFae]

Once she was down at his level, Wesser immediately took to licking her face like an uncontrollable puppy. He barked in her face, pacing back and forth a few steps from her before lopping back to her, demanding another round of chase. He even ran to the front door and scratched at it with his paw when he thought she preferred the indoors as opposed to the outdoors.

[Juno]

The kisses and barking caught her off guard, her face falling in defeat as she didn't understand how she was supposed to get him to stop trying to play chase. "Noooo. No, no, no," she scolded gently, standing again quickly and tapping at his shoulder to try and get him to stop his scratching. "Don't do that, I don't want anyone to know you're here. Come on," she urged him, turning to point out towards the treeline and take a few steps toward it as if to lead him.

[GoblinFae]

Wesser ceased his scratching as soon as she tapped him and turned to give her his full attention. He cocked his head first to one side and then to another as he watched her, trying to understand what she was up to. Then, having come to a decision on his own, he pounced off in her direction thinking that she was finally joining in the chase and wanted to play as the prey. He howled his pleasure, startling not only the birds in the nearby woods but also attracting the attention of another forest dweller to come and investigate what the juvenile wolf was up to.

[Juno]

"Shh!" Lyra winced for his howling, afraid that her family would be alerted to his presence. "Stop that, you can't do that here!" She groaned, unaware that he wanted to play and moved quickly to step out of his way. "Let's go, you need to go home," she urged him, heading out away from the house and into the grassy fields that separated it from the forest. She kept an eye on him and prayed he would follow and not wander too far, she had no idea how she would keep control of a roaming wolf. She guessed it would be impossible if he was truly against following her.

[GoblinFae]

While the wolf bounced along none the wiser, Rylan warily looked on from the edge of the forest. He did not dare enter the human territory to retrieve his troublesome companion but nor did he dare leave after having seen this particular human go after Wesser and later injure Peidan. Although she seemed gentle now, the demon wished to observe the pair unhindered and unnoticed to achieve a proper judgement of her character.

However, as Wesser circled around and around the woman much to her apparent ire, Rylan at last gave up his passive observation for action. He sent out a soft whistle to call the wolf home. Instantly the young canine responded by stilling and lifting his ears on point towards the sound. Once he caught sight of the man, Wesser latched onto a mouthful of Lyra's skirt and gave her a tug in the demon's direction, hoping to take her along with him now that they had another friend to play with.

[Juno]

Her head nearly spun trying to keep track of him as he circled around her. She could not help but smile for how eager he seemed to play but she knew it was not the place to do so, being so close to her family's home. He was too much at risk of being spotted and mistaken as attacking her, and she truly did not wish any ill to befall him after seeing for herself how friendly he was and how fond he seemed of her in particular.

She had not heard the whistle herself but she nearly tripped for his tugging. Forced to move closer or have him rip the fabric, Lyra frantically reached out to try and take it away from him. She couldn't hide the smile, though, as she struggled not to laugh at his antics. "Wesser, please! Not my clothes, you silly thing. I can't explain away a ripped skirt when I'm supposed to be resting, you know," she chastised gently.

It didn't take her long, though, to decide against fighting it. She went along with him, keeping as close as she could so he didn't tear her skirts. She thought he might let her free once he grew bored of it and she could return home without much complaint from the youngster and he would go on to his own.

[GoblinFae]

Wesser only stopped his tugging once he was stood in front of Rylan. Once there he plopped himself down, tail wagging and Lyra's skirts still trapped within his mouth. With a sigh the demon moved away from the shadows of the trees he was standing behind and into the woman's view. "So this is where our errant cub ran off to. I had wondered. Has he given you trouble?"

[Juno]

"Oh, you silly thing," she scolded gently, kneeling beside him and pulling gently on the fabric he still held. It was ridiculous to her, yet so adorable that he seemed to be having such fun at her expense.

The voice startled her, not having keen enough senses about Rylan to know he'd been close. Lyra visibly jumped and grew tense but relaxed once she realized it was someone she recognized. "I didn't lead him here or anything, at least not that I'm aware of," she told him honestly, hoping she would not be in trouble for "stealing" Wesser when she'd done nothing of the sort.

"Not trouble exactly, he just seems to want me to...follow him? I suppose. I had to chase him out of the house, but it was for his own good. I don't want him to be in any trouble, I don't know if my family would wait for an explanation from me if they found him." She gave her skirt a few more gentle tugs, hoping he might free her.

"Would you like him back, then?" she assumed, thinking he might have better luck "convincing" the wolf than she was.

[GoblinFae]

Rylan nodded his head before snapping his fingers to order Wesser to release his hold on the lady's skirts. "He is not needed back. I was simply curious as to where he had decided to run off to this time. It seems that he has taken quite a liking to you. If he is no trouble then I shall leave you two to your play. You have no harmed him and I would like to believe you would not bring harm his way after having met the pack and myself. I certainly hope I have judged you fairly for this," he added pointedly with a stern look.

[Juno]

"Play?" She was confused by the implication, not seeing anything she'd done as play with the youngster. Lyra looked off in the direction he'd disappeared in, uncertain if he was intending on returning to them or if he was gone for good. "No, of course you have. I know that the...larger ones don't seem to like me much but I don't think they've harmed the cattle if they cannot bring themselves to kill me as a stranger," she reasoned, not really realizing how much of a hand Rylan had in that not happening.

"And Wesser," she sighed, unable to hide her fondness of him from her smile despite the trouble he'd caused. "He's a gem, but I don't think he knows that it would be best if he stayed away from the farm yet." She stood, wiping as much dirt and crushed leaves from her clothing as she could with a few quick swipes of her hands, little good that it did for the stains that marred her dress.

"So you won't take him back, then? I just worry if he is seen, he doesn't seem to listen to direction well."

[GoblinFae]

"I would trust you to ensure his safety when he is with you. Am I wrong in placing such trust in you, human?" Rylan eyed her critically, testing her and challenging her as they each stood on their own home turf. "Wesser does need to learn where his place is in the world of things but I would be rather disappointed if my hand was forced into becoming involved in forever preventing him from roaming as he pleases. His kind were here long before yours were. It would be unfair to prevent him from doing what only comes naturally to him.

[Juno]

"No, not wrong at all," she frowned, not liking the obvious challenge in his words. The small thrill of seeing him again was quickly losing its magic. She felt like he was treating her as if she were some unfit parent for not controlling Wesser better. "I'll look after him when he's with me. Truthfully, I don't know how safe I can keep him," she warned, not really seeing how she should be able to defend him should he find himself in any real trouble. "I will do my best, though, ancient creature or not."

She scanned the treeline for the light wolf, but she was unable to spot him. "I mean no offense by it, honest, just a sincere question...but why do you concern yourself so much with the wolves?" she wondered, not really understanding the closeness of pack or how anything other than a wolf could be pulled into the fold.

[GoblinFae]

Rylan nodded his head at her assurances, finding nothing wrong with his behavior and not recognizing her displeasure. Her question though made him still instantly as if he were made of stone. For several long moments he remained silent as if he would not answer. When at last he did though it was in a very emotionless voice as he returned her question with one of his own. "Why do you concern yourself so much with your cattle?"

[Juno]

His reflection of her own question was disappointing, though not entirely surprising of what little she knew of the strange forest man who dressed in fine clothes. "Well my cattle are my livelihood. We raise them and trade them for what the family needs. We use their milk as well. If one dies under our care we harvest the remains for meat and leather and share with other families if there is enough. Rarely we even sell a bit, it's worth quite a lot to most nobles. They are useful to us and cost a great deal of personal time and resources to raise properly. I doubt any of that applies to your wolves, though, does it?" she assumed, already guessing by the reactions of the alpha pair that they might just kill anything that dared take away their eventual pups to sell.

[GoblinFae]

"They have their uses," he replied evenly. For several moments he just stood there watching her though his mind was very far away. Thoughts flew all over the place as he considered and reconsidered things before finally nodding his head slightly. "I do not believe you have asked the right question, human. Perhaps the better question is not why you concern yourself with the cattle but what is your purpose with relation to them?" Rylan asked, hinting at what she should have asked him instead. Tired of not playing, Wesser bounced around between and around them, huffing and snuffling as he enjoyed the various scents in the area both new and old.

[Juno]

"My purpose?" she repeated, cocking her head slightly as she pondered it. Wesser was quick to interrupt her train of thought as he bounded about, but she tried not to give him too much attention and unintentionally encourage him to play with her.

"I suppose I'm just the caretaker, and occasionally the friend. But friends with cows... That probably sounds silly," she winced, kneeling down despite her previous hesitation to encourage the wolf. She reached to ruffle his scruff gently and pat her leg to try and encourage him to come in closer for a hug.

[GoblinFae]

With her obvious invitation, Wesser was immediately hopping back up so that his front paws rested on her shoulders and he could lick her face. His tail wagged wildly as he bounced back and forth up to her and to Rylan and back much to the demon's amusement. The tall man rolled his eyes slightly and shook his head at the wolf's antics.

"Not silly, although it might be plausible to also call yourself their guardian," he suggested with a slight cock of his head. "You manage your lands and the ones that reside in them, do you not? Is it so hard to imagine that the same happens in the forest?"

[Juno]

Lyra couldn't help but giggle as Wesser bounced around, the youngster so endearing in his friendliness. She accepted the kisses and hugged him best she could whenever he came near enough, her head tilted up sharply to avoid any painful collisions.

Settling more comfortably on the ground she cast a long look over her shoulder to peer out at the familiar buildings in the distance, watching and listening to be certain nobody was back home yet and she was safe to be out with them.

"Wesser!" she called, patting her knee to welcome him to her lap for belly rubs if he could sit still enough for them.

"You're right, but I suppose the forest just seems so much bigger and so much more to manage," she finally spoke to Rylan, lifting her head to stare up at him. "But guardian does sound much more...official. I like it," she admitted with a pleased smirk. "So the forest is truly your land? All of it? The whole thing?" she questioned. "And the wolves your...tenants?" she added hesitantly, uncertain of what he considered them or what she might call them.

[GoblinFae]

"My...wards, if you will," Rylan corrected gently with a slight incline of his head. He avoided the question concerning ownership of the forest. The demon considered it is territory but he also in turn believed that it belonged to no one and should never belong to anyone. It was simply the earth that protected and cared for them. If the land was respected then the creatures living off of it would be cared for in turn. He did not believe that the concept was something a human would understand what with all their fences and lack of trees and wood dwellings.

Wesser who was completely oblivious to the conversation between the two humanoids immediately threw himself into the woman's lap, the moment she called for him. He rolled this way and that, too excited to be still for the intended belly rubs. His paws flailed, his tail wagged, and his tongue lolled in anticipation as he let out loud yips and barks of joy.