The Battle of Draconi Forest

[MadEmperor]

Thrax was giving Hana a run for the klepto award, taking everything that looked remotely like treasure. He paused in his rummaging to take a look at her find. "I mean... it did sound like one." He gave River a defensive look. "And, hey, don't underestimate the power of music. Even if it is in the form of a stupid music box."

Kah, meanwhile was enough of a practical soul that he wasn't quite so easily tempted by shiny things as a natural dragon. That isn't to say he didn't occasionally catch himself staring jealously at a gold and jewels, but it didn't drive him to start his own hoard just yet. "Does it matter how exciting it is? It's clearly valuable."

Ankoku popped from corpse to corpse, tossing knives and daggers into his Shadow Barracks. He even grabbed a few shortswords. You never know when you might need a--relatively--big blade.

[DragonSong]

River shook her head. "I think I dislike feeling thoroughly outclassed by a box that could fit in the palm of my hand," she grumbled.

Hana chuckled a bit as she wrapped a spare leather strip around the box--ensuring it wouldn't accidentally pop open--and tucked it into her pack before she stood. She looked around, then swallowed and asked softly, "Does anyone...what--what should we do with...Zeldrinn?"

[MadEmperor]

Kah looked over at the body and sighed sadly. "We can't take him with us, but the least we can do is give him as close to a proper burial as we can."

"And gather some of his personal effects," Thrax added, heading over to do just that. "I know who in Ketra I can ask about his family once I'm back in town."

Kah returned to his dragon form and walked after the gnoll. "Secure him to my back. We shouldn't bury him here."

[DragonSong]

Hanako and River nodded agreement and moved to help Thrax fasten the half-elf's body to Kahroan's back.

"Did he...have a favorite flower?" River asked softly after a moment. "Something we could..."

"He said he liked woodsweet," Hana offered. "That little white flower that grows with moss? He--he said it's useful for wounds and stuff, but he liked the way it smells.."

[MadEmperor]

Kah stood back up and nodded. "Alright. Let's get moving before we find ourselves in trouble."

Ko rode ahead of the group on the back of his ghostly wolf. "I'll scout ahead for a good spot."

"... now I've seen everything..." Thrax said quietly, chuckling.

[DragonSong]

Hana chuckled a bit with him; River offered a brief smile, but seemed to be more concerned with getting the group moving.

She took her wolf shape as they got some distance from the site of their battle, walking either just beside her mate or almost directly beneath his scaled belly, reassuring herself with the closeness.

[MadEmperor]

Not long after, Ankoku returned from scouting ahead and led them to a nice spot surrounded by a large number of woodsweet flowers. He stepped into the small glade and motioned around. "I thought your friend would like this spot."

Thrax smiled. He wouldn't want something so boring, but that was hardly relevant. "Yes. I think he would."

Kah nodded approvingly and kneeled down for the group to unload the body.

[DragonSong]

Hana and River murmured their thanks to the little ranger as they helped Thrax lower Zeldrinn's body.

Both women started digging in their animal forms--it seemed the easiest solution, as no one exactly had a shovel handy.

[MadEmperor]

Once the hole was dug and the body placed, the three men bowed their heads.

After a moment, Thrax asked, "Shouldn't somebody, I dunno, say something?" The bard didn't know what he could say; he never got to bury his family or his clan.

Kahroan didn't have the words either, so he hung his head lower.

[DragonSong]

"I--I don't really know," River murmured. She had stepped back to her mate's side, once more in her human form, and was leaning against him lightly.

Hana sighed, melting back into her halfway form. "I guess we just...say goodbye?" she murmured uncertainly, kneeling and reaching out to touch the disturbed earth of the grave lightly. "And...thank you."

[MadEmperor]

Kah kneeled as well, muttering a Yoreiqi prayer. It wasn't much, but it was all he had.

"How about a song?" Thrax asked. "Something slow and peaceful."

[DragonSong]

River nodded, and Hana murmured, "Go ahead."

The kistune stood a little to the side of the group, arms wrapped loosely around her middle, and River found herself glancing at her in a way that she was unfortunately suspicious might be like how a worried Elise would have. She looked at Kahroan, and without thinking reached out to take his hand.

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan, back in his nearly human form, took his mate's hand and gave it a squeeze as Thrax began to play. It was a gentle, bittersweet melody, vastly different from anything they had heard him play before. There were no words, only emotions, but it was clear that the rowdy gnoll had suffered unfathomable loss. He had been set adrift in an unfamiliar world with nothing but the instrument on his back and a song in his heart.

Kah squeezed a little tighter, finding himself moved. He had felt much the same when he was cast out of Yoreiq, but not as deeply as that.

[DragonSong]

River looked at Kah's face and returned the squeeze, leaning her shoulder against his in quiet solidarity.

By the time Thrax had finished, Hanako was crying silently. She moved up to the bard's side and leaned into him a bit, letting her head rest against his shoulder with her ears pressed flat back to her hair. "That was lovely."

[MadEmperor]

Kah sighed sadly. "It... it really was."

Thrax took a moment to respond, his throat too tight to speak and his eyes too watery to look anyone in the eyes. He blinked the wetness away and took a slow breath. "Thanks. I... don't play that one often. It hits too close to home."

[DragonSong]

Hanako glanced up at him, then slipped her arm through his and hugged his arm lightly as she leaned a little more heavily into his side.

"You did good, party boy," she told him quietly, giving his arm another brief squeeze before she pulled away.

River waited a breath, two, then sighed and murmured, "We should...get moving again. We should make camp before it's full dark."

[MadEmperor]

Thrax smirked, very much liking where this was going. He fell in beside the kitsune as they started moving again.

Kah put an arm around Riv as they walked, content with the contact.

Ankoku rolled his eyes. "Just remember to get some actual sleep, okay?"

[DragonSong]

River blushed brightly at the ranger's words, she she pressed a little closer to her mate all the same; it had been a long time since she'd had the reliable comfort of another, and she wasn't so embarrassed that she would minimize that.

Hana, on the other hand, laughed outright, both at Ankoku's quip and at the way Thrax fell into step with her. She flicked all three tails and smirked briefly at the bard.

"I make no promises."

River groaned quietly and turned her face into Kahroan's shoulder with a quiet chuckle. "Where did we find these idiots again?"

[MadEmperor]

Soon finding a place to camp, the group slept in shifts until mid-morning. Ko, on final watch, was already packing away his camp supplies when they awoke. He was, apparently, preparing to return to his own business.

Kah stretched, having slept while embracing his mate. He gave her cheek a kiss as she stirred. "Good morning."

Thrax sat up with a yawn, scratching his chest under his shirt. "Easy there, lovebirds. Some of us want to stomach breakfast," he teased.

[DragonSong]

Hana had taken the last watch before Ko, so she was the groggiest of the bunch when she finally woke, yawning and stretching in a manner that could only be described as "extravagant".

River rolled her eyes at Thrax, but the more pressing issue in her opinion was her growling stomach. "What is breakfast, anyway?"

She looked around and saw the ranger packing. "You're leaving?"