Spirits of the Earth

The day was a bore. Nothing new or exciting. Fin was wondering if she would ever get to have fun again. Sighing she got on her bird and started to fly around. She could bombard someone from the air easy enough. Sending the bird down would be fun too.

She was about to give up on having any fun when she noticed something moving below her. She used the reigns and had the bird fly down closer. She wanted to see what it was moving below, but she didn't want to be caught. That would ruin everything.

She saw someone moving around, but wasn't sure what they were doing. She got an idea and had the bird fly back toward a tree. She gathered a couple of nuts and an acorn. Once back on the bird with her prize she flew again. When she was above what was moving she sent down the nuts and acorn hoping to land a hit.

Lerrok had to fight to keep from chuckling as he counted his "earnings," and even as it was he couldn't keep a somewhat suspicious-looking grin off of his face. By selling the horse he'd stolen a few towns back and the dagger he'd lifted from the nobleman who'd been thick enough to walk the streets without minding his possessions, he'd made quite the little fortune that day. At least twenty glints worth- enough to last him a good while if he was bright about it. He gave the coins a jingle in his hand and went to tuck them away-

Clunk. Coins and curses filled the air as the acorn struck the thief squarely on the head. The Connlaothian dove to scoop them up as quickly as his hands would let him- which would have been much more quickly if he didn't keep dropping the shining bits of metal in his haste. Lerrok raised his head so as to properly berate his assailant, only to find all directions void of an obvious source.

"-seen more brains from a noble's son. People like you ought to be tied to the tallest tree available and left in a wildfire. Give me half the chance and I'll shove one of these coins-" The thief's stream of insults paused as his mouth caught up with his mind. His head tilted to the side, he frantically turned in circles searching for the culprit. "...And I suppose they're invisible now- I knew there was a reason I liked Connlaoth better."

Findra couldn't have picked a better moment to cause this man trouble. He was laughing until that acorn hit him in the head. She noted that he was trying to put his coins away only to have them all litter the ground. She thought that interesting but not amusing enough.

She was careful to keep from being seen on the bird. He hadn't noticed her, which was a bonus. He started shouting up at her even though he couldn't see her. She wondered if he knew or if he was just shouting at nothing. She chuckled a little hoping it was the second one.

The bird seemed to like her just then and not him much. Right as they were passing over him again the bird sent some droppings down on him as if this was natural. Carefully watching from the bird she waited to see what this man would scream next. Would he try to do something to her bird? She hoped not.

If you like it better go back there. She thought heading back toward the trees. The bird landed. She tied off the reigns so the bird couldn't go nowhere. She looked around and saw a few more acorns. She laughed and managed to tie a few to the bird. She looked around for anything else. She had an idea, but wasn't sure it would work.

Getting back on the bird they took off. She had the bird grab a pine cone, which the bird decided was a great idea. It was like the bird and Fin were on the same thought wave. She was loving this. It wasn't long before they rained down the pine cone onto this man. She couldn't wait to see how he responded. She made sure that the acorns she had for a future rain down couldn't be seen from the bird well all except one.

The man had just started to calm down and was about to carry on with his day when yet another projectile came flying down towards him- fortunately this one missed his head, only landing on his right boot. Still, it was enough to send the already irked traveler into another storm of curses- or possibly babbling madness, as by this point he had used most of his favorites. He looked up just in time to catch sight of the bird before it can get out of sight, glaring after it as if he thought appearing angry enough would ground the creature. His gaze rested on the trees beyond which his antagonist had disappeared until his breath ran out.

Lerrok was about to continue along the road when he could movement out of the corner of his eye. "I'm starting to think Angsar might be trying to tell me something here." He eyed the bird as it wheeled back towards him. No way this was just some coincidence. As the bird flew ahead, he took two steps to the left- and cursed as the inaccurate shot suddenly became a lot more accurate, scoring another hit on the top of his head. "Well, either Angsar is trying to test me somehow, or I'm going to eat that bird if it's the last thing I do." He didn't seem to realize that he was talking to himself at this point.

Fin was sad to see the bird droppings only land on the man's boot. She giggled a little seeing him vexed though. She wished she could have heard the words he was saying, but she was too far away for that.

She couldn't help but laugh when she saw her second projectile hitting him again on the head. She was getting better at sending things above. If she had time she would make sure to get him from below as well. She had no idea though that he was wishing ill against her feathered friend. If she had known she would have launched a better attack on the man.

Fin was wondering what else she could send at him. Aerial attacks only went so far she would need something else. She went back to the trees and tied up the bird to come back to it later. She would have allowed it to roam if she knew it wouldn't fly away on her. So far though she didn't trust the animal.

Carefully sliding down the tree she found the bunny she had tied up below. She was glad she had more than one animal she could count on. She had a feeling he wouldn't be expecting this. Heck it was a bunny, why would that attack. Smiling she got on and had the animal burrow below the ground.

Digging around she had the bunny make a few potholes in the road for him to step into. It would slow him down while she could plan the next attack. She also thought of letting him think that maybe letting up a little. If he thought he was safe again she could launch a great attack on him. Plus it would give her time to plan it.

When the bird failed to reappear once more, Lerrok decided to cut his losses and simply move on. He took off down the road, walking perhaps a little more quickly than he would normally. The thief had never been a very superstitious man, but so much good fortune followed immediately by what could almost be described as a curse didn't sit well with him. There would be time to puzzle at the mystery of his increasingly rotten luck at a time when he didn't have under half his wits available.

It took only a few minutes for that decision to crumble apart. His foot struck the first disruption in the road, nearly twisting his foot out from under him and sending him crashing to the ground. Lerrok grimaced and rose again, looking at the road ahead. As he got moving again, he noticed more disruptions in the road ahead- disruptions that had certainly not been there when he arrived the previous day. That settled it. Somebody was screwing with him.

"Alright then, if whoever's doing this wants to start something, let them start something." The thief carried himself across the road and sat down besides it, pulling a small hunk of bread from his pack and sitting down. He began to eat- and to wait.

Fin felt the ground shake above them. She smiled knowing what had occurred. The man had fallen on the first try. Luck seemed to be on her side, but for how long. Usually someone or something managed to wreck the fun she was having.

She had the rabbit go topside again. It was time to see what he was up to. She had found the roots and managed to get up in behind a bush. She had the rabbit stay put as she peaked out at him. He was just sitting there eating his bread. She wondered what she could do to him while he was there, an idea sprung itself without much though. She grinned and sent the rabbit underground again.

Having the idea she needed she sprung up near a tree where she could gather the vines she needed. She would need a few for this to work. She chuckled, and with the right amount of vines went back underground.

Behind his feet she made a hole. She carefully sewed his heels to the ground. Carefully moving around his feet with few holes she managed to sew parts of his feet to the ground. She then went back under making the bunny go up behind him. There sleeping was a porcupine. It was just sleeping. Carefully she broke off a large part of two quills. Aiming carefully she sent them both into the man's backside.

Before she could be caught or the laughter took her she had the bunny retreating down far enough. Within minutes the bunny was tied up and she was in a tree again watching him carefully. He looked so funny she couldn't help but laugh.

The thief hadn't noticed anything happening at first, not feeling the vines until his adversary had disappeared again. It took him until he attempted to stretch his legs to notice something was wrong. Feeling resistance, he spotted the vines poking through the ground. "I can fix that easily enough." Leaning forward, he grabbed his dagger and began to cut apart the binds.

He had just snapped the final binding when Fin's latest attack struck. He sprang to his feet with a howl and turned around to find, as he expected, nothing.  The man winced as he ripped the quills out of his rear and spat a renewed series of curses.

His mouth practically worked on its own as his mind began to run the possibilities over. Somebody had picked a fight with him, somebody who had nothing to gain except perhaps satisfaction, somebody who seemed to be able to get at him from underground and the sky, somebody who would use the spikes of a porcupine as a weapon. Lerrok wasn't exactly well versed on the subject, but there didn't seem any clear answer besides the one- some sort of fae.

Lerrok growled. "Alright then, if I can't catch it to make it swallow those coins, then I'll just have to settle for the next best thing." He rummaged through his gear until he came across some flint, tinder, and one of the torches he carried in case he ever needed to travel at night. He stormed towards the treeline. "Alright, whatever manner of nuisance you are, I'm going to give you till the count of ten. Show yourself or I start burning." He was bluffing of course, he didn't really want to kill everything inside, even the pest, but he certainly looked furious enough to mean it. Some part of his mind reminded him that even if the assailant showed itself, he wasn't exactly sure what he'd do about it- he ignored it.

Fin was laughing very hard at this man. She wasn't happy he snapped the vines instead of falling flat on his face, but hey not everything worked. She could only plan so much and hoped that it worked. Half the time she was disappointed. Not this time.

While he was cursing up a storm she could hardly breath. Fin had finally found the right person to torture. She then got serious when she heard him threaten to burn the place around them down. Stupid Biaf, you'd think they'd learn not to tempt me. Go ahead burn it. How will you survive? She thought still watching him. This was more fun than she had in months.

She wondered why he wanted her to swallow some coins when he should be spending them on more meaningful things. That's at least what she thought Biaf's did with their coin or toss it away on something stupid.

The fire gave her another idea, but she would have to wait to act upon it. She couldn't be seen let alone caught by the Biaf. That just wouldn't do her fun would be spoiled, and she didn't want to see what coin tasted like.

Going to the inside of the three she crawled down it and out the bottom running carefully past him. She got her rabbit and took it back to where the vines where. This would be just as fun although not as fun as the fire idea. She gathered her vines and made two ropes.

She thought about this further and then while he seemed to like the trees, she roped and pulled back one of the branches behind this guy. She tied it off wanting to come back to it. She checked the angle and then tied the other vines in a straight line for him to trip over. She chuckled lightly knowing where he would land - the dung. Going back underground again she went above to where her bird was waiting. She let the rabbit go free no longer needing him. She would capture a squirrel or something next if necessary.

From above she tossed an acorn at the tied part of the tree. It came lose smacking him in the back. She waited to see if her calculations would be correct and if the man would suddenly want to smell something rosier.

As it didn't seem his bluff was working, Lerrok gave up on the attempt. He supposed he'd just have to let the matter drop and carry on his way until the creature decided to quit bothering him. He took a deep breath to keep himself from doing something foolish in parting-clunk.

The man spun on his heels, preparing to- he wasn't sure what exactly. He made as if to step forward... and then froze. "Almost got me with that one, pest!" He carefully stepped past the makeshift tripwire and the dung behind it. He was starting to catch the creature's game, so long as he watched his step and didn't lose his head- again- there didn't seem to be much his opponent could do to him.

The thief returned to his pack, put away his torch, and started along the road again. "Alright, fine! I hate to say it, but you win. I don't plan on killing you, and whatever you are I doubt the methods I'd use to get back at another human would be much help. Keep pestering me or don't, I suppose I'll just have to deny you the satisfaction of success." Surprisingly, he was able to keep his voice fairly calm given he'd nearly fallen face first into a pile of dung, but perhaps he had simply run out of the energy needed for fury.

Fin was waiting with anticipation, but she seemed to fail yet again. This Biaf was actually catching onto the way she worked. She hated that wondering what she could do to him now that he knew her. Well he didn't completely know her. She smiled seeing his pack was slightly opened.

She heard him say she had won. It wasn't a contest or anything of that sort. She wasn't ready to move on yet, and he was the most fun she had had in awhile. Her mind was turning there had to be something else she could do to him.

Using her bird she went to another tree watching him. She could be patient if necessary. She scowled knowing it would have been awesome if he had managed to get a face full of dung. She shrugged and waited for the right opportunity to come knocking again.

She knew what she must do, and it wouldn't be easy. Carefully she went back and gathered some more vines this time a little sturdier ones. The ones used for the earlier stuff was tame and would have broken easy enough but would have held for her purposes. It wouldn't have helped her in this.

She wanted to wait until he was on the move again. Using the vines she roped the coins one by one taking them out and away from him. It seemed to be his pride that he had them. She used the bird and placed the coins high up in several different trees. She then had the bird fly to one close enough to enjoy, but not to be spotted. She couldn't wait to see what he did.

Ironically enough, the plan almost didn't work. Only on the last coin did Lerrok notice something was wrong. Turning around, he swiped the last coin and slipped it hurriedly into his coat pocket. He cursed as he saw the rest of the coins hanging from the trees. "And there goes the bright side to my day."

The man paced back and forth, not entirely sure how to go about this. He could try to climb the trees, but that would be like sticking his head through a noose. No, there had to be a better way. He peered closer. The coins couldn't have been fastened that well- he didn't know how exactly the sprite pulled it off, but it certainly hadn't been digging around in his pack and tying them in up close. Lerrok scratched his head. He needed something to throw...

Stooping down to pick a number of small stones from the road, he began chucking them into the air- it was slow work, and he wasn't able to hit the coins with any degree of accuracy, but one by one they started to slip away from the vines encircling them. One or two of his particularly bad shots slipped out of his hand and happened to fly near the creature's hiding spot.

Fin's plan yet again was fouled up. He was getting smarter and this was getting harder. She was saddened that she might have to move onto the next victim. She remembered the quills and laughed again knowing she wouldn't forget that any time soon.

There was one thing she was liking in all of this. He wasn't making much progress of getting out of the woods. She had slowed him down giving her more time to come up with a better plan of action. It had to be good something he wouldn't expect. She couldn't just tie his shoes together that wouldn't work this late in the game.

She noticed the pebbles, in her case rocks considering her size and theirs, coming in her direction. She made sure the bird didn't try to fly away as the rocks made their way near them. The bird was skitish, but Fin managed. She would duck if she needed to.

She remembered ahead not far was a pond. He might be thirsty after all she had done to him. She wondered if there would be a way to have some fun there too. She knew that if she waited he might forget and not be so wary. That or he would be too thirsty.

Soon all but one or two of the coins were back in Lerrok's possession, with the stragglers being too far away to hit. "That'll have to do. Still plenty of money for someone like me." He stuffed the coins into a small pouch and made sure to tie the strings tightly- and made certain his pack was absolutely closed. He peered into the trees one last time- "About ready to give up? I'm sure there's someone else you'd be able to trick for a while." He carried on, keeping an eye on the road and an ear out for anything coming from the woods.

After a few minutes of walking he called out. "You know, if we're going to keep this up we might as well know who it is we're dealing with. There's not much point in you hiding, since I've got a pretty good idea of what you are by now, and there's nothing I could really do to you so long as you stay out of reach." Something odd had begun to creep into his voice. The anger was gone, and so was most of the irritation. He sounded almost like he was beginning to enjoy the challenge.

He fell silent as he came upon a small pond. He'd brought two waterskins with him, but only one was filled, and half-full at that. He stepped a little closer, keeping an eye out for any tricks. "Hrm..." He frowned, not entirely sure what to do here. He was certainly getting thirsty- all the shouting earlier had seen to that, and he might need to make what water he had available last a while. "Clever, you might not even have a trap ready for me, and by this point I'm so concerned I might pass up completely innocent water even if you hadn't." He actually chuckled a bit at that. "We'll see." Lerrok crept closer to the water and knelt to fill up his extra waterskin, taking a swig from the original.

Fin was watching him more and more curious about what he was up to. This was different than most times. Her fun had stopped so she wasn't too pleased. She heard him talking and sighed. He knew she was there, but not in what form exactly. Nobody could have guessed it was a Brownie in the woods. Most thought fairies.

She heard it and smiled. He was challenging her if she ever heard it. He hadn't said as much, but it was there in his voice. She was rubbing her hands together and had the bird fly to the pond. She looked around wondering what she could do to him now. There was only one thing that came to mind, but she wasn't sure how to pull that off. Suddenly there was and she knew how to make him willingly do it.

She saw him at the water, and he apparently hadn't looked around. She smiled. Fin left the bird far enough away to not be harmed. She was inside a tree so that they wouldn't come after her for hitting it. Her aim was good and she tossed the rock. It hit immediately stirring them to anger. She smiled and waited watching to see what this man would do with a rock hitting a beehive.

She could stayed well hidden so they would think he had done it. She knew her goal - get the Biaf soaked. She couldn't shove him in, she was too small, but this would do. What better way than to make them do it themselves. She figured if she was lucky he would dive in with everything and maybe lose a few items.

It didn't seem as if his antagonist was going to try anything. Maybe it had given up, or maybe it had simply left a trap further along. In either case, he was safe for the moment. The sound of a rock parting leaves told him otherwise. He brought his arms up over his face, trying to protect his eyes and nose from the projectile. But the rock never struck him.

The following cracking sound didn't quite register with him, but the furious buzzing certainly did. "Bees!?" It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened, or the intent behind it- but he didn't have much choice. Lerrok could outrun a lot of things, but anything with wings tended to stay off that list. He dropped his pack on the bank and lunged into the water.

He realized that the bees would likely persist a lot longer than his breath would, so he grabbed a reed growing along the bank and slipped back above the water. One or two of the insects stung Lerrok before he could get back under-this time using the reed as one would expect, but he largely escaped unscathed. 

Lerrok grimaced. That had been a good one, he had to admit. He tried to think- seeing as there wasnt much else he could do at the moment. What would the creature try to follow this with? His eyes immediately locked on his pack, left just a few steps from the water. It had already gone for his things once, and it was the easiest way to get at him for the moment.

Fin laughed at him for thinking the rock was going to hit him. That was precious, but not as precious as him grabbing a reed and diving into the pond. She couldn't help but laugh. Then she realized he had done something dumb after all. Instead of taking his pack with him he had left it behind. Nothing like opportunity knocking.

She made sure he was still under and that the bees were busy. Sighing she knew there was no way to the pack above ground. Digging a tunnel would take forever too. She would have to give up this opportunity or fight the bees. She didn't want that.

Sliding down the inside of the tree she found a root that went a little farther than the others. It wanted water more than the rest of them. Using this to climb along she found she was under the man's pack. It seemed like luck was still on her side. She pulled the needle she used to sew earlier out and poked a hole through the pack. She was using it as a knife just then sawing through the underside of his pack.

Once she had a hole big enough she looked around the pack not sure what would be inside it. She would only have a few moments before the man would be back, that much she knew. She spied the bag of coins and went behind it trying to shove it out of the hole. It was too heavy. She  opened it and managed to take the coins out one by one. Instead of leaving an empty sack she placed dirt inside of it. This man had left a few behind, but Fin knew he would do what he could to find them again once he realized what he had instead.

As quick as she could she moved the last coin down beside the root moving carefully back to the bag. She then sewed the bag shut again. She began moving the last coin back to her hiding tree. If she left them all at just the right spot he might not find them again. She just had to make sure he wouldn't find her either.

She heard that the bees seemed to no longer be buzzing around. She was glad they had presented her with a great time. It wasn't every day she saw a grown man jump into a pond with his clothing on.

Leaving the bag of money really low in the tree she dashed from it to the bush again. Working carefully she got back to the tree with her bird in it. Once there she sat down next to the bird to watch this next scene. Will he realize that it's gone again? Lucky for me I had time to hide it. Let's see how smart you really are. She thought glad to be back high again.

Lerrok waited a moment after the bees stopped, then climbed out of the lake. He shook his head and pulled the wet hair away from his eyes. He  checked the ground between him, his pack, and the road to make sure there weren't any more surprises waiting for him before trudging out of the pond. Shouldering his pack again, he tried to ignore his present condition and get moving again, but something stopped him.

"No, that would be too easy." The man dropped his pack and checked inside, looking for anything that could have been tampered with. Everything looked in order, nothing appeared missing or damaged, and the bag of coins was still sitting safely where he had left it- but there was no harm in making sure his assailant hadn't attempted to hurt him in his wallet once again.

Lerrok took a sharp breath as he opened the pouch, finding nothing but dirt inside. He held it out at arms length and tipped it over, letting the dirt fall out. "Now, where are they this time?" He thought for a moment, and peered around the clearing, but couldn't find any sign of them. Then he remembered the direction the rock from earlier had come from. It had to be somewhere over that way.

No, still nothing.  He supposed he'd have to just leave the coins- wait, there was just a glint over there. Drawing closer, Lerrok looked for any more traps that might have been laid. When he was satisfied that there weren't any, knelt down and examined the tree more thoroughly. Towards the base had been where he'd seen it, so it was probably- there! Lerrok grinned a bit as he started to recollect his money. "Now we'll see if you've got any other tricks."

Oh no he had found out about her trick. She sighed wondering how many more times he was going to ruin her fun. She was lucky she hadn't been caught yet though. She knew that luck would run out eventually.

She had another idea and had the bird fly toward another tree not far away from there. The bees wouldn't trouble them any more. They had served their purpose in making her laugh she would leave them alone for awhile.

Fin knew she had to act quickly because as soon as he had his coins he would be on his way again. She knew what was in the log below. She had the bird land on the ground so she could make a quick getaway if she needed to. She wasn't leaving anything to chance if she could help it.

"Hey big dumb dumb over here. You want me I'm in the log but I don't like the taste of coins," she said into the smaller end of the log. Sure it might wake the animal inside, but she was willing to take that chance. The animal stayed put figuring nothing of it. She knew if he stuck his head in there or even just his hand he would smell for days.

Lerrok once again- hoping it would be the last time that day- fastened shut the bag holding his coin. At the brownie's taunt, he let out a round of genuine laughter. "Really now? After the cunning you've shown so far, after every trick you've pulled, you expect me to poke any part of me into a log- a log I have no idea what's inside- because you told me that's your hiding place? I'm almost a little disappointed."

As he spoke, the man took a few steps away from the log, circling it to get a look inside from a safe distance, and crouched down. He couldn't quite make out what was inside, but it looked suspiciously like an animal he wouldn't want to pet.

"Besides, what would I do if I did catch you? Kill you? Not for a few jokes. That coin threat was mostly the anger talking- the satisfaction isn't worth the price even without the trouble of catching you in the first place."

Of course, he wasn't quite done yet. He'd heard rustling a few feet away immediately before the challenge had been issued. His plan had a very good chance to backfire, but he couldn't very well leave without an attempt at retaliation. Lerrok grabbed five small rocks, took aim, and chucked the first into the log.

As the skunk within took off, he followed up with throws to either side, attempting to guide the creature towards the presumed location of his adversary. It didn't respond quite as well as expected, but the thief was able to goad the creature largely in the desired direction. "Now let's see if that works..."

He was smarter than she gave him credit for. She sighed wondering what else would go wrong. Deciding to make the bird fly on the first stone she had managed to get out of the way before she could be skunked herself. She couldn't imagine what they would do to her.

Well marking me like that would give away where I am. He's got some kind of brain up there after all. I wonder what I can do to him now. She thought wondering how miserable he was in soaked clothing. She had delayed him some from leaving the woods, but she had a feeling that wouldn't be the same much longer.

What would he do with me if caught? She thought not liking that idea. She wanted to wait and see if another opportunity would present itself. He had played into her hands showing his mind did indeed work. There was only one question on the little one's mind - now what?

Lerrok grimaced as he heard no signs of success in the following moments. He hadn't really expected it to work to begin with, but it was still somewhat disappointing. Worse, he'd likely tipped his hand with that, and he wouldn't be able to catch it- no, her, the voice had definitely sounded feminine- off guard if he were to try something like that again.

His damp hair had fallen in front of his eyes again, and he brushed it aside. With a shrug he started off along the road again. "What else could I try?..." As long as his opponent was watching him, he had one major disadvantage- he couldn't see what the other was up to.

But she had to take her eyes off of him at some point if she wanted to lay another trap. He was beginning to form the basis for a number of attacks, but none of them would work if he was observed first. Immediately after whatever the creature were to throw at him next, that's when he'd set his plans in motion.

Findra wasn't the most patient brownie in the world. She was worried about this one he seemed smarter than she had thought. She had heard of stories where fairies had been caught by humans who were underestimated. She wouldn't do such a thing.

She wanted to plan another trick on him, but she wasn't sure what. No opportunities were presenting themselves. Fin wanted fun, but it wasn't possible. She stayed on her bird watching the Human below. She had allowed him to hear her voice. That might have been a mistake.

She smiled as his wet hair got in his face. She had caused him discomfort and a lot of laughs for her. She wasn't done with him, but she would have to wait. She knew that if he got comfortable again he might think she just gave up on tricking him. It would be then that she could go again without him catching her. She sighed and knew this was the best plan.

Grimacing, Lerrok stopped walking for a moment to better focus on his thoughts. It looked like his opponent was just about out of tricks- it had been longer than he expected it to take to run into some trap or other. If that were the case, if he put on a bit of speed and tried to cover as much ground as quickly as possible he could probably get out without any further trouble. He discarded the idea pretty quickly- he wanted to get some degree of satisfaction before departing. Besides, he liked a challenge.

Lerrok continued walking, figuring his plan would be a bit obvious if he were to do so immediately after that pause. He didn't do anything so obvious as starting to whistle, but he couldn't quite stop himself from walking with an extra spring in his step. After a minute or two of walking, he sped up mid-stride, turning and dashing into the woods.

He sprang over or barged through any foliage in his way, hardly slowed by obstacles. He couldn't keep that pace up for long, but if his plan worked, he wouldn't need to. Lerrok slipped a hand under his coat and grabbed a hold of his extra waterskin. Was what he was about to do wise? No, but it was, after all, an extra skin, and he was past the point of caring much about wisdom.

Fin was watching him letting the bird follow around but not too close to the human. He was being weird stopping like that. It was almost as if he didn't want to leave the forest. She thought this most suspicious considering he was heading some place before she started playing tricks on him.

Watching him she found he was heading off in a faster pace. That seemed to make more sense, but she wasn't sure of this yet. He was just moving faster that didn't mean anything. She kept high up so that he might not see her while flying through the woods.

She wondered if maybe the forest was playing tricks on him with the branches and things he had to go through. She thought that funny, but hadn't done anything to do this. She hoped he wouldn't blame her for the forest's doing. She just kept a good vigil for the moment figuring something would pop up again.

It didn't seem to be working. She must have been following him from too far away for him to hear whatever noise she might make. He'd only get one shot at this, so he'd need to make it count, and right now the odds of that happening weren't feasible in the least. He'd need a slight chance in plans.

Lerrok ran through his options and decided what he needed to do. First, he began to speed up gradually, making it harder to keep up. Secondly, he made an effort to run into denser foliage, minimizing the ability to keep an eye on him from higher up in the air. He needed her to follow pretty closely behind him and not much higher than he was tall for his plan to work.

He'd be dirt tired once he got on the road again, but even the satisfaction of attempting one last time was worth being a little out of breath.

Findra wasn't dumb. She wondered how long before he realized that. She could see a trap when one came along and that was fine. He had sped up and was moving through thicker areas. She wouldn't dare follow him at least not on a bird.

Fin wasn't happy about letting the bird go, but she knew it was time. It had outgrew its usefulness to her. She needed something else something that would be able to go from tree to tree with no problem. She needed a squirrel.

She released the bird and waited in a tree for one to appear. She didn't have to wait long. Once the squirrel was there she tossed a vine around its neck and jumped on its back. It tried to displace her just like every other animal. After a few minutes it tired and realized it was caught.

"Don't worry I won't harm you I just need your help little friend. The biaf needs to be taught that it can't underestimate those who aren't as big as it is. Going from tree to tree will help in this," she said hoping the animal would understand. Not all of them were smart, but some were willing to help her.

Once the squirrel was in complete cooperation she set off from tree to tree after the man. She noted which way he was heading and decided to get ahead of him again. Once she was she was going to lie in wait. It was time to catch him instead of the other way around. There was a spot where the vines above would help her do that.

She arrived not sure how this would work. The bird was there the one she released along with the rabbit from earlier. They had followed her even though she had released them. It took her by surprise. Both seemed eager to help her. Making signs and talking to them she had the rabbit dig a hole down below. The bird brought some friends along to help toss vines down at the man. The trap was ready now all she needed was him.

Lerrok slowed as his breath began to run out. He'd heard rustling off to the side and past him at one point, but not what he needed. His plan obviously wasn't working. He slowed to a jog and put the waterskin back into place. He continued on at a quick walk, not entirely giving up quite yet. He'd continue on for a few moments, see if an opportunity presented itself, then turn back.

Then the vines started dropping on him. They began to entangle him, and if he'd flailed he'd likely have gotten himself pretty thoroughly stuck. As it was, he ripped the vines away from him with his right arm and used his dagger to saw through any that wouldn't fall away.

As he worked at the vines, he glared into the woods around him and attempted to make as little noise as possible, listening for any sign of further attacks. He couldn't help cursing his own stubborn streak at this point- he should have just left when he had a good chance rather than running into more traps. "How did she even drop that many vines on me at once?"

There he was, but it hadn't worked. There just weren't enough vines to trap him. It wasn't enough even with her plan. She sighed and wondered what it would take to get through to him that she wasn't going away and that she was smarter than he took her for.

She was glad she had allies in the forest animals. It would definitely help to have them trick him in her travels. She heard him questioning her again. She shook her head while staying out of sight. It wouldn't do if he saw her now of all times. Fin noticed he hadn't seen the hole yet. The bunnies had worked hard to make it deep enough that it would be hard for hi to climb out of.

Using the help of her friends she knew she would have to trip him up or something. She motioned for the rabbits to run around his feet. If they could get him to stumble he might fall into the pit. She could only hope. This was too much fun.

Sighing in relief as the last of the vines fell away without any further attacks, Lerrok turned to leave. He was naturally a little surprised when the first thing he saw was a number of small, furry rodents running at him and darting about his feet. "What are you-?" The man stumbled back a bit, more in astonishment than any physical obstruction. His right foot came down behind him, but half of it was left in the air.

It took him just an instant too long to realize what was going on, and his left foot was in the air before him could stop himself. Lerrok teetered over the edge for a moment, and it looked as if he'd be able to regain his balance. Before he could regain his footing, however, the dirt beneath his foot gave way and he tumbled into the hole.

Lerrok grimaced and rolled over, getting slowly to his feet. "Those are some industrious friends of yours, I'll give them that." He peered around, looking for an easy way out. He knew he had to hurry; it wouldn't take too long for her to find something unpleasant to drop in there with him. The hole looked too step to just trudge out of, and was largely without good hand or footholds. He certainly couldn't just jump it.

He circled the hole for a moment or two before he had an idea. First, he took a hold of his pack and tossed it out of the hole- he didn't need the extra weight. Then, he drew his sword and dagger, holding them both in reverse. He stepped back to the opposite wall and sprung forward, darting up the side as quickly as he could. He stuck his blades into the side for a small boost of extra momentum and to stop himself from falling back, and within a few seconds he was out, panting for breath. His hair was coated with dirt and his clothes were muddy, but that was hardly out of the norm for him.

Fin watched and chuckled as he fell into the hole. She wasn't expecting him to stay in there for long. She sighed wondering if he was ready to admit she was smarter than given credit for. She had a feeling he hadn't learned that lesson yet.

She heard he gave some acknowledgement to the rabbits. She was glad of that but it still wasn't enough. She smiled when she saw his pack was tossed out of the hole first. He was more worried about getting out than keeping his things with him.

Fin sent the birds after the pack. It took all of them to lift it in the air and carry it off. She rode off on one of them having the squirrel tied up properly. She wasn't about to trust just anything to fate. They flew past a small clearing and then hid his pack inside of a dead tree. She knew where it was but wasn't about to tell him any time soon.

The bird she was on flew her back to the squirrel. She arrived just as he finally got out of the hole. Getting back on the squirrel she had it dart too high for him to see her. She would watch him from a safe distance. She chuckled at how he looked - completely dirty.

Lerrok brushed himself off, looking around for his pack. "Gone... I should have expected that, really." He paused and looked around for some clue as to where it had been taken, but found none. Still, it couldn't have gone far in the short amount of time he'd taken his eyes off it. The thief sighed and put his dagger away, though he kept his sword drawn- if he couldn't find his pack he wanted to be able to stick any of his assailant's furry allies that bothered him again; he'd need to eat something after all.

Without any sort of clue as to where the rest of his things had gone, he didn't have much choice but to start searching the nearby area. He didn't search too thoroughly- he also wanted to keep an eye out for any other tricks, and he'd likely have more luck covering ground quickly than probing every nook and cranny anyway.

"By the way," he called out as he searched, "my name is Lerrok, Lerrok Okren. Not 'big dumb dumb.'" He muttered a quick curse as he parted a suspicious-looking bush to find nothing of note. "And why are you so persistent in harassing me, anyway? What exactly did I do to you?" The human sounded genuinely curious, if somewhat irked. "Surely there's somebody out there who would be more entertaining to mess with. Some superstitious village rube, maybe." As he went, he picked any berries he came across- he had a plan to use them against the brownie if she gave him the chance, and they'd make good bait for a snare if not.

Findra was highly amused. She watched and heard what he said. She sighed and shook her head knowing that talking to nothing was a sure sign that something was wrong. It only made her laugh again.

The animals had gone into hiding. They were being just as cautious as she was around this being. She heard his name and made note of who he was. It would be easier to keep tabs on him now that she had it. She didn't answer his questions it would give away her location.

It as easy to mess with a superstitious person I know that, but some village idiot isn't as fun. They tended more to ignore me than go along with my plans like you Lerrok. She thought to herself hearing how irked he was. It was working better than she had hoped.

She noted the berries wondering what he was planning now. She couldn't understand this man. She knew humans got hungry, but he wasn't eating them. It made her curious, but not enough to ask or go closer.

Lerrok grew increasingly grim as both his attempts at finding his pack and his attempts at getting some answers out of the sprite proved fruitless. He opened his mouth, about to chide her for her paranoia- did she really think he'd be able to do anything if she flew around above him and spoke?- but he decided the last thing he needed right now was for the creature to realize she could taunt him from safety if she wanted to.

"Fine then, stay silent." With a sigh and one last look around, he decided there was no way he'd find his pack before nightfall. He'd only gone a few steps before realizing there was more to it than that- he'd never find his pack without help. He continued walking- it was worth a shot, but he was trying to figure out how to word it.

"They say that your kind are fond of games, and I assume that's why you've set out to ruin my day." He scanned the trees for any sort of reaction as he spoke. "So how about a bit of a wager? A game of either chance or wit. If I win, you give me back my pack. If you win- well, I don't really know exactly what you'd like, but I'm sure there's something I could do for you. Besides, I bet you don't get many offers like this- it'd be a different experience for someone like you, wouldn't it? And I can't hurt you if I want any chance at finding my pack, so you've nothing to fear from me." If the man was bluffing, he was doing a rather good job of not showing it. "Or I could leave- sure, you get the satisfaction of stealing my pack, but I doubt you'll have many more chances to get at me." Lerrok paused at the end, waiting for any form of response. He ran a dirt-streaked hand through his hair. At this point he really just wanted the matter settled one way or another.

Fin couldn't deny it this man had given her plenty of amusement. She couldn't help but laugh again at remembering how he had jumped when those quills went into his backside. She would have to remember that one for future times.

She listened to what he had to say about staying silent. That was usually the best thing for a brownie. Those who talked usually got caught or were helping Humans. She didn't care for those type. They usually weren't much fun. Hearing the rest of his idea she was giving it some thought. The fun would stop if he left. Would the fun continue though maybe if she agreed to what he said? Could he be trusted? She didn't think so.

"You are right about that, Lerrok. I don't get offers like this. How do I know I can trust you though?" She said still keeping out of sight. She had given her voice before so this was no different. She was curious, but not dumb enough not to be cautious.

Lerrok didn't turn to look at the source of the voice, not wanting to give the creature any reason to think he was about to try something. "I just told you, didn't I? If I want my pack back in my possession, I need you to be both able and willing to tell me where it's gone. Besides, you'd probably be more trouble than you're worth to catch. I just want my things back and to be on my way." The bandit slipped his sword back into its sheathe and popped one of the berries he had picked into his mouth.

"So, I've got nothing to gain except perhaps a little bit of satisfaction, and I'm not a cruel man- I'd not enjoy inflicting any real harm on you." The man began to search around for a comfortable place to sit. He frowned as he continued- he couldn't think of anything other than logic that he could use to prove he was speaking the truth.

"Now, you can either trust me far enough to try, or you can stay hidden and I'll be on my way. I'll give you to the count of ten to make up your mind." Lerrok waited a moment, then began to count slowly. He kept an ear out for any other tricks that might come while he was stationary, though he didn't think there would be any coming. He took a seat against the back of a tree, resting his feet on a mossy patch. "One... two... three..."

She watched him as he seemed to get comfortable instead of staying on guard. She noticed he was eating the berries.

"You don't know much about this forest do you? I wouldn't eat any more of those. They aren't poisonous, but they are good for sleeping. Although you falling asleep means I could probably draw on your face so go ahead and eat more," she said not sure why she warned him.

"I'm glad you know I'm nothing but trouble at being caught. As you have experienced I'm not cruel either just looking for some fun. With you on your way though my fun stops. Then it's back to boring every day life," she said not wanting this to end. She knew it would eventually though then she would need to find someone else to torment.

She moved to be seen. It was something she wasn't used to. She sighed not liking this, but she wasn't ready to give up her fun either. She gained nothing by having him leave his pack and her.

"Okay so now what?"

Lerrok's eyebrow lifted as the brownie stepped into the open. "Well, I doubted I'd get this far, so I don't really know. Ordinarily I'd suggest a game of cards or a contest of marksmanship, but you're too small to hold a hand of cards properly or to throw a knife. Hrm..." Standing up and beginning to pace about, he muttered a number of possible solutions to himself, discarding most of them almost immediately.

It took him about a minute to stop. "Well, about all I can think of is would be a game of riddles, unless you have any better ideas. Now, you know what I want out of this, but if you win, what would you want?" The man sat back down and tilted his head as he looked at the brownie, completely unsure as to what he could offer.

"I don't think I have any material object you'd have any use for..." Lerrok grabbed another of the berries and began tossing it about in his hand. "I might be able to lure some other sucker here for you- or maybe show you how to make better traps than those shoddy vines you kept throwing at me..." He gauged her expression for any sign that he'd stumbled on an acceptable deal.

The thief was somewhat concerned by the fact that even if he won, he couldn't trust the brownie to actually hold up her end of the bargain- though she did warn him about the berries, so he supposed she had to have some sense of fairness. It wasn't like he had many choices in any case.

Fin listened to what he was saying. This was all new to her. She nodded as he thought up of things and then dismissed them. There wasn't much someone her height could do. She did like the idea of riddles. It was right up her alley.

"That's a good question. What do I want? You are right I'm not interested in material things of this world. Suckering someone in to take your place isn't any fun for me. Better traps? Now that is more fun. Alright if I win you show me some better traps that someone my size can toss at those bigger than me," she said with a big grin on her lips. This was going to be so much fun.

"It sounds like we have a deal. Who will start?"

Lerrok stood up and tossed the berry at a nearby bush. "I'll start. Now, to be fair let's avoid riddles involving things the other couldn't reasonably be expected to know." He began to pace again, muttering to himself. His brow furrowed and he scratched at his stubble, trying to think of a good one. "Try this one."

He stopped and turned back to the brownie. "What could be there for all of history, yet neither see nor remember a moment of it? What has no reason to fear a fist, a blade, or the hangman's noose, but goes to pieces in a the rain? What bears being trodden on by king and beggar alike without complaint, but can bury a hapless traveler in its wrath without so much as a word of warning?"

Deciding it would just be a waste of time to sit down again, he raised an eyebrow and gave the brownie some time to think- this one shouldn't really stump her, and he wondered what she'd come up with.

"Agreed although I don't know what you don't know," she said with a laugh. She liked word games they gave her a chance to show her wit. He had chosen well in this game. She listened to his riddle and shook his head wondering what he was thinking.

"Mother Earth of course," she said groaning a little. He had given her an easy one. She couldn't figure out why he would start off easy. The idea was to stump the other. She couldn't ask him something about the Faes or her own little world. He wouldn't have a clue.

"I'm not something to be held. To keep me is a shame, and to share me is to lose me. I could end up being trouble or something not so important," she said keeping it short. This seemed like a good riddle and he would know of the answer. She smiled looking down at him.

Chuckling at the brownie's irritation, Lerrok listened to the riddle. "You can't exactly complain about me going easy on you when yours isn't particularly hard either. The answer is a secret. Now," he frowned- he was never very good at thinking these things up. "Now give me a moment or two."

He discarded a few, given he wasn't entirely sure the brownie had ever had the necessary dealings to understand them. Maybe... no, too easy... Lerrok growled and kicked a rock in frustration. "Ach- ah, I've got one. What disease never kills, but there's not a physician in the world who can cure it?"

This one should also be fairly easy, but he was too concerned with his foot to care about providing a great challenge at this point.

Fin hadn't heard this one. She had to think a moment before even trying to answer. Was it something she had heard of? She hoped not or she might lose this one.

"The only thing I can think of is stupidity," she said watching him. He was a crafty one. She had thought hers a good one. One that might stump him. Now she saw if she passed this round she would have to think of a better one. She continued to watch him not sure if it was her turn or not.

(OOC: Nice one...)

Lerrok was a little surprised- it hadn't been the answer he was looking for, but it was still a reasonable one, all things considered. "Not quite. I was thinking of homesickness, though I suppose that one might have been a little unfair; I don't really know if your kind really has to worry about that. I have seen plenty of people killed by stupidity."

Frowning and scratching his chin, Lerrok realized perhaps they should have clarified the rules a bit more before starting. "Go ahead and give another one of yours. If I can get it, I win- if not, then we go another round. Does that sound fair enough?"

He was leaning against a tree now, a little worried. She was sure to throw a tricky one at him now that the game depended on it.

"I haven't seen anyone killed by stupidity. What is this homesickness?" She asked knowing that he hadn't played fair. She should have known better than to trust a human. He would bend the rules.

"I can do that," she said figuring to go along with this. She hadn't played fair earlier using the animals and her size to her advantage. While she should expect this she wondered how to combat it. Going along with his game seemed easy enough. She would just have to make sure the next one stumped him good. This was crunch time now.

"Here we go... My first is in now and knew. My second is in net, but not in cat. The third is in week, but not today. My last is in strike but never in pound. My whole is small and nonthreatening. All that live usually crush me if I'm not careful," she said still above him. She sat to wait and see if this game was over or if it was just this round.

Lerrok shrugged. "Wars are started for stupid reasons all the time, and I've unfortunately had to kill one or two people who were a bit too thick to realize they were in over their heads myself. As for homesickness, it..." He paused, he'd been missing his homeland for a short while now himself. "Humans often miss wherever it is they happen to come from- their family, old friends, the land itself- when they're on the road. That's all."

The man then turned his attention to the riddle. It was clearly a word game of some sort, but he couldn't for the life of him figure it out. "I'm going to need a bit of time for this one." He took a stick and began making scratches in the dirt. Mumbling to himself, he didn't seem to be making any real progress. "Just a minute or two, that's all I'll need." It sounded almost more like he was trying to convince himself than the brownie.

He stood like that for a few moments, then sighed. "Alright, maybe I need more than just a few minutes. The best guess I've been able to come up with would be news, and it's not much of a guess." The man didn't even wait for a response before launching into his next riddle, fairly certain he'd missed that one.

"What has no teeth, but bites as harshly and with as much certainty as an angry dog; all while laughing at the thickest armor? What howls like a wolf, but with nothing to howl to? What bandit stops to steal the leaves from the trees, and sends everyone hiding in the night?" That one might do the trick, though Lerrok wasn't so sure. He wished he'd taken the time to come up with a better one, as if she had any more like the last one he was certain to lose.

Fin listened to what he said. She didn't miss where she had come from this was far more a fun place than that. She thought humans were funny things missing their homes. The land was always around her that was enough as long as she was having fun.

She watched him writing in the dirt. She was smiling doing her best not to laugh. He had no idea. She was amazed at how close and yet how off he was about her riddle. He was good, but not good enough. She would need another one just like that to stump him again. At least now she knew where his weakness lie.

"Close newt was the answer. One letter off," she said the laughter in her voice. She then heard his next riddle and scratched her head. He was good at this that she knew. She smiled then thinking she had him again.

"The wind," she answered thinking this was the only thing possible. He was good alright it had taken her a few minutes to figure his out. He was making them harder. She wondered just how hard he would make them.

"Alright try this one... I'm small and bitter to the core. You don't want to eat me, nor do I want to be eaten. I don't have a choice though. My color is red," she said watching him again. It could be anything.

Lerrok spat. "Bah, I thought of that, but there are plenty of things that wouldn't crush a newt." He decided to go along with it and didn't push the issue further, figuring it wasn't worth the trouble of arguing over. He tapped the ground with the stick he'd been using earlier. I wonder what's coming next?

Well, that was a little vague. Lerrok got that feeling he always did when trying to answer these things; the first thing to come to mind was always too obvious seeming. Rather than put too much thought into it, he figured he might as well go with the apparent answer.

"A tomato? That could be quite a few things." He leaned back against a tree and waited.

The day was beautiful, the sun golden and high, reaching down fingers of light that caressed and danced across the earth. The birds were singing, the skies were blue, and nothing could stop her from skipping along as she followed, bare footed down the dirt path.  It had been sometime, the road mostly being a lonely one, as she'd entertain herself with a song, or distract herself by chasing around a squirrel for fun, but would pout as it would scurry away into a nearby tree, pawing at it as she whimpered towards it,
"Little squirrel, I wouldn't really eat you." Then lowered her head dejectedly, jutting her lower lip and continued on when a pair of voices caught her interest and she blinked, noticing a man standing about in the brush.
Creeping forward, she kept silent, and had to giggle, noticing the brownie far earlier than he and set herself to remain entertained in silence, eyes dancing with smile as her cheeks swelled with mirth.

"Brownies are always such smart creatures. They always have so much fun."She spoke to herself, clapping silently and taking a piece of her long black hair and began to chew on the ends, a nervous habbit of hers. If she had her tail, well, she'd be gnawing on that, or licking it flat, but as a human, she had to settle for the next best thing.

Then as the duo moved onward, she pranced about int he tall grasses, keeping low and her belly flat as she rested her chin on the palms of her hands, elbows nestled in the grass as she smiled and kicked her feet excitedly, just watching the pair interact.

As they went on with their puzzles, she tried to guess along with them, and made unhappy noises for each time she heard the answers, since she was always wrong.
Lowering her chin onto the grass, she pouted again, not much liking this idea of being wrong.

"That human man and brownie sure are smart," she stated, pouting again as she continued to watch them. "I wish I could play but I am not that smart." She puffed her cheeks boredly, then began to poke at them as they were full of air. Then her eyes widened as she got an idea.
"I wonder if they would let me play! I could play tricks like the brownie!"s he thought, clapping lightly, then realizing she might have made too loud of a noise and dropped back down even lower into the tall grasses where she hid, holding her breath and holding another end of her hair to her lips as she contemplated chewing on it due to her nerves.

"I wonder.. if they heard me? If not.." she smiled at the idea. "I could try to scare them and we could make chase! I could tell them I could eat them!" she giggled and clapped again at the idea, then realized what she was doing and sunk back down, flattening herself even closer against the earth.  "I need to be quiet." she reminded herself, pressing a finger to her lips and waited a moment, then slowly raised up, peering curiously over the tops of the grass.

"I didn't say there weren't," she said wondering why he had thought otherwise. Sure she said all that live, but things like rocks didn't live. She scratched her head wondering what he meant. Was this the next riddle. She didn't think so.

"Tomatoes are bitter inside? I never knew that the answer is a crab apple," she said wondering if she had just won yet. They hadn't really talked about how the winner was decided. She had been so eager to get on with the game it was something she overlooked.

Fin was about to ask him when she heard a noise. Something had clapped close by. She had seen it wasn't the man below. Someone else was there as well. No animal would have clapped like that, at least none she knew of.

"Keep going I need to check something out," she said knowing she would still be able to hear his next one if she hadn't won yet. She was just too curious as to what that could have been. She set the squirrel in motion. She was looking around just about to give up on what she thought she heard.

Suddenly she stopped near the grasses on a tree right beside them. She peered down as if ready to go into the grass to see what was there when the unexpected happened. Suddenly she was face to face with someone she didn't know.

"Hello there," she said wondering if this was indeed more trouble or a friend who might help cause all the trouble with her. She certainly wanted to find out.

Lerrok's hand twitched towards his sword as he heard... something behind him. He was about to warn the brownie when she took off to investigate. Rather than follow, he decided to try and cover for her by continuing on. He was running out of decent ideas though. "Alright, just a moment." There was that old one he'd heard a couple of times...

Shifting so that whatever was back there couldn't catch him by surprise if it tried anything, he began. "This is a long one, so listen carefully. A clumsy thief was on the road to Reajh. Along the way, he crossed the path of a man with seven wives. Each wife had five children, and each child had two parrots on their backs. Every parrot carried three beetles. How many arrived in Reajh?"

The man paused and listened for any sort of sound from the brush- nothing. Lerrok fidgeted and his skin crawled; he hated knowing he was being watched by something, especially now that he'd at least got some form of handle on his current situation. He'd decided earlier to drop the issue of the earlier riddle, but maybe putting up a bit of an argument would calm his nerves. "And ants and other bugs live, they can't crush a newt."  It didn't help.

Tah-leen blinked, her eyes crossing as she looked down at the brownie, then smirked, resting her cheek against her hands that were curled against the ground before her. She lifted up a finger to her lips, a mischievious sparkle in her eyes before peering up again at the man, and blinked, studying him from afar, then lowered herself back down into the bushes.

"You should be more careful, little one," Tah-leen informed her, the mischief never leaving her lips or eyes. "I've been watching you and that man for sometime. Your tricks are clever. I'm impressed. I couldn't guess any of them, but I liked watching you both try. And all of those tricks you pulled on him." She clapped again excitedly, much like an eager child (though eager child she appeared not), but then grew bashful, lowering herself back down into the grasses when she realized she might alert the man to her presence, and while she was hardly afraid of a brownie, she was afraid of men. Chewing on her hair, briefly, she threw the ends out of her mouth and shook her head, as if shaking out her nervous thoughts before she sat up, might like a dog would, hands curled before her as she perched, shoulders hunched, long black hair falling and hanging over her shoulders as she did so.

She pointed to her chest and smiled, cheeks dimpling.
"Brownie, I'm a fox, so you'd best be careful!" she told her, puffing out her chest, though she assumed it made her look more impressive, even terrifying, little did she realize she just might look, well... 'cute'.  ANd also, the fact Tah-leen looked human, not anything like a fox, except the similar sparkle both the animal and the human could posses.
"I've been watching, wanting to play tricks on the human too, but I don't aim to be tricked back," Tah-leen began, defensively. "IF you try to trick me, little one, I could eat you!" She warned, showing off her teeth as she smiled, growling with her face but inches from Findra's before the fox spirit girl gave way to a laugh.

Oh, this was already fun!

"What other tricks do you plan to play on him?" she asked, curious and happy and excited all at once.

Findra heard the riddle and sighed. She hated number ones. She would have to figure that out for when she returned to him. Right then though she had this human fox thing to worry about. She was glad the creature didn't try and hide from her. It seemed very impish. She liked that.

"Arguing with a brownie, interesting," she called back to let him know she was still there. She could make him pay for that one. She didn't plan on it though.

"Being careful means you lose the chance to play pranks though," she said smiling. She listened as this creature talked. She hoped that Leerok didn't hear her clap again. She would have to do some talking now to convince him of something. She could tell the truth. A fox who had gotten caught twice in a trap. Luckily she came along and helped it out both times.

"I have a name fox it's Findra. You are more than just some fox I can see that. It's very interesting that you came now," she said hearing the question next. She frowned. She wasn't sure she could trick this one. She knew something was amiss and wasn't going to start trouble.

"I don't know. I pretty much move on an opportunity when it arises. I didn't plan anything that came about except maybe the hole and vines. Humans are clever but they aren't always smart. As for you, well I wouldn't bother tricking you," she said knowing when to call it quits. It was time to get back or he might come looking.

"He might come to see what is taking me so long. If you see an opportunity go for it. I need to go answer that last riddle," she said hoping this human fox creature would trick the man. It would be fun to see. She liked to laugh. Fin returned to the man and shook her head.

"Just a fox in a trap twice. I got it out. Now that riddle..." She said hoping that would be good enough an explanation. It was the clapping she had to explain away not the fox. She sat on her squirrel thinking about this riddle.

"Okay, I believe I have it. Just one arrived," she said knowing that someone might count everything that the man had crossed and put that in the answer. It was a riddle for a reason.

Lerrok's eyebrow raised at that explanation. He didn't trust the brownie a tenth as far as he could throw her, and he trusted his guts enough not to make him that nervous over a simple fox. Besides, he'd been looking around the area for his pack earlier, and if there had been a trap anywhere that close he'd have seen or stepped in it. "Stick to traps- you're a terrible liar."

He grinned at the brownie's answer, and shook his head. He held up a closed fist. "Right idea, but you missed something. What were the first three words of the riddle? A clumsy thief- naturally he'd have tried to rob one of them, gotten caught, and ended up with his head split open or in the hands of the town guard of wherever the group was headed. If I'd said just a man, or a competent thief, you'd have been right."

Lerrok let his hand fall away from his sword, listening for any sign of movement just out of sight. That had not just been an animal caught in a trap, he was certain of it- especially now that the brownie had tried to convince him of it. He didn't think it was a real threat given the brownie seemed rather calm about the whole thing, but he'd tear his own hair out before he walked into another trap because of carelessness.

"I hope whatever friend you have back there is careful, I'm not in the mood for any more surprises." Lerrok tapped the pommel of his sword for emphasis, speaking loudly enough that whoever was out there should be able to hear. It was largely an empty threat, but it couldn't hurt.

"Findra?" Tah-leen said thoughtfully, then another happy smile stretched across her lips. "Findra, Findra, Findra." She repeated laughing all the while, the slapping her hands over her lips to keep herself quiet as she lowered herself back down into the grass.
When the brownie went to leave, she merely nodded.

"I might just watch,"s he said, eyes still sparkling with mischief. "He seems rather smart.I don't know what I could do to him." THough as she remained now, alone in the bushes, she continued to think of a plan when she heard the man call over to the bushes.

He just threatened her!
She bared her teeth, growling at him then gave a bark, "I'm not afraid of your weapons!  Foxes are very brave creatures! And this fox could eat you!"
but then realized what she had done by the time it was too late and slapped a hand over her lips to keep quiet.

Oh, no! She had given herself away. It seemed play time was over as the woman suddenly sprung from the grass and began to make a hasty retreat back into the forests, and she was a blur of lady, skirts and black hair-
clearly not a fox, but a young woman as she made haste to disappear out of sight deeper into the woods.

That had been... unexpected. Lerrok thought about giving chase, but decided that continuing his current game with the brownie was more important- he wanted his pack back. Staring after the woman with his head tilted to the side, he tried to make sense of what she had just said. Was she crazy? Probably. His conscience told him he should probably do something- the forests around this area weren't the most dangerous, but nowhere was completely free of outlaws, especially wherever he happened to be at the time. "Eh, she'll probably be fine. I've dealt with enough headaches today anyway."

He tried to concentrate on finding another good riddle to hit the brownie with, but he couldn't quite ignore his gut. "I'll be back in a moment," he said, taking off after the woman. She was fast- on level ground he expected he'd probably be able to catch her fairly easily, but the brush seemed to be slowing him more than her. "Oye, hold on for a momen- Gah!" The world spun as his foot caught on a large root. There was a crack as his head slammed against the side of a tree trunk and Lerrok was flung across the ground.

He just groaned for a moment or two- partly in pain, but largely bemoaning just whatever it was he'd done not only to offend Angsar that day, but to draw his personal attention to such an extent. Slowly he sat up. "Alright, that's the last time I listen to you..."  He felt at his forehead- no blood, and he didn't seem to have caused any real damage, but it was another pain on top of a day full of them. I just had to complain of headaches...

Findra heard she was wrong again. She sighed wondering if he was doing this on purpose. They seemed to be coming at more and more of an impass. She heard what he said and then wasn't surprised when the fox from before yelled out at him.

She sat tight for a moment before heading up into a tree. This game was over as far as she was concerned. Had he stayed put she would have continued to play. It was getting old though and she was no longer having fun. She followed on the squirrel as fast as she could.

It wasn't long before she saw Leerok laying on the ground spread out. She smiled and decided to have a bit of fun again. While he was unconscious she used a leave and drew on his face with mud. She made it small lines so that he might not notice at first. Nothing like still having a little fun with the mud man. Once she was done she used the squirrel to get back into the higher safer part of the trees. She couldn't wait to see his reaction.

Lucky for Tah-leen, she could move much faster than the human and was already gone, hidden in the depths of the forest. Though when the chase ceased, she peered curiously from behind a large, ancient tree.  From afar, she barely noticed the man's body on the ground.
Sniffing the air, she sensed the minor bit of blood he sustained from the fall- perhaps a minor scrape to his knee?
Curious, she pressed her lips together, shaking her head.

"It serves him right,"s he whispered to herself, but couldn't help but become curious as she crept forward, noticing the man was still on the ground.  However, when he awoke, she gasped and tensed into place, blinking as her eyes went wide. Surprise and fascination overwhelmed her as she had gotten a good look at the man's face- blonde hair, brown eyes- brown eyes like hers- and oh!

She was still a distance away, but found herself both awed and surprised she had gotten this close to a man, considering she had a great fear for men,but also a terrible curiosity. But then, fear won over that curiosity that had cemented her to place and lured her forward, as she turned away again to run, black hair spinning as she went then fluttering in her wake as she went about bounding over thick grass and fallen logs.

Lerrok groggily got to his feet. If he noticed the strange woman's antics, he didn't really give any indication at this point. Gradually he began to make his way back to where he'd left the brownie, and grimaced when he found she'd moved off. "Well, so much for that." He doubted the brownie would be willing to agree to any other agreements. At this point getting his possessions back wasn't worth the trouble. He just wanted out of these woods and for the day to be over. As he made up his mind to be on his way once more, he realized he had another problem. He was lost. He'd had a pretty good idea of which way the road was before, but with his head throbbing like it was there wasn't a chance of him being able to identify the path he'd taken to get here.

"So, I've lost my things, my head feels like somebody dropped a boulder on it, and now I'm lost."  Lerrok peered around, figuring he'd just pick a direction largely at random. He didn't need to be right, he just needed to start walking. He took a few steps, then had another idea. He turned and started off after the woman. If he could catch her, maybe she'd know the way- besides, it was as likely to lead him to the road as any other guess.

Despite his current situation, some part of him was aware enough to look for faint traces of passage, and soon enough he was on the woman's trail. If he'd been in a more thoughtful state of mind, he'd probably have been grateful for all his years of poaching on the lands of whatever noble he happened to come across. Of course, if he'd been in a more thoughtful state of mind he'd probably have come up with a better plan than following an apparently mentally unstable woman out in the middle of nowhere.

He was slow, and wouldn't stand a chance at catching up with the woman until she stopped or turned back, but the walking itself was doing him good. His head began to clear, and he even chided himself on being so careless- that brownie was probably still about somewhere, waiting for him to do something stupid. He stopped, took a swig from his waterskin, and continued on, a little more alert.

Fin wasn't far from him at all. She was watching and waiting again. He lost his chance earlier and now she had his belongings. He didn't seem to be seeking her out though instead he looked lost and wanted out. She had a feeling her fun would end soon enough. She was glad that human fox had come around after all. It got her away from all those riddles, which weren't any fun any more.

She sighed and stayed on the squirrel following Leerok. It seemed natural. She wanted to see what he would do next. She wondered if he would stop and rest soon. It would be good if he did an opportunity to show him she wasn't gone just forgotten would arise. He was bright with words, but he wasn't that bright when it came to actions. She had seen it time and time again.

Fin thought of finding the human fox again. She wasn't sure that was wise. While the woman had her name that didn't mean much. Anyone could be called that. She also wasn't sure how much she could trust such a being. There was something strange about her. She wanted to ask questions to learn of that one. She just wasn't sure how to go about finding her again. Fin figured that the human fox was like her and this would all be one big game.

Lerrok, though a experienced hunter he may be, would find the trail going cold not after long as Tah-leen sat high, perched up in a tree. She smiled, eyes dancing merrily as she playfully kicked her legs. This was rather fun. She liked being chased and the man was just below her, and she had a well enough glimpse of his face as she let out a laugh.

"Those mud rings around your eyes are very silly," she said, still laughing as she leaned against the branches casually, seeming not to be too afraid how precarious her position was, or how high up she might be.  "And I like the moon and star of mud on your cheek." she said, pawing her own hands against her cheeks before she laughed again. She knew she could laugh at him, after all, the human could probably not climb up in the tree fast enough to get her-
though she wasn't considering if he had some sort of device to shoot- be it a gun or bow and arrow, either way, she knew she was quick, and sometimes, Tah-leen could be a bit too confident and curious for her own good.

But really, the mud all over his face was quite hilarious as she pointed at him and laughed and laughed.
"Silly human man makes great entertainment. Maybe I can have the brownie paint something pretty on my cheeks!" She said, her eyes going towards the grasses in search of Findra.  When she spotted her, she waved. "Hi, Findra!"
And she repeated her name excitedly again. "Findra! Findra! Findra!"

Lerrok smiled to himself as the woman began talking- if she'd simply stayed silent he'd have probably gone right past. At the mention of the drawings on his face, Lerrok rolled his eyes and wiped himself with his sleeve- it didn't really remove the mud, but whatever drawings the brownie- Findra, he made a note of that- had decided to create would become simple smears, and Lerrok would look hardly differently than he did usually.

"Who exactly are you, anyway? Most people I know don't call themselves foxes, threaten to eat somebody, and then run away." For the moment Lerrok's curiosity had overpowered his desire to escape. He'd fully expected to find a river or a road long before catching up to the flighty girl- especially before she stayed still long enough to actually ask her anything.

Leaning against the tree she was perched in, Lerrok scanned the surroundings in search of the brownie- all things considered the woman seemed largely harmless, but he was not going to let Findra sneak up on him again if humanly possible.

Fin heard what this human fox was saying. She had ruined the girl's fun. Sighing she shook her head but stayed hidden. It was luck that she was nearby. She noticed that this fox had seen her and almost gave away her location. She was lucky again that Leerok hadn't figured it out.

She heard what Leerok said. He was focused on this creature and less concerned about her. He did wipe his face so that it smeared which made her frown. She would have to do something else to him. Then it hit her what she could do and smiled.

She waited until he was leaning against the tree. The aim had to be perfect. She turned the squirrel around and had it poop on Leerok below.

As the man pressed the issue he didn't know her name. She made a frown at him, almost a pout as she stomped her foot against the tree, but then laughed.
"That's because I'm not a person," she stressed, then laughed, her laughter ringing loud and clear, a beautiful, mischievous, melodic tune that carried below and around the tree.
"And if you want to know my name, maybe you ought to guess it," she pressed, smiling down at him. "Like you and your small friend. I can play a game too!" she stated proudly, pressing a single finger to her chest as she laughed again, then draped herself coyly across a tree branch, smirking down at the man beneath her as she rested her smiling cheek onto the flat, back part of her hand as it rested across the branch.

"So, what do you think my name could be?" she said, toes curly as she drew in some of her dark hair into her mouth, chewing on it lightly as she was excited to finally get a chance to play a game.
"And if you guess wrong,t hen I get to eat you!"s he added, trying to look fierce and bare her teeth, but then laughed all the same. It wasn't until she saw the squirrel and what it was doing when she suddenly turned angry, eyes blazing like a blue fire as she turned towards Findra and her squirrel friend on their branch and growled at them possessively.
Findra was trying to ruin her fun!

And for a moment, the fox girl might have actually looked scary!

Lerrok rolled his eyes- he'd expected this wouldn't be easy, but sometimes he really hated being right. "Our riddles at least had a half fair shot at being guessed- your name could be anything or you might very well not have one, for all I know." He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the eating comment though. "Eat me? I doubt I'd exactly be tasty, covered in mud and dirt as I am." Lerrok was still looking around the other trees, trying to locate the brownie. There wasn't any sign of her, which meant she was either very well hidden, or...

Lerrok's gaze darted up into the tree at the sound of growling, uttered a rather appropriate curse for the situation, and dove out of the way. He managed not to crack his head on anything this time, but he did end up even more disheveled than he'd been before. The squirrel's unique brand of ammunition did manage to hit him, but it was the same boot Findra's bird had defiled earlier- no real harm. The thief lept to his feet and was about to curse the brownie out when he had a better idea- hopefully.

"Running out of tricks? I thought you fey were supposed to be clever, and you've tried the same thing twice on me today. Show some originality."  Lerrok made it a point to stand away from anywhere the brownie could initiate a third attempt, then looked back to the tree. "Honestly, you should have stuck around and tried to win the game- you really need some better traps." Even if he did manage to annoy the brownie, he wasn't sure it would help him in any way, but it couldn't really hurt.

Returning his attention to the girl, he tried to come up with a way to work this to his favor. "Alright, fine, but you need to give me a hint or two, and if I guess right you tell me which way the road is. Deal?" He had to struggle to keep a straight face- the entire deal was absurd. The thought of the young woman attempting to eat him was laughable, and he'd never been that good of a liar. He was afraid he might have snickered just a little bit.

Fin heard what they both said. She thought of leaving considering she wasn't having any fun. He mentioned the game and sighed. Her location was given up. She was also tired of being called a fae. They were nothing but annoying those.

"That was growing boring and I still have your bag. This too is growing old. By the way you don't like being called big dummy then stop referring to me as a fae," she said not showing herself. She let the squirrel go as the bird she had captured earlier returned of its own free will. She hoped on the bird's back feeling that was better transportation.

"Why should she give you any hints?" She asked realizing he was lost. She sighed and just sat there watching and waiting to see what this human fox would do to Leerok.

At Lerrok's comment about not being very tasty in mud, she only laughed.
"But you might be very tasty in mud," she said, giving a bashful smile as she leaned back, shoulders rising as she pressed one cheek to the side.

But then when Lerrok stepped away, the 'mark' missing and hitting his boot, she slapped a hand over her lips to hide her smile,but still laughed through it, shaking her head and shaking her hair off from her shoulders.
"You're going to need something to clean your boots with," she teased, eyes dancing.

But then she watched as Findra flew away, frowning somewhat before returning her attentions back to the man below, thinking to his questions from before.
Her  anger having subsided as quickly as it had come while she poked thoughtfully at her own dimpled cheek. But then when the brownie questioned this, only then did the fox, too.
"Yeah, why should I give you a hint?" she asked, playfully kicking her feet. "But perhaps we could play another game. Like guessing what a man tastes like with mud." ANd she laughed, a good hearted laugh, one that rang through the air like playful music before she leaned forward, crawling up higher int he tree and watched him, hands to the branch, feet against it as toes curled in and dark hair falling against her body.


She was up higher now, and slowly rose, putting her arms out around her to keep herself steady until she was standing erect again then let her hands drop casually to her sides.

"Or we could have a tree climbing contest! We could climb up the tallest tree!" she said. "Or a race. Or.. oh oh, we could fish. I like fish." and her stomach made a noise, and she touched it with a blush, but soon laughed. "I do like eating fish. Perhaps if you caught me fish, I will tell you my name and show you where the road is."
And she grinned, showing more of her teeth before laughing again.
"Do you know how to fish?" she asked him, leaning over dangerously from the tree with casual grace, hair hanging low against her body and only one hand to support her while her bare feet gripped the rough branch beneath.  She hoped he did- fishing could be fun, especially when there was a chase!

Lerrok was about to point out that the difference between guessing a name and solving riddles was that the riddles included a clue in them- her name could be anything, but he was cut off by the following string of suggestions. He didn't like the thought of racing the girl up a tree- it would have been a bad idea on a good day, and this had definitely not been a lucky day for him so far. His head had just stopped hurting; he had no intention of splitting it open again.

The fishing idea wasn't a bad train of thought though. His short break earlier hadn't involved a lot of food, and with all these delays he'd not make it to the next village on the road before nightfall anyway. It wouldn't hurt to find some food. "I can fish, yes- but I'm missing three rather important things to do so: I need a rod, I need bait, and I need somewhere to fish. If I had my pack I could provide the first two, but a certain creature decided to hide it. I might be able to catch a rabbit or somesuch... so long as Findra doesn't scare them all off. Either would take time though. If you could help me get my things back, I've got a bit of food with the rest of them, and you'd be welcome to it."

As Lerrok spoke, he looked around for anything he could use as a snare. There were a number of vines similar to the ones Findra had used on him, and if he fastened enough of them together they might form a decent rope. He cut a number of them from the trees and began working them into something vaguely resembling a snare. He frowned- this likely wouldn't work very well in the least, but it would have to do. "And you're making me nervous, standing like that. I keep expecting you to fall off, and then I'll be left with just that nuisance for company." And he'd have to find the road himself, but he didn't mention that bit.

Fin didn't like the big man to know exactly where she was. She flew to another tree not far away so that she could still listen in without him knowing she was there. It was a good thing too. She listened to the human fox talk about food and such. She sighed and shook her head knowing he would have to hunt without them.

Alarm rose as she talked of eating rabbit. She was hungry, but she wouldn't just stand by idly. She had heard what he said and noticed there weren't any rabbits around this part just now. She was glad she didn't have anyone she had to warn about those snares.

She watched him make it though. It looked easy enough and gave her an idea for a new snare. She smiled wondering why she hadn't thought of it before. She had a bad feeling though playing this new prank on him would only make that fox upset.

Sighing she waited until she heard what he called her. She knew she had to do something now. He had to stop calling her names. Fin wasn't sure what to do. She could point him in the direction of the lake, and then come up with the trap. He would be wary of that though. Even she knew that. He would just have to figure it out on his own.

Tah-leen, smiling, decided she'd watched from a distance long enough, and simply jumped down from her tree, landing with a crouch, then rising and laughing at the man before her.
"You can't fish with your hands?" she asked, taking his wrist and looking down at his hands, then backing a bit shyly away, letting his wrist drop from her grip. It seemed he had hands like she did. Surely the could suffice to catch fish! And his hands were larger, too! Meaning he could catch larger fish! Though she still smiled and showed him, by example, as she grappled at the air and explained what she meant by catching fish by her hands- perhaps he did not know? After all, why waste such large hands if you were not going to use them to catch fish?
"I can catch fish with my hands. Then I gobble them whole while they're still fresh from the water and wriggling between my teeth." She held up a 'pretend' and 'invisible' fish to her mouth and pretended to bite it before lowering her hands with a laugh.
"There's a stream that's not too far from here. And I think I could show you how to fish without those other things if you wanted." If she had a tail, she'd be wagging it.  "Come on!" she pressed, suddenly taking him by the wrist. "Let's fish!"

Not only was fishing fun, but they would get to eat yummy fish as well, and it seemed that's all the fox could think about as she pulled the man behind her, happily guiding him through the tall grasses, over fallen logs, tree roots, around large boulders until she came out on the other side, giggling at the sight of a glistening stream.
Crouching down beside it, she had already released Lerrok's wrist as she peered into the water, smiling at the array of fish below and her eyes were wide and sparkling, as if a child in a candy store as she pressed her finger to her lip and contemplated which one to catch and eat first.


OOC: Hope it's ok to assume Tah-leen guided him away- if not I can edit my post :)

This girl just kept getting stranger and stranger. Lerrok was left a little wide-eyed at seeing her just leap right out of the tree without a second thought, and remained so as she mimed catching and eating a fish with her bare hands. Whether or not he normally would have objected to her pulling him along like that, he was too busy trying to process all of this to really voice any objections. He did end up running into far more branches and bushes than he'd have liked, but that wasn't exactly at the forefront of his mind.

It wasn't until they reached the stream that he regained his proper senses. "I don't know about you, but there's not a chance I'll be quick enough to just grab one of those things." He walked up and crouched down besides her, peering into the stream. He glanced back and forth between the woman and the water, trying decide whether to humor her or not. It wasn't as if he had any dignity left to lose.

As Lerrok looked back at the pond, he realized he was actually extremely hungry- a fact of which the following growling decided to make clear to all- sighed, and shook his head. "Well, I suppose it's worth a shot. How are we supposed to do this?"

((OOC: Not a problem.))

Fin watched the two together. She was trying to help this man. Sighing she just stayed back watching. An opportunity would present itself and she would be able to have fun again. Fishing with only your hands? Interesting. Perhaps the human fox is playing one over on him. She thought and wasn't sure what to expect.

Fin flew on the bird keeping a safe distance from him. This was growing boring something she hated. It was time to have fun again. She wasn't afraid of the human fox or what it could do to her. She was looking around wondering if perhaps she could place a fish on a string or something and bait the man. There was no way he would catch a fish.

She waited and grabbed some vines ready for anything. She knew what she had in mind though. It seemed they had forgotten she was even around. Findra liked it that way.

Tah-leen put a finger to her lips, signalling for Lerrok to be quiet as she hovered over the water, ear a few inches from it as she listened, eyes studying the fish as they swam by- hands poised out at her sides. Then, as a school of silver fish swam past- her hands suddenly shot into the water- splashing not only herself, but probably Lerrok as well, and  when she came up, she gasped, fish wriggling in her hands but it slipped out from her grasp and sailed up, archin ginto the sky as it flopped around desperately  in a  spiraling spin-...

only to land ontop of Lerrok's head with a floppy 'thunk'.

Blinking, Tah-leen looked at him then began to laugh, and laugh and laugh before she suddenly lunged at him, not caring that she tackled Lerrok into the water as the pair went down- her hands around the fish, body slamming into his as they went into the water.
But a moment later, as she gasped, breaking the surface, she raised a triumphant hand up revealing...

"I caught the fish! I caught it!" and she held it fast, putting it between her teeth as she grinned foxishly over towards Lerrok from where she stood in the water- both soaking wet.  "Mmm, it's tasty!" and she had only had a nibble, and the poor fish was still wriggling in her fingers, but it appeared this time she had a better grasp of it as she smiled even wider, proud of her prize.

"Why don't you try to catch one now!"s he said, grinning a bit wider before she licked her fish.
Yep.. it definitely tasted like fish! Mmm! She went back to sheepishly nibbling on it, happy she had something to eat.

OOC: Again, um- sorry for an CC here- I can adjust my post if it doesn't work or if Lerrok would dodge the erm- circumstance lol

Lerrok immediately fell silent at her gesture, figuring it was best to let her do... whatever it was she was doing properly. He tilted his head, trying to figure out exactly how he was supposed to imitate that successfully. Opening his mouth to say something, his question froze in his throat as she actually managed to- sort of- actually catch one of the slippery things. His eyes crossed as he watched it sail towards him. He slowly reached for the fish, not entirely sure how to react to the situation. "How did you-"

The thief was caught with his mouth wide open as Tah-leen tackled him into the stream. He thrashed about, trying to free himself from the madwoman. It didn't take long, seeing as it was the fish she was after and not him, but it was plenty of time for the water to fill his mouth and nose. Lerrok spluttered and coughed as he managed to get to his feet and lift his head above the water. Turning to glare at Tah-leen, Lerrok cursed again. "I ended up in the water when you did it; if I try I'll probably end up drowning somehow!" He'd figured she would show him some trick to it, but that looked impossible, and even if he did know the trick he doubted he could move that quickly.

Growling in frustration, Lerrok splashed at the woman before trudging out of the water. "I'll do it my way." He began pulling vines down from the trees, lots of vines. The only sounds out of him were the rapid tearing and cutting of vines and the even more rapid flinging of obscenities at whatever happened to cross his mind. Once he was satisfied he had enough, he sat down and began to tie them together. The vines wouldn't make an ideal net, but they'd probably serve well enough in a pinch.

Of all the things in the world that was the last thing she had expected. Fin was glad she was just watching now. She hadn't needed to do anything not just then. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of that fox woman tackling Leerok into the water. It was better than anything she could have planned.

Once he was out of the water though she watched him putting together something. It intrigued her as she watched him. She was learning some new tricks from just this. She wondered if that had occurred to the big man after all. Fin figured right then she was out of sight and therefore out of mind.

Tah-leen kept smiling, rather proud of herself, but had to blink when the man mentioned he would drown.
"Drown?" she lowered the raw fish away from her lips. "Why would you drown? Don't you know how to swim?" ANd curiously, she tilted her head to one side, seeming unphased that she was in the water, her white dress was wet, and that she was still holding a dead fish in her hands.

Then when he stormed off, she simply followed him, curiously so as she sat beside him on her haunches and nibbled at her fish.
"What are you making?" she asked, not really grasping the human idea to build things and the need to fish. But even as she was interested, she began to lick happily at her fish and gave a bright smile that reached her ears. "Yummy, yummy, yummy!" She appeared nearly in her own sort of world, half paying attention to Lerrok- the other half, well, licking and seeming to simply play with her fish in a peculiar way of eating.

Lerrok's face twisted in concentration and he didn't look up from his work as he answered. "I'm making a net- something people who aren't completely out of their minds use for fishing." Just a few more knots and he'd be done. Getting up and paying the woman no mind, he took the nearly-finished net down to the river, reached in, and grabbed two stones heavy enough to resist the current. He fastened them to the end of the net, then tied another extremely long vine to each.

Lerrok looked back and rolled his eyes at the woman- if it weren't for his curiosity he doubted he'd bother with any of this. He wiped away a bit more of the water that had trickled into his eyes before drawing his sword and driving it into the ground. He tied the free end of the net around the handle, heaved, and tossed the stones out into the stream while keeping a hold on the longer vines. Sitting down and twisting towards Tah-leen, he raised an eyebrow. "So who are you, anyway? And what are you doing out here."  He looked back and noticed that one sizeable fish was already digging itself into the webbing. After a brief pause, he added, "I'm Lerrok, by the way."

By now another fish had joined the first, and that would be plenty for Lerrok's liking. He tugged on the ropes, grunting as the flow of the water made pulling the net in difficult. He took a few steps back and dragged the fish ashore. "Hah!" He shook the netting triumphantly, then cursed as he realized he'd need a fire to actually cook them. "Here, hold these," he said, shoving the trapped fish roughly towards Tah-leen and looking around for suitable firewood. "Short sighted, impatient..."

Fin was still just watching them. She was being bored in the background, but learning things as well. His net gave her ideas on what she could do to him. She smiled watching him catch the fish. There wasn't any opportunity for her to release the fish or play any prank on him. At least until he had to go for some firewood if he wanted a good fire.

She flew away knowing where a good pile was. She smiled and pulled down a very heavy vine. She tied it to a piece of wood to keep it from going anywhere. She also tied it into a circle to catch and hold the man's foot. She placed some leaves over the vine. After she was done she went back into the trees to watch and see how this might work. She knew the big man had a way with him where he ruined her fun. She hoped that wasn't the case.

Tah-leen watched with interest as the man made the net, though part of her was cautious of it as she took a few steps back, somewhat fearful the net had been meant for her- but then he tossed it into the water, it weighed down into the street with a few rocks and she watched, enchanted.
She had almost missed his question, then she was laughing and applauding when she watched the fish get caught before turning to him with a beaming smile.
"My name is Tah-leen!" and it seemed the woman had forgotten she initially wanted her name to be part of a game.  "And I was out here because I was watching Findra play games with you," she said, turning away as she hugged her half eaten, dead fish between her breasts. "I wanted to play too." ANd pressing her lips together, she digested over his name and began to repeat it.
"Lerrok." she said. "Lerrok, Lerrok, Lerrok!"
Then she began to think more to Findra and wondered where the little brownie went. A twitch of her nose told her the brownie was nearby and she smiled, wondering if the brownie was still trying to play those games from earlier.  They had been most fun!

But then suddenly, she was overwhelmed and holding the net full of fish. Her eyes went immensely wide, as did the smile that followed as she let out a yell.
"Yummy! Yummy! Yummy, fish!" and was nibbling away at the larger fish inside the net- and mysteriously, her own fish had seemed to disappear, though it's bones would have been seen t her feet as she began to eat Lerrok's fish and laughed.

Lerrok hadn't paid the girl any mind after handing her the fish, starting towards the denser woods again. At least, that was the plan. He'd taken only a handful of steps before he turned around at her yelling. Lerrok barked a curse and stormed back, not entirely sure what to do about the matter. "Are you really- Did you just start- You just-" Lerrok stammered for a moment, jaw practically wired shut in fury. He stopped, coughed, and let out a long, hissing breath. "...I'm not sure whether to be furious that you decided your stomach was a good place to keep my fish, or impressed that you're gutsy enough to not even wait before I was gone." Lerrok put a hand over his eyes and sighed. "Alright...alright... I can catch more fish- just don't lose that net." Somehow he got the feeling she'd lose the net.

Shaking his head all the way, Lerrok absentmindedly trudged back towards the brush, trying to figure out exactly what he'd done to deserve all of this. It was slow going, as there wasn't much good firewood scattered about. The thief was certain this would take a while when he came across a large pile of the stuff just ahead of him. "There we are. For once something is going my wa-oahch!" His foot caught in the looped vine and down he went, scattering the wood he'd found.

Lerrok pushed himself off the ground, spitting leaves and dirt out of his mouth. "Right... I almost forgot about you." He turned about and began untying the vine that was now pretty securely wrapped around his ankle. "Not bad for someone who just saw me do it once." A moment later he was back on his feet, wincing a bit- he suspected he'd twisted his ankle a bit that time. "So, any other tricks?" he said, beginning to scoop up the needed firewood.

Fin had no idea that Tah-leen was eating the man's fish. She heard him yell something back at the female human fox. She hadn't heard what it was though she wasn't that close to them. She was waiting yet again. If anything she was a patient one.

He appeared and she thought this might work. He would be sent into the air just by the vine and his ankle. Of course he tripped over it and found her out. Seeing him fall down like that though she couldn't help but chuckle. It gave her some fun.

She scowled wondering why her fun was always ruined. She noted the wood had been scattered. He undid her work. She shook her head heading back knowing she had no other tricks just then. She landed next to Tah-leen while Leerok was gathering the wood he needed. She hadn't seen that she had wounded him.

"Hello Tah-leen, can I please see that net?" She asked knowing exactly what she would do with it.

Ta-leen only swayed her hips sheepishly when he began to stammer over what she was doing, and she lowered the fish from her lips. Then she held the fish out to him, blinking, wondering if he had wanted to eat some, too. But then he was grumbling and moving away and Tah-leen only smiled and watched him. But then something cuaght her eye- and she was about to warn Lerrok but it was  too late as she watched him drop to the ground.
Covering her lips, she wasn't sure if she should be amused or worried.
But poor Findra, the fox didn't seem to hear her request for the net as she rushed over to Lerrok's side.

"I can help collect wood to. We can put it in here!" she said, showing him the net as she held it out and began picking up any piece of broken wood or twig she saw and dumped it inside, quite happy with herself when she had a small handful and lifted up the net to Lerrok, smiling brightly and laughing.
"Look! I got some sticks, too!" she told him, eagerly waiting his praise.

For a moment annoyance replaced Lerrok's look of discomfort, but he supposed the girl was at least trying to help him. "Good work," he managed to force out, figuring it probably wouldn't hurt the net at the least. He scooped up the wood he'd dropped earlier, along with a few other pieces, and turned back to Tah-leen. "Come on," he muttered, beginning a half-walk half-limp back towards the bank of the stream. His ankle would heal soon enough he supposed, he just hoped he didn't run into any real trouble in the meantime.

The thief caught a glance of the brownie as he neared the river again, but he chose to carry on regardless. What would he do anyway, hobble after her? He almost grinned at that. With a series of clunks and thuds his haul dropped to the ground, and he sat down, holding his ankle with one hand and beginning to prepare the firewood with the other. "Go grab some stones, would you? Not from the river, mind you."

It was then that he remembered that he'd left his flint and tinder with his pack. He groaned and rubbed at his temples, trying very hard not to kick the wood pile in frustration. Air hissed slowly between his teeth and he pulled at the front of his hair, a wild and mad look coming into his eyes. His stomach let out another complaint, one that sounded a bit like an angry grizzly. Lerrok turned to stare vacantly at the river, at this point seriously considering just eating a fish raw.

There is was - ignored. Tah-leen hadn't even bothered to listen to her. She was becoming more annoyed than anything. She had the bird fly back into the trees wondering what would be next. She didn't like this one bit. He hadn't been foiled in any way with that last trick. Making a net like he had would take her far longer that it was worth. That was the problem with being one Brownie out on their lonesome.

She noticed he was limping now. It couldn't be helped. I've wounded the big man. He also doesn't look happy right now. I should just give up and leave. He foils all my fun. She thought wishing she could figure out something new. He had given her many laughs when they first met. He was expecting her to do something. She saw this as a problem. It was easier when he had forgotten about her.

Tah-leen was pleased, and completely caught up into her own little world as she beamed at the praise.  Though when he began to hobble, she puffed her cheeks out and began to poke at them idly while watching his ankle, studying the one that was obviously injured.  Releasing her held breath, she dropped down beside him, despite him asking for her to collect rocks and she pointed at his ankle.
"Did you hurt it when you fell?" she asked, hands pressed against the ground like an animals, face leaning forward as she began to sniff at it.  "The muscles seem sore." she said, then poked it.

Lerrok took a moment to snap out of... whatever it was you'd call his current state of mind. "I just twisted it- it'll be fine in a little while- and don't poke it like that!" Lerrok swatted her hand away and growled. Slowly getting to his feet once again, he looked around for any good stones. "I'll get them myself," he muttered. As he staggered about, already adjusting a little to the injury, he glanced back at the girl. "Don't mess with that pile."

It didn't take him too long to find a suitable bunch of rocks, though there wasn't anything as large as he'd like for a fire-pit. He had to make a couple of trips, but soon he had a small pile around the bits of wood. He took a smaller stone and his knife and began slidding the blade against the rock, hoping to make a spark. Between spouts of impatient grumbling he decided to try and sate his curiosity.

"So why exactly did you threaten to eat me earlier? You sounded serious enough, and you have to realize that it just made you look completely ridiculous."

Fin didn't like being ignored. She just wasn't sure what to do about that. He was expecting her tricks. She sighed and kept watching. Even that human fox was ignoring her. It was like she never existed in the first place.

She knew why that was. Brownies while sneaky weren't suppose to be acknowledged in any form. He knew about her so did that female. She knew she was no good as a Brownie. She couldn't even pull off any more tricks on the big guy. She also knew she dare not pull any on the fox.

Keeping watch being patient was all she could do. Time would present itself it always did. She just had to wait for a great opening instead of forcing the little ones.

But Tah-leen wanted to mess with the pile. A part of her wanted to chew on the sticks, but she also did not want to make the man entirely upset. So instead, she studied him, like she did with most humans and idly began to chew at the ends of her black hair.  She also felt bad the man seemed to be injured. She wondered if that was why he was so grumpy and idly poked at her cheek now as she looked around for Findra.  She could smell the brownie was close, but before she had a chance to see her, Lerrok asked her a question and she turned to him and tilted her head to the side with a bit of a pout.

"Don't you know anything about foxes?" she told him. "We eat meat." And then she grabbed his arm and went to bite it, only sinking her teeth playfully into it, but not enough to break the skin- but perhaps enough to make him realized she had human teeth (not that it could be doubted.. for she looked human, and humans looked nothing like a fox) but then she was laughing as she held onto his arm and stated. "You're tasty!" And she found the joke most amusing, so she moved in as if to bite him again.

Part of her sought to scare him, the other part of her wanted to play. Though she had no idea how humans or brownies or any of the likes actually played. Foxes nipped at one another, and this was what hse mostly knew, but could poor Lerrok realize that this was what the crazy girl wanted to do? After all, the notion somewhat answered his question-

She wanted to play with him, and with the brownie, and sadly, this was all of what she could come up with to justify her acts of wanting to eat him, and in the same breath, amused her terribly as she would laugh.
"Tasty, tasty Lerrok!" she said, then dove after him, pinning him powerful to the ground before licking his cheek.

On the one hand, Lerrok was pleasantly surprised when Tah-leen actually listened to him about the wood. He'd half expected her to do something because he'd mentioned it, let alone in spite of it. Of course, the pleasant surprise was soon followed by the young woman chewing on his arm. Lerrok's eyes widened and his mouth twisted in a mixture of utter confusion and mild amusement. Remaining silent from a combination of not knowing exactly what in Angsar's name to say  in that situation and from any sound he could think to make catching in his throat, he swallowed and tried to compose his thoughts. He decided it might be best just to play along with the joke; it wasn't as if she were hurting him, after all. In a moment however, he found himself on his back with the girl hovering over him- a girl that turned out to be far stronger than she appeared.

A girl who, he remembered, had repeatedly mentioned a desire to eat him and had just started joking about how tasty he was. Either she had a rather odd way of flirting with men or she- more likely from what he'd seen- was completely out of her mind. Somehow having an admittedly attractive woman on top of him became a lot more worrying than he'd have thought it would be. Sweat broke out on Lerrok's forehead and his heart thudded- human teeth or not, a lunatic- especially a strong lunatic- was still dangerous. He shifted underneath her, trying to get enough leverage to force his arms free and grab his sword, but he paused. Doing something like that could very well provoke her, and once she was provoked he might not be able to defuse the situation peacefully. Better to keep a calm head and hopefully not have to hurt her.

"Errr..." was unfortunately the only thing he could manage to say. He tried again, with about as much success. Really, what was he supposed to say in this sort of situation? Finally he stammered out the blunt truth- about the only thing that was actually really certain in his mind right then. "Y-you've lost it." With that out he was somewhat emboldened and followed with this, "Come on now, you don't sound like a fox, and you certainly don't look like a fox. If you were a fox, you'd be covered in fur and would have a tail. So if you really are crazy enough to think that, why do you look human like me?" The thief tried to muster up a defiant stare, looking right into her eyes and daring her to give an explanation.... and then a bit of her hair fell across his nose, and he gave a thunderous sneeze, ruining any attempt of his to remain dignified.

Fin stayed in the tree watching them. She was somewhat amused that Tah-leen was playfully chewing on Leerok. She hadn't expected that. She chuckled when the fox human girl pushing him to the ground. The expression on Leerok's face was priceless.

She listened and noted that the fox was licking Leerok's face. She wondered if she were flirting, playing, or maybe a bit of both. She sighed wondering if she had lost an ally against Leerok. She shook her head but continued to watch deciding that this was fun too. She didn't have to do anything and was still amused. She wondered if perhaps this was a new turn of events for her.

Tah-leen paused as she was over him, digesting the words carefully that he had said. She, for a time, tended to forget she looked human as she pouted, recalling her history. She was a fox spirit, and she had left that detail out, never normally using that as her title. SHe always felt herself as a fox, never wholly understanding the human side of her, the visage.
But now that the man pointed out what she was, she got mad and stepped off of him, hands at her side as she looked down at him and grumbled.

"The ... the winter spirit made me," she began, feeling herself grow more angry, the fur, unseen, as it would remain, bristled internally as her brown eyes remained locked at the human before her.  "I'm a fox spirit."S he admitted, feeling a bit sheepish and regretful. "I can go from fox form to human if I choose." SHe jutted her chin out,t hen gav ea childish stomp of her foot.  "But I don't need a tail to prove to you what I am." She continued, stomping her foot again. "It.. it hurts to turn back into a fox." Her eyes seemed to glisten as if with tears as she recalled the memories fo her last transformation.  She had to promptly change back into a human where she criedout for all of the pain she endured for days.

"And most normal humans can't do this." Tah-leen said, taking him by the hand suddenly and leaping in a few great bounds, up, up, up into a tall tree where she set him into a branch, stared at him ounce angrily before bounding away, leaving the man abandoned and alone ontop of the tree branch before she leaped back down to the ground.  Then, once on the forest floor, she craned her neck back up at him, the playful mirth having left her eyes as she peered up at him, not saying a single word and contemplated leaving the man there for good.  She did not like being told what she was, and was very emotional over the loss of the fox half of her. She couldn't even control when the ears or tails came out anymore.  But her tail had come out now, draped between her legs, and the cold burning flame in her eyes did not quite come to rise, but there was still a sense, a brewing within her brown eyed depths that hinted there was definitely more to this girl than she had seemed; great strength alone aside.

Lerrok heaved a sigh of relief as she got off of him, glad that was resolved for the moment. He kept a skeptical look on his face throughout her story until he realized she was pretty close to actually crying.  Maybe she is telling the truth about all of this... He opened his mouth, attempting to apologize for offending her, but the only thing that came out was a bark of pain as she pulled his entire weight solely by the arm.

He was more concerned with his arm than being in the tree at present, wincing as he prodded at it. It hadn't quite been dislocated, but it sure felt like it. Lerrok shook his head, deciding that he had other matters to focus on. He cleared his throat, paused to collect his thoughts, cleared his throat again, and called down to the girl. "Alright, I'm sorry, I take it back. I had no way of knowing, and I honestly didn't mean to offend you. Where I come from there's not much magic, so I've never been very good at just accepting things like that." He sounded entirely sincere and his gaze never wavered from her face.

Lerrok then realized he probably just sounded like he was trying to get her to get him out of the tree. Seeing as he really was trying to apologize- and that if her method for getting him down was anything like her method for getting him up there her help would probably leave him an arm short- he took a deep breath and started down the tree. His ankle and his wrist stung with every step, but it wasn't anything he couldn't ignore. Carefully he went, just managing not to lose his grip. One look down made him a bit dizzy. When he was about halfway down he became slightly more hopeful- he'd half expected to fall and split his head open within the first three steps- and he smiled to himself. He had, with everything that had happened in the last few moments, entirely forgotten about the brownie, and would probably have been a lot more worried about his situation if he hadn't. One missed step and a snapped branch later and he found himself hanging from one of the sturdier branches, unable to pull himself up thanks to his arm's condition. He cursed his own clumsiness- nothing he seemed to do today went right- and looked down. Falling from his current spot would probably have still left him in bad shape, to say the least. His face paled and he tightened his grip, trying to think of a way out of this mess.

Tah-leen continued to stare up at him, not seeming to be phased the man was in a precarious position as she kept her arms angrily at her side, tail swishing back and forth.
"Does Lerrok believe me now?" she shouted up at him, but after a time, even her temper cooled, the slight, blue flame that would have glazed her eyes faded subtly as she realized, only then, that the men seemed to be in trouble. Blinking, she regained herself and looked up at the tree before she hesitated, then moved to climb up to the branch he was dangling from. She made it appear a breeze.

"A normal girl could not do this," she pouted, hoping he'd understand, but in actuality, she felt horrible for having tormented him in this way as she hesitated to help him, watching the blonde man simply dangle before her before shaking off her pride and extended a hand out for him to take.
"Here, I can help you get down." she said, and waited for the man to trust her enough to take her hand, then she would be much more careful in assisting him back to the forest floor.

Lerrok was still trying to come up with a way down when Tah-leen offered to help him. At that point his best plan had been to try and drive his sword into the tree to break his fall- a plan neither likely to work or particularly effective even if it had worked. He looked up and examined the fox-spirit's face for any sign of deception. Lerrok nodded in consent, but then what remained of his pride surged up. So far today he'd tripped everywhere, walked into a slew of tricks, been completely overpowered twice by a woman- fox spirit or no- and had literally been crapped on. Honestly, if at this point he couldn't even get down from a tree without help he figured he'd be better off just crawling into a hole at some point. "Thanks, but I think I can get down on my own."

Lerrok let go of the branch with one arm, drew his sword, and then dropped. About halfway between the branch and the ground he swung, managing to drive it far enough into the tree that he was able to stop himself. It probably hurt his arm more than going along with Tah-leen again would have, but given he'd barely expected it to work at all he wasn't exactly going to complain. Pulling the sword out, he took the remaining drop without too much trouble, shook his head in astonishment at both his own stupidity and the fact that it actually worked, looked up, and waited for Tah-leen to join him on the ground. "How about we try this again- preferably while I've got something in my stomach. Are you still hungry? What happened to that net?"

Fin wasn't sure what to make of all this. Tah-leen was having fun of her own at this man's expense. She knew she should be doing that, but couldn't help just sitting back watching and laughing at times. She noted that he didn't seem to trust the fox lady any more than he trusted her.

So he hasn't hurt his brains yet. Perhaps when he falls out of that tree. She thought and shook her head. She wasn't sure where that thought came from. It was a first for her as she never hated anyone. Her tormenting was all in fun.

Fin thought about taking off. Tah-leen was ignoring her and doing fine on her own at tormenting this man. She sighed but didn't leave not yet. There was still fun to be had with this one. She just wasn't sure what yet. He was starting to become a challenge... and that's one thing she wouldn't walk away from.

Lerrok might have expected her to follow him down and out of the tree, but up there she remained, pouting a little as she took a seat on the branch. His questions seemed to go on deaf ears as she puffed out her cheeks and poked them idly.  She had never felt.. well, really guilty before, as normally she'd be off and away, and the expression was still somewhat new to her. She didn't like it.  It made her feel gloomy. She didn't want to feel gloomy. So idly, she began to chew on her hair now, simply looking down at Lerrok.

"Your net is there,"s he said, simply pointing, then went back to pouting and chewing on her hand from where she was perched within the tree.

Lerrok's attempted friendly demeanor slowly evaporated as the girl just sat up there, pouting. "What did I do now?" He simply watched her in complete puzzlement, arms folded, for a moment, trying to figure out what had upset her this time- with about as much success as could be expected.  With a short sigh he turned to the wood he'd been preparing earlier and began striking his dagger against a flat bit of rock. He'd have preferred to use flint, but this would have to do. Unfortunately, what would have to do and what actually worked didn't seem to coincide this time. Lerrok managed a few sparks, but none of them caught. He cursed at himself again- "Great. I'm cold, I'm wet, I made my ankle even worse by jumping out of a tree for no reason, I can't start a proper fire, and now I've gone and upset the girl again somehow."

Lerrok put the stone down for a minute, figuring it was best to keep to one frustration at a time for now. He leaned back until he was lying down, looking up at the tree again. "You could at least tell me how I screwed up, you know. I can't make amends if I don't know what I'm supposed to be making amends for."

Fin was still just observing these two. It was getting more and more interesting. She sighed as she watched them wondering when her opening would come. She then saw it. Tah-leen had left the net unguarded. Using the bird she swooped down and gathered the net heading back into the tree. She had wanted to study this thing.

It wasn't just a wonder to her it was something she could use if she could make it bigger. She then thought maybe just placing it in the proper place at the proper time like the quills from earlier maybe it didn't need to be any bigger. It still fascinated her.

She had the object of her desire, but still watched the two of them. Sure she could lure him into a trap, but so far he had managed to wreck those. No she would bide her time for the right moment.

Despite her pouty disposition, Tah-leen was still studying the young man down below. She still felt 'guilty' and she didn't like it, so when he grumbled, then posed his question, she still said nothing at first as she simply looked down at his lying form.

"You didn't mess up, I did." she stated, still in a pout. "I was just curious about humans, that's all." She always was, after all, and for what it was worth, still wanted to become one. Frowning a little more, she drew her knees to her chest, but did not come down from the tree, only stared at him with a slight sniffle.
"I saw the brownie was having fun with you and I wanted to join. But I'm no good at these games. I guess I should just go," she started, rising from the tree and taking a look out at the sea of forests all around.

Lerrok couldn't help rolling his eyes. "So you're curious, but make one mistake and you'll just give up and leave? Look, you made an honest mistake. It happens to the best of-" While he spoke, his eyes had wandered across to the net, and he saw the brownie making a grab at it.  The man jumped to his feet surprisingly quickly and started after her, but he gave up after taking only a few steps, knowing full well there wasn't a chance he could catch her. He gave an impatient growl, turned back, and kicked one of the stones. When he finished cursing in irritation and pain, he looked back up at the woman. "Anyway, you did offer to help me down. Most people wouldn't have done that much- though admittedly most people wouldn't be able to put me in the tree in the first place..."

Drawing closer to the tree, he continued. "So why don't you hold on a minute?" At this point the man wasn't keen on the idea of being left alone with just the brownie for company again, and he had to admit he could use a hand with his current situation. "You can learn a bit more about us, and I have someone to speak with who isn't intent on driving me slowly mad." He paused and decided he'd probably want to kick himself later for what he was about to say. "And I suppose it'd give you another chance for a harmless joke or two."

Fin had heard him but hadn't realized he was chasing her down when she went for his net. She had gotten away. She knew it was because he was hurt had he not been he might have caught her with the net. She shivered at the thought.

She then went back to watching what they were doing. Tah-leen was thinking of leaving. She couldn't have that she was entertaining with the big man and she was a distraction. Fin needed her even if the big man wouldn't admit it. She knew she couldn't say that. Keeping the net in a safe place high up where Leerok couldn't get to it she left it and used the bird to fly where the human fox was sitting.

"Don't go. Humans get upset when they have pranks played on them. It's part of who they are in a sense, or at least that's what I understand it to be. He wasn't happy with me when I put a couple of quills in his backside. He's right with just me he might lose his mind. Brownie's are good at doing that to humans. Besides what fun will you have if you just leave?"

Tah-leen wasn't entirely convinced by Lerrok's pleas, but when Findra approached she suddenly began to wag her tail.
"Findra!" she said with a laugh. She really liked and admired the little brownie. "And yes," She nodded in agreement. "This human is quite grumpy. He wouldn't even let me help him from the tree." She pouted a little. "He his stubborn." Glancing back down at him, she peered over at Findra just as an idea popped into her head.
"Why don't we pretend to leave him? He doesn't seem to want to be alone so what if we pretended to leave and we just watched him from the bushes?"
Tah-leen had to place a hand over her lips to keep herself from laughing too loudly. But this all amused her greatly.  "Then we can surprise him with more fish!"
A bit of laughter escaped and she stilled herself, then looked back down at Lerrok, stealing her gaze as she stated,
"I don't believe you want me to study you. You think I'm crazy.  Goodbye, Lerrok." She even added a little more of a pout to her expression as she projected her words down to the human, then she jumped down from the tree, hoping down with ease, despite the height and took off into the brush, seeming to disappear altogether from sight. But she remained nearby crouching down low, holding her breath, eyes sparkling as she listened, waiting to see what the man would do now that he was all alone again.

Well, that was that Lerrok supposed.  He'd not seen the brownie speaking with Tah-leen, so he didn't suspect anything was afoot. "Alright then... might as well try to get this mess started." He went back to the fire pit, sat down, and resumed striking his dagger against a stone. He just sat there for a while, too busy concentrating to curse and not exactly providing a very entertaining show. He did growl for a moment when the blade slid off the stone and nicked his finger, but he quickly recovered his focus and kept at it. Several minutes passed like that, but then he gave a shout and leaped up, the beginnings of a flame in the small ring. He knelt down and blew on the fire until it spread far enough to sustain itself.

He allowed himself a few moments of satisfaction before doing anything else- finally something had gone right. His stomach soon reminded him of the reason he'd started the fire in the first place, and he made his way to the riverbank. "Well, my net's gone... No, no, I am not going to try that." While he thought about what to do, he knelt down and washed most of the grime off of his face. To call him clean would be a lie, but he no longer looked like he'd been lying face down in mud for the past hour.

It was then that he had the idea. It would take too long to build another net like the first, and he didn't want to leave the fire unattended for an extended length of time. He could, however, make a slightly different net much more quickly. Walking to the edge of the denser foliage- unwittingly coming rather close to the fox's hiding place- he grabbed another set of vines (quite a few less than he'd needed before) and two long, somewhat sturdy-looking sticks.  He sat down by the fire and began to lash the vines together. Forming a mesh about halfway down the poles, he was soon satisfied with the net.

His creation in hand, he went back to the riverbank and drove the poles down into the water. He had to stand somewhat awkwardly to spread the net out to its full length, but he was fairly confident it would work. Unfortunately, it took a good while longer for any fish large enough to be worth eating (I.E. not small enough to fit through the holes) to get stuck in the mesh. When he hauled it up, the net caught on a rock and tore a gap in the weave through which the fish began to slip through. Lerrok dove forward, trying to get a hold on it before it could get back in the water. He took another dunk in the river for his effort, but he managed to keep his grip and soon had the fish stuck on his sword, heading back to the fire.

Fin wasn't allowed to say anything to stop the fox human. She knew what Leerok would do without them around. She sighed, went back for the net she had captured, and then went to where Tah-leen was hiding. She was watching the man and chuckled a little when he knicked his finger. Serves him right especially after exploding at Tah-leen like that. She thought not sure if the fox lady could hear her thoughts.

"He's not going to be doing much of fun things. Humans tend to try and survive when alone," she whispered to the female beside her. Fin was looking for that opening. Sure she could have tried something while he was fishing, but that seemed to easy she also thought that he might expect her to try something.

Patience is a virtue. Besides some of the best things come from one being patient.

"He's trying to catch fish again!" Tah-leen thought, eyes sparkling excitedly as she watched him draw up the fish, only to find him stumbling around and finally catching one on the end of his sword. She couldn't help but giggle, giving away her hiding spot as she watched Lerrok from the bushes. Forgetting that she was trying to hide, the fox-spirit girl rushed out from the bush at suhc a speed and was splashing into the waters, grasping into them and pulling out another fish and putting it to her lips.
"More tasty, tasty fish!" she said, laughing agian and nibbling on her new, floppingly fresh fish as she drew it to her lips. "You really should learn to catch fish with your hands!" Tah-leen stated excitedly, keeping the fist over her lips, which hid her smile, but it was evident in her eyes and the sound of giggling that came out from behind it. Then, after a moment, she timidly stepped forward and offered it to him.
"Fish for Lerrok!" she said, smiling, handing out the fish, then hesitating, drawing it back, licking it, then handing it back out to him. "This fish is tasty! You will like it!" and as she held it, the small bite marks she had pressed into it were exposed as the fish began to flop it's last within her hands.

That was unexpected.  Lerrok found himself speechless once again as the girl charged into the river. She'd come right out of the bushes, almost like she hadn't left- had she been spying on him? He shook his head and just stared at the fish for a moment, unable to keep a bit of a smile off of his face after she stopped to take a last taste. He didn't mind the bite marks- he'd be cooking it anyway, but he couldn't stop wondering what exactly she was up to. "Thanks," he forced out. "But I told you, I doubt I'd be able to do that. Most normal humans can't." He stuck the second fish on his sword and gestured back at the fire. "Do you plan to stick around this time, or did you just come back to repay the fish you ate earlier?" He tried to sound impartial, but it was pretty clear from the way he said it that he'd rather she stayed.

Lerrok then realized he hadn't seen Findra in a while. He looked around nervously, scanning the foliage for movement. "By the way, have you seen the brownie?" He wasn't sure if he could trust Tah-leen about the matter- she'd said herself she'd initially wanted to join in on the brownie's pranks, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Glancing around one more time, he stooped down by the fire, held the fish low over the flames, and peeled his soggy boots off to dry. He raised an eyebrow at Tah-leen, waiting expectantly for an answer to either question. The smell of cooking meat brought another growl from his stomach.

Fin shook her head as her friend rushed out of the bushes. She smiled as she took the bird higher into the trees to watch again. She didn't want Leerok to storm the bushes and find her there. She needs to learn patience and to stay hidden. Oh well. She thought still sitting with her net. It was more complex than she thought now that she had a good look at it.

She was close enough she could still hear what was being said this time. She heard Leerok asking almost begging Tah-leen to stay. She also heard him ask if the fox human knew where she was. She sighed knowing that Leerok would know shortly that she was still around. She would have to be patient a bit longer if she wanted the right moment. He would still be expecting her movements if she went too soon.

Will he ever forget that I might be around?

Tah-leen smiled, a mischievous sparkle to her eyes.
"Maybe I will stick around to play with Lerrok,"s he stated, laughing as she did so before her eyes went happily to the fish, then back to Lerrok, remaining at his side with a smile, but at the mention of the brownie, her neck craned upwards towards the trees. She knew the brownie was around, but only laughed and shook her head.
"She is around. She wants to play, too." Then she latched onto Lerrok's arms. "How do humans play? And where are you taking those fish?" She reached out to grab them, but then recalled they were for Lerrok and with drew her hand, smiling up at him curiously.

"Well..." Lerrok started, leaning back. "It depends on the human, really. Some of us just sit around joking with each other, others find some way to compete with each other, some tell stories they think are interesting..." The man shrugged and shifted his feet closer to the fire. "It's not something I ever really thought much about before, come to think of it. And I'm holding the fish here because unlike you, I'm not built to just scarf down raw fish. We prefer to cook our food first."

Lerrok scratched at his stubble absentmindedly. "I suppose I've always preferred a good competition myself, though I've probably seen enough in my time for a couple of stories." Turning the fish over so the other side would cook a bit, he gave Tah-leen a curious look. "So what exactly does your kind do, aside from chewing on each other?" As he spoke, he made a resolution that if the brownie was going to keep harassing him, he was going to find some way to get back at her, and he was beginning to think he knew how.

Fin was listening and watching them hoping that observing would help. She sighed when she hear Tah-leen say she was still around. That wouldn't help in the least bit. She knew she would have to bide her time she just didn't know how much time that would involve. If anything she was glad she was patient.

She heard what Leerok was saying about competition. She smiled thinking she had given him a good one. So far she was winning, but something told her she wouldn't be doing that for long.

Tah-leen remained close, even though she was wary of the fire.

"There aren't many of my kind. The winter spirit made me," Tah-leen informed, thinking back to it with a bit of a frown. The spirit had been mad at her, and now she was not allowed to go back, but she wasn't going to dwell on it. She was fascinated by humans and always dreamed to become one. Maybe.. just maybe...
"I was like her pet. But maybe-" her face brightened as she clung onto Lerrok's arm in a hug. "Maybe I could be your pet! And you could teach me to be human! Lerrok could teach Tah-leen to be human!" SHe laughed excitedly, and even began to chew playfully on his arm, that was, until she stopped, realizing his comment from earlier that it was not appropriate and resorted to licking it lightly instead before draping her chin onto his bicep and peered up at him like a dog, pout on her lip.

"Does Lerrok know any stories?" she said, then her eyes went warily to the fire again, then back to him as she tucked back some of her long black hair behind her ear.  "You could share some stories with me. I'd like to hear some human stories."

Lerrok chuckled a bit. "I suppose I could teach you to act like a human, but humans don't usually offer to be another human's pet." He paused at that and added, "Well, most don't anyway. As for stories, let me think of a good one..." Lerrok searched his memories for stories he'd heard back home that might interest her, but he was a little bothered to realize that he only half-remembered most of them himself. What then, maybe one of his own stories? No, no, most of his life had been fairly boring for a criminal. He absentmindedly tapped at the hilt of his sword, and then it came to him. "Alright, I've got one for you."

Taking the first fish from the fire and taking a massive bite, looking immensely satisfied about finally having something to eat, he began with his mouth still full. "Welf- it aull starded un-" Lerrok swallowed and shook his head, starting over. "It all started in a small village in Connlaoth- you know where that is? Anyway, it was a nice enough village, and fairly prosperous as well. The harvest was always good, and every spring there would be a good deal of traders passing through. One year though, the village fell on hard times. There'd been a poor crop that year, and taxes had been raised for one reason or another. One family in particular had it rough- they had barely enough to feed one person to split between three of them. One day, the child of the family, a boy of about... fourteen, noticed that his mother was practically starving herself so he could have enough to eat." Lerrok took a moment to gauge her reaction before continuing. "So he took to thinking. There had to be something he could do to help, and later, while he was staring up at the manor of the noble who owned the village, it came to him. He couldn't write, so he left a series of signs for his parents, telling them what he'd done and how to handle it. That night, he went up to the manor with nothing but a large empty sack and a good deal of recklessness. He managed to get inside through an open window on the second floor- nearly bashed his head open getting in there, too- and found himself with plenty to steal. A fraction of what he saw in that building could have kept his family fed for months, if not years. There were decorated swords hung above every fireplace, vases from distant lands that were probably made by some famous artisan, silver wine goblets, and the list goes on. So he got to work- putting everything light enough to carry and shiny enough to be of worth into his bag- but then he heard someone coming up the steps behind him. Someone wearing armor, by the clanking sound." Lerrok had started off very methodical in his description, almost like he was trying to sound detached, but by this point excitement was beginning to creep into his voice.

Lerrok paused again, taking a number of quick, almost feral bites out of the fish and waiting to see Tah-leen's reaction to the story. There wasn't any point in continuing if it was boring her, and he wasn't going to waste his breath if that were the case. "Following so far?" He asked, offering her the second cooked fish. "And here, try a bite. This is how humans eat it."

Fin sighed as she looked around. She listened to what they were saying. She knew then that she had just lost a friend. Brownies never befriended humans it just wasn't done. She knew now that she must prank Tah-leen as the girl wanted to be more human. She just wasn't sure if the fox human had realized what she was asking for.

Fin was still looking for an opening. Leerok would be expecting her to try something, but that human fox wouldn't. She smiled happy she had waited, but what could she attempt. She was thinking still holding onto the net. She left it in the tree and smiled. Leaving the bird she carefully climbed down the tree with an idea in mind.

Fin moved carefully so that Tah-leen wouldn't know she was there. She smiled and grabbed some vines. She tied one end to a nearby tree and the other she tied to the fox tail. Once she was done she climbed back into her tree moving back toward where she left the net and the bird. She sat back on the bird grabbing the net ready to move the minute the human fox realized what was going on.

Tah-leen listened to the story with interest, dark eyes sparkling. She might not have understood it all, but she got the gist of it and listened in anticipation as he continued, completely unaware what hte brownie was doing. Sure she could smell her, but the brownie was never a concern, so she never thought the thing was tying her tail.  Right before Lerrok had stopped his story, she had been wagging her tail lightly, but not enough to notice the bindings on it.
But when Lerrok paused in his story, her tail paused too as she blinked.
At his question,s he nodded, but when the fish was offered to her, she got so excited she took a few bites instead of one, eyes going so wide as the juices began to flow down her chin.
"This is good! This tastes good!" she said enthusiastically, lapping her tongue against the scorched meat of the fish.  "It tastes like fire and is sweet!" She laughed, pressing a hand to her lips then wiping the juice from her chin on the back o fher wrist before lickig it off, and when all was said and done, there was only a few bites left on the fish.
And the trick not quite yet triggered yet as Tah-leen remained a seemingly permanent figure at Lerrok's side.
"So what happened next?" she asked, eyes sparkling and bright.

Lerrok probably would have noticed the brownie normally himself, but as he was distracted with his own story, he wasn't in a position to warn Tah-leen. Slipping a bit closer to the fire, he continued. "Well, the kid was terrified, of course.  The plan had been to get in, take what he needed, and get out- not get trapped into fighting. Of course, by this point he didn't have much choice. The room didn't have anywhere to hide, and whoever was coming was already at the door. So he did the first thing that came to mind- he grabbed one of the swords over the mantel, got ready, and waited. As soon as the doorway was half open- and he saw that it was one of the manor's guards- he lunged. Now, he barely knew enough to hold the pointy end towards the opponent, but he managed to catch the guard by surprise, and he managed to get one clean cut across the man's chest, then followed up by bashing him over the head. He crashed to the floor- loudly enough that he'd likely have woken someone else- and the kid thought he'd killed him. He panicked then."

Lerrok polished off the last of his fish and decided he was still hungry, though he figured it'd be easier to wait til after the story before getting another. "He grabbed everything he'd stolen so far, stuck the sword through his belt, and bolted. Right down the steps, waking up every single living being there, and breaking right through the front door. He thought for a minute or two that he might very well get out of there without any more trouble, but after running through the woods for a bit he began to hear the baying of hounds. Now, this is where the kid actually did something bright for once. There was a stream nearby, a lot like the one over there, and he figured he could get them off his trail if he used it right. It was still dark, and his biggest fear was  that he'd end up tripping over something. He'd be caught for sure then. Finally he reached the river, dove in, and swam as far as he could downstream. Of course, the hounds didn't sound any further away, and he found himself getting tired. He was freezing, out of breath, and on the verge of giving up." Stopping to catch his breath and for appropriate dramatic effect, Lerrok's mouth twisted into a grin. "Then he saw it- a small outcropping surrounded by reeds. He grabbed hold, got himself as well hidden as he could, and waited. He waited nearly til the sun was up and he was half-dead from the cold, but he held on. The hounds passed by, the guards passed by, and he had made his escape. Then the kid hauled himself out of the water, hid his loot where his parents could find it, and set off on his new life."

Lerrok seemed immensely satisfied at this point. He gave an exhilarated grin and peered intensely at Tah-leen. "Nobody really knows what happened to him after that, though most are certain he's still alive now." Then he seemed to realize his own lack of control, coughed into his hand, and shook his head. "Anyway, that's the story. Now, surely you've got one or two of your own?"

Tah-leen smiled excited at the story, but occasionally her eyes would wonder hungrily to his fish, licking her lips a bit but trying her best to remain polite and not just snatch it from him and gobble it whole. Who would have thought frying a fish over a fire could taste s good?  When he finished his story, she gave a laugh.
"The kid wasn't very sneaky. He should have acted more like a fox. Foxes are quick and nimble and we can run very, very fast!" she told Lerrok, as if he didn't know. But when he turned to ask her about a story, she found herself blinking a moment and uncertain how to respond.
"Me?" SHe smiled a bit but shook her head. "I might have some stories but I'd rather get some fish!" she tugged at Lerrok's arm excitedly. "Let's go get some more fish! I'm hungry!" and she tugged at his arm some more. "We can tell stories later. Come help me catch more fish!" And when she moved to stand, her tail got pulled by Findra's trap and Tah-leen soon found herself falling forward and crashing into Lerrok.

The pair would fall onto the ground, the young woman crashing into his lap as the trap gave a painful pull to her tail. Yelping, she turned around, surprised and terrified to see something bond to it.

"Well, he was just a stupid kid at the time," Lerrok muttered. He would have been all too happy to comply with her suggestion of getting more fish, but then she ended up crashing into him. It took him a moment to figure out exactly what had happened- his gaze shifting from her tale to the tree. Lerrok started to laugh then, the first moment of genuine mirth he'd felt since the brownie's first prank on him earlier. Getting to his feet- and helping Tah-leen up along with him- he drew his dagger and cut the vine along the middle, still laughing all the while. "Looks like I'm not the only one she's played tricks on today. Now you know how I felt." Lerrok slipped the knife back and reached for Tah-leen's tail, attempting to untie the remaining bit of vine.

He finally managed to regain his composure after that- though he still had a somewhat silly grin on his face. "Now, I can't exactly catch another fish, as both of my nets have been stolen or broken, and I don't feel like making another, but you certainly seem capable enough of getting a few more. So, how about you do that, I'll cook the fish for us, and then you can share whatever story you think would be the most interesting?" Lerrok slipped the vine shred into his pocket- more out of habit than anything- and leaned against the tree, still smirking at her.

Fin saw that Tah-leen was getting up and then the crash as she not only fell but took Leerok with her. She laughed and hard at that one. She laughed harder when she saw that Leerok's net was broken. She couldn't have planned that better.

She knew she would have to really stay hidden now. There was no telling what that human fox would do to her for the prank. She then heard Leerok laughing. She had't expected that. It was the first time a human laughed at a prank of hers it bothered her a little. She figured he would have gotten mad at his broken net.

She scratched her head and listened to the words. So back for more fish, eh? She thought not sure what mischief she could make. Ideas were forming though.

The ruckus caused by the trio did not by any means go unnoticed. Although most predators weren't around at this time there were an additional pair of eyes that had begun watching them not very long before the fish were caught. Round and bold like that of an owl's, the eyes watched from above. The Brownie was most likely to have noticed but the mystery creature was very, very still. The only movement came after the story was told and fish were once again the main interest; a long, furry tail swept around to coil about the tree it had climbed.

The beast observed and licked its nose with a forked tongue while it clung on to the tree.

Tah-leen was genuinely afraid. Being trapped was one of her greatest fears and had heard many horrible stories about hunters and poachers and what they did to foxes. So she had clung onto Lerrok so tightly, it might have surprised him; but what surprised her was when he began to laugh.  She stared at him in surprise and offense, pouting her lip somewhat and curling her tail between her legs when it was free.

"It's not funny, Lerrok. What if it was a hunter-" but then when he mentioned it was the brownie and her trick. She recalled all of what she witnessed the brownie do to Lerrok as she clapped a hand over her lips in surprise. "She tricked me?!" the wolf spirit gasped, not certain how to feel other than surprised.

Tah-leen, still uncertain how she felt about all of this, just looked ashamed as she shrunk down, shoulders wilted.  "But what if she tries to trick me again?" she curled her tail uncertainly between her tail. "My tail is sensitive."
She pouted even more as she clung onto Lerrok's arm and leaned her body into him.   "Will you come with me into the river? I don't want to get caught into a trap."

She'd rather be tricking other people, after all! Even if she didn't seem to be very good at playing this sort of game.

Giving the girl a pat on the head, Lerrok nodded. "Alright, alright. I'll come with you. Though I don't think you'd have much to fear from hunters. Come on." He began to pull her along towards the stream, then noticed her tail drooping. "And don't look so down about it- I've been walking into traps all day, you let her sneak up on you once." Feeling a bit bold, he poked her in the forehead and continued tugging her along.

Then he froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his fingers twitched towards the hilt of his sword, and he pulled Tah-leen closer. Lerrok knew that feeling- something was watching him. His eyes darted about, but there was nothing. Not so much as a snapped twig or a slight shift in color within the bushes. Lerrok started when he realized he'd been holding his breath, surveyed the brush one last time, and slowly let his muscles relax. Maybe his instincts were wrong; maybe he was just being paranoid.

His smile returned, though it was clearly a bit forced. He pulled Tah-leen along again, stomach growling at the thought of more fish. "I'll be right here, keeping an eye out for any of the brownie's tricks," he said, squatting down on the bank.  He had to admit to himself that he was somewhat glad now she'd asked him to stay close- whatever had set off his nerves had really left them frayed.

Fin had a funny feeling just then. She had enjoyed the trick, but this was something else. She felt like she wasn't the only one hiding right then. She sighed wondering what else was about. Leerok has sensed it too. She could tell in that he was being over protective of his new friend. She was glad that Tah-leen had someone like Leerok around in this case.

She knew she was on her own. Whatever was watching them she would have to take on by herself she was used to that. Fin had the bird move to another tree several down the line but still close enough to watch what would be going on. She thought about trying to find the creature and trick it, but survival came first.

OOC: Quick post for the day- hope it makes sense, I just woke up 8D

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Tah-leen blinked when Lerrok poked her forehead and found herself smiling. Foxes sometimes did that, and she grinned even more thinking about the playfulness and lightly thumped her tail, thinking about how fun it was now to have a playmate.  He was right. So she was tricked once by Findra, perhaps she'd try to trick the brownie later! For now, she was still hungry, was always hungry, and the prospect of having more of that cooked fish made her stomach growl even louder.  But then Lerrok paused suddenly as she blinked, looking up at him with a curious tilt of her head. She tugged at his sleeve. "Maybe Findra will leave us alone in the water?" she suggested, assuming the man was tense out of worry there would be another tricked played on them so soon, but the truth in the matter was that she hoped there was, and was caught up so much in these gleeful activities, she was ignoring her own senses that there could be danger nearby. She certainly smelled something funny, but assumed she was alright as they moved away and next to the river.
She was also enjoying the man leading her around. She felt more like a person, and pride filled her chest as she happily let him guide her away, the man assuming the lead.
WHen his stomach growled, she laughed and nodded.
"I'll be sure to catch us plenty of fish!" she announced, laughing gaily before turning to the water and tucking back some of her long black hair behind her ear.  Her dark eyes went to the water, studying the fish as they swamp by...
THEN smashed her hands into the water, water splashing everywhere as she pulled up a massively large flopping fish. Laughing, she turned to Lerrok as the thing squirmed. The fish barely was able to remain inside her arms.
SHe tossed the massive fish to him with a laugh and shouted, "Here, Lerrok! Catch!"

The unknown eyes did not indulge Lerrok's paranoia immediately by moving once he was alert but catching the fish had attracted its interest. It started to crawl down the tree it was so securely perched on, taking its sweet time. The man's accent was familiar and it wasn't a good thing; however it wasn't quite on the chase yet. Towards the bottom of the tree it purposefully slid down, slicing imprints in the trunk and hitting the ground with an audible (if dull) thud accompanied by the crunching of leaves.

The monster's forked tongue stretched out from between its lips as its nostrils flared. It started to walk towards them, the thing's long neck stretching up to make the strange animal(?) look even larger than it was. It wasn't in the opening yet but its presence was obvious and should they look they'd see the light dappled figure of it moving towards them. it was hard to miss anyways, it was making a bit of a ruckus.

The fish caught the poacher by surprise- he'd slipped off into his own thoughts while Tah-leen had been splashing about, and hadn't been paying much attention to what she was doing. When her shout reached him, he started and fumbled with the slippery thing, nearly dropping it into the river immediately. He fumbled with the fish for a few seconds, nearly letting it escape back into the river more than once. Finally it looked like he had it, and he gave a triumphant grin... then let the fish go.

"Tah-leen," he said softly, through gritted teeth. "Get behind me." Steel rasped as he drew his sword, and his dagger appeared almost instantly in his left hand. Lerrok had seen the creature approaching them, and for one twisted second he was somewhat glad for the fact that his instincts hadn't dulled. Then he returned his attention to more important issues. What is that thing? What does it want? Lerrok was visibly shaken- it had been a long time since he'd been out of his element. Other humans, he could deal with, however dangerous. Predatory animals he could deal with. He knew what to expect from them, even from something as dangerous as a grizzly. But that thing? A complete unknown, aside from the fact that it looked like it wouldn't be fun to fight. He took a step back from the water, so as to have more room to move if things turned sour.

Tah-leen's eye went wide, her mouth dropping open in surprise as the fish was dropped suddenly into the water. She couldn't believe he did that!
"Lerrok, the fish!" she exclaimed, but then flinched back at the draw of his weapons, every part of her screaming to run away- but from his weapons, not to be protected by them. But just as she was flinching back from Lerrok's sudden drawing of steel, her eyes followed his gaze to where she stared in an 'o' mouth shaped gaze towards the very peculiar creature heading sloth like in their direction, and cocked her head curiously to one side as her tail draped between her legs.

OOC: Sorry for the short post! Posting real quick before bed~

The beast reached the clearing, the less disjointed light shining on its strange face. Its eyes glimmered while it drew back on its hind legs, simply staring at them. The creature seemed almost as perplexed by them as they were of it, only able to say one thing in a growling, deep voice.

"...YOU..."

The monster's eyes were on Lerrok. A feathery brow drew down angrily.

It could speak as well? Lerrok wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried by this fact- that meant it would be possible to communicate, but it also meant the creature was likely of human intelligence... and thus even more unpredictable. The thief lowered his blades slightly, as a token gesture- there was no way he was going to trust that thing any time soon. "What about me?" He said. Lerrok shot a glance towards Tah-leen and noticed she seemed as frightened of him as she did of the creature. "I'm not going to-" he began, but then realized if this creature had something against him in particular she might be safer out of the way.

The man surveyed the area, weighing his options. If push came to shove he doubted he could outrun the monster, so the choice came down to where best to fight. Back in the denser foliage? No, he'd lose any real mobility and the creature could probably just charge him down. It would seem he might as well stay where he was. He certainly hoped it wouldn't come to that, in any case. Steadying his nerves, he called out. "Well, what do you want?"

Fin was watching what was going on. She didn't like the look of this creature nor the sound of what was going on. This creature seemed to know Leerok. She sighed wondering what it wanted as well. Sure she liked to play pranks on the man but she didn't want to see anyone really harm him. Her pranks were little enough that he would only be flustered not seriously harmed.

She remembered that she still had the net from earlier. It might come in handy to help them get away if she tossed it down on the creature. She kept still though figuring she had been forgotten for the time being. She would help if necessary, but only as a last resort.

"....This little spirit... lured you where you... do not belong." It continued, stepping to the side slowly. "...Pity that she did not bring... someone else. You do not look... tasty at all." The beast's voice sounded strained; not that the mouth it possessed would be very good for talking with in the first place. Paws and hooves crunched as they fell into the bed of leaves.

The expression of anger had almost vanished but it was hardly reassuring. Luckily for Fin, it did seem to forget her, or perhaps it didn't really notice her at all. It was unknown how long the beast was looking on. Despite the comments, its puffy tail flicking about with what could be excitement. Was the unknown monstrosity messing with them in the life-threatening sense or the mischievous one?

Tah-leen was taken back when the creature addressed her, accusing her of luring Lerrok. It wasn't like that, and she'd let this little, er.. big creature know.
Stomping a foot forward, her tail raised up underneath her skirts.
"But he does belong here. He was traveling here first!" she pressed. "We were only catching fish. Fish are tasty. Not Lerrok! Lerrok tastes like salt." She should know.She had been licking him.

It was then she began to realize.. oh... had they wondered into his stream?
Blinking, she tilted her head curiously to one side.
"Are you upset we have wondered into your home?" She could understand that. She hated when humans did that to her home, and her tail gently swayed behind her as she stared curiously at the creature, wondering if that was what had made him come out of hiding?

Even still, she couldn't help but smell something different from this being. He smelled of all sorts of animals, but there was something curiously human about him that made her brave a few steps closer as she took a few more sniffs in the air.

...And Tah-leen was getting closer to the thing. Lerrok sighed and hesitated for a moment. He slipped his dagger back into his belt, and returned his sword mostly to it's sheathe- though he kept a hand on it and there was still the faint glint of metal between the hilt and the scabbard. Stepping slowly forward, he drew level with Tah-leen. It had been one thing when she was out of the way, but he figured it was best he stayed close now just in case she did something foolish.

"Tasty or not, you'd be better off finding an easier meal anyway. If you want us gone, we'll leave- but don't get any ideas." Lerrok grimaced at Tah-leen and hissed. "That thing might very well like salty food, careful what you say, alright?"

Tah-leen blinked and turned curiously to Lerrok.
"But the fish would taste better than Lerrok. You have too much clothing to eat through," Tah-leen helpfully pointed out as she stared up at her companion, blinking simply. Though her tail swished as her brown eyes went back to the beast thing. She gave another sniff, then took another hesitant few steps forward. "This thing... smells weird. He almost has the same smell as you, Lerrok. Like a person. But all I can see is animal." She sniffed again, moving another step forward as if to get even closer still.

Just as she was leaning in further the beast's nose was there to meet her's. Sniffing at her, it retorted, "The human smell is on... you, too, spirit. Getting a bit... close, are we?" Its lips parted into a wicked grin baring rows of vorpal teeth. That tongue flickered out from between them again. "It... depends. What kind of salt...?"

With that question it turned back to Lerrok, steadily padding towards him. "I can get rid of the... clothes. It is the meat I am... concerned about. Do you think... he is poisoned?"

When the beasts nose touched her own, she jumped back, tail bristling. She listened, hesitating over his words as she gave a pout. but then she noticed he was approaching Lerrok and she threw herself upon the beast suddenly, wrapping her arms around it's big neck in attempt to halt his progression towards her new friend.
"No! You can not eat Lerrok!" she stated, holding onto the beast tightly, despite the possibility there might be any consequences. And about the statement of poison, she shook her head.
"Humans are not made of poison."s he pouted, still trying to tug the beast to a halt. "At least not normal ones. But they can carry poison." She frowned. "And I am no human." She kept her grip, sitll, however, hoping the beast would stop it's pursuit. "But I want to be," she admitted. "So you can't eat him! How else will I learn how to be a human?" She hoped the beast would hear her pleas. She really didn't want to have Lerrok eaten! If she had to, she'd protect him from the beast. After all, what could the man do against such a thing? She at least had her speed and strength granted to her by her mother spirit. He.... he was just a normal human.

(Sorry D: Couldn't resist with a reply~)

Despite the mane of ragged, dark fur that clung to its long neck already she could hear it breathe. Each inhale was strained but uninterrupted. Its heartbeat thundered within, though there wasn't much indication why. The beast paused in its approach and drew back on its haunches to reach back for the intervening spirit. "You do not wish to be... human, spirit. Humans are... not very nice."

"On the... contrary, they can be quite wicked..." It shot Lerrok an interesting look. A mix of accusing and 'I'm coming for you...' "That is why they are... better to torment. Also good to eat..."

(No problem. << >> Saving throw!)

Tah-leen could see the beast was not being deterred. Moving about, she positioned herself more infront of him than at his side, keeping her arms still around it's thick, furry neck and using more of her strength in hopes to keep him back, and to also let him know she was hardly a weakling to be trifled with. Not that she'd want to fight, nor use her abilities as such (she was never good at fights, if anything, she was the sort to bite and run...); however, there was more at stake here. Not only was Lerrok possibly in danger (as the creature hardly wanted to eat her, or so it seemed) but there was Findra, as well. What if the beast had found the brownie! He could have eaten her in one gulp!

"But tormenting isn't nice or fair!"s he protested, still clinging to the beast, hoping to push him back and halt his pursuit. "And you can not eat him!I won't let you! Lerrok is my friend!"

Lerrok watched all of this with a measure of surprise at Tah-leen's continued attempts to slow the beast and the feeling he should probably be doing something more than standing there staring. "But can you chew through metal?" He asked, pulling out his sword again. "And can you survive a sword through the head?" The hunter wasn't entirely sure he could manage stabbing the creature effectively, but it was worth a shot. Either the beast would back away or he'd waste a few breaths that he couldn't have used for anything else anyway.

More important than scaring the creature off, however, was keeping Tah-leen alive. "And 'Leen," he called, not realizing he'd just come up with a nickname for her. "Back away from it before he bites your head off. I've got enough guilt dealing with my profession, I don't need you to end up lunch for my sake."

Lerrok starting trudging towards the creature, blades in hand and jaw set.  "And what do you have against humans, anyway? Sure, some of us are vain, selfish, stupid, or just plain smell foul enough to clear a room, and I admit I'm far from perfect myself, but that's a lousy reason to single us out for food. And what makes you any better, anyway? At least most predators are smart enough not to pick prey with sharp metal sticks to poke back with." Lerrok drew to a halt two swords-lengths from the creature, far enough back that he'd have time to react if it tried anything. Was it really wise thinking? No, but the thief had been kicked about for the entirety of the day, and he wasn't about to be frightened off by a creature who didn't even know what the heck it was supposed to be while a pretty young woman (spirit or no) risked getting ripped apart on his behalf. Glaring at the creature, he was practically daring it to make a move.

The monster didn't quite expect her to have much strength and clumsily fell back, tail flicking about in the air. It spun on the ground, trying to regain its bearings and head for the trees- whether or not the spirit was intending to tag along. It leaped into the air, digging its claws into a nearby tree  and glancing back at the human. Then, it jumped to another, hissing and emitting a shriek that resembled both a hawk's shriek and a lion's growl.

"We shall SEE!"

It sprung from  the tree toward Lerrok.

Not surprisingly, that plan hadn't worked. Lerrok had hoped that maybe he could get the creature to back down, and now he was too close to have any chance of making a break for it. He saw two choices: either he could try to impale the creature mid-lunge- though that would probably get him crushed by it's large bulk- or he could get the heck out of the way. He chose both. Stepping forward, he dove for the ground straight under the monster. He spun so as to land on his back, and he readied his sword to thrust upward as the creature flew past.

Then he hesitated. The creature could speak, so carnivorous or not trying to kill it would be like trying to kill a human. Lerrok growled and lowered his blade as his opportunity passed. He hopped to his feet again and decided to try one more time to end this peacefully, and then he'd fight if need be.

"I'm warning you, you're making a mistake!" he barked. "If you want a meal, you'd be better off asking for some fish. If you just want me dead, you're risking your neck on a whim." Lerrok bent his knees and got ready to charge if the creature persisted, and he shot a quick glance to see if Tah-leen had gotten out of the way.

((OOC: Hope this is alright- I assumed he'd be lunging high enough that diving it would work. Let me know if there's a problem.))

Fin was listening and watching. There wasn't much she could do. She kinda agreed with this creature. Humans were trouble and they were good to torment. She didn't want to see Leerok killed though she was enjoying tormenting him. It was time to remind this creature and all of them that she was still around. She sighed.

"Look you, if you kill him then what will I have to torment? Are you volunteering to let me torment you?" She said knowing she was being bold. Brownies weren't afraid of things bigger than them. She was showing that now as she fluttered on the bird near this thing. She was still out of his reach though. She wanted an answer.

((Es ok. Gonna keep this short for spicey.))

The beast hit the ground running, spinning around and kicking up leaves before skidding to a halt not far from Lerrok. "How would I be making a... mistake? I know your... smell. You are... not from these lands." As it stepped to the side slowly again, simply allowing the fox spirit to linger, it heard the brownie speak. "Torment...?  You'd have to be very... clever."

Tah-leen remained nearby, watching, unsure how to react as the creature and Lerrok went back and forth. At one point, Lerrok seemed as if he was going to attack the beast, and then the beast going after him; but it seemed things were hardly getting anywhere, but hostilities were still high.

But at Findra's words, Tah-leen perked up, her tail lifting as she thought it over, then grinned and turned back more mischievously to the creature.  Stepping infront of Lerrok so she stood between him and the creature, she then spoke,
"I won't let you harm Lerrok! But if you keep this up, I will find ways to torment you myself, too!" She pouted, stomping her foot, but the pouting made her threat seem unbelievable, especially when he appeared as just a simple, ordinary girl- minus the white fox tail coming out from beneath her plain, white dress.  "I told you he's my friend and we were just catching fish together. I just want to go back to catching fish. They were really tasty on the fire. He shared his with me. He was being nice, and if you were to be nice, maybe you'd get some fish, too!"

Because clearly fish would make more friends, even out of the beast...

Lerrok let out his breath in a slow hiss. Had the situation been less dire, he'd probably have felt the urge to face-palm. As it was, he simply tried with all his might to avoid screaming profanities at the girl- she was, after all, trying to help. "Listen to me, 'Leen," he growled. "Get out of the way, you're just going to end up getting hurt." He scanned the area frantically for some way that he could draw the creature aside without getting himself mauled in the process, but he came up empty. He was glad the brownie and the girl were both on his side, but he just wasn't sure what they could do, if anything- and then he realized he was a complete idiot. If she could get both herself and him into a tree when she was annoyed, she could sure as heck do it when they were in danger of being mauled.

Stepping closer, he slipped his dagger away. He really hoped that either Tah-leen would be quick or the creature would be slow, because if this took too long they'd both end up dead. Lerrok grabbed her hand, pointed at the trees with his sword, and barked, "Jump!" He braced himself for the likely pain in his arm that would follow and offered a silent prayer to Angsar that she was bright enough to listen.

Tah-leen spun to Lerrok when he gestured to the tree. Then she pointed to herself, to him, then followed his gaze. Then suddenly she smiled, realizing what he wanted her to do. Smirking over mischievously at the creature, she waved to him only once before taking Lerrok by the hand and leaping suddenly high up into the air, appearing to soar before both she and Lerrok landed several stories up into the tree. This time, she held Lerrok not only by the hand, but held him around the waist as well before setting him down and spinning around.
She crawled out on her knees, tucking her black hair behind her ears as she looked down at the creature.

"Let's see you get us up here!" she giggled, smiling happily to have seemingly so easily thwarted the beast. "Fox spirits are fast! And we can jump high, too!" she giggled, leaning against the branch and staring down at the world below.

Fin heard the creature's words but didn't offer comment to them. It wasn't necessary. Yes she wasn't of these lands, but she highly doubted he had her smell. She was around too many of the forest animals to still have a distinct smell of her own. It was one of the perks of being small and able to ride them.

She wondered what she should say or do just then. She was a clever one that was known of at least Leerok and Tah-leen. She was about to say something when they jumped into the tree. She sighed thinking this wouldn't work. The animal was able to climb.

Think. All have weaknesses. Keep watching this one and you might find something.

((Yay, my character's the bad guy! For now...))

The monster watched the two ascend to the trees, grinning wickedly with amusement. Although its threats to eat poor Lerrok were serious it started to view this as a sort of game. "RUN, little spirit!" It laughed and crouched down, actually bothering to wiggle its hind quarters before jumping up after them. It shook the tree and landed below them but it was climbing fast. Despite its hind feet being hooves the creature was clever enough to use them to climb; they scraped loudly against the tree as it grew closer.

Should it have reached the two it would have made a swipe for one of them with its large claws; wishing to grab one of them as opposed to simply slash. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) it had to look at them to do so and its nose was pretty vulnerable.

As Tah-leen stared down at the beast, her mouth took on a visible 'o' shape as her hair hung down from her face and against the tree branch. The beast was a lot faster than she expected! And it was climbing up the tree quickly!
Hopping down one branch, which now put herself in a branch between the creature and Lerrok, she  stood up and placed her hands to her hips.
"So you can climb rather fast!" she smiled, seeming to be delighted by this as she swished her tail about. "But I won't let you come up any higher, because if you do-" but then the thing was swiping at her and she gave a jump, her white tail puffing as she was startled by the gesture and stumbled back, nearly falling out of the tree. But she was nimble and her bare toes gripped onto the tree limb and she found her hands groping to another branch, but it still put her in a precarious position and angle from the beast, considering he was almost on top of her branch now. And each time he grabbed at her, she was having a hard time dodging, only because of the proximity and she was nearly at the end of the branch, and any farther out, the tree branch would not be able to support her and would bend at the weight.

"Creature, what are you doing?"s he blinked, staring at it before placing a bare foot ontop of one of his reaching hands and pinning int to the tree branch, then leaning forward and blinking curiously as she got just a foot away from it's head. She tilted her head curiously. It seemed the creature wanted to grab one of them, but for some reason, she didn't sense any malicious intent.

----------------
(Hope this reply works XD )

Lerrok gave a relieved breath once he was in the tree- he'd figured the creature could climb, as a matter of fact, but climbing after people who can jab you in the face with sharp metal wasn't known to work very well. He kept an eye on the creature, making sure it wasn't close enough to be a genuine threat... and then the girl decided to jump down and meet it. Lerrok groaned, as he watched her try to evade the creature. "'Leen, keep away from that thing. Creature, leave her be, your fight's with me!" He spat down, hoping he'd be able to hit it's face. At the very least it'd likely draw his attention.

"Findra!" he shouted. "If you're going to do something, it might be best to do it soon." The poacher, however, would not be content to merely wait for help. Tah-leen had pulled him out of a tough spot, now he'd have to do the same for her. Driving his sword into the tree trunk for balance, he drew his dagger once again. He held it at eye level, gauging the distance between himself at the beast. He'd tried to end this peacefully, to scare it off, to negotiate, but clearly it wasn't going to work. Whipping his arm up and then down just as quickly, he let the dagger fly spinning towards the creature- and while he didn't stop to check it's accuracy, it would squarely hit the beast in the shoulder if it did nothing to evade it. Just as quickly as he'd thrown the knife he ripped his sword from the tree and leapt down towards the creature, landing precariously on a lower branch and brandishing his weapon. "Come on! Or is it common for whatever-it-is-you-are to be too afraid to fight a man, and instead opt only to attack stupid girls who get too close?"

Fin was waiting being patient. She was around and didn't like that Leerok was reminding them all of that. She liked surprise to be on her side of an attack or prank. She sighed hoping this was good enough. She was still wondering how this would work. It was't the same as before.

She had a vine in her hands it was heavy and would do the trick. Using the bird she tied it around the creatures tail without getting close. She had lassoed the tail actually. She made sure it was tight and smiled. She had the bird fly close but not too close to the creature.

"Why do you bother with them? I do it for fun, but surely a creature with your lack of intelligence wouldn't be so happy for that. What is it that you seek?" She said taunting the animal a bit. If she succeeded the creature would tumble downward and end up hanging by its tail.

Fin and Lerrok worked surprisingly well together, despite not knowing what the other was up to. The weapon thrown grazed against the beast's shoulder and it shrieked, having already started to open its mouth when Tah-leen came close. Its breath smelled bad. Really, really bad. Almost unnaturally so, actually.

Still, the injury seemed minimal. The trap made the whole situation more comical, as it started to lose balance because of its inability to move its tail about. Stubbornly it clung to the trunk, surprised by the brownie's appearance but not enough to fall just yet. Instead, the monster tried to jerk itself higher briefly to snap at the bird she rode.

It was a good time to strike, as one hand was stuck under the oddly powerful girl's foot and the other had to strain to keep a firm grip on the tree. Its hooves scratched at the tree, trying to gain purchase of their own.

Well, good if one didn't get carried away staring at that gigantic maw. Are those snake fangs?

Tah-leen watched, gasping when the creature snapped at Findra.
"NO! You can not eat Findra!" the wolf spirit exclaimed, throwing herself suddenly around the beast's neck and trying to hold him in place to keep him from leaping too high and actually eating the bird, and Findra with it. It was bad enough his breath was sour, but if he was going to go about eating her friends.
"Stop this or I'll push you out of the tree!" Tah-leen threatened, though she wasn't entirely sure if she would actually do that. She just wanted the creature to stop.

With one hand free it had a seconds-long foothold in the tree but Tah-leen's tackle was super effective. Perhaps it wouldn't have happened if the bark weren't slick and damp but she managed to get it in such an unorthodox position that it had to let go. It started shrieking again and falling, the vine almost seeming not to work as its nose collided with the ground but it held fast.

This did not help the beast, however, as the tail was actually not all that thick underneath the fluff and possessed nerves. It wasn't hard to imagine that it'd hurt, at least for a few seconds there. This resulted in a comical series of jerking and flailing while it tried to pry the fox spirit off.

Tah-leen, not expecting them to just.. topple out of the tree, only gave a wide eyed stare before the pair of them went crashing to the ground. For a moment, she was still holding onto the beast tight, face pressed into him, but after a second- the creature was thrashing about, and now Tah-leen was clinging onto it in hopes it wouldn't claw her.
After a time, she managed to roll away then hopped to her feet, stepping back at a distance to watch the creature curiously, her tail drooping slightly between her legs.
"If you wouldn't have been so difficult we would't have fallen," Tah-leen tried to scold, pouting a little. She probably looked just as ridiculous as the beast creature, now with pine needles and small twigs and dirt stuck in her hair and dress. But she didn't seem to notice. "Now we're both going to be bruised over this." she was still pouting, but kept enough distance between her and the beast incase he decided to thrash and slash at her again. "Why can't you just be nice. We were just eating fish." Of course she had to press the issue about the fish. The fish were important.

And tasty.

That had been both more and less effective than Lerrok had expected. The thief had only been half-hoping the dagger would allow them to knock it out of the tree... and he'd hoped that if it had it would be slightly more than inconvenienced. Regardless of his prior hopes though, he found himself in a bad situation. The creature seemed like it would be perfectly ready to carry on in a moment or two... and Lerrok was far too high up to lend Tah-leen any help. "Angsar help me, I'm not sure which of them is the bigger headache..." Taking a deep breath, he began descending as quickly as he could, hopping from branch to branch. Somehow he managed to get down without slipping and cracking his head open, but now they still had the beast to contend with.

Lerrok charged forward, blade lifted in preparation. He hoped to take advantage of it's momentary pain and distraction, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was another stupid idea. Only time would tell, however, as the blade lifted just a mite further up and then came flashing downwards towards the creature's flank.

The beast was unable to see what exactly the man was attempting to do but it knew it certainly wouldn't go well if it waited for him to act. It squirmed and otherwise ignored Tah-leen's statement about fish before letting an odd yipping noise; the vines on its tail broke and it toppled down just in time to avoid the attack to its flank. However, if Lerrok continued swinging (vertically, that is) the blade wound bite into the beast's muzzle. Just as well, if the spirit didn't move out of the way, she'd find herself being covered in tail and, if she's particularly unlucky, less desirable areas covered in fur.

Tah-leen let out a cry, and with much swiftness, jumped out of the way. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the creature as her tail wilted between her legs. The poor thing seemed a mess and if she were in it's place, she would be feeling rather grumpy.  Slipping away, Tah-leen seemed to all but disappear in the moment, leaving only Lerrok and possibly Findra to contend with the monster by their lonesome....
but in truth,s he had made her way back to the stream and was fetching up another fish. She caught one in one fell swoop, and it wriggled about within her arms as she hurried back and presented the wriggling, flopping fish before the beast, letting it ker-plop to the ground.

"Look! There's a fish! You should eat it and you'll feel better since I bet you are sore from that fall."
Then afte ra moment, she got on her hands and knees and pushed the fish forward with her face, then rose off the ground, dusting off her skirts and waited to see if the creature would accept her fish. THey could be friends after all, could they not? And what better way than with a fish!

She smiled, expecting her plan to work, her cheeks dimpling and seemingly unaware of the fish slime on her face or that the white dress was clinging to her body.


(OOC: lol, sorry. She's totally obsessed with the fish thing >> )

Seeing as the beast didn't have a sword-shaped hole in it's side and Lerrok knew he had a bad habit of pushing his luck, he decided to best move was to back away now. He scanned the ground, searching for something. Where did it land? It couldn't have bounced that far off the creature. Maybe it ended up in the river somehow...? No, there was the glint of metal he was looking for. Striding over and stooping down to retrieve his secondary blade, Lerrok turned to take stock of the situation. Tah-leen was still obsessed with the fish, the creature still seemed in dire straits, and Findra seemed to still be biding her time.

"You know, you might want to listen to 'Leen. You're clearly not winning this, and you've gotten all the warnings you're going to get from me. We can resolve this peacefully or keep at it until one or both of us ends up a bloody carcass. Your call." The poacher wasn't about to let his guard down around the creature again, but another shot at negotiation couldn't hurt. At least they had a stronger bargaining position this time around. "I could have gutted you twice now, but I don't like taking the life of anything smart enough to speak. If this keeps up I won't be left much choice." Lerrok drew alongside Tah-leen and tilted his head, waiting for a sign either that the beast was ready to call it quits or was planning another attack. "And 'Leen, you might want to take a step or two back."

Fin was indeed biding her time. Good things came to those who actually waited. She knew she had to be patient if she wanted a decent opening. She cursed herself for missing out on getting his dagger after he tossed it. She wasn't usually off her game like that.

Sighing she watched as they fell out of trees and such. She shook her head not sure what they were all thinking. Her vine had worked for a bit, and that was enough. It was to provide just a small help in battling the creature. She had no desire to fight it, but would if needed to. She could provide a threat if needed, she was sure that Leerok remembered her attempts at humor from earlier.

There wasn't much she could do at that moment. Leerok was doing his best to protect the human fox from this creature. She would just have to wait and hope they forgot her.

The creature got up, stretching with a sudden nonchalant demeanor as they begun to state their case again. Though its eyes were unreadable its long, thin lips stretched in a manner that suggested it was at least slightly displeased. It didn't actually seem particularly fazed by its injuries and descent.

"...UGH. You... guys are so... BORING."  It sounded like an indignant child. "I don't WANT your fish... Stop talking, you are... annoying." Wow, rude.

At least the beast lost interest in trying to eat Lerrok, or so it seemed. Casually it turned and started to wander off.

Tah-leen stared at the creature, her tail, once erect, now slowly drooped between her legs. Frowning, she turned curiously to Lerrok as she still held the fish. She wasn't sure what to make of this. He didn't want the fish? Maybe the creature was sick?
"He didn't want the fish.." she said, almost sadly, a bit of a pout to her lips.

OOC: Sorry it's short but, lol.

The poacher just stood the for a moment, not sure exactly what to think. Did that creature just try to murder them, then walk away and call them boring? He shook his head and made no move to sheathe his blades- for all he knew it was all just some sort of ploy. Hopefully not, Lerrok minded being lunch a lot more than he minded being called boring, so he'd not be sorry to see the creature go. He sighed at Tah-leen's disappointment. "Really? He was trying to kill us, and you're worried about the fact that he didn't want fish?" Once the creature was a fair distance away the poacher started back towards the fire, muttering something about how he was surrounded by lunatics. Sighing and looking back he said, "Come on, 'Leen, it just means more for us."

While he sounded unconcerned, he was still very worried about the creature. Even if it was leaving for now, he had no way of knowing it wouldn't come back... and based on Tah-leen's obsession during the fight he couldn't trust her to keep watch. With a grimace he decided it would be another all-night vigil.

Tah-leen tilted her head up at Lerrok with a bit of a pout, then back down at the fish, then to the creature and back to him again. Blinking, she moved closer to his side, becoming silent over the whole ordeal as she hugged onto the fish as if it were a child.

"But I caught this fish to share with that creature," she whined, but knew it wouldn't do much good to dote on it as she stared down at the fish once with saddened eyes before giving the dead fish a lick. "Are you going to cook it on a fire like that other fish?" Her mind was only momentarily distracted over her question as she moved to follow Lerrok, though her eyes, from time to time, tried to seek out the creature as she tucked her dark hair behind an ear.

"Well, I sure wasn't planning on eating it raw myself, so that was the idea." With a half amused, half irritated roll of his eyes he patted Tah-leen on the head and pulled her along. "Forget about that thing. If it wants something to eat it looked perfectly capable of catching a meal itself." Reaching the fire, he stirred the dwindling flames back to life. He sat down and held out his hand for the fish. "So quit moping about it, would you?" As much as her complete lunacy- well, he supposed to call it lunacy would be a bit unfair, seeing as she wasn't actually human- was starting to get on his nerves, watching a woman get upset was worse. "How much more can you eat, by the way?" Lerrok looked around for Findra again. knowing she'd probably go back to her trickery now that the imminent threat had passed, but couldn't catch sight of her. "Oye, brownie!" he called out. "Are you hungry? You want some of this?" Trickery or not, she had helped, so he owed it to her to offer at least.

Tah-leen tilted her head curiously to one side, still pouting, but she only chanced one other glance back at the creature before she was completely side tracked over the prospect of eating more cooked fish.
"Cooked fish is tasty, but I can eat it either way!" she reminded Lerrok, licking the fish again and keeping her tongue out for a moment as she smiled. Then at him calling to Findra, she blinked and gave a sniff. She knew the brownie couldn't be too far away, and that gave her an idea.
"We should catch her little fish!" she said happily, grabbing Lerrok by the arms and giving him a tug. "There were many little fish! Perhaps we can catch her a few to cook?" And before the poor man might have a chance to argue, Tah-leen had already dragged him over to the stream and was pointing at the glittering array of swimming fish.
"Look! Look!" she said, pointing happily. "There's a whole bunch of them swimming about!" and she crouched down to observe them, her smile reaching her eyes, her reflection clear in the water.

Fin sighed wondering what they were thinking. She knew now they didn't really know much about brownies. They couldn't have if they were offering something that they killed. Thoughts of freeing the fish came, but she knew it was hopeless. The animal was already dead.

Sighing she heard her stomach and knew she had to eat something. She used the bird to fly around and found a nice berry bush. The bird seemed not to want to go in there though. She knew then there was a snake just waiting for them. She hated bullies just as much as she hated animal killing.

Instead of going for the low bush she went higher and a little ways off. She could always find those two after she ate if they bothered to move from that place. She found some more berries higher up this time. Grateful for that she dived in and both her and the bird were eating. She just wasn't sure what she would do next. Her fun was dwindling. She started to think trying to formulate something while she ate.

Lerrok started as the girl pulled him along. Dropping his sword next to the fire in his surprise, the man tried to protest. "Okay, okay, just hang on a minute. No need to drag me through the dirt." With a sigh and a shake of his head, Lerrok ducked down next to Tah-leen. "I doubt there'd be a point to it. I offered what we had in case she wanted it, but I'd be highly surprised if she actually came anywhere near us- especially with me around. I'm sure she knows just as well as I do that I've not forgotten about her stealing my pack." He did lick his lips at the thought of more food, though. "I suppose if you want to catch one or two more we can eat them in the likely event that she doesn't." He was about to get up and walk back to the fire, but then a new thought struck him. "Say, why don't you explain exactly how it was you managed to catch those with your bare hands? If I know the trick I might be able to do it myself." He doubted it, but it would be an amazingly useful skill to acquire if he could. Besides, a distraction to take his mind off of nearly becoming lunch would do him a great deal of good.

Tah-leen liked this idea, and gave a brief wagging of her tail when he mentioned wanting to see how she fished.
"All you do is lean over the water," she said, spreading out her legs and bending over, her hair falling down from her shoulders and hanging there as she peered down at her reflection, hands open and at her side.
"Then you study the water and see where the fish go." her eyes narrowed, very fox like and playful, as was her smile. "Then you wait, just for the right one. But you don't go lunging for it blindly. The water bends, and you have to be fast. Then, when it's just at the right angle and not too far away you...."
SPLASH! the woman jabbed her arms at lightning speed into the water, and came out triumphant with a yell. "I caught it! I caught it!" though her victory was short lived as the fish, slippery as it were, slipped from her grip and went flopping into somersaults into the air- landing with a fishy smack onto Lerrok's head.
"Lerrok! Be careful! The fish!"s he said, suddenly dashing after him with a lung, and she snatched onto it, not letting the slippery fiend getting away, but in the process, she ended up tripping in the shallow waters, and knocking both her and Lerrok onto the slippery stones below with a loud SPLASH.

There was something going on she could feel it. Sighing she felt full enough and decided to return to see what those two were up to. She unmounted the bird when it landed letting it rest. It had done enough for her lately.

Fin laughed as she watched Leen fish and have one land on the man's head. She couldn't help but laugh more as they went down with a loud splash. She couldn't have planned that better. Sometimes it paid to just be observing humans they were the funniest ones so far.

Lerrok had been watching Tah-leen's demonstration intently, perhaps a little too intently as he didn't realize what was about to happen until it was too late. Upon feeling the fish land on his head he had just enough time to emit a curse and an "Oh no" before he was tackled into the river... again. With a crack the poacher's head knocked against the stones of the riverbed. He sat there dazed for a moment before coming to his senses and lurching up for air, spluttering and coughing water. "Agh, gah, phleffft, blech!" He just stood there a moment, dripping wet and trying to decide what series of curses would be most appropriate for the situation. After a moment he simply shook his head, grinned, and said, "Is it just me, or have we done this before?"

The man got to his feet and noticed, to his own astonishment, that at some point he'd gotten a hold on the fish and had kept it in his steely grip completely unconsciously. "Well, at least we got this. And I think I understood what you did to catch it, too." Replicating it would be another matter entirely, but the hunter figured that maybe with a bit of practice he could figure it out. It was something to work towards, at least. "Now, do you want this cooked or raw?"

Tah-leen blinked a good moment, then smiled happily, giving a laugh.
And then at his question she clung to his arm and shouted, "Cook! Cook the fish! I like cooked fish! You will show Tah-leen how you cook it, right? That way I'll know how to do it on my own. But I.."s he hesitated, thinking it over. "I don't much like fire. How do your powers control it?" She had no idea it wasn't really magic.

"Powers?" Lerrok hadn't been expecting that. He'd assumed she'd at least have the common sense to see that it was just preparation and understanding of how things worked. Still, so far that day he'd been tricked, messed with, stolen from, chewed on, quite literally crapped on, and he wasn't about to let a chance for a little joking of his own pass him by. He held back his laughter and let a sinister grin split his face in two. "Well now... there's two parts, really. First, you see the ring of stones around the flame? That's what lets me communicate with the fire, tell it what to do." Grinning wider, he continued, "And it listens because I feed it. Flame exists only to burn things, so as long as I keep providing it with kindling- or those fish- it'll do what I say." Leaning in closer, he whispered into her ear, "And if it gets really uppity and I need something extra to bait it with, most fires prefer young women and fox-spirits above all else."

With his little joke played- hopefully to some degree of success- the poacher wiped the blood off his sword and stuck the fish on the end, nonchalantly holding it above the flame. "As for how you cook the fish, you just hold it just above the flames and turn it so all the sides cook fairly evenly. Just watch."

Tah-leen had been watching with interest, her whole heart in her ears as she listened. His magic made sense, and she was completely enthralled and willing to believe, even when- gasp- the conversation turned into something awful as Lerrok whispered into her ear that the fire preferred bait of women and foxes. The idea even made her gasp as she drew back, her eyes wide in fear.
However, as Lerrok approached the fire and began to cook the fish, the fox spirit, who was already very wary and afraid of fire to begin with, held back, pouting as she watched him cook the fish from a distance. She wished she could get closer. Her stomach growled. SHe was hungry, and the fish smelled wonderful.

Lerrok let Tah-leen worry for a little while, until the fish was nearly finished, but soon enough he couldn't keep up the facade and laughed. "I'm kidding, 'Leen. There's no magic to it, no sorcery, no risk of me feeding you to the fire." He took the fish from the flames and tossed it to her. "Here, you take this one." Leaning back and nodding sagely, he continued. "It's just about knowing something of how fire works. All you have to do is stop it from spreading- which is the reason for the rocks- and provide fuel in such as way that it doesn't burn out. Trust me, if it were magic, I'd probably be as worried about it as you are." The man got up and made to pull her towards the fire. "Come on, there's nothing to fear."

Tah-leen didn't quite get it, and was confused when Lerrok admitted to his lie about the origin of fire. So when he grabbed onto her hand and tried to bring her closer, she let out a yelp, fought against his hold and in turn, dropped the fish. That's when she managed to fight out of his hold, pushing him out of the way as she broke free, snatched up her fish and dove behind a tree.

"I don't want to go near the fire!" she yelped, peering out from behind the tree with an uncertain pout. "The fire will burn me! It will hurt Tah-leen!"

Lerrok groaned. For once it wasn't Tah-leen he was irritated with; he really should have seen that reaction coming. With a sigh he sat back down and shook his head. "Alright, 'Leen, if you don't want to go near the fire I'm not going to make you. Just look, would you? It's not burning me, and as long as you don't go sticking your hands or your tail in it, you won't be burnt either." With that, the man shrugged his shoulders and decided he might as well make himself comfortable. Lerrok lied down and rested his head in his hands, keeping an eye on Tah-leen. "Besides, fire helps to keep you warm on cold nights."

Lerrok yawned and hurried shook his head. He couldn't really afford to fall asleep right now- the best that could happen would be the brownie stealing something else from him, and in the worst case the creature from earlier would come back and decide to have poached poacher. Not a good idea. "I've not lied to you yet, have I?" he said, more to stay awake than to try and convince the girl.

((OOC: Sorry for disappearing on you guys.))

Tah-leen still pouted as she looked at him.
"But I'm not cold." She looked down to the ground. They had shared the fireside before, but she hadn't been so frightened then. It was a bit silly for her to be afraid of it now. Curiously, she raised her head and peered over at him before slowly, ever so slowly, moving to sit at his side. She began to sniff at the fish, licking it lightly, but she did not eat it as she held the fish like a child.

"Lerrok make Tah-leen afraid," she said, her tail curling against her side before she looked over at him. "But.. Lerrok, if the fire is not magic, how do you know the stones will keep it from catching onto you or anything else?"  She was afraid of it, but also had a sense of fascination, too.

"I can tell you I've been traveling for a number of years, and in all that time I've never been set alight by my own campfire. That's all the proof I need myself. Besides, fire hurts, but we're right besides a stream, and even rolling in the dirt could put out any fire that happened to get you before it could do much real damage." Lerrok paused and raised an eyebrow at the girl, trying to see if she was convinced in the least. "Now, if someone set this whole forest burning, then you and I would be in trouble. But that's never happened to me either."

The thief held out a hand and patted the ground  beside him. "Have a seat. I promise it's not going to hurt you as long as you're careful. Of course, if you don't trust me..." Lerrok trailed off and shook his head. He'd just realized the girl would probably be wise not to trust him- at least in general, if not in this case.

Tah-leen stared at Lerrok for a time, still pouting, still hesitant, but eventually she moved closer towards him and took a seat beside him. But she still looked anxious and tense, having sat down on her bottom and was now hugging her knees to her chest. She watched absently at the flames in the fire, before asking, "So you tend fires a lot?"
It was an interesting idea. Fire was never good for the cold, and the entity that had made her was one from the cold, so she herself was familiar with cold flames, not the hot ones, as the heat was one of her weaknesses. Though it was strange, she chose to come to this sort of place of all the places to go to. But it was here she was the most fascinated, and seemed to be thriving with the most amount of people. She then turned to Lerrok, tilting her head curiously as she studied him.

"Every night I don't spend borrowing a spot on some farmer's floor," Lerrok replied, nonchalantly reaching over and patting the girl on the head. "Now, see? Not too bad, is it? Keeps you warm, cooks your food, lights up the dark, convenient extra weapon if you need it... Probably about the best friend a traveler could ask for. And it doesn't take your half of the food when you're not looking either." The man started to chuckle, but it quickly turned into yet another yawn. He cursed himself- it was understandable he'd be weary from the day's antics, but he really couldn't afford to doze off at the moment. "So, I told you a story. How about one in return?" It wasn't the best of his ideas, but it was better than nothing, right?

It was then that he noticed 'Leen's studying. He shifted once, and then again, before looking right at Tah-leen and asking, "What? That brownie didn't stick something else on my face when I wasn't looking, did she?"

Tah-leen blinked at his comment to start a story, but sheepishly shook her head as she began to chew on the ends of her dark hair. Her haired tasted good, since it was still wet with river water. As was her clothing.
"I'm no good at stories!" But still she was looking at him, studying his face when he asked his last question and she blinked curiously before giving a laugh and shake of her head.
"No, no Findra did not!" she announced happily. Though that posed a good question.. "Say.." she looked around. "I wonder where she has gone?" and she tried to sniff her scent out of the air, crouched over, nose to air. "Can humans see good?" she asked, turning to him. "Perhaps you can see her? I can not smell anything. Just the fish!" she said, then turned to Lerrok with a smile. "And you smell like the river water!" and she leapt at him, clinging onto his arm while giving his cheek a lick. "And you taste like the river too! Nummy river!" and she laughed and licked him again. "Taste like human and river!"s he growled with glee, thumping her wet tail into the dirt as she smiled.

"I'd have to know how well you can see to answer the first bit, but no, I can't see Findra- and I'm sure she very much prefers it that way." Lerrok shrugged and scratched at his chin, a thought beginning to form... "Say, 'Leen, would you be- Ach!" He flailed as the girl latched onto him. "Quit it! I don't taste good, and I don't want you giving anything else here ideas!" The poacher tried to pull away and quickly remembered the fact that the fox-spirit happened to have supernatural strength. Not one to waste time on a futile effort, Lerrok reached up with his free hand and tussled her hair, while trying to push her face back. What was it he'd been trying to think of earlier? Maybe that would distract her.

"Hey 'Leen, the brownie stole my pack earlier, but you've got a fox's nose, right? Maybe you could help me get it back?" The hunter dropped his voice and said, "There's plenty of food in it if you can..."

Tah-leen's eyes widened at the idea as she gasped.
"Food?" Then at his offer to share it, she clapped her hands happily about and turned out to the woods, flailing a waving hand about after she nodded in agreement.

"FINDRA!" her voice echoed, hands cupped around her lips to help project her voice. "Lerrok says I can have some food if I find his pack! Do you have it?" And she turned back to him, laughing happily as she wagged her white tail about. "Maybe she will just give it back if we ask?" And she continued to cling happily onto Lerrok's arm as she waited to hear back from the brownie.

The hunter groaned, shaking his head. "She stole it to mess with me, and you really think she'd just hand it back?" Dropping his voice again, he continued, "Now she's liable to go set it on fire or something, then I'll never get my stuff back. What I meant was, can you follow my scent back to where I lost it, then from there follow the trail of my pack- which probably smells a lot like me by now? We'd have to be quick now though, she'll know what we're doing and probably has some way to interfere." Lerrok fastened his boots as well as he could with just one hand free, then raised an eyebrow. "Well, can you?"

Tah-leen turned to him curiously from over her shoulder, then a smile stretched across her face.
"Smells like Lerrok!"s he said, clinging to his arm even tighter. She leaned forward, sniffing his face, then licking his cheek again as she laughed. "Lerrok smells good! Like man, earth and sweat!" She was all smiles as she continued nodding. "I can try to look for it. I'll see what I can do!" and she turned around, crouched down really low beside the grasses and let her nose get to work, sniffing into the tall grasses to see if she could detect his scent- albeit a more feint version, and perhaps one laced with food. She could smell him, but the fresh scent was due to him being right behind her, but then a wind picked up and she thought she smelled something else, something out of place, as she took off into the grasses, seeming to disappear.

The hunter just frowned as she licked him again- it was getting rather obvious she wasn't going to stop doing that- and then shifted impatiently while Tah-leen tried to pick up the trail. Just standing by and trusting others to handle the work had never been his strong suit. "It's alright if you can't pick up the trail; not finding the pack would be inconvenient, but hardly a disaster- nevermind!" he exclaimed as she shot off, chasing after her himself just an instant later. Keeping pace with the girl was far from easy, and Lerrok seemed to hit every bush or low hanging branch in his way. "Hey, 'Leen, slow down just a bit!" Picking up his own pace as much as he could, Lerrok decided to ignore the scratches he was incurring rather quickly and just focus on keeping up. Soon he managed to draw level with Tah-leen, though he was nearly out of breath in doing so. "Are we close?"

Tah-leen continued to crouch down as she sniffed, but when Lerrok had caught up to her, she frown and turned to him, swishing her white tail about.
"Lerrok, you're throwing off the smell." she said seriously, studying his face a moment from where she was pressed low int he grass. She sniffed the air. "I thought I could smell it, but then your scent came in and.." she frowned again, then lifted up her face, sniffing at the air again. "What sort of food was in your bag?" She thought she could smell something, but she wasn't sure what. Licking her lips, she turned around and darted back through the grasses. It was then she saw a piece of raw meat just sitting below a tree. Her eyes widened.

"Meat!" she exclaimed happily, then dashed forward, not realizing there was a metal jawed trap just waiting for her. And before she knew it, there was a snap. She yelped, falling down to her knees, hands catching her as she turned around, staring in wide-eyed shock at her left leg now stuck in a hunter's trap, blood everywhere, coating the grass.

"Mostly bread and cheese... I think there was a little bit of salted meat left as well. What was it? Pheasant? Maybe... might have been pigeon..." Lerrok stepped back so as not to interfere with the scent more than he already had, and that very movement stopped him from intervening in time when he spotted the rather obvious trap. "Trap!" He called, just a little too late for it to do any good. He cursed and ran forward, conscious of his footing- some hunters were rather fond of laying a number of traps nearby, and the situation would go from horrible to really horrible if he were caught himself. "Just hold on 'Leen, try not to move." The hunter spewed forth an alternating stream of curses and prayers as he carefully tried to free her leg from the trap. Of course he wasn't the only hunter in the area, this was great land to live off of- he should have thought to warn Tah-leen before now about the likelihood of traps...

"There," he growled as he managed to open the trap's mechanism. "This may worsen the pain for a moment," he warned as he pulled the metal fangs out of her leg, pulled the trap away, and tossed it into the trees. "And good riddance to it! Just hold on 'Leen, let me see the wound. Stay calm..." Kneeling back down, Lerrok tried to determine the extent of the damage. He knew a little about treating the injured, but if this was as bad as the wounds left by most such traps, he'd need to find a professional- something that would be rather hard to find in the middle of the woods.

When the metal trap was pried off her leg, Tah-leen let out a cry, one that echoed into the air. Whimpering, she turned to her bloodied leg with tears streaming down her face as she began to cry, and as she cried, the skies began to turn grey as it began to release a gentle rain.

"It hurts, Lerrok!" she said, a hand going over the wound as she continued to sob in pain. And when she tried to move, it hurt even more, causing her to fall in the grasses, black hair spilling over her face. She clutched onto the wound gain, too terrified to speak anymore as she had no idea what to do.

"That animal bit me!" she told him, peering up into his eyes finally. She had no understanding as to what just happened, just something had injured her and now to hurt to walk.

"I know, 'Leen, I know. You'll be alright, I promise." Lerrok gently moved her hand aside so he could see the injury properly- and he let out a hiss. This looks bad, he thought. "Right, first things first, we need to slow the bleeding with something..." As there wasn't much available in the way of bandages- if only he had his pack!- the hunter tore off a strip of cloth from his shirt. He turned it over, trying to decide which side was cleaner, before finally tying it tightly about her leg. "Now..." And there Lerrok drew a blank. He couldn't treat something like this, especially not without supplies, and the nearest village- assuming they even had any sort of doctor- was probably hours away! Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I'm no physician, and I'm not sure how much I can do for something like this, but there's nobody else to ask for help. I'm going to carry you back to the river now, alright?" At least there he'd have access to water- and might be able to figure out something in regards to clean bandages. "Findra! If you're still out there anywhere, I'd owe you if you could get help!" Careful not to jostle the girl's injured leg, Lerrok slipped his arms underneath her and stood. "Hrrrf! I expected you to be lighter...." With a growl, he muttered something about people who need metal traps being clumsy, stupid, or cruel, and then started slowly back towards the riverbank.

As Lerrok picked her up, she clung onto him, tears still running down her face. The wound was bad, and soon the strips of clothe he bound over the wound were soaked in red, and blood was still slipping out. But thankfully there was rain, which kept most of it running down her leg as they neared the river, and before they were in the water, the rains had the pair of them nearly soaked to the bone.

She had taken his words in to heart, whole heartedly believing him that she'd be ok. But the wound was intense, punctured in deep and the blood was still bubbling. Though the clothe did help, it would take some time for that sort of wound to clot. SHe buried her face against his shoulder and looked up at his face.
"Lerrok will make it ok?"s he pouted. "Findra.. Findra can help?" Then with a blink, she also pause d to ask. "What's a metal trap?"

Lerrok said nothing for a time, setting her down by the banks and focusing solely on trying to figure out a way to stall her loss of blood. He tore off another strip of cloth and changed out the bandage- it wouldn't do much good, but it was better than nothing- and frantically looked around for anything that might help. "I'll do what I can. Normally I find a way to make that enough." If he had a needle he could try a makeshift stitching, but nothing suitable was at hand. At the question about the trap, he cursed and paused. "It's a tool... that hunters use. We humans aren't as quick as most animals, so we need to use traps like that if we want to catch any prey- most of the time, anyway." Lerrok backed up and turned away for a moment, not wanting to let Tah-leen see the look of panic that was beginning to come over him. "What in Angsar's name am I suppose to do?" He murmured. Then he had an idea- maybe if he could calm her down, her heart-rate would slow and so would the bleeding. It wasn't much, but it was worth a shot.

Turning back, he fished around in his pocket and felt for the berries he'd picked earlier. Most had been largely crushed, but if what Findra had told him earlier about inducing sleep was true, the handful intact might just do the trick. "Here, I need you to eat these, okay? Don't ask why, just trust me." He popped them into her mouth and checked her pulse- both to see if it would work and to see how much time he had otherwise.

Fin wasn't watching all this happen. Leen liked this human, and she couldn't understand why. Humans were for entertainment, but she wasn't having any. Not with Leen around. She should have been paying more attention though.

She was resting in a tree letting the bird rest too. It didn't make any sense why Leen would like this guy. He was big and he was good at riddles, but what was going on here. She had a bad feeling she lost a friend to a human again. She sighed then heard the howling. She scratched her head wondering what that was and what was going on.

Getting a squirrel awake she hoped on and went in the direction of the sounds. She saw that Leen was hurt. It didn't look good.

"Hey, what happened? Do you have anything in that pack of yours that might help her?" She asked staying in the tree. She could go fetch anything from the pack without him getting it back just yet. Besides if he did get it back she could just steal it again.

Lerrok shot a quick glance in the direction Findra's voice had come from and let out a sigh, greatly relieved to have some help with this. "She stepped in a trap- cut her up pretty badly. I should have some clean bandages, not much else in the way of medical supplies, but..." A sudden idea came to him then, "And a small flask of ale to clean the wound, and if you bring me one of my snares I can probably come up with a makeshift tourniquet. As long as we stop the bleeding, she should be alright." Wracking his brain for anything else he might be able to use, the hunter growled once more. "I know I'm forgetting something... Oh and any food, as well. 'Leen'll likely need it to get back her strength, afterwards."

Fin heard what he said and sighed. This wasn't going to be one easy quick trip either. She nodded to the squirrel.

"Consider it done be back," she said having the squirrel move quickly. She knew they needed to make this a one trip thing. It wouldn't be easy if it was just her and this one squirrel.

"Okay buddy lets get a couple other animals involved. I'm not giving back the pack but if we don't get these things to her there is no telling what will happen all of it I'm sure not good. Get your friends lets do this right," she said knowing she would owe the squirrels. She didn't like owing animals, but this was for a friend.

"It wouldn't hurt to find that trap and make sure it can't be used again. I'll suggest this to Leerok later though," she said as they made their way. Along the way they picked up several squirrels to help bring things back.

Once they reached the right tree she had the pack open and was passing the items to the squirrels. She took the bandages for herself. They had the supplies quickly and made their way back to Leerok.

"Okay we have the supplies. They are neatly beside you now," she said having placed the bandages there and then had her squirrel back in the tree quickly. She wasn't about to be caught.

"Leerok, once she is resting and not in harms way it might be a good idea to make sure that trap no longer works. I'd hate to think of some animal harmed."

Lerrok nodded and quickly got back to work. "It's not been reset- can't do too much harm for now, but I'll look into it." As he spoke, he took the snare Findra had brought back, cut the knots in it so has to have a simple piece of cord, wrapped it around Tah-leen's leg- just behind the knee- and tugged it as tightly as it would pull. Tying a knot to keep it in place, he turned back to the wound itself. "That should slow the bleeding, now to clean it..." Lerrok gently unwrapped the soaked bits of cloth that had served to cover it before, opened the ale flask, and warned, "This'll sting," before pouring some of the ale over the wound and rubbing it as clear as possible with one of the newer cloths. Finally, he tied on a new bandage and sat back. "Nothing more I can do unless that one gets soaked through. It's on you to heal now, 'Leen."

Tah-leen had been doing all she could to keep herself from whimpering, but the moment the ale hit the wound, she let out a cry and clung tightly to Lerrok, tears streaming from her eyes. And even after he had tied it back up, she still clung to him, pressing her face against his shoulder as she trembled. When he mentioned being done, she pouted and peered down at her leg, testing it and when it still hurt as she moved, she grit her teeth. She hoped Lerrok was right, and hopefully this wound would heal up fast.

Lerrok took a minute to let Tah-leen regain her calm, almost reaching out to wipe her face before realizing his hands were covered in blood and he'd probably make it worse. "Here," he said, pushing the food- a loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese, and a few bits of a rather dry looking meat- towards her. "Eat however much you feel like." With that he stood, made his way back to the very edge of the river, and tended to the previously mentioned blood-covered hands.

"You've got a lot to learn, 'Leen. First rule of spotting any sort of trap- if it seems too convenient, it is." Wiping his hands on his breeches, he shook his head. "You've got to be more careful. What would have happened to you if I'd not been around, huh?" He still sounded much more worried than he did annoyed, but the least bit of impatience crept into his voice.

As the food was offered, Tah-leen only stared at it, saying nothing as she chewed on the ends of her hair. She looked down at the wound, then back at the food and curled her bar toes into the dirt.
"But I had just wanted that food. It had looked good." Too bad her appetite now was shot. She also didn't know how to answer his question, for fear of realizing that she wouldn't have been able to get out.. lest someone else were to come by and free her.

Lerrok let out a long sigh as he sat back down beside her. "I know you did, 'Leen, but that's exactly what whoever set that trap there was thinking. You can't just see that something's there, or someone's doing something- you need to ask yourself the why of it. The world's a dangerous place, and from what I've seen you're a nice enough girl, so I'd prefer not to see you get hurt. Besides, I'd rather not get in the habit of needing to carry you around everywhere."

As he spoke, Lerrok sank down and rested his head in his hands- he needed to just relax for a minute or two, now that the crisis was largely past, "So, that person you mentioned earlier, the one you said treated you like a pet... who was it, exactly? And how'd you end up out here?" If Lerrok were to be honest, he wasn't really that curious about it for himself; he knew what she was for the most part, and that's all that really concerned him- the history of those around him wasn't really his business. He did, however, think it probably best to keep Tah-leen's mind off of her injury however possible.

Tah-leen blinked at his question, raising her brows.
"Pet?" she did not understand the meaning of that word, but simply evaded the question and thought about his last inquiring, on how she got here.
"I traveled from the north. They call the land Hyoite." she said. "I was curious, about man, and about the world. I wanted to travel and see things outside of my home. Though my guardian, the winter spirit, she grew angry, so I can't go back. I guess the road is my home. So that's why I'm here. I'm interested.. to see. See everything there is." Though with a pout,s he looked back down to her ankle. "Though it seems the world is shaping up to be as unkind and deceitful as she warned me. Perhaps I should just head back there." And she tucked her tail around herself and rested her cheek against her knees.

Lerrok cursed himself. He'd meant to cheer her up, keep her mind off the hole in her leg, not make her more depressed. Brilliant work Lerrok, well done. Time to try that again. "The world's not always a nice place, no. A lot of people out only for their own good, a lot of people getting hurt for no good reason, and general unfairness- you keep your eyes open and you'll see a lot of all of it. Of course..." Lerrok put a hand on her shoulder and grinned. "You can find a couple of decent people if you look hard enough. Dig past all the people like me and eventually you'll get to people like my old man, or the heroes you sometimes hear about, or even like Findra over there, for all her pranks. Still helped you when you needed it, and didn't ask a thing in return."

Lerrok returned his hand to the back of his head and chuckled. "Now, if you really want to see everything there is, I'd have two bits of advice for you. One, if you're going to try to do something impossible, you better be a lot more stubborn about it than that. Two, you have to take the bad with the good. The world's not a kind place, but that's what makes the good bits better. Or maybe I'm just an idiot who's really bad at sounding poetic."

As Tah-leen took in what he said, she began to smile. And the smile grew.
"I understand, but I am stubborn!" she told him with a playful, failed attempt to look mean grin. "So I'll get what I want. No one will stop me. I can see the world! I can! And learn what it takes to become human!" And her smile broadened at that, not realizign se let part of her 'secret to become human' escape.

"And I've already met another hero." She happily wnet on. And she pointed, after clapping her hands excitedly. "My hero, Lerrok! You saved me from the metal teeth. That makes you a hero!"

There, much better- and the hero comment was worth a laugh as well. "Sure, sure. Lerrok Okren, thief, sword for hire, and slayer of metal traps. Can't say there's much of a ring to it though." With that he sat back up and peered over at her leg, trying to see if anything more needed to be done. Grabbing another bandage to wrap over the first, he shot her an inquisitive look. "So what's this about becoming human now?" That had caught his attention- as far as he could tell, she was stronger, faster, and generally better endowed than most humans. Why change? It couldn't be for discriminatory reasons or anything, since she'd managed to keep her more unique features hidden from him until he managed to tick her off earlier. Lerrok scratched at his stubble in confusion- it didn't make much sense to him, but he supposed a lot of people did things that didn't make sense.

Tah-leen grew silent, and stared down at her bare feet as she dug them into the dirt and grass, hands hugging around her knees.
"I.." she began, not sure how to answer it. "I always wanted to be human. It just.. always looked so fun. As a spirit, I'm resigned to the fate of the winter spirit." But then she furrowed her brows. "But I ran away. I told her I would become human, I would. So I'll show her some day. I'll come back as a real human, just like all of the other nice people at the village. And I can be apart of their festivals and get married and buy things in town." She thought it over. "Most humans are afraid of fox spirits. They say... they say they bring back luck,a nd are like a curse." She glanced down to her feet with a sad look. "But when I become human, I can have friends and I won't be lonely any more." And she looked up at Lerrok inquisitively. "And you could be my friend, too." And she paused. "When I'm human." ANd curled her tail against herself before looking back down to her wound.

The hunter scratched his head. Now he had the story, but her motives still didn't make much since to him. "Well, I still don't see your reasoning. Most married women I've met don't have much to say about their husbands but complaints, and most shops I've seen don't care about anything so long as your coin's good. As for friends... well, I'm not picky, 'Leen. You're nice, you've not tried to kill me yet, and aside from a few odd bits you're not hard on the eyes. Human or not, you're good enough for me." Standing up and stretching, he continued, "Of course, if you really want to be human, I don't see why I can't try to lend a hand. It's not like I had any other plans, anyway. Now..."

Lerrok made his way over to the fire- which was now dwindling dangerously close to going out- and began stoking it as he muttered quickly to himself. "Let's see... you want to transform, so you need magic. If you need magic, you need some sort of wizard. If you need some sort of wizard, you need something to pay that wizard with. If you need something to pay that wizard with, you need somewhere to get that something. So!" Letting out another long breath, he tapped his foot against the fire pit and looked back at the girl. "Where is it that we can find wizards and wealth all in one place?" With a slight grin he asked, "Ever been to Arca?"

Tah-leen perked up at his words, growing excited the more and more he talked. "Arca, no, I never been!" she said excitedly, her brown eyes shining. "What's an Arca? Is Arca full of wizards? And fish. I hope it has fish!"

"No fish- well, not many fish- but plenty of wizards. I'm sure there's at least one there who can point us in the right direction." Lerrok wasn't nearly as optimistic as he sounded- in his experience even simple things tended to go wrong when you needed them to. Something like this would be nigh-impossible, but the hunter was feeling up to a challenge for once. "Arca is a city- a place filled with more people than you could count. Of course, it's quite the walk from here. It'd take us a few days to get there, and that's if we're quick. With your foot hurt, I'd say anything less than a week of constant traveling is unlikely. 'Course, like I said, I don't exactly have anything else to be worrying about at the moment. Time's the one thing I have plenty of."

Retaking his seat next to her, he raised an eyebrow. "Now, the way I see it, the best course of action is to spend the night here, see how well your leg holds up, and then set out in the morning if you can stand." Lerrok looked down once more at her bandage, thought, and then decided the blood had probably clotted by now and set to untying the makeshift tourniquet he'd made. "Don't want to starve your leg of blood for too long."

Fin sat in the tree letting the animals rest. She knew that Leerok would say if he needed any more help from her. She watched and listened as they conversed. She realized she did help, but Leerok was wrong about not wanting anything. Fin only wanted Leen to be hurting any more.

She was glad that the fox spirit seemed alright. Well in body any ways. She heard the comment about wanting to be human. It was something that Fin couldn't understand at all. Humans were good to make fun of and trick, but to be one? Why?

Lerrok let out a long breath.  It had been a long day, and on top of the grief Findra had caused him, he'd also almost forgotten what it was like to worry about someone else... it wasn't exactly a liberating reminder. He'd like nothing better than to lie back in the grass and maybe nod off for a bit, but he was sure the brownie had some trick ready for such an occasion... Besides, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something else he should be doing...

"Oh, right, the trap," he grumbled as he got back up. Starting off towards the woods, he said, "Alright 'Leen, I'm going to go make sure that trap you stepped in stays unset. Just yell if you need me, I shouldn't be far. Findra! You mind keeping an eye on her?" Without waiting for an answer he disappeared into the brush- he wouldn't have trusted the brownie's answer one way or another anyway, so why bother?

"Now, where'd I toss the damn thing..." Lerrok grumbled. It wasn't just the search that bothered him, though he did get quite a few bramble-induced scratches on the face for the trouble. It was also the fact that he was re-evaluating his decision to help the girl. What exactly had he gotten himself into, exactly? He was built to look after himself, not others- and Angsar knew he did a poor enough job of that already at times. What was he supposed to do though? He couldn't just leave her out there- the poor girl would be certain to get herself killed in no time. "You know, Angsar, sometimes I really, really regret having a conscience..." Ah! There was the trap, at least, stuck in a bush. Carefully untangling it and leaving it upside down in a tree branch for whoever had first set it to find, he started back, muttering, "Well, that's the easy problem solved."

On top of everything else, he had the sinking suspicion that whoever their trapper friend was, they might very well be close by- and they might not be too happy about their traps being disturbed. He sighed as the babbling of the river came back within earshot. "Looks like I'll have to keep watch all night, for sure..."

When Lerrok left, Tah-leen was getting antsy. She had been staring at her wound, poking at it, licking at it, and by the time Lerrok had returned, he'd see she was chewing on it.
Well, at least the make shift tourniquet he had used.
"This tastes funny and my foot feels tingly." She said, tapping her tongue inside her mouth while making a terribly bitter face.

A pair of eyes glimmered in reflection of the flames, studying the spirit quietly. Their owner sat quite small, otherwise tucked away behind the shadows of the trees. The being turned its head, perking large, furry ears before moving further into darkness. A twig or two snapped under its feet while it departed.

It was too small to be the monster from earlier but too big to be your typical forest creature. Furthermore, its shape was roughly humanoid, if covered in fur.

"Try rubbing it a bit, get the blood flowing again. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. Once it's done bleeding, I'm out of my depth. We'll see a proper medic about it the first chance we get." Lerrok rolled his eyes at the girl as he untangled himself from the brush. "...And why are you chewing on that?" Not waiting for an answer before squatting down and tending to the fire- she couldn't hurt herself with it, at least- he twitched.

Something was off- again. The feeling of being watched had come back, and with it the instinct to start running. Lerrok took a deep breath and tried not to show his irritation, there was no need to worry the girl if she couldn't do anything... And he failed, miserably. Hand on his sword hilt, eyes intent, he paced about the campsite and forgot about the fire almost entirely, only remembering to add a bit of wood every few times he passed it. Well, he knew a bad bluff when he saw it, might as well be open. "Hey, 'Leen. You smell anything odd? See anything odd? Hear anything- you get the idea?"

Tah-leen was still infatuated with the tourniquet, poking at it now and again, before she blinked with a curious tilt of her head at Lerrok. Then at his question, she tipped her nose to the air and began to sniff. Her tail then tucked in quickly against her body.
"I smell stranger, strange thing.. with fur," she said, blinking and looking back out into the forest until her eyes settled upon a direction. "Over there,' she added in a whisper, pointing as she leaned in closer to the hunter. "Someone watches." And she blinked, curious as to who.

Fin just sat and watched. She knew there was nothing more she could do to help Tah-leen and was glad the gal was going to be okay. She wondered what would have happened if it had just been the two of them. I guess humans have their uses after all. Wait a sec though a human put that trap up. Geesh what a mess.

She was watching waiting for another turn at pranking Lerrok but nothing was presenting an opportunity. It was then she saw the newcomer. She stayed there not sure what this one wanted. It wasn't like the other one. This one was just waiting too. It looked more like it was observing Leen and Leerok.

Fin wondered if it had noticed her. From what she could tell this creature hadn't. She seemed forgotten by the two near the fire for the time being. That in itself could present something for her. She just wasn't sure what. She also wondered if that would be a good time if this creature attacked. She didn't want Leen hurt worse.

Whatever it was, the thing turned its head to look back. The fire once again reflected in its eyes; it was small compared to Lerrok but not nearly so small as Fin. In the dark it was otherwise hard to see what exactly the creature was doing but it certainly didn't move much.

Just great, more weirdness, Lerrok thought as he positioned himself between Tah-leen and their new company. Very slowly, he unsheathed his sword and let it hang by his side- not threatening, exactly- more providing a gentle reminder. He squinted, trying to get a better view of the thing. What was it, exactly? Maybe... no, nope, no luck. The hunter growled and tightened his grip on his sword. Why was all this weirdness happening to him, on this one day, one thing right after another? First he'd been harassed by the brownie, then had his things stolen, then got stuck in a tree, then almost eaten, and now he was expected to deal with some other mysterious arrival with 'Leen hurt like that? What did he do to deserve this? "Alright mate," he barked. "You don't know how long a day I've had, so I suggest you listen. Either get out here in the open and we can all be civilized, or get moving! I don't plan on losing any more of my mind trying to keep track of something skulking just out of sight... again. Got it!?" While he'd been talking, he'd been- unintentionally- flailing his free arm about wildly and jabbing his sword for emphasis and looking, for all intents and purposes, like a complete lunatic.

The unknown weirdness didn't seem to appreciate his terms, shouting back in a rather childish voice. "Yeah?! Well sod off, you scurvy-ridden, keel hauled son of a walrus! You had a bad day?! You got NOTHIN'! NOTHIN', I TELL YE'!" It stepped out of the woods and jabbed a furry finger at Lerrok.

If he thought the fox spirit trying to be human or the brownie was odd, he was in for a whole new lesson in weirdness. This strange lad had the anatomy roughly matching a human, sure, and he was an unimposing 5'1, but this fellow was covered head to toe in strange, red fur. His eyes were huge and serpentine while his ears were small and almost hidden by the fur and he possessed a strange little snout that made him look all too much like a cat. Except he clearly wasn't, since cats don't cuss out strangers.

The newcomer was filthy but clothed (thank the gods, big and small) and a tail snapped about behind him in agitation. "Ye' don't have THIS going on! And ye' probably know where ye' are! "Oh no, my friend's hurt and something's in the woods nearby, let me go and wave my SWORD at it!"

Should Tah-leen be paying attention (and its really hard not to) she may find that he smelled a little odd for a cat. If 'a little odd' means 'not at all like a cat.' He carried a closer stench to that of the fish she caught.

Despite the whole strange spectacle before her, and Lerrok whipping a sword wildly by her side, Tah-leen lifted her nose up, catching the scent of something quite familiar. Then, with a curious tilt to her head, she simply stated, "You smell like fish." And her own tail thumped lightly on the ground beside her. "Do you have some fish?" Since you know.. that seemed like something important to be asking this strange, furry-manned stranger before them who had quite the colorful language, but again, all of it was lost upon her as the scent of fish was her main priority right now. Since you know.. if this man had fish, maybe she could eat them!

Ordinarily Lerrok would have been quite taken aback by the appearance of this strange man. This, however, had not been a very ordinary day, and the hunter barely batted an eye- in fact he looked almost like he'd been expecting something like this, and the furred man was later than he should have been. "The last thing I found skulking about in the woods nearby tried to eat us, so you'll understand if I'm just a little twitchy about it! Now, if a foul-mouthed, flea-bitten half-pint like you is just here to complain I suggest you get moving!" Shouting aside, Lerrok had put his sword away- though he did keep a hand on the pommel, for security's sake. He was about to give the intruder his best discouraging glare- which would have been very intimidating, by the way- when 'Leen decided to mention fish, and his glare ended up as a very bizarre mix of an annoyed grimace and an amused snort... that is to say, not very intimidating.

The odd little bugger stood his ground, tail twitching and puffing up as Lerrok finished speaking. His nose wrinkled and the little man made a noise lost between a small animal's growl and the agitated noise of a boy. "I don't have fish, no..." despite the not-so-convincing grimace this kid took the situation very seriously, glowering daggers at the unfortunate thief.

"Yeah? Make me." with that, he stepped toward the fire with another flick of his tail and sat down, squinting at them.

Despite what the little furry man said, Tah-leen got up, sniffing at the air again, and moved in closer, leaning just inches away from the new comer as she sniffed and sat down next to him.
"But you smell like fish." she said with a simple, curious blink, then began to sniff towards his face again, then to his shoulder and then his side before glancing back up at his face. "Like fish!" she repeated, this time more of a statement as her tail thumped more heavily against the ground. Was he lying to her? Her eyes seemed to challenge his, though not entirely in a mean way.

Annoyed as Lerrok was at the moment, he also wasn't one to pick fights when he didn't need to. Besides, he'd probably end up hurting the little pain in the arse if he tried to get rid of him. Best just to let 'Leen drive him off with her sure-to-be incessant fish-hunt. He threw up his hands, muttered a few choice curses (something about a pig, a brothel, and a nobleman), and washed his hands of the matter for now. It wasn't a threat, and he was too tired to move the pest unless he did something to annoy him. Leaning back against a tree, Lerrok decided just to observe for now, only speaking up to warn the girl, "Careful on your foot, 'Leen."

Fin watched in amazement. This one wasn't attacking either of them. She wondered why not, but wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. One more being meant one more to prank which was nothing but fun in her book. She had no idea what this one could do, but that didn't stop her.

Sighing she wanted to do something. It had been far too long as it was and her nose was twitching again. That only happened when she hadn't had fun for too long. She hated her nose twitching nothing but a good prank could make it stop.

Noticing no shoes and fur all over she wondered what to do. Tying his shoes together wasn't an option. She saw a nut and reached out for it. Carefully she took the side off the acorn and found it was empty. This was good luck for her. Taking the nut she mounted the squirrel heading down to the ground again.

Once on the ground she headed away from the fire wondering what to fill this nut with. She had a plan. She would fill it with something not so savory before dropping it down into the camp. One of them would probably pick it up and try to eat it. Once she found what to fill it with she went to another tree close enough and tossed the nut below. Her aim was off though and it hit this new guy in the head. She couldn't stop the grin from spreading on her lips just from that.

When Tah-leen got particularly close the newcomer leaned away from her. "--'Ey, no, noneuhthat. I don't got any damn fish." It was true, unfortunately. In clothes like that it seemed impossible to hide one. There was something else notable about his face, however; where the fur started to fade around his eyes a small series of scales were forming and overlapping. They were green and soft, like that of a gecko's. If she searched other places on his head for this, she'd find it was a very common occurrence on his skin. Just as unusual was the fact that so close she might've been able to tell none of this was natural. There was an elusive sort of spell at play.

It was likely because of this leaning that he was accidentally struck; just next to the eye, really. He yipped, hissed and bristled, small flaps of something shifting on his neck. The boy stepped onto all fours and growled, unimpressive.

Lerrok kept an eye on the fellow for a bit before figuring he wasn't any real threat, and soon his just leaned against the tree and closed his eyes, taking the chance to relax. Now that he thought about it, the situation wasn't as bad as he'd been making it out to be; sure, it'd probably be a little harder on him with 'Leen along, but he did have to admit he'd been a little lonely as of late, and he certainly wasn't bothered by the fact that he'd have an admittedly attractive young woman for company. Besides, it gave him something to work towards instead of just wandering aimlessly. Maybe this would work out after all.

His musings were interrupted when he heard a yipping noise and his eyes shot open. It didn't take long to spy the nut on the ground right besides the half-pint, and even less time to figure out the cause. Lerrok let out a long laugh- perhaps it wasn't that funny, but he was just relieved to see Findra going after someone else for once. He didn't realize, however, that laughing would make him appear completely responsible for it.

Although the projectile had been hurled from an entirely different direction the lad was not quite calm enough to think his actions through. When Lerrok laughed he had indeed inadvertently made himself a very big suspect. Perhaps things were a little more tense than he thought, though, for instead of yelling at him or perhaps asking him why he threw it (even though he didn't) the little thing made a mad dash for him.

It was as though he had seriously pissed off a fat cat. Sure the boy was scrawny, but he was big and for each finger he had there was a filthy, curved black claw that threatened to dig into any uncovered flesh. Luckily for him, though, they were far too narrow and short to do much damage to his gear immediately.

He was a fast bugger but it was possible to avoid him before it came to scratching and punching. The thing growled and hissed, incredibly high strung.

((Unlike the character before this guy is also not actually trying to kill him, either. Yay! Still, I could imagine that the constant attacks would be incredibly annoying.))

Tah-leen hadn't really noticed the nut, that was, until she smelled something odd. But that was hardly her focus now as she gasped, watching as the little furry man made a mad dash towards Lerrok, but before the furry little creature might be able to get his hands on him, Tah-leen made a leap herself, tackling the creature to the ground and pinning it down beneath her as she growled in his face, baring her teeth like an animal's.

"You will not hurt Lerrok!" she scolded, her tail wagging angrily behind her.

Tah-leen wouldn't have much trouble beyond initially tackling him. It was a direct hit, causing the little thing to fold under her weight and (slightly) larger size. He hissed and yowled, trying to turn towards her but being unable to do anything on the ground besides flail his limbs somewhat and swing about his tail. The half pint cussed in a foreign tongue and bared his teeth back at the fox spirit, fright in his eyes despite the challenging gesture.

One could say that his incessant squirming was actually more irrational than either of their attacks. The boy simply didn't seem capable of allowing something so close to him. This kid was a lot of things but he did not seem very smart at all.

Lerrok shut up rather quickly when the fur-ball lunged at him, dropping into a crouch and raising his fists... which turned out to be completely unnecessary, as 'Leen seemed perfectly capable of restraining the guy on her own. Yep, should have definitely seen this coming. "Careful on the leg, 'Leen!" he warned, stepping carefully closer. "Don't risk opening that back up. I'll handle this. Now," he shot the creature a warning look. "I'm not stupid, I know what it must've looked like, but I didn't throw that thing... and even if I had, you don't go picking a fight with someone a lot better armed than you over a nut." The hunter knelt down and gave the thing a quick tap on the head with his knuckles before continuing. "So! If 'Leen lets you up, can you keep a handle on yourself? Or are we going to have to keep you there all day?" All in all, Lerrok didn't seem too bothered by the fact that the thing had just tried to attack him- at least this one didn't seem to think he was edible.

The lad didn't seem to initially register what was going on as Lerrok approached. He froze in his squirming but his body was incredibly tense and his breathing was shallow and loud. After he was done speaking the kid simply continued to kick, starting to dig a small hole in the ground with his legs. It was almost as though the thief had spoken some sort of alien language, his compromise didn't reach the newcomer at all.

Then he tried to bite Tah-leen. Repeatedly. Luckily his teeth were not actually very harmful at all. He just really didn't like being so close to people.

Tah-leen only smiled back at Lerrok over his warning.
"Tah-leen should be alright!"s he informed, but then gasped once she felt teeth on her arm. Looking back down towards the creature, she growled in his face again and gave a warning bite towards him.
"Stop that or I'll put you in a tree!"s he warned, placing a bit more force in the pin she had the creature in using the strength she had in store that she wasn't really using on the boy until now.

Lerrok sighed and stepped back, figuring Tah-leen could more than handle him. "Alright, if that's how it's going to be, I guess 'Leen'll just have to keep you there until you tire yourself out." Looking up at the slowly darkening sky, he figured they'd better do something for a camp besides a fire soon. "Hey 'Leen, I'm going to see if I can make some sort of shelter. Yell if you need me- and be careful on that leg, alright?" The hunter peered around at the foliage for anything that might make a good start, a little bit distracted by the thought of how quickly the girl had seemed to recover from her injury. Maybe it was because she wasn't human? He made a mental note to ask her what other powers she had besides putting people in trees. Now, what did he have to work with here...

Perhaps Tah-leen and the little guy had a greatly different set of priorities but her warning only encouraged him to struggle even more. He kicked and scratched (though her newly applied pressure did nothing to help him in moving his limbs at all), snapping rapidly and anxiously up at whatever seemed to be in reach. Unfortunately there still wasn't any point in reasoning with the confusing bugger.

Tah-leen growled and got right into his face, but an inch away.
"I mean it!"s he said, her tail hitting the ground angrily as it swished back and forth. She applied more pressure, and being what she was, she had quite a lot of strength indeed, and the little creature would not be able to wriggle his way out of this if he tried.

Lerrok just rolled his eyes at the pair as he got to work, lashing a number of branches together. It wouldn't make for a perfect shelter, but it was a start. Once he had a poor imitation of a roof- maybe enough to keep the worst of any rain out, if it started, it was time for walls. Pushing down on the structure to test the strength- satisfactory- he started collecting fallen branches and carving off what suitable ones were still on the trees. Each of these he would lean against the roof, creating... a small, rickety piece of crap that might be big enough for two. Size was definitely going to be an issue, and that was if it managed to last long enough to sleep in (as he figured it was almost certainly either the brownie or the newcomer would destroy it soon enough).

Looking back at the still struggling pair, he folded his arms and decided just to watch for now. "Careful now, 'Leen. Try not to hurt yourself- or him, I suppose- over there."

Despite all the pressure involved and the snarling and warnings the little beast could not be swayed from his current course of action. At this point, however, it was almost impossible to squirm at all. He paused for a bit, perhaps to catch his breath before making a small yelping noise. In an instant, he disappeared from beneath Tah-leen. Afterwards there was a small series of awkward scraping noises in a tree above.

Should any of them look up they'd see him there, clutching onto a branch and bristling quietly.

Tah-leen almost fell flat on her face when the furry little beast vanished and she let out a noise of surprise to see him gone. Her ears perked up to the noises above, and she craned her neck to see him clutching onto a branch. Her eyes narrowed and she moved as if to pursue him, dashing towards the tree's trunk and beginning to climb, seeming not to remember she had an injured leg until she put pressure on it and with a yelp, she fell onto her rear int he grass, her eyes tearing up as she looked back down at the thing with a pout.

The hunter grunted and went back to fiddling with the shelter, not particularly surprised by the runt's little trick. Explained how he got there, at least. "I warned you, 'Leen. Keep off that leg." Lerrok kept one eye on the newcomer as he worked- he didn't think the little guy was much threat, but he hadn't lived this long by making assumptions.

"Ah, here we go. This'll work much-" clack, clack clack. As Lerrok pulled one of the walls further out, leaving more room, one of the sticks fell... and was followed immediately by another... and another. Soon the whole structure was a broken mess, and Lerrok started cursing again, hitting his head against the nearest tree in frustration.

Tah-leen remained, teary eyed and pouting for a moment, her neck still craned as she peered up at the runt int he tree. She bared her teeth an began to growl, peering at the tree and contemplating if she could get up there without climbing, too as her tail swished angrily back and forth.

The boy was not keen on staying in once place while the fox spirit growled in such a manner. With obviously little experience in the matter, he turned and scrambled further up the tree, claws digging into the bark loudly and shakily. His tail swished slowly behind him; now possessing less fur than before.

Quite a bit of it was on the ground where Tah-leen once pinned him posing the possibility that it would have gotten all over her person. Now, instead, scales glinted against the sparse light from below.

Lerrok just shook his head and muttered something- at this point, unless the runt tried something or Tah-Leen needed his help he didn't really care what they were up to. He just went on grumbling and trying to rebuild the shelter- though he did keep an eye out for the brownie. He didn't like not knowing where she was or what she was up to.

Looking over once more, he caught the look on the girl's face... okay, perhaps it was best to intervene before she tried something stupid. "Just let it be, 'Leen. He's not causing any trouble up there- yet." The hunter left his work for a moment to walk next to the girl and peer up. "...Odd. Oye, you missing something up there? Anyway, if you're going to stick around, you might as well pitch in. Help me with the shelter. Unless you'd prefer to sleep in a tree?"

"Let him sleep up the three!" Tah-leen barked angrily, her tail swishing about behind her as she bared her teeth. "Tah-leen can help!" she said, turning to Lerrok. "We don't need him." And still angry, her tail swished a bit more behind her.

Tah-leen's idea was closer to reality. The little creature started to gather leaves in the trees tentatively. Though he was not familiar with the woods the cat... reptile thing was a decent acrobat.  At first it seemed odd that such a big creature would gather leaves of all things for shelter but he darted out of sight repeatedly, gathering things like twigs and vines.

Whatever idea he had was probably not the best but at least he had some form of plan. That, and he seemed to dread the idea of moving back down toward the angry fox spirit.

 "Alright. Looks like he's doing better up there than we are down here anyway. Well, if you want to help, 'Leen, let's get to it." With that Lerrok unceremoniously scooped the girl up- couldn't have her putting weight on that leg, after all- and carried her over to the half-assembled pile of sticks, branches, and vines. Putting her down just a little more gently than he'd picked her up, Lerrok immediately went back to work. "Make sure those two sticks closest to you stay in position, I'm going to try shifting this a bit."

((OOC: Can fix it if she'd fight being picked up or anything, figured it would probably be fine with the leg and all.))

Tah-leen let out a noise, a soft, grunt, then a growl, but also a yelp all in one. But then realizing she was in his arms, her cheeks turned a little pink before she was set down. She thumped her tail beside her, staring over at what Lerrok was doing before she leaned forward, and began to lightly nibble on one of the sticks.
"Tasty sticks!" she said suddenly, and also very enthusiastically as she took one up and shoved it into her mouth, beginning to chew on it. "It tastes so yummy!" and she playfully growled and sunk her teeth well into it, before givin ga playful shake of her head as she laughed and laughed.
"Lerrok should try the sticks too!" she said, licking at the one she was chewing on.

OOC; looooooool

Lerrok growled as the entire thing fell apart again, this time so utterly so that it'd be easier to start over than fix it. For a few moments he just looked at the pile, then back at 'Leen, then at the pile, then back at 'Leen, then at the pile, then back at 'Leen, then at the pile, then back at 'Leen. He didn't say anything. He didn't curse, he didn't shout, he didn't even grumble. The man just solemnly turned around and started walking towards the stream. Sinking to his knees at the bank, he dunked his head in and just held it there for about ten seconds.

When he stood back up, he didn't resume his efforts at shelter; he just flopped down on the grass and stared up at the sky, holding his hands out as if to clutch at something above him. Lerrok had survived brawls, knife-fights, sword fights, bands of brigands, lunatic killer mages, even that one village of cannibals; but this, this was just too much for the poor man. "I'm not dead. This isn't hell. I'm not dead. This isn't hell. I'm not dead..."

Tah-leen blinked and watched Lerrok go quiet, and as he moved towards the stream, she simply watched him, and when he dropped down onto the grasses, her smile grew and she hopped over to his side, careful to mind her leg before plopping down right upon his belly and sat squarely upon his chest.

"Do you want to try this stick, Lerrok? I saved it for you!" she said, offering it out towards him enthusiastically. "You found good sticks. They taste good!" and she idly chewed on the end of it, sampling it before giggling and offering the stick, once again, to him.

Lerrok just stared vacantly up at the girl, not even seeming to register she was there. He just continued his two lines over and over again. "...isn't hell. I'm not dead. This isn't hell..." Eventually he just stopped muttering entirely and just stared. And stared. And stared.

Then he growled and smacked himself, barking, "Snap out of it! Angsar, can't afford to lose it over something this stupid. When I do end up in hell, I at least want some bragging rights." He looked back up at Tah-leen and sighed. "No, 'Leen, I don't want a stick. Humans normally don't chew on sticks." With a grunt he tried to get up- and then flopped back down. "Also, could you get off me?"

Tah-leen was smiling happily, chewing at the stick, then paused, her smile fading.
"Why don't humans like sticks?" she asked, most seriously.

"Because they taste like dirt, bark, and leaves. Not exactly appetizing." Lerrok poked her in the stomach. "And I asked you to get off." He raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was going to be difficult about this.

Glancing over in the direction of the wrecked shelter, he grimaced. "And I hope you don't mind sleeping out in the open."

Tah-leen's grin grew wider. "But those things taste good!" she pressed, and when he poked her, she bent down to sniff his finger, and at his last statement, she let herself move to lay down overtop of him completely as she laughed.
"I like sleeping out in the open!" she told him, her face beaming as she smiled over top of his face, her long hair falling and tickling over either sides of his cheeks. "But most of the time, I go into a burrow!" and her tail began to slowly wag back and forth as she looked down into Lerrok's eyes.

"Damn it, 'Leen..." Lerrok groaned. Of course she was going to be difficult. He shifted underneath her, trying to dislodge the girl. And damned sense of honor, while I'm at it. Why'd she have to be that pretty? "Well I don't count as a burrow, so would you get off?" Yep, she was definitely going to be a handful to have along. 

Tah-leen's grin grew wider as her tail thumbed against his leg.
"But I'm having fun!" she said, licking his cheek. "I like Lerrok! He is fun! Even if he doesn't like sticks!"

The hunter gave up his squirming and just folded his hands behind his head. If you can't beat 'em, quit. He just rolled his eyes when she licked him and gave a mildly annoyed grunt. "Fine then. So, if you're gonna be sitting on me anyway, care to explain something? Have you really thought about why ya want to be human? I mean, you looked perfectly human when I first saw you, so I don't see what your problem is. If you wanted to, nobody would ever know you weren't- well, if you didn't act so odd, anyway."

Lerrok raised an eyebrow and shifted once more, just so she wasn't quite so close. "Heck, I've seen plenty of non-humans living perfectly normal lives. And humanity isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know. A human girl your size sure wouldn't be able to keep me pinned down here, for instance."

At his words, Tah-leen went quiet. Her grin grew smaller, to simply a closed mouthed, dimpled smile. She then lowered her gaze, her hands now fondling over the stick.

"It just seems like it would be easier," she began to say. "To be free like them. Humans get to go all over the place. I had been stuck in the winter world for so long, I always envied what was outside. My spirit mother warned me not to go near humans, that humans were all over the world, like a plague. They were also deciteful and cruel, she would say. But ever since I was first created, that's what I've always dreamed about. To be human." She had been looking up at him, then looked down at the stick, which she carefully rested upon his chest before drawing some of her dark hair to her lips where she chewed on it sheepishly.

"If I don't become human, I can't stay here. I'll have to go back to the winter world.." she still avoided his gaze. "But I don't want to go back." She pouted. "It's so... cold and lonely there. ANd every human was afraid of me, their stories said the winter fox spirit tricks men to eat them.... " She stared down at her skirts. "But I never ate anyone. Not a human, anyway." She shuffled her feet nervously beneath her.

"The Winter Spirit.... She... she also said if I would leave the winter world, I can't go back. At least if I do, she says I can't go back to live with her," She paused. "Ever. ANd that all spirits there will shun me. So I have to try to be human, like I always wanted. To be a human.. to see the world, and.." she added, with a blush. "To fall in love with someone like all of those stories I read in the scrolls of my spirit mother's keep. Husbands seem so nice, and it would be fun to raise fox cubs with one. Humans have such pretty stories. They have such pretty fates, even the ones that end in death."

She was chewing on her hair again before finally moving off of Lerrok's stomach so she could sit beside him. She looked down at the stick, then down tot he dirt where her bare feet were at and the tourniquet around her injured leg. Then she looked back to her wrist where her bead necklace was kept, and idly twisted her fingers into it in a way tht she could sense the power within them; the beads that held her other worldly connections as a true spirit of the winter, a true spirit of a fox.

"So, you don't change and you have to go back, huh? That changes things." The hunter sat up and wrapped an arm around her. "Well, I doubt I can help much with finding you a nice guy to settle down with, but the rest of it... I already agreed to help, so I'm with you 'til you either succeed or get sick of me."

The man frowned, hesitating a bit. He figured he should warn the girl, but he didn't exactly want to crush her dreams. Well, better risking a bit of heartbreak now than she get seriously hurt later. "This mother of yours was right about one thing though- humans can be a pretty untrustworthy bunch. I've seen things from other people that I'd have been surprised to see a demon stoop to. Even I get by half the time through stealing from others, and sometimes I think I'm one of the better ones."

Coughing and taking the first chance he had to change the topic, Lerrok pointed at the beads. "So, what are those, exactly?"

Tah-leen had moved on to nervously chewing upon the beads when he brought attention to them. SO she stopped.

"Why do you think humans are like that?" she asked, seeming to ignore his question about the beads. The scrolls spoke of all sorts of things, so she was only (slightly) aware of their treachery.  She was more infatuated on the heroes anyway.

"Don't know. Lot's of people have thought and argued over it, but I never bothered much." Lerrok shrugged and lowered his eyes. "Maybe it's just the desire to survive, the idea that the more power, wealth, and influence you have the safer you are. Maybe it's some supernatural force leading us astray. Maybe we're just mostly evil at heart." He paused and shook his head before finishing, "Or maybe sometimes we just get desperate and make stupid mistakes."

The hunter pulled her a bit closer and sighed. "Whatever the reason, people you can really trust are few and far between. If you find someone like that, stick by 'em. That's the advice I'd give you. Well, that and don't get drunk among strangers."

"Trust? Lerrok is human..." she thought it over. "And I trust Lerrok. Maybe I can marry Lerrok!" she said, giggling and clinging onto his arm suddenly. "But you'd have to learn to like sticks!" she said, giving another laugh and lick to his cheek.

Then she paused to think and ask, "What's drunk?"

"...Believe me, I'd not make a good husband. As for being drunk... well, I'll leave a couple of things for you to discover for yourself." Lerrok grinned and patted Tah-leen on the head. "Anyway, I'm sure we'll figure something out. And if we can't- well, I'll give that mother of yours a piece of my mind. You don't go and abandon your kid like that, whatever they did."

"But I left her," Tah-leen said with a blink. Then she tilted her head curiously. She made an 'o' shape with ehr mouth when he said she'd have to discover the drunk bit, but tilted her head the other way as she digested all of his words.
"Why would Lerrok be a bad husband? He's nice." And her smile broadened, her tail wagging happily behind her. "Lerrok makes me happy! He gets me fish!"

The man frowned and shook his head. "Just trust me, it's true. I'll tell you what- getting you human will probably take a while. You still think that way when we manage it, and we'll talk about it then, huh?" Lerrok reached up and ruffled her hair, figuring that ought to satisfy her for the moment. Besides, he figured soon enough she'd run into some other guy who was a lot closer to whatever it was she'd been imagining when she left home, rather than an idiot thief. He just hoped she calmed down in the meantime- he had a policy against taking advantage of women, and this girl clearly didn't know what she was doing. Still wouldn't mean it would be easy on him if she made a habit of climbing on top of him like she had before.

"Yay! I can marry Lerrok!" she shouted, throwing her arms around him and licking his face, all the while her tail wagged happily behind her. "Lerrok! Lerrok! Lerrok!" and then she was laughing. "Best husband, Lerrok! Who makes the best fish and finds the best sticks!" And she continued to happily laugh and laugh while keeping her arms clung around his neck.

"Damn it 'Leen, not what I said!" Lerrok tried to growl, but he ended up choking thanks to her grip. "Ah-achk, achk, achk! 'Leen, if you don't let go I'm not gonna live long enough to- achk- get you human, let alone marriage." The man thrashed about, trying to get a bit of breathing room. Of course, should've seen that coming. He tried to get to his feet, but the girl's weight just caused him to topple over again... pulling Tah-leen with him. "Damn it, 'Leen..." he groaned.

Tah-leen just laughed and laughed before finally resigning herself to roll off of him. It was only then she recalled the leg injury did she glance down to momentarily inspect it, and giving Lerrok a brief moment of reprieve.

Lerrok groaned and wiped a hand over his face. "This has been a really strange day," he muttered. Getting to his feet, he peered down at her leg and raised an eyebrow. "How's that holding up? Hrm..." Even if the injury wasn't any further danger- and with Lerrok's luck it almost certainly would be- it would definitely slow them down. He'd have to see about getting them a horse of some sort for now.

"It still hurts," she said with a bit of a frown, then lifted up her ankle and sniffed at the make shift tourniquet.  Then..s he began to chew on it.

Lerrok didn't even bother trying to reprimand her. If she chewed it off, it would have served its purpose by now, and it the tourniquet didn't contact the wound, so there was no danger of her getting herself infected or anything. The hunter just gave her a pat on the head and stretched. "You should get some rest. The more rest you get, the faster it'll heal. The faster it heals, the less time I'll have to carry you around."

The hunter shrugged and gave a quick look about. What were the stranger and the brownie up to, he wondered? The stranger probably wouldn't be hard to spot, but the brownie... she'd been quiet for a while, and it was making Lerrok suspicious.

It was too much for her. She was trying to make sense of all that Leen was doing. The girl is hurt that must be why she's saying such thing. Dang it nothing came of that acorn. Other than hitting that thing in the head. Hey where did he go to? She thought remembering it was in the trees somewhere. She hoped not to be spotted the last thing she needed was for that beast to realize who had tossed that acorn.

Well I can't help it nobody taught me to toss acorns. Accidents do happen boy was that funny. She thought sliding down the tree. Lucky for her she hadn't come across that thing. Once on the ground she surveyed the area it looked different than in the trees. She knew Leen didn't like her pranking the fox girl, but something had to convince her she didn't want to be human.

There has to be another way to not trap her. Perhaps if she could transfer into a being like me. That might be good. We could prank together, but maybe I'm wrong and she has her heart set on it. Oh well it is what it is. I've lost another friend. She thought sad at this prospect. For she had never learned to trust a human.

Shaking this from her mind she walked away from the camp wondering what her next target would be. She liked pranking Leerok, but he was expecting her next move. She wasn't sure what else she could do to him that would be funny. He seemed to ruin her tricks now that he knew they were coming. This creature though that might be the way surely Leerok was looking for him too.

Guess that's one thing I have over this creature. I can't be seen well especially at night. Hmm I guess Leerok doesn't want his pack back after all. Treasures are mine big man. Wait a second that might be my way in. She thought a mischievous smile spreading over her lips. She raced up a second tree and found a squirrel that was still awake. She caught a lift with him heading back for the pack.

Once she had her prizes she wondered what next. She didn't want to really harm him, but she couldn't help playing her pranks on him. Using what she could Fin convinced a rabbit to make a hole big enough to entrap his foot in. Above and around that spot she placed a few of his belongings so that he would move toward it. She started a path that lead from that spot to his camp.

I just hope Leen stays at the fire and doesn't come with him. She thought before tossing, what he would consider size wise, a pebble at Leerok. It hit him in the shoulder. She sat on her squirrel to watch this unfold.

The hunter felt a small pebble strike him in the shoulder- barely hard enough to hurt- while he was looking up at the stranger. Looks like his concern was well warranted. Peering about, Lerrok quickly spied the beginnings of the trail- a few bits of his cooking supplies. Raising an eyebrow, the man called out, "Really now? I'm a little bit insulted if you think I'm going to walk blindly into whatever trap you've set... but if you want a game, I suppose I'll give you a game. Wait here, 'Leen, I'll be back soon."

At that Lerrok began following the trail, prodding the way with his sword and taking it extremely slowly. He made sure not to leave any patch of leaves undisturbed, any bit of ground unchecked before every step forward. When he made sure the first of the objects, a small spoon, wasn't connected to any sort of trap, he quickly snatched it up and put it in his pocket. He continued doing this all along the trail, until he came across the clustering... and then he got suspicious. If there were a trap, this is where it would be.

He was about to turn back when he noticed one of the objects strung up- his bow and arrows. That was something he'd really like back. Forcing down the voice in the back of his head that said this was a bad idea, he stepped forward, every bit as cautious as he'd been before. The hunter grinned when his sword's poking found the hole she'd put there for him to walk into. Still, she probably had something else as well, by this point. Tentatively reaching out and snatching the bow and arrows, Lerrok started back... and then the dirt next to the hole gave way, slipping his foot into the hole regardless of his caution. "Damn it, Angsar... if you're trying to say something, say it plainly."

Seeing the bows and arrows, Tah-leen wagged her tail happily, bounding after Lerrok before appearing suddenly at his side, clinging to his arm as she laughed.
"Look how pretty the tree is decorated!" Naturally, she had no idea the items strung up were his.

Then be insulted you need those. She thought just watching from above. It was easy being perched on a squirrel. She heard him say something about a game and though 'game on then'.

Fin inwardly chuckled as she watched him being careful moving about. It was no wonder he would do such though considering what she'd already done to him. She thought that she might be about at an end with pranks with Lerrok. He was expecting them almost at every turn now. Maybe I can have him paranoid before I leave him. Now wouldn't that be fun. She thought remembering the last time she did that. It had been more fun than she thought it would be.

He finally made it to her trap of sorts. She scowled when he found the hole she had placed there for him. He was getting good at seeing her traps she would have to really think of something for the next one. Maybe something aerial next time. He wouldn't expect that. She thought getting to work on the next idea already. Her mind was always busy.

The little mischief maker was about to turn and leave when she heard him curse. She looked back and saw his foot was in the hole. She was curious, but didn't want to make her presence known just yet. She wondered who this Angsar was.

Darn Leen came with him. She'll get him out of that hole and he'll be able to shoot me if he pleases now. Well if he can find me. She thought not pleased with the outcome of this at all. Her fun was ruined yet again. You win this one next time though it'll be mine.

Lerrok kept a tight grip on the bow and arrows as he worked his foot free of the hole, peering about. Odd, he'd thought for sure the brownie would have had some sort of follow-up for that. Well, he had some of his things back now, at least, and he certainly wasn't going to complain about a lack of bird-droppings being flung at him. He didn't even care that Tah-leen had completely ignored his order to stay put- of the things he'd lost earlier, the bow and arrows were the only real things of worth. Anything else was easily replaceable- especially now that he could hunt and rob properly again.

Finally getting himself loose, he glanced at the girl. "Sure, sure, pretty decorations- if you want, we could take them back to camp with us. By the way, how'd you follow me so quickly on that leg?" The hunter gave a quick, somewhat concerned look at 'Leen's injury, then returned his attention to locating the brownie- he had no intention of wasting arrows trying to hit a target that small and that fast, but it was still good to be aware.

As Lerrok was collecting his arrows, Tah-leen plucked one up and observed it with wonder...
before promptly placing it into her mouth for a good chew.

Lerrok was too busy watching for the brownie to notice what the girl was doing at first... and when he turned and saw her, his heart caught in his throat. His first instinct was to yell, but what if she jumped and stabbed herself with the point? Angsar, what was wrong with that lunatic? "Don't do that, 'Leen," he hissed. "That's a terrible idea, take that out of your mouth right now! Go back to regular sticks, if you have to."

"But this one tastes different!" she said, blinking up at him as she continued to chew on it, but the look he was giving her made her slow down, then completely stop as she took the arrow out of her mouth and held onto it, giving him a sheepish smile.

While the other two had their heads turned to the woods the critter boy descended from his perch, climbing down the tree as quietly and inconspicuously as possible. Quickly, he scampered to the camp and studied the area. He was looking for food but didn't see any form of source other than the pond. Unable to fish in it the lad instead resolved to grabbing at bugs attracted to the light of their fire.

After a few failed attempts the half-pint managed to snatch one out of the air, roughly shoving it in his mouth and chewing on the insect while staring back at the duo warily.

Her sense of smell was keen, as was her hearing, so after a time of stickly chewing fascination, she caught the half-pint's scent and her head jerked his way. Dropping the arrow, she took off after him without a sound.
"He's down from the tree!"s he shouted, leaping towards him and seemingly unphased by her injured foot.

"Damn it 'Leen, why does it matter if he's down from the tree? Not like there's anything for him to do." Lerrok growled as he chased after the girl. Angsar, he had better not have to carry her around because she hurt herself again. The man caught himself- why was he running? All that'd do would be lead him right into one of the brownie's traps. If 'Leen got herself hurt, she'd be fine until he got there. At least she wasn't holding the arrow anymore. Slowing down, he muttered a couple of obscenities to himself and checked to make sure there'd been no damage done to the bow. It looked alright, at least. Good, he'd hate to have to get a new one.

When she began to dash in the little fellow's direction his fur stuck on end and he made a break for it. While doing so, he made a series of hissing noises that showed he was less than pleased. Desperately the lad returned to the tree and tried to climb up the trunk, heart pounding in his tiny chest. "Doddies!"

Tah-leen leaped at the bottom of the tree, missing him by a foot and a half as he scurried bck up the tree. Her tail swished pensively behind her as she bared her teeth up at the fellow.
"He's in the tree again! The tree!" she repeated, baring her teeth again as she growled.

The little guy spun around and hissed at Tah-leen, claws sticking to the tree. "Ah bet yer mum wus part snail an' yer pa wus unimpressed an'  takin' other wimmen!" The insulting half-pint then proceeded to skitter up the tree again, still bristling. "Tosspot!" Wherever the boy had tread before there was a small trail of fur. More scales glinted on his small body.

Tah-leen continued to bare her teeth up at the thing before leaping up in attempts to climb- but once her injured foot caught the wrong angle, she let out a yelp and fell back tot he ground, clutching onto her leg.

Lerrok sighed as he came upon the pair and saw the girl hurt herself again. "Damn it, 'Leen, what did I say?" he muttered. He gave a quick look up the tree to make sure the strange little... thing wasn't up to anything threatening. "And you," he yelled, pointing up at the creature. "Quit scrambling around. If you want something, say it or come down, but if you keep that shifty crap up, I'm gonna think you're up to something and end up running you through. Since neither of us wants that, stop sneaking around."

With that, he crouched down and gave the girl an exasperated look. "Here, take your hands off it, let's have a look. You really need to slow down and think about what you're doing, otherwise you're going to have a lot of trouble if you ever manage to get human."

"But but.. he was trying to come down the tree!" Tah-leen protested, seeming not to hear his command about removing her hand from her strained injury.

The little guy only bared his teeth at the thief, crawling back up onto a branch before snapping a part of it away and tossing it at the two. "Go screw yerselves wit'at! I 'ope yer bums bleed so bad ye' lose consciousness!"

He was getting more and more rude as minutes passed by. The lad also seemed to be trembling uncontrollably.

Lerrok paid the little pest no mind, he'd heard worse from the village kids when he was six years old. "What's it matter, 'Leen? What'll he do, walk off? Then he'd not be our problem anymore. You did more harm to yourself chasing him than he'd have been likely to do just left on his own." The poacher managed to keep himself from snapping at her, though he certainly couldn't keep the impatience out of his voice.

Reaching for her hand, he raised an eyebrow. "So, are you going to let me have a look, or do you want to just sit there and listen to him growling up there?"

Tah-leen turned back to Lerrok at his words with a bit of a disappointed pout.
"But he could get away..." she stated, almost whimpering the words out. Then at his last inquiry, she looked down at her leg and grew quiet, dark hair covering her face.
"This thing feels funny," she said lamely, as she squat down and jiggled the make shift tourniquet around her ankle.

"Well then take it off, get the blood moving back in your leg. Bleeding's probably stopped by now." With one quick motion, Lerrok grabbed the knot and pulled it undone, leaving the bit of cloth to fall away. Odd, he could have sworn he'd taken care of that already. Or meant to, at least.

That taken care of, Lerrok went and stoked the fire- which was dwindling almost to nothing again. He was almost out of wood... might have to grab some more. "And why don't you want him to get away? Not like him being stuck up there helps us. If anything, it's just one more thing for me to worry about."

Squatting back down besides the girl, he flicked her forehead and wrapped his arm around behind her. "Now, you need to keep off that ankle, so I'm going to pick you up and set you down by the fire, and you're going to stay there and not get into any trouble. Alright? If I'm going to help you get human, you need to be able to listen."

Tah-leen looked up at him with big brown eyes. She was elated to have the tourniquet off, and rubbed at her now exposed ankle, and pouted a little at the wound there before looking back up at Lerrok again. And a smile consumed her face.

"I'll be the best human ever! Just for you, Lerrok! You can be proud!" she said excitedly. It wasn't every day someone just wanted to help her with this task who wasn't afraid of her or was trying to hunt her down...
Then again, a lot of the time she used to observe humans as a fox; and only lately was remaining more and more in her human form. Sometimes it was awkward, but the things that existed inthe human world were just so interesting to her... it was like living in a dream, and Tah-leen was excited to find a way to make those dreams come true.

Fin watched and listened to what was going on. She still couldn't believe she was losing a friend to the humans. She sat in a tree close enough to see them all. She didn't dare get near that half pint in the tree not really wanting anything to do with it. She was growing bored again. Might be time to move on. He'll be expecting anything I do. She is hurt and shouldn't be tampered with or he will go off. Humans, humpf. So predicatable. She thought starting to make plans again.

Fin wondered if she should say good-bye. It would be fitting, but she wasn't sure what prank to pull to let them know she was moving out. She also wasn't sure if just saying it would work. He probably wouldn't believe it if she did tell him. He was working the fire when she went  a bit lower so they could hear her.

"Time for me to go find some fun. This is boring you know what I'll do so there's no more fun. Bye now," she said figuring that was enough.