Scrub a Dub Dub...

[Winters-Feather]

At first, they lead off in a gallop. Akenu tried to organize everything in her head. There were villages, provisions, and business to consider...Furthermore, there was the factor of getting caught. The woman was pretty sure there was a village two days journey away. They probably couldn't stay long, but if she disguised herself well enough, Akenu figured she could slip in for an hour or two to trade for the things they needed and be on their way. It was too dangerous to consider inns this close to Ketra. Her mind slipped back to The Randy Peach.
Dram owns me a bath, she darkly thought.

At that moment, he brought his head forward, to talk to her. The woman slowed Elyin down to a trot so as to lip read him better and not get hit in the face with incoming branches. She frowned at the so called 'clue'. What sort of response was that? It told them nothing, but only lead her to more questions.
"That's not a clue, but a riddle," she responded with a weary sigh.
Either he's a raging lunatic, or was right to damn her, she mused.
"What sort of power that she possesses would he want, anyhow?" Akenu added, turning her head to see Dram's face more clearly.
This is madness.

[Lion]

Dram was used to being hunted.  It was a daily thing for him and he knew the persistence of paid bounty hunters and mercenaries well.  And yet, he knew their persistence wasn't always as rewarding as they assumed it would be.  If there was one thing Dram was good at, besides taking what he assumed others no longer wanted or needed and what certainly didn't belong to him, it was hiding out until the heat passed over.  At least he had something to offer Akenu and himself that went beyond his fighting abilities and smart mouth.

Dram was starting to feel very suspicious about this whole endeavor.  What good was it to hold onto this amulet when all it seemed to bring was trouble?  He half considered slipping it into Akenu's pocket and simply ditching the thing with her. It certainly would save him half the battle of getting those bounty hunters off his back and certainly do her a favor of learning to live by the chase.  Dram grinned at the thought and was half tempted to do so until she asked him a question.

He repeated the question to the lady in the ruby and she looked at Dram with some irritation.  "What does it matter?" she snapped.  "All you must do is release me and I'll deal with him.  I was always stronger than he was anyway.  I could always summon faster, my fires burned longer and hotter.  I'm almost offended that you've never heard of me.  I was a great wizard before he shoved me in here!  If anything, he would only use my power for destructive purposes, perhaps destroy the continent if he got his hands on it."

Dram looked taken aback, not expecting the reaction, but he repeated the words to Akenu, careful to leave out the ungrateful and sassy tone.  It would do none of them good.  "She says she was a powerful wizard.  Burned lots of stuff down, summoning, you know that crazy devil-stuff," Dram said.  "She thinks Annic wants her power because he was jealous and would use it to destroy the world or something to that effect.  Does that help?"

[Winters-Feather]

Though Akenu didn't say anything to Dram's somewhat bewildered explanation, it was clear  through her expression that Andreya's answer had off settled her. She nodded, and focused on the path ahead of them.
Destroy the world, indeed, she thought.
Her answer seemed almost cliche, like out of a book she had read when she was a little girl, cozy in her bed. If anything, Andreya sounded worse than her husband; had she really been out witted? Or was this all a scam?
Akenu gritted her teeth, clearly wanting to say something but restraining herself. Despite not liking to bulge into other's business too much and in exchange, nobody bulging into hers, the woman did enjoy to live on edge a little. Especially when they presented themselves in a situation like this. Besides, even if they did discard the amulet, either what the lady had said would come true or some idiot would pick her up and fall under her spell to do her bidding. It probably was an exaggeration, but Akenu just couldn't let either of those things happen. People were so dimwitted, after all.
Elves, too.

Her mind wondered into her thoughts. For the next few hours, it was almost as if it was just the three of them, Marik, Elyin, and her. Dram and the amulet were shut out as Akenu pondered. It was  a bit awkward, in truth, to ride for so long without any communication, Akenu knew, but she didn't care. This was normal for her, after all.  Out of the corner of her eye, she observed as Marik was cruising by the horse. Akenu was grateful for this; if he flew too high, the bounty hunters might track them down. The woman frowned at the prospect of forbidding him to fly high, though he loved it. She gave a small smile as she watched him, though, all of a sudden, he seemed to dart into the forest.
"Agh!" she exclaimed, directing Elyin to follow him. However, the dragon didn't stop or slow down until they had reached  a river.
"Oh," she exclaimed, a shift in mood over coming her. Akenu loved rivers. Not to mention she could actually bathe. The woman turned towards Dram.
Just not nude.

Besides, it would be a good opportunity to talk  where the amulet lady couldn't...hear them. She wasn't so certain how it worked, but Akenu needed to ask him something she wasn't too comfortable Andreya potentially hearing.
"Elyin needs a  quick break," she declared, hopping off.
She lead the horse to the river side, and stroked her mane as the mare eagerly drank. Akenu then pointed towards the jewel, and indicated for the elf to leave it somewhere on the horse before walking backwards a yard or two, her eyes still kept on Dram. After all, he was still on Elyin; the woman didn't want to be delayed in shooting him in the exact same spot where she had healed him if  he tried to run off with her.

[Lion]

Dram grit his teeth and reminded himself why he despised magic so much.  It was so unpredictable, so destructive.  Even those with good intent and masterful skill often over looked things that were vital to the incantation and execution of a spell that often there were dire consequences that were otherwise unforeseen.  Dram put the amulet away as the vision of the ghostly lady vanished like a gust of wind.  This was all too quick and unsettling for him.  Yet he seemed he had no choice but to go along with it anyway.

Dram was grateful for the silence, mulling over all this information, and watching the birds as he did so. The hours passed by like minutes and Dram blinked stupidly when Akenu suddenly got off the horse.  Oh they had reached a river.  Duh!  Dram too slipped off when she moved the mare.  His legs and rear were sore from the travel but he only nodded to her and more than agreed to place the thing on the horse.  Anything to get it as far away from him as possible.

Dram slunk away from her and walked towards a tree.  He looked up at the leaves branches and immediately began to climb the thing until he lingered on a thick branch that could support his weight a few feet ahead.  He had a strong body and climbed with ease and he sat on the branch, legs dangling, swinging them like a child.  After a moment he glanced at Akenu and called her name so that she faced him.  "What were you doing at the Peach?  You don't look like that type of girl."

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu's posture relaxed once she saw Dram following her instructions. The woman sank to her knees by the river bed, and began to wash her face, welcoming the rush of the coolness. With a short, gleeful laugh, she began to fill up her water skins, though shortly after filling her first one, a 'loud' vibration hit her ears. A started Akenu surveyed the area before her blue eyes caught the elf in the tree.
The woman made a face, her cheeks flushing at what he was suggesting.
"Of course not," she sharply replied as she tightly shut the first skin and opened the second. After doing so, she placed them in her lap before taking her hands and cupped them around her ears, moving them back and forth.
"Cities are loud. Full of vibrations. I have to shout a lot, too," she explained, "It sometimes hurts, so I go there. Good food, baths, people."
Akenu grinned as her mind filled with nostalgic memories.
"There's a man there who can sign in Common, too."  
The woman didn't want to add that she might have had slept with him once or twice.  
After all, it really wasn't Dram's business.

Akenu didn't bother asking why Dram was in the stables; she knew that answer, well enough. So, she went back to filling up her water skins. It took her only a few moments longer. With a sigh, the woman impulsively got up and walked a few feet away from the bank before collapsing to the ground again, cradling her head in her arms. Unlike the hard, stone floor of the cave, the grass felt nice, and she was a little sleepy. Marik playfully zoomed up to where Dram was sitting and nipped at his ear, again. However, he still didn't quite like the elf , as the little thing  hopped down to the branch and moved away, glaring at  the thief. Akenu observed all of this with a smirk, her eyes shifting towards Elyin, who was settled peacefully by the river's edge. The woman frowned and reluctantly rose to her feet to stand besides Dram's tree.
"Should I go up there or are you comin' down?" she asked, almost coyly. Almost.

[Lion]

"What the hell is sign?"  Dram asked.  He made raspberries and rolled his eyes.  It was the silliest thing he ever heard.  What was it anyway?  And why did it matter if somebody knew it?  He didn't know it was a way to communicate with your hands, nor would he probably have cared.  The only way he knew how to communicate with his hands was by either offering the finger or flashing his steel to meticulously remove someone's head from their body.  That was all his hands had ever been good for.

Dram looked at her with some confusion.  "I'm fine in my tree.  You got a problem?  Take it up with the warden, chief.  Now you should take a bath.  You look like shit.  Like someone just tried to kill you.  Don't worry, I won't watch."  He scoffed at her and peeled a twig from the branch and began to pluck the leaves from it."

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: the internet at my house isn't working atm and idk how long it'll be between posts but I'll still try to get to them asap~

IC:

Akenu narrowed her eyes and practically puffed out her cheeks in indignation at Dram's rude reply about signing. Didn't that dim wit of an elf know anything? He lived on this earth for HOW LONG, and he never ran into a deaf person in all that time!?
"It's how deaf people communicate!" she practically snapped, signing the words frantically.
"And it's useful when you don't want people to hear what you're saying, but of course you don't know anything about that, would you!?"
The flustered woman almost growled at his next check.  She didn't bother to respond; she was too pissed at his attitude.
I swear.... she thought with a humph as she stalked over to Elyin to get out the soap.
It was true that she wasn't clear in her intents. But just when she was trying to be nice, he had to be rude all over again!
This is why I travel alone, she thought as she dragged the horse's reigns into the river.
Though he said he wouldn't watch, Akenu wasn't going to count on it.

With her back turned towards the tree, Akenu removed her quiver, boots, and belt, and left those items on the bank. Next, she removed her tunic, which she draped over Elyin's back. Off came her leggings and finally her strapless top.  Akenu gave a  glare back at the elf in the tree before sinking into the water. the sun light danced on her back, making the wings on her back look like they almost moved.  The woman squatted in the water, the river going up to her shoulders. She gave a sign of content, letting go of some of her tension, and began to scrub all over her body. After her body was clean, the woman dunked her head in, and began to wash her hair. Content with the result, the woman took her clothes and scrubbed them a bit as well. Normally, she would dry her clothes out  as she would bask naked in the son, but since she was with company, the woman put on her underwear, tights, and the top. She left her tunic by the river side to properly dry. Soap still in hand, Akenu walked up to the tree and threw the bar directly at Dram, hoping to hit his face.
"Your turn," she said with a grin as she twisted her  damp, silvery- white hair to get the water of it.

[Lion]

As Dram had said, he didn't watch her.  He had no reason to and carved something into the wood of the tree branch he was sitting on, waiting until she was done when he suddenly had an object thrown at him.  Dram ducked and shot daggers at her.  "You little bitch," he growled to himself and resheathed the knife.  He held onto the tree with both hands and rolled backwards, swinging his legs overhead until he somersaulted off the branch and landed in a crouch.

He stalked away from her towards the waterside and tried to hide himself by a tree, making sure she wouldn't peak either.  He took off his tunic and the sheathe on his back and carefully undressed, placing his clothes on the roots that stuck out on the waterside before slipping in himself.  He cleaned himself thoroughly, though the tall stripe on his head suddenly went south when he dunked his whole head underwater.  "Dang grimy women trying to tell me what to do," he said with increasing irritation.

When he was done he got out in all his glory and let himself air dry, shaking off the water like a dog.

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu gave a coarse laugh in delight at Dram's surprise, shaking her hair out.  As the elf walked away to go bathe himself- she hoped the creature knew how- she went back to Elyin's side. She had left the bags still hooked up onto her saddle, not knowing how close by bounty hunters were. That, and her wound...The woman set her jaw as she began to take off the bags from the saddle. Wounded or not, it was irresponsible  for her to have  left them there. She placed them gently on the ground. A satisfied Elyin whinnied and went back to grazing. Akenu petted her mare's main gently before walking over towards her clothes, where she kept her medicine pouch. While washing, she had washed her wound, which was now an ugly scar. Now, she attended to it quickly by applying more balm and binding it with more appropriate bindings. The woman considered discarding her now ruined head scarf, but decided to stow it away and throw it out later. Leaving it here would only make tracks.

Satisfied with her work, the woman rummaged through one of her sacks for another head scarf. Finding one of blue and green to match her tunic, she left her goods under the watchful eye of her mare and sat down on a rock several yards away from her things and the amulet. Akenu wrapped the scarf around her head,  making sure to keep her bangs out of her eyes; they annoyed her throughout the entire ride.
She gave a sigh as she watched the river's water flow. The woman observed small fish swim frantically every which way. A dragon fly buzzed past her, making her cringe; she hated it when bugs flew too near.
I need to search the area, she thought, grimly.
It was a bit risky, considering how Dram was near by, and there were some things that she really did not want to see, but it was business that might as well be done now.

Akenu started with the earth. It was easier to talk to, more straight forward and patient, if not a bit slow. Sliding off of the rock, she sat down on the grass, palms  and forehead pressed against the moist ground as she tried to track the bounty  hunters. A deer had passed by. Squirrels. Small animals. No, that wasn't what she was looking for.
Men, she asked. I'm looking for men.
There had been a few. Two or three, all mounted. They traveled together, like wolves. They were hungry and tired, but also focused and determined. Their mounts were weary  as well. The pack did not strike it as unkind, though kindness, or the lack of it, didn't concern the  hunted. They had came to rest, but continued on with their journey; the had not stayed here.

Thank you, she told the earth before getting up. She wiped her hands on her leggings and her forehead with the back of her sleeve.  
Akenu bit her lip; they would not be bothered here, but whose to say what would happen a mile or so up the road. It occurred to her that they might not have been the hunters, but a pack of thieves or wanderers. Still a bit paranoid, the mage scryed the wind, just to be sure. Akenu tried to let her mind wander as far out as she could, which she had approximated to be three miles. That 'pack of men' were no where to be seen, but she did find a pack of travelers to the west. To the northwest, a thief. In the east was a road, so it didn't surprise her to find some people wandering on it. In the south, a grim, clean traveler was travelling down the road. Akenu pulled her mind away.
A little exhausted, she sat on the rock, and tilted her face towards the sky.
That man could be a bounty hunter, though she wasn't sure. In any case,  the elf and her had  miles to their advantage and they were off the road. Still, they would have to continue soon.

Akenu frowned as her mind turned towards the amulet again; she didn't really look forward to bringing the issue up to the elf when he was done with his bathing, but it had to be done. The woman mentally cursed to herself as she looked towards her drying tunic with a mildly disgusted look on her face.

[Lion]

Dram never took too long to bathe.  Not necessarily at the risk of being looked at, but life as a slave taught him that speed and opportunity went hand in hand.  He didn't know when he had another chance to do so again and he'd grown used to seizing the moment.  Chance was a slick bastard that would sucker-punch you if you didn't know when to seize it like an unruly horse.

He dried and dressed himself quickly and stepped toward the mare, brushing Eylin's side with an wary hand.  The horse looked like she wanted his fingers for a snack after scaring her half to death and yanking her from the warmth and comfort of a brothel's stable.  He glared back at the animal before kneeling beside Akenu.

"So what now?  We wait for them to catch up with us?" he asked, facing her to make sure she could understand his lips.

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu jolted a little as she saw a figure out of the corner of her eye approaching Elyin. It was only a reflex; she instantly relaxed when her mind processed it was Dram.  He didn't look like he was about to run away, either, so she turned her attention back towards the river. Marik, having had his fun in the trees, was now playing by the water's edge, trying to snap at a small fish or two.
He's always hungry, Akenu thought, a little impressed.
The woman's attention was turned back towards the elf, as he approached her and talked to her directly.
She shook her head, her expression wary.
"No," she replied, "There's a traveler passing through this way in less than an hour. There's a group of men ahead of us we ought to watch out for, too. And a thief."
The woman added this last bit as an afterthought, though it was clear an extra thief was the least of her worries.

Akenu shot her bag where the ruby necklace and amulet was hidden a look before looking at Dram directly in the eye again.
"It's Andreya," she said in a lower tone, signing every word.
"I don't trust her. She could be lying, but she's caught my attention and I just wanted to know what you think...before we move on," Akenu added with a hint of frustration in her voice. She had a feeling they were dealing with something that was beyond their abilities, but they couldn't just ignore it...couldn't they?

[Lion]

"Really?  You found all those people near here?  How did you go about doing that?  Not some magic I hope.  But if it is, just don't be doin' any weird hocus pocus mumbo jumbo.  I don't trust that stuff as far as my arms can reach," he said with an ignorant glare to his eyes.

Dram looked around them, feeling as if they were being watched for a second or two before leaning in to her.  He didn't understand what she was doing with her hands, gesturing something that made absolutely no sense.

"I think she's a right nut, personally," he said after a moment of thought.  "What kind of man and wife are at each other's throats like that?  Unless it was never about love...and more about power.  I don't think Andreya is lying...but nor do I believe she is being entirely honest.  There's something she's not telling us.  We just better find out what that is sooner rather than later.  Maybe now is not the time, but I think this Annic fellow can provide some answers that she's not telling.  But those bounty hunters will no doubt be expecting that, I think."

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu gave a sly grin as she nodded when he suggested she used magic and shrugged at his ignorance. The woman didn't feel like bothering giving him a lecture; she had conducted business with people less tolerate with magic and had learned to keep her opinions about such matters to herself. Just like dealing with the fact she was deaf, Akenu figured Dram was just going to have to get used to her using her scrying powers, whether he liked it or not.
Perhaps his view will change, she idly mused.

The woman watched patiently as the elf looked around, just as she had moments ago, and spoke his opinion. Not wanting to say anything, Akenu just nodded, to show that she had lip read him. His response relieved her a bit. The woman felt better that her sentiments weren't alone, and that she wasn't bringing up something that there was no use wasting words on.  Dram also brought up something she had forgotten- the bounty hunters.
Of course, she thought, feeling foolish for not realizing it. It would explain why they were so persistent, harboring poisonous arrows like that. Her stumach churned with sickness when she also realized that another reason it was going to be harder for them was because she killed one of them.

With a faint groan, she gave the river one more glance before hoping off of the rock and walked over to where her things were. Without bending over, she clumsily put on her boots before finally crouching to pick up her mostly dry tunic and put it on. She then reattached her belt and finally slung her quiver and bow over her back. Akenu clicked her tongue to get Elyin's attention as she just as carefully and slowly hooked the big sacks to her saddle.
Her work done, she climbed onto the saddle. Taking it as a signal, Marik reluctantly flew over to land on her shoulder. Silently, Akenu crocked her head, indicating for Dram to climb on so that they may continue their journey.
We need to find a route to avoid the men further up the road, she thought, mentally mapping out the area.

[Lion]

Dram climbed on without a word, following her example and wrapped his arms around Akenu to hold on better.  Horses were nothing like birds at all.  He didn't know where Bane was or why the giant bird was so eager to fly off and leave his rider with a sarcastic, deaf woman and with an amulet he knew he was better off without.  It couldn't have been that hard to stay close by, but perhaps Bane took the term 'bird-brained' far more literal than necessary.  He grimaced.  He was going to kill that stupid bird.

"Have that dragon of yours fly up.  Maybe he can do that distraction thing again that can help us get around them," Dram suggested, leaning his face over her shoulder again.  He hated talking to people with their back to him, and the fact that she know hear anything he said without his face having to be right in front of hers.

Dram looked around them, knowing something was amiss however.  The air was always quiet like this whenever trouble followed close.  In this case the trouble was close enough and small enough to fit right in Akenu's saddlebag pockets.  As they moved quietly through the trees, Dram's nerves were on end and his head kept swiveling about them, feeling intently as though they were being watched.  "Something's not right," he mouthed.

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu leaned to the side to see Dram's face better, realizing that communicating like this was going to get really old really fast. She caught most of his words, and turned her attention sharply back to the road as she thought about it. The woman shook her head quickly, reluctantly. Marik was her ears, her companion; last time they had been truly desperate. What if he got injured? Besides, she didn't want to have to rely on Dram....
You're going to have to learn to trust him, she thought with dread.
The woman surveyed the area. She felt a bit uncomfortable, though she had been ever since the previous evening; this was nothing new. The elf's words were lost on her, but  the magic was tugging at her, too.
Akenu addressed the small dragon.
"Marik," she said, "Fly ahead a little. Keep close to the north, and try to stay hidden."

He cooed before jumping off of her shoulder and effortlessly darted into the trees.
Akenu shook her head and silently said a prayer in her head as she followed his trail as best she could. They were alone...Weren't they? She tried to scry the wind again, just to be sure. She received nothing except, for a scant second, an image flashed in her mind, an image of a man in his late thirties, early forties. He was pale, his grey eyes deep and sullen, as if he hadn't slept in days. His hair was brown and thinning, and his face was in need of a shave. Thornblood. He looked like he was searching for something, gazing into a bowl, until his eyes found Akenu. The woman gasped,  her heart pounding.  She didn't say anything for the following few minutes, though the woman removed her bow from her back and grasped it firmly with her right hand, getting prepared to fire, if necessary.  Akenu didn't say anything, not willing to speak about what she had just saw to Dram, not yet.
Was Thornblood...tracking them? Could he even do that? Or was it the wind playing tricks with her? It did that, sometimes.  
That's all that was, she thought, sullenly.

Suddenly, the branches of a neighboring tree rustled as Marik darted straight out of them, letting out a small cry of alarm. Akenu tsked, getting the meaning, and stirred an alarmed Elyin towards a more northwestern route. They were racing against something  now, that was for sure.
But why couldn't I scy them, she thought, confused. They didn't pop up in in radius.  Why?

She narrowed her eyes as they moved faster and faster. There was no point in asking Marik to take a different route at this point.  They rode like this for little less than  a mile when they ran into what Akenu had saw as the thief. The man was a middle aged Adelian of a stocky built. He wore pants , boots, and a vest as well hard, stone cold eyes. He certainly looked like a thief to the woman, with his rugged expression, his little luggage and shifty gaze, and his avoidance of the main road. However, he looked amused by their presence as he twisted his single handed sword idly in his hands. The sound of approaching horses was getting closer.

"Give me the ruby necklace. Give it to me, love," he said, reaching out for it. The man looked towards Dram and gave him a winning smile.
"Tell her, sir," the man said, "Everything will be a lot easier if you did. No harm done, eh?"
His voice was like honey, smooth and persuasive.
"Don't listen to him!" Akenu hissed  towards the elf.
 He clearly was a mage whose powers dealt with entrancing people, bending them to do what they will; Akenu didn't have to hear to understand this. Even his scent was becoming stronger and more appealing, and his gaze did not escape from the woman's, as if he was commanding her attention. Had it been just his voice, she would have been totally immune. No; it was his entire being. He tried to reach into her mind, but Akenu fought him, silently, as she reached for an arrow, aimed, and fired. Her senses were a little muddled; she wasn't so sure if her arm had been true.

[Lion]

Dram kept his eyes around them.  He didn't know whether she heard him or not, but he could tell Akenu was as alerted as he was.  Thank whatever foolish gods there were for the fact.  Maybe she wasn't as stupid as she looked after all.  And if that was the case maybe her magic abilities to detect things would work out more in their favor than he originally considered.

The miles went by them and he could not have failed to notice the overwhelming sense of eyes on them, as if they were coming from all directions.  He did not feel the lulling feeling that Akenu seemed to pick up on, but the hair on the back of his neck was starting to stand on end until he saw a man quite a ways down their path.  "The hell..." Dram muttered to himself, squinting his eyes to get a better view of the stranger.  He certainly looked like woodland rabble, a common highway robber.  But there was something mystical about him that Dram instinctively knew not to trust.  Magic never settled well with him, in any of its forms.

As they drew closer, Dram could feel a coldness in his gut grow sharp and painful, and he knew without a doubt that was not magic.  Call it a gut instinct, but he knew trouble when he saw it.  "Give me the ruby necklace. Give it to me, love," the thief said.  Dram squinted his eyes and tilted his head thoughtfully.

Suddenly there was a twang in the air and Dram watched as the arrow was aimed straight for the thief.  The thief, it seemed had seen it too, and was about to move out of the way, but the arrow was faster and grazed him harshly across the face, opening up his cheek in a wide gash.  The thief fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding face.  He had yelped in pain but now peered at her in anger.  "I'll kill you!"

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu grimaced at the man's wounds, though was secretly glad that she hadn't murdered him. She was also glad that the arrow was in sight; it was embedded in a tree three yards behind him. The woman motioned for Marik to fetch it, which the dragon gladly flew off to do. They had no time, but arrows  were expensive. Besides, the bounty hunters could use it to track them down, maybe.
The woman boldly rode Elyin until they were by his side.
"What's so important about the necklace? Who hired you?" she spat, putting away her bow  and drawing a silver dagger.
The man cursed as he weakly pointed the blade in her direction, still lying on the ground. Akenu made a disgusted face. It reeked.

"I ain't tellin' you that, ya little c*nt," he sneered, eyeing the blade with  a greedy eye, trying to get up.
Whatever, Akenu thought with a scoff; it was clear they weren't going to get anything remotely useful out of him. Besides, they needed to go, and he probably didn't know anything about the piece. Why would he? The woman grabbed the retrieved arrow from Marik's claws before turning towards Dram. The wounded man swore and called her rude names loudly, though Akenu didn't bother to look at him to figure it out.
"You okay?" she asked Dram before flicking the reigns. They still needed to get rid of the mounted hunters...

[Lion]

Dram nodded as he found he was clutching his arms tighter around her waist as the foulness in his gut began to dissipate gradually before they began riding off again.  The sound of hooves were fast approaching, but instead of coming up from behind as he expected, he had a feeling that the sound was coming from ahead of them.

Before he knew it, two riders came into view, riding harder as they caught the sight of them.  Dram looked up and suddenly leapt off the back of the horse.  "Ride!" he commanded as he pulled out his own sword and slapped the flat end of it on Eylin's rear.

[Winters-Feather]

Akenu drew Elyin to a halt, and tried to turn around when the two riders came into view. They were going to have to give chase. She hadn't been expecting them to come from that direction, which annoyed her; the woman didn't much like being caught unaware. Her alarm was only increased as Dram jumped off of Elyin and whacked her behind with the blunt side of his sword. The mare gave a shrill whinny before bolting off in the opposite direction; it was all Akenu to do to keep her focused. The woman hadn't quite caught Dram's words, but she figured she didn't need to.
I'll give him ten minutes, she determined. Then she'd search for him, if he hadn't found her by that point.

However, as she rode deeper and deeper into the forest to the north, she wondered why he would pull such a feat. It seemed rather rash and stupid to her, but Akenu was forced to trust that he would triumph, and at the very least get out alive.
What are you playing at? she thought.
Finally, after a few minutes, Akenu found a darker, more secluded area of the forest. She jumped off of Elyin, and with Marik curled onto her shoulders quietly  stayed put, a silver knife in hand. For now, she would wait; the woman didn't want to resort to scrying until it was more needed.

[Lion]

If he could pause for good long moment and look outside the scope of himself, to view the situation as might a third party, Dram would very well say that yes it was rash and yes it was stupid, to leap off the horse like that and attempt to take these riders head on.  There was as much a chance that they were ordinary travelers going on about their way, but Dram could tell by the way they so closely lingered by the thief that they were all in league with each other.

The two riders glanced at each other and exchanged grins.  The first one nodded to the other one to give chase while he and the thief took care of the dark elf.  Dram held his sword steadily in front of him, the thief standing there with a grin on his face.  He made the first move, dashing towards Dram with his sword raised high.  Dram, being a man of action, foresaw such a move and promptly rolled around him, raising his sword across his shoulder before slashing the thief in the back with a backhanded stroke.  The man screamed, and fell rolling to the ground.

The first rider had his horse to his advantage and charged Dram quickly.  He did not spring away in time to miss the rider's blade that slashed across his left shoulder.  He lost his balance, sprawling on the ground while the rider stopped to turn back around and come at him again.  Dram knelt on one knee and nursed his wound.  The cut was not deep but it was quite painful, enough to make him bide his time as the rider came galloping back again, sword out to the side to cut him again.

But he was ready for him this time, standing in the path of the horse rather than to the side.  When he was in range, Dram stepped quickly to the right when the rider expected him to go left and grabbed onto the saddle for dear life.  The horse whinnied wildly at the extra weight, and the horse was thrown on its side.  The rider came off it with a yelp, crashing to the ground as Dram rolled along with him.  The bandit stood quickly and leapt onto his enemy, plunging his sword deep into his chest, through his padded leather armor as roughly as possible.  The rider gurgled as he struggled against him, but didn't put up much of a fight longer before the life drained out of him.

Dram looked up and saw that the horse had not run away.  Immediately he pulled the animal to his feet and mounted.  With a sturdy nudge, the horse bolted off.  Surely the horse was no eagle, but he could ride just as well and he pushed the horse hard as he chased down the second rider.  It wasn't long before he saw the second rider in the distance and pressed the horse even harder.  The animal chuffed with the effort and eventually caught up to the enemy.  Dram held out his sword and before the man could turn, realizing he was not his friend, he dug his blade quickly and powerfully through his neck, beheading him in a single swipe.  Blood sprayed across his face and Dram yanked hard on the reins to pull the horse beneath him to a complete stop.

Dram paused and looked around him, listening around him.  As he kept his eyes to the ground, he sheathed his sword and searched for tracks of a horse that didn't belong to either of these men.  It was deep in the  underbrush, but he found soil uplifted and began to follow, still riding the horse he'd stolen himself.  He didn't call out, knowing Akenu would be unable to hear him anyway.  Up ahead of him was a shaded clearing, but she and her horse and that pestering little dragon of hers remained out of sight.