Southward Bound

[Alegretto]

It took Turnrin a moment to figure out what the girl meant. His brow furrowed as he tried to think of a proper response to her question. How best to explain magic to this girl, who only saw it as a curse?

Slowly, picking his words very carefully, the monk began to speak. "What you and I both share Huntress, is nothing to be ashamed of. I know in Connlaoth it is considered a sin and a curse, but there are other parts of the world where it is not seen as such. Take for example Serendipity, the country that your mother," he paused for a moment, and then said with emphasis, "and I hale from."

He let that sink in for a moment before he continued. "Many in Serendipity are what Connlaothians consider tainted, and our society functions just fine. We don't see this trait as a curse, rather it is a gift passed down from our Fae ancestors. I'm not saying that the Connlaothian belief system is wrong, but I do believe that for a child of Serendipity, like yourself, Connlaothian values simply do not work."

[Ickedu]

"But... but they say, magic is dangerous. No-one can really control and handle it. They say, all the time people are dying because of accidents and occurrences with magic. And we... who are tainted... they say, we can never know when there is a magic outburst in us that will kill everyone around us. It... has to be a curse."

The words sounded like a phrase that Felinn just repeated because she had heard it uncountable times. Of course she knew all the stories, all the arguments. But did she really believe it? Felinn even didn't know herself. But it had to be true... didn't it?

Felinn paused for a moment, thinking about what she just had said.

Then another thought crossed her mind and she looked to the monk. "Are you a mage?"

[Alegretto]

Turnrin looked back at the girl sadly. The rote speech she provided made his heart ache. How could an entire country be so wrong about something? But then again, that wasn't really fair. It wasn't their fault that their god had steered them so wrong.

"To answer you first question," Turnrin began in response to Felinn's concerns, "I am not a mage, in so much as I do not practice magic as a craft. However, like you, I have a singular magical characteristic that was most likely passed down to me through Fae ancestry. Allow me to demonstrate."

Turnrin focused for a moment, and then activated his ability. He slowly began to fade from sight until he was almost invisible, and then he let the magic go and he came suddenly back into full view. "Look, magic done and no calamity. Magic doesn't have to be dangerous. It all depends on who is using it, just like any other type of power."

[Ickedu]

Felinn watched unsettled as the Cataloguer almost disappeared and then came back to view. Then she  shook her head slightly. "I.... don't know. It is... just... so elusive. How can you... how can anyone control something like this?"

"And... maybe we are the same insofar as we both are tainted. Maybe you even are right and... we... really have Fae ancestry." Felinn even trembled a bit, when she tried to wrap her mind around this.

"But I can do nothing like this."

[Alegretto]

Turnrin shrugged. "Magic is different for every person Huntress. It manifests in a different way for each individual, and not everyone understands it in the same sense. Still, their are people working to make sure that magic use is safe and responsible. There are whole guilds and organizations in Serendipity devoted to educating people about magic and keeping it's use safe."

Turnrin paused here for a moment. "Huntress, I think that maybe this would all make more sense if you saw it for yourself. Would you be willing to come South with me, to Serendipity?" Turnrin wasn't sure this was for the best, but Kia had to have a reason for putting him here and now. Maybe it was so he could bring this lost child home.

[Ickedu]

Instead of responding to Turnrins question, Felinn remained silent and looked into the flowing water of the little stream. Going to Serendipity. To her mother's home. To where more of her kind lived. Of the tainted...

She already had thought about this. Actually this was the reason why she was traveling south. At least when she was traveling. She just had not been in a hurry until now. She did not even know if she really wanted to go. To leave Connlaoth. Her country of birth. Her forests. Her winds. Her wilderness.

To go to... to where? Serendipity. She did not really know something about the land of her mother. What would she find there?

The young woman looked up to the tree tops that were swaying in the Connlaothian winds, then answered without looking away from the trees. "What is Serendipity like? Is it... nice? Are there ...Forests? ...Cities? Mountains, Hills? ... ... Wind?"

[Alegretto]

Turnrin nodded along as the Huntress spoke. "There are, all of those things. But, well, they are different. The forests are still by definition forests, but there are different plants and animals living in them. Cities are different too, of course. I guess the mountains and hills are the same, but the wind, that's different. It's nowhere near as strong in Serendipity as it is here in Connlaoth."

Turnrin paused for a moment to make sure that the Huntress was getting all this. "Now, I know this sounds frightening, but different doesn't mean worse. Just because things in Serendipity might be slightly different doesn't mean that they're not as good as they are here. I think that you need to experience these things for yourself to understand."

[Ickedu]

Felinn silently listened to his descriptions, still looking into the trees. Then she nodded slightly. Probably he was right, and she really had to see for herself. But... was she ready? She just did not know.

The young woman looked into the water again and tried to consider all the possibilities.
Would the Cataloguer go back to Serendipity at once? Or had he still business here?
How far was it even to the border? Felinn had traveled south for some time, but actually she was not sure, where exactly she was situated at the moment.
And how difficult would it be to cross the border? When she remembered correctly, there were mountains between the countries. Would they have to cross them? Or was there an alternative? And... with the current situation with the anti-mage unrests... Would they be allowed to just leave Serendipity? Two... Tainted ones?

Felinn looked to her travel companion to-be. She began regarding him, still without saying a word.
She could not really imagine how The Cataloguer would cope with traveling through the wilds. He... did not really look like made for it. Or would he want to travel on the trade routes? Maybe... even by carriage? With a group of traders? With a caravan? Would she have to stay and rest in towns? She did not even have money. How should she pay the costs?

Thinking about this she was not even sure she wanted to do this. Going back into... civilization. A sarcastic smile crossed her face and she shook her head slightly.

There was so much to think about... so much uncertainty. But somehow... she did not want to talk to him about all this. It was just too much to talk. Too much to tell him about herself.

Her face got serious again. Somehow she really wanted to do it. It would be... interesting. Something new. And if it would not work... she just could leave him again.

Yes. Yes, she would do it. She would try it and see where this new path would lead her. Felinn nodded her head and finally began to speak again: "I will go with you. Where... will we go next?"

[Alegretto]

Turnrin looked at the girl, uncertainty momentarily clouding his eyes. "Well to be perfectly honest with you Huntress, I haven't exactly been following a strict travel path. I've kind of just been wandering my way along." He paused for a moment, considering, and then he pulled a rolled piece of parchment from his pack. He unravelled it and held it out so Felinn could see. Inscribed on the parchment in ink was a crude map of Connlaoth.

"I picked up this map sometime ago, but I haven't really been using it of late since it's proven to be incorrect a number of times. I don't know if it's out of date or if the cartographer who made it did a shoddy job, but it's not entirely accurate." He scratched his bald head. "Still, I guess it's a better place to start than from nowhere."

Turnrin fell silent for a few moments as he looked over the piece of parchment for a few moments. "Here," he pointed to a black dot on the map. This town, Karsin, I passed through here a few days ago. That means we're in Orchy right now." Turnrin made nothing of the fact that he wasn't even aware which Connlaothian duchy he was in. "That means we only need to make it through the rest of Orchy and Ardal to get to Serendipity. That's not too far."

"So, I guess we just start walking south? By the looks of it, you don't need much help surviving in the wilderness, and somehow I don't think that you and me need to come into contact with any more people than absolutely necessary."

[Ickedu]

Felinn looked into the map while her companion showed here where they were and where they had to go but said nothing. Reading maps was one of the things she never was taught and which she also had not much interest in. So she also could not make anything out of the distances that could be seen on the map.

When Turnrin reasoned about being in Orchy at the moment, Felinn nodded slightly and continued to listen.

Finally she answered after Turnrin had announced their next steps. "Yes, let's do this. Just walking south... seams reasonable enough for now. And yes, I think will be able to provide food... and safe places to sleep for us two. It really would be fine to travel without meeting too much people... that is... if it is alright for you too."

"But first... let's eat something to get some strength... and before the meat finally burns." She smiled and took a few of the spits with cougar meat out of the fire, now well done, and gave two of them to the monk.
Then she began eating herself, quite decent without too much smacking and als keeping her clothes clean. But nonetheless, the meat vanished really fast into her mouth. When Turnrin had eaten up his current share, she quickly would offer him more.

And for the moment, Felinn did not seem to have more need to talk.

[Alegretto]

"Eating, now that does sounds like a good idea." Turnrin happily accepted the food from the girl. He bit into it heartily, though maybe not as heartily as his companion, and worked though the meat steadily. He didn't finish his piece as quickly as the Huntress, but he thought that he made good time.

He made a few awkward attempts at conversation as they ate, but none of them really picked up steam, so he eventually gave up. He munched through the two pieces he'd been given, and then accepted another from the girl. After finishing that piece, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and made another attempt to make small talk. Say what you want of Turnrin, it wasn't easy to keep him down.

"This is really good meat. I didn't think that a big cat could taste like this. Have you eaten cougar before? Or is this your first catch?"

[Ickedu]

Felinn smiled. "Yes, cougar tastes quite good. I have had it one more time since... since I am in the woods all alone. And a few times before that. But not really that often. There is... easier prey to hunt. Mostly I go for rabbits or similar animals. They also are a better size for one person alone."

[Alegretto]

Turnrin nodded. The girls reasoning was sound. It also gave him a thought. "Wait, so were you going after that cougar originally then? Or were you just saving me?"

Turnrin wasn't sure which answer he wanted to hear. On one hand, it would be upsetting to know that he made Felinn put herself in danger on his behalf, and on the other, it would be a bit demoralizing to hear that his rescue was an accident.

[Ickedu]

"I was already hunting the cougar for a few days. It had been overhunting and took away my prey. So I tracked it down."

Felinn paused a moment. Not to think about what Turnrin would want to hear or how he would react, but to recollect what had happened during the hunt. It always was a little blurry for her when she thought about it afterwards.

"To be honest, I think I did not really notice you in the underbrush at first. Not until you made too much noise, that was when I noticed something had to be there, as did the cougar. But we still did not really recognize that it was you. I think... you were doing your thing... so we could not see you."

A bit of a red sheen returned to her hair when she thought about the hunt again and she smiled slightly.

"But it was not right for the cougar to be the hunter, when I had come to hunt it down. So I took it down before it could get to you."

The Huntress' smile got wider to a cheeky grin and finally she even giggled lightly.
"I think, at first I wanted to get you as my next kill, because the cougar had chosen to get after you. So it would have been the right thing. But... somehow you were not appetizing enough."

[Alegretto]

Turnrin listened to the short speech with a bit of confusion. He didn't really understand the Huntress' motivation, but he wasn't usually one to question the lifestyles of others. Most people seemed to have a hard enough time understanding his after all!

When she got to the end the monk's eyes widened with shock. He thought for a second that she was serious, but then the laugh registered. The monk laughed a bit to, though in a nervous fashion. "Hah, that's uh, that's a funny joke I guess," he said carefully. He hoped it was a joke.

Quickly, before the Huntress could speak in case she was going to correct him, Turnrin stood up. "So are you ready to start out?" he asked her. "It would be smart to get moving, I think. We have a lot of distance to cover, and the more we make each day the faster the trip."