Looking for answers...

[Anonymous]

Khelira paused at the edge of a small clearing, resting againt a tree. She'd been travelling for several weeks, from the grasslands in the south, after hearing news that a soldier had seen a faun in these mountains while passing through. The news had brought a strange stirring in her heart, memories of a past she'd been trying to block out.

Sighing, she still was unsure if she would ever find these fauns and was beginning to think that it was all a lie, made up by the townsfolk so they could rid themselves of a being they did not understand. "Wouldn't be the first time, though," Khelira thought to herself, sitting down on an exposed root to eat a bit of the dried fruit in her pack.

[Anonymous]

...Right before she heard a scream somewhere nearby in the forest.  Assuming Khelira would go to see what was going on, if only to collect spoils from a corpse that no longer needed them, the gargoyle/faun quickly collected her things and headed toward the sound.

Bursting into another small clearing, a sight the woman could barely have hoped for greeted her eyes.  Albeit, not a very pleasant sight, what with all the hungry wolves, but welcome, nonetheless.  A young faun woman was pressed against a tree being circled by the drooling beasts.  She had short brown hair that matched the color of the fur that covered her from the waist down.  She wasn't wearing anything, and was only carrying a makeshift basket.  The contents of which were covered by a cloth.  It's amazing she noticed with the matter at hand, but her eyes shot up to look at Khelira, fear inundating her expression.  "Help!" she cried loudly.

The five gray wolves that had been totally focused on the fuan were startled by the new arrival.  Growling menacingly at both of their targets, now, two continued focusing on the faun, including the largest of the pack, and the other three turned to try hemming in Khelira.  The wolves realized they were at a slight disadvantage with two potential victims at opposite sides of them, and were trying to eliminate the more dangerous looking one first.

[Anonymous]

Growling low in her throat, Khelira drew her sword and pulled her wings back tight against her back. She had fought wolves before and they would snap at her wings if they got the chance. But before advancing on the three wolves spreading out to surround her, Khelira pulled her spear from its sheath on her back and tossed it to the faun woman. "Catch! It may not be much, but it will help you stay alive until I have finished with these."

Not waiting to see if the woman caught them, Khelira advanced on the closest of the three wolves, swinging her sword in a wide arc. The wolf ducked the blow, then leaped forward, grabbing the end of Khelira's tail in its mouth. A roar of pain much like that of the large cats escaped from Khelira's lips and she struggled to turn and stab at the wolf. But one blind swing backwards and a loud yelp told her the wolf had released her tail. The wolf was bleeding from a wound just behind its head and starting to back away. "Not this time, my pretty," Khelira growled, bringing her sword down to connect with the wolf's skull.

Seeing their packmate dead frightened the two wolves still eyeing Khelira and they backed away from her, tails between their legs and ears flattened against their skulls. A single roar while brandishing her sword and spreading her wings as far as they would go sent them running out of the clearing, presumably to wherever they had come from.

"And now to deal with the others," Khelira said to herself, pulling her wings back once more and turning to face the two larger wolves still advancing on the faun woman.

[Anonymous]

The woman frantically nodded, tossing about her already messy hair, and dropped her basket to hop a little and catch the spear.  It was a good throw.  She squeaked a little when one of the wolves, the larger one, snapped at the flying wood.  Lowering the business end of it, she didn't have the opportunity to pay attention to what the other woman was doing, but thought she might have heard yelling and yelping.  She was a bit too drawn into her own trouble to worry about someone else's.  Not knowing much about weapons, she could only attempt to bop the two wolves on the head if they got too close or performed a type of miniature lunge at their cornered prey.  Her back was pressed against a tree only a few moments ago.

[Anonymous]

The smaller of the two wolves had caught Khelira's scent and wheeled around, growling at her. But Khelira was better prepared this time and backed away into the more open space near the middle of the clearing, hoping the wolf would follow. It did and that meant it was on her ground now. Unfolding her wings, Khelira jumped into the air, mainting a bit of height as she slashed at the wolf, grazing its side with the tip of the blade.

The wolf yelped and moved back a few steps, but did not back down from the fight. It narrowed its eyes, then leapt into the air as high as it could, which didn't say much, and there it made a mistake. Khelira dropped down almost on top of the wolf and grabbed its neck with one hand, then thrust her sword into the small cut she had already made. The wolf went limp and Khelira dropped it to the ground. The gargoyle blood running through her veins had awakened a sort of bloodlust in her and it would not be appeased until the last wolf was dead.

The faun woman was doing surprisingly well with the spear, bashing the largest wolf, most likely the alpha male or female of the pack, over the head whenever it came too near. While the wolf was distracted, it was far too intent on killing the faun, Khelira came up behind it, slashing at its hindquarters. She could have killed it just then, but it would have been an unfair fight and over far too easily. Not that it wasn't anyway. When the wolf yelped in pain and turned around, Khelira almost smiled at it before bringing her sword down on its head with a crack.

[Anonymous]

She didn't start noticing the other woman until she directed the attention of the smaller wolf.  Of course, that only served to make the larger one more cautious, so now it was lunging at her more frequently with angry, drooling fangs.  She couldn't afford to divide her attention, now.  Her steadfast defense of her person was rewarded when the larger wolf was cut down before her.  Absolutely spazzed out and no longer needing to worry as much, her nerves kicked in, causing her to shiver uncontrollably.  She dropped the spear and sank to the ground, her back to the tree.  Her bare and ample chest heaved up and down as she tried mostly in vain to calm back down.

Looking around, she reached out to grab the basket she'd been holding earlier, the cloth covering it moved by the fall, and the contents partially spilled on the ground.  It had been filled with mushrooms, herbs, and berries.  She didn't bother trying to refill it; she just wanted something to hold on to.  Her eyes found the woman who'd saved her.  She couldn't have guessed anyone would be around to do so.  Stammering a little, she spoke in a light voice tinged with a slightly musical accent.  "T-thank you.  You s-saved me."  She swallowed hard.  She still wasn't completely there, otherwise she'd notice how odd the person before her was.  Instead, she could only think to herself how beautiful it was to be alive, and how wonderful her savior was.  Truthfully, a thought shot through her mind for an instant, the adjectives beautiful and wonderful could have easily been switched.  It was out of her mind before she could ponder that out any further.  Lucidity was returning slowly, and she could only ask, "Who are you?"

[Anonymous]

"You're welcome," Khelira said, not meeting the woman's eyes as she dropped to her knees. The bite on her tail, thought still bleeding, was already starting to crust over. She needed to clean it, but for that, she would need to find a source of water. "I am not usually in the habit of giving my name to those I do not know, but seeing as I saved your life, I believe I can make this one exception. I am Khelira."

She bowed her head low, the points of her antlers just barely brushing the ground. When she looked up, she looked the faun woman up and down for the first time since she had arrived in the clearing. The woman was not unattractive; in fact, she was rather pretty, or would be if she wasn't so ruffled from the near brush with death. "Might I ask your name?"

[Anonymous]

Finally feeling a little better, the faun managed to shakily stand.  Brushing off her hindquarters with her free hand, she then offered a curtsy of her own.  "My name is Febwin.  It was so fortunate you heard me in my time of need.  The forest has smiled upon me this day."  Judging that Khelira wouldn't mind, she stooped to begin scooping the lost contents of her basket back to where they'd been.  "I was gathering some food in the forest, but I got a little lost," she explained, not caring if her audience cared or not.  "When I realized I'd lost track of the village, I started wandering to where I thought it might be, but I don't think it helped any..." she trailed off, standing again when her basket was full.

She stood in front of Khelira, not making eye contact, looking like she wanted to say something, but suddenly noticed her wounded tail.  Her face lit up with concern.  "You've been hurt!  And while helping me..."  She gripped her basket tighter, still awkwardly trying to conceal her question.  "I can take you to my village to get it looked at, but I am still lost.  You would have to..." she stopped and looked at her hooved feet.  "Could you do me another favor?"  She averted her gaze from the ground to Khelira's face.  "If you could maybe fly above the trees, there should be a really big pine somewhere.  It's probably one of the tallest trees for miles.  If I can get there, we'll be able to find the village."  She blushed and looked at her feet again, feeling like she was putting her rescuer out.  Febwin didn't know if Khelira wanted any help with her tail or not, but was trying to use someone more capable than she to find her way back home.  She might as well just add, "If you don't mind, that is..."

[Anonymous]

Khelira stood suddenly, her eyes wide. "Village? There are more fauns here? Oh, for the chance to see more of you-I mean, more of your people...Yes, I will see what I can do."

Her heart was fluttering like the wings of a butterfly, and her tail forgotten for the moment, as she climbed the nearest tree, leaping from the highest point she could reach to hover just above the canopy. This area of the forest was quite dense, something that was certainly not to Khelira's liking, but the denseness made it easier to pick out the taller trees. Flying in a small circle to check all directions, she finally spotted the tall pine Febwin had described.

Dropping down through the trees to the ground, Khelira flattened her wings against her back and smiled. "We are in luck. That tree of yours is just to the north-east of here, perhaps a little less than a mile. Through those trees just behind you would be the best course, I believe," she said, nodding in that direction.

[Anonymous]

Febwin's face lit up, but this time with gratitude.  "Oh, thank you again!" she smiled.  "I don't even want to think about where I'd be without you."  Khelira went up a tree and Febwin lost sight of her for a bit.  When she returned, she remained all smiles and happiness.  "Okay, then, feel free to accompany me."  The faun and her savior headed northeast as had been indicated.

Febwin began to feel more comfortable, so started to make small talk.  "I hope you don't mind my attire, or lack of, as it may be."  She'd caught Khelira's wandering eyes and wasn't sure of what to think about the "see more of you" statement.  "We don't get many outsiders, aside from the people who already know about us, and even they're all eyes when it comes to this kind of thing.  I don't usually wear my shirt unless one of the passing traders comes through the village."  She thought for a moment, "So, why are you in this part of the forest?  You didn't seem to know about my village, so is there another reason?"  All through her talking, she continued to glance fleetingly at her current traveling companion.  She was trying to hold it back, but couldn't help but add another personal question, "What are you, by the way?  I've never seen anyone who looked quite like you do."  She giggled innocently, "Though, I suppose I haven't seen much aside from fauns.  My village isn't known to attract anyone besides the occasional elven, nymph, or human trader."

[Anonymous]

Khelira sighed. "I came here on word that there were fauns in this forest. Or that at least one had been sighted not far from where we are now. You see, my mother was a faun and I have recently been wanting to know more about her people. As for my father, well, I'm not sure any of his people even exist anymore. Except perhaps guarding the castles and...as you can see, I'm not likely to be welcome there." She gestured to herself, as if that was enough of an answer.

"I understand most fauns never wear clothing. It does not bother me. Trust me, I have seen worse in my travels. The jungles in the south, for example... Amazons. Great warrior women and they run around in the nude on a regular basis." She smiled, seeing the look on Febwin's face. She really was an innocent, wasn't she?

[Anonymous]

Febwin grinned.  "That's good.  I don't like wearing it very much," she referred to her only "shirt", years outgrown and very uncomfortable.  At word of Khelira's reason for being there, her face grew a quizzical look.  "So you were looking for my village?"  She smiled again, "Then it was fortuitous for both of us that we ran into each other!"  She looked Khelira up and down as they walked, but mostly up, as the other female was close to a foot taller than she.  "A faun, you say?  I've never seen one with antlers or wings before.  Or was that from your father?  What was he, if not another faun?"  It didn't bother Febwin that Khelira might have been a half breed, and she hadn't really understood what Khelira had meant about guarding castles.  She was merely curious, particularly about a different kind of faun.  She was only aware of the goat-legged variety.

The faun switched the hand she'd been carrying her basket before asking another question.  She was quite the inquisitive woodland dweller.  "So, you just want to know more about your origins?  I'm sure the village elder can help you with that.  I can certainly respect a wish to learn about what makes you who you are.  It seems like noble intention, to me.  I guess it might have to be for someone who would risk themselves for a stranger."  Febwin locked eyes with Khelira and flushed a little as she grinned.

[Anonymous]

"Well, the antlers come from my mother, or at least her side of the family. She was a different variety of faun apparently, half deer instead of goat. My father was a gargoyle. The wings come from him and I can only assume that his blood brought out the antlers, seeing as usually only males have antlers. Or at least, I think they do. I've never seen one before."

Khelira smiled down at Febwin, more at her curiosity than anything. "My origins, yes. They have suddenly become important to me, as if something is trying to tell me that I need to know these things. I hope this elder of yours will be able to help."

[Anonymous]

Febwin scrunched up her face in thought, "A deer faun, huh?  Hmmmm."  She shrugged and returned to looking cheerful, "Well, I've never heard of them, but what's surprising about that?"  She laughed as they broke through the thicker trees.  Skipping ahead a little, she pointed with her free hand at an enormous pine trunk.  "Here it is!  We'll be there sooner than you know it.  I won't get lost from here."  They changed directions and continued walking, "When we get there, I'll take you to see the elder as soon as I take care of that tail of yours.  We don't want it getting infected or anything.  I've got something for that at my house.  But, yes, the elder is much older than me, and he says he's been all over the place.  If anyone knows where you can learn about your people, he does."

[Anonymous]

Khelira smiled and had to pick up her pace a little to keep up with Febwin as she skipped forward. "It's a good thing I came along then, isn't it? Not only did I save you from being killed, but I also helped you find your way home." She smiled down at the faun, not exactly a full and genuine smile, but it was a start.

"Thank you for offering to stitch up my tail, if it requires such attention. It's in a bit of a bad spot for me to do the work myself. I'm afraid though, once I find out what I need to know from your elder, I will have to leave your village...and on my own, perhaps."

[Anonymous]

Grinning like a fool, Febwin giggled, "That's what I meant by fortuitous!  Don't you worry about that tail, though.  I'll take good care of it."  Continuing along, she just shrugged.  "That's okay.  It was nice meeting you, at least.  I'd think traveling alone would be a little dull, but I don't know about you.  I can just hope you do so safely."

With that solemn note, the two of them kept going until Febwin located a well worn trail, indicating that it wouldn't be long.  They finally reached the small, quaint village.  It was rustic and nestled cozily amongst the trees, made to look like just another part of the forest.  Febwin led Khelira to one of the cottages and beckoned her to enter.  The ceiling might have been uncomfortably low for the other woman, but it was clean and inviting.  The faun placed her basket by a basin on a table.  She went to a corner of the one room dwelling and retreived some bandages and a bottle of liquid.  "Go ahead and sit on the bed," she told Khelira.  She planned on taking a seat behind her.  Once that had been completed, Febwin grabbed for the injured tail carefully.  Using a small portion of the bandages as a clean cloth, she poured a little of the pink liquid onto them.  "Brace yourself," she said, "this might sting."  The damp cloths were brushed over the bite wound to clean it of dirt and blood.  Febwin could deal with any squirming.  Finishing that, she used the used cloth as a catch all for the next part.  She poured some of the bottle directly over the wound, and the run-off was soaked up by the bandages she'd already used.  Satisfied that the wound was clean, she started wrapping the leftover dry bandages over the area.  "That should do it.  It'll be better in no time."

[Anonymous]

Khelira nodded and followed silently into the village, pausing a moment to look around at the way these fauns had managed to incorporate their homes into the trees so skillfully. The ceiling of Febwin's home was a bit low and twice, Khelira had to duck quite low to prevent her antlers from knocking into anything as she moved to sit on the bed.

Keeping herself half-turned so she could watch Febwin work, Khelira bit her lip as the faun took hold of her tail. Her tail was extremely sensitive to the touch and a gentle touch such as this was a little arousing. Not that she would admit it to anyone... Her thoughts were pierced by the harsh stinging of the pink liquid, but Khelira held in the scream she longed to let loose, instead growling low in her throat and squeezing her eyes shut tightly. When the wound was at last bandaged and Febwin released her tail, Khelira opened her eyes and managed a smile.

"Thank you again. Might I ask what was in that liquid you used to clean the wound with? It smells a bit strange to me."

[Anonymous]

Febwin knew about the stinging, but couldn't have imagined the sudden slight arousal quickly extinquished by pain in the oddly sensitive limb.  She could only listen to the growling sympathetically.  At the question, she said, "It's distilled berry wine, refined specifically for sterilization.  You could still drink it, and it might be more potent than the normal stuff, but it doesn't taste very good."  Her nose wrinkled at the thought.

"I can take you to the elder, now.  He's not far."  One would readily agree, since everyone's house seemed to be simply across the clearing in the larger than average open area in this part of the forest, however, Febwin led Khelira farther than expected.  They passed more and more of the cottages until she'd seen almost all of the almost 50 dwellings.  The elder's hut happened to be a little outside the village, nestled between two or three old trees.  Febwin approached the door and knocked, "Elder, I have someone who wishes to speak with you."  

After a short moment and hearing some movement within, the door opened to reveal an absolutely ancient-looking male faun.  He, too, was unclothed, and his horns were longer, but very worn.  Squinting at the two, he smiled, "Welcome, Febwin.  It's nice to see you today.  Who is your friend?"  He turned to Khelira and stroked all the down his long goatee.

[Anonymous]

"I take that to mean you've tried some to see what the flavour was like," Khelira asked, as she followed Febwin out of her home. The thought of meeting this elder made Khelira's heart race and it was all she could do to contain herself as they crossed the clearing to the small cottage just on the other side of the village.

She shifted nervously back and forth, fingering the hilt of her sword as she waited for the door to open. When it did, Khelira drew in her breath sharply. There was something about the energy this faun gave off that seemed very powerful and that was something one had to respect. Khelira bowed low, then straightened again, but did not meet the elder's eyes. "I am Khelira. I have come quite a long way to speak with you. Well, not you specifically, but if you can help me, I would be most grateful."

[Anonymous]

"No," Febwin giggled on their way, "but anything that smells like that couldn't possibly taste good."

Khelira introduced herself, and the elder returned her bow, albeit a bit more stiffly due to an old back.  "You honor an old goat with your request.  Please, come inside.  I know it's not quite to your size, but there are chairs and drinks."  The old man smiled and backed out of the doorway, allowing them both entry.  He sat in a worn rocking chair by a table next to two more chairs set up with three earthenware goblets.  It was almost as if he'd been expecting them.  The inside was much more spacious than Febwin's cottage, but the ceiling wasn't really any higher.  Taking one of the goblets, which were filled with a sweet berry wine, he sipped at the liquid before asking, "What is it you wished to ask of me, young lady?"