Within the Beauty of Nature (DragonSong)

[KingTyrant]

Neyan nodded. "Oh, I know. It's ok." She smiled, trying her best to show that he had a right to snap at her. After all, she knew how talkative she could be and how tiring it was for some. She stood up straight, politely putting her hands behind her back. "So... Any family? Friends? Do you live anywhere in particular?" She asked, this time slower and calmer.

[DragonSong]

Theoden sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "No, no, and no," he responded shortly, eyes flicking away from her into the trees.

He glanced back at her, brow furrowed a bit as he considered her. "You sure you want to come along? I can't imagine this is going to be very interesting to you."

[KingTyrant]

Neyan nodded, still looking at him happily. "Yeah! I mean... I love nature. And the outdoors. It'll be fun!" She ensured him, still trying to keep from getting too excited. After all, she didn't want to make him angry again. "So... Are we ready to go?"

She didn't know why... But this man intrigued her. Made her curiosity spark. Perhaps it was his unique appearence, or his strange personality. Either way, she just wanted to learn more about him.

Neyan giggled, blinking and tilting her head. "Well? Are we going or not? Huh? Huh? Huh?" She asked, poking his arm and giggling even louder. She stopped herself, trying to remember that he didn't enjoy the playing around. She cleared her throat. "Um... Sorry."

[DragonSong]

Sighing, Theoden forced himself to take a fortifying breath and offered her a quick, slightly awkward smile. "Alright. Just- follow me, and try to keep quiet, alright? Don't step on any sticks or anything of you can manage it."

[KingTyrant]

She gave a cute little salute. "Sir, yes sir!" She exclaimed, looking down at her feet as they began to walk, looking quite ridiculous as she avoided any dead leaves or stray twigs and sticks. She looked around at the trees, eyes narrowed as she seemed to be looking for prey. Not that she had any clue how to hunt.

[DragonSong]

Theoden's lips twitched a bit despite himself as he looked back at her. "Just- step where I step," he suggested, voice low and quiet, more a rumble in his chest than anything else.

[KingTyrant]

Neyan nodded at his words. He knew better than she did, therefor she was in no place to protest. She stepped wherever his feet had lifted from, making sure to be as quiet as possible so she wouldn't scare any prey off. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a massive deer. The first she had seen this far into the forest.

Neyan smiled with glee. This was her chance to prove she wasn't useless to this man! At least not entirely. She stopped walking, cupping her hands around her mouth and looking at Theoden. "Psst!" She exclaimed quietly, then pointed at the creature.

Her eyes widened as the deer whipped its head at them, flicking an ear. She instinctively ducked, hoping the creature wouldn't be too spooked. It kept looking in their direction, thankfully going back to munching on the shrubs at its hooves. She sighed thankfully, wiping the sweat that had beaded at her forehead from nervousness and stress.

[DragonSong]

Theoden whipped around to glare at the woman, then held very still, doing his best not to spook the stag anymore than she had already.

He shook his head at her and kept walking, waving for her to follow. When there was some distance between them and the deer, he murmured, "Count the points. Anything less than four or more than eight and we leave it be."

The bucks were too young to fetch much coin, not to mention they deserved the chance to grow into their antlers before they were hunted. And stags with more than ten points were sacred, or at least that was the superstition. He wasn't particularly spiritual, but he knew better than to mess with forest lore.

[KingTyrant]

Neyan nodded, counting the points slowly. She smiled gleefully, seeing the points add up to six, three on each antler. The sunlight cut through an open space in the trees, highlighting the deer brightly, giving it a very majestic look as it peacefully munched on the grass. She waited, excited to see Theoden in action with that bow once again.

[DragonSong]

Silently taking aim, Theoden paused a moment, not even breathing, and said a silent prayer of thanks to whatever gods may be listening, then loosed the arrow.

It was a clean shot. The buck was dead before he hit the ground. Letting out the breath he'd been holding, Theoden shouldered his bow and moved toward it.

[KingTyrant]

"Yes! That was awesome!" Neyan let out her excitement, jumping up and giving a little fist-pump. She paused, covering her mouth with her hands. "Sorry!" She whispered, grinning nervously. Seeing such a perfect shot just fascinated her... Then she saw the dead deer...

She gave a small huff, frowning at the carcass. She understood the principles of hunting, but she hated seeing things die in such a brutal fashion. Like she had said before, she loved nature. Every bird, tree, cloud, rock, and even the tiniest of bugs. She could handle it, but it still slightly saddened her. "Poor thing..." She mumbled, scratching her arm slightly as she stared at the dead animal.

[DragonSong]

Bending to heft the deer over his shoulder, Theoden paused and glanced at her. After a moment, he cleared his throat and mumbled, "If it make you feel any better, I'm a good shot. Probably didn't feel a thing."

[KingTyrant]

"I sure hope not..." Neyan mumbled, walking over to him and giving a warm smile. "What now? It's getting dark, dark, dark! Maybe we should set up camp for the night? Ooh! Have some deer jerky! I love deer jerky! Sure, it gets caught in my teeth, but... I love it!" She exclaimed, now deciding to let her bottled-up enthusiasm out after holding it in for far too long.

She wasn't wrong about it getting dark. During their little fiasco with the buck, the sky had turned a pale orange, the sun hiding somewhere out of view. Not only would they need to prepare some form of food, they would need firewood and a place to set up camp. Tiring stuff... But Neyan didn't seem to mind helping.

She paused, remembering her new friend's little wound from earlier. "Ooh! Ooh! Your side! Does it still hurt...? I have potions, you know! Maybe I could find something for pain relief!" She said, getting right in his face as she stood on her tip-toes to try and match his height. Even with this, he still dwarfed her. She was definately a Connlaothian, no doubt about that. The short frame, the blonde hair, the pale skin... It was unmistakable. It was to the level where any sane person would be puzzled at the idea of her being anything but an industry worker. A mage? Not typical Connlaothian practice.

[DragonSong]

Theoden took several paces back from her, eyes wide. "Camp is a good idea," he rumbled, glancing around and setting off down a game trail. "But you'll probably still want to keep quiet. Most hunters come out at night."

[KingTyrant]

Neyan blinked, a shiver running down her spine. Most hunters... As in... People? Or animals? She didn't wanna find out. She just nodded rapidly, keeping her mouth shut like he suggested and continuing down the trail with him. She stuck close to his side, giving him a friendly grin every now and then as they walked. She sensed how awkward around people Theoden was... She planned on changing that. She planned on becoming his friend and breaking him out of his awkward shell. Well... Hopefully.

She stopped, seeing a large clearing just off to the side of the trail. She poked his side. "There?" She asked, blinking at him. Without waiting for an answer, she skipped off. She went around trees, over bushes, and through hanging moss as she reached the clearing. It didn't look very comfortable. As a matter of fact, it was hauntingly barren. No grass, no shrubs, just... Dirt. Dirt and rock. "This place is giving me the heebie-jeebies..." She mumbled.

[DragonSong]

Rolling his eyes, Theoden sighed and followed after her. It was like trying to keep track of an overly energetic puppy.

He stilled as he entered the clearing, eyes flicking around. "Hey, lady- Neyan, c'mere," he order, holding his hand out to her.

This wasn't natural.

[KingTyrant]

Neyan slowly backstepped, taking Theoden's hand and sticking close to his side. She was shaking... Visibly shaking. It was no secret that Neyan was easily scared, but this place was different. It just looked vile... Ghostly... Demonic. It was the type of place that nobody would want to step foot in.

"Th-Theoden...? What's going on...?" She whimpered, looking up at him with her big, blue eyes, holding onto his arm with a death-grip.

[DragonSong]

The elf shook his head, frowning, and automatically tucked her back behind him, taking a few steps backward and herding her along. "I don't know. But I don't like this place."

He shook his head again. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

[KingTyrant]

Neyan agreed with everything he said. She walked back the way they came, wanting to be free of this place once and for all. That was, until she realized something... If this place truly was evil, then there would be demons, or angry spirits. Since they had set foot in this strange, barren circle, did that mean a spirit was following them now?

She gulped, pulling on Theo's sleeve. "A-Are we cursed now...? I'm sorry, Theoden! I should've never run out here without your permission!" She apologized, holding onto his sleeve tightly as she closed her eyes and shook her head. She immediately paused, hearing a strange, crackling noise near the center of the circle.

She turned, her eyes widening as the earth began to split and divide, a bright, blue light visible beneath the shattered pieces of what used to be the ground. The splits grew in size, expanding to where they stood. She screamed, suddenly falling onto her rear end as the ground buckled beneath her. As more and more of the earth fell apart, what was revealed seemed to be a portal, of sorts. She dug her nails into the dirt, reaching out for Theoden as she screamed, slowly sliding towards the portal. "No! Theoden!"

[DragonSong]

Theoden didn't get the chance to tell her she hadn't one anything wrong, really- and urge her to be quiet again before chaos erupted.

"What the hell?!" He grabbed for the woman's arm and hauled her to her feet, dragging her along with him as he turned his back to the cracking ground and started running.