It Takes One To Know One

[Draconian]

Gardenia had her face in her cup and she looked up at him surprised written on the top half of her face. Curious and a little confused she waited for him to return and stared at him, a little shocked and touched that he'd brought her out clothing. It was weird to accept clothing from a stranger but, she smiled at him brightly and took it after placing her mug down and scooping the blueberries from her skirt.

Perhaps they belonged to a lover? They were clearly mens clothes. Gardenia gave Soren a sideways glance while holding the clothing, actually taking in how he looked instead of how nice he'd been. Attractive, but as a High Lord's daughter she was always having young lords and good looking men parading around her, practically peacocking. Soren was nice and Gardenia appreciated that more than how he looked or how he was a strange forest man.

"Thank you," Gardenia looked down at the clothing, looked at him and then looked to were the stream had been. "I'm going to change into these." She held up the clothing and stood up, quickly walking to where they'd been, out of sight from the camp which meant Soren wasn't going to see more than he'd bargained for.

Carefully Gardenia undressed, placing her dress and shoes down carefully before looking around - there might be more strange forest men - and tugging the shirt on, pulling the trousers on, putting the belt on and finally slipping her feet into the boots. They were a little too big, but they were better than the tight heels she'd worn before. Frowning at the laces she stared for a moment. She'd never worn boots before and while she could tie bows, laces weren't for fancy bows.

Then she heard it.

A crack of a branch. Something so simple sent her heart racing.

Her head whipped up and before she was thinking she was running back to the camp, shoe laces untied and looking frantic. Her voice was a hissing whisper, "Soren. I heard something. I... Can... Can we go? Can we go now? They..." She looked back to where she'd run from and shuffled closer to him, "What if they followed me? What if they know who I am?" Gardenia's mind raced a million miles a minute, "What if they know what I am?"

[kleineklementine]

"Whoa whoa whoa. Slow down! What are you talking about?"

Soren was startled by Gardenia's sudden reappearance. Especially the state she was in! And practically tripping over the untied boots. "What if 'who' find you? What do you mean - 'who you are, what you are'? Look at you, you already look like more of a nobody and less of a wealthy merchant's daughter or noble lady, if that's what you mean," he told her, giving her a reassuring smile.

That's when the lurking menace showed itself, eyes flashing green in the firelight from where it watched them between the branches, in the shadow of the forest.

"See, look," Soren insisted, placing a hand on her shoulder and pointing to the spying intruder. The red deer, a doe, flicked one of her ears lazily, watching them for another moment, then slowly turned her head and moved on. From the forest the sound of a few others could be heard. "Just a couple of deer. You're alright." He squeezed her shoulder, not entirely able to suppress a grin. "Going to be a long four days for you, huh?"

[Draconian]

Gardenia was chewing on her lower lip so much it'd gone raw and red, the corner of it bleeding from just a bit too much pressure from her teeth. Her hands went to his arms and she held tightly, letting her head drop down while he tried to reassure her. A few shaky breaths and she looked down at herself. Soren was right, she did look like a nobody. Almost a bit like a young boy if it weren't for the bust. A few steady deep breaths she was still worried about the idea of attacker.

It was a deer.

His smile, which should have made her angry or feel ashamed only made to feel her better. "I... Maybe." Gardenia pressed her hands to her face, rubbing her palms to her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I... reacted. I wasn't thinking. I just heard a noise and... I ran somewhere safe." Which was Soren and as much as she assumed he didn't enjoy it, he was her only safe place at the moment. Gardenia looked over her shoulder, her dress and shoes were still by the river and she didn't want to go get them.

"How do I tie the shoes?" She looked down at the boots, her worries about being found and kidnapped momentarily alleviated. Onto a mundane topic.

[kleineklementine]

"Don't worry about it," Soren assured her, still trying to suppress a grin as the rest of the deer passed the camp. "You had a big scare today. Of course you're still jumpy. That's only natural. Alright?" He squeezed her shoulder, trying to turn his grin into a reassuring smile.

But that effort was completely dashed when she asked him how to tie the boots. And his 'reassuring smile' was quickly replaced with a mildly amused, lopsided grin. She was softer than he would have thought! Didn't young ladies at least go riding anymore? "Here," he said, chuckling a little, though not unkindly. Extracting himself from her grip, he knelt down and pulled the boot laces tight, then slowly tied the boots so she could watch and see how it was done. "Piece of cake," he told her with a wink.

When Soren got back to his feet, he clapped Gardenia on the shoulder then trundled off to where she'd left her dress and shoes. Returning a moment later, he handed the folded garments over to the girl. "Why don't you try to get some sleep?" he suggested. He glanced over at the shelter. The relatively small shelter, then offered. "I'll stay out here." Then added with a knowing grin, "Keep my eyes open for any more killer deer."

[Draconian]

The wink caught her off guard and she blushed. Gardenia opened her mouth to say thank you but no sound came out, instead she smiled and nodded. It was indeed a piece of cake. Then, the blush was gone and she was clapped on the shoulder, it threw her forward slightly  and she stared as he went away. Was he leaving her here? Gardenia reached out to grab his shirt to keep him here, but it was no good. He was gone.

Or just left to get her dress.

The look she gave him was surprise and she felt her chest grow tight. She hadn't even asked him and he went and... Gardenia hugged her dress to her chest and she took a deep breath, before she let it out in a soft sigh. Mentally exhausted she didn't hesitant at his suggestion of rest and gave him a polite bow. "Thank you Soren, I think I'll do that." His grin made her smile and she had the good graces to blush again and stick her tongue out at him about the killer deer.

Gardenia didn't hesitate to curl up in the shelter, tucking her dress under her head and curling up into a ball to take up as little space as possible and was asleep soon enough.

[kleineklementine]

Soren just gave her a last reassuring smile for the night before she disappeared into the shelter to sleep. Telling get to have a good night or sleep well just didn't seem appropriate given her night's events.

Soren settled back down after banking the fire for the night. He stayed up for awhile, keeping a lookout for killer deer, but eventually he, too, fell asleep.

And the next morning, when she woke, Gardenia wouldn't find a strange forest man outside of the shelter. She'd find a great, black furred wolf.

[Draconian]

Gardenia's eyes snapped open and she looked around, confused.

Then everything crashed in at once and she sat up and looked around quickly. Her dress was still where shed put it to use it as a pillow. She was wearing the pants and the boots and the shirt Soren had left her. Slowly she pressed her hands to her stomach, taking deep breaths before squeezing her eyes shut and finally leaving the shelter.

That wasn't Soren.

That was so very much not at all Soren.

Gardenia stared, terrified for a moment.

There was no blood though. A different kind of reason for her heart thumped through her chest and her hands trembled. There was no way. Of all the people she could have found, there was no way. Her mouth opened and she got into a stance, ready to run away just in case it wasn't what she thought it was, though a part of her hoped beyond all hopes. "Soren? Is..." She swallowed, feeling a little silly for talking to a wolf, "Is that you?"

[kleineklementine]

The wolf snoozed contentedly, curled up where it lay, until the young noble lady emerged from the shelter. Then the wolf seemed just as startled as the girl realizing it was... a wolf! And probably shouldn't be. Like a frightened wild animal, it leapt to is paws, scurrying backwards away from the human intruder. It's hackles raised and it let out a low, defensive growl.

This wasn't all for show. When Soren changed, it wasn't only his body that changed. His mind became... wolfish, too. Not entirely a wolf, but not entirely a man, either.

However, the wolf paused - if only for a moment - when she addressed him as Soren. She knew. How could she know? Keeping this part of him hidden wasn't only a matter of embarrassment (though it was certainly also that), but of survival. In a superstitious country like Adela, people were liable to think a man who turned into a wolf wad cursed, or else possessed by demons. Maybe he was. Soren hadn't ruled either out. But something in Gardenias tone was different. That was why he paused.

But no. It was too risky. The wolf growled once more, then scampered away, disappearing into the forest.

Now what? Soren was getting a little better at controlling his changing, but he still couldn't really do it on command. And... oh no. His clothes. They must still be at the camp somewhere. Carefully, the wolf crept back, keeping to the undergrowth. There, maybe a meter and a half from the camp clearing were his things. He must have kicked them off. Keeping his belly to the ground, he slunk closer until he could grab the things in his jaw. Then scampered off again.

Once he was back in the forest, there was nothing to do but pace. Willing himself as hard as he could to become a man!

[Draconian]

"No, don't run away!" Gardenia called, reaching out but the wolf was gone to fast and she stood there, looking concerned and still just a little bit happy. It didn't occur to her that maybe Soren as a puppy wasn't like Gardenia as a puppy.  Still, she wanted to help. Gardenia had a moment of fear before she looked up at the sky.

There was no full moon. So, he was the same, but... Not the same.

Taking a deep breath she sat on the ground, looking at the embers of dead fire. Maybe she should wait? Gardenia pushed her hands through her hair and the rustling caught her attention.

That Soren wolf was running away. With clothes.

Quietly she stood up and followed him, careful foot steps, slow movements. Finally when she got closer she got down to her knees and held out a hand. "Soren?" A normal would wouldn't be running around with clothes. "I know it's you. You don't have to be afraid of me."  She wiggled her fingers at him. Gardenia knew she enjoyed having her ears scratched, maybe he did too?

[kleineklementine]

Gods, she was chasing after him?! What happened to the jumpy noble lady girl who was afraid of a deer? What was with all these teenage girls running into forests chasing after wolves?! Was this just something all girls went through that he never knew about? Like with horses or something?

But the wolf didn't stop long when Gardenia got down on her knees and stretched out a hand. The black-furred animal stopped only long enough to turn its sharp golden eyes towards her, and give out a short warning huff. Then it sprang back to its paws. This time the wolf didn't just run into the forest, but specifically dove into a dense undergrowth that Gardenia wouldn't be able to follow through. It hoped! Plus, she wouldn't really be willing to go that far from the camp, right?

Just in case she did try to keep following, the wolf turned, circling around until it was back at the stream, upstream of their camp. Here it stopped, looking back into the forest. Now what? His first instinct, of course, being the schmuck that he was, was to just abandon the whole endeavor. Sure, he might not get paid, but he also wouldn't end up burned at the stake when some innocent-looking girl claimed to be kidnapped by the wolf-man. It'd be too bad for Gardenia, but she wasn't his responsibility. It was unfortunately, but he hadn't been the one to raid her coach and kill her driver. Sure, he'd been willing to help her while it was advantageous to him, but...

But...

Well, maybe he would just keep tabs on her. That was easy to do as a wolf. Just, as long as it suited him, that was. She'd have to get herself to Opal Run or wherever or...

While the wolf was running through these options, perched tense on the edge of the stream, it was too focused on these human thoughts (always harder for the wolf to process) to notice the change about to happen. And, mid-excuse-making, Soren-the-wolf became Soren-the-man and, with his balance changed, Soren-the-man fell backwards into the stream. His clothes, at least, fell on the bank. He surfaced with a glum feeling. Knowing that, he couldn't really leave her.

Well... He was wet now. He'd say he'd gone to bathe. And just deny everything. Sure, why not? As long as he was consistent? She might think she was going crazy, but it'd just be the shock! Either way, that'd be her problem. Right? Ugh. Why couldn't he just leave her there?! Why was doing the 'right' thing always the worst?

So Soren, damp and shaking water from his hair with a casual hand, returned to the camp, 'surprised' to find Gardenia gone. He called out in an 'alarmed' voice, since he was very 'surprised.' "Gardenia? Gardenia?!"

Sure, this would definitely work.

[Draconian]

Oh no.

Gardenia stood up quickly, her hand still out. Why was he running away? How could she tell him she understood what was going on if he kept running away? "Noooo, don't go under there!" A quiet sigh and she stared at the undergrowth. Should she follow? Everything in her compelled her to follow. So she tried. A few scratches later, Soren was gone and she sighed heavily. Shoulders slumped, a new scratch on her cheek she looked miserable.

Was he gone forever? "Soren?" She looked around a little bit more before she meandered back to camp, her head down and looking a little bit crestfallen. Her hand went to her cheek and she dabbed at the scratch, deep enough to draw blood. Another sigh and she looked up, frowning when she heard his voice. He could talk while he was a wolf?

And it was coming from camp.

Maybe if she... Gardenia started to sneak, taking slow careful steps, making sure to stay obscured by the trees. Finally, she was close enough and she jumped from the trees, wrapping her arms around Soren waist, since she had planned on catching whatever it was a little lower. "HA! I caught you! You can't run.... Now?" There was a man in her arms. Gardenia didn't let go, instead she stared up at him, confused. Wearing clothes. Well, not that wearing clothes was a bad thing, in fact she was glad he was wearing clothes.

"But... You were just..." Her cheeks took on a red tinge and she slowly removed her arms from him, taking a few steps back, looking around. "You... There was." She grew even more red, had that really been a wolf? She'd just went and chased a real wolf? " I..." Her mouth opened and closed and she noticed the wet hair. "I'm sorry. I... Was expecting something that... Wasn't a man."

[kleineklementine]

Soren made an audible 'oof!' when Gardenia flung herself onto him. Then he just looked at her with bewildered confusion as she went on about how she'd 'caught him' and he 'couldn't run now!' as though he had no idea what she was talking about. As though he hadn't been there for everything she'd talked about!

"Are you... okay, Gardenia?" he asked, looking bemused and a little concerned. But then, as if to offset the embarrassment she clearly felt, he gave her a lopsided smile. "I won't pretend I've never had a woman call me a 'beast' before, but I hope I haven't already been so bad to you."

He gave a slightly awkward laugh, mussing his damp hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to give you a scare. I just went to the stream to bathe. It's not far away, I should have heard if anything happened. But it sounds like maybe I was wrong," he said, frowning with concern. This was ridiculous, Soren. Pretending like he had no idea. But he was committed to it now. "Did something happen? You have a scratch," he pointed to the same place on his own cheek. "Everything okay?"

[Draconian]

Surely he was playing with her. Gardenia's face fell and she looked absolutely crestfallen. Like some tiny spark of hope had been there, some glimmer of familiarity had been taken away. Though she masked it, her heart ached and she felt stupid for thinking that even for a few moments that wolf could have been Soren. That a complete stranger would be able to relate to her in a way that no one else ever could. "I'm okay I was just... I was mistaken," She offered him a small polite smile before turning her face away, still bright red with embarrassment.

Her hand went to to where he indicated, "There was a cute rabbit." She lied, looking in the general direction the wolf had gone. Maybe she could still catch it? Bring it home to be a pet. Her dad denied her nothing, surely he would let her have a lonely wolf for a pet. "I wanted to bring it home and tell it all sorts of secrets but it got away." Pulling her hand away from her cheek she looked at the small amount of blood. She wiped it on her pants because they weren't all that pretty anyway. "I tried to chase it but..." Gardenia shrugged, "Oh well."

Was everything okay? "Everything is fine, Soren, thank you." I only want you to be able to turn into a wolf, nothing huge. Gardenia cleared her throat and pressed her hands to her pants, smiling off to the side. "Do... We leave soon? Find food on the way?"

[kleineklementine]

Soren could barely keep his neutral, ignorantly bemused countenance. Something about the way she was lying to him was, well, heartbreaking. It didn't make sense to him, though. She should look relieved that he wasn't some sort of wolf-man monster! Why did she seem so sad instead? Why was she lying about it? Did she believe his bluff? He couldn't even tell.

He was silent for a moment. Should he tell her? But... no. It was too risky. For both of them! he told himself. He she got scared by the wolf-man and ran away alone into the forest, who knew what would happen to her? It was much better for him to lie and keep her safe. Though he couldn't help but think that it didn't seem like she would run away. After all, she'd chased after the wolf, hadn't she?

No, he pushed the thought away.

"Tell all your secrets to a rabbit?" he asked, still wearing a vague grin that disgusted him now. How could he keep this up? He was the worst. "I guess they do have 'listening' ears."

He tried to give her a kind smile. An understanding smile? He wasn't sure. He just wanted her to stop looking so crestfallen. Best to turn her attention back to the task at hand! Everyone was always happier with a task. "There's a spot we can stop and eat a little way on. A nice trout run. We can combine breakfast and lunch if it's okay with you. I do actually have another camp between here and Opal Run, but we won't get there until tomorrow night. So we'll have to rough it tonight, I'm afraid. You ready to head out?"

[Draconian]

The comment about a rabbit's ears got him an odd look from Gardenia until she remembered how big they were. How unintentional. She gave a small smile, entertained by the way he caught that and she just nodded. "Yeah. Their big listening ears." That was a good of an excuse as any. She'd only picked rabbits because those were way less dangerous than wolves.

If that wolf hadn't been Soren... How crazy would he think her if she told him she'd chased one? He'd probably leave her in the forest! Gardenia took a deep breath, her cheeks puffing out in the process before she blew all the air out in one great sigh. "I'm ready." She looked to her dress and shoes, frowning slightly, not really interested in taking those with her. Though... Gardenia moved to the shelter to get her little coin purse from the pile of clothes.

Reaching the front of her shirt she held it open and dropped the coin purse down. The overly large shirt was tucked into the pants and she was almost positive she'd notice it falling out of a pant leg. Gardenia returned, resting her hands on her hips and gave Soren a nod, "Okay. Now I'm ready." Her rubbed her hands together and looked around, not at all sure about what he wanted to bring with him, if anything.

"I'm okay with just going." A small smile, eager to get going now. Before, when she thought he was a wolf, a weight was off her shoulders, now, being as unsure as she was, not turning around him would be a good idea. "Tomorrow night?" Gardenia stared at him for a moment, giving a tally, though pausing to actually use her fingers. Today was one day, tonight was one night. There were three days before the full moon, which meant... On the night of the third day.

"I like trout!" Both ways, Gardenia having eaten her fair share in the middle of the night as her more furry self.

[kleineklementine]

Soren was hoping that his relief didn't show. It seemed that, at least for now, she was really buying that he wasn't the wolf. He couldn't help but notice the change in her demeanor, though. Despite how fervently he wanted to not notice it. Well... it didn't really matter, right? As long as she was safe, as long as he could get paid in the end, that's all he really cared about, right? Of course it was. And, more importantly, he'd have a better chance of getting her where she was going safely by pretending to be a normal man! Of course! Keep her from running away.

Yes, that's what he'd tell himself.

So Soren just gave her a smile, then, when she was done, slipped into the shelter himself to fill a small rucksack with supplies. A hunting knife, some basic line and tackle for the trout, some flint and tinder, that sort of thing... And, just to be on the safe side, he scrounged around until he found a corked bottle full of some amber liquor. Better take that, too. You never knew.

Then he turned down the camp, and they could set off. Soren didn't strike up conversation as they went along. Normally he might, but his earlier awkwardness was tenfold now, after the wolf incident. To try to excuse his silence, he walked ahead a bit, as though he were forging the way. Of course, this wasn't really necessary as this part of the forest was fairly open. Still! He didn't know what else to do. As he promised, though, it didn't take much more than an hour to reach the trout run. The forest cleared a bit approaching the run; a swiftly moving stream consisting of steps and pools with crystal clear water.

Soren dropped his rucksack and looked back to Gardenia with a half-smile. "What job do you want - catching the fish, or gutting them?" His smile turned into a grin. As though he could expect a youn noble lady to do either! "Just kidding. But you think if I start a fire you can tend it?"

[Draconian]

By the time they got to their supposed location Gardenia was exhausted. Face flushed, a light sweat. At least she wasn't in an awful sticky dress. Her hair was a mess and while she kept tucking it behind her ears it kept falling forward. The stream looked delicious and refreshing and it was tempting to just jump in. Still, that would make her clothes all wet and the only alternative was getting naked and she wasn't about to do that!

The question got her to stand ramrod straight and she just stared at Soren silently. "You want me to...." And then he was kidding and she visibly sagged, blowing out a breath to calm herself. She's barely handled a knife, let alone gutted something. She wasn't even sure what bits were supposed to come out! "I could tend to a fire."

Though part of her wanted to watch him fish. Perhaps talk. The silent treatment she'd gotten on the walk had her keeping as quiet as she could. He wasn't do this to be nice. He was doing this for money. Gardenia could understand that. Still, having a conversation would be nice. Swallowing she rubbed her hands against her legs and rolled up her sleeves the best she could so they wouldn't get dirty from any forest things she'd have to do. "When we finish, are we going to be off again?"

[kleineklementine]

Gardenia's fears about further silent treatment would be alaid as Soren built the fire only a few crystal waters of the trout run. He hadn't been meaning to give her the silent treatment, per se. He just didn't know what to say to her! And not talking at all seemed to be Soren's best bet for not somehow lying to or deceiving someone. He didn't find the silence particularly comfortable, either, but he couldn't get the look of her face after he'd lied about not being the wolf out of his head.

"We can rest a bit if you still need to," Soren answered as he finished building the fire, "but it's probably better to keep going. Either way, we'll stop here for nearly an hour, between catching, cleaning, cooking, and of course eating the fish," he assured her with a smile. "Still need to put a decent amount of distance behind us today. But if it's too much for you," he said, not unkindly, as he drew the fishing line out of his rucksack, "we can go a bit slower. It'll make the journey a day longer or so, though."

[Draconian]

After the fire was built, Gardenia took up a stick and went about occasionally poking at it. An hour would do fine. She smiled at Soren and absentmindedly bit at her lower lip, drawing it between her teeth and looking between him and the fire. And then her on fire stick. She blew that out quickly enough.  Curiously she watched him grab things from his bag and was about to agree to going a bit slower.

A whole day longer?

Gardenia looked back at the fire. "I'll ... Give it some thought." And so she went quiet and stared intently at the fire while Soren went and did his fish thing. The chances of turning too close to town were a thing if they were going the course they were. Did she want to be a monster so close to civilization? It would be easier to explain it to one person than a whole group of people who saw the strange antlered beast. She gave the fire a poke and sat and waited. Maybe taking a little longer would work.

That way there would be ample time for Soren to run away from her, but she'd still know the general direction of Opal Run. That could work, right? Gardenia could last for a day on her own, right? Maybe they could go slower. She'd tell him the evening of the full moon. And... That would give him a bit of time to run away. Another poke at the fire and she decided, her shoulders were squared and she looked much more sure of herself, even when she reached to touch the hot end of the stick, only to hiss and pop the burnt finger in her mouth. She plucked the finger from her mouth and gave her finger an accusatory look, "I don't know what I was expecting. That was fire."

[kleineklementine]

Soren just nodded to Gardenia's decision that she'd think about whether to take more time or not. He watched her out of the corner of her eye as he let the line out into the water. He saw the way she chewed her lip and poked absent-mindedly at the fire. To Soren's eyes, he thought she seemed nervous about the idea of spending more time in the forest. That must be it, right? He couldn't quite tell, but what else would a young noble lady have to worry about? And after the 'killer deer' incident, it seemed she hadn't spent much time in the forest before. Why should she have?

He shot her a smile, though, when she burnt her finger on the fire. "Yeah, it has a tendency to do that," he said with a bit of a chuckle. Then, deciding a bit of chit-chat might put her at ease - and, truth be told, maybe him too - he looked back over his shoulder at her. "Tell me, Miss Gardenia, you don't spend much time out in the wilds, do you? I don't imagine many young ladies do, I suppose."