Promises were made to be kept and, by thunder, Dousan was a buck of his word! Romy was wanting to tag along on an outing and she had nagged at him something fierce. When he had told his scuttle scale companion of his day in the ruins, how he ended up sending the friends he had accompanied to Erli home, how he spent a few hours alone leaving warnings for dangers living and environmental for those who may wander along the same paths, how she had gotten after him so. He had mentioned running across a scout out there, Emmerich, and that the two of them returned to Homewood together safely before nightfall. He didn't go into too much detail, left out some things. In the end, Romy's take away was that Dousan was a damn fool for staying out alone as long as he had and that he should have counted his lucky stars that he had run into that scout out there instead of one of the many predators that the ruins were notorious for. She fussed that he should really think about taking someone else with him if he decided to go out that way again. He agreed wholeheartedly, of course! The buck appeared appropriately contrite and introspective after her fussing, suitably satisfying her worry.
He wouldn't be going out there alone, no. Emmerich had said that he would be willing to out to the ruins with him, whether to just keep an eye on him or to assist in his self imposed project. The companion was welcoming of either option. Emmerich was a busy buck, being an actively patrolling scout. Dousan didn't mind needing to give the tall, dark buck a bit of a warning before venturing out that way. He'd be in very capable hooves and that was well worth a bit of a wait. Since Romy wasn't especially enthused about the idea of the ruins, Dousan offered the idea of her tagging along to a jaunt into the barrens. There was something he was wanting to try out there. Wide open space, all the better to see any potential predators or threats sneaking up on them, and, if they needed to make a quick escape, she could always climb up on his back and hang on as she did. She agreed to that.
Today was the day! Field trip out to the barrens. Dousan had made sure the scuttle scale was contentedly fed and that she was feeling plenty hydrated. The buck had grazed early in the morning, ate a few smaller pieces of juicy, sweet fruit. Romy insisted that he get drink his fill before leaving Homewood. Insisted! Conceding, Dousan followed down an oft travelled path in the direction of a river that ran towards the outskirts of Homewood. The sound of rushing water hit the pair first. Romy padded along next to the buck at his increasingly slowing pace. When she became aware of his slowing, she looked up at her friend. "What's up?"
For a moment, he thought that he had somehow taken a wrong turn, that they inadvertently had ended up in perhaps a portion of Homewood that they didn't normally pass through. No. There were trees that sported the landmarks that the buck was accustomed to. There plants that had cropped up especially on the river side of the trail. Thick stalked, vibrantly green plants with essentially circular leaves that bore white striping dotted the landscape. "Oh! Romy, these are new! New to me, certainly, but perhaps new to Homewood, to Vykeli!" Surely, he hadn't been that preoccupied of late, had he? Shaking his head, he trod through these new plants, drinking in the look of them, the sounds they made when the wind came rustling through them. The companion chuckled as he marveled at the new life.
Romy weaved through the greenery. "You know, if these are new here, they probably aren't going anywhere. Right? Dousan, we were going to the barrens today. These will be here when we get back."
He peered through the sea of nigh circular leaves to his friend and smiled with a sigh. "Of course. Sorry. I can look into these more when we return." Hmm. Or he could do a spot of inspection before heading to the barrens. He moved around to the river and turned to face the clusters of new growth. Focusing his energy, Dousan tapped into his gift. In the span of a blink, his vision was changed. Using infrared, the dim of the well shaded grove cleared and he was able to take in more details as he drank. Intriguing. He stood and looked to his scuttle scale friend and blinked his vision clear. "Maybe we should bring a leaf or two with us? I can endure out in the barrens, but some thick leaves might be nice to have if you need a bit of shade." She side eyed him suspiciously, but after a moment agreed and the pair collected a sample to take with them out to the barrens. Dousan still fully intended to get more information on these later, but he didn't want to risk getting wrapped up with something and forgetting.
[WC: 867]
Reply
