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Kernyel woke early in the morning and smiled in anticipation. She was ready in five minutes flat, even including washing up. As she tied off the end of her long braid, she looked expectantly at her companions, impatient to be off. It would be a good day, she thought to herself. And without further adieu, she was off and headed north on the road to domachi with two new companions, humming an intricate and mysterious tune to herself. It would remind most listeners of rain on tree leaves and waves lapping lazily at the shore. Her spirits where high again; a time to be cherished by any who stuck around long enough to see her shiftyness...

((My day's been tough; someone else come up with an interesting occurrance, please...))

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Jaster awoke early that morning. He sat out front, by the door, and removed his platemail. He tediously polished every facet; he wanted to look his absolute best going out into the world with two new comrades. He finished with his polishing, and put the platemail back on. He sheathed his sword behind his back, and hung his crossbow by his side. He straightened everything twice, then did it again. Finally, he decided he was ready. He stood out front and waited for Kernyel and Alhana. He didn't have long to wait for Kernyel, as she came through the door ready. She looked like she wanted to be off with them, so Jaster made no argument. All he said was, "Milady, I don't think Alhana is quite prepared to be off yet." He flashed a toothy grin and looked round. It was only here and now that he suddenly noticed the absence of the shadows attacking him. Now that he thought on it, they hadn't attacked him for a few days. He looked at Kernyel, then back at the cabin where Alhana lay. Providing everything went well, this was already looking to be a change in things for him.

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((First off, Alhana uses an elven form. No one expects a hawt elf chick to smash through someone's plate armor. xp Oh, and it happens, don' worry about it. ))

Alhana had only the guise of sleep. She had always found that when one had their eyes closed, their hearing became sharper. Dragons were no different.

Her eyes opened, blinked a few times, and focused on Kernyel. Finding something pressing in Kernyel's eyes, she sat up, and yawned, feigning sleep. "Yes, Kernyel?" She asked with a quiet voice, hoping to not disturb Jaster..

Quite frankly, when the three companions were traveling, she had found Kernyel to be too childish for a traveling companion. Maybe when Teir was still under her hands, and Auren's as well. That shot a lightning bolt of pain, where Auren's soul used to reside within her.

That bolt of pain was reflected in Alhana's eyes, tried as she had to hide it.

Alhana chuckled softly. It was not to be mean or anything. "Teir is a blasted, cursed place. The land is recovering, and there are still many demons running around making fools of themselves. You see, fifteen years ago we killed their lord and master. Well, I didn't, but I was part of the group who had been with the Priestess. I didn't go to the island of Laos, since I was still grieving for Auren. But I digress. Since their lord and master are gone, so is the majority of power. Many of them try to feed off the fear, pain and terror of creature, men, women, and children. I kill them when I can, but that's not often. They stopped showing up right about the time my son left home."

Alhana stood up from her camp blankets. She had wisely decided not to sleep in her natural form. She didn't need her two companions to flip out and run in terror. That would not have been productive. Not at all.

"Speaking of mourning for Auren... You may or may not want to watch this." Alhana said quietly. She took out a knife that was painted black on one side, and seemed that it could've easily blended into heavy armor, roughly one and a half times heavier then Jaster's plate, and built much differently. She then ran the blade along her palm, and pushed heavily into it. The cut obviously started bleeding, and she put the knife away. Squeezing some of the blood onto the ground, she took her other hand and dipped her fingers in it, to run the blood along her cheek-bones. It was Auren's way of mourning something, to signify something lost forever such as a loved one.

Kernyel let out a long-held breath. She simply nodded at Alhana's answers in satisfaction. It was a with a quiet stoicism that she bore witness to Alhana's act of remembrance/mourning. It was not her way, but she could understand loss keenly, and she was somewhat honored that Alhana had let her observe this ritual.

"thank you, Alhana. You have eased my mind somewhat. I apologise for keeping you up, please rest." She walked quietly away from the beautiful woman to let her rest, walking the quiet paces of her watch until the time came to awaken Jaster.

She leaned over him and quietly spoke his name, hoping that would wake him. After a few failed attempts, she realized it would take a bit more and so with a small look of regret, she shoved him hard with her foot, right in his ribs. When he was finally awake, she went to her pallet and laid herself down next to Alhana, inhaling the sweet, tangy scent that drifted on the wind tonight as she fell quietly away into sleep.

Jaster was up, and more than ready to stand watch. It was really what he did. Fight. Battle. Wage war. He thought to himself, and decided that it wasn't so much that he enjoyed it, but that since it was all he had ever done, he expected it. So he watched, and waited patiently for something to call his attention. It wasn't long before Alhana got up and walked off. She said not a word, and Jaster merely watched her. He was sure she was capable by herself, and decided that just in case, he would extend his patrol to encompass where she had meandered off to as well. The next watch was Alhana's, but Jaster was not tired, and Alhana had finally fallen asleep. Jaster was a slight bit shocked at finding Alhana in her natural form, but managed to stay quiet and decided to not say anything about it. He would let them rest. After all, it was the gentlemanly thing to do. He smiled to himself. What a gentleman he was, yes. Cutting men down merely because they stood between him and what he stood for. They stood for something as well, but they suffered a cold death at his blade for it. Well, at least he tried. He smirked, and walked back to the main encampment.

The night was growing deeper and her companions were dozing quietly around a warm fire when Kernyel finally got around to asking him about Kealie. The look on Sturaz's face was enough to make her wish she'd bitten her tongue off long ago. It was like thunderclouds entered his countenance and his eyes actually began to tear up. "She's...she's gone, Nyela...." He stopped and cleared his thoat harshly before continuing. "she was killed a few months ago in a raid on Shurie." he trailed off and his fists were clenched. "I tried to hunt them down, Nyela, i really did...Found a few too," he said darkly, "But the leader, he's gone and i haven't been able to track him down..." She gripped his hand fiercely and couldn't speak...her eyes and his said it all.

She remembered Shurie. A small, poor village on the edge of the plains, set far off from most other settlements. It wasn't so poor as to struggle for existance, but it was no flourishing center of activity either. Kealie had been like a sister to Kernyel, and Sturaz's lover since shortly after she'd first befriended him. She always hoped they'd be married by now, but she never suspected this!

She looked around at her companions, trying to gage their reactions. She would not sign them all up for anything, but she had already made a promise to herself on the matter. Sturaz was no helpless man, but he was not wealthy enough to just pack up and make his road home until he found this man. He was a tough man and a good smith, but he was no trained fighter... "What's his name?" she whispered to Sturaz, softly enough for the others to hear, but not loud enough to require their response if they didn't choose to involve themselves.

"Larknam" he said gruffly. Quietly wasn't a word to use with his voice, but it had the sound of waves in a cave...hollow and rumbling. She nodded to him once, and he looked hard at her before putting his heavy arm over her slight shoulders, finally sharing the grief he'd had to shoulder by himself. She let him fall into her, even though it meant she could hardly breathe. He was lost in his saddness and had never been a man to hide anything genuine. A man like him seldom had to explain his actions to anyone and despite his harsh exterior, he was a gentle spirit. She tried to hold her own tears back as best she could; she didn't want to encourage any stronger tears than were already being shed by her old friend.

She did look at her comrades, though. Unsure of their reaction to such an affair. It wasn't as though either of them had any real attachment to herself or her causes. She had no expectations on them, but in her heart, she did hope not to travel this path alone. A fine way to end a cheerful day, she thought cynically while this giant of a man shuddered in anguish against her.

((Sorry if this isn't quite up to snuff, i'm a bit rushed and fidgety today))