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 Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:16 am
"The water would work for Akis, Wolf, and myself," Zahavah agreed. "But Nova and Pavlov haven't a gill or fin between them. I've told Wolf to take Nova to the water if anything ever happens, but Pav..." she sighed and eyed her daughter. "Well, you know your father. He'd probably drown himself trying to get away from sea monsters. And Nova's been taking her father's fears more and more seriously. Last time Pav thought he saw a tentacle in the water, I couldn't get Nova to go near the river for a week. As for strengthening the protections on land... I'd love to hear your ideas." She eyed Gregor for a moment. He actually did sound like he knew what he was doing, which Zahavah was grateful for. She thought she knew what she was doing, but she was the first to admit that she was a brawler, not a tactician. Maybe she WOULD keep this male after all. Akis had made a good choice. "I've already made an arrangement with a kirin to the east of here. He'll keep an eye on that border, but there's still too many holes in our defense for my comfort."
Akis stared at her mother, feeling as though the earth had been yanked out from under her hooves. What had she missed while she was gone? And did Addy know about any of this?
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:38 am
"Hmmm,"Gregor frowned considering these additional details. "That makes things tricky," he then shrugged and continued. "My specialty is water for obvious reasons and I've seen it work well against skinwalkers. There was a herd some time ago....they lived on the edge of a swamp, far too close to walker graveyard for Gregor's comfort but they called it home. They had strange, secret system for their landlocked brothers and sisters, um, how do you say - hidden path. Raised soil, rocks and such hidden beneath the surface of the water to provide a quick path of escape to an island in event of a walker attack. It worked well in the swamp because the water was so murky there anyways and there was that always shifting fog. Could something like that work here?" he addressed his question to the two females.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:02 am
Zahavah considered this possibility. "The river is too clear for any path to stay hidden, but there's some cliffs not far from here. It's where the Kirin set up shop, actually. There's plenty of caves and tunnels. We could map them out and possibly dig out an escape route there. As long as everyone knows the safe path, we could make sure the rest of it is a labyrinth no one else could get out of." She nodded a bit, to herself. That could work. Suddenly she grinned at the stallion. "I like you," she decided. "One of our borders is tied off by a river. It'd be a load off my mind to have someone like you protecting it. We'd pay you, of course..."
This conversation was NOT going the way Akis had thought it would. Not that it was a bad thing, but now she was eyeing the stranger with a new light.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:48 am
Gregor nodded following the mare's thoughts, "Tunnels, yes, that could work. Perhaps line them with a certain rock or shell so those who know the secret know the path, that could work." He muttered to himself a moment trying to work out the logistics of it. "Again, check water routes, they often pull from springs deep within caves and caverns...." He glanced up and caught Akis's eye and flashed her a roguish smile. "Gregor thinks perhaps he could remain in area for sometime..."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 11:12 am
"Excellent," Zahavah grinned, pleased. "I'll look into the springs and whatnot. We'll get it all mapped out. It may take time, but that's fine.... These are preventative measures, mostly. And you, Gregor, are welcomed to stay for as long as you like." Or as long as she could keep him around.
"I think I'll stick around for a bit, too," Akis murmured. She wanted to see what this stallion did to her home. She hadn't expected all of this when she brought him to meet her folks, but she found that she wasn't particularly upset. He was turning out to be much more interesting than she had expected. "Gregor will need someone to show him around."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 11:33 am
The stallion beamed, "And Gregor is most appreciative for the company of such lovely guide. I thank you both for your hospitality."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 11:55 am
"It's nothing," Zahavah assured him, amused by her daughter's renewed interest in the stallion. Maybe grandbabies were in the future... Something to look forward to. Once they have the territory secured. "Why don't you introduce him to your father, Akis? Make sure Pav doesn't stumble across him by accident."
"Oooh, good idea," Akis nodded. She looked to Gregor, sheepishly. "Dad's a bit skittish."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 12:16 pm
"Skittish?" Gregor repeated sensing the word held more meaning than the mare was letting on.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 12:26 pm
"Yeeeah," Akis hedged a bit. "You'll see..." she led him toward the meadow where she was fairly certain Pavlov would be.
Zahavah watched them go before sliding into the river for the quick swim she had been after originally. Thanks to her Imp heritage, she could put off swimming for awhile before she started to get uncomfortable, but she still needed to make sure she didn't dry out.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 12:50 pm
Gregor shrugged and followed behind Akis.
Pavlov leaned against the tree enjoying the cool shade. He knew he was safe because Grimm was somewhere nearby. Besides, with all the stress of the last few weeks he needed a little extra rest.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 1:14 pm
Akis spotted her father almost immediately and grinned. Without slowing her pace or even missing a step, she called out, "Daddy! I'm home, and I brought a friend!" She lowered her voice and said to Gregor, "It's best to give him plenty of warning when you walk up on him. Addy and I used to scare the life out him by pouncing him when we were younger, but it got to be too easy."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:10 pm
"Do not worry, Gregor is like large teddy bear," the stallion assured her baring his fangs in a greeting grin.
"Grimm..." Pavlov spoke softly and sought confirmation from the rabbit for what he was seeing. Typically his hallucinations didn't take the form of large purple dragons....but there was a first time for everything.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 4:54 pm
"Yeeeah," Akis muttered before beaming at her father. Of course, her grin wasn't much more reassuring than Gregor's, but at least her father was used to her. Sort of. "Dad, this is Gregor. I think Mom just hired him to play bodyguard or something..."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 5:12 pm
"Is great pleasure to be making your acquaintance, father of Akis," he replied easily. "I will be guarding water border for some time."
Pavlov shared a quick glance between Grimm and Akis before responding slowly, "Okay....Good." He repeated again for good measure, "Good, I'm glad Zah is finding....good people to look out for us. That is good."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 5:32 pm
"Mom told me what happened, sort of," Akis said, frowning a bit. "Are you okay? I mean... obviously you're okay... but are you okay?" The question made no sense, but she didn't care. She was actually a little surprised that her father wasn't a puddle of whimpering fear right now.
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