Welcome to Gaia! ::

Even during the day, the large trees of Juahar kept the forest floor shrouded in a heavy layer of shadow. As things usually seemed to feel in the dark, everything beneath him looked dangerous and foreboding, somehow. Nevermind that Lerin had never known anything but this forest and these lands for the entirety of his life. Still, with the way the world was, and the way people always seemed to find something to hate for whatever reason, he trusted nothing. Especially not the darkness.

His kinfa had less reservations. She hopped from the branch Lerin rested on, down to the one beneath him, and let out a loud, booming, 'chirrrrup!' Her increase in size over the years had also seen an increase in the volume of her voice. And many of the creatures in Juahar had taken notice.

Her calls were answered back with a wide myriad of responses; other chirps from feathered forest natives, the clacking of large bugs scuttling deeper into the nests or angry buzzing to warn the predatory bird off, or for the very unfortunate smaller insects, the flurry of wings as they fearfully leapt from their hiding spots. Tandoori gave a trill. She shifted her weight, fanned her wings, and dove, catching mouthfuls of flapping wings and scrambling legs and clacking pincers in her beak.

She landed on a branch some distance beneath him, and Lerin chuckled softly. "I hope it was worth the trip back up," he hummed quietly to her. But she paid him no mind. The kinfa's attention riveted further downward, and she held her wings stiffed and fanned slightly, warningly.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Lerin scrambled to join her.

Instantly, he could see what Tandoori was so upset about. A large creature trundled its way along the forest floor, certainly the largest animal Lerin had ever laid eyes on. Doori's beak parted in a quiet hiss of malcontent, but it only took Lerin a few moment's of staring to realize the large, furry creature was hurt. And it was being led about by a young, red-headed girl. He touched his fingers to Tandoori's wing, murmured a quiet, "Stay," and slipped down for closer inspection, movements near silent as he cautiously approached.

'It senses me.' The thought occurred to Lerin just as the red-headed Oban woman turned back to try and coax her familiar along once more. He was still several yards off from the small grouping, and he highly doubted the girl would be able to see him very well at all. Dark skin and hair did not lend itself to being exceptionally visible in the shadow of Juahar's great trees. But the mammu clearly had some indication that she (not it) was not alone with her owner, and she didn't seem all that interested in the young woman's attempts to press forward.

Lerin's first though was that he was under no obligation to approach them. He was concerned for the mammu's injuries (and a quick glance to the girl showed that she didn't seem to be in top condition, either), but as far as he knew, people did not appreciate having anyone else encroach upon their personal space. And offers of help to those who did not want it were generally not well-received. As horrible as it was to think, Obans made him nervous.

He knew he shouldn't judge all of them on he actions of a few, but after that war and the scuffle with he Alkidike that followed, trusting anyone came as a difficult challenge. Everyone that passed through Juahar did so for the wrong reasons. It was not right or fair of him to think as such. His fingers itched to rub at the ever-more-withered petals of his hairpin flower. She was hurt. And whether she wanted his help or not, if she continued the way she was (and made her mammu continue the way she was), it would not end on a positive note.

With a weary sigh, Lerin's weight dipped from the branch, and he landed lightly on the ground, the sound of his toes hitting soft earth hardly more than a whisper.

The same of which could be said of his voice, as he tried to make himself known. "Excuse me," he murmured. "I was wondering if perhaps you needed directions to... wherever you're going. Or if you were interested in..." His gaze slid over her frame, once, before his gaze quickly tucked away. "...medical attention..."

He did want to help. That seemed like the proper thing for anyone in his position to do. And if the girl's own hesitance served as any indication, she was likely just as wary of him, so she probably wasn't planning or doing anything too terribly unscrupulous in the forest. He hoped. The only thing wrong with their combined general mood was how it meant all of them were on edge. It could still end badly. Lerin swallowed and gave a clipped nod before taking another slow step forward. He did want to help. He was capable, and she needed it.

Before Lerin came within an arm's length of the Oban woman, Tandoori dropped from the trees in front of him. She landed with a significantly more hearty 'thud' than her tamer had, and she looked quite a bit more riled. Her feathers puffed, green eyes narrowed into slits, wings raised defensively. She was not a small kinfa any longer, not after the years she'd been with him.

But neither was Doori the size of a mammu, a creature she'd never seen before. She was alarmed, and it only served to make Lerin more nervous.

He nudged at one of his bird's wings, whispering a quiet pleading to her, "Please, stop this. It is fine. They are hurt and need-" The kinfa's response came as a slew of chitters and rough wing snaps. The Shifter cast a quick, fleeting, apologetic glance to the woman still before him. "I swear she's usually very polite," he whispered, pushing himself past Tandoori's outstretched wing to stand between them. "She is only anxious about something she's never seen before, and I must admit, I... Am also slightly confused... About how an injured creature from the frozen tundra managed to make its way to the sweltering rain forests of Juahar..."

There was a kinfa on top of the mammu now. Lerin's silvery gaze flicked up as the second bird's calls joined his own creature's, and he swallowed nervously. How long had that kinfa been there? He hadn't even noticed it before, not from the trees where he'd had higher ground, and certainly not before Tandoori made an effort to point it out. But they were both trilling at each other now, and his kinfa beat her wings and hopped, as though trying to fly.

Lerin reached to comb fingers through his hair, lightly tucking the strands away behind his ear and dusting the tips of his fingers to his hairpin flower. As long as the other kinfa stayed up there, everyone would probably be fine. Doori would leave if she became too frustrated, Lerin was sure.

So he stepped around the bird's outstretched wings and took the last few tentative steps in the Oban's direction. She hadn't explained how she'd come upon the mammu, or why she'd allowed it to be injured. Lerin bit his tongue and pushed the thought out of the way. At least she was willing to accept help; this seemed like a step in the right direction.

"I am not a professional healer by any means, nor do I have any great amount of experience with tending to particularly large wounds, but I-" He extended a hand towards her arm, not touching, but hesitantly awaiting some sign that this was an acceptable action. "-I do know one small spell that might make it easier on you, and maybe your mammu, to reach the next settlement." Another pause, then, "May I?"

Lerin had the wherewithal to twitch his fingers away as the girl tensed. It wasn't as if he felt particularly comfortable with the situation as it was, either, and certainly wasn't trying to make anyone feel uneasy. "Sorry," he murmured softly, dipping his head. "I can take you to-" 'Someone more professional.' The words never quite made it to their end, and the Shifter male instead found himself taking a hesitant step toward the Oban's mammu.

He'd never had the chance to see one, let alone interact with one. The though of his first one being with an injured mammu seemed decidedly less than promising. Lerin couldn't imagine why the beast would take well to a strange, foreign earthling at all, let alone in its state.

But he wasn't about to say that. He couldn't.

"Of course," he acquiesced instead, extending his arm to the creature. Magic was not something he was greatly familiar with. He knew the one spell, on a very basic level, and more out of necessity than any true understanding of it. Healing a mammu would be entirely new territory. Lerin cast a quick glance back to the girl. "I don't... think it will hurt, but he might experience a little discomfort, and if you could just, maybe, do your best to keep him calm... Or her," he added as a stiff afterthought. With his warning, he touched delicate fingers to the pale, dark-spattered fur where the creature had been hurt.

He closed his eyes and forced the dregs of some not-quite-fully-understood power to his fingertips and out, into the mammu's skin. Perhaps the process might have been quicker if he had more practice with it, or knew what precisely had caused this creature's injuries. As it was, it took several minutes for Lerin to lower his hand and step away.

It was the second time the Oban female had said they'd 'been through a lot.' Lerin's first attempts at hesitant inquiry hadn't been met with much success, and he doubted further pressing would see any different. He decided not to ask and instead settled on a softly muttered, "I can see that..."

To be fair, he wasn't even entirely sure how much good his magic would do. The mammu was so large that it just felt impossible anything he could do would even affect it. As long as it was enough to get them into (and maybe out of) the settlement in one piece, that was as much as he could hope for. He couldn't say with any sort of certainty that they'd be welcomed or even tolerated in his own village, so what he accomplished here might very well be all that was accomplished until the girl found a slightly larger and more open-minded settlement.

Swallowing, Lerin turned to her. "Come." He beckoned her closer to him. "You next."

Lerin's gaze flicked back up to the woman's kinfa. He was very aware of how the birds behaved and wasn't greatly surprised that it still saw him as a threat. Doori wasn't exactly behaving in a particularly friendly fashion, either. She was quiet and not attempting to disturb anyone, but her feathers were puffed and her body stiff, as though she thought she might take it upon herself to attack. Lerin severely hoped not. His attention wandered back to the Oban as she stepped toward him. "It's alright. I-"

He couldn't expressly say what it was about the specific motion of her fingers flicking through her hair, the slight tip of the head, and the odd notion of exposure that came as Ziari pushed her hair to the side, that made anything else he might have said catch in his throat. She'd hardly done anything, but an embarrassed warmth spread out to the tips of his ears all the same. His fingers crimped in, hand notching immediately away from her because he certainly felt taken aback, for whatever reason.

Then she was speaking, and his gaze caught on the bloody bandages, and the heat that rose to his cheeks was more of abashment than anything else. Lerin gave a quick shake of his head. "Sorry. I'm sorry." Thinking anything except how he could be of any aid was far beyond out of place. He swallowed, gave another shake of his head, and reached for her once more, careful not to touch her injuries, but close enough that he could feel the heat from them. Very warm. "I'm Lerin. It's... nice to meet you, though I'm sorry it's as it is."

He sought out her gash with his magic. And was reluctant to acknowledge the fact that it seemed deeper than anything he'd healed before. he pulled his hand after after a few seconds. "I don't think I can do more than just dull any aches you have around it, but..." He peered a little closer, more intently. "I have never been to Oba, but I imagine the climate is significantly different... The moisture in the air here, as well as the temperature and insects often pose a more substantial threat of infection... I'd... be a little wary of letting it try and heal further without more appropriate aid..."

Vaguely, Lerin wondered how long she'd been in the forest. Long enough to sustain injuries that she didn't feel were substantial enough to force her to turn back. Not long enough that she was familiar with the terrain and the winding paths that would take her into Jauhar's settlements. Furthermore, why was she here? And alone at that, save for her two animal companions. Odd and suspicious. He couldn't see one little girl doing much harm on her own, but Obans were know for taking a more tactical approach to things... So there was always the chance that she wasn't alone. But these were very real injuries. Surely if she was part of a group, they would've seen to that?

Maybe she was a deserter. And being hunted. It didn't seem like a great idea to bring someone hated by her country into his village, either. Lerin could only imagine what would happen if she was found there. That didn't strike him as great for anyone involved.

He was probably being dramatic. But she's dodged his questions, earlier. And if he was going to take her into his village, as she seemed to want, he should probably go in sounding like he'd thought this through- like he truly believed she was a decent person- and not completely clueless. Lerin had yet to move from the spot where Ziari had left him standing. He shifted, restless, and dropped his gaze to the ground, before looking back at her. As much as he would simply like to tell her 'yes' and be done with it, his family would not be pleased by him bringing an Oban stranger into their home. They'd probably turn her away without more knowledge, anyway.

There was no agreeing to anything. Not yet. Instead he held his ground and murmured, "What are you doing here?"