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"Wonder where he had gone. The storm passed and he was gone without saying a word." Aldara said to the Scorra that trotted at her side. "If only I could remember his name.. He knew mine.." She was puzzled, she had shared a room at an inn with a man who knew her name. He had been familiar to her as well, but she just couldn't place a name to the face.

"I just wish I could remember..." Aldara sighed as she kept trying to remember. "What do you think Soran."

The scorra just looked at her, tilting its head to one side before looking forward again. The darkly plumed bird didn't wander far from its owner. With small saddle bags over its back, it was still in training to be a delivery bird.

"Come on Soran, lets see if we can't find that person. I need to ask him something." As she spoke, Aldara started walking faster. In the end with was just about running down the muddy road. Her scorra not too far behind.

Slipping and sliding as things go on mud, Aldara found that keeping a good footing was a challenge. Nearly falling a couple of times she spotted someone a head of her on the road, she wasn't too sure who it was from the distance, but as she grew closer she noticed that they were vaguely familiar. The feathery, now muddy cloak over their shoulders was something you didn't see everyday, nor in many places.

"Hey! Wait up!" She called out breathlessly as she slid to a stop beside the person she caught up with. "I have... Something to ask you." She panted, teetering a bit as if she were going to fall over.

This was the farthest she had actually ran, specially to catch up with someone. She didn't know why she had to follow him, she had accused him of following her the night before. Now here she was, following him to ask a few questions. Soran stopped at Aldara's side, its small wings flapping from the fun it was having with the mud. Trotting around the pair like a newborn hatchling.

"Can... I get your name again?" She asks, not looking up nor knowing if she had run into the right person or not. Her gaze remained towards the ground as she panted, hands on her knees for support.

Aldara puffed out her cheeks as she glared at Draven, was he playing with her? She hated it when some did that, after running into one very green Leaf boy, she started seeing outsiders differently. Crossing her arms Aldara turned her face away from him.

"You had your hood up, I only recognized you because of your voice. How was I to know that you had always been there?" She accused, his humor not reaching her.

"Many names start with a D, you know." She fussed trying to think. He had indeed mentioned it back then, she had fallen into him. The tree roots had caught her foot and she fell twisting around and right into his arms. Her face turned red at the memory, what had she been doing all that time ago? Hiding her face with her hands, she took a deep breath trying to steady herself.

"It was... Draven... Right?" She asked as the name slipped into her mind from the memory.

Aldara flinched as Draven asked a simple question. She was unsure as to what he wanted, but she wasn't too keen on this game he was trying to start. Eyeing him a bit as he walked in front of her, her pace soon picking up to try and match his. Soran bobbing in an out of the road as it seemed to chase bugs around.

"Truth or Dare? What are we? Younglings?" She pressed, though this had only made him grin wider.

So it was a game that he wanted, it was a game he would get. Pressing her tongue into the side of her mouth, she crossed her arms to think. Which would be the least damaging? Looking towards the Scorra that was playing happily, catching bugs that it would no doubt eat in the end. Somedays she wished she could be as carefree as the Scorra.

"What will I get out of all this? No, no don't answer that I don't want to know." She waved off her previous question, "I do this, you have to do the same in return.." She paused, thinking again, "I'll pick.. Truth." Aldara said finally as she continued to follow Draven down the road and further into Sauti.

"What blush there might have been on Aldara's face paled at the mention of being turned into a bug. Her skin crawled a bit at the thought making her shiver. Looking towards the bird as it stopped and looked back at the pair, wondering what was happening. Aldara turned back towards Draven as he seemed to await her answer to the game that she had entered into.

"I didn't exactly scream at you..." She muttered looking away, this got an 'ah-huh' from Draven as she glared towards him. "Alright, maybe I did, but I wasn't exactly feeling like myself back then. My ankle hurt and that crazy pollen messed with how I looked." She said moving her hands slightly as if to point these things out. "I was upset... And perhaps I just saw you, a stranger and vented in the wrong direction."

Yeah. She had really vented her emotions in the wrong direction, she saw that now. He wasn't that bad of a guy, perhaps better acting than most she had met so far. Fidgeting with the hem of her shirt she still looked away. She had to tell him what had made their paths cross. Should she tell him about the strange bird she had seen in the Scorra pens at home? The one with wise eyes and large lavender wings? Closing her eyes tightly she took a deep breath and exhaled.

"There was this... Bird that was in my family's Scorra pens. It was huge, bigger then any Scorra. I am sure it could eat them if it had wanted to. I tried getting a closer look at it, but it woke up and started at me with large black eyes. Its feathers were a lavender color with teal tips." She tried to think if there was more to it as she noticed that Draven was staring at her as if he knew something. "When it took off, it headed towards Sauti so I am out here trying to find it again. I don't know where it had come from or the story behind it, but I want to see it again."

Her tale was over, she didn't know if Draven would believe her, but from how he looked she had a feeling that he did. Fidgeting some more she almost forgot that it was now his turn to do something.

"Your turn, Truth or Dare."

There was a look of shock was written all over Aldara’s face as Draven spoke that he knew of the bird she had seen. It was a Chiavi? The bird had looked so wise, so fluffy! Shaking her head she looked at the man accusingly. ”That was yours? Why was it here?” She asked, forgetting that they were still amidst a game. ”You don’t seem the type to have something like that.”

Rubbing her face with her hands, Aldara watched Draven as he stood there waiting for her to hold up to her end of the game. She had to dare him to do something, why? Couldn’t he have just chosen Truth like herself? Her mind was still milling over the fact that the bird was his and it had been looking for him.

”Alright, alright. Let me think.” Aldara said as she started to pace a little, her Scorra watching her as she did. ”Let me see…” Just what is it that she could dare him to do? She didn’t know him that well, really hadn’t been the greatest of tag-a-longs… Really she had barged into everything. Frowning, she turned away from Draven and back the way they had come.


”I dare you to….” She paused and looked back towards Draven, her face red with embarrassment, ”I Dare you to… Kiss me!” Shouting that she covers her face as it grew even redder. ”Just.. Just on the cheek..”

Her voice quivered as she spoke, wondering just what was going through her mind. A kiss? Really? She was doomed!

The laughter that came her direction was enough to make her face go as red as it probably could. If she didn’t know any better she could have sworn that she had a fever. Even if she had a bucket of ice, she was sure it wouldn’t be of any help. As Draven’s shadow loomed over her, she flailed a bit before she felt him kiss the top of her head.

”Aaaah!” She shrieked, flailing even more before she flopped back onto his rear. ”It’s not funny you know!” She shouted at Draven. ”You know what! I’m going home!”

With this declaration, Aldara picked herself up off the ground and started running back down the road. Soran, who was just standing there, gave a shriek of his own. His small wings flapped frantically as he raced to catch up to Aldara. After all this, she wasn’t sure if she could show her face outside of own home again.