Maeve and Tsemara

[Tsemara]

Faolan tilted her head, slightly, when she looked up at Master Prusar. How did she feel? She thought that was a strange question to ask. The wizard's assistant didn't think she felt any different. Well, besides being uncomfortably hot. But that was a mutual thing, right? Judging by the way the others were reacting to the weather, she felt that she was kidding herself with that train of thought. So, why did the wizard ask her that? Did he know something she didn't?

She sighed, still unaware that her breath was cold. "Oi don't think Oi feel any different," she replied. "But Oi think it's too warm. And Oi don't think Oi have any ears," she added the last in confusion. Surely the thought of using her horns to hear was silly. But perhaps her master could figure that one out.

She turned to face some sound that came from a distance away. It hadn't come from the direction they they had left the young men. But she still couldn't help but look. She didn't want to get caught speaking by anyone, until the wizard gave her the okay to do so. It turned out only to be a small animal moving through the underbrush. That brought her to another point.

"Mmm..." she didn't want to question her master any more than she needed to, especially since she had done so much questioning earlier that day. "Oi know how to hunt, mmm, with a bow, but Oi don't know about loike this." She wondered if he was going to make her do so. However, like flying, she'd probably need to learn.

[Maeve]

Prusar shivered as the air cool down around him. He didn't make any connection with the girl, thinking it was only caused by the sun setting down and the wood protecting them form the last warm rays. He pondered for some time over Faolan's comment on her ears, wondering how close a drake was to dragons. He had heard reports of dragons seemingly hearing with their horns, or at least appearing deaf if the said horns were cut done or too damaged. Maybe it was the same for her? As for the warm, it probably came from her fur. After all, she would probably have felt too hot in her normal form too if she had been wearing a fur coat all day. He shrugged and tried to place his thought in a coherent explanation. At least she still seemed to have all her mind...

"Strangely, I'm not feeling it's too warm. It might just be because I'm old and don't have a fur coat," the old mage started. He paused and passed a hand through his beard, gathering his thoughts. "Well, from what I know, dragons don't have ears either. They are still able to hear though, but no one really knows why. Some people have suggested it came from their horns, although it sounds a bit silly. But anyway, you are able to hear, so I guess that's what's important..."

The wizard watched his assistant as she turned her head, apparently noticing a small animal. Considering her new body, she would surely be able to catch and kill small preys. Though the old man wasn't sure she had the skills, or any desire, to hunt efficiently. "Bah, we can probably find some food in the woods without you needing to hunt," he said as he turned around, looking for some fruit tree or anything else that could have supported them. Soon, his face took a slightly annoyed look. His eyesight were not nearly as good as they were in the past. The low light in the woods didn't help either. From what he could guess, they still had about one hour of light before night fall.

Suddenly, the old mage looked at his assistant like if he had an idea. "Can you smell anything special?" he asked. Maybe it was because she was about the size of a large dog, but the old man wondered if she would be able to smell the scents of fruit or other food. And at this point, he really hoped so.

[Tsemara]

(Argh. I thought I'd posted something days ago. I either dreamed it up, or the internet ate my post. Bleh.)

Faolan pondered over Master Prusars theories as to why he didn't feel hot, and the way she could hear. True, having a coat as heavy as hers was, even in somewhat mild weather would be uncomfortable. It was like she was meant for dwelling in snowcapped peaks, than the warm forests she came from. All the more reason for her to change back to her old self.

Now using her horns to hear was insane. However, it seemed to make a strange ammount of sense. It bothered her when things rubbed up against them. The sounds that pounded through her head were downright painful when the street child was hanging on them. Would she really go deaf if someone damaged them? And what would happen if she turned back after something like that happened?

The wizards' assistand said nothing when it came to the topic of food. Though she supposed she ought to be greatful that he didn't press the point of her needing to hunt. But finding food, using her sense of smell? She hadn't concentrated much on her senses. But now that she was giving them consideration, she was noticing things she hadn't before. She sat down trying to make sense of some of these new things.

She was able to smell many new things, but she hadn't figured out how to comprehend this information. Some things were lost in translation from her body to her brain. For instance, knowing what her master smelled like, and knowing where he had been from the smells off his clothing was not something she would have been able to do in her previous shape. So, unless they got spearated, and she needed to find him, she wasn't sure what good this would do her.

She knew the smells of most of the plant life, but now the smells were far more...vibrant, seemed like a good word to use. There were living things, some that smelled familiar, some that did not, that lived in the forest. Hunting would be plentiful, if they had the capabilities to do so. And somewhere, off in the distance, was the sweet scent of some treeborn fruit. The half elf needed a breeze to pass by before she could tell the correct direction they were in. "Oi think... there's something nearby we can eat." Faolan stood up trying to follow the scent. Hopefully, there would be water nearby as well. She was getting thirsty. And where there was water, there would hopefully be fish.

[Maeve]

((Rollback?))

Prusar waited while the girl took the time to test her new senses. There wasn't much he could do anyway. His nose wasn't developed enough to detect anything that wasn't right under it, like most humans, and his eyes were too old to see anything in the dense wood. He pondered over their next move while his assistant did her things.

After some time, she appeared able to catch a few interesting scents. As she stood up to follow what her senses were telling her, the old man followed, trying to keep track of where they were going. Though, if the girl could smell food correctly, she could probably find her way back too, but there was always a chance it wouldn't work correctly. So, from time to time, the old man marked an arrow pointing the way they came from in the ground with the end of his staff. Just in case...

[Tsemara]

(That would have done it. Okay. Whew. I thought I was going crazy there for a moment.)

Faolan found a stream before she found the source of the fruit smell. Fish the size of her masters' arm swam against the current, in a lazy fashion. Maybe they could eat those? But they would require catching, and cooking. The first part, she should still be able to handle. She used to be able to catch fish barehanded all the time. Why wouldn't she be able to do si now? She still had hands. Furry, slightly misshapen, and clawed maybe, but they still could be counted as hands.

She sat down at the shore and pondered over how she would be able to drink without looking foolish. The drake eventually began lapping at the cool water, feeling like she was going to go mad. She never would have considered doing something like this before. Once she was done drinking, she looked up at the aged wizard, awaiting his instructions.

She knew better than to state the obvious, or ask stupid questions. Like; 'I found some fish. Can you eat them?' Of course they would be able to. They might not have been the most tasty of fish, but they were still edible. However, the thought of needing to lug back wood so that they could cook, and stay warm through the evening was not a pleasent one.

[Maeve]

Hm, fishes and fresh water, the wizard thought as he approached the small river. That was good. At least they would have some food and something to drink. "Well, well, how can we catch some of those?" he pondered out loud. Sure, he could probably manage to make a net out of some of the strings he kept in his pocket, but he was getting tired, and using magic when tired was never a good idea. A fishing rod could work though, but it would be long.

His attention turned to the girl as she finished drinking. "Well, do you think you can catch us some fishes?" he asked. He remembered that she was good to catch fishes when she was in her normal form, but the drake... bah, surely a drake could catch fishes one way or another! It was a predator beast after all. Or at least it looked like so. If they could catch two of those fishes, they would have enough food for a good dinner. And the woods for cooking wasn't a problem, judging by the forest surrounding them.

[Tsemara]

Faolan looked from her master to the fish. More likely than not, she'd screw up while she got used to using her differently shaped hands. She edged closer to the waters' edge. She attempted to stand up. That was when she realized that she had a hard time trying to keep her balance. She was too front heavy to remain in a biped-like position for a prolonged period of time. At least one that would allow her to lean forward, anyway.

True she had done so before, back in the tower. But there, she had something to lean up against, like the sink, or the stove. The half elf thought some more before settling on being in the water. There was no avoiding it. She waited for a bit, while the fish got used to her presence. Then she began to edge a fore claw out.

Her first attempt to grab a fish was close, but unsuccessful. She contemplated for a bit and tried again. Her next try was fruitless. But the third attempt resulted in a good sized fish. From there, she had a good idea on what to do. In a number of minutes later, Faolan had caught a fish for each of the campers. Considering the size, there should be more than enough.

Now she was presented with another dilemma. How were they going to carry all this back, in addition to firewood? The thought of setting up or being around a camp fire was not a nice one. But who was to say she couldn't hang around the edge of the firelight. She was light enough for them to be able to see.

[Maeve]

The wizard watched as the girl caught some fishes. Her technique was a bit strange, but it worked well. The old man attention soon turned to other business, like trying to understand where they were and what to do next. Surely by now, the guards would have reached his tower and were blocking any chance of getting inside. That was annoying, but since he had looked at pretty much all his documents and found no clear indication about what to do with Faolan, being in the tower might not be necessary anyway. For now at least...

Returning to the village also seemed like a bad idea. Although he would need to stock up on some ingredients sooner or later, the guards in all somewhat important towns had probably been warned of their actions by now. That also paused the problem of where to find any information to help the girl return to her normal self. Very few little towns had important enough book dealers or libraries to have information about that subject. Maybe if he could go to a land where drakes where more common... but he had no idea of where that would be, except probably in a cold region.

With a sigh, the mage brought his attention back on the fishes gathering around. There were now enough of them to feed them all correctly. "Nice work," he muttered. With a pleased smile, Prusar untied one of the four small bags he carried at his waist. He stretched the top of the pouch with one hand and grabbed one of the fishes by the tail with the other, slowly inserting it in the bag. "I'll need to remember to clean that later," the wizard said as the first fish disappeared into the bag. Soon, the other fishes received the same treatment.

"Now we just need to get some wood, but we can just take some closer to the camp. It will save us the carrying." The mage looked around. It was starting to be dark around, and cold too. Even if he marked the road the had followed, he could hardly see the marks in the shadows. "Well, do you think you can lead us back?" he asked his assistant.

[Tsemara]

Faolan pulled herself from the cool water, pleased with her masters' praise. She didn't get it very often. Her fur dripped with water as she wondered how to dry herself. Shaking seemed like the most reasonable meathod, but she didn't know how. And, well, it was not something a half elf did. It was something an animal did.

On closer inspection of the aged wizard, he seemed distracted by something. His decision to wait on getting firewood was a nice one. She still hadn't figured out they would have been able to lug back enough to use through the night. Speaking of, it was getting dark. She looked up at the human at his question.

"Mmm.. Oi can troi." She looked at their surroundings. She had fair nightvision before she was transformed. Now she was a bit confused. She could still see, but there were things in the distance, little ones. Like animals. But she shouldn't have been able to see them in this lighting. Faolan said nothing to Master Prusar and tried to pick out their trail. It took a couple false starts before they were on their way. She walked quietly, hoping that the wizard would take her silence as concentration, instead of unease.

[Maeve]

Prusar followed as best as he could, trying not to trip on anything. They already had enough troubles without him having a twisted ankle. He was about to propose leading the way, using maybe a small lighting ball or something to help them see their way correctly, when the girl looked like she had found the right path. Good, he thought, pleased to see that she was still able to do something in her new shape. The last few moments had been a good test for that. It looked like she needed a lot of concentration to follow the good path though, so the wizard refrained from speaking. He didn't have much to say anyway.

Hopefully, the shelter will be ready when we arrive, he thought as he felt they were getting closer to the camp. Jan and Shilo seemed perfectly able to make a good shelter. They had grown since the first time he had met them. He wondered what they thought of Faolan. Surely they just took her for some strange beast for now, but what if they realize who she really was? He pondered on telling them the truth. Maybe they had some idea of what they could do to correct the situation? Or maybe it would make things worst...

He shrugged to chase his thoughts and returned his concentration to his surroundings. He hadn't been in a wood for a long time, or at least not at night. Things looked calm, and the few small animals around wouldn't be much of a problem. Let's just hope there's not some orcs or trolls around, he thought with a small shivers. He didn't like to be waken up at night by the screams of some crazy creatures wanting to steal his goods, or worst. As they approached the clearing where they had landed, he noticed a small light in the distance. Fire?

[Tsemara]

Faolan was greatful that Prusar hadn't attempted to strike up a conversation, or asked her more questions about how she felt. It seemed that every time he asked those kind of questions, the more she noticed how different she was. She didn't feel right. Trying to make sense of the things she was experiencing was not helping the coping process, either. She shivvered slightly, at the thoughts that were invading her head. The movement caused droplets of liquid to fall from her water heavy coat.

Up ahead, came the light of a small wood fire. There were two humanoid shapes near the flame, but the shadows hid their identities. She figured that Jan and Shilo had given up on waiting on them to bring wood, and made a fire themselves. Master Prusar had not called to them. Did he not see them? They were only...wait. The half elf needed to re-evaluate the distance between them. The men were much further away than she had originally thought they were. If the wizard saw them, he would probably only see the glow of the flame from here. Yet another thing that was different.

She sighed heavily and continued on her course. Faolan checked on her master, in the failing light, to make sure he wasn't struggling to keep up. It wouldn't do to leave him alone in the woods, when he was currenly the only one who could help her return to normal. She paused every so often, to make sure he was still behind her. Did he want her to offer some kind of assistance? Or would he take offence to the gesture? She suppose the mage would let her know if he needed something. Right? It's what he usually did. She looked up at the aged human, as she waited for him to catch up.

[Maeve]

Prusar caught up with Faolan as best as he could in the now quite dark forest. Apparently the girl was waiting for him though, which was nice. Not that he was about to say anything about it, but it was still nice of her. After a few more minutes, they were close enough to the fire for him to see two silhouettes. They were fairly similar, as Jan and Shilo were, so he guessed it was them. Who else could it be anyway? he thought, a bit annoyed to be caught in the woods for the night. Anyway, his tower was probably surrounded by guards now, so he should get used to living in unwelcoming places...

With a sigh, the old man accelerated a bit, feeling the cold of the night getting to him. When they finally reached the makeshift camp, he noticed the young men had managed to turn their carpet in a potent roof. They had also gathered branches of pines or something similar to serve as floor for their refuge. And they had made a fire, which was great.

"You're late, old man," Shilo said, showing him a nice spot on the floor. "As you can see, we've managed to build a good shelter for the night." Providing there's no rain or wind, the young man thought, though he refrained from saying it. He shrugged and added, looking at the old wizard: "Anyway, have you found some food?"

"We sure have," the wizard said, throwing the bag at the young man while he sat down. It wasn't very comfortable, but it would do for now.

The two young men opened the bag, curious to see what was in it. They made a strange face as they noticed it was only fish. Oh well, better than nothing, I guess, Jan thought as he grabbed a thin branch and managed to screw a fish on it. He then placed it above the fire, using to Y shaped branches to keep them at a good enough distance from the flame. Soon enough, all the fishes had received the same treatment. "So, did you find anything useful?" he asked, looking at the old man.

Prusar thought, massaging one of his feet while he waited for the fish to cook. "A small stream with fishes in it," he said after a moment. He had hoped to find some signs to help them understand where they had landed too, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in the forest, or at least, not in the parts he had seen. "Hopefully we'll have more luck tomorrow," he added with a smile.

The fishes were soon ready and everybody grabbed one. Prusar handed one to Faolan, letting her take it and eat it however she would like. The rest of the evening was pretty silent, and soon everyone headed to bed... or leafy floor. Prusar crossed his arms under his head and looked up at the bottom of the carpet. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

[Tsemara]

Faolan sat on the very edge of the firelight. It was too warm by the cheerful looking flame, even with her coat still dripping with water. Loathe as she was to admit it, she was finally comfortable with the temperature, when she knew she should have been freezing. She curled slightly, resting her head on her foreclaws. The fish would need to cook for a bit, and she couldn't contribute to the conversation.

She hesitated before taking the offered fish. She had nearly taken it with her hand. That wasn't something a beast would do. The half elf swallowed a sigh and took the fish in her jaws. She turned so that she faced away from the fire before eating. The other might not care what she did, but that didn't mean she didn't. Afterward, she remained where she was, away from the fire and the cover of the carpet. Where she was, was as good a spot as any to rest. She closed her eyes, and attempted to fall asleep.

Faolan wasn't sure when she fell asleep, or if she had slept at all. She awoke before the sun rose, but just as the sky was getting lighter in hue. The others hadn't woken yet. The air was comfortable. Of course, it would get warmer once the sun rose, but for now she was enjoying the feeling like she wasn't going to die of heat stroke. A little nagging voice let her know that she ought to be doing something.

With a sigh, the transformed assistant slowly rose to her feet, stretched, and looked around. The others were still asleep. There wasn't anyone to laugh if she messed up, yet. She crept to a wider part of the clearing and slowly flapped her wings experimentally. They felt clumsy and alien, but she might as well learn how to use them.

Her first attempt was a failure. She never got the chance to get airborne at a jump. She had tripped over herself as she ran. Faolan huffed, got back up and tried again. She did so, while the air was still cool. Should one of the others wake, the girl would only look like she was living up to her 'namesake'. The drake only looked frisky as it 'frolicked' in the morning air. Running, leaping, sometimes rolling on the ground if she missed her landing, and getting up to do it again. She would stop soon, however. The temperature was rising slowly but surely.

[Maeve]

The wizards, along with the two young men, woke up a while after Faolan. The sun was getting up, and their makeshift shelter didn't provide enough shade for a good daylight sleep. They all did pretty much the same moves, rubbing their back, stretching their arms and legs and yawning a bit before they got up. Jan headed for a nearby tree and grabbed a pile of small wood that they had left their the last evening. He brought it back to the camp fire, which was now little more than ashes and embers. Shilo messed with the fire a bit, trying to lighten it once more. The cold night had left them all half-frozen, and a small heat would be welcomed happily. After a few swears, small flames started to appear, getting bigger and finally forming a real campfire. The three men sat around it, warming their hands as they speak, not paying much attention to the drake.

"So, what do we do now? We can't stay in this forest for the rest of our lives." Jan asked with a small sigh.

"If we could find a road or track or something, we could get to a village," Shilo started.

"And fell right in the guards' hands," Prusar finished.

"You got something better, old man?" Shilo asked.

The old wizard took a few seconds to think. His priority, for now, wasn't to get back to his tower, or any kind of place inhabited by human for that matter. That would only make things worst. For now, he only wanted to concentrate on finding a cure for Faolan. But how could he explain that to the others without revealing everything that happened?
Since the villages and towns were out of reach, the only way he could find to get information was to go where drakes usually live. And, from what he knew, that was far enough to prevent any guard from reaching them. Maybe it could work...

"Well, I hap planned to go in the north for some time, to get ingredients and other things. And since the north is somewhat of a rebellious province, I doubt the guards there would have been warned of our case, and they probably wouldn't care anyway. Maybe we could head there, using your flying carpet?"

The two young men looked at each other, apparently surprised by the proposition. They had not been in the northern realm for a while, and it was true that they could get some good quality ingredients there. Plus, it would be a nice hideout until things calmed down. There was just one minor problem. After exchanging another look, Jan spoke:

"Hm, the north seems fine, but I doubt Megorin will be able to get us there... for now, at least. Yesterday's flight seems to have exhausted her, and she will need at least a week to recover."

All three men looked at the carpet, and then they all seemed to return to their own thoughts for a while. After a few minutes, Prusar broke the silence. "Well, we can't stay here, so let's just get moving toward the north, by foot. When your carpet gets better, we can always use it to finish the road." They exchanged a small nod and took a few more minutes to enjoy the heat before getting up and extinguishing the campfire. Jan and Shilo started to untie their shelter to get Megorin back, while the old mage went to look for Faolan.

[Tsemara]

Faolan had decided that she had eaten enough dirt to shame a worm, after almost an hour of attempting to get airborne. She had failed to get any lift. However, she could probably manage a glide if the situation allowed. She was able to run without getting tangled in her own feet, now. At the very least, it could be considered an accomplishment. Though running seemed like such a small thing in comparison to attempting to learn how to fly.

After she had enough of her inabilty to fly, she decided she might as well get started on something resembling chores. There was little for her to actually do, besides get food. She sighed heavily, surprised by the freezing of the dew where her breath hit. A number of thoughts ran through her head, before she attempted to get back on track.

Her shape was still too awkward for her to be able to hunt properly. Well, at least sneak properly, anyway. The younger men might not appreciate more fish, but it was better than nothing. Faolan traced her path back to the stream's edge. The muddled arrows that Master Prusar had made were clever, but somewhat insulting at the same time. Though, she would never bring the point up with the wizard. He had his reasons.

She realized a problen a bit too late to be able to do anything to fix it. Faolan had managed to catch enough good sized fish for the small party. Problem was, how would she bring them back? With a groan of frustration, she carefully positioned them so she could hold them by their tails. However, the fact that she was holding them in her mouth was vexing.

She was on her way back when she noticed her master moving about. Faolan made her way toward him, hoping that he would take the fish from her. The raw fish were on the verge of making her want to gag. She made a muffled sound announcing herself, when she was sure that she was close enough for him to hear. However, she supposed that she probably didn't need to. A big white furry thing in the forest shouldn't be that hard to spot. Especially if it was making no effort to hide itself.