28th of Ashan, 719.
Cyshe bubbled in the air next to him, bouncing with little dewdrops hanging from her limbs but caught in a perpetual cycle of nearly falling, only to be sucked back into her mass with the next light bob. If he stopped to pay too much attention to it, the rhythmic movements were almost hypnotic. But when he didn't... "Blossooooom!" She squealed in a soft voice, making his eyes roll even as a ghost of a smile rose in the corners of his mouth. Honestly, at least 'Cyshe' sounded somewhat like 'Splash'... her cute little nickname for him didn't even sound remotely similar. "Blossom, when can we go already? The saddle is straight, you've checked it four times now!" Her protests fell on deaf ears as he looked over the straps one more time, sliding a finger under the leather harness to make sure that it wasn't pulling too tight or prone to chafing once they set off, before climbing aboard the Zephyrus and giving her a gentle pat.
Cyshe landed on the metal handle of the saddle with a petulant grumble that sounded more like the bubbling of hot spring-water. "You know very well that these things can't be rushed, or else--"
"Rushed hands make rushed work," they both repeated together, the little water-spirit rolling her eyes yet again as she put on a fake monotonous voice as if gently mocking. "Yes, I know, I know!" He couldn't exactly blame her. Routine and ordinary it might be, but this was their first real venture out into the world together, and it promised to be a good one. They'd packed all the extra supplies in case it turned into an extended journey, too. An extra backpack filled with some smoked meats and a small assortment of tools, a tinderbox and a hand-axe among them just in case. "It's just that doing it every time just gets so--"
A sigh stopped them both, and Cyshe folded her stubby forelegs with a cross expression as Greyhide drifted into view beside them both, a wisp of translucent white that stared flatly at the water-spirit. "Now now," he chided. "It's not just about you. We need to think about everyone here, and their comfort. One mistake today can lead to a lot of trouble tomorrow." Though Nir'wei couldn't help but nod in agreement, he could sense that this little exchange was less about educating Cyshe on the way things were done here, and more about exacting his petty authority. His suspicions were immediately confirmed when Cyshe raised her nose and sniffed indignantly, earning a faint growl from the wolf.
"Alright you two, alright! Grey, you're supposed to be watching after the pack right now. Especially Squeak! We'll keep a slow pace for you, but don't let him wander off like last time, please." Though his ears wilted slightly, chastised, the wolf nodded and materialised, slowing to rejoin the small tail of three other wolves slowly gathering at the edge of the Augustin Estate lands behind them. Technically they could have stayed back at home, and in any other situation they would have, but it was growing clear that they needed some time out to enjoy the Ashan air and the like. Even the outdoors could grow stuffy for a wolf if they were only allowed to roam the same couple of acres over and over again. Even Traveller, unhampered by the same restraints on the basis that Nir'wei could never place them on him anyway, had decided to join them and hung around in the sky overhead, looping lazily and climbing until he was little more than an eagle-sized speck dancing above the clouds. Hell, even Jasper had decided to join, the otter currently curled up around his neck with his long rudder-tail tucked under Nir's chin like a strangely warm pillow.
Cyshe started to bubble her way onto a perch on his shoulder, but Nir's hand swatted her before she could make it. "Nuh-uh, Splash. You're not getting out of this either." She had a way of trying to make herself seem much higher on this imaginary totem-pole than she actually was, and nearly fooling everyone into believing it too. "Grey is right. We look after everyone here. Everyone. I'd rather arrive tomorrow and have everyone happy and comfortable than race to get there today and make everyone miserable for the entire trip. I don't want to hear anymore complaining about it. Okay?"
She gave a dramatic little sigh, but from the way she'd bristled slightly and her antennae seemed a little more perked, he'd struck a chord somewhere. "Fiiiiiiiiine~" she said at last, and he let her float down to his shoulder and settle there, her gentle weight feeling like an oversized droplet had settled there and was soaking through his shirt, even though she wasn't actually making any stains. "I guess it's pretty important... but if you didn't want to hurt her, why are you riding her at all? Or why not ride her without a saddle?"
"Because that would hurt him," Archailist added with a faint chuckle. "Poor little Blossom."
"Hey! Only I'm allowed to call him that!" Cyshe protested with all the authority of the child she sounded like.
"Says who? I don't see your name on it!" the squirrel replied with a self-satisfied smile.
Karem above, this was already promising to be one of the longest trips he'd ever taken. Even if it was just a stone's throw away towards Caervalle Town for a quick wander. "Is there somewhere convenient I can shove you? Like perhaps in a waterskin?" he asked as he finally mounted the Zephyrus and gave her an encouraging nudge with his knees to push her into motion. She didn't, giving a grumble. "Oh come on, really?" Controlling a cat as big and willful as Vabina was a struggle at the best of times. Traveller was a perfect example. At least with their bond she should have been able to feel his need, yet their bond clearly wasn't yet as complete as he'd often hoped, and as she turned her head, he fished out a slice of recently-caught lake trout and unwrapped it from the thin paper parceling, dangling it above her head. "Say aahhh." She didn't, nearly snapping off his fingers as she tore the strip from his fingers and ravaged it. "Jeez, easy! Like that more than the flounder, huh?" She'd taken one sniff of it the last time he'd offered, before scrunching her muzzle in disgust. It wasn't his fault; experimenting with Zephyrus meals was a long work-in-progress.
Splash announced herself with a loud cough. "Uhh, hello? You're taking HIS side?!" she protested, spluttering. He could feel the little paw she'd pressed aainst her chest in indignation as well as the slight hint of a smile on her face.
"Oh, I've already learned the hard way that trying to shut him up is a futile gesture. I'm just being optimistic that the same won't be true for you, otherwise, between a smartass cynic, a deadpan misanthrope and whatever the hell you are, I think the next thing I feed Vabina will be my head." That earned a good few laughs from all three of the spirits crowding his skull, and soon as they broke free of the edge of the Augustin Estate and into the wild of the Stormlands beyond, their voices fell into a quiet background chatter that lifted from his thoughts. Strange to think that his mind was no longer ever 'empty' anymore, that it could only ever be quiet, like a packed library.
They traced the edges of the Ywyngyll Forest, keeping to the outer fringes, admiring the Ywyngyll Yews and their thick roots pouring all over the forest floor. The wolves all weaved through the trees up ahead, Squeak bounding along and becoming utterly engrossed in the patches of moss scattered everywhere, Myrth almost egging him on by running over to the next one and waiting for him, Grey standing protectively over the youth with his eyes swiveling in every direction. Cold was the only one that stayed nearby, barely even taking time to sniff the trees. Come to think of it, Nir didn't know if the old wolf still had a nose. Dusty midmorning flowers scattered pollen all over his cheeks as he trudged through them and the wolf only stopped to shake it off again, leaving Nir in a fit of sneezes as the pollen cloud spread with the wind. It was a wonderful day; a perfect one for an outing like this. It shouldn't have struck as a surprise they'd bump into others on the way, looking to enjoy it as well, but it did. Mostly because it seemed they'd stepped onto the verge of a warzone.
He heard them first. Shouting coming from the distance, raised and threatening. Then panicked yells when the wolves swept into view, finally fading into silence when the Zephyrus rounded the small knot of trees, Nir perched astride with a hand already protectively resting on the handle of his sword. On the one hand stood a small cluster of three men in simple clothes, armed with bows, their catch of dead rabbits hanging from pouches at their sides and one of them with a bulging pack slung over his shoulders. Hunters, local he could assume from the familiar bright yet breezy clothes. On the other, four Aukari. Their flaming red hair was impossible to ignore. Tanned skin, dark clothes... and weapons on all of them, ranging from axes to swords, only one holding a bow and all dressed in leather armour as well. Mercenaries? Here? It didn't smell right.
One of them had the gall to try and draw his sword, making it almost half-way from its sheath with a metallic scrape before Vabina whirled and snarled at him with fangs bared. The bravado melted like hot wax from a flame and he sheepishly returned it. "Heard a commotion. There seem to be a problem here?"
"Damnation Pyres trespassing on our grounds again," one of the hunters hissed with a thick accent. "Been up 'n' down past coupl'a days taking everything movin'. Damn near ruining the whole stretch, quieter than a squirrel fart! Me family's starvin' cause of these red-pubed pricks 'n' their--"
"You don't own these forests, old man," one of the Aukari spat, clearly struggling to contain his temper with a grip tight on his sword pommel. "Just because you lack numbers, and you lack skill, you blame everyone around you for your own failures. Harass us because you think you can. You're just like all these other ale-swilling drunkard cunts," he growled with a flippant gesture to Nir'wei, "intruding on OUR business, accusing us of crimes we do not commit." The Aukari crowd nodded in agreement, shooting glares at the hunters and the gathered crowd of wolves with equal distaste. The hell had he done to earn this, by just arriving?
The hunters looked riled up for a response, some of them even tightening grips on their bows, but he clearly needed to defuse this situation, fast, raising a hand and nudging Vabina forward a step to stand between them both. "Alright, easy. Easy I said!" Nobody relaxed. "I never said a thing about invading on nothing, alright? But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stand by and watch while you lot have hands on swords and a mind to draw them," he said, eyes casting towards the Aukari accusingly. "You watch your tongues, both of you, and listen up. No laws dictate where a man can and cannot hunt. Do it wherever you please. Don't like it, there's a whole forest and more besides, you make do with it." Loud grumbles came from the hunters, clearly steaming with the verdict, but at least their hands were at their sides, none on bows. "That said. Just because there ain't no laws on it doesn't mean there's no etiquette. You lot, if you're hunting the spot down to extinction, should be thinking about your fellow men and at least rotate between a few spots, eh. It's called being conservative."
"I ain't going out of my way," the lead Aukari yelled, "losing out on my profits just 'cause they complain they don't get enough. It's called competition. Live with it. Or don't. Why should I give a shit you, or what the beasts think of it? They'll be dead anyway. Welcome to join them if you want." Nir turned to face the Aukari head-on with grit teeth. Alright, these guys were a lot more frustrating than he thought. "Make a nice pelt outta that overgrown runt o' yours."
Grey took personal offense to that and suddenly disappeared, materialising directly before the Aukari with a loud growl. Spooked, stumbling back a step, even the warning growls from everyone, including Nir'wei himself, couldn't stop the man from drawing the sword in an overly-jerky motion that practically threw the weapon straight for the wolf in one smooth curve. That was all it took for damnation to break loose. Grey took the man in the torso, teeth sinking through crude boiled leather and tearing a horrid gash from rib to hip. Two others tried drawing their weapons and immediately regretted it when Cold took one on the wrist, forcing him to drop the weapon, and the other earned a jagged gash where Myrth's teeth dug into his thigh and harried it until he dropped screaming.
The fourth drew their axe but stumbled backwards from the carnage and dropped it shortly afterwards while the other three curled up and cried in various degrees of agony. It took three sharp whistles and a mental shove to Grey before the wolves slowly backed away again, licking their bloodstained muzzles and continuing to circle the small crowd of injured Aukari with predatory stalking. He'd never even given the command to attack, they'd just taken the initiative and jumped right in. Should he feel proud they shared such a strong bond between each-other? ... Or concerned that they acted out of his control. He couldn't help feel both, but a lot more of the former, given the way the assholes had just threatened them. And the fact Grey could understand every word of it. "I'm going to assume that you didn't just try to threaten, then attack, my wolves. My understanding of Rharne law isn't good, I'll admit, but I'm quite sure you won't end up on the winning side of that argument." The glare the Aukari leader gave was absolute murder, but Vabina staring at his crumpled form with hands cupping the bleeding gash through his leather vest soon made him lower his head in shame. As he damn well should.
"I'm also going to assume that you're now going to find a new place to hunt. Permanently. You'll be lucky I don't ask what you're really doing here. And you'll be lucky I speak nothing more about this." The locals, as apparently shocked by the display as the Aukari themselves, didn't meet Nir's eyes as they mumbled a few quick thanks and then hurried away, down the trail and back towards the town with their catches clutched tight. He gently nudged Vabina to follow after them at a leisurely pace, but after gathering up Squeak, who'd sat shivering behind a tree and now hung by the scruff from Myrth's teeth like the pup he was, and soothing Jasper, who now refused to sit on his shoulders and instead scurried into the spare pack to calm himself with leftover trout scraps, the mercenaries hauled their leader to their feet by his armpits and stood him on unsteady feet.
Their wounds were moderate at best. Nothing life-threatening. But the blood still seeped through his clothes and armour, soaking one hand and leaving clear trails down his thigh. "You're just like the rest," he spat angrily, not even a thin veil left over his unchecked anger. "Hate us for our skin and hair. Attack us because you're afraid, or just angry. Act like we're untrustworthy or just unworthy of the treatment you'd give anyone else! Festering in the city like a rot. Maybe you deserve what happened in that market after all. Maybe you deserve worse, wolfhumper." By that point he'd lost the will to care for his fuming rambles. The insults and threats on the tip of his tongue were swallowed as he turned back one last time and found all four of the Aukari glaring daggers at his back, almost looking ready to draw their blades a second time. "Knight scum! Bigoted beastman! Lesser-born flower-loving jumped-up little shit, you'll get what's coming to you! You'll get what's coming to you!"
Cyshe bubbled in the air next to him, bouncing with little dewdrops hanging from her limbs but caught in a perpetual cycle of nearly falling, only to be sucked back into her mass with the next light bob. If he stopped to pay too much attention to it, the rhythmic movements were almost hypnotic. But when he didn't... "Blossooooom!" She squealed in a soft voice, making his eyes roll even as a ghost of a smile rose in the corners of his mouth. Honestly, at least 'Cyshe' sounded somewhat like 'Splash'... her cute little nickname for him didn't even sound remotely similar. "Blossom, when can we go already? The saddle is straight, you've checked it four times now!" Her protests fell on deaf ears as he looked over the straps one more time, sliding a finger under the leather harness to make sure that it wasn't pulling too tight or prone to chafing once they set off, before climbing aboard the Zephyrus and giving her a gentle pat.
Cyshe landed on the metal handle of the saddle with a petulant grumble that sounded more like the bubbling of hot spring-water. "You know very well that these things can't be rushed, or else--"
"Rushed hands make rushed work," they both repeated together, the little water-spirit rolling her eyes yet again as she put on a fake monotonous voice as if gently mocking. "Yes, I know, I know!" He couldn't exactly blame her. Routine and ordinary it might be, but this was their first real venture out into the world together, and it promised to be a good one. They'd packed all the extra supplies in case it turned into an extended journey, too. An extra backpack filled with some smoked meats and a small assortment of tools, a tinderbox and a hand-axe among them just in case. "It's just that doing it every time just gets so--"
A sigh stopped them both, and Cyshe folded her stubby forelegs with a cross expression as Greyhide drifted into view beside them both, a wisp of translucent white that stared flatly at the water-spirit. "Now now," he chided. "It's not just about you. We need to think about everyone here, and their comfort. One mistake today can lead to a lot of trouble tomorrow." Though Nir'wei couldn't help but nod in agreement, he could sense that this little exchange was less about educating Cyshe on the way things were done here, and more about exacting his petty authority. His suspicions were immediately confirmed when Cyshe raised her nose and sniffed indignantly, earning a faint growl from the wolf.
"Alright you two, alright! Grey, you're supposed to be watching after the pack right now. Especially Squeak! We'll keep a slow pace for you, but don't let him wander off like last time, please." Though his ears wilted slightly, chastised, the wolf nodded and materialised, slowing to rejoin the small tail of three other wolves slowly gathering at the edge of the Augustin Estate lands behind them. Technically they could have stayed back at home, and in any other situation they would have, but it was growing clear that they needed some time out to enjoy the Ashan air and the like. Even the outdoors could grow stuffy for a wolf if they were only allowed to roam the same couple of acres over and over again. Even Traveller, unhampered by the same restraints on the basis that Nir'wei could never place them on him anyway, had decided to join them and hung around in the sky overhead, looping lazily and climbing until he was little more than an eagle-sized speck dancing above the clouds. Hell, even Jasper had decided to join, the otter currently curled up around his neck with his long rudder-tail tucked under Nir's chin like a strangely warm pillow.
Cyshe started to bubble her way onto a perch on his shoulder, but Nir's hand swatted her before she could make it. "Nuh-uh, Splash. You're not getting out of this either." She had a way of trying to make herself seem much higher on this imaginary totem-pole than she actually was, and nearly fooling everyone into believing it too. "Grey is right. We look after everyone here. Everyone. I'd rather arrive tomorrow and have everyone happy and comfortable than race to get there today and make everyone miserable for the entire trip. I don't want to hear anymore complaining about it. Okay?"
She gave a dramatic little sigh, but from the way she'd bristled slightly and her antennae seemed a little more perked, he'd struck a chord somewhere. "Fiiiiiiiiine~" she said at last, and he let her float down to his shoulder and settle there, her gentle weight feeling like an oversized droplet had settled there and was soaking through his shirt, even though she wasn't actually making any stains. "I guess it's pretty important... but if you didn't want to hurt her, why are you riding her at all? Or why not ride her without a saddle?"
"Because that would hurt him," Archailist added with a faint chuckle. "Poor little Blossom."
"Hey! Only I'm allowed to call him that!" Cyshe protested with all the authority of the child she sounded like.
"Says who? I don't see your name on it!" the squirrel replied with a self-satisfied smile.
Karem above, this was already promising to be one of the longest trips he'd ever taken. Even if it was just a stone's throw away towards Caervalle Town for a quick wander. "Is there somewhere convenient I can shove you? Like perhaps in a waterskin?" he asked as he finally mounted the Zephyrus and gave her an encouraging nudge with his knees to push her into motion. She didn't, giving a grumble. "Oh come on, really?" Controlling a cat as big and willful as Vabina was a struggle at the best of times. Traveller was a perfect example. At least with their bond she should have been able to feel his need, yet their bond clearly wasn't yet as complete as he'd often hoped, and as she turned her head, he fished out a slice of recently-caught lake trout and unwrapped it from the thin paper parceling, dangling it above her head. "Say aahhh." She didn't, nearly snapping off his fingers as she tore the strip from his fingers and ravaged it. "Jeez, easy! Like that more than the flounder, huh?" She'd taken one sniff of it the last time he'd offered, before scrunching her muzzle in disgust. It wasn't his fault; experimenting with Zephyrus meals was a long work-in-progress.
Splash announced herself with a loud cough. "Uhh, hello? You're taking HIS side?!" she protested, spluttering. He could feel the little paw she'd pressed aainst her chest in indignation as well as the slight hint of a smile on her face.
"Oh, I've already learned the hard way that trying to shut him up is a futile gesture. I'm just being optimistic that the same won't be true for you, otherwise, between a smartass cynic, a deadpan misanthrope and whatever the hell you are, I think the next thing I feed Vabina will be my head." That earned a good few laughs from all three of the spirits crowding his skull, and soon as they broke free of the edge of the Augustin Estate and into the wild of the Stormlands beyond, their voices fell into a quiet background chatter that lifted from his thoughts. Strange to think that his mind was no longer ever 'empty' anymore, that it could only ever be quiet, like a packed library.
They traced the edges of the Ywyngyll Forest, keeping to the outer fringes, admiring the Ywyngyll Yews and their thick roots pouring all over the forest floor. The wolves all weaved through the trees up ahead, Squeak bounding along and becoming utterly engrossed in the patches of moss scattered everywhere, Myrth almost egging him on by running over to the next one and waiting for him, Grey standing protectively over the youth with his eyes swiveling in every direction. Cold was the only one that stayed nearby, barely even taking time to sniff the trees. Come to think of it, Nir didn't know if the old wolf still had a nose. Dusty midmorning flowers scattered pollen all over his cheeks as he trudged through them and the wolf only stopped to shake it off again, leaving Nir in a fit of sneezes as the pollen cloud spread with the wind. It was a wonderful day; a perfect one for an outing like this. It shouldn't have struck as a surprise they'd bump into others on the way, looking to enjoy it as well, but it did. Mostly because it seemed they'd stepped onto the verge of a warzone.
He heard them first. Shouting coming from the distance, raised and threatening. Then panicked yells when the wolves swept into view, finally fading into silence when the Zephyrus rounded the small knot of trees, Nir perched astride with a hand already protectively resting on the handle of his sword. On the one hand stood a small cluster of three men in simple clothes, armed with bows, their catch of dead rabbits hanging from pouches at their sides and one of them with a bulging pack slung over his shoulders. Hunters, local he could assume from the familiar bright yet breezy clothes. On the other, four Aukari. Their flaming red hair was impossible to ignore. Tanned skin, dark clothes... and weapons on all of them, ranging from axes to swords, only one holding a bow and all dressed in leather armour as well. Mercenaries? Here? It didn't smell right.
One of them had the gall to try and draw his sword, making it almost half-way from its sheath with a metallic scrape before Vabina whirled and snarled at him with fangs bared. The bravado melted like hot wax from a flame and he sheepishly returned it. "Heard a commotion. There seem to be a problem here?"
"Damnation Pyres trespassing on our grounds again," one of the hunters hissed with a thick accent. "Been up 'n' down past coupl'a days taking everything movin'. Damn near ruining the whole stretch, quieter than a squirrel fart! Me family's starvin' cause of these red-pubed pricks 'n' their--"
"You don't own these forests, old man," one of the Aukari spat, clearly struggling to contain his temper with a grip tight on his sword pommel. "Just because you lack numbers, and you lack skill, you blame everyone around you for your own failures. Harass us because you think you can. You're just like all these other ale-swilling drunkard cunts," he growled with a flippant gesture to Nir'wei, "intruding on OUR business, accusing us of crimes we do not commit." The Aukari crowd nodded in agreement, shooting glares at the hunters and the gathered crowd of wolves with equal distaste. The hell had he done to earn this, by just arriving?
The hunters looked riled up for a response, some of them even tightening grips on their bows, but he clearly needed to defuse this situation, fast, raising a hand and nudging Vabina forward a step to stand between them both. "Alright, easy. Easy I said!" Nobody relaxed. "I never said a thing about invading on nothing, alright? But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stand by and watch while you lot have hands on swords and a mind to draw them," he said, eyes casting towards the Aukari accusingly. "You watch your tongues, both of you, and listen up. No laws dictate where a man can and cannot hunt. Do it wherever you please. Don't like it, there's a whole forest and more besides, you make do with it." Loud grumbles came from the hunters, clearly steaming with the verdict, but at least their hands were at their sides, none on bows. "That said. Just because there ain't no laws on it doesn't mean there's no etiquette. You lot, if you're hunting the spot down to extinction, should be thinking about your fellow men and at least rotate between a few spots, eh. It's called being conservative."
"I ain't going out of my way," the lead Aukari yelled, "losing out on my profits just 'cause they complain they don't get enough. It's called competition. Live with it. Or don't. Why should I give a shit you, or what the beasts think of it? They'll be dead anyway. Welcome to join them if you want." Nir turned to face the Aukari head-on with grit teeth. Alright, these guys were a lot more frustrating than he thought. "Make a nice pelt outta that overgrown runt o' yours."
Grey took personal offense to that and suddenly disappeared, materialising directly before the Aukari with a loud growl. Spooked, stumbling back a step, even the warning growls from everyone, including Nir'wei himself, couldn't stop the man from drawing the sword in an overly-jerky motion that practically threw the weapon straight for the wolf in one smooth curve. That was all it took for damnation to break loose. Grey took the man in the torso, teeth sinking through crude boiled leather and tearing a horrid gash from rib to hip. Two others tried drawing their weapons and immediately regretted it when Cold took one on the wrist, forcing him to drop the weapon, and the other earned a jagged gash where Myrth's teeth dug into his thigh and harried it until he dropped screaming.
The fourth drew their axe but stumbled backwards from the carnage and dropped it shortly afterwards while the other three curled up and cried in various degrees of agony. It took three sharp whistles and a mental shove to Grey before the wolves slowly backed away again, licking their bloodstained muzzles and continuing to circle the small crowd of injured Aukari with predatory stalking. He'd never even given the command to attack, they'd just taken the initiative and jumped right in. Should he feel proud they shared such a strong bond between each-other? ... Or concerned that they acted out of his control. He couldn't help feel both, but a lot more of the former, given the way the assholes had just threatened them. And the fact Grey could understand every word of it. "I'm going to assume that you didn't just try to threaten, then attack, my wolves. My understanding of Rharne law isn't good, I'll admit, but I'm quite sure you won't end up on the winning side of that argument." The glare the Aukari leader gave was absolute murder, but Vabina staring at his crumpled form with hands cupping the bleeding gash through his leather vest soon made him lower his head in shame. As he damn well should.
"I'm also going to assume that you're now going to find a new place to hunt. Permanently. You'll be lucky I don't ask what you're really doing here. And you'll be lucky I speak nothing more about this." The locals, as apparently shocked by the display as the Aukari themselves, didn't meet Nir's eyes as they mumbled a few quick thanks and then hurried away, down the trail and back towards the town with their catches clutched tight. He gently nudged Vabina to follow after them at a leisurely pace, but after gathering up Squeak, who'd sat shivering behind a tree and now hung by the scruff from Myrth's teeth like the pup he was, and soothing Jasper, who now refused to sit on his shoulders and instead scurried into the spare pack to calm himself with leftover trout scraps, the mercenaries hauled their leader to their feet by his armpits and stood him on unsteady feet.
Their wounds were moderate at best. Nothing life-threatening. But the blood still seeped through his clothes and armour, soaking one hand and leaving clear trails down his thigh. "You're just like the rest," he spat angrily, not even a thin veil left over his unchecked anger. "Hate us for our skin and hair. Attack us because you're afraid, or just angry. Act like we're untrustworthy or just unworthy of the treatment you'd give anyone else! Festering in the city like a rot. Maybe you deserve what happened in that market after all. Maybe you deserve worse, wolfhumper." By that point he'd lost the will to care for his fuming rambles. The insults and threats on the tip of his tongue were swallowed as he turned back one last time and found all four of the Aukari glaring daggers at his back, almost looking ready to draw their blades a second time. "Knight scum! Bigoted beastman! Lesser-born flower-loving jumped-up little shit, you'll get what's coming to you! You'll get what's coming to you!"
