Fare thee well|Raynham, Reave

[Kender Bard]

Charminei sauntered towards Locke's home, feeling light hearted. Were she ten years younger, she'd have a skip to her step to boot; finally, she was going to go out into the world again. Nothing rankled her so much as having to stay put for too long. Strolling in without preamble, she chirped, "Good day, Locke. How you feel now?"

[Deleted]

The young Mind looked much improved; there was a healthy flush to his cheeks again, rather than a feverish glow. Since getting over the worst of his sickness a week ago, he still coughed ocassionally, but it usually just meant his throat was dry.

He had been sharpening the steel of his staff when Charminei arrived, so he set it aside and stood to bow to her. "I'm much better, thank you," Locke told the firey woman. "Thank you again for helping me recover. I believe I still owe you some lessons for that."

[Kender Bard]

Charminei beamed at that thought; if she was going to be taught, it might as well be by a teacher she trusted. "Aye, but not now. I'm going to be leaving today with Alexi to go to Maelstrom. You know how fidgety I get. I thought a trip to see my kin's stormy cousins was in order."

[Deleted]

"I didn't know about the fidgety part, but I'm sorry to see you go," Locke said truthfully. "Perhaps I'll find you somewhere come spring, when I'm no longer needed here." He tapped his temple with a slight smile. "Just give a shout and I'll probably hear you." He offered a hand. "Take care, Charminei."

[Kender Bard]

Charminei accepted his hand, shook politely, then yanked him into a hug with a laugh. "And if you need me, contact me as well. I know you have quite a far reach when you want it. Farewell, dear friend." She shared a sly smile with him and let go, leaving swiftly to be with Alexi.

[Deleted]

The Firestorm was waiting at the edge of the camp, playing with a lock of his hair as he waited for Charminei. Lars was close at hand, reins looped over the horn of his saddle, cropping whatever grass was still green.

"All set?" Alexi asked as his fellow Fire approached.

[Kender Bard]

"Yep!" she said, reaching over to pet Lars. "Anything you have left to do?"

[Deleted]

"Not a thing," Alexi answered as Lars appreciatively turned his head to the source of petting. "Nothing to do but get up and go. So let's go."

[Kender Bard]

"Right," Charminei said with one last behind-the-ear scratch. With a soft humming tune, she set off to the north, towards Maelstrom.

((I feel like throwing a monster in their path. What says you? ^_^))

[Kender Bard]

While walking, Charminei allowed her mind to wander, and her guard to drop. She wasn't completely unwary of her surroundings, but she didn't feel in the mood to constantly keep her senses alert. Therefore, she didn't notice the oddly shaped shadow that was cast just within their sight, as something large flew overhead.

[Deleted]

Alexi wasn't a total idiot, as he claimed. Not that Charminei was idiotic, but Alexi had been an apprentice bounty hunter at fifteen, and "graduated" when he was eighteen; thus he had been in the business for quite some time, and for him, the phrase “old habits die hard” was very true indeed.

That was why, when he thought he saw something from the corner of his eye, he took his longbow off his back and nocked an arrow to it without really knowing why. But one does not question their instincts.

[Kender Bard]

It was just as well that he did as well; lured by the sight of a good horse, a giant owlbear flies in the sky, circling above on silent wings. Charminei paused at Alexi's abrupt motion and looked up, blinking.

The owlbear, figuring it'd been spotted, goes in for the stoop.

[Deleted]

"S--t!" Alexi jumped in front of the panicking stallion and aimed as the owlbear came closer and closer, waiting for just the right moment to let the arrow fly.

[Kender Bard]

Charminei surged into action as well; holding two fingertips to her sign below her eye she thrust out her other palm and sent a few shots of flame into the air. The owlbear mostly evaded these - unwittingly aligning itself with Alexi's shot, as Charminei had intended. Furthermore, the smell of burnt feathers fills the air as smoke curls from a few spots on the bird.

[Deleted]

Alexi grinned darkly as the owlbear suddenly dropped a few feet and came right at him. "See ya in the pits," he hissed, and fired, bowstring singing and the air screeching as the arrow shot towards the creature's left eye.