Wandering on the Water

[Kender Bard]

"Ahh!" Quintin yelped and jumped, twisting around with eyes wide with surprise. Seeing it was Anko, he looked briefly confused before flashing her a silly, embarrassed grin. "Crazy woman," he chuckled.

[Devon]

Lucid giggled at the festive display between the two friends and pulled Lily along with him to go meet Anko's friend. "Hello Anko's friend!"

[hisdivineshadow]

Grinning, Anko lifted her hands over her head and stretched. "How's it going, old man? I was passing through, thought I would visit."

[Kender Bard]

Quintin held a hand over his chest, even though he was grinning. "I must be getting old, I felt as though my heart would burst." Glancing at Lucid, something flickered in the man's eyes a moment before he smothered it with his usual warm friendliness. "Hello little one. Not giving your mom any trouble are you?"

"I'm not his mother," Lily said quickly. "I'm just the nanny."

"Well then, either way," he chuckled. "Anko, it's good to see you. Where's Adarr?"

[hisdivineshadow]

She hesitated. "We . . . parted ways. He wanted to return home." Her gaze flicked away uncomfortably. "I'm not ready to, yet."

Rallying her spirits, she looked at him again with a renewed grin. "So, how's it been? Bet you haven't had much excitement since I left town."

[Kender Bard]

"No, but given my job, and age, I think I could do with peace and quiet," he chuckled, standing. "How long will you be in Ronduin, friend?" Idly he wondered what she would be doing now that she had parted from her brother. Was he returning home? Was she not?

[hisdivineshadow]

She shrugged and stretched again. "Not a clue. I'll stick around 'til I get the itch to leave." Abruptly, her stomach made a loud growl. Anko looked surprised, if anything, but not embarrassed in the least. "Maybe you could tell me where to find a good meal?"

[Kender Bard]

"I could take you to a place," Quintin offered, but hesitated. "Ah, is the young lad and his nanny with you by the way?" He wasn't sure what to do. Let Lucid go or take him along.

[Devon]

Lucid looked from Lily to Anko, to Quintin to Anko, and back to Lily. "I'm hungry too Lily," he whined. He wasn't starving for anything, but he didn't want to let his new interest leave so quickly. He still had more questions about Beasts.

[hisdivineshadow]

"Sure," she answered with a grin and a brief glance back at the boy. "He helped me find you, after all." She tapped her nose. "Difficult to follow a trail in a land where everything smells of fish."

[Kender Bard]

Quintin flashed her a grin. "You get used to it," he laughed. "Come along then, lad." He feigned ignorance as he asked the child, "What's your name?"

[Devon]

"My name is Lucid," he answered to Quintin as he moved closer to Anko. "Anko, can you tell me more about the Beastlands?"

[hisdivineshadow]

She tapped her chin thoughtfully as they fell in behind Quintin's lead. "Well, a lot of it is open grasslands. Around the edges, anyway. That's where you find the bigger animals. Ever heard of an elephant?" Turning to look down at Lucid, she held her hands up on either side of her face and flapped them in imitation of an elephant's ears, then puffed her cheeks out to make a trumpeting noise, altogether looking pretty comical.

[Devon]

Lucid giggled and clapped his hands excitedly. "How big are they Anko?" he inquired. "Lily hvae you been to the Beastlands?"

[hisdivineshadow]

The Beast grinned, her eyes sliding this way and that along the street, then pointed. "See that shop with the awning, there? You might be able to fit one underneath. Tho' just barely."