Look what the fox dragged in...|Clan Poldora

[Toyoll]

Aakel stood at the edge of the village grounds, she waited patiently, arms crossed, for her young companion to catch up. She twitched, he was crashing noisily through the underbrush, she'd have to fix that before they traveled to Beleg.

A small whistle, like a bird's chirp, caught her attention, she replied with a click of her tongue. The scouts have been monitoring them for several hours, the vixen even managed to spot them from time to time, but there was no reason to bring them to the attention of the young Slaadi.

Aakel curled her nostril ever so slightly, she tried to pick out the more subdued clothes from the market for the boy, but it still reeked of Seere. Oh well, better a live Seereling than a dead Naurorod boy, she told herself. "Hurry up, kid! Almost there."

[Skittlebug]

Slaadi catches up to the vixen shortly, and loudly, despite his best efforts to be quiet. He pants for a second beside her, "How do you move so quietly through all this...this stuff?"

He'd enjoyed the first few hours of travelling, the forest was so different and interesting on foot, but had quickly grown weary of it. There was no comparing this to walking over nice soft sand.

[Toyoll]

She laughed in short, barking breaths, "Lots of practice....And I lift my feet when I walk." She started to make her way toward the village, only a small field of tall grass between them and home, "Remember what I told ya, now. If someone stares at you, stare right back, show a little back bone. Otherwise, they'll take that back bone from you."

Aakel signaled with her hands and two, tall warriors rose from the grass, an unclear bear affinity and a brown hyena affinity, an eyed the boy. The officer yipped angrily and dismissed them.

[Skittlebug]

As the pair leaves Slaadi realises that it might not be as easy as he first thought to look everyone in the eye, those two Beasts looked nasty. Maybe I can be big and tough like that someday...

Those thoughts are pushed aside however as the clan comes into the full view. Still not used to seeing so many Beasts in one place, Slaadi tries to see everything at once. And look for anybody looking at him at the same time, so he could stare back like Aakel said. All of this having a bit of a dizzying effect.

[Toyoll]

Aakel strode into the village and started to weave her way through the mess of huts. Most Beasts didn't even look in their direction, but a few started to notice the newcomer. Immediately, a notable difference between Beast clans and the rest of human society makes itself apparent. They weren't all leaning in for a better look, but rather, a better smell.

As they made their way deeper into the village, children started to appear, most were running after each other or engaging in playful wrestling matches. Some of them broke away from their games to watch Slaadi walk by, the bolder ones even skipping behind them for a short while before being tagged by one of their friends and running off in mixed squeaks and giggles.

Eventually, the huts gave way to a wide, circular clearing. Large fire pits sat smoldering in the center of the clearing, countless racks of tanning hides and a sizable bone pile occupied the southern-most edge, while toward the northern end, a large, open walled tent shaded the village plaza. Lots of Beasts, mostly elders or off-duty warriors, lounged under the canvas canopy to escape the midday sun. Among them a large, hulking man sat with his back to them, large antlers arching above his head.

"Hail, Sloan Irontines, General of Poldora!" shouted Aakel, albeit with a more familiar tone, "Back from Seere, you can call off the hounds now." The giant elk man simply glanced over his shoulder, "Little vixen should not go wandering about on her own. What would he think if you were mauled?" he grumbled in a deep voice. Aakel rolled her eyes, "I do not need a nanny, Sloan." The general remained silent for a short time, "...Who is the fawn?" "Call him.....an early recruit." she said carefully.

[Skittlebug]

For his part, Slaadi stands as straight as he can not quite behind Aakel, he doesn't want to look as if he's hiding behind her. He tries to keep his eyes forward and not to gawk at everything around him, remembering from his mothers stories that the general is the leader of Poldora. Try as he might though, he can't keep his eyes from darting to Sloans enormous antlers.

[Toyoll]

Sloan inhaled slowly, filling his lungs, then let out a long sigh. After a short moment, the lumbering man stood, his movements slow and deliberate as he turned to face Aakel and her 'new recruit'. His legs became more visible, they were covered in shaggy, grey fur and ended in large, cloven hooves. He wore a simple garb, much simpler than most of his fellow Poldorans'. He didn't even sport the ranking feathers that other warriors wore, but he was still an imposing man.

"..He smells of Seere...and sand." Sloan growled. Aakel's mind worked quickly and, finally, she found a way to pull at the old elk's sympathies,"That is because he and his family were taken by poachers. He managed to escape and find his way back to Seere..." she watched his expression carefully, but Sloan's face was unreadable, "..His mother may have escaped also. I figured a little scrapper like him could use some help locating her, not like I've got better things to do..."

Sloan's elk-like ear twiched and he turned his steely gaze on the young Slaadi, "What is the little fawn's name and affinity?"

[Skittlebug]

Slaadi nearly frowns as Aakel speaks, but catches himself, from the General's growl she must have a good reason for it.

He stiffens as Sloan looks at him, eyes widening, but he does his best to keep from looking down. His voice does waver slightly as he replies, "I'm Slaadi, General, I'm an iguana affinity."

[Toyoll]

Aakel smirks to herself, Kid catches on quick.

Sloan grunted thoughtfully, "Slaadi." He looked him over with an appraising glance, "...Slaadi is brave to have run from the poachers.." the general spat the last word out like it was venemous, "But, let it be known, it is unlikely that your dame still draws breath." He turned his antlers to Aakel, who straightened out politely, "You may help him, but do not distract my warriors!" he grumbled before unceremoniously walking away.

[Skittlebug]

The boy lets out a breath as Sloan turns away, letting his shoulders slump a little. Not sure if he expects much of a response, he hazards a curious glance up to the vixen. His mother had never told him anything about poachers and he would be asking Aakel about it when he got the chance.

[Toyoll]

Aakel watched the general go and allowed herself a small sigh of relief. Some of the nearby Beasts, who were watching the exchange, continued to stare at the vixen. She made a small growl and they quickly turned back to their own conversations.

Smiling suddenly, she looked to Slaadi, "That certainly went well! You have good instincts. Pretty impressive for a Seereling." she winked an amber eye. "Let's go grab some food, then we can talk more a my place. Remind me, iguanas: herbivorous or carnivorous?" Aakel asked as she began to walk away, not waiting for him.

[Skittlebug]

Slaadi blinks at the sudden change in attitude, a little confused, then trots to catch up. "Um, herbivorous I guess, but I can eat meat if I have to."

As they walk he begins to feel a little more confident, he'd just talked to the General!

[Toyoll]

Aakel rolled her eyes, "Herbivore..." she whispered. "Well, I don't feel like foraging. Let's swing Radia's place first. That goat's probably got something to trade..."

The fire beast walked quickly, taking long strides, but didn't seem to notice. Eventually they arrived at a home, not far from the plaza. It looked just as any other hut, but notably different in that there were vines curling up the sides, full of ripe tomatoes and other vine fruit. A woman sat, hunched over a boiling pot on the fire. Unlike most of her brethren, she looked perfectly human. She was a buxom sort with darker skin and a round face that was nearly always obscured by her hair. The only clues to her Beast heritage were her horizontal pupils and over-abundant mane of curly red locks.

"Hey there, Radia you old goat!" Aakel called. "I'm not a goat, you mangy scavenger. I'm a mouflon." She mumbled, not looking up from her cooking stew. She sniffed the bubbling mixture and sprinkled some herbs onto it, "What do you want?" Aakel shook her head, "Radia, Radia, Radia, you know I was only joking! I'm looking for some veggies or something for the kid!"

Radia looked up, blew a rogue strand of hair out of her face and eyed the boy, "...For the kid's sake, I hope he's not yours." She grumbled. "Of course not!" snapped the vixen, her sudden burst made the flames around Radia's pot flare up slightly, "..He's new here and he doesn't know where to forage for food. I know you always have something extra, so I wanna trade!" The mouflon smirked, "Aakel Obrhim is doing charity work? My, my..." She turned to Slaadi, "So kid, what do you like? Tomatoes, cucumbers..? Got some stew here too."

[Skittlebug]

Slaadi does a decent job of keeping up to Aakel, now that they're out of the forest. He eyes the building and people, still a little uneasy, but with growing confidence. The boy imagined that Aakel's cocky mannerisms made him feel safer than he would otherwise.

He grins when the stop at Radia's hut, thinking all the vines make it look a bit funny. While the two banter he tries not to laugh, liking the 'mouflon' already. Though he does wonder what she means about him not being Aakel's, she was looking after him for now after all.

"I'm not picky ma'am, the stew does smell good though." He's never seen some of the vegetables Radia has, but tries not to stare at them, remembering that he's supposed to be from Seere.

[Toyoll]

"Vegetable stew it is." Radia grunted and she scooped some of the stew into a wooden bowl. She offered the bowl to the boy, "Keep the bowl, consider it a welcoming gift. Now, about that trade..." Aakel dug into her pouches and pulled out a small, brown satchel. She tossed it to the mouflon, "It's salt. Got it from Seere. Enjoy that!" Radia's odd eyes grew wide and the grumbling beast cracked a smile, "Shoot, Aakel! Here, boy, take this too!" and she tossed him the biggest tomato on her vine.