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(missed ya last night, sry)
Bernon glanced at Tanrial. "I just thought of something. Do you know any magic that could tell us from a distance where these people are, or what kind of people they are? Or are we walking in blind on this one?"
(All good)
"I haven't traveled this far away from home in a long time," Tanrial replied, "I'm not quite sure who resides in this parts anymore."
There was a rustle in the trees and then the world seemed to fold and ripple, sending a small sock wave out from the point of origin. The wave was small enough to be recognized as a gust of wind, however there was something about the wave that any magic user could notice.
Bernon slowed to a halt, frowning. He still wasn't very experienced with his magic, and didn't quite understand what had just happened. "….Tanrial, did you see that? Or hear it, or…..whatever it was?"
(I know it's a few days late but merry christmas!)
"I certainly felt it alright." Tanrial replied, "Get your magic ready, just in case, let's keep moving just… slowly." And quietly. From behind them came another ripple, stronger this time, but at the same distance away as the other.
(You too! Hope you had a nice holiday ^^)
Bernon nodded and focused on his magical center, prepared to shapeshift if necessary. That was the magic he had the easiest time with. "Now, I know you're not as stubborn as Mike about this," he whispered as he started forward again, "But remember: Let's try to befriend whoever it is first, even if they don't act totally friendly. Deal?"
(sneaks back in hi :) sorry for the disappearance once again, i kinda lost all motivation for anything for a moment there)
Tanrial glanced over at Bernon, almost hesitating for a moment before she nodded, "Fine, fine. But if they attack hard I'm gonna fire back." She replied, "And you're doing the talking." The pair crept forward a few more paces, the energy bursts seemed to have disappeared before there was a loud bang and then a ball of blue energy shot past Bernon's head.
(ah no worries, I know the exact feeling ^^; Hope you're doing better now!)
Bernon yelped and ducked to the side, hurriedly throwing up his hands to show they were empty. "Wait! Don't shoot! Nobody shoot!" Regaining his balance, he went back-to-back with Tanrial and looked around, trying to figure out where the blast had come from. "So sorry to bother you but I promise we're peaceful travelers and we're just passing through so don't kill us please!"
(I am thanks! Hope you've been okay :))
There was a small wisp of smoke that had come from the direction of the shot. A gun, probably, some sort of advanced weapon by the looks of the blast. Silence fell for a few moments before two young men walked forwards. One had dark skin and was holding the gun that had made the shot, the other light skinned with his own gun in its holster, "Who are you?" He asked, a frown etching into his features.
(Yeah been pretty good! ^^)
Bernon took in the two strangers' appearances for a minute, then cautiously lowered his hands and tried for a smile. "My name's Bernon. This is my friend Tanrial. We're both wanderers heading west, and we came through these woods foraging for food and so on. There is one more to our group, he's in a cabin about a half-mile back. Well, uh, I guess technically there's a fourth guy as well, but we just met him." Bernon quickly ran down his mental checklist of essential information. "We're just a small, peaceful group, and we apologize if we trespassed or startled you without realizing. We'll be moving along soon, don't worry." By now his nerves had settled and he was back to his usual cheerful self. "And who are you guys, if you don't mind my asking?"
(That's great :))
The man who spoke motioned for his friend to lower his weapon, the other doing so however reluctantly, "My name is Drayce, and this is Aston." He said. Taking a step forward, he looked the two travelers up and down, "You shouldn't be in these parts. Are you magic users at all?"
"Um, yeah, Tanrial taught me magic a while back. Our other friend is just plain human, though." Bernon tilted his head. "Are you guys part of a group or community that's staying here? Is that why you don't want us around? Again, we're very sorry to intrude."
"Some of the bandits that live out this way have given us a bit of trouble," Aston said with a simple shrug of his shoulder, "We could sense your magic, it's why you're not dead right now."
Drayce sighed, "You're forgiven for intruding, you couldn't have known we were around here. Knew to the area, are you?"
Bernon nodded. "Yeah, we're actually trying to get away from those bandits you mentioned. We're headed across the Mississippi as soon as today, hopefully, and after that we've got a lot more ground to cover." He couldn't resist appeasing his curiosity and asking some questions of his own. "So…..what kind of group are you guys? Do you live here permanently, or are you travelers too?"
Drayce seemed to relax slightly, clearly deeming the two travelers far from a threat to his community, "We call ourselves Walkers," He said, "Most of us are magic users, like yourselves, specializing in what is basically teleportation. We've lived here for a few years now, but the chances of us moving is fairly high at this point. Those bandits aren't exactly great neighbors."
"I bet not," Bernon replied sympathetically. "They've given us a lot of trouble, and we've only been in this area for a couple weeks." He glanced at Tanrial. "Walkers, huh? I've never heard of those, have you?"
Tanrial shook her head, "Haven't read about you in any books I own or borrowed." She said, glancing between Bernon and Drayce, "Must be a very secluded group."
"We try to be, solitude has protected us over the years. And if we do need to venture out, usually it's only one of us. Luckily we look human, unlike you." Drayce nodded to Tanrial's curled ears, "It's a blessing for us."
Bernon gave an apologetic grin. "We humans can be pretty….unwilling to share space, sometimes. So, how long have you Walkers been living in this area, then? Did you know about the cabin at the edge of the woods? Oh, and did you notice the explosion and fire from the flatlands last night?"
Drayce nodded, "We've been in the area for three years now? and known about the cabin for a while," He said, crossing his arms over his chest, "Tends to be why we come out so far on this scouts just to make sure there's no one coming to harm us. As for the explosion, we heard it, saw it, too, you don't happen to know how it was caused, do you?"
(gotta go to bed, seeya! ^^)
Bernon looked at his boots, pretending to search his memory. In reality, he was sending a mental message to Tanrial. I don't think there's any harm in saying Ven did it, do you? I mean, these two shouldn't care one way or another, since the fire only hurt the bandits, right?
(Sleep well!)
Tanrial bit her lip with a frown, Seems they like the bandits as much as we do, which clearly is not a lot. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell them. But what if they ask where Ven is? Or if they could see him?
I think we can tell them the truth about that too. Ven really doesn't seem like a bad person, and I'm sure we can explain that too if they ask. Bernon straightened and cleared his throat, looking up at Drayce and Aston. "Actually, yeah, the one who caused the explosion is the fourth member of our group. We only just met him, though—he stumbled in early this morning looking half-starved and exhausted. He said the bandits were holding him captive and the fire was his escape plan. He's currently asleep in the cabin while our other friend keeps watch." Bernon privately felt very safe telling them all this, mostly because of Mike. There was no way he'd let anybody sneak up on him or attack him too easily.
Aston frowned, looking ready to go off and find Ven to have some stern words but Drayce simply sighed, "Okay. Does this… Ven have any powers that you might know of? Would he be of any threat to us?" He asked.
Bernon shrugged. "He seems human to me. I'm no expert though. We don't know much about him yet, admittedly. He holds a deep grudge against the bandits and might be the kind of guy to put his own survival first, based on what I saw, but he was civil with us and mentioned his plans to travel much further north once his strength was back. And frankly, right now he's so weak that I doubt he could be a threat to anyone."
The two men nodded, "Do you have a picture of the guy? Or a general description just so we can look out for him?" Aston asked, "If he's as weak as you say and he plans on moving on then he shouldn't be a problem but, just in case."
Bernon thought a moment, then reached into his backpack and pulled out his sketchbook and pencil. He flipped to a blank page and started to quickly sketch Ven's face, speaking as he did so. "He's very pale and has black hair and dark eyes. He's pretty thin and angular, and I'd say he's a few inches shorter than me." Finishing the sketch, he tore it out of his book and handed it to Aston. "Here. Not perfect, but it gets the general idea across."
Aston gladly took the paper, studying it for a few moments before he gently pocketed it and placed it in his back pockets, "Cheers, we'll keep that in mind."
"Why were you two out here again?" Drayce asked, "Food? General scouting? If you need supplies you're welcome to come back to the camp, we have plenty to spare, or would your friend be getting worried?"
"Oh, just scouting around." Thinking of Mike, Bernon winced. "Knowing our friend, he's probably getting pretty worried by now…..or at least ticked-off." He glanced at Tanrial. "What do you think? Should we head back, or do you think we have a bit more time before Mike goes stir-crazy?"
(Love a good bush fire…)
Tanrial hummed lightly, contemplating, "I'm sure we could spare a few minutes, all though it is a little bit of a walk back, he might get worried knowing him."
(Oh no, again? :( Stay safe fam)
Bernon pondered the problem. "Do you think one of us can telepathically connect with him from here? We could let him know what's going on, and that it'll be a little longer before we can get back to the cabin. Does the mind link stretch that far?"
(we're good now. it's contained thank god)
"It might," She replied, "I've never had to test it that far. I can imagine it would give you a head ache but I can try."
Tanrial closed her eyes, reaching out to Mike in hopes he could hear her, or if he could even reply this far out. Mike? Mike can you hear me?