By the cliffs.

[Masaille]

It's stuck. She yanked at the thread again, frowning. She pulled it between her teeth and bit down hard, but the thread simply slipped inside the crevasse, for all intents and purposes flossing her teeth. She tugged it loose, wrinkling her nose. "Kreiae!" she called. "Come here for a moment."

A little girl opened the flap of the tent, walking from beneath the tarp and over to the log where Adelii was seated. She wore a loose, baggy shirt that hung to her knees, and it was apparant that Adelii was sewing her outfit. Kreiae waited expectantly staring at Adelii with blank eyes. "Kreiae," Adelii continued, "would you hold this for a second, here and here?" Kreiae took the string as it was offered to her, holding it out.
Adelii reached into her belt, pulling out a small knife and striking it against the thread, splitting it into two pieces, although the ends frayed quite a bit. "Thank you, Kreiae. You may go now." Kreiae bobbed her head and trotted into the tent.

Adelii bent over her work, resuming her attempt to patch up the hole created when Kreiae hadn't noticed a tree branch earlier that day. A few moments later, Kreiae returned from the tent, holding out a pair of scissors, a strange pair of knives fastened together in the center which were dulled on the outside. Adelii accepted it with a soft groan and dropped her head into her hands. She took a deep breath, tied the last knot, and handed the fluffy blouse back to Kreiae. "Go change; I'm going to go to the stream."

She liked being prepared before nightfall, and tomorrow they were to travel quite a ways, along the cliffs to a chapel that was said to be haunted with some spirit or another. She was hired to exercise it, but when it came down to it, all that really meant was coercing the ghosts not to haunt people in negative ways, which generally wasn't particularly hard. Plus, they always had great stories to tell. She grabbed the two water flasks - both her own as Kreiae didn't thirst- and started off towards the gurging riverbed.

[Akedhi]

There's a lithe little animal curled up on a rock by the water, basking in the sunlight. Mm, sunlight. Warm rock. Warm sun. Mmm. He is a very content small animal. It's easier to be content when you're a ferret than when you're a man, although he makes a good effort at it when he's in his other form, too.

At her approach, he lifts his head and wrinkles his nose at her. She smells funny. And she looks funny. And he bets that she'd be even funnier looking if he weren't looking at her with animal eyes. So.

There's a flicker in the air around him, and instead of an animal, there is a dashingly handsome elf with soft black hair--raggedly cut short, because he does it himself--and a decidedly superior smirk.

"Hi."

[Masaille]

"Aack!" Leaning over the water, dipping the end of her flask into the cool spring, she started when a noise sounded, and almost fell in. She pulled herself upright, corking the flask and turning around. Even though she was standing straight up, and he wasn't, he was still quite a bit taller than her, much to her disapproval. Then the ears caught her eye. An elf? Or at least a Treyan, neither of which she'd met before.

"May I help you?" she asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow. She really did have better things to do. Only why hadn't she seen him while coming here? Elves, of course, were silent, but her hearing was quite acute, and her atunement to spirits should have helped.

Either way, she obviously wasn't particularly interested in the boy-she already had a job at the moment, and wasn't looking for an assignment or a distraction. Besides, Kreiae might think to start a fire soon, and she always got nervous when Kreiae was around flames. So Adelii turned back to the river, opened the second flask and dipped the head into the spring without even waiting for a response.

[Akedhi]

She hadn't seen him because he was a ferret, of course, and spirt or not, ferrets look and act like ferrets, and are very small and sneaky. (Jasper is pretty sneaky in both forms, actually. He's a bit of a thief.)

"I'm bored."

He wasn't ten minutes ago.

"You can entertain me, if you like."

He also has a bit of a superiority complex. Just a bit. (Also, his tone and expression give that suggestion a decidedly lewd bent.)

[Masaille]

"I'd rather not," she told him quite frankly. She took a sip from the flask, pleased, and corked it as well, tying it to her hip. She stood up, looking at him stonily. "Now, would you please leave me be, whether you like it or not?" She asked rather than told, but implied that it was an instruction either way. Whoever this boy thought he was, he certainly was of no interest to her, and she brushed by him, walking back towards her camp.

[Akedhi]

He laughed.

"Why?"

Still, he didn't follow her. Really. That little white and black shape winding through the undergrowth isn't anything to do with the elf that was annoying her. Honest.

... fine, don't believe me.

[Masaille]

"Kreiae!" Adelii called as she approached the campsite. "I have the water. We might have to move on before tomorrow; there's an elf of some sort in the vacinity. Kreaie?"

A shuffling sound, and the little girl tumbled out of the tent backwards, a frown on her face. She turned her head towards Adelii and nodded, standing up and returning to the tent. Adelii sat down on the log with a deep sigh, and the tent began collapsing in on itself as Kreaie began to pack everything together. Adelii stretched and threw dirt on the campfire, which she was sour to note was lit in her absence.

She walked over towards the tent, pulling the tarp off the tree above and folding it up to Kreaie's dismay as she climbed out of the tent. Kreaie, face upset, took the tarp out of Adelii's hands and finished folding it, placing it in the bag along with the tent supplies and sliging it over her shoulder. She picked up the basket of food, turned to Adelii and nodded.

Adelii sighed. Kreaie always insisted she do all the work, obviously a side affect because Addie's brother didn't want her to 'overexert' herself. "We're going north, right?" Kreaie nodded, pointing in the direction that would have been upstream, had they been by the river.

[Akedhi]

"Your direction's are off," comments the mocking voice of the elf.

"Heading to Bavarat, are you?"

He likes playing with people. Also, he likes having the opportunity to leisurely examine them for things that may be worth stealing.

He's got to live, doesn't he? Anyway, walking off with important things is fun. He likes tormenting humans, elves, halfbreeds, and anything else that might cross his path.

[Masaille]

She turned, trying to mask how she was seething. The boy had followed her? That was unbearably rude. "For your information," she said, drawing herself upright again, "I am not. I am coming from Bavarat, and as to where I'm going, it's none of your business." She started into the forest. Kreaie bobbed her head towards the man (speaking ferret?) and trotted after Adelii.

[Akedhi]

"The City, then?"

There's only one City. The City of the Gods, haven for ne'er-do-wells, misfits, and priests.

"Nice place. Nicer than Bavarat, if you don't like watching your pocket all the time."

... not that the City lacks pickpockets... especially once Jasper arrives.

[Masaille]

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't speak so harshly of my hometown," she said briskly, not even pausing for breath as she hiked uphill, stopping only to let Kreiae get in front so she could keep an eye on her. "Nor am I going to the City of the Gods. Why, pray tell, should I have to go to a city at all?" He was being not only rude, but obnoxious. If he followed much longer, she might just lapse into silence, hoping he'd give up and leave.

She couldn't help but laughing mentally at the thought of anyone trying to pickpocket her. It had happened once before-a man had tried to take a pony from her when she was eleven. She'd told him it was hers and she wanted it back, and he'd laughed. Then she'd yanked on his spirit, pulling it momentarily out of his body then letting go. She wouldn't kill unless she could help it, but it had been more than enough to get her pony back. Pickpocketers were certainly not a problem unless she didn't notice, and Kreiae seemed to notice everything she didn't.

Although, a part of her itched, neither of them had noticed this strange boy near their campsite.

[Akedhi]

As mentioned, she's never had dealings with elves before. He has been sneaking around for longer than she's been alive; he's pretty talented at it.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the silly human priests could do something about your problem child there. It smells dead, by the way."

Elves have keener senses than humans, and ferrets have very keen noses. He is vaguely disturbed by the little girl... and is noticeably avoiding all chances of brushing up against her.

[Masaille]

Adelii froze, and Kreiae stopped, turned around and pouted, shoulders drooping as her basket fell down a bit. "You don't say?" Adelii said icily. She turned around, a smile plastered onto her face as her breathing became harder. "And do I? Smell dead that is? You know, death lies around the corner from all of us. Some closer than others. If you like I could tell you the exact day you're going to die, right now." She strode toward him, looming for once despite her height. Her voice was lighter, a bit higher, and sounded much more eerie.
She pulled her own spirit out of her body, something she had mastered years before, letting her not-quite corpse drop to the ground. Her voice, and yet not her own echoed, vibrating inside the trees surrounding them. "I suppose I smell much more alive now, don't I?"

Her spirit dropped into Kreiae's body, and the eyes were no longer bland, fogged over, looking up at him with malice. The voice of Adelii's long dead friend spoke hotly. "Perhaps you would prefer going to the City of Gods on your own? Since you're so keen on the spot." And then her eyes clouded once again.

"Don't play with me, boy," the trees shook, and Adelii's body slowly stood up, raising her eyes to look at him. "Losing is hardly something I'll waste my time with." She snorted in his direction and turned around once again. "Go, Kreiae," she instructed. The corpse looked worriedly at the boy, but turned around and started up the hill once more.

[Akedhi]

"Boy?"

He laughs.

(This is partially to cover his irritation and his unease with the display. It is also because he does find it amusing that she calls him boy, when he's probably twice her age or more.)

"My dear child, your gods have nothing to do with my kind."

This is because the humans stole the elven gods, long ago, and yes, elves in general are still remarkably bitter about the whole affair.

"And why shouldn't I play? You're as stiff as your corpse here. You could use some relaxation, I bet."

[Masaille]

She was done with her rage. She'd gotten over her anger that he'd acknowledged Kreiae's existance. Then he had to go and mention her again.

"Your dieties or no, I can still smell how far away your spirit is from the realm between worlds," she said haughtily. "And so what if I am as stiff as a corpse? It's better than being as limp as a noodle, such as yourself. I've been playing with death since I was born; how can you categorize me in the world of the living?"

Kreiae could sense Adelii's anger, and continued walking, perhaps the only reason she herself didn't pause to rant at the boy. She was getting hungry though, and would be quite miffed if she were forced to skip dinner in order to avoid the twerp.

[Akedhi]

"Low blow, child. Low."

His voice is still amused, still mocking. I don't think he takes her seriously.

"I suspect you'd figure out just how 'limp' I am if you gave it a try."

... he is shameless.

And sneaky! He's still planning to rob them in their sleep.

[Masaille]

She didn't get the crude reference, which was just as well because she wouldn't have been able to respond to it anyways.

"Kreiae, what's for supper, anyways?" Adelii asked, trying her best to ignore this ignorant twat. "No, it's fine, I'll cook it myself. Will you go catch some fish in the meanwhile?"

Kreiae nodded, set down the picnic basket, and trotted towards the river. "Don't fall in, either! I don't care if the fish think you're rancid or not, bite marks on your arm are difficult to fix!" Adelii called after her, shaking her head, and gathering wood.

"If you're going to bother me, boy, you may as well be useful," Adelii told him promptly, bending over and starting her fire. "Go find tinder or something."

[Akedhi]

"That a no, human?"

He chuckles.

"You wouldn't be worth it anyway, I suspect. No lover?"

She's a bit scrawny for his tastes, but he hits on anything that moves anyway.

[Masaille]

"Hmm? Take what as a no?" she asked, turning her head towards him, but he seemed to be more focused on himself, so she turned back to her sticks, which had just alighted.

"I asked you to get tinder. Are you going to ablidge or not?" she demanded when he started going on about things which were really none of his business. Still, she'd heard that sort of thing several times before and was neither particularly surprised nor concerned. "If you're bothering me with the intention of taking some of my dinner, I really must request that you do at least a portion of work for it; I don't give things away for free."

[Akedhi]

"Not. Whoever said I was looking for a free meal? I assure you, I'm more than capable of feeding myself."

And, when not in cities, he tends to eat in ferret form. It's lovely how eating that way leaves him full the other way, despite the disparity in size. Convenient, when there aren't humans around to steal from or charm.

"Besides, I wouldn't trust my life to your cooking."