Neverwinter Forest expected too much

wandering somewhere beside the border.

vas bistu? she spoke with childlike wonder, the amazement in her voice placed discreetly between breathy sighs. yehudis trailed after each tiny light, opening her mouth and attempting to catch them between gentle jaws. she wondered where they came from, and how long they would stay; were there more of them, hiding somewhere in secret?

the tiny woman leapt in tiny bounds, giggling with excitement. surely, she was alone, and the company sent had been a congratulatory gift from the heavens.

Mal was coming back from a hunt, but he wasn't carrying anything home with him this time. It had taken him out of the territory, but now the forest loomed in sight, a welcome sign. But it wasn't just trees that loomed -- a shadow was moving in front of the outer edge of trees. Head tilt. For a moment he wondered if the figure was Kyr or Lenny, but as he got closer it became obvious, no, that wasn't anyone he knew.

Mal was more interested in what who the heck the wolf herself was than what she was doing. He watched her giggling and bouncing around a bit as he slowly approached. He watched a moment longer, then called out, Can I help you? Of course, Mal was grinning. She was right outside his territory, between him and home. Solve whatever puzzle was here, and he could go curl up and sleep.

can i help you?— yehudis paused, stalling atop the earth at an incomplete pounce. she glanced apologetically at the spotted man and adjusted her posture accordingly. he smiled, though she feared that something more sinister might be brewing beneath his initial expression.

she cleared her throat, and without meeting his gaze, replied: the lights, i've never seen them before. the accent was slight but noticeable, curling around each word, tasting its unfamiliarity. did i disturb you? yehudis then asked, daring to lift her head if but a breath.

There were some things in the world that Mal had apparently gotten used to but still might be odd to others. He was quick to accept the world as just the way it was -- nothing strange about it, people were the strange ones. They're probably from the forest nearby. I can promise they don't taste very good though. He'd been pretty damn hungry the first time through the firefly-infested grove, and the bugs had not been a good snack, even if they weren't filling at all.

Mal was chill, wasn't like he had any reason to be otherwise, Nah, I'm just on my way home. Figured I'd see who was at the door. He pointed beyond, That's Neverwinter Forest, I'm Mal.

yehudis stifled a laugh. she hadn't been trying to eat them, though that might have been how it appeared. rather, she'd been trying to test what they were: insects, or some natural phenomena?

his statement implied the former. yehudis was thankful that she hadn't been successful, else she might have been left to scrub the taste of dead fireflies from her mouth. 

she glanced toward the border and loosened her stance. i'm sorry, the sprite began, i didn't realize... how could she have been so careless? yehudis was grateful that mal appeared more understanding than territorial.

He did always appreciate when it whoever showed up at the borders didn't seem to be some sort of scumbag. Most people weren't. His opinion on Moonspear was still pretty up in the air (he wasn't going to invite them over for cookies), but that was beside the point. This chick wasn't from Moonspear, didn't seem to be from anywhere, in fact. 

He tipped his head, Is there anything I can help you with? I mean, you are right here. Or are you just passing by? He gave her a playfully lopsided grin there. If she was actually looking for a place to stay then it would be simple enough to explain a few things about the pack and invite her in, but he'd had a few cases where they were literally just walking by... Better to not assume.

unsure of how to respond, yehudis glanced in his direction and offered a weak smile. do you always have these? she wondered. elsewhere, she might have been scolded for being so bold, so immodest... her eyes rose from the ground to the air around them, tracking once more the movements of the flying light. 

yehudis knew that ignoring his question might have been perceived as rude. she hadn't meant to avoid answering, but had found herself without a suitable answer. the woman remembered to mind her manners, and to not speak mindlessly for the sake of filling silence.

instead, she allowed herself a moment to ponder mal's inquiry. my name is yehudis, she revealed, but...if that is too hard, judy is fine. hearing her name mispronounced was something yehudis loathed, though she would rarely correct those responsible. i'm not from this area.

Well, they weren't common visitors, that's for sure. Hm. In the end, he shook his head. Not that I know of. I haven't been here a full year yet though -- they might all show up in a month or two or so. If not... There's always the glen... he shrugged, heading a bit closer to her, angled still towards his territory than directly towards her. He was fairly sure he was leaving what was a comfortable distance between them, even with it.

A pause, headtilt, a wider smile. He pondered her name, Yehudis? Was that right? Maybe close. The name felt weird on his tongue, but then again, his name was Mal, it was hard to mess up that one. Even an alien could probably figure it out since it was so short. How far's your home, long trip? Or you seeking a new one? Mal's as he said, was right here. Easy enough.

oh. she sighed, slightly disappointed by his words. yehudis was a patient woman; one month wasn't long, especially if there was somewhere else to find the creatures until their return. excuse me, but — a deep breath — what are they? 

mal's pronunciation of her name, while imperfect, was close enough. yehudis breathed a soft laugh and proceeded to walk beside him, albeit while maintaining some distance. please don't ask me, she whispered, i'm here for something new. there were too many memories behind her, too many to recall. yehudis turned once toward the fireflies but quickly shifted to face ahead.

Some kind of bug -- a firefly -- if you find one that's just sitting around, they're really long, got stripes on 'em and stuff. They don't look like they'd glow like that. He was definitely not an entomologist -- he had such a technical description, didn't he? 

So Yehudis was a potential recruit after all. Hmm! Well the pack there is mine. He pointed with his nose, You could have a new start here. Tell me what you can provide to the pack, and there's a good chance you can call the pines home too. He watched her inquisitively then, searching her response.

fireflies— yehudis had learned that appearances could be deceiving on multiple occasions. she wondered how many fireflies were hidden among their kind and smiled, imagining the works they might perform. zoln zey gefunen vern, she whispered, hoping that mal wouldn't hear.

thinking about starting anew had been one thing, and making the first move had been another, but now that the opportunity was presenting itself— yehudis gulped, considering his offer. i really don't have skills. she looked up at mal, hoping she wouldn't be chased away.

i know plants, she continued, not how to use them, but... why even mention it? caring for them, for the healers to use, that's what i can do. her real interest was in something other, though she didn't think that revealing it would serve any benefit.

He didn't hear, not that he'd have understood a thing. Or rather, he just figured the hush was some random thought about the bugs and thus unimportant in the long run.

A slight wash of confusion. No skills? But she was older than him. Except she kept talking. Okay, she did have a skill that might be useful.. His expression shifted, thinking of his last run-in with Aibreann, That is something. We have a healer here who could do with some help. If we get you two working together, it'd keep everyone nice and safe, I'd think. A smile. Come along? He took another couple steps towards the borders.

yehudis wasn't accustomed to validation. unless this pack followed the same system she'd been raised in, it was difficult to see how she might be useful. nonetheless, she nodded her thanks and stepped over the neverwinterean border.

fade and archive?

The wolf you'll probably want to meet will be Aibreann. If I run into her before you do, I'll let her know you're around. So come along, let's get you a tour. He signaled her to follow. At the very least he could point out Aibreann's scent and any important landmark type things. It'd be good to have another wolf around that could help out with stuff he had not a damn clue about.

A good day, it seemed.