shifts nervously, his large clawed hand clenching and unclenching as he senses the nearby foe. "R-ready for this? Gotta work together, okay?"
We're not even sure what we're fighting yet…
his tail twitches anxiously "I know, I know, but we gotta be prepared! Got any tricks up your sleeve, huh?"
Well... Her claws retract and she opens her satchel taking out two dust jars We can use these if need be. They're soot and lampblack. You want the left or the right? Both are tiny vials about the size of her palm
reaches out hesitantly, his fingers trembling slightly L-left, let's try that one first. Hurry though, we don't have much time!
She tosses it into Grimoire's hand and then they wait. Suddenly they hear something, it's faint but definitely someone whistling. Both look around There it is! Who is that?!
grunts and growls under his breath, his eyes scanning the surrounding trees Dammit, I don't know! But we can't just sit here!
Felineti nods, using scent to locate the individual quickly and getting into a defensive stance
snarls and bares his teeth, stepping forward protectively in front of Felineti Stay behind me, I've got this. Whoever it is, they won't stand a chance against me!
Suddenly a wolf appears, a rough looking adult male. His fur has black tips to it making him look almost like he was made of night itself. He stands tall and observes the pair, his amber eyes piercing, examining them both before letting out a long whistle which was the signal to attack
snarls menacingly, his fur bristling as he takes a step forward Get ready, beast! You won't know what hit you! lashes out with a powerful swipe of his paw, aiming straight for the wolf's chest
As Grimoire attacks the wolf, Felineti grabs another jar from her satchel. If successful this will cause temporary blindness. The contents inside the jar spilled onto the wolves face causing him to yelp and try to rub it away.
sees the wolf momentarily blinded and pounces, pinning him to the ground Now, while you're blind, you son of a—
The wolf buckles under Grimoire, whimpering. Once Grimoire released him, he fled without bothering to clear the blindness
grumbles, his eyes narrowing in frustration Great, just great! That's all we needed, a coward running away. We can't let him get away!
Unless there's somewhere he might lead us to. Her ears twitch as she hears something off in the distance Did you hear that? Dogs could probably take care of him anyway. Just saying. She sounds exhausted still clutching the second vial So I'm good. Thanks. She gives Grimoire back the empty vial Can you please put that away? It's fragile.
<Grimoire carefully puts the empty vial back in his pocket, being careful not to break it. He lets out a frustrated growl, clearly not pleased with the outcome of their encounter with the wolf. Despite their efforts, the wolf managed to escape, leaving Grimoire and Felineti feeling frustrated and unsatisfied.>
Hey, we may not have gotten our revenge, but at least the Wolf isn't going to harm anyone else. She smiles tiredly Do you want to go back home or shall we get moving on our next mission?
scowls and huffs, crossing his arms over his chest "Next mission, of course. Revenge will come later.
She looks down at her feet a bit glum Yeah. True. Her hair shifts in the breeze Let's get moving before something else shows up and makes a mockery out of the situation. I say sarcastically
rolls his eyes and scoffs "Mockery indeed. Always something new waiting to ruin our day, isn't there?" lets out a frustrated sigh
What'd you expect? Ever heard of the saying "Murphy's Law"?
snorts "Yeah, Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Sounds about right in this damn forest." shakes his head and starts walking
Ah well... At least this place gets less dangerous at night. Grabs her things and walks along beside him You going to be ok? I swear you had some pretty good strikes there. You did good today. She looks at him smiling
grumbles under his breath, his expression softening slightly "Yeah, yeah, thanks for the praise. Just doing my job, after all.
Smiles warmly Right. Just doing your job. As she does, she starts plucking some flowers Hey, look what I found! Maybe these can be useful somehow... Some of these might be poisonous... Oh or these... These ones smell really strong. Maybe we can use those as traps... She continues walking forward Maybe there's treasure hidden somewhere around here and the beast guarding it. Who knows.
pauses for a moment, looking at the flowers in Felineti's hand "Treasure, huh? Don't get your hopes up. More likely it'll be another trap or something."
He sees her smile fade again Sure. Not worth the effort anyway... Unless you really want to continue searching. She looks sad, now staring at the ground
takes a deep breath and shakes his head "No, no. I didn't mean to rain on your parade, alright? I just... don't want to get my hopes up, you know?
Looks down at her feet again briefly losing herself in thought Well... Most treasure maps seem to be boys adventures. Though it wouldn't hurt to ask girls either... Sighs tiredly Anyway. I know a safe place nearby. We can rest there tonight, though we should watch out for that group of Wolves earlier today... They normally range pretty far but it's been almost a week since we last met up with them. Too much of a risk.
nods reluctantly Fine, whatever. Just make sure you stay close. And keep an eye out for any more surprises. We don't need another run-in with some wild creature.
She squints a little looking at the sun position and surrounding landscape Well, I think it's about daybreak soon. We should make camp soon... Sighs Anyway, it looks like the rest of today is going to be a walking marathon... We may as well make good use of the daylight. Smiles tiredly and walks along beside him again
huffs and shuffles along beside Felineti "Walking marathon, huh? Great, just what I needed. More physical activity. Just my luck."
Actually, considering you fight, you get less exercise than I do and I'm part human. She sighs again However it is spring, we still have some really nice weather left. Even if it is raining, walking doesn't seem so bad... You'll see soon enough. She stops abruptly pulling out a roll of lined paper Ah! Thank goodness I was prepared. Draws something with a piece of charcoal. She looks at him Grimoire, can you read? She holds it out showing him her drawing and then says Do you want the whole thing explained in person or did you understand enough from that?
squints at the drawing for a moment, his brow furrowing "Huh, well, I guess it's better than nothing. Explain away, kid."
Smiles softly showing him a map. It looked like a small forest with possibly three settlements and many trails ranging between them, some well used, others not. Some were roads, other clearly paths of some sort. However this was only one forest, though in her mind she knew there were more This is the main path you take. If anything, consider the smaller paths, but in all reality these will either lead to nowhere, dead ends, or just worse, wolves. Sometimes they're smarter than they seem. She points towards a settlement off the beaten path which looked pretty worn down Sometimes however... There may be better shortcuts.
narrows his eyes, studying the map intently "So, let me get this straight. You're saying there's a safer route to our destination, but it's risky because it goes through smaller, less traveled paths?"
Usually safer, most times. But yes, Riskier. The smallest most hidden places, however, are about fifty/fifty safe, treasure, or dead end. Best luck comes from luck though. Maybe there's a special reason this person hid this treasure... That said, most treasure just happens to be gold and jewels though sometimes it has unique items. She smiles Though most of the time the rewards aren't even treasure at all but something else entirely. The last village further south that has contact with another kingdom often has three price lists. One for supplies, one for people passing through, and one for information. She looks up at him smiling softly You seem extra down today. Something I said?
grumbles and crosses his arms "Yeah, you said something. Just... forget it. It's nothing important. Just my mood swinging, as usual."
Is something eating at you? I could help... She pauses looking down at the ground Unless it's because of how lousy I am at anything... Her face turns red Uh... Nevermind...
<As Felineti continues to walk alongside Grimoire, she notices a subtle change in his demeanor. His gruff exterior softens, and he hesitates for a moment before speaking.>
Hey... I mean, I'm not the best at everything. You know that....Even though, we have a lot of trust in each other... Would you like me to open up a little about my own flaws? I know mine first hand, I haven't made mistakes? But... I know some of yours. Her tone was calm, patient, and understanding. She kept glancing up at him So, if you have something bothering you I can help. At least listen to me for once?
pauses for a moment, his expression softening "Fine, fine. Maybe... maybe I do have something on my mind. But don't think it's because I can't handle my own flaws. It's just... lately, everything seems to be going wrong. It feels like the universe is against us, you know?