Rhiv: begrudgingly, he moves forward to join the group. he takes Salmook's hand again, squeezing gently. he stifles a yawn.
"Alright then… Resh. Lead the way."
Salmook: he nods along with his pater. even Salmook has to admit that he's pretty antsy to get out of this forest.
Alex: He watches Parvus run back to Tseth, before joining the group. "Sounds good to me."
Tseth: He nods, waiting for Resh to show the way.
(how does everyone feel about me adding in tseth's eternally pissed therapy cat to the mix)
Resh: He raises his eyebrows at Rhiv, then nods at the rest of the group. He turns around and walks away, expecting everyone to follow.
Juni: She follows closely behind Resh, speeding up a bit to keep up.
Parvus: He yawns, flares out his wings, and arches his back, still looking a bit drowsy. He shakes his head and looks up at Tseth with wide eyes.
(Cat cat cat)
(we ignore the fact that cats in BtH can yeet people into the air at immense speeds with magic that I haven't gotten around to figuring out)
(Cat :})
(I am now realizing that we have a Rhiv and a Resh and that is 2 four-letter names that start with R-)
(Rhiv is his nickname, I just didn't feel like typing the full thing every time-)
Rhiv: he shoots a worried glance at Salmook. this isn't the first time he's trusted complete strangers, and it wouldn't be the first time he could get hurt because of it, either. his grip tightens - not enough to hurt, but enough to get Salmook's attention.
"…Come on."
Salmook: he follows after Resh and the others, walking alongside Rhiv.
(kinda like how tseth is tsethlekai-)
(aaa having electric problems in my house might be delayed-)
Alex: He starts following Resh, looking back at Tseth to make sure he follows.
Tseth: He looks down at Parvus, and scoops him up before following everyone. He walks at the back of the group.
Parvus: He chitters happily at Tseth, curling up and falling asleep again.
Resh: He continues walking, and soon the forest floor clears into a distinguishable path. He makes little gestures and mutters to himself as he walks.
Salmook: he lets go of Rhiv's hand and walks a little faster. it's nice being more out in the open - he realizes how much he misses the clearing. "Mr. Resh, uh, sir? Do you think we're getting anywhere?"
Rhiv: he scoffs and tries to hide a smirk - it's the closest thing to a full-on smile he'll afford these strangers. it's nice seeing Salmook happy again, and he's asking a half-decent question for once. "I'll hope so, kiddo."
Tseth: As they walk, he scans the surrounding forest for any movement. It's good that they aren't walking through dense forest anymore.
Resh: He looks down at Salmook, slightly startled. “Oh-“ He smiles at Salmook reassuringly. “I think so. I wonder who made this path… hopefully not those weird cultists.” He seems to rethink his decision to go down this path, drawing his sword just in case.
Salmook: he slows down as Resh draws his sword. maybe that wasn't the right question to ask. he fidgets with the toy he stole from Rhiv's pocket. it's Salmook's, actually, but Rhiv holds it sometimes. "I… I, uh, hope not either…"
Rhiv: did… did he hear that right? cultists? he'll have to ask about that later. for now, he notices that Salmook is on edge again - and Resh, too. figures. there's tension in the air, and Rhiv is missing too many details. he speeds up, keeping pace with Salmook.
(ACK CHILD NO LMAO)
Tseth: His pace falters slightly at the mention of the cultists, but he quickly regains it. They could deal with the cultists again. They weren't that difficult once he wasn't tied down.
Alex: He slows his pace to walk next to Tseth. He takes out a knife, of which the hilt looks to be made of bone, and starts messing with it absentmindedly.
Resh: He looks at Salmook after drawing his sword, suddenly looking panicked. “Shit- uh-“ He quickly sheathes his sword, looking back down at Salmook. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you- that was just a precaution. In case we run into them again.” He looks extremely guilty, and his hand gestures were a little frantic as he spoke.
(New headcanon Resh gestures a lot when he talks)
(amazing)
Salmook: he gives a weak smile. "Y- yeah. Thank you, Resh, sir."
Rhiv: right then. definitely an issue. he reaches down to his belt and pulls out his hatchet. he'd prefer his regular axe instead, but this will do. there's a bow and a few arrows tucked somewhere his cloak if he's desperate. "Tell me about these… cultists."
it's a request open to anyone who bothered to listen, but Rhiv's gaze drifts down to Salmook.
Tseth: He looks at Rhiv for a moment. "We had to kill some kind of forest guardian. A bit later, Resh found a dead body in the forest. The person who killed that person followed Resh back to where we were staying, and ran when I saw them. I followed them, got captured, and after a while most everyone went to find me. They did, and then we killed all of the cultists there." He looks oddly calm as he says all of this, especially considering what he just said.
Alex: "You and Resh killed them all, to be accurate." He looks up at Tseth, sheathing his knife again.
Tseth: He shrugs. "That wasn't an important detail."
Resh: He looks at the others for a while, before going back to mumbling and gesturing to himself.
Parvus: He stirs slightly in his sleep, his legs and tail twitching. He chitters angrily at something.
Rhiv: he takes a moment to consider this. Tseth is oddly… nonchalant. perhaps he's used to such violence? his expression towards Salmook becomes a bit more suspicious. surely he didn't..? Rhiv almost bursts out laughing at the thought - of course Salmook wouldn't have fought. he looks over his shoulder at Tseth and Alex.
"…And you're sure you got all of them? No backup camps, nobody in hiding..? All of them? Really?"
Salmook: he flinches as Parvus starts making noise. before he can even say anything, Rhiv is already in front of him, squeezing Salmook's hand. uh-oh.