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"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?
(I'm glad to hear it)
There was a distinct pause. Then, very faintly, Mike's voice came in return. Tanrial. Yeah, I can hear you. What's going on? His tone was tinged with the carefully-controlled sharpness that meant he was either annoyed or nervous. Is Bernon with you? Are you in trouble? Why haven't you come back yet?
(Hey, just checking in since I haven't heard from you in a while–hope you're doing well fam!)
(Heyy, sorry for disappearing for a good while there. School kinda said fuck you and i just haven't had time or energy to come on. Might disappear again but i should fingers crossed be on more again. I hope you're okay!)
Tanrial leased a sigh. Calm down, we're both okay, there's no need to worry. She glanced to Bernon and gave him a small nod, indicating that she made contact with their friend. We traveled a little further than intended, met some interesting people. They're offering supplies if we need them but their still a little way out from where we are. Do you want us to come back? How's Ven?
(It's okay fam, I get it! Glad to have you back, but of course I don't mind if you gotta take more time for a while ^^ As for me I'm doing pretty good, just working and writing and working again haha)
Ven's sleeping. He woke up for a bit but didn't eat or drink anything. He's fine. Mike was silent for a minute, as if reluctantly mulling things over. If these strangers you met seem safe and worth trading with, I guess I can't stop you. But as always, be careful, and try not to be much longer than another hour. I'd really like to break camp while we still have most of the day.
(It's glad to be back I missed you :) I know I'll defo be active at this time from now on and tuesdays/your monday which is good. I'm glad you're good! work do be a pain tho lol)
Okay, we shouldn't be too long. We'll get supplies and go, then. That way we should be back within the hour and we can head off again. She replied, If anything bad happens we'll let you know, okay? Make sure nothing happens with Ven.