***
The moments after seemed somewhat surreal. The goat was wounded in one of the many small alcoves pockmarking the Wells' stream and Warren sat beside it in the mud while they waited out the storm that had grown overhead. He paid small mind to the broken and battered body of the imp-like voidsent that had apparently been fixing for steak for lunch, sitting with himself between it and Oschon's muzzle. He was no beastmaster, but the goat seemed uneasy to stand on his own power. Strong as he was, Warren knew better than to think he was carrying the beast out of there. The rain came down as Warren removed the pack from his shoulders.
"You recognize this?" He spoke out loud, holding the bag out for the creature to sniff. His nostrils flared as his mouth opened, moving towards the straps keeping it cinched shut. "Now now, I can open it. You don't strain yourself." Warren did as he said he would and opened the bag, turning it upside down and dumping out a half dozen or so faerie apples. "Help yourself. They're for you, you know."
The creature wasn't waiting for an invitation, happily dragging his sideways body towards the pile and sinking his teeth into one of the fruits. Warren shook his head bemused and looked away. His thirst pulled at him but he looked back to the body of the imp and reconsidered putting anything from the stream in his mouth. He'd hoped it wouldn't make much difference by the time it got downstream enough to affect anyone. It was only one imp, but...
He shook his right hand, reprimanding himself for doing something like this without so much as a staff to defend himself while simultaneously being thankful for the time he'd spent mirroring the fighters back at the Bloodsands. He had no formal training aside from that of an unruly youth, but he seemed to retain enough. He kept feeling the awkward, tearing snap as the creature's wing gave way, the pathetic yelp as it flopped to the ground and turned, eyes wide with fear and hate.
He didn't want to consider the bruises, and he'd already felt the cracking blisters on his shoulder where the creature's one chance at offense charred and blackened the edge of his shirt. Warren immediately sank himself into the stream when he was sure the monster was dead and he swore he heard it sizzle when he submerged himself to the shoulder. He'd smeared himself with mud from the bank, hoping it would help cool the sear.
He spared a glance towards the aldgoat. While Warren had been reliving the experience, Oschon had been eating. There weren't even cores left in his wake, and he was working on the second to last fruit. The goat's eyes fell on Warren and he paused mid-bite, as if guilty, then resumed his mindless devouring of his gift. Warren reached out with his left hand, wincing as he stretched and picked up the remaining apple. Oschon loosed a small whine despite his mouth being full.
"I'll give it up under one condition," he mused, holding it up as the rain poured hard outside. The beast finished chewing and looked at him with sad, pleading brown eyes. Warren was torn between how silly he felt and how dumb it was, but there was a tug in his head and his heart that it couldn't hurt. Anything to keep his mind off of what came next.
"I'll go for help from your master and I'll turn over this delicious, crisp faerie apple if you promise me something." He looked at the apple for a moment, then turned his gaze to the goat. The animal's eyes were locked on the fruit, though it did spare him a glance every few moments as if waiting.
"You need to talk to Menphina for me." He paused, his face turning red. "I know you two are close. Do you think you could put in a good word for me? ...If it isn't too much trouble."
There was a long moment where Warren looked at the aldgoat as if expecting something from it besides animal instinct. Finally, he sighed and extended his arm to Oschon's face, letting it take the apple from his hand. He rose uneasily to his feet as the rain started to let up, though he reasoned in his worn out and dehydrated state it wouldn't do him much harm to go for a walking swim. With a firm pat on the neck/shoulder of the eating creature, Warren set foot out of the cave and back towards civilization.
"Hang in there for me. I need you to."
The moments after seemed somewhat surreal. The goat was wounded in one of the many small alcoves pockmarking the Wells' stream and Warren sat beside it in the mud while they waited out the storm that had grown overhead. He paid small mind to the broken and battered body of the imp-like voidsent that had apparently been fixing for steak for lunch, sitting with himself between it and Oschon's muzzle. He was no beastmaster, but the goat seemed uneasy to stand on his own power. Strong as he was, Warren knew better than to think he was carrying the beast out of there. The rain came down as Warren removed the pack from his shoulders.
"You recognize this?" He spoke out loud, holding the bag out for the creature to sniff. His nostrils flared as his mouth opened, moving towards the straps keeping it cinched shut. "Now now, I can open it. You don't strain yourself." Warren did as he said he would and opened the bag, turning it upside down and dumping out a half dozen or so faerie apples. "Help yourself. They're for you, you know."
The creature wasn't waiting for an invitation, happily dragging his sideways body towards the pile and sinking his teeth into one of the fruits. Warren shook his head bemused and looked away. His thirst pulled at him but he looked back to the body of the imp and reconsidered putting anything from the stream in his mouth. He'd hoped it wouldn't make much difference by the time it got downstream enough to affect anyone. It was only one imp, but...
He shook his right hand, reprimanding himself for doing something like this without so much as a staff to defend himself while simultaneously being thankful for the time he'd spent mirroring the fighters back at the Bloodsands. He had no formal training aside from that of an unruly youth, but he seemed to retain enough. He kept feeling the awkward, tearing snap as the creature's wing gave way, the pathetic yelp as it flopped to the ground and turned, eyes wide with fear and hate.
He didn't want to consider the bruises, and he'd already felt the cracking blisters on his shoulder where the creature's one chance at offense charred and blackened the edge of his shirt. Warren immediately sank himself into the stream when he was sure the monster was dead and he swore he heard it sizzle when he submerged himself to the shoulder. He'd smeared himself with mud from the bank, hoping it would help cool the sear.
He spared a glance towards the aldgoat. While Warren had been reliving the experience, Oschon had been eating. There weren't even cores left in his wake, and he was working on the second to last fruit. The goat's eyes fell on Warren and he paused mid-bite, as if guilty, then resumed his mindless devouring of his gift. Warren reached out with his left hand, wincing as he stretched and picked up the remaining apple. Oschon loosed a small whine despite his mouth being full.
"I'll give it up under one condition," he mused, holding it up as the rain poured hard outside. The beast finished chewing and looked at him with sad, pleading brown eyes. Warren was torn between how silly he felt and how dumb it was, but there was a tug in his head and his heart that it couldn't hurt. Anything to keep his mind off of what came next.
"I'll go for help from your master and I'll turn over this delicious, crisp faerie apple if you promise me something." He looked at the apple for a moment, then turned his gaze to the goat. The animal's eyes were locked on the fruit, though it did spare him a glance every few moments as if waiting.
"You need to talk to Menphina for me." He paused, his face turning red. "I know you two are close. Do you think you could put in a good word for me? ...If it isn't too much trouble."
There was a long moment where Warren looked at the aldgoat as if expecting something from it besides animal instinct. Finally, he sighed and extended his arm to Oschon's face, letting it take the apple from his hand. He rose uneasily to his feet as the rain started to let up, though he reasoned in his worn out and dehydrated state it wouldn't do him much harm to go for a walking swim. With a firm pat on the neck/shoulder of the eating creature, Warren set foot out of the cave and back towards civilization.
"Hang in there for me. I need you to."
![[Image: yEROfKO.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yEROfKO.png)
