By the Campfire (Open Free for all)

[Kasumi]

A hand lowers from the side of her head and wraps around the large bouquet of flora currently spilling from her arms as she trudges through the forest. Ever so often, a stifled unintelligible curse hisses from behind the flowers as her boots catch on root and rock alike and she fights to keep herself upright on her trek back to Gridania. She pauses and shifts the bundle in her arms for a moment, looking to either side of it with a heavy exhale. 

 

"I aught to have been there by now..." She peers underfoot at the trail, only to find none and lets loose a frustrated grumble, several of the flowers shaking free from her arms. "And the trail is gone. Perfect. So be it. I will merely continue on and eventually chance upon someone!" She sets off once more with a huff, her feet making quick work down the side of rocky outcropping and further into the woods, towards the sound of water.

 

One of her boots catches on an exposed root, sending her flying with a shrill yelp and landing face first in the damp soil. She quickly sits up, spitting and brushing it from her face with a disgusted whimper. The various clippings are strewn across the area in front of her, lit by an oddly warm glow and she turns eyes towards it with a squint. "...A fire?"

[Branson Thorne]

Dacein had just started to take a bite of the fish that the male Au'Ra had thrown to him, when in the darkness he heard a crash. Instinctively in a swift second he was on his feet, twirled in place and retrieved his sword and withdrew it from the sheath. He peered into the darkness straining to make out any shape of wild beast or man. The darkness seemed to shroud out his vision, his eyes having adjusted to the bright glow of the fire. He soon began to male out a shape upon the ground and he'd step towards the fallen figure.

 

"SHOW YOURSELF!" he bellowed into the darkness, his laid back personality from before was fueled with a burning energy he only felt in combat. His grip strengthend on the hilt of the freshly sharpened blade as he approached the dark figure

 

"Who goes there? I shall not ask again" his words icey and cold. He'd pause just feet away,, sword drawn, awaiting the reply.

[Kasumi]

She flinched at the harsh blare coming from ahead of her, hands still rubbing across her face in an effort to right her vision from the fall. Her left hand lowers to the underside of her tunic, unhooking a small painting knife from her tool belt and she shifts towards the light slowly, keeping her hand hidden at her side for the time being. She spits the dirt from her face once more and holds up the other hand for them to see she is unarmed.

 

"My apologies, sir. It was not my intention to fall here. Pray listen and stay your blade. I bear no ill intent." She slowly comes to her feet and begins to brush herself off, the tool still hidden along her palm. Her tunic is tugged down with a sigh as she notes the dull stains and scuffs in the fire's glow. "I simply lost my way in my avidity."

 

She takes a single step forward and displays her hands once more, the blade of her tool tucked away within the cuff of her sleeve.

[Khunbish Avagnar]

There was a click as Aiswynd hoists his rifle up and rests it across his shoulder. He was standing just behind and to the side of Dacein, as if intending to use the Elezen as a body shield should something have come out from the darkness. Red limbals burn and shift as he watches the person arrive from the darkness and as soon as he can clearly see Kasumi.

 

"Dacien you can stand down she's a friend." he turns away towards the fire to hide the fact that he was suddenly blushing furiously, "Hello Kasumi, what brings you so far from Ul'Dah?" he shifts back to the fire and starts fussing over the fish suddenly, keeping his face hidden from her as best as he can.

[Branson Thorne]

[

 

His sword lingers in the air still pointed in her direction, the blade glowing almost as if it was orange, caused by the blade reflecting the embers of the fire.

He'd slowly lower his blade, but instead of discarding in a show of goodwill as he had done earlier, he now attached it to the belt on his left hip and would hold the hilt tightly with his left hand.

 

It did not make him feel any more comfortable knowing that the Au'ra had friends about. He'd nod his head in a silent greeting before backing slowly away from her, never turning his back to either of the Auri. He thought he had seen her stash a weapon, thought none was to be found. Still, he was not about to trust much anyone in these forests, not even the innocent looking ones.

 

"Do you always skip through the night while carrying flowers?' he'd ask eyeing her suspiciously.

 

He'd look to the male Au'ra and wonder where the sudden awkwardness he felt in the air had come from. Was the man blushing, or perhaps it was the glow of the fire, he couldn't be quite sure but he;d silent back up to thr etree behind him and rest his back and right leg against it, still firmly gripping the sheathed sword with his left hand.

[Kasumi]

"A-Aiswynd." She blinks, her guard doubling at the sight of him and his gun. Slowly the palette knife slides into her cuff, disappearing all together as she regards Dacien once more. 

 

"It is as he says. We have a free company together although I did not know he was around." Her gaze casts across the fallen plants once more, sighing as she begins to pick them up, not caring to tiptoe around the hostility any longer. She begins to pick up the flowers, her arms becoming over full within moments; finally looking to Dacien with a faint pout. 

 

"I do not skip, sir. I was on my way from Camp Tranquil and kept seeing interesting flowers. Found myself here. Where ever here is." With that she looks about and attempts to walk away from Dacein to the far side of the lit campfire hoping to stay at the edge of the light apart from the rest of them to sort the flowers. 

 

"I see you have quite the campsite going, Aiswynd." She mentions offhandedly, her hands already setting like flowers into piles.

[voidVirago]

Rihxo had busied herself with writing in a notebook that she somehow managed to not realize that there was a newcomer here.

"Whoa, hi! I'm so sorry I didn't see you, I must be really out of it tonight..."

She'd eye the woman with curiousity in her eye, but a sweet smile on her face. "My name's Rihxo, it's super nice to meet you, uh... Oh, you didn't say your name! Unless you did and I didn't hear you. Oh, wait, sorry, am I rambling?" Rihxo shook her head. Even she wasn't usually like this!

 

((Let's play a game called "how bad did my tablet manage to screw this up?"

EDIT: My tablet managed to screw this up.))

[Khunbish Avagnar]

He fiddles around with the fish, suddenly moving at an almost panicked pace, "Ah yes the camp well it's nothing that fancy I mean it's just a basic camp right? Fire pit, lean too, Coe passed out on my bed roll." he says in a rapid fire fashion, suddenly shifting about to keep his face somewhat hidden from Kasumi. He then stops and holds out a fish to her.

 

 

"R-Rihxo, you can have some fish to if you like, th-there is plenty to go around!" he calls out, trying to distract himself and turn his attention elsewhere. He then glances to Dacien, "H-How was the fish Dacien? Did I get the seasoning on it right?" he chances a glance back to Kasumi only to fluster more before looking back to Dacien.

[Kasumi]

A fish is thrust before her, blocking the view of her flower sorting and she blinks at the item for several seconds before following it along the arm attached to Aiswynd's face. "When did you..?" Pausing, she looks down at the fish again and trades it for the stalks in hand, letting them fall to the ground. "...Thank you, Aiswynd."

 

At the mention of Coe, she relaxes her stance and clicks her tongue to call for the kitten; her spare hand digging into the oversized bag draped on her side for the usual treat of dried meat. The treat is tossed towards the sleeping kitten, landing a few ilms away and she turns to her own food. She takes a bit of the fish and turns to Rihxo, a hand covering the area in front of her mouth.

 

"K-Kasumi, ma'am. Do not pay me mind. I will be along my way once I have recovered from my less than amazing stumble into camp." Her eyes narrow across the top of her hand in a warm smile towards Rihxo.

[Branson Thorne]

Dacein would look between the two Au'ra and chuckled to himself quietly as he began to put two and two together, He'd let down his guard for the time being and would turn into his mellow self once more

 

"The fish was quite fine good sir, surely you must be a masterful chef to have arranged such exquisite flavor with so few ingredients" he'd reply to him, clueing him in that he knew what was going on by shooting the man a wink and a nod of his head towards the flower sorting girl.

 

"She hit the ground rather hard if the sounds of it are any clue" he'd smile tauntingly at Aiswynd "Perhaps you ought to tend to her and see if anything is broken, maybe mend a few scratches, we wouldn't want the young woman to have unattended injuries, now would we?" he'd finish with a small chuckle

[voidVirago]

"Oh, no, I'm okay. Thanks though, Aiswynd!" She'd look back over to Kasumi, tilting her head slightly. "Go? Why? You just got here, that'd be silly! Besides, you and Aiswynd seem to be... friends. Don't you want to at least talk to him a bit?" She'd smile all too innocently. It was unclear if she'd thought the same thing Dacein did, or if she was really that oblivious.

 

"Oh, yeah, Dacein, you're right! It'd be weird if we checked her, 'cause we don't really know her. Besides, I know, like, nothing about first aid and healing and stuff. It's unfortunate, really. But I can make candy! Hey, Kasumi, want some chocolate?" She'd offer forward a tin full of little white pearls of chocolate, plucking one from it for herself. What an abrupt topic change, as well!

 

((Edited because what is this spelling you speak of?))

[Khunbish Avagnar]

He was now currently as red as his hair at the mention of cleaning Kasumi, "N-No! That would be too-I mean we don't-!" he glances at Kasumi and the blush flares deeper as he looks back to the fire quickly. He fidgets a bit, "T-the fish...I'm learning in the Bismarck but I am focusing on fish specifically as my specialty because I really like fish."

 

 

He shifts his focus back to the fish and begins to adjust them so that they don't overcook. He glances at Rihxo and sighs, "You really should eat, or is it you don't like fish?" he asks, glancing again at Dacien, he apparently got the hint of what he was trying to do and it just made him more flustered.

[Steel Wolf]

"Phoo!!"

 

Steel's sneeze echoed off of the boughs of the trees in the area. She hated the Twelveswood. From the tales she'd heard growing up of trees that ate people for setting even one foot wrong to the current irritant floating in the air, nothing about the place appealed to her.

 

"Phoo! ...shite's sake."

 

Her armor rattled at another sneeze, the baldric which had her immense warsword lashed to her back shifting with the force of her expulsion. The purple-feathered chocobo that was led by the reigns alongside reared its head back, giving a light, irritated half-kweh at the noise. Steel switched the reigns from one hand to the other, patting the bird's side comfortingly.

 

"Beggin' yer pardon, Blanfalk. Summat in th'air doesn't fully agree with me...think th'trees are startin' to give way..."

 

She looked ahead through the dark and did, indeed, note that the vegitation was beginning to give way to a clearing near some water. Better yet, there was the light of a campfire and at least a few forms set around the glow of the flames.

 

Steel held Blanfalk still, eyes squinting to assess the situation. Her nasal blasts very likely betrayed her position, so stealth would have been out of the question, even ignoring her tall Roegadyn frame and titanium armor suit of Ishgardian make.

 

"Guess it's announcin' our presence, then," she decided aloud.

 

Steel's right hand reached towards the hilt of her greatsword. Even their fastest couldn't close distance before she could bring the weapon to bear. Her other hand cupped around her mouth as she called out.

 

"Ahoy, th'camp! Stand down an' ye'll recieve a flask of rum! Stand and deliver, an' you or me or both'll meet at th'seven hells!"

[Kasumi]

The unfamiliar bellowing across the way causes her to perk up from the sorting already underway with a perturbed confusion. The fish lowers from her hand, resting atop the large bag at her side and she plucks a skin of water and chamois out from a pouch. The cloth is doused and pressed to the side of her face as she continues to stare into the dark woods, not entirely sure the source of it. 

 

"And what manner of nonsense is this now," she mutters, adjusting her arm so that the palette knife's handle sinks back to her palm. "Aiswynd, Malboro do not speak... do they?"

 

Her attention shifts between the other three by the fire, taking a chance to appraise each one and finally settles on Dacein and his sword.

[Khunbish Avagnar]

Aiswynd glances at Kasumi and there is a flicker of a smile, "Not that I've ever heard." He responds to her before shifting about to stand and face in the direction of the shouting, the fish sitting behind him before he shouts back, "You can keep the rum, or give it to one of the others here, that foul stuff only makes me sick! We have fish though, unless you're a morbol in which case take your bad breath and begone!" he chuckles at Kasumi before looking back into the darkness.

 

He didn't reach for his rifle which stayed on the ground next to him and he held his hands out open, showing that he was not currently armed.

[Steel Wolf]

A hearty chuckle issued from the darkness as Steel emerged in to the firelight. Her hands were up and unburdened, save for the right hand, which held the reigns of her chocobo. Both stood tall before the camp--the Roegadyn woman a near eight fulms, and the chocobo large enough to bear the burden and a saddlebag at each side. Both wore heavy plate, with the chocobo in heavy cobalt with the Maelstrom's standard draped over each wing.

 

The woman grinned broadly, golden eyes catching the firelight as she slowly lowered her guard and brought the chocobo behind her. "Well, offer's there if ye change yer mind...and I'm yet to slay any woodkin with my breath, though th'mornin' when I wake might change that chance." She chuckled lightly, offering the camp a bow. "Sthalwilf Haemrstymmwyn, or just Steel Wolf if that's simpler on th'jaw, at yer service."

[voidVirago]

Rihxo's single eye stared, wide, at the Roegadyn woman before her. Her eye flitted to her chocobo and back to woman again, a hand pressing against her thigh instinctively to ensure the the dagger she kept was still there. Not like it would make much of a difference against her, but it would feel better.

 

She'd relax as the woman introduced herself, her hand going to rest in her lap. Another chocolate would be tossed in her mouth, swallowed down, and her lips were tugged into a smile not unlike the one she'd given the others.

 

"Hi there, Steel Wolf! Can I call you just Steel? Or Wolf? Whatever you prefer, really. Oh! I'm Rihxo, Rihxo Matoi! It's very nice to meet you."

 

((mmm late replies, tasty))

[rinlai]

The dark eyes of Kharam found the tall form of Steel as his bright white limbal ringed gaze acknowledged a female not so dwarfed by his tall Auri height. From his position on the log near the flickering fire, Kharam bit into his grilled fish and swallowed the succulent flavor down before wiping his pale blue face of any remaining crumbs. His long mane of black hair tipped with white highlights messily unraveled down his neck in a mess of subtle spikes. The Auri's large leather gloved hand which gave his steel armored body a battle-ready synergy, raised  in greeting to the Woman.

 

"Hello, nice to hear the familiar accent of Lominsa." Kharam's bold voice broke through the crackles of the fire.

[Khunbish Avagnar]

Something caught Aiswynd's attention and he glanced at the others before he slipped off quickly, soon disappearing into the dark, the coeurl, wyvern and chocobo all soon following him. What caught his attention disappeared as quickly as the one stalking it did.

 

((basically I'm pulling out of the thread, ya'll can continue with me, this way you don't have to RP around the character, but it was fun for a bit. Enjoy!))

[Steel Wolf]

Steel gave a nod and a bright smile of greetings to the assembled adventurers. She unhooked her immense greatsword from her baldric and drove the point in to the ground. She then took her helmet from the chocobo's back and rested it on the pommel, the pale, white eyes gazing out into the forest's edge. It looked for all the world like a slightly disturbing acarecrow.

 

As she began unlashing the bedroll and saddlebags from the purple bird's sides, she responded to the greetings. "Aye, ye can call me Steel if y'like. Hope you lot enjoy th'Limsan brogue. And my beautiful face, a'course."

 

She chuckled at her own joke as the chocobo took a couple of broad, simple strides. He looked as though he were stepping back to gaze over the camp carefully, black eyes regarding each in turn like reading a small book.

 

Steel sat at an empty space in front of the fire, reaching beneath her hip armor to pull out a small, silver flask. It held no level of adornment, save for the word "MINE" crudely etched in to one side. She offered it forward to the first hand willing to take it--the offered rum upon her approach.

 

"Right....don't suppose any'a you lot found a Lamb'a Dalamud slinkin' nearby?"

[voidVirago]

Rihxo's tail swished about gently as she seemed to be thinking about taking the flask. Eventually, it seemed, she made up her mind, and cautiously took the flask from the woman's hand. She'd open it slowly and take a sip or two of it before offering it back to Steel. It wasn't her whiskey, but a bit of alcohol was always welcome.

 

"A Lamb of Dalamud?" Rihxo shook her head as she spoke. "I haven't seen one, I'm sorry. Oh! Do you care for a chocolate?" She'd nod to the large tin that sat in her lap, full of little pearls of chocolate. "I have plenty to spare, so have as many as you'd like." Another sweet smile. That seemed to be her thing.