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Post by Renathan on Oct 27, 2019 9:46:56 GMT -6
Indeed, there was something strange in the woods. A rustling, a quiet noise, and then nothing else. It seemed for a moment to have ran somewhere? But it appears to be no where now, and with no explanation. A light scent could perhaps be followed.
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Post by Noa on Oct 27, 2019 11:17:43 GMT -6
A moment later, Avander's attention caught after all. {Wait, I think I---} he said, and Aster watched as his head turned--- in the direction opposite to where Summer had gone.
Aster glanced back between the two of them. He couldn't ask what Summer had found, and she couldn't stray too far from him. Avander, meanwhile, was a free agent, relatively speaking. The drake wouldn't cause problems so long as he didn't run into a humanoid determined to take him for a ride, and if he got into trouble, he always had the ribbon through which to contact Aster.
Aster made his choice. {You go after whatever you've got,} he said. {I'm going to follow Summer. If anything goes wrong, let me know.}
Avander didn't grouse this time, but merely gave his silent ascent, and continued off in the direction he had been going before. Aster watched him a moment, then turned and followed Summer. Her form was still barely visible through the trees, a hint of shimmering vermilion every so often, until he drew near enough to see more of her, more distinctly through the trunks and branches.
"What do you see?" he whispered, but of course she couldn't answer him.
[Avander exits]
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2019 19:59:26 GMT -6
She did pause at the sound of his voice, and Aster could see from the shape of her body that her gaze went to him, but the trees were obscuring too much of her still for him to make anything out. She took up perch in a tree, though her movements, at least, seemed impatient; she was telling him to hurry and catch up if he was going to follow. Which, of course, he had to do--- they had to stay within a certain distance of each other, even if she was not always at his side and immediately visible, so if she wasn't going to stop then he would have to go where she went.
But if he meant to be stubborn, then there was also nothing she could do. It was one of the unfair things about their bond, and Aster knew it, though sometimes Summer acted as if it wasn't there.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2019 20:02:05 GMT -6
She didn't carry herself with the bearing of a creature who was beholden to another, that was for sure. She chastised him just as well without words, relying on cutting looks and sharp applications of her beak to express disapproval, and on her bearing to communicate disdain--- but also joy, and sympathy, and a great many things. And she had no qualms with at least trying to boss him around, even if they both knew that if push came to shove, he had an easier time enforcing his own will than the other way around.
But in return, Aster did his best to respect her wishes when she made them clear to him, and she was making one clear to him now. More to the point, unless she was insisting that they go home, she was likely following a lead and doing it to help him with this task he had taken on.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2019 20:04:28 GMT -6
In that case, stubbornly ignoring her was pretty much the same as shooting himself in the foot, and he knew that too. Just as he knew that this wasn't the right direction for home, either.
Aster caught up to her as quickly as he could while still maintaining some semblance of an attempt to muffle the sound of his movements. It wasn't very effective anymore, since he was also now trying to be quick about it, but it was still better than what it would have been had he thrown all care to the wind and stomped about through the wood like some kind of big lout. Aster's movements had always tended toward a certain kind of grace, but it was still easier to be lazy and sloppy with one's movements, especially with conditions as they were. The crisp crunch of leaves underfoot were certainly not making things any easier for him.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2019 20:09:29 GMT -6
He did reach her though, eventually. From the look she gave him, he hadn't done it fast enough for her satisfaction, but she also understood what he had been trying to do, and so was tempering her exasperation. Time must have been of the essence here too--- whatever she had noticed was either of a short duration or still moving, or else there wouldn't have been such urgency to her bearing.
As soon as he had drawn close enough, she flew off again, dropping from her perch, her wings opening to divert her descent into flight.
Aster watched her go, reading the speed of her advance, and paced himself to follow while still keeping her in his sights. It was reassuring, sort of, that she seemed to know where she was going. If it was a bluff, he couldn't tell; Avander had been more up front about his uncertainty, but Summer didn't hesitate.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2019 20:14:23 GMT -6
There was no word yet from Avander, so for the moment Aster had nothing to distract himself from this new task of following Summer to wherever it was she was going. It was just as well too, since it was taking all his concentration to do it--- she set as fast a pace as she thought he could manage, and her guess wasn't far off. Aster could have run faster than this if he was doing nothing else, but he was still trying to be a little stealthy about it, which meant he could only go so quickly.
In truth, he didn't know if it was even necessary to conceal his presence like he had been doing... But better safe than sorry. Whoever was responsible for this, whoever it was they had come to stop, that party was probably not going to be amenable to being interfered with by some hired strangers.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2019 20:16:52 GMT -6
Well, granted, he doubted they would have been on board even if it had come from the owner of the property itself. It was the interference that was the issue, and not the source of it... probably. He couldn't know for sure without having actually seen them, and knowing (or guessing) what their motivations were. Even so, most people weren't doing something in the hopes that someone would come along and put a stop to it.
And even non-sentient creatures would put up a fight if they thought they were being threatened. Aster wasn't sure that he could negotiate with something that wasn't capable of making a promise either, so if it wasn't sentient, then they were likely going to have to force the issue.
They had been going for a while by the time Aster noticed the subtle curve to their trajectory, and did a quick evaluation of their position against the sun.
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Post by Renathan on Oct 29, 2019 20:39:29 GMT -6
You have rolled a success! Your QP has been added to the bank, and your prize will be sent shortly. You may continue roleplaying if you wish!
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