:[ PLOT ]: "Ooo...What Does This Button Do?"

[Teigra]

"Look, it wasn't that bad when we left the Tree..."

Faroth could barely hear the wolf's growled response over the whistling wind, but he thought he picked out the words 'foolhardy' and 'idiot'. Raina plodded along beside the Faun, looking uncharacteristically 'heavy' in the increasingly hostile weather. The wind whipped their fur about, and rain was beginning to fall in huge droplets.

'We should go back,' the spirit wolf snapped irritably. It was going to take forever to get her fur clean again after this.

"Yeah, but...it's a ways back to the Tree. Maybe we should keep going? I'm sure we'll find some place to take shelter for a bit," Faroth offered in return with a sheepish grin.

'Oh, of course, yes, let's forgo a sure thing for a vague chance in the shadows...makes perfect sense," snarled the wolf, still battling the elements despite her words. Stupid bonded; she went wherever he went. Whether she liked it or not sometimes.

"There has to be something else out here..." mumbled the Faun, starting to feel just a bit like the fool his companion accused him of being.

'Why? Because you say s--' Raina halted mid-snark, turning her head towards the forest with a frown. Her ears swiveled, zeroing in on something...or maybe nothing. She lifted her nose, sniffing the air. It was faint...but yes! The storm wasn't making things easy, but then again, she wasn't exactly a normal wolf now, was she?

Not hardly.

Without another word, only a sharp bark, she turned and dashed headlong into the forest, leaving Faroth staring slack-jawed for a moment before realizing, it might be in his best interest to follow her. Thudding hooves followed after the light paws, leaving their mark in the forming mud; a low, eerie howl marking their progress through the foliage. In a short time, especially for the pair of skilled runners, their progress was halted by an odd sight. It was...a cottage? Of sorts. The rain was coming down heavier now, drenching everyone and everything unlucky enough to be caught outside, and obscuring vision. Faroth thought there were piles of...wood and bits of...things...seemingly shoved off to one side, both hastily and casually done. A thin trail of smoke was wafting up from the top of the building before disappearing into the night.

"Seems someone's home," he muttered in observation. He shrugged, looking at Raina, then grinning sheepishly once more in response to the glare from the dripping canine. "Alright, alright, come on..." he chuckled, stepping up to the door. He peered around a bit curiously, then raised one fist to knock on the wooden door.

Who in the wide world of Telrunya lived out here anyway?
 

[Doof]

For a time it seemed there wasn't anybody home. The wind, which was now reaching an appreciable roar, masked whatever sounds might be coming from inside the stone abode. Several seconds passed without a response from inside, when suddenly the door flew half-open, and a faun face swiftly thrust itself through the gap and stopped inches from Faroth's face, just as the first lightning started to illuminate the night. The stranger wore a completely blank expression and his eyes were hidden by the lightning being reflected off his glasses. Or, on closer inspection, not glasses. They were protective goggles of some kind.

What could be seen of him was quite a mess. His brown fur was tangled and a bit shaggy. His black hair, although swept back, was equally tangled and seemed to have some sort of sticky substance in it.
And it smelled slightly burnt.
The antlers protruding from his head were similarly swept back, and had notches and a couple of chips from some sort of encounter or accident. Or several.

The faun remained frozen in place, either not aware of or ignoring the raindrops now pelting his head and shoulders. Oddly, the rain seemed to form beads on the patches of... whatever that stuff was in his hair. His ears were both perked up and swiveled forwards, which gave the impression that he was inspecting the two waterlogged arrivals. The fellow's head flicked across to Raina, his gaze pausing there for a second or two before snapping back to Faroth, completely silent and unsettlingly still otherwise. From behind him an inviting, warm rush of air rolled out of the doorway, accompanied with a slightly less inviting scent of scorched wood. A rhythmic 'clunking' noise could be heard now that the door was open, although only barely so considering the noise of the now-powerful storm outside.

Finally, he canted his head ever so slightly and flicked his left ear back, lending him a quizzical appearance. "I'm terribly sorry," He began loudly, his words unexpectedly crisp and precise, considering his ragged, unkempt appearance. "Was I, um, supposed to be expecting you?"  

[Teigra]

Looking equally as perplexed, Faroth tilted his head in the opposite direction and returned the stranger's stare. After a moment of processing the stranger's odd tone, he replied, "I don't know? Were you?"

There was a wet-sounding smack from Faroth's side, as Raina, forgetting her muddy paws, had just slapped one against the side of her muzzle in a sign of frustration. And now her face was muddy too. Wonderful. Illogically, she still managed to blame this on her foolish bonded, and muttering how this was all his fault and he'd better get them somewhere warm and safe to spend the night, growled low and turned her face up into the rain to wash the grime away.

Faroth had aimed an odd look at his wolf companion, then shrugged at her before turning back to the other Faun. "Uh, so I don't know if you were expecting us or not, but if you were, then that's cool, 'cause I didn't even know we were coming out here myself!" Unseen, Raina rolled her eyes tiredly behind his back.

"But uh," Faroth continued, awkwardly rubbing his neck...which was quite soaked by now. "Ya' see, I wouldn't normally try to invite myself into anyone's house or anything, but...the storm came up kinda' quick and my friend here is apparently tired of getting wet.." A low growl from Raina carried on the wind, and Faroth chuckled a bit. "...so uh...if you have a roof or something to spare, we were wondering if we could sit out the storm for a bit before moving on our way? Don't want to be in your way or anything, and it's alright if you don't, we'll just keep moving..." He trailed off, gesturing over his shoulder and half turning as if to go. He really didn't want to be rude, and they had just sorta'...shown up on his doorstep.

Raina, however, showed no inclination to go. She cast a tired look at her bonded, and held her ground where she sat on her haunches. She didn't need much, but she wanted out of this wet and muck long enough to get herself clean again, darn it! If that took convincing this Faun to let them inside for a bit, then whatever was necessary.

Putting on her saddest look, complete with wide, sad eyes, Raina seated herself on the doorstep to stare up at the goggled Faun pleadingly, tail swishing lightly behind her. If nothing else, she got no bad vibes from this male Faun, and the inside of the cottage seemed enticingly warm and dry...  

[Doof]

The brown faun's expression remained mostly neutral, the only change being a small frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. It seemed to be born more of mild confusion than annoyance, however, and it took one more glance down at the other faun's pitiful-looking canine companion for him to seem to relent. "Oh. Right then." He said, much more softly now, although the fact that his goggles were still down over his eyes and his brow was still somewhat furrowed gave him a stern appearance. "I must say, I don't get visitors often. Or ever, rather, so I'm afraid you won't find much in here by way of comfort. But shelter will do for you, I suppose? Come in, come in." He was of course speaking directly at the wolf. But the invitation extended to them both.

The door opened fully now, and the warm air from inside washed over the unexpected guests standing in the doorway. The entire cottage was one room, and dozens of shapes, irregular, geometric or both, were dimly illuminated by a yellow glow coming from the far wall. Not a fireplace, or even a fire pit. It was something not typically found in a faun home; a large furnace. The door was wide open, probably so it could be used as a substitute for a fireplace, and it had a stone cylinder of some sort running through it. And to add more curiosity to this household curiosity, that strange, rhythmic clunking noise seemed to be coming from that direction.

Aside from that sound, however, it was surprisingly quiet inside the cottage. The stone walls and small windows kept the storm well at bay, and thick curtains took care of the rest. The entire cottage was warm and dry, if very messy and not at all homey in any way.

"I don't know what I have by way of provisions." The faun remarked ruefully. "Should be some dried berries and some pine bark on the counter." Naturally, he did not specify which over-cluttered counter he was referring to. He shut the door behind the two waterlogged arrivals, seeming to heed neither their dripping bodies or their muddy feet. Indeed, the entrance-way to the cottage seemed to have had its fair share of mud tracked over the uneven stone floor.

The brown faun walked along the length of one of the many shelves, knocking aside what seemed to be tools and implements, before apparently finding what he was looking for. It was a tattered and worn cloak that he now used as a large rag, but right now it was the only clean cloth in the cottage. "I'm sure the fire and a dry cloak might help you feel better." He said, approaching Faroth. With a flourish, he flung out the cloak, letting it billow out and settle unto its recipient. Raina.

"This storm won't clear until much later, I can tell." He stated flatly. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Cosworth." He finally pulled his goggles up, allowing the other faun to finally see his green eyes, previously hidden behind amber lenses. A layer of soot on his face became apparent as the goggles left behind an outline of clean, dull-brown fur around his eyes and across the bridge of his nose. "I'm curious to know who you are, and what in the world you're doing out in this weather?"  

[Teigra]

Raina was swift to follow on the heels of the strange Faun, gracing him with a wide canine grin complete with lolling tongue. She found that worked on a number of the bipedal creatures; they seemed to like it anyway. Whatever worked.

Faroth followed behind the pair, trying to hide his amusement at his companion's antics behind a grateful smile at their gracious host. He looked around, hesitating at the entrance way before noting the mud-caked floor and shrugging helplessly. Guess it was okay, dripping all over the floor like this...

Raina thought otherwise, eagerly shaking out her fur and sending water droplets flying in all directions. The now-puffy wolf soon had a cloak draped over her and she gave a short, pleased bark before padding over to the odd furnace-device and curling up in the warmth radiating from it on the floor.

Faroth watched all this with a raised eyebrow, without a word. Oooookay, so who was he to criticize the hospitality of a stranger who had let them take shelter under his roof? Even if he seemed more than a little odd. Kindness was kindness, afterall. Shaking his head, the gesture doubling to get the wet hair from his eyes, he answered their host. "Oh, no, thank you. We're fine on food. I mean, it's not like we've been lost for weeks or anything," he chuckled. "Just shelter until the storm lets up a bit, then we'll be on our way, I promise."

It was a relief, at least subconsciously, to see an actual Faun beneath all that get-up. After the goggles had been moved, besides a little soot, their host didn't seem nearly so strange. Faroth stepped forwards, offering his hand in greeting with a smile. "Thanks again. I'm Faroth, and the fuzzy one over there is Raina. We were just leaving the gathering at Laisidhiel, and I think we got a little side-tracked somewhere between there and the Isle when the storm hit. Came out of nowhere. But yeah, when the big get-together all broke up, we were heading back err...home, I guess," he finished awkwardly with a chuckle. He had a number of questions swirling about his head after the revelations of the meeting, but those would wait for another day. For now, there was the storm to consider, and a new acquaintance to not bother with obnoxious behavior.

That might be a challenge in itself, depending on how long this storm hung around.  

[Doof]

Cosworth moved over to the furnace, opening its door (or maybe it was a hatch?) as wide as it would go- which was not very wide, but the heat coming from it was intense enough to keep the whole room warm. The faun looked upwards at the roof after a peal of thunder, his green eyes flashing in fascination.

"That's the most powerful storm I've heard come through here." Cosworth continued to stare upwards as though he could see through his roof. "Imagine if we could harness this kind of power... The possibilities." He put his chin between his thumb and forefinger, muttering somtething as he walked around in a small circle.

The brown faun then turned to face Faroth. "I think I've seen you before." It was as though he had completely forgotten about his previous train of thought. "We would have both been a lot younger then, but then again I don't really visit home as often as I should." He had meant Laisidhiel as 'home', but didn't make this very clear.  

[Teigra]

As Cosworth circled, muttering to himself, a strange look had crossed Faroth's face following the odd statement. "Harness...a storm? Like, with a net? ...can you catch a storm in a net?" he muttered to himself, puzzled. What would you do with it then?

About that time, Cosworth turned back to Faroth, who shook his head and resumed paying attention. "You have?" He sounded genuinely surprised, figuring that he would have remembered meeting a Faun so...unique, before. Then again, if it had been that long ago, Faroth could have been a child and Cosworth, well...he wouldn't hazard a guess at the other Faun's age, but he could have looked much more different at the time as well.

And what did he mean by 'home?' This place? Of course, Faroth had never been here before, or even seen this place in passing. And since they'd just been talking about having met before...or were they just discussing his traveling from Laisidhiel? It would be the true home of all Faun afterall. Perhaps that was what he meant. But wait...

"Didn't you attend the calling?" Faroth questioned, curious, but not accusingly. Simply, the calling had been so strong, even calling some who appeared strangers to the Great Tree, that he'd just assumed that that meant that all Fauns in existence must have been in attendance. It had been a pretty important meeting and all.

Shrugging a bit, he continued, "Of course, I haven't really been back myself in a while. I've been spending a lot of time out on the Isle lately. Since I was a kid, really, so...I guess that's when you might have seen me at the Tree?" he hazarded a guess.  

[Doof]

By now, Cosworth was well and truly used to other faun not understanding a word of his ramblings, and so ignored Faroth's off-centre interpretation of his theory. When questioned about the 'calling', Cosworth paused, a mild look of irritation crossing his face for the barest of moments. "Oh is that what it was called? 'The calling'? How quaint." He shook his head and finally sat himself on the edge of one of his workbenches, legs dangling over the ground like a small child on too large a chair. His expression changed again, this time to one of distracted thoughtfulness. "Yes, I did attend it. Interrupted one of my experiments, it did. I'm afraid I didn't pay much attention at the site of the fact though."

The eccentric faun laid back on his workbench, his body, head and antlers somehow missing all the discarded parts and materials laying haphazardly on its surface. He neglected to mention that he'd spent more than half his time at the tree imbibing alcoholic beverages and didn't even spend a second of it looking at the meeting's events.

"Yes," Cosworth began, staring at his own roof. "It would have been whilst you were a child when I saw you, I believe. When we were both children." His eyes lost focus as he gazed past-ward. "There were but a few of us then. I think that's why I remembered you." He looked over at Faroth's canine companion, who was resting quite peacefully by his furnace, admiring the creature's beauty. "I suppose I should ask, whether I missed anything important at that 'calling' you were talking about. I suppose there must have been something, since I literally couldn't stay away." It was the first time in a long time that he'd acknowledged his connection to their ancient home, and even then, only because he hadn't had a choice.  

[Teigra]

Faroth shrugged, looking around for a moment before giving up and just taking a seat on the floor, leaning back against the wall casually. Comfortable enough. "Eh, I dunno, really. It wasn't really given a name, now that I think about it. Just sorta'....called everybody together, so I figured 'calling' fit the bill." He chuckled a bit, tossing his wet hair back out of his face.

He was momentarily distracted and tempted to ask what sort of 'experiment' had been interrupted, but for once, Faroth managed to remember to stay on-topic for the moment and ask about that later. Instead, he tilted his head, also searching his memories. Yes, there were much fewer Faun at the Tree when he'd been younger, that was sure. In hindsight, he realized that as time had passed, the Faun were multiplying; in his childhood, they had all awoken from Laisidhiel's acorns. Now, there were more and more Faun becoming parents and having children of their own...

"That's true," he mused quietly, also lost in memory for a short time. "There weren't many of us then, were there? Seems like a lifetime ago..." He shook his head, returning to the present sharply with the question regarding the purpose of the gathering. "Well, yeah, it was pretty important, I guess. I mean, the Chief called everyone together to choose advisors and council members and stuff. Then, apparently, his mom...I mean, the Earthmother...announced that they would be selecting Rais' bride and they had this whole trial-contest thing. After that, there was a meeting to induct the new council members. Everyone else was free before that though, so I guess most everyone else went home. I went, 'cause they said it was okay...there was a lot of talk there."

His formerly eager tone seemed to darken, a frown crossing his face. "There was a lot of talk of the past. Like, ancient past...of Arda and the ancient heroes...a war with the Blood Pae'il...why we had to go into hiding for so long...and about the new council being the reborn heroes of ancient times, and how we should prepare for war in case it all happens again." He was staring at the floor, wearing an uncommonly serious expresson. If Raina had been paying any attention to her bonded at the moment, she would have had cause for concern.

"I don't know about all that. It was a lot to take in, but..." he hesitated before continuing. "It's just...I've spent a long time out on the Isle now, with the other Pae'il. Angels, demons, all types. From what I've seen, I just...I can't make the connection between what I've seen and what I'm being told. I can't see them ever wanting to attack us. Why? All for some book? Doesn't make sense to me," he muttered, looking sullen as he crossed his arms and glared at the floor as if it were to blame for his confusion.  

[Doof]

What the other Faun had said caught Cosworth a little off guard. Certainly, he was expecting something important had been discussed, but the way Faroth had phrased it, it almost sounded like someone was doom-saying and dropping earth-shattering prophecies at the meeting. Perhaps he'd missed these crucial facts because they'd been raised after he'd walked out of the assembly. The only outward sign of Cosworth's surprise was a concerned furrowing of his brow. He cast his gaze over at his blue-eyed visitor, listening as he described what he'd perceived during the calling.

Cosworth resisted his initial impulse to think of the other faun as a youngster- he was likely roughly the same age as Cosworth himself, but he sensed the other faun's thoughts were so disorganized that his speech followed the trends of a child. Which, upon reflection, was not too uncommon. You can't judge. It's not as though you spend a lot of time around others of your own kind these days. Cosworth thought to himself. And from what Faroth was saying, there was a LOT to take in.

Could it be possible that this one was deluded, paranoid or otherwise mistaken? Cosworth doubted it. His guest seemed to be a bit scatterbrained, not unstable. "I'm afraid to say I'm not sure I can relate." He responded, almost apologetically. "I haven't met any angels or demons. But surely there must be some sort of mistake?" He half sat up again, propping up on his elbows. "What could there be to fight over? We all have all we need. At least as far as I can recall."

He subconsciously glanced over at the small collection of old books and scrolls he'd accumulated on one of his corner shelves. They were just about ready to spill over, and a bookshelf was one of the many projects Cosworth badly needed to get around to. He'd picked them up over the years for no good reason other than nobody else wanted them, but now wondered whether he should actually get back to reading some more of them. Had there actually been bad blood between the races in the past? Was this book worth the life of any pae that lived on the isle? Surely not... Right?

"Faroth," Cosworth said cautiously. "I don't suppose... you know when this is going to happen?"  

[Teigra]

Faroth shook his head, tousling his still-damp hair into further disarray. "From the way I understand it, it was something that we had that they wanted. I can't say I understand exactly what was in this book that was so important, but they wanted it bad. And apparently, we weren't about to give it up. I don't know," he muttered, shoving away the feeling of dismay that had crept into the edge of his thoughts upon first hearing the story.

And the implications that such a thing might happen again? It couldn't be true. Kane wouldn't give a damn about any silly book, no matter what was in it...unless it was a fish, and that wasn't likely, he mused, nearly smiling at the absurd thought. And sweet Takeko...she kept insisting that he call her 'Grandma'...she wouldn't hurt a fly. Not even one of those biting ones. Texas was far too level-headed to be drawn into any kind of craziness like that, and Magnus...well, okay, maybe he didn't know the Fae that well, but somehow, he doubted that 'waging war' was anywhere on the hedonistic Fae's to-do list.

Returning to Cosworth's question, he shook his head again. "Nah, like I said, this was more of a 'be prepared just in case' sort of thing; not like it's scheduled for a particular date or anything. That'd be convenient though, wouldn't it?" he joked half-heartedly. "Make it easier to prepare for all the doom and gloom."

He dropped his eyes to the floor thoughtfully. Having spilled all the information he'd gathered at once, Faroth seemed to have settled down a bit, both in action and thoughts. He could be a bit of an excitable individual, and yes, still a bit childlike, even rebellious to an extent against 'growing up.' He didn't want to grow into some boring old stuffy type like he'd viewed all the adults back at the Tree when he'd been younger. Of course, there had been few samples to draw from back then, and he'd met so many different types since leaving the Tree...

Sharing a bond could be a boon and a curse. Raina looked up drowsily, sensing some of the discomfort of her bonded. It wasn't so much physical discomfort, but mental. Emotional. Frowning, a low, barely audible growl rumbling from her throat, Raina stood. She'd dried and warmed herself thoroughly near the fire. And yet, she rose and moved from her place of comfort to cross to her bonded, taking the fire-warmed cloak in her teeth and awkwardly pulling it from her back to attempt to lay it on Faroth's shoulders. She then lay next to Faroth's legs, ignoring his still-dripping fur as she shared her warmth, never a word spoken, or even growled.

Faroth eyed her with contained surprise for a moment, then a slight smile spread over his face as he adjusted the cloak around his shoulders more comfortably. He didn't speak either, merely reaching down to scratch her behind the ears in silent thanks.

To their host, Faroth offered up, "Not really much I can do about it either way, I suppose. Guess the best I can do is keep my eyes and ears open while out on the Isle." He paused, smoothing his hair back and looking up at Cosworth's resting place on the workbench. "What about you? What do you think about all this doom and gloom, war-on-the-horizon business? Think there's anything to it? I mean...what do we know about waging a war, anyway? If the stories are right, it's been centuries..."  

[Doof]

No answer immediately came to Cosworth. The question wasn't so difficult as it was so... irrelevant to him. The grizzled faun tapped one of his fingers on his bench, as though deep in thought. In truth he wasn't actually thinking about how he felt about a possible conflict. Just how to phrase it.

"What I think?" Cosworth gave a slight sigh. "I apologize, but I don't have an answer for that. I'm no soldier. Or tactician. I can't even hunt. And I've never met anyone who wasn't Faun, so I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to ask."
Cosworth's voice remained even and impassive, even despite the grave nature of their conversation. "If this... War... business does come to pass, my hooves are staying right here, away from all the trouble. Maybe if you're smart, you'll do something similar."
Cosworth patted his workbench, the sound of it being drowned out by a nearby thunderclap. "Of course I don't know if it's any safer than the tree, but this place is all I have left, really." His voice seemed softer at this last sentence, though could have been the aftereffect of the thunder.

Cosworth turned to Faroth, an ear quirked upwards. "Or perhaps the question to ask isn't how we can remember to make war, but more along the lines of how to keep the peace?" He sat up straight, then leaned forward intently, a focus in his eyes that wasn't there just a second ago. "You mentioned you'd actually met other Pae, and if I'm not mistaken, you don't regard them as potential enemies. That would make you more of an expert than I. Or most other faun, I dare say." Cosworth dropped from his bench and began to wander over to his haphazard collection of books and scrolls. "You say there's talk of war, and yet we don't really even know who with. If that's true, we might have a lot of work to do." At that, he paused, hand outstretched towards one scroll, as he half-glanced at Faroth. "I mean, you might have a lot of work to do."  

[Teigra]

Faroth caught himself staring into the flames across the room, and looked away in time to hear Cosworth's advice. "Heh...I've been accused of a lot of things," he said, half to himself, eyes on the floor. "But being smart isn't usually one of them." Raina snorted softly, never raising her head from her paws. Faroth frowned, however, his own ear twitching as the thunder crashed. What was that the other Faun had said? Darn ringing in his ears...something about this being all he had left? What did that mean? He had a really nice place here, if a little messy. It was more than most Faun had.

Faroth nearly started, realizing that Cosworth was staring intently at him and had been for a bit. "Err..." He stammered, mind catching up with the conversation that had continued without him. "I...yeah, I've spent a few seasons on the Isle now. Back and forth between there and the Tree, yeah, but mostly on the Isle. Mostly with this demon named Kane, but there's this sweet angel lady named Takeko, and now Kane's got this little girl and--" He stopped himself suddenly, nearly smacking himself in the head. "Sorry, rambling again," he muttered. "I gotta' stop...hey, whatcha' doin'?" he questioned, watching Cosworth spur into action once more. He raised an eyebrow, meeting the other's gaze and answered, "Wait a minute...what do you mean by that? What kind of work? Why me?"
 

[Doof]

Cosworth plucked the scroll from his collection and tapped it against his left palm as he walked back towards Faroth. "Well, like I just said, if it's war that's coming, there's more to preparation than arms and hands to wield them." He sat himself next to the grey faun and continued to explain. "Of course what would be best would be to avoid it altogether, which takes communication. Something you seem to have already achieved, so you need to use that head start to figure out..." He took a deep breath. "... What the HELL is going on." Cosworth glanced at his guest and blinked at what he believed to be a confused expression. "Don't worry, you're a smart fellow. You'll get it."

Cosworth leaned down to Raina and scratched behind one of her ears, and quietly, so only she could hear; "No, he won't."

He placed the scroll on the floor before them and undid a worn ribbon that held it rolled closed. "And 'Why you?' Well, you're the one that brought the news to me. Like I said, you're the one with the connections, you're strong and well-traveled and... you're... sort-of-the-only-faun-I've-talked-to-in-the-last-month-or-two." Cosworth cleared his throat after his rapid-fire last sentence, and spread open the scroll, revealing a map. Although complete and highly detailed, it was clearly ancient and hadn't been revised or even writ upon since its drawing. Further, the script was older than any Cosworth himself had ever seen. All he'd been able to do was find the biggest tree and assume the ancient letters spelled out 'Laisidhiel'.

"You should travel around and see what you can find out, who you can talk to." Cosworth traced his finger around the picture of the Isle. "You seem to have a strong pair of legs on you. You'd cover a lot of distance. A lot more than I ever could." He pushed the map towards Fartoh. "Perhaps you might find this scroll more useful than I do."  

[Teigra]

Raina lifted her head and leaned into the ear scratching, letting her jaws open to flash her sharp teeth in a wolfish grin. She seemed amused.

Faroth meanwhile, finished shaking some water from one of his ears and looked up, cocking an eyebrow. "Huh...? What was tha--?" Then he blinked at Raina's happy look. Well, what he'd learned to interpret as a happy look anyway. "Wow. Seems that she likes you, man," he chuckled, shrugging. His companion didn't really take to many others, but it seemed like she liked this Faun, whatever the case.

That's okay. He did too. Even if he was a little odd.

As the map was unfurled, Faroth chuckled again at Cosworth, shaking his head. "Oh, I see what it is. Not exactly rich with other options, that's it, eh? Poor Faroth, the best you could get on short not--ooo..." His overly dramatic tirade was cut short before it could even begin by the distraction of the detailed document. He couldn't read any of it, of course, and it took a bit before he even realized what it was he was looking at. A...map?

He half-remembered a passing thought regarding the fortunate fact that he'd managed to dry off enough that he wasn't about to drip rainwater on the ancient parchment. Fortunate, as he was now eagerly leaning over the image, trying to take it all in and make sense of it. He understood the concept of maps...he'd just never used one. He mapped out an area in his head easily enough...but to draw it on a flat surface and have it still make any sort of sense? Not something he'd ever tried, that was for sure. Maybe he could at least learn how to read it though.

He stared for a long while, noting where Cosworth's fingertip had lingered for a moment. It sort of looked like...a tree? Well, a tree if it were drawn flat. Sorta'. He squinted, puzzling it out. Was that supposed to be Laisidhiel then? Faroth couldn't think of any other tree that anyone would bother to draw individually, and so large, compared to any others. Maybe he could use that as a reference point, given what he already knew.

Minutes later, he was having no success and growing frustrated. "I can't make any sense of this!" he finally exclaimed, sitting back, his eyes still on the parchment. "What is all this stuff supposed to be? Blue squiggles and green blobs...are those trees and forests? The squiggles are...what? Water? But it's all in the wrong places! It doesn't make any sense," he grumped, folding his arms over his chest. "How is this going to help?" he questioned Cosworth, passively wondering now just what he'd gotten himself into this time.