[Palenski]

Just as Tristan was really beginning to lose his patience, there was a sudden burst of fire and a large portion of vines gave out. Standing in front of him were two strange creatures he'd never seen before. One was dinosaur-like, with red feathers, and the other was some kind of sheep.

"Ah, hello," he said, moving a few more vines out of their way and stepping aside, brushing his hands off. "No, sorry, I haven't seen any snails."

He glanced around the small clearing they were standing in. There were a lot of small, brightly colored creatures. Trying to find a snail here would be like...oh what was the saying. Pebble in a rock pile? Pamphlet in a library? Ah, well. It would be difficult.

[Indigo]

Naole sighed. "Of course you haven't. Why would anything ever be easy for me?" He adjusted the pack on his back, sending beads of water sliding off the fabric and down his feathers to drip onto the already-drenched ground. An oddly-colored Hisper was curled around a branch a few feet away; it gave him an accusing look with purple eyes and then slithered into the greenery. Now that would be a nice specimen. Worth something, he'd bet. But not what he was here for.

Haresh was watching him. The fire on her horns had died down a little, so there was now only a faint blue glow, and she appeared to be completely dry despite the weather. The clouds or fire or whatever it was that drifted around her hooves was a lot smaller than usual. It was probably something about the rain. She smiled, with that irritating air of mystery, and looked at Tristan.

"Well," Naole continued, "I don't know who you are, really, but the more eyes the better. Feel free to come with us, or not, I guess, if you don't want to. We have work to do." He turned and started walking through the rainforest again. Haresh made a motion with her head, to encourage Tristan to follow, and trotted after him.

[Palenski]

Tristan grinned at the invitation. Usually he'd have to decline and try to find his way back to wherever he'd come from...but today, he really didn't have anything going on. And anyway. He wanted to explore.

"Snails, huh?" he said, catching up to them, sounding somewhat like an excited child. "Why are you trying to find snails and what color are they?"

[Indigo]

"They're very valuable snails," Naole said. "I think they're a few colors--blue, green, and what was it? Oh, yeah, sort of orange with black shells. And they have spikes, so be careful where you step. I'm looking for one because someone is paying me to. That's what I do, you see, sell rare creatures. Only to the right kind of home, mind."

He glanced at Haresh. She was looking very definitely away from him, like she was waiting for him to say...what? What could she be waiting for? He wasn't going to say, Oh, except her, I keep her because I love her. Anyway, that wasn't true. He kept her because she was useful and nobody had wanted to buy her, and she was free to leave if she wanted; it was just that she didn't. For some reason.

[Oh, dear. Ignore the cross-species romance overtones; that wasn't what I meant at all.]

[Palenski]

Tristan thought for a moment, stumbling over a few patches of fungus. "Why would a snail be valuable? It's just a snail. Is it the spikes?"

He let his eyes wander, catching small animals and reptiles and birds alike, as well as some large insects and bugs. All very colorful. Everything was damp, and a lot of the plants (besides the vines) were somewhat spongy. Oh, and he finally noticed it was raining. Definitely a rainforest then.

He carefully maneuvered around a large neon frog, a spring in his step.

[Indigo]

"No. It's partly just because they're not very common, and some people just like to own rare things." How to explain this stuff to someone who apparently didn't grasp the concept? "And people like to have them as pets. I think a lot of people think they're cute. I don't know the reasons of this particular client for wanting a Snicky--that's what they're actually called--but I'm being paid well so I don't really care."

"That is very mercenary of you," Haresh said.

"Yeah, well, one of us has to make a living."

[Palenski]

Tristan stopped dead in his tracks, a strange expression crossing his features. Eyes wide, eyebrows raised, lips parted ever so slightly and turned up a bit at the corners. "Snicky?" he said, quietly at first. He said it again, louder. "Snicky?"

For no particular reason, he found this highly amusing. His mind was a swarm of German gibberish with the occasional Egyptian phrase, which seemed to pop out of nowhere but fit perfectly with his odd reaction. There was a part of him, a very small and quiet voice, that told him he was being stupid. But mostly he jittered with a juvenile kind of glee.

"I want one!" he announced, grinning wide.

[Indigo]

If his face had been designed for it, Naole would have raised his eyebrows. "Uh..." The last person he'd seen get so excited about the sound of a word--well, it hadn't been a person, exactly, but in his line of work the distinction tended to blur--anyway, the last he'd heard she was some kind of failed interior designer who thought chartreuse went with everything. Not especially sane, was the point. And "Snicky" wasn't that strange of a word, compared to some others. He still wasn't sure how you pronounced "Barghest".

But never mind. According to Haresh the guy was harmless, and she was never wrong. "Good, I guess. You can help us. Though I guess if we only find one--and I have to say, I don't think there will be more--then it'll make things difficult."

"He will not be long in staying," Haresh declared. "He may return one day, but his travels are not as limited as ours. It is possible that circumstances will conspire to make things go more smoothly."

"What," Naole said, "is that supposed to mean?"

Haresh smiled.

[Palenski]

If Tristan had been paying attention, he might have known what the sheep-like one was talking about. However, he was very preoccupied with the strange and colorful world around him. Creatures, plants, everywhere. He was like a toddler, poking his nose into small flowers and poking disgruntled toads, all of which could have been poisonous but he didn't care.

At one point he stopped and shot his new companions inquisitive looks. "So who, and what, are you, anyway?" he asked, pausing to munch on a particularly green leaf and making a sour face at its taste. "What should I call you two?"