[Jaden Wolf]

Sear, Selka
(Click Selka for Human form)

"I see. I shall go to that village, then."
Without thanking the poor fellow who had suddenly been interrogated while taking his wares down the mountain, the middle-aged woman turned and stared up the mountain. Manners were not required of a Shadow, sure, but one would've thought Sear would have learned that politeness earns more information. That fellow had given her nothing new. Her search was turning out to be harder than she'd thought. Sear had been traversing these mountains for days now, looking for some clue about these supposed creatures with the stars in their pelts. The journal entry she'd read had claimed they might be banished Seraphim. But that didn't really matter to her. She didn't really care if they were real or not, she wanted to know where this story had come from and why. Things like that fascinated her.
See, ordinarily, Sear studied writings. Modern or ancient, she'd study them all (though to be honest, she usually preferred ancient). After all, she'd been around for a long time: some 'ancient' writings weren't ancient to her. But this time, she could do something different. Take a break from endless translations and research and actually chase down information on something. What better than the supposed myth on that scrap of paper someone slipped under the door? With a huff, Sear left the disconcerted man and began her trek to the closest village.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the same mountain, another woman was making a bet with a local man.
"Okay, I'm holding you to that! I'll catch you a snake and bring it back by nightfall. When I do, you'll owe me dinner and a pint!"
"You mean, if you bring it back!"
"'If'? Did I say 'if'? No, I'm pretty sure I said 'when'! she cried, slapping the man on the back. With an amused laugh, the man shook his head and waved at her dismissively before walking off down the trail.
"I can smell that dinner already!" she cried after him with a laugh. Once his silhouette had faded into the trees, Selka turned and put her hands on her hips.
"Now, where can I find me a nice, big, fat snake?"

[ShadowStitches]

(is it okay if I jump in?)


Name: Ricky


Zero

Big, heavy wings where kicking up dust and a few stray branches when the Battleheart landed a bit rougher
then he intended to.
"Oof! Watch it!" The teenage girl in her saddel on his back yelled, pushig back her goggels and glaring sourly at the huge reptile. Zero turned his head, his blind eyes looking into the general direction of her.
//This takes...some time to get used to// He rumbled in his deep thought speech, adding a half hearted //sorry// after a second. Ricky sighed, slipping out of her saddel and landing next to her companion. "Yeah yeah I know... I'msorry too" she placed a hand re-assuringly on the leg of the dragon, a gesture much warmer then her slightly irritated tone. "Lets get a bit of rest. we can figure out where exactly that village is supposed to be in a minute" she stretched her hands over her head and yawned loudly. Zero simply tilted his head, trying to asses their surroundings via his very good hearing. "Oh and for the record, I did give you correct instructions where to land this time..." //mmmhmh//. The Dragon turned towards her //Do you hear that?// "Hear what?". They landed on a platform big enough for a battleheart to fit, but a bit away from any path. Sure enough, there was a woman coming their way though. "Hey! maybe she has an idead where we have to go" Ricky mused, and without waiting any longer, skipped through the brush and towards the newcomer "Oy! sorry, 'scuse me, miss?" she yelled at the stranger, leaving Zero standing and huffing where he was.

(you can pick who they actually run into )

[Jaden Wolf]

(Just so you know, the village is just where I decided to have these two meet, since they wouldn't know each other and Selka isn't looking for the creatures (yet). I have no plan otherwise )

After a short while, Selka had found her prey. A giant snake slowly making his way across the forest floor, completely unaware of the attack that was to come. Selka wasn't one to take her time. Within moments, she had her hands around the snake. The following struggle was brief. In a manner that defies description, Selka subdued the snake and with a knife that seemingly came out of nowhere (where on earth could she hide that in those skimpy clothes?), she brought the fight to an end.

Now she walked down the hill with the snake wrapped twice around across her shoulders. Even then, the ends sometimes hit the ground as she walked. (That's how long it was.) It was amazing she could carry the thing, it dwarfed her thin, lean frame. As she made her way to the path, however, a voice suddenly shouted somewhere to her left. Carefully shifting her weight so she didn't fall as she tried to see past the massive snake covering half her face, she stopped and turned to see who it was. Spotting a girl running over to her, she smiled.
"Oh, hello!" she called back.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Sear knew none of this was happening, of course. She was approaching the village from the opposite direction, and was quite annoyed. See, she had reached a fork in the road. Of course, there was no indication that a village lay in either direction. After staring hard in each direction for a while with a neutral expression, one eyebrow twitched. She supposed maybe there had been a reason she hadn't gone information gathering in so long. Or maybe she was just getting old and impatient.

After a moment, she thought she'd have to wait for someone to come along, when she heard a familiar whispering in the trees. Actually, it wasn't whispering in the trees, that's just what most people perceived it as. The shadows whispered as they made their way through the empty shells that were the shadows of ancient trees. Stepping near one such tree along the path, Sear gazed evenly at it.
"I wish to know the way to the nearest village." Pausing for a second, she narrowed her eyes and added with a warning tone, "do not attempt to lead me astray."

[ShadowStitches]

Ricky came to a skittering halt in front of the  Woman. "Hi! uhm I was wondering..." Her words where cut short when she saw the bounty wrapped around Selkas neck. All and all, she only now fully took in her appereance. From further away, she somehow had mistaken the snake for maybe a very big scarf or in silouhette some sort of weird luugage the woman was carrying. All in all, Selka did not strike her as particularry odd looking, now that she was closer to her. That snake though... "wow. thats...thats a big snake" she blubbered, looking at the thing.
/no! really captain obvious? tell me more!/ she could have slapped herself for that one. "...Err. congrats I suppose!" The girl in her full pilot attery, made mostly of soft light leather, smiled her biggest smile.
"you would not know of a village close by? My parter and I ot a little lost."
In between the trees, one could faintly see the Battleheart turning his head towards them, but staying calm for now.

[Jaden Wolf]

Selka smiled at the girl as she commented on her prize.
"Thanks! This baby's going to earn me my dinner," she said and laughed. "I get the added benefit of seeing the look on that guy's face!"
With another laugh, she shifted her weight and grinned. She would have shaken her head but it seemed head movement was severely restricted.

As the girl asked for directions to the town, Selka noticed she had referred to a partner. Blinking, she leaned sideways slightly, looking over the girl's shoulder. Sure enough, there was a large battleheart visible through the trees.
"Oh wow, he's a big guy, in't he?" she exclaimed. Looking back at the girl, she grinned. Shifting her weight as she carefully removed one hand from where they were supporting the snake, she flapped it vaguely in the direction that was downhill.
"There's a village down there, though I don't know why you'd be looking to go there for." After a pause, she looked at the girl, back downhill, and then back to the girl. Carefully repositioning her hand, she made a motion that seemed like she had attempted something of a shrug.
"I'm headed there myself, if y'all want to join me."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

After a short moment of silence, the whispering started up again. Tilting her head, Sear looked back to the fork in the road.
"The left path."
Narrowing her eyes, she pressed her foot down and her skin began to darken ever so slightly. Leaning over, she hissed, "I better find myself at that village."
Humph, Shadows.
Straightening, Sear started her trek up the left path. Soon enough, she spotted evidence of farming and gathering around her, suggesting she was approaching a village. Well, finally. First thing she'd have to do when she got there would be to find out where the village's best gathering place. Easiest place to find stories, she found.

[ShadowStitches]

Ricky eyed at the snake again. "cool! It'd better be a meal worth the effort" she said, smirking at Selkas comment. Then, after the woman looked at the Battleheart, she grinned widely "yeah, but he's a softie, really" Making sure he could hear her. "This is Zero, and I am Ricky, by the way" she introduced themselves.
To the question she answered: " We have a delivery to a mister Aka...Akrashu? Arakshe?...mister something who lives in that Village"

When adressed, Zero shifted his weight slightly, and dipped his head into the direction the voices came from in greeting. He made some steps towards them, branches gliding over his hide, until he was out in the open with them. Carefully, as he knew people got a bit startled sometimes by thoughtspeech, he adressed The woman //greetings. I see Ricky already introduced me//. His 'Voice' was calm and low //I think joining you would be a very good idea, if you really don't mind//. Ricky, who had heard at least the last bit, nodded "yeah what he said!" she smirked.

[Jaden Wolf]

Selka had a smile on her face the entire time Ricky spoke. When she attempted to recall the name of the man they were delivering something to, Selka laughed. She looked over (err, up?) as Zero 'spoke' to her, and grinned again. It wasn't every day she met a mind-speaker, but she wasn't new to it either. Without missing a beat, she responded, "well, nice to meet ya, Zero. And Ricky too!" She looked back at the girl as she said her name.
"I'm Selka," she said, and after a short pause, added, "I'd shake your hand, but..." She made a vague, weighed-down attempt at bringing attention to her prize. Her hands were kind of busy holding up the snake, after all.
"So! Off we go then?" she suggested, turning carefully and expertly making her way downhill at a speed one wouldn't think possible with such a giant snake weighing her down. And she was actually going slower than she would otherwise, to give her company (Zero, that is) time to maneuver through the trees. Within moments, she had reached the path and turned to make sure the other two were still with her. Down the open trail, smoke rose from the village cooking pits, though the actual village was not quite visible yet.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Sear had made it to the village. Finally.
Looking around, she flagged down some poor lady carrying a rather large jug. It seemed to be full, as she struggled to hold onto it after being surprised by this stranger. Oblivious to the woman's plight, Sear demanded to know the location of the village's busiest gathering place. Warily, the woman looked her over before gesturing over her shoulder. Without comment, Sear set off in that direction, leaving the annoyed woman with her burden. Obviously, Sear was used to others being at her beck and call. To her, these humans should be more than happy to provide assistance to their superior.

[ShadowStitches]

(sorry, just a short one today)
Ricky laughed soflty when Selka held up her bounty. "ah no worries, I'm not for all of that overly formal stuff anyway" she chirped. She was almost inclined to offer their help on carrying the snake, but their guide seemed to handle it just well on her own. Ricky could not help but to look at her in slight awe, before helping Zero on his way towards the trail. By now the two of them where quite in tune with the whole 'Ricky guiding Zero' thing, so they did not take too long following the woman. They still where considerably slower then Selka.
Arriving at the path, Ricky looked into the direction of the smoke "ah, that does not look too far away" she smirked. looking at Selka, she asked curiously "so! dou you live there?"

[Jaden Wolf]

When Ricky commented about how close the village was, Selka turned and looked over at the smoke as well.
"Yep, not far at all!" she agreed. She began walking down the path, a little slower this time so that the other two could easily keep up and still talk. It was at that moment Ricky asked Selka a question.
"Do I live here? Oh, no." She attempted to shake her head, and grinned at herself when her head failed to move more than an inch.
"No, I'm just passing through. I'm a traveller at heart, I could never stay in one place for long." Managing to tilt her head slightly upwards to look at some colourful matches flying above, she smiled.
"Too much to see, too much to do." After a moment of thinking, she came back to reality and looked over at Ricky and Zero, turning her body to do so. It was amazing she managed to keep walking at that odd angle without tripping.
"So how about you two? I mean, obviously you're not from around here, but you got a place to call home?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Sear had located a central gathering place. An elevated, straw-roofed, wooden platform in the middle of a square had people sitting around at homemade wooden benches and tables. Some were eating, some playing games, some just sitting, but all were socializing with one another. People came and went constantly. If Sear were an actual Anthropologist, this place would be heaven. But for her purposes, it would work fine.
You know, if people would cooperate.
After attempting to insert herself into a third group with no success, she was starting to get annoyed. These people acted like she wasn't even there! She may not be as violent or cruel or even self-important (well, not AS much) as her brethren, she was still important enough to be noticed. Oh, how she missed the days when people worshipped her. She was a goddess for Zu'hai's sake. Plopping herself onto a bench at the corner of the platform, she glared at the crowd in general. Still, not even the smallest child seemed to spare her a glance.

[ShadowStitches]

Nicky beamed when Selka told them about her lifestyle. "thats awesome!" she exclaimed. "I think so too! there is just too much to be missed when you stay put at one spot all your life. Zero tilted his head slightly. even though his facial expressions where pretty limited as a reptile, one coud 'hear' amusement and maybe a slight bit of heartache when he responded to Selka's questions. /I was a wandere too, not long ago. I can understand that lifestyle very well. certain circumstances however...forced me to stettle down in a way./ he paused
/it has its perks too, to have a place to come back to/. "ah come on now, Zero." Ricky chuckeled. "you chose this job to escape your home once in a while, admit it" Zero did not answer, an Ricky explained "we are messengers who work for a bigger cooperation. This means of course we travel around a lot, and see and experience quite a bit. We do however have a place near Aldrect that is...kind of home. at least we return there every once in a while" she chirped.
The village could be already seen, and soon now they would arrive. Ricky wondered if Selka was up to join them for a drink or something later, she'd love do hear more of the womans travels.

[Jaden Wolf]

Selka listened to the two attentively. She smiled at various points, nodding to Zero as he empathized with her. When Ricky spoke of Aldrect, Selka beamed.
"Ah, Aldrect! It's a beautiful city." She turned back forward, angling her upper body still slightly towards her companions.
"I suppose I do have a home of sorts. I never really went there at first, but since my children live there now, I stop by to visit."
Before she could say more, they were at the edge of the village. Selka stopped and looked around for a moment before turning back to the other two.
"So, I have a man to meet about a snake, but I would be glad to chat later! It'll be sunset soon, so perhaps it'd be best for you two to stay in town? Once you make that delivery, of course! The best place to get information about all that would be the square, by the way," she suggested, gesturing over her shoulder with her body. The edge of the square was visible down the small dirt street they were standing on.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Being seated in the very corner of the platform, Sear could see a little ways up the street that came into the square there. Looking around vacantly (still annoyed), something caught her eye. It was obvious that the girl and the battleheart were not locals, and she wondered about the woman with them, since she dressed and behaved differently from the village women she had been watching this past while. At least...she was pretty sure that thing was a woman...from the outfit. It was hard to say since most of the body seemed to be obscured by a giant...snake. Sear wasn't the only one whose eyes were drawn to the massive creature (and the person who held it). Many people, men and women, child and adult alike, stopped or slowed down to look over their shoulders at the strange sight. Sear watched for a different reason. She wanted to see how the locals treated these strangers.

((By the way, you can have the locals treat Ricky and Zero however you want, they just don't know what to do with Sear because she's standoffish and they consider her rude.))

[ShadowStitches]

Time sure flew when you where having a good conversation. It was almost surprising at how fast they had made their way to the borders of the city. "Thanks again, and we'd love to meet later!" Ricky agreed. They would surely be able to find eachother once they all had done their business here. And Selka was right. even Though it would be interisting to find a place for Zero, they should stay in the town for the evening.
"Catch you later!" she called, before she and her comapion made their way in to the direction of the marketplace. It was quite busy, and the Battleheart shifted unconfortably.He could feel the stares of the townpeople already. Was not every day that they saw one of his kind, apparently. "I'll go and see where this guy lives. is it okay for you to wait here?" Ricky asked. she knew that he was unhappy about his situation, but navigating a blind battleheart through the more narrow streets could be quite troublesome. /Its alright, dont worry about me, kiddo/ he said, nudging her slightly with his head. "I'll make it quick" she promised.

Ricky was fast to find someone who could point her to the guy she had to meet for his delivery.
While she made her way towards the street she was directed to, package firmly clamped under her arm, Zero turned his head in to various directions, trying to asses his surroundings by sound.