[h1][center]IN THE FUTURE: BOAR HUNTING[/center][/h1]

[color=#008b8b]”You still haven’t told me [i]why[/i] you had Edwin’s sword out. Or the priestly garb, for that matter.”[/color] 

There was a beat of silence for a moment, before the girl gave a shrug and answered, "Because people get less mad if I bring out Daybreaker than taking out Moonshine." No further explanation was offered. 

[color=#008b8b]”Odd that they find that less objectionable. I’d almost expect someone would ask why you still [i]have[/i] it at that point.”[/color]

“Even if Ed wasn’t my friend, I’m not going to throw away a sword and fight Calavanárë.”

[color=#008b8b]”Didn’t suggest you’d throw it away.”[/color]

Tyaethe didn’t say anything for a few minutes, looking out at the greenery. “It’s reassuring. And I don’t have to argue about having the key for Elly’s stuff.”

Short of the tramping of the horses’ hooves that had conveyed them thus far, Tyaethe and Fionn’s conversation was nearly the only sound to be heard in the woodland they were now traveling through, well off the main roads of Thaln. Far quieter than such woods normally [i]should[/i] have been, in his mind, but given just what they were after there wasn’t much surprise.

Regular boars were bad enough, whether truly wild or domestic animals gone feral. Both opportunistic and stubborn, they could quickly establish space for themselves, clearing out every possible competitor in a rapid span, only to strip the land nearly bare and move on elsewhere for the next season. Thick hides, thicker still in the mating season, dense bones, teeth turned to goring tusks, and worst of all, a recognizable intelligence sparking behind their piggish eyes. Rare was the creature that could physically compete with one; rarer still were those intelligent enough to do so.

And those were just the [i]normal[/i] sized boars. Fewer than three feet to the shoulder. When he’d come to check on Tyaethe a few days ago, she’d reminded him of ones she used to hunt with Cyrus, that were, at minimum, five feet to the shoulder. Larger than a bear.

Fionn being Fionn, he’d of course found hunting them to sound like great fun. After a quick trip to Candaeln’s smith, dropping off his sword for some much-needed work and gathering a bundle of spears, they’d quickly set off in pursuit of bacon of unusual size.

He pulled his horse to a stop as they entered a small clearing, glancing around warily. He held one of the large boar spears loosely in his hand, ready in case they’d gotten ambushed as they rode in, though thankfully it hadn’t been necessary. [color=#008b8b]”You said there’s a marsh a little ways deeper, aye? That’s where they’re most likely to be, I’d guess. Better walk from here.”[/color]

“Should be,” Tyaethe said, sliding off her own horse and resting her sword over one shoulder. It wasn’t [i]really[/i] appropriate for hunting extra-big pigs, but she’d brought it along ‘as insurance’ in case the spears didn’t prove to be enough. Besides, the spears should hold–the runework would burn out soon enough if stressed, but they should at least stand the weight and strength thrown at them. For a time. “Just don’t ask me to find a way through it.”

She could do better at locating the boars once they were in the area–monsters of all kinds weren’t exactly quiet, nor the least pungent–but when it came to something more visual… well, she tended to ruin her clothes more often than not in this sort of terrain. At least drowning wasn’t much of a concern, and she found her way out [i]eventually[/i].

Fionn turned to Tyaethe with a grin. [color=#008b8b]”Eh? Don’t feel like wading around and craning your neck to try and see over the grass?”[/color] He slid from his horse’s back, tying it by the reins to one of the trees at the edge of the clearing and grabbing the other spears. [color=#008b8b]”Probably for the best, although at least these boars ought to be big enough you won’t miss it once it’s out in the open, right?”[/color] He whistled to call the packhorse up as well, tying it off next to his own.

Truly, while letting the vampire try to navigate would be comical, he didn’t fancy their chances of not getting lost. He was already worried enough about having to try and find her glasses if she lost them in the muck.

[color=#008b8b]”So, what’s the best method, do you think?”[/color] he asked, as they followed the trail deeper into the forest. [color=#008b8b]”Aggressive like, sneak up and start sticking them, or bait a charge and hope for the best?”[/color] Unspoken, of course, was the obvious point that the first could easily be made to turn into the second—the only alternative if faced with a charge was to try and get out of the way, or be speared in turn, after all.

[color=#008b8b]”And if the second, which of us is going to flush them out?”[/color]

“Waiting for them to charge is generally the smart choice,” Tyaethe replied, hair swishing back and forth as she thought, “You only have to dodge if the spear looks like it’s going to break that way. Treat it as a bigger pig.

“But that’s boring.” 

The vampire played with her sword for a few seconds before continuing, “These huge pigs are the best way to ease into fighting [i]real[/i] monsters. If your equipment can hold it, where else are you going to improve your ability to dodge or block?”

[color=#008b8b]”On the one hand, good point. On the [i]other,[/i] baiting a charge usually [i]isn’t[/i] the best way to hunt boars. Mate of mine learned that the hard way growing up.”[/color] Of course, that day everybody had been lucky to get away with nothing more than a broken leg for the group and some cuts and scrapes; but then, there’d also been more than just two people.

Monster slayer though she was, Fionn wasn’t exactly sold on the idea of relying on Tyaethe to bail him out of trouble at the last second if he should prove slower or more trusting of the spear than might actually be good for his health; no doubt, of course, that her plan was to have him be the one charged, though he intended to at least make her say it. [color=#008b8b]”You still haven’t answered my second question, though.”[/color]

“Do you [i]want[/i] to do the boring part? I can get back in time; I don’t want you gored.”

[color=#008b8b]”Wouldn’t really be my first time getting stabbed, to be fair.”[/color]

Having a child against your chest wasn’t all that intimidating, even if they reached up to grab your shoulders. It was substantially more pressing when it was a vampire applying enhanced strength. “You are [i]not[/i] going to get stabbed by boars.”

[color=#008b8b]”Of course not!”[/color] Fionn replied airily. [color=#008b8b]”I’m smarter than they are, after all, and these ones should be easier to see.”[/color] In the face of the diminutive vampire attempting to bully him into submission, his response might be seen as dangerously blasé by some, though he simply took it in stride—if not as some proof that he could still have the effect he intended.

[color=#008b8b]”I say we stick with the more active approach. Big as these are, and smart as pigs usually are, I don’t think they’ll be very bothered by my attempt at baying. I’m more fond of the bait-a-charge approach when it’s bears, anyways.”[/color] While waiting for Tyaethe to relent in her grasp, he looked around her head at the woods they were walking through. [color=#008b8b]”Been here much in the years since those stories you were telling me?”[/color]

The white-haired paladin finally let go, grabbing her sword with a smile, “Not all that much, but I’ve kept an ear out. There should still be pigs to fight.”

She looked around a few times, rather pointlessly, before shrugging. “If we’re going to just [i]fight[/i] them, it makes things easier once we find the boars. It doesn’t make my eyesight any better.”

Fionn started walking along again, glancing back at the girl. [color=#008b8b]”Is [i]that[/i] why you like the baiting-a-charge option? Less looking to have to do if it just comes to you?”[/color] Before she had the opportunity to really respond to his second light-hearted jab in as many minutes, he picked up his pace, putting enough space between them that he’d at least have a second to respond if she should try to grab at him a second time. [color=#008b8b]”Strange trees, this far south. Not used to all the beeches and chestnuts. Think they’ve got olives if we go much further?”[/color]

“Maybe? I’m from Stalva; if you were asking me about trees in mountain regions I’d know more.” She was old, sure, but Tyaethe was hardly a woodsman; most of her time nowadays was spent in cities or on campaigns. ‘Learn what trees can be found where’ wasn’t her specialty.

Stalva; that made sense—she’d mentioned before that she was from near the Ithillin border, though he’d never bothered to actually look into it much. [color=#008b8b]”Went through there a couple times during the last war. Probably the most like home out of everything down here, but I haven’t even been back [i]that[/i] far north since joining the Roses.”[/color] A mistake that would have to be rectified at some point, if only for reasons of climate.

Aimlenn was warm enough. As close as they were to Chauntressy, the northern man felt like he might start melting if it got any warmer.

“I don’t go back much, but I can tell you who does good wine.”

With the momentary lull in the conversation, looking ahead down the trail he could make out a large branch which had either fallen or been broken off lying across their foot path. Just the sort of thing he’d been looking for—as clear as the trail was, relying on footprints would prove useless. There were just too many to try and figure out what was new and what was old. If there was any obvious boar hair stuck on the branch, that would put them on the right track. [color=#008b8b]”Well, we might get lucky and avoid the marsh all together. What do you want to bet that’s from one of the boars knocking through here?”[/color]

“It’s easy enough to check,” the paladin answered, catching up and crouching to inspect the branch. Brown. Treelike. Exactly like [i]any other stick[/i] to look at, so far as she knew, even if it did happen to be across their path. Branches fell off occasionally, right? Then they’d be on the path. 

Instead of continuing to stare at a piece of deadwood, she sniffed it.

“Smells enough of boar, it should be fresh.”

Once she looked back up and in his direction, Fionn pointed at one of the limbs sticking off the branch, with a few bristles that had been caught in it. [color=#008b8b]”Aye. Don’t think we’re finding giant badgers too, so I figured these were boar.”[/color] Not that he could [i]fault[/i] the vampire’s nose, but it wasn’t exactly necessary.

“That’s a tree.”

[color=#008b8b]”Look closer, Tyaethe.”[/color]

“Oh.”

[color=#008b8b]”Surely there’s some sort of spell that’s been devised through the years that could fix your eyesight. Have you checked with the healers or the Mage’s college?”[/color]

Tyaethe shrugged. “It’s not a disease; it would be like trying to fix being short. As soon as I heal [i]anything else[/i], I’d be back to this. My [i]hair[/i] regenerates, do you think my eyes won’t return to their original condition?”

[color=#008b8b]”It’s not a disease, but it’s a condition, and I know there are some conditions that they’ve figured out how to fix. There’s got to be some sort of workaround for the whole vampirism thing to make it stick, surely, even if nobody has figured it out as of yet.”[/color] As the pair resumed their walking and talking, he still kept his eyes up, just in case they should find a boar far more rapidly than they intended—unlikely, given Tyaethe’s nose, but still a possibility. [color=#008b8b]”Veilena, maybe, if she can be convinced to look into it. She’s a smart girl.”[/color]

“Even if she might be smart enough, I would rather she experimented on somebody else first. But the only locatable vampires I know of are myself, my uncle, and the Marquise. I doubt she’d have any luck capturing the latter, either…”

Now it was Fionn’s turn to shrug. [color=#008b8b]”Another will come up. These sorts of things always do.”[/color]

“It’s not like another two hundred years will matter.” Continuing to walk along the path a bit further, Tyaethe came to a halt. “So… can you see anything else? I can’t hear anything yet.”

[color=#008b8b]”Nothing yet. Trail’s too traveled to try and rely on tracks, and most of the canopy isn’t low enough for there to be much damage to notice. Be different if it was a pine forest.”[/color] He looked up and around for a moment, setting the spears he was carrying on the ground. [color=#008b8b]”Give me a minute. Going to climb up and try to get a look over everything.”[/color] Without waiting for a response, he ran forwards, leaping into the air and grabbing onto the lowest branch he could see that he felt would hold his weight, heaving himself up and over.

Luckily for him, the canopy was relatively clear, which made climbing his way up a bit easier. Better yet were the runners making their own way up the trunks of the trees, many of which were old and strong enough to support his weight when he had to go up the trunk alone in absence of good branches for a few feet. Before long he was poking his head out into the wind, getting a view of the treetops as the forest descended down towards the marshy lowland at its center. He could see where the treeline itself ended, dissolving into sparse groups or single trees deeper in the marsh, and a ways back from that was one relatively tall tree, shaking opposite the direction of the breeze, and harder than any tree on its own ever should. He quickly noted its relative direction, before climbing back down to drop next to Tyaethe.

[color=#008b8b]”Hear anything yet while I was up there?”[/color]

“Birds. Wind. More buzzing insects than anyone could be comfortable with. Trees waving, but that comes with the wind. Nothing large approaching us, though from all the buzzing I guess we must be near the marsh proper?”

[color=#008b8b]”Not far. Closer yet is what I’d guess is a boar using a tree as a scratching post, unless there’s something else big out here that could rattle a tree like that.”[/color] He gathered up the spears, using one to point back where the shaking tree was. [color=#008b8b]”Don’t know if that’s still along the trail or just off of it, but we ought to hurry. I don’t really fancy trying to muck around the marsh if we can take one here where it’s still dry.”[/color]

“Anything else big enough should still be interesting to deal with. Less pork chops at the end, though,” she remarked, facing in the right direction, “Do you want me to piss it off and bring it over here, or do you want to lead?”

From the edge of her vision, Tyaethe would quickly notice as Fionn stepped past her and continued down the trail, towards whatever it was he’d seen. [color=#008b8b]”Said we’d be better sticking to the active approach, didn’t I? You think I’m like to change my mind that quickly?”[/color] The answer, of course, should have been no. [color=#008b8b]”Come on. I’ll keep my eyes open in case this thing [i]did[/i] leave the trail. Shouldn’t be hard to see the tracks split off, and I’m sure there’ll be more broken branches following it.”[/color]

There would be more opportunity to decide where they’d bait it back to if needed, as well; he wasn’t exactly a fan of the spot they were standing in if it came to that. [color=#008b8b]”Want a spear, or do you just want to stick to your sword?”[/color]

“I didn’t know whether you’d want known terrain or the element of surprise,” she answered, looking at the spears and then shaking her head, “I’ll stick to the sword. I can use it the same way if I [i]have[/i] to, it’s not like anything as small as a giant pig is going to break this…”

Heading through the trees, there was nothing out of the ordinary to hear–the same not-quiet as most of Thaln’s wilderness, without the eerie silence that meant something was likely very wrong. After a few minutes of walking, the vampire pushed ahead, obviously hearing something of interest before Fionn, but soon even he would be able to hear the creaking and cracking. Then, visible just through the trees, the looming dark shape of their quarry, rubbing itself against a protesting tree.

Tyaethe turned back to look at Fionn and gave a shrug. There was the boar, what did he want to do?

Fionn glanced down from the boar back at Tyaethe, one eyebrow raised.

[i][color=#008b8b]"What's that look for?"[/color][/i] he whispered. Had he been with any normal hunters, he wouldn't have dared speak—what pigs and boars lacked in eyesight they more than made up for in hearing and sense of smell both—but working with a vampire had its benefits, and he knew she should still manage to hear him.

He looked back at the path ahead of them, long since split off from the main trail when Tyaethe took the lead. The path was thankfully clear of brush and leaves, though the boar's passing had left a number of branches and twigs in their place. Best to avoid those, lest the boar either take off running at the sound of one snapping, or turn to attack when they were ill-prepared for it. Still, there were spots smarter to walk on—softer earth, free of twigs, piles of damp and rotting material where trees had fallen months past, places where no noticeable sound would be made with his walking.

He looked up again, his own path fairly well picked out. Now, to find a good spot for the diminutive vampire to wait, in case he needed to draw the beast back her way. [i][color=#008b8b]"Over there. Big oak, by the rocks."[/color][/i] He pointed with one of the spears over to what he was referring to. The space around the tree was fairly clear, the thick old trunk having managed to keep anything else from encroaching on its territory for quite a long time. The most that might cause an issue was how much the ground itself had been dug up, either by boars grabbing at acorns or sows hunting for truffles or trying to dig up and chew on the ends of roots.

Of course, if the boar could plant a hoof down in one of the gouges and knock itself over, that would be all the better.

Overall, he was fairly satisfied with the early plan of attack. Unspoken, of course, was that if the boar decided instead to run, they would have to chase it. He wasn't used to having to stalk the creatures—most similar hunts he'd gone on were in the more traditional sense, with a larger group, trained dogs and all, cornering the beasts—but the added challenge was nearly as novel as the size of the boar itself.

[color=#008b8b][i]"I'll get as close as I can and attack. If anything goes wrong or I can't get as close as I like, you'll see me throw the spear. I'll keep you as perfectly behind me as I can, so that if it charges me, it'll notice[/i] you [i]once I get out of the way. Make sure to wave your arms and make a lot of noise if that happens. Hopefully it’ll be angry enough it keeps running at you rather than turning to try and trample me, eh?"[/i][/color]

Not wanting to draw attention–she might be able to hear Fionn, but it wasn’t like that went both ways–Tyaethe nodded and headed off to the indicated tree. Well, she assumed it was the indicated tree, unless Fionn was [i]really[/i] bad at pointing in a direction. Distract a boar… if it came to it, the easiest way would just be to poke it a few times, surely? Make it [i]very[/i] angry at the pest hurting it, rather than make a lot of noise and hope that worked.

Blissfully unaware of their presence, the boar had apparently gotten bored with scratching and was now rooting about for… something. Not that, if the tree could say anything, it would be particularly happy with this state of affairs either.

Satisfied with Tyaethe’s nod, Fionn turned back to the boar, carefully stepping along the path he’d mapped out. Inching closer with every step, spear raised and arm cocked to throw at the slightest provocation, his eyes constantly darted back and forth between the boar and where he was planting his toes. Fifty feet.

Thirty.

Fifteen.

Once he stepped within ten, the boar looked up from its rooting, turning to face him. Fionn froze for a moment, eyes locked with the boar. Its shoulder was higher than his own, and there was no doubt in his mind that it could easily have outweighed him tenfold. Worse yet, the spot where he stood wasn’t nearly firm enough to withstand a charge—he’d be trampled down and Tyaethe would be left having to explain to the rest why he didn’t make it back from a simple hunt.

As if realizing these facts on its own, the boar dug its back hooves into the dirt, crouched down, ready to spring. [color=#008b8b][i]”Cac.”[/i][/color]

The beast ran forwards, and Fionn leapt off to the side, kicking up a spray of decaying bark in the opposite direction. Unable to quickly stop and turn the boar charged through the disintegrating log where he’d stood, and he twisted as it ran past, planting the first spear up to the crossbar in its midsection. Squealing with rage, it struggled to a stop—just as a second spear sank in by the base of its tail, thrown to try and drive it further on towards Tyaethe. It squealed again, leaping forwards—before sliding into a turn, knocking the first spear out and taking off at a sprint deeper to the marsh, trailing blood, broken branches, and stripped bark behind it in its mad dash away.

[color=#008b8b][i]”Och.[/i] Least it’ll be easier to track this way, aye?”[/color] Fionn walked up to where the boar had taken off, picking up the dripping spear and waiting for Tyaethe to come over. [color=#008b8b]”Fancy trying to keep up, or do you just want to hop on and I’ll carry you?”[/color]

“I thought I could take it easy, but somehow you managed to scare it off…” she said, sighing, “I’ll stay on my own feet.”

[color=#008b8b]”How was [i]I[/i] supposed to know it would cut and run? Normally they’re more aggressive than that.”[/color]

At least the blood trail would make it easy to follow… hardly as [i]interesting[/i] as a person’s blood, but it was still distinctive, even if the thing was quiet. This time, when the vampire moved to chase, it was with a pace distinctly at odds with her diminutive appearance, compensating for the short legs just by moving them faster… and after a brief jaunt, turning around to glare in Fionn’s direction. “And [i]now[/i] we have to go through the mud and muck. Try not to drown.”

At least the transition to marsh would mean the trees would get out of the way and give them a relatively uninterrupted view… more useful for Fionn, but it should make any loss of trail due to water easy to compensate for just by looking for the huge, bloody animal.

If they didn’t fall over, nearly drown, and lose it that way. That would be a problem.

[color=#008b8b]”Should be fine,”[/color] he replied, starting to jog along behind the vampire. [color=#008b8b]”Let’s try and keep quick about it, I don’t want to leave the horses alone too long. Unless we want to walk back to Aimlenn.”[/color]

“Why didn’t we bring an extra person along to look after them…? It would mean we could bring more of the meat with us, too,” Tyaethe wondered, moving through the swampy terrain in bursts. As nice as it would be to just get out of here, she didn’t want to leave Fionn behind entirely… besides, he was the one who hadn’t killed a giant boar before, she shouldn’t steal all the fun.

Although, maybe she ought to drive it back if it looked like it was going to try and run again? Once they caught up.

Which might be hard–now the terrain had opened up, it was clear that it had quite the lead, although its choice of boldly ploughing ahead into the muck didn’t seem to be doing it any favours in speed. Or, hopefully, endurance. On the other hand… well, it wouldn’t do [i]them[/i] any help, either. There was always a risk of getting bogged down, and it would be awkward to try and fight up to their knees in mud and water. Maybe…

“Head to the trees,” Tyaethe suggested, indicating where it transitioned into swamp and then forest off to the side, “I’ll try and push it back towards you.” 

They might as well try and take advantage of the beast’s own skittishness to drive it back towards favourable conditions. And a waiting spear.

Fionn glanced at the uneven treeline behind them, sizing up his options for where to stand. He didn’t exactly like the idea of running through the marsh; tripping and falling on a moss mat or a crannog could easily be a death sentence, but the only other option than that would be swimming, and the boar was bound to beat them at that. Persistence would be the last option, but it would take quite a while to run the beast down to exhaustion.

[color=#008b8b]”Aye. Think I see a good spot. I’ll be ready.”[/color] He turned aside, jogging over to one of the larger trees to be found at the edge of the marsh. He doubted it would really hold all that well should the boar charge directly into it, but the way the roots built up over a small eroded patch below it would give him some shelter. Hold fast, let the boar impale itself, and then the tree could hold it long enough for him to dive out before getting crushed.

As Tyaethe set out to catch the boar and chase it back, he settled into his little hollow, digging the haft of one of the spears into the earth behind him. [color=#008b8b]”Bit more like hunting a bear than a boar, this,”[/color] he muttered to himself as he did, tossing the other spears a little ways off to the side. Given the size, that was only to be expected; he couldn’t imagine there were many to be found across the world able to hunt them exactly like smaller boars. Of course, bears were even less likely than boars to try and run off; at least these giant creatures still acted like their smaller cousins, sometimes. [color=#008b8b]”Must not be the mating season. Good thing; bastards smell awful like...”[/color]

Minutes passed, and then the dark shape stopped running out through the fen and turned towards the trees, letting out a furious squeal… probably a squeal. Maybe it was more of a bellow. As it got closer, Tyaethe caught up to it once again, one hand shifted as far up the blade as she could actually reach as she poked the boar’s side once again, the shallow wound steering it more towards Fionn’s waiting position.

A position that the beast was really in no position to turn back from, even if it noticed him, with the girl so determined to corral it–moving far too quickly out of reach when it made an attempt to swing its head and gore her.

“One pig for you!” Tyaethe called, ‘helpfully’.

[color=#008b8b]”Hope this works,”[/color] Fionn muttered, staring down the boar charging his way. Bad as its eyesight was—likely second only to Tyaethe’s—it still seemed to recognize him, its grunting and bellowing increasing as it actually picked up speed running his way. By now it was more than evident to the bloated suid that flight was long since lost as an option, so it chose to fight instead. All the worse for it; with its eyes focused on him, eyes unsuited to binocular vision, it couldn’t recognize the point that was facing it. As it charged, dipping its head slightly to be ready to gore him, he dipped the spear, just under the jaw and to the right, bracing himself for the impact.

The boar slammed into the spear, the crossbar itself penetrating through the body before catching on the ribs, and the haft dug into the dirt and roots behind Fionn. The butt stuck on something, and the boar’s momentum carried it up higher, head slamming into the tree; he rolled off to the side away from it, deftly taking up one of the spears as he did so. Not a moment too soon, either, as the impact caused the trunk to split, and the boar, thrashing wildly, tipped over and landed heavily on its side.

Fionn didn’t waste a moment; as the thrashing died down for a spell, blood spurting out along the spear that was buried in the beast’s heart, he came up beside it. One foot planted on its head; then with both hands, he drove the spear sharply into the base of the skull, severing the brain stem from the spine. With one last shudder, the boar stopped all motion, its life spent at last.

Fionn breathed heavily, yanking the spear back out and sticking it in the dirt. [color=#008b8b]”Well. Might be interesting to try that when they’re all out fighting each other, eh?”[/color] He glanced back over to the marsh, before looking back at the corpse. [color=#008b8b]”Probably for the best we’re near the water. I’ll start cleaning it out. You want to go grab the horses? What with the bits we [i]won’t[/i] take, we can probably manage to take a fair bit of it back with us.”[/color]

Right, get the horses. Nodding, Tyaethe turned around and headed back the way they came… mostly, choosing to skirt around the edge of the marshland until she came to the recently-broken area of brush. Even with her poor eyesight, it was pretty obvious something had smashed through recently–their pig. 

Finding where they had left the horses exactly took a [i]little[/i] longer, but she only had to trace her steps to the marsh once.

She hadn’t expected the horses to have been untied. If they [i]had[/i] been untied, she would have expected them to be gone–whether taken by whoever had done the untying, or wandered off if they had pulled free of their own accord. Very, very low down the list of probabilities was ‘the one who did the untying was sat there playing with them’.

“Why is a fairy playing with our horses?”

“How could I resist? Anyone might have come along and decided to take them. Or perhaps an animal would have found its next meal. This forest is host to giant boar, would it truly be surprising if it has predators to match? I merely took it upon myself to watch over them for you.”

The fairy hopped to her spindly legs, green hair falling down to her knees. It took a moment for her to remember–niyar, not normally this tall at all. That meant she was still short by human standards, yet not exceptionally so like Tyaethe herself. Not inherently malevolent, yet… “And what cause do you have to take care of strangers’ horses?” And leave them so easily [i]taken back[/i] without arranging any deal.

“But this big one is my darling’s,” the fairy gave her a confused look, head exaggeratedly tilted.

… when had he been messing around fairies? How had he been messing around with fairies to the point this one thought she had some claim on him and could determine that the [i]horse[/i] was his? Or maybe she was wrong.

She probably wasn’t wrong. Fey hated to lie if there was any choice, and she was confident.

Tyaethe must have been standing around without saying anything for too long, the green girl was speaking again. “It has been dreadfully hard to find him again. The trail keeps going cold, and he simply refuses to stay out in the forests like a good boy.”

“I’m not giving you MacKerracher, the Iron Roses need him.”

“Oh my, an entire group? I never thought he had it in him to satisfy so many…”

“We don’t need him for that!”

“Of course [i]you[/i] do not, I can tell you have been claimed twice over. The weight of the gods hangs off you like a cloak,” the fairy said brightly.

“[i]None[/i] of us do!” She hoped? It didn’t seem like Fionn was tied up with the other knights in such a way, he seemed altogether too oblivious… which might explain this fairy.

“Then why can I not have my darling back…?”

This conversation was going to go nowhere, at least without the sort of word games Tyaethe had no interest in playing. Nor did she want to fight the fairy and probably have their horses get killed in the process, if she couldn’t just escape because they were in the middle of a forest and leave her with an annoying enemy.

Fortunately, there was a third option: make Fionn deal with his own mess. “How about I lead you to him first?”

“Hooray!” the fairy cheered, clapping her hands and handing the horses over with a bright smile. One that didn’t diminish at all as Tyaethe lead them back through to the edge of the marsh, and around once more to where Fionn was engaged in his butchery.

Had been engaged. It might be hard to continue, what with the fairy that had just flung herself over his shoulders with a happy “Darling!”

[color=#008b8b]”What.”[/color]

Luckily for Fionn, he’d already finished removing all the organs; a shameful waste, but given the current state of things and lack of a proper hunting party, there wasn’t any way to really use them before they’d go bad. Dump them a ways away where the scavengers could get to them later, wash himself off a bit in the water, and come back for the hide; he’d been wondering what was taking Tyaethe so long to get the horses, but had figured she was having trouble finding her way around, what with her bad eyesight. Nothing terribly major.

He [i]hadn’t[/i] expected to have a small green girl throw herself around him as he was walking back to the boar. [color=#008b8b][i]”Fiadh?”[/i][/color]

“Of course!” the apparently-named Fiadh answered, quirking her head once more, “You do not [i]smell[/i] like any other of my kind, so how could I be anyone else?”

“I found her playing with our horses,” Tyaethe supplied, “She complained you haven’t been in the forests enough.”

Fionn blinked, speechless, his head turning between Tyaethe and Fiadh rapidly as he tried to make sense of the situation. The last he’d seen the fairy latched onto him, they’d had an argument about his participation in the War of the Red Flag, and she’d made it clear that she was ‘done with him,’ as she’d said. Seeing her so happy to see him—and on top of that, complaining about not seeing him often enough, apparently—was completely at odds with his ability to figure out just what was going on.

[color=#008b8b]”Did she—did [i]you[/i] say anything else?”[/color] he asked, turning from Tyaethe to Fiadh mid-sentence. [color=#008b8b]”I hope you weren’t tormenting Echaid. He’s not the most playful horse.”[/color]

“Of course I did,” Fiadh said, nodding, and continuing her best limpet impression, “I reminded this priest that something in the forest might have liked to eat your horses. Boring and serious as they are, they still have plenty of meat.”

Now she was sniffing him. “Oh, you finally managed to use your talent! I told you that you were special.” Her face took on a confused look, “Is this how you please so many?”

[color=#008b8b]”What.”[/color]

“I told you, that’s not why the knights need Fionn!”

“If it is not, then I still see no reason why I cannot have my darling once more. I would hardly deny him his calling. Unless he were to embark on a campaign of attempted suicide.”

A pause.

“Darling, you [i]are[/i] keeping to fights you can survive?”

[color=#008b8b]”I...haven’t fallen yet?”[/color] As lame an answer as it was, it was the best that Fionn could really come up with at the moment. The only fights he had no hope of surviving he’d been in had all been part of the shared dream the entire order had, after all. [color=#008b8b]”Really, I’d always thought you were just being complimentary, telling me I was magical.”[/color]

All that said, it still didn’t resolve the question of [i]why[/i] she seemed so happy to see him, or was reiterating her claim so strongly. [color=#008b8b]”Fiadh, dear, didn’t you say you were done with me back when I joined in the war? Where’s all this coming from? I’m afraid I’ve missed something.”[/color]

“I was done with our argument, yes,” the fey agreed, finally relenting on her grip about his shoulders. Instead, she had decided to lay claim to his arm instead, “You would not renounce your silly idea to join the fighting and I had no desire to send you off. I never once renounced our arrangement or said that you were no longer mine, darling!”

Now she was rubbing her cheek against him. “I am extremely proud of your survival, even if you misbehaved by avoiding the forest for so long.”

Tyaethe appeared to be focusing entirely on the horses. Even if it was impossible for her to [i]not[/i] be listening to the entire conversation… Fiadh was hardly quiet, and she hadn’t run off to the other side of the marsh.

[color=#008b8b]”...Right. We’re going to have to talk about your word choice at some point. You also seem...[i]extremely[/i] unbothered about what you’re suggesting why the knights have me around.”[/color] He slid his eyes away from the direction of the fairy girl rubbing her cheek against his shoulder, catching Tyaethe’s glimpse for a moment and giving a little half-shrug.

It might have been a good idea to have told the other knights about Fiadh beforehand, but as he’d figured she’d left him entirely, he didn’t expect it would ever really come up. Hopefully it wouldn’t prove a problematic entanglement, though based on what the girl was just saying, he was at least [i]reasonably[/i] sure it wouldn’t.

[color=#008b8b]”Say, you don’t know of anything that would help us butcher this boar a bit faster, do you? Or know any spell or anything that could help the horses carry [i]all[/i] of it back to Candaeln?”[/color] Best now just to make the best of the situation, by his reckoning. [color=#008b8b]”Be a bit of a waste if Tyaethe and I can’t get it all back, after all.”[/color]

Without preamble, vines began to crawl down from the trees, wrapping around the boar’s limbs and hoisting it up… with some difficulty, from the sound of straining wood, yet that merely lead to a few more snaking out of the greenery and steadily beginning to swing it through the forest.

“... you aren’t taking our boar, are you?” 

“Of course not, if I wanted a boar, I could simply find one of my own. If you follow it along, then you will come out near a farming village in a distressingly recently-cut area. There should be little difficulty in moving it on from there.”

She still hadn’t let go of Fionn.

He watched the boar go swinging through the trees back to their path out of the forest. [color=#008b8b]”Right. Can probably get them to help us butcher it. Might have to give up some of the meat, but whether as charity or payment, that’s no great loss.”[/color] No doubt the villagers would find it a near-godsend, given that winter wasn’t far away. They’d be able to preserve their section of the boar and feed on it through the lean months with no trouble.

And, while he was certain he already knew the answer: [color=#008b8b]”Want to travel with us for a spell? I could even find you a patch of woods near Aimlenn, if you’d like, although it’s more likely to be an orchard than anything wild.”[/color]

“You know me so well, darling,” Fiadh continued her nuzzling, “Of course I will accompany you. Last time I let you go off, you took too long to come back. [i]This[/i] time, I am going to come with you the entire way. I simply [i]must[/i] know what you do for these Iron Roses that would interfere with being mine!”

[color=#008b8b]”I think that’s more of another misunderstanding, at this point, judging by the way you two talk at each other.”[/color] He slid his knife back into its sheath, gathering up the spears that Ardor had sent them off with. Whether the dwarf had expected them to come back or not he didn’t know, but he didn’t want to risk angering the castle’s smith if he could avoid it. [color=#008b8b]”Say, Tyaethe, you didn’t happen to get that spear I planted in the boar’s rear, did you? Did that get lost somewhere in this mire?”[/color]

“If it’s not still there, then no,” Tyaethe stated, already mounting up. Her hands had been quite full of her sword at the time and she had no intention of going back out into the muck to find a spear that may be completely submerged by the mud already. He’d just have to manage without.

The trip back was long. It was also, fortunately, boring–Tyaethe’s bafflement that Fionn’s horse knew how to free [i]other[/i] horses aside, and a demand that they stop to prove that it in fact could. Even the brief stint at the village was unremarkable, Fiadh continuing to entertain herself with the horses and staying [i]just[/i] far enough away from any villagers that they were willing to help with the boar.

It was on the approach back to Aimlenn that things got a little odd. For instance, they had just passed what seemed to be the last copse of trees between themselves and the gates, with the farmland around being much more… flat, hedges and bushes aside.

Fiadh was still perched on Echaid without concern.

[color=#008b8b]”Something bothering you, Tyaethe?”[/color] Fionn had noticed that her glance kept darting back at himself and Fiadh every so often, now that they were past any real woodland, with some sort of mildly incredulous look on her face. Or, perhaps, just confused, maybe frustrated; he wasn’t [i]entirely[/i] sure. [color=#008b8b]”You’re looking at me like when I mentioned I taught Echaid how to untie the simple knots I used for the other horses, or pull the slip knot I tied [i]him[/i] with.”[/color]

“I hadn’t thought ‘the entire way’ was quite so literal,” Tyaethe muttered, planting her face on the horse’s mane as the fairy giggled, “[i]I[/i] refuse to explain to the captain or Gravinir why a fey has taken up residence in the garden. You can do it.”

[color=#008b8b]”I don’t think she’s planning on the garden,”[/color] he replied, shrugging at the thought of telling the others why Fiadh was around. [color=#008b8b]”There’s a small orchard just outside the south gates, I figured we’d be able to work something out with the ones who own it. Or [i]were[/i] you planning on the garden? We don’t have many trees. It’s mostly flowers and shrubbery.”[/color]

“If I stay there, it will be [i]much[/i] easier to find you again if you try to sneak off. One of your other paramours might even help me look.”

Unfortunately, no attempt at explaining on the way seemed to have disabused her of the notion that [i]this[/i] was why Tyaethe insisted the knights couldn’t give him over to her.

Rather than repeat what had, at this point, become his customary response to such a statement, Fionn latched onto the preceding phrase instead. [color=#008b8b]”I did [i]not[/i] sneak!”[/color] he replied indignantly. [color=#008b8b]”We settled that I can’t sneak well enough to keep you from finding me [i]years[/i] ago, back in Velt. Maybe if I had known a spell or something that could work, but I didn’t then, and I still don’t now!”[/color]

As he spoke the words, though, a new thought planted itself within his mind—one that was almost surprising he hadn’t come up with before. He’d heard tales in the past of those who contracted with the Fae for power, often of the magical sort, those of humble upbringing and no latent powers becoming spellcasters in their own right as a result of the deals they’d made. Given that he already had a pre-established relationship with one, it didn’t seem altogether a bad idea to pursue.

[color=#008b8b]”About that, actually, Fiadh...you don’t have any way to make this talent of mine more immediately useful, do you? Shame to let it go to waste, but I don’t exactly have much time to practice at it when I’ve still got to keep up my exercise, the sword training, teaching at the orphanage, and all that.”[/color]

“I have waited so long for you to ask me, darling. Oh, to bind yourself to me, fully and irrevocably… what about this spot? Oooh, or maybe this one…” her hands tapped around, picking seemingly random spots on his body for… whatever. Including the end of his nose, that probably wasn’t a good idea.

Tyaethe’s sigh was the only commentary coming from that quarter.

[color=#008b8b]”Just to be clear, this won’t introduce any conflict, disagreement, or anything of the sort between you and my duties as a knight, correct?”[/color] Fionn asked, pulling Fiadh’s hand away from his nose. [color=#008b8b]”I can’t shirk those, and I’d hardly be the Fionn you like so much if I did.”[/color]

“You will be able to continue playing with your pointy sticks as much as you like,” Fiadh answered pouting… and sticking her fingers into Fionn’s armpits curiously before shaking her head and returning to inspecting his back instead, “Unless you have adopted some heretofore unknown job as a lumberjack or a charcoal burner, being entwined in being will be quite harmless and unobtrusive.”

Her curious inspection of body parts seemed to have calmed down, turning the knight’s left hand around… then over again. And again. 

“Front or back, darling?”

[color=#008b8b]”Right in the palm,”[/color] he replied, satisfied enough with her answer—regardless of Tyaethe’s sigh.

This time, when she tapped, there was the feeling of something burrowing in and sprouting inwards, rooting through his body… and yet, not quite unpleasant? Distracting and tingling, yet not painful. Even with the leafy mark it left.

“Oh, teaching you how to use this will be [i]such[/i] fun.”

“Once again, you’re the one explaining.”

[color=#008b8b]”Not to worry, I’m sure Fiadh will be happy to introduce herself!”[/color]

“Yes! It has been too long since I got to meet so many of my darling’s friends at once.”