[i]The night before...[/i]

[center][h2]Jeanne and Habeen--C-support[/h2][/center]

Jeanne perked up as she heard someone humming a familiar melody, a lilting 12/8-rhythm jig that she often heard in the forests in which she lived.

Jeanne, intrigued, followed the source of the hums, cupping her hand to her ear every so often.

Jeanne's stealth was a force of habit; back in the forests through which she chased the caravans of the pretentious wealthy, she would fly through treetops silently and undetected. It was a practice of hers that wove into her way of life.

Jeanne eventually found the source of the humming. She came across Habeen, who, sitting cross-legged by candlelight, was carving some kind of small totem while humming the melody. With short, swift motions, Habeen turned the totem in her hand and flicked shavings of wood off the totem.

"Hey," Jeanne said.

Apparently she had totally startled Habeen, who flailed her arms in surprise, letting both the carving knife she was using and the wooden totem fly into the air. With a THWOCK-CLUNK, the knife and totem landed in her lap and on her head, respectively.

"I totally meant to do that," Habeen joked, completely ignoring the fact that she was nearly impaled.

"Oh, yes, I'm absolutely sure that nearly knifing your noggin is TOTALLY what you want to do while whittling your wooden totem," Jeanne replied. "So, what's that song you were humming?" she asked.

"Just something I heard on my travels while staying in a forest village," Habeen replied. The dark-skinned Mage simply picked up her knife and totem once more and continued to whittle. "It was a lovely melody so I decided to pick it up. I think there were words, but I don't remember them."

Jeanne nodded. Habeen restarted the song, humming through the intro. It struck Jeanne: it was an old folk song that she herself knew in her childhood, that stuck with her for her life.

Habeen's humming entered the first verse, and that's where Jeanne opened her mouth and:

[i]"'Neath the ole wooden towers
That do scrape across the sky
Lying underneath the bowers
We the forest-dwellers lie

With the verdant grass a-staining
Leaves a-whirling, swirling; why,
The forest is our home, a humble home, for you and I."[/i]

Habeen turned around. "Is that what the words are?" Habeen asked. "That was bothering me for a while. You know that feeling you get when you have a song in your head that you don't completely know the words to?"

"That's when you resort to, well, simply singing the merry melody," Jeanne replied.

"So you know that song?" Habeen asked.

"Of course! Everybody in my home in the woods knew that song. We were a small community, and every week we would gather at night and sing the song. Within the woods, the townsfolk were in tune with the trees and flowers."

Jeanne sat down next to Habeen and wrapped her arms around her own knees. "That song helped solidify the idea within the forest village of living in harmony with nature instead of conquering it," she said. "Like the birds and the flowers, we were a part of the forest habitat. Granted, we had houses and such, but still..."

Jeanne looked up. "Hey, when did you learn this song?"

"Fairly recently, actually; I passed through the village in which I heard this about a month ago."

Jeanne nodded. "You're certainly well-traveled," she remarked.

"Oh, I ought to tell you all about it," Habeen said, her smile growing wider.

Jeanne chuckled. "We can talk later, it's getting pretty late," she said.

"Alright, I'll just go back to cutting up my wood," Habeen replied.

[i]Jeanne and Habeen reached support level C.[/i]

[hr]

[h2]Jeanne Robina--Bloodstained Field[/h2]

Jeanne wasn't stupid. She realized that juxtaposing an infamous thief and a whole lot of blood didn't do a lot of good. (In fact, quite the opposite.) As such, Jeanne made a mental note to refrain from thieving unless necessary (not difficult given her normal fare).

Jeanne heard the moans of pain and winced. "I'm just wondering," she said to no one in particular, "but what kind of vile violence just ravaged this field?"