Abel rolled a small pebble inside his mouth from cheek to cheek, trying to mask his discontent with his odd dwarvish habit. The trip had not been very delightful thus far. They had been kept on a very strict schedule-- leaving positively no time to relax and (most importantly) socialize. The poor members of his party did not seem to be as accustomed to traveling as Abel was, either. He ascertained this to be the reason why nobody seemed capable of socializing whilst walking. 

He’d hoped to make friends on this trip, but three days in and nobody had so much as said "good morning". He’d paid such acute attention when everyone provided his or her names. Perhaps he should just forget them, along with any hope of friendship. He had attempted to strike up many conversations, but he knew how to take social cues and he’d sooner die than make a poor first impression. 

Perhaps the most frustrating part of this whole situation was that the majority of the group was female. Of course, he meant this in the most positive sense of the word. The only other guy in the group was just barely a man. Abel knew what that meant. He inwardly sighed and tipped his brown felt hat as he glanced up at the clear blue sky. With so many beautiful women so ripe for the picking, how was he supposed to choose one? 

First there was [color=khaki]Illumina[/color]-- long brown hair and stunning blue eyes. She had what most people would call “a rockin’ bod.” The scar on her face added a sort of mystic to her persona… it kinda made him wonder what sort of scars she might have [i]under[/i] her clothes (harr harr). She was a bit hard to read, but Abel got the impression she might be one of those hard-to-get sort of girls. Not that he considered that a problem. He loved a challenge almost as much as he loved easy pickings.

Second, there was [color=lavender]Elisha[/color]. She had a sort of dark mystic all of her own—and he wasn’t just talking about her skin. She was small-- cute, even. He’d idly wondered what she might look like with longer hair and something other than that ghastly brown cloak that was completely obstructing his view of the form fitting leather underneath. Nonetheless- much like Illumina, she was quite the difficult read. Oddly enough, he could not see the two as being very similar. He couldn't quite put his finger on why. 

Then there was Baroness [color=palegreen]Kristen Sallis[/color]. As a married woman-- and mother, no less-- she wore both titles exquisitely well. Even so, fawning over her was much like fawning over a bone in the mouth of a bear. Abel would be lying if he said he hadn’t asked himself whether or not she was [i]happily[/i] married, but even he knew better than to touch another man’s lady-- especially a baron’s. [i]"Forbidden fruit, so sweet to eat while death is nipping at thy feet"[/i]... some stupid rhyme he'd heard back in the village. 

Lastly there was [color=salmon]Lyra[/color]. Of all the women present, the beautiful, curvaceous Lyra had piqued the most of his interest. This was not for reasons founded in lust (well… maybe a little), but more for the fact that she was both an elf and uncharacteristically short. One look at Lyra’s body would quickly dispel any suspicions of her still being a child. He wondered if she happened to be an albmot, like him. Not having had an opportunity to speak with her beyond introductions, however, he had no idea. He wondered if it was obvious to the other members of his group whether or not he himself was an albmot. She had not shown any animosity towards him upon meeting, so either she was just like him or didn't mind half-breeds.

“[color=coral]Hey, looks like that guy might want some help,[/color]” Steven said, breaking Abel's train of thought. Oh [i]GODS[/i]! How long had he been talking? Abel anxiously glanced at each of the members of his group. They’d started talking and he’d completely missed it! Had any of the girls said anything? Lyra?

That was when he noticed Lyra already making her way towards a young boy, searching for something among the rocks and boulders just off the path. This was his chance— Dwarven Gods be [i]damned[/i] if he was going to watch it go by just like that!

“[color=bisque]I think we should definitely help the poor kid out,[/color]” he nodded, stepping (almost a little too quickly) in Lyra’s direction. He quickly caught himself and continued to casually follow her. “[color=bisque]Did you lose something?[/color]” he asked, following Lyra’s question as he neared.