[sylvanSpider]

Arabella clamped her mouth shut, sensing she'd said something wrong – though what it was she couldn't place. Instead, she pressed her lips tightly together, leaning back almost as if she expected the dark mage to hit her. She was relieved when Wisp went back to her usual indescribable self, though her words didn't do anything to provide comfort, “Wait. Me and Kastivi? If Kastivi is at risk in this at all, I am out..” At the sound of demonic in her ear, Arabella's eyes widened but she didn't flinch. If this was something she was going to go through with, demonic was not only a language she'd need to get used to, but one she'd need to learn. She imagined the syntax and grammatical structure would be completely different from any language she'd learned before, but again, it was an undertaking she was willing to follow through with. Ara did her best to repeat the words, looking up at Wisp at the parts she felt she was the weakest (the gutteral growling bits, mostly), and then she repeated it again. “Org...organs? Not any I need to survive I hope...”

Percival, as much as he appreciated the barbarian's company, was not one for physical contact, and almost as soon as he was at her side he stepped a half-step away if only to get a couple of inches from her. His rarely exhibited signs of joy, and now was no exception, his eyebrows furrowing and lip scrunching to a small scowl, “Well, your presence was certainly appreciated in more than one of those occasions but even you are aware that I'm capable of picking up more than my fair share of barmaids. They see me as a distinguished scholar, and I am inclined to agree you know.” He cleared his throat, “And I didn't cry. My dinner had a few too many onions in it, you know. I don't appreciate a cook that relies too heavily on them for flavor. There are other seasonings that exist...” He said shrugging his shoulders – his sideways glance not likely to go unnoticed by the woman. He raised his eyebrows, not really expecting those preferences, “Wait. Really? And here I thought I was your only scholarly friend that you appreciated.”

“Definitely more,” the scholar corrected the dark mage with a bit of a dry chuckle, “Do you really think she's Waltz's type? You see, I'd be a terrible drinking buddy if I stepped aside and she got hurt. I know Arabella, but she has always struck me as...well? The solitary type. Before Kastivi came along, she behaved a lot like me in adventuring parties – staying away from the bulk of you in favor of one's own thoughts. Waltz doesn't really allow for that...at all...even slightly. Also, I have to disagree with that statement. A lot of alcohol accomplishes that feat just fine,” he cleared his throat, “Not that I would know.” His spirits lifted with the idea of getting rid of the sapling for a day so he and Waltz could continue the escapades they'd had last time. Perhaps not of the sexual variety, but certainly of the merry-making kind.

The halfling already far ahead of them, Percival stuck with the dark mage and barbarian. He hounds were told to not harm them, but if an accident happened the likelihood of it being fatal was slim to none. That being said, one of them in a little bit of pain for a while longer would do nothing but help them learn their lesson, “They're that way, Waltz. Just follow Ara. Or the howls. Either one is likely to lead you there – though I'm not entirely sure of the necessity for that.”

>>>

Kastivi's chest heaved as she panted, holding onto the branch that she found herself on for dear life. She was just out of reach of Christoval's hound and knew hers would be on her heels. If she quieted her breathing, she could hear it trotting up and initially it ran past her tree, but losing her scent, it looked up at her, Kastivi gulping. It then attempted the same thing its companion did just moments before and found about the same amount of luck. However, this one was assigned to her and wasn't likely to simply leave. It began looking for another way to get up to her.

Arabella emerged in the clearing that Christoval lay, freezing upon seeing the hound. In person and up close it looked terrifying. She could see its open wound gaping and she watched as it circled the knight. She didn't know if the hound with the wounds it received would attack the knight or not with any legitimacy, but she readied her fists with flame as a precaution, glancing around to see if she could see Kastivi. There was no sign.