Jube flew down to the water swiftly, and managed to give Kestral a fairly gentle ride on his back. He landed and leaned down to give her an easier way off him. Milo let go of Lupo and continued to play with the pup happily.

Jube shifted back into his human form and looked at Kes, "Kestral... have you ever considered learning magic? The reason I ask is... we aren't too terribly far from a school... I could find us some books perhaps?" He knelt down by the water.

Lupo yipped a little as they took off, but once she was gone, he turned it attention to Milo, running about in an invitation to play.

Kestral smiled as she slid off, glad it was over. She waited until she was sure she wasn't going to lose her balance before taking the full weight herself.
She seemed surprised by his words, and smiled touching his face with a smile, before lowering it.
"Don't worry, Jube," she said gently. "I'm the daughter of a blacksmith, not one of your wizards in your books."
She shook her head.
"You're sweet," she said, turning to the water and taking out the clothes within, tying them carefully on rope.

Jube looked at her gently, "I just want you to feel comfortable. I know our lives changed so fast... I want use to be in a much better place than back home."

He thought about Pepper for a moment, "I swear if you had married that slimey hit I would have likely transfigured into a dragon and chased him around until he left town for good." Jube was entirely serious despite how silly he sounded.

Jube continued to wash up. He removed his shirt and washed his chest. It was nice warm water

She looked in the water, looking at herimage carefully, though the water rippled so much that it only blurred her features.
"I'm fine, Jube," she said, her voice steady. "Really. Stop worrying. Besides, you could have just eaten him."
She smiled to herself, looking at him. Then a grin passed her lips and she tied the rope to a nearby tree.
"Well, since we're here," she said, pulling off her clothes so that the only garments remaining included a brown vest and shorts. They would have been classed as her underwear.
She took a few steps back, then ran at full speed, leaping last minute and splashing loudly into the water.

Jube simply stared, a bit wide eyed as Kestral undressed before him. He snapped his head in the other direction nervously. Within seconds he heard her run and jump into the water. She splashed him a little but he simply continued to wash himself as he waited for her to emerge from the water. He scrubbed his hands through his hair before rinsing. Once he was washed he decided to enjoy the water a bit. Swimming through the water he felt himself relax a bit. It was nice to be one with nature, at least he always thought so.

Ooc: I wrote this out but it didn't save! So annoying

Kestrel didn't think about being almost undressed with Jube. He'd been a part of her life so long that she saw him as family. If only she could know what he felt for her, maybe she would have been more considerate of his feelings.

However, she began to worry. As she moved in the water, she watched him, worrying and wondering. How could she protect him? He wouldn't need her soon, for he would be able to protect himself and everyone else he chose. He wouldn't need her trailing about after him.

She could learn magic. Maybe if they learnt it together? He'd offered, but she worried she would be no good and it and then what would he think?

She swam to a shallower part of water, where she could reach floor with her hips barely reaching the surface. She gestured for him to join her, asking him of crouch, gently beginning to wash his hair. It was all she could think to do for him.

Jube relaxed as she scrubbed her fingers through his hair. He enjoyed the feeling of her fingers very much. He had ideas for her to try, but he would need more herbs in order to try anything. "Kestrel." He began to speak, "Can you help me find Lycha Root in the forest? There's something that I wanted to try..." He wasn't sure how she would feel about it, but it was something he felt could be quite useful to her.

He had read a great many things in his books, but by far one of the most useful was something called 'linking' which involved linking a human to an animal. It provided a connection like no other to that specific animal, allowing them to communicate without words, and instantly understand each others will, thoughts or feeings. There were some rare beings that also possessed the ability to link to multiple creatures at once, but on Jube's mind was the linking of Lupo and Kestrel. It seemed like something that suited well.

She paused in her actions as he spoke, frowning slightly. Jube had taught her a lot and when the books hadn't had pictures in, he sometimes drew them for her and other times, when they'd walked into the forest, he'd pointed them out to her. Being a Blacksmith's daughter, she knew more about metal and proofing than flowers and herbs. The only herbs she understood really were those for burns and such, since they were part of their lives.

But Jube had made it interesting, and relevant. She sometimes wondered if she listened and learnt from him because no one else had ever bothered to listen to him. She couldn't remember much about before she'd known him.

"Sure," she said. "I'll get it, but you need to rinse your hair, 'kay?"

She released him, washing her hands in the water and then swimming over to the clothes to see how they were doing. Once she was satisfied they were clean, she dragged them ashore to lay them out to dry, what she was wearing clinging close to her skin. It would loosen as she dried, but she didn't think about that.

She headed into the trees, taking in the surroundings as she moved through it. Some plants grew in bright sunlight, but others thrived in gloom. It didn't take her long to find the plant she wanted, but she spent a little time in the trees, enjoying the peace and coolness. She loved climbing, but this wasn't the time. Still automatically she assessed which trees would be the best to climb and for what reason, i.e. shelter, escape etc. She also listened to the bird calls. They made her think of home and what she'd lost to keep her freedom.

She headed back, brandishing the plant. She hadn't removed the root from it, because it would be easy to damage it if she didn't know it's purpose. Besides, most plants could be used in more than one way and different parts of them could be useful for other things.

Placing it down carefully, she wrung out the bottom half of her top, expelling the water that hadn't dripped away as she's walked, shielding her eyes to see if Jube was still enjoying the water.

Jube rinsed out his hair thoroughly, and watched Kestrel head off. He began to wonder if Kes would be ok with his idea, or if she would find it uncomfortable. Still, she was so motherly towards the cub that he felt it was a good idea to do so. He eventually got out of the water and dried himself off. He replaced his wet clothes with some dry ones before wandering around the small area they were making their temporary home. Milo continued to play with Lupo, and it seemed the two got along quite well. Jube simply waited for Kes to return.

She wasn't bothered about dressing. Kestrel seemed to forget that she was, for all intent and purpose, a girl, and probably shouldn't walking around the way she did. Her sisters and mother were always scolding her for asking like a boy sometimes, but even at her current age, there were some things that hadn't quite sunk in yet. The mark across her face might have bothered her more if she was concerned about her looks, but it was no more to her than a mark.

In a lot of ways, she saw Jube as young and naive, but she couldn't see that in as many ways so was she.

"Hey," she said, a hand casually stroking his head as she reached him, giving him the plant she held. "You okay?"

Jube looked up at her, and smiled a little, "Yeah, never better." he assured her as he took the plant into his hands. "I don't know how you will feel about this... but I plan to bond you and Lupo together." He said, deciding it best to be forward and honest with her. "I know he's young now, but one day he will be a lot bigger, and a lot more powerful. It would be good for you to have a communication with him that goes much deeper than it currently does. I want you two able to fight together if need be. I can already foresee things down the road being much different... much harder as we go." Jube explained.

Kestrel sat oposite him, her face watching him like she had when he used to read to her, all interest and wonder. At times like this, it was almost as if they were back in his home, and not out on the road.

He spoke about it getting harder as they went, and she couldn't doubt it. What they'd faced so far had been challenging and only their faith in each other had kept them together. What came might even push that to breaking point.

"Can you do that?" she asked, not doubting him, but more curious than anything else.

Jube looked at her with a nod, "Of course. I'll just need you and Lupo to be ready for nightfall. This can only be done under a full moon, and tonight is our last chance for another month. Are you prepared?" Jube asked curiously. "I don't want to push you into this if you aren't interested in it yourself."

Milo was in crow form, keeping Lupo amused as he shuffled back and forth, making Lupo want to play with him. Flaring out his large wings, he cawed, and Jube looked back at him, "Be careful, you might be in his stomach if he gets any bigger."

Milo shifted back into human form and looked over at Jube, "You do have a point."

Kestrel looked at the pup, who seemed completely fascinated by Milo's changes. He gave a yip and turned in circles, his tail wagging like a dog.

"I trust you, Jube," she said simply, looking back at him. There were some things that she knew better than him, like how to sense danger, read moods, but Jube understood magic and if he thought this would help them, she'd follow him.

"What do you need us to do?"

Jube looked at Kestral for a moment, "I'll have to make a circle of herbs around you and Lupo, perferably outside, under the moon. From there I'll have to summon the elements and use them to bind you two. You'll both have to wear one half of a broken wish bone around your necks... do you have any string?"

She grinned.

"I always have string," she said, gesturing to her backpack.

She collection ed it and, sure enough, there was string inside. There was actually quite a bit of string, tied in a ball. They didn't even need to cut it, because the ball was made up of pieces tied together.

"Here boy," she called to the Wolf, who looked from her to Milo, then trotted to her, cocking his head.

She scratched his head, then pulled him onto her knee.

"Stay," she said, stroking his head gently. "What about a wishbone, Jube?"

Jube dug in his pack for one he had been saving. Jube kept a lot of random things on him at all times it seemed. He had his reasons, but often other people had no idea what those reasons were. Pulling one out he pulled it in half, handing her the smaller part for Lupo. "Here, put this one on him, and you take the bigger half. It's suiting since he's smaller than you are." Jube commented as he stood up, "I'm going to get that circle ready, it'll be nightfall soon, so I want to be sure I can see what I'm doing."

Milo sat where he was, "I can work on dinner if you want?"

Jube nodded, "That would be good."

Milo smiled and shifted into a crow form before finally flying out of the cave in search of dinner. Jube watched him go before looking to Kestral, "I'll be back shortly, you just sit with Lupo for now. If you want to read up on the ritual, it's all in that scroll next to your bag." With that, Jube headed out of the cave.

She gave Milo a small wave as he left and Jube a smile, but she didn't go for the bag. She completely trusted Jube.

So instead she played with Lupo for a bit, then calming him down. She knew he'd most likely need to stay still with the ritual. That would be easier if he was tired, and since Milo had already tired him out a lot, it would just need her to keep him relaxed.

"You are just going to have to trust me that I trust Jube," she told the pup, stroking him. "There's not many people in this world you can trust with your life, but you can trust me, and I trust Jube more than anything."

The pup gave her a yawn.

"I know this is a lot for you," she continued, as if the pup was listening. "I think wolves normally stay in their territory, but we are going to have to find a new territory for us all."

She smiled to herself. They were a very odd pack, but a pack certainly.

She laid the pup on the floor and pulled on some clothes. She'd been wearing underwear and whilst she didn't exactly see any problem in letting Milo or Jube see her dressed that way, the temperature would drop.

Once dressed, she began tying hee string into 2 loops, one each for her and Lupo.

By the time nightfall was upon them, Jube came back to the cave, assisting Kestrel and Lupo to their spot for the ritual. There were torches set up around their ritual area, making it easier for them to see. No one was within a close radius, so they were completely alone in the woods. "Alright, I'm just going to get you and Lupo to sit in the circle together. It doesn't matter how you sit, just as long as you both are there." Jube explained.

Jube held a large tree branch that he had smoothed out some in both of his hands, resting the base of it on the dirt below. He closed his eyes and concentrated hard, then began to whisper things that weren't very coherent. It seemed like ramblings rather than actual speech. Next the wind began to pick up around them, but oddly it seemed to completely miss Lupo and Kestrel despite the harsh gusts picking up. Vines poked up through the ground just outside of the circle, and it became clear, everything stayed just outside the circle, and they were in their own protective barrier.

His hands grasped the staff tighter, and he lifted it straight up before him, his eyes opened as he continued to speak the strange incoherent language of magic he had learnt almost effortlessly. With a loud snap, the fire on all four torches surrounding them jumped, and began to swirl around the circle. Jube continued to chant as three elements surrounded Lupo and Kestrel, the sky opened up to release a fourth element, and the rain poured down on them from above. Then, lightening pierced the protective barrier, being the last element to join in.

Though the lightening struck, it was entirely painless. It brought the wish bone pieces together, connecting them like they once were before Jube had seperated them. Lupo and Kestrel were both illuminated, and for the time the lightening was hitting them, they felt each others thoughts, feelings, and emotions. They felt more like one being rather than two. The overwhelming sensation was enough to knock the two out unconscious, and the elements departed, leaving the circle open, and the ritual finished.

Lupy whined, then barked, moving closer to her. Kestrel put a hand on him to soothe him, making sounds rather than speech. She didn't want to affect what Jube was doing.

As it grew more intense, the cub growled and yipped, clearly trying to protect her. It was a little fun y to see his reaction, but all she could do was wait and keep hold of him, like Jube had told her to.

When the lightning hit, it surprised her so much that she might have let the pup go, but instead she tightened her grip and suddenly she had the sense of 2 minds, 2 sides. She was afraid and calm at the same time. She saw colours but they weren't right, floating in the air as well as the things around her.

Then the darkness took her and the lights were gone.