[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230709/b2d64c98395f01e2c7cbdf98293c4c91.png[/img]
[color=saddlebrown][b]Time:[/b][/color] Morning
[color=saddlebrown][b]Location:[/b][/color] Campsite outside Roshmi
[color=saddlebrown][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] Mari [@princess]; Thraash [@funnyguy]; FIVE [@shiningsector]
[color=saddlebrown][b]Mentions:[/b][/color]  
[color=saddlebrown][b]Equipment:[/b][/color]
[hider]His travelling clothes - Dark, earthy shirt and coat, with trousers tucked into boots
A hooded, oilskin cloak
His bow, unstrung
A musket
Two pistols
Two hatchets
His travelling pack[/hider][/center]
Scathael frowned as he listened to the Dragonborn’s suggestion, and that frown only deepened as the rest put their own ideas forward. There were really only two answers to his question; that much had been clear to him even when his question was still formulating in his mind. Vallana had to either go with them, or she had to stay somewhere else for as long as it took for them to take care of a manticore. What other options were there? Still, Scathael had asked the group in hopes – vain ones, as it turned out – of finding another solution that had perhaps eluded him. 

That, unfortunately, wasn’t the case, and he was left with two equally terrible options. The first was…Well, it was obvious why bringing a child to a manticore-hunt was a bad idea. Vallana couldn’t fight, she couldn’t run fast if it came to a speedy escape, and she could barely look over some of the shrubs that surrounded their campsite. The young foxgirl would be worse than a millstone; she would be a danger to both herself and whoever – most likely Scathael himself, he noted grimly – was tasked with looking after her. 

The Warforged had voiced the second possibility, that they could simply leave Vallana somewhere. On the surface, that wasn’t a bad idea, but Scathael had his own, unshakeable qualms about it. But before the elf could say anything about it, Vallana herself piped up.

[color=FFE4E1]“T-There’s no one,”[/color] she said in a small voice, peeking from behind Scathael as she tried to keep her eyes on FIVE. Her little hands gripped his cloak so tightly that it seemed as if she would tear it. Clearly, she was still unused to some of their current travelling companions. She looked at the ground. [color=FFE4E1]“F-Father came from somewhere far, m-mother said. Very, very far. A-And I don’t know…I don’t…”[/color] Her voice warbled, and she sniffed as she rubbed her eyes with the backs of her wrists. [color=FFE4E1]“I-I’m all alone–”[/color]

Scathael quickly cut in. [color=saddlebrown]“We don’t know and we can’t know, and even if we knew, it’s not realistic to expect us to find them,”[/color] he said definitively, placing a firm hand on Vallana’s shoulder. The time and effort he had spent on calming the child enough to stop her constant crying had been substantial, and he wasn’t about to allow her to talk herself back into such a state again. [color=saddlebrown]“And I wouldn’t trust a bunkhouse or tavern or any place that would ward children with Vallana. The ones that would take good care of her, we probably can’t afford since we’ll be away for an unspecified period. The ones that we can are–”[/color]

He caught himself and looked down at Vallana. She looked back at him with wide, innocent eyes. Scathael swallowed whatever phrase he was going to use and started again. [color=saddlebrown]“The ones that we can aren’t the best places. A starving dragon would probably do a better job.”[/color] He glanced at Thraash. [color=saddlebrown]“No offence intended.”[/color]

That left them with only one option, as Mari so confidently declared.

[color=FFBA67]"She'll be safe with me, rest assured. I'm the most talented woman you'll ever meet."[/color]

Scathael looked at the Light Elf, eyes impassive and gaze hard. On the surface, she didn’t seem like much of a fighter, but then again, he had lived long enough to not allow appearances to mislead him. From what he had seen back at Roshmi, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. His only question was whether she could take care of a child as well, and to do so whilst in combat. The dark elf couldn’t help but scoff at her proclamation. Not so much out of derisive mockery, but rather as almost a reflex. [color=saddlebrown]“Words easy to say, harder to prove. You’re not the first–”[/color]

[i]“Come on, Scath, you can trust me! There’s no better mapper than yours truly!”[/i]

It was her voice which echoed through his head. Although lasting for barely a moment, it was still as clear and as bright as on the day when Scathael first heard those words from her lips. He could even catch the teasing giggles with which she typically ended her sentences, and the flicker of mischief in her eyes, as if daring him to walk away from whatever plan she had concocted. A small lump formed in Scathael's throat, but he swallowed it with practised ease and shook his head. She was dead, and had been dead for a long time. He couldn’t keep carrying her in his mind. And he couldn’t carry her now, especially, when he had far more urgent things to worry about.

[color=saddlebrown]“Sorry,”[/color] he said and cleared his throat. [color=saddlebrown]“You’re right. But I’ll be with you.”[/color] He patted the wheellock leaning against the trunk he sat on, then gestured to the unstrung bow still in its leather sheath. [color=saddlebrown]“I’m better fighting at a distance. If we have to be quiet, then I can use the bow. Otherwise, I’d rather use the musket. It sends bullets through everything up to forged iron plate. Even steel ones, if they’re close enough.”[/color]

Vallana shrunk away as Mari approached. [color=saddlebrown]“Come on,”[/color] Scathael said, trying to keep the exasperation from showing in his tone. With a gentle push, he urged Vallana to approach the Light Elf. The foxgirl looked up at, uncertainty in her eyes. [color=saddlebrown]“I can understand if you fear a Dragonborn or a Warforged,”[/color] Scathael said and glanced at both Thraash and FIVE. [color=saddlebrown]“No offence, again,”[/color] he added quickly before turning his attention back to Vallana. [color=saddlebrown]“But the Light Elf and the Demi-human? You have to get used to them, at least.”[/color]

Still, Vallana clung to him and refused to move. [color=FFE4E1]“I-I want to stay here…”[/color] She mumbled.

Scathael sighed. He couldn’t entirely blame her. Sad as it was, his face was probably the only familiar one she knew, and considering what she had gone through, he could see why she would be reluctant to go off with a stranger. Even one who seemed as friendly as Mari. [color=saddlebrown]“Fine, fine,”[/color] he said, his efforts to not sound too grumpy clearly failing. Thankfully, Vallana didn’t seem to pick up on that. Scathael gave Mari a glance that was almost apologetic before saying, [color=saddlebrown]“I’ll go with you. Is that better? You can spend time with her, and I’ll just be around. Okay?”[/color]

Vallana looked between him and Mari for a moment, then nodded slowly. [color=FFE4E1]“O-Okay,”[/color] she said, then hopped to her feet, Scathael’s cloak still wrapped around her small frame. She slowly approached Mari, and with a clumsy curtsy, introduced herself. [color=FFE4E1]“Hello. I-I’m Vallana.”[/color]

Behind her, Scathael let out yet another sigh. This was going to be a long day, he could already tell.