Bertram yelled, eyes skyward, throwing all his anger and hurt into the ether. Everything was above him, beyond his reach, even now. The horse beneath him roared and pushed forth with its legs, turning the already erratic ride into a wild, dangerous race against the wind. Man and steed thundered across the field, the reins leading nowhere in particular, their speed an exercise in splendid futility.

Eventually, the man tired, and the horse, sensing this, slowed its pace, lowering its head to begin an easy graze. Upon its back, the lad slumped forward, burying his face in his friend's mane. Then, after an eternity, Bertram sat up straight and looked about. A slow realization crept in - the rocks, the trees, even the earth felt unfamiliar. He was lost. To be fair, he had intended to leave, but it was only to make people realize just how much they'd missed him. Now, he had to wonder what would happen if no one cared to look for him at all.

He leapt off his horse and started looking about for signs that pointed homeward, but his eyes did not know how to read the leaves. If night would fall upon him, it did not bode well. There were tales of fierce bears in the area, to say nothing of the wolves, too. With a sigh, the young noble leaned against a tree and pondered about just how he'd gotten himself in an even bigger mess than he'd left.

Leaping to flight in response to the peaceful silence of boundless nature shattering under the uncharacteristic cry of man, a flock of frightened birds created their own cacophony callback to the lost traveler. From deep within the brush, they were studied by keen and wary eyes. The owner of the untrusting gaze took in a ponderous breath as she tracked the fowl from their direction to their origin. Further from the point of takeoff, the silent observer directed her sight to the cause of unrest within the woods on this day.

The strange man certainly caused a stir among the local tenants of the field and forest. When he began to shift into exhaustion from his emotional sprint, his unknown audience evaluated the relationship between rider and mount. The steed’s ability to sense the rider’s venture willpower waning spoke to a familiarity between the two. The nature of such a close relationship would need to be further evaluated before it could be quantified as friendly or forced. With his face hidden in the locks of mane, the human seemed more child than man.

Descending from his mount, the boy became primary focus of the hidden elf who watched from the fringe of thicket at the edge of the field. The horse set to grazing and the human searching the terrain painted a poetic dichotomy of serenity and unease. Lailani found herself cracking a small smile at the way each actor fell so perfectly into their role of calm beast and unsettled human.

Clearly the human was lost; there was no question of that fact. Whether he was worth aiding was another matter. Lailani, ever patient, checked the sun in estimation of the light remaining and settled into a crouch. They had some time yet, though not much. If the man did not enact some sort of behavior that deemed him worthy of her assistance, it would be an unfortunate evening for him indeed. The elf was uncertain if she desired him to prove suitable or not. It had been quite some time since she had interacted with another humanoid and even the vibrant life of the wilds could fall short in the realm of conversation.

She watched anxiously for a sign. All she needed was for him to make the right gesture; or the wrong one.

At a loss for what to do, Bertram looked about, dusted the dirt off of his pants, and started rooting around for firewood... despite the fact that he knew very little about how to start a fire. He supposed that dried things were good for fuel, and that sticks were rubbed together at some point, but in the end, all he'd gathered was a mix of twigs in varying sizes. He sat down and tried to rub and rub, to no avail. That failed, he then turned to his horse and looked out into the darkness.

"It's okay, Audra," he said, forcing some cheer into his voice. "I'll protect you. I'm Bertam Reinhardt, and you're my horse, and as long as you're by my side, you will be safe."

He gave the mare a gentle pat on the side of her neck, while his other hand now rested upon the pommel of his sword. It was long, and rather ornate in its shine - clearly that of a noble, untested and knowing little of the world's marauding ways. As if sensing the unease in her rider and erstwhile protector, the mare finally lifted her head and gave his fingers a reassuring nibble. Bertram smiled at the gesture, heedless of the peril for the moment, then returning to his woeful pile of sticks.

"Well... I have all night to try, I suppose," he whispered, rolling up his sleeves. "I'll get this lit in no time, you'll see."

A sign was wanted and a sign came. Lailani allowed herself a small smile and let go of the breath she had been holding during her observation.

A little lost cub, she thought. He’d be lucky to survive the night alone. In contemplating the best way to approach the strange man, the elf watched a moment longer. She had little experience interacting with the humans of permanent residencies but felt that perhaps the equine companion could be the bridge between their worlds.

Before stepping forward, Lailani rummaged in her pack for a handful of berries she had procured earlier in the day. They were fresh, ripe, and juicy. She stood, rising from the underbrush like a gopher from the ground. From man to beast she looked, sending forth an inhuman purr from the back of her throat. She clicked and cooed in soothing patterns as she had always done to calm the animals in her clan during stormy evenings.

Proffering the palm of berries to the steed at full arm’s length, she took a determined step into the clearing. One hand forward, the other empty and at her side, she awaited the response of these two lost cubs. Her gaze drifted between the two, inoffensive and questioning; Do you want my help?