[IC] Dick Blackman, The Moose

[Dragoknighte]

"Well I have," Dick paused for half a second before continuing the idea, "something of a lead."

[Afina]

"Such as?" Kira asked as she stepped over towards the cauldron. Giving it a quick tap it went limp and sagged over the fire that burnt beneath it. Unhooking it she rolled up the dark piece of leather and tucked it away into a root space against the back of the tree.

[Dragoknighte]

"It's kind of hard to describe where these places are, and I don't know if you are familiar with any of them. But I figured a few good places to start looking would be around the hot water spouts, Face Mountain and smoke mountain, all of which are Northwest of here. Pretty obvious places to start looking from here, but you have to start somewhere."

[Afina]

Caw Cacaw! Legratha called out flapping her wings intensely. Kira narrowed her eyes and picked up a stone from the ground, flicking it and pegging the bird in the chest. Legratha flew up quickly and onto another root.

"Don't start," Kira hissed before looking over towards Dick and shrugging.

"Good a place as any to start I suppose," she said in a noncommittal tone.

"So, tell me about you, want to know who I am dealing with."

[Dragoknighte]

"Well," Dick began sitting down cross-legged on the floor, laying his walking stick flat across his lap,"As a kid I grew up in the underground tunnels, but I've been living out in the forest for over 30 years now. Since then I've learned a lot about nature, including identification of plants and animals, the ability to find my way around places and some basic medicine. I enjoy stargazing and discovering new kinds of plants. Also, I can do this." On the word this, Dick shape-shifted his head into that of a moose before changing it back to what it had been just a moment before.

[Afina]

Kira crawled over to her furs and sat down, resetting deep in them as she tucked her feet beneath her. A curious look overcoming her features,fingers drumming rhythmically against the bed as her chin rested in her free hand. His words causing a look of boredom to come over her and a quick huff of breath sent her hair flying out of her face.

Then the change came and her brows rose in surprise, head rocking to the side as he shifted back.

"Well that isn't something one sees every day." The comment came with a perplexed tone.

"But not exactly what I was getting at when I asked you to tell me about yourself. History is history and soul is soul. I want to know about you," she said as she pointed to him, her finger circling in the air.

[Dragoknighte]

"Well that isn't a very helpful distinction. My past is part of me and so is my soul. If that ain't so, then what is 'you?'" Witches were really confusing some times. A lot of times. Maybe that's why they band together as often as they do. 'Cause nobody else can make heads or tails of what's going on in their heads.

[Afina]

"Tsk tsk, will not answer until you answer me. What is inside you. Beneath the heart that beats, the skin that tingles, the memories that haunt. What are you? Tis you be a diamond in the rough with a good soul? Do you desire something? Have a void you must fill? Does something cause your heart to ache? If so why? Events are easy, for they just happen. Reactions are not because they are fueled by something more."

[Dragoknighte]

Dick shrugs in response to Kira's explanation for her question of what is "you."

"If it were so easy for people to understand others, I don't think folk like us would have such a hard time being accepted by normal people. I could say that I seek to truly understand nature and the ways of the world, but that wouldn't be quite right. Maybe I want to know because I think that'll give me some inner peace I think I lack. Well that ain't quite it either, because right now, in this abode, I am quite content, and I can feel that. Trying to find some underlying true person in a body is a good way to miss what's already standing there in front of you. I'm a wander lover of nature. That's about the long and short of things. If you're looking for something deeper in me, maybe you'll have to find it yourself."

[Afina]

"People is people. People is easy to understand once people know people. What makes people hard is people hide what true people is from people because of what people might think of true peoples self. If people release fear of people judgement then people be easy. People is people."

[Dragoknighte]

"... That didn't make a lick of sense."

[Afina]

"Not supposed to unless you know peoples, will make sense once you do."

Caw

"Yes, ravens is ravens. See, Lagratha knows."

[Dragoknighte]

"I think you might just be saying things now." Dick crossed his arms and shifted his weight a bit. Staying in one position too long made his spine ache.

[Afina]

"I is," she admitted with a wry grin on her lips.

Cacaw

"Yes, turn about is fair play," Kira said glancing over towards Lagratha. "What I am in a witch, simple enough. What my history is an orphan. Who I am is a peoples who is out to save her own skin, no one else's. I am not moral or ethic. I do what I have to do to survive. My heart tugs when I see wrong but it tugs more when it has to do with me. Selfish, sure. A bit egocentric, yes. Now you know, my people's is people's who puts this people first."

[Dragoknighte]

"Fair enough. You can't make it out in the forest without looking out for yourself." Dick pushed himself off of the ground to stand back up again, stretching his arms out wide, nearly knocking a nearby vial over. The hut was only so big, and he was a pretty large guy.

"Anything you need to take care of before leaving? Not trying to rush you thought, I'm not in any hurry to go right away. Been walking for few weeks straight. And it might rain, and I wouldn't want to run into any wet beasties."

[Afina]

"Nothing to need to do but yes rain is on the air, it will pass though. Rest here for the night and we can leave in the morning," she said pulling a fur out from beneath her and tossing it over to him.

[Dragoknighte]

Dick reached out to grab the fur, but it quickly slipped through his fingers and ended up on top of his feet, lying in a lump on the floor. He looked at the fur for a moment, not wanting to bend over and pick it up. Instead he spread it out over the floor with only his feet before laying on top of it, belly down, arms folded under his chin. And there he lay, looking at the wall, not saying anything, or making much noise to begin with.

[Afina]

Kira perked a brow and then shrugged to herself before she curled up in a ball on her fur bed, drawing her knees to her chest as she tucked her arm beneath her. Legratha flew down from the roots and perched on Kiras shoulder, watching the man that had invaded their space.

[Dragoknighte]

Dick spotted the bird watching him and made eye-contact with it, as if challenging it to an impromptu staring contact. He had no idea why that bird seemed to instantly dislike him so much. Perhaps his smell offended? Sometimes people had a strong averse reaction to the moose musk he carried with him. It was something of an unavoidable side effect of transforming into a moose.

[Afina]

Caw

"Legratha, sleep, we have a long journey to start tomorrow," Kira said from beneath closed lids. The bird bobbed her head before settling down in Kiras hair.