[IC] Of Gems and Greater Things

[Vox]

Jax looked around the site and thought it would be good enough. There was enough space to pitch a tent and have a small campfire that would hopefully be masked by the surrounding underbrush. He had also been collecting dead wood for a while which had hopefully dried out so that there would be limited smoke.

"Let's camp here for the night, start setting up while we can still see," he replied. He set down his pack and started clearing away the sticks and pebbles that littered the ground, clearing it up for their tent and adding more wood for the fire.

[RaeoftheLight]

Kae nodded and began to assist Jax in clearing the area for their camp. As Jax began to work on the fire, Kae rolled out their sleeping furs and pitched a tent. She placed her fur slightly away from the fire, and put Jax's in his tent. Then she unpacked a loaf of bread and some dried meat for their supper.

"We can begin on first light, hopefully make it to the base of the mountain. I heard there may be a remote village of forest dwellers that have knowledge about the mountain that may help us."

[Vox]

Jax gave an acknowledging grunt as he portioned out their rations: dried fruits and jerky. He was slightly disappointed that the pair hadn't caught any game today, but he supposed their nerves never fully went down after the ambush with the bandits. At least, Jax's nerves hadn't, which made him frown as he knew he had faced more harrowing odds before. Maybe it was just the all too familiar feeling of having been beaten all over again.

"I'm following you Kae, doesn't matter much to me where we go. These forest dwellers of yours though, are you sure they'll help? People haven't been none too friendly to Orrans as of late."

[RaeoftheLight]

"Well I'm not even sure they are real, but if they are I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it." Kae replied to her friend's conerns. She then began eating, going silent as she took bites of the food. Tomorrow would hopefully bring fresher meat, but she was content for now. Besides, a kelpie's favorites were fish and human and Kae definitely didn't want the latter anyway.

"Thanks for coming, Jax." Kae sighed once she was done. It took a lot for her to say that, but she truly meant it. "I know this task would be much harder alone, and I am glad for the company and for your fighting skills." After saying her piece, Kae moved to her sleeping furs and lay down, getting ready to drift off. "If you feel we need to do shifts, wake me in two hours. If not, then just go to sleep and don't worry about it."

[Vox]

Jax gave her a side glance as he muched silently on the tough meat. He was taken a little by surprise, but the thanks wasn't wholly unwelcome.

He bade her goodnight, saying nothing else for the night as he settled himself in for a long night watch.

In truth, he had trouble sleeping as of late and would likely stay awake with his thoughts, tumultuous as they were. Long gone battles raged in his mind, silent assailants plagued his senses, dead friends rose from his memories to greet him.

Eventually however, he did feel the pull of much needed sleep after several tense hours, much longer than what Kae had suggested. It didn't matter to him, she would need the sleep anyway.

He strode his way to her tent and gently shook the Kelpie awake. He gave her a short report of the nothing that happened, suggested she took watch anyway, then immediately knocked out.

[RaeoftheLight]

Kae woke quickly at Jax's prodding, and moved towards the fire to stay watch. She realized Jax had stayed up longer than she expected, and mentally cursed at her stubborn friend. Kae occupied herself by tuning into the forest around her. Not many creatures were out moving this late, but she smiled as some scurried around the trees and underbrush. It seemed like no one was near their camp, and that for the time being they could enjoy some peace. Kae knew the journey ahead would afford them little time to find peaceful moments, so she did not take this one for granted. The hooting of an owl caught her attention, and right after that she heard a splashing sound. There was some sort of water near them. Looking back at the sleeping form of Jax, Kae quietly rose and walked towards the sound of moving water. A few feet from their camp, and out of sight of it because of the trees, was a small creek running idly through the woods. Kae bent down and let her hands fall in the water, sighing in relief at the feeling. Water was always soothing to Kae. Quickly Kae toed off her thin foot wraps and dunked her feet into the shallow water. She lay back, staring at the moon peeking through the forest canvas. The night was silent and cool, and Kae felt nature's energy running through her. It was such a joy to be away from the city and the feeling of being closed in. After a few minutes, Kae decided it was time to head back so she stood and grabbed her footwraps. Bare foot, she walked back the few feet to camp and took post by the fire for the remainder of the night.