Alois, Penelope, and Citron
To look at Mene, one would think her earlier exhaustion a lie. She moved with the determined stomp of a mother on a mission, the back-and-forth flitter of a robin feathering her nest, removing what bits she found wanting, her veil fluttering behind her like a wing.
"Alois! I cannot believe you would be so quick to send her away. We do not even know yet if Edrick will return to rest here. Do not tell me you are hoping to spend the night here with just me, are you?"
The woman's frenzied dance came to a halt, a beat out of sync. She turned her head to stare at first Penelope, and then Alois. Her eyes revealed a flicker of wariness that was quickly extinguished by a tide of disapproval. "Now, Alois, if'n Miss Penelope's words be true, then I 'ave to say as I'm mightily disappointed in ye. I thought I'd raised ye better." She pursed her lips. "Still, mightn't be the worst idea to look around, maybe take a peek at the house down the road. Alois can show ye. Just be sure to either come back or bed down afore dark."
Gunther, Tsetseg, and Raki
Phai nodded along in a rare understanding of Tsetseg's impassioned litany. "Fluffy foxes that were growling? Where did you meet those? They sound a little scary…unless, of course, they were friendly, then that would be a different story." She straightened up at the archer's last sentence. "Baddies? In our village? How could that be?" The militia girl listened to Raki's explanation, expression stiffening further with every word. "Pylauses and Hanikap," she muttered in a quiet voice tinged with disbelief.
The group followed a worn-down hunting trail that wound through the forest like a snake as they started the return journey back to the village. "Aye, t'was them," Timmy agreed, stretching his arms as he moved to the front of the pack, surefooted and confident. "I stayed t'listen longer, but ah didna hear much else. Hanikap caught me whiles I was still fixin' to do summat, shoved me down inter this 'ere hole, an' there ye 'ave it." His cheerful tone clashed with the heaviness of his words. The boy walked as if he were on a daytime stroll, hopping over rivulets of water and fallen logs.
"That's unbelievable," Phai muttered, pushing a stray tree branch aside for the rest of the group to pass before taking up the rear. Unlike Timmy's jaunty skips, her steps sank into the ground, heavy with dread. "How could Hanikap push you down a well—quarry like that?" she corrected herself. "And what's this about a secret passage?"
"Reminds me o' summat my papa said," Timmy replied. "Said the mayor must've been in high cotton wool cuz he 'ad some fancy schmancy secret passage. Course, he shut up when ah asked him 'bout that." He shook his head. "Haven't ye noticed it, Phai? There's somefing we ain't knowin', but the grown-ups do, an' they ain't tellin'."
"I…" the girl's silver eyes glazed over in thought. "Yeah. You're right. But I don't know what it could be. I think Acantha does, but she won't tell me either." She glanced at the rest of the group. "S-Sorry, this must all sound so strange…" She laughed nervously. "U-Unless it's not. Maybe you've seen weirder on your travels?"
Edrick and Ciela
"Huh?" Hanikap scratched his head. "I thought I saw a wolfydog." He turned to look behind him, at Rohns climbing up the stairs. "I did, I did saw a wolfydog!" A pause, and then, "Oh, no! I can't let that thing get near Lord Pylauses." The man waddled after Rohns like an ungainly duck. He stumbled, almost tripping once more, but caught himself and resumed the chase with renewed vigor.
Meanwhile, Edrick and Ciela stood alone at the front of the house. Through the open door, they would see what looked like a large parlor, all polished wood flooring and upholstered red velvet furniture. Patterned rugs created a bizarre mosaic, and paintings of various hunting scenes took up every spare inch of wall space. A door stood on each end of the opposite wall, an enormous staircase sandwiched between them. The same staircase Hanikap was currently scaling, huffing and puffing with every step.
Link
The birds approached Link like a troop of soldiers surrounding a single enemy. A few cocked their heads to the side and cooed curiously. Others just stared straight at him with empty eyes.
Meanwhile, above the noise of the birds, the mercenary would hear footsteps approaching his room, along with a muttered voice. "Blasted avianators! They must be insatiated. I shall have to nourish them before dispatching my memorandum." Shortly after, he could hear the creak of the door opening.
OOC