Quick stop...Maybe

[Emily Drachen]

Okay, so Emily wasn't entirely honest when she wrote her letter to Kyrn, but it's not like she had planned to stop at the dwarf lands anyway, it was a side mission to count the numbers by Galbatrox while she was on her 'vacation' Some vacation this is turning out to be, and I only have a month of free time!

As Void flew over Tarnag, Emily had Void land in a abandoned mine. "I've dealt with worse..." she mumbled under her breath with a silent curse. She hated caves, too closed in and not enough room to fly.

It was a exceptionally big cave. Maybe 20 feet high and 25 feet in width. Her grandfather once told her that dwarfs liked big mines for their work.

She sighed and mumbled a magic spell to clear away the debris. Void hissed.
Emily, this is not the best hiding place.Void stated out, settling down next to a large rock in the shape of a dwarf god. Emily didn't answer, she just put her stuff, whatever stuff she had nabbed from the saddle bags before leaving, and pushed up against the rock. She closed her eyes and focused on the dwarfs life forces.

It would take days to finish her research. Emily opened her eyes and groaned, "so far, 1 million, 3 hundred and seventy five thousand." She wrote it down. She then closed her eyes and weeded out those she counted, then started counting the ones she didn't count.

Void sighed and kept watch. He could burn any dwarf, or human, or elf that came and tried to hurt his rider.

(wow, awesome vacation, huh?)

[Wikvaya]

"I know that cat..."

That was how the mayhem started. Wikvaya was never liked amongst the dwarven people, mostly because he kept stealing their trinkets. How could he help them having such pretty little things? He couldn't. He was a collector, and he would collect things that caught his interest. It was as simple as that.

Nevertheless, the dwarves had this incessant need to chase him and wave their arms around like chickens with their heads cut off. And thus came the predicament. He was padding swiftly over dwarven buildings whilst many shouted "Stop!, "Get it!". and his personal favorite: "Where the hell are my ruby dice?!"

Such pretty, glinting dice, they were.

He leaped easily over the small dwarven wall, only, he didn't expect such a long drop. He landed on his feet, sure. But he also began sliding down the rock, unable to stop himself until he landed back first on a cave floor. And the surprising part is: He was staring upside down at a dragon.

Funny world we live in, innit?

[Emily Drachen]

Emily wasn't paying attention until she heard Void growl and stand up. Her eyes dart open and she loses count, "Ugh..." she mumbled.Emily, there's a cat-like human thing.
Emily turned her head and stared at the 'cat-like human thing'. She immediately jumped and crabbed her dagger from it's hilt, its black blade almost invisible in the cave. She was now in a war-like position, "Werecat's. I didn't know there was any of those around here." She motioned to Void and Void stood behind the cat, each of his silver teeth shining.

"Okay, so what are you doing here?" She asked without raising her voice. She was aware at the voices above the cave. Cursing under her breath she walked closer and pointed her dagger at the cats neck," Tell me the truth because I wont spare you." Her emulate with the empires signature on it swung around.

You could see that she was sleep deprived. She had slight bags under her eyes, and her whole stance just yelled, 'Hit me! and I'll fall down'. She closed her eyes and wobbled a bit. She put her left hand to her head and groaned. Usually she was very respectful to werecats, but her lack of sleep for the past few days was affecting her in a bad way.She didn't have enough energy to try a spell, and she was at her weakest. "Oi, forget it." She mumbled. She moved and sat down, her sword across her lap, 'Okay, sorry I was being a little irritable. Not sleeping is not good for me." She tried a weak smile, "I'm Emily, who are you?"

Void sighed and lied down. Why did they have to run into the weird ones...

(wow, your post made me laugh a little. You found Emily in a bad mood today.)

[Wikvaya]

He was met with less than cordial snarling, he was. The dragon, that he assumed was black (Is that right?) in color, for it was too d**n dark, was growling at him. It seemed he had dropped in on something best not dropped in on. Nevertheless, he retained his composure (crumpled as it was,) and stood up to the best of his ability.

He glanced back at the dragon, now behind him with fangs bared. That wasn't a very polite greeting. He tried to act all nonchalant, licking his leg as if to clean the dirt from it. Like that was possible.

He had to reach out with his mind to speak to her, as he was in cat form. "I leaped over a dwarven wall and found the landing to be quite slippery. It was an accident, of course."

However, she immediately softened as soon as, if not before, he uttered this via mind. That's better. His mind flared warmly in reaction, and he let out an involuntary purr. "The elves call me The Far Traveler. My own people call me Guttermane. I call me Wikvaya. It's a pleasure." He did his best attempt at a smile.

[Emily Drachen]

Emily smiled, "Likewise, Wikvaya." She smiled a little happier.
"That's an interesting set of names....." She liked the name Wikvaya the best. She turned her head up, hearing shouting. She sighed and decided to start speaking with her mind. Sorry I almost slit your throat. My master has me on this stupid side mission, so... Her eyes looked to the ground next to him, a set of ruby dice where on the ground, along with some other trinkets. She giggled and swiftly grabbed them before the cat could.

She studied the dice, looking at the little markings. She then studied the cat. He seemed...odd to her. Most cats respected the dwarfs, and didn't take their things. She looked at another trinket. A little humming cut out of diamond. The incredible detail made Emily wonder if such calloused hands of a dwarf could do such a detailed little thing. She gently gathered the other items and handed them to the cat. You stole them, I don't want to get caught with them.

Void sighed and shook his large head. His rider was an odd one, that's for sure.

[Wikvaya]

Wikvaya did another cat smile. Well, this was a chance encounter. A rider and her dragon and a dragon and his rider, all in one. He opened his enigmatic mind to her, allowing her entrance into it. However, he was clear to keep her from delving too deep. No one gets full access to the Werecat brain. Her eyes shifted to the bag he had been dragging with his trinkets. And she grabbed it from him!

He hissed, though not in a mean way. More in a "Hey man, that's not cool" way. And she picked up his ruby dice! He liked those! They glinted when he put them up to the sun. Nevertheless, he walked up to her and stroked his body against her leg, purring in a "Pwease can I have them back?" way. He gave her the big kitten eyes. "I was doing okay not getting caught, I think." This wasn't necessarily true, but he had to fib a little.

[Vedrit{(==)}Kelran]

Vedrit, not paying attention to where Sonya flew, was laying back in the saddle when, all too sudden, Sonya decided to land
"You have requests." she simply said, sending an image of a crowd of angry dwarf-kin.
Sitting up, he looked at the crowd, who starting shouting at him, "Why did you land here? We obviously upset them, and you know how many dwarves react to dragons." he chided Sonya before listening to the shouts.
"Get it back!" "Get off my lawn!" "Filthy dragon!" "That theif took my dice!" were just a few of the shouts, the first and last caught Vedrits attention
Sliding off his saddle, and off Sonya, he knelt infront of the dwarf who had been burgled "You say your dice had been stolen?" he asked
"Yes! Some cat creature stole my ruby dice!" the dwarf responded, rather hotly "Among other things!" another dwarf added
Vedrit sighed. As a Rider of the Varden, he had a certain responsibility to aid any of those who needed help, even if it were a petty request. "Where did it go?" he asked, and the dwarves, if near unison, pointed over a small wall.
"Play crowd control, would you, while I...investigate." he requested of Sonya, who snorted in irritation.

Keeping his mind guarded, Vedrit looked over the waist-high wall, and saw that it led to a cave of sorts. Hand on hilt, he cautiosly slid down to the cave

[Emily Drachen]

Emily stayed silent and unmoving as the werecat rubbed up on her leg.Creepy She thought, guarding her mind from him. She was about to push the cat away when she heard something sliding down the cave wall. She looked over and spotted a man, he seemed familiar. It's that elf! She pushed the cat away and jumped up, sheathing her dagger. She waited until the man noticed her, "Hey there, elf. Nice to see you again." She smiled.

She couldn't remember his name, though."I'm sorry, but I can't seem to remember your name...You are the elf that was in the desert, right?"

[Wikvaya]

Rubbing didn't have the effect it used to in these parts. With humans, it was a simple rub and meow and you were in. You had a night with a meal. And he wouldn't say no to one of them human daughters, either. Then again? He didn't mix well with humans. They were far too concerned with personal hygiene. Plus they didn't know how to go to the bathroom right. Hehe.

He jumped involuntarily at newcomer. Why did he suddenly have the need to climb a tree? There wasn't a tree nearby. He'd have to settle for skulking around behind the girl Emily's legs, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

[Vedrit{(==)}Kelran]

Vedrit, with his eyes adjusting to the lower light, saw that the human was indeed the same female Rider from the desert,
"We seem to be bumping into each other frequently as of late." he said nonchelantly, watching the cat from the coner of his eyes. He hadnt come into contact with many werecats, and so didnt know that the cat he was watching was indeed a werecat, but he did know that something was a bit wierd about that cat.

"Some dwarves on the surface seem to be upset about a 'cat thing' stealing baubles, one item in particular was a set of ruby dice." he said, not accusing anyone of anything.

[Emily Drachen]

Emily smiled and nodded her head, "Seems so." She listened as the elf then asked about some stolen items. Your caught She told Wikvaya, blocking her mind from the elf.

Void made a sound that almost sounded like laughter, that is, until Emily glared at him, then his voice died down to a small cough. Emily gazed at Wikvaya and smirked. She walked away from Wikvaya and walked over to Void, rubbing his face, Wikvaya, you know your caught, just change and give the man the dice. Again she spoke with her mind, so that the elf could not here their conversation. It's not like you can't steal them back.

Emily let out a chuckle and so did Void. They both waited for either Wikvaya to change into human form or for the elf to realize that Wikvaya was the thief.

[Wikvaya]

Crap. Just simple, undisguising, crap. It really is amazing how things can go to crap immediately. Nevertheless, he walked calmly between her legs, not taking his eyes off the newcomer. Such a do gooder he was. He'll not have Wikvaya's things! Especially not his recently acquired ruby dice. They were going to be used to do a rudimentary form of fortune telling! "You don't know my tenacity. I must do what I do."

Nevertheless, his form blurred into that of a teen in black pants, a belt adorned with numerous pouches and trinkets, and a pair of golden horns draped in necklaces and covered by a large witch hat.

"I happen to have won those dice... in a game of dice, actually. I didn't cheat him." He stepped in front of Emily, almost protectively.

[Emily Drachen]

She grinned. Wikvaya looked nice in human form. The thought made Emily chuckle, and Void growl. Emily knew many werecats, but none where as nice looking as him.

His words almost made sense to her. But what didn't make sense was when the werecat stepped in front of her. She didn't speak or anything, just stared.
She looked at the elf with kind eyes, "One of them is lying, and I've known most werecats to be truthful." She had said 'most' because once a werecat had told her her future, taking twenty gold pieces and running off. The future told by that werecat didn't come true, and she was thankful for that.

Void growled. It was then Emily noticed the hat...But she adverted her gaze quickly to the elf. Strange hat... She thought, keeping the thought to only Void and herself. She sighed and looked to the ground, looking lost, "You really are strange...' She muttered, just loud enough for the cat-human person thingy to hear.

She looked up and stared at the elf again, waiting for a response.

[Wikvaya]

Wikvaya felt cold.... Sigh.... the downside to not having fur or a shirt. He would be tempted to change back and crawl under a dragon, but he knew neither dragon would approve. He noticed Emily eyeing him up and down. Smirking, he winked lazily, and quite mischievously, if he might add. He also nodded at her when she attempted to defend him.

Sure, it might be all for naught, but he might as well show some gratitude.

That's when her gaze fell on his hat. This particular hat he had stolen from a witch who had a very bad temper but very good taste in the exotic. She was easy on the eyes, as well. He felt bad stealing from her. Oh well

"Indeed I am. I'm just silly like that."

[Emily Drachen]

His words made her almost laugh. She put her hand to her mouth and tried to count to ten to calm her down. Flirt Void added, quietly to Emily only. Emily nodded, finally calming herself down.

She looked quietly at Void. She almost felt like a 16-teen year old, As close as she could feel, for she had never experienced the life of normality, it was always training or flying, never time for the regular teenage stuff.

She knew she was acting. She never liked hanging around men, except her friend Mickel, but he treated her respectfully, mostly.

She involuntarily smiled and started to hum a nature song that her mother had taught her. It was a well known elfish song, and her favorite. She wondered if Wikvaya knew the song. Most likely not Void answered her question. She let out a sigh before continuing.

You know he is lying about the dice, right? Emily nodded. Lets just see how far this shall go, hmm? Void nodded, too.

[Vedrit{(==)}Kelran]

Vedrit thought about what the apparent werecat, of which he hid his suprise, said and consulted with Sonya
"The dwarf truly seems distraught. If his mind were a little more open, I could tell whether he felt cheated or burgled." she said, "Either way, find a result. They make my scales itch."

From what Vedrit knew, werecats were tricky. He needed to choose his tactics carefully if he wanted to get the truth. It was almost like trying to find the answer to a riddle. The cat could easily say he had obtained the dice rightfully in the Ancient Language if he believed "finders-keepers, loosers-weepers" was a rightful way to gain. A game of chance would be no good either, as werecats were as unpredictable as dragons. Even seaching his memories might not work.
Then again, he might be over-estimating the abilities, accidental or not, of the werecat.

"Who said you had them? I simply said that a dwarf had lost them." he hedged, "But I suppose that clears up one question. I'm hesitant to believe that a dwarf, bitter to outsiders as they are, would play a game of chance against a werecat and betting an item that appears to have great sentimental value."
Leaning back against the cave wall, Vedrit continued "As it is, the local dwarves seem to have been stirred up, and when dwarves get stirred up they are endless in their complaints, which will find its way to my superiors, and they will no doubt task me with finding a replacement for said dice." he took a breath "It would be greatly appreciated if said dice returned to their former owner. Now, if said dice were to, say, sprout legs and walk away with none the wiser, there would be no complaining."

[Wikvaya]

They now both looked as though they were having invisible conversations with their respective dragons. The elf looked as though he was deciphering how best to proceed. Emily looked as though she were reminiscing a time long past, or perhaps a time long wished for? Wished upon a star, perhaps? As he quietly mused in his observance, the elf spoke.

The elf spoke very politely, he might add.

Perhaps he thought that being polite and respectful would get him in the good books? Not likely. What these two didn't understand is, those dice were his now. They were his, and he couldn't... wouldn't give them up. How could he? It wasn't how he worked. He seemed all nonchalant about everything. Nonchalant was his game. When he spoke, it was restrained, if nice.

"Dice don't grow legs, silly. Are you all right up in the head?"

Oh snap.

[Emily Drachen]

Emily listened and nodded in quiet agreement. She knew if the dwarfs got mighty upset, that the elf would have to replace the dice, or maybe something better. Emily almost scowled at the werecats reply, but instead her face turned to her usual expression, blank. She locked off her mind from everyone, even Void, and tried to think of a strategy.

She wasn't thinking about dice, no. She was thinking about whether or not the elf would try to decapitate her if he knew what she was doing in the dwarfs land at all. She wondered if helping out the elf, re-stealing the dice and other trinkets from the cat and giving them to him would let her off the hook. Nope. She nodded at that thought. So what can I do? Save the cats hide or my own. She already knew what her grandfather would do. 'help the elf, leave the cat' was what he said whenever she came to him, saying different scenarios.

Her grandfather also warned her to never get caught in said scenarios.

Void started getting upset at Emily's distance, quietness, and the blank face. Emily finally seemed to come back from her thinking. Slowly she moved away from the werecat, but not going near the elf. Her face was still blank and unreadable, and so where her eyes. She moved and put a hair-tie in her black hair, tieing it into a bun loosely, "It seems we have ourselves a particular position, no?" She moved to the middle of the cave and sat down, "Lets play a game of dice, then.

[Vedrit{(==)}Kelran]

"To say something has grown legs and walked away is simply a saying, referring to said something disappearing without a forseeable cause." Vedrit replied to the werecat, "Whether the dice truly grow legs or not is of no concern. Satisfaction of parties involved is why I'm here in the first place."

Vedrit raised an eyebrow at Emily when she suggested a game, "With a werecat, and an especially tricky one at that?" he smirked "I have no want to lose any of my own trinkets, precious few that I have."

Thinking for a moment he proposed an alternative action "Rather than waste time with a game down here, why not wager with the previous owner of the dice for the dice, and win them back? Surely this is within your abilities." he said, "And we would both be allowed to carry on our marry ways."

[Emily Drachen]

Emily sighed and stood, "Never mind games and such." She mumbled, pulling out a set of ruby dice. Only this set was much prettier and brighter the regular rubies. And it had light streaks like a star, in it, 'This is something called star ruby. Very rare and very expensive. My grandfather spent a year in the mountains of this place just to find these. then he spent a few days turning them into dice...I like dice." She smiled, looking at them.

She sighed and walked over to Vedrit, holding out her hand, "Give these to the dwarf, he might like them better." She knew that any one with a right mind would kill for star ruby, because of their rarity.

She smiled, "It's okay. My granddad and I can look for more when I go to see him."