Can't See the Forest [Blue]

[Lucca]

Of all the regions she'd visited so far, Avington was in some ways the most pleasant. It was gorgeous, it offered plenty of hiding places, it wasn't too dangerous and it didn't smell funny, and it wasn't blindingly colorful (or secretly deadly) like the Yarrow. And yet...it was also the most empty. Oh, it was full of life: trees, animals, insects, flowers...but she hadn't seen a single Card or a single city since she'd gotten here that morning.

"I guess it's true what they say, about all their cities being hidden," she said to herself. (It was a habit she'd picked up at some point in her travels...talking to herself if she was alone, so it wouldn't be as quiet.) "My best bet to find somewhere interesting is to find someone...if only I knew how to do so." Her one remaining ear went back, whiskers drooping a bit as she stopped for a break under a very tall, thick tree. If she couldn't find anyone before nightfall, then she'd leave the next day. Assuming, of course, she could find her way back out of the forest.

A thought occurred to her suddenly. Could her mother's little travel book help? Pulling it out of her bag, the Torque paged through it to find the section on Avington. Ah, yes, here it is!... recommendations and warnings, but...no directions. "Warning: don't get lost. Well, gee, thanks Mom, there's no way I would have ever figured that one out by myself," she muttered, rolling her eyes. She continued to look through the little guide book, hoping for some more helpful information.

[Blue]

Kaleb wandered around the forest, like he did most days. Here he could walk around and not have to worry about bumping into anyone. Here, he could be free.

A light breeze blew through the trees and the sun beamed down and warmed his fur. Feeling slightly sleepy, he soon found a small patch of bright green moss enveloped in sunlight. He laid down, and after finding the most comfortable position, Kaleb dozed off.

What seemed like only a few minutes after falling asleep, the badger heard some rustling nearby. He lifted his head silently, and turned towards the direction the noise was coming from. It suddenly stopped, and upon listening some more, it sounded like whoever or whatever it was was talking to itself. He only caught little snipets of the one-sided conversation, and soon he became curious enough to get up and peek around the tree he'd been behind.

What he saw was a Torquehelm feline, who only seemed to have one ear. He (or she) was looking through what looked like a book. Maybe this person was lost? It was certainly easy for that to happen to anyone not from the realm. Against his better judgment, he made himself known to the stranger.

"Hello there. Sorry if I startle you at all, but you seem lost, and...and I didn't know if you needed any help. My name is Kaleb. May I ask what your name is?"

[Lucca]

Eldryia froze as a voice suddenly spoke to her. There was someone else around, and they hadn't made themselves known until now? Or...there was someone else who had just...snuck up on her, the self-proclaimed spy and master of sneaking. She hoped it was the former, because then she got to be annoyed at someone else instead of at herself. She whirled around, and came face to face with a...badger? With antlers? An eyebrow went up, but then again in Avington everything had antlers. He was fairly handsome, she thought absently, but that wasn't enough to excuse him from being so...rude?

His words were polite enough that she was startled into silence...until she finally composed herself enough to answer. "Actually, you're right. I am lost." She saw no harm in admitting it. "And you, Kaleb, are the first person I've seen here, so I don't know if you all like to hide or what. Oh, yeah, my name's Eldy. Nice to meet you." She smiled, trying to make it look sincere. She -was- glad he was offering to help her, though.

[Blue]

It seemed that he had in fact startled the poor feline (a female to be exact), with the way she froze upon hearing his voice. But then she seemed to warm up to him, which made him feel a bit better about the whole encounter. He should probably explain himself before he went any further.

"Again, I apologize, Miss Eldy. I was actually taking a nap just over there when I heard someone walking by, that someone being you. I just wanted to investigate before I made myself known to you. I can't really speak for the rest of Avington, however, though I'm pretty sure we're not a bunch of sneaky people. There's just a lot of vegetation here, as you can see." he said with a grin. It was true, what he said. The dense forests could hide any number of people or other things, and whether or not they were sneaky was up to them.

He continued on with the conversation with a question. "So, what brings you to Avington, if I may ask? You are certainly quite a bit away from your home realm."

[Lucca]

A...nap? Well, that was -somewhat- excusable. Maybe. She supposed. Her ears settled to a more neutral position as she approached him curiously, whiskers twitching. Her eyes briefly scanned the mark on his chest, and she was a bit sad to see he was a Club. Pity, really...not that she thought all Clubs were stupid or anything like that, but, well, they just weren't as -good- as Hearts in the long run.

"That there is," she agreed, glancing over at the foliage. She smirked to herself a bit. She could definitely take advantage of the cover, should she have need to. It was what she'd trained in from early childhood...but at the moment she was trying to be social.

"Actually, I don't live in Torquehelm," she said, with a slight frown. She'd never want to, either. She got down enough as it was without the very air encouraging her depression. "As for why I'm here, well, I'm taking a sort of...exploratory journey. Trying to hit up all the main Realms. See what they're like."

[Blue]

He caught the Torque taking a peek at the marking on his chest, so he naturally scanned hers. Upon his first glance at her, he could see the red clear against her black fur, but now he saw that she was a Six of Hearts. Perhaps she thought him to be beneath her? He was a Club after all, and she was a Heart. He knew of their pride. It'd be rude of him to jump to conclusions just yet. He hadn't even given her a reason to make her think such things anyway.

A journey, hmm? It wasn't too often that someone like Eldy came through Avington. But he liked that she was taking her life into her hands and learning more about the world. Certainly something he had never thought to do. He was still young though. Although it would probably be a good idea to start thinking about his future sooner rather than later...

Kaleb could think on his future some other time. Eldy was here now, in front of him, and she clearly needed a bit of guidance. "That's quite an undertaking. I feel that we got a bit off on the wrong foot here, so I'd like offer my services to you. I'm no professional by any means, but since I've lived here my entire life, I could certainly show you some of the more memorable sights. If you'd rather go alone, I can at least point you in the right direction."

[Lucca]

Eldryia knew she was odd...but then, she'd began life as a misfit, in some ways...unable to ever see her own Father, since he'd kill her as soon as admit to the fact that he produced such a low-Ranked offspring. And her mother was...well...special. But yet Peaches was also her greatest role model in life. So really, Eldy figured she'd always be something of an oddball, and she was coming to accept that.

She nodded to the Badger, perking up slightly at the offer. "Actually, some company would be great, Kaleb," she said brightly. After all, despite having no problems being alone, and being quite used to it, she did wish for companionship sometimes...it was a deep-seated longing, born from the sense of something she'd lost young or never had in childhood...

"I definitely wouldn't be able to find anything but more trees if left to my own devices, even with directions," she admitted, laughing. It wasn't like there were land marks around Avington, at least not that she'd seen so far. Her tail twitched and she looked up at him, hopeful that this wouldn't be a total bust after all.

[Blue]

Kaleb visibly perked up when Eldy accepted his offer. It'd be different, showing a stranger around. He only hoped he did a decent job of it.

"Good thing I heard you passing through then. Although, I'm sure if I hadn't, someone would have eventually. Everyone around here is generally pleasant. Let's go, shall we?"

And with that, they were off.

They went through more dense forest, but soon it began to thin out slightly. He pointed out different types of flora and fauna here and there along the way, making sure his guest was learning all she could about her surroundings. Kaleb was pretty sure there was a body of water close by, and just then they came upon a lake. The sun hit it just right so that it looked like a pool of liquid diamonds. He had to avert his eyes slightly, until what must've been a cloud partially covered the light breaking through the trees. It really was a beautiful sight to behold.

Turning to Eldy, he spoke again. "So, as you can see, we have more than just trees here. Do you need to stop for a drink? I can promise you the water here is fresh. And if you need food, there is a small town down a ways from here."

[Lucca]

"Well, good to know, but still, thank you," Eldy replied, though privately she thought just as many Avingtons would probably ignore a stranger in their woods, wanting to keep the secrets of their Realm. Perhaps that was a bit biased of her, but the Feline had honestly never met a pure Avington before. Some of the nobles were part Avington, and a few of the servants were full, but she'd never gotten close to any of them, and they all seemed an odd sort from when she'd spied on them.

As they walked, she tried to listen to everything Kaleb was telling her, but she never had much of an interest in culture or nature, for the most part. It was other Cards that held her interest, with all their nuances and fears and...secrets. Her eyes strayed curiously to the bright blue tree on the badger's back as they walked. What secrets was he keeping from the world, she couldn't help but wonder. He seemed so open and friendly, it was hard to imagine that there was something he'd never tell to another soul.

As they came suddenly upon a bright clearing, Eldy winced with a small hiss at the brightness of it. And when her eyes adjusted and she saw they were in front of a lake, her ears went back slightly. She was never a fan of water, never. The heavy weight on the back of her leg made swimming impossible and drowning very probable should she ever find herself in any body of water deeper than a full bathtub.

Not that drowning scared her, so very much...but she'd rather not die. She wasn't -that- emo. "Ah..." Eldy thought about it a moment, and realized her mouth was a bit dry. "Actually, that sounds like a good idea." Cautiously, she appraoched the edge of the water, then leaned her head down to lap at the clear, cold water. It tasted surprisingly good, very fresh and...deep, somehow, like a shade of green. Maybe she was thirstier than she thought.

"You have quite a lovely Realm, Kaleb," Eldy admitted when she was sated and had also filled the canteen she carried with her in her pack, backing up from the lake and looking out over it and to the twisting tree line beyond. She shrugged in regards to the town. "Up to you, you're the tour guide." She smirked playfully. Really, though, she wasn't all that hungry, not yet. And she had food in her pack, should the need arise.

((ooc: I...I...how did I just...I had no idea it was getting that LONG. O.o))

[Blue]

Kaleb was glad he was the one who found Eldy in the woods. He wasn't afraid of slipping any secrets out, especially his. No no, that would stay with him until the grave. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine. Hopefully with her back turned, Eldy wouldn't notice his sudden discomfort.

Once she filled herself and her canteen up with the fresh water, he had to make a decision on where they would go next. She didn't seem all that hungry, or else she would have asked to go to the nearby town. Perhaps they could keep walking around then?

"We can continue walking for now, if you'd like. We can go into town later on. Sound good?"

He started walking off to the east, through more dense trees and brush. There was a wonderful field up ahead, a place where he'd been known to go and lay down in the warm sun to take a lovely nap. It wasn't often he got to do this, but when he did, it was glorious indeed.

Just before they reached said field, Kaleb figured he'd warn the Torque of the sudden brightness up ahead. She didn't seem to like the sun hitting her square in the eyes earlier. "Eldy, there's a field up ahead, and since it'll be rather bright, maybe you can shield your eyes? It takes a bit of getting used to."

((OOC: So sorry for the lack of reply for so long! Hope this makes up for it <3))