The Long Way 'Round (2nd Attempt)

[Cornflower MM]

Lieseil had glanced at everybeast else as they were talking, but her gaze swapped back to Liten as she was addressed. "When I came up North I sailed up the West coast with a crew of otters. I saw some mountains in the distance, aye, but there was a passable stretch of coast there, with some empty caves. I don't know about muck or marshes, we never ventured far inland when we came ashore, but I can tell you for certain there's ways to go back down without passing through the mountains."
It hadn't been too terribly long since Lieseil had ventured up to the North - about a full season - so there wasn't a chance of new terrain popping out of nowhere. The otter just hoped there wasn't any other obstacles she didn't know about. Liten seemed to trust her knowledge; she appreciated that and wanted to keep it that way.

[Verdauga]

Maeus shrugged at Liten's question. After Lieseil finished, he added, "I made my way through some of the lower mountain passes on my way up. Somethin' tells me you want an easier path to travel." His input finished, Maeus glanced at the other beasts, waiting for their ideas, or Liten's decision.

[The Skarzs]

  Plenith raised his head, listening in on the conversation. He had never gone travelling before. . . He did not know anything about the lands they were going to except that they were warm, and bountiful. The stories of the "lands of sun", and similar names, were all he had to go on.
  For a moment, fear gripped his heart. Would he make it? Was he strong or willful enough to go into those strange lands?
  Well, that's why he went with the group, wasn't it, he reminded himself. If he was going to leave the north, he would not be able to do it alone.

[shisteer of nothing much]

  Tergen watched silently from his branch, waiting for the rest of the group to stir themselves and get going. Listening quietly, the squirrel didn't feel there was anything he could add to the conversation besides mentioning the few rumours he'd heard over the seasons that said basically the same thing as what had already been said. They were all vague and generally second or third paw information anyway, not particularly interesting or important. Best not to add to uncertainty and confusion anymore than was necessary.
  Twitching his nose to rid it of a fleck of snow that had fallen from the branch above, Tergen sunk down on his haunches, lifting an eyebrow at the other beasts.
  "We maht as weel start. The soon's not goin' tae wait aroond fer oos."

[The Skarzs]

  "Yeah, let's go," said Plenith, shouldering his pack. "Which way, fearless leader?"

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Liten was a tad miffed he hadn't gotten a name from the otter, but such was not worth tarrying over. No further comments, and a day and a half later, the entourage found themselves at a river with a fair current and width to it. The peaks of mountains could easily be seen on the other side to the southeast, even straight south held some rather harsh hills. Sure enough, signs of the coast could be seen in the distance to the west as they trekked along the riverbank. Sounds of some minor argument or other could be heard behind him, but his ears had long since tuned out. They were in the midst of some moderately sparse forest, plenty of shade, but with relatively uninterrupted sight lines. The leisurely walk felt... nice, an odd feeling really, a welcome break from the cold pines. Being able to roll up his top layer was a new outdoor experience for the wolf, and though his cloak stayed on, it felt, refreshing? Perhaps, it was a hard description for him to pin down. He stopped looking at the river, the thought of fish not so easily avoided while he chatted with Maeus, "Anyplace on the way? T'wouldn't be th'e worst idea ta keep a known path, fairest winds come with'a friend at yeh back an all."

OOC: I would recommend trying to get in touch with another player or two and thinking about how your characters bounce of of each other and interact. I would've liked to have given you the previous day, but I feel it would've been far too dull. I'll be kicking things up a notch soon, so feel free to try and develop your characters a little bit more (if even only for yourself). Verdauga, let me know if you have any issues with the random "prompt," (and it;s associated PP) my thought was that the two were just talking, Liten asked what Maeus knew about our target area, and Maeus slipped and mentioned the woodlander friends he had.

[Verdauga]

OOC:No problems here. It's kinda likely, actually. I just have to figure out where they'd be

BiC:
       The warm weather lifted Maeus' spirits, and he remembered a few of the notable places he had wandered to. His reverie was interrupted with Liten's question, but it forced him to study the countryside. "Any place to rest? I typically travel farther inland from the coast..." But he was beginning to recognise some of the landmarks of the area. Delighted with what he knew, Maeus blurted out, "Actually, yeah!There are some friends nearby, though it's a few hours. Their cabin is just a little to the southeast, there!" He pointed to a footpath. Perhaps he should have kept his emotions in check, but he was overdue for a visit. Turning back to Liten, he added, "I know it's out o' the way, but they probably know the area better than we do."

[shisteer of nothing much]

  Tergen gave the otter beside him a sideways glance, curious. Otter's weren't common beasts to come across in the frigid mountains and the young squirrel wondered what had made Lieseil choose the colder lands, rather than living further south in the warmth.
  Regardless of his curiosity, Tergen wasn't particularly impressed with her. She seemed grouchy and short tempered, altogether argumentative, and not that logical, either, as far as he was concerned.
  "Ye can't joost expect stoof lahk that tae happen! It's lahk sayin' ye can joost chop soom trees down und expect 'em to build themselfs intae a hoose. Well, maybe it's nout exactly lahk thaht, boot verry similar."
  Tergen made a paw gesture to further his point. Some beasts had strange ideas.

OOC: So, not really sure what we're arguing about here, Corn. I'm happy to edit my post, if this doesn't work.

[Cornflower MM]

       Lieseil scowled at the younger squirrel walking next to her. She'd been talking about some of her adventures sailing the seas, in particular one trip where her crew had been sailing in tropical waters and see fish that flew. Tergen, however, refused to believe that such creatures existed. "Flying fish are something I saw with my own two eyes. I even threw some back into the water. It is not that ridiculous, really, considering all that we don't know about the waters yet."

        It didn't seem so incredulous to her that weird creatures existed in the oceans and seas, when there was so much left unexplored. Not that Lieseil wanted to explore the seas anymore, those days were over for her, at least for a while. That was why she had headed up North, she wanted a change of scenery.

       Beasts like Tergen who wouldn't open their mind to new things irked Lieseil, and she adjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder. "There is a lot of things about the North that I'm sure would shock me, yet you do not see me turning up my nose and laughing at them." She sniffed haughtily and stared a few steps ahead to where Maeus and Liten were discussing something.

[shisteer of nothing much]

   Tergen frowned. Lieseil was right, to some extent; the sea was huge and nobeast knew the extent of its borders. Some beasts even said there were huge monsters in the dark waters, sometimes even bigger than ships. If that were true, flying fish wasn't so far fetched after all. Still, Tergen was fairly certain the stories about huge monsters the size of ships weren't true, and many beasts had claimed to have seen them with their own eyes. There wasn't much point in antagonising a beast, however.
  "Ah soopose ye could be right. We doon't knoow mooch aboot hoow things work. Ah guess there maht e'en be flyin' squirrels soomewhere in th'world."
  Tergen chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief at the idea. Strange things happened, but not that strange. The squirrel, who most certainly couldn't fly, increased his pace to keep up with everybeast else.

[Cornflower MM]

        Lieseil shrugged, "I suppose that's within the realm possibility, if fish can fly." The world was so vast and with so much that no beast dared to yet explore. Who knows what's out there? Maybe even moles that swim.

       Even with as lost in thought as Lieseil was, she caught a snippet from the tail end of the conversation between Liten and Maeus, and her ears perked up. "Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop, but are we turning more inland for a bit?"

[Verdauga]

OOC: Just a short little post to keep this alive.

BIC:
Looking back over his shoulder to Lieseil, Maeus nodded. "I have some friends there, and they'd be 'appy to help us out. O' course, only if Liten wants to head that way." he added, shrugging.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Liten sighed, he didn't like being seen as the leader of a group, the sensation was rather... off putting. The fact that Maeus's friends were across the water was a bit of a problem, he hadn't expected anything so near. Walking to the edge of the water, he threw a question over his shoulder, "Ah Don't suppose ya kno'h this river very well? Fords, shallows, what et's like on tha other side?" Paw outstretched to brace against a tree, he was pulled from his questioning by an arrow that wizzed past his nose and into the trunk next to his hand, "Scrap tha'ht! Haull yer scuts! Moove!" Already at a full sprint, he chanced a single glance back to check... nobeast. A grunt was all he could offer his own question at the moment, as time to examine the arrow pulled from the tree was not available for now. There were just enough trees to slip between while running, though given their pursuers choice of actions so far, an active chase was unlikely. The edge of the treeline came into view, giving way to plains that soon after developed hills. The wolf could only guess that sand came not long after given the sudden disappearance of trees. Further beyond, however, a large structure barely managed to scrape into view. He halted near the end of the forest, if it could even be called that at this point, "What say yeh? Throw ou'rselves intae the river, or a mad dash out in tha open? Whe git trees if we make the swim, but  we'd be 'ard ta chase if'n we make the hills.... I might know tha place tou.... somethin' with a 'guard' in it? Met a few residents tha'h seemed reasonable enuff should it be the place."

[The Skarzs]

  Plenith needed no second bidding after the first arrow flew, and he ran with all the rest, not caring where they were going as long as it was away from their attacker.
  "Spirits below!" he cried as he heard another arrow whizz by his head. He slid to a halt into Maeus's solid back, hurriedly looking behind him with his heart beating faster than it ever had in his life. Nobeast could be seen.
  "I can't swim!" he said in reply to Liten. "I didn't come all this way to drown."

[Cornflower MM]

       Lieseil had been examining the river when the first arrow thwacked into the tree by Liten. She glanced up, alarmed, and then took off after him and Plenith, following closely behind. She grimaced, "I don't really want to run across plains without cover so soon after getting shot at." Sizing the pine marten up, she added, "If you can hold your breath long enough I might be able to get you across the river. Not the most preferable choice but I wouldn't let you drown."

       The otter had known many beasts who couldn't swim over her life - It was decently common for sailors to not know how, as odd as that seemed to Lieseil, and it wouldn't have been the first time she'd taken someone across a body of water.