The Warped

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi got up when she was woken up by the women, having gotten enough sleep the night before. She thought it was comical that Kiral was being man-handled by the burly women, but she did not like it whatsoever when the women started feeding her as if she need assistance. "I can feed myself!" She snapped at the women. She sort of felt bad for snapping, but she didn't like being treated like she was incompetent.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*The wolf dragon was awoken by being sit up and offered food almost instantly* "What is going on here...?" *He looked around confused, soon noticing Mahi already taking volatile approach to the female overwhelming swiftness to get the party moving* "I don't really know why I need help eating, I'd rather do it myself if you don't mind." *He tried to shrug off the grip that was placed on him by the women* "If they are going to wake us up, I think this included isn't required."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral nearly choked as he was being force fed, and was finally able to breathe again as he choked on some of the water being forced down his throat. He coughed as he finally caught his breath and the women were leaving. Before Kiral would start complaining, the Elder walked in with a light bow. "I am terribly sorry if they were a little rude. Our women here have lost many of their husbands to the iron fist of our rulers today, so they see you all as their ray of hope, and they want to take very good care of you."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi was glad when the women finally left since she had reached the point that if they had hung around another minute to force-feed her she probably would have knocked them all away. When the Elder came in and explained about why the women were acting that way, she tried to see it from their side but it was pretty near impossible for her since they had pushed her on the brink of crossing the line. "Try having a ray of hope after you choke the people who give you hope to death by forcing food and water down their throats and possibly getting it into their airways instead." She grumbled as she got to her feet.

[White Wolf Guardian]

"That however doesn't mean it's okay to be force feeding us either Elder sir." *The wolf dragon frowned at the elder for a short moment then coughed in seconds after being fed again* "I'm good now. Thank you ladies, please relax." *White got up feeling rather bloated* "Hic--ah--hic--crap. I ate--hic too muc--hic." *He gritted his teeth and held his breath* "No---hic more food." *He kept hiccuping quietly and tried to fight it out, waiting for his chance to leave as well*

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral sighed, "Well, by any means, just make sure they don't do that again. Help us pack some food and water for our journey, and we'll be on our way after we rest up. I have some Zeny, so I'm more than willing to pay up for the resources. Even if we are heroes, I'm sure there's no such thing as a free trip." The Elder nodded in acknowledgment, but waved his hand before leaving. "Money is not an issue here. We may be a small village, but our income is higher than most. After all, our livestock is the most sought-after all across the land. So please do accept our gifts."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

After the Elder left, Kiral sighed as he sat back, trying to relax, feeling pretty full himself. "I really hope we can get moving very soon. White, the second you can get up and walk, we're leaving. I'm sure I can relax just fine in about 5 minutes or so." He drew his sword and examined it, "How in the hell did this thing come into existence? This is supposed to be hundreds of years into the past."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

"Guess we're not moving on yet..." Mahi thought to herself, partially irritated that she had to sit around a while longer. Sitting back down on the bed she had slept on the night before, she rested her right elbow on her right knee and rested her chin in her hand. She wished that she had some of her chainmaille rings with her so that she could at least keep herself busy at the moment but she didn't so she just sat there and waited for it to be time for them to get moving.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*The wolf dragon started fidgeting with his hands* "I can't stand not doing anything for such a long period of time, this is going to drive me over the edge. At least let me go outside... wait that might work." *He was about to help himself to leaving until Kiral actually encouraged it* "It's about time." *He looked to Kiral and him examining his sword* "Well then I'm ready to go now." *White hopped up off the bed, noticing Mahi looking irritable again* "You look like you're ready to go too Mahi." *He wasted no time to walk out of the house and outside, stretching his legs, wings, and arms*

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral nodded and got up, walking over to Mahi to help her up. He yelled out the open entrance when he saw White stretching, "Hey! Just because the village is good doesn't mean that there aren't patrols around here, you idiot!" But his worries were put to rest when some of the women of the village had quickly run over and held White's wings down while covering him with a blanket. When Kiral and Mahi caught up with White outside, the rest of the villagers were there. Three women came up first with their disguises, "We took the liberty of washing them with the best materials available so that you can maintain your guise of church-men. Also..." Three more women came up with a sack of food each, and a child came up with a deerskin canteen filled with water, "...some provisions for your journey. There are two days of food in each one, so please be wise on eating. The next stop is a major city called Bri, about two and a half days' walk. If you ration the food enough, it can last longer, should you have to skip the city to another stop." Finally, the Elder came and presented a fairly large egg wrapped in a cloth, "And this, my friends, is a special gift that was destined to become yours in aid of your quest. In here, lies a dragon's egg. The Great Dragon, the longest lived and most powerful in history, is said to only give birth to one egg every 1,000 years when its life expires. However, the last one gave birth to two. Lord Filadius had hatched one and raised it, while the other laid dormant in this region, supposedly waiting for your care. Please keep it wrapped up tight and be sure to raise it well. How you raise it will determine its elemental prowess and personality." Kiral took the egg and slung the wrapped egg over his shoulder, so it was like a slingback.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi "looked" at Kiral's hand when it was offered to her then took it to allow him to help her up. She was now accustomed to him offering her a hand every now and again, and she didn't see it as him thinking she was helpless and figured that he probably just did it out of habit since she was a girl, not because she was blind. She followed Kiral out of the hut to find pretty much the whole village standing outside the hut. She took her disguise and her bag of provisions when they were handed to her. Setting the bag of provisions down at her feet, she pulled on her disguise, making a face at the hat piece before putting it on last. As she put the bag on her shoulder, she listened to the Elder explain about the dragon egg and cringed when Kiral slung the wrapped egg over his shoulder. "Be careful with that!" She said quickly, worrying that he would swing it around too carelessly.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*White turned around to hear Kiral start yelling about how him openly stretching as he was* "I think I stand out plenty as it is without even helping this with wings, besides imagine sitting in a cramped car for 16 hours without getting up or stretching at all, that's what it feels like on my wings." *Suddenly he turned around to be smothered with a blanket* "Dammit get off of me!" *He closed his wings to make the helpful hands back off and then noticed the disguises come back with some more of the village women* "I wasn't personally looking forward to putting those things back on... I hope this masquerade of monk aptitude will be over soon." *The wolf dragon took his disguise and put it back on, hearing some talk as well of food and water for a couple days* "Better than nothing I guess, though I don't doubt we can manage to find our own food if it becomes necessary." *At long last the village elder approached again, White noticed the rather out of place egg being carried* "I never really asked dad how that worked out, I guess it doesn't matter." *He stopped thinking after hearing the elder talk about the personality and elemental prowess part of the dragon's life, out of his silence he says to Mahi* "Great, if Kiral holds onto that egg we're going to get another miniature Kiral."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral bowed to the Elder, "Thank you for your generosity, then. We'll be on our way. I'm sure I speak for the group when I say I wish we can stay longer, but we prefer to get our job taken care of as soon as possible. We miss our home very much." The Elder and the villagers saw them out and Kiral led the way, having completely wrapped the egg so that it didn't show. He knew the others would follow and took hold of Mahi's hand whenever someone passed their path.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi let out a quick exhale through her nose when White spoke to her, which was the result of keeping her mouth closed to hold in a laugh. She listened as Kiral thanked the Elder for the generosity then followed Kiral as they left the little village. It was a bit surprising that Kiral actually took a hold of her hand any time someone passed their path. "You don't have to do that, you know." She said one time after Kiral had taken her hand after the person had gotten far enough away. "I do know when someone is coming."

[White Wolf Guardian]

*After the group had shortly after talked with the elder and made off with the egg, disguises being held up as before the previous thieves attack, the wolf dragon kept to himself again* "I'm keeping close this time for sure. I don't want some trash or another damn thief picking me out of the crowd worse than airport security with racial profiling." *Occasionally he looked up to notice that Kiral kept taking Mahi's hand every time another person would appear close by* "That's got to be annoying and probably feels about as catering as a Pre-school teacher to small children." *White's suspicions were correct when Mahi responded swiftly to the motion* "Though I hadn't though of it a few minutes ago before she did that, again the hearing sense is one of her most valuable assets and shouldn't be underestimated."