Three is a Crowd

Astrior holds her breath as Micah takes the man's hand, but when there's no trickery or harm that comes of it, no spells or wardings or shocks, she breathes a sigh of relief. Though she's slightly insulted at his insinuation that there's something the matter with her brand of caution.

Eiris' caution goes to the wind as Micah introduces himself and is well met; she pops out from behind the stand of trees she'd taken cover in, and moves forward, sliding between Micah and Malachite to take his hand out of turn. "Well met, hunter, I'm Eiris. You'll have to forgive Astrior, she's got a cautious streak a country mile wide - she can't really be blamed for that, being as some of the trouble she's found walking around in the past." She gives him a charming smile.

Micah smiles, trying not to chuckle as Eiris butts in exactly as he expected she would. He just shakes his head instead.

Malachite shakes Eiris' hand. He thinks she's cute if not a little forward, but there's nothing wrong with that. "Well met indeed." He glances at Astrior and nods, "Yes, I had noticed that when she severed my bowstring." He smiles again and shrugs. "But no harm done. Though I'd be happy to offer my humble assistance to you, for alarming you so. It's the least I can do." He looks to Astrior since she is the one he startled so badly. Without his bow, he hardly appears a threat. He's far too small and thin and his face is bright and warm.

Astrior notices how he extends his offer to her in particular, but where they're going... she has no real desire to drag someone else along on this farce of an adventure-slash-suicide-mission. She won't take responsibility for this man's life if he wants to tag along. Someone else can do that. She clears her throat and glances over at Eiris, who heartily takes up the leader's mantle.

"I don't know if you're much on adventuring, but if you'd like to tag along for a while, we'll break for camp before dark, and I can fix you up a new horsehair string. It'd be nice to have something to eat other than dried rations... and someone to talk to other than these two loonies." She laughs, holding up her hands to Micah and Astrior. "I'm kidding. But seriously, if you're up for it, you're welcome to join our camp overnight... that'll probably be the extent of your like to involve with us, after you find out where we're headed." She extends her arm out to the horses. "You can ride with me, unless you'd rather walk?"

Malachite watches Astrior hand the reins to Eiris and decides she must be in charge. He grins at the mention of adventure. "I'm always up for an adventure, miss. And with a new bowstring I assure you will be eating well tonight." His laugh is hearty and genuine as he wonders how the quiet, cagey woman could be any more of a lunatic than their enthusiastic leader appears to be. He figures the boy might be a different story. He looks like a strange one. But these type of characters are what makes the world interesting. Malachite is inclined to like them. "I'd be happy to ride with you, miss."

Micah beams, pleased to have some more testosterone in the group for awhile. He pats Astrior on the back since she looks like she needs some encouragement and then faces the horse. "How the hell do I get back on this?"

Malachite laughs again, offering Micah a leg up. When Micah is settled back on his horse, Malachite turns to Eiris, "Tell me please where you plan to go?"

Astrior smiles just slightly at Micah's gesture of comfort, but slips off to her own horse, figuring out how to climb back up onto the damn thing on her own. Once she's settled, she simply lets hers follow the others, not interested in trying to steer it if it can handle the road itself.

Eiris leads their newcomer back to the front of the line and hops up onto her horse, letting him climb up behind her rather than pulling him up after her. "For now, we're off to find someplace safe and dry that we can make a night at. Our eventual destination is the far side, down the west sandies, there's a seaside city there I was born and raised at. And in-between... well, you know what's between here and there." She chuckles, nudging her horse forward into a gentle trot with the caravan in tow. "And that's where the adventure will be."

She leads the pack of them through the wooded area and back out through some fields, then on again into the trees. These are more dense, however, and older - not as old as The Wood, but old, to be sure. Astrior isn't as comfortable in these woods as she'd like... everything smells of old moss and rot and the birds sound farther away. But Eiris' spirits can't be dampened.

"No doubt anything you'd hunt in these woods would be witty enough to slip you... unless you're kin of these trees. But I don't take you for one of those." She's swept her long blonde hair forward over her shoulder to avoid strangling Malachite with it while they ride, but she turns slightly and looks back at him, smiling. "Though I've been wrong on occasion. It's happened once or twice."

Micah glances over at Astrior to make sure she's doing alright. He wonders if she is too shaken up by this sudden newcomer to the group. He looks around at the woods, not as put off by it as Astrior but still a little nervous there.

Malachite raises his brows at Eiris' non-answer of the question. He lets it go for the moment. "No, I'm not from these woods." He smiles at her little joke. "You're a funny one. You look as if you came from the seaside. Or the sea itself."

Eiris laughs charmingly, looking forward again. She's not sure they want to stop in these woods, but they would appear to lead right up to the edge of the foothills, so they may have no choice. "A sea-creature I'm not... there's no nymph or dryad in me. Just the prettiest parts of a Sun and a White." She doesn't need to add "elf" after each, understanding that he'll know what she means. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't count myself the only mix on this mount." She glances back at him. He's short, lean, and pointed... but not too lean, and not too pointed... there's a slightly rugged handsomeness about him that two elves aren't likely to breed into a child. She's full elf, and the better parts of both, but she'd wager that he's got a healthy dose of human in him. But she doesn't press - not all half-breeds are wont to be called out, and some deny the fact outright. So she'll give him room to confirm or deny as he will.

In the back, Astrior can't hear any of this banter. She's busy listening to the woods, and they make her nervous. She nudges her horse in the ribs until it concedes to trot a little faster, up beside Micah's mount. She pulls up beside him and leans slightly, speaking in hushed tones. "Micah, I know you won't approve... but I think for the safety of the camp, and for my own peace of mind, I'm going to change this evening."

Malachite nods with a smile, seeing the Sun and White in her now that she's mentioned it. He doesn't seem to mind when she points out he isn't entirely an elf. "That's right. My father was human. In some places I pass myself off as a human, albeit a small one." He smiles and studies Eiris, "You really did get the best of both your parents, didn't you?"

Micah sighs and gets his horse to hang back alongside Astrior's. "Astrior...we have company. We don't know what he will do. He's probably going to notice if you disappear all night."

Eiris smiles at his compliment, and then chuckles. "A very small human... that's funny. You look like Woods, otherwise. But not strongly enough that people ought to object to having you around, you don't look like you have a stick up your ass or an itchy trigger finger... why try to pass yourself off as something you're not? People don't usually mind half-breeds these days, so long as they don't look downright threatening."

Astrior glances up at the pair of elves chatting away. "Exactly right, we don't know what he's going to do. I don't think he's a threat, but these woods make me think we should have extra protection from... something. Maybe the woods themselves." She looks back at Micah, sighing. "And as for my disappearing... I'd stay close, just not close enough to be made out as..." She trails off, not wanting to say it. "...as what I am."

He's glad she finds him amusing. He shrugs in response to her question. "I'm not concerned about that, I tend to act more like a human and I fit in better with them. So if someone thinks I am one, I don't correct them." He smiles again, "They would be half-right anyway."

Micah frowns again. I don't like it. But that never matters to you. So do what you want." He just sighs, having nothing more to say about it at the moment.

Astrior bristles slightly, and her horse's ears go back. She doesn't notice, nor would she understand the signal if she saw it. But she growls under her breath. "Of COURSE it matters to me! If I didn't care what you thought, I wouldn't have said anything to you about it, I would have just disappeared and left you to wonder! Why do I even bother? I want to do this to protect YOU, you big... ugh!" She jerks her mount's reins back, but instead of stopping, it whirls around, causing Astrior to have to drop the reins and grab it around the neck, cursing.

Eiris looks back around Malachite, and clucks her tongue. "Sorry about them, looks like a little lover's quarrel... don't insinuate any such thing, though, if you care to keep your head. I can because I can take either of them down, but I can do it gently enough not to hurt them... except for their pride." She smiles, and faces forward again. "Looks like we're going to be stopping somewhere in here for the night, whatever the case."

Micah starts arguing back at her. "I don't need protection! I'm not afraid of this place. Besides, what the hell's an ugh? That's just..." He stops as she gets caught up in the reins and chokes back laughter.

Malachite glances back at them, eyebrows raised. "Interesting pair..." He can't help but laugh at Astrior's turning horse, even if she decides to beat him for it, it's too funny not to laugh at.

Eiris can't help but to let out a snicker as well, though most of their reactions go unnoticed by Astior as she struggles to regain control of her animal. She fumbles for the reins, but her horse continues to balk and move in circles. Finally, she slides off the damn thing and falls to the forest floor, and narrowly avoids being trampled as her horse realizes that its rider has abandoned it, and it bolts forward to join the caravan again. She growls and shouts after the thing, and pulls herself up out of the mass of damp leaves and moss, brushing twigs from her hair and clothes. "Fine! I didn't want to ride you anyway! Go ahead, run away! We'll see if you're more than meat in the morning, you stupid animal!" She has half a mind to shred the thing and make it her evening meal tonight - teeth and claws would make for easier weapons than her knives, and it's a serious thought in her mind.

Eiris hears Astrior yelling and sees her horse bolt back to join them, and just laughs, hopping off to grab the wayward animal by the reins, leaving Malachite to take over hers. "Well, we might as well just call this our campsite then, huh?" She calms the upset animal, then helps Micah down from his, taking the reins to tie them all up for the evening where they can eat something from the woods, a few patches of tall green grass here and there.

Astrior comes over only to help them unpack the animals, keeping quiet. Micah's wrong, this wood gives her a bad vibe, and she's going to fight it the best way she knows how. And if he doesn't like being protected, then tough. She doesn't speak to him, or to anyone, just pulls her weight.

Eiris carefully plucks several tail hairs from the horses, and sits to make a new string for Malachite. "So, where are you on your way to, or from, out in the middle of nowhere?"

Micah watches as Astrior's horse hurries past him and holds on as his follows. "Damn horse," he mutters. He gets it to stop, hearing Eiris declare this their campground. He's still irritated with Astrior. She's making a big deal out of nothing. She just wants an excuse to be a wolf so she doesn't have to be a person because apparently that is too hard. He struggles to dismount again.

Malachite chuckles as Astrior's horse goes running. He hops down from Eiris' horse with no trouble and goes to see if Astrior needs a hand after that fall. "Are you alright, miss?"

Astrior looks up as she's approached by Malachite, and she nods quietly. "Yes... I'm fine, thank you." She doesn't make eye contact, trying to avoid keeping him around any more than that, hoping that he'll go chat with Eiris again or do something else. She can see Micah out of the corner of her eye, and she can tell from his body language that he's irritated... probably with her. She knows that he hates the idea of her changing. Truthfully, it's not something she relishes herself. And she's only been half honest with him. The woods do give her the impression that they need more protection, but she's more concerned with the impending arrival of her monthly bleeding if she doesn't change, to interupt the cycle that plagues human women. She can't bear the thought of going through that again, and it's the only way she can think to thwart its arrival.

Eiris makes short work of the horse-hair, yanking on it to test it, but the real test will be how it holds up on the bow. She sees that Malachite has set his bow down, so instead of whistling for him, she just picks it up and strings it herself, with ease. It fits and doesn't stretch more than it should, and it sounds good when she plucks at it. "Looks good, we'll have to see how it shoots..." But bows and arrows are not her weapon of choice. She could probably shoot it, but not with any degree of accuracy. She'll leave that for Malachite. So now she whistles for him. "Done with this thing, come and get it!" She nudges Micah as he passes by her. "Hey, why so gloomy?"

Astrior's evasion of his eyes only makes Malachite pay more attention to her. He wonders if she's still on edge from him startling her or if there's something else there. Maybe she's hiding something. Or maybe she's shy. Or she might just dislike him. He's not sure, but he doesn't like it. He opens his mouth to ask but is whistled at by Eiris. He trots over to her and smiles to see his bow in one piece again. He takes it from her and looks it over, stretching it. "Let's give it a try.." He notches an arrow and gives a test-fire at a tree. The bow fires like it should and he retrieves the arrow from the tree it wedged into.

Micah probably wouldn't want to know about Astrior's feminine cylce if she had told him, but she didn't and he's just irritated. He gives Eiris an annoyed look. "I'm not gloomy. I'm just annoyed." He doesn't expound on it, hoping she'll leave him alone for once. He doesn't feel like dealing with any of her shenanigans.

Astrior is beginning to get the feeling that this newcomer is just going to keep on her tail until she spills something, and it makes her anxious. She breathes a sigh of relief when Eiris calls him away, and finishes unpacking her things.

Eiris raises an eyebrow at Micah, but he gets his wish to be left alone, by virtue of no longer being the only person to entertain his inquisitor. Instead, Eiris watches Malachite work his bow over, and nods in approval when his test shot fires true. "Looks good. I don't know what there is to hunt in these parts... I'm not really counting on anything." She smiles. "But if you can bring something back, we can clean it up and cook it."

Astrior notes that Micah has slunk off, and she decides he's owed an appology, or an explination... something. He bears checking on, at any rate. She'd rather he would stay within the clearing, in view of everyone - these woods are thick enough to lose yourself in. So she goes after him quietly.

Malachite nods and looks at the woods around them. "I know, it's a long shot finding anything decent in these woods, but anything is possible." He offers her a smile and takes his bow off into the woods.

Micah doesn't particularly want Astrior's company either, but he doesn't argue. He acknowledges Astrior's presence, but says nothing. He's still annoyed with her.

Astrior moves through the trees, quiet as can be. The rustling that her footsteps make are no more noticable than a breeze through the underbrush, and she approaches Micah with care. When he acknowledges her, she stops for a moment, sensing that he doesn't want to be disturbed by her. But she moves a few steps closer, reaching out to touch his arm lightly. "Micah... please don't be upset with me. I didn't mean to cross you."

She wants to say more, but she sees Malachite move away from the camp and disappear into the trees, and after a moment it's impossible to say what direction he went. So she doesn't dare breathe out the words she'd like. Instead, she looks up at Micah plaintively, her expression clearly asking for his forgiveness.

Micah's lips draw into a tight frown. He is never pleased when Astrior decides to change, but he's especially worried with this newcomer around. He fears that the elf might hunt Astrior if she were a wolf. Or worse, that he might sense somehow what she is. When she stops speaking he doesn't realize why and looks around in confusion. At least the look of confusion removes the frown. He sighs. "Ok...It's ok."

Astrior hesitates for a moment, then wraps her arms around Micah's middle, pressing her face into his chest. She hates it when he's this way, but she knows why he is. He's only looking out for her, nothing more. And she knows that he doesn't want to see her hurt, but she's more afraid of this forest and her own human body than of the pain. She knows the pain. She hates it, but she hates the idea of Micah being in danger- and of her monthly blood- even more. "...I'll be careful, I promise."

Micah takes the opportunity to hold Astrior for a moment He hopes that things won't go terribly wrong. He's still worried that Malachite will notice something is odd. He seems like he would be pretty aware of things like that. He glances around, wondering where Malachite is now. He doesn't mind the elf, but he feels like he could be anywhere in the woods now and that is a little unnerving. He just sighs and releases Astrior. "Well...we better finish setting up camp here, ok? Give me a hand with this." He gives her a smile he hopes looks more encouraging than he feels. "Ok?"

Astrior looks up at him and offers him a smile, nodding. "Alright." He's taking this well for her, and she appreciates that. "I'll help get everything set up... and hopefully Malachite won't be back yet, that'll be best. I won't have to explain anything." She takes his hand and moves back to camp with him. Eiris is there, working on getting a fire going. She sees the pair of them return, and notes the look on Micah's face... and on Astrior's, and she doesn't have to watch them for long to figure out the plan. Better to stay out of this, she thinks.

Astrior works side by side with Micah, brushing her arm against his often, and trying to be as affectionate as she can, hoping to allay some of the tension and hard feelings that he has about her decision. She smiles over at him and touches his shoulder gently as the sun begins to fade from the trees.

Micah shakes his head, he still thinks that Malachite will probably notice if Astrior turns into a big hairy wolf. He smiles at Eiris and is pleased to see that for once she doesn't feel the need to open her big mouth.

The only part of this Micah is actually glad for is Astrior's affection. He figures she's trying to make up for irritating him and doesn't really want to let her get away with it, but he knows she must also have her reasons for what she's doing, so he let's it slide for now. Besides, he's got her attention. He strokes her face right along her jawline. "Be careful." He can't emphasize that enough and hopes that's clear to her.

Astrior closes her eyes and leans her cheek into Micah's palm, nodding with a sigh before looking up at him again. She can tell how worried he is, but she's glad that he's not trying to chide her out of this again. She rises up onto her toes and puts her arms around him, moving to kiss him on the cheek, but she resets her trajectory at the last second and presses her lips to his. It still takes her breath away and ties her stomach up in pleasant knots, and her eyelids flutter when she pulls away. "I will be careful," she whispers in assurance, nodding.

Eiris glances over at the two of them, embracing at the edge of the firelight, and refrains from clearing her throat or trying to rush them - she wants a changed lycan running through the woods, prowling around them while they sleep, about as much as Micah wants her to change. She's not sure she'll rest all that well tonight, regardless of how "tame" they claim she is - who ever heard of a "tame" lycan, changed? She's heard of the variety that walks on two legs, but they're still ferral creatures.

What makes her more nervous is the fact that Malachite isn't back yet. It's growing dark, and if Astrior intends to slip away, she's going to make noise when she changes - which will alert the hunter. And they'll have to explain her disappearance somehow, they can't very well say that she skipped off into the woods and let it be at that. At the very least, that would arouse suspicion. At worst... well, she's not sure what he's capable of, but she can imagine what she might do in a similar situation, and it mightn't be pretty.

Astrior glances over at Eiris just as she looks away, so she's not sure if they're being watched or not. She also doesn't see or hear Malachite... but she'll be able to locate him easily as soon as she's changed. She gives Micah one last meaningful look and a smile, and then slips off into the trees as quietly as she can. Twilight is fast leeching into night, as the trees are thick and don't allow much light through even at mid-day.