Nine

Sebastian grinned at the dragon and gave him a single transparent blue bead from the pouch. "I said I might enjoy meeting her... but I did expect there to be a hurdle or two in the way. Maybe something like that. But I just meant that she sounds like a good person - and good people are always worth meeting." He thought about those Eodean elves. Perhaps he should he have thought to ask. Ah well. "Even if it takes a concussion, hm?"

Sylvie chuckled, just a bit abashed.

"You know that you shouldn't try that trick too often, yes? It might shake up your poor head for good..." she warned jokingly.

Ayu-Asra was in two minds about who should get the bead, which led to a short scuffle and both the bead and the dragon slipping down Sebastian's back.

The half-elf's mouth was an o-shape for a moment as the dragon and bead went down. When they came to a rest, the half-elf turned a white grin over his shoulder. He just gave an amused chuckle in the end as he looked back to Sylvie from the dragon. "Ah, well, I'll do my best not to," he said gravely, although his expression was far too playful and boyish. With a face made for a happy person, it was hard to feign seriousness. "Although I have to admit, it was probably very funny," he then said, thoughtfully. That and a little embarrassing.

Um. Lots embarrassing.

"I guess if there was a funny bit, it happened before I arrived. The situation seemed mostly confusing to me," Sylvie answered.

"Me too," he said and beamed.

Then he made a move on the board again, watching that for a while. "I must admit that I'm not used to receiving help from strangers," Sebastian continued and raised his eyes, face still tilted toward the board. "Do you patch people up often?"

Sylvie grinned at his answer, but shrugged and frowned slighlty hearing the question, for no reason she could name uncomfortable with the topic.

"Sometimes. It depends on the circumstances.

"Are you more used to running into trouble with strangers?"

He kept smiling. "I'm more used to being watched from a distance. After all, the natives think that I am the stranger. It's more likely they'll think of me as the trouble."

Sylvie sighed. "Yes. It's sad people have reason to assume perfeclty harmless and friendly people like, for example, we are going to cause trouble." You had to turn it into a joke, or else go mad.

For a moment, Sebastian couldn't do anything but look at Sylvie amusedly, his smile growing. The wording was pure pleasure.

Sylvie smiled back and nodded to herself. Better.

Since she didn't want to spout some half-baked comment again, and nothing sensible suggested itself, Sylvie turned her attention to the game.

For one reason or another, he came up with the same response and, instead, watched the last of the game unfold. However better he felt he had done this time, Sebastian was still one seed behind in the final score, but seemed happy nonetheless as he collected the beads back into the pouch (thinking twice about the bead he had given to Ayu-Asra as a distraction). "Well, grand schemes foiled again," Sebastian said chipperly.

He cast a look at the dragon, then at the sky when a lost thought came back to him. The days were long, yes, but time was going at a tolerably fast pace indeed. "I think I could get started with finding food, as well," the half-elf sighed as he put the pouch safely in his satchel again.

As an afterthought, he paused and had a look at the dragon.

"Good idea." Some activity that would also mean some time for thoughts to settle down.

Half the dragon looked back, while the other head picked up the bead, careful not to swallow it. Ayu-Asra trotted off to look for a safe place to stash the little treasure.

Sylvie got up and dusted off her legs. "He's perfectly able to find food for himself, just lazy when given the chance. He's an opportunist." She sat down on a rock and put on her boots. "I'll excuse myself for a moment, and then see what I can come up with."

Aren't we all opportunists? Sebastian mused as he watched the dragon go. "Mm. I see... and all right," he said and dragged the satchel closer to the fire. He went through a list of things inside his head, including the contents of his satchel. He discarded the thought of more fish and considered, for a moment, if he could find something else.

In the meantime the half-elf decided to stay put as it looked as if both Sylvie and Ayu-Asra were already going somewhere. With the tiniest of shrugs, he sat down, shook the sand off his feet and began to pull his boots on. His next step was to rummage through his satchel.

A little later Sylvie thought about the conversation.

It had brought memories of home to the surface, which brought with them a mix of fondness and homesickness. On the whole, the talk left her more relaxed when considering the subject than before. It was the way Sebastian listened. Neither with the self-absorbed curiosity she'd found in some scholars, nor with disbelief, but with interest.

She couldn't imagine how Sebastian felt, with no chance of returning home, but she really couldn't ask that. All in all, she hoped they were finished with that topic.

Well, she should better concentrate on finding something edible.

Sebastian had snuck off the beach about as fast as he had appeared, but the presence of a lone hat lying on the sand was something of a promise that he would be back. The satchel he hadn't dared leave behind (keeping in mind what Sylvie had said about Ayu-Asra's habits).

Presently he was sitting unmoving on the base of a tree, considering the discussion and game. In his hand was a mushroom he knew to be rather plain in taste but perfectly edible. His view of the conversation was simpler than Sylvie's, although he recognised some boundaries. All in all and much to his surprise, he enjoyed letting his guard down around someone. Enjoyment was all right with him, and making it too complex was never worth the trouble. He wasn't without his worries, of course, but Sylvie was made of sterner stuff than some glassjawed backwater idiot with the mental and emotional fortitude of a newt.

Calling ourselves names again, eh?

The game reviewed in his head with some fascination. Hands on experience usually taught him just as well as listening - simply thinking about things wasn't enough, he mused and picked up a smooth rock roughly the size of his palm. The pattern was getting clearer, but he supposed he would have to play against himself a few rounds to really figure it out. He was especially interested in Sylvie's habit of picking from the first pit every time... or was it just every time her opponent started?

Oh well, he mused and tossed the rock over to the left, stood up and got ready to find some berries. He had a craving for some sw--

From the left came a rustle and a wounded birdlike whistle.

Sebastian gave a tremendous sigh and facepalmed.

He returned to camp with a grouse, wondering how he was going to explain this particular stroke of luck without sounding too stupid. At the same time he was a little disappointed that the local chestnuts weren't edible yet. Nonetheless, now that he had a dead bird, there was the matter of getting it ready to eat. It turned out that plucking the feathers off the grouse was more relaxing than he remembered.

The first to join him was the dragon, who first sniffed some of the flying feathers, and then watched Sebastian, perfectly still.

Sylvie returned a bit later. Her crop consisted mostly of caraway; the roots were quite good cooked.

Seeing what Sebastian had there gave her a bit of a stop, but she just said, "Impressive."

The only response he could think of was to look at her and grin embarrassedly. Oh, but a stroke of luck, you understand, a part of him would have said. The rest was a cacophony, and as there was nothing to say about that, Sebastian turned back to the task at hand. "I picked up a few mushrooms too," he heard himself say. Well. It was better than the first thing.

Ayu-Asra gave Sylvie a look, but then turned back again. Bird was way better than greens.

She stood there for a few moments on the brink of asking Sebastian if he was all right, but finally decided against it.

"And I've got some vegetables. No idea if it's supposed to go together well, but I guess we'll see." She went to wash her hands and the plants and prepare the latter.

"I think it will," Sebastian said as he got over his moment of embarrassment. It was surprisingly easy to just let go and relax after clinging on to uncertainty. He wasn't complaining at all, although... he wondered how things would turn out once they got to Canyet. Oh, yeah, that'd be interesting. Darn.

You mean, damned, he admonished himself.

The very next moment he wondered if being quiet was actually... more natural.

Sylvie worked quietly. Having to concentrate on handling a sharp knife gave you a decent excuse not to worry about other things.

Then they'd need a bigger fire...

She really wished she either knew Sebastian longer, or could think of anything trivial to talk about. But then, there was always that.

"Do you think the weather will hold for a bit yet?"