Nalaea Leogwyn - Male - 22 - Hidden/Horse Breeder - White Panther - Mentions: Ren

Nala turned Guri following Ren's sudden turn. The stallion snorted as he followed the command of his rider as the harder earth of the road turned softer as they moved through the fields. The five mares followed Guri's lead and stayed in a single file behind the dark horse. Nala looked up catching site of Ren before pushing Guri a little faster to not lose the bird from her view.

After a couple more miles, Nala slowed Guri to a walk and pet the stallion's neck looking about the open fields. There was just something about being out in the open and how she felt more exposed to an attack. The young woman turned in the saddle to check on the horses behind her before letting out a whistle to signal to Ren that she was stopping.

The train of six horses stopped near a stream and Nala dismounted letting the animals drink the cool liquid and graze on the grass nearby kneeling by the stream herself. The water was cool against her hands as she splashed the water against her face. The gentle nudge of Guri into her side brought a smile to her lips before she stood and turned getting ready to mount up again.

Her eyes scanned the surroundings around them always feeling as though she had to keep an eye out for someone following her. This could be blamed on the scene of her father and oldest brother being murdered while she cowered in undergrowth of a larger bush near the edge of the forest. A shudder moved down her spine as she readied to mount Guri and gathered up the ropes of the mare.

"I want to try and make it to the southern border by sundown. There is a little inn and stable that we can stay at to rest before continuing on the rest of the way." She called out to her companion walking the horses through the stream before asking them to pick up a lazy jog.

Shay Cormac Connolly - Male - 29 - Baker - Mentions: Connor Westley, Reenira Borelson (Only in reference to the past day), Edward Kenward (mentioned, as Shay considers the oddities of said man), open if anyone wants to come and harass the man-

Yesterday had been an exhausting day. He'd made his delivery as promised to Reenira's tavern, only slightly late, and had to listen to Connor basically outright flirting with the tavern owner, which was irritating, but easily ignored. As soon as it was done, he'd only vaguely suggested to Connor that if he wanted any bread, he'd have to come back to his home at some point, because right now, Shay was done trying to tolerate people. He was tired, literally only because he'd been forced to interact with others for more than five seconds, and he had more experimenting to do.

As soon as he'd made it home, he'd settled back into experimenting for a little while longer before turning in for the night. However, he was back up before the sun even broke the horizon, back to his work from yesterday. Today though, he had at least one order that he needed to fulfill before noon, given to him by Edward Kenward. The man was odd, very proper for a winemaker. At least, that was how he thought about it. If he thought about it, he always wondered why Edward wasn't a businessman or a trader of sorts. He definitely seemed the type; all business, never one for idle chatter if it wasn't necessary. And authoritative, in an extremely annoying fashion sometimes. But Shay wasn't judging. Okay, well, maybe he was a little. But that was besides the point.

And so, for the next few hours, he set about making the bread and pastries the man had ordered. Baking was a good outlet for him when he didn't dare to venture outside at the risk of running into someone. There was heavy lifting on occassion, and it was definitely a bit of a workout at times, depending on what he was making. It also allowed him to be at least a little bit creative; he certainly wasn't creative in any other way, shape, or form. At this point, Shay was nearly done with his baking, and the sun had at least risen by this point, letting some light into his home. He paused a moment to extinguish the lamps he'd lit earlier to let him see, since he no longer needed them.

Shouldn't be much longer before he could get this delivery done, then focus on his next order. Which he didn't actually remember what it was, but he could check later.

Kanha "Connor" Kenward - Male - 19 - Winemaker - Mentions: Edward Kenward, Shay Cormac Connolly (mentioned)

While he normally preferred to be awake early, that didn't mean he wanted to be called by anyone just because he was awake. And yet... He could hear his father calling his name, likely searching for him again. Kanha, or Connor as he was called more often, pulled himself further back in the cover of the trees, content to just stay where he was, hidden in the branches of a tree just on the edge of their farm. He was not hiding from his father. No, he was just up here because he wanted to be. And if it annoyed his father by extent, well, that was perfectly fine with him.

It wasn't exactly an unknown thing that they didn't quite know what to make of each other. Even though he'd spent the last nine years with the man, they had very little in common. Any time spent together was spent working, with his father watching him with the rapt attention of a hawk watching it's prey. Connor didn't really appreciate that, to say the least. And while they didn't really speak much with each other, save for very small conversations here and there, it more often than not lead to an argument.

Connor could admit he did harbour a bit of resentment towards his father. The man had left his mother before he was even born, before he even knew she was pregnant. That said, Connor had still heard of him, knew his name. His mother had only mentioned him in passing, when asked about him, but never spoke about him a lot. Connor had known more about him by the time his mother died than Edward had known about his son.

"Connor! I know you are up there. Come back down here. We have work to do."

Well, looked like Edward had finally managed to locate him. Connor peered down between the trees, and found his father beneath the tree, looking up in an attempt to find him. Connor vaguely remembered people commenting when he was growing up that if Edward was younger, the two of them could have practically be brothers, they looked so similar. He refused to see it. Deciding he couldn't avoid the inevitable, Connor quickly descended the tree, jumping down to land in front of his father, who looked mildly annoyed, even though he was trying to maintain his cool demeanour.

"If you're quite done fooling around, we do have quite a bit to attend to today. Come, Connor."

Without waiting for any sort of response, though they both knew he wouldn't have gotten one, Edward turned and headed off. Sighing mentally, Connor followed, despite the fact he would have much preferred to return back to the tree or go off into the forest. But unfortunately, he did work for his father, and he did have work to do. He hadn't been raised to neglect his work, and no matter how little they got along, Connor could manage well enough to finish his job.

Max was certainly tempting fate. Clyde was an imposing man, not one to talk back to - the hunter was dancing on a thin line, and tensions were rising. He could leave - escape his problems, avoid further conflict. But he felt that leaving the girl was some form of betrayal. Coal hesitated. There was a peaceful river not far from here - perhaps he could slip away to the calm waterfront.

I can't just leave her. I couldn't leave anyone.

Coal shifted the weight to his other foot, remaining completely composed. Suddenly, the yak nudged her master. Coal frowned. There was something in the creature's eyes - something intelligent, alive, soulful.

That's not just a yak....

The creature jerked forward, charging after the hidden shifter.

That yak - that... she.. that's not a normal yak. I reckon that's a shifter. There's no other explanation.

Coal was in movement before he could think. He was standing in front of the girl, between the yak, arms crossed over his chest, face settling on a calm, mildly disapproving expression. "Max." He called, "Control your creature, please. I need to explain my companion over here." He said, gesturing towards the girl passively. His voice remained cool, yet his heart pounded. He may just be about to get this girl killed. Coal couldn't live with murder over his head, this so much he knew.

Tallinn listened to Sabine's story, catching the details and mulling them over in her mind. She saw the scene burst to life before her, in all of it's horror. That hunter, Tallinn knew, would be frustrated, upset. Was he the type to let something go, or hold a grudge? Tallinn reckoned the latter, after observing the evidence before her. That was.... worrying. Although Tallinn doubted the hunter would return, Sabine was in grave danger if they were to ever meet again face to face.

The girl paused as Sabine inquired how she found them. Tallinn drew her mask higher up on her face, fiddling nervously with the folds of her cloak. "I watched the signs," she said, "made some assumptions. I figured you would have traveled upriver to fool the hunter - he would have expected you to make the easier trek downstream. I reckoned he would underestimate you, and I suppose he did - then, a trail of broken twigs marked Nyx's passage, for those that looked for it. I guess I sort of knew she was injured - she wouldn't have left such a mess in her wake if that wasn't so. And the skirmish lasted too long, from what I gathered by the tracks, for you to go on uninjured. So, I followed you; thought you might need help." Tallinn paused, suddenly feeling rather self concious. "I didn't shift to a wolf. I want my shoulder - chest wound to heal, and the movement of a wolf's forelegs would have strained it. Additionally, I didn't want to risk a hunter following me - gray wolf tracks are worrying in of itself."

Another pause. Tallinn saw Sabine's worry.

"A hunter could find us the way I did, yes. But it's unlikely." She finished, flicking her brown-eyed gaze away nervously.