Larien

The ever constant sound of crickets rung against their eardrums as they traversed the dense woods, avoiding thorny bushes and the odd tar pit. Neither Norwood nor Luxen knew this area, but the guardian walking ahead felt the the earth below his feet speak to him, and it was the only reason he knew they weren't lost.

"Are we still going the right way?" Luxen asked, looking around. "This forest is even more confusing than the Starwood Strand."

Norwood flicked a jaw fan and adjusted the weight of the tiny banescale sleeping soundly between his shoulder blades. "Yes. I can't really explain it, but I know we're going East."

"I could fly above the canopy and look around if--"

"Flying is a bad idea," Norwood interrupted. "The Shroud won't let you see far, and you could get lost." His voice softened. "Look, you can trust me."

Luxen cringed. "It's not that, I just... I know." he sighed and gave Norwood a weak smile. "Thank you for coming along, by the way."

"Not an issue at all; we're headed in the same direction, anyway."

"Yes, but..." He shook his head. "Yes. Let's just keep moving."

Despite the end of the conversation, their trek through the Tangled Wood was far from silent; the forest, full of life and danger, seemed to talk with itself around them. Chirps, wings flapping, the wind on the leaves that was never quite strong enough to dissipate the dark mist that permeated the whole of the Shadowbinder's realm.

They would eventually need to pass through the Forum of the Obscured Crescent, and the thought left Norwood uneasy. Despite spending months with a clan in their territory -- no, it was due to that that he knew Shadow dragons are unpredictable and hard for an Earth-born such as himself to deal with. And between the letter, discovering how to use ancient Earth magic, and little Pepper falling from the sky onto his haunches, he was done with unpredictability for the year.

No more adventuring after this; he just wanted to be with his family again.

An odd sound snapped Norwood from his thoughts. "What's that?"

Luxen raised his ears in alert. Focusing, he could barely make it out: a rhythmic beat of very small wings, distinct from the rest of the background noise for its oddly erratic timing. He hummed in acknowledgement. "Sounds like something's struggling to fly."

Something about the noise awoke a primal fear deep within Norwood's mind. He didn't know for sure, but it seemed to be reacting to his new magic. He lowered his head and raised his wings, instinctively protecting Pepper from whatever this could be. "I don't like this."

"Norwood, calm down," Luxen said as he trotted past the guardian, getting in his field of vision. "It's probably just a bug."

"I don't know. Something about this doesn't feel right." He knew he was overreacting, but his guts would not stop worrying until this was dealt with.

The pearlcatcher's expression hardened for a split second before he closed his eyes and smiled softly. "Alright. Do you want me to go ahead and look?"

The guardian's eyes met the ground as he nodded. Gods, he was pathetic.

"Then stay here. I'll be right back." Luxen said and rushed into the fog ahead, leaving Norwood alone again.

Well, not alone - which was arguably worse. On his back, Pepper stirred. Her presence distracted him with the possibility that his new magic abilities might be related to the return of her kind. He wondered what could possibly have brought banescale back to the land of the living, and once again found himself anxious over the mental image of the legendary Fire Armies sweeping above Sornieth and cleansing the land with their relentless flames. Curse his nerves, always bringing him back to terrible thoughts.

A high pitched squeal and the distant yelp of his traveling companion startled him back to reality once more. "Luxen? Are you alright?"

"Norwood!" The oddly amused voice came from a few yards ahead, though Norwood could only see a few feet before him. "Come here! You have to see this!"

He mentally prepared himself before hurrying throught the Shroud and trees, careful not to wake Pepper. Then he found Luxen, the pearlcatcher's gaze was fixated on a spot in a tree that oozed black sap. Not good.

"Look!" Luxen said when he sensed him approaching. "I have no idea what it is, but it's stuck in the sap and really angry about it."

"Oh for Shadow's eye, not another one." A very exasperated tiny voice said, making Norwood stop in his tracks.

He'd seen a few fossils and opalized mummies in his stay at the crypt. They were ancient, very small, very fragile, and believed to have been incredibly powerful. Like the hatchling resting on his back, he'd believed them to have been extinct long, long ago. Like the hatchling just now waking up from her nap, this one had sprung out from books of myth straight into his life.

"So," the Veilspun started, as if they weren't another crack in the reality of a very frazzled archaeologist, "Will you help me out, or just keep gawking at me?!"