Deft fingers ran across the strings of his lute with expert ease. Eyes closed, sat upon a stool the red headed man swayed in time to the music, stopping every now and again to pick up his quill and add a note or two to the sheet music carefully laid beside him on another stool. To look at the man you would not have seen a bard so much as a warrior, and truthfully that initial impression would have been correct; Kavan had been a warrior his entire life and a bard second, though he had long ago learnt how to use his music as a weapon, when tied to magic of course. 

Ever since he had unceremoniously found himself in Arelear's bathtub, some decades ago now, though he had not been counting the years that passed, he had taken the decision to stay with the woman and her band of travelling performers. He had paid his way through labour at first, pitching the tents, carrying large amounts of wares, whatever was asked of him - until he could afford to buy instruments of his own, or the necessary tools to carve them himself. Once that had been done the caravan had realised that Kavan's talents lay in the music he could compose and play for them - and when he tied that to Arelear's memorising dances… well, the pair were really quite something to behold as a partnership. 

Something about the woman calmed his soul, extinguishing the rage his race were well known for. He had been honest with her when they had first met, had told her of the sins he carried with him now that he was alive again, and she had accepted him despite those flaws, encouraging him to make up for them in anyway that he could while embracing that darker half of him… and dark it was. 

The soft, melodic trilling of his blue jay caught his attention, and Kavan smiled as the brightly coloured avian fluttered over to her master, settling at the end of the man's lute and tilting her head at him. "Well met sweet one, shall we sing together Tali?" He asked her with a smile, chuckling as she spread her wings wide and trilled an answer. "Come then, take your place," he said softly, tapping his shoulder with his fingers. The bird did not hesitate in moving there, tucking her wings away and chittering away softly as she watched her master's hands intently, waiting for him to begin the song they would play together. 

 Twang! THWIP! Thud!

The arrow landed on its mark, striking the rabbit Arelear had been aiming for with the clean efficiency innate expected from the hands of someone who mastered and understood the bow. Hunting was a simple act, something any good ranger – or bad ones who traveled everywhere and danced for a living – typically did as easily as breathing. That might have been why Arelear went off away from the train they had been traveling with, if only to give her a chance to clear her mind.

It wasn’t often that she reunited with her clan at this point, often preferring the freedom of travel and the ability to get her name out amongst the world as someone who sought stories, information and frankly, performed to dance. However, this most recent visit had brought with it a different conundrum. Rel had been struck by just how much she had missed her Clan, the family that was family even when they weren’t related by blood. The traders were an energetic bunch and much like her father who led them and her older brothers, Arelear often found she did not care about the passage of time simply because she had so much of it to live. Not quite gypsies but not quite performers, the clan made its way traveling and performing from place to place. It was Rel who had made the name for herself and went beyond just street performances. It was Rel who went beyond performances to learn the cultures.

It was Rel who had no regrets in life, and yet found herself having missed her clan more than she normally did. It was hard to envision why this might have been the case considering how much she enjoyed the world. Perhaps she would have to ask Kavan about this later. It wasn’t uncommon for him to provide insights to her that she didn’t see before, particularly when she had a harder time clearing her head.

It had been some time now, since she had found him – well, since he had nearly landed on her head while she had been attempting to relax in a bathtub. Since then, however, it was like they had a sort of balance going on between them. She saw the world in a brighter light, while he was trying to find his place in it. Their work ethics, mannerisms and more often matched nearly as well as the music and dance they played or the illusions from his fingers versus the fire from her own. Perhaps the most amusing part had been, once Kavan had finished figuring out how to get his instruments and the clan decided to dig their talons into them both, was just how disappointed her family had been when she decided to continue traveling – and Kavan with her.

She was certain her father, Virain, understood all too well. She was a Ruinloth after all. Her name spoke of the fire of the lion of the sun after all. It was hard to keep her caged and where Kavan was concerned? It had began as someone she felt responsible for. He’d known nothing of the world. Time had changed that, and responsibility and shifted to friendship. True to her nature, she never cared what his past was or what lay hidden underneath. The truth was? There was a true bond there, and it was one that she’d help weather through simply because Kavan had become hers. Perhaps not in a relationship sense, but rather, something deeper that she couldn’t name. She hoped the man understood it, because gods knew, she would probably never have a real word for it anyone understood.   

Brought back from her reverie as Blaze came from the bushes, huffing with a separate rabbit of his own in his mouth, Arelear knew her time of playing hunter in the woods was over for now. Whistling shrilling into the air to signal her falcon, the scarlet-leather clad woman dipped down to scoop up her own rabbit, yanked the arrow from its side, and prepped it for travel. The screech above her head told her that her bird, Quicksilver, was already finding his way back to camp. A quick glance down at Blaze, who flashed her an all too knowing look, was all it took before she too took the first steps back towards camp and Kavan.

As she approached camp upon the softly placed feet of a dancer trained ranger, the trilling of a familiar blue jay up ahead had her lips quirking into a familiar smile. About to play, was he? Well now….this was bound to be a treat. A treat for her that is!

Reaching a spot far enough away, she slowly set the rabbit down where she knew her copper wolf, Blaze, would grab it for her once the prank was finished. She could worry about her ridiculous loneliness later. Moving as stealthily as she could, Arelear let go of her previous thoughts as she cleared her mind and focused on one single thing. Catching Kavan unawares.

Biting her bottom lip, eyes alight with mischief, she held her breath and slunk up behind him and his bird before she leaned towards his ear, reached around his shoulder that was opposite Tali to gently place a gloved hand over his eyes and said softly, “Boo!”