Goblin Town -- Logs

Cinnamon glances at Aron and Rhun as she has another bite to eat, then asks, "So where's Modron? Will she be joining us?" Thorn is suddenly really unsure about meeting Modron. It's... making him feel a bit awkward, actually. He didn't expect to be meeting family this day!

Rhun and Aron sit down with them, and Rhun smiles and laces his hands together on the table, "Modron is here, and if you wish to meet her, you certainly can. She's likely fluttering about being nervous about it. She's..." He smiles fondly, "She's about as different from her forebears as one could expect. She has some small healing ability herself. But nothing like what you're describing."

Cinnamon smiles at Thorn, reaching out to touch his hand, "Thorny... you should see her! You may be the only family alive that she still has!"

Thorn smiles quietly to Cinnamon, and squeezes her hand, "You're right, I should. It'll be good to meet her!"

Cinnamon says, "Oh, and you can find out what the big argument was, too! After all, your great-great Gruffydd didn't just leave this trod -- he left to live with humans! -- and in a time when humans were all excited about both christianity and steel... so he must have really wanted to live away from supernaturals. Plus, he lived among the humans long enough that when he met your great-great grandmother, he couldn't just say he was her age -- because folks knew him, right? Though that begs a question too, actually..." She frowns thoughtfully, turning to the two sidhe, "So, how sure are you that Dryswch isn't here under some glamour?" Thorn blinks at that idea. There's something unsettling about it -- probably because he can't find an answer that would be definitive. The little dragon glances thoughtfully at Shane, wondering... could Dryswch fool a truthseer? Interesting question!

Rhun and Aron look at one another, then back at Ianto, Thorn, Cinnamon, and Shane, "There are wards. We would know if he tried to return." Aron smiles quietly, "I'll go let Modron know you'd like to see her. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Cinnamon looks startled, "You're actually warded against Dryswch?!" She tilts her head thoughtfully, "Who maintains them?" She considers the issue: were she an illusionist who wanted to sneak into someplace... wouldn't it be easiest to just become the person who creates and tends the wards against illusionists?

Thorn blinks and gapes a bit at Rhun, "Are they... wards specifically for Dryswch, or just the wards in general?" He smiles to Aron, "Thank you! I definitely would like to meet her!"

Rhun rubs the center of his forehead with the first two fingers of his left hand, "Him and a couple of other people wouldn't be able to cross the wards. They're... quite specific. It's... a bit of a long story." He takes a deep breath and smiles at Thorn, "Dryswch... You know what his name means?"

Cinnamon actually pauses in her chewing, thoughtfully considering this... very interesting new wrinkle in Thorny's ancestry story. Fascinating! So Dryswch made himself unwelcome here, as well at his home trod -- the Willow trod they originally came from! The little dragon wonders if this fact had some bearing on why Gruffydd left too.

Thorn says wryly, "I can imagine it's a heck of a story as well. Wow. I've... never heard of wards for specific people." He nods to Rhun, "'Confusion.'"

Rhun says, "It can mean a lot of things. Perplexity. Bewilderment. Confusion. Basically... chaos of the mind. All that taken to the extreme can be, bluntly, insanity." He smiles wryly, "Willow is rebirth. We are also a fierce trod -- because if you know how to heal something, you know also how to break it, yes? Any healer can tell you what the worst kinds of wounds are. The deadliest ones. The ones you are least likely to come back from. The ones that will hurt the most without killing you. There is a joke that's not a joke that says it is good that Willow are gealsidhe because if we were beansidhe the world would have burned."

Cinnamon raises an eyebrow... then has another bite of food. Creepy! Thorn arches a brow curiously, "Dryswch wasn't kind to his fellow members of the trod, was he?"

Cinnamon swallows her food and has a drink... then murmurs quietly to Thorn, "Well, we were told he was, um... quite successful in his, er... romantic conquests?" She glances at Ianto, "Was that it? He was, um... not quite honest with the folks he was interested in?" She finds herself mentally bristling a little at that thought. She's starting to unconsciously realize that consent is a huge mental button for her!

Thorn nods to Cinnamon, "Yes, there is that. I was just wondering if he was mean and cruel to others, as well."

Rhun says, "If by 'not kind' you mean charming but manipulative, charismatic but deceptive, and mesmerizing but cruel... then yes, he was 'not kind.'"

From behind Rhun a gentle, beautifully mellifluous voice adds, "He was a beautiful, charming, lying, vicious bastard... and I loved him." The woman standing there is slender, but only about 5'6" -- with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes.

Cinnamon blinks curiously, pushing her glasses up as she frankly stares. So this is a tuatha! She smiles hesitantly, "Um... hi? Want some dinner with us?" She waves a hand, "That's Shane, and I'm Cinnamon, and this is Thorn, your relative. Oh, and this is Ianto, who was good enough to guide us here." Cinnamon wonders suddenly if Marcus has ever heard of Dryswch... the results of the gealsidhe's charm might be a useful object lesson, after all.

Thorn stands when he sees who he believes to be Modron, smiling quietly, "Ah... hello!"

Rhun turns his head and then stands, offering the woman his hand, "This is Modron."

Modron's heart-shaped face is delicately boned and her ears are gracefully curved and pointed. Her green eyes are tip-tilted up at the outer corners. She smiles, "Hello, Cinnamon, Shane, Ianto." Her smile widens, "And Thorn." She reaches her hand across the table to touch the side of his face softly and briefly.

Thorn smiles warmly and doesn't shrink back. "Hello, Modron," he says. "I, ah, appear to be related to you!"

Modron laughs softly as she settles into the chair Aron vacated. She smiles at Cinnamon, "I would love to share dinner with you." She looks at Thorn again, "Yes. Yes, I think you are. Aron said you are related in some way to my son?"

Thorn sits after Modron has, smiling unsteadily, "Er, yes. Apparently I'm his... great-great grandson? I think." He glances to Cinnamon; she is so much better at remembering details than he is!

Cinnamon grins at Thorn, "Only one great! Unless you're talking about Modron -- in which case she's apparently your great great grandmother! -and your great grandfather called himself Hans Muller, you said!"

Modron's eyes widen and she says softly, "Truly?" She seems actually shocked, one hand going to her throat.

Rhun smiles quietly and rests a hand on her shoulder, speaking quietly, "We can get a truthspeaker if you'd like, dear heart."

Cinnamon looks puzzled, "What do you need a truthspeaker for, please?"

Thorn blinks, a bit surprised at her reaction, "Um, yes. What Cinnamon said is truth -- I'd trust what she says over what I say any day. Is... I hope that isn't upsetting for you?!"

Cinnamon smiles at Thorn, "You're honest too, Thorny!"

Thorn says, "I like to believe I'm honest, thank you, Cinnamon! But accurate? You're tops on that."

Modron smiles, "He's saying that if I don't believe it, we can get one. But I believe it. No, it's not upsetting. It's just... surprising. We are not... even the tuatha... very fertile people." She's looking at Thorn with wide eyes. She motions at herself, "I have not heard from my son or his father in... at least a hundred years. I was fairly certain my son was... gone. Dryswch... I had hoped was."

Cinnamon laughs, patting Thorn's hand affectionately... then looking curiously at Modron. She smiles and replies in what she hopes is reassurance, "Well, Thorny doesn't do illusions. He's better at other stuff!"

Thorn says gently, "Your son is, as Cinnamon said, passed away. We found his gravesite... and that of his wife. And from there, there's a family tree that led to me. Cinnamon's right. You see, this search or quest started when I was wondering why I was so good at healing magic -- as in, shocking to everyone I talked to. So we got to wondering what in my ancestry kind of... set the stage for that level of ability. Illusions? I've no experience with them at all. Healing, though...." He shifts in his seat a bit, "Any description I can make of it would sound like bragging, when I'm really trying to do the opposite."

Cinnamon grins and bounces a bit in her chair, "Can I say, Thorny? Or do you want it kept quiet?"

Thorn grins at Cinnamon, "Please, feel free!"

Modron nods, "I have a healing knack. It's moderate. Dryswch's knack was..." She touches her temple with the middle two fingers of her right hand, "He could unravel madness."

Rhun's expression darkens, "He could... but it wasn't what he did. He used the flip-side of his knack."

Cinnamon beams at Thorn, "Okay!" She's almost glowing with pride in her friend as she turns to the gealsidhe, "Just two examples, I think, okay? First, he removed that extinct thistle's poison, mixed in with steel sickness, from Jaeger, an elder of the Boston area Elm trod... and later, he actually rebuilt a missing eye on a shark man!" She adds firmly, "Shane and I witnessed both incidents, too -- it's not just rumor!"

Modron blinks several times... then says in a quiet voice, "That is far, far beyond my abilities. The thistle... the extinct thistle! I only know of one thistle that was destroyed for being poisonous. If you have the ability to do that... and to rebuild a body part? That's... not quite back to our ultimate forefather, but it's much stronger that I could ever dream of."

Cinnamon beams, proudly patting her friend's hand again. Thorn says gently, "One of the reasons that we're... concerned... is that this ability to heal might come with a price that we don't know yet. Any, any information you have, please, would be helpful."

Modron nods and chews thoughtfully on her bottom lip, "Usually, if you are channeling something that powerful, there's a chance it can get away from you and backlash." She motions at Rhun, "Like he was talking about Dryswch and his upside-down knack."

Cinnamon nods curiously, "What's a knack flip-side? Can everyone do the opposite of their knack as well as the knack itself?" She glances puzzledly at Shane... what would be the opposite of hearing truth? It can't be speaking falsehood, after all. Shane gets a headache at lies! Shane blinks slowly himself. He can't imagine what the flip-side of his knack might be.

Thorn nods quietly, and smiles, "Ideally we'd like to avoid something like that from happening!" He looks curiously at Cinnamon, then back to Modron -- he'd like to know the answer to that question, too!

Modron muses, "Not all knacks actually have a clear-cut flipside. A truthsayer, for instance -- the ones that can hear truth? It's an affinity. A truthsayer's flipside... I can't imagine what it might be unless it's an ability to craft a lie so cunning that another truthsayer couldn't see it. But no truthsayer I've ever met could do that without putting themselves in so much pain they'd be completely debilitated." That makes Shane snort amusedly.

Rhun says, "And no, not everyone can flip their knack... but some can. Some charmers can. They can either beguile you, make you trust them. Or they can give you a creeping sense of unease."

Cinnamon looks fascinated as she pushes her glasses up, "Huh! That's... kinda weird and cool! So how do you tell if you can do that flip thingie?"

Rhun says, "It's something most people figure out early on in life." He smiles wryly himself, "Mine doesn't flip."

Cinnamon asks innocently, "What's your knack, then?" -- then blinks, "Wait. Crabcakes! That was rude, wasn't it?" She turns pink as she hastily adds, "P-please forget I asked that?" She tries to quickly change the subject slightly, asking Modron, "S-so, uhh, what was your son's knack? Was it part of why he chose to leave the supernatural world?"

Rhun laughs quietly, "Yes, it is slightly rude. But I don't take offense. I have an affinity with small animals. I can draw them to me. Squirrels. Rabbits. Chipmunks. Mice..."

Modron laughs quietly, "Rats. Moles. Voles..."

"Ooooh!" Cinnamon's eyes are wide with delight, "All the cute little animals like you? How cool!" She wonders if Gruffyth's knack has any reflection on Thorn's knack, as well.

Thorn is thinking the same thing, actually: "May I ask... what was Gruffyth's knack?"

Rhun mms and nods, "They do. Which can be nice and all if you're, say, wanting to hunt for rabbits. But it would be nice to flip it if there was a mice infestation."

Modron grins, "He tried once. It got worse. Much, much worse." Rhun gives her a friendly glare, but then they come back to the subject and Modron adds, "Gruffydd's knack was... similar... to his father's. But it was more about emotions and sensing it. He was not a Charmer and he was not an influencer. He could sense someone's emotions."

Rhun nods, "Which seems subtle, but if you can sense those and you have the knowledge of how people work and how to manipulate emotions or how to handle those emotions... it can be tuned quite powerfully." He hurries on, "He did not misuse it -- he left on his own. He wanted to find his father. Perhaps try to redeem him, I think."

Cinnamon raises an eyebrow, "Why would he live with humans, then, if he was searching for his father? Unless..." she frowns thoughtfully, "if he knew his father was, say, either there with him, or dead... that'd be a reason not to travel?" She muses silently to herself... Dryswch would make a truly fabulous preacher, back in that time. How would his son take it -- discovering his father had effectively religiously enslaved an entire town of humans?

Thorn chews his lip, "I should tell you about the engraving that his wife put on his gravestone... it was apparently engraved there by her, in Ogham: 'Though the tree of thy life speak of rebirth, steel yet stole ye from me.'" He glances up worriedly, "'Steel yet stole ye' sounds like... um. Like something nefarious happened to him."

Modron's face drops a little, "It does, doesn't it. That sounds like a murder. Or... was there a war?"

Shane finishes up what he was eating and says quietly, "I think he was too old, by human standards, for war. At least the age he told the humans he was... or am I misremembering?" He's been listening quietly to these people -- and he hasn't given any indication of having a headache.

Cinnamon thinks for a moment, then says slowly, "Birth was in the 1850s; death was in the mid-30s of last century... so he was 80ish years old." She gives the actual dates, then adds, "Wasn't that more towards the aftermath of World War II, though? He shouldn't have been fighting then, right?" She smiles at Thorn as she adds, "Show Modron the graphic of him, maybe?"

Thorn nods to Cinnamon, pulling out the picture, "This is the picture of him that's on his gravestone."

Modron takes the printout and looks at it, smiling softly, "That's definitely him." She sighs quietly, "I suppose that could have been some sort of an accident, but..." She shakes her head, "No. No, a coded message like that... whoever his wife was, I think she knew what he was. Because she knew enough to know about the Willow and it meaning rebirth." She looks at Thorn intently, "You're Elmtrod. How are you Elmtrod if you were raised human?"

Thorn nods, "We believe that she definitely knew who and what he was, yes."

Cinnamon cheerfully replies, "He stumbled into the trod! -which is amazing all on its own, apparently." She grins at Thorn, not mentioning anything about unequal relationships. She hopes Thorn doesn't think she butted in, though!

Thorn's expression is pleasantly blank for a heartbeat or two, while he desperately, desperately tries to come up with a 'family-friendly' explanation. The best he can come up with is: "A few years ago, I wandered into the Elm trod, and Athala... took me in. She granted me some of her magic. We think that kickstarted my healing ability, by the way. Ah... yes -- so, not long ago she asked me to go to Coblyn Street on her behalf right before a Council meeting."

Rhun and Modron look at one another and then at Thorn. Rhun raises an eyebrow, "You... stumbled into a trod. I'm sure they were rather shocked. Most trods are quite hidden." His eyes are twinkling a little at Thorn's careful wording. He, after all, is sidhe himself and knows the kinds of relationships that apparent humans and sidhe have, that would cause something like this.

Modron either does not know this or doesn't put it together, "So, she shared some of her abilities with you and it seems to have boosted yours? Or at least awakened it?"

Cinnamon grins to herself at Rhun's expression! Thorn nods to Rhun, "They were surprised, yes. It made for a very interesting conversation! But looking back now, it seems like my heritage had something to do with my stumbling into it." He nods to Modron too, "That's what we're thinking, yes."

Modron nods slowly, "That would make sense. Do you know this Athala's own knack? It might give us an idea why that happened. Or it could simply be that you needed the key to the lock." Rhun smiles quietly at Modron; there's some obvious affection there.

Cinnamon glances curiously at Thorn -- she wonders about Athala's knack too! Actually, she'd like to know both Jaeger's second knack, and Marcus' single knack, as well. She grins to herself: greedy, much? Thorn shakes his head. "I don't know her knack, no. Um, and I never asked, to be honest. It was only after I got to Coblyn that I found some sidhe have knacks."

Modron nods, "I think you may want to dig into that a bit. Because if your natural and untapped knack was for healing and this Athala's knack either boosted or unlocked it, it may be important to know if her withdrawal of her power would weaken your own powers, or if yours are permanently affected."

Thorn blinks. He'd never considered Athala could... or even would... do something like... he nods slowly to Modron, "Ah. Yeah, that's... probably a good conversation to have, with her."

Cinnamon tilts her head thoughtfully as she considers this. It makes sense to her that Athala's magic sort of kickstarted Thorn's -- in that he now knows he can do magic -- much the same way that priming the pump means it can be used to draw water. But even though the pump needed priming... once that's done, the pump flows just fine. Further, even if that's incorrect here... would Athala do something so cruel? Well... maybe, if Thorn accidentally scared or hurt her, or something. But even then, if what it takes to prime the metaphorical pump is magic... hmm. Cinnamon quietly determines to figure out some means of getting magic to Thorn, should he ever need that assistance. She grins wryly at him, "So, next stop on this trip, after dropping Ianto off at his home: your Elm trod?"

Thorn nods to Cinnamon, "That would be called for, I think, yes."

Cinnamon considers quietly, "So Dryswch leaves here in disgrace. His son follows later... and ends up spending over 80 years in a human town in New Jersey. I wonder, if we knew where or how to look, if we'd find Dryswch's grave too in that area?"

The healer hmms, "It's possible, I think. That might be where we'd want to look... if he has a grave, that is." He looks to Modron, "Thank you, sincerely, for all your help. Would it... may I write letters to you? Though I'm not sure how they'd get to here."

Cinnamon smiles, "There are ways to send letters, Thorny -- remember? Shane told us that!"

Modron's face lights up and, for a moment, she looks like she can't be older than her mid-twenties, "I would love to keep in touch with you! Yes, please! It's... it's wonderful to know I have a grandson." She has, apparently dispensed with all the 'greats' in between there.

Cinnamon smiles quietly, fondly reminded of her own step-grandmother. Thorn says, "There are, we'll just need to figure out how." He smiles to Modron warmly, color coming to his cheeks, "I'm glad. I'd love to keep in touch as well!"

The Willow trod here is welcoming and more than happy to have folks stay for the night if they wish. If not, they are happy to give Cinnamon the provisions she'll need to refortify herself after her flight to take Ianto home. Modron is thrilled to have found Thorn; she promises to do a little research into her arm of their family tree. Cinnamon is happy to swiftly fly Ianto home, then airlift her friends and the car to Elm. She gratefully thanks the Willows for the provisions, as well!

Once Ianto is dropped off, the flight back to Thorn's home trod will be fairly quick. It's a good thing Erin can be sent ahead by Thorn so the members of Elm aren't completely taken by surprise when a dragon sets down next to their trod! Thorn does not want to take Cinnamon's flying for granted, so he thanks her profusely for the airlifts she's offering. He's also grateful for her reminder to send Erin ahead to Elm, to let them know. With Modron, he works out the details as to how to exchange mail -- not email, of course! They depart with a warm embrace for her and a promise -- that he fully intends to keep -- of writing soon!

Shortly thereafter, Cinnamon squeaks startledly as she's shifting shape, after landing near Elm -- and has to try again! Fortunately her shift works the second time, and she apologizes sheepishly to Shane as they return to where Thorn waits, "I'm so sorry, Shaney, that it took two tries! I must be tired or hungry or something..." She licks her lips absently, realizing she actually is kind of hungry! She's glad the Willows were so kind to them, regarding provisions.

Shane kisses the top of Cinnamon's head, an arm around her shoulder as he walks back to the car with her to put away the space blanket, "No problems, acushla. It used to take you several tries every time." Cinnamon grins shyly as Shane reassures her. She's not sure how he does it, but he always makes her feel so nice inside!

The hike to get to Elm from the closest spot to stash the car is an hour or so, but they're all familiar with it by now and know where the closest entrance is. They're also recognized and let through into the trod, which bursts with color for Thorn. He blinks a bit as color returns to his vision. He lets out a breath, smiling quietly, and lets the person on duty know that he would like to meet with Athala, please, if she's available? The guard smiles, "She's available. You know where her house is?"

Thorn has been to Athala's residence before, so it will be easy to find. He's more than happy to lead the way there, feeling surprisingly unself-conscious about his relationship with her in front of Cinnamon and Shane. The little dragon glances up at one point, and smiles, calling, "Thanks, Erin, for flying ahead for us!" Thorn thanks Erin as well, promising her some tasty blackcurrant as well.

Athala's door is open and there's a sound of some kind of wind instrument -- a pipe of some sort -- wafting out. Cinnamon beams at the sound, murmuring happily to Shane, "Looks like she's expecting us -- yay!" She grins at Thorn, adding, "Go on! Go say hi, Thorny, when she stops playing!"

Shane smiles, "We could all go in..."

Thorn lets out a relieved breath. He wasn't sure what the protocol would be for him to showing up unexpectedly at her home! He knocks on the doorframe, not yet calling out, waiting for Athala to stop playing as signal to allow them to come in. The sound of the pipe stops and there are footsteps from inside. A moment later Athala arrives at the door, a smile on her face, "My sweet man! And Cinnamon and Shane! Please, come in! It's a pleasure!" She strokes Thorn's cheek with her fingertips, "I will put on some water for tea."

Thorn smiles almost shyly, and bows his head to her, "Thank you, my lady... and thank you for seeing us on such short notice." Cinnamon follows Shane into the little residence, glancing around herself almost warily. She's still not sure what she thinks of Athala... though she's very glad the gealsidhe chose to be straightforward with Thorn, that time when they were trying to figure out who the treasonous faction were!

Athala smiles, "I figured it must be of some import for you to arrive with such alacrity. Odalric isn't here at the moment, or he'd be curious as well."

The residence is actually partially grown, instead of built -- as in, some of the walls are made out of the trunks of still-living trees that seem to have somehow been joined together and twisted elegantly into place. The trees look healthy, so they aren't suffering for it. There are niches and shelves with little objets d'art, and the windows have shutters rather than glass... though there are a couple of little suncatchers with glass twirling gently here and there. There are seats, but most of them are cushions on the floor or built into little nooks in the wall.

Thorn lets his hand drift lightly over one of the live-wood -- not merely wooden -- walls. He's been here before, but he's always glad to see the splashes of color that glint through the suncatchers in the windows, when it's daytime. He gives Athala an update as to what they've found about his heritage, telling her all that they've learned. He doesn't gloss over his great-great-grandfather's bastardry, but he is glad to note that he'll be keeping in touch with Modron, his tuatha forebear. He concludes with, "We're still not quite sure where my ability to use healing magic to such a degree comes from, my Lady. But we're a little bit closer. Erm, we at least now know how I could stumble into the Elm trod!"

Athala sits with Thorn, petting his hair quietly as he speaks. She listens raptly, eyes getting wide in surprise and fascination as he talks about the fact that he has both gealsidhe and tuatha forebears, and murmurs, "Well... that would definitely explain a bit about you, pretty man. The only way to test if having the connection to me removed would take away your gifts would be to... well... remove my blessing... and I don't truly wish to do that. However... it's entirely possible that it would only take some aspects of your abilities, and not dampen others." She motions to Erin, "For instance, you might lose your connection with Erin, since her twin is my familiar. Our connection may simply have been a catalyst."

Cinnamon sits on a floor cushion with her back to the wall, next to Shane if she can. Before she starts eating, she politely offers everyone something to eat from her provisions... and once everyone has just as politely declined, she has a nice, big snack. She doesn't realize it, but she's not just a big dragon in her other form -- she's also a growing young dragon! Consequently, after a day of driving, several nearly consecutive changes and short flights, a couple of sturdy hikes, and two nicely filling snack/meals... Cinnamon is rather sleepy. She leans her head against Shane's shoulder, her eyelids slowly drooping as she watches Thorn speak... until she drifts off into a light snooze. Shane wraps his arm around Cinnamon's shoulder and lets her nap against him. She needs and deserves the rest.

Thorn nods quietly, not quite leaning into the touch; they're here with guests, after a- ahhh. He doesn't call attention to how absolutely adorable Cinnamon looks leaning against Shane like that. Instead he nods quietly to Athala, "That's our thought as well -- that your blessing was a catalyst of some kind."

Athala nods, "And they spoke to you of inverted knacks? It's true that some people have the ability to do that. Not all. Some folks that are Charmers have the ability to instill fear and dread." She looks at Shane, "You know how the entrance to your father's trod has that sensation that keeps people away from it?" The half-beansidhe nods and Athala goes on, "That was put in place by someone that could Charm but knew how to work in reverse. They worked their knack into a ward. Wards are essentially someone's knack made physical. Think of them as..." she lays a hand on the pipe she was playing earlier, "written music. Someone figured out how to take a native ability and write it down and put it out in the world."

Thorn nods slowly, thinking. "I'd be worried that my, uh, abilities are someone's inverted knack," he says, "but it doesn't seem to be the case?"

Athala shakes her head, "I think the thing to worry about would be if there might be backlash. If something went wrong and your healing power goes somehow awry. Have you ever seen a bowstring snap? Or a hawser on a ship?"

Thorn winces, "A bowstring, yes. Eugh. I'd really like to avoid that, if possible. I'm becoming more concerned about what might happen if there is backlash. I don't want to hurt anyone after trying to help people." He looks to Athala, "My Lady, if it isn't... well, actually, it probably is rude to ask, so I apologize. But... could your knack have something to do with it, or have some effect on what the backlash might be? If I may ask, what is your knack?"

Athala continues running her fingers through Thorn's hair and replies, "A healing knack normally would backlash onto the healer rather than onto the person being healed. Inverting it, however, would be able to cause harm by touch. It's... complex." She smiles quietly, "My knack is for scrying through the eyes of animals. Birds are easiest. It's what I shared with you when I shared my power with you. It is why you are linked with Erin."

Thorn blinks, "I'm... not comfortable with the idea of trying to test if what I can do is reversible, but at least it's most likely to backlash on me. Oh... scrying through animals -- that makes sense. Erin's been really, really helpful, by the way. And she loves redcurrants!"

Athala laughs, "Her sister Nach is fond of those as well, but Nach's favorite is sunflower seeds. I have to get someone to bring them to me from outside a few times a year..." She almost dimples as she adds, "-and I have to be careful or she'll get fat!"

Thorn smiles quietly, "Same here. But Erin's been so darn helpful!"

Erin hears 'redcurrants,' and flaps down to sit near Thorn -- as if they might magically appear. Her twin, likewise, hears 'sunflower seeds' and drifts down to settle on the back of Athala's seat. Athala laughs, her voice soft, "The problem with magpies is that they are somewhat too intelligent for our own good!"

Thorn smiles wryly, looking to Erin and rubbing her poll, "Erin sometimes delights in showing me how, ah, acrobatic she can be when I'm looking through her eyes. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Athala's laugh is musical and somewhat wry, "Ah. Yes. Trying to see if it will make you dizzy? They are mischievous. Have I answered the questions you came for? It would seem your companion may need some rest before you try to return to Coblyn. I have extra rooms if you need to rest." She looks at Shane, adding, "One of the guest rooms has a bed large enough for two." Her hand stays on Thorn's head. He, of course, will be staying with her.

Thorn glances to Cinnamon, and smiles quietly, "Thank you, my Lady. You've answered our questions and more, and I greatly appreciate it! It's helped a great deal... and thank you for the offer! I think she would appreciate the chance to rest, though she, ah...." He isn't quite sure how to explain the current, um, status of Cinnamon and Shane without embarrassing them both. He looks to Shane curiously, hoping the man can explain.

Shane smiles quietly, "We are not a couple, lady. She would prefer her own room." That was very, very carefully worded. "A night's rest wouldn't hurt anyone, though." He also suspects Athala is hinting that she'd like Thorn to stay with her a while. Shane gently shakes Cinnamon awake long enough for everyone to get settled for the night. He doesn't mention the offer of sharing the bed, but he does explain about the inversion of knacks and wards being like the written version of knacks.

Cinnamon nods with sleepy interest at the explanation... then curiously asks about both Athala's knack... and why they're not going home? She nods again when delicately informed by Shane that Athala would probably like to spend some time with her pretty man... and goes silent at the news of Athala's knack. Finally, as they're being shown to their rooms, she turns to Shane and says quietly, "So if a backlash only harms Thorny... what about Erin? And what about Athala, who's connected to them both?"

Shane is sitting with Cinnamon in the room the little dragon will be using, "I wonder about that myself. I don't know if Athala's friend Odalric is connected to her in any significant way. They're thick as thieves, but I don't know if they're linked up magically. It'll be good to ask her in the morning, perhaps, about if the backlash could travel through her link with Thorn."

Cinnamon nods slowly, then muses aloud, "I don't want Thorny hurt at all, of course... but I suspect he'd be heartbroken if a backlash fired through him and harmed them, you know?"

Shane nods, "He'd definitely be heartbroken, I think. It's something to consider." He leans back where he's sitting and smiles at Cinnamon, "Thank you, acushla, for flying us all over hell and gone."

Cinnamon grins shyly up at Shane, "It's fun, Shaney! I'm glad I can help." With that, Cinnamon falls into bed and sleeps deeply -- it's been a long day!

Early the next morning -- very early -- Athala gently wakes her guests, speaking quietly, "I have breakfast for you. And tea. I know you'll be flying as a dragon... and I thought it might be wise for it to be under cover of darkness."

Cinnamon smiles with sleepy, unwitting sweetness as she nods to Athala, mumbling, "Thanks!" She's pleased, as she rises, to remember that she thought to stuff a change of clothes in her bag... but she also wryly wonders if she should start carrying toiletries everywhere with herself as well! Once the elf has departed, Cinnamon slips on her fresh clothes and finishes off the rest of the thoughtfully-provided Willow provisions. She realizes Athala thinks they have to fly home... but it was so nice of the lovely elder to plan ahead for them that Cinnamon isn't going to say a word about Shane's car!

Shane is used to being up early; he thanks Athala for the breakfast. He chuckles quietly to his friends, "Hey, we'll at least be back in time for me to run a few errands this morning. I have some backlog to take care of..."

Cinnamon grins shyly at Shane, relieved that he's not unhappy about being woken early. Besides, this means she gets to spend more time in his company, in the car... and with Thorn too! Consequently she sings softly (if also a bit breathlessly) to herself on the hike out to the big old sedan... and shyly asks Thorn, during the hike, if it's all right if she takes the front passenger seat, please?

Thorn is also grateful for the early day, since that means he can get back to the infirmary... well, only a little bit later than expected. He thanks Athala for her hospitality, and lets her know of the unsettling possibility that Cinnamon realized, that any backlash might travel to Athala through the connection. He promises to be careful, and to let his Lady know should something like that backlash happen. As they depart, he blinks to Cinnamon and smiles, "Of course you can!"

Cinnamon beams sunnily at Thorn, "Thanks!" Soon thereafter they're all buckled in, and Shane is carefully driving the big old car down the twisting backcountry roads between the trod hiking point, and the highway. Thorn is seated behind the driver, so he and Cinnamon can actually look at and see each other, as they all chat amiably together during the drive.

Some of the roads to get them to the main road are a little narrow, and no one thinks to bother putting in traffic lights that far out into the country. Consequently there are some four-way stops... and a few of them are a little obscured with brush. There's at least one that has only a single flashing caution light hanging in the middle of the intersection. It's as they're just starting to go through this one -- after Shane came prudently to a full stop and checked both ways -- that another vehicle comes screeching around the corner and barrels through the intersection. It swerves massively to miss the front end of Shane's car, then fishtails madly and slides off the road -- directly into one of the massive old trees on the side of the road! The crash echoes with a sound that seems eight times as loud due to it being so early.

Cinnamon gives a startled yelp as the car goes screaming by -- then gasps as it slams into the tree! "Oh, no! Oh, golly, I hope they're okay -- Shaney! Can we stop, please, and check them?" She's staring in horror at the crashed car, past Shane... it doesn't occur to her to look in the direction the car came from.

Thorn looks at where the car crashed, gaping, "Yes, let's stop, please? They may be hurt!" Shane nods, already starting to pull toward the side of the road. He could no sooner just pass by on the other side, than just choose to stop breathing, after all. But before he can get pulled over, another pursuing car comes screaming through the same intersection!

The speeding car violently T-bones Shane's car on the passenger side, shoving it almost twenty feet through the intersection, half-overturning it on the way and engaging every airbag the car has. Alarms start going off in both Shane's car and the new arrival, and the crash and screech of tearing metal is painfully loud. The little group are very lucky in several ways: Cinnamon wanted to get more time sitting next to Shane; the car is extremely highly safety-rated and has great airbags; and it's in the middle of nowhere, and still dark -- so no one will know anything unusual is going on here.

Cinnamon screams in shock as she's roughly boxed in by airbags -- and almost simultaneously shaken violently as the other car's nose literally breaks into and through about half of Shane's poor car. Seconds later the little dragon is panting and wide-eyed with adrenaline, accidentally tearing through the bags as she hastily checks to make sure her glasses are okay... whew! Okay, they're still there. Now... what... she's almost lying across... what is this... ah! She's across the front hood of the other car! There's only nice white airbags visible where her friends are -- don't want to accidentally hurt them... um, okay -- she'll crawl out of Shane's car over the other car's hood!

Cinnamon sighs ruefully as she reflects that she is going to always pack a change of clothes and toiletries now! It doesn't immediately occur to her that this is her mind trying to suppress the panic attack she'd really desperately like to have right this minute. Instead she glares at the star-shatter-fogged windscreen of the other car and mutters, "You guys caused this... so you can wait till Shaney and Thorny are okay!"

Cinnamon eventually slides to the ground, then trots hastily around the front of Shane's car, to the driver's side door. When it doesn't immediately open, she accidentally tears it off in her worry! She sighs in relief at sight of Shane: stunned, but breathing and moving very slowly. Her voice is soft, "Rest and recover, asthore! I'll be back..." She does the same checkup on Thorn, immensely relieved to see he's all right as well despite being both unconscious (maybe?) and badly shaken up -- the airbags did their jobs! Whew... okay, both men have their doors open (or gone) so they can get out... what's next. Ah! The first car -- the one that hit the tree! She trots that way, still panting slightly from worry.

For Thorn, there's no time to even register what happened. One moment he's asking that they stop -- and the next he's wondering where he is, and is covered in a sea of airbags! It isn't until Cinnamon cuts through his bleariness to ask how he's doing, that he starts to realize just what happened: they were hit by another car! Cinnamon pats his hand reassuringly, "Take your time to recover, Thorny! I'll go check folks. Shaney's resting too, and I didn't see any blood or anything on either of you!" Then she trots off towards the first car, wrecked against the tree.

One of the bad things about airbags is that, though they help you survive, they will almost invariably knock you out for a second or two -- or at least knock you a little silly. It's lucky that Shane is as resilient as he is -- he's blinking slowly at Cinnamon and shaking his head. He lies on his back, looking up at the car ceiling and night sky, and tries to put together the pieces of what the absolute fuck just happened here. Smell of motor oil and antifreeze. Car alarms going off. Headache. Car crash? Fuck! Hmm... also Shane thinks Cinnamon said something nice to him, though... what did she say...? Fucking alarms...

In the car that's half-wrapped around a very large tree, the entire front end of the older car is wishboned around the weathered, ancient tree trunk... and Cinnamon finds the driver slumped over into the passenger side of the car -- this vehicle is too old to have airbags. The entity is unconscious and bleeding freely from the forehead. They're also... very short. They'd been sitting on something that looks very much like a child's booster seat, and using what looks like odd controls on the steering wheel. Cinnamon glances in -- then blinks in dismay. The guy's legs are both all bent oddly! Are they multiply broken or something, in those baggy jeans?! As she yanks the door open with a horrific screech of tearing metal, it finally registers: his (her?) legs aren't broken -- the driver is jack-legged! There are clawed toes showing at the end of the jeans, and a scaly tail laying limply across the legs. There's also... a scary lot of blood! Cinnamon dithers for a moment, carefully not touching the unconscious entity -- then breaks and dashes back for Thorn. He'll know what to do!

Thorn is slowly testing his limbs to make sure nothing is broken, nor that there's any internal injuries. He feels like he's been seriously bruised, but not much more than that, hopefully. He's starting to think about pulling himself very carefully from the wreckage, though first he gingerly tries to make sure his neck in particular isn't injured. He blinks blearily as he spots Cinnamon dashing back to him, his thoughts muzzy and slow. Thank goodness she's all right- Shane! How's Shane, though? He looks around slowly for Shane... but then realizes Cinnamon is running back to him. Uh-ohh... is someone injured? Cinnamon pulls up next to Thorn, her hands reaching for him but her caution keeping her from grabbing at a possibly injured man, "Thorny! Thorny, p-please -- the driver, the other driver? B-blood! -a-and a tail, and -- and -- dragon claws? But tiny!" Worriedly she tries to sort of wave him towards the other car, "Come, please? Help?!" She blinks at his slow, shaky movements -- then brightens at a sudden thought, "Oh! Want me to carry you there quick?"

Thorn blinks at Cinnamon, focusing on... other driver? Blood! Blood means bad, right -- "Y-yes! Take me there, but... Shane? Is Shane okay?" He's slowly starting to get his head back on somewhat straighter.

Cinnamon carefully scoops Thorn up in her arms, then turns and patters swiftly over to the other car. She's gabbling as she goes, "Shaney: no blood nothing crinkled up so I told him to just rest he'll be fine in a minute I'm sure here we go look!" She carefully sets Thorn on his feet, then waves her hands worried at the still-unconscious entity, "See? See?! Funny legs but human looking head and -- and... uhh..." She tilts her head, "Actually... his hands do look a bit... funky? Like really odd nails?" She winces as she adds, "And way too much blood!" She glances back towards the two other cars, then back at Thorn, "Uhm... are you okay, Thorny? I should probably go check Shaney again... and that last car, too?" Only now, as she starts to turn, does the thought hit her: "Wow, we were really lucky there were no humans around this early!"

Shane is actually already starting to sit up on his own; he's shaking the shock of the wreck off with surprising speed. He pushes to his feet, blinking slowly as he looks around to figure out just what the fiddly-fuck is going on here. As he does so, Cinnamon gasps in relief, "There! See? Shaney's okay!" She flashes a quick grin at Thorn, "Just scream if you need me okay be right back after I check the other car!" With that she patters off again, pausing only to give Shane a quick, careful hug, "Thank goodness you're all right, asthore! Let's check that last car, okay? Thorny's helping the baby-dragon-man-thingie in the first car!"

Thorn blinks, clearing his vision a bit and wondering if he's seeing things... or if the crash did something to his coherence. But no: that really is a lot of blood splattered everywhere! He takes quick stock of the car to make sure there's no impending danger like leaking gas or sparks or fire -- nothing like that, thank goodness. He also checks to see how many people are in the car -- being who he is, he automatically considers anyone in the car, despite draconian features, to be people -- and why not? Uuugh... there really is an awful lot of blood, though. He checks to see which of them is bleeding the most -- which one appears to be most seriously hurt. Then Thorn blinks to clear his vision. He was seeing double for a bit there! There's only one person in the front seat, thank goodness. He breathes a sigh of relief and places his hand on the figure, then takes a breath and tries to focusing -- to envision what he can see of the person's injuries.

Shane definitely caught the nickname that time! He blinks with a slightly lopsided grin; he knows she's a little discombobulated, or she'd never have called him that! He moves after her, still a little stiff but he's working it out as he moves -- it's Quinn's genetic gift to his son. There are two people in the second car, both looking rather the worse for wear. They're also pale, to the point of making Hilde look positively sun-bronzed! Cinnamon mutters worriedly, "Oh dear oh dear oh dear..." to herself as she pulls open yet more car doors -- then says with fierce concern, "You people need to drive more modern cars -- so you have airbags! Look at how you're bleeding!" Admittedly, she knows they're both out like a light, which is probably why she said it -- so they weren't hurt by her words, and so she doesn't panic!

Shane puts a hand on Cinnamon's shoulder, speaking gently, "Acushla: gentle, gentle... baby-dragon-man-thingy? Slow down, please. Do I need to go over there and help Thorn?"

Cinnamon blinks up at Shane, then straightens from the car door she's just pulled opened. Pushing up her glasses, she thinks... then frowns, "Shaney... we can't leave them here! They're not human, I think -- either of them! I mean, look at these guys -- see the eyes on that one? They're huge! He looks almost like an owl!" She blinks, tilting her head as she muses more quietly, "Or... she? I -- I can't tell..." She looks up at Shane again, "Um, but, but, right? Am I right? They're not human?"

She frowns again as another thought hits her, "Thorny... oh! Backlash! Yeah, maybe you should go to Thorn and suggest he not try healing while he's still shaken up? Though..." She frowns back at the cars, "What do we do with all this... this mess?!" She mumbles half under her breath, "Okay, we can clear the cars out of the intersection if I change shape... still gotta figure out where's safe for these guys, though... and wow! What were they thinking, charging around late at night like that?!" She glances over towards the horizon, correcting herself automatically, "Well... really early pre-dawn, I guess?"

Shane says quietly and carefully, "Elm, acushla. We take them back to Elm. Because you're right. These two aren't human, and if you're saying the one over there is a... baby-dragon-man... then he likely isn't either. They were probably racing around at night because they aren't human and night is when it's safest to be out if you aren't human..." He takes Cinnamon by the shoulders and walks her carefully to the shoulder of the road, then says, "Stay. Here." Then he walks over to Thorn to see if he needs help.

Cinnamon blinks up at Shane -- then brightens, "Oh! Of course -- you're brilliant, Shaney! I can carry them all and you two too and you all can rest while I get us back to Elm!" She steps aside a bit to change shape -- she'll need to move the cars, as well as be available for the bodies. After that she settles comfortably into sphynx pose, waiting where Shane asked her to.

Thorn lets out a breath of relief as he examines the small entity. It's a head wound so it's unsurprisingly very bloody -- but that seems to be the worst of the fellow's injuries. The healer takes a slow breath in, placing his hand lightly on the man's head, and closes his eyes. He envisions bone re-knitting, blood vessels reconnecting, swelling going down, blood pooling draining so as not to put pressure on the brain... to Thorn's practiced eye, the "baby-dragon-man" has a pretty nasty gash to the head, likely some broken ribs, and may have a nasty case of whiplash. He's knocked himself out pretty thoroughly as well, so the likelihood of concussion is good. But most of the blood is probably because it's a head wound and he's cut himself open on his hand controls in a couple places. Still, a bad concussion can cause subdural hematomas.

As he's doing so, Shane comes over as well, peering in on the other side of the car to see what Cinnamon means by 'baby-dragon-man.' He mutters, "What the fuck...? I've never seen anything like this..." The half-beansidhe is still slightly out of it, or he'd be more careful about his language! He looks across at Thorn, adding, "You've got two more injured over there, dude."

Thorn tries... but he's still wobbly and headachy and foggy, and he can't focus enough to visualize how he wants the magic to work. This hurts him more than it maybe should, and his eyes become blurry. "Shit, shit, shit!" he mutters. Then he hears Shane's comment. He looks forlornly at the dragon-man for a moment -- the little entity is very badly beaten up -- but Thorn has to check on the others first, to properly triage. He stands and tries to run over to the other car, though he's still a bit wobbly. "What happened?" he asks Shane. "Where'd this other car come from?"

Cinnamon calls from the side of the road, where she's lying and waiting, "The second car hit us, Thorny!" She pauses, then adds thoughtfully, "Do you suppose... was it chasing the first car, maybe? That could explain why they were driving so crazy fast at night?"

Shane -- who is likely the most coherent of the three due to Cinnamon being in 'overdrive-not-to-panic' mode, and Thorn having his bell rung pretty hard -- replies, "Looks like it T-boned us from that direction. They don't look human, either. I think we're going back to Elm. Or, well, I think we should go back to Elm. I have no clue what that guy back there is, and these two... they look... hell, they make the ljosaelfar look positively tanned!" He adds after a moment, "Any spinal or cranial breaks, Thorn?"

Cinnamon ruffles her wings a bit as she calls, "Is the teeny little dragon-man okay for loading up now, Shaney?" She nods her big, triangular head several times in agreement with Shane, adding, "Elm sounds best to me too! Thorny, maybe Erin can lead me in the whole way?"

Thorn sighs, "On the one back there, I don't think so...? Give me a moment to check the car that hit us." He checks the two people in the T-boning car; he's not sure who or what they are either, but he does his best to check for any injuries. To him, it looks like the two who crashed into Shane's car are also clocked pretty hard from their foreheads smashing into the now-badly-starred windscreen. He makes a quick decision, "Shane, these guys are probably better off. One has a cracked sternum -- serious but not bad enough to cause internal bleeding -- and they both hit their foreheads pretty damn hard on the windscreen. But they should be safe to remove from here and put into your... car... well, shit. Uh... they should be stabilized if we're going to transport them. The other one looks more seriously hurt."

Cinnamon glances over at Thorn and smiles toothily, "Put 'em on my harness, Thorny! We can make flat surfaces for them out of doors, if you think that's important?"

Thorn nods with a small wince, "Yes, it's pretty important that we do that, I think." He heads back to the car that had originally crashed, fumbling for his first aid kit. [Have to do this the old-fashioned way!] he thinks. He starts to bandage up the man and make sure there are no further broken bones other than the ribs.

Shane nods, "OK. So... stabilization and then transportation... roger." He starts looking for things to use as stabilization boards -- or heck, just back splints. With Shane's directions, Cinnamon cautiously flattens three doors for stabilization boards, then lies down so they can be easily tied onto her back. If her friends need help, she also reaches carefully into the cars to withdrawn the injured, so they can be strapped down onto the modified doors. Once the injured are out of the cars, she also gently moves Shane's and the white people's cars over to the side of the road... though she asks Shane to please retrieve her backpack from his car, first. She helps however she can with getting the 'stabilization doors' into place for Shane to lash them to her harness... and she gently nudges Thorn to sit and have a drink of water and rest while Shane's doing that, please?

Once everything and everyone is safely loaded onto the dragon, Cinnamon stands up and starts padding swiftly down the road. Over her shoulder she adds, "Thorny? You never said -- can Erin lead me in, so we can just fly there?" She remembers Athala once telling Thorn that the two birds were telepathically connected, after all.

Thorn nods, "Right, sorry, still a bit fuzzy... Erin, pretty lady? Can you guide Cinnamon back to the trod? And maybe let your sister know we're coming back rapidly?" Erin lets Thorn know that can be done. Cinnamon spreads her wings and takes a slow, smooth, running start to lift into the air. Then she circles once to locate the tiny bird... and after that she follows as closely behind as she can without frightening Erin. The little bird can be hard to see at night... except that there are those bright flashes of white on the magpie's wings. She's soon soaring through the night back toward Elm, guiding the Coblyn party and their new burdens back to the trod. Cinnamon uses her infrared to keep the bird in sight as well. Erin tends to give off heat when she's being corporeal, after all! The young dragon hopes they can maybe fly right into the trod, if she's careful with her wings -- she's really nervous about how badly damaged some of the supernaturals look to be. Plus since Thorny couldn't immediately heal them, it's a good bet he's either hurt or badly shaken up as well! Cinnamon worries silently as she flies as smoothly as possible.

Erin flies almost soundlessly, taking them to the widest-open part of the trod, where there's a sort of 'town square' area which is used for meetings. Cinnamon's juuust small enough to be able to land there if she watches her wings. She sighs gustily in relief, doing her best to sort of flap-fall-gracefully-flap-and-land... then looks around anxiously as she calls out softly, "Athala? Anyone? You guys should have gotten the message already, right? We've got injured, I'm sorry!" Erin rides the dragon-breath thermal up and around. Above the dragon and her riders, another bird -- twin to Thorn's familiar -- joins Erin, and the two float easily above, before finding perches in the elm boughs above them.

From all around, members of the trod are appearing. Elm is by no means homogenous -- there are far more than elves living there -- and some of the larger members appear and help take the injured down off Cinnamon's back. The young dragon murmurs worried thanks to them, watching as she's unloaded, and staying as flat and still as she can... though her tail tip is still anxiously, unwittingly switching back and forth behind her. Shane and a couple of the folks that can handle the steel in the stabilization 'boards' start untying the 'teeny-baby-dragon-man' and the other two from the impromptu backboards. Athala, Odalric, and a couple of the other elfin members of the trod arrive as well. Athala comes fastest, having been warned by her own familiar, and worriedly calls, "What happened? I only got images, and those cloudy."

Cinnamon blinks huge eyes at Athala, and the words pour out of her in anxious tones, "Athala! We were driving home -- just driving home! -and at the intersection with the flashing yellow light Shaney was pulling forward and the tiny dragon-man-like thingie's car came screaming around the corner and just missed us and plowed into a tree and we were going to stop and help but then another car came even more screamingly around the corner and POW! Right into us!"

Odalric, brows drawn together, is leaning over the stranger and examining them, as if trying to figure out their species. Athala nods, worried, "And my sweet man? He is slightly injured as well?"

Cinnamon pauses only long enough to take a huge breath before she adds, "We're okay we all had airbags but they didn't we were really worried for them and Shaney doesn't recognize their species at all and poor Thorny's all shaken up and needs to rest before he tries healing I think but check with him to be sure that's it since I don't wanna speak for him incorrectly and Shaney had the brilliant idea to bring them all back here! We hope you can help them please? Please? Oh, and I moved the cars to the side of the road no problem there won't be more crashes there okay?" Another deep, almost gasping breath, then, "Whew! It, uh... I think that's it?" She glances around hopefully as she adds, "Is Jaeger here too?" She figures he and Athala should be able to figure out what these entities are, if anyone can!

Thorn adds to what Cinnamon has said, "And I appear to have a slight head injury. I couldn't heal them. Otherwise I would have, honest...."

Cinnamon smiles at Thorn, "You did awesome, Thorny! Don't be sorry -- we got everyone here safely, yourself included!"

Shane quietly murmurs to the worried elf, "I think she's a little... freaked out." He's quietly petting Cinnamon's flank, trying soothe the dragon.

Athala nods, "Jaeger is here. I will send someone to fetch him. He will have some books that might help us discover who or what these people are. I admit, they are beyond my ken, though the pale ones seem almost familiar."

Cinnamon glances over her shoulder at Shane, careful still not to shift around as the unloading carefully and cautiously continues. Her toothy grin is rueful, "Hey, this is my very first car crash, Shaney! I hope being a little freaked out isn't that bad all things considered? -oh, and my first time with brand new species which meant I didn't want to try any first aid or anything though I still have to learn that from Thorny sometime soon I think because I want to have some idea what to do in emergencies like that time with you and the apple remember and whoa I am totally babbling aren't I oh crabcakes I'm so sorry, peeps!" She ducks her head, covering her muzzle sheepishly with one clawhand.

Shane smiles quietly and puts a hand gently on Cinnamon's nose pad, "It's fine, acushla. You're perfectly within your rights to be freaked out. It's more in the nature of letting folks know that you may suddenly get very, very tired and very, very hungry."

Odalric nods, "Adrenaline. Even we have that, yes." He snaps his fingers and says something in German to some of the people around, who immediately scatter.

Cinnamon blinks a few times -- wow, Shaney's hand feels really nice and warm on her nose like that! No wonder he's an asthore! She blinks again as her stomach rumbles startlingly loudly -- then blushes a bit, "Oh! S-sorry, everyone!" She blinks again in startlement as people dash abruptly away, raising her head to watch -- her thoughts are too scattered to catch the German. Instead she lowers her head to whisper as quietly as she can, "Shaney! They... they don't really think I'd eat them, do they?! They didn't have to run away!" Her voice is a little hurt, though she's trying to be very, very quiet.

Shane chuckles, "They've gone to get food. They don't think they're about to be food."

Athala frowns as she checks Thorn's own head wound, "I think you may be concussed yourself." Jaeger is just about then arriving with some scrolls.

Thorn blinks. "I did?" he asks. "Huh. That'd explain a lot...." Including making somewhat inane observations.

Cinnamon sighs in relief at Shane's explanation, "Oh! Oh, good, good... that's, uh, goo- oh! Hi, Jaeger -- wow, good to see you! Can you help us all figure out what these folks are please?" She takes another deep breath for another word-blurt -- then blinks and remembers she'd been babbling nervously before. She firmly closes her jaws and ducks her head, feeling a bit sheepish. A moment later she blinks at another thought, her head swiveling around as she looks for the Forest Folk standing watch over the steel car doors, "Oh! That reminds me: um, would you all like me to carry those outside the trod, or do you already have someone who can?"

Shane murmurs, "Acushla, maybe you should change back and let someone else do the heavy lifting?"

Cinnamon blinks puzzledly at Shane, "Why, though? That's one of the few things I can do really easy -- and steel doesn't bother me!"

By now the injured people have been unstrapped from their backboards and put on wooden stretchers, leaving the improvised ones for removal. Shane nods and smiles, "True. Go ahead, l... let's get that done."

Cinnamon beams cheerfully at Shane -- completely missing the verbal slip -- and nods, "Okay!" To the Forest Folk person she adds, "Can you show me where you want them, please?" as she gathers up all three doors and tucks them under one arm. The person that helps her is one of the sort that Butler is. After thinking for a while, they let her know where to take the doors, and they have her place them so as to make a sort of wall at one edge of the trod. Any of the members of Elm will be able to easily see the car doors, and they're placed in such a way that they'll be helping prevent some erosion. Cinnamon is happy to realize the doors will be of some use! She firmly shoves them into place, and thanks the Forest Folk person for allowing her to help... then pads back with him (her?) to where the others are still gathered. Interestingly, the person seems not to think of themself as having a gender.

Once Cinnamon has returned, though, she glances around and realizes the injured are all easily being carried away... so she leans her head down to whisper to Shane, "Hey, Shaney... can you help me, um, w-with... changing here, please?" He's happy to go with Cinnamon to help her shift. Fortunately, despite still being a bit twitchy due to adrenaline, Cinnamon manages to smoothly change on the first try. Unfortunately, however, her clothing has definitely seen better days -- plus she's now really ravenous! She blushes, hastily pulling on her aran jumper over her rather tattered blouse, then shyly thanks Shane for the help... "-a-and, umm... d-do you happen to know where they might keep any food, maybe, Shaney?"

Shane smiles, "They're bringing it, remember? The ones you thought believed you were going to eat them?" He's got an arm around her, guiding her back to the plaza.

"Oh, right! Right, I..." Cinnamon blushes, mumbling, "sorry... forgot..."

Thorn is being seen to by the Elm chirurgeon -- an entity who is not a Healer, but rather someone with some medical knowledge. The chirurgeon mmms, "You, I think, will be better in the morning. These others... will need some stitching."

Thorn smiles quietly to the chirurgeon, "Thank you." Then he sighs, "We've no idea who they are, or what really happened to make them all... driving around madly like that. Do you know who they might be?"

Cinnamon watches people moving around... then nods at Thorn's comment to the chirurgeon, her voice grave, "We were incredibly lucky that there weren't any humans around -- otherwise it could have been really messy!" She frowns thoughtfully, musing, "I wonder why they were so careless?" She glances at Shane as she adds, "I'm so sorry about your car, too, Shaney!" She glares darkly in the direction that the injured were carried off, adding, "They should pay for damaging it, I think!"

Shane smiles wryly, "There's insurance. But there's also a fund to buy another if we must." He rubs his hand up and down Cinnamon's back. She beams up at Shane, then glances around hopefully again -- is anyone bringing in any food yet? She's starting to feel rather... well, almost sleepy!

Jaeger's brow is furrowed as he looks through some of the scrolls and other things he's brought, "Well, in this area there are some indigenous beings we haven't had a lot of contact with. The pale ones... they remind me a bit of some stories told by the indigenous peoples."

Athala frowns and sits next to Thorn, holding his hand, "I think they're out at night to disguise who they are. But I'm shocked they're not more known to us. The reptilian one... I have no idea about. Who are the pale ones, Jaeger?"

Food is beginning to arrive for Cinnamon; she sighs in relief, pattering over to effusively thank the new arrivals and, if necessary, help them set up places to put the food... and then she's going to quietly and neatly eat quite a bit! She's tired of that gnawing feeling in her middle! Thorn knows he shouldn't do heavy lifting or similar work with a concussion, even a mild one, so he tries to take it relatively easy. He still wants to help, though, so he peers politely at the scrolls Jaeger's brought, curious as to what the injured entities are. His brow furrows a bit before it reminds him that he has a concussion. "I don't want to get their name for themselves wrong," he says. "I wonder if Sparrow might know them, if they're indigenous?"

Cinnamon is still busily eating as she thinks, reviewing her memories... between bites she asks, "The, er, reptilian one... was he -- or she, I guess? -- an adult? Just... really small?" Then she grins at Thorn, "Maybe? Or Josie, maybe -- she's the councilor for this area, right?"

Thorn smiles sheepishly to Athala, comforted by her hand holding his -- then looks to Cinnamon, "It's... impossible to tell until we can talk with them. But I'm burning with curiosity as well." Or maybe that's a fever. No, he only has a concussion -- not anything more than that.

Jaeger nods, "Josie, perhaps. This is her area. I don't know if they have a name for themselves..." He pauses and smirks at himself, "I'm sure they do. But the name I see here is 'Moon-Eyed People,' which is a translation from Cherokee.... which is the name the Cherokee had for them. As you likely know, many of the indigenous people called themselves one thing, while other nations called them something else."

"Huh!" Cinnamon looks up with interest between bites, musing aloud, "You know... Spice went with Josie, and Spicy's got a sat-phone just like I do. Would calling her help, maybe?"

Jaeger murmurs, "That would likely be best."

Thorn nods thoughtfully... then blinks to Cinnamon, "If you think it's urgent enough... and considering they're at the very least in critical condition -- it might be best

Cinnamon adds bemusedly, "Also, surely they don't make a habit of dashing about madly in cars, if they're so unknown? Or... not usually? Er... maybe?" She has another mouthful... then swallows hastily, "Oh! You mean, er... um, n-now, Jaeger?" She adds even more puzzledly, "So what do we do... when there's someone endangering all of us with being revealed to the humans?"

Jaeger mmms, "I would like to know that as well. It sounds as if the two pale ones were pursuing the reptile one. Was there... did you search the vehicles? Was there something in one of them that would be worth stealing?"

Cinnamon slowly shakes her head, "I... I'm sorry, Jaeger, but I was so worried about the people that I didn't think to do so!" She tilts her head at Shane, "Did you grab anything from their cars as we were loading them up, Shaney?"

Thorn blinks, then grimaces, "I didn't think to search the vehicles... and by now there's likely police all over them...."

Cinnamon adds to Jaeger and Thorn, "We could always go back and check! I mean, it can't have been more than an hour yet, and... if it's a rarely used intersection, maybe no one's found the cars yet? I did push them back against the trees a bit, after all?" Then she smiles at Thorn, "Don't feel bad, Thorny! You were in shock and hurting, I think -- that's why I suggested you just sit while Shaney packed everyone up!"

Shane shakes his head, "I thought about it, but they were hurt and Thorn was hurt, so my thought was to get us all the... get us all out of there. The intersection is fairly deserted, though, so unless someone else goes by, there might not be anyone out there. We can go back and check. Or search the... people themselves. The reptilian one might have whatever it was on... them. I can't tell gender."

Thorn says, "The people are being checked, so we can take the time to get to the crash site again and check the cars. Um, just in case, I think the healers should keep the two peoples separate for the time being...."

Cinnamon brightens at that, "Oh, good point! He- it- er, th-they? ...were wearing fairly baggy clothes as is, after all!" She grins shyly as she adds, "Plus I'm really curious about them -- were they an adult or really a baby dragon-like thingie?" She adds hopefully, "Can we peek in on them before we go, at least?"

Shane mms, "The car was set up with hand controls, so I'd guess an adult." He grins at Cinnamon's shyness, "Was kinda cute, huh? Let's go check on them." Jaeger and Athala agree and invite their three visitors along.

Cinnamon beams excitedly at Shane! She's almost skipping as she heads along with the others to where the visitors are being cared for -- she's so relieved her friends are all fine! Admittedly, poor Thorny could likely use a good night's peaceful sleep... but Cinnamon has no doubt that Athala will take excellent care of him! The little dragon chatters cheerfully to Shane and the others, "Good point about probably an adult! Guess that means he's not actually a baby dragon -- but still! Really cool legs -- and if he was wearing clothing to fit, does that mean he can't change shape, I wonder?" Because she's skipping back and forth a bit, Cinnamon is the first to the doorway that's been indicated to her as the trod's infirmary. She pauses to glance around before bouncing in, to see how things look.

The infirmary at Elm is much smaller than at Coblyn -- just one large room, really. As they're coming in, Cinnamon sees one of the pale people creeping across the room. From the sizes of the people on the beds, the reptilian person is on one side of the six-bed facility and the other two are -- or had been -- on the other end. The person trying to be quiet is creeping toward the tiny dragon-person.

Cinnamon blinks, tilting her head in puzzlement as she watches... and then her eyes widen as she realizes what's going on. Just as she's bolting forward, blurting out a shocked, "No!" -- the other entity spots her, and makes a mad dash for the reptilian person! Unfortunately for him, Cinnamon is far stronger and less shaken up than he -- so even though he's faster, she grabs him around the waist and whirls him bodily away from the entity he's grabbed onto! Shane realizes a second later what's happening, and swears. He moves to restrain the -- if Jaeger is right -- Moon-Eyed Person that Cinnamon just caught trying to go after the... other person. It's the gentlest joint-lock he can use, not wanting to injure this person any more than necessary. Jaeger swears as well, then says, "Well, we now know what they were doing... but not why."

Cinnamon squeaks startledly as the Moon-Eyed person kicks and struggles in her arms -- and she releases with relief once Shane mutters that he's got the man. Backing up a few steps, she straightens her glasses -- they'd gotten knocked askew on her face -- then sighs exasperatedly at the man, "Why are you trying to kill that guy?!" She doesn't expect an answer, since she's assuming they don't speak English... instead she turns to fascinatedly study the unconscious and bandaged reptilian man, "I wonder what this one is!"

Jaeger and Athala both look upset -- the attacker could have done more damage! Thorn blinks, and knows he's still a bit fuzzy since he only just now sees what happened. He grimaces and moves to check on the reptilian person -- who, fortunately, is still asleep and seems to be fairly okay. The head-wound is scabbing over, and Thorn knows those types of wounds often look a lot worse than they are. The respiration is low but steady. The moon-eyed person is speaking sharply and angrily, kicking and struggling -- but then does something that apparently hurts and howls, stopping for a moment to pant and try to catch his breath. Shane grunts as he has to reinforce the joint-lock more than he'd like on an injured person. Cinnamon stomps over to the Moon-Eyed man and puts her hands on her hips, snapping, "Stop this nonsense at once -- you're hurting yourself!" She thinks a moment... then repeats her statement in every language she knows, in the hopes that at least one will sound familiar.

The Moon-Eyed man stops struggling, but mostly because he's run out of steam and is panting and glowering at Cinnamon, and then around the room at the others. It's dim in the room, but he doesn't seem to have any trouble seeing anyone in there. Jaeger peers at the man, "I think we definitely need to call Josie. If he's one of the Moon-Eyed People... the..." he looks down at the book he brought with him, "...Nvdo-akta aniyvwi..." he smiles wryly at his own likely mispronunciation... "He likely speaks Cherokee, or possibly Chippewa. One of the indigenous languages."

Cinnamon nods to Jaeger, not taking her eyes off the entity, "He's not reacting to any of the tongues I know." She pulls out her cell phone, "Josie it is, then! Can someone show me the way to outside the trod and back again, so I can get some coverage, please?" Wryly she adds, "We might want to separate these folks too!"

Thorn nods, "I can," he says to Cinnamon. "I'm surprised he isn't responding to any of your languages, and yet he drove -- wait, no -- he wasn't the one driving. But yes, we should separate them."

Cinnamon smiles at Thorn, "Thank you for the offer, Thorny, but shouldn't you be resting? Your head got hurt!" She glances at Jaeger and Athala, adding, "Do you have any questions in particular you want asked? Or... oh! Would you like to come along?" If Jaeger and Athala are there, Cinnamon figures it'll be okay to have Thorn there too, maybe?

Shane carefully lets the man up, but doesn't let him go. "Those languages are all European. If these folks are indigenous to here..."

Jaeger nods, "I'll go with you, Cinnamon. We'll likely only need to get slightly outside the trod for a sat-phone." It takes just a short time to get it arranged to get the moon-eyed people and the reptilian man separated, and then Jaeger escorts Cinnamon out of the trod.

Moments after that, Cinnamon is talking to Josie and Spice via the sat-phones. She's inordinately delighted, internally, to think that she (near a magical trod in the US) and her dear friends (on a supernatural sailing ship out on the Atlantic) can actually talk to each other like this -- if that's not a type of magic, she doesn't know what is! Once Josie's on the phone, Cinnamon quickly describes the incident and the two types of entities, then asks, "Do you have any idea what they are, JoJo, or if they need any special care or anything? Or... oh, gosh, why they're trying to hurt each other?!" Cinnamon makes sure Jaeger can hear too, of course.

Josie sounds shocked at first, but then says almost with awe, "It... you know how humans think we're make-believe? The Cherokee and Chippewa -- but mostly the Cherokee, the T'salagi -- think the Moon-Eyed People are make-believe. Legends. They probably do speak Cherokee, in fact. But you know who else might? Sparrow. Because there's a Cherokee rez out in Oklahoma because a stupid old dead white man made them walk out there."

Cinnamon sighs ruefully, "Well, since Sparrow's with you on the Valkyrie, heading towards Iceland, that's not going to help much right this minute, I'm afraid. Hmm... any idea what the reptilian guy is, or what language he might speak?"

Josie's voice is slow and thoughtful, "There are legends of reptilian people that live deep down. Like... hm... in the caves, you know?" Then she perks up, "Hey, I know someone you can talk to!" Cinnamon can almost hear her friend wagging excitedly, "You haven't met her yet, but she's Cherokee and you'll like her lots. I can call her and tell her to expect you to call! She's a sweetie and she'll make you laugh lots, I think. She's all playful and stuff. Otters are like that!"

Cinnamon blinks... then laughs! "An otter? Okay?" There's some back and forth while Josie gets the number and explains that the woman is another shape-shifter -- or, well, she's an animal-spirit-person. When Cinnamon calls, the voice is a little squeaky, but friendly and the woman's name is Sarai. Cinnamon greets Sarai, mentions she's Josie's friend... and then explains the issue currently on her hands. "So... do you think you might be able to translate for either of them, Sarai?"

Sarai sounds entranced, "Moon-eyed People and the reptile people are ooold enemies. I could translate if they're speaking Cherokee, Chippewa, or a couple other languages, though?"

Cinnamon blinks curiously, "Enemies? Do you have any idea why they hate each other so?" In explanation, she adds, "They almost killed us by accident when we stumbled across them, and it was a real good thing there weren't any humans around!"

Sarai chirps, "You know the old stories of, like, the Hatfields & McCoys? There's a feud because there's always been a feud? Yeah, it's kinda like that. They both live in the same kinda places. The reptile people are like... they can make doors in rocks. Like... if a miner got caught underground? -and a reptile person liked them? They could get the miner out! Isn't that cool?"

Cinnamon whistles softly, unwittingly emulating Shane, then murmurs, "That is... fantastic! Though... can they do that through wood?" She covers the phone, murmuring to Jaeger, "Okay, no stone rooms for that guy, right?"

Jaeger nods ruefully, "No stone rooms."

Sarai continues cheerfully, "Nope! Just rock. The Moon-Eyed People live underground too. They're real sensitive to sunlight -- reee-eal sensitive to it -- like day-blind sensitive. They aren't like vampires or anything. But they sunburn super-easy and the light hurts their eyes."

Cinnamon nods again, murmuring to Jaeger, "Okay, gotta be careful with them too!" Then, to Sarai, she adds, "So can you come translate? Where are you, if it's not rude to ask, please?"

Sarai says, "I live in North Carolina, but if you put them on speakerphone or, like, record them, I could do that. I can probably be... Josie said you're in Massatusetts, right? I can probably be up there pretty quick. I can get a plane."

Cinnamon brightens, "Ooh, could you, please?! That'd be so helpful!" She pauses, thinking... could she get there and back again faster than a plane? Hmm... likely, actually -- and she'd be far less expensive! Shyly she asks, "They're in a place with no cell coverage, unfortunately, but, umm... maybe... would you be okay if maybe someone flew you here? Or... could you get here before tonight, on a plane?"

Sarai grins, "Oh, yes! Definitely! I have friends that do small-plane flying! They, uhm... well, some of the stuff they do isn't precisely legal, but they'll not do any of that while I'm on the plane, and they owe me some favors, and I can be there in like... uhm... five hours?"

Cinnamon sighs in relief, "Oh, that's fantastic! Um, moment," she looks up at Jaeger, murmuring, "Where's the nearest small plane airport, do you know?" Arrangements are made, and Cinnamon hangs up... then grins, "Now the cars!"

As they're trying to decide how they might go search the cars (aside from hiking there), Cinnamon picks up her backpack and realizes that it feels... remarkably heavier. She blinks puzzledly, checking her backpack to see what's different. Once she's unpacked it, she finds an unfamiliar bundle wrapped somewhat messily in what looks to be like scraps from an old army blanket... the kind that's scratchy and uncomfortable, and OD green. It's a bit ragged around the edges and tied hastily with a dirty shoelace around whatever it's concealing. Cinnamon frowns thoughtfully as she studies the lump in her hand... then looks up at Shane, "Shaney, did you put this into my backpack, from the car?"

Shane's brow wrinkles, "Not mine -- I wouldn't wrap something up like that. If I was going to try to wrap something... protect it... I'd do it with something a little less... uhm..." he tries to think of a tactful way of saying this, "grubby."

Cinnamon giggles -- then grins interestedly, "Let's see what it is, then!" She sets the little bundle in her lap, then unwraps it. Thorn leans over to peer at the object as well, his curiosity roused. The blanket-wrapped bundle turns out to be a smallish statue. It's heavy because it's made of a pinkish-gray, highly polished stone and is of two people standing together. They're very stylized and the features are rudimentary are best, but the eyes are very wide. They are almost conjoined. It stands perhaps nine inches high. They look almost like the aliens that conspiracy theorists call 'grays.'

Cinnamon blinks thoughtfully at the statue as she holds it up for everyone to see, musing aloud, "Is this... could it be what, um, the... the Moon-eyed people were after? But... how'd it get -- wait." She looks at Shane again, "Was the little reptile guy awake at all while you were moving him, Shaney? Could he or she maybe have done it?" Thorn blinks. 'Grays' are something he didn't at all expect to see in this new life of his.

Shane frowns, "He groaned a little and shifted some, but... not a lot. I did have to lean over him and I wasn't paying as strict attention as I might have if I didn't figure he was essentially out for the count." He examines the little carving, "Is that marble?"

"Marble or quartz, I'd guess?" Thorn says, squinting at it. If it's translucent or not would be the deciding factor there.

Cinnamon nods interestedly, "It is! Marble, I mean?" Puzzledly she adds, "I didn't know there was marble here...?" She grins ruefully as she adds, "I thought most marble was white too... or at least white-ish?"

Thorn says, "There's some varieties of marble that are pink or rose. It's pretty rare, though."

Jaeger nods to Cinnamon, "There isn't, really. Not naturally. There is imported marble used for building and statuary." He looks at Thorn and says, "That's true. And I've seen black marble. But not pink. It's lovely, though."

Cinnamon studies the little statue, her voice puzzled, "So they... imported marble to make this?"

Athala says carefully, "Or they brought it with them from... wherever they're from."

Cinnamon adds thoughtfully, "Limestone... it feels like that too." She grins at her friends, "So where has marble mines, in the US?"

Shane shrugs, "I have... really no idea. I mean, limestone is all along the east coast, I think? Jaeger, you said the Moon-Eyed People were a Cherokee legend, right? And they were in the southeast? So... somewhere from there, maybe? Like, what? Georgia? Tennessee? Alabama?"

Jaeger nods, "Somewhere in that area, yes. So it could have come from there. It's beautiful, wherever it came from. But... ah, I see. If the gentleman with the reptilian features had it, but it came from the others..."

Cinnamon nods to Jaeger, "I'm wondering if he stole it from them, and that's why they were chasing him!" She pauses, then slowly adds, "Should we... give it back to them? Though... I guess the reverse is possible too? They stole it from him, and he was retrieving it?" She considers, then slowly shakes her head, "No... the statue looks like the moon-eyed people. I'm guessing it was originally theirs."

Shane nods, looking at it, "Sort of, anyway. In the same way you can say the Venus of Willendorf looks like a human woman."

Cinnamon grins at Shane, "So is that a yes or a no to my question, then?"

Shane chuckles, "I'd say it's probably theirs. We could ask one of them, of course."

Cinnamon smiles thoughtfully, considering... then hops to her feet, "Well, let's find out!" She grins, "Jaeger, are the moon-eyed people still in the same room?"

Jaeger nods, "They are. But... aren't we waiting for someone that speaks the same language they do?"

Cinnamon says, "Sure! But if we know this is what they were after, won't that mean we don't have to go search the cars?"

Athala murmurs, "This is true." She motions for them to follow her.

Cinnamon frowns thoughtfully, "Though if we wait... then it'll be night -- and if it turns out there's more they want, I can better remain unnoticed while going there at night. Okay!" She beams at Jaeger, "We can wait!"

Cinnamon blinks again -- then laughs, pattering after Athala, "Or not! Let's find out!" She holds the statuette carefully in her arms. Thorn too blinks, wondering what Athala is up to here. He follows along after her and the others. The graceful elder takes them to the room where the Elm folk put the moon-eyed people, once it was realized they needed to be separated from the other guest. One of them, the one with the broken sternum, is still out cold. The other is sitting on the floor next to that one's bed, holding their hand and speaking quietly.

Cinnamon coughs gently -- a quiet 'ahem!' When the moon-eyed person glances her way, she'll lower the blanket so the statuette can be seen... and watch carefully for the reaction. The seated moon-eyed person jumps at the ahem and scrambles to their feet. They're quite diminutive, even compared to Cinnamon. Their (already large) eyes widen and they start speaking quickly and rush toward Cinnamon, hands out -- only to stop and gasp, reaching up toward their head with a wince. Cinnamon blinks startledly at the abrupt stop, then glances at Thorn and Jaeger, "Thorny, did that one have head injuries? Jaeger, could we... could the doorway be maybe too, um, too bright for them?" Jaeger urges everyone forward and closes the door, making the room considerably dimmer. Cinnamon hesitantly, cautiously steps into the room and away from the doorway, her voice soft as she says to the little humanoid, "Is this better, maybe?"

"I think they had a head injury, yes," Thorn says guiltily. "It'd make sense that they're sensitive to light."

Shane nods, "I know the first time I had a concussion, it hurt like a son... a lot to be in bright rooms."

The small person is still holding their head, but they start slowly forward a little, looking warily at the larger people in the room. After all, everyone except Cinnamon is taller than them by nearly a foot! Cinnamon thinks for a moment... then sits down on the ground, "Better?" She finishes unwrapping the statuette and sighs softly, "I so wish we could talk to you!" Shane creeps forward and settles next to Cinnamon as well. She can take care of herself, but, well... he's a paladin. The small person creeps forward as well and sits down in front of Cinnamon, hands reaching out. Their eyes are still wide and worried. They motion toward themselves and then at the statuette. Cinnamon smiles and nods, "Of course! It's yours, isn't it?" She leans forward to hold out the statuette so that if the small man wishes, he can easily take it from her.

The little man does indeed reach out to take the statuette, actually snatching it at the last minute, as if afraid it will be taken back. He examines it from several angles and then hugs it to his chest, closing his eyes and rocking back and forth. Cinnamon glances worriedly at Shane, her voice still soft in deference to the moon-eyed man's injury, "Well, I guess that answers our question -- it really is theirs, and that's all they were after." She's silent for a moment, watching the poor humanoid... then sighs, "Should we leave him in peace for now? Or do you want to check his head again, Thorny?"

Thorn says, "I think with me recovering from my injury, I should try again, yes, please?" He sits down on the other side of Cinnamon from Shane, and tries to formulate how to describe what he wants to do. He points to his eyes, then to the Moon-eyed Person's head wound, if he can see it.

Cinnamon thinks for a moment, "Maybe with a penlight? Do we have anything like that, that you could use?"

Thorn brightens, "Oh, that'd be perfect, yes! Um...." He looks around for said penlight somewhere in the infirmary.

Cinnamon grins, "Don't think you'll find one here, but..." she pulls out her keys, then holds up the tiny little flashlight attached to it, "want to try this? I can screw it down to a really narrow beam, I think?" Shane too rummages in his stuff, and comes up with, not a penlight, but rather a very small maglight -- the sort you can focus down to a small beam.

Thorn smiles, "Perfect, actually -- thank you both!" He decides to go with Cinnamon's smaller light, and looks to the Moon-eyed Person, indicating via gesture to the person that he'd like to examine the head wound they have. Cinnamon twists around so she can turn on the flashlight but block it with her body from shining on the small man. She pauses after turning it on, checking if there's anything like a cry of pain -- but if not, she'll hastily screw down the aperture, then cover it with her hand as she twists back. The moon-eyed man winces at the light, but closes his eyes tightly, hugging the little statuette close to his chest as Thorn and Cinnamon examine the headwound.

Thorn uses the light to check the surface injury, but then closes his eyes and visualizes the man's head in his own head, trying to "see" the extent of the injury as it descends into the skull and the fragile tissue beneath. This one of the two has a mild concussion. No serious hematoma. He'll recover with rest and a little normal care. The light sensitivity doesn't have to do with the head injury. Thorn nods, sighing a little. He thinks he doesn't have to resort to his magic this time, and smiles encouragingly to the moon-eyed person... who smiles back tentatively, still shading his eyes against the light a little. He says something carefully, then mimes drinking something. Cinnamon hastily turns the light off after Thorn is done, then smiles back, "Hi, I'm Cinnamon! Let me get you a drink of water, okay?" She scrambles to her feet and goes looking for something like that, in this room.

Cinnamon returns with a little bark cup of water that Athala smilingly handed to her, and hands it to the little man. She waits until he drinks... then points at herself, "Cinnamon." Pointing at the healer, she adds, "Thorn," then does the same with Shane... then looks expectantly at the little man.

The small man sips at the water and looks around at each of the people and then motions at himself and says carefully, "Immokalee."

Cinnamon brightens at that, carefully repeating his name... then pauses, stumped. How on earth does one pantomime that they have a possible translator coming in about four or so hours? She grins wryly after a moment, then simply pantomimes Immokalee going back to bed, where he will hopefully rest and heal. Immokalee pushes to his feet, looking obviously tired. Instead of going back to bed, however, he goes back to his companion and holds the other's hand, going back to the quiet murmuring. Cinnamon blinks thoughtfully, remembering how just listening to the Basque 'rogue' elves talk helped her learn the language. She glances up at Jaeger, murmuring, "Is it okay if I stay here? I'd like to... well, to listen? See if I can pick up a few words?"

Thorn muses, "It'd probably aggravate or upset them too much to be separated." He takes a blanket and a pillow from the other bed and, moving slowly, carefully drapes the blanket around the murmuring one's shoulders, and places the pillow carefully behind his head. He smiles encouragingly to the person, before returning to the group. Immokalee blinks in surprise at Thorn, but then smiles and murmurs something, ducking his head in a sort of half-bow.

Cinnamon adds quietly to Thorn, "You might want to rest and sleep some too, Thorny... let your own head heal!"

Thorn returns the half-bow, then nods to Cinnamon, sighing, "Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea. Thanks, Cinnamon. Could someone get me when Sarai arrives?"

Cinnamon smiles warmly, "Of course we will! Go rest... feel better, okay?"

Jaeger considers, "I think... you can stay if you like, Cinnamon. But... I don't think this language has anything in common with any other language. It may be harder to learn."

Cinnamon smiles up at the ancient elf, "Technically, Euskara is a similar language, in that it too arose in an isolated area, and has no current connection to modern tongues. It can't hurt to try, after all... and I have four hours with nothing else important to do?" After a little consideration, the group does indeed depart, leaving Cinnamon to sit quietly in the calm darkness with the two moon-eyed people. She just listens and relaxes... and doesn't do anything scary or alarming that might interrupt the small man's quiet murmuring.

At the estimated time Sarai turns up, having rented a little car and driven to meet some of the Elm folk at the parking area near the closest trailhead. When she arrives, everyone sees that she's a compact little woman -- just barely five feet tall -- with the russet skin and oil-slick hair of many indigenous people. Her face is round and her dark brown eyes tip down at the corners. Her hands are quick and she's got a bright smile that beams at everyone when she's introduced -- and (perhaps as is to be expected) she's a hugger. Cinnamon is quietly delighted, upon introduction: someone her size! She grins cheerfully as she thanks the otter spirit for coming. Sarai giggles, "So... moon-eyed people? You're fairly sure, yes? Small? Pale. Biii-ig blue eyes?"

Cinnamon nodnods excitedly, "Really! Come see, please?" As she patters along behind the much taller elves, she fills in what they know, concluding with, "-and he nearly grabbed the statuette! He was hugging it and rocking almost like he was holding a child... oh, and he said his name was Immokalee!" She adds more worriedly, "The reptile-ish guy is still out, though -- Thorny was worried about serious head injury." She glances back to where Thorn and Shane follow them, adding with concern, "How're you feeling now, Thorny? Is your head better too, hopefully?"

Sarai smiles, "Oh! That means Tumbling Water! Basically, he told you his name was 'Waterfall.' It's a lovely name, isn't it?" Of course, Sarai is an otter spirit, it's possible that any name having to do with water is going to make her happy. "That statuette you're talking about, there's a big version of that, I think. It's in a museum. It was dug up a long time back as white folk measure it and it's been confusin' white people for a long-long-long time." She giggles.

Thorn smiles quietly, "I'm feeling better -- I could feel a lot better, but that'll come in time! For now I'm better, and I feel okay." He blinks at Sarai, "I can imagine, if white folks don't know the history behind the statue -- or just think that any history is little more than myth and easily ignorable."

"What's it about?" Cinnamon looks intrigued, "Is it special or something?"

Sarai smiles, "Oh, it's very special. That statue, the big one? There's nothin' else like it anywhere in the east. Not at that time. There's all sortsa theories. Aliens an' such. But it's one of theirs. The moon-eyed people. It came from one of their temples, I think. Doesn't look nothin' like any of the brown folks' totems or anything. It's all round with big round eyes. Like them, y'know? And you said this one is pink marble, right? Pink marble's rare. Special. Comes from Tennessee, mostly. If it's way up here and it came from there, they probably brought it a long time back... again, white-man long-time. So it means a lot. The little lizard guy... you think he stoled it?"

Cinnamon nods slowly, "We... think so? But... well, I'd like to hear his side of the story before I call him a thief, you know?" She pauses at the door, adding more softly, "If it's okay with you, let's leave the lights off, okay?" Then she turns and calls softly, "Immokalee?" When he glances their way, she points at the little otter woman, "Sarai!" She grins at Sarai, adding, "The awake one is Immokalee. I hope you can talk to him!"

Sarai smiles and gives a little wave to Immokalee and starts speaking to him. He blinks his wide eyes and then looks a little nervous at first, but when Sarai seems obviously friendly, he almost wilts in relief! He starts chattering to her, making motions between himself and the other moon-eyed man. Sarai is nodding and starts to translate, "Immokalee says that he and... Moytoy -- that means Rainmaker... he and Moytoy were going to... feed the statue... and when they got close they saw the Tiyohali... Lizard... running away with something clutched to his chest." Thorn blinks. ['Feed' the statue?] he thinks.

Sarai is stopping every once in a while to translate, "Immokalee says that the moon-eyed people and the Tiyohali people used to not... not interfere... not..." She looks like she's trying to come up with a good word, "Not bother each other. They weren't allies, but they weren't enemies. Just sorta... existing alongside each other? But... anyway... something happened. The moon-eyed people's caves got... ohhh. I see." She nods and sighs, "Territory. The moon-eyed people had to move, and they moved into some caves that were empty, but the Tiyohali people didn't want them there. Said it was their territory."

Cinnamon nods interestedly, "What happened then?"

Sarai smiles sadly, "War... war happened. Fighting, anyway -- this was a little skirmish in that war. Apparently this Tiyohali was stealing the idol to try to get them to leave the caves they're in around here..."

Cinnamon frowns thoughtfully, "Okay... and do they know about us? The international supernatural community? And how do they feed the statue?" If it's done with, say, Tiyohali blood, Cinnamon can certainly see why that species might object, after all!

Sarai shakes her head slowly after talking with them a bit, "No. They... they just know about the humans and staying away from them." Her eyes are wide, "They're isolated. Oh, poor people... I think..." She speaks with Immokalee again and ahhs, chuckling, "They were bringing it blackberries." Cinnamon sighs in relief at that, relaxing somewhat. She's silent for a few moments, considering... she's starting to pick the language up clearly, which is nice -- but she doesn't want to interrupt right now. What she'd really like is to figure out a way to get these people to stop fighting each other! Sarai frowns and winces, "Buuu-ut... apparently the blackberries sometimes come from the Tiyohali land."

Cinnamon nods slowly, "Okay... okay. Sarai, ask them why they moved from their original caves, please?"

Sarai asks that quietly, and winces, "Human encroachment. Wasn't safe." She motions at her own face, "They look... semi-human, but they're light-sensitive to the point of really being unable to function in the daylight."

Cinnamon nods thoughtfully, "Okay. Now ask them, please, if they ever spend time above ground? Like, if their homes were insulated enough from light, could they live above ground?" Sarai asks that softly, and Immokalee's eyes widen as he shakes his head, seeming terrified of the idea. While Sarai is doing that, Cinnamon turns to Jaeger, "Um, can I ask a quick question of you and Athala, please? The way you're hidden from the humans -- I know it goes up into the sky, but does it go into the ground too?"

Jaeger nods, "We can create wards if things go underground. We have some species that live in burrows. Some of the Celts are burrowing creatures. Badger phouka. Rabbits and such."

Cinnamon brightens at that, "Oh, awesome! So would you and your people -- the Germanic elves, I mean; not just this trod -- be willing to allow the moon-eyed people to live in your underground, if they promised to be good neighbors?" She considers, then amends her statement, "Well, all the beansidhe and gealsidhe too, I guess?"

Jaeger considers this, then says carefully, "If what they say is true, and they are simply encroaching on people who are territorial..."

Shane smiles wryly, "I can only tell that Sarai is telling the truth as far as she knows it. But Immokalee also seems very earnest. He's not seeming shifty to me."

Cinnamon nods earnestly, "Oh, it would take further negotiations, definitely! But is this even a possibility we can discuss with them?" She gives Shane a delighted smile -- that's very encouraging! Then she looks hopefully back up at Jaeger.

Jaeger nods slowly, "There aren't really any caves under the trod that I know of... but there might be some way of doing some careful excavation."

Cinnamon beams delightedly at Jaeger, "Thank you!" Then she turns back to Sarai, "Okay, ask Immokalee, please, if his people have any magicks, like glamour or such? Any way to hide their caves from the humans?" She's guessing not, or they wouldn't have been forced to move the first time... but she wants to be sure.

Sarai asks this and Immokalee shakes his head slowly and Sarai thinks how to explain, "Their only magic is in... not being seen? Usually, but his head hurts and it has not worked. You saw him when he was trying to be not-seen? They can't make the caves themselves be not-seen. Just they themselves."

Cinnamon grins, "Well, feel free to reassure him that none of us are 100% human here! -and... would he -- no, wait -- does he think his people might be interested in a place where their caves are hidden from the humans? Like, if we found a way for them to be hidden that way, would they maybe be willing to stop attacking the lizard folk?"

Thorn hms. "That might be something the trods can offer? To show them how to, uh, 'not-see' their caves?"

Cinnamon smiles at Thorn, "That's what I was talking to Jaeger about, Thorny, yes!" She turns back to Sarai, adding, "Because having their cars speeding around on the roads? Totally going to reveal themselves to the humans eventually, at that rate!"

Shane considers, "There are some old tunnel systems under Coblyn, I think... but I don't know if they'll like that."

Sarai passes on the commentary about the cars, and Immokalee looks ashamed. He speaks quietly with Sarai, who ahhs, "He says he's very young, but they can talk with their elders to find out."

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