Frostbitten Faeries in the Festering Faillegrove (Sitar)

[Tiarela Iceglitter]

OOCSitar, I assumed that there was still a slight bit of damage from the meteor Aqua threw into the center of the park after the Pondertree left, which I found in "The Ruins of FailleGrove Park in the city bones / map links. Hope thats okay. :)

Timestamp:
27th Brightening of the month of Immanis.
Winter, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum.

It wasn't long after arriving in the unusual fashion that was becoming common practice for Tiarela that she found herself wandering through the city in search of answers. Or just exploring. Perhaps letting curiosity get the better of her! Medonia was a place that the faerie had never been, in a province she couldn't remember, apart of an Empire entirely too large for her to fathom. Kel'rondar was so much smaller in comparison! No wonder Tiarela tended to get lost so quick, so often. Besides, being so little... the size of the Empire seemed to grow even more. It was kind of depressing, but then in the same sense it gave her an unquenchable thirst to explore... to understand, to see the wonders and the secrets of this land. Though she was not a Sprite, and thus was not as closely tied to Nature, the faerie could not deny the subconscious pull to the flora and fauna that encompassed everything around them. If Arcana hadn't held her interests as tightly as it did, she might have been more interested in the creation and healing of nature - in Druidism, Shamanism. Whatever it was called, those that manipulated the Astral to heal the Material. Tiarela did no such thing - she merely toyed with the Astral to trick, confuse, hide, and pick on the Material. At heart, the faerie was a Trickster. Not a Pixie, mind you - never call a Faerie a Pixie and expect to have your mind, eyes, or noses intact when she's through with you! Tiarela could just appreciate the good joke, or the use of the arcane to manipulate the material in her favor. That's all.

However, it was that subconscious pull to nature that had attracted the faerie to this part of Medonia - The Faillegrove District. In it's former glory, it had been a state of beauty... now, the lithe creature found something terribly odd. Thought she had never seen it in it's beauty, wandering into the park... the lingering presence of natural magnificence, though the site was still a bit worse for wear, as if recovering from a painful gash or wound. It was awe-inspiring, finding this amount of preserved nature inside the walls of a man-made city. Fluttering to the ground, the faerie rested for a moment and stood utterly still, attempting to take it all in. The park reminded her of home, of Kel'rondar. Or rather, the treehouse district in the distance did... despite looking slightly worn and old. Or was it falling apart and rotting? No, it couldn't. Kel'rondar never rotted. By that logic, this area of Medonia obviously could not rot either! But yes, the park was quite lovely... despite being covered in a damp, cool mist. And having a gaping hole part way in filled with dead branches. That was something Kel'rondar never really experienced to such a harsh degree, at least from what the faerie could remember - both weathers and giant holes in the ground. At least this brightening it seemed a bit warm... for winter. Still, the fae couldn't help but shiver, moving closer to a nearby remaining tree as if it were a warm woolly, friendly creature that would let her snuggle inside it's thick fur. The problem with this notion is that trees are not able to envelop, nor do they possess fur in which to snuggle.

Feth! What was she going to do in this town? All Tiarela ever found herself doing was wandering around aimlessly, city to city, town to town. Everywhere she went, the faerie had an uncanny knack for getting herself involved in something crazy. In Ethgan'tor, meeting a lycanthrope of all things while she was just trying to get a cup of tea! In Arios... meeting a madman! One of those other islands, meeting a ghost and helping him play pranks other pirate ghosts! Tiarela must have a big neon sign that said "Crazy and weird people or entities, please come talk to me. I want to help you." Which was fine with her, it was fun to explore different things and meet different people. The faerie learned so much more enriching lessons and met so many more interesting people when caught in this awkward situations than she would if she was as studious as Mother Iceglitter would have liked, Atheria rest her soul. Tiarela hadn't seen or heard of her in ages, after coming to the Aelyrian Empire. The only studies that interested that playful, child-like faerie were ones that would enhance her ability to torment ... er... give her an edge over.... er...help! Yes! Help other people!

Who was she kidding? Tiarela rarely openly sought people to help, she just felt compelled to do so after meeting them. It wasn't like she was a good Samaritan, a Sprite or even a fruity tree-hugging elf. She was Tiarela Iceglitter, and presently, she was wrapping herself up tightly in Nortia's cloak (a gift from her previous crazy-person... rather... lycanthrope encounter) to keep the moisture out. This was a big city. Too big for her to take in... and because of the constant rain, there didn't seem to be many people outside either... A shame it was that Vendon and Larien weren't around to explore with her... even if one was a brute. Sighing, the little creature peeked around the trunk of the tree at the edge of Faillegrove Park and slowly took in the scenery - the movements of life that still permeated through the cold and the unexplained, now distant destruction that hadn't touched the outside of this place. There was a solace to be found here, in the quiet, somber, emotional shadow that fell over the almost empty park from the tree house part of the Faillegrove District. Like most seasonal flora and fauna, the undamaged parts of the park, which looked to be recovering from something painful from eras past, seemed to be curling inward to avoid the harshness that the winds of winter could bring. Something was amiss in that tree house-looking part of town though, and Tiarela couldn't quite put her thumb on just what. But something wasn't right about this town, about this area, about those sentinels of nature that lay dormant in the man-hewn land in the distance. And considering faeries are by nature curious... Tiarela couldn't help but feel the drive to figure it out. Turning her gaze back to the tree she currently had her hands pressed against for balance, she thought aloud, speaking to the tree as if it were alive and could actually answer her back. "I bet you're warm and dry, all curled up in there. Why do your brothers in the distance look so different?" And then her gaze left it as quickly as it had been turned onto the tree, watching in silence... and hoping to find someone wandering through the park who might be able to provide a bit of insight into this odd phenomenon. Trees this close together did not die and live within their own right. That much, the faeie knew from Kel'rondar. If a tree was to die prematurely, it's brethren for quite a stretch around it also died. At least, that is how it was in the climate near her home. Perhaps the Empire was different. Perhaps I have no idea what I'm talking about. The inhabitants of this empire, by large, didn't seem to care for nature anyway. Maybe those trees got in the way and thus were destroyed but not cleared out. Careless Medonians...

[Sitar]

OOC: Yes that is find to assume the damages, however the climate in Medonia is a sub-tropic and so they don't get snow or ice in the winter, just lots and lots of rain.

It was the druid N'ialc that would answer the questions that Tiarella Iceglitter held. He came out from around the old tree, wrapped in a grey cloak, the fur on it catching and holding little globes of water which shined and sparkeled in the light. His hair was white and grey in his old age, the lines on his face gave this away as well. His eyes were sorrowfull and were pained.

"Serale," the human greeted, "My name is Nial'c. I couldnt help but over hear your question. I hope you don't mind my answering. The trees and in the treehouse district were created and shaped by the Pondertree. With his absence the trees are now starting to decay with out his power. The other trees, here in the park, were naturaly created trees and so they do not depend on the Pondertree."

[Tiarela Iceglitter]

OOCBah I should've known that... i dunno what slipped my mind on that one haha. I'll change that ;p

The serendipity of another person appearing from such close proximity without Tiarela noticing was both frightening and intriguing. The faerie looked up at N'ialc, puzzled and slightly afraid that he was going to squish her, rob her, maim her... and then realized just as quickly that none of these things were going to happen, and the kind older looking man was simply explaining what had happened. He looked as devastated as this "treehouse district" he referred to in the distance. Absently, the fae had been pressing herself against the treebark as if it would protect her from N'ialc, and finally as she composed herself to speak, released it and took off into the air so she could get a better look at the haggard old Medonian. Steel blue wings glittering brightly in the damp atmosphere, Tiarela twitched here and there, craning her neck to look back at the treehouse district and ponder the Pondertree. She'd heard that name before, perhaps in the Herald. Perhaps in stories. Perhaps nowhere at all. "He? Pondertree? Illeacr... Err, A Treant?" Tiarela still had issues when it came to the names of certain things in charismean, and considering "treant" was not a common word nor designation, it had taken her a minute to remember the charismean meaning of Illeacr.

But he'd left. This Pondertree was gone, and the crumbling natural housing district in the city was leaving with him. How horrid! Did people still try to live in that area of town? Was it abandoned, was it condemned? It's supposed creator must've been a powerful being, at least in the ways of druidism, or something... With a little imagination the faerie was able to assume what the scene would've looked like in it's former glory. To prevent being lost in thought on the subject of how a being made of bark and arcana could control the lifespan of other things made of bark but not so much arcana that they were able to move and do things like ... create structures out of trees, Tiarela turned her attention back to the druid and curtsied in mid-air. I'm sorry, I should've introduced myself. Tiarela Iceglitter, sir." But it didn't last long. Her eyes darted back towards the treehouse district in the distance, and a grimace slowly came over her face. Nature wasn't supposed to look like that, enchanted by a treant or not. "Do people still try to live there? I mean, if it's falling apart and all. Why'd Pondertree just up and leave? I would imagine he'd realize that leaving would cause this. I don't know much about the Ille-- Treants in the least, but from what I've heard and read, they seem like fairly intelligent beings..."

It crossed her mind that the Medonians might have missed him, or that maybe he was mean and they drove him out. But weren't treants generally good wholesome beings, or was she just assuming that was the case, since most everything to her was good and wholesome until it proved itself otherwise? Did Treants even feel pain, did he get hurt by the people and run away? Well, speculation was going to get her nowhere. Hopefully Nial'c would explain a bit more... he sure had a funny name. What kind of human is called Nial'c?! Most humans Tiarela knew were named things like James and Joseph, Rebecca, and Paul. Bland names. Nial'c was not a bland name, and it didn't seem to belong here - just like a little faerie that didn't call anywhere home currently didn't really belong here... yet there they were. A Human with a funny name and an abnormally tall faerie, colored like a sheet of melting ice, shy her tope colored skin in the middle of a park that was still recovering from Atheria only knew... Talking about a treant that had created an entire portion of this foreign town. So much for things being normal for once!

[Sitar]

"Nice to meet you Tiarella, and yes the pondertree is a treant, or as you keep refering an Illeacr. Call it what you will, be still left Medonia. And yes, people still live there in those houses that are still strong enough to bare there weight. You see, when the pondertree awoke, he spread fauna all over a vast portion of the city, destroying man made roads and even buildings. He wasnt doing it to be malicious, just to try to restore the forest that was here long before the first Medonia build his fist hovel of a house here. Through some persuation and a lot of patients we finaly convinced the Pondertree to move the flora he had created into one area and shape them to be houses and places to live for the poor of the city. Homes that would never need repairing, and if you were lucky had some flowers built right into it." The human druid seemed to smile reminicing on it. "I am part of a druid brotherhood, hence the awkward name. A few of us were sent here to help protect the pondertree. Well, I was here before he awoke, but at anyrate, when he left the other two of my fraternal brothers that were with me here left as well, heading in there opposite directions. At anyrate, the Pondertree as we call him in comon, left becuase he didn't feel appreciated. People used his powers everyday, depended on his protection and shelter and very few people ever thanked him. While many people don't admit it or even realize it yet, they miss the convenience of the pondertree. As to if he knew if his leaving would do this, well I don't know. I am not so sure that his power feeds them, as it is that it protects them from the decay of this city. Eventually everything here in the city comes to rot. Some of us rot on the inside, while others rot on the outside."

[Tiarela Iceglitter]

Neglect. The prime cause of why any living creature leaves it's home and it's comfort - the caretakers, the people around it, are using and abusing it. Just like the mother of three that one brightening has enough and leaves her children in the care of her husband, never to be seen from again... The Pondertree had left Medonia. He was tired of taking care of them, and at this notion Tiarela felt sympathy for the treant, though she'd never known him... and at the same time, disgust for Medonians. He sheltered them, gave their poor and needy homes according to Nial'c, and from what he was saying they also repaid him by taking what the treant was doing for granted! How awful! But now the poor were living in a place that was slowly falling apart from the outside in. Surely they missed him, or would, or did and didn't know it yet... Tiarela attempted to imagine what it would feel like to be a Medonian and have the Pondertree leave. Then she tried to imagine what it would be like to meet a treant. Tiarela had only heard stories of them; no treants had ever crossed her path in life. While she could slightly understand why the Treant would leave, Tiarela also wondered if it missed Medonia and where it was now. Since Treants are usually good creatures, or at least the ones that were in stories were, the faerie figured Pondertree either missed Medonia or did not want to displace so many people living in the treehouse district he had created. How would he feel to know that it was falling apart because of rot, that those that could afford little were being left with nothing? A visible frown crossed her face. This wouldn't do. Why hadn't Nial'c, this druid, gone and tried to coax him back?

"Do you think he'd care to know what was happening in his absence? I'm sure those people that live in what he created are suffering? From what you've said about him, he seems like a good natured Treant." She eyed Nial'c carefully. Dare she ask why he hadn't tried to stop the treant, why he wasn't actively seeking his return? Obviously he was an important part of this town, whether or not the people realized it. Perhaps he had attempted to convince the people and they would not listen. To the faerie, it seemed the best course of action would be to try to get Pondertree back to Medonia, and then convince the people - by showing them how much they needed him. Hopefully, seeing his restoration abilities and enjoying his presence again, the people would realize how much they needed him for their own happiness and prosperity. Maybe she could convince the.. Thane... of this town, whoever he was, to create a holiday in honor of the Pondertree. Or to hold a sort of Solstice at the beginning of each season, with the Pondertree as the center of the festivities! That was something to worry about later though... The pressing matter was whether or not the druid wanted to get the Pondertree back. It must be hard, after all, having a duty in the city and then that creature in your charge walks out the door on the city and your life, leaving you with little purpose in the present state of things.

Another lingering thought - what kind of powers did this Treant have that people could use? The housing, was that all? So many questions... "I suppose sometimes folks don't realize how privileged they are by others around them until those other beings step out of their lives. But from what I can manage to see, I'd think the poor of Medonia need him. Where will they live if their houses rot? Being homeless can't be fun. I don't mind living in the forests or wandering here and there, but that isn't for everyone. Do you think he'd come back if he knew the plight his absence has brought on them?" Now, Tiarela wasn't exactly volunteering her persuasive abilities, though she wasn't opposed to helping. It really seemed like something should be done to change the state of things for those poor people. However much fun she had tricking people and watching them experience temporary shock or fright, she didn't enjoy watching people suffer. Though no one in Medonia had presently demonstrated their suffering to her, Tiarela was sure that they were either in a state of peril or would soon be. Where could you go if the cheapest thing you could afford was falling apart? There was probably nowhere else for them to turn, and having a high homeless rate was an impending disaster for a city's safety and economy, wasn't it? The Thane would make her a hero. Thank her in front of the entire city. She'd be famous, the faerie that brought the Pondertree back! The savior of the wretched and poor! It's about time someone realized that faeries can be powerful creatures. Now, if only she were a Master Mystic to boot...

But Tiarela was getting ahead of herself. Nial'c would have to indicate his own desire to bring the Pondertree back first. Anything, a hint, a twinge of sadness or longing. The faerie watched his face intently, listened hard for the sound of his response. Not that she was very intuitive, but if she tried - hopefully she'd catch on to something from him that indicated there was hope left for the poor in this city, and that the Pondertree was in fact an integral part of their happiness in general... And that there was a glimmer of chance she could become their messiah... in female faerie form.

[Sitar]

"We tried once," Nial'c said, "One of my fraternal Brothers, Nu'Dua, and several of the other people in the city and I went into the forest with the intent of trying to bring the Pondertree back. He needed his time in the forest, with the other Treants. I seperated from the group and approached the Pondertree seperately, and honestly, I told him to go. I told him to leave and live in the enchanted glade, where he would be safe. I have not talked to him sence. I do not know if he is still in the enchanted glade or continued past it. But, it is time for the Pondertree to return. We will be needing him, I fear."

[Tiarela Iceglitter]

The description of the druids and their attempt to keep the Pondertree in Medonia seemed lackluster at best. Tiarela grimaced at the thought of the other faternal brothers trying to convince him to stay and Nial'c, the resident Medonian, telling him it was alright to leave. The faerie figured the Pondertree must respect or at least listen to Nial'c more than the other druids, because he was here before and he knew the people of Medonia better than the Treant would have been able to gather in his stay within the city. However, there were hints inside Nial'c's reply - the words he chose, that indicated that while this was fine back when it actually took place... in the present, it needed to be reprimanded. And then he said it. "We will be needing him, I fear." Exactly. Besides, Tiarela was by no means rich and was also currently unemployed in this new city. If she ever hoped to actually stay here, she'd need the Pondertree to return... because the Treehouse district seemed like a perfect place for her - a faerie, used to living in such natural habitats - to take up residence. With that logic and the little twinge that Tiarela could possibly be thanked by the people because of her actions to make their lives better, the faerie set her mind on it - if she could get Nial'c to accompany her, she would set off on their own little mission to convince the Pondertree that he needed to come back. That Medonia needed him... and she would also work with the people, convince them that they should not be so selfish with him. "Well, maybe we should approach him... just the two of us! Faeries are usually pretty close to nature, maybe he'd recognize that and it would give me some credit so that he'd listen to what I had to say. And... and you're a druid! He listened to you when you told him he could leave. Maybe he'd listen to you if you asked him to come back." Tiarela was excited, but trying to hold it in. This could be fun and good for everyone involved! It could have a big, lasting impact! That's right - everyone would know just how great faeries could be after they got the Pondertree back. And people would respect the druids, and the Pondertree. Maybe the city would have a lot more fun with nature, and play with the Pondertree, and tell him they appreciated what he did for them so he knew. It couldn't be that hard to do.

"I mean uh," Tiarela back peddled, realizing she was once more getting ahead of herself, though verbally this time, "If.... If you'd want me to try and help... I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself. I just like to help! I'm not a druid, but... Well, you know faeries and their love of nature! It's painful to see it decaying like that, and to know people are already or will soon be displaced and homeless." Well, that wasn't all true. Tiarela wasn't a huge fan of nature like some of the other fae-folk could be, but she wasn't a bad faerie either! She just didn't care as much as others unless it was super important... and this was insanely important! The faerie looked down a bit, avoiding Nial'c's eyes in a bit of embarrassment since she'd assumed that he'd want to be the one that went, and even moreso that he'd want to take some goofy faerie he had just met along with him. Oh! She wanted to go so bad, the faerie was bristling with excitement... going on great adventures to help people was always lots of fun and quite rewarding too.

It didn't take long for her mind to start wandering again. What was the enchanted glade? Was it full of arcana, buzzing with exotic and wild creatures with a glorious treant sitting in the middle of it? Oooh, meeting a treant! She wondered what he would look like - a giant, old and wise looking tree with bark arranged in such a way that it formed a face? Did it even have a face? No no, it had to. How would it see? Maybe Treants were tied closely to arcana like faeries, and thus could sense it! That made sense. It had occured to Tiarela while she was musing over all this that she really knew nothing about Treants. Hopefully, if Nial'c would take her along, she would learn a lot more... and they would be able to get Pondertree back! He probably didn't want a faerie's company though, especially someone as active as Tiarela. What if her excitment scared the tree or made him go away? Or what if he didn't want to deal with anyone but the druid? Tiarela was sure that her feeble attempts at mysticism would not phase the Treant - from what little she knew, they were pretty powerful and magical creatures... The only thing she would be able to do would be to talk to him and try to help him understand. It wasn't much to offer, but being a faerie could sometimes help with persuasion... right?

[Sitar]

"I enjoy your enthusiasm," It wasnt completely true. Nial'c did enjoy Tiarella, but it was not for her enthusiasm, it was for her will to help people. A simialer person to himself, but much much smaller. "The issue is not in convincing him, I fear, it is in finding him. I do not know which part of the enchanted glade, or for that matter, which enchanted glade he is in. With out him wanting you to know he is there, you will not find him. And if he has drifted to sleep again, it may be thousands of years before he awakens again, in which if we did find him, which it would be very unlikely if he is sleeping, it would be useless."

[Tiarela Iceglitter]

If the faerie didn't know any better, she would have thought that Nial'c was a talented mystic too. Though in reality, he was probably just very good at reading people, having had a lot of experience with a lot of different folks. That's what Druids did after all, right? They helped people through the use of life, manipulating plants to stimulate a farmer's crop, soothing the savage beast to save an unfortunate wanderer's life. In this case, working with a treant to keep a town in a semblance of peace and prosperity. Or something. Tiarela still wasn't quite sure just what Pondertree brought to the table, so to speak, but the way Nial'c spoke of him, he was an integral part of Medonia's well-being and thus the city relied on him. He was necessary. He needed to come back, and they would find him! However, the idea of a Treant sleeping worried Tiarela. How do you find something that looks like a tree that sleeps for thousands of eras? Maybe Tiarela's innate faerie senses could pick up the change when they were near him. Maybe, since he tried to restore the natural state of things when he awoke in Medonia, he had enhanced the flora and fauna around him before going to sleep. How in the depths of Aeternia could you wake a sleeping giant though?

"Well," the faerie started, watching Nial'c... who seemed willing to accept her help, if she could figure out what to do. "We'll never know unless we try, right? I don't know much about enchanted glades, Mr. Nial'c, so I wouldn't know what to expect. And I don't know much about Druids either, but I'd sure like to learn about both. I think we should try anyway, if it is as important to Medonia as you've implied." If there was one thing life had taught her, it was that just because you didn't think you could do much, didn't mean you should do nothing at all. What harm could come from trying? Perhaps Druids could use the forest to tell them things. Tiarela didn't know. Perhaps she could even steal thoughts and memories out of the minds of little creatures! If they saw a treant walking by, if they were disturbed by his return, maybe that memory was still there, and Tiarela would be able to see where he was. It was worth a shot. A lowly apprentice Mystic and a Master Druid were certainly a decent combination for some detective work. At the very least, they might be able to understand Pondertree a bit more. Or nature a bit more. Or life itself...

She was sure Medonians that were effected by his absence would support their search - though Tiarela wasn't sure asking for their help was the right action. In his ... roots... the faerie wouldn't want to see the people that neglected him. Since Nial'c was his friend, and he listened to him previously... and Tiarela was a new person and a child-like faerie to boot... innocence tended to have a way to sway the emotions of others, much to the faerie's advantage. Not that she was child-like in intelligence - she just acted that way because it came natural to faeries. Especially to Tiarela... considering she was ripped from her natural home in her childhood. She bit her bottom lip and hoped Nial'c would oblige her request to give this a shot anyway. The faerie was unsure where they would go, how they would get there, and what they would need to prepare. She didn't know how many brightenings it would, or could take. She didn't know where the Enchanted Glades were, or how to get to them. It was an irritating situation, really - being stuck in between wanting to help and not knowing where to start to help. The only way to render aid was to have Nial'c facilitate it for her. They would probably need to get some supplies, and if Nial'c knew any other preparations to make, they should do them too. Tiarela was not one for waiting - she was one for doing! ... Would they have to talk to the Thane? Bring another well-learned arcane wielder with them? A shaman, a guide, protection? The faerie didn't know. Maybe they'd have to look for a few more companions amongst the populace... what would be best? Nial'c would know. He was a Druid and a Medonian, and the smartest person she had met to date in this foreign city and it's foreign province. So, posing the question to him first before offering her own myriad of suggestions on how to begin, the faerie pushed for the journey, if he complied of course, with a simple question. "If we're to try, Mr. Nial'c, what would we need to start?"

[Sitar]

"Survival suplies. It is winter, so food will be scarse, I imagin sence your so small that you don't need so much to eat or drink, so I do not mind carrying your supplies. I already have everything we will need, more or less. More companions would be nice, but not neccisary. If you know of anyone that maybe interested in accompanying us, you are welcome to invite them. We must go soon though, this journey will be a long one. If you can bring them here by this time tomarow we will be able to get moving. Whome ever you bring needs to have supplies to survive in the wilderness."

[Tiarela Iceglitter]

ooc: nevermind. FINE! I guess he doesn't want to come. Sorry for the delay, Sitar

Success! Without working any amount of arcana, without dipping into her small abilities to tamper with the mind of other beings on Telath, the faerie had gotten herself involved in tagging along with an old druid to find a tree she did not know, by venturing into a foreign glade with very little thought as to how they could both actually convince a creature, thousands of ordinations their senior... to return to a place where it felt neglected previously. That didn't sound utterly insane in the least! Hopefully they were both quite quick witted and persuasive... or whatever you needed to be to convince a Treant to hear your pleas and do what was best for the people it used to be friendly with. What was more serendipitous was that Nial'c claimed to have all the supplies they would need already! Being a small little thing had it's advantages. On the thought of more companions well... Tiarela saw no one around at the present, though her mind wandered back to Miss Larien Gil'dae and that brute of a minotaur, Vendon Greyhoof. They would have both proved useful ... though the faerie had no idea how to reach them. It wasn't like they were at her beck and call, unfortunately. In due time... No! No not in due time, what was she thinking? No one would serve Tiarela Iceglitter's every whim... though it would be nice, come to think of it. Perhaps having someone to guide things of her's around and provide physical protection from the elements, like a pocket to sit in while it rained and the ability to haul other things she encountered on her journeys along with her. Like pets and larger gifts; those sorts of things the faerie couldn't handle herself.

But getting back to business, the faerie's head swiveled around trying to see if serendipity would grant her another few of it's moments, and have those two prior companions of her's to show up. Nothing seemed to present itself though, and so she sighed. Slowly, Tiarela's little beady eyes wandered back to the Druid. "I know two I'd love to have join us, though I can't think of where to find them. I met them both when I first found my way into this town... though I can't fathom where they would be at this point. They'd be real useful though! Miss Gil'dae is ever so smart and fun to be around, and Vendon Greyhoof could sure scare off anything that might want to gnaw on our legs while we slept. He's a minotaur! Can you believe that, I'd never met one before I came here!.." There she went again. Tiarela had this awful habit of blabbing on and on about things to people when she got excited, and well... this was exciting. She was going to follow a druid into the history books and become the hero that Medonia needed, though not necessarily the one it deserved. The faerie could squeal in anticipation, if it weren't for her senses kicking in to tell her this would probably deter Nial'c's desire to bring her along. "Too bad hollering about the city for him wouldn't be enough to find either of them, eh?" The faerie concluded, although quiet a deal more reserved than her previous statement.

Really though, they'd need some sort of physical protection. Nial'c looked like he wouldn't last long in a fist fight and Tiarela sure couldn't do much more that scream and fly in the other direction in a physical situation. It wasn't like her mind could enter clara that fast either, so having someone that was capable of intimidation would definitely be a plus. Sigh. Where is that Minotaur when you need him? Yuck. Tiarela never in her life imagined she'd be saying that... where was a pompous, crazy creature out of the storybooks that could crush her between two massive fingers? Hopefully, if she ever found him again, he'd be on better terms with her than he was when they'd first met... and he'd nearly destroyed the bones that comprised her legs. On second thought, he probably wouldn't be the best choice... Well, bullocks.

"Actually, that's probably not a good idea. Maybe we can find someone else on our way out of town, I don't know. Aren't there any faeries in this town that would care about this? Surely there are. My kin and our close-knit relatives, like the Sprites-" shudder, the thought of befriending a Sprite-"Have a tendency to care all too much about nature. I'm not familiar with this town, though and I haven't seen many of us winged folk around here! Hmmm..." A Sprite might be perfect, actually. At least, as far as Tiarela knew they were very in tune with nature and ways to heal it. Maybe a Sprite would sway the Pondertree's thoughts, maybe, just maybe, it'd give them some leverage to get him back! But where would you find someone like that?

[Joyau delaLune]

Joyau had found she was concerned for the welfare of the area through which she had traveled. The treehomes were falling apart and as Tom told her not many cared that the Treant, the Pondertree, had left. To a sprite that was blasphemy. The trees and their nurturing presence was something Telath could not do without.

Joyau had spent the first 130 years of her life in her native forest village. The village had been home to sprites and faes, and Joyau had known most of her life what she wanted to do. She wanted to heal. In fact, she carried her medic bag everywhere she went. But her little fae sized medic bag and her herbs could not heal the decay she saw here.

She wondered why the Pondertree had left all of a sudden. Nobody she knew was able to give her an answer. Today as she flew back from her sword class, she passed by the entrance to the The Faillegrove District, and on a whim flew in. She was so busy looking at the devastation, she was not watching where she was going. Before she knew it she had run into an old man in a gray cloak.

From the ground where Joyau had landed, she looked up at the old man with chagrin. "I'm so sorry. I do this all the time, unfortunately. I am terribly embarrassed."

Just then she saw by his head a fae who looked to be his companion. Now she was horribly ashamed of having taken a fall in front of one of her own. Her little medic bag was laying about an arm's length from her. She hung her head. Here she was, a healer who had attended the finest school in Aelyria, treated soldiers on the streets after battle, stopped a plague, and here she was, the same clumsy little sprite sitting on the ground. She felt humiliated. She got up and checking herself all over, realized she had not done major damage to herself. So she picked up her medic kit, put it over her shoulder again and tried to apologize to the human man.

"I hope you are not hurt. I'm actually a better healer than I am a flyer." She looked with curiousity at the fae, and then said to both, "my name is Joyau and I am visiting the city. I was just thinking how awful it is that the beautiful treehouse district is decayed. That's why I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I am afraid that I meet too many people after crashing into them."

ooc: sorry, took some liberties here.

[Sitar]

"As a matter of fact, we were just speaking of that," N'ialc said with a smug smile on his face, "Would you like to help us do something about it? My name is N'ialc, I am a Master druid, I tend to this city and I have charged myself responsable to keep watch over Medonia as long as The Pondertree was here, now he isnt and now I must find him. With your help, I think we can." N'ialc looked to Tiarella with a skepticle look, "You mentioned a sprite, you sure you didn't magik this one into existance?" He chuckled softly to the group to show that he was just joking.

"So, will you join us, eh... what is your name again?" N'ialc said to the sprite.