A Journey Through Mossflower... and the Snow

[Oakrose & Crew]

*Darron was sitting on a rock by the two crossroads, waiting for his companions. Okay, there's Terragon... Hellgates. Oakrose is walking with that Lonas-guy. Excellent. Might have to try somethin' later...*
Hoi! Miz Terragon!

[Terragon Scrufftail]

*Terragon looks up and, quickening her pace, hurries over. She remains standing a little awkwardly. The ground is too cold and snow-laden despite the sunlight. She nods at Lonas and Oakrose,* Ah well. Means we get a rest while we wait for them. *A quick, hesitant smile as she looks back at Darron, immediately wishing she hadn't mentioned the other two.*

[Oakrose & Crew]

OOC: Funny sig. What song are you talkin about, Terri?
BIC:
*Darron nods, then looks around nervously, feeling bored. I'd rather not have a rest at all if this is the only way to get one.*
So how far away is this trading post?

*Oakrose notices Darron staring with jealously and shock at her and Lonas. Biting her lip, she begins to walk faster.*
Uh... let's catch up, m'kay?

[Tinsy Stormsight]

OOC: I have a suspicious feeling it refers to Soulja Boy. I sympathize, having been forced to listen to that yesterday. It's a fun beat the first time, but after that..

BIC:

"Aye."
Lonas matches Oakrose's speed, watching Darron carefully. Some primeval instinct, the kind he likes to kill, has risen up in him - the golden squirrel's hackles are visibly rising. A nagging thought has entered his mind at the sight of the dark squirrel, an equally black idea. There is a chance the younger, more aggressive squirrel will attempt to get between himself and Oakrose by force.
Perhaps bringing Rippla would've been a good idea after all. Somehow, Lonas doubted the small jeweled dagger in his belt would be much use.
And there, of course, is the general idea that Lonas might actually fight back. He certainly didn't care for Darron a bit, since the darker squirrel had first shown up with a rude comment and a clear hint: Mine. Stay away.
Not that Lonas felt any sense of ownership whatsoever for any lady friends of his. Ownership was an old-fangled northern idea, long abandoned by civilized society. But still, in a fight for who got what...

[Oakrose & Crew]

OOC: I don't like that song either. Funny post, Tinsy. Like it.
BIC:
*Oakrose seemed to feel the tension rising. Oh no, no no no no NO! Darron looks pissed that I'm walking with Lonas. Well, he'd better get over it. Fast. Her ears perked up, and she began to walk faster and pale subconsiously.*
Hi Terri... Darron.
*Her voice was cold, and grew colder when she said her ex's name.*

*Darron watched. What did I do now?!?*

[Terragon Scrufftail]

OOC: Song on a friend's answer phone. No idea which one.

BIC: *As Oakrose greets her and then Darron, Terragon raises her eyebrows and her mouth opens as though about to speak, but no sound comes out, other than a strangled,* I think - *She shuts her mouth and sets it into a forced smile. Gesturing with a slight incline of her head and a paw, Terragon indicates the path ahead. Shall we? Regardless of what the others think, the squirrel begins to move away, avoiding Oakrose and Darron's eyes and looking quickly away from Lonas.* We better get going while the weather's still nice, *She calls back, finding her voice speaking upon the most false, cheery topic it could choose; the weather.*

[Oakrose & Crew]

OOC: Acivating Operation_kill_squirrel! I'm so excited.. ehhem, for Oakrose, that is. I'd hate to be Darron. I feel so bad, yet I love it!!!!!!!!!
BIC:
*Darron nods, keeping his eyes on Lonas. Smiling, he tries to warm up to Oakrose. The steely dark-brown eyes turn lighter as he takes her paw and walks alongside her.*
Listen, Rose, I'm really sorry about the past coupla days, I just haven't been myself. What do you say we-
*Oakrose jerks her paw from inside his. Her eyes grew cold and her tone was angry as she berated him.*
HOW ABOUT you let me live my life the way I want to, and STOP it with this love thing! We were young, and I was foolish. I thought that since we had our little love, it'd go one forever. But that's obviously not so, is it? You left my drowning in a puddle of tears, and your BEST FRIEND came to my rescue! That must hurt, huh Darron?!?
*She takes a deep breath and looks at her suitor with charmingly cunning eyes, and actually smiles at him.*
Do you honestly want to know what I think of you now?

[Terragon Scrufftail]

*Terragon inwardly cringes. Her teeth grind together and she breathes steadily, the effort of not interrupting - even though Oakrose's comments were directed at Darron - a great strain. But Terragon can't help but look back at Lonas. She attempts to convince herself this is out of concern, and, for a part, it is. But another part of the squirrel's mind is intriqued. How is the golden-furred merchant taking this sudden outburst from Oakrose? And Darron's best friend? Don't eavesdrop! It's too hard not to. Oakrose had mentioned somebeast... Name began with "V." He was Darron's friend? Ah.*

[Tinsy Stormsight]

Lonas doesn't cringe, although the urge to is definitely there. He glances at Terragon, raises both eyebrows quickly as he notes the other is looking at him, and goes back to watching the confrontation. He shifts from paw to paw uncomfortably, considers stepping in for a second, and changes his mind.
After all, it was unlikely he'd do anything about it in the long run. They'd just return to bickering when nobody was watching.

[Oakrose & Crew]

OOC: okay, Phase 2: jEaLoUsLy.
BIC:
*Darron's eyes grow wide with shock, and he smiles weakly.*
Er, um, sure, but why don't we take this-
*Oakrose laughs.*
Okay. Why should we take this somewhere else? You're always trying to embarass me in public, so why not return the favor?
Now, let's not stretch it, I'm not trying to em-
Well it's EMBARASSING! Now, for my opinion that you wanted.
*This'll be fun... Oakrose turns on her heel and smiles broadly at Lonas. After taking a deep breath, she walks over, puts her paws on his shoulders, and leans up and pecks his cheek. She looks back at Darron, who is standing mouth agape and eyes wider than before. Her eyes meet Lonas' again, and this time she kisses him full on the mouth. Oh God, oh God, this is... wonderful! Darron must be feeling horrible right now, and this is the best I've ever felt! Now only if Lonas doesn't hate me for this.*

[Tinsy Stormsight]

Lonas immediately goes through the usual emotions - suprise, shock, and the urge to backpedal. He gives into this last one soon enough and breaks off, stepping back a pace or two.
What in?...
Clearly, there was something else going on here, more than just rivalry or annoyance. He wouldn't be suprised if it had something to do with family politics.
The golden squirrel bristled slightly, although as usual doesn't change his expression from a slightly thoughtful frown. There was really no call to involve him in this at all..he could stand alot of things, but not being made a pawn.
"Now look.." Lonas holds his paws up in front of him, the frown deepening. He is, of course, ignored by the parties involved.
Great. What now?

[Oakrose & Crew]

OOC: Sweet. I like it, it's surprise. Exactly what Oakrose didn't want to happen... awesome. I seem to take pleasure in my character's distress. Nicely written, too.

BIC:
*Oakrose's eyes pop open in surprise. They change, both in color slightly and in the emotions portrayed. They started off blissful and their normal spunky green. As Lonas backed up, they grew dark and hurt. Then, finally, they got a misty cover as her eyes filled with tears. She squeezed them shut very quickly, however, and ran. The squirrel didn't care where: she was running. Her light red fur blew slightly in the breeze as she jogged up the path. A little while past the group, she sits on a treestump. I've moved on from Darron, and I've hurt Lonas. There's no other reason...*

*Darron looked even more shocked than Lonas, if it was possible. He got an urge to run after her, but he knew it wouldn't help. Instead of going over and talking to the golden squirrel, or just standing there, he reaches inside of his cloak. Feeling around, he counts off three daggers. The fourth one was a gift from Oakrose. She'd given it to Darron for his fifteenth birthday, months before he left. It had a wooden handle with hand-carved trees on them. He stared at it. There's no telling how much I've hurt her. Damn, if I could take it all back, I would. Everything. The dark brown eyes turn stony as he looks from the dagger to Lonas to Terri and back again. Turning to the path Oakrose had run up, he roared out a message to his lost lover.*
Because I love you, I'm gonna kill myself!
*With that, Darron James Swiftbow drove the dagger through his heart. Before he hit the ground, Oakrose had tore back down the trail. Her tears mingled with his blood as the maiden lay sobbing over his bleeding chest. She kept whispering as she tightly grasped Darron's lifeless paw.*
And all I wanna do is let it be
and be with you and watch the wind blow by
and all I wanna see is you and me
go on forever like the clear blue sky
Slowly, there's only you and I
All I wanna do is watch the wind blow by.

[Tinsy Stormsight]

OOC: Meh, 's okay. Could've been a tad longer, I suppose.

Lonas stared down at Darron, the shock evident on his features. After a moment, he turns his gaze on Oakrose..it grows steely for a moment.
The squirrel opens his mouth and closes it, then turns, cursing loudly in language he rarely uses..it might sound strange coming from his mouth, but somehow it seems natural enough.
Maybe Regen and Lonas Eale aren't so different after all.
A second later, the flow of horrible language turns to several words in a few different languages..French, Gaelic, and finally Spanish. The golden squirrel turns again, looking over Oakrose's head at Terragon. His voice is harsh when he speaks again, accented as heavily as Regen's ever was in his anger.
"B'like th' trip's postponed now, aye? Ye want me t' go fetch somebeast with a strech'r? I d'no if he were christ'ned, but he'll need a burial anyhow.."
He snarls a few more angry words under his breath, the harsh syllables of Irish Gaelic barely audible.

He glances back down at the dead squirrel, clearly trying to think of something to say. After a moment, he sighs and shakes his head.
Stupid, stupid. Th' both of 'em. Rippla may'v' been right, 'e might.

[Terragon Scrufftail]

*Terragon stands, paws hanging loosely by her sides, eyes wide - though not in fear. Her mouth opens slightly, but she struggles to begin to form a sentence from her suddenly parched throat.
I didn't think he'd do it. Thankfully, these words are spoken only in Terragon's mind.* Lonas, *The squirrel hears her voice, distant and dead, speaking without her consent to Lonas.* We're not the far from Terralux: get back there as quickly as possible. Find Regen or Robin or somebeast sensible. *She checks herself. Is it safe to spend Lonas alone? But you can't leave Oakrose alone either and you can't leave Lonas with her. *
Quickly, *Terragon repeats, firmly but with a grave kindness to the word.
We'll bury him next to Pinebud. She didn't mean to allow the small thought to rise to the surface of her mind and rest there, blunt, ugly and honest.*

[Oakrose & Crew]

OOC: Ah, I love killing off guests, don't you? But killing Piney Pinebud hurt me a bit.
BIC:
*Oakrose looks up sharply at Lonas, then at Terragon. She dries her eyes on her sleeve, and protests in a shaky voice.*
No. No, we'll bury him here. He wasn't christened, but it won't matter. We can dig a hole, put him inside, and move on.
*Move on. The last two words echoed in her head as Oakrose stood and searched Darron's pack.*
He carries a small shovel - one of the minature gardening ones, mind - in here somewhere... aha!
*The squirrel waves it in the air triumphantly. She begins digging a shallow hole by the side of the path.*
We just need a little ditch-like thing, then digging won't tke up too long and we can cover it with rocks.
*She talks and works feverently, hoping to keep her mind off Darron.*