Heirot

Kratos blinked, he was about to answer Telanis' question but then someone called into the cave and he left to go talk to the man. Afraid that it might be hunters in disguise, Kratos told Laya and Neko to wait here and he jogged up to the opening of the cave to find an old man with Telanis.

"Oh." Kratos sighed heavily. 'It's not them,' he thought happily. "hello there good sir." he greeted the old man with respect. He gave the man a bow.

Telanis was both relieved and dismayed when Kratos came out with him, taking the pressure off of the unicorn to speak. His doubts about the old man's affiliation with hunters resolved quickly, however, as Kratos seemed certain this man was not one of them, and Kratos had spent time in the hunting group. ..Though that fact alone still caused the unicorn some confusion.

"Hello there good sir," Kratos said confidently.

So that was the proper greeting, Telanis noted to himself.

Laya stayed inside the cave and didn't go out to meet who ever the new guy was. She was quite fine with staying with who she knew so far. She didn't want to stay here long anyway and hoped that they could find somewhere more comfortable to stay... somewhere less damp and dark... and eerily familiar.

(OOC: Crap, I forgot to give him his accent, time to do some editting on past posts)

"I shinku I came furomu, ah... zato dairecshion," Tetsumaru said, pointing towards the direction he came from. "But I tooku kuaito a few tsuistsu ando tarns so I can'to seemu tsu findo my way backu to my cabin. It shouldu be a bit tsu the easto ov the town ando in the forest." Many years ago the samurai had moved here from Ongoreth and settled here. However, he didn't want to live too close to people so he had built his cabin out a few miles from the town.

Kratos nodded politly. Even though he mentally paled at the man's accent, just barely understanding him.

"Er..." he stammered to find the right words but couldn't find any.

Telanis managed to grasp the gist of what Tetsumaru was saying. When Kratos seemed unsure how to respond, Telanis thought for a moment. The man seemed uninvolved in the hunt, and did not appear to recognize him for what he was. Furthermore, he was familiar with the cabin the old man was speaking of, and it was indeed in a secure, remote location from the village. He thought of Laya's fearful reaction to his presence as well as the cave. The humans would need someplace safe to return for the night. Perhaps they and the old man could help one another out. It was risky because they didn't know Tetsumaru yet, but if he went along, he could help deal with any trouble that came up. Then his debt to these three humans would be paid.

"Good Sir," he said, awkwardly imitating the inflection Kratos had used, "If you would allow us to guide you back to your cabin, we would be most grateful to lodge there temporarily. We would be a few days, at most. If not, I'll still be glad to guide you," he suggested in his calm, thoughtful voice.

Tetsumaru nodded immediately. "I wouldu rike zat veri muchi," he replied. "I worudu not have been able tsu retanu otherwaizu." The ex samurai had a grateful look on his face. "Feeru furee tsu stayu as rong as you wouldu liku."

Telanis's hopes lifted at the old man's words. "Thank you! But, there's just one thing you probably deserve to know. We don't want the villagers to know we are there. Is that still okay?" he asked candidly, not wanting to get this kindly old man into unwelcome trouble.

Tetsumaru shrugged. "It izu finu," he replied. "The villajerzu aboidu my cabin. Zey say thinguzu raiku oludu curazy man tsu me. I do noto go intsu townu veri oftenu for that reasonu."

Telanis tilted his head unconsciously as he strained through Tetsumaru's accent, but the old man seemed to be welcoming them. The unicorn looked at Kratos for confirmation, glancing at the dark opening of the cave in his peripheral vision.

Kratos' face brightened at their conversation. It sounded like they had a place to go since, after this, that family probably wouldn't welcome them back.

"Ah," Kratos bowed to the old man, thanking him and smiling. "Let me get my sister and Laya." he said cheerfully. "Thank you sir." he straightened and went back inside the cave and called out to Laya and Neko. "Neko! Laya! You can come out! We have a place to go to until we figure out what we'll do next!"

Neko, hearing her brother's voice and smiling, urged Laya up to the entrance and ran. "Really? Who's place?!" Neko looked over her brother's shoulder to see the old man. "Ah!" she moved around her brother and bowed to the old man like her brother. "Thank you!"

Laya came out slowly, as if she expected a whole army to pop out of no where. She looked to the old man, not with as much trust as she had in the three she had met already... That would take at least some time. Though, she doubted she would fully trust anyone ever again. She would always expect them to stab her in the back.

She was, however, glad to be leaving the cave. It wouldn't have to bring anymore falshbacks and feelings up anymore. Plus, it was just more comfortable in a cabin...

"It seems we are ready," Telanis said cheerfully to Tetsumaru, beginning to lead the way alongside the old man back out of the overgrown area and into the open forest again. Telanis kept his sharp ears out for signs of the hunters, but the woods around them were silent, and he guessed that the other hunters had probably discovered their fallen comrades and returned to the village.

Telanis was thinking to himself when he forgot to focus on walking with his strange human legs, and he tripped on a root that was in the path. He fell forward in surprise.

Laya walked over to the fallen unicorn quickly, reaching out with both her hands to help him back up. She wondered why she had rushed to help him so quickly. She guessed even if she did feel wary of him now that he was human she knew deep inside he would never hurt her. She looked at him for a long moment as she helped him up, and finally got a grip. He was a unicorn, just because he looked like a man now didn't mean he'd hurt her...

Telanis gave Laya an embarrassed smile as she helped him up, feeling like he was walking on stilts. It wasn't until he was balanced again that he realized that Laya didn't seem to be afraid of him anymore, and this fact lifted his spirits dramatically. "Thank you - I don't think I've learned your name yet," he said hopefully, his high spirits making him almost seem to glow.