[A] Entering the Wasteland {Plot - Part 3} [Finished]

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[Character of the Month]

Character of the Month
Prince Caspian

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Played by Cara

"Cara has managed to...create a character that is both mythical and life-like. Impulsive, moody, and yet kind and good-hearted, Caspian is just beginning to show the makings of a true leader."
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[Prince Caspian]

Caspian stood at the entrance of the cave filled with trepidation. The rain was slowing, dying and it was about time. They had been hiding away inside the caves for? what, four days, five days? A week? He had lost count ? though he didn?t doubt someone knew. Still, even if they had only been holed away for a day, that was still a day far too long. All this time hiding from the rain had been a rather big waste. Caspian hadn?t been able to do much battle planning, nor had he been able to meet with anyone to discuss matters. Everyone seemed to be falling ill ? some seriously, and some not so much. Nevertheless, it had been a strain on everyone and no one had been in the mood to discuss upcoming battles, Caspian included.

It was almost time to journey back out into the open area around How; almost time to leave the cave. In fact, Caspian had already ordered everyone to start getting things together, ordered them to get ready to leave. The moment the rain stopped, they would be outside. He wasn?t concerned about it starting again any time soon ? he was surprised it had even managed to last as long as it had.

They needed to get outside. They needed the fresh air, and the space to set everything up again. They needed to get on with it ? they couldn?t win a war from inside a series of tunnels and caves. He stood there staring blankly out at the falling rain, a troubled sigh escaping him.

Had he done the Old Narnians wrong by not waiting for Aslan? By not waiting for help? Would they fail now, because of his impatience? Shaking the thoughts off, he knew he had to stop doubting himself, stop doubting their mission. This was what the great Lion Aslan would want; he would want his people restored to peace and safety? restored to their rightful ownership of Narnia. Granted, the doubts were lessening. It was only in those spare moments when he was all on his own that they came creeping back to haunt him. But he would conquer them; at least, he hoped so.

It was not a sudden noise that startled him from his thoughts; rather it was the lack of noise. Lack of rain falling and hitting the ground. He glanced up and looked outside, peering around for the sight of rain, the sight of little droplets hitting the massive puddles gathered on the ground. But there was nothing. The rain had stopped! Thank Aslan, the rain had stopped!

?The rain is done!? He shouted, the boyishness within him that had been long hidden away breaking free for a moment as he bolted from the entrance of the cave and ran farther in. ?The rain has stopped! Tell everyone! It?s time to get back outside and win this war!?

Everyone around him looked up, amused by the exuberance of the recently weary Prince. Still, as his news began to sink in, creatures all around him rose to their feet and followed him. Even the most ill among them wanted to get out into the air and survey the damage that the storm had done.

Chaos erupted as everyone jumped to their feet and followed Caspian to the entrance of the cave. It was such a lovely sight, to look out without the rain getting in the way. Caspian hurried from the cave and down towards the camp? and stopped short.

Eyes wide as he stared at the mess, he drew in a sharp breath. This was going to be a major setback. A major setback. Everything that they had been unable to bring with them was either gone, or so badly mangled that it was beyond repair. There was water positively everywhere ? the trenches that had been dug were now deep pools of the frigid stuff. They would have to start over.

Caspian turned back to survey his tired, sickened army and brought a hand to the back of his head. He only hoped that Miraz?s army suffered as badly as his. He coughed then, which took him very much off guard. It was a painful, wrenching cough that, while ending quickly, was a rather bad sign of things to come, he feared. Nevertheless, he nodded to some of the more able-bodied Narnians to start bringing out supplies. They needed to set everything up soon, so they could get back to work.

[Adimon Tescar]

Adimon was beginning to become resigned to the fact that he didn't know who he was. He knew more about his situation, though, having wrangled what he could from stir-crazy animals sitting out the storm in the caves (he actually found them easier to talk to than the supposedly-mythological creatures. they at least, were supposed to exist. they just weren't supposed to talk.). A couple of times, he felt his memory to be just within his grasp, but when he tried to reach it, it fled away.

Gathering information hadn't been the only thing Adimon had done during his time in the caves.  He found he couldn't stay inactive for long.  He needed to do something, even if that meant helping an army he had no sympathy for and had been told was his enemy.  So he did small individual tasks here and there, staying as far away from any non-humans as he could except to obtain information.

Now that Adimon had been told who we was, he knew where he could go. All he had to do was find the other army camp, and this King Miraz would definitely take him in.  Adimon was still being closely watched, but as he helped out and showed no signs of wanting to escape or of regaining his memory, they no longer kept him bound.  So escape was not impossible, though while surrounded by enemies, Adimon had to wait for the opportune moment.

That moment came sooner than he'd hoped.

Adimon had just finished fletching a few arrows -- for the army, but also for himself -- when he heard a commotion in a nearby cave.  Gathering his arrows, he went to investigate.  Caspian, he found, was the source of the ruckus, though the prince himself wasn't making any noise. In fact, he was completely still. He must have fainted due to his all-to-evident illness.  He'd worked himself too hard, that was obvious. Adimon was never one to shy away from work, but he also knew what he had to do to keep himself healthy.

Not that he was exactly healthy now.  His concussion had weakened him, and the dampness and cold had made it worse.  So when the illness attacked, he had little defenses against it, and it had easily defeated him. But he'd made sure to get rest in between his minor tasks; he hadn't been trying to command an embarrassingly unprepared army.  He therefore still had enough strength to escape, provided he encountered little resistance.

And now was the perfect time to effect that escape.  The prince was unconcious, though Adimon knew enough of medicine to predict the prince's eventual recovery, the event was turning everyone's attention to their leader. Perfect. Still holding his arrows, Adimon walked non-chalantly towards the mouth of the cave. If anyone asked, he was simply delivering the arrows to a general.

Once out, he would grab his belongings, which he'd previously located, and get away as inconspicuously as possible.

[Senzi Naffis]

Once the prince was settled, Senzi walked back through the caves. He decided to stay within earshot so he could lend a paw should the dryad require his services. As he walked, he spied a human he hadn't seen before walking towards the mouth of the cave. The leopard was fairly certain that he knew all of the humans that inhabited the camp as there really weren't that many. The cat had heard tell of a Telmarine captive. Perhaps this was him. Having nothing better to do, Senzi padded over to the man. As he caught up with the man, Senzi caught a whiff of him and quickly drew away from him.

"Am I correct in assuming that you are the Telmarine captive I've heard so much about?" he asked, exhaling loudly through his nose to get rid of the smell, "Do you not wash yourself? Do you know how bad you smell?" The cat sat down in front of the man, tail curled around paws as always, and studied him. The leopard hoped the man would stop and talk to him for a bit. It was getting boring for Senzi around the camp as there was little he could do to help rebuild the destoryed camp. He was a rough looking man. Senzi was interested in what the man's reaction would be to him. The cat didn't expect much of anything since it looked like the Telmarine had been here for a while.

(ooc:Short, crappy post. Sorry guys. XD)

[Adimon Tescar]

Blast it! He had been noticed.  One of those infernal talking animals intercepted him just before he got to the mouth of the cave, and began to speak.

"Am I correct in assuming that you are the Telmarine captive I've heard so much about? Do you not wash yourself? Do you know how bad you smell?"

Adimon stiffened. How did the creature expect him to smell, after he'd been a captive for weeks in an army camp? And who was the leopard to talk? He was an animal, he didn't smell too well either.  Not to mention that if Adimon did smell bad, which he himself didn't doubt, the impertinence of even mentioning such a thing was astounding. He wanted to retort back, but his goal right now was to be as inconspicuous as possible.  He was so close to effecting his escape; he just needed to get rid of this pesky leopard before everyone else left the prince as well.

So instead, Adimon stated politely, "Yes, I'm the captive, unfortunately. I'm sorry that I smell, but I've been stuck in these caves for far too long, what with the rain and all. And now, I beg pardon for not staying to talk, but I really must deliver these arrows."

With that, he moved to get around the leopard, who had sat down right in front of him, rather too familiarly for his taste.  He hoped the animal didn’t continue to follow him. The prince was still unconscious; the leopard should want to stay close by just in case, right?

((OoC: Don't worry, my post is way short as well!))

[Prince Caspian]

Caspian’s eyelids fluttered; he was feeling consciousness return to him and he was desperate to hold onto it. What had happened? He could feel the hard stone floor beneath him and wondered where he was. Why wasn’t he in bed back at the castle? Surely his servants would be coming to wake him shortly; had he slept in? Had he missed breakfast at the great table? Perhaps there was something special about today and that was why no one had come to wake him. Perhaps…

He groaned as he tried to pull himself to sitting. His head was pounding as he collapsed back against the floor. Memories came flooding back to him; he was long gone from the castle. He had fled for his life, surely that wasn’t something he ought to forget. He was leading an army. Oh yes. But which army? Caspian kept his eyes shut tightly, any little bit of light causing his head to positively throb. Army… an army? Yes, yes, he thought, Aslan’s army. It was all coming back to him. But why was he on the floor?

Rubbing his hands against his face he dared to peek out through squinted eyelids – and quickly shut his eyes against the minimal light once again. He was back in the caves; why? Hadn’t they all piled out of there to rebuild the camp? Had it begun to rain again? He could hear creatures milling about around him, but the noises all sounded so far away, as though he was hearing it all through a great amount of water.

Caspian started to cough, his whole body shaking as he did so. It was incredibly painful but he kept from crying out as he wrapped his arms tightly around his stomach. When the fit subsided he tried yet again to open his eyes. This time the light wasn’t nearly as painful – the caves were rather dim, he couldn’t imagine stepping outside – and he managed to keep them open. He had been right, there were most definitely others around him. He wondered how much of a fuss he had caused.

”What happened, exactly?” he asked weakly, wondering if anyone could even hear him. ”Why am I here? How long have I been out?” The last thing he needed at the moment was to get ill; though it seemed that it had already happened. Were many others affected? He saw someone that he didn’t recognize – a young girl with water who must have been tending to him – and the good badger. There were others, too, though his vision was a little foggy and he was having a difficult time making out the faces.

He wanted to sit up, wanted to be of some use. He wondered if anyone would even take him seriously any more. What sort of prince, the one who was supposed to be leading this army and freeing it’s soldiers, just lost consciousness? 

[Trufflehunter]

Trufflehunter sniffed the air and looked up to the doorway that had entered through moments before to see another human enter the caves. Thought this human was female. Trufflehunter heard her question and glanced down at the ill Caspian before replying to her. “His majesty has fallen ill.”

As Trufflehunter replied to the human, he saw the leopard leave the group and head towards a lone human near the entrance to the caves that the badger had failed to notice before. Before he could wonder who it was that the leopard lied down in front of he, the badger heard a groan from the prince and turned around to see him fall back to the floor. Caspian briefly opened his eyes before quickly shutting them once more.

“Your majesty!” the badger cried as the young human’s body began to shake as he coughed, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he coughed. Trufflehunter watched in concern as the boy continued to cough for several moments before the fit subsided. The badger sighed in relief as the boys eyes opened and stayed open as he wearily took in those standing around him.

“You fell ill your majesty,” he replied to the boy’s question, moving forward and setting a paw gently on the prince’s arm as he spoke. “As for how long, I do not know. I arrived just after you had fallen.”

((OOC: ugh, crappy post.))

[Arina Penley Carison]

Ill? Of course he was ill- he was a pigheaded boy who didn't know how to take care of himself mostly because he didn't think he needed taking care of. Her brother was the same, never admitting when he was sick because he didn't want people to think he was weak. Idiot boys... She should admit when she wasn't well. She paused as her head swam. That's not ill, that's just... getting used to my surroundings. Of course Choni wasn't falling sick. She'd admit it if she was.

Caspian stirred and she had to admit, he looked awful. She glanced around the cave, sure she had left her herbs in here when she'd left earlier. She spotted the skin she'd wrapped them in atop a large stone she'd been sitting on and walked over to scoop it up. There was a special tea her nurse brewed when she was sick, but she couldn't remember which of these she added. Chamomile, she remembered that much. She even recognized the plant. As for the rest of it, she couldn't tell one from the other. How had she expected to use medicine if she didn't know what it was or what it did? Or what it looked like?

She sighed. Obviously, she couldn't do this. She didn't want to say so in front of the prince since he'd already accused her of not being who she said she was -which, she wasn't, but that was the point- but she didn't see any way around it unless she could call the badger away. He might know what to do with this, or at least be able to tell it apart. Choni stared hard at the herbs again, trying to tell them apart and name them, but the only one she could identify was chamomile. She picked it up between her thumb and forefinger and glared at it. Why couldn't it be something more important like... like... She didn't know what was important because she didn't even know the names of these plants!

Sighing, she walked back over to the badger and the prince and kneeled down, laying the skin in front of her. "I think these can help," she told the badger, speaking quietly and hoping the prince wasn't paying attention. She'd never hoped for people not to pay attention to her before. Except that insufrable Baron's son. She carefully returned the chamomile back to the selection. "But I don't know what they are." I don't even know what they do, she thought to herself. At least she knew how to brew tea- that was something, yes? It was one of the things that she was supposed to know how to do even though she never had to do it. "I thought maybe you might?"

They'd come from her family's personal store of medicinal herbs, so whatever they were, they must be the best. Her mother would never settle for anything less. Choni just wished she'd taken more of an interest in medicine.

[Senzi Naffis]

Senzi didn't trust this man. He didn't even really trust most of the humans in the camp, captive or not. The leopard decided to follow the man around to make sure he didn't disappear. Plus it seemed that the man could be easily agitated. The cat cast a quick glance back at the caves. He was confident that his services were no longer required. There were many others that could take his place.

"If you don't mind terribly," he said as he started after the man, "I'll come with you. We wouldn't want you to get lost, now would we. By Aslan's mane, that would not be good." After walking in silence for a moment, Senzi asked, "Who, praytell, are you delivering these arrows to and who asked you to deliver them? It is curious that they would ask you of all people. Especially since you probably know no one." The leopard wanted to see the man's reaction to the question. He wanted to see how fast the man could think.

[Myrrine Diodorus]

Myrrine had been across the 'room' (more appropriately, the makeshift corner of the cave) from the prince, working with her herbs, when he awoke. Hearing the dreadful coughing, the dryad was up in a moment, and just as soon by his side. Pressing a cup of her hot mixture to his lips, she urged him to let nature work its magic on his body. "Lay back down, your majesty," she said in her silky, beautiful voice. It was soft as always, but commanding. They could not have the prince continue in such a dreadful manner, and if anything was going to help him, it would be rest.

Myrrine listened silently to Trufflehunter, but added her own words in the end. "It is true, sire. You were taken ill only a few hours ago. You fell in the woods and we brought you back here." She reached forward, touching her soft hand against his forehead, much as a mother would do. Her expression did not change, and she made no comment on it, only removed her hand again. "My dear prince, you must rest a few days. If you wish to lead Narnia, then Narnia wishes for you to heal."

The human suddenly standing beside them put Myrrine a bit on edge, but she tried her best to think only of the prince. Her eyes did light up as she spotted the delightful herbs the woman laid out before them. What a treasure! They would do extraordinarily good, and the whole camp, not only the prince, were bound to be much better off with such a collection. "This one," were her only words as she reached for a herb that went particularly well with the prince's current problems. Though her voice didn't show it, Myrrine was absolutely delighted. A very fine collection of herbs indeed!

{ooc: oh dear, i'm afraid this is very lacking, but it's nearly midnight and i felt that i should post. haha.}

[Adimon Tescar]

This pestiferous creature would not leave him alone!

"I've been here long enough that I think I know my way around, but thank you," Adimon replied to the animal's "offer of help".  But the leopard followed him anyway, as Adimon had guessed by now that he might.  Well, it seemed as if now was not the best time to escape. He'd simply have to wait for another chance. He would rather leave now, of course, but until he got his memory back, he wasn’t in any hurry. While he was a prisoner here, he didn’t seem to be any mortal danger.

Annoyed, and with no reason now to engage in polite small talk since this creature appeared to distrust him no matter what, Adimon was perfectly content to walk in silence. He could at least pretend he was alone that way. Without looking at the animal beside him, Adimon left the caves, not even stopping to let his eyes adjust to the sunlight before continuing towards the tent serving as the armory in this camp.

Unfortunately, the leopard broke the silence soon after they left the caves. He asked probing questions, further confirming his distrust of the camp's prisoner.  Well, at least Adimon didn’t have to think too hard to answer, as he could simply tell the truth. Or rather the partial truth, for of course he wouldn’t mention how his intentions on what to do with the arrows had changed once the prince fell unconscious. 

“I asked the armorer how I could help, and he set me to fletching these arrows,” Adimon replied, continuing to walk with his face turned straight ahead.  And in response to a remark he was sure the animal would make, he added, “And yes, I know I’m your so-called “enemy”. I simply can’t stand having nothing to do.”  Their armorer and the others he’d done tasks for could verify his statements, should this leopard be insolent enough to ask.

[Trufflehunter]

Trufflehunter watched as the female human laid down a collection of herbs on the ground before her. The dryad reached over and grabbed a particular herb off of the skin, her eyes delighted at the sight of them. What would be called a smile formed on the badger’s face as he began to examine the herbs on the skin.  He was very familiar with the herb the dryad had taken and it would certainty help the prince in his current situation.

Trufflehunter used his front paws and shifted through the herbs, taking mental notes of all that was there before thinking of an delightful tea recipe that would help warm up the prince and sooth his cough. Perhaps some of these herbs could be used to make an delightful bowl of soup.  He lifted his head and looked to the human who had brought the herbs to them. “Thank you my lady, these will be most helpful to the prince.”

[Arina Penley Carison]

When the badger referred to her as 'my lady,' Choni froze. How did he know?! she thought frantically, her eyes widening as her mind churned for something that might keep him quiet about it. It took her a moment to realize that he probably didn't mean anything by it and had just used the term because he didn't know her name. She released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Well, we can't very well have the leader of the army incapable of leading," she replied, the corners of her mouth curving slightly. "I'm Choni, by the way."

The other woman there seemed a little apprehensive with Choni there and she wondered why. Of course, the woman was extremely beautiful and Choni suddenly doubted that she was a woman at all, but one of the wonderous creatures of Narnia. She was also the one able to identify something in the mess of herbs that could help Caspian.

"I... I'll just be over here," she said softly as she stood up and walked to the other side of the cave, a good distance away, but still able to see what was going on. She didn't want the woman to be uncomfortable on her account. She hunched down, leaning her back against the stone wall and resting her arms upon her knees.

[Senzi Naffis]

Senzi truly did not like this man. He was a horrible liar and not very polite. Yes, his words were polite, but since he was Telmarine, he was obviously not fond of any of the Narnians. 'Well, we aren't fond of you either, you pig of a man,' Senzi thought bitterly. Senzi quickly reviewed his options. It was highly unlikely that he had learned of anything that could have been of use to him. Letting him go shouldn't be to problamatic. It would probably send the entire camp into a frenzied panic, though.

"Well, then," Senzi said as he moved forward to take the arrows from the man, "I will let you continue your litte 'trip', but be warned. The next time we meet, you may not be as well as you are now." Senzi took the arrows from the man's hand with his mouth and headed back twords the camp. Senzi had many reasons to let the man go, a major one being that he smelled.

When Senzi got back to the cave, he handed the arrows off to a centaur and went to see how Caspian was doing. "Ah. I see you have decided to rejoin us, Prince. I bring news." The leopard had no intention of going easy on the prince, even if he did pass out. He still had much to learn, whether he liked it or not. Keeping everything in it's place was just one lesson. "The Telmarine captive has escaped," he said calmly, "I hope he has been kept away from meetings?"

[Adimon Tescar]

Well, that was unexpected.  The leopard suddenly decided he'd had enough, and let Adimon continue on his way -- without his arrows.  Apparently, he'd somehow figured out Adimon's plan. Adimon, while taking advantage of this turn of events by moving out of the camp as quickly as he could without attracting attention, reflected that this was just one more piece of evidence that Caspian couldn't rule his own people, let alone the country.  A good commander wouldn't let a prisoner walk off like this, nor allow his soldiers (at least one who was not also in a high position of command) to take such initiative as the leopard just had.

Not wanting to waste any more time -- for the leopard surely was not so undisciplined as to not at least alert someone as to what he had done -- Adimon decided to leave what he had determined to be his belongings behind.  No one stopped him as he walked out of the camp, to his surprise and relief.  He knew the army was somewhat disorganized and undisciplined, but he also knew that there were some people who had a better idea of what they were doing, and was glad to have avoided their notice.

Adimon's pace did not slow until he felt he was far enough to be out of sight of any sentries.  By now, he had been told enough about his past not to be surprised that he knew how far that distance should be (as well as how to move without being heard and seen). In fact, he was determinedly NOT thinking about what he did not know.  It was frustrating that his memory seemed just out of reach, but he had no leisure to think about that now. Now, he had to go find Miraz, or someone else who knew him and was not an enemy. He could think about the rest when he was safe.

((OOC: Ick, this is horrible! But at least I posted!))

[Trufflehunter]

“Pleasure to meet you Choni,” he replied, glancing away from the herb before him and towards the human that had spoken and gave her the badger equivalent of a smile. “I am Trufflehunter.”

He looked towards the human for a few moments before looking back to the herbs before him. Yes, there were many combinations of the herbs that could be used for an excellent soup. He glanced up when he heard the women speak and watched as she walked to the other side of the cave before returning his attention to the herbs.  Trufflehunter looked up a few moments later when the leopard that had also helped move the prince into the caves returned.

“Lions mane,” Trufflehunter whispered at the news of the escaped captive. “I believe he has, but I am not entirely sure.”

((OOC: ugh, crappy post))

[Swiftshadow]

“Good!” Swiftshadow nodded approval at the two members of her squad who had just hit their targets, then moved down the line.

“Lilyweather! Where in the Lion’s name are your arms? Hold them like this.” Demonstrating the correct posture, Swiftshadow began to let loose an arrow when a faun came running up with the news that the Prince had fallen unconscious from illness.  Thwack.  The centaur didn’t even stop to see her arrow hit the center of the target before breaking into a trot.

“Stormfeather, take command,” she snapped as she passed her lieutenant, then continued past the faun in the direction of the caves.  She didn’t know if her services were needed – there were, after all, one or two healers in the camp more skilled than she – but she wasn’t about to take chances.

Aslan’s mane, what had his highness done to himself?  She had known he was not well, but had hoped he would listen to her advice and the advice of others to take care.  If he’d been careful, he could have still gone about his duties, though on shorter hours. Now, he’d have to rest completely for at least a couple of days if he didn’t want to fall even more ill. They didn’t need this now! If those blasted Telmarines discovered how weak they were with the storm and now Prince Caspian’s illness, they would be sure to attack. And Swiftshadow, though she longed to face the Telmarines in battle, knew that if the Telmarines did attack, the Old Narnians would face odds even more against them then they had been at the start of the war.

Swiftshadow continued cursing the Telmarines, the storm, and the prince’s blockheadedness until she reached the caves.  Once inside, she stopped to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. When they had, she quickly located the prince. There were several people clustered around him, but she was surprised to find that most of the crowd had had the sense to stay further back out of the way.  Swiftshadow quickly evaluated those who did surround the prince. The faithful badger Trufflehunter was there, of course.  And directly leaning over the prince was a… was that really a dryad? Yes, there was no mistaking her, despite the fact that Swiftshadow had only read about dryads in books.  The centauress breathed a quick sigh of awe, but left wondering off for later.  For now, what mattered was that with a dryad here, his highness was in capable hands.

Indeed, whatever the dryad and the others had done had worked, for the prince was now conscious, thank Aslan.  Swiftshadow continued forward to make her presence known, but was prevented from speaking, for at that moment a leopard entered the caves. He greeted the prince, then announced that their captive had escaped.

What?!? The centaur’s head snapped to look at the leopard as Trufflehunter agreed.  How had this happened? The Telmarine was supposed to have been closely guarded! Maybe they should have listened to those who had wanted to kill the man immediately.  She had been on Caspian’s side then, not out of any love for their captive, but because she was uncomfortable with killing a man in such circumstances, even if he was a Telmarine.  More than that, she knew he was more use to them alive.  She doubted that Miraz cared about his private secretary personally, but still, Adimon’s position and his knowledge (if he ever regained his memory) would make recovering him a priority. Escaped, however, their former captive was more harmful to their cause than beneficial.

Body rigid with anger, Swiftshadow turned back to the prince. “Highness,” she said, her voice pitched to carry over the murmurings that had begun at the leopard’s news. “Permission to attempt recapture?”

[Damien Arrowing]

((OOC: This might not be very good, but I'm determined to rejoin you guys! ))

IC: Damien flapped his feathery wings in a steady rythem, beating hard to hoist up a beam felled by the storm. It was heavy, but Damien was strong enough to lift it twenty feet into the air and then place it carefully down in the position the centaur had indicated. Damien dropped the beam, then drifted down to the ground. His wings hung loosely from his back, and his beak was open for thirst.

"Am I needed here any longer, my friend?" he asked, looking up at the centaur and panting. He laughed heartily.

"No, no. You've helped quite enough, sir gryphon. We can carry on without you," he said, smiling. Damien could tell he was trying to be kind and didn't want him to overwork himself. But he didn't understand how much Damien wanted to help, how much he needed to help! This centaur didn't realize how strong gryphons were. Damien could work for hours more if he needed to.

Suddenly, the gryphon caught himself. He was 110 years old, it was time to stop acting like a foolish, reckless hatchling! Damien knew he needed to get a few moments of rest, and definately something to drink at the very least. Though he was still very young for a gryphon, he had long ago learned that overworking oneself was worse than taking a break and losing time. Damien nodded, and stepped away.

As he was heading to the caves for a drink, he noticed a commotion. Damien sidled past curiously, looking into the crowd. He suddenly spotted Prince Caspian at the center of the throng. Damien frowned as he figured out what had happened, based on the whisperings of the others. He moved away quietly to get a drink, listening carefully to what was going on.

Damien bent over to drink from the collected water, bringing his head down and then up like a bird to swallow. He heard the leopard join the group and make his announcement. As soon as Damien heard the words "escaped captive" he raised his head and turned around fiercely. There was no way any prisoner of the Prince's would get away!

Damien began trotting over to offer his assistance, but the female centaur got there first. He walked up to Caspian and the others, his commanding presense allowing him to get through the crowd without knocking anyone over.

"My Prince, if you give permission to this centaur, I would like to request that I accompany her. With all due respect, my skills would be very useful in such a venture," he said, hiding his eagerness to recapture the man.

[Senzi Naffis]

Senzi rolled his eyes with a sigh as the centaur and gryphon reacted to his news. They acted as if such a thing could never occur. 'Well, it has,' the leopard thought. Both of them immediately wanted to go after the Telmarine. Such hasty creatures they were. Large and hasty. A combination that Senzi knew was dangerous. He didn't doubt that they would be horribly loud in following the escaped. All they would do is yell and whoop and warn the Telmarine of their coming.

"I should mention that the captive was unguarded," Senzi said, "He was wandering around the camp with the story that he had to deliver arrows to the armorer. He walked right out of the camp without anyone, aside from myself, noticing him. What does that tell you?" The leopard mentally prepared for the onslaught of accusations that were sure to come. The more harsh of the creatures present would instantly claim that the leopard had helped the captive to escape. But Senzi had his defense ready.

"Well then. If you are going after him, I should like to go with you," Senzi continued, "Invisibility would be an asset to the cause. You'll have a hard time catching him if you just run through the forest yelling at the top of your lungs." Senzi knew he wasn't fond of running, but he was more than able to outrun a silly human.

[Arina Penley Carison]

Choni smiled at the Badger from where she sat. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Trufflehunter." It was a darling name, she thought. She only wished she could have met all of the people here under different circumstances. Leave it to her to stumble in on a war.

The room was suddenly much more crowded as animals and creatures came in to see about Caspian's condition and make their reports. A prisoner had escaped and now they were volunteering in mass to go after him. She had forgotten there was even a prisoner around. The girl hadn't even seen him, only heard whispers in the cave. Hadn't she heard something about him losing his memory?

"I'd like to go, too," she voiced suddenly, then almost wishing she hadn't. Not many people had taken a liking to her when she had arrived. She hadn't given them a reason to, anyway. "Permission pending, of course. I'm fair with a bow and have one. I'd like to help."

Anything was better that sewing tent canvas'. It was even better than chastising the Prince for not taking medicine when he was told. And at least it would be doing something she knew how to do. She knew how to use a bow better than her own brother.

Choni wiped a sheen of perspiration from her brow. It wasn't that warm in here, was it?

[[OOC: Gehhh.... At least it's a post. XD]]

[Damien Arrowing]

Damien thought it odd that the leopard should be so passive about a prisoner. After all, he was in the camp as an enemy. Why had he been allowed to stroll about as such? The gryphon was perplexed, but decided not to question it. It had already happened, and now the best thing to do would be to get the escapee back.

"Of course, the stealth of leopards is well-known. I'm sure you'd be a great asset to our tracking, much better than me, I think," he said, amused at his own below-average hunting skills. Damien had never been good at stealth or tracking, but if he stayed high enough in the sky he would be unnoticable, luckily. "May I know the reason for your lenience towards the escapee, my friend? I am simply curious, and I'm sure you did what you thought was best," Damien inquired to the leopard, wondering at his motives. He knew such questioning would waste valuable time, but Damien's curiousity often got the best of him.

The rust-red and iron-blue gryphon was intrigued by the ways of these Narnians. Many of them were far from what he had expected. In fact, most of them were not what he had expected. Unfortunately, they were not as organized as Damien had hoped, but that could be fixed. Some of them also seemed to have alterior motives, motives that Damien was getting the barest glimpses of. Of course, they all seemed to want what he did; freedom for the Narnians and their homeland back. But, was that all most of them wanted?

Damien simply wanted to do whatever he could to help the cause, and for now it looked like that meant going after an escaped prisoner. Back to business, he thought, amused at his own wandering thoughts.

He turned his gaze to the human woman when she requested to join in the party. Damien didn't doubt her ability, but if more continued offering their assistance, it would take too much time just to accept their help and the prisoner would make a successful escape.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but perhaps if we wish to actually catch this man we should be departing, with your majesty's permission?" he said quietly, hoping to speed things along.

[Swiftshadow]

Swiftshadow nodded as a gryphon volunteered to come along. A gryphon would be an asset; she could track from the ground while he did the same from the sky. 

Another, less welcome voice spoke up next, however.  It was the leopard who had originally announced the prisoner’s escape.  He accused the camp of negligence, but said nothing about his own failure in letting the captive escape.  Swiftshadow bristled. Yes, the Narnian army was undisciplined and unorganized. She and others were working on remedying that, and she would make sure Glenstorm disciplined the guards and sentries who had failed their duties.  But who was this leopard to pass judgments?   He wasn’t an officer; she’d have known him if he were.  And he as much as admitted that he’d seen the prisoner escape and had done nothing to stop him.  The leopard most definitely did NOT have the authority to make that decision! That he had done so was unacceptable. That he was now rubbing it in their faces with such cockiness infuriated her even further.

It didn’t help her mood when he asserted that he’d go with them, and accused them of not knowing how to track someone down.   She’d been training to fight the Telmarines her entire life! She would hardly go “run around the forest yelling at the top of her lungs”. 

“I hardly need your help,” she hissed at the leopard.  Knowing she’d do something she’d regret later if she stayed here, she then turned to the prince.  “Begging your pardon, your highness, but we need to leave now or it will be too late.” 

If the prince had ordered her not to follow their captive, she would have obeyed.  She would have argued, perhaps, but in the end she always followed the orders of a superior officer who had earned her respect.  But he had yet to say anything, and therefore, she decided that she was in the right in chasing the Telmarine.  If she had been the one to see him leave rather than the leopard, after all, she would have left immediately without waiting for any orders.

With that decided, she turned and quickly made her way to the opening of the cave, the crowd opening up for her to avoid being trampled.  She heard a female voice and then the gryphon speak up behind her, but she paid no attention to what they said. If they were going to accompany her, they could follow.  If they didn’t, it was no loss. She hardly needed help to find and capture a single two-legger.