Merenwen felt horrible, she had been so distracted by everything else recently that she had given no time to some of her closest friends, her familiars. They would follow her to the end of the earth, protect her with everything they had, and yet she had not even been able to give them any of her time. She was going to change that, it was time to do something for her familiars, time to show them her love and affection. It was an interesting task, trying to plan something in which all of her familiars could take part, but she would figure it out and make sure that all of her familiars were not only included, but that though she knew they did not doubt her love, that they would see her appreciation.

She knew that the weather would have to be cold, for Tundra would not make it very long if the weather was too warm. She also knew that water would need to be involved, a great deal of water, for her Leviathans and her fish would all need the water. As for Altáriël, she was one of the easiest to deal with. She loved the water of course, but would be fine on dry land as well. She could handle warm temperatures, but could handle the cold just as well. As for Arien, if there was tree to rest in then all would be fine. Arien may have preferred warmer temperatures, but could handle the cold. Nindë was also very open and Merenwen expected that she would just flutter around, happy to drift through the day. As for Gumdrop, surprisingly the little mouse loved the water, though he was a little more sensitive to the cold and she would have to keep the water calm or make him dome kind of floating device for him to stay above water.

Keeping all of this in mind, Merenwen thought of all the possible places she could go and decided upon Haudhiaur Island. She would take them all to the beach, she would call in the snow to bring the temperature down to something that Tundra could handle, and the beaches were only a very short distance from the trees. She wanted to get there quickly, but also wanted to surprise all of her friends, so for that reason alone she brought her armor along. Transforming herself into a majestic hawk with the same golden blonde coloring as her hair, she took flight for the island.

When she arrived, she found a nice, fairly secluded spot where the water crashed gently upon the shore and the trees were close to the water level. She transformed back into her normal form, wearing a lightweight blue top and soft brown pants. She called upon the snow, and soon the area was brought down to a chilly temperature that would be cold enough for Tundra, and yet not too cold for Gumdrop. The ground was blanketed in snow, and yet, the trees were free of snow so that Arien could sit upon the branches without any worry of freezing to them.

With the seen set, Merenwen looked around and smiled. The trees were healthy, with rich green leaves budding from the ends. The ocean water was gentle, but with enough force that her Leviathans could have the joy of a good swim. The sky was still clouded over, but the clouds even seemed joyous as snow continued to slowly drift down around her. Looking around, Merenwen found a small bit of bark, fairly thick and sturdy, it was exactly what Gumdrop would need in the water. Merenwen smiled at her successes, and then she called out to all eight of her familiars, calling them to her.

The first to arrive was Altáriël, followed closely by Arien, Silmarwen, and Maedhros. Nindë, Gumdrop, and Tundra arrived next, and a moment later she saw Círdan pop his head out of the water to show that he had arrived. They were all here, all eight of her familiars. As individual as each was, she loved them all the same and her heart would suffer greatly if any of them were to be hurt.

Merenwen smiled, she was surrounded by friends and each seemed happy to be with her. They had realized quickly that she had not called them for their aid, and she could feel their happiness to be with her just to spend some time together. Soon, the Leviathans had taken to the water, though Altáriël chose to stay on land. Arien sat up in a tree, relaxing in the beautiful environment. Tundra crashed through the snow, rolling about and hoping someone might want to play, and Gumdrop, with a little help from Merenwen, was riding about on the waves with the use of the small piece of bark. Merenwen was not sure what to do first, but a smile was upon her face and even with all the horrors that still lived within her mind, she was at peace.

Wanting to escape from the problems and hassles of everyday life Phoenix thought to go to a place with little other people. But where could he go? After all there seemed to be people everywhere, every time some one had hoped to be alone someone had always shown up. It seemed as if in this world some alone time wasn't an option.

He had finally managed to choose a place however as it seemed to be the least likely place for someone to just randomly wonder in. His place of choice would be Haudhiaur Island. He had never before been out to this Island but rumors were that it was constantly raided by a mysterious band of pirates, but as long as he stayed out of their way and sight he didn't think they would be much of a problem. But now the question was how to get there. He didn't have any sort of ride there himself, and he wasn't a strong swimmer either. He would have to find someone who could ferry him across the ocean to get there. Waling the beaches for what seemed like hours he at last found someone who could do just that, at a price of course. Tossing a few gold coins his way he stepped onto the small boat and waited to be taken to the island. The day was rather nice, not to cold nor hot. It would be a nice day to just kick back and relax, perhaps even take a nap.

The boat however wasn't built that well, and it seemed as if it could have toppled over at any time. Even the small waves tossed them about which made him a bit sick. He had been on the water before but not on such a small thing. It was just enough room for himself and the one other getting him across. But at last they made it, he quickly stepped off and swore not to ever again step foot on something like that. The ride over to the Island hadn't been pleasurable one. He would make sure to find some other way off. Not that he would have much of a choice however as he saw the little man and his boat began the crossing again.

Turning away from the boat he took a closer look at the island itself. After all he had never been here and all he could see from the shore across the ocean had been the beach and the tree line. But no he could see things in much greater detail. There wasn't a cloud in the sky as he walked across the white sandy beach. The water itself was much more clear then he had ever seen as well. More so then even the drinking water, he had no doubt that this water would have been much better as well if it wasn't for the salt.

Wanting to rest a little he headed further into the Island. Quite a few trees looked large enough for him to rest upon. And that was exactly what he was looking forward to. No fights breaking out, no problems to solve, just a day of nothing! He found no problems climbing the tree, it seemed that many had done so in the past. As he reached for one of the larger branches he noticed the quite a number of tropical birds were all ready resting upon it. Choosing not to disturb them for the sake of his on relaxation he continued his climb and found an empty branch above the first. And as he moved about to get comfortable the last thing he saw before dozing off was a few monkey's on a higher branch and what looked like to be a woman upon the beach further out. He dismissed it however as he fell asleep, no one would have taken the time he did to come out this way.

He wasn't sure how long he had slept. As he slowly awoke he wasn't all that aware of what was going on all around him. And looking back upon this time he wouldn't have much memory of it. What he did remember was alot of white. A small blanket of white covered him as he lay there but not much. The temperature had dropped quite a bit as well. As what had happened dawned on him he awoke with a jump as he realized it had snowed! Unfortunately he had jump up to fast and before he knew it he was falling from the tree. Landing with a rather loud thud upon the beach he tried to shack the cobwebs from his mind as he slowly rose to his feet. Looking out ahead of him he noticed his vision was slightly blurred. But he could make out the shape of another. A woman with flowing blonde hair that was some how familiar. He saw quite a few other shapes as well.

As he began to wonder what he had stumbled upon he spoke, "Sorry to drop in on you like that..." The was a small pause as he blinked his eyes to try and see more then just blurred shapes but nothing seemed to work. He was sill half asleep, and still quite confused as to the sudden change of weather. "Do you have any idea what happened here?" he asked with confusion in his voice. He carried no weapons this time as they were all placed under the tree before he began his climb.

(I assumed that we all ready knew each other, hope that is all right.)

"If you feel sick man, just lean over the boat, please!"

A young man yelled to the figure which was looking in the sky at the opposite side of him. The figure frowned, which made his bushy brown eyebrows collide. With his hand, the figure, a male dwarf, pet his large, fiery red beard. Besides him, a small piglet laid, shivering. The dwarf smiled at him and put it in his lap. Immediately, since it was under its' masters' safety, the piglet relaxed and fell asleep. Hrothgar looked around, feeling quite sick, his face was very pale, taking colour of an used rag.

Hrothgar never liked water, nor sea. Being more of an underground, earth type, like all the dwarves actually, he was afraid of drowning and water in general. The boat was tossed by the waves, which just increased his fear. But still, he wanted to see the ocean, to feel it. If there wasn't for this damn boat, he would've enjoyed it; refreshing wind blowing into his face, smell of salt in the air. The sun shone brightly, which made the sea look wonderful. Hrothgar leaned a bit, just from curiousity, to see what secrets the sea hides. Unfortunately for him, he could only see many shades of blue colour. But then, he thought he saw a dragon-figure swimming fast near them and then it passed by like a silver, shining bolt. He shook his head, which blurred his vision a bit. Nah, it was just his imagination.

He just started enjoying it, but he still felt sick a bit and... whoops. A big wave hit the boat, which rocked it a little harder. Hrothgar lost his balance and almost fell in the sea. The man laughed loudly, not even caring about Hrothgar. The dwarf sustained from commenting, or should we say; insulting, since this was his only way to go back to the land. He decided to sit on one spot, to avoided the risk of falling into the sea. The waves where getting bigger and bigger, with every hit, the boat rocked a little bit harder. Hrothgar was already blue in his face and sure, the insides of his stomach would soon end in the sea, but then the man said.

"Here we are, dwarfy, Haudhiaur Island." Hrothgar tried to see behind a man, a big, green isle was just a bit ahead of them. When they finally arrived, Hrothgar gladly jumped out of the boat. Then he took out a few golden coins and gave them to the young man. He'll be over in an hour, he was going fishing in the near. For the same price, the man will take Hroth with him on the way back. They shook hands in agreement and part their ways.

Haudhiaur. Hrothgar couldn't even pronounce that name. Hrothgar was now standing on a sandy beach. The sight was breath-taking; gentle waves that sang a sweet melody, white clouds that reminded Hrothgar of pillows, cold, refreshing wind which made him feel better after the uncomfortable ride to the island. Buta was exhausted, it just lied in his hands, asleep. It snorted every once a while, which always made Hrothgar smile. As he walked near the ocean shore, he noticed the air getting colder. Soon, white blankets of snow appeared on the ground.

Hrothgar was confused. The weather was so warm, there was no possible way this was an act of nature. And thus, he felt a strange aura present, even though he was not truly aware of that. It was something...different in the air, like the oceans were alive and really singing a melody of their own. And as he walked down the snow-white beaches, he noticed a beautiful blond-haired woman with a dragon by her side. The dragon was magnificent, this white dragon made Hrothgar stop a bit and just stare. He noticed a few other creatures in the water, even though from that distance, he couldn't know what species or race they are. Suddenly, a young warrior fell near the beauty and her dragon. He started apologizing, the dwarf could read that from his gestures.

Buta woke up and demanded to be put down. When Hrothgar put him down, he happily snorted and started walking by its' master. They approached the beauty, dragon and the warrior even though they weren't very close to each other. Hrothgar sat down and watched the sea, going back and forth, back and forth. Every now and then, his eyes would again stare into the dragon, then the beautiful woman next to it.

Closing his eyes, he let himself to enjoy in the melody that the waves sang.

(( Sorry, this post is not my masterpiece. I'm tired but I wanna post, since I want to participate in this thread. ))

Merenwen was so excited with how things were going. All of her familiars, her friends, seemed to be enjoying the chance to relax with her and she hadn’t even gotten to spend time with them all yet. She was going to go into the water soon, but first she just had to play with Tundra. Her polar bear just looked so adorable romping through the snow and even though he was a great deal bigger then her she knew that he would always be gentle and careful not to cause her harm. So it was that she found herself rolling in the snow with a huge polar bear who always made sure to keep his weight from being fully on her.

When they had rolled around for a while she jumped back to her feet with a huge grin on her face. The day had barely begun, and already she was having a great time being with her friends. Many people may have seen familiars as nothing more then pets, Merenwen felt sorry for these people. They were missing out on one of the greatest joys, the joy of true companionship. She felt horrible for having ignored that joy for so long, but was ecstatic to have the chance to take the time now.

She stood by her dragon, her eyes shining with joy and her body warm from all the play. She looked up at her most trusted ally, the dragon was a friend like no other, one that would never, not for any price, turn against her. He was very protective of her, and she knew that for as long as they both lived, they would stay together. She expected the same with all of her familiars, and knew that she would always love them. It was bliss to have so many good friends, and even though pain was etched into her soul, these friends could take it all away if even for a short time.

Merenwen heard a thump behind her that sounded as if someone had fallen out of a tree. She hadn’t noticed anyone in the trees when she had arrived, if she had seen someone she would have chosen another spot. She thought she had found the perfect secluded sanctuary, but it seemed she had been wrong. She sighed, wishing she could just ignore the noise, that maybe it was just a figment of her imagination, but she knew that it wasn’t.

Merenwen turned her eyes towards the trees, first catching sight of Arien whose eyes looked as if they had laughter in them. Then her eyes drifted to the ground where she found that hse had been right. A man was standing there, obviously he had just stood up, and he looked rather confused. Not surprising, she thought to herself, I’m sure when he fell asleep there was no snow, so to wake up to it must be a shock.

Her eyes scanned the man, and after a moment she realized she recognized him from somewhere. It took a little time, but she finally placed him as the man she had met on the cliffs on her birthday. It was a shock to see him again, such an odd thing for her to come across him twice without anything beyond coincidence. She chuckled when he spoke, it seemed he had not recognized her, but more, he was most definitely confused. Glancing around at the snow she said, “Oh this? I wanted to have a little fun with my friends here, but Tundra doesn’t do so well in the warm weather.” When she said his name, her polar bear ran over to her and nudged her hand, awaiting more attention. She gave him a pat on his head and said, “I just used a little magic, brought the snow here so that Tundra would be able to play.”

Again Tundra nudged her hand. Even though he was full grown, he still acted like a cub at times, but that did not bother Merenwen, for he was fun and she loved him just as she loved all of her familiars. When she looked at him, her eyes caught sight of something off in the distance. It seemed another had come upon their secluded party, and he had decided to lie down in the snow. She knew for a fact that whoever it was had not been there before, and so, with a quick flip of her wrist she brought a wave up to crash upon his feet and waited to see what he would do. She knew she could trust the man in front of her, now it was time to see if she could trust the person who was down the beach from her.

Hrothgar felt a bit confused. He could feel cold, soft snow under his fingers and at the same time, the sun shone brightly. If there wasn't this snow, the heat would've been unbearable. The dwarf looked at the snow a few times, looking at it with a puzzled look. Besides him, there was no snow, but yellow, clear sand. He extended a finger and started circling with it. A smile appeared on his face, as he dug his finger deeper in the wet sand.

Even though he was wearing his heavy boots, he noticed when a wave crashed upon his leg. As it was coming towards him, it covered all his boots and finally touched his skin and made a part of his robe wet. As soon as he felt the cold touch of water, he jumped up on his feet, his eyes wide opened and terrified. The water was cold and it seemed to bite on his skin, since on that leg, his right one, he had a scar which hasn't healed completely yet. Besides Buta, that was one reminder on that fight that happened about 3 weeks ago. Hrothgar was fighting a wild, possessed boar, deep in the Taurai Woods. The boar casted a spell, a black arrow, filled with dark energy. Hrothgar reacted, with his axe, he somehow cut the spell in half, so that one part hit the tree behind him and the other hit his leg. Still, he wasn't leaning fully on that leg, since he was unsure if it will hold him. With every step, Hrothgar could feel stinging in it, like a mice is trying to bite through his skin.

This startled Hrothgar, since the stinging effect got worse, because of the salt that was in the sea. Buta was also scared, it has never seen his master frightened and not knowing what do to, it approached Hrothgar and pushed his left leg with his small nose. Hrothgar calmed down and looked at the piglet. This piglet was his loyal companion from the day he had met it and Hrothgar was very thankful for that. Sometimes, when he was all alone in the deep woods, he felt lonely, wishing to had someone to talk to. Even though Buta never had the gift to speak, Hrothgar would talk to it countless times. While walking through the woods, he spoke about his childhood, about his parents, Orik, his most beloved friend.. Maybe the piglet didn't understand him, but it sure made him happy, to sleep while his master was carrying him, keeping him safe.

Khuzdul escaped from his mouth like many times when he was alone with his companion. "What is it, friend?" Putting both of his hands down, letting Buta walk on them, Hrothgar smiled, his blue eyes showing only love towards the creature. Buta snorted happily and Hrothgar was now holding it in his arms, softly petting him with his thumb. He already forgot about the incident before, since the stinging in his wound almost stopped. Hrothgar looked around him once again, he saw the wonderful maiden talking to the warrior that appeared behind her, smiling. Her golden brown eyes seemed divine and maybe that was something that amazed Hrothgar every time he saw a humanoid creature. Her eyes were beautiful, they were mirrors in which you could see a soul. Jewels on top of the crown, that is what Hrothgar thought, since with every look at the maiden she was more beautiful. Hrothgars' eyes opened wide open once again.

A polar bear ran towards the woman and nudged her hand. Now he understood why the beach is covered with snow. 'Magic..' A thought appeared in his head. Even though he never has seen one, he heard stories about these "polar bears". Supposedly, they lived far off on the north, in the realms of ice and snow. The creature was magnificent, large, impressive paws; snow-white fur that sort of shone on the sun. Hrothgar decided he will join the maiden, wanting to know more about her. Once again, for a second, he felt courageous and fearless. He was confused by that feelings, but if he knew the maidens' real identity, he sure would've knew why he felt that way.

Approaching the maiden with a slow pace, Buta started shivering a bit. Hrothgar just pet him again with his thumb, showing him that there is nothing to be afraid, even though he wasn't sure what the dragon and the bear could do. When he was near the maiden, the white dragon turned it's head, looking straight in his eyes. Hroth stopped for a second, while staring into the dragons' eyes. They were like two large amethysts, the first association that appeared in his mind when he saw them. He was quite short comparing with the dragon, which seemed like a giant to him. The dwarf continued his pace, still looking into the bright eyes of this dragon. When he was standing near them, he first turned around to the dragon, looking at him with respect.

Hrothgar bowed deeply, while saying in Khuzdul, hoping that the dragon was a wise one and will understand the language of ancient times. "I wish you no harm, dragon." Raising his head and opening his eyes, he saw that the dragon was still watching him, with an expressionless face. Hrothgar turned over to the beautiful maiden, saying in his bad Adunaic.

"Greetin's, deer maiden. Whut bringez ye to zhis islund?" He asked with a smile, nodding his head at the end as a sign of respect.

(( Hmm, I didn't know if you'll agree with me playing Altariel a bit, 'cause maybe you wanted to play out his reaction to Hrothgar? ^^; If you do, I'll edit this post, just say so ;) ))

It took several more minutes but his vision finally returned to normal. And he was a bit shocked to be looking upon a familiar face yet again. After all hadn't he just met her some time ago on the eastern coast. It was rather odd that the continued to keep coming across each other. As he looked around he remembered seeing alot of other blurred figures as well. Though there weren't any other people that he could see he did see a number of animals, the two closest being a polar bear and a dragon. He couldn't help but stare as he had never seen either of these creatures this close before. He knew of both but he didn't think this would be a place for a polar bear. Weren't they spoused to live up north where it was much cooler?

It wasn't until Merenwen spoke did he understand what had happened. "Oh this? I wanted to have a little fun with my friends here, but Tundra doesn't do so well in the warm weather." she said with a hint of laughter in her voice. It made sense however, after all he had just fallen from the tree above and he had been rather confused. Tundra must have been the name of the polar bear cause as she said it's name it came over and began to compete for it's owners attention, the dragon however seemed more content to stay were it was. As she continued to speak he began to quite a few of the others as well. Out in the water he saw another sort of creature, rather long and snake like he wasn't sure what it was. He also could have swore he saw a small mouse on a piece of bark go by upon the water.

Bringing his attention back to her however he listened as she finished talking, "I just used a little magic, brought the snow here so that Tundra would be able to play." He thought about it for a moment. Magic, the concept of magic wasn't beyond him for he knew a little of it as well. But she must have been strong indeed to do something on this scale. He doubted his abilities would be able to accomplish this much.

Seeing movement down along the beach however he looked expecting to see some other sort of creature as this place had seemed to become some sort of zoo. But what he found however was a dwarf. At last a being he had seen before. Growing up as a kid living up near the mountains he had delt with many of his kind. This dwarf seemed out of place however, sense when did they travel this far from the mountains?

Looking back to Merenwen he saw that she had noticed him as well. With a small gesture she brought a wave up upon the small dwarf, perhaps to see how he would react. As the dwarf stood up and came closer however he noticed another animal. Much different then most of the others around here it was a rather small piglet. A closer look at the dwarf however reviled him to be someone he already knew, A member of the Keepers. And as he approached he spoke, "Greetin's, deer maiden. Whut bringez ye to zhis islund?"

As no question had been directed to him however he sat back down with another thump. He was a bit dizzy, he could see but still was a bit disoriented. Most likely from the fall he had taken. But he managed to greet his small friend, "Hello there, I don't think I caught your name the last time we met?"

(I'm assuming that the pre mission topic takes place before this, if it doesn't however I could simple be mistaken you for someone else.)

When the man from the beach began to walk towards them, Merenwen realized that he was a dwarf. She also noticed that he had his own friend with him, a small piglet that was rather adorable actually. She doubted the piglet was as fond of the cold weather she had brought on as Tundra was, and wondered how it would fair as pigs didn’t generally have to deal with such cold weather. As for the dwarf, she doubted the cold weather was his favorite either. He likely hadn’t come to the island expecting snow, but instead he had likely been looking for a little sun. He may have been of a race that lived under the ground, but even dwarves had to get out in the sun sometimes, right?

He didn’t look threatening, and if he tried to attack she was surrounded by three dragons, so Merenwen chose not to worry. She had come to the island for a day of fun, and she wasn’t going to ruin that with undue worry. She noticed that Altáriël had taken some interest in the newcomers, but the dragon did not seem worried and that increased Merenwen’s comfort with the situation. Animals were well attuned with feeling, and if the dragon wasn’t worried then Merenwen doubted she had much need to be.

She heard the man speak to Altáriël, but could not understand what he said. She believed that her dragon had though, for Altáriël seemed to nod slightly and relax even more. He then turned to her, and she almost chuckled a little at his speech. It was a little hard to understand at first, but she was able to make out what he said and was getting ready to respond when Phoenix spoke up.

She noticed that Phoenix was sitting on the ground and wondered if he was feeling alright. Falling from a tree could be pretty jarring and it hadn’t been that long since he had crash landed with the ground. She glanced down at him, hoping that he would be ok but ready to help him with a healing spell if it was needed. Obviously he knew the dwarf, and so Merenwen let the tiny bit of fear that had still existed dissipate.

She looked back at the dwarf when Phoenix was done talking and said, “I just came to the island to spend some time with my friends here.” Her hand waved around to indicate her familiars and a smile spread across her face. Glancing down at the piglet, she said, “I see you have a small friend of your own, though he looks a little cold. I apologize if I messed up your day with my little snow storm, it’s just that Tundra doesn’t do well in warm temperatures.”

As always, when Tundra heard his name he ran up to Merenwen and since she wasn’t paying as much attention to him she was knocked back on her butt. She laughed and gave the bear a rub behind his ear, smiling up at the dwarf, yet still wondering his name. She stayed sitting on the ground and said, “My name is Merenwen, may I perchance learn your name?”

As She waited for the dwarf to respond, her eyes once again scanned Phoenix, and though she was still waiting for a response from the dwarf she said, “You don’t look so good Phoenix. Would you like me to try one of my healing spells? It might make you feel better.”

Now she waited for both of them to answer, but it seemed her friends did not wish to wait for her any longer. Suddenly she was drenched with a great deal of sea water, covering her from head to toe. She glanced at the water and saw her two leviathans with their heads poking out of the water. It seemed they wanted to start a water fight with her, get their chance to play. Merenwen laughed and shouted out, “Just a minute you two, we’ll get our chance to play.”

As Phoenix sat there in the cold and damp snow he realized that he didn't like sitting in it much. Though he had taken a seat because the fall had made him a little dizzy it was beginning to clear up now. What once was a feeling of nausea was only a slight buzz within his head. It wasn't anything to really fuss about anymore. He was about to get to his feet, (and dry himself off after being stupid enough to sit in snow!) when Merenwen had chosen that time to start speak up.

"You don’t look so good Phoenix. Would you like me to try one of my healing spells? It might make you feel better." she stated. At first he didn't say anything. As he looked up into her eyes he found something that you didn't see everyday. She truly seemed to care about his well being. Even his parents didn't care about that so it came to be a bit of a shock that a person he had only met once before would care so much. Slowly raising to his feet he stood there for a moment longer. Rubbing his eyes he look to her again and smiled, "Na I should be all right, but thanks for the offer."

He continued to stay rooted to the spot. Looking around he began to notice more then just the polar bear Tundra. Though it still seemed to want the most attention he also saw two other creatures out in the water. He didn't know much about them but he believed they were called leviathans. And the pair of them seemed to becoming impatient as they drenched her from head to foot of sea water. They were most likely looking to play.

As he began to wonder what to do next another noise drew his attention back to the tree line. As he listened more carefully he thought he had heard something whining. As he moved closer though he saw nothing. He had only just turned around again to face the others when he heard it for a second time but this time followed by a few rather weak woofs. Something seemed to be hiding nearby and from the sound of it most likely something small.

Moving off to where he had seen it he was still rather close to where the other two stood. He would be able to hear if they said anything as he was only several feet away. As he was about to neal and look into some of the low brush he remembered what had happened the last time he got low to the ground. He had gotten a wet butt last time and he wasn't in a hurry to get his knees all wet as well.

Using his hands like a shovel he cleared the area he was about to neal in of the snow. Below it was sand, a little dame but much dryer then what the snow would have been. As he began his search it didn't take long for him to find the source of the noise. Hiding under a small bush out of plain sight was a small pup. He wasn't aware that they lived on the island. No doubt the cold and snow had confused this little guy as well. It looked to be a Dingo. He had heard that most of these were wild dogs but if raised from a young age they could be friendly toward others. Reaching out his hand so the pup could sniff him at first he recoiled from him, obviously scared. A few moments later as Phoenix stood still it began to inch toward him to stiff the end of his hand.

Animals were rather smart. Most knew who they could trust or not almost right away. And as it took a few more minutes the small pup at least came out from hiding. It stayed clear of all the other, exspecially the dragon but seemed rather curious about him. As he went to pick him up however he fought him. It didn't seem comfortable enough around him for that yet.

Thinking to get him more out in the opening and closer to the others he back up a few steppes. As he did the little dingo pup followed. It kept a close eye on the dragon as it did. It seemed really scared of it and the polar bear as well. It was mostly it's first encounter with both of them. Looking back to the other to he spoke, "Hey guys, look whose been watching us."

After he stated the fact he looked again to the pup. It had already moved from the tree line to his side. Closer to the others now it seemed even more desperate to stick with him. Once again trying to pick up the little guy he didn't resist this time. Now holding the dingo pup he turned to face the other two and await their response.

(If intrested here is an image of the Dingo pup, soon to be named Duke! )

The dwarf smiled at the dragon, since he noticed that the powerful creature nodded in approval. Blue eyes looked at the young man which was standing up next to her, asking him a question. Hrothgar had seen him before, though he did not know where. Like before, the dwarf frowned, looking down at Buta, which shivered from time to time. This weather didn't suit his little companion, it was too cold. Hrothgar looked up to the young man, even though he was quite young for a human, he was tall in dwarven measures. Hrothgar responded with his gruff voice.

"Ae don't remembur ye, yung one. Hrothgar, sun of Telchar." At first, he was frowning but while he was introducing himself, he smiled, being proud of his name. No, after looking at him a few more times, he could not remember where he had seen him. The dwarf turned his head to face the maiden again, who was explaining why she is here and why is it so damn cold. As she apologized, Hrothgar smiled and looked down to Buta. He was peacfully sleeping in his hands, where was warm and safe. "Ye dun haff to apologiz' milady. Everybuddy wants to haff sum... Hrothgar didn't finish the sentence, since the polar bear named Tundra came and knock her master down.

Hrothgar frowned, he was both surprised and angry. A familiar, friend, companion should never react like that. Hrothgar really thought that the bear has done that on purpose, like it was mad for some unknown reason. But when the maiden laughed and pet the bear, Hroth realised that Tundra was only playing. On his face a wide grin appeared. The maiden name was Merenwen, but it looked like he didn't hear when Hrothgar introduced himself. A silent, but still deep and gruff laugh resounded through the air. "Hrothgar, sun of Telchar, Merenwun. Do ye nead sum halp?" But she already turned around and spoke to the young man that was standing next to both of them. Even though he heard his name, Phoenix, it didn't remind him of anything. The young one politely declined her offer to help him, since he felt quite alright.

Suddenly, the maiden was drenched in water, something must've poured a great deal of sea water onto her. Hrothgar stepped back and Buta snorted in fear. The piglet jumped in surprise when a loud splashing noise could be heard. Hrothgar pet him with his thumb once again, then looked at the sea. In it, two great sea serpents were looking right into them. The right one looked older, wiser and a bit bigger while the left one must've been it's child or a youngling. Realizing that these are only one of Merenwens' friends he smiled to her saying "Ye shure haff a lot of friends may dearr." Buta snorted, since he leaned towards the maiden, who was sitting on the snow.

Phoenix left in search for something, he could see him move faster and faster in the woods. Hrothgar could swear he heard a small 'woof' but then again, he wasn't sure. Soon, Phoenix returned, while a small pup followed him. It looked like a regular village dog, but what was he doing in a place like this? Then he must've been some sort of a wild, un-tamed dog that lived here on this island. Hrothgar smiled at the pup, which looked at the dragon with a scared look on his face. Buta didn't even notice, since he was asleep again. Buta was exhausted by the boat trip to the island, so he was rather sleeping in the comfort of his masters' arms than sitting in the cold, wet snow.

Merenwen nodded at Phoenix’s response, it seemed he was feeling better as he stood up once more and she trusted that if he needed help he would have accepted it. Likely the fall had just stunned him, but he seemed fine in retrospect. Her eyes watched him as he walked away and her ears caught a slight noise, but she wasn’t sure what it was. She was tempted to follow in case he needed help, but she didn’t want to get in the way and she trusted he could take care of himself so instead she stayed sitting on the ground with Tundra brushing up against her. She would head out into the water before too long to give her leviathans some attention, but she wanted to see what would happen first.

She was glad the elf was not upset by her bringing the snow around, though she was trying to think of some way that she could make it warm enough for the little piglet without it being too warm for Tundra. She wasn’t sure what to do, and that also made her think of gumdrop riding the waves. The little mouse was probably a little cold as well, and she didn’t know if her smallest friend might be getting a little tired. Just as she was about to stand up and check on that the dwarf, Hrothgar, spoke up again. She smiled, all aglow in her love for her friends and said, “Yes, and I am blessed to have them.”

Her eyes drifted back to Phoenix as she pushed up from the ground and stood up. She saw the little pup following her him, and saw the fear he seemed to have at seeing hr dragon and polar bear. As Phoenix lifted the pup in his arms, Merenwen had her dragon lay down so that she might seem less imposing, and shooed Tundra off to the water for the time being. She smiled at Phoenix and said, “The poor little guy seems frightened, I hope my friends aren’t scaring him too much.” The pup didn’t seem ready to get too close to anyone else, so Merenwen did not try and push it. She wanted to let the little guy reach his own level of comfort in his own time.

Again, Gumdrop popped into Merenwen’s eyes and she turned to look at the water, searching fo her little mouse. She caught sight of the little guy resting on Silmarwen, obviously ready for a break. Merenwen chuckled, though she also felt a little bad for having taken so long to think of the little guy. Glancing at the two men she said, “I seem to have forgotten about one of my friends for a little too long. I need to go get him as he is tired and while they all get along, Silmarwen would probably prefer not to hold Gumdrop all day.”

That said, she moved out into the water and took Gumdrop into her hand. She told her two leviathans that she would be back shortly to play with them, but first she was going to take the little guy ashore. She moved back to the shore with her little mouse sitting on her hand, looking about at the new arrivals. Merenwen chuckled yet again and said, “This is Gumdrop, my little surfing mouse.”

((Sorry it’s kinda crappy and took so long.))