They freeze, staring with wide eyes. Swallowing down the bile that threatened to surface, they force themselves away from the body, hands over their eyes as their form trembled for a moment, letting out shaky breaths. Once calmed down, they drop their hands, taking care not to look towards the corpse, instead looking to the attacker. They offer a small, shaky smile to the Changeling as she gave a sharp middle finger to the body. They try to rise to their feet, adrenaline dying down, only to cough out a choked cry and crumple as pain bladed across their leg. Blinking away tears, they press a hand to the bleeding gash, murmuring more words of magic as the skin started to knit itself back together.
Jeff starts over, concerned, before Vex jumps in the way with a determined, angry expression. Foot coming up to take a hit between the ex-bandit's legs, the blow seemed to do little- maybe there was hidden armor, or maybe the kick was that weak, they didn't dwell on it long as they say with a half-hearted sigh, "Vex, he's an ally. No need to kick him." With a slight shake of their head, they dig into their pocket and holds out a item of peace; a packaged length of flavored suger, which she eagerly takes and calms down, tearing open the packet and pouring some into her palm.
When the wound finally closes, they rise once more, Jeff at their side to pull them up by the arm as well, murmuring a small 'thanks' to the help as they sway on their feet. As Jeff pulls away, war cries fill the air, and the three prepare for another fight; Jeff with his brandished blade, Vex ready to pelt out bolts of fire, and Raven trying to orientate themselves enough to even do anything besides fall on the ground.
The cries continue until a group of people herd themselves past the outer gate before skidding to a stop in surprise, mouth agape and eyes wide, at the wreckage and three wounded strangers. Five dwarves, they observed, dressed in heavy metal armor and wielding great-swords raised to the sky. However, the surprise is short lived, quickly tucked away under a mask of indifference as the three relax, Raven lightly pressing a hand to Jeff before allowing a final burst of magic, too exhausted to do much else for the time being magic wise, as the dwarves walk over.
"Aye," came the gruff voice of the leading dwarf, "did you three do all this?" His accent hung thick to the words, making it sound more like 'did ya th-ree do all dis'. The three looked to one another, then back to the dwarf to give nods of confirmation. The dwarf blinks owlishly, and they turn their pale eyes to the sky for a moment as he continues, "Well ah, we didn't need yer help or anything, anyways," A pause, "But ah... Thanks." They turn their gaze back down, squashing down the slight amusement of the dwarf trying to save face at asking two magic casters to deal with this- and they decided not to bring up that fast either as the dwarf sizes them up for a moment.
"I uh, suppose yer deeds deserve a reward, no?" The dwarf asks, and they barely turn their head to see Vex eagerly nod, already making conversation with hand movements with the man while their own eyes drift once more, picking up on the crunch of snow as the ex-bandit starts sneaking away.
They reach their small, pale hand forwards, grabbing at the back of his shirt collar while their other hand comes up to mask a laugh, "And where are you off to?" Jeff doesn't turn, but does halt in his steps, staring to the gate. "Wherever I can get a job, I guess." He shrugs, and their head tilts to the side, unruly curls of night following as they hum, "Why not just join up with us?"
This caught his attention, Jeff turning to blink in bewilderment, "Can I actually?" They were a little surprised by the reply, saying with a lilt, "Of course-" However, they tacked on a quick teas of, "We need someone with some physical prowess, after all."196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9yGJcxtB9
"Can't promise too much," Jeff snorts in turn,196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzG9jpCw6uK
A smile graces their expression, soft in amusement as they giggle, "Well lucky you, we aren't looking for much."
Peeking back to where Vex was, they see the Changeling and dwarves heading off to who knows where, their head tilting in confusion for a second only to let out a sigh, a bad feeling settling in their stomach as the two wait patiently for the return of the dwarves and their friend. When they did come back, a few minutes later, Vex was dragging a large bag.
They move to meet the girl half way, murmuring out a "Oh, jeez-" as they pinch the bridge of their nose, not liking the size of the bag. It only got worse when Vex proudly showed the contents- edible sugar, packed almost to the brim. Hand pressed to their face, they bemoan, "Vex, why? We talked about this..." She only gives an innocent shrug as Jeff lets out a confused, "Uh, what'd she get?"
Raven motions Jeff forwards, and watches as the older male shakes his head in exasperation, deciding not to question the contents as Raven mutters, "Anyways, we need to be on our way- not much else to do here, really..." They motion to the dwarves, who were starting to clean up- while they did wish to help, their aching body wasn't in agreement. However, they stuff right their satchel and start off to the forest, hearing the other two quickly go to follow, Vex taking the bag of sugar along as well
They pause in a step before continuing, rummaging into their bag for a moment to pull out a book. They flip a few pages, finding the contents empty, and holds it out to Jeff as he catches up, the half-Elf tugging his sleeve. "What's that for?" He asks, and they shrug, "Whatever you want it to be- er, uh, I don't really have a use for it, so it just acts as extra weight... Maybe you can find a better use for it?" They fidget slightly, face threatening to burn at their fumbling. The human however offers a smile, gingerly taking the book while they hunt for the map- only to come up empty.
Head turning to the Changeling, they state dryly,
"Vex, if the map is in that bag of sugar, I will hit you-"
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