Finding herself to be rather squeamish when it came to high quantities of blood, Rose turns herself away from the inevitable butchering of the elk and brings her attention to the aarakocra mending his own wounds. She wasn’t a stranger to minor cuts and scrapes, and seeing as this was more ‘up her alley’ in what she could stomach she goes over and asks if he would like some help.

If denied, she wouldn’t push the issue, only frown a little followed by a nod in acceptance with his decision.

If allowed the opportunity, she would kneel beside him and get to work with a content smile on her face.

Afterwards, she would make her way over to the ground and sit herself in the snow, afraid she would take up too much of the blanket for the others to sit on. Snow and the cold didn’t bother her, so she truly didn’t mind. However, still plagued by social awkwardness, she begins to nervously weave her hair into small braids unless spoken to (or if she had anything to add in during the conversation).

SR: 5

Jirel will take responsibility for the elk. Without a word, the goliath would inspect its wounds to ensure that neither of their blades pierced the innards that could spoil the meat. Once she's determined what was harvestable, Jirel will grip her axe and begin skinning the beast. She'll collect the meat, laying it out on some fresh snow before she would dispose of the carcass where wild scavengers could have their fill. Her movements were purposeful and completed with thought and care, showing nature the respect she believed it deserved.

Covered in blood up to her elbows and a few smears on her face, Jirel will return with some wood and begin building a small fire, assuming no one would protest. She'd stoke it, nursing a bed of coals. Without formal cooking tools, the goliath would improvise. She'd take her battleaxe and clean the blade off with some fresh snow before laying it over the hot coals to heat up. She'll repeat the process of using the snow to wash the blood from her hands. Jirel will chop rough chunks of elk meat, skewer them with a stick and place them on her heated blade to begin cooking. At one point during the cooking process, before she's cooked it all, she'd look to Zaf, "Do you have a preference for raw or cooked, friend?".

Noticing Jasun's pout and disappointment with his coat, Jirel would retrieve the leather she skinned and come sit near the sad panda him. Although the skin was not treated and not yet a leather, she'd gesture with it. "I wield no magic, nor the skill to mend your coat. But I can offer material for patching or the creation of something new."

Rest: 12

"Ha Ha! Make sure you wash your hands!" Jasun laughed nervously, eyeing Jirel's bloody limbs. "No, but seriously, sure. Let us see what we can do with this..what do you call it? Wardrobe malfunction? Also, excellent job in preparing our meal. One might say, perhaps myself, that I hope I would never starve should I spend more time around you." 

"Let's see what we can do about that hole," Sera says to Jasun, indicating for him to take off his coat and lay it out. The young woman casts her mind back to helping her mother mend old clothes and begins working with the warlock to fix the hole as neatly as possible, eyes narrowed and her bottom lip caught between her teeth in her focus.

SR: 5

"Absolutely, I appreciate any effort you make. Here." Jasun said as he took it off and handed it to Sera. He then watches with genuine interest as she makes the attempt.

Zaf wouldn't deny any assistance. Just kind of look at Rose for a long moment with an unreadable expression, before nodding and making some room nearby for her to help with the binding while he focused on keeping the pressure.  At the end of it all, he pats Rose on the arm in thanks, and even sort of hugs her briefly using a wing. "The Rose is most kind." Zaf said, eye smiling once more as the wing retreats back into place.

Afterwards, if she had not sat beside him, Zaf waddles over to sit beside her. Even if his butt would likely be numb from the cold after, it never dissuades him into moving except for the meal. To which, he would reply with "Cooked" to Jireal, and even offer some seasoning carried in a belt pouch for the meal. "What is that the Jasun wish to know of the Zaf, or the others?"  He'd ask curiously.

"Anything you'd like to share, my bird person friend." Jasun replied. "We all come from different walks of life and have unique experiences that shape who we are. I, for one, was very comfortable in the clean and tidy office I had as associate professor of the arcane teaching and doing research. Little did I realize I would be in the snow at my Master's request in the fine company of you all! Mm. That elk meat smells delightful." he said, bobbing his eyebrows.

Jirel would look to her hands. Sure they were dirty, but she washed them with snow. So they were clean, right? She'd go back to turning the meat over to cook the other side. The goliath would also be sure to add the extra to cook for Zaf, acknowledging his answer with a grunt. Jirel would be pleasantly surprised by the owl's offer of seasoning. It's rare she has the luxury of cooking with them. The barbarian would sniff the spices with a little too much enthusiasm, causing her to twist her nose in the air and sneeze, directing it away from her guests and food. Blinking back the tears in her eyes from her involuntary spasm, Jirel will proceed to season the meat and return the pouch to Zaf.

The goliath will listen to Jasun and Zaf over the crackling of the fire and the sizzling of the meat. "My story is simple. I was cast out of my tribe for being a weak runt." There was some shame evident on her face. "I was abandoned with this axe I could not swing." She'd gesture with her chin to the axe she was using to sear their dinner. " 'She only needs an axe to survive', so I did."

"Had I not known this information," Jasun admitted frankly, "I would of had no idea that was the reason for your outcast. For, truthfully, from what I have seen, I consider you anything but weak, if I may be so honest. Personally, I think you handle the axe very well." He then took a bite. Yum.

"I believe there are many answers to the universe out there. And, perhaps, with a little help AND without selling my soul, I can discover them. Quite a change from my usual academic pursuits, but I have to make do with what I have."

Zaf just cocks his head to the side in confusion at Jasun, and then rotated his head around fully to the back for a second or so. "Oh wait, nevermind." He murmur mysteriously under his breathe. "I agree with the Jasun. You are quite impressive specimen. Though I would understand if this fills you only with so much comfort come from an outsider, as many people have different perspectives on the measurement of one capacity." Zaf admits solemnly, casting his gaze downward.

"I, for one, am thankful for your presence here. Without it I fear this particular venture would be far more strenous than any other I have been on before. And I have been on many... or... so I think." He grips the side of his head. "My memory is a bit fuzzy. Has been for over a year now. I know... some things... places... people... But, others either don't make sense or... just aren't there, it feels. The only thing truly certain is a pull to the north that I have had for some time." He sighs and takes a healthy bite of the meat served to him. "What answers does the Jasun seek exactly about the universe?"  

Area F

 A human-sized snowman stands in the middle of the trail before a frozen stream. A crude wooden sign leans against it and bears the words “Trespassers Turn Back.”

"I truly believe that there is some..deeper power..some..unfathomable force that lies outside the boundaries of our reality - I have seen evidence of it firsthand that it is true." Jasun admitted to Zaf, looking at the snowman. "Can you imagine? The knowledge and power that beings like that could possess? Think of everything that you know, everything that you think you know. And then realize there is so much more to know."

"For example. On a rainy day. You see a snail on the ground, slowly moving." he says. "The snail has no concept or deep understanding of you, or anything "higher" in life - do I dare say - like love, reason, or even self awareness, most importantly. For a lack of a better example..I am convinced something..far, far greater..is looking at us like we are snails. I wish to obtain this cosmic knowledge from Beyond - without it costing my soul." 

He looked at the sign for a moment more.

"Well." he said finally. "I have the feeling we're not going to heed the warning on this sign. Am I correct?" he smiled. "Danger and mischief awaits!"

Jirel would feel warmth in her heart grow from the sincerity in the words shared by both Jasun and Zaf. "Thank you." She'd say softly, feeling comfort in their words. A little warmth would spread to her cheeks, and she grew to feel comfort and appreciation for the company shared this meal with. The goliath would listen closely to the stories the other's shared around the fire, desiring to return the companionship. "Zaf, I feel saddened to hear of lost memories and I hope maybe one day, it could return?" Jirel was also curious about what may have happened a year ago that could be related. Perhaps a story for another dinner.

Jirel's gaze would also land upon the snowman, but her ears would be focused on the sound of the Jasun's voice. There was a difference in his tone and the way these words ran off his tongue in excitement. They didn't seem laced with intentions, but desire and passion for knowledge. She never considered a grand search for something so beyond herself that it could potentially cost her soul. But at least he had passion.

The goliath wouldn't rush to 'heed the warning' of the sign. She was plenty happy filling her belly and listening to camp fire stories. We never got to hear the stories of Sera or Rose. Jirel would glance over to their quiet friends, "Next time, you go first." She'd pop the last bite into her mouth and pick herself off the ground.

Jirel will reach a hand out to offer Rose a hand up out of the snow, "I apologize if my actions made you uncomfortable." She would be sincere in her words, "I hope you can find comfort in knowing that there was no waste, and I treated the animal with respect." Living in harmony and maintaining balance with nature was the way of her people. Although cast out, it was still something she believed in.

After a couple of quick stretches, Jirel would be ready to move on with whatever danger and mischief the son of Halifax may bring their way.

"Hmm. What's this?" The goliath will lean closer to pretend she was trying to read a much smaller script on the sign. "Watch for rogue logs."

Jasun looked at Jirel and almost laughed, but instead was very pleasantly surprised at Jirel's sudden humor. "I shall! That's exactly what the sign says." he admitted, teasingly. "And, should I fall prey to another, I am fortunate to have such a strong woman to assist me with her magnificent strength - I hope!" 

Jirel, as you move closer to the sign, the snowman momentarily comes alive and says "Can't you read? The sign says turn back! Now get lost!"

Jirel looks Frosty straight into his coal dead eyes, "No."

Jasun smiles pleasantly and looks at the camera like he's on The Office humorously.

The side hug from Zaf comes as a slight surprise to the firbolg, she unsure if the warm and fuzzy feeling was normal or not. Again, she curses herself for her lack of knowledge when it came to social interaction and expression among people other than those who served the temple. Friends do hug, right? Were they friends? However, she isn't able to think too much on it when he gives her a kind compliment. "O-oh..." She seems to shy away a bit. "... I try to be." She says softly, just loud enough for Zaf to hear as a sad smile makes itself present on her face before she turns to sit with the others.

She says nothing when he sits next to her, but her smile looks to shift back into a more content one as a result (though she does feel bad about his butt eventually going numb). As the others began to speak about themselves, Rose falls quiet and merely listens, chewing on her portion of elk. She can't help but feel somber when she hears of Jirel's and Zaf's hardships. Being casted out by those who should have loved you... A faltering memory... She couldn't imagine what they went through, what they might even be going through now... and she finally lets a frown form on her face when she hears of Jasun's goals.

Behind bangs, her eyes go to the snow as she dives off the deep end in her thoughts.

 By the time she brings herself back to reality, they were already getting up to continue on. Embarrassed, she shovels down the rest of her meal into her mouth and is about to get up herself, but stops when Jirel offers her a hand up. She takes it with a sheepish smile tugged at her lips, though it fades when the goliath apologizes to her. "A-ah, no need to apologize, Jirel! B-but I do appreciate you doing it regardless. I just... I don't have the, um, strongest stomach. I can't handle too much blood or I'll feel light headed... I... I don't get out a lot, so... this whole thing is new to me. I-I've never had elk before, b-but you prepared it wonderfully! Thank you!" She shuffles her feet a bit. "A-and, um, I'm sorry about what your tribe did to you... They were wrong. You're an amazing and strong woman, and I'm glad to be on this adventure with you." The cleric finishes with a nod and another smile, happy to have gotten those words out without feeling self-conscious. 

The firbolg inspects the snowman from afar, then observes how the others had interacted with it, a giggle passing her lips at Jirel sticking it up to the snowman. With him slightly distracted, Rose uses her staff to move the sign to she could grab it and set it face down in the snow, burying it just a little. "What sign?" She asks the snowman innocently, a hint of jest behind her words.

"Do you think you could ever love me?" Jezzika asked.
Jasun sighed. "I don't think so, my dear." 
Jezzika took a step closer to him. "But why? Why must it be so?"
"Put simply, what you are frightens me." he said honestly. "You..are a beautiful woman, but..powered by..something..beyond. You are, truly, no longer mortal. In any sense."
"But, I can still love." Jezzika reassured him, her lips an inch from his. "Let me show you."
Jasun felt faint with her scent, intoxicated. Her purple eyes sparkled, her white hair like silk. Her lips, so close. He hated what he was about to say next, but it was the right thing to do. "No, Jezzika. I am sorry. I must not. I simply want to learn, to know, to understand. I'm..you have given yourself to another. You have a new master now."
"But, Jasun, you are a reminder to me of a life I used to have, a connection I want again. I miss it. I want it again."
Jasun turned his head away. He had to. With a pout, Jezzika was gone. The only thing that remained was him and his pounding, frustrated heart.

He turned towards his desk, looked at his eldritch papers, and in a fit of annoyance, pushed them all roughly off the desk, swearing loudly. After a moment of silence, a voice.

Remain with me, and behold the greatest of truths.

"Yes, T'Vauz.."

After Jasun's whole spiel, Zaf squeezed his eyes shut as if in deep concentration. The whole matter of the talking snowman and the group's interaction with it goes right over his head, as only thing occupied the owlakocra now. Finally the eyes open into thin slits set upon the snow-ridden ground. "That didn't answer my question at all.. Not even a little bit." He murmurs, scratching his head, before finally looking up and taking in the scene, blissfully unaware of many a change.