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He passed.
That's all Frost could register at the moment, that he had mastered all that his master taught him. Settled on the ground while the ceremony commenced of his graduation from a pupil, his mind was calm as he was donned in the green robes of his master, the sash settled in his open paws, and as he brought it down to his lap, he could see the smile from his master.
Perhaps the youngest in the history of the order, he could still see the pride brimming from his master, as he bowed down. In turn, Frost bowed his head, closing his eyes as he could hear the wind humming outside. He was now recognized in the order.
After all was said and done, being dismissed to his room afterwards, he tied on the detailed sash like he was taught. The serpent design complimented the stripes that showed on his face from under his hood. His ears were perked up in pride of himself, a small smile beginning to grace his features, before he gave a hum and began packing.
Was this required? No, it wasn't, but Frost wasn't planning on staying still. Even after mastering all that he was taught, there was still a couple of things he wanted: Something that he's said from childhood was to see the world. Something he gained from the order was mastery over his own emotions. Something he promised his parents was to never not be curious.
All three came with their own challenges, but Frost wanted to work towards two of them: Exploring, and his curiosity. As he packed up what he had, he couldn't help but frown just a bit at his bag. Not for it, no, just the contents lacking in general. He had enough to keep himself going for the next couple of days, maybe about a week, but it certainly wasn't what he hoped for.
Regardless of that, he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, grabbing up the last items he had in his possession that he found during a last sweep, before turning and leaving the room. Out into the hallway. Into the daylight.
Something awaited him, he knew it. His ear flicked to the side as he took a deep breath in, the outside overwhelming in one of the best ways, as he began his trek into the nearby town to stock up.
~~~~~
It took about two days of travel, gathering the supplies he needed, with word on the street talking about a ship traveling to Karinos from Yulong. A rarity in itself, best of Frost's knowledge, and an opportunity he wasn't about to pass up. His bag comfortably sat on his shoulders as he walked towards the dock that the ship settled at, being loaded with supplies.
He wasn't the only one, surrounded by other tabaxi of different kinds, other humanoids as well, watching this ship being loaded. It helped, his ears pressed against his head as he crept around in the shadows. He knew he wouldn't be able to get on the ship by simply asking, so it was time to put his skills to use.
He got to a clearer area, spotting an area in the ship that looked empty enough for him to go to without being spotted immediately. A deep breath in, a nervous energy snaked around his heart, before he exhaled again. The energy left, his mind grew quiet, and he closed his eyes. All he had to do was cast his spell and....
His eyes opened again, and instead of being surrounded by people, sand, and mountains, he was surrounded by wood on all sides. Looking around, it looked like some sort of closet, which worked for Frost perfectly. He found a suitable place to hide in the closet, before closing his eyes with his bag on his lap in a meditative state.
He was still on alert, his nose picking up on the smell of the sea that laid ahead, ears twitching towards any sounds and voices he heard, he could feel the vibrations through the floor boards of boots pounding and items being placed or thrown haphazardly. It was new. All of this was new. And here he was: A tabaxi on his way to Karkinos.
The final call for people to get on, he shifted a bit more to blend into the shadows, smirking just a bit at his own sneakiness to even get to this point. He would fight -Tooth, claw, and mind- to stay on the ship, but decided his luck would rest in staying hidden.
"How long is this trip?" His ear twitched towards the rough voice, his nose picking up the smell of two different humanoids. He wasn't sure which one was talking, but there was two close enough to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"Eh, captain's sayin' to haul ass. A month at most." The other spoke, both of their accents unrecognizable to Frost, which only made him more curious. Where were they from? Their accents sounded deceptively similar to each other. It only fueled his choice to stay. A month at most, and he was going to be there for the whole trip.
A smirk graced his lips, a tongue swiping across his muzzle and flattening the whiskers down. He was ready for anything at this point.
~~~~~
"TABAXI STOWAWAY!"
Frost had to swiftly dart after he was spotted, down to streets and paths of the unfamiliar city. Humanoids that weren't from his village or the order -Lizardfolk, he had learned both the name and the general smell of them- watched him run. He was being chased, his tail swiped at the air as he heard one of them prepare to jump.
Thankfully, he was faster, shooting over to the side and down an alleyway. Adrenaline ran through his veins as he sped past two humanoids -A lizardfolk in a nice suit and a heated genasi- the shouting of 'DAMNED TABAXI' only made him smirk as he turned swiftly down another path. And another. And another. He wasn't familiar with the lay out of this village -City? It looked much larger than a simple village- but he blended in with the other humanoids as well as he could. Stoic, ears pinned back to keep the noise down, and walking with confidence like he wasn't an illegal want.
He managed to lose the lizardfolks chasing him, going into a shop to restock on his supplies. Karkinos was already more entertaining than Yulong. He wouldn't mind traveling around here for a while. Another swipe of his tongue to flatten the whiskers to his muzzle, he looked at the listed shop signs.
Everything was different here than on Yulong, Frost realized. He learned quickly, when introducing himself to the shop owner, he had to say he preferred to be called 'Frost' rather than 'Morning', despite it being first. The smells weren't gentle and quick, they were bold and lingering. It hit for a bit of an overwhelming experience, but he couldn't be bothered, it was nice and much warmer.
His tail wasn't as much of an eyesore as he thought, or.. Not in the way he thought. He knew a lot of other humanoids had tails, but he realized that lizardfolks' tails weren't as dexterous as his was, leading him to swirl his tail around his legs to keep it from being hit by accident. Politeness was a hit or miss, but Frost is overly polite compared to most.
Meat was much more common than he expected, but he certainly wasn't complaining at all. Fish wasn't his first choice, but it was a nice change. Wandering around to fix his supplies up, from shop to shop, he found himself content with all that he got, and now searched for an inn to sleep in for the night. Sleeping on a bed rather than the wooden floor sounded like a dream. Honestly, the dirt sounded more comfortable for Frost.
It didn't take long to find one, as the sun was beginning to set down the horizon, and he walked into the front of the inn, swiftly moving his tail out of the way of the slamming door with a slight jolt at the loud clattering of wood, glass, and metal. "Don't mind that door, hon, it does that." The innkeep spoke, causing Frost to perk his ear up towards her direction and look over.
"Hey there! We don't get many tabaxi around here, what's your name?" She asked, leaning on the counter. She was a lizardfolk, dark green scales glittering a bit in the light above her, a lighter green on her lower jaw that disappeared under her shirt. A flattering red blouse complimented her near golden eyes, her nails a similar color, as she looked at Frost up and down.
"My name is Morning Frost, but you can call me Frost. Is there a room available for tonight?" Frost stepped forward, his hood hanging over his head, but that didn't stop the light from showing off his yellow eyes, his white muzzle showing, as his black-tipped tail settled behind his legs, making no motion to move.
"Oh, for you? There absolutely is. Just you?" The lizardfolk pulled out a clipboard from underneath the counter, grabbing a pen from the nearby cup-holder, before beginning to scribble on the paper it held.
"Yes, it's just me. How much is it?" Frost slipped his hand into his bag, retrieving a smaller pouch of gold that was rapidly going down from his spending.
"Well..." The lizardfolk smirked as she looked at Frost, "Normally, it's 3 gold pieces. But, you can spend the night with me, and it'll be free, suga'." She winked at Frost, while the tabaxi blinked in an owlish way. Debating the options, but frankly...
"While an evening with you sounds lovely, I would appreciate a room to myself for tonight. Maybe some other time, you seem like lovely company." Pulling out the gold and counting it, Frost missed the stunned look of the innkeeper, who then gave an impressed huff as she turned to the keys.
When she got back, Frost held out the gold to her and gratefully took the key from her claws, feeling her nails on his palm linger long enough to make a shiver rush down his spine, fur spiking up just a bit at the odd sensation. "You're room is just down the hallway, up the stairs. Sleep well, honey." Frost gave a small bow to her, a 'thank you', before he made his way up the stairs to the room he was given.
With the world ahead of him, he was more than ready. The cooled adrenaline in his veins, a nice shower, getting his clothes cleaned, food in his stomach as he fixed some holes and scraps in his robe. He was content, working into the night, the moon safely overhead, before he finally curled up in bed and fell asleep faster than he cared to admit. Still, he had time to explore, and he intended on it.
~~~~~
The morning came quickly, but he was awake a little later than he realized. Still, he didn't sweat it, fixing the fur that stuck up in odd places, before gathering his things and setting out for the day. His intention wasn't to stay around here, simply for the fact of not wanting to be caught and brought back to Yulong. He was already here, why waste it?
Departing from the city, he figured that this would be the last time he really saw a city for a while. He faced forward, anxiety swirled in his chest for a brief moment, but was quickly overshadowed by his curiosity and excitement weighing heavy and bright in his chest.
And he began to walk. On his lonesome, on the road traveled, head high as he took in sights, smells, sounds, feelings- Everything. He diverted down different paths, exploring all that he could and mentally mapping everything out. His ear flicked at any noise he heard, and by the time it was turning night again, he had walked the whole day and now traveled on a narrow path through a swamp-like area.
It smelt moist, much more than he was used to -almost suffocating him-
The sounds were new, animals he had heard in childhood and much more -almost overwhelmingly loud-
The feeling, short of trudging through the swamp, was slowing -almost too slowing-
A spike hit through Frost's chest, painfully aware of everything -every sight, sound, smell-
This wasn't Yulong.
This wasn't home.
This was more than that.
Overwhelmingly more than Yulong,
Taking a deep breath in through his mouth, letting it out through his nose slowly, he took in his surroundings and found a path of flat dirt, off of the path big enough for a small camp and out of the way that no one would find him. Stepping off of the path, the nightmare that was the mud underneath his paws, feeling and hearing the squish under his shoes- It got to Frost in one of the worst ways.
Still, he leveled himself, keeping himself in the mud for a moment and allowing himself to get used to it. If he was to stay and travel, mud would be something he would be familiar with. The moist air. The loud sounds. This was his new home. His new travels. Deep breaths, steadily in and out, he walked to the dirt patch -his tail swaying behind him to keep his balance from slipping- before settling his bag on the ground.
Rummaging through, he pulled out his tent and bedroll, setting both up while his mage hand sparked up a campfire. He wanted to eat before he went to bed, the smells and sounds beginning to become a comfort rather than a painful yet pleasant reminder of the new and unknown.
After he finished setting up the tent, he settled near the campfire and pulled out some of the rations he had to cook up. Most of it was pre-cooked, thankfully, but he had some raw bits from before that -based on smell and outlook- was still edible but needed to be prepped and cooked first. It made good jerky meat, and he had the time to spare.
With a plan in mind, he began fixing his food up, swiping his tongue over his whiskers again to flatten them to his muzzle. Listening to the sounds of nature, he was growing accustom to them, although louder than he was used to. His ear snapped back to the sound of a twig, swiftly turning his head to the sound as well. His face dropped, expecting a fight, as he reached out mentally.
Swiftly, but carefully, he was able to find the mind of something larger, his nose picking up on the new smell -Goblin? No, it was too furry smelling to be a goblin- as he slipped in slowly. "Who are you?" He spoke into the mind of the creature, turning back to his food and the fire when he identified a couple of things:
He wasn't in immediate danger. Yes, this being was new, but they were small, almost fragile, minded.
They weren't in the best state. By the sounds of their grumbling stomach and the smell akin to a dumpster, they were likely drawn by the smell of food.
They were new to Frost. He wasn't going to act hostile.
The humanoid grumbled, verbally, in a language that Frost couldn't understand, as his ear twitched towards the sound. "Join me. My name is Morning Frost, but you may call me Frost." Frost once again spoke in the creatures mind.
As the creature came out of hiding, slowly creeping towards the fire but being wary around Frost, the tabaxi was able to take in the details of the creature. He held back a frown upon seeing the state of the other. "If I may ask, who are you?" He asked, trying to start up conversation.
However, the creature stared, shifting to sit on the ground on the other side of the fire of Frost. They blinked a couple of times, as Frost stared back, trying to identify the person in front of him. He knew they could talk, but now wondered if they spoke Common. The hinting towards goblin gave Frost some ideas towards them not being able to.
Taking them in: They were around the same height as Frost, a bit shorter, a thin frame with barely any clothing on, the only decency they had being brown fur covering their body and some fabric -vaguely clothing- covering more sensitive areas. Their eyes were sunken in, almost pleading for something, being a pale red in color.
Focusing back to the food, Frost kept sneaking glances to the creature, warming up slowly in his company. A swipe of his tongue over his whiskers, he reached to his bag and grabbed out another portion of food, before beginning to cook it up as well. He could last, and it would be rude not to offer something to the other.
It didn't take long to finish up, holding his portion in a washable bowl he had, the other portion on a plate of the same dish, before he handed the plate over to the creature, startling the hunched over, brown-furred figure. "You look starved. My treat."
It took a long moment, Frost waited patiently the entire time, relaxed with the offering in his hand. He wasn't going to let whoever this was starve. The humanoid then grabbed the plate, being gentle and hesitant, before holding it close to them and eating at the food he was offered, sniffing and glancing up occasionally. Each time he noticed, Frost would nod encouragingly, eventually allowing his eyes to close as he ate his own food.
Comfortable. This was nice. The sounds of the crackling wood, the warmth of the fire, the smell of the ash and smoke.
Assuring. He shifted in his spot just a bit. The sounds of the humanoid grumbling in a pleased manner, the presence that he wasn't alone, the smell of the creature ingraining in his mind.
Settling. He opened his eyes to look at the fire. The sounds of nature grounding him, the feeling of the dirt underneath him, the smell of the thick air helping him breathe easier in a weird twist.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he came to again: The fire was slowly smoldering out, the humanoid he had grown accustomed to was laid on the ground, curled up around the plate Frost had let him use, the moon was shining bright through the trees, and he was much more relaxed than he was previously.
He tucked the bowl away, making sure things were properly packed, before he went into the tent. Disrobing himself, slipping his shoes off, he settled comfortably in the bedroll, keeping himself in a state of semi-alertness. If anything, aside from the small snores and the sounds of nature, broke through, he would force himself alert.
~~~~~
Over a year of traveling, wandering the land of Karkinos, Frost hadn't run into that bugbear again. He knew now, by scent and sight, what a bugbear was. The fur on his chin had grown longer than it had ever, un-tampered with since Frost found no need to do more than shape it occasionally. He had grown used to the moist air, coming to welcome it. He learned more about lizardfolk, the types they were and the difference between them. He began picking up on sign language, enjoying the movements and difference it had compared to common.
He was very different compared to the Frost that came here a while ago. Wiser, less spunky, more meticulous, yet still Frost. He knew more about the world, knew customs of more folks, saw how different everything was to Yulong. Yet, this felt more at home.
Traveling through the jungle was nothing new, taking in the sounds and smells of the world around him. His tongue swiped across his whiskers, a habit he hadn't let die out, before his ear twitched towards a strange sound. While distant and muffled, it was... Talking? Someone talking... Going lighter on his feet, Frost began towards the noise.
As he grew closer, he could smell two smells: goblin and owlbear. He grew tense, the owlbear was bad news, and if there was a goblin in danger... He couldn't let anything bad happen to whoever this stranger was. Getting closer, slowly, trying to avoid making sounds, he came across an... Well, it was a sight for certain.
A goblin, blonde hair, hanging upside down by a rope wrapped around his foot. A necklace was on the forest floor, as well as a flute, an ocarina, and a couple of wooden carved statues. An owlbear, scared and trying to reach for the goblin, was hunched over a tree root.
"Hootsie-! Hootsie, it's okay! Papa will get outta here-" A bit of struggling proved to Frost that he would, in fact, not be getting out of there, "I know you didn't mean to Hootsie, it's okay! Just need to get- Umph!" The goblin kept on struggling, and it took Frost longer than he cared to admit to realize that the goblin was talking to the owlbear. And while he wasn't the greatest with animals, she was far too small to be on her own.
Frost went to speak, before he heard rustling in the jungle over to left. He swift-ed over behind the trees to the right, creeping around to get closer to the trapped goblin and juvenile owlbear. From where he was, he could spot two humanoids -clearly in hunter gear- coming out of the jungle from the left. A human, too cocky and proud for Frost's liking, and a bugbear.
"Well, well, well... Caught ourselves a two-for-one deal here!" The human shouted it without care, causing Frost to flinch and pin his ears back against his head, the end of his tail twitching in annoyance. He didn't take long, observing the dynamic of the two as he thought of a plan.
"Oh! Hello there! Do ya mind gettin' me down? I'm a little stuck." The goblin smiled, as if this wasn't the goal of the hunters. To trap and kill whatever it was out here for some gold. Or maybe he did know and was trying to lure them in? He didn't sound the brightest, but he didn't look the dullest.
The bugbear stood at attention slightly behind the human, almost glaring at him, as if trying to find a reason to harm the hunter. A slow, deep breath in, Frost reached out mentally to the bugbear. "You know," he began once he had access to his thoughts, "there's no one else around. You could take him out and no one would know."
The bugbear looked alarmed for a moment, -Frost feared that the message didn't work- before he heard a distinct growl from the bugbear. Attention hardened on the human, before he spotted the owlbear. Frost's eyes darted down to the juvenile, baring his claws, and as the bugbear leapt forward to attack, he let out a growl of his own. He jumped between the bugbear and owlbear, swiping his claw across the bugbear's chest and effectively causing him to stand down a bit.
The human's attention swiveled to the tabaxi, eye's wide, and as they locked eyes, Frost's tongue swiped slowly across his whiskers, flattening them to his muzzle, pupil's expanding in a hunter-like way. Intimidation in a short time frame, a skill he learned to use during his time traveling, and it worked. Still having a reach on the bugbear's mind, he mentally grabbed his spine, visibly seeing the bugbear tense up in an unnatural, forced way.
The bugbear couldn't do anything other than make strangled sounds and noises, the human stared him down, fear causing a shiver to rush down his spine. "Now, gentlemen," Frost spoke, calm and clear, which somehow terrified the human more, "I suggest that you two go."
It didn't take the human a beat of silence, immediately rushing off back to where he came. Frost glared down to the bugbear, slowly releasing his hold on the other's spine. And within moments, a bit of scrambling and whimpering to be freed, the bugbear followed the frightened human.
Blinking a few times, Frost's eyes returned to their normal slits, previously puffed fur slowly coming down as the tense moment passed. His attention turned to the goblin hanging in the air, only to be met with blue eyes staring at him in pure and utter shock and admiration. The tabaxi didn't waste time staring, going to where the stuff had fallen from the goblin and moving it over enough so he wouldn't hit the anything but dirt.
He looked at his armed claws, seeing the blood and small bits of fur clinging on, he followed the rope to the tree the owlbear hunched by. Four retracted, leaving his index out, he grabbed the rope with his claw and-
"AH-!" Thud!
The goblin was now on the jungle floor.
Frost turned his attention to the spot, a shot of worry hitting his chest when he saw the shorter unmoving. He stayed where he was, as the owlbear -Hootsie, he believed- moved closer to the goblin, soft trills of worry leaving her beak. Frost watched from his spot, as Hootsie nudged the goblin on the shoulder.
Once
Twice
Three times
Another shot of worry hit his- "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!?" The shout caused Frost to flinch, his ears pinning down to his head as the blonde goblin shot up from his position, laid out on the ground. Snapping his head towards Frost, the tabaxi steeled himself for anything. Did he fuck up? It was possible, Frost wasn't the best with certain things.
"You-! Ah!" The goblin's attention shifted to the owlbear, hugging Hootsie and giving words that Frost paid no mind to. Deciding that, whatever the goblin had to offer, wasn't worth waiting, he turned to continue down the path he had been walking on. Animal made, he could sense, and there wasn't much to go by. He was still curious about the world after all.
"Hey-! Hey! Wait up!" Frost's ears perked up, one flicking backwards towards the sounds of someone -the goblin- scrambling to collect his things, before running towards the tabaxi. The second set of footsteps had to be Hootsie's, but he didn't make any move to slow down.
He didn't have to. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw blonde, blue, red, and green pop up, white of a toothy grin as well. His fur puffed under his cloak, his tail twitchily swaying in alarm. "Ah! You are the same one, perfect! Thank you so much for savin' me and my daughter Hootsie from those hunters! Oh, if they had gotten to Hootsie, I dunno WHAT I would've done!"
"You're welcome. I'm glad that you're alive after that fall." Frost was being sincere about it, finally turning his head to face the goblin. "My name is Morning Frost, but you can call me Frost." He held his un-bloodied paw to the goblin, who grabbed and shook with both hands, clearly excited.
"Gricko Grimgrin! This is my daughter: Hootsie T. Cutesie Grimgrin!" Gricko. It had a nice ring to it, Frost decided. A swipe of his tongue over his whiskers, he grew used to the smell. Goblin and owlbear, as a general, but there was more... Gricko and Hootsie. There was a fruit-y scent to the two of them, and while one was sweeter, one was more bitter.
Traveling through the day, settling in a clearing when night began to fall, Frost was overwhelmed by a lot. There were new noises that followed, new smells, new feelings. Yet, somehow, as the fire burned and he cooked up something for the three of them, this felt... Right. His tent propped up beside a smaller one, the noises of Gricko rambling on was nice. The alert that he wasn't alone-
He gave a plate to Gricko, the bowl cupped in his paws, as a plate was settled on the ground for Hootsie. He never got the plate back from that bugbear over a year ago, but didn't mind it. It wasn't the only one, he had plenty of plates, but only one bowl that he kept, selfishly, for himself.
After he finished eating, the bowl settled on the ground in front of him, he closed his eyes, deep breathing, he fell into a meditative state once again. Decompress from the days he had travel, and yet...
Comfortable. This was familiar. The sounds of the wind through the trees, the warmth of the fire, the smell of the nature all around him.
Assuring. He could tell his body was relaxing more. The sounds of Gricko talking with Hootsie, the presence that he wasn't alone, the smell of his new traveling partner ingraining in his mind.
Settling. He opened his eyes to look at the ground. The sounds of Hootsie grounding him, the feeling of the feathers and fur pressed against him, the smell of the owlbear safely tucked in his mind.
"Frosty?" He came too sooner than he normally would, the fire still burning, as he had the attention of Gricko and Hootsie on him. Turning to look at them, he gave a hum. "I apologize for my sudden silence. I was meditating for a moment."
"Oh, that's alright. Ev'ryone's got there fing, eh? Now, me personally, I like carvin' fings. Widdlin' down some wood to become somefing new!" Frost gave a small smile to himself, listening to Gricko talk on about wood carving. He made no mention when Gricko put his and Hootsie's plate in his pack instead of Frost's.
~~~~~
Another two years of traveling, with Gricko and Hootsie by his side, Frost only learned more. He learned about animals, the ecosystem, and why monstrosities like Hootsie are important.
He filled into his role more, a back and forth balance between him and Gricko helped teach Hootsie to not fall to either extreme. He kept his chin fur at a comfortable length now, carrying more than he used to, had more than enough snacks for all of them. His days were less quiet, but he enjoyed the break from all the silence.
Right now wasn't the time for that thinking, however, rushing with his paw over his face to get out of the rain and into some sort of shelter. His robe was already soaked, Hootsie made noises of disapproval at being wet, and Gricko lead the two of them quickly to a building he spotted in the distance.
Swiftly, all of them ran over to the barn-like structure, seemingly abandoned and in a state of decay, but it was enough for them to hunker in for the night to get away from the rain. Gricko was able to slide into the small space between the door and the floor, pushing one of the broken panels out of the way for Hootsie and Frost to get in as well, Hootsie shaking off as soon as she was out of the rain, while Frost shivered from the wetness stuck to him.
"Well... That could've gone better." Frost mumbled, looking to the darkened and cloudy sky, crying with rain, and the occasional scream of thunder. "I hope it doesn't last long." Still shivering, Frost began to make his way inside, avoiding the holes in the roof that allowed rain to seep through.
"I don't fink we'll be that lucky, Frosty. The rain's gonna be longer than you'd like." Gricko said, happily walking over to a dry spot and dropping his bag down, with Hootsie swiftly following in search for a rat snack. Frost gave a quiet hum to himself, looking around for a more secluded spot.
That's when he spotted it.
Or really, them.
In the shadows, it seemed to be glowing just slightly, as if trying to hide the glow of a fire. He simply stared, shivering in place as he felt soaked and cold to the bone from the rain. "Aww, the fire-starters got wet! Now how're we gonna get some food goin'?"
"Gricko," Frost spoke in the goblin's mind, his tongue swiping across his whiskers to flatten them once again, "I don't think we're alone in here." He warned, practically hearing Gricko tense up and protectively move in front of Hootsie.
Staring at the glowing-shadow, Frost stayed unmoving, only growing colder the longer he stayed there. "Do you fink they're dangerous? What if they hurt Hootsie?!" Gricko damn-near screamed in Frost's mind, but he didn't berate him for it. He was having those same thoughts. "If they try to get to Hootsie, I'll attack them to distract them, and you and Hootsie run to safety."
"Hello, if anyone is there. We mean no harm, just a means out of the rain." Frost spoke out loud, walking towards the odd and, by all means, unnatural glowing. "We can offer something we have in return for staying here."
The shadow began to move at that, forming a figure and revealing where the glowing was coming from. Frost stopped, a good distance between him, the strangers, and Gricko and Hootsie, so if they decided to attack, they would take longer to get to Hootsie than him. He took his time, scanning over the two as a way of checking who they were, and any signs of danger.
The glowing came from a fire genasi, built buff and large, a full beard covering the red skin of his chin with dark brown hair. Manacles hung at his wrist, his attire covered with dirt, with a tight tan shirt, leaving little to the imagination, black jeans, dark red suspenders, and steel toed red boots. Him being a fire genasi explained to odd glowing.
The other figure formed from the shadows. A lizardfolk -alligator specific-, duo colored maw, seemingly looking down on him despite being the same height. Below his nostrils, a penciled on mustache, but it matched well with his purple, pinstriped suit. A cane in his hand, the topper being a purple skull, with a top hat settled on his head, two card sticking up from a fabric laced above the brim. A magic user, to Frost's knowledge, but he didn't know what kind of magic.
The smile that the lizardfolk gave wasn't assuring, fully forming from the shadows, as he motioned with his free claw. "Whatado, friend. My name is Kremy Lecroux. Now, would you kindly tell me why you're here?" There it was. As Kremy spoke, Frost felt a magic swirl around his mind, a haunting feeling settling at the base of his neck, before he shook it away with a shudder. He broke from the spell before it could settle.
"My name is Morning Frost, but you may call me Frost. We're getting away from the thunder storm, just like you two, I'm assuming." Frost spoke, cold and calculated, and he could tell that it got on Kremy's nerves that the magic didn't work. Deciding now would be worth it, he channeled his own mind powers to detect the thoughts of this lizardfolk. "Well, ain't that obvious," Kremy's thoughts gave way for Frost to read, "might be some trickery from him to spy on me. It ain't gonna be easy to get someone out of here from the rain."
"I can assure you, mister Lecroux, we aren't spies, and we aren't leaving. We both want the same thing: Somewhere from the rain, and as long as you aren't threatening me, or my companions, we won't attack either." Frost could see him tense, the shouted 'What the hell?!' from Kremy's thoughts proved comedic. Still, he kept his stance, taking in the sight of them a bit more.
"You seem like a reasonable man. We don't want a fight, and neither do you. Sharing a space for however long, until the storm passes, is a reasonable thing for safety, yes?" Logically, he knew that these two could demolish the three of them. Strength alone, the genasi looked capable of taking them on, but he knew what tricks they had. More-so, a case-scenario where he wasn't part of his order and Gricko didn't know how to summon phantasmal beasts from his ocarina.
"No tricks or anythin' like that? I find one thing suspicious, I'll hunt you down myself." The genasi spoke, the accent throwing Frost for a loop as it was unfamiliar to him. Now thinking about it, his might have had a similar effect, but somehow his voice fit his face exactly. "Nothing like that. Just a tabaxi, a goblin, and an owlbear."
Kremy turned to the genasi, before the two began to speak in a hushed tone. Frost dropped his detection on thoughts, starting to grow a bit dizzy by the amount of stimulation there was going on. He swiped his tongue across his whiskers, a habit he still never let die out, as he willed himself to wait.
Thankfully, they turned to Frost shortly afterwards. "Alright, you got yourself a deal, Frost." Frost nodded, before motioning the two to follow him. And they did. As the tabaxi got closer to Gricko, he once again spoke to him in his mind, "They aren't a threat right now. And they made no moves to harm Hootsie when I mentioned owlbear."
Gricko's previously narrowed, concerned, and protective expression morphed to one of elated joy, smiling a big, toothy grin at the trio. "Oooo! More travelin' buddies!" Frost merely shook his head, looking down while trying to hide his amusement. "Hello! My name is Gricko Grimgrin, and this is my daughter, Hootsie!" He said, once the three of them were close enough.
"Whatado, Gricko, Hootsie, the name's Kremy Lecroux, and this is my partner in crime, Gideon Coal." Kremy said, Frost finally having a name to pin to the genasi, as he looked through his bag for his spare change of clothes. Hootsie also poked her head into his bag, looking for something and denying the rat snack that he offered.
He tuned out the conversation that Gricko was having with Gideon and Kremy, seeing the fire being lit by the said fire genasi upon the lizardfolk's ask. The flame against his side was more than welcoming, as he found his spare outfit and socks, as well as his trainee robe, that has since been used as repair fabric for his current robe. Hootsie gave a hoot of delight, before stealing the trainee robe from Frost's paw and rushing away, towards Gricko and the fire, using the robe as a blanket, the hood way too big for her head.
He gave a small smile and shook his head, seeing the Gricko had already changed into his spare outfit with the dripping wet one hanging on a pole. He settled his bag on the floor, looking up towards the loft of the barn and gauging the distance. It wasn't too high, maybe about double his height. Easily, he kept a hold on the spare clothing and crouched down.
Using the fullness of his spring, he was able to jump and land easily on the loft without a ladder, the floor providing more coverage as he walked to the far corner to change with some sort of privacy. Without the robe that Hootsie stole, the only thing not covered was his arms and his head, but he can last once night without it. While his pants were loose fitting, the shirt was much more tighter to his skin and fur, turtle necked.
He jumped back down once he was changed, stumbling a bit at the landing, before setting his soaked clothing on the pole that Gricko had set his on, joining the group around the fire.
"... And Frosty here was all like 'oh, if you don't leave, I'mma kill you with my mind', and they ran away!" Ah, that... Could be many stories, Frost settled in his place, beside Hootsie, and grabbed his bag, looking through it. This caught the attention of the owlbear, cooing curiously and shaking the hood from her head to watch Frost.
"Can he actually do that? I'm meanin' like, crush someone's mind with his mind." Gideon asked, causing Frost to glance up from his digging, holding out a rat snack to Hootsie, who eagerly grabbed and ate it. "I can. It took years of practice, but when it calls for it, I can." Frost answered for Gricko, but it didn't stop the goblin from excitedly telling Gideon about the time he did it.
"Mighty impressive there... Gotta have a strong mind to do somethin' like that." Kremy said, in a slight whisper, as if different from the conversation. Glancing up told Frost the answer: He was speaking to Frost. Still, the tabaxi nodded gently. "It took quite some time to learn how to do that. I'm quite proud of my abilities."
"Ever thought about usin' those abilities for some.. Vigilante work?" Frost raised a brow at that, leaning in just a big more. His nose picked up on the cooking that Kremy had going over the fire, his tongue swiping over one side of his whiskers. "You see: There's something me and Gid need help with, and I think you and Gricko might be the perfect help for it."
There was a lot more discussing, Frost noting it all in his mind, with Kremy tricking Gricko into thinking 'B&E' was 'bacon and eggs', he just shook his head instead and pulled out his bowl when the food was done, as well as two plates he had, handing them to Gideon and Kremy.
Dinner was surprisingly.. Calming. Gricko and Gideon talked, the smell of genasi beginning to engrave in his mind, the specifics of Kremy's lizardfolk settling there too. His bowl in his hands, he felt light, yet grounded all at once, Hootsie nudging into his lap for their normal routine of Frost licking her fur flat and clean. While her beak was good for preening her feathers, the fur was more difficult with a beak, and he gladly helped with it.
He settled his empty bowl to the side, allowing Hootsie to settle in his lap for warmth and pampering of fur cleaning on her head. Somehow, the mix of smell wasn't overwhelming: The slight swampy-ness from Kremy, the smokey smell from Gideon, the fruitiness from Gricko, and slight floral smell from Hootsie.. All of it was just right, nothing too overbearing, all just there.
The sounds weren't overwhelming either: Gideon's booming laughter, Kremy's clicking of teeth, claws, dice, and cane, Gricko's voice going up and down as he told jokes and stories, Hootsie's trills and coos at being cleaned and pampered. All of it was nice.
Before Frost knew it, Hootsie was asleep in his lap, and him in his meditative state. Air escaped from his nose, creating a chuff by accident, but it was anything by a threat. He was content, very content. More than he had been in his years of training, traveling, and overall living.
He made it.