[AW] Diamond in the Rough

 The fall of night, a dangerous time for all small creatures no matter their tenacity. Darkness came to cloak the land in it's quiet shroud on this, the night before the true New Moon and so it's luminous cascading glow was nearly absent, unless one had night vision or a torch the world was but a land of evershifting shadows. Patches of grass now formed up into the appearance of a barn cat, hunkered and ready to pounce, false predators seeming to spring from every inky corner. Elkryn cut through the secretive paths from the wheelshed down to the creek, his weapon clenched uneasily in his paw, folded into it's half length state for quicker actions if they were needed. 

Ancestors damn his investigative nature, the curiosity that coursed through him as readily as blood pumped through his veins. A soothsayer, a fortune teller had come amongst them, and a rat at that. There was something so juicy about that prospect that Elk could not deny his near childish eagerness to learn more about them, to speak with them. So he made his way out into the sphere of dusk. Rats were known to play at night, this seemed fair enough a time to seek her out. 

The hoot of an owl off in the distance made him pause on the path, unmoving. Instinct, even though it was well documented that these silent raptors could hear the very heart beat of a mouse far below them and had no need of their eyes to catch the movement of prey. Still he held still, listened as the hollow hooting died out and was on his way again. The rat would not be far now, in fact a stench had begun to fill the air, burning feathers and pungent herbs and that alone lead him through the tall grass. When Elkryn finally waved his way to the end of the path he was greeted with a hovel of earth and reeds, from a small spout in the top belched an endless stream of smoke as if beckoning all wanderers of the twilight. There was a short run of open space between him and the den and so Elk scoured the sky a good minute before determining his safety and darted expertly across the expanse in a quick, weaving motion. One could not be too careful. Faced now by a doorway he noted the warm glow that flickered within and the heat that came with it. The cloying smells of burning things became so much more pungent.

Elk stifled a cough and leaned a paw on the doorway, peering in. There were sounds of busy scuffling paws somewhere within. For once, his entire being on edge and still gripping his weapon, bold warrior Elkryn was at a loss for words. "Hello?" he called out hopefully. "I mean not to tread upon someone's hearth without their permission but curiosity has drawn me in.. and I had no way to knock." He took a tentative step inside.

A dull haze made it hard to discern things at first, the spectral dancing of shadows across the walls made lively by the firepit at it's centre did not help with his disorientation. No sooner had he called into this witches den a voice as clear and welcoming as the creek she lived next to beckoned him forward. Elk felt something deep within the pit of his stomach, a pull, a tug in the direction of this musical oration. He took another two steps and suddenly the haze swept away revealing the ivory form of a reclining rat doe, her colour ever so striking and unusual for her kind, even moreso the pinkish glow of her eyes which had settled upon Elk in a way he felt they might bore a hole into his soul. She was smiling though, her menacing set of teeth nothing more than a friendly prompt. She made motion to his weapon and Elk suddenly felt a hot rush of embarrassment.

He expertly holstered the Jaw-Cleaver across his broad shoulders and bowed his head slightly. "Of course not, Madame. Even a famed knight as bold as I could never hope to slay a presence so powerful, so prepossessing. What vapid a creature would I be to take up arms against a being who might very well turn into smoke before my very eyes." Inclining his head slightly he smiled.

Noting the seat the the she-rat waved him to, Elk settled into it heavily albeit comfily across the fire from her, the warmth of which sending the chill of night seeping from his bones. He patted the arm of the chair appreciatively, touting, "I have to give it to the Rattus side of the family tree, you truly can make furniture suitable for Willheart bulk. I've had the misfortune of having many a chair crack beneath me." He feigned a pout and looked across to the glowing mystic, who's gaze had settled upon him with the pleasant feel of a therapist, awaiting her unhinged patient to begin spouting off their deepest insanities.

She asked what was wanted, and at that Elk was not entirely sure. What did want? A glance into his future, a peek into what fortunes and glories might await him? The faces of his children? No such things were not in Elkryn Stump's wheelhouse. He wanted to know of the arcane, of the creature who sat before him with bated patience.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling deeply the dizzying smog that pervaded. He knew extended time in here would leave him light in the head if not a little goofy and yet he did not care. The presence of this soothsayer was oddly magnetic, like a beast that Elk could have a drink with. Opening his eyes again he focused. "I must be honest, dear Seer-of-Things-Unknown, I did not come here seeking secrets and fortune. I came as a victim of my own curiosity to see with mine own eyes a Mystic in the flesh. In my youth I had always heard of beings who could sense and manipulate the powers of nature, even control them." Elk paused and then added, "I hope I am not offending."