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Lou stared quietly. She could sneak off now, really. They seemed all less hostile and this new girl.. Didn't seem the type to cause trouble (or stand by and let others do so). But why pass up an opportunity to figure out what exactly was going on? She looked back to where her horse had run off to, and assumed he would be munching on some plant peacefully. She stood slowly, then, pulling the deerskin robe properly over her shoulders and walking up to the group calmly. She may have jogged, though feared causing the three to get all defensive again. She felt hatred for the one man, though, confused by him. Her head bowed as she neared, though, then staring at the three in turn. "And who do we have here?" She said confidently, owning the forest.

Nathan was more concerned by Danniel's tear-stained face and thinness than the fact that she had a coyote's tail and ears. "Are you okay?"

Bella rose from the ground and slowly approached the strange girl, ears forward with curiosity.

And then the stranger with the mask emerged. Bella's fur rose up briefly and then flattened again. She whined and wagged her tail in a friendly manner while Nathan checked himself from bringing his daggers up defensively. Who was this stranger who attracted Bella's favor when moments ago she had been ready to attack a different stranger.

"I'm...just a traveler," he said to the newcomer. "I heard there was trouble in a nearby village and came to help."

"Well, I thought that man, Merrion, killed your wolf. I have a bit of an over active imagination, so I thought I actually saw it happen. My mind just kept on playing it over and over. It was horrible, but she, Bella, is okay," Danniel said and scratched the wolf behind the ears. With her other hand, she rubbed her eyes and felt the tear stand fur on her cheeks which was dark and matted together. "Other than that I'm only a bit hungry. I've only got so much food left so I've had to ration it," the teen said and then looked to the masked tribal woman.
"I'm just moving around," Danniel explained to her. "I've got no place to stay permanently, so I just walk."

Merrion raised an eyebrow at Danniel's comment. Maybe she wasn't on this planet, but to him she was odd enough he couldn't really help but stare. Sliding the deactivated sword into its sheathe, the rider joined their little gathering a moment later. Speaking of possible monsters... He thought, wondering what was with the strange mask.

Mildly irritated that the wolf didn't give the newcomers the same treatment as him, he crossed his arms but made it obvious he wasn't going to put away his gun anytime soon. "Can't even take the time to introduce yourself? Love the manners, Big Blue." He commented to the masked woman. "I'm just looking for a woman with purple and white hair. Oh, I'm a bit lost too, but that's nothing new."

He glanced at Nathan. "Now what's this about trouble nearby?"

Lou would make a quick face at Blondie's nick-name for her, sticking her tongue out and her eyes crossing - something that was just too cool to do when nobody could see it. Not like anyone's not going to do it in their merry little minds when they wanted to. However, she crouched to welcome the wolf, usually keeping a friendly distance from such animals. Then she looked up at the three of them, ignoring Blondie's comment. She didn't care much for names but to identify one to another. Everyone seemed hooked on names.. "Good." She replied, referring to every answer, yet not trusting completely yet, of course, their intentions. She'd nod knowingly at Danniel, though, running a quick list of her own stores (which, one could be found near here), and decided that she did have something to spare should they prove deserving. She started her winter gathering as soon as spring showed it's groggy head, anyway.
But she, interested just as Blondie was and how the girl might be, turned to listen to this other man and what he had to say about this "trouble", and, mostly, how it would affect her forest.

Nathan sheathed his daggers and then reclaimed his bow from where he'd dropped it before informing the others. "Well, rumor has it there's an attack by some indigenous species on a village nearby. I thought I'd come to see what that species was, and lend a hand if extermination is needed. But, it's a rumor and I'm not sure how much truth is behind it. It could be anything."

He whistled sharply to Bella, who had been preening under the attention of Aloutte. She returned to his side and sat, ears forward. "Bella and I were heading there on our own, but I wouldn't mind some extra company. If you're interested." He glanced at Merrion. "I'm not sure if the person you're seeking is in town, but it might be worth a shot."

One village, in an entire universe to traverse. Finding Serene there? Not bloody likely. Merrion thought, giving a sigh. Still, it would be a place to start on this planet. Not to mention dry off. Reminded of his footwear problem, he pulled off his boot, emptied it and slid it back on before retrieving his other one from the ground.

"Sure, I'll tag along." He told Nathan, eying Bella for a moment as he got his second boot put back on. "Just try to keep the pooch on a leash, alright? If it tries to eat me again I might just just end up feeding it some hot lead."

"There's no one at that town..." Danniel said quietly. "I passed through a few days ago, grabbed what was edible, slept and kept moving. There were no bodies or blood or anything. Everything was as if everyone just up and left."
Danniel sat down and leaned against the rock. "I can bring you there, but it be a waste of everyone's time. That's the only civilization in 50 miles. After that, theres a pretty big city is about 50-60 miles to the south. I'll take you to that town, but if you can find it, I'm gonna keep moving. I need to find somewhere to sleep."
Danniel then turned to Merrion, "Please stop making gun threats. She was only scared; Bella acted defensively."

Nathan's face fell briefly at the mention of the city being empty. "Fifty miles to the next town?" He grimaced but shrugged. "Well, I still want to see it for myself. There's bound to be some locals hidden somewhere."

To Merrion, Nathan shrugged. "I can't leash her when we're out like this. I don't think she'll give you any trouble though--she was just defending me from what she assumed was a threat." Of course, he didn't bother voicing the idea that Bella had for some reason chosen to protect the masked rider over him; he still wasn't entirely clear about what had happened or why.

"I don't think you heard me correctly. There is a town that I recently passed through that was empty, and its only a few miles away. There is another, well populated city 50 miles south," Danniel said, seeing the mans confusion. "If you don't need me to show you that town, I'll be moving on."

Lou stood as the wolf was called from her, head fully turning to each speaker to make it clear who she was looking to. She'd learned from the last passer-by's that they got a little annoyed if it wasn't clear she was actually paying attention to them. Of course, it could seem a little creepy..
She would nod when Danniel corrected the one man, herself kind of shocked to think that the town could be so far away. She'd watched at forest's edge sometimes, and had begun to wonder if she was lost, in an identical clearing.. It made sense again, however, and she offered herself up as well. "I'll tag along, then. Maybe you'd all like something to eat first? I can cook up some quick soup.." She had yet to eat anyway, and Lou would hope it would get on the good side of the group. She wouldn't mind keeping an eye on them, too, only hoping they wouldn't reject her help, which would therefor force her to spy.

Danniels stomach grumbled at the mere mention of some soup.
"Yes please," she said to the tribal. "Afterwards, I guess I'll just point you in the right direction and be on my merry way."

Nathan smiled at the masked rider. "Soup would be wonderful." To Danniel he nodded. "Pointing me in the right direction would help." But he was still going to go to the empty town anyway. After all, Bella might find something that other people had missed.

Merrion shook his head at Danniel's remark. The wolf acted defensively? What fight had she been watching? He hadn't even seen the damn thing until it was coming at him, and might not have until it was too late if he hadn't heard that voice. If anyone was just protecting themselves, it was him. Guess it's not too surprising the furry ones stick together, though. He thought crossly, looking from one to the other before turning his attention to Big Blue.

Giving the masked woman a nod, he finally holstered his pistol. Shooting them might have helped his growing headache, but he did need some sort of guide to find a town. Not to mention he was curious about what the food on this world was like... provided the word soup meant the same thing here.

Lou nodded, almost excited in a 'I've never done this before what am I doing' way. Her fingers stretched with anticipation as she turned to scope out her tree, hollowed and filled with everything she usually needed for an okay to decent meal. And yet, unfortunately placed right across the little meadow. "My stuff is there," she informed them, pointing at the tree and marching straight through to it, a beckoning hand behind her. Once she reached the tree she'd shove aside several bushes and a tanned hide to get into the little storage, tossing out a large, rusting pot with a handle that threatened to fall off, something that may have resembled a strainer (it was to be used as one anyway) and several small logs to the side, careful not to smack anyone with them. She used her foot to return the pot to an upright position and put inside of it a potatoes, beans, carrots, and an assortment of other vegetables and herbs. She looked down on her collection and then turned to add a bent wooden spoon, oddly shaped and notchy and a big stick that seperated into a Y shape. The last addition was a rounded rock, only slightly more flat on two sides. She left everything and grabbed the wood, assembling them away from the trees in a spot that had obviously been used for this purpose before, pulling several dry leaves into the pile. She'd then reach into the pocket inside her robe and pull out that handy flint and knife, knocking them together until a spark caught, and she'd roll back on her heels to watch it thrive. Lou would then look to each person before going to wash and fill her pot with water, using the straining device, as well washing the vegetables.

"Well, talk about efficient," Nathan commented with a grin. "I can help, you know." He went over to the fire, using another stick to push the burning pieces aside and creating a flatter, more uniform heat source for the pot.

From his spot by the fire, he looked around. "Well, since we're making a soup...I could try to nab a few rabbits or squirrels for meat?"

Lou didn't quite look to him but turned her head. "I cook everything here, there are some things that could be useful but I can not make them from what the forest gives me. It's a nice collection of things that I have, I think." Her voice was smooth, finding herself pleasantly calm to be doing something. Yet, regarding events, she bit her lip a bit. "You can try. They usually know when something is up." She looked sidelong at the fire and smiled a bit, and said a quiet "thank you."

Nathan grinned. "Hunting is what I do best, er, miss." He hadn't gathered a name from her yet, but he rose and warmed the bowstring in his hands. "Bella, let's hunt."

The wolf had been sitting quietly, watching, but now she rose and scented the air.

"Give us twenty minutes--we'll probably have something by then." Nathan grinned and motioned for Bella to move off, an arrow already nocked to his bow.

Smiling, Lou considered offering up her horse, but he seemed capable enough. Besides, that stallion knew specific signals and was never trained to use any tack, even if anyone here randomly had a bridle. Instead she watched the wolf until she went, carrying her pot back to the fire. She'd sit and wrap her legs around the Y-stick, hanging the old pot on the separated part and hanging it over the fire. Aside, she began a slow process of peeling, muttering about how the blade of her knife jiggled from it's handle.

Nathan returned a few minutes later with two rabbits. Bella trotted happily at his side, tail wagging with success.

"Well we got some meat at least," said Nathan as he prepared the rabbits for cooking. "But there really isn't a whole lot out here in terms of wildlife."