the half-elf's eyes flit about, gauging each escape route & what would be fastest or safest. just in case.

Gale  is  not  a  man  built  for  the  winter,  either,  and  it  shows;  he’s  found  thick  gloves  somewhere,  but  even  so  the  chill  seems  to  never  quite  leave  long  slender  fingers.  "  A  longing  that  we  share,  I  assure  you,  "  he  chuckles,  and  with  it  comes  the  offer  of  a  warm  bowl  of  stew  that’s  been  simmering  all  evening,  hot  and  with  a  little  mild  spice  to  make  it  settle  into  the  bones  a  bit  more  deeply.  "  Perhaps  this  will  help.  Apologies,  no  bread  this  evening.  "

crystalline eyes dart to the darker corners of the old selûnite outpost. never have they been to the underdark -- well, all of this is quite new, to be honest, but this was a different type of new. the darkness was not the blue-black of the surface, but a deep purple illuminated by cool-colored mushrooms that grew to their natural size. "a shape?" the paladin quirks an eyebrow. "my gold's on either a rat, or maybe jus' nerves. or shadowheart. b'tween you & me, i think she likes the dark more'n she says." an easy fanged smile to the shorter tiefling, trying to ease the tension.

annette doesn’t mean to squirm so much — she has so many questions about the colored tints & powders percy is applying to freckled features. between that & her constant distraction by the sounds of camp behind her, the druid makes a horrible canvas. she’s been trying her best, though her fate is sealed when the two four-legged members of the group come to see. the owlbear cub nudges her arm, & she moves her head to gesture it closer. percy’s hand stills annette’s face a moment after the cub sits tucked into her side. “sorry,” she offers. “you’ve got an audience now.”

healing spell? hurt? annette's expression shifts, a bit sheepish. how to tell her best friend she's been infected, now torn between two monsters she may yet become? before she can speak, however, there is a pounding behind one eye -- her mind floods with percy's thoughts, the relief her friend feels at seeing her, an image of her -- a bit sooty, frazzled-looking, but whole, & then the squirming feeling ceases. annette's face falls further, eyes wide & concerned. "... you, too?"