Content with her new drink, Leni-Aura takes a seat on her haunches near Orym and Beist, watching the fire while Beist talks about his connection with the earth. She perks her ears towards him, sipping lazily at the orange juice while the acid rain patters beyond their tarp.

Orym listens attentively, thanking Beist for the small serving of salad; he pokes at it, but doesn’t take a bite just yet. Nimbus, meanwhile, proceeds to invade Leni-Aura’s serving, snapping a piece of lettuce between his sneaky jaws, and pulling it out of the bowl; the rabbitaur rolls her eyes, but pretends not to notice the cronching sounds coming from behind her back. “Pane uan…” ^{(Trouble maker…)}

“I see…” Orym remarks, his voice slow while he watches the way Beist’s expression change; it does not escape the rabbitaur, either, but she is less vocal about it. Orym’s smile is warm while he chuckles at the interaction between Beist and Dora. “I have always believed that in the end, it’s the heart that matters.” he remarks, his smile warm. “And you, my friend, have one of the biggest hearts I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. It is no wonder the earth and the animals would be attracted to your kind soul.”

He takes a bite of his salad, nodding approvingly as he crunches on the fresh vegetables. “You are right— it is very delicious.” he praises, offering Leni-Aura a look— he chuckles softly, watching Nimbus unsubtly nose through her portion of salad. “Ah… did he take it?”

Leni-Aura looks at Nimbus, her glass of juice still held to her lips; she lowers it, sighing after she swallows her mouthful. “Mm. He does like it, though...” The drake crunches loudly on a carrot, looking up at Leni-Aura and wagging his tail. She reaches out, rubbing the drake’s head fondly while he trills gleefully at her.

Beist pushed Dora back out of his face before beginning to rub her feathered neck. It was probably for the best that she had shut him up. He might have just rambled on about the food, not really knowing how to bring the mood back up after his gloomy story. The huge beast man did cheer up a bit as he listened to Orym. He smiled, his ears and tail also perking up a bit from their sad, droopy forms. These things really betrayed his emotions at every opportunity.

"Thank you, that is very kind of you to say, and reassuring. I suppose I do have a big heart, quite literally." he said, chuckling to himself a bit at his joke that made Dora roll her eyes at him. He looked over to Leni and Nimbus. He smiled at them, but then noticed the carrot Nimbus was nibbling on. He didn't remember creating any carrots Did Leni just carry some around with her? Did she really like carrots?

"Ah! How could I forget!?" he suddenly called out before raising a clawed hand and focusing once more on the ground. Some green leaves began to rapidly sprout from the soil in several spots, growing larger each second, before and orange dome grew up out of the ground beneath each bunch of leaves. Four enormous carrots had suddenly grown into existence. Beist placed his bowl of salad on the ground and walked over, grabbing each carrot with one hand and yanking them out of the ground. Each one was a bright, appetizing orange, and about two feet long.

"Silly me, I forgot the carrots for the salad. My apologies. Let me clean them and cut them up for you, just give me  a moment." he said as he started to prepare the carrots for them to add to their salads, though he left three of them whole, only cutting up one of them into shreds to add to their bowls. The other three he would let them take with them when the acid rain ended, as a gift.

"That's better, isn't it? Carrots in your salad are essential, aren't they?" he said happily before continuing to eat his meal and looking at the others expectantly. While they ate bowls of salad, Dora dug into her own meal of several full heads of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. She crunched away at it with her beak, happy to be eating something other than the usual fruits and vegetables Beist created. Though, she did wish they had some meat.

Orym smiles warmly, wrinkles around his eyes scrunching as he does so. “Literally, and metaphorically.” he agrees with a chuckle. Leni-Aura looks up from where she’s petting Nimbus when Beist suddenly exclaims, and raises his hand. She blinks, looking at the sprouts in the earth as they rise. Leni-Aura’s ears perk when she realizes that they’re carrots, but she says nothing about them— Orym gives a small chuckle, though.

Nimbus perks up from where he’s digging into the salad bowl, running his tongue over his lips, and squawking up at Beist. “Thank you, Beist— that’s very thoughtful.” Orym chuckles, offering his bowl as Beist offers to sprinkle some shreds inside.

Leni-Aura seems pleased, though she's still less vocal about it, save for a small thank you. Nimbus tips his bowl over, snapping at a piece of lettuce stuck to the inside of it, and Leni-Aura looks across to where Dora is crunching on her salad. After a moment, she digs into her bag, and pulls a fistful of dried meat from her pocket— the things she’d gone back to get for Nimbus. She offers him one over the bowl, which he excitedly snaps up, before offering the rest towards Beist.

“Beist? For Dora.” she remarks, looking at the big gryphon, then back. “She might like it with her salad? We have more at the caravan. A gift.”

Beist smiled warmly to Leni as she offered the dried meat for Dora. He was always happy to make Dora happy and was sure she would enjoy it, but he raised a hand in front of him without taking the offered meat.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you. I'm sure she will love it! Why don't you give it to her yourself? It's much better to give gifts yourself, don't you think?" he said kindly, before looking at Dora.

The large griffon had finished her meal of salad and fruit and was stretching her front legs forward, her hindquarters raised into the air like a giant cat. Her beak was wide open in a silent yawn, her eyes closed. She must be tired, and likely a bit bored from being cooped up under the cover thanks to the acidic rain still falling. It was getting a bit late.

"Dora, Leni-Aura has a gift for you!" Beist called to her as she finished her stretch and lied down. She looked over, but didn't stand up, her head tilting slightly out of curiosity of what the gift might be.

Beist silently encourage Leni to go over to her, motioning his hands toward the griffin with a gentle smile.

The beast man was also getting a bit sleepy, his eyes a little droopier than earlier. It was late for him, though his idea of late might still be a bit early for most others. He was still an old man on the inside even if he looked like a beast. Perhaps it was time for the group to get some rest once the meal was all finished. He put his hand over his mouth to cover his far less quiet than the griffin's yawn.

Leni-Aura perks her ears when Beist rejects her offer of the dried meats, but then suggests that she give it to Dora herself. She blinks, looking towards Dora with some hesitance; she's not scared of Dora— in fact, she adores the giant bird almost as much as she adores her mischievous drake... but she is not as familiar with Dora as she is with Nimbus.

Truthfully, she would love to dote on Dora— but the gryphon is often helping pull the cart, and she has only really met Dora on a few separate occasions— so she doesn't know her behaviour well... Still, if Beist says it is okay, she believes it is probably okay.

She nods, turning away from Beist and stepping to Dora as the beast man calls out to her; once she approaches Dora, she offers her hand out flat, like she might do with one of the horses. "For you. You've worked hard pulling the wagon." she murmurs.

Orym chuckles as he watches the rabbitaur offer Dora the dried meats like she's going through a business transaction; he's sure the Gryphon will enjoy it, even with the nosy Nimbus coming over to investigate what Leni-Aura's doing after finishing his own. He swallows his last mouthful of salad, and catches Beist's drowsy yawn from across the way. "About time for a rest, hm?" he remarks, his old eyes drowsy as well. "We've traveled quite a ways today, and with the look of this rain, it might be a while yet before we're able to get back onto the road... we may as well rest up for the night and let Dora and the horses rest their legs."

Dora watched Leni approach, her lion's tail flicking around like the tail of a house cat. The griffin reached her beak out and carefully snatched up the offered meat from Leni's hand before throwing her head back and scarfing it down. With her treat finished, she looked back down to Leni and began to rub her giant head against the small Rabbitaur like a cat. A small screech of thanks came from her beak.

Beist tried and failed to stifle another yawn before looking to Orym, a bit embarrassed.

"Yes, I think you're right. Hopefully this rain will let up by morning, or I fear Dora and Leni might die from boredom if we talk about alchemy or herbalism anymore." he joked with a chuckle, but looked toward the rain outside with a bit of actual concern. He wasn't in a rush to get to Frostgale, but the rest of the caravan may indeed have a schedule they would prefer to keep. He also didn't like Dora being cooped up like this. She liked to stretch out her wings while they rested, and was unable to do that in these tight quarters beneath the tarp. At least she was getting along well with Leni.

Beist stood up and began to clean up a bit, putting away the makeshift kitchen before bringing any spare pillows and blankets he had in his wagon.

"Please, you can both sleep in the cart. I'll stay out here. I'm afraid it would be an awfully tight squeeze if I was in there with you." he said as he unrolled the fluffy futon he usually slept on across the floor of the wagon and placed a couple of pillows and blankets on top of it. He just hoped it would be comfortable enough for his guests. It wasn't the most lavish of beds, the large beast man having an unusually durable body for his age. He knew Orym was old as well, and might need something better, but simply didn't have anything. "Is this comfortable enough? I'm sorry I don't have anything better to sleep on." he apologized.

Leni-Aura waits patiently, her gaze warm as Dora lowers her head and begins chomping at the dried meats; a smile quirks the edges of her lips upwards while she watches her. Once the treats have been plucked from her hands, she lowers her palms to brush them clean on her clothes. She can't help but breathe a soft laugh, however, when Dora leans forwards; she's bumped back just a bit by the sheer size of the gryphon as she rubs against her. A smile crosses the rabbitaur's face; she reaches out to warmly give her a few strokes. "You're welcome, Dora." she chuckles.

Orym smiles, looking back to Beist when the beast man begins to stifle another yawn. He chuckles, eyes warm as he nods in return. "There will be plenty of time to continue when we wake tomorrow," he promises, a laugh accentuating his statement. He looks back to Leni, happily occupied in her interactions with Dora. "But we've all had a day, and even the gods must find the time to rest." He nods to himself, slowly rising up to his feet as Beist stands up across the way. The old man hobbles over, attempting to help put away small things— only to be intercepted by Leni-Aura when she notices him.

She scolds him in halfling, making him chuckle as she collects the bowls and silverware he'd begun plucking up in one arm; and then the rabbitaur hops after Beist, assisting him where she can without getting fully in his way.

"Are you sure? I would hate to take up your bed." Orym objects softly, watching from the ground below as Beist sets up the futon in the wagon. "Neither of us take up too much space." he adds with a soft laugh; but he doesn't push it too much. He nods at Beist's fretting, but shakes his head over his apology. "I appreciate your generosity, my friend— it will be perfect. It looks plenty comfortable, thank you." he agrees gratefully; he looks to where Leni-Aura is watching Nimbus, exasperated, while the drake scampers around chasing air pockets in the blanket that Beist had set down. "Nimbus seems to like it; do you have an extra blanket and such for yourself?"

Beist waved away Orym's objections to the sleeping arrangements. He appreciated Orym's concern for his own comfort, but wouldn't let the Halfling sacrifice any of their comfort on his behalf.

"I insist. I could never make a guest sleep on the ground. I'll be just fine." he replied.

With the sleeping arrangements settled, Beist lied down on the ground next to Dora. Even when his bed wasn't being lent to someone else, Beist sometimes slept outside just so he could keep the griffin company. He would be fine with her sleeping in the wagon, but it would truly be cramped with both her and the beast man inside and she didn't see a point in sleeping in there if he wasn't.

Beist offered a slightly embarrassed smile to Orym. "Ah, no I don't have another blanket, but no worries! I'm perfectly fine, I promise. My fur is rather thick. I'll be plenty warm." he replied with confidence.

Dora lied her head down on the ground and closed her eyes, falling asleep. Beist gave her a few gentle pets as she breathed heavily, sleeping peacefully next to him.

"Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning." Beist called quietly to Leni and Orym, not wanting to wake the griffin. He rested his own head on a pillow he had brought out. Laying on his back, he also fell asleep, snoring deeply and loudly like a bear. Bull hung from the ceiling of the wagon, still awake and watching the guests warily. The nocturnal bat was fully awake right now, but couldn't go flying about in the night thanks to the acidic rain. They just had to settle for flying around inside the wagon and under the tarp.

Orym’s eyes soften; but he’s quite used to this treatment by now— as old as he is, his caravan often go out of their way to ensure his safety and wellbeing… and he appreciates it, he does. He misses the days when he was young and more self-sufficient; not quite as fragile as he is now. “If you insist, thank you, my friend.” he chuckles softly.

With the sleeping arrangements settled, Orym slowly steps up the small stairs to the interior of Beist’s wagon; he’s offered a hand by the rabbitaur, who aids him in his ascent. “Thank you, Leni.” he murmurs, chuckling as Nimbus scuttles past him, stomping out mischievous air pockets like he’s chasing a stray leaf. He looks back at Beist from over his shoulder, smiling sympathetically.

“Well, don’t hesitate to wake us if you get cold… it would be bad manners to hog all of your things.” Orym offers, listening to the sound of Leni scolding Nimbus as he scuttles around wildly on the futon. “We do appreciate all of your generosity, truly. Goodnight, we’ll see you in the morning.”

With that, Orym settles on the futon; it takes Nimbus a bit of time to calm down, but Leni-Aura eventually manages to wrangle him in— holding the drake in her arms until he stops wiggling and begins to grow drowsy. She, herself, is not too tired— so she listens to the sound of Beist snoring, and of Orym’s whistling snores. Bull’s wings flutter overhead, and the acid rain drums against the top of the wagon…

But it’s calm.

Eventually, she also falls asleep, curled up on the futon with Nimbus tucked safely against her chest until morning comes, and the caravan can continue on its path.

Beist awoke in the morning slowly and slightly confused for a moment, looking around before remembering that he had gone to sleep outside last night instead of in his wagon like usual. He looked down to see Dora lying across his stomach, still snoring gently, asleep. He didn't want to wake her by getting up himself, so he just remained there, trapped beneath the giant cat-like griffin.

With the sun risen, Bull went to sleep for the day hanging from the ceiling inside the wagon with a tiny, squeaky yawn. Beist also let out a yawn, covering his mouth with his hand as he did so. The bit of noise made Dora move slightly, stretching out some, but not fully awakening. Beist just sighed quietly as he continued to be trapped. He hoped she would wake up soon. He needed to get up eventually. Maybe Leni or Orym might wake her when they get up. Orym should be up pretty soon. He had gone to sleep about the same time as the beast man, hadn't he?

Soon enough, Orym did stir awake and exit the back of the wagon to see Beist pinned beneath the great griffin. Beist just gave a small wave and a quiet "Good morning" as he lied there.

It come as quite the surprise to walk out of the wagon, and find Beist has become Dora's pillow at some point throughout the night. “Beist?” A sleepy-looking Orym peeks around the big, fluffy silhouette of Dora; the old man chuckles, a tired hand covering his mouth to hide the smile. “What in the world are you doing? Did Dora roll over on you in the middle of the night? Are you okay?” he asks; Beist looks quite okay honestly, and he’s almost nearly as big as Dora— otherwise Orym might look a bit more concerned about this.

Leni-Aura, too, had begun to stir and rise— but not before Nimbus woke up— eager to get on with the day… as he often is. She winces slightly, “Nimbus!” a small hiss comes from inside the wagon, followed by a tha-dump, tha-dump… and then a small pocket of silence.

Pwoof!

Nimbus, ever-gleeful, bounces from the wagon and lands on Dora's back. Leni-Aura sighs heavily from behind the big gryphon, watching helplessly from where she's lying drowsily in the wagon, as Nimbus crawls over Dora and tries to reach Beist down below. The drake squeaks, dropping down from Dora's head and onto Beist's chest, where he proceeds to curl up as well.

Orym bubbles into a laugh, amused. "Come on now, you two... he's going to have to get up eventually. We've got to be on the road soon."

Griffin was rudely awoken by Nimbus, rising with a start and looking at the little drake lying on Beist's chest with some obvious annoyance. She screeched lightly at Nimbus and walked away, out from under the tarp that was still up from last night's rain. The acid has thankfully stopped falling from the sky and Dora stretched her wings in the sunlight, no longer confined to the small space. Beist just smiled at the others and scooped Nimbus up into one arm as he stood up.

"Good morning to you too, Nimbus." Beist said, looking down at the squirming drake held in his arm before looking up at Leni and Orym. "Yes, I suppose Nimbus isn't the only one who thinks my stomach makes a cozy spot to rest against. I didn't want to wake her, so I just laid there for a while. She's so adorable when she's sleeping." Beist said a bit sheepishly, embarrassed that he'd been stuck in such a situation.

"I'm sure you must have business to attend to with the rest of your caravan. Don't mind me, I'll make sure we're all ready to go soon. Just need to take down the tarp and get Dora back into her harness. Oh! Please, take these as a little gift." Beist said before remembering the two giant carrots he had made, retrieving them and offering them to Leni and Orym with a smile. "Oh, and I will save you some of the acid I collected last night." he added, looking to Orym.

Beist got to work taking down the tarp and putting it and the poles back into the wagon. With that done, he brought out several large glass bottles and a metal funnel to store the acid that had been caught in the bowl he'd set out during the rain, humming to himself as he did so, his tail swaying happily behind him.

Nimbus squawks back at Dora, wiggling his haunches excitedly even as the griffon stands up and trots away. “Sorry, Dora.” Leni-Aura apologizes to the big bird as she passes her, looking flustered as she approaches where Beist has scooped Nimbus up into his arms. Nimbus wiggles upon being picked up, turning his head back to look at Beist with a squeak.

Orym chuckles while Leni-Aura speaks to Nimbus in halfling— scolding him for waking Dora up so abruptly. Nimbus just reaches out to her with his long neck, tail wagging and thumping rhythmically against Beist’s side. Exasperated, she holds his head and wiggles his face; Nimbus seems to be having a great time, even if Leni-Aura looks irritated with him.

“She was quite cute while she was asleep,” Orym agrees with a soft laugh; his gaze is warm as Beist continues, and he nods agreeingly. “I do need to speak with Miss Alara… and check in on our travelers.” he remarks ponderingly. He hesitates for a moment, before smiling at Beist. “That would be wonderful, thank you my friend.” He reaches out to take one of the carrots, while Leni-Aura takes the other. She breathes a slight puff, shoulders dropping at the weight of the carrot.

“We’ll be back shortly.”

With that, the two head towards the other caravans; a familiar, blonde elf waves happily at them from where she seems to be cooking something over one of the fires. Nimbus, meanwhile, scuttles into the gap between Beist’s robes, and nestles himself in the hammock. As Beist moves around to work, the drake pops his little face from the gap, resting his chin between the cross where the fabric meets, and watches Beist’s movements with interest while he takes down the tarp, rearranges bottles, and pours the liquid acid into some of the bottles.

Thankfully, as mischievous as the toddler reptillian might be, he has enough common sense not to try and interrupt Beist while he’s doing so.

Leni-Aura is the first to return from the caravan, taking a small detour to offer Dora another helping of dried meats that she snatched from their wagons, before heading towards Beist. “Do you need help?” she offers. “Orym is talking with the travelers we picked up for a moment, but he should be back soon.”

Beist chuckled as Nimbus crawled into their robe, once again resting on what he was more and more convinced must be the drake favorite spot, against the beast man's soft belly. He went about his work, trying not to disturb the drake too much as he did so.

Once Leni-Aura returned, a majority of the cleaning up had already been completed. All that was really left to do was to put Dora into her harness to pull the wagon with, but he wanted to put that off for as long as possible to let her stretch her wings and be comfortable for a while before what was likely to be a long day of travel.

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you for the offer. Actually, I was going to ask if you would you like me to help you with anything. I can lend a hand, or four." he joked.

He'd been feeling more confident in himself, mostly in the oddities of his appearance, since the discussion with Orym last night. Joking about having extra arms helped to make him feel less like a freak for having them. He could recognize how useful they actually were, along with his size and strength. He would work on building his confidence more, but he felt he was off to a good start now.

He picked up the bottle of acid he had made for Orym. "Actually, there is something you could help me with. This is for Orym. Just some of the acid from last night. Could you bring me to him so I can give him this?" he asked happily, showing Leni the large, heavy bottle full of green liquid.

Nimbus squeaks as Leni-Aura approaches; she raises her eyes to where the little drake is snuggled up in the cross of Beist’s robes. She raises her gaze further to meet Beist’s as he jokes with her. A small smile quirks the edges of her lips, and she breathes a small puff of a laugh.

“We are almost done packing up… the horses are getting ready.” she answers, looking back over her shoulder to where Alora is stroking one of the horses— a palomino mare— as she’s fit in the harness. She looks back to Beist, ears perking as he picks up a bottle and turns to her. “Oh,” she remarks; then nods. “Sure, I can. He is…” She turns to point, but Orym isn’t actually visible from Beist’s wagon.

Where did he go?

“...I will take you.” she agrees, turning away to lead Beist towards the caravan’s wagons. As they approach, there’s a soft murmur of activity; a couple of merchants lingering in the back of one of the caravans look up and wave as she approaches with the large beast man. “Orym is where?” she asks them, ears perked.

They point to the other wagon; Leni-Aura nods and moves towards it to bring Beist— and they intercept Orym as he’s beginning to climb out of the wagon. “Oh! Leni, Beist,” the old man greets with a smile. “I was just talking with our guests… did you need something?” He blinks, noticing the bottle that Beist is holding after a moment. “Oh my! Is all of that from the rainstorm last night?”