"I should apologize for leaving you all to handle this, from what little I understand of fae creatures they aren't exactly easy to deal with. Apogee would've much more quickly had a more diplomatic approach." Leandros does his best to reassure them with his smile.

Leadership was still an odd thing to get used to. Leandros could do well in a battle and knew how to utilize people in a fight, but this wasn't a fight. Beyond that he had been trying to give Theo more space to make decisions and build his confidence, but a situation like this was hard to manage. They completed the mission, but having to hold your pants up hardly makes it feel like a win. As the group talk, Theo does put his pack down and rummage through his belongings for a second belt to fix that problem.

"It's fae, they didn't want us to just kill them...this was the best it was going to turnout honestly." A rare moment where Gilder speaks AND it's encouraging. Maybe Leandros influence is rubbing off on him. He was annoyed about having to refill his quiver, but making more arrows was something he actually enjoyed.

"He's right, the main thing is we did the job right? So what if they took some of our stuff, not like any of us are hurting for replacements." And there is the naiveity of the young halfling, born into wealth and never having to worry too much about these types of things.

Leandros laughs gently and smiles seeing how Shael tries to redirect the energies. As much as she might not believe it right now, the knight had full confidence she would be more than fine. She had good instincts it seemed, everything else would come with age.

"It's never wrong to celebrate a job well done. We should take the time to rest anyways, it's too late in the day to travel back anyways. The camp is likely to have food and tents enough for everyone...if not I am sure Haurach and Indra can hunt something sizeable enough to feed the lot of us."

Snow gives an appreciative smile, though they don't think Leandros owes them any kind of apology for leaving things in their hands. They should have been able to handle it. It's not like this was some big fight against a horde of trolls...

Shael leans into Theo's face. "Sounds like someone has money to throw around, you can buy our drinks then." 

Eirynor signs to Shael that she shouldn't bully Theo, but is promptly ignored. The swordsless-swordsman sighs and gives the tree tops one more glance for any sign of his sword. When he doesn't see it anywhere within reach, he heads back to the encampment to rest. 

As the party starts to head back to camp, Snow quickly checks with the other guild members that they're okay now. They state that everything should be fine so long as they get a few hours of peace without the nibblenynh bothering them. Snow does a quick check that the fey aren't hiding anywhere in the immediate area before following after Eirynor. 

Returning to the camp, the group can find food and accommodations for the night. Indra chuffs a friendly greeting to Shael and is quick to plod over to her side, leaving Haurach to reunite with her rider in turn. 

Shael pats Indra's side. "Did you end up making a friend, girl?"

The drake makes a rumbling, throaty purring noise that might mean yes. Who can really tell what the strange noises mean in the first place?

Theo does give an embarassed look as Shael chides him. Though it is not long-lived as he breaks with a nervous laugh and just agrees, he made decent wages with Leandros anyways. Being employed by a noble meant that even if he wasn't already a noble, he would be making sufficient money.

Gilder mourns the loss of his beloved arrows along side Eirynor and his sword. The two silent types of the group can sulk in silence though as everyone else seems to be picking up in spirits. When they are back at the camp, Theo is the first to start gathering drinks as the group sits down.

Haurach maintains her regal posture now that Leandros is returning, giving her a firm pat on the shoulder. She in turn gives a similar positive sounding response, though the way Leandros looks up to her signals he might have a bit of a deeper understanding.[1]

"Is that so? If Shael is alright with it then, I suppose so." He smiles and looks to the fellow rider. "Seems like friends were made. Haurach can smell game near by and wants to know if she can hunt with Indra for their own dinner quickly."

---

1. Rider's Bond

Shael ends up continuing to pester Theo, tussling his hair and acting like they're way closer friends than they really are. It's probably because she doesn't often get to be around people her own age, or people she can tease without risking getting punched in the mouth or stabbed with a dagger.

"Huh?" Shael stops pestering Theo for a moment to address Leandros. "Oh, yeah, that's fine. Indra will probably race your drake though. Old habits and all that."

True enough, Indra snorts and immediately takes off into the air to get a head start on Haurach. She'd gotten pretty riled up while waiting for the group to return and now has plenty of energy to burn. 

Shael snorts a laugh before turning her attention back to socializing with the others. 

Snow sits back and watches the others for a bit before looking down at their drink. Despite things going about as well as they could have, they still feel a certain way about relying on Leandros in the end. It couldn't be helped - even though they know they shouldn't be so hard on themselves - every blunder just feels like more and more of a slap to the face these days. They let out a quiet sigh and take a sip of their drink.