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Message: <blockquote data-quote="doghead" data-source="post: 1626849" data-attributes="member: 8243">Jaan's sleep however, gradually becomes less quiet as he slips deeper into the cycles. Wet footprints leave a trail across the bare, slightly dusty floor of the great hall. Jann moves into the room and begins to follow the footprints across it. 10, 9, 8, 7, ... the countdown is slow and precise, matching the passing of the footprints ...  6, 5, 4, 3, ... Jaan looks up and is puzzled to see that there are many more foot prints ahead ... 2, 1. Jaan wakes up. The sun burns down on the dusty plain. The footprints continue on ahead of him. He starts walking again, but faster this time. This time he does the counting ... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 7, 4, 9, 3, 456, 34 ,23, 5, 5, 6 ... WHACK! Jaan yelps with pain. The old ranger grins mirthlessly. "You're thinking too much again lad. As soon as you try and think out the fight in advance, your attack becomes pertrified. Now, relax and try again. Don't think, just go with the rhythm of it." Jaan's brow furrows in concentration. Somethings not right. I should be past six by now. Jaan snaps awake. The stars glitter above. He lies motionless for a moment listening to the slight sounds of the forest around them. Someone sniffs somewhere behind him. He rolls over and looks around until he spots the block of darkness that is whoever on guard. Jaan rolls into a sitting position with a grunt suffiently obvious to let whoever know that he was awake. After a quite exchange, he takes over.Jaan sits there for a while, wrapped up in his cloak, drinking in the sights, sounds and smells of the pale moon lit glade. He has never doubted his calling to the service of the Greenman. But sitting there, he is conscious of a sence of distance from the world that lies around him. He could not track an animal, or recognise a bird from it call. Part of him realises that it is mostly just a response to the frustrations of the day. Mostly.He is struck by a yearning to get up and just walk into the woods. To wander between the trees. To get lost in among the kingdom he has sworn himself to. To be touched by whatever that is. He remains motionless however, til the urge has faded away into just a faint sence of longing.Jaan stands and walks to the edge of the glade. Selecting a tree, he settles against it and just tries to let its presence seep into him. At first there is just the indistinguishable sounds of the woods - the rustling of leaves, the occasional creaking of boughs. But gradually a pattern seems to emerge between breezes and noises, distances and directions become clearer, he begins to feel that he can distinguish the sounds of this tree from the others. Jaan sighs softly. He stands and rests his forhead against the tree briefly, breathing in deeply as if to draw in its particular smell, as if to remember it.He returns to his spot by the others. Rummaging around in his bag, he pulls out his waterskin and drinks deeply. Then he finds his rations and begins to eat.ooc: Hey Sparky. Xiao was somewhat of a surprise package - very rapidly taking on a life of his own. All I really needed to do was to keep in mind the 'stranger in a strange land' image of him. But I take your rebuttal as a great compliment, coming as it does from one who seems to write a great character so effortlessly.Decided to do some work on giving Jaan some life as well. Not inspired. Workmanlike perhaps.</blockquote>

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