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</div>Oh, the agony of it all! Will felt the eyes of his seated companion upon him and thought he might just curl up into a little ball on the hearth and whimper away his anxiety.<br/><br/>He might never hear his human boy call him a 'Good Scout' again. But then he felt those eyes upon him, and Will looked down. The man with the jangly clothes and the oh-so-good smells coming from him jumped up and declared himself.<br/><br/><i>Boy</i>…did he<i>declare</i>himself. Will's heart thudded. If his tail had been around it would have pounded the hearth so soundly that the stonework would have weakened. But Haaf's determined stomp and his announcement that he would go where Will went, gave the scout a sense of destiny arriving. He had a<i>friend</i>. He had a hunting buddy. Someone to chase good smells and splash in the mud with! Someone who would help him find the best places to roll in the dirt! Someone who –<br/><br/>Wait, what? Oh yeah, the prince! He was here to find the prince, not play.<br/><br/>His attention was drawn back to Videl and his flame haired tauntress. The map was rolled out on the table, flatted by both sets of hands, until it was completely revealed. Will stood beside Haaf, then tugged at his wrist. "Let's get closer," he suggested. He wanted to see what the others saw, and with the half-fae at his side, felt confident enough to approach the place where Draya was, though he kept his newfound friend between himself and the raven-haired woman who had told the group leaders her name, but not why she was here or what she had to offer.<br/><br/><i>'Typical,'</i>Will thought.<i>'Always a taker, never a giver.'</i>He was still convinced she was the one who had taken his nifty new silver tag that Prince Casimir had given him. He had seen how her eyes had lit up at the sight of the 'shiny.'<br/><br/>He listened as Eiris began to speak, once the six of them (something significant in that number, he was sure) had been invited to join the party. When the redhead declared that all who hadn't been invited would drown themselves in the sea, Will inhaled sharply. His eyes widened, and his head jerked back, much like it had when the was investigating the strange cat that turned out to be a porcupine. Then Eiris rephrased her statement, and he relaxed. He'd never really seen magic before. He'd heard of it, sure, but never seen it. Something told him that she had cast some kind of spell, and to be honest – it seemed underwhelming.<br/><br/>Where were the sparks of light? Where was the flamboyant streaks of glittering azure and red, swirling around their heads and projecting her spell? It was just words! Just simple words, and nothing exciting happened!<br/><br/>He glanced around, waiting for signs that her incantation had taken effect. People kept eating and drinking, serving wenches kept serving, gamblers kept rolling dice. Disappointing, really…<br/><br/>But then Lord Aeldredus' name was spoken in the same breath as Prince Casimir's and it whipped Will's head around to stare at the knight. Will's brows pulled up, his jaw relaxed, and he felt like he needed to swallow. It made sense that they would be trying to do this quickly – the longer the prince was lost, the more chances that wolves might get him, or he might go hungry, or be lonely. Will blinked, wondering why the prince hadn't brought him along. They always went on adventures together. It didn't make sense. Why would the prince leave him behind?!<br/><br/>Unless…of course…a chill worked its way across Will's ears and then slid along his back. Unless the prince didn't 'go,' but was taken.<br/><br/>But that didn't make sense. His parents had been killed. There was danger in the castle, so Casi had to go. He must have run away! But he should have taken Scout with him, right? Unless he was going, like…up a rope ladder, or down a steep tunnel where his hound couldn't follow him. Maybe he climbed up a rope to the roof of the castle and called down a dragon to ride away….<br/><br/>Will shook his head, a motion that resembled someone shaking a gnat away that had been buzzing at his ear. No, there was something else going on, and he would figure it out.<br/><br/>The feel of Draya's eyes on him was like a buzzing horsefly, all sound and potential danger. When he could not stand it any longer, he looked up at her, caught her beady-eyed glare and the sharp downward nod of her nose that said,<i>'I'm going to peck your eyes out, you mangy mutt!'</i>– or else he only imagined that part, and he shrunk back a hair to hide behind the others, still trying to get a look at the map.<br/><br/>Carmen said a mouthful of words that made Will's ears twitch. All of her Oi's and strange inflections almost sounded like another language, though he realized that the less he tried to understand, the more he actually did. It was a confusing tongue indeed.<br/><br/>The counter-hopping elf drew his attention, and for the briefest of moments he felt fearful. The man had something inside him, something that was hidden by his comely face, that was dark and dangerous. Zalek's statement to<i>"Bring on nightfall,"</i>did not make matters less dire. In truth, it concerned Will. If these were the people who were looking for the prince, the lad's chance of survival might be better if he remained lost.<br/><br/>Will shivered, then realized he had put a hand on Haaf's back as reassurance there was something between him and the group. "Oh, sorry," he said, looking at the half-fae and slowly withdrawing his hand. He gave the colorful man an apologetic smile, much as one might do if they accidentally sat down and realized the chair had already been taken. Then he really<i>looked </i>at Haaf and noticed those gem-like eyes. They were so soothing, so calming, that they made Will's smile soften. He felt a sense of peace wash over him, as if it would be alright because they were in this together.