Valleus was hesitant to lower his weapon, but the words of his friend left little to argue against.  He tentatively slid the blade back into it's scabbard, but continued to regard these strangers with a look of distrust and fear.<br/>They claimed to be friend, but how could he know?  They were either bloodthirsty tricksters or foolish glory hunters walking a tightrope of a slow death.  He didn't like it, either way.<br/><br/>They had gone for almost an entire change of seasons without a single presence come their way that wasn't an animal (though not all of them exactly challenged that trend).<br/>He had never seen such an assortment of people before.<br/>The first woman, he spotted a tail lingering around behind her.<br/>The second, spoke in an accent Valleus could not quite understand, and her cat was larger and fiercer than he had ever seen in his life.<br/>The third, he recognised from old tales and tapestries his mother used to read to him when he was going to sleep.<br/>An Aosi, and though he hid his shock at ever seeing one in the flesh, his amazement was there nonetheless.<br/><br/>He spoke up, words directed at his large friend but loud enough for all to hear.<br/>"How can we feed them?  We've but one rabbit and it was thin enough to leave us both only half-full," he didn't trust a single one of them.  He had been perhaps closer than any of them to the tragedy when it happened and was just lucky enough to escape alive.  That trauma and fear was the bulk of what kept him from going back to the castle and razing it the ground.<br/>The same feelings kept him at bay from this brand new assortment, he needed a reason to trust them.<br/>"Have our unwitting guests any rations with which to bring to our table?" He asked with utmost scrutiny.