Dal'tek was excited and eager to meet these new outlanders, and for the most part they each looked like they had in his vision. Sure, some of them were wearing less clothing than he remembered, but that mattered little. With an almost boyish enthusiasm and eagerness, he stood there hoping that his greeting would be accepted peacefully.<br/><br/>First, he noted the one human woman scream. His eyes snapped in her direction, his head tilted to one side much like a bird does. Her hand was covering her naked chest, and small wisps of smoke floated skyward from the areas her hands touched. Dal'tek was not sure why the woman would wish to burn herself - perhaps it was some sort of strange ritual of greeting that her kind practiced where she was from? If so, he hoped she would not be offended if he did not reciprocate - feathers were fairly flammable, afterall. And just as quickly, the human woman ducked beneath the water, leaving only her head visible, leaving Dal'tek momentarily confused.<br/><br/>The other human woman had darted a look in his direction, as well, but this one did not burn herself. Perhaps she came from a different human tribe that did not practice this greeting? Or perhaps she was not powerful enough to do so, or perhaps was superior to the first human woman, and need not perform such a ritual? Either way, the second human woman suddenly surged through the water to join the first human woman, where they spoke quietly for a moment, speaking words that Dal'tek could not hear.<br/><br/>The tall, horned, tailed woman was the first to speak. Now that Dal'tek could see her in person, rather than in his vision, he immediately wondered if she were an off-shoot of an elven breed. Dal'tek had a friend back in the village who was an elf, and some parts of this one reminded him of her. But the horns, the tail, the ashen skin... as well as the blindfold made her look quite peculiar. She wore no coverings for her breasts, which amused Dal'tek and made him all the more curious about her, but her words were what drew his attention the most at the moment.<br/><br/><i>"Fair tidings, sky wanderers. Have you met this group before? You possess knowledge of our numbers, yet introduce yourself. Have your sky-scouts whispered their secrets in your ears, or is perhaps the forest itself that has betrayed us?"</i>she asked.<br/><br/>Dal'tek shook his head and responded politely. "No, I have only seen your group in my vision, granted to me by the Mother of All. It was here in this place that I had seen you, and it is here that I have found you. Only, the vision was not completely true," he said. "At least one of your number is... missing. Another robed man, I believe, though with all the cloth it was difficult to tell if he was man, or some other creature. And the fox-man as well."<br/><br/>When Darion moved forward to place himself between the three aviari and the women in the lake, his weapon drawn and at the ready, that got the attention of the two guards that accompanied Dal'tek. Immediately their spears lowered, leveled in Darion's direction. They appeared to be made of simple wood, with some sort of black tip on them that glinted in the sun. Though the spears looked to be fairly short for the two larger aviari, their size made the weapons look deceptively small - each spear easily being longer than a man was tall. Dal'tel immediately raised a hand to the side, resting it against the first spear, gently pushing it down towards the ground. He muttered something in his own tongue, and slowly, both guards lowered their weapons.<br/><br/>"We come in peace, brave warrior," Dal'tek said, turning his attention back to Darion. "If not, we would have simply attacked from the woods, or the sky, when we had the element of surprise. But that is not our way. I give you my word as the spiritsinger of my people that we mean you no harm, but instead, are here to guide you and assist you."<br/><br/>Foran walked forward, drawn in by Dal'tek's first words that seemed to indicate he might know something of Razor's fate.<i> "How do you know Razor left?"</i>Foran asked, moving closer towards the bird-men.<i>"Where is he?"</i>he demanded. Dal'tek turned his gaze to the Ramen, tilting his head to the other side. His mind worked quickly, as this bold one seemed to think Dal'tek knew someone named 'Razor'... someone was missing... someone from his vision... it must be who he was referring to. "I do not know this 'Razor' personally. But if it is the other man in my vision, then that would explain why I do not see him here," he said. "It does not matter. The rest of you would still be welcome to rest in our village. My people are hospitable to those who do not start violence within our borders. You will be safe from the denizens of the forest, and can find sustenance and rest there, as well. I know many of my people would enjoy meeting you, for we are a curious, if sometimes shy race."<br/><br/>Dal'tek glanced around the area quickly once more. "And the fox-man... I do not see him either. Is he here? Has something befallen him? He is small, I know, and might be easily missed. Did the -pixxais- steal him away from you? If so, I might speak with them and find a peaceful way to secure his release... I was looking forward to meeting him," the blue bird-creature said, "Just as I was looking forward to meeting all of you. Will you come with us? We are not far, perhaps a few hours walk from here. Once there, you may climb the ropes up to our village, or you can be hauled up on vines, or we can also fly you up as well, whatever your individual preference might be."<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>