After the others' departure, Chrrou's only too eager to withdraw into relative solitude to meditate and re-center himself. From the clash with the Heodo to the raucously predatory clamor of the tavern and the unexpected disappearance and subsequent rescue of Geno, Armel has offered more to disquiet and discomfort the druid in a few short hours than he's experienced in the span of months preceding. The endless winter is a disaster, to be sure, but it is an abberation of nature that only bolsters Chrrou's resolve; the nature of Armel challenges rather than strengthens that faith. The druid of the Valley has seen the Pact rejected before, but only by the lawless few who valued their indulgence over their fellows' lives. It is not comforting to the mouse to see how quickly and happily a whole (albeit somewhat small) society can reject the principle that Chrrou thought was necessary for<span style="font-style: italic">any</span>sort of lasting social order.<br/><br/>Armel<span style="font-style: italic">has</span>social order, though, little as he wants to admit it. Just not... rodent-friendly social order.<br/><br/>As broodingly thoughtful and needful of introspection as he is, though, the druid is only too happy to welcome Lin's company. Shedding his armor and helping Heshaar to do the same, bundling the rest of his gear and laying it aside with a sigh, Chrrou's soon seated and settled with his back warmly against the contentedly-curled she-wolf, offering the squirrel the same lupine luxury (if she's brave enough to indulge!). There's a lot of thinking the druid has to do before he can work himself into the mindset to commune with the world in the way that he must, and he can only stand to delve so deep into those thoughts at a time, so Lin's company and chatter proves to be a welcome and perhaps even necessary diversion. It goes without saying that conversation with the party's trio of new roommates would be less than helpful to the mouse's state of mind.<br/><br/>Between long pauses with his eyes turned downward and his thoughts turned inward, the druid proves amply curious about the squirrel's account of her past and more recent turmoil. Even through the depth of the calm he takes on during his daily ritual, the story of Talloak's fall alternately brings glimpses of pity and flashes of rage to Chrrou's eyes. Despite his present misgivings, though, Lin finds in Chrrou a source of not just optimism but<span style="font-style: italic">certainty</span>of future resolution: at least for now, for him, the question is not whether the Pact and its defenders will prevail, but only how many lives will be lost and how much havoc wrought before the Valley can be set aright once more. Details of his personal past are difficult to tease from Chrrou, but his tongue is more than free on questions of his present quest and on the nature of the druidic path.<br/><br/>"Currents of opposing force and power run through our world like whorls of air or eddies in the sea," begins the most verbose of Chrrou's departures from quiet, occasionally-questioning consideration. "The servants of the warring gods channel and impose their wills onto our reality. Mortal mages pry into the energies that tie our world together and bend them to their own ends. ...But life, our life," Chrrou lifts his eyes, "has strength and resilience to match any divinity or ancient art. Druidry is the veneration of life, the acknowledgment of and humility before the nature that we all share. 'Nature' is not what lies outside of walls; you cannot leave it, and it never leaves you. The druid<span style="font-style: italic">feels</span>that life, in herself and beyond herself; listens to its voice, feels its fury, embraces rather than tames and breaks it. When you commune with life and let that communion fill you, when you understand your place not on a piece of but as a part of the world, when you live your life in obedience<span style="font-style: italic">to</span>life... then when<span style="font-style: italic">you</span>call, that life will answer and obey." Chrrou smiles wistfully. "...And what that life teaches you makes you see things differently. There's no authority we answer to, no general to marshal us into battle; instead of coming to find an end to this winter, I could turn away, find easier gardens to tend... but I know that's not what has to happen. This land is dying, towns like this are diseased packs clawing at each other's throats and spreading the contagion, and the rest of the Valley is holing up and hoarding and hoping one day the snow will melt. ... No caring druid can just turn away from this, knowing what it means," the mouse sighs. "But even so, there're few willing to come and pursue the source of it all..." Chrrou's brooding contemplation is swift to return.<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Speaking of which, I started writing one of those character-backstory documents awhile ago, but got ... sidetracked. I'll have to see about picking that up again...<br/><br/>Sorry for more epic post-delay. I'm trying to get used to this again!</div></div></div>