Surprisingly, it was Lune who spoke first concerning Deon's proposal.<strong>"Makes sense to me,"</strong>the half-elf remarked, pausing to rotate the pair of rabbits over the small fire as the savory aroma filled the air - their juices hissing and spitting into the fire with sharp crackles.  Today had been a good day for foraging; during the hunt, Lune also found a patch of wild mushrooms, more of the mustard greens, and a over half a dozen ears of wild corn.  Those were all being cooked in an iron skillet along with one or two handfuls of flour and some shredded jerky from the trail rations they had to make a delicious type of vegetable-mushroom-and-meat hash, sizzling and popping.  Because she was wary by nature, and because they were still in lizardfolk country, the half-elf scout had dug a small pit for the fire and made sure the smoke from the blaze did not rise too high.  There was no sense in letting anyone for miles around know their location.<br/><br/>Pausing in her tasking of cooking the meal, Lune brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face.<strong>"I think it's also in the entire party's best interest if we formalize this,"</strong>she remarked, standing up from the fire and dusting off her leather breeches.<strong> "That way no one can claim they didn't understand what was being said earlier."</strong>A sideways look was given to the cleric, and there was...<em>approval?</em>in the half-elf's eyes before it was replaced by her more general, stoic expression.<strong>"Well, breakfast is ready.  Why doesn't everyone eat first?  I'll take the time to refill our waterskins and also draft up the document..."</strong>Another unreadable look was given to Deon by Lune, at at his nod of approval, the half-elf casually grabbed the stack of empty waterskins and swung them over her head before setting off for the river.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Lune's response had set up the precedence.<strong>"I, too, think it's a <em>wonderful </em>idea,"</strong>Beatrice said, as she moved first, earning a glare from Elora by cutting the elven paladin off and preventing her from reaching the fire.  A freshly-done rabbit was pulled off the fire by grabbing the long wooden skewer as Beatrice carefully presented it to Deon for his meal.  Even worn down and bedraggled as she was from being chained up the entire night, it did little to dull the allure of the tiefling witch as she curled up against his side coquettishly with her finger idly tracing the front of his chain in small concentric circles.<strong>"I'm <em>very</em> eager to prove myself to you, Master."</strong>There was a layered innuendo in the witch's voice; apparently, what Deon had done last night only seemed to encourage her actions now.<strong>"I'm certain that you'll be most <em>pleased </em>with my services and how much <em>use </em>I can be to you..."</strong><br/><br/>And when that only earned a noncommittal grunt from the cleric even as he took his first bite of the rabbit, its hot juices dripping onto the forest floor below, Beatrice then reluctantly added her next words.<strong>"And the rest of the party too."</strong>That small phrase seemed to twist at the tiefling witch's soul, her pride obviously at war with her need to have his approval, but when Deon gave her a warm smile in agreement with what she said - Beatrice flushed and dropped her eyes submissively as she wriggled back and forth.  Perhaps if she kept earning the cleric's approval, then she'd be added to the 'Watch Raffle' sooner rather than later!<br/><br/>A pouting look was given by Elora to Deon, a silent appeal that he shouldn't be paying that tiefling hussy so much attention, but when the cleric made no move to dissuade Beatrice, the elven paladin simply frowned cutely and then went to her pack to retrieve a plate.  Inwardly, she fretted about what to do to draw Deon's attentions away from the tiefling and back to her.<strong>'Beatrice is shaved <em>clean </em>down there...'</strong>Deon's voice from last night echoed in her ears as she lightly shook her head, feeling her face flush with shame.  After filling it generously with the blended hash, Elora also sat on Deon's other side, using a small wooden spoon to scoop up the delicious contents.  Blowing on it lightly to cool the contents, she then held up the spoon in front of the cleric.<strong>"Say '<em>Ah</em>'..."</strong>she said, waiting for Deon to finish chewing and swallowing his bite of the rabbit.  She then flushed even more as Deon ate her spoonful, his lips<em>accidentally</em>brushing her fingertips - which brought a venomous glare in Elora's direction from Beatrice before she once again smiled winsomely at Deon.<br/><br/>In the meantime, Misty hovered by the fire.  It was obvious that the barbarian's pride, among other things, was still quite sore.  Still, she did not say anything; as per her and Deon's agreement - though it was not difficult to tell that the barbarian had plenty of reservations about needing to heed others in battle.  It wasn't her job to take care of the '<em>weak</em>' - Misty fought because she enjoyed the challenge and thrill of combat!!  Only now, she was '<em>weak</em>' and Deon was '<em>strong</em>' - at least until she could best him and reestablish things properly.  But not for a few days at least, the barbarian definitely did not feel confident taking him on so soon after her loss.  No, Misty planned on resting to regain her strength and then intensifying her personal training so next time, she'd beat him down.  But not too hard, after all, she didn't really want to hurt him.<br/><br/>Still, that time was a long way off.  So sour looks were given in the trio's direction even as she squatted, very deliberately not sitting down, and pulled forth the remaining rabbit on the stick.    She was about to simply bite into it and begin to eat, but a warning look and raised eyebrow from the cleric stopped her cold.  Their eyes locked momentarily before Misty dropped her gaze first.  With a grumble under her breath and a glower, Misty tore the rabbit into quarters, one portion for each girl, and staked the remaining pieces back on the skewer and left them by the fire for when the others would get hungry.  She then dug enthusiastically into her portion of the rabbit, obviously not being a very dainty eater, if the dripping juices and fat running down her chin onto her breasts was any indication.  And after she had finished her portion of the meat, she then also got a plate and put a heaping mound of the hash on it before shoveling it down in a ravenous fashion.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Lune returned - heavy laden with the full 'skins.  Sloughing them off onto the ground with a sigh of relief and rotating her shoulder where the majority of the weight had rested, she joined the party by the fire.  A quick flick of her eyes was given to both Elora and Beatrice competing for Deon's attentions during the mealtime, but the half-elf said nothing.  Instead, she had in her hand a piece of cured vellum plus a quill feather and inkpot - her neat, precise handwriting being evident as it detailed what Deon had said earlier.<strong>"Here we are - the '<em>official</em>' charter done and ready to be signed."</strong>She presented it to each person so they could read through it - except for Misty, who obviously never learned to read.<strong>"I did take the liberty and add in a clause that should help us settle disputes in the party,"</strong>Lune added as each girl, and then Deon, read on - their eyes scanning across the vellum.<strong>"Whenever there is a dispute in the party about who has the '<em>right</em>' to something, for example, the <em>'First Watch'</em>, we will draw lots to determine who shall gain the privilege."</strong>Lune intoned the added line formally.  And seeing Elora's and Misty's confused looks, obviously not understanding its significance, Lune silently rolled her eyes and proceeded to add.<strong>"Basically, all this says is we draw lots for everything now.  Like who cooks for the night.  Or who cleans up.  Who gets to sit at Deon's side."</strong>A<em>very </em>pointed look was now given to Elora and Beatrice as they both glared back.<br/><br/><strong>"Well, I think that's a very reasonable idea!"</strong>Deon remarked, adding in his support, as Elora turned her head - looking slightly stricken at his words.  Tenderly, the cleric soothed the elven paladin by rubbing the tip of her right ear as she guiltily flushed.  Gesturing for the quill, Deon dipped it into the inkpot and signed his name on it.  Beatrice soon followed suit, her signature an elaborate and flowery cursive that was especially large and took up a good portion of space.  Then Lune - who signed the document in small, neat writing.  Misty gave a grunt as she peered suspiciously at the paper with wary eyes.  But with a look given to Lune, after all, the two of them had been traveling companions long before they had joined this little band and the barbarian did not believe the half-elf would lie to her, so Misty wet her thumb with ink and pressed it into the document, leaving behind her thumbprint as her signature.<br/><br/>Suddenly, Elora was all alone.<strong>"Well?"</strong>Deon asked after a moment, gesturing for her to sign too.  It was obvious that the elven paladin had reservations about this all.  While she was looking forward to reaching Daggerford and civilization (with a hot bath!) after the months of hard travel, she also felt as if they were straying further and further away from their goal.  The goal had been Tantras, where she and Deon first had been sent from, which was now far to the east.  This was her last opportunity to reassert leadership over this party - and yet, the elven paladin found herself unable to galvanize herself into action.  While it was true that they should return to Tantras, what did that mean for Deon...and for her?  The thought was a bothersome one, and one that Elora did not have the confidence in facing, so she reluctantly plucked up the feather and gracefully wrote her signature too.  After all, this wasn't really binding; there'd always be a chance to convince Deon to return later.  And the party did need some time to rest and recuperate after their long and hard journey...<br/><br/>And with that, Deon's little band was formed.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The sun was already high in the sky by the time the party set out.  They would have made better time except for the argument which broke out among the girls.  The problem itself was the same one they had confronted yesterday - namely that there were only now four horses and five riders, which meant someone had a share a saddle or walk.  At first, the debate had started out friendly enough, until Beatrice suggested that perhaps she could '<em>share</em>' a saddle with Deon.  After all, the cleric had promised to keep a close eye on her to ensure her trustworthiness and what better way to do this than be riding against him?<br/><br/>Well, that hadn't gone over well with Elora.  Or Misty for that matter - who pointed out angrily that it was her horse that was taken, so if anyone should be riding with Deon, it would be<em><strong>her</strong></em>!  Of course, Lune pointed out the terrible logic behind that - noting that the barbarian was supposed to be '<em>punished</em>' for losing her horse, not rewarded.  Finally, after some more time of fruitless debate, Deon then firmly reminded everyone of the charter they had signed and the new 'clause' - which stated they would draw lots and whoever won would ride with him.  All the girls seemed surprised by the thought, apparently, not realizing that it would affect even things like this.  Well, all the girls except for Lune - who also feigned a mild surprise, but her eyes gave her away to the cleric.  And so they did - and Lune won, much to the envy of the other girls as the half-elf acted like she did not care.  Of course, this was also a poor bluff - the half-elf<em>radiated </em>contentment, much like a cat who had caught a particularly fat mouse or had been given some fine cream.<br/><br/>Perched easily on the front of the saddle, Lune had her hands lightly in the horse's mane.  Unlike the others, she did not overly rub against Deon as they rode, though she did lay easily against him. Still, even in her relaxed pose, there was an alertness to the half-elf, her gaze examining the surrounding area and being watchful of any surprises or pitfalls.  And after an hour of riding, she quietly remarked...<br/><br/><strong>"That <em><span class="bbc_u">was </span></em>fairly clever. I doubt she even realizes she's lost control."</strong>Lune's voice was pitched low, designed not to carry further than the horse itself as they rode - Elora in the front, having taken the time to don her full plate this time around, determined how to be caught like she had earlier out on the road unarmored.  Beatrice was right behind her, her shackled hands attached to the reins so she could not dismount without someone unhooking her first and helping her down.   Then, it was Deon and Lune who rode with him while Misty brought up the rear.  As they rode, the female barbarian used a whetstone she borrowed from Lune to hone the edge of her greataxe, softly humming to herself.  And unlike most things she did, Misty did paid closely attention to this, honing the edge until it was razor-sharp.<br/><br/><strong>"So, what are your <em>real </em>plans for us, <em>Sir</em>?"</strong>Her tone was playful, a different side to the half-elf scout which was not commonly seen.  Her address of him was on the borderline of being respectful and being slightly mocking.  And in her question, there was another question that was being asked by Lune.<br/><br/><em>'How will you reward me for helping you earlier?'</em>