Log In

Kellan placed a hand on his chin. Both happened to be things he'd been contemplating, though outside less so. Actually, he wondered if there was anything outside at all. The front lawn had been big, but it'd been just that--very big and green and open.

"Let's go outside to the back of the mansion," He said.

Jei nodded, grabbing some fruit to take out with them. "Alright, lets go then."

Kellan exited the living room and stopped at the front door, pausing. "Let's hope we don't need our jackets," he said offhandedly, then opened the door. He didn't know if there was a back door or not, so the front door had to make do.

Past the green courtyard and around the building, Kellan stopped before the back "yard." Well, of course it was much bigger than a yard, but what else was there to call a back expanse? Was that the woods?

Jei followed his brother, running ahead once they made it outside. There was a wide expanse of lawn backing onto the forest, with gardens to one side, and beyond them, the stables and carriage house. The trees closest to the gardens looked to be fruit trees, changing to maple and oak and birch further from the food.

Kellan grinned, seeing Jei running out in front. He liked how happy he looked.

He walked over towards the edge of the garden and into the shade of the forests. He looked thoughtfully at a maple tree, wondering if it was a sugar maple that could potentially be tapped. He found it almost ironic that fire was an element of magic. Animals lived without fire. Yet fire was natural. Yet fire destroyed things. It came in and thrived on destroying things. And life grows in the aftermath. What a pain. But heat. No way was that another form of fire, was it? Maybe he should have taken Jei to find the library after all, but he was already some ways into the trees.

"Hunting is a shame," He remarked to Jei, "But humans eat meat. As do bears and and lions."

Jei had been headed for the garden, to see what types of food grew there, but noticed Kellan going towards the woods, and decided to follow his brother instead. He nodded slightly at his brother's comment, wondering where that had come from. "It is a shame, especially when it's done for sport... When you only take what you need for food, it can actually be helpful to the colony of whatever you are hunting... Predators usually go after the weaker ones, which makes the group stronger in the end- you can only go as fast as your slowest member." He replied, shrugging a bit.

Kellan laughed, "It's a good thing we grow our own animals. Or else we wouldn't be picking off the weakest as we should."

He looked up at the sky and grinned. "How long do you think the forest stretches for? Think we'll meet anyone in here?"

He squinted his eyes, was that smoke curling in the distance? Surely not. What kind of person would openly have smoking fires in the forest?

Jeisyn shrugged. "Who knows? It could be a small patch of trees, or it could go for miles..." He said, climbing onto a fallen log, walking along the top of it. "Hey Kell, look! I'm finally taller than you!" He said, laughing a bit.

((Fire? Or somebodies cabin/cookfire?))

((Sure :D! Fire's always good. Any ideas for the reason?))

Kellan laughed, "Indeed you are, now aren't you?" He pointed to in front of Jei, grinning, "You see the smoke coming from that direction? How about we go to it?"

Jei looked to where his brother was pointing to. His eyebrows rose at the sight of the smoke. "Its too dark and thick to be a cabin or cookfire..." He said, frowning slightly in concern. He wasn't good with fire, all things considered. "Shouldn't we go and warn Uncle Marius, or something?"

"Good idea." Kellan replied, his brows furrowing in thought. He noted that the smoke had gotten much darker--much thicker. If it was, or if it turned into a wildfire that would have been extremely bad.

"Let's go look for him in case this smoke turns really big, or if it's another plot happening."

Jei was quick to agree, turning back towards the house. The sooner they got back, the better, in his mind. When they got inside, Jei asked a servant where they could find his uncle. She led them up to his study, knocking upon the door lightly, opening it for the boys when told to enter.

Kellan was surprised at the speed and efficiency with which they returned to the house, Jei leading the way. He assumed the fire must have looked very urgent. That, or Jei really didn't like fires.

He thanked the servant as the door was opened, then stepped through the threshold of the door along with Jei.

The study, he noted, was filled with books. The window was opened to the back gardens. A useful view, he supposed.

Turning to Uncle Marius, Kellan said: "You might be able to see it from here Uncle Marius, but maybe not. There's a bunch of smoke in the forest and it looks like a fire. You wouldn't know what it is would you?"

Matius frowned slightly, going to the window and looking out, spotting a thin trail of smoke. "Well, there is a cabin in the woods, inhabited by our groundskeeper... Though that smoke seems too dark..." He said, as he turned back to the boys. "I wabt you two to stay here with your aunt, while I go see what's going on."

Jei was glad that their uncle wasn't making them go, though he frowned slightly. "You shouldn't go alone, uncle..." He said. He wasn't volunteering himself, but if his uncle asked him to go, since he apparently had magic- that he couldn't access- he would go.

Kellan furrowed his brows for a split second before shrugging his shoulders haphazardly. "Alright." He said. "That's rather interesting. I wonder what it could be." He looked over at Jei with a mischievous grin and patted the boy's head. "Although, it's rather boring."

As if he was going to sit quietly and "stay safe" in the mansion, he thought to himself. Besides, was the mansion even safe? Then again, maybe he could use this opportunity to check what was behind the charred door. What was the safer option? Checking behind the door or going off into the forest? He didn't want to accidentally burn down the building while Uncle Marius was gone, but he certainly didn't want to sit around doing nothing. Danger was fine. Boredom was infinite.

Marius smiled at Jei's concern. "I won't... Thise friends I spoke of last night, I'll go get them and we'll go investigate. I want you boys to stay here. Keep an eye on your aunt. If it is a fire, and it gets too close to the house, I want you to keep her safe." He said, looking to Kellan when Jei nodded. "And stay together. Last thing we need is something happening, and one or both of you getting hurt..."