Poking the Bear

DEVRUM When feasible, one should always eat the rude. Devrum kept his back to Ashetta as his ears twitched at the sound of her arrival. He absently worked to keep himself and the beast occupied. When left to his own devices, it was dangerous when the animal was left unsupervised. Vervain knew this and had mastered a technique for keeping a fair balance between the two. Nose twitched against his full beard as he picked up vacant lumber sprawled around into semi organized stacks. "Who is he? Don't recognize the scent." Devrum asked in a rather curt manner as he kept his eyes away from Ashe, stacking wood with no real purpose than to keep his hands busy. "Would be mighty fine of you to give some sort of sign to your mother that you're alive and well enough. She deserves that much before you go off doing whatever it is you're doing." Lifting a rather large stump, Devrum's body mass slightly increased as a more animalistic growl was heard as he flung it with an authoritative thump into the pile. "Is it worth it?" He asked, his voice more guttural before he turned to finally look at her. His body rippling into its normal state. "Whatever it is you're doing that has driven you from all of us without rhyme or reason? Is it worth the price of what you lost already? Or you figuring to one day come back to us when there is nothing else left for you but to do so." Devrum had thought he and Ashetta shared a mutual understanding or one another. Both endured horrors best left unspoken unless it was to one another. Ashetta endured her trials, Devrum his own...Both being tales few could stomach. If she had needed someone to come to, to understand, he thought he would have been the first one to come to...but alas it seemed she was content going about this self discovery with everyone but the people who had made it clear they were there for her. Vervain had cheated death and crossed another world to be with her, and was the only true family Ashetta had. It was her uncertainty of her daughter's whereabouts that truly vexed Devrum. Though the alienating of everyone else did not do much to soften the blow. "What does it matter right? Doesn't mean a damn what I say. Come morning you'll be long gone. Words in one ear out the other, doing whatever it is you have to do. Right?" Hands rested over his sides as he looked over Ashetta. "If you plan on staying til then, be useful and get a fire going." He'd motion to a makeshift fire pit made with stones for Ashe to stoke if she wanted to as he ascended the newly finished steps to what appeared to be a porch area. "When you finish with that come on up." If she had met with Vervain already, it was clear she had taken the good cop method, and Devrum the bad cop. Though in truth, there were multiple forms of ammunition he counted for, for his frustration with the girl.