A friendly gnoll

As Pippa walk through the forest she can hear footsteps nearby from something that is very surely moving on two legs

Pippa throws herself in a bush to hide. Until she can know more, she prefers to be safe.

pippa hears a sniffing sound as the footsteps stop and a growling voice snarls in a general direction: "Who's there?"

knowing that not responding will lead to trouble, Pippa answers

"Just a small gnome traveling. I don't want trouble, please"

"Then come on out, small gnome traveller!"

Pippa comes out of the bush slowly

on a narrow trail before her, Pippa can see a gnoll. the creature has a worn down machete in his paw, wearing stitched together leather armor. one of his eyes is covered by an eye patch.

"Hm. Actually a gnome... What are you doing here?"

"i'm traveling. I don't know how i got into theses lands and i try to get out of there."

he snarls but it seems more like a sympathetic, bitter laugh than a threat

"Aren't we all.... say, what do you have in your pouch there?"

he gestures towards the leather sack the murlocs gave Pippa

"just some food, water and tool for travelling."

he grins and shows Pippa a dead rabbit he had in a sack of his own

"I got a camp not far from here... how doe rabbit stew sound? It's not common to encounter someone here that doesn't try to **** or **** you on sight. I welcome a conversation for a change."

"well, it would be better than what i have, so yes please. I'm Pippa by the way."

he nods "Hattra."

Hattra turns towards the trail again, walking on it on soft paws further between the trees

Pippa follows him, travels for a mile before she find a tiny clearing with a makeshift hut, built from sticks and leaves, in front of it a campfire with a pot over it. Her host pulls out flint and steel and makes a fire before he gets a stone slab and starts to skin the rabbit

"Make yourself comfortable, Pippa"

Pippa drops her bag on the ground, make some moves to ease some muscles and sit on a rock near the fire.

"Nice hut"

he scoffs

"it is just a shelter for a few days. you shouldn't stay in a place to long, something will find you and its rarely pleasant"

Pippa can hear the flesh tear as the gnoll pulls the rabbit apart and then stands up, grabbing a bucket to get some water from a nearby creek

Pippa looks into her bag if some of her food can be shared and added the stew.

"Forgive me if it's awkward. But i used to believe that gnoll were in packs... Did something happen ?"

he comes back, dumping the water in the pot and then tearing some of the rabbit meat off to drop it in the water

"The same thing happened to you. Woke up in the forest one day. No real memory of how i got here or why. Just.... fighting, bargaining or tricking."

"oh... Sorry.... Do you have any lead now on getting out?"

he sideeyes Pippa before returning to the cooking

"If i had a clue how to leave, do you think i'd still be here? I guess wander the forest and hope for the best.... so far it kept me alive."

Pippa don't add to the dialog, and helps getting the stew done

"these lands can be very strange, what's the scariest encounter you had? For me, i would say some knights of a sun... Follow close by a old hag..."

he thinks

"I had a run-in with a dragon and just narrowly escaped. I entered a swamp once and eldritch abominations stirred inside, travelers like you and i in their grasp, the poor girls broken into mindless slaves, nothing more than breeding holes for their aberration masters. Other than that this forest is full of monsters and bandits, most of whom do not care for you gender as long as they can relieve themselves with you."

Pippa wanted to add that he couldn't get pregnant, but it won't do much to merry the dialog

"I hope there really is a way out."

he shrugs

"I still have hope to find a way. But neither seasons change nor do the stars or the wind give you the slightest hint of direction. You can climb the highest tree but you will only see forest. Once i found an abandoned tower. Passing it i climbed a rock just a mile further but there was no sign of it anywhere, nor would i find it again...."

"for the night, do we take watch turn? So the other can sleep? Or do you have suggestion ?"

"We can take a watch each, if you feel safer that way. I usually depend on the camouflage of my hut here and so far i have been lucky."

"thanks"

Pippa spends the rest of the time in comfortable silence until the gnoll gets out two crude wood bowls from his stash and scoops the stew into them

"Enjoy"

"thanks"

Pippa eats, savoring a warm meal.

When diner's over, she takes the bowls and spoons

"I'll wash them... And wash myself also... Please don't come to look... Unless i scream for help "

pippa goes to the water stream nearby

the gnoll sits down next to the fire and Pippa is alone at the creek

pippa cleans the wares, then put all her clothes on a rock, and dives into the water.

She won't stay long. Just a wash.

surprisingly, pippa can clean herself without any trouble and as she come back to the fire the gnoll still sits there, carving something from a piece of wood

Pippa asks "will we need wood for the fire? or is there enought for the night?"

"I don't let it burn throughout the night. As soon as the first of us gets to sleep we'll put it out. I don't want to create unnecessary attention."

"yeah, that's surely better, sorry"

"Hm.. You prefer to rest now or should i wake you up around midnight?"

Pippa flips a flat rock

"hmmm, please wake me up around midnight"

he nods before he returns to his carving

Pippa yawns.

"Well, i'll get some sleep before my turn, wake me when it's time"

pippa goes to sleep and her dreams are filled of sexual encounters. she wanders the forest and all manners of creatures appear that she is willingly laying with in her dreams. when she is woken up by the gnoll she feels wet but otherwise normal and rested

Pippa leave the hut, letting Hattra in

"Good night"

"mhmmm. take care!"

he slips into the hut and starts snoring after a while

Pippa makes some moves to finish awaking. Drinks some water, and walks around the camp

a few critters pass the bushes near the camp, and pippa isn't sure if that one time a bigger predatory animal was nearby but finally it dawns and the night went by without anything bad happening. her body has moved back to its normal state thankfully

Pippa lets Hattra sleep a little more and goes to the creek to fetch fresh water for the day

when pippa comes back hattra is still sleeping

Pippa hesitates to wake him up. She sits near the cold firespot and waits.

when the sun starts to shine into the makeshift hut, the gnoll moves and gets up, and asks

"mhmm. slept comfortably?"

"hello, good morning. I had worse, I had better, so it was okkay, no complaint i guess"

"so, what will you do now?"

"i guess, i'll travel again, trying to find clues for an exit, hoping for not big trouble along the way. Do you have better suggestion?"

he hands Pippa what he carved last night: some cutlery and a food bowl

"Take care, little gnome. Don't get even more lost."

"thank you for that gift, it's lovely. Farewell, and good luck to you."

Pippa waves off her hand as she walks away