Nevin nodded his head towards the small piles of plants sitting next to Elthas, then tilted his head towards Aphrael, who trilled pleased little flute notes at him and dropped down onto his shoulder, making the alchemist twist slightly as he adjusted to the addition of her weight. He pulled himself to his face and walked over to sit across the fire from the Elf, watching his erstwhile companion as he continued to cook the food. "So, I'd ask what led you out here and to me today - I'd probably be heading back soon if we'd not met up." It was a little strange to see Elthas here - the man had been busy doing oddjobs after the Goblin attack had thrown the village into chaos. Maybe that was actually why he was out here? He had had traps with animals in them hanging from his belt when he showed up.

Elthas seemed to have something on his mind though - even though he'd been singing when Nevin returned, his eyes had been distant, focused on the fire, seeing something else inside of it. He almost hadn't seemed to notice Nevin's return, though for all the alchemist knew the Elf was actually keenly aware of him. Aphrael piped flute notes into his ear, and the redhead turned his head to look at her with one eye, raising an eyebrow before looking back to Elthas and shrugging the shoulder that the overly large corvid wasn't perched on. "My friend here reminds me I haven't introduced you two. This is Aphrael, who has decided I am her bondmate. Aphrael, this is Elthas, the first person I met here in Stonevale." And really the first person that Nevin had talked to for more than two minutes outside of his work or the smithy.

"Hmm. In any case, if we're out here at night, I should probably see if there are any herbs or animals that only show up at night that I could use for some alchemy. Hm." Nevin drummed his fingers against his leg as he thought about it. He didn't know what animals dwelt in the forest at night, and he hadn't exactly packed for combat - but he always had his knife with him, and he did have glass vials along too. Maybe there would be a point where he could slip away from Elthas' watchful eye and harvest some blood?