Page 254

Oh, Meela, you're in trouble now! Thanks for indulging our little holiday break. Updates resume per normal now!

118 thoughts on “Page 254

  1. Oh no! Meeeela!
    -grabs the popcorn- I love suspense!

    1. Can I has some of dat? -Stares at your popcorn- ;3;

    2. True, at this point, a glib tongue could probably get her off on the grounds that he wouldn’t have put them out if he didn’t want customers to look at them — but still, it would have to be fast.

  2. Oh my goodness~ is that who I think it is in the last panel? Good lord, he’s beautiful~!

    1. Isn’t he though? ^w^

  3. Hmmm… Eather Cervians (?)are more common in that area, or it’s our good friend Jyaku here to save the day!

    1. No no, Jyaku’s a good bit more decorated than that… Don’t think it’s him.

      1. I do believe people are allowed to change style of clothing in this world. Like Feral who changes clothing for shopping outings Jyaku could have changed his clothing to not stand out….as much.

      2. I am certain it is, has the same earring, and same eye-color and same eye-shape. :P

        1. Look at how short Jyaku’s hair is on the character page, though. Did it grow super quick or…

        2. snarkylittleshark

          I’m pretty sure the ‘hair’ on Jyaku’s picture on the character page is part of a headdress.
          http://micahgallery.com/catalog/images/buffaloheadress.JPG

        3. But the hair under it is much lighter–you can see it when Jyaku is beating up Visrial.

        4. Hmm… (looks back at the fight and at the character page) Jyaku’s bangs in both those places do look a lot like this character’s. And the antlers seem similar, as well as his eye color and the hint of blue at his ear. Though Jyaku does seem to have a light color on the end of his ponytail thing… Oh wait. The person in the second panel here isn’t the same one as in the last panel. The person with the hats seems to be a woman. (I was confused for a minute there because of the brown hair) This person also isn’t the same one who had the dreamcatchers. This might be the first time he’s seen here.
          So, I think he is Jyaku. They seem pretty similar to me when I compare them.

      3. It is Jyaku. In the fighting scene, it goes close up on Jyaku’s face, his eyes are the same, and, they both have the green earing. It IS Jyaku. Just without his normal getup I think.

        1. It is Jyaku, if you look closely at his character bio you can see the same shade of brown, short hair. Even in the fighting scene you can see it there as well.

    2. They’ve got the same eyes, the same antlers, the same hair color and length, the same weird earring things and even the same cloak. It’s totally him.

    3. You also might want to notice they have the same robe/cape thing
      Jussayin’

  4. thelightedDarkness

    Meela, why!
    You don’t steal like that!
    …
    Gotta be all sneaky.

    1. Oh, and of course you would know.

      1. I would know! *Raises hand*

        Oops…

      2. thelightedDarkness

        Yes I would know……
        …
        Not from real life, no! O:

  5. Is that Jyaku without his weird mask? Cool moment, I can’t wait to see what happens next!

  6. Can’t be Jyaku could it.
    He wears more like beads and jewellery stuff doesn’t he??
    As always love the new page.

  7. *Jaw drop* Meela?! Is that really Jyaku? I mean it’s a completely different outfit, but the coloring is kind of similar and who else would wear a mask?

    Wait, wait *checks page 219* hmm, Jyaku had darker skin than this guy. Could still turn out to be him (different lighting(?)) but I’m betting it’s someone who works with him more.

    Or, you know, it’s a Cervian that doesn’t want Meela to steal a hat. Mundane answer.

    I’m intrigued by Meela’s expression on the first panel, very close to enraged. She doesn’t like putting up with Feral’s attitude either, yet she isn’t quite angry enough to put her foot down.

    1. I’m thinking that it’s Jyaku. I mean, sure he doesn’t have his super colorful mask on, but his face is still covered. So either all of the cervian’s have their face covered as a part of their culture (which is entirely possible) or Jyaku is still trying to cover his face.

      He might just be a guardian/stalker and changes his appearance and only Holland knows about it. I mean, Jyaku IS very much interested in Meela. So. *shrug* Maybe~

      1. Well, I know Jyaku has a long relationship with Holland–he was in the vote incentive that showed a glimpse of his childhood. And I also know he’s been stalking Meela, because he asked about her and was there at the party. Still, what’s his interest? Might something about Meela have to do with Holland or Mithrennon?

  8. Hmm, a kidnapper or just someone who doesn’t like stealing? OHMYGOD THE SUSPENSE!!!!!!!!

  9. His expression says “i am an older sibling and you don’t need that hat right now, meela. No not even to try it on.” He doesn’t give me a kidnappy vibe, though I dunno what Feral and Holland will think, if they even notice.

    1. I disagree with his expression. I think she would look adorable in that hat.

  10. Hrm. I think it’s Jyaku. Same earing, hair and eye color, and very identical antlers.

    1. Agree. The outfit is not the same but i compared the eyes, the antlers and the earrings too so they are all the same. Nearly sure its him *~*

    2. They could be related, or of a similar class or something.

  11. Haha I guessed Jyaku xD I was riiiigghht :D

    Now for question time, Why isn’t he wearing his mask? Why does he wear a mask/hat thing?

    1. Agree. The outfit is not the same but i compared the eyes, the antlers and the earrings too so they are all the same. Nearly sure its him *~*

    2. Identity secrets.

    3. If you mean the guy with the dreamcatchers two pages back, then this isn’t the same person. This seems to be the first time this guy’s shown in this scene.
      I would think he wears the mask when he’s doing secret stuff. Right now he’s just shopping. :D

      1. That, and it would be weird to wear a mask while shopping, with all these people around to wonder who the weirdo with the mask is.

      2. Actually I meant the last panel, it was blacked out during the stream, so I guessed it was Jyaku xD

        1. You guessed it was him even when he wasn’t shown. Now people are guessing it’s him when he’s in full view. :P

  12. Don’t tell me… He’s handsome? :D

  13. Oh dear ._.
    Mella~ You should know better than to steal D:

  14. isnt that the guy who beat up the panther guy o.0

  15. Wel that’s not good. I hope he’s trying to stop her xD
    On an interesting note, Meela and I have the same taste in hats! XD

  16. I don’t think it really counts as “stealing” if all she did was touch it.. regardless of her intent.

  17. Well that’s not good. I hope he’s trying to stop her xD
    On an interesting note, Meela and I have the same taste in hats! XD

  18. ITS THE GUY!!!

    ITS THE EPIC CAPE GUY!!!

    ITS THE EPIC CAPE ANTLER GUY FROM PAGE 218!!!!

    HE HAS HAIR AND A FACE?!

    SHOCK!

    1. I’m so glad I’m not the only one that thought of Jyaku! I’m really hoping it’s him too.

  19. His hair and eyes are the same as Jyaku’s, and the clothing is similar as well, but there are some differences… but if I could see his ears then i could make up my mind. Cause I saw some of Jyaku’s earrings last time we saw him.

    1. I am pretty confident it’s Jyaku, if you look at his right ear you can see a bit of his earing showing through his hair :)

  20. I’m pretty dang sure it’s Jyaku. Same skin color, eye color, hair color and style, from what we can see underneath his fluffy headdress. Though his cloak is pinned on the opposite side than when he met up with Holland, it doesn’t mean much that he’s wearing different clothes. They’ve ALL changed outfits in this comic; it’s one of the things I love about it! It is a similar style, though. And the jingles missing in his antlers could be removed just like any other jewelry. You can see the holes where they would be, though.

    1. I’m seconding this, and also adding that the antler structure is the same, and that in one of the concept art sketches posted on facebook, there were sketches of this design with the jinglies in the antlers.
      Basically, I’ll be surprised if this isn’t him.

  21. I doubt Jyaku is kidnapping her. Even though he’s pulling her hand back and covering her mouth, there’s still something about his movements that seem careful, like he doesn’t want to hurt her.

  22. MEELA!! D: < I'm not impressed little lady!

  23. Antler-guy to the rescue, saving her from turning into a petty thief! And on a side note, that hat would look totally boss on Meela.

  24. Clampityclampclamp

    Really like the new page, Meela needs more lessons from Piper apparently. After looking at the other pages with Jyaku in them, I really think the cervian in the last panel isn’t him. The hair and antlers don’t match up, the back shots of Jyaku (and a small sketch from a few months ago) shows he has longer, lighter hair with elaborate ties. Jyaku’s antlers also seem longer and curved downward a bit. Maybe if this guy isn’t Jyaku he could be somehow involved in whatever plans Holland and or Jyaku has.

    1. Yeah, and if you compare his skin color to Jyaku’s, this guy is much paler. The fact that he’s also wearing a mask makes we wonder, though, if hiding your face is maybe a cervian clan practice? Like maybe Jyaku’s the chief, he’s an underling?

      1. thats actually a fair point. could be a clan practice.

  25. Call me strange but her hands are so beautifully drawn.

    Hey deer-dude! I recognize you! Only you have….well, part of face this time!

  26. oh wow… that guy looks like Jyaku :D D:
    oh Meela you should be more care full … ^.^

  27. It’s Rudolph. That’s why his nose is covered.

    1. ROFL

  28. I noticed a while ago that a lot of people’s birthday was today. Darn, it would have been cool to have a new page of Strays as a birthday present. >:(

  29. if this were an anime, i would watch it forever and then some.

  30. I always forget how small Meela is, until she’s drawn against an adult. Holy.

  31. Naahh! Suspense! Who is Cervian-Guy? It is Jyaku? What’s gonna happen to Meela??
    Feral is being stubborn and not giving me his thoughts for my fanfic. XP
    Keep up the awesome work, guys! XD

  32. Noes! Meela!

  33. She will be fine because that is Jyaku

  34. Jyakuu, y u so beautiful

  35. Not QUITE convinced that’s Jyaku just yet, but even if it isn’t, he’s clearly involved in whatever is going on here (and considering how shady Jyaku and Holland’s knowledge of Meela has been, there might very well BE a reason for Jyaku and/or his kinsmen to kidnap Meela). I mean, the guy is clearly a Cervian–that much is obvious–and this was almost certainly planned.

    Can’t wait to see the next page!

  36. The last panel guy.. <333333333333333333333333333333333

  37. Meela!” OY Feral looknout for your ward!

  38. LOL I like how everyone is like OMG STEALING! Which she could be. She certainly does look nervous and is a bit shaky, but she could have honestly just been picking the hat up to look at it. I mean seriously! Some of those hats are stacked on top of each other!

  39. am i the only one that was like awww meelas mom the bounty hunter fell in love with a target. maybe its foreshadowing? maybe meela and feral will fall in love!…then i think..wait…shes twelve…wtf is wrong with me

    1. LOL I’m glad for the disclaiming last sentance, or else I would be seriously creeped! xD

    2. LOL. Awesome disclaimer there. XDDD

      On the note of foreshadowing though, I still say it goes more between Feral and Piper (not a shipper between the two though tbh- it’s just how I’m seeing things. |DD;;;)
      Heck, even Meela was getting the vibe back in page 233.

  40. JYAKU! AAA!

  41. I’m really hoping that that guy in the last panel is one of Meela’s parent’s friends… But I’m pretty sure is Jykau!

  42. Hmm. Guys, it’s not Jyaku. Now I have specific points why, and an alternate theory (just want to put it in one cohesive post)
    Point 1: Clothes are different. That’s not nearly enough on its own, because, as people pointed out, the characters are not glued into them for this comic. But still, it’s something to consider.
    Point 2: His skin color is different. No, really, check on page 219 and compare his face with what we can see of Jyaku’s. He’s a lot paler.
    Point 3: The hair is actually different. It’s hard to tell because of his headpiece, but what we see of Jyaku’s on 242 is that it’s light and tied back (it doesn’t follow the headpiece’s movements, so it’s not part of it.) Although, there’s also 219 again, which hints that it’s brown, so actually I’m not sure what’s going on with Jyaku’s hair. I only know it’s longer than this guy’s…Um…
    Point 4: His antlers are different, and this is the biggest point because of how distinctive it is. Look at any page with Jyaku in it, his primary antlers curve forward and his secondary ones curve backwards. This guy’s primary ones -face- forward, but do not -curve- forward, and his secondary ones stand straight up. Also, Jyaku has a little loop where these two parts of his antlers connect and this guy doesn’t.

    Sorry about that–as I already mentioned, though, I think this guy at the very least is working for him, like if he’s in a clan or something, because then his hiding his face still makes sense. Jyaku’s ornamentation did make me think he would be a clan-chief or otherwise of high rank.

    1. I’m fan of “this is Jyaku theory” so… here it goes XD
      1. Characters in this comic are changing clothes regularly, even few times in one chapter. BUT this guy has an identical earring like Jyaku in this page: https://www.straysonline.com/2012/10/page-243/
      This is very visible, when you’re looking at this page from a mobile device, like tablet (I’m looking at it from my mobile phone).
      2. The only visible part of his skin since that moment was this one around his eyes under the mask. Propably this skin could be a bit darker in that moments, because of shading and forest scenes- here in that moment they are at open place. Moreover you don’t know the true color of the inside of the mask, and it’s a important clue. If you are putting warm colored things close to your face, your skin get some color of it, because this is how the lights and shades work.
      3. Jyaku hairs are darker on the top, and lighter at the end. They are gradiented (dyed?). On page 243 you can see their true color on the top, near the ear. It’s identical like this on this page. Moreover, page 242 shows they gradient very close. We don’t see back of his hairs in this page, but it looks like they are braided.
      4. The antlers are very similiar and the differences propably comes from nothing else than the perspective :3

      1. Er…I concede that that’s a pretty good argument for all my points. Well done :)
        …I’m still very skeptical because of those antlers; it might just be me, but I see them as being very different. But If does turn out to be Jyaku I’ll make my peace with the perspective explanation.

      2. thelightedDarkness

        And his antlers have small, barely noticable holes in them where the jingle-y things could go. Heh…

        1. Well, true. Which is why I went with the “clansman” idea. And as long as I’m arguing my own points, the lack of a visible loop or proper curvature in his antlers might also be due to his having bushier hair? Since his headdress, while bushy itself, does smooth it down away from his antlers.

  43. Lol, am i the only one who thinks the guy that just grabbed her is really cute ?

    1. Completely agree, I’d be like you can kidnap me any day, lol.

  44. Meela just got ElderScroll’d.

    1. “Halt! You have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people. What say you in your defence?”

  45. Bite his hand Meela! Bite him!!!

  46. Uh oh, stranger danger!

  47. YAY FOR JYAKU!!! And bad meela trying to steel that hat!

    Btw, it is jyaku, I checked. Same hair color, skin color, eye color, antler size/shape, and same earrings on ear.

  48. I think this is Jyaku. I’ve been examining the guy here and in all the other pages with Jyaku. The antlers look to be exactly the same, and the hair color as well. Clothes are different, but he can change clothes. His normal outfit would probably look a little suspicious in this setting. His skin does look a little paler here, but all the other times we’ve seen him has been in the forest. forest = shadows.
    And if it’s NOT Jyaku, I would guess they are related. Not just involved with each other, but actually related because of the shape of the antlers. Antler shape is often genetically passed through families in deer, and because of the same antler shape between this guy and Jyaku, they would have to be related. But I still think it’s Jyaku here.

    1. Same eyes, hair, and he’s a cervian. it most likely is Jyaku

  49. I was also fully expecting her to run into somebody as she stumbled away after Feral shoved her. But she didn’t.
    Plus, I don’t know that she intended to steal the hat.

  50. Stealing is bad.

  51. I think it might be the guy that was selling knives there

  52. I mean dream catchers

    1. This person isn’t the same as that person, if that’s what you mean. The dreamcatcher guy has light hair, different antlers (as far as I can tell), and is wearing different clothing. The person on this page looks more like Jyaku, though.

  53. Is it just me, or does he kind of look like Feral?
    Maybe it’s just the ‘what is that crazy pup doing now?!’ expression. ^_^”

  54. I think I’m falling in love with this Cervian. He’s quite a handsome fellow.
    I might try and cosplay as him sometime. It would be rather entertaining, and his outfit is simply gorgeous. Plus, he has an intriguing personality.

  55. I think it’s Jyaku, same earrings, same eye colour, the horns bend the same way (sort of, it changes a little from panel to panel so I can’t really tell).

    Although his antlers don’t have the bells but then again he could remove them like how humans remove earrings so I’m a little confused myself, but my guess is that it is Jyaku.

  56. Everything including his antlers and his clothing matches Jyaku… without the mask and headdress and jingling decoration thathe usually wears.

  57. Yup, just reviewed the evidence… antlers are the same, check the back ones… there’s holes right where his usual jewelry is. The eyes are also the same. And I am sure we’d find long hair in the back… it’s Jyaku.

  58. I’m seeing signs in the last panel that Meela’s started puberty. She’s filling out a bit– her chest was completely flat at the start of the comic. it’s a nice, subtle touch; it shows how time is passing. (our little Meela’s growing up!) :,,)

    1. Hm, you’re right. I almost didn’t notice, but comparing her now and in the first couple pages…it’d be a lot harder now to mistake her for a boy ;).

  59. Definitely Jyaku! And he is soooo hawt! I imagined a really old shaman guy~ LOL
    I love how Meela looked when she was tempted. She knew it wasa bad thing to do, like a lesson-to-be-learned face!

  60. Purdy Man.

  61. HEY!!! it’s that one dude!!! :D
    yeah, I recognize him XDXD

  62. She wasn’t going to steal right? Just going to try on/ touch the hat, right?

    1. That was what I was guessing. If she was going to steal the hat I’d think she would’ve been a little more careful about it. It seems more like she was just going to look at it or try it on and the antler dude assumed she was trying to steal it. Not entirely sure, though.

      1. Personally I think she -was- intending to steal it, judging by the consideration on her face in the third panel, but it’s very likely she would have backed down before actually doing so. It was just an impulse such as children have.

  63. ITS A BAMBI!!!

    JK! But i see the antlers so hes like a deer right?

  64. Anyone have any guesses on his age? He looks younger than both Holland and Feral so….17-18, maybe?

    1. If it’s Jyaku, he has to be older than Holland (if you saw the Vote Incentive of Holland’s childhood, you could see him in the foreground already with the proportions of an adult while Holland looks like he’s twelve or so.) He could look young for his age, though, or be in his late twenties here like Feral–Feral could look older than him due to the stress of bounty-hunting.

      If it’s not Jyaku, which is equally plausible, I’d say 18 is the best bet. It’s hard to tell with the mask, though.

  65. Its Jyaku his hair looks short cause its cut short in the front from what I ca see and I can see the long hair going down towards that back :3.

  66. i like the detailed debates about whether or not it’s jyaku in the comments haha

  67. lololo XD i love the naggy holland <33

  68. I think it`s Meela`s mother ;). Now whether Meela`s mother is also Jyaku or not, I wonder… My personal theory.

  69. Am I the only one that sees the short haired Vulpian in the background of panel one? She has short hear and ears like Piper, but other than that you can’t tell if it’s her or just a Vulpian who happens to have short hair and is at the market. XP I’m not sure.

  70. VENISON!

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