Do you feel bad for me? (Zeal)

[Naemi]

12th of Fall 511 AV Naemi had woken up early, like every day and slipped on her hunting gear. The clothing was familiar and putting it on was routine. As she gave her sleeping father a light kiss on the forehead, she reached for his bow. In his prime, Naemi’s father used the bow with a practiced hand but now that he was older, he had given it to her. From multiple uses, Naemi just saw it as an extension of her hand, and stringing it was so practiced you could blink and miss her load her bow and release the arrow sinking it into a target. Of course, in the area surrounding Endrykas, Naemi wasn’t aiming for targets, but live animals which are much faster and smaller then practice targets. Many would say that Naemi was not very social, but around the right people, one would be surprised at how much she opens up. Not having many friends, the few people that she had gotten along with had not stuck around. Stepping outside the tent she lived in, her worn boots took a new trail into the wilderness surrounding her home. The ground was damp, the grass with residue from the recent rain. She crouched down to examine a spider web closely as the dew drops shone in the early morning sunlight. The raw beauty of nature astounded Naemi, and even when she was younger, her respect for it was always present. Her father taught her the ways of the hunt, and the skills of handling a bow. It was only after many years of practice that she was as comfortable hunting as she was now. She startled a young rabbit which hopped quickly away, and without thinking about it Naemi strung her bow and let an arrow fly. Her arrows rarely missed, and this one hit the animal. Scooping it up in one hand, Naemi felt her heart twist at the sight of it. For the first time since starting to hunt, she was sorry she had killed this animal. The rabbit was young, by the look of it and she thought of how distressed the mother must be. The young rabbit would not be a large amount of meat, and so ultimately she had killed it for nothing. The thought reminded Naemi of her mother, and how if she didn’t die during childbirth how proud she would be of Naemi. For the person she was and for how she took care of the man that her mother loved more then life. So wrapped up in her thoughts, Naemi did not notice the man walking up behind her. Maybe the man noticed the bow and arrow, or perhaps he noticed the depressed sag of her shoulders. Whatever the reason, he slowly walked toward her.

[Zeal Aldercraft]

Zeal hummed an off tune version of the song he’d heard at the Barrel last night as he strolled down the path out of the sea of Opal tents, towards the outer edge of the pavilion. The rain had left a fine misting of water on everything and people were climbing out of their tents to inspect the damage as they awoke.

His head ached from too much ale and not enough sleep, something he should have been used to by now. The song he was humming rattled around his brain and made the headache worse, but he couldn’t get the thing out of his head. He hoped a long walk would clear his thoughts and help his body recover before he went to work in the Healing Tent.

Picking up the pace, Zeal hurried past the brightly clad Drykas starting their daily chores; the colors he usually felt comforting, twisted the knife deeper into his eye today. He couldn’t watch them for long without his head whining in protest. Stretching his tight muscles loose, he continued out into the wilderness at the outskirts of Endrykas. His heavy boots splashed cold mud against the legs of his leather pants; wetness seeped through, making the pants cling to his legs. The soft material kept twisting around his calf forcing him to stop to fix them; it seemed like he would never win the fight. As soon as he’d adjust them and take a step, they’d twist up again. Eventually he gave up. He already felt uncomfortable, what was one more thing? The walk wasn’t helping the way he thought it would, it was making things worse instead. I should go back, get some food and try to sleep between patients.

He was considering that option when he caught sight of the dark braids of a girl, standing ankle deep in mud. In one hand, she held a rabbit, in the other a bow. She seemed to be there alone. When she glanced at him, the faraway look in her green eyes, made his heart sink. It drew him towards her. Since he hadn’t had much luck approaching women lately, he gave her plenty of room in case she decided to run away from him.

He couldn’t help the curve of his lips as he the rest of her came into focus. “Your face is too pretty to carry such a deep frown.”

[Naemi]

The man had kept his distance, watching to see how she would react to his presence. Gently putting the rabbit on the ground, she slowly approached the unfamiliar man. “It was nothing...” she said quickly dismissing the idea that she might be upset about killing an animal. Especially for the Emerald Clan, it should be no problem to kill any animal because that was their way of life. It was how she made enough money to support herself and her father but yet she found her heart sinking at the thought of this one kill. Naemi was not willing to share too much of what she was thinking with the unfamiliar man. Her natural instinct was to avoid strangers all together and especially not talk to them because she was a more introverted person, but denying this instinct she stepped closer trying to see who she was talking to. She had ignored the instinct a couple times before, and it had served her well when she had met a friend last season. But the friend had not stayed, so Naemi was cautious about sharing too much about herself, even if the person seemed nice. The man seemed to be looking intently at her, trying to figure out if it was really nothing or if she was trying to hide what she had been feeling. He looked like he was Drykas as Naemi peered intently back at the man. It was unusual that anyone would be out at this time of morning, especially if they were not hunting, and from the looks of the man, he was not. His light hair was long as his blue voids watched her study his face. He did not carry a bow, and seemed to be simply taking a walk on this damp morning. Deciding to continue the conversation a bit farther she spoke up, “I’m Naemi, of the Emerald Clan. And who might you be?” Not having met many people, she believed it was proper to introduce yourself when someone addressed you first, so she did just that. Maybe the handsome stranger would introduce himself as well.

[Zeal Aldercraft]

Zeal's casual smile deepend in Naemi's direction, he took her hand and squeezed her small fingers gently. “I’m Zeal, of the Opal Clan. Is there something I can give you a hand with?” His smile deepened, but the look on the girl’s face didn’t match the words on her lips; she didn’t seem to be very happy. He glanced back to the bloody rabbit lying on the ground behind her, then his blue gaze bounced back to her face.

Her green eyes were sad and looked lost in her gentle face; her gaze didn’t quite meet his, as if she weren’t fully comfortable with their conversation. The dull pain in his head had subsided when he’d first come upon her alone. Now it was beginning to throb again, with a vengeance. He slowly massaged his temples with tips of his fingers, trying to unravel the knot that had tied itself up in his brain. He wanted to focus on the girl whose emotions were difficult to fully read, but the relentless pounding in his head was giving him a lot of incentive to stay quiet. Zeal needed to get back to the tent and get some herb so he could relieve the pressure that was building, but he was reluctant to go. He wanted to stay and find out what was troubling Naemi.

Closing his eyes to block out some of the sun was the best he could do in the meantime. With his eyelids closed like heavy curtains between himself and the sun, his headache was manageable. Relief swept through him that he knew was only temporary. If he didn’t get back and take care of it, he was going to regret it very soon. He hadn’t had a headache that bad in a while and he wouldn’t mind if he never had one again.

Slowly, he pried open his eyelids to small slits; it was the best he could do without yelling in pain while he waited for her to say something.