Spring is coming! (Closed)

[Meera]

"Do not worry, Aren," Meera spoke softly over the cracks and pops of the fire. "Is only scratch." She even had the kindness to smile as she reassured him, hiding her true worry about it. She would never be worthy if she couldn't string an arrow into a bow. Without her windmark, she was nothing to the Drykas. Without any chance of defending herself, she was as good as dead.

The pain was definitely real, but Aren's hands were gentle. The cloth was rough, but the injury did have some relief. Her arm had felt warm, but the cloth was cool from being so far from the fire.

"Don't see why you're so broken up about it, Aren. Not like you told her to stick her arm in the damn thing's mouth. That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever seen," Tahl commented. Meera's head snapped at him so fast she could have developed whiplash.

"Stupid mayhaps, but it worked better than beating it with rock." Meera did feel proud of herself, in some regard. Counting the injured bird with her fluke shot as an assisted kill, and one she had killed with a simple fist and dagger, she was the most dangerous one of the group. The youngest, the girl, took much pride in slaying not one, but technically two Glassbeaks. She brought some of that pride to show as a smile on her face as she looked up to Aren.

"Will be in Riverfall tomorrow? Arm will survive. Look, Aren." She furthered to comfort him by flexing her hand, biting back another wince. "Will be good as new." It almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself, not Aren, of her health.

Her eyes fell down to the Glassbeak - the head and the other carcass. They should do something with that. Harvest the feathers, the glass tips of their beaks. Meera certainly wouldn't be able to skin the creature, but if she used her left hand she could definitely attempt to harvest the glass bird meat for their fire, that is, if Aren and Tahl couldn't see anymore foes headed their way. If the camp was safe, ... The men would have to sleep in shifts. Meera certainly had no special way of seeing through the darkness so it would make little sense for her to have a shift when two Akalaks were perfectly capable.

"Go to bed, Tahl," Meera instructed suddenly. "Aren take first shift." She volunteered him, without offering any reasons to why they would sleep in shifts. Tahl grumbled, but was thankfully tired to go without a fight, but not before grabbing some jerky ration to nibble on. At least now, Meera and Aren could have some time alone before the adrenaline finally weared her out enough.

[Aren]

The drykas' attempt to comfort him simply wasn't doing the trick, as every time she tried to downplay her injury, it simply made the blue akalak feel worse. The grimaces of pain she would display every time she made such an attempt were not helping, either. Aren could not help but smile, however, as Meera and Tahl bickered like siblings. He had to admit that their interchange did much to lift his heart and improve his disposition, for some reason. Perhaps it reminded him of a time when he had a family, probably because arguments were a staple of his house. As Meera threw orders around like an expert, Aren realized that she was going to be alright. They would be in Riverfall soon, and he would likely not suffer any permanent damage from her injury. Still, this didn't change the fact that it had been his fault that she had been injured in the first place, and this knowledge still weighted heavily on the akalak's thoughts. "Yes, you two rest," Aren whispered, having no intention of waking them at any point. He would take the first shift and the last, it was the least he could do. As the crackling fire burned in the camp, the akalak's mind unwillingly replayed the event over and over. Every mistake he'd made, every miscalculated decision. Never before had he judged himself so harshly, so why was he now? As Aren stole a glance at Meera, he found he knew the reason, all too well. In the back of his mind, however, Seros watched and waited. He also knew the reason why, and he didn't like where this whole thing was going. Yet, he couldn't help but realize that Meera was Aren's weakness, that she would be the key that freed him from his prison. And so he would remain in the shadows, all but forgotten, until the moment was right...

[Meera]

"Not tired, Aren." Meera said sweetly as she stepped around the fire to find a good place to sit. "Have bought us time. Talk." She sat cross-legged by the warmest part of the fire, and idly played with the feathers on the Glassbeak carcass. Meera's hand raised up to tug at his trousers, to suggest he sit down too. Despite whatever chiding he might have for her, Meera would not budge from her spot.

After several moments of avoiding his gaze to collect her thoughts, Meera was sure the image of the fire was burned forever on her vision. Her hands rested in her lap, her good hand holding the bandage. Meera's braid swayed when she turned her head to face him. Her mouth hung open as though to speak, but Darksand whinnied softly. She smiled and looked away from him.

"Is not your fault." She said suddenly. "Am not scared little girl who will cry over scratch." Meera was exactly the opposite. When had the last time she cried been? When she was born? No, had she cried when she left Riverfall? She couldn't remember. Falling from her horse had addled her memory a bit. She leaned her body against him, letting her shoulder rest, followed by her head tilting against him.

"Tell me about you. When you were young and not so old." She jested, her smile audible through her voice. "You said you were old back in Riverfall. Had not been back to Riverfall in fifty years, yes? You do not look so old. Why do you not like Riverfall?" Her head nuzzled against him gently, as her eyes fell to her hand. She must have lost a lot of blood. To be so friendly and sweet and to cuddle him like she was -- but he cared for her. That stood for something, did it not? She consoled herself.

[Aren]

Aren sat down at Meera's insistence, his body heavy with fatigue. "It doesn't matter if you're a little girl or a fellow akalak, it IS my fault!" he snapped at the drykas' continued nudging, his tone of voice suggesting that he would brook no challenge to this notion. "I'm sorry," Aren quickly apologized for his outburst, which was just another sign of his troubled mind and weary body. "The plan was mine, the orders were mine... the failure is mine," he explained, as best as he was able. It was hard for other people to understand, he knew, but that was just the way it was. He had been raised to take responsibility for his actions, good or ill, great or terrible. In the end, he was his own worst critic. The akalak settled down at Meera's touch, however, her skin against his serving to calm him, for some reason. He did smile at some of her silly questions, but was unable to muster up any actual laughter. "I like Riverfall just fine... it's just that, well, it's complicated," the akalak did his best to avoid the question, unpleasant as the topic was. He'd much rather talk about when he was "young and not so old", as it was a time he had very fond memories of. Mostly. "Would you like me to tell you some stories? I could tell you of things I have seen that would make you afraid to close your eyes at night, of things that would make you wish you never knew they existed," Aren said, softly, almost like the life was escaping from his body. The akalak had yet to fully recover from his initial trek into the Sea of Grass a few days ago, and his eyes felt heavy as accumulated fatigue threatened to catch up to him. "Would you like that?" he smiled, as his gaze began to lose it's focus. Good thing he was propped up against Meera, or he would have likely fallen already.

[Meera]

Meera chuckled at Aren's offer. If it was supposed to jog her memory, it was vaguely successful. She had a sense of deja vu, that she had done all this before. There were three of them, she remembered, and in the Sea of Grass... She gave a gentle shrug. She must have asked him the other night for a story.

"Many have tried to scare me. Many have failed." She teased, testing him. Her left hand loosened on her right wrist, testing her strength when it was without support. It hurt, but did not garner a gasp or wince. It did, however, throb as the limb swelled under the bandage. Her body turned to face him, feeling more pressure on her body as she rose. He was leaning against her just like she was leaning against him.

"Would you like that?" Aren asked her, and she repeated the question in her head. "Not afraid of night. Night is for adventure," She smiled, bringing her bad hand up to his face. A brush of a clean fingertip danced along the scar on his cheek. Noise became loud in her head, the chirp of crickets and birds deafening. Her heart felt like it was going to stop in her chest. He was much taller than her, so Meera had to shift her weight to kneel on her knees, her feet tucked under eachother. One good thing was the elevation felt better on her wrist at least, despite the fact that she currently thought she was going to die.
It didn't stop her from doing it, though.
At least I'd die happy.
Her good hand took a hold of him, too, steadying him. A flat, salmon coloured tongue darted to wet her lips as her eyes fell to his mouth. She couldn't hesitate. Her heart had a pressure, and she closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind to pump the organ, as though that would work. She couldn't hesitate. Meera was about ready to die, she couldn't afford to wait.

Her mouth covered Aren's hungrily, and suddenly he brought her back to life. The noise did not seem so loud, and her heart was a heavy drum beating hard and loud, shaking her very ribs.

Ah, here it was, her brain started to freak out. Adrenaline gathered up again, causing her to analyze why she had just done what she did, why was it making her happy, why couldn't she relax when she kissed him...

She puckered and applied her lips again, opening the fleshy petals to dare a dainty nibble of his bottom lip. Breath drew in quickly through their kiss as a gasp. Meera did not push him away.

[Aren]

"The gods themselves could not achieve the feat, I suspect," Aren said, knowing all too well that the hold he currently had on consciousness was a tenuous one, at best. The akalak smiled as Meera reminded him of her notion on what the night was for, yet he noticed something distinctly different in her tone this time. It was less childish and more... suggestive. At her slender fingers dancing across his face, Aren could feel his pulse quickening, pushing back the encroach of fatigue. He looked into her deep brown eyes with his golden ones, and he felt awake again, if only for a moment. In an instant, there was an explosion of movement that almost caught him by surprise, and their lips locked on each other, preventing much of anything other than healthy applications of suction and fluids. This time the drykas did not push him away, and so Aren knew that he had to find the strength to do it himself, before he became completely unwilling to do so. After a few more seconds, after a couple more times of "just another moment" the akalak finally managed to gather what little willpower remained to him to separate his lips from her's. With a deep breath, and a bit of a grin he was trying to hide, he pushed Meera away. "I..." Aren didn't know what to say. He could only look at her, his eyes softened as if she were the sunshine after a particularly cold and bleak winter... the light after a long darkness.

[Meera]

Meera didn't understand. He had kissed her in Riverfall. He had followed her out here to this goddess-forsaken place, and now, just when she realized that he made her happy, he... pushed her away?

The hammering in her chest quickly became painful. The blonde sat back on her heels, still facing him, almost waiting for him to continue or ignoring him with her own thoughts, she wasn't even sure. Her bad hand rested on his shoulder as her good hand slid down his arm. Meera huffed out air, her head spinning from the kiss. In his defense, she had to tell herself that he did linger on her lip. Comforting herself did nothing to ease the pain she felt, however and her gaze was pulled from his.

She spoke then, mumbling to herself as though talking out loud would help her make sense of it. Her lips were moist from their intimate touchings and yet Meera still ran a pointed flat tongue along her swollen, pink lip before sucking on the bottom petal, chewing gently. All the while she thought, her eyes gazed off to the scar across Aren's arm. When she finally realized what she was looking at, she focused and pulled her arm reluctantly from his shoulder-made glorious pedestal for her hurting hand.

"What happened?" Her thumb brushed over the raised blue skin, feeling the scar. It was best not to dwell on the reasons why he no longer liked her. Probably because she was now damaged. If he didn't appreciate a woman who could take down a Glassbeak (as unorthodox and stupid as the move had been) then she didn't need him anyways. It was probably for the best. If he truly was as old as he claimed - which Meera strongly doubted - he was likely to die soon and it was best to part now, then have more heartbreak later.
At least Meera knew that she was still alive, and now she knew what would have happened if she gave him a more proper kiss. Her guard had come down, however, but now Aren would see nothing but the palisade between himself and her castle.

[Aren]

"A glassbeak happened," Aren replied, answering her question about his scar. "That's why we should rest now. Once we're in Riverfall, after you're healed..." he smiled, suggestively, before inching forward to steal another kiss. The akalak liked to think he knew her a little better now, and something told him Meera had misinterpreted his actions. He wanted there to be no confusion, however, no doubt in Meera's mind about what he felt for her. The fact that he needed to do what was best for her, despite that it conflicted with what he wanted was proof of this (if only to himself). With the moment passed, and his heartbeat settling into a more natural pace, Aren felt his body failing him again, "Promise me you'll be here, in the morning?" he whispered, his gaze weakening once again. "Promise..." the akalak repeated, almost inaudibly, as his body slowly slumped over until he was lying completely on the cold ground. Aren's eyes forced themselves closed, against his will, and his mind faded out almost the moment his head had touched the ground. There was a smile on his face, however, even as he slept in a place that could very well end his life before he had the chance to wake up again.

[Meera]

"Hehe," She giggled softly. She held up her right arm. "Now we will match." Aren's voice grew soft and slightly with a slur. Meera had volunteered Tahl for last watch, and now Aren was falling fast asleep... She returned his quick kiss with a chaste peck of her own to his forehead.

Whatever Aren meant about after she was healed was lost on her. She did not understand the suggestive smile, but the way he said it and followed it with a new kiss, made that familiar queasiness rise up in her stomach. The good kind of nauseas if there ever was one. At least it served a good purpose to keep her wall down. Maybe she shouldn't jump to such strong conclusions.

"Where else to go?" She answered him as he finally collapsed on hard, chilly ground. There was a part of Meera that was rather upset still. She had hoped to talk for a while yet, but Aren had travelled great distances in short span of time, and then to punctuate their latest leg of the journey back to Riverfall he had to battle. Of course he would be exhausted, and it pained Meera to realize how selfish she was being to Aren.

Meera stood and gathered the fur skin that Tahl had used as a sort of flail with the rock and draped it fur side down over Aren. They may be close to the fire but he would still be chilly, especially on hard ground, and fur had a tendancy to ignite. Skin would not so easily burn.

Meera stayed up in the camp for several hours, letting her boys sleep. She trusted Darksand to be her eyes and ears while she attempted to drag the carcass away from the fire and camp. Not too far to be so vulnerable, but far enough that the mess of blood and organs would not destroy their campsite. With low light from the fire and a bright moon, Meera could see some of her work as she searched for usable meat from the Glassbeak, doing her best to destroy as little of the skin and feathers as possible. With a damaged dominant hand, Meera did her best to use her left hand and keep it steady. Some of the work was easy, like stabbing into the feathers and flesh. Others, were very difficult, like trying to cut meat away from bones. It resulted in choppy, poor cuts of meat, but it was good enough for her. It was food, and she wanted to keep her dry rations as long as possible. Unsure if the feathers or skin of the Glassbeak would fetch a price at market, she cut the skin away from the carcass as best she could. It wasn't pretty. If there was no use, at least it was practice for strengthening her left hand, but if there was a use for Glassbeak feathers and skin, then she had to cut it from the beast now, and it had to be her. She had some experience skinning before, but never a Glassbeak... and no one else was conscious enough to help her.

A lot of feathers were broken. It was a shoddy first attempt, but it was done, and Meera bundled what meat she could cut from the bird in what she had managed to skin, and brought the spoils of her battle back to camp before remembering the glass tips of the beak. However, by this time Meera was exhausted, and Aren looked surprisingly comfortable. She sat down beside him initially, just to warm up before she woke up Tahl. Her arm hurt from all the exercise with the carcass, and her vision made her see tracers whenever she watched her hands move. It was time to wake Tahl up so she could sleep, too, but it was so warm by the fire, and Aren looked so stupidly happy when he slept. It wouldn't do any harm to snuggle up beside him, would it?

Standing proved more difficult when she had to use her left hand for leverage as she moved. She made her way to the tent and not so gently kicked Tahl awake.

"Your turn," Meera yawned and collapsed. She was asleep before her body even hit the bedroll.

[Lariat]

Aren

Experience:

Scythe: 2 xp
Tactics: 1 xp
Leadership: 2 xp
Observation: 1 xp
Reimancy: 2 xp
Rhetoric: 1 xp
Medicine: 1 xp

Lores:

Reimancy Method: Wind-fist

Tahl'dhon Rashaud

Experience:

Observation: 2 xp
Rhetoric: 2 xp

Lores:

Levity in danger

Meera

Experience:

Shortbow: 1 xp
Dagger: 1 xp
Leadership: 1 xp
Rhetoric: 2 xp
Observation: 2 xp

Lores:

The appearance of Glassbeak scars

Comments

Alright just one thing that stuck out here that Aren addressed quite well in the thread. Handling a single glass beak with three members competent in their respective weapons would be a tough fight but manageable, but two would be a hard break, and quite overwhelming when two are yet learning how to handle their respective weapon. In this thread it was made to a reasonable accuracy, but I would not count on such lucky shots the next time around. Overall it was a good thread to read, and in respect to your skinning skill, the meat and feathers harvested is best for personal use as it is of a poor grade to barter at a market. If you have any questions or think I missed something just send me a pm.