[Everstone] Another one of those damn Kelvics...! (Renalee)

[Bob Barton]

Oh this was good. The vague nature he said Speakers seemed made her more curious. The image she got was not too far from what Bob thought when he started to explain "a speaker is..." someone who went to the people and 'speak' for others? It did not sound too impressive. Since she was so impressed by the knights already, comparing between the two is obviously the better choice. Bob went with it. "We Speakers are like knights, actually we're better. We keep Alvadas safe but we don't oppress people with shiny weapons and armour like those thugs in Syliras. What we, I do is find wrongdoings and expose them to the public. They will always remember it, more than fear for jail" due to its very humiliating and public nature. He saw no problem doing it as long as he was not being spoken for especially since "the children love seeing me in uniform," waiting in anticipation. Bob's work "to them is a story but with a moral lesson at the end." As far as the man was concerned, it was a lot better than how the knights do it. He brings joy and possibilities for a better way.

More importantly, he was respected. Not many people will smile like she did when they found out he liked to gamble. It reminds them of the chances of winning and losing, more in the losing. The worst result of losing he could think of when a person could not pay their losses is the possibility of being enslaved. If he felt that way towards slavery, and slavers he definitely felt the anger in the woman when she got his insinuation. Feeling a little ashamed Bob admitted "thats what I thought initially when I remembered you on me with the rock and dagger...but when I said hunter I was asking if you were one of those who got him pets to sell?" or one of Killroy's thieves. Bob decided against asking about the latter since he already insulted her enough by calling her a slaver.

She seemed to take it to heart and Bob looked a little worried while she was stabbing the ground, her statement full of hate. "Are you alright?" he asked as he wondered why but before he could think of asking more she stared asserting that she was not a slaver. "Sorry," Bob replied. She was not too bad at least. She gave him back his money when she could have acted ignorant or run away leaving him behind with nothing. But when she said she had something else in mind, Bob was puzzled asking more than agreeing with an "ok?" What could she mean? Bob did not really expose much about himself. Not much that could be done out here anyway. A Speaker was only good in Alvadas unless she wanted him to tell a story or do some translations according to her misunderstanding brought by the title. A gambler was no good either unless they were in a city, like Sunberth. Maybe she wanted to be introduced to some knights? That would be easy. Bob knew a few of them well even if they were not important yet.

Before he could ask "Wh-?" it was from any of those, she cut him off. The nerve!. It was very troubling, or very suspicious like she was someone hiding out in the forest from other people less savory types. Bob might be in an even worse situation than he initially thought. Yes the thieves, muggers and slavers he was joking about might be real and here! Bob could not be sure how she knew that something is coming but given how great his luck was so far he gave a chuckle full of confidence that "it might be one of the knights coming to get me." His smile defied her worries when he looked around to try and find the signs that tipped her off. He was going back to safety with the group. Eventually he heard the faint crunching of leaves and sticks as well but obviously lacking the kelvic's senses his knights must already be close.

Bob shut his eyes so that he might be more attentive to the sounds around him. He was trying to find where the crunching sound came from so he can better greet the search party. It was louder in the one ear nearer to the trees, or it could just be the water from the pond overwhelming the other but he was sure. The heavy crunching came from the direction that he was pointing at with a smile at his luck to the hunter. What else could be in the forest other than the knights in their heavy armour?

[Renalee]

The Speakers seemed to be as important as Ren had suspected. The stranger even compared them to the Syliran Knights! But, of course, the other regions would need people like that too. It seemed logical. She also very much liked the comparison of his work to creating stories. It seemed like they’d get along after all. As long as he was willing to share his experiences with her. The fact the human looked appropriately ashamed when she confronted him about his insinuations and was even rather apologetic also served to put him in a better light. He was no longer as strange as he had seemed initially and the Kelvic decided it had been a good idea to stick around and help him out. The fact she would (hopefully) be getting just what she wanted in return for her efforts made it all shine that little bit brighter. That is until she caught the sound. The human was wrong. This wasn’t his knights. It was one creature - with heavy footsteps and big size, if the sounds it was producing when passing through the trees were anything to go by. Initially the scent was too faint to make out, but Ren knew that whatever it was it wouldn’t be anything but trouble. “What do they call you? What’s your name,” The blonde enquired as she made it to her feet. She wanted to know in case she needed to quickly draw his attention or get him to do something. Humans responded best to their names. She also wanted to know it just in case things went to shyke in the next few chimes. If he died, she would need to notify his knights and it would be best if she knew his name. If she died... well, she’d feel a whole lot better if she knew who she was doing it for. In the next moment Ren finally recognized the scent of the animal coming towards them and knew things had already gone to shyke. She tugged at her belt, trying to remove it as quickly as possible. It was the only part of her garments that wouldn’t rip in case she needed to shift in a hurry. She gathered it must have been the pond that put them in this situation. Who knew if there was another open source of water anywhere else in the area. They had been like sitting ducks. Ren cursed under her breath and was just about to advise her companion to find cover when the bear came through the trees and into the clearing. The big animal stopped in its tracks and looked at the pair with something akin to surprise. Ren stayed unmoving, body unconsciously taking on a fighting stance. She took in the bear’s impressive size, the black color of its thick fur and the massive head with small, rounded ears and beady eyes. It was clearly trying to decide what to do with the two creatures which were in its way. If they were lucky, the bear would decide they weren’t worthy of its attention and leave them alone. Unfortunately, Ovek wasn’t with them today. A guttural roar split the silence, echoing against the stones around them, as the animal ran heavily towards them. Its paws beat against the ground throwing out dirt and stone fragments. Ren cursed again. There was no time to turn around and give the human another warning. The Kelvic shifted with ease, tunic and pants ripping to give way to the puma’s bigger frame. There was no room left for thought as she let instincts take over and leaped towards the bigger mammal, hissing and snapping threateningly. Ren collided with the bear head first, jumping to the side immediately to avoid the sharp teeth which swung in her direction. It was bigger and heavier, but it was also slower. As long as the cougar didn’t get pinned under it she would be fine. Her next move was to lunge towards the creature's back. Her claws dug into the bear’s shoulders and her teeth bit down on its neck. She growled through the mouthful of fur and flesh as the bear roared in pain and stood on it’s hind legs, trying to shake the wild cat off. It thumped its front paws into the ground repeatedly before lifting them off again, even going as far as to try and swat behind it. When the dark, long claws passed too close to her head for comfort Ren let go and rolled off, barely managing to avoid being trampled. She decided a change in tactic was in order, suddenly realizing this would probably be a long and tiring fight if she didn't manage to chase the animal away. For the next few chimes, relying mostly on her hind legs, she would shoot herself forward, land a quick bite or a scratch before drawing back immediately. The bear grew more and more frustrated, as it swatted at the air and tried to follow the puma’s movements. The air grew thick with the smell of blood and for the briefest of moments Ren wondered how the human was doing, before having to dodge a blow from a heavy paw.

[Bob Barton]

Sadly Bob had no special kelvic senses to warn him of danger or allow him to tell the differences of the crunching sounds he was hearing now and he has heard for nearly half the season in the Wildlands. A crunch was a crunch. The Wildlands were now full of knights, a small group could have detached themselves to scout hence the reduced sounds. As far as he could tell it could be...one. Maybe two knights out there from the footsteps. Probably two since the woman suggested more. "They'll call me Bob" just as soon as they pass through the trees "and what should I call you?" Bob asked thinking that she was worried about introductions. His intentions for knowing her name was not as complicated as why she wanted to know his. For Bob, with her name he could at least look for her next time. It was a waste to miss out on a woman even if she might be a wild forest one like those strange witches people sometimes whisper about.

He did not mean strange in this way! Could she not wait until Bob actually tried?! Somehow this season people seemed to be treating him different, not that he would complain. Maybe it was because he became a Speaker. It must definitely be the best job Bob ever had at this rate. More better than having to by "the knights are coming to get me?" which was his belief at Renalee's advice to take cover from the "B-B-B-Bear!" So that was what it was... How she knew it was beyond him except for the fact that she was a hunter and Bob was someone who had worked with animals in Sunberth. That was enough for him to know that when being attacked by an animal he had to stand his ground and show no fear, No reason for it to attack. Hopefully what applied to dogs was also the same for bears. From what Bob saw he believed that the bear was testing them to see what will happen next. Bob was unsure about that too.

But what he was sure of is that if they did not act now, they will get eaten by the bear since Ovek would not help anyone who would not help themselves. And before getting his own food too. Standing still, taller and defiant while taking care to not make any sudden movements that will cause the bear to attack Bob called out to "Renalee" in an almost whisper that could have blended into the silence for all but the most attentive. "We're more so we should stic..." Arrgh! That roar. It looks like they were out of time and Bob could not even tell her the plan for their escape. What to do...what to do... Bob was so focused on giving the bear pause to realize that it was too late now making the roar he returned to the charging bear ineffective. It was getting closer. They had to "run!" now even if it would encourage the bear to chase them.

Like a flare to get him running the light from the kelvic blinded him for a tick and when he was able to see again, a puma somehow was attacking the bear for them. "Great Kelwyn Rena..." oh. It did not take much for Bob to put the torn clothes and the lack of the woman near him to realize that she was one of the shapeshifters. The reason that she took off the belt must be for this. it was a scene. A scene where Bob would have allowed the two animals to kill each other off in their brutal fight if only he has not changed recently. What his uncle told him made him think that the puma, Renalee was an actual person. A person who helped him in the Wildlands not once but twice. It looks like Bob would have to return the favor as according to his beliefs in the twins. The only gods that have impacted his life in such a way that he allowed himself to live the same way they do as long as there was not much of a risk for him that is.

However Bob knew his weaknesses. He was not strong like the bear or armed like the kelvic to be of any help unless...he acted like the distraction for the more capable people as usual. Shouting out "I'm sorry Renalee" Bob took off in a run towards the water stopping short of it when he fell. That was the first thing. Showing his back to the predator. The second was the quick movement of his hands, one catching himself on the ground and the other the bandage pulling it off so that the bear might catch the scent and sight of his blood when he turned to look back. That was the third. A moment of weakness as he curled up into a ball. A nice small target to the big beast that wanted an easier target. All bloodied and weakened and waiting to be killed. If it did not notice yet, it would be when Bob let out that falsed yet audible shriek of pain. A language that transcended species and a sound more effective even if it was laced with djed.

It was not for that reason though that Bob did not use his hynotism once more. He needed his djed for something else. Even when he started running he was gathering whatever he could at that short time at his hand doing his best not to think about the pain when he landed, the risk of infection especially with that plague going on and most of all, the bear coming on him if he succeeded. He blocked it all out the best he could though the sight of the inevitable ground got to him in the end especially when he focused on it as the sight to go forward with his plans. But he landed, felt the djed on his palm as it pressed on the ground. His other hand dropped the bandage and felt his back to whip out the slingshot when it was time. Bob's eyes was always on the fight between the two animals...uhhh...the bear and Renalee. A gasp left him when he saw the bear almost hitting the puma. That was cutting it too close.

But not as close as him. Bob had his hands on the slingshot, the djed he accumulated turning into res on the weapon while the bear came...and came... He kept telling himself that it was not time, not yet, that the bear had to be close but Bob was not the most disciplined person as everyone knew. It was something that he even managed to get this far. Bob turned, pulling the slingshot back and facing it right at the bear's head. Aligning the projectile as straight and as direct if he was seeing it right before he let go. It would not miss. Not unless he wanted to. The res was still his and he controlled its movements always to the bear's face even as it was flying downwards. Not as smooth as he wanted it but he was going with power with the slingshot this time. It would show when Bob transmuted the fire, the blazing burning ball that landed on the bear's face in his attack.

"Now Renalee, go!" he yelled before dropping the weapon, his hands trembling.

[Renalee]

Bob That was the human’s name. Ren filed it away together with his scent just like she always did. If the two of them made it out of this perfectly alive she would be able to seek him out even in a crowded city. “My name’s Renalee. And now that we have this out of the way...” As she shifted and lunged forward she hoped the man had followed his own advice and ran. Looking back to check however, wasn’t an option. Ren had fought a lot of enemies in her short life. There had been plenty of humans, some other races too, and even more wild animals. This would be the first time that she fought a bear however. She certainly hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be her last fight. As she dodged and feigned, snarling threateningly at the bigger mammal the Kelvic’s thoughts were on the human she was trying to defend. He had certainly turned out to be something different from what she had initially thought and something told her that he would be surprising her even more. Provided they weren’t eaten by a bear. Then again, if he had indeed ran, rather than climbed on a tree or hidden in the bushes that were growing close to the pond, she might never actually see him again. "I'm sorry, Renalee." At the sudden shout Ren whirled around, barely missing the bear’s heavy paw that had been swung at her head. She didn’t know what she had expected to see, but it certainly wasn’t that. Bob, who must have stayed unmoving until then, had bolted from their spot and towards the water. His arms flailed until he stumbled forward and somehow managed to tear his bandage off. What was he doing? Didn’t he know wild animals were drawn to the scent of blood? It was only when he screamed in pain that Ren thought something was off. The fall surely hadn’t been hard enough to elicit such a shriek. Could the fool be trying to draw the bear’s attention away from the Kelvic? Ren didn’t have much time to think about it as the animal who had stopped fighting her for the moment necessary to observe Bob’s actions suddenly swerved away from the puma and ran heavily towards the fallen human. The cougar didn’t manage to react quick enough and her attempt to leap on the bear’s back and reclaim its attention failed. It was headed for Bob with a greater speed than you would have expected it to be capable of. And instead of running the man seemed to have pulled out some sort of weapon. Was that a slingshot? ... What happened next happened so quickly and was so unexpected that Ren couldn’t have explained it if she tried. One moment the bear was almost on top of Bob and the next it was roaring in pain, staggering backwards on its hind legs, front paws trying to bat at its face where flames had somehow erupted. Ren stop mid-run, claws digging into the ground. Where had the fire come from? This was not possible. Fires didn’t just start like that. Her heart was hammering against her ribs and the puma could only stare as the bear thrashed and voiced its pain for the whole region to hear. It was Bob’s shout of "Now Renalee, go!" that set Ren in motion again. It didn’t matter where the fire had come from. What mattered was that the bear was blinded and in pain and there wouldn’t be a better chance to act. The puma crouched low, shoulders shifting slightly for the best angle before she leaped forward. Her front paws landed on the bear’s chest, claws digging deep inside its flesh. Her hind legs scratched against the black-furred stomach, the momentum sending them both toppling backwards. Ren’s jaw closed on the bear’s throat biting furiously until she got a hold of more than the thick fur which was almost acting as shield. When she was sure she had a good hold she pulled back with a powerful turn of her head. Blood gushed immediately and the big cat barely managed to roll out of the way as the bear convulsed and thrashed during the last moments of its life. Its anguished roars never seized until the blood didn’t slow down from its rapid exit of the wound on its throat and its eyes didn’t go completely blank. Ren got back on her feet and hurried to shift back to her human form. The stench of blood was a little less noticeable like that. “Are you ok, Bob?” The girl went up to her companion, offering him her hand before going to retrieve a new shirt from her backpack and getting dressed again. “What was that,” she enquired in a moment as she approached the body of the bear, lying in the middle of a pool of blood. She was referring to the fire that was ultimately what had won them the fight this quickly. “Did you do it?”

[Bob Barton]

The trembling did not stop and Bob was breathing too quickly from the excitement. He was forced to use his magic not once but twice in one day in a rushed uncontrolled state and he was definitely not liking the aftereffects now. At least they will live so it was worth it. The pum-Renalee worked quickly on his plan or he would have been bear food now. He was hoping that she would not think too badly of his falsed attempts of escape and when he was about to ask "Renal..." the bright glow of the kelvic shifting happened again without warning, exposing him to the dark silhouette of the woman when he was unable to shield his eyes fast enough. Had it been last season at the Kennels, Bob would have immediately commanded her to shift back but given his new perspective and the way she proved herself with the bear he felt embarrassed for the kelvic woman. Because of him her clothes were all in tattered rags on the ground.

This was not working too well for Bob especially when there is blood all over her. She looked hot but creepy with it that he had to shut his eyes to calm himself down and get the vision out of his head when she got close. His reopened wound, and hurried breath was not helping and he knew he needed to do something. Bob was struggling with the tremors while he was trying to get his jacket off as much as he was trying to push out some djed in a controlled state to his mouth. A worker in Killroy's told him once. The kelvics thinked differently from people right to the idea of decency. If Renalee did not grasp that concept it was going to be very, very hard. He was feeling rather bad when it started to become hard for the djed to be drawn to his mouth and he stopped hoping that whatever there was there would be enough for a very basic suggestion. Still unwilling to open his eyes, Bob turned away, stretching his arm out with his jacket to where he thought the kelvic still was.

Hopefully he had timed it right when he offered that "you should put this on" because it was then that he released the djed to the kelvic. Like earlier it was sent to the deepest reaches of her that he could but it was not to draw anything out since he was told kelvics would not know this. Instead he thought of teaching her something new through the suggestion that she was getting him needlessly excited looking the way she was. A complete waste of his efforts and djed as soon as he finds out that she had extra clothes. Her concerns were different from Bob when he misunderstood that "its a jacket...because uhhhhh..." it was a little hard to explain unless she really wanted to know. Only when she followed up the question with another question did Bob realize that she meant the fireball cooked the bear with. He looked between the kelvic and the dead bear, thinking that she must be suspicious about something. He was at a loss whether to tell her the truth since he could not know how she would react to magic.

He decided to tell her something else since even when she saved him, it was not wise to reveal all his capabilities. She barely knew anything about him so that at least was to Bob's advantage when he decided to tell her "I used to live in Zeltiva with my uncle. He...hes a doctor but he knew other things too. Some are used to help but some could be used to hurt. Have you heard of Ivak's Fire?" Bob asked. This was the point where his lie could come down since anyone who has seen it before would know that he bear would have had more damage and the fire would still be burning even until now. He was hoping that a kelvic would not be able to tell since they are more of the clawy bitey types. So as far as Renalee would know "my uncle taught me how to make some and I keep it for emergencies like this." Bob did not want to talk about magic anymore and changed the subject. "It looks like we have enough bear to last us days"

It was classic misdirection with Bob pulling the topic from himself to her when he asked "I don't suppose you know what to do now?" They needed the meat but "its fur looks pretty nice if we forget about the head and some of the damage you did..." and of course there was the teeth and claws. Bob already knew that anything and everything can be used so "lets just get whatever we can and split it up. As part of your payment and mine?" with a grin. "Unless you want something more" which meant that he would have to think of something for the greedy kelvic.

[Renalee]

Humans didn’t appreciate nudity when in public. That was one of the first lessons Zalek had taught his daughter when he realized she had inherited her mother’s nature. He had experienced more than enough embarrassing moments thanks to his bondmate that he would rather prevent the same from happening with Renalee around. The blonde didn’t understand the reasoning behind the man’s insistence that she always try to put on clothes as soon as possible after shifting, but what she did understand was that the sight of her bare skin made the man uncomfortable and unhappy. The same was obviously true for Bob. The lesson learnt long ago strengthened a little bit in her mind and she hurried to retrieve one of the spare tunics she had. Once she was fully clothed her attention could return to the bear. The fire which had injured and blinded the creature had died off almost immediately after its sudden appearance. There wasn’t even a shadow of a doubt in Ren’s mind that it hadn’t been something natural. She looked up suspiciously when Bob tried explaining what it was exactly. ”Ivak’s Fire? She hadn’t heard of it, but she had heard the name of the God before. ”Was this divine power then?” She sounded skeptical as she crouched down to inspect the bear’s head again. One of its teeth had been broken, probably while it thrashed around trying to put off the fire, and lay in the pool of blood. ”It seemed like...magic.” Ren distrusted the strange power that certain humans seemed to be able to control. It was unnatural to her eyes - born from nothing and with no predetermined purpose other than the one the wielder chose. It was frightening and dangerous and as far as the girl knew there was no way of telling if one could use magic or not until it was too late. Ren’s eyes were trained on Bob again, filled with suspicion. He had admitted to creating the fire so did that mean the source of his power was unnatural? What else could he do other than make flames erupt from thin air? There was the fact that he had tried distracting the bear from fighting and potentially injuring Renalee to consider as well. It had been foolish, but his intentions were good. In the end, even if Bob had some strange and unknown power he had become somewhat of a partner. Laid down on the ground as it was, the body of the bear seemed much bigger than before when its will still controlled it. Ren circled it carefully, her feet getting completely covered in blood in a matter of seconds. ”I suppose we will have to skin it then.” It seemed like an immense task, but it was also the only way of getting to the meat. Ren pulled out her dagger, hesitant as to where to start from. ”I’ve never tried to skin such a big animal before. You’ll need to help me. As for ... payment for my services... don’t think you’ll be getting out of it this easily.” The blonde flashed Bob a grin before kneeling down by the front paws of the animal. ”If you don’t have a dagger or a knife I have a second blade in my backpack. You can go and get it.” With that her dagger cut through the pelt. It turned out weapons weren’t best suited for skinning. The work was long and hard-going, Ren’s inexperienced hands moving slowly. A human hunter would probably cringe at her technique and demand she remove herself from the carcass as quickly as possible before ruining the good pelt. But the Kelvic cut carefully, the size of the animal allowing her room to move and thus potentially more precision than she would have had if skinning a rabbit. The hard parts were the places where the legs started as well as the head where the fur was terribly singed. Ren knew she was supposed to remove the innards before trying to skin the bear, but she could still remember the terrible stench from her last attempt at retrieving a pelt and didn’t really feel like putting her sensitive nose through it again. After a while of working in silence Ren straightened up, running a hand over her forehead and smearing it with blood. ”After we’re done we’re going to have to move quickly. The smell of blood is bound to attract other predators and I doubt we will be this lucky next time.” The girl really didn’t feel up to fighting so soon again and they would still need to find Bob’s Knights. She hoped that by the time they were done and had gathered up a little bit of their strength back the group the human belonged to wouldn’t have made it too far away. Although, perhaps by now someone had noticed the man’s disappearance and they had sent out people to look for him. ”Do you think your Knights will be searching for you?

[Bob Barton]

She...she...pinpointed it and it was in the same manner of those who always misunderstood the skill. Bob made the right call not telling her anything then. Simply put "its not divine" although the way it worked might seem too effective and horrible for words. Bob saw it before, and if it was the real thing "the whole bear should've been cooked from head to toe." But since it was not the real thing and Bob had no way to justify it he explained it as "I must have got the recipe wrong." He could tell she was suspicious about it and Bob would be too since he did not know how to make the substance at all. However as he guessed she knew nothing about it which meant his lie was safe and he could continue with it anyway he wanted, fake or real. He is going to need to satisfy her and dispel her suspicions if she was going to stick around.

Taking advantage of her lack of knowledge, and his own Bob told her that "its a complicated process. We need volcanic rocks, ground up flint, chopped tinder, sap leftover from a fire...actually a lot of things but I must have missed out some" relating them to anything fireish he could think of even the finish where "it all needs to be mixed together when they are very, very hot. Like in a smith's forge" which Bob knew from experience is very hot. Hopefully the explanation confused her as much as it did him or at least enough to not pursue the subject further because Bob would have to think up more technical nonsense again. With that it will be more believable that "its not magic. Its philtering" providing Renalee an alternative to divert her suspicions to. If she needed an idea of philtering Bob could show her the smokestick or stinging smoke he kept on him for emergencies. Obviously no Ivak's Fire since only a madman would put something that dangerous on him.

If skinning and cutting it up was all that was needed "I can help with that." Bob has tried it a little during his time at the kennels and when he found materials for malediction. Even then "I don't know how much help I'd be" since those were a lot smaller than this bear. He was going way out of his field of expertise and he still would not be out of the red? Returning her grin he "figured" it would be that way since he would have milked out anything he could from anyone who got into a debt with him whether through a gamble or because he helped them out. At least he would not need to worry about any hidden charges from her dagger because "I've got my own." Not really something for skinning since it was one of those weirdo akalak's weapon that had a twisty blade but Bob would not know if the shape would affect the results. He would actually need a seasoned hunter to correct him on that.

It looks like was going to take long, better if "you take the top and I take the bottom? The head looks bad though..." and probably cannot be used "so lets just forget about that" unless Renalee had ideas for it. Bob felt it was useless since a burnt up face would not make a good trophy. With the job decidedly divided by him well enough that Bob would only follow it he went to the bottom making an incision that would fit his dagger through it. Stupid akalak forcing him to make it as big as them since the twists on the dagger took up a lot more space. After barely squeezing the dagger in causing a few rips here and there Bob finally was able to start cutting...and cutting...and cutting the skin away from the meat. "How are you on that end?" Probably once they were done the skin would have to be worked on some more just to get a good piece. Sigh.

But they were only so far when Renalee stopped. "What about the meat?" It was all going to be wasted if they did not do everything here and it would be impossible to carry it all back unless Bobo somehow came back or "right...the knights..." They could help but "I don't think they'd realize that I'm gone until nightfall" or worst the next day. As always the knights were always unreliable "but if we want them to find us if they are searching wouldn't it be better to stay in one spot?" Bob asked. "Maybe we should wait someplace near here?" he suggested because otherwise they are going to need to make a choice between the meat or the pelt. Bob was looking at the bear obviously not wanting to lose out on either but his guide was actually the one making the decisions since he would probably get hopelessly lost for a few days if he went alone. Nothing too serious except it would be harder for him to get food too since he was no hunter.

There just has to be a way to convince Renalee to stay until they are done with the bear. Truly being someone who hardly was out surviving in the Wildlands alone Bob suggested that "maybe we can start a fire to keep away the predators that are attracted to the smell?" If she was scared that it will not work on the big predators then the obvious solution is "a big fire. If we're lucky it can signal the knights to us" which is probably an added bonus. Being a kelvic the logic might be lost on her so Bob tried a more direct approach just in case that "we're going to need a fire to cook some of this meat too. Before it loses its freshness?" before taking his dagger to try and cut off a piece of meat. Petch it all. How do these akalaks use the dagger? It cannot even cut through dinner? The twists keep getting stuck in it. Getting a little frustrated, Bob decided that he would just cut a smaller piece from the side that he folded out to make things easier for him. Right before handing over the piece to the kelvic.

[Renalee]

Ren kept her eyes on her companion as he tried explaining the nature of the fire he had set on their bear. It sounded rather complicated, but from what she could gather it wasn’t actually magic. He was even enumerating ingredients and, as far as the Kelvic knew, magic was making something from nothing - that’s why it was so unnatural and frightening. In the end she settled on imagining some sort of powder that reacted when it came in contact with certain materials - like bear fur. His next words supported her understanding of it. “Philtering? That is the art of making potions, right?” The Kelvic didn’t really know much about it, other than the fact that many doctors and healers were also skilled in this particular domain and could brew their own concoctions. And Bob had mentioned that his uncle - it had been uncle, right? - was some sort of medical man in Zeltiva. The blonde nodded her acceptance of the story. It was a good enough explanation for her. She would prefer to be in the company of someone who was potentially dangerous, but through natural means and skill, rather than a magic-wielder. With both of them working away at the bear the skinning process appeared to be going quickly enough. They were doing a decent enough job too, despite the few cuts here and there that went through the pelt itself. Ren guessed that most of it would be salvageable, if it was brought to a professional to deal with. It didn’t make that much of a difference to her, but if Bob wanted to keep it, he would have to look for someone like that. "How are you on that end?" Around thirty chimes in the Kelvic looked up, using his question as an opportunity for a quick rest. “It’s not too bad actually,” she replied thoughtfully, looking over her progress. “I’m done with the legs and was just about to move on to the upper body.” A quick glance at Bob’s side of the bear showed he wasn’t far behind. “You seem to be doing good on your end too. I’m thinking we’re going to need to flip its body over soon. But the next part should be a bit easier so we’ll probably be done in another thirty chimes or so.” And once they were done with this they could move on to something of much greater interest to the puma - the meat. It seemed that was on Bob’s mind as well. The problem was that if they wanted to go out and search for the knights they would have to give up either the meat or the pelt. The choice wouldn’t be too hard for Renalee to make, but she had a feeling the man wouldn’t be too happy with what she opted to keep. And even if they did leave the pelt behind they wouldn’t be able to cary too much meat with them either. Her hope that any minute now they could be discovered by the knights that had set out looking for their companion and could solicit their help with transportation seemed to have been rather unfounded, if Bob’s assumptions about it were correct. “We could perhaps spend the night here...” Ren didn’t sound too certain about it as she looked at the surrounding area. A fire would be good, but fires died out. Even if they didn’t, hunger was a great motivator and a beast that was desperate enough wouldn’t be stopped by a couple of flickering flames. The Kelvic was trying to decide what the best course of action might be when Bob cut a small piece of the meat from the bear’s rump and offered it to her. If he was trying to tempt her to give in to his suggestion, it was working. Ren leaned forward, sniffing the morsel carefully. It didn’t take her long to snatch it from the man’s hand and quickly place it in her mouth. “It’s good,” she managed as she chewed, savoring its taste. “You’ll probably like it too, once it’s cooked.” the girl smirked, knowing very well that the human wouldn’t be able to appreciate her dining preferences. “I think I could try and smoke some of it too. It’ll keep for longer like that. If your Knights aren’t here by nightfall however, we’ll set out looking for them a few bells before dawn. It’ll be easier to find a stationary camp.” Their next step mostly decided the two continued working their way through the bear’s pelt. In the end Ren had been mostly right about her prediction and the whole process took them no more than a bell and ten-fifteen chimes (they had struggled for a bit when trying to turn the bear over). The Kelvic spread the pelt on the ground, away from all the blood, trying to avoid soaking the fur in it anymore than it already was. They had managed to save most of it and stretched like it was it looked rather impressive. “It doesn’t look bad at all.” Ren retrieved the broken tooth she had seen earlier and placed it next to the pelt. “We could see if we can remove some of its claws or more of its teeth? I know that you humans would buy things like that. Trinkets.” She wasn’t sure how they would go about it, but they could try. Renalee had been around enough hunters to know that they wouldn’t want any part of a kill going to waste. Then again, from what she had seen, Bob wasn’t much of a hunter. “If you can take care of the fire I can start cutting some of the meat away from the carcass. There should be plenty of wood and dry leaves or grass around and you can always use that potion of yours to get it going.” It was good that Bob had some ... Ivak’s fire, was it? Ren wasn’t sure she’d be able to build the kind of big fire the man had been talking about earlier.