[Flashback]Now I'm a Man....

[Jaeden Kincade]

20th Day of Summer, 501 A.V. 18 years old Day 1: A Challenge Extended Jaeden’s eyes slowly opened, his nose feeling slightly irritated by the smell of the camp fire smoldering. However, what surprised him more was the fact that the rising sun and canopy of the forest greeted his vision when he awoke, in stead of the fabric of the tent Olevar and him usually slept in. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes before giving a slow glance to his surroundings. The camp had been broken down, the tent and most of the gear gone. As well, there was no sign of Olevar anywhere. “Olevar?” Jaeden slowly called out, pulling the blankets of his bed roll of his frame as he stood up. Glancing around further, Jaeden’s eyes finally settled along his pack, sitting nearby the fire pit. Resting along top of his pack, Jaeden noticed a longsword, the hilt seemed to be made of an ivory, and stained blue a small blemish along it Jaeden recognized. It had come from the tusks of the wild boar he had killed years ago. The end of the hilt was a steel, bordered in silver, and housed an open crevice for a gem or some further decoration to be added. The hilt guard itself was steel, and curved slightly, measuring five inches in length. Jaeden slowly picked it up, pulling the blade from it’s sheath. He observed it in almost disbelief as the blade itself reflected Jaeden’s image in it’s surface. So distracted by the sword he was, that Jaeden had totally forgotten for a moment that he was alone as he took a few practice swings with the sword, checking the balance. He once again slipped the sword back into it’s sheath, looking around again for Olevar. Finally looking down to the pack once again, Jaeden then noticed the note pinned to it. Reaching down, he slowly pulled the note free from his pack, recognizing Olevar’s handwriting as it said: “Morning Pup, and happy birthday. The sword is your gift from me on your 18th year of life, and as you step into being a man, so comes your challenge as well. If you’ve kept to your sleeping habits, I’ll have had close to seven bells head start on you. You’ll get no tent, as I prefer to use that when I sleep, so you’ll have to build your own shelters if you want to sleep. In your pack you’ll find two days worth or rations, so you’ll have to hunt and forage for your own food. You’ll have three snares for trapping, and a axe for cutting your wood. That is it thought. If you need anything else, you’ll have to get it yourself somehow. Your challenge is to use your skills, and find me. If you can that is? Let’s see if you’re really the hunter I’ve trained you to be. ~Olevar” A slow smile crossed Jaeden’s features as he slowly began folding the note up, slipping it into his pack as he checked over the supplies Olevar had left him. Jaeden noticed he found a certain thrill in the prospect of matching skills with Olevar. The man had taught him everything he knew, and if Jaeden knew one thing about him, he wouldn’t make this task easy. Jaeden then began to slip on his leather armor, a gift Olevar had given him the previous year, before rolling up his bed roll and strapping it to his pack. He wanted to get started right away, but there were things he knew he had to do first, and so Jaeden set to the task of gathering things he would need as he began gathering several long, thick branches as well as cutting some from the trees themselves. They would be used to fashion a small shelter if he couldn’t find something to act as one that nature would provide, like a cave or a hollow opening of a large tree. He then reached to his water bottle, checking how much he had left before slipping the cap along it once again. Finally, more long branches were gathered once again before Jaeden reached into his pack, grabbing one of the snares. Such would be sacrificed as he began to bind the bundle of branches together, forming a makeshift bow he had made once before a couple of years ago. It hadn’t worked so well against a large wild boar, but perhaps it would help him for the smaller prey. If he didn’t have to wait for the snares to succeed or fail for his meal, it would be worth the loss of one snare. Jaeden slung the make shift bow along his shoulder as he began finally began gathering a few more long, slender branches to fashion into crude arrows later on. For now, however, he simple slipped them along with the other bundle of branches before strapping them to his pack as well as they rested just below his bed roll. With a quick exhale, Jaeden slipped his back pack on, and began walking around camp, looking carefully along the ground. A frown crossed his features as this went on for about a bell, finding nothing at first that hinted Olevar’s trail. He was stepping lightly, leaving nor clearly visible tracks for Jaeden to follow. Finally, with a slow sigh, Jaeden crouched to the ground, pushing aside some loose foliage along the forest ground. A small indentation in the ground caught his eyes, as the smooth rounded imprint was shallow, and likely would have gone unnoticed had it not been for the position of the sun causing the shadow of the higher edge of the print to highlight the shape. The surface of the imprint was smooth, and rounded at the front, resembling the tip of Olevar’s boot. “He’s stepping lightly,” Jaeden muttered to himself as he looked in the direction the front of the print pointed. “He’s going to make this harder than I thought, but I’ve got my start.” Jaeden stood back up and began a slow jog in the direction that Olevar’s first print directed. A slow smile crossed his features as he looked down towards the ground every now and then as well as to the surrounding foliage for signs of broken branches along bushes or snagged hairs and clothing. This challenge wouldn’t be finished in a day, and Jaeden somehow enjoyed the thought of it. Olevar was the prey, and Jaeden was now the would be hunter.

[Jaeden Kincade]

21st Day of Summer, 501 A.V. Day 2: Preparations Before the Storm Jaeden woke once again, unsheltered and in the open, laying along a simple bed roll in the middle of the forest. This time, however, he felt he had a visitor under the folds of his blanket as a frown crossed his features. His hand reached under the covers, feeling whatever it was moving around the inner though of his right leg. His fingers lightly grasped at it, feeling something that was warm, had a smooth texture, and was slender. Pulling it out from under the covers, he saw the green colors, narrow head and black eyes of a garter snake. He gave an annoyed sigh as he looked at it for a long moment, it’s flicking forked tongue reaching out to test the air as it tried to wriggle free from Jaeden’s grasp. “You’re lucky your too small to eat.” Jaeden simply said before slowly laying it along the ground, allowing it to slither away. Jaeden climbed to his feet, the sword left for him laying under the covers with him. He was also fully clothed and armored. He found himself much more cautious now when he slept, as the security he once had in Olevar being with him to help in the event something or someone stumbled upon their camp was now gone. Jaeden’s hand rested along his water skin for a moment, taking in a couple of deep breaths before a quick drink was taken. His gaze raised to the sky, over looking the cloud cover for a moment as he drank. A slow exhale was let out as a smile crossed his lips. “Ahhh, the clouds sure are nice.” Jaeden said lightly as a relaxed expression appeared on his face, but quickly faded a moment later. “Wait a moment. Those are storm clouds. Petch, no sleeping out under the stars tonight.” Jaeden stepped over to his pack, picking it up and bringing it over to his bedroll. His belongings were soon gathered together and packed away, as Jaeden began searching for a more suitable area to make camp for that night. As much as he hated the idea of rains washing away the few tracks Olevar left behind for him to follow, searching for those tracks out in the rain would likely wind him up in a worse situation, and not just due to the possibility of catching a cold. After about a bell of searching the terrain, Jaeden finally came across a fallen tree in the forest. Not to far to the east laid a small stream that rested in lower ground. To the west, he had spotted the tracks of several small game as well as one deer. The place was ideal. With the stream at the lower ground, it provided not only a fresh water source for Jaeden, but as well a place to wait for food to hunt, as many animals likely drank from the same stream. As well, depending on how strong the storm was, there was less risk of a flood endangering Jaeden if it continued to rain through out the night. Jaeden dropped his pack and began unbundling the long thick sticks he had brought with him. One by one, he began to lean them up along the fallen tree, until a length twice the size of his own height was laid out. He then grabbed the axe Olevar had left him and moved towards the branches that still lined the fallen tree’s top, cutting them off until a fair pile had been built. The tree itself, fortunately, was a pine tree. The thick brush of the evergreen needles would make for good insulation and block the falling rain fairly well, keeping Jaeden dry throughout a storm, provided it didn’t last for days. With the thickness of the insulation provided by the evergreen branches, Jaeden would find it well heated by his own body as temperatures dropped with the falling rain. It wouldn’t be likely he would need a fire, which was good considering the rains coming would likely snuff out any fire he would build in the long run. Jaeden then set to gathering more branches around the area, and proceeded to lay them over the covering of his shelter. They were light enough that it wouldn’t cause the shelter to cave in, but heavy enough that the storm’s winds wouldn’t blow insulation away during the night. It had taken a good two bells for Jaeden to complete it, but he finally looked over the shelter with a satisfied look on his face. He then looked up to the sky, observing the darkness of the cloud and sniffing the air of the wind that slowly began to pick up it’s pace. The sound of thunder roared coming from the east, signaling the storm approaching. Jaeden had a bell’s worth of time at the most before it would hit with it’s full force. Already he felt a drop here and there hitting his face. Jaeden then paused for a moment, looking over the shelter and debated. He wouldn’t have time to hunt before the storm hit, and it was likely most animals were already taking shelter. On the other hand, he didn’t want to go through his remaining rations this night either. He gave a slow gaze to his surroundings for a moment before finally giving a slow nod. A quick moment was taken to then lay his bedroll within the shelter, as well as his pack. Then, carrying only his sword and rune sack, Jaeden moved to the south, recalling a pear tree he had noticed during his travels. The fruit itself wouldn’t fully satiate him and he would be hungry the next morning as if he hadn’t eaten anything the night before, but at least Jaeden wouldn’t be slowly starving through out the night. Jaeden soon came to realize, more and more, that every little bit he could find would help when it came to surviving in the wild. He only hoped that he could pick up Olevar’s trail once again after the storm.

[Jaeden Kincade]

22nd Day of Summer Day 3: The Need to Feed The rain had come last night, and it had fallen heavily through out the night. Most found that the thundering and heavy fall of rain would keep someone out in the woods, camping under a survival shelter made from nothing more than thick branches and foliage would have trouble sleeping. Jaeden, however, slept like a baby, the shelter had kept him warm, and the sound of the rolling thunder and heave drops of rain pelting everything it could reach acted as his lullaby. Olevar had always found it mind boggling that a sudden crack of thunder strong enough to send waves of sound that would shake the very tent, woke him violently from a deep sleep, but only cause Jaeden to roll over to his other side. The storm had run through the course of the night and now only a slight drizzle remained. It had left Jaeden feeling refreshed and well rested the following morning, but very hungry. He had managed to find some fruit, a pear tree, about two miles back in the direction he had been tracking Olevar. Such food, however, digested very quickly and by morning his stomach was growling and craving meat. So far he had been doing good with his rations that Olevar had left him, eating only a very small amount here and there to keep his hands from shaking due to hunger. He spent the beginning bells of the morning setting the two snares he had left, hoping they would snag some sort of food when he checked them later in the day. For the time being, however, he remained perched in the limb of a tree, leaves and branches covering his frame to both keep him remotely dry from the drizzling rain and camouflage him from the sight of passing animals, when they passed. His gaze patiently overlooked the flowing water of the stream nearby, about a mile from camp, just waiting for that first large prey to come by for a drink of water. He had chosen the area with the most heavy concentration of tracks he could find without straying too far from the camp itself. After a two bells had passed, marking mid day, he was beginning to wonder if he should have moved further down stream. Then Jaeden’s heart skipped a beat, as the slight sounds of hooves moving over loose ground managed to linger just over the sound of water dripping from the trees occasionally. It had dawned on Jaeden, at that moment, why there were so few animals coming by to drink from the stream, as the storm had created plenty of puddles and water pockets throughout the forest for them to drink from. In the end, it mattered little to Jaeden at that point, as a young doe finally came into view, looking around as it’s ears moved back and forth, listening for signs of danger. Finally, after a moment, the doe began lowering it’s head to drink. Jaeden slowly reached to his side, pulling free one of the crude arrows he had fashioned from a slim branch and stone head. He had hoped this bow would work a slight better than the one he had made years ago. The arrow was slowly slipped along side the bow’s shaft, the arrows back end coming to a rest along the bow’s string, a notch barely present on it. Jaeden then slipped his index and middle finger around the bow’s string, pinching the arrow between his fingers as he took a slow breath. His arms then went taught as Jaeden locked his left arm strait, his grip tight along the bow’s shaft as he began drawing the arrow back with his right hand. The weight of the draw was more than he had anticipated, and Jaeden found himself thankful for that, knowing the bow would have better penetrating power than the last one he crudely put together. The question now was whether the arrow itself would fly strait. With a quick straitening of his fingers, Jaeden let loose of the bow’s string as it rushed forward, stopping with that familiar “twang” as the line was pulled strait and vibrated slightly in place. The arrow itself did not fly totally strait, but strait enough as it veered slightly to the left and dropped long before most normal arrows would. However, it didn’t have a great deal of distance to cover as it reached the doe within two seconds, the stone head of the arrow piercing through the ribs and puncturing one lung. The doe barked out in pain and began to flee in response, jumping across the narrow stream and running towards the thick of the woods. Jaeden dropped from his perch in the tree, falling a short distance until he landed with a thud to the softened ground below in a crouched position, pieces of his camouflage falling from his clothing. Jaeden then broke into a slow, casual jog, his eyes peering over the ground at the fresh track left behind by the doe’s panicked run. The wound he had managed wouldn’t kill the doe right away of course, but it had little time left now. It was a simple matter of catching up to where it would eventually fall, and claiming it before some other forest predator did. A slow smile crossed on Jaeden’s lips as he kept his eyes to the ground, easily following the doe’s tracks. In the far corner of his mind however, he felt frustration that Olevar’s tracks wouldn’t be so easily follow. Especially after the rains had likely washed away any tracks left behind. His only hope would be that some piece of fabric from his clothing or hair from his head was snagged along the foliage or trees in the forest. That or remains of a hunt that had tell tale signs of being struck by an arrow fired by the Woodland Wrath. The smile on Jaeden’s face quickly faded, however, as he looked up to see the trunk of a tree suddenly rushing towards him. The inevitable headlong slam into it staggered Jaeden back as he fell to the ground for a moment, reaching for his head as the familiar dull ache began to rise along his entire head. “I gotta stop doing that.” Jaeden mumbled under his breath as he rose to his feet and once again resumed his run. It would take close to a half of a bells time before Jaeden’s pace began to slow, hearing the struggled motions of the doe in the thick of the foliage ahead. It’s labored breathing echoed out as the chest rose and fell, blood slowly running out of the wound, nose and mouth. Jaeden’s hand slowly reached for the hilt of his sword, pulling it free from it’s sheath as he stepped cautiously towards the doe, circling around behind it. It was unlikely that there was anymore struggle left for the creature to throw at Jaeden, as it laid there along the ground, slowly drowning in it’s own blood, but Jaeden knew that life often struggled to it’s bitter end, and it would be bad for Jaeden if he were to receive any sort of wounds at this time, especially since Olevar wasn’t around to tend to them or fend off any threats should an injury leave Jaeden unable to defend himself. Jaeden slowly inched his way towards the doe now, gripping his long sword tightly. Finally, his hand swung the sword overhead, the tip arching downwards towards the doe until the tip slid through the ribs and lung, piercing the heart. It surprised Jaeden, how easily the blade had done so. The quality of a new blade was immediately noticed over that of the few rusted, unmentioned swords he had liberated from foes over the years when Olevar and him had run into threats from the human element. With the fatal strike, the doe took mere seconds to die, it’s only motions now being the occasional twitch that the bodies of recently deceased sometimes made. Jaeden pulled his blade free of the body, using his shirt to wipe the blade clean before sliding it back into it’s sheath. Looking over the doe for a moment, Jaeden then breathed a slow sigh of relief. Dinner would be served tonight, provided the rain didn’t begin falling to heavily to maintain a fire. Hopefully both of his snares would have caught something as well, and he would soon have enough meat to allow him to continue his search for Olevar by the following mid day.

[Jaeden Kincade]

23rd Day of Summer Day 4: Getting Back on Track……….. Or Not. Jaeden rushed to pack up camp, an excited appearance on his face as he fumbled around with a few of the random items. The rain had stopped, and as he was checking his snares that he had left overnight, he found the field dressed corpse of a large elk, it’s skull shattered and neck broken by what appeared to be a projectile. He was sure that it was no more than two days old, and judging from the direction the tracks were leading him previously, he felt Olevar was still heading in a semi-strait line, heading south. With luck, Jaeden could pick up other signs of his travel, or perhaps fresher tracks further south Olevar may have left behind after the rains. After a short time, all of Jaeden’s belongings as well as the branches he used for building his shelter were packed away. Slinging the pack over his shoulder, he then began jogging once again to the south, a piece of the doe he had cooked the previous night hanging out of his mouth as he began eating on the run. He moved with a new energy and excitement, after the previous day of disappointment after having to hold off on his search previously due to the need for food and the storm. As Jaeden continued further, searching once again for further clues to Olevar’s direction, he was suddenly interrupted when he felt something small suddenly run into him. The sound it made was oddly familiar to a child echoing out a surprise as they fell to the ground. Jaeden’s gaze fell further to the ground then, settling on the top of a head full of blonde hair. A young boy then looked up to Jaeden in return, his green eyes filled with tears as they streamed down his cheeks. A look of fright was on his face as he slowly began to crawl backwards away from Jaeden. “Oh, hello there. What are you doing in these parts little buddy?” Jaeden said as the piece of deer meat dangled out of his mouth. Moments later, the sounds of heavy feet running along the ground and from behind the thicket of trees another person came running in, pausing suddenly as he saw Jaeden standing there. The boy immediately backed away from the new arrival, suddenly hiding behind Jaeden. The man then huffed out a growl as he glared at Jaeden with a disgruntled look in his eyes, his hand immediately reaching down to the sword and pulling it free from it’s sheath. “Hand over the boy. Now!” the man ordered, as Jaeden finally noticed rope for binding hanging at the man’s waist. Jaeden’s gaze traveled from the man for a moment, looking down to the child before finally coming back to the man once again. A slow frown crossed his features as a realization sunk in. “Oh come on!” Jaeden suddenly yelled, the piece of meat still dangling from his mouth, muffling his speech slightly. “Can’t I get at least one year without running into Slavers. You shykes must breed like rabbits or something.” The slaver gazed at Jaeden with a confused look on his face, having never met the man before. A moment later he just shook the confusion from his face and lunged at Jaeden, his sword being swung from over his head. Jaeden’s right hand quickly reached to the hilt of his own sword, pulling it free as he rose it, blocking the slaver’s sword with the flat of his own blade. “I mean really, do you petches have a pension for bad timing or something?” Jaeden said as he suddenly pushed the slaver back, swinging down at him with his long sword as the slaver parried it to the side. “I’m in the middle of something important here and you all come running along,. Do you all just wake up saying, “Gee, I wonder how I can petch up Jaeden’s day today” and then go looking for someone to chase so I can’t ignore it?” “Die!” The slaver suddenly yelled as he thrust the tip of his sword at Jaeden’s chest. Jaeden’s swing his long sword in a arch in front of him, swatting the sword away before his left fist came swinging in, colliding with the slaver’s jaw as the man went stumbling backwards, falling to the ground. “Perhaps I’m bias, but you’re lacking in the witty repartee department.” Jaeden said as he began stepping towards the slave, holding his sword down along his side. He slowly looked back to the boy, seeing him hiding behind a nearby tree, his eyes peeking around the corner. “Keep going until you reach a large pine tree that looks like it has a funny face on it’s trunk. I’ll come pick you up after this.” The young boy took Jaeden’s suggestion to heart as he began running towards the north, soon slipping out of sight. Jaeden’s attention was turned back to the slaver , who soon rose to his feet, rubbing his jaw for a moment. He rushed forward once again swinging his sword at Jaeden. Jaeden raised his sword to block once again, his left hand this time snatching out to grab the slaver by his wrist to halt any further movement of the slaver’s blade. Jaeden’s long sword was then lowered as he brought edge of his blade in hard swing to the slaver’s mid section, the razor edge of the new blade cutting deeply past the layers of clothing and into his flesh. The slaver’s eyes went wide and he fell to his knees as the sudden pain caused a shocking realization that the wound was mortal, and he would soon be dead. He didn’t have long to linger on the thought, however, as Jaeden’s sword was swung around with force, the blade once again cutting deep into the slaver’s flesh. This time, it cut into the slaver’s neck, his body being jerked to the side with the swing as it continued to cut through flesh and bone until the slaver’s head itself was cut cleanly off. The slaver’s body fell to the ground, stiffening like a board suddenly as his head rolled a few feet away. Jaeden slowly looked to the head, noticing the slaver’s eyes were still wide open, and now staring up at Jaeden as he looked down towards it. “Okay, that’s sort of gross and freaky at the same time.” Jaeden muttered under his breath as he wiped his blade clear along the slaver’s pant leg, spitting out the piece of deer meat in his mouth after finding his appetite was now gone. “No more cutting off heads in the future.” Jaeden then sheathed his sword as he began moving back in the direction he had come. Sighing slightly as he ran his hand down along his face. It would take a short time before he reached the pine tree he had directed the child to, finding him hiding under the branches that hung just a half of foot off the ground. “Come on out boy, no one is here to enslave you now.” Jaeden said as his hands fell to his waist. The child soon came crawling out from under the tree, looking up to Jaeden with an expression of hope. Jaeden, for some reason, avoided the direct gaze of the boy, finding that expression being saddled on him a bit unnerving. “What’s your name?” Jaeden then said. “Veldis.” The boy replied meekly. “Okay, Veldis,” Jaeden said as he dropped to a knee, offering his water skin to the child for a drink, “mind telling me what you’re doing out here?” “I got separated from my family during the storm last night. That man said he was going to take me back to them, but when I turned my back he…” Veldis began to explain before Jaeden rose his hand to stop him. “I know what he tried to do, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Jaeden interrupted, wanting to hurry things along. “Where was your family traveling?” “Syliras.” Veldis answered. “Large group of people, or just your family?” Jaeden then asked. “Large group.” Veldis answered after taking a drink of water. “Good, then they shouldn’t be to hard to find now that the storm has passed.” Jaeden said as he slowly stood up. “Come on, I’ll actually take you to find them. The majority of them should still be on the main road. With any luck, will find a small group of them out near the edges of the forest looking for you.” “Really?” Veldis then asked, a bit of concern in his voice. Jaeden slowly looked down to the child, recalling that he mentioned the slaver saying something about taking him back to his family. Jaeden just gave Veldis a soft smile then, reaching behind his back as he pulled free a knife, handing the hilt of it to Valdis. “If I try something funny, you can go ahead and stab me with it then. I promise, I will get you back to your family, even if it is interrupting something I’m currently in the middle of.” Jaeden said as Veldis took the knife from his hand, giving a reassured nod of his head. Jaeden just nodded in return, turning in the direction that would most quickly bring them to the main roads leading to Syliras. “Alright then, let’s get moving Pup.” Jaeden said, pausing for a moment as he felt strangely odd using the moniker that Olevar always labeled him with.

[Jaeden Kincade]

29th day of Summer
Day 10: Be Careful Where you Bath

Jaeden gave a slow sigh, sitting chest deep in the waters of the lake as he washed away the dirt and grime that had compiled as the days passed. Several times he had come across Olevar’s trail, and just as many times lost it. At one point, he had even found the remains of Olevar’s camp, but it was two days too late, and he had covered his tracks well. This was taking longer than he expected, and there were some times where it began to frustrate him.

Another sigh escaped from his lips as Jaeden tilted his head back, observing the clouds for a short time. His ears then twitched slightly when he heard the water brushing along the shore a little more rapidly. His gaze once again fell down to the lake’s surface, noting a slight motion that caused ripples to spread out. A slight frown of confusion crossed his features as he leaned forward slightly, narrowing his eyes as he tried to focus on the motion more. Before long, his eyes widened as the surface of the water parted ways slightly to reveal the figure swimming beneath them. First was the fire red hair that became heavy and soak as water began to cascade down the long strands. Then he noticed the light green eyes, staring into his own full of mischief and playfulness. Water continued to cascade down that smooth tanned skin as her smile was noticed next as those thick, pouting lips spread, sharpening the corners of her mouth as a soft giggle escaped her lips.

Jaeden’s breath quivered slightly as felt the skin of her body brush up along his, all clothing that she may have wore discarded before entering the lake as Jaeden had with his own. His gaze fell down, noting the ample breasts as they pressed up against his chest when she continued to slide forward towards him, her arms eventually slipping along the sides of his waist. She looked up to Jaeden, water still streaming down her face which was now a mere couple of inches from Jaeden’s own. “Hello,” she said softly, her voice sounding smooth and calming, like a warm satin sheet.

“Uh, hello.” Jaeden replied, a cracking in his voice as the startled expression remained on his face. “One moment if you could.”

Jaeden then rose his right hand, swiftly slapping himself across the face. His eyes went wide for a moment, blinking a few times as the sting of his own slap ran along his face. “Okay, not a dream.” Jaeden said as the woman giggled slightly. “So, what brings you to this side of the lake?”

“You,” the woman said as she tilted her head slightly, “I noticed you sitting here and you looked like you could use some company. My name is Lorinea.”

“Jaeden, and is it that obvious?” Jaeden asked.

Lorinea nodded slightly, moving in closer as the tip of her nose brushed lightly along Jaeden’s. “To be honest, I could do with the company as well. The ones I travel with are so stifling right now.” Lorinea said as she moved forward, kissing Jaeden for a moment. “They tend to not let me have all that much fun.”

“Who are "they" that you talk about?” Jaeden said, not really moving forward to return the kiss, finding the woman’s forward behavior to be a bit unsettling. The last time he slept with a woman this aggressive, he woke up to find she had turned into a horse during the night.

“Let’s not talk about that, shall we?” Lorinea said, pressing her body fully along Jaeden once again, eliciting a pleasured exhale as he felt the warmth of her skin. “Let’s just enjoy the moment.”

Jaeden suddenly gasped for air as he saw Lorinea slowly trailing kisses down the front of his body. The feel of her lips tickling the surface of his skin as it brought a light tingling sensation and bumps to rise on his skin. She traveled further down, her head eventually submerging under the water again as Jaden’s eyes went wide, his breath stopping for a moment as hoots like almost sounding like an owl escaped his lips, his whole upper body tensing up. He slowly looked down, seeing the back of Lorinea’s head poking in and out of the water as bubbles of air traveled up, popping along the water’s surface.

Jaeden’s head then swiftly turned as he heard a loud echoing yell call out for Lorinea’s name. “Oh, oh, uhhhhhh,” Jaeden said as he slowly reached out, pausing as a moan escaped his lips and eyes rolled back into his head. He then finally began tapping Lorinea along her back for a moment.

Lorinea brought her head above water again, taking in a few deep breaths as she smiled once again to Jaeden. “Too much for you?” she joked, giggling again. Her expression then faded to one of disappointment when she heard her name begin called for again. “Oh great. My father’s already in the area. I thought it would take him longer.”

“Your father!” Jaeden said, his eyes widening again as he began gazing through the forest.

“Yeah,” Lorinea replied as her elbow rested along Jaeden’s thigh, her chin falling into the palm of her hand. “He and my brothers were escorting some important people. They didn’t want to leave me home alone.”

“Escorting important,” Jaeden said, a frown crossing his features, “wait, what does your father and brothers, making sure I also got the plural part of that number right, do?”

“They’re in the Sylirian Knights.” Lorinea replied, looking to the sound of her father calling out for her again. A look of realization came across her features then. “Oh, my husband too.”

“You’re married!” Jaeden said before letting out another quick exhale, feeling Lorinea grasping him in a sensitive area with her free hand.

“Let’s not make a big deal out of it, shall we?” Lorinea said as splashes along the water echoed the sound of her hand moving beneath it’s surface now. “It’s not like they’re going to kill you. At worse, you’ll only be blinded and have your hands cut off for looking at me and touching me.”

“Gods!” Jaeden suddenly echoed out in a panic as he pushed Lorinea off of him, scrambling out of the water in a panic. “You’re insane, you know that right? Right?”

“Oh, don’t be such a prude.” Lorinea said as she began crawling out of the water towards him. “Would it help if I say it never takes their swords more than one swing to cut cleaning through flesh and bone.”

“Oh shyke, I gotta get out of here.” Jaeden said, discarding the idea of taking the time to put on his clothing and simply began moving, pausing for a moment as a pained expression crossed his face. He quickly looked down, giving almost a slight whimper. “Oh petch, why are they blue?”

Jaeden ignored the pain, as his feet began stomping along the ground to create as much distance between Lorinea, and her approaching family, as possible. “Oh, please, please, please let them be on foot right now and not have their horses.” Jaeden prayed as he continued to run. Of the days that had passed since he had began tracking Olevar, Jaeden would likely chalk this one up to the most scary of them all. Such convinced him to put further effort into finding Olevar, and that all women he encountered in the forest should possibly be avoided until then.

[Jaeden Kincade]

33rd Day of Summer
Day 14: Reaching the End of the Trail

Jaeden’s feet dragged, his breathing slow and heavy. He had been tracking for close to a full day, having found a fresh set of tracks that Olevar had left behind near a recent kill. The corps of a wild Oxen laid in the forest, it’s body recently devoured by wild animals and scavengers. The only tell tale sign that the beast was hunted by Olevar was the fact that a small tree grew up from the center of it’s body, revealing that it had been shot by Woodland Wrath. It had been hunted not more than a day ago, and Olevar was likely to take more meat than what would last a day, given his position on not wasting what the forest provided. If he took as much meat as he could carry, it would take a while to convert that meat into jerky, so Jaeden had time.

He gave a slow gaze to the fading light of the sun as it poked through the line of trees, creating slight rays of light in the rising haze of mist. It wasn’t long before Jaeden finally came to a small clearing, and the smell of a campfire burning. He slowly crouched down, approaching the direction of the camp slowly. The tracks of Olevar’s he had been following thus far led to the camp, but in the off chance the camp itself didn’t belong to him, but to someone less inviting, Jaeden wanted to be sure he could fall back and pick up Olevar’s tracks beyond it without confrontation.

The camp was soon in sight, and Jaeden’s face brightened a little when he noticed the familiar tent and pack that rested near it. The smell of beef roasting over the fire soon tickled at Jaeden’s nose as well as he soon noticed it cooking as well as meat being dried out for future rations. “Found you,” Jaeden finally said silently, standing strait. Slow struts were taken towards the camp as Jaeden gazed around for Olevar himself. Such distracted him from keeping his gaze to the ground unfortunately, and as his right foot fell he heard a familiar crunch along the ground.

“Shyke.” Jaeden said in a disappointed tone as the sound of rope being dragged quickly along followed after the snap under his foot. Before he could react, Jaeden felt something wrapping around his ankle tightly as his foot was suddenly forced into the air. The motion upward continued as his body was pulled out front under him, his head swinging backwards before hitting the ground. Jaeden grunted out loudly in pain, gripping the back of his head as a harsh sting, like dozens of needles poking his scalp, made itself very known.

Jaeden then just hissed out in pain as he continued to rise into the air, his body being hoisted five feet off the ground. When the pain had finally subsided, he released a slow sigh, a smile appearing on his face as Olevar’s camp remained in view, albeit upside-down. He just hung there, limp as his body swayed back and forth along the rope, a feeling of accomplishment filling him. It would be about a bell before he heard footsteps approaching from behind. His gaze moved to the ground as a small bag of wild vegetables was tossed down, and a large figure stepped in front of him. Jaeden slowly looked up, seeing Olevar’s smiling face. “Hi.” Jaeden simply said, his own smile still fixed on his features.

“Well,” Olevar said looking up to Jaeden’s ankle, making sure the rope hadn’t caused his foot to bend weird, “you missed the lifting snare, but you’re a week earlier than I expected. Knew I shouldn’t have hunted that ox.”

Olevar then slowly looked back down to Jaeden once again, giving a small chuckle. “Well done, Jaeden.” Olevar finally said.

Jaeden blinked, a look of surprise appearing on his face. Olevar had just called him by his first name. He didn’t call him Pup, or Boy which he so often addressed him by in the long years they had been together. Now, Jaeden was no longer those things in Olevar’s eyes. He was Jaeden, a hunter and wilderness survivalist. Jaeden was finally finished with his training under Olevar.

“Come on,” Olevar said, pulling his sword as he took a quick swing, cutting Jaeden down, “let’s eat. You can camp here for a day or two before I release you out into the world. Tell me about your time tracking me down.”

[Kelpie]

Jaeden: +4 Tracking, +4 Wilderness Survival, +1 Trapping, +1 Camouflage, +2 Hunting, +2 Unarmed Combat, +3 Long Sword, +2 Rhetoric, +1 Food Preservation Lore: Crafting Makeshift Bows and Arrows Lore: Setting Up Camp Lore: Surviving Through A Storm Lore: Dealing with Slavers… Again. Lore: Helping the Lost Lore: Dealing With Crazy Married Women Note: Forgot to mention, amazingly funny and great thread Jaeden, you did a splendid job! The crazy lady was a nice refreshing and surprising change through all that training hehe.