[Flashback][Training]Not Alone in the Woods.(Kamrynn)

[Wystern]

Kamrynn bought those few precious seconds that Wystern needed so much. Kamrynn smashed in the bear, literally and broke his lance. "That's just so damn great..." Wystern swore to himself. Which part of the plan is going to fail next? The one where they survive? Like hell he will let that one happen.

He was a bit dizzy from the hit and his hand was bleeding still, but otherwise he was fine. Then Kamrynn fell, his horse running away in fear. Crow sprung to his feet, throwing the sheath right off the blade as he closed the foot that separated the man and the beast. Two quick strokes across her chest and a jump back, barely avoiding another maul from the bear. He barely hurt her, the fat and the slick fur absorbed most of the blow. Wys felt a slight breeze on his side, his hard leather was torn off from the hit. Lucky he didn't wreck his ribs yet. But his partner...

"Kamrynn, get up, DAMN IT!!" Crow yelled his voice picking up a more maniacal note as he saw Kam laying there, limp and almost lifeless, his fingers moving a bit, as if from a shock. No time to get distracted, if his partner is still alive, they should survive. Should? The more appropriate expression was could. Another maul came, this time the plate on his chest was torn off, Wys was thrown back first into a tree, and then sliding off it for about a foot, landing on a foot and a knee.

"GET UP!! Gods damn it!" Wystern swore over and over and over, trying to cut into the beast's flesh. He cut into it, but just not deep enough, just not enough force, just not enough momentum, just not enough space. He got up again, jumping to the right, trying to lead the beast away from Kam; a stabbing feeling was in his chest, Wys coughed up a little blood and spit it out. "Get it together, get it together..." He swore to himself, trying to get his fuzzy vision straight. The beast was strong, far stronger than Wys, but he did not live through all the crap in Sunberth and Syliras to just get mauled to death right here and now, hell no.

The bear hit the tree, trying to swing at him and that gave Wys a second to regain his stance and composure. Something somewhere must be watching him if he is still alive. "I am so leaving the Gods and offering if I survive this." Wys mumbled to himself. Ironic how in these insane moments, the only way to keep one's sanity is to talk to oneself.

"GET UP, KAMRYNN!!" Wystern screamed again, at the top of his lungs. Wys was now fighting in almost empty area, nothing to block the bear's attacks, nowhere to hide, but far easier to maneuver. Wys charged at the bear, try to stab it in the eye and instead putting a deep cut right above the nose but below the eye. Maybe if he could take its eyes out he could get enough time to get back to Kamrynn. No success, he got swatted away.

He swung the blade again, missing the bear because of its claw swing. In a tiny window of opportunity, Wys kicked it in the nose, disorienting the beast. In return it charged and knocked Wystern off his feet. The Knight rolled and was getting up again when the beast charged again. Wys realized he did not have enough time to regain stance, so he thrust the blade as fast as he could try to get her left eye. The beast stopped, but not fast enough. The tip of the sword hit her right on the pupil, blood glistening in the moonlight. A loud roar was heard through he woods. The blade went through the eye and landed into the shoulder, piercing it in a boot a foot's length; the thrust was only successful because of the bear's momentum. Wystern's right shoulder felt like he just stopped a warhorse with his palm. Having no time to lose, Wys frantically grabbed the wakizashi handle on his back and tried to slash the beast's other eye with no success.

She bit straight on the blade, making Wystern almost let go of the small katana. He tried to grab his left wrist as it was getting numb due to loss of blood, but his right arm was getting numb too. It was a miracle the bones were still intact, in part. The shoulder was definitely dislocated, but should otherwise be fine. Crow put his right hand on his left wrist and yanked the wakizashi out, slicing the beast's mouth and tongue a bit.

The man looked the beast in the eye. His sword was still stuck in the beast's left shoulder, his shoulder felt uncomfortable, his breath was stiff, a bit of sharp pain was there every time he took a deep breath. He spit out some more coughed up blood. The bear was just out of breath too; Wystern reached for the other wakizashi, the heavier one. He finally saw his partner make a bit of a rustling sound as his body was moving. "Get up, Kamrynn!" If his partner woke up, they might still come out of this alive. The beast was half-blinded, still pissed off to no tomorrow, but tired.

Now they had to kill it because Wys wanted his sword back, and those katanas aren't cheap.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

The dream felt so good, and Kamrynn felt so comfortable on the ground. A warm feeling of numbness was spreading pleasantly from his head, as if he had too much wine, but something was definitely wrong.

His eyelids struggled briefly against the mountainous weights holding them shut. Come back to bed. The whole world seemed to say. It seemed like a good idea and sound advice, but Kamrynn was never one to listen to rational thought.

He was awake again, though not entirely sure where he was or what he was doing. The crack he had taken to the back of his head had lost it's warm numbing appeal -now it hurt like hell. He sat up, scanning the dark for... someone. At least, he thought he was here with someone, he couldn't remember.

A bear! He almost yelped when he saw the creature scampering after something. Ironically, the best thing to do in this situation was to lay back down, play dead and go back to sleep. He would have too, had he not seen Wystern struggling desperately for his life.

"Crow!" The name floated to the top of his addled brain and Kamrynn sprang to his feet, searching for a weapon. His sword didn't seem up to the task and his lance lay broken a few feet off. Kamrynn cursed, drawing his only option -his sword- and would have darted forward had his eyes not caught the second lance laying not far away. Wystern's!

He dove for it, caught it in his hands and rolled back to his feet charging down the bear from behind. His horse had fled, but Kamrynn was a decent enough sprinter. The young knight locked both hands around the haft of the second lance, determined to make this one count -he couldn't let a brother knight die. He pumped his legs as fast as he could.

Only a few steps away, he took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs, aiming this last lance at the creature's side, so as to drive it up and into it's ribcage.

They collided hard, and the lance struck home, sinking deep into the bear's side. It roared in pain, though being skewered as it was, could not turn to effectively meet it's new opponent. Kamrynn's arms felt broken, his legs filled with lead and his head throbbed but he managed to draw his sword. He leaped upon the creature cutting and stabbing with all the ferocity of a wild animal. The bears fur matted and tangled around the blade, threatening Kamrynn's hold on his weapon. The fat was thick and made cuts all but ineffective, and the creatures bones were as tough as armor. To account for this, Kamrynn focused on short stabbing motions, weaving his blade up and down in a tight arc, trying to pierce deep enough to affect the bear's organs.

[Wystern]

Wystern saw the moment of opportunity when Kam rammed into the bear's side. With a jump, he drove the wakizashi in his right hand back to the sheath and the left into the bear's back, leaving it in the wound. Struck with pain, the beast roared again when Crow reached for the katana that was stuck in it's left shoulder, and pulled it out slicing down.

"Nice work, Kam!" He said, picking up the same maniacal tone from a little while ago. Just as he said that, the bear rammed Wys, and shook Kam off. Wys got pushed back a couple of feet and landed on his butt, Kam retained his footing and thrusted the lance again, trying to hold the beast in place. Crow, grabbed his sword with two hands and rushed the bear again, this time knowing that he could lash its other eye out. The beast tried to move, but it was slowly dying. Kam's and Crow's weapons did their damage and the fat can only absorb so much of the sharp force the duo was producing.

Blinded, the beast roared again and again hard enough to where its screams could be heard on the opposite side of the woods. As Wys was going for another stroke, he noticed that the other lance, though shattered, left about four inches blade tip on the right side just below the ribs. The beast was already weakened when Wys began fighting it. If that lance didn't find its mark, he would have been a goner.

"Hold it!" Wys yelled, as the beast was struggling for its life and Kam was getting dragged off his feet. Receiving an annoyed look from his partner, Wys brought down the katana with all the fury and strength he had left from this unfair match. He struck the beast on the neck, nearly decapitating it; but the weight of the head and the pressuring cutting edge from the sword made the small bit of fat and skin tear.

The bear was headless now.

Wys was covered with blood. Some of his own, mostly bear's. His feet felt weak when he finally realized that the hunt was over. They won. They won...

He dropped to his knees, his back next to a tree. His shoulder felt out of socket, muscles and skin holding it instead of bone. He didn't feel the pain before as everything became so blurry, but now, it all came crashing down on him. He felt uncomfortable because of the possibly broken ribs. It hurt to breathe. He was dizzy from the loss of blood. Wys now noticed he had a somewhat deep claw marks on his rib cage. That explained a lot actually.

"You alive?" Crow asked, with a grunt and a cough of blood. "It will take us twelve hours to get back to Syliras. But we are not doing that until we eat what we killed." He finished with a smirk.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn grinned, but he was thoroughly exhausted and in sorry shape. His mind was clear again, or as clear as it could be with all things considered -there was enough adrenaline pumping through his body to give him an actual high.

"Course." He responded to Wystern with a matter of fact tone. "It takes a little more than bear to kill two Syliran knights..." He looked at the bear's corpse, then took stock of his own injuries. "Although, not much more, I'd wager."

The adrenaline began wearing thin, now that the threat was over, and numerous injuries he hadn't remembered getting were screaming at him. They had a lot of work to do, the most important of which included finding their horses. The bear had done a good job of spooking them off.

"I hope you can cook," Kamrynn muttered, cleaning his sword off on the bear's fur. He was covered in dirt, but hadn't been showered in bear blood as Wystern had. "I don't know the first thing about cooking or cleaning game. Should I round up the horses while you set to work on that?"

[Wystern]

"I hope I can walk. Get the horses, and then get the ropes. We will tie up the corpse and drag it back to encampment. I need a moment to regain my breath, please." Wys said, with a smirk. Wystern didn't enjoy the feeling that he just bossed Kam around, but at this moment he was weak. He needs to find a river and wash himself before the coming winter claims the rest of the heat. All those thoughts rushing through his head, Wys almost forgot the most important thing he had to worry about.

Wys felt around for his arms, bruised, sore, but not broken. He awkwardly managed to put the shoulder back in the socket by pushing it against the tree. It felt better, but it still hurt, especially the stinging sensation on his side. The soreness will stay for about a week. Now what about the fist... it was cut. It was deep, but it will heal, and it's still bleeding. He rubbed his eyes, leaving a bit of blood on his forehead and took a dagger out. He awkwardly cut off a sleeve of his shirt, giving himself a poke and a small cut in the process; Wys tied it around the palm and tightened the knot with his mouth.

Last, but not least, he felt around his ribcage. Left side is intact, but on the right, there was definitely bleeding. "Let's see here," Wys whispered to himself. "One...two...damn." Two ribs broken. Fantastic. One is dug in, close to piercing a lung. Or maybe it has already pierced it, but not too much. He felt like he had a splinter on the shoulder from where he slid off a tree. The medics are going to have a field day with this mess.

For the main question, is this glory or shame? He killed a bear, but he looks like he just lost the fight. Correction, they killed a bear, but Wys looks like he just lost the fight. No pain, no gain, and pain was definitely there; but what did he gain? He will meditate under Windoak to get an answer for that question, but that will have to be done later, after he drops off the offerings he promised. Let's see who will get an offering, Eyris, Tyveth, Yahal, heck, even Myri. He didn't know which one saved him, he will just spend the next day when he comes out of the hospital in the temple.

Wys finally got up and stumbled up to the bear. He yanked the wakizashi out, flicked the blood off the smooth blade and sheathed it. Now, what about those cubs? He looked around, they were gone. Ran away after seeing their mother die? Probably. A small surge of guilt rushed over Wys when he remembered a small passage from the book, "Never kill mothers." What did he do? He killed a mother. Well, technically speaking, he was only to blame for the situation where he forced her to attack. Otherwise...it was almost self-defense. Whatever, he was just making excuses to justify the unjustifiable.

He now remembered about the cloak, the quiver and the bow he tossed away. Maybe it would be a good idea to collect it when Kam found the horses. He leaned against a tree and slid down, trying to think about what he would do next.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kam wandered about the forest, weary and hurting, looking for the horses. It hadn't crossed his mind that Wystern was -or even could be- injured. The man held himself with confidence and had given Kamrynn directions so matter of factly that it was hard to imagine he had received more than a few scrapes and bruises from their romp with the bear.

The horses weren't far, and though they were wide eyed and nervous, Kamrynn was able to calm them down enough to lead them back to camp. They shook their heads, and whinnied loudly in protest as Kamrynn lead them back to where Wystern was waiting with the corpse of the bear. The knight couldn't blame them, the smell of blood was hung thick enough in the air to stifle one's breathing.

Wystern was sitting against a tree when Kamrynn returned, looking a bit worse for wear than the younger knight remembered. Hopefully he was still alright. "Crow," He called out. "I've brought the horses back... Are you alright? I forgot to ask if you were injured... I guess I just assumed you were ok." He grinned nervously, genuinely concerned for his fellow knight. "This might make you feel a bit better," He held up something in his hands. "I found your bow and arrows, as well as the cloak you dropped."

((OOC, wanna wrap this thread up?)))

[Wystern]

OOCYeah, wrap this up at your next post. Care for another thread?

Wys looked at Kam with a bit of a surprise when he got Crow's cloak. Wys got up, relying on the tree, spit out a little blood, and took the cloak back. He could stand now, but he had to get to Syliras within a day or two. Still they had a matter to take care of. The duo had enough water, they were hungry, but it will take a while to starve to death. It was all about getting back to Stormhold. Alive preferably.

Wys took off the cloak again and came over to where the bear's head was. They couldn't carry her body, but her head...that was already done. That was the proof the killed it, for Wys was in no condition to skin the bear, or cook it. He wrapped the cloak around the head, tied it with a rope, and made a loop to throw around his shoulder.

"We killed it, we are getting a credit for it. This is going to look awesome if we take it to a taxidermist." He got up on his horse. "Oh, and I will spend the next week in a hospital." These were the last words before he completely passed out from the pain and exhaustion. The saddle kept him in place. Much like Kam a while ago, he was in dreamland now. He was standing in an arena, a sea of grass. He just killed a beast. The crowd cheered, even the Windoak saluted him, as strange as it sounded. For once in a while, he was carefree.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn took stock of the situation from atop his horse with uncharacteristic seriousness. There was a time and place for childish antics and imagination -this was not that time.

"Wystern?" He asked, as his friend slumped over in his saddle. "Hey, Wystern!" There was a faint, groaning response, indicating that his fellow knight was indeed still amongst the living. Kamrynn's heart jumped into his throat. Syliras wasn't far when travelling in good health, but Kamrynn had no way of knowing the extent of Wystern's injuries, he only knew that his friend was unconscious... Syliras seemed like Cyphrus or Avanthal to Kamrynn at that moment.

He brought his horse up as closely as he could next to Wystern, shaking the knight gently. Wystern responded weakly, but seemed unwilling (or unable) to awaken. "Don't worry, Crow. I'll get us back fine." He said more to reassure himself than his unconscious friend. Grabbing hold of Wystern's horses bridal, Kamrynn lead the way quickly -but gently- back towards the city of Syliras.

*End*

[Tabarnac]

XP Award! Wystern XP Award: Shortbow +2; Wilderness Survival +1; Trapping +1; Running +1; Katana +2; Wakizashi +2 Kamrynn XP Award: Shortsword +1; Wilderness Survival +1: Trapping +1; Lance +3; Shield +1; Riding +1; Running +1; Horsemanship +1 Additional Note Wystern, you need 30 XP in katana AND wakizashi before you can even begin to dual wield effectively, and as a novice dual wielder, you’ll still be clumsy trying to coordinate both weapons. Please, please, please read each skill for your level of mastery before you write those skills, or you’ll be playing Wystern with a level of mastery he hasn’t yet earned! So I can’t give you dual wield until your wakizashi is up to 30 as well, per the rules. Please don’t dual wield them until then! That said, fun post thread, guys! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. Keep writing!