Open A Common Bond (Jabran)

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae smirked at Jabran politely. Suddenly, he felt very excited to have a companion to hunt with, to take his mind away from haunting dreams and painful loneliness. An opportunity to learn and share new hunting techniques and to give someone else the freedom he experienced on a daily basis. what more could he ask for.

"Another way," He said politely as he stepped onto a near by black cord, and offered Jabran his hand to help him balance. Above his home, not far from here, was the tunnel he used to reach the game paths of the mountain's mighty elk. It wouldn't be long they were below the tunnel's entrance, looking up to a thick white silk rope that dangled from the cavern's ceiling and snaked up through a narrow tunnel. Viridae had a thought for a moment, that the man would be too heavy for him to carry, before waving it away. He was constantly firing a bow and hauling massive kills back and fourth through the tunnel. Honestly, the weight of a man would be a welcomed break from his struggle with a bear carcass only a few days prior.

He leapt onto the rope, then dangled upside down from it by his feet and offered Jabran both of his arms. "Grab hold, and I'll take care of the rest," He said, as the rope swung him to the left, then to the right, slight enough so that when he did grab hold, Viridae would be able to use the momentum and swing Jabran up onto his back.

[Jabran]

The streets of Kalinor were still very strange to Jabran. He looked at Viridae on the black cord and then to the way he had come. "Where is he going?", the Chaktawe wondered. "The entrance to the city is the other way." He couldn't help but feel that it was a trap. The man seemed to be amiable enough but who could tell what went on beneath the surface, what thoughts and feelings were hidden by the pale mask.

He moved cautiously from the red cord which he stood on to the black one, a caution that was due to necessity as much as anything else, for on these streets Eywaat knows what will happen. His movements were slow and deliberate, picking each step carefully and sticking to the middle of the cord.

Just as Jabran was beginning to increase his pace and gain a little more confidence back after the short stop he had made outside the Hunter's Gather Viridae made a sudden jump, taking the Chaktawe by surprise who almost fell onto his back before catching himself at the last moment. Jabran looked at the Symenestra swinging upside down, from side to side. His look was one of incomprehension, eyes wide and mouth agape, almost comical in its incredulity. He shook his head slowly. Did the man mean him to jump? He lifted his feet, one at a time and tested the ground by bouncing on the balls of his feet. "How can I jump when I can hardly walk." He let out a low inaudible groan. He must screw his courage to the sticking place, he knew. Sighing once he made a sudden leap, arms outstretched. A moment later his hands made contact and he was flung once again only to land on the Symenestra's back. He managed to hold on with one hand as the other slipped but it was enough for him to hold fast.

He held on to Viridae's back as tightly as he could. "At least it is better than walking on those damnable streets", he told himself, hoping that this would remain true.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae gracefully climbed hand over hand, through the dark twists and turns of the tunnel, doing his best not to shake his companion up too much, as he scaled higher and higher. The tunnel was long, but the wait was well worth is as the daylight shone overhead through the tunnel's exit.

He climbed out quickly, and crouched his long body so as to allow Jabran to climb down.

They now stood in a small clearing, choked by thick pines in every direction. The sun hung high overhead, and the sky was broken only by a few wisps of soft white cloud. Around them, the forest was alive with the sound of birds. From the clearing at which they stood, they seemed to be in the center of an intricate web of narrow game trails, leading off in all directions. Some where very old, and rarely used, but a skilled hunter would easily be able to decipher which tracks where fresh. To the south, the trails led down a small plateau and towards the bottom of the mountain, to the north they lead up its face, and towards fresh water. to the east lay the valley, where raptors could often be trapped.

He stretched his arms high above his head and turned his head towards Jabran, tilting it unnaturally to the left and raising a brow. "What to kill?"

[Jabran]

Jabran still found being carried by the Symenestra awkward and uncomfortable. He hated that he could not walk in Kalinor. It always happened that just as he thought he was growing to like something within the city this old handicap reared it's ugly head around the corner and laughed at him, openly mocking him to his face. He held on tightly to Viridae's back as he navigated through the endless pattern of webs that was Kalinor. The last thing he wanted was to fall. He had no desire to find out what lurked in the bowels of the cave.

Jabran tried to look straight ahead as Viridae climbed and soon he saw a speck of light. "Could it be", he wondered. "Could it be the sun." As the light grew he silently hoped that it was the great ball of fire waiting to greet him. The tunnel's exit got closer and closer and the anticipation grew and grew until finally they crossed out into the great unknown and Jabran was blinded for a moment.

When he regained his sight he jumped of Viridae's back. The sun beat down cooly, he could feel the rays caress his skin softly. Around the blue sky the wispy white clouds moved silently and gracefully, slowly on their way. He could feel a cool breeze against his skin and shivered. And then there was the sound of birds, of Eywaat's kin. They squaked their cheeful song from this tree and that, unseen to his eyes, though he knew that Eywaat looked through them and was watching over him. Jabran had never seen these trees before, in fact he had never seen any tree other than the Keerdash and the few others that grew in the desert, and he liked them.

Slowly, a smile graced his lips, or the beginning of a smile at least, for it had been a long time since had had a reason to smile. Even in the desert he had been famous for his lack of facial expressions, his inability to express his emotions. Such an act was awkward to him and his mouth was unused to the shape.

As Viridae lifted his bow, Jabran raised his spear. "Go", he shouted. "Lead." He was ready to follow his companion through the pines.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae smiled as he squat before the trail to the north, and stroked his own chin lightly, pretending to be in deep consideration, whilst secretly he was allowing Jabran a private moment. Although he was Symenestra, and had no problem remaining in Kalinor for weeks at a time, he understood what it was like to see the outside after being held up. In that moment, he saw Jabran a little differently. In the past, he's seen small birds fall into the tunnels, and rendered flightless. Viridae's sister, Seivis, would nurse them back to heath, and they would fly off through the tunnels, seeking the sun. Jabran's face held the expression of something that had at long last been set free.

After a time, he stood and pulled his red hood over his head, turning to face Jabran. "We travel north. I have a few snares I'd like to check, and we can hunt along the way," He says, shooting him a smirk.

As they set off into the woods, Viridae is making a conscious effort to mask his footsteps, rolling from the balls of his feet to the tips of his toes, bow at the ready with an arrow already nocked, eyes flicking from left to right, scanning the terrain before him. After a time, the trees begin to spread thinner, and not much game had been encountered up to this point.

More than a few times, he had the urge to ask Jabran about his hunting techniques, about animals from his home, about tracking, and about hunting with a spear, but there were just too many barriers, the biggest being language, the second that he did not want to spook the forest's critters.

They walked a time, and along the way were many snares to check, most sporting dead rabbits swaying from rope dangling from trees. At each snare, he would collect a rabbit, stuff it into his belt, and reset the snare before continuing on. Before long, the woods where all but non existent, and what remained was a rocky outcropping leading to a hillock where a small pool was fed by a trickling waterfall. Viridae made no further effort to remain quiet as he plopped down on the rock and lifted his leather chest plate over his head, setting it beside him on a rock. He grinned to Jabran and patted the rock beside him before scooping up a handful of water and splashing it over his own face. From where they sat, The plush valley would be clearly visible, sun beginning to slope downward, but still high in the sky, indicating early afternoon.