Flashback Unexpected Encounter (Kaie)

[Moru]

83rd Day, Winter 510 A.V. - midday

Two to three days march away from the Village of the Shining Scales it was a hot day with a high humidity for this time of the year in Falyndar. A filthy young boy wearing nothing but a skimpy loincloth crawled on all four very slowly towards a clearing ahead.
The boy's name was Moru and he was already out her hunting for three days. He had been close to the village as he encountered a rare breed of deer and thought it would make a fantastic sort of game if he came back with it. All his life the boy had been trained by his father to be independent and how to survive out there on his own if necessary. That was the reason the less than eight year old boy didn't think twice to follow the deer into the jungle after his first attack went wrong.

The whole hunt until now had gone wrong in one way or another and that was the reason Moru was much farther out of the village than ever before. It was this morning that things finally got brighter. Sleeping up inside a tree the boy saw the deer passing below his tree. He followed the trail as fast and as silent as he could despite it leading through a nasty swamp area. That was the reason for all the filth covering the usually very clean boy.
The deer proved to be hard to follow and Moru asked himself if he would fail again on the way but now the animal stood on the clearing and the air was moving towards the boy. Having only a spear with a wooden tip Moru needed to get close enough which was the reason he tried to sneak close enough on all fours using the bushes between them as cover.

Finally the boy got into the reach that gave him a chance to kill the animal if he hit good enough. Only a bit closer Moru thought to himself as a bird called out above him. Knowing how the deer would react Moru jumped up and hurled his spear but the deer reacted too. It whirled around and the spear hit it into his haunch. The deer was hurt and bleeding quite a bit but he was still in the condition to run away. Luckily for Moru he lost the spear at the edge of the clearing.

Moru was aware it was dangerous to run through the jungle but if he wanted the deer he had to run after it. Stopping short enough to grab his spear he followed the trail left by the animal's blood. The question was how far the deer would get away before he slowed down. Leaving a bloody trail there was a good chance he might attract predators before Moru got to his prey. Something that might kill his deer and want it for himself.

The boy tried to stay alert but he had to move fast through the jungle too which was not as silent as he usually was.

[Kaie]

She was out again. Alone. But that was not without purpose. Or maybe it was. Her time of exploration, racing through the jungle, had only lasted about ten chimes before she finally came to a halt. What brought her frolicking to an end was the most subtle imprint in the ground. The Myrian girl crouched low, her eyes scanning the animal track meticulously. After a moment of analyzing, she dipped a hand down toward the print. Like feather tips, her fingers traced the gentle curve of the track, as if memorizing its shape. It was a little messy and disfigured, but common sense told her it was some sort of herbivore. Some sort of deer or an okapi maybe?

The Myrian child rose to her feet, noting the tracks extended further through the mud. But why was the track so smeared? Was it running from something, and if so, what?

Kaie was starting to see the possibility her new quarry was already in pursuit by another predator. Potentially a vicious one much larger and more fatal than she. But she was juvenile and foolish, at an age where young blood drove her on a quest to prove her worth every waking moment. All she wanted to do was get a good hard look, and maybe even hunt the thing down herself. If trouble came, she was sure her kin's nearby camp would hear her cries. She hoped.

Clutching her spear, Kaie took off in following the very obvious signs of the animal through the swamp. As she treaded through the mud, her feet made a distinct schloshing sound with every step. Her inability to quiet her own footsteps irked the girl to no end, but alas she continued. It was only a few paces in that she saw the blood pitter-patter and merge in the tracks. The animal was wounded. By what was still the question. The great question was whether or not she wanted to find out. Being the naive child she was, well, she did.

It didn't take her long to find the animal of interest. Skipping along slow and unbalanced was a deer. From what she could see, it had a nasty wound in its middle. One that would prove fatal later. For now though, Kaie saw no predator. No hunter. No Dhani. And so the deer was fair game. It was vulnerable and weak. The poor thing hardly stood a chance.

And just like that she was upon it, racing from the brush with her spear raised. Its hooves scampered across the slick mud, trying its damnedest to get away from the Myrian. The hunt was very one sided, and Kaie had no trouble catching up to jam her spear right into its back. The deer collapsed under her weapon, keeling over right into the mud, with a scream so piercing it could've been mistaken for human. Panic stricken with the idea its cries may lure unwanted attention, Kaie tore her spear from its back and into the throat. The light from its eyes dimmed shortly after that.

"Thank you, brother, for your sacrifice," Kaie offered her short thanks to the deceased animal before tugging her spear back. The blood drizzled and oozed from its tip like some sort of disease. And that's when she heard all the noise. Something was approaching.

Fearing the worst, Kaie turned with her spear at the ready. Her hands shook a little under their own tension, her breath catching as she eyes the foliage. What emerged, however, was not something she expected to find. A young boy no older than ten with a wooden spear in hand. She did not speak first. Instead she waited, waited to see how the boy might react first. More importantly, she wanted to see if he was alone. Already was Kaie inhaling, preparing to let out a whoop that would alert her kin nearby.

[Moru]

Thanks to the quite harsh training the boy got from his own father Moru was really fit for a young boy of his age. He was not one of the bigger of his peers nor had he developed strong muscles. His strength was rather hidden by his light build instead of showing in easily visible muscles. The boy was fast ans agile which surely was a great advantage for a boy of his age.
Despite his fitness Moru was breathing fast and sweat trickling down his filthy skin left an interesting pattern where the drops of sweat left a somewhat cleaner trail down his body. The long hunt after his injured prey surely left an impression on the boy.

Moru wasn't sure if he really got closer to the deer but the tracks and amount of blood indicated it slowed down more and more. Suddenly he heard the screams of a dying deer in front of him. Against his better knowledge the boy came to the conclusion that his prey finally went down from loss of blood and exhaustion and not as far away he he feared. The excitement of getting such great game gave him the additional strength to run a bit faster to get there.

His spear ready for the final strike to end the deer's misery Moru broke through some dense growth without caring for a few additional scratches in his childish excitement. What he saw was unexpected and a shock for the young boy. There was a girl that looked Myrian of maybe twice his own age, armed with a spear and his deer lying dead besides her. The few tattoo's she had didn't bother the boy because he wore no such signs at all at his current age. Sliding a bit on the muddy ground the boy came to a quick stop with his own simple wooden spear held in a defensive position because of the way she held her own weapons.
Anger about his game being stolen from him was replaced by resignation as Moru became aware there would be little he could do to keep the deer. The two additional deadly wounds showed that the right of the kill belonged to her. An older boy Moru might have challenged anyway but she was a woman or would be one soon and that made a difference for the boy who never really knew his lost mother.

Standing there Moru stared at the girl. His primitive spear with a tip of fire hardened wood still held in a defensive position and his stone knife strapped to the outside of his lower left leg. Not unusual weapons for a boy of his age but there was still some blood visible on the spear.
"Who are you? That was my prey." the boy finally got out and instantly became aware how weak that had to sound. Luckily his blush was well hidden by his dark skin and the filth still covering him.

[Kaie]

Her muscles tensing, tooth beginning to dig into her lip, Kaie was sure a massive tiger was about to bring from the dense foliage. Instead her apprehension was all for nothing. The creature who came forth was one of her own. A Myrian boy far younger than her, carrying a wooden spear. His defensive position almost mirrored her own, and Kaie was quickly feeling there was a wedge between them. Perhaps the prey was being tracked by the boy before she arrived? Could that have been him who wounded it in the first place?

Kaie eyed the boy curiously, noticing his filthy appearance. It wasn't anything too odd. It the was jungle. Being prepared to get a little dirt on one's face was a necessary part of life. His body, however, was covered in it. Unless he was trying on a poor attempt at camouflage, he might've just taken a sweet fall right into the swamp. Hey, it happens.

Her thoughts were confirmed the moment the young boy spoke. Kaie couldn't help but grin a bit, her eyes lighting up in their fiery delight. He seems a little indignant about it, though his voice lacked the confidence of other young boys she'd come across. Naturally, few males would be so bold to challenge her for the kill. Had this kid been a female, she might've been about to get into the fight of her life.

"That's too bad. It's a really nice catch. You have a good eye," She replied with a playful grin, her words somehow coming across as a bit teasing. Slowly, she eased her way toward the deer, nodding at it as if agreeing with herself on its worth. It certainly had some meat on its bones. "Kaie of the Cutthroat Shadows. Sorry I can't apologize for taking your kill though," She added with the same nonchalant attitude, flashing a grin at the kid once more. Perhaps she was just trying to ease the tension.

"You got a name?"

[Moru]

Moru was unsure if the girl caught his uneasiness. Her grin and the delight in her eyes after he spoke seem to indicate it. Being out hunting with his father since he was much younger than most Myrian boys would do Moru knew he had no right to the game at all. Some hunters might be willing to give a child his age a part of it but the girl didn't look like she would even consider it. Actually she was obviously teasing him as she answered.

At least he wouldn't be in immediate danger Moru told himself as he dropped his defensive position and stood straight in a relaxed stance. After being out behind that deer for the third day Moru was quite tired but his childish stubbornness against an older girl didn't allow him to show her that. The anger about loosing his prey and the way she teased him now he couldn't suppress that easily and it showed on his face.
Another boy of seven years might have been close to tears or ran away to not show her how he felt but Moru learned to decide for himself and take the consequences since he was able to understand what went on around him. Unwilling to give her the satisfaction of winning over him as easily Moru decided to join the play. He would most likely loose because he had no rights here but it would show her she couldn't just push him around.

"You don't have to tell me. It's the third day I've been behind this one for exactly that reason. I hope it wasn't too hard to bring it down?" the boy answered and teased her back by reminding her that the deer was already dying without saying it.
The one thing Moru didn't think about was that a boy his age out her hunting for three days with only a wooden spear and a stone knife but without even a small bag and food was at least unusual. Even Moru shouldn't be out so far and so long but he lived from the fruit, insects and everything else he was able to find on his hunt. One advantage of his young body was that it didn't need as much food as a grown up.

She told him her name was Kaie and the way she mentioned that she couldn't apologize showed she wasn't willing to give up the deer. Moru couldn't really blame her because in a way it was his fault. Still it irked him because the other way around she might have taken it from him. And she asked about his name but there was another thought Moru became aware of.
"Well Kaie, then don't do it. Now that I think about it this might have saved me from wasting the deer's life. I doubt I'd been able to bring it back to my village without loosing at least most of it to the predators. They would have been drawn in by the smell of death and defending it with my spear and knife might have been a bit difficult. Seen that way I hope you can make more use of it.
Oh yes, excuse me. I'm Moru, from the Village of the Shining Scales" he answered her.
Moru was more troubled by the thought that he might have wasted the deer's life for nothing if Kaie hadn't come along than not being able to name his fathers clan. He knew the clan his father belonged to but the man didn't use that for a reason the boy wasn't sure about. He added the village they lived in because he hoped she wouldn't ask further. He wasn't sure it would work with this girl but it was easier to try than finding an explanation that wasn't a lie.

[Kaie]

Kaie certainly tilted her head quizzically after that introduction. The quip almost flew right over her head at first, only earning a smirk from the girl, for it was the oddness in his name that immediately caught her attention.

Moru of the Ville of the Shining Scales? The petch kind of clan name is that?

Then it struck her. Though she'd never seen the place herself, Kaie was aware of a village about a mile or so from the docks. For the most part, all she knew of it was that the Myrians occupying it had a strange soft spot for the Deyhan. To Kaie, the trait was a bit unbecoming. Was this child originating from the very same one? Did he cart himself to and from the room Deyhans stayed, offering them coconut milk and sauteed entrees? "Myrians" and hospitality were rarely used in the same sentence. There was good reason behind that. Why was it they defied that notion and seemed to sympathetic? They did not choose the way of the Goddess Queen. They were not worthy to step on the soil of Myri's domain.

"I know what the village is. Don't you have a clan name? Or does everyone that lives in the Village of the Shining Scales call themselves that?" She asked curiously, lowering her spear when she decided the child was no longer a direct threat. He could sit there and silently brood upon the reality of things, but that was hardly a reason to point a weapon at him.

Kaie nudged the deer with the end of her weapon. As she expected, it was dead as a stone. Her eyes wandered its limp body, forgetting the splattering of blood and gore from two different spears. Instead she was assessing it as a whole. The weight. The worth. The Myrian girl pursed her lips at the animal before finally turning to Moru again. This time, she replaced her harmless teasing with an offer.

"Okay. Since technically you helped me take the thing down, I'll make you a deal. We divide the beast evenly. If you want, I'll even help you skin the thing to sell the pelt."

[Moru]

The moment he saw Kaie's reaction Moru knew an explanation would be needed. It might be difficult to explain why he wouldn't tell his father's clan name without telling too much. On the other hand Moru was taught it was a sign of showing respect to a person if you didn't lie to that person.
Kaie was a girl that would become a woman and the boy was at an age he still thought it was unfair the way they ruled over men. She took down his prey too but the boy already came to the conclusion this wasn't as bad. Only his subconsciousness needed to be reminded of it again. He wouldn't lie to her unless it was a matter of life and death.

Then the inevitable question came as she asked him if he had no clan name or if everybody in his village used that sort of name. His shoulders sacked a bit and hurt the proud look he tried to give to her.
No, the Myrian's born in the village are mostly of the Leaping Fish Clan. I'm not sure why father doesn't use his clan name but I think it's because of the shame that he was caught and sold as a slave years ago. Since we settled down in the village he never used his clan name. I can not tell it to you knowing he wouldn't want me to. I was born close to Kenash and my mother was a slave too. We never learned her clan name before she was sold away. ... In a way I think that makes me clanless until he does. the boy answered truthfully and still looking into Kaie's eyes. He hesitated for a second before he told her he was probably clanless until his father took the proper step to introduce him into their clan and he was accepted. It was something he wasn't proud about but she was to sharp in the mind not to come to the same conclusion. And there was the lack of any tattoos on his skin. Somehow it became easier every time he told somebody.
That she lowered her spear before his answer help a bit too. Moru rarely was really frightened or he wouldn't be so far from home but he had a healthy sense of respect about things that easily threatened a young boy his age. A girl twice his age and by her look a huntress surely belonged into that category of possible threats. He had no fear of bantering with her but as long as the spear was in a threatening position he had been prepared for a sudden attack.

Moru watched Kaie as she assessed the deer and sensed she was thinking about something. Her sudden offer totally surprised him though. "Why?" he asked as his chin dropped open in surprise.

Realizing this was not the proper way to answer to such a generous offer he quickly closed his mouth again. He was unsure about her reasons but if she really thought he earned a part of it after practically already giving the deer away to her it was an honor for a boy his age.
"Sorry, you surprised me there. It's a generous offer and I thank you Kaie, especially for the pelt and your help skinning it. But taking more than a haunch would slow me down on the way back and lure predators on my trail. Before the rest goes to waste you should keep it. And it seems only fair to me that you keep most af the meat for offering me the pelt." the boy answered base on the thoughts he already had about the deer not going to waste.
Moru figured that Kaie had to know what it would mean for a boy his age to return from a hunt with such a price as the pelt after already being thought lost or even dead. Yes he surely had to expect a serious punishment from his father but after it the man would be very proud of Moru. It wouldn't really matter to his father that he didn't kill it alone after that hunt and hurting enough that he would have caught it.

Moru now smiled happily as he walked towards Kaie and the deer to accept her offer in the proper way.
"Do you live close to here?" he asked her after that was taken care of. After all she already knew where he was from and with the unexpected friendly offer from her that removed the strain between them the boy's childish side began to turn out a bit more.

[Kaie]

A Myrian born a slave?

Kaie's expression turned dark at such a blasphemous tale, eyes darkening and lips pursing in disdain. The very thought of one of her own people, hands bound and serving a Deyhan master, literally made her sick to her stomach. She felt as though her blood was slowly beginning to bowl. Two Myrians enslaved had given birth to another Child of Myri bound in chains. The treacherous acts of the barbarians had left this child clanless and stripped of pride. How could such a thing happen? She would remember the place Moru called Kenash...

Kaie let her angry thoughts simmer at the back of her mind when the child answered her question. There was work to be done and proper divisions to be made. He did have a point about the weight of the cut. There was no way a kid of his size could carry much back without a big game bag. Didn't he ever have a plan when he first began to pursue the deer? Was he simply going to take what he could carry and waste the rest?

"Don't worry about it. We should probably get to work before its scent begins to draw anything to us. I hope you're better at skinning than I am," Kaie began nonchalantly, drawing her own dagger from her hip. Without further ado she then crouched low to the dead animal. She fiddled with the dagger in her fingers thoughtfully before looking back up at the boy. "We'll skin it first. Then he can divide it here and here," Kaie continued, eyes straying from the boy back to the deer as she analyzed it once more. As she spoke, she stroked its fur with the edge of her dagger, making slashes in the air just above its hind quarters.

She was silent then, hesitating to begin the work herself. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally butcher the shyke out of the thing, leaving it valueless for the boy. Thankfully before she got to doing the deed, a question was shot her way. The obviousness of its answer brought a stray smile to her face.

"No. I do not live here. Our clan lands are just off the shoulder of the Kandutka Basin. You know, so we can ward off possible Dhani advances," She explained, rolling her eyes playfully at her last statement, dismissing it as something far fetched. Biased as usual. In her eyes, nothing could ever rival the power of the Myrian military. They had obliterated plenty of races, tribes, and settlements in their wake. If it wasn't for Caiyha's treaty, they probably would've been the lone race ruling the jungles. With all these humans visiting places like the Village of the Shining Scales, it would only be a matter of time before someone tested their strength again. Kaie was certain she'd be there to held ward them off as an official soldier of Taloba.

"I don't suppose you've skinned a deer before have you?"

[Moru]

The actual plan had been to stay close to his village but finding this price Moru got carried away. During the hunt he was just too busy to think about it. It would have been terrible for the boy to know he wasted the deers life and now he was thankful Kaie was here and even willing to share with him.

Moru gave the girl a curious look as she said she hope he was better at skinning. He thought she was a hunter but maybe he was wrong. She even began to divide it before they made the first cut.
"I never did it on my own with such a big animal but I always helped my father because he said it was important I learned as soon as possible. First we need to gut the deer though or the innards will spoil it for eating." the young boy told her. He tried to hide it but a bit of his irritation might have been visible.

Reaching for the outside of his left lower leg Moru planned to draw his stone knife. Experimenting with wearing it on his loincloth he came to the conclusion it was more practical on his leg. There was a thin twiner that secured the stone knife to it's simple sheath. That way it couldn't fall out on it's own but it took only one sharp tug for the twiner to rip and free the knife.
Moru was proud of this solution because he nearly lost his knife a few times before he came up with this. His childish side showed as he made sure Kaie could see it as he pulled the knife without making too much fuss about it.

After feeling the deer's belly for the right place he set his stone knife to the place and began to saw through the fur and skin. Moru knew how to handle this primitive knife that was not unusual for children of his age. He knew it's advantages and disadvantages but making a fresh cut through fur and skin surely was one of it's biggest disadvantages. It was surprisingly sharp at some places but it had no real pointy end to pierce through the skin. Instead Moru had to saw through the skin. After he was through it would go much faster because with a big enough opening he could use the sharp edges to cut.

Moru stopped his work to look surprised to Kaie as she told him she lived at the Kanduktan Basin. "Then I'm not the only one so far out here on his own I guess. Have you really killed any Dhani? Are they really as dangerous as they tell?" he asked excited.

Then Kaie asked him if he already sinned a deer. He began to move his head that he had but then he shrugged his shoulder. "Well, not on my own. But I helped with it before. We'll get it done." the boy answered with a bit of childish overconfidence. He knew the main things but wasn't sure if he got it all into the right order. But the innards had to go first that he knew for sure. He usually shared their prey's heart with his father soon after the kill.
Finally he got through the skin with his stone knife. He would have been faster with her knife but wanted to show her he could do it this way too. Now that he had a cut into the deer's belly he cut it open along the middle line of it's belly. Now it went a lot faster with the sharp edge pulled down over the stretched out edge of the skin. Soon he had his hands and lower arms bloody but already dirty he didn't care a bit. You just got bloody with this sort of work.

[Kaie]

Of course she never really expected the kid would be a disemboweling prodigy, much less skinning. If one thing was for sure, Kaie had definitely caught the annoyance in his tone. Coming from a younger child, and a male at that, Kaie's temper began to flare. This time around she restrained herself and kept everything at a minimum. For now.

"I know you have to gut it first. I'd hate to make a mess of it," She shot back, glaring down at the kill again. Kaie did not protest to his work with the stone knife though. For once she sat back and watched, feeling content by her own idleness. But that would not last. Luckily the boy asked more questions to keep her busy. "No, it's hard to just kill one by yourself. Annoying, I know. So I guess that answered your last question, too. Goddess I hate them. Sometimes one slithers out of that wretched cave and a fang tracks them down," She explained, the disdain for the creatures saturating her words like poison.

Moru was doing a pretty decent job with the while skinning thing. Like a proper Myrian, he hardly cringed at the sight or touch of the animal's blood. No doubt he'd fall into line with his brethren, past aside. From the looks of it he'd be a great hunter one day. A good kid. But something told Kaie cutting was the easier part. Removing the innards without spoiling the whole thing would prove more difficult. Would he know how to accomplish that?

"You know a lot for a kid who wasn't even born in the jungle. How come?"