by Kayiri on September 27th, 2010, 3:19 am
Kayiri's eyes watched his every movement, absorbing the knowledge he radiated like a sponge. Every word that left his lips, every accentuation in his words was absorbed by the hungry Drykas. After every demonstration of the sign, he practiced it once or twice, finding memorizing them somewhat annoyingly difficult. Not to mention, the third one was a bit of a pain.
After Yuri left to go about his business, he ran through the commands one more time, speaking quietly as he did so.
"Arm out, fingers open, palm down," he declared, thrusting his left arm, his non-dominant hand, open as he said so. "Hap to!" he then shouted, as if he was trying to command the air and the life around him. Second sign. He focused his eyes on a nondescript blade of grass before him. "Two thumps," his right arm came across his chest, the fist thumping proudly on his broad shoulder. "Point out, two fingers," The arm did just that, pointing forth and at the imaginary target. He would have barked an order, but this side had none to bark.
One more. He held an arm out in front of him, bent across his chest. Then, just as Kayiri had been shown minutes before, it moved into an upwards position. Then, with a quick and strong movement, he brought it back across his chest, his hand shooting open, the palm rotating to face his breast.
"Shee-Hah!" it echoed a bit, but it was lost in the commands of the other hunters. Satisfied, he turned, proceeding back to the pens.
Kayiri spoke briefly in Pavi to one of the men near the pens, his questions mostly regarding to the breeds of the different dogs and their different strengths. Through the entire thing, his eyes were drawn to an Akinva Deerstalker. It was a beautiful creature, pure white fur adorning its body. The perfect dog for a Drykas warrior and hunter of the Diamond Clan. The moment the man was done explaining, he returned to the pen with the Deerstalkers, squatting to get on eye level with the white-furred dog.
He spoke in Pavi. "Hello, white-furred one," Kayiri's voice was low, and though respectful, carried an authoritative tone. The dog approached the edge of the pen, sticking its snout between the slats, sniffing Kayiri's outstretched hand. Its eyes met his. He felt a feeling of euphoria shoot through him, though he wasn't sure if his mind had constructed the feeling, or if the dog had. It was reminiscent of when Serenity, his Strider, had chosen him as her rider. That was a feeling he had thought nothing could match, until now.
Now he wasn't so certain. He opened the pen door, walking back a bit. His arm went forth, his palm down and fingers out. "Hap-to," he declared. The dog obeyed the order, coming from the pen and sitting obediently next to Kayiri.
With a sense of pride, he closed the pen door, and set off with his new companion, settling in the grass not far from the Pavilion and the training field. The unnamed dog settled next to him, it's tongue hanging from it's mouth as it panted.
Kayiri ran his hand over its back, scratching it lovingly behind the ears. He had only known the creature for the briefest of moments, but he could already feel an attachment to it.
Finally, he spoke. "I am your master now, dog. I shall grant you a name. You are now Aindreas. Carry your new name with pride and dignity, and together, we shall go a long way," Kayiri's voice rang out with pride and clarity.
"Now, Aindreas, where do I begin with the tales of glories I have already found? I know. Last Winter, I was staying just outside of Endrykas, in a tent with a woman named Hex. One night, a Zith-- a monstrous creature born of Hell itself-- entered our shared tent and stole my bow from under my nose. Hex was also wounded in the fight. We followed the Zith for miles across the expanses of the Sea of Grass. Along the way, a companion named Vanator joined us... Eventually, we tracked the Zith down to the settlement of Xy. Awful, evil little place.
The Zith trapped us inside of a cave, and one strode forth, tossing the bow onto the ground. Then, he proceeded to urinate on it. Right in front of me. I was furious. Unthinking, I charged into the fray, eager to spill blood in the name of honor. I cut down one's chest, straight down the sternum. Then, the chaos began. Two more jumped from the shadows, ambushing me, attacking my flanks. My arm was sliced open by one of the creatures. My companions tried to get them off of me, but they were too focused. A torch landed by my foot, and in a brief moment of sanity, I snatched it up in my bad arm. I then tried to hold out as long as I could for my companions, slashing and stabbing wildly. I claimed one clawed hand, and another was stopped with a torch to the face, knocking teeth loose.
Then, Vanator and Hex joined the fray. Vanator claimed the wings of one foul beast, whilst Hex doused the other in oil and lit him on fire. One scratched me right beneath the eye. I was fortunate it did not blind me," Kayiri finally took a brief pause in this huge narration.
"With the wounded Zith distracted, I was left facing the leader. In our fury, we struck each other. He cut into my side, whilst I hacked him in half. I then reclaimed my bow, and we rode proudly off into the night."
Kayiri told many other stories to the dog, and eventually practiced with the dog. The couple already looked inseparable, and this was only the beginning of a relationship that would advance and presumably blossom.
