Completed No Time for Daydreams

[Khara]

22nd Day of Summer, 514
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Syna's morning rays had only begun to banish shadows that clung to the peaks of Wind Reach, though already a hinting of the day's warmth could be felt. Summer had never been Khara's favorite time of the year, Still, she smirked to herself, At least it's fresh air. The inner warrens always felt stifling somehow in the warmer seasons and while there was no denying the security they could grant, some days you just needed to feel the breeze off of Thunder Bay.

The young Chiet took a moment to appreciate the view of the valley below, the waters of the bay shimmering in the early light. One might have been tricked into thinking the scene calm, but Khara knew better. Beneath the covering of the trees roamed valuable game, using the relief of the last remnants of the night's chill to scrounge for food before the day's heat became intolerable. Rumors of a bull moose being spotted in the pass by those bringing goods from the Bay back to Mount Skyinarta had drawn some attention, but just as quickly the sightings been dismissed when accounts from supposed observers proved vague and at best inconsistent. Nothing worth actual follow up by anyone of the upper castes, at least.

Khara drew a hand through her copper colored hair, frowning as responsibility came back into the forefront of her thoughts. Yesterday had brought some initial investigation into the claims, and while no clear tracks had been found in the pine-needle carpeted ground, there had been enough damage to trees just off the path that gave cause to believe that maybe there was some truth to the stories, rather than just delusions brought on by heat exhaustion.

A quick mental checklist was run through of the equipment she had brought for the day, reassuring herself that most importantly Yes, sparrow-brain, you did remember to refill your waterskin.

One last look was given to the cool waters of the bay below, sparing a secondary moment to cast a rueful glance at the relative safety of the path that would eventually lead one down to the settlement beyond. Let's just hope this isn't all for nothing, right? Khara allowed herself a quiet laugh in the relative stillness of the morning before heading into the woods beyond.
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[Khara]

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While it felt like she must have been slowly making her way through the woods for the better part of the day, a quick glance skyward told that at most a bell or two had passed since Khara had left the well worn path behind. Progress was slow; a branch stripped of some pine needles here, some smaller shrubbery clearly having been pushed through recently with telltale broken limbs and partially mangled leaves there.

She'd stumbled upon a raccoon at one point, startling the animal almost as much as herself, a fact that she no doubt would chastise herself about later, once this ordeal was over with. For a split moment as the banded creature scurried up the nearest tree she had been tempted to draw her shortbow, her hand even going so far as to reach behind her to where it was slung across her back. It wouldn't have been a hard shot, Khara was even mostly certain it would fall back to the earth rather than forcing her to climb up after the kill and her arrow but as the raccoon made it's way around out of her sight she stopped herself short. That's not why you're out here. You're not a hunter. She reminded herself. At least... not yet. The quieter inner voice that spoke of a more negative future tried to push it's opinion through but was ignored. Mostly.

As Khara pushed the incident with the smaller animal from thought she redoubled her efforts on seeking the maybe-moose. Scouts for a larger animal were easier with others, more eyes meant more ground was covered in a shorter range of time. It meant the Avora could be more focused on actually bringing in the kills and less on wondering if they were heading in the proper direction. It also meant less chance of stumbling across things far more displeased at your presence than some ill-tempered raccoon. Sadly this task had been given to her alone, but whether that was someone's idea of a bad joke or an actual chance to prove herself was anyone's guess.

Amber eyes scanned her surroundings as light footsteps were taken, still taking care to remain as quiet as possible despite the lack of any obvious signs of the larger, possibly fictitious, quarry. If nothing else, should she be forced to return to Skyinarta without a sighting, at least Khara wanted to make sure some other novice wouldn't blunder into the woods the day after and find themselves face to face with the animal.

As her attention pulled back towards the path to Thunder Bay, where most of the sightings had been reported, something registered in the very corner of her vision. An angel oak tree, not a rare sight even amidst the pines, but a section of it looked wrong. As Khara approached it became clear exactly what had seemed so out of place. A branch was broken and where deep green leaves should have been, the limb had been stripped bare. Fingertips reached out dragged against the tacky surface of sap not fully dried. The damage wasn't entirely recent, but it was promising.

A downward glance was given to her hand as Khara rubbed her fingers together in small circles in an attempt to rid herself of the lingering sap - and then - there! A patch of sunlight and nothingness where one would expect to find delicate new growth struggling to make purchase before the summer's end. The pattern repeated a short distance away. It was hard to push the excitement down that suddenly wanted to spring forth and send her imagination and hopes soaring but a slow deep breath was taken as the young woman reigned herself back in. This wasn't proof of a moose, after all. But at least it gave a direction!
☀

[Khara]

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Morning dragged on, easing lazily towards afternoon to the accompaniment of nature's full awareness to the day. The various bird songs that took hold over the mountains were comforting in their own ways. While Khara knew they were calling to one another, she couldn't help but feel perhaps some of their trills were a form of encouragement as they watched the red haired woman study a set of tracks that had been partially obscured by the forest floor. The tracks were certainly made by a larger split hooved animal, but her mind couldn't quite make itself up on whether that creature was an elk or perhaps a younger moose. It certainly didn't seem to fit with the rumors of the large bull that she had heard, but the size and magnificence of an animal always seemed to get bigger with each telling of a story. Either way, she was headed in the right direction and the tracks had proven to be relatively fresh, perhaps only a few bells old. A good lead, even if perhaps not entirely what she was expecting.

Khara slowly rose from where she had been crouched low to the ground, pulling her waterskin from where it hung at her side. While taking a slow drink she critically eyed the crude strap that ran across her torso from shoulder to hip. It would need to be replaced in another season or two if she was lucky and it held out that long, the current one had taken to fraying slightly and it tended to bite into her shoulder when the skin was completely full. Not that that would be a particular problem for the day. Letting the container fall back to where it normally rested she wiped the back of her hand across her brow, frowning slightly.

The birds weren't the only things to be making their presence known, a symphony of insects kept up their constant pitch that only grew louder the deeper into the forest she went. She'd always meant to ask Leeda or one of the others that worked in the Infirmary if they knew of any herbs that would work as an insect repellant, but time never seemed to be on her side and other matters always seemed to come up that prevented her from doing so. The young Chiet had paid for that oversight before, returning with more insect bites than she thought she could bare the itching of after a long day's work, today probably wouldn't be any different. Khara's mind wasn't on a future night of unrest due to something so trivial, she quite literally had larger things to worry about and a few bug bites would be well worth having a solid lead on her mystery animal.
☀

[Khara]

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This could be it, you know. The thought came uninvited sounding foolish before it was even finished. You track this thing on your own, it shows you're ready for a step up. Maybe you could even petition to accompany them on a hunt. You know, rabbits or something. You're not incompetent at setting snares, after all.

Guilty thoughts, guilty pleasures and high hopes. There were so many Yasi coming of age that would present better options for apprentices than a Chiet ever did, but still she refused to give up hope. If she had lost sight of the markers indicating the large deer has passed through this way maybe she wouldn't have been so optimistic, but the prints had become more clear and the path to success could only lead to dreams for the future.

Khara paused at an area where the forest floor was more disturbed, lowering herself to one knee to allow for better stability as she reached out and once more pushed aside the mass of decaying bark, pine needles and other natural debris to get a better look at the imprints in the soft soil below. What she saw made her heart suddenly turn to ice and without hesitation pulled her bow into her hand, her other quickly drawing an arrow from the worn quiver and readying it. Zynx tracks overlapped those of the hooved creature. There was no telling if the feline was on the same trail she was, but Khara suddenly found herself aware of any slight movement in the forest, every sound causing her head to snap in the direction it came from.

There was no proof that the large cat wasn't just passing through, perhaps heading to lower altitude to seek easy prey among the animals that took advantage of Thunder Bay's accessibility. Attacks on Inarta were rare, but out here, alone , well... It made it difficult to appreciate the fact that the Spring and Summer made other life plentiful enough that she would present a target that was probably more trouble than worthwhile.

Still, even as she forced herself to begin taking regular breaths than the short shallow ones that had accompanied the sudden thudding of her heart, Khara could feel a harebrained stubbornness take hold. She had more than enough information to report back with, to set a small team of hunters on the right path that would certainly lead them to a successful kill. But it wasn't enough - she wanted to make sure she saw the thing with her own eyes while it still lived. Words and rumors were what had brought her out here, she wasn't about to return with little more than the same.

The young woman rose slowly, hands ready to nock an arrow even though her mind told her that if the zynx decided to attack she would probably be too slow to properly defend herself. Still, better to at least attempt to be prepared. Quiet prayers were spoken though she truly didn't know if they were a waste or not. First was to Syna quickly followed by Caiyha, for truly if anyone was watching her in the forests on such a day it would be them.
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[Khara]

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The air felt heavy, almost difficult to draw in and it felt like it somehow stuck to the inside of her lungs. A broth made from heat as midday presented itself, thickened with humidity from the bay and the last remnants of dew left trapped under the canopy of trees. It left Khara wondering if perhaps spending time inside the warrens wouldn't have been so bad after all. At least there wasn't the risk of getting mauled by some cat who decided you were interrupting their dinner plans.

Not that Khara was complaining.

Not that anyone would have heard her even if she was.

An uncomfortable swallow told that her mouth had gone dry, but to let down her guard even for a drink of water seemed unthinkable. Just find the petching moose, already.

Khara forced another breath into her lungs, drawing it in slowly and silently before she once more stalked forward, following the increasingly visible tracks left by the large animal. A tight cluster of bushes with brilliant red berries and equally visible thorns suddenly cut the tracks from view. Here too were the signs she wanted to see, thankfully. In an area that looked heavily disturbed it seemed all the plants' fruit had been stripped away, taking leaves with it. The young Inarta found herself biting her lower lip in anticipation of the inevitable as she carefully began to push her way through. It didn't matter how slowly she went, how gently she nudged limbs just to give herself enough clearing to move, still the thorns snagged at her clothing and skin alike.

Not poisonous, she internally reminded herself. It'll be worth it. Hopefully. Most likely. Maybe. Better be. The baths were going to feel nothing short of amazing later, that was for certain.

A soft tussle of her hair shooed off the buzzing of in insect in her ear, but as Khara grew still once more she suddenly found that it seemed the entire world stopped. Where she remained concealed just at the edge of the bushes gave her a clear view of a bit of a clearing ahead. And standing directly in her line of sight was the fabled creature. It wasn't the first moose the girl had ever seen, but there was no denying it was still an impressive sight.

True, the bull moose wasn't nearly as large as everyone seemed to make out, but any krric troo knew that the males lost a good portion of their weight in the spring during mating season. Though judging by the fact the animal was practically gorging itself on any nearby plant life, Khara guessed either this one had either struck out miserably or felt that he had done enough to warrant an early start on the Fall bulk up. Maybe there was something else to it... a hint at an early or overly harsh winter? Another question to ask of those with more experience, another item to be concerned with later.

There was no sense of victory, however. She couldn't just turn and head back home. Khara knew she'd have to at least observe for clues on where the animal might be headed next, try to predict its movements. She couldn't shake the feeling that it was what separated the good trackers from the great - more importantly, she knew it weeded out those that would never be allowed to actually participate in a hunt verses those that might be given a second look. Either the gods or just plain luck had proven to be on her side, there was no way she was going to purposely mess this up.
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[Khara]

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Chimes threatened to turn into bells as she watched and followed, moving only when the moose threatened to leave her eyesight as it lazily moved onward in the Summer heat. Khara found herself both thankful and cursing the lack of breeze, it meant her scent wouldn't be caught by the creature, but it also meant there was no relief from Summer's onslaught. The bush that had been her cover was long behind her but the scratches left by the thorns were becoming annoying. She silently vowed to find away around them tomorrow when she would be returning with a hunter. The extended daylight of the season gave no threat to darkness sneaking upon her but she knew she was now a few bells walk away from Skyinarta and the thought of spending a night under the stars was somehow unnerving.

It was for these reasons, and the fact the girl was getting a bit hungry that Khara felt satisfied she could find the creature again, especially when it came across a small stream that no doubt fed into the bay below and began following it. The moose wouldn't stray too far from the source of fresh water... at least, she hoped it wouldn't. Either way, come the next day she wouldn't be the only pair of eyes searching.

Until tomorrow, then. With a grin forming on her lips she turned away from the moose, casting it one last glance over her shoulder as she slipped into the woods, quickening to a slight jog once she felt she was safely enough away to not cause enough noise to give the animal reason to change it's present course.

It felt good to stretch her muscles after being cramped a bit while crouched when following the creature. As Khara neared where she had spotted the zynx tracks she slowed, taking care to make her movements more stealthy. It wasn't entirely a mindful decision as she had begun nearing the point where the run was going to leave her feeling winded, but she did remember the need for caution fairly quickly after she had slowed her pace. Another bit of luck she hoped would hold out until the hunt tomorrow was over with.

The trip back to the pass was far quicker than the rest of the day's travels had been, though she still kept enough wits to make sure to take note of any significant markers that would help keep her on the right trail tomorrow. The sight of other Inarta making their way back to Skyinarta from Thunder Bay was a welcome sight and she felt relief as she joined them. Despite lingering annoyances of bug bites and scratches she felt good. Tonight she could sleep soundly knowing she had done her job well, even on an assignment where she was expected to fail. Tomorrow... well, tomorrow would bring a new set of challenges and hopefully a fitting reward.
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[Alaia]

Khara

Khara :

Observation	+4 XP
Tracking	+4 XP
Investigation	+2 XP
Stealth	+2 XP

Lores

• Tracking: Moose Tracks
• Tracking: Zynx Tracks
• Tracking: Moving aside debris to find tracks underneath
  

Additional comments


Lovely solo Khara, I really enjoyed reading it. One note, just be careful on knowing things that aren't cut and dry when you don’t have lores for them yet. (i.e. would be the aging of the broken branch to see how recent an animal passed by) Please update your post in the grade request thread to show this thread as completed.

I will do my best to give you what grades you have earned! However, if there is something you feel I missed or anything you have questions on please don't hesitate to PM me and we can talk.