Hunt on Horseback

[Colt]

Though her mind seemed to have wandered, she returned to the present when he asked for assistance. He nodded in gratitude as she set about to tying up the hind legs.

Her next words were spoken softly, and so they did not startle Shahar as they had the first time. He paused in his work to signify that he was listening, but it was only a few sentences before she trailed off.

Don’t reply, she ended with.

Looking up curiously, Shahar blinked and tilted his head. She wanted to learn? From him? No one had ever asked after his knowledge before, aside from the occasional merchant or fellow hunter asking where he had found this animal or that one. But what she was asking immediately sent his mind to the hunting pairs he saw at Hunter’s Allegiance, of an experienced teacher paired with a student. Apprenticeships, they were called, partnerships of instruction and knowledge. Was that what she was asking?

Don’t reply, she had said. And so, despite the questions burning inside of him, Shahar did not press the matter farther.

With all four legs secured to javelins, moving the oryx around would be much easier. It was only a matter of getting it onto a horse. Akaidras was a large stallion, pushing sixteen hands, so Shahar assumed him to be the most logical choice, unless his companion put up an argument for her own horse. Either way, the rider of the horse carrying the horse would do best to walk instead.

Pick up, he gestured at the hind legs, taking hold of the front ones. Onto horse, walk back, skin split share at home.

[Merevaika]

He was curious about her proposal, and it filled her with relief. Perhaps asking that wasn't too strange, perhaps he might have accepted. "Later," she gestured, "Speak later." That would give Merevaika time to expand and develop her request, think it through, and let her companion do the same.

Besides, they still had to do something with the oryx.

He gestured for her to pick up the hind legs, the javelin now firmly secure. She did so with obedience, looking from his horse to hers. Eryunt was a similar size to his, and appeared a similar strength too. But she had no objection with letting the other hunter's horse carry the oryx.

She helped load the oryx onto the horse, but left the rider to secure it properly in fear of doing it different to how he wanted. Merevaika turned the Eryunt, but did not mount him.

Instead she waited for the man to finish, watching him. There wouldn't be much she could do for him. She had little skills - he had to have more. Maybe just the idea of someone to help him would enough. Having an apprentice of sorts might appeal. She didn't know.

Without seeing him complete the task, she swung herself onto the horse, collecting her possessions. The huntress slowly walked Eryunt forward, position much more relaxed than before.

She open her mouth to say a word, hands on the verge of a sign, but she stopped. He knew what to do, much more than her. Merevaika halted the horse, waiting for the man to catch up. To the city.

[Colt]

Later, she said. Talk later. And that was where the conversation ended.

Setting to their new task, Shahar and the woman hoisted the oryx from the ground and carried it to Akaidras, who eyed the creature dubiously. Still, the strider was relatively cooperative with the load; it wasn’t staggeringly heavy, but it was still a bit more than he was used to; stamping his feet and bobbing his head, Akaidras gave his rider a glare that conveyed his irritation––loadbearing was supposed to be the task of Semes.

Patting his horse reassuringly, the clanless hunter moved to secure the oryx properly; the two support javelins were removed and the feet were tied together under Akaidras’ belly, and the remaining rope was used to secure the animal’s stomach to the handle of the yvas.

Through his work, Shahar could feel the eyes of the woman on his back. It made his skin twitch, and he kept glancing back at her warily; why was she looking at him? What did she want?

In the end, it hardly mattered; she returned to her own horse and angled back towards the city.

Shahar turned to follow, although he remained on the ground; the weight was already more than Akaidras liked, nevermind that there wasn’t really anywhere he could sit now that the oryx took up the entire yvas––he would be walking.

As he fell into step beside his horse, Shahar remained silent. Although he would respond if spoken to, he offered no conversation of his own; if the woman wanted to speak, she would have to initiate. Otherwise, he would willingly walk the entire way in silence.

[Merevaika]

The Strider stomped its feet as the oryx was secured on its back. The javelin was removed and the legs together together under the horse. He adjusted the load on the yvas, the horse bobbing his head in a little irritation. The man glanced back at Merevaika with a sign of wariness. She moved her gaze, feeling uncomfortable for some unknown reason.

They fell into step and made their way towards the city in silence. The man made no effort to speak, and for the next few moments the only sound was the thump of steps and the slight whistle of wind. The rider avoided his eyes, staring of to one side at the ground a little ahead. The awkwardness bothered her, so she decided to expand on what she had later said.

"An apprenticeship. That's what I meant. I think," she started, letting the words come out as she could, "We could hunt together, and you could teach me. We could go after more that way. It would be easier for you, and I could learn."

She paused considering what she asked, "I will not be offended if you say no. I understand that I have little to pay you, money nor skills. I just know to ride and what little I know about hunting."

Merevaika stopped speaking suddenly, reverting to the initial silence. She preferred it that way, now that she thought about it.

[Colt]

They settled into their walk, pace steady and slow so the one on his own feet could keep up. It began in silence, as many things often did, and that silence stretched––although not for a great while, for soon enough the woman was piercing it, speaking back to her almost-question that she had asked him not to reply to.

"An apprenticeship,” she said. “That's what I meant. I think. We could hunt together, and you could teach me. We could go after more that way. It would be easier for you, and I could learn."

So an apprenticeship was what she had meant, after all.

The woman’s words seemed unsure, as evidenced by her next statement.

"I will not be offended if you say no.” She almost seemed to be backtracking. “I understand that I have little to pay you, money nor skills. I just know to ride and what little I know about hunting."

She was hesitant in her request, almost as if she feared him to be insulted by it. Shahar’s shoulders settled into thought, although he did not immediately respond; he had heard what she had said, and he needed time to formulate an opinion on it.

An apprenticeship, as he understood it, was a method of learning, not a means towards hunting more or stronger game. She had expressed her own desire as that to expand her skills, and the hunting benefits had been added for his own benefit. But Shahar needed no benefits; there was little in the world he desired beyond what he already had. Money and status did little to sway him, although he knew from observation that they swayed others quite often.

But her request was earnest, perhaps more so in its uncertainty. She wanted to learn, that much was certain, but beyond that she had volunteered little information.

“You ask to learn,” he said without looking at her, open curiosity on his body. “What do you seek to learn from me?”

[Merevaika]

The man walked beside her thinking about her request. Good things? Bad things? Perhaps he thought of what was to be if he accepted the offer. Of payment perhaps. Or of the lessons he could teach.

His body showing signs of curiousity, she let out a sigh of relief. Not a denial, not yet. There was still time, but curiosity meant interest in what she had asked. Interest meant possible acceptance. She only wished that this was true and that the possible turned to an even higher chance.

"You ask to learn. What do you seek to learn from me?” The man did not look at her, but didn't hide the curiousity, showing it to the world. Merevaika furrowed her brow, asking herself the very same question. What did she wish to learn? What did she want from this man?

"I wish to learn what you teach," she began, voice soft, "What you know, what you were taught." That wasn't her answer, not really. That was what he already knew. What he wanted was something Merevaika still hadn't decided yet. She thought back to when he had examined the dead oryx, reading its life from its body. The way he tracked, the way he hunted.

"Teach me to hunt, to read the tracks like you did. The way you examined the oryx - teach me." It came out too much like an order, but Merevaika left the words to hang like that. There was no urge to expand or strengthen what she had said. It was enough.

There was one more thing she wished to learn. But he wouldn't teach her that. No one would. Merevaika thought so at least. Webbing. The magic, it seemed so beautiful and enchanting. She didn't dare ask and let her longing fade away with the wind.

Merevaika met his eyes, a look of expectance in her own. "Answer?" she signed, waiting impatiently although trying to hide it.

[Colt]

"I wish to learn what you teach," she replied quietly, although that didn’t particularly narrow it down. "What you know, what you were taught."

What he was taught. That was something Shahar had more trouble defining. He had not been taught, at least in the way she was implying; his teachers had been the grass and animals. He had learned how to track from the tracks themselves, through observation, investigation and mimicry. If she was asking what he could teach her… could he teach her to learn like he had?

"Teach me to hunt, to read the tracks like you did. The way you examined the oryx - teach me."

Unbidden, amusement found its way onto Shahar’s body. To ‘read’ the oryx, he had ‘learned’ from it. ‘Apprenticed’ himself to it, as she asked to apprentice herself to him. He was the oryx she wished to read, and she was the curious hunter---a dynamic reversed to irony, but nonetheless genuine in action.

“You ask for what you do not know,” Shahar replied, although his posture remained good-natured. “But if you seek, I can teach.”

He could apprentice her. To the wind, to the animals, to the Sea of Grass itself, even if she did not realize it. She had not asked a typical Drykas for knowledge, and so she would not receive a typical mentor. But he would teach her as he had been taught.

Almost home, he signed. He had been keeping an eye on their tracks away from the city, and he knew it to be close; another minute or so of travel, and they would see the tents on the horizon.

[Merevaika]

Amusement found its way onto his body, but Merevaika didn't know why. Did he find the idea funny? Maybe she had said something that reminded him of an inside joke. Maybe he just found the interest entertaining. Whatever he meant, his posture was a good-natured one, Merevaika realising the truth behind his words.

“You ask for what you do not know, but if you seek, I can teach,” he replied earnestly, although she was a little confused in what he meant. What was it that she didn't know? He confused her in his words, but made no effort to clarify their meaning. Instead, he noted that it wasn't far to go, glancing in the direction of the currently hidden Endrykas.

Merevaika made a sign of agreement, watching as the tents came into view. They were still so far away. She was surprised at how far the two had travelled, but she always was. When she rode, distance no longer became a factor, and she could cross the Sea of Grass before realising how far she had gone.

The rider sped up her horse, although allowing for the man to keep up. The sooner they arrived back, the better, but the man was only walking, much slower than the two horses.

"Thank you, thank you for saying you will teach me," she said, adding an extra sign of thanks. She smiled as she rode, glad for the opportunity to improve, and to learn.

[Colt]

She was quiet in the wake of his words, giving only a signed agreement as the tents came nearer. Shahar’s mind briefly dipped into more immediate matters; she had said that all she wanted was enough to feed herself. How much was that? Would she want a haunch, a rack of ribs, a forequarter? Shahar was not the most skilled of butchers, but he had a vague awareness of the different parts of bushmeat. He wanted at least some of the meat, and the hide and horns as well, and didn’t know what portion the huntress would be interested in. She had made it clear that she was living alone and needed to feed only herself and her dog.

The huntress increased pace as they reached the edge of the tents, causing both Shahar and Akaidras to watch her curiously.

You home where? Shahar asked. It would be far easier to butcher what she needed at her own camp, then bring the remainder to his. You home, meat divide. You, how much? You and dog need.

He did his best to walk just a bit faster, and Akaidras did the same, although neither broke into anything distinctly above a walk. That could be done once the huntress had taken her share and lightened their load.

[Merevaika]

They reached the edge of the city, and Shahar and his horse quickened their pace slightly, perhaps wanting to arrive home quicker, perhaps wanting to make it easier to walk beside Merevaika. Shahar asked where her home was, and how much of the oryx she needed. So they would go to her tent not his. It disappointed Merevaika a little, who wanted to see her companion's camp not her own. But there was no point arguing.

Merevaika turned her horse between a narrow row of tents, stopping at the one at the far end. She dismounted Eryunt, making space for the other hunter and the oryx. She didn't know how he would do it, but she assumed he would need plenty of space.

But how much meat did she want? Merevaika didn't know. How much would be a fair but decent amount to take? She didn't want to appear greedy, but she didn't want to not get a fair share either.

Merevaika decided to go for the one word that she knew about butchering. "The haunch. Would that be a decent amount?" she asked, hoping that the word that she remembered from when she was trying to buy some meat was applicable in the situation. And that it was enough.