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[Aider Silander]

17th, Spring 514 AV.

The night had been rough for the man from Nyka. The dreams that filled his head with terror had not been pleasant for him. He had not had a full nights sleep since he had left Sunberth. Blood running down the streets bodies of faceless men and women stacked on each side. People died all the time, it was something that one just came to terms with at some point. But the idea still haunted his dreams, all those people meant nothing to him. Though he occasionally saw someone that he knew in Nyka or someone from the caravan that took him to Sunberth. Even they didn't mean much to him other then make the dream seem more real.

A sigh escaped the mans lips as sat up in bed. Rubbing the lack of sleep from his eyes. He had a plan for the day, one to hopefully take his mind off of the terrors and onto something simpler. He slipped out of the bed as quickly and quietly as he could, hoping to disturb nether of the two that stayed in the room with him. He dressed himself quickly and pulled the quiver over his arm. Taking his bow in his hand he stepped out through the door and headed to the lounge.

His mind was still locked on the day they arrived. The argument the two had in the bath house and all the harsh truths that Kaie had thrown in his face. "You have to get stronger, to prove to not only her but yourself that you aren't helpless" he said. His voice still thick with the little sleep he got. He coughed to clear it and gripped the bow tightly in his hand. He headed towards the gates. To slip away into the wild lands outside of Zeltiva and practice what little skill he had with the bow.

You weren't there. You never did anything to help anyone. You are just as useless now as you were then. A voice in his head kept repeating. Kaie's words had hurt him more then he would like to admit, but he couldn't deny that there was truth behind all of it. He did nothing to help her other then that one night. It wasn't some falsehood born from stress and lack of sleep. Her words were true and Aider could not shake them out of his head. "I should just leave" he mumbled to himself.

[Kaie]

Their arrival had not been an easy one. Each passing day upon the ship had been filled with misery, of defeat and salvation wrapped into one bittersweet goodbye from Sunberth. The Myrian hardly saw the light in the ordeal. She'd been battered, bruised, and lacerated. Her leaders had been broken. Her comrades had been harmed, and one of her own had fallen to the slaughter. There was nothing sweet about anything the last several days for the woman. There was nothing but darkness, anger, and an infuriating helplessness she couldn't shake. Yet time passed as it was known to do, and they'd reached Zeltiva at last.

Even in the comfort of safety did the savage manage to find more unpleasantness. The vicious exchange between herself and Aider when both her lover and the harlot refused to acknowledge her autonomy, had incited pent-up aggression. The truth had come out sharper than she could've predicted, and though her intentions were never to harm her lover, it would've been an utter lie if she had claimed she'd thrown only lies at him. There was a new distance between them. One she felt even when Akajia reigned and they slept beside one another across from Matthew in opposite bed. Still, when Aider was plagued by the night terrors that became his new affliction, the Myrian did not hesitate to make her presence known and do her best to sooth him with kinder words. The deed did not wipe away the fouls from the days before.

Kaie hardly slept through the night anymore. Even Aider's most subtle movements caught her attention and thrust her back into the waking world. Safe as they were, she had long since adapted to a world filled with peril. On that particular morning, the pattern continued. Despite his quiet efforts, Kaie's mind roused to consciousness when she felt the man leave her side. She heard the lifting of some objects, his steps, and then the subsequent shutting of the door. A bronze hand came up to rub at her face. Another day in paradise, she found herself mocking before she too rolled over. Glancing out the window, she could hardly make out the rise of Syna over the city. Even the Harlot was still fast asleep. The savage shook her head, changed into proper clothes, threw up her cloak hood to hide her racial identity, and headed out. His bow's gone. And with that, the woman set about looking after the man as she too often did. A habit she hadn't shaken.

She quickly slipped from the room, closed and locked the door behind her, and went about looking for the man. No spectacle was made, no overly loud stepping, but an attempt at a silent advance. The Myrian wandered through the Grotto, down the steps, and outside into the world beyond. Still, she couldn't help but wonder where exactly the man planned on loosing his arrows.

[Aider Silander]

Slipping past the gates was easy enough. The guards seemed to not care if he walked right past them and headed out into the wild lands. Rumors from the locals stirred in the taverns and the lodges of the Inn of what lurked in the forest beyond the gates would have been enough to deter the man from his journey before. But now it had not, Aider saw no reason to listen to the rumors and stories that could have been nothing but falsehoods. The man was set in his ways, he knew what he wanted to do and how he was going to do that. "Practice, practice, practice." the words escaped his lips a few times as he walked alone.

His mind wandered back to the room, he had left his Myrian lover laying there and had successfully slipped out undetected, or so he though. His mind sat on her face and the words she spoke to him night after night as he tried to deal with the dreams he had been having. "She probably isn't getting any sleep because of me" he said rolling his shoulders. The sea had not been kind on his body nor his skill with the bow. He knew that he would have to go back through the basics and make sure he remembered everything. "If my father could see me now he would be laughing." he mumbled. His father had spent season after season teaching him how to use the bow and the few moments that he had were learning those basics and having them pounded into his head.

It was a decent length for a trek, a little over a mile and a half. The man had plenty of times to hear his thoughts and talk to himself. He occasionally glanced over his shoulder as he felt like he was being followed. Though each time he saw little of anything to be suspicious of. "It's just habit. You aren't in Sunberth anymore" he told himself as he continued on the trek until he reached the very edge of the forest. There were plenty of trees, both standing and falling that would serve as targets for him. He would have no reason to go deeper into the woods.

He walked along the edge of the forest for a bit before finding a rotting fallen log that would work as his target. He made sure his quiver was secure over his shoulder and pulled his bowstring back to test its resistance. It was doing well since he had just restrung it a few days before. "I need to get a new string, this one is bound to give out on me soon" he said. "Step one, stance" he said, he turned his body to the side and spread out his feet to they were in the same distance as his shoulders. He then rotated his hips until his back was flat. At this point he was looking away from the log, he then rotated his head till his chin was lined up with his right shoulder.

Once he felt that he was in the proper stance he let out a deep breath and then said "Step two, nocking an arrow." He used his thumb to create a rest for the arrow as he pulled one out of his quiver. He grasped it behind the fetching and rested it on the rest. "Three, set" he said going through each step slowly. He slid his thumb forward slightly to point towards the target once he raised his bow. Double checking his feet and that his body was centered he let out another deep breath.

"Draw" he said pulling the arrow back till the head was just an inch or two in front of his finger. He moved his shoulder upwards so that the pull would use his back muscles rather then the muscles in his arm and lined his elbow to be parallel with the shaft of the arrow. "Aim and release" He pointed the head of the arrow towards the center of the log. He closed one eye so that his other was looking straight down the shaft. After a few ticks he released and let the arrow soar through the air with a slight whistle until it struck the target a few inches above where he was aiming. "Sloppy" he mumbled to himself.

[Kaie]

The game was back on. Cat and mouse, spider and fly. She didn't realize it just then, but old habits had returned. The Myrian didn't try to catch up with the man. She didn't dart forward to match his steps. Instead she found herself getting lost in the crowd among the others cloaked. Her wild eyes never strayed from her target, and her quiet steps took on a leisurely tone. If he paused to find his bearings, so did she, slipping to casually post up against a wall or feign interest in a passing street vendor. For the most part, the trick was enough distance to hide her presence while making sure he remained in her vision. It wasn't long before she'd passed through the gates and outside into the wooded areas beyond after him. Her hand pressed the sheathed sword upon her hip against her body to prevent it from causing sound when she moved. Aider was not so mindful.

Does he always talk to himself? she mused curiously as she tip-toed between the trees like her ancestors in the jungle. Careful was she to keep her boots away from the twigs and leaves that threatened noise should she step upon them. As time went on and she became more doubtful in her stealth, Kaie let the Nykian drift farther and farther away from her. Distance helped muffle her sound. Even his mumbling fell out of earshot. Where the petch is he going? Once the man snapped his head around, and the Myrian panicked and pressed her frame against the trunk of a tree. Then he was on again, and the game resumed.

Finally the man had chosen his stopping point. She approached cautiously. Once more she could catch his voice as he coached himself through the sacred process. The bow was raised, arrow notched, string drawn, and then the projectile was propelled into the brush. The tell-tale thunk told her he had indeed struck something. He's getting better. The Myrian reached beneath her cloak to her lower back and slipped a kukri from its harness. Bronze fingers fiddled with the weapon. They wrapped around the handle of it, and a grin spread across her face. She was close to the man now. Boots scrambled across a patch of dry leaves, belting out a solid series of crunch as she advanced. Her arm drew back until the handle of the weapon was even with her ear. The right foot took the leading step, and then she shot her arm down and released the curved knife.

Sunlight shimmered across its metallic edge as it whipped forward with a shrieking whoosh. It fell short of Aider's own log target, sinking soundly into the earth as if bowing before his lodged arrow. "Well, shyke," was all the Myrian woman had to offer from her mother tongue. With her facade over, she made no more efforts to mask her presence. The game was over. "At least one of us probably killed him." Kaie took the other kukri out of its harness and gestured toward the fallen log. She shrugged at her lover. "A sleeping man? A wounded man?" The savage whipped the second kukri forward no more gracefully than the first. It struck the log this time, but did not hold. The blade edge ravaged the bark upon its landing, but fell down into the dirt. "A dead man. Not so easy to kill a moving man."

[Aider Silander]

Aider had been studying his target and where his arrow struck before he saw the flash of metal fall short of the log. He arm reached back for an arrow as he twisted his body in the direction that he thought the blade had came from. He stared at his lover as she walked closer to him. The Myrian tongue he did not understand caused him to tilt his head slightly. Killed him, as if the log was a man that Aider had been aiming at. He turned to look back at the log and the sighed. "If he was sleeping he would just be injured. If he was laying on his side my arrow would have most likely struck his shoulder. Though he would probably be in shock and wounded that would give me enough time to plant my knee on his throat... It maybe easier to kill a man standing in front of you then one that is moving. But ether way a kill is a kill." he said with a shrug before turning his full body to face Kaie again after watching her second blade strike the target but fall out. "The log might be to rotten for your blades to stick" he said.

"Are you going to tell me that I need to get better at watching my own back?" he asked. His voice a mixture of defiance and curiosity. "Sorry for waking you. I know it must be hard to sleep as of late" he said walking towards her blades he picked them both up, and walked back towards her. He held out her blades, the handle facing towards her, a smile forming on his face that he couldn't help. Even after their little spat he was still happy to see her alive every day. "I came to get some practice in. I need to reinforce my skills and starting from the basics is tedious to say the least but the safest way to do so."

"Do you know how to shoot a bow?" he asked not recalling ever seeing her with a bow. The only ranged weapon that he remembered her with was the spear that she used as a crutch when they first arrived. "Hunting with a spear can't be that easy. It's long and probably can get caught in a lot more then an arrow. I also do not think that I've ever seen one fly with the speed of an arrow. My father used to tell me tales of a man who was so skilled with a bow that he could pluck a bird out of the sky with one arrow." he said with a shrug. Though the tale was probably false, he liked to think that one possessed a decent amount of skill could do something similar.

[Kaie]

The Myrian shook her head and smiled humbly. "No, I'm just shyke throwing a kukri in general," she confessed before she strolled forward to stand beside him. Her smile widened at his accusation, the defiance in his voice clearly fueling her amusement. He already knew the answer to that question, so she moved on to tackle a new topic. "I don't get much sleep these days anyways." She had a feeling the man had been referring to more than his early waking. Bronze hands shot forth to gingerly take her blades back from the man. She slapped the flat sides of the two against her clothed thighs, knocking the dirt off the pair.

"It's usually best to practice on your own, get the muscle memory down before you have to worry about distractions." Eyes followed the way Syna gleamed off her favored daggers as she rotated her wrist. Their curves made handling the weight curious, but she welcome their advantages and challenges all the same. At the very least, they were formidable in the wilds and the battlefield. "I have. A mixed breed in Taloba taught me to use a shortbow when I was very, very young. I've used my longbow ever since though. I'm not too good with it. I prefer close quarters when it comes to killing. Still, it served me well enough when I fought alongside the Ebonstryfe of Ravok." The Myrian couldn't help but grin at the memory. Even then she'd been a terrible shot, yet still she managed to lose on fire arrow into the dry, thatched roof of the enemy's holdings.

"Hunting with a spear isn't any easier, you're right. But it takes more skill. It's too easy out here in these cities to just buy what you need to survive. It makes the hunt more rewarding, and sometimes a spear can down a larger beast in the jungle better than a single arrow."

[Aider Silander]

The man couldn't help but chuckle at Kaies comment. "I don't see why throwing them would be a good option anyway." He stared at her for a few ticks, admiring the woman's natural beauty in Syna's light. The ray's reflecting off of her blades. "Mhm" he said looking down at the floor for a moment before clearing his throat. "That's why I was so keen on getting a separate room before. It wasn't cause I wanted to be away from you or gave a care to what Matthew thought of me. I didn't want to keep you from sleeping and having to deal with my... problem as it were." He paused as if he was deciding if he should tell her the entire story or not. Though it wasn't a long one past events had made him question if there was much of a point. A distance had grown between the two and he was wondering if it would continue to grow or if it would mend itself. "It happened shortly after we left Sunberth. I would try to sleep when there was nothing for me to do just to find that I was haunted by these nightmares. Maybe its the gods still cursing me. Or maybe it's my weakness as a human, ether way I am trying to overcome it." Shrugging his shoulders as if it were no big deal to him.

"I would never want to be away from you and I know that you can probably deal with the lack of sleep. But I didn't want to have you bare it if I could avoid it. I seemed to do a great job. With the explosion at the bath house and all. " He cleared his throat and nodded quickly. Stepping to the next topic before she could hopefully get a word in about the bathhouse. "A mixed breed? Of what? A Myrian and what else? Are they accepted in your culture? Mixed blooded people?" His eyes were alight with the same curiosity that he had when they had first met. His questions slipping from his lips like rain from the clouds. "The Ebonstryfe? That is an interesting name for what I assume is a militia group?"

"You are welcome to practice with my bow if you would like. I don't know if I could teach you much, but I would be happy to. We could trade training. You could teach me to wield one of those blades or use the weapons that my mother gave me better." His eyes glancing down at his hands, he clinched one into a fist and then released it. The scraps he had gotten into in Sunberth were more about throwing your enemy around and using the environment to one's advantage then they were about beating one with his fist. His eyes returned to her blades, "If I am to travel it would probably be better if I knew how to wield a blade. I wonder if it's to late for me to become a decent warrior."

The thought left his lips as nothing more then that. The floated there without a solid backing, as if he already knew the answer to that without needing to hear it from someone else. "A spear gives you a wide berth to keep and enemy at bay. I can see why you would chose it" he nodded. "And you are right, though I can not say I know of any jungle beast. My arrows did just fine with the creatures of the swamps that I ran into."

[Kaie]

Her brow furrowed at the mention of his "problem". Amber eyes departed from his face to search the direction of their chosen practice range. Hands clapped at each other, ridding themselves of any lingering earthy debris. There was a flutter about her head, a sweet whisper that suggested she ask what exactly plagued the man. The night terrors were an affliction she too had shared. They came when she killed Tsu'kai. They came often. And yet, thinking back to that terrible time, the Myrian couldn't help but admit she would've snapped at the first person to press her about it. The only ones that knew of the ordeal with her former lover happened to be Fallon and Zandelia by circumstance. After all, she couldn't have very well left them empty-handed given she'd appeared on their door step bathed in blood. She hadn't been completely sane either.

Luckily, she needn't stress over asking any longer. Aider began his explanation with no coaxing on her part. It was only when he began to speak that her gaze settled on him again. They'd come to him on the boat? Between the infection of her wounds and the actual recovery from them, Kaie never considered the Nykian boasted a different kind of injury. Truthfully, she hadn't the opportunity to notice. His rhetoric about his weakness as a human was a curious confession. Often, as many of her people did, she preached of the superiority of her race. While Aider was just as often known to point out his own vulnerabilities and short comings, it was odd that he was truly latching onto the truth she provided him. More of the divine enjoy the worship of the humans rather than the Myrians. If it's them who have cursed him, would it not be because he cursed them first? It was a question even the sharp-tongued savage knew better than to voice.

"They will pass, Aider. In time. If you know the source of your nightmares, confront it. My clan pays great attention to our dreams. We would say your fears must be faced if you wish to conquer them. Maybe then your misery will end," Kaie replied rather solemnly. She turned toward the log again and rotated her shoulders. Wrists twitched, body gaining a feel for the weight of her kukris. "I do not remember Turrin well. Only that his cousin used to go on about bird and egg jokes. At the Rearing Stallion, travelers used to go on and on about these red-haired people who mount great eagles. Perhaps Turrin had their blood, whoever they are." Kaie lifted her right kukri until her hand was even with her ear. The left pointed out at her target, and with a snap, her right hand shot out to throw the weapon. It steered off course and sailed long past the log. She cursed beneath her breath.

"No," came her resounding answer. Her lips pressed together as she stared out in the direction of her most recent failure. "They are not accepted. Not by our people. Rarely their own clan. I've seen mixed blood beaten savagely by the other children, who will blame their cruelty on the fact it was a spar to begin with. That's on a good day I'd guess. I knew another, Tinnok. A Myrian and a Dhani. I didn't ask how that came to be. Didn't have to. Didn't want to. I could guess what terrible things my own people have done to her because of what she is, but even then, I'm sure I've got no idea. I was young then, too. But I remember thinking she didn't deserve the lot she'd been cast." The left arm came up then, kukri shining in the sunlight. Her empty right hand pointed out at her target. Another snap, and the left kukri was thrown. It nicked the top of the log and tumbled beyond into the ferns. Another round of curses flew.

"Ebonstryfe? I don't really know. Some sort of Ravokian force. From what I saw, they ran the city in service to some god. Rhysol I think they call him." She blinked just then, a bout of confusion temporarily crossing her face. Did I remember that name from my visit? Or from a dream? Kaie shook her head. "A trade then?" The woman eyed his bow with a grin twitching at the corners of her lips. "Fine. You make me a better shot, I'll do my best to help you in close quarters. Swords are damaging, brutal weapons. Before you choose to train with it, though, think about what you plan to do should you inconveniently find yourself disarmed. "

[Aider Silander]

Change was a part of the future. Everything in life changed and one had very little control over it. Animals grew stronger otherwise they would die. The Nykian could say the same for humans. You had to fight against the world, every day was a new test and the man had realized through his dreams that he had been failing his. His life once peaceful and filled with boredom had turned into an exciting adventure filled with dangers around every corner. Where the only thing he could trust were rumors and himself. His eyes rested on Kaie as the experiences had run through his mind. He wondered if he could trust her or had ever truly trusted her. He shook his head and snapped back into reality as Kaie spoke.

"They will pass eventually. Nothing ever stays for too long good or bad. The source..." he said scratching an itch on his shoulder. "And what about your dreams? What have they been filled with?" he asked hoping to pull some of the conversation off of himself. Some part of his mind actually was interested in what she had to say. He watched her turn, his eyes tracing over her athletic form. A body that he had seen in all it's naked bronze glory a few times before. "Red headed eagle riders? I never knew any bird of pray to allow a rider, though falcons will hunt with those who know how to gain their trust. But to ride a bird of prey like that must be a thrill in itself." he said watching the kukri fly past the log, a small smirk on his face. For the battles that he had seen the warrior of a woman fight he had forgotten that there were arts of war that she may not be the best at.

He raised his bow aiming towards the top half of the fallen log. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and notched it. He waited for a few ticks, staring down the length of the feathered pointed stick. He released it and watched it spiral as it flew through the air. It struck the top of the log and snapped, both ends flying off in different directions. He turned to look back at her and tilted his head slightly. It wasn't surprising to him that the Myrian's didn't accept mixed bloods. To hear the cruelty that they showed them and how that everything she said was a good day for them had not bothered the man like it once would have. Before Sunberth he would have felt a pit in his stomach. A growing displeasure and discomfort with what she was saying. But he felt nothing, they were people in a land far from his own and though he may visit there one day it would not be for a long while.

"I guess we have no choice but to deal with the hard things in life and take the easy as a blessing and not for granted.... Your people are working to eliminate the Dhani. Her life must have been harder then the rest." he said his eyes looking over her face. Looking for any sign that the last words she said might not have been true but rather a test for him to see if he could tell when she was lying. "You felt sorry for her even though you were born full blooded. You showed compassion for someone that was... maybe not weaker then you, but in a rougher situation. Is kindness a strength or a weakness to you?" There were many things that he did not know about Kaie, many mysteries that had surrounded her. Ones that he chose to ignore as his life progressed in Sunberth. But the city they lived in now was safer in one sense. He had the chance to see if he could find out what he wanted to know.

"People are not the same because of where they were born. I was born in a land ruled by four higher powers, including the one your people hate the most. They fight and dance and cheer under these powers. Guarded and shepherd by the monks. Yet here I am. Most born in Nyka do not leave it and even those who do still hold it dear in their hearts. Similar in looks not in ideals." he said his fingers tapping on the length of his bow. "You showed kindness to those rejected by your people. Though you follow your Goddess Queen with all respect, as I am sure she should be honored with everything you have to offer her, and you share many of the same principles as your people do. You are different."

He watched her release another blade. The ideas of difference in people born close to one another circled in his brain. "Maybe that's why we were... fated to meet." he shrugged and turn his body towards a log. He notched and arrow pulling it back without hesitation and quickly released it. Taking very little time to aim and before the first landed he was notching another. The first arrow struck hard in front of the log and the one that followed after flew over it. He notched one last one and pulled it back. Taking a few more ticks to aim and release. It struck dead center of his makeshift target and he smiled.

"A trade indeed. Though I don't know how much I can offer you that your friend had not already taught you. Maybe a few differences in technique and to polish the basics that you already know. Your end of the deal is far greater then my own, so I will let you have a favor of your choice. Something you can save till a later time."

He nodded at her words and looked towards his arrows. He stepped forwards and began to retrieve them. Picking up the head of the broken arrow and turning it over in his hand. "If you are disarmed when you use a bow chances are you are already dead. If they can get that close to you then you probably have already lost the fight. Though I can not say the same for a blade, I can see how being able to react quickly would aid in a situation such as that. Being able to react is a keep part of fighting is it not?"

[Kaie]

The Myrian shrugged at the notion. What has been in my dreams? To be honest, almost to her pleasure, she hadn't dreamed very much. The previous season fueled her nightmares and often left her agonizing over memories of misdeeds come Syna's rise. Tsu'kai's murder still lingered freshly on her mind. Her fever on the ship had caused her to hallucinate, often when she was alone in the dead of night on the ship's deck. Yet those weren't dreams. "Nothing, really. Not lately anyway. Sometimes I dream of home now and again," she replied in a monotone voice, though there was a bit of confusion to be picked up. It was truly strange. Not even the young woman, who haunted her dreams as an omen ever since she shed human blood in Syliras, had made an appearance. Did such an event mean that for once she was truly out of harm's way?

When it came to questions about the red-haired bird riders, Kaie only gave another shrug. For all she knew, the people never existed. Travelers talked out their asses in taverns all the time. It seemed that half of the merchants and explorers exaggerated their experiences and findings when they didn't make them up altogether. Until she met one of the legendary humans for herself, she wouldn't fuss over their existence. Instead she was content to watch the man take aim with his bow. Her kukri were both expended. She couldn't very well retrieve them while Aider was loosing unless she wanted to visit Dira a bit earlier than expected. Thus she waited patiently with folded arms. Eyes roved his body, watching the muscles ripple and become taught as they worked to keep the bow leveled and the arrow pulled back upon the bowstring.

"Maybe there's something to your logic, but I try not to question the intentions of the gods," she considered thoughtfully, eyeing the log target they both hadn't had much luck striking so far. A pause came. Then she unfolded her arms and turned to face him. "Kindness is easy to earn from a child, Aider. Turrin and Tinnok offered me skills and encouragement, and for a kid, that commands some sort of respect and niceness in return. If you think I didn't have moments just as bad as any other Myrian when it came to the treatment of half-breeds, you're wrong. " There was a darkness that entered her expression then, a dissatisfaction perhaps short of shame in her sharp features.

It seemed that in isolation it had been easy to keep her prejudices at bay and see the half-breeds for who they really were. Even as a teenager, it would've been unlikely that Kaie would renounce her concrete loyalties to Turrin or Tinnok for the sake of social acceptance by belittling them. Others she didn't know nearly so well received brutality from the woman. Her acceptance of Turrin and Tinnok despite their tainted blood had perhaps made her behavior less cold toward others like them. Still, she was noticeably harder on them than the other Myrian children. That became most apparent in spars, and more intense in the presence of full-blooded spectators. The social psychological factors had turned her into something of a hypocrite. She'd been too young at the time to see that for what it was.

Kaie watched Aider's second arrow fly far truer. It struck the target solidly, making the archer grin with pride. Kaie breathed a laugh of admiration. He's getting better. The Myrian listened to his piece before lifting a hand as if to say don't loose, and trudged out to retrieve her kukri. It took some searching through thickets and ferns before she found them. Soon enough she returned, nodding her head in agreement. His last bit was curious, the part about an owed favor. What sort of favor she would call upon him to complete was not remotely known in that tick, but it was interesting all the same.

"Okay, then we will trade. I have one condition: if you learn from me, you learn right. You will learn as I did, well, to some extent. In other words, before I teach you to wield a blade, you're going to learn to use your body first. Like I said before, a blade is all fine and good until you lose it. Then, if you're not skilled with bare hands, you're petched. Deal?"