Closed Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Brandon's first Bendi-like assignment, game scouting!

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The westernmost tip of Kalea, Wind Reach is home to an amazing group of people and their giant eagle mounts. [Lore]

Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Khara on May 21st, 2015, 12:41 am

As Brandon spoke of the ways he knew to hide your scent Khara's expression went from curious to thoughtful to disgusted, though she did try her very hardest to restrain the latter. The plants suggestion sounded interesting, but Khara had to admit that she was just as likely to cover herself in poison as anything that would actually be helpful with how little she knew of the herbs within The Unforgiving - Something she would need to correct. The mud didn't sound too bad, though she doubted anyone would appreciate having to clean her clothing after such a venture, but it was good to keep in mind if a need really called for it.

The last option though… Even considering it caused Khara to shudder but she did have to admit that she could see why it would be effective. Gross… but effective. Brandon didn't even need to go into full detail for Khara to appreciate the nauseated look that flashed across his face and for half a tick she almost let her curiosity get the best of her and asked exactly how it was that he had come by such knowledge. The memory was no doubt unpleasant, though, and as if that wasn't enough of a reason for her to avoid asking, the fact they really needed to get moving was enough to still her tongue.

As they made their way into the ever thickening trees, Khara kept her bow ready, an arrow pulled from her quiver and nocked against the string. Her eyes continually scanned the area as they walked, but she did have to admit that she was taking more visual cues from the outsider than anything else. He had told her about his apparent enhanced sense of smell, but with the way his head occasionally cocked to the side she couldn't help but wonder if his hearing was far better than hers as well. More curiosity bubbled forth and threatened to spill from her but the situation practically demanded her silence and Khara gladly obliged.

As Brandon's demeanor eased so too did Khara finally let herself relax a bit, the tension in her shoulders draining, though she did keep her weapon mostly at the ready. The myriad of questions she had been considering suddenly flooded her thoughts, vying for control over which to be asked first. They bottlenecked before reaching her mouth and were scattered to the winds as he beat her to breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

No sooner had he completed his comment than Khara felt herself go red. Overprotective? Was that what Zhol was? Khara had thought that he was just the right amount of protective if she was honest, but obviously something had happened that had given Brandon that impression. He didn't seem the sort to try and get such a reaction out of the horse boy, though. Usually Zhol's anger was leveled at those that threatened to hurt her and Brandon hadn't exactly threatened her in person and she doubted that he had done so around the Avora. For one thing, the dark haired man didn't exactly look like he'd been singed lately.

"You think Zhol does not trust you? You may be surprised; he trusts more than he lets others believe, I think." She replied with a small smirk, thankful for the few ticks the comment bought her to take the attention away from herself.

A small sigh followed and Khara felt her face grow all the hotter as she was forced to think about how exactly her and Zhol might be perceived by others. "You are not wrong though, he is very protective of me. He has reasons. In a way, I asked him to be."

Khara couldn't quite decide whether to elaborate or not, there was quite a lot that could be said that would solidify the need for it but the best piece of evidence was also the one thing she didn't exactly want to talk about; second best would have to do. "The riots I told you about? That is when we met. Some men found me; they had come to think that the game scouts were getting treated better than other Chiet because of how close we work with the hunters. They were very mad. There was three of them, a Dek and two of our caste. They were going to… Kill me, I think. Eventually. Zhol stopped them. He did not even know my name, but he saved me. He let me hide in his room until everything stopped and never asked for anything in return."

She shrugged a shoulder as if trying to brush off the other memories that tries to push forward. Of the time that Zhol hadn't been there to protect her, of a time he had and she hadn't even known about the incident until it was long over, of the way he put himself in danger to draw an abomination's attention away from her. Even if they were just friends Khara knew without any doubt that he would have acted similarly, but their relationship put an earnest need to everything that she didn't doubt could come across as overdone.

"There have been other things, times when I am not able to keep myself safe but he can. He does not treat me as if I am incapable, but he knows that the lower castes are not allowed to prevent some things from happening. Though, I think even if he were a Chiet instead of an Avora he may act the same. He does not let anyone hurt his family if he can help it."

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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on May 21st, 2015, 6:08 pm

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Was that a blush? Was the scout blushing? Over that? Well, it seemed that not even the wilds could completely erase her shyness. It didn't really bother Brandon though, he merely found it an interesting reaction. True, he'd found his question a little awkward, but simply because there would have been better -and less personal- ways to start a conversation. Either way, it did its job though. Khara's reply showed her surprise, but whether it was about the statement itself or about the bat mentioning their encounter he did not know.

Brandon didn't quite believe her words though, the way he and Zhol had met hadn't been the most pleasant and friendly of meetings, and the events that came after weren't all that great either. Sure, both men had come to reach an understanding of sorts, they seemed to have found a way to tolerate each other, but Brandon doubted Zhol trusted him, and the bat himself didn't trust the horse-boy all that much either. The former came from the way the man had phrased his words when he'd been talking about how to survive in Wind Reach. The latter came from the lack of self-control Zhol had displayed. Usually that wouldn't be worrisome, but for a mage? For a reimancer? No, no, no. Self-control was endlessly important.

Khara continued speaking, bringing up the riots again, telling of how she and the horse trainer first met. She'd been saved, huh? And he hadn't expected anything in return? “He seemed like that kind of person,” Brandon agreed, vastly different from me. A small grin. What Zhol had yelled at him back at the stables certainly weren't empty words; Khara really had gone through a lot of suffering. Brandon could think of a lot of unpleasant things that could and probably would have happened before she would have been killed. Fortunately for her Zhol had been around. “A gift from the gods, eh?” he muttered.

The scout finished with a line Brandon couldn't agree with more, he'd already seen that that line was not a bluff. “Or so I've experienced,” the thief said ambiguously, not really able to get rid of the grin that was growing on his face. “I'm not really sure how it happened but we … exchanged some heated words. Zhol's temper kind of … flared.” Ah puns, what would language be without you? “I actually don't remember how it started or when exactly it started, but he threatened to burn off my arms and throw me in a lava pit.” The bat smirked as if it was one of the best memories he'd ever recalled.

After having said that, Brandon kept his mouth shut and focused on the smell that had entered his nose that moment. Urine, but slightly different from the one he'd been smelling before. It was just a minimal deviation, but more than enough for the bat to recognize it as something else. To the wolves and their sense of smell that exceeded Brandon's in his human form multiple times, there obviously was a huge difference. For the Kelvic though it was hard to tell which was which, but it was enough to know he and his companion had entered a new territory and as such a danger zone.

“This was to be expected, but troublesome nonetheless. We're in something else's territory now. I'm not sure if it's other wolves, mountain lions or a bear, but it is not a good thing.” Brandon paused, halting his movements and listening closely to the environment. The rustling of the leaves, the slight groaning of the branches. Birdsong, the quick sound of tiny critters scurrying through the trees. Wings flapping, and rodents scrambling about in the shrubs. Further away, Brandon could hear larger creatures passing through the underbrush, snapping twigs and such, but it did not seem to be coming closer. Nevertheless, he stayed wary and kept watch as he turned to Khara, eyebrow raised in a silent question.

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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Khara on June 7th, 2015, 10:17 pm

Heated words, flared temper, and a threat? That didn't exactly sound like the sort of thing that Zhol just casually did. Though he had been under a lot of stress lately... Either way, Khara only slightly found the ability to share the smile that Brandon finished the small tale with. At least the dark haired man seemed more amused than annoyed by whatever had happened. She never had made it a habit of becoming involved in others' business or putting herself in the way of whatever sort of interactions others had, but it still sparked a bit of curiosity within her. Khara knew Zhol could occasionally have a bit of a short temper, but Brandon hadn't exactly seemed the sort to try and make someone purposely angry, at least not with her. Maybe it was just a guy thing.

She was about to let that curiosity get the best of her, see if she could nudge the man into telling her more about what had transpired but his sudden halt and warning shoved those thoughts aside immediately. They weren't entirely in the clear yet, apparently. Her bow was raised once more as she strained to hear what Brandon was listening to. Not a good thing was more than enough to put her on full alert and although her heartbeat sped up she attempted to keep her breathing shallow and as quiet as possible.

Only the faint crackle of something far off reached her and she caught Brandon's quizzical look. Once more Khara found herself wishing that the Inarta possessed the same telepathic abilities as their Wind Eagles. It would have been all the easier and safer to simply relay what she was thinking. How she would direct him to walk slowly and how, depending on what the creature was, running could very well be the absolute worst thing they could do. He didn't seem entirely oblivious to such things, however, and she was thankful for that at least.

Khara closed her eyes for a few ticks, trying to focus as much attention as she could on the sounds ahead of them in order to gauge at least which direction it was headed. It certainly wasn't the sort of discovery she was hoping to make, but there were benefits of knowing where predators in the area were as well. As the sounds grew quieter, she finally managed the courage to attempt to speak, her whispering as soft as possible.

"I think we can cut back up now," She nodded back towards where the mountain rose behind them and where she best could tell that Wind Reach was. "If we can find the pass, all the better."

Her thoughts kept drifting back to the monstrous bear that was rumored to be in the valley. No way were the two of them a match for that thing on their own if it was as big as the scouts had said. Even if only a zynx or smaller animal, it was still best to be as far away as possible. The scout had no real knowledge of how to kill such a thing, and it didn't seem like Brandon was exactly armed for an encounter of that sort either.

Another glance was given towards the ever diminishing sound of the animal moving through the area, another tick or two taken to make absolute certain it wasn't drawing closer before she carefully began to lead the way back uphill. Each step was taken as carefully as possibly, the occasional curious glance cast back towards her companion to see exactly how it was that he could move so quietly.


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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on June 9th, 2015, 8:02 pm

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It took a while before not only the sounds of the creatures grew quieter and quieter, but also before the game scout in front of him spoke up again. From the looks of it she’d been listening to the noises as well, her face a mask of concentration. The frown on her brow made it clear she was also pondering on their next move, which was a good thing in the bat’s eyes. Caution was a must in the Unforgiving; you never really knew what you’d run into or what you’d find. Sometimes nothing, other times too much for you to handle.

Brandon nodded in agreement at the scout’s suggestion, liking the solution she’d presented. Going further ahead might lead them into danger, especially with the wind blowing from behind them. To anyone with a good nose it was common sense to seek out a blind spot when stalking prey; just like in battle, you exploited weak spots. With a relative strong breeze it became hard to pick up scents from all directions, especially from the direction the wind was blowing in. Obviously. Especially faint scents were hard to keep track of then, which did not make thing easier.

At the moment Brandon could smell what was in front of him, though he couldn’t really pick up scent from far away. Maybe a couple meters in front of him tops, as opposed to the extra distance he gained from the headwind. Nevertheless, if they so desired, Bran and Khara could head deeper in the woods, Bran could follow a trail. However-like said before- he would be ‘blind’ in regards to anything out of his range of smell. Not really great when trying to get back to the city.

While Khara was still a bit lost in thought, the bat turned into the direction the scout had nodded, looking up at the sky, trying to find the sun through the canopy. Much to his surprise he found it in the south, telling him it was probably a bit past the eleventh bell… had they been walking that long? When had they started this trip? Around eight? Oh, then that kind of was not all that much; maybe a bell and some couple dozen chimes of walking until they had spotted the wolves, then a good fifteen chimes in the tree… Half a bell, perhaps around forty-five chimes walking up to this point. So that would mean they’d be back within another two bells or so? Plus some breaks for eating, and rest… Okay maybe three or four bells. Not that it really mattered, a good hike was a healthy activity.

Soon enough they were on the move again, Khara leading up front and Brandon following in her wake. Each step was taken carefully, the about half of their attention aimed at the surroundings, trying to figure out if there was anything drawing closer to or stalking them. Brandon couldn’t detect anything, except the birds and the rodents, and far away he still heard the occasional noise from snapping branches. And a small stream too, splashing softly against rocks or something along those lines. From the faintness of the noise the bat gauged it was pretty far off, though right in front of them. The sound made him thirsty, and he searched his backpack for a tick, bringing the waterskin to his lips and drinking a couple gulps.

Every so often the thief noticed Khara glanced over her shoulder, though it didn’t seem she wanted to make sure he was still behind her nor like she feared he had a hard time keeping up –after all, there was no reason for him not to follow her, and he’d proven already he could keep up pretty well. So what was it that made her sneak looks at him? Curiosity seemed the most likely answer, and Brandon grinned. “No-one has managed to figure me out without using magic or questions, you know. I doubt you’d succeed with just stares.” He grinned widely.

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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Khara on June 23rd, 2015, 2:13 am

It was a comfortable sort of silence that they fell into, or at least that's how Khara felt about it as they hiked back up towards where she could best guess the pass might cross their path. If nothing else, once they were clear of the trees she would have a much better sense of how far off they were. When Brandon spoke up, however, Khara couldn't help but find herself suddenly embarrassed. She hadn't exactly been subtle about the looks she had been casting his way, but still the scout would have been lying to herself if she had said that the looks had been purely to gauge his walking technique.

There was just something about the man that she still found curious. His enhanced scenes of smell and hearing, the way he carried himself... It wasn't that Khara had a lot of outsiders to compare him to, but Brandon was certainly different. He reminded her of someone else in a way, but she couldn't quite place who or why.

"I have been trying to figure out how you move so quietly," she partially admitted. "I do my best to avoid twigs and other things that might make more sound but you seem to do it very good."

Despite doing her best to lighten her footsteps she still seemed to make more noise than she wanted, a rustle of the forest floor here, the slight scrape of the bottom of her boot against a rock there, it just seemed entirely unavoidable.

"Did you spend a lot of time outdoors in Lhavit? Are there lots of wild areas there too?" She asked.

It was a harmless question, mostly relating to her observation, but Khara knew it was really more of her curiosity to blame for the question. For someone who had been assigned as a teacher Brandon certainly seemed to know a decent amount about how animals behaved. He had climbed that tree rather swiftly as well. Of course, she hadn't exactly asked what it was he was teaching the Yasi, either. Though the instructions and bit of information she had received on the outsider had made it sound like he wasn't at all familiar with tracking and the like. She certainly didn't want to pry but part of her wanted answers just the same.

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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on June 25th, 2015, 7:59 pm

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“Oh, that. Nothing special really,” Brandon shrugged, “Well, now I’m actually trying not to make a sound, but really, it’s not that hard.” In fact, he only avoided the materials covering the ground that would make a lot of noise when stepping on it. Dried up leaves, small twigs and that sort of thing. Sure, he treaded carefully, seeking out the best spots to place his feet in, all while maintaining his balance and still keeping up the pace. And yet he wasn’t really sneaking about, sneaking would slow him down a bit, though he gained stealth.

“I just always felt as if I was stomping around instead of just walking, and I couldn’t stand it. Then I just … tried to be more silent. It feel completely natural to me, I wouldn’t know how to walk any other way even if I wanted to. I just do, you know? I can’t really explain.” A sad try, but there really wasn’t much to explain. Brandon just walked, maybe he did walk a little different than other people, or maybe he didn’t. Maybe he just moved more silent, and that was it. The bat didn’t really know.

“As for Lhavit,” Brandon began, “well, there was the Unforgiving of course. Mountainous. Misty. Nothing too different from here.” Then he pondered for a couple moments, speaking up again to answer the other question. “Not often, just every once in a while. When I felt like I needed to be somewhere quiet for a bit. Or if I thought it time for a bath. Or for training. But nothing really like this.” He waved an arm around. “No long hikes to find some sort of deer, then go hide in a tree somewhere, no.”

He cracked a small smile. “I did climb walls and houses though. Running over the rooftops, jumping over streets…” Ah, yes, those had been fun times. Though there had been less fun times too, such as the time when he’d failed to make it to the other side and twisted his ankle upon landing. Or the times he’d been lying on top of a roof for surveillance. However there had been really exciting moments as well, moments that more than made up for the boredom and pain he’d gone through. “It’s kind of a bummer that Wind Reach doesn’t have proper houses and streets. Then again, it’s not like I have that much time to spare here either.” A sigh.

“Makes me wish I’d never left in the first place,” the bat muttered.

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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Khara on July 3rd, 2015, 7:12 pm

Not that hard, that was easy enough for him to say, though as Brandon elaborated it made far more sense. There were things that Khara did that others found difficult to grasp - seeing tracks or recognizing other signs of animal activity - that came perfectly natural to her from time spent doing it. Maybe walking silently was just another one of those things she'd have to keep trying at and would eventually become almost second nature as well.

She felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips as Brandon joked about hiking for deer and hiding in trees. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing that she imagined was enjoyable for someone who wasn't used to it, but Brandon didn't sound like he was exactly annoyed with it either. Walls and houses, though? It was difficult to imagine such a thing. Not that she was entirely unfamiliar with the concept of such buildings, but reading about them and trying to picture them in your mind was far different than ever seeing such things in person. There was the Greco Hut and similar structures, of course, but Khara couldn't quite picture what it must be like to be in a city where such things weren't lone standing but rather packed tightly together to the point you could run over them.

Her smile diminished as she barely caught is final muttering and for a moment she simply let it be, especially as the trees began to thin once more and she started looking for signs of the Sanikas Road. The night's snowfall obscured most features, but a series of staggered indents in the mountainside looked like they might be the stairs that had been built into the slope that would lead back to the road. It would be worth investigating, at least. Maybe not the easiest path to take after the storm, but they shouldn't be too icy under the gentle dusting of snow, either.

As they stepped beyond the trees, Brandon's comment lingered on the fringes of her mind, nagging to the point where it refused to be ignored. Wind Reach wasn't exactly kind to outsiders and there was an obvious air of homesickness when he spoke of Lhavit.

"So why did you leave?" The question slipped from thought to mouth before Khara could prevent it and she instantly regretted asking such a forthright thing. Her mind whirled to try and come up with a way of softening it, stumbled over various platitudes before settling on one. "You know, if you do not mind my asking. You do not have to say if you do not want to."


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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on July 4th, 2015, 3:18 pm

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They walked on is silence then, finally getting to the edge of the forest and closer to the Sanikas Pass, or so the bat hoped. The trees weren't as dense like they'd been before, the view of what laid beyond becoming a lot more clear. Of course, most of the view was white, everything coated in snow. Khara seemed to be headed for some sort of deliberately-shaped set of rocks; rocks that looked like some sort of staircase, whited over with dusty flakes. Brandon wondered if climbing the rocks wouldn't be a lot less dangerous; after all those stairs could very well be slippery and smooth, whereas a slope generally wasn't. Then again, there was snow everywhere, and some places had a patch of ice on top of them too...

“Why did I leave, huh?” The thief echoed, “Why did I leave indeed...” Brandon was by no means a very tight-lipped person, but it wasn't like he just blabbered away about anything and everything either. But he was a bit of a showoff, and in a way, telling his tale was boasting. Boasting about his abilities, and yet he would also show weakness at the same time. A sign he wasn't untouchable after all, that even he had a weak spot some people could exploit. But did that matter here? In Wind Reach, where no-one knew about him or Incognito? No it didn't. But that did not mean the bat would disclose all details either.

“Well, a lot of things happened,” Brandon said eventually after a bout of silence, “but for the sake of simplicity and brevity, I'll just give you the basic situation.” He scratched his scalp trying to figure out just how much was actually relevant. “Well, so I lived my life in Lhavit, and then all of a sudden I became involved with the wrong people. That is to say, one guy and his henchmen. I did not really have a choice but to do whatever he told me to. The life of someone I care about was on the line. Supposedly, that is. I don't really know if she really ever was in any danger, if it wasn't just a bluff. I asked myself that question a lot of times really; but in the end there was no way of telling.” He sighed, realizing those things weren't really considered basic. That was already quite elaborate, really.

“So I went along, tried to figure out what I could do to get myself out of the situation without taking too much risk. I found a solution soon, however, I thought it too risky. If I failed, well... Anyway, in the meantime I had to do stuff for him, whenever he desired it, and in doing those things, I started to get some attention from the authorities. No good attention, if you catch my drift.” Still, it wasn't that bad, the attention that is. While Kriegsfelt had been a despicable man, posing as Incognito had quickly honed the bat's skills, and his reputation had soared. “So after a while I thought I'd found a way out, but things went a little wrong and I evoked the ire of the third highest authority in Lhavit through my actions. Well, I'd seen that coming of course, but that's where things went wrong.” Brandon nodded to himself, recalling that particular evening. “In the end, that left me with only one last option if I wanted to get out. And I really did not have a choice anymore.” Despite what he was about to reveal was probably the worst part of all, the bat smiled, for it was the part where he'd regained his freedom, and avoided Enggy's death.

“Ironically enough, I'd been able to gain his trust, which made killing him a lot easier.” The Kelvic shook his head slightly, still not really sure how or why Kriegsfelt had started to trust him in the first place. Probably he too had underestimated the thief, just like everyone else. “That was great and all; I'd cut my strings, I was free to do whatever I wanted once more, but there was one huge problem. Two actually. The first was the Councillor, who, I'm fairly sure, is still thinking of different ways to kill me once I set foot in Lhavit again. The second problem was that I killed a respected member of society. Things would have become rather difficult for me if I'd stayed, though I guess I could have stayed if I was very careful.” Brandon cocked his head a little, pondering on that option. “But then again, lying low is not really my forte, so I thought it better to get to another city for a little while.”

Then he went silent again for a little while, until he thought of something that might be important. “Also, don't tell Dru. I'll tell her myself whenever I deem the time to be right for it. Besides, I'd not appreciate someone telling others what I told them behind my back without even knowing all details. Like I said, I'll tell her myself.” Another pause. “But if you must, feel free to tell Zhol. Might even improve his opinion of me.” Or maybe not. Depending on how you looked at it, Brandon had been the cause Enggy had been in danger. But he had also been the one who resolved the situation. It probably depended on Zhol's personality just how he'd interpret those things, if Khara even told him at all.

"Anyways;" the Kelvic spoke, deciding to change the subject, "To get to Wind Reach we need to go down those steps, right? What are we waiting for then?"

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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Khara on October 16th, 2015, 9:44 pm

He had killed someone? Khara would be lying if she said she had expected anything of that nature to be the reason; she'd also be lying if she said it didn't shock her. Death wasn't unusual, she'd even seen - more or less - Inarta die at the hands of other Inarta. Still, killing someone; that was a pretty big deal.

Still, there wasn't any fear caused by the revelation. From what it sounded like, Brandon was far from a mindless murderer. There had been reasons, he had no choice, even - if the story was true, and Khara didn't doubt that it was. The single thing that stood out to her throughout the entire tale was all that Brandon had done, vague as it was aside from what he probably felt was the greatest crime, had happened to protect someone that the man had cared about.

It was hard to put herself mentally into a similar position to try and relate, after all there was very little that Khara wouldn't do if someone from one of the upper castes told her to do it, even without some sort of leverage against her. But doing things you disagreed with to keep someone else safe? That wasn't so hard to imagine. It wasn't something she had been pushed to do herself, thank the gods, but it did give her reason to pause and consider what that would be like - especially when Brandon mentioned Zhol.

"Your secrets are safe with me," she assured. The last thing Khara would dream of doing was running off to tell Drusilla; that was Brandon's right alone. Zhol though? Maybe if he asked since she had permission, but still the Chiet wasn't certain of that. She wouldn't want to get it wrong, and it wasn't really her story to tell, after all.

It wasn't really surprising that Khara felt a small surge of guilt at having asked, that seemed to be the end result whenever she accidentally pried into something that wasn't pleasant. That feeling always seemed all the worse when she didn't have something to reciprocate with, her own telling of a painful secret. Brandon hadn't asked her anything in turn though, and had rather changed the subject, another thing to be secretly guilty about feeling relief over.

"The steps? Oh! Oh yes," Khara said, a slight flush of color rising to her cheeks as she realized she had let her mind wander a bit too far away from the task at hand. "Not down, though. Up. That's pretty much the rule around here if you get lost by the way. Just head to higher ground, you'll either find yourself at Skyinarta or you'll be able to see it for sure. Guess that's the benefit of living in a volcano."

She tried to sound cheerful as she took the first cautious step onto the snow covered staircase. The feeling her under boot was a bit slick, more from melting snow than any hidden ice. That's something, at least.


"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"
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Khara
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Rule Number One, Try Not to Die (Brandon Blackwing)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on October 17th, 2015, 7:32 pm

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Khara had been standing there with a pensive expression painted on her face, but all of a sudden she snapped out of it, probably instigated in doing so by the bat’s query. Contrary to the Kelvic’s assumption though, the way they needed to take was the one leading up, not down. Khara’s explanation made a lot of sense, so much even, that Brandon could punch himself for not coming up with it himself. Then again, the bat wasn’t the best navigator around. Not in the wilderness, or at sea. In a city he was familiar with however, such as Lhavit, no one could best him. A great thief knew their turf, and all the escape routes.

As the game scout started ascending the staircase-like rocks, Brandon followed in her wake, placing his feet carefully so not to slip and fall. Luckily, there did not seem to be any ice lying in ambush underneath the thin sheet of snow. That didn’t mean the steps weren’t slippery though, part of the snowy layer had melted, resulting in a not so stable surface to stand on. However, it seemed Khara was more than competent in traversing this part of the Unforgiving, no matter the conditions or terrain. Brandon wasn’t, but he in turn was an expert in acrobatic stunts, and he’d grown up in Kalinor. Balancing acts were a piece of cake to him.

The steps ended, becoming more of a slope for a bit, and then the top of the hill was reached, not quite as high as the bat had expected it to be. Looking around him he noted that just about every other one was taller than the one they’d just climbed. The volcano Wind Reach was built in –what was it? Skyinarta?- wasn’t visible either. Not too much of a problem though, there was plenty of elevation around, so finding a good viewpoint was just about as easy as putting on a shoe.

Brandon sniffed the air, not detecting anything of note. His ear too did not find much interesting; birdsongs, the wind, some twigs snapping in the distance… Nothing that really stood out. He cast a quick glance in the scout’s direction, and then started walking to the nearest higher point of elevation, climbing it quickly, though careful to remain quiet. From this point he could see the volcano effortlessly, however, there was fair share of walking separating them from the city. If he had to guess, it would probably take about a bell, maybe more, to arrive at the Sanikas Gates. Well, at least time went by fast, and the duo covered a lot of ground in a bell. Even if it took more than the Kelvic had estimated, they would be back before dark, no doubt about it.

For a couple moment the bat waited until Khara had caught up, then taking off again, a peculiar sound reaching his ears. Some form of call… one he’d heard recently no less, only less distraught. Perhaps not an Alkana, but deer nonetheless. Multiple too, from what he could make out. “I think there might be deer nearby,” he whispered to the game scout, “somewhere to the west. I’m not too sure about the distance. Five chimes walking maybe? Give or take a few.” He pointed in the direction briefly, then checking the direction of the wind. It might have changed a little since their run in with the wolves –or maybe he and Khara had just not been walking in a straight line, that was possible too- but it still blew from behind them, albeit a little more to the east.

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Brandon Blackwing
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