Closed Ill-Gotten Troubles (Zhol)

Returning a bow to it's owner shouldn't be this hard

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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]

Ill-Gotten Troubles (Zhol)

Postby Verilian on June 20th, 2015, 4:33 am

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While Zhol spoke, a chill fell over Khara, and a tingle ran up her spine. She thought she heard something... a whisper.. But she could not make out the words. "Shhhh...". Something with an "sh" sound, but that was all she could make out. Zhol heard nothing, and did not feel the cold. Nor did the avora before them, nor anyone else around. Everything seemed fine, except for the cold, and the whisper. And then the cold was gone, and the whisper was gone.

If she looked for the source, she found nothing. Khara could sense nothing, or see nothing. But.. when she stopped looking, she did see. Only for the briefest instance, and she couldn't be certain. A figure, just barely visible, in the crowd. Pale eyes watched her from a darkened face, but the moment she focused on them, the figure was gone. And it did not reappear. The feeling and the whispers did not return. If she said anything to Zhol, he would probably believe her, but he had not seen, felt, or heard. And if they stopped what they were doing and searched, they would find nothing amiss.

Could it have been her imagination? Probably. But it had been so cold. She could not deny that. Perhaps just a gust of wind? A gust of wind that sent a chill up her spine and sounded like whispering. That was as logical a solution as any, if she decided to be logical. And if she didn't...

OOCOh what am I up to? Who knows? Maybe I don't even know. But this is my only post, so don't worry about further interruptions from me. >.>
Forecast for tonight... Dark
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Ill-Gotten Troubles (Zhol)

Postby Khara on July 3rd, 2015, 6:19 pm

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Her heart thundered in her chest even as she tried to assure herself that what she had thought she had seen and heard couldn't possibly have been there and the cold had only been a trick as well, even if it had seemed to leave a trail of small goosebumps along her arms. It was just her mind's way of scolding her for not trying to immediately find the owner of the bow after she had left the market the day before, the product of an overactive imagination on too little sleep; Khara was fairly certain of that. At least, she hoped…

It was only when Zhol turned his full attention on her and addressed her directly that Khara snapped out of whatever had overcome her fully.

"What?" She asked as if coming out of a daze.

The warmth of the gallery washed over her as she became aware of her surroundings again and she caught the partially amused and somewhat curious glance of the Avora they had been speaking with that told Khara she wasn't doing as good a job at brushing off whatever had just happened as she thought she was.

"O-oh, The courtyard!" More heat followed as she could feel herself flush in embarrassment. A quick glance at Zhol forced an entire correction and refocusing of her mind, though and she managed a smile despite herself.

"Yes," she replied, far more certain and with an air of confidence as she switched to Common. Khara had only vaguely been aware of the conversation between the crafter and Zhol, but enough had been realized to understand how the woman had spoken to the horseman. "Let's go."

Khara wound her arm around Zhol's and grasped his hand with hers as they began walking off in the direction he had gestured to, it was only once they were a few steps clear of the Crafts Gallery that she let her shoulders slump slightly and let out a long breath.

"I am sorry, I just… I think this whole thing is making me more upset than I thought it was, I did not mean to seem like I was not paying attention back there," she apologized and slipped the bow from her shoulder and looked at the fine woodworking again. "I just hope Vincent can help us, I want this to be done. Maybe then I can sleep better tonight and my mind will not try and play games on me."

A shy smile came over her as she glanced up towards Zhol. "And maybe you will sleep better then too since I would not be waking you with my restlessness."

She gently stepped purposely closer to him, nudging his arm with her body in a playful manner. Of what she had seen and felt, Khara had no intentions of telling unless Zhol asked about what sort of problems she was experiencing. It seemed silly to worry over an impossibility and she wasn't the type to start making up ghost stories out of imaginings. It was a bit of a rule with her, something strange happens once and you can ignore it, if it happened again then she would make an issue out of it.

For now she veered her attention back to the bow in her hand and the immediate task. The trip through the warrens to the Courtyard of the Sky wasn't too long, but the tunnels still felt somehow oppressive and Khara was glad when they opened up to the outside area. The night air was cooler than she had thought it would be, but it felt refreshing rather than the unsettling cold that had come over her only a little while ago.

There were others enjoying the night; a mixture of Yasi who had probably been told off for being too energetic within the warrens and those trying to ignore their antics. Khara's gaze swept across them all, looking for the familiar face of the old hunter they sought. Vincent sat off to one side by himself, scanning the small crowd in a lackadaisical fashion along with the occasional look upwards. He seemed serene and content to be left alone to his thoughts, Khara felt it was a shame they would interrupt him.

He spotted the couple approaching and let his aged vision focus on Zhol and Khara for a time before returning his gaze skyward as they neared. "I doubt you are here to silently join me and since this isn't market day I can only guess what you two may want with me, but I'm guessing it has something to do with that bow that you hold there, little game scout." A spark of mischief crept into the older Inarta's features as he looked back towards them. "Not yours and not Endrykas', either."

Khara didn't want to be surprised by the Elder hunter's observations, but Vincent had a way of knowing things that could be downright unnerving at times. At first she could only manage a nod and was suddenly worried that she had lost her voice again and that Zhol would have to speak for her. Unlike the Avora, however, Vincent didn't give off a particularly intimidating air - not when he wasn't working at the market, at least.

"I picked it up by accident last Market Day," Khara began explaining but as Vincent calmly raised a hand she quieted.

"I figured as much. Not many haven't heard about how an Endal, an outsider, and a game scout took out that threat. Didn't take too much to figure out who each one was, either. Yasi talk, after all. Made quite the name for yourself among them, little one." A bit of a grin accompanied Vincen't account, as if there was some sort of secret joke mixed in with all he had said.

His eyes fell to the bow in Khara's hand again and his expression turned thoughtful. "No harm in using what's available to you, guessing you were so caught up in the moment you didn't notice you'd taken it?" The question came not just verbally but visually as well but the Elder continued before Khara could reply. "So now you look to return the bow to it's rightful owner."

The scout managed a nod this time before Vincent continued. "Only one problem with that," the old hunter said before pausing and looked to Khara and Zhol in turn, his expression softening as if in sympathy at the issue before them. "The man I sold that bow to originally is dead; has been for a few weeks now."

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Ill-Gotten Troubles (Zhol)

Postby Zhol on September 2nd, 2015, 5:06 pm

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It was odd to think that a few seasons ago, Khara's thoughts and feelings had been an indecipherable mystery to him: now, he watched her emotions cascade in minutely subtle shifts across her face and body, and understood them all as plain as day. As those words left Vincent's lips, all her usual fidget and fluster, her tentative trepidation at being in the presence of someone so renowned and respected, shattered into an eerie stunned stillness. For an instant she remained frozen, nothing but the absent blinks of a stunned mind as she tried to process the information they had just received. Then realisation began to dawn, and Khara began to shrink, retreating into herself as the weight of confusion, panic, and dread weighed down upon her already small and delicate form, forcing it to become smaller still.

Zhol watched as her fidgets returned, turning against her, nails idly digging into herself as she limply clasped the widowed bow before her, mind fumbling in search of a response, and a next step. A subtle movement brought Zhol closer to her, a subtle shift bringing his hand to rest on the small of her back, a gentle reminder that now and always she didn't have to face anything alone.

"Did he -" Zhol began to ask, his mind pushing aside all the thoughts of who and how to focus on the most practical question. Did he have any family? was the query that most readily came to mind, but Zhol caught it before it was uttered, realising that here in Wind Reach it made no sense to ask such things. "Is there anyone who he might have wanted the bow to be given to? A friend? An apprentice?"

Despite Zhol's efforts to consider his words, something in the way Vincent's expression shifted, the way the corners of his eyes crinkled as his gaze turned from Khara to Zhol suggested that he understood what Zhol had intended to say regardless. "We may not always participate in raising our children, Endrykas, but not all Inarta are devoid of interest in who made us, and who we leave behind to replace us when we are gone." His voice didn't sound offended as he replied, yet there was something in his tone that was different, something that made it clear how important he felt it was for his words to be heard and understood. Zhol bowed his head in slight apology, though Vincent's chuckle made it clear that it wasn't a distinction anyone could reasonably expect an Outsider to understand.

"And this Inarta?" Zhol asked, gently prompting Vincent to continue.

Vincent seemed to consider that question for a few moments; more thought than Zhol would have expected. "I am unsure," the old scout admitted. "Mandan was of the more caring and empathetic breed of Inarta, but I do not believe he yet knew that the object of his affections was with child - it has only just become obvious to those whose eyes are keen enough, and most Inartan men do not pay enough attention nor have enough understanding to notice the more subtle earlier signs."

The old man's ample brow furrowed. "Not that it matters, of course. He is gone, and the fate of his bow will likely affect him little in whatever lies beyond. His unborn child, though?" His gaze shifted knowingly to Zhol's belt, before settling on Khara once again, a warm but faintly sympathetic smile gracing his features, a flicker of subtle sadness shifting in the distance behind his eyes. "I think you both know how much it can mean to fight with a weapon that once belonged to our forebears. Sometimes it inspires us to betterness, trying to match their example, live up to their expectations; othertimes it inspires us to be what they are not. Either way -"

The old scout shrugged. "For better or worse, perhaps that is an influence that Mandan's unborn child deserves to have."
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