Flashback The Task

[Ayatah]

5th Spring, 509AV

The turn of the new season would bring about the end of Ayatah's compulsory service to the Myrian army. It had been three gruelling years, but truthfully the half-breed knew she would miss the berserk trainers and their impossibly harsh expectations. She had, by all accounts, proved herself as a fellow Myrian warrior. And yet she still received the odd threat, or a sharp elbow between the ribs.

She had come to accept such gestures as simply part of life, however. They were hardly worth even thinking about.

Nevertheless, it came as quite the surprise when Aya's superior, Oona, came to the half-breed with a specific request.

"I'm to lead a fang?"

"Alongside Falda," Oona corrected quickly. She, as with all purebloods, still had some reservations about giving Ayatah such a weighted responsibility. The trainer was aware of Ayatah's skill - being of a leaner build, the half-Eypharian was quicker than most pure Myrians - but there was something inherently wrong about a half-breed leading a group of pure-bloods. Still, the order had come from Oona's own superiors, and she was not one to question their commands. "Falda, you will lead the second fang forming the war party. The two of you are to travel Southwest. It's a basic scouting party, we don't expect any trouble."

It was easy to make such a claim within the safe confines of Taloba. But the jungle was dangerous, unpredictable. A safe day was one where a fang would only meet one rival species or race.

Ayatah briefly glanced towards her peer. She and Falda had trained and served together for the past three years, and so were as close friends as comrades could be. A singular nod shared between them indicated to Oona that they knew exactly what this challenge required and had accepted the responsibility.

"The recruits are in the training yard. I believe they've already been divided into the separate fangs. You just need to decide who will take which group and plan your journey." Oona paused to ensure the two women had understood these orders. Satisfied, she continued in a low, serious voice. "I'm sure you're both nervous. Remember your training. Do not forget the lessons you have learnt here, and you will all be fine."

Oona left with a stern blessing in Myri's name, but it did not swell Aya's confidence as much as she had hoped. Once the older Myrian woman was out of earshot, she threw Falda a concerned look. "This is-- a lot of responsibility." She murmured quietly, turning towards the training ground where their fangmates would be waiting.

"I know." Falda said quietly. But the other woman's even voice and calm expression suggested quiet confidence. Aya wondered how much of this was an act. She suspected Falda to be just as nervous as she was -- but no pureblood wanted to admit to feeling equal to a half-breed. "But I suppose this is some sort of rite of passage. We need to be able to lead as well as follow."

A fair point, Aya thought bitterly, but one of us could well lead an army, the other could not. There were never any half-breeds in the highest ranks of the Myrian army. They lacked the respect that others had.

[Ayatah]

The rest of the fang had already been divided into groups of ten by the time Ayatah and Falda joined them on the training ground. Their comrades turned in unison upon their arrival, falling silent and standing to attention. But Aya noticed a few sideways glances shared within the groups as they realised that a mixed-breed would lead half of them. Though no word was said, Aya was already irritated and feeling defensive.

"Which group do you want?" Falda asked, nudging her sharply in the ribs, "left group, or right?"

The half-Eypharian briefly scanned the two groups, seeking out the one with the fewest individuals who looked angered by her impending leadership. She wanted - no, needed - this task to run smoothly, and Aya did not have the energy or confidence to deal with a fang who questioned her authority and skill. "The one on the left," she murmured, noting that this one had more men in the group. As secondary citizens to women, she hoped that males Myrians would be more accepting of her blood.

Falda shrugged, not realising or caring about the reasons for Aya's choice. She, as a pureblooded Myrian woman, would never have to be selective or careful about who she worked with. The two women shared a lingering look, silently deciding amongst them who would give the orders to the group at a large. As Aya had assumed, it fell to Falda.

"Recruits!" The woman barked, instantly arousing the respect and admiration of their comrades, "today we will be venturing southwest from Taloba. Whilst we do not expect any trouble, as usual we demand that you give your earnest and best to Myri's command and work." She briefly raised an arm, indicating to the right-most group of warriors, "you will report to me, Falda of the White Rapids. The rest will report to my comrade, Ayatah of the Scattered Bones." Unbeknownst to Falda, several of Aya's group rolled their eyes or groaned in response to this statement. "You have one bell. Train, sharpen your weapons, do what you need to do. Ayatah and I will be planning our route in this time and are not to be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. Do you understand?"

The silence from their fangs indicated yes.

Falda dismissed with them a flick of a wrist. The recruits turned efficiently away, dissolving into a mass of dark faces that set about preparing themselves for the scouting party. Turning to Ayatah, she moved on to the next task at hand with a smirk, "let's plan, commander."

[Ayatah]

"We should ensure that our plan matches the skill and weaponry of the recruits." Ayatah's suggestion, though she fully believed it was the right course of action, was said cautiously. As a half-breed, she was in no position to give orders to anyone of equal standing to herself. It wouldn't be beyond Falda's right as a pureblood to smack Aya in the face right there and then.

Fortunately, the other Myrian nodded. Lips pursed, she glanced up to the recruits dotted around the training ground. There was a huge variation in the weapons they had selected to train with: axes, bows, blow-darts, daggers. "But we also need to ensure that there is an even selection of weapons used between our fangs." She mused quietly, the frown between her brows burrowing deeper.

It was a valid point. Though she recognised a few faces of the recruits, Ayatah knew nothing about them as individual warriors. They must have started their training at least a year after her, so their paths would not have crossed until now. "We should reorganise them." She muttered. The suggestion was not worth Falda hearing; a recruit would never undermine her superiors, let along a half-breed. Such an act would deserve a good beating and a few days cleaning the chamber pots.

Yet Falda did hear. She stared at Ayatah with wide eyes for a tick, before pouting her lips again. She was actually considering it! This surprised Aya nearly as much as her idea had shocked Falda. After a chime or so, the other woman nodded. "How else will we be able to formulate a plan? They all know our chosen weapons, after all." The 'they' she referred to, Aya guessed, were their military commanders and superiors. People like Oona, who organised fangs and war parties every other day. They knew exactly which recruits they had in their fang, as well as what level of skill that recruit had in which weapon. "She has probably already organised them, though."

"And if so, our reorganisation of them won't make any difference." Now her idea was being questioned, Aya realised just how sure she was that it was the right thing to do. "Blame me, if it comes to it." She whispered, knowing that this offer was bound to twist Falda's arm.

The Myrian clicked her tongue and eventually nodded stiffly. "Fine. But it's on you, regardless of outcome." With that, she stepped aside, giving Ayatah the floor to speak to the recruits.

Nervously, Aya called out to the twenty other Myrians training before her. She tried to keep her voice steady, confident. But she waned under their intense and scrupulous gaze. "Recruits! We-- I--" She shot Falda a questioning, desperate look, but the other Myrian simply stared onwards blankly. Aya spotted two female recruits elbowing each other and whispering something before laughing quietly. No doubt it was Aya's expense. Fixing her jaw and clearing her throat, Ayatah urged herself to continue speaking. "Your superiors have decided that the fangs you were previously organised into will be changed. As such, I want you to divide yourselves up depnding on the weapon you will be bringing with you on this scouting party. Those with ranged weapons, stand there." Aya gestured to the far corner of the training grounds, "short melee weapons, here. Large melee weapons, here. Anything else, stand in the middle. We'll be coming around in a moment."

For the seconds immediately after Ayatah's order, nobody moved. The recruits shifted uncomfortably on their feet, clearly waiting for Falda to support Ayatah's instruction. When this did not happen, Ayatah barked out a follow-up: "now."

At last they moved. The recruits organised themselves as quickly as one would expect a group of military trained warriors to do so. When all recruits stood in their respective areas, Falda and Ayatah began to move along the row of recruits, asking the single question weapon? to learn who wielded which blade. When they reached the last recruit, they totted up the numbers.

[Ayatah]

"Three longbows, four shortbows. One javelin. Four gladi, two hand axes, one great axe. The rest are all daggers of some variety." Aya reported, counting the recruits' weapons off her fingers. "I use the double-bladed dagger. You use--?"

"The scimitar." Falda looked to the recruits behind Aya's back. "We have a good variety. How shall we divide them up?"

"Equally between our fangs, I presume." In truth, Ayatah had not given this much thought. Even as she had watched the recruits organise themselves on her command, she had not actually expected her idea to actually go ahead. But it had, and so Aya was required to think fast and authoritatively. "As long as we ensure both fangs have a variety of weaponry between them, we should be fine."

But 'fine' would not make for a successful scouting, and Aya knew that. What had started as a good idea in her mind was now escalating into a potentially dangerous error. If anything happened to any of the recruits, it would be on her head. Her entire clan would be shamed by her, the half-breed who got too big for her metaphorical boots.

Myri, give me strength.

Mryi's strength lent to Ayatah came in the form of a supportive hand on her shoulder. Falda was nodding, her dark eyes fixed on the lines of recruits organised around the training ground. She, at least, seemed to be growing in confidence in Aya's idea when the half-Eypharian's sureness was rapidly shrinking. "I agree. We should go around again selecting the individuals for our respective fangs." It was as good as any idea that Aya could muster, so she agreed with Falda's suggestion.

The division of the recruits was actually far easier than Ayatah had expected. They seemed silenced by her earlier authority, or perhaps by Falda's harsh gaze. Either way, soon Ayatah stood before ten Myrian warriors, all waiting for her commands.

And Ayatah had absolutely no idea what to tell them. Fang leaders usually gave some sort of preliminary speech, sharing their general aims for the scout and the way they wanted their recruits to be organised. They were usually confidence-boosting, uniting the recruits together as one military body. They needed one such speech now, to give their recruits faith in their orders.

The only issue was that Ayatah could think of absolutely nothing to say. Floundering in front of twenty pairs of eyes, the half-Eypharian spluttered out some nonsensical sounds before thankfully, Falda stepped in.

"Today's scouting is Ayatah's and mine first time as fang leaders. But this is a test for you all as much as it is for us. How will you follow orders? Will you question authority? Will you act independently when necessary, and if so - how?" Ayatah watched her comrade, mesmerised by the pureblood's confidence and smooth talking. Had she given this speech before, or perhaps received it before? Aya tried to not look too fascinated, but failed miserably. Falda, however, appeared glassy and poised. There was no breaking her concentration or focus. "We have decided to divide you up into our respective fangs based on your chosen weapon. That will allow us, as fang leaders, to be fully familiar with your skillsets." With that, Falda began to point to individual recruits, ordering them to stand to the left behind Ayatah, or the right behind herself. Within five chimes, Ayatah had a full fang of eager looking recruits standing behind her. Both fangs had a good spread of melee and long-ranged weaponry. "I say we separate now, and organise our respective fangs to how we think we would be best." Falda suggested, in a tone that Aya's input was really not necessary. "No doubt we have our own personal tactic preferences."

Aya nodded, though in truth she had never really given such a thing much thought. She was quickly learning that it was far easier to follow than it was to lead. "No problem. Give it fifteen chimes?"

Falda nodded efficiently, turning on her heel and marching her recruits to the far side of the training ground. With a nod, Aya did the same and led her fang to the opposite side.

[Ayatah]

Now Ayatah was up close to her recruits, she could smell their hunger for a kill. Most of them were younger than she, cementing her belief that they were the more fresh in the military service than her. This, she hoped, would make them more accepting of her leadership. She glanced at their faces, trying to attach them to their respective weapons. A girl with a split lip caught the half-Eypharian's eye. "Hand axe, yes?" She paused to allow the woman to nod. "Stand here, please."

The recruit gingerly followed order, stepping out of line from her peers and into the space Aya had pointed out. "Who shoots with the longbow?" Two hands went up. Ayatah gestured to a space three or so paces behind Handaxe, "Stand here."

She continued to order her recruits in the same manner, confirming their weapon if choice and organising them into a position. Short melee weapons were first - placing Ayatah at the front of the fang - followed by several other dagger users. Behind them, two gladius-wielders flanked a short bow shooter. Handaxe was behind them, with the two longbow shooters closing the fang and flanking her.

"I want you to keep this position as best as possible when travelling. Archers: you will be the first to react if something is amiss, our first line of defence. Should we come across something, I also want you to spread out, go into the jungle and attack from there. Melee weapons, stay upfront with me." She had seen this tactic used countless times within fangs. It was perhaps a little unimaginative, but well rehearsed. Ayatah did not want complicated or flashy, she wanted to ensure the twenty recruits in her command returned back alive and unscathed.

Orders given and accepted, Ayatah turned to find Falda and her fang marching towards her. The Myrian gave a short nod to Aya and the two of them started off.

~~

[Ayatah]

The jungle heat pressed down on Ayatah, making her hair stick to the back of her neck. With a desperate sigh, she tried to cool herself off by sipping at her water skin, but this was to no avail. Perhaps it was actually the responsibility that made her feel so uncomfortable. With a paranoid glance behind her, she confirmed that -- yes, her recruits were still alive and well. They had held their position well for the past three bells.

A strangled-sounding birdcall broke through the jungle thickness. Ayatah's head snapped leftwards, the breath caught in her throat. Falda, using Myrian birdcalls to indicate that her fang had found something unexpected and potentially dangerous. Ayatah lingered in a moment before turning to her fang. "We move slowly. There's no rushing unless they call out again." With a silent flick of her wrist, she led her fang through the jungle greenery.

Falda and her fang were waiting in a small clearing. When Ayatah broke through the undergrowth, her fellow fang leader marched towards her. "Come see this." It was an instruction rather than an initiation, so Ayatah gave a curt nod and followed the pureblood to where the rest of her fang stood in a loose circle.

The fang surrounded the carcass of a boar, which was covered in a grim combination of blood and filth. Glancing to her comrades, Ayatah crouched down. A dead pig was hardly something shocking or scary -- why had Falda signalled her fang to investigate? She poked the dead body warily, and it gave a low, pained whine.

The boar, evidently, was not dead.

"Look at the injuries." Falda snapped impatiently, hovering over Ayatah's shoulder. The pure Myrian jabbed a finger towards the boar's rear end, which was torn up in a mess of flesh and fur. "Too small for a leopard, don't you think? And far too small for a tiger."

"Right..." Ayatah said slowly, turning to look up at Falda with a quizzical expression. Perhaps she was being slow, but the half-Eypharian really did not understand why Flada was looking so panicked and distressed. "I don't--"

Falda gave a frustrated grunt, turned sharply away from Ayatah and gestured to the ground. Amongst the dozens of footsteps belonging to their relative fangs, was a set of other prints. They were three-toed, with a central paw pad at the bottom and narrow indents of claws above each toe print. "See these? What do they look like to you?"

Ayatah half-crawled towards the prints. Behind her, one of the recruits finished the pig off with a dagger through the eyeball. Silently, she bid the animal's spirit a good afterlife. The prints were approximately two-thirds the size of the palm of her hand. And, as Falda had said about the scars on the boar, they seemed too small for a tiger or jungle cat. That, and there was more than one set of paw prints. Tigers and Leopards did not hunt in packs, but Ayatah knew one animal that did. "Akila Hound." She murmured.

[Ayatah]

Falda clapped her hands together, turning proudly to her recruits. "As I thought." She declared valiantly. Ayatah, in comparison, was not so enthusiastic.

"They're far closer to the city than they should be." A change in the natural order of things was always something to question, Ayatah had learned. The wild dogs of Falyndar never came close to Taloba unless they absolutely needed to. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen one within a day's travel from the city. "Why?"

Falda shrugged, not in the least bothered by this burning question. "The Basin's flooded. Would make it harder for them to hunt. Maybe they're this year's young, as well. They've not learnt to keep away from Taloba yet." She flashed Ayatah a hungry grin. Clearly, Falda had more ideas that she wished to share with Aya. "They won't be far away from here, y'know. And they'll probably come back for their kill. We should wait here and hunt them."

Ayatah's immediate response was to shake her head and refuse the proposal. Akila Hounds had the potential to be incredibly dangerous. She knew of warriors who had been ravaged by entire packs of the dogs, torn to pieces like thin cloth. "That isn't a good idea." She said softly, glancing to the recruits before turning her back to them. A quarrel between Fang Leaders would hardly leave a good impression.

"Don't you have any inspiration?" Falda spat poisonously, crossing her arms and giving Ayatah a disgusted look. The half-Eypharian had seen it many times, from many different people. Being stared at like filth was almost second nature to her now, like breathing. Clicking her tongue noisily, Falda shook her head and muttered: "Deyhan."

Though Ayatah had also been called that plenty of times before, this time she found herself swallowing down a burning fury. She would not allow Falda, a woman of equal standing to Aya in terms of the military, place herself on a pedestal. Ayatah looked back to the prints, trying to estimate how many hounds formed the pack. She counted four sets of prints that were clearly larger or smaller than the others, but suspected that there would be at least twice this number in reality. Twenty-two Myrians against a minimum of eight or ten dogs. Not terrible odds, but if the pack was a larger one then the recruits could find themselves in trouble.

That and, following Falda's idea, their fangs could end up spending all day waiting for the pack to return to this area.

"I said it wasn't a good idea because what you suggested was stupid." Ayatah watched as Falda turned slowly towards her, her disgust and disappointment quickly turning to anger. As the Myrian began to stride towards Aya, the half-Eypharian held up her hands to gesture in the direction that the prints went off in. "You can't assume they'll come back. They'll smell our scent and most likely keep clear. We need to trick them." Without waiting for her comrade to speak, Ayatah turned to all twnety recruits. "Who here believes that can successfully mimic the Akila hound howl?" Three hands slowly raised into the air. Aya nodded firmly, turned back to Falda. "They howl to indicate to the rest of the pack. Instead of waiting all day for them to arrive, the recruits can howl. If the dogs came back and there aren't too many, we kill them. If not, we move on."

[Ayatah]

The pure Myrian stared at Ayatah with thinly concealed detestation. But eventually, when it obvious that this new idea was far superior to her original plan, Falda nodded. "Fine." She snapped primly, striding past Ayatah and towards her own fang of recruits. "We'll conceal ourselves in this area. Those with longbows will need to be higher than the others." She wheeled slowly around back to Ayatah, her eyebrows quirked in a sarcastic manner, "do you agree, commander?"

Ayatah gave Falda a genuine smile, enjoying the rage burning up inside her comrade. "I agree."

The recruits began to dissolve into the jungle, climbing trees and squatting in bushes to conceal themselves amongst the shadows. Ayatah waited until all members of her fang were out of view before nodding and moving on to hide herself. She wanted a spot that would provide a clear view of the clearing below and also allowed Aya to keep an eye on her recruits.

Eventually she selected one of the lower branches of a tree. Clamping her teeth onto the central hilt of her dagger, the half-Eypharian jumped up to grab hold of the lowest branch. With a grunt, and much effort, she hauled herself upwards, clinging onto the tree's trunk for balance. Slowly she lowered herself down into a squat, folding her legs under herself to avoid the chance of a dog devouring her hanging feet.

A few ticks later, and Falda released a birdcall cry. In response, three of their recruits started to howl. The sound was blood-curdling realistic, and Ayatah felt her teeth go on edge.

Silence.

Then they howled again.

And again.

And finally, after ten or so chimes of breathless howls, a hound replied. The recruits fell silent upon Falda's whistling command. Now all they needed to do was wait for the pack to appear.

It did not take long. The first hound to break through the undergrowth was lean and black. As Falda had suggested, it was a young dog, possibly born the Spring just gone. Nevertheless, it was still muscular, with a set of dagger-like claws on each paw. Ayatah watched as the dog sniffed cautiously at the ground, padding slowly in the direction of the now dead pig. A chime later, and the dog was howling.

Then the jungle seemed to fold and bend away, revealing ten, twenty, thirty Akila hounds. Ayatah had never seen so many before, and she was utterly horrified. They explored the earth with their noses low, catching and tracking the various scents that the fangs had left behind. Silently, Ayatah swore. She had not thought of the hounds' keen sense of smell -- and it might prove to be a terrible mistake. Somewhere hidden in a tree or brush, Falda was watching the exact same scene unfold. Ayatah could only hope that the other woman would have the common sense to know that this fight was not one that was worth the risks.

An arrow flew out from the shadows, skimming along one of the hound's spines before shuddering in the mud next to the boar's dead body. Three more arrows appeared, one of which landed in the dog's ribcage. Amongst the frightened yelps and growls, Ayatah saw Falda's recruits storm out of the jungle, shouting their Myrian war cries and wielding their weapons. The eleven Myrians slammed into dogs. Yowls from both man and animal ripped into the Jungle. Ayatah signalled to her recruits to join their comrades in battle.

In the chaos of survival, it was impossible to count how many dogs formed this pack. But what Ayatah did know what that they were quick, strong, and mightily aggressive. No sooner had she lowered herself from her tree branch did a hound lunge at Ayatah. Instinctively, she raised her dagger, and the hound slid onto it, releasing a terrified yelp before falling limp to the ground. She spotted Falda hacking apart one dog before turning and beheading another. Corpses littered the jungle floor, and by Myri's good grace, all were of the four-legged variety.

A low, dark shadow skulked towards Ayatah, eyes glittering and teeth bared. With a lunge and snap, the hound dived towards her legs. She jumped backwards, well clear of the dog's jaws, but she stumbled on landing. Aya managed to brace herself against the tree she had only just crawled down, but this left her with quite literally nowhere to go. Her four-legged attacker came towards her yet again.

Only this time, Ayatah started with the offensive. Keeping her knees flexed, she stooped low and jabbed her dagger outwards, gripping it in a forward-hold. She caught the hound on the leg, though it barely seemed to notice the small gash from her blade. Growling, the animal rushed forwards. Aya responded with a swift kick, knocking the dog down before plunging her dagger into it's hardened little body.

[Ayatah]

No sooner had Aaytah's first assailant been killed than another started creeping towards her, teeth bared and saliva dripping. She had lost all sense of time and number, with no idea how many hounds were still alive. Neither did she know the status of her fangmates. How did her superiors remain skilled warriors whilst also keeping an eye on all the recruits? A mess of dogs and Myrians wrestled around her, and though Aya was almost certain she could see no dead Myrians, she was still very aware of the danger her fang had found themselves in.

The hound approaching her leapt forwards, low and with paws reaching forwards. It slashed at Aya's legs, and she gave a yowl of pain. She kicked out, and the hound jumped backwards to avoid the blows. She was preparing to lunge at the hound when an arrow suddenly erupted out of its rump. The animal yelped, fell to the floor, and Ayatah greeted it with the point of her dagger. When she looked up, Falda stood watching her from the corner of the clearing. The two women shared a solemn nod before returning to battle.

Ayatah's next kill was delivered to a dog already half-crippled by one of he recruits. It was an easy job, and allowed the half-Eypharian to finally inspect her surroundings. Thankfully and as she had thought, none of the recruits were dead. Most were hurt though, with bite marks and slashes much like the ones on Aya's shins. But they were holding form well, and it ground had become littered with hound bodies.

They were winning.

She began to prowl around the outskirts of the clearing, dark eyes critically watching the scene before her. When one of her recruits stumbled and fell over a rock, Ayatah rushed to his side. The hound was standing above him, jaws snapping furiously. It would have ripped out the warrior's throat had he not been holding the animal above him. Ayatah grabbed the dog by the ears and dragged her dagger across its throat. She dropped the body back onto her recruit and offered him a hand up.

There were but a few hounds left, and the animals were beginning to melt back into the jungle. After a short few chimes, it was only Myrians left in the clearing, breathing heavily and thanking Myri for their survival.

Ayatah did a quick stock check. No fatal wounds, plenty of blood and torn skin and muscle. "We need to tend to the worse of our wounds." She declared, nodding to Falda but not giving her fellow a chance to argue. "Otherwise more hounds might track our scent. Who has the dressings?" A young woman with half an ear (thankfully not from this patrol) stepped forwards and produced Ayatah's requested bundle of material. She ripped the bandage into several pieces and began to hand them out to the least wounded. "We'll move in ten chimes."

With her orders delivered, Ayatah turned her attention to the next task. She approached the young male warrior who's jugular she saved from being ripped out by one of the hounds. "That needs dressing." She told him, gesturing to the deep gash on his forearm. The warrior glanced at the wound, as if he had only just realised it existed.

"Oh. Yes. Thank you."

After he had extended his arm out for her, Ayatah began to wrap the bandage slowly down his forearm, starting at the elbow and working her way down to the wrist. She maintained a steady tension, ensuring that the bandage was taut and flush enough to his limb without cutting off the blood supply. When she had covered the arm, she tucked the loose ends back into the bandage to hopefully keep it tied onto the arm.

Their journey back to Taloba was far more exhausting than their adventure into the jungle. The recruits were almost all silent for the majority of the way, speaking only to check amongst themselves that their wounds were fine. On one occasion, Falda stepped beside Ayatah and murmured, "how are your legs?"

As much as she wanted to reply breezily and casually, Aayath threw her comrade a pained glance, "agony." She whispered, affording a small smirk, "I bloody wish I'd used all those bandages on myself."

Falda grimaced but chuckled lowly. "What was it Oona used to say? 'Any leader may lead, but a good leader knows when to follow as well'.... Or something like that." She pulled a face.

Ayatah shrugged. "I've no idea." She said, though there was some faint memory at the back of her mind that contained the image of Oona's commanding presence, telling her recruits passionately about the sacrifices a fang-leader must sometimes make. "I think she meant that leaders might be first on a patrol, but last to receive any of the benefits."

Her companion grinned. "You're beginning to sound like a hardened war leader, Ayatah."

Gods, I hope not.

[Dravite]

Ayatah

XP Award:

• Philosophy: 1
• Logic: 4
• Socialisation: 3
• Leadership: 4
• Organisation: 3
• Planning: 3
• Rhetoric: 3
• Tactics: 1
• Wilderness Survival, Jungle: 1
• Investigation: 1
• Tracking: 1
• Climbing: 1
• Weapon, Dagger: 2
• Endurance: 1
• Medicine: 1

Lore:

• Ayatah: Co-Leading a Fang
• Politics: Myrians respect their own
• Leadership: Knowing your groups strengths and weaknesses
• Organising a group of fighters
• Leadership: Backing up your co-leader
• Falda: A confident public speaker
• Tactics: Battle group formations
• Wilderness Survival: Moving through the jungle
• Tracking: Akila Hounds
• Medicine: Bandaging an open wound

Notes: Really enjoyable read, I love your writing style and the detail offered vs the storyline that is told. Let me know if you think I have missed anything here and be sure to edit your grading request!

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