Flashback Killing With Friends

[Ixzo]

Word Count: 903

51st of Spring, 511AV

When Ixzo woke, she was glad to realize she had beat Syna to the day. The young girl was excited, because today she was going to hunt. She had goaded the older Ayatah into it a few days prior, and this morning they were finally going to do it. The slumbering noises of the rest of her family, still fast asleep in the shared hut, kept Ixzo quite as she scrambled down from her hammock. Gently pressing her bare feet into the packed earth beneath them, she eyed her father wearily. The bat clung to the rafter in the corner of the hut, and while he was usually nocturnal, by the early morning hours he often retired. She sat for a moment, making sure the small leathery wings of her father were only moving because of his breathing, not because he planned to spring forward and stop her.

Then, Ixzo slipped away from the sleeping room, sliding into the main area of the hut, where most of her large family did most of their work. Her cousin and his mother were working on baskets, and even after being cleaned up and moved to the side, the multi-day project took up most of the room, forcing Ixzo to slowly make her way around all the possible noise-making materials. But her sneaking wasn't so great because by the time she made it to her bow, her father was standing in the doorway. A blanket slung across his shoulders, the light sleeper swiftly moved through the room towards the kitchen, putting her stealth to shame. Ixzo froze, curious if the man had actually seen her. One hand gripped her quiver, keeping the arrows from clinking together too loudly, and the other was half done with shouldering the massive bow. Wide silver eyes watched the kitchen doorways for a moment, hearing the noise of her father doing something, but he didn't emerge.

Hoping to make a run for it, Ixzo began scooting her way back around her cousin's basket-weaving project, which she was a little glad to be missing, towards one of the windows. No hope in getting through the kitchen and out the door past her father's notice.

"Ixzo." The hushed voice was calm and she turned back to see her father's silhouette in the doorway. Unlike the rest of their family, her father and her were the only two who had the luck of perfect night vision, so not much was needed for her to read that he wasn't mad at all. As the amused expression crossed his face, she knew he saw the fright of being caught clear on her face. "Bring Ayatah something to eat as well." He held out the leave, and Ixzo grinned, skittering forward, forgetting about the reeds and dry vines that scattered across the ground, crinkling under her feet as she reached for the food.

Ixzo froze, cringing and her father chuckled quietly as they heard the annoying squeak of her mother's bondmate's cot. She was the only Myrian Ixzo knew who insisted that her sleeping arrangements be secured to the ground, and so everyone in the hut could hear when she moved in her sleep as a result.

"Go, before Tlili wakes up and makes you do chores before you go." Her father winked, tucking the two leaf bundles into her hands, before grabbing his daughter under the arms and lifting her to the window. She struggled with the clasp for a second, before swinging open the shutters and slipping out of the hole.

"I'll bring back something good." She whispered back into the dark hole in the hut. The moon was setting and the sky was starting to lighten. She heard her father's disbelieving chuckle and she rolled her eyes, turning away from the pessimist.

In only a few chimes, she found her way over to where she agree to meet Ayatah on the edge of the Shorn Skulls territory. She was hoping they could go towards the Kanduktu Basin, since in her limited experience, it was the only place Ixzo knew how to hunt in. But more than that, she was looking forward to learning from the older half-Myrian who she looked up to. While she waited, she peaked into the cold breakfast her father had slung together, finding a few slices of goat cheese and a handful of berries as well as some crackers. Ixzo popped a juicy berry in her mouth while she waited.

When Ayatah came, she would hand her the other leaf-wrapped meal. "Pa got us some food." And without missing a beat, the young Kelvic would grin. "So what are we gonna hunt today? Do you know where we are going? Should I bring my bow, or do you think I should go back to being a lion? But then we can't communicate. Ma says it is really important to communicate on a hunt, otherwise you won't get anything. And, you don't really understand the whole tail ordeal, but the tigers get it. Ma doesn't want me to, but I want to go hunting with them one day. She says it's not a good idea because they are so big-- Hey Aya, how are you doin'?" She realized she was jabbering too much, and immediately worked to steer the conversation back with the older girl, if she hadn't already been interrupted, which the almost-teenager was plenty used to at that point.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ayatah]

It had taken a solid two years for the majority of the Shorn Skulls to accept Ayatah. Though she had, in her opinion at least, proved herself to be just as worthy as any full-blood, her sullied heritage was enough to make acceptance a rare thing indeed. Over time, however, even if the most painful and chronic of illnesses blends into the background, and like some sort of tumour, Ayatah had done just that.

But there had been one member of the Shorn Skulls who, along with Aya’s lover of course, had been willing to accept her. Ixzo was Kelvic, which was perhaps why Ayatah felt some kind of allegiance with the younger girl, despite the age gap between them. Plus, Ayatah figured, the Night Lion had been born after Ayatah had met Razkar: so perhaps the half-Eypharian was not an outsider to her per se. Regardless of the reasons, Aya was glad to have at least one other ally in an otherwise indifferent clan.

Today, they would be hunting together. Ayatah was looking forward to taking on the challenge of educating the younger woman: teaching was fast becoming a passion of hers, though there was little opportunity for her to practise in Taloba. Few parents wanted their children taught by a half-Deyhan, after all.

She moved quietly and cautiously, picking her way through the dark hut and taking care not to accidently stand on a sleeping Myrian. Amongst the snoring and mumbling Aya stepped, eventually exiting the hut and breaking into the thin morning. She collected her weapons, shrugging on her longbow and quiver and also arming herself with two wickedly sharp double-bladed daggers. Water skins were also filled, and hung onto Aya’s belt beside her sheathed blades. Preparation was key to the success of a hunt, among a great other various things, and complimented Aya’s methodological thinking. She silently ticked off the list of necessities: weapons, water, hemp rope (for all possible purposes), a skinning knife (though Ayatah was clueless how to use it).

Finally, she made her way to the place where she would be meeting Ixzo. As Aya approached she saw that the Kelvic was already there. She smiled, a greeting was forming on her lips -- but the words died there as Ixzo welcomed Aya with a lungful of questions. The half-Eypharian grinned, unable to conceal her amusement in the other girl’s enthusiasm. “I’m well, thank you.” She said mildly, slightly dazzled by Ixzo’s whirlwind speed of speaking. “I thought we could move north towards the Kandukta Basin. It shouldn’t be too flooded this time of year.” Indeed, the rainy Summer was yet around the corner, and Aya hoped that the watering hole would be at its least swollen. “You may as well bring a bow, though I do have mine. If we need your claws, I’ll let you know.” A smirk played on her lips and Aya flashed Ixzo a wink. Though she was unsure how it felt to have a tail following everywhere you went, perhaps having a young’un taggling along would be very similar.

[Izuyanai]

Grades : Grades Name: Ixzo XP: Stealth +1 Observation +1 Lores: Hunting: Importance of Communication Notes: I couldn’t offer much but I did try to be fair. Congrats on maximum Observation! Let me know if you think I’ve missed something.