Placeholder [SoG] A Novice At Best More Or Less

[Ramona Silvertongue]

35th, SPRING, 517AV

"But, I want to go to," Bhug protested, he looked very eager, and Ramona knew the dangers of the Sea of Grass. It was definitely a place where no one should venture out alone, unless you are close to the edge of the city of Endrykas.
Not safe,Ramona signed, "Dangers await us at the Sea of Grass,"the huntress mumbled, she looked guilty, even as she thought about taking her younger and only brother through the dangers of the Sea of Grass. Bhug was only very young, when his parents died, and they didn't die with a pleasant death.

Ramona wouldn't forgive herself if she took Bhug along with her, and she didn't feel right about not taking him. This was a conversation that they had many, many times before. Bhug is not even ten years yet, and he really wants to go out to the wilderness. Ramona cursed under her breath,
well, it wasn't an audible curse, she mostly mouthed it, as she doesn't want her younger brother to be cursing like a sailor.

"How about, you play with the other kids, Bhug?"Ramona suggested, she had a hunch of what the young boy was going to say next, and she decided to stay around and talk it out. Bhug shook his head and for sure, Ramona's instincts were fairly right. He was stubborn for a five year old. She sighed, knowing that there wasn't a chance that he would not want to stay behind, as he had seen Ramona wander away too many times. He looked rather confused, and it seemed that curiosity was a common trait among the Silvertongue's.

"I do not want to play with the other kids Ramona." Bhug stated, he crossed his arms, and Ramona did not like his reaction. She expected no more from him, but this, he was more concerned about Ramona, then she was about Bhug.

"How about this, if you go play with the other kids; and I don't come back before after dinner, you can let the Watchmen know, our father was a Watchman, and I'm sure there are others who were willing to repay my father favors.'Ramona suggested, "so something like a scout, but now I have to get us dinner. So we have something to eat, Bhug promise me you can do that, okay?" Bhug looked content and the red on his face lessened and his cheeks saturated back into its natural pigment. Ramona smiled as she noticed his behavior had been cooling down.

"Okay; okay, I can do that. Do that I can. I'll go play with the other kids, Ramona." Bhug didn't take long to consider the aftermath of the situation and got ready for playing with the other kids that are pretty close to the Silvertongue Pavillion. "Thank you Bhug, I will now get ready to go hunting. Anthem!"Ramona called out sweetly, and the stallion cantered over towards Ramona and whinnied in excitement. Ramona was thrilled that Anthem was ready to go. They were only going to travel about a bell towards the East of Endrykas. Ramona was told, that she would be able to find some amount of game there. Ramona mounted up Anthem, her shortbow strapped to the Yvas. Her arrows strapped on the other side, she was more or less ready to go out to hunt, but she knew she had to be very careful.

Word Count :

565/2500

[Ramona Silvertongue]

35th, SPRING, 517AV

Ramona and Anthem rode hard across the rough fields of the Sea of Grass. Each blade rose higher than the next, at least as high as a Drykas' waist. It was later in the afternoon. Ramona only needed a few Bells to catch something small. At least to her estimation. If she rode hard, she would make it to her destination in nearly a bell or less. The Silvertongue's Pavillion only rested on the edges of the Amethyst Clan borders. Even though, the Clans of Endrykas are built as One, each one occasionally has it's own uniqueness given to them. The Emerald Clan, The Amethyst Clan, Sapphire, Ruby, and the Diamond Clan.

Far behind Ramona, she heard the grass rustling, but she assumed the wind, and she also assumed the worst of the possibilities of what that rustling could be or might be. She pressed Anthem to skip faster across the matted ground, the sun was descending slowly by every chime as time itself seemed to pursue the end of the day. Hooves pounded against the tall grass, and Anthem's snorts and inhales can be heard occasionally. Ramona held loosely on the Yvas, her legs were relaxed as she rode on top of the Strider.

Her vision was blurry for a few ticks as she leaned over, her locks that weren't a part of the bun she had made this morning, dripped over her face as she peered through the blurry haze that seemed to have somewhat misguided her as she hoped to have the her vision not do. The rustling was heard once more, and she noticed that the rustling had dispersed with a quick glance around her position. With a worried glance around her location, she was afraid that someone or something would jump out of her, she needed to push Anthem to Lake Serifal.

After a half a bell or so, the blurry vision of a forest seemed to be getting clearer, and the horizon still descended into a fair dark light. The horizon conjured hues of oranges, and purples. It was getting closer and closer to sunset. Ramona knew, and she could hear some howling miles away. It hadn't bothered Anthem he kept pushing. Fortunately, Ramona had had her waterskin with her as well, it was important to stay hydrated. Especially when your out in the Sea of Grass, during this time of the year, and when Winter really never happened. It was still strange that Winter hadn't happened, but Ramona didn't really take part of what was going on around her. She had only really stayed close to the people whom she really trusted. She hadn't really gotten herself known throughout Endrykas, but a lot of people of the Amethyst Clan should know her. Well... at least half of them should.

"There we go boy, there we go. You must be very thirsty."Ramona praised as Anthem slowed down, they were roughly ten meters away from the treeline. Ramona wondered if she should leave Anthem here, or have him tag along, it was dangerous being out here alone. It would be a mistake leaving Anthem without anyone by her side, and she could feel the tension in her chest, the chase of whatever was under the grass, and now the thoughts of leaving Anthem to wait for her, it scared her. But, she was open-minded and decided that it would be better to tag him along. That was when she made her decision, after Anthem snorted and examined the treeline for any cause of danger. The huntress patted the mane of Anthem as he examined the exterior.

"Good boy, I have a feeling that you'd want to come along?"Ramona said, and untied her waterskin and poured some in her hand so that Anthem could get enough liquid in his system. Ramona wondered if she could find a lake or a pond somewhere near here, so that she could get Anthem's thirst quenched. "Your nose is a lot better then mine Anthem, perhaps you lead, yeah?" Ramona suggested- she slid off of the side of the Strider, and gathered her shortbow. There it was, Lake Serifal. Just North of Tent City. Ramona was glad that she had found the lake, and she wondered what she could do next. She didn't know one thing about fishing, so it would be difficult for her to fish. There seemed to be a forest further North, but she didn't want to ride that far. She could wait, but if she was caught off guard, that could mean the end. She has a few options, and for now she could think it over while getting a drink of water.

Word Count :

1347/2500

[Ramona Silvertongue]

DAY, SEASON, 517AV

As Ramona sat beside Anthem, she contemplated on her options. She drank from her waterskin, the cool refreshing water of Lake Serifal. It was soothing, and a few fish jumped above the water every now and then as the chimes passed. The Drykas also kept a fair eye out, as she made sure that nothing would ambush her peace as she thought. Though, she was really tensed, and the creatures that trailed her and Anthem as she rode over the Sea of Grass, that scared her. She was afraid of being alone without another person there to guide her.

On the other hand, she realized how much more independent she could be. Consistently hunting like this, could it help her earn her self respect? Or would Ramona have to do more to feel more secure and more protected against her conscious thoughts of being 'naked.' Though, this was something that Ramona was just barely getting used to, oh how she really missed her parents. If they were still alive, he would have been teaching her how to use Webbing, or even how to track, and her mother would teach her how to cook.

After the Zith attack, she watched her parents honor raise up in flames as they were burned and settled above the skies. Ramona wondered where people and non people go after they die. What was to happen to them, when they die... where do their souls go? It was a question that Ramona had ever thought of; ever since she was a kid, she had always thought of it. Though, that wasn't the only thing that was ever on mind. She had originality, she made time with her brother fun, just for the both of them. They would play games, and finish up on chores at the same time. It was a little trick thing that Ramona did with her brother. She would occasionally do it with him now, if he doesn't move along with his chores when she expects him to.

For a five year old he can be really stubborn. Responsibilities need to be put through first. Even if it meant hunting for your family... which in this case Ramona should really get up and start scanning the area and see what she can use to her advantage. There weren't any forestry too close to Lake Serifal. Most of it was just grassland. Pretty tall grassland, and it had really irritated Ramona.

Ramona refiled her waterskin and mounted Anthem, as she felt more or less comfortable riding him than walking. She decided that a slow and steady trot would help her ease her cautious worries of dying and being attacked by other animals. She readied her shortbow, since she didn't really need to hold onto Anthem the whole time she rode. Otherwise, she wouldn't have too much time to react before an encounter. Off in the far off distance, the audible howling of a few wolves could be heard, and the sun slowly inched beneath the horizon, calling for its sister, the moon to begin the night. Ramona assumed that she had a few Bells remaining before it got really dark, and it would only take a bell or so to get back to Endrykas, and she would be safe from the creatures of the dark. She prayed that she would make it back alive, and with food. Even if it could be rabbits, or fox. It would serve Ramona and Bhug nicely, since it was only the two of them who lived together, and they were the only two that Ramona had to feed.

Word Count :

1947/2500

[Ramona Silvertongue]

35th, Spring, 517av

Ramona glanced around the lake, as she was hoping to find something decent for her to catch or shoot at. She was also hoping for something to be about 10ft away. Also, she was hoping for a lot, but that hope didn't stop her, she knew that she should focus on what was happening at the present, the now. Otherwise, she would overwhelm herself with worrying too much about everything. She was too far to access her Webbing, the Djed still called out to her, she needed to get closer to check on her brother Bhug, and she knew that if something happened to her one of the other Drykas would usually know how to find her. After all, Ramona was what, a bell or so away from the Tent City?

Watchmen would be able to find her if something goes wrong, and Anthem would definitely be there to help anyone else out if things go wrong, but why was Ramona thinking about things going wrong? She really didn't know, and figures that she should keep a steady mind, as she hoped once more that she'll find some game to bring home.

Then, Ramona barely heard it, Anthem stopped, he kicked up some dust and dirt as he did. There was a loud pitch bark, almost like a squealing bark. yip, yip, yip. That's what it sounded like, and it sounded so very very close to Ramona. She swiveled her head around, hands holding the shortbow tightly, she hadn't found the source of the yipping. It somewhat frieghtened her, but she figured that Anthem could help that was when she noticed some markings along the ground, more or less prints. They appeared to be from an animal, and Ramona wasn't sure. They trailed from the lake, perhaps they were drinking when Ramona was thinking? She should have payed more attention when it came to things like these, but her father always said that she was very unobservant as a child, and it's still a bad habit for her today. She should probably focus on that.

Anthem dropped his head and sniffed the tracks, Ramona wouldn't know what to do without the stallion. Where was he going? She wondered as Anthem began to wander along them. He was slow, and Ramona wondered why, whatever made these tracks- could they be really close? What was to happen to them if they ended up with a predator, much more dangerous than she? How would she be able to react if it was an ambush? Ramona heard stories of how smart the animals could be whilst hunting. Be it alone, or animals within another pack, it can still be a trick.

"Slow, steady. Dont want to alert them."Ramona whispered to one of Anthem's ears. She leaned over, as she kept her focus all around her, and she wondered what to do. She figured that looking up wouldn't be a bad idea to start, there were only a few flocks of geese that flew overhead above in the skies. Some were even honking. Other than that there were a couple of other different types of birds from what Ramona could see, and boy, it was still getting dark, she might only have a bell remaining. She should really find something soon. Then, the ground beneath her began to shake, and Anthem stumbled back, Ramona had to keep balance and do her best to not fall over. She wondered what was going on...

Out popped what looked like a head, its ears were small, and it had pretty big puffy eyes. Golden brown fur, almost like the color of brown sugar and dirt it seemed. It mixed well with the earth. With a quick and unprofessional reaction, she quickly aimed and fired her arrow, it passed the Prairie dog and it scurried back underground, and another few yips could be heard. Curse it, instead of Anthem scaring them off, Ramona was the one to scare them off.

Word Count :

2608/2500

[Rufio]

G R A D E

xp

Horsemanship +1
Persuasion +1
Observation +3
Riding, Horse +2
Philosophy +1
Hunting +1
Weapon: Shortbow +1
Tracking +1


lores

The Sea of Grass is full of dangers
Bhug: Inquisitive, stubborn and adventurous
Persuasion: Setting a reassuring plan of ‘just in case’
Horse-riding: Legs relaxed
Cyphrus: Lake Serifal
Endrykas: Made of many clans
Philosophy: Contemplating life after death
Ramona: Worrier
Goose: Call & flocking pattern
Tracking: Prairie dog prints
Prairie dog: ‘Yipping’ call
Prairie dog: What one looks like


note

An interesting read and a great start to a hunt! I noticed Ramona does not have any possessions besides her short-bow listed in her CS - I would suggest giving the starting package a read and adding the items from it to Ramona's CS (alternatively you can add unwanted items from the starting package to Ramona's ledger and sell them for mizas). If you have any questions about the starting package or CS, feel free to PM me, or you can PM our friendly ST, Meadow.

If you feel I missed anything, shoot me a PM.
Don't forget to mark your request as 'graded' here -