[Solo] Fruit and Fighting

[Azurk]

Season of Spring, Day 9, 511 AV

On the tree there were signals of yellow and a pair of reds, mingled with gesticulating greens that flickered in recurring periods; the wind would roll over the terrain, then cease, and then return seconds later, and the whole process was smooth to the ear, serene like the tide of the sea. And it was the sea in its own manner: the Sea of Grass washed all about, and the tree was an island, lonely and sharp in the dull-emerald waves.

For the time, the tree was partnered. Azurk explored the bloom with his outstretched arm, weaving his fingertips across and through the leaves and the beaming apples as if he were a tailor of harvest. The fruits were signals, indeed, like the sprouts of flame in a gradually combusting fire, growing yet into maturity with the ripening of Spring. And they were made ever more vivid by their birth from end of the harsh reign of Winter.

The two that glowed red were undoubtedly gifts. Azurk had only a vague concept of seasonal time, but he knew that the ruby color was difficult to come by so early in the year. The Season of Birth invoked many miracles, not the least of which being so secret as these apples, hidden from all those who would not venture out into the wild and take a moment to feel the blossoming world.

He was not out here of his own accord, though. Kalik had made the march out into the grasslands, hoping for a hunt. The sun was descending from its zenith, and the world was wide awake, but only the whispers of it could be heard out here. Kalik had attempted tracking for a while, to no avail, for he was primarily a warrior, not a hunter. When Kalik had grown bored, Azurk had taken hold and decided to walk. Now he would reap the rewards of his exploration. He repositioned himself, reached out, and twisted the first of the apples from the tree.

Snap. One. Snap. Two.

He unslung his pack from his shoulders and knelt down. The grass was regrowing in this area; the Winter had claimed some of it and Spring would conjure reinforcements. For now, his head poked above the blades, but in another time or place he would have been completely concealed by the grass.

Azurk shined the apples with a few dabs from his cloak and then brandished them for his own inspection. Flawless. He made no particular sound and revealed nothing through facial expression. He tucked one into his bag, stood back up, and slipped his arms through the straps, ready to move once more. The apple he had not put away he held, then took a generous, fulfilling bite. The crack of the skin and the flow of juice: he savored these sensations, delighting in the sweet flavor, if only to himself.

He was incredibly lonely.

[Azurk]

He had soon distanced himself from the tree, and though the land in a small radius about it had been mere dirt, its brown trunk and branches were eventually lost from sight in the flowing grass. He stared off to his left, Westward, where he knew Riverfall to be. He had travelled many hours, however, and the city was beyond perception to his unkeen eyes.

Considering the flat,vast nature of the Sea of Grass, it was actually very easy to hide things out in these wilds. The jade blanket provided cover for anyone or anything wishing to remain undetected. The only way to really find something in the immense haystack was by coming it, square foot by square foot. That would take eons, of course, and so much of the finding out here was left to luck--a far less resolute method. Still, it was luck that had afforded him the apple tree.

Azurk's cloak was draped over his shoulders and ran down to just above his knees. It was shorter than the sort of garment a mage might wear, leaving his legs mostly exposed but also granting him greater versatility in movement. The front was left slightly open, and Azurk tended not to cover his chest in any other way, so his abdomen would occasionally peek out of the swaying fabric as he walked, revealing his purple-blue skin.

Around his waist was a thin belt, clasped beneath the cloak, but over the tan breeches that covered his upper legs. There, between the leather of the band and his waist, was his Lakan, held loosely by tension on the handle. Kalik had been the one to bring it in the early morning, but now Azurk bore the weapon, a reminded of his days as a warrior-in-training, and in many ways, a reminder of the rise of Kalik. It was hardly Azurk's weapon any more.

On his feet, Azurk had thick sandals, which he did not often wear while in the Outpost, but that were somewhat appropriate in the wilds, given the dangers lurking beneath the veil of the grass. They were hardly an apt defense against the serpents of Cyphrus, but they were better than nothing.

[Azurk]

He was ascending a subtle incline on the face of what was maybe just tall enough to be considered a hill. The slope was cleverly crafted into the landscape, however, and blended in to the ground at its base in a way that the climbing and descending of the hill was not noticably dissimilar from walking on level terrain.

He came now to the peak, and from it there was a remarkably revealing view of the surrounding range. He could still not see his friend, the apple tree, but Azurk could see the rise and fall of other hills near and into the horizon, as well as what he thought was a segment of the Bluevein River, although he was not confident in his sense of geography. It was not too far; only a mile from his current point, by his own judgement. He had little other business out here, for he did not care for hunting or fighting, and thus he began to wade in the direction of the waterbank.

He hiked into the flat of the grasslands once more, and he lost visual contact with the water he had spotted, but he had faith in his bearings for now and would walk for ten chimes before thinking about turning back toward the hill.

From the hill, there was no major landmark he had paid attention to aside from the tree, and the journey home from that point would rely on the alignment of the sun and the guidance of the wind. Fortunately, the sky was entirely visible in these vast lands, and the heavens were a constant reminder of one's position and direction.

At last, Azurk heard the movement of water. It was some distance yet, but he pursued the sound, and though it seemed to die off every few seconds, the splashing would eventually beckon again.

Splashing? He stopped his advance, waiting for the noise. Another time, it splashed, and he heard the patter of footsteps also. The water was not flowing; it was being disturbed. Azurk lowered his head and creept the last few yards, stalking the source of the splashes through the grass.

This time the splattering was accompanied by a raspy caw, and Azurk could identify three fully matured Glassbeaks congregated in a shallow pool, drinking and bathing. Thankfully, he had not walked straight into conflict. There might even be more of the beasts around, and since he had no further reason to stay, Azurk was ready to head home.

He was about to retrace his steps to the hill when the splashing reappeared, this time much louder and more frantic. The Glassbeaks screeched, and their footsteps were heavy and panicked, and Azurk heard them scatter. He kept low and motionless until he was knocked down onto his face by one of the fleeing Glassbeaks, returning to his feet after the creature had scurried off into the forest of grass.

Everything was quiet for a moment as the Glassbeaks vanished. But then Azurk's heart was diminished, for he knew that Kalik was coming forth after the shock of his fall, and he could hear the slithering of a large, black serpent through the dirt and grass-fibers. By the will of his battle-hungry brother, Azurk slipped his Lakan out from his belt and raised it in his right hand, scanning the floor until he saw the shimmer of black, leathery scales wiggling quickly over it.

[Azurk]

Azurk marked the slithering beast with his vision, tracking its movements, and in time he realized that he was spinning. The predatory serpent was circling him, and it did so with a swiftness that he could not match in the stomach-high grass. The serpent slipped out of sight, and all that was left to signify its presence was the rustling of its movement. The snake had a loud, thunderous hiss that suited its size well. The monster must have been well over two hundred pounds, composed of pure muscle, and he imagined its teeth would be massive. In fact, running began to seem like Azurk's best option at the moment, for whatever this serpent actually was, it had been capable of scaring off a group of three Glassbeaks.

The snake would surely outpace him in the grass, but it would also outfight him if he held his ground. Azurk had to attempt retreat and pray that it would leave him be.

He waited, apprehensively, as the snake circumnavigated him again, and when it seemed at its farthest point from the hill that Azurk had come from, the Akalak bolted. The reeds of the grasslands whipped against him, his cloak parting as it caught on the air that rushed by his body. He peeked back over his shoulder, but there was no sense in doing so, for the grass was to thick to discern anything within it.

He sprinted, and kept sprinting, trying to hold his cloak down and keep it from gathering wind resistance. The hill was close now, and Azurk was hopeful, for it seemed that the creature had not taken up the chase. He calves strained as he started up the incline, and he was breathing quickly, and sweat formed across his forehead and along his arms, shining in the sunlight. He felt his palms getting wet as his grip on his Lakan faltered.

He heaved himself up the last few feet, and he was just short of the peak of the hill when he heard that stark hissing. It was close now--in front of him, in fact, and as he ventured to place his next step, his sandal landed not on the dirt of the plains, but on a tough, thick body. His ankle buckled and Azurk collapsed onto the ground, and he was lashed across the chest by the coarse, heavy tail of the snake as it bore past him.

"Beast!" Azurk rolled over and clutched at his stomach, coughing and winded. He had his Lakan securely in his right hand and continued to roll until his was on his back, half sitting, but not feeling ready to get onto his feet.

[Azurk]

He could hear naught but his own breathing and the crackling of scales through grass. Despite his most strained efforts, his gaze could not pierce the grass, and so he brandished his Lakan and slowly got onto his knees. Following the blow of the snake's tail, Kalik had initiated his takeover. Azurk's darker soul had a particular affinity for combat, and any senses that suggested a fight was taking place would bring the blood-thirsty glory hunter to the forefront.

"Come now, writhing serpent!" Azurk was still readily conscious, but Kalik was the one who spoke, and Azurk's presence quickly faded. As if in response to his taunt, the snake fired out of the grass, its jaws agape and snapping, bound straight for Kalik's face. In a lightning-fast counter maneuver, Kalik smacked the creature aside with his empty left hand and dove out of the way, saving himself from what, at the very least, would have been a tremendous scar on his head.

The snake frenzied about, and Kalik's arm was beating with hurt, but the Akalak jolted to his feet, seizing the opportunity to come down upon the stunned serpent, and he hacked his Lakan into its muscular body, tearing its flesh slightly before it raced away. Kalik crouched, and the hissing and the slithering were altogether unnerving sounds, but Kalik would not be intimidated in the face of this chance to acquire snakeskin for a prize.

The Akalak roared, and the monster assaulted him another time. It propelled itself off of the ground, this time at his legs. Kalik tried to swat it aside again, but could only manage to grab it just behind the head. The momentum of the serpent's attack toppled the Akalak, and he was on the floor again, this time with the snake squirming its incredible weight on top of him. The fangs were inches from his chest, and the smack of the serpent's body against his own was fatiguing. His Lakan was wedged between his own hand and the neck of the vicious creature, and attempting to cut with the dagger at this point would give his enemy a clean shot at his abdomen.

Instead, Kalik threw the snake off of him, and though it immediately assailed him, he thrust his Lakan upwards as it jumped, and the beast grazed his hip with its frantic fangs, but it was halted, and could slither no further, for the Lakan was impaled into its body.

The snake thrashed and hissed, and it still maintained great strength.

"You... are mine!" Kalik commanded, but the monster swung its tail about until it struck Kalik in the back, and the Akalak was disoriented. He withdrew his Lakan and the snake dashed away, leaving a trail of blood and uprooting grass as it fled.

Kalik was dizzy, and he wanted his snakeskin, but he knew that he should cleanse his scratch, lest he was poisoned.

He put pressure on his minor wound, and it was not so deep that blood flowed readily. He bent over and just about managed to get his lips over it, and he sucked on the injury, drawing out his blood, then spitting it out. He went into his pack and found his waterskin, pouring the cool water over the cut and rubbing it clean.

When finished, Kalik looked around, and cursed the creature that got away. He had no prize but the mark on his hip.

In time, he gathered his things and walked back to Takula Outpost.


oocEND

[Smudge]

Time to reap what you have sown!

Just as we have two eyes and two feet, duality is part of life.

~Carlos Santana

Name of the character: Azurk

Skill points: +5 observation, +1 land navigation, +1 body building, +2 running, +2 unarmed fighting and +2 lakan.

Lores: Enjoying spring, Apples are tasty, Feeling lonely, The Sea of Grass is a good hiding place, There are worse things than glassbeaks out there, How to fight a snake and Not all efforts succeed.

Additional comments: You can add one apple to your inventory. Also, do keep in mind that it would be nice if you could tone down the carelessness when out in the wilderness. All in all this was a good read! As a side note, do remember that minutes are chimes here; and I do believe that a snake that large would be something like an everyday python, so it wouldn’t be poisonous, but since I’m not entirely sure, that can be put aside.