All In A Day's Work[Ayren]

[Tuloth Kaervek]

Spring 511 AV - Day 63

Tuloth was pouring sweat. He stood bent over with his hands on his knees next to a large oak. His bare back rose and fell quickly with the heavy breaths he was taking. The man’s face, chest, and arms were red from the exertion of his workout. It had been nearly two bells since he had started running and climbing through the forest, at least as far as he could judge, and that meant that he had two more bells worth to go. The hunter stood straight up and took several deep controlled breaths to calm his heart. Tuloth had a headache and could feel a pinch now and then from his sides due to lack of oxygen. His legs felt a bit shaky so he shook them out to loosen the muscles up. Tuloth stopped and stood perfectly still for a moment with his eyes shut and hands at his sides. He collected his thoughts and renewed his focus on the training. The Inarta opened his icy blue eyes and stared at the path before him. The was no path, in truth, but Tuloth had come down the day before and tied yellow and red flags [thirty-five yellow, fifteen red] over the entire area [approximately a one mile radius from his location]. The yellows indicated a moderate test of skill whereas the red scarves would take a great deal of work to retrieve. Tuloth looked down to the pile next to the large oak. He had collected nineteen yellow but only three red pieces of cloth. A smirk crossed his red face as he anticipated the workout to come. Tuloth shot off to the west at a dead run. Charging through the underbrush only bothered his bryda which surprisingly showed a only few snags and tears. Tuloth kept his eyes darting about in search of the colored scarves as he ran. A flash of red to his right caught his attention. He adjusted his path after dodging around a small tree and brought the target into clear sight. The scarf dangled about eight feet off the ground and was twenty yards away. There was a fallen tree laying at an ascending angle about three yards in front of the cloth. Tuloth quickened himself into a sprint and landed three quick steps up the fallen tree leaping from it with the final one. He sailed through the air and extended his right hand out with his fingers stretched as far as he could get them. The scarf passed into his palm and he closed a tight fist catching it. He came down hard on the ground but continued running at a good pace. He tied the scarf around his left wrist as he searched the area for more objectives. Not too far ahead was a set of three trees of moderate size that grew too close to one another. Their trunks intertwined a few feet off the ground and then they split in opposite directions. The largest gap between two of these revealed a yellow rag on the other side. Tuloth kept his legs and arms pumping as sweat began to pour down his face and body. He planted his right foot a few feet away from the cluster and lifted his left foot high enough to plant on the trunk itself. His momentum allowed him to run up and through the gap in the trees. He came down on the other side and snatched the yellow rag without missing a beat. He tied this rag around his wrist as well. A few yards ahead, the landscape went down on a fairly steep grade. Tuloth pivoted to his left and continued to run. The angle he chose gave him a good start to a zig-zag pattern that would lead him down the hill towards the small creek. This was so he could continue to move at a rapid pace without losing control of his body on the way down. He was nearly to the creek when he spied another red scarf that had a second red scarf shortly after it. The two were paired together because it was perhaps the most difficult place to cross the stream. There was a whirlpool that was close to ten feet in diameter with slippery rocks and half rotten logs on either side of it. One of the pieces of red cloth was tied to a small sapling that was bent over the pool. The rag itself looked as though it had soaked up some of the splashing water. The second rag was on the opposite side hanging from a sturdy branch above the jagged faces of the rocks. Tuloth diverted down the stream bed towards the first target. He was still moving at a good run but was very carefully eying the ground and obstacles around the pool. This was going to be difficult and potentially painful. He neared the sapling and made a stutter step which slowed him up but would allow the hunter to plant his feet exactly where he wanted to. With the whirlpool coming up on his right, Tuloth planted his right foot on the last piece of firm earth he had spied and lept over the whirlpool as if he was going to jump into the middle of it. His left hand deftly snagged the red scarf as he flew forward. His left foot planted firmly on a log and even sank a tiny bit into the water soaked wood. As his body was absorbing the impact with a bent knee, he used all the strength he could as he lifted his head to look back at the scarf and straighten his left leg. This propelled him almost horizontally towards the protruding branch. His hands and arms flew out with the motion towards his salvation. Tuloth’s right hand caught the wood and gripped tight; his body’s inertia already swinging him under the branch. His left hand, still holding one rag grabbed the second scarf. Tuloth let out a triumphant yell and released the branch allowing his form to swing on over to the other shore. Everything appeared to have been done perfectly but his momentum didn’t quite get him onto firm soil and he slipped with his first step. He continued to run while trying to regain his balance but after several faltering steps the man came crashing to the earth face first. Tuloth coughed and spat and pounded his fists against the ground. He pushed himself up to a base stance and shook his head. His heart was beating so fast, Tuloth was afraid it might beat clean out of his chest. He brought himself to his knees and sat back. He took several deep breaths and tied the rags up with the other two. He crawled over to the water and splashed his face and chest off. He wiped the chunks of mud from his body and chuckled quietly to himself. Tuloth cupped his hands together and brought up a few mouthfuls of the crisp, cool water and drank slowly. The hunter was satisfied with his workout but was far from finished.

[Ayren]

It had been a good day so far, at least in Ayren's books. His classes had been relatively behaved. Then he sighed, knowing behaved for the Yasi didn't really mean much, but at least they had been quiet and had pretended to listen to him talking. This was definitely an improvement over him losing his voice from yelling at them to shut up and listen to the lesson. To make it better the day was fairly nice out, and the sun was shining. Ayren exulted in knowing that it was finally nice enough out to shed his Katinu after the long winter season. Ayren had been looking forward to this day for a while. A couple Endal, as well as a few hunters including him, were taking a trip out to the Unforgiving. They had decided the forest would give the eagles good practice flying, having to dodge around the trees, and the hunters would get the experience of hunting in the bushes. Ayren himself just wanted to explore, but he also knew that it would be a good time to learn. He had made sure to bring his bow so he could get a little target practice in during the day. Leaving the city, the party rendevoused just outside of the city. It was a ways away, so everyone paired up with and Endal and they all flew there on the great Wind Eagles. The flight was about a bell and a half long, but the time flew by as Ayren watched facinated as the world flew by beneath them. They landed in a fairly clear spot, and made plans to meet up again a bell after the sun had set. That left three or four bells for the hunters and Ayren to wander around. The hunters themselves grouped up, and went of in one direction, as Ayren went another. Someone had said that in this direction there was a little creek with a little whirlpool in it, and this was something he wanted to see for himslef. Setting off into the woods Ayren walked slowly enjoying the sun and the beauty of the forest. That was when he noticed something odd. There was a yellow cloth hanging in a patch of branches high in one of the trees. Walking up to closer examine it, he found that it was tied onto one of the branches as if set there purposely. He debated taking it down, and decided that if someone really had purposely placed it there, they wouldn't take kindly to him removing it. If it really was just a lost piece of fabric, well some stray creature would take it and use it as down in their nest. Shrugging, Ayren left it and continued on towards the creek. It wasn't long before he saw yet another of the strange cloths, this one red, tied to a bush in a ditch at the bottom of a hill to one side. Then another yellow one nested between two stones on a rock pile. Wondering if there was some secret pattern to these occurrences, Ayren walked out of the forest onto the bank of the little stream. The water was clear and cool and Ayren smiles as he leaned over and ran his hand though it. A streak of movement caught his eye, and as he looked up a man running full tilt towards the whirlpool. Standing quickly, Ayren worried if the man had realized that the swirling waters were even there. The man leaped and Ayren watched as he reached over to grab another one of the cloths tied to a branch. It was an amazing jump, but it was just a little to far for anyone to land solidly, and the stranger stumbled after a few steps and fell before getting up again and brushing himself off laughing. Ayren smiled as he saw the other man's actions, and as he saw the stranger dip his hands to get a drink of water with a pleased look on his face, Ayren walked over to him. Standing next to him Ayren asked, "Quite the jump you just made." Ayren looked again back at the whirlpool, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He doubted at he could have made that leap, at least not without getting wet. Turning back to the man, he added, "I assume you are the reason for these cloths hanging around. May I ask what you are doing?"

[Tuloth Kaervek]

Tuloth leapt up and away from the man as he approached. His right hand dropped quickly to the hunting knife that was strapped horizontally on his back. He drew it out and back allowing his empty left hand to rest in front of his body. He eyed the stranger with an intense gaze for several moments before relaxing a small amount. "I assume you are the reason for these cloths hanging around. May I ask what you are doing?" Tuloth stood straight once more and lowered to his sides. He did not replace the knife into its sheath. He looked at the group of colored cloth tied around his wrist and then back to the man before responding in a low and flat tone. ”You assume correctly. I use them as a means of training.” Tuloth took a few steps away from the water while keeping his eyes fixed upon the new person. He seemed to pace a few steps in one direction and then a few steps back in the other direction. ”What is your name, friend?” The word friend was said a tone slightly sarcastic. ”What brings you out here to this vast wild land?” Tuloth could not speculate the man’s intentions but he did have trust issues and began idly rolling the knife in his right hand like a spindle. If this was some form of deceit; Tuloth was not going to be an easy mark.

[Ayren]

The other man was clearly on edge. The instant he had seen Ayren he had drawn the nasty looking hunting knife on his back. Ayren was sure that if he had made any move to take out his bow, he would be dead before he could even nock an arrow. The man did relax slightly when Ayren started talking, but not very much. When he replied, it was in a quite flat voice, that had I don't trust you written all over it. He said that the cloths were a method of training. It was certainly different than anything Ayren had ever seen used. He wondered what the man was training for. Finding cloths could be an interesting tracking exercise if he was a hunter, but it wouldn't do much good if he had placed them himself, because he would know where they were. Maybe it was like a speed test: how fast could he gather all of the flags. But still, for what would you need to train like that for. He didn't seem to be a hunter, although maybe he could be a warrior. After phrasing a couple questions of his own, the stranger began to play with the knife in his hands. The absent minded way he did it suggested he had some skill in using it. if Ayren had tried to play with it like that he most likely would have ended up hurting himself. Turning his attention away from the knife, Ayren said, "I'm Ayren." At this point he would usually have offered his hand for the other man to shake, but judging by the expression on his face that didn't seem like it would be a wise thing to do. "As for why I'm out here, well I'm exploring. A group of Endal was coming out here to do a training exercise and me and some hunters tagged along, to do exercises of our own. One of the Endal said that there was a whirlpool in this creek, and I had to see it." Ayren walked over to the edge of the creek, and hopped onto one of the rocks around the whirlpool. Looking down into it, Ayren studied the movement of the water for a couple moments. Then he turned back the the stranger before adding, "There's nothing like this around the city, that I've seen. It's facinating, isn't it?"