Once upon a Time... (Open)

[Rista]

Timestamp: 13th of Fall, 511 AV Location: The Enclave, Storytellers Well. Status: Open Finally, a chance to get warm. Rista flopped down into the large armchair with a delighted sigh and pulled the legs up beneath herself, wriggling around until she found a comfortable position. The flickering light of the many candles within the room was soothing to the eyes; the girl muffled a yawn behind the back of a hand and rubbed her eyes slowly before reaching for the book she had borrowed from one of the shelves. The day had been long and cold; it was raining heavily and the clouds hung low around the mountain, enveloping the stony city in a thick damp mist that made it seem as if the air had turned to water. She was sure it would have been possible to wring it out like a soaked rag. The girl was even more sure that she disliked it, always preferring warm, dry heat over damp and cold weather such as this. Her dislike for being out in the rain hadn't mattered much however, some work had to be done no matter what the weather was like. Such as unloading carts. The larger part of her day had been spent lifting sack upon sack of grain, dried meat and fruit and move it from the wagons to the lift at the Gate, where the food items were transported deeper into the city. She had been assisting Chiet and Dek along with several other yasi, the heavy work demanding a lot of her physical strength and endurance; it was safe to say that by the end of the day, Rista had felt both tired and sore as she staggered inside to grab something to eat. Not to mention that she was wet. Soaking wet, to the point where her fingertips had gained a raising-like structure and the dark hair felt as if it would never dry completely again. She was cold, damp, and even now as she with a full belly flipped through the pages of the book it was with chilled hands and clumsy fingers. To be honest she wasn't particularly interested in the contents of the book. The heavy volume within her hands was mostly an excuse to get to spend some time at the Enclave, enjoying the silence and peaceful atmosphere of the rooms. When a group of younger yasi came toddling through the room the mongrel looked up from the dusty pages and watched them pass with ill concealed curiosity; it was rather late for lessons, wasn't it? And such young kids were unlikley to want to study on their own, which suggested... Right. They were heading to the storytellers Well. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and after the group has passed by the half-breed girl let the book close and stood up, leaving the volume behind on a table as she slowly followed after the children. It had been a long time since she had been able to listen to the storytellers, and with the tired laziness that always seemed to envelop her when it rained, Rista found this to be a splendid opportunity to remedy that. Making sure to stay at the back of the room and not draw attention to herself, the older yasi followed the group into the octagonal room where the event would be held. She slipped into one of the seats at the highest of the tens steps, leaning her back against the wall behind her before pulling the legs up towards herself. Wrapping the arms around the knees the copper-skinned girl made herself comfortable and let the gaze wander around the room, taking in the sight of the tittling, whispering young Inarta as she waited for the main person of the evening to step in and take their place in the midst of the room. She yawned once more and leaned the cheek against one of the knees, secretly wishing for a warm blanket or a cup of some warm beverage to hold between the hands; it would be nice to feel warm again.

[Reo]

Reo wasn’t woken by the pouring rain, nor was he woken by the fact that the small fire he had created had gone out. He was woken by the slightest pang in his heart. He could only compare it to longing. As he sat up, he looked around him and saw Layla perched in a corner of the sturdy building he had been hiding in. One of the residents gave a slight snort as Reo slinked along in the darkness. Once he got to the door of the Skyhigh Stables, he stopped to survey the rain; he put on the hood of his Katinu and ventured out into the darkness.

Reo knew exactly what he was longing for, he knew this was a bad idea but he was no longer listening to his intellect. His heart had set a challenge and there was no way he was going to back down. Ever since running away from the youth section, there had been a part of him that yearned for knowledge, for social interaction, for life the way it was. He could only stay in the darkness for so long before he had to accept his fate as a Dek. Reo’s thoughts had carried him all the way to the Enclave.

Reo heard soft whispering and murmuring coming from up ahead of him. He slowly sunk back into the dark corners and hid his face in the shadows of his Katinu and slowly progressed forward. Ah, he had missed the storytellers. He stood in the back, in the darkness where no one could see him and tried to listen. He concentrated on the main speaker but his words kept drowning out and Reo’s eyes kept wandering to a solitary figure sitting on the highest of the tens steps. He had an impulse to approach her, to say hello, to tell her everything would be alright. He wasn’t paying attention, not to the world around him or to himself, just to this one figure. Like a moth, he was drawn to her flame and before he knew it, he was standing in the light.

[Rista]

The mumbling and whispering among the young children died out when the Storyteller of the evening came into the room. Eyes turned towards him, faces brightening into wide smiles of recognition and delight when they saw who it was. Roul was liked by both yasi and adults, his role as teacher and stand in for old Cedar at the Amphitheater making him both well known and respected. It was unusual to have him stand for the children's stories, and to see him there meant that the tale of the evening would be something special. Rista watched with a smile how the man took his time to talk to the young brats as he made his way down towards the small stage, grinning and joking around without for even a second loosing a certain flare of dignity and grace to the movement. The Avora was an actor, for sure, and a good one at that. Suddenly she was really grateful for making the good decision to follow the younger kids here. An expectant silence fell over the assembled youths once Roul reached the stage, hungry eyes clinging to him as he stretched out on the wait, pretending to brush this or that off his decorated sontav and kicking a pebble - probably imagined - off the stage. Only when the impatience of the crowd had reached painful levels did he begin to speak, his voice immediately catching the attention of everyone in the room, sucking their minds right into the tale he begun to weave. "Once, before the Eagles had been given wings and the world was very young, there was a great darkness. There was no sun in the sky and neither was there a moon, and shadows roamed over the lands wherever they pleased, with no light to ward them away. At that time Dira, the Goddess of Death walked over the lands, harvesting the lives of those that had lived out their time. She was followed by a mighty beast, a terrible being of darkness who radiated from a rare beauty. And his name was Leth, and wherever he went and at the heels of his sister, destruction was brought upon the world. "One time when Leth walked over the lands, he spotted a strange glow coming from within a forest. Used to night and darkness as he was, he was entranced by this mysterious glow, and walked towards it. Long did he walk, and eventually he came out into a glen. And in the center of the golden radiance sat a beautiful woman. And her name was Syna, handmaiden of Kihala, the Goddess of Life..." It was a familiar story that Rista had heard many times over in several different versions, some more amazing than others. The tale of Syna and Leth, the sun and the moon was one of her favorites and always managed to capture her imagination. Many would perhaps be surprised to find Rista so captivated by the sweet love story, but anyone who knew her well enough to have been let inside the hard shell would probably only smile and agree. She was still a girl after all, with all the romantic aspirations a girl might have. It was a good feeling to let reality disappear around her for a while and step into the fantastic world of the gods, brought to the youths by the magic of a mans voice. The dark-haired young woman closed her eyes and leaned the head back against the wall, silently mimicking the words of the storyteller and trying to understand how he managed to pull her in like he was. There was a captivating rhythm to the words, and there was a structure to the tale that after a while was beginning to clear to her; how the phrases were shaped, how he seemed to wrap his voice around the sentences and soften them where necessary, urged them forward faster and faster when things became exciting, bringing them up and down into mountains and valleys, making their excitement and eagerness to know what will happen next grow and grow until it's hard to sit still and the tension is so heavy in the air that it could be cut with a knife..! And then he would slowly let them down again, rocking their minds back to reality, gently guiding the story towards the end, where he wrapped it up and grounded it into their every day lives. It was so skillfully done that Rista couldn't help but let out a faint sigh from envy, her eyes cracking open as a shadow passed in front of a torch and made darkness fall on the lids for a fraction of a second. A set of jet-black eyes landed on the shape of a person standing not too far from her, tall and looming where they perched, face hidden away by the hood of a katinu. The girl frowned, her thin eyebrows diving closer to the endless pits that was her gaze, and with equal parts curiosity and annoyance she tore her attention away as Roul began on another story - ah, it was the Eagle tale, the one that told about the origins of the Inarta - while cursing in her mind for opening the eyes in the first place. She didn't want to be interrupted, not now... "If you're going to listen to the story then sit down" she hissed quietly, making sure that her voice wouldn't be heard by the kids on the lower levels. How rude it would be, to interrupt this magical time of theirs with nonsensical things. "You want something from me? Sorry, but I've done my bendi for today.." Rista moved her head a little, urging the person to either sit down or go away, and at the same time tried to peek into the hood to see who it was. Why were they wearing a katinu inside the mountain? Even if someone did come from outside at a late hour like this, it was more than strange to be approached by such a person. Rista wasn't anyone of any importance at all. She was just a brat among others, a child and a yasi who hopefully would be able to be of use one day. And if she were to continue like she was now, those hopes were going to be crushed faster than someone could say 'Dek'.

[Reo]

Reo never did enjoy the story of Leth and Syna, he found it frightening to think that a raging passion, that a wild, dark and violent God could be so easily tamed by love. Reo despised love, to think that one’s pure nature could be so easily transformed by the need to find a partner instilled the fear that nothing was constant except for change. Thus there was no certainty, Reo lived for thrill and spontaneity but he was no fool, he knew that he had to weigh all the odds so that maximum thrill could be had while still able to survive long enough to find the next adventure. The thought of the odds being able to change so suddenly did not mean anything good for this thrill-seeker.

Even as he stood in the light, Reo weighed all the risks in his head as compared to how badly he wanted to be here, in the Enclave. He would have been safest to have remained in the shadows but the odds took a drastic turn when he saw the solitary figure and the solitary figure saw him. She hissed something about sitting down and Bendi. Reo thought back to his many hours of bendi and how he would come up with so many different kinds of lies to get out of it. “I’ve already done it” was one of his favourites. A slight smirk lit up Reo’s face as he momentarily forgot his predicament. This girl was whispering and knowing Roul, he would not take too kindly to his stories being interrupted and if they were to be singled out, Reo wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on. He had to make a decision. He quickly and silently sat down next to this mysterious creature that had been sitting alone.

Reo didn’t know what to say to this figure. He could ask her name but she already seemed irritated enough. Instead he put on his widest smile, looked at her and said “Ahfty ggralo ftare”. For a moment Reo’s face was transfixed in a state of horror. Had he not interacted in so long that he had forgotten how to talk any form of sensible word. Had he forgotten how to interact with those of his kind? He cleared his throat and tried again. “Thanks for the seat”. Reo sat next to her twiddling his fingers, trying to figure out what to say next but never taking his eyes off her.

Layla always had the ability to read his owner's emotionas and as if on cue, down came the little hawk to land on the shoulder of it's master. It also surveyed this strangerw ith much interest, tilting it's head to the side, and then proceeding to hop over to the strange girl. For the first time, Reo noticed her eyes. A pitch black that sent a ripple down his spine but his own golden eyes couldn't leave hers. "I like your eyes," he whispered; "Layla doesn't usually take kindly to strangers, she must like you. I trust her judge of character". Reo extended his handing hoping he hadn't been too upfront, the slightest scene and who knew what type of punishment would befall him from Roul. "I'm Reo". Hopefully the odds were slanting his way.

[Rista]

She almost sighed when the person sat down. The disappointment over being disturbed in her peaceful solitude passed over her face before she managed to push it away, only to be replaced by a look of grim patience. Not only did the newcomer seem to want something from her, he kept talking to her as well. How was she supposed to ignore him without becoming outright rude? This wasn't a place for discussions or talk, not even for the quiet whispering that the man seemed so keen on engaging in. Rista made an attempt at returning her attention to the speaker down at the small stage, but before she even had a chance to slip back into the delightful oblivion of the story something came swooping into the room and landed onto the shoulder of the hooded person - a man, if the voice and height was anything to go by. Finally a spark of interest was lit within the dark eyes of the girl. She turned the head and looked at the bird, quietly admiring the grace of the little hawk as it looked around the room. Their eyes met, fierce gold against deepest black, and to her great surprise Rista then found herself being used as a perch for the small raptor. Biting back a wish to hiss or groan as sharp talons dug into her naked shoulder the yasi quietly endured the pain, instead simply raising a hand towards the red-tailed hawk and used her index finger to stroke the soft feathers of the chest. A smile appeared on her lips, quiet and somewhat awed over the honor she was bestowed by the bird; that her skin had been pierced and a thin trickle of blood was beginning to run down the back didn't matter much. Rista would gladly bleed for the chance of befriending any animal, and more so if it was as lovely a creature as this one. She only listened with half an ear to the man as he spoke, her mind preoccupied with pain and curiosity to really bother registering what he was saying. Something about her eyes, and something that must be his name... The copper-skinned mongrel really only cared about the bird. "His name is Layla?" she asked just to confirm, the low and much softer now as not to startle her gorgeous guest. "He's a beauty, I'm so envious. I wish I had time to train a falcon of my own, but between bendi and classes I don't have much time to spare..." She raised her arm a little and allowed the lithe hawk to travel down the arm, rocking back and forth and flailing with the wings until he perched more comfortably on her wrist. Rista followed him with her gaze, grimacing now and then at a particularly painful grip of the sharp feet; this was why she wanted a pair of sontav. It would be the first thing she would buy herself when she got out of the yasiry. Provided that she didn't end up dek, of course... that would put a dent in many of her plans.

[Reo]

Reo lowered his hand, it had been hovering awkwardly in the air while the girl was distracted by Layla. The hawk had stolen all the attention; Layla had the ability to do that. She had a prodding curiosity which matched Reo’s own. At times it got them into trouble and at others it was a saving grace. This time Layla’s curiosity managed to protect Reo from conversational embarrassment.

He watched the bird amble along the girl’s shoulder down to her wrist. Reo noticed a trickle of blood on her exposed shoulder, he had forgotten how sharp his companions talon could be. Reo listened with one ear to the girl’s queries as he quickly took off his backpack, so he could rip a piece of his Katinu. As he did this, he absentmindedly responded to the girl. “I’m lucky to have her, she could easily survive without me, I don’t know how easy it would be for me to survive without her”. Reo said this as he handed over a small piece of cloth that he had torn off his Katinu, “for your shoulder”.

When Reo had put his bag down a few of his belongings had struggled to slip out, he gently brushed them all back into the bag, including his sontav. As he touched the brown, beaten leather, Reo got an idea. He wasn’t sure how well it would be taken by the young female next to him but she had said something about wanting her own falcon. He couldn’t offer her a falcon but perhaps some flying lessons were in order. He looked down at Layla and gently pushed the question “Fly?” into her head, Reo hadn’t mastered his Tatani gnosis yet so he could not effectively communicate with Layla but the hawk could read her owner’s strong emotions and by combining that with facial expression, could accurately gauge what his owner wanted. Layla flew back onto Reo’s shoulders and mentally whispered his agreement.

Reo decided he would suggest it to the girl, his luck had held out this long, why not push it. “If you want to, you could use my sontav to fly Layla for a bit,” he wasn’t sure what kind of response he would get but even so, they couldn’t do it here, where age old stories were being told, “we could go to the skyhigh stables, or if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, we could go to the underground forest”. Reo had chosen these particular locations as he didn’t want Layla to get wet in the rain. Really, Reo didn’t mind either location but he secretly hoped that this girl, whom he still did not know the name of, would pick the underground forest.

[Rista]

She quietly watched the graceful bird return to its owner, and accepted the offered cloth with a brief nod of the head. Rista tried to ignore the pang of jealousy that came with the knowledge that the hawk didn't belong to her, and returned her eyes to the storyteller on the stage. As she wiped away the blood from her copper-toned skin she tried to grasp where in the story Roul was, but she couldn't focus enough to actually listen. The stranger by her side and his beautiful companion tore at her mind, offering too much distraction to overlook their presence. The dark-haired yasi returned her black eyes to the man when he spoke again, a look of surprise flitting over her features at the proposal. Was he serious? She was rarely offered anything, least of all access to such beloved companions as the raptors. Her closest contact came with cleaning out the Eagle aeries or passing over raw meat to the trainers; it had been a long time since she was allowed to actually handle a bird. "I'll take you up on that" she said quietly before the person had time to change his mind. "It's cold outside though; I'd prefer the Forest, if you're willing to risk going down there." Rista had only been to the cavern a few times in her life, along with other yasi to play games of dare or with instructors that kept them safe from the bats while explaining about the luminous mushrooms and the dangers as well as benefits of the place. A slight frown was paired with excitement at the thought of entering the cavern again, and partly against her will the girl found herself smiling towards the man. "I can go fetch my bow first, and maybe stop by the kitchens to get some meat for Layla. I'm sure I can take out a ration from tomorrow.." This was good. Finally something exciting happened, it had been a while since Rista got to have any fun. A quick glance was thrown towards the stage, and upon seeing the speaker of the evening swept up in one of his more dramatic moods, she slipped down from her seat and began to quietly move towards the door with a gesture for the hooded person to come along. His caste or even the mystery of why he was wearing katinu inside the city could wait until later. Rista had shook off her drowsiness, and perhaps a bit of danger was what she needed in order to get warm again.

oocyou can have them stop by Rista's room and the kitchens if you want. Sorry for the short reply.

[Reo]

Her response came with a surprise, Reo did not dress as most dek but his mannerisms gave his caste away. At times he could hide them and at others they stood out like this half breed in Wind Reach. At times, Reo had turned into the child that mimicked the half blood but his time as a dek had taught him how to be accepting of everybody. So, any person above his caste offering him kindness was a strange sensation and Reo was never quite sure exactly how to respond to the kindness or toleration. Reo immediately got many thoughts of this Yasi leading him to strange places and taking advantage of him in multiple ways, but he brushed the fears away and let himself be led first to the lady’s headquarters then to the kitchen.

Once they arrived at her room within the common rooms, Reo did not go inside, though he feared being questioned of why he was here, outside the room of a Yasi, he also feared being caught inside her room. He did not trust this dark eyed vixen but decided the risk was worth the reward. She came out with her bow and arrows and suddenly Reo felt a lot off edge, he was immensely off his guard when they headed towards the kitchen. He immediately decided that he would save some of the meat for himself, the reason was simple, he was hungry and Layla could hunt and, unfortunately, he could not, at least not as well as he would like.

Once the girl had got the meat he knew Layla could feel his excitement and without realizing, he had already sent through a message to his hawk; “food” and Layla responded post haste. As soon as he heard his bird’s words he knew that she had chosen the destination; “meet me where the mushrooms grow like trees”, at this point Reo took the lead hoping that the half-blood would not mind. Nobody had noticed them leave and Reo hoped that no one would notice them walking through the rocky caverns of Wind Reach going to a place only miners dared to travel or those that had enough knowledge of the underground tunnels to not get lost, eternally searching for themselves.

Once they arrived, the luminous plants stated their beauty and the bats and sluggish moles declared their territory by the sudden movements that could only be heard while the two individual’s eyes adjusted to the new light. The companion hawk gave out a welcoming cry which reminded Reo of their actual mission. He had become easily distracted by the fauna and had forgotten he was here with someone else; the journey had been so quiet that the individual beside him had almost become a ghost. Reo couldn’t help surveying the sad beauty as he handed over his beaten sontav. He knew that she couldn’t hold both the scratched leather and the bow but he wanted to make sure he had a chance to shoot. “She is amazing, just whistle to bring her to her arm then let your imagination carry you away and she will most likely take you further than that”, Reo stated as he held out his sontav and eyed her bow hungrily.

[Rista]

Not wasting time on talking, Rista remained quiet as they walked through the tunnels of the city. While excited about this chance to handle the beautiful hawk, the girl was also slightly worried about the location they were going to. It had been a long time since she had set foot in the Underground forest and while the weight of the shortbow and filled quiver felt good in her hands, the yasi wasn't entirely sure that it would suffice if they actually did end up in trouble. She glanced over at the tall man, silently scrutinizing the things she could see for the heavy Katinu. He gave such a confused impression to her. One moment he was insecure and appeared almost frightened, only to turn into a calm, somewhat arrogant speaker that made bold suggestions and made her follow along almost without question. It was strange, and the fact that she had so much trouble singling out his caste only added to the curiosity the girl was feeling. She wanted to see him as Dek, but the clothing didn't match and the drudges rarely kept pets around beyond the cats and small dogs that kept after the population of pests within the mountain. The girl retained her silence as they slipped into the large cavern, exchanging the lights of the tunnel with the luminescent glow from the soaring mushrooms. The smell of bat manure and moisture was heavy in the air, the silence broken by a sound of leathery wings flitting back and forth. Rista made sure to slip in under the relative cover of the giant fungi hats and peered up into the darkness, warily trying to gauge whether this had been a great idea or a very stupid one. The larger bats would be about her size, and if the worse should happen it wouldn't be impossible for them to carry her away. Hopefully though, their presence wouldn't cause much disturbance. If they just remained quiet and refrained from shifting the mushrooms too much, then it might be possible to stay for a while. Receiving the sontav from the man, the dark-haired mongrel regarded him for a bit and followed his gaze to her bow. There was a moment of reluctance and hesitation as she tried to find a way to keep both the leather brace and her weapon, but eventually she gave up with a heavy sigh and held out the bow towards the other. "Can you handle the bow at all?" she asked with suspicion, still somewhat unwilling to let anyone else handle her beloved bow. "You better don't waste my arrows, I want every single one back. If you break either bow or arrows, I'll have you compensate me for them." It almost felt like she was giving away a part of herself when the fingers peeled away from the wooden frame, and her eyes lingered on the weapon for a long moment before Rista resolutely turned her back on him and began to pull the sontav onto her arm. She was being silly, but that was her bow, her arrows that she had bought for her own pinions after seasons and years of saving. She knew every nook and crevice on the reddish wood, was familiar with every part of it from the bowstring to the limbs and the arrow rest. In comparison, the sontav felt foreign and heavy where it clung to her arm, slightly big and restraining as she bent her arm. "You make sure to keep an eye out for bats and liches, okay?" she muttered before she stepped away, not waiting around to hear any reply or even make sure that her suggestion had been heard by the man. She was going to make this worth the trouble. Placing herself on a relatively open patch surrounded by tall mushrooms, Rista began to prepare herself for the playtime with the raptor. Using a knife she had brought from her room she knelt down and began to divide the piece of raw meat, creating bite-sized pieces that she could reward Layla with when she came to the glove. This would be slightly unconventional as far as falconeering went. Normally the bird was kept on the sontav or a nearby perch, and depending on what stage of training they were in the raptor was made to come to the glove for food. The more trained the further the distances would get, until finally the bird would be allowed to hunt for prey on the ground or in the air, depending on the type of raptor that was being handled. This hawk was probably rather well trained and Rista looked forward to seeing how she would react to a stranger holding the glove. They didn't have anything to really hunt for, but it didn't matter much. The hawk would get his fill, and Rista would be able to interact with the magnificent animal as much as she wanted. It was a good deal. Tucking the meat into one of her pockets, she kept one of them hidden in her leather-clad hand and stood up once more and looked around to see if she could spot the hawk. When she couldn't, the girl pursed her lips and folded the tongue against the teeth, letting out a sharp whistle that resounded in the cave, bouncing between rock and slippery fungi trunks. A sound of fluttering and high-pitched screeching could be heard far back in the cave, but it was faint and almost overruled by a rapid beating of feathered wings that came towards Rista. The yasi smiled and held up her hand, and felt her heart pound faster from excitement as the hawk closed in and landed on her wrist, the sharp beak reaching down to dig for the meat he could smell in her palm. Allowing Layla to have the piece the girl then moved her arm and tossed the bird back up into the air again, black eyes watching as the graceful predator took off and flew away, higher and further than before until he found perch on a branch of a long petrified tree. She followed him with her gaze as he moved back and forth on the branch, sharp eyes piercing the gloom of the cave and searching for movement along the ground. He would probably be able to find something eventually, there would surely be small rodents scurrying about or perhaps a small cave snake, maybe an injured bat... But she hadn't really planned on hunting anything for real, not in a place like this. She allowed the bird to search for a while longer, then let the sharp whistle sound through the cave again. She had to call for the bird twice this time before he reacted, and made sure to have a slice of the treat ready when the bird gracefully threw himself into the air and came beating towards her, sights set on the familiar glove that promised sating of his hunger. She didn't hear the growing number of wings that flitted back and forth in the darkness above, or the restless shrieking voices that raised in answer to the whistles. The girl was too focused on the bird that landed on her arm, trusting that her mysterious companion would keep watch and keep them safe.

[Reo]

“Of course I can handle a bow, what do you take me for”, Reo answered with a shaky voice, he knew he wouldn’t be able to fully compensate for the bow nor the arrows and he didn’t trust his bow and arrow skills as much as he used to. He decided to handle the bow with the utmost care and use it on close range targets instead of those that were too far to even consider, especially considering Reo’s own skill level. Reo watched the girl walk off with his sontav to a clearing and heard her whistle, she had seemed very apprehensive about being in the forest but as soon as Layla landed on the sontav, her worry disappeared. She would be ok, especially with Layla there to let him know of any danger. Reo found one of the smaller mushrooms with a soft base and decided to make this his target. He covered a few of the arrows with mushroom spores so that they would be illuminated and he would not lose them in the pale glow of the underground forest.

Reo counted out fifteen paces away from the smaller mushroom and stood facing it. Reo held the wooden grip with white knuckles; he felt his heart beating from a mixture of nervousness and excitement. He took an arrow and placed it on the arrow rest and slipped the string into the arrow nock. He pulled back and felt all the energy being transferred into the string; he took aim for the mushroom and released. The arrow whistled through the air and landed in the soft tissue of the mushroom with a soft thud. The thrill that ran down Reo’s back was almost too much to handle, he loaded up once again and took aim. Again he hit the mushroom, Reo was aiming for the general middle of the mushroom and though none of the arrows had hit the middle, Reo was satisfied with hitting around the middle. Reo kept shooting at the target until he ran out of arrows.

Reo had exhausted all the arrows so, with the bow slung over his shoulder, he went up to pull them out of the mushroom and noticed the girl still having a good time with Layla. Layla could be playful when she wanted to, he didn’t mind, the longer she kept the girl distracted, the longer Reo could shoot. Reo counted the arrows and realized that two were missing; they must have missed the target completely and gone behind the mushroom. Reo walked around the mushroom and saw the two arrows illuminated by the spores lying on the ground. Reo went to the first one and picked it up and then to the second, as Reo was picking the second arrow, his fingered dipped into a strange liquid. His heart raced, Reo hoped secretly that it wasn’t what he thought it was. He slowly brought his fingers up to his nose and all the time he could hear the growing sound of fluttering wings and screeches. He smelt his fingers, ammonia, the moment he thought it was the exact moment he heard Layla’s screech; “BATS”!

Reo remembered a lesson he had learnt as a Yasi, it was something about how the Bats in the underground forest ate the poisonous slugs that slid along the forest floor, and how the slugs stayed away from the ammonia pools because they knew it was far too close to the bats and how the bats stayed away from the ammonia pools because they thought that it was something they had already suggested. He quickly covered himself in as much of the ammonia he could acquire and then suddenly remembered that he wasn’t alone in this forest. Reo cried out to the girl; “Get here, now! Keep low and stay underneath the mushrooms”. It was at this point that Reo felt the first flutter of wings brush right by his face. The bats were here already, she wouldn’t make it without help.

Reo stuck the luminous arrow into the ground so as he could remember where exactly the ammonia pool was and he ran out towards the girl and into dangerous territory. He had the bow in hand and there was already an arrow loaded. Reo wasn’t sure if the girl was running yet or not but he could feel where Layla was and that was what he was running towards. “Over here! Behind her”, he heard Layla call out. Reo wasn’t sure where he was shooting towards, but he took aim and fired. Reo heard a sudden screech and a crash to the ground; Reo called out again; “Come on! This way”, he hoped she would make it, his hand was extended in the dark and there were still bats in the air, he could hear their menacing screeching and the beating of their wings.