[Flashback] Child's Will (Solo)

[Colt]

43rd of Summer, 498 The sun was hot, very hot, yet the two figures that trekked through the Sea of Grass seemed unaffected. The first was a man. He wasn’t tall, but he was lean with sinewy muscle. His face bore a strong jaw and slender nose, as well as stubble that couldn’t quite decide whether or not it wished to become a beard. He wore dull brown boots, dull brown pants, a dull brown tunic, and was covered by a dull green cloak that was mottled, as if it hadn’t been dyed properly. A longsword was at his hip, and a bow and quiver of arrows was slung across his back. Despite ten minutes of walking in the sweltering heat, his breathing was easy and regular. His companion, however, was a different story. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, boy?” he asked over his shoulder. The object of his question was a small boychild, not possibly more than six years of age. His light brown hair was an unruly nest atop his head, his golden skin shone with sweat, and his rich green eyes watch the man’s back intently. “No,” the boy replied. The man raised an eyebrow, but said no more.

[Colt]

“Shouldn’t we rest under that tree?” He looked over his shoulder again. “You tired?” “No,” the child replied, looking like he was about to collapse. The man looked back to the path in front of him. The child had been following him for the better part of an hour, and though he would never admit it, he was impressed. The boy was obviously determined to follow the man to death. The boy watched with wide eyes as he seemed to jump directly into the earth. He ran up with newfound strength and found a tiny ravine sheltered from the sun with grass. He followed and heard the bubbling of water, and saw the man sitting cross-legged by the bank of a stream that wove through the middle of the fissure. The boy trotted up and plopped right down beside him with a heaving sigh of relief, and the man passed him a waterskin. As the boy gulped the contents down, the man watched him intently. “Why are you here, boy?” he asked after a long silence. “I dunno,” the child said, shrugging as if it didn’t matter. “Why are you here?” Cheeky. The man and boy looked at each other for a long time, and when it became apparent that he wouldn’t get an answer the boy looked away. “And my name’s not ‘boy’,” he informed the man. “It’s Khasr.” “Really?” The man’s eyes glittered with amusement. “Really. And you’re Daha.” Daha raised his eyebrow again. “Why are you following me, boy?” “Do you want me to go away?” “That wasn’t my question.” “…I don’t know.” Silence. “Boy, it’s the middle of summer. You have no business in the middle of the grasslands.” “How do you know?” Daha rolled his eyes. “Fine. Do you?” “Yes.” “What is it?” “I dunno.” The man sighed and rubbed his left temple. The boy jumped to attention as Daha rose to his feet, leaning forward with anticipation. The man looked at the boy, gaze hard. After whet seemed like an eternity, he turned. “Come on, boy,” he said. Khasr didn’t need to be told twice.

[Colt]

“Where are we going?” “Wherever the trail stops.” “Where’s that?” “Wherever the trail stops.” “Where’s the trail?” The man sighed and stopped, turning to look behind him. He eyed Khasr and was eyed right back, and after a moment of scrutiny he beckoned for him to come forward. The boy did so cheerfully, and Daha knelt he did that as well. “Look forward. What do you see?” Khasr screwed his face in thought. “Do you mean the grass?” “Not exactly. What’s different about the grass where we are going?” “Oh. It’s parted.” “Exactly. Grass does not part because of the wind; it parts when something else pushes through. Now, what else can you tell me about it?” Pause. “There are many paths.” Daha looked at Khasr, and though he would never admit it he was slightly impressed. “Good.” The man bent and gestured at the ground. “What do you see here?” “Dirt.” Daha rolled his eyes. “How observant of you. What about the dirt?” “What about the dirt?” Daha glared, and Khasr quickly looked back down the place that had been pointed out. After long moments of nothing, Daha closed his eyes in exasperation. “If an animal made a path in the grass, what can we find in the ground?” “Um…” “What do you leave behind when you walk somewhere?” “… your… dignity?” Daha choked down a startled laugh. “Where the petch did you get that from, boy?” Khasr looked down. “Jalia was walking to the pavilion and Tseka ran up and said she had forgotten her dignity, and so she gave it back to her.” Daha chuckled, eyes sparkling. “Great Zulrav, boy, you leave footprints!” “Footprints? Oh, footprints! You leave footprints!” The man bit back a sarcastic comment as Khasr turned back to the ground. “There! I see one!” “Good job. Now get up; we’re getting closer.”

[Colt]

As they walked Daha threw out little bits of advice. Look for small tracks, don’t step in holes you don’t know about, fill your waterskin whenever you get the chance, stay aware of your surroundings. They were tracking pronghorn, so look for water sources, look at what they would eat, see how far they range from each other. Khasr listened with wide eyes and asked questions, which Daha would sometimes give him straight answers to. The boy began to suspect that the man answered cryptically just to annoy him. Daha held up his fist. Stop. “What is it?” Khasr asked, trotting up to his companion. Daha hit Khasr with a glare that could make water boil, effectively shutting him up. The man changed to Grassland Sign, making no sounds other than low growls to illustrate what he was saying. Listen, boy, he signed, we’re close. And that means that I am king. Everything you do, every step, every sound, must be cleared through me. I don’t care if the Ankal himself is out here, he does what I say, and so do you. Do you understand me? Khasr nodded, gulping. Yes, he signed back. Good. Daha turned and faced Khasr. Boy, you’re loud. You’re noisy. You make more racket than a pack of glassbeaks. You need to learn to be quiet. How? Look down. Khasr did so, then immediately looked back up to see what Daha was saying. Dry grass snaps. Don’t step on it. Step on grass that’s black, dirt if you can find it. Khasr nodded, and at his older companion’s urging he tried it. Though he wasn’t making as much sound as before, things still snapped and crunched around him. Daha shook his head. No, no, no, walk with the balls of your feet first. Keep your heels off the ground. There. Now angle them away, like a triangle. No, like that. Now try again. The man frowned as the boy tried again. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it would have to do.

[Colt]

This was not Khasr’s idea of a hunt. The six-year old sat cross-legged on the top of a rocky outcropping, surveying the clearing below it, which had a distinct lack of pronghorn. Daha had told him to stay put and watch. Khasr didn’t understand. What was he supposed to see? He sighed and rested his chin in his hand. Though the sun was hot, the wind was nice and cooled him. The breeze twisted the grass in amusing patterns, and he started trying to follow ‘waves’ with his eyes as long as he could before they dispersed. It was pretty and interesting, Khasr almost fell off of his perch when the grasses came alive. The first was a great crash, which was followed by a cacophony as countless birds alighted and fled whatever was happening. There was another crash, closer this time, and a third and forth, both progressively closer. Then, suddenly, five pronghorn crashed through the wall of stalks and into the clearing. They bellowed in dismay as they came to a wall of solid rock, and milled before it in confusion. A few heartbeats after, Daha plunged to join them. Khasr recovered from his surprise and crawled to the edge of the outcropping and gazed down excitedly. Daha whipped an arrow from his quiver and fitted it to the string of his bow in the same motion, drawing the fletchings to his chin with lithe grace and skill. There was a dim whistling as the arrow flew from the bow, and to Khasr’s ears it was almost like music. It slide smoothly into the chest of a doe, who fell to the ground mid-leap. The boy didn’t realize it, but his eyes were shining. A buck disappeared into the grass, and another followed before the hunter knocked and drew another arrow. It shot forth and took another buck in the ribs, and the last strong animal vanished.

[Colt]

The land was suddenly silent. No birds cried, no insects buzzed, even the wind was silent. Heatbeats stretched into seconds, seconds stretched into moments, moments stretched into eternity. The buck broke the silence. The doe had died instantly, but the other fallen deer called out weakly and struggled in vain to reach its feet. With movements practiced over a lifetime, Daha approached it and slit its throat lengthwise with a swift movement. The hunter regarded the dead creature for a long time. “Get away from the edge, boy. You’ll fall.” Khasr almost did, and scrambled away from the lip of the cliff and down the rise to the clearing. “Here,” Daha said. He handed the doe to Khasr, who staggered under the weight. Daha smirked. “It’s the lighter of the two. I can’t carry both of them.” “Then why did you kill both of them?” “Because you’re here to carry one.” Khasr felt a small blossom of pride sprout in his chest. He nodded, then hefted the deer around his shoulders, and though he nearly fell over, he managed to plant his feet solidly below him. As the two of them started the trek back to the Windheel pavilion, Khasr looked up at the hunter’s back. “Can I come with you again sometime?” Silence stretched, and Khasr hung his head. Daha looked over his shoulder, smirking. “Perhaps.” End

[Stranger]

XP Award!

Khasr:

Tracking +2
Hunting +2
Wilderness Survival +2
Investigation +2
Observation +2
Rhetoric +1

Lore:
Moving Quietly in the Grasslands
Becoming a Follower


Notes: This was great. An incredibly unboring solo. I really appreciate that, and I really like your writing style. It wasn't flowery or verbose, but you said so much with your conciseness. You can always tell that a player has written a convincing thread when the ST is asking around in chat who writes that character, because it is surprisingly good. Kudos to you. Let me know if you think I missed anything!