[Bronze Wood] The Hunters Awaken (Sturlin)

[Miharu Mindi]

The advantage of such concentration was that she didn't even notice if he stared so he was welcome to stare his fill. By the time he brought the cooked meat back, she had most of the meat hacked off in large chunks and laid out on the inside of the hide to keep the dirt off of it.

"Oh, thank you," she said with a smile, wiping her hands on the grass to get some of the blood off before she accepted the plate. "This looks good," she said, gingerly poking the ham to see how hot it was before she shoveled it into her mouth. Just one piece, to see how it tasted, and though it wasn't bad she found she preferred her pork, at least, to be raw.

"I shouldn't eat much of the cooked meat," she said, handing him back the plate with a smile. "Once I've gotten all the good meat off I can just eat what's left before I drag the scraps out to the woods for the scavengers." She could make due with the leftovers and the meat that didn't come so easily off the bone with a knife - teeth were better for that anyway. Besides, she still had the heart, liver, and kidneys. A blink and then, "Would you prefer the kidneys? Most humans I've met are a bit squeamish about them."

[Sturlin]

"I don't dislike them, but they are not one of my favorite foods. If you like them, you can have them." He smiled to her as he took the food back and at a small amount himself. Sitting on his log he faced outward instead of inward so that he could continue watching her. "So, say I enjoyed your company. What would a mage have to do to talk you into coming back after that trip. I'd try to talk you out of going, but in my experience wolves don't react well to being contained."

That lopsided smile lit his face again as he watched her and waited for her answer. It felt strange to smile, uncomfortable even, as it twisted the scar tissue on his face. Setting that aside he was pleased that he had a reason to smile.

[Miharu Mindi]

She nodded and went back to work. Most of the meat was sheared off by then, so she shoved the corpse over and began digging out the organs she wanted. She finally sighed at a job well done - there was likely fifty pounds of meat on the hide - and picked up the heart.

His comment brought her eyes around to him, though, and she smiled when he did. "I already promised you I'd come back," she pointed out, using the skinning knife to cut slivers of the heart off and pop into her mouth to chew. "I mean, I can't say when I'll come back. For all I know, I could get eaten by a crocodile while I'm down there. But if I come back to Syliras, I promise I'll sniff you out," she said with a shrug.

[Sturlin]

Opening his mouth as if to say something else, he found himself placing a hand on his face and dragging it downward with a heavy sigh. This was certainly awkward. He snacked on his breakfast for a little while longer. The hunter was not really eating, he was just picking at the food and trying to think of a way to communicate himself more clearly.

You see, he thought, this is why I came out here to be a hermit. Interacting with others is so much more difficult than talking to your cat every morning. "That is, I meant to say," Sturlin cut off for a moment before mumbling, "Just trying to hint that I like having you around, is all." His mumbling voice grumbled a bit, as if it really shouldn't be this hard to give someone a compliment.

[Miharu Mindi]

"No need to hint," she said, a little bewildered by this sudden turn of conversation. "You've already told me you enjoy my company," she said, popping the last of the boar's heart into her mouth and chewing a moment before she swallowed. "I enjoy yours too," she said, wiping the blade clean in the grass and setting it aside. "You're surprisingly easy to talk to. Most of the time," she said with a tilt of her head, just before she rolled up to her knees. "You're acting weird now, but I've been told men are often grumpy and strange in the morning," she laughed.

She drizzled water over her head to clean them, and wiped the blood from her face as well, before jumping to her feet and grabbing her dress to swirl it back on. Maybe it was like he'd said - it was hard for him to concentrate when she was naked. Better to help him out, she supposed.

She padded back over to Sturlin and collapsed on the ground beside him, sprawled on her back with her head cushioned on one of his feet. "You have to promise me you won't be mad when I get back, though," she said sternly, though laughter sparkled in her eyes. "If you do, I might eat you to spare you the misery," she giggled.

[Sturlin]

Taking the thumb of his right hand he traced the line of his jaw and considered her demand as though it required a lot of thought. "Well, I suppose if you say I can't go mad, then I won't." He smiled down at her to add, "Though it is comforting to know that if I ever did go insane you would finish me off." It was strange that even though they were joking he really did find that to be a comforting fact.

Sturlin does not giggle, but he was comfortable joining her in laughter. It was a pleasant day once again and he found himself looking forward to whatever the day might bring. Looking down at Miharu he reached out with his stiff left hand to brush a curl out of her eyes. It seemed like the thing to do at the time.

[Miharu Mindi]

She giggled and closed her eyes against Syna's bright rays, letting out a happy little growly noise when she felt the brush of his fingers. She enjoyed the touch no less in human form than she did when she was a wolf, and he'd certainly taken to petting her then. She she just turned her face and nuzzled into that scarred, stiff hand, uncaring of its condition because it gave her scratches, and she liked those.

[Sturlin]

Since she did not object he left his hand there, petting her cheek and neck affectionately as she nuzzled against his hand. His eyes flicked from her to around the glen. It would be grand to go off on an adventure with her. He could imagine that moving constantly from place to place would accomplish nearly the same thing as he was trying to do by isolating himself.

These thoughts of adventure were quickly crushed by the reality that if she were to walk in on him while he was conducting one of his experiments she could be seriously hurt. He had learned that lesson with his uncle. Looking down at her once more he smiled. No need to worry about such things for now.

[Miharu Mindi]

She sighed happily as Sturlin continued stroking her, twisting a little to get a better angle. But that wasn't working well either, so she shoved up to a seat and draped herself over Sturlin's left leg, arms folded along his thigh and head pillowed on top of them. It was the sort of thing a pup might have done for more attention, and she was more pup than person most of the time.

Blond curls tumbled across his lap and sleepy amber eyes peered up at him. "Keep petting," she murmured, giving a little yawn. "I'm gonna have to drag the stupid carcass out to the woods or the smell'll attract scavengers," she sighed, "but I don't wanna do it yet. This is nice," she said, eyes sliding closed again.

[Sturlin]

Still petting her neck and shoulders with his left hand he ran his right hand through her curls. Before he had shaved his head, his mother had done that for him. He had always enjoyed the feeling. As he lavished attention upon her just as affectionately as he would Mr. Pickles he said, "No hurry." After a short pause he added, "This is nice."

Allowing his own eyes to slide closed he let the sun's rays warm him. The breeze was light and filled with the promise of spring rain. Some of the trees still bore their blossoms, and even he could appreciate the perfume that they released into the air. He imagined that he could hear the stream trickling in the distance. When he opened he eyes he saw that Mr. Pickles was sitting nearby and watching them. As he sometimes did, Mr. Pickles winked and then licked his chops.