Wandering Jewel (Akarn)

[Natane Skytears]

The girl picked herself up off the ground and brushed the dirt from her clothes, “We could start now if you like” Natane answered the boy who had stepped somewhat closer, she looked over his shoulder to make sure Niabi wasn't going to start a fight with Akarn's Strider, it wouldn't have been the first time. But the two horses just sniffed each other, the usual horse greeting.

Convinced they weren't going to get into any trouble, Natane went to her tent and searched for her weapons. She looked under the random items of clothing that she hadn't bothered to put away, her sword was hidden under her bedroll where she did not have to look at it and she found her bow and quiver of arrows underneath a one her shirts. Sitting back, Natane strung up the bow, placed her quiver on her back and swung her weapon over her shoulder. The girl stared down at the sword, she scowled at the memories it brought back and threw a blanket over the blade.

She crawled out of the tent and looked up at Akarn with a questioning look on her face, “Here? Or...?”

[Akarn]

The young Drykas warrior knelt down and his attention wandered to the striders for a brief second while the girl disappeared inside of her tent. Akarn started to twist a piece of grass around his finger while he reflected on the morning. He knew that hunting was lost for the day but that did not seem to bother him. It had been awhile since Akarn had enjoyed the company of anyone. These last two years he had spent trying to survive, looking for work and had not really stayed in one place to long.

His thoughts pushed back to his immediate surroundings when Natane emerged for the tent. He stood up and noticed that she was only carrying her bow. It was a short bow like his and was good for using on horseback. There was no hint of the sword that she had mentioned earlier. "So just the bow then?" He looked around the encampment and nodded. "We can practice here if you like."

Akarn gave a low whistle and looked over at Maverous. The dapple-gray strider looked in his direction and trotted towards him. The young man met him half way and took the rope from around his Yvas. With the rope in hand he began to gather the long stalks of grass. His long black hair dangled in front of his face while he attended to the task at hand. Once he had enough gathered he wrapped the clump together with the rope to form a bale. Once he was satisfied with the bale he had created he set it upon the ground.

He looked out over the horizon with his emerald green eyes, looking for the hand of Zulrav. Seeing no real wind movement he knew target placement did not really matter. So Akarn picked up the makeshift bale of grass and he counted off about one hundred steps. He looked back towards Natane and her camp. He gave a slight nod of satisfaction and placed the target. The Drykas male trotted back to the camp and looked to Natane. "Ready?"

[Natane Skytears]

Natane watched as the boy set up what she assumed was a practice target, a small bale of grass tied together with rope which he placed roughly one hundred paces away from camp. She took her bow in hand as Akarn made his way back and withdrew an arrow from the quiver.

“I have rarely used this so go easy” there was humour in her voice; she set the arrow and pulled back, aiming at the small bale in the distance. When there was sufficient tension on the string she let go.

Expecting the arrow to not even make the half-way point, Natane was surprised when it fell short only a few feet. “... That is considerably better than my usual attempts...” She shrugged slightly and looked at Akarn, “Okay, your turn. Show me how it's done”

[Akarn]

The young Drykas man watched while Natane took her stance and fired her bow. He raised his brows and watched as the arrow flew towards the target but fell a little short. The arrow was moving in the right direction, but just did not have enough power to get there. He looked towards her and nodded. "Not bad not bad at all if you are your only teacher." He said realizing she had at least watched someone else shoot before she took up the bow.

"Where do we start? hmm." He said looking at her. "Do not take offense but we are going to start from the beginning that way we know where to go to from there." He took in a deep breath before he continued.

"Did you know by putting together your thumbs and first fingers to form a triangle you can find your target eye." He looked to her with a nod. "It's true." He iterated his point by holding up his fingers in a triangle and looking towards the target. "Once you look through your fingers and then close one eye and then switch to the other you can figure out what your target eye is. "

Akarn continued and he knelt down facing the target. "See the target there, if you were to draw a line from it to here." He bent over and grabbed an arrow. With the arrow he etched a line in the dirt to finish off the end of the imaginary line. Then he put in another broader line that was perpendicular to that one from the target. "This is your shooting line. Straddle this line." Akarn said taking up a position on the line. He picked up his bow and squared off his shoulders. "Stand tall but keep your shoulders relaxed."

With that Akarn nocked an arrow in his bow. He pulled the bow's string back to his cheek and sighted down the arrows shaft. "Bring your arm even with your shoulder, but try to keep your shoulder down." The boy steadied his breath and he could feel the stillness of the air around him. The golden grass seemed frozen in time as he only focused on the target. There was a twang with the release of the bow string and the hum of the arrow in flight. With a hiss it hit the hay bale and sunk all the way in to the target. "Not perfect but a hit." He smiled to himself and then his emerald eyes flashed towards here deep brown eyes. "Now you try again."

[Natane Skytears]

She listened carefully to what the man had to say, finding the target eye had never occurred to her before though it probably should have been the first thing on her mind, well she would make sure she did so from now on. Starting from the beginning was really the best plan, she actually had no idea what she was doing. The girl was only able to off what she'd seen her cousin do. Natane watched the male Drykas as he crouched down and lined up the target, Akarn drew in the dirt with a spare arrow as he explained about the shooting line.

He took his stance over the line and raised his bow, pulling himself up to full height. She saw the look on his face change to one of deep concentration as he drew back an arrow, the boy steadied himself and let go.

The shot was true, striking the target though slightly off-centre. “Very nice” Natane nodded; he caught her eye and she gave him a quick smile. When the girl set up her second shot, she took the time to make sure she had her line and the proper stance, keeping her shoulders relaxed and hand steady.
She set the arrow and drew the string back; instead of aiming straight at the target, Natane directed the arrow slightly above it. She knew that she wasn't strong enough to give the arrow the force it needed so she would have to rely on the arrows downward fall. No harm in trying right?

Before letting the fly, she gave Akarn a sideways glance and said, “If you don't mind me asking, why are you in Endrykas? Why not stay with your family?” She released the arrow; it sailed through the still air and came down, hitting the target, way off-centre but she was pleased with it.

[Akarn]

"Very good," Akarn managed in appreciation of Natane's effort. He could tell the young woman was going not going to have any problem learning the bow. In truth now his mind was reeling trying to figure out how to answer her question. Should he just dodge the question all together or throw the conversation back in Natanes direction by asking her the very same thing. He knew a girl out here by herself was even more unusual then his situation.

Then in the end he just decided to tell her the truth. Maybe it was because of the burden of carrying the guilt and the emotion had start to become more then he had wanted to admit or perhaps it was because he could tell that Natane had secrets too. He let out a short sigh his resolve fading. "I have been banished from my pavilion having to promise never to return." Even though there was more to say, that had been enough for Akarn to shoulder the burden of his past once again. A hint of a breeze washed over him, refreshing him and renewing his inner strength. A sorrow crept in on his being and he looked out over the golden stalks of grass.

Akarn had stopped himself before he revealed anymore and then his emerald eyes glanced back to Natane. "What of you, Natane, Maiden of the Sea of Grass. Why are you way out here by yourself?" He said looking to her. There was no judgmental tone to his voice but she had opened the door to the subject.

[Natane Skytears]

Natane was rather shocked by Akarn's words. She could think of many different reasons as to why someone would be travelling alone, but banishment had not been one of them. Being made to leave the people you loved against your will was, she thought, considerably worse then losing them to Dira. Knowing that they were still alive but being unable to see them would be enough to send anyone into a spiral of misery. Being shut off from his pavilion would surely explain why there was such sadness in Akarn's stunning emerald eyes.

His answer made Natane wonder, why had he been banished? She didn't believe that this exile was because of something the young man had done, but then what? Some sort of conspiracy perhaps?

Before she could ask any more questions, Akarn asked his own. Of course, she had been expecting this, it was only fair that if she was going to start asking personal questions then she would have to answer a few about herself.

Giving him a shrug, she mumbled, “My father wanted me to get married, well, my whole family did. Father, aunty, uncle...” turning away from him, Natane set another arrow and aimed, before she let it go the girl said, “So I went out... forgetting to tell them where I was going and when I'd be back...”

The arrow struck the target, closer to the centre this time. Natane looked back at Akarn, “I want to show them that I am capable of looking after myself and that I don't need someone to take care of me”

[Akarn]

The young warrior stopped and his gaze wandered back to the lovely Natane. His own sorrow forgotten for the moment. He studied her for a few beats of his heart. Which he could hear thudding in his ears in the morning silence . He wondered why they both were forced upon a path, a path that would undoubtedly be full or trials. They both were destined to be without their family for a time. Perhaps it was fate that brought them together to teach each them each that more than their sorrow existed upon the Sea of Grass.

Akarn picked another arrow from his quiver. He placed the arrow in the bow and drew back the gut string. The feather fletching of the arrow brushing his cheek as he sighted down the smooth shaft. He could feel his muscles go taut with the amount of force he drew back the bow with. He caught his breath and held it. With the silence he waited for the pulse of the beat in his ears. Thud, he released the string and watched the arrow sail through the air hitting the target.

Then the Drykas reached a decision. He turned to face the young woman. "Natane, I would be honored if you let me assist you in becoming the warrior inside of you." He raised his brows. "WIth Zulrav's assistance it will strengthen me toward my ends." His emerald eyes looked past Natane on to the Striders to make sure they were still behaving. Maverous had begun to graze with Niabi stood alongside him.

Akarn then looked in to Natanes deep brown eyes and smiled. "This would be easier though if you were closer to Endrykas." He turned and pointed towards the tent city. "My tent is on the outskirts, one of the last." He looked back at her. "Perhaps we could set your camp up similar?" He put his bow in front of him and let one end rest on the ground. "What do you say?"

[Natane Skytears]

Akarn pulled back another arrow, putting a little too much force on the string. The subject of his banishment had obviously brought back a lot of unwanted memories and she felt guilty for asking. But Natane knew that no matter how hard you tried to forget the past, you would have to deal with it one day. Although it was seemed easier to lock away the emotions and pain that came as a result of these events, it was usually best to deal with them and move on. Otherwise you could find yourself trapped in a horrible self destructive cycle.

After releasing the arrow, the young man turned back to her. She listened attentively to his proposition. Natane would like to continue training with him, but moving closer to the large tent city made her nervous. Though, she had to admit it would be much safer for her. Setting up camp on the outskirts of Endrykas would eliminate the possibility of being attacked by most grassland predators.

Natane looked up at Akarn, a faint smile touched her lips. He was still just a kid, like she was. Both having been made to grow up before their time. Yet, there was a hint of the child he had been reflecting in his emerald eyes. That's what drew Natane to him.

“So, I move my camp into Endrykas and in return, you will help me?” she asked, “What's in it for you?”

[Akarn]

The Drykas warrior's brows furrowed and he absently played with the top of his bow where the string fastened to the device. "I will train with you regardless if you move your camp or not, Natane." At least that way he knew someone would be making sure she was safe. The Drykas knew that she had already proven herself as a survivalist. She had at least made it to Endrykas and she was able to sustain a camp by herself. Even if the camp was in a little bit of a disarray.

Then Akarn rubbed his chin in thought upon the girls question. What is in it for him, He could not very well say piece of mind knowing she was safe. Then he turned to her. "Like I said before I am no weapon master and could use the practice." Then he paused and looked directly at her taking her in, his shoulders sagged a little. The last two years of loneliness had taken a toll on him. "Truth be told, Natane, friendship and someone to talk to around the evening camp fire."

Then the Drykas male realized he was appearing weak and so he squared off his posture. "The decision is yours to make. Either way we can still train together." With that Akarn knelt down and sifted through the arrows in his quiver and then once he decided upon one he stood back up. Placing the arrow upon his bow he stood there waiting but did not shoot.