Lost in Silence (Khasr)

[Vallora Salvari]

Instead of giving her his name, the man had simply gestured with his hands. He also seemed to be having a hard time meeting her in the eyes. His eyes would slid away every few seconds or so. Vallora tried not to think about it much. It was not such an odd thing. People avoided to look at her in the eye all the time.

For a moment, she wondered if the Drykas recognized her. It did not seem so. She could not be sure either that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Vallora looked away from the man and strained her eyes. Almost immediately, glowing lines of every color filled her vision. They crisscrossed each, tangling and untangling. Here, the lines weren't as crowded and she figured it meant they were quite a distance away from the tent city. She would, of course, have no problem of locating it. They could return easily and quickly.

But still, there was the lion. She did not know much about game and hunting besides the very basics. She knew enough that in order to get a good price, the lion should be in a good condition. Vallora could not see how two people could try dragging the lion without damaging if even more.

She let the the lines fade and looked straight at the nameless man.

At his effort to pronounce her name, Vallora cocked her head the slightest bit. It was all quite peculiar, really. It seemed like the man was not used to talking - which made no sense at all. Everyone is used to talking. People talk all the time.

Well, he tried.

"Tell me what to do," she announced with a shrug.

[Colt]

She peered at him quizzically when he spoke her name, and he was not surprised. His speech was never as smooth as that of a city-dweller; it was difficult for him, and it sounded difficult for him, but he did not usually spare concern for what others thought of his voice.

After a moment, the Vallora dropped her curiosity with a shrug. “Tell me what to do.”

He examined her thoughtfully; her voice was determined, and if she felt fear then it was well hidden. Still, the red on her arm was a blazing signal to the world of her injury, and he couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of worry; perhaps a little bit of it was for her, but he also knew that the scent of blood—both hers and that of the beast—would bring every predator in the vicinity to investigate.

He turned to glance at the lion once more. They would need to move fast. He was loathe to leave her alone, but he needed Akaidras and he was unwilling to leave the corpse unattended.

Wait, he signed. He did not elaborate before plunging back into the grass.

He moved at a lope; his initial sprint had tired him, and he needed to get to his strider before something bad happened to the Vallora.

He approached the tangle of trails where he had left Akaidras and let out a piercing whistle.

[Vallora Salvari]

Vallora could not help but wonder why the man refused to utter a word. He was quite insistent in using only the Grassland signs as his means of communication and she could not figure out why. As much as she wanted to ask, she guessed the man would not appreciate it.

"But," she protested. Too late though, the man had left her standing next to the carcass of a dead lion.

With the adrenaline and shock retreating back, Vallora assessed her situation. To say that she was nervous was an understatement. She was on her way to a completely panic. The blood flow had slowed a bit, but it might as well did not. No matter the amount, she guessed that any hungry being would be able to sniff her out.

It was stupid, wandering far from the city. Now she was stuck here alone in the wilds with a thousand things that might try to kill her. There was even no guarantee that the strange man would come back. Maybe at some point, he had decided that the lion was too much of a trouble and simply left. It made sense. An injured girl would just slow him down as he traveled back to the city. He would not care if she died - people died all the time in the grassland.

Unable to stand still any longer, Vallora proceeded to rip a shred of her shirt. She was not used to binding wounds and the outcome wouldn't be excellent, but at least it could slow the bleeding down. Gingerly, she placed the strip of white fabric on her cut. She flinched at the touch but continued on slowly. It was complicated work with only one hand to work. She pulled the makeshift bandage around her arm, constantly tightening it. After minutes of hardwork, Vallora had finally gotten herself a crude bandage. The job was messy and imperfect, but it should do for now.

That's one problem solved. Anxiously she waited for the return of the quiet man.

[Khida]

Vallora Salvari

If you return, please PM me and I'll grade your posts.

Shahar Dawnwhisper

Skill	Points
Acrobatics	+1
Butchery	+1
Observation	+1
Socialization	+2
Trapping	+1

• Butchery: dispatch by slit throat
• Medicine: dangers of an embedded arrow
• Trapping: loop and switch neck snare
• Tracking: night lion footprints
• Tracking: rabbit footprints and rabbit runs
• Vallora: an inattentive Drykas

Notes

It is a pity this got cut short; perhaps fortunately, most of the action seems to have already happened. I think the awards should be generally transparent.

Shahar, I will mention that I did not award Tracking XP because the post detailed what he found over what he did, i.e. the how of identifying those trails, and at Competent level more detail of action is required. Same deal with Javelin XP; I have no sense of what Shahar did to score that hit, aside from 'poise and throw'.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade. Also, Shahar, please edit your request to show this thread has been graded.