Closed A feast for a Dek. (Iosha)

[Darkness]

41st of Spring, 513 AV It was a nice day outside. The setting sun gave the Unforgiving mountains an eerie golden look, framed in surreal pink clouds over an orange sky. If Darkness had been able to see it, he would've been impressed, but looking at the setting sun was a risky proposition when your eyes were made for nighttime. He could still notice the beauty of it as the light spilled around him, dyeing his fur like old gold as he crouched next to some bushes, looking through them at his next prey - a bunch of small quadrupeds, which he would've recognized as Quarter Deers if he'd known anything about the local fauna. He realized that not knowing enough about the animals in the area could be a huge problem, but he also knew that the only way he could find out more about them would be by experience, at least until he could get access to the library. So, until he'd learned more, he'd decided to only attack small creatures, and not very colorful ones at that - those used to be poisonous. He'd run into quarter deers a few days ago, and they seemed to be the perfect prey: slow, mostly unaware, and tasty. He circled the bushes slowly, careful to keep downwind and avoiding anything that could give away his position. As far as he could tell, the creatures had no idea that he was lurking so, if he played his cards right, he was bound to get one, maybe two of them. Hopefully enough for another decent meal.

[Iosha]

Kneeling down next to a sapling, Iosha eyed the stem poking out of the ground. The sapling had three spade shaped leafs. Iosha was curious about the plant, so she opened the book Edible and Lethal Plants of Kalea that she checked out at the Enclave. She flipped the pages until she came a diagram of the three spade shaped leaf sapling. When Iosha found the picture of the plant, she frowned to herself when she found out it was a plant called Dira's Root. This root was neither edible or served any medicinal purpose other than a quick permanent death. Iosha thought to herself that it could be used for euthanize, so she wrote it down on the scroll for Aidara. Maybe the senior healer could find a need for the deadly root. Iosha looked up at the sky and blew a piece of silver blond hair from her face, and she realized she needed to find a good place to make camp. Iosha tighten a strap on her camouflage leather armor, adjusted her bow and quiver on her shoulder, and tapped the hilt of her longsword to make sure it was secure. When Iosha was ready to leave, she walked through the woods humming a konti song to herself as she made her way through the underbrush. Iosha walked into a clearing, and she had to take a moment to take in the breathtaking scenery of the Unforgiving. Iosha was exploring one of the mountain valleys outside of the city. Iosha took off her leather helmet letting her blond hair tumble out onto her shoulders. She stood in the clearing looking up at the snow capped mountain surrounding the valley. Iosha eyes went down from the peaks of the mountains, and she noticed the clearing was a surrounded by large pine trees. The wind coming down from the mountain and blowing through the trees made a eerie sound as it caught Iosha's hair. She smiled to herself as she place her hair behind her ears. She heard the sound of rushing water, and she saw the clearing was besides a small mountain river that was swollen with spring melt. She walked to the river and knelt down, cupped both of her hands together, dipped them into the water, and took a drink of cool fresh water. The heard a sound, and she saw a miniature deer foraging along the shore for food. Iosha was surprised at first because the deer wasn't afraid of her. It didn't seem to notice her until it looked up and blinked it black eyes at her. Iosha set down her backpack on the ground and fished out some dried fruit from her backpack. She opened the bag, and she pullout a few dried berries. She waved at the deer with her webbed hands and tossed a berry at the feet of the miniature deer. The deer slowly walk over to the berry sniffed it, and in a tick, the animal ate the berry. The deer looked at the strange white haired woman who seemed to be giving the deer a free meal. The deer slowly and nervously made it's way to Iosha's hand. When the deer got to scared, Iosha reassured it with another berry. Iosha watched the scene play out four times until the Konti dumped the rest of the dried berries on the ground in front of her. The tiny deer started to eat the berries unaware that it was being stalked by another creature. Iosha looked around starting to feel uneasy about the area. She was starting to get the feeling. She was being watched by something or someone. The Konti started to feel her heart race as she looked into the shadowy forest wondering what could be out there staring at her. Iosha looked at the deer and said to the animal, “Eat up little one...you need to build up your strength more than I.” Iosha stood up and looked out over the white rapids of the river. She needed to make camp soon and start a fire before nightfall.

[Darkness]

A new heartbeat made its way into Darkness' hearing range, paired with the calm steps of someone who was not in a rush. His lips moved in a silent curse, still not moving from his position. It wasn't long before the walker entered his sight, a blonde woman who seemed familiar. From the half-Zith's vantage point, he could keep his eyes on her as she moved - likely to scare his food away, he thought - but she gave no signs of seeing him. His attention was split for a moment trying to remember where he'd met her before, but it quickly settled when he remembered the healer from a couple of seasons back. It might be someone else, but that healer was the only blonde he'd seen in Wind Reach. Chances were it was her. Now, what a healer was doing in the middle of the mountains, Darkness could guess. Plants. Healers loved plants, here, in Xy, and probably throughout Mizahar. She moved onward, closing in on the quarter deer. Surprisingly enough, the animal didn't flee right away, which would've been the smart thing to do - it just stuck around, looking at her like she was no threat. Was she really going to... There she was, giving the stupid creature something he couldn't quite tell in the light, something that didn't make the animal run away, but did make Darkness sigh softly in relief. Not only had she not scared it, but she'd made the hunt easier. With a slow crawl, he inched to the side of the bush, to the side of both the woman and the animal. He waited for a couple of breaths, then leapt off, landing right next to the quarter deer on a crouch. His left hand flew to the creature's neck, gripping it almost gently from above while the right one's claws sliced under it. The animal struggled for a couple of seconds against the grip, mouth opening in an attempt to call for help, futile without a windpipe; a few weak kicks hitting the ground before it finally bled to death. Once the kill was secured, his attention turned to the human. Explaining himself seemed like a good idea, but he'd have to make it quick if he wanted her to not do anything rash. Still crouching on the ground, prey hanging limply from his hand, he looked up and said: "I'm hunting these." And, as an afterthought, he added. "I mean no threat to you."

[Iosha]

Iosha stumbled back onto her back in horror as she watched the Zith leap from him hiding spot. The small Konti tripped over a rock, and she fell on her butt. She could feel her heart race in panic as she saw the Zith slit the throat of the small creature with his long claw. She used her arms to crawl backwards from the creature, and she was about to run, but she looked at the Zith and notice he didn't have the wings like the Zith that ambushed the her hunting company on countless occasions. The same Zith that took her Ayume away from her so many years ago. She got up off the ground, and she unconsciously put a white hand on her sword. She noticed her backpack was left by the Zith and his prey, but she looked at him closer, and she recognized his face. This was the face of the dek named Darkness. The person who accidentally injured Cin-Cin in the alley a couple seasons ago. Iosha slowly took her hand away from her sword, and she took a deep breath and said with fear in her voice, “Dark? You scared the scales off of me!” Iosha swallowed the growing lump in her throat when he told her that he was hunting the small creatures, and he meant no harm to her. The white hair woman nodded slowly to him and said softly, “I...believe you, Dark.” Iosha wan't sure what to think of Zith. He seemed civilized enough to function in a city full of humans, and he sort of had a gentle side to him too. He wasn't like the monster who attacked her hunting company years ago. Iosha slowly walked over by the Zith holding the dead animal, and she asked softly, “Do you hunt in the valley often, Dark?” It was a simple question, but a part of her wanted to learn about the race everyone called a monsters. Iosha bit her bottom lip, and she decided to be nice to the him, so she offered, “I was just about to set up camp for the night? Would you be interested in joining me? It get lonely out in the wilderness alone.” She ran a hand through her silver blond hair and said with a laugh, “Also, it could be fun to get to know somebody who isn't a Inarta.”

[Darkness]

Maybe the healer was exaggerating slightly when she said he'd scared her scales off, but not much. Her heartbeat had surged, she'd tripped over and, unseen to the half-Zith who was busy with the deer, her hand had moved to her sword. Dark wasn't expecting his peace offering to work very well but, surprisingly enough, she'd taken it with what looked to him like sincerity. He sighed and stood up slowly, almost like he were stretching his limbs, a bit bothered by the fact that she remembered her name and he didn't remember hers. It was in the tip of his tongue, though, so close he could taste it. Before he had it, however, she'd walked over, asking him about his hunting; seemingly having regained his calm in a time that would've been all but impossible for a Zith. "Yes. The food they give Dek in there might be enough for a human, but it leaves me hungry, so I come here almost every day." Darkness talked factually, neither resenting the lack of food nor taking pride in the hunt, finishing with a shrug. He did have his fungal rations too, for those days he couldn't leave, but they were nowhere as good as fresh meat. Then she proposed talking for a while, and Darkness couldn't find himself saying no. Perhaps it was the laugh, or perhaps it was simply that he reacted well to kindness, but she was an interesting individual and it wasn't like the half-Zith was in a hurry to get anywhere, so he accepted. "Certainly. I can get to hunting again once you go to sleep. Something's got the animals scared, and I want to find out what it is, but there's no rush to it. Oh, and" He raised the deerling. "I haven't got much yet, but we could eat too. If you want to get to know me, though..." He looked into Iosha's - so that was her name! - violet eyes, his smile widening. "It's going to be mutual." What she knew already, though, he couldn't tell, so he asked straight away: "What do you know about Zith?"

[Iosha]

Iosha was glad Dark accepted her invitation. She didn't want to be on the bad side of a Zith even if he just a half Zith. In a chime of talking to him, She was able to regain control of her fear. The red furred man didn't seem to mind her presence. He even seemed eager to get to know her. It was refreshing and surprising feeling since Iosha had a strong prejudice against his kind. If it wasn't for them, Ayume would be alive, and she would be happy in Avanthal with her. Iosha gave him a weary smile and knelt down by her thing rummaging through her backpack. He answered her question about hunting in the valley often, but she frowned at he wasn't getting enough food to sub stain himself among the humans. Iosha wondered if the Zith ever got in trouble for neglecting for his duties. Iosha looked at him and said softly, “I am sorry. You aren't eating enough Darkness. It is unfortunate that for you the merger rations they give you don't fill you. However, you seemed to be enjoying yourself out in the wilderness. Do you ever get in trouble with the upper castes for neglecting your duties, or do you make it back to the city in time?” Iosha was surprised with herself that she was concerned for his well-being. Iosha figure it was the fact she was healer of Rak'Keli, and she tried not to be bias with her compassion. Iosha smile widen when he offered to swap knowledge of his people for knowledge of her own people. Darkness and Iosha were probably the strangest people in Wind Reach right now, and unlike her, she figured the half Zith was being isolated by the rest of the population. As she heard her stomach growl, Iosha said with a smile, “I think it sounds like a wonderful idea. We can learn about each other over supper.” Iosha reached behind her and took out her dagger her belt and offered it to him hilt, and said softly, “You can use the dagger to skin the dear if you like Darkness” When he took the dagger, Iosha knelt down into her bag, and she pulled out her tent. When Darkness asked his question, Iosha blushed in embarrassment, “Darkness I know very little of your people accept for the stories human's tell around camp fires to scare their children. For example, humans in Syliras tell stories about Zith eating their victims. Also, in my hunting company, a Drykas hunter told us stories of Zith raiding villages and stealing men, women, and children for slaves. I could be completely wrong, but there is many stories surrounding your people. Most of them referring to you race as monsters.” Iosha took a deep breath hoping the Zith didn't take offense at her bluntness, and she quickly continued, “I have to be honest Darkness. I am quite scared of your people because in Taldera my hunting company was constantly raided by Zith, and I lost a dear friend to me in the raids too, so it might take me some time to warm up to you even if you are a kind person.”

[Darkness]

"Oh, I eat enough in the end. I just don't come by the city every once in a while. The upper castes don't notice - there's plenty of Dek in the city, nobody knows if one's busy already or not; and nobody cares if one goes missing or dead." He grinned, showing a toothy, dangerous smile. "A perfect place to disappear into the wilds from time to time." His grin turned into a confused frown when she handed him her dagger. "Sure, I guess..." He took it, looking at the weapon for a a few seconds. "I'm not really sure how to use this." Looking around for somewhere to place it, he sat on the ground and left it beside him, next to the deer's body. Carefully stretching one claw, he sliced the dead animal from tail to head, cutting small incisions on the legs as well, and then carefully peeling the skin off as Iosha explained what she knew about them, and confessed her fear. He then set to cleaning the animal, slicing the stomach cavity open, cutting free and extracting most of the organs; careful to avoid any liquid leakage that would spoil the meat, which he cut into two similar rations. While he worked, he replied to the healer: "Monsters, us? That's interesting." The half-Zith chuckled. "But yes, we do eat... 'people', you could say. They're no different than any other prey, except they can ocasionally be more useful. And if they are, we take them as slaves instead, until they stop being useful. Well, in Xy anyways. The more animal tribes just keep them as reserve food. A real waste." He paused for a second, unsure of what to respond to her admission of fear. "I'm not surprised you fear Zith. You'd fear a glassbeak if it was in your face, and you'd fear those eagles they have in Wind Reach if they could eat you." He took a slow breath, using the time to figure out why she'd mentioned her friend's death - people died pretty often, so there had to be something behind it. "Again, though, I'm not a threat, so you don't have to worry about me killing you too."

[Iosha]

Iosha listened to the Zith talk in such a profound way. She couldn't help be captivated with everything he said to her. She laughed out loud when he told her how the upper caste barely noticed the coming and going of the red furred man. She shook her head and said to him with a giggle, “I can relate because the average Inarta could careless if anything happened to me since I am foreigner, and when they do notice me, they normally have alternative motives to their stares. I try to avoid those people when I can.” Iosha raised an eyebrow as he put down the knife and used his claw to open up the abdomen of the small animal. Being a medical student, she wasn't squeamish around blood and organ, so she watched in curiosity how to butcher the animal. The process didn't seem to hard, so she asked softly, “Next time you catch one those rat-deer thingies, Dark. Can you show me how to butcher and skin the animal. It could come in handy in the future.” When he answered her questions about the Zith in general, she kind of felt guilty for calling him a monster because the way he explained it. He was just a predator hunting prey, and naturally the prey think themselves victims and turn around and demonize the predator. Iosha was slightly appalled on his thoughts about slavery since she was slave herself five years ago. On the other hand, the way her human master treated her was basically same way, so he could use her to breed child for him to sell off for a small fortune. In her mind, she thought slavery was a abomination, and no clever rhetoric would change her mind. The next point about her being afraid of Zith was a sound one, and she did respect him as a fearsome predator. Iosha said with a respectful nod and small smile, “Darkness, I don't believe you have any intentions on wanting to hurt me. To be honest, I feeling guilty about calling you a monster. You seem nothing of the sorts, and you are quite pleasant to talk too.” The Konti stood up and said softly, “We should gather some firewood since it is getting dark. We should find something to cook your beast too. I just wish we had some spices to zest up your meal.” She looked down at the Zith hunter and said softly, “Maybe you can show me the basics of hunting. Believe it or not Darkness. Konti are quite skilled hunters on our own island. I was always caught up in my studies to learn how to hunt, but I was always curious about it.”

[Darkness]

Iosha had just handed Darkness a wealth of information in a couple of sentences. First, her admission that even higher up in the ladder she was still unnoticed opened the option for the Zith to rise, and still retain his freedom. He gave a simple nod as a reply - his experience agreed in that it was best to avoid people that noticed him, though he couldn't help but wonder what those alternative motives the woman talked about were. Second, the healer wanted to learn how to prepare her own food. The surprising part, at least for Darkness, was that she didn't already. Sure enough, non-Zith were ill prepared for life in the wild, but he'd come to associate the ability to fend for oneself with a higher rank in society - perhaps because the hunters were the highest caste in Wind Reach. Seeing someone who was supposed to be high caste ask this question meant that he was wrong somewhere. "I don't mind, but you'll have to teach me something in exchange. Or even better, get me a book from the library, since Dek aren't allowed in. Anything interesting will do." He said, realizing that he couldn't ask for anything specific because he didn't know himself what would catch his eye. He listened carefully to her afterwards for a few seconds, but he couldn't help but burst into a badly controlled chuckle when she admitted she felt guilty. "Oh, that's nice," He replied when he'd regained control of his breath. "Can't understand why you'd feel guilty, though. If what we do makes us monsters to you, then monsters we are." He shrugged and leaped back to his feet. "I'm not too keen on fire, but I don't mind helping gathering. With any luck I'll also find what I'm looking for while we're at this." She asked him to teach her hunting. For a few seconds, he looked at the woman up and down, silently. "You don't have the body of a hunter." He stated plainly. "No natural weapons, unless you're hiding something. Your reactions before show that your instincts aren't that sharp either, though they're not bad. But you're going to have to forget about that kindness you showed the animal before. All in all..." He crossed his arms, staring straight into the Konti's eyes. "It'll be hard for you to learn my hunting. If you still want to, we can start whenever. No need to decide now, but while you think about it, tell me more about those Konti of yours."The half-Zith's voice betrayed his curiosity, and even as he broke eye-contact and moved towards where he thought he'd find the source of the local disturbance he asked. "Are all of you scaled, or is that just you? What is this island you mentioned?" The proximity of the night made his spirits rise, and getting information to boot just made this an excellent day.

[Iosha]

Iosha looked at him slightly when Darkness requested a book from the Enclave. She always thought the Zith were illiterate savages, but the red furred man was shattering all stereotypes of his people. The konti was impressed by the man, and she figured he was the exception to the race in a whole. Iosha looked at him a moment when he said anything interesting will do, and she said with smile, “Well, what I find interesting might be totally different than what you would find interesting, Dark. I have a idea since your not allowed in the library by yourself. Why don't you accompany me? You can just be my “servant” for the day while we find you some books to read.” She gave the red furred man a wink and said softly, “A little subterfuge won't hurt anyone. Besides, you seem like a capable man, Dark, and I think your talents are wasted in the Dek caste.” Iosha sat their for a moment in silence when he explained he didn't like fire. The Avora nodded and asked softly, “Are you able to see in the dark? When I make the fire, I will make sure to keep it small, so it doesn't bother you." Iosha gave him a amused grin when he basically told her that she was suited for “hunting”. It was true that she wasn't a natural predator like him, but she laughed despite her best efforts to control her emotions. Still with a smile on her face, she said softly to the Zith, “It is true that I don't really have any natural benefits to help me hunt, but my fuzzy friend you forget that the most powerful natural weapon is my brain. With my intelligence, I can construct a instrument of death where I can kill you hundreds yards away.” She patted her bow to help her explanation, and she put a hand on her sword hilt, “Also my sword can disembowel a enemy or prey just as well as your claws” She leaned back on the grass, and she said plainly, “Yes, I do have a compassionate side, but if I am hungry enough or need to feed someone I love or care about than I am willing to kill if necessary” Iosha looked at him a realizing when he said he was going to teach her how to hunt like a Zith, and she said softly when she realized it could come in useful when she hunted down her old master, “I will think on it, Darkness... It would be intriguing learning the tactics of Zith hunts. Can you use the tactics on animals too?” Iosha stood up and said proudly with a smile, “All Konti's have scales Darkness. Our race was created from the union between Goddess Avalis and God Laviku, so I have the ability to breath underwater. It was the gift given to use by the God Laviku.” Iosha gave him a smirk, and she gave him a added information, “My species is a all female race, so we seek males from other races to sire our children. Honestly, it pretty common knowledge, but you seem to have a mind of scholar, so I figure I would give you the added tid-bit of information, Dark.” Iosha looked up at the setting sun, and she turned her head to Dark and said sadly, “My beloved island is Mura, and I think I tell you more about it when we get a fire started.” Iosha stopped asked without looking at him figuring she wanted to ask a more personal question of him, “Why did you come to Wind Reach Dark? The Inarta aren't the most hospitable people in the world... I came here to learn about my Endal father and his people. Do you have family relations to the gingers too?” Iosha decided to state bluntly, “I am asking because you are obviously a half breed.” She hated using the term, but it was the only term that came to mind when she thought of him.