Flashback The First Meeting [Kane]

[Eilea]

81st Autumn 512 Morning. Eilea woke with a start, her horse nuzzling her. The young Vantha got to her feet and began to pack her things up. Sleep was getting more difficult every night. The travels were getting colder. Being a Vantha, Eilea didn't mind because she preferred the cold, but she had to take note of it. Her stomach began to grumble. She needed to get food. Badly. The poor girl hadn't eaten a full meal in a season and it was starting to wear on her. Wine, her Windrunner, luckily was able to eat the over-grown grass in the area, but it was getting more difficult to find food. The night previous, there had been a heavy frost that had killed a lot of the growth in the nearby area. After dawn, she began her journey heading towards Wind Reach once again. But in truth, she had gotten lost. The Vantha had expected to have gotten there early in the season. Her willpower was beginning to fade. Once she got the saddle and bags adjusted on her Windrunner, they were off. As the Windrunner galloped as fast as she could, Eilea contemplated heading back to Avanthal. 'Oh how easy it would be to just return...' But she knew there was nothing waiting for her back there. Her family was broken. She was on her own. She was doing what her mother would have wanted. Once the Sun was high in the sky, Eilea led her horse towards a large rock formation. Nearby there were some weeds that the horse could chew on if it felt like it. The formation was large enough to hide the area of the horse to stay. Eilea set a couple traps around the area, made sure Wine was aware of their presence and then snatched up her quiver and shortbow. Dressed in dark pants and a green, long sleeve shirt, Eilea moved through the trees and shrubs with a cotton scarf around her head, covering her colorful hair and most of her face. She had run into previous racial issues in the past. With bright yellow, excited eyes, she spotted tracks on the ground. Immediately she began to follow them. Suddenly there was movement in a nearby bush. A shaggy dog ran right in front of her. As much as Eilea didn't want to hurt a dog, she needed her food, so she ran after it, trying to keep to higher ground. "Come here puppy! Here boy!" She called, in a friendly manner, hoping to coax the creature towards her. Finally the dog stopped and looked back at her. Eilea held her bow out, grabbed an arrow and began to take aim... But there was a noise. She lowered her bow and looked to the side. Between two trees was a small field. In the field, she saw four men, with a small camp set up. It had been days since she had seen anyone. The girl moved closer, staying behind one of the trees and watched. Her mind completely forgot about the dog. The four men were talking about something in Common, but she couldn't place it. Their accents were heavy. She leaned further out and continued staring, trying to see what one was holding. The light from the Sun hit it just a right. there was a flash of red light and Eilea immediately took an involuntary step forward, being attracted to the object. She tok a few steps, making out the necklace. The pendant was shaped as a bird and had a red glow to it. It seemed to be pulsating. The Vantha had heard of something like this, but couldn't think of the word. Either way, she knew this sort of trickery was powerful. And dangerous. But the bird. The fiery bird. She wanted to examine it. "Hey!" The yell startled her, one of them men called to her. All four looked towards her. One stepped forward, and as she did, she noticed there was another man, tied up, with dried blood on his face. Panic struck her. Gray eyes. She took a step back. No magical firey bird necklace was worth getting beat up. She glanced at the tied up man for a second, before making up her mind completely/ 'I wish I could help him. I'm sorry.' She didn't want to get hurt, or worse. Eilea turned on her heels and began to run.

[Kane]

So... this is a bad situation. That was an understatement, really. This was about as bad as a situation could get. I mean, tied up and covered with blood and bruises was a pretty bad situation, right? Kane narrowed his eyes at the men standing together and speaking a little ways off. Jerks. It had all began with the search for a stolen item. A necklace to be exact. Kane had managed to track the thieves to this area. Not that it had been all that difficult, they weren’t the stealthiest of people. After a bell of watching and taking note of their movements, he’d snuck into their camp. The three men generally patrolled around the camp every ten minutes, but they left huge gaps in their surveillance. He’d managed to make his way into the tent with the necklace. But, of course with his luck, there was a fourth thief. Kane had been stuck up on and knocked out before he could really do anything to defend himself. So, now he found himself here. Tied up. And bloody. Jerks. But they had made a mistake. They left the genius that is Kane, alone without being monitored. Smirking, Kane pulled his hands under him and over his legs. Now, all he had to do was find something to cut these with. That rock close by would do nicely. Leaning forward, he began to quickly rub the ropes against the stone. Glancing up every once in a while to keep track of the mens’ movements, he was eventually able to cut the ropes off his wrists. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was so out of here. Well, as soon as he actually had an opening. A sudden yell from the thieves had him jumping out of his skin. His head shot up, only to find that they were yelling at some girl near the tree line. This was his chance. Frantically, he worked with the ropes around his ankles, managing to undo them rather quickly. Of course, it would be this exact moment that one of the men would glance back. “Hey!!” Oh man, he was mad. Shyke! Shyke shyke shyke shyke shyke!!! Quickly, Kane pushed himself to his feet. His legs had fallen asleep, causing him to stumble a bit. Well, it’s not like I can kindly ask them to wait for me to be ready to run. So he bolted, ignoring the tingling feeling in his legs. All he heard behind him was, “Damnit! Someone catch him!”

[Eilea]

She couldn't move her legs fast enough, one of them, obviously the most fit, and quickest grabbed ahold of her arm and yanked her back, against him. Eilea dropped her bow, but the man didn't seem to notice. "Well what have we here?" Eilea fought with all her might, trying to punch and kick, or anything to get him to let go. "Oh look, she's a little fighter." Another one taunted, moving closer. "For sneaking up on us like that, we should give her a little lesson." Eilea swallowed hard and she was held back against the man. He turned her, looking her in the eyes. "Let go of me!" She hissed, and spat, struggling to get out of his grasp. "We won't have any of that!" He grabbed her scarf and attempted to move it form her face. "I think we might have ourselves a little Vantha girl. Her eyes are changing." The man chuckled. "Won't this be fun." Suddenly there a call form one of the other men, directed back towards their small little camp site. Using the man's momentary lapse of concentration, Eilea stomped her foot down onto his, then jerked her knee up, hitting him between the legs as hard as he could. The man let out a high pitched cry, released her and stumbled back. Taking this chance, Eilea dashed off, made a point to pick up her bow, and followed the way she had gone from, moving purposely towards the stranger who had been tied up, as he also was running. She cut across a path, and headed towards him. The man wasn't moving as fast as her, probably because he had been tied up. Once close enough, Eilea pushed him aside and behind a tree. She purposely moved, in a defensive position, watching from all directions. For a second,s he almost swore she had seen the dog before more nearby. But that didn't matter at that point. "Are you okay?" She asked, speaking in the common tone with a very heavy accent. She didn't use it too often, after all. The cut on his face looked bad, very bad. "We should probably keep moving." She said, her voice rushed. The girl peeked back towards them. As she predicted, they were heading their way. "Petch." She moved closer to the man again, nervously. "We should probably keep moving, but I am worried about your head. Do you know who they are, by chance?" She asked and peered over the tree again. They were closer, cat calling all the way, and they were angry.

[Kane]

As Kane ran, the odd girl ran with him. Well, now they were both in this, so they might as well stick together. The only problem now was getting out of here. He wracked his brain, looking for any sort of solution. Then suddenly the girl pushed him behind a tree and turned to him looking concerned. He nodded quickly. He would be fine for now. They could worry about his injuries when they got out of here. She continued to ask him questions. Questions about his head, and about whether he knew their attackers. Now wasn’t the time for questions. She was right though, they had to get out of here. Kane straightened himself out quickly; he had a plan. “Hey, girl. You go hide. I’m going to distract them. When I do, shoot them.” He gestured to her bow to ensure his point. Immediately he headed out into the open, ignoring the worried look she shot him. “Get ready.” Steeling himself, Kane turned to the approaching men and, cupping his hands around his mouth, began to scream. “Hey petch-holes!! If you think you can take me, come and get it!” All heads turned in his direction. “Yeah, you! What? Too scared to take me on?” With looks of anger, they began to slowly make their way towards him. Apparently they thought his words meant he’d fight them, and wouldn’t run. Hopefully this would give the girl enough time to get ready. As he glared down the four men, Kane could only hope.

[Eilea]

His suggestion was smart. All Eilea did was touch him on the shoulder and nod, before moving. She headed towards a nearby tree with rather low branches to climb up. The Vantha strapped the bow over her shoulder, looked back as the stranger began to holler at them and then took ahold of a branch. She climbed carefully, quickly, trusting each branch as she did. Once she made it about eight feet off the ground, she inched her way onto one of the larger branches, pulled the bow off her shoulder, grabbed an arrow, and waited. The calls from the man were funny, but very provoking, as the men came quickly, two ahead of the other by a good few feet. Eilea moved herself into a kneeling position, balancing the best she could on the branch, trying to keep herself steady. Kane moved a bit closer and finally, the two faster men, were within distance. Eilea jumped from the tree, pushing forward and while in midair, and released the arrow simultaneously. It hit the intended target in the chest, pushing him back into the ground with a soft growl. The Vantha managed to roll into a smooth landing and leaned to the side to stand once again, then grabbed another arrow from her quiver. She sidestepped and turned, taking aim to the other close man, her eyes a deep navy blue, distinctive as could be and said in a growl, "You messed with the wrong girl, buddy!" Little did she know, that one of the men had caught up to the scene, the one holding the necklace, and was headed her way, a knife in hand, with the obvious intent to kill.

[Kane]

The men were getting closer. This could almost be considered an act of suicide. Kane really had no way of knowing if the girl would actually stick around to help, or if she’d run off and leave him to die. But the situation called for dire action. That and... well, there had been something about her that told him something. She wouldn’t leave him behind. He could trust her. So, with that in mind, he stared down the men as they approached him. They taunted him the whole time. Telling him how they were going to kill him. In just that moment, the girl leapt out of the tree at them. Like a petchin’ bird... She shot the closest man with an arrow, straight into his chest, taking him down in a single hit. Quickly, she moved to aim at the another of their attackers. As she dealt with the men in front of her, one snuck up behind her with a knife in hand. He looked ready to kill her. Kane smirked. We’ll see about that. Reaching into his pocket, he slipped his hand around his dagger. With it unsheathed, he moved up behind the man quickly, and in an instant, stabbed him in the neck. He glanced over at the girl, she seemed to be handling herself for the moment, before down to the man laying on the ground. A glint in his jacket caught Kane’s attention. The necklace! Kneeling down, he swiftly took hold of it and slipped it into his pocket. Mission accomplished. Now they had to get out of here. Luckily, there were only two of their enemies left standing.

[Eilea]

Eilea released the arrow, sending it into the man's upper right arm, he stumbled back with a cry. She whipped her head around, taking note that her stranger had taken down one of the other men. Her eyes widened at the sight of the fallen knife. "Thanks!" she shouted, then looked back, seeing the last man running towards them. He was still a way off, but catching up quickly. In his hand, it looked as if he had a large mace in his hand and was spinning as he approached. "You bastards! I'll get you. I'm stronger, I'm trained!" He yelled their way. "Damn..." She took another arrow, aimed, and shot. It missed and the man was getting closer. He seemed even more pissed, but there was something about him that really made her Eilea stepped back, nodded to Kane and made a gesture to keep moving. She didn't want to try hitting a moving target who was obviously more skilled at fighting than either of them. "He must have picked that up! There may be more of them" She tugged on his hand. "Come on!" And they began to run again. Eilea took lead, navigating her way by zig-zagging between trees and pockets of bushes, moving as quickly as she could. She made a point to look back at the man, several times. "This way!" She led him to take a sharp left turn and slid to a stop. They had found themselves on a ledge, above what looked like a river. Eilea stepped back, then looked at the man, a fondness in her light blue gray eyes. "Now what?" She asked, truly unsure where to go from there.

[Kane]

Running probably was the best option. Especially when faced with a mace-wielding man who had it out for their heads. Kane ran after the girl, glancing back all the while at the one following them to keep track of him. Eventually though, they had to come to a screeching halt. A cliff. Great. He stared down to the bottom. Too far to jump, they’d never survive. They really only had one option. Kane turned to his companion. “Well Birdie, we’re gonna have to split up. You go that way,” he pointed behind her, “and I’ll go this way.” He said as he jerked a thumb behind him. “Hopefully we’ll meet up on the other side of these trees.” It’s not like he could leave his dog behind anyways. Nodding to her, he turned and took off. As he ran, he looked behind him. No one was there. Kane felt relief and worry at the same time. I hope she’ll be okay with that guy chasing her... Still, he hadn’t the time to worry about that now. He’d circle the trees, find his dog, hopefully meet up with the girl again, and head to where his crew mates were waiting.. As he made his way around the bushes, he thought of how mysterious that girl had been. Her head had been covered by some sort of shawl and he could barely see her face. If they didn’t meet up now, Kane doubted they’d ever see each other again. Which would be a shame. He had a feeling they’d really get along... A bark to his right snapped his attention away from his thoughts. “Saul!” With a genuine smile, he ran over to his dog and hugged him. “C’mon, we have to go find the others. But first a friend of mine.” With a pat to the mutt’s head, Kane stood and headed off. He looked up to the sky, silently hoping for the girl’s safety. After searching through the area for almost a bell, he realized he wasn’t going to find her. His shoulders slumped and Saul gave him an apologetic look. Kane sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to head back to the others then.” He’d never see her again he supposed. That was life he supposed. He had to say though, he was disappointed. Well, at least he’d done what needed to be done, and he could start his journey to a new city. Squaring his shoulders, Kane walked towards his crews’ camp, his future ahead of him.

[Eilea]

His suggestion was concrete. She knew it would work. It made sense. Splitting up, reconnecting. It would work. "Alright!" She agreed, nodding her head once. 'He's amazing.' She thought to herself and grinned. He nodded and took off. Eilea spun on her toes and began running as well, moving as carefully as she could. The girl looked back, several times, to see if she was being followed, but never saw anyone. Worry pulled at her heartstrings. Hopefully he was fairing well with that man. She continued moving until she came upon a certain rock formation. "Wine?" She whispered and quickly ran to the other side. The horse was calm, contently chewing away at the grass. She perked her ears, then looked over at her Vantha rider. "Oh dear, I nearly forgot about you." she moved quickly towards the horse and then began to settle all her supplies on the horse's back. "Come on, we have someone we need to meet up with." She said, and pulled herself onto the horse's back. Once situated, Eilea led the horse out of the area and they began searching for the man, all the while, paying close attention, hoping they didn't run into that scary man. After a long while of wandering around, with no sign of the stranger, Eilea let out a sigh, and decided to change directions all together. "I hope he's okay, Wine." She looked down and patted her Windrunner. "He called me 'Birdie'." She glanced around again, observing the area, trying to find that man. "I hope he was just thrown off track and didn't get hurt by that man. He was a good person." She smiled, thinking to herself, 'He saved my life. I hope one day I'll run into him again. I hope he's safe.' She turned the horse around. "Let's head this way." And off they went. "When we stop tonight I'll hunt, and actually get some food. I just want to make sure we're far enough away from here when I do." Little did she know that when making the choice to head in that certain direction, she would be heading to the place she had been intending all along: Wind Reach.

[Phoenix]

Eilea

Award

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	5
Hunting	2
Weapon (Bow)	4

•	Lores Earned
•	Hunting: Yum. Dog.
•	There is nothing like running for your life
•	Kane: Helping each other escape
•	Kane: Birdie

Kane

Award

Skill	XP Earned
Running	1
Observation	5
Leadership	3
Weapon (Dagger)	2

•	Lores Earned
•	A Stolen Necklace leads to more problems
•	Eilea: Unexpected help
•	Insult: Petch-holes
•	Eilea: A future friend?

The Order of the Phoenix

Having read some of Kane and Eilea's threads before, I found this highly amusing. AND THE NECKLACE! Bhahahah I love it. This was great. I haven't read the second one in the series yet so I'll have more to comment after. Great job you two.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.